Sports
Rays pound out 15 hits in win over Guardians
Jul 24, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays catcher Nick Fortes (40) hits a RBI single in the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images Ryan Vilade hit a two-run homer and Richie Palacios added a three-run blast as the Tampa Bay Rays opened a three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians with an 11-3 win on Friday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Shane McClanahan (9-6) allowed one run on two hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out three while throwing 71 pitches. Chris Roycroft closed the game with three scoreless innings for his first career save.
Nick Fortes went 4-for-4 with two RBIs, and Jonny DeLuca and Chandler Simpson each had two hits with an RBI for Tampa Bay, which led 5-1 after four innings and won for the fourth time in its last five games. Cedric Mullins added two hits.
Austin Hedges hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning for Cleveland, which was outhit 15-7 and lost its third straight.
Vilade gave the Rays the lead in the second inning with a two-run homer against Joey Cantillo (8-6). The 365-foot shot was Vilade’s eighth homer of the season.
McClanahan did not allow a hit until the fourth inning, when Chase DeLauter extended his season-high on-base streak to 16 games with a leadoff double and scored on Brayan Rocchio’s one-out double.
Tampa Bay extended its lead with three runs on four hits in the fourth inning. Mullins began the rally with a leadoff triple and scored on DeLuca’s single.
After Simpson reached on a bunt single, Vilade walked and DeLuca scored on Ben Williamson’s fielder’s choice grounder to first baseman Rhys Hoskins.
Fortes followed with an RBI single before Cantillo struck out the next two batters. Matt Festa entered and stranded the bases loaded when Junior Caminero popped out.
Cantillo allowed five runs on eight hits over 3 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four.
With two runners on and two outs in the sixth inning, the Rays tacked on a run when Fortes raced home from second base on Caminero’s single to left field.
The Rays scored again with two outs in the seventh on back-to-back doubles by Williamson and Fortes. Tampa Bay added four runs in the eighth on Simpson’s sacrifice fly and Palacios’ three-run homer to right-center.
–Field Level Media
Sports
LAFC's Son Heung-Min showing scoring touch as Sporting KC visit
Jul 17, 2026; Carson, California, USA; LAFC forward Son Heung-Min (7) controls the ball during the second half against the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Los Angeles FC will hope Son Heung-Min’s resurgent form continues on Saturday when they host a Sporting Kansas City side that is quietly improving following an awful start to the season.
Son has scored in back-to-back matches since LAFC (9-5-3, 30 points) returned from the World Cup break after he failed to find the net at all before the 2026 tournament.
But he has remained an important part of the Black-and-Gold’s attack as a provider. He still leads MLS with 10 assists. And now the scoring is coming too, like his excellent opener from distance in LAFC’s 3-1 home victory over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night.
“Last season, when he arrived, a lot of his shots would go through the legs of a defender and into a corner,” explained LAFC manager Marc Dos Santos. “And then in the beginning of this year, the first part of the season, everything was getting blocked. … And now in the last two games, the shots were good, and he was able to finish. But (I was) always a big believer in what he gives to the team and how he helps the team.”
Son’s 10th assist of the season came after his opening goal, setting up Denis Bouanga for his team-leading eighth goal.
The win over RSL was LAFC’s third straight, following a run of four consecutive defeats in all competitions as the Black-and-Gold balanced MLS play with the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Meanwhile, Dejan Joveljic scored his team-leading eighth goal early and Manu Garcia added a second shortly after halftime in Sporting Kansas City’s 2-1 home win over Minnesota United on Wednesday night.
After a dreadful start, in which SKC (4-10-2, 14 points) went 1-8-2 in MLS play while being outscored 32-8, manager Raphael Wicky’s side have won three of their last five, with the two defeats in that stretch coming by a single goal.
They’ve also shown urgency in addressing their defensive weakness, signing Emir Karic and Moises Mosquera early in the summer transfer window.
“We’re growing,” Wicky said Wednesday. “We had a very bad period in April, which was very, very bad and very hard for various reasons, but I feel we came back from that before the World Cup and we grew. Now we keep building.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mets OF Juan Soto departs Dodgers game with left calf soreness
Jul 20, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) during batting practice prior to the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto experienced left calf soreness and was replaced during a home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.
The slugger was given Wednesday off to help him recover from a calf issue. He was in the lineup batting second Friday as the designated hitter, and he walked in both of his plate appearances.
Jorge Polanco pinch-hit for Soto in the bottom of the sixth inning, striking out on a foul tip.
Soto, 27, is batting .283 this season with 21 home runs and 52 RBIs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Eduardo Rodriguez, Diamondbacks earn tight win over Nationals
Jul 18, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo (17) watches game action against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Gabriel Moreno drove in the go-ahead run with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly as the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Friday.
Moreno and Tim Tawa each had two hits and an RBI for Arizona, which has won four straight and six of seven.
Dylan Crews hit a two-run homer for Washington, which had won three of four.
Arizona’s Eduardo Rodriguez (9-3) allowed two runs on seven hits over six innings. He struck out four and walked three. Rodriguez pitched out of trouble on several occasions to bounce back from a poor outing against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
Paul Sewald pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 24th save.
Washington bulk reliever Zack Littell (7-8) gave up a run on four hits over five innings, with five strikeouts and one walk. Opener Carson Palmquist was charged with two runs in 1 1/3 innings.
In the seventh, Ketel Marte hit a one-out single off Littell, who was lifted for Tom Cosgrove. Corbin Carroll singled and Geraldo Perdomo walked to load the bases. Moreno flied to deep left, driving in Marte scoring from third to make it 3-2.
The D-backs squandered a chance in the first. After Carroll and Perdomo drew one-out walks, Moreno blooped a single to center. Carroll had to wait for the ball to fall and stopped at third. Perdomo rounded second too far and was thrown out trying to get back.
When Andres Chaparro doubled with one out in the bottom of the first, Washington had runners on second and third, but Rodriguez struck out CJ Abrams and got Crews to fly out.
Arizona took a 2-0 lead in the second. Max Kepler led off with a double and Tyler Locklear walked. After Adrian Del Castillo bunted the runners over, Littell replaced Palmquist.
Tawa laid down a perfect bunt and was safe at first as Kepler scored. Marte hit into what appeared to be a 3-6-3 double play, but Arizona challenged and Marte was ruled safe at first with Locklear scoring on the play.
The Nationals tied it in the fourth when Abrams singled and Crews followed with a homer to left-center.
The first two Nationals reached in the sixth, but after a sacrifice bunt, Rodriguez fanned Harry Ford, walked Luis Garcia Jr. and got Nasim Nunez to ground out.
–Field Level Media
LAFC's Son Heung-Min showing scoring touch as Sporting KC visit
Mets OF Juan Soto departs Dodgers game with left calf soreness
