Sports
Rays, Red Sox playing for pride in season finale
Sep 28, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Drew Rasmussen (57) high-fives first baseman Jonathan Aranda (62) after a game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images The visiting Tampa Bay Rays will attempt to complete a three-game sweep Sunday when they meet the Boston Red Sox in the final game of the regular season for each team.
Tampa Bay (80-81) won 2-1 on Friday, and beat Boston 7-2 on Saturday. The winner of the game Sunday will finish third in the American League East.
Junior Caminero hit a two-run home run against Boston starter Kutter Crawford during the win Saturday. Crawford allowed 34 home runs this season, which is the most of any major league pitcher.
“If you look at his season overall it was a solid one,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “This is a kid … he understands how to pitch. Uses both sides of the plate. He can go up, he can go down. He’s a guy we expect him to keep getting better. He’s been good for us.”
Boston (80-81) has lost three in a row and scored four runs in those three losses.
Another positive for Tampa Bay on Saturday was the performance by reliever Drew Rasmussen, who didn’t allow a run over the final two innings. Rasmussen had elbow surgery last year and had a 2.83 ERA and 28 2/3 innings as a reliever this season.
“It wasn’t perfect (Saturday), but you just look back over where I’ve been over the last 18 months or so, and I’m truly just blessed to have the opportunity to be back playing on the field,” Rasmussen said. “Pretty good year, and we’re excited about things moving forward.”
Tampa Bay’s Ryan Pepiot (8-7, 3.64 ERA) is scheduled to start Sunday for Tampa Bay. Boston is expected to go with right-hander Quinn Priester (2-6, 5.04), whom the Red Sox acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Nick Yorke on July 29.
“I don’t know if it’s official yet, but there’s a good chance it’s going to be (Priester),” Cora said in his postgame news conference Saturday.
It would be Priester’s first start with the Red Sox after spending the past two months working on his mechanics at Triple-A Worcester. Priester was 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in nine starts at Worcester, and 4-2 with a 4.38 ERA overall in 16 Triple-A starts this year.
“Ultimately making some mechanical adjustments that felt really natural and led to better performance of all my pitches,” Priester told MassLive.com. “And feeling that and seeing that just let the confidence build up to where it should be.”
Pepiot pitched well but took the loss in the Rays’ 2-1 setback against Detroit on Tuesday. He allowed two runs on three hits in five innings, walked four and struck out six. Pepiot has surrendered two earned runs or fewer in 12 of his past 13 starts.
Pepiot has no record and a 3.60 ERA in two career appearances (both starts) against the Red Sox. He recorded 15 strikeouts in 10 innings during those two starts.
It’s been a rough second half for the Red Sox, who were 10 games over the .500 mark at the All-Star break, but are 27-38 since then. Boston has a 37-43 home record and has been outscored by 33 runs in its home games. Tampa Bay has a 38-42 record on the road.
The Rays need a victory Sunday to avoid their first losing season since 2017.
–Field Level Media
Sports
With Michael Conforto waiting, Cubs vie to take rubber game from Tigers
Jul 21, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs designated hitter Michael Conforto (20) rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Detroit Tigers during the fifth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images The Chicago Cubs have been getting instant offense off the bench from Michael Conforto, who hit his MLB-leading fourth pinch-hit home run of the season in an 11-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.
Conforto is an outfielder by trade but has had to carve out a bench role because Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki are entrenched as starters.
Conforto already has tied the franchise single-season record for pinch-hit homers, set by Glenallen Hill in 1999, and hopes to be involved in the decisive contest of a three-game series against visiting Detroit on Wednesday night.
“All year, it feels like (Michael’s) biggest hits have been pinch hits,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell said. “I don’t know if there’s any blueprint for it, but Michael has done a fabulous job at it. You feel like it’s a real weapon to have somebody like that.”
Wednesday’s matchup will be the rubber game of the series after Detroit won 8-6 in 10 innings on Monday and the Cubs took Tuesday’s game.
Colin Rea (7-6, 4.74 ERA) will start for Chicago on Wednesday. The right-hander snapped a two-start winning streak in his last appearance on Friday, allowing four runs (three earned) in six innings as the Cubs lost 5-2 to Minnesota.
Rea is 0-1 with a lifetime 6.43 ERA vs. Detroit in three appearances (one start).
Right-hander Keider Montero (6-5, 3.22 ERA) will start for Detroit on Wednesday. He has been used as a reliever throughout July after making starts in 15 of his first 16 appearances this season, but Montero is moving back into the rotation.
He got a win in his most recent outing, tossing 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief as the Tigers beat the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 on Friday.
Montero has faced the Cubs once, on June 7, 2025. Serving as the bulk reliever on a bullpen day, he gave up four runs in 5 2/3 innings and didn’t figure into the decision.
Montero has gone an inning-plus in every relief appearance he’s made this month. A versatile pitcher such as Montero gives Detroit manager A.J. Hinch extra flexibility as the team is in a stretch of playing 13 games in 13 days.
“I’ve always said when I pitch (Montero), I’m going to pitch him a lot,” Hinch told the Detroit Free Press.
“When you see him go out for a second inning or a third inning or a fourth inning, part of that is competitive and strategic. The other part of it is to keep him stretched out to where it doesn’t disrupt his volume.”
Montero’s ability to ease back into the rotation quickly took on even greater importance after the Tigers were forced to place Jack Flaherty (right flexor inflammation) on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday. Flaherty reported discomfort after throwing four innings in the series opener the day before.
Hinch explained the decision to put Flaherty on the IL after Tuesday’s game.
“It wasn’t a clear-cut IL (decision) when we woke up this morning,” Hinch told reporters. “And then as the day went on and the more opinion we got, the more we realized he wasn’t going to pitch in five or six days.”
Flaherty has made 19 starts for Detroit this season, going 3-8 with a 4.59 ERA.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Heat: Link for LeBron James presser posted by mistake
Nov 5, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) reacts after making a basket against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Heat beat the Raptors 104-95. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images The Miami Heat said a live-stream link titled “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference” was posted by mistake to the team’s YouTube channel.
The post, which included the date July 27, was later deleted. A team spokesperson told ESPN on Tuesday night that the club’s social media department had been preparing for the possibility of the superstar forward rejoining the Heat and errantly published the link.
James, 41, who won two NBA championships in four seasons with Miami from 2010-14, is a free agent for the first time since 2018 after announcing last month that he would not re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Potential landing spots for the league’s all-time leading scorer other than Miami reportedly include the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers (another former team) and the Golden State Warriors.
James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds in 60 games with the Lakers in 2025-26. The four-time NBA champion owns career averages of 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists in a record 1,622 games over 23 seasons.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spurs C Victor Wembanyama to grace NBA 2K27 cover
Dec 27, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts after scoring during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images Spurs star Victor Wembanyama will grace the cover of the NBA 2K27 video game, ESPN reported on Wednesday.
The 7-foot-4 center powered San Antonio to the 2026 NBA Finals, with the Spurs falling to the New York Knicks in five games last month.
In his third NBA season, Wembanyama averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and a league-leading 3.1 blocks.
Previous cover athletes in the NBA 2K series have included Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Jayson Tatum.
Wembanyama, 22, is the third Spurs player to make the cover of at least one version of the game, joining Tony Parker (NBA 2K16, French version) and Pau Gasol (NBA 2K17, Spanish version).
–Field Level Media
With Michael Conforto waiting, Cubs vie to take rubber game from Tigers
Heat: Link for LeBron James presser posted by mistake
