Sports
Red-hot Ronald Acuna Jr. homers twice to lead Braves past Reds
May 30, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) hits a solo home run in the third inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images Ronald Acuna Jr. launched a pair of home runs on Saturday night to help the visiting Atlanta Braves post a 5-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Acuna tallied his first multi-homer game of the year, hitting his third and fourth home runs in the last three games after he had just two in his first 42 games. Jorge Mateo and Matt Olson each added a solo homer for the Braves, who won their fourth game in five tries and became the first team in the majors to reach 40 wins.
Martin Perez (3-3) allowed two runs on four hits over five innings, striking out a pair and walking three.
Raisel Iglesias completed his 10th save in as many tries with a perfect ninth inning. The Braves improved to 33-0 this season when leading after eight innings.
Brady Singer (2-5) yielded three runs on four hits in five innings, walking four and striking out two. JJ Bleday hit a two-run homer for the Reds, who dropped their third straight and fell to 9-17 in the month of May.
Ozzie Albies began the second inning with a double and scored the game’s first run on Mike Yastrzemski’s RBI single.
The Reds took their first lead of the series in the bottom of the second, as Spencer Steer’s walk was followed by Bleday’s ninth homer of the season to give Cincinnati a 2-1 edge.
Acuna knotted the score in the third with his first homer of the day.
Mateo launched his third homer of the year in the top of the fifth, restoring Atlanta’s lead.
Singer then walked Acuna, Michael Harris II and Olson to load the bases with two outs. Albies popped out to end the jam.
Tejay Antone threw a scoreless sixth in relief of Singer.
Tyler Kinley took over for Perez in the bottom of the sixth, throwing just six pitches in a perfect frame.
Olson doubled the Atlanta lead with a solo blast in the seventh off reliever Brock Burke before Acuna’s 405-foot homer in the ninth off Lyon Richardson pushed the margin to three.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Fernando Tatis Jr. finally hits first HR of 2026
May 30, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) singles against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images San Diego’s long nightmare is finally over.
Fernando Tatis Jr. has homered.
The 27-year-old Padres slugger, who led the National League with 42 home runs in 2021 and entered this season with 152 career dingers, ended his well-publicized home run drought with a solo shot in the fifth inning of San Diego’s 9-4 loss to the Nationals in Washington on Saturday.
The homer, off a 90 mph fastball from Nationals left-hander Forster Griffin, came on Tatis’ 208th at-bat and 239th plate appearance of 2026. It was also the Padres’ 57th game of the season.
As soon as he hit it, Tatis tossed his bat on the follow through of his swing and admired the 451-foot shot into left field at Nationals Park. It gave the Padres a short-lived 3-1 lead as Washington scored six runs in the seventh.
“I just knew right away,” Tatis told reporters after the game. “About (expletive) time.”
Tatis’ last home run came last Sept. 27. The blast also leaves Tampa Bay speedster Chandler Simpson as the player with the most plate appearances (232) without a home run this season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Royals 3B Maikel Garcia exits with hamstring injury
May 30, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia (11) comes up with a leg injury during the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images Kansas City third baseman Maikel Garcia left in the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers with a right hamstring strain sustained Saturday at Arlington, Texas.
The 2025 All-Star was injured going from first to third base on Vinnie Pasquantino’s tiebreaking double. Garcia was 1-for-4 with an RBI in the contest, continuing a slow start to his 2026 season. The 26-year-old is batting .268 this year with just three home runs and 21 RBIs, a year after belting 16 homers to go along with 74 RBIs.
Tyler Tolbert pinch-ran following Garcia’s departure, and stayed in at second base while Garcia was replaced in the field by Nick Loftin. If Garcia goes to the injured list, Loftin, a four-year veteran, could be in line to get the majority of his time at third base. Loftin is batting .215 this year and .218 for his career.
Kansas City, which has now lost five in a row, led 6-3 entering the bottom of the eighth inning and went on to lose 7-6.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jalen Williams could be available for NBA Finals if Thunder advance
May 18, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) reacts in double overtime against the San Antonio Spurs during game one of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images Oklahoma City star Jalen Williams might be available for the NBA Finals should the Thunder advance, coach Mark Daigneault said prior to Saturday’s Game 7 at home against the San Antonio Spurs.
Williams is out with a left hamstring injury for the finale of the Western Conference showdown. The series is tied at 3-3 and the winner will face the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, which begin Wednesday.
Williams, 25, played 10 minutes off the bench in Game 6 and struggled due to the injury, scoring one point and committing two turnovers. Daigneault said Williams didn’t sustain a setback.
“He’s feeling about the same as he did,” Daigneault told reporters. “He actually came out of the game pretty good for where he is in a normal rehab. Depending on what happens tonight, if we’re fortunate enough to win and advance, he’ll continue this rehab, and we’ll take the same process as we go forward.”
Williams has played in just three games in this series and five overall in the postseason due to the hamstring injuries. He hurt the left hamstring against the Phoenix Suns in the first round and missed six straight games. He reaggravated the injury in Game 2 of the series against the Spurs.
Williams is averaging 14.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists in the postseason.
–Field Level Media
Fernando Tatis Jr. finally hits first HR of 2026
Royals 3B Maikel Garcia exits with hamstring injury
