Sports
Roki Sasaki fires 7 strong innings as Dodgers down Mets
Jul 24, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) follows through on a double against the New York Mets during the fifth inning at Citi Field. Ohtani was thrown out at third base attempting to stretch the double into a triple. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Roki Sasaki struck out nine and allowed just one run over seven innings, earning his first win in two months as the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Mets 4-2 on Friday.
Kyle Tucker went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer in the eighth that gave the Dodgers some breathing room. Freddie Freeman finished 3-for-4, scoring twice, and Shohei Ohtani (2-for-4) hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh that put Los Angeles on top for the first time.
Luis Robert Jr. hit a solo homer off Sasaki (4-5) in the second inning for the Mets, who collected only four hits. Francisco Alvarez added a solo shot off Evan Phillips in the eighth.
Los Angeles’ Tanner Scott pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 16th save.
Most of the game was a pitchers’ duel between two starters with ERAs higher than 4.70. Sasaki matched his season high by going seven innings for the third time. The right-hander’s nine strikeouts were his second-highest total in 2026.
Sasaki permitted three hits, walked two and retired the last nine batters he faced.
Sasaki needed to be sharp as Sean Manaea gave up just a run over six innings while fanning three. The Dodgers got leadoff hits in five of those innings, but the Mets left-hander, who allowed six hits and two walks, benefited from a couple big throws by Carson Benge.
The Mets right fielder cut down Ohtani trying to extend a leadoff double into a triple in the fifth. An inning later, after catching a Miguel Rojas fly ball, he got Freeman on a one-hop throw to the plate to secure an inning-ending double play.
Los Angeles took the lead with some soft contact off Brooks Raley (4-5), who took over for Manaea in the seventh. Tucker led off with an infield single and took third on a bloop hit by Teoscar Hernandez (2-for-4).
Dalton Rushing tried a safety squeeze, but the Mets caught Tucker in a rundown. Tucker avoided being tagged long enough to let Hernandez and Rushing take second and third, respectively, allowing Ohtani to give the Dodgers the lead with his subsequent fly ball to center.
New York’s Juan Soto left in the sixth inning because of a sore left calf, the same issue that prompted the Mets to give him the day off Wednesday. After the game, the team announced that Soto would undergo imaging Saturday on his calf.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Austin eyes first road win in Copa Tejas clash vs. Dynamo
May 10, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Austin FC forward Myrto Uzuni (10) celebrates his goal after a free kick against the Minnesota United FC during the first half at Allianz Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images Austin FC look to parlay one of their best performances of the season into a rare winning streak Saturday at the Houston Dynamo in the Copa Tejas clash between the Lone Star State rivals.
The Verde (4-7-5, 17 points) head south after a rousing 3-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday in their return from the two-month World Cup break. Austin FC snapped a four-match winless streak (0-3-1) and will be looking to capture back-to-back wins for just the second time this year.
Ilie Sanchez, Myrto Uzuni and Christian Ramirez found the net as Austin matched its season-high for goals. Eighteen-year-old Ervin Torres entered as a substitute in the 84th minute and assisted on the final two tallies.
Torres, the first player in Austin FC history to ascend from the team’s academy to its MLS Next Pro team and onto the top unit, provided a glimpse of the future for the Verde. His performance was as eye-opening for interim head coach Davy Arnaud as it was to the rest of the league.
“We’ve seen stuff like this from Ervin at training, so it wasn’t — I don’t want to say it wasn’t a surprise,” Arnaud said about Torres. “It always is when you see it for the first time (in a game). But he has that ability.”
Uzuni leads the Verde in goals (six) and goal contributions (11) in 14 games.
Austin remains the only MLS team without a road victory and has dropped three of its last four visits to Shell Energy Stadium.
The Dynamo (7-6-2, 23 points) were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with D.C. United on Wednesday in their return from break. Hector Herrera had Houston’s goal in the 40th minute as the Dynamo extended their home unbeaten streak to four (3-0-1).
“We played well enough to win the game, and we felt like we should have gotten the three points,” Houston head coach Ben Olsen said. “But that’s on us — you’ve got to go get that second goal, go score that third goal. We just have to be better — it’s up to us to put the game away.
“We have to shake it off because we have a quick one (Saturday) against a good Austin team.”
Guilherme paces the Dynamo with eight goals and five assists. Houston is 3-1-2 since a 2-0 loss at Austin on April 25.
The teams have split four of their past five matches, with each winning twice along with one draw.
–Field Level Media
Sports
St. Louis City aim for 7-game points streak vs. Rapids
Jul 22, 2026; Carson, California, USA; St. Louis CITY SC goalkeeper Roman Burki (1) reacts against LA Galaxy during the second half at Dignity Health Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Griffin Hooper-Imagn Images St. Louis City SC will try to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches when the Colorado Rapids visit on Saturday.
St. Louis is 5-0-1 over its last six regular-season games, in a streak that began with a 1-0 victory over the Rapids on May 9. After scoring only 13 times in their first 13 games of the season, St. Louis City (6-6-4, 22 points) have tallied three goals in each of their last three matches.
While it took a while for the offensive progress to emerge, midfielder Chris Durkin felt his team has had “a sense of direction and structure” all season.
“We were producing good moments, but we just couldn’t get those over the line,” Durkin said. “And now that the ball is going in the back of the net, there’s a level of expectation when we get on the field that, ‘Hey, we can get something out of this.'”
That “expectation” has spread over the whole roster, as Durkin noted that “a lot of people are chipping in to help” the attack. Marcel Hartel leads St. Louis with five goals, but 13 different players have scored at least one goal.
Midfielder Conrad Wallem is available Saturday after missing the Galaxy match due to concussion protocol.
The Rapids (6-9-1, 19 points) are hoping to emulate St. Louis’ string of consistent results. Colorado hasn’t collected points in consecutive regular-season games since Feb. 28-March 7.
The stirring nature of Wednesday’s 1-0 win over San Diego FC might be the spark Colorado has needed. Playing in his first MLS match, defender Loic Williams scored the deciding goal six minutes into second-half stoppage time.
“To get a clean sheet, a win and to also score a last-second winner … you can’t ask for anything better than that,” goalkeeper Nico Hansen said. “So of course you know the vibes and the morale was very good in the locker room after.”
Wayne Frederick and Miguel Navarro are available Saturday after being suspended for the San Diego match. Frederick returns to action with a new contract, as the midfielder signed an extension Friday that will keep him in Colorado through at least the 2029-30 season.
Rafael Navarro leads the Rapids with eight goals. Frederick, Paxten Aaronson and Dante Sealy share the team lead with five assists apiece.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Top goal scorer Petar Musa, Dallas seek first win over San Diego
Jul 22, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; FC Dallas offense Petar Musa (9) and Portland Timbers defense Brandon Bye (5) battle for the ball in the second half at Providence Park. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images FC Dallas will attempt to defeat San Diego FC for the first time when the teams match up Saturday night in Southern California.
Dallas’ trip to San Diego last season was highly forgettable as it was drubbed 5-0 by the then-expansion franchise.
San Diego posted a 3-2 road win over Dallas last season and the two teams played to a 3-3 tie in Frisco, Texas, earlier this season.
In this year’s match, Dallas star Petar Musa scored the tying goal in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time to complete a hat trick.
Musa scored a second-half goal in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw against the host Portland Timbers, in the team’s first match after the two-month break for the World Cup. He is officially tied for the league lead with 13 goals but now stands alone as the leader after Chicago transferred Hugo Cuypers (also with 13) to Monterrey of Liga MX on Thursday.
Patrickson Delgado scored in first-half stoppage time for the other goal for Dallas (7-4-5, 26 points), which is tied for fourth place in the Western Conference.
“We know from the first half of the season we can beat anybody,” Dallas head coach Eric Quill told reporters earlier this week. “There’s no question about who we are.”
San Diego (4-7-5, 17 points) has struggled most of the campaign after surprisingly winning the West in its first season. The club is tied for 13th in the 15-team conference entering Saturday’s play.
The resumption of play after the break continued their issues. Colorado’s Loic Williams scored in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time to give the Rapids a 1-0 home win over San Diego.
San Diego head coach Mikey Varas wore a brave face after the match.
“We got a game in three days,” Varas said to reporters, “so we have to get our legs and minds and our body right and then turn this around really quick.”
Marcus Ingvartsen leads San Diego with 11 goals.
San Diego made a move to spruce up the attack Friday by signing Tunisia World Cup starter Elias Achouri through the 2028-29 season.
The 27-year-old forward still needs to get a visa before he can play for San Diego. He started all three of Tunisia’s group play matches in the World Cup.
–Field Level Media
Austin eyes first road win in Copa Tejas clash vs. Dynamo
St. Louis City aim for 7-game points streak vs. Rapids
