Sports
Round-up: Early HRs off Justin Verlander lead Yankees past Tigers
Mar 12, 2026; Lakeland, Florida, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (35) throws during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images Detroit Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander gave up back-to-back home runs to Jasson Dominguez and J.C. Escarra in the first inning and the New York Yankees came away with a 4-3 victory at Lakeland, Fla.
In his second start of the spring, Verlander allowed three solo home runs in 3 1/3 innings (61 pitches). The 43-year old, who has returned to Detroit after spending parts of nine seasons pitching for the Houston Astros, the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants since departing, had five strikeouts. He has allowed five runs with nine strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings this spring.
Yankees right-hander Will Warren continued his outstanding spring, allowing two runs on twi hits over six innings with no walks. He gave up a home run to the Tigers’ Zach McKinstry to shave the Yankees’ lead to 3-2 in the fifth inning.
Detroit tied the game in the bottom of the eighth on a Jude Warwick sacrifice fly, but a bases-loaded walk to Yankees minor leaguer Joshua Moylan pushed across the game-winning run in the top of the ninth.
Seth Brown also homered off Verlander with one out in the second inning.
Cardinals 3, Mets 1
Nelson Velazquez hit a two-run home run off New York starter Sean Manaea in the bottom of the first inning as St. Louis edged the Mets in Jupiter, Fla.
New Mets infielder Jorge Polanco greeted Cardinals starter Michael McGreevey by launching a solo home run as the second batter of the game. it was the only run allowed by McGreevey, who gave up four hits and one walk with three strikeouts in five innings.
St. Louis first baseman Alec Burleson added an RBI single in the second inning. Nolan Gorman doubled and tripled off Manaea, but was stranded on both occasions.
Phillies 8, Blue Jays 5, 8 innings
Philadelphia roughed up a pair of Toronto minor league pitchers, scoring eight runs over the first three innings for the victory in Clearwater, Fla.
Phillies’ All-Star shortstop Trea Turner contributed a two-run RBI double to right in the second inning and Alec Bohm blasted a 422-foot solo home run in a four-run third.
Philadelphia starter Jesus Luzardo, who just signed a five-year contract extension worth $135 million on Tuesday, gave up a first-inning home run to Blue Jays’ backup catcher Tyler Heineman and allowed three runs in 3 2/3 innings. Heineman reached base three times, with two hits and a walk and scored three runs.
Twins 8, Red Sox 5
Rayne Doncon hit a three-run triple with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to snap a 5-5 tie as Minnesota prevailed over Boston in a battle of teams based in Fort Myers, Fla.
After Twins infielder Orlando Arcia hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 4-3 lead, the Red Sox pushed across a pair of runs in the top of the eighth to retake the lead. The lead changed hands four times over the final four innings.
Boston shortstop Trevor Story went 3-for-4, scored a run and increased his spring average to .400.
Twins’ starter Bailey Ober, who is trying to rebound from an injury-plagued 2025 season, continued his slow ramp-up to the regular season by throwing 2 1/3 innings and allowing one run on five hits. Ober had two strikeouts with one walk in 53 pitches during his second outing of the spring.
Ryan Jeffers was one of four Twins with two hits and drove in runs in the first and third innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Aaron Judge baseball card sells for modern-day record $5.2M
Feb 24, 2026; Dunedin, Florida, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) looks on against the Toronto Blue Jays during the second inning at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge’s value on the field extends to his baseball cards, with a unique 2013 card breaking the modern-day record by selling for $5.2 million.
Fanatics Collect announced Thursday that it had brokered the private sale of a 2013 Judge Bowman Chrome Draft Superfractor card that is signed and is one of one. The buyer and seller requested to remain private.
“We’re incredibly honored to have brokered this record-breaking deal and to be part of such a momentous moment in hobby history,” Fanatics Collect said in a statement.
The previous record for the publicly known sale of a modern-day baseball card was the 2020 purchase price of $3.936 million for a one-of-one card — the 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Superfractor — signed by Los Angeles Angels star outfielder Mike Trout.
A Shohei Ohtani card featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar slugger and pitcher sold for $3 million in December.
The Judge card — released four years before his official rookie cards — rocketed in value since it was last sold for $324,000 through a Fanatics Premier auction in 2022. The Yankees selected Judge in the first round (32nd overall) of the 2013 MLB Draft.
Judge, 33, made his major league debut in August 2016. He became the 2017 American League Rookie of the Year, a three-time AL MVP (2022, 2024, 2025) and a seven-time All-Star.
Last season, he led the majors with a .331 batting average, .457 on-base percentage and .668 slugging percentage and drew an AL-best 124 walks.
According to Card Ladder, the largest sale of all time was $12.9 million for a 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant dual NBA Logoman patch autograph card, also one of one, on Aug. 23, 2025 through Heritage auction.
The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle SGC 9.5 grade, sold for $12.6 million on Aug. 28, 2022, is second overall as the top baseball card on the list.
The Judge card, tied for seventh overall, might not hold the honor of most expensive modern-day card for long. Fanatics Collect currently is auctioning the 2025 Topps Chrome Dual MVP Ohtani & Judge Gold MLB Logoman Auto 1/1. The auction closes March 19 and bids already have exceeded seven figures.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Iowa State tramples Texas Tech to reach Big 12 semifinals
Mar 12, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Christian Anderson (4) protects the ball from Iowa State Cyclones forward Blake Buchanan (23) during the first half at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images Tamin Lipsey scored 20 points to help fifth-seeded Iowa State roll to a 75-53 victory over fourth-seeded Texas Tech on Thursday afternoon in Kansas City and advance to the Big 12 tournament semifinals.
Joshua Jefferson added 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists as the No. 7-ranked Cyclones overcame an early 12-point deficit in the quarterfinal clash. Dominykas Pleta added 11 points off the bench as Iowa State (27-6) notched its second big performance in two days.
The Cyclones will face either top-seeded Arizona or eighth-seeded UCF in Friday’s semifinals.
LeJuan Watts had 12 points and seven rebounds and Christian Anderson scored 10 points for No. 16 Texas Tech (22-10).
The Red Raiders dropped to 3-3 since losing star big man J.T. Toppin to a season-ending ACL injury.
The Cyclones have won their two Big 12 tournament games by a combined 71 points. They were victorious by 49 points to set a Big 12 tournament record while routing Arizona State on Wednesday.
Iowa State shot 53.6% from the field, including 7 of 18 from 3-point range. The Cyclones held a 39-29 rebounding advantage.
The Red Raiders shot 33.9% and were 9 of 29 from the 3-point range.
In the second half, Iowa State shot 65.2% from the field, while Texas Tech made just 22.2%.
Iowa State turned the game into the blowout by making nine straight shots, eight coming during a 21-4 run to lead by 22.
Milan Momcilovic started the burst with a trey to give the Cyclones a 47-39 lead with 15:41 remaining. Jefferson followed with a putback, Lipsey converted a layup and Jefferson scored again to make it 53-39 with 12:31 remaining.
Jamarion Batemon and Lipsey followed with 3-pointers to push the margin to 20 with 10:39 to play.
After Texas Tech moved within 60-43, Lipsey drained a trey and Pleta added a fastbreak dunk to make it 65-43 with 8:37 to play.
Pleta later scored four straight points and Jefferson slammed home a fastbreak dunk to put the margin to 24 with 2:55 remaining.
Texas Tech was hot at the outset and a layup by Watts gave it a 17-5 lead just six-plus minutes into the game.
But the Cyclones quickly recovered with a 15-2 burst and Lipsey’s 3-pointer gave Iowa State a 20-19 edge with 9:57 left in the half.
Batemon drained a 3-pointer with three seconds left to give Iowa State a 36-33 halftime lead.
Lipsey had 10 points in the first half for the Cyclones. Watts scored 11 points for the Red Raiders and Anderson added 10.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dynamo reacquire F Aliyu Ibrahim from Crew
Feb 22, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Dynamo FC forward Aliyu Ibrahim (18) in action during the match against FC Dallas at Shell Energy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images The Houston Dynamo reacquired forward Aliyu Ibrahim from the Columbus Crew on Thursday.
In exchange for the 24-year-old Nigeria native, the Crew received $250,000 in general allocation money and up to $500,000 more in performance-based GAM.
Ibrahim played with Houston from 2023-25, tallying nine goals and five assists in 66 MLS matches (51 starts).
“We are pleased to welcome Aliyu Ibrahim back to Houston, where he played an important role during two successful seasons with our club,” Dynamo president of soccer Pat Onstad said. “As we continue evolving our system this season, we are looking to add depth to our wingback group, and Aliyu has the qualities to thrive in that role.
“His ability to cover ground, attack space and contribute on both sides of the ball fits well with the expectations of our wide players. We look forward to welcoming him and his family back to the city of Houston.”
Ibrahim had three goals and two assists in 23 appearances (12 starts) last season after being traded to the Crew in April. He has not played yet this season.
–Field Level Media
Aaron Judge baseball card sells for modern-day record $5.2M
Iowa State tramples Texas Tech to reach Big 12 semifinals
