Sports
Ryan Vilade, Rays chase series-clinching win over Guardians
Apr 27, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda (8) and right fielder Ryan Vilade (26) celebrate a win over the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images Ryan Vilade had brief stints with four teams during his first three seasons in the majors. The 27-year-old outfielder looks as if he finally has found a home with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Vilade is batting .458 (11-for-24) with a .500 on-base percentage over his past 10 games for the surging Rays.
Tampa Bay continues its three-game series in Cleveland on Tuesday when Rays right-hander Nick Martinez (1-1, 2.10 ERA) takes on Guardians righty Tanner Bibee (0-3, 4.45).
Vilade was the catalyst behind the Rays’ fifth consecutive win on Monday. He produced a career-high-tying three hits and had two RBIs, including the go-ahead single in the eighth inning off Hunter Gaddis. Tampa Bay overcame a two-run deficit to pull out a 3-2 victory.
“Whenever my name is called, I want to help my team win,” Vilade said. “It’s been good and we’re getting more gritty by the day.”
Tampa Bay acquired Vilade from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for cash on Nov. 3, 2025. He only appeared in one game with the Reds after playing in seven for the St. Louis Cardinals earlier last season.
Those brief stops followed a 17-game stay with the Detroit Tigers in 2024 and a three-game stop with the Colorado Rockies in 2021. His career totals coming into this spring were nine hits in 64 at-bats (.141 average).
Vilade currently is batting .344 on the season, and he is 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position. His two-game streaks of multiple hits and an RBI are career firsts.
“Ryno really complements our team really well and helps us all over the field,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
Veteran pitcher Steven Matz, who earned the win in the series opener, also is impressed with Vilade’s contributions on and off the field.
“Ryan has such a great personality and has fit right in,” Matz said. “That’s the great thing about this group. Everyone feels like they fit in and there aren’t any cliques or anything in the clubhouse.”
Assuming he remains in the lineup on Tuesday, Vilade will try to help Martinez win a second straight start.
Martinez limited the Reds to one run in eight innings while striking out a season-high six on Wednesday. He has struggled badly in six career outings (two starts) against Cleveland, going 1-2 with an 8.56 ERA.
The Guardians have lost three in a row, their longest skid of the season, and appear to have reached a turning point after falling to .500 for the first time since March 31.
Cleveland is expected to recall former No. 1 overall draft pick Travis Bazzana from Triple-A Columbus before Tuesday game and make him its everyday second baseman. The Australian had a .287 average with two homers, 10 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 24 games with the Clippers.
“We know it’s a long season,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “We’re 30 games in. There’s a long way to go. And again, for a lot of our guys, they’re in these situations for maybe the first or second time.”
Cleveland hopes Bazzana can adapt as quickly as rookie outfielder Chase DeLauter, who hit four homers in his first three career regular-season games. DeLauter doubled in the ninth inning Monday off Bryan Baker, giving the Guardians two on with one out, but the Tampa Bay closer struck out the next two batters for his seventh save.
DeLauter has collected a hit in five of his past six contests, and he has reached base in 24 of 27 total games. He also is the eighth-hardest player to strike out in the majors.
“The moment’s not too big for him,” Vogt said. “Chase has been great all year and continues to have good at-bats.”
Once considered Cleveland’s ace in waiting, Bibee has put together strong starts in his past two outings, tossing 12 innings of two-run ball against the Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros. The Guardians are 1-5 in his six starts.
Bibee beat the Rays the first time he faced them in 2023, but he is 1-2 with a 4.21 ERA against them in four career starts. He has worked deep into games vs. Tampa Bay, averaging more than 6 1/3 innings per appearance.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Padres' Manny Machado leaves game; reason unclear
Apr 27, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (13) hits a single during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images Padres third baseman Manny Machado left San Diego’s Monday game against the visiting Chicago Cubs after the sixth inning. The cause wasn’t immediately known.
Machado grounded out to third to end the bottom of the sixth and didn’t return on defense for the seventh. He left the game with three hits, including two doubles, and three runs.
San Diego’s training staff was shown on Padres TV rubbing Machado’s left calf. Ty France moved from first base to third and Gavin Sheets was inserted at first to take Machado’s cleanup spot in the lineup.
At the time of Machado’s departure, San Diego owned a 6-5 lead.
In the past four games, including Monday, Machado went 8-for-18 (.444) with eight runs. He hit two homers and drove in five runs on Sunday in the Padres’ 12-7 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Mexico City.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Eagles exercise fifth-year options on Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith
Jan 11, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter (98) against the San Francisco 49ers in an NFC Wild Card Round game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images The Philadelphia Eagles locked up a pair of defensive starters through the 2027 season, picking up the fifth-year options of defensive tackle Jalen Carter and outside linebacker Nolan Smith on Monday.
The team faced a Friday deadline on the options for the two Georgia products.
Carter, 25, was the ninth overall pick in the 2024 draft. A Pro Bowl honoree each of the past two years, Carter is in line to make $27 million in 2027.
Smith, 25, was also selected in the first round two years ago, No. 30 overall. He is in line to receive around $13.7 million in 2027.
Both players were key performers in the Eagles’ run to the 2024-25 Super Bowl championship, as Smith had four sacks in the playoff run and Carter recorded two.
Carter has 108 tackles, 13.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and 13 passes defensed in 43 NFL games (27 starts). Last season, he logged 33 tackles, three sacks and a career-best seven passes defensed in 11 games, all starts, despite being slowed by shoulder injuries.
A triceps ailment limited Smith to 12 games, all starts, last year, and he had 31 tackles, three sacks and one fumble recovery. In 45 NFL games (22 starts), he has 91 tackles, 10.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two passes defensed.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ty France drives in 4 runs as Padres push past Cubs
Apr 27, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Ty France (25) scores ahead of the throw to Chicago Cubs catcher Moises Ballesteros (25) during the fifth inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images Ty France knocked in four runs Monday night and Manny Machado doubled twice and singled before leaving the game as the San Diego Padres rallied for a 9-7 win over the visiting Chicago Cubs.
In winning its ninth straight home game, San Diego reached four Chicago pitchers for 14 hits. Machado scored three runs before departing after his sixth-inning at-bat, possibly due to a left leg injury.
Nick Castellanos gave the Padres a 6-5 lead in the fifth when he stroked a two-run single off reliever Ben Brown (1-1), scoring Machado and France. In the seventh, France bounced a two-run triple into the left field corner that plated Xander Bogaerts and Miguel Andujar.
Randy Vasquez (3-0) got the win despite allowing a season-high five runs on five hits in five innings, walking three and fanning four. Closer Mason Miller finished the game in a non-save situation, allowing two ninth-inning runs that ended his scoreless streak at 34 2/3 innings dating back to last season.
Cubs starter Matthew Boyd lasted just four-plus innings, leaving after Machado doubled to start the fifth. Boyd was charged with five runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four.
Chicago has lost three in a row immediately after a 10-game winning streak. San Diego has won six of its past eight.
San Diego, which entered the night with just three first-inning runs in 27 games, doubled that total as Boyd struggled with his fastball command. In a frame that featured two walks, Jackson Merrill nicked him for an RBI single and France drilled a two-run ground-rule double.
Chicago answered using the long ball. Seiya Suzuki belted a solo shot to start the second, his fifth of the year, all in the past seven games. Then Moises Ballesteros cracked a grand slam with two outs in the third, his fifth of the year, to make it 5-3 Cubs.
The Padres pulled a run back in their half of the third when Andujar’s fielder’s-choice grounder scored Machado, who led off with a double.
San Diego capped its scoring in the eighth when Gavin Sheets, who replaced Machado in the cleanup spot, walloped a solo homer to right, his fourth of the year.
Suzuki and Dansby Swanson each bagged two of the Cubs’ eight hits.
–Field Level Media
Padres' Manny Machado leaves game; reason unclear
Eagles exercise fifth-year options on Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith
