Sports
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder look to fluster Magic
Nov 2, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots against LA Clippers guard Norman Powell (24) and guard Terance Mann (14) during the second half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t getting too wrapped up in his team’s undefeated start.
“There’s still 76 games left,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’re not even close to what we need to be to accomplish what we want to accomplish, which is obviously winning big. So yeah, it’s cool. We’re not satisfied at all.”
Off to a 6-0 start for the first time since the franchise moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder will look to keep rolling on Monday night against the visiting Orlando Magic.
Oklahoma City is in the middle of the NBA in offensive rating, averaging 112.5 points per 100 possessions after ranking third last season.
But the Thunder are leading the NBA in defensive rating by a significant margin, allowing 95.1 points per 100 possessions. No other team in the league is allowing less than 101 entering Monday’s slate.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 26.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.8 steals in six games this season.
The biggest change for him has been his willingness to shoot from the perimeter. Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 7.2 three-point attempts, twice what he averaged last season.
Oklahoma City has won by an average of 17.7 points per game, with no game closer than a dozen points.
The Thunder are coming off a 105-92 win at the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.
Monday’s game will start a stretch in which Oklahoma City plays seven of its next eight games at home.
While the Thunder are hot, the Magic are struggling since the loss of Paolo Banchero, the top overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft — one spot ahead of Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren.
Banchero sustained a torn right oblique in Wednesday’s loss to Chicago. He’ll be re-evaluated in four to six weeks.
Orlando saw its losing streak extend to three games with a 108-85 setback to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night.
The Magic are 0-1 this season on the second night of a back-to-back, and Monday’s game will be the fourth in a five-game trip for Orlando.
Without Banchero, second-year forward Jett Howard’s role has expanded. Howard played a career-high 22 minutes in Sunday’s loss.
“Jett played with a high level of energy,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “He got his shot whenever he needed to … but we gotta sit down and guard and play defense the right way.”
The Magic could figure to be without Wendell Carter Jr., who missed Friday’s loss at Cleveland with right knee tendinitis before starting against the Mavericks.
But after less than nine minutes on the floor, Carter left the game in the second quarter. He was emotional on the bench after suffering a plantar fascia strain on his left foot.
Another Magic center, Goga Bitadze, has missed the last four games with a left foot tendon strain.
Monday’s game will be the first of two meetings this season between the Thunder and Magic. Oklahoma City swept their meetings last season. The Magic haven’t won in Oklahoma City since early in the 2020-21 season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tigers place 2B Gleyber Torres (oblique) on 10-day IL
Detroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres (25) bats a single against Texas Rangers during the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Saturday, May 2, 2026. The Detroit Tigers placed three-time All-Star second baseman Gleyber Torres on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a left oblique strain.
Torres, 29, had progressed in recent days but continued to feel pain while swinging. He was unable to serve as a pinch hitter, leading the Tigers to put him on the IL, retroactive to Monday.
“It’s a mild left oblique strain that continues to nag him,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “Obviously, Gleyber has been getting treatment and getting looked at by doctors — and it continues to be stagnant. Hopefully, this will resolve itself within a short time period, but nowadays, I don’t know.”
In his ninth MLB season, Torres is hitting .259 with two home runs, 11 RBIs and a .716 OPS in 32 games.
“I was getting better and better, but I still feel it a little bit in that area,” Torres said. “At this point, we don’t want to push it. It’s not a really big strain, so hopefully, I can get back (on a rehab assignment) in five days — not two weeks. Let’s see what’s going to happen in the next couple of days.”
Torres is a career .264 hitter with 156 homers, 526 RBIs and a .769 OPS in 1,065 games with the New York Yankees (2018-24) and Tigers.
Third baseman Jace Jung, 25, was recalled from Triple-A Toledo in a corresponding move. He has appeared in two games this season for Detroit, collecting one hit and one run in four at-bats.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tigers' Framber Valdez suspended for beaning Trevor Story
Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, on May 5, 2026, in Detroit, Michigan, with players and coaches from the Tigers and Red Sox on the field after a hit-by-pitch from Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez. Detroit Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez received a six-game suspension and an undisclosed fine Wednesday for intentionally throwing at Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story on Tuesday night.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch also received a fine and a one-game suspension, which he will serve in Wednesday night’s series finale against the visiting Red Sox. Bench coach George Lombard will fill in as manager.
Both benches emptied in the fourth inning after Story got plunked by a fastball from Valdez, earning the pitcher an ejection following the worst start of his career.
Valdez allowed a career-high 10 runs (seven earned) on nine hits, including three homers, in three-plus innings, taking the loss in the 10-3 setback.
Valdez, 32, is 2-2 with a 4.57 ERA through eight starts in his first season with Detroit, which signed him to a three-year, $115 million deal in February.
A two-time All-Star with Houston (2022, 2023), Valdez is 83-54 with a 3.41 ERA in 196 career games (174 starts) with the Astros (2018-25) and Tigers.
–Field Level Media
Sports
'Everything hurts': Michelle Wie West making first LPGA start in 3 years
Michelle Wie West watches a practice round of the 2025 Masters. Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Serving as tournament host is not what’s making Michelle Wie West nervous at this week’s Mizuho Americas Open in West Caldwell, N.J.
Wie West, 36, will tee it up in an LPGA Tour event for the first time since stepping away from competition after missing the cut at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open. She joked Wednesday that she “knew a few people” who could help her secure a spot into this week’s field, as Wie West prepares to play in next month’s U.S. Women’s Open.
After three years away from competition, Wie West was asked if the mental or physical side of the game is the most difficult to prepare for this week.
“Definitely mental. I don’t know physical. I feel pretty old right now and everything hurts. But I would say mental for sure,” Wie West said. “I get hit with moments of being nervous and I freeze up.
“To be fair, I feel like I have a lot of really good clarity on the feeling of being nervous and whatnot. But kind of getting back into the mode of playing there is really only a few things I do when I get nervous. I need to just not do them. That’s easier said than done.
“Yeah, it’s all difficult.”
A little more than a year after playing in her last LPGA Tour event, Wie West gave birth to her second child. She has spent much of the time since in various endeavors, including using events like the Mizuho Americas Open to mentor youth athletes.
The itch to compete and grow the game of golf also remains. In addition to the two upcoming events, Wie West is one of 14 women who have signed on to compete in the upcoming WTGL, the tech-infused indoor golf league co-owned by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
“I think any platform that can give LPGA players a sounding board and opportunity to showcase their talent, personalities, I think TGL is perfect for that,” Wie West said. “I think we’re going to reach new audiences hopefully.
“With the innovation and technology, I think it’s a perfect place to showcase everyone’s talents.”
Nelly Korda is the most prominent name yet to commit to the WTGL. However, like the world’s top-ranked player, Wie West hopes the league will grow to see PGA and LPGA Tour players compete together.
“From day one I got very excited about the aspect of playing co-ed matches. I think that would be really exciting,” she said. “I think these players, LPGA players, have such amazing personalities.”
–Field Level Media
