Sports
Short-handed Spurs battle Suns in Kevin Durant's return to Austin
University of Texas freshman Kevin Durant walks off the Erwin Center court after playing Texas Tech on Feb. 20, 2007. The San Antonio Spurs will be the de facto home team when they square off against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday in Austin, Texas, but they won’t have the game’s most popular player in their huddle.
That’s because the contest will be a homecoming for the Suns’ Kevin Durant. It will mark the first time the former collegiate player of the year has played as a professional in Austin, where he starred for the University of Texas in 2006-07 during his lone college season.
Thursday marks the first of two games for the Spurs in the Texas capital on consecutive nights; San Antonio plays Detroit at the University of Texas’ Moody Center on Friday.
The Spurs won’t have Victor Wembanyama after the shocking announcement Thursday that the All-Star center is expected to miss the rest of the season with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. He had been listed as questionable for the game due to an illness.
Durant said last week that Thursday’s game will “mean a lot” to the 11-time All-Star and four-time NBA scoring champ.
“I’m excited that we get to go back to play a regular-season game there,” Durant said. “Austin is a place where I kind of started this journey, and to have so many friends and family that are still there from, what, 16, 17 years ago is pretty sweet. So, I appreciate the NBA for setting this up. This is a unique time.”
The Suns return from the All-Star Break in search of a reboot. Phoenix has lost three games in a row and six of its past seven, including a 119-111 setback Feb. 12 in Houston. Durant was brilliant in defeat, scoring 37 points and dishing out a team-high nine assists, but the short-handed Suns couldn’t break their losing streak.
Bol Bol added 15 points for Phoenix, which played without Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen in the second game of a back-to-back.
With 26 wins and 28 losses at the break, the Suns have plenty of work to do over their final 28 games.
“We’ve got to think about the day ahead of us and trying to get better,” Durant said. “And figure out how to win the next game and go on from there. We expect a lot out of ourselves individually, and it just hasn’t materialized the way we want it to.
“It’s been disappointing to see us play this way.”
The Spurs return from the break also looking to get back on track after dropping three of their last four games — most recently a 116-103 loss Feb. 12 at Boston. De’Aaron Fox led San Antonio with 23 points while Wembanyama had 17 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks, and Harrison Barnes chipped in 14 points in a game the Spurs trailed by as many as 24 points.
At 23-29, San Antonio has matched its season-worst showing in relation to .500.
The Spurs have emphasized physicality and finding easy shots on offense, but they have sputtered at times — especially when teams have been able to limit Wembanyama. Now the team looks to get back on track without its second-year big man, who is averaging 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and a league-leading 3.8 blocks per game.
Adding Fox at the trade deadline was expected to help right the ship in San Antonio, but the Spurs are just 2-3 since the mercurial guard was added to the lineup.
“A lot of things that we preached and a lot of things that when we’ve had rough patches, they’ve been a common theme, so we need to improve in some of those areas,” interim coach Mitch Johnson said. “The team has made tremendous strides in their consistency and their maturity and trying to play and execute in what we ask.
“Any time you improve, expectations come with that. Any time you add a good player, expectations come with that. And I think that we will be stubborn and not skipping steps and trusting that we’re going to go about this the right way.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Alan Roden provides only runs in Twins' low-scoring defeat of A's
Jul 25, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kendry Rojas (60) throws to the Athletics in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Alan Roden delivered a two-run single in the sixth inning, and that was all the Minnesota Twins needed for a 2-0 win over the Athletics on Saturday evening in Minneapolis.
Ryan Kreidler doubled and stole a base for Minnesota, which evened the series at one win apiece. The rubber match is scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
Jeff McNeil accounted for two of the Athletics’ three hits with a pair of doubles.
Twins left-hander Taylor Rogers (6-3) earned the victory with two scoreless innings of relief. Rogers followed starter Kendrys Rojas, who allowed one hit in four scoreless innings.
Athletics right-hander Mason Barnett (1-1) allowed two runs on four hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Twins right-hander Yoendrys Gomez fired a scoreless ninth to pick up his 13th save.
After five scoreless innings, Minnesota had runners on second and third with one out in the sixth when Barnett got Victor Caratini to pop out to shallow left field for the second out of the inning.
Roden stepped to the plate and delivered a two-out, two-run single to right field. He pumped his fist as his line-drive hit found an opening between first and second base and allowed Josh Bell and Royce Lewis to score standing up.
The Athletics tried to mount a comeback in the top of the eighth.
Twins reliever Andrew Morris walked the leadoff hitter, Lawrence Butler. Morris snared a one-hop comebacker by Jacob Wilson in the next at-bat and wheeled toward second base to try to start a double play, but his throw sailed wide into right-center field.
Morris’ throwing error put runners at second and third with nobody out. He settled down after a visit from Twins pitching coach Pete Maki and retired the next three batters by striking out Nick Kurtz and Tyler Soderstrom and getting Jonah Heim to ground out to short.
That proved to be the Athletics’ last chance to tie or take the lead as they went down 1-2-3 in the ninth, finishing 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranding seven on base.
-Field Level Media
Sports
Hunter Brown in control, Astros down White Sox for 5th straight
Jul 25, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Hunter Brown (58) throws the ball against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images Hunter Brown allowed two hits over seven shutout innings and Isaac Paredes drove in three runs to lead the Houston Astros to a 4-1 win over the host Chicago White Sox on Saturday night.
Jeremy Pena was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Paredes 2-for 4 for the Astros, who have won five straight, including the first two of the three-game weekend series.
The White Sox, who managed five hits, have lost three of their last four.
They threatened in the eighth with runners on second and third and two out, but reliever Bennett Sousa replaced Bryan Abreu and got pinch hitter Randall Grichuk on a pop up to first.
After Colson Montgomery’s RBI single in the ninth, Josh Hader came in to get the last two outs for his 12th save.
Brown (2-1) finished strong, setting down 12 consecutive batters from the fourth through seventh innings. The right-hander did not walk a batter and struck out seven as he fired 60 strikes in 90 pitches.
Chicago starter Sean Burke (7-5) surrendered three runs (two earned) on four hits in six innings with a walk and 10 strikeouts.
It was a 0-0 pitcher’s duel through five with Burke also retiring 12 in a row, from the second through the fifth, but heading for trouble.
The streak was broken when Burke hit Cam Smith leading off the sixth. Pena’s single and a walk to Yordan Alvarez loaded the bases. Paredes then grounded a single to right that got past right fielder Braden Montgomery for an error that also allowed Alvarez to score, for a 3-0 Houston lead, and Paredes to reach third.
Burke then limited the damage by getting Jose Altuve on a groundout and striking out LaMonte Wade Jr. and Christian Walker.
Paredes added an RBI single in the eighth to make it 4-0.
White Sox left fielder Sam Antonnaci robbed Paredes, who was leading off the fourth, of a likely home run with a leaping catch of Paredes’ long drive by pulling the ball in just above the fence.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Robert Gasser holds Rockies in check as Brewers win
Jul 25, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Robert Gasser (54) delivers a pitch against the Colorado Rockies in the fourth inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images Cooper Pratt homered and drove in three runs, Robert Gasser tossed six solid innings, and the host Milwaukee Brewers beat the Colorado Rockies 8-5 on Saturday night.
Luis Lara had two hits and also drove in three runs, Jake Bauers contributed two hits and scored three times and Brice Turang added two hits for Milwaukee.
The Brewers have won four of five games from Colorado this season, with the teams wrapping up the 2026 schedule Sunday.
Gasser (3-4), in his first career start against the Rockies, allowed two runs on five hits, struck out four and didn’t walk a batter.
Jake McCarthy extended his on-base streak to 19 games with a single and Kyle Karros had two hits for Colorado.
The Brewers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Bauers led off with a walk, stole second and went to third on a groundout. Lara drove him in with a sacrifice fly and Pratt hit a solo home run, his second of the season.
Colorado rallied to tie it in the fourth.
Karros led off with a single, Cole Carrigg doubled and Hunter Goodman followed with a two-run single.
Milwaukee went back in front in the bottom of the inning when Pratt drove in Bauers with a single, and then broke it open in the sixth inning.
William Contreras and Bauers started the rally with singles, chasing starter Ryan Feltner (3-5), who allowed five runs on nine hits in five-plus innings. Juan Mejia walked Garrett Mitchell to load the bases and Lara drove in two with a double to left.
Pratt’s sacrifice fly made it 6-2 and Rockies catcher Braxton Fulford’s throwing error on a pickoff attempt at third allowed Lara to come home. The Brewers tacked on a run in the eighth on Christian Yelich’s sacrifice fly.
But Colorado mounted a rally in the ninth. The Rockies loaded the bases on two walks and a fielder’s choice, and McCarthy drove in two with a single. Trevor Megill gave up an RBI single to Karros before striking out Carrigg to earn his 17th save.
–Field Level Media
Alan Roden provides only runs in Twins' low-scoring defeat of A's
Hunter Brown in control, Astros down White Sox for 5th straight
