Sports
Sick of losing, Yankees hope to shake slump with series vs. Twins
Jun 21, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Cody Bellinger (35) reacts after striking out in the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images The New York Yankees took the field with several players experiencing food poisoning on Wednesday, and their latest loss hardly made anyone feel better.
Coming off another difficult showing at the plate, the Yankees attempt to halt a seven-game losing streak Friday night when they host the Minnesota Twins.
New York is 12-15 since losing Aaron Judge to a fractured right rib. The Yankees are on their longest skid since dropping nine straight Aug. 12-22, 2023, after allowing four runs in the 11th inning off a 6-2 loss to Detroit that also extended their home losing streak to five.
The Yankees were outscored 22-8 by the Tigers and have been outscored 43-17 during their skid.
New York finished with seven hits Wednesday and scored twice in the ninth when Amed Rosario homered and Jazz Chisholm Jr. scored on a wild pitch. The Yankees also committed two errors, bringing their total to 18 in the past 14 games.
“There’s no way of sugarcoating it. We’re capable of way more,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Look, you have stretches where it’s tough and you’re missing some guys. But this was a really difficult week for us offensively, coupled with not playing clean enough and taking care of the ball well enough.”
During the losing streak New York is hitting .137, and over the past 14 games (3-11) the Yankees have batted .180 with 15 homers and 143 strikeouts while several regulars are slumping. Cody Bellinger is in a 5-for-46 slide, Ben Rice is in a 9-for-54 rut, Chisholm has eight hits in 40 at-bats and Paul Goldschmidt is 9-for-46.
The Yankees are hoping to get some reinforcements Friday when Trent Grisham and Ryan McMahon return from the injured list. Grisham has been out since injuring his hamstring June 12 and McMahon has not played since June 21 due to a throat infection.
Minnesota is 5-25 in its past 30 regular-season games at Yankee Stadium but enters the series with 10 wins in its past 16 games after taking two of three at Houston.
In their past 16 games, the Twins are batting .281 and have scored 96 runs while hitting 25 homers. In Wednesday’s 8-3 win, Josh Bell, Kody Clemens and Luke Keaschall homered as the Twins hit at least three homers for the 12th time.
“We’ve proved we have a really good offense,” Bell said. “Everyone feels pretty comfortable. No one feels the pressure of having to do it themselves. It feels great. Everyone can kind of relax and go and you know someone is going to come up and do the damage.”
Byron Buxton missed the series with a right hip impingement after also experiencing hip discomfort in May. He went hitless in his final eight at-bats last weekend against Colorado before sitting out and is day-to-day as of now.
New York will open the series with Gerrit Cole (2-3, 4.06 ERA), who was tagged for nine runs on 16 hits in 9 2/3 innings in his past two starts at Detroit and Boston. Cole has a 6.12 ERA in his past five starts after returning from Tommy John surgery with two scoreless outings.
The right-hander is 5-0 with a 2.43 ERA in six career starts against the Twins.
After Detroit’s trio of Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Troy Melton combined to allow two runs and four hits against the Yankees, rookie righty Mike Paredes (0-1, 4.26) pitches for Minnesota. Paredes is filling in while Bailey Ober recovers from right elbow inflammation.
Paredes has not thrown more than 75 pitches in his four starts and took the loss on Saturday when he allowed three runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings against Colorado.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Revitalized Sabrina Ionescu leads Liberty vs. league-best Lynx
Jun 28, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) dribbles against Golden State Valkyries guard-forward Kaila Charles (6) in the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images Sabrina Ionescu appears to be back, which is great news for her New York Liberty.
The Liberty (12-8), who are set to play host to the Minnesota Lynx (15-4) on Friday night, are coming off a win over the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship game.
Ionescu, a four-time All-Star, entered this week averaging just 9.5 points in eight games of a season in which she has been slowed first by a foot injury and then back pain. However, Ionescu scored a season-high 26 points against the Aces, making 5 of 13 shots from 3-point range.
“I always have belief in myself,” Ionescu said. “An injury is not going to diminish my understanding of who I am.”
One of the keys for Ionescu in the Cup final was that she attacked the rim more, which opened up her 3-point game.
If Ionescu is truly back, New York’s starting lineup — which has been in flux all year due to a variety of injuries — has been solidified. The other components are Cup final MVP Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Leonie Fiebich and rookie point guard Pauline Astier.
Meanwhile, Minnesota has a rookie point guard of its own, Olivia Miles, who averages 18.7 points, 5.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals. Miles, 23, has been so good that she is a near-lock for Rookie of the Year and a strong contender for league MVP.
On the other end of the experience scale is Lynx veteran Natasha Howard, 34. Howard is having a career year, shooting 61.1% from the floor, which leads the league (minimum seven shots per game). Howard also averages 17.7 points and a career-high 8.2 rebounds.
Those two players are a big reason why the Lynx have the best record in the WNBA. That top spot in the standings is shocking considering that Lynx star Napheesa Collier has missed the whole season following surgery on both of her ankles.
Collier, who finished second in MVP voting last year, returned to practice on Wednesday, although there is no target date for her to get back to playing games.
“We’re not at the end yet,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said of the comebacks of Collier and Dorka Juhasz (foot). “There’s more work to do.”
Reeve was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame last Saturday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Chase Burns, hard-hitting Reds get past Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers
Jul 2, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sal Stewart (27) rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images An expected elite pitching duel turned out to be a rout as Sal Stewart, Jose Trevino and T.J. Friedl homered to lead the Cincinnati Reds past Jacob Misiorowski and the host Milwaukee Brewers 7-2 on Thursday.
Chase Burns bested Misiorowski for the Reds, who snapped a four-game losing streak and averted a series sweep by salvaging the fourth contest. Trevino was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Friedl 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Garrett Mitchell homered for the Brewers, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Burns (10-1), who won his ninth consecutive decision, gave up two runs and four hits in six innings with two walks and four strikeouts.
Misiorowski (9-4) allowed five runs (one earned) on five hits in five innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out 10 to push his major league-leading total to 156.
Cincinnati solved Misiorowski early as Stewart’s one-out home run in the first gave the Reds a 1-0 lead.
He caught up with Misiorowski’s 102 mph four-seam fastball and drove it to the opposite field — with an exit velocity of 102.7 mph — an estimated 402 feet over the right-center-field fence. It was Stewart’s 17th homer.
Misiorowski struck out the other three batters in the inning.
Trevino’s three-run homer with two outs highlighted a four-run fourth to give the Reds a 5-0 lead. Noelvi Marte’s RBI single had made it 2-0 before Trevino lofted Misiorowski’s 3-2 cutter down the left field line and just over the fence for his first home run.
None of the runs were earned because first baseman Jake Bauers’ error allowed leadoff man JJ Bleday to reach base.
Mitchell’s homer leading off the fifth put Milwaukee on the board. He took Burns’ 0-1 four-seam fastball to the opposite field, down the line in left, for his seventh home run.
Brice Turang’s run-scoring double in the sixth made it 5-2.
Friedl’s third home run off Grant Anderson with two away in the seventh extended Cincinnati’s lead to 6-2. Friedl added an RBI single in the eighth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Attorney claims three teams interested in Terrion Arnold
Detroit head coach Dan Campbell speaks with recently released Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold after practice during minicamp at Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. Former Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold could have a new team before training camp, his attorney argued in court as prosecutors push to tighten restrictions on the 23-year-old free on $1 million bond.
Arnold was arrested last week and is facing charges of armed robbery and kidnapping related to an incident in February near Tampa, Fla.
Harvey Steinberg, one of Arnold’s defense attorneys, wrote in his objection to a judge in Florida those tighter restrictions — house arrest and a GPS tracking bracelet — would make it difficult for his client to land with a new team following his release by the Lions on Monday.
Arnold is not a fully vested NFL veteran and is subject to waivers, which would have allowed another team to claim him Thursday.
The court initially agreed restricting Arnold with a tracking device would not permit him to do his job. But that was hours before he was released by the Lions, changing his employment status and potentially altering the court’s opinion on the terms of his release.
“Although Mr. Arnold has been released by the Detroit Lions organization, he already has been contacted by three other NFL clubs regarding his services,” Steinberg wrote.
As of Thursday afternoon, no team has put in a claim on Arnold, per the NFL’s daily transactions report.
–Field Level Media
Revitalized Sabrina Ionescu leads Liberty vs. league-best Lynx
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