Sports
Struggling Butler hopes trip to Georgetown sparks turnaround
Butler Bulldogs forward Jahmyl Telfort (11) reacts to missing a 3-pointer Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, during an NCAA men’s basketball game between the Butler Bulldogs and the Marquette Golden Eagles at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Since joining the Big East, Butler has experienced great success in the nation’s capital and will hope that trend continues Friday when they visit Georgetown in a matchup of two teams in dire need of a victory.
Butler (9-12, 2-8) has matched its worst 10-game start in the Big East since its inaugural season of 2013-14. Despite forcing overtime in an eventual 80-78 loss at then-No. 19 UConn on Jan. 21, the Bulldogs remain winless on the road.
If there was ever a spot for Thad Matta to right the ship away from home, it’s at Georgetown.
Since returning to Butler, Matta has guided the Bulldogs to two convincing wins in Washington. Last season Butler won 90-66 after registering an 80-51 victory in 2023.
Overall, Butler is 8-3 at Georgetown and has won eight straight on Georgetown’s primary home court at Capital One Arena downtown. Butler did drop its lone visit to the Hoyas’ on-campus arena in 2021.
On Tuesday, Butler let a halftime lead slip away in a 78-69 loss to No. 9 Marquette despite Jahmyl Telfort’s 24 points. The Bulldogs shot 57.1 percent in the first half but cooled off to 25.8 percent after the break.
“There comes a point where you’re struggling to score and especially when you’re playing a team like Marquette it starts to weigh on your defense,” Matta said.
“It starts to wear you down defensively. As a coach you don’t want that to happen.”
If there’s a team that knows all too well about struggling to score, it’s Georgetown.
The Hoyas (13-8, 4-6) have lost six of seven and scored their fewest points in a game since the 2012-13 season in Tuesday’s 66-41 loss to No. 15 St. John’s.
It left coach Ed Cooley searching for answers as to how to improve the offensive output.
“It could be a lot of different things,” Cooley said after the Hoyas were held below 70 points for the ninth time in 10 conference games.
“… 41 points in a high-major game. We scored 60-something points in our last game. I don’t know if we got to 70 since December in a Big East game. We need to look at our offense, our shot selection.”
Malik Mack was the only Hoya in double figures with 13 points but committed six of Georgetown’s 16 turnovers. The Hoyas had a season-low six assists and shot 24.6 percent from the field. Georgetown has shot less than 50 percent from the field in eight consecutive games, going 2-6.
Leading scorer Thomas Sorber (14.5 ppg) earned his fifth Big East Freshman of the Week award on Monday. Butler is led by Telfort (16.2 ppg) and Pierre Brooks II (14.9).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Trevor Rogers yields 1 hit in 7 innings, Orioles edge Dodgers
Jun 20, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Leody Taveras (30) runs to third during the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn Images Left-hander Trevor Rogers gave up one hit over seven scoreless innings and Blaze Alexander had a two-run double as the visiting Baltimore Orioles escaped with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.
Rogers (4-7) took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and finished with two walks and six strikeouts.
The Orioles improved to 2-3 on a West Coast road trip that started in Seattle and concludes against the Los Angeles Angels this coming week.
Los Angeles right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-5) went six innings as he was unable to reprise his near no-hitter at Baltimore last season. He allowed three runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
After missing one game for the birth of his second child, the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani returned to the leadoff spot and hit a home run in the ninth inning. Tommy Edman had a pair of singles for Los Angeles, which saw its four-game winning streak come to an end.
The Orioles jumped in front 1-0 in the second when Leody Taveras and Colton Cowser led off the inning with consecutive singles to put runners on the corners. Coby Mayo’s groundout scored Taveras.
Baltimore increased the advantage in the fourth inning. Again they opened an inning with consecutive singles, this time from Samuel Basallo and Taveras. After Mayo walked with one out to load the bases, Alexander hit a two-out double down the third base line to score a pair of runs for a 3-0 lead.
Rogers cruised into the fifth inning where he gave up his first hit of the game on a two-out single to center from Edman.
Rogers’ only scare came in the seventh inning when he walked Mookie Betts with two outs before Miguel Rojas hit a ball to the base of the center field wall that was caught by Cowser.
The Dodgers pulled within a run in the ninth when Ohtani hit a home run, his 16th of the season, and Edman’s line drive was dropped by Taveras with two outs, allowing a second run to score. Right-hander Yennier Cano finished off his first save by striking out Kyle Tucker to strand runners on the corners.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Angels' bullpen gets redemption in combined shutout of Athletics
Jun 20, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Walbert Urena (57) throws a pitch against the Athletics during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel delivered consecutive two-run doubles in a four-run sixth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels record an easy 7-0 victory over the Athletics on Saturday night at West Sacramento, Calif.
Denzer Guzman homered and Jo Adell and Donovan Walton had three apiece hits as the Angels ended a streak of five consecutive losses against the Athletics. Tyler Heineman added two hits for Los Angeles, which won for just the second time in the past seven contests.
Los Angeles blew a seven-run lead in Friday’s 12-11, 10-inning loss to the A’s and once again led by seven on Saturday. This time, the bullpen came through as Samy Natera Jr. (one hit and two strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings), Ryan Zeferjan (three strikeouts in 1 2/3 frames) and Kirby Yates (two strikeouts in one inning) combined to fan seven and allow just one hit over four scoreless innings.
Walbert Urena (5-5) gave up four hits over five scoreless innings. He struck out six and walked none.
J.T. Ginn (5-4) of the Athletics was charged with four runs and seven hits over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked three.
Ginn famously took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Angels on May 18 in Anaheim. He lost the no-hitter to Adam Frazier’s single and then the game on Neto’s two-run walk-off homer.
Zack Gelof of the A’s sat out one night after being hit in the head with a pitch. Gelof owns a career-best 23-game hitting streak, the top active run in the majors.
Adell led off the second inning with a double and Wade Meckler followed with a walk. One out later, Walton hit an RBI single to right and Jose Siri followed with a sacrifice fly to left to make it 2-0.
The Angels knocked Ginn out of the game in the sixth behind one-out singles by Walton and Siri. Scott Barlow entered and allowed a bloop single to Heineman to load the bases.
Neto then stroked a two-run double inside the third-base line and Schanuel followed with a two-run double inside the first-base line to make it 6-0.
Guzman homered to left in the seventh, his second blast in as many games.
The Athletics loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh but didn’t get the big hit they needed as Shea Langeliers grounded out to second.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Byron Buxton slam in 10-run fifth propels Twins to rout of Diamondbacks
Jun 20, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton (25) hits a grand slam against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fifth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Byron Buxton’s grand slam highlighted a 10-run fifth inning for the Minnesota Twins, allowing them to coast to a 16-8 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night in Phoenix.
Brooks Lee had four hits, three runs scored and two RBIs, Victor Caratini had three hits, three RBIs and three runs scored, Ryan Kreidler had three hits and four RBIs, and Luke Keaschall also had three hits and scored three times for Minnesota, which has won five of six.
Twins starter Taj Bradley (6-3) allowed two runs and three hits over five innings. He struck out four and walked two.
Jorge Barrosa homered and doubled, Pavin Smith had two hits and an RBI, Tommy Troy had two hits and a run scored, and Ildemaro Vargas delivered a three-run double for Arizona, which had won four of five.
Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen (3-6) surrendered career highs of nine runs and 12 hits over four innings. The 2023 NL All Star struck out two and walked two.
Lee’s two-run single in the first gave the Twins an early 2-0 lead.
Gallen retired eight in a row before back-to-back soft-hit singles and a swinging bunt by Keaschall loaded the bases for Kreidler, who rolled a grounder up the middle that second baseman Ketel Marte could only knock down, extending the lead to 3-0.
Trevor Larnach followed with the fifth straight single for the Twins, driving in a pair of runs for a 5-0 lead.
After Gallen got the second out, Kody Clemens dropped a single into left-center field to score Kreidler and make it 6-0.
Lee began the 10-run fifth with a triple into the right-field corner. He scored when Caratini doubled into the right-center field gap to make it 7-0.
A single by Keaschall put runners on the corners, still with no outs, and ended Gallen’s night.
The Twins continued to pad their lead against Yilber Diaz, loading the bases for Buxton, who went the other way for a grand slam over the right-field fence, extending the lead to 12-0.
A two-run single from Caratine and a two-run triple from Kreidler capped off the massive inning,
Barrosa went deep with a runner aboard in the fifth to cut it to 16-2. The D-Backs plated another run when the first four batters of the seventh walked and then scored three on Vargas’ double to make it 16-6.
Smith cut it to 16-7 with a two-out RBI single later in the inning, and Arizona tacked on another run in the eighth on a run-scoring groundout to make it 16-8.
–Field Level Media
Trevor Rogers yields 1 hit in 7 innings, Orioles edge Dodgers
Angels' bullpen gets redemption in combined shutout of Athletics
