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Taj Bradley (11 K's) backed by 3 HRs as Twins top Astros

Jul 1, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Minnesota Twins left fielder Trevor Larnach (9) hits an RBI single against the Houston Astros during the fifth inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn ImagesJul 1, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Minnesota Twins left fielder Trevor Larnach (9) hits an RBI single against the Houston Astros during the fifth inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Josh Bell, Kody Clemens and Luke Keaschall belted home runs while Taj Bradley matched his career high for strikeouts as the visiting Minnesota Twins claimed the rubber match of their three-game series against the Houston Astros with an 8-3 victory on Wednesday.

Bell extended his career-high 16-game road hitting streak with a two-run blast in the top of the first inning before Clemens socked a three-run homer an inning later.

The Twins wasted little time chasing Astros right-hander Tatsuya Imai (5-4) from the mound.

Imai, who won his third consecutive decision while posting his third scoreless outing in his last start at Detroit, was ragged from the onset. He surrendered a leadoff double to Trevor Larnach and, three batters later, grooved a 2-1 slider that Bell tattooed to straightaway center field.

Bell notched his 11th homer of the season with a seismic 452-foot blast that cleared the batter’s eye. Imai followed by loading the bases with a pair of walks around a Victor Caratini single, but escaped the first inning without any additional damage. He wasn’t as fortunate in the second.

Imai walked three more batters in the second, including Keaschall and Brooks Lee, before Clemens came to the plate with one out. Clemens followed with his 14th home run, a 399-foot drive into the home bullpen in right-center that lifted the Twins to a 5-1 lead.

Imai, who needed 34 pitches to complete the first, departed after walking Bell. He allowed five runs on four hits and five walks over 1? innings, marking his third start of fewer than two innings.

Bradley (7-3) surrendered his lone run in the bottom of the first when Jose Altuve worked a leadoff walk and scored on Isaac Paredes’ double-play grounder. Bradley closed the first with a strikeout of Christian Walker, the first of 10 consecutive batters he retired via the strikeout.

Nick Allen snapped that run with a groundout to open the fifth, but Bradley closed his outing by recording a called third strike on Paredes. He worked five innings and allowed four hits and three walks with 11 strikeouts.

Larnach delivered a two-run single in the top of the fifth. Keaschall answered the Astros’ two-run sixth with a solo homer, his third, in the eighth.

–Field Level Media

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Report: McLaren signing Scott Dixon, Felix Rosenqvist for 2027 season

May 24, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; IndyCar Series driver Scott Dixon (9) during the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesMay 24, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; IndyCar Series driver Scott Dixon (9) during the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Arrow McLaren is adding proven drivers Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist to its IndyCar team for the 2027 season, ESPN reported on Wednesday.

Dixon, who turns 46 on July 22, is a six-time IndyCar Series champion who has been with Chip Ganassi Racing since 2002. The New Zealander has won at least one race in each IndyCar season from 2005-25, including the 2008 Indianapolis 500.

He collected series overall titles in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2020.

Dixon ranks 10th in the drivers’ standings with 211 points, trailing leader Alex Palou (374) of Spain by 163 points. He has one top-five finish and five top-10 finishes but no victories in 10 starts. His 59 career wins are the most among active drivers in the series.

Rosenqvist, 34, and his team since 2024, Meyer Shank Racing, announced last week that he was leaving at the end of the season without identifying the rival team.

The Swedish driver previously raced for Arrow McLaren from 2021-23.

Rosenqvist is sixth in the standings with 248 points, 126 behind Palou. Rosenqvist has one victory — the Indy 500 in the closest finish in its history — one pole, two top-five and four top-10 finishes this year.

The McLaren team’s current three drivers are Pato O’Ward, Christian Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel.

Denmark’s Lundgaard is fourth in the standings (297 points), Mexico’s O’Ward is fifth (257) and American Siegel is 21st (125). Lundgaard has two victories and seven top-10 finishes in 10 starts.

–Field Level Media

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Storm travel to Mercury carrying rare 2-game win streak

Jun 20, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Seattle Storm guard Flau'jae Johnson (4) drives between Phoenix Mercury forward Natasha Mack (4) and forward Alyssa Thomas (25)in the second half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn ImagesJun 20, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Seattle Storm guard Flau’jae Johnson (4) drives between Phoenix Mercury forward Natasha Mack (4) and forward Alyssa Thomas (25)in the second half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Less than two weeks ago, the Seattle Storm visited Phoenix in the throes of the WNBA’s longest losing streak of the year.

The Storm fell 93-73 on June 20 against the Mercury, marking their 10th straight defeat in what became an 11-game losing streak.

But look at Seattle now. The Storm visit Phoenix again Thursday night, riding two straight wins.

Seattle (5-15) upset the New York Liberty 99-88 on June 25, then handled the Atlanta Dream 105-90 on Saturday.

“There’s gonna be ups and downs, but I think we’ve had our downs and now we’re trying to grow,” said Seattle rookie Flau’jae Johnson. “As long as we keep coming out like this, we’re gonna be OK.”

During their victory over Atlanta, the Storm shot 60.3% overall and 60.9% (14 of 23) from 3-point range.

Johnson (24 points, 11 rebounds) and fellow rookie Awa Fam (21 points) led the Storm. Johnson made 9 of 12 shots with a pair of 3-pointers, and Fam shot 8-for-9, including 5 of 6 from beyond the arc.

Fellow starters Natisha Hiedeman (20 points, six assists), Dominique Malonga (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Jade Melbourne (10 points, five assists) also scored in double figures.

The Mercury also carry a two-game winning streak into Thursday, though theirs came on the road against the Indiana Fever (111-109) and Toronto Tempo (89-80).

The victory over Toronto on Saturday happened without Alyssa Thomas, who was suspended by the WNBA for one game after deeming Thomas’ hand to Caitlin Clark’s throat to be excessive during the win over the Fever.

“Our circle got smaller, but we have enough,” Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts said. “Everybody contributed and we got the win, which is most important.”

Kahleah Copper finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting against Toronto. Valeriane Ayayi had 20 points and six rebounds off the bench, while DeWanna Bonner added a double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds).

Seattle is in search of its first victory over a Western Conference opponent. The Storm have lost their first 10 games within the conference, including two against Phoenix.

The Storm also carry an eight-game road losing streak into the matchup.

–Field Level Media

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Mickey Moniak falls single shy of cycle as Rockies top Marlins

Jul 1, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies outfielder Mickey Moniak (22) celebrates after a home run in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn ImagesJul 1, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies outfielder Mickey Moniak (22) celebrates after a home run in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Mickey Moniak doubled, tripled and homered for the Colorado Rockies in a 6-3 win over the Miami Marlins in the third game of the four-game series on Wednesday evening in Denver.

Hunter Goodman and Kyle Karros also homered for Colorado, which had lost three in a row.

Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland (2-7) earned his first win since April 7 by limiting Miami to two runs and six hits over five innings. He struck out seven and walked one.

Juan Mejia and Jimmy Herget held the lead for Brennan Bernardino, who pitched the ninth for his first save of the season and second of his career.

Joe Mack hit an inside-the-park home run and Liam Hicks had two hits and scored a run for Miami, which had won two in a row and six of seven.

The Marlins also went 20-6 in June, the second time in franchise history that they won at least 20 games in a month.

Max Meyer’s bid to win his first 10 decisions for Miami this season was derailed by four unearned runs in the fourth. Meyer (9-1) allowed five runs (one earned) and six hits over six innings. He struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.

Moniak was the second batter in the bottom of the first and hit the second pitch he saw over the fence in center for a 1-0 lead.

Hicks singled with one out in the fourth and Heriberto Hernandez doubled down the left-field line to put runners on second and third. Javier Sanoja then lined a 3-2 pitch into the gap in right-center field for a two-run triple that gave the Marlins a 2-1 lead.

Freeland bounced back to strike out Kyle Stowers and got Leo Jimenez to line out to center to strand Sanoja at third.

Freeland also pitched out of trouble in the fifth after surrendering back-to-back one-out singles.

Colorado put its first two runners on base in its half of the fifth, the second on an error by Sanoja at second, before Moniak came up with two outs and tripled into the right-center field gap to move Colorado back ahead 3-2.

Goodman then hit a towering fly ball over the fence in left for a two-run homer that made it 5-2.

Mack pinch hit for Brian Navarreto to start the seventh and hit the ball off the wall in center. It took an odd bounce, allowing him to circle the bases for an inside-the-park home run that cut the lead to 5-3.

Karros got the run back when he homered to center to lead off the seventh to make it 6-3.

–Field Level Media

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