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Taylor Ward, Orioles down Astros for 5th straight win

Jul 17, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA;  Baltimore Orioles left fielder Taylor Ward (3) draws a walk with the bases loaded and third baseman Coby Mayo (16) scores against Houston Astros catcher Christian
Vazquez (2) during the third inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn ImagesJul 17, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Baltimore Orioles left fielder Taylor Ward (3) draws a walk with the bases loaded and third baseman Coby Mayo (16) scores against Houston Astros catcher Christian Vazquez (2) during the third inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Taylor Ward hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning to lift the Baltimore Orioles to a 3-2 road victory against the Houston Astros on Friday night in the first game following the All-Star break for both teams.

The Orioles extended their season-best winning streak to five games. They had barely mustered any offense until Adley Rutschman led off the eighth with a double and Ward followed with his seventh homer of the season.

Baltimore collected five hits and four walks while striking out 13 times. The Orioles began the winning streak with a 3-2 victory against the Chicago Cubs on July 9, and they’ve held all their opponents to three or fewer runs in each game of the streak.

Cam Sanders (1-0), who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, was the winning pitcher with two-thirds of an inning of relief in his Orioles debut.

Andrew Kittredge and Tyler Wells each followed Sanders with a shutout inning. Wells posted his third save despite giving up a single and a walk in the ninth.

Astros starter Peter Lambert struck out 10 batters in six innings but his efforts weren’t enough. Lambert was charged with one run on three hits with three walks.

Steven Okert struck out two in a 1-2-3 seventh before Bryan King (2-3), who allowed the eighth-inning runs, took the loss.

Yordan Alvarez drove in a run and Jeremy Pena scored both runs for the Astros. Alvarez and Pena each had two hits and two walks.

Orioles starter Dean Kremer lasted four innings, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out five.

Through seven innings, Baltimore’s only three hits were singles coming from the bottom three batters in the order — Colton Cowser, Coby Mayo and Jackson Holliday.

After Kremer walked Houston leadoff batter Pena in the first inning, Alvarez doubled in the game’s first run.

The Orioles pulled even on Pete Alonso’s two-out, bases-loaded walk in the third inning.

Houston countered in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead on Isaac Paredes’ sacrifice fly.

Baltimore stranded two more runners in the fourth, but that began a stretch with 10 consecutive Orioles batters retired prior to Rutschman’s double.

The Astros wasted a bases-loaded, one-out scoring opportunity in the seventh when Sanders came out of the Baltimore bullpen to douse the threat.

–Field Level Media

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Nolan Arenado moves closer to 2,000 hits as D-backs beat Cards

Jul 18, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) hits a two-run double against the St. Louis Cardinals in the third inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn ImagesJul 18, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) hits a two-run double against the St. Louis Cardinals in the third inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Nolan Arenado drove in two runs and moved within two hits of 2,000 for his career to lead the host Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday in Phoenix.

Arenado was 2-for-4 and Ketel Marte 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored for the Diamondbacks, who evened the three-game series at a game each and have won five of their last six.

Jimmy Crooks homered and J.J. Wetherholt was 2-for-4 with a run scored for the Cardinals, who have lost two of their last three.

Arizona starter and winner Brandon Pfaadt (4-1) allowed two runs on six hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out three in 5 1/3 innings. All four wins have come in four starts since he returned from Triple-A Reno on June 30 and his ERA in those games is 2.14

St. Louis starter Dustin May (5-7) gave up five runs and eight hits with four walks and six strikeouts over five innings in taking the loss.

Crooks’ solo homer came with one out in the ninth off Arizona closer Paul Sewald, who nonetheless picked up his 23rd save. Crooks’ third homer was estimated at 443 feet and landed deep into the right field stands.

The Diamondbacks took a 1-0 lead in the second on an opposite-field RBI single to right-center field by James McCann.

Arizona plated three runs with two out in the third to make it 4-0.

Marte scampered home from third on May’s wild pitch to make it 2-0. After Gabriel Moreno’s single and a walk to Max Kepler, Arenado lined a two-run double into the left field corner.

Marte’s RBI single in the fourth stretched the lead to 5-0.

The Cardinals scored twice in the sixth on a run-scoring single by Jordan Walker and an RBI fielder’s choice grounder from Masyn Winn.

The Diamondbacks placed outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on the 10-day injured list with a right adductor strain before the game. Catcher Adrian Del Castillo was recalled from Triple-A Reno to replace Gurriel Jr. on the roster.

–Field Level Media

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Rangers rally in 6th to edge Braves

Jul 18, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob Latz (67) reacts with catcher Kyle Higashioka (11) after defeating the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn ImagesJul 18, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob Latz (67) reacts with catcher Kyle Higashioka (11) after defeating the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Brandon Nimmo had three RBIs, including two that gave Texas the lead in the crucial four-run sixth inning, helping the visiting Rangers come from behind to beat the Atlanta Braves 7-6 on Saturday.

Nimmo went 2-for-5 to lead the Rangers’ 12-hit attack and secure a bounce-back win after Friday’s 15-1 loss. The victory evened the series between the two division leaders at one game apiece.

Texas batted around in the sixth inning to take a 7-5 lead. Evan Carter hit a two-run homer, his eighth, off reliever Tyler Kinley (5-4), to tie the game. Nimmo finished the rally with a two-run bases-loaded single against Dylan Lee.

Texas starter MacKenzie Gore (6-8) pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed five runs on six hits, one walk and three hit batsmen. He struck out seven.

Jacob Latz got the final four outs to earn his 19th save.

Atlanta starter Owen Murphy lasted only 2 2/3 innings in his first major league start. He allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks, striking out two.

Former Brave Joc Pederson wasted no time getting the Rangers on the scoreboard. He hit the fourth pitch of the game into the right field stands for a 419-foot home run. It was his 16th homer and the fourth leadoff homer.

The Braves scored four times in the second inning. Eli White hit a two-run homer, his fifth, Drake Baldwin singled in a run and Ozzie Albies drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.

Texas narrowed the lead to 4-3 with two runs in the third inning. Kyle Higashioka reached on a fielding error by left fielder Mauricio Dubon and scored on Wyatt Langford’s single. Nimmo then added an RBI single. Texas loaded the bases, but reliever Dylan Dodd kept them from scoring further when White made a long sliding catch near the right-field line.

Atlanta got one run back in the bottom half when Michael Harris II hit a solo homer, his 17th.

The Braves got a run in the seventh when Harris singled and scored on Dubon’s double.

–Field Level Media

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Bukayo Saka hat trick as England top France in wild third-place match

July 18, 2026; Miami Gardens, Florida, U.S.; England's Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring their third goal.  Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images July 18, 2026; Miami Gardens, Florida, U.S.; England’s Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring their third goal. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Bukayo Saka recorded a hat trick and Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and Jude Bellingham also scored goals as England produced a wild and crazy 6-4 victory over France in the World Cup third-place match on Saturday at Miami Gardens, Fla.

France star Kylian Mbappe scored twice to raise his total to 10 goals in this World Cup and 22 in his World Cup career. The former gives him a two-goal lead in the Golden Boot competition and the latter surpasses the career mark held by Argentina’s Lionel Messi (21).

Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele also scored goals for Les Bleus.

Both teams fell into the third-place match after semifinal losses earlier in the week. England blew a late lead in a 2-1 loss to Argentina and France was roundly outplayed in a 2-0 loss to Spain.

It looked like another long day for France after they dug a 4-0 halftime deficit before the match switched from one-sided to pinball-like excitement.

Mbappe steered France’s comeback bid by putting France on the board in the 48th minute when he received a pass from Michael Olise and sent a left-footed shot past England goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

Six minutes later, the French added another as Barcola drilled a right-footed shot past Henderson.

Mbappe was back it in the 66th minute when he sent a left-footed shot into the corner of the net. That tally made him the first player to score 10 goals in a single World Cup since Germany’s Gerd Muller in 1970.

Later, Malo Gusto was called for a foul in the box with a takedown of England’s Djed Spence in the 85th minute.

Bellingham lined up to take the penalty kick but then ceded to Saka, who stood at the spot in the 87th minute and sent a left-footed grounder into the right corner for the hat trick to give the England a 5-3 lead.

The goal proved crucial as Dembele knocked a left-footed shot into the left corner of the goal in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time to make it a one-goal match.

But Bellingham put a lid on the match with a stellar drive down field and he navigated toward the goal and booted in a right-footed shot in the eighth minute of stoppage time. It was Bellingham’s seventh goal of the World Cup.

England’s first-half barrage began with Rice’s goal two minutes, 14 seconds into the match, the second-fastest tally in the country’s World Cup history.

Rice intercepted a soft pass by France’s Desire Doue in the midfield and dribbled in and booted a hard right-footed shot past Mike Maignan.

Rice took a corner kick in the 18th minute and delivered a boot that Konsa headed inside the far post for a 2-0 lead.

The Three Lions scored again on Saka’s goal in the 37th minute. Maignan stopped the initial shot by Marcus Rashford but was well out of the net. Saka took a rebound shot that hit off a defender. Rashford then had the ball and slid it over to Saka, who sent a left-footed shot off a defender close to the net and it caromed into the goal.

Saka scored again in the first minute of first-half stoppage time by sending a left-footed shot into the right corner of the net.

Henderson made five saves for England and Maignan had four stops for France.

–Field Level Media

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