Sports
Teams in need of slump-buster clash as Rangers host Royals
May 26, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) walks back to the dugout after striking out in the sixth inning against the New York Yankees at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images Two teams trending in the wrong direction meet when the Texas Rangers begin a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals on Friday in Arlington, Texas.
Kansas City has lost 13 of its past 16 to slip a season-low 12 games under .500. Texas has dropped six of its past seven to fall a season-worst six games under .500.
The Royals are beginning a 10-game road trip after being swept in three games by the New York Yankees. Kansas City has lost 14 straight to New York and was outscored 26-4 in the series.
“It sucks,” Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. said. “Getting swept at home and losing however many games in a row to those guys. Just a tough pill to swallow. But you move on and you get better from it. Comes down to us. How much do we want it? How bad do we want it? We can keep digging ourselves a hole, or we can come out of it.”
Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro remains confident his team is close to turning things around.
“We’re getting challenged, we’ve lost some games, but we believe in the things that we have in place,” Quatraro said. “We believe in the people we have in place. This is a tough business. It’s a tough job. When you’re losing, you’ve got to fight through it.”
Texas can empathize with Quatraro after losing three of four to the Houston Astros to begin the week. The Rangers’ first-inning struggles continued on Thursday, when the Astros scored three runs in the opening frame of a 5-1 victory.
The Texas rotation has posted a league-high 7.23 ERA in the first inning this season.
“I know it’s been a pattern that teams have been scoring in the first inning,” Rangers acting manager Luis Urueta said after Thursday’s loss. “We’ve been trying to make the adjustments.”
Urueta handled the Thursday game in place of manager Skip Schumaker, who attended his son’s high school graduation.
Left-hander MacKenzie Gore (3-4, 4.42 ERA) will take the mound for Texas in the series opener. He allowed one run on one hit over six innings in a no-decision against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.
Gore, 27, has gone 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA over his past three starts after battling inconsistency early this season.
“I’ve seen a really good MacKenzie Gore this year,” Schumaker said. “He’s had a couple bad ones, but he’s human, and you’re allowed to have those. I think you’re going to see more of these types of outings for the remainder of the year.”
Starling Marte is 5-for-13 (.385) with a home run against Gore, whose only previous start vs. Kansas City came as a member of the Washington Nationals on May 28, 2023. Gore received a no-decision after allowing one run and striking out 11 over seven innings.
The Royals will counter with right-hander Stephen Kolek (3-0, 2.77), who recorded his second career shutout in a 5-0 home win over Seattle on Saturday.
Kolek, 29, limited the Mariners to four hits and one walk while fanning two. He threw a career-high 108 pitches.
Jake Burger is 3-for-3 against Kolek, who is 0-1 with an 8.10 ERA in two career games (one start) covering 6 2/3 innings vs. Texas.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Two late homers carry Alabama past UCLA at WCWS
A softball is pitched during a Women’s College World Series softball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Texas Longhorns at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Thursday, May 28, 2026. Tennessee won 6-3. Brooke Wells hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the sixth inning, leading Alabama to a 6-3 win over UCLA in an opening-round game of the Women’s College World Series on Thursday in Oklahoma City.
The Bruins led 3-1 before Alexis Pupillo socked a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
Wells finished 2-for-4 for the Crimson Tide (55-7), who will oppose either Arkansas or Nebraska in a winners-bracket game in Bracket 2 on Saturday. The Razorbacks and Cornhuskers were set to play late Thursday night, with the loser due to oppose the Bruins on Friday in an elimination game.
Alabama’s Jena Young went 3-for-3 and scored three runs. Jocelyn Briski pitched all seven innings for the Crimson Tide, striking out nine without a walk. She permitted three runs on six hits.
Rylee Slimp hit a two-run homer in the second inning for UCLA (52-9), and the next batter, Megan Grant, also went deep. Taylor Tinsley threw a complete game, yielding six runs on 10 hits in six innings. She fanned five and walked two.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bases-loaded walk sends Blue Jays to victory over Orioles
May 28, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Taylor Ward (3) slides into third base safely past Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto (7) during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images Pinch hitter Yohendrick Pinango drew a tiebreaking bases-loaded walk in the eighth inning as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the host Baltimore Orioles 2-1 on Thursday in the first matchup of the season between the American League East teams.
The Blue Jays won their third game in a row and captured their seventh victory in a nine-game stretch.
Toronto’s Andres Gimenez and Baltimore’s Coby Mayo hit solo home runs.
The only player in the game with more than one hit was the Orioles’ Taylor Ward, who secured his second hit with a single to lead off the bottom of the eighth. He reached second base on Pete Alonso’s two-out single, but Louis Varland took over on the mound and picked off Alonso to end the frame.
Baltimore, which was coming off a three-game sweep of the AL-best Tampa Bay Rays, held an 8-6 edge in hits.
Jeff Hoffman (4-3) was the winning pitcher with one scoreless inning of relief. Varland recorded four outs for his eighth save despite yielding Leody Taveras’ one-out single in the ninth.
Baltimore reliever Anthony Nunez (2-2) walked three in his lone inning. Cameron Weston made his major league debut by pitching a scoreless ninth for the Orioles.
Blue Jays starter Patrick Corbin worked five-plus innings and gave up one run on four hits and one walk. He struck out four.
Orioles starter Chris Bassitt limited his former team to one run on four hits and one walk across six innings. He fanned two.
Gimenez led off the third inning with his sixth home run. Mayo pulled the Orioles even, also delivering his sixth long ball of the season, with two outs in the fourth.
George Springer opened the Toronto eighth with a double, and an intentional walk of Vladimir Guerrero and a walk issued to Daulton Varsho loaded the bases with one out. Kazuma Okamoto struck out before Nunez walked Pinango, sending Springer across the plate with what became the winning run.
The teams combined to go 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Arizona F Koa Peat remains in draft as 38 early entrants withdraw
Apr 4, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat (10) is defended by Michigan Wolverines guard Nimari Burnett (4) and Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) in the second half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images Forward Koa Peat, a projected first-round pick, will remain in the 2026 NBA Draft and will not return to Arizona for his sophomore season.
Peat’s decision was one of the handful still unknown before the NBA on Thursday released a list of 38 early-entry candidates who withdrew from the draft pool.
The 6-foot-8 Peat, who admitted he struggled at the NBA Draft Combine, averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists while helping to lead the Wildcats to the Big 12 regular-season and conference titles.
The Arizona native raised his game during the NCAA Tournament, averaging 17.2 points and 7.6 boards in five games as the Wildcats advanced to the Final Four before falling to Michigan.
While Peat heads to the pros, many of the early-entry candidates that withdrew will change uniforms in the college ranks as they entered the transfer portal at the same time as testing the draft waters.
Iowa State forward Milan Momcilovic may be the single most sought-after player in the group, with recent reports naming Arizona, Kentucky, Louisville and St. John’s as his suitors. Ex-Kansas big man Flory Bidunga is already committed to Louisville, as is Southern California 7-foot-5 center Gabe Dynes.
Earlier this week, Billy Richmond III reportedly changed course at the last minute and chose to return for another year at Arkansas.
And most recently, Baylor guard Tounde Yessoufou withdrew from the draft Thursday and announced his commitment to St. John’s. A five-star recruit last year, Yessoufou averaged 17.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for the Bears as a freshman.
The list included three international players taking their names out of consideration: Bassala Bagayoko (Bilbao, Spain), Marc-Owen Fodzo Dada (Nancy, France) and Alexandros Samodurov (Panathinaikos, Greece). North Carolina is reported to have interest in Samodurov, a power forward.
Players withdrawing from draft (with 2025-26 school):
Matt Able, North Carolina State
Amari Allen, Alabama
Alijah Arenas, USC
Flory Bidunga, Kansas
Finley Bizjack, Butler
John Blackwell, Wisconsin
Shane Blakeney, Drexel
Anton Bonke, Charlotte
Rowan Brumbaugh, Tulane
Elliot Cadeau, Michigan
Rueben Chinyelu, Florida
Jacob Cofie, USC
Cruz Davis, Hofstra
Kennard Davis Jr., BYU
Keanu Dawes, Utah
Gabe Dynes, USC
Eian Elmer, Miami (Ohio)
Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State
Colby Garland, San Jose State
Juke Harris, Wake Forest
Isiah Harwell, Houston
Lou Hutchinson, Alabama A&M
Acaden Lewis, Villanova
John Mobley Jr., Ohio State
Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State
Malachi Moreno, Kentucky
Paulius Murauskas, Saint Mary’s
Dennis Parker Jr., Radford
Sebastian Rancik, Colorado
Billy Richmond III, Arkansas
Andrej Stojakovic, Illinois
Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt
Aiden Tobiason, Temple
LeJuan Watts, Texas Tech
Tounde Yessoufou, Baylor
–Field Level Media
Two late homers carry Alabama past UCLA at WCWS
Bases-loaded walk sends Blue Jays to victory over Orioles
