Sports
Tigers face O's in series with sudden playoff implications
Sep 11, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Anthony Santander (25) reacts with first baseman Ryan O’Hearn (32) after hitting a home run against the Boston Red Sox in the eighth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images The Baltimore Orioles were hoping to be involved in showdowns for the American League East title late in the season.
Instead, they’re in a different kind of tussle regarding qualifying for the postseason and the Detroit Tigers are a big part of that equation.
The Tigers, who’ve surged into the middle of the AL playoff conversion, begin a three-game series in Baltimore on Friday night.
It will be critical for the fast-falling Orioles (85-68) to pick up some wins this week to at least guarantee something is still at stake in terms of the AL East when they visit the Yankees for three games next week.
While they enter Friday in the top wild-card slot, they are four back of the Yankees in the race for the East. Anthony Santander’s two-run walk-off home run gave the Orioles a 5-3 triumph against San Francisco on Thursday afternoon, a jolt of momentum that they’ll want to see grow.
“It was a good win to kind of build into these few series that are probably really important,” Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday said.
For Detroit (80-73), it’s a matter of going from one crucial series to another in quest to earn a wild-card spot.
“First off, we believe,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “We come every day to try to win the game, and we are winning a lot.”
The Tigers are flirting with a wild-card spot after sweeping three games in Kansas City from the playoff-contending Royals. That gives them a four-game winning streak and victories in five of their last six games overall.
This latest strong stretch began by winning two of three meetings with the Orioles last weekend.
“We’ve got a good group, a resilient group,” Detroit pitcher Tarik Skubal said. “I think if you just look at the season we’ve had.”
The Tigers, tied with the Minnesota Twins for the third and final AL wild-card slot, are seeking their third winning streak of five or more games this year.
“I think our team has done a really good job of just being day-by-day, game-by-game,” Skubal said. “We need to keep winning and hopefully we can control our own destiny down the stretch.”
Baltimore has won only three of its last 11 games, but Thursday’s outcome was emotional.
“We need that win right there,” Santander said. “We need that momentum for next week.”
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said that because of the team’s low scoring numbers recently, most any victory has come in a tight result.
For Friday night, both teams will have pitchers who were dominant when the teams met last weekend.
Right-hander Corbin Burnes (14-8, 3.06 ERA) will be Baltimore’s starting pitcher. He limited the Tigers to two hits and one walk in throwing seven shutout innings Saturday when the Orioles won in Detroit. That was the team’s only victory in a six-game stretch before Thursday’s dramatics.
Burnes has allowed just three earned runs in 18 innings this month, a big turnaround from a rough August when he gave up three or more runs in all five starts.
The Tigers will begin the series by sending right-hander Keider Montero (6-6, 4.60) to the mound. The rookie will be making his 16th start and 17th appearance overall. The 24-year-old has won five of his last six decisions.
Montero has something to build on after blanking the Orioles for five innings Sunday in Detroit. That stretched his scoreless streak to 14 innings after his three-hit shutout Sept. 10 against Colorado.
Detroit is 6-1 in its last seven road games. The Tigers’ last two losses away from home came in extra innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Donovan Mitchell nets 32 as Cavaliers overpower Raptors
Apr 18, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket against Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) during the first quarter of game one in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points and James Harden added 22 points and 10 assists, powering the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 126-113 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first round series Saturday.
Max Strus had 24 points off the bench and Evan Mobley scored 17 for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, who have won 11 straight playoff games over the Raptors. Game 2 is Monday in Cleveland, where Toronto is 0-8 all-time in the postseason.
Mitchell extended his league-record streak of scoring 30-plus points in a series opener to nine straight, two more than Michael Jordan had on two occasions. The Cavaliers’ largest lead was 100-76 early in the fourth quarter on a Sam Merrill 3-pointer.
RJ Barrett scored 24 points and Scottie Barnes contributed 21 points and seven assists for the fifth-seeded Raptors. Brandon Ingram added 17 points and Jamal Shead had 17 points in his playoff debut, starting for injured guard Immanuel Quickley (right hamstring strain).
Harden became the fifth player in NBA history to appear in a playoff game in 17 seasons, joining Karl Malone, John Stockton, Tony Parker and Jason Kidd. He also moved past Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird into 13th place in playoff points with 3,917.
Strus made back-to-back 3-pointers and followed with a layup in transition, giving the Cavaliers a commanding 82-60 lead midway through the third. Mitchell recorded 11 points in the period, which saw Toronto held to five made field goals.
Cleveland held a 61-54 advantage at the half, fueled by Harden’s 15 points and six assists and Mitchell’s 13 points and four assists. The Raptors had four players in double figures with Ingram scoring 13 points and Barnes, Barrett and Shead with 11 apiece.
Mitchell had eight points and a pair of assists in the first quarter, including a strip of Shead that he turned into a Strus’ layup at the buzzer and a 35-31 Cavaliers lead. Ingram and Barnes scored nine apiece.
Both teams shot the ball well, but the Cavs buried 16 of 32 from 3-point range. They also enjoyed a significant advantage at 52-36 for points in the pain.
Cavaliers backup center Thomas Bryant (left calf strain) was inactive and has not played since April 5.
–Field Level Media
Sports
LAFC, Earthquakes clash in Western Conference showdown
Mar 21, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; LAFC forward David Martinez (30) waits for gameplay to resume during the first half against Austin FC at Q2 Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images Goals will be at a premium when two of the top teams in the Western Conference meet Sunday as Los Angeles FC plays host to the San Jose Earthquakes.
Each team allowed just two goals through seven league games to lead MLS. They are also two of four teams in the league with a positive goal differential in double digits.
LAFC (5-1-1, 16 points) will be out to protect a perfect 4-0-0 home record in league play during a busy early part of the season.
In two home games during the first seven days of April, LAFC earned a 6-0 MLS victory over Orlando City and a 3-0 victory over Mexico’s Cruz Azul in CONCACAF Champions Cup play. The club absorbed its only MLS loss, 2-1 on the road against the Portland Timbers, on April 11, then went to Mexico on Tuesday and advanced against Cruz Azul with a 1-1 road tie.
While Denis Bouanga leads LAFC with four goals and eight goal contributions in MLS play, 20-year-old forward David Martinez of Venezuela has six goals across all competitions and scored twice in the first leg against Cruz Azul.
“If you guys would see training, for me it’s normal,” LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos said of Martinez’s play. “… When he has space in front of him, he goes and it’s fantastic to watch. He has this quality. David is strong. He seems little, but he’s really strong when he has courage behind him.”
Mired in mediocrity after not delivering a winning season in any of the previous 13 seasons, the Earthquakes (6-1-0, 18 points) have been reborn in just the second season under head coach Bruce Arena.
The Earthquakes are on a four-game winning streak across all competitions and are coming off a 2-0 victory over Phoenix Rising FC on Wednesday in U.S. Open Cup play. The 7-1-0 start across all competitions is the best in club history.
“We’re going to utilize our (full) roster this week,” Arena said. “If we have any aspirations of being a good team, it’s critically important that we can show that we can have depth and we can rotate our squad when it’s called upon.”
San Jose also scored three goals in each of its last two MLS games, earning a road victory over Sporting Kansas City and a home shutout win over San Diego FC on April 4.
Jack Skhan scored a pair of goals against Sporting KC, and Niko Tsakiris scored two against San Diego FC. Preston Judd leads the Earthquakes with three goals on the season, while Tsakiris has four assists.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cody Bellinger homers twice, as Yankees eclipse Royals
Apr 18, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Cody Bellinger (35) hits a two run home run against the Kansas City Royals during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Cody Bellinger homered twice and collected five RBIs Saturday afternoon, and the New York Yankees easily recorded a 13-4 victory over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Saturday afternoon.
The Yankees notched their most lopsided win this season after their previous five victories were decided in the final at-bat.
Amed Rosario hit a two-run homer, and Ben Rice hit a solo shot during a five-run third off Kansas City left-hander Noah Cameron. (1-1).
Rosario started the scoring with his two-run blast to left after a three-base error by Kansas City center fielder Kyle Isbel.
J.C. Escarra hit a fly ball to the warning track in center field, and the ball was not caught when Isbel and right fielder Jac Caglianone converged. Isbel knocked the ball out of Caglianone’s glove and was charged with a three-base error.
After Rosario’s homer, Aaron Judge walked, then Bellinger sent a first-pitch slider into the second deck in right. Rice homered two batters later when he hit a fastball into the right field seats for his third straight game with a homer.
Bellinger homered again in the sixth off Mitch Spence for a 10-0 lead. It was Bellinger’s 20th career multi-homer game and his eighth game with at least five RBIs.
Bellinger also had an RBI single in between homers. Rosario added a run-scoring single in the sixth and Escarra contributed an RBI double in the fourth.
Escarra also drove in two with his first career triple in the seventh as the Yankees collected 11 hits. Randal Grichuk added a sacrifice fly in the eighth for his first RBI with New York.
New York’s Will Warren (2-0) allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings. The right-hander matched a career-high with 11 strikeouts and walked none.
The Royals dropped their sixth straight. Kansas City was blanked until Carter Jensen hit a two-run homer in the seventh and got a two-run double from Michael Massey in the ninth.
Cameron was shelled for a career-worst seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in four innings.
Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro was tossed by second base umpire Nestor Ceja before Cameron threw a pitch after the Royals batted in the first.
–Field Level Media
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Donovan Mitchell nets 32 as Cavaliers overpower Raptors
