Sports
Tigers, Orioles eager to ignite struggling offenses in opener
Detroit Tigers center fielder Matt Vierling (8) walks off the filed after struck out against Cleveland Guardians during the ninth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Thursday, May 21, 2026. The Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles will look to get their seasons untracked when they meet Friday night in Baltimore.
It’s the beginning of a 10-game homestand for the Orioles, who just finished a 1-5 road trip.
“We’ve shown that we can play with anyone,” Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz said. “We just have to allow ourselves to play with anyone. Whether it be on the pitching side, defensively, offensively. We just have to get everything clicking at once.”
The Orioles were swept in three games vs. Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Monday through Wednesday. They failed to protect a two-run lead in the eighth inning of their most recent game, a 5-3 setback to the Rays.
Albernaz called that situation “a big-time gut punch.”
Detroit, meanwhile, is in the midst of a six-game losing streak and has gone seven games in a row without scoring more than three runs.
The Tigers are coming off a 1-6 homestand that included two defeats in 10-inning games. They fell 3-1 to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday afternoon.
“We’re wearing it,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said.
The Tigers are 11 games below .500 for the first time since 2023. Detroit players insist they’re united despite the on-field woes.
“We all got to stick together, you know,” Casey Mize said. “And we are, in my opinion.”
But it’s not necessarily a happy clubhouse.
“We’re just frustrated. We’re trying. We’re doing everything we can,” outfielder Matt Vierling told The Detroit News. “We expected to be better than this, and we’re just overall frustrated. All we can do is show up tomorrow and try to win a ballgame.”
Baltimore has been held to three or fewer runs in 10 of its last 13 games. Albernaz said the Orioles have looked passive on the base paths at times.
“That’s when we lose some opportunities out there,” he said. “(We need to be) aggressive on the bases. When we’re pushing the envelope on the bases, that’s when good things happen for us.”
Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso has begun to show a power stroke, raising his home run total to nine. Five homers have been opposite-field shots.
Baltimore infielder Jackson Holliday played third base for the first time in the major leagues for one inning Wednesday. But he could bounce around the infield based on his workload in the minor leagues while on injury rehabilitation assignments.
Right-hander Chris Bassitt (3-3, 5.44 ERA) will head to the mound on Friday for Baltimore, coming off a five-inning stint in which he gave up four runs and took the loss Saturday at Washington in a 13-3 outcome. He has won in his last two starts at home.
Bassitt is 4-4 with a 3.88 ERA in 10 career starts vs. the Tigers.
Detroit right-hander Jack Flaherty (0-5, 5.77 ERA), who’ll start the series opener, has lost three consecutive starts, including Sunday vs. Toronto when he allowed four runs in six innings in a 4-1 setback. Flaherty has averaged more than one strikeout per inning this season (48 in 43 2/3 innings).
Flaherty, who pitched part of the 2023 season for the Orioles, has faced Baltimore only once. He lost in that 2024 game, giving up three runs in six innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cards-Reds game ppd., to be made up as part of DH on Aug. 17
May 13, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; A view of the tarp on the field as rain falls before the game between the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. The start of the game was delayed due to inclement weather. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images Sunday’s scheduled series finale between the St. Louis Cardinals and Reds in Cincinnati was postponed due to inclement weather.
This game will be made up as part of a split-doubleheader on Aug. 17.
The series opener on Friday also was postponed due to inclement weather. The National League Central rivals played a doubleheader on Saturday as a result, with the Cardinals posting an 8-1 win in the first game before the Reds rebounded with a 7-6 victory in 11 innings.
The Cardinals have lost three of their last four games heading into Monday’s opener of a three-game series against the host Milwaukee Brewers.
The Reds, in turn, have won three of their last four games. They open a three-game series against the host New York Mets on Monday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
'Double' trouble: Katherine Legge crashes, exits Indy 500: 'I'm gutted'
HMD Motorsports driver Katherine Legge (11) during the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images Katherine Legge swerved from her high-side position to avoid a collision with Ryan Hunter-Reay but her Indianapolis 500 and attempt for the “double” with a Sunday night entry in the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 ended in a spinout.
Legge was uninjured in the incident and will travel to Charlotte to run in the NASCAR race. The British driver was making the sixth bid to complete both races on Memorial Day weekend before the 45-year-old ran into trouble in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon.
Her Indy 500 experience lasted just 18 laps.
Coming out of Turn 2, Ryan Hunter-Reay lost control of his Chevrolet and bounced off the wall at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As he tried to right himself, Legge said she couldn’t see much ahead of her because of smoke from Hunter-Reay’s car. When she finally saw the car, Legge had to take quick action to avoid him. After a sharp left turn, she wound up crashing into the infield fence, with her car sustaining significant damage.
Both drivers were out of the race and checked in the medical tent. No apparent injuries were sustained.
“He came back up the track, so last minute I had to go left. It just wasn’t enough time to avoid,” Legge said Sunday.
Legge was able to exit her No. 11 Chevrolet for HMD Motorsports with A.J. Foyt Racing without assistance. Hunter-Reay was also uninjured.
“Desperately frustrating,” Legge said of her mindset Sunday afternoon. “To be taken out by something not in your control, it would be slightly better to be taken out by something in your control … we were looking forward to a long day, 1,100 miles.”
Legge had only a few hours to switch her gear, her car and her mindset entering the Coca-Cola 600.
“I need to have an attitude adjustment, because right now I’m pissed,” Legge said. “And disappointed. I need to get on that plane and try and get into the right mindset.”
The “double” calls for a driver to compete in two premiere races, covering 1,100 miles with barely a moment to spare between the Indy and NASCAR Cup Series races. Five drivers previously have attempted the double since John Andretti hatched the idea in 1994 for AJ Foyt Racing. Andretti finished 10th at Indy but was knocked out after 220 laps at Charlotte due to engine trouble.
“Very few drivers ever get the opportunity to attempt the ‘double,’ and I do not take that opportunity lightly,” Legge said last week. “This challenge is about pushing through perceived limits … and trying to do something unique.”
Tony Stewart in 2001 is the lone driver to finish on the lead lap of both races on the same day.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cubs place RHP Edward Cabrera on 15-day IL with finger blister
May 20, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Edward Cabrera (30) throws the ball against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images The Chicago Cubs placed right-hander Edward Cabrera on the 15-day injured list Sunday due to a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand.
The move is retroactive to Thursday. Left-hander Jordan Wicks was called up from Triple-A Iowa to fill Cabrera’s roster spot for the Cubs, who entered Sunday’s game against the Houston Astros at 29-23 and in third place in the National League Central amid a seven-game losing streak.
Cabrera, 28, is 3-2 with a 4.00 ERA in 10 games (all starts) this season.
The Cubs also are without left-hander Matthew Boyd, who underwent left knee surgery on May 7. Boyd simulated multiple innings off the mound on Friday and is scheduled to face hitters this week in a live batting-practice session during a four-game series in Pittsburgh.
Chicago already has lost right-hander Cade Horton (elbow surgery) for the remainder of this season and might not have left-hander Justin Steele (left flexor strain) back until the second half.
Wicks went 0-1 with a 6.28 ERA in eight games for the Cubs last season and was 0-2 with a 4.44 ERA in seven Triple-A starts this season.
–Field Level Media
Cards-Reds game ppd., to be made up as part of DH on Aug. 17
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