Sports
White Sox use four homers to top Rays in opener
Jul 31, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays in the third inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Miguel Vargas, Andrew Benintendi and Munetaka Murakami homered in the first three innings as the Chicago White Sox began a six-game road trip by pounding the Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 on Friday night in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Murakami went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, and Benintendi totaled two hits and a walk. Colson Montgomery hit a two-run shot to round out the club’s four-homer showing.
Starter Erick Fedde (6-6) allowed one run on four hits in five innings. He fanned six.
The American League Central leaders finished July with a 13-12 mark.
Junior Caminero, who walked twice, joined Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena and Brandon Lowe as the only Rays with multiple 30-homer seasons thanks to a massive solo blast, one of the team’s five hits.
Starter Nick Martinez (10-3) was roughed up in six innings for six runs on seven hits, including all four home runs. He struck out two.
The Rays used a 15-12 July mark to maintain their slim lead in the AL East over the New York Yankees.
All seven runs in the matchup were plated by home runs.
After being swept in three games by the Rays in mid-April on the South Side, the White Sox immediately employed a power surge against Martinez.
In the first inning, Vargas swatted the first pitch he saw 433 feet to left field for his 23rd deep ball. Leading off the next frame, Benintendi cranked a 1-2 pitch off the catwalk above right field for his 11th homer, an estimated 405 feet on the towering blow.
The visitors created more separation in the third via the long ball when Murakami provided the pop, going opposite field for a two-run homer to left and a 4-0 advantage.
Caminero launched the night’s deepest missile in the fourth. He rocketed Fedde’s 3-2 pitch, above the strike zone, 453 feet to center off the D-ring, the farthest catwalk in play from home plate.
It was Chicago’s turn to continue the barrage in the sixth as Montgomery became the third hitter to homer off a hanging walkway, striking a support beam above right field for a two-run homer and a 6-1 lead.
Reliever Tyler Schweitzer, who fired three scoreless frames, whiffed pinch hitter Ryan Vilade with two runners on in the eighth in the Rays’ final good scoring chance.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Chiefs legendary S Bobby Hunt dies at 85
Nov 23, 1969; New York, NY, USA; FILE PHOTO; Cincinnati Bengals defensive back Bobby Hunt (10) tackles New York Jets receiver George Sauer (83) at Shea Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Manny Rubio-Imagn Images Former Kansas City Chiefs safety Bobby Hunt, who started in Super Bowl I, has died at age 85, the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame & Museum announced this week.
Neither the cause of Hunt’s death nor the date have been released.
Hunt recorded a career-best 10 interceptions in 1966, a season that concluded with the Chiefs losing 35-10 to the Green Bay Packers in the first Super Bowl. Overall, he had 42 interceptions in 112 professional games (108 starts) with Kansas City and the Cincinnati Bengals.
He shares the Chiefs franchise record of four interceptions (1964) in a game with Bobby Ply (1962) and Deron Cherry (1985). His 37 interceptions with the Chiefs rank sixth in franchise history.
After being a two-way college player at Auburn, Hunt was drafted in the 11th round (81st overall) in 1962 by the then-Dallas Texans. He had eight interceptions as a rookie and earned first-team American Football League All-Pro Honors.
The Texans then relocated to Kansas City and Hunt had six interceptions for 228 return yards and three fumble recoveries in 1963. One year later, he was a second-team All-Pro and earned a Pro Bowl berth while intercepting seven passes, including the four in one game, returning one of those picks for a touchdown.
He was a second-team All-Pro pick in 1966 when his 10 picks tied for the AFL lead. Only Emmitt Thomas (12 in 1974) has more interceptions in a season in Kansas City history.
Hunt intercepted five passes in 1967, his final campaign with the Chiefs.
Hunt finished his career by playing two seasons for the Bengals, who claimed him in the expansion draft prior to the 1968 season.
At Auburn, Hunt played quarterback and safety. In 1961, Hunt led the Tigers with 703 passing yards and six rushing touchdowns, ranked second with 347 rushing yards and tied for second with three interceptions on defense.
Hunt led Auburn with 552 rushing yards and seven scores on the ground in 1959. He rushed for a then-school single-game rushing mark of 216 yards against Mississippi State that season.
Hunt was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame & Museum in 2015.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Winless since May 2, Minnesota eyes revenge on San Diego
May 16, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Minnesota United forward Kelvin Yeboah (9) carries the ball against the New England Revolution during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images Minnesota United will try to snap a six-match winless streak against the team that knocked them out of the Western Conference playoffs last season when they host San Diego FC on Saturday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
The Loons (6-6-5, 23 points) enter the contest in ninth place, three points ahead of San Diego (5-7-5, 20 points) in the race for the final playoff spot. It’s a rematch of last November’s Western Conference semifinal final, won by San Diego 1-0 on a goal by Anders Dreyer in the 72nd minute.
Minnesota is 0-3-3 in its last six matches and comes in off a 0-0 draw with defending Western Conference champion Vancouver last Saturday. The Loons haven’t won a game since May 2 at the Columbus Crew, 3-2.
Goals have been hard to come by for Minnesota, which has scored just 19 times in 17 games. Only Atlanta United (17) and Sporting Kansas City (18) have scored fewer in the MLS this season. Kelvin Yeboah has eight goals and Anthony Markanich has four, but none of their teammates has scored more than one.
Still, despite failing to score a goal, the outcome was a positive for the Loons. First-place Vancouver has scored a Western Conference-best 37 goals and drilled Minnesota 6-0 in the first meeting on March 15 in Canada. That set the team record for largest margin of defeat for Minnesota.
Loons coach Cameron Knowles says good defense is a catalyst for his team’s offense.
“Most of our goal attacking comes from good defending, and we have to maintain that,” Knowles said.
San Diego, just 1-4-2 on the road this season, comes in off a 1-0 home victory over FC Dallas last Saturday.
Forward Alejandro Alvarado Jr., making his first start after undergoing right knee surgery 13 months earlier, scored his first MLS goal on a right-footed blast from about 10 yards above the box in the 50th minute. CJ Dos Santos made one save for his first clean sheet.
San Diego dominated possession, roughly 70-30, and in total passes, 867-299, while also finishing with an 8-1 edge in shots on goal.
“Just really happy for Alejandro,” San Diego coach Mikey Varas said. “It’s his first goal at the first division level, and he took the goal really well. Ultimately, I think we created a lot of chances on the night, (and) overall it was a really complete performance by our team.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Surging Dynamo out to avoid letdown vs. last-place Sporting KC
Jul 25, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Dynamo FC midfielder Mateusz Bogusz (19) shoots the ball past Austin FC midfielder Owen Wolff (33) during the second half at Shell Energy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images The Houston Dynamo look to continue their rise up the Western Conference standings when they face Sporting Kansas City on Saturday in Kansas City, Kan.
The Dynamo (8-6-2, 26 points) rolled to a 3-0 home victory over Austin FC last Saturday and are tied for the fourth-most points in the conference with Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas.
Mateusz Bogusz scored twice for his third career MLS brace while sparking the Dynamo against Austin.
“He’s a machine,” Houston coach Ben Olsen said of Bogusz. “His output is pretty amazing, and he’s up and back, and I’m so thrilled for him because he does so much.”
Bogusz ranks second on the Dynamo with four goals, behind Guilherme’s eight. Guilherme, an All-Star, contributed one goal and one assist in the win.
This is the teams’ first meeting this season. Houston struggled against Sporting Kansas City last season, losing 3-1 at home in May and playing to a scoreless road tie in October.
But Sporting KC (4-11-2, 14 points) hasn’t been strong all season and resides in last place in the Western Conference.
Last Saturday, Sporting KC was routed 4-0 by host Los Angeles FC. Denis Bouanga had two goals for LAFC and Sporting KC didn’t have the firepower to match.
“I think it’s just, in certain moments, decision-making,” Sporting KC coach Raphael Wicky said of the effort. “I believe that we played, in possession, some really good sequences.
“We were good on the ball. We didn’t create that much, but that’s also not easy against them to be honest.”
SKC played without forward Capita Capemba due to illness. He had one goal and one assist over Kansas City’s previous two matches.
Star striker Dejan Joveljic had scored goals in the previous two games before the shutout. He leads Sporting KC with eight goals after a career-high 18 last year in his first campaign with SKC.
–Field Level Media
Chiefs legendary S Bobby Hunt dies at 85
Winless since May 2, Minnesota eyes revenge on San Diego
