MIAMI — A franchise seemingly adrift at sea for years in hopes of harpooning a whale on the NBA personnel market now has its trophy catch, with the Miami Heat late Monday night reaching an agreement to acquire two-time MVP and 10-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo in a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks.

In search of a big-game move since the franchise’s time early last decade with the Big Three of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh, the perseverance of Pat Riley and the Heat’s front office paid off in the form of the 31-year-old Greek superstar.

The cost was significant, with the Heat parting with players Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis, as is somewhat of the risk, with Antetokounmpo coming off an injury-limited season and in line for a contract extension that would pay in excess of an average of $71 million per season.

In addition, the Heat sent first-round picks to the Bucks for Tuesday night and 2031 and ’33, as well as first-round swaps in 2030 and ’32. The Heat also sent out their 2033 second-round pick.

The Heat also acquired forward Bobby Portis from the Bucks in the deal.

While the transaction currently is a two-team deal, it could be further expanded before the start of the 2026-27 NBA cap calendar on July 6.

In the wake of the Heat missing the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons, Riley made clear in his season-ending media session that he would push whatever levers necessary to again put his team in position to contend.

That had the Heat seemingly offering anything and everything other than center Bam Adebayo, who shares the same agent as Antetokounmpo, with Adebayo and Antetokounmpo having expressed mutual respect over the years.

The result of the trade leaves the Heat with one of the NBA’s premier power rotations, with Riley and his front-office staff now left to balance out the remainder of the roster.

While the Heat added team leaders such as Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler since the team’s Big Three era, those rosters proved able only to advance to the NBA Finals, with the Heat’s most recent championship remaining the second of consecutive titles won by the Big Three Heat in 2013.

In Antetokounmpo, the Heat now have a Top 5 player for the first time since James, with Antetokounmpo an All-Star this past season and first-team All-NBA player just a season ago.

Antetokounmpo was named NBA Most Valuable Player in 2021, the same season he led the Bucks to the NBA championship. He also was the league’s MVP in 2019. In addition, he was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2020, a five-time selection to one of the NBA’s All-Defensive teams. He was selected as a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team in 2021.

A member of the Greek national team, he was one of his country’s flag bears for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The son of Nigerian immigrants, he was born in 1994 in Athens as Giannis Sina Ugo Adetokunbo. He then was granted Greek citizenship on May 9, 2013, with his official Greek name translating into Giannis Sina Ougko Antetokounmpo. He retains Greek and Nigerian citizenship, with Adebayo also of Nigerian ancestry.

Beyond basketball, Antetokounmpo has ownership stakes in both MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers and Major League Soccer’s Nashville SC. This past season, he became a shareholder in Kalshi, the predictive market.

For years in the wake of the Big Three, Riley had spoken of harpooning another “whale,” defining such talents as, “certain types of players that, no matter what, if they come up and they’re available, you make the move that you gotta make to get ’em.”

Such a move again has been made, adding to the lore of a franchise that over Riley’s three decades of franchise stewardship also has included trading for players such as Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway, in addition to Dragic and Butler.

The respect for Antetokounmpo has been in place for years, with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra saying of Antetokounmpo’s attacking style before one of his team’s playoff series against the Bucks, “You can’t simulate that in film sessions or even in a walkthrough. It’s the sheer speed and momentum he creates from the perimeter to the paint.”

The relentlessness of Antetokounmpo’s game similarly has impressed Adebayo.

“The thing about him is he doesn’t stop,” the Heat center said. “He doesn’t look at the scoreboard and say, ‘Oh, we’re down 10, let me chill.’ He keeps coming at you at 100 miles per hour every single possession. You have to respect that type of motor.”

Now those motors get to work in tandem.

“Seeing what he does up close, his ability to handle the ball at that size and make the plays he makes, it’s special,” Adebayo previously said. “We’re both guys who try to impact winning in every single column of the stat sheet.”

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Cal State Bakersfield has hired Bethany Rapp to serve as its associate athletic director for administration, adding an experienced athletics and university operations professional to the Roadrunners’ leadership team.

Rapp will focus on improving efficiency across the department’s administrative procedures, policies and day-to-day operations. She will work closely with department leadership, coaches, staff and campus partners to strengthen internal processes, provide clarity in administrative workflows and support the continued growth of CSUB athletics.

“We are thrilled to welcome Bethany to the CSUB Athletics family,” CSUB Acting Director of Athletics Sarah Tuohy said. “She is exactly the kind of rising star our department needed in this role — someone with a proven track record of strengthening processes and procedures and bringing clarity and efficiency to complex operations. This is a crucial position on our leadership team, and Bethany is the right person to fill it. I have no doubt she will make an immediate and lasting impact on how we operate as a department.”

Rapp most recently served as assistant athletics director for administration and operations at Cal Poly Humboldt, where she provided leadership in personnel management, staff recruitment and onboarding, coach contracts, performance evaluation cycles and organizational staffing plans. She also served as a primary liaison with several key campus units, including human resources, academic personnel, conference and event services, facilities management, catering and parking.

“I am very excited to be joining the Roadrunner family,” Rapp said. “I’m thankful to Dr. Sarah Tuohy as well as the whole of the athletics department for putting their trust in me for this role. I am looking forward to contributing to the success of Cal State Bakersfield athletics and I am excited to get started.”

BC BASEBALL

Bakersfield College freshman outfielder Landon McDonald continues to reap rewards for a standout season in 2026.

The right fielder, who recently decided to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to play baseball, earned selection to the ABCA/Rawlings Pacific Association Division All-Region Team and ABCA Pacific Association Division All-America Team.

These honors follow his Western State Conference recognition as a first-team WSC selection, being named the conference’s freshman of the year and the recipient of the WSC’s Big Stick Award.

McDonald put together a dominant offensive season at BC, finishing the regular season with a state-leading .492 batting average and leading California with 15 home runs.

CSUB TRACK AND FIELD

Cal State Bakersfield sophomore sprinter Makiah Parker was named 2026 Big West Women’s Track Athlete of the Year, the conference announced late last week.

Parker becomes the first Roadrunner to earn this honor and is the second Roadrunner to receive a conference Athlete of the Year distinction in CSUB’s Division I era. CSUB pole vaulter Miranda Miller was the 2022 Big West Women’s Field Athlete of the Year.

Parker captured the 100-meter dash title at the Big West Track & Field Championships. She also earned a silver medal in the 200 meters and anchored the Roadrunners’ 4x100-meter relay team to a runner-up finish. She totaled 20 individual points at the conference championships and was the Big West Women’s Track Athlete of the Meet.

Parker qualified for the NCAA West first round in both the 100 and 200 for the second straight year while also leading Bakersfield’s 4x100m relay into postseason competition for the first time in CSUB’s Division I history. At the NCAA Division 1 West first round, Parker reset her own school record time in the 100, 11.21 seconds, to place 17th.

In May, Parker was named CSUB’s Female Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year.

TRAIN ROBBERS

The Bakersfield Train Robbers baseball team was looking to snap a two-game losing streak with a pair of home games on Monday and Tuesday night in Pecos League action at Sam Lynn Ballpark.

The Train Robbers, who wound up taking three of four home games last week against the Austin Weirdos, were back on the road Friday and Saturday night and dropped a pair of games, 14-13 in 10 innings at Dublin and 5-3 to the San Rafael Pacifics, on respective nights

Bakersfield has a 14-12-1 record this season.

In the high-scoring loss at Dublin, the offenses combined for 36 hits and 27 runs and Bakersfield led 6-0 after two innings, but Dublin came back in the third with eight runs.

The teams battled it out in the middle of the game as Bakersfield scored twice in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to regain the lead. Dublin scored three in the sixth inning. Ahead 12-11 going to the ninth inning, Bakersfield gave itself a two-run cushion. Christian Altamirano singled to score Maxim Fullerton.

Dublin went all out in the ninth inning, loading the bases and getting two runs by walks to Hunter Cliff and Dylan Leek, to tie the game. In the 10th inning, a wild pitch brought Damon Hale home with the winning run.

The Train Robbers moved on to Saturday’s game at San Rafael and lost a tight, lower-scoring game. Bakersfield’s Jed Downham got to first on a fielding error, enabling Joe Riddle to score the first run of the game in the second inning. It held up until San Rafael tied it at 1 in the sixth inning. The Pacifics were just getting started. A four-run seventh inning gave the hosts all the runs they’d need to win. Bakersfield did get an Altamirano triple in the seventh, scoring Fullerton, and Altamirano scored on Macs Carrillo’s single, but that was all the Train Robbers could do.

The Train Robbers and Pacifics were to meet again Monday night back at Sam Lynn Ballpark and will face off at 7:45 tonight. Bakersfield is off Wednesday and Thursday before a Friday and Saturday weekend series at San Rafael with 6 p.m. games both days.

Former National League Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer is on the move again.

The right-handed pitcher returned to the U.S. in April with the Long Island Ducks, an independent minor league team based in New York. On June 22, the Ducks announced they have transferred Bauer’s contract to the Diablos Rojos of the Mexican League.

Bauer went 5-1 with a 2.36 ERA over seven starts with the Ducks. On April 25, he did not allow a hit in a 7-inning complete game.

MORE: Phillies sign former Dodgers prospect, 27, after monster month

Bauer pitched only 17 games for the Dodgers in 2021 before MLB suspended him following a domestic violence allegation. He ended up missing 182 games in total between 2021 and 2022. 

In December 2022, MLB reduced Bauer’s suspension from 324 to 194 games after he appealed his original penalty. He has yet to latch on with an MLB organization — or even pitch for a domestic professional team before signing with Long Island.

Last year, Bauer went 4-10 with a 4.41 ERA across 138.2 innings for the Yokohama BayStars in NPB, the top league in Japan.

MORE: Rays pitcher announces immediate retirement from baseball at 27

Bauer went 83-69 with a 3.79 ERA in 222 career MLB games with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians and Arizona Diamonbacks from 2012-21.

While in Long Island, Bauer continued to post content to his YouTube channel, which has more than 1.1 million subscribers.

“I want to thank the Long Island Ducks organization for giving me the opportunity to be part of the team,” Bauer said in a press release. “I’d also like to thank my teammates, the coaching staff, the clubhouse staff, and everyone behind the scenes who made my time here so enjoyable. From day one, everyone welcomed me and treated me incredibly well, and I’m grateful for the relationships and friendships I’ll take with me.”

“Trevor exceeded every expectation during his time with the Ducks,” team president Michael Pfaff said in a press release. “From his dominance on the mound to his commitment to fans and support of our organization, he made a tremendous impact both on and off the field. While we had hoped to see him return to Major League Baseball from Long Island, we are excited for this next opportunity and wish him continued success in Mexico.”

The New York Yankees shouldn’t just be satisfied with being one of MLB‘s best teams. Their goal should be to be the best, and that is why they should call about Tarik Skubal and every other big-name player on the trade market. One name in particular is the Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña.

Although Skubal is the kind of ace every contender wants, the acquisition cost could overwhelm the rest of New York’s trade-deadline plan. The Yankees have multiple needs, and using their best prospects on one pitcher could leave the lineup, bullpen, and infield exposed. All of which are bigger issues right now than their starting rotation.

MORE: MLB Power Rankings

Yankees have been linked to shortstops and right-handed hitters

New York has been linked conceptually to shortstop help, and Peña is one of the few realistic names who could become available if Houston falls out of contention. MLB.com identified him as a possible Astros trade chip because he can reach free agency after the 2027 season and has already rejected an extension offer.

Houston is not guaranteed to sell. The Astros have improved and still believe they can make a postseason run. But if that changes, the Yankees should move quickly. Peña gives New York a complete shortstop with power, athleticism, and major postseason credibility. He was the 2022 World Series MVP and has since developed into an All-Star-level player. 

Championship window needs more certainty

This is not about giving up on Anthony Volpe after one rough stretch. It is about recognizing that a championship window built around Aaron Judge demands certainty at premium positions. Peña would improve the defense immediately, deepen the lineup, and allow the Yankees to consider moving Volpe around the infield or using him in a trade package elsewhere.

The price would still be high, and it should be. Houston would have no reason to move Peña cheaply, especially with another season of team control beyond 2026. But his cost may be easier to justify than emptying the farm system for Skubal while ignoring several other roster needs. The Yankees do not need the loudest deadline move. They need the move that fixes the most problems. And Peña could do exactly that.

— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead —

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Terre Haute Wayne Newton Post 346 defeated Owensboro Post 9 6-2, winning the John E. Hayes Invitational championship.

The Wayners are now 12-0 on the year. Jackson Pierce pitched a complete game with 8 strikeouts for Post 346.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyWabashValley.com.

Craig Counsell and Will Venable trusted their bullpens on Saturday with similar results.

Counsell watched his Chicago Cubs bullpen blow a late 5-0 lead in an 8-6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, while Venable watched the White Sox ’pen lose 4-1 to the Detroit Tigers on a bullpen day scripted because of the lack of a fifth starter.

The Sox bullpen didn’t perform any better on Sunday, blowing leads in the ninth and 10th innings of a 5-4 loss to get swept in Detroit and finish 1-5 on the road trip.

Venable and Counsell are no different from every other manager in baseball who is heavily reliant on multiple relievers to do the job on any given day. The average number of pitchers a team uses per game is 4.23, and has been above 4.11 since 2015.

It’s not going backward any time soon, as starters’ pitch counts decrease and the average velocity of relievers increases.

Fair or not, a manager typically gets criticized for his bullpen moves when things go wrong and seldom gets credit when everything goes right.

Counsell was reputed to be a bullpen whisperer in Milwaukee when he had reliable closers in Josh Hader and Devin Williams, but now gets questioned about why he left (fill-in-the-blank-pitcher) in too long. Venable hasn’t endured nearly as much criticism because the Sox were awful last year and weren’t expected to do anything this season.

But now that the Sox are contending, and starting a big series Monday against the Cleveland Guardians at Rate Field, his in-game strategy will no doubt get more scrutiny.

Both Chicago managers can only work with what they have, and neither the Cubs nor the Sox bullpen has shown much consistency over the first three months of the 2026 season.

Cubs relievers on Sunday ranked 12th in the majors with a 3.82 ERA, but have trended downward since the start of June, compiling a 4.94 ERA this month with five blown saves in six opportunities. The loss of closer Daniel Palencia has seemingly had a residual effect on the rest of the bullpen, as evidenced by Saturday’s implosion by Trent Thornton, Caleb Thielbar and Jacob Webb, who combined to give up eight runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Cubs relievers are last in the majors with 23 holds, while Sox relievers began Sunday second-to-last with 24 holds.

Cubs President Jed Hoyer performed a major reconstruction job on the ’pen this offseason, notably letting Brad Keller, his most effective reliever in 2025, sign with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Cubs made Keller an offer, but the Phillies made a better one at two years and $22 million, which made it an easy decision.

The Cubs counted on Palencia to dominate as a closer, which he has mostly done. But an oblique injury in April and a “mild flexor strain” that put him on the IL again last week have limited him to 19 appearances. Thielbar has regressed, while free agent Phil Maton, Hoyer’s main bullpen addition on a two-year, $14 million deal, has flopped like last year’s big bullpen addition, Ryan Pressly.

Injury-prone Hunter Harvey got injured early, and Webb has struggled of late and was a complete mess in Saturday’s loss. In between dropping f-bombs Saturday, Webb candidly said: “Back to the drawing board, figure some stuff out.”

The Cubs’ biggest bullpen loss may have been moving Ben Brown to the rotation due to injuries. Brown has thrived, but no one has picked up the slack to replace him. The Cubs can still recover, but to go anywhere this October, Counsell will have to get more out of his ’pen.

“Every season throws stuff at you and you just got to roll with it and you got to be ready for it and you got to adjust to it,” Counsell said after Saturday’s loss. “That will continue to happen. That’s how it’s going to be. We’re going to try to get in that same spot tomorrow, whether it’s a 5-0 lead in the sixth or a 5-3 lead in the eighth — every time we try to get to that spot again, you know what I mean? Just didn’t get it done today.”

The Cubs didn’t get into that spot Sunday, thanks to a postponement of the finale against the Blue Jays, which will be made up at 1:20 p.m. on Aug. 6. They head to New York for a four-game series against the Mets, before an important showdown in Milwaukee next weekend.

Sox relievers ranked 18th on Sunday with a 4.26 ERA, though it should be noted that Venable has used an opener 15 times, which means part-time “bulk” pitchers —  including starters Erick Fedde, Anthony Kay, Sean Burke and since-demoted David Sandlin — have some outings included in the bullpen’s stats. The bullpen has mostly performed well at home (13-8 with a 3.48 ERA) and been terrible on the road (5-9, 5.21 ERA).

Like Hoyer, White Sox GM Chris Getz also overhauled his ’pen after 2025, signing Seranthony Domínguez to a two-year, $20 million deal, acquiring Jordan Hicks from the Boston Red Sox, along with Sandlin, and signing veteran lefty Sean Newcomb.

The Domínguez and Hicks moves were done with money the White Sox saved by dealing Luis Robert Jr. and his $20 million salary to the New York Mets. Hicks, who struggled with the Red Sox last year, was inconsistent before going down with a right lat strain. He returned from the IL on Sunday, with Tyler Davis optioned to Triple-A Charlotte.

Domínguez has 12 saves but has been spotty with control issues while allowing five home runs in 26 games. In Sunday’s game, he retired the first two hitters in the ninth inning before blowing the save on three straight singles.

Grant Taylor, Bryan Hudson, Domínguez and Newcomb have all been effective for Venable, but the Sox manager has had a difficult time finding the right spots for Taylor, a potential closer and possibly a future starter. Newcomb threw three perfect innings Saturday in Detroit and could be stretched out to start if needed. But the Sox are hoping Noah Schultz, rehabbing his right knee injury at Charlotte, can return soon to fill the fifth spot, since Newcomb’s value in the ’pen is growing.

Meanwhile, Venable has been using an opener more often of late, except for Davis Martin’s starts, with mixed results. Burke dominated against the New York Yankees on Thursday as a bulk starter, but Fedde came in on Friday in Detroit, trailing 2-1 after opener Brandon Eisert served up a two-run home run.

“The players’ reactions, as we’ve done it more, they’ve been more open to it, and that’s really where it starts,” Venable said Saturday. “You’re sensitive to the fact these guys are very routine-oriented, and certainly for a starting pitcher, an opener can disrupt that. So you have different reactions to it, and in the case where we’ve done it with Fedde and Burke, they’ve responded very well to it.”

Fedde has been used after an opener seven times in 15 appearances. Asked after Friday’s outing if he was getting more comfortable being a bulk pitcher or would rather have a normal start, Fedde was diplomatic.

“Honestly, I try not to think too much about it,” he said. “It kind of is what it is. Yeah, I’m just going to keep giving it my best each opportunity I get the ball. That’s kind of all I have to say about it.”

Enough said.

Fedde has pitched well in his last four outings, but is on a one-year, $1.5 million deal and may not be in any position to protest.

Venable is unlikely to change his view on openers, feeling it’s the best way to optimize performance from his starters, none of whom is on his way to the Hall of Fame. If the Sox continue to contend, that strategy bears watching.

Managing in a baseball-crazy town like Chicago isn’t for the faint-hearted, as Counsell can attest.

Next Sunday, NBC will have a special guest in the Sunday Night Baseball booth to call a game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

Roger Clemens will reportedly join NBC as a booth analyst for the June 28 rivalry game, joining Will Middlebrooks, who will represent the Red Sox in the booth, per a report by Austin Karp in Sports Business Journal. NBC has rotated new analysts into the Sunday Night Baseball booth alongside play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti each week, typically tapping one person with ties to each of the teams playing that evening. Bob Costas and Anthony Rizzo will hold down studio coverage for the game.

It’s not the first time Clemens has taken a spin behind the mic; the former Yankees pitcher joined the “KayRod” altcast on ESPN2 alongside Barry Bonds in 2022. He also served as a guest analyst on ESPN’s Opening Day coverage in 2023. This will mark Clemens’ first appearance on the main Sunday Night Baseball telecast.

NBC’s experiment with rotating booth analysts for Sunday Night Baseball has been met with mixed reviews so far. Securing a name like Clemens, who has made headlines recently as President Donald Trump lobbies for his inclusion in the Baseball Hall of Fame, certainly adds intrigue to what would otherwise be a run-of-the-mill regular-season game (albeit one between the two biggest rivals in the sport). On the other hand, the lack of consistency can lend itself to a disjointed feel in the booth that isn’t necessarily conducive to a polished broadcast.

It’s hard to fault NBC for securing Clemens, however, considering his stature in the sport.

The post Roger Clemens reportedly joining NBC ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ booth for Yankees-Red Sox appeared first on Awful Announcing.

Final

Twins 16, Diamondbacks 8

Starting pitcher performance

PHOENIX — Taj Bradley spent much of his day watching his teammates tee off on opposing pitchers from the bench. When he finally got on the mound, the Twins starter built upon his previous start, throwing a strong five innings.

Bradley allowed just three hits in his outing, two of which came in the bottom of the fifth after he had sat and waited through a top half of the inning that lasted about a half an hour. The two runs he gave up came on Jorge Barrosa’s second home run of the season.

He also flashed some of his best velocity of the season, hitting 100.5 miles per hour on a pitch to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the first inning.

Player of the Game

In a game with an offensive explosion like Saturday’s, it’s tough to pick just one.

The bottom of the lineup was particularly good for the Twins in the blowout, with the final four hitters in the lineup  — Brooks Lee, Victor Caratini, Luke Keaschall and Ryan Kreidler — finishing a combined 13 for 21 with nine RBIs and 11 runs scored.

Lee had a team-leading four hits in the win. He had a pair of singles as well as a triple and double, both of which came as part of the Twins’ 10-run fifth inning. He finished a home run shy of the cycle, popping up in his ninth-inning opportunity against position player Ildemaro Vargas.

Byron Buxton had just one hit in the game before he was removed early, but it was a big one: his opposite-field grand slam gave the Twins a 12-0 lead at the time.

Key moment

The  10-run fifth inning sticks out, though it was really the fourth inning when the Twins broke the game open against Zac Gallen and the Diamondbacks.

The Twins had six hits in that inning and all six were singles. Five of them came consecutively.

The extra-base hits came later, with the fifth inning featuring two triples, two doubles and Buxton’s grand slam, to go along with five singles (and a walk).

All told, they ended up batting around in consecutive innings and finishing the day with 20 hits, including at least one from every hitter in the starting lineup.

Up next

The Twins have not yet announced a starter for Sunday’s finale after Mick Abel, who was expected to return from the injured list, suffered a setback. The game will begin at 2:15 p.m. CT.

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Tri-Cities, Tenn. (WJHL) – Saturday night in the Appalachian League saw several revenge performances from Friday night’s results with away teams sweeping across the region.

Burlington Sock Puppets 14 vs. Johnson City Doughboys 5
Danville Otterbots 9 vs. Greeneville Flyboys 3
Elizabethton River Riders 11 vs. Pulaski River Turtles 6
Kingsport Axmen 12 vs. Bluefield Ridge Runners 8

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.

DETROIT — Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable was quite sure there would be no shenanigans Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park, as there were during Friday’s night’s game against the Tigers.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t even call them shenanigans,” Venable said, correcting the reporter.

So what’s the proper terminology for a Tarik Skubal meltdown in which the Tigers ace pointed at magic-wand man Mike Vasil and yelled at the White Sox dugout while leaving the mound and from the dugout?

“I would say it was baseball,” Venable said. “Guys being competitive and a guy that had something to say and that was about it. Not a lot there and certainly not going to be anything that I expect to be a problem today.”

Column: Chicago White Sox and wand-waver Mike Vasil draw Tarik Skubal’s ire in 4-3 loss to Detroit Tigers

As Venable predicted, there were no shenanigans Saturday in the Sox’s 4-1 loss to the Tigers on a gorgeous afternoon in Motown.

It was just baseball, or at least the modern-day version of it with the Sox opting for a bullpen day without a fifth starter available.

Sox left-hander Sean Newcomb pitched three scoreless innings in his first start, but the rest of the relievers couldn’t match his effort, and the offense was limited to four hits, including Sam Antonacci’s leadoff home run off Troy Melton, which turned out to be their only run.

The Tigers, in must-win mode, have won the first two games of the series, leaving the Sox 1-4 on the trip. They haven’t won a road series since May 1-3 in San Diego.

Players were visibly disconsolate afterward, the sign of a team that expects to win every day.

“The loss hurts,” Antonacci said. “I don’t think last year or the year before it was like that. It was just show up, and maybe win or lose and go home and go about your day.”

Antonacci, a rookie, wasn’t there, but he called it perfectly.

With the Sox contending for a postseason spot, every day is now important, and the losing hurts more.

But trying to win consistently without a fifth starter is like trying to navigate the Dan Ryan on an electric scooter. You can get by for a while, but there is always a chance for disaster.

Venable said before the game that he hoped rehabbing Noah Schultz or another minor-leaguer would be available the next time the Sox need a fifth starter, saying “it’s not in our plans” to go with a bullpen day often.

But does employing it Saturday point to a lack of starting depth in the system?

“I think I just talked about how that changes throughout the year and certainly we’ve been at spots during this year in which we’ve had multiple guys you feel confident coming up,” Venable replied. “Right now some of those guys are hurt or working their way back. It’s just at a time right now where we don’t have it on this day, but we look forward to the next time having some guys we can lean on.”

After Newcomb left in the fourth with a 1-0 lead, Venable leaned on Tyler Davis (three walks), Joe Rock (three runs on five hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings) and Trevor Richards, who served up a solo home run to Dillon Dingler. Venable said they pushed Newcomb further than they were comfortable with and couldn’t go further.

Nwecome, one of their most valuable relievers along with Grant Taylor, said he’d be open to being used in the fifth starter spot.

“I’m open to opening, long open, long starter … whatever they want to call it,” he said. “I’m just hoping to pitch in a bunch of innings.”

It’s worth a shot, considering what’s available at Triple-A Charlotte.

The Tigers needed the win, and their fans are getting restless. Manager A.J. Hinch was booed loudly after sending in .138 hitting Jahmai Jones to pinch hit for Kerry Carpenter in the fourth after the lefty Rock replaced Davis with two outs and the bases loaded on three walks. And Hinch was jeered again after Jones struck out, bookending the booing and showing Tigers fans are perturbed over the team’s downfall.

But the Tigers tied it in the fifth and scored two more off Rock in the sixth before Dingler’s home run in the seventh made it 4-1. Venable said he didn’t want to use Taylor too early. “We want to make sure we’re using him in the right spots, and it just hasn’t come up in the last few days,” he said.

On the bright side, the Sox could get starting catcher Kyle Teel back during the series after his 5-for-5 day at Triple-A Charlotte on Friday, which would be a significant addition to the lineup with both catchers struggling offensively. Drew Romo, hitting .144, went 0-for-4 and flied out to end it with two men on in the ninth.

Venable wouldn’t give a hint about Teel’s return but said: “Part of him getting minor-league games under his belt is getting his timing at the plate. … It seems like he’s doing that.”

As for Friday’s histrionics, it was just “good clean fun,” according to Vasil, who said he didn’t know what irked Skubal but assumed it was an accusation of sign-stealing.

Vasil neither confirmed nor denied doing that, but it’s not against the rules to do so with your eyes, and the White Sox once employed a coach named Joe Nossek who had the reputation as the best sign-stealer in the game. It’s only illegal if you use video or do something like bang a garbage can, as Hinch knows well from his days in Houston.

Vasil also claimed he wasn’t sure why Skubal thought he was stealing signs.

“We started to get on base and, like I said, people get paranoid,” he said.

Skubal never explained himself, saying he was “an emotional guy.”

“I wear my emotions out there,” he said. “That’s how I play the game.”

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The Sox and Tigers had a sign-stealing saga at the end of the 2014 season when former Sox pitcher Chris Sale accused the Tigers of doing it one day in Detroit. The Sox had someone in the dugout use binoculars to spot a man in the bleachers they felt was relaying signs, but manager Robin Ventura never made an issue of it. Sale and Ventura engaged in a heated argument a few days later after Sale demanded Ventura call out the Tigers for the sign-stealing.

Venable never actually accused the Tigers of saying the Sox were stealing signs but offered it as a possible explanation for Skubal’s antics.

“Again, that’s us trying to figure out what they could have been upset about,” he said Saturday. “There was no indication that’s what it was. Usually when you see stuff like that, that’s the implication. But I don’t want to assume anything.”

The trip ends Sunday with Davis Martin pitching in the finale before an important three-game showdown against the Cleveland Guardians at Rate Field.

Oklahoma Sooners fans might only be realizing it now, but right-handed pitcher LJ Mercurius knew all along how good they were all season.

The Sooners have set a date against the North Carolina Tar Heels Baseball in the 2026 Men’s College World Series Finals after winning 11-4 against Georgia. They have won eight consecutive games since the Super Regionals and have outscored opponents by 45 runs.

Ahead of the championship game, LJ and Xander Mercurius talked about how proud they were of their program. LJ, a junior from Las Vegas, Nevada, doesn’t like it when someone tries to undermine their efforts, as he said:

“I’ve actually been finding it a little disrespectful because they’re saying we’re not good, we’re just hot. And I think that’s so far from the truth. I think we have, I don’t know, 34 of the best players in the country. We’ve been good all year, we’ve known it, we’ve shown it before, so this isn’t our first time doing this. So I think it’s a little disrespectful to say we’re hot but not good, but we’re good.”

The Sooners now face North Carolina, which reached the championship game after eliminating West Virginia and going unbeaten through its bracket.

LJ Mercurius Proving to Be Postseason Gem For Oklahoma

After transferring from UCLA, LJ Mercurius is doing really well for Oklahoma this postseason. In three appearances, he has pitched to a team-low 0.90 ERA through 10 innings. He has just surrendered one run while striking out 10 batters.

While Mercurius was largely underwhelming in the regular season, posting a 6-7 record and 4.97 ERA, his postseason performance paints an encouraging story. He led the team with 92 strikeouts in 70.2 innings, holding opponents to a .245 batting average this season.

The 2025 All-Mountain West honoree had a remarkable debut by striking out 12 batters in his Oklahoma debut against Oklahoma State.

“He has been growing up and maturing,” head coach Skip Johnson told WBN in February. “He wanted to get somewhere comfortable and needed a change. His best days are ahead of him.”

Moreover, LJ’s younger brother, Xander Mercurius, delivered a standout performance against Georgia in the College World Series. The right-hander pitched 7.1 innings for six hits, three runs, two walks and a career-high nine strikeouts.

The Mercurius brothers and Oklahoma now stand one win away from winning the College World Series.

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Matt Wallner’s RBI single completed a two-run, ninth-inning rally as the Saints walked off Omaha, 6-5, on Friday at CHS Field.

It was the Saints’ first victory in a game they trailed after eight innings (1-27).

Alan Roden tied the score 5-5 with a solo home run and Gabby Gonzalez followed with a double. With Henry Genth pinch-running, Wallner looped a single into right-center to plate the winning run.

Roden, who recently returned from a long injured list stint because of a torn labrum, was 3 for 4 with a home run, RBI and run scored. He was acquired in the trade that sent Louis Varland to Toronto last July.

Former Twins pitcher Randy Dobnak, the Saints all-time winningest pitcher, started for the Storm Chasers and gave up a three-run home run to Aaron Sabato in the first inning. Sabato finished the night 2-4 with a home run, three RBIs and a run scored.

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Final

Diamondbacks 9, Twins 5

Starting pitcher performance

PHOENIX — His line shows he gave up six runs in six innings pitched, but Twins starter Connor Prielipp pitched much better than that for most of the night.

Only three of those runs were earned, as the Twins’ defense fell apart behind him in the fifth inning, leading to a four-run inning during which the Diamondbacks turned a two-run deficit into a two-run lead.

Prielipp did walk three batters in his start, including the first one he faced in the fifth inning. It was the beginning of Arizona’s big inning, which unraveled as the Twins were unable to make plays behind him. He finished the day at 97 pitches, completing six innings for the third time in his past four starts.

Key moment

There were a number of pivotal moments in the Diamondbacks’ four-run fifth inning, which started with a walk from Prielipp and then a fielder’s choice to get the first out of the inning.

Corbin Carroll’s double put a pair of runners in scoring position before Brooks Lee had a ground ball bounce off him. Arizona’s second run of the game scored on the play.

The very next batter, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., hit what could have been an inning-ending double play ball. Instead, shortstop Tristan Gray made a poor throw that second baseman Luke Keaschall had to reach for and Keaschall’s throw to first was both too late and too high. The game-tying run scored on the play.

After a Nolan Arenado single, Prielipp balked, moving runners to second and third. Ildemaro Vargas’ single, which appeared to hit Gray’s glove and pop into the outfield then broke open the tied game, bringing home a pair of runners.

Player of the Game

Carroll, the Diamondbacks’ star outfielder, finished the day with three hits and also walked in his team’s win.

He doubled and scored a run as part of Arizona’s big fourth inning and after the Twins had cut the lead to just one thanks to back-to-back home runs from Josh Bell and Royce Lewis in the top of the eighth, he busted the game open in the bottom of the inning. Carroll’s triple off Travis Adams cleared the bases and gave Arizona a four-run lead.

Up next

Taj Bradley (5-3, 4.14 ERA) will take the ball on Saturday for the second game of the series against the Diamondbacks. He will be opposed by right-hander Zac Gallen (3-5, 5.35 ERA).

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