May 25, 2026 12:31 am
TORONTO (AP) — Esmerlyn Valdez homered for his first career hit, Spencer Horwitz and Oneil Cruz also connected and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep. Valdez was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday and had gone 0 for 7 before hitting a two-run homer off Chase Lee in the sixth inning. Pirates reliever Dennis Santana brokered a trade with a young fan for the ball, handing over a bat signed by Valdez and a Pirates cap in exchange for Valdez’s keepsake. Blue Jays starter Dylan Cease left the game after 4 2/3 innings because of a sore left hamstring. Cease (3-3) allowed two runs and four hits before departing. He walked one and struck out eight. Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left in the bottom of the fifth after being hit on the inside of his right elbow by a pitch from Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller. Lenyn Sosa came in to run for Guerrero and took over at first base. The Blue Jays said an X-ray of Guerrero’s elbow did not reveal a fracture. Keller (5-2) allowed one run and four hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out five. Gregory Soto finished in the ninth for his fifth save in seven chances, striking out Daulton Varsho for the final out and stranding two runners. Horwitz homered on Cease’s first pitch of the game, his fifth of the season. Cruz hit a leadoff blast in the second, his 11th of the year. Infielder Ernie Clement drove in Toronto’s only run with an RBI single in the fourth.
May 25, 2026 4:17 am
McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — Wyndham Clark shot 11-under 60 to win the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on Sunday, overtaking Si Woo Kim by three strokes and pulling away from defending champion Scottie Scheffler after starting the day tied with the top-ranked hometown favorite. The 2023 U.S. Open champion, who shot 30-under 254, went in front for the first time in the final round with an eagle at the par-5 12th and twice took two-shot leads with clutch birdie putts over the final four holes while shooting 28 on the back nine. Kim and Scheffler shot matching 65s.
May 25, 2026 4:19 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tomas Hertl weaved his way toward the slot and broke a tie at 8:21 of the third period as the Golden Knights overcame a three-goal deficit Sunday night to beat Colorado 5-3 and move within a victory of their third Stanley Cup Final appearance in nine years. The Golden Knights go for what would be a stunning sweep over the Presidents’ Trophy winners on Tuesday night. Colorado will try to become just the fifth team to win a series after falling behind 3-0. Vegas, which trailed 3-0, was 0-19 in the playoffs when behind that many goals.
May 25, 2026 4:20 am
San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama wanted the ball for the final couple seconds of the first half. He got it, 65 feet from the basket. He had three Oklahoma City defenders in front of him. He took three dribbles. He got three points. And he made it look easy, too. It was hardly the only moment in which Wembanyama was unstoppable in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals on Sunday. He got most of the fourth quarter off and still finished with 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots as the Spurs beat the Thunder 103-82 to tie the West title series at two games apiece.
May 23, 2026 7:25 am
TORONTO (AP) — George Springer hit his 65th leadoff home run and the Toronto Blue Jays sent Paul Skenes to losses in consecutive starts for the first time this season, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 Saturday for their fourth straight win and seventh in 10 games. Skenes (6-4), the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, allowed four runs and a career-high nine hits and one walk in five-plus innings with two strikeouts, just his second time with fewer than five this season. His ERA rose to 3.00. Skenes left after giving up four straight hits in the sixth. In his previous outing, against Philadelphia on May 17, Skenes tied his big league high by giving up five runs . Tyler Heineman also homered for the defending AL champions, his first since last July 19. Patrick Corbin (2-1) allowed one run and five hits in six innings with a season-high seven strikeouts. Jeff Hoffman struck out the side in the ninth for his fifth save in eight chances.
May 23, 2026 7:31 am
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Busch died after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming complications, according to a statement released by his family. Dakota Hunter, vice president of Kyle Busch Companies, said the family received the medical evaluation on Saturday. Busch, a two-time NASCAR champion, died at 41 on Thursday, a day after passing out in a Chevrolet simulator. Sepsis is considered a life-threatening medical emergency that occurs when the body has an extreme, overactive response to an infection, causing the immune system to damage its own tissues and organs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
May 24, 2026 7:32 am
PARIS (AP) — The French Open has started amid a heat wave in Paris. Among the early matches on Day 1 of the clay-court Grand Slam were 13th-seeded Karen Khachanov against Arthur Gea on Court Suzanne-Lenglen and 15th-seeded Marta Kostyuk against Oksana Selekhmeteva on Court Simonne-Mathieu. The temperature was already 26 degrees Celsius (79 Fahrenheit) when play started and was due to soar to 31 Celsius (88 Fahrenheit). The night match features three-time champion Novak Djokovic against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Two days after his 39th birthday, Djokovic will play a men’s record 82nd Grand Slam tournament. That’s one more than Roger Federer and Feliciano Lopez.
May 23, 2026 4:28 am
TORONTO (AP) — Kevin Gausman pitched into the seventh inning, Yohendrick Pinango and George Springer had two-run doubles and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2 on Friday night for their third straight victory. After Springer scored Toronto’s first run in the third inning, Pinango drove in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Daulton Varsho in the inning. Gausman (4-3) settled in after giving up a run in the first inning. The right-hander allowed six hits, one walk and had eight strikeouts. Pittsburgh starter Bubba Chandler (1-6) allowed three runs — only one earned — in five innings. The Pirates have lost five of seven to fall to 26-25. Gausman was pulled with two outs in the seventh inning with two runners in scoring position. Reliever Mason Fluharty then needed one pitch to get Oneil Cruz to fly out. Pittsburgh had two more runners in the eighth before Toronto manager John Schneider called on closer Louis Varland for a rare six-out save. The Pirates scored on a fielder’s choice, but left the potential tying run at third base when Jhostynxon Garcia grounded out. Varland has seven saves.
May 22, 2026 2:57 pm
Friday’s game between the Joliet Slammers and Washington Wild Things has been postponed due to rain in the forecast and a power outage. It will be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader Saturday, May 23 at 5:05 p.m. Fans with tickets for Friday’s game (May 22) can exchange their tickets through the Wild Things’ ticket office for any remaining 2026 home game, based on availability. Saturday’s doubleheader will begin at 5:05 p.m.. Gates open at 4:05 pm with a souvenir hat giveaway. Game 2 will follow the first game, roughly 30-45 minutes following Game 1’s final out. Both games will be seven innings (regulation). Fans with tickets for Saturday’s game (May 23) can use those tickets with the same seats for both games.
May 22, 2026 4:29 am
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion who won more races than anyone across NASCAR’s three national series, has died. He was 41. The Busch Family, Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR issued a joint statement Thursday saying Busch died after being hospitalized. No cause of death was given. Busch’s family said earlier Thursday that he was hospitalized with a “severe illness,” three days before he was to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord on Wednesday when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte, several people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details have not been disclosed by Busch’s team or family.
