Maltese Cross (9/4) turned the tables on the Ballydoyle-trained colts in the Group 2 Sky Bet Great Voltigeur at York on Wednesday afternoon.
Trained by William Haggas, Maltese Cross was second to Christmas Day in the Betfred Derby at Epsom in June, on ground that did not suit him.
This afternoon, with underfoot conditions more to his liking, the Sea The Stars colt beat Pierre Bonnard (100/30), third in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby in June, and his conqueror at Epsom, Christmas Day (6/4 favourite), by two lengths and two-and-a-quarter lengths respectively.
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The winner, ridden by Tom Marquand, made smooth progress three furlongs from home, and then challenged the race leader, Christmas Day, the mount of Ryan Moore.
Pierre Bonnard was soon pushed to lead at the two-furlong pole by Wayne Lordan, as the race favourite, Christmas Day, began to weaken.
The George Waud-owned Maltese Cross was staying on best of the field inside the final furlong to run out a decisive winner, to add to his Group 1 Cygames Grand Prix de Paris success of last month.
Dec 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman (51) reacts to a snap against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images.
Blake Cashman had a nice day at the office. He did so from within the added scrutiny of playing against the Baltimore Ravens in the first of a pair of days of joint practices.
The veteran Vikings defender is coming off a reasonably modest 2025 season. What had been a true breakout in 2024 didn’t get a full encore, partially due to injury. Mr. Cashman was said to come into camp with a minor problem but that was nowhere to be seen today. The linebacker looked like a heat-seeking missile whom Brian Flores had tasked with hunting down the football.
Vikings Defender Blake Cashman Sizzled
Seemingly every time I looked over at the Vikings’ defense, Cashman was creating a ruckus.
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The linebacker is an easy mover who is going to be a key part of the mix for Coach Flores. To a certain extent, that’s to be expected given that he’s already been the green-dot ‘backer, the one to corral the play call and then relay it to teammates. That basic responsibility says much; Cashman must be somebody who works hard, understands the game well, and who has earned the trust of his coaches.
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman (51) reacts after a defensive stop during fourth-quarter action against the Detroit Lions on Dec. 25, 2025 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Cashman celebrated as the crowd roared late in the divisional matchup. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images.
But then there’s another part of his game that goes beyond having beefy mental bandwidth (as desirable as that is).
Cashman moves well and is aggressive. He finds a way to be slippery against blockers while still offering rugged physicality. That attribute showed up on a day when he got moved all over the place. Part of what I like about watching Cashman is that sometimes his blitz is clearly aimed at setting up his teammate rather than snagging individual glory. Something to be said for that, folks.
Obviously, playing the Ravens means beginning with a focus on Lamar Jackson. The MVP at QB can then work with RB Derrick Henry, WR Zay Flowers, and TE Mark Andrews (among others) to do damage. Being able to counter at least some of that with Cashman is part of the mix. He could commonly be found in the pocket of the TE or RB.
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Some insist that linebacker has been a touch devalued in recent years. Maybe that’s true since the NFL is an aerial league, making corners and edge rushers the main spots for a defense. Cashman, though, is so multiple that he’s part of the mix both as a blitzer and a coverage guy.
Dec 14, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman (51) and cornerback Isaiah Rodgers (2) tackle Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ryan Flournoy (19) during the first half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images – Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Last year, Blake Cashman got into action for thirteen games. His tackle total — a monstrous 144 — jumps off the stat sheet but a lot of his other numbers were down. He had 2 sacks, 3 QB hits, and 4 tackles for loss. There were a pair of passes defended.
Back in 2024, Cashman obliterated those numbers. His 112 tackles stand alongside 4.5 sacks, 11 QB hits, 8 tackles for loss, and 8 passes defended. Cashman was a monster out there. Getting him back to that level doesn’t mean fully shutting down Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs or Chicago’s Colston Loveland. What it does mean, though, is making life difficult for those key skill guys.
The Vikings defender is now working on the final year of the contract he signed back in 2024. Getting him for three years at $22.5 million was terrific work from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Will the new GM, Nolan Teasley, opt to extend the linebacker? Cashman’s cap charge is sitting at $9,182,353.
For a little while, I’ve insisted that the Vikings will move on after 2026 due to the presence of Eric Wilson (who also had a good day today). Since Wilson is now working under a three-year agreement, I’ve argued, next year is a natural breaking point to hand the leadership baton off to Wilson while then uplifting Jake Golday.
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Maybe that’s going to occur since teams are reluctant to hand over large deals to a pair of old linebackers. Cashman, though, still has some gas in the tank. No time like the present to show that he can play a full seventeen games and do damage while in there.
When Scottie Scheffler tells you he’s a rich man, he’s not talking about his bank account.
He’s referring to his family: high-school-sweetheart-turned-wife Meredith and their towheaded sons, Bennett (2) and Remy (5 months). He’s referring to his faith (he’s a devout Christian and regular at Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas). And, in a distant third among his soul-fillers, he’s referring to his golf (though not in the name of chasing titles or history or fame; Scheffler is driven by the singular pursuit of executing each shot and each task as it comes — with as much care, skill and focus as his body and mind will allow).
None of which to say that the guy hasn’t also banked a Brink’s truck or two full of cash.
Scheffler’s career windfall has come into focus this week as he prepares for the second of three legs of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs, the BMW Championship, because he is on the cusp of a seemingly momentous achievement: usurping Tiger Woods as the Tour’s all-time leading money earner. Scheffler ($119,964,411) trails Woods ($120,999,166) by “only” $1,034,755, meaning if he finishes in a three-way tie for third or better at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Scheffler will assume the gilded throne. After Scheffler’s exemplary form in Memphis last week, where he won by a touchdown and a two-point conversion, smart money says Woods’ record will fall this week.
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You may have noticed our use of seemingly above. It was intentional, because while Scheffler’s career haul is staggering and also an obvious sign of his stunning consistency over his first seven soon-to-be full seasons on the PGA Tour, it also is misleading, because Scheffler has, of course, accomplished nothing close to the bullet points on Woods’ C.V. If anything, this potential passing-of-the-torch is more so a moment to stand in awe of the Tour’s escalating purses.
Woods gets much credit for that, for all the eyeballs, sponsor dollars and ballooning TV deals he brought to the game. But so, too, do Greg Norman and Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for creating a competitive threat in the upper rungs of pro golf, a rival league that forced the PGA Tour to reach not only deep into its own coffers but also into those of its knight-in-shining-armor investment partners.
Scheffler acknowledged all of this at the BMW on Wednesday when asked about eclipsing Woods’ mark. “A lot to do with the purses and all that,” he said. “I’m not really too close to him in terms of career wins.” Nope, not too close at all. Woods has 82 victories; Scheffler, 21.
“What, am I like a fourth of the way there?” Scheffler continued. “Tiger did a lot for the game of golf and he put us in a position where we’re able to earn some pretty good stuff financially, so that’s something we’re very grateful for. Tiger’s contributions to the game, when you look at where the purses were at before he came out on Tour to where they’re at now is a pretty stark difference.”
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Consider this: Scheffler is about to put a bow on his seventh PGA Tour season. Over that stretch, he has made 157 starts and averaged $763,054 per start; in Woods’ first seven seasons, he made 137 starts and averaged $284,574 per start — with 16 more wins than Scheffler.
It’s a fun and eye-opening exercise, comparing Scheffler’s career thus far to Woods’ through his first seven years. When you look beyond Woods’ win total in that period (37), Woods’ and Scheffler’s cumulative finishes are strikingly similar.
Woods had:
12 runner-ups to Scheffler’s 15
75 top-5s to Scheffler’s 68
89 top-10s to Scheffler’s 88
119 top-25s to Scheffler’s 122
Tiger Woods’ and Scottie Scheffler’s finishes in their first seven seasons on Tour. (Note: Scheffler still has two more starts in 2026.)
GOLF.com/Claude
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To put a finer point on it, if Scheffler finishes top-10 either this week or next (but not in both weeks), he and Woods will have [cue eerie music] exactly the same number of top-10 finishes through their respective first seven years on Tour. So while Woods was undoubtedly more dominant (i.e., a better closer) early in his career, if your barometer for consistency is top-10s, you could make the case that little separates the golfers. (By the way, if you want to play this game with Jack Nicklaus, his first-seven-seasons stat line, no surprise, also is staggering: 149 starts, 27 wins, 104 top-10s. For Big Jack’s troubles over that stretch, he pocketed a princely sum of $846,531, or, on average, about $5,681 per start.)
Scheffler’s peers are awed by his consistency. Almost without exception, it’s the first quality they mention when asked about his greatness. Here’s Ryan Fox, Champion Golf of the Year, weighing in Wednesday from the BMW: “The most impressive thing about Scottie is the consistency. Like, the consistency in results. Because I don’t think we have seen anyone that’s as consistent probably since Tiger. But [also] the consistency of his iron shots. Like, I watched most of Sunday [in Memphis], and the recurring theme was he just always hits the shot that needs to be hit.”
Next on the press-tent schedule at Bellerive was eight-time Tour winner Viktor Hovland. Same question about Scheffler, and, yep, pretty much the same answer. “He’s just so consistent,” Hovland said. “He hits the ball so well. … It seems like putting and the rest of the game, like it doesn’t have a weakness. I mean, last week, I feel like I was a little surprised to see the second place being nine under. So no one really pushed him either last week, but for him to go out there and shoot 17 under, I mean that’s, yeah, very impressive. That’s just kind of how he’s been playing the last few years. It’s really cool to watch.”
Scheffler’s steadiness has added up to career winnings well north of the gross domestic product of Montserrat (pop. 4,328). Unseemly? Depends on your perspective. Scheffler wasn’t asked Wednesday about the Tour’s ever-swelling payouts and bonuses, but Rory McIlroy was.
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“If [sponsors are] willing to pay that, then that’s the market value,” said McIlroy, who’s nipping at Scheffler’s heels with $116,488,372 in lifetime earnings. “We are professional golfers. Like, we’re not just Bobby Jones out there, not playing for prize money. We turned pro to make money playing golf.”
That said, McIlroy stressed, players’ paydays should not be a drum the Tour bangs too loudly. The topic, he said, surfaced in a conversation he had Tuesday with PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp. This week, for example, McIlroy said, the Tour should be trumpeting not the BMW’s $20 million purse but the rich legacy of the event, which was born 127 years ago as the Western Open. “We should play into that history,” he said. “That should be what we are talking about when we come to these tournaments.”
McIlroy added, “This tournament has so much history, and I think that some of that, as we’ve gotten into commercializing the PGA Tour, has gotten lost.”
It’s a nice sentiment, but if Scheffler contends this weekend, you can forget quieting any talk of his massive fortune. All that’s separating him from history is about a million bucks.
Rory McIlroy, when asked whether certain LIV Golf players should be allowed back onto the PGA Tour, started his 22-word answer on Wednesday with a question of his own.
The six-time major winner spoke one day before the Tour’s BMW Championship — and at about the same time as LIV CEO Scott O’Neil addressed the future of his league as it attempts to regroup after the loss of its primary backer, the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund. The exit has led to speculation on whether LIV players would stick with the league after its season-ending event this week, or look into avenues to play on the Tour, the circuit in which most of the pros had once played.
But McIlroy questioned the point of certain LIV pros returning.
“I mean, I’d argue, have they brought value to LIV? You know?” he said.
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“I think the PGA Tour’s in a really good spot.”
Later in his press conference, McIlroy was asked whether the Tour would be helped by having a pair of specific LIV pros — two-time major winners Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm — among its players as it looks toward media rights negotiations. In January, they had been offered, along with Brooks Koepka and Cam Smith, a deal to leave LIV and return to the Tour under a number of stipulations, but only Koepka accepted it.
“Eventually, yeah, maybe,” McIlroy said in response to the question. “But I don’t think it’s — I mean, look, eventually they will.
“Look, if they play the golf and they, you know, I’m pretty sure — I’m not part of these discussions, but I’m pretty sure they’re not going to be welcomed back straight away. If they were offered this returning member program back in February, the one that Brooks took, then, yeah, maybe. But that has sort of come and gone. And I think it was said at the time that the deal that they might get going forward, if they do decide to come back, isn’t going to be as good as the one that Brooks got. So, yeah, I would say it’s going to be a tough, tough road back.”
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McIlroy, who’s been critical of LIV since its start in 2022, was also asked if he took any “personal satisfaction” should LIV end up folding — and he called it “a hard one.” As part of his answer, he noted the loss of jobs, along with Phil Mickelson and the Saudi investment.
“I think I feel like I’ve kept my position consistent that LIV has never been a good thing for the game,” McIlroy said. “So, and whatever 2.0 looks like, if it even happens — you know, they say they’re trying to be more collaborative and all that. But I — this is the best platform for the top professional golfers in the world.
“Yeah, were there some things at the start of LIV that the PGA Tour could have done better? Sure. But I think that the guys that went, or you look, you think back to the start with, say, Phil was unhappy with some stuff or whatever it was. Like, surely that just warranted a conversation instead of blowing the entire professional game up and doing something else.
“So I don’t take any personal satisfaction of people like losing jobs. Like that doesn’t seem right. I’ve always felt like this is the best place to play professional golf. And I’m pretty sure if the PGA Tour were handed 6 billion dollars it would have done a better job with it.”
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The question of whether LIV players should be allowed back was also posed on Wednesday to Scottie Scheffler and Adam Scott, and both were OK with players returning under penalty.
Said Scheffler: “I think when we talk about the best players, you know, LIV has a few players that are really good. I think the depth that we have on our Tour is a bit unmatched, but I think when you look at the higher levels of LIV Golf, there’s definitely some players that would provide a lot of value to the Tour, and guys that I love competing against as well. So I think going forward there obviously has to be, I think, some sort of penalties.”
Said Scott: “I think it needs to be fair. I mean, it’s a complicated question to answer. The PGA Tour needs to protect its own membership, but I think the PGA Tour also knows that there needs to be pathways, so it will be fair.”
Things between AEW stars Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay got personal tonight on Dynamite. The reigning AEW World Champion and 2026 Owen Hart Cup winner are set to lock horns in the main event of All In at Wembley Stadium. Over the past few weeks, their friendship has been tarnished and turned into fierce animosity.
Both stars have a long history. Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay collided twice in 2023. They met once in NJPW at Wrestle Kingdom 17 and once at Forbidden Door. Both of them have won one match in the contest, making their match at Wembley Stadium more meaningful.
Tonight, on Dynamite, Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega had a sit-down interview with Renee Paquette. Both stars talked about their past and struggles. At the end of the interview, the Cleaner took personal shots at the Aerial Assassin. Kenny Omega said that Ospreay’s son might have to find a new hero after the AEW World Champion defeats him at All In.
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The last time it mattered the most Will was 2023. At that time too, you tried to do it on your own, and what happened, Will? You failed. You failed. Except this time, in front of your countrymen, in front of all your friends, all your family, you’re gonna fail again (…) All I’m saying is there is a lot riding on this, not just for you, but for me. And hey, win, lose or draw, I still respect you, Will, and I still think that you are one of the greatest wrestlers that I have ever laid eyes upon. Even if you lose, your mom is gonna be proud of you. What I worry about most, Will, is that boy of yours might want a new hero after he sees me beat you,” he said.
It will be interesting to see what happens at All In when the two stars collide.
Please credit AEW and add an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use any quotes from the first half of this article.
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Mar 25, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson (8) reacts after a play in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Unable to sign rising star Peyton Watson to a new contract, the Denver Nuggets have traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Cleveland sends guard Max Strus to the Los Angeles Clippers, according to multiple reports on Wednesday evening.
Denver will receive an unprotected 2031 first-round pick from the Cavaliers and a 2032 second-round pick from the Sacramento Kings.
Watson, who averaged a career-high 14.6 points per game in 2025-26, will sign a four-year, $88 million contract as part of the sign-and-trade transaction, his agent told ESPN.
The Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Portland Trail Blazers also expressed interest in Watson, but Denver and Cleveland finalized the deal with Watson’s agents on Wednesday. The deal includes a player option and a trade kicker.
Los Angeles will send Cleveland a 2027 second-round pick, which it acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Johni Broome, thereby allowing the Clippers to pick up Strus via a trade exception.
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The Cavs will also send Tre Mann, who they just acquired from the Charlotte Hornets for Dennis Schroder, along with the 2027 second-rounder from Los Angeles to the Washington Wizards, reports indicated.
Watson, an outstanding two-way player, also averaged career highs in rebounds, assists, and steals in 2025-26 and increased his 3-point field goals made from 48 in 2024-25 to 81 last season. He scored 30 or more points four times during the season, including three in January, when Nikola Jokic was out of the lineup.
Watson started 40 of 54 games last season and has 64 career starts in 225 games. He boosted his career scoring average to 8.7 points per game.
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Strus, 30, played the last three seasons in Cleveland, after spending three in Miami and one in Chicago. He played in a dozen games after returning from injury in 2025-26, averaging 11.2 points per game. Strus converted 33 of 82 (40.2%) from behind the arc and has made 742 treys in his last six seasons.
Strus has played in 321 games (161 starts) and averaged 10.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Any Toronto Blue Jays fans looking to relive one of the biggest moments of the 2025 World Series run will now get their chance, it just might not come where you’d expect.
The Hockey Hall of Fame announced Wednesday that it will be hosting a George Springer display, with his custom Hartford Whalers-themed batting gloves that he used last season as the main attraction.
The blue and green gloves pay homage to Springer’s since-departed childhood team, as he grew up in New Britain, Conn., about a 20-minute drive from Hartford.
Springer had a resurgent 2025, hitting 32 home runs in the regular season to help the Blue Jays win their first AL East title since 2015.
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But by far his most iconic moment wearing the gloves came in Game 7 of the ALCS, when Springer launched a three-run, go-ahead home run in the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners that propelled the Blue Jays to the World Series.
It was one of the most iconic moments in Blue Jays history, and now a little piece of it will be on display in Toronto.
The Houston Texans have lost one of their most important weapons for the 2026 season.
On Wednesday, second-year wide receiver Jayden Higgins was revealed to have torn his ACL during joint practice with the Las Vegas Raiders the previous day. He had landed awkwardly while trying to catch a pass during red-zone drills, then was spotted limping off the field.
Thanks for the submission!
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Sources: #Texans WR Jayden Higgins suffered a torn ACL yesterday during the joint practice against the #Raiders. A tough blow to the Houston receiving room.
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Reaction to the development was rife:
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@RapSheet All they have left is Nico Collins. Their season is over
@RapSheet Tank Dell is about to go NUCLEAR if he stays healthy
@RapSheet Hey @HoustonTexans, call @Browns and ask for Jeudy! Please
@RapSheet It’s time for @DeAndreHopkins to come home!
@RapSheet Here come the skeptics saying Stroud has no help.
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@RapSheet They should trade for Hollywood brown, would give them that deep treat that they will be missing now
Higgins was stellar in his NFL debut, catching 41 of 68 targets for 525 yards and six touchdowns. In June, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer had mentioned him as a potential breakout star after OTAs:
“Higgins certainly has looked that part in the spring. His frame is nearly identical to Nico Collins’, and while Collins is the physically stronger player, Higgins is a smoother, looser athlete than the Texans’ incumbent No. 1 — one staffer illustrated it as having a power forward (Collins) and small forward (Higgins) at the position.”
With him gone, the Texans find themselves needing a new no. 2 beside Nico Collins.
Xavier Hutchinson looks like the leading in-house candidate after posting career highs of 35 receptions for 428 yards and three touchdowns in 2025. 2023 batchmate Tank Dell is looking to return from a devastating knee injury that sidelined him for nearly the past two seasons, while Jaylin Noel, another 2025 draftee, has been battling multiple injuries throughout training camp.
Former Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins posts cryptic message in aftermath of Jayden Higgins’ season-ending ACL tear
Losing Jayden Higgins for the 2026 season is definitely a major blow for the Texans, especially as they look to reclaim the AFC South. However, a familiar face has offered his services to help the team: DeAndre Hopkins.
Also on Wednesday, sometime after the nature of Higgins’ injury was revealed, the veteran wideout took to Instagram Stories to post this old image of himself greeting his mother:
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Hopkins spent the first seven seasons of his NFL career with the Texans, evolving into one of the league’s top wide receivers. With them, he was a four-time All-Pro and Pro Bowler, led the league in receiving touchdowns in 2017, and set the franchise single-season receptions record in 2018.
He was traded to the Arizona Cardinals in 2020 and lasted three seasons there, making another All-Pro and Pro Bowl. After being released in May 2023, he bounced around three teams before becoming Georgia Tech’s WRs coach at the end of last month, though he has insisted that he is not retired.
As part of the transition post Leon Goretzka, Bayern Munich handed he midfield role as well as the number 8 shirt over to Tom Bischof. The 21 year-old has shown incredible composure for his age and is keen to carry out the responsibilities of his role and as well as the weight of the shirt he inherited from Goretzka.
A responsibility rather than a burden
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 25: Javi Martinez of Bayern Muenchen is seen with the trophy during the UEFA Champions League final match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Muenchen at Wembley Stadium on May 25, 2013 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The number 8 shirt of Bayern has seen absolute stalwarts in Paul Breitner, Lothar Matthäus and the honorary president Uli Hoeneß himself. It comes with a certain legacy and weight that Bischof holds a lot of respect for. Leon Goretzka inherited the number 8 from Javi Martinez after winning the sextuple with Bayern. Javi sealed the Champions League and the treble in his very first season at the club with the 8 on his back. They added immense weight to a jersey that was already iconic.
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As graceful as he threads his passes, Tom Bischof answered the natural question of whether the shirt brings an immense burden with it. “When you play for Bayern, you’re generally under the spotlight anyway, regardless of what number you wear on your back. Nevertheless, squad numbers do have a significance for most people. It’s a special feeling to wear such a significant number. I just like it, it suits me. And I appreciate the fact it’s been entrusted to me. I want to take the next step now and I definitely believe I’m capable of it. So: incentive! I’m looking forward to wearing the number 8 shirt and will do so with pride,” said Bischof in the club’s magazine #Säbener51 (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
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A classy gesture beforehand
Munich, Germany – May 16: Aleksandar Pavlovic of FC Bayern Muenchen and Tom Bischof of FC Bayern Muenchen gestures after the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern München and 1. FC Köln at Allianz Arena on May 16, 2026 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images) | DeFodi Images via Getty Images
Although he grew up adoring the number 10 shirt, the role of the box-to-box midfielder was the path that Bischof and the game chose. The 21-year-old was not the only young midfielder rising through the ranks in Munich. Aleksandar Pavlović who settled into a starter role in midfield is another suitable and an easy choice to succeed Goretzka’s shirt. Before throwing his hat Bischof did pitch the idea to his senior and only then did he make an official request with the club.
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“As a kid you dream of the #10. That’s what I always wanted when I was younger. Now I play more defensively, so #8 fits. I waited for a while out of respect for Leon, and then initially spoke to Aleks Pavlović. He’s been here longer and is a friend of mine, but Pavlo is sticking with his number. So, I asked and they indicated that I could have it,” he added acknowledging his ability and role’s requirement to defend deeper.
Aug 19, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; San Francisco Giants left fielder Victor Bericoto (78) advances to third on a double by right fielder Jung Hoo Lee (not pictured) during the fourth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Victor Bericoto singled off Brayan Rocchio’s glove in the fourth inning to score Rafael Devers, and three pitchers combined for a shutout as the visiting San Francisco Giants beat the Cleveland Guardians 1-0 on Wednesday night.
Devers led off the fourth with a double against Parker Messick (9-8) before scoring on Bericoto’s two-out single that caromed off Rocchio’s mitt as he dove into the hole at shortstop. It was the only hit with runners in scoring position in 11 combined opportunities.
Adrian Houser (4-7) pitched five-plus innings of relief for the win, striking out three. Dylan Smith worked the final two innings for his third save and had five strikeouts, completing the collective six-hitter.
Bericoto, the left fielder, also made the defensive play of the game in the bottom half of the fourth to keep Cleveland off the board. He sprinted to make a diving grab of Angel Genao’s low liner with two on and two outs.
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All-Star rookie Messick tied his career high with 10 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings, giving up one run on six hits without a walk. The left-hander hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any of his eight starts since the start of July.
Giants pitcher Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson started and tossed two innings in his major league debut, allowing one hit against the seven hitters he faced. The lefty didn’t have a strikeout or walk.
The 6-foot-1, 250-pounder, who was drafted by Cleveland in 2023, was traded to the Giants in exchange for starting catcher Patrick Bailey on May 9.
Willy Adames had three hits for San Francisco, while Genao and Angel Martinez singled twice for the Guardians. With the loss, Cleveland fell 1 1/2 games out of the final American League wild-card position.
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Guardians outfielders Jo Adell (left kneecap contusion) and Chase DeLauter (mild left hamstring tightness) were unavailable Wednesday, and first baseman Rhys Hoskins (lower back inflammation) was placed on the IL before the game. The club promoted utilityman David Fry from Triple-A Columbus as a result.
;)
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