Worldwide Sports News

Entering the Men’s College World Series, Georgia’s offense was the story for the Bulldogs. Led by Golden Spikes finalist Daniel Jackson, the Bulldogs were among the team leaders in several offensive categories this season, and led the nation with a whopping 174 home runs.

And while that offense showed up Saturday night against Texas, scoring 7 runs in a 7-1 win, the big story in Omaha was the outing from starting pitcher Joey Volchko.

The right-hander went the distance for Georgia, allowing four hits and one unearned run, while striking out 15 in a dominant performance.

And the most impressive stat of the night from Volchko? He walked just one batter, and that came in the ninth inning on his 105th pitch of the night. 

Volchko showed impressive command throughout the night, particularly with his breaking stuff. He features a slider with bite, and he consistently used that early in the count to get ahead of hitters, but he also came back to it to finish hitters off late in the count. You can see that on this cutup from early in the game:

But to close things out, he came back to the fastball on his final pitch of the night, a 96-mph heater to freeze cleanup hitter Temo Becerra.

It matched the 96-mph he showed on his first fastball of the game. 

“Honestly, things kinda slowed down for me, I was able to compete and execute pitches,” said Volchko after the win.

He also pointed to his slider.

“Yeah, slider, command to both sides was pretty good,” said Volchko to ESPN when asked what what pitches he had working against Texas. 

Here’s another look at that slider, for his tenth strikeout of the night:

The real command Volchko showed came during that interview, as Tre Phelps and company draped the righty with Sour Power Candy Belts as he spoke with ESPN. 

It was also his first career complete game.

Georgia will take on Oklahoma on Monday night, while Texas will square off with Alabama in an elimination game on Monday afternoon.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs got bitten by the Louisville Bats (Reds), 4-3.

It was a bullpen game for Iowa tonight as Ty Blach started, pitched two innings and retired all six batters he faced. Blach struck out two.

Vince Velazquez went the next four innings and allowed two runs on three hits. Mostly he gave up two runs on a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth. Velazquez walked two and struck out five.

Luis Peralta pitched the bottom of the seventh inning, surrendered two runs on three hits and took the loss. Peralta walked one and struck out two.

Right fielder Kevin Alcántara was 2 for 4 with a two-run double in the sixth inning. Alcántara doubled twice.

First baseman Jonathon Long was 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored.

Alcántara takes away a double.

The Jaguar’s two-run double.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies greased the Montgomery Biscuits (Rays), 12-5. The win and the Lookouts loss moved the Smokies into a tie for first place in the Southern League North Division.

Starter Tyler Schlaffer pitched two innings and gave up three runs on four hits. Schlaffer walked two and struck out three.

Frankie Scalzo Jr. didn’t allow a run over the next three innings and got the win. Scalzo gave up three hits. He struck out one and walked no one.

Jackson Kirkpatrick pitched the next two innings and struck out all six batters he faced swinging.

Third baseman Jefferson Rojas hit a three-run home run in the third inning, his tenth on the season. Rojas went 3 for 5 and scored twice.

Right fielder Alex Ramírez was 3 for 5 with a double and two steals. He drove in two and scored twice.

Second baseman Hayden Cantrelle went 3 for 5. He scored once and had one run batted in.

Catcher Owen Ayers was 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. Ayers scored twice.

Shortstop Karson Simas went 2 for 6 with a double and a run scored.

Left fielder Carter Trice was 2 for 4 with a walk and a steal. Trice had one RBI and one run scored.

First baseman Cameron Sisneros was 2 for 3 with a sacrifice fly. He drove home two runs total.

Rojas’ home run and Ramírez’s single powered a six-run third inning.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs hosed down the Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals), 6-4. The win clinches the first-half Midwest League West Division title.

Koen Moreno pitched the first five innings and gave up two runs on two solo home runs and five total hits. Moreno struck out three and walked no one, but he did hit one batter.

Jackson Brockett pitched the final four innings and got the save. Brockett allowed two runs on three hits, all of which came in the top of the ninth inning. He didn’t allow a baserunner over his first three innings. Brockett struck out five and walked no one.

First baseman Josiah Hartshorn hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, his seventh in 17 games with South Bend and 13th overall. Hartshorn was 1 for 4.

Later in the first inning, Left fielder Jose Escobar hit a two-run home run. It was Escobar’s first South Bend home run and his third overall. Escobar was a perfect 3 for 3 with a double, the home run and a walk. He drove in three runs total.

Catcher Justin Stransky capped off a five-run first inning by going back-to-back with Escobar for his third home run of the year. Stransky went 1 for 3 with a walk.

Third baseman Matt Halbach went 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Harsthorn’s home run.

All three first inning home runs, including Hartshorn’s.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans bogeyed against the Augusta GreenJackets (Braves), 4-3.

Kaleb Wing started this game and took the loss after he allowed three runs over 2.1 innings. The runs came on one hit, four walks and a hit batter. Wing struck out three.

Center fielder Alexey Lumpuy hit a solo home run in the fifth inning, his second on the season. Lumpuy was 2 for 5.

Shortstop Alexis Hernandez went 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. He scored once.

Lumpuy’s home run.

ACL Cubs

Lost to the Angels, 11-10.

The Philadelphia Phillies were very excited to be facing anyone not named Jacob Misiorowski tonight, and they sure showed it. After being limited to one hit on Friday, the Phillies offense exploded for 17 hits and nine runs against the Brewers staff on Saturday night.

It started in the second inning when Edmundo Sosa went deep off Shane Drohan to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. They would add two more in the 4th on a pair of hits by Bryson Stott and JT Realmuto to go up 3-0.

The Brewers would answer back in the bottom half though when Garrett Mitchell crushed his fourth home run of the season to dead center to get two runs right back. The Crew would then tie things up in the 5th when Jackson Chourio hit his first of two home runs on the night.

But then the momentum shifted right back to the Phillies. After giving up a single to Brandon Marsh, Pat Murphy opts to call in Chad Patrick from the bullpen. Patrick, who struggled in his last time out in Las Vegas, struggled again. He allowed five straight hits, including a 3-run-homer to JT Realmuto, five runs came in to score, and the Phillies were all of a sudden up 8-3.

However, that was not quite the knockout blow because the Brewers did battle back. They’ve proven they’re not out of any game, no matter how many runs they may be down. Jackson Chourio supplied a two-run blast in the 7th, his second homer of the game. It’s also his fourth career multi-HR game.

“He’s getting it. Be careful, it’s early but he’s getting it.” Pat Murphy said “Now his ball-strike is getting elite, that’s what happens when you wait for a strike.”

Then in the 8th, after the Phillies added another run on an RBI single from Marsh, the Brewers rallied once again, sending eight men to the plate. It got started with a Garrett Mitchell single, followed by a Sal Frelick walk and a Gary Sanchez infield single. A wild pitch during pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn’s at-bat brought Mitchell home before Vaughn ended up getting the base on balls.

Christian Yelich brought home another on a sacrifice fly, then Jackson Chourio ripped an RBI single to left. Pinch-runner Luis Rengifo blew through the stop sign from Matt Erickson and ended up just beating the tag at home plate to make it a 9-8 ballgame.

However, Brice Turang struck out and William Contreras popped out to first with two runners on to finish the inning and end the threat.

The Phillies brought out their closer Jhoan Duran for the 9th and he set the Brewers down in order to seal the loss for the Crew.

It’ll be a very strong pitching matchup for the rubber match tomorrow with Kyle Harrison on the mound for the Crew and the Phillies will have their ace Cristopher Sanchez.

“We’ll try to help Miz’s case out a little bit” Pat Murphy said.

A night after being stuck with the pointy end of one of the finest pitching performances in modern memory, the Philadelphia Phillies (38-32) recorded a season-high 17 hits and held on for dear life in a 9-8 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers (42-26) on Saturday night.

The Phillies opened the scoring against Brewers’ lefty, Shane Drohan, in the second inning with a two-out solo shot by Edmundo Sosa, his fourth of the season.

They tacked on two more runs in the fourth inning on an RBI double by Bryson Stott and an RBI single by Brandon Marsh.

The Brewers clawed back with a two-run home run by Garrett Mitchell in the bottom of the inning and a solo homer by Jackson Chourio in the fifth.

The offense put up a five spot in the sixth, sending nine men to the plate with six straight hits to open the inning, punctuated by a mammoth three-run home run by JT Realmuto.

The entire starting lineup reached base with Bryce Harper being the sole member without a hit.

Two nightmare innings by Jose Alvarado and Brad Keller brought the five-run lead down to one and a crucial insurance run in the top of the eighth, brought by a two-out walk by Harper and back-to-back singles by Alec Bohm and Marsh, proved to be the decisive factor.

Jhoan Duran picked up his 18th save of the season with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to shut the door.

The rubber match will be tomorrow afternoon as Cristopher Sanchez battles fellow standout lefty, Kyle Harrison.

On Saturday, TCU baseball picked up a commitment from Mississippi State sophomore outfielder James Nunnallee, who slashed .241/.359/.370 with 13 hits, four doubles, one home run and five RBIs in 53 at-bats during his lone season with the Bulldogs. Nunnallee made 29 appearances and 10 starts in 2026, scoring 11 runs, drawing seven walks and stealing two bases. As a freshman, Nunnallee played at Virginia, where he appeared in 48 games with 40 starts and hit .296 with 12 doubles and 26 RBIs. His 10.9 strikeout rate was best in the ACC.

Nunnallee could earn immediate playing in the TCU outfield, as the Horned Frogs could lose both Chase Brunson and Sawyer Strosnider to the 2026 MLB Draft. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder from San Diego bats left-handed and throws right-handed. He played his high school baseball at Lightridge in Virginia, where he was named a Class 5 Region D Player of the Year and the Washington Post’s 2024 All-Met Team. He hit .474 as a senior and was the No. 7 overall player in the state before signing with the Cavaliers.

If you knew that Sean Manaea and the Mets’ bullpen would hold the Braves to just three runs over the course of a game, you might’ve thought the Mets would win. That would take a lot of faith in a Mets lineup that has struggled to score runs all too often this year, but if you saw Manaea pitch over the first few weeks of the season, you’d be thrilled at the prospect of a win.

That’s not what happened, though, as the Mets scored just once in the game, adding another poor performance at the plate to their dubious record on the season.

Mark Vientos drove in the Mets’ sole run of the game in the bottom of the sixth, and the team might’ve scored one more if not for a home run replay review that resulted in a would-be home run in the ninth.

As for the pitchers, Manaea went six innings, struck out six, walked two, and gave up two runs on four hits. That’s his best appearance of the season by far. Austin Warren gave up a run over the course of two innings of work, and Daniel Duarte threw a scoreless inning in the top of the ninth.

The Mets will attempt to win the series and improve upon their 31-39 record on the season in the series finale tomorrow afternoon 1:40 PM EDT.

SB Nation GameThreads

Amazin’ Avenue
Battery Power

Box scores

MLB.com
ESPN

Win Probability Added

WPA to follow

Go Rays!

On the 13th of July, Dave Roberts will reveal his selection for the National League‘s starting pitcher in the All-Star Game.

On the 13th of June, Yoshinobu Yamamoto reminded his manager that he is the Dodgers’ best pitcher.

Is that enough for Yamamoto to start the All-Star Game? Probably not.

Is that enough to force Roberts into the uncomfortable position of picking one of his aces over another, like a father picking one of his sons over another? Maybe.

On Saturday, Yamamoto took a no-hitter into the ninth inning. He did it last September too, and in between he painted an October — and a first day of November — for the ages.

Read more:Yoshinobu Yamamoto flirts with perfect game, MLB record in Dodgers' victory

We have heard so much about Shohei Ohtani, and why not? Ohtani decided he would win the Cy Young Award this season, and why not?

His earned-run average did not rise above 1.00 until June 10. He also leads the NL in on-base-plus-slugging percentage, well on his way to his annual most valuable player award.

The Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award sounds nice. Not just yet, but someday, how about the Shohei Ohtani Most Valuable Player Award?

But back to the issue at hand: Which NL pitcher should start the All-Star Game?

Ohtani could, of course. He has, in 2021. In a game that is all about the fans, he is the player fans most want to see.

And, if he does not start at pitcher, he could not start at designated hitter, come in later to pitch one inning and remain in the game at DH. (At least, not under the current rules, which major league officials could waive for the All-Star Game.)

For Roberts and the Dodgers, that would be the ideal: Let Ohtani pitch the first inning so he can follow his normal pregame routine, since he has a routine for both pitching and hitting. Or, since Ohtani is trying to complete his first full season as a pitcher since 2022 and win the Cy Young, he and the Dodgers could agree that he would skip pitching in the All-Star Game.

Read more:Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani returns with a bang after day off

But Roberts figures to have two other very worthy options. In the category of “player everyone wants to see,” he could select Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers, not so much for his league-leading 1.34 ERA — Ohtani, at 1.06, doesn’t have enough innings to qualify — but for the 104-mph fastballs he was throwing in the ninth inning of his one-hit, 15-strikeout shutout Friday.

Without worrying about pitching deep into the game, with the opportunity to throw one inning and rear back and fire, can you imagine how hard Misiorowski might throw in the All-Star Game?

Roberts also could select the ace of the home team, Cristopher Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies, who threw 50⅔ consecutive scoreless innings this season. No one had thrown 50 since 1988, when Dodgers legend Orel Hershiser set the record with 59.

Sanchez has a 1.54 ERA, and he and Misiorowski lead all pitchers in wins above replacement (WAR).

The hometown favorite would be the safe pick for Roberts, although Dodgers fans have long memories: They remember the New York Mets’ Matt Harvey starting over Clayton Kershaw at Citi Field in 2013, a decision that looked regrettable at the time and looks downright shameful in hindsight.

That brings us back to Yamamoto, whose combination of consistency and excellence makes him the natural choice to start a big game — opening day, for instance, or an elimination game in the World Series.

In his 13 starts this season, he has given up three or fewer earned runs all but once and pitched at least six innings all but twice.

In the regular season last year, he pitched eight innings once. This season, he has pitched at least eight innings in his last two starts.

In his last five starts, he has a 1.01 ERA, with five walks and 32 strikeouts. Keep that up for another month, and good luck telling him someone else is starting the All-Star Game.

Look at it this way: Who would you want if you had to pick someone to win you Game 7? You can’t go wrong with the guy who already did.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Freddy Peralta is looking toward his torso for answers.

The Mets ace said Saturday he’s identified a needed mechanical adjustment involving his torso’s rotation that he believes will lead to improved performance in his next start.

That start is scheduled for Sunday against the Braves at Citi Field.

Peralta had his worst outing of the season on Tuesday, when he surrendered six earned runs over six innings in a loss to the Cardinals.

Over his past five starts, Peralta has pitched to a 5.65 ERA. In three of those starts he allowed at least four earned runs.

“I didn’t realize until I sat down with some people around and we figured out I was becoming something different,” Peralta said before the Mets’ 3-1 loss to the Braves on Saturday at Citi Field. “Like a different version of myself because I wasn’t doing what brought me here. I am working on that, and everything is going better.”

Peralta said his location has suffered due to a lower release point. He believes he’s eradicated the problem.

And Peralta isn’t about to look back.

“I have a lot more games for the rest of the season and I bet on myself,” Peralta said. “And I know at the end it’s going to be a really good season.”

Devin Williams was unavailable from the bullpen following appearances on consecutive days, including a 1 ¹/₃-inning outing on Friday in which he threw 33 pitches to record the save.

His nemesis in the latter appearance was Mauricio Dubón, who took Williams to a 13th pitch before delivering a single in the ninth. Williams recovered to get the final two outs.

“I showed him everything I had, and he just kept getting a bat on it,” Williams said. “I was kind of like, ‘All right, let’s just get it over.’ Obviously, I would have liked to get him out there, but I was just ready to move on to the next guy.”

Williams is unscored upon in 15 of his last 17 appearances.

“Overall, I think I have thrown really well,” he said. “They all matter, but when there’s been no room for error, I have matched it,” Williams said. “Outside of two games I think it’s been really good. Consistent for the most part.”

CHICAGO –– After committing an eighth-inning error on Saturday that ended Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s bid for a perfect game, Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts stood before his locker and kept repeating the same message.

“Just a routine ground ball that I missed,” he said. “Not making any excuses.”

There was little routine about the moment, of course, with Yamamoto having been four outs away from a perfect game –– and one out away from tying an MLB record of 46 batters retired in a row –– when White Sox infielder Chase Meidroth hit a bouncing ground ball that Betts went to field. 

Though it certainly wasn’t a difficult play, the chopper didn’t wind up being exactly routine, either, taking what appeared to be a slightly high bounce on its final hop before reaching Betts.

What happened next might’ve gone down in Hanley Ramirez-esque infamy, had Yamamoto not also lost his no-hit bid in the ninth inning on a solo home run from Tristan Peters.

As Betts bent down to field the grounder, he booted it in a stunning moment that saw the ball clank off the heel of his mitt.

“[I was] very aware of everything going on,” Betts said. “Didn’t have any extra pressure.” 

Instead, he explained, he simply didn’t execute.

“I’m not making any excuses,” he reiterated. “I should have made the play.”

In the moment, Betts seemed to be in disbelief at his mistake. He raised his hands as the ball ricocheted to second baseman Santiago Espinal, who couldn’t salvage the play with a bare-handed attempt. He then looked around stoically, with a blank expression almost as if to say: How did that happen?

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

“Obviously, Mookie being the competitor, the athlete that he is, he was pretty hard on himself about it,” catcher Dalton Rushing said.

Yamamoto absolved Betts of any blame, noting through an interpreter that the ball took an “irregular bounce” and that the situation “was just what it is.”

Back in the dugout after the inning, Yamamoto was also among the several teammates who tried to pick up the frustrated Betts with a pat of encouragement as he walked past the bench.

After the game, Rushing cited Betts’ disappointment as a sign of how much the former MVP cares.

“That’s what we want,” Rushing said. “We don’t want guys to just say ‘whatever’ and play like that and kind of give in, and act like it wasn’t their number or anything like that. He holds himself accountable as much as anyone, and that’s what we want to see out of guys.”

When Betts was asked what was going through his mind after the error, he insisted “nothing” –– only adding that he “did everything I was supposed to do, just didn’t catch the ball.”

When asked specifically if the high hop was what caused the miscue, he again sidestepped any excuse-making.

“I think that’s for someone else to decide,” Betts said. “I should’ve caught the ball.”

Since moving to shortstop full-time last year, the former six-time Gold Glove right fielder has typically made such plays with ease. A season ago, he was a Gold Glove finalist after leading the majors in defensive runs saved at the position. This year, he had made just one error in 34 games before Saturday, ranking fifth in fielding percentage among shortstops with 100 innings played.

“That’s baseball. It happens,” pitching coach Mark Prior said. “It’s a team game. At the end of the day, you’re going to go out there and pick him up.”

Just over two weeks into Sean Manaea’s reinstatement as a bulk pitcher for the Mets, the left-handed hurler is continuing to earn more trust.

Manaea strung together a strong outing in a 3-1 loss to the Braves on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field, marking his first start of the 2026 campaign amid questions of how the Mets plan to use the 34-year-old moving forward for the remainder of the season.

Going six innings, Manaea gave up just four hits and two earned runs (one homer) while registering six strikeouts in the loss.

It was the first time Manaea went six or more innings since Game 3 of the 2024 NLDS.

“Huge,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I mean, that’s the guy that we’re going to need moving forward here. For him to go out there and give us a chance, he was pretty solid today, and against a pretty good lineup. Used all of his pitches. Competing in the strike zone. No walks. Got swings and misses.

“Just overall, that’s the guy that we saw a lot in 2024. Alive on the fastball at times. Like I said, got swings and misses. But, yeah, big pictures, man, that’s the guy we need.”

Aside from the solo homer he gave up to the Braves’ Eli White in the fourth inning, Manaea didn’t give Atlanta much to work with. His velocity hovered in the 91-93 mph range.

Over his past eight appearances, Manaea has posted a 3.33 ERA with four times as many strikeouts (28) as walks (7).

While Manaea said it has felt good to see his hard work pay off lately, the Indiana native wouldn’t say if he feels as good as he did in 2024.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS

“I think having a solid routine, and some of the kind of deficiency that I had, like my mechanics and all that stuff, I feel like we’ve been really cleaning all that stuff up,” Manaea said. “It’s kind of like that snowball effect where I start feeling good and just like that positive snowball effect so. I think it slowly happened over time over the last two months.”

Asked what was behind the decision to give Manaea the start on Saturday, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza expressed the necessity of it. He said putting Manaea on the mound on Saturday was “an easy call for us.”

Mendoza has previously said that they are comfortable pushing Manaea to 80-85 pitches if needed. He reached 84 pitches on Saturday, throwing 59 for strikes.

As a bulk pitcher, Manaea has been in the 70-75 range.

With numerous injuries to the Mets rotation, including Kodai Senga and Clay Holmes, Manaea has become an important piece if the Mets — sitting 5 ½ games back of the NL wild card after Saturday’s loss — hope to make up the ground they’ve lost early on this season.

Manaea partially credited his turnaround to how he’s thrown his sweeper lately, noting that “throwing it hard” and “selling it” has been key for him.

“I can definitely see him getting to a conventional starting pitcher,” Mendoza said of Manaea recently. “He continues to throw the ball the way he’s been doing it, we’ve seen that he’s a guy that can carry a rotation. We’re open to anything. At the end of the day, we need this guy to get big outs for us and provide innings for us.”