Murakami stays red hot as White Sox pour it on in 11-5 victory

After a truly insane nine innings of baseball, the White Sox (9-14) won their second game in a row, taking the first game of the series against the Diamondbacks (13-10), 11-5. The South Side bats were on fire, the pitching was solid, and the defense was making diving plays all over the place — it would probably be easier if I told you what didn’t happen. It’s been a minute since I was this excited watching the Chicago White Sox play baseball, so bear with me as I am still slightly in shock.

Outhitting the D-backs 14-8, the Good Guys smashed six of those for extra bases: a double, triple, and four home runs. Although they exploded for 11 runs, they did still manage to go 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base, but we’re not talking about that right now. Nearly everyone got a hit, except for Everson Pereira and Reese McGuire, who still managed to drive in at least one run. There was so much offensive production from this team tonight that half of the lineup (five batters) produced multi-hit games. umafrika.club

Sean Burke mostly cruised through his start and was able to maintain control, though the same couldn’t be said for righthander Merrill Kelly. The Good Guys nearly batted through the order in the top of the first, and they wasted no time pouring runs on Kelly and the Diamondbacks, dropping a four-spot to give Burke plenty of cushion before he even threw a pitch. The Sox immediately caused trouble to start the game with consecutive base hits from Andrew Benintendi and Munetaka Murakami, and Miguel Vargas walked to load the bases. Keeping his momentum up from Sunday after mashing a long ball, Colson Montgomery squared one up and ripped a two-run double to center to give the South Siders a two-run lead, 2-0. They tacked on two more after a sacrifice fly from Everson Pereira, and Sam Antonacci drove in his first major league run with an RBI triple to make it 4-0, Good Guys.

If you thought the first inning was fun, the second was even better. Murakami continued to showcase his prowess at the plate and kicked off a two-out rally by smashing his fourth home run in as many games, joining some solid company as just the third Japanese-born player ever to homer four games in a row. Have a freaking week, Mune:

To really pour salt into Kelly’s gaping wound, Vargas followed up Mune’s moonshot with a line drive homer to left, and Montgomery clobbered a 440-foot tank to center to give the Sox a seven-run lead.

BACK.

TO BACK.

TO-BACK!

With seven runs to work with, Burke simply just had to lock in and throw strikes, and he pretty much did just that. It also helped that the South Siders added an eighth run in the top of the fifth on a Reese McGuire sacrifice fly. Burke had gotten into some hot water in the bottom of the first, but cleaned up after himself. Ketel Marte drove a leadoff base hit, making it to second a few moments later on a wild pitch to get into scoring position. A swinging bunt pulled Burke over to the first base line, and he was able to tag the runner and get the double play at the plate to end the inning as Marte was trying to sneak a run in.

Burke was otherwise scoreless through three and was efficient overall in his six innings. Geraldo Perdomo tripled to begin the fourth and subsequently scored on an RBI ground out for Arizona’s first run of the game. Just two runs allowed on five hits — including a solo home run from Alek Thomas in the fifth — and one walk while striking out three. Burke has now lowered his ERA from 4.43 to 4.10.

To help Burke and the pitching staff out, the defense was also excellent and definitely helped keep some Arizona runs from scoring, especially as the ninth inning got a little dicey. Antonacci had made a nice sliding catch out in left, and Pereira was all over the place, laying out twice for two different balls to rob a couple of base hits, making the catches flawlessly. This play, especially in the seventh, was key to shutting down any momentum that the Diamondbacks were building up, as this almost surely would have been a triple had Pereira not caught it:

Out of the bullpen, Lucas Sims tossed a hitless inning thanks to Pereira bailing him out, as the two baserunners reached base on balls, though he did strike out one. For the final two innings, righthander Osvaldo Bido made his first appearance in a White Sox uniform, picked up on waivers after being designated for assignment by the Atlanta Braves last week. Bido walked two batters but was otherwise decent in the eighth, and he fortunately didn’t have to worry too much about the lead since the South Siders tagged on three more runs in the ninth.

After checking his first MLB RBI off the list earlier in the game, Antonacci decided to cross off his first major league homer: an inside-the-park home run. The rookie ripped a ball down the left field line that ended up sort of hitting the ball boy, but Lourdes Gurriel Jr. gave up on the play, likely thinking that it would be called a ground-rule double or interference. Who knows.

Since the top of the inning was weird, the bottom half had to follow suit. Arizona started to rally, and it seemed like the game wasn’t ever going to end. Will Venable clearly didn’t want to go to the bullpen for a couple of outs with a nine-run lead, and I can not blame him for that, but Bido was struggling to throw strikes, and when he did, the D-backs were really starting to catch up to him. After two base hits, he gave up a garbage-time three-run bomb to Ildemaro Vargas, who extended his hitting streak to 19, right in the nick of time. Though Bido walked a couple more batters, he eventually was able to get out of it to close out the game, officially crediting Burke with his first win of the season.

DENVER (AP) — Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog scored the equalizing goal with 3:35 remaining to send a game that featured a delay to fix shattered glass behind the Los Angeles Kings bench into overtime tied at 1-1 on Tuesday night in Game 2 of the teams' first-round playoff series.

The Kings took the lead on Artemi Panarin’s power-play goal with 6:56 left. But Landeskog got loose in front of the net to score and energize the capacity crowd.

Anton Forsberg and Scott Wedgewood were brilliant in net. Forsberg had 33 saves in regulation while Wedgewood made 21, including one on a penalty shot.

The game was halted for roughly 17 minutes in the second period when a pane of glass broke behind the Kings bench, sending pieces raining on interim coach D.J. Smith. The incident occurred right after Quinton Byfield was stopped on a penalty shot by Wedgewood and fans began to celebrate by pounding on the glass. It gave way as Smith covered his head and then brushed the glass off his suit.

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

SAN FRANCISCO — The margin for error against a rival like the San Francisco Giants is always thin. On Tuesday night at Oracle Park, the Dodgers learned just how unforgiving it can be.

A game that ultimately settled into a pitchers’ duel was decided almost immediately, undone by one chaotic, mistake-filled first inning that proved too much to overcome in a 3–1 loss.

It began innocently enough, or at least as innocently as things can begin when everything starts to unravel. Yoshinobu Yamamoto couldn’t escape the opening inning cleanly. A throwing error by Hyeseong Kim put the leadoff man aboard. A single followed. Then a walk. Suddenly, the bases were loaded with no outs, and the inning was teetering.

The Giants didn’t need to do anything extraordinary, just enough. An RBI single. A sacrifice fly that turned awkward when Alex Call and Teoscar Hernández collided in the outfield, the ball somehow still caught but another run scoring. Then another RBI single. Just like that, it was 3–0.

That was all the Giants would get. It was also all they would need.

D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) throws against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park.

Because from the second inning on, Yamamoto looked like a different pitcher entirely, composed, dominant, and, in many ways, brilliant. He retired 19 of 22 hitters after the first, leaned on his full arsenal, and finished his night in emphatic fashion by striking out the side in the seventh, all looking. Seven innings, three runs, seven strikeouts, a line that reads far better than the way it began.

His ERA now sits at 2.48, and if anything, this outing reinforced a growing reality: even when Yamamoto doesn’t have his best command early, he has the ability to adjust and take over a game. The problem Tuesday was that the damage was already done.

The offense never caught up.

D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

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San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp (65) throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Oracle Park.

Against Giants starter Landen Roupp, the Dodgers showed patience but not enough impact. They worked counts, drew walks, four in the fourth inning, and managed to push across a run when Kim forced a bases-loaded walk. It felt, briefly, like the kind of inning that could flip a game.

Instead, it ended with a thud: a double-play grounder off the bat of Call that erased the threat and, effectively, the Dodgers’ best chance.

Shohei Ohtani extended his on-base streak to 53 games with an infield single, tying Shawn Green for the second-longest streak in franchise history. Tanner Scott added another scoreless inning in relief, continuing his early-season dominance.

But none of it changed the outcome.

The Dodgers fell to 16–7, a record that still reflects a strong start but also hints at something else, that even a team with this much talent can be tripped up by a single inning where nothing goes right.

They’ll turn the page quickly. Ohtani is scheduled to take the mound Wednesday while also serving as designated hitter, another reminder of the kind of talent the Dodgers can deploy to shift momentum back in their favor.

Big Ten women's lacrosse schedule, bracket, times, channels, live streams to watch 2026 tournament originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Back for the 11th annual edition, the 2026 Big Ten women's lacrosse tournament will bring the best programs in the conference to Michigan this week.

This year's bracket will be made up of seven teams, with the regular season champion earning a first-round bye. The winner of this conference tournament will secure an automatic berth to the 2026 NCAA Championship taking place in May.

The No. 1 overall seed belongs to Northwestern — a historic program in collegiate women's lacrosse. The Wildcats have won eight NCAA championships throughout the years, and were runners-up in 2025. Maryland, Johns Hopkins and Michigan State follow behind as the second, third and fourth seeds.

Don't miss out on a second of the action.

Here's everything you need to know about the 2026 Big Ten women's lacrosse tournament, including TV channel and streaming options for the annual competition.

Where to watch Big Ten women's lacrosse tournament

• TV channel: Big Ten Network
• Live stream:fubo, B1G+

The first round of the 2026 Big Ten lacrosse tournament will stream on B1G+, and the semifinals and championship will air live on Big Ten Network. Cord-cutters can stream the BTN games on fubo.

Fubo offers a free trial for new subscribers, so you can try the service before you buy. Stream ESPN, ABC, CBS, Fox and 100+ top channels of live TV and sports without cable. (Participating plans only. Taxes and fees may apply.)

Big Ten women's lacrosse tournament schedule 2026

The 2026 Big Ten women's lacrosse tournament will begin on Wednesday, April 22, and conclude with the championship game on Sunday, April 26. All games will take place at the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Wednesday, April 22 — Quarterfinals

Friday, April 24 — Semifinals

Sunday, April 26 — Championship

Big Ten women's lacrosse standings 2026

Here is a look at the seedings for the 2026 Big Ten lacrosse tournament based on conference records: