MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Royce Lewis hit a two-run triple with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Minnesota Twins a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.
Taj Bradley threw six strong innings for the Twins (54-54), who have won three in a row and five of six. They are third in the AL Cental, just two games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox.
Kody Clemens doubled for Minnesota in the fourth and scored on Josh Bell's single. But center fielder Byron Buxton left in the fifth with right hip soreness after running to first base. It's the same joint that caused him to miss the All-Star Game this month.
Kansas City went ahead 2-1 in the sixth when Josh Rojas stole home on the front end of a double steal and Salvador Perez had an RBI single.
___

#first

The Twins offense tonight could only be described as groundball happy, get ready to read the words "double play" about a million times. In the 1st, 2 on and 1 out, Kody Clemens hits into an inning ending double play. In the 2nd inning, Luke Keaschall ends the inning with their second double play.
They finally broke through in the 4th inning, after Clemens doubled and Josh Bell hit an RBI single to put the Twins up 1-0. In the bottom of the 5th Alan Roden hits into the 3rd Twin-killer of the night.
In the top of the 6th, Josh Rojas and Lane Thomas did a double steal, with Rojas stealing home. I wasn't there to see it but Gameday says it happened. Two batters later, the Twin killer himself, Salvador Perez, hit the go-ahead RBI single to put the Royals up 2-1.
The Twins rallied again, with Clemens HBP and Bell singling to center with Clemens going 1st-to-3rd on the play. Then Victor Caratini ended the inning by, you guessed it, hitting into the 4th double play of the night. I'm so glad I missed almost all of this game because that had to be depressing.
What wasn't depressing was the performance of Taj Bradley and the bullpen tonight. Taj racked up 10 strikeouts in his 6 innings of work, allowing just 3 hits, 2 runs, and 3 walks. Then Kody Funderburk, Travis Adams, and Jack Anderson combined for 3 innings of shutout pitching, allowing just 1 hit and striking out 4.

#clemens #kody #twin

While it'll still be some time until Raynham's Brody ***** ila takes the mound for the Texas Rangers or any of its affiliates, you can already test the 6-foot-9 southpaw's skills against the MLB's best in the virtual realm.
The former Bishop Feehan ace, 2025-26 MaxPreps Male National Athlete of the Year and 2025-26 Gatorade Massachusetts Baseball Player of the Year, who was selected in the third round (89th overall) by the Rangers in the 2026 MLB Draft, is already a usable player in MLB The Show 26's Diamond Dynasty mode.
Bumila is one of 34 MLB prospects added to the game as part of its draft card series, which dropped on the game on July 11. The left-handed pitcher can be pulled in one of the 2026 MLB Draft virtual card packs in Diamond Dynasty mode, in which players can build teams by collecting player cards of active and former players to face off against other players' custom-built teams or the computer in a variety of game modes from full games to situations to tournaments and mini seasons.
The former University of Texas commit is joined by fellow Rangers draft pick and LHP Gio Rojas in the card series, who was introduced along ***** ila and second round pick Connor Comeau during a press conference on Tuesday, July 21.
Bumila comes in rated as a 96 overall. He has a maximum value of 99 in both velocity and break as well as a 90 in arm strength, 95 in durability and 78 in control.

#texas

The Big Ten is taking its turn in the media day fun this week in Chicago. Big Ten football media day gets underway with the start of a three-day event on Tuesday, and Penn State will be one of the schools in the spotlight. New head coach Matt Campbell is in Chicago with player representatives Rocco Becht, Anthony Donkoh, and Tony Rojas to discuss the status of the Nittany Lions heading into the 2026 season.
Penn State was picked to finish in sixth place in the unofficial Big Ten media poll, so it will be interesting to hear just what the pulse is of the program from its reps in Chicago. Will this be a team flying under the radar in the College Football Playoff push, or will there be some time needed to rebuild the confidence of the program?
Here is how to stay on top of everything going down at Big Ten Media Day today.
Watch Big Ten Media Days on Fubo
TV Channel: Big Ten Network

#Chicago #program

While the Penn State Nittany Lions lost a lot of production in the 2026 NFL Draft, fans were already questioning whether or not several of Penn State's returning options could be seen as draft picks in 2027. Well, after an offseason of change, there certainly seems like the Nittany Lions have a new look about them. So when the Shriners East-West Bowl watch list came out, it should have been no surprise that Penn State was well represented on the list.
Most importantly, it pointed out a major early win for new head coach Matt Campbell. Not only did Penn State place nineteen total players on the watch list, but fifteen of them were transfers from this year's portal cycle. In fact, thirteen of them come from Matt Campbell's former school, Iowa State. The headliners of the list include QB Rocco Becht, linebackers Kooper Ebel, Caleb Bacon, and Tony Rojas, and wide receivers Brett Eskildsen and Chase Sowell.
The other two transfers on the list were influenced by new defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn after he came to Happy Valley from UCLA. Still, no matter the former programs each player represented, it's still highly impressive that in his first offseason, Matt Campbell was able to bring over such highly coveted talent. While the main question will still be about his future recruiting efforts, this offseason's transfer haul at least showed signs of positivity in terms of the program's direction.
Perhaps the craziest thing about several of the players on the list is that they may not all enter the draft at the same time. At least five or six players could return to Happy Valley at the end of this season. That continuity could prove to be more important than any preseason hype these players are getting. If they are already receiving this hype with multiple years of eligibility left, that's a good sign for Campbell's long-term planning with the squad.
The bottom line is that a lot of people are still high on the new talent in Happy Valley. The question of whether that translates to on-field success remains to be seen.

#penn #valley

The Royals (43-61) and the Tigers (49-54) continue their four-game AL Central series tonight at Comerica Park in Detroit.
Detroit rallied late last night to earn a 4-3 victory over Kansas City in the series opener. It was Detroit’s fourteenth win in their last nineteen games. The Royals carried a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning thanks to a two-run homer from Isaac Collins and five scoreless innings from Randy Dobnak. However, the Tigers answered when James Outman blasted a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to put Detroit ahead. After Kansas City tied the game 3-3 in the eighth on Josh Rojas' RBI single, Dillon Dingler delivered the game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the inning. Drew Anderson earned the win and Kyle Finnegan recorded the save. With the win, the Tigers pulled to within six games of first in the AL Central.
Tonight is a bullpen game for the Royals. Beck Way (1-0, 3.22 ERA) gets the start but probably will go no more than two innings. That said, the 26-year-old right-hander has made a strong impression in limited major-league action, striking out 21 batters over 22.1 innings. He has allowed two earned runs over 7.1 innings this month. Beck’s opponent on the mound for the Tigers is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Tarik Skubal (6-5, 2.83 ERA). The Cy Young winner has 98 strikeouts in 82.2 innings. In his last start, July 18 against the Angels, Skubal was dominant allowing just five hits over seven scoreless innings. Skubal has allowed just four earned runs across his last four starts while recording 32 strikeouts in 23 innings.
The Royals continue to be without the left side of their infield with Bobby Witt Jr. (back) and Maikel Garcia (hand) sidelined with injuries.
Lets dive into tonight’s matchup and find a sweat or two.

#innings #tonight

The writing was on the wall for Joey Ortiz and the Milwaukee Brewers. He knew it. The team knew he knew it. So, a while back after the team signed his eventual replacement at shortstop to an extension, he sat down and addressed what it meant.
More importantly, the Brewers wanted to make it clear what it didn’t mean.
With Ortiz struggling offensively going all the way back to the second half of 2024 and Cooper Pratt knocking on the door as the incumbent shortstop long-term in Milwaukee, the Brewers wanted to reassert to Ortiz their belief in him because of his defensive abilities while he figures the bat out.
“We gave him some examples of players,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
The primary name Murphy put in front of him: Miguel Rojas.

#knew #shortstop #joey

The writing was on the wall for Joey Ortiz and the Milwaukee Brewers. He knew it. The team knew he knew it. So, a while back after the team signed his eventual replacement at shortstop to an extension, he sat down and addressed what it meant.
More importantly, the Brewers wanted to make it clear what it didn’t mean.
With Ortiz struggling offensively going all the way back to the second half of 2024 and Cooper Pratt knocking on the door as the incumbent shortstop long-term in Milwaukee, the Brewers wanted to reassert to Ortiz their belief in him because of his defensive abilities while he figures the bat out.
“We gave him some examples of players,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
The primary name Murphy put in front of him: Miguel Rojas.

#brewers #shortstop

Tony Rojas and former Cyclone Caleb Bacon are set to lead the way at linebacker for Penn State in 2026. But who might be ready to take the leap and develop into an impact player this fall?
Alex Tatsch (So.)
Tatsch was the immediate name to come to mind as a likely breakout player. He earned meaningful playing time as a true freshman, and impressed despite his lack of experience. The rising sophomore seemed to improve each with each game as he became more noticeable and found his way to the football more and more often. Tatsch contributed 14 tackles, one TFL, and a pass defended in 2025, and those numbers should greatly increase this fall.
Tatsch should also benefit from playing under D'Anton Lynn, who has done an impressive job of developing linebackers at UCLA and USC. While he may not be a week one starter with so many veteran linebackers coming from Iowa State, don't be surprised if he snags a starting spot at some point in the season – and a very productive one at that.
Cam Smith (RS Fr.)

#tatsch #linebackers #rojas #cyclone

Raynham's Brody ****** ila is officially a member of the Texas Rangers organization.
On Tuesday, July 21, the Rangers officially unveiled the 6-foot-9 southpaw, along with first round pick and fellow left handed pitcher Gio Rojas and second round pick and shortstop Connor Comeau, during an introductory press conference at the team's facility in Arlington, TX.
"We could not be more excited about the talent and the character of this group right here," Rangers President of Baseball Operations Chris Young said of the trio during the press conference. "We believe that they're going to be the next leaders within our organization (to) help us in our quest towards our next World Series championship."
The Rangers selected ****** ila, who was named both the 2025-26 MaxPreps Male National Athlete of the Year and 2025-26 Gatorade Massachusetts Baseball Player of the Year last month, 89th overall in the third round of the 2026 MLB Draft on July 11. According to MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis via X, the former Bishop Feehan ace and 2025-26 MIAA Division 1 basketball champion signed with the team for $2.75 million, nearly $2 million higher than the $900,800 expected for an 89th overall pick.
"I’ve been wanting to be a professional baseball player for my entire life," ****** ila said. "Hearing my name called, especially by an organization that does so well and in my position and circumstance right now knows that I’m probably going to recover the best here, it just means so much to me."

#rangers #pick #year

Heading into a 2026 season expected to bring a ton of chaos for Penn State — a school welcoming a new coach and a roster that is filled with transfer players — there are still a few pillars of stability. One of them is linebacker Tony Rojas, who looked primed to have an incredible year in 2025 before a torn ACL ended his season.
The redshirt junior is beginning his fourth, and likely his last, season with the Nittany Lions, and will be looking to solidify or improve his draft stock. Rojas is arguably the most talented player on the team, and Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report believes a strong campaign will help him.
"{Rojas} should be able to solidify himself as a Day 2 selection with another statistically impressive campaign and by proving that he's back to pre-injury form," Knox said.
Torn ACLs typically take between six months and a year to fully heal, so the former four-star recruit should be nearing a complete recovery by the time the season begins. Extrapolated out to a full season of games, Rojas was on pace to record 75 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks last season.
Even if he doesn't reach those in 2026, getting close to those numbers and playing a full season will certainly improve his draft stock. We should see Rojas back on the field in a few weeks when the Nittany Lions begin their ramp-up for the regular season.

#season #rojas #lions #improve

There are a lot of new faces, but the talent level remains high for the defensive backfield. Daryus Dixson figures to jump into a starting spot at cornerback after playing in all 13 games in 2025. Audavion Collins and Zion Tracy should compete for the other starting spot. It would not surprise me to see them split snaps, and Tracy has experience as a nickel corner if Penn State chooses to run 4-2-5 schemes. The depth is a bit of a question mark, but Terry Smith has plenty of talent to work with.
Two Iowa State transfers- Marcus Neal and Jeremiah Cooper- will fill the void at safety left behind by Zakee Wheatley and King Mack. Neal has received significant NFL Draft attention for 2027 and has All-Big Ten potential after a breakout 2025 season. Cooper is a solid playmaker against the pass, though he is coming off an injury.
With no Ohio State, Oregon, or Indiana on the schedule, Penn State does not face many overwhelming passing offenses this year. USC and Washington should be the toughest tests for the secondary, and one of them is at Beaver Stadium.
Losing Tony Rojas to injury was not the deciding factor in Penn State’s 2025 meltdown, but his absence was felt immediately. Rojas tore his ACL after the Oregon game, and the Nittany Lions immediately gave up 42 points to UCLA the following game. He is a dynamic playmaker against the run and pass and the unquestioned leader of a rebuilt Penn State linebacker corps. There are a lot of questions around Penn State’s front seven, so Rojas’ health will be vital to the success of this defense. If he returns to form, the Nittany Lions should have one of the top linebackers in the conference.
Penn State is on its fifth defensive coordinator in the last six seasons, but D’Anton Lynn’s track record speaks for itself. He inherited a UCLA defense that finished No. 87 in total defense in 2022 and elevated them to No. 10 in 2023. When Lincoln Riley poached him away to coach the defense at USC, he took a Trojans defense that was a complete disaster when he arrived and made them serviceable immediately. Hiring Lynn appears to be a good fit for 2026 Penn State. With new players at all three levels of the defense and roughly half of last season’s production gone, the Nittany Lions need someone who can provide results on defense right away. The schedule is favorable and there are enough veteran players on the roster to make the transition smooth for Lynn.

'Futbol is life': Dani Rojas actor makes pro soccer debut for USL club to fulfill lifelong dream originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Dani Rojas is a beloved character from the popular series Ted Lasso.
The joyful character is played by actor Cristo Fernandez, and he's known for shouting, "Futbol is life!"
It really is life for Fernandez right now.
This weekend, he made his professional soccer debut in a league match in a USL Cup game in the second-tier of soccer in the United States.

PHILADELPHIA — One team jumped the board, big time. Two brothers were reunited with the Brew Crew. And it wasn’t the greatest day to be a pitcher.
While Major League Baseball’s draft began in relatively predictable fashion — UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky was chosen first overall by the Chicago White Sox, despite some smoke and a few mirrors in recent days — it also had its share of unforeseen turns.
USA TODAY Sports breaks down the first round and a little bit beyond as the game’s annual selection meeting tipped off at Philadelphia’s Convention Center on Saturday, June 11:
Perhaps general managers took one of the most cynical phrases of scouting — “There’s no such thing as a pitching prospect” — a little too literally. This draft made history when 15 of the first 16 players selected were hitters. The San Francisco Giants the only ones zagging by taking UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora fourth overall. After that, a pitcher didn’t get selected until the Texas Rangers took Gio Rojas, the lefty from Florida baseball factory Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, with the 16th pick.
What gives? Well, many of the anticipated top college arms had concerns. Cameron Flukey missed time with a rib fracture this year, leaving him available to the Detroit Tigers at No. 22. Logan Reddenmann and Cole Carlon each suffered velocity dips late in the year, leaving them available to the Colorado Rockies and Toronto Blue Jays, respectively, at picks 38 and 39. And a bevy of SEC pitchers — from Florida’s Liam Peterson (19th, Guardians) to Arkansas’ Hunter Dietz (35th, Yankees) and Carson Wiggins (27th, Mets) had command or health concerns that suppressed their value.

The Royals fell 5-3 after another very Luinder Avila start and one too many trips to the bullpen. Matt Strahm gave up the final blow, a two-run home run to Samuel Basallo. Before that, it was a pretty close game.
As noted above, Luinder Avila got the start in this one for KC. He pitched 5 innings and allowed 3 runs with 3 strikeouts and 3 walks. It was a real grind for Avila as it seemed like he was always pitching with a full count even with only the 3 walks. That meant it took him 96 pitches to get through those 5 innings.
Avila gave up two of the runs with two outs in the second inning. The Royals managed to tie it in the fourth thanks to a Michael Massey walk (he's been doing that a lot lately) and a Josh Rojas double. But before that, Jac Caglianone smoked his first home run since that two-home run game in Tampa Bay almost two weeks ago.
Avila got Blaze Alexander down 0-2 with one out in the bottom of the inning, which caused the booth to praise him for his good work following the offense tying the game. He promptly hung a slider that went a long way. The score remained 3-2 until the eighth inning, with Steven Cruz pitching a clean sixth with a strikeout. Daniel Lynch IV did the same in the seventh.
In the top of the eighth, Isaac Collins led off the inning with a home run to dead center. Which I wasn't entirely sure he could do.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will only get one side of Shohei Ohtani on Friday vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Ohtani, who has been battling a knee issue, is still going to be hitting, but he will not make his scheduled start.
He will also end up missing the All-Star game, giving him more than a week in between pitching starts.
The Dodgers will instead go to a bullpen opener, which is quite easy to do since the team had a rest day on Thursday and should have a good amount of rested arms.
1. Shohei Ohtani, DH
2. Andy Pages, CF
3. Freddie Freeman, 1B
4. Mookie Betts, SS
5. Tommy Edman, 3B
6. Kyle Tucker, RF
7. Teoscar Hernandez, LF
8. Miguel Rojas, 2B
9. Dalton Rushing, C

The MLB Draft is this weekend in Philadelphia, and there are plenty of mock drafts circulating and predicting who each team is going to take with their first round pick. The Pittsburgh Pirates pick at five in the first round of the draft and there's a varied opinion on who people think the Buccos will select.
Jonathan Mayo of MLB.con predicts that the Pirates will address their longterm issues at catcher and select one of the best catchers that the college ranks have to offer in Vahn Lackey out of Georgia Tech.
"The Pirates have drafted the best high school position player (Konnor Griffin) and best high school pitcher (Seth Hernandez) in the last two Drafts," Mayo writes. "If they wanted to go down that road again they could look at Eric Booth Jr. on the hitter side, or Gio Rojas on the mound, but it would be tough to pass on the super-athletic Lackey, the Yellow Jackets' catcher with a 1.265 OPS, 15 homers and 14 steals."
The Pirates are certainly in need of a catcher, and having one as athletic as Lackey would be a great grab at fifth overall. Being that he'd be coming out of college it would be ******* umed that he'd be closer to being pro-ready as well, so if the Pirates go in that direction it may not be long before a player like Lackey would be seeing action in Pittsburgh.
Keith Law of The Athletic thinks that the Pirates could add another strong arm to their pitching staff by taking one of the best college pitching projects in this year's class. Jackson Flora out of UC Santa Barbara is Law's pick, after setting school records for most strikeouts in a season.

Since this is my last pre-draft article, I'll take a minute to discuss what I'd like to see in the Braves' upcoming draft class. The franchise has a huge opportunity to add talent this weekend, picking in the top 10 and again at 26, thanks to Drake Baldwin's Prospect Promotion Incentive pick for winning NL Rookie of the Year. Starting at pick 9, I want an underslot pick. It doesn't seem like there is going to be a talent that I would want to pay at or above slot for at the #9 pick, with a tier drop-off after the top 6 players and then no super clean prep archetype or college player without red flags in that range. That said, prep lefty Gio Rojas is my preferred pick at 9 on an underslot deal. Beyond that, spread the money around, pick up a handful of high upside players that the franchise thinks they can develop. They've worked really well with pitchers who haven't spent a ton of time developing themselves as pitchers, whether due to splitting their time with hitting or with another sport. Grab a few position players with real upside too if possible. This could be the most fun draft for the Braves in a while.
The Braves weathered the storm of being the victim of a perfect game through 6.1 innings to ultimately shut out and defeat the Pirates 3-0.
The Braves swapped depth relievers as they continue to manage their bullpen.
An MRI revealed an injury to Brandon Woodruff's shoulder and he is seeking a second opinion.
The Cardinals DFA'd former Braves' first round pick Jared Shuster.

The streak of no extra-inning games is finally over, and we can say that the Dodgers are undefeated in extras this season, walking it off against the Rockies 8-7 in the 11th inning. The decisive hit in this thrilling game came from the bat of Dalton Rushing with an RBI single, completing a terrific three-hit performance for the Dodgers catcher.
Before they had to dig deep for this victory, the Dodgers got to experience the thin line in baseball between control of a game and the illusion of it. The home team saw a 6-3 lead collapse in the ninth as Tanner Scott had his first blowup outing in over a month, walking multiple hitters for the first time this season.
To acquire that 6-3 lead, Shohei Ohtani and Eric Lauer were the protagonists. As if facing Ohtani in and of itself wasn't a daunting enough threat, Kyle Freeland did so for the second time in the third inning with a runner on base after allowing a leadoff double to Rushing. Whoever questioned the Ohtani-Rushing partnership in recent weeks needs to check their facts—it seemed to be working just fine when Ohtani gave the Dodgers their first lead of the game by driving in Rushing with a two-run homer, his 19th on the season and seventh against lefties—now just two short of 300 in his career.
This combination of Rushing and Ohtani would go on to lead the way for the Dodgers once again in the following inning. After Max Muncy and Miguel Rojas secured back-to-back RBI on a single and sac fly, respectively, Rushing once again set up Ohtani with a double, who then proceeded to drive in a pair, this time with just a two-run single.
Overall in this game, the four runs batted in by Ohtani represented a season-high mark at home and only the third time he's achieved that number or higher this season. Ohtani's three hits were also a season high for the reigning back-to-back NL MVP. All of that success that Ohtani and the rest of the Dodgers offense had against Freeland couldn't be replicated facing Zach Agnos, who tossed three scoreless innings to keep Colorado with a puncher's chance.

The Los Angeles Dodgers blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies but still managed to pull out a win in their first extra-inning game of the season and reach 60 wins in the process.
The key to the Dodgers' success was Dalton Rushing, both for his walk-off hit in the 11th inning and a key tag in the ninth inning.
With two out in the top of the ninth inning, Rockies center fielder Cole Carrigg blasted a bases-loaded double off of Dodgers pitcher Tanner Scott.
Fortunately for the Dodgers, center fielder Andy Pages fielded the ball off the wall, and one Miguel Rojas relay later, Dalton Rushing managed to tag out his Rockies counterpart Hunter Goodman in a close play at home.
Despite an initial call of safe that would've given the Rockies a 7-6 lead, Goodman was called out upon review, and the inning ended in a tie.

The crowd in this packed local Santa Ana Bistro is on its feet. Some wave Mexican flags. Others sing through the disappointment. Soon the room breaks into Cielito Lindo - Canta y no llores... sing, don't cry.
"This is sad," Louie Leyla tells me. The Mexican-American has lived in California since 1990. "But we're going to keep rooting for our people, no matter what."
England may have ended Mexico's World Cup, beating them 3-2 in the Azteca Stadium. But here, it does not feel like the end of the story.
For this football-loving community on the west coast of the United States, the tournament has been a triumph. Mexico exceeded expectations, united supporters across Southern California and, for weeks, gave fans something to celebrate.
"It's a loss," Alicia Rojas tells me. "But it's a win for our community in Santa Ana."

The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without Shohei Ohtani on Saturday.
The two-way phenom exited Friday's game against the San Diego Padres with biceps injury, with Miguel Rojas pinch-hitting for him in the seventh inning. Ohtani told reporters after the game that he felt something in his right biceps while swinging, describing his removal as "precautionary."
The Dodgers won the game 4-3.
While Ohtani reportedly added he felt he would be good to go Saturday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he would be off Saturday to be safe via Jack Harris of the California Post. Roberts added the team isn't concerned about the severity of the injury, while Ohtani said it is something he felt two months ago and had to go away quickly.
As minor as it seems, any Ohtani injury is going to be cause for concern for the Dodgers until he's back playing again. The development might also make the team a little more cautious about having him hit and pitch in the same game, something they shied away from earlier in the season out of fatigue concerns.

A lot of Penn State fans are gearing up for the 2026-27 season with hopes that the Nittany Lions can get back to national relevance after a stunning decline last season. A huge part of that optimism stems from the fact Tony Rojas is back and leading the defense. After a tough injury before Penn State's game against UCLA last year, Rojas is primed to be a key part of Penn State's potential bounce back.
In fact, Rojas recently said that he expects the Nittany Lions to be "better than people expect." This mindset lends itself not only to the team's belief, but Rojas' as well. When you look at the stats, Rojas was a major reason why Penn State got off to a solid start last year. The defense only gave up 8.5 points per game with Rojas leading the way. He added 25 tackles and two sacks in just four games himself to boot.
So while last season did not end well for Rojas and the Blue and White, this year is a chance for redemption. Most importantly, though, is that Rojas not only believes in a Penn State bounce-back, but was willing to return to play his role.
“Obviously, I know a bunch of guys that stayed, but [Penn State] just felt like home,” Rojas said. “And I don't want to be in the predicament where, once I graduate, it's awkward going back to the college where I go for a year. Knowing that I can come back here anytime is a good feeling.”
Penn State should be very glad to have him back.

The Dodgers opted for a bullpen game on Wednesday, and the decision backfired as the A’s took the finale by a final score of 7-1, snapping the Dodgers’ four-game winning streak.
The Dodgers had no problem scoring early against the A’s over the first two games, and it appeared that way again as the Dodgers loaded the bases against J.T. Ginn in the top of the first inning. Tommy Edman, fresh off a four-hit, four RBI game, couldn’t come through as the Dodgers left them loaded.
While Ginn faced six hitters and tossed 29 pitches in the first inning, Jack Dreyer had a much easier time over his lone inning of work, striking out the side in a perfect bottom of the first.
Miguel Rojas tried to kickstart something in the top of the second with a single against Ginn. Chuckie Robinson popped up a bunt attempt for the second out, and Shohei Ohtani grounded out right to Nick Kurtz. The A’s needed one pitch from Charlie Barnes to take the lead, as Jonah Heim clobbered a 444 foot home run to make it a 1-0 lead.
Freddie Freeman ensured that the deficit was short-lived, as he socked a home run to right field to tie the game at 1. The Dodgers would put two more on base in the top of the third, but couldn’t add to the lead, giving the team six runners left on base over the first three innings.

Millions know Cristo Fernández as Dani Rojas, the relentlessly cheerful soccer star whose "fútbol is life" mantra became one of Ted Lasso's most beloved catchphrases. But long before he was playing a soccer star on television, Fernández was chasing that dream for real.
Now, as the World Cup brings the sport to America's doorstep, he's getting a second chance to prove that those two versions of himself were never all that different.
The actor, who won over audiences as AFC Richmond's infectiously upbeat striker, is currently in El Paso, Texas, where he's training with USL Championship club El Paso Locomotive FC. Although he's still waiting for his sports visa to be finalized, it's a full-circle moment for Fernández, who grew up playing fútbol in Mexico before acting unexpectedly changed the course of his life.
And while plenty of people still stop him to shout Dani Rojas's signature line, he says he'll never get tired of hearing it.
"'Fútbol is life,' Dani Rojas and Ted Lasso were something very positive for people, and it gave them life in some dark times," Fernández tells Yahoo. "I take that energy. I'm grateful. It means a lot to me that my work meant so much for so many people."

The Angels are 32-47 as of June 21. Even though they are still 15 games under .500, there are some bright spots to note. Those bright spots? Wade Meckler and Jose Siri.
Wade Meckler, 26, was drafted in the 8th round of the 2022 draft by the San Francisco Giants. In Jan 2026, the Angels selected Meckler off waivers and selected his contract in May.
Since joining the Halos, Meckler has batted .288 in 89 plate appearances. He has 23 hits and has driven in 13 runs while stealing two bases. Beyond his offensive capabilities, he has been a star in the outfield. Mainly playing left field, the 26-year-old has made many exceptional plays to keep games close.
Another exciting part of Meckler's story is the fact that he grew up an Angels fan. Meckler grew up attending Angels games and went to high school that was "probably 15, 20 minutes away from Angel Stadium."
The Angels have a history of signing Anaheim natives such as Jose Rojas and Michael Lorenzen. When these types of guys enter the Halos locker room, things certainly change. They bring a fire that is usually needed to kick-start good things.

The Dodgers scored early and often to beat the Minnesota Twins 12-3, picking up a second victory in as many days at Target Field in Minneapolis.
After the start of the game was delayed 28 minutes, the first two Dodgers hitters were walking in the rain against rookie reliever Kendry Rojas. Two outs later, Tommy Edman pushed a single off the glove of second baseman Luke Keaschall for the game's first run, the third straight game the Dodgers have scored in the first inning.
Rojas was the opener for the Twins bullpen and needed 50 pitches to get through his two innings, only half of them for strikes, with three total walks. But the Dodgers scored just once off of him.
Justin Wrobleski was much more economical, keeping with his theme this season, including three flyouts to right field in a perfect first inning — 9, 9, 9 in your scorecard — on just nine pitches.
Minnesota evened things up in a second inning reminiscent of Monday night's game, with a solo home run, this one by catcher Victor Caratini.

What happened to Maikel Garcia? Why Royals placed All-Star third baseman on IL originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Kansas City Royals will be without their starting third baseman for at least the next 10 days.
On Tuesday, the AL Central club announced that Maikel Garcia was placed on the IL with a muscle strain in his left hand. Infielder Josh Rojas was recalled from Triple-A.
"Garcia has been trying to play through discomfort in his hand for some time now but apparently reached a point where that was no longer tenable," Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors wrote. "Garcia was lifted from Kansas City's game on June 16 due to soreness in that same hand."
In 69 games this season, Garcia is batting .261/.320/.373 with three home runs and a .693 OPS.

Ted Lasso's Cristo Fernández has partnered with StubHub on their World Cup Cuts campaign to spread the love and culture of soccer during the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Fernández was a guest of StubHub at the Mexico versus South Africa World Cup opening match in Mexico City, an experience he described as "something I will never forget."
Fernández signed with El Paso Locomotive back in May, fulfilling his lifelong dream of playing professional soccer
Cristo Fernández still believes that "Fútbol is Life!"
The actor and professional soccer player, 35, who's best known for his role as Dani Rojas in Ted Lasso, is all-in cheering for his home country of Mexico in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. After facing a career-altering injury at the age of 15, Fernández was forced to put his dream of going pro on hold. Now, he's an award-winning actor, on the USL Championship club El Paso Locomotive roster, and getting to experience his favorite sport live.

The Rays tried their best to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers and a 1-5 road trip, but came up just a bit short this afternoon losing their fourth of four 1-run games on this west coast trip.
The team came into the contest on a 16-inning scoreless streak having last scored a run in the second inning of the opening game in this series, and for awhile, it looked as if that streak could get much longer. Through four innings, Shohei Ohtani held the offense at bay scattering two hits over four innings while lowering his ERA to 1.00 on the season. Ohtani came into the 5th inning with a two-run lead that could have been much worse after a leadoff walk to Mookie Betts led to the first run after a single by Alex Call. Call then easily stole second off the battery of Shane McClanahan and Hunter Feduccia, who then came around to score on a Alex Freeland single after a walk to Dalton Rushing. Tommy Edman would then walk, but Casey Legumina was able to strand the bases loaded by getting the National League’s RBI leader, Andy Pages, to line out softly to Taylor Walls.
The Rays came into the top of the 5th having not scored in 20 consecutive innings before finally showing some life offensively. Victor Mesa Jr. led the inning off with a walk before Feduccia lined a double deep to left center giving the Rays more runners in scoring position than they had in yesterday’s game. Walls drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly, followed up with consecutive singles by Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda. Cedric Mullins then went on to hit what was scored an infield single which was aided by a slow initial reaction by Ohtani to cover the bag. The single gave Mullins at least one hit against all 30 major league teams over the course of his career. Junior Caminero drove in Diaz on a fielder’s choice that involved two athletic plays on both ends by Tommy Edman and Freeland to prevent things from getting worse. Yet another single in the inning, this time by Richie Palacios, gave the club a two-run lead before the rally was ended by Chandler Simpson bunting into the third out.
A leadoff walk to Freddie Freeman followed by consecutive well-aimed soft contact ***** by Betts and Miguel Rojas loaded the bases with ***** ody out. Garrett Cleavinger came in to relieve Legumina and walked Kyle Tucker in a nine-pitch at bat in which Tucker chased early, but then tightened up his zone and drew the walk after fouling off several close sweepers:
That run would miraculously be the only run of the inning as Cleavinger would go on to induce weak contact flyouts to both Alex Call and Dalton Rushing before overpowering UCF’s Alex Freeland weith three sliders much to the delight of USF alum Shane McClanahan.