LINE: Brewers -188, Braves +152; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Atlanta Braves take on the Milwaukee Brewers as losers of three straight games.
Atlanta has a 22-13 record at home and a 46-27 record overall. The Braves have the third-best team ERA in MLB play at 3.41.
Milwaukee is 45-27 overall and 20-12 in road games. The Brewers have the second-best team on-base percentage in MLB play at .340.
The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season between the two clubs.
TOP PERFORMERS: Matt Olson has 19 doubles, 20 home runs and 51 RBI for the Braves. Ronald Acuna Jr. is 10 for 32 with a double, three home runs and five RBI over the last 10 games.
Jake Bauers has 12 doubles and 13 home runs for the Brewers. Jackson Chourio is 17 for 46 with two doubles and six home runs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Braves: 4-6, .235 batting average, 4.54 ERA, outscored by nine runs
INJURIES: Braves: Kyle Farmer: 10-Day IL (forearm), Spencer Strider: 60-Day IL (elbow), Michael Harris II: day-to-day (back), Sean Murphy: 60-Day IL (finger), Ronald Acuna Jr.: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Tyler Kinley: 15-Day IL (elbow), Spencer Schwellenbach: 60-Day IL (elbow), Hurston Waldrep: 60-Day IL (elbow), AJ Smith-Shawver: 60-Day IL (elbow), Danny Young: 60-Day IL (elbow), Joe Jimenez: 60-Day IL (knee), Joey Wentz: 60-Day IL (knee)
Brewers: Brandon Lockridge: 10-Day IL (knee), Brandon Woodruff: 15-Day IL (arm), Quinn Priester: 60-Day IL (wrist), Brandon Sproat: day-to-day (hamstring), Carlos Rodriguez: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Coleman Crow: 15-Day IL (forearm), Jared Koenig: 15-Day IL (elbow), Logan Henderson: 15-Day IL (back), Brian Fitzpatrick: 60-Day IL (elbow), D.L. Hall: 15-Day IL (pectoral), Rob Zastryzny: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Angel Zerpa: 60-Day IL (forearm)
SANTA CLARA, California, June 18 : New Zealand midfielder Sarpreet Singh hopes his appearance at the World Cup can pave the way for other players of South Asian heritage to reach the game’s biggest stage.
The 27-year-old became the first Sikh to play at a World Cup when he took the field in New Zealand’s 2-2 draw with Iran in Los Angeles in their opener.
“It means a lot to me, it means a lot to my people, my family, my community,” he told reporters at the team’s hotel in San Diego, California on Thursday.
“I’m very happy to be the first, and pave the way for the rest of them coming through. I hope to see many more Singhs and Sikhs and Punjabi footballers coming through, and Indian heritage footballers.”
India have never played at a World Cup, though they qualified for the 1950 tournament in Brazil when other Asian nations withdrew from qualifying. India ended up pulling out of the tournament due to financial concerns.
Several players with Indian heritage are representing other nations at the finals in North America, including Australia forward Nishan Velupillay, whose mother has southern Indian roots, and Qatar winger Tahsin Jamshid.
Singh said he had noticed people supporting him when New Zealand played at a tournament in India several years ago.
“I always know I’m representing them, as well as New Zealand, so I always try and do my best,” he said.
New Zealand will bid for their first World Cup win against Egypt in their second Group G match on Sunday in Vancouver.
LONDON, June 18 : Tottenham Hotspur have signed Netherlands World Cup defender Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton & Hove Albion on a long-term contract, the Premier League clubs announced on Thursday, as the club rebuilds under new head coach Roberto De Zerbi.
Financial details were not disclosed, but British media said the 26-year-old centre-back will arrive in North London in a 52 million pounds ($68.60 million) deal to be reunited with Italian De Zerbi, his former manager at Brighton.
Van Hecke, who has 13 caps, made his World Cup debut in the Netherlands’ 2-2 draw against Japan on Monday.
“He is a strong, intelligent centre-back who is brave in possession and plays with personality,” De Zerbi said. “Those are important qualities for the way I want our team to set up.”
Van Hecke’s arrival strengthens a Tottenham backline that already features his Netherlands teammate Micky van de Ven.
Their chemistry should provide De Zerbi with a highly technical, ball-playing central defensive pairing capable of building play from the back, a hallmark of the Italian’s system.
“It’s a huge honour to become a Spurs player and when you join such a big club, it’s a dream come true,” Van Hecke said in a statement, adding that Van de Ven and his own past relationship with De Zerbi influenced his decision.
Spurs are rebuilding the squad after an awful campaign last season saw them just avoid the drop as they finished in 17th place, two points above relegated London rivals West Ham United.
They have already brought in Scotland captain Andy Robertson with his contract expiring at Liverpool and Argentina defender Marco Senesi from Bournemouth also on a free transfer.
June 18 : Scotland will relish their role as underdogs in Friday’s World Cup group game against Morocco who look even better now than in 2022 when they reached the semi-finals, coach Steve Clarke said.
After a nervy 1-0 win against minnows Haiti on Saturday, Scotland know a draw could clinch a place in the knockout rounds of a major tournament for the first time ever, but Clarke said he was under no illusions about the scale of the task.
“They reached the last four of the last World Cup, and I’ve got a feeling this Moroccan team is probably slightly better than that,” Clarke told reporters on Thursday.
The coach said he expected his players to rise to the challenge posed by the North Africans who led Brazil before having to settle for a 1-1 draw in their opening group game.
“Sometimes the Scottish psyche, the Scottish mentality is that we’re a little bit more comfortable when we’re the underdogs,” Clarke said.
Memorable Scottish performances against higher-ranked opponents include a 3-2 win over eventual finalists the Netherlands in 1978, which was agonisingly too little to keep Scotland in the tournament.
Clarke said being considered favourites against Haiti had contributed to the team’s disjointed performance on Saturday. “This time we’re the underdogs, and sometimes Scotland prefer it that way,” he said.
Scotland would not be distracted by the various possibilities of qualifying for the round of 32 and would focus instead on the basics, he said.
“If you can’t win the game, don’t lose the game,” the former Chelsea defender added. “Permutations and whatever you want to look at, that’s for you guys and all the punters that are out there to think about, not for us.”
Scotland fans expect Clarke to opt for a more defensive lineup on Friday. Ryan Christie could bolster the midfield at the expense of one of the two strikers who started against Haiti and a switch to five in defence might help to blunt Morocco’s attacks from deep led by right back Achraf Hakimi.
“I think he’s the best fullback in the world at the minute,” Scotland captain Andy Robertson said. “He just plays with that freedom and can pop up … in your own box and then all of a sudden he’s back, one-v-one defending.”
LONDON, June 18 : Former England captain Michael Vaughan has urged the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to conclude the investigation on Ben Stokes ahead of the third test against New Zealand.
Captain Stokes was left out of the ongoing second test along with bowler Gus Atkinson following an investigation into an incident in a London nightclub.
England’s leading batsman Joe Root is interim captain at The Oval but Vaughan says the situation must be resolved quickly.
Asked to comment on reports that Stokes could return at Trent Bridge as a player rather than skipper, Vaughan told Test Match Special: “If he resigns and stands down as captain, absolutely that can happen but if he’s not resigning, then if he plays at Trent Bridge then England need Ben Stokes as captain.
“They need his leadership, his all-round ability, having an all rounder balances the side.
“I’ve read a few stories that he could return as a player only. Nonsense. If Ben Stokes plays at Trent Bridge then he has to be captain.”
Stokes and pace bowler Atkinson broke the team’s midnight curfew in the early hours of the Monday morning after the first test victory at Lord’s and were reportedly present when a member of England’s security staff was involved in an incident with a Saracens rugby player.
The Cricket Regulator – a separate body from the ECB – is also conducting an investigation, the ECB have said.
In the absence of Stokes, New Zealand are in a strong position after two days of the second test, with England trailing by 169 runs with four first-innings wickets left.
The third test starts at Trent Bridge on June 25.
“I don’t understand why we are in this situation still,” Vaughan added. “I want to hear from the ECB publicly that Ben Stokes is the captain, he has done some good stuff for the England side. It’s staggering. If they are sacking him then give us a reason why.”
It’s not supposed to happen this quickly. Not long ago, the Chicago White Sox were coming off a 121-loss season with little to look forward to. But less than two years from that forgettable time in Sox history, a team of young and hungry players looking to turn the tide on the South Side has emerged.
And they’ve emerged not just as a good team but also as one of the American League’s best.
“You should stop thinking of this as a surprise,” White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery said this week. “Because we’re consistently winning, we’re consistently in every game. … It doesn’t matter what team it is, we’re not going to overlook them. We’re going to go out there, and we’re gonna just try and play our ball. I think those days [of being a surprise] are kind of over.”
So far in 2026, the White Sox have been arguably the best story in baseball. Coming off a third consecutive 100-loss season, Chicago is 38-34 and tied for first in the AL Central. It’s the team’s best start to a season since 2021, and this squad has already changed the narrative on what they can be this year.
If you broke the season down into quarters, the White Sox’s first 40 games (they went 19-21) were a surprise to most. An incremental step forward was expected, but they weren’t supposed to be a team playing .500 ball. Yet in May, Chicago took off, winning 18 of 28 games. The Sox began to play inspired baseball, led by rookie sensation Munetaka Murakami, who was the first player in MLB to hit 20 home runs this season.
The emergence of the team’s young core, including Montgomery, third baseman Miguel Vargas, utility man Sam Antonacci and rookie top prospect Braden Montgomery, has helped the White Sox raise their profile league-wide. The Sox’s entertaining, exuberant style of play has stood out to onlookers as they’ve continued to find their groove and hit their stride. Since May 1, Chicago is 24-17, the sixth-best record in MLB in that span.
The second quarter of this White Sox season is showing that this team is not only fun but also legitimately good — and not just in comparison to a subpar American League. Unlike in their first 40 games, the White Sox have had to deal with some new challenges lately. Murakami, their best offensive player, has been out due to a hamstring strain for the past three weeks. Even so, the Sox have managed to stay afloat, going 8-7 without the Japanese star.
2026 season
Player
AB
AVG
HR
SB
OPS
M. MurakamiIL10CWS – 1B
200
.240
20
1
.938
M. VargasCWS – 3B
258
.244
16
10
.849
C. MontgomeryCWS – SS
253
.225
19
1
.821
The real test has come this month, with the White Sox getting the chance to find out what they’re made of by facing off in consecutive series against four of the best teams in baseball: the Phillies, Braves, Dodgers and Yankees. For a young team, this stretch presented an opportunity to show the baseball world they are no fluke.
“We’ve done a great job all year of just never giving in,” second baseman Chase Meidroth said. “You know, it’s one through nine, it’s for nine innings … we’re gonna come at you every single day.”
Sure enough, the White Sox began their jaunt against the Phillies, Braves, Dodgers with some success, winning five of those eight games and taking the series against Atlanta and L.A. And while dropping the series to the Yankees (the finale is Thursday), ends this stretch on a less fun note than where they started, the White Sox’s overall performance against a group of contenders showed that they can hold their own against the powerhouses of MLB.
What lies ahead for the White Sox as they enter the third quarter of their season? Well, they’ve officially put themselves in position to compete for the division. With the contenders and underperformers in the division having become clear, it looks as if the AL Central is going to be a two-horse race between the Sox and the Cleveland Guardians.
The Guardians, who have won the division in three of the past four years, come to Chicago next week for a three-game set that is suddenly a battle of the Central’s two best teams. Whichever team emerges victorious from that series will have a leg up as the season reaches its midway point. But a major factor for Cleveland in the second half is that the Guardians will be without superstar third baseman José Ramirez for at least five to seven weeks as he recovers from surgery to repair a broken hamate bone.
And as the White Sox gear up for a back-and-forth battle for the AL Central crown, for the first time in four years, they should be looking to add at the trade deadline. While their young position-player group is set, in the weeks to come, the front office could look to add depth to their starting pitching. Despite the first-half success of right-hander Davis Martin, Chicago’s rotation could use some reinforcements.
Whether Chicago can play in October this year remains to be seen, but the White Sox’s first half has given them something to chase and reason to be optimistic as their season nears its halfway point. Going into the year, it was all about improvement, but now these White Sox have a real chance to win. They’ve given themselves a shot for more, and they’ve proven to the baseball world that they are no accident.
“It doesn’t matter what [people] believe. We stay with us. We believe it,” Meidroth said. “That’s all that matters, and we’re going to continue to put the work in. We’ve got a ways to go. We’ve got to get a lot better at a few things. We’re excited.
“We know where we’re at, but we’re not satisfied right now.”
Andrew Benintendi’s pinch-hit grand slam in the eighth inning lifted the surprising Chicago White Sox to a 5-1 win over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night.
White Sox manager Will Venable began the eighth with another pinch-hitter, substituting Sam Antonacci for Luisangel Acuña to get a left-handed bat against Yankees reliever Fernando Cruz. Cruz left a fastball in the high middle of the strike zone and Antonacci lashed it for a double.
Venable then brought another left-handed bat off the bench with Jacob Gonzalez hitting for Junior Perez. Yankees manager Aaron Boone countered with left-handed reliever Tim Hill. That backfired when Hill tried to pitch Gonzalez inside to prevent him from laying down a bunt, but hit him instead.
The same thing happened when Tristan Peters attempted to bunt the runners over, but Hill hit him with a pitch. Hill looked as if he might avoid maximum damage when he got Chase Meidroth to strike out on a high fastball.
Doval got the remaining two outs to finish the inning, allowing a single to Colson Montgomery (who batted 2-for-3 with a second-inning home run), but the damage was done.
White Sox pitcher Sean Burke then retired six of the final seven Yankees hitters he faced, allowing only a Paul Goldschmidt single, and striking out Jasson Domínguez to end the game. Burke pitched 7 1/3 innings, allowing 1 run and 5 hits with 8 strikeouts. He took over for opener Bryan Hudson, who pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 innings.
With the win, the White Sox stay tied for first place in the AL Central with the Cleveland Guardians, who defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2, on Thursday.
Ryan McMahon accounted for the Yankees’ lone run with a solo homer off Burke in the third inning, his eighth of the season.
The Yankees also lost Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the fourth inning after hitting a foul ball that ricocheted off home plate into a delicate area. All his teammates could do in the dugout was laugh, perhaps knowing that the second baseman might not have been wearing the proper equipment to guard against such a foul ball. There was no word after the game as to Chisholm’s status.
The Yankees’ bullpen squandered a strong start from Ryan Weathers, who allowed only 1 run and 3 hits over 6 1/3 innings with 8 strikeouts. It was a needed bounce-back for the right-hander, who had given up a combined 16 runs and 18 hits in his past three starts.
Thursday’s defeat cost the Yankees a half-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East. They still lead Tampa Bay by three games.
One losing streak will end Friday night when the Toronto Tempo visit the Connecticut Sun in Uncasville, Conn.
The Sun (2-14) have dropped six straight after an 88-81 home loss to the Washington Mystics on Wednesday.
The Tempo (7-8) lost their third in a row, 113-91, to the host Indiana Fever on Tuesday.
The Sun will be seeking revenge on Friday. The Tempo defeated them 106-102 in overtime on June 10 at Toronto.
The Tempo lost leading scorer Brittney Sykes (20.1 points per game) to a non-contact foot injury during the third quarter on Tuesday.
Sykes was helped off the floor and to the locker room before being ruled out of the rest of the game.
“No update, she’ll be evaluated. Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious,” Tempo coach Sandy Brondello said after the game. “When you lose one of your best players, it’s tough, but no one’s going to feel pity for us. We have a next-player-up mentality. I thought we competed hard, but we couldn’t find ways to fill (Sykes’) shoes.”
Sykes, who has been ruled out for Friday’s game with a left foot injury, had 11 points in 19-plus minutes against the Fever. Laura Juskaite led Toronto with 19 points and Marina Mabrey had 18 points and seven assists.
Sykes was instrumental in the overtime win over the Sun last week with career high-tying 38 points, including five of Toronto’s 10 overtime points. The Tempo, who overcame a 14-point second-quarter deficit against the Sun, got 21 points from Mabrey. Connecticut’s Aaliyah Edwards and Leila Lacan each scored 24 points against Toronto.
The Sun have lost the first two games of a six-game homestand that they hoped might lead to a turnaround.
In the loss to Washington, reserve Aneesah Morrow had 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Lacan also had 11 points.
“I cannot say it’s easy, it’s tough mentally,” Sun coach Rachid Meziane said. “Our job is to think about the next game and see how we can improve. My regret is we didn’t start the game the way we wanted. Offensively, we missed too many open shots and missed too many layups.
“We wanted to use these three games in a row at home to change, a little bit, our dynamic, but it’s not a good start for us,” Meziane continued. “I hope after the 40 minutes against Toronto in a couple of days we’ll be able to say something different.”
Eight-year WNBA veteran Gabby Williams has signed a multiyear contract with Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league announced Thursday.
Williams, 29, did not play with Unrivaled for the league’s first two seasons while she played with Fenerbahçe SK in FIBA EuroLeague Women in 2025 and 2026. During the past two seasons with Fenerbahçe, Williams earned first-team and second-team All-EuroLeague honors and was twice named Defensive Player of the Year.
This season is Williams’ first with the Golden State Valkyries after she played the past four years with the Seattle Storm. She is currently averaging a career-high 16.3 points and shooting 38% on 82 3-point attempts.
Last season, the 5-foot-11 forward registered 99 steals, tying for the second-most for a season in WNBA history (and finishing one behind the record set in 1998 by Teresa Witherspoon). She finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting behind co-winners Alanna Smith and A’ja Wilson.
Williams was originally the 2018 first-round draft pick of the Chicago Sky (No. 4 overall) out of UConn. She played three years for the Sky before missing the 2021 season while playing for the French Olympic team. Chicago suspended her for being unavailable and traded her to the Los Angeles Sparks. However, due to her suspension, she never played there and was traded before the 2022 season to the Storm.
As an Olympian, Williams was on France’s bronze medal-winning team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and earned silver at the 2024 Paris Summer Games.
Williams will join Minnesota Lynx star rookie Olivia Miles in playing their first season with Unrivaled this year.
“I’m incredibly excited to announce that I’ll be playing in Unrivaled next season,” Williams said in Unrivaled’s announcement. “The opportunity to compete alongside some of the best players in the world, continue growing my game, and be part of something that is pushing women’s basketball forward is truly special.”
ATLANTA, June 18 : Czech Republic manager Miroslav Koubek believes his side were closer to victory than South Africa after the sides played out a 1-1 draw in their World Cup Group A match on Thursday, and he rued their missed chances to put the game away.
The Czechs got off to the perfect start with Michal Sadilek’s early goal but they failed to press home their advantage and allowed South Africa back into the game with a late penalty which leaves both sides on one point after two matches.
“We are sorry about the result, because I think that taking a look at the chances, we were nearer to victory,” Koubek told reporters.
“But we were not able to score a second goal. If we scored a second goal, it would probably be the end of the match. Unless you score a second goal, you cannot win in such a match, and we had quite a few chances to score a goal.
“On the other hand, South Africa did not create too many chances. They only had a few shots on goal from distance, I am convinced that we were closer to victory than they were, and we have in the end at least one point.”
Koubek did not agree with South Africa’s manager Hugo Broos, who spoke after the game about the Czechs only creating danger from their tall players from set-pieces.
“That is his opinion. He may have such an opinion, but my opinion is different,” Koubek replied when asked about Broos’ words.
“I agree that the first half was better. We played better in the first half, but I do not agree that South Africa had many chances. I did not see these chances.
“Sometimes there might have been the impression that our opponent was better because they were on the ball, but they did not have that many chances as we did.”
South Africa’s penalty appeared generous as Pavel Sulc did all he could to get his arms out of the way when blocking a shot, but Koubek did not want to argue with the referee’s decision.
“I think it was okay to call it a handball, but it was very unfortunate for us,” he said.
“It depends on how your body is located in respect to the ball. I accept the referee’s decision. Even though the penalty was quite strict, it was okay that she called it handball.”
The Czech Republic will take on Mexico in their final group game, while South Africa meet South Korea, with both games on Wednesday.