Sports
With Yankees and Mets both headed to the LCS, ‘a fun time in New York’ awaits
KANSAS CITY — It was just an allusion, still too early in October to bookmark the clip for history. But it’s a familiar and comforting visual that has preceded champagne before: with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, a New York Yankees center fielder in a gray uniform glides to his right to track a fly ball, then squeezes it to end a postseason series.
Two dozen years ago, it was Bernie Williams at Shea Stadium. This time it was Aaron Judge in Kansas City, snagging a routine fly from Yuli Gurriel, pumping his fist and pointing to the sky. Onward they go.
Get ready for chicken buckets in the Bronx!
The @Yankees are heading back to the #ALCS!
(MLB x @BudweiserUSA) #CLINCHED pic.twitter.com/JrFHzavHIF
— MLB (@MLB) October 11, 2024
The Yankees finished off the Kansas City Royals in Game 4 on Thursday, 3-1 on the scoreboard and 3-1 in games for this American League Division Series. They are the second MLB team to earn an invitation to the league championship series and, yes, they’re aware of the other: the New York Mets.
“It’s going to be definitely a fun time in New York, man,” Judge said, after the usual boozy revelry in the visitors clubhouse. “They’re having a great season, and it’s going to be fun to look forward to, down the road, getting a chance to face them again.”
For the Yankees and Mets, those roads rarely converge this time of year. In the 55 seasons of LCS play, this will be just the third to feature both the Yankees and Mets. You might remember the others: 1999, when only the Yankees won, and 2000, when New York City had the World Series all to itself.
The Mets and the Yankees met for five thrillers, each decided by one or two runs. The series was purely delectable, right until the waiter took your plate too soon. When Williams caught Mike Piazza’s drive to end Game 5, it left fans starving for more.
We’re still hungry — at least in New York, where the World Series seemed like a birthright in the years before expansion. From Game 1 in 1949 through Game 2 in 1957, 44 of a possible 48 World Series games took place in New York. It couldn’t have been much fun for the rest of the country, but in the land of Yankees, Giants and Dodgers, it must have been a delight.
Lately, the World Series has mostly taken place elsewhere: 80 of the last 83 games have been staged outside of New York, dating to the Yankees’ last championship in 2009. The Mets reached the World Series in 2015, but the Yankees have dropped their last five appearances in the ALCS, three with Judge as their centerpiece.
“It means everything,” Judge said of this latest chance. “Since I’ve been here with the Yankees, we haven’t secured a pennant. The group that we have, how special this is — just excited for this opportunity. It’s going to be something special.”
The Yankees’ last division series victory was a choppy, waterlogged mess: five games in eight exhausting days against Cleveland in 2022. They had no days off before a series with the Houston Astros, then the defending AL champions, who had three days to rest and rolled to a sweep.
This time, the Yankees will be rested, their opponent rushed. By winning here on Thursday, the Yankees earned a three-day break before Game 1 in the Bronx on Monday against the Guardians or Tigers, who will settle their ALDS on Saturday in Cleveland.
“In ’22 we kind of limped into it a little bit,” manager Aaron Boone said, recalling the late-season injuries and punishing division series. “I remember getting into Houston middle of the night — not an excuse, but I feel like we’re in a better place right now, just from a roster standpoint, health standpoint.
“But you get to this point, now we’ll be down to the final four. Everyone is feeling pretty good about their teams. That’s the case for me.”
The Yankees are doing what good teams should in October: protecting late leads, playing solid defense and wearing down the other team’s pitchers. The bullpen spun 15 2/3 scoreless innings against Kansas City, novice first basemen Jon Berti and Oswaldo Cabrera played flawlessly, and Yankees hitters drew 27 walks — while striking out just 28 times — against a Royals staff that had prided itself on control.
“The way that the whole lineup was able to work at-bats, make the pitchers work and get the next guy up,” catcher Austin Wells said. “That’s been what we’re trying to do here, so I think (we’ve) done a really good job.”
The Yankees never trailed in two games here, but the opener last Saturday was the first postseason game ever with five lead changes. The Yankees prevailed that night, and that’s what Judge cited when asked what gives him the most optimism now.
“I think (it goes) back to that first game,” he said. “We faced a lot of adversity in the regular season, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of tough times, a lot of good times. To come away with the best record in the AL was huge for us, and then you go to the first game where they punch us, we punch them, they punch us back, we take back the lead. Just a lot of back and forth, which that’s what’s going to happen in the postseason.
“You guys have been watching the postseason and what’s been going on. Just a lot of lead changes and who can keep throwing punches when you’re getting beat on. A lot of fight out of these guys. Just never quit.”
It’s the same story with the Mets, who staged comeback victories in their postseason clincher in Atlanta, both of their first-round wins in Milwaukee, and two of their NLDS victories against the Phillies.
The Yankees are not surprised. They revere the Mets’ manager, Carlos Mendoza, who coached on Boone’s staff for six seasons before switching boroughs last fall.
“I knew he was fully ready for that job,” Boone said. “Connects well with people. He’s obviously bilingual and he’s very good at communicating with anyone. You realize what a good dude he is, and you recognize his intelligence, too. So he’s just the real deal.”
Imagine a World Series pitting Boone and a protégé; the Steinbrenners and the Cohens; the homegrown sluggers (Judge and Pete Alonso); the imports who seem made for New York (Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor); the Bleacher Creatures and that Grimace creature.
OK, so we don’t even know the LCS matchups quite yet. Four other teams are also desperate to crash the stage in late October. But for right now — for a New York minute, you might say — the only ones who know they’ll be playing for the pennant are the Mets and Yankees.
A Subway Series? In 2024, they could make it there.
The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty contributed to this story.
(Top photo of Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto in July: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Napoleon Solo took home the 2026 Preakness Stakes on Saturday, the 151st running of the race.
The favorite in Taj Mahal, the 1 horse, was in the lead from the start until the final turn until Napoleon Solo made his move on the outside and took the lead at the top of the stretch. As Taj Mahal fell off, Iron Honor, the 9 horse, snuck up, but the effort ultimately was not enough.
Napoleon Solo opened at 8-1 and closed at 7-1. Iron Honor, at 8-1, finished second, with Chip Honcho fishing third after closing at 11-1. Ocelli, one of just three horses to run both the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and Saturday’s Preakness, finished fourth at 8-1.
A Preakness branded starting gate is seen on track prior to the 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on May 16, 2026 in Laurel, Maryland. For the first and only time, Laurel Park is hosting the Preakness Stakes which is the second race of the Triple Crown jewel due to the traditional home of the race of the Pimlico Race Course undergoing complete renovations. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
A $1 exacta paid out $53.60, while a $1 trifecta brought in $597.10. But someone out there is very lucky, as a $1 superhighfive – picking the top-five finishers in order – paid out $12,015.70.
Even moreso, a 20-cent Pick 6 – picking the winners of the six consecutive races, with the final being the Preakness, paid out $33,842.34.
The race was run without the Kentucky Derby winner for the second year in a row. After Sovereignty did not run the Preakness last year – and wound up winning the Belmont Stakes – the training team of Golden Tempo opted to skip the Maryland race.
From 1960 to 2018, only three Derby winners did not run in the Preakness. Three Derby winners have skipped the Preakness in the last five years, and for the sixth time in eight years, for various reasons, the Triple Crown had already been impossible to accomplish by the time the Preakness even rolled around.
“I understand that fans of the sport or fans of the Triple Crown are disappointed, but the horse is not a machine,” Golden Tempo’s trainer, Cherie DeVaux, told Fox News Digital earlier this week.
Paco Lopez, right, atop Napoleon Solo, edges out Iron Honor, ridden by Flavien Prat, to win the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
CHERIE DEVAUX REFLECTS ON MAKING KENTUCKY DERBY HISTORY AS FIRST FEMALE TRAINER TO WIN THE RACE
Only three horses from two weeks ago – Ocelli, Robusta, and Incredibolt, were back at the Preakness. Corona de Oro, the 11 horse on Saturday, was scratched well ahead of the Derby, and Great White, who reared up and fell on his back after becoming startled shortly before entering the Derby gate, took the 13 post on Saturday.
The Preakness went off roughly 24 hours after a horse died following the completion of his very first race.
Hit Zero, trained by Brittany Russell, came into the race as the favorite. However, he finished last in the race, which was won by another one of Russell’s horses, Bold Fact — and upon crossing the finish line, Hit Zero reportedly began coughing, dropped to his knees, then put his head down and died.
The Preakness took place at Laurel Park as Pimlico undergoes renovations. It was the first time ever that Pimlico did not host the race, moving roughly 20 miles south.
Paco Lopez, atop Napoleon Solo, wins the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
The Belmont Stakes, the final Triple Crown race, will take place on June 6. The race will return to Saratoga for a third year in a row as Belmont Park continues to be renovated.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
HIGH SCHOOL BOYS VOLLEYBALL
CITY SECTION FINALS
FRIDAY
At Birmingham
DIVISION I
#1 Taft d. #3 Cleveland, 25-23, 25-14, 25-21
DIVISION IV
#7 Maywood CES d. #4 Math & Science College Prep, 25-17, 25-17, 25-23
At Venice
DIVISION II
#4 Marquez d. #6 Narbonne, 23-25, 25-19, 29-27, 25-16
DIVISION III
#13 Birmingham d. #2 Legacy, 25-20, 17-25, 31-33, 25-21, 15-10
SATURDAY
At Birmingham
OPEN DIVISION
#3 Chatsworth d. #1 Granada Hills, 24-26, 25-21, 25-14, 25-18
DIVISION V
314 Franklin d. #13 Rancho Dominguez, 25-18, 25-19, 25-16
SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS
THURSDAY
At Home Sites
DIVISION 9
Vasquez d. Tarbut V’ Torah, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-10
FRIDAY
At Cerritos College
DIVISION 1
#1 Mira Costa d. #3 Loyola, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22
DIVISION 4
Sunny Hills d. Royal, 24-26, 25-22, 27-25, 25-23
At Home Sites
DIVISION 5
Bishop Diego d. St. Anthony, 25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23
DIVISION 8
Temescal Canyon d. West Valley, 24-26, 25-16, 25-19, 25-23
SATURDAY
At Cerritos College
DIVISION 2
Orange Lutheran d. Edison, 3-1
DIVISION 3
Windward d. St, John Bosco, 24-26, 25–21, 25-22, 25-20
DIVISION 6
Culver City d. Garden Grove, 27-25, 25-20, 19-25, 21-25, 15-9
Sports
It’s Game 7, and we have a bet locked in as the Cavaliers and legacies are on the line against the Pistons
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The NBA takes a lot of flak for having meaningless games, and I can definitely understand it, watching on a random Wednesday in January. However, the playoffs have delivered over and over to viewers and rewarded us for putting up with garbage regular-season games.
This will be the fourth Game 7 of the playoffs. Three series have been sweeps, and the other three have been six games. That shows competitive hoops. Now, how do we bet this Game 7 in the Eastern Conference?
The Cleveland Cavaliers blew it. After not winning a road game all postseason, they took Game 5 in surprising fashion. It looked like they were going to win in six games. After all, they hadn’t lost a game at home in the postseason.
Instead, Detroit came out and blitzed the Cavs, never giving them a chance to get their footing. They lost in an ugly fashion and now have to figure out a way to win a game on the road.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden drives to the basket against the Detroit Pistons during the second half of Game 5 in the second-round NBA playoffs in Detroit on May 13, 2026. (Duane Burleson/AP)
It isn’t just the Cavs’ fate that rests in this game. It is also the legacy of James Harden and, to a lesser extent, Donovan Mitchell.
We know that Mitchell is a very good player, but he isn’t regarded as one of the best players ever. Harden is. Unfortunately, Harden has struggled in Game 7s. He’s averaged 19.1 points, 7.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds. That’s not terrible, but looking at his shooting percentages, he is at 35.3% and 22.2% in those games. He actually is 4-4 overall in the games, but in his past three, he has scored a combined 34 points over 113 minutes.
The Detroit Pistons seem to like playing with their backs against the wall. They are a gritty team, so I suppose it makes sense.
Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren reacts after allowing a pass to go out of bounds in the second half of Game 4 of the second-round NBA playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland on May 11, 2026. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)
Cade Cunningham continues to deliver for the team, and he finally got some help in Game 6 from Jalen Duren. This was never going to be an easy series for Duren, but it feels like he is taking more time to mature than others. He definitely improved this year, but the consistency they need from him just isn’t there yet.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Now as the team goes home they will need Duren to be a beast on the glass. If he can keep the Pistons in the rebounding battle, they should win this game with ease. They won Game 6 by just three rebounds, but that takes away a big dimension of what Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley do for the Cavs. It isn’t everything, though, as the Pistons won the rebounding battle in both losses in Cleveland.
I don’t see this being a runaway game for the Pistons. Mitchell and Cunningham likely will cancel each other out with scoring. Harden needs to establish himself as the third-best player on the floor. I haven’t seen him do that in the postseason, yet.
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden talk during Game 2 in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs vs. the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Ohio. (David Dermer/Imagn Images)
This is the second Game 7 of the playoffs for both of the clubs, so it isn’t like either will be caught off guard about what this entails.
If I look at it objectively, I think the Cavs have the better players. However, the Pistons have looked significantly better this season, and definitely in the playoffs overall. Both are prone to issues and slipping. The Cavs shouldn’t be as they are a veteran team.
This game has to be won by Cleveland, though. There is too much riding on the franchise and legacies of guys for them to not prepare properly for it. Maybe that’s weak analysis, but I’m taking the Cavs with the points and I do think they win outright. I expect a monster game from Mitchell, and Harden should get 10+ assists.
Either way, whoever wins will lose to the New York Knicks.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
-
North Dakota5 minutes agoHope man dies after truck strikes parked dozer in Steele County
-
Ohio11 minutes agoMaybe Ohio State AD Ross Bjork should sit in regular-guy seats, wait in line, etc.
-
Oklahoma17 minutes ago2 teens arrested after back-to-back shootings near Paycom Center
-
Oregon23 minutes agoThis Is The Friendliest Small Town in Oregon
-
Pennsylvania29 minutes agoThe new political era of insurgent candidates is roiling the Pennsylvania primary
-
Rhode Island35 minutes agoMy doctor knew what care I needed. My insurance denied it | Opinion
-
South-Carolina41 minutes agoSouth Carolina Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for May 16, 2026
-
South Dakota47 minutes agoSouth Dakota softball’s run ends in extra-inning loss to Grand Canyon
