Last Night in Sports: July 9, 2026

Thursday's 13-game MLB card was defined by reversals. The Yankees answered two straight losses at Tampa Bay with a 12-4 win — Ben Rice supplied two homers and five RBI against one of the AL's top teams. The Phillies, coming off an 11-5 beating from Corbin Burns the night before, turned around and shut out Cincinnati 1-0. The NBA and NHL are in their offseasons.

MLB — Thursday, July 9

New York Yankees, 12 — Tampa Bay Rays, 4. Ben Rice hit two homers and drove in five runs. Austin Wells also went deep as New York scored 12 to split a four-game series between the AL's top two teams. The Yankees had been shut out 3-0 by Shane McClanahan on Wednesday; the 12-4 response was not subtle.

Atlanta Braves, 10 — Pittsburgh Pirates, 5. Atlanta opened the road series in Pittsburgh with 10 runs. The Braves came off a shutout loss Tuesday — this was a cleaner effort on both sides of the ball.

Miami Marlins, 8 — Seattle Mariners, 4. Miami scored eight at home to take the series opener over Seattle. The Marlins led by multiple runs in the middle innings and held on.

Milwaukee Brewers, 8 — St. Louis Cardinals, 4. The Cardinals had won 5-1 on Wednesday; the Brewers answered with 8 runs Thursday to even things up.

New York Mets, 7 — Kansas City Royals, 3. New York controlled this one at home, winning 7-3 after Tuesday's 16-12 shootout and Wednesday's 6-2 win. The Mets have won back-to-back in the series.

Texas Rangers, 7 — Los Angeles Angels, 6. One night after the Angels won 13-1 in this same building, the Rangers held on for a 7-6 win Thursday. One-run finish to even the series.

Cleveland Guardians, 5 — Minnesota Twins, 2. Cleveland won 5-2 in Minneapolis to take the series opener. The Twins had won the night before 6-5; the Guardians pushed back.

Detroit Tigers, 4 — Athletics, 1. Detroit held the Athletics to one run at home. The Tigers took this series win Thursday.

Baltimore Orioles, 3 — Chicago Cubs, 2. The Orioles answered Wednesday's 9-7 Cubs win with a 3-2 win of their own. The series sits at one game apiece.

San Francisco Giants, 8 — Colorado Rockies, 2. San Francisco scored eight at home. Colorado has allowed 10 or more runs in two of its last three games.

Arizona Diamondbacks, 3 — San Diego Padres, 1. After San Diego won Wednesday 10-4, Arizona countered Thursday with a 3-1 win. The series is split heading into the weekend.

Boston Red Sox, 2 — Chicago White Sox, 1. Boston held on for a close 2-1 win in Chicago to complete a two-game road trip sweep.

Philadelphia Phillies, 1 — Cincinnati Reds, 0. The sharpest reversal of the night. Philadelphia had taken an 11-5 beating from Corbin Burns (11-1) on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Phillies' pitching staff answered with a shutout — Cincinnati scored nothing — to even the series.

What to watch tonight

Fifteen games Friday night. Arizona visits Los Angeles (10:10 PM ET) for the marquee matchup: Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers host Eduardo Rodriguez and the Diamondbacks as heavy favorites at -267. The Yankees open a new series in Washington at 6:45 PM after splitting four with Tampa Bay. Apple TV carries Red Sox at Mets at 7:15 PM and Braves at Cardinals at 8:15 PM.

• MLB: Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM ET on MLB.TV. Ohtani's Dodgers open at -267 hosting Arizona. The Diamondbacks won Thursday after a rough Wednesday and have the pitching to keep it close.
• MLB: Boston Red Sox at New York Mets, 7:15 PM ET on Apple TV. East Coast prime-time matchup between two teams in postseason contention.
• MLB: Atlanta Braves at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:15 PM ET on Apple TV. Braves won 10-5 in Pittsburgh Thursday and open a new series in St. Louis.
• MLB: New York Yankees at Washington Nationals, 6:45 PM ET on MLB.TV. New York opens a fresh series after splitting four with Tampa Bay.

Full details in the Tonight preview.