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CHICAGO – In a move that was months in coming, theCincinnati Redshave moved on from former All-Star closer Alexis Díaz. The Reds and Dodgers have agreed to a trade to send Diaz to Los Angeles for a minor leaguer, the club announced Thursday, May 29. Diaz had struggled since the second half of his 2023 All-Star season, eventually giving way to veteran Emilio Pagán as the closer this season. Diaz has been in the minors since the club optioned him to Class AAA Louisville on April 30 after command issues persisted into the early season. In six appearances with the Reds this season, he allowed eight runs on five walks and eight hits, including four home runs, in just six innings. He also hit two batters and had just three strikeouts. The Reds received minor league right-handed pitcher Mike Villani in the deal. Villani, who was drafted in the 13th round out of Long Beach State last year, just made his professional debut this week, in rookie ball. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer:Alexis Diaz trade: Dodgers get former All-Star in deal with Reds

Oklahoma softball'spath for a fifth consecutiveWomen's College World Seriesnational championship looked to include the elimination bracket. Ella Parker then changed that. Down to the last out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Parker connected a 0-1 fastball from Tennessee pitcherKarlyn Pickensand sailed it over the centerfield wall at Devon Park in Oklahoma City to give the Sooners a 4-3 win over the Volunteers in the opening round of the WCWS on Thursday. "Going into it, I knew our fourth man was in fire. This team has done so much. We just battled and battled and battled. Just knowing that our fourth man was with us, I'm so emotional," Parker told ESPN's Holly Rowe after her walk-off home run. ELLA PARKER WALKS IT OFF ‼️#WCWSx 🎥 ESPN /@OU_Softballpic.twitter.com/Z9RZ8t1bxI — NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball)May 29, 2025 REQUIRED READING:WCWS scores: Bracket, TV schedule for NCAA softball tournament With Thursday's opening win, Oklahoma continues to be undefeated in the WCWS against Tennessee. It was also the second home run of the game for Parker, who is theniece of Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. "I was just doing whatever to stay loose and pass the bat to my next teammate," Parker told Rowe on what she saw on Pickens' pitch. "Nothing else, just keeping it simple." The Volunteers got to Sooners ace Sam Landry early in the top of the first inning with back-to-back hits to put runners on second and third with no outs. Tennessee plated its first run in the inning on a passed ball that got away from OU catcher Isabela Emerling, which allowed Gabby Leach to score from third. Tennessee extended its lead to 2-0 in the first when former Sooner Sophia Nugent brought in Taylor Pannell on a sacrifice fly. The Vols' 2-0 lead was short-lived, as Oklahoma quickly responded in the home half of the inning with a solo home run to right by Parker. Aggressiveness in the third inning helped extend Tennessee's lead to 3-1, when Ella Dodge scored from second on a misplayed ball in left field by Oklahoma left fielder Kasidi Pickering. T3: gettin' aggressiveLady Vols 3, Sooners 1pic.twitter.com/qZs6Dv2je4 — Tennessee Softball (@Vol_Softball)May 29, 2025 REQURIED READING:How does WCWS work? Explaining double-elimination format for NCAA softball tournament The Volunteers had an opportunity to break the game open in the top of the seventh inning when Nugent came up to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. However, Nugent would ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the rally. Then in the bottom of the seventh, Pickens, who holds theNCAA softball record for the fastest pitchat 79.4 mph, the Sooners began their rally with Ailana Agbayani working a four-pitch walk. Agbayani was then brought around to third on a single up the middle from Pickering that got under the glove of Dodge at second base. Parker's heroics in the seventh inning staved off numerous pieces of history for Oklahoma, most notably becoming the first defending national champion to lose its opening round game since 2018, which happened to also be the Sooners. Oklahoma will now take on No. 6 Texas on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET in the "winners' bracket" of the WCWS in what will be a rematch of last year's WCWS championship series. The Longhornsshut out No. 3 Florida by a score of 3-0in the opening game of the 2025 WCWS on Thursday.. (This story was updated with new information) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Ella Parker walk-off home run helps Oklahoma beat Tennessee in WCWS

DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Buried in gnarly rough Thursday at the Memorial, the prudent shot for Jordan Spieth was to chip out sideways back to the fairway. That's what his caddie suggested. That's not how Spieth operates. "It's really hard to get me to chip out," Spieth said after he opened with a hard-earned round of even-par 72 at Muirfield Village. "I chip out maybe less than anyone else that's every played the game of golf. "It's demoralizing enough that I'll make a terrible decision not to." That's what he faced Thursday on the par-5 fifth holeafter a tee shot that hit a tree and bounced slightly backward, creating a lie that went against the long blades of grass and left him a lie that was close to impossible. What to do? No commentary is necessary. Spieth provides that on his own. "If it gets to the fairway, I can make 4," he told Michael Greller, the caddie who has worked with him since the U.S. Junior in 2011. "Versus do I still make 5 if I can't get it to the fairway." The fairway was only 115 yards away — the lie was that bad. They reasoned that if he didn't carry it to the fairway, he'd have to lay up again because of water in front of the green. Spieth still figured he could get that up-and-down for par. As he settled over the shot, Greller made one last pitch: "Why don't you hit it right there?" he said to Spieth, indicating a chip-out to the left. "I don't want to hit it right there," Spieth said. "Because I'm hitting good shots, and they're getting absolutely boned so far, so I can't accept it." No one can fault Greller for trying to talk some safe sense into him, and this wasn't the first time. Spieth is aware of that. "His hands are tied on some of those," Spieth after his round, and then revisited that shot on the fifth hole. "I didn't think I was going to be able to reach the fairway, and I talked him into ... I could still make par either way. The reality was eight of 10 (times), I'm not going to cover. I should punch it out." He hammered it. The ball caught the first cut and barely made it back to the fairway. That left him 128 yards to the hole, and his third shot was 25 feet below the hole. Spieth holed the putt, of course. "It actually got to the fairway and I made birdie," he said, "which doesn't help the whole cause." ___ AP golf:https://apnews.com/hub/golf

USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change. Texas Tech and Ole Miss softball's highly anticipated debut at theWomen's College World Serieshas been interrupted by Mother Nature. Due to inclement weather in the Oklahoma City area, Thursday's WCWS game between the Red Raiders and Rebelshas been delayed by weather. The game between Texas Tech and Ole Miss was originally scheduled for a 7 p.m. ET first pitch at Devon Park in Oklahoma City on Thursday. REQUIRED READING:Texas Tech vs Ole Miss softball live score: Live score, highlight of WCWS game To make the WCWS, Texas Tech took down No. 5 Florida State in the Tallahassee Super Regional, while Ole Miss, the lone unseeded team at the WCWS this year, took down No. 4 Arkansas in the Fayetteville Super Regional. Here's the latest weather updates on Texas Tech-Ole Miss at the WCWS: All times Eastern 7:33 p.m.:The tarp appears to be off the field in Oklahoma City. The newly announced first pitch between Texas Tech and Ole Miss is roughly 35 minutes away. THE TARP IS COMING OFF THE FIELD!!#wcwspic.twitter.com/LJtkllKJcr — Ryan Compeau (@Ry_Compeau)May 29, 2025 7:27 p.m.:The NCAA announces on X that the first pitch between Texas Tech and Ole Miss is now scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET in Oklahoma City. #WCWSSession 2 schedule update.pic.twitter.com/zMS006zBNC — NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball)May 29, 2025 7:26 p.m.:As noted by The Oklahoman's Jeff Patterson, Thursday's Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss WCWS has been delayed due to lightning in the Oklahoma City area.Per NCAA rules, if lightning strikes within at least six miles of the venue of the event, the game must be suspended for at least 30 minutes.  For every lightning strike that follows the initial lightning strike, the 30-minute clock is reset. The WCWS is in a weather delaypic.twitter.com/dMQE6m23Dk — Jeff Patterson (@jeffpattOKC)May 29, 2025 7:09 p.m.:Texas Tech's official X account (formerly Twitter) announced the originally scheduled first pitch for the 7 p.m. ET game won't happen due to a weather delay. We won't be starting at 6pm ⛈️Updates as we have thempic.twitter.com/uxf2CwxYNT — Texas Tech Softball (@TexasTechSB)May 29, 2025 According to The Weather Channel,it looks like once the current patch of inclement weather rolls through Oklahoma City, there should not be any more rain for the rest of Thursday night. Here's an hourly forecast from The Weather Channel for Oklahoma City: 8 p.m.:Partly Cloudy (5% chance of rain) 9 p.m.:Partly Cloudy (2% chance of rain) 10 p.m.:Partly Cloudy (2% chance of rain) TV channel:ESPN2 Streaming options:ESPN app |Fubo (free trial) ESPN2 will nationally televise Thursday's WCWS game between Texas Tech and Ole Miss. Streaming options include the ESPN app (with a TV login)and Fubo,which carries the ESPN The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:WCWS weather updates: Texas Tech-Ole Miss softball game delayed

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — For all the strides theMinnesota Timberwolveshave made since they drafted Anthony Edwards first overall five years ago, a once-woebegone franchise now playing deep intothe playoffsas a habit and not a hiccup, a noticeable gap remains between them and anNBAtitle. Reaching the last two Western Conference finals, particularly this spring after asurprise shuffleof the roster right before training camp and the pains of adjustments and injuries throughout the regular season, was a remarkable accomplishment. The last team to appear in two in a row was Golden State in 2018 and 2019. Edwards will turn 24 in about two months, a superstar only beginning his prime years with a handful of mid-20s role players around him. But the five-game defeat delivered in machine-like fashion by Oklahoma City raised fair questions about whether these Timberwolves can cleartwo more hurdlesto win their first championship. "Nobody's going to work harder than me this summer. I'll tell you that much," Edwards said after the 30-point losson Wednesdaythat ended the series in five games. The offseason commitment has never been in question for Edwards, whose set career highs in 2024-25 in points per game (27.6), 3-point shooting percentage (39.5) and free-throw shooting percentage (83.7) while playing in 79 of 82 games. He also led the league in made 3-pointers (320). In five seasons, Edwards has missed a total of nine games. But the Thunder and their NBA-best defense posed a distinct challenge. Edwards shot just 6 for 31 from 3-point range in the four losses and was held under 20 points in three of them. He still found ways to drive to the basket and kick the ball through traffic to teammates in the corner, but the discrepancy in production between his counterpart Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was stark. The NBA MVP outscored Edwards 157-115, with a 116-87 edge in field goal attempts and a 51-32 edge in free throw attempts. "Obviously, he's got to learn to play against that physicality and that type of holding all the time. They made it really hard for him," coach Chris Finch said. "I thought for a lot of the series, he did make the right play, and we preach that to him all the time. Yeah, we need him to be aggressive, for sure. He's got to find some easier buckets. I've got to help him do that." Edwards was also a culprit in the overall dip in effectiveness and intensity on defense, after the Wolves led the league on that end of the court during the 2023-24 season. Even after slipping from first to sixth in defensive rating for 2024-25, they held the Los Angeles Lakers under 100 points in three of five games in the first round and did the same to the Warriors in the second round. But Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder were a different story, albeit with an attack fueled by their steal-happy defense that made Edwards, Julius Randle and Naz Reid in particular pay for dribbling too much in tight coverage. "Fifteen puppets on one string," was how Edwards marveled at the Thunder's execution of their defensive scheme. Though three of their starters — Mike Conley, Rudy Gobert andRandle— this season were 30 or older, the Wolves with their mid-20s core of Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo weren't consistently disciplined and focused enough in following the game plans. "I think for individuals it has to become even more important to them," Conley said on Thursday as players went through exit interviews at team headquarters. "Maybe that means studying the game more. Maybe that means doing more individual coaching, taking coaches on the side and getting some individual stuff there, bringing me aside every now and then even more often, and just using the minds around you to help you grasp certain concepts and certain things about the game." The eight-player rotation Finch was hesitant to extend will certainly change, with Terrence Shannon Jr. clearly ready for more playing time in the backcourt and the Wolves hopeful that Rob Dillingham and Jaylen Clark are too. Nickeil Alexander-Walker will become an unrestricted free agent, creating one potential opening. Then there's the tricky contract situation in the frontcourt, where Randle and Reid each have an option to exercise for next season they could decide to decline in favor of a longer-term, more lucrative deal. Reid, for his part, said he would likely opt out. The 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year also said he would prefer to be a starter. "But if you want to be in a winning position," Reid said, "sometimes you might have to sacrifice." ___ AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/NBA