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Righthander Jose Corniell had a memorable MLB debut in the Rangers†season finale. He struck out the first batter he faced in a scoreless inning and was handed a three-run lead to finish off what would be his first career victory.

But the bottom fell out at Progressive Field as the Guardians scored four times in the 10th inning to clinch the American League Central with a walk-off win. Corniell walked off the mound defeated, but his 2025 was a win.

He finished his rehab from Tommy John surgery, dominated in the minor leagues and reached the majors. The 22-year-old then pitched in the Arizona Fall League.

That points to Corniell making a bigger contribution with the Rangers in 2026.

“He just seems mature beyond his years,†former Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said, “as far as pitching, good command and good secondary pitches he can throw for strikes at any time. Itâ€s important for him to get a taste for next year.â€

Corniell was injured in the spring of 2024, when he made his first appearance in Cactus League action. He was one of the surprises of camp, and Bochy expected Corniell to contribute during the regular season.

His elbow gave way, though, and he entered the difficult rehab process from Tommy John surgery. The process yielded enhanced physical strength and velocity as well as additional mental strength.

“I had to be mentally strong and come back to do what I needed to do,†Corniell said. “I think it’s helped me in the long run to be prepared for whatâ€s ahead.â€

Corniell doesnâ€t turn 23 until June. He came to the Rangers from the Mariners, who signed him from the Dominican Republic for $630,000 before trading him late in 2020 in a deal for reliever Rafael Montero.

Corniell throws three different fastballs and a changeup, but his best secondary offering is his slider. The arsenal overwhelmed minor leaguers in 2025 to the tune of a 1.89 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 38 innings across two levels.

RANGERS ROUNDUP

— Joining Corniell in the Arizona Fall League were catcher Malcolm Moore and righthanders Winston Santos and Emiliano Teodo. All three missed significant time during the season, and Santos and Teodo are members of the 40-man roster who could make their MLB debuts in 2026.

— Righthander Kumar Rocker allowed one run in 2.1 innings on Sept. 18 in his first game action in more than a month. Rocker spent more than a month reworking his mechanics after toiling with them throughout the season. He will be a candidate for the Rangers†rotation in 2026.

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The Mets may already be in offseason mode, but two of their young talents have been able to carry their strong minor league seasons into the early days of the Arizona Fall League.

Nick Morabito and Chris Suero have been two of the top performers thus far for the Scottsdale Scorpions.

Morabito slotted right back into the leadoff spot for the squad on Sunday night and he made an immediate impact, starting the bottom of the first with a second pitch single up the middle.

The speedster would steal both second and third, and scored the games opening run on a throwing error.

He would reach base twice during the 12-run bottom of the second, drawing a walk and scoring on an RBI double, then lining his second single of the game right back up the middle when his turn came back around.

The game was called early after the ballpark was evacuated for a fire alarm going off, so Morabito finished the night 2-for-4 to bring his average to a stellar .391 through six AFL games.

He also has a double, triple, six stolen bases (in seven attempts), and a 1.039 OPS to this point.

The 22-year-old has established himself as one of the up-and-coming outfield prospects in the system, hitting .273 with an incredible 49 stolen bases (60 attempts) and a .348 on-base percentage in Binghamton this year.

Suero received the night off on Sunday, but he’s been swinging a good bat early in the Fall League, as well.

The Bronx-native has kept his power-stroke going, hitting a double and two homers over his first five games. He also has two steals and continues to show his versatility, seeing time at all three of his positions (C, 1B, LF).

Like Morabito, Suero enjoyed a bit of a breakout campaign this year, reaching Double-A at just 21 years old.

He finished with 16 homers, 35 stolen bases, 68 RBI, and a .379 OBP between Binghamton and Brooklyn.

The two are ranked back-to-back (15th and 16th) on Joe DeMayo’s midseason Top-30 list.

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There were some question marks surrounding Egor Demin‘s shooting ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft, and rightfully so.

Demin shot just 27.3 percent from three during his lone season of college basketball at BYU, causing many scouts to be hesitant about how his shot would translate to the NBA. But that didn’t scare the Nets away, as they saw the potential star upside in his game and selected him with the No. 8 overall pick in June.

While it’s still very early in his professional career, Demin demonstrated his skill set Friday night in his preseason debut against the Toronto Raptors. The 19-year-old, who missed the team’s first three preseason games due to a plantar fascia tear, scored 14 points with five rebounds and an assist in 19 minutes off the bench.

The performance earned him praise from teammates Michael Porter Jr. (34 points) and Cam Thomas (seven points), who believe the 6-foot-9 rookie can make a real impact in the NBA.

“Oh, yeah, he’s solid. He’s going to be really good,” Porter Jr. told the New York Post. “Positionally, for his size, if he can translate all those point guard skills over to the pros, he’s going to be a problem.

“He makes the right reads and the right plays. So I know it may take time to deal with the physicality of the point guard position in the NBA, but once he gets the hang of it, he’s going to be really, really good.”

the rook pullin’ up with confidence! @whoisegor3 | #NetsWorldpic.twitter.com/6GJIxez3Bt

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) October 18, 2025

Demin’s 14 points came on 3 of 5 shooting, including 2 of 3 from three-point range, and 6 of 7 on free throws. 11 of his 14 points came in the first half, including all of the foul shots. He also recorded a block and committed two turnovers in the 119-114 loss.

“He was great. He was great. Obviously, it’s preseason, but he was good for his first game,” Thomas said. “We’ll see what happens in Charlotte, but it was a great start for him, for sure.”

While Demin is still working his way back to full strength from the foot injury, as he only started playing five-on-five while the team was in China, head coach Jordi Fernandez was pleased with what he saw from the guard Friday night.

“He was excellent,” Fernandez said. “There’s going to be things he’s going to keep working on. We’ve got to keep building him up physically to be able to sustain more minutes. … But I’m very happy with his presence, how composed he was, how he talked to his teammates, all those things. And made it look easy.

“He shot the ball every time he was open or halfway open, got to the free-throw line and rebounded. He got five rebounds, made nice plays at the rim. It was good.”

Demin added that his first bit of NBA action was a great learning experience, and he’ll take those lessons with him into the regular season.

“Yeah, 100 percent. I’ve been told a lot about the Raptors as one of the most physical and longest teams from the standpoint of pressure almost the whole game, and how pesky they are,” Demin said. “I don’t want to say I was scared, but I was super aware of what to expect. But I also couldn’t understand what to expect in my first game … so I’m just happy we went through this and had this experience. It’s a huge lesson for all of us, and I can’t wait for the start of the season.”

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are off to a 2-1 start this season, and they have played a bit better than most had expected up to this point.

And their AHL affiliate is off to a hot start, too.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins earned back-to-back victories – first a 2-1 win over the Hartford Wolfpack and then a 4-1 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. And there are already 12 different players who have been involved on the scoresheet for WBS.

On Saturday, forward Valtteri Puustinen opened the season scoring for the WBS Penguins in the second period with the Penguins trailing Hartford, 1-0. They carried the tie into second intermission, and then, a little more than three minutes into the final frame, defenseman Owen Pickering shot one from the point and through traffic to write the final 2-1 score.

Then, in game two against the Phantoms, one of the young forwards who nearly cracked the NHL roster out of training camp really shone through.

Aidan McDonough registered the first goal of the game on the power play a tick more than four minutes in, and the primary assist came from Tristan Broz, who impressed many with his NHL training camp. Avery Hayes – another camp standout – tallied WBS’s second power play goal of the game on a feed from Ville Koivunen, who was playing in his first AHL game since being re-assigned from Pittsburgh.

Helge Grans cut the deficit to 2-1 for Lehigh Valley on a power play of their own late in the second period, but in the third, Broz took it home. In the early part of the third, he pounced on a rebound in the slot off of a Koivunen shot, and then he added the empty-net goal at the end of the night to cap off the 4-1 win – giving him three points on the evening.

Penguins’ Prospect Shines In First KHL Action Of Season
There are several Pittsburgh Penguins’ prospects who have been making headlines as of late.

On the young season, there are four players with multiple points on the season in Broz (3), Hayes (2), Koivunen (2), and Sam Poulin (2). WBS’s next set of games starts Friday, when they play a weekend back-to-back against Hartford and the Bridgeport Islanders.

It’s Only Been Three Games. But Kindel And Brunicke Should Be In Pittsburgh To Stay.
Going into Pittsburgh Penguins’ training camp this season, it’s safe to say that most folks did not have 2025 11th overall pick Ben Kindel making the NHL roster out of the gate.

Bookmark THN – Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab  to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!

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October 13, 2025 | Ron Fosker

The new-look Netts A team – a mix of last yearâ€s A and B teams – have wasted no time in establishing their credentials in the Braintree Table Tennis League.

They followed their first-week 8-2 win with another by the same score when they faced Black Notley B.

Andy Holmes and James Hicks were unbeaten while Notleyâ€s former menâ€s singles champion Steve Kerns – out of action for some time before and after a hip operation – got his comeback under way with a win over Joe Meleschko.

Sudbury Nomads, expected to be in the mix at the end of the season, got off to a solid start with a 7-3 win over Liberal B, where Richard Fifield, who joined the club halfway through last season, outscored Nomads regulars Karl Baldwin and Ken Lewis, who both lost to David Razzell.

Rayne A, effectively last yearâ€s B team, introduced newcomer Pandus Ademakinwa, who won two singles in their draw with Notley A. Steve Pennell also notched up two, including a win over last seasonâ€s menâ€s singles finalist Luke Burridge.

James Mullane started his season with an unbeaten evening in Liberal Aâ€s draw with Sudbury Wanderers.

Rayne C lead division two after a 9-1 win over their own E team took their points tally to 17 out of 20. Matthew Brown and Paul Wellington were unbeaten.

Netts D, who had started the season with a 10-0 win, could not repeat the dose against Notley D, who beat them 6-4. Matt Stephenson was unbeaten, unusually outscoring Graham Chinnery, who won twice.

Equally unusual was the appearance of Ken Lewis back in division two where his three wins helped Sudbury Strollers to a 6-4 win over Yeldham Whitlocks A. New signing John Colvin added two more.

Charles Calisinâ€s three singles led Netts C to a 6-4 win over Rayne D.

Finchingfield B lead division three after two big wins. They went one better than last weekâ€s 8-2 by beating Netts E 9-1. Peter Dacey and Trevor Laird were unbeaten.

Rayne F hava also won both their matches, Dave Whiting leading them to a 7-3 win over Rayne G.

Netts F followed their first-week draw with a 7-3 win over Notley F where James Howard was unbeaten.

Notley G have started the season with matches against their own clubâ€s F and H teams.  After a 6-4 defeat against the F team, they reversed the result in their next match but not before Wayne Wilson had repeated last weekâ€s hat-trick.

New team Sudbury Drifters opened their account with a draw against Yeldham B. Steve Willis was unbeaten for Yeldham.

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October 13, 2025 | Paul Stimpson

Englandâ€s women were defeated 3-0 by seventh seeds and host nation Croatia as the European Championships got under way in Zadar.

With every Croatia player ranked significantly higher than their English counterparts, it was always a tall order for England to get anything out of the match.

However, Tin-Tin Ho (pictured above with coach Carlo Agnello) raised hopes of striking an early blow as she took the first game 11-8 against world No 72 Lea Rakovac, fighting back from 6-3 down.

The next two games followed an almost identical pattern as Rakovac forced an early lead and maintained it to the finish line as she got her nose in front.

Ho (WR 247) took her timeout at 1-4 in the fourth but it was to no avail as Rakovac brought up six match points and, although Ho saved two, the Croatian completed her 3-1 victory.

Tianer Yu (WR 290) started a little nervously against Hana Arapovic (WR 111) in match two and lost the first four points. She fought back and at 4-6, could have got into the game – only for her opponent to win the next five points.

The second was tight throughout and Yu was the first to bring up a game point at 10-9. However, the chance could not be taken and Arapovic ruthlessly took her own first chance.

Yu led the third 6-0 but was forced to take her timeout as Arapovic fought back to 6-3. The Croatian led 8-7 and then 10-8. Yu saved the first match point but not the second.

Jasmin Wong (WR 806) had the double challenge of facing a player much higher than her and a defender – Ivana Malobabic (WR 118).

Wong started positively and led 5-2 but again Englandâ€s opponent ruthlessly exposed the gap in class as Malobabic reeled off eight points in a row and went on to win the first 11-7.

Thereafter it was a bit of a procession as a frustrated Wong could only win six points across the remaining two games and Englandâ€s fate was sealed.

Their remaining match in Group G is against Italy, the ninth-ranked team, at noon on Tuesday UK time.

Wales began their campaign with a 3-0 defeat to top seeds Romania in Group A, despite Anna Hursey almost turning around her match against Andreea Dragoman, who eventually won 3-2 (12-10, 11-8, 8-11, 8-11, 11-9). Adina Diaconu bear Charlotte Carey in four in the opening match and Elizabeta Samara completed victory with a 3-0 win over Danielle Kelly.

Results

Womenâ€s Group G
Croatia 3 England 0
Lea Rakovac bt Tin-Tin Ho 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6)
Hana Arapovic bt Tianer Yu 3-0 (11-4, 12-10, 11-9)
Ivana Malobabic bt Jasmin Wong 3-0 (11-7, 11-4, 11-2)

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The Kings went into a rare Saturday morning game coming off a gutsy 6-5 shootout victory over a division rival in the Vegas Golden Knights.

They entered Saturday’s game trying to win back-to-back games to give themselves some momentum after a brutal season opener against the Avalanche.

However, LA got off to a slow start on Saturday as the Jets controlled the play in the first period. The Kings came alive in the second period and continued their strong effort into the final frame. However, Mark Scheifele and the Jets proved to be too much to handle.

First Period: Inability to Stay out of the Penalty Box

The Kings got off to a nightmare-ish start as Quinton Byfield was called for hooking just 3:25 into the opening frame. Alex Iafallo made his former team pay, scoring on the ensuing power play, which gave Winnipeg a 1-0 lead just 4:48 into the game.

Jeff Malott continues to make the most with the ice time he’s been given. After Jets blue-liner Logan Stanley laid a massive hit on Alex Turcotte, Malott stepped to avenge his teammate. Stanley wasn’t interested in squaring off with LA’s enforcer, so Luke Schenn stepped in and the two squared off in a short bout.

The penalty trouble didn’t end after Byfield’s minor earlier in the first. Brian Dumoulin and Alex Laferriere were each sent to the box with two-minute minors in the last half of the period. Luckily, the Kings’ penalty-kill stepped up to keep it a one-score game after 20 minutes.

Discipline is essential if you want to succeed in this league. Giving your opponent the man advantage for six minutes a period is a recipe for disaster, especially against the reigning Presidents’  Trophy winners.

Darcy Kuemper stayed strong in the crease, stopping 13 of Winnipeg’s 14 first-period shots.

Second Period: Strong Effort is Rewarded

Los Angeles came out firing in the second period, and they were rewarded almost instantly. Mikey Anderson beat Connor Hellebuyck with a blistering shot from the point to get the Kings on the board just 50 seconds into the middle frame.

The Kings continued to push, which led to Adrian Kempe scoring his first goal of the season. Kempe buried a tap-in after a beautiful passing play by Andrei Kuzmenko and Anze Kopitar. The Kings had the lead for the first time.

That lead was short-lived however, as Mark Scheifele beat Darcy Kuemper with just over a minute remaining to tie the game at 2-2.

Although they no longer had the lead, the Kings second-period effort was very promising.

Third Period: Lack of Execution

After a terrific middle period, the Kings carried that effort over into the final frame. This time, they weren’t rewarded for several reasons.

LA was awarded three different man advantages throughout the third period, and five in the game overall. They scored on zero of said power plays. It is extremely difficult to win in the NHL when you fail to execute on crucial chances. It wasn’t for a lack of effort. Los Angeles outshot Winnipeg 11-5 in the final 20 minutes, but last season’s MVP, Connor Hellebuyck was on his A-game.

With just over eight minutes remaining in regulation, Scheifle scored his second of the game, which would end up being the decider.

The Jets deserve a ton of credit as well as they blocked 28 shots to the Kings 11.

Los Angeles falls to 1-2-0 while Winnipeg improves to 1-1-0. Despite the loss, the Kings should use this game as a building block moving forward. They played well and should use that as a way to improve their execution moving forward.

The Kings will look to bounce back once again as they travel to Minnesota to take on the Wild (1-1-0) on Monday, October 13th at 8:00 PM ET / 11:00 PM PT.

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Russell Westbrook remains without a contract to start the NBA season. He chose not to pick up his $3.5 million player option in Denver (not a shock after he had a locker room clash with Aaron Gordon during the playoffs), but no team has stepped up yet with a deal to replace it.

Despite rumored offers for him in China, Westbrook is staying put stateside, and his most likely landing spot remains the team he flirted with all summer, the Sacramento Kings. Here is what ESPNâ€s Shams Charania reported on NBA Today.

“Iâ€m told there is strong mutual interest between Russell Westbrook and the Sacramento Kings. And the Kings have a need for a reserve point guard. They were 29th in bench points, 29th in bench assists last season. Russell Westbrook helps with that, and heâ€s got relationships across that organization. Domantas Sabonis, heâ€s close with, played with him. He played with Dennis Schroeder as well, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine. They have L.A. ties as well. BJ Armstrong, the new assistant general manager there. He knows BJ Armstrong from the agency side, and he does have respect with Scott Perry, their new general manager, and Doug Christie, their new head coach. Weâ€ll see if a deal gets done before the start of the season or during this upcoming year.â€

Charania is not the only one reporting this, well-connected Sacramento radio guy Carmichael Davecalled it “70/30 Russell Westbrook joins the Kings this year.†If the sides can figure out the money.

Sacramento does have an open roster spot and is about $5.4 million below the luxury tax line. Dennis Schroder will start at the point, but unless second-year player Devin Carter is ready to make a big leap up to backup point guard, that role falls more to Malik Monk, who is better as an off-ball two guard (but can play some point). Itâ€s easy to see where he slots into the roster, the question is money.

Westbrook, 37, averaged 13.3 points and 6.1 assists a game last season for the Nuggets, and he remains one of the highest energy players in the game. However, heâ€s not a consistent or efficient scorer at this point in his career, nor is he a great defender. He could fill a bench role, as he has done the past couple of seasons, but donâ€t be shocked if we get into the season before a team makes that offer.

Sacramento is also a roster that could look very different at the end of the season. This is a team open to trading DeRozan, LaVine or Sabonis if the deal is right. Where Westbrook would slot into all that is a question for coach Doug Christie.

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Heading into the 2025-26 season, goaltending was perceived to be the biggest weakness of the Philadelphia Flyers, but so far, it’s actually been their greatest strength.

Prized free agent signing Dan Vladar kept the Flyers in the game all night in their first game of the year against the Florida Panthers on Thursday night, racking up an impressive 32 saves on 34 shots (.941) after, somewhat surprisingly, starting ahead of Sam Ersson.

Ersson got his chance on Saturday night, though, and while his 35 saves on 39 shots and .897 save percentage weren’t quite as impressive, he did more than enough to give the Flyers a chance to win the game against the Metropolitan Division rival Carolina Hurricanes.

At the time of this writing, according to Moneypuck, Ersson (1.87) and Vladar (1.00) are 11th and 14th in the NHL in goals saved above expected.

Sure, it’s only been two games, and one for each goalie, but the Flyers were handily outplayed in both while icing a more than depleted defense.

Ex-Flyers Goalie Pitches Shutout in AHL Debut
In his first ever AHL game, this recently traded former Philadelphia Flyers goalie earned an impressive shutout.

So, despite that, the Flyers are actually tied with the Hurricanes for 12th in the NHL with a team GAA of 2.89, and they’ve faced 28 more shots on goal.

This is all to say that the Flyers’ goalies came to play to start the season, and it’s on them to continue these types of performances. The onus is on the Flyers, too, to protect them with a better defense and some goal support.

Ersson and Vladar have always been capable, but it’s been a matter of consistency for both players in their NHL careers.

It’s fair to say that both Ersson and Vladar were the Flyers’ best players in their respective first starts of the season, and that’s not something anybody expected to say after matchups with Florida and Carolina.

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SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors went through a spirited scrimmage on Friday, and the performance of one of the teamâ€s elder statesmen drew rave reviews.

The gym on this day belonged to Jimmy Butler III.

“He just had an incredible practice,†coach Steve Kerr said.

“He wasn’t on my team, so I didn’t like to see it,†Stephen Curry said partly in jest.

“But it was indicative of the ceiling that we can get to with a guy like that. A guy who at any moment knows how to win.â€

Even Butlerâ€s faux nemesis, Buddy Hield, offered nothing but props to the man who turned 36 last month.

“Jimmy dominated practice today,†Hield said. “It was great for him. He looked really good and professional today. It was great. Great energy.â€

Though general praise tends to flow freely in every training camp, the reaction in this instance is highly encouraging for the Warriors. There are many stories of Butler dominating scrimmages in his previous stops, whether Chicago or Minnesota or Philadelphia or Miami.

Butlerâ€s infamous scrimmage with the Timberwolves in 2018 is one that made its way around the NBA. Three weeks after asking to be traded, he led a group of reserves to victory over a squad that included four starters, with center Karl-Anthony Towns often the target of his ferocity. Butler was loud, hyperaggressive and, well, a winner.

That last trait is welcome in Golden State. Though there was no indication hostility, seeing him bring juice to a scrimmage warms the heart of the teamâ€s established veterans like Curry and Green.

For doing so with the Warriors, who belong to Curry more than anyone, suggests Butler still is capable of being The Man. That while he embraces being “Robin†to Curryâ€s “Batman,†– the roles can be interchangeable upon request.

“I just think he took it up a notch today,†Hield said. “He wasnâ€t chirping like that Jimmy we know of. He was a silent killer, and his work speaks himself.â€

There were shades of that Jimmy last season, as Butler occasionally took over portions of a game, usually when Curry was off the floor. He managed to make a significant impact despite being the new guy, tossed onto the roster during the searing heat of a playoff chase.

“Last year, Jimmy didnâ€t know any defensive terminology,†Draymond Green said last week. “We were just making it work.â€

Butler this season is with the Warriors for a full training camp, which followed team workouts he arranged in the days before camp officially began. Heâ€ll miss the third preseason game, Sunday against the Lakers in Los Angeles, for what Kerr called a “wonderful†personal matter, but he is scheduled to practice Saturday in LA before departing.

This was, in a way, a reminder. Butler putting together a “Himmy Lives†display can only be beneficial for young Warriors to witness and veterans to realize his back pocket contains plenty of what they hope to see once the regular season begins on Oct. 21.

“He was very impactful, across the board, getting to his spots, (flashing) his competitive will,†Curry said. “Our practices have been at pretty high level. Not every day, scrimmaging, but he kind of built up to a good session today. From the jump, Jimmy was attacking the rim, dictating the pace on both ends.â€

This is the Butler the Warriors need to threaten teams beyond Curry, and every occasion he shows up will be greeted with delight.

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