Top Sports News Today: MLB Drama, WNBA Showdowns and NFL Preseason Ahead
August 11, 2026 | Sports News Roundup
Baseball delivered late-inning drama Monday night, the WNBA saw a losing streak finally come to an end, and football fans are just days away from a packed NFL preseason weekend.
Meanwhile, the NBA is already giving fans something to circle on the calendar with a blockbuster opening-night schedule featuring LeBron James, the defending champion New York Knicks and Victor Wembanyama.
Here’s what happened and what’s coming next.
MLB: Mets Strike Early and Hold Off Braves
Brett Baty provided one of Monday night’s biggest highlights, smashing a first-inning grand slam as the New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves 8-5.
Francisco Lindor also homered and collected three hits as New York snapped Atlanta’s nine-game home winning streak.
Elsewhere, Houston needed extra innings to beat San Francisco 6-3, the Dodgers held off Kansas City 6-5, Arizona shut out Colorado 9-0, and Tampa Bay erupted for eight runs in the eighth inning to rally past the Athletics.
Monday’s MLB Final Scores
- Toronto Blue Jays 2, Boston Red Sox 1
- New York Mets 8, Atlanta Braves 5
- Minnesota Twins 9, Baltimore Orioles 5
- Philadelphia Phillies 6, St. Louis Cardinals 5
- Texas Rangers 4, Los Angeles Angels 1
- San Diego Padres 3, Milwaukee Brewers 2
- Tampa Bay Rays 10, Athletics 6
- Arizona Diamondbacks 9, Colorado Rockies 0
- Houston Astros 6, San Francisco Giants 3
- Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Kansas City Royals 5
Those scores are confirmed by MLB schedule data and Reuters’ Monday roundup.
WNBA: Seattle Finally Breaks Through
The Seattle Storm finally got the result they had been hunting.
Dominique Malonga finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks as Seattle defeated the Chicago Sky 97-88, snapping an 11-game losing streak. Natisha Hiedeman added 18 points and nine assists.
Atlanta also had a big offensive night, beating the expansion Toronto Tempo 107-95.
Rhyne Howard knocked down six 3-pointers and scored 22 points, while Angel Reese produced 20 points and 14 rebounds for her 22nd double-double of the season.
Monday’s WNBA Final Scores
- Atlanta Dream 107, Toronto Tempo 95
- Seattle Storm 97, Chicago Sky 88
Liberty vs. Fever Headlines Tonight’s WNBA Schedule
One of Tuesday’s strongest matchups has the New York Liberty visiting the Indiana Fever at 6:30 p.m. Central.
Indiana enters at 20-12, while New York is 20-13, making the game important in an increasingly tight playoff race. The Liberty have won seven of their last eight after previously struggling through a 2-8 stretch.
Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell remain one of the league’s most dangerous scoring backcourts.
WNBA Games Tonight
New York Liberty at Indiana Fever
6:30 p.m. CT
Washington Mystics at Las Vegas Aces
9:00 p.m. CT
Phoenix Mercury at Los Angeles Sparks
9:00 p.m. CT
One notable absence will be Phoenix guard Kelsey Plum, who has been ruled out against Los Angeles because of left calf tightness. The matchup would have been her first against the Sparks since being traded to Phoenix.
WNBA Power Rankings: Minnesota Still Sets the Pace
The Minnesota Lynx remain No. 1 in the latest Associated Press WNBA Power Poll with a 27-7 record.
Golden State sits second, Washington has climbed to third, followed by Las Vegas, Indiana and New York.
That makes Tuesday’s Mystics-Aces and Liberty-Fever games particularly interesting because both could have postseason positioning implications.
MLB Schedule: Yankees-Mariners Leads a Full Tuesday
Major League Baseball has a full schedule Tuesday night.
One of the most interesting series begins in New York, where the Seattle Mariners visit the Yankees.
MLB identified Mariners-Yankees as one of its top series to watch this week.
Tuesday MLB Games
- Pittsburgh Pirates at Miami Marlins — 5:40 p.m. CT
- Cleveland Guardians at Detroit Tigers — 5:40 p.m. CT
- Chicago Cubs at Washington Nationals — 5:45 p.m. CT
- Seattle Mariners at New York Yankees — 6:05 p.m. CT
- Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays — 6:07 p.m. CT
- New York Mets at Atlanta Braves — 6:15 p.m. CT
- Baltimore Orioles at Minnesota Twins — 6:40 p.m. CT
- Cincinnati Reds at Chicago White Sox — 6:40 p.m. CT
- Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals — 6:45 p.m. CT
- Texas Rangers at Los Angeles Angels — 8:38 p.m. CT
- Milwaukee Brewers at San Diego Padres — 8:40 p.m. CT
- Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks — 8:40 p.m. CT
- Tampa Bay Rays at Athletics — 8:40 p.m. CT
- Houston Astros at San Francisco Giants — 8:45 p.m. CT
- Kansas City Royals at Los Angeles Dodgers — 9:10 p.m. CT
The Mets-Braves rematch will be especially interesting after New York’s explosive opening inning Monday, while Houston and San Francisco return after the Astros’ extra-inning victory.
NBA Announces Blockbuster Opening Night
Basketball season may still be months away, but the NBA dropped a major schedule announcement Tuesday.
The defending champion New York Knicks will raise their championship banner on October 20 before facing LeBron James and the new-look Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden.
The opening-day tripleheader is scheduled to feature:
- Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons
- Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks
- Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio matchup features Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs against Oklahoma City in a rematch of the previous season’s Western Conference Finals.
The NBA also unveiled its Christmas Day slate, which includes San Antonio at New York, Miami at Boston, Philadelphia at the Lakers, Oklahoma City at Minnesota and Denver at Golden State.
NFL Makes Replay Rule Change Ahead of Preseason
The NFL has updated its instant-replay rules before preseason action ramps up.
Head coaches can now designate one member of their coaching staff before a game who will also be permitted to initiate a challenge by throwing the red challenge flag.
Once chosen, that staff member remains the designated challenger for the entire game.
The change arrives just as the preseason schedule gets busy.
NFL Preseason Games Beginning Thursday
Thursday, August 13
- Detroit Lions at Cincinnati Bengals — 6:00 p.m. CT
- Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers — 6:00 p.m. CT
- Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots — 6:30 p.m. CT
- Arizona Cardinals at Las Vegas Raiders — 7:00 p.m. CT
- Los Angeles Chargers at Houston Texans — 7:00 p.m. CT
- Tennessee Titans at San Francisco 49ers — 8:00 p.m. CT
Friday, August 14
- Miami Dolphins at Washington Commanders — 6:00 p.m. CT
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Jets — 6:00 p.m. CT
- Denver Broncos at Atlanta Falcons — 6:00 p.m. CT
Saturday, August 15
Among Saturday’s matchups are the Rams at Chiefs, Eagles at Ravens and Cowboys at Seahawks.
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes is unlikely to play during the preseason while continuing his recovery from ACL and LCL surgery.
Flag Football Gets Bigger Olympic Spotlight
The United States is also defending its title at the flag football world championships this week.
The event carries added significance because flag football is scheduled to make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, putting considerably more attention on the sport and the U.S. national program.
The rise of flag football could become one of the more interesting stories leading into LA28, especially as NFL stars continue expressing interest in Olympic competition.
What to Watch Tonight
If you’re picking the biggest games on Tuesday’s menu, Liberty-Fever is the standout WNBA matchup, while Mariners-Yankees, Mets-Braves and Royals-Dodgers give baseball fans plenty to follow.
And hovering in the background is football season.
NFL preseason action explodes onto the schedule Thursday, which means the annual transition is officially underway: baseball playoff races tightening, WNBA postseason positioning heating up and football beginning to reclaim America’s weekends.
Sports season is getting crowded again. That’s usually when things get fun.
Sources and Full Links
Reuters — MLB Roundup: Brett Baty Grand Slam as Mets Beat Braves
https://www.reuters.com/sports/mlb-roundup-brett-baty-bashes-grand-slam-mets-down-braves--flm-2026-08-11/
MLB — Mets vs. Braves Highlights, August 10
https://www.mlb.com/video/mets-vs-braves-8-10-26-mets-highlights
MLB — Top Series to Watch This Week
https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-series-to-watch-week-of-aug-10-2026
WNBA — Storm 97, Sky 88 Recap
https://www.wnba.com/watch/video/game-recap-seattle-storm-97-chicago-sky-88-08-010-2026
WNBA — Toronto Tempo vs. Atlanta Dream Highlights
https://www.wnba.com/webview/watch/video/game-highlights-toronto-tempo-vs-atlanta-dream-8-10-26
ESPN — Storm 97, Sky 88 Recap
https://www.espn.com/wnba/recap?gameId=401857133
ESPN — Dream 107, Tempo 95 Recap
https://www.espn.com/wnba/recap?gameId=401857132
Indiana Fever — Liberty vs. Fever Game Preview
https://fever.wnba.com/news/game-preview-fever-liberty-260811
Associated Press — WNBA Power Poll
https://apnews.com/article/wnba-basketball-womens-national-basketball-association-associated-press-7a3b8074df46781f78a7712cfe063cff
Reuters — Kelsey Plum Ruled Out vs. Sparks
https://www.reuters.com/sports/mercury-g-kelsey-plum-leg-ruled-out-vs-sparks--flm-2026-08-11/
Reuters — NBA Opening Slate Featuring LeBron James and Knicks
https://www.reuters.com/sports/lebron-james-76ers-visit-knicks-part-nba-opening-slate--flm-2026-08-11/
Reuters — NFL Challenge-Flag Rule Change
https://www.reuters.com/sports/nfl-allow-head-coaches-tap-staff-member-challenges--flm-2026-08-11/
Reuters — Patrick Mahomes Preseason Status
https://www.reuters.com/sports/chiefs-andy-reid-patrick-mahomes-unlikely-play-preseason--flm-2026-08-07/
Reuters — U.S. Flag Football and 2028 Olympic Spotlight
https://www.reuters.com/sports/flag-football-us-aim-underline-dominance-worlds-under-olympic-spotlight-2026-08-11/
Associated Press — Sports TV Schedule for August 10-16
https://apnews.com/article/baseball-little-league-world-series-jude-championship-new-york-yankees-chicago-bba94c6d4f332f83ffa9357782e0473e