Deadspin | D-backs’ Michael Soroka, riding hot streak, turns focus to Blue Jays 
Mar 13, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; Canada starting pitcher Michael Soroka (40) walks back to the dugout during the second inning against the United States during a quarterfinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images The Arizona Diamondbacks will return home as one of the hottest teams in baseball, set to open a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night in Phoenix.
Since a 9-6 win over the Detroit Tigers on March 30, the Diamondbacks have won 11 times. Only the San Diego Padres (12) have won more in that stretch. Arizona completed a 6-3 road trip by winning all three series — against the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles.
Arizona has eight comeback victories this season and has won six of 10 one-run games. The Diamondbacks have not lost a series since being swept by the Dodgers to open the season, winning four and splitting the other series.
“That’s our identity, to do what the at-bat calls for,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “That’s the type of baseball we play here. It’s gritty and helps you stay in games.”
Arizona right-bander Michael Soroka (3-0, 2.87 ERA) is scheduled to face Blue Jays left-hander Eric Lauer (1-2, 7.82) in the series opener.
The injury-depleted Blue Jays have lost four of the past five games and 10 of 13. They have lost five straight series while playing without premier hitters George Springer and Alejandro Kirk and starting pitchers Jose Berrios, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage and Cody Ponce.
The Blue Jays are coming off a series defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers, in which Toronto lost two 2-1 games. The Jays have not seen the anticipated production from offseason free-agent acquisition Kazuma Okamoto, who was 0-for-4 on Thursday and has just two hits in his past 23 at-bats. After hitting a home run in two of the first four games of the season, he has no homers and two RBIs since.
“Over the long course of a season, I know there are going to be ups and downs, and that’s not different from playing in Japan,” Okamoto told MLB.com through an interpreter. “I think this is just a little lull right now, and hopefully I can get it going soon.”
Arizona is receiving help from perhaps unexpected sources.
Catcher Adrian Del Castillo had five RBIs in an 8-5, 10-inning victory at Baltimore to complete the trip Wednesday. His two-run homer in the 10th was the decider, and he also had a two-run triple in the third and an RBI groundout in the seventh. He has 10 RBIs, one behind team leader Corbin Carroll.
“Honestly, we’ve had some crazy wins and some good wins,” Del Castillo said in a TV interview. “We all work together. We just keep having fun. I think we have to feed off these wins and take it home and keep doing it.”
Utility player Ildemaro Vargas has hit in all 12 games he has played, a franchise record to start the season. He has played at first, second and third bases and also left field. He has five doubles, two homers, eight RBIs and a .383 batting average.
Soroka has won all three of his starts and has two 10-strikeout games in just 15 2/3 total innings. Soroka, 28, who spent the 2025 season playing for the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs, and Randy Johnson are the only two pitchers in franchise history with 10 or more strikeouts in two of their first three appearances with the team.
Against the Blue Jays, Soroka is 1-2 with a 5.09 ERA in five career games (four starts) but has faced them only twice since 2019.
Lauer beat the Athletics 5-2 on March 29 to open his season but has lost his past two starts, and he gave up seven runs on five hits and two homers in a 7-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
Lauer is 4-4 with a 2.38 ERA in 10 career starts against Arizona. He gave up one run and struck out eight in five innings in an 8-1 victory over the D-Backs last June 18, his only start against them since 2022. He played for the Brewers that season.
–Field Level Media
#Deadspin #Dbacks #Michael #Soroka #riding #hot #streak #turns #focus #Blue #Jays
Mar 13, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; Canada starting pitcher Michael Soroka (40) walks back to the dugout during the second inning against the United States during a quarterfinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images The Arizona Diamondbacks will return home as one of the hottest teams in baseball, set to open a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night in Phoenix.
Since a 9-6 win over the Detroit Tigers on March 30, the Diamondbacks have won 11 times. Only the San Diego Padres (12) have won more in that stretch. Arizona completed a 6-3 road trip by winning all three series — against the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles.
Arizona has eight comeback victories this season and has won six of 10 one-run games. The Diamondbacks have not lost a series since being swept by the Dodgers to open the season, winning four and splitting the other series.
“That’s our identity, to do what the at-bat calls for,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “That’s the type of baseball we play here. It’s gritty and helps you stay in games.”
Arizona right-bander Michael Soroka (3-0, 2.87 ERA) is scheduled to face Blue Jays left-hander Eric Lauer (1-2, 7.82) in the series opener.
The injury-depleted Blue Jays have lost four of the past five games and 10 of 13. They have lost five straight series while playing without premier hitters George Springer and Alejandro Kirk and starting pitchers Jose Berrios, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage and Cody Ponce.
The Blue Jays are coming off a series defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers, in which Toronto lost two 2-1 games. The Jays have not seen the anticipated production from offseason free-agent acquisition Kazuma Okamoto, who was 0-for-4 on Thursday and has just two hits in his past 23 at-bats. After hitting a home run in two of the first four games of the season, he has no homers and two RBIs since.
“Over the long course of a season, I know there are going to be ups and downs, and that’s not different from playing in Japan,” Okamoto told MLB.com through an interpreter. “I think this is just a little lull right now, and hopefully I can get it going soon.”
Arizona is receiving help from perhaps unexpected sources.
Catcher Adrian Del Castillo had five RBIs in an 8-5, 10-inning victory at Baltimore to complete the trip Wednesday. His two-run homer in the 10th was the decider, and he also had a two-run triple in the third and an RBI groundout in the seventh. He has 10 RBIs, one behind team leader Corbin Carroll.
“Honestly, we’ve had some crazy wins and some good wins,” Del Castillo said in a TV interview. “We all work together. We just keep having fun. I think we have to feed off these wins and take it home and keep doing it.”
Utility player Ildemaro Vargas has hit in all 12 games he has played, a franchise record to start the season. He has played at first, second and third bases and also left field. He has five doubles, two homers, eight RBIs and a .383 batting average.
Soroka has won all three of his starts and has two 10-strikeout games in just 15 2/3 total innings. Soroka, 28, who spent the 2025 season playing for the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs, and Randy Johnson are the only two pitchers in franchise history with 10 or more strikeouts in two of their first three appearances with the team.
Against the Blue Jays, Soroka is 1-2 with a 5.09 ERA in five career games (four starts) but has faced them only twice since 2019.
Lauer beat the Athletics 5-2 on March 29 to open his season but has lost his past two starts, and he gave up seven runs on five hits and two homers in a 7-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
Lauer is 4-4 with a 2.38 ERA in 10 career starts against Arizona. He gave up one run and struck out eight in five innings in an 8-1 victory over the D-Backs last June 18, his only start against them since 2022. He played for the Brewers that season.
–Field Level Media
![Kevin Knight is here, he’s hungry, and ready to take over AEW Kevin Knight’s rise has been nothing short of stratospheric. A year that began with Knight having a promising run as one of All Elite Wrestling’s up-and-coming stars morphed over the course of 2026 into something much, much larger. Knight captured individual gold by winning the TNT Championship in April, and now he’s on the precipice of the biggest match of his career. Knight will stand across the ring from AEW World Champion Kenny Omega at Redemption in Montreal, headlining a pay-per-view and looking to shatter expectations in the process.I talked with Knight this week in the lead up to his match against Omega to learn what makes him tick as a wrestler, understand the decision behind joining The Don Callis Family, and learn that in a world of heroes and villans, Knight is perfectly comfortable to exist in the grey area.A turning point for Knight came in May at Double or Nothing when he shocked the world by turning on Darby Allin and joining with Don Callis to close the show. It felt like a staggering rejection of his role as fan-favorite inside the company, but it was clinical for Knight. This wasn’t about trying to become hated, but trying to elevate himself.“The goal has stayed the same,” Knight says, “become Jet 2 Belts.” Not only does he want to hold onto his TNT title, but to win the AEW World Championship as well, asserting himself at the top. “I saw the opportunity to overtake this company after Double or Nothing and figured I need to invest in myself.“Getting myself with the Don Callis Family and, seeing how he moves and how, how he’s brought so many championships to AEW, it was a no-brainer, and it’s been nothing but success ever since.”Knight speaks plainly in a business so influenced by emotion. Joining Callis wasn’t a conscious decision to make fans angry or to reject his longtime friend “Speedball” Mike Bailey, but came about organically, as with any difficult change an athlete needs to make. The NFL player demanding a trade, the NBA star making a decision — Knight is walking the same line.“He’s [Callis] been here from day one, and he’s seen people come and go. He’s seen all different types of performers, so he snatched me up. I was tagged with Speedball Mike Bailey, and he had a smile, and he was just naive to the politics of it all. [Don’s] smartened me up, giving me another angle, another perspective in attacking this game that we call wrestling.”If pro wrestling is a game, then Kenny Omega is its final boss. Not only is “The Best Bout Machine” the world champion, but he is also regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Knight might have faced a lot of challenges, but fighting Omega in Canada for a championship is on a different level. Still, Knight feels like he might have an edge — and he’s excited to“Always attack his weaknesses, attacking his weaknesses and, and knowing who he is as a person, and, and capitalizing on those weaknesses. Don Callis has known Kenny a long, long, long time, so he’s priming me up. He’s giving me some game on Kenny’s blind spots. We all love Kenny as a person, but he’s careless in some ways — so, whenever I see those openings, I’m definitely gonna definitely going to attack, take advantage.”It’s not lost on Knight that a majority of wrestling fans are writing him off on Sunday. The lingering perception is that Omega will win, move on to All In at Wembley Stadium, and have another epic match against Will Ospreay. That’s a narrative Knight isn’t willing to accept.“People are expecting this long-life anime fantasy between Omega and Osprey. Redemption is gonna be a change of course, and we’re gonna see a new era. We’re gonna see a new superstar rise to the top. I laugh at the people who look past this match. I use it as more fuel, because I love being a spoiler.”It’s big talk, but Kevin Knight has backed it up in recent months. He’s on a nine-match win streak, perfectly part of his “vision board,” which includes winning the AEW World Heavyweight Title, and then involves becoming the face of the company.“If all goes to plan, Jet Two Belts becomes a reality this upcoming Sunday, and I don’t see myself relinquishing it for anybody, that comes my way. I think I will let up and maybe relinquish the TNT title or, you know, let the other people have a little bit of fun. don’t wanna take up all the time at AEW, but AEW is gonna be set up in the next 6 months if The Jet is on top.”The groundwork for this run, this chance at the championship is built on the backs of people who lifted up Kevin Knight along the way. I asked him for his personal wrestling Mount Rushmore, the individuals who have meant the most to him during his career.“Katsuyori Shibata and Kushida, because they helped mold me. From a young lion to my first couple of tours in New Japan and being able to do Impact as well alongside Kushida. Those two guys definitely mean a lot to me. I gotta throw in there Speedball Mike Bailey because one of my first tours in Japan, one of my first matches in TNA/ Impact was against him, and then, of course, our whole run as Jet Speed and everything that we’ve been able to accomplish together. It means a lot to me, on a sentimental level. Fourth, I would like to give it up to Tony Khan just for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to go out there and show the world who and what I am, giving me the opportunity to try new things and just always encouraging me.”This is only the beginning for Kevin Knight, who will be a staple of the pro-wrestling landscape for a long, long time — win or lose.Kevin Knight will face Kenny Omega at AEW Redemption, which will air on Sunday, July 26 from CentreBell in Montreal, Canada, beginning at 6 p.m. ET #Kevin #Knight #hes #hungry #ready #AEW](https://i1.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/knight.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C4.865499187579%2C100%2C90.269001624842&ssl=1 "Kevin Knight is here, he’s hungry, and ready to take over AEW Kevin Knight’s rise has been nothing short of stratospheric. A year that began with Knight having a promising run as one of All Elite Wrestling’s up-and-coming stars morphed over the course of 2026 into something much, much larger. Knight captured individual gold by winning the TNT Championship in April, and now he’s on the precipice of the biggest match of his career. Knight will stand across the ring from AEW World Champion Kenny Omega at Redemption in Montreal, headlining a pay-per-view and looking to shatter expectations in the process.I talked with Knight this week in the lead up to his match against Omega to learn what makes him tick as a wrestler, understand the decision behind joining The Don Callis Family, and learn that in a world of heroes and villans, Knight is perfectly comfortable to exist in the grey area.A turning point for Knight came in May at Double or Nothing when he shocked the world by turning on Darby Allin and joining with Don Callis to close the show. It felt like a staggering rejection of his role as fan-favorite inside the company, but it was clinical for Knight. This wasn’t about trying to become hated, but trying to elevate himself.“The goal has stayed the same,” Knight says, “become Jet 2 Belts.” Not only does he want to hold onto his TNT title, but to win the AEW World Championship as well, asserting himself at the top. “I saw the opportunity to overtake this company after Double or Nothing and figured I need to invest in myself.“Getting myself with the Don Callis Family and, seeing how he moves and how, how he’s brought so many championships to AEW, it was a no-brainer, and it’s been nothing but success ever since.”Knight speaks plainly in a business so influenced by emotion. Joining Callis wasn’t a conscious decision to make fans angry or to reject his longtime friend “Speedball” Mike Bailey, but came about organically, as with any difficult change an athlete needs to make. The NFL player demanding a trade, the NBA star making a decision — Knight is walking the same line.“He’s [Callis] been here from day one, and he’s seen people come and go. He’s seen all different types of performers, so he snatched me up. I was tagged with Speedball Mike Bailey, and he had a smile, and he was just naive to the politics of it all. [Don’s] smartened me up, giving me another angle, another perspective in attacking this game that we call wrestling.”If pro wrestling is a game, then Kenny Omega is its final boss. Not only is “The Best Bout Machine” the world champion, but he is also regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Knight might have faced a lot of challenges, but fighting Omega in Canada for a championship is on a different level. Still, Knight feels like he might have an edge — and he’s excited to“Always attack his weaknesses, attacking his weaknesses and, and knowing who he is as a person, and, and capitalizing on those weaknesses. Don Callis has known Kenny a long, long, long time, so he’s priming me up. He’s giving me some game on Kenny’s blind spots. We all love Kenny as a person, but he’s careless in some ways — so, whenever I see those openings, I’m definitely gonna definitely going to attack, take advantage.”It’s not lost on Knight that a majority of wrestling fans are writing him off on Sunday. The lingering perception is that Omega will win, move on to All In at Wembley Stadium, and have another epic match against Will Ospreay. That’s a narrative Knight isn’t willing to accept.“People are expecting this long-life anime fantasy between Omega and Osprey. Redemption is gonna be a change of course, and we’re gonna see a new era. We’re gonna see a new superstar rise to the top. I laugh at the people who look past this match. I use it as more fuel, because I love being a spoiler.”It’s big talk, but Kevin Knight has backed it up in recent months. He’s on a nine-match win streak, perfectly part of his “vision board,” which includes winning the AEW World Heavyweight Title, and then involves becoming the face of the company.“If all goes to plan, Jet Two Belts becomes a reality this upcoming Sunday, and I don’t see myself relinquishing it for anybody, that comes my way. I think I will let up and maybe relinquish the TNT title or, you know, let the other people have a little bit of fun. don’t wanna take up all the time at AEW, but AEW is gonna be set up in the next 6 months if The Jet is on top.”The groundwork for this run, this chance at the championship is built on the backs of people who lifted up Kevin Knight along the way. I asked him for his personal wrestling Mount Rushmore, the individuals who have meant the most to him during his career.“Katsuyori Shibata and Kushida, because they helped mold me. From a young lion to my first couple of tours in New Japan and being able to do Impact as well alongside Kushida. Those two guys definitely mean a lot to me. I gotta throw in there Speedball Mike Bailey because one of my first tours in Japan, one of my first matches in TNA/ Impact was against him, and then, of course, our whole run as Jet Speed and everything that we’ve been able to accomplish together. It means a lot to me, on a sentimental level. Fourth, I would like to give it up to Tony Khan just for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to go out there and show the world who and what I am, giving me the opportunity to try new things and just always encouraging me.”This is only the beginning for Kevin Knight, who will be a staple of the pro-wrestling landscape for a long, long time — win or lose.Kevin Knight will face Kenny Omega at AEW Redemption, which will air on Sunday, July 26 from CentreBell in Montreal, Canada, beginning at 6 p.m. ET #Kevin #Knight #hes #hungry #ready #AEW")
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