WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz may be in danger of missing the rest of the season because of his injured right thumb.
Manager Mark Kotsay told reporters before his team’s game against Tampa Bay on Tuesday that Kurtz needs to be in a brace for four weeks following a platelet-rich plasma injection on Aug. 4. Kotsay alluded to the fact that four weeks without mobility for Kurtz could make a return before the end of September difficult to envision.
Kurtz, 23, went on the injured list with a sprained right thumb on July 11 and returned two weeks later. He struggled at the plate following his return, going 1 for 18 in seven games. Kurtz was expected to see a hand specialist in Los Angeles last week.
The reigning AL rookie of the year is batting .256 with 21 home runs and 69 RBIs in his second season in the majors. Kurtz, a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was selected as an All-Star but unable to participate in Philadelphia because of the injury.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Athletics' Nick Kurtz loses his batting helmet on a swing during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, July 31, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan won the Minnesota Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday in the latest victory for an insurgent progressive over the party’s establishment.
Flanagan defeated centrist U.S. Rep. Angie Craig with a pledge to fight the influence of corporations and confront Republican President Donald Trump.
She was backed by popular progressives including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who rallied with her in the campaign’s final weeks. She was also backed by the retiring incumbent, Democratic Sen. Tina Smith.
Flanagan highlighted Craig’s support from wealthy donors and blasted her vote for a Trump-backed immigration bill, which became a liability after immigration agents shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
The result was another sign of progressive energy among Democratic primary voters. It comes a week after Abdul El-Sayed won a bitter and divisive primary in Michigan that fired up the left and fueled anxiety among party leaders that Democrats will alienate moderate swing voters.
Flanagan will be the front-runner in the general election contest against former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, who won the GOP primary Tuesday. Minnesota voters haven’t elected a Republican to a statewide office since 2006.
Still, Republicans are hoping a fraud scandal involving the widespread theft of public funds will give them an opening up and down the ballot.
Meanwhile, Lisa Demuth won the Republican primary for Minnesota governor. Among the candidates she defeated was Mike Lindell, the Trump- endorsed pillow purveyor, who has been among the most persistent advocates of the lie that Trump’s 2020 loss to Joe Biden was fraudulent.
Demuth, the state House speaker, will face U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who defeated six others to win the Democratic nomination.
In the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, Craig lined up support from Democratic establishment figures including House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as well as senators from battleground states.
She pointed to her record of winning tough races in a closely divided House district in the suburban Twin Cities, saying she has the experience to bring the change voters are demanding to Washington.
The race was shaped by the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, confrontations that were caught on camera and fueled a backlash to Trump's immigration policies. Flanagan highlighted Craig's vote for the Laken Riley Act, an immigration bill that passed early in Trump's second term. Craig repudiated her support after Good and Pretti were killed.
U.S. support for Israel and the influence of corporations and wealthy donors also figured prominently in a race that attracted tens of millions of dollars in spending by allies of both women.
“I love that she doesn’t take any corporate money, she doesn’t take any money from AIPAC,” said Andrea Ropella, a Flanagan supporter, referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. “The things that she says, she believes in and she stands for.”
Gov. Tim Walz declined to endorse either candidate, but late last month his wife, Gwen Walz, endorsed Craig over Flanagan, a move seen as a repudiation of her husband's running mate and governing partner for two terms.
Trump did not endorse a candidate on the Republican side, although Tafoya had support from the national GOP. Adam Schwarze, a Marine veteran and Navy SEAL, had the official backing of the state Republican committee and Royce White had an existing profile as a prior candidate, conservative commentator and a brief professional basketball career.
Republicans had another crowded primary in the race for governor.
Lindell established his national profile from his TV advertising campaign as the “MyPillow Guy.” He has been one of Trump’s most outspoken supporters and a persistent proponent of myths about the 2020 election. He lost a defamation lawsuit last year and was ordered to pay $2.3 million to a former employee of a voting systems company, whom he called a traitor.
In a post on social media Tuesday morning, Trump said Lindell “deserves a BIG WIN.”
Trump's endorsement carries enormous weight in GOP primaries, and few of his favored candidates have lost so far this year.
Some prominent Minnesota Republicans worried Lindell was too toxic with independent voters and would drag down the entire GOP ticket. Even state GOP Chairman Alex Plechash raised doubts about Lindell's electability.
Jim Busche, 79, said he likes Lindell but agrees that he’s probably too controversial to win a general election, so he cast his vote for state Demuth, the House speaker.
“I wanted to vote for somebody that at least has a chance,” said Busche, who is retired and lives in Independence.
No Republican has won a statewide race in Minnesota since Gov. Tim Pawlenty was reelected in 2006, but the state is more closely divided than that history would suggest.
In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton beat Trump here by only 1.5 points, and in 2024, even with Walz on the ticket, Democrat Kamala Harris won the state by only 4 points.
In the state Legislature, Democrats hold just a one-seat majority in the Senate, and the House is split evenly between the parties.
Republicans think the fraud scandal, which led Walz to abandon his plans to run for a third term, gives them a rare opening to make inroads in an otherwise tough environment for the GOP.
At least 65 people have been convicted in a series of overlapping food fraud cases stemming from investigations that began during the Biden administration. One former nonprofit leader was sentenced in May to 42 years in prison in a $250 million fraud case.
Trump pointed to the scandals as justification for launching a massive immigration crackdown that he initially said would focus on the state’s large Somali community.
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, greets supporters after taking part in a Minnesota Governor Candidate Forum in Morgan, Minn., Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., right, candidate for U.S Senate, stands on stage next to her wife Cheryl Greene during an election night event on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Michele Tafoya, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, arrives to vote on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Gubernatorial candidate, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., greets supporters after taking part in a Minnesota Governor Candidate Forum in Morgan, Minn., Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Candidates for Minnesota governor, from left, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, Mike Lindell and Kendall Qualls participate in a forum at Farmfest, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Morgan, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Mike Lindell, gubernatorial candidate, greets Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who he will face in the Republican primary, as they arrive to take part in a Minnesota Governor Candidate Forum in Morgan, Minn., Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., speaks during a forum for U.S. Senate candidates at Farmfest, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Morgan, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, greets supporters during a campaign event at the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Twin Cities Office in Minneapolis, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
