The Key for the week of May 25, 2026
Reds Relief Shakeup
After that disastrous road trip to open the month of May, the Reds have at least stopped the bleeding, if not grabbed the mercurochrome. Cincinnati is 5-5 in their last 10 through Memorial Day, 13-13 on the road and two over .500 at home to land in a statistical tie with Pittsburgh at the bottom of the NL Central. Terry Francona continues to juggle the roster to find an effective combo—the latest move sent relievers Connor Phillips and Jose Franco to Louisville, just hours after Phillips gave up a four-pitch walk to the Cardinals’ Ivan Herrera, then moments later served a two run home run ball to give St. Louis the win in the first game of their double header Saturday. The Reds’ bullpen leads the majors in walks with 130 so far this season.
Record Payday
Sunday’s record-closest Indy 500 final brought a record payday for winner Felix Rosenqvist, who earned $4.34 million for his Sunday drive on Indianapolis’ West Side. Total purse for the field of 33 was also a record, just short of $30.1 million. Even if the drivers didn’t win, they still cashed in: The average payout per car was just under $1 each.
Tennis, anyone?
The second of the Grand Slams is well under way on the red clay of Roland Garros, and some familiar names already have said “au revoir” to Paris. Stan Wawrinka, the 2015 champion, lost in four sets Monday to end his 21st and final French Open. Gael Monfils also lost in five, in his swan song on the clay as he is scheduled to retire at the end of the year. On the women’s side, Emma Raducanu lost in two sets in her opening round match against Solana Sierra. Also leaving after the first round were 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova and 2018 runner-up Sloane Stephens.
Ben’s Best Bet
Carlos Alcaraz isn’t at Roland Garros this year because of injury, so the bracket seems wide open for Jannik Sinner, but Novak Djokovic is always lurking in the field. Bet MGM shows Sinner an overwhelming favorite over Alexander Zerev to win, with the Joker the third choice. On the women’s side, Bet MGM kas top ranked Aryna Sabalenka, who’s been dealing with back and hip issues, just a slight favorite over Iga Swiatek, with Elena Rybakina third. American Coco Gauff, the defending champion, is the highest ranking American on the betting slip, in fourth. Ben says Sinner looks to be the overwhelming betting favorite, but on the women’s side, don’t count out Coco to repeat. She’s reached at least the quarterfinals at Paris for five straight years, and she likes the red clay. Ben still has a couple of francs he’s likely to put down on Gauff to win.