Sports
MLB roundup: Despite loss, Guardians clinch AL Central title
Sep 21, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; The Cleveland Guardians pose for a photo on the field after the Guardians clinched the AL central division title after a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Ivan Herrera hit a three-run homer and scored twice as the St. Louis Cardinals held off the visiting Cleveland Guardians for a 6-5 win on Saturday night.
However, the Guardians still clinched the American League Central. Their magic number was one coming into Saturday’s action, and the second-place Kansas City Royals’ loss to the San Francisco Giants earlier in the day was enough to get the job done.
Jordan Walker hit a two-run shot for the Cardinals, who won for the fourth time in their past six games.
Jose Ramirez hit a three-run homer and Bo Naylor smacked a solo shot for the Guardians.
Reds 7, Pirates 1
Elly De La Cruz had three hits, four RBIs and two runs to help Cincinnati beat visiting Pittsburgh.
The Reds, who won the opener of the three-game set on Friday, have won five of their past eight games. Cincinnati starting pitcher Rhett Lowder (2-2) held the Pirates scoreless on five hits through five innings, and De La Cruz’s three-run shot to right field in the fourth inning provided the run support.
Billy Cook had a home run among his two hits for the Pirates, who have lost seven of nine.
Nationals 5, Cubs 1
MacKenzie Gore came within eight outs of the eighth no-hitter in franchise history, lifting visiting Washington past Chicago.
The Cubs didn’t get to Gore (10-12) until Patrick Wisdom clubbed a solo shot with one out in the seventh. That was the only hit and run the lefty allowed in his seven innings. Meanwhile, Joey Gallo broke the game open with a three-run homer in the sixth for the Nationals, who had dropped five straight. Jose Tena went 3-for-4 with a run.
Chicago is on the verge of being officially eliminated from postseason contention. Kyle Hendricks (4-12) got the start for the Cubs and yielded four runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Tigers 6, Orioles 4 (10 innings)
Riley Greene singled in a run in the top of the 10th inning and Zach McKinstry added a sacrifice fly as Detroit pulled out the victory against host Baltimore.
The Tigers have won five of their past six games in their quest to rise in the American League wild-card mix. They rebounded after squandering a two-run lead in the ninth and had to hang on to extend the game. Orioles All-Star Gunnar Henderson’s two-run double with the bases loaded and no outs tied the score in the ninth. With runners on second and third after Henderson’s double, Cedric Mullins grounded out, Anthony Santander popped out and Colton Cowser flied out against Beau Brieske (3-4), who was summoned from the bullpen after Jason Foley failed to record an out while facing four batters.
The Orioles had a two-game winning streak snapped as they try to catch the New York Yankees atop the AL East. Starter Cade Povich was charged with two runs on two hits in five innings, striking out seven. The Orioles, who homered five times in Friday night’s 7-1 series-opening victory, didn’t have an extra-base hit Saturday until Henderson came through in the ninth.
Mets 6, Phillies 3
Francisco Alvarez homered in the second inning and laced a key two-run double in the seventh for host New York, which beat Philadelphia in the third game of a four-game series.
The win by the Mets prevented the playoff-bound Phillies from clinching their first National League East title since 2011. Philadelphia’s magic number stayed at one heading into the series finale Sunday.
New York remained a game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and two games ahead of the Atlanta Braves for the third NL wild-card spot.
Braves 6, Marlins 2
Matt Olson slugged a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the seventh inning as Atlanta defeated host Miami.
Gio Urshela followed Olson with another two-run homer in the seventh. Former Marlins star Jorge Soler had a solo blast in the second inning.
Marlins starter Adam Oller allowed two runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, walking two and striking out seven. He kept Miami in the game and left with a no-decision.
Rays 3, Blue Jays 2
Jonathan Aranda homered for the second straight game and starter Taj Bradley broke a seven-game skid as Tampa Bay secured a winning record at home this season by edging Toronto.
Aranda was the Rays’ offensive star Friday after homering off Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios for the game’s only run. On Saturday, he went 2-for-3 with two runs, two RBIs and a walk. He continued his power surge in the third inning with a two-run shot, swatting a Yariel Rodriguez 95 mph fastball 414 feet to straightaway center. Tampa Bay improved to 41-39 at home this season and are 4-1 on their homestand.
Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 3-for-5, while Spencer Horwitz had two hits, a run, an RBI and a walk. Alejandro Kirk drove in a run with his first career triple as the Blue Jays fell to 1-4 on their six-game road trip. Rodriguez (1-7) allowed three runs and four hits in four innings.
Giants 9, Royals 0
LaMonte Wade Jr. and Matt Chapman each belted a pair of solo homers and Mike Yastrzemski also went deep, lifting visiting San Francisco over Kansas City.
Landen Roupp (1-1) picked up his first career major league win after scattering three hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out three. The 26-year-old was making his 22nd appearance (third start) of the season for the Giants.
The reeling Royals had five hits and went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position en route to losing their sixth game in a row. Kansas City has also dropped 15 of its past 22.
Diamondbacks 5, Brewers 0
Joc Pederson and Ketel Marte each had a two-run homer and Merrill Kelly tossed five innings of two-hit ball as visiting Arizona notched its third consecutive victory over Milwaukee.
The Diamondbacks remained two games behind the San Diego Padres for the top spot in the NL wild-card race.
The Brewers have lost three straight since clinching the NL Central on Wednesday. The Brewers remained four games behind the Phillies and Dodgers for the best record in the National League. The top two teams get a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Mariners 8, Rangers 4
Julio Rodriguez went 4-for-6 with a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored and Jorge Polanco doubled and had three hits as Seattle kept its playoff hopes alive with a victory over Texas in Arlington, Texas.
J.P. Crawford tripled and had two hits and Cal Raleigh and Justin Turner also had two hits for Seattle, which moved to within 1 1/2 games of idle Minnesota for the final wild-card spot in the American League. The Twins hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Josh Smith went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs, Travis Jankowski had two doubles with an RBI and a run scored and Ezequiel Duran also had two hits and an RBI and run scored for Texas, which lost its third straight game.
Astros 10, Angels 4
Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker each had four hits and a homer to support Ronel Blanco, who recorded his 14th quality start, as Houston rolled to a victory over visiting Los Angeles.
Tucker finished 4-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs for his second consecutive four-hit game, and Alvarez went 4-for-5 and scored twice. The Astros reduced their magic number to clinch the American League West to three games. Blanco (12-6) won his third straight decision.
Logan O’Hoppe went 4-for-4 with a solo homer for the Angels, who have lost three in a row. Angels starter Reid Detmers (4-8) allowed seven runs on nine hits and three walks with three strikeouts in two-plus innings.
Yankees 10, Athletics 0
Aaron Judge belted his major-league-leading 54th home run, Carlos Rodon threw six shutout innings and visiting New York bombarded Oakland, giving manager Aaron Boone the 600th career win.
The Yankees reduced their magic number to three to clinch the American League East after the Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles earlier in the day. Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run shot and Anthony Volpe added a solo blast.
Judge hit a leadoff homer in the seventh to give the Yankees a 7-0 lead. New York roughed up Oakland ace JP Sears (11-12) for six runs and nine hits in five innings. Rodon (16-9) allowed five hits and one walk with four strikeouts to add to his career high in wins.
Padres 6, White Sox 2
Xander Bogaerts, David Peralta and Elias Diaz all homered as San Diego sent visiting Chicago to the brink of modern major league history.
The Padres are three games behind the first-place Dodgers in the NL West after Los Angeles lost to the Colorado Rockies on Saturday.
Chicago starter Chris Flexen (2-15) yielded eight hits and four runs in five innings, walking two and striking out three. The outcome dropped the White Sox to 36-119 in 2024, putting them one setback away from matching the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in a single season in modern big-league history.
Rockies 6, Dodgers 3
Ryan McMahon hit a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning, Charlie Blackmon went deep in the ninth and visiting Colorado beat Los Angeles.
McMahon reached 20 home runs for the fourth consecutive season and fifth straight not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Mookie Betts hit a two-run home run for the Dodgers, whose magic number for clinching their 11th division title in 12 seasons remained at five.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Knicks and Nuggets Blow Big Leads: What Went Wrong in Game 2?
Roughly 5,000 feet of elevation separate Denver and New York City.
Still, gravity works the same regardless of where one stands. Just ask the NBA teams in both towns.
“You get too high, and you get, I don’t want to say cocky, but feeling yourself,” Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr. said.
That sensation went south on either side of the country Monday night.
After squandering sizable leads that would have cemented commanding 2-0 advantages in their respective first-round playoff series, the Nuggets and Knicks now find themselves bracing for a fight.
Should their opponents ultimately have their number, Denver and New York will look back with disdain on 19 and 14. Those were the Game 2 cushions the teams coughed up as the No. 3 seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference.
“It’s a game we should’ve won,” Knicks guard Josh Hart said. “In the playoffs, we can’t give away games.”
Be that as it may, the Knicks did just that against the Atlanta Hawks. They controlled the outcome for much of the night and took a 12-point edge into the fourth quarter after leading by as many as 14.
Then New York shot 5-for-22 from the floor in the final 12 minutes compared to 10-for-15 for Atlanta. Fighting through vulgar chants from the Madison Square Garden faithful, Hawks star CJ McCullom scored six straight points down the stretch during one key sequence on the way to a game-high 32.
“In that fourth quarter, you could tell [the Hawks] were playing with a level of desperation,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “There were four 50-50 balls, and they got three of the four. We always use that stat to gauge the level of aggression in a game. In that fourth quarter, their aggression stepped up.”
New York’s melted at the same time. How many late possessions saw the Knicks pass or hold the ball around the perimeter before settling for subpar looks from 3-point range? The Knicks went 3-for-11 from deep as part of their flop.
Denver led the Minnesota Timberwolves by 19 points early in the second quarter before crumbling. The Nuggets still were ahead by three points to start the fourth quarter but a combined 2-for-12 shooting effort from pillars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in the final 12 minutes took a toll.
“I feel like we had the game in hand, and then we just didn’t make our shots,” Murray said.
As with the Knicks and Hawks, the reversal of fortunes stemmed both from the hosts’ miscues and an outstanding effort from a visiting player, as Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards had 30 points.
“Great leadership, positive,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “He recognized he needed to get into attack mode and get downhill a little bit more. He did that.”
The Knicks and Nuggets no doubt sensed the need to amp up their own urgency as things started slipping away Monday.
That neither could act upon it didn’t signal the end for either New York or Denver, of course. But now there’s unnecessary added weight for the climb back to the top.
Sports
Pistons seek return to identity vs. Magic after Game 1 shocker
Apr 19, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) is defended by Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane (3) in the second half during the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images After an exceptional regular season, this wasn’t the start to the NBA playoffs that the Detroit Pistons envisioned.
Reeling from a stunning Game 1 loss in which only two players reached double figures, the Eastern Conference’s top seed heads into Game 2 Wednesday against the visiting Orlando Magic facing early pressure to reset the best-of-seven series.
The eighth-seeded Magic controlled the opener from the start, never trailing and leaning on a balanced offensive attack. Paolo Banchero led the way with 23 points while Franz Wagner scored 11 of his 19 in the fourth quarter to help close out the 112-101 win.
For Detroit, the issue wasn’t just the loss — it was how it happened. The Pistons never established their defensive identity and struggled to find consistent offense beyond star guard Cade Cunningham, two areas that will be central entering Game 2.
“It starts, always, with us defensively,” said Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “When you go back and watch the film of that (game), we weren’t ourselves defensively. The telling tale is typically when we play them, they go to the free-throw line a ton.
“… We went 38 (times) but they went 19. So that means we weren’t playing our brand of basketball, being physical, being handsy, being aggressive. That kind of sets the tone for us.”
Offensively, the Pistons leaned on Cunningham, who scored 39 points, but got little other support — scoring their fewest points in nearly three months, since a loss to the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 29. Detroit will need more help from All-Star center Jalen Duren, who was held to just eight points and seven rebounds in Game 1.
“They came out ready from the jump,” Duren said. “We didn’t really meet their intensity. They’ve been playing with their backs against the walls the last few weeks, so they were already kind of already rolling. I think we just got to do a better job meeting that intensity.”
Duren said the Pistons remain confident despite the loss, which extended their home playoff losing streak to 11 games, the longest in NBA history.
“We know the type of team we are,” Duren said. “We feel like we’re the better team. We know that we’ve just got to make adjustments and come out smarter, come out playing harder.”
Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said he has talked to his team about not becoming too overconfident coming off Sunday’s win.
“It’s one game at a time,” Mosley said of his message to the team. “It’s the reality that, yeah, you did get the Game 1 win, but now you have to go and figure out how to get a Game 2 (win). There’s going to be, obviously, the positive talk about what you’ve done, and thinking there’s reasons to celebrate, but at the end of the day, it’s one game, and that’s the most important piece that we’ve talked about: just taking it one game at a time.”
Banchero said the team has received the message, and he believes the key for the Magic is to play defense like they did in the opener.
“I thought we were on a string, just communicating, talking out coverages,” Banchero said. “I think it’s just going to continue to take that, being aggressive, being the aggressors on defense and just not trying to give them much. Obviously they’re going to make shots, but just not trying to give them any free looks.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lynx star Napheesa Collier (ankle) targets June for on-court work
Mar 2, 2026; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Unrivaled Co-founder Napheesa Collier at Barclay’s Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images The Minnesota Lynx said Tuesday that star forward Napheesa Collier’s rehab from left ankle surgery is “progressing as expected,” and she could resume on-court activities in early June.
The team plans to release updates on Collier’s progress when available.
The timeline means Collier will miss, at minimum, the first month of the WNBA season, which begins May 10 for the Lynx.
Collier underwent surgery on her ankle on March 24 after sustaining a severe injury during the 2025 playoffs. Per reports at the time, she sustained a Grade 2 tear of three ligaments in the ankle and a muscle in her left shin on a collision during Game 3 of the playoff semifinal series vs. Phoenix.
Collier, 29, averaged a career-high 22.9 points and shot 40.3% from 3-point range to go with 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game last year. The back-to-back WNBA Most Valuable Player runner-up, Collier is a five-time All-Star and earned MVP honors in the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup final and the 2025 All-Star Game.
–Field Level Media
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