Jesus Luzardo fans 11 in Phillies' debut to defeat Nationals
Mar 29, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh (16) celebrates with after designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) hits a three run home run during the sixth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images Kyle Schwarber homered for the second consecutive game, Jesus Luzardo pitched five solid innings in his Philadelphia debut and the visiting Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 11-6 on Saturday.
Brandon Marsh had three hits including a three-run homer, and Bryson Stott had a homer and a double for the Phillies.
Acquired last December in a trade with the Miami Marlins, the 27-year-old Luzardo (1-0) allowed two runs on five hits. Making his first Major League appearance since last June, Luzardo struck out 11 and walked three.
Phillies shortstop Trea Turner was scratched before first pitch with a low back spasm.
Keibert Ruiz hit his second home run in as many games for the Nationals, and Ahmed Rosario and Nathaniel Lowe also went deep.
Washington starter Jake Irvin gave up two runs on five hits in five innings.
Nationals’ pitchers walked eight batters, six of whom came around to score.
Rosario led off the bottom of the Washington second with a single and, with one out, Ruiz homered to center off a 1-0 changeup to make it 2-0.
In the fourth, Max Kepler walked with one out and Stott lined a two-out homer to the right-field corner to tie it 2-2.
The Phillies broke it open with a five-run sixth. Nick Castellanos and Stott drew one-out walks against Colin Poche (0-2). After Marsh singled to load the bases, Lucas Sims came on to face Edmundo Sosa, who walked to force in a run. Another run scored on a wild pitch and then Schwarber hit a three-run homer to right-center to make it 7-2.
Washington got a run back when Rosario homered in the bottom of the sixth.
In the seventh, Castellanos and Stott walked against Orlando Ribalto and Marsh followed with a three-run shot to right to make it 10-3.
Bryce Harper scored on an infield single by Johan Rojas to increase the lead to 11-3 in the eighth, but Lowe hit a two-run shot in the bottom half to make it 11-5 and added an RBI-single in the ninth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NHL scores highest TV ratings in 14 seasons
May 6, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin (74) is interviewed by ESPN reporter Emily Kaplan (R) after scoring the overtime goal against the Washington Capitals in game one of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images A year after NHL viewership shrunk, the league drew its highest average television audiences in 14 years for the just-concluded regular season, Sports Business Journal and Sports Media Watch reported on Tuesday.
In games on ESPN, ABC and TNT/truTV, the NHL posted averages of 546,000 viewers, per the reports. That’s a year-on-year increase of at least 23% and a better average than all seasons since 2012-13, when NBC and NBCSN averaged 590,000.
Nielsen’s change in methodology might explain a part of the decade-plus high, as ratings across all sports are higher based on the new measurement system. NBA ratings were up 35% this year, other sports also seeing double-digit-percentage increases.
The 54 games airing on ESPN and ABC drew 760,000 viewers on average, a 30% jump from 2024-25. ESPN games in particular saw a major rating improvement, with games attracting 602,000 on average, a 48% hike from the prior season.
TNT/truTV carried 72 games that brought in 381,000 viewers on average, a rise of 21% year-on-year. Those contests saw a significant bump after Team USA won hockey gold at the Milan Olympics, as NHL viewership on TNT Sports rose to 453,000 on average following the league’s midseason break.
The top-rated NHL game of the regular season was the Stadium Series game at Tampa on Feb. 1, when the Tampa Bay Lightning edged the Boston Bruins 6-5 in a shootout. ESPN drew 2.07 million viewers for that contest, a cable-TV record for an NHL regular-season game.
NHL ratings declined in the 2024-25 season despite the league replacing the All-Star Game with the wildly popular 4 Nations Face-Off that saw Canada defeat the United States 3-2 in overtime in the final.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Nicolas Roy's OT tally gives Avalanche 2-0 advantage over Kings
Apr 21, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) makes a save against Los Angeles Kings right wing Alex Laferriere (14) in the first period in game two of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Nicolas Roy scored at 7:44 of overtime to lift Colorado to a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday in Denver, giving the Avalanche a 2-0 lead in a Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Roy got to a loose puck in the slot and shot it through the legs of Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke and past goalie Anton Forsberg for the win.
Game 3 will be played Thursday night in Los Angeles.
Gabriel Landeskog scored the tying goal late in regulation and Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves for the Avalanche, who won the series opener 2-1 on Sunday.
During the regular season, Wedgewood led the NHL in goals-against average (2.02) and save percentage (.921).
Anton Forsberg made 34 saves for the Kings in his second career postseason start, both in the current series. He has allowed two goals or fewer in eight of his past nine starts.
Neither team scored until the final seven minutes of the third period.
The Kings were on a power play when Trevor Moore brought the puck along the goal line before making a backhand pass to Panarin just above the left hashmarks. Panarin had time to gather the puck before shooting it into the net for a 1-0 lead at 13:04.
The Avalanche tied it with 3:35 left in regulation.
Devon Toews made a diagonal pass from above the left point to Martin Necas on the opposite goal line. Necas passed the puck back through the top of the crease to Landeskog, who was cutting to the net, and he scored with a one-timer.
Kings forward Quinton Byfield was hooked by Cale Makar on a short-handed breakaway at 3:12 of the second period, resulting in a penalty shot, but Wedgewood made a lunching glove save to keep the game scoreless.
During the penalty, fans broke the glass behind the Los Angeles bench, causing shards to fall on Kings interim coach D.J. Smith. Play was halted for 19 minutes as the glass was cleaned up and replaced.
The Avalanche briefly celebrated nine seconds into the third period after defenseman Sam Malinski took a one-timer from the left point that hit the net, but replays showed the puck had stuck in the net on the outside of the left post.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NBA roundup: After Victor Wembanyama's exit, Blazers level series
Apr 21, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) talks with guard Stephon Castle (5) after falling to the ground during the first half of game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images Scoot Henderson poured in a season-best 31 points as the visiting Portland Trail Blazers came back from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to outlast the short-handed San Antonio Spurs 106-103 on Tuesday and even their first-round Western Conference playoff series at one win each.
The teams will play Game 3 on Friday in Portland, and it’s unclear if the Spurs will have Victor Wembanyama available. The NBA Defensive Player of the Year hit his face on the floor in the second quarter and was diagnosed with a concussion. He is scheduled for further testing on Wednesday.
The Spurs, led by Stephon Castle’s team-high 18 points, carried a one-point lead into the fourth quarter but reeled off the first 13 points of the final period to build their advantage to 93-79. The Trail Blazers roared back to take the lead via a 7-0 run capped by a Jrue Holiday layup with 2:02 left and held on from there.
Holiday produced 16 points and nine assists, and Deni Avdija added 14 points for the Trail Blazers. The Spurs got 17 points from De’Aaron Fox plus 16 points and 12 rebounds from Devin Vassell.
Lakers 101, Rockets 94
LeBron James compiled 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead Los Angeles to a victory over visiting Houston, giving the Lakers a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
With leading scorers Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) watching from the bench, Los Angeles’ Marcus Smart added 25 points, shooting 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and Game 1 hero Luke Kennard contributed 23 points, going 3 of 6 from deep.
Kevin Durant, who missed the opening game with a right knee contusion, scored 23 points for the Rockets, but he had nine turnovers and was held to three points after halftime. Alperen Sengun paired 20 points with 11 rebounds.
76ers 111, Celtics 97
VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey combined to make 11 3-pointers and score 59 total points as Philadelphia bounced back to even its Eastern Conference playoff series with host Boston.
Seventh-seeded Philadelphia shook off a dismal Game 1 performance, which included making just four 3-pointers in a 123-91 loss, with a complete reversal on the offensive end. The Sixers, who got 19 points from Paul George, shot a torrid 19 of 39 (48.7%) from beyond the arc in Game 2.
Jaylen Brown went for a game-high 36 points and Jayson Tatum finished with 19 points to go with his game-high 14 rebounds for the Celtics. No other Boston player reached double figures in scoring, a stark contrast from Game 1, when the Celtics’ entire starting five notched at least 10 points.
–Field Level Media
NHL scores highest TV ratings in 14 seasons
Nicolas Roy's OT tally gives Avalanche 2-0 advantage over Kings
