Sports
Blue Jays hold on to get one back from Guardians
Apr 25, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto (7) hits a home run against the Cleveland Guardians during the fourth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images Kevin Gausman pitched an effective 6 2/3 innings, Kazuma Okamoto homered and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the visiting Cleveland Guardians 5-3 on Saturday afternoon.
Gausman (2-1) allowed two runs, six hits and no walks with three strikeouts.
Louis Varland allowed one run on two singles and a double in the ninth to pick up his second save.
Andres Gimenez keyed a three-run sixth with a two-run double to help the Blue Jays gain a split of the first two games of the three-game series.
David Fry hit a solo homer for the Guardians.
Cleveland scored once in the third against Gausman. Juan Brito led off with a double to left, took third on a groundout and scored on Brayan Rocchio’s groundout to shortstop.
Okamoto led off the home fourth with a home run to center on a 1-1 fastball against Joey Cantillo (1-1).
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. led off the sixth with a single to right, stole second and took third on Okamoto’s single to left. Matt Festa replaced Cantillo. With one out, Daulton Varsho’s grounder to second squirted past Brito for an RBI single. Gimenez blooped a two-run double down the left-field line.
Cantillo allowed three runs, six hits and one walk while striking out four in five-plus innings.
Cleveland got one run back when Fry hit a first-pitch slider to left with one out for his first homer of the season. Mason Fluharty replaced Gausman with two outs in the seventh.
Toronto loaded the bases with none out in the seventh against Peyton Pallette when Myles Straw and Ernie Clement singled and Guerrero walked. Okamoto walked to force in the only run of the inning.
Cleveland rallied in the ninth against Varland. Rhys Hoskins and George Valera singled with one out. Pinch hitter Kyle Manzardo stroked an RBI double to left. Brito walked to load the bases before Varland struck out the next two batters.
Cleveland’s Steven Kwan was a late scratch with a stiff neck.
Toronto put Nathan Lukes on the injured list with a strained left hamstring. Outfielder Yohendrick Pinango was promoted from Triple-A Buffalo.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Red Sox Fire Alex Cora: What It Means for Boston’s Future
One blowout victory wasn’t going to fix all of the problems the Boston Red Sox were having, though it still could serve as a springboard to better times after they started the season 10-17.
On the other hand, maybe “springboard” is a poor choice of words, considering the Red Sox front office used a catapult Saturday on manager Alex Cora and several of his coaches after a 17-1 victory against the Baltimore Orioles.
It certainly was funny timing for the front office to can the skipper, given the offense finally breaking out after a dreadful start, not to mention a strong performance by ace left-hander Garrett Crochet, who also had begun inconsistently. Of all days to do it. Sportsradar reported that it was the first time since 1887 that an MLB team fired the manager the same day their team won by at least 16 runs. Hey, maybe next time don’t score so much. It only draws attention.
But the Red Sox must have been thinking about changing managers for a while. Cora, who led the Red Sox to a World Series championship as a rookie manager in 2018, was fired after failing to reproduce his initial success. Boston went as far as Game 6 of the ALCS in 2021, but never finished higher than second place in the AL East after Cora’s first season. The Red Sox currently are working on their third last-place finish since since 2022.
Cora is often regarded as one of the best managers in the league when anyone takes a poll of players. Some media types have been trying to land Cora his next job, with the Philadelphia Phillies or New York Mets. Still, his reputation took a hit ever since he sat out the 2020 season as punishment for his involvement in the Houston Astros cheating scandal, when he was bench coach.
Cora bears some responsibility for the Red Sox underachieving, as any manager would, though the organization’s dysfunction reaches well beyond the dugout. Craig Breslow has been the general manager since October 2023, meaning he’s responsible for a .500 season in 2024, the 89 wins and AL Wild Card berth in ’25, and what’s happened so far this season. Definitely a mixed bag.
But the same goes for owner John Henry, who has been in charge for the organization’s entire golden era, which includes titles in 2004, 2007, 2013, and ’18. Those trophies alone should cement him as a local hero, but somehow they don’t. Henry has been criticized for appearing to lose interest in the Red Sox occasionally, preferring instead to dabble in Premier League Soccer, the NHL, NASCAR, music halls and whatever else that isn’t baseball. Many fans would prefer that he sell the baseball team.
Red Sox payroll the past five seasons averages 12th or 13th in MLB. That’s in contrast to them having 17 payrolls in the top five or better in the 20 seasons before that. Henry definitely doesn’t put into the Red Sox what he used to, and it shows in the standings. No less damning, it just seems like few organizations do less with more than the Red Sox.
Cora told the media he feels “happy” now that the ax has fallen, which feeds into outsider perceptions of organizational dysfunction being the bigger issue. It is possible the Red Sox golden era has ended, which means even the best managerial candidates will find themselves at the mercy of how focused ownership can stay on baseball.
Sports
Vancouver wins first pick in PWHL draft
Wisconsin defender Caroline Harvey handles the puck against Bemidji State during a WCHA first-round playoff game Feb. 27, 2026 at LaBahn Arena in Madison, Wis. Wisconsin won, 7-0. The Vancouver Goldeneyes have secured the first pick in the 2026 Professional Women’s Hockey League Draft, with Olympic gold medal-winning defenseman Caroline Harvey expected to be their selection.
The PWHL awards its No. 1 draft choice in a manner that differs from other pro leagues, using what has been dubbed the Gold Plan. Instead of the pick being handed to the team with the worst record, or distributed through a lottery system, the PWHL team that earns the most points after being eliminated from postseason consideration secures the spot.
With their 4-3 overtime defeat of the Minnesota Frost on Saturday night coupled with the Seattle Torrent’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Montreal Victoire, the first-year Goldeneyes secured the first pick. Saturday was the last day of regular-season play.
The full draft order is still to be determined — as is the date of the draft, which is expected to be held in June.
Harvey, 23, turns pro after leading Wisconsin to three NCAA championships — plus one runner-up finish — in her four seasons with the Badgers. In 150 games, she produced 201 points (54 goals, 147 assists), 15 power-play markers and 12 game-winning goals.
The NCAA title capped a busy hockey season for Harvey. She won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in the Milan-Cortina Games, adding it to the silver medal she won in Beijing in 2022 as a 19-year-old. She was MVP of the Olympic Tournament with nine points in five games, an Olympics mark for an American defender.
Harvey also was named Best Defenseman at the 2003 and 2005 World Championships, both of which the United States won.
She is from Salem, N.H.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Minnesota's Anthony Edwards out 'multiple weeks'
Apr 23, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) works around Denver Nuggets guard Bruce Brown (11) in the fourth quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Minnesota Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards will miss “multiple weeks” due to a left knee injury suffered Saturday night in his team’s 112-96 playoff win against the Denver Nuggets.
Per ESPN, Edwards was diagnosed with a bone bruise and hyperextension of the knee on Sunday. Testing did not reveal any ligament damage, and he is scheduled to begin rehab immediately.
The Timberwolves, the No. 6 seed, have a 3-1 lead over the No. 3 Nuggets. The best-of-seven series resumes Monday night in Denver.
Minnesota does not have an easy task closing out this series, however.
Donte DiVincenzo, Edwards’ backcourt mate, suffered a non-contact injury to his right leg 79 seconds into the game. ESPN reported Saturday night that DiVincenzo, who left the arena at halftime in a wheelchair, tore his right Achilles. That injury will put him out for several months.
In the absence of Edwards and DiVincenzo, Ayo Dosunmu came off the bench Saturday night to score 43 points with this line: 13-of-17 shooting, 5-for-5 from 3-point range and 12-for-12 from the foul line.
According to OptaSTATS, Dosunmu became the first player in NBA history to score at least 40 points, shoot at least 75% from the field, hit at least five 3-point attempts without a miss and convert at least 10 free-throw attempts without a miss.
“This is for Ant. This is for Donte,” Dosunmu told Timberwolves social media after the game. “I hope for a speedy recovery for them.”
After being acquired at the trade deadline from the Chicago Bulls, Dosunmu appeared in 24 regular-season games for Minnesota and averaged 14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists. During this playoff series, he has delivered a team-high 22.8 points per game while shooting 64% from the field.
During the regular season, Edwards led the Timberwolves with 28.8 points per game and hit 39.9% of his shots from 3-point range over 61 games.
DiVincenzo started all 82 games and posted averages of 12.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
Timberwolves forward Julius Randle said postgame that Minnesota can withstand the loss of its starting backcourt.
“We’ve got more than enough talent in here to win,” Randle said. “We lost two guys who are big pieces to our team but we talked about it all year, you need depth in the playoffs to win.”
–Field Level Media
Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 26, 2026
Red Sox Fire Alex Cora: What It Means for Boston’s Future
