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Hurricanes bid to blow past skidding Islanders

NHL: Columbus Blue Jackets at Carolina HurricanesApr 2, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets center Cole Sillinger (4) and Carolina Hurricanes left wing Taylor Hall (71) watch the play during the third period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images

The Carolina Hurricanes have taken one important step, but they clearly want to accomplish more in the final weeks of the regular season.

They’ll have a chance to do that when the New York Islanders visit for Saturday night’s game in Raleigh, N.C.

The Hurricanes (48-21-6, 102 points) will play their first game since clinching a playoff spot with Thursday night’s 5-1 home victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“There hasn’t been that many downs, to be quite honest,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We’ve played pretty consistently throughout this year, and I think that shows.”

This is the eighth consecutive season that the Hurricanes have qualified for the postseason.

“You have to be good for six months,” Brind’Amour said of the achievement of withstanding the physical and mental grind. “We’ve got to finish out the year hard and get across the finish line (of the regular season) the best that we can.”

The Islanders (42-30-5, 89 points) are teetering on the Eastern Conference playoff line, and they’ll take a three-game losing streak into Saturday’s game. They lost 4-1 at home to the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night.

Islanders coach Patrick Roy said the team needs to take care of its own business without being distracted by results of other games.

“Everybody is watching every game. Everybody is watching the standings,” Roy said. “At the end of the day, it’s about what you do. … If you start thinking about what’s happening around you, this is where problems start.”

During their current skid, they’ve been outscored 16-7.

The Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes still are in a battle for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, so there’s more to accomplish.

“There’s always room to improve, and hopefully we can keep it going and be even better coming down the stretch,” Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho said.

Carolina allowed only 10 shots on goal by Columbus, matching the fewest allowed in franchise history.

The Hurricanes, who’ve won three of their last four games, have received regular contributions from captain Jordan Staal, who played in his 1,400th career game Thursday.

“He’s the leader of all that,” Brind’Amour said.

The Hurricanes insist they don’t want to let up, particularly with the chance to secure the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

“This year is a unique opportunity again,” Aho said.

For the Islanders, Saturday marks the third set of games on back-to-back days in a two-week period. Goalie Ilya Sorokin has handled both ends of those in both previous cases, going 1-1 in the back ends of those assignments. He has played in 10 consecutive games, though Roy was non-committal on the team’s goalie plan for Saturday.

Roy said New York likely will be without defenseman Tony DeAngelo, a former Hurricane dealing with a lower-body injury, for the Carolina trip.

The Hurricanes topped the Islanders 6-2 on Oct. 30. Despite the gap in the schedule, there might not be any surprises Saturday night.

“There are no secrets,” Brind’Amour said. “Everybody knows what everybody is doing. You got to go talk about execution. You’ve got to go do it.”

The Islanders and Hurricanes also will meet in the regular-season finale April 14.

–Field Level Media

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Yankees bring surging offense into rematch vs. Rangers

MLB: Baltimore Orioles at New York YankeesMay 4, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees left fielder Jasson Dominguez (24) hits an RBI single during the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees did not do much offensively last week and yet recorded a series win in a three-game set against the host Texas Rangers.

The Yankees, who battered the Baltimore Orioles in the past four games, hope to keep rolling at the plate Tuesday night when they host Texas in the opener of a three-game series.

The Yankees are 14-2 in their past 16 games, and two of those wins were in Texas, where they scored seven runs in a pair of close games.

New York is seeking its fifth straight win after scoring 39 runs against Baltimore. The Yankees totaled 47 hits, 24 walks and went 18-for-38 with runners in scoring position in the series.

“It’s been great,” New York starting pitcher Cam Schlittler said of New York’s offense. “We’ve been on a really good roll these last couple of series. It’s fun to see one through nine contributing, putting up great at-bats and driving runs in.”

New York concluded the Baltimore series with a 12-1 rout on Monday. Aaron Judge has 11 of his 14 homers this season during his past 21 games and hit a two-run blast in the first inning before adding a two-run single in a six-run eighth.

After the Yankees faced an opponent with a 4.96 ERA, they will face Texas’ Jacob deGrom (2-1, 2.01 ERA) for the second time in a week.

The right-hander took the loss against New York last Tuesday despite allowing one run on six hits in six innings in a 3-2 setback.

He yielded an RBI double to Cody Bellinger in the first inning after a single by Judge and held the Yankees hitless in the next 11 at-bats. The former Cy Young Award winner is 2-5 with a 2.97 ERA in nine career starts against the Yankees.

deGrom is part of a pitching staff with a 3.66 ERA, but the Rangers are hitting .235 and their 127 runs are the fewest in the American League.

Texas has dropped nine of its past 14 games and has scored more than five runs in only one of those contests. Texas also has scored fewer than three runs in that span seven times, including the final two games of its series in Detroit.

After earning a 5-4 victory on Friday, the Rangers went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position in the past two games.

Texas’ defense faltered in a 7-1 loss to the Tigers on Sunday night, including center fielder Evan Carter failing to finish a diving catch.

“We weren’t real fundamentally sound like we’re typically used to,” Texas manager Skip Schumaker said. “We had some really good plays. The outfield had some really good plays, there were some plays in the infield that were really good as well, but there were some plays that we’re used to making that we didn’t.”

While Corey Seager collected a hit in each of the games in Detroit, he is 4-for-27 in his past seven contests. Seager’s slump is coinciding with Josh Jung batting .378 during a 12-game hitting streak.

New York right-hander Elmer Rodriguez (0-1, 4.50 ERA), who is in the rotation until Carlos Rodon completes his rehab from left elbow surgery, will make his second career start. He debuted Wednesday afternoon in Texas and allowed two runs on four hits in four innings of a 3-0 loss.

–Field Level Media

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Royals out for a second win against Guardians in AL Central showdown

MLB: Cleveland Guardians at Kansas City RoyalsMay 4, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) steals third base against the Cleveland Guardians during the seventh inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Royals are in the midst of their most successful stretch of the young season.

Now, the Royals will try for a fifth consecutive win when they continue their four-game home series with the Cleveland Guardians, who they are chasing in the American League Central, on Tuesday night.

Kansas City trailed 2-0 early Monday, then scored four runs in the fourth inning en route to a 6-2 victory over Cleveland.

Bobby Witt Jr. led off the frame with a solo homer, and Nick Loftin capped the big inning with a two-out, two-run tiebreaking single for the Royals, who have averaged 5.8 runs amid their 9-3 stretch that’s followed an eight-game losing streak.

“I think the intensity, pitch-to-pitch, really (sticks) to me,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said of his team’s performance of late.

“Not one guy is trying to be the hero.”

Witt is batting .302 with three homers and eight RBIs in the past 15 games. Meanwhile, teammate Vinnie Pasquantino is 7-for-18 in four games this month after ending April with a .165 average.

“It’s not about getting 10 hits in a row with runners in scoring position,” Pasquantino said. “It’s about just having quality at-bats, making the pitcher work.”

However, Witt and Pasquantino are a combined 4-for-36 against right-hander Gavin Williams (5-1, 2.70 ERA), the scheduled Cleveland starter on Tuesday.

The Guardians are 6-1 when Williams has pitched this season. All of those victories followed a loss in his 2026 debut at Seattle on March 27, and they include the 5 2/3 innings he threw during a 2-1 win over Kansas City on April 7 — when he yielded only a Carter Jensen homer.

Williams is 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA in nine career starts against the Royals.

After allowing a season-high six runs in six innings of an 8-6 win at Toronto on April 24, Williams gave up an unearned run and struck out nine without a walk in Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over Tampa Bay.

“When Gavin throws strikes, that’s what you get,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.

Cleveland has lost two games in a row following a three-game winning streak. David Fry hit a two-run homer and had two of the five hits Monday for the Guardians, who have been outscored 13-3 in the past two contests.

Jose Ramirez singled in the series opener, but the Cleveland star continues to struggle while batting .218, well below his career average of .278.

Steven Kwan is another Cleveland star who is scuffling at the plate. He’s 0-for-8 in the past two games — dropping his batting average to .217. On May 5 of last season, his average was .333.

Ramirez and Kwan will try their luck Tuesday against right-hander Stephen Kolek, who will come off the injured list (left oblique strain) to make his season debut. He is stepping in for scheduled starter Noah Cameron, who has been scratched due to tightness in his lower back.

The Royals acquired Kolek (5-7, 3.51 ERA in 2025) from the San Diego Padres last season at the trade deadline. They received Kolek and right-hander Ryan Bergert for catcher Freddy Fermin.

With the Royals, Kolek started five games and was 1-2 with a 1.91 ERA. In his two losses, the Royals scored a combined two runs.

Kolek has faced the Guardians twice (one start) and has no decisions and a 6.75 ERA.

–Field Level Media

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Cubs carry majors-best win streak into rematch vs. skidding Reds

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Chicago CubsMay 4, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs right fielder Michael Conforto (20) celebrates with teammates after hitting a game winning solo home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs will aim to extend their winning streak to a majors-best seven games on Tuesday night when they continue their four-game series against the visiting Cincinnati Reds.

The Cubs were three outs away from losing on Monday night after a lengthy rain delay, but Nico Hoerner’s sacrifice fly and Michael Conforto’s solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the team to a dramatic 5-4 win over the Reds, who have lost four straight games.

Chicago resides in first place in the National League Central, a division in which each team is above .500.

“It tells me everyone is playing well,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It also tells me we haven’t played too many games in the division yet.”

The Cubs have won 12 straight games at Wrigley Field, the team’s longest home winning streak since it won 14 in a row in 2008.

A winner of 16 of its last 19 games, Chicago will turn to right-hander Jameson Taillon (2-1, 4.41 ERA) to start Tuesday’s game.

Taillon allowed three runs on three hits in a season-high seven innings of a 5-4 victory over the San Diego Padres last Wednesday.

He is 7-7 with a 4.46 ERA in 20 career appearances against the Reds.

The Cubs keep finding different ways to win, with different players stepping up.

Conforto, pinch-hitting for Matt Shaw, hammered a 3-2 fastball from Reds closer Emilio Pagan into the seats in left-center field to end the game on Monday. It was Conforto’s first homer in a Cubs uniform and the first walk-off homer in his 12-year major league career.

Cincinnati called up top-10 prospect Chase Petty on Monday, and Petty delivered a solid start of 5 2/3 innings with three runs allowed on four hits. He retired nine of the first 11 Cubs he faced and another eight in a row after allowing a home run to Seiya Suzuki.

But with Nick Lodolo expected to come off the injured list from a blister on Friday, Petty could be headed back to Triple-A.

On Tuesday, Cincinnati left-hander Andrew Abbott (1-2, 5.97 ERA) will start against the Cubs. He earned his first win of the season on Thursday against the Colorado Rockies, 6-4, allowing two earned runs on five hits in six innings.

Abbott is 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA in seven career starts against the Cubs.

The Reds have played 14 games decided by two or fewer runs this season. They had a 12-game winning streak in those games but have lost their last two by one run, including Monday night. They have seven wins in one-run games this season.

“Nothing’s changed as far as our mindset as a team,” Pagan told The Cincinnati Enquirer moments after giving up the decisive home run to Conforto. “We know we’re really good. We’ve played a lot of close ballgames, and quite honestly I haven’t held up my end of the bargain.”

–Field Level Media

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