Sports
Mets bring blazing bats, hot gloves into matchup with D-backs
Apr 29, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) celebrates with designated hitter Starling Marte (6) after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said “there’s a lot to like about the offense right now” after his team scored 27 runs in lopsided wins Monday and Tuesday night.
The rest of the Mets’ game isn’t too shabby, either.
The Mets will look to continue their all-around impressive play Wednesday night when they host the Arizona Diamondbacks in the middle contest of a three-game series.
The Mets are expected to recall left-hander Brandon Waddell to make his season debut as either a starter or bulk pitcher against Diamondbacks right-hander Corbin Burnes (0-1, 4.05 ERA).
Francisco Lindor, Starling Marte and Pete Alonso all homered Tuesday night for the Mets in their 8-3 win.
Tyrone Taylor and Jose Azocar combined for three RBI singles for New York, which arrived home Tuesday after scoring 17 runs in the final five innings of a 19-5 win over the Washington Nationals on Monday afternoon. The 27 runs in a two-game span are the most for the Mets since they erupted for 30 in a doubleheader split with the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 16, 2018.
But as prolific as the Mets were at the plate Tuesday, their most impressive plays were in the field – especially in a 1-2-3 fourth inning with a trio of highlight-reel worthy plays.
Lindor picked up the carom of a grounder off Mark Vientos’ glove and threw out Randal Grichuk before Taylor made a diving catch near the left-center field warning track to rob Lourdes Gurriel Jr. of extra bases. Lindor then nabbed a hard-hit one-hopper by Eugenio Suarez.
The Mets entered Tuesday tied for first in the majors with a .990 fielding percentage. They also are first with a 2.60 ERA and eighth with 145 runs scored.
“Whether it’s good defense, good offense, good pitching, it translates to every part of the game,” said winning pitcher David Peterson, who allowed one run in five innings. “When you string plays like that together, it’s great momentum for the team.”
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was left to hope the Mets’ momentum could motivate his club to change its flagging fortunes.
The loss Tuesday was the fifth in the last six games for the Diamondbacks, who have given up at least seven runs in each of the five defeats. Arizona surrendered at least five runs just nine times in its first 21 games.
Eduardo Rodriguez surrendered all eight runs Tuesday – including five with two outs. Thanks to the Mets’ solid defense, Arizona didn’t get a runner past second base until the fifth inning, when Jorge Barrosa laced an RBI double.
Four pitches later, Tim Tawa got hung up between third and home before being tagged out when he broke too fast on Geraldo Perdomo’s comebacker to Peterson.
“It’s very inspiring to see that type of baseball,” Lovullo said. “When you’re looking across the diamond and you have your own internal standards that you live by, it helps you get better.”
Waddell, who is being recalled to allow Kodai Senga an extra day of rest, hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2021, when he made nine appearances for the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals. The 30-year-old, who spent the previous two-plus seasons pitching in Korea and China, is 1-1 with a 1.54 ERA in five starts for Triple-A Syracuse.
Burnes didn’t factor into the decision in his most recent start last Thursday, when he gave up three runs (one earned) over 5 1/3 innings as the Diamondbacks fell to the Tampa Bay Rays, 7-4, in 10 innings.
Waddell made his lone appearance against the Diamondbacks on June 28, 2021, when he tossed a scoreless inning of relief for the Cardinals in a 7-1 win. Burnes is 2-1 with a 4.35 ERA in six career games (five starts) against the Mets.
-Field Level Media
Sports
WTA roundup: Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek both upset at Stuttgart
Elena Rybakina hits a shot against Aryna Sabalenka during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., March 15, 2026. Top-seeded Elena Rybakina escaped in a third-set tiebreaker while No. 2 Coco Gauff and No. 3 Iga Swiatek were upset victims to Karolina Muchova and Mirra Andreeva, respectively, in Friday’s quarterfinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany.
No. 7 Muchova saved 12 of 15 break points during a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory that marked her first win over Gauff in seven career meetings. The Czech will next face No. 4 Elina Svitolina after the Ukrainian delivered a 7-6 (2), 7-5 win over Czech Linda Noskova.
No. 6 Andreeva of Russia rallied for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win to defeat Swiatek of Poland for the third consecutive time. Andreeva saved 9 of 14 break points while winning in two hours, 36 minutes.
Andreeva next faces Rybakina, who staved off a second match point against Canada’s Leylah Fernandez as part of winning the final three points to score a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (6) victory. Rybakina had a 7-6 edge in aces and hit 51 winners while winning in three hours, two minutes.
Rouen Metropolitan Open
Teenage qualifier Veronika Podrez of Ukraine reached the semifinals in her first main-draw tournament by rolling to a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Brit Katie Boulter in Rouen, France.
Podrez, 19, had 28 winners against 11 unforced errors while finishing off Boulter in 78 minutes. Podrez’s semifinal opponent will be second-seeded Sorana Cirstea after the Romanian registered a 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory over Anna Bondar of Hungary.
Top-seeded Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine and Tatjana Maria of Germany will meet in the other quarterfinals. Kostyuk ousted Ann Li 6-0, 6-7 (4), 6-3, while Maria beat Belarus’ Iryna Shymanovich 7-6 (5), 6-2.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Illinois G Andrej Stojakovic announces return for 2026-27 season
Apr 4, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Andrej Stojakovic (2) shoots against Connecticut Huskies guard Silas Demary Jr. (2) in the second half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images Illinois standout guard Andrej Stojakovic said Friday he is returning to the Fighting Illini for the 2026-27 season.
Stojakovic posted the news on his Instagram account, asking, “Did I make you nervous?” In an attached video, he lowers a newspaper then lowers his sunglasses and says, “I’m back.”
His return is a crucial one for an Illini squad that reached the Final Four before losing to UConn. Illinois went 28-9 this season and figures to be among the top five ranked teams in next season’s preseason poll, depending how the transfer portal and NBA declarations shake out nationally in upcoming weeks.
The 6-foot-7 Stojakovic averaged 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 34 games despite missing some time with an ankle injury.
It was his first season at Illinois after one-season stints with Stanford (2023-24) and Cal (2024-25). Stojakovic averaged 17.9 points in his one season with the Golden Bears before transferring again.
Stojakovic has career averages of 12.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in 95 games (59 starts). He has made 95 3-pointers to go with 53 blocked shots and 49 steals.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Rockets-Lakers series 'much deeper' than LeBron James-Kevin Durant tilt
Mar 16, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) dribbles the ball as Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) defends during the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images A pair of NBA legends will square off once more when the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets face off in a first-round series starting Saturday in Los Angeles.
Kevin Durant led the Rockets to the No. 5 seed in his first season with the team, while LeBron James has helped guide the Lakers to the No. 4 seed. But Los Angeles will be without significant firepower.
Guards Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) could end up missing the series entirely after both were injured in a 139-96 blowout loss at Oklahoma City on April 2.
The situation will thrust James back to the forefront at age 41, while in his record 23rd NBA season. Even while starting the season with a sciatica injury, it did not appear as if James lost a step, with averages of 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 60 games.
“He had not a good season, not a great (one), he had a remarkable season,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said. “All things considered, you take away the fact that he’s in his 23rd year and he’s 41 years old, he had a remarkable season.”
After three consecutive losses when Doncic and Reaves went down, the Lakers rebounded to win their final three games of the regular season to clinch the fourth seed. It was James who pulled the group together in a team meeting to make the late push.
“He’s very vocal,” the Lakers’ Rui Hachimura said. “… It’s big time for him.”
At age 37 and in his 18th season, Durant averaged 26.0 points with 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists. Perhaps most impressive of all was his 78 regular-season games played, his most since 2018-19.
“Of course, from the outside looking in, casual folks who are not in the life with us every day, yeah, the (playoff) matchup is definitely fun,” Durant said, according to The Sporting News. “Two great players who have been in the league for a long time, but everybody who’s involved in this series knows it’s much deeper than that.”
The rebounding total was Durant’s lowest since he was a rookie with the Seattle SuperSonics in 2007-08, but staying out of the fray inside likely helped to keep him fresh. The Rockets had plenty of rebounding, leading the NBA at 48.1 per game and 15.0 on the offensive end.
“It’s the best rebounding team in the last 25 years,” James said, anticipating the challenge ahead.
And it might have been even better had Steven Adams not gone down with an ankle injury in January.
While scoring can be a challenge for the Rockets at times, the focus on extending possession with offensive rebounds has served them well. While the Lakers led the NBA at 50.2% shooting from the floor, the Rockets were 10th at 47.9% and 18th at 115.2 points per game.
Alperen Sengun was as much of an all-around threat as Durant with 20.4 points, to go along with team bests in rebounding (8.9) and assists (6.2). Sengun’s passing ability helped to make up for the loss of Fred VanVleet, who tore his ACL in the preseason.
Amen Thompson added 18.3 points with 7.8 rebounds and Jabari Smith Jr. had 15.8 points with 6.9 rebounds.
Houston closed out the regular season by winning nine of its last 10 games, but it lost twice to the Minnesota Timberwolves since March 25 and dropped consecutive games to the Lakers in March at home.
–Field Level Media
WTA roundup: Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek both upset at Stuttgart
Illinois G Andrej Stojakovic announces return for 2026-27 season
