Sports
Red-hot but inexperienced Tigers prepare for veteran Astros
Sep 24, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images HOUSTON — The Astros had to rebound from a miserable start to the season to win their fourth straight American League West title. Now they carry an overwhelming advantage in postseason experience into their matchup vs. the Detroit Tigers in the American League wild-card series, which begins Tuesday.
Game 1 of the best-of-three series will be a battle of left-handed aces: Tarik Skubal of Detroit (18-4, 2.39 ERA, 228 strikeouts in 192 innings) against Framber Valdez of Houston (15-7, 2.91 ERA).
Skubal claimed the AL pitching triple crown this season and this will mark his first postseason appearance, with Skubal representing a Tigers organization that last qualified for the postseason in 2014.
The Astros, on the other hand, are postseason participants for the ninth time during that 10-year span with two World Series titles, four AL pennants and seven consecutive ALCS appearances on their ledger.
Coincidentally, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch was at the helm for the first half of the Astros’ current run of success. He will try to impart his vast playoff experience on a club sorely lacking it.
“It’s super important as a manager to have postseason experience, not as important for the players to have played in the postseason,” Hinch said, tongue in cheek. “I can’t lay it out any simpler than that.
“Obviously you cannot replace experience. We’ve got guys that have never played in Houston let alone played in a playoff atmosphere, so we’re going to learn on the fly. We’ve done that. We’ve gone to a couple of pretty rowdy places in September and our guys got to play playoff baseball for the better part of two months just to be a part of the playoffs. Come (Tuesday) afternoon, we’re going to be a playoff-experienced team.”
While Hinch touted the Tigers’ status as underdogs, both Detroit and Houston arrived in the postseason via a similar trajectory. The Astros were 10 games behind the Seattle Mariners in the AL West on June 18 before mounting their rally.
The Tigers were sellers at the trade deadline but took full advantage of the collapsing Minnesota Twins down the stretch of the regular season. Detroit won 18 of 26 games to claim their postseason bid, and the Astros are acutely aware that the squad they’ll meet in this best-of-three series barely resembles the team they last faced in mid-June.
“If you really watch their games, they have matured a lot as a club,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Making fewer mistakes than you probably saw earlier in the season. They’re playing good baseball so there’s that emotional aspect as a team when they start believing in themselves. That’s what you’ve seen with this Tigers team. I’m expecting a pretty good series and we’ll be ready for them.”
As for Houston, Valdez’s volatility on the mound has been well documented, and his postseason history is checkered.
He did exceptional work during the Astros’ championship run in 2022, finishing finished 3-0 with a 1.44 ERA in four starts, including a stellar effort in Game 6 of the World Series. Then came his struggles in 2023, when he finished 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA in three starts, punctuated by his collapse in Game 2 of the AL Championship Series, when he allowed five runs on seven hits and lasted just 2 2/3 innings.
Valdez will likely garner some top-five votes for the AL Cy Young Award on the strength of a brilliant second half, when he went 7-2 with a 1.96 ERA across a dozen starts. Should that version of Valdez arrive at the ballpark Tuesday, the Astros will feel emboldened going against the presumptive Cy Young Award favorite in Skubal.
Houston needs the best iteration of Valdez — and for Valdez to forget how much he labored during their repeat bid.
“He has left that in the past,” Espada said. “I expect Framber to go out there and perform the way Framber has performed this entire second half as one of the best pitchers in the league. He wants the ball, and I expect him to go out there and give us a great start.”
–MK Bower, Field Level Media
Sports
Late goal helps Toronto FC salvage tie, point vs. Austin FC
Apr 18, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Austin FC defender Jon Bell (15) passes the ball against Toronto FC defender Richie Laryea (22) during the first half at BMO Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images Kobe Franklin delivered the game-tying goal in the 88th minute and host Toronto FC pulled off a 3-3 draw with Austin FC on Saturday afternoon in just the third-ever match between the sides.
Franklin was in the penalty area when Malik Henry ripped a shot off the right post and scored off the rebound to beat Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver low to the right side and even the match.
The draw allowed Toronto FC (3-2-3, 12 points) to extend a six-match unbeaten streak, while outscoring opponents 11-8 during the 3-0-3 run.
After conceding the late goal, Austin FC (1-3-4, 7 points) remained winless since March 1 with an 0-3-3 record during the run.
Jon Bell scored Austin FC’s opening goal in the 29th minute while turning onto his left foot in traffic and beating Toronto keeper Luka Gavran. The score came off a feed from Guilherme Brio.
Myrto Uzuni tried to double the Austin FC lead with a shot in the 34th minute before Gavran made the save. Toronto FC’s Josh Sargent and Daniel Salloi responded with low-percentage shots that Stuver turned away.
Salloi tied the score 1-1 in the 52nd minute, running to the far post to volley home a pass from Sargent that deflected off an Austin defender and directly to the right knee of the Toronto striker.
Gallagher’s shot eight minutes later forced Gavron into a key save and kept the game tied. Richie Laryea’s goal in the 67th minute gave Toronto a 2-1 lead.
Austin FC tied the score 2-2 on a nifty Facundo Torres goal in the 75th minute off assists from Robert Taylor and Uzuni. Christian Ramírez gave Austin FC a 3-2 lead when he booted home a deflected shot by Torres in the 82nd minute.
That set stage for Franklin, who beat an Austin defender to Henry’s shot off the right post to produce the draw and earn Toronto FC a point in the standings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Fresh off play-in win, Suns take on top-seeded Thunder
Apr 17, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green (4) celebrates after a slam dunk against the Golden State Warriors during the first half in the play-in rounds of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The Phoenix Suns come into their first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder with some momentum after knocking off the Golden State Warriors in the play-in finale Friday to earn the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
The Thunder haven’t played in a week heading into Sunday’s Game 1 of the series in Oklahoma City.
After letting a big lead slip away in the play-in opener against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Suns bounced back with a 111-96 home win over the Warriors.
Jalen Green was one of the biggest factors in Phoenix advancing, with 36 points in Friday’s victory.
“They’re going to come in, play hard, play their game, but I think if we bring the same energy that we brought (Friday night) and getting stops, playing defense, getting out and running, we can use that to our advantage,” Green said, looking forward to facing Oklahoma City. “It should be a good series.”
The Thunder are looking to become the first team since Golden State in 2017-18 to repeat as champions.
“It’s an opportunity,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think just going through last year and realizing that’s so far down the line. So many things are going to happen before we get to the Finals clinching game. … So many things have to go our way that aren’t in our control and so many things we have to control that are hard to control at this level for a long period of time for us to have that opportunity.”
Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren said there’s value in having the experience, but that his team can’t take any team lightly.
“You have to try to carry over the experiences that you learn from, but you can’t carry over the result, because the result means absolutely nothing,” Holmgren said. “If you’re sitting here in the playoffs saying, ‘Oh, we won last year,’ that’s not going to win you a playoff series or a game or get a stop on a possession.”
The series features two of the best defenses in the league.
The Thunder had the NBA’s best defensive rating, allowing just 106.5 points per 100 possessions during the regular season while the Suns were ninth at 112.9.
In Friday’s win, Phoenix scored 30 points off Golden State turnovers to help fuel the win, while Oklahoma City led the league with 22.0 points per game off turnovers during the season. The Thunder also limited opponents to just 14.7 points per game off turnovers, second-best in the NBA.
The Thunder won three of the five regular-season matchups between the teams, with Phoenix being one of just three teams to hand Oklahoma City multiple losses this season.
The teams closed the regular season against each other, though that game — a 32-point Suns win — will bear little resemblance to Sunday’s matchup.
With their playoff/play-in positions set, both teams sat most of their starters, with the Thunder’s only regular starter to play being Luguentz Dort.
Phoenix was without Grayson Allen (hamstring) and Mark Williams (foot soreness) for Friday’s win.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Experienced Lightning face young Canadiens in first round
Apr 9, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak (81) vies for position with Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky (20) during the second period at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images The Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning will meet in the postseason for the first time since 2021 and this matchup will come under much different circumstances.
Game 1 in the first-round series is set for Sunday at Tampa, Fla.
Holding the Atlantic Division’s second spot, the Lightning clinched home-ice advantage Tuesday night when the third-place Canadiens lost 4-2 in their regular-season finale against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Tampa Bay right winger Nikita Kucherov produced 130 points (44 goals, 86 assists) in 76 games, falling eight short of Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid, who produced 138 points while playing in all 82 matches for the Edmonton Oilers.
In a season that may produce a second Vezina Trophy, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy went 39-15-4 to lead the NHL in wins. He had a 2.31 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
Jon Cooper’s Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021, the latter in the Finals over the Canadiens when conference alignment was ditched in an adjusted playoff format because of the pandemic.
The Lightning’s title run was interrupted by three straight Cup appearances and two championships by the archrival Florida Panthers.
“Everybody’s looking for something new, right? For somebody new to win or somebody new to come along,” Cooper said. “But what’s wrong with the team that wants to sit there and maybe throw (the word) ‘dynasty’ around. That’s what we’re looking at.”
A pending unrestricted free agent, defenseman Darren Raddysh had a breakout year running the power play, producing a career-best 22 goals, a franchise record, to go with 48 assists that will lead to a hefty contract in the summer.
The availability of defenseman Victor Hedman, who has not played since March 19, is uncertain.
While Tampa Bay has played in six conference finals and made four trips to the Final under Cooper, coach Martin St. Louis will send out a group of youthful Canadiens that represent early success from a rebuild.
Montreal suits up the NHL’s youngest club with an average just shy of 26 years old, ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres.
The first-round matchup is a classic one of veteran core players versus talented youngsters.
Cole Caufield, 25, produced 51 goals in 81 games, while 22-year-old Juraj Slafkovsky, the No. 1 overall pick in 2022, had 30 tallies and 73 points in 82 matches.
Star defenseman Lane Hutson, also 22, had 12 goals and 66 assists as one of 11 Canadiens to reach double figures in goals.
The squad’s 26-year-old captain from London, Ontario, Nick Suzuki had a career year in becoming the fifth Montreal player to register 100 points, posting 29 goals and 72 helpers en route to a second straight playoff appearance.
Guy Lafleur, Peter Mahovlich, Steve Shutt and most recently Mats Naslund in 1986 hit the century mark.
Suzuki, who played against the Lightning in the 2021 Final, said the Habs have grown since losing in five games to the Washington Capitals a year ago.
“We’ve built our game throughout the whole season, learning different things, individually and as a team,” said Suzuki, who missed Wednesday’s practice to attend the birth of his daughter, Maya. “We’re in a much better spot that we were last year in the playoffs. We’ve matched up well against (the Lightning) the last couple of years.
“There’s no intimidation.”
Montreal went 2-1-1 against Tampa Bay including two victories in the campaign’s final nine games.
–Field Level Media
Late goal helps Toronto FC salvage tie, point vs. Austin FC
Fresh off play-in win, Suns take on top-seeded Thunder
