Walker Buehler makes Red Sox debut vs. Rangers
Mar 18, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Walker Buehler (0) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees in the first inning during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Walker Buehler is looking to revive his career by pitching a full season for the first time since 2021.
The injury prone right-hander will make his Boston Red Sox debut on Saturday night when he pitches against the Texas Rangers at Arlington, Texas.
Buehler has undergone two Tommy John surgeries during his career, and the latter one in 2022 caused him to miss the entire 2023 season and make his 2024 debut in May.
The results weren’t terrific as the two-time All-Star went 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA in 16 regular-season starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Then he was torched for six runs in five innings in a National League Division Series loss to the San Diego Padres.
But in the World Series, it was the Buehler of old on the mound against the New York Yankees. He pitched five shutout innings to win Game 3 and returned two days later to strike out two in a perfect ninth and get the save in the Dodgers’ series-ending 7-6 win in Game 5.
Buehler became a free agent, and the 30-year-old said goodbye to the team that drafted him in 2015 and he signed with the Red Sox.
“There wasn’t anything about L.A. that I disliked,” Buehler said recently. “But given the way I struggled last season, then have a cherry on the top, it seemed like as good a time as any to take the next step.”
Buehler is 2-1 with a 2.40 ERA in three career starts against Texas. Former Los Angeles teammates Joc Pederson (4-for-13) and Kyle Seager (1-for-6) have each homered off him.
The teams split the first two games of the season-opening four-game series. Wilyer Abreu hit two homers in Boston’s 5-2 Opening Day victory and the Rangers bounced back 4-1 on Friday behind two homers from Jonah Heim.
“I put in the work and trusted the hitting coaches,” Heim said of his second career multi-homer game. “It was a great team win today. It wasn’t just me.”
Still, it was a good sight for the Rangers. Two years ago, Heim established career highs of .258 average, 18 homers and 95 RBIs while helping the Rangers win the World Series.
Last season, he batted .220 with 13 homers and 59 RBIs. He played 131 games both seasons.
Boston slugger Rafael Devers struck out in all four at-bats on Friday and has fanned seven times in eight at-bats over the two games.
Devers famously complained about the probable move from third base to designated hitter following the signing of Gold Glove-winner Alex Bregman.
After several questions about his approach and how he is spending his time between at-bats as the DH, Devers said, through an interpreter, “I’m a DH and I think you guys need to change the subject.”
Moments earlier, Devers fessed up to his hitting woes when reporters told him manager Alex Cora said he is swinging late on fastballs.
“It’s only been two games,” Devers said. “I feel comfortable at the plate. I feel good. I haven’t hit the ball but I feel pretty good.”
Right-hander Tyler Mahle will start for the Rangers, and he also is trying to regain his form after Tommy John surgery in May 2023. He returned from the operation to make three starts in August of last season before being shut down for the season due to shoulder issues.
Mahle, who will be making his second career start against Boston, pitched in just eight games over the past two seasons. Against the Red Sox last Aug. 12, he took a no-decision in a 4-3 loss after giving up two runs and striking out seven in 4 2/3 innings.
“When you sit and watch as many games as he has, you want to get back on the mound,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said of Mahle. “When you watch those games every day, you miss it. It’s what you love to do.”
Bregman is 3-for-9 against Mahle, while Trevor Story is just 2-for-15.
–Field Level Media
Entertainment
Ryan Gosling’s R-Rated Netflix Thriller With An MCU Budget Is Worth Its Weight In Shootouts
By Robert Scucci
| Published
After watching 2021’s Kate, the almighty algorithm threw 2022’s The Gray Man onto my radar, and I can’t say Ryan Gosling has ever disappointed me, so I figured I may as well give it a shot. He has a built-in level of charisma that lets him do his thing, and most of the time it lands. Going into the Russo brothers’ film expecting to see $200 million well spent on action sequences, with the added bonus of Gosling in the mix, I didn’t quite know how things would play out, but I had a hunch I wouldn’t feel let down.
But here’s the problem with straight-to-streaming action thrillers. Films like The Gray Man never get much time on the big screen, and they kind of need it if you want to enjoy them at the highest level. Across roughly 400 theaters, the film only brought in $454,023, which isn’t really its fault. It had a very short run across a disproportionately small number of screens, meaning it was never meant to recoup its budget this way. It’s a Netflix Original, designed to pull huge numbers on streaming.
The reason I see this as a bad thing is because this is an expensive movie. MCU expensive. Waterworld expensive. When that much money goes into blowing stuff up in spectacular fashion, I want to see it on a giant screen. Living in an apartment, I don’t have a fancy audio setup because my neighbors would murder me if I did, and my 44-inch TV is fine for most things, but less than stellar when entire city squares are getting leveled with all guns blazing.
Long story short, The Gray Man is a lot of fun, but it would be even more fun if you could watch it the way it was meant to be seen.
Let’s Not Get Bogged Down By The Details
The Gray Man also has an extremely convoluted plot. Not in a “too many twists” kind of way, but it’s a “load up the guns, spray and pray” kind of movie that would have been better served by simplicity. It’s executed well, but as side characters keep getting introduced in the second and third acts, part of me gets annoyed that I can’t fully shut my brain off because there’s always a new name or face to keep track of after the blasting has already started.
Ryan Gosling is a black ops agent known as Sierra Six, formerly Courtland Gentry. He was locked up as a minor after murdering his abusive father, and CIA officer Donald Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton) decides he’s the perfect candidate for a second chance. The deal is simple: Courtland works for him in exchange for his freedom, knowing he’ll be dealing with some very dangerous people.
Once things get rolling, Sierra Six teams up with Agent Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas), and the first mission we see involves assassinating a target named Dining Car (Callan Mulvey). Complications arise when the job goes sideways and Dining Car reveals he’s also part of the Sierra program before succumbing to his wounds. A flash drive gets passed off with vague instructions, and the wild goose chase begins, centering on CIA officer Denny Carmichael (Regé-Jean Page), who sends a swarm of operatives after Six and Dani to retrieve it.
Along the way, we get more backstory on Six’s relationship with Donald and his niece Claire (Julia Butters), who Six previously worked security detail for. This obviously becomes important later because more collateral has entered the equation. The scenes between Six and Claire offer a surprisingly wholesome break from the chaos in Prague, and they’re a welcome addition.
From here on out, you pretty much know the deal. Double crosses stack on top of double crosses, things explode, and there’s so much inter-agency confusion over who’s good and who’s pulling the strings that you almost wish they’d ease up on the exposition and just keep blowing stuff up.
Solid, Pulse Pounding Action Thriller
The Gray Man’s budget absolutely shows on screen from start to finish. The action sequences are gorgeously shot (something that’s not always consistent across Netflix Originals), and at one point Sierra Six is standing on top of a moving tram, firing through the roof while tracking targets through reflections in nearby windows as the city flies past. This comes after he’s handcuffed to a railing in a town square, picking off attackers before they even get a chance to take him out.
Ana de Armas wielding a shotgun after throwing hands is also worth your time because she fully commits when the moment calls for it.
The only real issue I have is the film’s tendency to overload its premise with complexity for the sake of it. Most people don’t turn on action thrillers to do mental gymnastics. At least I don’t. I love psychological thrillers when I want things to get murky, but with action movies, I just want to sit back and watch things explode.
The convoluted plot isn’t a dealbreaker, just a nitpick. Some people enjoy sprawling shadow government conspiracies. It’s just not really my thing, so take that with a grain of salt. It’s still a great watch, just not one you can fully sink into the couch for and completely turn your brain off.
The Gray Man is a Netflix Original, and you can stream it with an active subscription.
Sports
NBA roundup: Luke Kennard's 27 sparks Lakers past Rockets in Game 1
Apr 18, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luke Kennard (10) dribbles the ball against Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard (15) in the first half during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Luke Kennard scored 27 points and LeBron James added 19 points with 13 assists as the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers earned a 107-98 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets on Saturday in Game 1 of a Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Deandre Ayton scored 19 points with 11 rebounds and Marcus Smart added 15 points with eight assists as the fourth-seeded Lakers won with leading scorers Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) watching from the bench.
In just his seventh start since joining the Lakers from the Atlanta Hawks at the trade deadline, Kennard went 9 of 13 from the floor and 5 of 5 from 3-point range while delivering a season high in points to fill the scoring void at guard.
Alperen Sengun scored 19 points while Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard each added 17 for the fifth-seeded Rockets, who were playing without leading scorer Kevin Durant (knee).
Jabari Smith Jr. scored 16 points with 12 rebounds and Tari Eason also had 16 points for Houston, which has lost three consecutive road games to Los Angeles since the middle of March.
Nuggets 116, Timberwolves 105
Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, Jamal Murray scored a game-high 30 points and host Denver beat Minnesota to take a 1-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Murray was perfect from the line, hitting a career-high 16 free throws. Aaron Gordon finished with 17 points, nearly half of which came during the Nuggets’ 14-0 third-quarter run which broke a deadlock and put them in control of the game after a slow start.
Anthony Edwards, who was questionable after missing 11 of the Timberwolves’ final 14 regular-season games with right knee issues, led Minnesota with 22 points. Rudy Gobert produced 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter.
Knicks 113, Hawks 102
Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to start the decisive third-quarter run for host New York, which pulled away for a win over Atlanta in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
Jalen Brunson scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in the first quarter for the third-seeded Knicks, who reached the Eastern Conference finals last year for the first time since 2000. Towns finished with 25 points and was 10 of 10 from the free throw line while Anunoby collected 18 points.
CJ McCollum scored 26 points for the Hawks, who earned the sixth seed in their first trip to the playoffs since 2023. Jalen Johnson had 23 points while Onyeka Okongwu (19) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (17) each scored in double figures.
Cavaliers 126, Raptors 113
Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points and James Harden added 22 points and 10 assists, powering Cleveland to a victory over visiting Toronto in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Max Strus had 24 points off the bench and Evan Mobley scored 17 for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, who have won 11 straight playoff games over the Raptors. Game 2 is Monday in Cleveland, where Toronto is 0-8 all-time in the postseason.
RJ Barrett scored 24 points and Scottie Barnes contributed 21 points and seven assists for the fifth-seeded Raptors. Brandon Ingram added 17 points and Jamal Shead had 17 points in his playoff debut, starting for injured guard Immanuel Quickley (right hamstring strain).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cody Bellinger hits 2 of Yanks' 4 HRs in rout of Royals
Apr 18, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Cody Bellinger (35) hits a two run home run against the Kansas City Royals during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Cody Bellinger homered twice and collected five RBIs as the New York Yankees easily recorded a 13-4 victory over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Saturday afternoon.
The Yankees notched their most lopsided win this season after their previous five victories were decided in the final at-bat.
Amed Rosario hit a two-run homer and Ben Rice hit a solo shot during a five-run third off Kansas City left-hander Noah Cameron (1-1).
Rosario started the scoring with his two-run blast to left after a three-base error by Kansas City center fielder Kyle Isbel.
J.C. Escarra hit a fly ball to the warning track in center field, and the ball was not caught when Isbel and right fielder Jac Caglianone converged. Isbel knocked the ball out of Caglianone’s glove and was charged with a three-base error.
After Rosario’s homer, Aaron Judge walked, then Bellinger sent a first-pitch slider into the second deck in right. Rice homered two batters later when he hit a fastball into the right field seats for his third straight game with a homer.
Bellinger homered again in the sixth off Mitch Spence for a 10-0 lead. It was Bellinger’s 20th career multi-homer game and his eighth game with at least five RBIs.
Bellinger also had an RBI single in between homers. Rosario added a run-scoring single in the sixth and Escarra contributed an RBI double in the fourth.
Escarra also drove in two with his first career triple in the seventh as the Yankees collected 11 hits. Randal Grichuk added a sacrifice fly in the eighth for his first RBI with New York.
New York’s Will Warren (2-0) allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings. The right-hander matched a career-high with 11 strikeouts and walked none.
The Royals dropped their sixth straight. Kansas City was blanked until Carter Jensen hit a two-run homer in the seventh and got a two-run double from Michael Massey in the ninth.
Cameron was shelled for a career-worst seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in four innings.
Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro was tossed by second base umpire Nestor Ceja before Cameron threw a pitch after the Royals batted in the first.
–Field Level Media
Ryan Gosling’s R-Rated Netflix Thriller With An MCU Budget Is Worth Its Weight In Shootouts
NBA roundup: Luke Kennard's 27 sparks Lakers past Rockets in Game 1
