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Wizards, Hornets meet with each in search of rare victory

NBA: Charlotte Hornets at Dallas MavericksFeb 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams (5) dunks against the Dallas Mavericks during the first half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets meet Saturday bearing the load of disappointing seasons as well as the weight of all of the teams above them in the Eastern Conference standings.

While the Wizards have the NBA’s worst record at 10-48, the Hornets are second worst at 14-44. Three of Washington’s 10 victories came against Charlotte.

The Hornets are on a five-game losing streak after going 1-8 on an extended road trip that started Feb. 9 and continued after the All-Star break.

The Wizards have dropped seven of their past eight games, including a 129-121 home decision to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.

The Hornets fell 103-96 on the road against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday despite center Mark Williams providing 26 points and 16 rebounds. That was the closest losing margin for Charlotte across its past 10 defeats.

Without guard LaMelo Ball out for the past two games due to continued ankle issues, the Hornets have tweaked their lineup combinations even more.

Guard Nick Smith Jr. had a busy workload in February, logging at least 32 minutes in 10 of his 12 games during the month. He delivered a season-high seven assists to go with 12 points against the Mavericks.

“He has grown tremendously this season,” Charlotte coach Charles Lee said. “We’re seeing Nick take on a starting role. Defensively, his improvement has been game by game. His positioning, on-ball and off-ball defense and overall.”

Ball played twice in the past week with low production, providing five points on Feb. 22 at Portland and 13 points Monday at Sacramento. He shot a combined 4-for-23 (17.4 percent) from the field in those contests. Ball is listed as questionable to face Washington.

Washington is getting used to having veteran guard Marcus Smart on the roster. Smart has played in three games since he was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies, scoring 10 points in each of the past two outings.

“I think he’s like a Hall of Fame, Mount Rushmore guy that you hate to play against him, but you love to have him on your team,” Wizards forward Corey Kispert said. “So, I’m glad he’s with us.”

Smart hasn’t faced the Hornets since back-to-back games in mid-January 2023 when he was with Celtics. That season he averaged 15 points across three meetings with Charlotte.

There’s also the matter of the Wizards trying to put rookie forward Kyshawn George, a first-round pick in 2024, in more comfortable situations.

George has played a combined 120 minutes over the past four games while averaging eight points. He has been leaning on support from teammate Jordan Poole.

“Just sticking with it. It’s not a one-possession game, it’s not a two-possession game, it’s not a three-game year,” George said of the message from Poole. “Stay confident in your abilities, keep doing what you do.”

Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly just missed his season high when he scored 26 points when visiting Washington defeated Charlotte on Feb. 3. He shot 7-for-9 against the Trail Blazers, with his only two misses coming on 3-point attempts.

“He’s super-efficient in the paint,” Kispert said. “He makes the right decisions. He works a ton on his jump shot. We see it every day.”

–Field Level Media

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Lenyn Sosa's late clutch hit lifts Jays over skidding Angels

MLB: Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles AngelsApr 21, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) beats the tag of Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe (14) to score during the eighth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Pinch hitter Lenyn Sosa drilled a tiebreaking two-run double during a three-run eighth inning to propel the Toronto Blue Jays to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night at Anaheim, Calif.

Eloy Jimenez had two RBIs and Vladimir Guerrero scored twice for the Blue Jays, who defeated the Angels for the second straight night and matched their season best of three straight wins.

Ernie Clement and Daulton Varsho had two hits apiece for Toronto. Louie Varland entered to induce a game-ending double play with the bases loaded for his first career save.

Oswald Peraza had two hits and a run for the Angels, who had just five hits overall. Los Angeles has scored just six runs during a season-worst four-game losing streak.

Clement’s one-out double inside the left field line got the decisive uprising going against Drew Pomeranz (0-2) in the eighth. Guerrero was walked intentionally and Sosa came up and ripped a 1-1 fastball off the wall in right to give Toronto a 3-1 lead.

Jimenez followed with a ground single through the right side to score Clement.

Mason Fluharty (1-0) retired the final two batters of the seventh and Tyler Rogers worked a perfect eighth for Toronto.

Struggling closer Jeff Hoffman started the ninth and created a jam. He struck out Zach Neto to start the inning before allowing Mike Trout’s single to left and plunking Jo Adell on the right hand and Jorge Soler on the left elbow to load the bases.

Yoan Moncada then pinch-hit for Peraza and hit an RBI single to right to bring the Angels within 4-2 and end Hoffman’s night. Varland entered and got Nolan Schanuel to hit his first pitch on the ground to Toronto second baseman Clement, who began to turn the decisive double play with shortstop Andres Gimenez’s throw to first narrowly beating the diving Schanuel.

Toronto starter Patrick Corbin allowed one run and two hits over five innings. He struck out three and walked two.

Los Angeles starter Jack Kochanowicz gave up one run and five hits over 5 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out one.

The Angels moved ahead in the fifth when Peraza and Schanuel hit one-out singles and Vaughn Grissom followed with a sacrifice fly to score Peraza.

Toronto had a similar frame in the sixth when Guerrero and Jesus Sanchez had consecutive one-out singles and Jimenez plated Guerrero with a sacrifice fly.

–Field Level Media

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Seeking elusive win, Austin FC tasked with slowing Quakes

MLS: San Jose Earthquakes at LAFCApr 19, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Jose Earthquakes forward Ousseni Bouda (7) runs with the ball against Los Angeles Football Club defender Eddie Segura (4) during the first period at BMO Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn Images

The San Jose Earthquakes are enjoying the best eight-match start in franchise history and coach Bruce Arena doesn’t want to hear any chatter about a letdown.

The destructive Earthquakes (7-1-0, 21 points) have outscored opponents 17-3 and look to inflict more damage when they host Austin FC on Wednesday night.

Austin FC (1-3-4, 7 points) is winless in their past six MLS matches (0-3-3).

“There are no trap games in this league,” Arena told reporters. “Any team can beat you on a given day in this league. We understand that. It’s going to be a difficult game on Wednesday. We played Austin last year and I think we split with them. … It’s going to be a difficult game.”

The teams split two regular-season matches last season while Austin also won a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal matchup. San Jose is 3-2-6 in 11 all-time MLS matches against Austin.

The Earthquakes are fresh off Sunday’s 4-1 pummeling of host Los Angeles FC. Ousseni Bouda posted a brace and has a team-best four goals.

Bouda is in his fifth season with San Jose. He sees a definitive change in this season’s squad after the Quakes missed the playoffs last season.

“I think it’s the culture we set for ourselves this year,” Bouda said. “I think everybody is all bought in. We’re taking it one game at a time. It’s only about eight games in right now, so there’s a lot of games left and we want to stay consistent and continue to get better throughout the season as well.”

Austin certainly would like to collect a much-needed victory. The club led late on Saturday before host Toronto FC tallied in the 88th minute to gain a 3-3 tie.

Austin coach Nico Estevez said one key is making sure his players aren’t intimidated by San Jose.

“You can’t be afraid,” Estevez said. “You have to go and be aggressive and you have to attack them. You have to find their weaknesses that every team has and minimize their strengths.”

Austin is winless in four road matches (0-2-2) but one of those was a 2-2 tie against Inter Miami and Lionel Messi on April 4.

That showing has Austin players feeling they can give the Earthquakes a battle.

“We’ve had good performances and shown we can play against top teams in the league,” forward CJ Fodrey said. “It’s about being confident throughout 90 (minutes) and turning those good performances into results.”

–Field Level Media

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Landen Roupp, Giants claim first matchup of season with Dodgers

MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco GiantsApr 21, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp (65) throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Landen Roupp outpitched Yoshinobu Yamamoto, San Francisco got RBI singles from Rafael Devers and Jung Hoo Lee in a three-run first inning, and the Giants held off the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 in the opener of a three-game series Tuesday night.

Roupp (4-1) allowed just one run on one hit in five innings, then watched five relievers combine for four innings of shutout ball, helping the Giants open a six-game homestand with a win after a 4-5 trip.

Roupp struck out seven and walked five in his first career win over the Dodgers.

Seeking his first-ever victory over the Giants, Yamamoto (2-2) went seven innings, allowing six hits and three runs, all of which scored in the first. He walked two and fanned seven.

Willy Adames got the cold night rolling for San Francisco with an infield single, after which Luis Arraez singled and Matt Chapman walked to load the bases.

Each of the next three batters delivered single runs, with Devers’ single chasing home Adames, Casey Schmitt’s sacrifice fly scoring Arraez, and Lee’s single plating Chapman.

Roupp allowed a two-out single by Hyeseong Kim in the second but no other hits until a wild spate in the fourth. He walked four of the first five batters he faced that inning, including Kim with the bases loaded to force home Teoscar Hernandez.

The right-hander got out of the one-out jam by inducing a double play grounder off the bat of Alex Call.

The Dodgers got the potential tying run on the bases with two outs in the seventh before Erik Miller struck out Kyle Tucker to retain the 3-1 lead.

Ryan Walker worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his second save.

Ryan Borucki, Matt Gage and Keaton Winn also contributed to the three-hitter in the first meeting of the season between the longtime California rivals.

Lee was the only player in the game with multiple hits, a pair of singles. The Giants out-hit the visitors 6-3, with the Dodgers’ Hernandez stroking the game’s only extra-base hit, a double.

–Field Level Media

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Wizards, Hornets meet with each in search of rare victory

NBA: Charlotte Hornets at Dallas MavericksFeb 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams (5) dunks against the Dallas Mavericks during the first half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets meet Saturday bearing the load of disappointing seasons as well as the weight of all of the teams above them in the Eastern Conference standings.

While the Wizards have the NBA’s worst record at 10-48, the Hornets are second worst at 14-44. Three of Washington’s 10 victories came against Charlotte.

The Hornets are on a five-game losing streak after going 1-8 on an extended road trip that started Feb. 9 and continued after the All-Star break.

The Wizards have dropped seven of their past eight games, including a 129-121 home decision to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.

The Hornets fell 103-96 on the road against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday despite center Mark Williams providing 26 points and 16 rebounds. That was the closest losing margin for Charlotte across its past 10 defeats.

Without guard LaMelo Ball out for the past two games due to continued ankle issues, the Hornets have tweaked their lineup combinations even more.

Guard Nick Smith Jr. had a busy workload in February, logging at least 32 minutes in 10 of his 12 games during the month. He delivered a season-high seven assists to go with 12 points against the Mavericks.

“He has grown tremendously this season,” Charlotte coach Charles Lee said. “We’re seeing Nick take on a starting role. Defensively, his improvement has been game by game. His positioning, on-ball and off-ball defense and overall.”

Ball played twice in the past week with low production, providing five points on Feb. 22 at Portland and 13 points Monday at Sacramento. He shot a combined 4-for-23 (17.4 percent) from the field in those contests. Ball is listed as questionable to face Washington.

Washington is getting used to having veteran guard Marcus Smart on the roster. Smart has played in three games since he was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies, scoring 10 points in each of the past two outings.

“I think he’s like a Hall of Fame, Mount Rushmore guy that you hate to play against him, but you love to have him on your team,” Wizards forward Corey Kispert said. “So, I’m glad he’s with us.”

Smart hasn’t faced the Hornets since back-to-back games in mid-January 2023 when he was with Celtics. That season he averaged 15 points across three meetings with Charlotte.

There’s also the matter of the Wizards trying to put rookie forward Kyshawn George, a first-round pick in 2024, in more comfortable situations.

George has played a combined 120 minutes over the past four games while averaging eight points. He has been leaning on support from teammate Jordan Poole.

“Just sticking with it. It’s not a one-possession game, it’s not a two-possession game, it’s not a three-game year,” George said of the message from Poole. “Stay confident in your abilities, keep doing what you do.”

Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly just missed his season high when he scored 26 points when visiting Washington defeated Charlotte on Feb. 3. He shot 7-for-9 against the Trail Blazers, with his only two misses coming on 3-point attempts.

“He’s super-efficient in the paint,” Kispert said. “He makes the right decisions. He works a ton on his jump shot. We see it every day.”

–Field Level Media

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Lenyn Sosa's late clutch hit lifts Jays over skidding Angels

MLB: Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles AngelsApr 21, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) beats the tag of Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe (14) to score during the eighth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Pinch hitter Lenyn Sosa drilled a tiebreaking two-run double during a three-run eighth inning to propel the Toronto Blue Jays to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night at Anaheim, Calif.

Eloy Jimenez had two RBIs and Vladimir Guerrero scored twice for the Blue Jays, who defeated the Angels for the second straight night and matched their season best of three straight wins.

Ernie Clement and Daulton Varsho had two hits apiece for Toronto. Louie Varland entered to induce a game-ending double play with the bases loaded for his first career save.

Oswald Peraza had two hits and a run for the Angels, who had just five hits overall. Los Angeles has scored just six runs during a season-worst four-game losing streak.

Clement’s one-out double inside the left field line got the decisive uprising going against Drew Pomeranz (0-2) in the eighth. Guerrero was walked intentionally and Sosa came up and ripped a 1-1 fastball off the wall in right to give Toronto a 3-1 lead.

Jimenez followed with a ground single through the right side to score Clement.

Mason Fluharty (1-0) retired the final two batters of the seventh and Tyler Rogers worked a perfect eighth for Toronto.

Struggling closer Jeff Hoffman started the ninth and created a jam. He struck out Zach Neto to start the inning before allowing Mike Trout’s single to left and plunking Jo Adell on the right hand and Jorge Soler on the left elbow to load the bases.

Yoan Moncada then pinch-hit for Peraza and hit an RBI single to right to bring the Angels within 4-2 and end Hoffman’s night. Varland entered and got Nolan Schanuel to hit his first pitch on the ground to Toronto second baseman Clement, who began to turn the decisive double play with shortstop Andres Gimenez’s throw to first narrowly beating the diving Schanuel.

Toronto starter Patrick Corbin allowed one run and two hits over five innings. He struck out three and walked two.

Los Angeles starter Jack Kochanowicz gave up one run and five hits over 5 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out one.

The Angels moved ahead in the fifth when Peraza and Schanuel hit one-out singles and Vaughn Grissom followed with a sacrifice fly to score Peraza.

Toronto had a similar frame in the sixth when Guerrero and Jesus Sanchez had consecutive one-out singles and Jimenez plated Guerrero with a sacrifice fly.

–Field Level Media

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Seeking elusive win, Austin FC tasked with slowing Quakes

MLS: San Jose Earthquakes at LAFCApr 19, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Jose Earthquakes forward Ousseni Bouda (7) runs with the ball against Los Angeles Football Club defender Eddie Segura (4) during the first period at BMO Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn Images

The San Jose Earthquakes are enjoying the best eight-match start in franchise history and coach Bruce Arena doesn’t want to hear any chatter about a letdown.

The destructive Earthquakes (7-1-0, 21 points) have outscored opponents 17-3 and look to inflict more damage when they host Austin FC on Wednesday night.

Austin FC (1-3-4, 7 points) is winless in their past six MLS matches (0-3-3).

“There are no trap games in this league,” Arena told reporters. “Any team can beat you on a given day in this league. We understand that. It’s going to be a difficult game on Wednesday. We played Austin last year and I think we split with them. … It’s going to be a difficult game.”

The teams split two regular-season matches last season while Austin also won a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal matchup. San Jose is 3-2-6 in 11 all-time MLS matches against Austin.

The Earthquakes are fresh off Sunday’s 4-1 pummeling of host Los Angeles FC. Ousseni Bouda posted a brace and has a team-best four goals.

Bouda is in his fifth season with San Jose. He sees a definitive change in this season’s squad after the Quakes missed the playoffs last season.

“I think it’s the culture we set for ourselves this year,” Bouda said. “I think everybody is all bought in. We’re taking it one game at a time. It’s only about eight games in right now, so there’s a lot of games left and we want to stay consistent and continue to get better throughout the season as well.”

Austin certainly would like to collect a much-needed victory. The club led late on Saturday before host Toronto FC tallied in the 88th minute to gain a 3-3 tie.

Austin coach Nico Estevez said one key is making sure his players aren’t intimidated by San Jose.

“You can’t be afraid,” Estevez said. “You have to go and be aggressive and you have to attack them. You have to find their weaknesses that every team has and minimize their strengths.”

Austin is winless in four road matches (0-2-2) but one of those was a 2-2 tie against Inter Miami and Lionel Messi on April 4.

That showing has Austin players feeling they can give the Earthquakes a battle.

“We’ve had good performances and shown we can play against top teams in the league,” forward CJ Fodrey said. “It’s about being confident throughout 90 (minutes) and turning those good performances into results.”

–Field Level Media

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Landen Roupp, Giants claim first matchup of season with Dodgers

MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco GiantsApr 21, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp (65) throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Landen Roupp outpitched Yoshinobu Yamamoto, San Francisco got RBI singles from Rafael Devers and Jung Hoo Lee in a three-run first inning, and the Giants held off the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 in the opener of a three-game series Tuesday night.

Roupp (4-1) allowed just one run on one hit in five innings, then watched five relievers combine for four innings of shutout ball, helping the Giants open a six-game homestand with a win after a 4-5 trip.

Roupp struck out seven and walked five in his first career win over the Dodgers.

Seeking his first-ever victory over the Giants, Yamamoto (2-2) went seven innings, allowing six hits and three runs, all of which scored in the first. He walked two and fanned seven.

Willy Adames got the cold night rolling for San Francisco with an infield single, after which Luis Arraez singled and Matt Chapman walked to load the bases.

Each of the next three batters delivered single runs, with Devers’ single chasing home Adames, Casey Schmitt’s sacrifice fly scoring Arraez, and Lee’s single plating Chapman.

Roupp allowed a two-out single by Hyeseong Kim in the second but no other hits until a wild spate in the fourth. He walked four of the first five batters he faced that inning, including Kim with the bases loaded to force home Teoscar Hernandez.

The right-hander got out of the one-out jam by inducing a double play grounder off the bat of Alex Call.

The Dodgers got the potential tying run on the bases with two outs in the seventh before Erik Miller struck out Kyle Tucker to retain the 3-1 lead.

Ryan Walker worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his second save.

Ryan Borucki, Matt Gage and Keaton Winn also contributed to the three-hitter in the first meeting of the season between the longtime California rivals.

Lee was the only player in the game with multiple hits, a pair of singles. The Giants out-hit the visitors 6-3, with the Dodgers’ Hernandez stroking the game’s only extra-base hit, a double.

–Field Level Media

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