NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - APRIL 12 : Nico Hischier #13 of the New Jersey Devils warms up before the NHL regular season game against the Ottawa Senators at the Prudential Center on April 12, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Maclean/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Here are your links for today:
Devils Links
On a potential Nico Hischier contract extension: “All things being equal, it would appear an extension is the most likely outcome, but things are at an early and delicate stage.” [The Athletic ($)]
“Hischier will be 28 before playing a game on a new deal and he has made 22 playoff appearances. Of course he wants to hear the roadmap to more success. There’s no denying the team has an excellent core, which he is aware of, and Mehta’s winning pedigree should have Hischier confident the front office can make the right moves. I don’t envision this negotiation being much of a struggle, and expect the captain to sign a lucrative extension before reporting to training camp in September.” [Infernal Access]
“Trading Nemec may make the most sense because if he returns to the Devils and struggles as he has the last two seasons, his trade value will plummet. And with the Devils needing some scoring help, Nemec may be their best trade asset. We’ll see what GM Sunny Mehta and the Devils decide to do.” [Devils on the Rush]
Hockey Links
The Golden Knights are on to the Stanley Cup Final:
A look at the top remaining free agents in this summer’s class: [Sportsnet]
“Maple Leafs forward Max Domi is out indefinitely after complications arose during an offseason surgery. Toronto announced the news Monday and shared that Domi — who played through his undisclosed ailment during the 2025-26 regular season — will continue to work with the club’s medical staff until being reevaluated ahead of training camp in September.” [ESPN]
“Veteran forward Claude Giroux is looking to come back for a 20th NHL season this fall, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports. Giroux is a pending unrestricted free agent after spending the past four years with the Ottawa Senators. He said after Ottawa’s first-round playoff exit last month he would need time to weigh his future, but it appears he’s not ready to hang up his skates just yet.” [TSN]
Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.
Savannah Banana Malachi Mitchell flips in the air as the team cheers before the start of a bananaball game against the Kansas City Monarchs at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas.Photograph: Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
The Savannah Bananas brand has, arguably, become bigger than the Savannah Bananas themselves. What would seem to be a crucial component of the Bananas experience – the actual team – is increasingly absent from games featuring the showboating version of baseball that the Bananas themselves popularized. By all accounts, however, fans don’t care.
When the Guardian last examined the Bananas in 2023, the organization had only just abandoned its amateur roots in collegiate summer baseball to focus strictly on “bananaball”, a funhouse-mirror reflection of baseball that focuses on trick plays, player antics and crowd engagement. At the time, bananaball was restricted to two teams – the Bananas and their forever foes, the Party Animals – who seemed prepared to follow a well-trodden path to long-term, if moderate success.
Basketball’s Harlem Globetrotters, for example, have been running circles (often literally) around the same, scripted-to-lose opponent in exhibition games since the 1950s. The Bananas could have easily replicated this formula for decades. A bananaball game on a sunny May evening at Richmond’s CarMax Park, however, reveals the many ways that the Bananas organization is doing things its own way.
When asked, most fans outside the ballpark answered with versions of “I’m going to the Savannah Bananas game tonight.” But they were actually on their way to see the Firefighters take on the Indianapolis Clowns, two of the six full-time, professional bananaball teams touring the US. While the Firefighters and Clowns faced off in Richmond, the Party Animals were simultaneously playing the Loco Beach Coconuts in Las Vegas. Elsewhere, the Bananas drew more than 100,000 fans in College Station, Texas, against the Texas Tailgaters. What was once a pair of barnstorming exhibition teams has become a small but growing league. The Globetrotters never made this jump.
The eccentric team names are part of an effort to broaden banana ball’s appeal to a wider audience. The Texas Tailgaters lean into good ol’ cowboy imagery. The newest team, the Coconuts, appear to exist somewhere at the intersection of Jimmy Buffett and the South Pacific. The Firefighters are composed of square-jawed hunks. The team name most familiar to baseball ears, the Clowns, also appears to have the most organic origin story. The original Indianapolis Clowns were one of the best-known Negro League teams in the early to mid-20th century.
There is also a lot of merchandising. Stalls at games flog everything from caps to koozies. This is not a flaw in itself – even coffee shops double as merch stands nowadays – but it is indicative of a larger change within bananaball. When the Guardian last encountered the Bananas, there was an enjoyable “everybody’s here” element. Happy Rockwellian families were seated alongside raucous bachelorette parties who themselves sat by pairings of older baseball fans breaking down every pitch. Bananaball in 2026 feels less like a baseball game and more like a day at Disney World.
The target demographic is clearly children. Nearly everyone at the Richmond ballpark was either a child or accompanying one. Music sets the ambience, and gen Alpha poultry-themed anthems Chicken Banana and Steve’s Lava Chicken blare from the stadium’s speakers.
The Disney comparison is not necessarily a coincidence. Multiple players mention an overlap between Disney fandom (including Disney adults) and bananaball fandom, and Jesse Cole, founder of the Bananas, identifies Walt Disney as a key influence.
Not that bananaball crowds are solely families with young kids. Plenty of other groups are scattered throughout the stands in Richmond, including hardcore baseball fans. Heather Albrecht speaks from a place of deep baseball knowledge – she and her sister have attended games at 29 of the 30 major league ballparks – part of a bucket list trip with their late mother.
“Seeing the crowds and seeing the hype, I think bananaball could overtake MLB in popularity,” she says. “They’re selling out MLB parks that, when we went to them [for MLB games], were empty ghost towns.”
MLB need not worry just yet; the average major league crowd last season was 29,386, a figure that has held pretty steady for the last decade. But perhaps MLB could take some pointers from bananaball as it frets about attracting younger fans. If bananaball’s TikTok dances, pyrotechnics and heavy crowd work were stripped away, the on-field product may make for an interesting side competition within the world of professional baseball. Bananaball could, for example, be the T20 cricket to MLB’s test counterpart.
The preference for showmanship sits at the heart of bananaball. Whether intentional or not, Cole’s bananaball is maybe best understood through the lens of comedy – the game’s outcome is less important than the laughs per minute on the way there. And, if a competitive element emerges, all the better.
It is interesting to note that, despite the Bananas’ achievements in baseball, there have been no significant attempts to replicate their process in the worlds of American football, hockey, soccer or cricket, or even tennis, golf or boxing. This lack of banana-ization in other sports persists despite the fact that format-innovation continues to occur within baseball. Just outside Richmond, for example, another amateur collegiate summer team is pioneering “cosmic baseball“ (baseball played with UV-reactive gear under black lights). The team behind cosmic baseball, the Tri-City Chili Peppers, openly namecheck the Bananas as an inspiration (both the Bananas and the Chili Peppers have their roots in the Coastal Plain League). Cole welcomes the competition.
“I commend anybody that’s trying to do something different [and] unique to make their sport fun and bring joy to people. I think it’s good – we’ll see a lot more [competitors emerge].”
Cole is similarly thoughtful when responding to critics who denounce bananaball as a passing fad, something he says he thinks about every day.
“I see the comments,” he says. “‘This will be done in a year. It’ll be done in a few years.’ I see it and, if you look at history, that would be a strong bet to make. If you look at the And 1’s of basketball and the different leagues that have come and gone – that would be a strong bet to make ... There are only a few companies that have sustained creativity over a long time. You look at Disney, you look at Saturday Night Live ... They’re continually creating, trying new things, pushing the envelope on what can be done. And, they’re not afraid to fail. I think we share that.”
And, perhaps focusing on a young demographic is the right way to secure this lofty, decades-spanning goal.
Towards the end of the game in Richmond, two Little-League-aged fans (in bananaball gear) are playing catch beyond centerfield. Before each throw, they pass the ball between their legs or around their backs, copying the trick plays they’ve seen on the field. Both talk about the sport’s teams and players knowledgably. When asked if they want to be ballplayers when they grow up, they pipe up enthusiastically.
“I want to be a Firefighter,” one shouts. When asked which player he most wants to be like, he responds “No, a firefighter. I want to fight fires.” If his dreams come true, it’s pretty clear which team his future family will be rooting for.
TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 25: Manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman of the New York Yankees talk during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 25, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
For as much flak as Brian Cashman can catch for hugging prospects, the Yankees are perennially one of the most active buyers at the trade deadline. Last year was one the team’s most aggressive deadlines ever, shipping out almost 20 prospects and importing seven veteran players. In 2024, it was Jazz Chisohlm Jr. and Mark Leiter Jr. that were brought over the summer. 2023 was a bit of an aberration, the Yankees skipping out on deadline shopping and the playoffs, but in 2022 they traded for Frankie Montas, Harrison Bader, Lou Trivino, Scott Effross and Andrew Benintendi midseason, while 2021 saw the additions of Anthony Rizzo, Joey Gallo, and Andrew Heaney.
As has been typical of the Yankees during this era, they are towards the top of the standings early on, but with a few clear holes on the roster. The infield is littered with question marks, the team has gotten less than zero offensive production from their catchers, and the bullpen feels very shaky (even if it’s overall numbers on the season are fairly impressive thus far). The full expectation should be for New York to once again deploy prospect capital to shore up the roster come midsummer. The topic for today, though, is which position they’re most likely to try and upgrade (for argument’s sake, let’s leave side the bullpen for now, since essentially every contending team these days makes some sort of relief trade).
For a team that has had big holes in the early going, the answer is surprisingly complex. It’d be simple enough to look at, say, third base, where Ryan McMahon’s woeful work at the plate has left him exactly at replacement level per FanGraphs. But, the Yankees could reason that if McMahon’s struggles continue, they have answers in-house. José Caballero has performed well as the team’s primary shortstop and could shift over to third, allowing Anthony Volpe to return to his old position. Amed Rosario has also been well above average with the bat, albeit with weak defense at the hot corner.
The situation at catcher is also fraught. The team’s backstop have put up a pitiful .254 wOBA this year, third worst in the league. However, the gap between the Yankees’ catchers expected wOBA and their actual figure is easily the biggest in baseball, suggesting some poor fortune, and the defensive work of Austin Wells and J.C. Escarra is so exemplary that finding upgrades at the position isn’t as simple as it might seem given the pair’s futility at the plate so far.
And then, there’s the fact that there’s already been a tiny bit of rumbling about the possibility the Yankees will actually try to add to the strongest part of their roster, their rotation, by targeting injured Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. I’ll believe it when I see it, but we can’t disregard the idea; with Detroit floundering, Skubal may end up as the best player on the trade market, and adding him could give the Yankees a super rotation unlike any we’ve seen, while also allowing them to subsequently upgrade their bullpen by bumping overqualified starters into the relief corps.
What do you think? Are the Yankees most likely to target corner infield, catcher, starting pitcher? Something else entirely? Let us know in the comments below.
It’ll be another busy day ahead of tonight’s game, with Matt running through what you might have missed last night, and Jeff profiling coach Mark Connor for our Yankee Birthday series. Also, Josh writes on the wonder that is having so many starting pitchers on one team that fans can look forward to watching, and Kento reminds us to keep things in perspective with Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Harry Grant was asked about his side’s new halves pairing, and the influence of Sam Walker on the team. “It’s been enjoyable to build that combination,” he said. “Really talented players individually and hopefully both those boys can bring that creativity tonight.”
With Grant, Cameron Munster, and Kalyn Ponga in the 13, Sam Walker won’t be asked to shoulder too much of the burden on debut, which should afford him the freedom to shine.
May 22, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) runs out to the mound for the top of the fifth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Gerrit Cole will make his second start of the season tonight in Kansas City, coming off a season debut on Friday that went about as smooth as we could expect. While he didn’t get to throw quite as much as he would have liked, all signals are green that there should be no real restrictions against the Royals, and we’re free to speculate on the impact Cole will have on the rotation going forward. I don’t think we are going to get 2019 Gerrit Cole, but if he’s the third-best pitcher behind talent like Cam Schlittler and Max Fried, that is a rotation that will be damn hard to beat.
New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: The Yankee bullpen has been the topic of much conversation this year, inarguably the weakest unit on the team. One of the questions around the group is how its constructed, currently carrying two guys that could feasibly be starters. Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough are at their best when they’re working multiple innings, but neither have been so spectacular that there aren’t alternatives within the Yankee system, especially given the current group’s lack of velocity and whiff.
The Athletic | Brandon Kuty ($): We’re past the one-third mark of the season, and the Memorial Day weekend always seems a natural time to take stock of a baseball team. The 2026 Yankees seem to be a top and bottom heavy squad overall, with more than their share of straight-A students in Cam Schlittler, Aaron Judge, Ben Rice and others, and far too many players that would receive failing grade…and then there’s Austin Wells, whose parents would likely be getting a phone call.
The Sporting News | TJ French: Ryan McMahon may be in trouble. In two straight games the third baseman was sat, Monday in favor of José Caballero and benched Tuesday to give Amed Rosario a start, while Anthony Volpe manned shortstop in both games. McMahon has failed to find any kind of stick with the Yankees, and while he is a talented defender, there’s only so much value there when you’re leaving runs on the table 3 times a game.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - MAY 26: Relief pitcher Will Dion #98 of the Cleveland Guardians pitches during the seventh inning of his major league debut against the Washington Nationals at Progressive Field on May 26, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Nationals defeated the Guardians 6-3. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Left-handed hitters entered Tuesday batting .336 off of Nationals SP Cade Cavalli. The Guardians put 9 left-handed hitters in their lineup. The Guardians had 5 hits and 1 run off Cavalli in 6 innings.
The Guardians hitters can not do anything besides draw walks right now. So in back to back games the Nationals have just decided to throw strikes. Normally, you’d worry about those strikes getting hit, but… lol.
One Guardian who is not seeing strikes is Kyle Manzardo. Because why would you throw him a strike when he’s swinging at 3 pitches in the dirt every time he comes to the plate?
For the second straight game, the Nats only needed to use 2 pitchers. Sad.
On the bright side, Will Dion made his MLB debut after a number of years in the system. Dion was promoted earlier in the day, taking Logan T. Allen’s place on the 26-man.
National coach Andrew McDonald remains hopeful that Nathan Lyon will recover from his injury before the Test series against Bangladesh, but stopped short of guaranteeing the veteran spinner’s selection if available.
Just over a year after being fired by the Philadelphia Flyers, John Tortorella has already done several things many thought impossible.
Tortorella, 67, hopped out of the ESPN booth and behind the bench, taking over for Bruce Cassidy as head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The result was a 7-0-1 finish to the regular season, and now a scintillating run in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
At the time of Tortorella's hiring by the Golden Knights, many were concerned about the fit with former Toronto Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner, given the public's general view of Marner as a "soft" player who ran from the spotlight.
Instead, Marner is the playoffs' leading scorer with seven goals, 14 assists, and 21 points in just 16 games, with teammate Jack Eichel right behind with his 18 points in 16 games.
Even in Philadelphia with the Flyers, Tortorella made things work with Matvei Michkov, even if there were battles and benchings along the way.
In Vegas, Tortorella has also been reunited with former Flyers goalie Carter Hart, whose sudden departure to tend to the 2018 Hockey Canada sexual assault case in 2024 was something Tortorella pointed to as the team crumbled in the months that followed.
After being found not guilty of the sexual assault charge and serving a suspension levied by the NHL, Hart has returned to form under his old Flyers coach, leading all goalies who have played past the first round with a .924 save percentage and a 12-4-0 record.
Now in the Stanley Cup Final, Tortorella, Hart, and the Golden Knights await the winner of the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens series.
The late-inning reliever whipped out a version of the “suck it” crotch chop — made famous in the 1990s by the D-Generation X faction in WWF — after striking out Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson to end the top of the eighth in a 6-0 Milwaukee win.
After the game, Uribe alleged that Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol signaled in the prior game to hit certain Brewers players.
Abner Uribe celebrates the final out of in the eighth inning of the Brewers’ 6-0 win over the Cardinals at American Family Field on May 26, 2026 in Milwaukee. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Uribe got the first two outs of the inning before yielding a four-pitch walk to Iván Herrera and a single to Jordan Walker.
After the count went full to Burleson, Uribe got him looking with a low slider, which led to the three pumps chop celebration. Burleson challenged the call, and luckily for the Brewers reliever, the call was upheld.
Milwaukee skipper Pat Murphy didn’t mince words after the game — he didn’t like what he saw. At all.
“That’s unacceptable. Just unacceptable,” Murphy told reporters in his postgame press conference. “I don’t know what got over him, he’s been an emotional guy, but that kind of thing, that’s just not how we do things. I was embarrassed by it. Why are we doing it in a 6-0 game? What are we doing? There must be something deeper that I don’t know about.”
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Abner Uribe (45) celebrates the final out of in the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at American Family Field. Michael McLoone-Imagn Images
Murphy said that he does like Uribe but that he just won’t tolerate that type of celebration on the field. He said he talked to Uribe and speculated MLB could punish him in some shape or form.
Uribe said through an interpreter after the game that he owed an apology to his teammates and coaching staff after the game and that he understood the chop was “unacceptable.”
Nevertheless, he said Marmol apparently gestured on Monday that he wanted to hit Brewers players, so he wanted to have his Milwaukee teammates’ backs. He said there was an event before the game that also led to him expressing himself through the celebration, but he did not elaborate on what the event was.
“I don’t think it’s very professional for them to be making gestures like that,” Uribe said through the interpreter. “And I don’t think it’s right for any of my guys to be going out there with any sort of fear in their heads that we may be getting thrown at or they can’t play the game the way they want to be able to play.”
Herrera, who was on second during the celebration, called the chop “disrespectful” but hoped the Cardinals “take care of it and we move on,” according to the Belleville News-Democrat.
The teams play again on Wednesday afternoon, and this should add some extra intrigue.
May 26, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts (50) runs after hitting a single during the third inning Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
It was Eric Lauer’s first game in a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform — he’d only signed with them 17 days earlier — but he pitched like he’d been a part of the organization for years as the Dodgers made quick work of the Colorado Rockies in a 15-6 rout with a bizarre ninth inning.
Kyle Freeland has another a rough outing
It wasn’t the night Freeland had hoped for.
On one hand, he met a personal benchmark. He began the game 1.1 innings shy of reaching 1300 innings, which would make him the second pitcher in Rockies history (Aaron Cook is the other) to throw at least 1300 innings for the club. This goal, he achieved despite the loss. He is 13.2 innings short of Cook’s 1312.1 IP, the most in franchise history — a record he will surely break before the season ends.
On the other, Freeland struggled to keep the ball in the park and the Dodgers in the dugout.
He gave up a two-run home run to Mookie Betts (5) in the first.
In the third inning, he surrendered two more homers, one to Kiké Hernández (1) and another to Andy Pages (12). By the end of the third inning, the Dodgers had a 4-1 lead.
Things got worse in the fourth when Freeland allowed two hits before hitting Shohei Ohtani with a pitch and loading the bases. A wild pitch scored Miguel Rojas while a Pages double scored two more. Freeland managed to finish the fourth on 81 pitches, but the score was 8-1, and the Dodgers never looked back.
He finished the evening with a final line of 4.0 IP. Freeland allowed eight runs (all earned) on nine hits, three of them home runs. He did not issue any walks and struck out four.
His ERA is 8.08. He also managed to throw a “pitchergami.”
🚨 PITCHERGAMI 🚨
Kyle Freeland just threw a line that has NEVER happened in MLB history:
4.0 IP | 9 H | 8 ER | 0 BB | 4 K
COL @ LAD That's the 146th Pitchergami of 2026 and 1 of 83,370+ unique lines on record.
“Their right-handed hitters came ready to hit tonight,” said manager Warren Schaeffer.
“Tough for me to find location,” Freeland said, noting that the Dodgers had taken advantages of any mistakes he made.
The bullpen (mostly) fares no better
The Rockies utility pitcher Zach Agnos entered the game in the fifth inning, but he fared no better than Freeland had. By the end of the fifth inning, the score was 10-1 Dodgers and Ohtani had left the game to prepare for his Wednesday start.
Things did not improve in the sixth when Agnos gave up a three-run homer to Betts (6), and the score was 13-1 with no outs.
Smith followed with a two-run homer of his own (5), making the score 16-1, a season high for the Dodgers.
Agnos lasted only two innings. He allowed six runs and seven hits (all earned) with one run and one struck out on 42 pitches.
On a more positive note, Reliever Welinton Herrera scored his first career strikeout against Dalton Rushing, who promptly burned one of the Dodgers ABS challenges to learn that he had, definitively, struck out.
He also struck out Freddie Freeman. Herrera had a final line of 1.0 IP with two strikeouts, one hit, and no runs.
“The arm’s alive,” Schaeffer said, adding that the Rockies were pleased to have him on their roster.
The eighth inning went to catcher-RHP Brett Sullivan in what would be his third relief appearance of 2026. Sullivan allowed one hit but no runs in 1.0 IP.
The Rockies avoid a shutout
The Rockies fell behind after the first inning, but they quickly fought back.
However, they had a quick answer in the second when Hunter Goodman led off with a homer of his own, making the score 2-1 Dodgers. (Of the 12 home runs he has hit this season, nine have been on the road, FWIW.)
They occasionally got runners on base — Willi Castro had two hits — but failed to score.
By the sixth inning, Schaeffer followed the lead of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and began pulling his starters.
As for Eric Lauer, he went 6.0 IP, allowing one run (earned) on one hit. He walked one and struck out four on 96 pitches.
“We just didn’t have an answer for him tonight,” Schaeffer said.
The Rockies never touched the Dodgers bullpen until position player Miguel Rojas pitched the ninth when manager Dave Roberts (presumably) attempted to save his bullpen.
Then things got weird
Brett Sullivan hit his first home run of the year — as a pitcher no less.
The last Rockies pitcher to hit a home run? Germán Márquez on July 31, 2021. Sullivan was also the first pitcher, other than Shohei Ohtani, to hit a home run in 2026.
The Rockies promptly began a rally of sorts. Braxton Fulford and Jake McCarthy singled followed by a Kyle Karros home run, making the score 15-5. Troy Johnston followed that up with a double.
Suddenly, the Dodgers had their bullpen warming as Sterlin Thompson hit a single to score Johnston, and the Rockies loaded the bases and batted around the order.
With two outs, Sullivan came very close to hitting a grand slam, but the ball died at the warning track.
Game over, 15-6.
“We never want to be in that position when they’re throwing a position player at us,” Schaeffer said. “But every at-bat in the big leagues counts.”
The Rockies finished the evening with six runs on 12 hits. They walked twice and struck out seven times.
With the Colorado Avalanche being swept and ending their season, it was a grim night for Denver sports.
Get some sleep, everyone.
Up Next
Join us tomorrow for Game 3 at 8:10 pm when Tomoyuki Sugano will face Shohei Ohtani in a must-watch baseball game. (Seriously, there will be global interest in this one as a Japanese pitching legend takes on the greatest player on earth.)
May 26, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns (84) and center Nathan MacKinnon (29) congratulate Vegas Golden Knights. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
One week ago, the Colorado Avalanche looked like they were cruising toward another deep playoff run. Now they’re heading home earlier than anyone expected after getting swept out of the Western Conference Final by the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Avalanche fell 2-1 in Game 4 on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena, completing a four-game series win for Vegas that few people saw coming given how the playoffs started for Colorado.
This was supposed to be the year Colorado pushed all the way. They opened the season on an incredible 31-2-7 run, rolled through the first two rounds of the playoffs, and entered this series as one of the clear favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Instead, everything came apart in just over a week.
Vegas, meanwhile, found its rhythm at exactly the right time. A team that was fighting just to stay in the playoff picture late in the regular season ended up completely controlling the series and punching its ticket back to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Game
It was a cautious start by both teams but Vegas got on the board first as Mark Stone got behind the defense just under five minutes into the game. It was one of their first shots on goal and Mackenzie Blackwood settled into the net from that point forward. Still, Vegas took the 1-0 lead into the first intermission after a fairly balanced first period.
In the second the Avalanche couldn’t get much going and fired only six shots on goal despite earning a power play and then controlling play for a little while after. Vegas also didn’t score and had a power play themselves. A 1-0 Vegas lead wasn’t insurmountable at that point after 40 minutes of play.
The third period was a continuation of the first but both teams weren’t generating much offense. Vegas got the crucial second goal, though from Coke Smith. From that point on they could lock down the game. Gabe Landeskog gave Colorado a glimmer of hope with three minutes to go and cut the lead but they never could find the equalizer. A sweep, a completely collapse and a final 2-1 loss.
A Series That Got Away From Colorado Fast
Game 4 summed up the series pretty well. Vegas struck early when Mark Stone got behind the defense and scored on a breakaway just a few minutes into the first period.
Colorado goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, making his first start of the series, kept things from getting out of hand early. He made several big saves and was probably the reason the game stayed close as long as it did. This series was never about goaltending, though.
But offensively, Colorado just never really found its footing.
There were long stretches where the Avalanche couldn’t generate much of anything. At one point, they went nearly 30 minutes of game time with just one shot on goal. For a team that’s built around speed and scoring, that’s a tough stat to explain.
Injuries, Pressure, and a Quiet Offensive Struggle
It’s worth noting the Avalanche weren’t at full strength. Nathan MacKinnon played through an injury he picked up in Game 3, and Valeri Nichushkin was out after getting hurt earlier in the series. Other key players like Cale Makar and Artturi Lehkonen also weren’t at 100%.
Still, even with that context, this was a tough series for Colorado’s offense overall.
They weren’t able to consistently break through Vegas’ defensive structure, which clogged up the middle of the ice and made it hard to create clean chances. That part isn’t surprising — Vegas has been doing that to teams all postseason — but the extent of the struggle definitely was.
And honestly, the overall effort in Game 4 will be hard to ignore. For a team with this much talent, it just wasn’t there often enough when it mattered.
A Painful Finish to a Promising Season
The Avalanche had built a reputation this season for being nearly unbeatable in certain situations. Before Game 2 of this series, they were 45-0 when leading after two periods. Before Game 3, they were 52-0 when leading by multiple goals.
But those numbers didn’t matter once the series got away from them.
Game by game, Vegas chipped away at their confidence. Colorado had leads slip away, momentum disappear, and eventually just couldn’t recover.
Last year ended in heartbreak too, but this year feels different — more abrupt, more complete, and harder to explain.
Blow it all up. No one should feel safe after this historic embarrassment.
Brad Scott’s exit from North Melbourne in 2019 was very different from his sacking at Essendon this week. “Brad’s offer to step aside is nothing short of selfless and honourable – terms befitting his character,” Kangaroos president Ben Buckley said at the time. “There’s nothing but blue sky for North,” Scott said. He said it three times. He thanked the individual board members, the coterie groups and even the media. But many thought he had left North’s list in tatters. David King called him “a visitor”. Certainly the backside completely fell out of the Roos in the years after he left.
Scott wasn’t at the press conference announcing his departure from the Bombers on Tuesday. Most agree that he wasn’t the right fit, and probably never had been. He’d never been fully embraced by Essendon people, or the senior players. There was always a lingering doubt over the state he left North Melbourne in. There was always the sense that he was an outsider.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani was hit on the right hand by a pitch and left the Los Angeles Dodgers’ game against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.
The two-way superstar was struck by Rockies starter Kyle Freeland in the fourth. Ohtani left after grounding out in the fifth. He was 0 for 2 with a run scored.
Ohtani is scheduled to start on the mound for the Dodgers in the series finale on Wednesday. Manager Dave Roberts said before the game Tuesday that Ohtani likely would hit as well.
The Mets have played plenty of bad baseball this season, and Ron Darling sounded tired of watching it from the SNY booth.
The 1986 World Series champion pitcher ripped into left-hander David Peterson and what he believed to be a less-than-satisfactory reprimand to potentially come from the Mets coaching staff after the starting pitcher failed to back up a play at the plate in the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s 7-2 loss to the Reds at Citi Field.
The blunder, after Bo Bichette made a wild throw home as JJ Bleday scored, allowed Tyler Stephenson, who doubled on the play, to move to third on the throwing error.
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“I don’t understand it,” Darling said on the broadcast. “It really tells me that coaches really don’t have as much influence as the players as they think they have because someone should rip someone at some point. But they don’t because they don’t want to upset anyone. You have to back up bases every single time.”
The tough critique left an almost surprised play-by-play man, Gary Cohen, asking if Darling believed it would be addressed after the game “at all.”
Darling didn’t let up.
“It might be, but not addressed the way it should be addressed, because if it was addressed, Gary, it wouldn’t happen,” he said. “It happens every game. We just don’t point it out.”
Even the Mets booth thinks Carlos Mendoza should be out of a job.
Speaks volumes when one of the most ethical booths in sports speaks this poorly. pic.twitter.com/bYomdtybDP
New York Mets pitcher David Peterson reacts after Cincinnati Reds left fielder JJ Bleday scores as the ball gets passes New York Mets catcher Luis Torrens in the sixth inning on May 26, 2026. Jason Szenes for The New York Post
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza did tell reporters after the game that he would address the mistake with Peterson, who could be moving to a bullpen role with Sean Manaea starting to pitch more effectively as of late. Manaea allowed one run on three hits and fanned six in three innings of work.
“It can’t happen. Obviously, he knows that,” Mendoza said of Peterson’s mistake. “There’s no excuses for it. I haven’t talked to him about it, but obviously, there’s going to be a conversation. He knows he made a mistake.”
Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling throw out the ceremonial first pitches when the Mets played the Phillies on Aug. 26, 2025 at Citi Field. Robert Sabo for NY Post
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Peterson has a 5.57 ERA after allowing six runs on 11 hits Tuesday night as the Mets dropped their fifth straight game to fall to 22-33, 15 games out of first place.
May 26, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte (4) celebrates teammates Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll (7) and Arizona Diamondbacks left fielder Tommy Troy (9) against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
The Dbacks were able to get their 9th win in the past 10 games Tuesday evening in San Francisco as they were able to beat the Giants 7-5. An all around win for a surging Dbacks team as they were able to get pitching as well as timely offense as this team just keeps rolling.
Eduardo Rodriguez was crafty tonight giving the Dbacks 6 innings while striking out 6 Giants and allowing just 2 earned runs despite maybe not having his best stuff. ERod got off to a little bit of a bumpy start with a long first inning and a couple of runs by the 3rd inning, but he settled in nicely getting some clutch outs as the game went on. This Dbacks starting rotation has continued to carry this team over the past several weeks as they seemingly give this team quality start after quality start and today was no exception.
The highlight of the night was Ketel Marte hitting an absolute moonshot on the day he was named the NL player of the week. The blast was simply incredible as it was a 2 run shot that traveled 452 feet. The fact that that blast happened at night at Oracle Park makes this swing the stuff of Dbacks lore. People will remember this hot streak that Ketel is on for a long time something is telling me.
It was not all highlights for the Dbacks tonight as unfortunately Nolan Arenado was lifted in the 8th inning due to groin tightness. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that this is something that will resolve itself after some rest. Arenado has been such a fixture in this lineup this season as a steading force in the cleanup spot and at 3rd base that any extended period of time without Arenado would be terrible. In the post game conference Torey said that Arenado is day-to-day, but he feels as though he is in a good spot and not getting any imaging. Arenado himself said that it was more precautionary than anything. Hopefully the Dbacks will dodge a bullet here.
I also wanted to note that Paul Sewald picked up his 13th save of the season on his 36th birthday tonight. Despite giving up a home run tonight, he definitely deserves some praise on his birthday as he has flat out gotten the job done as the closer in the early going saving 13 of 14 opportunities. He may not always be flawless, but he is a great closer and an even better human being who deserves the praise and a big happy birthday from Dbacks fans.
The Dbacks will send Mike Soroka to the mound tomorrow as they look for the 3 game sweep.
