WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Sean Couturier had two goals and an assist and Noah Cates added a short-handed goal and two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 7-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night.
Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov, Travis Sanheim and Nick Seeler also scored for the Flyers (40-27-12), winners of four of their last five games. Michkov added an assist, and Rasmus Ristolainen finished with two assists. Dan Vladar had 27 saves.
Hadyn Fleury scored for the Jets (35-31-12), who entered the game with a three-game winning streak and victories in five of their last six games to keep their playoff hopes alive. Jonathan Toews extended his point streak to three games with an assist, giving him four points over that stretch.
Connor Hellebuyck, who made his 20th start in the last 22 games, allowed five goals on 20 shots before being replaced for the third period. Eric Comrie allowed goals on his first two shots against and finished with one save.
With the victory, the Flyers complete a two-game series sweep of the Jets. Philadelphia earned a 5-2 win on home ice back in October.
Philadelphia earned a valuable two points to maintain its grip on third place in the Metropolitan Division and remain in the hunt for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Winnipeg is trying to secure the final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference. With just three games remaining, its hopes for a spot in the postseason remain slim.
MONTREAL (AP) — Charlie Coyle scored twice as the desperate Columbus Blue Jackets rolled to a 5-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
Boone Jenner, Sean Monahan and Kirill Marchenko also scored while Jet Greaves stopped 20 shots for Columbus, which is fighting to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Adam Fantilli added two assists.
The Blue Jackets sit outside the playoff picture, two points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Cole Caufield — with his 51st of the season — and Josh Anderson scored for playoff-bound Montreal two nights after Caufield scored his 50th in an electric 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jakub Dobes made 28 saves.
Defenseman Noah Dobson exited in the second period after blocking a Zach Werenski slap shot with his left hand. Canadiens rookie Ivan Demidov also went to the dressing room in the third when he was hit headfirst into the boards by Werenski, but he returned later in the period.
Montreal (104 points) fell from second to third in the Atlantic Division behind Tampa Bay (104 points), which holds the regulation-wins tiebreaker over the Canadiens. The Buffalo Sabres lead the division at 106 points with two regular-season games remaining for all three teams.
Up next
Blue Jackets: Host the Boston Bruins on Sunday.
Canadiens: Visit the New York Islanders on Sunday.
TORONTO (AP) — Eetu Luostarinen and Mackie Samoskevich had a goal and two assists each as the Florida Panthers cruised past the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 on Saturday night.
Tomas Nosek, with two goals, Cole Reinhardt and A.J. Greer, into the empty net to go along with an assist, provided the rest of the offense for Florida.
Daniil Tarasov made 17 saves for the Panthers, who snapped a four-game slide.
William Nylander replied with a pair of goals for Toronto, which got 19 stops from Joseph Woll in the club’s fifth straight loss.
Both poised to miss the playoffs, the Maple Leafs and Panthers met in the second round of last spring’s postseason, with Florida topping Toronto in seven games before going on to hoist the Stanley Cup for a second straight June.
The Panthers, who started play one spot above Saturday’s opponent at 26th overall in the NHL standings, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period before Nosek made it 3-0 early in the second.
Nylander scored on a power play midway through the period, and added another to make it 3-2 through 40 minutes. Samoskevich made it 4-2 in the third. Greer and Nosek iced it into the empty net.
Having already made his fair share of mental mistakes in the field and on the base paths in the early going of the season, the normally meticulous Lindor had another miscue in Saturday’s 11-6 loss to the Athletics.
With the bases loaded and one out in a tie game in the second inning, Kodai Senga, who was not at his best, induced a ground ball to the right side of the second base bag that looked to be a relatively easy potential double play that would’ve ended the inning.
However, despite Marcus Semien fielding the ball, Lindor went to his right to try and make a play on it as well, instead of breaking towards second base to get the force out and throwing to first to complete the potential double play.
With nobody covering second, Semien had to step on the bag himself for the force out (just barely beating the runner) and was unable to throw the runner out at first, allowing a run to score.
After the game, Lindor was asked what happened on that play.
“I went after the ball and Marcus was there, and I didn’t make it to second base and we didn’t turn a double play,” he said. “Senga could’ve got out of the inning right there and I didn’t help him.”
It’s not the first time, or even the second time, that Lindor has made an unusual decision either defensively or on the bases that has cost the Mets. Just last night, he was thrown out at third base on a grounder hit to first after veering too far off the bag in a game New York was trailing 1-0 late.
The mental lapses combined with his struggling offense have made Lindor, a five-time All-Star and two-time Gold-Glover, look like a shell of himself during the first month of the season.
“It’s weird because that’s not him,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “It’s hard to explain. He’ll be the first one to tell you that he has to be better. Never seen some of those plays where he’s just out of position sometimes.”
Even Lindor had trouble explaining what’s going on because he feels like he’s “locked in” out there.
With the calf injury to Juan Soto causing him to be out of the lineup, is it possible Lindor is putting added pressure on himself to perform?
“Not at all,” Mendoza said. “He’s the same guy. He shows up, he prepares. He works as hard as anybody; he wants to win. I don’t think it has to do with who's in the lineup and who’s not.”
While all of that may be true, it’s still hard to ignore the shortstop’s struggles this season.
Offensively, Lindor, who is known to get off to cold starts in his career – especially with the Mets, is slashing .167/.296/.250 with no home runs and zero RBI. While those numbers are nowhere near his expected production or career averages, what was at least somewhat encouraging during the first week of the season was his ability to get on base via walks.
However, since Soto landed on the IL retroactively on April 4, Lindor has not walked once. During that stretch, he is 5-for-33 at the top of the Mets lineup.
“He’s been through it before,” Mendoza said. “This is a guy who is very streaky and he’s gotten off to starts like this. It’s just hard to explain right now.”
To Lindor’s credit, after many such cases of poor starts to a season, his end-of-year numbers are always there. Right now, he’s even got a three-game hit streak going.
“I feel like I’m trending in the right direction,” he said.
As for the mental mistakes that keep piling up? Mendoza believes they’ll be fixed sooner rather than later.
“We’re better than that and they know that… making errors and mental mistakes. We’re better than that. We gotta fix it and we will,” the skipper said.
Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin has played in the NHL since 2015 and has only played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs once, later that season.
The drought for both him and the Red Wings has extended into a 10th consecutive year, as they were officially eliminated from postseason contention after blowing yet another third-period lead, this time against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday evening.
The Devils, who are outside the playoff picture, responded with goals of their own each time the Red Wings took the lead and eventually scored the game-winner themselves, with Jesper Bratt finding the net late in the third period en route to a 5–3 victory.
Larkin, who registered his third-career hat trick in Detroit's previous game to help keep their playoff hopes alive, admitted that he's not in good spirits after their fate was sealed.
"We're down," Larkin said afterward. "I'm down, as down as I could be right now. "
Larkin and the Red Wings were tied for first overall in the Eastern Conference in mid-January, and appeared well on their way to comfortably attaining a postseason spot. However, just as they had in each of the last several campaigns, they unraveled in March and lost their playoff points cushion.
"We put ourselves in a great spot, a lot of good things," Larkin said. "We didn't do what we set out to do, to make the playoffs and continue to build this thing."
An ill-advised pinch by Larkin in the slot in search of an offensive chance proved costly when his Team USA Olympic teammate Jack Hughes got to the puck first, flipped it past him, and led a 2-on-1 rush with Jesper Bratt that resulted in the go-ahead goal late in the third period.
"They're a transition team; that fourth one is on me," Larkin said. "I'm covering for (Simon), pinch in there, and two of those guys jumped by. It's completely my responsibility to stay back and cover for the D."
When it came to blowing third-period leads and ultimately losing, the Red Wings did so five times this season - four of them coming after March 4, including against the Devils and against the Blue Jackets earlier in the week.
"It seems to be a trend of late, but like I said, there were a lot of good things this year," Larkin said of being unable to protect third-period leads. "You could really go back and look at all the points in the third periods, but it's hard to look at right now. I don't think it's going to be a determining factor moving forward."
Detroit's centennial season will come to a close in the coming days with road matchups against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.
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They might not be mathematically eliminated, but unfortunately for the Winnipeg Jets, the team will come up short in their bid for the Stanley Cup Playoffs this spring.
Despite a decent push in the final quarter of the season, it was too little, too late in Manitoba's capital.
As the old saying goes, the Jets waited far too long to heat up, and in doing so, their postseason chances have slimmed down to next to nothing.
Photo by Danny Truong
In need of another win - and a miracle - to continue their push for the playoffs, the Jets came up short, well short, in their efforts for a postseason push on Saturday in a test against an Eastern Conference playoff hopeful in Philadelphia.
The penultimate contest from Canada Life Centre this season wasn't even close from the opening puck drop. The Flyers got off to a hot start and truly didn't cool down until they chased Connor Hellebuyck from the game and put up seven goals against a desperate Winnipeg team in need of both points.
A wild opening frame saw four goals - and all four came before the game was even nine minutes old.
It was Philadelphia that struck first, with recent entry-level contract signee Porter Martone finishing off a pretty passing play by Travis Konecny just 1:17 into the game.
But Haydn Fleury responded for Winnipeg five minutes later. He hammered home a Cole Koepke rebound on a play that saw Jonathan Toews pick up the secondary helper - his fourth points in the past three games.
But then, just a minute-and-a-half later, Matvei Michkov redirected a long-range wrist shot off Jacob Bryson and past Hellebuyck, restoring the Flyers' one-goal lead.
Just 25 seconds later, the visitors found another, with Sean Couturier putting home his 11th of the season, ripping it past the Jets' bewildered last line of defence for a 3-1 lead less than half a period into the game.
Both clubs settled down as the opening frame wore on, with power play chances granted to both team.
Philadelphia narrowly outshot the Jets 13-10 through 20 minutes, while taking a commanding 3-1 lead into the intermission.
The middle stanza saw the Flyers add to their lead, with local product Travis Sanheim earning his first career professional goal in his home province. A rousing cheer from his friends and family in attendance rang out as the puck found its way past Hellebuyck and into the Jets' net.
Noah Cates delivered the knockout punch, scoring a shorthanded goal with time ticking down on a Jets penalty late in the second period, handing Winnipeg a 5-1 deficit through 40 minutes of play.
Couturier got his second of the game 6:23 into the third period, making it 6-1 for the visitors, as he beat Eric Comrie on the Flyers' first shot of the period.
Then, with just six minutes remaining, the visitors got another courtesy of Nick Seeler on just Philly's second shot of the frame.
Hellebuyck allowed five goals on 20 shots before being yanked from the game, while Dan Vladar turned aside 28 pucks on the 29 Jets shots that found their way to the net.
Eric Comrie ended the night with one save on three shots in 20 minutes of work.
A loss wouldn't have hit quite as hard should there Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators have lost their respective games on Saturday, but, of course, that did not happen, extending the distance between the Jets and a possible postseason berth.
Next up for Winnipeg is the team's final road trip of a season - a two-game trek through Vegas and Utah in a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday - before the Jets return home Thursday night for the season finale against the San Jose Sharks at 7:00 PM central.
At the start of the 2025-26 season, the Buffalo Sabres claimed goaltender Colten Ellis off waivers from the St. Louis Blues. This is after he had a 22-14-3 record, a .922 save percentage, and a 2.63 goals-against average in 42 AHL games for the Springfield Thunderbirds in 2024-25.
Now, with the 2025-26 season almost over, it is clear that Ellis has been a solid waiver addition for the Sabres. He has worked well as their No. 3 goaltender, and it is hard not to be satisfied with his play when noting that Buffalo picked him up for free.
In 15 games this season with the Sabres, Ellis has an 8-4-1 record, a .904 save percentage, and a 2.91 goals-against average. With numbers like these, he has been a solid depth goalie for the Sabres.
Ellis also just put together a fantastic performance in his most recent start on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 2019 third-round pick put together a 37-save shutout against Columbus. This was Ellis' first-career NHL shutout.
With all of this, it is clear that Ellis has been a nice pickup for the Sabres. While Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon have been a great tandem, Ellis has also done well when called upon.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - APRIL 10: New York Yankees Infielder Jose Caballero (72) at bat during the regular season game between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays on April 10, 2026, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The bottom of the Yankees lineup has caught a lot of flack for being automatic outs in the early going this season. Naturally, on a night when the 6-9 hitters drove in four runs and Max Fried threw eight innings of three-run ball … the Yankees still lost. Why, you ask? Take away José Caballero’s two (!!) hits with runners in scoring position and the Yanks were 0-for-10 in those situations. Meanwhile, for as good as he was, every single time the Yankees scored for him, Fried immediately gave the runs back. Add it all up and you have the recipe for the usual despicable Yankee loss at the Trop.
I noted in the game preview that one of Rays starter Nick Martinez’s calling cards early has been a lack of walks. So, of course he put Trent Grisham on with four pitches leading off. I also noted he has not been striking guys out. So, of course he whiffed Aaron Judge. Cody Bellinger, who has been scuffling of late, turned on a cutter in the middle of the plate and singled down the right field line and later stole second, putting two runners in scoring position.
A golden opportunity for an offense that desperately needs to score runs. Alas, Ben Rice struck out looking on middle-middle heat and Giancarlo Stanton drove an absolute missile directly at the left fielder. Opportunity squandered.
Austin Wells came into today hitting .152 with neither a home run nor an RBI on the young season. He rectified that in the top of the second, turning on an inside fastball and driving a ball out down the right-field line.
No cheapie, it would be a dinger in all 30 parks. And speaking of guys who have been brutally struggling, Ryan McMahon managed a single later in the frame, boosting his average to half a Mendoza Line (.100). It was no home run, but anything the bottom of the lineup can do that isn’t an uncompetitive at-bat is a pleasure to see.
With the offense semi-somnolent, it was absolutely incumbent on Yankee ace Max Fried to hold the Rays down, and he did so in the first. Unfortunately, Fried coughed the run support back up in the second. Junior Caminero doubled and moved to third on a groundball. One dunk single into right field later, Caminero was home and the game was tied. Given the offense’s struggles, it felt like Fried had already ceded his margin of error.
The bottom of the lineup was back doing their nonsense in the fourth. Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit his second weak fly ball of the game, having seen a total of three pitches total to that point. I will not harp on Wells’s swinging strikeout considering he was the sole reason the Yankees were in the run column. I will pick on Caballero who, after yet another uncompetitive at-bat, was now 1 for his last 28. I found myself really missing Anthony Volpe right about then.
The Yanks had a golden opportunity to break the game open in the top of the fifth. A pair of walks, to Grisham and Rice, and a Bellinger single, loaded the bases and sent Martinez to the shower. In came righty Kevin Kelly to face Big G, with the sacks juiced and two out. Stanton, with a .325 career average with the bases loaded, promptly whiffed. Opportunity squandered.
Back to the bottom of the lineup in the sixth and Chisholm continued his skid, making him 2 for his last 24. After Wells hit a hard groundball out to second, Caballero struck out. Literally the entire Yankee lineup, other than Rice and to an extent Stanton, was ice-cold simultaneously.
Max Fried retired 11 in a row after giving up that second inning RBI, then ran into trouble in the sixth. Who, you ask, broke that streak? There can be only one. Taylor bleeping Walls. Walls came into today with a career OPS 135 points higher against the Yanks than his overall mark. So, of course he singled to start the home sixth. Fried then had Yandy Díaz take him for a ride to left. Luckily, Bellinger flashed some leather for the first out or the frame could have gotten out of hand.
Another single put runners on the corners and Jonathan Aranda, unlike the Yankees, made his opportunity count. His sac fly to left gave the Rays their second run and the 2-1 lead. You would be forgiven for assuming you could put this game in the loss column, considering the Yankees’ grand total of six runs in their last 3.5 games.
With Fried’s pitch count in great shape (74 through six), Aaron Boone sent his ace back out for the seventh. The star southpaw made Boonie look like a genius, retiring the Rays in order.
The Yankees put themselves in position for a big inning in the eighth. After Stanton walked, Randal Grichuk came in to pinch-run. Then Chisholm, who needed a hit the way a man dying of thirst in the desert needs water, hit a chopper down the first base line that ended in a double. That gave Wells a chance to tie the game without a hit. He failed. A bad at-bat ended in a fly ball too shallow to score the run. All of that meant it was Caballero Redemption Season. And the Yankee shortstop came through. His double to left scored a pair and gave the Yanks a 3-2 lead.
Fried returned for the eighth, with Boonie opting to roll with his ace. This time, it did not work out as well as he surrendered a leadoff double. A bunt moved the tying run to third and turned the lineup over again for Diaz. And Diaz did his job. His infield single tied the game, though Fried escaped without any further damage.
With one out in the ninth, Judge walked for the second time and immediately stole second, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position for the heart of the order. But the Rays retired Bellinger and intentionally walked Rice, leaving the Yankees’ hopes resting on Grichuk. He came into the at-bat hitless as a Yankee. He left the at-bat hitless as a Yankee.
Fernando Cruz and Tim Hill combined to hold the Rays scoreless in the ninth and send the game to extras. Grichuk started on second as The Manfred Man, advancing to third but with two out. Luckily, Caballero was at the dish. His second hit with runners in scoring position plated the go-ahead run and gave Cabby three ribbies on the night.
The bottom of the 10th quickly became a nightmare. Chandler Simpson, who entered late as a pinch-runner, bunted off David Bednar to put runners on the corners with no one out then immediately stole second. Walls then bunted and brought the ghost runner in to tie the game, leaving runners on the corners still with no one out.
Boone opted to walk the bases loaded rather than face Diaz. It worked at first but a weak Aranda chopper scored the winning run. The ball never left the infield and it didn’t matter.
Game over. And for anyone who’s watched the Yankees in extra innings on the road the past couple of years, there should be zero surprise. It’s like clockwork. They fail to do the little things, and they lose.
The Yankees try to avoid the sweep tomorrow in the series finale. Join us for all the coverage. First pitch is at 1:40pm Eastern and you better have your Schlitt together because super sophomore Cam Schlitter gets the start.
After an impressive spring and solid start to the season, it looked as if Kodai Senga was getting back to what made him such a dominant force for the Mets.
However, the ineffective Senga emerged in Saturday's 11-6 loss to the Athletics as the right-hander had his worst start as a major leaguer. Senga allowed a career-high seven runs on eight hits and two walks across 2.1 innings.
What plagued Senga was his lack of control, as only 40 of his 72 pitches went for strikes.
"The biggest thing is I wasn’t able to control many pitches near the strike zone or over the plate," Senga said of his outing through the team interpreter.
"He didn’t have much," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of Senga. "Starts with fastball command and he just didn’t have it. He kept going to that sinker to get back in counts or get a strike, but he didn’t have a feel for his pitches… Overall, just getting behind because the command wasn’t there."
Senga, who has become known for letting bad starts snowball on him, attributed his lack of control to a "slight" mechanical issue, but he felt great physically.
In spring and in his first two starts, Senga's fastball was in the high 90s. On Saturday, he was hovering around 93-94 mph. The Mets skipper acknowledged the dip in velocity, but when asked whether Senga was affected by having to pitch on regular rest, which Senga hasn't done consistently since coming to the majors, Mendoza pointed out the off day gave his starter an extra day of rest; he just didn't have it on Saturday.
And when velocity isn't there, location becomes more important and the lack of it played a big part in the game-altering third inning. With the Mets only down 2-1, Shea Langeliers doubled and Tyler Soderstrom homered to give the A's a 4-1 lead. Consecutive singles and a one-out home run by Carlos Cortes capped off the five-run inning and Senga's day.
In the second and third innings -- where all seven runs were scored -- Senga had to throw 54 combined pitches. He was asked if those long innings made it difficult to find a rhythm. Senga didn't use it as an excuse, but instead wants to learn from the start.
"I think it’s tough to have back-to-back innings with high pitch counts," Senga said. "Not every outing is going to be smooth sailing. Some outings are going to be tough. Probably going to have, in a long season, stuff like this is going to happen. I’m going to reflect on this the next time I go back out there so that it doesn’t happen again or it’s better the next time out.
"I didn’t feel like I was going to have a rough outing," Senga added. "I thought I felt good. A lot of unfortunate things came and didn’t stop. That’s how the outing went."
The Mets offense would awaken to cut the A's lead to just one run, but the bullpen couldn't hold down the Athletics long enough to complete the comeback as New York dropped their fourth game in a row. It was a shame considering Mets pitching has been very solid, and the offense hasn't pulled their weight. They pulled it on Saturday, but Senga put them too far behind the eight ball to pick up the win.
"Times like this, it’s important as a starting pitcher to get the team off on the right foot," Senga said. "I wasn’t able to do that today. It’s very regretful on that end."
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 10: Manager Craig Stammen #14 of the San Diego Padres talks with umpire Hunter Wendelstedt #21 during the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park on April 10, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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Craig Stammen admitted there would be a learning curve in his first year as manager of the San Diego Padres. The former reliever, who had not coached at any level before landing the job in San Diego this offseason, had a rough start to his tenure dropping to a 2-4 record after his first six games at Petco Park. The Padres took one game from the Detroit Tigers and one game from the San Francisco Giants and fans were already speaking in hushed tones about the decision to hire Stammen and whether he would see the end of the season.
San Diego went on the road and seemed to find its stride. The Padres flipped the record from the homestand and took both series, the first against the Boston Red Sox 2-1 and the second against the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1. San Diego returned home after a winning road trip and were the owners of a .500 record. The successful road trip calmed the fan base and propelled the Padres into their home series against the Colorado Rockies.
The 6-6 record to start the season put San Diego right where the Frair Faithful put Stammen’s managerial performance when Gaslamp Ball asked respondents to grade Stammen in this week’s Padres Reacts Survey – right in the middle.
It is unclear if the grade for Stammen would change after the Padres took the first two games of the series against the Rockies in walk-off fashion on back-to-back nights. But if the question was asked today prior to Stammen releasing his Game 3 lineup, which included Fernando Tatis Jr. playing second base he may have received a higher grade.
Time will tell if fans are too high or too low on Stammen the manager, but for now, they seem to have him and his performance pegged.
Jose Caballero gave the Yankees a late lead twice, but New York could not hold down the Rays in their 5-4 loss on Saturday evening at Tropicana Field.
In the 10th, and the Yankees up 4-3, the Rays played small ball. Back-to-back leadoff bunt singles pushed the tying run across before a one-out infield single by Jonathan Aranda gave Tampa the walk-off victory.
The loss extended the Yankees' losing streak to four games and they have now lost back-to-back series. All four losses were by a combined five runs.
Here are the takeaways...
-Despite the Yankees' struggles to score runs over the last few games, they were not having trouble producing baserunners and that was the case in the first inning. After a leadoff walk by Trent Grisham and a one-out single by Cody Bellinger -- and an eventual stolen base -- the Yankees' best hitter so far, Ben Rice, was up with runners on second and third with one out. The lefty swinging first baseman struck out looking before Giancarlo Stanton -- the team's second-best hitter so far -- smoked a line drive, but it was hit right at the left fielder to end the threat.
Austin Wells got the scoring started with a solo shot that went 396 feet over the right field wall for his first long ball of the season.
But the theme of the game was missed opportunities for the Yankees. Aside from the first inning, the Yankees had bases loaded with two outs for Stanton in the fifth. The slugger struck out to leave more runners on.
The Yankees would have another chance in the eighth after Stanton drew a one-out walk and Jazz Chisholm Jr. doubled to put runners at second and third for Wells. The Yankees' backstop popped out to shallow left field, leaving it up to the former Ray, Caballero. The struggling shortstop was hitless in his last 29 at-bats, but came through with a double that plated two and gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead.
-Max Fried was excellent and bounced back from his loss to the Marlins last Sunday.
After getting the lead, Fried allowed the tying run to score in the second when Jonny Deluca dunked a bloop single to score Junior Caminero -- who led off the inning with a double -- from third base. But after that hit, the Yankees southpaw set down eight straight batters to settle the game down. However, Tampa would take the lead in the sixth after an Aranda sac fly scored Taylor Walls from third. It could have been a bigger inning for the Rays if Bellinger hadn't come up with an impressive leaping grab at the wall that robbed Yandy Diaz of extra bases.
Diaz would get his revenge on Fried though. The Yankees southpaw pitched into the eighth inning and after allowing a leadoff double to Nick Fortes, Diaz hit a single, a chopper to first base that scored the speedy Chandler Simpson from third base to even up the score at 3-3.
Fried pitched eight innings (94 pitches/66 strikes), allowing three runs on six hits, no walks and striking out six.
-In the ninth, the Yankees would fail to come up with the big hit once again. Aaron Judge walked with one out and stole second base. He took third on a sac fly by Bellinger. The Rays intentionally walked Ben Rice to get to Randal Grichuk, who pinch-ran for Stanton earlier in the game. The outfielder would fly out to end the threat.
In the top of the 10th, and the ghost runner on third with two outs, Caballero came through again with a single to put the Yankees up. But the inability to put up big innings cost the Yankees who finished 2-for-12 with RISP and left 12 runners on base. In comparison, Tampa was 5-for-7 with RISP.
-One silver lining from the loss was the performance of the bottom of the order. The combination of Wells, Caballero and Ryan McMahon went 5-for-12 with four RBI.
Game MVP: Chandler Simpson
The speedy outfielder didn't start, but made his presence felt late. He scored the tying run in the eighth and the winning run in the 10th. He finished 1-for-1 with two runs and a stolen base.
With Kevin Lankinen named tonight's starting goaltender against the San Jose Sharks, the Vancouver Canucks have announced that goaltender Jiří Patera has been re-assigned to the AHL. During his most recent call-up, Patera did not end up playing in any games for Vancouver.
Patera was called up last week after Lankinen was ruled out of his team's matchup against the Utah Mammoth on home-ice. In his lone NHL start this season, Patera faced 40 shots but allowed seven goals against the Florida Panthers. In Abbotsford, he has registered a record of 11-14-4 with a 2.72 GAA and .907 SV%.
With Lankinen unavailable, Nikita Tolopilo has started in Vancouver's past four games. Despite some strong games, he has not won a game since March 12 against the Nashville Predators. Given that Lankinen is expected to start tonight, Tolopilo is likely to start in tomorrow's game against the Anaheim Ducks.
This is not the only roster move the Canucks have made today, as Vancouver called defenceman Kirill Kudryavtsev up from the AHL earlier this morning.
Vancouver will play the Sharks tonight at 7:00 pm PT, and the Ducks at 5:00 pm PT tomorrow. As of writing, Abbotsford is currently up 2-0 against the Calgary Wranglers, with their next game taking place next Saturday against the Ontario Reign.
Jan 19, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks goalie Jiri Patera (30) skates in warm up prior to a game against the New York Islanders at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 05: Lance McCullers Jr. #43 of the Houston Astros pitches against the Athletics during the bottom of the first inning at Sutter Health Park on April 05, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Scott Marshall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Houston Astros (6-8) are in Seattle (5-9) for the second game of a four-game series with the Mariners as they seek to end a five-game slide.
RHP Lance McCullers Jr. will be on the mound for the Astros opposite RHP Luis Castillo and the Mariners.
ABOUT MCCULLERS: RHP Lance McCullers Jr. is set to make his third start of the season.
In his last start on April 5 at ATH, he allowed three runs on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts in four innings.
He also tossed seven innings of one-run ball in his season debut on March 30 vs. BOS, which was his longest outing since Sept. 21, 2022 at TB, where he also went 7.0 innings. It was his first quality start and win since July 4, 2025 at LAD.
AGAINST THE MARINERS: The Astros and Mariners face each other tonight for the second of 13 scheduled matchups in 2026. The Astros went 5-8 against the Mariners in 2025, including 2-4 record at T-Mobile Park.
Houston owns a 132-98 all-time regular season record against Seattle. The Mariners will travel to Daikin Park for the first of two road trips to Houston from May 11-14 for a four-game series.
TUVE VS. THE MARINERS:2B Jose Altuve has hit .311 (242×779) with 48 doubles, 21 homers, 96 RBI and an .828 OPS in 191 career games against the Mariners. He already ranks third all-time in hits vs. SEA, trailing only Cal Ripken Jr. (261) and Michael Young (259), and ranks eighth all-time in games played vs. the Mariners.
ON THE MEND:LHP Bennett Sousa will begin a rehab assignment with Triple A Sugar Land tonight. He began the season on the Injured List due to a left oblique strain.
TODAY’S ROSTER MOVE: The Astros have optioned RHP J.P. France to Triple A Sugar Land. To take his place on the active roster, the Astros recalled RHP Jayden Murray.
IMAI UPDATE:RHP Tatsuya Imai flew back to Houston today for further evaluation due to right arm fatigue.
ROAD TRIP: Tonight is the eighth game of a 10game road trip for the Astros.
The Astros are 1-6 so far on this road trip.
Houston went 41-40 on the road last season.
Following this four-game series in Seattle, the Astros will face the Colorado Rockies for a three-game series at Daikin Park from April 14-16 .
LEAGUE LEADERS: The Astros lead the American League in runs (85), doubles (35), total bases (216), hits (130), walks (71), SLG (.449), OBP (.372) and OPS (.821).
Individually, LF Yordan Alvarez leads the AL in walks (14), OPS (1.266) and OBP (.516).
2B Jose Altuve ranks tied for first in the AL in runs (12) and 1B Christian Walker ranks second in the AL in doubles (6) and tied for second in RBI (13).
NO. 1000: C Christian Vázquez and 1B Christian Walker each appeared in their 1,000th career game last night vs. SEA.
Vázquez ranks third among active catchers in games, behind KC C Salvador Perez (1,721g) and PHI C J.T. Realmuto (1,383g).
Walker has played in games with Arizona (819g) Houston (168g) and Baltimore (13g).
MOVIN’ ON UP: LF Yordan Alvarez recorded his 175th career home run last night at SEA.
The home run moved into sole possession of seventh place on the Astros all-time home run list, passing franchise icon OF George Springer. Next up on the Astros all-time list is 3B Alex Bregman (191 HR).
TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 2016 – 2B Jose Altuve goes 3×4 with a walk, an RBI and three runs scored in an Astros 8-2 win over the Royals in Houston. This game is the first of a seven-game stretch for Altuve in which he hit .407 (11×27) with eight runs scored, three doubles, three home runs, seven RBI, and a 1.336 OPS en route to being named the AL’s Co-Player of the Week, an honor he shared with the Orioles RF Mark Trumbo.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Saturday, April 11, 8:40 p.m. CST
Location: T-Mobile Park, Seattle, WA
TV: Space City Home Network
Streaming: SCHN+
Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; KTRH 740 AM; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
Apr 10, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) in the dugout prior to the game against the Texas Rangers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Apr 11, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Luke Weaver (30) walks off the mound after giving up four runs in the eighth inning against the Athletics at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
The Mets managed to blast three home runs in their 11-6 loss Athletics, but they couldn’t overcome an early deficit and their recent skid is now up to four games.
Kodai Senga got the start and had the worst start of his young season so far. After the Mets had jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, Senga gave it right back when he gave up two runs in the second. The wheels really came off in the third when Senga gave up a two-run shot to Tyler Soderstrom and then a three-run home run to Carlos Cortes later in that same inning. Cortes’s home run ended Senga’s outing after just 2.1 innings pitched. Senga certainly did not have it on the mound, but he was not helped by his defense either. Francisco Lindor did not cover second on a potential double play ball, Marcus Semien and Mark Vientos both allowed infield hits, and Francisco Alvarez allowed a passed ball.
After Senga’s departure Huascar Brazobán, Brooks Raley, and the newly recalled Craig Kimbrel allowed the team to get back into it. Brazobán especially did the heavy lifting pitching 2.2 innings and settling things down at 7-1. The team started to chip away by hitting home runs in three straight innings. First it was Bo Bichette with a two-run home run, and then Francisco Alvarez and Jorge Polanco followed with solo home runs of their own. Brett Baty also added a sacrifice fly in the sixth and, after seven innings, the Mets pulled to within one. They did get runners on first and second after Polanco’s home run in the seventh but two fly outs by Carson Benge and Marcus Semien ended the rally.
Any hope of the team coming back ended in the top of the eighth when Luke Weaver gave up four backbreaking runs with two-outs. After a good start to the season, Weaver has struggled in his last two appearances. Thi is especially concerning given the state of the rotation right now. David Peterson and Kodai Senga struggled in their appearances and Clay Holmes was lifted with an injury in his last start, so the last thing this team needs is an unreliable bullpen.
Absolutely nothing is going right for the Mets right now, but at least the offense finally showed up. Hopefully they can continue hitting the ball in a winning effort sooner rather than later, since they are now under .500 for the season.
Big Mets winner: Bo Bichette, +24% WPA Big Mets loser: Kodai Senga, -45.0% WPA Mets pitchers: -62% WPA Mets hitters: +12% WPA Teh aw3s0mest play: Jorge Polanco’s home run in seventh, +14.5% WPA Teh sux0rest play: Shea Langeliers’s RBI single in the eighth inning, -12.0% WPA
