Guardians 6, Mariners 4
Opening Day festivities: Dominic Canzone, .23 WPA
Opening Day fartivities: Gabe Speier, -.31 WPA
Game thread comment of the day:
It was not the most fun Opening Day game, but always remember:
0-1: Chart
Kings Shutout Canucks For Bounce-Back Victory
After four straight losses, the Los Angeles Kings (29-25-18) got a much-needed win on Thursday, cruising past the Vancouver Canucks (21-42-8) 4-0. LA dominated Vancouver wire-to-wire from opening tap, outshooting the home team 32-12 in the first 40 minutes of regulation.
Los Angeles won 72.2% of its faceoffs while Vancouver won just 27.8%. The Kings also scored on a power-play goal tonight, going 1/2, and held the Canucks 0/2.
We'll take those ✌️#GoKingsGopic.twitter.com/yrg6aOOQVM
— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 27, 2026
After opening the first two minutes of the first period with a deflected shot by Scott Laughton that went inside the net, Los Angeles never looked back, outplaying the Canucks on both sides of the floor to bounce back and get closer to the playoff picture.
The game started fast with the Kings aggressive on offense, outshooting the Canucks 15-7 in the first period. Los Angeles would once again score the very early goal in the opening frame to hold onto a 1-0 lead.
LAK Goal - Kings open the scoring on the power play. Byfield shot, Laughton deflection, 1-0. Another important point for 55.
— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) March 27, 2026
The defense was great early on, despite Vancouver getting solid looks. Darcy Kuemper was great under the crease tonight, stopping all of the Canucks 19 shots that came at him.
In the second period, the Kings jumped out to a 3-0 lead, first scoring a goal two minutes into the period after Trevor Moore recovered Mikey Anderson's shot that was deflected on the way through.
It was another dominant period for Los Angeles, holding Vancouver to another single-digit shot period and outshooting their opponent 17-5, dominating on both offense and defense.
The next 17 minutes would be quiet, until the Kings won the faceoff and Artemi Panarin converted on the power play to give Los Angeles a commanding 3-0 lead on the 2-on-1 rush with 39 seconds left in the period.
LAK Goal - Artem-three Panarin!
— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) March 27, 2026
2-on-1 rush, backhanded shot, 3-0 Kings. Practice what you preach situation as the Kings go out and build on a lead.
Panarin finished the game with one goal and one point, bouncing back after putting up zeroes in the last game against the Calgary Flames.
It was the 30th time this season that Vancouver allowed multiple goals in the second period.
The final period was pretty much the same; Los Angeles held Vancouver scoreless for the remainder of the final frame, and the Kings scored in the last two minutes on an empty net goal to win the game.
FINAL - Kings 4, Canucks 0!
— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) March 27, 2026
A necessary two points in Vancouver. Kings now one point out of the final wild card spot in the West, heading back to LA to begin a seven-game homestand.
Key Stats
This was a dominating game for the Kings, but let's not overreact. It was against the Canucks, who are the worst team in the NHL, so Los Angeles won a game that they were supposed to get.
It's a good way, though, to bounce back against a struggling team and get back in the win column. Los Angeles now has 76 points and is one point behind Nashville for the final playoff spot and three points behind Vegas for the third seed in the Pacific Division.
Artemi Panarin was great, even though he finished with just one point and one goal; it's his fourth goal in the last five games and his 18th point in 16 games since being a King.
Quinton Byfield once again had a good game, coming around at the right time of the season, tallying one goal, one assist, and two points. Los Angeles is tough to beat whenever Byfield plays well.
Trevor Moore also had a great game, finishing with one goal, one assist, and two points, his second consecutive game with an assist and a point.
Darcy Kuemper was great tonight, defending the net, saving all 19 of the Canucks shots to earn his third shutout of the season.
The Kings will begin their crucial seven-game home stand Saturday, hosting the Utah Mammoth at 6:00 PM PT.
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Flames Fall 3-2 in OT as Ducks Complete Late Comeback
The Calgary Flames dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome. It marked the fourth time in the last five home games Calgary has gone beyond regulation.
The Flames came out flying, with a 3-on-0 rush in the opening minute, but a case of overpassing kept the game scoreless. Calgary thought it had opened the scoring shortly after, when Yegor Sharangovich snapped a shot past Ville Husso, but the goal was overturned following an offside challenge.
Calgary carried the play through much of the opening frame, outshooting Anaheim 11-8, but the game remained scoreless after 20 minutes.
The Flames broke through early in the second. Just 1:06 in, Joel Farabee picked up the puck off a line change and slid a pass to Blake Coleman, who drove the net and tipped it past Husso for his 17th of the season. Olli Maatta also picked up an assist. 1-0 Flames.
Anaheim answered quickly. At 3:07, Mikael Granlund walked into the slot and wired a shot into the top corner to tie the game 1-1 with an unassisted goal.
After a scoreless remainder of the period, the teams entered the third tied.
Calgary regained the lead midway through the third during a sustained offensive push. With a Ducks player down injured and unable to get back into the play, the Flames kept possession in the zone. Olli Maatta found Matvei Gridin, who ripped a shot past Husso for his fifth of the season at 7:46. Matt Coronato added the secondary assist. The helper gave Maatta nine points (1G, 8A) in 11 games since joining Calgary.
The Ducks pulled even again on the power play late in regulation. Granlund buried a rebound off a John Carlson point shot from a sharp angle at 16:27, tying the game 2-2 and setting the stage for overtime.
Calgary ran into trouble in the extra frame, taking its second too-many-men penalty of the night when Zayne Parekh stepped onto the ice early. The Ducks made them pay in the final second (4:59), as Granlund completed the hat trick, finishing a setup from Carlson with a high shot to seal the 3-2 win.
Three Takeaways:
Maatta producing offensively
Olli Maatta continues to make an impact at both ends of the ice, now with nine points (1G, 8A) in 11 games since joining the Flames.
Coronato staying consistent
Matt Coronato extended his point streak to four games (1G, 3A) and now has six points (2G, 4A) over his last six outings.
Sharangovich driving play
Yegor Sharangovich was heavily involved throughout the night. He had a goal overturned, hit a post, and drew a penalty in one of his more noticeable offensive performances despite not recording a point.
A broken marker and unbreakable resolve: Ben McCollum's 'insane' ride to Elite 8
HOUSTON — Three minutes into Iowa’s Sweet 16 game against Nebraska on Thursday night, a casualty occurred on the Hawkeyes’ sideline.
Iowa coach Ben McCollum, already red-cheeked and furious at his team’s passive start in a game they trailed by 10 points, snapped a dry erase marker into two pieces in the timeout huddle. Ink went everywhere.
“We called them into the huddle and just said very nicely, ‘I’d like you to play harder, guys,’ and that seemed to work,” McCollum quipped, before looking to his left where Hawkeyes guards Tate Sage and Bennett Stirtz sat trying and failing to contain their smiles.
“Am I right? That how that went?” McCollum asked his players.
“Yes,” Sage and Stirtz replied, nodding dutifully.
McCollum’s fiery disposition and ability to extract winning performances from his players have made Iowa’s first-year coach a fast-rising star in his profession. He was coaching in Division II two seasons ago, and on Thursday at Toyota Center helped the Hawkeyes author a thrilling comeback and advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987.
Iowa trailed Nebraska nearly the entire game until Stirtz, the senior guard who followed McCollum from Division II Northwest Missouri State to Drake and then to Iowa, drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:10 remaining.
“Hasn’t changed one bit,” Stirtz said of McCollum. “He’s been the same coach despite all the national attention and that’s why I respect him so much.”
On Saturday in the Elite Eight, Iowa will play an Illinois team coached by Brad Underwood, who started his career coaching at the junior college level.
The last time Iowa was in the Elite Eight, McCollum was a 6-year-old Hawkeyes fan living in Iowa City. He grew up attending Hawkeyes football and basketball games, but his own playing career began in junior college at North Iowa Area Community College. After two seasons, he transferred to play at Northwest Missouri State, where he began his coaching career. In 15 seasons coaching at his alma mater, McCollum won 83% of his games and led the Bearcats to four NCAA Division II national championships.
After McCollum’s one season at mid-major Drake, where he guided the Bulldogs to a program-record 31 wins, Iowa snatched him up. By comparison, coaching at Iowa feels “bougie,” as McCollum put it earlier this week.
“You gain confidence from being in Division II, because you don’t have noise,” McCollum said. “You’re making decisions, winning games and losing games, and there’s not a lot of noise there. And then also with that, when I get on a charter plane now, I certainly appreciate it, or when all these things are done for me, I appreciate it a little bit more, and that comes from that Division II and junior college background.”
McCollum doesn’t tolerate complacency, and he expects his players to behave the same way.
“I don’t like entitled players,” he said. “They just don’t work for me.”
Hawkeyes players are conditioned to expect the same pregame meal (chicken, pork chops, rice and a vegetable) and multiple fiery outbursts from their head coach during the game. Iowa’s student managers know that no inanimate object is safe in McCollum’s hands when he’s upset. McCollum plays bad cop and lets his assistant coaches play good cops.
McCollum relishes playing in front of opposing fans in a hostile road environment, and Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup in Houston felt like one. Before tip-off, chants of “Go Big Red!” overwhelmed the arena. A clarinet player in Nebraska’s band held up an iPad displaying a graphic that derided Iowa as “off-brand corn.”
What did McCollum actually tell the Hawkeyes in the huddle when he broke his marker?
“He was just telling us we sucked, and we were soft,” Stirtz revealed.
Stirtz has been by his coach’s side through it all, recruited by McCollum to play at Northwest Missouri State when he had no other college offers. The two of them have a fire-and-ice dynamic; whereas McCollum lets his emotions boil over, Stirtz stays cool and collected on the court.
“I think we’re opposites in a lot of ways, but the main thing that we have (in common) is how competitive we are,” Stirtz said. “That’s what brings us so close. We just want to win. Honestly, we also both think it’s more than just a basketball game, too. So that’s why we’re so close: This game’s never going to satisfy us, and we know that.”
Iowa is only the fifth No. 9 seed to advance to the Elite Eight since the tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Florida Atlantic was the last to do it in 2023, when the Owls made it to the Final Four.
The Hawkeyes went 10-1 in nonconference play this season but fell out of the Top 25 rankings in mid-January after three consecutive Big Ten Conference losses – including two to ranked Illinois and Purdue teams. But the season was an exercise in stacking habits and building consistency, all leading to where they are now.
McCollum is a big fan of the saying, “Everybody arrives when they’re supposed to,” and Iowa’s Sweet 16 victory exemplified that. Junior forward Alvaro Folgueiras, who made the game-winning basket for the Hawkeyes to take down No. 1 seed Florida in the second round, tied the score with five minutes left and scored five of Iowa’s final 12 points against Nebraska. Sage and redshirt freshman Cooper Koch made clutch 3-pointers down the stretch. Stirtz, a national awards candidate and the Hawkeyes’ leading scorer, never wavered.
Stirtz has played every minute of the NCAA Tournament for Iowa so far. Against Nebraska, he led the Hawkeyes with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting.
“In 20 years it will be an insane story,” McCollum said. “A guy that goes from D-II with his coach and then goes to Drake and then goes to University of Iowa and actually makes it further in the tournament in Division I than he did in Division II. Yeah, I mean, obviously there's a close relationship there.”
It’s an insane story right now, but McCollum and the Hawkeyes won’t be ready to fully reflect until its conclusion.
“I's been a hell of a ride,” McCollum said, “but it's far from over.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ben McCollum's incredible journey from Division II to NCAA Elite 8
Oklahoma City Comets preliminary 2026 roster
The Oklahoma City Comets, the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, unveiled their initial roster on Thursday, with opening day set for Friday night in Oklahoma City against the Albuquerque Isotopes, a Rockies’ farm team.
Among the 43 players on the Dodgers 40-man roster, 10 are on the injured list (three on the 60-day IL, which expands this list to 43), and 26 are active in the majors. Six of the seven remaining 40-man players for the Comets.
River Ryan is the only unaccounted 40-man player not on the preliminary Oklahoma City roster, but he could join them soon. Ryan is slated to pitch this weekend in Arizona, Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic reported Thursday.
Hyeseong Kim lost out to Alex Freeland for a spot on the opening day roster, with the Dodgers wanting Kim to split time between second base, shortstop, and center field in Triple-A.
“There’s no doubt that Hyeseong at some point is going to come help us out. I think the driver, as far as at the outset, is giving Hyeseong an opportunity to play every day, play all over the diamond,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday.
Kyle Hurt is among the relievers. After an impressive spring training, the Dodgers opted to slow-play the right-hander missed all of last season after Tommy John surgery. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him get called up as a need arises in the majors.
Paul Gervase also impressed in spring, and left-hander Ronan Kopp is in his first year on the 40-man roster. Expect a lot of strikeouts from that pair.
Ryan Ward is also on the 40-man roster for the first time, but he returns to Oklahoma City, where the reigning Pacific Coast League MVP he holds several club records in the Bricktown era, a period since the current ballpark opened in 1998. Michael Siani will patrol the outfield for the Comets, likely flanked by Zach Ehrhard and/or James Tibbs.
Ehrhard and Tibbs, acquired from the Boston Red Sox for Dustin May last July, impressed as non-roster invitees in camp and as the older and more experienced of the plethora of stellar Dodgers outfield prospects are the closest to the majors among the group.
Jack Suwinski was briefly on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster this offseason, as was utility man Ryan Fitzgerald, who will likely play all over the infield and potentially some outfield for the Comets. Defensive whiz Noah Miller will play shortstop for Oklahoma City, whose infield also has Nick Senzel and Ryan Fitgerald, all of whom were non-roster invitees this spring for the Dodgers.
Veteran pitchers Cole Irvin and Keynan Middleton are on the Comets’ staff. Other Oklahoma City pitchers with major league experience are River’s brother Ryder Ryan, Garrett McDaniels, and Carlos Duran (pitched one game for the Athletics last season).
Irvin and Ryder Ryan will start the first two games, followed by Christian Romero on Sunday, per play-by-play broadcaster Alex Freedman.
Left-hander Antoine Kelly and right-hander Chris Campos, who were the last two non-roster pitchers standing in Dodgers camp this spring, each are on the Comets preliminary roster. left-hander Logan Allen, who signed a minor league contract last week, is also with Oklahoma City.
Pitcher José Rodríguez, who was touted as a potential Rule 5 Draft pick last December but went unselected, was a non-roster invitee this spring training but did not pitch. He starts the season on the 60-day injured list, as does veteran first baseman Matt Gorski.
Oklahoma City preliminary roster
- Starting pitchers (4): Cole Irvin, Ryder Ryan, Cristian Romero, Carlos Duran
- Right-handed relievers (8): Kyle Hurt*, Paul Gervase*, Chris Campos, Keynan Middleton, Jordan Weems, Wyatt Mills, Antonio Knowles, Jerming Rosario
- Left-handed relievers (4): Ronan Kopp*, Antoine Kelly, Logan Allen Garrett McDaniels
- Catchers (2): Eliézer Alfonzo, Seby Zavala
- Infielders (4): Ryan Fitzgerald, Noah Miller, Nick Senzel, Austin Gauthier
- Outfielders (4): Michael Siani*, Ryan Ward*, Jack Suwinski, Zach Ehrhard
- Infielder/outfielders (2): Hyeseong Kim*, James Tibbs III
- Injured list (2): rhp José Rodríguez (60-day), 1b Matt Gorski (60-day)
The Comets will finalize the roster before Friday’s season opener.
Knicks bench Karl-Anthony Towns in favor of Mitchell Robinson down stretch of loss
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As the Knicks were getting pounded on the glass and by Charlotte’s pick-and-rolls, coach Mike Brown again left Karl-Anthony Towns on the bench.
It was the second straight game the All-Star center didn’t close, with Mitchell Robinson getting more minutes in Thursday’s 114-103 loss to the Hornets.
“I just do my best to cheer for my teammates,” Towns, who played just 22 minutes with 13 points on eight shot attempts, said, “and whenever my number is called, be the best version of myself for my team.”
Brown said the rebounding element — the Knicks lost the board battle 43-24 — was “part” of the reason he turned to Robinson.
The other part?
“I just thought when we had Mitch in there with certain guys, we were able to match their physicality,” Brown said. “And we made a run. But we were down 20 at that time. And versus a good team on the road, that’s tough to do.”
Towns was subbed out with eight minutes remaining and the Knicks trailing by 21.
They cut the Hornets’ lead to 10 with two minutes left but it was too late.
Robinson finished with 26 minutes and six rebounds.
The Knicks outscored the Hornets by eight points when he was on the court.
It was the first time Robinson played more minutes than Towns when they both were available.
Two nights earlier, Towns was benched down the stretch because the Knicks went with a small lineup in a victory over the Pelicans.
As the NBA continues to deal with its load management problem and battles the players union over its 65-game rule for postseason awards eligibility, Towns said it’s a point of pride that he suits up regularly.
“I damn sure haven’t felt my best all year, all day. But I want to play. I love playing,” he said. “I do believe in the philosophy that there may, especially at MSG with how expensive the tickets are, there may be a family or a young kid who has saved up all his money to watch me play that one night, and for me not to be available would be disrespectful to that kid and to that family. As long as I can play, I’m going to be out there playing, hopefully give that kid a show.”
Towns has missed just four games this season and is on pace for his most appearances since at least the 2018-19 campaign.
He’s also surpassed the NBA’s 65-game threshold, which became a point of contention with the players union after Cade Cunningham was deemed ineligible after suffering a season-ending collapsed lung.
“We’ll step back and take a look at it, and we’ll see what we can do to help everyone and make it a compromise where the fans know that we’re trying to play and also the players are taken care of,” said Towns, who is a VP of the players union.
Granlund caps hat trick with OT winner as Ducks defeat Flames 3-2
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Mikael Granlund capped off his hat trick scoring on the power play with 1 second remaining in overtime on Thursday night to give the Anaheim Ducks a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames.
Granlund has seven goals during a four-game goal streak that has him up to 19 on the season as Anaheim extended its winning streak to four games.
The Pacific Division-leading Ducks opened the night with a five-point cushion on the Edmonton Oilers and a six-point lead on the Vegas Golden Knights.
Rookie Matvei Gridin and Blake Coleman scored for Calgary, which extended its point streak to five games (4-0-1). Gridin stretched his point streak to four games (one goal, three assists).
Ville Husso, who made 23 saves, improved to 9-7-1.
Devin Cooley, who had 30 stops, fell to 9-10-4.
The game got off to an inauspicious start for the Flames. First, Pavel Mintyukov’s turnover in the opening minute of the game resulted in a 3-on-0 breakaway for Calgary but Gridin, Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato over-passed it and never got a shot on goal.
Three minutes later, it appeared that Yegor Sharangovich had given Calgary the lead, but Anaheim challenged for offside and the goal was overturned. It was the fifth goal the Flames have had waved off by video review during its homestand.
Calgary eventually took the lead on Coleman’s goal 1:06 into the second period when he redirected Joel Farabee’s pass inside the post. But Granlund tied it on an unassisted goal two minutes later.
The Ducks lost two defensemen to injury. Radko Gudas (lower body) left the game late in the second period and Mintyukov got hurt when he took a shot from Olli Maatta high in his chest in the third.
Up next
Ducks: Visit the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
Flames: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
Andy Pages’ 3-run shot sparks Dodgers’ 8-2 comeback win over the Diamondbacks in season opener
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Andy Pages hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the fifth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied past the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-2 on Thursday, opening the season with a victory in pursuit of their third consecutive World Series championship.
Three of the Dodgers’ first four hits in the fifth off Zac Gallen came with two strikes. Max Muncy singled, Teoscar Hernández reached on an infield single to Gallen, Pages’ homer traveled 400 feet and Miguel Rojas singled. Shohei Ohtani drew a walk to chase Gallen, who began the game with four shutout innings and a 2-0 lead.
Juan Morillo came on and got two quick outs. But he walked Freddie Freeman and gave up an infield single to Will Smith. First baseman Carlos Santana dived toward the foul line and stopped the ball before bobbling it, allowing Rojas to score from third and extend the Dodgers’ lead to 4-2.
Pages made a sparkling defensive play in center leading off the seventh. He chased a fly ball from Geraldo Perdomo, diving and landing on his belly to make the catch.
The Dodgers tacked on four more runs in the seventh off reliever Taylor Clarke. Kyle Tucker got his first hit and first RBI in his debut. The $240 million right fielder doubled in Ohtani, who was hit by Clarke, and then scored on Mookie Betts’ single. Smith had a two-run homer, making it 8-2.
Arizona led 2-0 on Perdomo’s two-run homer off World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-0) in the fourth. Corbin Carroll singled leading off and Perdomo followed with a two-strike shot.
Yamamoto allowed two runs and five hits in six innings while striking out six.
Gallen (0-1) gave up a leadoff single to Ohtani in the first and a one-out walk to Muncy in the second. The Dodgers didn’t have another runner until the fifth. Gallen allowed four runs and four hits in four innings, struck out two and walked two.
Up Next
D-backs RHP Ryne Nelson (7-3, 3.39 ERA) starts the middle game of the series Friday against Dodgers RHP Emmet Sheehan (6-3, 2.82).
Houston Rockets vs. Memphis Grizzlies game preview
I hate to be the “I told you so” guy (he said, lying), but this was my last line for the Minnesota preview.
It all adds up to a crushing loss to an undermanned team on national television tonight. It’s the death knell for this iteration of the Houston Rockets.
Again, that was before Houston blew a 13-point lead in under three minutes in the biggest OT chokejob since the play-by-play era started. And at first, I figured I was completely done watching this team. I believe “[expletive] basketball” came out of my mouth several times Wednesday night and Thursday morning, but I think I’ve gone through the stages of grief and have accepted…acceptance.
Anyone who has watched the 2025-26 Rockets has seen their fair share of blown leads. Off the top of my head, I can think of five games where Houston held what felt like a commanding lead only to lose (at New Orleans, at Sacramento, at New York, at Minnesota). Houston is also 1-7 in overtime games, and I’m not convinced they deserved to beat Orlando in their lone win. They’ve also lost several games where the energy, effort level, and focus were not good enough to beat anyone (at San Antonio twice, at Denver, at Utah, at Portland, at Dallas twice, at the Clippers, at Sacramento the other time, vs. Boston, vs. Charlotte, at Chicago). It’s felt like every one of Houston’s losses has been devastating in one way or another. Either they put forth a pitiful amount of effort or they blow a big lead.
And yet, the Rockets still have only dropped three straight games once this season. That included the two Portland games in Oregon and the Sacramento game wher Houston got blown out. Houston has bounced back from bad losses but have never used those wins to start a streak of their own. Houston’s longest win streaks this season has been five games, twice. Since the calendar turned to January, their longest streak is three wins.
You know all of this. You’ve been watching.
So the question tonight is: how do the Rockets bounce back from a collapse that even the Choke City Rockets didn’t accomplish? The season is, and has been, over already for a few months. But how the Rockets respond tonight against an undermanned tanking Memphis Grizzlies squad is going to be incredibly telling for the future direction of the franchise. If they come out feeling sorry for themselves, the narrative will be that Ime Udoka has lost the locker room, something we haven’t heard yet despite fan outcry. But if Houston comes out and handles the young Grizz, maybe Udoka still has a hold on this team and can get them moving in the right direction. Anything for Houston fans to grab onto heading into a likely 4-0 or 4-1 drubbing in the first round of the playoffs. We’re desperate.
Of course, it’s the hope that kills you.
Tip-off
7pm CT
How To Watch
Space City Home Network
Injury Report
Rockets
Steven Adams: OUT
Fred VanVleet: OUT
Grizzlies
Ja Morant: OUT
Zach Edey: OUT
Jaylen Wells: OUT
Ty Jerome: OUT
Jahmai Mashack: GTD
The Line (as of this post)
Hou -12.5
Check here for updates
Looking ahead because we can
Sunday night on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans
Braves News: Opening Day, BravesVision deal, and more
Happy Opening Day, Braves Country! During Thursday’s presser, Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss informed the media that Drake Baldwin would be in the Opening Day lineup, but not behind the dish. Instead, Baldwin will be in the DH role while Jonah Heim is behind the plate.
It’s a pretty interesting way to roll things out. The Braves still get Baldwin’s bat but don’t have to throw him straight into catching duties on day one. At the same time, Heim gives them a nice presence behind the plate, which should help the pitching staff settle in early. It feels like a simple way to get the best of both worlds from the jump.
Weiss gave a few other hints at how the lineup would shape up, like Ronald Acuña Jr. and Mike Yastrzemski’s roles. The Braves kick off the 2026 campaign Friday evening with a matchup against the Kansas City Royals.
More Braves News:
The Braves reached a deal with Xfinity that will broadcast BravesVision, beginning today, March 27.
MLB News:
New York Mets non-roster outfielder Mike Tauchman will miss six weeks after undergoing meniscus surgery.
Nico Hoerner and the Chicago Cubs agreed to a six-year extension. The financials of the contract have not been announced.
The New York Mets and outfielder Tommy Pham agreed to a minor league deal. Should he be selected to the majors, he will earn a prorated salary of $2.25M.
The Milwaukee Brewers placed outfielder Jackson Chourio on the 10-day injured list due to a fracture in his left hand. He is expected to return in two to four weeks.
Plaschke: Seeing double: Dodgers celebrate titles on a sparkling opening day
There were fireworks, there was a flyover, there was Will Ferrell screaming and Keith Williams Jr. crooning and four months of cheers unleashed by fans wearing championship belts and howling grins.
But the real stars of Thursday’s Dodger opening day show never made a sound.
They arrived silently at the end of the pregame ceremony, carefully held by two of the men who helped win them, lifted high for all those who so passionately longed for them.
They were the last two Commissioner’s Trophies, the back-to-back World Series championship trophies, the two symbols of the Dodgers domination held side by side in the afternoon sun.
Man, it was beautiful. Goodness, how they sparkled. Incredible, how they glowed.
Read more:Miguel Rojas cherishes final opening day as 'Uncle Miggy' in Dodgers' win over Arizona
It was almost as if they were powered by some electrical force, some sort of championship current running between them, lighting them up with a blinding power curated by the battered fingers of the two veterans who touched them.
Freddie Freeman, whose grand slam doomed the New York Yankees, held the 2024 trophy. Miguel Rojas, whose home run stunned the Toronto Blue Jays, held the 2025 trophy.
Together they brought the trophies to the dugout from center field while riding in the back of a blue convertible driven by Ferrell as part of an elaborate video skit.
It was the first time many had seen the hardware side by side, and, amid audible gasps, their power was unmistakable. The greatness of the Dodgers accomplishment came to life on a day when their new task became equally clear.
“Three-peat!” screamed one of the pregame musicians.
Welcome, Dodgers, to 2026.
While manager Dave Roberts downplayed the three-peat talk before the opening 8-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, you know it’s here, it’s there, it’s everywhere.
“At this moment, very minimal,” said Roberts when asked about the pressure. “...So yeah, hopefully we can keep that to a minimum throughout the season. But yeah, there’s obviously going to be a lot of talk about it.”
Thursday did nothing to dampen that talk. It was as if last season’s Game 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays was still being played. The Dodgers behaved like the exact same team with some of the same heroes.
The winning pitcher? Once again, it was Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who threw six solid innings with six strikeouts and no walks.
The game-changing play? Once again, it was Andy Pages, whose three-run home run in the fifth inning gave the Dodgers a lead they never lost.
The final big blow? Yep, Will Smith, whose two-run homer in the seventh inning clinched it.
There was even a World Series star coming out of the bullpen, new cult hero Will Klein entering the game to the night’s loudest ovation and throwing a scoreless inning.
It’s as if the Dodgers have been on the same roll for four months…with no signs of slowing. This could be crazy. This already is crazy.
Other than the cool trophies and the Diamondbacks trampling, the most notable show Thursday was unwittingly staged by Dodger Stadium itself.
Your dutiful correspondent’s first impression of his favorite place on earth upon returning here for his 37th home opener wasn’t about the deep green or brilliant blue or enduring mountainscape.
It was, when did this place become Las Vegas?
Illuminated by the new grotesquely red Uniqlo Field billboard hanging high above center field, the stadium appears to have been transformed into something straight from NASCAR, advertisements filling every nook and cranny of the pavilion and beyond. There are giant billboards above the bullpens. There are scribbled ads on the bullpen walls. There are screaming displays for beer, soda and healthcare, the latter of which you will need if you heed too many of these ads.
The incessant sales pitches are buffeted by the usual deafening pounding music, which makes Vin Scully Avenue seem like Las Vegas Boulevard.
Was it always like this? It doesn’t seem like it. The Dodgers have always been relentless billboard salesmen, but since the arrival of Shohei Ohtani, they’ve become a global attraction with seemingly every major company on earth willing to pay for a piece of their success.
Fans will probably notice that the biggest difference this year is the $125-million sponsorship deal with Uniqlo, a Japanese apparel company that bought center field. Chavez Ravine is now officially known as Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium and, yeah, on Thursday it was awful hearing public address announcer Todd Leitz introduce it like that.
Not to worry, nobody in their right mind is ever going to call it that. Nonetheless, the whole atmosphere was weird and unsettling.
Still, it’s hard to blame the Dodgers. They’ve spent gobs of money building a two-time defending champion, and those bucks have got to come from somewhere.
You want Kyle Tucker? Live with the beer ad. You want a $1 billion rotation? Deal with the bank ad.
Unlike many other teams that have made baseball a haven for cheapskates, the Dodgers invest much of their revenue back into the roster.
It’s not always pretty. It can be loud and distracting and obnoxious. But it works.
As night fell on a blessed blue Thursday, the Dodgers had won their eighth straight home opener. They did it with pitching, hitting, depth, and two of the prettiest pieces of jewelry you’ve ever seen.
It was a day to celebrate the completion of the most incredible two-year journey in franchise history.
It was also a day to realize that the journey has just begun.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Mariners Opening Day Game Thread 2
Apologies for the late thread, I went out to say hi to staffers John and Isabelle who are in attendance at the game tonight. Luke Raley hit that game-tying nuke just as I got up so maybe now that I’m sitting down again we can have another, this time a go-ahead one.
Opening Day! Dodgers 8, Dbacks 2
I want to start this recap by saying how grateful I am to be back for another season of Arizona Diamondbacks baseball with all of you. Today brought back all those familiar feelings from my childhood. Opening Day is always the best day of the year—a fresh wave of hope and optimism, the first sign of the dog days of summer ahead, and a welcome reunion with the friends we share this team with.
For D-backs fans, though, this nationally televised Opening Day felt more like a Dodgers home broadcast. Through the first three innings, we witnessed a classic pitchers’ duel between Zac Gallen and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The two matched each other inning for inning, with Gallen actually holding a slight edge in pitch count and efficiency.
The highlight for Arizona came in the top of the fourth, when last season’s team MVP Geraldo Perdomo launched a two-run homer to put the D-backs up 2-0. Sadly, the national announcers were so focused on the Dodgers that they sounded almost surprised by the blast—and the broadcast barely captured it, with just one replay and a poor camera angle.
The momentum shifted in the bottom of the fifth. With a lead in hand, Gallen hung a knuckle curve to the Dodgers’ eighth-hole hitter, Andy Pages, who crushed a three-run homer to give Los Angeles a 3-2 advantage. It was an all-too-familiar scene for Gallen on Opening Day. As Jesse Friedman of Snakes Territory pointed out, Gallen posted the exact same line last year: four innings pitched and four earned runs allowed.
That one pitch aside, Gallen actually looked quite sharp, showing excellent command of his four-seamer and generating good downward movement on his hard cutter/slider. It was a frustrating end to what had been a solid start.
Once the Dodgers took the lead, the game quickly became all LA. Torey Lovullo turned to much of his high-leverage bullpen early, but the Dodgers kept piling on runs. One of the D-backs’ key bullpen additions this offseason, Taylor Clark, had a rough introduction in the seventh, surrendering four earned runs while recording just one out. It was far from the debut the front office or Clark had hoped for, and it raised early questions about the 2026 bullpen.
After the Dodgers blew the game open, Arizona’s offense went completely quiet. Dodgers relievers retired 18 of the final 19 D-backs batters—a stark tale of two very different bullpens.
On the bright side, Jordan Lawlar had an encouraging debut to the 2026 season. He ripped a big double in his first at-bat and later made a spectacular highlight-reel catch in left field, crashing into the wall in the seventh inning. After a slow start to his 2025 campaign, this was exactly the kind of confident beginning the young infielder—and the team—needed.
It was also nice to see newcomer Nolan Arenado pick up his first hit in a D-backs uniform in the seventh. Here’s hoping it’s the start of a strong offensive rebound for the veteran. He also made a couple of great plays at the hot corner highlighting his defensive value early on in the season.
At the end of the day, it’s simply great to have meaningful baseball back. Opening Day remains a highlight of the year for so many of us. Unfortunately, today carried some echoes of last season: the D-backs looked competitive against one of the game’s top teams for about half the game, only for the bullpen to let things slip away and the contest to get out of reach.
What did you guys think of the start to the season?
MacKinnon inches closer to 50-goal mark as Avalanche defeat Jets 3-2
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored his 47th and 48th goals of the season to propel the Colorado Avalanche to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.
Jack Drury scored his career-high ninth goal of the season for the NHL-leading Avalanche, who ended a four-game road trip with a 4-0-0 record. Artturi Lehkonen added an assist in his return after missing 11 games with an upper-body injury.
Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 22 shots for Colorado.
Mark Scheifele scored twice and leads the Jets with 34 goals.
Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves.
Scheifele set a career-high in points when his pair of goals gave him 88 points.
Colorado entered the game ranked 27th on the power play, but made good on a big opportunity. Six seconds after a 38-second two-man advantage expired, MacKinnon scored 13 seconds into the third to break the 1-1 tie with the power-play tally. He added his second goal at 3:55.
The Jets challenged MacKinnon’s second goal for goaltender interference, but it stood and gave Colorado a 3-1 lead early in the third.
Up next
The Jets begin a four-game road trip with a rematch in Colorado on Saturday.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Pair Of Controversial Penalty Calls Cost Nashville Predators Win To Devils | Recap
A pair of calls on the Nashville Predators down the stretch proved costly in a 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena.
Halfway through the third period, Fedor Svechkov was called for tripping on Jack Hughes, seeing Svechkov partially make contact with Hughes on a poke check.
While that was killed, Matthew Wood was later called for tripping on Evgenii Dadonov, another call that was heavily disputed by the Predators.
Western Conference Wild Card Standings
- WC1: Utah Mammoth - 80 PTS (vs. Washington)
- WC2: Nashville Predators - 77 PTS (vs. New Jersey, L 4-2)
- 1. Seattle Kraken - 74 PTS (vs. Tampa, W 4-3 OT)
- 2. Los Angeles Kings - 74 PTS (vs. Vancouver)
- 3. Winnipeg Jets - 72 PTS (vs. Colorado, L 3-2)
- 4. San Jose Sharks - 71 PTS (vs. St. Louis, L 2-1 OT)
Nico Hischier tipped in a shot from Jack Hughes on the power play to give the Devils the go-ahead goal. Timo Meier added an empty net goal in the final minute to ensure the win.
"It's frustrating and it pisses me off a little bit the way that the game ended on that power play goal," Steven Stamkos said. "It's tough. The refs call what they see, no matter how much we yell and scream, then they're not changing the call once it's made."
Stamkos did add that it was known in advance that the Devils wouldn't give the Predators much to work with on penalties. New Jersey is the least-penalized team in the NHL, with 506 total minutes, and ranks 13th in the league on the power play.
Nashville got one power play out of the Devils on a Jonas Siegenthaler tripping call; however, it was unable to convert on the man advantage.
"Jersey doesn't take a lot of penalties. We knew that before the game," Stamko said. "We are not gonna get a three, four, five power place. We couldn't afford to take three or four ourselves. We took two, they took one. It just sucks to miss out on at least a point in those situations."
The Predators fell into a 2-0 hole early, with Jesper Bratt and Hischier scoring.
Reid Schaefer found the back of the net on a breakaway in the second period to get the Predators on the board. It was his sixth goal of the season.
Stamkos tied the game later in the frame, getting the puck from Luke Evangelista off a steal and scoring on the backhand to tie the game.
On the empty net goal by the Devils, Evangelista made the save of the primary shot, but couldn't find the puck as it had dropped inbetween his legs. Eventually, Meier got to the loose puck and poked it in.
Nashville was outshot 30-18 and lost 65% of total face-offs. Late penalties by Stamkos and Evangelista saw the Predators officially commit 26 PIM to New Jersey's two.
"They (the officials) call what they see, and we deal with it. Unfortunately, it probably affected the outcome of the game," Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. "We left it up to chance, and when you leave it up to chance, there's gonna be nights like this."