MLB Trade Rumors | Anthony Franco: We’re still a bit of a ways off from the Trade Deadline and the season leading up to it, but a picture is starting to be painted in regards to what the Yankees might do. Reports have the Yankees looking at relievers and catching options most notably.
MLB.com | Clark Fahrenthold: The phrase “there’s no such thing as a pitching prospect,” isn’t meant to be taken literally, as much as it is to get across that so much can go wrong for even the most “can’t miss” young pitchers. However, you can still get excited by them, and Carlos Lagrange is an exciting one. While he still has to put things all together, Lagrange has had the raw “stuff” for a while now, and he’s turning heads down in Triple-A.
New York Post | Greg Joyce: The Yankees’ roster as currently made up contains quite a number of left-handed hitters. Now while they do have quite a very good right-handed hitter in Aaron Judge, the only other currently righty regulars are José Caballero, and Paul Goldschmidt. That’s why the Yankees believe that Giancarlo Stanton’s eventual return to the lineup will be a massive plus, even if he had gotten off to a slow start prior to his injury.
Undermanned side upsets finals-bound ACT Brumbies 21-19
Players come together to mark victory and club’s expected demise
An undermanned Moana Pasifika have capped off their potential final match with a stirring victory, upsetting the finals-bound ACT Brumbies 21-19.
But there were mixed feelings as players celebrated a rare win before coming together with staff to mark the occasion of the club’s farewell game and expected demise with an emotionally charged hymn.
A drunken lifeguard. A laptop with no disk space. A millenial regularly buying and consuming avocado toast. The San Francisco Giants bullpen.
What do they have in common? They’re not good at saving.
That was the case Friday night at Coors Field, where the Colorado Rockies hit two home runs and scored five runs off Caleb Killian (1-3) in the bottom of the 9th inning, sending the Giants to their fourth straight loss and their eighth loss in their last 10 games.
Hunter Goodman hit a three-run homer to tie the game. Then with two outs, Ezequiel Tovar finished the shot with a two-run shot to left that gave Colorado an 8-6 victory and prompted the Rockies social media department to quote a song from “The Lizzie Maguire Movie,” which is about Lizzie Maguire traveling to Italy and meeting a pop star who looks exactly like her — a plot point only slightly more improbable than this Giants loss.
Just a note: That film pre-dated Hannah Montana, a series where Miley Cyrus leads a double life as a regular teenager and a famous pop star, but no one notices because she wears a blonde wig. Also for some reason, Haylie Duff does the singing for her sister’s Italian doppelganger.
Was that a digression? Sure, but isn’t it better than talking about the 2026 Giants?
Perhaps the Giants should have been more wary of a clutch two-run homer from Tovar, considering he did it one inning earlier to pull the Rockies to a 4-3 deficit in the 8th. Tovar hit it off Keaton Winn and the official 441-foot measurement honestly seems low.
How did the Giants get enough of a lead to set up their epic bullpen collapse? Logan Webb returned from the IL and fought his way through 4 1/3 innings that included three hits, three walks, a hit-by-pitch, and surrendering a steal of home on a Little League-caliber trick play.
But the Giants still held a 3-1 lead after five innings, even after SF nemesis Goodman (2-for-4, 3 RBI, BB) doubled the pitch-hit Tyler Freeman to third and Jung Hoo Lee, also fresh off the IL, made a very creative catch in right field.
You know who else is bad at saving? People not lucky enough to join the Safeway Select Club.
The Giants got on the board when DH Bryce Eldridge (1-for-1, two walks and a sac fly) doubled in the third and scored on a Willy Adames sac fly. They took the lead in the third with two walks, a Daniel Susac sacrifice fly, a single from Lee (4-for-5, two runs) and an RBI single from Harrison Bader.
The Giants scored three runs on sacrifice flies and another when Lee scored from second on Bader’s single, and not one player was thrown out at home plate. Welcome back to the third base coaching box, Ron Wotus!
Like the outs at home plate, the Giants also solved their season-long aversion to insurance runs Friday night. Lee doubled and Eldridge drove him home to make it 4-1 in the 8th. In the 9th, the Giants made it 6-3 after Rafeal Devers tripled home Luis Arraez, and Matt Chapman followed with an RBI single.
That missionary who tried to convert the tribespeople of North Sentinel Island, that guy was really bad at saves.
But a three-run lead wasn’t enough at Coors Field. Killian allowed an infield single to himself to start the 9th. Freeman singled and Goodman hit a Carlton Fisk-esque bomb to left field that just barely stayed fair. The umpires reviewed the play and confirmed the home run, which Goodman appreciated because he was “pretty gassed.”
That was Goodman’s fifth career home run against the Giants and his 24th-26th RBIs, which is 11 more than he has against any other team. He’s also slugging .591 against the Giants and he may have advised the Giants to buy the Curran Theatre in the offseason.
Jose Mejia (1-4) got his first win of the season and did not deserve it one bit after giving up two runs and three hits in the 9th, while also hitting a batter. Tovar ended up doubling his 2026 home run total in two at-bats, having gone deep twice in his first 202 trips to the plate this season before duplicating that feat after the 7th inning.
We should note that Tovar’s walkoff didn’t just give the Rockies a win. It gave the Rockies fans discounted tacos. At participating Denver-area Taco Bells, four crispy tacos can be had for just $3 from 4-6 PM tomorrow night. Just a warning — fans still have to pay for their own toilet paper after that promotion gives them diarrhea.
Saturday night Adrian Hauser takes the mound for the Giants as they face right-hander Ryan Feltner, who is coming off the injured list. He’ll probably throw a no-hitter.
The Cup Winners’ Cup would become a victim of the Champions League’s expansion in the late 1990s, but there could be no questioning the quality of the competition when Arsenal won it in the 1993-94 season. Real Madrid, Ajax, Parma, Torino, Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain stood in Arsenal’s way as they tried to win their first European trophy since the Fairs Cup in 1970.
The first round was far from encouraging. Arsenal limped past Danish club Odense 3-2 on aggregate. But the 10-0 demolition of Standard Liège – including a 7-0 win in Belgium – took George Graham’s side into a testing quarter-final against Torino.
SAN ANTONIO, TX -MAY 28: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives against Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs in the second half of Game Six of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Frost Bank Center on May 28, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A hard-fought Western Conference Finals will culminate in a Game Seven between two of the best teams in the NBA. The San Antonio Spurs will venture to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder after a dominant 118-91 win in Game Six. It will be the biggest game of many of the young Spurs’ careers.
The Spurs took down the defending champions in Game Six thanks to an elite defensive performance. That same level of shut-down defense has been hard to come by on the road in this series. San Antonio will need to bring the same level of aggression and attention to defensive detail they’ve had at home to the sea of blue in OKC.
It all starts with Victor Wembanyama, who has been up and down in the series. When Wembanyama dominates, the Spurs do too. Oklahoma City has done whatever they can to slow down the 7-foot-4 alien. It’s on Wembanyama and the Spurs to find a way to free him up for easy looks in this elimination game.
Oklahoma City will come into Game Seven down two key players: Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell. Williams suited up in Game Six but looked extremely limited. He is ruled out for Game Seven. The Thunder will rely on the two-time MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and the guard duo of Jared McCain and Alex Caruso to handle the ball and guard the perimeter.
The winner of Game Seven will go on to face the New York Knicks, who are on a 10-game winning streak heading into the NBA Finals. In many ways, this series has been two heavyweights trading major blows to qualify for the championship fight. We’ll see who lands the final knockout punch on Saturday night.
Thunder Injuries: Thomas Sorber – Out (knee), Ajay Mitchell – Out (calf), Jalen Williams – Out (hamstring)
What to watch for:
Wembanyama’s performance
It’s pretty simple: Wembanyama has to dominate for the Spurs to win. The Thunder have done everything in their power to keep him out of the paint. They’ve put stronger defenders on him to push him out of the paint. They’ve doubled him on lobs and sent two defenders at his post touches. The Spurs responded to this in Game Six by trying to get Wembanyama involved in empty-side pick-and-rolls or setting screens to get him moving toward the paint. Wemby mainly hurt the Thunder from deep in Game Six, but he’ll do his best work inside. A standout performance would establish him as one of the best players in the world.
Winning the possession battle
Mistakes will bury a team in Game Seven. Giving up second-chance points or easy buckets off of turnovers are debilitating when the stakes are high. San Antonio has done much better at taking care of the basketball since De’Aaron Fox returnred in Game Three. They have given up some offensive rebounds here and there in this series, mainly on long boards or when Wembanyama is out of position after going for a block. Minimizing turnovers and easy offensive boards will be crucial in Game Seven.
Guard play
This series has been defined by guard play. The Spurs haven’t relented guarding SGA with physical defenders like Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell. While SGA hasn’t had a great series, his teammates have picked up the slack. McCain and Caruso have been awesome at home. San Antonio can’t let the Thunder’s role players heat up. McCain and Caruso can swing this game with their effort and shot making. Similarly, Dylan Harper and Castle can give the Spurs an edge by aggressively attacking the paint and putting pressure on the Thunder’s paint defenders. Watch out for Fox’s shot making. He’s been cold all series, but could be due for a big game.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MAY 29: JP Crawford #3 of the Seattle Mariners reacts after hitting a solo home run during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at T-Mobile Park on May 29, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
J.P. Crawford hit two homers, saved the go-ahead run, and then scored the winning run in extras.
The Mariners returned to .500 with a 7-6 win over the Diamondbacks. Randy Arozarena picked up the final knock, lacing a double into the right center gap to score Crawford in the 10th. It was the 13th — and the sixth for extra bases — on what turned out to be a phenomenal day for the Mariners’ lineup. But a sixth-inning implosion another blown save for Andrés Muñoz kept this one close to the very end.
It all started with Crawford, way back in the first inning. He led off and worked a three-ball count, as he does, laying off a nibbling Zac Gallen. Crawford got a fastball up and out over the plate, turned, and launched it into the right field stands.
It’s been a great season for Crawford at the plate. He’s continued to showcase his tremendous eye, and he’s continued to avoid strikeouts. His 0.81 K/BB is top 20 in baseball. But it’s his .179 ISO that really stands out, looking far closer to his excellent 2023 than what we’ve seen the last two season. The (relative) power is back.
In some ways, it never really left. Crawford changed his swing in 2023 and began hitting the ball much harder. He maintained that hard contact in 2024 even as he struggled, and it stuck around for his bounce back season last year, too. The lesser power numbers in either season were more about the angle that contact was going. Last year, most of his hardest hit balls were on the ground. This year, they’re in the air.
We saw that again in the fifth. Jhonny Pereda smoked a groundball single to lead off the inning. Crawford got a changeup down and out over the plate. He crushed the pitch at 104.8 mph and a perfect 27 degrees and sent it 417 feet over the fence in center field.
Crawford is now up to a 121 wRC+ on the season. It wasn’t just the homers that improved his line Friday. In the third, he drew an eight-pitch walk with two outs. That kept the inning alive to bring Julio to the plate. Gallen hung a slider, and Julio hit a missile to left — 113.6 mph at a razor thin 16 degrees:
It was Julio’s 11th homer of 2026 and his ninth in May. It’s the most homers he’s ever hit in a month for his career. It’s not quite his best month ever as a matter of total production; he entered the day with a mere 141 wRC+ (Julio has had some very, very, very good months). But he’s making great contact, hitting the ball hard and in the air, and avoiding strikeouts. Julio also rocketed a 109.2 mph single and 112.3 mph double on Friday to bring his wRC+ up to 126 on the year.
That’s how the Mariners built a comfortable 5-0 lead, setting themselves up to cruise to a fourth win this week. It wasn’t so easy from there.
George Kirby was fine until he wasn’t. He faced the minimum in the first, thanks to a nifty double play turned by Cole Young. He faced the minimum in the second. He worked around a hit and a walk in the third, and he gave up a leadoff homer in the fourth. He got through five inning without too much trouble and holding 5-1 lead.
Then the Diamondbacks stepped to the plate in the sixth. As it happens, this was exactly the start of their third time through the lineup — something Mariners’ pitchers have struggled with this season. Kirby entered the day with a 4.07 FIP on the third pass in 2026, making him the Mariners only somewhat effective pitcher on that split. That wasn’t the case Friday.
Corbin Carroll laced a one-out single. Geraldo Perdomo flared a weak double to left that got tangled where the wall juts out in foul territory. Gabriel Moreno plated them both with a well-hit double to make it 5-3. That was the end of Kirby’s day: 5 1/3 innings, six hits, four strikeouts, one walk, and a fair amount of hard contact allowed. Meh.
Matt Brash replaced Kirby. He was bad. He walked a batter and gave up a sharp single to load the bases, still with one out. He gave up a run on a groundout. He gave up another on a single to tie the game at 5-5. He walked one final batter but finally ended the inning — the 10th batter of the frame — with a strikeout. It was his worst outing of the season, or rather, his first bad one.
The Mariners lead was gone. No matter: Luke Raley stepped to the plate. With his all-or-nothing dial set to “all,” Raley crushed a hanging, middle-middle changeup way out to right field, giving the Mariners a 6-5 lead. He now leads the team with 12 homers.
Then came the tight rope. The Diamondbacks threatened in the seventh with a couple hits, but Eduard Bazardo eventually shut the door. The Diamondbacks threatened in the eight with a double and a walk, but Dan Wilson brought in Gabe Speier to strikeout Carroll — the best left-on-left hitter in baseball — on three pitches.
That got the ball to Muñoz in the ninth with a 6-5 lead. He struggled, as he has several times this year. He gave up a pair of leadoff singles. Then he hit Nolan Arenado really hard in the elbow to load the bases with nobody out; Arenado exited in considerable pain. Muñoz limited the damage, but still gave up a run on a weak roller. He escaped the inning with a blown save and a 6-6 tie.
Cooper Criswell worked the 10th. He got a groundout to move the Manfred man to third. The Mariners infield came in to cut off the run at home. Carroll then smacked a 101.6 mph hopper up the middle. Crawford ranged a step to his left and dove, snared the grounder, popped to his feet, looked the runner back to third, and fired in time to first.
“That’s just a great reaction on his part to glove that ball, to get it and get the throw to first and keep that runner at third,” Dan Wilson said after the game. “I thought that was the turning point in the game there.”
The play kept things tied until the Mariners turn to bat in the 10th. Arozarena stepped to the plate with one out and Crawford on second as the Manfred Man. Juan Morillo go him to two strikes, and he got Arozarena to chase a nasty slider way out of the zone. But Arozarena was on it, driving it hard the into the left-center gap, bringing Crawford around to score the winning run 7-6.
Arozarena said after the game he wasn’t trying to do too much in that spot, just get the ball in play and try to move the runner. He said the team feels relaxed right now, with everyone feeding off each other’s at bats.
“I think this whole team, right now, it’s in a good spot. Everybody’s been working, putting up good at-bats, and even last year, we still had a good team, but I think right now things are just working and clicking.”
For Crawford, scoring the final run was a nice cap for one of his best games as a Mariner. It’s been a weird start to the 2026 season, with his replacement getting a historic contract and eventually a call up. Crawford’s defense has been measurably and observably poor, with talk of a move to third (to this point, it remains just talk). But it’s games like Friday that show why he’s still around. He gets on base, sometimes he slugs, and he’s one of the great clutch performers in team history. He did all those things Friday. The Mariners won.
San Antonio Spurs (62-20, second in the Western Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (64-18, first in the Western Conference)
Oklahoma City; Saturday, 8 p.m. EDT
LINE: Thunder -3.5; over/under is 212.5
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Series tied 3-3
BOTTOM LINE: The San Antonio Spurs visit the Oklahoma City Thunder in game seven of the Western Conference finals. The Spurs defeated the Thunder 118-91 in the last matchup on Friday. Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 28 points, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 15.
The Thunder are 41-11 against Western Conference opponents. Oklahoma City ranks third in the league with 34.6 defensive rebounds per game led by Chet Holmgren averaging 7.0.
The Spurs have gone 36-16 against Western Conference opponents. San Antonio is second in the Western Conference with 47.0 rebounds per game led by Wembanyama averaging 11.5.
The Thunder's 13.8 made 3-pointers per game this season are only 0.8 more made shots on average than the 13.0 per game the Spurs give up. The Spurs are shooting 48.3% from the field, 4.6% higher than the 43.7% the Thunder's opponents have shot this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.1 points and 6.6 assists for the Thunder. Holmgren is averaging 15.1 points over the last 10 games.
Stephon Castle is scoring 16.6 points per game and averaging 5.3 rebounds for the Spurs. Wembanyama is averaging 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 7-3, averaging 113.9 points, 41.2 rebounds, 26.2 assists, 10.6 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.3 points per game.
Spurs: 6-4, averaging 116.7 points, 48.7 rebounds, 25.5 assists, 9.0 steals and 7.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.8 points.
INJURIES: Thunder: Ajay Mitchell: out (calf), Jalen Williams: out (hamstring), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee).
Spurs: David Jones Garcia: out for season (ankle).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 29: The Carolina Hurricanes pose with the Prince of Whales Trophy following a 6-1 victory over the Montréal Canadiens in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center on May 29, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After the game 4 win over Montreal with a 4-0 score, Carolina Captain Jordan Staal was quoted as saying that his team was “playing like a machine”.
Well, the machine kept on running without so much of a hiccup as they finished off the Eastern Conference Final series with a 6-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night.
After dropping game one, they finished up with four straight wins to close things out in five games. Their postseason record is now an amazing 12-1. Only three other teams in the modern era have accomplished this.
The Canes jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and never looked back. They outshot the Habs 15-4 and outhit them 10-4 in that key period.
Carolina’s second line continued to do the major damage as Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake, and Logan Stankoven contributed. Stankoven and Hall both had a goal and two assists while Blake chipped in with a goal and an assist.
Goalie Frederik Andersen had 23 saves on 24 shots and earned his 12th win of the postseason. It was an emotional night for Andersen, who considered the late Claude Lemieux like “family”. Lemieux also served as his agent.
The home team got things rolling about midway through the first period when Taylor Hall knocked in a puck from in close. The Canadiens challenged the goal for goaltender interference because Stankoven had taken the puck into the net and brushed Dobes. Apparently, the refs didn’t think there was enough contact to overturn the goal so the score stood.
About six minutes later, Stankoven would snipe one off a pass from Hall and it was 2-0.
Just a minute and change after that, Eric Robinson broke in alone and got another one past Dobes and it was 3-0. It was Robinson’s third goal of the playoffs.
At 7:19 into the second period, Jackson Blake knocked in a rebound off a Hall shot and the pressure was off at 4-0. Media members started making plane reservations to Vegas.
Just before the end of the period, Shayne Gostisbehere scored a powerplay goal when he snuck behind the Montreal defense to tap in a Seth Jarvis pass. At the end of the second, it was 5-0.
At this point, the partisan Carolina crowd was serenading the arena by singing “ole’ ole’ ole’ ” as a (tribute) to Montreal fans.
The Habs ruined Andersen’s shutout bid with a powerplay goal late in the game by Cole Caulfield, but Seth Jarvis would close out the scoring on an empty-netter.
The Canes will take Saturday off before preparing for the next series against the Las Vegas Golden Knights which starts Tuesday night at the Lenovo Center. We will have much more about that coming up.
After the game during interviews, each player to a man was very business like as they knew they had another tough task before them.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 29: Ben Rice #22 of the New York Yankees is congratulated by Aaron Judge #99 after he hit a home run against the Athletics in the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park on May 29, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Athletics as an organization have gotten themselves in a weird situation where they, as a major league team, are playing games in a minor league ballpark. The team themselves are a perfectly solid major league team, fighting atop an iffy AL West at this point of the season, with young talent that could make them very dangerous in the coming years.
That being said, during Friday night’s series opener in West Sacramento, one team was definitely at a higher level, and it wasn’t the A’s.
Led by home runs from Paul Goldschmidt, Ryan McMahon, and Ben Rice, the Yankees’ offense had no issues against Athletics’ pitching, putting up eight runs on 11 hits. Meanwhile on the mound, starting pitcher Carlos Rodón had arguably his best start of the season so far. He went six innings, allowing just one run on four hits and two walks, striking out three. From the first inning on, there wasn’t much drama in the game, as the Yankees came away with an 8-2 win.
While former Yankee and current Athletic Luis Severino retired Trent Grisham to open the game, his former team then got off to a quick start after that. The Yankees got a bit of fortune as A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz threw wide of a covering Severino after a Ben Rice grounder, which was then followed by a Severino balk. Aaron Judge then poked through a single to get the scoring started. Following another single from Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt then kept his good run going, homering to left to put up a crooked number.
The Athletics did get one of those runs back in the bottom half of the inning. Nick Kurtz hit a home run of his own in the first, getting his team on the board.
During his warmup pitches prior to the second inning, Severino appeared to tweak something, leading to his exit before the frame even began. Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious, as lot of us still have a soft sport for Sevy.
The Yankees’ offense continued to add on to their lead after Severino’s departure. In the second, Rice hit an RBI single that scored José Caballero, who was on after a double. In the third, Ryan McMahon hit a homer in his second consecutive game, also reaching the No. 150 mark for his career. Then in the fourth, Aaron Judge grounded out with two runners on, but it was a weak and slow enough grounder to allow Grisham to score from third.
Rodón would end up getting through six innings before making way for the bullpen. He ended his day on a very strong note, retiring the last seven batters he faced.
In the top of the seventh, Rice picked up his second RBI of the day with a homer to center-ish field. It broke a seven-game home run-less streak, which had been the longest of his season to this point.
Replacing Rodón was Brent Headrick, who enetered for his daily appearance. This time around, he got one quick out, but then loaded the bases, leading to Aaron Boone going back to the bullpen. Fernando Cruz came in for him and induced a 1-2-3 double play to get out of the jam.
Paul Blackburn then got the eighth and worked a quick inning, despite having to hit the deck to avoid taking a comebacker to the face. Blackburn returned for the ninth and got in some early trouble when the first two Athletics’ batters reached base. One of those runs did come around to score, but Blackburn bounced back after that to finish the proceedings.
The Yankees and A’s will continue their set tomorrow night, with a game starting at 10:05 pm ET. Ryan Weathers and J.T. Ginn are expected to be the starting pitchers in that one.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MAY 29: Julio Rodriguez #44 of the Seattle Mariners celebrates with JP Crawford #3 after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at T-Mobile Park on May 29, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Game Summary
Full recap to follow shortly. Feel free to vent on the close loss in the comments!
Loss Probability and Box Score
Outside the Box Score
Geraldo Perdomo’s poor batted ball luck continued in the first inning tonight where he lined into a double play. It took a very acrobatic play to record the out, with Cole Young throwing his gloved hand up and deflecting the ball straight up in the air where he was able to better collect himself and then make the catch and throw to first and double off Carroll.
Julio Rodriguez 2-run homer off Gallen in the 3rd came after Gallen got 2 quick outs and then walked JP Crawford on a full count. Off the bat, it looked like it might be a double into the corner based on the extremely low trajectory. Baseball Savant registered the homer as having a 16* launch angle which is tied for the lowest trajectory launch angle for a non-inside-the-park-homer this year with Vladimir Guerrero.
Zac Gallen was the beneficiary of excellent defensive decision-making and perfect alignment after getting into a little trouble in the bottom of the 4th. With runners at 1st and 2nd and no out, there was a fly ball to deep center field which was going to allow Arozarena to advance to third easily. Instead of getting greedy and trying to throw out Arozarena at third, Waldschmidt made the catch and then fired in to second base, keeping the trail runner at first. The very next hitter smoked a line drive right over Gallen’s head, but Perdomo was positioned right behind second base and was able to field the ball and record the 6-3 double play to get the Snakes out of the inning.
Diamondback defense saved Zac Gallen from further injury in the fifth, as well, when Josh Naylor smoked a deep fly ball to right center field. Naylor stood in the batter’s box and admired his handiwork as the ball…smacked off the top of the wall and back towards centerfield. Waldschmidt picked up the ball and threw in to Ketel Marte who quickly pivoted and fired a strike to Gerry who applied the tag on Josh Naylor just before he slid into second.
Gabi Moreno gave the Snakes some life in the 6th when he smoked a 2-run double on the 7th pitch of his AB off the base of the center field wall to score Carroll and Domo. The ball ‘lodged’ at the base of the wall, but fortunately everyone was advancing no more than 2 bases on the play anyway so we weren’t victims of ground rules for the second series in a row.
Waldschmidt came up with Gabi at second base and got a hit, but he hit the ball too hard for Gabi to score. Waldy smoked a single into left field at 108mph and Gabi had to stop at third.
Nolan Arenado reintroduced himself to the team after missing a game and not starting tonight with groin tightness. The very first pitch he saw he fouled off his foot. Welcome back, but Ouch!
The Diamondback defense was aided by the field to start the bottom of the 8th when Randy Arozarena hit a sharp grounder back up the middle. The ball went straight through Jonny Lasagna’s legs and looked destined to be a hit. Ketel was ranging over from second and looked like he might be able to dive to keep the ball on the infield but likely wouldn’t have enough time to pick back up and throw to first, but in a twist, the ball hit perfectly off the second base bag and bounced chest high to Ketel who, to his credit, adjusted well and then rifled a throw across his body directly to Vargas at first for the out. On his way back to the dugout, Arozarena looked back out to the field and shared a laugh with Ketel. Baseball is hard; it’s good to see competitors laughing together after plays like that.
Josh Naylor gave us a flashback to old times when he muffed a barehanded fielding attempt in the 9th inning that resulted in the tying run scoring.
Comment of the Game
The GameDay Thread was certainly….interesting tonight. A final tally of 396 comments at time of publishing with Comment of the Game by popular vote awarded to Dano_in_Tucson for his lineup advice to Torey:
Coming Up
The Diamondbacks face the Mariners for the second game of this 3-game set tomorrow evening with a 7:10pm first pitch Arizona time. Righthander Bryan Woo (4-3, 3.82 ERA) will take the mound for Seattle and Ryne Nelson (2-3, 4.65 ERA) takes the ball for the good guys. Hopefully Ryno can get the starting pitching back on track after Gallen’s hiccup tonight.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 29: Tyler Soderstrom #21, Alika Williams #12, and Zack Gelof #20 of the Athletics misplay a ball hit by Ben Rice #22 of the New York Yankees in the ninth inning at Sutter Health Park on May 29, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Athletics and New York Yankees kicked off a three-game weekend series tonight in Sacramento. The A’s entered the game trying to end a three-game losing streak, while the Yankees sought to make it five-straight wins. The “Bronx Bombers” took the lead before most fans had reached their seats and did not look back, earning a blowout 8-2 victory over the A’s in a game they dominated in all facets.
Early Action
A’s starting pitcher Luis Severino gave up runs in the first inning for a second-straight outing, but this time he was not helped by his defense. A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz made a throwing error allowing Yankees designated hitter Ben Rice to reach safely. Rice advanced to second on Severino’s balk and then scored on Aaron Judge’s RBI single to give the Yankees an immediate lead. A few batters later, with two on and two outs, Yankees’ first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit his sixth home run of the season, a three-run blast just over the left field wall to give the visitors a 4-0 lead after the first half inning of the game. All four runs were unearned, yet that three-run home run really stung.
In the bottom of the first, the A’s got a run back. Kurtz atoned for his error by hitting his ninth home run of the season, a solo blast to left-center field.
In the second inning, Severino got hurt warming up, exiting his start with right arm soreness. Apparently, he has been dealing with shoulder soreness, which is why his start got pushed back to tonight. Maybe it should have been pushed back a bit longer to prevent a bullpen game to open the series.
Left-hander Jose Suarez replaced him on the mound. The Yankees’ offense went right back to work. They got three-straight hits with Rice’s RBI single pushing their fifth run across home plate. Suarez escaped the inning, limiting the damage to one run.
A’s Offense Stalls
Athletics left fielder Tyler Soderstrom worked a walk to begin the A’s half of the second. Center fielder Henry Bolte singled to left, advancing his teammate to second base. The A’s rally fizzled out from there as back-t0-back groundouts with runners in scoring position erased the momentum they had built at the start of the frame.
Yankees’ Offense On Fire
Suarez only pitched one inning. A’s reliever Joel Kuhnel replaced him in the third. He gave up third baseman Ryan McMahon’s sixth home run of the season, a two-out solo shot to right-center. The Yankees added a seventh run in the fourth, courtesy of Judge’s RBI groundout. Through four innings, the Yankees scored at least one run in every inning.
Gelof Not Coming up Clutch
In the bottom of the fourth, Soderstrom and Bolte strung together two-straight singles with two outs. Alas, Rodòn got Gelof to fly out, completing a third-straight scoreless inning. Gelof has twice failed to come through in prime run-scoring opportunities for the hosts this evening. Left-handed reliever Hogan Harris answered by recording the first scoreless inning by an A’s pitcher in the fifth.
Yankees in Cruise Control
With a six-run cushion, Rodòn cruised through six innings of one-run ball, limiting the slumping A’s offense to only four hits. In the seventh, the Yankees extended their lead to seven runs via their third home run of the game. Rice blasted his 17th home run of the season against new A’s reliever Scott Barlow. He finished with three hits in five at-bats and was a triple shy of the cycle.
Cortes’ Magic Wearing Off?
Bolte was one of the few positives for the A’s tonight. He recorded three singles in four at-bats, the last one coming off Yankees’ left-handed reliever Brent Headrick in the seventh. After his third single, he moved up a base on Gelof’s first of two hits in this game.
With the bases loaded, Yankees manager Aaron Boone replaced Headrick with right-handed reliever Fernando Cruz. A’s manager Mark Kotsay countered by bringing Carlos Cortes off the bench to pinch hit for Darell Hernaiz. Cruz won the matchup, inducing an inning-ending 1-2-3 double play as the A’s failed yet again with runners in scoring position and less than two outs.
That outcome was indicative of the A’s teamwide offensive struggles not only tonight, but this whole week. The Athletics’ recent offensive ineptitude during home games remains perplexing, especially considering that visiting teams seem to take full advantage of the hitter-friendly ballpark to score runs in bunches.
The A’s offensive struggles carried over to defense. In the ninth, three A’s defenders collided trying to cleanly field Rice’s catchable pop-up that somehow ended up on the grass.
The A’s got a consolation run off former A’s pitcher Paul Blackburn in the ninth. Gelof’s RBI single scored designated hitter Brent Rooker, who started the rally with an infield single, for the A’s second run of the night. Blackburn buckled down, retiring the next two hitters to seal the Yankees fifth straight win and doom the Athletics to further misery.
The A’s have been outscored 30-6 during this woeful, winless late May homestand. Additionally, they have committed 15 errors in their past 17 games. Currently riding a four-game losing streak that has dropped their record to 27-30, the vibes are not good for this team. As a result, something must be done sooner than later to restore some positivity and turn things around before the team’s 2026 season spirals completely out of control.
The Athletics will look to snap their losing skid and even up this series tomorrow evening. Right-hander J.T. Ginn, who is 2-3 with a 3.19 ERA, will look to play stopper. The A’s need him to pitch at least five or six innings in the wake of the bullpen having to cover eight innings today. The Yankees will counter with left-hander Ryan Weathers, who is 2-2 with a 3.14 ERA.
Andersen came up with one of his better efforts of the Eastern Conference finals, stopping 23 shots in a 6-1 win that sent the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006. It's also Andersen's first trip.
"I can't talk enough good things about this team and the way they've supported me," he told TNT. "It's been awesome."
Though Lemieux identified with the Canadiens as the team that drafted him and where he won his first Stanley Cup as a rookie, he had ties with the Hurricanes. In addition to having Andersen as a client, his son Brendan played for Carolina during the 2023-24 season. The Hurricanes paid tribute to Claude Lemieux before Friday's game.
Asked what Lemieux would say if he were still here, Andersen told TNT that his agent would tell him, "Just go get it."
"He's the ultimate competitor and he's got the biggest heart," the goalie said. "He wanted so much for me and this team."
As a boy in the apartheid era I saw footage of the Gunners beaten in the 1969 League Cup final – on Saturday I will attend the Champions League showpiece with my son
I fell for Arsenal in the white‑and-black world of apartheid, where television was banned as a tool of communist propaganda and the club of my dreams was 6,000 miles away and mostly invisible to me. So it feels fitting that a surreal love story that began for a small boy in South Africa in 1969 will reach a new peak on Saturday night in eastern Europe. This 65-year-old Arsenal fan and his 25-year-old son, who is just as besotted by the Gunners, will be at the Champions League final in Budapest as we face the dazzling powerhouse of Paris Saint-Germain.
It’s the final game of Arsenal’s tumultuous grind of a season and we are as exhausted as we are still euphoric. We will remember that my last game of this campaign could have been Swindon’s 2-1 home defeat by Chesterfield in League Two. I have had my share of pain with Arsenal; but it would have been a far deeper burden to have spent 57 years supporting Swindon.
The Yankees beat up on old friend Luis Severino in the first inning before he got hurt, then continued to add on the rest of the way while cruising to their fifth straight win, 8-2 over the Athletics on Friday night in front of a sell-out crowd of 12,254 at Sutter Health Park.
Paul Goldschmidt, Ryan McMahon and Ben Rice all homered — Goldschmidt a three-run shot off Severino that keyed the first-inning attack — as the Yankees (35-22) stayed hot after outscoring the Royals 26-4 during their sweep in Kansas City earlier this week.
“This is the type of offense we have,” said Aaron Judge, who went 1-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs in a homecoming of sorts, having grown up an hour away. “You’re going to have the ebbs and flows of the season, where you’re going to have some down weeks, some down months, but when this offense is rolling like that and staying aggressive, we’re at our best. That’s what I feel like we did today.”
Carlos Rodón, pitching for the first time in over a week, grinded through six innings but allowed just one run — a solo homer to Nick Kurtz in the bottom of the first — while navigating some early traffic from the Athletics (27-30).
The left-hander finished strong, retiring the final seven batters he faced, while becoming the eighth straight Yankees starter to allow two runs or fewer.
After a 16-game stretch in which the Yankees scored just seven runs in a game one time, they have now scored seven or more in three straight games, once again getting contributions from all parts of the lineup.
Ben Rice celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning of the Yankees’ 8-2 win over the A’s at Sutter Health Park on May 29, 2026 in Sacramento, Calif. Getty Images
“It’s fun to watch when we’re clicking like that,” said Rice, who went 3-for-5 and fell a triple short of the cycle.
The Yankees had clobbered Severino here last year before he kept them in check in The Bronx in April. But back in the Triple-A stadium that Severino has expressed his frustrations about pitching in, the Yankees got to him again in his first and only inning before leaving the game with what the A’s called “right arm soreness.”
The rally got started when Rice reached on an error, which Judge and Cody Bellinger followed with back-to-back singles. Then with two outs, Goldschmidt crushed a 1-2 sweeper over the left field wall for a three-run homer.
The veteran first baseman, starting for the eighth straight game to help give the Yankees some better balance in their lineup, has just kept hitting with the increased playing time.
Ben Rice is congratulated by Aaron Judge after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning of the Yankees win over the A’s. Getty Images
He had largely been relegated to starting against lefties earlier this season, but is now facing righties too and finding success.
Over his last 23 games, Goldschmidt is hitting .304 (24-for-79) with a .952 OPS. He is also batting 7-for-20 (.350) with 14 RBIs with runners in scoring position this season.
“He’s been huge, and has given us a little bit of balance,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s held his own against righties, continues to do what he does against lefties. He’s hit for power, he’s gotten some important hits for us. Obviously plays great defense over there at first. When [Giancarlo Stanton] goes down, you’re looking for someone to step up and Goldy’s certainly done that.”
Carlos Rodón held the A’s to one run over six innings in the Yankees’ win. Getty Images
The Yankees added on with a single run in each of the next three innings — including McMahon’s 150th career homer, and second in as many games — before Rice drilled his 17th home run of the season in the seventh, tying Judge for the team lead.
The A’s threatened to stage a rally after Rodón exited, loading the bases off Brent Headrick with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but Fernando Cruz came in to get an inning-ending double play.
Cruz has now stranded 20 of his 24 inherited runners this season.
Yankees Merch Shop
WinCraft insulated can coolers
Team Effort driver head cover
47 Brand adjustable cap
Customizable jersey
Logo fleece blanket
14-ounce sculpted relief coffee mug
New York Post receives revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and when you make a purchase.
“That’s the game right there,” Boone said. “That’s their chance to get back in it, and he executes strike one right away and then executes a really good pitch.”
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt hit a three-run homer, Ryan McMahon and Ben Rice also went deep, and the New York Yankees beat the Athletics 8-2 on Friday night for their fifth straight victory.
Goldschmidt connected in the first inning against Luis Severino (2-6) to stake the Yankees to a 4-0 lead and they rolled from there behind a strong outing from Carlos Rodon (1-2) for the win. Rodon allowed one run and four hits in six innings.
Aaron Judge added two RBIs for New York and Rice moved into a tie with Judge for the team lead with 17 homers on the season.
The Yankees outscored the opposition 36-6 during this current winning streak.
The A’s lost their fourth straight on this homestand and also might have lost Severino to an injury. Severino was grimacing after throwing warmup pitches before the second inning and called for manager Mark Kotsay to come to the mound with an athletic trainer. He left the game with what was described as a sore right arm.
The game didn’t get off to a good start for Severino, who allowed four unearned runs in the first inning to fall to 0-3 in four career starts against his former team.
After Rice reached on an error by first baseman Nick Kurtz, Severino allowed an RBI single to Judge and the homer to Goldschmidt. Severino has allowed 19 runs — 15 earned — in 13 2/3 innings in four starts against New York.
Kurtz hit a solo homer for the A’s, who have been outscored 30-6 during this four-game losing streak.
The A’s have gone 13 straight games without getting a win from a starting pitcher with starters going 0-9 with a 5.64 ERA during that stretch.
Up next
LH Ryan Weathers (2-2, 3.14 ERA) was set to start the second game of the series for the Yankees against RH J.T. Ginn (2-3, 3.19).
