TAMPA, FLORIDA - MARCH 21, 2026: Eric Hartman #64 of the Atlanta Braves throws a ball to the crowd during the third inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 21, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
MLBPA submitted their initial CBA proposal Wednesday, as the owners are expected to make their initial proposal Thursday. The union proposal includes some interesting ideas, some increased benefits to players, and at least one clear nonstarter for the owners. The owners positioned themselves as advocating for fan desire for competitive balance and rejected the proposal, criticizing its ideas towards achieving competitive, which focused on raising spending floors and creating stronger incentive structures to win games, rather than limiting the top spending clubs. I think the union’s ideas about making recipients of revenue sharing more incentivized to spend money and win games by socializing the more stable TV money through revenue, while privatizing more performance-responsive stadium revenue is a strong idea. I am also sympathetic to the concept of withholding revenue sharing from teams that don’t spend it towards winning games. Dramatically raising the luxury tax ceiling is going to be a tough sell for owners and fans, however, and the proposed changes to service time rules, making players over 30 free agents after 5 years of service time instead of 6 is a clear nonstarter for owners.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins got their Eastern Conference Final series against the Toronto Marlies started on Wednesday night, but it didn't go very well.
WBS got out to a 1-0 lead in the first period before losing 4-2 and is now down 1-0 in the best-of-seven series. This is the first best-of-seven series for WBS after playing two best-of-five series in the Atlantic Division Semifinals and the Atlantic Division Final.
Alexander Alexeyev opened the scoring in the first period before the Marlies took a 2-1 lead in the second period. Rutger McGroarty tied the game in the third period, and it looked like the game was about to go to overtime, but Michael Pezzetta had other ideas, scoring the game-winning goal with 1:36 left in regulation.
The Marlies later added an empty-net goal after WBS tried to tie the game in the final minute.
Here are three takeaways from this game:
1. Special teams need to be better
Both the power play and the penalty kill were simply not good enough for WBS in this one. The Penguins had multiple opportunities to cash in on the power play, but couldn't make any of them count. To make matters worse, they gave up a goal to the Marlies power play in the second period, giving them a 2-1 lead.
Special teams are a big part of short playoff series and can swing momentum in an instant. That will be a huge key heading into Game 2 on Friday.
2. Rutger McGroarty played very well
I thought this was one of McGroarty's best games of the playoffs. I've really liked the chemistry he's had with Avery Hayes, but in this game, it was all McGroarty. The goal he scored to tie the game in the third period was awesome.
Tristan Broz stole the puck and fed it to McGroarty, who went forehand, backhand, but was denied. However, he got the loose puck and banked it in.
He was everywhere in this game and had some other good chances that didn't go in. If he can continue to have a solid AHL playoff run, it will only help his chances of cracking the NHL roster next season.
3. More net-front traffic
WBS may have outshot Toronto 36-16, but I felt that the team didn't get enough traffic in front of Toronto goaltender Artur Akhtyamov. The team understood the assignment on Alexeyev's goal with traffic in front of him, but didn't do a good enough job with that for the rest of the game.
Akhtyamov has been really good for Toronto in these playoffs, and WBS needs to do a better job of taking his eyes away when he's in the crease.
Game 2 of this series is set for Friday at 7:05 p.m. ET. If WBS wins, the series would be tied at one heading back to Toronto for three games.
May 27, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Steven Matz (32) throws during the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
This one was over in the bottom of the first when Matz got tagged for five runs. It was downhill from there and the end result was an 11-2 defeat and series sweep at the hands of the O’s. There isn’t much else to say about this one, so I’ll leave you with the below video that encapsulates the series and recent stretch of play by the Rays.
The battered Rays will rest up on Thursday prior to hosting the Angels for a three-game set. Nick Martinez will be on the bump as the Rays will look to right the ship against the worst team in the American League.
Tong again entered as the bulk reliever behind Huascar Brazoban in the top of the second, and he battled his way through 3.2 innings of work before ultimately running out of steam.
The right-hander was able to work around three hits and four walks, with the lone unearned run on his line coming from an error of his own doing on a comeback in the top of the third.
He was pulled after issuing two free passes in the fifth, but pitched well enough to earn the victory.
“Some longer counts than I would’ve liked towards the end,” Tong admitted. “There’s a lot of things I can work on moving forward, but overall I’m just happy that I was able to put together some clean innings for the guys.”
Tong has now accomplished that in each of his two outings back with the Mets.
Wednesday’s unearned run is the only one he’s allowed to this point, after he put together three terrific innings of one-hit ball his first time out Friday night against the Marlins.
With the Mets' starting rotation in need of a boost, the club plans on keeping the 22-year-old top prospect around in this same flexible role for the time being.
“We’re going to need him,” Mendoza emphasized. “We’ll continue to get creative -- whether it’s using him as the opener, as a bulk guy, we’re going to have some off days coming up, so there’s a lot of different ways we can go.”
Now they're waiting to find out whether they will face the Carolina Hurricanes or the Montreal Canadiens in the championship round. The Hurricanes took a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals with a 4-0 win on Wednesday, May 27.
But when will the Stanley Cup Final begin?
Generally, the NHL will move up the Final if the conference finals wrap up in five games. Here are opening dates that make sense if that happens or if the Canadiens extend the series.
If Eastern Conference finals end in five games
June 2 would be the ideal starting date.
That's already set aside for Game 7 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Game 5 would be May 29 in North Carolina, so there's plenty of time for the Golden Knights to fly to Raleigh and for the NHL to hold media days.
If Eastern Conference finals end in six or seven games
How about June 4?
ABC is showing both the Stanley Cup Final and the NBA Finals, so there aren't a lot of open dates. June 4 would fall between Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals.
And nothing is going on at the Lenovo Center (Hurricanes) and Bell Centre (Canadiens) that day. The Stanley Cup Final will begin at the home of the East champion, regardless of who wins.
If there is a Game 7, it might be a tight turnaround for the Golden Knights to fly to the winning team's city and take part in media days, but it can be done.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - MAY 26: Yordan Alvarez #44 of the Houston Astros is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after hitting a home run during the eighth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on May 26, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Yordan Alvarez has been absolutely on fire in this series, and he continued his torrid stretch at the plate with 2 more home runs to back SP Mike Burrows (W, 3-6) in the Houston Astros (25-32) 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers (25-30) tonight in Arlington.
Burrows tossed 7 innings of 2-run ball, allowing only 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 6. It is the kind of length the Astros have sorely lacked in the rotation on a consistent basis this year, but have gotten from Burrows in 2 of his last 4 starts. He has gone at least 6 innings in 4 of his last 5 starts.
Alvarez hit his first HR of the night in the 4th off Rangers starter Jacob deGrom, victimizing the star pitcher for the second time this year, which tied the game at 2. He also took Tyler Alexander (L, 1-1) deep in the 8th give the Astros a 3-2 lead.
Alvarez finished the night 3-for-4 with 2 runs, 2 RBI, and a walk. His 20 HRs are 2nd in MLB and tops in the AL. He has now hit 5 HR in this series.
Enyel De Los Santos got the final 5 outs for his 4th save of the season. He did not allow a run, hit or walk, and struck out 3 in a dominant performance.
Taylor Trammell hit cleanup tonight and finished 2-for-3 with a double and a run. He’s currently batting .371 with a .922 OPS. Those numbers are far higher than anything he has ever shown previously at the MLB level, but he did make swing adjustments before the season and hit well both in spring training and earlier in the season before he was injured. It remains to be seen if this can be a breakout season for Trammell, but the early returns for him are very strong this season.
Houston will look to win the series tomorrow night behind RHP Spencer Arrighetti (6-1, 1.32), who will be opposed by Rangers SP Nathan Eovaldi (5-5, 3.55).
Houston is currently 4-2 vs. the Rangers this season in the Silver Boot Series. They are 3 GB the Seattle Mariners for 1st place in the AL West.
The New York Mets won a baseball game Wednesday evening, and it took everything they had.
Beating the Cincinnati Reds to pull themselves 10 games under .500 required Devin Williams throwing more pitches than he has thrown in an outing all year and happened in large part because the Reds left 17 men on base.
It took every out Jonah Tong could provide in a bulk role behind Huascar Brazoban, the opener they leaned on to get past the Reds' big bats once before handing the game off to a rookie. And Tong needed every inch of center field to keep a few Reds hitters in the ballpark in his 3.2 gritty innings in which he allowed one run.
It took Tobias Myers moonlighting in short relief, heavily worked Brooks Raley throwing more than an inning, and a diving catch from A.J. Ewing with the bases loaded just to get through seven innings with a lead.
They threw recently summoned Eric Wagaman, who had two Major League plate appearances to his name this year, into the starting lineup because of his platoon advantage against Reds lefty Andrew Abbott. He rewarded them with his first big league homer of the season. When they replaced him with recently activated Jared Young against a righty in the seventh, he singled, and it took a two-out hit from Carson Benge to score a much-needed insurance run.
Were it not for two two-out hits from Benge, who was so desperate to climb out of a slump that he shaved his mustache beforehand, the Mets would not have won the game at all.
The point is this: Even games the Mets win these days leave the gnawing suspicion that the Mets are neither better at any one aspect of the game, nor as competent in as many facets of the game as most of their competition. David Stearns momentarily silenced questions about Carlos Mendoza’s job status. Questions about a potential sell-off are fair, but still premature in the eyes of an organization that believes the roster they built can still win when healthy.
So while more existential questions for and about Mets decision-makers are creeping closer, the queries the Mets are trying to answer imminently are these: Will they look more formidable when healthy and whether they can stick around long enough for it to matter if they do?
Their strongest unit, the starting rotation, has been picked apart by injuries. Most noticeably, injuries have also rendered their remodeled lineup completely unrecognizable from its intended form:
Francisco Lindor, Bo Bichette, Juan Soto, Luis Robert Jr., and Jorge Polanco have been in the Mets starting lineup together seven times this season. The Mets are 4-3 in those games, one of which was an Opening Day disemboweling of the normally steel-stomached Paul Skenes.
But without one or two or three of them at any given time, and with Bichette struggling early, the Mets have looked lifeless. The day Soto returned from injury, Lindor suffered his. If there is one thing anyone evaluating the Mets internally or externally can say for sure, it is that their lineup did not have the depth to withstand losing multiple of its most important hitters for long stretches, some of which overlapped.
May 27, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets right fielder Carson Benge (3) reacts to hitting an RBI single against the Cincinnati Reds during the fifth inning at Citi Field. / Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
Whether a team with the financial resources they have should run out of depth is a fair question, given the way the Los Angeles Dodgers have spent to inoculate themselves against casualties in recent years.
And while one person’s feelings do not a teamwide mindset define, multiple people who spend their evenings in the Mets dugout have expressed continued belief in what this team can be when Lindor and Francisco Alvarez and Polanco and Clay Holmes and maybe even long-stalled Robert Jr. get healthy.
So the key will be trying to find ways to get the players they do have to perform beyond projections -- taking chances on the bases with Ewing and Benge they might not otherwise, trying to get Tong’s best innings without relying on him so much to fall victim to his growing pains, adjusting David Peterson’s role and Sean Manaea’s role and shuffling whenever one hand looks hotter than the other.
At times earlier this month, the Mets were piecing things together that way more often than not. The trouble, however, is that since they climbed to five under .500 with a win against the Nationals last week, they have looked like a team without several of its best hitters relying on people to produce above their proven means.
Recent history suggests that rallies from late May deficits like these are possible. Soto, of course, was on the Washington Nationals team that was 19-31 in May and went on to win the World Series. Bench coach Kai Correa served in that role for last year’s Cleveland Guardians, who rallied from 15.5 games out to win the American League central. But those teams were largely healthy when they staged their comebacks. The Mets are still beholden to daily injury updates about players they desperately need.
Lindor is fielding ground balls before games daily. Alvarez did what looked to be high impact, highly athletic agility work in the outfield before Wednesday’s game, despite being just two weeks removed from tearing his meniscus. In fact, only Robert seems stalled entirely, as the Mets moved him to the 60-day disabled list Tuesday because he remains limited by a lower back issue.
A few weeks from now, the Mets lineup could look much more potent than it has since early April. But if they cannot play .500 baseball, let alone make up games between now and then, a few weeks from now might be too late.
Mets veterans understand the numbers, which will either prove a blessing or a curse. On one hand, Soto and Bichette and Marcus Semien and others understand the reality of their situation – sometimes, believing is easier when no one knows better.
But Semien’s World Series winning Texas Rangers looked dead more than once in 2023. Bichette knows what it looks like for a team that has fallen short of expectations to finally meet them. Soto’s experience in 2019 always serves as a beacon. And the somewhat dwindling number of Mets who rode 2024’s magic to the National League Championship Series also know first-hand that slow starts do not guarantee quiet finishes.
Practically speaking, the Mets roster and coaching staff understand the importance of scratching out wins and staying in striking distance until injured players return. Realistically speaking, they have not yet proven they can do that.
The game got off to a rough start for Hagen Smith, who allowed a two-run homer in the top of the first. However, despite that mistake, Smith had a strong performance, and he did not allow any additional runs during his five innings of work. Smith struck out seven and only issued one walk.
In the third, with the score still 2-0, Korey Lee stepped up to the plate and fell behind in the count. With a runner on second and an 0-2 count, Lee took full advantage of a breaking ball over the heart of the plate, and he launched it 424 feet. That was Lee’s seventh homer of the season, and this one tied the game at two.
After Smith delivered a scoreless top of the fifth for the Knights, the game entered a rain delay with the score tied at two. Due to inclement weather, the game was suspended and is scheduled to be completed on Thursday. The Knights are set to bat in the bottom of the fifth and will be looking to break the 2-2 tie.
Pensacola Blue Wahoos 23, Birmingham Barons 4 After taking the first game of the series on Monday, the Barons (17-29) came up way, way short in Birmingham against Pensacola (24-23).
Barons starter Connor McCullough, 25, did not have his finest performance. McCullough allowed three runs in the first and five in the third. McCullough was removed with one out in the top of the third, but incredibly, things did not improve when the bullpen took over. While McCullough allowed eight earned runs in 2 1/3 innings, the bullpen allowed 15 in 6 2/3 innings. Just an ugly day all-around for the pitching staff.
The Barons did stay in this game for a little while, as the score was 3-3 after two innings. Alec Makarewicz put the Barons on the board with a solo homer in the first, his 11th blast of the season. Then, in the second, the Barons scored a pair. Wilfred Veras led off with a single, and with one out, Drake Logan doubled to put a pair in scoring position. Jordan Sprinkle hit a sacrifice fly, and Colby Shelton doubled to tie the game. After that point, however, Pensacola went on a 20-1 run.
Winston-Salem Dash 3, Rome Emperors 0 For the second straight day, the Dash (28-19) had an excellent pitching performance during a victory against the Emperors (25-22).
In the bottom of the second, the Dash broke the scoreless tie. With one out, Kaleb Freeman singled, and after a productive ground out, Alex Ungar walked. That set the stage for T.J. McCants, who lined a single to drive in the first run of the game. From there, the Dash did not look back.
In the fourth, Kyle Lodise hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Ely Brown, who had singled to open the inning. Winston-Salem added another insurance run in the fifth, when Ely Brown reached on an error. That error allowed Arxy Hernández, who had singled, to score the third and final run of the game.
Meanwhile, the pitching staff got the job done and then some. Drew McDaniel pitched four shutout innings after Frankeli Arias served as the opener, delivering a shutout inning in the first. From there, Jake Bockenstedt, Mathias LaCombe, and Jack Young took care of business, combining for four shutout innings down the stretch.
Ryan Galvan led off the bottom of the second with a bang, launching his eighth homer of the season to put Kannapolis ahead, 1-0. The Cannon Ballers were not done hitting homers, as Javier Mogollón crushed a two-run shot in the third to drive in Abraham Núñez, who had singled. Incredibly, the next batter after Mogollón was Stiven Flores, who homered to extend the lead to four.
Cannon Ballers starter Truman Pauley was quite effective during his first three innings, but the fourth frame was a challenge. Pauley allowed two runs on two hits and a walk before being removed with two outs. Still, when Pauley left the game, Kannapolis had a 4-2 lead.
Kannapolis just could not find any runs down the stretch, and the bullpen was not up to the task of protecting a 4-2 lead. A three-run homer by Dallas Macias in the top of the eighth gave the GreenJackets a lead that they did not relinquish.
Complex Sox starter Fabian Ysalla, 21, struggled, allowing two runs on three hits in the first. After allowing a single and a walk in the third, Ysalla was removed from the game with two outs. Reliever Jesús Méndez took over, but he failed to strand either of the runners he inherited from Ysalla.
The Complex Sox scored their first run in a unique way. In the top of the third, Osniel Castillo doubled with one out and advanced to third on a ground out. D’Angelo Tejada walked, and incredibly, Castillo and Tejada executed a double-steal. Although they pulled off one of the most exciting plays in baseball, it was not nearly enough to come away with the victory, as the ACL Rangers pulled away late.
The Complex Sox did not score again until the seventh, when the game was far out of reach. Tejada hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Jurdrick Profar, who led off that inning with a walk.
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton weighed in on the ongoing discussion around flopping in the NBA, saying on “The Pat McAfee Show” that it’s “for sure” being taught.
“Yeah for sure, it’s being taught. I don’t think it’s as much head coach teaching as much as it is like player development,” he said on the ESPN program “Even before you get to the NBA, it’s just something that you kind of work on by nature. I think the best scorers are usually the guys that get to the free-throw line the most. It’s definitely something they work on, even in pickup, they’re working on how they can draw fouls. I think that’s a part of the game.”
Tyrese Haliburton says players are being taught how to flop:
“It’s for sure being taught. I don’t think head coaches are, but it’s a part of player development before you get to the NBA. It’s something you naturally work on. It’s now a part of the game.” (via @PatMcafeeShow,… pic.twitter.com/2WZF7OCQQX
Concerns about flopping have continued to permeate around the NBA, with Yahoo Sports’ Tom Haberstroh going as far as to do an extensive breakdown of Gilgeous-Alexander’s attempts to sell foul calls.
His report found that Gilgeous-Alexander fell down 51.4 percent of the time when a foul was called.
“I think more times than not there’s embellishing going on, more so than falling over out of nowhere, but does it happen? Of course it happens and it’s talked about, no question,” Haliburton said.
The Pacers star wasn’t the only one to address the flopping issue on McAfee’s show.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives around Julian Champagnie of the San Antonio Spurs during the fourth quarter in Game Five of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center on May 26, 2026 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Getty Images
NBA commissioner Adam Silver, during his appearance on the Worldwide Leader, made the distinction between trying to embellish contact to draw a foul and trying to trick the officials.
“Even as I sit in the stands at games, players may be falling down, players may be reacting to a call,” Silver said. “But to me, if they’re not fooling the referees, it’s OK.
The series isn't over yet by any means, but the way they Carolina Hurricanes handled the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final certainly makes it seem like it already may be.
The Hurricanes stomped the Canadiens in a 4-0 beatdown at Centre Bell on Wednesday in one of their more complete games of the postseason.
From the drop of the puck to the end, Carolina was far and away the better team.
They piled on the chances, outshooting the Canadiens 43-18 overall, and that was bookended by a hot start and a dominant finish.
The Hurricanes didn't allow a shot on goal through the first eight minutes of the game and then in the final period, they outshot the Habs 19-3.
Despite the Canadiens needing their best possible push in that third period, they didn't manage to put any rubber on Frederik Andersen until the final three minutes of the game, a testament to the Canes' defensive clinic.
The game looked much like the last two, where the Hurricanes held Montreal to 12 and 13 shots respectively, but the difference tonight is that they finally found a little more finish.
Carolina blew the game open midway through the first period, putting three past Jakub Dobes in less than three minutes.
Sebastian Aho got the party started with the team's first power play goal of the series, rifling home a Nikolaj Ehlers feed.
Just over a minute later, the Canes' third line got the cycle going and after a long o-zone shift, K'Andre Miller activated down from the blueline and fed a perfect pass to Jordan Staal in front.
And then a minute and a half later, Jackson Blake and Logan Stankoven were sprung on a 2-on-1 thanks to a monster Shayne Gostisbehere block and the former fed the latter for his team leading eighth goal of the playoffs.
From there, the Hurricanes just put the pressure on the Canadiens and even though the Habs had a few pushes, Andersen was there, stopping all 18 shots he faced for his third shutout of the postseason (Andrei Svechnikov scored an empty netter at the end too).
Again, the series isn't over by any means, but it's hard to see the Canadiens finding a way from here.
Outside of Carolina's disastrous Game 1 start, where they gave up four goals in the opening 14 minutes following 11 straight days off, there really hasn't been any portion of games where you can say Montreal was better.
Yes, they've gotten strong goaltending and they've certainly been opportunistic with their chances, but that's not a sustainable method.
Carolina has been better in every matchup, their defense has been dominant on both ends of the ice, they're more physical, they're quicker to pucks, they're more decisive.
I mean, the Hurricanes had as many shots on Wednesday as the Canadiens have had combined over the last three games, even despite playing at home and being able to dictate their matchups in the last two.
The Hurricanes are a machine and the Habs so far just don't have an answer.
That's been the story of the playoffs so far, as Carolina handled the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers in back-to-back sweeps and now they sit just one win away from the Stanley Cup Final.
It's been a long road to get to this point, but the job is certainly not done.
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MONTREAL — Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal and Logan Stankoven scored in a 2:47 span late in the first period and the Carolina Hurricanes moved within a victory of the Stanley Cup Final, beating the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 on Wednesday night.
Frederik Andersen made 18 saves for his third shutout in 12 postseason games this year to help the Hurricanes take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final.
Game 5 is Friday night in North Carolina, with the series winner facing the Vegas Golden Knights.
Carolina’s Jordan Staal (11) scores on goalie Jakub Dobes during the Canadiens’ 4-0 Game 4 win over the Canadiens on May 27, 2026 in Montreal. The Canadian Press via AP
“We have better,” Stankoven said. “It’s great to come out like a team like this and perform like that, but I think at this time of the year you can’t bring your ‘B’ game. You have to bring your ‘A’ game every night.”
Nikolaj Ehlers and Shayne Gostisbehere each had two assists for the Hurricanes. They are the seventh NHL team to win six or more road games to start a postseason.
“Definitely excited,” Gostisbehere said. “Have to take care of business.”
Anderson and the Hurricanes are 11-1 in the first three rounds. They put it away early in Game 4 after winning the previous two games in overtime.
The Hurricanes scored first for the fourth straight game when Aho beat Jakub Dobes with a one-timer from the right circle on a power play with 5:02 left in the first.
Sebastian Aho (right) celebrates his goal with Carolina teammates Andrei Svechnikov (37), Nikolaj Ehlers (27) and Shayne Gostisbehere (4) during the first period of the Hurricanes’ Game 4 win over the Canadiens. The Canadian Press via AP
Staal followed with 3:53 to go, tipping in K’Andre Miller’s centering pass. Stankoven then finished off a two-on-one with Jason Blake with 2:14 remaining in the period.
“The game’s going to humble you,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “Whenever you get humbled, you stand tall.”
Andrei Svechnikov had an empty-net goal in the third.
Frederik Andersen, who had 17 saves, stops a Cole Caufield shot during the Hurricanes’ Game 4 win over the Canadiens. The Canadian Press via AP
Carolina had a 19-3 shots-on-goal advantage in the third period for a 43-18 overall edge.
“It seemed like the only guy that showed up was Doby,” Montreal defenseman Lane Hutson said. “Wasn’t good enough. Didn’t answer the bell.”
Shohei Ohtani is one of the best in the business and he continues to prove it.
The Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star crushed a leadoff home run in LA's Wednesday meeting with the Colorado Rockies in the bottom first inning, sending it 424 feet over the center field fence.
May 27, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens right wing Josh Anderson (17) shoots on Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) during the second period in game four of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
MONTREAL (AP) — Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal and Logan Stankoven scored in a 2:47 span late in the first period and the Carolina Hurricanes moved within a victory of the Stanley Cup Final, beating the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 on Wednesday night.
Frederik Andersen made 18 saves for his third shutout in 12 postseason games this year to help the Hurricanes take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final. Game 5 is Friday night in North Carolina, with the series winner facing the Vegas Golden Knights.
Anderson and the Hurricanes are 11-1 in the first three rounds. They put it away early in Game 4 after winning the previous two games in overtime.
The Hurricanes scored first for the fourth straight game when Aho beat Jakub Dobes with a one-timer from the right circle on a power play with 5:02 left in the first.
Staal followed with 3:53 to go, tipping in K’Andre Miller’s centering pass. Stankoven then finished off a two-on-one with Jason Blake with 2:14 remaining in the period.
Andrei Svechnikov had an empty-net goal in the third.
Carolina had a 19-3 shots-on-goal advantage in the third period for a 43-18 overall edge.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 25: Teoscar Hernández #37 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after striking out during the second inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on May 25, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Teoscar Hernández was forced to depart the game early on Wednesday, as he came up hobbling trying to beat a ground ball in the bottom of the second inning against the Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers announced that Hernández suffered a left hamstring strain.
Teoscar Hernández left tonight’s game with a left hamstring strain.
Hernández was slow to walk off the field and was seen on the SportsNet LA broadcast smashing his helmet against the helmet cubby in the dugout. He was replaced by Hyeseong Kim in left field to begin the top of the third inning.
After miring in a month-long homerless drought, Hernández was one of the driving forces behind the Dodgers’ 7-2 road trip, as he smashed three home runs and drove in 13 runs in the nine games against the Angels, Padres and Brewers. Hernández had a hit in each of the first two games against the Rockies, and he finishes the series with a .250 average over the three games.
Hernández joins Kiké Hernández as another Dodger to exit the game early against Colorado, as the utility man suffered a left oblique strain during batting practice on Monday and left after the fourth inning on Tuesday. Alex Freeland was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City with Hernández landing back on the injured list.
Carson Benge came into Wednesday night's series finale against the Reds with just one hit in his last 20 at-bats, so he decided it was time to shake things up.
The youngster shaved off his mustache, and the new-look actually worked.
Benge came through for the Mets in a big way, coming through with a pair of clutch run-scoring knocks late in the game to help them end their five-game losing skid.
“It’s always nice to get a win,” he said. “You always want to go out and win.”
The 23-year-old lost the lefty-lefty matchup with Andrew Abbott each of his first two times up, but he was sure to make the Reds pay for a two-out error in the bottom of the fifth.
Benge battled back from down 0-2 in the count, working things full before pulling his hands in and dumping an up-and-in fastball to shallow center for the massive knock.
“You just fight,” he said. “Fight for every pitch to not give him anything there.”
“He continues to work and grind out at-bats,” manager Carlos Mendoza added. “Those were some really good takes trying to stay in the fight and not trying to do too much in that spot.”
The rookie slugger kept that same approach his next time up, two innings later.
Facing a righty with a man on third and two outs, Benge again fought off a tough pitch way up and out of the zone, and he was able to drop it in to add a much-needed insurance run.
“I said to [bench coach] Kai Correa right away, it’s really good to see,” Mendoza said. “That’s a pitch that he struggled with early on, and he just continues to get better, he continues to find a way -- those weren’t easy at-bats there, the two of them.
“The thing I like about him is you can’t tell if he’s 0-for-8 the past couple of days or he’s coming off a game like this -- he’s going to show up and be the same person and just give you his best, it’s impressive for a player his age.”
Even with the rough stretch, Benge is now hitting .302 with six XBH’s, 14 RBI, and a .753 OPS in May.
