Jordan Walker’s 4-Hit Game Helps St. Louis Cardinals Beat Dodgers 7-2

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MAY 1: Nolan Gorman #16 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates with Jordan Walker #18 of the St. Louis Cardinals after hitting a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning at Busch Stadium on May 1, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Thanks to a strong start by Matthew Liberatore and offensive thunder from Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson, the St. Louis Cardinals welcomed the Los Angeles Dodgers to town by beating them 7-2.

After a 1-2-3 top of the first from Matthew Liberatore, the St. Louis Cardinals did not hesitate to get on the board with an assist from Dodgers starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan. Ivan Herrera drew a one-out walk after JJ Wetherholt struck out. Alec Burleson then fouled out, but Jordan Walker laced a single to left field. Both Walker and Herrera moved up a base after a throwing error by Will Smith. The Cardinals were gifted their first run when Sheehan failed to notify the umpires that he was going to throw from a windup instead of the stretch. That resulted in a balk and a 1-0 Cardinals lead as Herrera scored. Walker would also score after Nolan Gorman lit up a 3-2 pitch from Sheehan and deposited it into the right field stands making it 3-0 Cardinals.

The Dodgers drew closer in the top of the 2nd inning after Andy Pages singled to right and Max Muncy drilled a ball over Victor Scott II’s head in left-center field making it 3-1 St. Louis.

The Cardinals would add to their lead in the 3rd inning when Alec Burleson turn on a low-inside pitch driving it over the right field wall giving St. Louis a 4-1 lead.

Matthew Liberatore would last through 5 2/3 innings as he got into trouble in the top of the 6th inning giving up a single to Freddie Freeman followed by a walks to Smith and Hernandez. Kyle Tucker hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to make the score 4-2 Cardinals. Manager Oli Marmol took Liberatore out of the game and brought in George Soriano who was able to limit the damage by getting Andy Pages on a flyout to short center field.

In the top of the 7th inning, Masyn Winn showed why he is a Gold Glove shortstop as he covered 122 feet in chasing down a ball in foul territory making an incredible catch while barely avoiding a collision with a sliding Nathan Church who was charging in from left field. George Soriano would do his part by striking out Shohei Ohtani looking to end the inning.

The Cardinals would threaten in the bottom of the 7th inning when Ivan Herrera singled to right and Alec Burleson drew a walk. Jordan Walker then hung in on a two-strike breaking ball and ripped it down the left field line for a double scoring both Herrera and Burleson giving St. Louis a 6-2 lead.

Masyn Winn was hit by a high-inside pitch by Henriquez who had come into the game in relief which Winn took issue with as he was hot heading to first base. Jordan Walker, who had advanced to third on his double when the ball was misplayed in left field, scored on a high chopper by Nathan Church that the Dodgers were unable to turn into a double play by forcing Winn at second. That extended Cardinals lead to 7-2 heading into the 8th inning.

Gordon Graceffo was brought in to handle the Dodgers in the top of the 8th. He was greeted by Freddie Freeman’s line-drive single to left to start the inning. After Smith lined out and Hernandez flied out, Kyle Tucker walked, but Graceffo stranded them both when he struck out Pages confirmed by an ABS challenge. Both Graceffo and Soriano would provide an inning each of scoreless relief.

Matt Svanson was brought in to close out a 5-run lead in the 9th inning and he did it with no drama. He retired Max Muncy on a flyout to center. Alec Burleson made an excellent play on a ball down the first base line from Rojas. Svanson also did a fine job covering the bag for the second out. Kim then singled to left bringing up Shohei Ohtani, but Svanson was able to get him to fly out to center to end the game.

The Cardinals will send Michael McGreevy to the mound for Saturday night’s game against the Dodgers. It’s a 6:15pm central time first pitch at Busch Stadium for a game that will be a national TV broadcast on Fox.

Inside the numbers: How Detroit escaped elimination in Orlando with a stunning comeback

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Orlando forward Paolo Banchero, when asked to explain what went wrong for the Magic in the second half against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, had a very succinct answer.

“They went on a pretty big run there,” Banchero said. “And we didn't score.”

It truly might have been that simple.

The Pistons — facing elimination and down by 24 points, on the road, in the second half, and about to join an ignominious club of No. 1 seeds who were ousted from the playoffs by No. 8 seeds — pulled off a comeback for the ages in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Magic.

The final score: Pistons 93, Magic 79.

“We weren't going to lay down,” Pistons guard Cade Cunningham said. “For anything.”

A breakdown of how the comeback — or the collapse, depending on one’s perspective — happened:

The basic numbers

— The score over the first 25 minutes: Magic 62, Pistons 38.

— The score over the final 23 minutes: Pistons 55, Magic 17.

— The score in the fourth quarter: Pistons 31, Magic 8.

— Orlando's shooting percentage in the fourth quarter: 5%. The Magic were 1 for 20.

— That was the worst shooting percentage by any team, in any quarter, since Washington shot 5% in the fourth quarter against Charlotte on Nov. 25, 2015. Put another way, it was the worst shooting performance in any quarter by an NBA team in the league's last 20,238 games.

Orlando's shooting drought

The Magic missed 23 consecutive shots from the field, the most by any team in a playoff game during the play-by-play era (which started with the 1996-97 season).

— Banchero and Desmond Bane were both 0 for 6.

— Jalen Suggs was 0 for 4.

— In all, eight Magic players missed a shot during the drought and 13 of the 23 misses were from 3-point range.

— Orlando led 70-54 when the run of missed shots started. Detroit led 89-75 when it ended. That's a 35-5 Pistons run.

— In game time, the missed-shot stretch took 13 minutes, 50 seconds. In real time, it was about 41 minutes.

What the Pistons did

Cunningham had seven field goals in the second half and Duncan Robinson had four for the Pistons in that span.

The Magic — as a team — had four baskets, in the entire second half. And Cunningham outscored the Magic in the second half by himself, 24-19.

“I mean, we just have amazing spirit and never quit," Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “This is a testament to what we’ve built.”

Detroit didn't exactly get red-hot; the Pistons shot 40% in the second half. But the defense and a dominant show on the glass — the Pistons outrebounded the Magic 35-17 in the second half — was more than enough.

The final word

“It keeps us alive. It allows us to fight another day. And now it's about us going and finishing the job. None of this stuff means anything if we don't go win Game 7. But we'll be back at home, we'll have a lot of energy in there, and these last two games have given us a lot of life.” — Cunningham, on what the comeback and having a chance to play Game 7 means.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Blue Jays 7, Twins 3: Kazuma Okamoto OWNS SWR

This guy kicked the Twins’ butts. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

First-year MLBer Kazuma Okamoto put some hurtin’ on Simeon Woods-Richardson, the Twins threw too many outs and chances away. Inning-by-inning notes:

1: George Springer with the leadoff single, and a good cheer comes through on the radio. So, as usual, there’s a lotta Jays fans at TF. Who in my experience are basically the nicest people you could hope for. (Royals fans are nice too, if a little drunker. My experience with these fans at like 10 games over the years is of course indicative of all trends in human behavior.) A 6-3 DP eliminates the runner.

Six-game hitting streak for DH Ryan Jeffers; he makes it seven with a two-out single. Nothing comes of it.

2: Some one-out danger, courtesy of Daulton Varsho and Lenyn Sosa (Sosa is not related to bat-corking Sammy, musical Lennon or socialist Lenin). A WP advances both runners and the defense plays in. This only works if you field properly, and 1B Josh Bell does not.

A soft single to Bell; he comes home with it, and he’s WAY off. Varsho scores and the ball goes out of play, so Sosa is awarded home plate, too. I’m reasonably confident that this is a throw I could have made better. However if I were to do it 100 times and Bell 100 times, he would screw up once or twice and I’d probably screw up 25 times.

Twins hitters; eight pitches, two strikeouts, one popup. It’s not IDEAL. Blue Jays 2-0

3: Six pitches and three outs for Simeon Woods-Richardson. None are strikeouts, so there’s some luck in play, but we’ll take it. Or I will. You can choose not to take it, if you so desire. Or if you are Twisted Sister.

A Brooks Lee single, James Outman doing what his name indicates, and Buxton does his Lord Byron thing. We’re tied 2-2

4: And now we are untied. Kazuma Okamoto, an 11-year veteran of Japanese baseball, is hitting .125 on the season (his first in MLB) but leads the Jays in homers with five; now make it six. Then a Sosa double and Yohendrick Pinango single (you bet I CTRL-C, CTRL-Ved that name); Bux apologizes to Toronto for his homer by airmailing the throw to the infield, and Pinango reaches second. Then a flyout and a HBP. Geez, SWR… a grounder to short ends the damage.

Luke Keaschall uses the theme from Rocky as his walkup music. That movie is about a boxer in Philadelphia. Keaschall is a baseball player from California playing in Minnesota. Anyways, Kris Atteberry on radio says it’s the only walkup song he knows. Keaschall walks and the next guy flies out to end the inning, but I’m curious; what ARE all the Twins’ walkup songs?

Here’s the list. Now, I don’t know a lot of the newer music, either. But, “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC (Kody Funderburk)? Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” (Taylor Rogers), Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” (Bailey Ober), “It’s Only Rock and Roll” by the Stones (Joe Ryan)? How can someone not know at least one of those songs? OK, maybe Atteberry just means BATTER walk-up songs… but nope, that’s a fail too, Buxton uses Bob Marley’s “Jammin’.” How can you go to college and not learn “Jammin’?” Somebody get Atteberry to a dealer immediately and hook him up with some Marley! I mean a MUSIC dealer. Jays 4-2

5: Okamoto does it again, off a splitter just on the corner, and with Vlad (The Inhaler) Guerrero Jr. on base, so this is now a Difficult Lead For The Twins To Catch Up To. A Sosa single and Pinango infield single and SWR is cooked. Rogers finishes the inning; I did not hear any Fleetwood Mac on the radio.

Hit Machine James Outman with the one-out single. Buxton hits one a long way, but rookie Pinango takes a nice quick route to catch it. The Twins waste the Mighty Slugging of the Outman, Toronto 6-2

6: Catcher Tyler Heineman, whose name sounds like he should be shilling skunky Dutch beer, leads off with a bloop single. He advances on a one-out FC and as Vlad, Son of Vlad, enters, so does Mr. Rogers leave the neighborhood. Eric Orze records the out.

Bell has a one-out hit and Caratini advances him via HBP; this bounces Patrick Corbin, with Braydon Fisher coming in. Fisher sinks the Twins.

7: Eric Orze still pitching; here is his official picture:

Okamoto takes a walk, and on a grounder to short, Brooks Lee doesn’t see how quickly Luke Keaschall got to the bag, so he throws it to first instead. Atteberry says “let’s hope that doesn’t come back to haunt the Twins.” It does on a two-out Pinango single; the two “rookies” are killin’ us.

Incidentally, Dan Gladden on radio talking about how Japanese hitters see a lot of a “shuuto” pitch, a kind of pitch that breaks down and in to right-handers. I didn’t know Gladden played in Japan! He did, just like Tom Selleck in Mr. Baseball! One season for the Yomiuri Giants of Tokyo. (Same team Okamoto played for, BTW.)

With Jeff Hoffman (no relation to Trevor) pitching, the Twins get two infield singles from Lee and Buxton. An Austin Martin single brings Jeffers to the plate with the bases full. He sac flies to left-center. And Bell grounds out to end the Little Rally That Couldn’t, Not The Expos 7-3

8: Pasta Power is still in there and saving some of the other bullpen arms. This would be great if the other bullpen arms were good.

It’s THEIR Rogers, Tyler, in to pitch. He handles the Twins just fine. I dunno if he uses Fleetwood Mac walkup music or not. He could go with “Gold Dust Woman,” cause he makes you cry, makes you break down. Or “Tusk” just to make opponents’ ears bleed from those terrible horns.

9: Now pitching for the Twins is Luis García; WHO? A 39-year-old righty with a career ERA of 4.13, although last year he was not very good. The Mets cut him in April and the Twins signed him a week later, since last year they traded away all their good relievers. He does fine.

One of those good relievers was Louis Varland from St. Paul, MN. Atteberry tells a story about being on the Twins caravan with Varland and Varland critiquing the drywall in a restaurant, since that’s his family’s line of business. This game feels like drywall. Two outs brings us a Buxton walk and a Austin Martin infield single. Jeffers strikes out. Varland throws 27 pitches but the Twins lose

Studs: Okamoto, Pinango, Bux for bomba. Duds: Bell for bad throw, SWR for bad pitching, Royce Lewis for sadly being a shell of his former self right now.

COTG go to sandwiches with “I feel like switching out bullpen pitchers is like switching out which cactus I am forced to sit on when I’m interrogated by the government for appreciating certain aspects of life.” And norff with a little poem:

Born too late to explore the earth
Born too early to explore the cosmos
Born just in time to watch Byron Buxton play baseball

Nice! Also, I have been using blogging software for 13 years and I finally figured out how to do single instead of double spacing in WordPress. Oh well I had to learn something eventually. Thanks to everyone who participated in the thread.

Tomorrow’s game is at 1:10 Central, and features Toronto starter Dylan Cease against rookie Connor Prelipp. Catch ya next time!

Dodgers on Deck: Saturday, May 2 at Cardinals

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MAY 1: Max Muncy #13 of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits an RBI double against the St. Louis Cardinals in the second inning at Busch Stadium on May 1, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals are back at it on Saturday for the middle game of the weekend series at Busch Stadium, with Roki Sasaki looking to build off his first win of the season.

Sasaki remains a mixed bag in the rotation, and rode his harder splitter to more control last Saturday against the Chicago Cubs, with only one walk in five-plus innings, his fewest walks in any MLB start to date. But he also allowed four runs, including three solo home runs.

Michael McGreevy starts for St. Louis. In his three home starts this season, McGreevy has allowed three runs in 17 innings, with 13 strikeouts and three walks.

Saturday is the Dodgers’ second game this season exclusively televised by Fox. Just like last weekend against the Cubs at Dodger Stadium, the middle game in St. Louis will be called by Joe Davis.

Saturday game info
  • Teams: Dodgers at Cardinals
  • Ballpark: Busch Stadium
  • Time: 4:15 p.m. PT
  • TV: Fox
  • Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Chase the devil: Phillies 6, Marlins 5

May 1, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; The Philadelphia Phillies celebrate their win against the Miami Marlins following the game at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

What started as a pitchers’ duel and later opened up to look like a comfortable win became a nailbiter as the Philadelphia Phillies (13-19) defeated the Miami Marlins (15-17) by a score of 6-5 to secure their fourth straight victory.

In his second start of the season, Zack Wheeler notched his first win, striking out eight and allowing just one run in six innings of work. After throwing 84 pitches in his first outing, he ramped it to 94 and appears to be unrestricted going forward.

The Marlins’ lone run against Wheeler came in the bottom of the first on the strength of back to back doubles by Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards.

The offense strung together four hits and a walk against Eury Perez in the top of the fourth inning to take the lead on singles by Brandon Marsh and Alec Bohm, a walk by Bryson Stott and a double by Justin Crawford.

They would pad the lead in the top of the seventh off Marlins’ lefty reliever, Cade Gibson, scoring four in the frame to take a 6-1 lead. Bryce Harper doubled, Marsh was hit on the elbow, Edmundo Sosa singled home Harper and Stott cleared the bases with a three-run home run, his first of the year.

Orion Kerkering threw a scoreless bottom of the seventh before the bullpen began to unravel in the eighth and ninth innings.

The Fish got three runs back against Jonathan Bowlan and Jose Alvarado in the eighth before Alvarado got a crucial punchout of Christopher Morel to end the inning, stranding runners on second and third.

Brad Keller came on to close and was wild out of the gate, 10 of his first 17 pitches landing outside the strike zone. Somehow he managed just a leadoff walk to Javier Sanoja and two strikeouts with that effort, but Sanoja stole second and scored on Lopez’s third hit and second RBI single of the game to cut the lead to one. With a full count and the winning run at the plate, Keller got Edwards to fly out to center where Crawford secured the easy catch to end it.

After his historic day at the plate yesterday, Kyle Schwarber wore the platinum sombrero with five strikeouts.

The Phils will try to set a season-long winning streak tomorrow as they kick off the Philly Sportspocalypse at 4:10pm tomorrow as Andrew Painter faces off against Max Meyer.

Cavs find new way to collapse in Game 6 overtime loss to Raptors

TORONTO, CANADA - MAY 1: RJ Barrett #9 of the Toronto Raptors scores the game winning basket against the Cleveland Cavaliers during Round One Game Six of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on May 1, 2026 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

This era of Cleveland Cavaliers basketball has become synonymous with playoff collapses. How it happens changes. The final result doesn’t.

This time, it was RJ Barrett who broke Cleveland’s heart by hitting a game-winning three that careened off the rim, hung in the air for eternity, and then fell through the hoop with just over a second to play to keep the Toronto Raptors season alive. That bounce turned what would’ve been a 110-109 win for the Cavs into a 112-110 victory for Toronto.

For as good as that shot was, Barrett should’ve never had an opportunity to attempt it, at least not for the win.

The Cavs had the ball up one with 11 seconds to play. Head coach Kenny Atkinson subbed Dennis Schroder, the Game 5 hero, into the game for the crucial possession and decided to inbound the ball in the backcourt.

Toronto applied pressure, but Schroder broke it, bursting into the front court. Then, inexplicably, he attempted a pass to Evan Mobley — the worst free-throw shooter on the court — when the Raptors were going to inevitably foul and send Cleveland to the line. As bad as that decision was, something far worse happened. Mobley just let the ball be poked out of his hands.

If that inexcusable mistake doesn’t happen, that shot from Barrett might not have either. Or at the very least, it probably wouldn’t have won Toronto the game.

But to blame the defeat on just one play is disingenuous. The Cavs lost this game in the first three quarters due to their inattention to detail, incoherent offense, poor lineup decisions, and the inability of their stars to rise to the occasion.

The Cavs sleptwalked through the first three quarters against a Raptors team that was without their starting point guard and leading scorer from the regular season. They approached the game with the same intensity you’d expect from the second night of a back-to-back in January. Not a closeout playoff game.

The Raptors took advantage. They were the aggressors as they jumped out to a 10-point lead at the break, and then extended it to 15 midway through the third quarter.

This game had all the makings of any of the previous Cavs no-shows in the playoffs. Except this time, they counterpunched.

Defense, not offense, got the Cavs back into the game.

The attention to detail that wasn’t present at the start of the game was suddenly there. This resulted in the Raptors going three-and-a-half minutes without scoring and putting up just 12 points in the fourth quarter.

Cleveland’s offense wasn’t great, but it did enough to get them back into the game. Donovan Mitchell came alive, scoring 11 points in the final frame.

For as well as the Cavs played throughout the fourth, they couldn’t get over the hump. They found themselves down two with 16 seconds left, before Evan Mobley hit a clutch finger roll to tie the game.

A missed Jamal Shead three-pointer sent the game to overtime.

The Cavs then grabbed their first lead since the opening quarter off a James Harden midrange jumper. Then, a Mitchell finger roll with 34 seconds left in overtime gave the Cavs a two-point advantage.

Unfortunately for Cleveland, that would be the last shot attempt they would get.

Jamal Shead drew a shooting foul on the following possession. He split his free throws, making it a one-point game.

Cleveland grabbed the rebound on the missed shot. Mitchell advanced it into the forecourt and was then fouled. The Raptors had a foul to give, which meant the Cavs had to do it again before they could attempt free throws. Then Mobley fumbled it away, Barrett hit the three, and the Raptors escaped with the victory.

Mobley was the lone bright spot in the loss for Cleveland, even though he committed the turnover late.

Mobley played one of the best games of his career, considering the moment. He came up with numerous big shots, including a triple at the end of regulation and a game-tying basket just before the close of the fourth quarter that kept the Cavs in this game. Mobley finished with 26 points on 9-15 shooting with 14 rebounds, three assists, and a steal.

Mitchell struggled to get anything going until the fourth quarter. He ended the evening with 24 points, but it took him 26 shots to get there. He had just five rebounds, two assists, and three turnovers in the loss.

Harden struggled to find his scoring touch. He went 5-14 from the field for just 16 points. He did, however, provide nine big rebounds, including five on the offensive end, to go along with nine assists. Turnovers were once again a problem for the Cavs, and Harden was the biggest culprit as he committed four.

Toronto was led by 25 points from Scottie Barnes on 11-21 shooting to go along with 14 assists, seven rebounds, three steals, and three blocks. Barrett and Ja’Kobe Walter had 24 points apiece.

The Cavs are one loss away from their season ending. Game 7 will be back home on Sunday evening.

Okamoto Homers Twice, Jays Beat Twins

May 1, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto (7) celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run against Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson (24) in the fifth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Jays 7 Twins 3

Kazuma Okamoto had a slow start to the season, but he’s picked things up lately. Today he had 2 home runs, a walk, 3 runs and 3 RBI. 31 games into his MLB career he has 7 home runs, and 18 RBI.

And, unlike yesterday, the pitching was good and the defense was good.

  • Patrick Corbin went 5.1, allowed 6 hits, 2 earned, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts. He gave up a home run to Byron Buxton in the third inning, which accounted for his 2 earned runs. Corbin wasn’t great but he got the outs when he needed them.
  • Braydon Fisher got the last two outs of the sixth.
  • Jeff Hoffman gave up a run in the seventh. He had a very soft single, in front of Okamoto. Then a strikeout. Next Buxton hit one right at Andrés Giménez. I thought Giménez should have moved up to get the ball, but he waited back and then made a bad throw to first. It was called a hit, but I thought it was a clear error. A well hit single loaded the bases. Then Ryan Jeffers ripped one to deep left, but Daulton Varsho caught it on the edge of the track. It scored a run. Then another easy grounder to short, but that one was the third out. 16 pitchers. It could have been 3-up, 3-down, since the first two singles were 3 and 5 feet (in the air), with expect batting averages of .050 and .200.
  • Tyler Rogers got the eight. It went ground out, strikeout, strikeout.
  • Louis Varland pitched the ninth. He’s had a couple of days off, so he was likely to pitch today, not matter what. He gave up a two-out infield single.


On offense, we had 11 hits. Lenyn Sosa and Yohendrick Pinango (who I’m calling Lips, as it is easier to spell than Yohendrick. And Okamoto had the two homers (he came within 4 feet of getting a third homer). 0 for went to Andrés Giménez, Vlad (with a walk) and Jesus Sanchez.

We scored:

  • Two in the second: Varsho and Sosa had one out singles, and moved to third on a Simeon Woods Richardson wild pitch. Lips hit a ground ball to first, and Josh Bell threw home. Varsho should have been out by 10 feet, but Bell threw sidearm and missed his catcher. Both runners scored.
  • Two in the fourth: Okamoto led off with a homer. An out later, Sosa doubled and Lips singled him home.
  • Two in the fifth: Vlad walked and Okamoto homered.
  • One in the seventh: Okamoto walked, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Pinango single.

Jays of the Day: Pinango (.26 WPA), and Okomoto (.24).

Other Award: Sanchez had the number at -.11.

Tomorrow is a 2:00 start time. Dylan Cease (1-1, 2.87) vs. Connor Prielipp (1-0, 4.00)

Barrett hits winning 3-pointer in OT as Raptors force Game 7, beat Cavaliers 112-100

TORONTO — RJ Barrett hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining in overtime and the Toronto Raptors pushed their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series to a seventh game by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-110 on Friday night.

Evan Mobley had a chance to win it for Cleveland but his 3-pointer bounced off the front of the rim.

Scottie Barnes had 25 points and 14 assists, Barrett and Ja’Kobe Walter both scored 24 points and Collin Murray-Boyles added 17 as Toronto held on after blowing an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Game 7 is in Cleveland on Sunday. The home team has won all six games so far in the series.

Mobley had 26 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points and James Harden had 16 for the Cavaliers. Jarrett Allen scored 14 points and Dean Wade had 10.

Harden shot 5 for 14 and went 1 for 4 from 3-point range. He finished with nine rebounds and nine assists, but also made four turnovers.

Cleveland finished with 18 turnovers, leading to 25 points for Toronto.

The Raptors also held a big edge in fast-break points, outscoring the Cavaliers 20-6.

Barnes had 14 points and 10 assists by halftime, making him the eighth NBA player since 1997 with 14 or more points and 10 or more assists in one half of a playoff game.

Raptors forward Brandon Ingram did not play because of a sore right heel. Ingram left in the second quarter of Wednesday’s 125-120 loss at Cleveland.

Pistons rally from 24 down, beat Magic to force Game 7

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored 32 points and the top-seeded Detroit Pistons pulled off an incredible rally Friday night, erasing a 24-point deficit and beating the Orlando Magic 93-79 to force a Game 7 in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Detroit trailed by 22 at the half and Orlando’s lead went to 62-38 early in the third quarter. The Magic looked absolutely poised to become the seventh No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the conference quarterfinal round.

And then everything went wrong for Orlando. Everything.

The Magic became the first team since 1996-97 — when play-by-play began getting tracked digitally — to lose at home after leading by at least 24 points with a chance to win a series.

Tobias Harris scored 22 points for Detroit, which will host Game 7 on Sunday. Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane each scored 17 for Orlando, which is now 0-2 in closeout opportunities in this series.

RAPTORS 112, CAVALIERS 110, OT

TORONTO (AP) — RJ Barrett hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining in overtime and Toronto pushed their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series to a seventh game by beating Cleveland.

Evan Mobley had a chance to win it for Cleveland but his 3-pointer bounced off the front of the rim.

Scottie Barnes had 25 points and 14 assists, Barrett and Ja’Kobe Walter both scored 24 points and Collin Murray-Boyles added 17 as Toronto held on after blowing an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Game 7 is in Cleveland on Sunday. The home team has won all six games so far in the series.

Mobley had 26 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points and James Harden had 16 for the Cavaliers. Jarrett Allen scored 14 points and Dean Wade had 10.

LAKERS 98, ROCKETS 78

HOUSTON (AP) — LeBron James had 28 points and Los Angeles eliminated Houston in Game 6 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series by holding the Rockets to a season low in points.

The No. 4 seed Lakers move on to meet the top-seeded Thunder with Game 1 Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

The Lakers used a 27-3 run in the first half to take an 18-point lead at halftime. They led by 22 with about three minutes left in the third quarter before Houston went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 71-55 entering the fourth.

But Los Angeles opened the quarter with a 10-3 spurt, with five points from Rui Hachimura, to make it 81-58 with about seven minutes left.

Hachimura added 21 points with five 3-pointers.

Amen Thompson had 18 points and Alperen Sengun added 17 for Houston, which is heading home after a first-round playoff loss for a second straight season after losing to the Warriors in seven games last year.

Raptors force Game 7 thanks to miracle bounce on RJ Barrett game-winner

The Toronto Raptors had to scrap after blowing a 15-point lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second half, but guard RJ Barrett got the friendliest of bounces off the back rim on Toronto’s game-winning 3-pointer in overtime that extended the season to a Game 7.

With the Raptors facing a one-point deficit with 10.9 seconds left in overtime, Toronto inbounded the ball to forward Scottie Barnes, who brought it up the floor. Barnes faced a double-team when Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley collapsed on Barnes in the paint, leaving Barrett wide open at the top of the key. Barrett hoisted a 3-point attempt that hit the back rim and then bounced high in the air, reaching to the top of the shot clock above the basket, before it fell through the net.

The shot gave the Raptors a two-point edge, and Mobley missed the would-be, game-winning attempt on the other end to give Toronto a 112-110 victory.

The shot was reminiscent of another back-rim bounce from last season’s playoffs, when Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton tied Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals when his shot bounced high off the back rim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Raptors defeat Cavaliers thanks to bounce on RJ Barrett game winner

Another shutout

May 1, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays infielder Yandy Diaz (2) celebrates a home run during the second inning against San Francisco Giants at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Pablo Robles-Imagn Images | Pablo Robles-Imagn Images

For a Major League leading seventh time, the San Francisco Giants have been shutout, 22% of the 32 games played in the 2026 season. 

To put this dismal display in perspective, the 2019 Miami Marlins were shutout 22 times, the most in the Wild Card Era, which is roughly 14% of the 162 games in a regular season. The 1963 Mets, who lost 111 games, set the record in the Live Ball era at 30 shutouts, around 19% of their games. Currently, these 2026 Giants are on track to break that record by 6 shutouts. 

A sobering thought that may have occurred to Willy Adames and Rafael Devers at the same time, in this exact moment captured below.

The Giants offense is leading the league in hitters slouched over the dugout railing at the end of ballgames. They’re pacing the league in squinting at some far-off thing in the third deck just beyond the left field foul pole as they remove their batting gloves, their helmet, at the end of another fruitless offensive frame.

The offense recorded 6 total hits against Rays pitching. Their only extra base hit of the game — a Luis Arraez double in the 4th — was erased from the bases when, with the urging of third base coach Hector Borg, he tried to stretch it into a Luis Arraez triple.

A third base coach can have too much attention, and Borg might want to lay low for awhile. He was too cautious Thursday night in the 10th, and here, just too aggressive. All of its connected, of course. Everyone is frustrated and playing tight and overthinking and trying to do too much. Behavior that stems from team-wide ills.

San Francisco’s only at-bat with a runner in scoring position came an inning later against southpaw starter Shane McClanahan with runners at the corners and one out. To be more precise, the Giants saw two pitches in the entire game with a runner in scoring position. A slider in the dirt, and a change-up that Jerar Encarnacion rolled weakly to Junior Caminero for a 5-4-3 double play. 

Then in the 6th, still down by two — which, to be clear, is usually not an insurmountable run total to overcome — a lead-off single by Patrick Bailey was promptly undermined by a weak come-backer off the bat of Heliot Ramos that McClananahan fielded for a 1–4-3 double play.

An outfield assist. Two double plays. That was it. Trying to spark a rally for these Giants has been like trying to build a house of cards. They don’t walk, they don’t hit for extra bases, they don’t steal. There’s only so many singles you can string together before someone nudges the table, or sneezes, or breathes wrong, and sends the whole flimsy structure tumbling down. The Giants actually out-hit Tampa 6-to-5, they just didn’t out-slug them. If singles are Bicycle Playing Cards, extra base hits are Lincoln Logs. The Rays converted three hits and a sac fly into three runs off of Robbie Ray because two of them cleared the wall, and the other was manufactured off a double, a stolen base, and situational hitting. 

Ray turned in another quality start, giving up 3 earned on 4 hits, 0 walks, and 5 strike outs over 6.1 innings, and was stuck with his fourth loss of the year for his efforts. Three of those losses, bizarrely enough, have come in 3-0 shutouts.

So I guess Ray is the problem?

Goncalves scores in OT, Lightning beat Canadiens to force Game 7

MONTREAL (AP) — Gage Goncalves scored off his own rebound at 9:02 overtime and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 on Friday night to force a Game 7 in the first-round series.

Goncalves scored soon after the Lightning killed scoring star Nikita Kucherov’s penalty for tripping Alexandre Carrier.

Game 7 is Sunday in Tampa. The Lightning are trying to avoid a fourth consecutive first-round exit, while the Canadiens are chasing their first series victory in five years.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves for Tampa Bay, and Jakub Dobes stopped 32 shots for Montreal. The first three games of the series also went to overtime.

SABRES 4, BRUINS 1

BOSTON (AP) — Alex Tuch and Mattias Samuelsson scored in the first period, Zach Benson added another early in the third and Buffalo beat Boston in Game 6 to advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2007.

Josh Norris added an empty-netter. Alex Lyon finished with 25 saves.

The 4-2 series victory is the latest milestone for Buffalo, which saw the end of its 14-year playoff drought by capturing its first Atlantic Division title. The 2007 season was also the last time the Sabres advanced to the second round. They lost in the conference finals that year.

David Pastrnak scored the lone goal for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman made 22 stops.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5, MAMMOTH 1

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Mitch Marner had two goals and an assist, Carter Hart made 21 saves and Vegas beat Utah Mammoth in Game 6 to wrap up the first-round series.

Vegas will face Anaheim in the second round. The Ducks advanced Thursday night with a 5-2 home victory over Edmonton in Game 6.

Vegas has surged since John Tortorella took over as coach from the fired Bruce Cassidy, closing the regular season 7-0-1 after the change.

Marner had two goals and five assists in the series.

Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves for Utah. The Mammoth led in the third period in each of the first five games.

Sabres beat Bruins 4-1 in Game 6 to reach 2nd round for 1st time since 2007

BOSTON (AP) — Alex Tuch and Mattias Samuelsson scored in the first period, Zach Benson added another early in the third and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Friday night in Game 6 to advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2007.

Josh Norris added an empty-netter. Alex Lyon finished with 25 saves.

The 4-2 series victory is the latest milestone for Buffalo, which saw the end of its 14-year playoff drought by capturing its first Atlantic Division title. The 2007 season was also the last time the Sabres advanced to the second round. They lost in the conference finals that year.

Buffalo will play the winner if the Montreal-Tampa Bay series in the second round. That series will go to seven games after the Lightning’s 1-0 overtime win Friday night in Montreal.

David Pastrnak scored the lone goal for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman made 22 stops.

Tempers flared with 1:31 to play after Benson tripped Charlie McAvoy. McAvoy responded with a slash at Benson. Both were sent to the penalty box.

It ends a feisty series comeback for the Bruins after earning a playoff berth in their first season under coach Marco Sturm. Boston has lost its last six home playoff games.

Goncalves scores in OT, Lightning beat Canadiens to force Game 7

MONTREAL — Gage Goncalves scored off his own rebound at 9:02 overtime and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 on Friday night to force a Game 7 in the first-round series.

Goncalves scored soon after the Lightning killed scoring star Nikita Kucherov’s penalty for tripping Alexandre Carrier.

Game 7 is Sunday in Tampa. The Lightning are trying to avoid a fourth consecutive first-round exit, while the Canadiens are chasing their first series victory in five years.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves for Tampa Bay, and Jakub Dobes stopped 32 shots for Montreal. The first three games of the series also went to overtime.

The game was the second in three days to go to overtime scoreless, with Philadelphia beating Pittsburgh 1-0 on Wednesday night to end that series in six games. Before the season, the last 0-0 playoff game in regulation was in 2021.

Dobes and the Canadiens survived a flurry of shots on a late power play. The Lightning got the man advantage after Ivan Demidov broke in on Vasilevskiy, failed to score and was called for goalie interference.

Late in the second — with the Lightning’s Charle-Edouard D’Astous off for slashing Phillip Danault — Vasilevskiy stopped Demidov twice from close range.

Tampa Bay had a power-play chance early in the third after Kaiden Guhle was called for slashing Jake Guentzel. On the Lightning’s best chance, Nikita Kucherov fired a shot off the post.

Montreal had only one shot on goal on a power play to start the second period with Guentzel off for high-sticking Guhle with 11 seconds left in the first.

Danault kept it scoreless a few minutes later when he swept the puck away before it could cross the goal line. Montreal then killed Alexandre Texier’s high-sticking penalty.

Orioles fall behind early, never recover in 7-2 loss to Yankees

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 01: Aaron Judge #99 and Ben Rice #22 of the New York Yankees celebrate after Ben Rice hit a three run home run in the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium on May 01, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Two early Yankees home runs dug the Orioles a hole they couldn’t fly out of, as the O’s dropped their series opener in the Bronx 7-2.

As we’ve seen many times this season, a disastrous 2nd inning put the Orioles behind early and ruined the outing for Povich. With the game tied at 1-1, Povich began the inning strong, getting the former All-Star Jazz Chisolm Jr. to wave through a slider for the first out of the inning. From there, though, things went from bad to worse for the Orioles’ lefty. The very next pitch, José Caballero attacked a fastball up and in, hooking it around left field foul pole for a solo homer that gave New York a 2-1 lead.

Povich would come back to strike out catcher Austin Wells on another slider down and away. But the Caballero homer put a crack in Povich’s dam, a crack that Ben Rice would break wide open. With two outs, Trent Grisham attacked a 2-2 fastball, sending it into right field for a double. Paul Goldschmidt then worked a four-pitch walk to bring Rice to the plate. After Povich spiked a first-pitch slider in the dirt, he tried to go back to the breaking ball, only to leave it hanging and watch Rice pummel it into the right field bleachers for a 5-1 Yankees lead.

The Yankees almost chased Povich from the game, as Aaron Judge continued the two-out rally with a single to right, before Cody Bellinger ripped his second double of the night to move Judge to third. The Oriole starter was able to escape that jam, punching out Amed Rosario looking on a fastball down and in. However, after giving up four runs on 34 pitches in the 2nd, it was clear it wouldn’t be a banner night for Povich.

The signs of a potentially long night showed up from Povich’s very first inning. He again started the inning well, getting leadoff hitter Paul Goldschmidt to ground out to second before Taylor Ward robbed Rice of a hit with a sliding catch in left. Povich then got ahead of Judge 1-2, only to lose the 3x-MVP on a seven-pitch walk. Bellinger then lined a ball down the line in right, which got away from Dylan Beavers after a carom off the wall, allowing Judge to score from first and Bellinger to coast into second with a double.

In the top of the 2nd, Pete Alsono gave Birdland some hope that this would be a competitive game—if only briefly. With the O’s down 1-0, Yankee starter Will Warren left a sinker over the plate, and Alonso blasted it the other way into the right field second deck for his fifth home run as an Oriole.

However, the Alonso homer proved to be an anomaly, as the Orioles’ lineup struggled to find any answers against New York’s 26-year-old right-hander. Warren started his evening by punching out Gunnar Henderson swinging on a changeup low and away. Judge then gave his starter a defensive assist on a Taylor Ward fly ball, snagging a deep fly up against the right field fence. Warren then finished the inning with a strikeout of Adley Rutschman, freezing the Orioles’ hottest hitter with a fastball at the knees.

Strikeouts were a problem all night for the Baltimore bats, as they often seemed befuddled by the Yankees’ starter. Warren punched out another two Birds in the 2nd, getting Samuel Basallo to swing through a changeup before getting Dylan Beavers to chase another offspeed offering. Coby Mayo led off the 3rd with another strikeout by flailing at a sweeper that finished in the left-handed batter’s box. Warren then punctuated that frame with a punch out of Taylor Ward, getting the Orioles’ LF to swing through a low sinker.

After a Blaze Alexander single in the 3rd, Warren set down the next 12 Orioles he faced, with only two balls leaving the infield on a pair of F7’s in the 5th. Alonso finally broke that streak in the 7th, working a six-pitch walk to give the Orioles their first base runner in four innings. Basallo then followed that up with a single to center that took an awkward bounce past Grisham, allowing Alonso to move to third.

The Basallo bloop single set up the O’s only real scoring threat of the night, but the rest of the lineup couldn’t capitalize. Dylan Beavers tapped a grounder back to the mound that allowed Alonso to score to make it 5-2 with two outs. Leody Taveras then flew out to Judge to end the scoring threat—and any Orioles hopes of a comeback.

The Yankees would erase that consolation run in the 7th. Judge and Bellinger worked back-to-back two-out walks to give New York another runner in scoring position. Amed Rosario then singled up the middle to drive Judge home and restore the Yankees’ four-run advantage. The reigning AL MVP would then turn run provider in the 8th, singling up the middle on a sharp ground ball that drove home Rice from second and giving the Yankees their seventh run of the game.


The loss Friday night extends Baltimore’s losing streak against the Yankees to six games, with their last win against New York coming last September 19th in Baltimore. The O’s will try and snap that streak tomorrow when Kyle Bradish faces off against Ryan Weathers.