The San Francisco Giants are trying to get rolling early in the Tony Vitello era, having won three of their last four games after a 0-3 start to the season.
Vitello has shown excitement, passion and a willingness to share the ins and outs during his first year as a MLB manager, but some want him to tone it down.
Sports personality Chris Rose compared the Giants' skipper to Team USA manager Mark DeRosa in how open he was with the media during a radio appearance on The Morning Roast with Joe Spadoni and Joe Shasky on 95.7 The Game, the Bay Area's sports station.
"I think he's got a little bit of Mark DeRosa syndrome," Rose said on the radio show. "What I mean by that is D-Ro, who's a buddy of mine, I worked with him for a decade at Major League Baseball Network. To me, his biggest issue with Team USA was that he kind of let us in a little too much."
He added: "I know that's fun for us as people who are consuming and talking about content, but like, when D-Ro goes, 'yeah, the players, they invited all the coaches in to have a beer, and then the next day, some guys were hurting a little bit.' Like, that's okay to do, it's okay for the coaches to have a beer with their players and tell stories, and it's okay for players to be hurting a little bit the next day. Don't let everybody know."
Vitello has a knack for painting a picture when fielded questions from reporters. Rose is absolutely right, in a sense that it makes better for hits and clicks. But Vitello is seemingly comfortable with it and being himself.
"There was adult beverages, but there was other stuff mixed in too. So at some point I'll be plotting my revenge," Vitello joked with reporters after the team's first win and the first of his baseball managerial career. "I really get a sense like, no matter what happens, this group is going to get a lot closer together as the year goes on."
Rose supports Vitello and the Giants' hire. However, if there was one piece of advice he'd give him, it's to not give the people too much, but just enough.
"So you can't tell everything that's on your brain and have it come out of your mouth," Rose said. "And I would say, if there's one word of advice ... You don't have to make everything a story, I would say. But I find him fascinating, and I'm on board with him."
"You just gotta give him a chance. That's the thing," Baker said. "You know, just give him a chance and then you got to give him more than a year to make the adjustment."
Yahoo Sports senior MLB analysts Jordan Shusterman and Jake Mintz said on an episode of their "Baseball Bar-B-Cast" podcast that they appreciate how candid Vitello is but admitted he might have to switch things up after being swept in the New York Yankees series.
"I do appreciate Tony's authenticity, it's so refreshing, and his willingness to just be like, "This is how I feel," and he, this is how he felt after the second game. That transparency and honesty is refreshing for us," Mintz said. "But for the purpose of the job and for keeping things steady as the unofficial spokesperson of the baseball team, that is the part of his job that is just so different now, and the part that he's gonna have to figure out how to manage."
He added: "It doesn't mean I want Tony Vitello to suddenly become boring, and I don't think that's ever really going to happen. But for his own sake, we're gonna have to kind of keep it, keep it a little bit more even keeled."
Bay Area sports radio host Markus Boucher of KNBR said he likes how Vitello watches the game and makes adjustments off of feel and what he sees on the mound.
"I love the fact that Tony Vitello went with the EYE-alitics, not the analytics," Boucher said. "You gotta watch the damn game, Tony Vitello felt that."
The Vancouver Canucks have officially secured the best odds for first overall for the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery. Vancouver will have a 25.5% chance at picking first overall this year after securing 32nd overall for the 2025-26 season. While the Canucks have the best odds, fans in the market should be concerned, as history has proven to go against those who finish last in the standings.
If Vancouver drops out of first overall, the farthest they can fall is to third. The Canucks will have an 18.8% chance of picking second, while their odds of picking third overall sit at 55.7%. Here is a look at how the lottery has gone since 2016.
2016
Toronto Maple Leafs- Retained 1st Selection
Winnipeg Jets- Moved from 6th to 2nd
Columbus Blue Jackets- Moved from 4th to 3rd
2017
New Jersey Devils- Moved from 5th to 1st
Philadelphia Flyers- Moved from 13th to 2nd
Dallas Stars- Moved from 8th to 3rd
2018
Buffalo Sabres- Retained 1st Selection
Carolina Hurricanes- Moved from 11th to 2nd
Montréal Canadiens- Moved from 4th to 3rd
2019
New Jersey Devils- Moved from 3rd to 1st
New York Rangers- Moved from 6th to 2nd
Chicago Blackhawks- Moved from 12th to 3rd
2020
New York Rangers- Moved from (8th - 15th) to 1st
Los Angeles Kings- Moved from 4th to 2nd
Ottawa Senators- Retained 3rd Selection
2021
Buffalo Sabres- Retained 1st Selection
Seattle Kraken- Moved from 3rd to 2nd
2022
Montréal Canadiens- Retained 1st Selection
New Jersey Devils- Moved from 5th to 2nd
2023
Chicago Blackhawks- Moved from 3rd to 1st
Anaheim Ducks- Moved from 1st to 2nd
2024
San Jose Sharks- Retained 1st Selection
Chicago Blackhawks- Retained 2nd Selection
2025
New York Islanders- Moved from 10th to 1st
Utah Mammoth- Moved from 14th to 4th
The 2026 NHL Draft Lottery is scheduled for May 5, 2026. The team that wins the lottery can move up a maximum of 10 slots in the draft. The lottery will be broadcast on Sportsnet.
Jun 27, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Braeden Cootes is selected as the 16th overall pick to the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft at Peacock Theater. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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DALLAS (AP) — The home arena of the Dallas Stars has launched an investigation into a video that apparently shows four fans celebrating a goal with a Nazi salute.
A spokesperson for the American Airlines Center told WFAA-TV in Dallas that the arena has “zero tolerance for any acts of hate and/or discrimination.”
“We strongly denounce the actions that appear to be depicted in the video footage and are conducting an internal investigation,” the spokesperson said. “All fans and attendees are expected to adhere to AAC and, as applicable, NBA or NHL Codes of Conduct when attending events.”
A Stars fan, Courtney Ripley, told the television station she took a 12-second video at a game against Toronto in late December. It shows four fans reacting to a goal by appearing to raise and extend their right arms with a straightened right hand facing downward. The video gained traction this week on several social media platforms.
A Stars spokesperson told ESPN on Thursday that the team is “fully aligned with the arena’s statement and working with them to find out exactly what happened.”
Fan codes of conduct are prominent throughout the NHL. Every team has a scripted segment that is shared on their video boards, through their public address system or both, telling fans about their respective codes of conduct.
The NHL also has a multipoint fan code of conduct that opens by stating, “The best hockey experiences happen in environments that are inclusive, safe and respectful.”
The NHL said possible punishments for violating the code of conduct include ejection, suspension or a lifetime ban from future events.
Jack Rudoni came on to score twice and edge Coventry a little closer to a Premier League return
2 min: Van Ewijk looks long for Simms. Clarke intercepts. Then Esse hassles Ward down the left and forces the first corner of the match. Coventry have scored 24 goals from set pieces this season, the division’s best … but this one comes to nothing.
Derby get the ball rolling. The CBS Arena roaring.
PARIS (AP) — Ousmane Dembélé scored twice in the first half as Paris Saint-Germain beat Toulouse 3-1 and increased its lead of Ligue 1 to four points on Friday.
The game was brought forward to give PSG more recovery time ahead of next Wednesday’s Champions League quarterfinal with Liverpool at the Parc des Princes.
PSG came into the match having scored 12 goals in its last three games and it took the lead midway through the opening period when Dembélé crashed a superb volley into the top corner from the edge of the 18-yard box.
However, four minutes later goalkeeper Matvey Safonov could not secure a wicked in-swinging corner and Rasmus Nicolaisen headed home the rebound to level the scores.
Dembélé restored PSG’s lead 12 minutes before halftime. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia headed on a corner kick and former Dortmund and Barcelona forward Dembélé was on hand to side-foot the ball over the line.
He had a third goal disallowed for offside in a second half dominated by the home side but it wasn’t until stoppage time that PSG added a third, substitute Gonçalo Ramos stroking home with his right foot from 25 meters.
The result lifted PSG four points clear of Lens, which travels to fifth-placed Lille on Saturday for the Derby du Nord.
You know, the one that’s kind of crusty, maybe losing sight or hearing — or both — hair matted, walks pretty slow and doesn’t play fetch? The funny thing about them is, when it seems like they’re in their final stages of life, they just don’t die. You wait for the end, and you keep on waiting.
There’s an old Husky lurking in the Connecticut locker room. It’s Alex Karaban, and he just won’t go down.
“Everybody knows that old dog that just won't die,” said UConn center Tarris Reed Jr. “My auntie had an old dog, he lived for a while. He just wouldn't die. Just stayed around, it be hard to kill him. I feel like that's (Karaban).”
Well, that’s one way to put it. That even threw off the dog himself.
“An old dog? Why an old dog,” he asked his teammate before the explanation only left him speechless.
He’s not exactly Old Yeller, but his coach offered him another title: baby sitter.
“He just babysits your team for 40 and a half years,” said UConn coach Dan Hurley. “I mean, he's been the best babysitter.”
Point is, this isn’t Karaban’s first rodeo, but it’s certainly his last as he closes his storied college career trying to achieve something that hasn’t been achieved by a player in more than 50 years: win three national championships.
Done eight times in history — all by those in John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty in the 1960s and 1970s — the last time it was accomplished was in 1971-73 with Larry Farmer and Larry Hollyfield.
Now 53 years later, Karaban is the person two wins away from joining this prestigious list, and even though the 23-year-old gets clowned on, his teammates want him to get there.
What’s remarkable about Karaban’s time is it wasn’t like he was some benchwarmer during the first two titles. A two-time captain, he has been a major factor in getting UConn on the cusp of a dynasty.
That’s why he became the first active men’s basketball player to be inducted into UConn’s illustrious Huskies of Honor, and already the team’s winningest player ever.
As a redshirt freshman, he appeared in all 39 games — starting the last 38 — to lead the team in total minutes played, all while shooting 40.2% from 3-point land. The following season, he started every game, upped his scoring from 9.3 to 13.3 points per game and shot nearly 50% from the field.
“He's the greatest problem solver you'll ever have in practice, in game, and then, like, the tone he sets for your culture with his work habits, the peer pressure that that puts on everyone in the organization when your best player works as hard as he does,” Hurley said.
Now in Indianapolis, the Huskies haven’t stopped leaning on Karaban either. He had some fun reminding the first-timers this is his third Final Four, and having him around has really helped those newbies go about the biggest stage in the sport.
Whether it’s dealing with playing in a football stadium, the pressure and endless questions from media, Karaban has given them tips on how to navigate it and not let it become too much. That’s probably why if Reed and guard Silas Demary Jr. needed a teammate as an emergency contact, they both would put down Karaban.
“Having a guy like that to literally lead your team been here before, he's poised on this stage,” Reed said. “Having that guy in your corner is really special.”
Not many people get to be in Karaban’s position, 4-0 in the Final Four with a chance to be 6-0. Even though he’s achieved all of this success, he feels like the Huskies have a chip on their shoulder as they aren’t the major favorite to win it all.
So, yes Karaban is an old dog, and he ain’t ready to go down just yet.
“It's an interesting way to put it, but I mean, yeah, I don't want this to end. I want to keep going. I want to keep fighting and really keep wearing that Connecticut jersey across my chest.,” Karaban said. “I guess the old dog wants to keep living for his treats — and my treat is a win — then, yeah, I'll keep fighting for it.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 03: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees hits a two run home run in the first inning against the Miami Marlins during the home opener at Yankee Stadium on April 03, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Everything’s been coming up Yankees for the first week or so of the 2026 season. After a 5-1 West Coast trip to open the season that went about as good as anyone could’ve asked for, the Bronx Bombers came home to face an equally hot Miami Marlins team that was feeling good about themselves after a 5-1 start of their own, all at home.
Although the Marlins struck first off Will Warren early, the 26-year-old settled in and delivered a solid outing that would be more than enough for the Yankees. Aaron Judge set the tone with an early home run and had his first multi-hit game of the season, while Ben Rice shook off three strikeouts to start the game by adding much-appreciated insurance late to continue his blisteringly hot start, as the Yankees took the series opener on Friday afternoon, 8-2.
The very start of the game didn’t go so hot for the Yankees, as the first roll call of the season was rudely interrupted by an Xavier Edwards solo home run to right field to give Miami a near-immedaite 1-0 lead. It was remarkably the first dinger allowed all year by the Yankees’ pitching staff through seven games. Warren, unfazed by the quick deficit he faced, rebounded to get the next two hitters.
Of course, that lead didn’t last too long. Trent Grisham worked a leadoff walk off 22-year-old fireballer Eury Pérez, and just three pitches later, the captain rang in 2026 at Yankee Stadium with a monstrous two-run shot to left to flip the scoreboard and make it 2-1 Yankees. Statcast says it only went 378 feet, but it sure didn’t look like it.
Warren settled in and pitched a clean second with a pair of strikeouts. In the bottom half, the Yankees struck for another two runs without recording a hit. Jazz Chisholm Jr., José Caballero, Ryan McMahon, and Grisham all worked walks, with Chisholm and Caballero contributing to Pérez’s meltdown by stealing three bases between them.
Already allowing one run to score, Pérez plunked Judge on the first pitch to make it 4-1. With the bases juiced and only one out, the young righty finally found his composure and retired the next two to get out of trouble.
Miami went down in order in both the third and fourth innings against Warren, who looked composed on the mound even when Liam Hicks almost took his head off with a hard liner that ended in a 6-3 groundout. Chisholm doubled in the third and got to third on a long fly out from Austin Wells, but was stranded when a push bunt by Caballero was snuffed out by the Marlins’ defense.
The Fish were finally able to take a chunk off of Warren in the fifth, as Owen Caissie, the centerpiece of the Edward Cabrera trade, smashed his second home run of the season to right-center to cut it to 4-2. While Warren sat down the last two hitters to get through the fifth, it marked the first time that a Yankees starter had allowed multiple runs in a game. As a reminder, this is the seventh game of the year.
The Yankees weren’t very good at ABS today, as Cody Bellinger’s narrow miss in the fifth had the team out of challenges for the first time all year. He made up for it with a double off new Marlins’ pitcher Tyler Phillips, but he was stranded.
Warren got the first two outs of the sixth before a pair of ground ball singles ended his day, with the finishing blow being a swinging bunt by former Yankees prospect Agustin Ramírez. It was a solid day for Warren, who was a split-second from a quality start but went 5.2 good innings without walking a batter. Tim Hill came on to face the lefty and did Tim Hill things, quickly inducing an inning-ending groundout.
A very similar rally to the one in the second started in the sixth. Wells walked, Caballero reached on an E5, and some good baserunning set the team up with second and third with one out and the top of the order up. Of course, they didn’t get a hit, but they got a run. After Judge walked, Phillips spiked a pitch in the dirt for a run-scoring wild pitch to make it 5-2.
Jake Bird got the seventh for the Yankees and continued an impressive start to the season with a powerful 1-2-3 inning.
The Marlins went to Michael Petersen after our first “God Bless America” of the season and were rudely greeted by Rice, who bounced back after striking out in his first three at-bats by thumping a hard liner into the short porch for his second homer of the season. 110.9 mph and 353 feet later, it was 6-2, Yanks.
Brent Headrick and his curious reverse splits pitched the eighth and tore through 8-9-1 in the Marlins order with a pair of strikeouts. We then got a pretty awkward bottom of the eighth, where Grisham walked, and Judge singled him to third, but a bizarre collision led to Grisham’s foot briefly coming off the bag and allowed Leo Jiménez to tag him in the ankle, ruling him out.
There was no need to worry though, as Bellinger walked and Rice finally got the Yankees’ first hit with runners in scoring position by drilling a two-run double off the right-field wall to make it 8-2. They finished the day 1-for-13 in such situations, despite scoring eight runs.
Unfortunately for Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest, we still didn’t get to see his MLB debut, so it was Ryan Yarbrough who made his season debut in the ninth. Edwards made a bid for his second extra-base-hit of the day to start the inning, only to be robbed by an acrobatic catch from Bellinger that even shocked him.
After plunking Ramírez, Yarbrough made up for it by picking him off second base to get the second out, before inducing a game-ending flyout to lock down the win.
The Yankees will look for their fourth consecutive win and another series victory in the middle game against the Marlins tomorrow. Southpaw Ryan Weathers faces off against his former teammate in Miami, righty Max Meyer, tomorrow at 7:05pm ET on YES.
Unfortunately, they were unable to continue whatever momentum they had from those games into this one.
After leading 2-1 heading into the second period, the Penguins allowed five consecutive Tampa Bay goals and were defeated by the Lightning, 6-3. With the win - and in combination with a loss by the Buffalo Sabres - the Lightning took over first place in the Atlantic, while the Penguins were pretty much unaffected standings-wise by the regulation loss.
Even if the score indicates otherwise, the Penguins actually played very well for the first half of this game.
Tampa Bay opened the scoring a little more than five minutes into the first period when Anthony Cirelli beat Penguins' goaltender Stuart Skinner for his 21st of the season. But, the Penguins responded less than two minutes later when the red-hot Rickard Rakell took a Sam Girard feed at the goal line, kicking the puck behind himself and straight to the blade of his stick before burying his 21st goal of the season to tie the game.
And with less than four to go in the opening frame, Egor Chinakhov - playing on Sidney Crosby's left wing for the third consecutive game - used his speed to break into the offensive zone and down the right side before he placed a perfect backhander over Andrei Vasilevskiy to give the Penguins the lead.
The Penguins were on the back legs of a power play opportunity to begin the second period, and they attempted to gain the zone off the opening draw. However, a misfired puck and misplays by both Erik Karlsson and Bryan Rust led to a Cirelli breakaway that he capitalized on for a shorthanded goal, and it all went downhill from there, even if the Penguins pushed back a few times in the second.
Later in the period, Brayden Point and Zemgus Girgensons scored big goals for the Bolts to give their team a two-goal lead, and Nikita Kucherov scored the back-breaker in the third period with a tough-angle shot from the bottom of the right circle near the wall to make it 5-2 and, essentially, put the game out of reach at that point.
The Penguins pulled Skinner with a little more than five minutes remaining in regulation, and Cirelli scored his hat trick goal on the empty net to put the game away for good. Chinakhov did add a second goal on a late Penguins' power play with 0.8 seconds on the clock - his 20th of the season, an absolute top-shelf scorcher - but the Penguins had quite literally run out of time by that juncture.
All things considered, it was a game the Penguins could afford to lose, and they will turn their focus to the Florida Panthers, who they play back-to-back home games against on Saturday and Sunday.
Here are some thoughts and takeaways from Thursday's loss:
- Again, this loss didn't really mean too much in the grand scheme of things. As dominant as the Penguins looked in their games against the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings, it was highly unlikely they'd sweep the remaining seven games of the regular season, and Tampa Bay was going to be their most formidable opponent within those seven games.
So, again, the focus is on the Panthers, who the Penguins need to take care of business against. With other teams in the Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division races continuing to lose, banking points in the front half of the final six games would be ideal. The Penguins are currently still four points clear of the playoff cutoff line, but creating more separation before playing a New Jersey Devils team that they typically struggle against despite their record this season and desperate Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues teams would be in their best interest.
Besides: The earlier they can clinch, the earlier they have the options to rest some of their stars, should they choose to. More on that later.
- Ben Kindel started the game centering a second line of Evgeni Malkin and Tommy Novak. And, well, that didn't last long.
After committing the defensive zone turnover that led to Cirelli's first goal, he and Rakell swapped, and that's the way it stayed. Rakell was, initially, centering Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau on the third line, a combination that worked well against the Islanders Monday. Unless my eyes were deceiving me, I believe Kindel was benched for just a few shifts after that one, too.
Unfortunately, Kindel also committed a neutral zone turnover that led to Point's goal, too - among other poor plays that led up to the game-winning tally.
He's been fantastic all season long, especially for an 18-year-old playing center at the NHL level - which is a rarity itself. That said, this was a night to forget for him.
- Speaking of nights to forget, Karlsson and Parker Wotherspoon were off in this one as well. I didn't like how Karlsson defended the Girgensons goal, as he puck-chased below the goal line when Wotherspoon was already there, leaving the net-front completely undefended. He was also making some bad decisions with the puck - especially on the power play.
And Wotherspoon just looked uncomfortable, was handling the puck like a grenade throughout the game, and lost a whole lot of puck and turnover battles.
These two have been absolutely excellent for the Penguins this season, so there's no reason for concern with them. Like Kindel, this just wasn't their night.
- Keeping to the theme, the Penguins' first line was - simply put - not working in this game. And Crosby and Bryan Rust stuck out like sore thumbs, even if Chinakhov still played pretty well individually.
They were hemmed in their own zone at Yanni Gourde's and the rest of his third line's will for most of the night, as - according to data from Moneypuck - they only generated a 10.7 percent expected goals share.
Crosby isn't himself right now. Maybe that injury sustained against the Ottawa Senators is still nagging. Maybe he's still getting re-acclimated after missing some significant time for the first time in years. Maybe his chemistry with Rust is fading a bit. Or, maybe, he's just in the midst of a cold streak, which is a common occurrence for him when he's close to a major milestone (tying Steve Yzerman on the all-time points list at 1,755.
In any case, I have a feeling Crosby will bounce back in a big way this weekend. But, if he doesn't, I'd consider trying the Chinakhov-Crosby-Rakell combination again, which had some great looks against Detroit.
- Now, about Chinakhov: We all know he has wrist and snap shots that are probably better than any forward's wrist and snap shot in the NHL.
But that backhand was nuts, too. As was his casual, angry, "Well, I'll leave you with this, I guess" snipe at the very end of the game to clinch his first 20-goal season at the point where it meant nothing for the Penguins' chances of winning the game.
Can someone provide a logical reason as to why this guy isn’t on the first power-play unit?
Since 87 has come back and Chinakhov got bumped to PP2, the Pens have had 22 opportunities through eight games. They are 3/22 (one on a 5 on 3). 13.6%.
This guy is incredible, and he has an incredibly rare gift in his shot - no matter what form it comes in. With each passing game, it increases my belief that the Penguins could have a star forward on their hands.
- Even if Karlsson and Wotherspoon weren't very good in this game, Sam Girard and Kris Letang were very good for the third-straight game. Girard, especially.
He was everywhere. He was the one who made Rakell's goal happen, as he carried the puck into the zone on his own, went down low, and made a nice play to get the puck to Rakell. He also saved a goal in the first period in the blue paint.
They have been legitimately good for three games now, and it's largely because Girard is clearly more comfortable within the Penguins' system and with the puck on his stick. It's also largely because Letang is generally letting him do all that while hanging back in a more stay-at-home capacity, recognizing when Girard activates.
If this pairing can get going, it would be a massive development for the Penguins. Their blue line and goals-against numbers have been a problem lately, and they were major culprits. If they can keep this up, the Penguins are much-better positioned going into the playoffs, should they get there.
- All that said, the Penguins have two major weaknesses right now: Special teams and goaltending.
As far as special teams, the penalty kill didn't surrender anything Thursday but has gone from first in the NHL all the way down to seventh in a short span. As has the power play, which has dropped from top-five down to eighth since the Olympic break.
Again, the penalty kill looked much better and more structured Thursday, so maybe that was a step in the right direction. But the power play, in particular, has been off. I asked Rust about the power play last week after the loss to the Dallas Stars, and he did point out that they had scored in consecutive games. He also said they are still probably passing up too many good looks.
This is certainly true. They are also too stagnant, and they are giving up far too many opportunities against right now. They've been money on five-on-three power plays, but that hasn't so much been the case five-on-four. They need to get back on track soon, whether that's changing up personnel or just getting back to basics.
- And about the goaltending: This is a major concern that the Penguins will need to address as soon as possible, whether it's through improved performance by the two guys they already have or by bringing in a different face from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to help them clinch - and, maybe, help beyond that.
The Penguins were not good defensively in this game and gave up far too many grade-A looks, but Skinner wasn't very good, either. I didn't like the Kucherov goal at all - as sneaky as it was - and I didn't love Point's goal, either, although that was a near-perfect shot from close range.
Skinner and Silovs will go out and have a great game that makes you say, "Alright, he's the guy right now," only to struggle in the next start. Then, the cycle repeats. One of them has to break that cycle before the playoffs. Otherwise - and I was against this before - it absolutely would not hurt to give Sergei Murashov a look, especially if the Penguins clinch early.
This is one loss. It didn't really matter all that much, and a loss or two somewhere in the final stretch should be expected. But, if the Penguins are going to make the playoffs and get anywhere in them, they need more consistency from whoever mans the goal.
ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 23: Los Angeles Angels pitcher Victor Mederos (58) pitching during an MLB baseball game against the Chicago Cubs played on August 23, 2025 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
We have a trade to talk about, folks — it’s not a big one but it’s a trade, nonetheless! In fact, the Braves have gone back to one of their most frequent trade partners (or at least it feels that way, as ComeBackTedTurner mentioned in the linked Feed post) for another deal: The Los Angeles Angels. The Braves have picked up another pitcher from the Angels, as they have acquired Victor Mederos in exchange for international bonus pool considerations.
Mederos is heading to Triple-A Gwinnett, where he’ll likely serve as roster depth in case the current big league pitching gets exhausted to the point where they need to dip into those particular reserves. Mederos pitched 17 big league innings last season and recorded a 7.41 ERA (179 ERA-) and a 7.19 FIP (171 FIP-). He has a career 8.53 ERA (206 ERA-) and a 6.95 FIP (166 FIP-), so it’s safe to say that the Braves aren’t exactly getting an ace here. Again, if he shows up in the bigs this season then the Braves will have to be suffering an injury crisis similar to what happened last season. I know things have gotten bad already in terms of missing starters but for now, it’s still not nearly as bad as how it was last season, so there’s that.
Speaking of the injury situation, AJ Smith-Shawver is now on the 60-Day IL in order to make room for Mederos on the 40-man roster. As a reminder, AJSS underwent Tommy John surgery back in back in June 2025 so he’s still a few months away from even considering a serious comeback since that’s a 12-month turnaround to begin with. The Braves weren’t getting Smith-Shawver back any time soon so this just confirms the situation while making room for some more depth to take his place.
Will Warren was terrific, continuing a team-wide run of sharp starting pitching, and Aaron Judge and Ben Rice both homered as the Yankees beat the Miami Marlins, 8-2, on Friday afternoon in The Bronx.
The sellout crowd of 48,788 on hand for the club’s 124th home opener also enjoyed a dose of Yankee speed as the Bronx Bombers used their legs to create offense, too.
Here are the takeaways...
- The Yankees came into the game on an impressive streak – they were the only team in baseball to have not allowed a home run this season. It was their longest streak since 1944 – a span of 83 years. It did not last long into Friday’s game, however. The second batter of the game, Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards, smacked the first pitch from Warren over the right-field fence for a 1-0 Miami lead. In the fifth inning, Owen Caissie also homered off Warren.
Warren is just the latest starter to thrive for the Yankees this season. Their rotation entered the game with a 0.53 ERA – the lowest over the first six games of a season since ERA was made an official stat in 1913. Following Warren’s outing, the starter ERA was 0.91. Max Fried and Cam Schlittler have been spotless. Warren allowed one run in his first start and so did Ryan Weathers. Friday, Warren got multiple early swings-and-misses and totaled seven overall in the game, per Baseball Savant. He came out of the game with two out and two on in the sixth inning, following a groundball single through the infield and an infield hit in front of the mound. Lefty Tim Hill came out of the bullpen to face the Marlins’ cleanup hitter, Liam Hicks, who entered the game with 12 RBI, the most in the majors. Hill got Hicks to top a ground ball in front of the mound for an easy third out, protecting what was then a 4-2 lead.
Overall, Yankee pitchers have allowed just eight runs in the club’s first seven games. No wonder they are 6-1.
- Judge, who came into the game batting a mere .125 and had been 0-for-4 in each of his previous two games, perhaps quelled some of the hand-wringing over his start by cranking a first-inning home run. His two-run shot, his third homer of the season, came after a leadoff walk by Trent Grisham and put the Yankees up, 2-1. Judge’s home run was clocked at 101.2 mph off the bat and traveled an estimated 387 feet. Judge later added another RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the second.
- The Yankee offense got some help from Marlins starter Eury Pérez, who struggled with command. Pérez walked six batters in just four innings of work and his wildness was primarily responsible for the Yanks’ two-run second inning. Speed helped, too – Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked leading off and stole second and third and, one out later, JoséCaballero walked and stole second. Pérez walked Ryan McMahon on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases and then did the same with Grisham up, forcing in a run. Then he plunked Judge with a 99 mph fastball to plate another one, giving the Yanks a 4-1 lead. They scored two runs in the inning without getting a single hit. Overall, Pérez allowed two hits and four runs in four innings of work, adding four strikeouts. He threw 84 pitches, but only 45 strikes.
- The Yanks added a run in the sixth, helped by their legs again. Austin Wells, who led off with a walk, scored from third on a wild pitch. He helped create the opportunity by tagging up from second to get to third on a fly to left. Caballero had another stolen base in the same frame as the Yankees kept exerting basepath stress on the Marlins. In the eighth, Judge stole a base, too, the Yanks’ fifth of the day. Stealth Bombers?
- Rice, off to a hot start, hit his second home run of the year leading off the seventh, pushing the Yanks’ advantage to 6-2. The next inning, Rice smacked a double off the top of the right-field wall to drive in two more runs. Rice has eight RBI so far this season, tops on the Yanks, and has reached base safely in 13-of-26 plate appearances while batting .409 with a 1.364 OPS.
- In the ninth, Cody Bellinger made a catch you’ll doubtless see in repeated highlights, ranging back in left field to snag a drive by Edwards. The ball initially struck the heel of Bellinger’s glove and plummeted toward the ground, but he reached down to snag it. Bellinger, delighted and amazed, thrust his hands into the air in celebration.
Game MVP: Will Warren
Warren may have given up the most runs in a single outing of any Yankee starter so far this season, but that says more about how good the team’s rotation has been than it does about Warren’s outing. He gave up two runs and four hits in 5.2 innings, striking out six and walking none. Warren has allowed three earned runs and nine hits in 10 innings over two starts, a 2.70 ERA.
The two teams are back in action on Saturday night.
Left-hander Ryan Weathers (2.08 ERA) gets the ball against his former club with righty Max Meyer (5.40 ERA) going for the visitors for the 7:05 p.m. start in the Bronx.
There's nothing sweeter than seeing baseball fly out the park and Ohtani and the Dodgers made that happen not once, not twice, but five times in the nation's capital.
The first came in the third inning with the Dodgers down 3-0. Ohtani hit a three-run bomb that went 401 feet between right and center field, as Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages scored to tie the game.
Ohtani finished 2-for-5 with 4 RBIs – also his first of the season – and is batting .217 now. He is 1-0 on the mound with 6 strikeouts in as many innings pitched.
The Dodgers added two more scores in the inning as Mookie Betts followed with a two-run, 380-foot home run that brought home Kyle Tucker. Los Angeles got out of the inning with a 5-3 lead but continued to pour it on throughout the ball game.
Pages got in on the action, hitting the longest homerun of the game. His went 412 feet to left field as he and Hernandez ran across home plate to pad the Dodgers' lead to 7-4 in the fourth inning.
Freddie Freeman smacked one 391 feet in the following inning, scoring Betts. Dodgers dominance carried on. They led 9-4 in the fifth but weren't done.
Tucker added to an 11-4 lead with a solo home run on a 404-foot shot in the top of the seventh. It was also his first home run of the 2026 season.
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the first inning, and the New York Yankees beat the Miami Marlins 8-2 in their home opener Friday for their second 6-1 start in three seasons.
Trent Grisham reached leading off with the first of 11 walks by Marlins pitchers and Judge drove a slider into the left-field seats against Eury Pérez (0-1).
Ben Rice homered and hit a two-run double for the Yankees.
Will Warren (1-0) allowed four hits in 5 2/3 innings, including solo homers by Xavier Edwards in the first and Owen Caissie in the fifth.
Miami entered the game at 5-1, matching its franchise-best start, and had spent six days atop the NL East — double its total for 2021-25 combined. Miami pitchers had their most walks since April 2023; they had walked just nine in the team's first six games.
Pérez (0-1) allowed four runs, two hits and a career-high six walks in four innings. He forced in runs on consecutive pitches in the second when he walked Grisham and hit Judge. Tyler Phillips threw a run-scoring wild pitch in the sixth.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. and José Caballero each had two stolen bases and Judge one off catcher Liam Hicks, who has allowed 60 steals in 66 attempts since reaching the major leagues last year.
MILWAUKEE, WI - MARCH 23: Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Cooper Pratt (87) starts a double play during a spring training game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field on March 23, 2026 in Milwaukee, WI. (Photo by Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
After several days of anticipation, the Milwaukee Brewers have made official the news that many fans have been waiting for: shortstop prospect Cooper Pratt has signed a long-term contract extension.
Reports surfaced on Monday that the Brewers and Pratt had come to terms on a deal, with Pratt himself confirming the news on his Instagram. Eight years with $50.75 million guaranteed and a pair of club options is the reported contract.
The deal begins this year and runs through the 2033 season. The club options are for 2034 and 2035. Because he’s signed the deal, the Brewers have added Pratt to the 40-man roster. To clear space, the Brewers designated outfielder Steward Berroa for assignment.
“We are very excited to make this long-term commitment to Cooper,” said Arnold. “He is a player we feel will be an instrumental part of our future success in Milwaukee. Cooper has all the tools to be a special player, and we are thrilled that he will be in a Brewers uniform for years to come. This commitment continues to show our organization’s passion, led by ownership, to consistently produce a winning team season after season.”
The Brewers did not release the financial details and breakdown for how the money will be paid out to Pratt over the years, though it can be assumed that the deal will be backloaded.
Pratt had just three games of Triple-A experience at the time of his deal, which is the fewest of any player at that level to sign an MLB extension. He’s been held out of the Nashville Sounds lineup all week while the deal was getting finalized. Now that it’s official, we can expect to see Pratt return to the lineup for Nashville.
Pratt is regarded as the best defender in the Brewers’ farm system. It’s that defensive prowess at a premium position that helped convince the Brewers he was worth extending. There is a strong belief in his offensive development despite non-overwhelming numbers in Double-A last season. There should be more power to come, and the Brewers are making a big bet on his bat. If he’s able to be even a decent hitter at the MLB level, he’ll be well worth his contract.
It’s unclear just when the Brewers will promote Pratt to the big leagues. We know that it won’t be immediately, but it still could be soon. With the contract now finished, as soon as the Brewers feel he is ready for the majors, there will be nothing to stand in the way of his promotion.
Stephen Curry went through a full second scrimmage with the Warriors on Thursday, and afterward coach Steve Kerr said, "He looked like Steph Curry."
That's good enough for the Warriors: Curry is expected to be cleared to return to play on Sunday, when the Warriors take on the Houston Rockets on NBC Sunday Night Basketball, reports Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of ESPN.
This was expected, Sunday had been Curry’s target for more than a week. This would give him as many as five games before the end of the season to get his legs under him and rekindle some chemistry with his teammates after a lengthy absence.
Curry has been out since Jan. 30 due to "runner's knee" — and he strained his adductor during rehab — missing 27 games. Without him, Golden State has gone 9-18 and fallen to 10th in the West, which is very likely where they will finish. The Warriors will need to win two games on the road just to get out of the play-in and into the No. 8 seed.
Because of the Warriors' long odds of making the playoffs, there have been some calls to have Curry shut it down for the rest of the season, but that is not something he wanted, according to reports out of the Bay Area. Curry is the greatest Warrior player ever, the biggest draw the franchise has ever had, and with that he has the power — if he wants to play, he will be allowed to do so.
When Curry, 38, has been healthy this season, he is averaging 27.2 points and 4.8 assists a game, shooting 39.1% from 3-point range. It remains his gravity on offense that opens up everything for everyone else, particularly with Jimmy Butler (ACL) out for the rest of the season.
You can catch Curry's return to the court Sunday at 10 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock as part of a Sunday Night Basketball double header (the Lakers at the Mavericks is the early game, a matchup that loses a little luster if Luka Doncic is out due to his hamstring injury).
