Pittsburgh Penguins (41-25-16, in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (43-27-12, in the Metropolitan Division)
Philadelphia; Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
LINE: Flyers -121, Penguins +101; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Flyers lead series 3-2
BOTTOM LINE: The Philadelphia Flyers host the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the NHL Playoffs with a 3-2 lead in the series. The teams meet Monday for the 10th time this season. The Penguins won the last matchup 3-2.
Philadelphia has a 15-11-5 record in Metropolitan Division play and a 43-27-12 record overall. The Flyers have a +one scoring differential, with 240 total goals scored and 239 conceded.
Pittsburgh is 15-7-9 against the Metropolitan Division and 41-25-16 overall. The Penguins have a 43-8-9 record when scoring three or more goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Trevor Zegras has scored 26 goals with 41 assists for the Flyers. Porter Martone has five goals and five assists over the past 10 games.
Anthony Mantha has 33 goals and 31 assists for the Penguins. Bryan Rust has scored three goals with two assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Flyers: 7-3-0, averaging 3.6 goals, 5.8 assists, 5.3 penalties and 13 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game.
Penguins: 4-6-0, averaging 2.9 goals, 4.8 assists, five penalties and 13.5 penalty minutes while giving up three goals per game.
INJURIES: Flyers: Rodrigo Abols: out (ankle), Nikita Grebenkin: out (upper body).
Penguins: Filip Hallander: out (leg), Caleb Jones: out for season (shoulder).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Utah Mammoth (43-33-6, in the Central Division) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (39-26-17, in the Pacific Division)
Paradise, Nevada; Wednesday, 10 p.m. EDT
LINE: Golden Knights -165, Mammoth +139; over/under is 6
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Series tied 2-2
BOTTOM LINE: The Vegas Golden Knights host the Utah Mammoth in game five of the first round of the NHL Playoffs with the series tied 2-2. The teams meet Monday for the eighth time this season. The Golden Knights won the previous matchup 5-4 in overtime. Brett Howden scored two goals in the win.
Vegas has a 39-26-17 record overall and a 21-13-9 record on its home ice. The Golden Knights have a +22 scoring differential, with 264 total goals scored and 242 conceded.
Utah has a 22-18-3 record on the road and a 43-33-6 record overall. The Mammoth have a 43-11-1 record in games they score three or more goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jack Eichel has 27 goals and 63 assists for the Golden Knights. Mark Stone has seven goals and three assists over the last 10 games.
Dylan Guenther has 39 goals and 34 assists for the Mammoth. Nick Schmaltz has scored six goals and added three assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Knights: 7-2-1, averaging 3.6 goals, 6.2 assists, 3.2 penalties and 6.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.3 goals per game.
Mammoth: 5-4-1, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.6 assists, 3.8 penalties and 7.9 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game.
INJURIES: Golden Knights: William Karlsson: out (lower body).
Mammoth: Barrett Hayton: out (upper-body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
When Greg Swann was appointed executive general manager of football performance at the AFL, many saw him as the man to cure all the sport’s ills. He was one of those footy people known primarily by his nickname, a man who projected an air of knockabout affability, a man renowned for getting things done. He would apply “the pub test” to many of football’s most pressing issues: the draft, the rules, the umpiring, the AFL review centre (ARC). “Swanny”, we were assured, was the man who would make footy’s trains run on time.
One of the first things Swann’s predecessor, Laura Kane, did in the role was embark on an overseas study tour. Certain sports, she found, lent themselves to technological intervention. The geometry of tennis and baseball made it far easier to implement. She fast-tracked the trial of ball-tracking technology. But Australian football, she stressed, was an incredibly difficult sport to properly utilise technology. The shape of the grounds, the oval ball, the way goals often come down to the length of a player’s fingernail, all made it tough to land on a definitive decision.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — David Pastrnak scored on a breakaway 9:14 into overtime, and the Boston Bruins avoided elimination with a 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night.
Catching Buffalo on a line change, Hampus Lindholm fed a pass up the right boards to find Pastrnak in stride just as he crossed the blue line. Driving in alone on net a step ahead of Buffalo’s Mattias Samuelsson, Pastrnak faked cutting across the front and nearly lost his balance before slipping the puck inside the right post.
The series shifts back to Boston for Game 6 on Thursday night, with Buffalo still seeking to clinch its first playoff series victory since eliminating the New York Rangers in six games of a 2007 second-round series. The Sabres are in the playoffs for only the third time since, and after snapping an NHL record 14-season playoff drought this year.
Elias Lindholm also scored for Boston which overcame a 1-0 deficit. Jeremy Swayman stopped 25 shots, including foiling Jason Zucker set up in front 3:30 into the extra period.
Rasmus Dahlin scored for Buffalo and Alex Lyon stopped 27 shots.
WILD 4, STARS 2
DALLAS ((AP) — Matt Boldy scored the tiebreaking power-play goal in the final minute of the second period, after having one taken away late in the first, and Minnesota beat DallasQ for a 3-2 lead in their first-round Western Conference series.
Kirill Kaprizov scored an empty-net goal with two minutes left and had two assists, while Mats Zuccarello scored in his return from a three-game absence with an upper-body injury for the Wild. Michael McCarron also had a third-period goal.
The Wild go home for Game 6 on Thursday with a chance to advance to the second round for the first time since 2015. They have lost their last nine playoff series, including to Dallas in 2016 and 2023
OILERS 4, DUCKS 1
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl scored a pair of goals and Evan Bouchard chipped in with three assists as Edmonton staved off elimination by beating Anaheim.
The Oilers now trail the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series 3-2 with game 6 on Thursday night in Anaheim.
Vasily Podkolzin and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers who had previously allowed six separate leads to slip away in the first four games of the series.
Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had a pair of assists. Edmonton is now 18-3 when scoring first in a game when facing elimination.
Alex Killorn scored for the Ducks.
Connor Ingram made 29 stops for Edmonton, while Ville Husso recorded 10 saves for Anaheim after coming in to relieve Lukas Dostal, who allowed three goals on nine shots.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl scored a pair of goals and Evan Bouchard chipped in with three assists as the Edmonton Oilers staved off elimination by beating the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Tuesday night.
The Oilers now trail the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series 3-2 with game 6 on Thursday night in Anaheim.
Vasily Podkolzin and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers who had previously allowed six separate leads to slip away in the first four games of the series.
Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had a pair of assists. Edmonton is now 18-3 when scoring first in a game when facing elimination.
Alex Killorn scored for the Ducks.
Connor Ingram made 29 stops for Edmonton, while Ville Husso recorded 10 saves for Anaheim after coming in to relieve Lukas Dostal, who allowed three goals on nine shots.
For the fifth straight game the Oilers struck first, scoring on the game’s first shot just 2:22 into the contest as Podkolzin beat Dostal high for his second of the postseason.
Edmonton took a 2-0 lead 8:33 into the opening period as a point shot was deflected twice, the second time through Dostal’s legs by Hyman.
The Oilers took a 3-0 lead just 1:14 later as Draisaitl tipped Bouchard's point shot in for his second of the playoffs. That spelled an early end of the night for Dostal.
Anaheim got on the board on the power play 8:26 into the second period as Mason McTavish dropped it back to Killorn, who extended his points streak to four games with his third goal of the playoffs.
Edmonton responded with a power-play goal a couple of minutes later on a one-timer by Draisaitl, who tied Wayne Gretzky for the most postseason power-play goals in franchise history at 23.
Edmonton has played the most playoff games of any NHL team since 2022 with 80, two more than the Florida Panthers, who beat the Oilers in the last two Stanley Cup finals before failing to qualify this season.
Playing in his 80th career playoff game, Bouchard collected his 88th point, moving into a tie for third place for players through 80 games with Brian Leetch, behind only Bobby Orr (92) and Paul Coffey (92).
McDavid (63 points) passed Adam Oates for the second-most points in NHL history when trailing in a playoff series. Only Gretzky (80) has more.
Athletics starting pitcher Aaron Civale (45) threw five scoreless innings tonight against the Royals in West Sacramento. | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images
The Athletics returned home after a successful 4-2 road trip to start a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals. Taking the mound for the A’s tonight was 30-year-old righty Aaron Civale who matched up against 28-year-old lefty Kris Bubic for the Royals.
The A’s got on the board first in the second inning when Zack Gelof singled and Jacob Wilson drove him home with a base hit to center.
In the top of the fifth Tyler Soderstrom dove for a ball it into the corner and landed hard, wincing as he got up to retrieve the ball. He did not come back out for the sixth inning.
Speaking of not coming out for the sixth, Aaron Civale’s night was done after five. He finished his day with 5.0 innings, zero earned runs, five hits, three strikeouts and one walk. He gave way to Hogan Harris who promptly gave up a solo homer to Salvador Perez to tie the game. Harris didn’t make it out of the sixth. After the Perez homer, Harris walked Lane Thomas and Isaac Collins. That sent him to the showers, replaced by Scott Barlow, who threw two pitches and then picked Thomas off trying to steal third to end the Royals half of the inning.
Mark Leiter Jr. replaced Barlow in the top of the eighth inning and thanks to a great grab by Jacob Wilson, he tossed a 1-2-3 inning. After hitting a monster foul ball, Rooker struck out to lead off the inning. Thomas singled and moved to third on Carlos Cortes base hit. Darell Hernaiz walked to load the bases, but Jeff McNeil lined out to end the inning. The score remained tied at 1-1 headed to the ninth inning.
Jack Perkins entered the game to shut down the Royals in the ninth. He slammed the door with a three-up, three-down inning giving the A’s a chance to win it in the bottom of the inning. They did not, and the teams moved into the tenth.
Justin Sterner entered the game to pitch the start of extras. With a ghost runner on second, Jason Isbel tried to move the runner over but instead beat out the throw to put runners on first and second. Then Bobby Witt Jr. hit a three-run homer to give the Royals a 4-1 lead and clear the bases. But the A’s were not done. Lucas Erceg, former A’s reliever, came in to pitch the tenth. Kurtz was the placed runner. Cortes walked and Gelof beat out swinging bunt to load the bases with two outs. That brought Darell Hernaiz up. Unfortunately, he lined out to the second baseman to end the rally and the game.
There was no need for a comeback on Tuesday, the Spurs showed up ready to take care of business.
In Games 3 and 4 of this series, Portland was the more aggressive team early and took big leads (15 and 19), forcing Spurs comebacks that became the bigger story. Portland never had the lead on Tuesday.
It was the Spurs' defense from the start, holding the Trail Blazers to 35.1% shooting on the night and a 102 offensive rating.
Add in 21 points from De'Aaron Fox and a 17-point, 14-rebound double-double for Victor Wembanyama, and it was all too much.
San Antonio picked up a comfortable 114-95 win and with that takes the series, 4-1.
Next up for the Spurs is the winner of the Minnesota vs. Denver series, which the Timberwolves lead 3-2.
Next up for the Trail Blazers is an offseason with a lot of questions for new owner Tom Dundon to answer, starting with whether Tiago Splitter will get to keep his job as coach. However, Dundon's team also goes into the summer coming off an impressive playoff effort, pushing San Antonio (even in the fourth quarter on Tuesday.
At the start, it was all Spurs, who led by 12 after one quarter after holding the Trail Blazers to 11-of-31 shooting. In the second quarter, not much changed for Portland. Deni Avdija had 16 first-half points on 6-of-8 shooting, but the rest of the Trail Blazers combined to shoot 29.5% in the first 24 minutes.
The Spurs led by 10 after one quarter and 20 at the half, and it felt like they were in total control through the third quarter. However, in the fourth a Portland team playing with the desperation of a team trying to avoid elimination went on an 11-0 run and at a couple of points cut the lead to single digits.
That's when Fox stepped up, scoring 13 of his points in the fourth.
For the game, Julian Champagnie had 19 points and six 3-pointers, while Dylan Harper added 17 points for the Spurs. Avdija finished with 22 points for the Trail Blazers, but was 1-of-6 from 3-point range.
Give the young Spurs credit for closing the door (earlier in the night, the Celtics could not do it). This team does not shy away from the moment.
Apr 28, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) celebrates the win with second baseman Ernie Clement (22) against the Boston Red Sox at the end of the ninth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Red Sox 0 Blue Jays 3
That’s all the Jays need for a win, have their pitchers throw a shutout. .
Trey Yesavage continued on from where he finished off last year. He went 5.1, allowing just 4 hits, no walks, with 3 strikeouts.
John pulled him at 74 pitches. Trey seemed a bit bemused by the hook, but I think it was nice to take him out so he could enjoy the crowd cheering for him.
And the bullpen did the job:
Mason Fluharty got the last two outs of the sixth, giving up a walk.
Jeff Hoffman had a terrific seventh, getting 2 strikeouts.
Tyler Rogers was also terrific, throwing a clean eighth with a strikeout.
Louis Varland picked up his 4th save, striking out the side in the ninth.
Offensively? Well, we did enough. Not much more than enough, but enough. Only 6 six hits. We got:
Two in the third: Andrés Giménez led thing off with a single. Two outs later, Vladimir Guerrero doubled. Kazuma Okamoto singled them home. He was thrown out at second. The Jays challenged, and I thought the replay showed Kazuma safe, but the folks in New York disagreed. Thankfully, Vlad scored before the tag at second.
One in the fifth: With two out, Myles Straw and Ernie Clement walked (Ernie’s second walk this game. He only had one this season until today). And Vlad singled Straw home.
Vlad had two hits. Clement and Davis Schneider had two walks each. Straw had a single and a walk. Okamoto, Varsho, and Giménez each had a hit.
Jays of the Day: Yesavage (.29 WPA), Okomoto (.12), and Vlad (0.9).
No one had the number for the Other Award. Heineman and Straw had the low mark at -0.5.
Tomorrow Eric Lauer (6.75) gets the start after briefly being removed from the rotation. Brayan Bello (9.00) starts for the Red Sox.
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 28: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts to a ball being hit into the photowell during the MLB game between the Miami Marlins and the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 28, 2026 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani stuck to pitching and did his part, delivering another six-inning start with minimal damage. But the Dodgers couldn’t find much offense to support him in their 2-1 loss to the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
Ohtani was pitching on five days rest with any sort of length for the first time since 2023, when 15 of his 23 starts that season with the Angels were on five days rest. Don’t expect that many such starts this year, however.
“I think it could happen, he’s certainly open to it. But in this particular situation, given what Tyler [Glasnow] did and kind of how it played out — but it could flip the next time,” manager Dave Roberts said before Tuesday’s game. “I’m not going to say it’s the last time [pitching on five days rest], but I don’t think it’s going to be commonplace.”
All told, it was an impressive start for Ohtani with nine strikeouts, though he also tied his season high with three walks in his six innings. He did allow all of two runs, one of which was earned, matching his totals from his first four starts combined. Ohtani’s 104 pitches were his most in a start with the Dodgers, four more than Game 4 of last year’s National League Championship Series.
Ohtani’s ERA ballooned, all the way to 0.60, which once again leads the National League, another one-day stop atop the leaderboard as he has exactly 30 innings through 30 team games through Tuesday night. Ohtani has lead the NL in ERA after all five of his starts.
Lowest Dodgers ERA through April
Fernando Valenzuela (1981) 0.20 Fernando Valenzuela (1984) 0.21 Shohei Ohtani (2026) 0.60 *in live-ball era (since 1920), minimum 5 starts, per Baseball Reference
Three errant throws produced the first Marlins run against Ohtani, in the second inning. He hit Augustín Ramírez with a pitch, then had Ramírez dead to rights on a stolen base attempt but threw the ball into center field, putting the Marlins catcher on third base with nobody out. After a strikeout, Ramírez tagged on a flyout to Andy Pages, whose throw was up the third base line and hit Ramírez as he scored.
That first run was unearned, but Ohtani allowed an earned run in the fifth, a frame in which he allowed two walks and two singles. It could have been worse, with the bases full of Marlins with two outs, but Ohtani struck out Ramírez to extinguish that threat.
Any signs of fatigue were allayed when Ohtani worked around a single with three more strikeouts in the sixth, giving him nine on the night.
On a normal night, the Dodgers probably win this kind of a start over two-thirds of the time (they are 12-5, with a .706 winning percentage when a pitcher goes at least six innings and allows no more than two runs this season). But on Tuesday, the offense failed to score in six innings against Janson Junk, who allowed only three singles and a walk.
Los Angeles did not score until three singles with one out in the eighth inning, with Will Smith driving in Dalton Rushing to pull within one.
“I think his goal is to his goal is to make every [pitching] start. So with that, there has to be some compromise and some openness to read and react,” Roberts said. “I think so far we’re doing a nice job, and he’s open to that.”
Tuesday was the 12th of 13 consecutive game days for the Dodgers, and Ohtani was the only position player to start all of the previous 11 games.
“The 13 in a row, I think it’s been a grind on everyone. And also taking into consideration everything that Shohei goes through on a daily basis, to know that he’ll be back in the lineup tomorrow,” Roberts said. “I think this is an opportunity to hedge a little bit, play both sides, so have a guy who’s swinging a good bat in Dalton to replace him for a night, to give Shohei the best opportunity to pitch well and not take on both duties, then just hit tomorrow and have an off day. Hopefully this abbreviation will give him a reset, after the off day.”
Maybe Ohtani’s bat will help the Dodgers find some offense in the series finale.
One more day left on the homestand, with Tyler Glasnow going for the series win on Wednesday afternoon (12:10 p.m., SportsNet LA), against Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara.
BOSTON (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 33 points, Tyrese Maxey had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers avoided elimination, beating the Boston Celtics 113-97 in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night.
Paul George had 16 points and nine rebounds for the seventh-seeded Sixers, who lost Games 3 and 4 at home to fall behind 3-1 in the series before returning to Boston to keep their season alive.
Game 6 is back in Philadelphia on Thursday night, when the Sixers will try to force the series to a decisive seventh game in Boston on Saturday.
In his second game back from an emergency appendectomy, Embiid helped rally Philly from a 13-point, third-quarter deficit. After scoring 13 points in the second quarter, he added 10 in the third and eight more in the fourth, when the Sixers went on a 12-0 run to turn a three-point lead into a 15-point runaway.
Jayson Tatum had 24 points and 16 rebounds for Boston and Jaylen Brown scored 22.
KNICKS 126, HAWK 97
NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 39 points, nearly extending his own franchise record for 40-point playoff games, and New York routed Atlanta for a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff series.
With their second straight lopsided victory, the Knicks positioned themselves to win the series Thursday night in Atlanta. They would have another chance at home in Game 7 if they need it — and it’s getting harder to picture why they should.
The Hawks took a 2-1 lead in the series with one-point victories in Games 2 and 3, but a pretty sizable gap between the teams has appeared since. The Knicks led by 24 on their way to a 114-98 win in Game 4 in Atlanta and by 32 on Tuesday, when the lead was never below double digits in the second half.
OG Anunoby added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, while Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. The Knicks need one more victory to reach the second round for the fourth straight season, which would continue their longest streak since advancing nine straight times from 1991-92 through 1999-2000.
Jalen Johnson had 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Hawks. Dyson Daniels scored 17, but CJ McCollum, the catalyst of both Atlanta victories, had just six.
SPURS 114, TRAIL BLAZERS 95
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks and San Antonio never trailed in eliminating Portland in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.
De’Aaron Fox had 21 points, Julian Champagnie added 19 points and Dylan Harper had 17 as the Spurs led by as many as 28 points in winning their third straight game to advance to the second round.
San Antonio advances to the Western Conference semifinals for the first time since 2017, when it beat the Houston Rockets before losing Kawhi Leonard to an ankle injury and then getting swept by Golden State in the conference finals.
The Spurs will face the winner of the series between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves lead that series 3-2, with Game 6 scheduled for Thursday.
There were plenty of factors that went into the Knicks completely outplaying the Hawks from beginning to end in their massive Game 5 win on Tuesday night at MSG.
One of the biggest was New York’s domination on the boards.
Atlanta was one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the league all season, but the Knicks did a phenomenal job keeping them off the glass.
Leading that charge were Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby.
The dynamic duo combined to reel in 24 of the Knicks’ 48 rebounds on the night, which ended up as three more than the Hawks racked up as a team.
Of those 24, 14 came on the defensive end.
Atlanta was limited to just six second-chance and four fastbreak points.
“KAT and OG were monsters,” Mike Brown said. “The two of them, they were phenomenal -- it was huge for us to be able to keep them off the glass and out of transition.”
This continues what’s been a phenomenal series for both of them.
Towns took just seven shots on the night, but he was huge early, chipping in 16 more points and finishing just four assists shy of his second consecutive triple-double.
“I’m always just thinking about impacting winning,” the big man said.
Anunoby finished with just one more point than Towns (17), but his 10 rebounds helped him put together his second consecutive double-double.
The dynamic defender is now averaging 20 points and nine rebounds for the series.
“He’s one of the best two-way players in the NBA,” Towns said. “This series has been great for him to show the world that he’s something we’ve always thought he was -- when you have someone like that who is that good offensively and even better defensively, it’s special.”
With these two leading the charge and Jalen Brunson finally finding his footing, New York will look to close out their first-round matchup on the road on Thursday night.
The Knicks dominated the Hawks in Game 5 of their first-round series to put New York one win away from advancing.
And whileJalen Brunson's 39 points and OG Anunoby's ability to take over games on both sides of the ball will make the headlines, the Knicks bench needs its flowers after Tuesday's performance.
The combination of Miles McBride, Mitchell Robinson, Jordan Clarkson and Jose Alvarado scored 29 points and were a +56 in their 64 minutes on the floor in the Knicks' 126-97 win at MSG.
In contrast, the Hawks bench (Jonathan Kuminga, Gabe Vincent, Tony Bradley and Corey Kispert) scored 19 points and were a -55 in their 68 minutes on the floor.
"I feel like everybody's locked in," McBride said of the team's defense. "Defense isn't one guy's job, it's the whole team, so when the whole team's locked in, when guys coming off the bench, we’re locked in and we're not missing a beat, it just feels good."
"We get stops and we get rolling. Once we get our defense rolling, the offense is going to take care of itself," Alvarado said. "We know we can score the ball at a very high level. We need to get stops. And that’s what we try to do."
McBride was 0-for-4 shooting on Tuesday and was held without a point, but the guard contributed on the boards, which he had three, and helped on the defensive end. Robinson did his thing, coming down with six rebounds, scoring seven points and coming up with a block in his 16 minutes and Clarkson posted nine points on 3-of-7 shots, while giving the team energy.
And you can't talk about energy without mentioning Alvarado, who scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting (2-for-3 from three) in his 12 minutes.
My teammates found me, I was open and I made the shots today," Alvarado said of his offensive spurt.
But the bench's emergence in this series is a long time coming. Clarkson, acquired in the offseason, took time to find his place in coach Mike Brown's system. He was out of the rotation for a bit before emerging as a reliable bench player. Same with Alvarado, who was acquired at the deadline. The New York native burst onto the scene when the Knicks traded for him, but saw his minutes dwindle as the regular season was coming to an end.
"[Being out of the rotation is]definitely challenging, but I’ve been in the league for 12 years. I know how it goes," Clarkson said. "Just continue to stay ready. There’s a locker room of young guys and other people, watching me and seeing how I react to those things. Set an example for that. Continue to stay locked in with my team and organization. Just waiting for my opportunity to go out there and play. Everybody setting that example and having everybody ready is big for the team."
"It’s part of the business. Stay ready and whatever the team needs," Alvarado said. "We’re a really good team. They communicated with how it was going to go. And I stayed ready. That’s what I did mentally."
Staying ready has paid off for Clarkson and Alvarado. They, along with the rest of the Knicks bench, have allowed the team to hold on to large leads in the last two games. When the starters are on getting a breather, the bench has sustained the intensity the Knicks need to keep the scrappy Hawks at bay.
They know they have to do the same on Thursday when the Knicks try to close out the series in Atlanta.
"We know how good the bench is and how good the team is," Alvarado said. "We go out there and be ourselves and try to boost the energy. Whatever the team needs, the bench tries to provide that."
"We’re all tough-minded. We love challenges. We continue to hold each other up," Clarkson said. "This team has been resilient all year. It’s not going to be smooth. Continue to lean on each and continue to fight one through 15."
On a night where a freshman was the star of the show, two of the most grizzled veterans to wear scarlet and cream combined to complete the comeback and send the cold and wet fans home happy. Usually when these two teams get together, one team seems to blow the other out. Tonight was the rare back and forth affair between the old foes.
Nebraska wasted little time in getting things going. Kansas State went with their Friday night starter James Guyette, coming off his worst outing of the season, and tonight was more of the same. Back to back singles by Mac Moyer and Jeter Worthley started the night. Case Sanderson moved the runners over with a groundout to first.
Guyette then lost a fastball that went behind Dylan Carey, letting Moyer scamper home for the first run. Another fastball tailed too far inside, nearly hitting Carey again, and the Cather couldn’t come up with it, allowing Worthley to jog home. Carey walked and then the inning appeared to be over with a Jett Buck fly ball to right, but the outfielder dropped the ball on a rainy night. Always the hustler, Carey made it home easy to put Nebraska up 3-0 after 1 inning.
The second inning was fairly uneventful, with the exception of Husker starting pitcher, Tucker Timmerman making an incredible play covering first on a play hit to Sanderson. Sanderson bobbled the ball, picked it up, and threw it into the dirt behind Timmerman. “Tuck” happens to be maybe the best all around athlete on the team, and not only caught the ball, but upon replay drug his toe across the base just in front of the runner. You have to watch it to believe it.
The teams traded runs in the 3rd, Timmerman gave up a leadoff double, then back to back outs brought the runner home. On the Nebraska side, Worthley singled up the middle, part of the freshman backstop’s 5 for 5 night. A double from Sanderson down the left field line put runners on second and third for Carey. Carey drove a sac fly to deep right, and Worthley put the Huskers up 4-1 after 3.
Kansas State took the lead in the middle innings, by way of the long ball. A 2 run home run in the 4th off of Timmerman, and a 2 run home run off Husker reliever Kevin Mannell in the 5th gave the Wildcats a 5-4 lead, and put all the momentum in the visitor’s dugout. Jaylen Worthley gave up a leadoff double of home run in the 6th, on his first batter the Wildcats’ dugout went wild.
Nebraska loaded the bases in both the 4th and fifth innings, but couldn’t finish the job. Coach Will Bolt felt like the offense was putting together good swings, just happened to line out to some well placed infielders by Kansas State. “When you set up as many innings as we do, and you don’t knock ‘em down, you give the other team momentum,” stated Bolt post-game.
As this team has done countless times this season, the Huskers battled back. With 1 out in the 7th, Drew Grego wore the first pitch of his at bat on the shoulder. As seems to happen a lot this season after a hit-by-pitch, Grego stole second base. With 2 outs, Mac Moyer drove a ball up the middle, just past the diving second baseman, scoring Grego, and cutting the lead to 6-5.
That brought up Worthley, already sitting on a 4-4 stat line. He drove a low and inside fastball deep into center field. The center fielder wouldn’t have made the play, but slipped after taking a step in, then trying to turn and run to the wall. Moyer scored all the way from first, tying the game, and Worthley punctuated his big night with a stand up triple, urging the third base dugout to get pumped up, not that they needed any encouragement at that moment.
Following a shutout inning by Ty Horn in the 7th, J’Shawn Unger came out and with the help of a double play, sat the Wildcats down quickly in the 8th. Unger surrendered a 1 out walk in the 9th. The runner then stole second to get into scoring position. Inexplicably, the runner took off for 3rd, and was thrown out so easily that he didn’t even attempt to slide. Unger struck the batter out to end the inning, and take us to the bottom of the ninth.
Josh Overbeek led things off for Nebraska in the 9th. After quickly going down 0-2, he battled back and sent a 2-2 deep to the left field gap. The left fielder made a good play to cut the ball off from getting to the wall, theoretically holding “Beek” to a single. Only Overbeek had zero intention of stopping at first and barreled into second base will little regard for his or the second baseman’s life. He was going so fast and sliding headfirst so hard that he barely stopped in time to stick on the base.
Drew Grego has been a clutch player late in games, and hit a sharp ground ball right down the left field line, but the 3rd baseman was playing right on the line, and threw him out. That brought up Rhett Stokes, who was 0-4 on the night. Stokes pulled a hard grounder in almost the same place as Grego, only the third baseman was playing well off the line this time. Overbeek rounded third, held his hand up in the air, and scored a 4th straight walk-off win for the Huskers at home.
It’s RPI watch season as the calendar is soon turning to May. The Huskers move up in the RPI with the win to 11th in the country. If they win their final 3 weekend series of the season, they should be solidly in the 2nd seed in the Big Ten Tournament and in line to host in the NCAA.
The Huskers travel to Columbus this weekend to take on Ohio State, with first of the series scheduled for Friday at 5pm. Stay tuned to Corn Nation for our weekend preview coming up later in the week.
The Spurs earned their first playoff series win since 2017, and will face the winner of the Denver Nuggets-Minnesota Timberwolves series in the Western Conference semifinals.
Wembanyama had a double-double in his second game back after missing Game 3 with a concussion. After his 27 points and 11 rebounds helped the Spurs prevail in Game 4, Wembanyama added 14 rebounds in Game 5. De'Aaron Fox led the Spurs in scoring with 21 points, with Julian Champagnie 19 and Dylan Harper adding 17 points, respectively.
Game 5 was never really in doubt for San Antonio, which stormed out to a 36-24 lead after one quarter of play and held a 65-50 lead at halftime.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 28: Josh Naylor #12 of the Seattle Mariners hits a three-run home run against the Minnesota Twins in the eighth inning at Target Field on April 28, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Josh Naylor, Julio Rodríguez and Cole Young each collected three hits in the Mariners 7-1 win over the Twins Tuesday. The Mariners’ lineup picked up 12 hits in total, including five for extra bases, in what wound up being a comfortable win.
But the game wasn’t so comfortable early. Joe Ryan started for the Twins and was good as always, pounding the zone, getting ahead, and keeping the Mariners off balance through the first five innings. He got 13 called strikes on his fastballs, and five whiffs against the splitter and curve. I wouldn’t even say it was a bad performance by the Mariners against a pitcher like Ryan, who finished the day top 10 in the majors by WAR, but they were often caught in between and guessing wrong. This is what the first five innings looked like:
Things changed when the middle of the order stepped to the plate for the third time. With two outs, Julio got a hanging curveball and laced a grounder down the left field line, hustling into second for a double. Naylor followed by, flicking a single the other way to make the game 1-1.
The Mariners couldn’t get any more runs in the sixth, but they made Ryan work. After a leadoff double from Randy Arozarena in the top of the seventh, Ryan’s day was done. The Twins were forced to turn to a far less intimidating bullpen, and Young eventually plopped a single the other way to give the Mariners a 2-1 lead.
J.P. Crawford drew a leadoff walk in the eighth. Julio then hit a screaming double past the outstretched arm for Austin Martin in right field to put runners on second and third. That brought Naylor to the plate to face Cole Sands, who threw a top-rail cutter that bled back over the plate. Naylor turned on it and crushed it way out to right, taking a few steps back to admire the shot before proceeding around the bases.
The Mariners weren’t quite done. Young lead off the ninth with another single, Leo Rivas took a hit by pitch, and Julio doubled them both home with a sharp line drive to left, to finish off the score at 7-1.
It was another great day for the offense. The Mariners are up to a 105 wRC+ despite their early struggles and entered the day with a 126 wRC+ since April 10 (when they began the four-game rout of the Astros). It’s largely coming from the middle of the order, too, with Julio, Cal, Arozarena and Naylor each beginning Tuesday’s games with a wRC+ between 138 and 143 over that stretch. If they keep scoring five runs per game on average, the wins will eventually follow.
Logan Gilbert got the start for the Mariners, and it went the way it always does. He showed off a deep arsenal, got some whiffs and strikeouts, and ultimately struggled before exiting after five innings.
It was the fourth that got him, even if it wasn’t quite his fault. Josh Bell lead off the inning with a sharp grounder right down the line at first. The ball was so down the line, in fact, that it hit the bag, popped 15 (or 20? ) feet in the air over Josh Naylor’s head, and landed in right field for a single. Kody Clemens followed with what looked like a double play ball, but Cole Young forgot that he’s a good defender now, and dropped the ball on the transfer, putting runners on first and second. Gilbert later walked Luke Keaschall to load the bases. After battling to get two outs, Gilbert got Royce Lewis to hit a sharp grounder to Leo Rivas at third base, who raced to the bag and got the lead runner with a dive.
Gilbert got into more trouble in the fifth, this time on his own. Byron Buxton stepped to the plate to lead off the inning. Gilbert threw him a first-pitch fastball up — a pretty decent pitch — but Buxton seemed to be sitting on it and yanked it to left for a solo homer. It was somewhat amusing that ROOT was in the middle of presenting a graphic showing Buxton as the top home run hitting center fielder in the majors. “Did we do that?” Aaron Goldsmith asked, following a brief silence as the ball flew through the air.
The very next pitch, Gilbert hung a changeup middle-middle to Trevor Larnach, who launched it off the top of the high wall in right field for a double. Gilbert would eventually escape the inning with the game still 1-0, but by the time he did, the pitch count read 93 and his day was done.
Again, it was the standard five-and-dive outing that has been the standard for Gilbert throughout his career. (For a refresher, Zach Mason dug into this over the offseason). Outings like Tuesdays technically make him a top 25 starting pitcher in the majors, and they often help the Mariners win, but that in-game longevity continues to stand in the way of reaching the next level.
Still, Gilbert did his job, got the ball to the bullpen with just one run on the board, and the lineup eventually found some runs. The Mariners go for their first back-to-back series wins of 2026 on Wednesday at 10:40 a.m.
