Kyle Tucker hits a single in the seventh inning of the Dodgers' 14-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night. (Mark Blinch / Getty Images)
Fans lined up before the game, waiting patiently for the chance to take a selfie with trophies that commemorated the back-to-back World Series championships.
Dodger Stadium is not the only place you can do this. The trophies were from 1992 and 1993, and they honored the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Dodgers matched that back-to-back feat over the past two years, including a classic Game 7 victory in Toronto in last year’s World Series, and returned here Monday to a noise pit packed with fans primed to boo, and to urge their team to exact vengeance on the evil mercenaries from America.
On this night, the mercenaries prevailed, in a pummeling so relentless and a silencing so rapid that a three-peat appeared all but inevitable: Dodgers 14, Blue Jays 2.
Dalton Rushing celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting his second home run of the game in the eighth inning of a 14-2 win over Toronto on Monday. (Mark Blinch / Getty Images)
“These fans, sadly, didn’t want to see us come to town,” Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing said, “and rightfully so, after what we did tonight.”
Those fans did want to see the Dodgers, but they did not want to see this. On a night the Dodgers fielded a lineup without Mookie Betts and Will Smith, the team hit five home runs — two by Rushing — and scored in every inning but the second and ninth. Of the six Toronto pitchers, the only one to hold the Dodgers scoreless was catcher Tyler Heineman.
To the Dodgers, well, it was another day on the job, if a bit louder than usual at the start. They had a game to win on the long road toward October and, as they often do, they won.
In Toronto, however, pitcher Kevin Gausman said, “It feels like we’re getting ready for Game 8.” The fans mercilessly booed Shohei Ohtani, who turned down $700 million from the Blue Jays to take $700 million from the Dodgers, and outfielder Kyle Tucker, who turned down $350 million (over 10 years) from the Blue Jays to take $240 million (over four years) from the Dodgers.
They even booed Justin Wrobleski, the Dodgers’ starting pitcher, and Miguel Rojas, usually an infielder but on Monday the Dodgers’ final pitcher. Wrobleski, who won his seventh major league game Monday, said he expected the boos.
“It was fun,” he said. “They care about baseball here. It’s a fun environment. If people weren’t a little upset and a little, I’d say, passionate about what happened last year in the World Series, maybe they’re not real fans.”
The boos could have been a sign of respect, or of a long memory: about the ninth most-memorable part of Game 7 was Wrobleski hitting Toronto infielder Andrés Gimenez, then shouting language so profane Wrobleski later said he apologized to his mother for using it. You cannot be a nobody if you can get the benches to clear in Game 7.
“They wouldn’t boo me,” Wrobleski said, “if they didn’t know who I was.”
Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski delivers during the first inning against the Blue Jays on Monday. (Mark Blinch / Getty Images)
The Dodgers led 4-1, then 5-1, then 6-1, then 9-1, and that was before the sixth inning was done.
“When you score a lot of runs, you’re going to take the crowd out of it,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said.
“I think the media and everyone else was more hyped up. It’s a new team, new year. We’ve got different guys on our team too. But we obviously understand it’s a World Series matchup.”
The Blue Jays were different: infielder Bo Bichette is in New York, catcher Alejandro Kirk is on the injured list, infielder-outfielder Addison Barger is hurt, and Toronto is borrowing a page from the Dodgers’ playbook with a rotation full of hurting pitchers: Shane Bieber, José Berrios, Cody Ponce and phenom Trey Yesavage all are on the injured list, and Max Scherzer left after two innings Monday because of tendinitis in his throwing arm.
The Dodgers are 8-2. The only defending World Series champion to get off to a better 10-game start in the last 100 years: last year’s Dodgers, at 9-1.
Last year worked out just fine. This is April, and no one is facing elimination any time soon. That explains how Roberts rated his anxiety level on Monday.
“It was probably a 10 in October and probably a one tonight,” he said.
Monday’s game offered yet another example of how the team that supposedly is ruining baseball is fattening the wallets of the league’s other 29 teams. The Dodgers have led the league in road attendance in each of Ohtani’s two previous seasons and almost certainly will do so again this season — and a fair number of those ticket buyers are Dodgers fans following their team here, there and everywhere.
In a 10-minute pregame walk around the main concourse, I saw plenty of fans in Dodgers jerseys: not only with the names of Ohtani, Betts and Freeman but with the names of Rojas, Kiké Hernández and Roki Sasaki.
As soon as the third inning, a “Let’s Go Dodgers” chant echoed through the stadium.
The Blue Jays are off to a 4-6 start, including series losses to the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox. The Jays should be good again, and soon. In the meantime, they are offering 77-cent hot dogs Tuesday.
For all the Dodgers fans here, that’s quite the trip: a rout that silenced a hostile crowd one day, hot dogs valued at 55 cents in U.S. currency the next. The fruits of victory, as Tommy Lasorda might have said, rarely are so cheap and filling.
BINGHAMTON, NY - SEPTEMBER 18: George Lombard Jr. #2 of the Somerset Patriots Warms-up during the game between the Somerset Patriots and the Binghamton Rumble Ponies at Mirabito Stadium on Thursday, September 18, 2025 in Binghamton, New York. (Photo by Rob Tringali/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
For the first time this year, all four Yankees full-season affiliates were in action this past week, as Somerset, Hudson Valley, and kicked off their seasons on Friday night while Scranton put in a full week of work. Some bad weather led to several postponements around the system, but we got to see a great deal of the organization’s top prospects on both sides of the ball. With the first full week of the season beginning Tuesday night, let’s recap the appetizer.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Record: 6-3, 1 GB in the International League East after a 4-2 week against the Rochester Red Wings (Nationals)
Run differential: +29
Coming up: Home vs. Durham Bulls (Rays)
The RailRiders got off to a bad start to their first full week of the year after Tuesday’s opener was rained out, and they dropped back-to-back games to open the week. Poor defense doomed a less-sharp Brendan Beck on Wednesday, while the bats fell silent in Elmer Rodriguez’s season debut on Thursday. The right-hander tossed five solid innings, allowing one run with two strikeouts in a losing effort. He spent the first week of the season on the Temporarily Inactive List on paternity leave.
Scranton rebounded in a big way by dominating a Friday twin bill, taking the opener 4-2 before blasting their way to a 17-4 win in the nightcap that required Braden Shewmake (yes, the infielder) to get the final out. Remember Zack Short from spring training? He was the sacrificial lamb for Rochester in the seventh inning of that game. Carlos Lagrange pitched in the matinee and only lasted 3.1 innings, walking five batters in a choppy outing. It’s the first time we’ve really seen those command issues pop up.
Dom Hamel had a second straight mediocre start on Saturday, but was picked up by home runs by Paul DeJong and Seth Brown, who was promoted to Scranton after being in a weird, organizational limbo for a week without an assignment. The offense exploded again on Sunday, putting up 16 runs to secure a series victory, while Luis Gil made his season debut and allowed three runs in 4.2 choppy innings.
There are a lot of standout performers here. Ernesto Martinez Jr. had a very strong week as he makes his case as next-up on the first base depth chart. Yanquiel Fernández absolutely had a case to be the Prospect of the Week, but I’m not sure he counts. Either way, he went 8-for-25 with three home runs, five extra-base hits, and eight RBIs. It makes you wonder why a team like the Rockies gave up on someone who just turned 23, who’s able to put an absolute charge into the ball.
Why did the Rockies give up Yanquiel Fernandez after one poor showing in the bigs? pic.twitter.com/zWVRnXshJZ
While other veterans like DeJong and Ali Sánchez had strong weeks, the focus is naturally on the prospects. Jasson Domínguez is hitting the cover off the ball to start the year and went 7-for-16 with two home runs and two doubles in four games this week. He’s only taken four at-bats against lefties this season, but the quality of his at-bats looks significantly better than it did last year. The defense remains an adventure, but he’s on the right track.
As for Spencer Jones… not so much. He came on towards the end of the week with two doubles and a home run, but he struck out a staggering 14 times in 23 plate appearances this week and has 19 in 37 PA on the season. It just has to be better.
On the pitching side, Scranton’s gotten great starts to the season from Yerry De los Santos, Kervin Castro, and Yovanny Cruz, whose longstanding command issues have yet to pop up with seven strikeouts to just one walk in 4.1 innings. With the current volatility of the bullpen, you can’t rule out that a few more sharp weeks will have him in pinstripes sooner than later
Record: 1-1, 0.5 GB in the Eastern League Northeast after a 1-1 week against the Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox)
Run differential: +15
Coming up: Away @ Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets)
Somerset was rained out on Sunday, so we only managed to get a pair of very, very different games in against Portland in the Double-A version of The Rivalry.
Friday’s season opener was a blowout from the very start, with Somerset pouring on 18 runs on 22 hits thanks to big days by George Lombard Jr. (more on him later), Coby Morales, Garrett Martin, Marco Luciano, and Tyler Hardman. Saturday’s game was more of a pitcher’s duel, where Somerset lost 1-0, and the bats were held to just four measly hits.
Ben Hess started his season in unbelievable fashion, striking out the first seven hitters he faced on Friday before starting to struggle with command. The walks came back to bite him, but he settled in to fire five solid innings of two-run ball with nine strikeouts in his season debut. Kyle Carr and Xavier Rivas both pitched on Saturday, with Rivas as the piggyback, and walked seven hitters in 6.1 one-run innings, albeit with nine strikeouts. All five natural relievers used delivered scoreless relief.
Only two games means there isn’t much to go off of, but Morales drilled two home runs and had six RBIs, Hardman went 4-for-8 with a homer, Luciano went 5-for-9 with two doubles, and former Mexican League MVP Nick Torres went 3-for-5 in his first game of MLB-affiliated ball since 2018. Through all of it, the star of the show was the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect, who you’ll hear about later on.
Players of Note:
Ben Hess: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 9 K Marco Luciano: 5-for-9, RBI, 2 2B, 5 R Tyler Hardman: 4-for-8, HR, 4 RBI, 2B Coby Morales: 3-for-8, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 K
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades
Record: 2-0, 0.5 GB in the South Atlantic League North after a 2-0 week against the Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets)
Run differential: +9
Coming up: Home vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals)
Like Somerset, storms in the Northeast postponed Sunday’s game against Brooklyn, but the Renegades still managed a successful mini-week that featured a plethora of 2025 draftees, including a pair making their professional debuts.
Hudson Valley took Friday’s season opener, 3-1, behind a strong start from Pico Kohn and steady hitting from the middle of the order. Sean Paul Liñan made his organizational debut after being acquired from the Nationals in the Jorbit Vivas trade and didn’t make it out of the third on Saturday, but the offense put up eight runs, and the bullpen did more solid work in relief to finish what turned into a two-game sweep.
Kohn, the team’s fourth-round pick last year out of Mississippi State, tossed 5.2 strong innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts in his pro debut. Statcast is (still) not available for High-A and Double-A, so we don’t have data on what was working for him on a pitch-by-pitch level, but it’s likely he did a lot of his work with the slider, which complements his low-90s fastball. After the success we saw with Cam Schlittler, the Yankees will definitely try to bump up the 6-foot-4 right-hander’s fastball velo as he gets situated.
Elsewhere on the pitching staff, 2025 11th-rounder Ben Grable struck out two and got the save on Friday night in his pro debut, while Tony Rossi and Chris Veach, two intriguing former undrafted free agent relievers, combined for seven strikeouts in 2.1 scoreless innings.
Liñan struck out four in 2.2 innings to start Saturday’s contest and was mostly followed by strong relief. After Tanner Bauman’s rough outing, Hudson Valley got 5.2 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts from the trio of Hansel Rincon, Baron Stuart, and Jackson Fristoe.
The 2025 draftee trio of Kaeden Kent (3-for-7, 3 BB), Core Jackson (3-for-9, HR, 2B), and Kyle West (3-for-9, RBI) anchored the lineup this week, as did a familiar face looking to get off to a strong start in a new location. Former top prospect Roderick Arias made his High-A debut on Friday after two frustrating years in Single-A, and he looked sharp, going 4-for-8 with a walk and an RBI. Fingers crossed that a guy with his skillset can finally figure it out.
Record: 0-3, 3 GB in the Florida State League West after a 0-3 week against the Lakeland Flying Tigers (Tigers)
Run differential: -21
Coming up: Away @ Clearwater Threshers (Phillies)
For those who’ve followed Tarpons baseball for the last few years, it usually doesn’t matter who goes through the system; it’ll look like this more often than not. The top 2025 draftees, both pitchers and position players, get aggressively pushed to High-A in their first full season, so Tampa is usually left with late-round finds who need more development, undrafted arms, and international prospects graduating to full-season ball.
Tampa lost 12-7 on Friday, 13-4 on Saturday, and 13-6 on Sunday. They walked 32 batters, which is somehow even more than the Marlins against the Yankees at the same time. There’d be stretches of these games where you’d see good pitching, but more often than not, it was a Single-A classic: guys struggling to find the strike zone.
On the hitting side, it was good to see Brando Mayea make his Single-A debut after a few years of underperformance and injuries had harmed his trajectory. He had multiple singles registering over 105 mph, but also struck out a few times. 2024 seventh-rounder JoJo Jackson and 2025 UDFA Logan Maxwell had good weeks, as did Hans Montero. Rough week for Engelth Urena, who’s 0-for-10 to start the year.
On the pitching side? Oh boy. 2025 18th-rounder Justin West, Danny Flatt, and Henry Lalane got the starts, and none of them opened the 2026 season on a high note. Lalane, in particular, struggled with command as he tries to rebound from an injury-riddled 2025. One bright spot: the velo on his four-seamer is on its way back up.
The bullpen was a trainwreck. 2024 fifth-rounder Greysen Carter, who was sent to the Tampa backfields midseason last year to work on his command, continued to struggle with walks. Jose Ledesma and Jordarlin Mendoza got hit around, the team had to use multiple position player pitchers, and the only relievers who had scoreless innings were 2025 UDFA Matthew Tippie, Pedro Rodriguez, and Josh Tiedemann.
Players of Note:
Brando Mayea: 3-for-14, 3 RBI, 2B, 4 K JoJo Jackson: 4-for-12, 3 RBI, BB, 2 SB Henry Lalane: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 2 K
Prospect of the Week:George Lombard Jr.
Weekly Stats: 6-for-9, HR, RBI, BB, 2 2B, SB
The Yankees’ No. 1 prospect got off to a tremendous start to his 2026 season on Friday. After a strong spring training as a non-roster invitee on both sides of the ball, he blasted a home run in his first at-bat of the season and opened the season with a 5-for-6 performance, finishing a triple shy of the cycle.
He followed it up with a more modest performance on Saturday, but he still doubled, walked, and stole a base in the shutout loss. It was only two games, but it was a dream start for a prospect whose biggest goal in 2026 is to improve his hit tool after an up-and-down start to his Double-A career last year.
Lombard started 2025 on a torrid hot streak in High-A to get him a promotion in early May, and another hot streak to start 2026 could make his dreams of a promotion to the Show more and more realistic in the near future.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - APRIL 04: Kerry Carpenter #30 of the Detroit Tigers celebrates his first inning two run home run with Riley Greene #31 behind Pedro Pagés #43 of the St. Louis Cardinals at Comerica Park on April 04, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The 2026 St. Louis Cardinals season is off and rolling! So far, they have displayed a gritty never-say-die attitude and style of play that Cardinals fans have historically appreciated. Rookie top prospect JJ Wetherholt is leading off (almost) every game and doesn’t look out of place doing it. Alec Burleson is doing Burly things, playing a solid defensive 1B and providing steady, consistent, offensive production. Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, and Victor Scott have each displayed varying levels of steps forward in their performances thus far! Obvious caveat that it’s still early, and we have much larger previous sample sizes to suggest that Cardinals fans should be rightfully skeptical, but also optimistic, that these improvements can be sustainable.
Ivan Herrera is really starting to lock in offensively. After a 1-13 (.077/.071/.154) -45 wRC+ to start the season in the Tampa Bay Rays series. Since then, Herrera seems to be locking in as that offensive threat once more, going 5-15 (.333/.545/.467) 189 wRC+. Small sample sizes abound! (sorry, Morty)
The other prominent Catcher on the team has once again drawn the ire of Cardinal nation as Pedro Pages is off to a relatively rough start offensively, going 3-16 (.188/.278/.375) 94 wRC+. Which isn’t THAT big of a deal if it weren’t for another young catcher putting up an early-season performance that seems to have Cardinals fans really revved up for a changing of the guard.
Jimmy Crooks is 8-18 (.444/.545/1.000) 285 wRC+ against AAA pitching in a 5-game sample size.
Crooks is off to a really good start, and when he makes contact with the baseball its really exciting. The defensive acumen is big league caliber, and Crooks clearly has a big league future. What still needs work is the quality of the at-bats. As you can see here from Prospect Savant, the swing decisions and the chase rate would only get worse, not better, as he faced the next level of pitching. Which we watched play out at the big level in his cup of coffee at the end of the 2025 season.
As we’ve seen with the likes of Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker. All of these players have exciting traits when they impact the baseball, but controlling the strike zone, getting their pitch to hit, and covering areas of the zone that big league pitchers will pick apart are elements that prevent them from displaying their talents to their fullest potential.
Rebuilds are hard for fans. Especially a fan base that hasn’t experienced one in over 30 years. Patience is important for fans who hope to return to being a perennial force in the National League. I liken Cardinals prospects to a casserole. The likes many of you probably experienced this past Easter Sunday. Cardinals prospects like Jordan Walker once again, for example, have been elevated before they were “fully baked” at the minor league level. As an organization, you don’t want to “pick around the raw parts.” Chances are you’ll be left disappointed with your experience. Cardinals prospects should be viewed in a similar light. Despite your “hunger,” exercising caution and allowing players to fully develop at the minor league level will ultimately pay off long term.
The Cardinals took what I consider to be the right decision in demoting players like Josh Baez, Blaze Jordan, Jimmy Crooks, and Richard Fitts before the season. I also thought Nathan Church was someone who could benefit from more AAA seasoning, and after an electrifying performance on Opening Day, Church’s numbers early aren’t all that great. 3-22 (.136/.174/.136) -7 wRC+ I seem to have been correct (early) about that observation.
As all listed players above display exciting potential but aren’t quite ready to impact the major league level, and while the allure of something new and exciting at the AAA level will be tempting, as a majority of Cardinals fans watch a sub standard product that they’re not accustomed to, the Cardinals front office will exercise discipline and patience to ensure that players are fully ready to make the transition to the major leagues. Which means, barring injury, a lot of what you see is what you get early in 2026!
Apr 6, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Baltimore Orioles players celebrate teams win against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Is it dramatic to suggest that last night’s Orioles game against the White Sox was a must-win? Probably. But if the O’s had followed up an ugly sweep in Pittsburgh by losing to the two-time reigning worst team in the American League, even the most level-headed fans among us might have thrown their TVs out the window.
Fortunately, it didn’t happen. The O’s escaped the opener in the Windy City with a 2-1 victory to snap their three-game losing streak. Their record is now 4-6, which isn’t good but somehow ties them for third place in the AL East. Brandon Young, fresh up from the minors for his season debut, played the hero with five shutout innings of work, immediately making him the second-best starter on the Orioles. Gunnar Henderson hit a massive dinger. Ryan Helsley overcame control problems in the ninth to strand the tying and winning runs on base. Check out Stacey’s recap for the full breakdown of the action.
Was it the kind of game that will make anyone feel better about the Orioles? No, not really. The O’s offense again was utterly inept aside from the Henderson homer. Their only other run scored on a routine fly ball that fell in for a single when Austin Hays strained his hamstring on the play. The O’s went hitless with runners in scoring position, grounded into two double plays, and struck out seven times (three by Henderson) with just one walk. Tyler O’Neill failed to hustle on the Hays play, settling in at first base when he should have easily been on second. There was plenty of the typical O’s sloppiness, and you get the feeling that the Birds wouldn’t have been so fortunate to win if they’d been playing against a better team.
Still, a win is a win, and the Orioles will gladly take one however they can get it. They’ve got two more games to try to keep taking advantage of the White Sox. A reminder that today’s game has been moved up to a 3:10 ET start time rather than 7:40 in hopes of avoiding the bitter cold that’s sweeping through Chicago. Trevor Rogers will start for the Orioles against 2025 All-Star Shane Smith.
The O’s have yet to win two games in a row this season. Maybe today is the day that changes.
Based on last night’s game alone, I don’t know who Adley is. He went 0-for-3 and committed a throwing error, but also hustled into a run and threw out two base stealers. The guy is all over the place.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You share your day with two former Orioles: right-hander Ricky Bones (57) and the late Baltimore-born righty Tom Phoebus (b. 1942, d. 2019), who threw a no-hitter for his hometown team in 1968. I’ll also give an honorable mention to fellow Maryland native Josh Hader (32), who isn’t technically a former Oriole but started his pro career in the O’s system before being traded as a prospect for Bud Norris.
On this date in 1977, a 20-year-old designated hitter named Eddie Murray made his major league debut for the Orioles, going 1-for-4. His first career hit was a seventh-inning single off the Rangers’ Bert Blyleven. Murray went on to win AL Rookie of the Year that season on his way to an incredible 21-year MLB career that led him to the National Baseball Hall of Fame (where he was later joined by Blyleven). The Orioles’ starting pitcher in Murray’s debut was another Hall of Famer, Jim Palmer. Quite the star-studded affair.
Random Orioles game of the day
Despite popular demand, it’s the return of the Random Orioles Game of the Day feature. I’ll use a random number generator to pick a season from Orioles history and check out how they fared on this date. Today’s random year is: 2023. Ooh, that was a good year.
On April 7, 2023, the Orioles beat the Yankees in a 7-6 barnburner in their home opener at Camden Yards. In front of a sellout crowd of 45,017, the O’s took a 4-0 lead, then fell behind 5-4, then tied the game on an Adley Rutschman RBI single in the sixth and took the lead on a Ramón Urías double in the seventh. Félix Bautista allowed the potential tying run to get to third base in the ninth before nailing down the final out. It was a great start for an Orioles team that ultimately was 17 games above .500 at home that year.
Apr 4, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees third baseman Ryan McMahon (19) runs out a ground ball and is safe on a fielding error by the Miami Marlins during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
The Yankees had an excellent first week and a half of the season, winning three series in a row en route to a 7-2 start. Their pitching was fantastic, their offense was carried by a stellar top-half of the order, and even their two losses came in games in which they led late and only lost by one run. It wasn’t hard to envision a world where the team held on in those games and managed to run the table through the first nine games.
But even when everything’s going right, this is baseball, so there are still things going wrong. Perhaps the biggest spot of consternation among fans and analysts during this opening salvo has been the putrid play of the bottom of the Yankee lineup. The Yankees have gotten a .143 batting average combined from the 6-thru-9 slots of the order, along with a downright ghastly .402 OPS. As a fun (?) little reference point, that’s more than 100 points lower than CC Sabathia’s career OPS as a hitter.
Sure, no team expects the last hitters in their order to dominate, but the Yankees certainly expected something from the final four players on the card, rather than a convincing impression of National League pitchers hitting circa five years ago. So, with the usual caveats about the season being a tiny sample thus far and that we shouldn’t overreact to anything we’ve seen, do you think the bottom of the order will prove to be a major issue going forward?
I think the base answer to this question is still no. The bottom four of the Yankees’ order includes Jazz Chisholm Jr., who perhaps shouldn’t have been predicting 50/50 seasons but still has a 122 OPS+ as a member of the Yankees and projects as a near-All-Star caliber player. The rest of the order does not have the upside of Chisholm, but the expectation should still be that of improvement. Jose Caballero was never going to run the .828 OPS he posted in pinstripes last year, but he also won’t hit .129 all year. Austin Wells may never become a great pure hitter, but the career .717 OPS he carried into the season was pretty great for a plus defensive catcher.
All that said, if you’re inching toward the panic button regarding the bottom of the order, I can’t totally blame you. The most concerning hitter of all has been Ryan McMahon, who’s looked lost at times and is hitting .087 on the year. Chisholm will come around, and Wells provides ample value with his glove, but it’s not hard to wonder if the Yankees are going to be staring at two total blackholes on the left side of their infield sooner rather than later.
What do you think? Will the team’s lower hitters slowly regress to the mean and provide enough value with their bats to allow their generally strong gloves to play up? Or will we look up in a couple of months to see that the Yankees are still running out three or more players at the bottom of the order struggling to breach the Mendoza Line?
Today on the site, Michael starts us off with a review of the first week of minor league baseball that saw all full-season affiliates in action. We’ll also get a recap of last night’s American League action from Kevin, and a look ahead at the upcoming series with the A’s. Later, Jonathan will remember Oral Hildebrand, and Peter gives us his first At-Bat of the Week for the 2026 season, featuring Ben Rice.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 03: Jazz Chisholm Jr. #13 of the New York Yankees takes his turn at bat 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
The Athletic | Chris Kirschner: Over the weekend, the Yankees faced the Marlins, and Miami have been doing something you might not have realized. Starting towards the end of last season, the Marlins have begun calling pitches in the dugout via the coaching staff and relaying them to the catcher and the pitcher. Don’t expect the Yankees to hop on that, as both players and coaches openly said over the weekend that they don’t like the idea.
New York Daily News | Peter Sblendorio: With a 7-2 record, the Yankees’ 2026 season has gone pretty well so far. One aspect of the team that has definitely struggled has been the lower part of the batting order, as the players who have batted in the 6-9 spots have a collective .404 OPS. However, between Jazz Chisholm Jr. hitting a big double on Sunday and just having faith in their players in general, the Yankees aren’t worried about that yet.
ESPN | David Schoenfield: As we’re now over a week into the new season, here’s one way to rank the MLB teams of 2026: watchability. Between how good they are, the young talent they have, and the style they play, Schoenfield tried to rank teams by how interesting they could be to watch this year. The Yankees came in at fifth.
PennLive | Brian Linder: Former Phillies’ player and longtime MLB coach Tom Nieto passed away recently. Nieto spent time in the Yankees’ organization from 1995-2002 and then was a manager of the GCL Yankees in 2012-13. In between then, he also worked with Willie Randolph during his tenure as the Mets’ manager. We send our best wishes to his family and loved ones.
As the most played fixture in European competition looms once more, we look back on 50 years of thrills and spills
The Champions League’s answer to el clásico resumes in Madrid on Tuesday. Real Madrid v Bayern Munich is the most played fixture in European competition: 28 matches and counting, including 13 knockout ties. Here are six of the best.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 06: Manager Tony Vitello #23 of the San Francisco Giants takes pitcher Ryan Borucki #47 out of the game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the top of the seventh inning at Oracle Park on April 06, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
If you’re wondering why the San Francisco Giants have won just three of their first eight games, well, the answer is very simple: they’re playing remarkably sloppy and dispirited baseball.
If you’re wondering why they’re playing remarkably sloppy and dispirited baseball, well … that answer is not so simple. The search for that answer keeps Buster Posey up at night. The search for that answer keeps Tony Vitello up at night. The search for that answer does not keep me up at night, because thankfully my salary is not contingent on the Giants winning games. You poor people are stuck reading my words in baseball sickness and in baseball health, and my goodness are the Giants a deathly sick bunch.
The Giants tried to remedy themselves on Monday, and my goodness it almost worked. They even had a few folks fooled for an hour or two, yours truly most certainly included.
Because here’s what the Giants have been doing all through this two-week slump to start the year: missing the cut off man, missing the tags, making bad throws, forgetting how to hit in situational at-bats, and struggling to stack hits on top of each other.
You know: the basic stuff. The fundamentals. The things that you expect the highly-paid baseball players to do with the baseball during the baseball game.
But on Monday, as they welcomed the Philadelphia Phillies to town, they didn’t do those things. Not at the onset, at least. They played clean, crisp, and sound baseball for quite a while, even when the results weren’t good.
Take the first inning, for example. In the top of the inning, Bryce Harper ripped a liner down the third base line, which felt like an automatic two-bagger. But Heliot Ramos played the carom brilliantly and fired a strike in to second base.
Did it work? Nope. Harper was safe by the slimmest of margins. But it was good baseball.
In the bottom half of the inning, Luis Arráez and Matt Chapman strung together back-to-back hard-hit one-out singles against Andrew Painter, as the offense looked like it knew what it was doing.
Did it work? Nope. Rafael Devers popped out and Ramos struck out, and the Giants didn’t score.
For the first time in a while, the Gians were playing fundamentally sound baseball, and it was fun to watch, even when they flirted with trouble. Like in the top of the third, for instance, when J.T. Realmuto led off with an infield single that was almost a sensational play by Chapman, but his throw was off line. Realmuto took second on a wild pitch before Adrian Houser walked Justin Crawford, putting two runners on base with no outs.
No matter. He struck out Trea Turner, then struck out Kyle Schwarber, then got Harper to ground out. It’s amazing how much more fun baseball is to watch when the team is capable of climbing out of holes and not shooting themselves in the foot.
But it was the bottom of the third where we really saw the Giants play honest-to-goodness, this-is-how-it’s-supposed-to-be-done baseball. It began when Willy Adames showed signs of slump-busting by leading off with his first of two doubles on the day. Arráez followed it up with a single, but the true sign that the Giants had exorcised their sloppy demons was when Arráez read the throw perfectly, and took second base when Crawford’s throw allowed him to.
Suddenly the Giants had two runners in scoring position and no outs, and before you could even make your “let’s see how they blow this” jokes, Chapman had lifted a first-pitch curveball from Painter into triple’s alley, which proved to be very aptly named on this occasion.
The thing about Chapman’s triple, however, was that it put him on third base, and the Giants are not good at scoring the runner from third base. But the Giants scored the runner from third base this time, thanks to a timely single flopped up the middle by Ramos. It was a three-run inning, which broke a streak of 36 straight innings without scoring three or more runs.
Not a good streak to have. But a very good streak to end.
History repeated itself in the fourth inning. Houser again allowed a leadoff single, and again that runner moved to second on a wild pitch, and again the veteran righty got out of it unscathed. And again they rallied in the bottom half of the inning, this time when Harrison Bader and Patrick Bailey bopped back-to-back one-out singles, followed by an Adames walk to load the bases.
Up came Arráez, who sure is a delightful antidote to the team’s situational woes. Who better to knock home a runner on third with just one out than the player who can put the ball in play more reliably than any other human being alive?
Arráez did exactly that, in bittersweet fashion: known more for his dinks and doinks than his power, Arráez absolutely put a charge in a Painter slider, driving it out towards triple’s alley.
It had the sound of a grand slam and, according to Statcast, it would have been in three parks — including the one that the Phillies spend half of the season in.
But Oracle Park giveth and Oracle Park taketh away, and Adolis García — who in the second inning had a similarly-hit ball knocked down by the wind for an out while he was in his home run trot — tracked down Arráez’s fly ball, limiting him to a sacrifice fly, but pushing the lead to 4-0.
That was all they’d score in the inning — and in the game, it would turn out — but the point still stood. The Giants were playing baseball competently. They were playing baseball cleanly. It was fun. More importantly, it was as it should be.
It was also temporary.
Houser’s bend-but-don’t-break approach backfired in the fifth, when he flew too close to the sun by allowing another leadoff single, with Realmuto once again being the offending party. This time Crawford followed with a double, and suddenly the Phillies had two on, no outs, and the top of their potent lineup coming up to bat.
The two sides reached a compromise when Turner grounded out, and a run scored in the process. But after Houser walked Schwarber, Harper made the Giants pay with his second double of the game, scoring a second run in the inning.
Houser would get out of the inning without any further damage, but the dam had cracked, and it was making way for the mistakes that have plagued them in recent games and weeks. And after a quick jaunt through the sixth, we reached the point in the game where it would cave away completely.
With Houser still in — he’d needed just 84 pitches to get through six innings — the Giants once again (and you’ll be shocked to hear this), gave up a leadoff runner, this time on a Crawford single. With Schwarber and Harper — two of the game’s most potent lefties — looming, it was clear that Houser would only be allowed to face one more batter. That batter, however, was Turner, who singled, sending Houser off the mound with a full-on rally started.
Vitello walked to the mound, and when he walked off it, Ryan Borucki had replaced Houser.
If you haven’t been watching the Giants this year (great choice in hindsight), the Borucki experiment has gone something like this: not well. More specifically, it’s gone quite awfully.
Borucki is on the roster because he’s quite good at getting lefties out, but in this era of pinch-hitters and three-batter minimums, it’s very difficult to have lefty specialists that aren’t frequently exposed to right-handed hitters. And Borucki should never, ever, ever face right-handed hitters.
So Vitello at least brought him in this time to face the lefty beef. The tragic error, however, was that Borucki hasn’t been good against lefties, either, this year. And so he walked Schwarber on four pitches and then gave up a game-tying, two-run single to Harper.
Just like that, Borucki had faced the left-handed power, but he hadn’t faced the minimum of three batters, and thus had to stay in to face Alec Bohm, who consequently doubled to score a run. Borucki would stay in to face one more lefty — Bryson Stott — and get his first and only out, before giving way to Caleb Kilian, who allowed one of the inherited runners to score on a sacrifice fly.
It was not pretty baseball by any stretch of the imagination, and the four runs had turned a two-run lead into a two-run deficit.
Fittingly, the offense had run dry during that time. The Giants didn’t have a baserunner in the fifth, sixth, or seventh innings, and their rally attempts in the late innings only came with two outs: a single by Jung Hoo Lee in the eighth, and a double by Adames in the ninth. Neither went anywhere, and so the Giants lost, again, this time 6-4.
Memphis Grizzlies (25-54, 13th in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (51-28, third in the Western Conference)
Denver; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Denver will try to keep its nine-game home win streak alive when the Nuggets face Memphis.
The Nuggets are 33-16 against conference opponents. Denver leads the Western Conference with 121.8 points and is shooting 49.5%.
The Grizzlies are 19-30 against Western Conference opponents. Memphis is eighth in the Western Conference scoring 115.0 points per game and is shooting 45.8%.
The Nuggets are shooting 49.5% from the field this season, 1.2 percentage points higher than the 48.3% the Grizzlies allow to opponents. The Grizzlies average 13.9 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.3 more makes per game than the Nuggets allow.
The teams play for the fourth time this season. The Grizzlies won the last matchup 125-118 on March 19, with Ty Jerome scoring 21 points in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jamal Murray is shooting 48.3% and averaging 25.4 points for the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic is averaging 26.7 points over the last 10 games.
GG Jackson is shooting 49.6% and averaging 12.5 points for the Grizzlies. Walter Clayton Jr. is averaging 1.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 9-1, averaging 128.8 points, 45.3 rebounds, 33.4 assists, 6.0 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 51.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 121.5 points per game.
Grizzlies: 1-9, averaging 110.1 points, 33.7 rebounds, 24.9 assists, 9.6 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 44.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 129.8 points.
INJURIES: Nuggets: Zeke Nnaji: day to day (hip), Peyton Watson: out (hamstring), Spencer Jones: day to day (hamstring).
Grizzlies: Santi Aldama: out for season (knee), Jahmai Mashack: day to day (neck), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: out for season (finger), Taylor Hendricks: day to day (thumb), Ja Morant: out for season (elbow), Scotty Pippen Jr.: out for season (toe), Zach Edey: out for season (ankle), Ty Jerome: day to day (ankle), Jaylen Wells: out for season (toe), Taj Gibson: day to day (foot), Brandon Clarke: out for season (calf), Javon Small: day to day (thigh).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Portland Trail Blazers (40-39, ninth in the Western Conference) vs. San Antonio Spurs (60-19, second in the Western Conference)
San Antonio; Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: San Antonio hosts Portland looking to extend its five-game home winning streak.
The Spurs have gone 34-15 against Western Conference opponents. San Antonio is second in the Western Conference in rebounding with 47.1 rebounds. Victor Wembanyama paces the Spurs with 11.5 boards.
The Trail Blazers are 27-22 in Western Conference play. Portland is 21-17 in games decided by at least 10 points.
The Spurs average 13.6 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.0 more made shot on average than the 12.6 per game the Trail Blazers allow. The Trail Blazers are shooting 45.3% from the field, 0.3% higher than the 45.0% the Spurs' opponents have shot this season.
The teams play for the third time this season. The Trail Blazers won the last meeting 115-110 on Jan. 4, with Deni Avdija scoring 29 points in the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: De'Aaron Fox is averaging 18.4 points and 6.1 assists for the Spurs. Wembanyama is averaging 25.5 points over the last 10 games.
Avdija is averaging 24 points, seven rebounds and 6.7 assists for the Trail Blazers. Toumani Camara is averaging 4.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Spurs: 9-1, averaging 124.4 points, 50.1 rebounds, 31.5 assists, 7.4 steals and 5.4 blocks per game while shooting 49.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.7 points per game.
Trail Blazers: 7-3, averaging 119.1 points, 47.6 rebounds, 26.4 assists, 8.2 steals and 6.5 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.4 points.
INJURIES: Spurs: David Jones Garcia: out for season (ankle), Victor Wembanyama: day to day (rib).
Trail Blazers: Jerami Grant: day to day (calf), Shaedon Sharpe: out (calf), Vit Krejci: day to day (calf), Damian Lillard: out for season (achilles).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Adrian Kempe scored the only goal of the shootout in the second round, and the Los Angeles Kings tightened the Western Conference playoff race with a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Monday night.
Los Angeles has played extra time in seven of its last 10 games — and 32 this season.
Joel Armia opened the scoring for the Kings and Scott Laughton made it a 2-1 lead in the second period. Jared Wright has an assist in a career-best three straight games.
Steven Stamkos tied it at 1-all for the Predators and Roman Josi knotted it at 2 early in the third.
Anton Forsberg made 29 saves in the win for the Kings. Saros made 26 saves for the Predators.
The Kings won 58.3% of the faceoffs in the game.
All three series matchups this season went to a shootout, including a 5-4 victory for the Predators in Los Angeles last Thursday.
Last week, I mentioned it was a relatively quiet first week on the injury front. Unfortunately, that's not the case this time around. A long list of weekend casualties is highlighted by Juan Soto, Hunter Brown, and Mookie Betts, among many others. On the bright side, Cubs slugger Seiya Suzuki is set to return by week’s end. Let’s break it all down in the last MLB Injury Report.
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Juan Soto (calf)
Soto drew immediate concerns when he was removed early in Friday’s game against the Giants after running from first to third in the first inning. He was held out of the lineup for the rest of the weekend and underwent imaging that revealed a mild right calf strain. The 27-year-old star outfielder was initially considered “day-to-day”, but is now set to miss at least 2-3 weeks on the injured list. It’s the smart move as calf injuries could be tricky. His absence seems to clear up some playing time in the short term for both Brett Baty and the hot-hitting Mark Vientos, with Baty likely taking over in left field and Vientos slotting in at first base.
Hunter Brown (shoulder)
This one came as a surprise Sunday morning when Brown was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder sprain. The move was retroactive to April 2. Brown apparently came out of his Friday bullpen session with some soreness. Astros GM Dana Brown stated the team was optimistic about Brown’s outlook, but didn’t provide a timeline. Hopefully, it’s a minimum stay for the 27-year-old right-hander. Brown was widely thought to be one of the more durable fantasy aces, good for plenty of volume, which makes this injury sting that much more. Cody Bolton stepped in to make the start on Monday against the Rockies. Meanwhile, Spencer Arrighetti has made two starts with Triple-A Sugar Land, tossing 8 1/3 scoreless with a 13/5 K/BB ratio. Arrighetti could be worth a stash in deeper leagues, given his strikeout upside. Astros manager Joe Espada had no updates on Brown on Monday, but did indicate that the team will use a six-man rotation starting later this week, with a 13-game stretch of no off days beginning Thursday.
Cade Horton (forearm)
This one is another incredibly unfortunate injury, and one with probably a less optimistic view. Horton left Friday’s start against the Guardians in the second inning with forearm discomfort following a significantly lower-than-average 93.8 mph fastball. He described the discomfort as starting in his wrist before it moved to his forearm. The team placed the promising 24-year-old right-hander on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to April 4. We probably won’t know much more until Horton is thoroughly evaluated, but the dreaded forearm strain doesn’t usually have a positive short-term outlook.
Matthew Boyd (biceps)
The Cubs’ rotation took another hit on Monday when Boyd was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left bicep strain. This was coming off an impressive start in which he struck out ten batters with one earned run allowed over 5 2/3 innings against the Angels last Wednesday. Apparently, he just didn’t recover well from that outing. The 35-year-old left-hander will now have the next two weeks to rest up and stated he believes he’ll make a speedy recovery. With both Boyd and Horton on the shelf, Javier Assad and Colin Rea figure to slot into the Cubs’ rotation, starting Tuesday and Wednesday against the Rays, respectively. Rea is the more interesting of the two for fantasy purposes. He saw an increase in his strikeout rate over the second half of 2025 and has struck out four batters over three innings of work in each of his two appearances this season.
Mookie Betts (oblique)
Betts was pulled from Saturday’s game against the Nationals after running the bases in the first inning with lower right back pain. An MRI revealed a right oblique strain that landed Betts on the 10-day injured list. It’s an injury that’ll typically sideline players for 4-6 weeks, though manager Dave Roberts is hopeful Betts will return sooner. Hyeseong Kim was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to replace Betts on the active roster. Kim will likely be on the strong side of a platoon at shortstop with Miguel Rojas. Kim offers some stolen base upside in a great lineup, but little to no power. He could be considered in deep roto leagues as a middle infield streaming option.
A look at the top MLB prospects who can help fantasy teams in 2026 and beyond.
Christopher Crawford
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Mike Trout (hand)
Trout left Sunday’s game against the Mariners after he was hit by a pitch on the left hand. Fortunately, X-rays came back negative, and the team opted not to run any other tests. Instead, Trout got the day off Monday to recover and is considered day-to-day.
Alejandro Kirk (thumb)
Kirk was removed in the tenth inning of Friday’s game against the White Sox after he was hit on the left thumb by a foul ball while behind the plate. The fact that he walked off in pain without trying to stay in was an obvious cause for concern. Imaging revealed a dislocation and fracture of Kirk’s left thumb. He’s set to undergo surgery this week, after which we should get a general timeline for his return. Tyler Heineman steps in as the Blue Jays’ primary catcher, though he offers very little fantasy upside.
Jordan Lawlar (wrist)
Lawlar was hit by a pitch last Thursday against the Braves. While initial X-rays were negative, a CT scan found a fracture in his right wrist that will sideline the 23-year-old outfielder for 6-8 weeks. It’s an unfortunate development for Lawlar as he seemed to be coming into his own as a big league player. He had hit safely in all but one game in the early going and had launched his first career home run earlier in Thursday’s contest. Tim Tawa and Jorge Barrosa stand to split time in the outfield to replace Lawlar, at least until Lourdes Gurriel Jr., recovering from a torn ACL, is ready to return. Playing time could once again be in question for Lawlar once he returns.
Zach Eflin (elbow)
Eflin was looking outstanding in his season debut last Tuesday, holding the Rangers to one run with seven strikeouts until he was pulled with two outs in the fourth inning with right elbow discomfort. The team placed Eflin on the 15-day injured list and is reportedly getting a second opinion on his initial evaluation by Dr. Keith Meister, which typically isn’t a good thing. It’s fair to speculate that Eflin could be looking at a lengthy absence. Brandon Young was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to help fill the rotation spot. He struck out two over five scoreless innings in a win against the White Sox on Monday, but his lack of strikeout upside makes him a speculative play only in the deepest of leagues.
Merill Kelly (back)
Kelly was up to 72 pitches in his last rehab outing with Triple-A Reno, tossing five scoreless innings. Manager Torey Lovullo said Sunday that the 37-year-old right-hander is slated for one more rehab start this week before rejoining the Diamondbacks rotation, likely during next week’s series in Baltimore. His return would seem to push Brandon Pfaadt out of the rotation, either to long relief or to Triple-A to remain stretched out.
Seiya Suzuki (knee)
Suzuki is on track to be activated from the injured list later this week, likely Friday when the Cubs open their weekend series at home against the Pirates. Matt Shaw and Michael Conforto have worked a platoon in right field, while Moisés Ballesteros and Miguel Amaya have gotten starts at designated hitter. It remains to be seen how the Cubs plan to utilize Suzuki coming off the injured list.
Nick Lodolo (blister)
Lodolo was due to come off the injured list this week until he suffered a setback in his rehab outing with Class-A Daytona last Thursday. He was expected to throw 60-65 pitches, but made it just 40 before he was pulled with a recurrence of the blister issue. The 28-year-old left-hander played catch on Monday, but there’s no word on when he could appear in another rehab game. He’ll likely need a couple of starts to build his pitch count back up once he’s passed the blister problem. All fantasy managers can do is be patient and hold.
Austin Hays (hamstring)
Hays pulled up limping while trying to field a ball in the outfield on Monday against the Orioles. He was removed from the game with a right hamstring strain that is expected to require a trip to the injured list. Derek Hill took over in left field on Monday and could get more looks in Hays' absence. Andrew Benintendi could also shift to more outfield starts, opening designated hitter for someone like Lenyn Sosa. From the team’s minor league depth, Sam Antonacci is a name to watch. The 23-year-old infielder is off to a great start with Triple-A Charlotte, hitting .346/.538/.615 with two homers and four steals through his first seven games.
The Nashville Predators have gotten the best of the Los Angeles Kings in the shootout twice this season, but couldn't get it done in their final meeting of the regular season.
Adrian Kempe scored the lone goal of the shootout in the second round, giving the Los Angeles Kings a critical 3-2 win over the Predators.
With the two points, the Kings move into the final Wild Card spot with 73 points and five games remaining. Nashville trails Los Angeles by a point with 72.
Turnovers haunted Nashville, which allowed two goals in regulation. A turnover by Tyson Jost in the neutral zone led to a Kings rush the other way and a goal by Joel Armia to put LA up 1-0 in the first period.
The Predators responded in the second off a 5-on-3 power play goal from Steven Stamkos, a one-time shot to tie the game. It's his 39th goal of the season and 12th power play goal on the year.
Scott Laughton gave the Kings the lead back in the second period, off a Ryan Ufko neutral zone turnover that ended with Jared Wright feeding Laughton into the slot for the quick wrist shot.
Roman Josi tied the game in the early third period as a Filip Forsberg missed shot caromed off the end boards and Josi slammed home the rebound.
Nashville and LA tied in shots, two apiece in overtime. In the shootout, Ryan O'Reilly, Filip Forsberg and Luke Evangelista all failed to convert.
Juuse Saros made 26 saves on 28 shots. The Predators had a clean sheet, taking no penalties.
The Predators have two more games left in this road trip, taking on Anaheim on Tuesday and Utah on Thursday. They'll then return to Nashville on Saturday for a three-game homestand to end the regular season.
In what was the biggest game of the season for the Los Angeles Kings (32-26-19), they came up big with a gritty victory over the Nashville Predators (36-31-10) in a 3-2 shootout.
LA turned to its goaltending to get the win, led by Anton Forsberg, who stopped three clutch shots from the Predators in the shootout. The Kings were also great in the faceoff, winning 58.3% and forcing 18 giveaways from the Predators.
The game began with the Kings finally starting off strong to open the first period. It was the first time in over a week that Los Angeles scored a goal in the opening period and avoided the slow start.
It all started less than six minutes into the period, with Joel Armia forcing the turnover on defense, following up on offense by skating behind the net, and scoring an unassisted goal, giving LA the early 1-0 lead.
LAK Goal - Now THAT is how you start a game.
Forechecking has been aggressive early and the third line opens the scoring. Armia with a great shift to stay hot against Nashville, 1-0 Kings.
Los Angeles showed up this time around in the opening period with its excellent forechecking and outshot the Predators 12-4 after an amazing 20 minutes of hockey.
Five minutes into the second period, Los Angeles got called for a penalty after a Scott Laughton's hooking was called, and Mikey Anderson for a high-sticking right after the faceoff, giving Nashville the 5-on-3 advantage.
The Predators would capitalize on that 5-on-3 advantage, scoring on the power play after forward Steven Stamkos converted on the one-timer, left circle, to tie the scoreboard 1-1.
A pretty even period, other than those penalties; the Kings were hanging around and making this game interesting. The Kings only attempted four shots on goal in the next nine minutes before they regained the lead again.
With another turnover by the Predators, Jared Wright led the way with his impressive speed, blazing down the ice past Nashville's defenders and passing the puck to Laughton, finishing in front to give the Kings back their lead.
Laughton has now scored five goals for the Kings since the trade, and Wright continues to show he belongs on this team, adding a point in three consecutive games.
LAK Goal - There's that line again!
Wright with blazing speed down the wing, Laughton finishes in front. 53 continues to impress. 2-1 Kings.
Give credit to both teams for adjusting in the second period, especially the Predators, who had a measly four shots in the first period, finished with 19 in the second, outshooting the Kings 19-11.
Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg was also great in the second period, getting the start tonight over Darcy Kuemper, who didn't disappoint. The 33-year-old got two massive saves to bail out the Kings' turnovers, holding Nashville to one goal after 40 minutes.
The defense from both teams started to pick up in the final period. Everything was so tough, and neither team could get a good shot up in the early parts of the final frame.
We were nine minutes into the period, and both teams combined for just three shots: LA with two and the Predators with just two shots. Both teams were waiting for an opening to gain momentum, but nothing could go their way.
The rest of the final frame would end with both teams struggling to get a score up, and we would head to overtime, the fourth consecutive game that Los Angeles would play in extra periods.
Alex Laferriere had a great chance to win the game with under 35 seconds left after a nice defensive stop, but a clutch save by goaltender Juuse Saros would force the second overtime in the three meetings that LA and Nashville have faced off against one another.
In overtime, the Kings had several chances to win this game, including Adrian Kempe and Quinton Byfield getting a few close shots up, but Saros remained strong under the crease to force the shootout.
The shootout saw Adrian Kempe score the goal in round two, while Forsberg stood strong and stopped all three shots by the Predators to win the game in a shootout.
Key Stats
Anton Forsberg, the hero of the game with his clutch saves on defense, finished with 29 saves on 31 shots, continuing to make a huge case to be the permanent starter for the Kings moving forward.
Scott Laughton continues to show why he was a big pickup for the Kings, finishing with 1 goal and 1 point and bringing energy night in and night out for Los Angeles.
Jared Wright and Joel Armia were also very great tonight, sparking energy with their speed and defense. Armia notched one goal and one point, while Wright recorded an assist and a point in the Kings' victory.
Huge win for Los Angeles, arguably the biggest game of the season, and they win, but still don't have the tibreaker over the Predators, so things could get interesting. The Kings now hold the final wild card spot in the playoffs and have a one-point lead over Nashville and a two-point lead over San Jose in the playoff race.
The Kings' next matchup will be against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday at 7:30 PM PT.
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