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Welp, going into extra innings to keep the game alive, the Arizona Diamondbacks capitalized on an opportunity to prevent the third consecutive series win for the Atlanta Braves (6-5) and end the series on a split.
Besides Drake Baldwin’s solo homer in the first inning to give the Braves their early lead and racking up on RBI’s to keep the team in the game, today might not have started as the most exciting, but it sure was kept interesting to the finish.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Mets waited most of Sunday afternoon to start their offensive engine, and once it got revved, they weren’t about to leave Oracle Park with anything short of a series victory.
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Try it freeOne at-bat after another in the eighth inning they persisted, placing hits in all corners of the field until four runs scored in a 5-2 victory over the Giants.
Luis Torrens’ pinch-hit double brought in the tying and go-ahead runs in the eighth before the Mets added on. That meant Mark Vientos and Marcus Semien each with a run-scoring hit, allowing a cushion for Luke Weaver and Devin Williams, who pitched the final two innings scoreless.
The Mets won their third straight to complete a 4-3 road trip.
“The team has looked excellent the way the pitchers are pitching and the hitters are hitting,” Torrens said through an interpreter. “It’s been really special to come back in these games and just how [Kodai] Senga pitched today was amazing.”
Jared Young, who had already delivered three hits in the game, wasn’t permitted to face lefty reliever Erik Miller in the eighth with runners on second and third with one out. Enter Torrens, who worked the at-bat to nine pitches before slicing a changeup just inside the right field line, scoring both runners.
A short bench — Brett Baty was scratched from the lineup with left thumb soreness and Juan Soto is awaiting further evaluation on a right calf strain — left Carlos Mendoza’s options limited. The manager credited bench coach Kai Correa with the idea to use Torrens, the backup catcher, as a pinch hitter if an opportunity against a left-hander arose.
“And sure enough the situation presented itself and we shot him and [Torrens] was ready to go from the very beginning and he executed,” Mendoza said. “You are not so inclined to use the catcher when you are short on the bench.”
Torrens scored when Matt Chapman threw away Vientos’ grounder. The go-ahead rally was complete on Semien’s RBI double. Others involved included Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr., whose double and single, respectively, ignited the comeback. Robert also stole second, eluding the tag on a throw that had him beat.
“We have got good players up and down,” Mendoza said. “We’re dealing with a few guys that have injuries and we’re feeling really good, not only with the guys that are in the lineup who are getting to play more, but on the bench as well. There’s a lot of versatility. There’s a lot of things we can do because of the flexibility.”
In a second straight solid outing to begin his season, Senga allowed two earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks over 5 ²/₃ innings. The right-hander took a shutout into the sixth but was undermined by two bloop hits sandwiched around Chapman’s game-tying double. Huascar Brazobán gave the Mets 1 ¹/₃ scoreless innings in relief before Weaver and Williams handled the rest.
Vientos’ sizzling stretch continued with an RBI single in the second that gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. Vientos, who reached base seven times over the previous two games, is batting .476.
Robert and Young singled in succession before Vientos delivered against Logan Webb with a third straight hit to begin the inning. But Semien’s ensuing double-play grounder thwarted dreams of a big inning.
Senga struck out six of eight batters to begin his afternoon, utilizing the forkball as his weapon of choice.
Luis Arraez’s 10-pitch at-bat culminated with a leadoff single in the fourth, but Senga rebounded by getting Chapman to ground into a double play. After Rafael Devers walked, Senga escaped the inning by getting Heliot Ramos to hit into a fielder’s choice.
Jerar Encarnacion smoked a shot off the left field fence in the fifth, but Young fielded the carom cleanly and threw a strike to Semien, nailing Encarnacion as he attempted to stretch the single into a double.
Chapman jumped on an 0-1 forkball in the sixth and smashed an RBI double that tied it 1-1. Patrick Bailey singled leading off the inning and stole second before Chapman, with one out, delivered. Devers’ ensuing bloop single — just in front of a lunging Robert — gave the Giants a 2-1 lead and ended Senga’s afternoon.
The Los Angeles Kings hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, and to prepare for that outing, the Maple Leafs held a practice on Friday, holding media availability after the session.
Toronto defenseman Troy Stecher was a member of the Kings during the 2021-22 season - he played 13 regular-season games and four post-season contests - spoke about being Anze Kopitar's teammate for a short time and even shared a funny story about the Kings captain.
Stecher was asked if he had any specific memory about Kopitar from his short stint with the team.
"Yeah, actually… at the end of the season, we went there for family barbecue dinner, wrap-up party with all the guys and wives and kids, at his house," Stecher started. "I'd heard he had a pool, and there was no pool.
"So I was like, 'Kopi, where's your pool?' And he's like, 'follow me,'" Stecher said. "And then he clicked a button, and the ground, like, lowered up, and then the water started to fill in."
Stecher was impressed by Kopitar's fancy pool setup at his place.
'Probably Montreal': Kopitar Reveals Where He Would Consider Playing Aside From Los AngelesIn an interview with Elliotte Friedman before the Los Angeles Kings' game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, Anze Kopitar revealed that if he ever had to play for a different team, it would be the Montreal Canadiens."I was like, 'this is the NHL, this is really cool.' So that was a pretty cool memory," the Leafs defenseman said.
Not only was Stecher a teammate of Kopitar's, but he also shared the ice with the Kings captain several times as an opponent in the Pacific Division. Stecher also had stints with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers in his 10-year NHL career.
On Saturday, they shared the ice for the last time in a thrilling overtime contest, which finished 7-6 in Los Angeles' favor. Stecher had 21:10 of ice time in that game, while Kopitar finished the game with 21:13 of ice time.
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MONTREAL (AP) — The Montreal Canadiens wrapped up their second straight playoff spot Sunday when Detroit fell 5-4 to Minnesota, making them the first Canadian team to secure a postseason berth.
Last season, Montreal took the final spot in the Eastern Conference before falling to Washington in five games in the first round.
Montreal dropped a 3-0 decision to New Jersey at home Sunday night. The Canadiens are third in the Atlantic Division, even in points with second-place Buffalo and five ahead of Boston.
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WASHINGTON –– Sunday was one of those games the Dodgers had no business winning.
Not after Roki Sasaki gave up six runs in five innings. Not with Mookie Betts out injured and Will Smith, Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy all getting off days. And certainly not after facing a five-run deficit entering the sixth inning, then a three-run hole going into the eighth.
Alas, on a rain-delayed getaway day at Nationals Park, the Dodgers battled back, flipped the script and secured a weekend sweep over the Washington Nationals, scoring the game’s final seven runs in an 8-6 win.
“It was a good fight,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We just didn’t quit.”
The turnaround started as soon as Sasaki completed his calamitous outing –– one that featured two home runs, three walks and a bit of bad luck when a potential inning-ending grounder in the fourth ricocheted off the first-base bag to spur a four-run rally.
Even in the face of a 6-1 deficit, the Dodgers (7-2) kept stringing together late-game hits.
Dalton Rushing had the first big swing, launching a two-run blast in the top of the sixth that put the club within striking distance.
Then, in the eighth, the team completed the comeback against overmatched Nationals reliever Cionel Pérez, who failed to record an out while letting the game slip away.
The inning started with a single from Freddie Freeman. Andy Pages followed with a double down the left-field line. Alex Call loaded the bases after that, reaching base for the fourth-straight time by drawing a four-pitch walk.
That set the stage for Santiago Espinal, who recorded his first Dodgers hit with a two-run single to center.
Pérez was mercifully removed after loading the bases again on a walk to the pinch-hitting Smith. But by then, the damage was already done.
A fielder’s choice grounder from Tucker, in another pinch-hit at-bat, tied the game. A sacrifice fly from Shohei Ohtani –– who opened the scoring Sunday with a 438-foot homer back in the third inning –– gave the Dodgers the lead.
Thanks to four combined innings of scoreless work from the bullpen, there would be no further late-game dramatics. Instead, Teoscar Hernández hit a ninth-inning insurance homer into the Dodgers bullpen, where closer Edwin Díaz was preparing for what would be his third save with the team.
“It is a mark of our ball club that every out matters, every game matters,” Roberts said.
From five runs down, to a first series sweep of the season.
From a game they shouldn’t have won, to one they wrapped up with relative ease.
That, even on a day so many other things went wrong, the Dodgers always have enough firepower to mount a late comeback.
In doing so Sunday, they got Sasaki off the hook for what should’ve been an ugly loss to the Nationals (3-6).
In the third inning, he started losing his command, and ultimately gave up a two-run homer to Luis García Jr. on an elevated fastball. The fourth was even worse, with the right-hander coming unraveled after a potential inning-ending grounder from Keibert Ruiz kicked off first base for an RBI single.
While that was a moment of bad luck, what followed was decidedly not. Sasaki gave up another single to José Tena, then hung an 0-2 splitter to James Wood that was clobbered for a three-run shot.
On any other day, his struggles would’ve been the story.
He can thank the team’s offense for ensuring that it wasn’t.
The Dodgers’ late-game offense.
Sunday was already the team’s fifth come-from-behind victory –– and in all of them, they’ve trailed by multiple runs early on.
It might not be a sustainable recipe for success. But it does epitomize the relentless nature of their deep and talented offense.
And this time, they didn’t even need superstar contributions, instead being led by Call (2-for-3 with two walks), Hernández (2-for-4 with his home run after being bumped up to the No. 3 spot in the order), and Espinal and Rushing (two RBIs apiece).
In the wake of Betts’ injury, Alex Freeland is slated to get more regular starts at second base.
The Dodgers can only hope it snaps his poor start to the season.
Since hitting a home run and a double in his season debut, Freeland has looked more like the hitter who had a .190 batting average in the big leagues last season and a .125 average in an underwhelming spring.
After going 0-for-3 Sunday, he now has just one hit and three walks in his last 19 plate appearances. Even more concerning is that –– for a player tasked first and foremost with taking quality at-bats –– he has struck out two times in each of his last four games.
The Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays begin a World Series rematch on Monday at Rogers Centre. Justin Wrobleski is expected to get his first start of the season in the opener, opposite former Dodger and future Hall of Fame right-hander Max Scherzer.
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NEW YORK (AP) — Nolan Traore hit five three-pointers and finished with 23 points and seven assists, Jalen Wilson added 19 points and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Washington Wizards 121-115 on Sunday.
The Wizards (17-61) have a two-game lead on the Nets (19-59) for the best lottery odds. Indiana is 18-58 entering Sunday’s game at Cleveland.
Washington has lost six in a row and 22 of its past 23. The Wizards had given up 305 combined points in back-to-back losses to Philadelphia (153-131) and Miami (152-136).
Brooklyn won for just the second time in its past 14 games.
Will Riley, who had a career-high 31 points Saturday against the Heat, scored 30, Jamir Watkins added 20 points, and Julian Reese had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Wizards. Anthony Gill also scored 17 points and Bub Carrington had 13 points.
E.J. Liddell and Josh Minott each scored 15 for Brooklyn. Drake Powell added 13 points and Ochai Agbaji scored 12.
Watkins hit a three-pointer that gave the Wizards a four-point lead with 3:50 left in the game. The Nets answered with an 8-0 run that culminated when Traore made a layup that made it 109-105 with two minutes remaining and Brooklyn led the rest of the way.
Leaky Black responded with a three-pointer that cut the deficit to a point, but Wilson and Traore hit back-to-back threes before Trevon Scott’s layup made it 117-108 with 42 seconds to go.
Wizards: Host Chicago on Tuesday and Thursday.
Nets: Host Milwaukee on Tuesday.
The Washington Wizards lost to the Brooklyn Nets, 121-115 on Easter Sunday. This game was important for the upcoming NBA Draft Lottery! The Brooklyn Nets coming in a full game behind the Wizards in the standings, and if the Wizards managed not to lose, they would enlarge that gap to 2 full games!
Yes, the Wizards were standing at 17-60, and the Nets at 18-59.
Things started well for the Nets (and the Wizards’ Draft Lottery hopes) as the Nets stormed to a 35-24 lead at the end of the first quarter. Traore and Agbaji were hitting their threes, and on the other side the Wizards were kept in the game by their 6th man of the month, Will Riley, who would go on to score 15 points in 20 minutes of action in the first half alone.
Indeed, the second quarter shifted towards the Wizards, much thanks to Riley, and at halftime the scoreboard showed a close contest 59-54 in favor of the hosts in Brooklyn.
The Nets came strong out of the gates in the locker-room, pushing the lead quickly (within less than a minute) to double digits after two quick turnovers by the Wizards. Four quick buckets by the Wizards showed they are in this game, and the remainder of the third quarter remained close with several lead changes. Ultimately, the Nets took a one-point lead 85-84 heading into the final stanza.
The final quarter started with a couple quick buckets by Gil and Watkins, with Washington taking a small but quick lead 89-85. And, the contest remained close! The scoreboard showed 105-105, knotted up, with less than three minutes to go.
At that point the Nets made two quick buckets, by Powell and Traore (who is shaping up to be quite a player), but Leaky Black answered with a clutch three, 109-108 with 100 seconds to go. Traore then drew a couple defenders and sprayed out to Jalen Wilson who nailed a clutch three of his own from straight ahead, 112-108 in favor of the nets, with 92 seconds on the clock.
Timeout for the Wizards.
Whatever the ATO was, Will Riley turned the ball over in-bounding…. Jalen Wilson heat-check for a dagger three, missed, but after a rebound, Traore (who else) came up big with a three, 115-108 for the Nets, and the game was pretty much sealed.
Some stats to close: Anthony Gil played 40+ minutes. Black, Reese, and Watkins topped 42 minutes. Overall the Wizards were decent with 55 percent from the field and 36 from deep. But they missed a ton from the charity stripe (18-for-28). Will Riley led the Wizards in scoring with 28 in 35 minutes off the bench.
Traore led the Nets with 23 points including 5-for-11 from deep in 28 minutes. Nobody on the Nets actually played more than 29 minutes. Which makes sense.
The Wizards now return home where they will face the Chicago Bulls twice in the last stretch of the regular season.
London-born fighter wins easily on points
Harper was knocked down in sixth round
Caroline Dubois added the WBO world lightweight title to her WBC crown with a unanimous points victory over her fellow Briton Terri Harper. The London-born younger sister of heavyweight Daniel Dubois scored a 98-91, 97-92, 98-91 win to see off Harper at London Olympia on Sunday night.
Dubois struggled to get to her opponent initially, but floored her in the sixth round and never looked back as she moved a step closer to unifying the division.
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The St. Louis Cardinals will try to salvage the final game of their series against the Detroit Tigers in a night contest. According to MLB.com, Kyle Leahy will start the game for St. Louis while it will be Keider Montero for Detroit. This will be Montero’s first start of the season while Kyle Leahy is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA. Game time at Comerica Park is 6:20pm central time. The broadcast of this game is being handled by NBC Sports Network/Peacock.
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Time/Place: 7:20 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site: Viva El Birdos
Media: Peacock, NBC Sports, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Keider Montero (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Kyle Leahy (0-1, 7.20 ERA)
| Player | G | IP | K% | BB% | GB% | ERA | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montero (proj) | 33 | 55.0 | 19.2 | 7.9 | – | 4.41 | 4.49 | 0.2 |
| Leahy (2026) | 1 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 8.3 | 52.4 | 7.20 | 3.98 | 0.0 |
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BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum had 23 points and 13 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 115-101 on Sunday.
Neemias Queta had 18 points and seven rebounds, and Payton Pritchard scored 17 points for the Celtics, who won their third straight to move closer to clinching second place in the Eastern Conference.
Ja’Kobe Walter led Toronto with 16 points, and Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett each had 15.
Celtics center Nikola Vucevic returned after missing a month following surgery for a broken right ring finger. He looked a bit rusty, scoring just four points in 13 minutes with four rebounds.
Coming off consecutive games of putting up at least 43 points in the opening quarter, the Celtics looked a bit sluggish and were cold from long range early, missing 13 of their initial 16 shots from 3-point range. The teams were tied at 26 after one.
Fighting for a top-six spot in the Eastern Conference to avoid the play-in tournament, the Raptors were outscored 35-24 in the final quarter that was filled with their turnovers and breakdowns defensively. Walter even missed all three free throw attempts on one trip to the line.
BUCKS 131, GRIZZLIES 115
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ryan Rollins scored 24 points and Milwaukee withstood a triple-double from Memphis’ Rayan Rupert to outlast the Grizzlies in an afternoon matchup of short-handed, lottery-bound teams.
Rupert established new career highs with 33 points and 10 assists, and he matched a career best with 10 rebounds. The 21-year-old Rupert entered Sunday averaging 4.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists.
Milwaukee snapped an eight-game skid in this series and beat the Grizzlies for the first time since a 126-114 decision on Jan. 19, 2022. The Bucks committed 20 turnovers but shot 60.2% overall and went 16 of 32 on 3-pointers.
The Grizzlies have lost four straight and 17 of their last 19.
Memphis had so many injury-related absences that it dressed four players on 10-day contracts (Dariq Whitehead, Toby Okani, Lucas Williamson, Adama Bal).
NETS 121, WIZARDS 115
NEW YORK (AP) — Nolan Traore hit five 3-pointers and finished with 23 points and seven assists, Jalen Wilson added 19 points and Brooklyn beat Washington.
The Wizards (17-61) have a two-game on the Nets (19-59) for the best lottery odds. Indiana is 18-58 entering Sunday’s game at Cleveland.
Washington has lost six in a row and 22 of its past 23. The Wizards had given up 305 combined points in back-to-back losses to Philadelphia ( 153-131 ) and Miami ( 152-136 ).
Brooklyn won for just the second time in its past 14 games.
Will Riley, who had a career-high 31 points Saturday against the Heat, scored 30, Jamir Watkins added 20 points, and Julian Reese had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Wizards. Anthony Gill also scored 17 points and Bub Carrington had 13 points.
E.J. Liddell and Josh Minott each scored 15 for Brooklyn. Drake Powell added 13 points and Ochai Agbaji scored 12.
SUNS 120, BULLS 110
CHICAGO (AP) — Devin Booker scored 30 points, Jalen Green added 25 and Phoenix ended the game on an 11-2 run to top Chicago.
Dillon Brooks scored 15, and the Suns shook off back-to-back losses at Orlando and Charlotte.
The Suns led by 13 late in the third quarter before the Bulls went on an 11-0 run. They were clinging to a 109-108 advantage with about three minutes remaining when Brooks hit a turnaround jumper to start the decisive run and added a 3-pointer.
The Bulls missed four shots on their next possession, including three straight at point-blank range by Leonard Miller, before Booker made a 3 to make 117-108 with 1:33 remaining.
Chicago’s Josh Giddey (strained left hamstring) and Matas Buzelis (illness) missed the game. And with their two best players out, the Bulls lost their seventh in a row.
Tre Jones scored 29 for Chicago. Collin Sexton had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Miller scored 17.
In a very messy, stop‑and‑go kind of game that wasn’t exactly pleasant to watch, the Suns pulled out a 120–110 win against a courageous Chicago team. The matchup was defined by constant rhythm swings, sloppiness, and physical intensity. In short: a classic Sunday game at a European-friendly tipoff.
The night was highlighted by Booker and Green on the Suns’ side (54 points combined), and by Tre Jones (29 points) along with the Miller/Sexton duo (35 points and 20 rebounds between them) for the Chicago piece. Phoenix shot the ball relatively well (50% from the field, 40% from three), didn’t get crushed too badly on the boards (41 vs 46), and dominated in forcing turnovers: 18 turnovers created, 10 steals.
The win moves the Suns to 43-35 on the season.
Rough start, clearly. Tons of sloppiness on both sides: Chicago coughing up the ball, Phoenix stacking up short misses. It takes 2–3 minutes before Devin Booker finally gets the Suns on the board with a fadeaway. In the middle of this messy opening, Leonard Miller is already locked in: 8 points in 4 minutes, mixing it up perfectly (drive, corner three, transition).
First real turning point: as expected, the Bulls impose their presence on the glass and push the pace. Push it hard. As a result, Phoenix’s paint is under pressure, and offensive possessions become rushed and poorly constructed. After six minutes, Chicago is in control (12–19). Jordan Ott goes to his bench: Grayson Allen first, then Oso Ighodaro, Collin Gillespie, and Royce O’Neale.
End of the quarter is more encouraging for Phoenix. The defense ramps up, gets more aggressive, disrupts Chicago’s flow, and slows down transition, but at the cost of fouls. Offensively, though, it’s still very poor: little movement, lots of static situations, and points coming almost exclusively from individual creation. Despite that, the Suns manage to stay afloat and tie it up: 30–30 after one.
The main issue remains obvious: Chicago scores way too easily in transition. The Suns’ transition defense and overall floor balance are not good enough and need to be fixed quickly.
Start of the second quarter follows the same pattern: the Bulls keep hurting Phoenix in transition, and the Suns still struggle to match the pace. Offensively, it’s a bit cleaner, more fluid in stretches, but still heavily reliant on individual talent — mainly Jalen Green and Collin Gillespie. The point guard does a genuinely good job as a creator, repeatedly finding Oso Ighodaro on pick‑and‑rolls, helping Phoenix take the lead (39–38).
First real adjustment from the Suns: they play faster, but more importantly, they play smarter. Physical intensity rises, transition defense improves, and Chicago is gradually forced into half-court offense. Immediate result: bad decisions pile up for the Bulls, shots get tougher, and turnovers increase (already 10 with four minutes left in the half, shooting percentage dropping below 50%). Phoenix capitalizes and builds its first real gap (52–47).
But as has been the theme of this first half, the end of the quarter collapses into chaos again. Sloppy, choppy, poorly managed. Phoenix’s defense holds up, but the offense wastes possessions instantly: 5 turnovers in just a few minutes. Jordan Ott calls a timeout with 3 minutes left (54–49). Despite the messy stretch, the Suns limit the damage and head to the locker room up 63–56.
Worth noting: Grayson Allen already has 4 fouls, and Phoenix gave up way too many free throws (13 team fouls). On the bright side, they dominated the rebounding battle in the second quarter (15–6). Individually, Jalen Green is on fire: 18 first‑half points with a real impact on the offensive rhythm.
Phoenix comes out of the locker room locked in. This time, they dictate the pace from the jump — and even outrun the Bulls. The offense is sharper, cleaner, and more decisive, and it shows immediately: +10. Billy Donovan has to burn a timeout quickly (69–59).
Phoenix stays in control afterward. The plan is clear and well executed: limit Chicago’s transition and force them to play in the halfcourt. And collectively, the Suns do a solid job. The Bulls remain dangerous whenever they can run, but overall, they’re contained. On the other end, Phoenix keeps producing and maintains a solid lead (82–69 with four minutes left in the quarter).
And then… another collapse. Again. The end of the quarter completely kills the momentum. Just when Phoenix seemed in control, the lead doesn’t grow — it evaporates. A 13–2 run allowed, with the offense going totally silent. No field goals in the last four minutes, only free throws. Instead of putting the game away, the Suns let Chicago right back in it.
86–84 heading into the fourth. Everything resets.
Start of the fourth is fairly balanced. Both teams score, but no real run emerges. The rhythm is constantly broken: fouls, turnovers, interference calls… the game never finds flow. Phoenix still holds a small edge (102–97) with seven minutes left.
Tension rises, but the Suns handle it reasonably well at first, especially physically. The tempo slows down — maybe too much. In trying to control the game, Phoenix lets Chicago hang around, giving up easy buckets both inside and from three. Jordan Ott calls a timeout with four minutes left (109–106), aware that the game could swing.
And then, individual talent takes over. Dillon Brooks, quiet until then, completely shifts the momentum: valuable connective play on offense, strong defensive impact, influence on both ends. At the same time, Devin Booker takes command in the clutch and punishes Chicago, pushing the lead to +9 with 1:30 left.
The Bulls fade on the final possessions, and Phoenix closes it out without trembling: 120–110.
After this hard‑earned win, Phoenix will host the Rockets to kick off the final week of the regular season.
The Dodgers began their road trip in a similar fashion as their first home series, with a comeback win to complete a three-game sweep. This time it came against the Washington Nationals as the Dodgers scored seven unanswered runs and erased a five-run deficit to win 8-6.
It took a two hour and 15 minute rain delay to pass before Roki Sasaki could make his second start of the season, and although he allowed a hit over his first two hitters he faced, he got through a scoreless first inning on just nine pitches. He notched another scoreless inning bottom of the second, striking out a pair of hitters while also working around a two-out walk to Jorbit Vivas.
The Dodgers managed to strike first for a second consecutive game as Shohei Ohtani crushed his second home run of the series 438 feet to dead center field against left-hander Foster Griffin to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. Ohtani later picked up a double in the top of the fifth inning to give him his third consecutive multi-hit game against Washington.
The Dodger lead was short lived as Sasaki surrendered a two-out, two-strike home run to Luis García Jr., helping give Washington since the second inning of Friday’s contest. He was still pitching relatively efficiently with just 44 pitches over his first three innings, but his confidence and his faith in his stuff began to weaken in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Sasaki was working with a C.J. Abrams at second base with two outs when he induced a weak ground ball from Keibert Ruiz down the first base side, but the ball ricocheted off the first base bag well over the head of Freddie Freeman, allowing Abrams to score and make it a two-run Washington lead. José Tena kept the two-out rally going with a single to put two men on with two outs for the struggling James Wood. Wood got a splitter right down the middle from Sasaki, and deposited it into the center field bleachers to make it a 6-1 Nationals lead.
Sasaki was able to have a clean bottom of the fifth inning, facing the minimum in order while picking up a pair of strikeouts, but it was yet another roller coaster of a performance. Over five innings of work, he allowed six earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five, now carrying an unconvincing 7.00 ERA on the season.
Dalton Rushing was given his second straight start against a left-hander this season, and he cut the deficit in half with a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning.
The Dodgers bullpen continued to shine in relief of Sasaki, as both Alex Vesia and Jack Dreyer posted scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh innings respectively and continue to post spotless earned run averages.
The Nationals kept rolling with southpaws throughout the first seven innings, as PJ Poulin completed two innings of work despite being responsible for the Rushing home run. Left-hander Cionel Pérez took over for Washington in the top of the eighth, and he immediately put the Nationals lead in jeopardy by allowing a single to Freddie Freeman and a double to Andy Pages to put two men in scoring position with nobody out. The former National Alex Call worked a four-pitch walk to load the bases and Santiago Espinal had his first big moment as a Dodger with a two-run single to center field, trimming the deficit to one.
Will Smith came in as a pinch-hitter for Dalton Rushing, even though Rushing had gone deep against a left-hander in his previous at-bat, and Smith kept the line moving with a walk to once again load the bases with nobody out. As the Nationals brought in former Dodgers prospect Clayton Beeter, the Dodgers countered with Kyle Tucker as a pinch-hitter for Alex Freeland, and Tucker brought home the tying run by reaching on a fielder’s choice. Shohei Ohtani gave the Dodgers their first lead since the third with a sacrifice fly to make it a 7-6 game.
The Dodgers added some insurance in the top of the the ninth inning as Teoscar Hernández took Beeter deep to left-center field for his first home run of the season, giving the Dodgers a two-run lead.
Tanner Scott kept up the impressive work from the bullpen and Edwin Díaz recorded his first save on the road as the Dodgers remain undefeated away from Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers fly north of the border as they prepare for a rematch of the 2025 World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays beginning Monday at Rogers Centre (4:07 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Justin Wrobleski makes his first start of the season, going up against Max Scherzer.
NEW YORK (AP) — Nolan Traore hit five 3-pointers and finished with 23 points and seven assists, Jalen Wilson added 19 points and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Washington Wizards 121-115 on Sunday.
The Wizards (17-61) have a two-game on the Nets (19-59) for the best lottery odds. Indiana is 18-58 entering Sunday's game at Cleveland.
Washington has lost six in a row and 22 of its past 23. The Wizards had given up 305 combined points in back-to-back losses to Philadelphia ( 153-131 ) and Miami ( 152-136 ).
Brooklyn won for just the second time in its past 14 games.
Will Riley, who had a career-high 31 points Saturday against the Heat, scored 30, Jamir Watkins added 20 points, and Julian Reese had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Wizards. Anthony Gill also scored 17 points and Bub Carrington had 13 points.
E.J. Liddell and Josh Minott each scored 15 for Brooklyn. Drake Powell added 13 points and Ochai Agbaji scored 12.
Watkins hit a 3-pointer that gave the Wizards a four-point lead with 3:50 left in the game. The Nets answered with an 8-0 run that culminated when Traore made layup that made it 109-105 with two minutes remaining and Brooklyn led the rest of the way.
Leaky Black responded with a 3-pointer that cut the deficit to a point, but Wilson and Traore hit back-to-back 3s before Trevon Scott's layup made it 117-108 with 42 seconds to go.
Wizards: Host Chicago on Tuesday and Thursday.
Nets: Host Milwaukee on Tuesday.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
On Sunday morning, the New York Islanders (89 points) fired Patrick Roy despite holding onto the third seed in the Metropolitan Division.
BREAKING: Islanders Fire Head Coach Patrick Roy, Hire Peter DoBoer With Four Games To GoRoy is out. DeBoer comes in with four games to go. But by Sunday afternoon, Pete DeBoer's new squad lost its spot to the Philadelphia Flyers (89 points, one game in hand), who beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 in overtime. That moved the Islanders to the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
That result also guaranteed that the Islanders will be on the outside looking in when they return to play on Thursday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Ottawa Senators (90 points) beat the Hurricanes, so the Islanders are now a point out of a wild-card spot.
We will see just how far out of a playoff spot the Islanders are when Toronto comes to town for a 7 PM showdown on Thursday.