SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 28: Chase DeLauter #24 of the Cleveland Guardians celebrates while rounding the bases after hitting a two-run home run to left field in the tenth inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on March 28, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Russell Lee Verlinger/Cleveland Guardians/Getty Images) | Getty Images
THE GUARDIANS WIN!!! CHASE DELAUTER DID IT AGAIN!!! HOW FUN IS THIS GUYS???
The Guardians win 6-5 after a truly incredible game. Bryan Woo was shoving all game and it looked like we were never going to get to him, until we did. A key walk from Rocchio and then our GOAT José knocked him in with an RBI double. Then Manzardo came through with an RBI single right after that. The Guardians later took the lead after a Kwan RBI single in the 7th inning. The Mariners wound up getting to Cade Smith in the bottom of the 9th after a double down the left field line from Cole Young and a single from Julio Rodriguez.
Extra innings started with an absolutely beautiful bunt from Steven Kwan that led to Brendan Donovan throwing it away at 1B, which caused Rocchio to score and Kwan to advance to second. Then comes up Chase DeLauter, the man who had already done what no Cleveland player has ever done in hitting three HRs in their first two career games. He was having a rough game, Bryan Woo had his way with him as he does to most hitters. It wasn’t Woo this time, it was Andrés Muñoz, one of the best closers in the league. DeLauter then takes a 97 mph fastball up and outside the zone over the left field wall to take the lead 6-3. Absolute insanity.
What more can be said about this kid? DeLauter is by far the best hitter I have ever watched in the minor leagues, and even I could never have ever expected this. He is such a special hitter that I have learned to not put any ceiling on who he can be as a player. I’m trying not to overreact too much, but he truly is that special. This is some of the most fun I have ever had watching Baseball, and we are only three games into the season. Buckle up you guys, it is going to be a good one.
Well, that was disappointing. Not only did we lose another game to the Doyers at Uniqlo Park at Dodger Stadium at Chavez Latrine at the City of Smog and Angels, we also managed to be on the business end of our first sweep of the year. And we’re only three games in. So that sucks.
Honestly, though, it’s not all that much of a shock, at least to me. And, somewhat to my surprise, I’m not even all that upset. The Diamondbacks are a team that enters 2026 with a bit more than $133M of player contracts on the books. We’re going up against a team that, if you factor in all the deferred money and so forth that MLB has let them get away with, has more financial obligations than at least several small nation states. It was always going to be an uphill battle, especially for the first series of the regular season, when everyone’s still kind of shaking off the rust from the long off-season.
Eduardo Rodriguez, the pitching hero of the Venezuelan national team in the World Baseball Classic, took the mound for us, facing off against Tyler Glasnow, who has pitched more than 100 innings only three times in his major league career and who is earning $32.5M to pitch for Los Angeles this year. And while Glasnow did all right for the Doyers today, holding the Diamondbacks to two runs over six full innings of work, E-Rod pitched better, pitching five shutout innings, striking out five while allowing only three singles and two walks. He faced one batter to start the sixth—Kyle Tucker, who is earning $56M this year—and was pulled after Tucker reached on an infield squib shot to Carlos Santana that he bobbled a bit. E-Rod was maybe a bit late covering the bag at first, and Tucker reached, and he eventually came around to score, but the run was unearned as Santana was charged with an error.
Anyway. Let’s start from the beginning. Our Snakes got on the board in the top of the first, thanks to a one-out infield single by Corbin Carroll that was initially ruled a force-out at first, but which was overturned when video review showed that Corbin, who was busting it right out of the batter’s box, clearly beat the throw. Geraldo Perdomo then grounded to first, moving Carroll along, and then Pavin Smith singled to left to drive him in from second:
Nolan Arenado then continued his fruitless run with the bat, though at least he didn’t strike out. 1-0 D-BACKS
We did some more damage against Glasnow in the third, thanks to a leadoff Jorge Barrosa double down the left field line, followed by another productive groundout, this one by Ketel Marte, that allowed Barrosa to reach third with less than two outs. Corbin Carroll lifted a fly ball to center that turned out to be deep enough for Barrosa to tag and score. 2-0 D-BACKS
And that was your score until the Dodgers got one run back in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to the aforementioned Santana error (which is a scoring decision I’m not sure he deserved) and a subsequent Freddy Freeman double off reliever Jonathan Loaisiga that brought him home. 2-1 D-BACKS
But we still had the lead, and we held it through the bottom of the seventh, as new Diamondback and indicator of the state of our bullpen Joe Ross pitched a kind of ugly but ultimately successful 1-2-3 inning. Meanwhile, we were doing basically nothing further on offense, as Glasnow gave way to Alex Vesia, who in turn gave way to some dude named Will Klein.
Juan Morillo took the ball for us to start the bottom of the eighth, I guess because he’s the closest thing we have in terms of splits to a left-handed reliever, and sure enough he made short(ish) work of Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker to record the first two outs. Then he drilled the home plate umpire right in the middle of his forehead with a high fastball on his first pitch to Mookie Betts, after which there was a brief interruption of play that seemed to leave Juan rather discombobulated. He proceeded to walk Betts on four pitches, which brought 2025 World Series hero Will Smith (earning nearly $13M to catch for the Dodgers in 2026) to the plate. Smith hung a decent at bat on Morillo, and finally drilled the seventh pitch he saw out and over the fence just left of the batter’s eye in center field. Morillo was pulled for Paul Sewald, who recorded the last out, but it was too late. The damage was done. 3-2 Los Angeles
We still has a chance, I suppose, with Pavin Smith, Nolan Arenado, and Alek Thomas coming to the plate in the top of the ninth. Of course, they were going up against new FTD closer Edwin Diaz, who is earning $18.5M this year at the back end of the Los Angeles bullpen. Ten pitches and three flyouts later, this one was in the books.
Some Reasons for Optimism
This was a disappointing result, and a disappointing series, to be sure. That said, the Diamondbacks led each game, and in the latter two we carried that lead into the late innings. We all knew our bullpen was going to be a weakness this year, like it is just about every year, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are as complete a team from top to bottom as one can imagine. And we hung tough with them, and we made them work, and despite Ryne Nelson coughing up four in that unfortunate third inning last night, we were still in line to win the last two games. Kevin Ginkel was last night’s disappointment, and tonight that “honor” fell to Juan Morillo. But we played pretty well for the most part, all the way through. Facing a less stupidly funded team, we would likely have won at least two of these games, even with the flaws the Diamondbacks have. And, as someone pointed out early in tonight’s Gameday Thread, we won’t face the Dodgers again until the beginning of June, so we will by definition be facing less stupidly funded teams for the next two months. It’s rough to start the season getting swept and going down 0-3, but this certainly isn’t a sign that the sky is falling. It’s more a confirmation that, as we might have suspected, water is wet.
All Doyers player salary information courtesy of Spotrac.
Robin Hood: Eduardo Rodriguez (5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 79 pitches, +23.0% WPA) Little John: Joe Ross (1 IP 0 H, 0 ER, +10.8% WPA) Hapless Country Bumpkin: Juan Morillo (2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 ER, -54.1% WPA)
The Gameday Thread saw some more inevitable falloff from the first two games, in part I suspect because the University of Arizona was punching their ticket to the NCAA March Madness Final Four (BEAR DOWN!), and also because, well, it’s really not a lot of fun to watch the Billionaire Boys Club play baseball on television if you’re not particularly a fan of billionaires. That said, we racked up 182 comments at time of writing. Comment of the game goes by popular acclaim to this one from gzimmerm, who saw the meatball that Snake_Bitten left in the middle of the plate, and didn’t miss it:
Anyway, because opening weekend is often weird in terms of scheduling, we have our only scheduled Sunday off day tomorrow, so I hope you can join us for the Diamondbacks home opener at Chase Field on Monday, when we take on the Detroit Tigers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm AZ time, with Justin Verlander going for the striped cats and Michael Soroka going for us. I don’t feel great about Soroka occupying a spot in our rotation, but despite that I think could be a winnable game. If nothing else, it’s always nice to see the entire team get introduced during the extended pregame festivities.
As always, thanks for reading. And as always, go Diamondbacks!
Saturday was another tough night for the Vancouver Canucks as they fell 7-3 to the Calgary Flames. Liam Öhgren and Nils Höglander scored at even strength, while Brock Boeser found the back of the net on the power play. Nikita Tolopilo stopped seven of 11 shots before being pulled in the second for Kevin Lankinen, who made nine saves while facing 12 shots.
The second period was once again the Canucks' Achilles' heel, as the Flames scored four in the middle frame. At this point, it is hard to understand why the second period has been such a problem for Vancouver, as they have now allowed 103 goals through 72 games. While the Canucks will most likely not catch the franchise record of 152 set by the 1984-85 team, there is a chance they could pass second place, which sits at 119.
Shifting over to goaltending, Saturday was a perfect example of why teams should not sit a young goaltender for two weeks straight. Tolopilo struggled with his rebound control and never looked comfortable in the net. At this stage of the season, Vancouver should be splitting the goaltending starts so that Tolopilo can get more game action at the NHL level.
"We gotta be better for Tolo there," said Adam Foote post-game. "I know he probably wanted a couple of those, but little details. The first one, we were too low on the PK. Then we missed two box-outs in a row. Then they got the fourth one, and that fifth one, we were trying to go for a breakaway, pick off a pass on a PK, and that's not the time to do it. Just those little details are going to burn you in a game that wasn't out of control. We let it get away from us early. We kept fighting, but you gotta take care of your end and the details, and we didn't."
Overall, the only real positive was the play of Öhgren, Elias Pettersson and Linus Karlsson. The trio outshot their opponents 8-4 in 13:06 of ice time and connected on the Canucks' first goal. Hopefully, this line will stay together for at least the next few games, as it looked like they had some chemistry on the ice.
Saturday was another example of how far behind Vancouver is from the rest of the group. The Canucks struggled defensively, and despite taking 34 shots, Vancouver managed to beat Dustin Wolf only three times. In the end, Saturday's loss was good for the tank, but, as has been the case most of the season, a difficult performance to watch from a fan perspective.
Mar 28, 2026; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames right wing Adam Klapka (43) get into a scrum with Vancouver Canucks players during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Stats and Facts:
- Canucks become the first team this season to allow 100 goals in the second period
- Vancouver has now allowed a power play goal against in four straight games
- Brock Boeser ties Todd Bertuzzi for fifth on the Canucks all-time power play goals list with 79
- Vancouver allows seven or more goals for the second time this season
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
3:04- CGY: Matt Coronato (17) from Zayne Parekh and Morgan Frost 4:59- CGY: Joel Farabee (17) from Zach Whitecloud and Mikael Backlund 18:53- VAN: Liam Öhgren (8) from Linus Karlsson and Elias Pettersson
2nd Period:
1:32-CGY: Ryan Strome (6) from Olli Määttä and Yegor Sharangovich 4:36- CGY: Olli Määttä (2) from Ryan Strome and Hunter Brzustewicz 4:47- CGY: Morgan Frost (18) from Matt Coronato and Matvei Gridin 13:36- VAN: Brock Boeser (18) from Elias Pettersson and Filip Hronek (PPG) 19:23- CGY: Zayne Parekh (2) from Matt Coronato and Morgan Frost (PPG)
3rd Period:
12:40- VAN: Nils Höglander (2) from Victor Mancini and Zeev Buium 19:52- CGY: Adam Klapka (6) from Brennan Othmann and Hunter Brzustewicz
Up Next:
The Canucks continue their road trip on Monday with a matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. At the time of writing, it is expected that Monday will be Evander Kane's 1000th regular-season game. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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SAN FRANCISCO — So far, the bullpen help the Yankees were looking for at last year’s trade deadline has been significantly more effective this season than it was in 2025.
Not only has Camilo Doval been sharp in his first two appearances this year after a rough few months in The Bronx, but Jake Bird has also looked like a different pitcher.
The right-hander got five huge outs in Saturday’s 3-1 win to finish a sweep of the Giants at Oracle Park.
Jake Bird delivers a pitch during the seventh inning of the Yankees’ 3-1 win over the Giants at Oracle Park on March 28, 2026 in San Francisco. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Before Saturday, Bird hadn’t pitched a scoreless inning in a victory since June 29.de
That was due in part to how bad the Rockies were when he was there, but also to how poorly he pitched over his final six weeks in Colorado and in his short time with the Yankees before he was sent down to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“It’s good to have a fresh start,’’ Bird said.
He needed one.
Aaron Boone said throughout the spring that if Bird had his command, he would be a weapon for the Yankees.
Against the Giants, he entered in the bottom of the sixth with the Yankees up by a pair of runs.
Brent Headrick had just allowed a leadoff double to Rafael Devers.
Bird gave up a single to Heliot Ramos to send Devers to third.
Jake Bird throws a pitch during the seventh inning of the Yankees’ road win over the Giants. AP
But Bird recovered to strike out Willy Adames and then got Harrison Bader to ground into an inning-ending double play to preserve the lead.
The right-hander came back out to start the seventh, getting Patrick Bailey to pop out to shortstop and striking out Casey Schmitt before Boone turned to Tim Hill to finish the inning.
Boone called Bird’s escape job “awesome.”
“He finished spring training strong and both of his outings [in the regular season] have been really sharp,’’ the manager said.
With Doval unavailable, Boone said the pen had to “piece it together” after Will Warren pitched well, but was done after 4 ¹/₃ innings.
The potential emergence of Bird in the bullpen would be huge for a team that lost Devin Williams and Luke Weaver in free agency — and is relying on Bird and Doval, among others, to pitch to their potential.
Doval clearly struggled to adjust to a new role when the closer was asked to pitch in lower-leverage innings last year.
Bird was in the midst of a horrific stretch to end his time with the Rockies when the Yankees acquired him.
He allowed 18 earned runs in 9 ²/₃ innings in his final 12 appearances and gave up six runs over two innings in three outings with the Yankees before he was optioned.
The Yankees were intrigued by Bird’s ability to strike out batters — if they could get him to reduce his walks.
His first two outings of 2026 have been promising, with three strikeouts and no walks — and with Boone not afraid to use Bird in an important spot.
“To get him going through a whole season would be electric,’’ Aaron Judge said.
TORONTO, CANADA - MARCH 28: Shea Langeliers #23 of the Athletics hits a grand slam home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the seventh inning in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on March 28, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Athletics’ rough season-opening series continued this afternoon as the team’s bullpen blew a late four-run lead to the Toronto Blue Jays, who ultimately prevailed 8-7 in 11 innings.
This game started out slowly as both A’s starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs and his Blue Jays counterpart Dylan Cease pitched well in the game’s early going. The only run the Blue Jays got off of Springs came in the third inning. Outfielder Myles Straw and shortstop Andrés Giménez led off that inning with singles and then veteran designated hitter George Springer doubled to left, scoring Straw to give Toronto a 1-0 lead. Springs limited the damage, getting first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr and catcher Alejandro Kirk out to keep the A’s deficit at one.
Cease showed why Toronto shelled out over $200 million to sign him as he struck out 12 A’s batters over 5 1/3 innings, a record breaking performance for a pitcher making his Blue Jays debut. He was especially dominant in the fourth and fifth innings during which he struck out six straight hitters.
The A’s finally got to Cease in the sixth inning. First baseman Nick Kurtz walked to leadoff the inning, stole second and then scored the game-tying run on left fielder Tyler Soderstrom’s opposite-field double down the left field line.
The visitors had a chance to take the lead as shortstop Jacob Wilson came to the plate with runners on third base and first base and only one out. However, Wilson grounded sharply to Giménez, who made a nice stop and then turned the inning-ending double play.
The hosts promptly regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. In relief of Springs, who was pulled with his pitch count at 83 with one out in the sixth inning, A’s pitcher Mark Leiter Jr allowed Blue Jays center fielder Daulton Varsho to hit an RBI single to put his team up 2-1. Their lead would only last a few minutes as the A’s immediatelyanswered back. Second baseman Jeff McNeil and third baseman Max Muncy led off the seventh inning with back-t0-back infield singles that bounced off Blue Jays reliever Mason Fluharty, Muncy’s hit forcing the left-hander to leave the game injured.
Fellow left-hander Brendon Little entered the game and the A’s took advantage. With one out, center fielder Denzel Clarke’s slow dribbler scored McNeil to tie the game. A few minutes later, catcher Shea Langeliers bashed a grand slam to center field, his third home run in two games.
Up 6-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, the A’s had a strong chance to win if they could hold the lead, something their makeshift bullpen failed to achieve. Several A’s relievers combined to allow six runs in the final five innings. Thanks to several walks and base hits, the Blue Jays scored at least once every inning from the sixth to the 11th frame. Meanwhile, their bullpen held the A’s to only one additional run, Brent Rooker’s go-ahead RBI single with two outs in the tenth inning.
Guerrero Jr singled in a run in the seventh. The next inning he came up with the bases loaded and his team down one following back-to-back RBI singles, the latter one of Giménez’s four hits in this game. That time, A’s reliever Michael Kelly got him to line out to second to keep his team up one after eight innings. Unfortunately for the A’s, Kirk rocketed Kelly’s hanging sweeper over the left field fence in the bottom of the ninth for a game-tying home run.
Each team scored once in the tenth. After the A’s failed to score in the 11th inning, it seemed like only a matter of time until the Blue Jays would walk it off for the second straight day. Sure enough it did not take long. Making his first MLB appearance post Tommy John surgery, right hander Luis Medina was thrown into a tough situation. In the wake of striking out Kirk, A’s manager Mark Kotsay had Varsho intentionally walked to set up the double play. That proved meaningless as former Athletic Ernie Clement was today’s hero for Toronto, lining a walk-off single to left to finally end this game.
With better bullpen decisions like putting in someone new for the eighth inning rather than having Alvarado go back out there, the A’s might have prevailed. Another concern is the A’s hitters 19 strike outs today, which combined with their 16 strikeouts yesterday set a new franchise record. On the other hand, the A’s defense was better today, aside from Muncy missing a catchable pop-up in foul territory.
Through two games, the A’s have more than held their own against the defending American League champions and arguably could have two wins for their efforts. Entering the season, the team’s bullpen looked to be its biggest weakness and while it is still early, little has been done to qualm those concerns. It feels like the team should have done more to add an accomplished reliever or two to its roster, but at this stage there are few notable names available for the team to sign.
The A’s will try to avoid the sweep tomorrow. Luis Morales will make his first start of the season as he looks to translate potential into results and cement himself as one of the team’s longterm rotation pieces. The Blue Jays will counter with left-hander Eric Lauer, who went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA in 28 games, 15 starts last year.
It should be another good game. Hopefully the A’s can get out of Canada with at least one win before flying to Atlanta!
ST.
LOUIS – If you watched the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs
on Saturday night, there was one obvious observation that could be
made: one team played with desperation and urgency; the other didn’t.
It
was that kind of game for the Blues, who dominated the Leafs in every
facet, except for maybe in goal because Dardenne Prairie’s Joseph
Woll was bombarded with 38 shots to just 13 faced by Jordan
Binnington, and that's no disrespect to Binnington but he simply didn't have to see as much vulcanized rubber on this night ... not nearly as much. And this game was only close in the third period because
of Woll.
The
Blues’ 5-1 win was their fourth straight, they swept the three-game
homestand and are 10-1-2 in their past 13 games.
“It’s
great,” defenseman Cam Fowler said. “Winning in this league is
always fun. No matter how it ends up happening, it gives our group a
lot of momentum. It’s fun coming to the rink when you’re having
some success and guys have smiles on their faces. It’s a humbling
league and that can change quickly. We’re trying to stick with the
right things that have given us that success and trying to keep that
momentum going.”
Dylan
Holloway had a goal and an assist; Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas and
Jake Neighbours each had two assists, and Justin Holl scored against
his former team, Jimmy Snuggerud, Pius Suter and Philip Broberg also
scored for the Blues (31-30-11), who moved over .500 for the first
time since Oct. 21 when they were 3-2-1.
“Playing
with confidence has been big,” Thomas said. “The guys have really
stepped up and taken over on how we want to play. We’re just
playing with a ton of confidence. Our ‘D’ are getting up in the
plays, we’re transitioning so quick, we’re finding the middle.
Our attack off the rush is really dangerous. There’s a lot of
things going well right now, especially when you have so many young
guys coming in. They’ve really stepped up, not only their play but
just showing maturity and stepping up and talking in the room. I
think it’s been really important lately.”
Don't look now, but with the loss by the Nashville Predators, 4-1, against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, the Blues sit four points out of the second wild card in the Western Conference with a game in hand. But they have to jump five teams to gain that position.
Buckle up.
Let’s
get into the game observations:
*
Puck dominance – When I prefaced the first question to Jim
Montgomery by saying that the Blues had the puck “quite a bit,”
the Blues coach jumped in with, “All night long.”
And
he wasn’t far off.
The
38-13 discrepancy in shots on goal was no misnomer. In fact, the shot
attempts were 60-34, and again, had it not been for Woll, the Blues
had this game blown out of the water much sooner than needing to pull
away after things got dicey in the third period when Toronto cut it
to 2-1.
“The
way we played north, the way we played connected,” Montgomery said.
“Our guys were connected in all three zones. Our puck decisions
were really good. We hardly had any turnovers. We made them defend a
lot."
It
prompted Leafs coach and former Blues Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig
Berube to surmise.
“We
had one player that showed up tonight and that was our goalie,”
Berube
said.
“That's what it really boils down to.
“It's
very disappointing. I mean, I thought the last couple of games we
were
pretty
good and we were building. Like
I talk about staying together and playing competitive and we did not
have that out there tonight.”
The
Blues had the puck for large swaths, it was as if they were playing
keep-away with it. It was that advantageous for the home side.
“That's
because we didn't check. We had no pressure,” Berube
said.
“We let them come at us all night. They had the puck all night.
Checking is a will and a want and an urgency. We let them do whatever
they wanted with the puck tonight.”
Woll
kept the Leafs in it for as long as he could, but after denying
Colton Parayko between the hash marks, the Blues regained the zone
pretty quick after that, and Snuggerud once again got things started
with the opening goal at 5:21 that made it 1-0 when Cam Fowler slid
past Max Domi and curled a pass to Snuggerud to redirect past Woll:
“I
came in, ‘Holly’ made a great play and I looked up at the net and
I didn’t see much of a screen so I wasn’t sure if it was a good
opportunity to shoot,” Fowler said. “’Snuggy’ either beat his
man out of the corner and found a spot there. I figured it was better
on his stick than mine. I made the play and he did the rest.”
When
Holloway made it 4-1 at 9:10 of the third period, it was another easy
zone entry after the Blues stick-checked the puck back and moved into
transition, and Kyrou finished off the play by feeding Holloway into
the slot and the finish:
“Well,
it's one of those things where the confidence grows and you see the
success you're having,” Montgomery said. “We're repeating it --
it's like rinse, repeat and go to work the next day. We see it on
film. Guys are believing in how well they're playing together and
being connected. We're changing at the right times. Everything that
we weren't doing correctly we're doing correctly right now.”
*
Holl
gets his revenge … again – Holl doesn’t score often, but when
he does, he likes to stick it to his former club.
It
was his first goal this season in his sixth game and just his second
goal since April 17, 2025, also against the Leafs as a member of the
Detroit Red Wings:
Holl
played for Toronto from 2017-23 before signing with the Red Wings as
a free agent July 1, 2023.
Holl
played 16:21 and was a plus-1 for the third straight game; he’s a
plus-5 in just six games with the Blues after spending the season in
Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League.
But
it happened in an area that has been problematic for the Blues all
season long: net front traffic.
“It's
a hard thing to do,” Montgomery said. ‘It's an area of our game
that still needs to improve 5-on-5, but we had two tonight.
Neighbours did it on Holl's deflection. I think their goalies aren't
seeing pucks, so we're scoring more. We're starting to become a
hungrier, dirtier offensive team.”
*
Suter’s goal was a shift of all shifts from Thomas – Suter’s
goal stunted any potential comeback thought from the Leafs when he
scored the team’s sixth shorthanded goal of the season at 6:46 of
the third that made it 3-1.
Suter
started it off by deflecting the first pass, and then it was all
Thomas, who won an airborne loose puck away from John Tavares, took
off down the left hand side before cutting back towards the middle.
He tried throwing a pass to Suter but it got deflected away, but not
taking anything for granted, Thomas outhustled two Leafs (Oliver
Ekman-Larsson and Matthew Knies) to win the puck back in the corner
before flipping it to Suter above the hash marks for the one-timer:
“Playing
with confidence has been big,” Thomas said. “The guys have really
stepped up and taken over on how we want to play. We’re just
playing with a ton of confidence. Our ‘D’ are getting up in the
plays, we’re transitioning so quick, we’re finding the middle.
Our attack off the rush is really dangerous. There’s a lot of
things going well right now, especially when you have so many young
guys coming in. They’ve really stepped up, not only their play but
just showing maturity and stepping up and talking in the room. I
think it’s been really important lately.”
*
Penalty
kill continues to shine – The Leafs were 0-for-3 on the power play
tonight, and quite frankly, the Blues were better playing 4-on-5
against Toronto, especially when the Leafs had a four-minute
power-play courtesy of Jack Finley’s double minor for high-sticking
at 12:41 of the first period.
Not
only did the Leafs not get a shot on goal in those four minutes,
although they did hit a cross bar at the end of it, but they barely
could gain the zone.
St.
Louis’ penalty kill, which was 29th in the league at 73.2 percent
before the Olympic break, is first since starting on Feb. 26, going
37-for-42, good for an 88.1 percent clip.
They’re
still 28th in the league overall but have lifted the season
percentage to 76.4 percent and it’s part of the commitment to
defending that’s led to the resurgence.
“I
think if you look at kind of the DNA of our team, I think that’s
something we always try and put an emphasis on is taking care of our
own zone and transitioning from offense in that way,” Fowler
said.
“If you look at this last little stretch, the amount of goals that
we’re giving up, it’s been good in that regard. One, two goals a
night. Our goaltenders are playing great for us and giving us
opportunities to win games. We know that’s the blueprint for us to
have success and that hasn’t changed. It’s just we’re starting
to find a little more consistency with it now.”
Defense
leads to offense, and it’s showing none better than the balance in
scoring.
“The
commitment to defense, it helps our goalies too,” Snuggerud
said.
“I think we have one of the best goalie corps in the NHL and when
we commit defensively, they’re there for us and they’re making
saves as you guys can see from stellar performances from them back
there. Give them a lot of credit. Defense creates offense. We’re
just trying to create defense to create offense.”
It’s
the fifth straight game the Blues have allowed one or fewer goals,
the second time in the past decade according to league stats (March
19-29, 2016). They could tie a franchise record on Monday against the
San Jose Sharks (Oct. 31-Nov. 15, 1970).
The
power play still needs some work, but Broberg at least for them on
the board there late in the game at 18:24 of the third to make it a
5-1 game, the Blues’ third goal on the man advantage in the past 28
opportunities:
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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 28: Eduard Bazardo #83 of the Seattle Mariners reacts after being pulled during the seventh inning against the Cleveland Guardians at T-Mobile Park on March 28, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Guardians 6, Mariners 5
Good: Julio Rodríguez, +0.40 WPA Bad: Andrés Muñoz, -0.47 WPA
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 28, 2026: Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith (16) runs the bases after hitting a two-run homer giving the Dodgers a 3-2 lead and the win against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium on March 28, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES — After catching the first two games of the opening series, Will Smith wasn’t even supposed to be in the lineup on Saturday, which was his 31st birthday and his bobblehead giveaway at Dodger Stadium.
“I didn’t have him in there tonight. He really wanted to be in there on his bobblehead night, and said he felt good,” manager Dave Roberts said. “It proved to be the right decision.”
“He’s always really good about letting us talk about stuff,” Smith said of Roberts. “I just kind of dropped the bobblehead card on him.”
Trailing by a run late, Smith fell behind 0-2 to Juan Morillo, but on the seventh pitch of the at-bat, the man born on 3/28 put the Dodgers up 3-2 in the 8th inning, in what proved to be the winning margin for the Dodgers, who are now 3-0 to open the season.
“We talked about a lot of our guys, but man, when you’re talking about big hits, clutch, Will is right at the top of the list as well,” Roberts said. “There’s just no panic in his at-bat.”
“I was sitting in here watching. Just came up clutch. His birthday and his bobblehead day” said starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow, who completed six innings Saturday. “What a magical night.”
“Everyone on our team I feel like could hit third in the lineup. It’s just All-Stars up and down,” said Freddie Freeman, who doubled home the Dodgers’ first run in the sixth inning, cutting the deficit to 2-1 at the time. “I think everybody wants that at-bat, and that’s the key to our lineup.”
“I don’t know [about being a clutch player], but I can definitely stay calm in those situations, not try to do too much, and stick to my approach that I’m looking for,” Smith said. “And whatever happens, happens.”
Along with the bobblehead, Smith’s wife Cara and his two young daughters Charlotte and Layton were part of pregame festivities. His two daughters adorably delivered ceremonial first pitches to Dalton Rushing (since Smith was warming up starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow). Then Cara said “It’s time for Dodger baseball,” followed by Charlotte saying the same.
Celebrating Will Smith Bobblehead Night with his girls, Cara, Charlotte and Layton. 💙 pic.twitter.com/Pia1KQotBy
“I thought Char crushed ‘It’s Time For Dodger Baseball.’ A little late, but she did really well,” Smith quipped.
After Smith started all three games against the Diamondbacks, the plan is for him to sit in Monday’s series opener against the Cleveland Guardians. Coupled with Sunday’s schedule off day, that’s potentially two full days off in a row for Smith before catching the final two games against Cleveland. The Dodgers are off on Thursday as well, when they will travel to Washington D.C. to play the Nationals.
The Yankees pitching has been impressive through the first three games of the 2026 season, allowing just one run in their sweep of the San Francisco Giants.
In fact, New York started the year on a 20-inning scoreless streak, the longest in franchise history, per YES Network.
The first and only run allowed this season came in the bottom of the third inning of Saturday's 3-1 win. Overall, it's the fewest amount of runs the Yanks have ever allowed through three games.
On Saturday, Will Warren allowed one run on five hits and walked two over 4.1 IP (83 pitches), and then four relievers held the Giants scoreless to lock up the victory. After the game, manager Aaron Boone was honest about what he saw from Warren, but said he was still pleased with the end result.
"Just not as sharp with his command, thought the stuff was really good," Boone said. "They pressured him, especially in some two-strike situations where he had a chance to put them away... Just not as sharp with his command. And as a result, they drove his count up pretty good.
"But overall, still, got big outs when he needed to. One run into the fifth inning, set us up for a victory."
Warren agreed with Boone that his command was "a little wonky," blaming it on over excitement, but said he was proud of being able to fight through it.
"There was a lot of chaos there. I think the fact that I had a slow heartbeat early there in the first and minimized the damage there in whatever inning they scored was good," Warren said. "A lot of fight, a lot of grit. Overall attacking and getting outs any way we can."
After Warren's day was done, RHP Jake Bird came up big for the bullpen by tossing 1.2 scoreless innings to get through the sixth inning and record the first two outs of the seventh. Boone said he was impressed with the righty's two appearances in the series, especially coming in on Saturday after Rafael Devers led off the inning with a double.
"It was awesome," Boone said. "Again, I thought he finished spring training strong. Both outings here he's been really sharp. And today was huge, to roll through that part of the lineup. Not having Camilo [Doval] today, so you know you got to piece it together a little more. To get five big outs for us there and get the ball to Timmy [Hill] and let him do his thing, that was big."
Boone added that he "has a lot of faith" in David Bednar, who closed things down after issuing a leadoff walk and letting up a single in the bottom of the ninth inning. The veteran was able to strike out Harrison Bader and then force a game-ending double play. Warren was also impressed with both Bird and Bednar, expressing the team's trust in their bullpen early in the season.
"Yeah, I mean Jake Bird, that was huge right there," Warren said. "First-and-third no outs, you get the strikeout and then the double play, that was monster. Then you got Bednar to go shut the door. They've done a great job. We have a lot of trust in handing them the ball."
When asked about how an opening series like this helps the bullpen, Bird said it's great for the group's confidence.
"It's great," Bird said. "Anytime you throw up zeroes as a bullpen it's awesome. Everybody did a great job. It was really fun to watch from a spectators perspective too."
New York will look to continue its early pitching success when they take on the Mariners in Seattle on Monday for the first game of a three-game series.
On Saturday, March 28, Underwood helped lead Illinois to a 71-59 victory against Iowa in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, sending the Fighting Illini to their first Final Four since 2005.
After his team’s triumph, Underwood was asked about his career trajectory, which has taken him from the junior-college ranks to the lowest levels of Division I to, ultimately, the Big Ten. Specifically, he was asked about a comment he made more than a decade ago that Illinois was his dream job.
Despite having no obvious ties to the school – he didn’t attend it and had never coached there before he was hired by the Illini in 2017 – Underwood said it was.
“I'm going to get emotional, but I've been doing this 39 years, and you dream about this as a kid, and I dreamt about doing it at Illinois,” Underwood said in his post-game news conference. “Back in the day when my wife bought Tyler, who was maybe two, a Brian Cook jersey, and you knew what a special place this was. And it always has been, and there's been no other thing for me. This is my dream job, and it's very fulfilling to get where we're going.”
Brad Underwood on making his first Final Four:
"I'm gonna get emotional, but I've been doing this 39 years. You dream about this as a kid. I dreamt about doing it at Illinois, when my wife bought Tyler, who was maybe 2, a Brian Cook jersey. It's always been a special place.… pic.twitter.com/2xAOJntPLN
Though much of his coaching career has taken place away from the Land of Lincoln, Underwood had experience in the state. For 11 years, from 1992-2003, he was an assistant coach at Western Illinois, about 140 miles west of Illinois’ campus in Champaign, Illinois. The Illini were an NCAA tournament regular for much of that time under Lou Henson, Lon Kruger and Bill Self, opening Underwood’s eyes to the program’s potential.
The experience of watching that from across the state stayed with him. When he was hired as the head coach at Stephen F. Austin in Texas in 2013, he was asked by his secretary to name his dream job. He told her Illinois, which she wrote down on a card, dated and mailed to Underwood when he accepted the position with the Illini four years later.
Though he inherited a program that had gone four-consecutive years without an NCAA tournament appearance, Underwood has restored the Illini to national prominence. Even before it punched its ticket to the Final Four on Saturday, Illinois was in the tournament for the sixth year in a row and advanced as far as the Elite Eight in 2024.
As Underwood will quickly note, he had a lot of helping getting the Illini there, from his coaching staff to the school’s athletic administration.
“I don't want to sound arrogant – I've never doubted us getting to a Final Four would happen,” Underwood said. “I have thought we have had other teams capable. But I also know how doggone hard it is to do it. For that, I just say thank you.”
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - MARCH 28: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns handles the ball against Brice Sensabaugh #28 of the Utah Jazz during the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center on March 28, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Suns came into this game off some much-needed rest and took care of business against the Jazz in a much-needed win. Jalen Green and Devin Booker took command in this one, combining for 57 points and dominating throughout. The Suns’ rookies also had a great showing, as Rasheer Fleming and Khaman Malauch both made big impacts on both ends as well. Overall, the Suns came together and pulled this one out, dominating the weak Jazz frontcourt and scoring all over the interior.
The Jazz are unfortunately tanking and not doing great this year. This certainly showed in this one, as even though some players tried to keep them in offensively, the defense was not stopping anything.
Game Flow
First Half
In the first quarter, it got off to a rough start as the Jazz matched the Suns in scoring. Jalen Green, as he does best, started this one on a hot note, bringing some life to the Valley and keeping the fans alive. This would then translate and trickle down the roster as the Suns became involved. Devin Booker started going inside and attacking alongside Green. Then Grayson Allen and Rasheer Fleming started nailing some threes.
The Suns saw a lead of up to 20 and seemed to take command early in a must-win game. After losing six of their last seven, a much-needed bounce back against a weak Western Conference team is needed to shift momentum heading to the playoffs. The Suns understood that and took advantage of this by leading 39-21 after one.
The second quarter was a lot like the first as the Suns continued to dominate against the Jazz. Green and Booker continued to attack and score in the paint. With the Jazz having seven players out and top-tier frontcourt players absent, it was feast time for Oso Ighodaro and Khaman Maluach down low.
The Jazz are tanking, and it’s clear as day. Even with players out, the reserves are just chucking up shots and playing little to no defense. This has allowed the Suns to lead 73-45 at the half and to close this one early. Jalen Green and Devin Booker have 34 of the team’s points and continue to show that they can torch weak defenses. If Phoenix can continue this onslaught into the second half, it will only mean an early night for the starters.
Did the Jazz even come to play the second half? You could definitely question that, as Phoenix once again just massacred the Jazz defense. Green and Booker were trading baskets, both attacking the lane and making some tough finishes. The Suns have 91 points, and the game is not even halfway through the third, and the Jazz cannot match the Suns’ offense. Every shot, they continue to make the Suns answer tight back as Booker continues to bring the intensity.
This game seems unfair, and with these injuries and the situation the Jazz are in compared to Phoenix. Kyle Filipowski and Brice Sensabaugh are trying their best to keep Utah in it offensively, but it just does not seem to be enough. Just an absolute tear kept on continuing from Phoenix, as even Maluach had a nice alley oop finish. The Suns, whose biggest lead has been 34, now head into the fourth up 110-83.
The Jazz got off to a hot start here in the fourth with Svi Mykhaholiuk getting hot, with Ace Bailey trying to heat up as well. That being said, the Suns were feeding Ighodaro once again, and he continued to feast inside on the weak Jazz interior defense. Grayson Allen also had a big game off the bench, hitting some big threes and attacking the lane.
This one was over before the second half, even if the Jazz did try to come back in the fourth. The rookies and young guns go to take the floor, and in this game, every rookie scored a point once Kobe Brea made a three-pointer as well. The Suns ended up taking down the Jazz 134-109.
Up Next
The Suns begin a four-game road trip on Monday, as they play another team simply trying to get to the finish line in the Memphis Grizzlies.
On Friday evening, the Detroit Red Wings got off to the start that they needed against the Buffalo Sabres with three first-period goals.
24 hours later on home ice against the Philadelphia Flyers, it was back to the familiar, sluggish start that had doomed them earlier in the week against the Ottawa Senators.
The Flyers not only scored on their first shot of the game, but built a 4–0 lead by the early third period, then held off a furious late push from the Red Wings to secure a 5–3 win and hand Detroit another damaging setback.
Had the Red Wings won, they could have leapfrogged the Columbus Blue Jackets, who lost earlier on Saturday to the San Jose Sharks, for the second Wild Card position. Instead, they remain tied at 86 points and are still on the outside looking in at the playoff picture.
Flyers forward Owen Tippett registered a hat trick for the Flyers, the third of his career. He opened the scoring on a first-period breakaway, beating Red Wings goaltender John Gibson through the five-hole.
In the second period, he increased Philadelphia's lead to 2-0 when his shot from the face-off circle squeaked through the pads of Gibson. Noah Cates made it 3-0 soon afterward on the power-play, jamming home a loose puck at the side of the net past a sprawling Gibson.
For the second time in three games, the Red Wings had a would-be goal disallowed because of being offside. This time, a goal from Moritz Seider was taken away after replays showed Alex DeBrincat entered the offensive zone a step too early.
While the Red Wings successfully challenged a would-be Flyers goal early in the third period for offside, Tippett completed the hat trick, a goal that not only chased Gibson from the net but would also eventually prove to be the game-winner.
Mason Appleton scored his first goal in 32 games at 13:43, followed by Alex DeBrincat's 37th of the season at 15:10. With goaltender Cam Talbot on the bench for a sixth attacker, Lucas Raymond fired a shot past Flyers goalie Dan Vladar from the face-off circle just 1:04 later.
The fans who hadn’t already headed for the exits were on their feet, cheering loudly and urging the Red Wings to tie the game.
Unfortunately, the comeback bid was halted after Flyers team captain Sean Couturier hit the open net; Tippett picked up his fourth point of the night with an assist.
Gibson made 17 saves before being pulled for Talbot, who stopped all four shots he faced. Meanwhile, Vladar made 30 saves.
Time is running out for the Red Wings, who have nine games remaining on the schedule and will face the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.
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HOUSTON — The Illinois men’s basketball team was in the airport in Champaign, Illinois, preparing to board a flight to Houston for the NCAA Tournament regional, when Illini freshman forward David Mirkovic made a prescient purchase.
Mirkovic’s teammate, Keaton Wagler, sent him a link to an artificially generated photo of Mirkovic wearing a black cowboy hat. It was meant as a joke, but Mirkovic found a similar looking hat on Amazon and ordered it for $34. It was delivered to the Illini’s hotel in Houston on Friday, the day before Illinois played Iowa in the Elite Eight.
Mirkovic only intended to wear the hat if the Illini won. They did, 71-59, and after the team celebrated in the locker room by spraying each other with water guns – a program tradition that began two years ago in the NCAA Tournament – Mirkovic proudly donned his new headwear.
Asked if he felt like a cowboy, the Montenegro native paused and replied, “I don’t know. What does it mean, being a cowboy?”
He paused and reconsidered: “Yeah, why not. We’re in Texas.”
Mirkovic scored nine points and had a team-high 12 rebounds in Illinois’ Elite Eight win, coming just one point shy of his second consecutive double-double. He was still named to the South Regional All-Tournament team and his performance helped Illinois advance to the Final Four, where it will play either Duke or Connecticut.
None of Mirkovic’s Illini teammates joined him in buying cowboy hats, but he retained hope that he could start a new NCAA Tournament tradition.
Utah center Logan Cooley (92) scores past Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper during the first period of the Kings' 6-2 loss Saturday at Crypto.com Arena. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
There is bad news and good news to report on the Kings’ push for a fifth straight playoff berth.
First, the bad.
With a chance to move into a playoff position Saturday, the Kings came out flat and were routed 6-2 by the Utah Mammoth at Crypto.com Arena, leaving them a point out of postseason position.
It was the Kings' most one-sided loss in more than a month, not exactly the way it wanted to start its final sprint to the postseason. And that left coach D.J. Smith with more questions than answers with nine games left in the season.
“We were not sharp in any facet of the game. It's not good enough,” said Smith, after Utah scored two goals on the power play and three in transition.
“We're going to ask ourselves why. Why we weren't ready. What didn't we do? The excuses really don't matter. We’ve got to be way better than we were tonight.”
Saturday’s game was also the first of a seven-game homestand, matching the Kings’ longest in 15 years. But that’s not the advantage it would appear to be since only the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers have been worse at home than the Kings this season.
“I don't know what it is,” Smith said. “Last year we couldn't lose here. Right now, we don't lose very much on the road. That's in your head. People say it's luck. You make your own luck.
“We didn't come ready to play today. And whether it's our building or the road or wherever we played this game, that isn't good enough.”
The Kings are also bucking history since 18 of their losses have come in either overtime or a shootout. Just one team — the 2012 Florida Panthers — have lost that many games after regulation and made the playoffs since the shootout was adopted 21 years ago.
Kings forward Quinton Byfield tries to shoot in front of Utah Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt during the second period Saturday. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
If the Kings had won just half those overtime games, they’d be a point back of the Pacific Division-leading Ducks. Instead, they appear to be going backward at the worst possible time, dropping seven of their last 10 games and nine of 14 since Smith replaced Jim Hiller behind the bench.
And suddenly there’s traffic in their rear-view mirror, with four teams bunched no more than three points behind them in the Western Conference standings.
Despite all that, the Kings took the ice against Utah with a chance to control their own playoff destiny, only to play with little urgency, falling behind for good 2½ minutes after the opening faceoff on the first of two goals by fourth-line winger Alexander Kerfoot.
Kerfoot entered with three goals on the season and nearly doubled that in two periods against the Kings. For a team with everything to play for, the Kings looked distracted and disinterested.
“I don't know what it was,” defenseman Drew Doughty said. “There's no excuses for the way we performed.”
Now for the good news — and there is some.
Despite the loss, the Kings are still just a point out of the second wild-card berth — with two of their final six regular-season home games coming against Nashville, the team that currently owns that final playoff berth. Win those two, and the Kings are back in the driver’s seat.
“We're still in the thick of things,” said captain Anze Kopitar, whose career ends when the Kings’ season does. “We're not out by any means. But we're going to have to play much better.”
Added Doughty: “Take it one [game] at a time and win every one.”
A wild-card is no longer the Kings’ only — or even clearest — path to the postseason, however. The Vegas Golden Knights, the team directly ahead of the Kings in the Pacific Division standings, have lost six of their last 10, whittling their lead to four points over the Kings in the battle for the division’s third and final postseason berth.
Pass them and the Kings will likely face the Edmonton Oilers — again — in the first round of the playoffs. The opportunities are there for the taking. But the Kings need to play like they want them.
“We've got three days to figure it out, and then we've got nine games [left],” Smith said. “We're going to turn the page and find a way to be better for the next one. It's got to be a playoff mentality.
“You can't dwell on it. You’ve got to move on. But you’ve got to get better and you have to learn from why we lost the way we lost tonight."
NORTH PORT, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: Sean Murphy #12 of the Atlanta Braves poses for a photo during Spring Training photo day at CoolToday Park on February 20, 2026 in North Port, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Well the Braves are 2-0, on a breezy complete victory on Opening Day and an epic walk-off grand-slam on Saturday. Before the walk-off, it was reassuring to see Reynaldo Lopez’ velocity back up in the mid-90s and his stuff generally looking good. I remain highly skeptical of his durability, but he looked the part of a solid starter on Saturday. On the offensive side, the bats were a little quieter on Saturday than on Friday, but they got some key contributions from new members of the team, such as Mike Yastrzemski and, of course, Dominic Smith, while also getting production from their incumbent contributors. This has been about everything you could ask for from two games for the Braves.
