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The St. Louis Cardinals will try to rebound and win the series Sunday night when Matthew Liberatore takes the mound for another national broadcast. Jordan Wicks will get the start for the Chicago Cubs. First pitch is set for 6:20pm central time as the game will be watchable on NBC/Peacock.
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Cameron Boozer is one of the most NBA-ready players in the Draft. At 18, he has the build and height of Karl Malone, standing 6’9” in his gym socks and weighing in at an imposing 253 lbs. He averaged 22.7 points and 10.1 rebounds a game in a grueling ACC and March Madness schedule, starting all 38 games as a freshman. Through it all he brought consistency and maturity beyond his years and displayed an SGA-like demeanor. As his coach, Jon Scheyer, noted, “[Cameron] bring[s] it every day…bring[s] the same energy, the same preparation, regardless of what just happened…[H]e’s coming back the same way, [with the] same mentality…to dominate in every aspect” (Brian Stultz, Duke Wire, 2/27/2026).
This should be music to every Jazz fan’s tired ears. This kind of consistency and dominant confidence is largely the opposite of what we’ve watched over the last two seasons. Throw in the family connection to the Utah Jazz, with Cameron’s father, Carlos, spending six seasons playing with the Jazz and returning as a scout in the team’s front office last year, and it raises the hope that Boozer Jr. will stick around longer than just the length of his rookie contract.
Detractors (I hear you) will say, “Yes, that’s fine, but he’s not the most athletic prospect.” Admittedly, Cameron will face some challenges, especially on the defensive end, matching up against more athletic bigs. But if the Jazz are going to rebound from two of the worst seasons in their history, it will take more than highlight reels. It will take consistency, buy-in, and a super-charged work ethic, all of which Boozer has in spades. He’s the kind of player who does whatever it takes to help his team win. While carrying the scoring and rebounding load for Duke last year, for example, he also made his teammates better, dishing out a team high 4.1 assists per game.
All well and good, (you say), but don’t the Jazz have a lot of forwards already? Wouldn’t adding a dynamic guard like Darryn Peterson be a better fit? Sometimes putting too much emphasis on fit stops teams from taking the best player available. Great players find ways to make an impact and demand minutes. Look at Dylan Harper, the number two pick in last year’s draft. He was chosen by the Spurs, a guard heavy team with De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell standing in the way of him playing significant minutes. But Harper has played himself into being a significant part of the rotation, averaging almost 26 minutes a game in the Playoffs. As a bruiser in the paint who can wear down opposing defenses, consistently score and grab rebounds, and open up the court for his teammates, I can see Boozer carving out an important role for himself as the Jazz set their sights on post season success.
As far as NBA comparisons, Alex Golden of SI compares Boozer to a young Kevin Love or Al Horford. Not the sexiest evaluation perhaps, but consider what these two veterans achieved in their careers. Both are NBA Champions, Love with the Cavs and Horford with the Celtics. Both flirted with double doubles in points and rebounds early in their careers, are known as great team players and adapted their skill sets to the needs of their teams. And if the Jazz draft Boozer, he would have the benefit of learning from Kevin Love himself, as well as veterans like Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic.
Considering the skills and physical attributes Boozer already has as an eighteen-year-old, his ceiling is understandably high. A current player comparison may be Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic or Alperen Sengun of the Rockets, who have similar builds and imposing skill sets, and are still ascending in their own right. We have to go back a few years to find Jazz comparisons: Paul Millsap and Carlos Boozer, who played for the Jazz the last time they reached the Western Conference Finals in the 2006-2007 season. Of course, if we want to push the ceiling up to Sistine Chapel proportions, we could mention the greatest power forward in Utah Jazz history, who delivered 18.7 points and 9.3 rebounds a game at Louisiana Tech before being drafted 13th by the Jazz in 1985. Whatever Cameron Boozer’s ceiling turns out to be, let’s hope that if the team does draft him with the second pick, he, like the Mailman, will get to reach that ceiling in a Jazz uniform.
Jesús Sánchez wasn’t “trying to play catch” — but a fan apparently was.
The Blue Jays outfielder was injured in bizarre fashion on Sunday, when he was hit in the hand by a ball thrown from the stands during a game against the Orioles.
During the sixth inning, Sánchez was talking with a fan in the outfield when he put his glove up, which seemingly led the fan to believe the MLB veteran wanted a ball thrown his way.
But the 28-year-old had put his glove down when the ball came flying his way, and he was left in pain when the ball hit him.
Sánchez was attended to by medical staff and ultimately left the field holding his hand.
He shared after the game through an interpreter that the situation with the fan was a “misunderstanding.”
“I wasn’t trying to play catch right there with them,” Sánchez told reporters.
“I just looked at them and they thought maybe that I wanted them to throw the ball back to me.”
The Blue Jays, who lost the game 9-5, said Sánchez had suffered a right wrist contusion, but that X-rays for a fracture had come back negative.
The Orioles also released a statement to reporters, which said that the fan had been identified and removed from Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Sánchez is slashing a .287/.324/.461 line this season with 28 RBIs — and the Blue Jays will hope he doesn’t miss much time.
The Athletics are playing in a minor league ballpark again this year as they wait for their new home to be built in Las Vegas. On Sunday, in the top of the third inning, they pitched like a minor league team as well.
The New York Yankees teed off on A's starter Jacob Lopez and relievers Michael Kelly and Jack Perkins for 13 runs in the top of the third inning.
The Yankees sent 18 players to the plate at Sutter Health Park, pilling up 11 hits and four walks in the biggest inning the team has had since at least 1974, according to the WFAN broadcast. Lopez wore most of it before manager Mark Kotsay turned to Kelly and then to Perkins, who finally put an end to the circus.
Lopez was charged with seven earned runs on five hits. Kelly allowed six runs on six hits and two walks.
Ten runs were scored before anyone made an out. No Yankees team had ever done that.
Ben Rice batted twice in the inning and drove in four run, with a two-run double and a two-run triple. Every starter got two at-bats. Aaron Judge singled and struck out for the second out of the inning. Anthony Volpe had two singles and stole a base. Cody Bellinger had two singles.
The last team to put up 13 runs in an inning was the Boston Red Sox, last May against the Baltimore Orioles.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yankees score 13 runs in historic third inning against Athletics
It was another tough day of Royals baseball. They were promptly swept for the third time in their last four series. They have lost 6 straight and 16 of their last 19. They are one of the worst teams in all of baseball.
A four-run first inning, all with two outs, doomed Michael Wacha and the Royals. Ezequiel Duran tripled to score two, scoring himself on a single y Alejandro Osuna. A Kyle Higashioka double would plate another run to make it 4-0.
Wacha would allow two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Wacha, who’d thrown five straight quality starts, just simply didn’t have it today. His final line was 5 innings, 8 hits, 6 runs, 4 walks and 5 strikeouts. Steven Cruz, Eli Morgan and Mason Black all pitched scoreless innings for the Royals.
On offense, Michael Massey hit a 2-run homer late to make it 6-3. He had a pair of hits, and Bobby singled and hit a bloop double in the ninth to give him a multi-hit day.
I wish I could say more, but there is simply nothing positive going on right now for the Royals. Their road trip continues tomorrow as they open a 3-game set in Cincinnati to take on the Reds. Luinder Avila is the expected starter for what should be a bullpen game. First pitch is set for 6:10 p.m. CT.
At least my Kansas Jayhawks might clinch a super-regional berth tonight! 🙂
The San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks will face off to decide who becomes the new NBA champion in a reedition of the 1999 Finals. This time, it will be Victor Wembanyama and a young supporting cast trying to win their first ring instead of Tim Duncan and David Robinson for the Silver and Black, and Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns will be the ones hoping to deliver the first title since 1973 for their franchise.
While the betting markets slightly favor the Spurs, the Knicks are a formidable opponent that has destroyed everyone in their path this postseason. They have outscored opponents by almost 20 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs, an absurd amount, in large part thanks to their rock-solid starting lineup and the unstoppable scoring of Brunson.
San Antonio has faced tougher opposition, none harder than the reigning champions, the Thunder, but it has also been dominant. Wembanyama has been historically impressive on defense and has answered the call in big games while their guard trio continues to look like a two-way force. It should be a great matchup between the two best teams of their respective conferences.
Game 1: Wednesday, June 3, 7:30 p.m. CT at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.
Game 2: Friday, June 5, 7:30 p.m. CT at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.
Game 3: Monday, June 8, 7:30 p.m. CT at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Game 4: Wednesday, June 10, 7:30 p.m. CT at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Game 5: Saturday, June 13, 7:30 p.m. CT at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio*.
Game 6: Tuesday, June 16, 7:30 p.m. CT at Madison Square Garden in New York*.
Game 7: Friday, June 19, 7:30 p.m CT at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio*.
*If necessary.
The Spurs have homecourt advantage after finishing with 62 wins to the Knicks’ 53 in the regular season.
There will be two days between Games 2 and 3, and for the rest of the way after Game 4, to account for travel time. The extra day of rest could have big implications for both teams, as they rely on a short rotation.
ABC will be in charge of broadcasting all games. League Pass will also broadcast the games, but regional restrictions apply, so make sure to check for blackouts in your area.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Looking back, the most remarkable feat accomplished here Sunday afternoon may have been that across eight combined innings, the Athletics faced the minimum against the Yankees.
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Try it freeThat’s because for one inning in between — a 43-minute top of the third — they faced a Yankees parade.
Sparked by a message from Aaron Judge to wake up after a “sleepy” first two innings, the Yankees began the third by having their first 12 batters reach base safely and scoring 10 runs before they made the first out. And their stupefying rally did not stop there.
By the time the marathon inning was over, the Yankees had sent 18 men to the plate, with 15 of them reaching and 13 of them scoring — one shy of a franchise record that has stood since 1920. They racked up 11 hits — incredibly, none of them leaving the park — four walks and four steals, seeing 75 pitches from three pitchers. Anthony Volpe, Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger each had two hits in the inning, with Rice driving in four runs on a double and triple.
In the process, the Yankees turned a three-run deficit into a 10-run lead, sucking the life out of the A’s pitching staff one painstaking at-bat at a time on the way to a 13-8 win.
“We were sitting here kind of flat, but when we have energy and we press on the gas against all these teams, we’re the best team in baseball,” Judge said. “Just wanted guys to remember that.
“A couple choice words there, just get it going. The boys responded.”
Amazingly, in the eight innings outside of the ridiculous third, the Yankees only had a single base runner: a leadoff walk in the sixth inning that was erased by a double play. In other words, the A’s were one inning short of a combined no-hitter.
“Today was one of those crazy games that I don’t know what it was, but it was a win,” manager Aaron Boone said.
Will Warren, who had to jog to the bullpen during the second pitching change of the third inning to warm up because it had been so long since he last threw a pitch, did not allow the A’s (28-31) to return serve. The right-hander took the gaudy run support and cruised across six innings, allowing only three unearned runs, as the Yankees (36-23) wrapped up a 5-1 road trip in style.
“It’s very easy in a day game to, ‘Oh let’s go through the motions,’ but that’s how you get your ass beat,” Warren said. “I’m glad we woke up and turned it around on them.”
The 12 straight Yankees to reach base to start the third inning matched a franchise record from 1949. Phil Rizzuto led off that rally with a walk before the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra piled on.
On Sunday, it was Volpe who got it going with a bloop single after the Yankees had not even hit the ball out of the infield through the first two innings against A’s lefty Jacob Lopez and trailed 3-0.
Former A’s utilityman Max Schuemann and Austin Wells followed with walks to load the bases for Paul Goldschmidt, who roped an RBI single to make it a 3-1 game.
Rice came up next and smoked a two-run double down the line to tie the game before Judge blooped a single into center field for the 4-3 lead, and the Yankees were off and running. They did not make an out until Goldschmidt, batting for the second time in the frame, was called out looking at a pitch out of the zone, at which point they led 10-3.
“It was crazy,” said Volpe, who was on deck to hit for the third time when the inning finally ended. “I felt like I would run the bases and then I’d get up and have to put my stuff back on [to hit].”
They leaned on station-to-station action to keep extending the lead instead of waiting for the big swing to clean up the traffic with a home run. The long ball never came for the team that leads the majors in homers, but they found a different way to attack against Lopez and righty reliever Michael Kelly.
“We got guys up and down this lineup that can hit homers, but it’s guys taking walks, guys just putting the ball in play and seeing what happens,” Judge said. “I feel like [for] a couple years, we haven’t had that ability to do something like that. But now we got the capability with the type of lineup we have, there’s a lot of grit in this team.
“That inning was fun.”
The A’s made things semi-interesting in the seventh inning when Tim Hill got some work in and gave up four runs on a pair of homers, but eventually the Yankees escaped with the win.
“I don’t think the prettiest game on either side necessarily,” Boone said, “but we were able to make a really outstanding inning stand up.
With how this month of May went for the Nats, it was only fitting that they finished it off by taking a series against a team above .500. That is what this team has been doing all month, and it is why they had a 16-12 record in May. It is even more fitting that the battery of Zack Littell and Keibert Ruiz led them to this win.
Both Ruiz and Littell had tough starts to the season, but really turned things around in May. Ruiz hit .379 with a 1.107 OPS on the month, while playing great defense. Meanwhile, Littell posted a 2.35 ERA in 30.2 innings, after having an ERA over 8 in April. For Ruiz, he needed to find his confidence and Littell just needed to get back up to speed after signing late in the offseason.
It also appears that the two have developed a mutual respect for each other. After the game, Ruiz credited Littell for “attacking hitters and getting quick outs”. Littell seemed very impressed with Ruiz, especially on the defensive side of the ball. He admitted that prior to playing here, he knew that Ruiz was not exactly known as a defensive minded catcher. After working with him though, Littell said that Ruiz has been “Unbelievable” and says that he “loves working with him”.
Littell also credited Ruiz’s work ethic, which has been a common theme this year. In Spencer Nusbaum’s great piece about Ruiz, it talked about how the work ethic has always been there for him. The difference this year is that Ruiz is working smarter as well.
While the Nats catcher went 2 for 3 today, his biggest contributions were on the defensive end. He gunned down three runners today including two huge strike em out throw em out plays that ended stressful innings. Ruiz got the Nats out of a nervy 7th by gunning down a runner, and did the same to end the game in the 9th.
This version of Keibert Ruiz has absolutely shocked me. He is playing like an elite catcher. Who knows if it will last, but now we can see what Keibert is capable of when he is at the top of his game. Ruiz seems like a really easy guy to root for, and he has taken a lot of flack over the years from people like myself and others. It is just great to see him succeeding and playing to his potential.
I feel like we have been saying this after each of his last few outings, but Zack Littell may have had the best outing of his season yet again, at least for the first six innings. The veteran absolutely cruised through the Padres lineup for 6 frames. He was getting quick outs at will, while also getting swing and miss when he needed it. Littell credited his increased whiff and chase numbers to staying in the zone more. When he gets ahead of hitters by pounding the zone, he is able to force them to chase later in counts. This start finished off a fantastic month for the righty.
The Nats offense may not have been at their electric best today, but they still got the job done, thanks largely to a couple laser beam home runs. Luis Garcia Jr. hit the first one, swinging away on a 3-0 count. He hit a 111 mph line drive that just kept going out to right field.
In the next inning, James Wood found a way to one up Garcia. He hit a very similar line drive home run, just slightly harder and slightly further. Wood’s homer was 113.8 MPH off the bat and traveled 417 feet. It was an absolute missile that got out of Nats Park in the blink of an eye.
After the Wood homer, the Nats had a seemingly comfortable 3-0 lead with Littell rolling. However, things got dicey in the 7th when Littell allowed three straight base runners. Blake Butera turned to his fire man Orlando Ribalta to get out of the jam. He started things out by allowing a sac fly and then walking a batter. However, after a long battle with Miguel Andujar, he got the strikeout and Keibert Ruiz gunned down Sung-Mun Song at second.
The Nats then added a key insurance run in the bottom of the frame. This run came thanks to three unlikely heroes. Jose Tena, Jorbit Vivas and Andres Chaparro have not exactly been crushing the ball lately, but they sparked this mini rally. Tena and Vivas got on base to start the inning. Then with two outs, Chaparro hit a double down the line to bring in a key insurance run. Chaparro has not played a ton, but he has gotten two clutch knocks.
The Nationals outstanding month of May was capped off by yet another runner gunned down by Ruiz. Clayton Beeter looked a little shaky, but he was able to get through the inning without much trouble, in part due to his catcher. The Nats won again and improved to 31-29.
If you told me that this team would be two games over .500 heading into June, I am not sure I would have believed you, yet here we are. This team is playing inspired baseball under Blake Butera, and only seem to be improving. Things are looking up in DC for the first time in a while.
Before Sunday afternoon’s loss to the Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves President of Baseball Operations/General Manager Alex Anthopoulos spoke with BravesVision Play-by-Play commentator Brandon Gaudin in something of a “state of the front office”-type interview. With that being said, the biggest question of the session had to do with the status of a couple of injured players. Drake Baldwin is currently on the IL with an oblique strain and there’s been little news when it comes to hammering down a potential return date for Atlanta’s rising star of a catcher.
AA did provide a little bit of an update but it’s still something that’s more of an estimate rather than something concrete to look forward to. With a Grade 1 oblique strain, the time frame is usually around 3-4 weeks and AA mentioned that when it comes to that sort of thing, he and the rest of the front office like to use the latter estimate instead of the former. If it’s four weeks then that would mean that mid-June would seem like the time to hopefully start expecting an imminent return for Baldwin.
AA also mentioned that he isn’t anticipating that Baldwin’s return would be preceded by a rehab stint. He explained that since Sean Murphy and Ha-Seong Kim didn’t have a spring training, they needed the rehab stint when compared to Baldwin’s situation. In the case of Baldwin, since he’s been getting plenty of regular season reps (and swinging the bat very well, to be frank) that would mean that they’d try to just throw him back in the action once it’s clear that he’s healthy.
Again, this is all pretty nebulous and when you once again consider that this is an oblique injury that we’re talking about, I’d imagine that the Braves are going to take it very easy when it comes to bringing Drake Baldwin back into the fold. They also have the benefit of having the best record in baseball with a comfortable lead in the division, so it’s not like they have to rush Baldwin back into the fold. It also helps that Ronald Acuña Jr. appears primed to pick up the baton that Baldwin unfortunately had to drop due to his injury.
All of this is to say that Baldwin is likely still at least a couple of weeks away from starting to really ramp up for a return. As I mentioned above, it’s good that the Braves don’t have to rush him but it’s also fun to imagine what this lineup could look like with everybody firing on all cylinders. We still have yet to see this lineup in it’s fully healthy form and it’s very exciting to think about what this offense could do with its full compliment of players.
For now, it’s time to remain patient when it comes to Drake Baldwin coming back in the near future. There are plenty of reasons to be patient and hopefully Baldwin will go back to raking once he does eventually make his return from a notoriously tricky injury to deal with. We’ll see what happens.
Meanwhile, AA did provide some tangible good news when it comes to their injured pitching. He told Gaudin that Hurston Waldrep is apparently going to begin a rehab stint on Monday, so that’s obviously good news. Waldrep is clearly on the road to recovery and apparently he’s been throwing bullpen sessions where he’s been hitting 96-99 mph on the radar gun. That’s pretty exciting to hear and hopefully this means that Waldrep will be arriving to join a Braves pitching staff that has already been doing a great job of holding down the fort without the likes of Waldrep or Spencer Schwellenbach as well.
Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 75 and inspired bowling led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their second straight Indian Premier League title with a five-wicket win over Gujarat Titans on Sunday.
Serious question: are the Sacramento Kings a basketball franchise right now or postgraduate NBA talent pipeline? Have we realized that they at one point had and let go of Tyrese Haliburton (NBA Finals last year), De’Aaron Fox, Mike Brown, and Harrison Barnes (all in the NBA Finals this year)?
In Sactown, players arrive with potential and coaches arrive with ideas. Then they leave scorned with a chip on their shoulder to get their championship credentials with someone else’s logo on their chest.
This isn’t a eulogy for Fox or Mike Brown. It isn’t even really about Tyrese Haliburton, though we’ll get there. This is about a franchise that keeps finding the right people at exactly the wrong time, in exactly the wrong environment, and then watching those people walk out the door and become who Sacramento always needed them to be.
The indictment isn’t that Sacramento drafted badly; no,they found the right ones. They just consistently created conditions that made leaving feel like the only logical next move.
Start with Haliburton. The Kings traded him to Indiana for Domantas Sabonis in February 2022, a deal that at the time made a certain kind of front-office sense. Sabonis came, helped Sacramento end a 16-year playoff drought, and delivered the franchise’s best season in nearly two decades. The Kings won 48 games in 2022-23, earned the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed, and for one genuinely beautiful moment looked like they were next.
Then they ran into the Warriors and lost in 7 games. At the time, it felt like a painful but necessary lesson. Young teams lose before they win. Michael Jordan went through Detroit. Stephen Curry went through L.A. and San Antonio. Sacramento looked like a team taking its first punch on the road to something bigger. It turns out that wasn’t the beginning unfortunately. The Kings spent the next two years proving that Golden State wasn’t the cause of the problem. The Warriors were just the messenger.
Because while Sacramento was losing to Golden State, Haliburton was quietly becoming one of the most clutch players in the league. He made four game-tying or go-ahead shots in the final five seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime in a single postseason. Every time the Kings lost three straight, Haliburton highlights started circulating like a seasonal allergy. Every fourth-quarter collapse came with a fresh round of “remember when they traded him?” discourse. Sacramento couldn’t escape him because Indiana kept winning and Haliburton kept looking like exactly the kind of star you spend a decade trying to find, only to trade him for the guy who was supposed to be the safer bet.
Then it got worse. Mike Brown was fired on December 27, 2024, after the Kings stumbled to a 13-18 start. Six weeks later, Fox was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team deal that returned Zach LaVine. That’s what Sacramento decided a 28-year-old All-Star point guard was worth after helping drag the franchise out of a 16-year drought.
One year later, in a cruel twist, Fox/Barnes and Brown are both going to the NBA Finals as opponents. Fox and Barnes in San Antonio, surrounded by Victor Wembanyama and a cast of young stars, having helped stun the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in a Game 7 road environment that would have broken a less resilient group. Brown is in New York, coaching the Knicks to their first Finals appearance since 1999, eleven wins deep into a run that has looked remarkably composed for a team everyone counted out.
Somewhere over the next few weeks, someone from that ex-Kings group is going to stand on a stage holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Kings fans will see a former coach and a former franchise player and another June spent imagining alternate timelines. The cruelest part is that neither outcome will feel surprising.
Some franchises build champions, but good ol’ Sacramento just keeps writing recommendation letters.
We don’t yet know how the Cleveland Cavaliers will choose to handle this summer. What we do know, however, is that they’ll have plenty of options.
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Oklahoma City Thunder won’t be interested in Giannis Antetokounmpo in a possible trade. They might, however, be open to trading for Evan Mobley.
“There has long been chatter about the Thunder having interest in Cleveland big man Evan Mobley, but Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman insisted in an end-of-season press conference that Mobley wasn’t going anywhere,” Amick wrote.
Trading with Oklahoma City is risky. They seem to win nearly all of the trades they make since the awful James Harden trade 14 years ago. If they have an interest in a player, there’s usually a good reason why.
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At the same time, Mobley could be more valuable to a Western Conference team than he is to the Cavs. Theoretically, he’s as good a matchup as any for San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama. That San Antonio core is going to be standing in the Thunder’s way for the next several years. Finding a better way to contain Wemby should be a top priority for them.
The Thunder do have a bevy of assets that could interest the Cavs. They own plenty of first-round picks over the next six seasons, including several from the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, and the Spurs. That is in addition to players like Jaylen Williams and Chet Holmgren, who could be interesting return packages for Cleveland.
Altman said last week that the plan is to build around this core. Things change quickly in the NBA. Especially if teams get into a bidding war and you receive an offer you can’t refuse.
As of now, it seems like the Cavs are committed to this core. But again, that’s what we thought just before the last trade deadline as well.
We’ll see if anything comes of this.
Coach Jim Montgomery could be welcoming in his assistant coaching hire of the off-season, as Vinny Prospal has recently been linked to the St. Louis Blues.
On Elliotte Friedman’s podcast, 32 Thoughts, the Sportsnet insider linked the Blues and Prospal to one another.
“Vinny Prospal, really good NHL player,” Friedman said. “There’s talk out there he could be joining Jim Montgomery on the bench in St. Louis. They have some openings, and I think he’s a contender for one of those jobs.”
Since retiring in 2013, Prospal has worked several jobs in the NHL, most recently serving as an assistant coach with the Rochester Amerks, the Buffalo Sabres’ AHL affiliate. With the Amerks, Prospal was in charge of the power play and has found plenty of success with it. In 2025-26, the Amerks ranked third in the AHL on power play.
Prior to working as an assistant coach in the AHL, Prospal was the head coach of HC Motor České Budějovice in Czechia. Prospal helped the franchise achieve promotion to the top professional league after just his second season with the club.
Dating back even further, Prospal worked as an assistant coach for Czechia at several international events, including the 2018 Olympics and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He also worked as a pro scout for the New York Rangers during the 2013-14 season.
Prospal was a very successful NHL player, as Friedman noted. In 1108 games, the left winger produced 255 goals and 765 points. He bounced around several teams, playing stints with the Philadelphia Flyers, Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks, Rangers, and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Jim Montgomery Will Finally Get His Say On Assistant CoachesBlues coach has had three stops, and in each one has not been able to pick own coaches; will get opportunity to select those he wants after Ott moved to Springfield, Julien, Weber contracts not renewedThe Blues’ power play ranked 26th in the NHL and has been a non-factor for several seasons now. With skilled players like Robert Thomas, Dylan Holloway, Jimmy Snuggerud, Jordan Kyrou, Dalibor Dvorsky, and several others, there is no reason for the power play to struggle as much as it has.
Bringing Prospal on board would help the Blues address a vital issue and, hopefully, improve their offense. With the Amerks, Prospal worked with several young players who have recently graduated to the NHL and played critical roles with the Sabres in the regular season and playoffs.
The Blues want to be younger and sharper across their players, management, and coaching staff. Hiring the 51-year-old Prospal would do so.
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Friends, you’ve been so engaged that we had to put together another overflow thread!
Unfortunately, the Rockies are currently losing to the Giants 12-5 in a game that started over 2.5 hours ago after a ghastly seven-run fifth.
In case you forgot, here are the lineups:
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If you’ve seen a band with two bassists live, you’d understand why it’d be an odd sight to see three catchers in the starting lineup (Wong as DH, Gasper as 1B, and Narvaez actually doing the catching for Ranger Suarez.) But, at first, there appeared to be no LOW END (music pun!) for the offense against the Guardians, as Jarren Duran cranked a ball into the stands by the time I turned my television on and Mickey Gasper had also gotten on base with a single into the outfield.
It didn’t take too long, though, for Suarez to fall into some early trouble in the second and fourth innings, but he whiffed two to end the fourth before any damage can be done, upping his total to seven through four innings. Unfortunately, in the bottom of the fifth, Masataka Yoshida lost a ball in the sun that dropped in and scored Cleveland’s third run, and exactly one (1) pitch later Chase Delauter smacked Jose Ramirez in. Gone was the confidence of Suarez, evidently, along with the Red Sox’s short-lived lead, an issue that has plague them all season, but Suarez was still able to finish that inning – and his afternoon – strong with his tenth strikeout.
In the late going, namely, the 7th, the Guardians fell victim to a common Red Sox trope: letting failed ABS challenges come back to bite them. With the bases loaded, Tim Herrin threw a third strike to Wilyer Abreu that was a called ball four to walk a run in and tie the game. The Masataka Yoshida redemption arc then concluded with maybe his biggest hit of the year to score one, and IKF and Caleb Durbin each added insult to injury following the pitching change to Codi Heuer, and the lead was 9-4. A couple more innings of stagnant action, and the Red Sox brought Aroldis Chapman in to get his first work in since May 20 in a non-save situation to slam the door.
The Red Sox win the series but there’s still some work to do, as the next three series are all against divisional opponents.
Jarren Duran: The Guardians’ Tanner Bibee hasn’t gotten a win in his 13 appearances yet, and, thanks in part to Duran getting to him by firing that lead-off shot within 30 seconds of the first pitch, that continues here. After struggling in April, he finished May off with 9 home runs and an .871 OPS.
Ranger Suarez: It wasn’t the most beautiful outing he’ll ever have, as he gave up three runs and looked very shaken after that Yoshida bobble, but he finished extremely strong and avoided melting down like he did in his last start. 10 strikeouts now have him tied with Connelly Early for the lead on the team (57.)
Caleb Durbin: Any time you get your first career triple along with two RBIs, you can get a stud nod. He’s still got some work to do, but he’s really starting to turn a corner in the last week.
Connor Wong: With this double, his career OPS against Cleveland continues to drift well over 1.300.
The Guardians’ ABS challenging skills: The Red Sox have been an enemy of the ABS challenging system since its’ implementation, as they’re the worst in the league. But, today, it helped them. Wilyer Abreu taking that walk in the 7th had consequences, as that was indeed a strike but the Guardians had incorrectly challenged two calls prior and were left to deal with that call. That resulted in five more runs as the Red Sox broke it open.
That’s it. Everyone who started had hits. Even Greg Weissert didn’t allow a run today. Nothing could bring the vibes down after Red Sox nation initially biting their nails for six and a half innings.
Here’s that Yoshida hit.
And for measure, here’s Marcelo Mayer running a foul ball down and giving a great effort to give Jovani Moran a much-needed second out of a pivotal 6th inning. Moran would go on and get the relief decision win.
And thus concludes my first Major League Game Recap since September of 2023, and the month of May.