The Sydney Thunder have confirmed one of the most significant off-field acquisitions in Big Bash League history, announcing former England captain Andrew Flintoff as the club’s new head coach.
Basketball gods blessed fans with most compelling NBA Finals since Warriors-Cavs
Basketball gods blessed fans with most compelling NBA Finals since Warriors-Cavs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Precisely when it is apparent that Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and LeBron James are descending from their peaks, the basketball gods bless us with the most compelling NBA Finals since all three were featured in firefights between the Warriors and Cavaliers.
The NBA’s New York headquarters is alive with the clinking of champagne glasses and the ringing of slot-machine jackpots. Maybe singing. The celebration began Saturday night, and the league hopes it continues through June 19, when Game 7 is scheduled.
On one side, the hoop gods are giving us the veteran New York Knicks, with their devout and long-suffering fan base, standing behind an undersized star while representing America’s largest city. Many consider New York basketball heaven and Madison Square Garden the mecca.
On the other side, we’re getting the youthful San Antonio Spurs, more than a decade removed from metronomic excellence. Now, featuring Victor Wembanyama, the global game’s latest phenomenon, a 22-year-old wunderkind reaching to seize the royal torch from Steph, KD and LeBron.
Such disparate characterizations ought to make this battle immune to apathy. Both fan bases are rabid, but some of that energy already is spreading (mostly toward the Spurs). It’s tough for any fan to avoid interest, or at least a measure of curiosity.
Which is why Game 1 on Wednesday projects to be the first this century to attract more than 20 million viewers, blowing past the 2016 Finals opener – Curry and the Warriors vs. James and the Cavs – to become, if not surpass, the most-watched Finals Game 1 ever with Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.
Game 1 might be the most consequential of these Finals.
If the Spurs prevail, it will sprinkle plenty of seasoning on their internal confidence. Moreover, they will have flattened the momentum the Knicks generated while winning 11 consecutive playoff games by a record-setting margin of 24.8 points. New York likely would recover, but the shield of invincibility that carried them into June will be shattered.
If the Knicks, after eight days without a game, stroll into Frost Bank Center and emerge victorious, it could put doubt in the minds of the Spurs. After methodically conquering Western Conference foes on increasingly larger stages, including defending champion Oklahoma City, are the much younger but wholly impetuous Spurs mature enough to stay solid on the ultimate stage?
Their coach, Mitch Johnson, thinks they are.
“With just how young and talented (we) are, to be able to be this resilient, especially against some teams that have been here,” Johnson told reporters over the weekend. “Playing Minnesota, they’ve been in the conference finals the last two years. OKC has been to the conference finals last two years, been the 1 seed the last three years and just won a championship.
“Being able to do it against those types of teams, I think prepares you for whatever you’re going to see at the end.”
The Knicks, however, bring a whole different level of experience, overall and in the postseason. Their rotation is laden with players between 28 and 31 years old, prime years. Aside from 25-year-old guard Miles McBride, New York’s top eight players have a combined 464 games of playoff experience.
New York is new to The Finals, its first since 1973, but this is a very familiar path.
This is Johnson’s first full season as head coach; he has coached 18 playoff games. He has done a tremendous job, but The Finals can raise the heat to an altogether different level. There is some uncertainty about whether the Spurs, with their talented but occasionally erratic youngsters, are ready for this.
The oddsmakers don’t think they are. One reason is the postseason experience not only of players but of coach Mike Brown. He has 100 playoff games as head coach, with four different franchises: the Cavaliers, Lakers, Kings and now the Knicks. That’s in addition to his 12-0 record as temporary head coach of the Warriors when Steve Kerr was sidelined for medical reasons.
Brown believes the Knicks, as their record indicates, are peaking.
“Our group is playing good basketball, and they’re doing it in different ways,” Brown told reporters last week. “They’re doing it differently depending on who our opponent is. And when you show that type of versatility on both ends of the floor, it just adds to your belief.”
“I’ve said it before, you use regular season to get ready for the postseason. And our guys did a hell of a job with that.”
New York will face a level of physicality not felt on its road through the Eastern Conference. But previous postseason setbacks have left the kind of wounds that result in scar tissue. These Spurs, by contrast, barely have been scratched.
This series, however, is about more than deciding a champion. It’s about one team exorcising decades of despair and the other introducing a monster capable of terrorizing the league for many years.
The marquee is appealing, the lights are bright and eyeballs will be plentiful. These Finals bring the kind of spectator nirvana not seen since 2016, when Curry and Warriors – after coming back to eliminate Durant and Thunder in the conference finals– took a 3-1 lead over James and the Cavs, only to fall in seven.
May we get seven games in these Finals. No doubt the NBA wants it. And why wouldn’t its fans?
Why Zaza Pachulia hopes ‘disgusting' U.S. grassroots basketball can reset
Why Zaza Pachulia hopes ‘disgusting' U.S. grassroots basketball can reset originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
At a time when so many Americans inject jingoism into their veins and claim global superiority, our national sports landscape is providing a compelling rebuttal. Nowhere is the evidence more potent than in the NBA, where the United States has been shut out for eight consecutive Most Valuable Player awards.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a Canadian citizen who plays for Oklahoma City, last month won the award for the second straight year. Furthermore, no American finished among the top four in the voting. Detroit’s Cade Cunningham was fifth.
While there still is plenty of exceptional talent in the U.S., this should sound alarms.
Theories are plentiful, but much of the blame for the national slide is directed not at the NBA but at the development levels, where poor habits and other influences are pervasive. The general belief is that it is the first place in need of a reset.
Former Warriors center Zaza Pachulia, who won two championships with Golden State, has two sons, both of whom play prep basketball in the East Bay. Davit, 17, at De La Salle in Concord, and Saba, 16, at Las Lomas in neighboring Walnut Creek.
Pachulia, born and raised in Eastern Europe, is among the parents displeased with what he has seen not so much at high schools but within the amateur circuit. He shared his thoughts during a guest segment on the Dubs Talk podcast.
“This is all new for me,” Pachulia, whose family has settled in America, said on the latest episode of NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Dubs Talk” podcast. “I was born and raised in Georgia, and played in Turkey before I got drafted (in 2003). So, I’m coming from the European culture, right? So, this is new for me. And it’s mind-boggling, to be honest. It’s sad. I feel like I feel I genuinely feel bad with what I see on the grassroots in basketball.
“Hopefully, it’s going to change. I’m not going to get into a lot of details, because there’s so many things to talk about because it’s really broken in my opinion.”
Though Pachulia did not call out the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), it has been a target for at least the last two decades. Its influence – and the amount of money involved – has grown exponentially over the past 20 years. In some cases, the AAU circuit can be an introduction to college or the G League. In other cases, its emphasis on tournaments over structured practices can be detrimental to developing skills.
Meanwhile, the European model, with a shallower pool of elite athletes, focuses more on the essential elements of basketball. There tends to be more structure, with a consistent emphasis on fundamentals.
“Some 16-year-olds trained in Europe have more advanced skills than some 20-year-olds in America,” one NBA scout told NBC Sports Bay Area.
There was a time not so long ago when NBA franchises paid little attention to basketball beyond American shores. What began in the 1980s as a curiosity, with few foreign-born players making an impact – Vlade Divac, Sarunas Marciulionis, Dikembe Mutombo, Hakeem Olajuwon, Drazen Petrovic to name five – has become a movement.
All 30 NBA franchises now have multiple scouts flying all over the planet in search of talent. They usually get there after players with NBA potential have been discovered by agents who have associates or contacts planted on every broadly inhabited continent.
The NBA decades ago expressed a goal of becoming a global force, and it has succeeded.
“It’s great for the game, in my opinion, that you have players from different parts of the world that come in this amazing country and amazing league and being really, really good,” said Pachulia, whose 16-year NBA career ended in 2019. “It’s only going to raise the bar. And at the end of the day, it’s a competition, right?”
The U.S. has a clear advantage in the depth of elite NBA talent. But the league’s longtime standard bearers – Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and LeBron James – are aging out. The last of the three to finish among the top five in MVP voting is Curry (in 2021), who also is the last to win the award (2016).
Gilgeous-Alexander, 27, won the 2026 MVP award by a decisive margin. Finishing was Denver center Nikola Jokić, the 31-year-old 7-foot Serbian who won the award in 2021, 2022 and 2024. In fourth place was Lakers guard Luka Dončić, born in Slovenia. At 27, he would like to believe he will have many opportunities to hoist the award in the future.
Or maybe not. The third-place finisher was center Victor Wembanyama, born in France but the future of San Antonio. At age 22, his impact is potent enough to keep SGA from winning a third MVP award, Jokić from winning a fourth or Dončić from winning his first.
Wembanyama’s presence with the Spurs, who are built to contend for many years, also will make it difficult for young American stars such as Anthony Edwards, Paolo Banchero, Cooper Flagg or Cunningham to win the award.
The trend that began in 2019, Giannis Antetokounmpo, born and raised in Greece, won the first of his back-to-back MVP awards, is unprecedented in the NBA. And unlikely to fade anytime soon.
“Don’t be too dramatic (when implying) international players are dominating the league,” Pachulia said. “That’s beautiful. I’d say that’s embrace it. That’s celebrated.
“But at the same time, I would say, hopefully, grassroots in [the] U.S. will be better than what is now. It’s sad what I see. It’s disgusting. I’m disgusted with it, to be honest. It’s so much politics, so many wrong things. And this country is so powerful, man, and . . . I just expect and want to see grassroots to be better here.”
Orel Hershiser reflects on what Cristopher Sánchez's streak demands
Orel Hershiser reflects on what Cristopher Sánchez's streak demands originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
LOS ANGELES — Orel Hershiser remembers the tight games before he remembers the number.
Before the Cherry Hill native became tied forever to 59, there were smaller calculations. A leadoff double. A hitter he wanted to avoid. A one-run lead, or no lead at all, with a Dodgers lineup giving him little room.
That rings true to Cristopher Sánchez’s scoreless stretch.
The Phillies’ ace has gone 44 2/3 consecutive innings without allowing a run. Last Wednesday, he passed Grover Cleveland Alexander for the longest scoreless streak in franchise history. He sits 14 1/3 innings from Hershiser’s major-league record, set in 1988.
Hershiser was a 29-year-old right-hander then. He won the National League Cy Young Award, led the majors with 23 wins, led the NL with 15 complete games and then took home NLCS and World Series MVP honors.
Sánchez is a 29-year-old left-hander now. He finished second in the National League Cy Young Award race last season after going 13-5 with a 2.50 ERA across 32 starts. This year, he has pitched like the favorite, with a 6-2 record, a 1.47 ERA and nine quality starts in 12 outings.
They are the only two pitchers in baseball history to make five starts in a calendar month and not allow a run.
Even so, Hershiser sees more than the chase.
“I think people forget it’s a team,” Hershiser said. “It’s a team record.”
That answer frames Sánchez’s streak better than the number alone.
The Phillies enter Tuesday with one of baseball’s worst offenses, third-worst in OPS and second-worst in on-base percentage. Since Sánchez’s streak began, their pitching staff has ranked third in ERA, though.
They have needed every zero.
Hershiser pitched through a similar season in 1988. The Dodgers won the World Series with a .657 regular-season OPS, the second-lowest by any champion since the Dead Ball Era.
From July 1 through the end of the regular season, they had the worst OPS in baseball. Their pitching staff finished with the second-best ERA in the majors.
The Dodgers scored just 18 total runs in those seven Hershiser starts, a streak that ran from Aug. 30 to Sept. 28.
“One of the things that probably helped me during the streak was our team wasn’t scoring very much,” Hershiser said. “It wasn’t like I had any 6-0 games where I could trade outs for runs.”
A larger lead would have changed his approach. Hershiser would have chased quick outs. He would have treated the game differently.
“I wouldn’t have worried about the streak,” he said. “I would have just said, ‘I want to get this game over with. I want to save my pitch count. I want to pitch nine innings.’”
The Dodgers did not give him that choice.
“Because the games were so close,” Hershiser said, “I think it made it extra special to prevent the run.”
Sánchez has pitched through a similar stretch. His starts have become the surest day on the Phillies’ schedule.
“You can’t go 30 innings,” Hershiser said, “without having a good team.”
He was not talking only about run support.
He meant the catcher. The defense. The positioning. A scoreless streak leaves no margin for sloppiness.
“Somebody’s got to pick the baseball up and throw it to first and not throw it away,” Hershiser said.
He still remembers the plays behind his own streak.
John Shelby made spectacular catches in center. Steve Sax made plays at second. The Dodgers made diving stops. In San Francisco, with runners on first and third, Los Angeles failed to turn a double play. Then the Giants’ Brett Butler was ruled out of the baseline, giving the Dodgers the double play anyway.
Hershiser still recalls it as one of the breaks that kept the streak alive.
He saw similar moments in Sánchez’s last start against San Diego. Balls reached the warning track. Justin Crawford crashed into the wall in center field to save a run.
Sánchez created the streak. The Phillies have defended it.
When asked what holds a scoreless streak together, Hershiser started with the backstop.
“The relationship with your catcher,” he said. “The ability for the data guys now to put the fielders in the right place, too. In my day, I moved the fielders with my eyes and my body language.”
The sport has changed. The work has not.
Sánchez still has to execute.
Hershiser built his streak, and his career, on command, feel and contact. He did not chase strikeouts unless the game called for one.
“I didn’t play go out and dominate,” Hershiser said. “I played hit it early, hit it weakly, hit it at somebody.”
Sánchez works from a similar base, with more swing-and-miss.
His sinker runs. His changeup fades. His arm slot gives hitters a tough look. His delivery hides the ball long enough for the movement to play.
“Deception,” Hershiser said.
The longtime Dodger sees the connection. He also sees the separation.
“He’s a groundball machine, which I was,” Hershiser said. “But he’s a better strikeout pitcher than I was.”
That gives Sánchez another way out of trouble. Hershiser had to choose his strikeout spots. Sánchez creates more of them.
Still, Hershiser values movement over pure velocity.
“A big leaguer can time a bullet,” Hershiser said. “So I would rather you throw the ball 94 with late movement than 99 as straight as a string in the middle.”
Nothing Sánchez throws is flat. His sinker and changeup move late, and they look similar long enough to force early swing decisions.
The modern game adds another layer.
Hershiser finished his streak with 10 scoreless innings in extras against San Diego, an unheard of effort nowadays.
But he does not view the current game as easier. Starters throw fewer innings, but clubs demand more of them.
“They’re also asked to throw at a higher effort level,” Hershiser said. “Everything’s being measured.”
He does not dismiss the information, but he rejects the idea that it captures every decision from the mound.
“From 30,000 feet, [the analytics] might be right,” Hershiser said. “But from ground level, I’m not sure they’re right.”
Sánchez’s streak lives in that gap between what the data says and what a pitcher still has to feel from the mound.
Now he has to see the Padres again on Wednesday to continue the chase.
“It’s not a streak until you start entering into the hierarchy of streaks,” Hershiser said.
Once his name moved up the list, the questions followed. USA Today. The Associated Press. The Los Angeles Times.
Hershiser reduced the job to the next pitch.
“I can throw one more sinking fastball away,” he said. “I can bounce one more curveball when I get ahead.”
Sánchez now faces that same narrow task.
The next pitch.
Dodgers legend Don Drysdale, whose record Hershiser chased, worked around the team then as a broadcaster and mentor at the time. As Hershiser moved closer, Drysdale gave him space.
“He was very much a gentleman,” Hershiser said.
Hershiser now watches from the other side.
Fellow Dodgers Clayton Kershaw, who reached 41 scoreless innings in 2014, and Zack Greinke, who reached 45 2/3 innings in 2015, got close. Greinke stopped almost exactly where Sánchez sits now.
Hershiser said his family and friends root harder against challengers than he does. He does not guard the record like property.
So he watches Sánchez with respect, not fear.
He knows the stress.
“The record is a record,” Hershiser said. “It’s not going to make or break or change my life anymore. It already did.”
Vancouver Canucks hire Manny Malhotra as head coach
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Manny Malhotra was hired as coach of the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.
The former Canucks forward takes over for Adam Foote, fired last month after Vancouver finished last in the NHL during his only season behind the bench.
Malhotra becomes the 23rd head coach in franchise history and the latest Canucks player to be promoted by the team as it begins its rebuild.
“Manny and I have been in the battle together before, so I know firsthand what a good teacher, leader, and quality person he is,” general manager Ryan Johnson said in a statement.
The pair previously worked together in the minors with the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Canucks.
“Manny is a great coach who has the right skill set and mentality to help players develop and get better each day,” Johnson said. “We both believe that pressure is a privilege, and learning to become a good pro takes patience, dedication and a ‘be better than yesterday’ mindset.”
Foote was fired on May 19 after the Canucks went 25-49-8 last season. Malhotra immediately emerged as a prime candidate to replace him, with Johnson saying he would sit down with the 46-year-old former NHL player and “talk about the future.”
Malhotra previously served as a development coach and an assistant coach for the Canucks, then spent four seasons as an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs before becoming Abbotsford's head coach.
There, he guided the AHL team to a Calder Cup championship during the 2024-25 campaign. The club then missed the playoffs last season as several players dealt with long-term injuries.
It was the way Malhotra led Abbotsford through a challenging year that showed exactly the kind of coach and person he is, Johnson said.
“To see that when you can rely on the foundation of the consistent environment and the coaching through the worst of times and really continue to propel players forward, even though the wins and losses aren’t there, it tells you a lot about him,” he said.
“That entire staff showed that they’re champions based off of not the year before, but of what they did last year, and what people around them took out of a pretty tough season.”
The promotion reunites Malhotra with former teammates Daniel and Henrik Sedin, who were named Vancouver’s co-presidents of hockey operations on May 14.
Malhotra, from Ontario, spent 16 seasons playing in the NHL after getting drafted by the New York Rangers in 1998.
He had 116 goals and 295 points in 991 regular-season games with Vancouver, New York, the Dallas Stars, Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks, Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes.
Malhotra took a puck to the face while playing for the Canucks in March 2011, an injury that left him with limited vision in his left eye. He missed much of the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final that year and was given a reduced role the following season.
“He loves the game and getting to know what makes his players tick, and I am very confident Manny will help us ice a competitive and hard-working team that our fans will be proud of moving forward,” Johnson said.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Challenge Cup finals show England should trust youth at World Cups
Wigan turned to young players to win their two finals on Saturday. England’s coaches should take the same approach
The new England coach, Brian McDermott, has a job on his hands. The man he replaced, Shaun Wane, must have watched the Challenge Cup final on Saturday from the padded seats at Wembley and thought he had dodged a bullet. The prospect of facing the NRL’s finest in the stifling heat of New South Wales at the World Cup later this year was a daunting thought even before we saw England players struggle at Wembley in 30-degree heat.
Just before the interval, Junior Nsemba must have set a stadium record for how long it takes to walk 20 yards and get back onside. He was clearly saving himself for an epic second-half performance. Clever lad. Nsemba was not so clever when he joined Sam Walters in dumping Bill Leyland on his head seconds before the hooter. He is fortunate to escape a ban given that Walters, who was shown red, has been handed a seven-match suspension.
Continue reading...Wembanyama and the Spurs host New York to start NBA Finals
New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference) vs. San Antonio Spurs (62-20, second in the Western Conference)
San Antonio; Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. EDT
LINE: Spurs -4.5; over/under is 218.5
NBA FINALS: Spurs host first series matchup
BOTTOM LINE: The San Antonio Spurs host the New York Knicks to open the NBA Finals. San Antonio and New York tied the regular season series 1-1. The Knicks won the last regular season meeting 114-89 on Sunday, March 1 led by 25 points from Mikal Bridges, while Victor Wembanyama scored 25 points for the Spurs.
The Spurs have gone 32-8 in home games. San Antonio is 8-5 in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Knicks are 23-19 on the road. New York is seventh in the league with 45.6 rebounds per game. Karl-Anthony Towns paces the Knicks with 11.9.
The Spurs make 48.3% of their shots from the field this season, which is 2.3 percentage points higher than the Knicks have allowed to their opponents (46.0%). The Knicks are shooting 47.8% from the field, 2.7% higher than the 45.1% the Spurs' opponents have shot this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Wembanyama is averaging 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.1 blocks for the Spurs. Stephon Castle is averaging 19.5 points over the last 10 games.
Towns is averaging 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds for the Knicks. Jalen Brunson is averaging 27.4 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 51.8% over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Spurs: 6-4, averaging 116.3 points, 47.9 rebounds, 25.0 assists, 8.9 steals and 6.5 blocks per game while shooting 46.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.3 points per game.
Knicks: 10-0, averaging 123.8 points, 45.0 rebounds, 28.8 assists, 9.5 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 53.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 99.2 points.
INJURIES: Spurs: David Jones Garcia: out for season (ankle).
Knicks: Mitchell Robinson: day to day (finger).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Mariners use youth movement to get past Mets for seventh straight win
This spring training, there were two Mariners stories that stood out: Emerson Hancock, who showed up to camp with increased velocity and an expanded arsenal; and Cole Young, who showcased improvements on both sides of the ball. The question, as it always is in spring, was if those improvements would be sustainable.
Tonight, the calendar freshly turned to June, those two players—along with rookie Colt Emerson (who had his own spring training storyline) and not-rookies Josh Naylor and Randy Arozarena—combined to deliver the Mariners their seventh straight win, continuing to buoy the team above the .500 mark they’ve so miserably been circling most of this season, as the Mariners defeated the Mets 3-2.
It didn’t necessarily seem that this would be the case. After the Oakland series, the Mariners had lulled some people (not me) into a false sense of security in their ability to perform against left-handed pitching, something that’s been a bête noire for the team all season given the lefty-heavy nature of the roster, the injuries/ineffectiveness of their right-handed options, and the overall stop-and-start nature of an offense that was designed to do damage from top to bottom. That wasn’t the case today as the Mariners hitters struggled against Sean Manaea, making boatloads of quick, weak-contact outs. The only damage against Manaea was a left-on-left home run in the third (technically Manaea’s second inning, as the Mets used an opener because it’s apparently 2016 in the Bronx) by Colt Emerson, his second big-league barrel:
That is just…an objectively beautiful swing from Colt “the scouting reports love to lie about me” Emerson.
But one solo home run over six innings will, generally, Not Cut It, even when the person on the mound is Emerson Hancock, spinning another gem. Hancock was very good today, but not perfect, and that not-perfect caught up with him on two solo homers, both in three-ball counts: one game-tying in the fifth and one go-ahead in the sixth (and to Marcus Semien! Just his second of the year!)
But this feels like damning with faint praise for Hancock, who again was very good, showing off yet another wrinkle in his pitch mix by digging deep in his arsenal to add in his rarely-thrown curveball (he threw six today, after having thrown only 16 all year), dialing up his cutter usage against a lefty-heavy Mets lineup. The north-south movement of the curveball provides a solid counterpoint to Hancock’s more east-west arsenal, such as his cutter, which he was able to spot on both sides of the plate tonight and throw at varying velocities in seemingly any count.
“I think [the cutter] gives you an option early,” said Hancock postgame. “It gives you an option behind in the count, or even late. And I think with that pitch, all my pitches, I’m just trying to be as creative as possible, be able to have as many options as I can.”
But it looked like Hancock was on his way to being a tough-luck loser despite pitching so well – six innings, seven strikeouts, no walks and just the two homers – until the seven inning when the Mets, who have been using Manaea as a swingman, replaced him with Brooks Raley, who loves giving up home runs to Mariners like Josh Naylor loves shoes. Naylor immediately made them pay for that decision, skying a game-tying home run to right field.
The Mariners couldn’t add on after that despite a Cole Young single, so Dan Wilson went to Matt Brash in the eighth. Brash hit the first batter he faced, MJ Melendez, but Cole Young was able to bail him out on a nicely turned double play and then Matt helped himself out with a truly vicious strikeout of Marcus Semien. The only bummer about that inning was that Josh Naylor disappeared, replaced by Patrick Wisdom at first base; Dan Wilson later confirmed Naylor was removed with back spasms, felt on the home run swing, and he is day-to-day.
But back to that double play for a second: this was an inflection point in the game, with the Mets threatening against Brash, who was shaky in his last outing. Young’s heads-up play (I strenuously object to the official MLB video title for this clip which is “Mariners turn interesting double play”), where he successfully fields the ball, tags the runner, fires to first cleanly, and makes sure he doesn’t obstruct the runner, all in a matter of moments, is the kind of reflexive, instinctual play Young used to make in the minors all the time but disappeared at the big-league level in his rookie season as he struggled to get his bearings at second base. Not that this is a doubt by now but the improvements from spring training did make the trip north.
“That was a really heads-up play,” said Wilson. “I gotta believe he took a page out of Naylor’s book from the other day, too, very similar kind of play…that’s what we’ve seen at second base all year from Cole…we talk about his slow heartbeat, and that was another moment where he just did what he had to to get the double play. Huge for us.”
Young himself deflected when asked if he was indeed taking a page out of Naylor’s book, saying he wasn’t exactly sure what the rule was but he “figured it out.” How did he figure it out?
“I asked the umpire,” he said. “I honestly didn’t know, but good to know, now.”
Andrés Muñoz pitched the ninth for the Mariners, facing Luis Torrens and the top of the lineup, and it was nice to see Muñoz put together a clean 1-2-3 inning. It was less nice to see Julio go down hacking against Devin Williams in the bottom of the inning, followed by Victor Robles grounding out and Randy Arozarena also striking out hacking, sending the game to extras for the second day in a row.
Gabe Speier took the tenth to face the lefties stacked in the middle of New York’s lineup. Speier opened the inning by striking out Juan Soto in a full count, prompting the Mets to put in pinch-hitter Mark Vientos for lefty Jared Young, owner of one of the Mets’ two home runs that night. Speier struck him out. When this series is over Mets and Mariners fans might have some similar bellyaching to do about platoons. Speier followed that up by getting rookie A.J. Ewing to pop out, keeping the Mets’ Manfred Man standing at second. It was maybe the sharpest we’ve seen Speier all year, and if the upshot of the piggyback is it allows vintage Gabe Speier to re-emerge, I might have to reconsider my reservations.
The Mets called upon yet another lefty, A.J. Minter, to deal with the Mariners in the bottom of the tenth, curious given that Patrick Wisdom was leading off instead of the injured Naylor – but again, Wisdom couldn’t make the most of the platoon advantage, striking out. However, Randy Arozarena was the runner at second, and having drawn a couple of throws and generally made a pest of himself, he took off for third as Wisdom struck out, putting the winning run on base with just one out and making Cole Young’s job a little easier.
I have been sitting on these numbers for a while because the sample size is so small but we’ve gotten enough to where Young finally has over 50 plate appearances in high-leverage situations. In those situations, his slashline is .273/.396/.500. Dan Wilson has praised Young’s “slow heartbeat” multiple times this season, but it’s different when you see it in action. Young took a cutter off the plate away, and Minter went back to the same spot; he reached out and flicked a little hit into left field for the game-winner, exactly one year and one day after his debut walk-off (this one traveled just a bit further).
If the Mariners are going to keep control of the AL West while their starting catcher and biggest off-season acquisition are shelved, it’s going to need to come from contributions from players like these: a rookie sensation Emerson, a resurgent Hancock, a sophomore no-slump Young. So far, all three are proving their spring awakenings are here to stay.
Should The Jazz Draft For Upside Or Fit?
It’s been almost three weeks since the NBA Lottery, when the #2 pick was given to the Utah Jazz. My guess is that a lot of Jazz fans were preparing themselves for disappointment, as always. But instead, it was shock and elation at their pick jumping in the lottery for the first time.
Now, the anxiety of hoping the Jazz jump has turned into the anxiety of who the Jazz will pick. If we’re being honest, there are only two real options: AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson.
Now, the issue for Utah is that that decision is likely being made for them, but let’s consider the Wizards make the analytical pick and take Cam Boozer, who is the upside pick and who is the best fit between Peterson and Dybantsa?
This could be argued in a myriad of ways, but when you look at the Jazz roster, the starting unit as it stands is likely Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Walker Kessler. That’s a huge lineup that will be really interesting next season. The issue? There’s not a lot of reliable ball-handling and playmaking with that roster. The other thing to consider is if Ace Bailey is ready to be an unquestioned starter. In my opinion, he’s not quite there yet, and come draft night, regardless of whether the Jazz draft Dybantsa or Peterson, Bailey is likely coming off the bench. So in that scenario of Bailey as your 6th man, Darryn Peterson is definitely the better fit. Both he and Dybantsa can handle the ball, but Peterson would slide into the 2-spot seamlessly. He can play off of Keyonte George and be an off-ball shooter, whereas Dybantsa, as of right now, is more effective with the ball in his hands. Considering how lethal Peterson is as a shooter, it immediately makes the Jazz offense a candidate for top-5, if not the best, if the best-case scenario happens.
But where Peterson is the best “fit,” Dybantsa is definitely the upside pick between the two. His size at 6’9”-6’10” with shoes combined with his length and an astounding 42” vertical at the combine makes his ceiling as high as they get. You can see Dybantsa becoming an absolute demon once he becomes a more consistent three-point shooter. He also has the best ability in the draft to penetrate the paint and get to the rim, thanks to his body control, strength, and crazy-long strides. As soon as you see Dybantsa with NBA spacing, you’re going to see a player that is going to control games for 15 years.
With all that said, the Jazz can’t go wrong with either pick. Both Dybantsa and Peterson are worthy of the #1 pick. Right now, FanDuel has the odds strongly in favor of AJ Dybantsa going #1. In the rare occasion that the Jazz can pick between Dybantsa or Peterson, and the choice was up to you, should they go with fit or upside?
Rockies 9, Angels 8: Wild ride propels Rockies to comeback win
The stats were bonkers in this one.
The Rockies drew 10 walks and added two more free passes through hit by pitches, which should lead to numerous runs. On defense, the Rockies committed four fielding errors, which should result in a loss. When it comes to pitching, Kyle Freeland gave up a grand slam to Jose Siri.
Through it all, the Rockies persisted, rallying for two comebacks — including a five-run eighth inning — to pull out a hard-to-believe win on Monday night.
With the game tied 8-8, the Rockies had to dial up another comeback in the ninth. It was small, but mighty enough to win as Kyle Karros singled, Jake McCarthy doubled and TJ Rumfield hit a sac fly to drive in the winning run.
“That was not a normal game. They gave 12 free passes. We kicked the ball a bunch tonight and threw it around sloppily, but somebody’s got to win that game,” said Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer. “I thought the boys showed incredible resilience, bouncing back multiple times, just sticking with it and throwing up really good at-bats all night long, despite the horrendous defense.”
Big hits in the 8th
After the big hits had been elusive all game, they finally came in the eighth inning for the Rockies. Sterlin Thompson and Kyle Karros led off the frame with back-to-back doubles. When Thompson scored, it cut the Angels lead to 6-4. Jake McCarthy followed with a walk and Tyler Freeman singled to score Karros to cut L.A’s lead to 6-5. That’s when Hunter Goodman handled things, hitting his 14th homer of the year and putting the Rockies up 8-6.
The Rockies hit around in the inning, which marked the 10th time this season when the Rockies scored five or more runs.
“We’ve had some good innings this year, but that was a big one,” Schaeffer said.
The Rockies seven, eight and nine hitters, Edouard Julien, Thompson and Karros, combined to draw three walks, produce four hits score three runs and drive in two. That helped McCarthy add more of a spark in the leadoff spot as the outfielder homered, doubled, scored two runs and walked twice.
“Jake was awesome,” Schaeffer said. “It makes such a difference when the bottom of the lineup gets on base like that.”
Nothing is easy
Unfortunately for the Rockies, Jaden Hill wasn’t at his best in the bottom of the eighth. The reliever gave up a leadoff walk and then a single to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. With only recording one out, Hill was pulled for Antonio Senzatela. He gave up a triple to Jorge Soler, which tied the game, but then he got out of the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, Senzatela got one out on one pitch, but then gave up a single. Siri then hit a groundball to Ezequiel Tovar, who touched second and gunned the ball to first for a double play.
The Angels challenged the out on speedy Siri, but the ruling on the field was confirmed and Senzatela earned the win to improve to 5-0 (even though he also got the blown save).
It ain’t grand
Despite giving up two singles and a long fly ball to the warning track, Kyle Freeland made it through the first two innings with a clean sheet. When he gave up back-to-back singles to Donovan Walton and Jorge Soler to lead off the third, it was a sign of a rough inning to come. Even though he retired the next two batters via two lineouts, including Mike Trout, Jo Adell put the Angels on the board with an RBI single to cut the Rockies lead to 2-1.
Oswald Peraza kept the rally going with an infield hit to load the bases, which teed up a grand slam Jose Siri. In one frame, the Rockies went from up 2-0, to trailing 5-2.
Freeland bounced back in the fourth with a three-up, three-down inning that was capped off with a Trout strikeout. Outside of the satisfaction of striking out one of the best hitters in baseball, the K marked Freeland’s 986th career strikeout, which moved him into second place above Jorge De La Rosa on the all-time Colorado franchise list. He now trails only Germán Márquez’s 1,069.
Freeland finished the day with four strikeouts (987), but gave up six runs (five earned), on seven hits with one walk in 5.2 innings. As proof of the Freeland’s struggles this season, the outing dropped Freeland’s ERA from 8.08 to 8.06. However, Schaeffer was still impressed with Freeland’s outing.
“I thought Free threw the ball well. He maintained his velocity all day, put the ball where he wanted, and the changeup was really working,” said Schaeffer, who blamed the bad defense for too much of the scoring. “He competed against nine right-handers, which is hard to do. Kudos to him. He battled and got us through 5-plus with a bullpen that’s been taxed of late.”
An early road advantage
The Rockies jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first when Tyler Freeman drew a walk and advanced to second on a throwing error on a failed pick off at first. Troy Johnston took advantage with a slow single up the middle to plate Freeman and put Colorado up 1-0.
McCarthy doubled to lead with a walkoff homer. The 397-foot shot to center field was his fourth of the season.
In the fifth, Thompson hit an RBI single to cut L.A.‘s lead to 5-3. Through seven innings, the three runs on four hits were all the Rockies could muster. Going into the eighth, the Rockies were 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and had left 10 runners on base. They also had drawn eight walks and were hit by two pitches.
In other words, the Rockies had their chances, but couldn’t capitalize. It didn’t help that in the game the Rockies struck out 11 times — five recorded by Ezequiel Tovar. Schaeffer was still happy with his team’s offensive approach.
“The whole game, even though we did punch out 10 times, I thought the at-bats were excellent tonight,” Schaeffer said.
Freeman hit a foul ball off his foot late in the game and didn’t return to field in the bottom of the eighth. Schaeffer said the Rockies will know more on Tuesday about the severity of the injury.
Up next
The Rockies and Angels will be back in action Tuesday at 7:38 p.m. MDT. Tomoyuki Sugano 菅野 智之 (4-4, 4.01 ERA) will get the start for the Rockies, while LHP Grayson Rodriguez (2-1, 7.53 ERA).
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Sean Manaea earned another turn in Mets' rotation with best outing of season to this point
It was a frustrating start to the season for Sean Manaea.
The left-hander struggled to find his velocity during spring training and he ended up landing in more of a mop-up role out of the Mets’ bullpen early on.
Instead of putting his head down, Manaea keep on grinding.
He put in a ton of work with pitching coach Justin Willard, and is finally starting to see all of that paying off.
The veteran has found more success with an uptick in velocity over his past few outings, leading to him receiving an opportunity in the Mets’ starting rotation.
“You have to give him credit,” Carlos Mendoza said. “When it was hard for him he was basically the last guy out of the bullpen and he never put his head down -- you saw him doing long toss and all of the drills we put him through.
“When you see the velo now starting to come up, we know the strike-showing ability, but now the cutter and the sweeper throwing strikes -- that’s the guy that we saw in 2024.”
And that’s the guy that the Mets saw on Monday night, as well.
Manaea was absolutely spectacular serving as the bulk reliever for the first time this season, piecing together his best and longest outing to this point.
He lost a left-on-left matchup with 20-year-old Colt Emerson, allowing a solo homer to right in the bottom of the third, but otherwise cruised his way through Seattle's lineup.
The southpaw gave up just one other baserunner on a walk and struck out four over 5.0 innings.
Manaea’s velocity increased again, and he's now held his opponent to one run in three straight appearances.
“I’ve just been taking things day-by-day,” he said. “Just building each day and coming in with a plan, and slowly but surely I’ve just been feeling really good on the mound.”
It remains to be seen if it’ll be as a straight starter or bulk reliever again, but Manaea is in line to take another turn in the rotation the next time around.
Arizona Diamondbacks 4, Los Angeles Dodgers 1: Tommy & Nolan & Ketel & E-Rod
Record: 32-27. Pace: 88-74. Change on 2025: +4.
May finished in rough shape for the D-backs beating swept in Seattle. For much of tonight, it looked like June would start the same way. While Eduardo Rodriguez had kept the team in the game, the Arizona bats appeared still be circling on a luggage carousel at Sky Harbor. They had managed just one hit through five innings from Dodgers’ starter Emmet Sheehan, and it looked like the one run the visitors had scored would be enough. However, home-runs from Tommy Troy in the sixth, and Nolan Arenado in the seventh gave the D-backs a lead, and Ketel Marte added welcome insurance in the eighth, becoming the first Arizona hitter to reach double digits in home-runs for 2026.
Rodriguez started off with a crisp 12-pitch first, retiring the Dodgers in order. Corbin Carroll then doubled into the right field corner with one out in the bottom of the inning. I’m sure he was hoping for another three-bagger, but a decent carom off the fence meant Corbin stayed, wisely, at second. Neither Geraldo Perdomo nor Nolan Arenado could get him home, however. Worth noting: that was the only baseball for the Diamondbacks to touch the outfield grass all night. E-Rod had a much more stressful second inning. The first two reached, and it required some good defense by Ildemaro Vargas (below), coming home to nail the runner, before Rodriguez left the bases loaded, and the game still scoreless.
In fact, here’s probably a good place to praise the Arizona defense tonight. Vargas and Jorge Barrosa may both be unable to hit water if they fell out of a boat, but their gloves stood up in this one. Barrosa had a couple of excellent diving plays in center field. In addition to saving a run at home, Vargas started a key double-play in the eighth inning, after Shohei Ohtani had singled to put the then-tying run on base with no outs. All three plays can also be found on the reel above. It wasn’t all good. Tommy Troy whiffed on a diving catch attempt in the third inning, which helped set up the game’s opening run for LA. But he’s hardly a natural left fielder, and given subsequent events, we will forgive him.
Yes, this game was definitely one where the W goes to the pitching and defense. Rodriguez was hardly overpowering, with just three strikeouts from the 24 batters faced. But he ground his way through six innings, and stopped the Dodgers from extending the lead. One of Eduardo’s Ks was quite amusing, however. He faced Miguel Rojas, and on 1-1, threw a pitch called a strike by home-plate umpire Rob Drake. Rojas challenged, and it was overturned by the narrowest possible margin, less than 0.1”. The next pitch was another strike… until another successful Rojas challenge, by a 0.1” margin. Rodriguez threw two more strikes, the last one surviving Rojas’s third challenge of the at-bat, for a K.
As noted above, Arizona was clinically unable to deal with Sheehan’s slider through five innings. He had retired fifteen D-backs in a row, through the first out of the sixth. Then Troy atoned for his role in the Dodgers’ run, by depositing his first MLB homer into the left-field bleachers, tying the game at 1-1. It was suddenly a brand-new ballgame, with three innings left. Arenado certainly seemed to think so, chasing Sheehan from the game in the seventh, after catching a slider for his eighth home-run of the year. Then, just when we were thinking Paul Sewald would have to protect the narrowest of margins, Troy dropped down a perfect two-out bunt, and Marte lasered his 10th over the fence, for a 4-1 lead. [All three HR and the bunt above]
Rodriguez left after six innings, allowing one run on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts. That reduced his season ERA to 2.24. through a dozen starts. It’s the lowest to that point for Arizona since Patrick Corbin’s 1.98 ERA after twelve appearances in 2013. He didn’t quite get the 100th win of his career this evening, but I’d say he deserved it. The W instead went to Taylor Clarke for his scoreless seventh with a pair of strikeouts. Clarke now has an 0.36 ERA over 24.2 innings since his disastrous Opening Day outing in Los Angeles. With a little help from Vargas, Garcia faced the minimum in the 8th, and Paul Sewald completed the win, notching save #15 with a 1-2-3 ninth (and that’s the OVER officially locked in there for Place Your Bets!)
It’s not often a team will win a game while going just 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position. But the D-backs did so tonight, with another comeback victory. Not a great night for the offense, batting 5-for-29 overall, with no walks. But the home-runs were just enough, and if five hits is rarely enough to prevail, it certainly helps when your pitching holds the opposition to just one run. It was just what was needed after a very dispiriting series against the Mariners (whom, I note, walked off the Mets for their seventh win in a row tonight – so it’s not just us!). Hopefully that’ll set the tone for the rest of the series. Cardinals lost, so we’re back in sole possession of the second wild-card.
Click here for details, at Fangraphs.com
No place like home: Eduardo Rodriguez, +20%
Home is where the HRs are: Troy, +17%; Arenado, +17%; Garcia, +12%
No fixed abode: Geraldo Perdomo, -9%
Thanks to all who showed up in the GDT, gritting it out when things looked tough. 269 comments isn’t at all bad for a Monday night. We were all on top form, with a slew of Sedona Red comments, a number reaching eight or more recs. Well-played everyone. But I have to give it to ercil:
Tomorrow, it’s the same two teams, as this four-game set continues. Starting for the D-backs will be the pleasant surprise which has been Michael Soroka, with another 6:40 pm first pitch. See you there!
David Ortiz: Red Sox owner John Henry ‘worried’ about direction of franchise
Red Sox legend David Ortiz told the Associated Press that despite his old ballclub’s current position in the standings, owner John Henry really does care about his team.
Ortiz said that Henry was “worried” and that he had spoken to Henry recently about the downturn for the AL East team.
“He knows the direction of this team and he’s worried about the team’s situation more than what people think he is,” Ortiz said, while speaking with the AP at his celebrity golf tournament.
The Red Sox are currently 25-33 and sit dead last in the division.
“He’s worried. We had a conversation. I can see. I’ve known John a long time, him and the whole team — him and [chairman] Tom Werner, the whole group, they’re working on figuring things out to get this ride better,” Ortiz also said.
Boston has gone through a hellish season thus far, which has included a purge of the coaching staff in April that included firing manager Alex Cora and five other coaches.
“I sat down to talk to John, and he wants to figure it out. He wants to have the formula to go back to the old days,” he said. “It’s not like he just gives up. Sometimes people don’t understand that the way that this game goes, that it’s hard to stay up there.”
The rough season has led to even further frustration from Red Sox fans, who from 2004-2018 had seen Boston win four World Series titles.
A plane flew over Fenway Park last month calling on the Red Sox’s current ownership group to sell the team.
“When you worry, you worry about everything in general. You worry about the team, you worry about the fans and you worry about how everything is moving around,” Ortiz said. “I tell you, the boss is, he’s working, he’s working. He’s working on putting the pieces that moving forward things get better around here.”
Only time will tell if Ortiz’s faith is correctly placed in Henry and the Red Sox ownership group to turn the team around.
MLB Injury Report: Elly De La Cruz goes down with hamstring strain, lat issue delays Garrett Crochet's return
In this week’s Injury Report, Elly De La Cruz goes down with a hamstring injury. The Red Sox will have to wait a bit longer for the returns of Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony. And the Marlins could be without Eury Pérez for the next two months. All that and more as we run down some of the most relevant injury news around baseball.
⚾️ Baseball is back! MLB returns to NBC and Peacock in 2026! In addition to becoming the exclusive home of Sunday Night Baseball, NBC Sports will broadcast MLB Sunday Leadoff, “Opening Day” and Labor Day primetime games, the first round of the MLB Draft, the entire Wild Card round of the postseason, and much more.
Elly De La Cruz (hamstring)
De La Cruz came up hobbling as he rounded first base on a hit in the fifth inning on Sunday. He was removed from the game with right hamstring tightness. After further evaluation, the team placed the 27-year-old star shortstop on the 10-day injured list on Monday with a right hamstring strain. There’s no timetable for De La Cruz. His injury gave the Reds the opportunity to call up top prospect Edwin Arroyo, who was slashing .323/.383/.562 with 11 homers and nine steals across 250 plate appearances in Triple-A. He’s a must-add in all formats where available.
The future is now for the White Sox, who went 18-10 in May.
- ,
D.J. Short
Garrett Crochet (shoulder)
Crochet had progressed to live batting practice sessions, appearing on the verge of a rehab assignment as he works his way back from a bout of shoulder inflammation. He unfortunately has to pause his throwing progression after experiencing lat tightness. It’s not known how much longer this will delay his timeline, but a return before the end of June is probably optimistic at this point.
Roman Anthony (finger)
Crochet wasn’t the only Red Sox player to suffer a setback this week. Anthony had progressed to hitting off a tee, but came out of his session with renewed discomfort in his wrist. The 22-year-old outfielder has been on the shelf since May 4 with a right wrist sprain and a ligament sprain at the base of his ring finger. The setback certainly muddies the timeline for Anthony, but it’s hard to imagine he’s back before the end of June.
Eury Pérez (thigh)
Pérez had been pitching well last Wednesday against the Blue Jays, striking out nine batters over four innings, before he was apparently hurt while stretching before the fifth. He needed assistance getting into the clubhouse and was ruled out with a hamstring spasm. Pérez was later diagnosed with a right gracilis strain, the thigh muscle, and placed on the 15-day injured list with an estimated eight-week recovery timeline. This puts him out until late July. It’s unfortunate timing as the 23-year-old right-hander seemed to be turning a corner in his season after pitching six innings of one-run ball his last time out.
Eury Pérez exits the game after seemingly injuring himself while stretching before the bottom of the fifth. pic.twitter.com/nWOWut591Y
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 27, 2026
Munetaka Murakami (hamstring)
Murakami hustled to first to beat out a fielder’s choice in the third inning on Friday and came up grabbing his right hamstring. He was placed on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a Grade 2 right hamstring strain that is expected to sideline the 26-year-old slugger for 4-6 weeks. Murakami has been excellent in his first two months in the majors, posting a .938 OPS with 20 homers, 43 runs scored, and 41 RBI across 246 plate appearances. Jacob Gonzalez was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to fill the vacant spot on the roster. Gonzalez has some intriguing power potential himself, with 19 homers and a .317 batting average over 238 plate appearances in the minors. He’s also chipped in eight steals. He’s worth a look in deeper leagues.
Konnor Griffin (forearm)
Griffin was originally held out of the lineup last Thursday with right forearm soreness. Not considered a serious concern, Griffin returned to the lineup but was limited to designated hitter duties on Friday. He even went 2-for-4 with a stolen base. But with the return of Ryan O’Hearn over the weekend, the team opted to place Griffin on the 10-day injured list. The Pirates expect him to require just the minimum 10-day stint before he’s ready to return at shortstop. The 20-year-old phenom has really come around at the plate, hitting .306 in May after hitting .231 through April.
Hurston Waldrep (elbow)
Waldrep is working his way back from surgery in February to remove loose bodies in his right elbow. He threw two scoreless innings in a game at the Florida Complex League on Monday and was reportedly around 97 mph on his fastball in the 26-pitch outing. The 24-year-old right-hander will likely take the full month for his rehab assignment, but could join the Braves rotation at the end of June. Waldrep makes for a solid stash in most formats after posting a 2.88 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 55 strikeouts over 56 1/3 innings last season.
Maikel Garcia (hamstring)
Garcia’s status is one to watch on Tuesday. He left Saturday’s game in the seventh inning with a right hamstring injury. He appeared to be in some pain after running from first to third. The 26-year-old third baseman was held out of the lineup on Sunday and Monday as the team gives him every chance to avoid the injured list, which could still be a possibility if he’s not ready to return on Tuesday.
Corey Seager (back)
Wyatt Langford (forearm)
The Rangers could be getting some major reinforcements back by the end of the week, with both Seager and Langford starting a rehab assignment with Double-A Frisco on Tuesday. Seager has been sidelined for the last two weeks with lower back inflammation. He could need just a couple of games before he’s activated. Langford has been out of action for much longer, hitting the injured list on April 22 with a right forearm strain. He’ll need to exercise more caution in his return after suffering a setback earlier in his recovery. Langford actually got a pair of games in with Triple-A Round Rock over the weekend, but will move his rehab to Frisco on Tuesday.
Teoscar Hernández (hamstring)
Hernández departed last Wednesday’s game against the Rockies with a left hamstring strain. It was pretty evident to manager Dave Roberts that Hernández would require a stint on the injured list. The 33-year-old outfielder is due to miss about a month. Alex Call and Ryan Ward figure to platoon in left field in Hernández’s absence.
Canucks Make Coaching Move That Could Impact Blackhawks Draft
The Chicago Blackhawks have the fourth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. There are many ways the event could go, depending on who Chicago lands. A lot of it will hinge on who goes in front of them.
One of those teams, the Vancouver Canucks, made a coaching hire that could impact how things go for the Blackhawks at the draft.
Late Monday night, the Canucks made it official: they had hired Manny Malhotra as their new head coach.
WELCOME COACH MANNY!
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) June 2, 2026
General Manager Ryan Johnson announced today that the #Canucks have hired Manny Malhotra as the 23rd Head Coach in franchise history.
DETAILS | https://t.co/JJyyPHeb09pic.twitter.com/Tbm9EHOYYP
The Vancouver Canucks' new management has stressed the importance of developing the right culture as they rebuild.
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) June 2, 2026
GM Ryan Johnson said new coach Manny Malhotra will put the proper foundation in place: https://t.co/5zQlethSlX
Of course, Malhotra played 159 games with the Vancouver Canucks during his 991-game NHL career. As a former 7th overall pick by the New York Rangers in 1998, he carved out a nice career as a bottom-six forward.
As a result of his role in the NHL, he learned how to become a winner without being one of the top guys offensively, which helped prepare him to eventually step into coaching. He will work with new GM Ryan Johnson and the newly appointed co-Presidents, Henrik and Daniel Sedin.
How does any of this impact the Chicago Blackhawks draft? Well, one of the prospects projected to go in the top five is Brantford Bulldogs center Caleb Malhotra, Manny's son.
Does hiring Manny make them think twice about taking his son, or does that make them want him more? Depending on what happens with the Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks as the holders of the first two picks, it may not become known until draft night what Vancouver is thinking.
If Caleb ends up with Vancouver, that could create some awkward situations if either he or his father doesn't work out as planned. It could also be an incredible success story involving a father and son.
Connor Bedard is a true center, but they are still trying to figure out Anton Frondell and Frank Nazar positionally. Manny Malhotra would help solve that, as he is a true center coming out of major junior. If he fell to the Blackhawks, he'd be a great fit.
No matter what, Caleb Malhotra won't be in the NHL until the end of next season at the earliest. He is committed to playing at least one season at Boston University, where he will have tremendous success playing under Jay Pandolfo.
If the Leafs take Gavin McKenna, the Sharks take a defenseman (they need a high-end defender in their pipeline badly), and the Canucks end up with the younger Malhotra, that would leave the highly touted Ivar Stenberg for Chicago. The Blackhawks could also end up with one of the top-rated defensemen as well.
Either way, they are getting a great prospect that will need time developing, but this news could certainly impact which one they get.
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