PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 13: Bradly Nadeau #29 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates his first period goal against the Philadelphia Flyers with Charles Alexis Legault #62, Jesperi Kotkaniemi #82, and Nikolaj Ehlers #27 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on April 13, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The Carolina Hurricanes lost to the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2 in a shootout on Monday night but the point earned guaranteed them the top spot in the Eastern Conference and home ice for the first three rounds of the playoffs.
The Canes will face either the Ottawa Senators or the Boston Bruins, depending upon the outcome of future games.
The win clinched a playoff spot for the Flyers, who will face the Penguins in the first round.
The Canes jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on just six shots on goal, which is a reversal of how periods usually go for this team.
Bradly Nadeau, who spent most of the season in the AHL, opened the scoring with a pretty shot off a perfect pass by Nikolaj Ehlers. It was Nadeau’s third goal of the season while playing for Carolina.
Ehlers would score his 25th a bit later in the period on a powerplay opportunity. That added to his career best 70 points for the season.
The Flyers scored twice in the second to tie things up and both teams skated the third without benefit of a goal.
During overtime, Jackson Blake made a beautiful move and hit the post but again neither team could score and the game went to a shootout.
The Canes could not light the lamp on four chances as Blake, Nadeau, Miller, and Nikishin each failed to score.
Tyson Foerster notched the game-winner for the home team.
The Hurricanes close their regular season and will face the Islanders on Tuesday night. They will not hold a morning skate on Tuesday morning.
Notes:
Nikishin had 23:38 of ice time. He had four hits and a team high three blocked shots.
Apr 13, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story (10) looks on as he looses his glove attempting to field a ground ball against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
The Red Sox lost to the Twins 11-6 on Monday, a Crochet Day. They were down 11-0 before the second inning was over and got some runs after that, but it was plenty over by then. It was bad. It was very bad. It was abysmal. The end.
All sorts of problems were on display for the Yankees: infield defense that has been under the microscope again underwhelmed; a couple of misplays extended an inning that would not end; Will Warren could not overcome the problems behind him and could not put batters away; a bullpen that had been spotty was far worse than that and coughed up lead after lead.
But these issues become minimized when the Yankees offense hums and Aaron Judge destroys baseballs.
In an entertaining Monday matchup that pitted the past two Team USA World Baseball Classic captains against each other, Judge and Mike Trout put on a show for eight innings before Judge’s co-stars stole the spotlight in the ninth.
Trent Grisham — who did not even start yet launched his first two home runs of the season — stepped into a two-run home run to tie the game in the ninth before the Yankees manufactured the game-winner, José Caballero doubling, stealing third and scoring on a walk-off wild pitch to claim an entertaining and back-and-forth 11-10 victory over the Angels in front of 35,789 in The Bronx.
JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
“Maybe it was good to have a game like that where it was a little messy,” manager Aaron Boone said after the Yankees (9-7) snapped a five-game skid. “The offense was able to really pick up what’s been excellent pitching for us so far.”
The Yankees outhit their other issues, their offense awakening in the New York heat and against Angels pitching. It took five innings for the Yankees to score seven runs — or more runs than they had scored in each of their previous seven games.
Because of their other problems and because of Trout, they needed to keep adding on.
It was Trout — whose bid for a grand slam died a few feet short earlier in the game — who answered a three-run shot from Grisham in the fifth by smoking his own three-run home run to tie it 7-7 in the sixth.
A few minutes later, Judge crushed his second home run of the game to left, a bullet that might have dented the pole if angled a few feet to the left, giving the Yankees another lead that they would not hold.
Trent Grisham #12, getting high-fives in the dugout after hitting a 3-run homer in the 5th inning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
They already had blown a 4-0 lead after three innings — because the Angels scored four unearned runs against Warren, done in by an inability to finish off hitters and an error from Caballero plus a play Paul Goldschmidt normally makes — and a 7-4 edge after five innings because of Trout’s first homer.
What was one more lead to blow, this one 8-7 after the sixth?
The Angels seized control in the seventh and eighth — in the former, two hits and a sacrifice fly off Jake Bird tied the game, before Trout victimized Camilo Doval by demolishing his second homer of the night, a two-run, 445-foot dagger that banked into the visiting bullpen — which made the Yankees reach for their remaining ammunition in the ninth.
“A bunch of big homers could really get you down as a team,” said Grisham, who sat against opposing lefty Yusei Kikuchi, entered in the fifth and authored his best game of the season. “Staying in there and fight and staying in it the whole time was good to see.”
Aaron Judge reacts along with the bench after New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham hits a three-run homer in the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York, USA, Monday, April 13, 2026. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POSTTrent Grisham is greeted by New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton after he scores on his three-run homer in the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York, USA, Monday, April 13, 2026. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
What might have been the most backbreaking loss of the season became arguably the most inspired. Against closer Jordan Romano, who entered with a 0.00 ERA, Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled before Grisham — who entered the game hitting .133 but undeterred because of the strength of his at-bats — saw a 3-1 slider and punished it to right to flip the game.
“To go out there and get some results and put the ball in the seats in some big spots obviously was huge,” Boone said of Grisham, who then watched Caballero — the reigning American League steals leader — create havoc, aided by a nine-pitch at-bat from Ryan McMahon in which eight fastballs were followed by one slider, which slid all the way to the backstop and prompted a subdued Yankees celebration around the plate.
The defensive misplays, lack of length from Warren and, most notably, the 5 ¹/₃ innings of six-run ball from the Yankees bullpen could be forgotten for the time being.
So could that five-game losing streak.
“Every good team goes through at least two big losing streaks,” Judge said. “Hopefully we can get this one out of the way and hopefully try to avoid the other one. But it’s going to come, and you can’t ride the roller coaster.”
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 13: José Caballero #72 of the New York Yankees celebrates with teammates after scoring off a wild pitch in the ninth inning to win the game between the Los Angeles Angels and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Monday, April 13, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Michael Mooney/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Mike Trout is a living legend of the game. His true prime ended before COVID-19 ravaged the world, due to a mountain of injuries costing not only him of accumulating the stats that would make him an inner-circle Hall of Famer, but robbing us fans of watching his greatness more.
It makes it all the more frustrating that he’s spent his career in the shadows of Anaheim, playing just three playoff games in his decade-and-a-half in the league. Even as it’s been seven years since his last truly great season, we see glimpses every so often of the player who once ruled the world.
Tonight, Trout hit two clutch home runs that first tied the game at seven and then gave the Angels the lead, the 407th and 408th bombs of his career (moving past Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Famer Duke Snider). He went shot-for-shot with the current gold standard, Aaron Judge, in a memorable back-and-forth that you only hear about in legend. He even made a great catch to rob Randal Grichuk of extra bases, showing he’s all the way back in center field. This was vintage Mike Trout.
And yet, as it happens over and over again, the Angels found a way to lose. As the ancient scrolls dictate, “Mike Trout hits two home runs and makes a run-saving catch, while Josh Lowe did something that hasn’t been done since Tungsten Arm O’Doyle of the 1921 Akron Groomsmen, as the Angels get walked off by the Yankees, 11-10.”
Will Warren got things started with a 1-2-3 first inning against the top of the Angels’ order, giving the offense the opportunity to strike first. Paul Goldschmidt did his usual lefty-killer things with a leadoff double against Yusei Kikuchi to bring up the slumbering captain. It’s impossible to know in the moment when a player starts to figure it out, but after homering in his last at-bat on Sunday, it was a good sign to see Judge identify a 2-0 changeup that went right down Broadway and obliterate it into the left-field bleachers to open the scoring.
That’s been the problem for Judge in the early going, not swinging enough at pitches that he’s historically done a lot of damage on, but he swung at that one, and it landed 456 feet away to quickly jump on Kikuchi, who’s had success in the past against the Yankees. Amusingly, it tied him for 82nd on the all-time home run list with … Goldschmidt, the man who scored ahead of him on dinger no. 373.
Warren gave the Yankees a shutdown inning in the second, pitching around a two-out hit-by-pitch of Jo Adell. In the bottom half of the inning, Grichuk worked a good at-bat to finally get on base of his own volition and set up José Caballero, who crushed a similarly hanging changeup down the pipe for a two-run homer of his own to make it 4-0.
Kikuchi was really laboring, and his defense wasn’t helping. After walking Austin Wells, he seemed to have gotten a routine 5-4-3 double play ball out of Judge, but Yoan Moncada booted it. A walk to Giancarlo Stanton loaded the bases for Amed Rosario, who put a charge into a 2-2 pitch with the bases loaded, but it resulted in a barreled fly out into Trout’s glove in center field.
It was more of the same in the third for Warren, as he tore up the bottom of the Angels’ order with his entire arsenal. Kikuchi finally put up a zero in the bottom half, but was still allowing hard contact. Grichuk was once again robbed of his first Yankee hit by Trout in center. It wasn’t quite going to be a home run, but it would’ve been in 22 ballparks.
The fourth is where things fell apart. Warren was cruising, but a routine groundball by Trout was booted by Caballero, and the wheels slowly fell off. Goldschmidt had a chance to turn a 1-6-3 double play a few pitches later, but muffed it and settled for a 3-unassisted. Jorge Soler and Adell put up good at-bats that ended in RBI hits to suddenly get the Angels on the board, but there were still two outs and Josh Lowe at the plate. Well, what if I told you that a guy with bad whiff and strikeout rates put together an 11-pitch at-bat and fouled off 3-4 excellent putaway pitches by Warren? Not great.
And then it got worse. Logan O’Hoppe put a good swing on a sinker below the zone for an RBI single to chase a laboring Warren, who exited with zero earned runs allowed. Fernando Cruz was tasked with putting out the fire and he certainly did not, walking back-to-back batters to tie the game before giving up a long flyout to center field to Trout. At least the Yanks got some luck back, right?
Suddenly, in a tie game, the Yankees only got a Goldschmidt walk in the fourth, but it did chase Kikuchi midway through. Tim Hill got the ball for the fifth and it looked like it was happening again, as the usual groundball specialist was getting groundballs, but they kept finding holes. Suddenly in a precarious spot, he induced an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play out of Adell.
Stanton led off the fifth with an absolute rope of a double that just missed being a home run to center field (110.5 mph and a homer in 17 ballparks!). We then saw Aaron Boone aggressively deploy his bench against Shaun Anderson, going to both Ben Rice and Trent Grisham in place of Rosario and Grichuk. Rice was able to work a walk, and after Jazz Chisholm Jr. made contact on a groundout that worked like a bunt, Grisham porched his first extra-base hit of the season for a big go-ahead home run to make it 7-4.
Of course, it can never be that easy. Hill got the first two outs of the inning, but gave up a sawed-off single to Adam Frazier that prompted Boone to go to Jake Bird.
It started well, as Bird jumped ahead of Zach Neto and got him to chase a 1-2 sweeper in the other batter’s box… the problem was that the young star shortstop managed to flick it into center field for a hit, which brought up a three-time MVP, who patiently waited for a pitch to hit until Bird served one up on 3-2 for a game-tying homer.
Anderson was still somehow pitching for the Angels in the bottom of the sixth and the managerial novice of Kurt Suzuki showed in a big way. After getting Ryan McMahon to roll one over for an out, he faced Judge once again, and the Yankees’ captain once again obliterated a changeup to deep left field for his second home run of the game, putting the Yankees back in front, 8-7 — and passing his pal Goldschmidt on the all-time leaderboard with no. 374.
Stanton finally chased Anderson with a single to left field, bringing on Mitch Farris. Rice singled to right field to put runners on the corners with two out, but the young lefty was able to strike out Chisholm to end the threat.
MLB games nowadays last about two hours and 40 minutes, and we reached this mark at the top of the seventh. Bird stayed on to start the inning and, after striking out the leadoff hitter, gave up a single, double, and game-tying sac fly to Lowe before Boone pulled the plug and asked Camilo Doval to strand the tying run at third, which he was able to do.
Farris stayed out there after the seventh-inning stretch and gave up a two-out single to Wells, but left him on. Doval started the eighth, as Boone desperately looked for someone to step up, and he did not. With one on and one out, Doval got stuck in a 3-2 count against Trout, and the future Hall of Famer obliterated his second homer of the game to give the Angels their first lead, 10-8.
The vibe was dejected, from the fans to the players to everyone involved. Drew Pomeranz pitched around a Bellinger single in the eighth and Paul Blackburn finally produced a 1-2-3 ninth, but the Yankees were down to their final three outs, facing an old foe, Jordan Romano.
Romano’s career has fallen on hard times since his run as Toronto’s closer. After a truly terrible stint with the Phillies, he’s now the closer for the Angels, and he’s been off to a good start this year. That said, he has bad, bad memories against the Yankees and especially in this ballpark. Those demons needed to be exorcised.
But not today. Chisholm led off with a single to give Grisham another at-bat, and the Big Sleep didn’t miss. The bad luck he’s hit into to start 2026 faded away as he smashed his second clutch home run of the night to improbably tie this game at 10.
Normally, you’d be content with that and be ready for David Bednar in extras, but the Yankees weren’t done. Caballero smoked a double down the left-field line, Wells worked a gritty walk, and up stepped the pariah of the early season: Ryan McMahon. As much as his numbers are still brutal, it does feel like his swings and at-bats are slowly improving, and this was his masterpiece.
Foul ball, ball, called strike that he cleverly overturned with ABS, called strike. With a 2-2 count, he fouled off back-to-back tough pitches, fought off a center-cut fastball, and took ball three low. With a full count and the winning run on third, the strikeout-prone McMahon stared down a slider in the dirt that trickled away from Logan O’Hoppe, allowing the winning run to score to complete the wildest game of the young season.
Somehow, these two teams will pick themselves up after this three-hour, 36-minute marathon and continue this four-game set tomorrow at 7:05 pm EST. It’s Ryan Weathers, hoping for some of this run support, up against left-hander Reid Detmers on YES. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to lie down.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Macklin Celebrini scored twice in the third period, including an empty-netter with 1:45 remaining, to reach 44 goals on the season and the San Jose Sharks beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 on Monday night to end a 15-game losing streak in the series.
With the Predators loss, the idle Anaheim Ducks clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2018.
Later Monday, the Sharks and Predators were both eliminated from the playoffs after the Los Angeles Kings beat the Seattle Kraken. San Jose missed the playoffs for the seventh straight season.
Celebrini’s 30th multi-point game of the season moved him into a tie with Owen Nolan (1999-00) and Patrick Marleau (2009-10) for second-most by a Shark in a single season — only trailing Jonathan Cheechoo’s 56 in 2005-06.
Igor Chernyshov netted his third goal in the past two games on a power play to open the scoring for the Sharks.
It was the longest skid for the Sharks against one opponent and had been Nashville’s longest winning streak against one opponent.
Luke Evangelista scored both goals for the Predators to reach 12 on the season.
Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 25 shots in the win for the Sharks. Justus Annunen had 20 saves for the Predators.
Up next
Sharks: Visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.
Predators: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Michael Porter Jr. is the best player on the rebuilding Nets, but also their biggest question.
He’s the only Net with a ring or to have played at an All-Star level. But at 27 and on an expiring deal, do they extend him this summer or deal him?
What Nets GM Sean Marks wants is a mystery. For Porter himself, not so much.
“If it was up to me, I’d love to sign an extension with this franchise,” said Porter. “I feel like we mesh. We have great vibes, great energy in the locker room, and to be a part of something that’s building in a positive way, a positive momentum, that’d be awesome. I’d love to spend many years in Brooklyn, make this my home and build and watch this franchise take off, because we saw glimpses of it this year.
“There was a lot of positives. Front office-wise, they have the ability to make some moves and make us even better. If the goal is to win, which we all know it is, then I’d love to make this my home, and that’d definitely be a cool thing for sure.”
Nets center Nic Claxton (l.), Michael Porter Jr. (c.) and Day’ron Sharpe look on during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at Barclays Center, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Brooklyn, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Porter joined Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic and Jaylen Brown as the only players to average 24 points and seven rebounds this season, even after a slow finish and a hamstring injury.
“Once All-Star break happened and I realized I wasn’t an All-Star, I had a little slippage in my focus, in my preparation,” said Porter. “That can’t happen regardless of what’s going on with the team and the record.”
Still, Porter has made known his desire to stick around. Marks has been more coy.
After trades selling high on Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, Marks could deal Porter to a contender in need of shooting.
“We spoke a little bit in the exit interview, me and Andy [Birdsong, assistant GM]. And me and Sean had a phone call,” said Porter. “But my job is to just make it clear I want to be here and let those guys know. And from there, it’s on them, whatever’s best for the franchise. Either way, they can let me know what’s going on or not. I have no hard feelings.
“I always feel grateful and blessed to be given an opportunity to play for a lot of money. And I think that Sean and them will be transparent with me. But I don’t think they owe me that. Obviously as a player I would appreciate it, and I’d like to know what they’re thinking. But things happen quick in the NBA; deals come up and things move pretty fast. So just got to take it in stride and see what happens.”
Michael Porter Jr. #17 of the Brooklyn Nets goes up for a shot as Anthony Gill #16 of the Washington Wizards defends during the first half. Jason Szenes / New York Post
Porter is on an expiring $40.8 million deal, and on July 6 becomes eligible for an extension of up to four years and $234 million. The price will certainly be lower, but will he get signed at all?
“[In] the summer, there’s going to be a lot of those discussions,” said Marks. “Whether it’s with Michael, there’s a variety of decisions we have to make with a variety of our players.”
Cap expert Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron mentioned a four-year, $194 million extension, but suggested the Nets could get Porter for less. He’d earlier opined four years, $160 million.
Both Gozlan and ESPN Insider Bobby Marks said the Nets could use some of their $30 million in cap space to renegotiate and extend Porter, giving him a raise next season and then up to a 40% pay cut in the first year of the extension.
Gozlan suggested raising him to the 30 percent max of $49.5 million, then give him a smaller $30 million cap hit in the subsequent season. That would both help the Nets’ team-building and boost his trade value.
“I don’t think anybody questioned whether he could shoot, but could he be a No. 1 option? And for us, he’s the No. 1 option,” said Marks. “I just enjoyed the person, I enjoyed being around him. He’s a fun-loving guy, he’s curious.”
Marks gave only a sly nod to Porter’s podcast, “Curious Mike.” He gave even less on his summer plans.
Apr 13, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio (4) reacts after hitting a two run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
After losing by 12 runs last night, the Guardians destroyed a decent team tonight in beating the Cardinals 9-3.
We are still getting to know this team, but some exciting trends are emerging:
-Gavin Williams can have an off night without his good stuff and still only give up 2 runs in five innings.
-The bullpen looked solid. Hunter Gaddis,.in his return to the roster in place of Kolby Allard gave up a BABIP run. Erik Sabrowski was ridiculous again. Tim Herrin wanted to play with his food again, but emerged triumphant. And Cade Smith was Cade Smith.
-Is Angel Martinez the corner outfielder of our dreams to pair with Chase DeLauter, the corner outfielder beyond our wildest dreams? My column: …in any case, Martinez has started this season with a 162 wRC+. Most excitingly, he had a 234 wRC+ entering tonight off of RHP’s and we KNOW he can hit LHP, as he did tonight, hitting a homer in the first inning:
-Juan Brito had a great at-bat in the 8th, Daniel Schneemann got a huge hit in the fourth, and David Fry finally put a good game together at the plate.
This is such a fun team. Fun enough where last night’s clunker didn’t bother me and I was excited to watch them play again tonight.tonight. Now to try to make it through to tomorrow night’s episode of Guardians 2026.
Oh, to top it all off- GEORGE VALERA IS BACK! (No offense, CJ Kayfus, see you soon). The Guardians are now 10-7.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Theo Lindstein scored and the St. Louis Blues overcame a two-goal deficit and beat the Minnesota Wild 6-3 on Monday night.
Lindstein scored on a backhand shot with 3:19 remaining in the second period to put the Blues up 4-3. Jonathan Drouin and Dalibor Dvorsky each had an assist on the goal.
Pavel Buchnevich scored the 200th goal of his NHL career and Jimmy Snuggerud, Jake Neighbours, Otto Stenberg and Colton Parayko added goals for the Blues.
Parayko's goal was his 81st and he moved into fourth in franchise history in goals by a Blues defenseman behind Al MacInnis (127), Alex Pietrangelo (109) and Chris Pronger (84). He moved out of a tie with Jeff Brown (80).
Nick Foligno, Michael McCarron and Danila Yurov scored for the Wild.
Joel Hofer made 28 saves in the win for the Blues. Filip Gustavsson made 16 saves for the Wild.
The Philadelphia Flyers are heading back to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2020 and are set for a testy matchup with the bitter rival Pittsburgh Penguins.
Heading into Monday night's game against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Flyers were set up nicely for a win-and-in scenario, and they needed every last minute to pull it off.
Matvei Michkov helped the Flyers erase a 2-0 deficit in the second period, and Porter Martone set up Trevor Zegras for the game-tying tuck minutes later.
Hurricanes forward Jackson Blake hit the post in overtime, but the Flyers' resolve was strong enough to hang on and survive through the shootout, as they've done time and time again this season.
Forward Tyson Foerster, whose season was supposed to be over, continued his fight and buried a shot past Brandon Bussi to score the only goal of the shootout.
Goalie Dan Vladar stoned defenseman Alex Nikishin at the other end to send the Flyers to the playoffs.
Now, the Flyers are set for a grudge match with the Penguins, the franchise with which Rick Tocchet coached for two Stanley Cup runs.
Of course, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang are still around kicking all these years later.
"These guys, they don't die. These guys are just warriors," Tocchet said of his former players after the Flyers' win Monday night.
"We're gonna have our hands full, and we're gonna have to do some game-planning here this week. But those guys don't die. It's gonna be a tough series and we're gonna have to go after those guys."
Those Penguins had a very similar season to the Flyers, going 41-24-16 through 81 games to this point.
"Good team over there, lots of experienced players," Michkov said. "We're not playing hockey for the first year, either. It's my first time playing in the NHL playoffs, so I'll give all my best to it."
The Flyers last played the Penguins back on March 7, when Alex Bump scored his first NHL goal on an assist from Nikita Grebenkin. Ultimately, the Flyers won 4-3 in a shootout.
The Flyers and Penguins split their season series 2-2, with both Philadelphia wins coming in the shootout.
Those who sign up for priority access will have the ability to purchase playoff tickets before the general public.
Apr 13, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Victor Caratini (37) celebrates with catcher Ryan Jeffers (27) after hitting a home run against the Boston Red Sox in the second inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
Is this my most strained pun headline yet? Most likely. Also, please don’t crochet your socks. That’s just asking for blisters.
After chasing Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez early last week, tonight they ambushed 2025 AL Cy Young runner-up Garrett Crochet for 11 runs in the first two innings. To say the lineup has come to life over the past week would be an understatement. The fact they’re doing it off of the best pitchers in baseball and, notably, left-handed ones, has this lineup looking more complete than they have in two years.
Minnesota had a clear game plan against Crochet and executed it to perfection, swinging early and often against a pitcher that likes to pound the strike zone. They swung at 5 of the first 7 pitches of the game, leading to a Buxton pop out and back-to-back hustle doubles down the left field line by Austin Martin and Luke Keaschall to plate the first run. Ryan Jeffers followed with an RBI single to give the Twins a two run lead before Crochet had a chance to get settled.
Crochet was able to retire Josh Bell, but issued a five-pitch walk to Victor Caratini and nailed Matt “cement bones” Wallner with a 95 MPH sinker to load them up for Brooks Lee. Lee didn’t hit it hard, but a perfectly placed infield singled plated two more. 4-0 Twins after the first.
The Twins weren’t done there. The first six Twins of the second inning reached, highlighted by a Caratini three-run dong dong to give Minnesota a 10-0 lead. Not to be outdone, known power hitter Ryan Kreidler delivered the kill shot, a 110 MPH laser over the left field fence and finally put Crochet out of his misery.
On the pitching side, Bailey Ober still didn’t have very good velocity on his pitches, but was clearly fooling the Boston hitters, generating 13 whiffs and racking up 7 strikeouts in his 6 innings of work, all season-best figures. He allowed too many baserunners, but he was also likely attacking the zone more than usual with a generous 11 run lead to work with. Ober doesn’t look like he will recover the velocity he showed earlier in his career, but you can do a lot worse than this version of Ober as your fifth starter, especially given the emergence of Taj Bradley.
The Twins weren’t done there though. Ryan Jeffers and Byron Buxton added homers of the own, the latter putting Buxton alone atop the all-time Target Field home run leaderboard, a well-deserved honor for unquestionably the most exciting Twin since leaving the Metrodome.
Boston didn’t go quietly, tacking on a few more runs against Eric Orze in the 7th, but luckily the Twins had Garret Action Acton warmed and ready to silence the Boston bats over the final two frames.
The win makes Minnesota the first AL team to reach 10 wins, while trailing only the Dodgers who have 11 pending the rest of tonight’s games. They’ve won 7 of their past 8 and have a chance to clinch their third straight series facing old friend Sonny Gray. I don’t know if the Twins can keep this up all season, but for now, let’s enjoy the ride and rack up some W’s.
STUDS
Ryan Jeffers: 3-4, 1 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB
Victor(y) Caratini: 1-2, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB
Byron Buxton: 2-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, Target Field Home Run KING
Ryan Kreidler: 110 MPH EV home run off Crochet for a player with a career .376 OPS? You definitely get a shoutout, buddy
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored 27 seconds into overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 4-3 victory against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night.
Erik Cernak, Jake Guentzel and Conor Geekie also scored for Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves as Tampa Bay recorded at least 50 wins in a season for the fifth time in franchise history.
The Lightning are tied with Montreal for second place in the Atlantic Division. Each team has one game remaining.
Patrick Kane recorded his 1,400th career point for Detroit. Alex DeBrincat, David Perron and Marco Kasper scored for Detroit. Cam Talbot finished with 19 saves.
PANTHERS 3, RANGERS 2
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Cole Reinhardt scored his second goal of the game with 1:50 remaining and spoiled New York goaltender Jonathan Quick’s final NHL game as Florida beat the Rangers.
Quick, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, announced his retirement before Monday’s game after 19 seasons. He won the Cup twice in 16 seasons with the Los Angeles Kings, and was part of the Vegas Golden Knights’ 2023 championship team.
Reinhardt broke a 2-all tie on Florida’s fourth shot of the third period, beating Quick on the glove side.
The Rangers, who have lost three straight, never led.
FLYERS 3, HURRICANES 2, SO
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyson Foerster scored the only goal in the shootout to send Philadelphia to a win over the Eastern Conference top seed Carolina and into the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Flyerss goalie Dan Vladar stopped Carolina’s fourth shootout attempt and set off a wild celebration at the next. The Flyers skated to center ice and raised their sticks toward a packed and rowdy crowd that hasn’t enjoyed a home playoff series since 2018.
The Hurricanes got the point they needed to secure the top seed in the East.
STARS 6, MAPLE LEAFS 5
TORONTO (AP) — Mavrik Bourque had his first NHL hat trick and added an assist as Dallas rallied from a pair of deficits and beat Toronto.
Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist and Wyatt Johnston and Arttu Hyry also score for playoff-bound Dallas, which rallied from deficits of 3-0 and 5-3.
Casey DeSmith made 22 saves for the Stars, who are locked into the Central Division’s No. 2 seed. Matt Duchene had three assists.
William Nylander had a goal and two assists and Jacob Quillan netted his first NHL goal. John Tavares, Nick Robertson and Max Domi also scored for Toronto (32-35-14) in its final home game.
BLUES 6, WILD 3
ST. LOUIS (AP) — (AP) — Theo Lindstein scored and St. Louis Blues overcame a two-goal deficit and beat Minnesota.
Lindstein scored on a backhand shot with 3:19 remaining in the second period to put the Blues up 4-3. Jonathan Drouin and Dalibor Dvorsky each had an assist on the goal.
Pavel Buchnevich scored the 200th goal of his NHL career and Jimmy Snuggerud, Jake Neighbours, Otto Stenberg and Colton Parayko added goals for the Blues.
Parayko’s goal was his 81st and he moved into fourth in franchise history in goals by a Blues defenseman behind Al MacInnis (127), Alex Pietrangelo (109) and Chris Pronger (84). He moved out of a tie with Jeff Brown (80).
Nick Foligno, Michael McCarron and Danila Yurov scored for the Wild.
SHARKS 3, PREDATORS 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Macklin Celebrini scored twice in the third period, including an empty-netter with 1:45 remaining, to reach 44 goals on the season and San Jose beat Nashville to end a 15-game losing streak in the series.
With the Predators loss, the idle Anaheim Ducks clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2018.
Celebrini’s 30th multi-point game of the season moved him into a tie with Owen Nolan (1999-00) and Patrick Marleau (2009-10) for second-most by a Shark in a single season — only trailing Jonathan Cheechoo’s 56 in 2005-06.
Igor Chernyshov netted his third goal in the past two games on a power play to open the scoring for the Sharks.
Luke Evangelista scored both goals for the Predators to reach 12 on the season.
SABRES 5, BLACKHAWKS 1
CHICAGO (AP) — Tage Thompson scored twice to reach 40 goals on the season, and Buffalo clinched the Atlantic Division title by defeating Chicago.
Alex Tuch had a goal and an assist as Buffalo (50-23-8) posted its fourth consecutive win. Ryan McLeod and Josh Norris also scored, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 15 saves.
Buffalo earned its first division title since the 2009-10 season and seventh overall. It reached 50 wins for the third time in franchise history, also accomplishing the feat in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
The Sabres were in the mix for the top spot in the Eastern Conference before Carolina secured the position by earning a point in a shootout loss at Philadelphia.
Ryan Greene scored for Chicago (28-39-14), and Spencer Knight made 21 saves. The last-place Blackhawks dropped to 7-17-7 in their last 31 games.
AVALANCHE 2, OILERS 1, SO
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored the decisive goal in a shootout and Colorado beat Edmonton.
Sam Malinski scored in regulation for the NHL-best Avalanche, who have won three of four overall and seven straight road games.
Connor McDavid scored his 48th goal for the playoff-bound Oilers, who have lost four of five. Edmonton fell two points behind first-place Vegas in the Pacific Division.
McDavid leads the league with 134 points and needs one more to become the seventh player in league history to reach 135 at least twice. The others are Wayne Gretzky (12 times), Mario Lemieux (five), Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Marcel Dionne and Steve Yzerman.
Scott Wedgewood made 30 saves for Colorado, and Edmonton’s Connor Ingram also stopped 30 shots.
KINGS 5, KRAKEN 3
SEATTLE (AP) — Quinton Byfield scored twice, Anton Forsberg made 28 saves and Los Angeles secured a playoff spot with a win over Seattle.
Trevor Moore, Adrian Kempe and Alex Laferriere also scored for the Kings, who won their fifth straight and are playoff-bound for the fifth consecutive season.
With two games left, Los Angeles is in position for the second Western Conference wild card and fourth in the Pacific Division, just two points behind second-place Edmonton. The Kings’ victory, combined with Nashville’s loss to San Jose earlier Monday night, wrapped up their playoff spot and eliminated both the Predators and the Sharks.
Adam Larsson, Frederick Gaudreau and Bobby McMann scored for Seattle, all in the third period. Nikke Kokko stopped 25 shots in his second career start. Matty Beniers had two assists.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 6, JETS 2
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mark Stone scored his fourth goal in three games and combined with Jack Eichel for seven points as the Golden Knights defeated Winnipeg to move Vegas closer to winning a fifth Pacific Division title in its nine seasons.
A victory over visiting Seattle in Wednesday night’s regular-season finale will give the Golden Knights the division title and home-ice advantage through at least the first two rounds of the NHL playoffs.
Eichel had a goal and three assists, and Stone added a goal and two assists.
Ivan Barbashev, Rasmus Andersson each had a goal and an assist for the Golden Knights, and Reilly Smith and Pavel Dorofeyev each scored a goal. Dorofeyev’s extended his club record for power-play goals in a season to 20.
Noah Hanifin had two assists and Carter Hart finished with 21 saves.
Mark Scheifele recorded a goal and assist to set a Jets single-season scoring record with 101 points. Marian Hossa had 100 in the 2006-07 season.
Los Angeles, Calif., United States – April 10: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Edwin Díaz (3) pitches the top of the ninth at the game between Texas Rangers and Los Angeles...
It appears Edwin Díaz and the New York Mets will have a reunion this week after all.
Dave Roberts expects Edwin Diaz to pitch against his former team. Carlin Stiehl for CA Post
That represented news in the wake of a strange weekend for Díaz, who squandered a three-run lead in a blown save on Friday, was bypassed for a save situation on Saturday, and seemed to be potentially unavailable Sunday had another ninth-inning opportunity cropped up.
The reason for the conservative usage, Roberts said, was concern over Díaz’s diminished fastball velocity early on this season.
During the two days Díaz didn’t pitch, the team did manual tests –– but no medical imaging –– on the knee he blew out back in 2023.
Díaz noted this weekend that he’s had early-season velocity problems in the three seasons since that injury, though also emphasized that he has felt good physically since this campaign began.
The reason for the conservative usage, Roberts said, was concern over Díaz’s diminished fastball velocity early on this season. Getty Images
“He’s wanting to pitch, says he’s available,” Roberts said. “I think now it’s just me kind of consulting with the training staff to figure out what’s the best case.”
Roberts struck a more optimistic tone with his Monday comments than he had over the weekend, voicing hope that this recent episode with Díaz –– who was 4-for-4 in save situations prior to Friday’s clunker –– was “behind us.”
“I talked to Edwin briefly, just a little bit ago, and he feels great, which is a good thing,” Roberts said. “I think now it goes to me having a conversation with the training staff … But now, just watching with my eyes and having him playing catch and talking to him, we feel very confident that he’s in a good spot.”
During the two days Díaz didn’t pitch, the team did manual tests –– but no medical imaging –– on the knee he blew out back in 2023. Getty Images
Though Díaz told reporters on Saturday that he felt good physically, Roberts revealed on Monday that Díaz told the team following Friday’s outing that “he just didn’t feel right.”
Thus, at this early stage of the season, the club wanted to ensure he didn’t have any underlying health problems before sending him back to the bump.
“I would say a huge part of it is based on the calendar,” Roberts said. “Obviously his health is paramount. But I do think that us just being even more conservative right now certainly is that.”
Now, moving forward, Roberts said the Dodgers expect to see Diaz’s velocity start to tick back up.
“If he feels good,” Roberts said, “then the expectation is that the velocity will mirror that.”
Díaz noted this weekend that he’s had early-season velocity problems in the three seasons since that injury. Carlin Stiehl for CA Post
Injury shuffle in the bullpen
The Dodgers did have another injury concern in their bullpen on Monday, placing right-hander Ben Casparius on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.
Kyle Hurt was called up to replace him.
A third-year big-leaguer, Casparius had struggled mightily early this season, posting a 9.64 ERA with four walks and four strikeouts in five appearances.
With his injury, Hurt will get his first opportunity in the big leagues since undergoing a Tommy John procedure back in 2024. A USC product and former fifth-round draft pick, Hurt made only four career appearances before that surgery, but impressed with his performance in spring camp this year and pitched scoreless appearances in five of his six triple-A outings to begin this season.
Tristate hockey fans are in for an early transition to baseball this summer.
For the first time in NHL history, the Rangers, Islanders and Devils have all failed to qualify for the playoffs in the same year. Since the Devils entered the league in 1982, at least one of the three local teams has participated in each postseason.
The Rangers were not just the first of the three to be eliminated, but they were the second team in the NHL to be mathematically ruled out. It came swiftly with a 4-3 loss to the Maple Leafs on March 25.
Dawson Mercer #91 of the New Jersey Devils checks left wing Adam Sykora #38 of the New York Rangers during the first period at Madison Square Garden, Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in New York, NY. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
Though the Blueshirts season has essentially been over since even before president and general manager Chris Drury announced his retooling plans Jan. 16.
Last week, the Devils followed suit and were eliminated following a 5-1 loss to the Flyers.
New Jersey’s 8-1 start to the season quickly fizzled out. The oft-injured Jack Hughes missed significant time, during which his team could not overcome the loss. That included a freak injury at a team dinner, where Hughes sliced his hand and required surgery.
Injuries to other key players prevented the lineup from ever reaching full strength.
New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) looks at the puck after the Montréal Canadiens scored during the second period of an NHL game at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. Heather Khalifa for NY Post
Goaltending continues to hold the organization back. Among NHL goalies who made at least 40 starts this season, Jacob Markstrom’s .883 save percentage is the fourth worst.
Like the Rangers, the Devils also struggled in their own building for whatever reason. Prudential Center saw the team go 21-17-3.
Still, neither of their collapses was as egregious as that of the Islanders.
The Islanders were the last of the three teams to be eliminated, on Sunday, when a 4-1 loss to the Canadiens capped a 4-9 limp through their most pivotal stretch of the season.
Head coach Patrick Roy was fired with four games left. New head coach Pete DeBoer couldn’t save the sinking ship.
Aaron Judge homered twice, and Mike Trout thought he got the last laugh, but Trent Grisham's second home run tied the game in the ninth before Angels closer Jordan Romano's wild pitch plated the winning run as the Yankees outlasted the Angels for an 11-10 win on Monday night in the Bronx.
The Yankees saw leads of 4-0, 7-4, and 8-7 all evaporate before Trout’s second home run with one down in the top of the eighth appeared to put the visitors from Los Angeles ahead for good.
But Romano imploded in the ninth, allowing all five batters he faced to reach in the three-run inning, with his final offering a 3-2 wild pitch to score the game-winning run from third, closing the 3:36 marathon game.
The battle of the three-time MVPs lived up to its billing as Judge finished the day 2-for-5 with three batted in on his two long home runs, the 373rd and 374th of his big league career. And Trout matched him with a 2-for-5 day with two homers and five RBI, representing his 407th and 408th of his career. He also came close to a grand slam in the fourth.
Even with the 11 runs, the Bronx Bombers - who only scored all but one run via the long ball – nearly let a win slip away at the plate, going 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base.
But the win snapped New York's five-game losing streak to improve to 9-7. The visitors fell to 8-9.
Here are the takeaways...
- Judge took a pair of curveballs outside the zone from Angels’ starter Yusei Kikuchi before drilling a hanging changeup for a towering two-run home run to left in the bottom of the first. The middle-middle pitch soared out of the yard 456 feet and 116.2 mph off the bat.
In the second, he reached on an error on what could have been a double-play on a ball he just smoked (103.9 mph) to third. He went down swinging against righty reliever Shaun Anderson with a runner on second in the fourth.
Judge got revenge on Anderson and put the Yanks ahead, turning on a changeup right over the plate for a 398-foot homer down the left field line. He just crushed the 1-2 pitch, 111.4 mph off the bat to make it an 8-7 game with one down in the sixth. He hit another ball hard, 107.1 mph, in the eighth, but it was a simple lineout to center.
- Grisham, pinch-hitting with two in scoring position for Randal Grichuk in the fifth, got a hanging 2-1 changeup down-and-in from Anderson and just stayed behind it enough and got under it enough to sneak it over the short porch in right. He hit it relatively hard (99 mph) and got it to travel 355 feet to right-center for a three-run shot in the only park it would have been a homer in, for his first round tripper of the year.
After lining out to center in the seventh, Grisham got a low slider from Romano and turned on it for a 391-foot shot to right to tie the game at 10.
- José Caballero fouled the first pitch he saw off his left foot and needed a bit of time to shake off the pain. It worked as he lined the very next Kikuchi pitch (another hanging changeup) into the seats 370 feet down the left field line for a two-run home run to make it a 4-0 Yanks' lead in the bottom of the second. He went hitless in his next three times up, but doubled down the third base line before stealing third base without a throw and scoring the winning run.
- Ryan McMahon, who entered at third for the top of the sixth in Paul Goldschmidt's spot with Ben Rice shifting to first, grounded out and lined out before he worked the 'walk-off' walk Romano that saw the winning run score.
- Giancarlo Stanton opened the fifth by drilling a double off the wall in center. The liner was just smashed, 110.5 mph off the bat, and beat Trout to the wall for a 412 feet two bagger. He added a second hit of the night with a two-out single to left. He finished 2-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts swinging.
- Will Warren’s only blemish through three innings was a two-out hit batter in the top of the second, as he collected five strikeouts through the first nine outs on 52 pitches. The righty allowed his first hits of the game in the fourth, and they proved costly. Of course, the downfall all began with Caballero letting a ball scoot right past him for an error as he tried to take the hard shot from Trout off his side.
After a groundout put Trout in scoring position, Warren left a sweeper in the middle of the zone to Jorge Soler, who turned on it for an RBI double to left. After another strikeout on a good changeup, Warren left a fastball belt high to Jo Adell, who smacked it (109.7 mph) to right for an RBI single to left.
After a mound visit by pitching coach Matt Blake, Warren lost a battle to Josh Lowe for an 11-pitch walk and then surrendered a single past a diving Caballero to plate the third run of the inning and Aaron Boone had to come get the starter.
Fernando Cruz entered, but walked Adam Frazier to load the bases and, after getting ahead of Zach Neto 1-2, walked in the tying run with a splitter in the dirt. After another Blake mound visit, Trout, who started the inning, got a down in the zone fastball and cranked it 393 feet to left-center, but there was enough room for CodyBellinger to end the inning. The fly ball, hit 106.8 mph, would have been a grand slam in four big league parks.
Warren’s final line: 3.2 innings, four runs (none earned) on three hits, a walk, and hit batter with six strikeouts on 89 pitches (60 strikes).
- Tim Hill got the fifth and had two men on with one out after a couple of singles, but got Adell to bounce into a 6-4-3 twin-killing.
Hill left after a two-out single in the sixth, giving way to Jake Bird, who surrendered a bloop single to center and a game-tying, three-run bomb by Trout. The future Hall of Famer crushed the up in the zone sweeper 421 feet, 108.7 mph off the bat to left-center.
Bird stayed on and got a strikeout to start the seventh, but a hard hit single and a smashed double down the third base line sent Blake back to the mound for a visit with two in scoring position. Bird got ahead 0-2, but couldn't get the strikeout as a sac fly to right tied the score.
Camilo Doval stranded the go-ahead run at third to end the seventh, but let the lead slip in the eighth after a leadoff single, strikeout, and two-run shot by Trout. Doval's sixth pitch of the at-bat was a 3-2 slider down that Trout launched 445 feet into the visitor's bullpen in left (109.2 mph off the bat).
Paul Blackburn had a 1-2-3 ninth with three flyouts to center and earned the win as the pitcher of record.
- Goldschmidt, in the lineup against the lefty starter, opened the bottom of the first by roping a double (106.2 mph) into the left-center gap before coming around on the Judge homer. The veteran, who just seems to wear out southpaws, naturally went down swinging in his next at-bat. He finished 1-for-2 with a walk against the lefty starter.
- Jazz Chisholm Jr., hitless in his first three at-bats with a strikeout swinging on a breaking pitch low and away, got a chance against lefty reliever Mitch Farris with runners on the corner and two down in the sixth. But waved at a changeup well below the zone. He added a single to start the ninth ahead of Grisham's game-tying homer.
- Bellinger went hitless in his first four times to the plate, the middle two times coming up with runners in scoring position. But he did smack a one-out single in the eighth.
- Austin Wells walked twice and grounded a single off a lefty in the seventh to finish 1-for-3.
- Amed Rosario, who singled the other way on a two-strike, 0-2 pitch in the first, had a chance with the bases loaded and two away in the second, and on a 2-2 delivery cranked a down in the zone fastball to center, but Trout managed to range back to haul in the 104.8 mph, 390-foot out. He would finish 1-for-2 before exiting for a pinch-hitter in the fifth.
- Grichuk, after walking his first time up, looked to have his first hit in pinstripes, but Trout made a leaping grab just short of the wall in the deepest part of the ballpark for a 413-foot out. The ball was tattooed (106.9 mph) and would have been a homer in 22 of 30 big league parks. He finished 0-for-1 before being lifted in the fifth.
- Rice walked as a pinch-hitter for Rosario in the fifth, singled off the lefty Farris in the sixth, but went down swinging to the lefty Drew Pomeranz.
The two teams continue the four-game set with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch on Tuesday.
Left-hander Ryan Weathers (2.81 ERA, 1.375 WHIP in 16.0 innings) looks to repeat his great outing last time out against fellow southpaw Reid Detmers (4.60 ERA, 1.277 WHIP in 15.2 innings).
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - APRIL 12: Jordan Walker #18 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits a single against the Boston Red Sox in the sixth inning at Busch Stadium on April 12, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Monday night’s game at Busch Stadium had its good points, but the end result was a somewhat sloppy night for the St. Louis Cardinals as the Cleveland Guardians ended their 5-game losing streak in the head-to-head against St. Louis by winning 9-3.
Cleveland got on the scoreboard quickly thanks to a 1st inning Angel Martinez home run in the 1st inning off of Matthew Liberatore making it 1-0 Guardians. St. Louis answered quickly with some nice small ball in the bottom of the first after JJ Wetherholt smoked a single into right field then advanced to third base on a nice hit-and-run single by Ivan Herrera and then scored on a golf stroke single by Alec Burleson tying the game 1-1.
The top of the 4th inning was a sloppy one for St. Louis. Ramirez walked and then stole second followed by a walk by Hoskins. Fry singled to left advancing Ramirez to third base and Fry to second. Schneemann singled to right field off of JJ Wetherholt’s glove in what could have been scored an error scoring Hoskins and Ramirez making it 3-1 Guardians. Hedges would then lift a sacrifice fly to left giving the Guardians a 4-1 lead. Matthew Liberatore would be lifted after 5 innings as he gave up 6 hits and 4 earned runs with 3 walks and just 2 strikeouts.
Cleveland would add 2 more runs to their lead in the top of the 6th inning on a 2-run shot by Brayan Rocchio. In the bottom of the 6th inning, Jordan Walker would provide one of the few bright spots as he slammed a laser shot over the left field wall. Yes, that’s 6 home runs in just 7 games for Walker. He is on fire. Jordan also now possesses a 9-game hitting streak.
Sloppiness would rear its ugly head again in the top of the 8th inning when Ryan Fernandez came in to relieve Gordon Graceffo after being recalled from Memphis today. After Fry had walked and Britto singled to center, Fernandez grabbed a dribbler infield single from Rocchio, but then overthrew third base when Fry overran the bag that allowed him to score and make it 7-2 Guardians. Kwan would follow that with another single giving the Guardians a 9-2 lead.
Since bright spots are hard to find in stretches like the Cardinals are currently in, Jordan Walker also legged out a hustle infield single in the bottom of the 8th inning. Nolan Gorman also muscled a single into right field from a ball in on his hands after Walker reached, too. Walker would eventually score on a sacrifice fly from Pedro Pagés to make it 9-3 Guardians which would be the final score despite a small Cardinals attempt at a rally in the bottom of the 9th inning.
The Cardinals will try again Tuesday night against the Guardians as Michael McGreevy will take his 1-1 record to the mound for a scheduled 6:45pm start time at Busch Stadium.
