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Colorado Rockies spring training game no. 17 thread: Joey Cantillo vs. Eiberson Castellano
After beating the Dodgers last night 6-4 at Camelback Ranch, the Rockies will look to take the momentum back home to Salt River Fields this afternoon.
RHP Eiberson Castellano (0-0, 2.25 ERA) makes his first Cactus League start this afternoon after making two other relief appearances. In total, Castellano has thrown four innings and allowed one run on six hits with one hit batter, one walk and four strikeouts. He was signed by the Rockies as a minor league free agent after spending six seasons in the Philadelphia Phillies’ system, where he won their Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2024, and one with the Minnesota Twins after being selected by them in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft. Castellano was returned to the Phillies in March, and represented the organization in the Arizona Fall League before electing free agency.
“We think very highly of Mr. Castellano,” manager Warren Schaeffer said before the game. “[He’s got a] big arm, big body, attacks the strike zone, good breaking ball… there’s a lot to like. It’s just a matter of getting to see him more often.
“We like a lot about him,” he continued. “Just those things alone make him a viable candidate. It’s a long season, but he’s a guy that can absolutely build up to be a starter. I think anything’s possible for him.”
In his last outing, Castellano threw two innings against the San Diego Padres and allowed two hits with one hit batter, one walk and two strikeouts.
The right-hander will face Guardians’ left-hander Joey Cantillo (0-1, 11.12 ERA). Cantillo is making his third start of spring training, and has given up nine runs (seven earned) on nine hits with two home runs, three walks and five strikeouts. Cantillo was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 16th round of the 2017 draft out of Kailua High School in Kailua, HI. He was traded to Cleveland in 2020 alongside Austin Hedges, Cal Quantrill, Josh Naylor, Gabriel Arias and Owen Miller in exchange for Mike Clevinger and Greg Allen. In his last outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cantillo pitched three innings and allowed three runs on two hits (including a two-run homer) with two walks and two strikeouts.
First Pitch: 2:10 p.m. MT
TV: Rockies.tv
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)
Lineups:
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Bryce Elder gets shelled in Braves spring training slugfest vs. Rays
Bryce Elder had a rough one on the mound at Charlotte Sports Park against the Rays, as he ended up conceding more runs than innings pitched in what turned out to be a battle of the bats between the Atlanta Braves and Tampa Bay in spring training action.
It was clear from the jump that this was probably going to be a shaky outing for Elder in today’s contest. Despite being given a four-run lead to play with, that ended up not mattering much as Elder was all over the place (and not in a good way, this time). He dealt with two men on base before recording an out (with the second runner reaching via hit-by-pitch) and then a wild pitch moved both of those runners into scoring position. Elder eventually got out of the inning by only giving up a single run thanks to a couple of ground balls that he induced but he also sandwiched in a walk in between the fielder’s choice RBI for Ben Williamson and the double play that ended the inning.
It was clear that Elder was going to have to step things up after his rough first inning but the results didn’t go his way in that regard. Jonny DeLuca led off the second inning with a double and made it home on another fielder’s choice RBI that cleared the bases. The bases were soon busy again, as Elder ended up surrendering a walk, a single and then an RBI single that made it a 5-3 game at that point. Elder then ended up getting pulled for the remainder of the inning in favor of Darius Vines, who promptly gave up a three-run shot to Ben Williamson to put five runs on Elder’s line and give the Rays the lead in this one. Vines followed that up by giving up a double and a walk immediately afterwards, so this was clearly just a rough day for Atlanta’s pitchers — and it was only going to get rougher.
Elder ended his day on a high note by re-entering the contest during the third inning and only surrendering another walk while getting through his only scoreless inning of the day. With that being said, a line of 3.1 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 K and 5 R certainly isn’t encouraging. Now granted, the wind was blowing out towards the fences in this one so it wasn’t like Elder was the only one struggling with that but also, Elder was the only pitcher who walked more than one batter in this one. It was definitely a frustrating day on the mound for Elder in this one and that was only compounded due to something happening soon afterwards that was completely out of his control.
Joey Wentz entered the game in the bottom of the fifth inning looking to continue to bolster his case for a spot in the starting rotation. However, he suffered a setback in this frame that might leave him out for a little bit of time. Wentz started off this frame by giving up a leadoff double and he was an out away from getting out of things unscathed. Unfortunately, he not only ended up giving up a run while trying to field a bunt but he also hurt himself while trying to cover first base in the process.
Wentz stayed on the ground for a while in plenty of pain but he eventually stood up under his own power. He did take a cart ride to the clubhouse but according to reports from Braves beat writer Mark Bowman of MLB.com, there’s reason to believe that this was simply a precautionary measure since Wentz was seen walking around the clubhouse after his outing. Either way, a starting pitcher going down (no matter how far up or down that pitcher is on the depth chart) is the absolute last thing that the Braves want to see at this point and here’s hoping that there is, in fact, nothing serious when it comes to Wentz’s injury. His injury (alongside two late runs given up by Tyler LaPorte) was the capper on a rough day for Braves pitching.
Fortunately for the Braves, this didn’t stop them from continuing to rake at the plate. As I mentioned earlier, the Braves scored four runs in the first inning as seven of Atlanta’s starting nine took plate appearances in the first inning alone. Luke Williams and Dominic Smith both picked up singles to start things off, Jorge Mateo plated the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly and then Ben Gamel added another homer to his spring tally to make it 3-0 Braves. Kyle Farmer liked what Ben Gamel did so much that he crushed a homer of his own immediately afterwards, giving the Braves their third separate instance of back-to-back home runs so far this spring. Boom!
Luke Williams added a homer of his own in the second inning but things quieted down in the middle portion of this game considerably following two loud innings to start this game for the Braves. Once the seventh inning rolled around, Dominic Smith collected his second hit of the game in order to plate José Azocar on an RBI single and then Jair Camargo smacked a two-run dinger of his own to make it four big flies on the day for the Braves. They may have dropped the game but it was still nice to see the Braves continue to send the ball flying all over the diamond in yet another game.
So to sum things up, today was a mixed bag in terms of what was on display during the game. It was definitely nice to see the Braves continue to mash at the plate but it that was a double-edged sword as the conditions did contribute to Atlanta’s pitching staff struggling to contain the Rays’ bats as well. It was a rough day in particular for two pitchers who are the most-likely hurlers in this contest to be contributing to big league games once the regular season starts later this month. Elder had issues with location and command and Wentz suffered an apparent injury. You always have your peaks-and-valleys in spring training and today was certainly a valley in many ways.
Mets' Freddy Peralta building rapport with Francisco Alvarez, with Sunday's in-game adjustment a prime example
Mets ace Freddy Peralta made his second start of spring training on Sunday afternoon against the Yankees, and although he got off to a rocky beginning, he settled in thanks to a savvy in-game adjustment.
After recording the first two outs in the first inning, Peralta allowed a triple, single, stolen base, and single, as the Yankees jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
But Peralta noticed the Yankees were sitting on his fastball early, so a dugout chat with catcher Francisco Alvarez resulted in more changeups and breaking balls in the second and third innings.
All Peralta did from there was strike out four straight hitters over those next two innings, finishing his day with two earned runs allowed over 3.0 solid innings of work.
“After the first inning, me and Alvy, we had a conversation and we decided it was the right way to do it, because we saw that they were swinging a little, like trying to hunt the fastball early, and we tried to miss a little bit more,” Peralta said after his outing.
“It’s kind of good to have some traffic, because it’s going to happen during the season. And I was able to come out without much damage,” Peralta added later. “I only threw like 45 pitches, and I went to the bullpen and I finished there.”
The connection between ace and starting catcher is obviously a pivotal one for any team, and while Peralta may be new to the Mets, he and Alvarez have already established a strong relationship, thanks in part to talks that happened prior to either's arrival in Port St. Lucie.
“I think it’s going really well,” Peralta said of working with Alvarez. “I had conversations with him even before I got here to spring training, and back then I knew that it was going to be really good because he’s very interested in making you do well – for himself, for the team, for everything. He showed me that he wants to win, that he cares about it.”
Manager Carlos Mendoza agreed that the duo are "in a good place," saying he's seen it from when pitchers and catchers first reported to camp.
"He was throwing bullpens and Alvy was catching them. Just kind of getting to know some of the targets that he likes, some of the things that he likes to do with the baseball as far as the changeup, the breaking ball, the fastball, whether it's lefties or righties. So that started [on] day one of camp. Now that we see them in games, the way they're talking about the games in between innings, it's just in a good spot.
"Alvy's asking good questions, and Peralta's giving him some really good feedback."
Peralta was asked again if he and the Mets have had any contract extension talks, and he once again offered no comment, while flashing his signature smile.
That smile has been seen early and often from Peralta around camp, even on days that he takes the mound.
While some pitchers are withdrawn and serious on days that they’re pitching, Peralta said he takes the same approach no matter if it’s his day on the bump on not.
“As I’ve done my whole career, I just be myself every day,” Peralta explained. “It doesn’t matter if I’m pitching or not pitching, that’s what I do.”
AC Milan wins Derby della Madonnina 1-0 to cut Inter's lead in Serie A to 7 points
MILAN (AP) — AC Milan isn’t ready to yield to city rival Inter Milan in the Serie A title race.
Pervis Estupiñán scored the winner as Milan beat Inter 1-0 again in the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday.
The Rossoneri cut their city rival’s lead to seven points with 10 rounds of the season remaining, setting off joyous celebrations in the San Siro while Inter’s players questioned the referee for ruling out what would have been a very late equalizer.
Inter had the ball in the net in stoppage time after a quickly taken corner, but it was too quick for the referee, who hadn’t given the go-ahead for it to be taken and blew his whistle before the ball crossed the line.
Inter had won its last eight Serie A games since a 2-2 draw with Napoli on Jan. 11, and was 15 games unbeaten in the league since the last derby, also won 1-0 by Milan, in November.
Youssouf Fofana played Estupiñán through on the left and the Ecuador left back let fly with a powerful shot to the back of the net for what proved to be the winner in the 35th minute, just after Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed a great chance for Inter at the other end.
Mkhitaryan was one of three Inter players against two Milan defenders, but he was unable to beat Mike Maignan in the Milan goal.
Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni earned the game’s first yellow card for a clear foul on Adrien Rabiot. Both players needed treatment and Bastoni was to rue the challenge as he was unable to continue.
The tireless Luka Modrić was booked for Milan late on.
Inter was without Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Lautaro Martínez, who watched from the substitutes' bench.
Inter stayed on 67 points and second-place Milan moved to 60. Defending champion Napoli is third with 56 points.
Genoa thwarts Roma
Portuguese forward Vitinha scored for Daniele De Rossi's Genoa in a 2-1 upset win over Roma, dealing the visitors another blow in their quest for Champions League qualification.
Roma’s loss comes after last week’s 3-3 draw with Juventus, which is just a point behind in the fight for fourth place.
Roma and Como are level on 51 points, and though Como has the better goal difference, Roma won their encounter earlier in the season and head-to-head will be the determining factor if they finish level. Roma visits Como next weekend. The top four qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.
Junior Messias fired Genoa ahead from the penalty spot early in the second half.
Evan Ndicka quickly responded for Roma before Vitinha scored in the 80th, five minutes after going on as a substitute, to give the team coached by former Roma great De Rossi its second straight win at home.
Genoa climbed to 13th.
Also Sunday, Fiorentina drew with Parma 0-0, leaving it just outside the relegation zone, and Verona came from behind to win 2-1 at Bologna.
Earlier, Lecce defeated Cremonese 2-1 at home to leapfrog the visitors and leave them in the relegation zone in their place.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Arizona Diamondbacks Spring Training Gameday Thread, #17 @ Reds
A big slew of roster moves this afternoon, including some significant names.
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves and have 47 players in camp.
Optioned to Triple-A Reno:
- LHP Mitch Bratt
- RHP Juan Burgos
- LHP Kohl Drake
- RHP Grant Holman
- INF Jose Fernandez
Reassigned to Minor League camp:
- RHP Gerardo Carrillo
- RHP Hayden Durke
- RHP Junior Fernandez
- LHP Spencer Giesting
- RHP Taylor Rashi
- INF LuJames Groover
- INF Cristofer Torin
- INF Tommy Troy
- OF A.J. Vukovich
- OF Ryan Waldschmidt
Fernandez… Oh, J. Fernan… Um, I mean Jose Fernandez and Waldschmidt are probably the two names of most significance. Many were expecting Waldy to snag an Opening Day roster spot, given the absence of “true” outfielders on the 40-man roster. His spring numbers had merely been okay though: .240/.269/.480 for a .749 OPS, with a K:BB of 9:1. Fernandez had opened a lot of eyes, after being a surprising add to the 40-man roster. He was leading the team in spring home-runs, and a 1.148 OPS was impressive too. Most of the rest are fairly unsurprising, but I’d not be shocked to see at least some of these names at Chase Field later this year.
Bullpen day for the D-backs, though a switch in the “starting” pitcher, with Drey Jameson taking over from previously announced starter Kevin Ginkel. After Jameson, the list shows RHP Ginkel, RHP Shawn Dubin, RHP Junior Fernandez, RHP Taylor Rashi, RHP John Curtiss and LHP Spencer Giesting. Amusing that half of the position players optioned or re-assigned above, are in the Arizona starting line-up this afternoon – Troy, Waldschmidt and Groover – and three of the pitchers were similarly crossed off the list. Memo to self. The SB Nation system works on Eastern time, so remember to schedule this one for 4 pm Eastern, not 3!
Today’s game will be broadcast on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, with Chris Garagiola and Josh Collmenter running the broadcast.
Spring Training Game Thread: Anaheim Angels at Texas Rangers
Today the Texas Rangers continue their preparations for the upcoming season with a Cactus League matchup against the Anaheim Angels.
RHP Nathan Eovaldi will take the Surprise, AZ mound for Texas for today’s contest opposite RHP Victor Mederos, now under the tutelage of former Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux.
You can listen to this one via 105.3 The Fan or follow along on Gameday. First pitch from Surprise Stadium is scheduled for 3:05 pm CT.
Go Rangers!
LeBron James injury update: Lakers star managing foot, elbow injuries
The Los Angeles Lakers will be without LeBron James for a second consecutive night.
James, who had been listed as a game-time decision after missing the second night of a back-to-back on Friday against the Indiana Pacers, has been ruled out of Sunday's matchup against the New York Knicks with left elbow discomfort and left foot arthritis.
After surpassing yet another absurd NBA record, James took a hard fall in the fourth quarter of Thursday's loss to the Denver Nuggets and landed on his left elbow. ESPN's Dave McMenamin later reported that head coach J.J. Redick said James "was icing his left elbow after the game and that he was experiencing enough discomfort that it caused him to be unable to finish the game."
LeBron James injury update
During the ESPN pregame show on Sunday, Malika Andrews reported that James sitting is "more the foot than the elbow," and that it'll be a day-to-day situation for him going forward.
James has had to battle through a few different injuries throughout his 23rd NBA season. His season debut was delayed until Nov. 18 due to sciatica, and his streak of 21 straight All-NBA selections officially ended in February after he missed his 18th game of the season, making him ineligible under the league's 65 games played requirement.
Luka Doncic stepped up in James' absence -- and Deandre Ayton and Maxi Kleber -- on Friday, leading a shorthanded Lakers squad with 44 points to a 128-117 over the tanking Pacers. The Lakers will likely need a similar performance from Doncic again on Sunday to get past the Knicks, the East's No. 3 seed.
Kleber is available to play against the Knicks.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeBron James injury update: Lakers star ruled out vs. Knicks
Dodgers at A’s game chat
After a pair of night games, it’s back to day games for a big for the Dodgers, who are in Mesa on Sunday to take on the Athletics.
Sunday game info
- Teams: Dodgers at A’s
- Ballpark: Hohokam Stadium, Mesa
- Time: 1:05 p.m.
- TV: SportsNet LA
- Radio: none
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NHL Department of Player Safety Makes Ruling On Senators Defenseman Tyler Kleven
After the Ottawa Senators defeated the Seattle Kraken 7–4 on Saturday night, the Sportsnet panel got into a discussion about Senators defenceman Tyler Kleven and whether he should be suspended for cross-checking Seattle’s Jared McCann in the third period.
A couple of the panelists suggested Kleven might be looking at a suspension. They argued that “You can’t cross-check guys in the face.”
But there wasn’t much discussion about where the initial contact actually occurred.
Kleven’s stick appeared to make contact with McCann’s chest, and it only rode up higher because McCann was simultaneously delivering a cross-check of his own. As Kleven’s stick came up toward McCann’s chin, if it made contact there at all, McCann snapped his head back dramatically.
Tyler Kleven received a 5-minute major and a game misconduct for cross-checking on Jared McCann 😳 pic.twitter.com/pptY7PX7ca
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) March 8, 2026
After a review, Kleven was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
But the NHL Department of Player Safety didn't see enough there to warrant a suspension. Instead, the league fined Kleven $4,166.67 on Sunday, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement, essentially a reminder to Kleven to be more careful.
Kleven had already been in a foul mood since the second period, particularly after the Kraken cut Ottawa’s lead to 4–2. Seattle rookie Jacob Melanson celebrated the goal by getting directly in Kleven’s face, staring him down and yelling at him, “Let’s go!”
The two exchanged shoves and continued to smash into each other for much of the rest of the night.
Under normal circumstances, losing Kleven for any amount of time wouldn’t be ideal, but the Senators could probably manage. However, with Jake Sanderson leaving Saturday’s game with what looked like a right shoulder injury and no update yet from the team, Ottawa may now need Kleven to take on a larger role down the stretch.
It’s also worth noting that the Kleven incident wasn’t the first time McCann drew attention for a dramatic reaction in the game. Late in the first period, Shane Pinto was called for a cross-check along the end boards and immediately protested that McCann had embellished. Cameras later caught Pinto in the press box laughing as he watched the replay on the scoreboard.
The Senators return to action Monday night in Vancouver.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News. Read more great Senators coverage and bookmark TheHockeyNews.com/Ottawa-Senators
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Najer Victor’s long night after mowing down baseball’s biggest stars at WBC
HOUSTON — Los Angeles Angels minor-league pitcher Najer Victor couldn’t sleep.
Really, he didn’t want to sleep.
His phone kept buzzing all night Saturday after his dramatic outing for Great Britain against the United States.
“What was it like to strike out three-time MVP Aaron Judge on that 85-mph cutter?"
“How did it feel blowing that 96-mph fastball past MVP Bryce Harper?"
"How cool was it throwing that 82-mph slider past Baltimore Orioles young star Gunnar Henderson?"
"Can you believe that you didn’t throw a single fastball to Boston Red Sox slugger Roman Anthony, and got him to swing through a 84-mph slider?"
And, oh, yeah: "What in the world did you say to make Team USA so angry?"
Mark DeRosa, manager of Team USA, said after their victory against Great Britain that Victor’s outburst and antics fired up their team entering the fifth inning, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 9-1 victory.
USA players say they couldn’t quite make out what Victor said, but were well aware that he yelled toward their bench strutting off the mound after striking out Henderson, and gesturing with his hands.
"When their reliever turned and looked in our dugout and had a couple of choice words," DeRosa said, "I think that lit the lineup up."
Victor, 24, who spent most of his childhood growing up in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands before moving back to Philadelphia, called his four-strikeout outing easily the greatest moment of his life.
And he called the verbal outburst one of his worst moments of his career, saying that he yelled, "You got to get louder than that!"
"I don’t know why I did that," he told USA TODAY Sports. "It was kind of a blackout moment. I didn’t mean to look at their dugout. It was for the crowd. They were all yelling, U-S-A, and that noise wasn’t fazing me. So, I was trying to get to the crowd, and I ended up turning to the dugout and it was like, 'Aaargh.'
"I mean, that got them fired up. That’s what the game is, showing emotions. But if I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t do that. I mean, I was not trying to show up any of the guys. I hope they know that.
"I was just trying to talk to the crowd, not to them."
While Victor prays his outburst will be soon forgotten, he hopes the memory of his dazzling outing will be remembered forever.
"That was the No. 1 moment in my career, no question," said Victor, who spent last year pitching 35 games in Class A for the Angels, going 1-6 with a 4.87 ERA, striking out 65 and walking 26 batters in 40⅔ innings. "I live in the moment, but it felt pretty sick when I thought about it afterwards."
So, of the four strikeouts against the star-studded lineup, just who was his favorite strikeout victim?
"I grew up a Red Sox fan," Victor said, "so the Roman Anthony once for me. But I do like that 3-and-2 slider to Gunnar Henderson. And, of course, Aaron Judge."
When Victor returns to Angels’ camp in Tempe, Ariz., this week, he’ll certainly have some stories to tell the boys in the clubhouse.
He also learned some valuable lessons from the WBC experience.
"This is a moment that will wake you up," Victor said, "but it’s also a moment you just can’t live off. So for me, it’s not my end goal, and I don’t see myself stopping right there.
"Hopefully making a name not only for myself, but for an island of 32 square miles. It’s not just for my island, but also other small islands."
And, who knows, maybe one day he’ll see those same stars again from Team USA, and let them know his outburst wasn’t personal, and certainly not directed toward them.
"Please, let them know," Victor said, "that’s not me."
Follow Bob Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WBC moment leaves Najer Victor sleepless after big strikeouts
Tatum, Brown, Pritchard take turns dominating Cavs, Celtics win 109-98
In Jayson Tatum’s second game back, he scored 20 points in 27 minutes after a big 12-point first quarter. However, this afternoon belonged to Jaylen Brown who scored 23 points with 9 rebounds and 8 assists. The Celtics beat the Cavaliers, 109-98 to improve to 43-21.
Nikola Vucevic is the only Celtic who missed this one with his right ring finger injury. Boston started Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Jayson Tatum and Neemias Queta. Donovan Mitchell returned for the Cavs after missing their last few games, they were missing Jarrett Allen, Max Strus and Tyrese Proctor. Along with Mitchell, they started James Harden, Sam Merrill, Dean Wade and Evan Mobley.
It was a bit of a slow start for the Celtics who were outscored 11-3 early in the game leading to a Joe Mazzulla timeout. Evan Mobley had 7 quick points for Cleveland.
1-6 (1-3) vs 4-5 (1-2) how do we think it's going
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) March 8, 2026
Jayson Tatum looked like Jayson Tatum in the first quarter. He scored 12 points on 4/6 from the field as Boston finished the quarter on a 32-15 run to lead 35-26.
The 2nd quarter got off to a fast start for the Celtics with both Tatum and Brown on the bench. In the past Boston would crumble in those minutes but they’ve been playing those minutes all season and winning them by a lot. They outscored the Cavs 7-2 by the time that the Jays checked back in.
you kinda forget the celtics have been playing non tatum/brown minutes all season and winning them.
— jack (@janderson22_) March 8, 2026
The 2nd quarter really belonged to the Celtics defense. Over the first 8:31 of the quarter, Boston held the Cavs to 7 points, 2 of which came off of a Mobley fast break dunk.
Cleveland finished with just 10 points in the quarter, 4/25 from the field and 0/14 from three. The Celtics led 56-36. Jayson Tatum led the team with 14 points while Jaylen Brown chipped in 11 of his own.
Cleveland opened the first 3:07 of the game on an 11-3 run.
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) March 8, 2026
Since then, 53-25 #Celtics. https://t.co/hdu1sgxvts
Cleveland got going in the 3rd as they scored more points in the first 4:25 of the quarter (14) than they did in the entire 2nd. Joe Mazzulla called a timeout as the C’s lead was cut to 12 points.
Jaylen really got it going in the third quarter, he had 9 points in the first 7 minutes of the quarter, making 4 of his first 6 shot attempts in the period.
The Celtics bounced back well, taking a 25-point lead but an 8-0 Cavs run to end the quarter cut the Boston lead to 86-69. Brown led the team with 20 points while Sam Hauser had 15 and Baylor Scheierman had 13 of his own.
That carried over to the 4th quarter as the Cavaliers cut the Celtics lead to 91-81 on a 12-5 run in the first 3 minutes of the quarter.
JT cooled down after a hot start, with a stretch of 7 straight missed shots after his big 12 point first quarter. You can see he looks great; he just needs the conditioning to comeback. That will take some time.
A big pair of Payton Pritchard buckets settled the Celtics offense back down before a Jayson Tatum layup made it a 14-point game again. Then after Cleveland cut the lead back to 9, Jayson Tatum hit a big three to make the lead 12 once again.
That was the dagger as Cleveland missed back-to-back threes at the end of the game, allowing the Celtics to pull out the 109-98 win.
The bench gave big contributions too as Payton Pritchard scored 18 points and Baylor Scheierman scored 16. The Celtics shot 44% from the field and 39.5% from three while the Cavaliers shot 41% from the field and 29% from three. The Celtics next game is against the Spurs in San Antonio on Tuesday at 8 EST.
Cavs outclassed by Celtics, fall 109-98
CLEVELAND — Not much went right for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon. They couldn’t make a shot, struggled to stay with the Boston Celtics’ stars on the perimeter, and were outhustled all afternoon. This all led to a 109-98 loss to the class of the Eastern Conference that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score would indicate.
For as badly as things ended, the game started well for the Cavs. Evan Mobley took advantage of mismatches early on as he scored nine of the team’s first 13 points. This led to Cleveland taking a brief five-point lead at the start of the game. That was as good as it would get.
Boston controlled the remainder of the quarter thanks to a strong opening from Jayson Tatum. He poured in 12 points on 4-6 shooting in the first to give his team a nine-point advantage after one.
Things went from bad to worse in the second.
The Cavaliers couldn’t buy a basket in the second quarter. Boston cut off lanes to the basket and made them a jump-shooting team, which proved to be the right strategy this afternoon. The Cavs failed to convert any of their 14 three-point attempts in the quarter and went just 4-25 from the field overall. This led to them scoring just 10 points in the quarter.
Boston didn’t take advantage as much as they should’ve. They scored just 21 points of their own, going 5-20 from the field (20%). But the 20-point advantage they took into the break was enough to cruise to the stress-free victory.
The Cavs were able to make the game more respectable in the second half. They cut Boston’s lead to eight midway through the fourth quarter, but it never really felt like they had a chance to actually win the game.
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The Cavaliers were led by Donovan Mitchell. He scored 30 points on 9-18 shooting with five assists in his return to the lineup after missing four games with a groin injury.
Mobley added 24 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
James Harden struggled to find his shot. He didn’t have his most efficient night from the floor, going 6-16, and he wasn’t able to make up for it by getting to the free-throw line. He ended the day with 19 points and 10 assists.
The Celtics were led by Jaylen Brown’s 23 points and eight assists. Tatum provided 20 points in his second game back from injury.
Payton Pritchard supplied 18 points, with each seemingly coming every time the Cavs were starting to turn the momentum of the game around. He has a knack for making back-breaking shots against the Cavs.
This was a disappointing loss for a Cleveland team that had really established good momentum over the last few weeks. They had big wins over the other top teams in the conference, the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons, in the James Harden Era. The Celtics could be a different story. Even though the Cavs didn’t play up to their skill level, the Celtics present a lot of problems for the Cavs with their wings and spaced-out offense.
The Cavs will be back in action Monday evening when they host the Philadelphia 76ers. Tip-off is at 7 PM.
Spring Training game thread XV – Royals vs White Sox
The Royals are back in action this afternoon against divisional foe, the Chicago White Sox. The Royals are coming off a victory over the Reds on Saturday, by a final score of 6-2.
Left-handed pitcher Noah Cameron will get the start today for the boys in blue. With the World Baseball Classic just getting going, a decent number of regular Royals remain out of the lineup. So, here is the guys going behind Cameron this afternoon.
The Royals record in Spring Training is currently 6-7-1. Haha, 6-7. Anyways, we inch closer to the real deal, and the excitement of the WBC continues to pick up. So yay!
Mariners Spring Training 2026, Game #16
I have alarming news. Somehow, while I wasn’t looking, we passed the halfway point of spring training. Counting today’s game, only 15 games remain between Opening Day and [gestures at the smoking ruin of the 27-6 blowout against San Diego] whatever this is. It’s been a weird spring, with so many regulars gone with their WBC teams, but it is quickly drawing to a close. Yikes!
As a reminder, Arizona doesn’t do Daylight Savings time, but now the PNW is all synced up with Arizona, so games start at 1 o’clock PT now.
Lineups:
Also slated to pitch for the Mariners: Josh Simpson, Yosver Zulueta, Troy Taylor, Nick Davila, Gabe Mosser.
Injury updates:
Victor Robles is expected to get 3-4 at-bats today as he works back from lingering shoulder soreness.
Bryce Miller threw a “touch and feel” bullpen today of 25 pitches and spoke to the media after. Bryce said he was at 80% effort and he’s trying to be very mindful, having talked to other players who have been through an oblique injury, not to try to do too much too soon. He’s planning another bullpen midweek next week, aiming for higher intent and the same number of pitches. “It’s kind of boring, because I like to just let it rip, but I’m trying to be smart with it.”
Roster moves:
The Mariners optioned RHP Ryan Loutos to Triple-A Tacoma. Loutos came into yesterday’s game and cleaned up a mess, throwing one pitch and getting a double play, much to the delight of his personal cheering squad.
Also, the Mariners re-assigned three players to minor-league camp yesterday: LHP Austin Kitchen, OF Victor Labrada, and RHP Teddy McGraw. Both Labrada (oblique) and McGraw (biceps tendinitis) are currently battling injuries.
Game information:
Game time: 1:10 PT
TV: no
Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports, the Seattle Sports app, or Gameday