It took a couple extra innings but our A’s came out on top on Saturday afternoon, beating the Chicago White Sox 7-6 to knot up the series and send it to the rubber match tomorrow.
More to come…
A’s Beat White Sox 7-6
Dodgers on Deck: Sunday, April 19 at Rockies
The only daytime contest of this four-game series in Denver comes on Sunday afternoon, with Roki Sasaki and the Dodgers taking on Michael Lorenzen at the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
Sasaki has struggled with command thus far, with two of his starts lasting four innings and the other a five-inning effort in which he allowed six runs. Five of his 10 walks on the season came last Sunday against the Texas Rangers, after which his seasonal numbers included a 6.23 ERA and 5.31 xERA.
Lorenzen has given up a National League-high 32 hits in his five appearances thus far for Colorado, including four starts. The veteran right-hander has a 8.10 ERA and 6.00 xERA in 16 2/3 innings this season.
Sunday game info
- Teams: Dodgers at Rockies
- Ballpark: Coors Field, Denver
- Time: 12:10 p.m. PT
- TV: SportsNet LA
- Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)
Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani signs ball for 100-year-old Nagasaki survivor
DENVER — Shohei Ohtani doesn’t usually stop for autographs when he trots off the field following his on-field pregame workout each day.
But on Saturday, the Dodgers’ two-way star made a sentimental exception.
Shohei Ohtani signs an autograph for a 100-year-old fan, Momoyo Kelly.
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) April 18, 2026
(Via: @taroabe0109) pic.twitter.com/iyGUnLtQIj
Ahead of the second game of this weekend’s series at Coors Field between the Dodgers and Rockies, a 100-year-old survivor of the Nagasaki bombing, Momoyo Kelly, was down on the field during warmups in a wheelchair.
She posed for photos with several players of both teams and chatted for a few minutes with Dodgers manager (and Okinawa, Japan, native) Dave Roberts.
Then, the highlight of the day came as Ohtani returned to the dugout, stopping along the way to sign a ball for her as she stood up and smiled.
The exchange was short, with Ohtani quickly greeting her, scribing his signature onto a ball, then disappearing back into the Dodgers’ clubhouse.
Nonetheless, the moment was “like a dream,” Kelly said later, according to Chunichi Sports.
“He’s the pride of Japan,” she added. “I watch the Dodgers’ games every day.”
Kelly was 19 at the time of the Nagasaki bombing, then eventually moved to the United States after meeting her husband on an American military base in Japan.
She was at Saturday’s game with her daughter and grandchild.
Now, she has a memory that she and her family will never forget.
Ohtani had just finished a pregame throwing session Saturday, in preparation for his next pitching start –– which will likely come during next week’s series in San Francisco against the Giants.
Ohtani entered play Saturday batting .265 with five home runs and 10 RBIs this season; as well as with a 49-game on-base streak dating back to last season.
As a pitcher, he has allowed one earned run over his first three starts with 18 strikeouts.
2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Game 1 Gamethread: Flyers @ Penguins
Talk about the game with Pens fans here!
Rockets' Kevin Durant out for Game 1 vs. Lakers due to right knee contusion
Kevin Durant played in 78 games this season, his most since 2018-19, and he played more total minutes than he has in a dozen years.
It's bad timing that he is injured and out for Game 1 of the Rockets' first-round series against the Lakers on Saturday due to a right knee contusion, the team announced.
This comes in a series already lacking some star power with the Lakers' Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (strained oblique) out for at least the start and likely all of the series.
Durant's injury happened on Wednesday in practice, with coach Ime Udoka saying the injury is “in an awkward spot” just above the patella tendon. While an MRI showed nothing serious, Durant's knee is "very tender," according to Udoka.
Udoka will start Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Sheppard and Josh Okogie. Houston still had a +5.4 net rating this season with Durant off the floor, and this new starting five played just 49 minutes together and had a -9.9 net rating.
It's unknown if Durant will be ready for Game 2 on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Rockets star Kevin Durant to miss Game 1 of Lakers series
The Lakers aren't the only team beginning the playoffs with an injured star.
The Houston Rockets will be without Kevin Durant in Game 1 against the Lakers on Saturday, Houston coach Ime Udoka said, because of lingering soreness after Durant bumped knees in practice this week.
The fifth-seeded Rockets hope Durant's injury will be a "one-game thing," Udoka said, but the superstar is struggling with soreness and tenderness. Durant was questionable on the injury report because of a bruised right knee and warmed up on the court at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday but "didn't feel good enough," Udoka said.
The Lakers are without their own star power with Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) both out indefinitely. Doncic returned to the United States on Friday after receiving specialized treatment in Spain. Doncic had not yet reunited with his teammates when coach JJ Redick spoke before the game, but the Lakers looked forward to getting him back on the sideline.
"He's in good spirits and we're excited to see him today," Redick said.
Read more:'He knows the most': How LeBron James sets the tone for Lakers entering playoffs
The Rockets expect to start guard Josh Okogie in Durant's place along with Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun. Udoka expects that the pace will pick up without Durant on the court, especially with Sheppard and Thompson leading the offense.
"We do play faster with those guys," Udoka said. "Amen obviously pushes the pace, but Reed's a really good kick-ahead guy, and our wings get out and run, and off ball, obviously less isolation and post-ups for Kevin."
The Lakers finished the regular season with three consecutive wins to hang on to home-court advantage in the first round. The Rockets won nine of their last 10 games.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Kevin Durant sidelined for Game 1 of Lakers-Rockets playoff series
Rockets star Kevin Durant was sidelined for Game 1 of the Lakers-Rockets first-round playoff series because of a right knee injury.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka said pregame that Durant suffered the right knee contusion that held him out of Saturday’s matchup in Los Angeles after bumping the knee during Wednesday’s practice in Houston.
“Hopefully, it’s a one-game thing,” Udoka said.
Game 2 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.
Durant was the Rockets’ leading scorer for the 2025-26 season, averaging 26 points in 78 games.
Udoka said Durant’s injury was “nothing major” after his knee was evaluated ahead of Saturday’s game.
“It’s very tender,” Udoka added. “Tough to bend in certain ways. Not a lot of swelling, but in a very awkward spot, I guess, more than anything. Right above the knee, patella tendon area. It’s just very tender. Like I said, pain tolerance is one thing, but actually limited movement is more of the cause.”
The Rockets started Reed Sheppard, Amen Thompson, Josh Okogie, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun for Game 1 in light of Durant’s absence.
“We do go nine- or 10-deep depending on who starts for us,” Udoka said. “And we had a rotating fifth starter all year, so I feel very comfortable playing certain guys. With the guys in and out of lineups at times this year, we’ve gone to a lot of different bodies. So, very comfortable. We don’t want to go eight only. We like to go nine or so, but if need be, we have 10-11 quality players we feel comfortable with. We’ll see what the rotation looks like now with Kevin out.”
The Lakers were without star guards Austin Reaves (strained left oblique muscle) and Luka Doncic (strained left hamstring), the latter of whom returned to the United States on Friday after being in Europe the previous two weeks, getting special treatment in Spain with the hopes of expediting his return to the court.
Doncic arrived at the arena about 40 minutes before tipoff.
“I talked to him yesterday when he landed,” coach JJ Redick said. “He’s in good spirits, and we’re excited to see him.”
Arizona Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #21: 4/18 vs. Blue Jays
Roster moves
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 39.
- Reinstated from the 10-day injured list: OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (recovery from right ACL surgery)
- Designated for assignment: INF Luken Baker
And there we are. Seven months and fifteen days after playing his previous game for the D-backs, and little more than seven months after having surgery for a torn ACL, Lourdes Gurriel has complete his rehab. That’s a solid two months of the expected schedule, which at the time of the surgery was estimated at Lourdes needing 9-10 months before he’d come back. Particularly of interest, he is going straight into the outfield, despite the common belief being that he would start off at designated hitter for a bit. We’ll see how that works out. I’m also a little nervous about his lack of live at-bats. No spring training and nine PAs against Double-A pitching? I’m sure he has got his cage work in, but still…
Meanwhile, Luken Baker makes an early bit to be the low man on the totem-pole, when it comes to the year end roster Sporcle. His five plate appearances will be tough to beat, though I guess there is a chance he makes it through waivers and ends up back in Reno for a bit. It’s interesting this leaves the team with an empty slot on the 40-man roster. I don’t envisage anyone coming off the 60-day IL anytime soon. A.J. Puk is technically eligible, having gone on there in mid-February. But he’s still some way off. It gives the team flexibility though, and with no healthy position players bar the ones on the 26-man roster, that’s definitely useful.
We’re now four times through the rotation. Like we all predicted, Arizona’s rotation is a top-10 staff, with an ERA of 3.42. However, the peripherals there are a bit shaky. The FIP is more than a run above that (4.47), with xERA – which uses exit velocity and other data about balls in play – almost another half-run higher still, at 4.96. The reverse is true for the bullpen, whose FIP (4.09) and xERA (3.94) are both solidly below the actual ERA. Though James McCann and Joe Ross are still dragging that figure down. Ross is the only change to date, and that’s an improvement on last year: by this date, we’d already seen Puk throw his last pitch of the season…
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Cincinnati Reds rally for 5-4 win over Minnesota Twins
The Cincinnati Reds entered play on Saturday with just 66 runs scored so far this season, the lowest such mark of any team in the game. They also entered play with just 19 doubles (fewest), one triple (five teams have zero), and 86 singles (second fewest), an indicator that they haven’t just struggled to cross the plate, they’ve struggled to hit the ball in the field of play altogether.
Despite their .197 team average (last), they have socked 21 homers – tied for a respectable 12th so far this season. In other words, they have been absolutely dependent upon hitting homers to score their runs in 2026, moreso than any other team out there. So, when they hit the road for Minneapolis this weekend and the temperatures and swirling winds suggested hitting anything over the wall would be near impossible, well, it was hard to muster much hope for this offense’s success given what we’ve seen so far.
It was with that in mind that their rally past the Twins on Saturday looked that much more special.
They trailed 2-0 early as starter Andrew Abbott struggled again with his command, and trailed 4-2 entering the Top of the 7th as Minnesota went to their bullpen. And though they rallied back for the win (thanks to the elite work of Brock Burke, Kyle Nicolas, and Tony Santillan at the back end of the ‘pen when other big names weren’t available), they did not do so with one big 3-run swing.
Instead, they got runners on, over, and in in each of the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, piecing together singles here, productive outs there, a key sac fly, and even a TJ Friedl sacrifice bunt to move the game’s winning run into scoring position.
It was a series of small-ball miracles, especially given the context of how this offense has operated (or not) through the season’s first 20 games. And, once again, the bullpen managed to slam the door at the end, something they’ve become brilliant with despite being banged up and overworked early on.
There’s a quiet swagger with this club, one perhaps highlighted perfectly at the end of the series with the San Francisco Giants when the Giants barking closer tried to start a ruckus after they won the finale of a series they’d already lost. The Reds, though, weren’t interested in fisticuffs and instead the barking turned into a standoff before a nothingburger. Cincinnati hit the showers, packed their bags, and moved on to the next thing on their docket: a series in Minnesota in poor weather than they knew they were more than capable of winning.
They’ve already won it, now. Next up is a chance for a series sweep on Sunday even though they still haven’t been playing their ‘best’ ball of the year.
Today, I think it’s time for Terry Francona’s first Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game. He’s got this club doing all the right things at the right times even though they still haven’t clicked just yet…and they’re still 13-8 on the season.
Rockets v Lakers, 2026 Playoffs, Round One, Game One
Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Lakers
April 18, 2026
Location: crypto.com arena, Los Angeles, CA
TV:ABC
Radio:KBME Sports Talk 790 / KLTN 102.9 (en español)
Online: ABC/ESPN?
Time: 7:30 PM CST
Probable Starting Lineups
Rockets: Reed Sheppard, Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun
Lakers: Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, Jake Laravia, Lebron James, Deandre Ayton
The playoffs start tonight for the Rockets, playing the Lakers. As you might have heard the Lakers are without Luka “Whiny Euro Boi” Doncic, and Austin “Headwhip” Reaves. You might not have heard that the Rockets might be without Kevin Durant, who has a bruised knee.
The Rockets really should roll over a Lakers team without Doncic and Reaves, but this is why they play the games.
Nuggets overcome sluggish start in Game 1 victory over Timberwolves
DENVER — Jamal Murray scored 30 points, going 16 of 16 from the free-throw line, and Nikola Jokic had a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets shook off a sluggish start to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-105 on Saturday in the opener of their first-round playoff series.
Jokic had 25 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists and a bloody nose in a physical game between the Northwest Division foes. There were 42 fouls called, along with an unsportsmanlike technical on Jaden McDaniels for pushing Jokic in the back and a technical on Nuggets coach David Adelman. Julius Randle and Aaron Gordon picked up late technical fouls, too.
Denver has won 13 straight since losing on March 18.
Murray, who was 0 for 8 from 3-point range, and the Nuggets trailed by as many as 12 points early, but used a 17-2 run in the third quarter to build a double-digit lead. The Timberwolves, who were held scoreless for more than four minutes at one point in the third, trimmed the deficit to 97-95 with 6:23 left.
Jokic had a five-point stretch to help hold off Minnesota. Murray had one of the biggest shots of the game from halfcourt. With the shot clocking winding down, he heaved it at the hoop and it grazed the rim to reset the clock. It eventually led to a dunk from Gordon that gave Denver a 108-101 lead with 1:50 left. Gordon had 17 points despite early foul trouble.
“Winning a grimy game, it’s good,” Adelman said. “Both teams are experienced and used to winning these games. They know what it means to play in a physical matchup.”
Game 2 is Monday night.
Anthony Edwards scored 22 points while playing on a sore right knee. He also had seven assists to become the franchise’s career postseason assists leader. Donte DiVincenzo had four 3-pointers.
“We’ve got to make smarter, more solid plays,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. ”We’ve got to be more composed.”
These teams are so evenly matched that the Nuggets lead 15-14 in regular-season and playoff matchups since the 2022-23 season. Both have won a playoff series against each other during the stretch.
The first quarter featured two challenges, a technical foul on Adelman and a flagrant on McDaniels for not giving Murray enough room to land on a long jumper. It also saw Gordon pick up three fouls, with his third on an offensive call that led to Adelman’s technical.
Braylon Mullins announces return to UConn with 'unfinished business'
UConn guard Braylon Mullins is returning to school for his sophomore season, he announced via Instagram on Saturday, April 18, which happens to also be his birthday.
Mullins, a projected lottery pick in USA TODAY's latest NBA mock draft, averaged 12 points per game for the Huskies as a true freshman in 2025-26, starting 29 games and playing a key role in UConn's run to the national championship game.
The 6-foot-6 guard etched his name in NCAA Tournament lore after nailing a game-winning 3-pointer to beat top-seeded Duke in the Elite Eight. And with UConn's returning roster plus its transfer portal additions, he'll be looking to win the national title in 2027 after falling to Michigan.
"Unfinished business," he wrote on Instagram.
UConn returns its entire starting backcourt next season, with Mullins pairing with Silas Demary Jr. and Solo Ball to form one of the most experienced groups in the sport. It also replaced four-year starter Alex Karaban and star center Tarris Reed Jr. with a pair of highly sought-after transfer portal recruits in former Duke forward Nikolas Khamenia and former Seton Hall center Najai Hines, both top-50 prospects per USA TODAY's transfer portal rankings.
Mullins' return gives him the opportunity to improve his draft stock ahead of being one of UConn's top scoring options next season. His likely increase in name, image and likeness compensation could also potentially pay him more in college than an NBA contract, and skipping a draft class lauded as one of the best in recent years will likely result in a better draft position in 2027 anyway.
The former five-star recruit will be one of the most-recognizable players in college basketball next season with his return.
Braylon Mullins NBA mock draft projection
Mullins was projected as the No. 14 overall pick to the Charlotte Hornets in USA TODAY's latest mock draft.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Braylon Mullins announces return to UConn for sophomore season
Donovan Mitchell powers Cavaliers past Raptors to take early series lead
CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points, Max Strus had 24 off the bench and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors 126-113 on Saturday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
James Harden had 22 points and 10 assists while Evan Mobley had 17 and seven rebounds for fourth-seeded Cleveland, which hosts Game 2 on Monday night.
It was a playoff career high in points for Strus, who missed the first 67 games this season with a broken left foot that occurred during offseason training.
“When you see the work he’s put in all season, it’s for this moment, right? This is a regular occurrence with Max, maybe not 24 (points), but just the energy level and boost he gives us,” said Mitchell, who has scored at least 30 points in an NBA-record nine straight series openers. “You give him credit for his journey, it can be a lot on the mental for him to continue to stick with it.”
RJ Barrett scored 24 points and Scottie Barnes had 21 for the Raptors, who were playing in their first playoff game since 2022. Toronto was missing point guard Immanuel Quickley because of a mild right hamstring strain.
Jamal Shead started in place of Quickley and had 17 points, including five 3-pointers.
Barrett’s 3-pointer pulled the Raptors to within 45-41 before Cleveland broke it open with a 27-9 run over the last 1:11 of the second quarter and first seven minutes of the third.
Strus scored 11 points during the spurt and made all three of his 3-pointers as the Cavaliers went 10 of 16 from the floor, including 5 of 8 beyond the arc.
“We just kept saying in the timeouts (during the first half to) stay with it. We’re going to get separation,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We needed that separation for our confidence. Going into halftime if you are down, it’s a harder conversation with the players to trust what we’re doing.”
Cleveland’s largest lead was 24 points (100-76) on Sam Merrill’s 3-pointer 13 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Toronto came into the game averaging a league-leading 18.9 points per game, but Cleveland held them to a season-low three.
“If we allow our opponent to score 126 points, it’s going to be tough to beat them,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “Unfortunately, we had a very bad start to the third quarter with lack of execution. We were way too stagnant tonight.”
Behind 30 from Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic triple-double, Nuggets take Game 1 from Timberwolves 116-105
Game 1 showed why this was the most anticipated first-round series. It was physical. It was intense. And these teams do not like each other, meeting in the playoffs for the third time in four years.
Minnesota showed resilience — a 21-8 run in the fourth quarter, capped off by an Ayo Dosunmu 3-pointer, made it a two-point game with 6:23 remaining.
Then Denver showed a closing kick — exactly what you expect of a former champion looking to add to its ring collection.
After that Dosunmu 3, Jokic scored 7 of his 25 on the night — to go with 13 rebounds and 11 assists — and he got some help from teammates.
Cam Johnson CLUTCH
— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) April 18, 2026
Nuggets take an 11-pt lead with 53 seconds left. pic.twitter.com/Ey94Xp5SsS
Denver pulled away for the 116-105 win at home to take a 1-0 lead in the most anticipated series of the first round. Game 2 is Monday night at 10:30 ET on NBC and Peacock.
Jamal Murray led all scorers with 30 points, going 16-of-16 from the free throw line and carrying the offensive load in the first half. It is exactly what makes the Nuggets a title contender, the Jokic/Murray combination. Denver also got 17 points and eight rebounds from Aaron Gordon, who reminded anyone who forgot how critical he is to this team on both ends of the court.
The Nuggets' defense, which was an unimpressive 21st in the league in the regular season, showed up on Saturday and held the Timberwolves to a 104 offensive rating (12 below its season average).
Anthony Edwards, coming off a knee issue that sidelined him at the end of the season, was clearly limited. He finished with 22 points on 7-of-19 shooting, with nine rebounds and seven assists, but he started the game 4-of-12 and was not moving well. At the same time, Julius Randle was off his game. Julius Randle started the game 3-of-11 and could not find his rhythm, finishing with 16 points (on 16 shot attempts). The best Minnesota player of the night was Rudy Gobert, who finished with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting, and he did a respectable job on Jokic when the big men were matched up.
It was a fittingly even first half in a series that is expected to be close. Minnesota took the first quarter by 10 behind a strong first 12 minutes from Jaden McDaniels (10 points). Denver took the second quarter by 10 behind a big quarter from Jamal Murray, who scored 14 in the frame. It was a largely even half with Minnesota getting buckets in the paint (28 in the first 24 minutes) and Denver getting to the line 21 times, led by
Denver pulled away in the middle of the third with a 17-2 run, in part due to a four-minute drought by the Timberwolves. The Timberwolves were getting frustrated, as evidenced by Jaden McDaniels shoving Jokic in the back and picking up a technical for no good reason. By the end of a quarter in which the Timberwolves shot 6-of-24, they were lucky to be down only a dozen, 91-79, entering the fourth.
Minnesota instantly responded with a 17-6 run, and Rudy Gobert's return was key. It was a game.
Until the Nuggets looked like champs again down the stretch.
Kevin Durant out for Game 1 vs. Lakers with knee contusion
After two brutal injury blows to end the season, the Lakers are on the other end of the pendulum this time.
Prior to Saturday’s Game 1 against the Rockets, Houston head coach Ime Udoka said Kevin Durant would be out for the contest. KD had been listed as questionable with a right knee contusion, an injury he suffered after bumping knees with a teammate in practice on Wednesday.
For now, it’s unclear how serious an injury this is for Durant. Considering KD played in 78 games this season, it has to be a pretty serious injury to keep him out for this contest. Udoka said the hope is that he’s only out for a single contest.
In his absence, Reed Sheppard will start for the Rockets. That changes the dynamic of the starting lineups, but also gives the Lakers a clear player to target on the other end, a LeBron James specialty.
The Lakers will still have an uphill battle for the Lakers, but the steepness of that hill has come down significantly. Houston was 4-0 without Durant this season, but the wins were against Phoenix, Golden State, Indiana and Memphis.
Without Durant, the Rockets lose the centerpiece of their offense and a lot more pressure and attention shifts to players like Alperen Şengün and Amen Thompson. On the season, KD averaged 26 points on 52% shooting from the field and 41.3% from three. His usage rate of 27.1% was highest on the team among rotation players.
LA still has a job to do and still needs to execute at a high level to come away with a win on Saturday. But, again, this allows them more avenues and pathways to success.
If they’re able to grab Game 1 of this series and turn the pressure up on the Rockets, a team seemingly looking for reasons to quit on one another, then things could suddenly change and the vibe of this series might change entirely.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.