Yankees pitcher Max Fried reacts on the mound during a May 3 start.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Max Fried was feeling good enough to start playing catch Monday, the first time he has done so since being shut down with a left elbow bone bruise 10 days ago.
But Aaron Boone pumped the brakes on it being anything more than that, as recent imaging of the left-hander’s elbow evidently did not show enough healing to allow him to begin building back up yet.
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“There’s nothing really that would say he can start the ramp-up process yet,” Boone said before the Yankees beat the Royals 4-3 in the series opener at Kauffman Stadium.
Essentially, Fried is able to keep his arm moving by playing some light catch but is not yet ready to throw with the kind of intensity that would test the injury he is dealing with.
“Don’t read too far into that,” Boone said. “He’s been doing plyos and stuff. He’s had a pretty good week overall as far as symptoms and feeling pretty good and responding to everything pretty well. But he’s not at a point to where we can start ramping him up yet.”
When Fried was originally diagnosed with the injury May 15, the Yankees said he would get more imaging “in a few weeks [or when asymptomatic] to further determine when Fried can resume throwing.”
Yankees pitcher Max Fried reacts on the mound during a May 3 start. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
Carlos Rodón is expected to start Friday’s series opener against the Athletics after he was pushed back a few days — after Saturday’s rainout — to allow Gerrit Cole to start on his regular fifth day Wednesday. The Yankees have an off-day Thursday and another Monday, so they wanted Cole to pitch on his fifth day this turn before going on his seventh the next time through. Rodón, who threw a bullpen session Monday, will be starting on his eighth day Friday before going on his sixth day the next time.
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Giancarlo Stanton is set to undergo another round of imaging on his right calf Tuesday to determine whether his strain has healed enough to start a running progression.
“I think he was actually going outside to do some of his agility stuff today,” Boone said. “Hopefully, with the next round of imaging, we’re in a position to start ramping up the running.”
Clarke Schmidt will move his rehab from Tommy John surgery up to New York next week after spending the first two months of the season doing so in Tampa. The right-hander, who could become a factor in the second half, has been throwing bullpen sessions but has not yet faced hitters.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 25: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after a double during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on May 25, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Colorado Rockies had a 3-1 when the fans at Dodger Stadium sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” but the two-run cushion didn’t turn out to be enough on Monday night.
The bullpen surrendered four runs in the bottom of the seventh, erasing a solid start from Tanner Gordon, who reduced his ERA to 5.85 after only giving up one run in five innings of work.
While Ezequiel Tovar hit his second homer of the season, the Rockies biggest offensive stat was their 12 strikeouts. Colorado dropped its third straight to fall to 20-35, while the NL West-best Los Angeles Dodgers improved to 34-20.
Gordon gets back on track
Even though the Dodgers had a lot of traffic against Gordon, the 28-year-old found ways out of jams with routine flyballs and other easy outs. Los Angeles saw the leadoff hitter reach base in four of five innings — and two of those were doubles — but Gordon held the Dodgers to a 1-for-9 RISP and stranded five runners.
Despite giving up a double to Shohei Ohtani in his first at-bat, Gordon settled in, striking out three in the first two innings. The Dodgers then struck first in the third when Hyeseong Kim led off with a single and scored when Kiké Hernández doubled in his first at-bat of 2026 after returning from elbow surgery. It looked like it might be a long inning when Gordon walked Ohtani, but Gordon prevented the worst. He got Mookie Betts to fly out, and then Freddie Freeman hit into a double play to keep it at 1-0 L.A.
That was all the Dodgers could get out of Gordon. After five innings, he kept L.A. to one run on six hits with three strikeouts and no walks to give the Rockies a chance. His strikeouts came against Kyle Tucker, Teoscar Hernandez and Freeman.
“I thought TG was fantastic tonight — just attacking the strike zone, getting out of jams a couple times, he didn’t waiver,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game. “He was fantastic in his start tonight.”
Bullpen falters with debut exception
Juan Mejia entered the game in relief for the Rockies in the sixth inning and sent the Dodgers down in order.
But it all fell apart in the seventh. Mejia walked the first two batters to get the hook from Schaeffer.
Brennan Bernardino then came in and — immediately — it got worse when he hit Miguel Rojas to load the bases. It seemed like the Rockies might avoid a big inning when Ohtani grounded into a fielder’s choice and Betts added a sac fly to tie the game. But then Freeman hit a double to score Ohtani and put the Dodgers up 4-3.
“Just a couple of hiccups in the bullpen tonight,” Schaeffer said. “Juan was really good in the sixth. Then the walk-walk to lead off the inning is just — late in the game against a good team in their yard, that’s just not going to work.”
Jaden Hill then entered the game and didn’t fare much better. He surrendered a single to Andy Pages, and L.A. increased its lead to 5-3. The inning finally ended when Hill got Kyle Tucker to line out to Johnston in left field.
Schaeffer said the best way to respond is to just send Hill and Bernardino back out again because that’s how baseball goes.
“Sometimes that happens. We are learning not to do that and turn those 1-to-2-run games into victories,” Schaeffer said. “We know what it takes, and it’s just a matter of time. Tomorrow, we look to flip the script on them.”
In the eighth, Welinton Herrera made a perfect MLB debut. Called up just earlier in the day, the 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic got Teoscar Hernandez to ground out on his first MLB pitch. He then retired Will Smith on a fly ball and Kim on a ground out.
“That’s pretty much the biggest stage you can make your debut on, Dodger Stadium,” Schaeffer said. “I am extremely happy for him that he got in there and got the first one out of the way. He attacked the strike zone and didn’t look nervous a bit. I am sure he was, but he didn’t look it.”
Rockies strike in 4th, Tovar breaks HR drought
The Rockies responded to a 1-0 deficit in the third by taking the lead in the fourth. Tyler Freeman started off the inning with a double and moved to third when Troy Johnston hit a comebacker off Emmet Sheehan’s arm that bounced into foul territory over the first baseline.
Willi Castro capitalized with a single to tie the game.
Tovar struck again in the seventh with his second homer of the year. The 431-foot shot to left-center field was more than just an insurance run. It helped Tovar snap a streak of 187 plate appearances without a homer, the longest slump of his career.
“Tovi was good. He keeps progressing,” Schaeffer said. “People who watch every day, I hope they see how hard he is trying to make adjustments, and it’s paying off.”
The dinger off Kyle Hurt was also the first run given up by the Dodgers bullpen in 11 games (37 innings), which was the Dodgers longest streak in franchise history.
Outside of the fourth and the seventh, the Rockies offense couldn’t do much against L.A. They were held to seven hits. Hunter Goodman struck out three times and was part of the Rockies No. 1, 2 and 3 hitters who went 0-for-10 in the game. Castro and Tovar each recorded two hits.
In more bad news on the injury front, TJ Rumfield was hit by a pitch in the right hand in the first inning. He was forced to leave the game and was replaced by Edouard Julien, who went 0-for-2 with a strikeout and walk. After the game, Schaeffer delivered good news that the X-rays came back negative.
Up Next
The Rockies and Dodgers will face off again on Tuesday at 8:10 p.m. MDT. Colorado’s Kyle Freeland (1-5, 7.04 ERA) will match up against Eric Lauer (1-5, 6.69 ERA).
Dodgers third baseman Kiké Hernández rounds the bases during the fifth inning of Monday's game against the Colorado Rockies. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
In his first big-league game back since Game 7 of the World Series, Kiké Hernández received playoff-level cheers at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, nearly drowning out his walk-up song as he stepped into the batter’s box against the Rockies in the bottom of the third inning. Some fans tipped their hats. Others joined the rising “Kiké!” chants.
After taking a ball, Hernández sent a four-seam fastball hopping down the left-field line for an RBI double that scored Hyeseong Kim. The crowd of 48,778 exploded.
It was shaping up to be a happy return, but it wasn’t until the seventh inning that the rest of the Dodgers lineup found its footing, taking advantage of some shaky relief pitching to rally for a 5-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
Hernández reached on an infield single in his second at-bat before being lifted for a pinch-hitter as the Dodgers began to rally in the seventh.
Hernández’s journey back to the big leagues has been an arduous one. Throughout his two-month stint last year on the injured list, he received seven injections in his left elbow. None worked.
A procedure by Dr. Neal ElAttrache helped numb the pain, but it came roaring back when the 34-year-old dove for a ball in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series against the Brewers.
“Every time I would get in my batting stance, I would feel like I had a blowtorch on, and it was kind of frustrating because there was not much we could do for it,” Hernández said before the game.
Hernández had made peace with his injury, given he was able to push through to a World Series win with little time to heal. After the season, Hernández had surgery on the elbow, not knowing the damage or the timeline for return.
When he woke, still a little delirious, ElAttrache told him the news: “This was the worst injury I’ve ever seen of this kind, and I don’t know how you played,” Hernández recalled him saying.
Hernández then FaceTimed Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
“I told him, ‘ElAttrache, tell him what you just said,’” Hernández said, “I was like, ‘I did this for you, so you better bring me back.’”
Hernández signed a one-year, $4.5-million deal with the Dodgers in February, and began the process of starting over, relearning how to play baseball with a newly reattached left elbow.
In the process, he missed playing for Team Puerto Rico in the island territory where the team had been located in the group stages of the World Baseball Classic, what he called a “childhood dream.” He also missed spring training and opening day for the first time in his career. Still, he wouldn’t change a thing if given the opportunity.
“In a weird way, I would’ve rather missed the WBC and win a World Series than getting to fulfill a life dream of playing in Puerto Rico after losing a World Series,” Hernández said. “It was a fair trade.”
Hernández will play a mix of infield and a little bit of outfield, giving his teammates a chance to rest. Utility man Santiago Espinal, whom the Dodgers claimed on waivers and broke out in spring training, was designated for assignment to make room on the roster.
“Santiago was great for me, great for the team, and I think we were very forthright, up front, about the expectation, so I think he respected that,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
While Hernández found contact on each of his at-bats, the rest of the team sputtered through six innings. Rockies starter Tanner Gordon commanded his slider, throwing the pitch for strikes 74% of the time.
Trailing 3-1, the Dodgers (34-20) found their momentum in the seventh after Rockies reliever Juan Mejia walked two, and Brennan Bernardino, who replaced Mejia, hit pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas with a pitch.
Shohei Ohtani plated a run on a forceout, Mookie Betts drove in Kim on a sacrifice fly to tie the score and Freddie Freeman bounced a double off the right-field wall to drive in Ohtani. Andy Pages hit a looping ball to right-center off Jaden Hill, the third Rockies pitcher of the inning, to score Freeman and complete the Dodgers’ scoring.
“Fortunately we were victims of good fortune,” Roberts said. “ I think that allowing ourselves to build off that inning, and then we started getting some hits, which was great. It was good to see us show some life tonight.”
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman rounds third base on his way home during the seventh inning of Monday's game. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Starter Emmet Sheehan ran into trouble when he gave up a ground-rule double to Tyler Freeman to lead off the fourth inning. Troy Johnston smacked a line drive on the next pitch that glanced off Sheehan’s right arm for an infield single. After Roberts and head athletic trainer Thomas Albert checked on Sheehan, the right-hander stayed in and gave up a run on a single to right field by Willi Castro to tie the score. Ezequiel Tovar put the Rockies ahead with a sacrifice fly to left field.
“I felt fine,” Sheehan said. “I knew it just caught muscle so stung in the moment, but it wasn’t anything to be worried about.”
Sheehan completed six innings, striking out eight and walking one.
“I gave him every opportunity,” Roberts said. “Thomas gave him every opportunity, but he wanted to stay in, and we took him at his word.”
Kyle Hurt, who eventually picked up the win, replaced him in the seventh and immediately surrendered a home run to Tovar on the second pitch of the at-bat to pad Colorado’s lead. The homer ended the bullpen’s franchise record of 38 consecutive scoreless innings set Sunday.
Will Klein pitched a scoreless eighth before Alex Vesia and Blake Treinen pitched the ninth, with Treinen picking up the save on a strikeout of Braxton Fulford.
“Kyle’s been great for us, and Tovar hit a changeup,” Roberts said. “ It was good to see Kyle come back and get that next hitter.”
Max Muncy Update
The Dodgers are hopeful for a Max Muncy return Wednesday after the swelling in his right wrist decreased. The 35-year-old was struck by a 95.5-mph slider on Friday. Initial X-rays were negative, and he hasn’t undergone more testing for the injury since. Roberts didn’t rule out a retroactive move to the injury list, though the team feels good about him avoiding it.
“He’s done better,” Roberts said before the game. “He’s a little less sore today. The swelling has dissipated.”
Roberts said after the game that Muncy was available if Rojas hadn’t been able to continue on after getting hit.
“I didn’t know how bad Miggy was, so I wanted to check in on Max to see if he could potentially go up and stand at third base,” Roberts said. “He was up for it, but fortunately we didn’t have to use that.”
Kike Hernandez had an RBI double in his Dodgers return.
First came the return. Then, a long-awaited rally.
On a night Kiké Hernández impressed in his season debut, the Dodgers did the same in just the nick of time.
Down two runs in the seventh inning on Monday, the team needed just two hits to surge to a 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies, negating what had been a frustrating offensive performance with a four-run outburst.
The inning began with back-to-back walks from Rockies right-hander Juan Mejia. Lefty Brennan Bernardino then came in and plunked pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas with an 0-2 curveball.
Just like that, the Dodgers had the bases loaded with no outs. The top of their order was due up. And though they had gone 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position to that point of the contest, they finally found a way to push some runs across the plate.
Shohei Ohtani #17 and Andy Pages #44 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate a run scored in to take the lead 4-3 after a double hit by teammate Freddie Freeman #5 during the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on May 25, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images
Shohei Ohtani trimmed a 3-1 deficit in half by beating out a potential double-play grounder at first. Mookie Betts then tied the score with a sacrifice fly to left field, hit just deep enough for speedy Hyeseong Kim to race home with a slide.
After that, the club at long last got some big hits to drop in. Freddie Freeman roped a double off the wall in right to push the Dodgers in front. Andy Pages collected his MLB-leading 46th RBI with an insurance-adding single in the next at-bat.
“I just don’t think our focus was where it needed to be early,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But what we’ve done all year is, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, we start kind of bearing down a little bit more.”
Indeed, the Dodgers had been desperate for such an inning.
Without it, contributions from two of the night’s other stars would have gone to waste.
Hernández went 2-for-2 in his first game back from offseason elbow surgery, getting a loud ovation before his first at-bat –– then an even louder one when he lined an RBI double down the third-base line to open the scoring in the bottom of the third.
“I felt tonight was good to have him in the game, get him a start,” Roberts said. “I thought he was going to bring some energy, just obviously having (not) played for a while. And did bring that, got a big hit for us.”
Starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan also gutted through a six-inning, two-run, eight-strikeout start. Both runs came in the fourth inning, after Sheehan was drilled in his upper right arm by a 103.8 mph comebacker. But he went on to retire eight of his final nine, after twice convincing Roberts and head athletic trainer Thomas Albert he was OK to stay in during visits to the mound.
“He’s just a good competitor,” Roberts said. “This was his day and he wasn’t about to come out of that game.”
That all kept the Dodgers in striking distance just long enough, allowing their offense to finally capitalize on a golden opportunity late.
“Fortunately, we were kind of [the beneficiaries] of good fortune, allowing ourselves to build that inning,” Roberts said. “We started getting some hits, which was great. It was good to see us show some life tonight.”
What it means
The Dodgers (34-20) are still hot.
Fresh off an impressive 7-2 road trip, and having won nine of their previous 11 games overall, the club stayed in the win column Monday by picking up their 18th come-from-behind victory already this season. In the seventh inning or later, they led MLB in OPS and rank third in batting average.
It also helped continue a recent stretch in which the Dodgers have produced more consistently. Monday was their eighth time in the last 12 games scoring at least five. On the year, they are back up to third in the majors in scoring.
Who’s hot
Hernández had waited two long months to reach Monday night, after opening the season on the 60-day injured list while recovering from his offseason surgery.
So in his first at-bat, he didn’t hesitate to be aggressive, jumping on the second pitch he saw from Rockies’ right-hander Tanner Gordon for his RBI double on a 100.6 mph grounder.
Kike Hernandez had an RBI double in his Dodgers return. AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh
Hernández would get another hit in his next trip to the plate, chopping an infield single in the fifth that was misplayed by Rockies third baseman Kyle Karros.
He was only removed when the Dodgers did some strategic pinch-hitting in his spot in the seventh –– initially calling upon Dalton Rushing to get the left-handed Bernardino in the game, before pivoting to Rojas in the at-bat that loaded the bases.
“You’re so excited to get back, [a lot of guys in that situation are] trying to do too much,” Roberts said. “There’s a lot of emotion, adrenaline, anticipation. That’s probably the thing you got to guard against. But he did a good job of managing those emotions.”
Who’s not
The Dodgers’ bullpen, but only barely.
After setting a franchise record by combining for 38 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to May 12, the team’s relief corps finally faltered for the first time in almost two full weeks Monday.
In the top of the seventh, the first man out of the bullpen, right-hander Kyle Hurt, gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar.
With that, the Dodgers’ bullpen streak ended 7 ⅔ innings shy of the all-time MLB record. It went down as the longest such run by any team since Cleveland in 2017.
“All good things are meant to come to an end,” Roberts joked. “and “We’ll start another one.”
Indeed, the unit bounced back once the Dodgers went in front. Will Klein retired the side in order in the eighth, which was puncuated by a 100.5 mph fastball. Alex Vesia and Blake Treinen combined for three outs in the ninth, with Treinen collecting his first save this year.
Up next
The series continues on Tuesday, when Eric Lauer will make his Dodgers debut after being acquired in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays last week. He’ll face off against fellow left-hander Kyle Freeland (1-5, 7.04 ERA).
Veteran batting great Virat Kohli and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will be in the spotlight as the T20 Indian Premier League spans the generations in the playoffs beginning on Wednesday morning AEST.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 28: Bennett Stirtz #14 of the Iowa Hawkeyes dribbles against Kylan Boswell #4 of the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second half in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Toyota Center on March 28, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right – Bennett Stirtz is definitely not one of the Big 3 prospects that the Jazz need to consider with their 2nd overall pick. However, players with Stirtz’s combination of ball handling, shooting versatility, and awareness don’t come around often, and deserve to be scouted in the event that the Jazz fall in love and decide to trade into the later half of the first round. You can count on the Iowa guard to consistently make the correct decisions, and he has the skills to then capitalize on the advantages he created. However, analyzing Stirtz is more complicated than the simple reading of his talents would indicate. His coach at Iowa, Ben McCollum, coached a style of play so unlike anything Stirtz will encounter at the next level, that it takes some real work to understand whether or not Stirtz will be able to provide anything close to his impressive collegiate production.
What Stirtz is good at, he is really good at. His shooting provides a skill that he’ll be able to hang his hat on in the NBA, and his aptitude in this regard far exceeds the raw counting stats. While his near 40% clip from downtown in his junior year at Drake better represents the level of shooting prospect that Stirtz is, no stat can properly quantify the otherworldly touch Stirtz has on his shot. His attempts are often remarkably difficult – with very few other ballhandlers or offensive options on the team, a difficult Stirtz jumper was often the most efficient look for the Hawkeyes. His shot is stable in all sorts of circumstances – against type coverage, off of movement, or after a step-back, and a Stirtz look still feels like it’s going in. Due to the unique construction of the Iowa offense, Stirtz shot off-the-dribble jumpers at 97.4 percentile frequency, and somehow maintained elite efficiency despite that heavy offensive load: 83.7 percentile efficiency during his senior season. Simply put, if you need someone to take a shot at the end of the shot clock, Stirtz is one of the best choices in the class. Naturally, he’s even more efficient on catch-and-shoot shots – his efficiency in this play-type was in the 89.5th percentile. However, due to Iowa’s heavy dependance on their star guard, these shots were not a huge part of his offensive diet, with his frequency being in the 29.7th percentile. There isn’t a roster in the NBA that would rely on Stirtz to the same extent that Iowa did, so it’s easy to expect for his overally efficiency to increase as his difficult shot diet of off-the-dribble looks are replaced with his more effective catch-and-shoot opportunities.
However, even if Stirtz is used more off of the ball in the NBA, it would be a waste of his talents to not let him utilize perhaps his defining skill – in my opinion, Stirtz is the best pick-and-roll operator in this draft class. While he lacks the dynamic speed necessary to take advantage of switches, his understanding of angles, timing, and positioning combined with an exceptionally functional handle and his aforementioned shooting touch allowed him to spearhead consistent offensive production, even without high level offensive teammates. Once again, his assist numbers undersell his talent as a passer. While not outstanding in this regard, his vision and accuracy are sound and versatile – if a teammate becomes open as a result of his pick-and-roll probing, it’s likely that he will recognize this and capitalize. And, if he is the one that the defense sags off of, he is a threat to score from all 3 levels, with his rim finishing (70% efficiency) being perhaps his most underrated trait.
No matter the type of offense he is asked to participate in at the next level, Stirtz will be a solid contributor because he simply knows how basketball works. He moves instinctively off of the ball, he understands when to shoot, and he knows when to make the extra pass – basketball comes easy to Bennett, and so I struggle to see a world where Stirtz is not a key cog in a team that wins games. He’s a cerebral player, and that is evident in nearly every aspect of his game.
A smaller skill but an important one – Stirtz has my vote as the player with the most stamina in the draft class. This past season, he played 37.7 minutes per game, and for each of those minutes the entire opposing defense was honing in on him. He’s a true endurance runner, and I would be fascinated to see how that skill is utilized in the NBA where he won’t be playing every minute of every game as the only offensive option. A unimportant but fun fact; in conference play in 2024-2025, Stirtz pulled a Wilt Chamberlain and averaged 40.3 minutes per game, which is more than the amount of minutes in regulation – he literally never came off the court.
Weaknesses
With that offensive profile, we can be sure that it isn’t talent that is limiting Stirtz’s high-end upside. Unfortunately, Stirtz’s athleticism can sometimes impede his productivity on both ends of the court. He isn’t immobile or ground bound by any means, but he does lack the strength of a Darius Acuff, the vertical pop of a Mikel Brown, and the end-to-end speed of an Ebuka Okorie. While his shooting projection is solid, it’s worrying how much he had to rely on difficult jumpers. This is a symptom of lacking top-end speed or quickness – without being able to separate consistently from his defender, he is sometimes forced to settle for contested shots. He’s exceptionally skilled at those shots, but no one is so skilled as to make these shots more efficient than an open jumper or attempt at the rim. While I still have high hopes in his offensive projection, his highest-end upside is certainly constrained due to his lack of dominant physical traits.
This athleticism deficiency extends to the defensive end as well, although the analysis on his translation is once again made difficult due to his unique collegiate situation. He isn’t a glaring negative like Acuff was this year – he moves his feet well and knows where to be – but you wouldn’t mistake him for a defensive difference-maker either. He was often stationed on the least intimidating offensive option and recuperated in the corner while watching the action go on around him. However, in especially pivotal moments, he showcased some high level processing and quick hands. You would hope that once he reaches the NBA and shoulders a less all-encompassing offensive load that he would be able to maintain that higher-level defensive production, but expecting him to be anything more than a net-neutral in a playoff context is unrealistic.
While concerns about age are sometimes overblown – if a guy can play, he can play – it is worth mentioning that Stirtz is about 3 years older than many of his peers in the 2026 guard class. At this moment, I think Stirtz is a better basketball player than any non-Darry Peterson guard in the draft, and that he has accessible areas of improvement, but his overall room for growth is lower than some of his younger counterparts.
Conclusion/Fit on the Jazz
For all watching the playoffs, it is clear that the Jazz need additional ball-handlers. The Spurs and Thunders have an abundance of riches in regards to their stalwart perimeter defenders, and once the postseason comes around, those defenders are allowed to be more physical than ever. While a projected starting lineup of Keyonte, Peterson, Markkanen, Jackson Jr., and Kessler is intriguing for a number of reasons, that is a lot of playmaking burden resting on George’s shoulders – I would say that lineup features 2 good dribblers and 1 good passer, and it’s not like all of these high-level creators are sitting on the bench either. Bennett Stirtz would provide much needed offensive resilience for when the going gets tough, with his enviable combination of on-ball creation (likely relegated to his minutes with the bench) and off-ball savvy (more useful when playing alongside Keyonte or our pick at #2). Think of all of the strong off-ball options that the Jazz already have – they will be given so many more opportunities for success with another strong passer on the roster who can fit with the singular strong passer we already have (Keyonte George). No matter who we draft at 2 or pick up in free agency, our offense will be able to make room for Stirtz because he’s just good enough at everything. Need a pick-and-roll partner with Kessler? Stirtz is your guy. A movement shooter to capitalize off of Markkanen collapsing the defense? You can count on Bennett. A cog in the blender, or a late-shot clock creator, or a recipient of Nurkic’s top-of-the-key passes? While he won’t replicate the huge offensive usage of his time at Iowa, Stirtz can do all of these plays and more. He won’t be fixing any of our defensive issues on the perimeter, but with a more subdued offensive load and two huge safety nets in the paint, we can hope that he won’t be a complete sieve on that end. Stirtz is a player I would’ve been happy to take at 8 had the Jazz slipped in the lottery, but now could be an elite value play for the Jazz to make a move for in the later half of the first round.
Current Draft Projections (most recent big board/mock draft)
No Ceilings: 18
ESPN: 19
Bleacher Report: 21
CBS Sports: 18
ClutchPoints: 23
What would be some feasible ways to attain Bennett Stirtz? There are two options that immediately come to mind. There are reports that the Thunder are planning to wheel and deal with their 4 picks – they simply don’t have the roster spots to keep them all. Would they be interested in a future pick for #17, in the name of continuing to spread their wealth of assets into the future? Another team that comes to mind is the Detroit Pistons, currently sitting at #21. This seems to be near the back-end of Stirtz’s draft range, but if the Jazz feel like they can get their guy at this spot, I would suggest calling with an offer of their choice of bench piece (Svi and Filipowski in particular could be interesting to Detroit) along with a less-valuable draft pick than the one we would offer to OKC. If I were Detroit, I’d be happy to snatch up Stirtz myself, but after a disappointing postseason run as the #1 seed, I could see there being pressure coming from the top to shore up the rotation with win-now moves.
Is Stirtz a draft sleeper that you would want the Jazz to acquire? What are some trades you can put together to sneak the Jazz into the back-half of the first round? Let me know in the comments!
SACRAMENTO, CA - MAY 25: Randy Arozarena #56 high-fives Luke Raley #20 of the Seattle Mariners during the game between the Seattle Mariners and the Athletics at Sutter Health Park on Monday, May 25, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Don Collier/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Mariners 9, Athletics 2
Trampoline Parks: Luis Castillo, .14 WPA; Randy Arozarena, .13 WPA
Trampoline Parks Masquerading As Baseball Fields: J.P. Crawford, -.04 WPA
Mar 13, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs second baseman Owen Miller against the Chicago White Sox during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Normally there is no Minor League Wrap on Monday, but Indianapolis wanted to play a game on Memorial Day. So here we are. Everyone else, including Mesa, is off.
It wasn’t a great start for Doug Nikhazy, who gave up one run in the first inning and five more in the second. His final line was six runs on five hits over two innings. Nikhazy walked three, hit one and struck out three.
Tyler Beede pitched the next three innings, gave up just one run on two hits, and got the win. Beede walked one and struck out two.
Yacksel Ríos pitched the next two innings and allowed no runs on one hit. Ríos walked one and struck out two.
Luke Little pitched the eighth and ninth innings, retired all six batters he faced and got the save. Little struck out two.
Left fielder Owen Miller had a huge game, coming just a triple shy of the cycle. Miller was 4 for 5 with a double and a solo home run in the eighth inning. It was his third on the year. Miller had two total runs batted in.
Third baseman James Triantos was 3 for 5 with a double, a walk and a stolen base. He scored twice.
DH BJ Murray went 3 for 5 and scored once.
Center fielder Brett Bateman was 3 for 5 with a steal. Bateman scored twice and drve in two.
Charles Barkley didn’t even wait for the final buzzer to tear into the Cavaliers during their season-ending loss, which punched the Knicks’ ticket to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
The Cavaliers started off Monday’s elimination game strong before the Knicks overpowered them for over three quarters in what turned into a 130-93 loss for Cleveland at Rocket Arena.
The outcome seemed destined before halftime rolled around, and Barkley took the moment to rail on the Cleveland’s lack of effort.
“Kids at home, if you want to see what the word quit means: to give up. The verb of that: CA-VA-LI-ERS,” he said on “Inside the NBA” at the half. “This is what you see… They were down 29. This is just effort here. This is just effort.”
Barkley then had the producers play clips to highlight his point about the lack of effort from the Cavs.
“How do you give up 23 fastbreak points in a half?” Barkley asked. “Players aren’t going to say they quit, but you know what shows? Their actions.
“Lisa [Salters] and Malika [Andrews] were talking about [Cavs players] saying they believe. Well, I believed they were going to get their ass whooped and that’s what’s going to happen.”
The Cleveland Cavaliers bench reacts in the fourth quarter. The New York Knicks advance to the 2026 NBA finals. Charles Wenzelberg/New York PostKnicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) goes up for a shot surrounded by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
The “Inside the NBA” crew didn’t stop there either.
After the loss, Kenny Smith said that he believed the Cavaliers “took a step backwards because it showed what you’re vulnerable to, to everyone else in the Eastern Conference.”
Smith added that the Cavaliers needed to change their offensive identity for Cleveland to take that step.
"[The Cavs ] also took a step backwards because it showed what you're vulnerable to, to everyone else in the Eastern Conference."
Kenny Smith believes Cleveland needs to change their identity to be able to compete for a title pic.twitter.com/zOY1LbyBvU
The comment was in response to comments from Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson, who has taken plenty of criticism this series for not using timeouts in Game 1 as the Knicks mounted a historic comeback, and comments about how the Cavaliers were winning games in an analytical sense.
Knicks fans partied like it was 1999 on Monday night, punctuating a dominant run to the NBA Finals with a one-sided sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers that plunged the Big Apple into jubilant chaos.
The win ended a 27-year dry spell since their last Finals appearance — and Knicks nation was quick to use the opportunity to make up for lost time.
The New York Knicks celebrate with the Bob Cousy Trophy after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-93 in Game Four of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Rocket Arena on May 25, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. Getty Images
“The city has been waiting for it since 1999. We’ve been through so many losses and the fans have always stuck close. It’s nice to finally be on the winning side,” Kevin Calle, a 30-year-old human resources manager from New Jersey, told The Post outside of Radio City’s watch party.
“It’s our time. The team is made up of a lot of underdogs. Let’s hope Manhattan makes it out alive tonight!”
While the scene at a Radio City remained under control, Madison Square Garden was plunged into a frenzy where thousands of revelers packed the streets immediately outside The Mecca.
Some scaled lamp posts, while others used brooms to perform a ceremonial “sweep” and hoisted themselves onto elevated ledges.
Within an hour of the Knicks’ clinching win — a 37-point drubbing of the Cavs — fans were chanting, “f—k the World Cup!”
Fans during a watch party for game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers at Radio City Music Hall on May 25, 2026 in New York City. Michael Nagle for NY PostNew York Knicks’ Ariel Hukporti dunks the ball during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers during Game Four of the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals on May 25, 2026, at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NBAE via Getty Images
MetLife Stadium is set to host several World Cup matches in June and July.
Many in the mob weren’t alive to see the Knicks play the lat time they made the NBA Finals in 1999, when they lost to the San Antonio Spurs.
“It’s the New York summer. There’s a lot of things going on. The Yankees are doing well, but we got the New York Knicks taking it to the moon. Taking it to the moon!’ Juan Pablo Estupinan, 23, told The Post outside of MSG — while even younger fans crowd-surfed above him.
Filmmaker Spike Lee and actor Timothee Chalamet react after the New York Knicks defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Rocket Arena. David Richard-Imagn ImagesThe Knicks squashed the Cleveland Cavaliers in four straight games and emerged as Eastern Conference Champions on Monday. Michael Nagle for NY PostWhile they still have a long road to the NBA finals ahead of them, the Knicks Nation was quick to celebrate. Michael Nagle for NY Post
“We’re split in baseball, we’re split on football, but New Yorkers are united with the Knicks,” said Henry Hunt, 23, from New Jersey.
“The crowd is going nuts. We’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
Knicks diehards who trekked to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4 threw their own party outside of Rocket Arena — turning it up right in front of despondent Cavs’s fans.
Knicks fans shutdown 8th Ave while celebrating sweep of Cavs to advance to the NBA Finals pic.twitter.com/xHXhekiYfp
“It’s incredible. I’m on top of the world. There is no stopping the Knicks,” Tara Hochberg, 50, of Long Island, told The Post.
“We want Wemby,” Hochberg and dozens of others chanted, referencing Spurs superstar center Victor Wembanyama. And the same call echoed outside of The Garden as the Knicks await the winner of the Western Conference Finals between San Antonio and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Knicks fans celebrate during watch party. Michael Nagle for NY PostKnicks fans celebrate in the city after the team finished sweep of Cavaliers in Eastern Conference finals. Getty Images
Even Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who attended Game 2 in the nosebleed seats at MSG, got in on the action poking fun at the decisive win over Cleveland.
“NYC Sanitation, I’d like to report a sweep,” Hizzoner wrote on X.
Remember those questions after Game 1 about Karl-Anthony Towns struggling against Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley?
He dominated the Cavaliers big men over the last three games, and was at his best in the clincher, tallying 19 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
In his 26 minutes Monday night, the Knicks outscored Cleveland by 25 points. He also shot 50 percent from 3 (8-for-16) in the series.
Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25) puts up a shot as Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) defends during the second quarter of Game 4. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Zero
Are the Cavaliers sure they want to pay free agent-to-be James Harden?
He was a mess in this series, and was again a major problem in the final game, limited to 12 points on 2-for-8 shooting.
He also committed five turnovers, and finished with 17 and a minus-55 rating in the four contests.
Unsung Hero
OG Anunoby is all the way back from that right hamstring strain. He threw down two ridiculous dunks that brought the many Knicks fans in attendance out of their seats.
The two-way wing finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Most importantly, he looks like his pre-injury self after a slow start in the Eastern Conference finals.
Key Stat
118: Knicks point differential in elimination games on the road against the Hawks, 76ers and Cavaliers.
Quote
“It’s a magical thing, it’s a historical thing. It’s something that New York has been dying for a long, long time. We’ll enjoy that plane ride, but once we get in those cars and go to our respective homes, it’s going to be back to business.” — Karl-Anthony Towns.
May 25, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Carolina Hurricanes right wing Andrei Svechnikov (37) is tripped by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle (21) during the second period in game three of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
MONTREAL — Andrei Svechnikov scored at 14:06 of overtime as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Monday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final.
Shayne Gostisbehere and Taylor Hall scored in regulation for Carolina. Frederik Andersen made 11 saves.
Mike Matheson and Lane Hutson scored for Montreal, which got 35 stops from Jakub Dobes.
The best-of-seven series returns to the Bell Centre for Game 4 on Wednesday.
Andrei Svechnikov fired a shot through a crowd after a back-and-forth with Seth Jarivs for the winning tally.
After picking up a 3-2 extra-time victory at home Saturday that looked a lot more like their relentless style following a discombobulated 6-2 loss in Thursday’s opener, the Hurricanes came out flying and took the lead at 8:24 of the first period when the puck popped into the slot for Gostisbehere to fire in off the left post past a diving Dobes.
The Canadiens, who topped the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres in a pair of seven-game matchups to make the conference final despite a combined 2-4 record at home, tied it at 15:28.
Carolina, the East’s top seed coming off sweeps of the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers, pushed back less than minute later when Hall shoveled home his own rebound from in tight past Dobes as the winger was falling to the ice at 16:22.
Montreal, which registered just 12 shots in Game 2, evened things up on a power play at 4:43 of the second period.
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) slams the ball during the third quarter.
CLEVELAND — Mitchell Robinson has proved to be a survivor: of the Scott Perry regime; of Knicks teams that were not even pretenders, losing at least 45 games in three of his first four seasons in the NBA.
Robinson was a building block when it started to turn around under team president Leon Rose and a key piece as the Knicks became legitimate contenders.
Monday night, the longest-tenured Knick became part of the franchise’s first Eastern Conference championship team in 27 years. He experienced losing, and he was impactful enough to be around once it all turned.
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) slams the ball during the third quarter. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
In the clincher, a 130-93 blowout of the Cavaliers, Robinson enjoyed his best game of the series: eight points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes. He’s a key piece to the improved bench from a year ago, a rim-protecting, rebounding machine. Robinson was a starter early in the season, but coach Mike Brown felt going with Josh Hart as a starter and bringing Robinson off the bench suited the team better.
“Mitch can start for any team in the league — any team. And if he started, he might be first team all-defense and some other things, who knows?” Brown said.
“But this does not work if Mitch does not allow us to do that. If he doesn’t sacrifice himself and allows us to do that, because you’re talking about a starting center that you throw in the game maybe for 30 seconds sometimes, or two minutes, whatever it is, you pull them right back out. So it starts and ends with him, and him sacrificing himself for the team.”
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This could be Robinson’s final year as a Knick. He is an unrestricted free agent. But before any of that, there is a title up for grabs. The Knicks are going to need Robinson in the next round, especially if there is a 1999 NBA Finals rematch against the Spurs. Victor Wembanyama could be waiting, and the Knicks could have an answer for the 7-foot-4 unicorn in the defensively gifted Robinson.
May 25, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; A general view of Rocket Arena after the New York Knicks defeat the the Cleveland Cavaliers in game four of the eastern conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images
The New York Knickerbockers are returning the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. Every Spurs fan remembers (or depending on your age, is familiar with) with those particular Finals.
The franchise has made four Finals appearances, but New York has not won a title since 1973.
They head into the 2026 Finals on a heater, completing the sweep of the Cavaliers last night in Cleveland.
Cleveland, who haven’t made it this far into the postseason since LeBron James moved to Hollywood, had been steadily improving since the pandemic bubble of 2020. In 2022, they brought in Donovan Mitchell and began producing winning records again. This season, they made a midseason trade for James Harden, finishing the season with the former MVP on a 20-9 run.
They landed forth in the Eastern Conference. After a seven game series against the Toronto Raptors, they faced the top seeded Detroit Pistons. They upset the Pistons in the seventh game blowout on Detroit’s home court.
Last night they suffered the second sweep that New York has dished out in these playoffs. The Knicks elimintaed the Hawks in six games in the first round of the playoffs before sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers.
James Harden has made the playoffs in each of his seventeen seasons, but has never hoisted the Larry O’Brien.
Jalen Brunson and company now await the winner of the Western Conference Finals. A Spurs match up reunites the two since the Spurs won the first of their five titles.
A Knicks/Spurs finals series also continues not having back-to-back champions, a trend since the Warriors last back-to-bcak in 2019.
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LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 25: Emmet Sheehan #80 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the game between the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Monday, May 25, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Nicole Vasquez/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
When you’re facing a disadvantage in both the starting pitching duel and also the bullpen, nine innings is quite a long time, and that’s what the Rockies learned in this 5-3 defeat to the Dodgers. Tanner Gordon did his best to keep up with Emmet Sheehan and even left the game with a 2-1 lead, but Colorado didn’t have the bullpen depth to toss four scoreless innings, ultimately coughing up the lead in a seventh-inning rally that saw the home team score four runs.
Unfazed by the disappointing nature with which his offense kept stranding runners inning after inning in the early goings, Sheehan delivered a quality outing on the back of one of his best fastball days of the year. Sheehan’s four-seamer was working so well for him that he upped the usage to over 50 percent of the time, inducing 10 of his 17 whiffs in the game with it.
While the Dodgers failed to string hitters together against Tanner Gordon, the Rockies found a way to hurt Sheehan by pooling all of their hits together. Three of the five hits conceded by Sheehan came in the top of the fourth when the Rockies took the lead courtesy of an RBI single from Troy Johnston and a sacrifice fly from Ezequiel Tovar. The Colorado shortstop would be at the center of the action for this one, as right after Sheehan left the game, he took it upon himself to end the Dodgers’ bullpen scoreless streak of 38 innings with a solo shot against Kyle Hurt. This was the first run Hurt allowed since his season debut against the Mets over a month ago, putting an end to 14 scoreless innings for him.
Entering the bottom of the seventh, the Dodgers had stranded at least one runner in four of the first six, and then a loss of command from relievers Juan Mejía and Brennan Bernadino got the home team going. Will Smith, Hyesong Kim, and Miguel Rojas loaded the bases without having to swing the bat, courtesy of a couple of walks and an HBP, and then the top of the order went to work on capitalizing. Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts drove in runs with productive outs, Freddie Freeman helped LA take the lead with an RBI double, and was subsequently driven in by Andy Pages.
On an individual note, we must talk about Kiké Hernández, who, even in the ninth hole, found a way to be one of, if not the most productive, Dodgers hitters in the game. Hernández went two-for-two early on before being pulled for a pinch-hitter in the seventh. Once Dalton Rushing was announced as the pinch-hitter for Hernández with a righty on the mound in the seventh, the Rockies went to the lefty Bernadino, which made Dave Roberts counter with Miguel Rojas, who got on base via a hit-by-pitch. Maybe it was the ninth spot that finished the game with a perfect on-base percentage.
Contrasting with the struggles of the Rockies bullpen that cost them the game, the Dodgers relievers were outstanding apart from that solo shot by Tovar. Vesia came in for the save, but one baserunner was enough to make Roberts go to Blake Treinen with a righty on base and two outs in the inning. Treinen got the punchout against Braxton Fulford and earned the save, his first of the year.
A couple of veteran southpaws square off on Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. (PT). Eric Lauer will be making his first start with the Dodgers, recently acquired from the Blue Jays, while the Rockies will counter with one of their longest-tenured players in Kyle Freeland. Selected in the first round of the Draft in 2014, Freeland is in the middle of his 10th major-league season with the Rox.
