The Comeback Cats made their first appearance of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Monday night in Sunrise.
Down by a goal late in the third period, the Panthers struck the Tampa Bay Lightning, scoring two incredibly quick goals and winning by a 4-2 final.
Florida now leads the best-of-seven series 3-1 heading back to Tampa.
Both teams did well to limit the others’ opportunities during a scoreless first period.
Tampa finished with six shots on 14 attempts while Florida had six shots on 16 attempts. The Lightning blocked five shots and the Cats blocked four.
Florida finally broke the ice near the midway point of the game.
The play started with Brad Marchand hustling after a puck in Tampa’s zone to negate an icing. After tying the puck up along the boards, Eetu Luostarinen arrived to quickly take the puck and, after drawing a defender, pass it back to Marchand.
With Anton Lundell alone in the slot, Marchand quicky delivered the puck to Lundell, who beat Andrei Vasilevskiy blocker side to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
Not long after, Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad sent Tampa’s Brandon Hagel to the locker room with a crushing check that appeared to get part of Hagel’s head.
That appeared to motivate the Lightning because they quickly scored two goals in the span of just 11 seconds to shock the Panthers and take a 2-1 lead into the third period.
Tampa’s lead led until the final minutes of the third period.
Aaron Ekblad, who had a goal called back earlier in the period due to the play being offside, jumped on a rebound and beat Vasilevskiy at the 16:13 mark to tie the game at two.
Stop me if you’ve heard this already, but just 11 seconds later, a Seth Jones shot from the point went off a skate and past Vasilevskiy to suddenly and shockingly put the Panthers back in front.
Carter Verhaeghe added an empty-net goal to make the already frenzied crowd even louder.
On to Game 5.
QUICK THOUGHTS
Lundell’s goal was his first point of the postseason. He added an assist on Jones’ goal.
Marchand is up to three assists in four playoff games with Florida after notching a pair in Game 4.
Florida went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill, including a five-minute major, and is now 14-for-15 in the series when down a man.
Ekblad’s goal was his first since January 25.
Sasha Barkov has four assists in the four games so far this series.
Welcome to The Hockey News Playoff Frenzy Live, streaming nightly during the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs.
After the big game of the night, our experts go live to react to the match that was, break down the key moments and storylines, provide updates on the rest of the night's NHL slate and read your opinions.
On tonight's show, Emma Lingan and Andrew McInnis react to the Florida Panthers beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 after a third-period comeback. It was full of hits, including one that earned Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola a game misconduct.
Entering play on Monday, Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo was hitting .192 with a .576 OPS -- just a brutal first month of the season that comes on the heels of a tough second half last year.
While dealing with plantar fasciitis for much of 2024 didn't help, make no bones about it, Nimmo had been struggling at the plate for the better part of half a season.
It's something he was aware of and trying to fix.
Then, Monday's game against the Washington Nationals happened.
With New York up 3-0 in the sixth inning, Nimmo came to the plate with two runners on and hit a three-run homer to extend the Mets' lead. Had Nimmo's day ended there, it would've been a pretty good day and a trend in the right direction. But he wasn't done, not by a long shot.
An inning later, the outfielder had another chance to do some damage, this time with the bases loaded. On the first pitch, Nimmo skied another home run for a grand slam to give New York a commanding lead and him seven RBI on the day -- a new career-high.
Still not done.
He came up with the bases loaded again, a testament to the hitters in front of him, to which Nimmo gave all the credit, in the eighth, and for an encore, hit a two-run double to tie the franchise record with nine RBI in a single game.
"These days don’t come very often – it’s taken me nine years," Nimmo joked after the game. "That’s really cool to tie a franchise record. You just enjoy days like this, and this is one of the reasons you play baseball."
After the game, Nimmo's average jumped to .218 and his OPS soared over 100 points to .679. While those numbers are still a far cry from the player that Mets fans have grown accustomed to seeing since he made his MLB debut in 2016, it's certainly a trend back in the right direction.
Rough start aside, even before Monday's historic game, Nimmo felt that he was on his way to breaking out while hitting balls hard but running into some tough luck.
"Even yesterday, I came away with no hits, but I hit a lot of balls hard and so I feel like I’ve been trending in this direction," he said. "Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And you kind of start to head in that direction. It doesn’t really happen in one fell swoop usually.
"So I was definitely trending in this direction and it’s great to have a day like today to hopefully get [me] going. You never know, tomorrow’s a new day and you don’t know what’s gonna happen tomorrow, but I do feel like I’ve been putting better at-bats together and we’ve been trending in this direction."
A productive Nimmo, lowered from cleanup to sixth on Monday, in the middle of New York's lineup, does so much to help lengthen the batting order. So, following the 32-year-old's impressive performance, it'll be interesting to see where manager Carlos Mendoza puts him in the lineup going forward.
In 73 at-bats batting fourth this season, Nimmo is slashing .205/.253/.370. He didn't fare well in that spot last season either, albeit in a much smaller sample size.
"Part of you just wants to scream and throw a tantrum and just be like ‘what in the world is going on’, but there’s another part of you that understands that’s just the way baseball works and sometimes you hit balls right at people and sometimes you hit a little squibber and you get a base hit," Nimmo said.
"[It’s] great to have a day like today," he continued. "It’s been a little bit frustrating and you never know when days like today might happen. Tying a franchise-record in RBI, that doesn’t happen every day."
While Monday's game was one for the record books -- not just for Nimmo but the entire team as they put up 19 runs on 21 hits in a blowout win -- Nimmo is hoping it's not a flash in the pan.
His next opportunity to build off this will be on Tuesday when the Mets host the Arizona Diamondbacks to begin a three-game series.
"You just gotta focus on the process and trying to make sure you’re working on the right things and you’re headed in the right direction," he said. "If you’re not, then how do I get working in the right direction?"
Regardless, Nimmo's name is now entrenched in Mets history, something he doesn't take for granted.
"It can be so frustrating at times, but so rewarding at others and you just keep fighting and try to stay calm, cool and collected through it and eventually break through and have days like this," he said. "So, really special day, really special moment."
The Yankees fell behind early and rallied late, but couldn’t punch through, leaving nine runners on base and going 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position in a 4-3 loss to the Orioles on Monday night in Baltimore.
The O's entered the game with one win in their last seven games and losers of three straight. They improved to 11-17 on the year. New York fell to 17-12. Baltimore entered the game 6 for their last 60 with RISP, and went 1-for-7 in those situations, with the lone knock proving to be the difference.
Here are the takeaways...
- Will Warren was greeted by a Cedric Mullins single to center and a Gunnar Henderson double to the left-center gap to put two in scoring position in the first. But the young righty got Adley Rutschman to pop out, Ryan O’Hearn swinging on a fastball, and Ryan Mountcastle swinging on a sweeper.
Warren got the first two in the second, before Jackson Holliday cracked a single. He came around to score the game’s first run when Ramón Laureano drove a ball over Trent Grisham’s head in center. The double made it six hard-hit balls of at least 98 mph off Warren in the first nine batters.
Warren was the architect of trouble in the third as he walked the first two batters and left a 3-2 sweeper over the middle of the plate that O’Hearn pulled over the wall in right for a three-run shot. He bounced back to strike out the side.
The righty was pounding the zone – throwing first-pitch strikes to 16 of 18 batters – but a one-out double by Laureano down the third base line in the fourth ended his night.
- Some sloppy defense hurt the Yanks’ 25-year-old starter. On the first double, Grisham got a terrible jump and was twisted around by the 380-foot liner that had a 95 percent catch probability, per Statcast. Warren also had Laureano picked off second in the fourth, but the ball came out of Oswald Peraza’s glove at third on the tag.
Warren’s final line: 3.1 innings, four runs, six hits, two walks, five strikeouts on 72 pitches (47 strikes).
- Aaron Judge had a pair of softly hit singles his first two times up; the first dumped into left and the second just passed the outstretched glove of Baltimore’s shortstop. He now has 45 hits on the year, but went down swinging on a splitter from Orioles starter TomoyukiSugano his third time up.
Judge had a big chance with one out in the seventh and runners on the corners, but he bounced a ball to third and beat the relay throw at first to score a run on the groundout. The reigning MVP was up against Baltimore's 6-foot-7 closer Felix Bautista with one out in the ninth and went down swinging on a splitter. He finished 2-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Anthony Volpe, on his 24th birthday, had a bases-loaded chance with two down in the first, but grounded out to short. He grabbed an RBI double into the corner with one down in the eighth to finish 1-for-4.
- Austin Wells was hitless in three at-bats with a strikeout before he notched an RBI double to make it a one-run game in the eighth.
- Paul Goldschmidt struck out swinging with two on and one out in each of his first two at-bats, on a four-seam fastball in the first and on a splitter in the third by Sugano. His third time up, he smoked a high fastball in the fifth, but Mullins made a leaping grab in center to steal a potential two-run dinger for a 402-foot out to save the O’s starter. He singled to center his first at-bat against the bullpen to finish 1-for-4.
- Jazz Chisholm Jr., plunked his first time up, swung through a splitter to strand two in the third. He finished 0-for-3 with three strikeouts.
- Jasson Domínguez singled in the fourth, but struck out three times swinging, including for the second out in the eighth with a runner on second.
- Grisham went 2-for-5 with a strikeout, grabbing a hit with a RISP, but didn’t get an RBI as Oswaldo Cabrera got a bad jump from second. Cabrera, who singled in the seventh, tapped out to third to end the eighth.
- Cody Bellinger walked and singled his first two trips, but finished 1-for-4 with a strikeout to end it.
- Ryan Yarbrough was first out of the bullpen and issued a walk, but got Henderson swinging on a nasty sweeper and Rutschman to fly out. Pitching on six days' rest, the lefty looked fresh, retiring eight straight with three strikeouts on 41 pitches.
He allowed a pair of singles in the seventh, but a double-play ball meant he was never in danger. Yarbrough kept the Yanks in the game and saved the rest of the bullpen after Sunday’s doubleheader. His final line: 3.2 innings, two hits, one walk, three strikeouts.
- Devin Williams, who recently lost his role as closer, started the bottom of the eighth with a strikeout on a nasty changeup below the zone and needed 14 pitches (nine strikes) for a 1-2-3 inning.
Game MVP: Tomoyuki Sugano
The 35-year-old MLB debutant held the Yankees in check despite giving up some traffic in his five innings of work, stranding seven runners after allowing five hits and a walk. The right-hander, who had just nine strikeouts entering the game, tallied eight. Sugano got nine whiffs on 12 splitters.
The two teams renew their hostilities on Tuesday night with another 6:35 p.m. first pitch in Charm City.
Left-hander Carlos Rodon (3.50 ERA, 1.056 WHIP in 36 innings) gets the ball for the Yanks. Veteran righty Kyle Gibson (4.24 ERA, 1.350 WHIP in 169.2 innings last year for St. Louis) makes his first start of the year for the O's.
Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal has agreed to become the general manager of the men’s basketball program at Sacramento State under new coach Mike Bibby.
A person familiar with the situation said Monday that O’Neal will take the voluntary job for the program that his son, Shaqir, recently joined as a player. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school hadn’t made an announcement.
ESPN first reported the news.
Bibby, the former NBA star for the Sacramento Kings, was hired as head coach for the Hornets last month as the school tries to raise its profile in collegiate athletics.
One of the first additions Bibby made was signing Shaqir O’Neal as a transfer from Florida A&M. Now Bibby has O’Neal’s father involved in the program.
O’Neal is the latest high-profile athlete to take on a general manager role at a college program. Stephen Curry was recently announced as the assistant general manager at Davidson and Trae Young has that same role at Oklahoma.
O’Neal won four NBA titles, three NBA Finals MVPs and a league MVP during his 19-year career in the NBA. He is currently an analyst on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” show. He also served as a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings from 2013-22.
Sacramento State went 7-25 this season under interim coach Michael Czepil, who was promoted last spring after David Patrick left to take a job as associate head coach at LSU.
The Hornets had gone 28-42 in two seasons under Patrick and the program has never made an NCAA Tournament since moving up to Division I in 1991-92. The Hornets have had a winning record only twice since then, going 16-14 in 2019-20 and 21-12 in 2014-15.
Heading into the NHL’s 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, we knew there would be brutal battles right from the start of the first round. For the most part, that’s what’s happened.
In the Western Conference, all four first-round series were tied at two games apiece after Sunday’s games.
With that in mind, let’s look at where the momentum in each of the first-round series is at the moment and whether that’s changed this writer’s pre-playoff predictions. Remember, what follows are educated guesses. You may disagree with some or many of our picks, but that’s the beauty of predictions – there’s rarely consensus, and that’s what makes things so compelling.
Winnipeg Jets (C1) vs. St. Louis Blues (WC2)
Where’s The Momentum? In St. Louis’ favor
Does That Change Our Prediction Of Jets Winning In Six Games? Yes
What’s Our Prediction Now? Blues in seven games
Why? The Jets narrowly won both games at home to start the series. But the Blues stormed back convincingly, winning Game 3 by a 7-2 score, then pulling even by beating the Jets 5-1 on Sunday. Outscoring Winnipeg by a 12-3 combined score does not bode well for star Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who now has a 4.24 GAA and .817 SP.
In our initial prediction, we believed the Blues would win a couple of games, but they’ve already done that, and the momentum has swung in their direction. Home-ice advantage still favors the Jets, but we’re now of the opinion St. Louis can win a game in Winnipeg, either in Game 5 or Game 7. And if the Blues win in St. Louis, the series will end in the Blues’ favor.
That would spell big moves this summer for the Jets, who will be at a competitive crossroads. But unfortunately for Winnipeg, the Blues can physically dominate the Jets at crucial times, so we're switching up our pick for this series and going with St. Louis in seven games.
Vegas Golden Knights (P1) vs. Minnesota Wild (WC1)
Where’s The Momentum? In Vegas’ favor
Does That Change Our Prediction Of Golden Knights Winning In Five Games? Yes
What’s Our Prediction Now? Golden Knights in six games
Why? We’re owning our cynicism about the Wild, but we have to give them their due – Minnesota stunned Vegas with 5-2 victories in Games 2 and 3, momentarily stealing home-ice advantage from the Golden Knights, which won Game 1. However, the resilient Knights edged out the Wild in a 4-3 overtime win in Game 4 to even things up.
Obviously, our pick of Vegas in five games must be adjusted, but we’ve seen enough from the Golden Knights to double down on them. They’ve hung on to home-ice advantage without high-impact performances from stars Mark Stone and Jack Eichel, and we don’t believe the Wild will be able to hold that dynamic duo down much longer.
Vegas has taken Minnesota’s best blow and still managed to keep a series win well within its reach. The Golden Knights should and can win Game 5 to put the Wild on the brink of elimination, and we foresee Vegas winning Game 6 as well to send Minnesota home for the summer. The Knights’ depth separates them from the Wild, and that’s why we’re still comfortable picking Vegas to win this showdown. It’ll just take a couple more games for the Golden Knights to get it done.
Does That Change Our Prediction Of Avalanche Winning In Seven Games? No
What’s Our Prediction Now? Avalanche in seven games
Why? For a while there, the Stars had the Avalanche in a vulnerable position. After Colorado won Game 1 by a 5-1 score, Dallas pushed back by winning 4-3 and 2-1. Despite being behind the Stars, that still tracks for our initial prediction of an Avs series win in seven games.
After Colorado’s 4-0 blanking of Dallas in Game 4 – a game in which the Avalanche outshot the Stars 48-23 – it’s clear the Avs now have the momentum. The Avalanche have already shown they can win on the road in this series, and we expect they’ll win two of the next three games to eliminate the Stars.
Without injured superstar defenseman Miro Heiskanen and left winger Jason Robertson, Dallas doesn’t have the horses to close out a deeper, stronger Avs squad. Colorado flexed its muscles in Game 4, and nothing we’ve seen in the first four games has changed our mind about the winner of this series. Until further notice, the road to the Western Conference final goes through Denver. And Dallas will be the Avalanche’s first of many victims.
Does That Change Our Prediction Of Kings Winning In Six Games? Yes
What’s Our Prediction Now? Kings in seven games
Why? The Kings scored a ton against the Oilers in this series’ first two games, posting six goals against Edmonton in each of Games 1 and 2. But the Kings weren’t exactly a defensive menace, as they surrendered a combined seven goals in those first two games. And the Oilers pounded the Kings by a 7-4 score in Game 3 before tying the series on Sunday.
In Games 3 and 4, Edmonton had to overcome multiple Kings leads, and that earned last year’s Stanley Cup finalists more respect in our eyes. That said, we did expect the Oilers to win a couple of games in our first prediction, so we’re not seeing anything that’s a gigantic surprise.
Yes, the momentum is in Edmonton’s favor, and we expect Edmonton to win another game, but the Kings still have home-ice advantage. That strong play at home is likely to be the difference, but it may take seven games for L.A. to send Edmonton packing. That’s a credit to the Oilers, but we remain a skeptical of Edmonton’s lineup, especially with key defenseman Mattias Ekholm out of action. The Kings remain our pick to win here, even if it takes one additional game to eliminate the Oilers.
Tyler Glasnow warms up before the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. Glasnow left before the start of the inning because of shoulder discomfort. (Robert Hanashiro / For The Times)
Less than a month ago, Tyler Glasnow couldn’t have sounded more confident.
After tossing five shutout innings in his season debut against the Atlanta Braves on March 31, the oft-injured 31-year-old Dodgers pitcher believed he had finally unlocked the secret to better health.
That night, the 6-foot-8 right-hander said his mechanics felt “really synched up;” following offseason changes to the spine angle, release point and thought process behind his long-limbed delivery.
He spoke highly of the tweaks he had made in his offseason training regimen — including, notably, the elimination of heavy balls from his winter throwing program — and took his encouraging early results as a sign they’d “really been working."
Most of all, Glasnow described pitching with “athletic and free” mechanics on the mound; having seemingly found the kind of comfortable delivery that has so often eluded him over an injury-plagued 10-year career.
“My body just feels a lot better,” Glasnow said. “It's moving more fluid.”
Less than a month later, those quotes ring hollow.
On Monday, Glasnow was placed on the injured list with what the team called shoulder inflammation — shelving the pitcher for the foreseeable future after he left a start on Sunday after just one inning with what he described as a “grabbing” sensation in his shoulder.
There was no immediate timeline for how long Glasnow (who has had at least one IL stint every year since 2019, save the pandemic-shortened 2020 season) might be out.
There was no set plan yet for what his recovery will look like, either, with both the pitcher and the team going back to the drawing board to figure out how to keep him healthy.
“I think we’re all just — as Tyler said — very frustrated,” manager Dave Roberts said, “and trying to get to the bottom of it.”
Indeed, the most frustrating element of Glasnow’s injury setback is that it might be rooted in the health-conscious changes he made over the winter.
Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow delivers against the Chicago Cubs on April 13. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
After undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2021, then sustaining a season-ending elbow tendinitis injury last year, Glasnow looked to revamp his delivery. He felt his old mechanics — in particular, a habit of letting his front side fly too far open on each pitch — was putting stress on his long-troubled elbow.
At first, Glasnow’s new throw seemed to be the fix.
Even before his season debut, he said repeatedly in spring training that he felt healthier physically and more freed up mentality, hopeful he could pitch a full season for the first time in his career.
“I feel really comfortable with what I worked on,” he said. “I’ve kind of changed a ton of stuff.”
Just five starts into the season, however, things had changed.
And as Glasnow theorized Sunday, his new throw might be an unintended culprit.
“Anytime you change something [you've] done for a long time to try to prevent an injury, I think it's just other things are taking over,” Glasnow said Sunday. “There's more stress on one part, and then I compensate doing something else. I don't even know what it is or what's going on. I'm just trying to figure out, like, why it is that something new seems to be happening.”
That’s why, as Glasnow hit the injured list Monday, Roberts wasn’t sure how his recovery process would look.
There is no structural damage in Glasnow’s shoulder. The team didn’t even feel like an MRI was necessary, with Glasnow reporting only shoulder discomfort and “overall body soreness” when he arrived at the ballpark.
Instead, Glasnow is out because — despite his early optimism — his new delivery was not allowing him to pitch pain-free.
“My position is, when you have somebody that is complaining about things, certainly a pitcher, you're very cautious to prevent against any type of injury,” Roberts said.
Exactly when Glasnow will be back is another question, with Roberts saying his absence could “be a tricky one as far as timeline” as he works through a new round of changes to his delivery.
“In spring training, he felt good with the new delivery, until he didn't,” Roberts said. “So I just really can't speak to that."
Roberts added: “For me, if we're going to do this, then let's make sure that we have everything taken care of, as far as the mechanics, the physical part of it. So when we do get him back, then we can just move forward without looking back.”
Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow delivers in the first inning against the Braves on March 31. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
For now, the Dodgers are looking ahead with uncertainty when it comes to the rest of their pitching staff.
Tony Gonsolin (out since the end of spring training with a back injury) will return to the rotation Wednesday. Ben Casparius (a rookie swingman in the bullpen) could be stretched out to handle a starter’s workload.
But Blake Snell remains out with his own bout of shoulder inflammation (he recently received a pain-reducing injection, Roberts said, and does not have a timeline to begin a throwing program). Clayton Kershaw is still three weeks away from being eligible to return from the 60-day injured list. And Shohei Ohtani isn’t expected back on the mound until at least the midway point of the season.
It leaves the Dodgers with currently just four healthy starters (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Dustin May and Gonsolin once he is activated Wednesday) as they approach a grueling portion of their schedule (starting Friday, they will play 19 games in 20 days).
“Honestly, I just really don’t know how it’s going to play out in the next week to 10 days,” Roberts said of the team’s upcoming pitching plans, which could include spot starters from the minor leagues and/or a reliance upon pre-designated bullpen games (which will be their plan Tuesday).
HOUSTON — Jose Altuve asked manager Joe Espada to move him out of the leadoff spot and into the second hole for the Houston Astros.
The reason? He wanted more time to get to the dugout from left field.
Altuve is playing left for the first time in his career after spending his first 14 MLB seasons at second base.
“I just need like 10 more seconds,” he said.
The 34-year-old Altuve made the transition to the outfield this season after the trade of Kyle Tucker and the departure of Alex Bregman shook up Houston’s lineup.
Jeremy Peña was in the leadoff spot for Monday night’s game against Detroit. Altuve didn’t suggest that Peña take his leadoff spot.
“I just told Joe that maybe he can hit me second some games at some point and he did it today,” Altuve said. “I just need like that little extra time to come from left field, and he decided to put Jeremy (there).”
Peña entered Monday hitting .255 with three homers and 11 RBIs. He hit first in Sunday’s 7-3 win over Kansas City - with Altuve getting a day off - and had two hits and three RBIs.
Along with giving him a little extra time to get ready to bat, Altuve thinks the athletic Peña batting leadoff could give a boost to a lineup that has struggled at times this season.
“Jeremy is one of those guys that has been playing really good for our team,” Altuve said. “He’s taking really good at-bats. He’s very explosive and dynamic on the bases, so when he gets on base a lot of things can happen. Maybe I can bunt him over so Yordan (Alvarez) can drive him in.”
Altuve is a nine-time All-Star. The 2017 AL MVP is hitting .274 with three homers and nine RBIs this season.
Espada said he and Altuve often share different ideas about the team and that they had been talking about this as a possibility for a while before he made the move.
“He’s always looking for ways to get everyone involved and he’s playing left field, comes in, maybe give him a little bit more time to get ready between at-bats, just a lot of things that went into this decision," Espada said. "He’s been around, he knows himself better than anyone else here, so hopefully this could create some opportunities for everyone here and we can score some runs.”
WASHINGTON — Brandon Nimmo hit a grand slam and matched a franchise record with nine RBIs, helping the New York Mets pound Washington Nationals 19-5 on Monday.
Nimmo also hit a three-run drive in his seventh career multihomer game. The 32-year-old outfielder had four hits and scored four times after beginning the day with a .192 batting average.
New York earned a split of the four-game series. The Mets have won nine of 11 overall to improve to a major league-best 20-9.
Jeff McNeil and Mark Vientos also homered for New York, which finished with 21 hits. Vientos connected for a three-run drive against Washington infielder Amed Rosario in the ninth.
James Wood and Nathaniel Lowe homered for Washington in the eighth.
The Mets had a 3-0 lead when Colin Poche replaced Nationals starter Trevor Williams (1-3) with two on in the sixth. Nimmo greeted the left-hander by ripping a 2-0 fastball deep to right-center.
An inning later, the Mets had the bases loaded when Nimmo sent Cole Henry’s fastball into the right-field seats for his second career grand slam.
Nimmo added a two-run double in the eighth to tie the franchise record for RBIs set by Carlos Delgado in the first game of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees on June 27, 2008.
McNeil, who made his season debut Friday after missing 25 games with a right oblique strain, hit the first pitch of the fifth deep to right for his first home run of the year.
Griffin Canning (4-1) pitched five innings of four-hit ball for New York. He has won four consecutive starts for the first time in his six-season career.
José Ureña earned his first save of the season. He allowed five runs in three innings in his Mets debut.
Williams yielded five runs in a season-high 5 1/3 innings.
Nimmo’s sixth-inning shot broke open the game. It was his first homer since April 12.
Nimmo was mired in a 7-for-47 (.149) slump with no extra-base hits in his previous 12 games before Monday.
New York left-hander David Peterson (1-1, 3.29 ERA) starts Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series against Arizona.
Lefty MacKenzie Gore (2-3, 3.34 ERA) starts Tuesday as Washington opens a three-game series at Philadelphia.
SAN FRANCISCO – When a desperation heave by Houston’s Fred VanVleet, who couldn’t miss most of the night, went awry at the buzzer, the Warriors rejoiced with celebratory roars, high-fives and flying chest bumps.
Most of the Warriors, that is. Not Jimmy Butler III, who secured this 109-106 Game 4 victory Monday night by scoring Golden State’s final seven points and grabbing the most majestic and essential rebound of the series.
Nobody dared slam into Butler because everyone inside Chase Center knew that would be the most foolish moment on a night when foolishness was splattered all over the floor.
Butler was limited to understated satisfaction – with the tiniest trickle of a grin while limping triumphantly off the court – for a good reason. He’d spent part of his terrific second half clutching that bruised pelvis that kept him out of Game 3 and didn’t receive medical clearance until about an hour before tipoff.
“We had to have him,” coach Steve Kerr said. “If this were the regular season, he’d probably miss another week or two. But it’s the playoffs. He’s Jimmy Butler, so . . . this is what he does.”
Butler’s final few minutes were straight from the fantasies of everyone in the Warriors’ orbit, from CEO Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy, who acquired Butler in February at a steep financial cost, to every player, coach, marketing associate and card-carrying member of Dub Nation.
A driving layup to give the Warriors a 104-101 lead with 2:12 remaining. Three free throws to give them a 107-106 lead with 58.7 seconds remaining. And The Rebound, a soaring snag that led to a foul that sent Butler to the line for the game-clinching free throws with four seconds left.
“First three quarters he couldn’t move,” Draymond Green said of Butler. “Yet he never complained. He stuck with it. I think what was most important, when the time was right, everybody on our side looked to get him the ball. When you get him the ball, he made great things happen for himself or for others. It was huge.
“I think my favorite play was the last rebound. I looked up, I thought it was (Jonathan) Kuminga out there flying. It was Jimmy.”
Jimmy with the pelvic bruise. Jimmy, whose discomfort was obvious. Jimmy, who, no matter his pain, couldn’t stomach the idea of missing another playoff game.
Butler ignored his pain and chased that rebound with the conviction of a man who would not be denied. Didn’t matter that his barrier was Houston’s massive Steven Adams, four inches taller, 35 pounds heavier, one of the best offensive rebounders in the league.
Green had forced a miss from Alperen Şengun, and an offensive rebound with 6.4 seconds remaining would have meant another shot for the Rockets, who trailed 107-106.
“I saw that I wasn’t battling with Adams the last play, so I was able to go up there and be a semi-athlete,” Butler said. “But I wanted the rebound. I told Dray, if you get a stop, I will get the rebound. He got the stop, and I got the rebound.”
Butler scored a team-high 27 points, 23 of which came after halftime and 14 of which came in the fourth quarter – representing most of Golden State’s 27 points – during which he played all 12 minutes.
“I thought it was winning time,” Butler said. “Doing certain things that the team needed me to do to go out there and help win finally. I started moving a little bit better.”
Butler acknowledged that he received extra motivation from the verbal volleys from Houston’s Dillon Brooks. The two sparred most of the night, barking at each other and bumping with each other. That’s typical of Brooks, but it backfired, putting the Rockets one game away from elimination.
“No, we’re not having fun,” Butler said. “Give me this: I don’t like Dillon Brooks. We’re never having fun. I’m a fierce competitor. He’s a fierce competitor. There ain’t nothing fun about that.”
The fun came at the final buzzer. Butler enjoyed it, but not nearly as rambunctiously as his teammates.
SAN FRANCISCO – With five personal fouls including a Flagrant 1, not to mention yet another technical, Warriors forward Draymond Green had no intentions of slowing down his aggressive nature on defense or doing anything to alter his style on Monday night at Chase Center.
The only real issue for the former NBA Defensive Player of the Year was to avoid picking up a silly foul, which was a serious reality during a game when fouls were given out like candy.
In Green’s mind, it was well worth the risk of picking up his sixth and final foul rather than alter his game because of the situation.
“Just not pick up a cheap one, but I’m never going to be one of the guys that just because you got five [fouls] you don’t defend,” Green said after the Warriors’ 109-106 Game 4 win over the Houston Rockets. “I feel very confident in my defensive ability to defend without fouling. In that situation, you have to make sure your fundamentals are clean. That’s what I try to do.”
Green kept his emotions and fouls in check long enough to make the winning play of the game.
With the Dubs clinging to a 107-106 lead and the final seconds ticking away in the fourth quarter, Rockets center Alperen Şengün got the ball above the arc and tried to drive toward the left side of the key, looking for a go-ahead bucket. Instead, he got below the free-throw line and bumped into Green, who forced the former first-round draft pick into a rushed hook shot that missed the mark with 4 seconds left to play.
Houston had another chance to tie the game a few seconds later when Fred VanVleet missed a 3-point attempt, allowing Golden State to take a very comfortable 3-1 lead in the first-round NBA playoff series.
“He knows we must have Draymond on the floor in order to win,” Jimmy Butler said. “The amount of poise he has when everything he does, it’s always blown out of proportion. To stay so calm, to come out there [and] get stops … a special human being. That’s why he’s the hustle man of the year. Remember that.”
Green indeed was selected as the 2024-25 NBA Hustle Award winner, though he had been making a serious case – on the court and in the media – to win his second DPOY Award.
When that didn’t happen, Green reacted just like he did when he was in foul trouble against the Rockets. No reason to make a big fuss. Just keep it pushing.
“Draymond always walks the line, he always teeters on that line. He’s an emotional force, a physical force and he just can’t cross the line. He knows that,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s done a great job of playing through the frustrations. This is a tough series for him. The way the game is being played, they’ve kind of taken the ball out of his hands a little it. He’s done a really good job of dealing with the frustration and competing. The last two games his fourth-quarter defense keyed everything.
“He’s the best defender I’ve ever seen in my life. He rises to the occasion. On top of being a great defender, he’s an incredible competitor.”
(This article was written with the assistance of Castmagic, an AI tool, and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy. Please reach out to us if you notice any mistakes.)
If you’ve been paying attention to the Dodgers this season — or the baseball sphere in general — you’ve probably heard plenty about Roki Sasaki. The hyped Japanese phenom was supposed to be one of the most exciting new pitchers in MLB.
But here we are a few weeks in, and the "Baseball Bar-B-Cast" hosts, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman, are asking a question Dodgers fans might be afraid to say out loud: Why has Sasaki looked … not great?
Let’s break down what Mintz and Shusterman discussed on their latest episode, because their take is one you don’t want to miss if you’re eager to see Sasaki become L.A.’s next ace — or if you’re feeling some early season anxiety.
Sasaki's splitter remains disgusting
First, let’s start with the good. As Shusterman points out, “The splitter is still one of the best pitches in the world.” That’s not hyperbole. It bails Sasaki out of jams and makes big leaguers look downright silly. That's why the hype around the young phenom didn’t seem overblown when he made the leap from NPB.
Here’s where things get dicey. The fastball just isn’t playing. “He is getting no whiffs on it whatsoever,” Shusterman says. “He’s not throwing it hard enough to just blow it past guys. 96 [mph] is not fast enough to just live in the zone in the big leagues, especially when it doesn’t have plus life and your command isn’t very good.” What's more, that’s not something that can be fixed with a simple grip tweak or extra bullpen session.
For now, Sasaki can survive, especially against weaker lineups like the Pirates'. He went deeper in his most recent outing Saturday against Pittsburgh — an improvement, to be sure. But the “puzzle” (as Mintz calls it) is figuring out how to make his fastball not just playable but a weapon. The hosts draw a parallel to the pre-draft skepticism about Paul Skenes’ fastball, although Skenes was throwing harder, and his command was significantly sharper.
The Dodgers have the tools — and the need
Mintz and Shusterman both put their faith in the Dodgers’ pitch design machine. “I trust the Dodgers people to figure that out as much as I trust anybody," Mintz says.
This is L.A., after all — a club famous for turning project arms into All-Stars. And, as Shusterman notes, with other Dodgers arms dealing with injuries, “every Sasaki start just has more importance because it’s not like, oh, whatever, he's the sixth starter … Now it becomes more important for him to figure it out."
Patience and a little faith
What’s the lesson here? For Sasaki, the “fastball shape” problem is real, and it will take more than blind optimism to sort out. “If Roki was on the Rockies, if he was Rocky Sasaki, I would be like … he’s cooked. Like, he has no chance to ever figure it out,” Mintz jokes. But on the Dodgers? Hope remains.
He isn’t a bust (far from it). But the version of Sasaki we all dreamed about will require a bit more patience, a lot of coaching and maybe a little bit of the Dodgers’ legendary pitching magic. For now, each start remains an audition of sorts for how this experiment will turn out.
Is Roki Sasaki the Dodgers’ next ace? Or a project? Or a puzzle? For now, maybe a little bit of all three. But with some faith in Sasaki's splitter and the Dodgers' pitching development apparatus, it’s going to be a blast to watch this story unfold.
Kuemper, 34, went 31-11-7 with the Los Angeles Kings this year with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. He ranked second in the NHL in both goals-against average and save percentage.
The 6-foot-5 goaltender was originally drafted by the Wild in 2009. He played in five seasons for the Wild where he went 41-34-14 in 89 games. He had a 2.60 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage in his Wild career.
But on Monday night, Butler declared that his joy is back.
After helping the Warriors win a thrilling Game 4 over the Houston Rockets, Butler spoke to TNT’s Allie LaForce about his monster performance.
“It means the world,” Butler said after Golden State’s 109-106 win. “I’ll die for these guys. For real. It’s so fun. I got my joy back, as some would say. But more than anything, it’s always good to win.”
Butler missed most of Game 2 and all of Game 3 due to a left pelvic contusion, but he returned with a vengeance Monday night, scoring 27 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 12 of 12 from the free throw line in 40 minutes.
“Somebody said something to me,” Butler told LaForce. “That’s all it takes, somebody to say something to me gets me going every single time.”
The Warriors needed Butler’s gutsy effort in Game 4, and they’ll need more of the same when they try to close out the Rockets on Wednesday night in Houston.
