Kansas City Royals @ Texas Rangers
Friday, May 29, 2026, 7:05 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / CW33)
The Shed
RHP Stephen Kolek vs. LHP MacKenzie Gore
Go Rangers!
Game 57 Game Day Thread – Kansas City Royals @ Texas Rangers
Knicks coach says Mitchell Robinson injury didn't occur during game or practice
The New York Knicks are mostly at full-strength as they prepare for the franchise's first NBA Finals since 1999.
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson suffered a broken pinky earlier in the week, according to reports. However, it is still unclear how Robinson sustained the injury.
Knicks coach Mike Brown told reporters Friday that Robinson did not sustain the injury in a game or practice, and added that he's aware that Robinson has had surgery.
"I don't know much about the details, obviously I know that he had surgery and all that," Brown said. "For me it's the same thing, I don't want to know. Just let me know if he can play and when he can play. Just like we normally would, we're getting everybody else ready to go."
He added: "For me, I'm always going with who's available today and (Robinson) didn't practice today, so we're getting whoever we need ready to go."
When a reporter asked Brown a follow-up inquiring exactly how Robinson was hurt, a member of the Knicks' media relations staff interrupted and said "we're not going to get into specifics."
Robinson reportedly plans to play. The NBA Finals begin Wednesday, June 3. The Knicks are preparing to face the winner of the Western Conference finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
Robinson has been a key contributor off the bench for New York, providing size and an interior presence defensively when Karl-Anthony Towns is off the floor.
Despite battling numerous injuries in his career, Robinson has been a stud for the Knicks during the postseason, averaging 5.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.6 bocks and 0.5 steals in just 14.2 minutes per game in 13 playoff games this year.
Robinson has made the most of his sparing minutes, giving the Knicks additional scoring opportunities by grabbing 2.5 offensive rebounds per game.
Despite his desires to play, if he is unable to go, it would be a huge loss for the Knicks, who will need all the size they can in the NBA Finals when New York faces either Victor Wembanyama or the duo of Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren.
The next man up for New York would be second-year, third-string center Ariel Hukporti, who appeared in just 54 games this season, playing 9.2 minutes, which came mostly during the waning minutes of blowout games.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mitchell Robinson injury didn't happen at game or practice, Mike Brown says
Game Discussion for St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs Friday Night
One of those weekends you circle on your calendar before the season begins will start Friday night at Busch Stadium as the St. Louis Cardinals play host to those nemesis Chicago Cubs. The tiny bears will force Shota Imanaga onto the mound while Andre Pallante will take the ball for the St. Louis Cardinals. First pitch scheduled for 6:15pm central time.
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
- New, improved notifications system!
Thunder's Jalen Williams officially ruled out for Game 7 of Western Conference Finals.
Jalen Williams tried. He suited up for Game 6 ready to see if he could help Oklahoma City close out San Antonio. What was clear in his 10 minutes off the bench is that his strained left hamstring was not ready for an NBA game.
Williams has officially been ruled out of Game 7 on Saturday, the team announced, something that wasn't a surprise after he sat the entire fourth quarter of Game 6 (even though the game was out of hand, if Williams could have played he would have been out there to shake off some rust). Ajay Mitchell also remains out with the calf strain that has sidelined him for the last few games.
It's bad news for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has been up and down this series — and is shooting 37.9% for the first six games — because an elite San Antonio defense can drill down on stopping him, and he doesn't have his most trusted secondary shot creators next to him to relieve the pressure.
It also leaves Thunder coach Mark Daigneault with some tough choices. He almost certainly now keeps Jared McCain in the starting lineup, but Oklahoma's lineups in this series with SGA, McCain, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Lu Dort have struggled — San Antonio keeps racing out to a lead in games for a reason. Does Daigneault start Cason Wallace in Dort's spot? Is changing the starting lineup for a Game 7 wise?
That said, it's best to know that Williams just can't go, rather than feeling obligated to roll him out for minutes where he only hurts the team in the biggest game of the season.
Wayne Gretzky Praises K’Andre Miller As One Of The Best Defensemen In Playoffs
Former New York Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller has stood out for the Carolina Hurricanes throughout their playoff run thus far, as the team is one game away from a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
After five seasons playing in New York, the Rangers sent Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes last summer in a sign-and-trade deal that included a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 or 2027 NHL Draft, and Scott Morrow.
The Hurricanes went ahead and signed Miller to an eight-year, $60 million contract, which was deemed a risky move at the time, given his inconsistencies and flaws that had held him back with the Blueshirts.
However, Miller has flipped the script, transforming into one of the Hurricanes’ most valuable blueliners on a team filled with top-notch defensemen.
In 12 playoff games, Miller leads all defensemen on the team with eight points, while his 24:05 minutes per game are the most amongst all Carolina players.
The 26-year-old defenseman's evolution has caught the attention of many across the hockey world, including The Great One, Wayne Gretzky.
“Defensively, K'Andre Miller is playing as well as I've ever seen a defenseman play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs,” Gretzky said. “He is just solid offensively, but defensively, nobody can get around him. He's like a brick wall, and when he's not out there, Slavin is.”
Lakers’ Austin Reaves’ buzzcut leaves the internet shocked
It’s been over two weeks since we last saw Austin Reaves on a basketball court.
On Friday morning, Reaves was joined by his girlfriend, Jenna Barber, posing for a photo with a cake that read “Happy 28th,” as the couple was celebrating his birthday. But what was notable in the photo was Austin’s new haircut.
Austin was seen rocking a buzzcut on top of his head.
The news of his new look comes after the Lakers’ season ended on May 11, following a 115-110 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The reaction of the Lakers’ guard rocking a buzzcut got some attention across the internet.
One of Austin’s friends from high school, Kelly Harriete, commented on the post saying, “I guess it’s the same haircut 2014,” showing a picture of Austin repping a buzzcut.
Other reactions on the post included X account @BallKnowerSquad commenting, “Two evolutions away from becoming Ivica Zubac.”
While Reaves is kicking back and enjoying his birthday with a new hairstyle, this offseason will have major implications for a Lakers team that is looking to win its 18th NBA title.
Reaves has to make a decision soon about whether he wants to come back to the Lakers for $14.9 million or elect to utilize his player option and hit free agency.
Last season, he appeared in 51 games for the Lakers, averaging 23.3 points per game with 4.7 total rebounds and 5.5 assists.
The Lakers will also have other areas they will need to address this offseason, such as what the future has in store for future Hall of Famer LeBron James.
On top of that, the Lakers have also been considered serious contenders in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, as reports indicate they will look to trade some draft capital for the former MVP.
Game Thread: We need our stopper
Go Rays!
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
- New, improved notifications system!
Flyers Should Avoid Targeting Former 2nd Overall Pick This Offseason
While the Philadelphia Flyers may need to make an upgrade on defense this summer and find a power play quarterback while doing it, there are certain traps they must avoid to ensure a clean operation.
One of those traps happens to be a former No. 2 overall pick who is a pending restricted free agent seeking a big payday on his next contract.
In recent weeks and months, it has been reported multiple times that top New Jersey Devils prospect Simon Nemec is looking for a deal comparable to that of Luke Hughes, who inked a seven-year, $63 million contract that comes with a $9 million annual cap hit.
The problem, though, is that Hughes had recorded 40 or more points in each of his first two NHL seasons, and might have done it again this year had he not missed 14 games due to injuries.
Nemec, 22, shows flashes at times, but just played his first full-ish NHL season and scored 11 goals and 26 points in 68 games - a slight improvement on a 19-point campaign in 2023-24.
On paper, the Flyers adding Nemec makes some sense, since they need a power play shot-caller and some young talent.
It would have made more sense, though, if they hadn't already traded Bobby Brink for David Jiricek at the NHL trade deadline two months ago and then follow that up with having Oliver Bonk make his playoff debut against the Carolina Hurricanes to end the season.
Between Jamie Drysdale, Bonk, Jiricek, Spencer Gill, Carter Amico, and Rasmus Ristolainen, for as long as he remains in Philadelphia, the Flyers have no reason to make such a risky play for an RFA, be it through trade or through offer sheet.
The Flyers have taken their fair share of licks over the last two seasons over Matvei Michkov's playing time and usage, and Nemec has been a similar story in Newark with the Devils.
Couple that with constant rumors of trade requests, a gaudy contract demand, and a level of play that doesn't currently warrant that contract, and the Flyers could easily get themselves in trouble.
Nemec does a lot of things well, to be clear. He has a good feel for the ice and where his teammates are, improved significantly at using his legs to kill plays on the rush, and is quietly a wizard at exiting his own zone and entering the opposing end with his skating.
He does, however, struggle to play with urgency, win pucks, and break pucks out cleanly from his own end.
After a successful season that ended with a two-round playoff run, do the Flyers have the patience to take on another project in addition to Drysdale, who is now finally coming into his own after three years, and Jiricek?
This is a move that would have made plenty of sense before the Flyers pried Jiricek out of Minnesota, but it now carries too much risk and baggage that could very well outweigh even the median outcome of Nemec's development.
Game #58 GameThread: Jays @ Orioles
Adam Macko gets the ‘start’ tonight (likely closer to an opener). I don’t know what they expect out of him. Two innings, three? The most he threw in Buffalo is 2.1 innings. Austin Voth is to be the ‘bulk’ guy. And they are planning another bullpen day Sunday.
And Charles McAdoo makes his MLB debut, playing second base. No pressure Charles (can we call you Chuck?), the last guy to be in the right-handed platoon role at second base, hit just .188 (with one walk) and he got 28 games worth of runaway. If you can crack .200, we’ll be thrilled.
David Stearns takes stock of Mets, pinpoints problems that have led to disappointing season
On Friday, May 29, after 56 games played (just over a third of the way through the season), the Mets are 10 games under .500, 14.5 GB of the NL East and 7.5 GB of the final Wild Card spot.
They’ll begin another three-game series at Citi Field on Friday night when they host the Miami Marlins, who swept New York in Miami last week, but before the team takes the field, David Stearns met with the media to take stock of the Mets and their disappointing season.
“We have not had a good year so far, there’s no question,” Stearns said. “We’re not where we thought we would be. We’ve dug ourselves a hole. It’s not an insurmountable hole, but it is definitely a hole and we’re gonna have to play a lot better baseball to do what we want to do this year.”
After pointing out the obvious, Stearns attempted to pinpoint the problems affecting New York and, perhaps more importantly, explain why they’ve happened and continue to happen.
One of the biggest issues that has befallen the Mets this year – that is top of mind because of David Peterson’s failure on Tuesday to back up home plate on a double that resulted in a run, which drew the ire of SNY commentator Ron Darling on the telecast – is mental mistakes.
From the start of the season, whether it’s defenders not knowing how many outs there are, poor decisions on the basepaths or even an unsightly record on ABS challenges, New York has not played clean baseball this year.
After Peterson’s gaffe, one of many by the team this year, manager Carlos Mendoza was asked whether his coaching staff’s messaging to the players is being acknowledged and the skipper said he had no concerns in that department.
For his part, Stearns also offered a vote of confidence in Mendoza and the rest of the coaches.
“I think our coaching staff does a really good job,” he said. “Look, on the Petey [play] in particular, that’s a pretty heady player – he was frustrated – but that’s a pretty heady player who generally does a really good job with those types of things, so I wouldn’t put too much into that.”
A more obvious problem for the Mets has been their lack of offense, especially from players who were brought in over the offseason to add some thump to the lineup.
While injuries have limited some of those players and other stars on New York’s roster, what the Mets have produced at the plate all season is truly baffling. Even role players who have been given a chance to play every day and take that next step have failed to do so.
“We’ve clearly had some players that we thought and still think that are capable of taking that next step forward in their careers, and we haven’t quite seen that yet,” Stearns said. It doesn’t mean we won’t or they’re not capable of it, but we haven’t.”
One of the biggest disappointments offensively for New York has been Bo Bichette, who signed a three-year, $126 million contract over the offseason after a great career with the Toronto Blue Jays.
But in his first season with the Mets, Bichette has had a terrible showing, hitting .225 with a .590 OPS – well below his career averages – while batting near the top of the lineup all season. In fact, after New York signed Bichette (and to some extent Jorge Polanco), it envisioned him, Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto to be one of the best top of the orders in baseball.
And while Bichette has struggled, Lindor and Polanco have both been injured for much of the season, leaving Soto as the only player atop the lineup who has come through consistently.
“That’s been one of the most frustrating parts of the season,” Stearns said. “We did believe that the top of our order would match any top of order in baseball and we haven’t had those players together and at various points when we’ve had elements of that group on the field, we haven’t gotten the production that we anticipated.
“So that has been frustrating, it’s been a challenge. We still believe that those are really good players and when we get them back at the top of the lineup, we’ll have a really good top of the lineup.”
Despite the results, though, Stearns still believes the Mets “have the talent to be a very good offensive team.” He is also encouraged by how the players continue to compete even after everything has gone wrong this season.
“I think the motivation and energy from these players remains very high,” Stearns said. “I understand there’s frustration everywhere, there’s exacerbation, we all get it, but our players are playing hard and they care and they compete and that’s a reflection on them and on our coaches.”
That energy and want-to out of the team is also part of the reason why Stearns isn’t ready to commit to any specific strategy at the trade deadline.
“We’re not there yet,” he said. “We’ve got time, so we’re not there yet.”
Giants activate Logan Webb and Jung Hoo Lee, place Tyler Mahle on IL
As expected, the San Francisco Giants made a handful of moves on Friday, as they return from the off day to kick off a 10-game road strip, which starts a stretch of 13 games in as many days. We’d known for a few days that All-Star pitcher Logan Webb would be returning on Friday as the Giants face the Colorado Rockies, but the corresponding move was not known, and it’s a tiny bit surprising: fellow right-handed starter Tyler Mahle has been placed on the 15-Day Injured List with with a hamstring strain. Mahle’s IL stint is retroactive to May 27.
Mahle has been struggling all season, and has a 6.04 ERA, a 4.85 FIP, and an MLB-worst seven losses in just 11 starts. He’s looked nothing like the player who had a 2.18 ERA and a 3.37 FIP for the Texas Rangers a year ago, before coming to the Giants on a one-year deal that featured not just $10 million, but a very loud stamp of approval from Bruce Bochy.
With Trevor McDonald pitching very well while filling in for Webb, the Giants had a decision to make about their rotation. And while it seemed like a distinct possibility that they would make the decision to move Mahle to the bullpen, they instead kicked the decision down the road a bit by placing him on the IL. Now he can take his time getting fully healthy, make a few rehab appearances in AAA, and the Giants can reassess in a few weeks.
San Francisco also made a move on the position player side, by activating right fielder Jung Hoo Lee from the 10-Day IL, and optioning Will Brennan to Sacramento. This was the first day that Lee was eligible to come off the IL, which certainly suggests his injury was quite minor. Like Webb, Lee is slotting straight into the starting lineup at Coors Field, and will bat sixth. Brennan will head back to AAA where he’ll stay on call as emergency outfield depth.
Friday night Orioles game thread: vs. Blue Jays, 7:05
Trevor Rogers will look to get back on track tonight against the Blue Jays. The Orioles received a quality start from Chris Bassitt yesterday, but the offense failed to carry its weight in a 2-1 loss. Baltimore will need to score more than two runs tonight if Rogers’ recent woes continue.
Adley Rutschman (DH) and Samuel Basallo (C) will both be in the lineup this evening against left-handed pitcher Adam Macko. Colton Cowser, Leody Taveras and Taylor Ward will handle the outfield duties. Coby Mayo will play third base, Gunnar Henderson will take short, Jackson Holliday will handle second and Pete Alonso will begin the game at first.
Albert Suárez should be available after rejoining the roster on a major league deal. Yennier Cano was testing his hamstring on the field earlier today. The team optioned Cameron Weston back to Norfolk and transferred Dean Kremer to the 60-day IL before tonight’s contest.
Baltimore carried some significant momentum into the series but suffered a setback last night. Can Rogers and the Orioles rediscover the good vibes this evening at Camden Yards?
Orioles lineup:
- Taylor Ward (R) LF
- Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
- Adley Rutschman (S) DH
- Pete Alonso (R) 1B
- Samuel Basallo (L) C
- Leody Taveras (S) CF
- Colton Cowser (L) RF
- Coby Mayo (R) 3B
- Jackson Holliday (L) 2B
Braves at Reds chat and discussion: Grant Holmes vs Chris Paddack
The Atlanta Braves and their offense which is currently second in MLB in runs scored will to Cincinnati to take on the Reds who are 5-5 in their last ten games.
The Reds have the fourth worst team ERA in MLB while sporting an offense that is right at league average being fourteenth in MLB in runs scored. Chris Paddack will have his hands full for the Reds as he takes the mound with his 6.86 ERA and Grant Holmes looks to continue his streak of solid starts.
The Braves only play the Reds six times this season, and after this series won’t see them again until the end of September.
First pitch is at 6:40 EDT
Washington Nationals vs San Diego Padres Game Thread
When the Nats and Padres get together, things tend to get interesting. That could be especially true this time as the two teams are as evenly matched as they have been in a long time. Both are over .500, but have gotten there in very different ways. The Nats are powered by an explosive offense, while the Padres have a lockdown bullpen.
Blake Butera is making a couple changes to the lineup. Dylan Crews will be back in there in right field, which pushes James Wood to DH. Nasim Nunez will also be at second base and hit 9th. Keibert Ruiz will be behind the dish and hit 8th. Paxton Schultz will be the opener today, but Andrew Alvarez will be coming for bulk relief duty.
The Padres offense has underperformed this year. Fernando Tatis Jr. does not have a home run, while Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado have also taken big steps back. Gavin Sheets, Miguel Andujar and Ty France have the highest OPS numbers in the Padres lineup. We know that the big names in the Padres lineup can get hot at any time though. Lucas Giolito signed with the Padres very late, but he has been solid in his first couple of starts for the team. He will take the mound and face the team that drafted him.
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
- New, improved notifications system!
Game Info:
Stadium: Nationals Park
Time: 6:45 PM EST
TV: Nationals.TV and Fox 5 WTTG
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
The energy in the stadium this weekend should be great, and that fires me up. This team is giving the fans reason to believe. Hopefully the Nats can continue playing better baseball at home, after an awful start to the year at Nats Park. This will be a fun test for the boys. Follow along in the comments down below, and let’s go Nats!
Game 56: Red Sox @ Guardians – Samaniego/Bello vs Cecconi
Great; another opener in front of Brayan Bello. The Guardians lead the AL Central while the Sox slipped right back into fifth place. Who’s looking for a fun weekend?!
⚾️ First Pitch: 7:10pm EDT — Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH
📺 TV: NESN
📻 Radio: WEEI