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Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo both homer to power Mets to 9-3 win over Cardinals

The Mets scored four runs in the fifth inning and recorded 17 hits to beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-3, on Friday night.

Here are the key takeaways...

- Clay Holmes got out to a funky start, allowing a leadoff double to Lars Nootbaar who then stole third base and scored on Masyn Winn's infield single to put the Cardinals up 1-0. Francisco Alvarez helped Holmes by throwing out Winn trying to steal second, and the righty got Nolan Arenado to pop up for the third out. Holmes then carried that momentum for a scoreless second inning, including his first strikeout of the night.

Holmes let up a leadoff single to Victor Scott II in the bottom of the third, as he advanced to second on a groundout. Scott stole third and came around to score on Alvarez's throwing error, tying the game at 2-2. Holmes then gave up an RBI-single to Willson Contreras as St. Louis took a 3-2 lead. The righty bounced back with two consecutive 1-2-3 innings through the fifth and retired a total of eight straight Cardinals into the sixth inning.

Holmes completed six innings of work, allowing a season-high eight hits, but just three runs. He struck out three and didn't allow a walk.

- New York loaded the bases withno outsin the top of the second inning against Sonny Gray, as Jeff McNeil hit into a fielder's choice, allowing a run to score to tie the game at 1-1. Alvarez then drove in Winker on a grounder to short, beating out the 6-4-3 double play to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. They had a chance to add more to the lead after Luisangel Acuña and Francisco Lindor walked, but Juan Soto struck out to end the frame.

- Pete Alonso hit a leadoff single in the top of the third, but was caught trying to steal second by Gray on his first attempt of the season. He's now 17-for-20 on steals in his career.

- The bats woke up in the fifth, as Soto crushed a double (114.3 mph exit velocity) on an 0-2 pitch to right field with one away and scored on Alonso's eighth home run of the season, a 417-foot blast to center field to put the Mets up 4-3. Brandon Nimmo and Jesse Winker made it four straight hits to knock Gray out of the game. Mark Vientos hit into what should've been an inning-ending double play, but Contreras dropped the ball at first, allowing the run to score. Alvarez went the other way against Chris Roycroft to drive in another, making it 6-3.

- New York tacked on two more runs in the seventh -- Nimmo launched his seventh homer of the season and Alvarez drove in his third run of the game with another opposite-field hit, driving in Tyrone Taylor from second.

- Acuña's double in the seventh gave every Mets starter (plus Taylor) at least one hit, as the team finished with 17 total hits -- their second most in a game (21 in 19-5 win over Washington Nationals) this season. Acuña later added another run on a sacrifice fly in the ninth to go up 9-3.

- José Buttó tossed a 1-2-3 seventh inning and worked around a little trouble to escape the eighth inning, keeping the score intact. Ryne Stanek pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

- Following a four-game sweep of the Cardinals in April, New York has now defeated St. Louis in nine straight contests -- the first time in Mets franchise history.

Who was the game MVP?

Despite his throwing error that resulted in a run, Francisco Alvarez had his best game at the plate so far this year. He finished 3-for-5 with a season-high three RBI. Plus, he threw out the speedy Winn, helping settle down Holmes on the mound.

Highlights

Upcoming schedule

The Mets continue their three-game series with the Cardinals on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. on SNY.

RHP Tylor Megill (3-2, 1.74 ERA) gets the start for New York and will pitch opposite RHP Erick Fedde (1-3, 4.68 ERA).

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Connor Hellebuyck Pulled For Third Time In Four Games; Jets Drop Game 6 5-2 To Blues

St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn (10) reacts to scoring a goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the second period in game six of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Connor Hamilton-Imagn Images

Connor Hellebuyck was pulled from the Winnipeg Jets' crease for the third time in four games as the St. Louis Blues won Game 6, 5-2.

The first period came to an end with the Blues leading 1-0, thanks to Phillip Broberg's first goal of the playoffs. The Jets were heavily outplayed in the opening frame, throwing just two shots at Jordan Binnington. 

Morgan Barron had thought he tied the game, but an offside challenge reversed the call. The Jets did, however, tie the game with Cole Perfetti's first of the playoffs. But just like Games 3 and 4, the Jets imploded the Blues took over, scoring four unanswered goals. Nathan Walker got it started before, Brayden Schenn, Cam Fowler and Alexey Toropchenko added to the lead. 

As the third period began, it was Eric Comrie who took over the Jets' net, replacing Hellebuyck for the third consecutive road game. Nino Niederreiter scored his second goal of the playoffs to cut the Blues' lead to 5-2, but the thoughts of a comeback were short-lived, as the Blues shut down every attempt the Jets made. 

Hellebuyck allowed five goals on 23 shots, and his replacement, Comrie, stopped all four shots he faced. While he wasn't challenged too often, when called upon, Binnington delivered, turning away 21 of the 23 shots he saw. 

The Jets and Blues will return to Winnipeg for a do-or-die Game 7 on Sunday.

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Yoshinobu Yamamoto stellar once again for Dodgers in rain-delayed win over Braves

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) works against the Atlanta Braves.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers in the first inning of a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night. (Mike Stewart / Associated Press)

Hours before first pitch Friday, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was honored with the National League’s pitcher of the month award for March and April.

Given how he looked in a scoreless six-inning, six-strikeout, one-hit gem against the Atlanta Braves hours later, it might not be the last award he vies for this year.

After establishing himself as a breakout star in the opening month, Yamamoto continued his ascent up the hierarchy of major-league starters in the Dodgers’ 2-1 win Friday at Truist Park.

He carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He held an opponent without a run for the third time in his last four starts. And he dropped his early-season ERA to an MLB-best 0.90, having yielded just four earned runs in his first 40 innings of the season.

Read more:Why the Dodgers' Max Muncy has started wearing glasses in games: 'Anything that can help'

“I’ve been able to perform at a very high level,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda after the game. “I think it’s really close to my best times in Japan.”

Already in recent weeks, manager Dave Roberts has referred to Yamamoto — the three-time Japanese league MVP who signed for $325 million two offseasons ago — as the ace of the Dodgers’ pitching staff.

But now, with the Dodgers (22-10) missing two other nine-figure rotation signings in Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow because of shoulder injuries, Yamamoto’s value might be even greater than just that.

“When you look at the handful of guys in the big leagues that when they take the ball, you know they're going to go six innings, you're going to get a chance to win, a good chance to win, they can manage some stress, they're always the best option — he’s putting himself in that category,” Roberts said. “I think there's just been so much consistent performance from Yoshi in big games that it’s real. He does think he’s one of those guys.”

Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto reacts in the fourth inning against the Braves on Friday.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto reacts in the fourth inning against the Braves on Friday. (Mike Stewart / Associated Press)

Yamamoto didn’t look like that caliber of pitcher in his previous start, a season-worst five-inning, three-run outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates last week in which he issued a career-high four walks.

But after a mental “reset” — something Yamamoto says he does between every start — the 26-year-old right-hander responded with one of his best outings of the season against the resurgent Braves (who are 14-17, but had won nine of their previous 12).

"He dominated today, and I feel like it wasn't even the best version of Yama, which is crazy,” reliever Evan Phillips said. “When you talk about routine and work ethic and the talent, this guy's one of the best in the game, for sure. It's fun to watch."

In Yamamoto’s first three innings, the only real danger he encountered was to his own person. With two outs in the first inning, he ducked out of the way of a 107-mph line drive from Matt Olson that Mookie Betts snared at shortstop. To lead off the second, Sean Murphy rifled a 106-mph comebacker that Yamamoto snagged with his glove.

His pitching counterpart, Grant Holmes, wasn’t so lucky.

After matching Yamamoto zero for zero (in both runs and hits) in the early going, the Atlanta right-hander suffered a bad break in the fourth, when Betts smoked a 94-mph comebacker off his backside for the night’s first hit. That was followed by a single from Freddie Freeman, who hit a ground ball that Olson failed to snare at first base, and a walk to Teoscar Hernández, loading the bases with one out. Will Smith then lifted a sacrifice fly to right, opening the scoring.

Not until the sixth inning, when Betts continued his resurgence from a deep April slump with a solo home run to left field, did the Dodgers get to Holmes again.

But the way Yamamoto was dealing, the lack of run support posed little problem.

Outside of two walks to Marcell Ozuna — who won an 11-pitch battle in the first inning, and a six-pitch duel in the fourth — the Braves mustered nothing until a two-out double by Austin Riley in the sixth. And even that was immediately negated when Yamamoto induced a groundout from Ozuna to end the inning in the next at-bat.

“I was thinking about it a little bit,” Roberts said of Yamamoto’s growing no-hit possibility. “Because, yeah, he had no-hit stuff tonight.” 

Instead, with Yamamoto likely to start on five days' rest for the first time this season next week — he had been on a six-days-rest schedule — Roberts ended Yamamoto’s night there, pulling him after 91 pitches.

His replacement, Kirby Yates, gave up a leadoff homer in the seventh to Olson, cutting the Dodgers’ lead in half.

But, even after a 1-hour, 13-minute rain delay at the end of the eighth, the Dodgers held on, with Tanner Scott and Evan Phillips slamming the door to preserve Yamamoto’s fourth victory and improve the team’s record to 5-2 in games he has pitched.

“Just executing all of his pitches. Just making it really hard on the hitters,” Smith said of Yamamoto’s dominance. “Right now, he’s pitching like the best pitcher in the world. We’re just fortunate to have him.”

Read more:How Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto 'elevated his game to another level' in his second year

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Yankees ace Max Fried finds words inadequate to explain a subtle artistry

Watch Max Fried pitch when you haven’t focused on him much before. He comes out throwing a fastball at 89-90 mph, and you’re thinking, uh-oh. 

You knew he was a crafty lefty, but you didn’t think he was a touch-and-feel guy, a soft tosser. You wonder if he is injured.

You keep watching and it begins to make sense. Fried stays at 90 for a bit, then pushes it to 92. But this is not a pitcher loosening up in typical fashion. He might touch 94 and then retreat to 91. With two strikes, he hits 97. Then perhaps back to 93.

You get the idea. This is not exactly normal, right?

“No, he definitely does it more [than anyone],” said Fried’s catcher, Austin Wells. Smiling, he adds, “It’s scary because I don’t know when he’s going to do it.”

What does Wells think is happening? Is Fried changing speeds on purpose?

“Yeah,” Wells said. “[After it happens on a pitch] I’m always like, that makes sense.”

Fried, after pitching seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 Yankees win over the Rays on Friday -- improving his record to 6-0 and his ERA to 1.01 (!) -- took a moment near his locker to try to explain this skill. 

“Sometimes it’s conscious and sometimes it’s not,” Fried told SNY. “Sometimes you try to let it go and it’s one speed, and sometimes you time it up good.”

How does one actually change speeds on a four-seam fastball? Is it a matter of grip? A subtle reduction in arm action? Does Fried even know?

He squinted while thinking, then said, “It’s just something that I’ve always done. It’s not something that I can even really explain. My whole life I’ve always been a big fluctuator of velocity in pitches. I'm just leaning into what’s natural for me.”

The most variation within one at-bat on Friday came in the fourth inning against Jonathan Aranda. Fried started at 89, then went 93, 94, 95, and 92. By the time Aranda looked at a 79 mph curveball for a called strike three, he appeared thoroughly confused. Earlier, in a second inning at-bat, Fried showed Kameron Meisner 92 and 96, two pitches apart.

This is not a game plan. This is a person in full control of a spontaneous moment.

“It’s not something that I’m sitting here saying that I’m going to throw 20 percent of my balls under this number of miles per hour,” Fried said. “It’s just a feel of the game. It’s a little of everything.”

Freid paused. He was really trying to explain it. Words failed.

“I wish I could give you a more definitive answer,” he said. “It’s just literally like, it’s just the flow.”

It’s just the flow. That actually did sound like the answer. Changing speeds is not a verbal thing. It’s not an intellectual thing. It’s a flow thing. Fried seemed to like that. “Yeah,” he said, nodding. “Flow. Absolutely.”

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Yankees' Jorbit Vivas impresses in MLB debut: 'Quality at-bats down there all night'

Before the season, the battle for the Yankees' third base job included notable names like DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera, but prospect Jorbit Vivas was also in consideration.

And although he didn't break camp with the team, he finally got to make his MLB debut a little over a month into the 2025 season. Despite it coming due to Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s injury, manager Aaron Boone was confident the 24-year-old could handle big league pitching, and started him Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The left-hander didn't get a hit, but reached base twice on walks and scored on Paul Goldschmidt's three-run bomb in the Yankees' eventual win.

"[Tonight was] definitely something that I was expecting for a long time," Vivas said through an interpreter after the game. "And finally got the opportunity. Very excited about that and happy for my family too, I'm sure that they're watching back home. Good day."

The Venezuelan native was impressive in Triple-A this season, slashing .319/.426/.436 with seven extra-base hits, including two home runs, 15 RBI, and an .862 OPS in 26 games. He was impressive last spring after he came over from the Dodgers along with LHP Victor Gonzalez in the Trey Sweeney deal in December. 2023, but with a logjam in the infield, Vivas would have to wait for his moment, and it came.

Despite being up with the team a few times, he never actually got into a game until Friday. The 5-foot-9 infielder said there were some nerves, especially with 45 thousand-plus fans in attendance, but he got through it, especially when the first pitch thrown from Max Fried wound up being a grounder right to him.

"Wow. You know immediately, right? First hit in the game, right at me. I did it, I did it correctly. And then immediately after that, I was like, 'okay. Let me slow down a little bit here.'" 

Vivas finished that routine grounder and made every defensive play available to him on Friday, but he was also impressive at the plate. He didn't get a hit, but walked twice and the Yankees skipper was impressed by all three at-bats from the youngster.

"The last couple [of at-bats], two walks were excellent," Boone said. "I thought the first at-bat where he punched out, I thought he put together a really good at-bat. Got beat with a good heater in the end, but I thought quality at-bats down there all night."

His first at-bat saw him foul tip a ball into the catcher's glove on a 97 mph fastball from Ryan Pepiot. He then walked on four pitches, all out of the zone, in his second at-bat, but it was his final at-bat that was really impressive. Vivas got behind 0-2, but then showed his understanding of the strikezone, taking four straight pitches for balls and taking his walk.

"The plan was just to look for a good pitch, and make good contact," Vivas said of his approach. "If I didn't get a good pitch to hit, I was just gonna let it go by. I'm used to that. That's what I wanted to do, I didn't get one there to hit."

Perhaps Vivas will pick up his first major league hit sooner rather than later. Boone said before the game that he expects Vivas to "play a lot" while Chisholm is down with injury.

We'll see what Saturday brings.

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Former Arizona State guard Adam Miller transferring to Gonzaga

Former Arizona State forward Adam Miller is transferring to Gonzaga. The university announced the move Friday, saying Miller has signed a financial aid agreement. Gonzaga will be the fourth school for Miller, an Illinois native who has scored 1,206 points in 117 games for Arizona State, LSU and Illinois.

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Becky Hammon on mentor Gregg Popovich stepping down as Spurs head coach: 'My heart's a little heavy for him'

Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon praised Gregg Popovich after he stepped down from coaching the San Antonio Spurs to become their full-time president.

Popovich suffered a mild stroke in November that kept him from calling plays for the team the rest of the season, and he retires from coaching after 29 years on the job. Assistant coach Mitch Johnson, who served as interim head coach for the rest of the season, will take over permanently.

Before the Aces' preseason matchup against the Dallas Wings on Friday night, Hammon applauded Popovich, who took her under his wing in the years leading up to her tenure in Las Vegas.

Mar 11, 2022; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich talks with assistant coach Becky Hammon during the first half against the Utah Jazz at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Becky Hammon coached on Gregg Popovich's Spurs staff before transitioning to the WNBA. (Scott Wachter/USA TODAY Sports)
USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

"That's who mentored me, that's who spent literally thousands of hours with me," Hammon said. "Watching him, I was there eight years. It's a lot of games, it's a lot of practices, it's a lot of coaches' meetings. So yeah, my heart's a little heavy for him because I know how much he loves it, but I'm sure he'll crush this role just as much."

Hammon was part of Popovich's coaching staff from 2014 to 2021 and was the first woman to lead an NBA team after Popovich was ejected in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. The former New York Liberty guard was also the first woman to serve as a head coach in the NBA Summer League and interviewed for the Portland Trail Blazers' head coaching vacancy in 2021 before being hired by the Aces.

She became the first WNBA coach to win a championship as a rookie and secured another title in 2022. Despite her ties to the Spurs and fans calling for her to replace Popovich, the 48-year-old insisted she is happy with her role in Las Vegas.

"I'm super happy where I am," Hammon said. "This opportunity for me, I couldn't pass on it. I bet on myself instead of, maybe waiting it out for a maybe [in the NBA]. I've enjoyed being back on the women's side. You guys know I'm effusive about my love for this team and being back in the women's game."

"If I were to ever make that jump again, you know it just has to be the right fit, right time, in front of the right people, with the right team," she added.

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Max Fried dominates, Paul Goldschmidt homers in Yankees' 3-0 win over Rays

Max Fried dominated the Rays again, and Paul Goldschmidt provided the offense in the Yankees' 3-0 win over Tampa Bay on Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

Here are the takeaways...

-Fried, the newly minted AL Pitcher of the Month, started May the way he ended April: dominant. He went 4.1 innings before he gave up his first hit -- helped by some stellar defense behind him -- but it was just the beginning of what the Yankees and their fans have come to expect from the left-hander.

Fried completed seven scoreless frames (92 pitches/61 strikes), allowing just one hit, two walks and one HBP while striking out six. His ERA is now 1.01.

The last time Fried pitched against the Rays, he reached the eighth inning without allowing a hit -- until that was retroactively changed mid-game. In his two seasons outings against Tampa, he's allowed only three hits over 14.2 scoreless innings.

- Goldschmidt dealt the big blow in this one. With the game scoreless in the fifth and runners on second and third and two outs, the former NL MVP launched a 1-0 pitch fastball at the top of the zone 350 feet the other way over the right field wall. It would've been a homer in only three parks -- Citizens Bank Park and George M. Steinbrenner Field are the others.

After taking a month to hit his second homer, it's Goldschmidt's second homer in as many games. He finished 2-for-4.

-Aaron Judge smoked a triple to straightaway center that the Rays' center fielder couldn't grab and let trickle away from him. The ball was hit 108.5 mph off the bat. It was Judge's seventh career triple and second this season. It's the most he's had in one season since hitting three in his 2017 rookie campaign.

The Yankees' captain would add a double and also finish 2-for-4 at the plate. He's now batting a league-best .430 as May gets started.

-Jorbit Vivas made his MLB debut, playing second base and batting ninth. He saw the first pitch of the game hit at him, a routine grounder. He made every play in the field that he needed to.

At the plate, Vivas struck out swinging in his first at-bat before taking a four-pitch walk in his second. His third at-bat saw him come up with a man on third and two outs. After falling behind 0-2, he worked a walk on six pitches. He finished 0-for-1 but walked twice and scored a run.

-Devin Williams pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning with a strikeout in relief, making it three straight scoreless outings for the new Yankee.

Luke Weaver continued his incredible start to the season, striking out two batters in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to pick up his third save of the year. Weaver has yet to give up a run this season.

Game MVP: Max Fried

Fried was just dominant, and the Yankees are now 7-0 in his starts.

Highlights

What's next

The Yankees and Rays continue their three-game set on Saturday afternoon in The Bronx. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m.

Clarke Schmidt (0-1, 5.52 ERA) will take the mound looking for his first win of 2025. Tampa will send Zack Littell (1-5, 5.03 ERA) to the bump.

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Why can't the Kings beat the Oilers? A familiar pattern emerges in playoff elimination

Oilers Viktor Arvidsson, Mattias Janmark and Vasily Podkolzin celebrate a second-period goal against the Kings
Viktor Arvidsson (33), Mattias Janmark (13) and Vasily Podkolzin (92) celebrate after scoring during the second period during Game 6 of their playoff series against the Kings Thursday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images)

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the summer is starting early for the Kings after a first-round playoff loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

This one is a little different, though, because this was a season that had inspired rare promise before it ended Thursday in the same painful monotony as the last three, with the Oilers going on and the Kings going home.

And that’s particularly disappointing since the Kings tied franchise records for wins (48) and points (105) and set one for home victories (31) this season. Yet it ended with the team breaking another record: it has now gone 11 seasons without winning a playoff series, the longest drought in team history.

A postseason in which the Kings seemed primed for a long run lasted just six games, the last a 6-4 loss to the Oilers at Rogers Place that leaves the organization once again shuffling off into the offseason plagued by doubt, frustration and one big question.

Edmonton Oilers Adam Henrique and Trent Frederic celebrate after scoring in the first period against the Kings
Edmonton Oilers Adam Henrique and Trent Frederic celebrate after scoring in the first period against the Kings during Game 6 of their playoff series at Rogers Place on Thursday. (Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images)

What happened?

“Having the season that we had, the group of guys in this locker room, and know, to come up short again? It sucks,” said captain Anze Kopitar, who scored the team’s final goal of the season. “It's frustrating. This one hurts a little more.”

Hurts a little more because the Kings lost more than a game and a series Thursday. They lost a golden opportunity. Rarely has a postseason set up so favorably for the team.

After acquiring Andrei Kuzmenko at the trade deadline, the Kings went on a tear, winning 17 of their final 22 games, averaging better than 3.7 goals a game. The once-punchless power play became potent; goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper went 15 games allowing two or fewer goals, the second-longest streak in the NHL’s expansion era; and the team sprinted past the Oilers to place second in the Pacific Division, its best finish in nine seasons.

No team finished the season hotter nor healthier than the Kings.

Read more:Kings' season ends in another playoff loss to Oilers: 'This one hurts a little more'

That also meant the Kings, who had the best home record in the NHL in the regular season, would have the home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs. And if they finally got past an Edmonton team that limped into the postseason wounded, they would have faced Las Vegas in the second round and a team from a quartet of Winnipeg, Dallas, Colorado or St. Louis in the Western Conference final.

The Kings were a combined 8-4-1 against those teams in the regular season. It wasn’t outlandish to think the Kings had a shot at the Stanley Cup Final.

“It’s all going according to plan,” one team executive whispered early in the playoffs. And then it wasn’t, with the Kings once again tripping over a familiar hurdle.

“One hundred percent it’s a missed opportunity,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “We had great buy-in from our players. We believe we could have won the series. We believe we should have won the series. We didn't.

“So that's the bottom line.”

The Oilers have proven to be the kryptonite to even the most Superman-ish of Kings teams, with Edmonton the place the Kings postseasons go to die.

The teams have met in the playoffs 11 times since 1982 with the Oilers winning nine of those series, including the last four in a row. The last time the Kings beat Edmonton in the playoffs, in 1989, Wayne Gretzky led the team in points, current general manager Luc Robitaille was in his third season as a player while Kopitar, the only player on this year’s team who was even alive then, was still in diapers.

This year’s loss may be the most painful of the lot though.

The Kings had the home-ice advantage, one of the league’s top three goaltenders in Darcy Kuemper and the top power play in the playoffs. They led in every game.

Yet they still lost in six.

The turning point in the series came in late in Game 3. After dominating the first two games at home, the Kings were leading the first game in Edmonton with about seven minutes to play when disaster struck. After the Oilers’ Evander Kane tied the game on a controversial goal, Hiller challenged the call, claiming goalie interference. He lost, Edmonton was awarded a power play, and 10 seconds later the Oilers went in front to stay.

Read more:Kings rally to take lead, only to collapse in third period of Game 3 loss to Oilers

In Game 4 the Kings led with less than 35 seconds to play when Quinton Byfield failed to make a simple clearance out of the Kings’ zone. The Oilers pounced on the mistake to tie the game, then won it in overtime. They never lost again.

“You can pinpoint Game 3, we didn’t close out,” Kopitar said. “Definitely Game 4. It's a completely different series if we go home up 3-1 versus 2-2. But could’ve, should’ve, would’ve.”

The Kings simply wore down, especially on the blue line. That’s why they gave up a playoff-worst 15 goals in the third period and overtime in the series. The Oilers scored just 12 times in the first and second periods combined.

Yet asked in his postgame news conference if he regretted how he used his defensemen, Hiller was curt.

“No,” he said.

And with that he walked away from the podium for the final time this season.

Oilers fans hold up signs that reads "Loss Angeles" as they celebrate their team's playoff series win over the Kings
Edmonton Oilers fans celebrate their team's playoff series win over the Kings Thursday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images)

Then there’s the offense. Kopitar and Adrian Kempe combined for 19 points in the series, but had just one goal and two assists combined after Kane’s tying goal in Game 3.

“The chances were there. We just couldn’t convert,” Kopitar said. “Credit to their goalie, he made some good stops. Credit to their team. The last couple of games they played a solid checking game and made it harder on us to generate stuff.

“We fought and came up short.”

That’s beginning to sound redundant.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Mets' Paul Blackburn resumes rehab assignment; Felipe De La Cruz shines in Triple-A debut

While the Mets haven't conveyed that Paul Blackburn will join the starting rotation once he fully recovers from knee inflammation, the veteran right-hander is still being stretched out as an option. And the latest results from his minor-league rehab assignement are encouraging.

Blackburn made his second start for High-A Brooklyn on Friday night, striking out six while allowing two runs on four hits across three innings. He threw 41 total pitches, 31 of them for strikes.

The duration between Blackburn's outings with Brooklyn nearly reached two weeks, as his scheduled start last Wednesday was scrapped due to a stomach bug that resulted in some weight loss.

The 31-year-old logged his first two rehab frames on April 19, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out one.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza recently said that Blackburn's big-league role is to be determined, but they want his pitch count in the 65-70 range before activating him from the injured list.

Considering that he only threw 41 pitches on Friday, he most likely needs a few more rehab games to build up his workload.

The Mets also received some welcome news from their top farm team on Friday, as left-hander Felipe De La Cruz impressed with nine strikeouts across six scoreless innings in his debut with Triple-A Syracuse. The 23-year-old threw 70 pitches -- 53 for strikes -- and induced 12 whiffs with a sharp mid-80s slider and upper-90s sinker.

It didn't take long for De La Cruz to receive the promotion. He began the 2025 season with Double-A Binghampton, registering a crisp 1.98 ERA with 20 strikeouts across 13.2 innings (four games, two starts).

Whether or not he's being fast-tracked to the majors, De La Cruz is now a fun story to follow and on the Mets' radar. He wasn't even listed as a top-30 prospect by SNY contributor Joe DeMayo or MLB Pipeline this spring.

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Watch Steph Curry console heartbroken son after Warriors' Game 6 loss vs. Rockets

Watch Steph Curry console heartbroken son after Warriors' Game 6 loss vs. Rockets originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Like the rest of Dub Nation, Steph Curry’s young son Canon hoped the Warriors would eliminate the Houston Rockets on Friday night at Chase Center.

But after Golden State’s 115-107 loss in Game 6 of the first-round NBA playoff series, Canon wasn’t up for much talking.

After Curry tried talking to Canon, the 6-year-old buried his head in his mom Ayesha’s chest as his grandma, Sonya, looked on with an understanding smile.

Canon’s dad played 42 minutes in the Warriors’ tough postseason loss, scoring 29 points on 9-of-23 shooting from the field and 6 of 16 shooting from deep with seven rebounds, two assists and five turnovers.

It might take a while for Canon to cheer up after watching Curry and Co. drop the ball, allowing the Rockets to even the series at three games apiece after the Warriors held a 3-1 lead. But he doesn’t have much time to sulk — Golden State and Houston face off in a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday at Toyota Center.

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Warriors face daunting, ominous Game 7 in Houston after fumbling 3-1 series lead

Warriors face daunting, ominous Game 7 in Houston after fumbling 3-1 series lead originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Sections of the sellout crowd, hearts heavy and chins drooping, went streaming toward Chase Center exits with four minutes remaining, their beloved Warriors trailing by 17 and offering nothing to inspire faith in a comeback.

It didn’t materialize in Game 6 of this first-round Western Conference series, which ended Friday night with a 115-107 loss to the Rockets, evening matters at three games apiece.

And it only gets harder for Game 7 Sunday in Houston. Going on the road to do what couldn’t be done at home results in an adverse shift of the odds.

Not that the Warriors would even consider acknowledging that.

“We’ll be all right,” Jimmy Butler III said.

“We’re packing for a week,” Stephen Curry said. “Getting on this plane to go to Texas and, hopefully, go to Minnesota right after.”

Confidence in the face of a harsh wind can border on delusion. There’s no doubt that this, Game 6, on their floor, is a fumbling of favorable conditions. The anticipation was that the Warriors would have a spirited response to being thrashed in Game 5 Wednesday in Houston. Come home, ride the energy of a roaring crowd, close out this series and start preparing for the conference semifinals against the Timberwolves.

The Rockets took all of that away. They shot better, overall and from distance. They rebounded better, forced more turnovers, pulled more loose balls and had a sharp reply to every Golden State surge. They were vastly superior in their building and appreciably better in Game 6 in a hostile environment.

“They probably had 20 points off of broken plays and getting loose balls and kicking out for 3s,” Draymond Green said. “Get loose balls and we’ll defend them way better. To beat this team, you’ve got to make second and third efforts. Last two games we have not done that.”

Which is to say the Warriors, after taking a 3-1 series lead, tailed off their intensity in Games 5 and 6. This, folks, is not a winning mentality.

And yet, after a surprisingly sloppy first half, they trailed by only five (53-48) at halftime. A third-quarter awakening allowed them to enter the fourth quarter trailing by two points, 86-84, against a team with just enough young players to breed optimism among the Warriors.

Instead, the Rockets owned the fourth from the start. Fred VanVleet, coming off a mediocre regular season and an atrocious first three games, continued his torrid shooting, getting open against a disorganized defense to drain a 3-pointer while being fouled on a scrambling closeout by Gary Payton II.

“That’s on us as a staff,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We’ve got to make sure they’re matched up. They just threw it, and we didn’t guard Van Vleet when they threw it up the floor. He knocks it down, gets the free throw.

“Felt like a game-changing play because it was a two-point game, we’re right where we need to be despite having not played well and turning it over quite a bit.”

Six seconds into the fourth, the Warriors were down six. Five minutes in, they were trailing by 12. With 4:40 remaining and having missed 10 of their first 11 shots in the quarter, they were on the ugly end of a 106-89 score.

“We struggled that first six minutes,” Curry said of the final quarter. “You have to resist the temptation to rush and force shots, if it’s me or Jimmy trying to get good looks. But use the attention they’re going to throw at us, whether it’s me running around or Jimmy driving it, to make the defense collapse and swing and find open looks.

“For the most part, we got a lot of pretty good looks in the fourth. We just didn’t make ’em.”

Curry scored 29 points, matching VanVleet for game highs. Butler scored 27 points. They didn’t get much help from their teammates. Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody and Quinten Post – all capable shooters – finished a combined 11-of-32 from the field, including 6-of-19 from beyond the arc.

The Rockets had squelched the Warriors, silenced the crowd and taken the air out of the building. Their zone defense is stifling Golden State’s offense, and their size and athleticism aren’t going to go away.

That’s why Game 7 is more daunting than Games 5 and 6. After seeing Houston five times in the regular season and six times in this series, the Warriors still are searching for adequate solutions.

“We’ve got to stop focusing so much on them and focus on us,” Butler said. “If we do that, then we’re going to be fine. We’re not going to sit here and act like we’ve been playing our best version of basketball because we haven’t. They’ve been doing OK, but they haven’t played their best version of basketball either.”

That, for the Warriors and their fans, is particularly ominous.

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Ray continues to flourish in win vs. Rockies as Giants snap skid

Ray continues to flourish in win vs. Rockies as Giants snap skid originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

On a three-game skid after a home loss to the MLB-worst Colorado Rockies on Thursday, the Giants needed an answer on Friday night.

They found it.

Insert veteran left-hander Robbie Ray, who tossed seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts in San Francisco’s much-needed 4-0 win over Colorado at Oracle Park. 

For Ray, who remains undefeated in 2025, it marked the first time he completed seven innings in back-to-back outings since June 12 and June 17, 2022.

Naturally, any pitcher, especially one that has allowed two runs or fewer in five of his last six starts, would feel confident after seeing constant improvements in his game. That’s certainly the case for the 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner, who has found his groove on the mound.

“I think it’s just comfortability with my mechanics,” Ray told reporters after the win. “My delivery, these last two games, has felt really well.

“I feel like the ball is coming out well. I’m kind of hitting all of my cues in my delivery when I need to, and it just makes my stuff better. Earlier in the year, I was kind of fighting it a little bit. A couple of bad-weather games. That was a little tough, but, right now, I feel really good.” 

Along with limiting walks, Ray improved to 4-0 with a 3.05 ERA on the season. Manager Bob Melvin, for one, is satisfied with the 33-year-old’s recent production.

“It’s something everyone knows now,” Melvin told reporters. “Even in the games that he hasn’t gone deep in the game, we end up supporting him afterwards too [by] getting good outings out of the bullpen.

“He’s getting close to almost a 2.00 ERA. [He’s] just over 3.00 right now. We feel good when he takes the mound.”

Offensively, the Giants piled on three runs in the second inning, with LaMonte Wade Jr., who entered the game with a .123 batting average, earning an RBI double.

When Matt Chapman went to the plate in the third, he took Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela deep to left for his sixth homer of the season.

With Ray’s inertia behind them, San Francisco (20-13) will now look to take the series lead over Colorado on Saturday.

Given the circumstances heading into Friday night, it’s the exact answer the Giants needed.

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Why the Dodgers' Max Muncy has started wearing glasses in games: 'Anything that can help'

Max Muncy has a new look.

And, he hopes, slightly better sight.

On Friday night at Truist Park, Muncy took the field for the Dodgers’ series opener against the Atlanta Braves wearing clear prescription eyeglasses. He subtly did the same during the Dodgers’ last game of the most recent homestand on Wednesday afternoon, using sunglasses with prescription lenses when he hit his first home run of the season.

It’s not that Muncy has bad eyesight. His vision, he said, is actually an excellent 20/12.

Read more:After 'rough' month, Dodgers' Max Muncy hopes first homer is 'something to build on'

However, Muncy did learn he has astigmatism in his right eye, making him slightly left-eye dominant. Given that he’s a left-handed hitter — positioning him with his right eye forward in the batter’s box — he thus decided the glasses were worth a try.

“If there’s anything that can help out a little bit,” Muncy said, “I’ll try it.”

Based on his results from Wednesday, the benefits might have already been felt.

After enduring a career-long 28-game home run drought to start the season, Muncy went deep in his first at-bat Wednesday, launching a low-and-away sinker to straightaway center field.

He struck out in his next trip to the plate, then flied to left in the fifth inning. After that, however, he tripled and drew a walk, giving him his most productive performance of what had been a slow start to the season.

Granted, Muncy’s performance had started to tick up before he started using his new glasses.

Thanks to some recent swing adjustments, he entered Wednesday with three hits in his previous two games (he’d recorded just four in the 11 before that) and as many walks as strikeouts in his prior 13 contests overall (10 each).

The Dodgers' Max Muncy reacts as he runs the bases after hitting a solo homer during Wednesday's game at Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy wore sunglasses with prescription lenses during Wednesday's game against the Marlins, and hit his first home run of the season. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

“The swing feels like it’s getting closer and closer,” said Muncy, who entered Friday with a .194 batting average on the season. “I still have to clean some things up. Have to be better in certain situations. It’s a work in progress. But … it’s just getting the ball to go forward.”

Still, in recent days, Muncy decided it was time to break out the glasses, too.

The 34-year-old third baseman had been testing his glasses in pregame batting practice and infield drills since the start of last week’s homestand. He’d initially been hesitant to take them into game action, noting a “fish-bowl” effect he felt while wearing them, but said he has since adjusted by using them even when he’s away from the field.

Muncy isn’t the first Dodger player to begin utilizing glasses midseason.

Last year, Kiké Hernández did the same thing after discovering astigmatism (a condition caused by imperfections in the curvature of the eye that can impact vision) in his own right eye.

Like Muncy, Hernández described an adjustment period when his glasses arrived midseason.

“It took me like a week or two to really feel like my depth perception felt normal,” Hernández recalled.

Unlike Muncy, Hernández began wearing them in games as soon as they arrived.

“You can’t be afraid to fail,” he quipped.

Fail, Hernández did not. Before last year’s All-Star break, Hernández was batting .191 with just five home runs in 71 games, wearing glasses for only the final series of the opening half. After the break, once his eyesight adjusted to his new lenses, Hernández finished the year batting .274 with seven home runs in his final 55 games. He then proceeded to have a monster postseason (.294 average, two home runs, six RBIs) during the Dodgers’ run to a World Series title.

Read more:Shaikin: The Dodgers are good, and old. Should they try NBA-style load management?

This year, the glasses have remained a fixture. And even though he batted just .188 in March and April, he did tally five home runs and 13 RBIs.

The biggest benefit Hernández noticed from his glasses: An ability to see the actual spin on the baseball, and more easily identify each pitch type.

“Before the glasses, I was trying to see the shape of each pitch,” Hernández said, which forced him to wait a split-second to see if the ball would dive or slide away from its starting location.

“Once I got the glasses,” he added, “I could actually see the spin.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.