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Los Angeles Kings Pass Nashville Predators For Final Wild Card Spot Ahead Of Matchup

Thursday's game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Nashville Predators just got a lot more important. 

After losing three straight games and leaving six points on the table, the Predators have been passed by the Kings in the Western Conference Wild Card race with eight games left in the regular season. 

The Kings picked up a massive 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, another team trying to move up in the Wild Card race, to bump their season total to 78 points. Nashville has 77 points. 

To add salt to the wound, the San Jose Sharks also tied the Predators in points following their 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks have the tiebreaker as they have played one fewer game than the Predators. 

Winnipeg is also now a point behind Nashville after an overtime win against Chicago, 4-3, on Tuesday. Seattle also trails Nashville by two points. 

Thursday is another massive day, with the Predators getting a chance to take back the Wild Card spot if they defeat Los Angeles on the road. If Nashville loses, Winnipeg can pass the Predators with a win over Dallas, and the Sharks can do the Same with a win over Toronto. 

Seattle can also tie the Predators in points if it defeats Utah. Another loss could really set Nashville back in the playoff race. 

The Western Conference Wild Card race has been heavily criticized for the quality of the teams competing for the final spot. All six teams have a win percentage hovering just above 50%.  

While Los Angeles is the only team among the six that doesn't have more than 30 regulation losses this season, the Kings have an NHL record 19 overtime losses. 

For Nashville, the games in this final road trip are critical. It faces Los Angeles twice (Thursday and Monday), San Jose (Saturday) and Utah (April 9). Coming home for the final three games of the season, the Predators see the Sharks once more.

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Rinkside Recap: League-leading Avs fall to league’s worst Canucks 8-6

DENVER, CO — It was first vs. worst tonight at Ball Arena, and we were in the barn to offer live and in-depth coverage!

The Avalanche would go at it without stud-defender Cale Makar, who sustained an upper-body injury in Colorado’s last contest against the Calgary Flames.

Vancouver came to town looking to get back into the win column after dropping their last six games. It was a team with a -90 goal differential vs. a team with a +93 goal differential. What could go wrong?

Turns out the answer to that question was a lot, with Vancouver establishing an early lead, netting a shorthanded goal, then full-on taking over, averaging three goals a period through two frames and holding off Colorado’s third-period comeback effort to walk out of Ball Arena with 2 points.

The Game

The puck dropped, and twenty-nine seconds later, Max Sasson would net a goal for the Canucks that beat Blackwood via the five-hole.

It would take just about a minute for Nathan MacKinnon to announce his arrival as he hit the brakes upon entry, watched a Canuck lose his skates and fly by, before creating enough space to rip home a wrister. MacKinnon’s tally would make 50 on the season and put him just one goal shy of his previous career high of 51 goals.

The Avalanche would get its first power play of the evening, but it only resulted in the worst-case scenario. Vancouver would take a 2-1 lead after the Avalanche allowed the 13th shorthanded goal against.

The Canucks would find another way to score this time on a power play of their own. Jake DeBrusk was left all alone in the slot and logged his 17th of the season, with 14 of those coming on the power play. Just like that, it was 3-1 Canucks.

Frustration among the fanbase started to set in, but Gabe Landeskog would ease the pain after he deflected Brent Burns’ point shot past Kevin Lankinen, bringing his side back to within one goal at 3-2 Vancouver.

The period would end with Vancouver on the power play, and Colorado would kill the first 26 seconds and head to the locker room.

The second period would start with Colorado killing off the rest of Vancouver’s man-advantage, but that wouldn’t stop the Canucks from extending their lead to two goals after Teddy Blueger was alone in front and beat Blackwood via the five-hole yet again to bring the score to 4-2 in favor of the visitors.

Nick Blankenburg was thrust into the lineup tonight with Cale Makar tending to his wounds and had a tough night.

He sank too deeply to the point where he was into the crease, and Blackwood, who couldn’t do anything to stop what basically turned into a screened two-on-none. Brock Boeser would log that tally, and another five minutes later, bringing the score to a whopping 6-2 Canucks.

Finally, Jared Bednar pulled MacKenzie Blackwood.

Sam Malinski would get one back for Colorado before the second period ended. Vancouver challenged for goalie interference, but the challenge was unsuccessful despite Jack Drury making contact with Kevin Lankinen outside the blue paint.

We’d head to the second intermission at 6-3 Canucks.

We did have a little scare right before the second period let out, with Martin Necas getting hit away from the play and going down in a heap. He would stay down and immediately head off to the room despite the remaining time in the period.

Fortunately, he would return for the third period, but seemed to be reaching for his wrist, which has been an area of concern this season.

The Avalanche wouldn’t go quietly into the night.

Scott Wedgewood was asked if this game felt out of reach before the third, and he responded, “Never with this team.”

Parker Kelly would log his 19th of the season just 116 seconds into the third and final frame, and the comeback and whale watch were on! It was a two-goal game at 6-4 with essentially the entire third period left for the Avalanche to mount a comeback.

Next, it was Brent Burns’ turn as his point one timer, assisted by Brock Nelson, went straight in, and the tide officially had shifted.

It was Sam Malinski who set Ball Arena off with his game-tying goal (6-6) with just over five minutes left in the game. Unfortunately, that goal would quickly be answered by Vancouver’s Marcus Pettersson, who gave Vancouver a 7-6 lead.

Colorado did make a push to get things under control in this game, and had they started as they finished, they would have beaten the Canucks handily.

Takeaways

The slow start tonight should have been more anticipated, as it’s typical for a team to come out flat after putting up 5 plus goals in the first half of a period. That said, there’s no excuse for starting so poorly against the league’s worst team and giving up a shorthanded goal to a historically bad penalty kill unit.

It was pretty clear that the freedom of having nothing to play for benefited the Canucks, who likely had no problem getting up to play the best team in the league. In a season where you are -90 in goal differential, you have to take it game by game, and tonight, Vancouver passed the test.

This wasn’t a great performance by the Avalanche defensively, but MacKenzie Blackwood also looked a little lost at times. It’s feeling more and more clear that Scott Wedgewood is the number one goalie in Colorado these days.

When Bednar was asked if he was concerned with not knowing who the starter is so close to playoff time, he quickly snapped, “No.”

It’s been abundantly clear that Colorado can ill afford to lose a defender from its group of six, as Nick Blankenburg hasn’t looked great and, in a game against the league’s worst team, struggled. I don’t know that the Avalanche have a set-and-forget 7D.

Jared Bednar was clearly not pleased in the post-game presser and made no excuses for his club. When asked what went wrong, he responded, “The list is too long.”

Brock Nelson had an item that likely landed on the list, saying, “Couple unfortunate bounces where they end up with two-on-ones with some pretty clear looks that we’d like to not give up.”

Upcoming

The Avalanche will head to Dallas for a matinee contest against Mikko Rantanen and the Stars on Saturday.

Let us know what you thought of this contest in the comments!

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Celebrini ties it late then sets up Wennberg's winner as the Sharks beat the Ducks 4-3

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Macklin Celebrini tied the game with less than two minutes to play then assisted on Alexander Wennberg's winning goal with 31 seconds left to complete a four-point game as the San Jose Sharks beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 on Wednesday night.

With two goals and two assists, Celebrini now has 40 goals and 105 points this season, moving him past Erik Karlsson (101 points in 2022-23) for the second highest single-season point total in franchise history behind Joe Thornton’s 114-point effort in 2006-07.

The 19-year-old Celebrini also now has 17 games this season with three or more points, second among teenagers in NHL history only to Wayne Gretzky, who had 19 in 1979-80.

Will Smith had a goal and two assists for the Sharks and Yaroslav Askirov made 28 saves.

Troy Terry scored 4:04 into the third period to give the Ducks a 3-2 lead.

Celebrini tied it with 1:39 to play.

Ryan Poehling and Alex Killorn also scored for Anaheim, which has lost three straight games but remains atop the Pacific Division. Drew Helleson had a pair of assists and Lukas Dostal made 16 saves and also got his first assist of the season on Poehling's goal.

The Ducks played without their leading goal scorer, Cutter Gauthier, who suffered an upper-body injury in Monday night's 5-4 loss to Toronto.

Nathan Gaucher made his NHL debut for the Ducks. He was selected 22nd overall by Anaheim in the 2022 draft.

San Jose now has a 2-1 lead in the four-game regular-season series between the teams.

Up next

Ducks: Return home to play St. Louis on Friday night.

Sharks: Host Toronto for the third game of a six-game homestand on Thursday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

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Dodgers start slow at the plate

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 01: Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker (23) walks back to the dugout after striking out during the MLB game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 28, 2026 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers have gotten off to a good start because they are 4-2, but in spite of a an offense that has been unable to get off to good starts in games.

They have yet to score in the first or second innings this season, and the first time through the batting order through six games have just nine hits in 49 at-bats, with a home run, double, and five walks, hitting just .184/.259/.265.

“We haven’t gotten off to a good start. In a majority of our games, the opponent has scored first. It just seems like the first three innings, we’re not getting much production, and nothing much going on. Then as we get into the game, we start to threaten a little more,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Maybe we get on the road and get a chance to strike first.”

The Dodgers trailed 2-0 in all three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks but managed to win all three. They trailed 4-0 in the first and last games against the Cleveland Guardians, falling to score until the ninth inning of both losses.

The Dodgers put up three four-run innings against the Diamondbacks in their first 11 innings of the season, but in the 39 innings since, they only scored 11 runs. Gavin Williams struck out 10 in seven scoreless innings for Cleveland on Wednesday night, keeping with a recent theme. Over the last four games, the opposing starting pitchers have allowed only two total runs, one earned to the Dodgers, with 24 strikeouts in 22 innings.

OpponentPARunsSLGBBK
Diamondbacks10316.4221115
Guardians1027.344629

“The amount of strikeouts is a little concerning,” Roberts said. “We’re striking out at quite a clip. But I think it will level out, it will balance out.”

Andy Pages had three of the five Dodgers hits in Wednesday’s loss, and is off to a great start, hitting .429/.429/.619. His nine hits are most on the team by far. Freddie Freeman, whose home run in the ninth inning was the only run on Wednesday, and Teoscar Hernández, are tied for second on the team with five hits thus far, through six games.

“Andy’s been great, since spring training. He’s one of the guys who’s carried us,” Freeman said. “He looks great, on both sides of the ball. Hopefully the rest of us can join him on Friday.”

The Dodgers are off Thursday, then play the Washington Nationals to start a six-game road trip.

“Offensively most of our guys are struggling,” Roberts said. “It’ll be good to get on the road, get an off day, and go from there.”

“I think you could talk to every one of us, and say we wish we had a better offensive first week, but I think our offense is inevitable,” Freeman said. “Anytime anyone goes into that box, anything can happen. We have a really good lineup, we’re just not hitting yet. It’s a long season, it’s just the first week. We’ll be fine.”

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Braves News: Draft prospects, Chris Sale flu game, more

Apr 1, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) pitches against the Athletics during the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

We were reminded of three people we are lucky to have on Wednesday: Chris Sale, Drake Baldwin, and Matt Powers. Chris Sale wasn’t his best self and had a major velocity dip to start the game, but he worked through 6.0 innings of 1 run ball to deliver a series victory for Atlanta. Drake Baldwin continued his torrid start to the season at the plate as he is having something closer to a sophomore surge than a sophomore slump early on in the season. Meanwhile, Matt Powers continues to be a tremendous asset to Braves fans as our very own draft expert, writing up an absurdly extensive and thorough update on college draft prospects who might be of interest for the Braves in the first three rounds and how they have performed so far in the first half of the college system.

Braves News

Our in-house draft expert Matt Powers gave a Braves-centric look at college draft prospects about halfway through the college season.

Chris Sale completed his flu game with 6.0 innings of 1 run ball, sealing a series victory at home against the Athletics.

Atlanta hasn’t blown the doors off to start this season, but they have taken care of business and won their first two series.

MLB News

The Royals placed Carlos Estevez on the IL with a foot contusion from being hit by a Michael Harris comebacker before giving up six runs to allow a Braves comeback.

Baseball’s top prospect Konnor Griffin is reportedly deep in talks with the Pirates on an extension.

Fangraphs’ Ben Clemens took a self-described nerdy look at the ABS system early in the season.

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'March Of The Penguins' Wasn't Perfect, But It Was More Than Enough To Prove This Team Isn't Going Away

"Well, I suppose we'll see what they're made of during that brutal stretch in March."

Anyone who has been following the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2025-26 season knows that - prior to the trade deadline - the team was exceeding all outside expectations ordained for them before October commenced. 

"This team will be tanking for McKenna," they said over the summer.

"Well, this surely isn't sustainable," they said, after the Penguins began the season 8-2-2 in the month of October.

"See, this team was bound to fall apart after that PDO bender," they said, during an eight-game losing streak in December that saw the Penguins plummet in the standings.

"This team isn't too bad when it's actually healthy - which is never," they said, after a 12-3-3 stretch to start the calendar year of 2026 ahead of the Olympic break.

Then, finally, came March: The month that was supposed to expose this team's weaknesses and cause an implosion that would likely pull them out of playoff contention. The home stretch that included the NHL's toughest strength of schedule. The gauntlet that was a near-death sentence for a Pittsburgh team missing its two biggest stars while forced to play 17 games in 31 days.

As it turns out, the 'March of the Penguins' wasn't nearly as doom and gloom as many thought it would be. In fact, it was the exact opposite - and the Penguins actually find themselves in a better spot than they did at the start of their hardest month of the season, as they are now second in the Metropolitan Division and six points clear of the playoff cutoff line - whereas, on Feb. 28, they were only four points clear of the Washington Capitals, the first team out of the playoff picture. 

If anything, the month of March showed us who these Penguins are at their core: They're a team that fights for every inch and every point - and they're not going away anytime soon. 

“We play with everyone,” forward Egor Chinakhov said. “And when we play the right way, and when we play our game, we can win. That's it.”

Takeaways: Penguins Secure Huge Two Points Against Red Wings In Another Dominant Effort Takeaways: Penguins Secure Huge Two Points Against Red Wings In Another Dominant Effort The Pittsburgh Penguins continued the momentum gained from Monday's 8-3 win over the New York Islanders to win yet another standings-crucial matchup - this time, against the Detroit Red Wings

The Penguins ended up finishing March with a 8-6-3 record, and while that doesn't stand out a ton on paper, there is a lot more to it than just the record itself. Captain Sidney Crosby played in only seven games, while Evgeni Malkin played in just eight. And, on top of that, the Penguins played without both of them for six and a half games (Crosby was pulled early in the second period on Mar. 26 against the Ottawa Senators, a 4-3 shootout win).

And in those games? They went 3-2-2, earning eight of 14 possible points. And that takes an "all-hands-on-deck" effort as well as cohesion and simplicity from line-to-line, pairing-to-pairing.

"I think we just work in tandem really well," defenseman Ryan Shea said when asked about what makes this team different than previous Penguins' teams. "The forwards and the 'D,' they're supporting each other, everyone's getting back. The effort is incredible right now from our forwards. It's making it easy on our 'D' to get gaps, and when that happens and we're clean on breakouts, we have the skill to play with anyone in this league.

"And you're seeing it right now. Guys [have been] stepping up when guys are out, but now, we're kind of getting back to fully healthy. But, yeah, our team - it's in a good spot, but, obviously, we've got a couple games left, and we've got to keep going." 

Takeaways: Penguins Stomp Islanders In Dominant Effort For Biggest Win Of The SeasonTakeaways: Penguins Stomp Islanders In Dominant Effort For Biggest Win Of The SeasonThe Pittsburgh Penguins earned a dominant, statement victory over the division rival New York Islanders in a game that very well may end up deciding their season.

With Crosby and Malkin back, that sure should make things a bit easier for the Penguins, and they appear to be responding to that. They just won the two most critical games of their entire season so far against the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings - on back-to-back days, nonetheless - by a combined score of 13-4, with Crosby returning against the Isles and Malkin returning against Detroit. 

But this was all after Erik Karlsson's nine goals and 24 points in the prior 15 March games - earning him the NHL's Second Star of the Month - carried the team through the toughest stretch of their season before the return of 87 and 71. Then there's Rickard Rakell, who put up 10 goals and 19 points in 17 March games - largely playing first-line center, a role pretty much completely foreign to him. 

And there's also Anthony Mantha, who sealed the first 30-goal season of his NHL career at age 32 against Detroit and scored nine goals in March. And Bryan Rust, who led the way with eight goals and 20 points in 16 games during the month. Don't forget about Chinakhov, too, who has been thriving since his arrival in Pittsburgh and had six tallies and 15 points in March.

Noticing a trend? The Penguins have had success all season long, in large part, because of their scoring depth, and although the aforementioned players largely carried the team production-wise through March, they got contributions from everyone in those final two games in March - which tends to happen when your best players return to the lineup and you're able to distribute talent.

And make no mistake: This is a talented roster on the offensive side of the puck. The Penguins have a league-high 12 players with 10 or more goals and a league-high nine players with 15 or more goals, and it's possible that they could have three 30-goal scorers as well as seven 20-goal scorers, depending on how things go in these final seven games for certain players.

Offensive talent aside, March had its ruptures for the Penguins, too. They gave up four or more goals in 10 of 17 games and three or more goals in 13 of them. Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs have both been a bit inconsistent lately and have found themselves on the wrong side of .900 for save percentages. Both aspects improved in the final two games of the month, but - of course - if the Penguins plan to make the playoffs and make any sort of noise in them, they will need more consistency on those fronts.

Erik Karlsson Named NHL's Second Star Of The MonthErik Karlsson Named NHL's Second Star Of The MonthPittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson was named the NHL's Second Star of March.

But, ultimately, the Penguins surviving the "brutal stretch" in March and coming out the other end of it better than they came into it is a massive success, and it speaks volumes about the character and belief in that locker room. 

“It tells you that we come out big in big moments,” Skinner said after Tuesday's statement 5-1 win over the Red Wings to close out the month of March. “We’re a resilient group. If things don’t go our way [or] things do go our way, we just kind of stick to our game plan.

"That’s what’s so incredible about this group. The maturity obviously starts with the leadership [and] goes down to every single guy in how we play a simple, strong game. It’s very fun to play in, and it’s very fun to watch.”

So, believe it or not, these Penguins are here to stay - and they're ready to keep winning and play some meaningful games late into the spring.

"Our confidence is that high," Shea said. "And when we're doing that, we're a dangerous team."

NHL Rebuild Review: What Kyle Dubas Has Done For The Penguins Is IncredibleNHL Rebuild Review: What Kyle Dubas Has Done For The Penguins Is IncredibleKyle Dubas left the Toronto Maple Leafs and took on a complex challenge with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Over the past three years, he's restocked the prospect pool and succeeded with reclamation projects. Check out this deep dive for more.

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!    

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Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby help Knicks weather the storm against Grizzlies and snap losing streak

On the surface, Wednesday night's game against the Grizzlies wasn't a must-win for the Knicks. However, after dropping their third straight and looking bad doing it on Tuesday, Josh Hart had some pointed comments about his team's direction. 

He even called the game against Memphis "must-win."

So it's a good thing the Knicks put together a wire-to-wire win against the Grizzlies. Although it wasn't necessarily easy.

A young, depleted Grizzlies team fought hard against the Knicks. They beat the Knicks in the second and third quarters, almost taking their first lead of the game in the third.

However, the combination of Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby didn't let that happen. Without Jalen Brunson (ankle soreness) in the lineup, the two forwards combined to score 45 points. Towns dished 11 assists and came down with 11 rebounds to pick up a triple-double, his second as a Knick. Anunoby added 13 rebounds to his scoring to finish with a double-double. 

"A game like that, it's always tough if you play against a group that's free and can attack and has nothing to lose," head coach Mike Brown said after the win. "But our guys at the end of the day, we were good in a lot of areas."

Brown said that the team's turnovers, which they had 19, and fouling -- sending Memphis to the line 30 times --  made the game tougher than it needed to be, but applauded how his players responded, especially Anunoby and Towns down the stretch when the Grizzlies were hanging around.

"A lot of good performances from our guys, we were able to make it up in terms of the times that they went to the free throw line and our turnovers by offensive rebounding," Brown explained. "OG had three offensive rebounds, KAT had six offensive rebounds. KAT had a triple-double tonight, which was great. And especially in 30 minutes of action, and then OG, for him to get 13 rebounds. A big, big night to get a double-double. We needed every single one of those rebounds."

"I thought we did a good job moving the ball," Towns said of the win. "I thought we did a good job of playing with a point-five mentality and doing everything we needed to do to beat a good team, and a hungry team with a lot of guys trying to prove themselves in this league. I thought we did a good job of weathering the storm. We understood they’re going to play hard. They’re going to play well, and we found a way to win."

For Towns, the key to his performance on Wednesday was the faith he had in his teammates. Memphis constantly double and sometimes triple-teamed the big man, but he would find the open player. It was a trend for the entire Knicks team. New York had 36 assists on the 48 shots made.

"When they're double and triple teaming, I understand that one of my teammates is open," Towns said. "Just staying patient, staying relaxed and trying to make the right play. I was disappointed with the turnovers I had today, but I’m glad that I was able to find my teammates more than not and we were able to come out with a win."

The win allowed the Knicks to hold on to their spot as the three-seed in the Eastern Conference (1.5 games ahead of Cleveland). They'll look to keep that momentum and try to get closer to the Celtics and the two-seed when they host the Bulls on Friday.

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Nickeil Alexander-Walker scores 32 as the Hawks beat the Magic 130-101

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 32 points, Jalen Johnson added 18 points and 14 rebounds, and the Atlanta Hawks routed the Orlando Magic 130-101 on Wednesday night for their 17th victory in their last 19 games.

Dyson Daniels had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks, who shot 51% for the game and had a 52-36 rebound advantage. Johnson came two assists short of his 14th triple-double of the season.

The Hawks swept the season series against the Magic 4-0 and now have a 3 1/2 game lead over Orlando in the Southeast Division with five games remaining — six for Orlando.

Jamal Cain led the Magic with 17 points off the bench. Desmond Bane and Wendell Carter Jr. added 14 points each.

Magic forward Franz Wagner scored 12 points in 20 minutes in his first game since Feb. 11. Wagner, who averaged 23.4 points on 55% shooting in the Magic’s first 23 games, has missed 47 of the last 52 games with a high ankle sprain.

The Hawks blew the game open with a 47-point second quarter in which they made 17 of 24 shots. Jonathan Kuminga’s 3-pointer broke a 32-32 tie early in the quarter and Atlanta led the rest of the game, stretching the margin to 31 early in the second half.

76ERS 153, WIZARDS 151

WASHINGTON (AP) — Paul George scored a season-high 39 points and Philadelphia overcame Joel Embiid’s absence because of an illness in a victory over Washington.

George played his fourth game following a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug rules, He was 15 of 22 from the field, made 6 of 12 3-pointers and had six assists and five rebounds.

Tyrese Maxey added 28 points and nine assists in his third game back from a finger injury, and rookie VJ Edgecombe had 23 points and 10 assists.

Philadelphia’s starters combined to shoot 45 of 65 from the floor (69.2%) and helped score 47 third-quarter points, the second-most Washington allowed in any period this season.

Anthony Gill scored a career-best 21 points for the Wizards. They have lost four in a row and 20 of 21.

CELTICS 147, HEAT 129

MIAMI (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 43 points, Jayson Tatum had his first triple-double of the season and Boston rode the strength of a record-setting first quarter to beat Miami.

Tatum finished with 25 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists for Boston, which scored 53 points in the first quarter — a franchise record that tied the second-highest total for an opening quarter in NBA history. Sam Hauser added 23 for the Celtics, who are 31-0 when scoring at least 117 points this season and are 10-1 in their last 11 games following a loss.

The Celtics led by as many as 27, then saw the lead trimmed to as little as nine early in the fourth quarter. Boston (51-25) holds the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference race, four games behind No. 1 Detroit.

Bam Adebayo had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Miami, which tied a franchise record by hitting 24 3-pointers. The Heat made 24 on three other occasions.

Davion Mitchell scored 21, while Tyler Herro and Pelle Larsson each scored 18 and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 17 for the Heat (40-37).

PACERS 145, BULLS 126

CHICAGO (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and Indiana beat Chicago to move out of the NBA basement.

Coming off a home victory over Miami on Sunday, the injury-ravaged Pacers had their highest-scoring game of the season. They improved to 18-58 to move a game ahead of last-place Washington.

Ethan Thompson added 24 points, and Kobe Brown and Jay Huff each had 17.

Guerschon Yabusele led Chicago with 20 points, and Collin Sexton had 18. The Bulls have lost five straight — the first four on the road — to fall to 29-47.

ROCKETS 119, BUCKS 113

HOUSTON (AP) — Reed Sheppard scored 27 points on a career-high nine 3-pointers, Alperen Sengun added 25 points and Houston beat short-handed Milwaukee for its fourth straight victory.

Kevin Durant finished with 19 points and nine assists, Amen Thompson had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 12 points for the Rockets. They shot 47% from the field, going 18 of 42 on 3-pointers.

Houston had 30 assists on 41 field goals and forced the Bucks into 15 turnovers that they converted into 18 points.

Ousmane Dieng had a career-high 36 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists for Milwaukee. Cormac Ryan had a season-high 25 points, Pete Nance added a career-high 23. AJ Green had 15 points and eight rebounds.

KINGS 123, RAPTORS 115

TORONTO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 14 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, Precious Achiuwa had 28 points and a season-high 19 rebounds and Sacramento beat Toronto.

DeRozan reached 26,688 career points, moving him past Dominique Wilkins (26,668) into 17th place on the NBA’s all-time list.

Next up on the list is Oscar Robertson (26, 710). Other than the active players ahead of him on that list — LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook — everyone else with DeRozan’s points total is in the Hall of Fame.

DeRozan shot 7 for 18, but went 12 for 12 at the foul line.

Malik Monk scored 18 points, Devin Carter had 13 and Daeqwon Plowden 11 as the Kings snapped a four-game losing streak and ended a five-game road trip with a victory. Sacramento is 7-32 on the road.

The Kings went 27 for 29 at the line, while the Raptors finished 22 for 32.

KNICKS 130, GRIZZLIES 119

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — OG Anunoby had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his fourth triple-double of the season, and New York beat Memphis.

Mikal Bridges added 24 points as New York snapped a three-game losing streak.

GG Jackson led Memphis with 20 points, Olivier-Maxence Prosper added 17 and Cedric Coward finished with 15 points.

The Knicks sit in third place in the Eastern Conference, a game and a half ahead of the Cavaliers, who were idle Wednesday night.

The Knicks took an early lead, missing only two of their first 15 shots. New York scored 22 points in the paint and had an 11-2 advantage on the boards in the first quarter. New York shot 71% overall, including 7 of 10 from outside the arc, in the first half and took a 79-62 lead at halftime.

The 79 points were a season-high for a Knicks first half and just short of the 83 New York scored in the second half against Minnesota on Nov. 5.

The Grizzlies were outrebounded 49-20 in the game, the 20 boards a franchise low.

NUGGETS 130, JAZZ 117

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jamal Murray made 10 3-pointers — including a half-court heave that beat the first-quarter buzzer — and scored 37 points to lead Denver to a victory over Utah.

Nikola Jokic had 17 rebounds, 15 points, and 12 assists for his fifth triple-double in six games to help the Nuggets earn their seventh straight victory. Cam Johnson added 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Christian Braun had 18 points and six rebounds.

Brice Sensabaugh led Utah with 28 points, including six 3-pointers, and six rebounds. Kyle Filipowski added 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Jazz, who dropped their seventh straight and are 3-19 in their last 22 games. Kennedy Chandler had 16 points and six assists off the bench.

Murray buried 3-pointers on each of Denver’s first three possessions to help the Nuggets open with 12 unanswered points and seize a 17-3 lead. Each of Denver’s first six field goals came beyond the arc.

SPURS 127, WARRIORS 113

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama scored 41 points for the second straight game, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked three shots and San Antonio ran away from injury-plagued Golden State for a victory that extended its winning streak to 10.

Wembanyama had 10 of his team’s initial 14 points just 3:36 into the game and San Antonio jumped ahead 17-3. He finished 16 for 22 from the field in his fourth 40-point performance of the season. The Spurs (58-18) won for the 15th time in their last 16 contests as they chase the first-place and idle Thunder (60-16) in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference.

With 54.9 seconds left in the first quarter, San Antonio’s De’Aaron Fox took a shot to the face and exited briefly. He finished with 11 points — one of seven Spurs in double figures.

Nate Williams scored 18 points, LJ Cryer matched his career high with 17 and Brandin Podziemski had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for Golden State as Stephen Curry missed his 26th consecutive game since Jan. 30 with a right knee injury.

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Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets recap and final score: Jazz get Mile-Shy in loss at home

Apr 1, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) brings the ball up the court during the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images | Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images

The Jazz have been all business for Tanking and Co™ all of March. In fact, before tonight, they’d lost 10 of their last 11 games, which included a loss against Denver back in Colorado. The Nuggets, on the other hand, have subtly held an 8-2 record with the league’s second-longest winning streak.

Despite the annual tomfoolish custom of April 1st, there are n tricks tonight; Utah was flat-out defeated on their home floor with a good old-fashioned 130 -117 loss. There were highs. There were lows. There were Jokic no-look passes that dissociate with the external world. As Denver skipped across Salt Lake City before heading back next door, the Jazz decisively fell behind by falling out of a potentially gritty, high-intensity basketball game — they tend to love those.

Utah put the final nail in the coffin after taking out their sole Jokic-stopper, that would be Elijah Harkless — a scrappy 6’3” guard that puts out his best Scrappy-Doo impression each night. Other than that, fans saw all the usuals on the injury report.

The Nuggets were at near-full form, with the exception of Spencer Jones and Zeke Nnaji. This is probably going to be a regular occurrence the Jazz will have to deal with for any franchise that isn’t currently outside of the Playoff picture.

It seems apparently that the entire Jazz defensive strategy revolved around one Elijah Harkless, as they looked completely helpless while digging themselves into an early 3-17 hole, with Denver, or just Jamal Murray, raining triple after triple. Murray hit 3-3 from beyond the arc just over 90 seconds into the first quarter. I can’t believe this is a real thing I have to type, but 8 of their first 9 field-goal makes had come from beyond the arc. Not only that, they hit them at a 61.5% rate. What the actual heck is going on in the mountains? Nuggets closed the quarter outscoring Utah 39-28, pushing their lead to 11. Jamal Murray sealed the first 12 minutes off with a half-court heave that could only happen in an area outside of time and space, otherwise known as wherever the Jazz are playing.

The Jazz supposedly held Jokic to 2 field-goals in the first half, but everyone else on the Nuggets did most of the damage. Flip (19 points, 7-11 field-goals) and Brice (18 points, 7-10 field-goals) accounted for 68% of the Jazz points in the first half. The next best scorer scored 7. Jamal Murray continued to beat a man already down, matching his career-best for three-pointers in a half with 5. Bruce Brown beat his personal best of 4 steals in a half. You get a career-high! You get a career-high! Everybody gets a career-high! Nuggets were high and mighty with their 68-54 lead on Utah’s home floor.

Nikola Jokic canned a triple-double with 14-17-10 before the final 12 minutes even rolled open. Nuggets had 49 rebounds, 35 of them being defensive, compared to Utah’s 36 total rebounds.

The Jazz had chipped away several times in this game, but none of them mattered in any significant way. They got as close as 4 points of the Nuggets’ lead with 9:41 in the fourth quarter, but Denver quickly put a stop to that and continued to steamroll as they had been doing. But I have to note, Denver really doesn’t do enough to prevent open shots on the defensive end; imagine if Lauri or Keyonte were hitting those shots.

Brice Sensabaugh led all scorers with 28 in this one, many of which came from a 10-point entourage in the first quarter. The former Buckeye has been an explosive 20-point-per-game scorer for the majority of March. Five Jazz players in total crossed over the 10+ point mark.An

Another Jazz draftee to enjoy was Kyle Filipowski, who netted 25 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists on 9-15 shooting in 31 minutes. Flip did his best and fiercely attacked premier rim-protector Nikola Jokic at the rim, which subsequently led to his benching when the Jazz got too close to the flame.

Jamal Murray enjoyed a strong night, as he usually does against Utah. He averaged 35 points per game, 7.8 assists per games and 4.8 rebounds in the Nuggets’ clean 4-0 sweep against the Jazz this season.

Up Next

Utah drops to 21-56 with this loss and lines up their next matchup in Houston on Friday night.

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Steph Curry injury update: Warriors guard getting close to return?

Stephen Curry continues to make progress toward a return for the Golden State Warriors.

The guard has missed the last 25 games due to a right knee injury, diagnosed as patella-femoral pain syndrome/bone bruising. He's averaged a team-leading 27.2 points per game but has not played since Jan. 30.

Curry was seen participating in pregame activities on the Chase Center court before the Warriors' home game against the San Antonio Spurs on April 1.

The two-time MVP participated in a live 5-on-5 scrimmage on March 31, according to the team.

“He looked good,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I was up here with you guys for most of it so I caught the tail end. But everybody said he looked good and felt good. He’ll have another scrimmage in the next couple of days. That’s the next step.”

The team expects Curry to be re-evaluated over the weekend.

The Warriors will play in the postseason after clinching a spot in the play-in tournament.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Steph Curry injury update, Warriors star's status

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Charge season ends in dissapointing loss to Go-Go

CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 15: Darius Brown II #10 of the Cleveland Charge passes the ball during the game against the Wisconsin Herd on November 15, 2025 at Cleveland Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Nate Manley/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Charge’s magical season came to an end with a 126-123 loss to the Capital City Go-Go in the first round of the NBA G League playoffs. The Charge fought hard, but an inability to grab crucial rebounds late ultimately did them in.

Point guard Darius Brown II was the only constant in a Charge season that was characterized by six NBA call-ups. And in many ways, he’s symbolic of why this season has been so successful for the team. His steady hand at the point allowed various roster configurations to work. He was doing so again against the Go-Go until his body finally gave out.

In the first quarter, he bloodied his knee diving for a loose ball. In the third, he hurt his hamstring after being fouled. And midway through the fourth, he rolled his ankle while forcing an eight-second violation.

By the end of the game, Brown could hardly move, but that didn’t keep him from making a positive impact on the game. He hustled back to stop a fastbreak layup with a minute and a half left in a three-point game. Then, he converted a fastbreak layup of his own to make it a one-point game.

Brown wouldn’t use that as an excuse. “Everyone is playing through something,” he said. But most aren’t gutting it out like he was.

“It just says everything about who he is,” head coach Eli Kell-Abrams said. “He’s been in a walking boot for a month, and the way he’s been able to fight through pain, fight through adversity, fight through off-court stuff and still not make it about him, and be able to galvanize and lead the group is really impressive.”

The Charge had a chance to win what was a back-and-forth game late. In the last minute, they missed two crucial defensive rebounds and had two bad turnovers. The Go-Go took advantage of those miscues to put the game away.

“It’s one of the tough things about a single-elimination tournament,” Kell-Abrams said. “Sometimes, if you just don’t have it, you don’t have it. I think defensively we weren’t able to guard the ball and rebound, which we knew were going to be big keys to the game.”

Cleveland didn’t have an answer for Alondes Williams. He poured in 39 points and four assists while going 12-21 from the field. This included contributing 24 in the second half to help the Go-Go erase a seven-point deficit at the break. Former Cleveland Cavaliers two-way player Chris Livingston also supplied 27 points and nine rebounds in the victory.

The Charge were led by 25 points from Brown on 8-15 shooting to go along with 10 assists and seven boards. Cavs two-way player Olivier Sarr finished with 22 points on 8-10 shooting with four rebounds and a block.

Even though this wasn’t the way the Charge wanted the season to end, they aren’t going to remember this season for what happened on Tuesday.

“A couple missed helps, a couple tough switches, and a couple of offensive rebounds shouldn’t define what’s been one of the most successful years in Charge history,” Kell-Abrams said. “With the development we’ve had, headlined by Tristan Enaruna. … We knocked the development part out of the park.”

The Charge did knock that out of the park. They had six call-ups (seven if you want to count Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who didn’t play with the Charge, but started on a two-way deal). That includes losing Killian Hayes, who was having an MVP-caliber season, before he was signed by the Sacramento Kings.

Kell-Abrams attributes Brown for being a big reason why they were able to keep things on the rails and attract more talent — like Riley Minix, Malaki Branham, and Sarr — to replace the guys they lost to call-ups.

“[The G League] encourages you to be selfish,” Kell-Abrams said. “You think points will get you called up. You think, ‘How many shots am I getting?’ And D.B. says, ‘You know what, I’m going to pass the ball. I’m going to pass the ball in a league that doesn’t want to.’ And that’s why everybody wants to come play with him. That’s why we were able to get Riley Minix here to play with him. That’s what we were able to get Malaki Branham…Olivier Sarr. Like, these guys want to come be here.”

While many will remember this season for the on-court success that the Charge had, Brown will remember it for how special this group was.

“The stuff I remember most is always the stuff off the court,” Brown said. “I’ll just remember things from after team dinners, going out to Top Golf or doing stuff like that with the staff and everybody. That’s the stuff I’ll remember more than anything we did on the court, although that was very successful.”

Before the season, Kell-Abrams laid out two goals. He wanted to develop NBA talent and be successful on the court. He did both. The Charge finished with their second-best winning percentage for a regular season in their history and had numerous players called up. This was a successful season, even though it didn’t end how they wanted it to.

“Forty-eight minuts of not our best basketball doesn’t define us,” Kell-Abrams said.

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Ben Rice, Paul Goldschmidt put on power show in Yankees’ win

An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows Paul Goldschmidt belts a three-run homer in the sixth inning of the Yankees' 5-3 win over the Mariners on April 1, 2026 in Seattle, Image 2 shows Ben Rice rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the ninth inning of the Yankees' win over the Mariners

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SEATTLE — Yankees first basemen of all ages delivered the thump to make sure they got out of T-Mobile Park with a series win.

On a day when Cam Schlittler dominated again before the bullpen made things hairy late, Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt each homered and combined to drive in all five runs to secure a 5-3 win over the Mariners on Wednesday afternoon.

Rice started and ended the scoring, ripping an RBI double in the first inning before crushing a 427-foot blast in the ninth for his first home run of the year.

The lefty slugger reached base eight times in the three-game series, continually in the middle of rallies.

“His at-bats have been outstanding,” manager Aaron Boone said. “This whole series — really the entire trip, but especially this series, I feel like, man, the patience, not missing his pitches, he’s found a couple holes and then really good swing on that last changeup to extend the lead for us on a no-doubter to right-center. He feels dialed in to me and obviously we know what he’s capable of.”

Paul Goldschmidt belts a three-run homer in the sixth inning of the Yankees’ 5-3 win over the Mariners on April 1, 2026 in Seattle. Getty Images

Rice acknowledged a “couple bounces went my way down the line, but I think the quality of at-bat overall has been good.”

As has his quality of contact, as his three batted balls Wednesday came off the bat at 108.2 mph, 102.5 mph and 98.9 mph.

The 27-year-old was starting at DH for Giancarlo Stanton, which allowed Goldschmidt to get into the lineup for the second time this season, this time against righty George Kirby.

Ben Rice rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the ninth inning of the Yankees’ win over the Mariners. Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The Mariners hurler got Goldschmidt to strike out looking in each of his first two at-bats before the veteran got a 97 mph fastball down the middle in the sixth inning and did not miss, clobbering it for a three-run shot that put the Yankees ahead 4-0.

“He’s such a big part of that group in there — one of the heartbeats in there,” Boone said. “He’s been great for our culture ever since he walked in the doors last year. When he hits that ball, everyone gets a little extra excited because they want it for him because they know how much he gives to that room.”

The 38-year-old Goldschmidt, a lefty crusher, only hit three home runs off righties all last season in 366 plate appearances.

But he made the most of his start against Kirby while adding a few picks at first base to save his defense.

“I knew coming back here that we had Benny at first and G DHing,” Goldschmidt said. “So I knew this wasn’t going to be a place, unless somebody got hurt, that I would be playing every single day. But I love these guys in this lineup, I love being a Yankee and just have so much fun here. Obviously a great team that has a chance to win. I knew what I was going to be doing, so I’m happy to do whatever they need me to do.”

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Royal bats shine on a dreary night, beat Minnesota 13-9

KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 30: Kyle Isbel #28 of the Kansas City Royals takes the field prior to the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on Monday, March 30, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Mikayla Schlosser/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images

The bottom third of the Kansas City lineup has taken care of business for the second consecutive game, but in much more spectacular fashion tonight. Scoring started in the second with two out and no one on when Jac Caglianone hit a 110.1 mph rocket to center for a double. Collins hit the next ball 110.9 mph to top Jac and bring him home on another double followed by a Kyle Isbel RBI single. He then stole second and Maikel Garcia hit a hard to field ball off of Brooks Lee’s glove at short to score the third run on the inning. That was just the beginning.

Another run scored in the 3rd on a popup to third by India that the fog hid from Royce Lewis.

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And another came the next inning after Cags, Collins, and Isbel all reached again and Garcia hit a sac fly. The rain really got going as KC batted 11 in the 6th. Walks, HBPs, errors, and a Jonathan India grand slam brought seven more runs and a $25,000 Sonic Slam winner. The rest of the game was hampered significantly by the weather but without any extended stoppage of play. At 12-1, it looked like the Royals would cruise to victory.

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Jac, Isaac, and Kyle combined to go 8 of 11 with a BB and HBP reaching base in all but 3 of their 14 plate appearances. Isbel tacked a solo shot on in the 7th to finish the dominant performance off for the bottom of the order. All of the starting 9 at least reached base with Carter Jensen sneaking a single in during the 8th to join in on the fun, but it was the back of the lineup that carried the load today.

On the pitching side, Noah Cameron was very sharp to begin the night, especially the first two innings. He through a first pitch strike to each of the first six Minnesota batters but did seem to lose some command in the 4th and 5th innings. He got through that 5th despite giving up a lot of hard contact and was pulled with a final line of 5IP, 4H, 1BB, 1ER, and 5K and the win. That is a solid start to his sophomore campaign.

Daniel Lynch, Alex Lange, and Brady Falter all struggled to find the zone a bit with Lynch giving up 3 runs in the 7th, Lange 2 in the 8th before Cruz came in and finished the inning, and Falter 3 in the 9th. There were a lot of walks and hit batters from both teams due to the wet baseballs, so I would not read too much into their less than spectacular performances. It did make the game look closer than it felt and even ended up in a save situation that brought in Lucas Erceg to seal the deal.

There were also a ton of ABS challenges, 9 out of 11 were overturned and the Royals only went one for two. Since the game was not very close, none of these mattered all that much in the end. Still, it was a busy day for the new system and a very high success rate.

In the end, the Royals move to 3-2 on the year. They are above .500 and going for sweep against the Twins tomorrow. There is a bit more rain in the forecast again and that 1:00 pm start time is definitely in jeopardy.

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Guardians win the Dodgers series

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 01: Gavin Williams #32 of the Cleveland Guardians throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium on April 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Gavin Williams was unbelievable today. I could end the recap right here and pretty adequately sum up the events of tonight’s rubber match. He was in full control of the game for basically all seven innings. This performance from Gavin vindicates all of us loyal Gavin Williams believers who truly know that this domination is what he can do every single time he takes the mound. I have no notes for his performance which, if you’ve read any of my articles before, is rare. He had every single pitch working for him, and completely silenced the best lineup in baseball. He kept his fastball in the upper half, and sequenced it beautifully with his cutter & breaking pitches. He was getting his sinker to jump into the outer-third against righties all night. He was getting chase, and generated 16 (SIXTEEN) swings and misses. Truly a spectacular performance from him. This is exactly what I want him to do (within reason) every night. This performance showcases exactly why he can be not just a Cy Young finalist, but a legitimate contender to win it. Just look at this beautiful chart (obtained from the lovely Thomas Nestico, @TJStats on X, as always).

To the offense! Daniel Schneemann got the fun started with a true do-it-yourself run. He doubled, then stole third and, on a throwing error from Will Smith, waltzed home. Arias followed that up with a missile to center.

It was more-or-less quiet until the 8th, when our sleeping giant finally woke up.

(By the way, why on EARTH did Dave Roberts bring in a lefty for Jose? With Manzardo right behind him, why would you pitch to the guy who notoriously nukes lefties. I get it’s Tanner Scott, but why even take the risk?)

Anywho, Shawn Armstrong got himself into some trouble in the 8th, giving up a single and double to Hernandez and Pages, respectfully. He struck out Alex Freeland for the second out, and was then replaced by Erik Sabrowski to face Shohei Ohtani. Erik Sabrowski, if you weren’t already aware, is an unbelievable talent. On the majority of teams in MLB, he would be their best reliever. He came in and got Ohtani out on three pitches, two of which were out of the zone.

For reference, Sabrowski has generated whiffs on 46.2% of pitches this year (per @TJStats). FOURTY-SIX. Insanity. He’s a monster.

Cade Smith came on in the 9th and, well, wasn’t as sterling as is expected of him. Gave up back to back barrels to Freddie Freeman and Will Smith. Freeman’s, unfortunately, left the park. That was the Dodgers’ only run tonight. Cade has been a little iffy to start the year, but hopefully he gets back on track when the team comes back to Cleveland on Friday.

If you haven’t already (and are able), get tickets to watch the Guardians this homestand. Among the highlights: Opening Day festivities on Friday, Chase DeLauter’s (regular season) Cleveland debut, and last, but not least, Jose has a chance to sit atop the Guardians’ franchise games played leaderboard on Monday if he plays every game. A lot to watch for, so please turn out.

By the way, 4-3 against two World Series contenders to start the year.

Pretty good.

See you on Opening Day!

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Dodgers stars remain cold in series loss to Guardians — ‘Guys are scuffling’

An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani walks away after striking out, Image 2 shows Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages makes a catch

When the key moment arose in the bottom of the sixth inning Wednesday night, the Dodgers had what they wanted. 

Two runners on and nobody out. Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker due up to the plate.

On paper, those two sluggers are the best (or, at least, highest-paid) hitters in the team’s star-studded lineup. 

However, during an anemic opening week from the entire Dodgers offense, they’ve also been among many swinging an ice-cold bat.

Two runners on and nobody out. Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker due up to the plate. AP

That didn’t change in an eventual 4-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, which cost the Dodgers this three-game series and ended their opening homestand on a sour note.

Ohtani bounced into a rally-killing double play, rolling over on a first-pitch cutter Cleveland starter Gavin Williams threw right down the middle.

Tucker ended the inning a pitch later on a flyout to right, missing on yet another dead-red cutter Williams left over the heart of the plate.

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So goes things for the Dodgers (4-2) through the first six games of the season. Their pitching has been stout. They have more wins than losses. But their biggest stars have not yet begun to hit.

Not even close.

“I think right now, offensively, most of our guys are scuffling,” manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s obviously a very talented lineup. And right now, it just seems like a lot of guys are in-between.” 

That includes Ohtani, who is now batting .167 after a 0-for-3 performance Wednesday that followed a rare session of on-field batting practice pregame.

It includes Tucker, whose average is down to .174 following a 0-for-4 clunker and nine total strikeouts in his last five games.

That was more than enough to outshine Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who allowed two runs in six innings while lacking his best stuff (he only had two strikeouts). AP

And it includes Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith, who went a combined 1-for-11 in the loss to the Guardians (4-3) to finish the night hitting .136, .208 and .200, respectively.

All five of those big names also have an OPS of .700 or worse.

“I think you can talk to every single one of us,” said Freeman, who had the lone hit of the group with a shutout-negating home run in the ninth, “and say we wish we had a better offensive first week.”

Much credit Wednesday, of course, goes to Williams. Entering the night, the right-hander had a 13.03 ERA in three career games against the Dodgers. This time, he spun seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts –– outshining Yoshinobu Yamamoto in his six-inning, two-run, two-strikeout grind of an outing.

Still, questions about the Dodgers offense are nonetheless starting to surface.

They won’t go away until their superstars start to hit.

“I know we’re looking for some answers here, but we’re still OK,” Freeman insisted. “We’re 4-2. We have not played well yet as an offense. We’ll get it going.”

Cleveland starter Gavin Williams spun seven scoreless innings while striking out 10. AP

What it means

For now, the Dodgers hope very little.

Six games, after all, is a minuscule sample size. Eventually, their expectation is for performances across-the-board to rise.

“There’s going to be guys that we’re talking about that are off to slow starts, and then a series later, the article is going to be ‘He’s off to a hot start,’” Roberts argued pregame, already trying to head off any early-season concern. 

“It could change in two days. So it’s certainly overblown. I completely understand it, but the guys that have been around a long time understand that you can’t let that affect you.”

Afterward, he doubled down on that message.

“You still got to give credit to the guys making pitches,” he said. “I think that we’ll get our groove.”

The one exception to the team’s glaring hitting woes: Andy Pages. AP

Who’s hot

The one exception to the team’s glaring hitting woes: Andy Pages.

The third-year outfielder went 3-for-3 Wednesday with a double, giving him a .429 batting average so far with nine total knocks –– four more than anyone else on the team.

All spring, the Dodgers raved about the 25-year-old slugger, with both Roberts and teammates repeatedly praising the quality of his at-bats and the maturation of his daily approach.

So far, it is all paying off; evidenced not only by his big opening-week production, but the fact he has struck out only two times in his first 21 trips to the plate.

“He’s controlling the zone,” Roberts said. “And he’s hitting to all fields.”

The Dodgers expected to have a relentless approach from the entirety of their offense. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Who’s not

There are plenty of candidates here, so let’s go with something broader.

Entering the season, the Dodgers expected to have a relentless approach from the entirety of their lineup. This week, they got an opposite set of results.

In their three games against the Guardians, the team struck out 29 times while drawing only six walks. For a club that was supposed to count “quality of at-bats” as its primary calling card, even Roberts acknowledged that was the one part of this week that was  “a little concerning.”

“I think that guys trying to find their swings is one thing,” he said. “But … We’re striking out at quite a clip.” 

Up next

The Dodgers are off Thursday, before beginning their first road trip of the season on Friday. They will start in Washington with three games against the Nationals, then head to Toronto next week for a World Series rematch with the Blue Jays.