On a Pittsburgh Pirates game day, the experience starts well before fans reach their seats at PNC Park, a stadium widely regarded as one of baseball’s most scenic settings.
Many fans begin their journey with the walk across the Roberto Clemente Bridge, one of the most recognizable stadium approaches in professional sports. On weekend game days, the bridge is closed to vehicle traffic, allowing pedestrians to walk freely across its center as the city skyline and Allegheny River frame the scene.
The bridge is named for Roberto Clemente, the Pirates legend who spent his entire career in Pittsburgh. Clemente recorded 3,000 hits, won two World Series championships and became revered not only for his achievements on the field but also for his humanitarian work off it. Clemente was killed in 1972 when his plane crashed on the way to deliver supplies to Nicaraguan earthquake survivors.
As fans stream toward the ballpark, the atmosphere builds. The combination of downtown skyscrapers, flowing rivers and a steady current of black-and-gold jerseys gives the approach to PNC Park a distinct sense of occasion.
Pittsburgh's baseball legacy
Along the riverwalk near the stadium, large baseball sculptures pay tribute to Pittsburgh’s Negro League history. The city was once home to iconic teams such as the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords, who played long before Major League Baseball was integrated.
Nearby, the Pirates’ retired numbers are prominently displayed outside the stadium. Clemente’s No. 21 and Willie Stargell’s No. 8 are honored alongside Jackie Robinson’s No. 42, which is retired across all of Major League Baseball in recognition of his role in breaking the sport’s color barrier.
Just outside the gates stands a statue of Bill Mazeroski, another cornerstone of Pirates history. The monument commemorates Mazeroski’s walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series — the only walk-off homer in a Game 7 in World Series history. Surrounding the statue are plaques honoring fans who witnessed the moment in person, underscoring the deep connection between the city and its baseball past.
Even before first pitch, the area around PNC Park is packed. Nearby bars fill up, sidewalks bustle with fans and the North Shore takes on a distinctly festive feel. On certain game days, special events add to the scene, including “Bark in the Park,” when fans can bring their dogs along to enjoy the game.
From the bridge and riverwalk to the statues, skyline and history embedded throughout the grounds, a Pirates game at PNC Park offers more than nine innings of baseball. For many fans, the experience itself is as memorable as the game on the field.
This story was created with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more.
Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 105 to lead defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the top of the IPL table with a six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday.
Francisco Alvarez has been placed on the 10-day injured list, as imaging showed a meniscus tear in his right knee. He is expected to return in six-to-eight weeks, and in a corresponding move, the Mets recalled Hayden Senger from Triple-A Syracuse.
On Tuesday, Alvarez left the Mets’ game against the Tigers in the sixth inning after injuring the knee during a swing. So far this season, Alvarez has hit .241/.317/.393 with four home runs and a 105 wRC+ in 128 plate appearances. Luis Torrens will take over for the Mets as the team’s everyday catcher with Senger as his backup, roles both catchers played for much of last season while Alvarez was injured or in Triple-A.
Alvarez is the third Mets player to tear a meniscus already this year. Mike Tauchman is still recovering from a left meniscus tear that he suffered on March 21 and has yet to begin a rehab assignment. In addition, Jared Young, who also suffered a left meniscus tear, experienced his injury during a game on April 12 and is expected back in late May or early June.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 13: Matt Wilkinson #35 of Team Canada pitches against Team United States during the eighth inning at Daikin Park on March 13, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images) | Getty Images
This is the last Minor League Baseball roundup for a while, as I’m heading out on vacation tomorrow. Hold down the Minor League fort while I’m gone! In the meantime, here’s what the San Francisco Giants affiliates did on Tuesday … and Wednesday morning.
All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.
News
Some exciting promotions to discuss. Most notably, catcher Drew Cavanaugh (No. 19 CPL) and shortstop Aeverson Arteaga were both promoted from AA Richmond to AAA Sacramento. Both players have had fantastic offensive starts to the season, and they definitely have the defensive chops for the next level. Promotions this time of year are often about logistics, so we’ll see if that’s the case for this pair, or if they’re there on merit, and there to stay. For Cavanaugh, the answer is probably both: he’s likely in Sacramento to provide an extra catching body after Eric Haase and Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL) were moved to the Majors, especially since Daniel Susac (No. 20 CPL) should be finishing up his rehab soon.
Taking their place in Richmond are catcher Ty Hanchey and shortstop Zane Zielinski, who were promoted from High-A Eugene. Catcher Daniel Rogers, who had been in Sacramento on emergency duty (but didn’t play), was reassigned to Eugene, which serves as a promotion since he’s only played with Low-A San Jose. And utility player Jean Carlos Sio (No. 44 CPL) finished his rehab in the Complex League, and was assigned to Eugene.
AAA Sacramento (21-17)
Sacramento River Cats beat the Round Rock Express (Rangers) 9-2 Box score
This was a good game for players who might be wearing Giants jerseys soon, notably a player on each side of the ball. On the hitting front, catcher Daniel Susac (No. 20 CPL) continued his rehab assignment and did so quite nicely, hitting 1-2 and drawing 2 walks before leaving the game after 7 innings.
Susac has been awesome during his rehab stint, which certainly results in a lot of fans clamoring to get him back in San Francisco, but rehab assignments are always more about getting up to speed from a health standpoint than a performance one. He’s played 4 games, but just 2 of them were behind the dish, and he hasn’t played a full game in the squat yet. Still, he’s not far off.
As for the pitching, it was RHP Spencer Bivens having a much needed great game. Bivens, interestingly, was given a starting assignment. It wasn’t his 1st start of the year, as he’s opened some bullpen games, but he actually got stretched out a bit in this game, as he threw 63 pitches and made it through 4 shutout innings. Better yet, he didn’t allow a single hit during those 4 innings, with the only baserunners being a pair of walks. He also struck out 5.
I would be shocked if the Giants are toying around with the idea of Bivens transitioning into a starter — there’s really no need for that — but it seems that perhaps the team is prepping him for the long relief role that he has played a few times during his career. That’s been a weakness in the Giants bullpen all year, since they’ve been hesitant to put starters in the bullpen: they don’t have guys who can come in and give them 3-4 innings out of the ‘pen. Either way, it was nice to see Bivens have a great game, as he has really been scuffling lately.
The rest of the pitchers were solid, if not great. LHP Nick Zwack gave up the 2 runs in an inning of work, but LHP Juan Sánchez (No. 41 CPL), RHP Marques Johnson, and RHP Wilkin Ramos all had scoreless outings, albeit not particularly clean ones.
On offense, Susac’s day was the most meaningful, but it certainly wasn’t the best. That belonged to shortstop Osleivis Basabe, who hit 2-4 with both a home run and a double.
Basabe might lose some playing time going forward with the arrival of Aeverson Arteaga, but the 25-year old really is the perfect player to have in AAA. He’s strong defensively across the infield, he has a little bit of MLB experience, and, while his offense isn’t particularly noteworthy (he has a .704 OPS and an 84 wRC+), he has competitive at-bats, with a low strikeout rate and a little bit of pop. He’s the AAA player that you hope you don’t have to see in the Majors, but you feel comfortable with if you do.
Also homering was designated hitter Victor Bericoto (No. 35 CPL), who salvaged a 1-5 day with 2 strikeouts with a 2-run shot in the 7th inning.
Bericoto has not been lighting the PCL on fire the way he did in Spring Training, but it’s still been an extremely encouraging year for the 24-year old. He hasn’t been fully showing off the power that we know is in there — the power that, for instance, hit an organization-leading 27 home runs in 2023 — but his at-bats have been very impressive. He’s rocking a .304 batting average and a sub-20% strikeout rate, en route to an .802 OPS and a 112 wRC+.
Third baseman Buddy Kennedy and left fielder Turner Hill continued their excellent starts to the season, as each player hit 2-4 with a double. Kennedy also drew a walk, as they both look like strong AAA depth pieces, not unlike Basabe.
Since I won’t be getting to a roundup tomorrow, it seemed like we might as well talk about today’s AA game, since they played early and the game is already concluded. It wasn’t my initial plan, but I started the roundup late and the Squirrels had an extremely exciting game.
So let’s start with that game. It featured the organizational debut of LHP Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson, who has arguably been the best pitcher in the Eastern League this year. Tugboat, who came to the Giants over the weekend in the Patrick Bailey trade (along with the No. 29 overall pick in July’s draft) continued his stellar year this morning, by tossing 5 scoreless innings. It was a fairly dominant showing for Wilkinson, who only gave up 2 hits all game, both of which were singles. Despite not exactly pounding the strike zone (he threw 46 of 74 pitches for strikes), Wilkinson didn’t walk a single batter (though he hit 1), and he struck out 6.
Matt "Tugboat" Wilkinson in his @GoSquirrels and #SFGiants debut today in Erie: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 SO
With that, the burly lefty lowered his ERA to 1.38, a spectacular mark through 7 starts. I don’t know his FIP, since today’s game hasn’t yet made it to the Fangraphs stats, but it was 2.58 before the start, and it will certainly be lower after it. The 23-year old, who was taken in the 10th round in 2023 by the Guardians (3 rounds before they took Jacob Bresnahan!) has really taken off this year. He had a fairly pedestrian season in High-A a year ago, with a 4.24 ERA and a 4.17 FIP, but he’s dramatically lowered his walks, hits, and home runs, while cranking up the strikeouts. Through 33.1 innings this year, Tugboat has 42 strikeouts and just 9 walks. Pretty exciting stuff!
The other star of the game was another non blue-chip prospect acquired in a trade who has been breaking out: third baseman Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL). Harber, the 24-year old undrafted free agent who came over in the Camilo Doval trade (a trade that is looking exceptional, I should add), had a dynamic day, hitting 3-4 with both a home run and a double, while knocking in 4 runs and striking out once (he went 1-5 with a strikeout on Saturday).
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) May 13, 2026
That brought his OPS all the way up to .947, as he’s not showing many signs of rust after missing the 1st month of the season with a hamstring injury. He is still striking out too much, but he has a .343 batting average with 11 extra-base hits in 15 games. Phenomenal!
It’s worth noting that Harber has played exclusively at third base so far this year. He played a little bit of outfield last year, and it’s easier to see a path to the Majors in that role, given San Francisco’s employment of Matt Chapman and Casey Schmitt. But for now, he’s sticking to the dirt.
An awesome pair of games for second baseman Diego Velasquez (No. 31 CPL), who hit just 1-5 with 2 strikeouts, but drew 3 walks, stole 2 bases, and made the most of his hit by smashing a solo home run on Wednesday.
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) May 13, 2026
Velasquez, who is up to an .809 OPS, will never be a big power guy, but marginal improvements in that area can be the difference between a high-contact, low-strikeout middle infielder having a long Major League career, and no career at all. And so far, in his age-22 season, the switch-hitter is, indeed, showing those marginal power improvements: with Wednesday’s bomb, he now has 3 home runs on the year, in 27 games. That matches the AA home run total he entered the season with, in 170 games. Excellent!
Speaking of power, center fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) was a 2-bag beast, as he hit 3-9 with 2 strikeouts over the pair of games, with all 3 of his hits being doubles. It hasn’t yet been a superstar showing for Davidson, who has an .825 OPS (and entered Wednesday’s game with a 114 wRC+), but he’s really showing how dynamic his skillset is. There’s a lot of power in that bat, and a lot of speed in those legs.
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) May 13, 2026
Left fielder Scott Bandura rounded out the strong offensive performances, by hitting 4-8 with 2 walks and a strikeout. A brilliant season for the 24-year old lefty, taken in the 7th round of the 2023 draft out of Princeton. He’s up to a .331 batting average and a .943 OPS.
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) May 13, 2026
Tuesday’s starter wasn’t quite as good as Tugboat, but he was darn good anyway, as RHP Trystan Vrieling had his best start of the year. Vrieling, who like Harber came over in the Doval trade, tossed 5 shutout innings, while allowing just 2 hits (both doubles). The biggest stain on his resume was 3 walks, but he countered it with 7 strikeouts. Walks have been an issue for the 2022 3rd-round pick, who now has allowed 5.1 of them per 9 innings on the year, a mark well above what he did in prior years (3.3 in 2025, and 2.8 in his debut in 2024). He is, however, suppressing both runs and home runs better than ever before, which is extremely important, and it’s given him a 3.38 ERA on the season, with a 4.39 FIP.
RHP Ben Peterson, a 24-year old undrafted free agent in his 2nd season, made his Richmond debut on Tuesday after a recent promotion, and pitched 2 perfect innings with 3 strikes. That’s a hell of a first impression!
Well, this game was a certified offensive explosion! Nearly every hitter in Eugene’s lineup had a day worth mentioning, as the team compiled 21 hits, 7 walks, and 17 runs. 3 of those runs came against a shortstop, but still!
The biggest day belonged to left fielder Carlos Gutierrez (No. 18 CPL), who continues to show dramatic improvements in the power department. The 21-year old lefty looks physically stronger this year, and that’s shown in the results, including on Tuesday when he went 3-5 with a 3-run home run, a double, a walk, a stolen base, and a strikeout.
Gutierrez is still trying to get his average on track — after hitting .351 in Low-A a year ago, he’s at just .229 this season — but his isolated slugging has jumped from .101 to .198, while his walk and strikeout rates have remained incredible (16.2% for each). On the whole, it’s a .786 OPS and a 118 wRC+ for the young lefty, which is pretty impressive considering he began the year having played just 85 games in his career. He’s also been strong on defense, and has 9 stolen bases without yet getting caught.
Catcher Jancel Villarroel (No. 42 CPL) had his 1st notable game of the year, and notable it most certainly was. The recently-turned 21-year old right-handed hitter missed the start of the season due to injury, and has been very rusty in his return: he went 2-7 while rehabbing in the Complex League, and then 1-15 in his 1st 4 games with the Emeralds.
But on Tuesday, the young Venezuelan, who came to the Giants a few months ago in the Kai-Wei Teng trade, positively broke out, hitting 4-6 with a home run. That’s more like it! It’s good to see him find his swing.
Power that’ll play!
Jancel Villarroel smacks his first home run in the Giants organization out to dead center. This guy knows insurance!#RootedHerepic.twitter.com/kzgfMqUoB3
A 23-year old taken in the 5th round in 2024, Christian also missed the start of the year with an injury, but he’s wasted no time getting up to speed in Eugene. All he’s done is hit, as he now has a 1.321 OPS and a 249 wRC+, with 6 extra-base hits in 9 games. Those are some eye-popping numbers! Christian has also cut back on his strikeouts, but unfortunately his swinging strike rate has gone in the wrong direction, to a slightly terrifying 22.1%.
Also great days for center fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL), right fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 32 CPL), third baseman Walker Martin, and second baseman Zander Darby. Jordan went 3-6 with a stolen base and a strikeout, giving him an .876 OPS and a 136 wRC+, with 6 stolen bases in 7 attempts; Diaz hit 2-5 with a double, a walk, and a strikeout, raising his OPS to .704 and his wRC+ to 84; Martin went 2-4 with 2 walks, a stolen base, and a strikeout, pushing his OPS to .730 and his wRC+ to 104, with 9 stolen bases in as many attempts; and Darby hit 4-6 with a double and 2 strikeouts, boosting his OPS to .926 and his wRC+ to 150.
All the excitement was with the hitting, as the pitching wasn’t very interesting. LHP Charlie McDaniel struggled in the start, though it was kind of a funny outing: McDaniel gave up 4 runs in 5.1 innings, and all 4 runs came on solo home runs. In total, he allowed 8 hits, 0 walks, and struck out 4. The 24-year old undrafted free agent opened his 2nd season by not allowing a single home run in 5 starts, but that all came crashing down on Tuesday. Still and all, he has just a 2.08 ERA with only 5 walks in 26 innings, though that quartet of dingers drove his FIP up to 4.24.
RHP Liam Simon had another nice game, as he threw 2 shutout innings with 2 hits, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts. He’s still struggling to throw strikes as he works the injury rust off — he tossed just 17 of 32 pitches for strikes — but he’s certainly moving in the right direction. After a brutal start to the season, Simon has thrown 7 straight scoreless outings, and in that time has struck out 15 batters in 9 innings, while allowing just 3 hits and 5 walks.
Low-A San Jose (19-15)
San Jose Giants lost to the Ontario Tower Buzzers (Dodgers) 9-2 Box score
Well, a bit of a bust of a game for the Baby Giants. The offensive bright spot at least came from a nice place, as second baseman Lorenzo Meola (No. 23 CPL) hit 1-3 with a walk, a strikeout, and his 1st home run of the season, a solo shot.
It’s been a tough debut full season for the 22-year old righty, who was the organization’s 4th-round pick in July. After hitting fairly well during a short stint with San Jose post-draft — which included 3 home runs in 16 games — he’s really struggled this year, with a .619 OPS, a 66 wRC+, and a 30.5% strikeout rate … and needed 30 games to put a ball over the fence. Hopefully more games like this are in his near future!
The other nice day belonged to catcher Junior Barajas, who went 2-4 with a double, though he struck out twice. Last year’s 11th-round pick has really slowed down following his outrageous start to the season, but it’s still been a magnificent debut, as he has an .846 OPS, a 109 wRC+, an 18.8% strikeout rate, and solid defense behind the dish.
Not a good pitching day, but RHP Keyner Martinez (No. 10 CPL) again showed off the strikeout stuff. Martinez K’d 6 batters in just 3 innings, though the “3 innings” part of that sentence hints at some serious issues: he gave up 5 hits (including a home run and 2 doubles) and walked 3 batters.
The 21-year old Martinez has had quite a few bumps in the road this year — he has a 5.70 ERA, a 4.30 FIP, and 4.9 walks per 9 innings — but the electricity is on dazzling display night in and night out. He’s now up to 15.2 strikeouts per 9 innings, a mark that ranks 4th out of the 637 pitchers who have thrown at least 20 innings in the Minors this season. Keep that up, Keyner!
RHP Alix Hernandez struck out the side in an inning of work, with 0 hits and 1 walk. The 21-year old is up to 22 strikeouts in just 15.1 innings, though he only has a 5.28 ERA and a 4.42 FIP. His pitches are pretty exciting, though.
Home run tracker
4 — Victor Bericoto — [AAA] 3 — Osleivis Basabe — [AAA] 3 — Diego Velasquez — [AA] 3 — Carlos Gutierrez — [High-A] 2 — Parks Harber — [AA] 2 — Jakob Christian — [High-A] 1 — Jancel Villarroel — [High-A] 1 — Lorenzo Meola — [Low-A]
When OG Anunoby missed the closing minutes of the Knicks’ game two victory over the 76ers, New York fans couldn’t help but expect bad news. After seeing the team’s playoff run suddenly come to a halt just two seasons ago when the forward strained his hamstring, PTSD started to creep in.
Thankfully, by the following afternoon, reports started to come out that the Knicks and Anunoby had dodged a bullet. While he’d end up missing the rest of the series, which, to be fair, only lasted 8 more quarters, there was optimism that, had the 76ers found a way to extend the series, his return was still in play.
"OG Anunoby will play in Game 1. I feel very comfortable saying that, just because of where this thing was in the day or two days after it happened."
On The Putback with @IanBegley, Ian says that barring any setbacks, the Knicks should expect to have OG Anunoby ready to go for… pic.twitter.com/YKrL5budKx
Now, with a week and a half between his initial injury and the start of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, many are expecting him to be all set and ready to take the floor again for the opening game of the Conference Finals.
Ian Begley of SNY went on the air jus two days ago and expressedhis confidence in Anunoby suiting up. Sham Charania of ESPN also confirmed that the expectation is he’ll be ready.
Mike Brown did try to temper expectations when asked about it today, saying, “I just want to take it one day at a time.”. Anunoby didn’t participate in live scrimmages at the Knicks’ practice today, but Brown did note that he went through “some parts” of practice, which, from the reports, seem to include shoot-around, and individual workouts.
This isn’t a guarantee that he’ll play, and as Stefan Bondy of the New York Post notes, Brown also wouldn’t say whether Anunoby is sprinting or not. But some of this could also just be some gamesmanship for a team trying to make game planning for their next opponent slightly more difficult.
Even if it isn’t, the fact that so many people are hearing positive news surrounding Anunoby’s progress is a great sign for Knicks fans, especially since they still have another four to six days until Game 1.
STREAKING THE WRONG WAY: The Cubs have lost three straight games since their 10-game winning streak ended Saturday, just as they lost three in a row following their earlier 10 straight wins. They also dropped three in a row after double-digit streaks of 11 games in 1935 and 10 games in 1998 and this year. They lost four straight after winning 13, May 5-19, 1928. They lost five straight after winning 10, May 6-17, 1917, and after winning 11, July 25-Aug. 4, 1944. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
THE CALENDAR MIGHT BODE WELL: The Cubs are 6-0 on Wednesdays this season: 3-0 at home and on the road. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
THE BUSCH LEAGUE: Michael Busch, last 21 games since April 20: .303/.432/.526 (23-for-76) with six doubles, a triple, three home runs, 16 walks and 20 RBI.
TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Steve Trachsel allowed a leadoff double to Houston’s Brian Hunter. It was the only hit he gave up in a complete-game, one-hit shutout over the Astros. Luis Gonzalez and Sammy Sosa homered and the Cubs won 6-0. It happened 30 years ago today, Monday, May 13, 1996.
Shōta Imanaga has been just outstanding this year. Last seven starts: 1.70 ERA, 0.850 WHIP, 46 strikeouts in 42.1 innings with only three home runs allowed. The lack of home runs given up is a really positive development.
So, the complaint department is closed regarding Imanaga, at least for now.
Matt Olson is 4-f0r-8 with a triple off Shōta and Ozzie Albies is 5-for-9.
JR Ritchie was a Braves’ first-round compensation pick (35th overall) in 2022 out of high school in Washington state.
He’s 22 and was a top 100 prospect before this season and made his MLB debut April 23. He’s made three starts, all of which were at least decent. He’s obviously never faced the Cubs or anyone on their active roster.
Please visit our SB Nation Braves site Battery Power. If you do go there to interact with Braves fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
UPDATE: Added a goal scorer prediction + who will win prediction.
The Anaheim Ducks are in do-or-die mode, needing to beat the Vegas Golden Knights to keep their season alive.
My Golden Knights vs. Ducks predictions expect them to do just that, with Leo Carlsson leading the charge.
Let's break down my NHL picks for Thursday, May 14.
Golden Knights vs Ducks Game 6 prediction today
Who will win Golden Knights vs Ducks Game 6?
Ducks: The Ducks have performed very well on home ice during the playoffs, winning four of five games while controlling 55% of the expected goals across all situations. They keep their season alive for at least one more game.
Golden Knights vs Ducks best bet: Leo Carlsson Over 0.5 points (-180)
The 5-on-5 profile is very good, and that's especially important given that there are often fewer penalties called in elimination games. Refs want to keep things at full-strength and 'let the players decide', which sets up well given how well Carlsson has played at 5-on-5.
Carlsson is also more productive on home soil. Playoffs included, he has averaged 1.1 points per game and hit the scoresheet in 70% of his appearances since the calendar flipped to 2026.
Golden Knights vs Ducks same-game parlay
Jackson LaCombe has played a whopping 130 minutes through five games, logging more ice time than any player in this series. Joel Quenneville is going to ride his star defenseman into the ground in a do-or-die game, which only enhances his already strong chances of production.
The Ducks are going to push and be especially aggressive offensively with their season on the line. That will lead to plenty of blocked shot opportunities for Shea Theodore, who leads the Golden Knights in ice time and has averaged 3.1 blocks over the last nine games.
Golden Knights vs Ducks SGP
Leo Carlsson Over 0.5 points
Jackson LaCombe Over 0.5 assists
Shea Theodore Over 1.5 blocked shots
Golden Knights vs Ducks Game 6 goal scorer pick
Cutter Gauthier (+180)
Cutter Gauthier leads the series in shot attempts, shots on goal, scoring chances, and rebounds created.
He is the most prolific goal scorer in the series, and he is getting more looks than anybody. I like his odds of breaking through in Game 6.
Golden Knights vs Ducks odds for Game 6 today
Moneyline: Golden Knights -110 | Ducks -110
Puck Line: Golden Knights -1.5 (+220) | Ducks +1.5 (-275)
Over/Under: Over 5.5 (-140) | Under 5.5 (+120)
Golden Knights vs Ducks trend
The Ducks have hit the first-period game total Over in 17 of their last 20 games (+12.70 Units / 40% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Golden Knights vs. Ducks.
How to watch Golden Knights vs Ducks Game 6
Location
Honda Center, Anaheim, CA
Date
Thursday, May 14, 2026
Puck drop
9:30 p.m. ET
TV
TNT, Sportsnet
Golden Knights vs Ducks latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
Boston, MA - May 12: Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber celebrates his solo home run in the first inning. The Boston Red Sox played the Philadelphia Phillies at Fenway Park on May 12, 2026. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
Here are the lineups for tonight’s game in Boston, let’s discuss.
Apr 7, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) and Jalen Green (4) against the Houston Rockets in the second half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
As we button up the 2025-26 Phoenix Suns season, I imagine this is what it feels like to be a teacher in May. The school year ends, the kids head home, and those final few days become administrative. You’re putting away files, cleaning the classroom, shutting off the lights before heading into summer break.
That’s kind of what we’ve been doing here at Bright Side as we say goodbye to the 2025-26 Suns. It was an unexpectedly fun season, and our view of the players on this roster changed over time. That’s the purpose of SunsRank. To look at who these players were and who they became over the course of the year.
Before we reveal the complete community rankings, I wanted to take a moment to show how the Bright Side writing team viewed the roster by season’s end. Below are the rankings from our writers, along with some explanation as to why certain players landed higher or lower on individual ballots.
#
Player
John Voita
Brandon Duenas
Holden Sherman
Bruce Veliz
Rod Argent
Kevin Humphrey
John Doeshass
Pano
1
Devin Booker
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
Dillon Brooks
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
Jalen Green
3
6
3
3
3
4
3
4
4
Collin Gillespie
4
3
7
4
4
5
5
5
5
Mark Williams
5
4
5
7
5
8
6
3
6
Grayson Allen
6
8
4
6
8
3
5
6
7
Jordan Goodwin
7
5
6
5
6
6
7
7
8
Oso Ighodaro
9
7
9
9
9
7
8
8
9
Royce O’Neale
8
9
8
8
7
9
9
9
10
Rasheer Fleming
11
10
11
10
10
10
10
10
11
Ryan Dunn
12
11
12
11
11
11
11
11
12
Khaman Maluach
10
12
14
12
12
13
12
12
13
Haywood Highsmith
15
13
10
14
13
12
13
12
14
Jamaree Bouyea
13
15
13
13
15
15
15
13
15
Amir Coffey
14
14
15
15
14
14
14
15
16
Isaiah Livers
17
16
15
16
16
17
16
14
17
Koby Brea
16
17
17
17
17
16
17
16
18
CJ Huntley
18
18
16
18
18
18
17
17
Take a few minutes and look through the rankings. You’ll probably find yourself agreeing with one writer more than another. You might question why someone had a player ranked too high or too low compared to your own list. That’s part of the fun.
To dig into that a little more, we did a small Q&A session with the writing team to better understand some of their rankings.
Brandon, you had the lowest ranking on Jalen Green, ranking him 6th. Why is he that low on your SunsRank?
Availability is the best ability. The bottom line is that Jalen Green only played in 32 games this season, and he had some very rough stretches as he worked his way back from injury. Do I think he is the sixth-best player? No. Do I think he had the sixth-best season? Yes. And even that feels like a stretch given the fact that he missed 50 games combined with the rough shooting stretches. His great play in the Play-In and Playoffs do not mask the overall body of work in the regular season for me.
Holden, you had the lowest ranking on Collin Gillespie, ranking him 7th. Why is he that low on your SunsRank?
Gillespie’s lack of efficiency and consistency at the end of the year and ability to play alongside Green and Booker rendered him to be less valuable for the team, and with his thin frame was a liability on defense when he wasn’t generating turnovers
Pano, you had the highest ranking on Mark Williams, ranking him 3rd. Why is he that high on your SunsRank?
Mark Williams’ 6.3 Win Shares reflect a real positive impact on the team’s overall success. With roughly a 57% win rate, his strong performances were often tied to team wins. His absences clearly hurt — not as much as Devin Booker or Dillon Brooks — but losing his size, length, and a reliable offensive option definitely affected the group. His presence would’ve been especially valuable against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that physically overwhelms a lot of opponents and completely crushed us in the Playoffs…
He also managed to stand out in an offensive system that wasn’t necessarily built for him in the first place, with its focus on three-point shooting and constant movement. As the team’s best rebounder, he was essential in Jordan Ott’s system, which constantly looks to generate extra possessions to make up for certain weaknesses. Alongside Jordan Goodwin, he was probably the player creating the most of that kind of invisible impact.
And above all, he played 60 games — a career high for him after never playing more than 44 in a season before. Even if he was occasionally managed carefully, he made himself available, stayed available, and remained consistent in both effort and impact for most of the year, even if, unfortunately, he wasn’t there against OKC.
Kevin, you had the highest ranking on Grayson, ranking him 3rd. Why is he that high on your SunsRank?
Behind Dillon Brooks and Devin Booker, no one was more important to the Suns’ offensive success this season than Grayson Allen. Despite ending the season in a shooting slump due to multiple nagging injuries, Allen’s floor spacing, passing, and physical driving ability allowed the Suns to generate the best ball movement and offensive pace when he was playing. He elevated his role this season from floor spacer to one of the Suns’ most reliable scorers as he averaged career highs at 16.5 points, 3.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 3.3 free throw attempts per game.
Allen’s ability to oscillate between scorer, shooter, and connector, plus his physical strength, allows him to be an effective player in almost any lineup pairing offensively and survive on the defensive end of the floor.
Bruce, you had the highest ranking on Jordan Goodwin, ranking him 5th. Why is he that high on your SunsRank?
Jordan Goodwin showed me that even if he wasn’t in the starting lineup every night, he was one of 5 best players this year due to the hustle and heart he showed every night. Goodwin displayed the epitome of what Suns fans want to see on the court every game, and he deserves the credit for doing so.
Voita, you had the highest ranking on Khaman Maluach, ranking him 10th. Why is he that high on your SunsRank?
I’m looking at this through the lens of the word “best.” As I look over my rankings, I think Khaman Maluach stands out from an upside standpoint. He’s unique.
Sure, part of my ranking leans more into the future than what we saw this season. Maybe that’s my folly. I truly believe this kid has it. The motor is there. The physical tools are there. The desire to become great is there. And honestly, it’s going to be fun revisiting SunsRank in a couple of years when he’s sitting comfortably in the top five.
So yes, my ranking is rooted more in projection than current reality. I still don’t think it’s far off. Maybe Rasheer Fleming should’ve been 10 and Maluach 11. I can hear that argument. I still think he’s better than Ryan Dunn, Jamari Bouyea, Amir Coffey, and Haywood Highsmith when you view it through the lens of talent and possibility.
That’s why I had Maluach at 10.
So there you have it. Who got it right? Who got it wrong? When you sit down and actually go through the exercise of ranking the Phoenix Suns roster player by player, whose list lines up closest with your own.
BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 13: Kyle Bradish #38 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches during the game between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Wednesday, May 13, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Alyssa Piazza/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Wow. So it turns out that, on any given day, even the Orioles are capable of looking like a behemoth. Despite the fact that inclement weather forced a time change for Wednesday’s series finale, and that they were facing a team that had demolished them 39-9 in a series sweep last week, the Birds were unflappable today. Behind six scoreless innings from their de facto ace, Kyle Bradish, and ten hits from the offense—including a homer by Adley Rutschman and three hits from, of all people, Blaze Alexander—the Orioles chased the Yankees out of town and took a series win with a 7-0 spanking of New York today.
Today was a lot of fun. It’s been a crappy season for Baltimore so far, so it’s critical to enjoy the good times when fans can. Thus, a few pieces of good news.
First: Kyle Bradish is so back! I know, I know, it was just one start. But it’s not just the results; it’s how he looked. (I mean, the results were really nice: Bradish shut out MLB’s third best offense, with just one hit allowed in six innings — and that came on a nice effort by Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a second straight curveball.) Bradish’s stuff was great today. Normally, command and spin are challenges for Tommy John survivors, and while three walks is more than Bradish would like, there were no issues with his spin rates today. His curveball was ruthless: his spin rate on the pitch was up today, and he got a 50% whiff rate with it. Beautiful. Here’s a swaggy montage.
As for the offense, they didn’t freak out, even against a lefty! Max Fried has had great numbers this season, but he’s been off in his last three starts, including this one. Of 61 pitches, only 34 were strikes. Fried lasted just three innings and allowed three runs, all earned, on five hits and a walk. (According to reports after the game, the lefty was pulled early with elbow soreness and is going in for imaging. All best of luck to him.) Clearly, Fried wasn’t working with his best stuff today, but the Birds showed a good approach in exploiting his command problems. That counts as a win.
Let’s recap. From the start, Fried was having trouble landing his fastball. He allowed a Taylor Ward single in the first inning (guys, Ward swung!). But after falling behind 3-1 to Gunnar Henderson, Fried jammed the O’s shortstop inside with a bunch of sinkers, getting a rather lucky GIDP.
No more lucky escapes for Fried in the second. Pete Alonso led off with a single, showing nice timing. Two quick outs followed—Tyler O’Neill was frozen on a low strike that former O’s farmhand J.C. Escarra challenged, and Leody Taveras erased the Polar Bear with a fielder’s choice. But hottest-bat-in-the-lineup-lately (maybe?) Coby Mayo nicely built himself a 3-1 count, then melted a fastball past the third base bag, at 111 mph. Taveras, showing no hesitation, rounded the bases and scored. The Orioles had a 1-0 lead.
Ordinarily, a 1-0 lead isn’t worth a hill of beans against the Yankees, but in this case, the offense was just getting started.
Blaze Alexander, tablesetter par excellence today, led off the third inning with a great bunt. He got to take an extra base when Fried muffed the throw to first. Taylor Ward walked. Of course. A Gunnar groundout moved Alexander to third, and Adley boosted his RISP numbers by cracking a noisy flyout to center. 2-0 Orioles. They had one more run in them: Pete Alonso, who is hitting well lately, singled to right. Ward scored, making it 3-0. There might have been more, but Alonso got himself rung up at second trying to stretch the single into a double. Speed is not a leading quality of polar bears.
The Orioles offense—and for that matter Blaze and Adley—still had more in the tank. The Yankees lifted the struggling Fried and put in right-hander Paul Blackburn. Blaze Alexander singled on a hanging sweeper and stole second while Taylor Ward stood at the plate and stared at pitches. Gunnar flew out to center, but with two outs, Adley connected a little further. His immediate reaction suggested he thought he’d gotten under it—but he ran all the way to second, where he was told by the grounds crew that it was a home run. Kinda funny, but they counts all the same.
The Orioles added a sixth and seventh run in the sixth inning against former Ray Ryan Yarbrough—another lefty!! Tyler O’Neill led off with a walk, and Coby Mayo scorched another loud line drive into left field. Weston Wilson kept the line going with another line drive single, loading the bases for Blaze Alexander. Some days, this fact would kill the rally. But not today. Blaze connected on a low-and-outside offspeed pitch, and drove it past the third baseman and shortstop. Two more runs scored. 7-0, Orioles.
It’s weird—some days it just looks really easy. Over the last week, the Orioles offense has scored more than three runs only once: today, seven materialized with ease. And after giving up seven, nine, eleven and twelve runs to the Yankees in last week’s series, Orioles pitching nearly no-hit them today.
It starts, of course, with the starter. Like I said, Bradish was in command the whole game, save for the Chisholm double in the fifth, the Yankees’ first and only hit of the game, and the only time they created any suspense on the basepaths. That inning, with Chisholm already aboard, Bradish spiked a curveball, allowing the speedster to take third. But then he whiffed Ryan McMahon. He walked Spencer Jones, putting runners at the corners. But after a long battle with Anthony Volpe, he finally got him swinging, too, and left the mound with that emphatic-slash-disdainful walk Bradish does when he’s in the zone.
Then, a bullpen combo of Keegan Akin, Dietrich Enns, and Yennier Cano combined for three hitless, scoreless innings. Poetry.
Today’s convincing win doesn’t erase the frustrations of the prior 43 games, but it did help. Outclassing the scary Yankees today—winning the series against them, even!—has to be a confidence booster. If the rotation starts to take a cue from Kyle Bradish and the hitters can do more of this, well, the Orioles start to look like an excellent team.
So who was your Most Birdland Player today? A dominant Bradish, looking like himself? Coby Mayo, with two hits and the game’s first RBI? Adley Rutschman, who homered and drove in three runs? Offensive powerhouse and speedster Blaze Alexander?
CINCINNATI, OHIO - MAY 10: Elly De La Cruz #44 of the Cincinnati Reds hits a single in the fourth inning against the Houston Astros at Great American Ball Park on May 10, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Owners of the worst production from the leadoff spot in all of Major League Baseball, the Cincinnati Reds have finally, mercifully seen enough of the way their old lineup produced.
Ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Washington Nationals, manager Terry Francona bumped up the stars of his lineup a slot and began to stack the top of his lineup full of the best bats he can find. No longer is TJ Friedl hitting leadoff with Matt McLain slumping in the #2 spot – instead, Elly De La Cruz will hit 2nd with Sal Stewart 3rd, JJ Bleday 4th, and Spencer Steer 5th tonight as the Reds face Washington starter Jake Irvin, a righty.
Will Benson will lead off again against the RHP, and it remains to be seen how Francona will adjust the top of the lineup on days when the Reds face a southpaw.
Notably absent from this lineup today is Ke’Bryan Hayes, who was a flashpoint during yesterday’s game for a) not being pinch-hit for in the 4th inning with the bases loaded (and grounding into a double-play) and later b) being pinch-hit for in a bases-loaded spot after the game had already gotten out of hand.
Nathaniel Lowe is also back in the lineup tonight at DH one day after questionably being on the pine against a RHP (and against his former club).
Here’s the lineup for the start of the second game of this series, one that will feature Nick Lodolo on the mound for the Reds for his second start of the season:
DETROIT (AP) — Pistons games will be available on local television next season for the first time since 2005 as part of a multiyear deal with Scripps Sports.
The Pistons were one of 13 NBA teams looking for a new home because Main Street Sports is shutting down. Detroit is the first NBA franchise to partner with Scripps, which has the rights to five NHL teams, a WNBA franchise and a National Women's Soccer League squad.
WMYD-TV in Detroit will be the local broadcast home. Scripps also owns stations in Grand Rapids and Lansing. The team and Scripps also announced plans for direct-to-consumer streaming.
The Tigers and Red Wings have partnered with Major League Baseball for their local rights.
“Over-the-air broadcasting has proven to be one of the most powerful ways to connect sports teams with their fans,” Scripps Sports president Brian Lawlor said in a statement. “As we are seeing right now, the fandom around the Pistons is high and every fan deserves to have access to Detroit Pistons games.”
The Pistons finished as the top seed in the Eastern Conference in the regular season and are currently playing a conference semifinal series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Mikhail Prokhorov famously said that his Nets would “turn Knicks fans into Nets fans.” The Nets owner, a confirmed bachelor, also promised that if the Nets didn’t win a title in five years, he’d get married. Spoiler alert: None of those things happened.
So Sam Zussman, now president of Nets parent Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment under Prokhorov’s successor Joe Tsai, has come up with a different, long term plan — generational fandom — essentially getting them while they’re young.
In a wide-ranging and rare interview Monday with an Israeli business site, the Israeli-born Zussman laid out the plan in detail and suggested that the payoff may not come for a decade or more but could eventually pay dividends for a half-century or more. At a moment when the Knicks look like the Showtime Lakers and pundits as well as fans are lamenting the team’s bad luck in the Lottery — even suggesting the franchise is cursed — the comments have particular relevancy.
Zussman spoke as well about fandom in general, including how while he’s admittedly “frustrated” in not being able to control winning and losing on the court, he can control the experience off it.
In addition, the former IDF officer spoke about his relationship with the Nets’ two Israeli players and how he brought wounded Israeli soldiers to both a Nets game and practice last year as part of their recovery. Zussman has been active in raising funds for wounded Israeli soldiers.
In the interview with CTech, which took place recently in New York at an Israeli tech conference, Zussman noted that the Nets relatively short stay in Brooklyn put them at a disadvantage compared to the the generational fan base of older franchises. Although he didn’t say, the obvious comparison is to the Knicks.
“We’ve only moved to Brooklyn 14 years and we’ve never won a championship. So, we don’t have this generational fandom of a grandfather or a grandmother taking … or you as a parent have gone to a game with with your parents and you’re now taking your son or daughter. And I realized that needs to change,” he said.
“And if you look at what happens and if all of you look back to to your childhood,” he added, motioning to the audience, “you became a fan of a team somewhere between the age of six and 10 and it was on account of a slightest touch. You went to a game, you met a player, you got a t-shirt, you went to a clinic. That is stickier than your bank account. That does not change!
“So I realized this is what we need to do. So we started a movement called Brooklyn Basketball. And we now not only have a facility but we also go to public school and we deliver clinics free to 40,000 kids a year and so, you would ask me, ‘you’re spending a couple of million dollars a year that yes has a community aspect but where’s the revenue? And the revenue is a stream of season ticket holders that could be season ticket holders for 50 or 60 years starting 10 or 15 years and that’s okay.”
The clinics and center are indeed but one part of the Nets’ community involvement that could ultimately reap rewards, things as diverse as refurbishing playgrounds or financing a Jean Basquiat art curriculum.
Once in the building, Zussman said, fans need to have “an incredible experience whether the team won or lost” to keep the connection. “I can’t control what’s on the court. I can’t control what happens on any given night, but what I can’t control is the experience around it,” he added, admitting there’s a level of frustration.
Moreover, he said, fans must be treated differently than just customers because of their level of commitment.
“Fans have a very different relationship with your product. They’re people who feel like a minority owner. They feel invested, ‘Now, I’m a fan of the Brooklyn Nets.‘”
As for the use of AI, Zussman — despite his boss’s obvious expertise and experience — said he does not focus that much on the technology that touches the actual consumer. After all, he’s selling a tactile experience inside the arena rather than on the screen.
“It’s a bricks-and-mortars experience,“ he argued. ”You already have a superior technological solution. You can sit at home and watch a game on a 75-inch screen. You can pause it. You can rewind. You can use your own restroom. You can have your own food.
“Yet people get in their own car, take the subway whatever. They spend a lot money on the tickets. They stand in line. They have a lot of people around them for better or worse, just to physically be there because there’s no substitute for the passion, the energy, the experience, the memory, of being there. People come to consume that! … ahead of a technology-driven experience.“
Zussman also talked about the Nets two Israeli players: native Israeli Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf who was born in Illinois but holds an Israeli passport and has played for Israel in international competition. They were taken back to back at No. 26 and 27 at the end of the first round in the 2025 NBA Draft. He said he didn’t influence the selection of the two, noting he was on a plane at the time. (In fact, say insiders, it was coach Jordi Fernandez who pushed Saraf in particular.)
“No, we make decisions on the merits in the board room,” he said. “and we make decisions on the merits in the Draft room. They were the two players that our general manager and our front office believed were the two best picks at those positions. They’re great. They’re great human beings. They also help with a lot of community activity.”
He noted as well that they attended a dinner of the Irgun Nechei Zahal in the United States a group that raises funds for wounded Israeli soldiers that Zussman champions.
“Being an Israeli, being born and raised in Israel and serving in the IDF, that’s a really important thing,” he said.
Indeed, Zussman disclosed how the leader of the group came to him two years ago and said he had promised a wounded soldier that he’d take him to an NBA game as part of his recovery.
“From that, there came a group of 22 wounded warriors with a few other people in the delegation and we brought them here for a week,” he recalled. “We took them to a closed practice of the team. We took them to a game and to the U.N. We made a whole week out of it. They branded it, ‘When Heroes meet Champions.’
“And you could see it just put a spark in their eyes. you could see they felt the warm embrace of the Jewish community. You could see that there could be life after … it was in March 2024 so you could see it was a few months after October 7 (the date that Hamas attacked across Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis.) At that moment, I realized that was something I needed to lean into.”
Since then, of course, the Israeli response has been declared a genocide by the U.N. with a death toll approaching 75,000, mostly civilian.
CHICAGO — They positioned A.J. Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson on podiums a few feet apart in the center of a hotel ballroom, their backs to one another with only two NBA Draft Combine backdrops separating them.
Peterson arrived first wearing the standard issue combine sweatsuit the majority of prospects don throughout the week. Dybantsa came a couple minutes later in a brown pinstripe suit. It stood out and it was intentional, the BYU star explained. His father told him this is the first job interview of his life, “so come professional, come in a suit,” Dybantsa said.
“I’ve been No. 1 in the rankings since, like, ninth grade and I ain’t drop,” Dybantsa declared in front of the cameras on Wednesday, May 13 in Chicago, “so I’m not planning on dropping in the draft.”
The debate over the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft is likely to rage until the Washington Wizards are officially on the clock. Dybantsa, Peterson and Duke’s Cameron Boozer have long been pegged as the most likely candidates, and Caleb Wilson of North Carolina could also be in consideration. The chance that all four could become NBA All-Stars eventually has helped fuel the positive perception of this draft class and the historic amount of tanking NBA teams did at the end of this past regular season.
But Dybantsa has separated himself in one regard – a willingness to admit how badly he wants to go No. 1.
Darryn Peterson wants NBA to ‘learn the real me’
Peterson, for instance, used his session with reporters on Wednesday to emphasize that he’s using the pre-draft process to help teams “learn the real me and not what people are saying about me,” after a freshman season at Kansas in which he missed 11 games and left several others early due to cramping issues.
Peterson said he’s back to feeling like himself athletically after recently determining creatine usage was causing his health problems. He also noted, after mostly being used off the ball with the Jayhawks, he views himself as a point guard.
“Being No. 1 is cool,” Peterson said, “but I’m more worried about what’s the best fit for me and my career.”
AJ Dybantsa's current starting 5:
PG: LeBron James SG: Steph Curry SF: AJ Dybantsa PF: Kevin Durant C: Nikola Jokic
“I’ll have Curry at the 2, but he’s strictly there to shoot.” 🤣
The meetings and workouts to determine that have already started, with a wave of them occurring in conjunction with the scouting combine in Chicago this week.
Dybantsa slots more cleanly as the No. 1 pick in Washington’s current lineup as a 6-foot-8 athletic freak with elite three-level scoring ability. But that’s only if the Wizards are committed long term to point guard Trae Young.
If not, Peterson could be the right call. There’s also the chance Washington trades back, with speculation that the Utah Jazz might want to move up to No. 1 to choose Dybantsa over Peterson due to Dybantsa’s relationship with Jazz owner Ryan Smith, who is also a prominent BYU booster.
Cameron Boozer looks ahead, Dybantsa looks back
Boozer might be the least athletic of the three but perhaps the most polished, with an inside-outside skill set, a cerebral feel for the game and a competitiveness that has him slotted ahead of Dybantsa and Peterson in certain advanced statistical models. The son of longtime NBA player Carlos Boozer said Wednesday the pick isn’t as important as the place.
“You’ve heard some other people talk about it,” noted Boozer. “For me, whether I go 1, 2, 3, 4 or even lower than that, for me it’s just about going to the right fit, the right situation for me. What organization believes in me and understands what I bring to the table for the organization. I understand where you go matters for your career and how your trajectory goes, so that’s the biggest thing for me.”
The impetus behind Dybantsa’s strategy might be more straightforward. He lost to Peterson twice, once in high school and then again when the two faced one another in Big 12 play this year. It still eats at him, he admitted.
So when asked for the toughest player he’s gone against, Dybantsa immediately thought about the person seated only a few feet behind him, and why he can't just talk his way into being the No. 1 pick.
“Probably Darryn,” he said. “He got the best of me.”
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 10: Brandon Lowe #5 of the Pittsburgh Pirates takes the field before a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on May 10, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Scott Marshall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With the news that Gavin Lux has had another setback in his recovery from several injuries to begin the 2026 season, the Rays will be without their anticipated second baseman for the foreseeable future. This is unfortunate for Lux as he’s in a contract year and his injuries will almost certainly impact his earning potential in 2027. The Rays are still in relatively good shape at second base with Ben Williamson’s continued growth at the position and Richie Palacios settling into a consistent role.
Williamson is maintaining a 101 wRC+ against lefties and Palacios has a 109 wRC+ against righties – together they’ve formed a solid platoon at second base. The Rays production at second by wRC+ ranks a respectable 13th in the league.
Defensively, they each have -2 outs above average and Williamson has 1 defensive run saved while Palacios has none. They’ve also converted 92% of ground balls and line drives hit to them into outs which is league average for the position. They appear to be a roughly average defensive pair in the early part of the season. Given that Williamson is a plus defender at third base and solid at shortstop, I do expect him to be better than average at second base as he gets more reps there.
While the Rays do appear to be fine at second base, I don’t think that will stop them from exploring potential upgrades as the summer goes on. Carson Williams has played a few games at second base since his demotion and could be an interesting internal candidate to play there in the majors if needed. He’s already a plus defender at shortstop, so there’s reason to believe the athleticism would translate similarly to second base. Carson likely offers more upside on both sides of the ball than either Williamson or Palacios. However, he’s still refining his approach to reduce the swing-and-miss – and seeing encouraging results – so consistent playing time in Triple-A may still be best for his development.
There are a couple interesting external candidates if the Rays did decide to make a trade. Funny enough, they’re both former Rays. Brandon Lowe is set to become a free agent after this season and could be a somewhat affordable rental if the Pirates fall out of contention later this summer. He’s been able to stay healthy, there’s still plenty of impact left in his bat, and his defense is still passable.
Another option, although less likely given the cost and positional fit, could be Isaac Paredes. He would likely be more expensive given his extra year of team control, but the former Ray continues to outperform his raw exit velocity data by consistently pulling the ball in the air. He’s been working in at second base this season for the first time in a few years and he seems to be more than capable of holding his own there. Paredes’s data at the position looks solid in a small sample, and the eye test suggests he’s at least passable there:
There are a few other guys having some strong starts that could be available at the deadline, but none of them have the track record comparable to Lowe or Paredes.
Lux’s on-base ability would still add an important dimension to the lineup if he’s able to return later this season, but the Rays appear reasonably positioned to withstand his absence for now. Williamson and Palacios still look capable of forming a viable second-base platoon for the remainder of the season. Carson Williams could emerge as an internal option if the Rays are willing to give him consistent major-league reps, and a pair of former Rays may also become trade candidates if the organization looks to clear future 40-man roster pressure ahead of the Rule 5 crunch this winter.
