On Sunday evening, Rajasthan Royals opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was crowned the Indian Premier League’s most valuable player after a breakout campaign with the bat, finishing as the tournament’s leading run-scorer.
Jake Sanderson Took Another Step Forward This Season, But His Norris Trophy Ranking Did Not
For a second straight year, Norris Trophy voters backed up Jake Sanderson's status as a top 10 NHL defenseman. The voting results were unveiled on Tuesday, and Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski was named the winner.
For Sens fans, if finishing in 10th place again sounds disappointing, it says more about the large number of great NHL defensemen than it does about Sanderson's game.
We could dig into the analytics to assess things, but let's be honest. The voters want goals, assists, and points, and Sanderson had a healthy improvement in that area.
Last year, Sanderson recorded 57 points in 80 games. This season, he put up 54 points in just 67 games. So his points-per-game rate jumped from 0.71 to 0.81. Projecting over a full 82-game season, Sanderson would have finished with roughly 66 points.
But voters took his 15 games missed (most of them due to a shoulder injury) fully into account. Even at 66 points over 82 games, there still would have been eight defensemen who produced more.
It's a reflection of just how loaded the position has become.
Look at this year's voting results (in order) Zach Werenski (winner), Cale Makar, Rasmus Dahlin, Evan Bouchard, Moritz Seider, Lane Hutson, Quinn Hughes and Miro Heiskanen all finished ahead of Sanderson. Erik Karlsson, who won two of his three Norris Trophies with Ottawa, finished tied with Sanderson for 10th.
Like most of the men on the above list, Sanderson's value extends well beyond the scoresheet.
There's an old hockey cliché about players being able to stickhandle in a phone booth. If there is one player on the Senators who perfectly fits that description, it's Sanderson.
Whether he's trying to find an outlet pass on a breakout with an aggressive forechecker draped all over him, or attempting to hold the offensive blue line with no space to work with, Sanderson somehow finds a way.
And his skating. My God, the skating.
When you have Tim Stutzle, one of the fastest guys in the league, fanboying about your skating, you know you're at a special level.
Sanderson's quickness allows him to escape pressure that would overwhelm most players. His ability to maintain possession in tight spaces turns broken plays into scoring chances and keeps offensive-zone possessions alive. Ottawa fans see it every night, even if it doesn't always translate into league-wide headlines.
If Senators fans needed another reminder of Sanderson's value (spoiler: they don't) they got one during the first round of the playoffs.
Ottawa entered Game 3 against Carolina, facing a 2-0 series deficit after a heartbreaking overtime loss in Game 2. Back on home ice for the next two games, the Senators were still very much alive in the series and looking to seize some momentum.
But with Carolina leading Game 3, 1-0, disaster struck.
Brendan Gallagher Was A Great Canadien. Here's Why Ottawa Fans Remember Him DifferentlyCanadiens fans will remember Brendan Gallagher as a heart-and-soul player. Senators fans remember a fierce rival who was never afraid to stir the pot.Taylor Hall, who has played a noticeably greasier style in these playoffs, clipped Sanderson in the side of the head with his shoulder. Sanderson tried to stay in the game, but it quickly became clear that something wasn't right, and the timing couldn't have been worse.
The Senators had a lengthy 5-on-3 power play opportunity, and Sanderson, Ottawa's power-play quarterback, was forced to leave the game. For Hall, who was at best reckless on the play, getting a minor penalty with no ensuing suspension for eliminating the opponent's top player was a fabulous trade-off.
The Sens, who were already without Artem Zub, lost that game 2-1 to fall behind 3-0 in the series, which was all but done at that point.
Sanderson's absence served as a reminder of just how valuable he has become. And at some stage, when voting on the best defenseman award, the league needs to introduce a best defensive defenseman award, because Sanderson would be in the mix for that one, too.
As a sidebar, they could call it the Tim Horton Trophy. As my Leafs-loving grandfather would tell me, Horton was one of the greatest shutdown defencemen in NHL history. Meanwhile, the league could probably work out a pretty lucrative sponsorship deal with a certain coffee company while they're at it.
Or just stick with the Norris.
Then create the Bobby OrrTrophy for the league's best offensive defenceman. Orr won 8 Norris Trophies and was the first skater in history to have 100 assists in an NHL season.
For now, though, offensive production remains king, and Sanderson is still climbing the Norris ladder. The encouraging news for Ottawa is that he's climbing it quickly, and he's going to be here for a long time.
Sanderson is signed through the summer of 2032 with a cap hit of $8.05 million per season. When the contract was signed, it looked like a strong deal. Today, it looks like a bargain. In another two or three years, it will be highway robbery.
The scary part for the rest of the league is that, at 23, it's unlikely that Sanderson reached his ceiling. If he stays healthy, continues producing at his current pace and helps lead the Senators on a deeper playoff run, the bigger recognition will come.
A second consecutive top-10 Norris finish may not generate many headlines, but in a league overflowing with elite defencemen, it's another reminder that Sanderson already belongs among the NHL's best.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa Senators site. For more THN Ottawa articles, click one of the latest stories below:
Report: Red Wings Expected To Move On From Three Former Senators
Report: Red Wings Expected To Move On From Three Former SenatorsAs Detroit battles what's now the NHL’s longest active playoff drought, it may be the end of the line for three former Senators veterans. Will Carter Yakemchuk Make The Senators Out Of Camp Next Season?
Senators 2020 Draft Pick Back On NHL Prospect Radar After 50-Point Season
‘Confusion and anxiety’: Player backlash over BBL bombshell as Aussie cricket tensions explode
States are pushing for a crisis meeting with Cricket Australia after Cricket Victoria’s shock decision to merge the two Melbourne-based Big Bash clubs and sell its second licence despite opposition from fans.
Jays Lose Another, This Time To The Braves
Blue Jays 3 Braves 4
That wasn’t Kevin Gausman’s best game. 6 innings, 5 hits, 4 earned, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts and a home run. Of course, when you get 18 outs and 8 of them are strikeouts, it seems like it should be a good game. But, he gave up 2 in the first (a walk, a double and a sac fly), 1 in the third (double and a single) and 1 in the sixth (a Matt Olson home run).
Our bullpen put up two scoreless innings.
On offense, we had 9 hits, with a Kazuma Okamoto two-run home run and a Vladimir Guerrero double. You would think we could have scored more than 3 runs.
We got two hits each from Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement, Yohendrick Piñango and Okamoto. But then there were 0 fors from George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Andrés Giménez and Brandon Valenzuela. Being 0 for 6 with RISP is a recipe for a loss.
Jays of the Day: Okamoto (0.31 WPA), and Lukes (0.12).
The Other Award: Giménez (-0.23). Gausman (-0.19), Jesús Sánchez (-0.14, all for a ninth inning out to end the game), Springer (-0.12), Piñango (-0.12), and Valenzuela (-0.10).
Tomorrow we have Patrick Corbin (2-1, 3.65) going against Grant Holmes (3-2, 3.95).
I did have a nice evening, with three beers and nice conversation. All it needed was a win.
Cubs Minor League Wrap: Josiah Hartshorn homers again in South Bend win
Iowa Cubs RHP Yacksel Rios was released.
Shortstop Alex Madera was demoted from Double-A Knoxville to Single-A South Bend.
Right-hander Jhon Rosario was promoted from rookie ball ACL Cubs to Low-A Myrtle Beach.
The Dominican Summer League started on Monday. As always, I don’t report on the comings and goings of the DSL because I can’t think of much that’s more worthless to player evaluation than DSL stats. Or at least the daily comings and goings of a bunch of 17-year-olds. But I did want you to know that the DSL is underway.
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs laid an egg against the Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers), 16-1.
Starter Ty Blach got hammered for ten runs, nine earned, on ten hits over 4+ innings. Three of those hits were home runs including a grand slam in the fifth to the final batter Blach faced. Blach walked one and did not strike anyone out.
The I-Cubs bats were stymied by rehabbing Justin Verlander, who went five scoreless innings, giving up just four hits. It was the first Triple-A win for Verlander in his career. Iowa only had six hits total.
Three of those six hits came off the bat of second baseman James Triantos, who was 3 for 4 with a double and the only Iowa run scored.
Shortstop Scott Kingery was 2 for 2 and was hit by a pitch.
Matt Shaw played six innings in center field in a rehab assignment. He was o for 3.
Triantos’ double off of Verlander.
Knoxville Smokies
The Knoxville Smokies were feudalized by the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 7-6.
The Smokies went with an opener and Frankie Scalzo Jr. pitched the first inning without allowing a run. Scalzo did give up one hit and one walk. He struck out one.
Yenrri Rojas pitched the next three innings and took the loss. Rojas allowed seven runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out three.
The Smokies then got three scoreless. innings of relief from Tyler Santana and two from Marino Santy.
Right fielder Alex Ramírez went 2 for 4 with a stolen base. He scored one run and drove in one.
DH Owen Ayers was 1 for 3 with two walks. He scored once.
A nice outfield assist from Ramírez.
South Bend Cubs
The South Bend Cubs arrested the Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals), 8-4.
Starter Alfredo Romero put South Bend in a hole by giving up four runs on two hits and five walks over three innings. Romero struck out one.
Jackson Brockett pitched the next four innings, didn’t allow a run, and got the win. Brockett surrendered just two hits and one walk. He struck out two.
Kenyi Perez got a two-inning save. He faced seven batters. He walked one of them. He struck out the other six. That’s pretty good, right?
Center fielder Josiah Hartshorn hit his third home run in the Midwest League in the first inning with the bases empty. It was Hartshorn’s eighth overall home run. He finished the night going 3 for 5 with a double and the home run. His single in the ninth drove in two, so he had three total RBI. Hartshorn scored twice.
First baseman Drew Bowser was 2 for 4 with a two-run double in the fourth. He scored once.
Third baseman Matt Halbach was 2 for 5 with a double and one runs scored.
Right fielder Miguel Olivo was 2 for 4. He drove in a run with a single in the ninth and scored on Hartshorn’s single.
I’m pretty sure Hartshorn’s home run bounced into the the Mississippi.
RBI doubles for Miguel Useche and Bowser. Useche was 1 for 4.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were bitten by the Charleston RiverDogs (Rays), 4-3 in ten innings.
Starter Edwardo Melendez gave up two runs on six hits over 3.2 innings. Melendez walked three and struck out two.
Daniel Avitia threw the next 3.2 innings and didn’t allow a run. He surrendered one hit and walked four. He struck out two.
Aiden Moffett went the rest of the way, gave up two runs in the bottom of the tenth and got the loss. Moffett allowed two runs, one earned, on one hit over 1.2 innings. He struggled with control as Moffett walked two (including walking in the winning run) and threw three wild pitches.
Second baseman Alexis Hernandez was 2 for 4 with a walk and two steals. He scored one run.
Edward Vargas drove in the automatic runner in the tenth with a single. He was 1 for 4.
ACL Cubs
Bonk! Fly ball bounces off Angels outfielder Jo Adell's head for home run
Jo Adell made history with a trio of home run robberies earlier this year. Now, the Los Angeles Angels right fielder joined Jose Canseco in a most embarrassing fraternity — outfielders who have bounced balls off their head and over the fence for a home run.
Adell's moment of ignominy occurred Tuesday, June 2 when Colorado Rockies designated hitter TJ Rumfield hit a fly ball to right center field in the top of the fourth inning; Adell seemed poised to catch it easily in stride.
But he apparently lost the ball in Angel Stadium's twilight sky. As he reached to catch it, the ball instead glanced off his glove and bounced off his cap — and over the yellow line signifying a home run.
It was a near carbon-copy of the fly ball Cleveland's Carlos Martinez sent to right field at old Municipal Stadium on May 26, 1993. Canseco, once a decent outfielder but by then a large and stiff specimen addled by years of steroid use, chased it down yet missed it entirely, the ball bonking off his dome and over the wall, a viral video before the phrase even existed.
Adell is no Canseco. He set what's believed to be a modern record by robbing three home runs in a single game on April 5 against Seattle. This time, he simply missed.
After Rumfield rounded the bases, the last-place Angels trailed the Rockies 8-0. The Rockies went on to win the game, 8-2, dropping the Angels to 23-39, the worst record in the American League.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jo Adell has ball bounce off head for home run against Rockies
Brooklyn Nets Fan Guide to 2026 NBA Finals
The 2026 NBA Finals are now upon us, and while it’ll involve games just a few train stops away from the Barclays Center, the Brooklyn Nets couldn’t be further from the championship stage right now. You all know this, but the Nets didn’t have the greatest season in the world this past year. They fell out of playoff contention with less resistance than a plane missing its wings.
However, being well-removed from something doesn’t mean you’re not connected. Growing up, my dog used to shed constantly. Her hair would get everywhere, especially in the summer, and especially on my clothes if I wasn’t paying attention. To this day, I’ll still occasionally find a strand of her’s on a shirt or pair of slacks, and much like the Nets, she’s been in the ground for years now.
While there are obvious ties to the New York Knicks, largely in the shape of Mikal Bridges, there’s far more “Brooklyn Nets residue” on these NBA Finals beyond that. Whether you’re the kind of person that’s friendly with your exes, or that kind that isn’t, here’s your guide for who to look out for.
The Obvious Ones
Indeed, Mikal Bridges is the strongest connect between Brooklyn and these NBA Finals. Brooklyn traded him for whopping five first round picks and a swap almost two summers ago now. The move drew applause from fans and analysts alike, as it allowed the Nets to reset after a failed season where they tried to position Bridges as their franchise player.
Be that as it may, if Bridges and his buddies are able to win it all this year, it’ll become near impossible to argue that Brooklyn won the trade. The Knicks haven’t won a Larry since 1973. Mikal is averaging 14.6/2.5/3.1 on 59/34/100 splits in the postseason.
However, Bridges isn’t the only consequential ex-Net hooping for New York right now. Landry Shamet, who played alongside Brooklyn’s big three at their full-might during the 2020-21 season, has also established himself as a key rotation piece. He’s shooting 21-35 from three in the postseason
One Deeper Cut
Who remembers Mason Plumlee? Brooklyn drafted this Duke product big back in 2013 and kept him for two seasons before sending him off on a journeymen’s path that’s now landed him in San Antonio. Plumlee only appeared in six games for the Spurs this season, but undoubtedly makes the list of of “guys you’d like to see get a ring” in this series.
Plumlee’s best moment in Brooklyn had to have been his game-winning block over LeBron James during an early April contest amid the 2013-24 season. Brooklyn eventually lost in a gentlemen’s sweep to Bron’s Miami Heat in the second round that year, but with that help from Plumlee, boasted a 4-0 regular season record against the defending champs. Foolishly or not, that made us believe for a time.
And if Plumlee gets a ring, he will have won three enviable championships, Duke’s NCAA title in 2010, Team USA’s FIBA World Cup title four years later and a Spurs NBA title.
From the Bench & Front Office
Sean Sweeney is about to take up head coaching duties with the Orlando Magic, but first wants to end his tenure as an associate head coach in San Antonio with a ring. Sweeney began his career as a video coordinator with the then New Jersey Nets in 2011. He ascended to an assistant coach role for the 2013-14 season under Jason Kidd, but then followed him to Milwaukee.
Maurice Cheeks isn’t known for his time with the Nets, but his Hall of Fame playing career ended in New Jersey during the team’s 1992-93 campaign. At 36 years old, he appeared in 35 games for the team. He’s now an assistant coach and special advisor for the Knicks.
Frank Zanin is a name you might be less familiar with, but the now Assistant GM in New York also served in that role from 2013-2016 with Brooklyu. A favorite of former GM Billy King was also Brooklyn’s Director of Player Procurement from 2012-2013.
Across Coaching Trees
While Knicks head coach Mike Brown has no direct correlation to the Nets franchise, it’s worth noting Jordi Fernández coached under him for two years in Sacramento and before that, was Brown’s son’s trainer. Both Brown and Fernandez coaches current Spurs De’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes on their rosters. Fernández also coached Plumlee for four years in Denver.
So who you rooting for and why?
Hurricanes Give Up Late Goal, Drop Stanley Cup Final Opener
It isn't unfamiliar territory for the Carolina Hurricanes, who now find themselves in a 1-0 hole for the second straight series, but this time, there's not a convenient excuse to fall back on.
Against the Montreal Canadiens, the Hurricanes could say they were just mentally not ready for the pace of play following an unprecedented 11-day break, but that isn't so much the case now.
The Hurricanes dropped Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final 5-4 to the Vegas Golden Knights in a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair.
After a great opening period, the Canes were outplayed for the final 40 minutes, losing puck battles, blowing assignments and ultimately just making too many mistakes at crucial moments.
"We didn’t handle the pressure particularly well," said Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour. "And sometimes there wasn't pressure and we kind of made a few poor decisions with the puck and they capitalized.
The Hurricanes had an electric start, jumping out to a 2-0 lead early on.
Nikolaj Ehlers blew the roof off of the arena just 25 seconds into the game, stripping Shea Theodore of the puck at the defensive blueline and taking it all the way up ice before rifling it between the glove and blocker of Vegas netminder Carter Hart.
Ehlers would strike again a bit later as Jalen Chatfield sent him off on a breakaway, which the Dane finished off on the backhand and through the five-hole.
"There were some good things we did, and the game was there," said Jordan Staal.
Vegas would answer back though as a Theodore shot from the point ricocheted off of Eric Robinson's knee and in past Frederik Andersen and then to start the second period, it was all Golden Knights.
Vegas found the equalizer less than 30 seconds in with Ivan Barbashev finding open space in the slot and then less than five minutes after that, William Karlsson would give Vegas the lead unmarked in front of the Canes' net.
"That's a good team," Staal said. "I thought they just played a little bit better than us. They executed their game plan and were aggressive on their forecheck and played in our end and they buried their chances when they had them
Carolina would tie it back up late in the second as K'Andre Miller caught a clearing attempt at the blueline and then fed Jordan Staal for the tying goal.
But again, the Golden Knights had an answer.
After killing off a penalty to start the third period, Chatfield lost the race with Brett Howden to the backdoor and once again, the Canes were trailing.
The Canes were in a rut, and things looked grim after yet another squandered power play, but Shayne Gostisbehere came through with the equalizer late into the third.
But as quickly as he gave Carolina life, he was the one who ended it, losing Tomas Hertl off of the wall for the eventual game winner.
"I took a breather for a second and it went right to their guy,' Gostisbehere said. "That's how quick it can happen. It was definitely on me. Just took a breather for a second."
Carolina will have to regroup and clean up the defense if they want to get back into this series with Game 2 puck drop scheduled for Thursday.
"It's one game," said Nikolaj Ehlers. "Obviously we'd rather be up 1-0, but there's six games to go. We're fine with taking this to seven if we need to."
Recent Articles
Three Keys For The Carolina Hurricanes To Win The Stanley Cup
Who Are The Carolina Hurricanes Conn Smythe Front Runners?
Frederik Andersen Channels Grief For Pivotal Game 5 Win
The Carolina Hurricanes Are Back In The Stanley Cup Final
Jackson Blake Shooting Into Stardom
Stay updated with the most interesting Carolina Hurricanes stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Golden Knights rally by Hurricanes in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final for seventh straight playoff win
RALEIGH, N.C. — It took just one shot and 25 seconds worth of game action for the Vegas Golden Knights to find themselves in hole in the Stanley Cup Final.
And by midway through the opening period, they were down two goals against a fast-skating Carolina Hurricanes team teeming with energy from a buzzing home crowd.
No matter. And no panic. Not with these tested Golden Knights.
Tomas Hertl took a backhand pass from Colton Sissons and beat Frederik Andersen from the slot with 3:24 left in the third period, lifting the Golden Knights past the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 in Tuesday night’s opener of the Stanley Cup Final.
“I’ve said it all through the playoffs: it’s a find-a-way league,” Vegas coach John Tortorella said. “We found a way tonight.”
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Thursday in Raleigh, with Vegas already having taken home-ice away from the Hurricanes as it chases a second Cup title in four seasons.
“Momentum swings happen quickly,” Tortorella said. “We want to keep the momentum on our side, so there’s no question we’re looking to get two.”
Hertl’s finish off Sissons’ feed from the right faceoff circle broke a 4-4 tie and pushed the Golden Knights ahead in an entertaining back-and-forth start on the sport’s biggest stage. It marked Vegas’ seventh straight win of the playoffs, starting with the last two games of the six-game second-round series against Anaheim and then the shocking four-game sweep of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.
That series included Vegas erasing a 3-0 deficit to take Game 3, and now the Golden Knights have followed by rallying from another multigoal deficit — this time 2-0 in the opening period — against the team that finished second only to the Avs in the regular season.
“It was a terrible start,” said center William Karlsson, who capped a run of three straight goals that pushed Vegas to a 3-2 second-period lead. “Just like it was against Colorado, a lot of time left. We always believe.”
Things changed after Tortorella gathered his team around the bench during a TV timeout after the Hurricanes had sprinted out to their lead, coming as Vegas had a slow start out of its six-day break while waiting for Carolina to close out Montreal in a five-game Eastern Conference Final.
“Just stick with the program, on our gameplan, and not get impatient,” said defenseman Brayden McNabb, who had three assists. “They pressure a lot and we want to keep the puck going north, and limit east-west plays.”
Shea Theodore, Ivan Barbashev and Brett Howden also scored for Vegas, with Howden’s postseason-leading 11th score giving the Golden Knights a 4-3 lead just 1:21 into the third period. Carter Hart finished with 23 saves, including a key stop on Seth Jarvis only seconds before Hertl’s winner.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice for the Hurricanes, the first coming 25 seconds into the game when he got loose on a rush and blasted one past Hart from the left side on the game’s first shot. He followed with a breakaway that gave Carolina a 2-0 lead and sent a charged home crowd into an eruption in the team’s first Stanley Cup Final game in two decades.
Jordan Staal and Shayne Gostisbehere each scored tying goals after Vegas had pushed to a lead, with Gostisbehere skating in clean on the left side to blast one past Hart at 11:19 of the third period and tie it once more at 4. Andersen finished with 18 saves.
“I thought they played just a little bit better than us,” Staal said. “They executed their game plan and aggressive on their forecheck and played in our end, and they buried their chances when they had them.”
The Hurricanes went 12-1 through three rounds to get back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since coach Rod Brind’Amour captained them to the title in 2006. It also comes amid an eight-year playoff streak that has included at least one series win every time as a regular postseason contender.
Carolina swept through Ottawa and Philadelphia before taking the last four games of a five-game win against Montreal to punch through an Eastern Conference Final roadblock. That made the Hurricanes the first team since 1983 to reach the Stanley Cup Final with one loss, and the first since the NHL went to best-of-seven series in all four rounds in 1987.
Meanwhile, Vegas had been getting stronger with every playoff round, winning for 19 of 24 games going back to the unexpected late-season firing of Bruce Cassidy to hire Tortorella as coach. That included the shocking result against the Avalanche, who managed just seven goals in four games.
Defense had been the standout feature for both teams, in fact, with Carolina having allowed two or fewer goals in 12 of 13 playoff games. But that wasn’t the case in Tuesday’s fast-paced series opener, with both teams capitalizing on their chances in an entertaining back-and-forth game before Hertl got Vegas the lead for good.
“This is a totally different team, and that may be part of it too,” Brind’Amour said when asked about comparisons to the 6-2 loss to the Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final. “We’ve got to get up to speed on how this game and this series is going to go. I think we certainly got a taste of that now.”
Davis Martin’s struggles led to another White Sox loss in Minnesota
The White Sox have lost back-to-back games to the Twins, falling 6-4 tonight. Davis Martin fought with his command all night, unable to make it through five innings. While the offense didn’t provide, the poor pitching performance certainly was a catalyst for a tough loss. The bullpen took control in the late innings, but loading the bases and leaving them stranded moments later also hurt the momentum this team carried into Minnesota.
There was not much action in the game until the third inning, just a pair of Twins singles that went nowhere. Connor Prielipp gave up a leadoff walk to Luisangel Acuña in the third, who stole second and third before reaching home on a throwing error, putting the first run of the game on the board. With one out, Chase Meidroth singled, and Randal Grichuk followed up with a double. Miguel Vargas would be the decision-maker, plating two runs with a single. Edgar Quero also singled, but two outs would quickly follow, including an unfortunate two-out bunt decision from Derek Hill.
Martin would also face a little trouble on the base paths in the bottom of the third. Tristan Gray singled and advanced on a questionable balk call. Alex Jackson singled, and Brooks Lee’s sac fly would send a run in. Martin was able to work through the rest of the inning, only giving up the one run despite some sloppy defense from his teammates.
Martin struggled again in the bottom of the fourth. Trevor Larnach doubled, and he gave up a walk to Austin Martin. Luke Keaschall doubled, giving the Twins another run with two on base and only one out. Gray gave the Twins the lead with an RBI single, sending in two runs before then getting to second base. Gray stole third and got home after a single from Jackson. Another base hit, this time from Byron Buxton, would get the bullpen stirring after Martin surrendered five hits in the inning. A double play would thankfully end any additional threat.
The Twins kept the White Sox in check for two straight innings, and Martin continued to wrestle with his command. Despite starting the fifth with a strikeout, he gave up back-to-back walks right after. Those free passes would haunt him when Keaschall singled, and Sam Antonacci couldn’t get the ball home in time. After the run, Martin stepped out for Sean Newcomb to take over and end the fifth. Alas, the Twins were up 6-3.
The seventh would start with back-to-back singles, a wild pitch, and then an RBI single from Meidroth, putting the Good Guys within two.
Colson Montgomery, who came in to face the righty once the bullpen arrived, was plunked to load the bases, but Antonacci left them stranded with a strikeout. The eighth would see two runners on base, but no runs would cross, and the ninth fell flat for the South Siders. They stranded nine runners on base tonight and 16 over the last two nights, costing them the series.
That off day can’t come soon enough.
Hertl’s goal lifts Golden Knights past Hurricanes 5-4 to open Stanley Cup Final
Jun 2, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) celebrates scoring during the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes in game one of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Tomas Hertl took a backhand pass from Colton Sisson and beat Frederik Anderson from the slot with 3:24 left in the third period, lifting the Vegas Golden Knights past the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 in Tuesday night’s opener of the Stanley Cup Final.
Hertl’s finish off Sisson’s feed from the right faceoff circle broke a 4-4 tie and pushed the Golden Knights ahead in an entertaining back-and-forth start on the sport’s biggest stage. It marked Vegas’ seventh straight win of the playoffs, starting with the last two games of the six-game second-round series against Anaheim and then the shocking four-game sweep of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.
That series included Vegas erasing a 3-0 deficit to take Game 3, and now the Golden Knights have followed by rallying from another multigoal deficit -- this time 2-0 in the opening period -- against the team that finished second only to the Avs in the regular season.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Thursday in Raleigh, with Vegas already having taken home-ice away from the Hurricanes as it chases a second Cup title in four seasons.
Shea Theodore, Ivan Barbashev, William Karlsson and Brett Howden also scored for Vegas, with Howden’s postseason-leading 11th score giving the Golden Knights a 4-3 lead just 1:21 into the third period. Carter Hart finished with 23 saves.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice for the Hurricanes, the first coming 25 seconds into the game when he got loose and a rush and blasted one past Hart from the left side on the game’s first shot. He followed with a breakaway that gave Carolina a 2-0 lead and sent a charged home crowd into an eruption in the team’s first Stanley Cup Final game in two decades.
Jordan Staal and Shayne Gostisbehere each scored tying goals after Vegas had pushed to a lead, with Gostisbehere skating in clean on the left side to blast one past Hart at 11:19 of the third period and tie it once more at 4.
Cam Schlittler turns in rare dud as Aaron Judge-less Yankees battered by Guardians
As far as Tuesdays in June go, this one wasn’t pretty in The Bronx.
Not only did Aaron Judge miss his first game of the season with the bone bruise near his right shoulder that was diagnosed a day earlier, Cam Schlittler, who started the day as the American League Cy Young favorite, delivered his worst outing of the season.
Access the Yankees beat like never before
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.
Try it freeIt ended with a bullpen in need of reinforcements getting knocked around, as the Yankees fell to Cleveland 9-4 and have lost nine of their 12 games against teams above .500.
“His stuff was down just a tick,” Aaron Boone said of Schlitter. “The past couple of times it’s been a little bit down. … He lacked some of his normal power and location.”
Boone added he wasn’t concerned about Schlittler being off and the right-hander acknowledged, “I just didn’t have my stuff [and] they had a good approach and made me fight.”
Schlittler, so important to the rotation while the Yankees were without Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón, said he wasn’t pleased with his four-seam fastball and his mechanics were affected.
It was a rare slip for Schlittler after the Yankees entered the game having won six of their past seven and came back to the Stadium to face the Guardians, leading the AL Central despite the second-lowest payroll in the majors ($88 million).
Cleveland got the better of Yankees pitching time and time again, and after the Yankees scored four runs off lefty Joey Cantillo in just four innings, Cleveland’s bullpen shut them down.
It all started with Schlittler’s clunker, as he allowed a career-high five runs, four earned, in just 4 ¹/₃ innings.
He retired the first seven batters he faced before light-hitting catcher Patrick Bailey tripled to center with one out and scored on a sacrifice fly by Brayan Rocchio.
The Yankees went ahead in the bottom of the inning on Paul Goldschmidt’s two-run homer, as Goldschmidt played with a tight back.
He had three hits through four innings before the Yankees went cold.
Cleveland’s offense made them pay, as Kyle Manzardo took Schlittler deep to right to put the Yankees in a 3-2 hole in the fourth.
Goldschmidt delivered again in the bottom of the inning, this time with a two-run single to right to put the Yankees up, 4-3.
But the Guardians got to Schlittler again in the fifth.
The bottom of the lineup loaded the bases with no one out in the fifth with a Steven Kwan single, a costly error by Amed Rosario at third on Bailey’s grounder and a hit by pitch by Rocchio.
Following a visit from pitching coach Matt Blake, Travis Bazzana’s sacrifice fly tied it and José Ramirez doubled to right to drive in another run, as the Yankees fell behind and Schlitter’s night was over.
Brent Headrick got out of the inning, but Cleveland added to their lead in the seventh against the struggling Tim Hill, as Rocchio singled, stole second and then swiped third by taking off from second and beating Hill to the bag, with Rosario far from the base.
Ramirez doubled in Rocchio to make it 6-4.
Cleveland tried to give the Yankees new life in the bottom of the frame.
Yankees Merch Shop
- WinCraft insulated can coolers
- Team Effort driver head cover
- 47 Brand adjustable cap
- Customizable jersey
- Logo fleece blanket
- 14-ounce sculpted relief coffee mug
New York Post receives revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and when you make a purchase.
Cody Bellinger was on first base with two out when Trent Grisham popped up in front of the plate down the third base line.
Ramirez bumped Bailey, the catcher, who dropped it to extend the inning, but Volpe grounded out.
Camilo Doval allowed a three-run double to Bazzana to seal it for the Guardians.
“We didn’t hold them down enough,” Boone said. “Especially with Cam, you put four [runs] on the board, you’re usually gonna be in position to win, but it got away from us late.”
Kyle Harrison shows Giants what they’re missing in loss to Brewers
MILWAUKEE — The Giants got a taste of what they gave up, and it had to be a bitter pill to swallow with the way Kyle Harrison mowed through their meager lineup Tuesday night.
San Francisco had no answers for its former top prospect in an 8-3 loss to the Brewers.
Facing his former team for the first time since he was traded last summer for Rafael Devers (and again this winter, to Milwaukee), Harrison held the Giants scoreless for 5 ⅔ innings and departed to a standing ovation after matching a career high in strikeouts.
Besides a solo shot from Willy Adames with two outs in the sixth, the best piece of contact the Giants put on any of Harrison’s pitches might’ve been a foul ball from Jonah Cox that landed in the second deck — only on the wrong side of the foul pole.
Cox came up empty on his next swing, going down as Harrison’s 11th of 12 strikeout victims.
It proved to be quite the contrast to the performance the Giants got from their starting pitcher.
By the time he took the mound for the second inning, Harrison had already been spotted a three-run lead by Trevor McDonald, his former minor-league teammate.
McDonald walked the first two batters he faced and, after getting two outs, served up a 412-foot home run off the batter’s eye in center field to Jake Bauers that scored all three.
That was more than enough support for Harrison, who hasn’t allowed three runs in any of his 11 starts this season. He hadn’t surrendered any for 23 consecutive innings until Adames snuck a line drive over the left field wall.
His 1.57 ERA is the second-best in the majors.
What it means
Starting pitching problems have plagued the Giants all season, only becoming more glaring in contrast to Harrison. McDonald became their first starter in three games to complete five innings, but he still buried them in a hole they couldn’t climb out of after just the first inning.
San Francisco fell to 9-29 when allowing its opponent to score first.
President of baseball operations Buster Posey made the bold move to trade away Harrison, but he didn’t replenish the pitching depth — and it has shown.
The Giants’ 4.94 ERA from their starters is the second-worst in the majors — ahead of only the Rockies, who have to play half their games at Coors Field. It doesn’t help that their bullpen, which lost Tyler Rogers, Camilo Doval and Randy Rodriguez, has surrendered 13 runs to the Brewers the past two games, including a four-spot in the eighth inning after the Giants had rallied to cut the deficit to one.
Who’s hot
Hardly anybody right now for the Giants, who fell to 5-14 over their past 19 games, tied with the Cubs — who lost 10 straight at one point — for the worst record since May 13.
The highly paid left side of their infield is at least showing signs of life.
Adames’ homer was his second in the past three games, and he’s batting .294 with an .852 OPS since the start of May after reaching base three times Tuesday night.
A night earlier, third baseman Matt Chapman ended the longest homerless drought of his career with his second long ball of the season — after slapping doubles the previous two games.
Who’s not
Let’s call it for what it is: Tony Vitello.
With the lefty Harrison on the mound, the manager removed two of the team’s hottest hitters from the lineup, opting to go with journeyman utilityman Buddy Kennedy over Bryce Eldridge as the designated hitter and rookie Victor Bericoto over Jung Hoo Lee in right field.
Vitello explained that the decisions had to do with matchups.
But Eldridge has never had dramatic left-right splits, and Harrison has even exhibited reverse splits with lefties posting an OPS 50 points higher against him than righties.
Kennedy, a career .177 hitter, was a non-factor with two strikeouts and a weak pop-up in three at-bats. Bericoto, at least, contributed one of the Giants’ 10 hits.
Eldridge and Lee each contributed pinch-hit RBI singles in a two-run rally in the eighth, but Drew Gilbert flew out to end the threat, which proved to be too little, too late.
The questionable lineup decisions come on the heels of back-to-back games where Vitello allowed his starting pitcher to exhaust 96 pitches over just four innings.
Up next
Losers of seven of their past eight, the Giants still have two more games against the NL Central-leading Brewers. On the bright side, they won’t have to face Jacob Misiorowski.
The schedule doesn’t get any lighter: San Francisco’s opponents for the rest of the month have a combined .562 winning percentage, the toughest slate for the month of any team in MLB.
Harrison shines again as Brewers beat Giants 8-3
Jacob Misiorowski has been incredible over the last month. The attention that he has been paid is warranted. But the Brewers have another pitcher who has been killing it lately, one who boasts a lower ERA on the season than Misiorowski. And if you won’t remember how good Kyle Harrison has been, the San Francisco Giants, who traded him away last season, certainly will.
Though the 18-inning scoreless inning streak Harrison brought into today’s game finally ended, he struck out 12 Giants in just 5 2/3 innings while allowing just one run. A big early hit and a late rally were all the Brewers needed to take the second game of this four-game series.
The Giants tried to muster a two-out rally against Harrison in the first inning. After impressive strikeouts of Casey Schmitt and Rafael Devers, Luis Arraez lined a ball into the right-field corner that turned into a triple after Sal Frelick had a little bit of trouble getting it to the infield. Willy Adames then walked (though the fourth ball should’ve been a strike), but Matt Chapman popped out down the right-field line on the first pitch he saw and Harrison had a scoreless first inning.
Yelich started the night for the Brewers’ offense with a five-pitch walk off of Giants starter Trevor McDonald. With Jackson Chourio batting, Yelich broke for second; a perfect throw from Giants catcher Daniel Susac might’ve gotten Yelich at second with a great throw, but he was called safe on a very close play. San Francisco challenged, and after a long review, it was determined that there wasn’t enough to overturn the call, and the Giants had lost their challenge in the first inning. McDonald, who was ahead of Chourio 0-2 when the review came in, threw four straight balls, none of which were close, after the lengthy break.
That put two on with no outs for Brice Turang. Turang, though, struck out looking (on a changeup up that was not remotely where it was meant to be thrown, but which caught him off guard), and William Contreras grounded out on a ball right in front of the plate that functioned as a sacrifice bunt. It looked like McDonald was going to get out of the inning, but he left a 2-2 sinker right down the middle to one of the hottest hitters in the league, and Jake Bauers launched a three-run homer to straightaway center field.
That 3-0 score would stick around for several innings, though there was plenty of traffic on the bases. Harrison worked around a one-out single in the top of the second. Frelick led off the bottom of the inning, but nothing came of it. Harrison struck out the side in the top of the third. A Chourio infield single was erased by a double play in the bottom of the second. Willy Adames led off the fourth with a single, but Harrison struck out the next three, too, and he was up to 10 strikeouts in just four innings. Garrett Mitchell hit a one-out double in the bottom of the fourth and he advanced to third on an errant throw by Susac on a pickoff attempt, but Frelick struck out with Mitchell on third, and Rengifo popped out to end the inning.
Harrison had another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fifth, and by this point he’d extended his scoreless inning streak to 23 innings. (Imagine what we’d be saying about Harrison if Jacob Misiorowski wasn’t on the Brewers.) Milwaukee got another single, this one from Yelich, in the bottom of the fifth, and Turang walked with two outs, but nothing came of it.
Finally, in the sixth, someone broke through. After Devers struck out (which he did four times in the game) and Arraez grounded out, Adames got Harrison for a solo homer, his ninth of the season. That made it 3-1, and finally put an end to Harrison’s scoreless inning streak. After a Matt Chapman walk, Pat Murphy fetched Aaron Ashby from the bullpen, and he struck out Buddy Kennedy for the third out.
Harrison had another extremely impressive start. He finished with 5 2/3 innings and allowed four hits and one run on two walks and 12 strikeouts, matching a season (and career) high. Technically, his ERA went up today, by fractions of a point (it was 1.57 at the start of the game and a very slightly higher 1.57 at the end of it).
McDonald was replaced by Erik Miller in the bottom of the sixth. The Brewers kept their streak of “get a hit every inning” alive with a one-out Mitchell single, but Frelick bounced into a double play to end the inning. Ashby gave up back-to-back singles to start the top of the seventh, but Jonah Cox popped up a bunt for the first out, Schmitt grounded out, and Devers grounded out.
In the bottom of the seventh, Milwaukee added an important insurance run. David Hamilton started things with a one-out walk, and Yelich kept things going with another walk. Chourio flew out for the second out, but Turang hit a hard grounder up the middle, just past Arraez, for a two-out RBI single to make it 4-1.
A good thing, too, as San Francisco’s offense finally got something going in the eighth. Arraez led off with a double to right, which prompted another pitching change as Abner Uribe came in for Ashby. After an Adames groundout and a Chapman pop-up, it looked like Uribe might get out clean. But pinch-hitter Bryce Eldridge smoked a two-out RBI single into right that scored Arraez, and then Susac and another pinch-hitter, Jung Hoo Lee, got back-to-back weakly hit ground ball singles to score another. Murphy stuck with Uribe, though, and he got another pinch-hitter, Drew Gilbert, to fly out to Mitchell to end the inning with the score 4-3.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Brewers were looking for more insurance (off of new reliever Tristan Beck) to re-establish the more comfortable lead they had heading into the eighth. They started well: Mitchell walked, and Frelick blooped a single down the left field line. After a sac bunt from Rengifo, Hamilton had a golden opportunity to drive in another run, but he struck out. Beck was on the verge of getting out of it, but the Brewers weren’t done. In a 2-2 count with two outs and two men in scoring position, Yelich banged a single through the right side of the infield to score two runs. Two pitches later, Chourio whacked a high fastball and nearly hit it out to center field; instead, Gilbert couldn’t quite come up with it and it bounced off the wall for a double that scored Yelich. The next batter, Turang, shot a single through the middle to score Chourio. Suddenly, the Brewers lead was up to 8-3; all four runs in the eighth were scored with two outs.
Trevor Megill had been preparing to enter a one-run game, but he was in need of some work so he entered with a five-run lead anyway. He had no trouble: Schmitt flew out, Devers struck out, and Arraez flew out.
Harrison was the star today, but for the second straight night, the Brewers put a big number on San Francisco’s pitching staff with a balanced attack. Milwaukee had 11 hits (and at least one in each of the eight innings they came to the plate for the second night in a row) and five players with two: Yelich, Chourio, Turang, Mitchell, and Frelick. Bauers had the game’s biggest hit when he hit the three-run homer in the first, and Mitchell and Chourio added doubles for the Brewers’ other extra-base hits.
The Brewers have already guaranteed a split in this four-game series, but they’ll go for a victory tomorrow. Milwaukee has not announced a starter for either of the remaining games in the series, so we’ll see what happens there, but the Giants will come back with Logan Webb, their nominal ace, though he has struggled a bit this season. First pitch on Wednesday night is at 6:40 p.m.
Twins 6, White Sox 4: Twins come back and hold on for the win
The White Sox got on the board first in this game, with assistance from the Twins catcher. In the 3rd inning, Connor Prielipp walked Luisangel Acuna, who proceeded to steal 2nd, then 3rd, and come home on an errant throw from Alex Jackson, scoring the first run of the contest. Chase Meidroth hit an infield single, then, after Randal Grichuk doubled, Miguel Vargas hit a 2-run single to push their lead to 3-0. Prielipp was able to limit the damage to that, getting a fly-out and ground out to end the inning.
In the bottom half of the 3rd, Tristan Gray singled and then was balked to 2nd. Jackson tried a sacrifice bunt but got a hit instead, advancing Gray to 3rd. Brooks Lee would later get the Twins on the board with a sac-fly RBI, with Kody Clemens lining out to end the inning.
In the 4th, Prielipp settled down and tossed a clean inning, then the Twins bats went to work against Davis Martin. Trevor Larnach hit a 1-out double, then Austin Martin walked. Luke Keaschall hit an RBI single to left, advancing to 2nd base on the throw. Now with 2 runners in scoring position, Tristan Gray would bring them both home with a single. Then Jackson would make up for his error earlier tonight with an RBI single, giving the Twins a 5-3 lead.
In the 5th, Keaschall came up with a 2-out RBI single to make it a 6-3 game, and everything was looking great for the home team. It looked even better after a perfect 6th inning from Connor Prielipp, who earlier looked destined for a short start but was now poised to pitch into the 7th inning for the first time in his career.
However, just as in the 3rd, Acuna got on base to lead off the 7th, and chaos ensued. Jacob Gonzalez singled to right, with Acuna going to 3rd, ending Prielipp’s night. Andrew Morris came in and threw a wild pitch, giving us runners at 2nd and 3rd with 0 outs. Meidroth dribbled a ball down the 3rd base line to Brooks Lee, who threw to 1st but Clemens couldn’t pick it, and a run scored.
Morris’ wild tendencies continued, as after Grichuk struck out looking, another wild pitch moved the tying run, Meidroth to 2nd. A 9 pitch battle with Miguel Vargas ended with a 100mph fastball that Vargas couldn’t catch up to for the 2nd out. The White Sox pinch-hit Colson Montgomery for Edgar Quero, and the wild Morris hit him on the knee with a slider, loading the bases. Anthony Banda came in to face lefty Sam Antonacci, and struck him out with a slider to end the threat. Despite 3 singles, a hit batter, and 2 wild pitches, the Twins escaped the 7th with a 6-4 lead.
In the top of the 8th, Acuna would get on base yet again and steal his 3rd bag of the game, but Yoendrys Gomez came in and got Meidroth to strike out to end the threat. He stayed in for the 9th inning, tossing a 1-2-3 inning to get the save as the Twins secured a series win.
Studs:
Connor Prielipp (W, 2-3): 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Maybe should have been taken out after 6 though.
Anthony Banda: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 3 K
Yoendrys Gomez (S): 1.1 IP, 2 K
Tristan Gray: 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, SB
Luke Keaschall: 2-4, 2 RBI
Brooks Lee: 1-3, RBI
Duds:
NO DUDS TWINS WIN!