SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Nick Schmaltz scored twice as the Utah Mammoth beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-3 on Tuesday night and secured the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Schmaltz scored his first goal for the Mammoth 4:54 into the second period on the power-play, assisted by Mikhail Sergachev and Dylan Guenther. He added a power-play goal 7:16 into the third, assisted by Logan Cooley and Clayton Keller.
JJ Peterka, Alexander Kerfoot and Cooley also scored for the Mammoth. Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves in the win for the Mammoth.
Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist and Isak Rosen also scored for the Jets. Gabriel Vilardi added two assists, and Eric Comrie had 31 saves for the Jets, who lost a third straight.
The Mammoth will face the winner of the Pacific Division in the first round of the playoffs, either the Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers or Anaheim Ducks.
Up next
Mammoth: Host the St. Louis Blues on Thursday evening.
Jets: Host the San Jose Sharks on Thursday evening.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The matchup between Nolan McLean and Yoshinobu Yamamoto lived up to the hype, but the Mets could not push across enough runs in their 2-1 loss to the Dodgers on Tuesday night.
Both McLean and Yamamoto allowed just one run each and struck out a combined 15 batters across 14.2 innings.
Including Tuesday night, they have scored 10 runs in their last seven games, and have now lost seven games in a row.
Here are the takeaways...
-Francisco Lindor had gone the first 17 games of the season with an RBI -- the longest of his career -- but got off the schneid in a hurry, taking a 95 mph fastball from Yamamoto deep to lead off the game with a home run. The blast went 402 feet and snapped the Mets' 20-inning scoreless streak.
But Yamamoto would settle in quickly, retiring the next 20 batters before Bo Bichette hit a two-out double in the seventh inning. Francisco Alvarez followed with a walk, setting up Brett Baty. The left-hander struck out swinging to leave two runners on and get Yamamoto through seven innings.
Yamamoto wound up starting the eighth, and after getting the first two outs -- Marcus Semien narrowly missing a solo shot (101.9 mph off the bat) that died at the warning track -- Carson Benge hit an opposite-field single. Lindor followed up with a single that put runners at the corners. The back-to-back singles knocked Yamamoto out of the game for Blake Treinen to face Luis Robert Jr. Lindor stole second on the first pitch and Robert worked the count full but was frozen on a strike-three pitch that ended the threat.
Yamamoto tossed 104 pitches (65 strikes), allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out seven.
-McLean matched Yamamoto and then some. The young right-hander was given a 1-0 lead, but would be a tough-luck pitcher in the first. He allowed a one-out walk to Kyle Tucker and Will Smith hit a blooper to left field that Benge dove for, but couldn't come up with it. The ball kicked away a bit, allowing Tucker to reach third and Smith to get to second. Freddie Freeman hit a dribbler down the first base line, which Mark Vientos picked up and stepped on first for the second out, but Tucker scored.
McLean would also settle in after that first inning. McLean would retire 13 straight batters before navigating through a tough Dodgers lineup.
McLean allowed just one run on two hits and two walks through seven innings (95 pitches/68 strikes) and struck out eight batters. He lowered his ERA to 2.08.
-Brooks Raley was the first reliever out of the pen and his command wasn't there to start. He walked the leadoff man and a bunt moved Miguel Rojas to second base for Shohei Ohtani. Raley intentionally walked Ohtani to pitch to Tucker. The left-hander dumped an RBI single to left field to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.
-In the top of the ninth against Alex Vesia -- not Edwin Diaz, who has been dealing with velocity issues of late -- the Mets went down in order. Jorge Polanco, Bichette and Alvarez struck out to end the game. The Mets outhit the Dodgers 4-3, but could not get the hit that mattered.
Game MVP: Kyle Tucker
With the pitcher's duel, someone needed to push across the winning run and Tucker did just that.
Highlights
A leadoff home run for Francisco Lindor off Yoshinobu Yamamoto!
The Atlanta Braves began the day with a roster move that recalled southpaw Hayden Harris to Atlanta and simultaneously optioned right-hander Rolddy Muñoz to Triple-A Gwinnett. The move is a classic bullpen shuffle, and an underwhelming one at that.
The #Braves today recalled LHP Hayden Harris to Atlanta after optioning RHP Rolddy Muñoz to Triple-A Gwinnett following last night’s game. Additionally, C Sean Murphy tonight begins a rehabilitation assignment with High-A Rome.
Muñoz made his first appearance of the season on Monday night, and in two innings, he surrendered three runs on five hits. He walked one and recorded three strikeouts. Given this performance, it wasn’t overly shocking to see he was demoted Tuesday morning, which brings up none other than Hayden Harris.
Harris has yet to make his 2026 debut, and he’s gotten off to a rough start in Triple-A. He’s appeared in five games, where he gave up three runs. He’s recorded six walks and seven strikeouts. The Braves will be hoping he can settle in and provide some stability out of the bullpen.
In the latest minor league recap, we continue the game of who’s hot, who’s not.
MLB News:
The San Diego Padres placed right-hander Nick Pivetta on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation. He exited Sunday’s start after three innings due to elbow stiffness.
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Gabriel Landeskog scored the go-ahead goal at 15:07 of the third period to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.
The score was tied at 1 in the final five minutes of the game when Cale Makar sent a pass across to Brett Kulak, whose shot deflected in off Landeskog in front.
Artturi Lehkonen and Nathan Mackinnon, with his league-leading 53rd goal into an empty net, also scored for Colorado (54-16-11). Makar, a Calgary native, was back in the Avalanche’s lineup after missing seven games with an upper-body injury. He assisted on all three goals.
The Avs won their final eight road games of the season and were 14-1-0 in their last 15 games away from home. Colorado’s 29-7-5 road record this season is a franchise best. Their 119 points in 81 games ties the franchise record set in 2021-22.
Blake Coleman scored his 20th goal for Calgary (33-39-9). The Flames had their eight-game (7-0-1) home streak halted.
MacKenzie Blackwood made 30 saves for Colorado and improved to 23-10-2. Dustin Wolf made 36 saves for the Flames, slipping to 23-29-3.
After playing Monday in Edmonton, Colorado rested veterans Brock Nelson and Devon Toews. Nazem Kadri (finger) also did not play.
Calgary's Matt Coronato, who has a five-game point streak, did not play. Veteran Ryan Strome also was a healthy scratch.
For many in the league, Game 81 is still either about fighting for a final wildcard spot or determining who they will face in the playoffs. For the Avalanche, it's just game 81, though there are some key notes in the second-last game.
Cale Makar and Artturi Lehkonen are both in tonight, with Devon Toews and Brock Nelson coming out for maintenance. Martin Necas is looking for point 100, and he will secure it as the Colorado Avalanche defeat the Calgary Flames 3-1.
Period 1:
The Avalanche gets the early chance first as Yegor Sharangovich is called for tripping, but can’t capitalize on it. The Flames get their first power-play opportunity not long after, as Parker Kelly is called for tripping, but the Avalanche kill their first penalty.
Not much happened in the first period; the Avalanche were pretty sloppy, with poor decision-making, but they did outshoot them 10-6 and kept the score tied entering the second period.
Period 2:
Avalanche once again gets the opportunity to strike first on the power play as Connor Zary is called for hooking, but can’t capitalize on the chance. It's Blake Coleman who tips Mikael Backlund's shot, and it tips over Mackenzie Blackwood's shoulder and in, opening the score at 1-0. Impressive, really, from Coleman, as Brett Kulak cross-checked him in the process and still managed to get the tip-off.
In his first game back, Cale Makar comes in on a tight angle, manages to squeeze a laser of a pass to Arturri Lehkonen, who rifles it in right off the pass to tie the game 1-1. Martin Necas was initially credited as the secondary assist but was later changed to Sam Malinski, so Necas still sits at 99 points.
Rory Kerins is called for tripping, and into the power play, the Flames are called for too many men. This gives the Avalanche a 5-on-3 for 1:17, but they can't capitalize on the extra-man advantage. Jack Ahcan is called for hooking, but the Avalanche kill it off and head into the third period tied 1-1
Period 3:
Wolf is stopping pretty much everything the Avalanche are sending him, robbing a 2-on-1 from O’Connor. It's Kulak who sends a wrist shot from the blue line that is tipped by Gabriel Landeskog and in to make it 2-1 with less than five minutes left in the period.
Necas with Wolf out of the net sends it to Makar, who sends it to MacKinnon, who buries the empty-net goal to end the game at 3-1, giving Necas his 100th career point for the first time in his career.
The 3-1 win secures 119 points on the season, tying the franchise record, and could break it in their final game of the season against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, April 16.
“I found out last night, just called my mom, my dad, my brother,” Eklund said. “Super excited. Feels like a dream come true. Just crazy to see, for example, [Mat] Barzal and [Bo] Horvat on the ice. Kind of unreal, to be honest. Enjoy the moment.”
His parents, who caught a flight from Sweden to be there in time for the game, got to watch their son record his first NHL point: a secondary assist on a tic-tac-toe passing sequence ending in Bo Horvat’s goal.
It was Horvat’s 300th NHL goal, a milestone that would usually warrant keeping the puck. He would have none of it.
“You’ll never forget your first NHL game and let alone your first NHL point,” Horvat said. “He’s gotta have that. I already told the trainers.”
Eklund skated 15:30 in total, and was put on the top line with Horvat and Simon Holmstrom. His energy was notable, albeit in a game where everyone was going at less than full tilt, and he seemed more than willing to get into puck battles.
“He’s got a great motor,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “Relentless. Reminds me a little bit of [Logan] Stankoven who I had in Dallas for a year. He’s got a bright future. Great to get him in his first game and for him to get a point.”
Eklund will need to put on some muscle in the offseason. But he is ahead of schedule, and there is a very real chance he will compete for an NHL job in training camp.
Victor Ecklund made his NHL debut in the Islanders’ 2-1 season-ending loss to the Hurricanes on April 14, 2026 at UBS Arena. Getty Images
“I think that was the importance of him playing tonight,” DeBoer said. “He can go home now for four months with it in his mind, hey, I can play at that level with those guys. Until you actually do it like he did tonight, you don’t really know. So he knows that now and that should fuel him going forward.”
Semyon Varlamov was assigned to AHL Bridgeport on an LTIR conditioning loan.
That opens the possibility that Varlamov, who has undergone two knee replacements since he last played an NHL game on Black Friday in 2024, could make his long-awaited return to the ice with the AHL club.
Bridgeport’s next game is Wednesday night in Hartford.
Isaiah George told The Post he is expecting to play playoff games with Bridgeport.
Kyle MacLean, Marc Gatcomb and Ryan Pulock came out of the lineup on Tuesday to make room for Eklund, Liam Foudy and George.
Pulock, per the Islanders, “has been battling through several injuries.”
Matthew Schaefer, Anders Lee, Emil Heineman and Adam Pelech all finished the season with 82 games played, the first time doing so for all of them except Lee.
Pelech played all 56 games in the shortened 2021 COVID season.
Apr 14, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Seattle Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor (12) tags out San Diego Padres designated hitter Gavin Sheets (30) to turn a double play during the sixth inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | David Frerker-Imagn Images
Padres 4, Mariners 1
Bryan Woo when he throws first pitch strikes: Randy Arozarena and Luke Raley, .03 WPA
Bryan Woo when he does not throw first pitch strikes: Bryan Woo, -.11 WPA
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Hunter Haight did not have to wait long for redemption.
One night after seeing what would have been his first NHL goal overturned, the Minnesota Wild rookie got it back in the best way possible, scoring the first goal of his NHL career in front of an electric home crowd.
“It’s frustrating when something like that happens,” Haight said. “But I kind of knew right away that it was going to get called back. So it feels really good to score tonight.”
The goal was a fitting payoff in the final game of the regular season for a player the Wild believes is trending in the right direction.
Haight’s moment came off a setup from Nick Foligno and Marcus Foligno, two veterans who have helped make his adjustment to the NHL easier.
“It’s awesome,” Haight said. “The opportunity to play with those two guys, you learn so much, just the little details. You come back from a shift, and they’re giving you insight on what they see. So, it was really cool to do it.”
Foligno was smiling just as much as Haight was on the bench. And even was hugging him when they announced the goal in the arena.
“Actually, JoJo said, ‘I wonder how many games played versus assists between him and I?’” Foligno said. “So pretty good stat by JoJo. Yeah, I’m just thrilled for him. It’s so cool to watch a kid get his first goal. You know what you felt like when you got yours, and especially the other night when he thought he had it. He scored a way more beautiful one tonight. So I’m thrilled for him, especially in a win.”
“Fliggy got a little sauce on it, and I just tried to settle the puck down quick,” Haight said. “Just made sure I had it before I let it go.”
When the puck went in, the building erupted. Haight soaked it in as the crowd roared, then got an equally memorable reaction on the bench when Foligno wrapped him up after the announcement.
It was the crowd had been in quite some time.
“This crowd is unbelievable,” Haight said. “It was really cool to hear them erupt and roar.”
Of Foligno’s embrace, Haight added: “I’ve always said it, this locker room is full of amazing people. And Fliggy, ever since he got here, he’s been there for me and kind of taken me under his wing.”
For Haight, the goal was more than a single highlight. It was a snapshot of the progress he has made from Game 1 to Game 82, and a reminder of what could be ahead.
Haight, 22, made the team out of camp and played in the first two games of the season. He was later sent down and finished the AHL season with 18 goals and 32 points in 51 games.
He was just named AHL player of the week as well.
“Every opportunity to play in the lineup is big,” Haight said. “I’m trying my best to make sure that I stay and keep doing that. So, yeah, it’s pretty nice.”
His focus now shifts immediately to next season, where his mindset will stay the same. To make the team out of camp again but this time maybe be a regular.
“My goal going into every training camp is to try to make the lineup,” Haight said. “I think I’ve done a great job, development-wise, heading into next season, and I feel really good heading into next year.”
Wild coach John Hynes said Haight’s first NHL goal was a deserved reward, but he also pointed to the bigger picture.
“Really happy for Hunter,” Hynes said. “One that last night it got turned back but he doesn’t have to sit on it for another year. But just his development, I really like the way he’s going about his business. He’s gotten better. Second-year pro, he’s had his stints up here. He’s really produced and played well down in Iowa and you see him come up here and he’s more comfortable. He’s now, for him and for us, showing some things that I think are on a high trajectory, which is a real positive.”
After the disappointment of the overturned goal the night before, Haight made sure this one counted.
And judging by the reaction from the crowd, the bench, and the locker room around him, it was a moment no one there was going to forget.
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.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 31: Michael Busch #29 of the Chicago Cubs bats in a game against the Los Angeles Angels at Wrigley Field on March 31, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good evening. Welcome back to another night of BCB After Dark: the grooviest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We’re so glad you decided to stop in. You’re always welcome here. The dress code is casual. The hostess can seat you now. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
The Cubs beat the Phillies tonight, 10-4. Riley Martin got his first career start and even though it was only for one inning, he retired the side in order on six pitches. He struck out Kyle Schwarber on three pitches. I mention this because I asked you last night if you thought that Martin would be a key part of the bullpen this year. You are bullish on Martin because 68 percent of you said “yes.”
I don’t normally do a movie essay on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, but I always have time for jazz. That time is now.
Tonight we’re featuring some bebop as saxophonist Sonny Stitt and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie perform in Belgium in 1958. Joining those two greats are Lou Levy on piano, Ray Brown on bass and Gus Johnson on drums.
This is “Blues Walk.”
Welcome back those of you who left us for a while.
I don’t have to tell you that Cubs first baseman Michael Busch is off to a terrible start to the season. He was one of the best hitters in the National League last year, but so far this year, he’s been one of the worst. After getting two doubles in the season opener, his bat has fallen silent. He had an 0 for 30 streak before an bloop pinch-hit RBI single on Sunday against the Pirates. He didn’t play in Monday’s loss to the Phillies, but he was back out there tonight and had two singles. However, neither hit inspires all that much confidence. One of them was a pretty standard ground ball single that found a hole between the first and second basemen. The other was just a little infield dribbler towards third base.
The problem seems to be that Busch simply isn’t hitting the ball hard or in the air. He’s not swinging at more pitches that he did last year. He is seeing a few more pitches outside the zone than he did last year, but not enough to make that big of a difference. He’s making contact at roughly the same rate.
The problem is that he isn’t making good contact. Everywhere you look on the Statcast data, the quality of contact made by Busch is down. He isn’t hitting the ball as hard as he did last year and when he does, it’s on the ground. Busch isn’t hitting the ball in the sweet spot and much and his exit velocity is down. Ground balls are way up. His bat speed was always below average, but it’s down even more this year.
I can’t tell you why Busch is having trouble making quality contact. I suspect that if Busch knew what was going wrong, he wouldn’t do it anymore.
So how worried are you about this development? Are you concerned that Busch has lost his mojo? Or do you think he’ll snap out of this anyday and be one of the best first basemen in the league again?
Thank you for stopping by this evening. It’s always good to have so many friends around. Please get home safely—we don’t want to lose one of those friends. Tell your friends about us. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.
Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran said his outburst at a fan on Tuesday night came after an ugly comment directed toward him.
The 2024 All-Star was seen on the broadcast of Boston’s 6-0 loss to the Twins flipping off a fan at Minnesota’s Target Field after grounding out in the top of the fifth inning. Duran told reporters after the game that he was directing the bird at a fan who allegedly told him to kill himself.
“Somebody just told me to kill myself,” Duran told reporters, according to the Associated Press. “I’m used to it at this point, you know? I mean, (expletive) happens. I mean, I’m gonna flip somebody off if they say something to me, but it is what it is. I shouldn’t react like that, but that kind of stuff is still kind of triggering.”
According to the AP, manager Alex Cora did not see the incident.
This is not the first time Duran, 29, has confronted an antagonistic fan in his career.
During an April game last year in Cleveland, Duran angrily pointed at a fan — who was soon ejected from the ballgame — and had to be held back after they said “something inappropriate” at the outfielder. Duran did not explicitly say what the fan said but implied it had to do with his attempted suicide in 2022, which he revealed in a Netflix docuseries “The Clubhouse: A Year With the Red Sox,” which came out shortly before the incident.
“The fan just said something inappropriate. I’m just happy that the security handled it and the umpires were aware of it and they took care of it for me,” Duran said after the incident at Progressive Field. “When you open yourself up like that, you also open yourself up to the enemies. But I have a good support staff around me, teammates, coaches. There were fans that were supporting me, so that was awesome.”
Jarren Duran hits a two-run home run during the Red Sox’s blowout loss to the Twins on April 13, 2026 in Minneapolis. Getty Images
Two seasons ago, Duran was suspended for two games after being caught on a hot mic using an anti-gay slur. The Red Sox said his salary for those two games was donated to the Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
Duran apologized after the game and said he would make it a point to learn from his actions.
“During tonight’s game, I used a truly horrific word when responding to a fan,” Duran said in a statement released by the team on Sunday. “I feel awful knowing how many people I offended and disappointed. I apologize to the entire Red Sox organization, but more importantly to the entire LGBTQ community. Our young fans are supposed to be able to look up to me as a role model, but tonight I fell far short of that responsibility. I will use this opportunity to educate myself and my teammates and to grow as a person.”
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis, you can call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org for free and confidential crisis counseling.
Nerves got the best of Noah Schultz in the first but he recovered to end his outing on a high note. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
It might not have been the perfect performance he hoped for, but Noah Schultz pushed through a rough first frame of his major league debut to finish his 4 1/3-inning outing strongly, despite the White Sox (6 -11) dropping the first game of the series to the Rays (9-7), 8-5.
Schultz needed 33 pitches to get through the first, which could have led to a quick exit. The lanky southpaw was able to work around Yandy Díaz with no problem to start the game, but walked the next two batters for quick trouble. The first MLB hit surrendered by Schultz was a double to left field by Ryan Vilade to drive in the first run for Tampa Bay. A safety squeeze bunt from Ben Williamson caused a whole bunch of chaos, as Noah rushed his throw home rather than getting the second out at first and letting the run score, and the Rays added a third run to the board due to Schultz’s error.
First-game jitters were clearly coming into play, but Schultz was able to settle himself down and strike out Jonny DeLuca to get out of the inning. The rest of his night went more smoothly, though he allowed one more run in the top of the third; Williamson struck again, drilling an RBI double out to left for Tampa’s fourth run of the game. Schultz did facilitate a 1-2-3 inning in the second, and worked through the fourth just fine before striking out the last batter he faced.
Noah tallied four strikeouts alongside four walks, and he averaged a 32% called strike plus whiff rate (CSW%). His fastball (37% CSW%) was most effective, averaging 96 mph with three strikeouts and batters whiffing five of nine times. The throwing error on the bunt was definitely a learning experience, but overall Schultz’s fastball velocity and pitch movement along with the way he was able to power through his nerves after the first inning was definitely encouraging.
It took a few stanzas for the bats to wake up, but the White Sox offense did cut the deficit to one in the bottom of the third. Miguel Vargas was robbed on a diving play from Chandler Simpson to start the inning, but Munetaka Murakami walked for his second time of the night, and Chase Meidroth ended up on first after catcher’s interference (his back foot essentially stepped on the catcher Nick Fortes’ foot in the batter’s box).
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, baseball is the gift that keeps on giving:
Just a few minutes after I got through complaining about the fact that manager Will Venable decided to bat Everson Pereira in the cleanup spot, Pereira came up with two runners on and ripped a three-run homer out to left to make it 4-3, Tampa Bay. I believe the exact phrase I used was “automatic out,” and I will happily eat my words for a home run any day of the week:
Spoiler alert: The White Sox did not come remotely close to scoring again until they were down to their last out in the bottom of the ninth, but they once again fell short in their rally. In fact, they only mustered five hits all night and went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position while leaving nine runners on base. Does it really matter that your offense stinks while your bullpen isn’t doing anything to help itself, either? I mean, yes, it does, but with the White Sox you can’t really have your cake and eat it too; precisely why their pitching has been phenomenal lately while their offense is incapable of scoring runs.
Lucas Sims was first out of the pen for the Good Guys (1 1/3 innings), and he was unable to prevent additional runs from scoring as two more were tacked on, thanks to three hits with one walk and one strikeout. Lefthander Brandon Eisert was next in line, and his stat line was unfortunately a carbon copy of Sims’, so the Rays expanded their lead to five, 8-3.
Finally the pitching calmed down a bit with Jordan Hicks in the eighth — something I probably never thought I’d write — and he was able to get out of the inning without anyone scoring despite giving up two hits, the first of the South Side pitching staff accomplish the feat. Bryan Hudson, the power forward (6´8´´) to Schultz’s center (6´10´´) was solid for the top of the ninth (one hit and one strikeout), also preventing any further runs from scoring.
Things did briefly get a little interesting for the South Siders in the bottom of the ninth, with two outs. Vargas had walked with one out, and Mune was the last hope for the Sox after Meidroth popped out. Murakami blasted his fifth homer of the season to cut the Tampa lead to three, 8-5.
Attempting to re-ignite a rally, Tanner Murray singled to extend the inning at least one more batter. Working to a full count, it was starting to feel like Edgar might get on so that Colson Montgomery would come up to bat as the tying run, but that fleeting hope and excitement was extinguished when Quero flew out to center to end the game.
Brewers closer Trevor Megill (29) had another forgettable outing on Tuesday, April 14 as he blew a save by allowing three runs on three hits with a walk in the ninth inning against the Blue Jays at American Family Field. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Milwaukee Brewers were in dire need of a win on Tuesday night to end a five game losing streak. The reincarnated Home Run Race of 1998 has hit the Brewers with Jake Bauers and Gary Sanchez continuing to go tit-for-tat in their bid to be the Crew’s home run leader.
It started with Jake Bauers in the 4th inning. After a single from Brice Turang and a walk from Sanchez, Jake Bauers crushed his 5th home run of the season into the Brewers bullpen, 418 feet away from home plate. That gave the Brewers a 3-0 lead.
The Blue Jays then answered in the 5th with a solo home run from Andres Gimenez and then again in the 6th with a solo shot from Marshfield, WI native Daulton Varsho.
The Brewers had two on and nobody out in the 5th and 6th innings but failed to capitalize in either end.
Then Gary Sanchez happened. He crushed a hanging curveball 409 feet out to left field to provide the Brewers a huge insurance run. That run became all the more important when Abner Uribe allowed a run in the 8th on an RBI groundout by Vlad Guerrero Jr. That left a 4-3 ballgame for closer Trevor Megill.
Megill, coming off a horrendous outing last time out on Friday, had to face the 5-6-7 hitters in the Blue Jays lineup. He allowed a leadoff walk (never a good thing), then a ground rule double, then a single and quickly the Blue Jays tied the game. A soft groundout by Andres Gimenez brought in another run, then a single from Ernie Clement brought home the insurance to make it a 6-4 Blue Jays lead.
Then the Brewers miraculously come back in the bottom of the 9th. Sal Frelick walked, stole second, then Brice Turang brought him home with a single. Turang then stole second, Jake Bauers was intentionally walked, then Brandon Lockridge delivered a game tying double. A walk to Garrett Mitchell loaded the bases for Joey Ortiz, because of course it did. Ortiz promptly struck out on three pitches.
Then in the 10th, Vlad Guerrero Jr doubled, Eloy Jimenez added insurance and the Jays put up another three run inning and the Brewers couldn’t fully come back again in the bottom half.
Jacob Misiorowski threw the ball well, despite feeling sick.
“I felt like I was gonna throw up the whole game” Misiorowski said.
That’s exactly how most of the 25,143 in attendance felt watching the 9th inning as well. Pat Murphy told reporters postgame that he is considering a change in the 9th inning role but wouldn’t commit to that change in the moment.
The Brewers will be back at it on Wednesday with Chad Patrick on the mound.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - APRIL 14: Dillon Dingler #13 and Kenley Jansen #74 of the Detroit Tigers celebrate their win against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park on April 14, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Kenley Jansen needed little introduction when the Detroit Tigers signed the 38-year-old closer to a free agent deal back in December. He’s one of the truly great relievers in the game’s long history. The one year, $9 million deal was a pretty reasonably price for an all-time great even on the downside of his career. The Tigers also have a $12 million option on Jansen for 2027 to exercise should they choose. As a result, the Tigers’ faithful in Comerica Park on Tuesday night got to see a little history as Jansen closed out the Royals for his 479th save, seizing third place on the all-time saves list behind Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman.
Jansen’s career is a pretty incredible story. The Curacao native was originally signed as a catcher. He didn’t hit enough as a minor leaguer to make it as a position player, but he was gifted with a strong throwing arm. At a certain point, a Dodgers coach suggested he try pitching, and Jansen discovered that the over-the-top motion favored by catchers to deliver a straight ball to the bases on stolen base attempts had given him a gift. Much like Mariano Rivera, who discovered his magic cutter by accident, Jansen too was quickly throwing a true unicorn of a cutter. There are plenty of high velocity cutters around the game, but none of them combine the late cutting action of Jansen’s pitch with extremely good riding action. It’s a true cut fastball, the likes of which have rarely been seen in the game, and Jansen has ridden that pitch to a Hall of Fame caliber career.
Of course, this is all well and good, but after two postseason appearances, and with the expectation of losing Tarik Skubal in free agency, the fanbase wants present results, not individual player history. The Tigers fanbase has a rough relationship with the idea of signing a great closer in the later years of their career. We don’t even speak of Joe Nathan in my household. Jose Valverde got the job done for a while, and even Francisco Rodriguez had a pretty good season in Detroit before things finally fell apart for him. But the Tigers haven’t had an elite closer in their prime arguably since Joel Zumaya.
There were understandably some fears about Jansen, in particular the notion of making him the dedicated closer rather than mixing and matching between him, Will Vest, and Kyle Finnegan the way AJ Hinch has had to use his fairly makeshift bullpens over the past few years. Jansen still has the outrageous cut fastball, but it’s not the same quality of pitch at 92.8 mph, his 2025 average, as it was when he was sitting 95+ for all those years with the Dodgers. On the other hand, Jansen still has a lot of extra tools to get hitters out, from his size, distinct high arm slot, ability to hide the ball until late in his delivery, and his ability to post up on his right leg and wait different beats before delivering the ball, and still doing all that with good command. He’s also developed a sinker into an occasional change of pace weapon to jam right-handers, and a pretty good slider with a lot of depth to play off the eyeline of the cut fastball.
Still, with his strikeout rate in decline over the last two years, it’s reasonable to expect that Jansen is just a good reliever these days, and certainly no one special. The fact that he averaged about 92 mph in his first few outings for the Tigers wasn’t real encouraging. However, there was a very good sign on Tuesday night, as Jansen dialed the cut fastball up to 96 mph and topped out at 96.8 mph. He only threw 10 pitches 96 mph or better last season. On Monday night, he topped 96 five different times and that 96.8 mph cutter in the ninth was his fastest recorded pitch since 2024. Jansen doesn’t need to throw that hard to be really good, but he’s a much more imposing pitcher when he’s 94 mph or better.
Way back on July 25, 2010, Kenley Jansen collected the very first save of his career, closing out a victory for the Dodgers over the New York Mets. He took over after an eight inning scoreless performance by young Dodgers’ ace, Clayton Kershaw. His catcher that day was Russell Martin. Almost 16 years later, he racked up save number 479 throwing to Dillon Dingler. That save lifted him above Lee Smith (478) to rank third all-time.
It’s been a truly remarkable career, and Jansen’s work ethic and drive have sustained him far longer than anyone could have imagined. Detroit Tigers’ fans will hope he’s got plenty more in the tank, not to reach the 500 saves plateau, or somehow catch Trevor Hoffman at 601, but to help the Tigers put together a special season.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Amazon Prime Video's stream of the Miami-Charlotte play-in game went offline for nearly two minutes during the overtime period, causing fans to miss a Hornets possession.
Stan Van Gundy, working the game as an analyst for Prime Video, was midsentence when the audio feed was lost coming out of a timeout with 48.1 seconds remaining. A message about “technical difficulties” began displaying on screens a few seconds later.
When the video and audio feeds resumed, Charlotte's LaMelo Ball had scored for a 125-120 lead. Fans missed 22.1 seconds of playing time.
“Tell me the game didn’t just cut off?!!? Am I trippin?? WTH,” Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James posted on X, as the words “technical difficulties” began trending nationally across social media.
A spokesperson for Prime said the issue was caused by “a hardware failure in our production truck.”
“Our teams restored the feed as quickly as possible to ensure fans could watch the conclusion of the game. We are conducting a thorough internal review to determine the cause of the outage,” the spokesperson said.
Prime Video has exclusive rights to all six games in this year's play-in tournament. The streaming service began showing NBA games this season as part of the league's new 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal.
Apr 14, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher Antonio Senzatela (49) delivers a pitch during the third inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
The Colorado Rockies rolled into Daikin Park hoping to end a four-game losing streak by winning their fourth consecutive game against the Houston Astros in two weeks.
While they chipped away at an Astros lead amassed in the third inning, the Rockies could never quite get there, losing the series opener 7-6.
Innings 1-3: The Rockies start climbing — and then fall back
The Rockies offense got off to a quick start with a Hunter Goodman home run in the first inning off the lefty starter Colton Gordon.
Things took a turn for the worse in the bottom of the third, which started with a Christian Vázquez double followed by a Willi Castro error that put Jose Altuve on base. After that, Michael Lorenzen was called for a balk, and then Yordan Álvarez entered the chat with a two-run double, tying the game at three.
Things only went downhill from there. With two outs in the third, after a seemingly endless series of Astros hits and Rockies defensive adventures (Castro had another error), the score was 7-3. At that point, Lorenzen was knocked out of the game with Antonio Senzatela entering in relief.
When the inning (finally) ended, the score was 7-3 with the Astros sending 11 batters to the plate.
Lorenzen’s final line was 2.2 IP on 71 pitches with seven runs, two earned, on six hits. He walked one and struck out three. His ERA is 9.18.
It seemed like yet another game in which the Rockies were too far behind to catch up.
“It just seemed like we were unable to stop the bleeding,” manager Warren Schaeffer said.
Innings 4-7: A slow (but steady) climb
As it turns out, the Rockies were not done yet.
Jordan Beck went yard in the top of the fourth making the score 7-4.
Kyle Karros and Jake McCarthy followed that with their own singles before Tyler Freeman was HBP. (It looked painful.) That knocked Gordon out of the game.
Mickey Moniak came in to hit for Brenton Doyle but popped out to short, leaving the bases loaded.
As for Gordon, he finished the evening with 3.2 IP on 68 pitches. He allowed four runs (all earned) on eight hits while also striking out five.
Goodman led off the fifth inning with another home run, and the score was 7-5.
The Rockies mounted another comeback in the eighth as Ezequiel Tovar and Karros managed walks. Troy Johnston came in for McCarthy and promptly hit an RBI single, making the score 7-6 Astros.
There were two on and two out when Moniak came up, but he popped out, ending the inning.
The Rockies kept pushing in the ninth. After two quick outs, T.J. Rumfield hit a single followed by a Tovar single. Brett Sullivan came in to pinch run for Rumfield and stopped at third, leaving questions as to whether he should have continued home.
Beck stepped to the plate after going 2-for-4 with a home run and a single. However, he struck out looking, ending the game, giving the Rockies yet another one-run loss.
The Rockies finished the evening with 6 runs on 12 hits. They went 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base with four walks and 12 Ks.
The Astros never scored again after the third inning, but the Rockies couldn’t overcome the deficit.
“These guys are getting better every day,” Schaeffer said. “We just need to turn these one-run losses into some wins.”
Then he added, “We’re going to turn the page.”
Antonio Senzatela and the bullpen finished strong
The reinvented Antonio Senzatela entered the game in the third to get the elusive final out, which he did, striking out Altuve and then settling in to pitch a gorgeous 3.1 innings. He gave two only two hits on 43 pitches and is now scoreless in his last five appearances.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Senzatela changed the tenor of the game. He stopped what seemed to be an endless Astros rally and gave the Rockies an opportunity to get back into the game.
Schaeffer described Senzatela as “incredibly important” to the Rockies. “You know he’s going to keep you right in the game.”
Juan Mejia pitched the seventh and gave up two hits before getting three outs.
The eighth went to Zach Agnos who made quick work of the Astros, striking out two and getting a ground out to end the inning.
Up Next
Join us tomorrow night for Game 2 at 6:10 pm. Neither team has announced their starting pitcher.
