San Antonio Spurs (62-20, second in the Western Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (64-18, first in the Western Conference)
Oklahoma City; Saturday, 8 p.m. EDT
LINE: Thunder -3.5; over/under is 212.5
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Series tied 3-3
BOTTOM LINE: The San Antonio Spurs visit the Oklahoma City Thunder in game seven of the Western Conference finals. The Spurs defeated the Thunder 118-91 in the last matchup on Friday. Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 28 points, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 15.
The Thunder are 41-11 against Western Conference opponents. Oklahoma City ranks third in the league with 34.6 defensive rebounds per game led by Chet Holmgren averaging 7.0.
The Spurs have gone 36-16 against Western Conference opponents. San Antonio is second in the Western Conference with 47.0 rebounds per game led by Wembanyama averaging 11.5.
The Thunder's 13.8 made 3-pointers per game this season are only 0.8 more made shots on average than the 13.0 per game the Spurs give up. The Spurs are shooting 48.3% from the field, 4.6% higher than the 43.7% the Thunder's opponents have shot this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.1 points and 6.6 assists for the Thunder. Holmgren is averaging 15.1 points over the last 10 games.
Stephon Castle is scoring 16.6 points per game and averaging 5.3 rebounds for the Spurs. Wembanyama is averaging 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 7-3, averaging 113.9 points, 41.2 rebounds, 26.2 assists, 10.6 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.3 points per game.
Spurs: 6-4, averaging 116.7 points, 48.7 rebounds, 25.5 assists, 9.0 steals and 7.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.8 points.
INJURIES: Thunder: Ajay Mitchell: out (calf), Jalen Williams: out (hamstring), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee).
Spurs: David Jones Garcia: out for season (ankle).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 29: The Carolina Hurricanes pose with the Prince of Whales Trophy following a 6-1 victory over the Montréal Canadiens in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center on May 29, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After the game 4 win over Montreal with a 4-0 score, Carolina Captain Jordan Staal was quoted as saying that his team was “playing like a machine”.
Well, the machine kept on running without so much of a hiccup as they finished off the Eastern Conference Final series with a 6-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night.
After dropping game one, they finished up with four straight wins to close things out in five games. Their postseason record is now an amazing 12-1. Only three other teams in the modern era have accomplished this.
The Canes jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and never looked back. They outshot the Habs 15-4 and outhit them 10-4 in that key period.
Carolina’s second line continued to do the major damage as Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake, and Logan Stankoven contributed. Stankoven and Hall both had a goal and two assists while Blake chipped in with a goal and an assist.
Goalie Frederik Andersen had 23 saves on 24 shots and earned his 12th win of the postseason. It was an emotional night for Andersen, who considered the late Claude Lemieux like “family”. Lemieux also served as his agent.
The home team got things rolling about midway through the first period when Taylor Hall knocked in a puck from in close. The Canadiens challenged the goal for goaltender interference because Stankoven had taken the puck into the net and brushed Dobes. Apparently, the refs didn’t think there was enough contact to overturn the goal so the score stood.
About six minutes later, Stankoven would snipe one off a pass from Hall and it was 2-0.
Just a minute and change after that, Eric Robinson broke in alone and got another one past Dobes and it was 3-0. It was Robinson’s third goal of the playoffs.
At 7:19 into the second period, Jackson Blake knocked in a rebound off a Hall shot and the pressure was off at 4-0. Media members started making plane reservations to Vegas.
Just before the end of the period, Shayne Gostisbehere scored a powerplay goal when he snuck behind the Montreal defense to tap in a Seth Jarvis pass. At the end of the second, it was 5-0.
At this point, the partisan Carolina crowd was serenading the arena by singing “ole’ ole’ ole’ ” as a (tribute) to Montreal fans.
The Habs ruined Andersen’s shutout bid with a powerplay goal late in the game by Cole Caulfield, but Seth Jarvis would close out the scoring on an empty-netter.
The Canes will take Saturday off before preparing for the next series against the Las Vegas Golden Knights which starts Tuesday night at the Lenovo Center. We will have much more about that coming up.
After the game during interviews, each player to a man was very business like as they knew they had another tough task before them.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 29: Ben Rice #22 of the New York Yankees is congratulated by Aaron Judge #99 after he hit a home run against the Athletics in the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park on May 29, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Athletics as an organization have gotten themselves in a weird situation where they, as a major league team, are playing games in a minor league ballpark. The team themselves are a perfectly solid major league team, fighting atop an iffy AL West at this point of the season, with young talent that could make them very dangerous in the coming years.
That being said, during Friday night’s series opener in West Sacramento, one team was definitely at a higher level, and it wasn’t the A’s.
Led by home runs from Paul Goldschmidt, Ryan McMahon, and Ben Rice, the Yankees’ offense had no issues against Athletics’ pitching, putting up eight runs on 11 hits. Meanwhile on the mound, starting pitcher Carlos Rodón had arguably his best start of the season so far. He went six innings, allowing just one run on four hits and two walks, striking out three. From the first inning on, there wasn’t much drama in the game, as the Yankees came away with an 8-2 win.
While former Yankee and current Athletic Luis Severino retired Trent Grisham to open the game, his former team then got off to a quick start after that. The Yankees got a bit of fortune as A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz threw wide of a covering Severino after a Ben Rice grounder, which was then followed by a Severino balk. Aaron Judge then poked through a single to get the scoring started. Following another single from Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt then kept his good run going, homering to left to put up a crooked number.
The Athletics did get one of those runs back in the bottom half of the inning. Nick Kurtz hit a home run of his own in the first, getting his team on the board.
During his warmup pitches prior to the second inning, Severino appeared to tweak something, leading to his exit before the frame even began. Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious, as lot of us still have a soft sport for Sevy.
The Yankees’ offense continued to add on to their lead after Severino’s departure. In the second, Rice hit an RBI single that scored José Caballero, who was on after a double. In the third, Ryan McMahon hit a homer in his second consecutive game, also reaching the No. 150 mark for his career. Then in the fourth, Aaron Judge grounded out with two runners on, but it was a weak and slow enough grounder to allow Grisham to score from third.
Rodón would end up getting through six innings before making way for the bullpen. He ended his day on a very strong note, retiring the last seven batters he faced.
In the top of the seventh, Rice picked up his second RBI of the day with a homer to center-ish field. It broke a seven-game home run-less streak, which had been the longest of his season to this point.
Replacing Rodón was Brent Headrick, who enetered for his daily appearance. This time around, he got one quick out, but then loaded the bases, leading to Aaron Boone going back to the bullpen. Fernando Cruz came in for him and induced a 1-2-3 double play to get out of the jam.
Paul Blackburn then got the eighth and worked a quick inning, despite having to hit the deck to avoid taking a comebacker to the face. Blackburn returned for the ninth and got in some early trouble when the first two Athletics’ batters reached base. One of those runs did come around to score, but Blackburn bounced back after that to finish the proceedings.
The Yankees and A’s will continue their set tomorrow night, with a game starting at 10:05 pm ET. Ryan Weathers and J.T. Ginn are expected to be the starting pitchers in that one.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MAY 29: Julio Rodriguez #44 of the Seattle Mariners celebrates with JP Crawford #3 after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at T-Mobile Park on May 29, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Game Summary
Full recap to follow shortly. Feel free to vent on the close loss in the comments!
Loss Probability and Box Score
Outside the Box Score
Geraldo Perdomo’s poor batted ball luck continued in the first inning tonight where he lined into a double play. It took a very acrobatic play to record the out, with Cole Young throwing his gloved hand up and deflecting the ball straight up in the air where he was able to better collect himself and then make the catch and throw to first and double off Carroll.
Julio Rodriguez 2-run homer off Gallen in the 3rd came after Gallen got 2 quick outs and then walked JP Crawford on a full count. Off the bat, it looked like it might be a double into the corner based on the extremely low trajectory. Baseball Savant registered the homer as having a 16* launch angle which is tied for the lowest trajectory launch angle for a non-inside-the-park-homer this year with Vladimir Guerrero.
Zac Gallen was the beneficiary of excellent defensive decision-making and perfect alignment after getting into a little trouble in the bottom of the 4th. With runners at 1st and 2nd and no out, there was a fly ball to deep center field which was going to allow Arozarena to advance to third easily. Instead of getting greedy and trying to throw out Arozarena at third, Waldschmidt made the catch and then fired in to second base, keeping the trail runner at first. The very next hitter smoked a line drive right over Gallen’s head, but Perdomo was positioned right behind second base and was able to field the ball and record the 6-3 double play to get the Snakes out of the inning.
Diamondback defense saved Zac Gallen from further injury in the fifth, as well, when Josh Naylor smoked a deep fly ball to right center field. Naylor stood in the batter’s box and admired his handiwork as the ball…smacked off the top of the wall and back towards centerfield. Waldschmidt picked up the ball and threw in to Ketel Marte who quickly pivoted and fired a strike to Gerry who applied the tag on Josh Naylor just before he slid into second.
Gabi Moreno gave the Snakes some life in the 6th when he smoked a 2-run double on the 7th pitch of his AB off the base of the center field wall to score Carroll and Domo. The ball ‘lodged’ at the base of the wall, but fortunately everyone was advancing no more than 2 bases on the play anyway so we weren’t victims of ground rules for the second series in a row.
Waldschmidt came up with Gabi at second base and got a hit, but he hit the ball too hard for Gabi to score. Waldy smoked a single into left field at 108mph and Gabi had to stop at third.
Nolan Arenado reintroduced himself to the team after missing a game and not starting tonight with groin tightness. The very first pitch he saw he fouled off his foot. Welcome back, but Ouch!
The Diamondback defense was aided by the field to start the bottom of the 8th when Randy Arozarena hit a sharp grounder back up the middle. The ball went straight through Jonny Lasagna’s legs and looked destined to be a hit. Ketel was ranging over from second and looked like he might be able to dive to keep the ball on the infield but likely wouldn’t have enough time to pick back up and throw to first, but in a twist, the ball hit perfectly off the second base bag and bounced chest high to Ketel who, to his credit, adjusted well and then rifled a throw across his body directly to Vargas at first for the out. On his way back to the dugout, Arozarena looked back out to the field and shared a laugh with Ketel. Baseball is hard; it’s good to see competitors laughing together after plays like that.
Josh Naylor gave us a flashback to old times when he muffed a barehanded fielding attempt in the 9th inning that resulted in the tying run scoring.
Comment of the Game
The GameDay Thread was certainly….interesting tonight. A final tally of 396 comments at time of publishing with Comment of the Game by popular vote awarded to Dano_in_Tucson for his lineup advice to Torey:
Coming Up
The Diamondbacks face the Mariners for the second game of this 3-game set tomorrow evening with a 7:10pm first pitch Arizona time. Righthander Bryan Woo (4-3, 3.82 ERA) will take the mound for Seattle and Ryne Nelson (2-3, 4.65 ERA) takes the ball for the good guys. Hopefully Ryno can get the starting pitching back on track after Gallen’s hiccup tonight.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 29: Tyler Soderstrom #21, Alika Williams #12, and Zack Gelof #20 of the Athletics misplay a ball hit by Ben Rice #22 of the New York Yankees in the ninth inning at Sutter Health Park on May 29, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Athletics and New York Yankees kicked off a three-game weekend series tonight in Sacramento. The A’s entered the game trying to end a three-game losing streak, while the Yankees sought to make it five-straight wins. The “Bronx Bombers” took the lead before most fans had reached their seats and did not look back, earning a blowout 8-2 victory over the A’s in a game they dominated in all facets.
Early Action
A’s starting pitcher Luis Severino gave up runs in the first inning for a second-straight outing, but this time he was not helped by his defense. A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz made a throwing error allowing Yankees designated hitter Ben Rice to reach safely. Rice advanced to second on Severino’s balk and then scored on Aaron Judge’s RBI single to give the Yankees an immediate lead. A few batters later, with two on and two outs, Yankees’ first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit his sixth home run of the season, a three-run blast just over the left field wall to give the visitors a 4-0 lead after the first half inning of the game. All four runs were unearned, yet that three-run home run really stung.
In the bottom of the first, the A’s got a run back. Kurtz atoned for his error by hitting his ninth home run of the season, a solo blast to left-center field.
In the second inning, Severino got hurt warming up, exiting his start with right arm soreness. Apparently, he has been dealing with shoulder soreness, which is why his start got pushed back to tonight. Maybe it should have been pushed back a bit longer to prevent a bullpen game to open the series.
Left-hander Jose Suarez replaced him on the mound. The Yankees’ offense went right back to work. They got three-straight hits with Rice’s RBI single pushing their fifth run across home plate. Suarez escaped the inning, limiting the damage to one run.
A’s Offense Stalls
Athletics left fielder Tyler Soderstrom worked a walk to begin the A’s half of the second. Center fielder Henry Bolte singled to left, advancing his teammate to second base. The A’s rally fizzled out from there as back-t0-back groundouts with runners in scoring position erased the momentum they had built at the start of the frame.
Yankees’ Offense On Fire
Suarez only pitched one inning. A’s reliever Joel Kuhnel replaced him in the third. He gave up third baseman Ryan McMahon’s sixth home run of the season, a two-out solo shot to right-center. The Yankees added a seventh run in the fourth, courtesy of Judge’s RBI groundout. Through four innings, the Yankees scored at least one run in every inning.
Gelof Not Coming up Clutch
In the bottom of the fourth, Soderstrom and Bolte strung together two-straight singles with two outs. Alas, Rodòn got Gelof to fly out, completing a third-straight scoreless inning. Gelof has twice failed to come through in prime run-scoring opportunities for the hosts this evening. Left-handed reliever Hogan Harris answered by recording the first scoreless inning by an A’s pitcher in the fifth.
Yankees in Cruise Control
With a six-run cushion, Rodòn cruised through six innings of one-run ball, limiting the slumping A’s offense to only four hits. In the seventh, the Yankees extended their lead to seven runs via their third home run of the game. Rice blasted his 17th home run of the season against new A’s reliever Scott Barlow. He finished with three hits in five at-bats and was a triple shy of the cycle.
Cortes’ Magic Wearing Off?
Bolte was one of the few positives for the A’s tonight. He recorded three singles in four at-bats, the last one coming off Yankees’ left-handed reliever Brent Headrick in the seventh. After his third single, he moved up a base on Gelof’s first of two hits in this game.
With the bases loaded, Yankees manager Aaron Boone replaced Headrick with right-handed reliever Fernando Cruz. A’s manager Mark Kotsay countered by bringing Carlos Cortes off the bench to pinch hit for Darell Hernaiz. Cruz won the matchup, inducing an inning-ending 1-2-3 double play as the A’s failed yet again with runners in scoring position and less than two outs.
That outcome was indicative of the A’s teamwide offensive struggles not only tonight, but this whole week. The Athletics’ recent offensive ineptitude during home games remains perplexing, especially considering that visiting teams seem to take full advantage of the hitter-friendly ballpark to score runs in bunches.
The A’s offensive struggles carried over to defense. In the ninth, three A’s defenders collided trying to cleanly field Rice’s catchable pop-up that somehow ended up on the grass.
The A’s got a consolation run off former A’s pitcher Paul Blackburn in the ninth. Gelof’s RBI single scored designated hitter Brent Rooker, who started the rally with an infield single, for the A’s second run of the night. Blackburn buckled down, retiring the next two hitters to seal the Yankees fifth straight win and doom the Athletics to further misery.
The A’s have been outscored 30-6 during this woeful, winless late May homestand. Additionally, they have committed 15 errors in their past 17 games. Currently riding a four-game losing streak that has dropped their record to 27-30, the vibes are not good for this team. As a result, something must be done sooner than later to restore some positivity and turn things around before the team’s 2026 season spirals completely out of control.
The Athletics will look to snap their losing skid and even up this series tomorrow evening. Right-hander J.T. Ginn, who is 2-3 with a 3.19 ERA, will look to play stopper. The A’s need him to pitch at least five or six innings in the wake of the bullpen having to cover eight innings today. The Yankees will counter with left-hander Ryan Weathers, who is 2-2 with a 3.14 ERA.
Andersen came up with one of his better efforts of the Eastern Conference finals, stopping 23 shots in a 6-1 win that sent the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006. It's also Andersen's first trip.
"I can't talk enough good things about this team and the way they've supported me," he told TNT. "It's been awesome."
Though Lemieux identified with the Canadiens as the team that drafted him and where he won his first Stanley Cup as a rookie, he had ties with the Hurricanes. In addition to having Andersen as a client, his son Brendan played for Carolina during the 2023-24 season. The Hurricanes paid tribute to Claude Lemieux before Friday's game.
Asked what Lemieux would say if he were still here, Andersen told TNT that his agent would tell him, "Just go get it."
"He's the ultimate competitor and he's got the biggest heart," the goalie said. "He wanted so much for me and this team."
As a boy in the apartheid era I saw footage of the Gunners beaten in the 1969 League Cup final – on Saturday I will attend the Champions League showpiece with my son
I fell for Arsenal in the white‑and-black world of apartheid, where television was banned as a tool of communist propaganda and the club of my dreams was 6,000 miles away and mostly invisible to me. So it feels fitting that a surreal love story that began for a small boy in South Africa in 1969 will reach a new peak on Saturday night in eastern Europe. This 65-year-old Arsenal fan and his 25-year-old son, who is just as besotted by the Gunners, will be at the Champions League final in Budapest as we face the dazzling powerhouse of Paris Saint-Germain.
It’s the final game of Arsenal’s tumultuous grind of a season and we are as exhausted as we are still euphoric. We will remember that my last game of this campaign could have been Swindon’s 2-1 home defeat by Chesterfield in League Two. I have had my share of pain with Arsenal; but it would have been a far deeper burden to have spent 57 years supporting Swindon.
The Yankees beat up on old friend Luis Severino in the first inning before he got hurt, then continued to add on the rest of the way while cruising to their fifth straight win, 8-2 over the Athletics on Friday night in front of a sell-out crowd of 12,254 at Sutter Health Park.
Paul Goldschmidt, Ryan McMahon and Ben Rice all homered — Goldschmidt a three-run shot off Severino that keyed the first-inning attack — as the Yankees (35-22) stayed hot after outscoring the Royals 26-4 during their sweep in Kansas City earlier this week.
“This is the type of offense we have,” said Aaron Judge, who went 1-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs in a homecoming of sorts, having grown up an hour away. “You’re going to have the ebbs and flows of the season, where you’re going to have some down weeks, some down months, but when this offense is rolling like that and staying aggressive, we’re at our best. That’s what I feel like we did today.”
Carlos Rodón, pitching for the first time in over a week, grinded through six innings but allowed just one run — a solo homer to Nick Kurtz in the bottom of the first — while navigating some early traffic from the Athletics (27-30).
The left-hander finished strong, retiring the final seven batters he faced, while becoming the eighth straight Yankees starter to allow two runs or fewer.
After a 16-game stretch in which the Yankees scored just seven runs in a game one time, they have now scored seven or more in three straight games, once again getting contributions from all parts of the lineup.
Ben Rice celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning of the Yankees’ 8-2 win over the A’s at Sutter Health Park on May 29, 2026 in Sacramento, Calif. Getty Images
“It’s fun to watch when we’re clicking like that,” said Rice, who went 3-for-5 and fell a triple short of the cycle.
The Yankees had clobbered Severino here last year before he kept them in check in The Bronx in April. But back in the Triple-A stadium that Severino has expressed his frustrations about pitching in, the Yankees got to him again in his first and only inning before leaving the game with what the A’s called “right arm soreness.”
The rally got started when Rice reached on an error, which Judge and Cody Bellinger followed with back-to-back singles. Then with two outs, Goldschmidt crushed a 1-2 sweeper over the left field wall for a three-run homer.
The veteran first baseman, starting for the eighth straight game to help give the Yankees some better balance in their lineup, has just kept hitting with the increased playing time.
Ben Rice is congratulated by Aaron Judge after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning of the Yankees win over the A’s. Getty Images
He had largely been relegated to starting against lefties earlier this season, but is now facing righties too and finding success.
Over his last 23 games, Goldschmidt is hitting .304 (24-for-79) with a .952 OPS. He is also batting 7-for-20 (.350) with 14 RBIs with runners in scoring position this season.
“He’s been huge, and has given us a little bit of balance,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s held his own against righties, continues to do what he does against lefties. He’s hit for power, he’s gotten some important hits for us. Obviously plays great defense over there at first. When [Giancarlo Stanton] goes down, you’re looking for someone to step up and Goldy’s certainly done that.”
Carlos Rodón held the A’s to one run over six innings in the Yankees’ win. Getty Images
The Yankees added on with a single run in each of the next three innings — including McMahon’s 150th career homer, and second in as many games — before Rice drilled his 17th home run of the season in the seventh, tying Judge for the team lead.
The A’s threatened to stage a rally after Rodón exited, loading the bases off Brent Headrick with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but Fernando Cruz came in to get an inning-ending double play.
Cruz has now stranded 20 of his 24 inherited runners this season.
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“That’s the game right there,” Boone said. “That’s their chance to get back in it, and he executes strike one right away and then executes a really good pitch.”
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt hit a three-run homer, Ryan McMahon and Ben Rice also went deep, and the New York Yankees beat the Athletics 8-2 on Friday night for their fifth straight victory.
Goldschmidt connected in the first inning against Luis Severino (2-6) to stake the Yankees to a 4-0 lead and they rolled from there behind a strong outing from Carlos Rodon (1-2) for the win. Rodon allowed one run and four hits in six innings.
Aaron Judge added two RBIs for New York and Rice moved into a tie with Judge for the team lead with 17 homers on the season.
The Yankees outscored the opposition 36-6 during this current winning streak.
The A’s lost their fourth straight on this homestand and also might have lost Severino to an injury. Severino was grimacing after throwing warmup pitches before the second inning and called for manager Mark Kotsay to come to the mound with an athletic trainer. He left the game with what was described as a sore right arm.
The game didn’t get off to a good start for Severino, who allowed four unearned runs in the first inning to fall to 0-3 in four career starts against his former team.
After Rice reached on an error by first baseman Nick Kurtz, Severino allowed an RBI single to Judge and the homer to Goldschmidt. Severino has allowed 19 runs — 15 earned — in 13 2/3 innings in four starts against New York.
Kurtz hit a solo homer for the A’s, who have been outscored 30-6 during this four-game losing streak.
The A’s have gone 13 straight games without getting a win from a starting pitcher with starters going 0-9 with a 5.64 ERA during that stretch.
Up next
LH Ryan Weathers (2-2, 3.14 ERA) was set to start the second game of the series for the Yankees against RH J.T. Ginn (2-3, 3.19).
LOS ANGELES — Justin Wrobleski took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers got home runs from Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith in a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.
Wrobleski (7-2) struck out a career-high nine against no walks in seven innings. The 25-year-old left-hander struck out the side in the first — setting down big boppers Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper — and the fifth innings.
In the sixth, Schwarber homered 411 feet to dead-center with two outs for the first hit and run off of Wrobleski in a rematch of last year’s National League Division Series. The Dodgers won 3-1 on the way to their second straight World Series championship.
Tanner Scott retired the side in the ninth for his fifth save.
The NL West-leading Dodgers won their sixth in a row for the first time since reeling off seven straight from April 26-May 3 last year.
Freeman hit an opposite-field shot on the first pitch from Zack Wheeler (4-1) in the first. Muncy went deep in the second and Ohtani homered into the Phillies’ bullpen in right in the third. Smith made it 4-0 with his solo shot in the fifth.
With retired three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw watching from the front row, Wrobleski’s only baserunner before Schwarber’s homer came on an error by right fielder Kyle Tucker in the fourth.
Turner was safe at first and advanced to second on Tucker’s error. Tucker and center fielder Andy Pages appeared to miscommunicate on Turner’s ball to the warning track. Wrobleski retired the next two batters to end the inning.
The Phillies’ other run came on Steward Berroa’s two-out single in the eighth off reliever Edgardo Henriquez.
As Linsanity took over the NBA, Karl-Anthony Towns was as big a fan as anyone.
When asked Friday about his Knicks fandom growing up, Towns gushed about Jeremy Lin.
Karl-Anthony Towns has helped the Knicks reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
“I truly want to give a shoutout to Jeremy Lin because he really made me a Knicks fan and had me at Modell’s,” Towns said. “It was crazy trying to find his jersey. I have so much love for Jeremy Lin, he’s one of my favorite Knicks of all time, one of my favorite players of all time. He made me so passionate about the Knicks. It’s crazy now that I’m in this position, in this chair, talking to you guys as a Knicks player. [They] showed me the other day Jeremy Lin on social [media], for him to even mention me was kind of crazy because the love I have for him and what he’s done for me and my Knicks fandom is second to none.”
Jeremy Lin celebrates with Jared Jeffries after the Knicks’ win over the Raptors at the Air Canada Centre on Feb. 14, 2012 in Toronto. Getty Images
A New Jersey native, Towns also explained why he chose the Knicks over the Nets.
“My mom, when she immigrated here, she understood the magnitude of Madison Square Garden,” Towns said. “… I grew up, obviously, in Jersey, obviously it was so much easier for me to get New Jersey Nets tickets and see Kenyon Martin, Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, but my family has always had such respect and love for the Knicks and my father having ties to the Knicks, it was kind of guaranteed I was going to fall into this world of being a Knicks fan growing up.”
OG Anunoby was injured and did not play in the series, but he has some Finals experience — from when he was with the Raptors in 2019.
“We were a very close team, and it was a very talented team,” Anunoby said. “I learned a lot from watching a lot of great teammates. It was really a cool experience winning that.”
He also learned a crucial lesson.
“I was younger back then,” Anunoby said, “so I didn’t realize how hard it takes to get back.”
May 29, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Justin Wrobleski (70) pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
The Philadelphia Phillies (29-28) played their first game in Chavez Ravine since they were eliminated in the National League Divisional Series last October and fell 4-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers (37-20) on Friday night.
Four of the five hits allowed by Zack Wheeler (4-1) were solo home runs to Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith, which accounted for the entirety of the Dodgers’ runs on the night.
Dodgers’ lefty, Justin Wrobleski (7-2), hurled nine of the Dodgers’ 11 K’s and carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, though the Phillies did get a runner on in the fourth when a fly ball hit by Trea Turner was fumbled by Kyle Tucker for a two-base error. With two outs in the top of the sixth, Kyle Schwarber denied the no-hitter and the shutout with his major league-leading 22nd home run.
Dodgers' Justin Wrobleski is through five no-hit innings against the Phillies. He'd be perfect if it weren't for an error.
He has eight strikeouts, a new career-high. He's at 65 pitches.
In the top of the eighth, the Phillies did muster two hits and a run off Dodgers’ reliever, Edgardo Henriquez, via a Brandon Marsh double and a first-as-a-Phillie RBI single by Steward Berroa, who was promoted to the big league club in favor of Otto Kemp earlier in the day.
This is only the second time in his career that Wheeler has surrendered four homers in a start, the first also coming as a Phillies in June of 2024 against the Orioles. He has never surrendered more than two in any other game.
Andrew Painter (1-5) faces a tall task against Roki Sasaki (3-3) in the middle game of the series tomorrow night.
Munetaka Murakami left the Chicago White Sox’s 4-3 victory against the Detroit Tigers in the third inning on Friday, May 29, with hamstring tightness.
He hit the ball to center field and ran through first base before he was seen reaching for his hamstring. White Sox manager Will Venable, the team’s medical staff and Murakami’s interpreter, Kenzo Yagi, all ran onto the field after the play.
After the game, Venable called Murakami's injury a "little hamstring strain on the initial evaluation” and said the first baseman will likely miss time. "Probably a couple weeks," Venable said.
Murakami is expected to get more imaging done Saturday.
Venable wouldn’t commit to an official decision when asked whether Murakami would be placed on the injured list.
The Japanese star declined to talk with the media after the game, but a White Sox spokesperson stated that he would be available to talk before Saturday’s game.
The White Sox entered Friday’s game with the fourth-best record in the American League. Chicago now has a 30-27 overall record after its walk-off win in 10 innings.
The Yankees mashed three home runs and Carlos Rodon pitched his best game since coming off the IL as New York defeated the Athletics, 8-2, on Friday night in West Sacramento.
Here are the takeaways...
-The Yankees bats got to old friend Luis Severino early as an Aaron Judge single knocked home Ben Rice, who reached on an error and advanced to second on a balk, to give them the lead. With two outs and two on, Paul Goldschmidt capped off the big first inning with a three-run blast (380 feet, 99.5 mph exit velocity) on a sweeper that the veteran got around on.
Severino would leave the game warming up for the top of the second with what the team called right arm soreness, but the Yankees would get to the A's bullpen, too. Rice drove in a run in the second with a single and Ryan McMahon launched his 150th career home run in the third to give New York a 6-1 lead.
Rice wasn't done. He hit his team-tying 17th bomb of the year in the seventh and finished 3-for-5, a triple short of the cycle.
-Judge went 1-for-4 with the RBI single and an RBI groundout, while Jose Caballero, starting at shortstop instead of Anthony Volpe, finished 2-for-4 with a run scored.
The Yankees had 11 hits and the only starters to not get a hit were Jazz Chisholm Jr. (0-5) and J.C. Escarra (0-4).
-Rodon was on the mound, making his fourth start since returning from the IL and had to grind it out at first. He allowed a solo shot to Nick Kurtz in the first, and the A's had runners on second and first with no outs in the second, but the southpaw worked out of the jam without allowing a run.
Rodon would scatter baserunners but got stronger as the game went along. He finished up pitching six innings (93 pitches) while allowing just one run on four hits and two walks, while striking out three batters.
-The Yankees bullpen was up and down, as per usual. Brent Headrick allowed the A's to load the bases with one out in the seventh, before Fernando Cruz bailed Headrick out, getting an inning-ending double play to end the threat.
Paul Blackburn pitched a clean eighth inning but got into trouble in the ninth, allowing a run on two hits and a walk, but got the final out to start the weekend series on a winning note.
Game MVP: Carlos Rodon
While the offense continued to give plenty of run support, the A's lineup threatened early on and Rodon kept them at bay to make this a laugher.
May 29, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) celebrates with center fielder Andy Pages (44) after scoring against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
The Dodgers (37-20) launched four solo home runs in a 4-2 win over the Phillies (29-278) ace Zack Wheeler Friday night at Dodger Stadium in the opener of a three-game weekend series.
Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski earned the win by pitching one of the best starts of his career. He struck out nine and allowed just one earned run.
The Dodgers flexed their power with home runs from Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, and Will Smith. Wheeler took his first loss of the season after giving up all four runs over six innings, while Kyle Schwarber provided a solo home run for the Phils in the loss.
Wheeler had been absolutely dominant this season, carrying a microscopic 1.67 ERA and allowed only one home run going into Friday’s game. The Dodgers hit four solo home runs against the Philly ace, serving him up his first loss of the season.
Wrobleski struck out the side in the first inning for the first time in his career. He struck both Schwarber and Trea Turner looking to open the game, and Bryce Harper went down swinging. His fastball velocity was quite a bit faster than his career average in the frame.
Wheeler struck out Ohtani to open his night. Freeman continued to find success in his career against Wheeler and blasted a solo home run against him to the left field corner. That was Freeman’s third career homer off Wheeler.
The Dodgers had already collected three home runs in the game before the Phillies could even muster a base runner against Wrobleski through four innings.
The Phillies did catch a break with one out in the top of the fourth after a defensive miscue in the outfield allowed Turner to reach second base. Kyle Tucker was tagged with the error when the ball dropped between himself and Andy Pages. The Phillies failed to cash in on the mistake.
Wrobleski continued to cruise through the order working quickly. He picked up a career-high eighth strikeout when he whiffed Brandon Marsh to cap off five hitless innings.
Will Smith took a Wheeler sinker for a ride over the right center wall for the fourth solo home run of the night for the Dodgers.
The usual culprit, Schwarber, was the one who broke up Wrobleski’s no-hit bid with a two-out solo home run in the sixth.
The Dodgers bullpen allowed a rare run in the top of the eighth after Wrobleski ended his night. Edgardo Henriquez allowed two hits and a run before Dave Roberts went to Alex Vesia to face Schwarber who represented the tying run at the plate.
Channeling that Bobblehead Night energy, Vesia reared back and struck out Schwarber swinging on a full count to keep it a two-run game into the ninth.
Tanner Scott got the ball in the ninth and sent the Phillies down in order. He struck out Harper who fanned three times on the night and secured his fifth save of the year.
Friday particulars
HRs — Freddie Freeman (8), Max Muncy (13), Shohei Ohtani (10), Will Smith (6), Kyle Schwarber (22)
Roki Sasaki (3-3, 4.93 ERA, 1.42 WHIP) starts the second game of the series against the Phillies at (7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Lefty Jesús Luzardo (4-4, 4.38 ERA 1.28 WHIP) counters for Philly.
