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Five Key Matchups for the Ducks in the Second Round vs. Golden Knights

The Anaheim Ducks are one of the final eight teams left standing in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. They upset a perennial cup-contending Edmonton Oilers squad in six games in the first round and will be up against another cup-contender in the second round: the Vegas Golden Knights.

Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville, with the help of his coaching staff, out-coached Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch in round 1, and will have to pull out all his tricks once again if he’s to defeat brand new Vegas head coach John Tortorella.

Five Anaheim Ducks Storylines Ahead of their Second Round Series vs the Vegas Golden Knights

Ducks to Face Golden Knights in Round Two of 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Tortorella has only been the Knights’ head coach for eight games heading into the playoffs after they shockingly parted ways with Bruce Cassidy. Vegas went 7-0-1 down the stretch under Tortorella and dispatched the Utah Mammoth in six games in their first-round series.

It’s unclear if, how, or to what extent (beyond lineup alterations) Tortorella can make changes throughout the course of a long series, behind the bench of a new team, but Quenneville will have to win five key matchups if the Ducks are to win four games in the next seven and advance to the Conference Final.

Alex Gallardo-Imagn Images
Alex Gallardo-Imagn Images

Jackson LaCombe vs Jack Eichel

If the Conn Smythe Trophy were awarded after one round, a very strong case could be made for it to be awarded to Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe. LaCombe scored nine points (1-8=9) in six games, tied for second in playoff scoring and leading all defensemen, dominated underlying metrics, dictated play on every shift, and effectively shut down (or severely limited) Connor McDavid, the world’s best hockey player.

If Quenneville continues to hard-match LaCombe against his opponent’s top player, LaCombe’s next assignment will be Team USA teammate, 2026 Olympic Gold Medalist, and 2023 Stanley Cup Champion Jack Eichel.

Tying LaCombe, Eichel scored nine points (1-8=9) in six games against Utah in the first round, while averaging 24:22 TOI/G, and offers a completely different challenge for LaCombe than McDavid did. McDavid is far and away the fastest player in the NHL who does most of his damage off the rush and operates at a high rate of speed in every facet of his offense.

Eichel, not slow by any means and still one of the NHL’s best skaters, attacks more surgically and methodically. He utilizes his 6-foot-2, 206-pound frame to protect pucks with an elite glide and is one of the NHL’s best passers, displaying deception and throwing misinformation at every turn. He’s equally as dangerous off the rush or on the cycle.

Eichel prefers to carry pucks low to high in the offensive zone and across the blueline, looking for and opening dangerous seams. Like with McDavid, it will require all five skates on the ice to properly limit his impact, but LaCombe will need to be smart not to drift too far from the net front and remain in good positions.

Lukas Dostal vs Carter Hart

Any goaltender will echo that they aren’t playing against the opposing goaltender, but rather the opposing team as a whole. However, in this particular series, Ducks netminder Lukas Dostal will have to out-duel Vegas netminder Carter Hart, and out-duel him significantly, if the Ducks are to have a chance at advancing beyond the Golden Knights.

Through the first round, traditional numbers suggest that Dostal and Hart have been two of the worst goaltenders in the playoffs, with Hart finishing with better numbers.

Hart finished his first round series by allowing 18 goals on 167 shots (.892 SV%) and saved -0.13 goals above expected (GSAx). The eye test suggests a slightly different narrative, as he let in several goals from distance, without a screen, and/or through his body (between his arm and his torso).

Dostal’s numbers were far worse in the first round, as he allowed 20 goals on 158 shots (.873 SV%) and saved -4.61 GSAx. His eye test suggests he was better than those numbers, but unspectacular nonetheless. His rebound control and puck tracking (typically two staples of his game) left a lot to be desired, but none of the goals (of very few) could be classified as “soft.”

Dostal either allowed goals with screens in front of him, off of deflections, and/or from incredibly high-danger areas of the ice. If he could see a shot, he typically saved it, but he wasn’t able to “steal a game,” and he didn’t come up with a “big save that he wasn’t supposed to make” very often.

The big saves he does make often go unnoticed, as his primary strength as a netminder is his positioning, and he makes difficult saves often seem routine. However, with what Vegas strives to accomplish on offense, Dostal will need to make those big, athletic saves he’s not supposed to, and he may have to “steal” a game or two.

Both goaltenders have the skill sets to dictate a series from their respective creases, but neither had to for their teams to advance to the second round. One may have to, however, if they intend to backstop games in the third round.

Corinne Votaw-Imagn Images
Corinne Votaw-Imagn Images

Ducks Power Play vs VGK Penalty Kill

In the regular season, Vegas boasted elite special teams, featuring the sixth-best power play (24.6%) and seventh-best penalty kill (81.4%). That continued into the playoffs, as they currently have the fifth-best PP (20%) and third-best PK (93.8%).

The Ducks are a completely different study, as they had middling to poor special teams in the regular season (18.6% PP, 76.4% PK). Their penalty kill remained unimpressive through the first round (71.4%), but it didn’t bite them, as they are the least-penalized team in the playoffs to date.

Anaheim’s power play flipped a switch, however, in the first round, and was one of the greatest factors that led to them defeating the Oilers in six games. With two units finding cohesion and chemistry after 82 games of trial and error, the Ducks scored eight power play goals on 16 attempts in round one.

With the assumption that Vegas’ power play will remain productive and Anaheim’s penalty kill will continue to allow goals at a similar rate, the Ducks’ power play will prove ever-important once again in the second round, as will a continued discipline from Anaheim to limit their own trips to the penalty box.

Ducks Depth Scoring vs Knights Middle Pair (Hanifin-Andersson)

The Ducks’ top line (Gauthier/Kreider-Carlsson-Terry) accounted for six of the Ducks’ 14 goals at 5v5 in the first round and were on the ice for seven. Vegas opted not to match a pair or line against Utah’s top line in their first-round series with much consistency, but the gap between Utah’s first line (Crouse-Schmaltz-Keller) and their second line (Yamamoto-Cooley-Guenther) isn’t as drastic as Anaheim’s.

Utah’s top line did see slightly more ice against Vegas’ top pair (McNabb-Theodore) than they did against their second pair (Hanifin-Andersson). If Vegas’ top pair has remotely the success they did against Utah’s top line, Anaheim’s depth scoring will be more vital to their success in this series.

Anaheim has the offensive prowess down their forward lineup to supplement Terry and Carlsson at the top, with a potent blend of veterans like Mikael Granlund and Alex Killorn alongside talented youth like Beckett Sennecke and Mason McTavish. McTavish and Sennecke got their first taste of playoff hockey, and both project to thrive, stylistically, in that environment. However, both will hope to increase production and factor into more dangerous plays in the second round.

Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Ducks Net Defending vs Vegas Slot Offense

At various points in the 2025-26 season, the Ducks struggled to defend every facet of on-ice play. While adapting to a new coaching staff that brought in a new system, the Ducks had sorting issues defending the rush and made poor pressure decisions at the offensive blueline. However, the area that consistently pained them most was defending the front of their net.

Though they’ve improved when defending cycles, they are still susceptible to getting beat back to the front of the net from the perimeter, and they can still get caught puck watching when plays shift sides of the ice laterally.

When pucks are funneled to the crease from the perimeter, the Ducks struggle mightily with boxing out, tying up sticks, and clearing rebounds.

Vegas is as polished as they come on the cycle. They can work pucks low to high for point shots, dominate possession below the goal line, and sustain pressure for minutes at a time. They’re at their best when their best players (Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel) skate pucks up the walls and across the blueline, drawing defenders out of position to open seams and passing lanes.

Anaheim’s centers will have to make astute decisions on whether and when to pressure in those situations, and defensemen will have to limit their temptation to drift too far from the crease. When defending the net-front, they’ll also have to work tirelessly to eliminate screens, tips, and second-chance opportunities. Easier said than done.

As with any series, this Ducks roster stands a chance to win four of seven, especially with Quenneville behind the bench. However, the execution will need to be nearly perfect, and they’ll have to come out on the positive end of these five matchups to do so.

Three Areas Key to the Ducks Round One Victory over the Oilers, Ducks Win Series 4-2

Takeaways from the Ducks 5-2 Win over the Oilers in Game 6, Ducks Win Series 4-2

Adjustments the Ducks Will Look to Counter to Avoid Game 7

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Kevin Durant, Jalen Brunson & NBA Legends on Why the Playoffs Hit Different

Kevin Durant, Jalen Brunson & NBA Legends on Why the Playoffs Hit Different
Inside the NBA Playoffs, where every possession matters — lessons from Durant, Brunson, Stephen Curry, and more on pressure, leadership, momentum, and what it takes to win.

The NBA Playoffs don’t just raise the stakes; they rewrite the rules. Possessions stretch, pressure multiplies, and reputations are built (or broken) in real time. From rising stars to all-time greats, the game slows down and sharpens all at once. Across eras and experiences -- from Kevin Durant to Stephen Curry to Jalen Brunson -- one truth keeps surfacing: the playoffs demand a different version of you.

Here are 10 lessons pulled straight from those who’ve lived it.

Lesson 1: The Playoffs Are a Different Sport

Ask Paolo Banchero, and he’ll tell you plainly: The playoffs feel like a completely different season. The pace slows, the scouting tightens, and every weakness gets exposed. What works over 82 games won’t necessarily translate in a seven-game series. The adjustment isn’t just physical; it’s mental. You have to think about the game at a higher level, possession by possession.

Lesson 2: Every Possession Feels Like an Eternity

“You feel every possession,” Stephen Curry has said, and that’s not exaggeration. In the playoffs, there’s no autopilot. Each trip down the floor carries consequences. Momentum swings harder, and mistakes linger longer. It’s not just about execution; it’s about endurance under pressure.

Lesson 3: Stay Aggressive—Don’t Let the Defense Dictate You

For Cade Cunningham, one early playoff lesson stood out: passivity is a trap. When defenses load up, show bodies, and force the ball out of your hands, the instinct can be to defer. But that often kills rhythm. The best players stay aggressive within the flow—probing, adjusting, and forcing the defense to react rather than dictate.

Lesson 4: Leadership Doesn’t Have to Be Loud

Jalen Brunson embodies a quieter kind of leadership. No theatrics, no unnecessary noise -- just consistency, poise, and trust. In playoff environments, where emotions can spike, that steadiness matters. Leadership isn’t always about speeches; sometimes it’s about showing up the same way every possession.

Lesson 5: Momentum Can Flip an Entire Series

Young teams often learn this the hard way. Chet Holmgren has described how quickly things can turn, from double-digit leads to sudden collapses. One run, one quarter, one missed opportunity can shift everything. The playoffs are less about controlling the entire game and more about surviving -- and capitalizing on -- those swings.

Lesson 6: Find Your Closing Move

Every great player needs a way to shut the door. For Curry, it became the now-iconic “night night” celebration, a symbol of finishing the job. But the gesture is just the surface. What matters is the mindset behind it: confidence built through repetition, ready to surface when the game is on the line.

Lesson 7: Spacing Wins Series

Big men like Amar'e Stoudemire have long understood a simple truth: if you’re getting doubled, you need shooters. Floor spacing forces defenses into impossible choices. Stay home on shooters, and stars can attack. Collapse the paint, and the perimeter becomes lethal.

Lesson 8: Experience and Size Still Matter

There’s a reason veteran teams tend to thrive deep into May and June. Legends like Hakeem Olajuwon have emphasized how size, chemistry, and experience can overwhelm younger squads. Talent alone isn’t enough; discipline, execution, and physicality separate contenders from hopefuls.

Lesson 9: The Stage Demands More

There’s nothing like playing under the lights at Madison Square Garden or in a hostile road arena. Former players like Mark Jackson recall those moments as defining, where nerves, energy, and expectation collide. The playoffs amplify everything, and not everyone rises to the occasion.

Lesson 10: Your Window Isn’t Guaranteed

Few moments capture the fragility of it all like Kevin Durant’s Achilles injury in the Finals. One instant can shift the trajectory of a career. The playoffs aren’t just about chasing a title; they’re about maximizing the opportunity in front of you, because nothing is promised beyond it.

Final Thoughts

The playoffs expose everything — your habits, your mindset, your weaknesses, your edge. They demand adaptation, resilience, and belief at the highest level. As players across generations echo in different ways, you can’t fully explain playoff basketball. You have to experience it.

And once you do, it’s all you think about.

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Orioles minor league recap 5/4: Trimble, Perez go deep for Delmarva; Bencosme homers in Baysox loss

LAKELAND, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Baltimore Orioles Outfielder Reed Trimble (62) at bat during the Spring Training Game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Detroit Tigers on February 22, 2026 at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Triple-A: Nashville (Brewers) 5, Norfolk Tides 1

Sunday marked the Triple-A debut for Trace Bright, the fifth-round Auburn righty who has now spent parts of three years in Double-A. It went… fine. Bright lasted just 2⅔ innings, walking four and striking out four against just two hits, allowing two runs. Last month, Bright was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for a scoreless two-start stretch, but the walks look like a problem still be tackled.

The Tides’ lone run came via the bat of Johnathan Rodríguez, who launched a home run in the eighth inning. Drafted by Cleveland in 2017 and DFA’d in March, Rodríguez is a career .285 hitter in the minors (.852 OPS), but hasn’t had much success in 49 games at the MLB level.

Box Score

Double-A: Erie (Tigers) 4, Chesapeake Baysox 3

The Baysox coughed up the winning run in the eighth inning, though the offensive contributions weren’t nothing. Frederick Bencosme, the Dominican-born infielder who signed for $10,000 back in 2020, went deep for his fourth homer of the season. Griff O’Ferrall doubled, Aron Estrada had two hits, and Alfredo Velásquez drove in two runs from the nine spot.

Evan Yates, a twentieth-rounder in 2024, gave up three runs but allowed just one walk while pitching into the sixth inning. Calgary native son Cohen Achen pitched 1.2 scoreless. Unfortunately, Jeisson Cabrera let in the tying run in the eighth, though he did strike out the side for good measure.

Box Score

High-A: Frederick Keys 4, Brooklyn (Mets) 1

The headliner here was Carson Dorsey, the Florida State lefty taken in the 2024 draft who has had an up-and-down first full High-A season, with a 6.23 ERA in five appearances. Sunday was definitely an up: Dorsey came out of the bullpen and delivered six scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit and holding the Cyclones to two hits while striking out eight. That’s a dominant outing by any measure, and great news for an under-the-radar arm.

Nate George, the top prospect in the organization, drove in two runs. Elis Cuevas added a home run. Wehiwa Aloy singled and walked.

Box Score

Single-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 10, Hill City (Guardians) 6

The runs were coming in bunches for the Shorebirds on Sunday. A rehabbing Reed Trimble, the 2021 competitive balance pick who’s battled injuries at virtually every level of the system, went deep. Trimble was one of three prospects the O’s protected from the Rule 5 draft last year, along with Cameron Foster and Anthony Nunez, both of whom have seen MLB action.

That wasn’t it on offense, though. The 20-year-old José Perez also went deep and added a triple on a day he racked up three hits, four RBIs, and 10 total bases. DJ Layton and Edwin Amparo had two hits apiece. Stiven Martinez hit a pinch-hit triple.

A pair of 2025 draft picks—Denton Biller and Dalton Neuschwander—weren’t brilliant, but they didn’t need to be. Each allowed three runs in two-plus innings, through the pair racked up eight strikeouts. Riley Cooper pitched a nice 1.2 innings, with three strikeouts. And Kenny Leiner threw a scoreless ninth.

Box Score

Today’s Scheduled Games

There are no scheduled games for Monday.

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Mets Morning News: Cold Front

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - MAY 3: Mark Vientos #27 of the New York Mets is congratulated in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on May 3, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Meet the Mets

Mark Vientos hit a pair of homers, Clay Holmes maintained his National League lead in ERA, and the Mets are a win away from having a winning streak. Neat!

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, Faith and Fear in Flushing, MLB.com, Newsday, New York Daily News, New York Post

Originally scheduled for 8:40 Eastern, a potential snow storm in Denver resulted in today’s game between the Mets and Rockies being moved up to 5:40 Eastern.

In that game, the Mets will use a currently-unknown opener ahead of David Peterson, just as they did last time around the rotation.

Prior to Sunday’s game, the Mets placed Ronny Mauricio on the injured list with a broken finger and had Vidal Bruján arrive during the game in his place.

Carson Benge made a ninth inning grab on a Vaughn Grissom liner that could only be described in one SAT-level word: pulchritudinous.

Though his velocity isn’t back, A.J. Minter has pitched twice in three days for Syracuse ahead of the end of his rehab assignment expiring on Friday.

Around the National League East

Old Friend Richard Lovelady got his first save as a Washington National in a 3-2 win to send the Milwaukee Brewers back to last place.

The Phillies scored six times against Chris Paddack in the first inning Sunday afternoon and never looked back on their way to a 7-2 triumph over the Miami Marlins.

Shifting things around, the Marlins sent Rookie of the Year Vote-Getter Augustin Ramirez down to the minors and called up their top catching prospect, Joe Mack, in his place.

Spencer Strider made his return to the big leagues and gave up three runs and walked five Rockies in three innings, but it didn’t really matter as the Braves left Colorado with an 11-6 victory anyway.

Another year, another leg injury for Ronald Acuña Jr. as the Braves placed the former MVP on the injured list with a strained left hamstring.

Around Major League Baseball

Now in last place behind the Royals, things simply got worse for the Minnesota Twins as their ace, Joe Ryan, faced only two batters on Sunday before leaving his start with an ominous elbow soreness.

The struggling Giants have hit a very gentle panic button, calling up both Bryce Eldridge and Jesus Rodriguez for tomorrow’s game.

With his rehab assignment finished, the Yankees decided against bringing Anthony Volpe up to the big league roster, instead opting to keep him in the minor leagues via option.

Griffin Canning made his return to the major leagues after his achilles tear with the Mets, having himself a good start and helping to snap the Padres’ losing streak.

This Date in Mets History

Happy birthday to illustrious Mets Akeem Bostick, Miguel Cairo, and Robinson Cancel.

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Anthony Volpe’s potential return may provide more advantages than you think

No matter how well José Caballero played in this first month of the season, he was running on borrowed time. The Yankees always intended for Anthony Volpe to slide back into the starting shortstop role when he recovered from a torn labrum that affected his play for much of the 2025 season, and they made that clear when they didn’t make a single infield addition in the offseason.

Right?

This is what everyone in Yankeeland assumed was going to happen, regardless of Caballero’s performance. The team had been vocal about their belief in Volpe as a key piece of the team’s future, consistently defending his performance through last season and into his offseason surgery. When he began a rehab assignment, it looked like his return was inevitable.

But the young shortstop reached the end of his 20-day rehab window yesterday, and the Yankees elected to option him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The fact he entered the year with all three of his minor league options remaining makes it so that the team isn’t absorbing any risk if this is intended to just get him a week or two more of game action before returning, but there’s a sense that some of the trust has waned in the 25-year-old, and Caballero’s performance hasn’t helped Volpe’s case at all.

A month into the season, Caballero has performed admirably in his time as the team’s shortstop, contributing some clutch moments offensively with steady defense and aggressive baserunning. Entering play on Monday, he’s slashing .259/.306/.405 with a 99 wRC+ with four home runs, 12 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, and 0.8 fWAR. He paces the American League with 7 Defensive Runs Saved and has added value on the basepaths, even after getting thrown out four times in two games last week.

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When comparing him directly to Volpe, even if you give Volpe’s 2025 defensive regression some grace due to his labrum injury, the decision makes plenty of sense; the last we saw of Volpe was of a floundering player, and Caballero is performing very well. But if we’re talking about optimizing the Yankees’ roster, the best move would still be to pencil in a healthy Volpe at shortstop and put Caballero back in a role where he’s excellent, as a super-utilityman.

While Caballero has looked better offensively in his brief Yankee tenure than Volpe has in his three-year career, a look under the hood reveals that we shouldn’t expect this much longer from Caballero. Even though faster players will generally run a better BABIP due to their speed (see: Chandler Simpson), Caballero is vastly overperforming his .267 xwOBA, which sits in the 8th percentile. He doesn’t hit the ball hard, has a minuscule walk rate, and his overall quality of contact is much closer to his mediocre 2024 season than his strong finish to 2025.

Compare that to what we saw out of Volpe in 2025, where the expected stats aren’t too much better (.301 xwOBA), but the quality of contact is closer to league average, and there’s more potential in his bat if he can somehow make more consistent contact. Despite his overall numbers being near-identical through three years in terms of wRC+ and OPS, his peripherals have improved, particularly in chase rate and bat speed.

Defensively, it makes sense to give pause to before handing one of the most important positions on the field back to someone who was awful there in 2025, but the Yankees believe that the labrum injury affected him far more than initially believed, causing him to overcompensate in some regards. You could accuse the Yankees of being optimistic there, but we have substantial two-year sample size of Volpe being a strong defender at the position when , combining to produce 21 DRS and 15 Outs Above Average in his first two seasons. Many of his errors last year came from off-line throws, something that could’ve been affected by the shoulder injury.

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But the biggest reason to move forward with the team’s initial plans for this season is to optimize the 26-man roster in the absolute best fashion possible. The Yankees’ bench, as currently constructed, isn’t very flexible with the specific roles that Amed Rosario, Paul Goldschmidt, and JC Escarra play. While Rosario can play other positions than third base, it’s not a serious consideration most days.

As of right now, Max Schuemann is the most flexible player on the bench. Schuemann nominally provides versatility, with the ability to play second and third, not to mention his limited experience at short and in the outfield, but the team tellingly hasn’t really opted to use that versatility in the week he’s been on the roster. The role Schuemann fills at this moment can use an upgrade.

Caballero’s defensive prowess gives him a high enough floor that he isn’t a bottom-of-the-barrel shortstop in the league when his bat falls back to earth, but there might not be a better bench player in all of MLB if he’s put back in that role. He’s able to play five different positions at a solid level, having already shown his aptitude at shortstop while also being able to play second base, third base, left field, and right field.

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Not only is he a capable defensive replacement at many different positions, but he also exists as a viable pinch-hitting and platoon candidate at these positions. Is there a tough lefty that you might not want to play Trent Grisham or Jazz Chisholm Jr. against? Caballero’s OPS against left-handers is .800 over the last two seasons, with an xwOBA of .320.

His best attribute of all, though, is his speed, which could now be deployed in the biggest spots of the game. To start the season, the Yankees were reduced to using Randal Grichuk as their best pinch-running option, and even though the recent moves have had either Schuemann or even Jasson Domínguez in that role depending on the day, Caballero as the team’s top pinch-runner would be tremendously more valuable once Giancarlo Stanton returns from injury.

When you factor all that in, Caballero provides much more to the bench than Schuemann can, and that’s only possible when sliding Volpe back into shortstop. Think of it this way; shifting from Caballero to Volpe, if the latter is healthy, shouldn’t be too big of a dropoff, while Caballero provides a massive upgrade on whomever he’s replacing on the bench. And of course, Caballero would likely prove to be a bench player only in name, coming in as a pinch-runner, defensive replacement, or starting against lefties so often that he’d find himself on the field more often than not even if he isn’t the everyday shortstop.

None of this matters if there are legitimate baseball reasons why the Yankees do not want to activate Volpe, but if this is merely just to get him more at-bats in the minor leagues and he’s only a week or two away from donning the pinstripes again, he should reclaim his old job. The Volpe we saw in 2023 and 2024was flawed, but that version of Volpe would still make the Yankees roster better right now.

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Mets Daily Prospect Report, 5/4/26: More Morabito

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (18-14)

SYRACUSE 5, LEHIGH VALLEY 0 (BOX)

A thorough smackdown of the IronPigs in Syracuse last night. Nick Morabito raised his OPS to .852, while Cristian Pache went deep for the third time this year and now has an .856 OPS himself. The rehabbing A.J. Minter tossed a scoreless inning with a strikeout, and even Dylan Ross had a clean inning himself. Good game all around.

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (10-17)

GAME 1: NEW HAMPSHIRE 4, BINGHAMTON 3 (BOX)

In the resumption of yesterday’s suspended game, Binghamton tried to rally late but ultimately fell short. Down 4-1 in the ninth, RBIs from Jose Ramos and Nick Lorusso cut the deficit to one. TT Bowens lined out to end the game though. Close, but no cigar.

GAME 2: BINGHAMTON 3, NEW HAMPSHIRE 0 / 7 (BOX)

A really nice start from Zach Thornton got the Rumble Ponies through in their regularly scheduled Sunday game. Seven strikeouts and no runs in four innings, supported by a good day at the plate for JT Schwartz, was all Binghamton needed.

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (7-19)

FREDERICK 4, BROOKLYN 1 (BOX)

Brooklyn managed only two hits and lost their 19th game of the year.

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (12-15)

ST. LUCIE 7, TAMPA 6 (BOX)

St. Lucie got caught stealing three times, made three errors, and won anyway. The Mets were actually down 6-2 in this one, but rallied back. Three scored in the sixth on singles from JT Benson and Chase Meggers as well as a successful steal of home (the rare time the “steal second with a runner on third so he can score” play works). Now down one, St. Lucie scored two more times in the eighth on doubles from Randy Guzman and Julio Zavas to take a one-run lead that Christian Rodriguez made stand up.

Rookie: FCL Mets (0-1)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

STARS OF THE NIGHT

Nick Morabito

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Emilio Obispo

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Broken bodies everywhere: are injuries about to be declared winners of the NBA playoffs?

Victor Wembanyama suffered a concussion during his team’s first round series. Photograph: Eric Gay/AP

Should we just cancel the rest of the NBA playoffs and declare injuries the winner? They’ve already dominated this postseason far more than one team possibly could. The Oklahoma City Thunder are playing without their second-best player, Jalen Williams, after what feels like his 10th hamstring injury. In the series against the Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Donte DiVincenzo tore his achilles, and Anthony Edwards gruesomely hyperextended his knee. Wolves backup Ayo Dosunmu put up a heroic 43 points in Game 4, then returned to the bench two games later to nurse an injured calf. The Nuggets lost Aaron Gordon to calf tightness midway through the series and played entirely without Peyton Watson, who was sidelined by a hamstring strain.

Jayson Tatum’s record-quick comeback from an achilles tear was the feelgood story of the season, at least until he hurt his leg, which ruled him out of a vital Game 7 that his Boston Celtics lost to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Los Angeles Lakers’ starting rotation lacks Luka Dončić until further notice and played four of six games against the Houston Rockets without another of their stars, Austin Reaves. The Rockets’ Kevin Durant played 78 of 82 regular season games, then missed every game of the Lakers series but one thanks to a bad knee and a bone bruise in his ankle. We of course had to save the most ridiculous injury for last: Victor Wembanyama was knocked out by the court itself after tripping on a drive and whacking his jaw on the hardwood. (He missed all of one game and wishes he could have missed zero.) Perhaps it was an omen.

Related: Embiid urges 76ers fans not to sell playoff tickets to Knicks fans: ‘If you need money, I’ve got you’

This is how the NBA is now. Ten hyper-athletic men powered by modern training regimens share a 94-by-50-foot rectangle, sprinting back and forth and leaping into the air and often crashing into each other as they do. An unconscionably long 82-game regular season sands down the players’ durability. Mix in the extra dose of vigor and roughness that comes with the heightened stakes of the playoffs, and bodies break down. Injuries that affect the outcome of games and series, that make you want to turn off the TV, are a constant risk.

This isn’t to say that this postseason has lacked drama or dopamine. Among the relatively uninjured, somehow, is none other than 41-year-old LeBron James, who continues to find escape routes from the bounds of time. The Sixers pulled off a miraculous comeback from 3-1 down to eliminate the Celtics, the Pistons did the same against the Magic. The Toronto Raptors’ RJ Barrett hit a game-winning three-pointer that kicked high, high off the back of the rim and through the hoop. (I immediately thought of Tyrese Haliburton’s shot against the Knicks last year, the most indelible memory from one of the best runs of clutch plays in history – before Haliburton tore his achilles in the next series.) The shorthanded Wolves banded together to topple the Nuggets; I wanted their scrappy crew to win so badly that it hurt a little bit. But all this brilliance can’t be worth the trail of broken bodies left in the wake. These playoffs feel like a stay-healthy contest rather than a way to determine the best team in the league, which hurts the viewing experience. Far worse is the intensifying feeling that professional basketball itself is incompatible with health.

There are sports, like boxing, in which physical damage is inextricable from the appeal. Basketball is different, or should be. The attraction is in the manipulation of space required to splash a three-pointer, in the precision and explosiveness that goes into a chase-down block. One player bodying another via dunk or block is satisfying, but we don’t want the other player to be hurt. Moses Moody caving his knee in while jumping for a dunk is not supposed to be part of the experience, nor is the epidemic of achilles and calf injuries. Fans should not be wincing every time their favorite player clatters to the ground and is slow to get up, which seems to happen a dozen times per game. No superstar escaped this season unscathed: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had the luxury of not playing many fourth quarters thanks to his team usually putting the game away by then, but still missed time in February because of an abdominal strain. Nikola Jokić hyperextended his knee, after which his searing form from early in the season failed to fully return. Cade Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung in March. Dončić’s hamstring betrayed him in the middle of one of the hottest runs of form of his career. The latter two MVP candidates had to seek exemptions for the league’s 65-game rule to be considered for the honor.

That we’re only one round into the playoffs feels impossible. After his team finished off the Nuggets, Wolves coach Chris Finch looked tired rather than triumphant: the younger, healthier San Antonio Spurs were already waiting in the conference semi-finals.

“Before the series started, I figured the real winner of this series was going to be San Antonio, because both these teams were going to take a lot of pieces out of each other, and they did,” Finch said. “So I’m not sure what we have left standing before we go down there.” It’s easy to envision the Spurs essentially winning by TKO over what remains of the Wolves, or the Thunder forcing James into debilitating exhaustion midway through their series.

There’s a lot to be excited about for the rest of the playoffs, a likely Spurs-Thunder showdown in the Western Conference finals at the top of the list. Still, it’s hard to be too jazzed when more injuries are almost certain to join the pile. Last year’s NBA finals, brilliant through six games, will always be blemished by Haliburton’s achilles tear early in Game 7. In the 2024 finals, Dončić, the best player on the floor, was clearly carrying an injury. We can hope that injuries won’t insert themselves into this year’s finals, but recent history suggests mercy is unlikely.

Practically everybody agrees that the season needs to shorten, perhaps by a lot. Maybe the games do, too. Reverting first-round playoff series to best-of-five, as was the case before 2003, could keep players healthy a little bit longer. Maybe a seven-game series is too much punishment on a human body under any circumstances. For as long as the NBA resists change, its players will pay the price.

After the Lakers mercifully ended the Rockets’ bizarre, injury-marred season on Friday, the agony of defeat appeared tempered by exhaustion. The camaraderie between the players was also striking. Durant, who has had a tough season, hugged James tightly. He giggled with Dončić on the sidelines. Fred VanVleet, the Rockets’ vital point guard who sat out the whole season with a torn ACL, mingled with the players. It looked like everybody had finally been relieved of the burden of the game: the faces atop those beaten bodies, at last, smiling.

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Evolution, not revolution: Inter’s gamble on Chivu pays off as club canter to Scudetto | Nicky Bandini

Inter’s manager was not first choice to replace Simeone Inzaghi but has created a juggernaut that could not be stopped

It all felt inevitable, by the end, Internazionale becoming champions of Italy for the 21st time with a win over Parma they did not even need. A draw would have sufficed: in this game, or the next one, or either of the two after that. Their rivals for the Scudetto yielded one-by-one through the spring and then, finally, all at once. None of Napoli, Milan or Juventus won this weekend, not that it would have mattered any more if they had.

Inter were 10 points clear at the start of this round and 12 by its conclusion, the best team in Serie A by a mile. They have scored 82 goals in a league where no other team has yet made it to 60. Defensively, only Como can equal their 17 clean sheets.

Continue reading...
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Thoughts on a 7-1 Rangers loss

DETROIT, MI - MAY 03: Texas Rangers Jack Leiter (22) pitches in the first inning during the game between Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers on May 3, 2026 at Comerica Park in Detroit, MI (Photo by Allan Dranberg/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Tigers 7, Rangers 1

  • Detroit. Dee-Troit. D Troit.
  • The Tigers.
  • They won.
  • Jack Leiter gave up 5 runs in 6.2 innings, which sounds bad.
  • Which is bad, really.
  • But he did pitch better than the line would indicate, to use that old cliche.
  • Leiter allowed a total of six baserunners in the game. The problem is that five of them scored.
  • Leiter walked just one batter — Riley Greene, to lead off the fifth. It was the first baserunner he allowed all game.
  • The next batter, Spencer Torkelson, put an 0-2 hanging slider into the bleachers, and that, for all intents and purposes, was that.
  • The Torkelson homer was the only ball in play over 100 mph that Leiter gave up in the game. Or any other Ranger pitcher, for that matter.
  • In the sixth, Jake Rogers led off the inning with a ball to the outfield that should have been a single. Evan Carter tried to make a diving catch on it, however, and it got past him for a triple. Kevin McGonigle then hit a flare that fell in for a single to drive in the third run off of Leiter.
  • Leiter had Kerry Carpenter on second with two outs in the seventh and got a ground ball from Hao-Yu Lee that snuck through the infield for an RBI hit. Leiter was then lifted for Tyler Alexander, who allowed a pair of singles and a double before the inning ended.
  • So that was the five runs off of Leiter.
  • He was still really good, though. 10 Ks on the game. 73 strikes on 100 pitches, including 16 swings and misses.
  • If Leiter pitches like that regularly the Rangers will be in good shape.
  • Gavin Collyer pitched the eighth and once again didn’t allow any runs. That’s nine games, and 7.1 innings, in Collyer’s major league career without a run being scored.
  • The bats, meanwhile, were not good, despite the Tigers rolling with a bullpen game.
  • The only run came off former Ranger Ricky Vanasco in the seventh, when an Ezequiel Duran double, a Josh Smith walk, a wild pitch, and a Kyle Higashioka ground out cut the lead to 3-1.
  • Duran’s double was the only extra base hit the Rangers were able to muster.
  • The team was 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. Both the hitlessness and only having five at bats with runners in scoring position are problems.
  • Josh Smith was 2 for 3 with a walk, at least. That’s the offensive highlight for the Rangers.
  • Jack Leiter topped out at 99.4 mph with his fastball, averaging 97.5 mph. Tyler Alexander touched 91.3 mph with his sinker. Gavin Collyer’s fastball maxed out at 97.9 mph.
  • Jake Burger had a 108.7 mph ground out and a 101.9 mph fly out. Kyle Higashioka had a 105.9 mph ground out. Corey Seager had a 103.9 mph single. Andrew McCutchen had a 103.2 mph single. Ezequiel Duran had a 103.2 mph ground out. Brandon Nimmo had a 101.7 mph single. Josh Smith had a 101.6 mph single.
  • On to New York to play the Yankees. Things will maybe be better there.
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Dodgers notes: Brusdar Graterol, Emmet Sheehan, Jackson Ferris

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 16: Brusdar Graterol #48 of the Los Angeles Dodgers stands on the field prior to a Spring Training game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Camelback Ranch on March 16, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Relief pitcher Brusdar Graterol started a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday night, and pitched a scoreless inning in his first game action in over 18 months. Graterol, who missed all of 2025 after right shoulder surgery and was slow-played this spring, will have a long rehab assignment before he joins the Dodgers, manager Dave Roberts told reporters in St. Louis on Saturday.

From Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register:

“He hasn’t pitched a whole lot in the last two, three years. So his buildup needs to be methodical,” Roberts said. “I’m looking forward to him getting going.

“Yeah, it seems like the last few years it’s been a rehab situation. So for him to get out of that mode and get to being a regular player, get the health (issues) behind him – we’re all looking forward to that.”

Emmet Sheehan last week gave one of his gloves to Sarah Langs of MLB.com and ESPN for her birthday Saturday, as an appreciation for her advocacy of others with ALS.

Sheehan spoke with Sonja Chen of MLB.com about the origin of the “K ALS” on the side of his glove, which dates back to his days at Boston College. It’s to honor Pete Frates, the former Boston College player before Sheehan’s time there who co-founded the ice bucket challenge to raise money and awareness for ALS. Frates died in 2019.

From Chen:

“He would come around the team, and the Frates family is just a really special family,” Sheehan said. “They have the Frates Foundation, which supports ALS research. It was a really cool cause, and I didn’t know much about it before Boston College, but I was grateful that I got to learn about it and keep it going.”

Links

  • I’ve referenced this article in a few weekend minor league reports, but last week Kiley McDaniel at ESPN updated his top 10 prospects for all 30 MLB teams. On the Dodgers list, Zyhir Hope moved up to second place and shortstop Emil Morales is now fourth in the system. Also from McDaniel: “Jackson Ferris and Adam Serwinowski, lefties who just missed this list, are next to be added to the 40-man after the season; Serwinowski’s stuff fits better in shorter stints.”
  • Among the items in the FanGraphs mailbag over the weekend was wondering how good might Shohei Ohtani be at basketball.
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Weekly Cupcakes: Newhook sends Habs to second round

MONTREAL, CANADA- APRIL 26: Alex Newhook #15 of the Montreal Canadiens screams during the warm-up of Game Four of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Photo by Arianne Bergeron/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images

Colorado Avalanche News

  • 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Wild vs. Avalanche Western 2nd Round preview. [NHL]
  • Who has the edge in Wild vs. Avalanche? Breaking down a titanic, conference-final worthy showdown. [The Athletic]
  • Notebook: Avalanche prepare for heavyweight Round 2 series vs. Wild. [Sportsnet]

News Around the League

  • Habs hang on in Game 7, eliminate Lightning on a goal from Alex Newhook, move on to face Buffalo Sabres. [CBC]
  • NHL Draft Lottery: Canucks are no strangers to sliding, even with a lucky charm. [The Province]
  • Malkin wants to keep playing in NHL, even if Penguins don’t re-sign him. [NHL]
  • Maple Leafs elect for high-risk, high-reward option in hiring franchise legend Mats Sundin. [The Leafs Nation]
  • Leon Draisaitl unloads: Edmonton Oilers have ‘taken big steps backward’. [Edmonton Journal]
  • Top 50 NHL UFAs of 2026: Bobrovsky isn’t in the playoffs, yet his value is rising. [Daily Faceoff]
  • Rantanen fined $5K for cross-checking Kaprizov. [The Score]
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Kansas City Royals news: No longer in last place!

May 3, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Kansas City Royals right fielder Jac Caglianone (14) high-fives teammates in the dugout after scoring a run against the Seattle Mariners during the sixth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

The Royals struck out 17 times on Saturday, yet managed to win the game, writes Josh Kirshenbaum, filling in for Anne Rogers.

“Runs were going to be tough to come by,” Massey said. “You might have to find some unorthodox ways to figure it out.”

Jaylon Thompson writes that Jac Caglianone’s big hit on Saturday is a sign he is heating up.

“I hadn’t faced Munoz before, but you know, watching videos and everything, I knew he had an electric heater,” Caglianone said. “So I told myself, just be on time for the heater. And if it’s there, just go.

“And luckily, first pitch, saw it pretty good and put a good swing on it. Props to Lane for busting it and getting around the bases and scoring that run. That was huge. So it was just a really cool moment to do that on the road.”

Maikel Garcia talks about battling back against the Mariners.

“You know, the game was close,” Garcia said. “(Hancock) did a great job. Game was on the line, like 2-1, so we can’t give up. We know we have the talent to come back and we did.”

They also showed resiliency in Friday’s win, doing the little things to advance runners.

“I think the bigger thing to talk about is Carter moving (Perez) over,” Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. “That’s a professional at-bat. It’s not going to show up in the box score and it’s not going to help his (Baseball) Savant page. It’s not going to help any of those things people love to talk about. It’s a good baseball play.”

Randy Johnson had his number retired with the Mariners with the Royals in town, so Kirshenbaum talked to Royals hitting coach Marcus Thames about facing the Big Unit.

Carter Jensen and Seth Lugo were named Royals April Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively.

Preston Farr reviews 2026 first-round pick Sean Gamble so far.

The swing isn’t there yet. Gamble gets his hips open early but ends up out of sync as he adjusts to the pitch, resulting in a weakly hit ground ball. His upper half drifts towards first base as he begins his swing. The margin of error becomes so slim here that Gamble isn’t going to get a hit unless he grounds it weakly through the hole or finds the barrel perfectly. He appears to be selling out early to get to some of that power.

Nolan Schanuel throws his glove to first to record an out.

Reds pitchers tie a MLB record by issuing seven consecutive walks.

The Braves lose outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. to a hamstring injury.

Angels pitcher Yusei Kikuchi is out with shoulder inflammation.

The Marlins will promote top catching prospect Joe Mack.

The Mets extend catcher Luis Torrens with a two-year, $11.5 million contract.

David Schoenfield at ESPN ranks his April All-Stars and disappointments.

There has been a resurgence in fans keeping score at the ballpark.

The Padres announce an agreement to sell the team to a group led by Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano.

A Japanese umpire accidentally hit by a bat has emergency surgery and has been in a coma for weeks.

Golden Tempo’s win makes Cherie DeVaux the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby.

Has the window closed for the Denver Nuggets?

Sugar doesn’t actually cause cavities.

Inside the final hours of Spirit Airlines operations.

A $150 million Saudi-backed movie starring Anthony Mackie may be one of the biggest flops ever.

Your song of the day is Foster the People with Call it What You Want.

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The winning streak that helped my dad

Apr 29, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Riley O'Brien (61) reacts after securing the final out against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

With one out in the top of the 7th, Rich Simonds woke up in his hospital bed to the Cardinals getting shut down by a series of Pirates relievers. He had missed the previous 6 innings, being too tired to stay awake, but the sounds of Cardinals baseball gradually seeped into his consciousness and his eyes opened with Ivan Herrera at the plate. Somewhat groggy, he was still half asleep when Herrera grounded out. But when Alec Burleson broke up the perfect game with an infield single, he was at least awake enough to start paying attention to the game. And he stayed awake to watch the Cardinals come back in the 9th inning and win the game.

Earlier that day, the doctors had deemed my dad able to breathe on his own for the first time since the previous Wednesday. And while that Monday was a good day, he was mostly still pretty miserable, because he couldn’t do a lot on his own, his voice was very raspy and sore from having a tube down his throat for five days, and he still had double pneumonia, the disease that caused him to need help breathing in the first place. Barely able to stay awake for most of that first day, he was improbably awake for the improbable comeback.

While he was unconscious, I had a running joke that I would tell my dad whenever I saw him, which is that the Cardinals were waiting for him to wake up. And then it became not a joke. I rushed to the hospital in the middle of my work day before he was intubated, and shortly after that, the Cardinals lost to the Marlins. Wednesday was a tough day, because he needed 100% oxygen and the doctor was not comforting when explaining the situation. It wasn’t her job to make me or my family feel comfortable, I was just hoping for more “This is nothing, he will be back.” And we didn’t get that. The seriousness of the situation settled in.

But Thursday morning, we got the update that he had an uneventful night and his oxygen percentage needed from the machine went down. And then every new day came with slightly better news. I got excited at things I did not understand, but was told was good news, like the pressure from the machine dropping from 10 to 8. It quickly became clear that he had a good chance to get off the tube by next week. Meanwhile, the Cardinals lost on Friday to the Mariners. And then Saturday. And I was in the ICU with him unconscious with my mom watching the Cardinals get swept by the Mariners. I again told him that he needed to wake up because the Cardinals were waiting for him.

Leaving the hospital that night, I was hopeful they would take out his breathing tube the next day or Tuesday, but I was surprised to wake up to a text message that they had already removed the tube. He was woken up before the tube was removed, and I was told he motioned for his tube to be taken out, but they were waiting for a reason I can’t remember, and he threw up a couple of middle fingers. He has no memory of this, but I knew my dad was back when I heard that.

He still didn’t feel very good on Tuesday. He was still making progress, but you don’t see it as progress when you’re living through it. I was unable to see him on Monday due to the tornado warning, but I went straight after work on Tuesday. I left before the Cardinal game started, but made plans to see the game with him the next day. He said it was probably good I was leaving, because he didn’t think he could stay awake for the game. Well, he did. He watched the Cardinals’ offense explode for 11 runs and beat the Pirates despite the best efforts of the Cardinals’ bullpen to blow it.

You see my dad, in case it wasn’t obvious, is an enormous Cardinals fan. It’s something I picked up from him and my mom, who both shared season tickets with my grandparents for years. When I went to college (and the prospect of two siblings not far behind), they were forced to drop it. Also, I believe it was because neither my brother nor sister are as big of Cardinals fans as I am and I think that was just too many games where if I’m not an option, it might be a struggle to find people to go to the game.

But we did start a tradition during that period of time, which continues to this day, which is that I go to Opening Day with my mom. My dad was a construction worker and couldn’t ever go because of work. My mom would take me out of school and we would go to Opening Day together. It stopped briefly when I went to college, but it continued as if he had never stopped after I graduated. My dad retired a few years after that, but graciously let the tradition continue between me and my mom. He even drives us to the game and then picks us up after.

Another reason developed why he couldn’t go to Opening Day, which is that he got an infection on his foot maybe five years ago that has never quite healed. It has constantly been on the verge of healing, and then something comes up, and it’s like he has to start from scratch. He is very rarely not been under orders from doctors to stay off his foot as much as possible. It has prevented us from taking baseball trips and from him going to a lot of games. He has attended Cardinals games – not as many as he’d like and none so far this year – but we would park as close as possible, walk directly to our seat, and then stay in our seat until we were ready to leave. You can see how this would be a problem on Opening Day.

Because of his foot, he was prescribed antibiotics. He’s used to those, and when he felt the side effects, it didn’t raise any alarm bells. He’s used to side effects. If there’s a bad side effect he can get, he’ll get it. His new nickname is “Worst Case Rich” which he has more than earned even before this recent development. It turns out this side effect was actually double pneumonia, which is an extremely rare side effect. He was lethargic, sick and had no appetite for a couple weeks before it became all but impossible not to go to the doctor’s. He went to the hospital on Monday, they exhausted other options, but he couldn’t keep his breathing rate above 90, and he was absolutely miserable. Intubation became the only option.

On Wednesday with my mom and sister, we all watched the Cardinals run up the score to 5-1 in in his tiny hospital room, and then once again, the bullpen tried their hardest to blow the game, culminating in the game-saving catch by Nathan Church that we all thought was going to be a homer. The next day, I get a call asking me if I’m watching the game. Unfortunately, I was at work. He told me JJ Wetherholt homered to lead off the game against Paul Skenes. After I hung up, he called me almost immediately to share that Jordan Walker just homered. He also shared excitedly that he was sitting down watching the game, and that he could sit for as long as he wanted. Trust me, this was big news.

By the time I saw him next, on Saturday night, we watched the game again and he was in a chair the entire game. He was animated and talkative – two things he was very much not on Wednesday. We talked baseball the entire time, interrupted at points by the helpful nurses at Mercy. Eventually my uncle joined us and we watched a relatively stress free game – until the end when the Cardinals almost made a bunch of plays before Riley O’Brien decided he better just strike the guy out to avoid another almost catch.

The magical streak came to an end on Sunday, but the streak did its job. We had a great day on Sunday with my entire family which included my nephew and his grandson. He was pretty down at the beginning of his recovery, looking at the long road ahead, but he had the Cardinals. The unknown, incomprehensible spirit that lives within us sometimes needs a little bit of a boost. The Cardinals’ winning streak provided that.

I will never have any way of proving it, but I do believe the Cardinals winning streak did a lot for my dad. At the beginning, I kind of suspect he needed the Cardinals to win in a way, and winning has a way of instantly improving any fan’s mood. Mood can be very important for recovery and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my dad seemed to improve by leaps and bounds each day and seems to be himself, now to ready to face the rehab process. There’s even hope for his foot which as it turns out, the one positive of being stuck in a hospital bed for a week, is that you are off your foot. Very strange bright side, but a bright side nonetheless.

The winning streak did its job. Now he’s like the rest of us, desperately wanting the Cardinals to win and being invested in every pitch, but if they lose, oh well there’s another day tomorrow.

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MLB News Outside The Confines: Walks will haunt

Good morning to fans of a first-place team.

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SF Giants Video: Let’s re-visit Matt Cain’s perfect game

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JUNE 13: Matt Cain #18 of the San Francisco Giants is congratulated by teammates after pitching a perfect game against the Houston Astros at AT&T Park on June 13, 2012 in San Francisco, California. The Giants defeated the Astros 10-0. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Good morning, baseball fans!

We are in the middle of a new feature for May that I’m calling the “12 Days of Mays-mas” because I won’t be around for this week, and I want to leave you guys with some fun things to watch while I’m gone.

For the fourth day of Mays-mas, I thought we could take another look at Matt Cain’s perfect game!

I vividly remember this game, but not because I was watching it. I was still living in the bay at the time, and I remember getting about a half dozen text messages telling me to get to a television.

It was my brother’s birthday, and I remember very clearly him telling me that he refused to turn the game on because he felt he had the worst luck in the world and would jinx it. For his sacrifice, Matt Cain gave him the best birthday present a baseball player could give someone that would be forever associated with his day.

So grab your coffee, settle in, and enjoy!

What time do the Giants play today?

The San Francisco Giants return to Oracle Park tonight to begin a three-game series against the San Diego Padres at 6:45 p.m. PT.