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Fantasy Baseball Closer Report: Luke Weaver sidelined, Devin Williams steps back in as Yankees closer

In this week's Closer Report, Devin Williams is getting another ninth-inning audition with the Yankees as Luke Weaver heads to the injured list with a left hamstring strain. And in Chicago, Daniel Palencia is making the most of his opportunity as the Cubs' closer.

Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings

Tier 1: At the Top

Josh Hader - Houston Astros

Hader locked down two more saves this week, striking out two batters in a clean frame each time out. The 31-year-old left-hander sits alone at the top of the rankings with a 1.38 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, and a 39/6 K/BB ratio across 26 innings while going a perfect 16-for-16 in save chances.

Tier 2: The Elite

Andrés Muñoz - Seattle Mariners
Robert Suarez - San Diego Padres
Edwin Díaz - New York Mets
Jhoan Duran - Minnesota Twins
Emmanuel Clase - Cleveland Guardians
Mason Miller - Athletics

Muñoz surrendered his first runs of the season, giving up three runs to blow the save chance on Friday against the Twins. He followed with another blown save on Sunday, giving up one run on a walk and a hit. Still, he struck out two batters each time out and should get back on track.

Suarez had a big week on the mound, picking up two saves and a win over four games. With the night off on Tuesday, Jeremiah Estrada stepped in to pick up his second save in extras against the Giants. Suarez is up to a league-leading 19 saves with a 1.98 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, and a 29/8 K/BB ratio across 27 1/3 innings.

Díaz added two saves against the Rockies, striking out the side in both appearances. Then, pitching for the third time in four days, he gave up a run on two hits to blow a save against the Dodgers on Monday.

Duran made two clean appearances against the Mariners, picking up a win on Friday before pitching in a non-save situation Saturday. The 27-year-old right-hander now has a 0.95 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and a 34/11 K/BB ratio across 28 1/3 innings.

Clase continues to chip away at his ratios, tossing two more scoreless innings this week for a pair of saves. The 27-year-old right-hander is up to 13 saves on the season with a 3.96 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and a 26/5 K/BB ratio across 25 innings.

Miller made just one appearance this week, striking out one batter in a clean inning against the Blue Jays. He has just three saves since the start of May as the Athletics have completely fallen apart, winning just seven games since May 1.

Tier 3: The Solid Options

Ryan Helsley - St. Louis Cardinals
Tanner Scott - Los Angeles Dodgers
Trevor Megill - Milwaukee Brewers
Aroldis Chapman - Boston Red Sox
Pete Fairbanks - Tampa Bay Rays
Camilo Doval - San Francisco Giants
Will Vest/Tommy Kahnle - Detroit Tigers
Jeff Hoffman - Toronto Blue Jays
Devin Williams - New York Yankees
Justin Martinez - Arizona Diamondbacks
Félix Bautista - Baltimore Orioles
Daniel Palencia - Chicago Cubs
Kyle Finnegan - Washington Nationals
Emilio Pagan - Cincinnati Reds
Carlos Estévez - Kansas City Royals

Helsley struck out two batters in a perfect inning for a save in his lone appearance this week, picking up his 13th of the season to go with a 3.00 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and a 23/11 K/BB ratio across 21 innings. Meanwhile, Scott took a loss on Monday, giving up two runs in the tenth inning against the Mets. He then came back with a scoreless frame on Tuesday, striking out two and falling in line for a win.

Megill locked down back-to-back saves in a pair of scoreless outings against the Phillies and Reds. The 31-year-old right-hander has converted 12 saves with a 2.21 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and a 22/11 K/BB ratio across 20 1/3 innings. A couple of three-walk outings have inflated his walk rate, but Megill's skills are right in line with where he was last year when he posted a 2.72 ERA with 21 saves.

Chapman pitched three times in five days, striking out four batters over three scoreless innings while picking up one save. He's up to nine with a 1.80 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and a 33/9 K/BB ratio across 25 innings. In Tampa, Fairbanks tossed a clean inning against the Rangers in a non-save situation on Tuesday and converted his 11th save on Wednesday.

Doval had made 21 consecutive appearances without allowing a run going into Tuesday's contest against the Padres. He broke that streak, giving up two runs to blow the save chance. He had locked down two saves earlier in the week after being named the team's closer going forward. Doval should continue to operate as the primary ninth-inning reliever in San Francisco. With Doval getting the night off Wednesday, Ryan Walker stepped in for the save chance but allowed two runners on with one out before Randy Rodríguez cleaned up the inning for his first career save.

Vest converted two save chances for the Tigers in the last week. He gave up a run against the Royals on Friday before working a clean inning for his ninth save on Sunday. Vest then pitched the seventh and eighth on Wednesday against the White Sox, falling in line for a win before Kahnle recorded his eighth save.

Hoffman gave up a two-run homer against the Athletics on Saturday but held on for his 13th save before striking out two in a clean inning during a non-save situation on Sunday.

In New York, Luke Weaver was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left hamstring strain he suffered while warming up to enter a game on June 1. He's expected to miss 4-6 weeks. Devin Williams is set to step back into the closer role for the Yankees. He's struggled in save situations this year and gave up a run against the Guardians on Tuesday before recording the save.

Martinez struck out two in a perfect inning against the Nationals on Sunday for a save. He then worked a five-out save against the Braves on Wednesday, giving up one run on four walks while striking out four batters. Meanwhile, Bautista recorded saves on back-to-back days against the White Sox, then tossed a clean frame in a non-save situation against the Orioles on Tuesday.

Palencia has been impressive in his run as the Cubs' closer. He added another save this week with a clean outing against the Reds on Saturday. The 25-year-old right-hander may not give up the role even when Porter Hodge returns from the injured list. He's posted a 1.74 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, and a 22/7 K/BB ratio across 20 2/3 innings.

Finnegan gave up one run before holding on for a save on Friday against the Diamondbacks, then converted his 17th of the season Wednesday against the Cubs. Meanwhile, Pagán recorded the final two outs against the Cubs on Friday, then pitched a scoreless inning against the Brewers on Tuesday for his 15th save.

Estévez worked a pair of scoreless innings to record two more saves. He's up to 17 with a 1.71 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and a 25/11 K/BB ratio across 26 1/3 innings. The 32-year-old right-hander has allowed just one run over his last 15 1/3 innings.

Tier 4: Here for the Saves

Raisel Iglesias - Atlanta Braves
David Bednar/Dennis Santana - Pittsburgh Pirates
Kenley Jansen - Los Angeles Angels
Jordan Romano - Philadelphia Phillies
Robert Garcia - Texas Rangers

Iglesias pitched in two non-save situations. He allowed a run against the Phillies last Thursday before pitching a clean inning against the Red Sox on Sunday. The 35-year-old right-hander has struggled to a 5.79 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and a 25/5 K/BB ratio across 23 1/3 innings.

Bednar pitched two clean innings in non-save situations against the Padres, then converted his seventh save with two strikeouts in a scoreless frame against the Astros on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Jansen gave up a run in a non-save situation against the Guardians on Friday, then pitched back-to-back days against the Red Sox for a save and a win.

In Philadelphia, Romano worked around three walks and a hit last Thursday before holding on for the save against the Braves. He then gave up one run in a non-save situation against the Brewers on Sunday and took the loss with a run allowed against the Blue Jays on Wednesday. For the Rangers, Garcia continued to be the presumptive closer despite no save chances this week.

Tier 5: Bottom of the Barrel

Calvin Faucher/Ronny Henriquez - Miami Marlins
Zach Agnos - Colorado Rockies
Jordan Leasure/Steven Wilson - Chicago White Sox

Relievers On The Rise/Stash Candidates

Bryan Baker has been excellent for the Orioles all season, posting a 2.67 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and an outstanding 35/6 K/BB ratio across 27 innings. The 30-year-old right-hander is throwing harder than he ever has and generating a career-high 14% swinging strike rate. Baker has two holds and a save in the last week as the Orioles start to string together some wins. He's likely elevated himself to the next-in-line for saves behind Félix Bautista.

While Devin Williams is in line to work most save chances for the Yankees in Luke Weaver's absence, he hasn't exactly seen the most success in that role this season. It might be a good idea to keep an eye on Mark Leiter Jr. and Fernando Cruz. Both have recorded a pair of saves this season while generating strong strikeout rates. Cruz was activated from the 15-day injured list on Tuesday after missing a couple of weeks with a shoulder issue.

If the Nationals become sellers at some time this summer, we may finally see the team move on from Kyle Finnegan. With Jorge López out of the picture, after he was released, the door would be wide open for someone to step in to close. Cole Henry could be a name to watch over the next two months. The 25-year-old right-hander has posted a 2.08 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and a 22/10 K/BB ratio across 21 2/3 innings.

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After back-to-back rough showings, Mets’ Griffin Canning delivers stellar outing against Dodgers

Griffin Canning hit a bit of a rough patch his last two times out. 

The right-hander was knocked around by the Dodgers in a rain-shortened outing and then suffered his third loss of the season after issuing four walks and allowing five runs to the lowly Chicago White Sox. 

But facing Los Angeles again on Wednesday at Chavez Ravine, Canning delivered perhaps his most impressive outing of the season. 

The Mets handed him an early three-run lead and he cruised from there -- holding the high-powered Dodgers lineup to just a walk and two singles while striking out four over the game’s first four innings. 

Canning did find himself in some danger in the fifth, as Dalton Rushing lined a one-out single, but he bounced back nicely to punch out Kiké Hernández and his former teammate Shohei Ohtani to end the inning. 

He returned for the sixth and finished his night with an easy 1-2-3 frame -- closing his final line with just one walk and three hits allowed while striking out six.

“He was really, really good,” Carlos Mendoza said. “The way he used all of his pitches, I thought he got ahead and executed when he needed to. The fastball was at 97 at one point, he had life on it -- the slider was sharp, the changeup had depth. Pretty impressive for him to go out and do what he did against that lineup.”

These are exactly the type of outings the Mets were hoping they’d receive from the former first-round pick when they took a chance on him on a one-year pact this offseason. 

Canning has already won as many games as he did all of last season with the Angels and Braves, and he’s down to an extremely impressive 2.90 ERA on the year -- good enough for the ninth-lowest in the National League.

He’s also pieced together three quality starts and this is the seventh time he’s allowed one or fewer earned runs. 

“He’s been awesome for us,” Mendoza said. “The last two outings with the rain against the Dodgers at home and then the rough one against the White Sox, but overall, we feel really good every time he takes the ball.

“You have to give him credit -- he’s been open to the new ideas and the adjustments, whether it’s gripping the baseball and a couple of other things, but it comes down to him going out there and executing the plan.”

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‘A great privilege’: Mal Meninga locked in as Perth Bears’ inaugural NRL coach

  • Former Origin coach beats Sam Burgess and Brad Arthur to role

  • Kangaroos coach steps down from national team job

The Perth Bears hope the presence of Mal Meninga will give the NRL’s 18th team immediate cut-through in an AFL-dominated city after unveiling the Immortal as the head coach of the start-up franchise.

At a press conference in Sydney on Friday, Meninga was locked in as the Bears’ inaugural coach on a three-year deal. It is his first foray into club coaching in more than 25 years.

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Pitching is the culprit again as Dodgers lose to Mets

LOS ANGELES, CA -JUNE 4, 2025: New York Mets first base Pete Alonso (20) flip this bat into the air after hitting a three-run homer off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ryan Loutos (65) in the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium on June 4, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Pete Alonso flips his bat after hitting his second homer of the game in the eighth inning. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The Dodgers made history when they opened the season with eight straight wins, something no reigning World Series champion had ever done. But they’ve been just a shade above mediocre since then.

“I wouldn't say [I’m] worried. It’s kind of where we're at right now,” manager Dave Roberts said.

“It's been hard to gain traction.”

If anything, the Dodgers have been spinning their wheels. Because with Wednesday’s 6-1 loss to the New York Mets, the team’s third loss in four games, the Dodgers fell to .500 over the last month and their lead in the National League West remained at just a game over the San Diego Padres heading into Thursday’s get-away day matinee with the Mets.

Read more:Hernández: Can Clayton Kershaw contribute to Dodgers' title chase? 'I'm gonna bet on him'

Since their historic start, the Dodgers have had just three winning streaks of more than two games, but three losing streaks of more than two games. For every three steps forward, the team has taken 2 ½ steps back.

And while the Dodgers entered Thursday with the fourth-best record in the league, over the last two months they have a lower winning percentage than the Milwaukee Brewers, the third-best team in the Central Division. The reason why, Roberts said, is pitching.

Or rather the lack of pitching.

The staff ERA in May was 4.39; only four teams in the National League were worse. The ERA is just a tick lower four games into June.

“Teams win consistently over stretches — as far as winning streaks — by preventing runs,” said Roberts, whose team had three shutouts in the first 23 games but hasn’t had one since. “It's hard to do that without it. So for us, it's just getting a quality start, then have good innings out of the pen.

Mookie Betts fields a grounder in the first inning.
Mookie Betts fields a grounder in the first inning. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

“If you look at the last few weeks, we just haven't been able to do that. And that's kind of the reason we've played .500 baseball the last few weeks.”

Take Wednesday as an example. Starter Tony Gonsolin lasted just five innings, giving up three runs, all in the first inning. Two came on a Pete Alonso homer. But at least Gonsolin, who was making his seventh start since returning from Tommy John surgery, was able to take the mound. The Dodgers have 15 other pitchers on the injured list.

“Just threw a bad one to Pete, and he didn't miss it,” said Gonsolin (3-2) of the home run, Alonso’s 13th of the season and the first of two on the night. “That was my least favorite [pitch] of the outing, for sure.”

The bullpen didn’t fare much better. After a pair of hitless innings from Anthony Banda and Lou Trivino, Ryan Loutos hit the first batter he faced in the eighth, walked the next, then gave up a three-run homer to Alonso, who finished with a season-high five RBIs.

The Dodgers’ only run came on Andy Pages’ solo homer, his 12th of the season, with one out in the ninth. The hit was Pages’ third of the night — half his team’s total. He also had a second-inning infield single and a seventh-inning double, extending his hitting streak to a season-high nine games and raising his average to .290.

For the Mets, starter Griffin Canning (6-2) cruised through his six innings, facing just four batters over the minimum. The former Angel gave up three hits, walked one and struck out seven in his best outing of the season, winning for the first time in nearly a month.

Read more:Dodgers star Freddie Freeman's family appreciated kind gesture from slain Baldwin Park officer

And that left the Dodgers struck in a rut, searching for enough traction to get themselves out.

“We know we're not playing the way we started,” outfielder Michael Conforto said. “We've been a little bit banged up. A lot of the pitchers are banged up. And even a lot of our our position players are working through some stuff. So there's a bit of that.

“And then there's just the lack of coming through in big spots, myself included in that. But obviously we understand who we are and what we can do when we're clicking on all cylinders.”

Etc.

Relievers Kirby Yates (hamstring) and Michael Kopech (shoulder) both threw short simulated games Wednesday and Roberts said both are close to being activated. Kopech gave up 11 runs in 6.1 innings while on a rehab assignment in Oklahoma City. Kopech’s last big-league appearance came in the fifth and deciding game of last fall’s World Series.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Pete Alonso crushes two homers, Griffin Canning twirls six strong innings in Mets' 6-1 win over Dodgers

The Mets locked up the season series with a 6-1 win over the Dodgers on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

Here are some takeaways...

- As was the case in the first two games of this series, the Mets were able to jump out to a first-inning advantage. After LA booted a potential double-play ball, the first run of the game came in on an RBI groundout, then Pete Alonso crushed an opposite-field two-run shot to make it 3-0.

The Mets' offense generated plenty of traffic against Tony Gonsolin and the Dodgers bullpen over the next few innings, but they weren't able to come up with the big hit needed until Alonso struck again in the eighth -- crushing a monstrous 447-foot three-run homer to deep right field.

The big man is now tied with Seiya Suzuki for the NL lead with 53 RBI on the season. He's also tied with Darryl Strawberry for the most multi-homer games in franchise history (22) and is just two long balls behind David Wright for the second-most in franchise history (241).

- On the mound, Griffin Canning delivered a much-needed bounce-back outing. The right-hander was magnificent as he limited the high-powered Dodgers lineup to just three hits and a walk while striking out seven across six scoreless innings of work.

Canning's best frame of the night was the bottom of the fifth inning, when he worked around a one-out Dalton Rushing single by punching out both Kiké Hernández and Shohei Ohtani -- the latter of which was on a nasty painted 3-2 changeup.

After his best showing of the season, the California-native is now down to an impressive 2.90 ERA.

- José Castillo had to work around a bit of a scare before the Mets tacked on their insurance in the eighth. The left-hander allowed a single and a hit-by-pitch, but bounced back to strike out the next two batters with the tying run at the plate and the top of the order looming.

Castillo returned for an easy bottom of the eighth, giving him 6.0 scoreless innings since joining the Mets.

- Los Angeles was able to break up the shutout with a solo shot off the bat of Andy Pages in the bottom of the ninth. It was the first home run Ryne Stanek allowed this season -- but it was no harm, no foul, as he quickly put the finishing touches on this one to secure the win and clinch the season series.

- Juan Soto saw his five-game hitting and extra-base streak come to an end, but the star outfielder continues showing signs that he's rounding back into form -- breaking out the Soto Shuffle at times as he drew three walks across four plate appearances.

- Brandon Nimmo enjoyed another strong showing back in the two-spot against the righty -- picking up another hit and scoring two runs. He's now reached base in eight of his last nine appearances and has scored six runs over that span.

- Jeff McNeil pushed his hitting streak to six with a one-out single in the second.

- Ronny Mauricio is still looking for his first big-league knock this season. The 24-year-old was back in the lineup batting seventh and playing third base, but he was held hitless and struck out twice across four at-bats.

Game MVP: Pete Alonso

The big man came into the night with a ton of success in his career at Dodger Stadium, and he led the way -- driving in five of the team's six runs.

Highlights

What's next

The Mets will look to secure the series win in the finale on Thursday afternoon at 4:10 p.m.

David Peterson (4-2, 2.69 ERA) takes the mound looking for his third consecutive victory against RHP Landon Knack (3-2, 4.58 ERA).

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Panthers can't hold 3-1 lead, drop Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final in overtime

The Florida Panthers are going to have to come back if they want to win their second straight Stanley Cup.

Florida blew a 3-1 second period lead in Game 1 against the Edmonton Oilers, falling in overtime 4-3.

It was just 66 seconds into the game that Edmonton sent their already rabid fans into a frenzy.

Leon Draisaitl jumped on a rebound of a Kasperi Kapinen shot and fired the puck into a yawning cage, giving the Oilers an early 1-0 lead.

Midway through the period, Carter Verhaeghe picked up a loose puck toward the top of the Edmonton zone and fired a shot that deflected off Sam Bennett in front and past Stuart Skinner to tie the game at one.

The Oilers challenged the play for goalie interference, but officials ruled that Bennett, who appears to make contact with Skinner after falling to the ice, was tripped into the goaltender by defenseman Brett Kulak.

Officials confirmed the play was legal, and Florida was given a power play for the failed challenge by Edmonton.

The Cats took advantage of the man advantage as Nate Schmidt sent a perfect cross-ice pass to Brad Marchand at the side of the net. His shot sailed past a sprawling Skinner to give Florida their first lead of the series.

It didn’t take long during the second period for the Panthers to extend their lead.

Streaking through the neutral zone, Schmidt sent Bennett in along on Skinner, beating him over the blocker to put the Panthers up 3-1.

Edmonton responded quickly though, as Viktor Arvidsson fired a slapshot past a screened Sergei Bobrovsky just 1:17 later to close the gap back to one and get the fans energized again.

The Oilers tied the game 6:33 into the third period after Florida had been finding success keeping Edmonton from generating much of anything offensively.

From behind the net, McDavid found Mattias Ekholm creeping down from the point, and his shot went over a screened Bobrovsky’s glove to knot the game at three.

That’s how the score would remain through the rest of the third period, sending Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final to overtime.

Bobrovsky came up with big saves during overtime on Kasperi Kapanen, Trent Frederick and Evan Bouchard, but a power play goal by Draisaitl late in the OT session gave Edmonton the victory.

Tomas Nosek sent the puck over the glass with under two minutes to go, giving the Oilers' power play a chance, and then Florida, which had gone a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, suddenly became extremely aggressive while down a man. 

Alas, it's just one game, and as we all leaned last season, you've got to win four before you win anything. 

On to Game 2.

QUICK THOUGHTS

Bennett has six goals and nine points over his past six games.

Similarly, Matthew Tkachuk has eight points in six games. He picked up an assist on Bennett’s goal first.

Since returning from an injury for Game 7 against Toronto, Evan Rodrigues has nine points in the seven games since.

Draisaitl didn’t score a single goal during last season’s seven-game Final, but this year it barely took him a minute to light the lamp, and now he’s got two.

Schmidt logged his third multi-point outing of the playoffs with a pair of primary assists.

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Photo caption: Jun 4, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers right wing Vasily Podkolzin (92) reacts after a goal against Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during the second period in game one of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. (Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images)

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Stanley Cup Final: Leon Draisaitl Is The Edmonton Oilers' Overtime Hero

EDMONTON – It was a cruel twist of fate for the Florida Panthers but a beautiful result for the Edmonton Oilers as Leon Draisaitl scored the overtime-winner on the power play off a feed from Connor McDavid.

The Panthers were attempting to kill a puck-over-the-glass penalty when Draisaitl scored with 31 seconds remaining to give his Oilers first blood in the Stanley Cup final.

"I'm the beneficiary, but the work was done before that," Draisaitl said post-game. "(Corey Perry) with a great play to (McDavid) then an amazing pass, and I'm the beneficiary. There were lots of great plays on that play. It made it 'easy' for me to put that home."

The game got off to a great start for the Oilers, as Draisaitl pounced on a long Sergei Bobrovsky rebound a little more than a minute into the contest to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead.

McDavid nearly made it 2-0 when he hit the post on a shorthanded rush, but special teams would turn the tide soon after.

The Panthers tied up the game midway through the first on a screen shot from Carter Verhaeghe that went off Sam Bennett in front of the net. The Oilers challenged the play for goalie interference but were rebuffed as officials ruled that Brett Kulak had pushed Bennett.

Not only did Florida have the game knotted up, but the Panthers were also given a power play for Edmonton's failed challenge. The Cats made the Oilers pay on that man advantage as Brad Marchand popped in an easy one after he was left alone by the side of the net.

Three consecutive power plays – two for Edmonton, one for Florida – dominated later in almost comical fashion as Corey Perry took a tripping call right off the faceoff for Anton Lundell's previous interference call. Not long after, Aaron Ekblad put Florida down again when he held Draisaitl. 

Leon Draisaitl (Perry Nelson-Imagn Images)

Florida got off to the quick start in the second as the Oilers lost Bennett on the rush, leaving him open for a beautiful feed from Nate Schmidt two minutes into the frame. But Edmonton bounced back soon after when Viktor Arvidsson powered a slap shot past Bobrovsky.

After that, however, both goaltenders stood tall in the middle period. Bobrovsky thwarted excellent chances by Jake Walman, Trent Frederic and Evan Bouchard, while Stuart Skinner kept things close for the Oilers with great consecutive stops on Aleksander Barkov and Schmidt.

"He gave us a chance to win, and that's what you ask of your goalie," McDavid said of Skinner. "He made some big saves in the second and in overtime."

The Oilers found life in the third, however, when McDavid danced toward the net with the puck only to dish it off to Mattias Ekholm, who buried a wrister to even up the score. 

Edmonton carried the play for much of the frame outshooting Florida 14-2, though the contest remained tied. Regulation solved nothing, so the Cup final kicked off with overtime, where one of the best chances came on a Kasperi Kapanen rush. The Oilers right winger split the 'D' and rang one off the post, nearly sending the building into hysterics.

With less than two minutes to go, Tomas Nosek took a puck-over-the-glass penalty and ultimately, the Oilers made the Cats pay, taking a 1-0 series lead.

Draisaitl and McDavid each had two points tonight.

"Ever since I got here, they don't take many nights off, that's for sure," Brett Kulak said of Draisaitl and McDavid. "They're usually our top guys every single night, and the bigger the stage, the better they get."

The Hockey News Playoff Frenzy Live: Join The Chat As Oilers Host Panthers In Game 1 Of Cup FinalThe Hockey News Playoff Frenzy Live: Join The Chat As Oilers Host Panthers In Game 1 Of Cup FinalWelcome to The Hockey News Playoff Frenzy Live, streaming during the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs.

Game 2 goes down on Friday in Edmonton at 8 p.m. ET.

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Mets prospect Drew Gilbert hits a triple, Blade Tidwell picks up win for Triple-A Syracuse

The Syracuse Mets were in action on Wednesday night and two prospects made their mark in the eventual 7-6 win over Buffalo.

Drew Gilbert was front and center in Syracuse's comeback. With the Mets down 2-0 in the third, Gilbert came up with one out and runners on second and third. The left-handed slugger fell behind in the count 0-2 before he fouled off four straight pitches.

He eventually worked the count to 2-2 before he lined a curveball down the right field line just out of reach of the right fielder for a two-run triple. It was the 12th pitch of the at-bat and Gilbert's 20th and 21st RBI of the minor league season between Low-A and Triple-A.

Gilbert finished 1-for-2 with two walks and that triple extended his hitting streak to five games.

In 39 games in Triple-A, Gilbert is slashing .214/.343/.321 with two home runs and 15 RBI.

On the mound, Blade Tidwell made his 11th start for Syracuse this season and was effective. The right-hander threw 89 pitches (51 strikes) across six innings, allowing three runs on six hits (two home runs) and four walks while striking out three batters.

Tidwell improved his record to 4-2 on the season but his ERA increased from 3.97 to 4.02 on the year.

The 23-year-old has continued to be a quality pitcher in Syracuse, pitching to a 1.23 WHIP to go along with the 4.02 ERA while striking out 64 batters across 53.2 innings pitched.

On a not-so-positive note, reliever Dedniel Nunez was hit hard on Wednesday. With Syracuse up 7-3 in the ninth, Nunez allowed a three-run shot before finishing the game. In his one inning of work, Nunez allowed three runs on three hits and a walk. It's Nunez's worst appearance since being optioned back to Triple-A in mid-May. In six appearances, he's allowed four runs, three coming on Wednesday.

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Yankees Notes: Jasson Dominguez 'should be good to go,' Fernando Cruz feels 'amazing' after return from IL

After leaving Sunday's game with a thumb injury against the Dodgers, Yankees outfielder Jasson Dominguez has missed the team's last two games, including Wednesday night's loss against the Cleveland Guardians.

Manager Aaron Boone said before the game that Dominguez was feeling better and was available to pinch-run in Tuesday's game, but the team wanted the young outfielder to swing a bat in the cages on Wednesday without issue before he could return to the lineup. After the game, Boone was asked about Dominguez and the Yankees skipper was encouraged, saying everything went well in the cages.

"He should be good to go," Boone said.

Dominguez is slashing .247/.346/.420 with a .765 OPS this season with six home runs and 25 RBI in 49 games. The young outfielder is not an everyday player for Boone yet and is currently part of a four-man outfield that includes Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger.

Fernando Cruz first appearance off IL

Cruz made his triumphant return to the Yankees bullpen when he was activated on Tuesday, but didn't have his first appearance back off the IL until Wednesday, where he pitched a solid inning.

He struck out three batters but made one mistake pitch to Manzardo, who deposited his fastball over the right-center field wall.

"I thought Cruz was really good," Boone said after the game. "Obviously gave up the homer, Manzardo got him and ambushed him a little bit. Thought stuff was really good. Thought the fastball was good and tallied up three more of the ugliest swings on the forkball.

"Good to get him back in there. His stuff resembled who he is. He was pretty sharp. Manzardo just got him on a good swing on a fastball. Good to see him back out there. Reasonable pitch count, hopefully on his way again."

"I feel amazing," Cruz said of how he felt after the game. "Feel like everything was there. Velocity was there, stuff was there. Splitter feel amazing. Everything felt amazing out of my hand. It's a good time to give the team what it need. I'm ready, I feel good."

Cruz has become one of Boone's best relievers this season. After Wednesday's appearance, the 35-year-old has pitched to a 2.92 ERA and 1.01 WHIP but with 38 strikeouts in 24.2 innings.

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Timetable for Giancarlo Stanton’s return to Yankees becoming clearer

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was not ready on Wednesday to announce the next steps for Giancarlo Stanton’s return from the injured list. But the slugger’s timetable is gradually becoming clearer.

Word around the Yanks is that Stanton could remain in Tampa over the weekend, then begin a rehab assignment as soon as early next week. If that goes off as planned, it’s reasonable to speculate that Stanton would make his season debut in or around mid-June.

Stanton, last seen propelling the Yanks to an American League pennant last fall, has yet to play in 2025 due to tendinitis in both elbows.

He has lately been working out and getting live at-bats at the team’s complex in Florida.

"Today was just a workout day,” Boone said on Wednesday afternoon. “I think he was doing baseball activities [but not live at-bats] today. He's probably headed up here, but I don't know the next step if it's a rehab assignment or what. Hopefully, we'll have that in the next 24 hours."

Asked if Stanton could forgo a rehab assignment, as he has in the past, Boone said, "I don't want to speak too soon. We'll see."

The prediction here is that Stanton will indeed go on a brief rehab.

He is 71 home runs away from 500 in his career, which would seal his Hall of Fame case.

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Yankees bats go limp in 4-0 loss to Guardians

Clarke Schmidt allowed three runs in the top half of the first inning, and Yankees batters could only muster five hits in response in a 4-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday night in The Bronx. 

New York was shut out for just the second time this season as they left six runners on base and went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. The Yankees struck out 10 times and fell to 37-22 on the year, 19-9 at home.

"We just didn't mount much offensively tonight," manager Aaron Boone said after the game. "I thought we got pitched pretty tough; we just didn't have a great night. It happens in the 162."

Here are the takeaways...

- Schmidt issued a walk to Steven Kwan to start the top of the first and then served up a 394-foot home run on the first pitch to Angel Martínez, as the cutter hung right over the heart of the plate. José Ramírez took a cutter at the top of the zone for a double to right and came around to score on a two-out Daniel Schneemann double to right as he tagged the knuckle-curve. The right-hander's 26th pitch of the inning ended the frame, blowing a fastball past Gabriel Arias, Cleveland’s lone right-handed batter in the starting lineup.

After the first, Schmidt settled down and retired 12 of the next 14 batters, allowing just a pair of two-out singles while tallying six strikeouts. "He stayed true to his stuff," Boone said, adding that mixing in his curveball and fastball allowed him to "settle in" against the lefty-heavy lineup.

Cleveland put two on with one out in the sixth on a single and a checked-swing infield hit, leading to Matt Blake’s second mound visit of the night. The pitching coach said the right words as Schmidt got Arias swinging for the third time of the night. Boone summoned lefty Brent Headrick to get the final out to strand a pair.

Schmidt’s final line: 5.2 innings, three runs, seven hits, one walk, eight strikeouts on 91 pitches (64 strikes) to see his ERA rise to 4.04 on the year.

- Ben Rice, who lined out in the first when he smashed a ball (102.9 mph off the bat) to the opposite way, had better luck in the third inning, rocketing a single to right (108.8 mph) to give Aaron Judge a two-out chance with two runners on base. But Cleveland starter Luis Ortiz got Judge looking at a breaking pitch right over the plate to end the frame.

The Guardians' righty gave Yanks batters tons of trouble through the first five frames, tallying seven strikeouts with two hits (both singles) and two walks. Ortiz had 13 whiffs on 40 swings with 14 called strikes, and his slider was particularly good.

"He kinda kept us at bay and we really didn't sting the ball much off him at all," Boone said of Ortiz's start. "Pretty slow night for us offensively."

Judge, who singled his first time up, got his second hit of the night with two outs in the sixth, which ended Ortiz’s night. But lefty Tim Herrin stranded the inherited runner. 

- Against Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth, Rice grabbed an infield hit to second, but Judge went down swinging, before Cody Bellinger sliced a ground-rule double on a ball that just stayed fair down the left-field line. But in just their second and third at-bats with a runner in scoring position on the night (and first since the third inning), Clase got two strikeouts to close the door.

Rice finished the day 2-for-4, grounding into a rare 5-3 double play thanks to a Cleveland shift on a tapper toward the middle. Judge also went 2-for-4 with two strikeouts as his average rose to .389 on the year. Bellinger finished with one hit in four at-bats as he is in a 5-for-30 funk, but did end a streak of eight games without an extra-base hit.

- Anthony Volpe grounded out three times, but accounted for five outs as he bounced into 5-4-3 and 4-6-3 twin killings to finish 0-for-3. He entered the night hitting into just two double-plays in his first 58 games of the campaign.

- Paul Goldschmidt was 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.

- Jazz Chisholm Jr., in his second game back from the IL, struck out swinging in each of his first two at-bats. He finished 0-for-3, reaching on an error in the seventh.

- Austin Wells was hitless in three at-bats with a strikeout.

- DJ LeMahieu finished 0-for-3 with a strikeout looking.

- Trent Grisham went 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout

- Out of the bullpen: Headrick allowed a hit but only faced four batters thanks to a double-play ball in 1.2 innings.

Fernando Cruz, making his first appearance since May 17 after an IL stint, struck out the first two batters swinging at his devastating splitter to start the eighth, but left a 1-0 fastball up over the plate to Kyle Manzardo, who clobbered it 402 feet into the Yankee bullpen. Schneemann followed with a double to the right-field corner, but Cruz got Arias swinging at a splitter in the dirt to strand the runner.

A couple singles off Tim Hill put two on and one out in the ninth, but the lefty got a strikeout and a foul popout. Yankees pitchers surrendered 12 hits and a walk, but stranded eight runners by holding the visitors to 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

What's next

The three-game series concludes on Thursday night with a 7:05 first pitch.

Left-hander Max Fried (1.92 ERA, 0.973 WHIP in 75 innings) gets the ball for the home team. Righty Slade Cecconi (5.28 ERA, 1.435 WHIP in 15.1 innings) gets the ball for the visitors.

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Guard Ryan Cornish transfers to Southern California from Dartmouth

Guard Ryan Cornish has transferred to Southern California from Dartmouth, where he played four seasons. Cornish started 23 of 27 games for the Big Green as a senior, averaging 17.1 points and 4.9 rebounds to earn All-Ivy League first-team honors. “Ryan is a combo guard that can give us versatility at both guard spots,” Trojans coach Eric Musselman said.

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Mets Injury Notes: Sean Manaea's first rehab start set, good news on Mark Vientos

Prior to Wednesday's matchup with the Dodgers in Los Angeles, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza gave updates on a number of injured players...

Sean Manaea's first rehab start set

The Mets skipper revealed when Manaea will finally get some game action after a months-long recovery process from a strained right oblique.

Mendoza said that Manaea is scheduled to have his first rehab start on Friday with High-A Brooklyn. The Cyclones are on the road, but Manaea will appear in that game with the expectation to have two ups and 35 pitches or so.

Manaea threw 29 pitches in a live bullpen that "went well" earlier this week and the Mets starter recovered well and is not ready for the ramp up until he returns to the Mets rotation.

Frankie Montas' next step unclear

Montas has had a few rehab outings as the veteran right-hander recovers from a lat strain, and his latest came Tuesday with Triple-A. It was the first rehab start for Montas in Syracuse and he was not effective across his four-plus innings of work.

Mendoza was asked about Montas and the Mets skipper said they have to wait to see how he recovers from his latest start but he did not know how many rehab starts his pitcher will need. He did say they wanted to continue to build him up, but they have 20 days until his rehab assignment is officially completed, and they will have to revisit then.

In Tuesday's start, Montas threw 61 pitches (43 strikes) but allowed six hits, three for home runs.

Mar 17, 2024; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos (27) is congratulated by designated hitter Starling Marte (6) after hitting a three-run home run in the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Mar 17, 2024; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos (27) is congratulated by designated hitter Starling Marte (6) after hitting a three-run home run in the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / © Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Good news on Mark Vientos

The Mets placed Vientos on the 10-day IL on Tuesday with a hamstring strain but Mendoza provided a positive update on the young slugger.

"We got relatively good news. It’s a low-grade strain," he said. "Going to treat it for the next 10-14 days until he’s symptom-free and then ramp him back up. Good news there."

Vientos hit a slow grounder to the left side in extra innings of Monday's game but collapsed running up the first base line and stayed down for a bit. He eventually got back up and grabbed his hamstring as he made his way to the dugout. After the game, Mendoza said the injury "didn't look good" so he was pleasantly surprised by the results of the testing on Vientos.

"You never know, guy goes down the way he did. You kinda expect the worst," Mendoza said. "Once he went through all the testing, talking to the trainers - You hate to see him go down at any time, the fact that it’s low-grade, it’s good news."

Vientos will rest for a minimum of 10 days and see if he's symptom-free before he starts baseball activities and then he will be ramped back up.

In the meantime, prospect Ronny Mauricio was called up and is seeing time at third base while Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuna and Jeff McNeil split time at second.