Saturday's Mets-Nationals game delayed due to rain

After the start of Saturday afternoon's game between the Mets and Washington Nationals at Nationals Park was delayed due to inclement weather, the matchup between NL East teams did not get far before it was stopped because of rain.

Originally a 4:05 p.m. start time, the game was pushed back to 4:30 p.m.. However, with one out in the bottom of the first, rain began to pour at Nationals Park, forcing the umpires to stop play and the grounds crew to come out with the tarp. The game was just 13 minutes in when the stoppage occurred.

The rain delay lasted about 45 minutes and resumed at 5:30 p.m.

After the Mets' bullpen blew the save on Friday night in the team's 5-4 loss, New York will look to bounce back with Clay Holmes on the mound. The former closer made his sixth start with the Mets this season, and looks to put up another quality outing. In his last two starts, Holmes has allowed just two runs over 11 innings while striking out 14 batters.

Saturday will see Jeff McNeil, who just returned to the team on Friday after starting the season on the IL, playing in center field for the first time since 2023. With McNeil starting in the outfield, Luisangel Acuña got the start at second base.

Francisco Alvarez, who also returned to the team after an IL stint on Friday, started for the second straight game.

Wild's Marcus Johansson Out For Game 4 With Lower-Body Injury

Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images.

ST. PAUL - Wild head coach John Hynes confirmed before Saturday's Game 4 clash with the Vegas Golden Knights that forward Marcus Johansson will not play. He is out with a lower-body injury. 

Johansson, 34, has one assist in three games this playoffs so far. He got hit a few times in the third period and did not return to the third period for the last 13 minutes. 

Hynes said that Vinnie Hinostroza would enter the lineup to replace Johansson. He won't play on the second line though. 

We will see in warmups what the lines shake out to be, but it will probably be Gustav Nyquist on the second line to take Johansson's spot. Hinostroza would then take Nyquist's spot on the third line. 

2 big Phillies rallies and more Luzardo excellence snaps the losing streak

2 big Phillies rallies and more Luzardo excellence snaps the losing streak originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CHICAGO — The Phillies hadn’t homered in five days and knew it would be extremely difficult for either team to hit one out of Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon.

It was 47 degrees at first pitch and the wind was blowing in 15-20 mph from left field, making it even more important for both lineups to focus on passing the baton. The Phillies finally did, rallying for six runs in the fourth inning and three in the sixth of a 10-4 win over the Cubs.

“It might take a bloop hit at some point and then it kind of just explodes,” manager Rob Thomson said Friday evening after the Phillies’ losing streak reached five.

Those words were prescient because it was Max Kepler’s bloop into no-man’s land in shallow left field that scored the Phillies’ first run Saturday and reloaded the bases ahead of an Alec Bohm RBI single, Johan Rojas sacrifice fly, Bryson Stott RBI single and Bryce Harper two-run double.

“I don’t remember what the last week was like but that fourth inning was great,” Kepler said. “Started off, me and J.T. (Realmuto) had some duck-fart knocks and then, yeah, we opened it up. That’s the game of baseball, you don’t really have to square ’em up every time but just try to make something happen to rally around.

“That’s what we’ve been looking for, to rally together. When we try to do the small things, big things happen. That inning started with some not-so-impressive hits but they got the job done and got us where we needed it to be.”

The Phillies have put a ton of runners on base this season and have a Top 3 team OBP but the explosions have been few and far between. A big hit with men on base has eluded them since Sunday. The situational struggles have been exacerbated by them hitting just one home run in a span of 296 plate appearances before Kepler went deep in the seventh.

The fourth inning Saturday was the Phillies’ best of the season. Facing Ben Brown, the former pitching prospect they traded to Chicago for David Robertson in 2022, the Phils had five hits with a runner in scoring position, their most in any inning since last August 15 against the Nationals.

Jesus Luzardo followed with a 1-2-3 bottom half and the 14-13 Phillies won for the first time in a week.

Luzardo has exceeded all expectations through six starts with a 1.73 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. He’s kept the Phillies squarely in each game and been a godsend to a rotation that hasn’t yet had Ranger Suarez or an effective Aaron Nola.

“He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet until he gets on that hill, and then he turns into a different guy,” Thomson said. “”He’s been outstanding. Looking at him from across the field, I think I appreciate him more that I can see him every day and what he does, the stuff that he has, the way he goes about his business.”

Luzardo did not allow a hit until the bottom of the fifth, a strong performance in his first start against the Cubs since their reported decision to back out of an offseason trade for him. The Cubs had concerns about Luzardo’s back and elbow, according to The Athletic, and the Phillies swooped in to do the deal themselves.

“Oh, he’s been dealing,” Kepler said. “You see his name on the sheet for the upcoming game and it gives you a reassuring feeling.”

Luzardo’s only troublesome frame was the fifth when Trea Turner committed a two-out error with nobody on base, which led to two Cubs runs and forced the lefty to throw 19 additional pitches. Turner has had a couple of rough moments in the field in this series. He whiffed on a tag at second base when Realmuto had a base-stealer out by a wide margin on Friday and committed his third error of the year in the middle game.

The shortstop did make up for it, though, with an RBI single up the middle the half-inning after his miscue. Turner crushed the ball over 104 mph in both his third and fourth at-bats, a good sign for a player who’s hitting .245 with just five extra-base hits.

Kepler also seems to be finding a rhythm at the plate. He went 3-for-5 with a solo home run to right field, the only location a ball was leaving the yard on Saturday. The left fielder is 10-for-26 (.385) with two doubles and a homer over his last seven games.

“Starting to see it, starting to believe in what I work on in the cage,” he said. “Just taking my swings, not trying to reach for balls or poke. Just hunting my zones.”

It’s just a 13-game sample but Kepler has done major damage at Wrigley Field, hitting .391 with four homers, three doubles and 10 RBI. He hadn’t even realized.

“I didn’t even know that, usually I’m freezing my ass off and just trying to get a quick game in,” he said. “But it’s a great place to play, it’s like Fenway, it’s magical. It’s an honor to stand in one of these ballparks.”

The Phillies go for the series win on Sunday Night Baseball. It should be about 10 degrees warmer at first pitch but will be another chilly night for Aaron Nola to try to find his command.

2 big Phillies rallies and more Luzardo excellence snaps the losing streak

2 big Phillies rallies and more Luzardo excellence snaps the losing streak originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CHICAGO — The Phillies hadn’t homered in five days and knew it would be extremely difficult for either team to hit one out of Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon.

It was 47 degrees at first pitch and the wind was blowing in 15-20 mph from left field, making it even more important for both lineups to focus on passing the baton. The Phillies finally did, rallying for six runs in the fourth inning and three in the sixth of a 10-4 win over the Cubs.

“It might take a bloop hit at some point and then it kind of just explodes,” manager Rob Thomson said Friday evening after the Phillies’ losing streak reached five.

Those words were prescient because it was Max Kepler’s bloop into no-man’s land in shallow left field that scored the Phillies’ first run Saturday and reloaded the bases ahead of an Alec Bohm RBI single, Johan Rojas sacrifice fly, Bryson Stott RBI single and Bryce Harper two-run double.

“I don’t remember what the last week was like but that fourth inning was great,” Kepler said. “Started off, me and J.T. (Realmuto) had some duck-fart knocks and then, yeah, we opened it up. That’s the game of baseball, you don’t really have to square ’em up every time but just try to make something happen to rally around.

“That’s what we’ve been looking for, to rally together. When we try to do the small things, big things happen. That inning started with some not-so-impressive hits but they got the job done and got us where we needed it to be.”

The Phillies have put a ton of runners on base this season and have a Top 3 team OBP but the explosions have been few and far between. A big hit with men on base has eluded them since Sunday. The situational struggles have been exacerbated by them hitting just one home run in a span of 296 plate appearances before Kepler went deep in the seventh.

The fourth inning Saturday was the Phillies’ best of the season. Facing Ben Brown, the former pitching prospect they traded to Chicago for David Robertson in 2022, the Phils had five hits with a runner in scoring position, their most in any inning since last August 15 against the Nationals.

Jesus Luzardo followed with a 1-2-3 bottom half and the 14-13 Phillies won for the first time in a week.

Luzardo has exceeded all expectations through six starts with a 1.73 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. He’s kept the Phillies squarely in each game and been a godsend to a rotation that hasn’t yet had Ranger Suarez or an effective Aaron Nola.

“He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet until he gets on that hill, and then he turns into a different guy,” Thomson said. “He’s been outstanding. Looking at him from across the field, I think I appreciate him more now that I can see him every day and what he does, the stuff that he has, the way he goes about his business.”

Luzardo did not allow a hit until the bottom of the fifth, a strong performance in his first start against the Cubs since their reported decision to back out of an offseason trade for him. The Cubs had concerns about Luzardo’s back and elbow, according to The Athletic, and the Phillies swooped in to do the deal themselves.

“Oh, he’s been dealing,” Kepler said. “You see his name on the sheet for the upcoming game and it gives you a reassuring feeling.”

Luzardo’s only troublesome frame was the fifth when Trea Turner committed a two-out error with nobody on base, which led to two Cubs runs and forced the lefty to throw 19 additional pitches. Turner has had a couple of rough moments in the field in this series. He whiffed on a tag at second base when Realmuto had a base-stealer out by a wide margin on Friday and committed his third error of the year in the middle game.

The shortstop did make up for it, though, with an RBI single up the middle the half-inning after his miscue. Turner crushed the ball over 104 mph in both his third and fourth at-bats, potentially a good sign for a player who’s hitting .245 with just five extra-base hits.

Kepler seems to be finding a rhythm at the plate. He went 3-for-5 with a solo home run to right field, the only location a ball had a chance of leaving the yard on Saturday. The left fielder is 10-for-26 (.385) with two doubles and a homer over his last seven games.

“Starting to see it, starting to believe in what I work on in the cage,” he said. “Just taking my swings, not trying to reach for balls or poke. Just hunting my zones.”

It’s just a 13-game sample but Kepler has done major damage at Wrigley Field, hitting .391 with four homers, three doubles and 10 RBI. He hadn’t even realized.

“I didn’t even know that, usually I’m freezing my ass off and just trying to get a quick game in,” he said. “But it’s a great place to play, it’s like Fenway, it’s magical. It’s an honor to stand in one of these ballparks.”

The Phillies go for the series win on Sunday Night Baseball. It should be about 10 degrees warmer at first pitch but will be another chilly night for Nola to try to find his command.

Psychodrama of José Mourinho’s ‘most beautiful defeat’ changed game for ever | Jonathan Wilson

As Inter and Barcelona meet again in a Champions League semi-final, it’s hard to ignore their epochal clash in 2010

Has there been a Champions League tie since that has felt more consequential? As Inter travel to Barcelona for Wednesday’s semi-final first leg, the mind turns inevitably to their 1-0 reverse at the Camp Nou 15 years ago – “the most beautiful defeat of my career” as José Mourinho has described it.

Playing with 10 men for a little over an hour, Inter secured a 3-2 aggregate victory. Suddenly it became apparent that it didn’t matter whether you had the ball or not: you could win even with 19% possession. But the outcome was only part of it. The whole tie was played out amid an apocalyptic atmosphere symbolised by the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull, whose eruption made it impossible to fly over western Europe, forcing Barcelona to travel to Milan for the first leg by bus.

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Bruce Boudreau Believes The Jets Are The Real Deal, Rooting For Them To Win The Stanley Cup

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The Winnipeg Jets entered the playoffs with the best regular-season record (56-22-4), winning the Presidents’ Trophy and looking utterly dominant in front of Hart Trophy Candidate, Connor Hellebuyck. Despite that, many fans and analysts still do not believe the Jets can win the Stanley Cup.

Longtime NHL head coach Bruce Boudreau is not one of those people. Joining the Big Show with The Hockey News’ Michael Traikos and Ryan Kennedy, Boudreau spoke fondly about the Jets.

“Oh, they’re a legit contender, there’s no doubt in my mind,” said Boudreau about the Jets. 

The Jets are up 2-1 in the series over the St. Louis Blues with a pair of gutsy wins at home before suffering a beatdown on the road. Their road loss was played without veteran defenseman Dylan DeMelo, a stabilizer on the back end. They’ve also been without their third and fifth leading scorers, Nikolaj Ehlers and Gabriel Vilardi.

With those absentees, the Jets still hold the series lead and home-ice advantage in the first round. Their ability to level up their game in difficult circumstances is why Boudreau believes they can win it all.

“I think they’re a really good team, and I’ll tell you where I thought these guys aren’t kidding around this year,” said the 15-year veteran coach. “With about 10 games to go in the season, they went into Vegas and beat Vegas 4-0. Then they played Chicago, they won in overtime, they played a couple of lesser lights, and they either lost or just got by. Then all of the sudden they played Dallas when if Dallas would have won, they would have been within two points of them for the Central Division crown, and they beat them 5-1… they played St. Louis when St. Louis was on their 12-game winning streak and they beat them again very handily. That’s when I said, this team is a team that could win it now. They can step up their game whenever they want.” 

The 70-year-old Boudreau won the Jack Adams Award in the 2007-08 season after taking over the Washington Capitals head coaching job 21 games into the season. Boudreau had achieved a lot throughout his coaching career, including a Presidents’ Trophy with the Capitals, the fastest coach to reach 200 wins, and the quickest a coach was hired after being fired.

While Boudreau did have some playoff struggles in his coaching career, that shouldn’t diminish the great former coach's ability to recognize how impressive the Jets have looked since Game 1 of the regular season. 

They roll four lines, six defensemen and can both match the opponent's play style or inflict their own. Highlighted by the additions of Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, the Jets can impose themselves physically and wear down their opponent by the time the third period begins. 

“As a proud Canadian, I hope it’s Winnipeg against Florida and that Winnipeg brings it, but I think Florida is going to win, they’re the deepest team.”

The Jets’ route through the playoffs is vicious. Defeating the Blues has been proven to be a difficult task, and a potential second-round matchup against the Dallas Stars or the Colorado Avalanche doesn’t make things any easier, but the Jets have built themselves to succeed in the playoffs, both stylistically and roster-wise. 

Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.

Crystal Palace 3-0 Aston Villa: FA Cup semi-final – as it happened

Eberechi Eze and Ismaila Sarr scored the goals as Palace routed Villa to reach their third FA Cup final

4 min: Other than that one progressive Kamara pass, nobody’s showing their hand as of yet. A thoughtful start as both teams gently probe.

2 min: Kamara tries to release Cash down the right with a clever first-time pass. Lacroix is on point to usher both opponent and ball out of play for a goal kick. We can just about make this out. A lot of smoke down this end of the pitch, thanks to the tail end of a pre-match pyro party.

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Giants closer Walker bounces back with huge outing after tough week

Giants closer Walker bounces back with huge outing after tough week originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — When he’s right, Giants closer Ryan Walker is one of the best baseball players in the world, but he doesn’t necessarily realize it. Walker doesn’t consider himself a diehard fan, and he often has no idea when he’s facing one of the game’s best hitters when he’s out on the mound.

One day earlier in his career, Walker and teammates were talking about their first big league strikeouts. That first outing is one that nearly every pitcher can recite pitch-for-pitch, but Walker couldn’t quite remember the name of a Minnesota Twins star that he struck out in his second game as a big leaguer. Teammates laughed when they looked it up and discovered it was Byron Buxton.

A few weeks into his rookie season, Walker made a statement by freezing Nolan Arenado with a slider in the eighth inning of a game in St. Louis. Asked about it later, he shrugged. He had no idea that Arenado had done so much damage against the Giants over the years.

“I try to treat every hitter the same,” Walker said this spring. “Whether it’s Ohtani or someone off the bench, everyone is here for a reason.”

There are times, though, when it’s harder to take that approach. Walker was well aware that he would face Joc Pederson in the ninth inning Saturday, and not just because they were teammates in 2023. Pederson’s eye-popping struggles this season came up in a scouting meeting before the series, and while Walker didn’t know he had just one RBI on the season, he did know Pederson had gone hitless over 41 at-bats recently. 

That only meant one thing when Walker watched Pederson stroll to the plate with two runners on in a tie game. 

“He’s due,” Walker thought. “That man is due.”

For Pederson, the breakthrough will have to wait. But Walker and the Giants are hopeful that the right-hander’s came in the ninth inning of a 3-2 win over the Rangers. 

Walker threw a 97-mph sinker past Pederson to strand both runners. When Patrick Bailey walked it off in the bottom of the inning, Walker had his first win of the year, and a nice confidence boost at the end of what has been the worst week of his big league career. 

“It’s huge. I think it gives him back his confidence,” Bailey said. “I know it’s been a few rough outings in a row, but the stuff has been there all year. It happens, it happens to the best of them — and he is one of the best of them.”

Walker was part of a theme Saturday. The Giants got off to a slow start after celebrating Brandon Crawford, but Willy Adames, who is hitting just .205 through his first month in orange and black, tied the game with a two-run single. Bailey is down at .171, but he was sent up to hit for Sam Huff with two runners in scoring position and poked the first pitch into right for his fourth career walk-off hit. 

For Adames and Bailey, the first few weeks of the 2025 MLB season have been a grind. But there is no spotlight greater than the one in the ninth inning, and there’s no worse feeling in the game than being a closer who coughs up what looked to be an easy win. 

Walker did that Sunday in Anaheim, allowing four runs in a gut punch of a loss. Three days later — when he gave up three hits, plunked a batter and allowed two runs — Bob Melvin pulled him for Camilo Doval, who got the save. 

Doval is a former MLB All-Star, and it would have been easy for Melvin to ignite a closer controversy by saying he would ride the hot hand, or give Walker a break for a few days. But the manager said repeatedly this week that he would throw Walker back into the fire, and when the Giants trailed by a couple of runs late Friday, Walker struck out a pair and looked more like his old self. 

Melvin never wavered, viewing it as just two bad outings in a career that thus far has produced a 2.72 ERA in 137 appearances. Walker was going to pitch in a big spot if it came Saturday, and Melvin stuck with him against Pederson, even though lefty Erik Miller was loose. He figured Bruce Bochy would counter with Adolis Garcia if he made a move, and he liked Walker’s chances against Pederson.

The former Giant jumped on a two-strike slider and yanked it over the arcade in right, but it was well foul. A pitch later, Walker blew him away with a sinker. The normally calm closer pumped his fist and yelled as he walked off the mound. 

“I think it’s the last week, all that kind of stuff just boiling up,” he said. “Finally finding a groove brought out all that emotion.”

The last week has been difficult, but Walker took a lot away from it. He had been 15-for-15 in save opportunities before last Sunday, and teammates and coaches reminded him repeatedly that he was still a good pitcher. When he went home, he was able to get away by spending time with his young daughter and chatting with his wife, who is a counselor. 

“A lot of guys have been talking me through it and helping me realize it’s two games out of 162,” he said. “It’s not something to fret about. It’s really, I feel like, brought me closer to the team, which is really cool. Seeing everybody support me is awesome.”

Walker also found a mechanical fix in recent days. He had been standing too upright and said that was leading him to be “more rotational” as he went down the mound. He tightened up his mechanics and found that his old stride length and arm path were back. He no longer was worried about missing arm-side, a huge issue in those two rough outings. 

Walker felt good when he took the mound Saturday, but a pair of singles put a sellout crowd in a nervous state. A popped-up bunt helped everyone relax a bit, and Walker struck out Josh Smith ahead of the Pederson at-bat. That final out set the stage for the latest round of ninth-inning heroics. 

There will be other speed bumps over the course of the next five months. That’s life as a closer, and when you fail, there’s no safety net. But over the last two games, Walker has looked like his old self.

“It helps out a lot, that’s for sure,” Walker said. “The biggest thing, though, is I’m not going to get too high. There’s plenty of baseball left. I’ll enjoy these two and continue to move forward with the progression.”

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Count On Tkachuk, Nylander Trading Goals in High-Scoring Game 4 Win For Senators Over Maple Leafs

Ottawa Senators host Toronto Maple Leafs, who look to complete a series sweep with a 3-0 series lead heading into Game 4 on Saturday

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Sunday night is the ultimate opportunity for NHL fans, with a loaded slate of thrilling matchups of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The game that sticks out is the Battle of Ontario between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators, which promises to be a physical war of attrition.

The Buds look to close out the series and complete their first series sweep since 2001 when they disposed of the same Ottawa Senators in the first round.

For bettors, this matchup provides a chance to capitalize on some of our recent strong trends, like our 25-12 record on our last 37 picks, including a 5-0 night during Game 1 of the Battle of Ontario.

More NHL: Battle of Ontario Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Futures for Maple Leafs versus Senators

All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Ottawa Senators Best Bets:

  • Senators ML (-115)
  • Over 5.5 goals (-118)
  • Tim Stutzle Under 0.5 points (+122)
  • Brady Tkachuk Over 0.5 points (-158)
  • William Nylander Over 0.5 points (-162)

The Sens are staring down the barrel of five straight playoff losses with their last victory in the postseason being in 2017 when they lost in the Conference Finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Toronto's last sweep in the playoffs was 2001 when they beat the Senators in the first round, which could point to history repeating itself on Saturday.Ottawa has been within reach of every game with two straight overtimes not going their way.

More NHL: Bolts, Golden Knights Present Last Call For Massive Betting Values

They're receiving little help on offence as captain Brady Tkachuk and veteran winger Claude Giroux have been forced to do the heavy lifting. Senators' regular season point leader Tim Stutzle hasn't been seen with just one point through three games. The assist he recorded was a touch along to a defenceman who fired off a shot that was tipped in front of the net, basically meaning he hasn't production virtually any offence at all.

The under for Stutzle has been really effective this series and we will continue to go to the well as the pick is still listed at plus money. However, I expect his linemate in Tkachuk to cause some damage. One of the biggest headlines of the series heading in was seeing how Tkachuk was going to adapt to the playoff environment after thriving at the Four Nations Face-Off yet he hasn't had a multi-point game so far.

We were expecting more of a performance similar to Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov, who has seven points through three playoff games. It should finally boil over Saturday as Brady will be giving it his all to prevent his team from being eliminated.

Despite the over not hitting for us in game three, I think we go back to it as the numbers are hard to go against with six or more goals in 18 of their last 25 matchups at Canadian Tire Centre. The Buds should give a lot of push back and I expect it to come from Leafs leading goal scorer, Williiam Nylander.

People have forgotten cause of the team's success that Nylander has just one goal in this series in the opener. The Swedish winger entered the series with nine goals and six assists for 15 points in his last 16 games against the Senators. He also recorded 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points over his last 26 games.

More Hockey: Top NHL Prospect Expected to Join Michigan Wolverines Next Season