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The weekend series between the Cardinals and Reds will finally start with a day-night doubleheader on Saturday, May 23. The foul weather changed the pitching matchup for the nightcap, and injured list moves on both teams have tweaked the rosters.
The results of both lean in Cincinnati’s favor, as my Cardinals vs. Reds predictions and MLB picks for Game 2 explain.
Andre Pallante was initially scheduled to start for the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, but with the rain, the Redbirds flipped the rotation.
The Cincinnati Reds will now face his 95th percentile breaking ball and 89th percentile ground ball rate in Game 1.
That pushes the more hittable Kyle Leahy to the nightcap. Leahy is in the Bottom 20% in MLB in fastball and offspeed run value, and allows more hits, walks, and homers than Pallante.
The Reds also get Eugenio Suarez back, while the Cardinals placed outfielder Nathan Church on IL.
COVERS INTEL: Opponents have a .584 OPS in their first appearance vs. Leahy, which rises to .821 the next time up, and 1.177 the third time up.The Over/Under cutoff is high, but it’s earned in this game. The bullpens will be taxed in the second game of a twin bill, and Leahy will be challenged by a Reds order hitting 25% over league average across the last two weeks.
St. Louis has been struggling on offense, but the Reds will start former top pick Chase Petty, called up for the doubleheader and ready to make just his fourth MLB start.
He’s allowed four home runs and 10 walks in 11 2/3 big-league innings and was struggling at Triple-A Louisville, with a 6.32 ERA and 1.628 WHIP.
The Reds have hit the Over in 28 of their last 40 games (+14.55 Units / 33% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Cardinals vs. Reds.
| Location | Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati, OH |
| Date | Saturday, May 23, 2026 |
| First pitch | 7:15 p.m. ET |
| TV | FOX |
| Cardinals starting pitcher | Kyle Leahy (5-3, 3.94 ERA) |
| Reds starting pitcher | Chase Petty (0-0, 4.76 ERA) |
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.
Ahead of their second game against the Marlins this weekend, the Mets recalled right-handed relief pitcher Jonathan Pintaro. In a corresponding move, the Mets optioned left-handed starter Zach Thornton to Triple-A Syracuse.
Pintaro, in his age 28 season, appeared in one game last season for the Mets, giving up two earned runs in two-thirds of an inning. He’s having a nice season in Triple-A thus far, appearing in 15 games and pitching to a 2.81 ERA with 32 strikeouts to 12 walks and allowing one home run.
Here is how our Steve Sypa described Pintaro’s aresenal of pitches in our season preview:
The right-hander throws fastballs nearly 75% of the time, mixing in a high-spin cutter, a mid-90s fastball, and a low-90s sinker. He supplements those pitches with a mid-to-high-80s changeup that gives him a north-south option and a low-to-mid-80s sweeping slider that gives him a horizontal option.
Thornton, a soft-tosser in his age 24 season, made his major league debut on Wednesday evening against the Nationals. Thornton was stung by a first inning three-run home run off the bat of C.J. Abrams, but he settled in nicely after that, allowing just three more baserunners over the next two and two-thirds innings.
The bad news was Friday night’s game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds was rained out. The good news is that means a doubleheader today. For game 1, it appears that the Cardinals will have Andre Pallante make the start while the Reds will have Friday’s planned starter Chris Paddack on the mound. Note that Bryan Torres is set to start in left field for St. Louis. First pitch for game 1 is scheduled for 12:10pm central time in Great America Ball Park.
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Former Senators head coach Dave Cameron will be back for another OHL tour of duty.
After signing a two-year extension this week, Cameron, who's 67, will continue to be the 67's head coach for a 6th and 7th season, which will surely give some of our readers an excuse to resurrect the nonsensical "6-7" internet meme for a day or two.
Under Cameron this season, Ottawa had a fine year with 47 wins and 100 points but they ran into an equally good Barrie Colts team in the second round, losing in five games.
Cameron told TSN 1200 radio this week that coming back was a pretty easy decision.
"Your best chance for success is the people you work for," Cameron said. "I can't say enough about the organization here in Ottawa and the staff with Jan, Norm and Paul (GM Jan Egert, and assistant coaches Norm Milley and Paul Stoykewych). It's just been a real pleasure to work (here). And throw on top of that, knock on wood, I've been blessed with good health and energy."
Cameron was asked by 67's play-by-play man Kenny Walls how long he wants to keep coaching for.
"Yeah, obviously, when you've been at it as long as I have, the discussion about when you're going to retire is something you do annually," Cameron said. "So, for me, your challenge when you're coaching at the OHL level is your energy level.
"Because I'm at the point where I'm not ready to do anything half-heartedly. And the big thing in that is you have to have good energy, and I love getting up in the mornings. I love going to the rink. I love hockey."
Those are three pretty solid reasons to return.
That love of hockey goes back to his playing days, growing up in PEI, where Cameron won a spot on his hometown University of PEI hockey team. There, he caught the attention of the New York Islanders, who took him in the 8th round of the 1978 draft.
In 1981, the Islanders traded Cameron and Bob Lorimer to the Colorado Rockies for the Rockies' first-round pick in 1983, and the Islanders used it to select some guy named Pat Lafontaine. Cameron spent the 1981-82 season with the Rockies and then two more after they moved to New Jersey and became the Devils.
As for Cameron's coaching path, it's taken him from PEI Junior B to the Colonial Hockey League, the OHL, AHL, NHL, and a two-year stop in Austria.
His NHL coaching experience lies primarily with the Senators, and that connection began all the way back in 2001.
That was the year Eugene Melnyk bought the team Cameron was coaching, the OHL's Toronto St. Michael's Majors. Cameron stayed in the role for another three seasons.
A year after Melnyk bought the Senators in 2003, Cameron shifted to Binghamton to run the Sens AHL bench for three seasons. In 2007, he moved back to Melnyk's OHL team, now called the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors, and spent four seasons there.
When the Sens hired Paul MacLean as their head coach, Cameron got his first NHL coaching work as MacLean's assistant in 2011-12, which was also the season Melnyk sold his OHL team.
When MacLean was fired mid-season, three and a half years later, Cameron got the job and guided the Senators to the playoffs that season via the famous Hamburglar Run.
As he did with so many good people in this town, Melnyk then threw a grenade on his relationship with Cameron the following year.
The volatile owner didn't just fire Cameron in 2016; he told the media a few weeks before that one of Cameron's opening night lineup decisions was "stupid." Cameron's firing was the first official act of Pierre Dorion, who had taken over as GM a few days earlier.
"It was hurtful," Cameron said about Melnyk's comments. "I didn't think there was any need for it. I felt like I was fired for three weeks, every day,"
But that was ten years ago, now water under the bridge. And as Dave Cameron begins to think about a 16th season as a coach in the league, life in the OHL today suits him just fine.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This story was originally published at The Hockey News Ottawa Senators site. Click on the latest headlines below to read the latest stories there:
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For the third straight year, Sam O’Reilly has made his mark on the Memorial Cup stage. The former Edmonton Oilers prospect scored a highlight-reel backhand goal as his Kitchener Rangers cruised to a 5-0 shutout victory over host Kelowna on Saturday, improving to 4-0 in the tournament.
Sam the man strikes again 🥜
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) May 23, 2026
Sam O'Reilly extended the @OHLRangers lead with a highlight reel goal, earning him the @deltabingo_ Play of the Night.#GoBoltsGopic.twitter.com/VptEzYWsjh
O’Reilly, now a Tampa Bay Lightning prospect, continues to thrive after being traded by Edmonton in a deal that saw the Oilers acquire Isaac (Ike) Howard. The gritty two-way center was named OHL MVP and OHL Playoffs MVP this season, cementing his reputation as a big-game performer who excels in the dirty areas, wins battles along the wall, and contributes offensively in key moments.
Meanwhile, Howard hasn't been able to cement a role in the NHL, which is what the Oilers were hoping might happen when they acquire him.
For Oilers fans, the performance comes with a familiar 'what might have been' feeling.
Edmonton traded O’Reilly last summer, and at the time, many viewed it as a reasonable futures exchange. However, watching O’Reilly dominate the Memorial Cup once again has some supporters second-guessing the decision.
The 20-year-old has now tallied a goal in three consecutive Memorial Cup appearances, showcasing the compete level and clutch ability that made him a prospect many thought had a bright future in the Oilers system. Projecting as a reliable middle-six center with top-six upside, O’Reilly’s development path now belongs to the Lightning, and games like this remind fans that Edmonton might have lost another key part of their future.
While Howard remains a promising piece with high-end skill, O’Reilly’s continued success at junior hockey’s premier event serves as a reminder of the difficult choices NHL teams must make when trying to get better more quickly.
Oilers fans are left to wonder: could O’Reilly have been part of Edmonton’s future core?
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Jesus Sanchez has been quietly heating up this month, and I expect him to continue swinging a hot bat this afternoon.
Read on to see why with my Pirates vs. Blue Jays predictions and MLB picks for Saturday, May 23.
Jesus Sanchez has been quietly consistent recently, currently sporting a five-game hitting streak, while going Over his 0.5 hits total in nine of his last 10 outings.
Sanchez owns a .333 average against the four-seam fastball and a .294 average against the sinker, the two pitches that Paul Skenes uses the most.
Additionally, Sanchez is just one of three batters in the Toronto Blue Jays lineup to have a hit against Skenes in their career, going 1-for-3 with a double.
COVERS INTEL: Sanchez has a .283 xBA, which ranks him in the 87th percentile in all of baseball. Another Blue Jay swinging a hot bat is Daulton Varsho. I’ll take Over 0.5 hits for the Jays outfielder, who has eclipsed this total in eight of his last 10 outings with a .324 batting average in that stretch.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are 21st in OPS vs. lefties this year, so Patrick Corbin could get through most of his start unscathed. He'll eventually give way to a Blue Jays bullpen ranked seventh in xFIP this month.
Lets continue with the Sanchez train and bet a quarter unit on him hitting a home run tonight.
Homering off Skenes isn’t easy, but Sanchez has been a consistent hitter for the Blue Jays and has some pop in his bat, ranking in the 69th percentile in average exit-velocity.
He also owns a 46% hard-hit rate and a .467 xSLG against the four seamer, Skenes’ most used pitch.
The Blue Jays have covered the F5 run line in seven of their last eight games (+5.90 Units / 63% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Pirates vs. Blue Jays.
| Location | Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON |
| Date | Saturday, May 23, 2026 |
| First pitch | 3:07 p.m. ET |
| TV | Sportsnet, SportsNet Pittsburgh |
| Pirates starting pitcher | Paul Skenes (6-3, 2.62 ERA) |
| Blue Jays starting pitcher | Patrick Corbin (1-1, 4.23 ERA) |
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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Today’s roster move: Here
Saturday notes…
Cubs lineup:
Astros lineup:
Colin Rea’s last start was pretty bad, so let’s try to ignore it. (Yes, I know you can’t really do that.)
In fact, over his last five starts Rea has posted a 7.04 ERA and 1.913 WHIP and has allowed four home runs in 23 innings. Yikes, do better, Colin.
Last year against the Astros, June 28, 2025 in Houston, he allowed two runs in five innings. That would be an improvement over recent outings.
Kai-Wei Teng, a native of Taiwan, originally signed with the Twins back in 2017 and was traded to the Giants two years later. He made 12 appearances (seven starts) with the Giants in 2024-25 and the results were pretty bad (7.30 ERA, 1.697 WHIP).
He was traded to the Astros for a minor leaguer last offseason and had thrown mostly in relief before recently being added to Houston’s rotation. Last time out, May 16 vs. the Rangers, he threw five shutout innings and 76 pitches.
He has never faced the Cubs. The only Cub who’s ever seen him is Michael Conforto (0-for-1).
Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.
Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.
Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Astros site The Crawfish Boxes. If you do go there to interact with Astros fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
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Ahead of Saturday's pivotal Eastern Conference Finals Game 3 between the Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers, stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges said team's mindset is to continue "playing desperate" despite their 2-0 lead in the series.
"We got to execute at a high level, have that desperation that we had in Philly and Atlanta," Towns said. "We just got to, obviously, shoot the ball well."
"We just got to keep playing desperate," Bridges added. "I know it's easier for the team that's down 0-2 to play more desperate, but that can't be us. Keep doing what we've been doing. All playoffs, just staying desperate no matter what the situation is. To us, it's 0-0."
While New York has won the first two games of the Conference Finals by a combined margin of 27 points, the contests have been closer than meets the eye. The Knicks trailed by 22 points in the fourth quarter of Game 1 before Jalen Brunson went on a scoring tear to force OT and steal the win, and they were down again after the first quarter of Game 2, but dominated the second and third quarters to earn the 16-point victory.
One of the keys to the Knicks' first-round and semifinal series wins over the Hawks and 76ers was Towns quarterbacking the offense. After going down 2-1 in the first-round matchup against Atlanta, Towns averaged 8.6 assists and posted two triple-doubles over the final three games. His assist numbers continued to guide the team against the Sixers, averaging 7.5 assists per night in the four-game sweep.
With Cleveland having a bit more size to match up better defensively against Towns, New York's style of play has changed. Brunson is back in charge of the offense, dishing out six assists in Games 1 and another 14 dimes in Game 2. Luckily that change in playing style does not bother Towns, as the former No. 1 overall pick made it clear he'll do "whatever it takes" to help New York win.
"I've always said I'm willing to sacrifice and do whatever it takes to impact winning and help this team win," Towns said. "That's the blessing of our group. We have multiple ways and systems that we can utilize to help us get the win. And I've been happy because we continue to win, so there's nothing to be sad about."
Towns was asked if he thinks that lack of selfishness helps makes the Knicks' offense more dangerous, saying it shows the team's character and allows for them to be great.
"I think that the guys in the locker room, the characters, they speak so highly on the court and off the court, is what makes us special," Towns said.
For New York to continue its pursuit of reaching the NBA Finals, Towns said the team needs to keep trusting each other and displaying their "cohesiveness."
"At the end of the day, regardless if we're home or away, it's about us executing and being disciplined in our gameplan. So that's the most important thing," Towns said.
Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals tips off at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.
"We got to execute at a high level, have that desperation that we had in Philly and Atlanta"
— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) May 23, 2026
Karl-Anthony Towns talks about the keys to success for the Knicks ahead of tonight's Game 3 in Cleveland: pic.twitter.com/qwQAgJhfuq
For the entire playoffs and even the regular season, the third period has been the Colorado Avalanche period. This season, the Avalanche are +49 in the third period when it comes to scoring, and it has translated into the playoffs as well.
In a tight Los Angeles Kings series that saw the Kings try their best to slow the Avalanche down, they finished +4 in scoring in the third period. In the series against the Minnesota Wild, a series many thought would be a back-and-forth shootout to seven games, the Avalanche prevailed in five games, and were +8 in the third period, helping with many late comebacks, including the infamous Game 5, when they were down 3-1 heading into the third.
It’s clear that if the Avalanche dig themselves into a grave early on, they have shown they have the resources capable to mounting a comeback in attempt to either force the game into overtime or flat out win it in regulation, but against the Golden Knights, its clearly shown that the comeback antics shown in the previous series, can't and shouldn't be relied on if they want to comeback in this series down 0-2.
Opening the Western Conference Finals didn’t go the way many Avalanche fans wanted. Despite a strong first period that saw both teams really testing each other, it was still scoreless heading into period two, then disaster struck. Knights pushed with a 4-on-3 that saw Dylan Coghlan rifle a shot past Scott Wedgewood five-hole, and Pavel Dorofeyev scored on the power play by a miraculous pass by Marner to make it 2-0 entering the third period.
Only down two goals entering the third? That sounds like no sweat compared to what the Avalanche faced before. Well, it wouldn’t take long before Brett Howden continued to score in the playoffs when he got a lucky bounce to make it 3-0. Now they're in a deeper hole than they would want, but there is the rest of the period to go.
Well, the Avalanche starts the comeback like usual. Valeri Nichushkin opens the scoring six minutes in with a nice redirect through the legs, 3-1. The Avalanche, throughout the period, maintains the pressure and makes it 3-2 late with a nice passing play from Nathan MacKinnon to Gabriel Landeskog, with time still left.
Avalanche Let Game 1 Slip Away In Execution Breakdown Against VegasColorado generated chances throughout Game 1 but unraveled in execution at key moments, allowing the Vegas Golden Knights to capitalize on mistakes and seize control of the Western Conference Final opener.Though they can’t tie it and they lose 4-2, it sucks, but there was a lot to learn from the game. You can’t win every game with a late-period comeback, but it showed they still have that switch in the third, and that's good, right?
Still no Cale Makar for Game 2, but as the periods go, the Avalanche show more fight than they did in Game 1. Ross Colton buries a loose puck rebound to open the scoring at 1-0 in the first period and leads it into the second, which remains scoreless but still a one-goal lead entering the third, their best period.
Then they take their foot off the pedal and get a taste of their own medicine, of what it's like for a team to take the lead in the third period. Just about halfway through the period, Devon Toews makes a bad defensive read and lets Jack Eichel with too much room and rifles a shot past Wedgewood to make it 1-1.
Decisive Factors in the Avalanche–Golden Knights Western Conference Final ShowdownThe Colorado Avalanche last met the Vegas Golden Knights in the playoffs in 2021. How are things different this year, and what are going to be the major keys to this Western Conference FinalsTwo minutes later, Toews again makes a bad play by failing to clear the puck, turns it over to Eichel, who passes it to Ivan Barbashev and rips it home to make it 2-1. The Avalanche would try to mount a late comeback, but an empty-net goal by Barbashev would end the game and the home stand, down 0-2.
This is a game where, when the Avalanche had the lead, they played as if they wanted to keep it rather than extend it. We have seen this team take leads and continue to pile on goals any which way they can to ensure they have a level of comfort. The box score shows that something has to change heading into Vegas, now down 0-2.
There is a lot of online talk about the Avalanche so far in these two games, and many agree on some topics and argue about others, but I believe some things are true.
Yes, not having Cale Makar is an absolute disaster for the Avalanche, and it showed. Vegas is changing its approach to the penalty kill now that Makar isn’t quarterbacking it, and guys like Toews and Malinski just don’t put enough pressure on Vegas to make those changes. They'd rather guys like Toews, Malinski, or Brent Burns beat them on a play so they can put more pressure on Martin Necas and MacKinnon, leaving them no room to operate.
REPORT: Cale Makar OUT For Game 2 Against Golden Knights In Western Conference FinalsCale Makar will be OUT for Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Vegas Golden KnightsBut it's just not on him that the team is losing puck battles across the board, making sure that they're more physical than Vegas when it comes to forechecking, putting bodies in front of Carter Hart to take away his vision. Most importantly, not Makar's fault that many of his teammates have just flipped a switch since the Wild series.
Necas has been a shell of himself, MacKinnon just can’t seem to hit the net off a clean look since sniping the game-tying goal against the Wild in Game 5. Toews, despite just the defensive mistakes, can hit the net when he's in the slot. Nichushkin, who did have that great deflection when he was crashing the net, just can't hit the net on the rush when he's taking a shot. Brock Nelson, like Necas, has just been a shell of himself, just not being able to really do anything on the ice.
MacKinnon, Nelson, Lehkonen, and Nichushkin combined for 3 shots on goal at 5-on-5 in Game 2; that's not acceptable. We have been blessed this regular season and past two rounds with great depth that can, and this is the big word here, SUPPORT, the top lines with goal scoring.
Vegas has won the two games because their stars are leading them to victories, while their depth is supporting them both offensively and defensively. Marner, Eichel, Dorofeyev, and Barbashev are leading the team in points, but they're also getting production from guys like Ben Hutton, Colton Sissons, and Brandon Saad. The Avalanche isn’t getting that from their stars so far this series.
Avalanche Defense Must Prove Their Worth In Cale Makar AbsenceWith superstar defenseman Cale Makar sidelined against Vegas, the Colorado Avalanche needs to rely on their depth and their veterans to elevate their game to prevent a 2-0 series deficit.MacKinnon hasn’t been selfish enough with the puck, looking to make more shots on goal. Necas needs to do the same if there isn’t a passing lane. Nelson’s two-way game has just vanished, offensively even more, with him only having two goals all playoffs. Nazem Kadri needs to generate more offense, go infront of the net, and be a menace.
It's good to see Burns and Colton, and the depth guys, contributing to the offense. When push comes to shove, the Avalanche top-six is either going to be the reason this team comes back from 0-2 and advances to the Stanley Cup Finals, or is eliminated from the playoffs, and the excuse won’t just be “well, they didn’t have Cale Makar”.
Avalanche Collapse Late As Golden Knights Flip Western Final In MinutesJack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev scored just 2:07 apart in the third period as the Vegas Golden Knights erased a late deficit and stunned the Colorado Avalanche 3–1 in Game 2 to take a commanding 2–0 series lead. The Los Angeles Dodgers, ranked first in the NL West with a 31-20 record, face the Milwaukee Brewers, who are first in the NL Central with a 30-18 record. The Los Angeles Dodgers are favored with a -120 moneyline compared to the Milwaukee Brewers' +100. Starting pitchers are Roki Sasaki for Los Angeles, with a 5.09 ERA, and Robert Gasser for Milwaukee, with a 4.50 ERA.
Date: Saturday, May 23
Time: 7:15 p.m. ET / 4:15 p.m. PT
Where: American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI
TV Channels: FOX
Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports
Los Angeles Dodgers: 31-20 (first in NL West)
Milwaukee Brewers: 30-18 (first in NL Central)
Spread: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5
Moneyline: Milwaukee Brewers +100 / Los Angeles Dodgers -120
Over/Under: 9.0
Los Angeles Dodgers: Roki Sasaki (2-3, ERA: 5.09, K: 39, WHIP: 1.45)
Milwaukee Brewers: Robert Gasser (0-0, ERA: 4.50, K: 3, WHIP: 1.25)
Weather: 56°F at first pitch
Hickory starter Kamdyn Perry allowed two runs in 4.1 IP, strking out six, walking one and giving up a homer. Michael Trausch struck out one and walked one in a shutout inning.
Hector Osorio doubled, walked twice, and stole a base. Yolfran Castillo had a walk and two stolen bases. Paulino Santana had a double and a walk.
Hub City was rained out.
Frisco starter Winston Santos struck out five and walked three in five innings, giving up three runs. Wilian Bormie struck out two in a shutout inning.
Dylan Dreiling had a single and a double. Keith Jones II was 3 for 5 with a double and a stolen base. Cody Freeman continued his rehab assignment, and was 0 for 3 while playing third base before being lifted late in the game.
Josh Stephan started for Round Rock and it didn’t go well, as he allowed 11 runs in 4.1 IP, including three home runs, walking three and striking out two. Veteran Joe Ross, the brother of former Ranger Tyson Ross, was just signed to a minor league deal by the Rangers, and gave up three runs in 1.2 IP, including a home run by Nick Solak, walking one and striking out one. Thomas Ireland walked one and struck out one in two shutout innings.
Caden Scarborough continued his rehab assignment with the ACL Rangers, striking out two in 2.1 IP while allowing two runs.
Dane earns third stage win of this year’s race in Alps
Visma-Lease a Bike rider set to win Giro at first attempt
Jonas Vingegaard took the Giro d’Italia leader’s pink jersey for the first time after completing a hat-trick of stage wins, the race favourite soloed to the summit to take stage 14, proving too strong for his rivals in the Alps.
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider, already successful on the summit finishes on stages seven and nine and, aiming to become the eighth rider to win all three Grand Tours, attacked with less than 5km left of the gruelling 133km ride from Aosta to Pila. The Dane looks set to win the Giro at his first attempt.
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Diamondbacks News
Diamondbacks Have Win Streak Snapped
Of course it would be the lowly Rockies that gave the Diamondbacks fits on Friday.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Exits Game with Hamstring Tightness
The veteran suffered a torn right ACL on Sept. 1, 2025, having to be carted off at Chase Field to end his campaign. Gurriel worked tirelessly to come back sooner than expected, and he made his 2026 debut on April 18.
Without Whiffs, Gallen Needs to Evolve
Can Gallen find renewed effectiveness despite a less effective fastball?
Diamondbacks’ Win Streak Comes to Unfortunate End
Michael Soroka deserved better than he got on Friday.
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Miguel Andújar’s Contract Has Been a Major Win for the Padres
The 31-year-old veteran is quietly putting together an impressive, consistent offensive season for the Padres as they seek to challenge the Dodgers for the NL West crown.
In an effort to calm my nerves before the game on Friday, I went to an art museum.
I wasn’t sure what I was looking for other than a distraction. Anything to stop myself from listening to one more increasingly obscure basketball podcast.
The exhibit on display was titled “International Surrealism: 50 Years of Dreams,” something I was passingly familiar with in the sense that if someone asked me if I know what surrealism was I’d say, “sure” and then if they pressed me on it, I’d probably go on to say, “It’s like, when something is surreal.”
Now, as I learned during this rainy afternoon stroll through the Frist Museum in Nashville, the artistic movement grew out of Paris in the 1920s, and its practitioners were super into the teachings of Freud, obsessed with the unconscious mind. However, where Freud was interested in this concept for therapeutic purposes, the surrealists were more like, “sure man, whatever, but what if we actually just used it to unlock the mysteries of the universe? Or at the very least, maybe paint some cool stuff?”
I passed through the galleries, nodding along, armed with my newfound knowledge and ready to be enlightened or inspired. I saw shapes. I saw colors. I saw sculptures. I then turned a corner and was, all of a sudden, alone in a room with Salvador Dalí’s Autumnal Cannibalism.
Like most things with Dalí, it was weird.
This painting…it’s somehow bright and yet muted, vivid and yet enshrouded in this deep grey darkness that pulls everything in the landscape towards it. Two figures, front and center, are locked together in some kind of unholy embrace, consuming each other. It’s somehow violent and peaceful at the same time. They’re melting into each other. I still don’t even know what I was really looking at, but it held me there for a long time, locked in that same embrace.
As the Spurs raced out to that 15-0 lead in the first quarter, I felt like I was having an out of body experience. It was exactly what I wanted. I’d spent two days obsessing with how the Spurs were going to respond to that Game 2 loss and this was the stuff dreams were made of. Our guys were everywhere. The Thunder looked like they couldn’t breathe. There wasn’t a shot that wouldn’t fall. A pass we couldn’t steal. Every single person in the crowd seemed like they were about to exit the physical realm and spend the rest of the game having to astral project into the AT&T Center.
The furthest reaches of my DNA felt like they were on fire. Flames were shooting out of my ears. I could feel my body shaking. I think I’ll remember that stretch of basketball for the rest of my life. I’ve never seen anything like it. When Hartenstein finally hit a floater, I thought to myself, surely, the game has got to be wrapping up soon considering I’ve lived a thousand different lifetimes since tipoff. I’d been to the molten core of the earth. I’d travelled to the outer reaches of the cosmos. I’d traversed through the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Surely, Mike Tirico was moments away from telling us, “So long, from San Antonio.”
It had been 4 minutes.
Four. Minutes.
I just wasn’t sure what to do with that information. My brain couldn’t process it. The Spurs had done it, you know? They’d figured out how to beat the Thunder and they’d gone out there and done it. Who cares if they’d taken care of the job in only four minutes? Stop the count. This was over. It had to be.
I spent the rest of the game, as I’m sure most of you did, melting into the floor, the euphoria slowly draining from my body as the cold realization came into focus that this thing was unraveling in front of us. It wasn’t even some kind of spectacular blow up, just a mundane, systematic dismantling of everything we’d built. The Thunder had grabbed ahold of the thread, and walked away.
Lying on the floor, lying on the floor, we’d come undone.
Surrealism, at its core, is the belief that two contradictory things can be simultaneously, uncomfortably true.
Something can be beautiful and horrible at the same time, occupying the same space. Terrifying and comforting. Completely fictional and utterly real.
It can be a pipe, even when it’s not.
I keep thinking about those two figures in the Dalí painting. Huge. Looming over everything. The act of destroying each other is grotesque in nature, but feels at home in their warped reality. Like they were meant to be here all along. The closer you look at it though, the more you realize the endgame. This isn’t a fair exchange between equals, not really. They take from each other, sure, but the darkness is overwhelming the light, threatening to consume it all.
The Spurs and Thunder are devouring each other in these games. It was a fight that, two days ago, felt like it was on equal ground. Today it’s starting to feel like the Thunder are absorbing everything the Spurs have to offer and the Spurs are simply trying to hold their shape.
It doesn’t feel like this can be the end. It doesn’t feel like it should be. Not yet.
Then again, none of this was the way it was supposed to go in the first place. The Spurs weren’t supposed to be this good, this fast. They weren’t supposed to get the 2 seed. They weren’t supposed to be able to challenge the Thunder. They weren’t supposed to be ready for any of this.
The Spurs are as good as we think they are. The Spurs are not as good as we thought.
The Spurs are flawed.
The Spurs are perfect.
I watched the Spurs go up 15-0 and then I watched them lose 123-108. I’m being asked to tell you which one was real.
The answer, as best I can tell, is both.
What goes into the decision to start a recap like this with a total non sequitur?
Well. See. What happened was that the game ended and I immediately sat down at my computer and started typing in an effort to avoid having to sit, think, and process what I had just watched.
So you sat down and started typing your piece, a piece that is, by nature, designed to help Spurs fans process their feelings about the game, in an effort to avoid processing your own feelings about the game?
That’s right.
So it wasn’t intentional to spend 400 words recapping your field trip to the museum instead of the Spurs game, it’s just what came out?
That’s right. Look, I knew I would have to talk about the Spurs eventually, but I also knew I wasn’t ready to do that yet so I decided to let my subconscious take a little walk before we got there. See what that turned up.
Honestly, that feels like it’s pretty in line with something the surrealists would approve of.
Their approval means the world to me.
Speaking of looking for approval, some guy in the comments of your last piece called your writing “middle school girl sludge.” How did that make you feel?
Hey, if I could actually ever write something with half the ethos, pathos, or logos of a middle school girl I’d basically pack up shop and call it a career.
So, really, he paid you a compliment?
It can be both.
