Jakub Dobes was back in net on Tuesday as the Montreal Canadiens hosted the San Jose Sharks. The Habs, who had a 4-3-1 record going in, were hoping to finally be able to get a regulation win and climb up the standings. Only one of the Sainte-Flanelle’s wins since the start of the year had come in regulation, and even Martin St-Louis acknowledged after the last game that his team needed to put games away when they had a lead.
Montreal started strong and kept the Sharks from even exiting their zone early in the first frame. Still, they couldn’t manage to maintain that dominance for very long and ultimately, an all-too-familiar scenario would play out at the Bell Centre.
While St-Louis adjusted his power play by bringing Zachary Bolduc on the first wave in the last game, the strategy hasn’t changed. The players are standing their ground and passing the puck around, but their lack of mobility makes the penalty killers’ job easy. Keeping an active stick when you don’t need to move isn't that challenging.
Furthermore, they lack creativity, and the passing has become predictable. Granted, the unit misses Ivan Demiodov, but waiting for his return won’t cut it, especially since he is still wearing a walking boot. The forward was spotted chatting to Andrei Markov just outside the Canadiens’ room after the game. The two times the Canadiens had a man advantage in the first frame, it actually killed their momentum rather than building it.
First Line Takeover
While the power play didn’t generate much, the Canadiens’ first line was dominant at even strength. Juraj Slafkovsky put up multiple points for the second game in a row, and his individual effort gave the Habs a 2-1 lead less than two minutes into the second frame. From then on, San Jose looked like a team playing a second game in as many nights, which they were, but that goal was a gut punch.
Caufield doubled the Canadiens’ lead thanks to a heads-up play by Lane Hutson, which gave his teammates a four-on-two. They couldn’t convert on the initial chance, but Nick Suzuki deflected the puck on net, then picked up his own rebound and fed the sniper from behind the net, giving Nedeljkovic no chance to stop it. On that play, Slafkovsky was in the box after he and Kaiden Guhle got involved in some extracurricular activity by the Sharks’ bench.
It Should Be Over (Again)
The Habs seemed in full control at the start of the third frame, and for a while they pressed on, but then they gave the game away. It all started when Hutson was dispossessed in the offensive zone, which led to an odd-man rush that San Jose capitalized on.
Less than five minutes later, Arber Xhekaj and Michael Kesselring tussled, both hanging on to each other. Still, the Habs player was the only one to drop the gloves, then punch Kesselring in the stomach after the linesman stepped in, earning an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Without that, the Sharks wouldn’t have had a power play on which Tyler Toffoli tied the game.
Jakub Dobes gets called for interference in OT... the Sharks head to the power-play. pic.twitter.com/f9F5TkbUv6
Fast forward to overtime, and Dobes takes a bad penalty: interference, as his team regained possession in the defensive zone. Three unanswered goals by a team that looked like it had a knee down on the mat in the second frame. Alexandre Carrier said it best:
We knew they’re a team that can come back from behind if you give them opportunities, and we knew we had to play the right way, but once again we made mistakes that cost us dearly, and when you give them life, they pick up momentum, and that’s dangerous. They have the skills to do it.
- Carrier on the defeat
From the outside, it almost looks like the Canadiens panic when they feel the game slipping away from them, but Carrier didn’t agree:
No, it’s not panic; it’s more frustration because it’s happened many times already. We know we have to fix this, and yet we did it again tonight.
Speaking to the press after the game, the coach looked like he was trying hard not to name names:
We’re leaving points on the table, and it’s our fault. You have to understand the game's score. We have 80 attempted shots against 40, maybe 50…We’re finding ways to leave points on the table, and it’s our fault. […] We were dominant at the start of the third, but there were actions that helped them. You have to cut down on the actions that help the other team. That’s all they want.
- St-Louis on the defeat
It was initially thought Dobes would be available to the press after the game, but it was ultimately decided he wouldn’t come out. That’s hardly surprising, given how the game ended. The Czech netminder wears his heart on his sleeve, and this defeat after a strong game will be hard to swallow. The coach himself hadn’t spoken to him, and he wasn’t sure whether he'd do so before the next game, or leave it in the capable hands of Marco Marciano.
Even if that kind of penalty is not always called, St-Louis has been saying over and over that players cannot give the referee the opportunity to make a call, and that’s exactly what Dobes did in overtime. He enjoys competing and being aggressive in net, but it cost him and, by the same token, the team.
Turnovers and bad penalties never win you games, no matter how well you played up to that point. In three of four games, the Canadiens gave up a third-period lead, and this time, they couldn’t find a way to win. Macklin Celibrini finished with two goals and an assist, showcasing how good a player he is, and for the third time in a row, the Sharks got two points against the Habs, this time thanks to a 4-3 overtime win.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - SEPTEMBER 30: Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts in the outfield against the Atlanta Braves during the seventh inning in game two of the National League Wild Card Series at Truist Park on September 30, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Let’s not kid ourselves. The World Series featuring two of the best, yet smallest market, teams in the game really isn’t going to have much of an effect on the labor negotiations. Team owners are not going to continue crying poor, that they can’t spend any money to keep up with the Dodgers. Maybe it slows down the momentum of missing games, but that’s about it.
Happy birthday to George Bell, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1975 – Carlton Fisk breaks up one of the best games in World Series history with a home run in the 12th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 7-6 victory against the Cincinnati Reds, forcing a seventh game to decide the winner of the 1975 World Series, and other stories as well.
Today in baseball history:
1925 – Marv Goodwin, a former pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals who joined the Cincinnati Reds at the end of the season, is killed in a plane he is piloting. At age 34, Goodwin is the first active player to die from injuries sustained in an airplane crash. Goodwin was one of the original spitballers who was “grandfathered.”
1964 – After just 11 years in Milwaukee, the Braves’ Board of Directors votes to ask the National League for permission to move to Atlanta. Milwaukee County officials sue to block the move.
1976 – With a 7-2 victory, the Cincinnati Reds win the World Series, completing a four-game sweep of the Yankees. It is the Reds’ second straight World Championship. Johnny Bench hits two home runs for five RBI. He finishes with a .533 batting average and is named Series MVP. Yankees catcher Thurman Munson has six straight singles to tie a World Series mark. Cincinnati becomes the first and only team to win a World Series using the identical batting lineup in every game of that Series, with no pinch-hitters, pinch-runners, or defensive replacements making an appearance. Cincinnati also becomes the first team ever to go through an entire League Championship Series and World Series without a defeat.
1995 – Atlanta beats Cleveland, 3-2, in Game 1 of the World Series behind star pitcher Greg Maddux. Fred McGriff homers for Atlanta, while Kenny Lofton of Cleveland becomes the first player since 1921 to steal two bases in one inning of a Series game. The two teams combine for only five hits, tying a World Series record for fewest hits by both clubs.
2015 – The Mets complete a sweep of the Cubs in the NLCS with an 8-3 win at Wrigley Field. They score four runs in the first and two in the second to run away with the game, while Daniel Murphy, who is named MVP of the series, sets a new postseason record by homering in his sixth straight game.
2017 – The Astros win Game 7 of the ALCS, 4-0, over the Yankees to clinch their-first ever American Leaguepennant. Having also won one in the National League in 2005, they become the first team to have done so in both major leagues. In the game, the Astros get a great combined pitching performance by Charlie Morton, who goes the first five innings, and Lance McCullers, who pitches the last four, limiting the Yankees to just three hits. Evan Gattis and Jose Altuve hit solo homers and Brian McCann drives in two runs, as CC Sabathia is charged with the loss.
1520 – Explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his fleet reach Cape Virgenes after transiting the Strait of Magellan between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, becoming the first Europeans to sail into the Pacific.
1797 – The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) is launched in Boston.
1959 – Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens in New York City.
1964 – Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia runs a world record 2:12:11.2 to beat Briton Basil Heatley by more than 4 minutes and win the men’s marathon at the Tokyo Olympics; he is the first athlete to win the Olympic marathon twice.
1973 – Fred Dryer of the Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game.
2024 – Findings are published of a massive collision of Earth with a large meteorite, four times the size of Mt. Everest, 3.26 billion years ago, so big it boiled the oceans and may have kickstarted early life.
Today in music history:
1858 – Jacques Offenbach’s operetta “Orpheus in the Underworld” (Orphée aux Enfers) premieres in Paris and includes “Infernal Galop” (can-can tune).
1975 – Asylum Records releases “Nighthawks at the Diner,” the third studio album by singer-songwriter Tom Waits; the double LP was recorded with a live audience in a simulated nightclub setting.
1978 – Rock musician Frank Zappa serves as both host and musical guest on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, appearing in several sketches and performing his songs “Dancin’ Fool,” “The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing,” and “Rollo.”
2001 – “United We Stand” benefit concert for September 11, 2001, terrorist attack victims is held at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., organized and headlined by Michael Jackson and featuring Aerosmith, Mariah Carey, and The Backstreet Boys.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - MARCH 30: William Contreras #24 of the Milwaukee Brewers rounds third base after hitting a two run homer in the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at American Family Field on March 30, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The ALCS is over, and in many ways, we’re about to witness the Spider-Man meme of World Series. The Brewers and Rays are opposite-league doppelgängers, teams that come from similar backgrounds (Matt Arnold came to Milwaukee from the Rays’ front office), have crossover in their past (the Drew Rasmussen-Willy Adames swap looms large in this series), face many similar challenges (they both come from small-ish markets and are in the bottom half of the league in revenue and payroll), and have exceeded expectations to the point that their success could even disrupt the owners’ push for a salary cap in collective bargaining negotiations this winter.
Because of the ways in which these teams have to approach team building, this will be a very different series from the one that the Brewers just finished with the Dodgers. While there are plenty of familiar names for baseball diehards, the series lacks the Q-rating that a series with wealthier teams might provide. Still, there are young superstars on both sides, solid and interesting pitching, big bullpen figures, and a couple of the best managers in modern times.
As we did before the Dodgers series, let’s break down each position to see which team has the advantage. Since I already talked about the Brewers players a bit in the Dodgers preview, I’ll focus more on the Rays here.
Manager
Brewers: Pat Murphy
Rays: Kevin Cash
I won’t give an advantage to either team, here: I just wanted to point out that only three managers have ever won back-to-back Manager of the Year awards, and two of them are in this series (Murphy has won each of the last two years and has a good shot at a third in a row; Cash won in 2020 and 2021). Cash was known early on as an analytics guy; he famously pulled Blake Snell earlier than Snell would have liked during the 2020 World Series, another one of those stupid moments that put “analytics” under the microscope. This is Cash’s second World Series appearance, and he’s now completed 12 years as Rays manager — assuming he comes back next year, he’ll surpass 1,000 wins early in the season.
Murphy, as mentioned, has a good shot at winning a third straight Manager of the Year, which has never been done, so it is perhaps needless to add that Murphy has only been an MLB manager for three years (outside of a half season as interim manager of the Padres back in 2015).
Murphy and Cash go about things in different ways, but they’re pretty clearly two of the top managers working in the league right now.
Liam Hicks (LH): 3.3 WAR, 126 OPS+ (0.7 WAR, 129 OPS+ in 41g with Rays); PS: 31 PA, .222/.300/.259
Nick Fortes (RH): 0.8 WAR, 89 OPS+; PS: 3 PA, 0-for-3
Hicks has had a really nice season — he was hitting .282/.363/.432 with 14 homers in 101 games with Miami when the Rays acquired him at the deadline, and he was even better in Tampa, with a .288/.379/.440 line in 41 games. He has struggled during the postseason, but he’s a good hitter. Fortes is unlikely to see much action.
Contreras has been the Brewers’ best hitter in the playoffs. He hit .375 with two homers in four games against San Diego, then hit .357 with a homer and a double against the Dodgers. If he continues to hit like he has, the Brewers will be in really good shape.
Advantage: Brewers. Hicks had a better regular season than Contreras, but Contreras has been far superior in the postseason, so we’ll let recency bias rule.
Andrew Vaughn (RH): 1.5 WAR, 130 OPS+; PS: 9 PA, .286/.444/.429
Rays:
Jonathan Aranda (LH): 2.2 WAR, 121 OPS+; PS: 40 PA, .257/.333/.343, 1 HR, 5 RBI
Bauers won NLCS MVP after going 4-for-14 with two of the biggest at-bats in team history: a 12-pitch walk against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2 and an 11-pitch two-run home run off of Blake Snell in Game 3 that flipped the scoreboard. In a continuation of his regular season, Bauers has been taking a whole bunch of walks (seven in 34 plate appearances this postseason) and doing damage when he puts the bat on the ball. He’s been huge.
Vaughn has also recreated his regular season: his appearances have been limited, but he’s played well when given chances. He’s only got nine plate appearances in the postseason, but he’s got a couple hits and a couple walks in there, including a double. Vaughn’s appearances are going to continue to be limited in the World Series, as none of the expected starters for Tampa Bay are left-handed, but he can definitely play a major part as a high-leverage pinch-hitter.
Aranda is a good hitter. He had 22 homers and 27 doubles this season, and he walks a little. He’ll hit near the top of the Rays’ lineup, and he’ll get his hits; Milwaukee will just have to try to limit the damage.
Advantage: Brewers. As I said, Aranda is good, but Bauers won NLCS hardware, and Vaughn is a potential weapon in this series.
Ben Williamson (RH): 0.8 WAR, 74 OPS+; PS: 11 PA, .125/.364/.125
At 29 and in his fifth season, Palacios is one of the more experienced Rays. He’s been really good this postseason, but he’s definitely been outperforming his about-league-average numbers of the regular season. Williamson is a defensive specialist who will probably get a few at-bats against left-handed pitching.
Turang, of course, is one of the league’s best players. After struggling in the NLDS versus San Diego and continuing a worrying offensive trend from last postseason, Turang had a great series against the Dodgers: he was 4-for-11 with a double, a homer, and five walks for a sterling .364/.563/.727 batting line. He’s also one of the best defensive players in the sport.
Ortiz and Hamilton are a solid platoon. Ortiz has looked lost most of the postseason at the plate, but he looked much better in Game 4 of the NLCS, when he picked up an RBI single and hit the ball hard a couple other times. Hamilton was a surprising spark plug during the NLCS, when he had a couple of huge moments and was a major catalyst.
That being said: Caminero is a superstar. He’s only 23 and he’s hit 87 home runs across the last two seasons, and he will probably finish in the top five in MVP voting in the AL this season. He might have the quickest bat in the league. He’s Tampa Bay’s Jackson Chourio, the catalyst for everything they do offensively. Caminero’s defense is a little sketchy and he’s led the majors in double plays grounded into in each of the last two years, so there are some holes in his game, but he’s the most dangerous offensive player left in the playoffs.
Advantage: Rays. Ortiz and Hamilton should do fine, but Caminero is one of the main characters of the series.
Shortstop
Brewers:
Cooper Pratt (RH): 1.7 WAR, 99 OPS+; PS: 30 PA, .310/.310/.345
Rays:
Taylor Walls (SH): 3.5 WAR, 71 OPS+; PS: 31 PA, .148/.233/.148
Jorge Mateo (RH): -1.0 WAR, 8 OPS+ with Rays; PS: 4g, 0 PA
Walls is one of the league’s best defensive players — he led the majors in Baseball Reference’s dWAR this season — but he can’t hit at all. Mateo has appeared as a defensive sub a couple times but hasn’t had an at-bat this postseason; it is hard to blame the Rays after he hit .141/.181/.205 in 84 plate appearances after the Rays picked him up following a release by the Braves.
Pratt has gotten his hits this postseason — a good thing, as his typically solid defense has been shaky, especially early in the playoffs. The Brewers are hoping that Pratt is past the defensive hiccups that he’s had already; if he can keep up his hitting (nine hits in 29 at-bats, one double) it would be a bonus.
Advantage: Wash. Pratt’s offensive upside is probably higher and he’s feeling it at the plate. Walls is a defensive stud, but if Pratt can avoid the mistakes he’s made so far this postseason, he could be just as good.
Outfield
Brewers:
Jackson Chourio (RH): 4.9 WAR, 129 OPS+; PS: 38 PA, .171/.211/.343, 2 HR, 7 RBI
Ryan Vilade(RH): 0.8 WAR, 108 OPS+; PS: 7 PA, .200/.429/.800, 1 HR
The Rays have an interesting mix in the outfield. Simpson is perhaps the league’s fastest player, a left-handed slap hitter who has zero homers in over 1,000 career plate appearances. He doesn’t walk as much as you’d like for a player with his speed, but he gets a ton of infield hits and bunt hits, and once he’s on the bases he steals bases (he led the AL with 46 this season). Simpson has also worked hard to improve his defense, and is a plus defender in left field.
Mesa Jr. is a 24-year-old rookie who played well for the Rays after he was called up in late May. He only played in 79 games this season, but Mesa’s 127 OPS+ was second on the team. DeLuca is a 28-year-old in his fourth season, and he splits his time between center and right. DeLuca has reverse platoon splits this season — he’s better, fairly significantly, against right-handed pitchers — and has some pop, with 11 homers and 24 doubles in 370 plate appearances during the regular season.
Vilade is a utility presence for this team. He’s just 27 but is already playing on his fifth MLB team, even though he’d played just 28 games at the big-league level prior to this season. Vilade was a positive offensive presence this season while appearing at both corner outfield positions, first, second, and third. Mullins is this group’s veteran presence: he’s in his ninth big-league season and once finished in the top 10 in MVP voting when he was in Baltimore. That was five years ago, though; Mullins has lost a step and hasn’t had an above-average offensive season since 2024.
On the Brewer side, Chourio and Mitchell have both had huge moments this postseason. Chourio has managed to be productive despite what could be the worst batted-ball luck I’ve ever seen; he’s been killing the ball all postseason, he’s just been hitting it straight at people. Mitchell, of course, had huge homers in the third and fourth games of the Dodger series, including the one that put Milwaukee in the lead in the clincher.
Advantage: Brewers. No one on the Tampa side has anywhere close to the level of star power that Chourio has, and I think you’d rather have Mitchell than any of the Rays’ outfielders, too. It would be nice if Milwaukee could get some production from whoever plays right field, but thus far solid defense has been enough.
Designated Hitter
Brewers:
Christian Yelich (LH): 0.1 WAR, 91 OPS+; PS: 27 PA, .292/.370/.333
Díaz, quietly, has been one of the league’s best hitters for some time now: since he became a Ray in 2019, he’s a .291/.370/.448 hitter (130 OPS+) in almost 1,000 regular season games, he won a batting title, he’s made a couple of All-Star teams, and he’s gotten MVP votes three times. He led the American League in hits this season while putting together another typically solid season. Díaz doesn’t hit with a ton of power but he’s got plenty of pop (as evidenced by his big home run in Game 6 of the ALCS); he’s what we once would have called a “professional hitter.”
Yelich had a poor season, but he’s been holding his own this postseason. He hasn’t shown any power, but he’s gotten timely hits, most notably the two-run single that immediately followed Bauers’ epic 12-pitch walk against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2 of the NLCS.
Rasmussen and Peralta, both players with ties to the Brewers, have been, by far, the best 1-2 punch in the postseason thus far. Rasmussen, who the Rays acquired from the Brewers in the Willy Adames swap in 2021, has averaged seven innings per start — no Brewer has gone even six innings in a start this postseason — and has allowed just three runs while picking up 23 strikeouts to just three walks in those 21 innings. He threw an absolute gem against the Yankees in the ALDS: eight shutout innings, one hit, 1o strikeouts. This caps a season in which Rasmussen emerged as one of the league’s best pitchers: after injury issues over his first five seasons, Rasmussen has reached 150 innings two years in a row and has made back-to-back All-Star Games, and he led the AL in WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio this season. He could finish in the top five in AL Cy Young voting this season.
Peralta, one of the most popular pitchers in Brewers history, suffered through an awful four months in New York and was acquired by Tampa Bay at the deadline. What followed was perhaps one of the more embarrassing turns in a series of embarrassing moments for that Mets front office: after a couple of starts to settle in, Peralta has been arguably the best pitcher in baseball since September started; he won the Pitcher of the Month award in the season’s last month, and has been fantastic in the postseason, taking home ALCS MVP honors.
Martinez has been a solid presence all season. The 36-year-old has been around a long time — he debuted in 2014 with Texas, pitched there for four seasons, spent the next four years in Japan, and returned stateside as a much better pitcher. He made his first All-Star Game this season when he had a 3.10 ERA in 31 starts. He doesn’t walk anyone — he led the majors with just 1.3 walks per nine innings — but he also doesn’t strike batters out, and there are some underlying metrics here that might give the Brewers some confidence.
Jax has been one of the more extreme “good FIP, bad ERA” pitchers in baseball over the last seven years. He was a high-leverage reliever for the Twins before the Rays acquired him at last year’s trade deadline; this year, they converted him into a starter, where he had moderate success. He’s made one start and one relief appearance this postseason but has walked three batters and given up four runs in six innings.
The Brewers will, of course, hope that the long layoff between starts will give Misiorowski a chance to look more like the pitcher he was during the regular season. He hasn’t been bad, but his ability to miss bats has diminished in the postseason and he has struggled to put batters away, leading to a ton of foul balls and extremely high pitch counts, limiting him to just 8 1/3 innings across two starts. He’s still been relatively effective, but he hasn’t looked like the guy who is going to win the Cy Young Award.
Henderson and Gasser have filled important roles for the Brewers; Henderson hasn’t been quite as good as he looked for most of the regular season, but Gasser has made two huge starts for Milwaukee. May hasn’t been good; he might start Game 4, but he’s had his issues in the postseason and isn’t likely to play a major role.
Advantage: Rays. This isn’t the gauntlet that the Dodgers could boast in the NLCS (whom the Brewers handled quite easily), but Rasmussen and Peralta are both pitching quite a bit better than any starter on the Brewers right now. But they’ve also faced two offenses — the Yankees without Aaron Judge and the Guardians — who didn’t pose nearly as big a threat as the Brewers do. You have to give the Rays the advantage based on postseason results thus far, but if Misiorowski and Henderson benefit from their rest and the Brewer offense continues to whir, this could easily flip.
Baker is the linchpin here. He led the majors with 41 saves (tied with Cleveland’s Cade Smith) and pitched to a sparkling 1.44 ERA. The 3.07 FIP number is a little less scary, though; Baker isn’t as overpowering as some closers (he sits at 96 mph with has fastball and has relatively pedestrian strikeout numbers) but he did a great job all season at keeping hitters off balance and limiting hard contact. At this point, the 31-year-old Baker is a one-year wonder: over five previous seasons, he’d pitched to a 3.86 ERA and 3.47 FIP in over 200 appearances, but the magic certainly hasn’t worn off yet, as he has five saves in seven scoreless appearances this postseason.
Seymour finished the season as a member of the Rays’ rotation but has moved into relief work in the postseason. He’s been their most-used lefty so far this October — he gets a lot of strikeouts, but he’s given up a couple of homers in seven outings this postseason. Cam Booser (not to be confused with Cam Boozer) will be another prolific lefty for Cash, but he’s more of a LOOGY type.
Wells is the other player here who has had a lot of success. He started the season with Baltimore and pitched to a 2.67 ERA in 54 innings, then got even better when the Rays acquired him at the trade deadline; after the trade he gave up just three earned runs in 18 innings (1.50 ERA).
Sulser, Matz, and Hopkins are the Drohan, Patrick, and Harrison of the Rays’ pen this postseason: they’ve combined for two appearances in nine games. Hopkins has pitched only six times in the majors: he was a top 40 prospect via Baseball America coming into the season but didn’t have a great year for Triple-A Durham and clearly hasn’t yet earned a place on Cash’s trust tree.
The big question remaining for Milwaukee: will Brandon Woodruff take one of these spots? That’s been covered on our website, but it’s really the only remaining roster question for this team. If he does work his way into the mix, expect him to take the roster spot of either Harrison or Patrick.
Advantage: Brewers. The Rays have one of the game’s best closers, but so do the Brewers, and the Brewers are in better shape in front of Megill than the Rays are in front of Baker; I’d take Uribe and Ashby before any non-Baker reliever on the Rays, and I’d consider Hall in that conversation, too.
Wrapping Up
Here’s the tl;dr version:
Catcher: Brewers, slightly First Base: Brewers, slightly Second Base: Brewers, big time Third Base: Rays, big time Shortstop: Wash Outfield: Brewers Designated Hitter: Rays Starting Pitching: Rays Bullpen: Brewers
I’ve got the Brewers as better in five areas and the Rays better in three, with shortstop being more or less a wash. The Brewers appear to me to be a more complete team, and even in some of the areas where I favor the Rays — starting pitching being the primary example — it’s not hard for me to imagine a situation where the Brewers outperform their opponents. The great equalizer is Caminero, who is the best hitter in the series, though one could say the same about Misiorowski on the other side.
TUCSON, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 10: Ike Irish #10 of the Baltimore Orioles bats during a game between the Mesa Solar Sox and the Peoria Javelinas at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday, October 10, 2026 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning Birdland,
As we wait for the World Series to begin on Friday, there may be a baseball-sized hole in your evening entertainment. That reminded me that the Arizona Fall League does, in fact, exist, and there are a handful of intereting Orioles prospects in action. So, I wanted to check in on them.
All of the players that the Orioles send to the AFL are on the Peoria Javelinas, alongside youngsters from the Cardinals, Mariners, Padres, and Reds. Through 14 games, the Javelinas are 7-7, though they lead the league with a +25 run differential.
Vance Honeycutt is tied for second in the league in home runs (three) and is sixth in slugging percentage (.652). That has been accompanied by 11 strikeouts and 10 walks against 23 at-bats, so any hope of him shaking the “three true outcomes” label has fallen short. But at least he is getting more of the positive outcomes than he was early on in the regular season.
Ike Irish has been one of the top overall hitters in the league so far. Across 34 at-bats the former first-round pick has a .353/.421/.559 slash line with two homers, three walks, and five strikeouts. It’s been an encouraging recovery from the torn meniscus that ended his regular season in late July.
Brandon Butterworth is hitting .233/.410/.433 with three doubles, nine walks and 10 strikeouts. The 24-year-old spent about a month at Triple-A this year, but saw his bat fall off after the promotion. He could be in the mix for a utility role at the big league level in the near future.
The pitching stats are a bit less interesting to look at, because the volume of innings is pretty low across the board. But here are some highlights: Braxton Bragg has thrown six shutout innings. Patrick Reilly has a 1.29 ERA across seven innings and was named Pitcher of the Week just a couple of days ago. Kiefer Lord has allowed four runs in three innings of work. Teddy Sharkey has two strikeouts and three walks across 2.2 frames. And Kailen Hamson has four walks and four strikeouts in three innings.
The AFL is an interesting rung on the developmental ladder that usually serves to give extra in-game looks to players that missed time with injury. The workloads are truncated because the rosters are packed with players from all 30 organizations trying to accomplish the same thing. So, you don’t want to overreact any which way. But it is interesting baseball nonetheless.
Orioles Sign Jayvien Sandridge To Minor League Deal | MLB Trade Rumors Sanbridge, born in Hagerstown, is a a 27-year-old lefty that spent most of the year injured, but did pitch in six games with Norfolk. The Yankees called him up to the big leagues in 2025 for a cup of coffee, so this would seem to be another depth signing aimed at reinforcing the bullpen.
This, that and the other | Roch Kubatko Not much to talk about here. Kubatko mentions that Cade Povich had a left elbow debridement procedure, in case you missed it. The southpaw is an interesting figure heading into 2027. He’s had some intriguing moments as a starter, but not with the consistency that the Orioles would need start to start. For me, he fits well as a “swingman” type, making shorter spot starts or providing length out of the bullpen a couple of times a week.
Oriole fans have Rays’ rooting interest in World Series | Baltimore Baseball Every team in the AL East has at least made it to the World Series in the last decade, except for the Orioles. The Rays this year, the Blue Jays in 2025, the Yankees in 2024, and the Red Sox in 2018. So far, only the Red Sox have won the thing. Am I going to root for a division rival, even one with a bunch of familiar faces on it, to do the same? I’m torn.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
Matt Krook turns 32 today. The lefty pitched in one game for the Orioles back in 2024.
The late Valmy Thomas (b. 1925, d. 2010) was born on this day. He spent eight games as a catcher with the Orioles in 1960.
This day in O’s history
Nothing of note has happened in Orioles history, according to Baseball Reference. So, here are a few things that have occurred outside of Birdland:
1940 – The first edition of Ernest Hemingway’s novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is published.
1959 – The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opens to the public in New York City.
1973 – Fred Dryer of the Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safties in the same game.
1983 – The meter is defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
Lakers center Walker Kessler understands the pressure that comes with playing for the iconic NBA franchise. His competitive nature embraces the opportunity. (Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
The last name of iconic Lakers centers is placed above their number on a wall at the team’s practice facility. Centers who have dominated the NBA on their way to the Hall of Fame.
Each day at practice, new Lakers center Walker Kessler has cast his eyes toward the wall, marveling at those names and numbers, unable to look away from a group of big men who left an indelible mark on the sport of basketball.
“Yup, they got some bigs up there, some great bigs,” Kessler said.
He chuckled.
There is Gasol (16), Mikan (99), Abdul-Jabbar (33), Chamberlain (13) and O’Neal (34).
“You know, obviously, there’s a certain legacy that comes with being a Laker big,” said Kessler, who wears No. 14. “But honestly, it’s just what an opportunity this is to play for a franchise that has had just historic bigs. I think that Lakers fans, when their bigs are at that level, they fall in love with them. So, what an opportunity.”
Lakers center Walker Kessler, looking to block a shot by Warriors center Yaxel Lendeborg during a preseason game last week, has averaged 2.4 blocks a game in his young career. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
Starting with George Mikan to Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaquille O’Neal to Pau Gasol, all of them have won championships playing for the Lakers and all of them have had their jerseys retired by the franchise.
Kessler is the next center in line, the next big man who will try to live up to those lofty standards.
Surely, Kessler was asked, he has to feel some inherent pressure to follow in the footsteps of that majestic group, starting Wednesday night when the Lakers open the regular season at Crypto.com Arena against the Golden State Warriors.
“I think it depends on how you look at it,” Kessler said. “If you do look at it as an approach of, ‘Oh my gosh, I got to perform this certain way.’ But, I think it’s twofold. With pressure or with opportunity comes somewhat a level of pressure. But to focus on the opportunity and being grateful for the ability to be in that position, you know?
“If I talked to my 8-year-old self telling me, ‘Hey, you’re going to be the starting Lakers center,’ it puts it in perspective. So what an opportunity. I’m just so grateful to God. I mean, it’s fantastic.”
Pressure is something Kessler feels equipped to handle, even while acknowledging that the stakes are high and that all the noise about the high price the team paid to acquire him only increased the volume.
The Lakers got Kessler from the Utah Jazz in a sign-and-trade deal in which L.A. sent two first-round draft picks and two first-round draft swaps for him. Then the Lakers gave Kessler a four-year, $130-million deal.
“I think I try to put pressure on myself because at the end of the day, it is a sport and I play my best version of myself when I go out there and compete every night and just play with joy,” Kessler said. “I think pressure kind of steals that. So for me, again, it’s just focusing on the opportunity. The Lakers’ fan base is obviously a massive global presence, so to have a chance to have that backing is pretty exciting.”
After meeting Kessler and having several conversations with him, Lakers coach JJ Redick has no worries about that pressure.
Besides, Redick is part of Kessler’s support system.
“Well, I think he wants to embrace that. I think that’s why he wanted to be a Laker,” Redick said. “And why he wanted to be here was because of the fact that there are stakes every single night when you wear a Lakers uniform. We’ve had a number of conversations.… We had a long conversation the other day about it. I think the awareness is there, how you navigate that early on and how you navigate that in your first year. There’s no way to predict that because you’ve never dealt with it before.
“But he’s got great support around him. … I’m here to help him. We’re all here to support him. All these guys that haven’t gone through it, there’s nothing like it. And I think they all want to embrace it. They all have a chip on their shoulder about it. They want to make Lakers fans proud, and I know they will.”
Lakers center Walker Kessler, driving to the basket against two Kings defenders during the final preseason game last week, has averaged nearly 10 points and 10 rebounds a game in his career. (Ben Liebenberg / Associated Press)
Redick wanted Kessler on his team.
Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka wanted Kessler on his team.
At 7-foot-2, active and mobile, they all felt he was the perfect fit to play alongside Doncic. Kessler is the lob threat, rim-runner, screen-setter and defender Doncic has thrived with in the past when leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals.
“It’s extremely humbling,” Kessler said. “Again, just so grateful to have a franchise that’s this historic to show that they want you and show that they value you. And then having Luka, arguably the greatest player in the league right now, saying that he wants me specifically. … Yeah, just very, very grateful.”
An injured shoulder limited Kessler to only five games last season with the Jazz.
And, he’s only started in 125 out of the 201 games he has played in over his first four seasons in the NBA.
But over that time, Kessler displayed his skill set, averaging 9.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 1.2 assists a game.
Lakers center Walker Kessler, at 7-foot-2, towers over guar Collin Sexton as they walk onto the team's practice court for media day. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
Many around the NBA think Doncic can unleash even more out of Kessler, and that’s why the superstar guard wanted him on the Lakers.
“I’m very excited,” Doncic said. “Obviously [I was] kind of involved, not signing him but there was a lot of communication with Rob and JJ about him, so I’m very excited to just share the floor with him.”
Kessler said his love for the game of basketball grew so much after he was forced to miss 77 games last season recovering from having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
He’s ready to show Lakers fans his worth.
“I’m fully healthy. I feel fantastic body-wise,” Kessler said. “The only thing, like I was saying before, is kind of the rust and kind of getting back into the game feel in a sense. The NBA, you’re playing against the best players in the world. You’re not going to your local YMCA.”
Basketball runs in his family.
His dad Chad, brother, Houston and uncle, Alec, all played basketball at Georgia. His dad was drafted by the Clippers and his uncle played for the Miami Heat.
Somehow, Walker ended up going to Auburn. Nevertheless, his family is always around for advice.
“My dad and brother are some of my biggest supporters. They’re incredible,” Kessler said. “They didn’t put pressure on me to go one way or the other way. My dad even texts me after every game. Yeah, before the game, after the game, my brother, we talk all the time. So they’re fantastic.”
When asked what he likes to do when he’s just chilling, Kessler laughed.
“Getting to the real stuff now,” he said, smiling.
One thing that stood out was that Kessler said he likes to play board games, particularly Catan.
Is he as competitive playing Catan as he is when he plays basketball?
“What do you think? I’m a psychopath,” Kessler said, laughing. “So are my buddies, though. It’s a good time. We sometimes get a little heated, but it’s good though. It’s all in fun. So, yeah, Lakers fans should know that I’m competitive. Very competitive.”
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - OCTOBER 17: Dylan Larkin #71 of the Detroit Red Wings looks on against the San Jose Sharks during the second period at Little Caesars Arena on October 17, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Here are your links for today:
Devils Links
Luke Evangelista had two points in his return to the lineup while Declan Chisholm, Arseny Gritsyuk and Jesper Boqvist also tallied. The Devils took a 4-3 win over the Avs on Tuesday. [Devils NHL]
The list of early NHL trade candidates features some easy-to-identify names: players who have asked for trades or been the subject of rumors for months. But what about would-be trade targets who might be less obvious? [The Athletic ($)]
“At least three teams remain in the mix to trade for Connor Hellebuyck, sources told ESPN, though there’s no guarantee the Winnipeg Jets goaltender will be moved before his team-issued suspension ends Friday. If a trade doesn’t materialize this week, the Jets are likely to resume paying Hellebuyck while keeping him away from the team, according to sources.” [ESPN]
More history for Connor McDavid:
Connor McDavid (6-20—26 in 9 GP) required the fewest games in NHL history to reach 20 assists in a single season. 🍎 #NHLStats
NBA Games don’t typically boil down to just one possession. But one possession can often tell the story of a game. This is “One Possession,” a recurring series where we highlight one notable sequence from every Celtics game during the 2026-27 season.
The Boston Celtics carved out a pretty clear identity last season: Play harder and smarter than the opponent, and try to dominate the margins. They piled up a bunch of wins because of it.
That’s the road map again this year, even with a new-look roster, but the Celtics lost their way at times in the season-opener in Detroit.
Boston built a 23-point second-half lead (72-50 after a Paul George 3-pointer with 8:32 to play in the third quarter), but the Pistons surged within a single possession later in that frame. The Celtics pushed their lead back to 12 early in the fourth frame and led 99-89 with 8:19 to play after a Derrick White 3-pointer.
Then the wheels came off.
Not only did the Pistons embark on an improbable 23-0 run, they needed little more than two minutes to erase that double-digit deficit and pull ahead 101-99. Both Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser endured avoidable 3-shot fouls on Duncan Robinson early in the fourth quarter, further fueling Detroit’s offensive eruption, but it was often bad offense that led to poor defense for the Celtics.
Which sets the table for today’s possession. After watching the Pistons shuffle ahead, the Celtics desperately needed something to settle them down. Derrick White produced a live-ball turnover, but Boston lacked numbers in transition and the play quickly devolved into a Jayson Tatum isolation.
Despite drawing three defenders as he dribbled from beyond the arc, and despite having not made a 3-pointer on a day in which he would finish 0-for-7 from distance, Tatum elected to pull up with Detroit big man Jalen Duren leaping to contest.
The shot — which the NBA’s tracking gave just a 34.4 percent expected field goal percentage — rattled out, and things went from bad to worse.
Duren beat all the Celtics down the floor, got away with a little push off as Tatum tried to seal him off, and Ausar Thompson lobbed the ball over the top from the other end of the floor for a Duren and-one layup.
The Celtics didn’t work hard enough to generate good shots during Detroit’s run. Boston most certainly did not work hard enough to get back on defense and generate the stops that could have led to easier opportunities in transition. And in the span of less than four minutes, the Celtics went from up double digits to down 10 with 4:27 to play.
Fumbling away a big lead while poor offense leads to bad defense is not an unfamiliar storyline for the Celtics, who have routinely struggled to salt away games with what should be a comfortable cushion in recent seasons. The team has typically been able to catch itself despite making things interesting.
On Tuesday, Boston could not.
The maddening part is that Boston’s entire identity is built on being the harder-playing team. And yet in key spots, the effort was lacking. The Celtics didn’t run with White in transition, Tatum settled for a low-percentage pull-up as the offense went cold, and Mitchell Robinson was too slow getting back on defense as Duren got the and-one.
The Celtics pulled Robinson in favor of Neemias Queta after Duren’s bucket. Players said after the game that communication and effort need to be better all around.
Boston had uncharacteristic turnovers early that complicated matters. The fouls chasing Robinson beyond the 3-point arc in the fourth quarter might have been even more maddening. The Celtics didn’t dominate the margins the way they did throughout the preseason and allowed Detroit to be the more physical team overall.
The Celtics have to work harder for better possessions. They have to work harder to generate stops, especially when the other team has momentum. Boston didn’t work hard enough to maintain its identity in Detroit.
Sam Konstas scored a first Sheffield Shield century since December, while Australian ODI regular Xavier Bartlett inflicted the reigning champions their first defeat in more than a year as Victorian rising star Harry Hoekstra continued to shine.
Australia’s batters will have to produce one of the finest rearguard actions in recent memory after a horrific day with the bat put South Africa on the brink of levelling the series on the final day of the second Test in Gqeberha.
PHOENIX — Hall of Famer Robin Yount knew that a luxurious 12-day cruise to Italy had been scheduled long ago by his wife, but it wasn’t until he was nearly aboard the ship that he realized the timing.
The Major League Baseball playoffs were underway and his beloved Milwaukee Brewers, were smack in the middle of it.
Damn. He wanted to be there.
At the least, he wanted to be able to watch on TV.
Well, you try catching a TV signal while bobbing along the waves in the Atlantic.
“I hadn’t paid attention to the timing of this cruise," Yount tells USA TODAY Sports. “I pulled up the schedule, and it was the start of the playoffs. The first two games [of the NL Division Series], I couldn’t get the games on anything, but the ESPN app.
“So here I am, it’s 2:30 in the morning, and I’m lying in bed for three hours, watching stick figures of balls and strikes, and the lights where the ball was going until 6 in the morning. Then, I remembered, 'Hey, you idiot, you can use the Sirius app to listen.' Then I’m lying in bed all night with an earpiece listening to the broadcast.
“So what was supposed to be a nice, relaxing cruise with stuff going on all day long, and I’m getting about six hours of sleep the entire trip. When the cruise ended, I was beat up."
Yount, who had that iconic motorcycle ride into old Milwaukee County Stadium after the 1982 season, retreated with his wife, Michele, to their Phoenix-area home to watch Games 3 and 4 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium.
They watched every pitch of every inning, with the Brewers sweeping the Dodgers and winning the pennant for the first time in 44 years, when Yount won the American League MVP award. They fell in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals in that World Series, and haven’t been back, still seeking their first title in franchise history.
“When we lost in ’82, we all thought we’d be back to the World Series the next year," Yount says. “It took us 44 years. So when we won in LA, let’s just say I may have overserved myself a little bit. I guarantee you that every guy on that ’82 team was watching and celebrating, too."
This Brewers team reminds Yount of their ’82 team with the joy, passion and determination. Maybe they don’t stay in the clubhouse until 2 in the morning having a few pops and talking ball, with this new generation of Brewers going home to play video games. This team has a personal chef with a nutritional menu in the clubhouse and would be appalled at the notion of downing hamburgers and bratwurst before and after games like their ancestors. But, oh, does this team play the game hard with an emphasis on fundamentals, just like Yount’s.
“I love the way they play, but we may want this more than even they [the current Brewers team] do," Yount says. “We still believe we have some unfinished business to take care of. It’d be a huge relief to win this now with all of us still around to see it."
Yount, 71, robustly laughs. Hey, when you were drafted out of high school and raised as a Brewer, reaching the big leagues when you’re still a teenager, play your entire 20-year career with the Brewers, inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Brewer, and are widely regarded as the greatest Brewer player of all-time, that blue and gold stays in your bloodstream.
“Oh man, I live and breathe with these guys," Yount says. “I grew up in LA, but I was never a Dodger fan. We had so many years of disappointment and heartbreak against them. And then to beat them the way we did, it couldn’t have been a better script."
Now, 44 years later, here they are, playing in a different stadium, in a different league, and against a team that didn’t exist during Yount’s career, in the World Series beginning Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays at American Family Field.
“The fans, not just in Milwaukee, but the entire state of Wisconsin, they are all starving for this," Yount says. “They have as much passion as any fanbase in baseball. The city, all of Wisconsin, nobody’s missing this. The TV ratings won’t be low in Wisconsin, I guarantee you that."
Yount, who has been constantly exchanging text messages with his former teammates, certainly isn’t about to miss this World Series. He is taking 15 family members to Milwaukee where he will throw out the ceremonial first pitch Friday with Bud Selig, Commissioner Emeritus of Baseball, who brought the Brewers to Milwaukee in 1970 and made sure they never left.
Yount never left, either.
A two-time MVP and one of the most gifted all-around athletes of his generation, who even considered quitting baseball at one point to become a professional golfer on the PGA Tour or a Motocross rider, certainly had opportunities to depart. He twice was a free agent, heavily coveted by the Dodgers and Angels, but always came back to Milwaukee. He could have received more money on the free-agent market, gotten more fame, but his heart belonged with the good folks of Wisconsin, and particularly Selig, the Brewers’ beloved owner.
“It was the right fit for me," Yount says. “I was an extremely shy kid except for the baseball field and the motocross track. I was just always comfortable in Milwaukee. The smaller market was probably better for me. The only time I considered leaving is after that one taste of the World Series. That’s what motivated me, to have that shot again.
“But Mr. Selig was a car salesman before he bought the Brewers, and he did a pretty good sales job keeping me there. But you know something, he was absolutely right.
“If I had left, it would have been the biggest mistake I made in my career."
Yount, who amassed 3,142 hits, and joined Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg and Alex Rodriguez as the only players to win MVP awards playing two different positions (shortstop and center field), says the only regret in his career is not winning that World Series championship.
But, oh, did they ever come close.
They clinched the AL East on the final day of the regular season against the Baltimore Orioles when he hit two home runs off future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer. They trailed 2-0 in the AL Championship Series to the star-studded California Angels, with Reggie Jackson, Rod Carew and Don Baylor, before winning the final three games. And, with Yount batting .414 with three doubles, a homer, six RBI and a 1.072 OPS in the World Series – becoming the only player to produce two four-hit games in a World Series – they lost the seventh and deciding game when they blew a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning.
The Brewers, a team with four future Hall of Famers, was built on power with Gorman Thomas and Ben Oglivie hitting more home runs than the entire Cardinals’ team. The irony now is that this Brewers’ edition is built like the ol’ Cardinals. They hit the second-fewest homer runs in baseball and ranked fifth in stolen bases, while back in 1982 the Cardinals hit just 67 homers and stole 200 bases.
“We played hard, we played to win, just like this team, but our team was a total different team than this one," Yount says. “We had a lot of power through the lineup. The lineup was unbelievable. We scored a ton of runs. But those guys, man, they can run and beat you in so many ways.
“I’m just hoping this year’s team brings the same results as that Cardinals team."
Who knows, maybe this time around, Yount will be riding his motorcycle into Great American Family Field proudly carrying the World Series banner instead of riding his dirt bike to a Brewers’ rally he wanted no part of, still livid over their World Series defeat.
The Brewers had already arranged a downtown parade and celebration at County Stadium before the end of the World Series, and two days after losing Game 7 in 1982, they still went on with the ceremony with beloved Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Uecker as the MC.
“We came back from St. Louis just after losing the World Series," says Yount, who sobbed in the back of the plane on the ride back to Milwaukee, “and they told us they were going to have parade for us. In every players’ mind, the last thing we wanted to do is have parade after losing the World Series. We had to be there at 8 or 9 in the morning.
“So, the little bit of rebel in me, I had a dirt bike in the garage, and even though it’s not street legal, I didn’t care about anything at that point. It was my way of showing I was upset. I rode 10 miles, parked the bike by the dugout, and did the whole parade, with the fans celebrating like we won.
“We’re done with the parade, and I’m walking downstairs, [teammates] Pete Vukovich and Ted Simmons see the bike, and say, “Is this yours? You rode it here? What’s it doing here?"
Then, came the challenge.
Vukovich and Simmons: “Why don’t you ride it on the field?"
The center field gate opened, Yount, wearing a leather jacket, jeans and dark sunglasses, jumps on the motorcycle, roared around the warning track, with no helmet and his hair flying, riding right up to home plate.
The crowd roared, and the scene became such an iconic memory that the Brewers created a bobblehead with Yount atop the dirt bike.
“It was quite the celebration for losing," Yount says. “It went over pretty good. It certainly wasn’t planned on my part, so blame it on Vuk and Simba."
Yount, who still rides his motorcycles on the streets and surrounding mountains in Phoenix, and loves working on his bikes even more, will gladly ride his motorcycle one more time into a ballpark.
But only in a victory celebration at American Family Field in front of a euphoric Brewers’ crowd.
“You have no idea how bad I want this, and so does everyone else on that ’82 team,’’ Yount says. “We’ve waited such a long time for this.
“I just wish Ueck was around, but I guarantee he’s got a front-row seat watching this. He’s with us. We can feel it.’’
And, with four more victories, the spirit of Ueck, Selig and every single member of that ’82 team, will be celebrating, long and hard, making a Milwaukee winter seem downright balmy.
“I never had the courage to spend the winter in Milwaukee,’’ Yount says, “but I’d love see that parade. We’ve had to wait 44 years.
“I just want to see my team win, at last, while we’re still alive to see it."
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Kings' training camp and preseason are officially behind us, and the 2026-27 regular season is set to start again.
There's excitement surrounding the team in California's capital for their upcoming season following a tumultuous 2025-26 that saw injuries and losses pile up. In turn, it resulted in one of the worst seasons in Kings history since moving to Sacramento in 1985, finishing 22-60.
But now they have a clean slate. 0-0. It's a new day. There's a newfound energy that fills the Kings' practice facility at Golden 1 Center. And a reason to be hopeful that the Kings won't be as bad as they were in the previous year.
"Everyone's excited," Domantas Sabonis told USA TODAY. "There was a lot of guys who were hurt. A lot of guys that didn't play above like 20 games. So just being out there. Everyone's happy to be out there, you know go out there and do what you love."
Sabonis appeared in just 19 games with a torn left meniscus injury, Keegan Murray only played 23 games mostly due to an ankle injury. Zach LaVine missed half the season with a right pinky injury. All three have reported to camp healthy, ready to compete. Second-year center Maxime Raynaud did have a setback with a right knee injury in a preseason game against the Golden State Warriors, but he'll be reevaluated in a week.
The Kings' offseason wasn't very busy; it did have some moments. It was highlighted by the retirement of Russell Westbrook, a contract buyout for DeMar DeRozan and their 2026 draft class featuring No. 7 overall pick Darius Acuff Jr.
With their offseason acquisitions and multiple players returning from last year, there's good reason why the Kings won't be as terrible as they were in the previous year, despite the considerable loss of Ben Simmons. Here's what the Kings need in the 2026-27 season:
Everything needed for the Kings to have success
Here's what the Sacramento Kings need for a considerably successful season.
Darius Acuff Jr. is as advertised, if not better than expected
Darius Acuff Jr. was the Kings' No. 7 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. He has a superstar written all over him and Sacramento is just completely enamored with what the 19-year-old brings to the table.
As a freshman at Arkansas, he averaged 23.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 6.4 assists on 48.4% field goal shooting. It's not just his skill or his potential. It's his work ethic that will really shine through.
Acuff is regularly one of the last ones to leave the practice facility. Once the session ends, another one begins for the rookie, where he's getting up shots, working on his spots, demonstrating his desire to make a name for himself in the league.
"That's how I got to get better," Acuff told USA TODAY. "I just got here, so I ain't really did nothing. I ain't did nothing to show nobody yet. But like I said, that's kind of been my whole motto my whole life. Just putting work in. If I see something that I didn't do well today, I'm gonna do it after to try to work on it. So that's just how I am."
Kings head coach Doug Christie will at times jaw at him to see if he could throw him off concentration. Acuff isn't phased by it. Christie knows the pedigree Acuff comes with. They're cut from the same cloth. He loves it.
"He is about as hard a worker as you see," Christie said to USA TODAY Sports. "For us to push him, we're going to push him in a lot of different ways. Obviously, defensively, offensively, he is special, man. I mean, he can make the shots, he can make the passes, he sees it all. You can't really speed him up like he plays on the ball, off the ball. So there's a lot of of things to be happy about with Darius."
Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis need to have All-Star caliber seasons
The Kings will be a solid team that surprises opponents if their best players produce All-Star seasons. Even if they get snubbed, playing at an All-Star level is still significant. Both players missed large portions of the 2025-26 season due to injuries.
Both have said their health is intact and they are ready for the campaign. LaVine has been selected to an All-Star team twice, in 2021 and 2022. He put up 19.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 39 games last season. He shot 47.9% from the field in 2025-26.
Sabonis is a three-time All-Star, appearing in 2020, 2021, and 2023. He only played in 19 games with Sacramento last season. He's played for the Kings for five seasons where he's averaged 19 points, 13.1 rebounds on 59% field goal shooting and 37% 3-point shooting.
Kings are healthy, stay healthy
The Kings were unfortunate in the health department last season. Their projected starting lineup did not log a single minute together. Guys were filling in or playing out of position throughout the 2025-26 campaign.
Sacramento cannot afford to miss guys, especially key players. Last year it happened and it got ugly at times. They enter this season relatively healthy. Their success will depend on how available their players are.
Team depth and bench production
A lot has been made of the Kings starting lineup but they have talent coming off the bench as well, but they will need consistent contribution from that group of guys, led by Malik Monk.
Last season, the Kings were ranked 13th in the NBA for total bench points and bench points per game during the 2025–26 regular season. But they need to be consistent on defense as well.
They will be heavily dependent on Monk, Raynaud, Emmanuel Sharp, Precious Achiuwa, De'Andre Hunter, Nique Clifford, Dylan Cardwell and Daeqwon Plowden.
And although a starter, not a reserve, Keegan Murray will have a major presence in this team's success. He's not being asked to do too much, nor too little. Just answer the phone when your number is called, because it will be often.
“We’re still new to each other,” LeBron James said after posting 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. “We had some turnovers that were kind of unforced. We had some moments with an open look and we didn’t take it. That will happen early in the season. As we continue to build our offensive sets, our defensive sets, we will have some bumps in the road at times.
“But I think tonight we had those bumps in the road against a good team and we were able to use what happened previously to make those adjustments. Tonight we knew we gave them some pick-sixes in the first half and we gave them offensive rebounds. … We cleaned that up in the second half and that’s the sign of a good team.”
Following a 19-point Sixers debut, Jaylen Brown agreed that the team hasn’t yet advanced past “just figuring it out.”
“We’re not even at the tip of the iceberg in terms of chemistry, understanding ourselves on the floor, understanding our spacing,” Brown said. “We’re still at the very early stages of what we can possibly be. So it’s a good sign that we can win while still being in that early stage.”
None of the Sixers’ flaws in the opener raised serious alarm bells.
They were a tad thin on the second unit — only Anfernee Simons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope played double-digit minutes off the bench — but both of those players drilled vital three-pointers in the second half. The Sixers will have useful manpower once Dean Wade (left ankle sprain) and Dominick Barlow (lower back stress reaction) are available.
Joel Embiid shot just 4 for 15 from the field and lost a handful of his individual battles with former teammate Andre Drummond in the first half. However, Embiid played far better than a 13-point, 11-rebound outing might indicate. He had three blocks, two steals and nimble, hustling sequences that made it natural to remember his defensive peak.
Embiid doesn’t think those days are behind him. The 32-year-old big man has three All-Defensive team selections on his future Hall of Famer résumé, the last of which came in the 2020-21 season.
“I think this year is going to be back to All-Defensive team like in the past,” he said. “Felt good. Moving great and felt like I was all over the place. … Defensively, I think a lot of it falls on me. If I want to be All-Defense like I used to be, that changes everything for our team. If I can play that way every single night, which I will, it changes everything.”
Embiid’s defensive contributions also included a proposed mid-game matchup adjustment.
He thought James should defend Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, enabling Embiid to serve in more of a roaming role and worry less about fouls.
“I suggested it to the guys,” Embiid said. “I had three fouls and I just felt like the way they were calling it … I was just being honest. I wasn’t going to be as aggressive as I should be on defense, having three fouls. I wanted to stay on the floor and I thought we should do that.
“He was great. That’s another big body that can guard the post. PJ Tucker was the last one we had that could do that, that could switch off and guard those bigger guys in the post. Last year we had (Paul George) and P.G. did a great job, but he’s a little light. Having Bron … we did that in the Olympics. We’ve done that in the past. That’s a good thing to change a little bit.”
On a glitz and glamour type of night at the Garden that featured the Knicks’ pregame championship banner ceremony and celebrities around every corner, the Sixers showed they have some real substance.
“Lot of fun,” Maxey said. “Very competitive. I’ve been saying it all training camp and you saw it tonight. Extremely competitive on both ends of the floor.”
The home fans will pack Xfinity Mobile Arena to see the show Thursday night. The Sixers will meet the Cavaliers in their home opener.
“Listen, it’s one game,” Nurse said. “I’m really happy to come here and get a win. They’re a hell of a team. When I wake up tomorrow, I’ll probably forget about it and start getting ready for Cleveland.”
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 3: Ben Kindel #81 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates in the third period during the game against the Montreal Canadiens at PPG PAINTS Arena on October 3, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Here are your Pens Points for this Wednesday morning…
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Ben Kindel is in stable condition after experiencing a “medical episode” aboard the team’s flight from Salt Lake City to Pittsburgh, the team announced Tuesday afternoon. The plane returned to Salt Lake City International Airport shortly after takeoff. Kindel, 19, was taken by ambulance to the University of Utah Hospital for further evaluation; he was conscious and alert. The team has not disclosed further details about the incident. [PensBurgh]
Prospect Tristan Broz is eager to earn more NHL playing time after making his debut with Pittsburgh last season, appearing in just one game. The 24-year-old forward is coming off a productive season with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, recording 16 goals and 39 points in 47 games, and is determined to prove he deserves a more consistent opportunity with the NHL club. [Trib Live]
The Penguins named Ted Towne as the team’s new chief financial officer on Tuesday, bringing in an executive who spent nearly two decades with the Washington Nationals. Towne most recently served as the Nationals’ CFO and previously was assistant general manager and vice president of finance. [Penguins]
News and notes from around the NHL…
Florida Panthers goaltender Jacob Markstrom is expected to miss 10 to 14 days with an injury suffered in practice on Monday, head coach Paul Maurice announced Tuesday. [TSN]
Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin has expanded his list of acceptable trade destinations to 10 teams, according to a new report. [Sportsnet]
Former Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk is preparing for an emotional return to Ottawa on Wednesday when he faces his former team for the first time since being traded to the Florida Panthers over the summer. [NHL]
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 25: Josh Hart of the New York Knicks throws out the ceremonial first pitch before game 2 of a doubleheader between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 25, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
At Madison Square Garden last night, the Knicks unveiled their 2025-26 NBA Champions banner, gave out some very fancy rings, and they even threw in an NBA Cup banner as well because hell, why not? It was a season for the ages. Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice were in attendance. Remember when the Yankees had events like these? Granted, the most recent ones phased out a championship flag going up a flagpole and just stuck to the rings, which I thought was unfortunate. That was fun! Oh well. Maybe we’ll see another one someday.
It’s a shorter day for us on the site today, but don’t miss Kevin running through the disappointment of Jazz Chisholm Jr.‘s 2026 season (which was not a 50-50 season) and Kento wishing a happy birthday to a fella named Eddie Ford. Whitey would have turned 98 today, and it feels fitting that he and his pal Mickey Mantle had birthdays within one day of each other, albeit with Mantle three years younger. What a twosome they made for opposing teams to have to deal with in the 1950s.
Today’s Playoff Matchup:
Offday.
Questions/Prompts:
1. Did you watch any of the Knicks’ championship ceremony last night?
2. Here’s an Immaculate Grid-esque question: Who is the first player that comes to mind who played for both the Brewers and Rays?
