Even with the level of competition increasing, Thornton has continued to impress on the mound.
Tonight, the lanky lefty starter pitched six complete innings, fanning nine Scranton/Wilkes-Barre batters. He dominated, allowing just four total baserunners, three hits and one walk, as his squad emerged 8-2, victors.
This was Thornton's second start so far at the top level of the Mets' farm system. In his first start, he allowed three earned runs on five hits through six innings of work.
Fellow Mets top prospects Nick Morabito (OF, #11 overall) and Ryan Clifford (1B/OF, #6 overall) also featured in Friday's fixture. Morabito led off and went 3-for-5 with one RBI, while Clifford went 0-for-5.
May 15, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Coleman Crow (57) pitches to Minnesota Twins second baseman Luke Keaschall (not shown) in the second inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
The Brewers got some help tonight, as a mistake by Royce Lewis and a key (see: correct) call by the umpires allowed them to tie and later take the lead in the eighth inning in Minnesota, giving the Brewers their 25th win of the season against the Twins.
Milwaukee got things started with a bang, as Jackson Chourio doubled, advanced on a flyout from Brice Turang, and William Contreras brought him around with a single off the glove of Brooks Lee at shortstop with the infield in.
After the top of the first, Coleman Crow and Joe Ryan exchanged 1-2-3 innings for a bit, as neither team had another baserunner until the top of the fourth, when Jake Bauers singled (extending his on-base streak to 17) and stole second but was ultimately stranded at third base after a nice play by Lee at short.
Crow’s first baserunner allowed came in the fourth, as Ryan Jeffers reached on an error by Luis Rengifo, whose throw pulled Bauers off the base at first.
The Twins finally put up a threat and picked up their first hit of the evening in the fifth, as Kody Clemens was hit by a pitch and Ryan Kreidler moved him to third with a single, putting runners at the corners with two outs. Kreidler was then caught stealing second, ending the threat just as it was getting started.
In the sixth, Crow got into some more trouble, allowing back-to-back singles to begin the inning and putting runners at the corners once again. That marked the end of the night for him, as he was pulled in favor of Aaron Ashby. Ashby immediately induced a double play to clear the bases, though the run scored to close the book on Crow with a no-decision.
Crow threw just 68 pitches, 49 of them for strikes, as he went 5+ innings with one run allowed on three hits, a hit batter, and no walks. He also struck out three.
In the seventh, the Brewers immediately responded with a threat of their own, as Andrew Vaughn and Sal Frelick hit a pair of one-out singles. Rengifo then grounded into what was initially called a double play, but the Brewers challenged the out call at first, and the call was overturned. The runners at the corners went for naught, though, as David Hamilton hit a soft grounder in front of the plate for the final out.
With Ashby still on the mound in the bottom of the seventh, the Twins took their first lead of the night, hitting three consecutive singles (though the first of those could certainly have been ruled an error on Bauers, as he deflected the ball into the outfield). On the third single, though, the throw home from Chourio was cut off, and Clemens was caught between second and third. Ashby allowed one more single to Kreidler, but he got out of the jam with a strikeout of James Outman.
Now down 2-1, Ashby was suddenly in line for his first loss of the season. Not for long, though.
Chourio singled and moved to third on a single by Turang, as he was in motion on the 3-2 count. Turang then stole second to put the go-ahead run in scoring position with no outs. With Contreras at the plate and the infield in, things got strange fast.
Contreras hit a routine groundball right to Lee at shortstop, and with Chourio a few steps off the bag, Lee went to third with the throw. A sliding Chourio was initially called out, but third base umpire Jordan Baker’s hands immediately went up as he called for an umpire meeting. Both managers stepped out of their dugouts at this point.
After a short discussion, Chourio was awarded home plate due to obstruction by Royce Lewis at third, as Lewis clearly blocked the bag with his foot (the play is technically ruled as an E5 by Lewis). Both Contreras and Turang were also safe at first and second, respectively. Understandably upset at the situation, Twins manager Derek Shelton was tossed after a few words with the umps.
Put on your umpire hat and ill-matching trousers: Obstruction or no obstruction? pic.twitter.com/jsLzb9KOOU
After all of that, Milwaukee was still in the driver’s seat with Bauers at the plate. Bauers lined a 2-1 sinker that hung over the middle into right-center, allowing Turang to score and putting runners at second and third, still with no outs. Unfortunately, the Brewers couldn’t cash anything else in, as Blake Perkins grounded out with the infield in, Vaughn flew out to shallow left (after missing a two-run ground-rule double by mere inches down the right field line), and Frelick lined out. Still, Milwaukee led 3-2, and Ashby was now in line for his MLB-leading eighth win.
Abner Uribe, who has had his share of struggles this season with a 4.96 ERA entering tonight, took the eighth. After a strikeout, he allowed a single and a walk, but a Josh Bell grounder turned into an inning-ending double play.
After a 1-2-3 ninth for the Crew, Trevor Megill, who was demoted from the closer role roughly a month ago, entered for what would be his first save chance since an extra-inning save in Miami on April 17 (which also happened to be Crow’s first and only MLB start to date). He set the Minnesota batters down with ease, ending things with a strikeout of Lewis on the sixth pitch of the at-bat.
It may not have been pretty, but the Brewers escaped with their seventh win in their last eight games, moving them to 25-17 on the season. Despite allowing the go-ahead run in the seventh, Ashby is now a perfect 8-0 on the season, a full two wins ahead of Chris Sale, Paul Skenes, and José Soriano, three Cy Young candidates who sit tied for second with six wins each. Megill picked up his fifth save of the season with a clean ninth.
Chourio and Bauers led the offense with two hits each, including a double for both. Bauers brought in the go-ahead run with his double in the eighth, and he added a stolen base, too (as did Turang). No other player reached more than twice, as the Brewers totaled nine hits and one walk on the night.
The Brewers will look to keep it rolling on Saturday night, as Logan Henderson gets the start against Connor Prielipp in a matchup of rookies. First pitch is set for 6:10 p.m.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - MAY 15: Paul Reed #7 of the Detroit Pistons celebrates after a basket against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the third period in Game Six of the Second Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at Rocket Arena on May 15, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Daniss Jenkins would get the start in Game 6 despite Duncan Robinson returning from injury. The decision would pay off as the Detroit bench scored 48 points in a complete team win with a 21-point victory over Cleveland.
The Pistons got out to a 10-6 start until back-to-back threes from James Harden and Donovan Mitchell gave Cleveland the lead. Caris LeVert hit two important threes – one took back the lead to make it 17-16 and another tied the game up 25-25 before the end of the quarter.
Paul Reed started the second quarter for Detroit and the Pistons instantly went on an 11-2 run after a Cade three made it 38-27. The Bball Paul Impact continues to be felt every time he has hit the court recently. Although Ausar Thompson was called for a flagrant one foul against Sam Merrill, he also had this insane block:
After Cade hit back-to-back threes to make it a double-digit game again, he had two careless turnovers and Detroit allowed an offensive rebound off a free throw into a three-pointer that led to a 7-0 Cavs run before the half. It felt like another one of those times where Detroit was shooting itself in the foot, but they held a a 54-51 lead halfway through the game.
Cade would lead the way for Detroit with 16 points and five assists while Duren added nine points and six rebounds. Thompson was doing it all with eight points, five rebounds, two assists, and four steals. Mitchell led Cleveland in scoring with 13 points.
Once the second half started, it was over.
Detroit got out to a 15-4 start after halftime and never looked back. Duren rolled his ankle halfway through the third, though, he would return a quarter later. Paul Reed finished this hilarious possession in JD’s absence:
Duncan Robinson still had his scoring impact off the bench as did Marcus Sasser. Sasser hit a floater at the buzzer to finish off a 10-2 Detroit run that made it an 84-70 lead – the largest lead of the night at the moment.
Sasser’s hot hand continued in the final quarter as did the rest of the bench. Daniss Jenkins also added some quality minutes including a couple made threes in the fourth. It felt like a complete team effort despite Cade struggling late as Detroit would outscore Cleveland 61-43 in the second half. The Pistons would go on to beat the Cavs 115-94 to force another Game 7 back in Detroit.
Cade still led the way for Detroit with 21 points despite taking 19 shots and only having five points in the second half. Despite an unfriendly whistle from the referees, Cade made his impact from deep by shooting 5-for-10. He also added eight assists.
Jalen Duren had his best game of the playoffs so far with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks while shooting 7-for-10 from the field. He was able to overpower Jarrett Allen down low and looked like the regular season version we’re used to seeing when he puts the ball on the floor. He converted multiple drives, finished well around the rim, and also provided great rim protection on defense.
Fellow big man Bball Paul also had a great game with 17 points (playoff career-high) and six rebounds while shooting 7-for-9 from the field, including a made three. Reed’s performance these playoffs is a big part of why they’re still playing postseason basketball and he continues to be worthy of more minutes.
Ausar Thompson fouled out and had some questionable calls against him (again), but he stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Jenkins, Robinson, and Sasser all provided efficient scoring, and it’s worth noting how ready Sasser looked for this moment.
We’re now heading back to Little Caesars Arena for a Game 7 for the second round in a row.
This guy scored twice. The second time was Weird. (Photo by Ellen Schmidt/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A rookie pitcher making his second MLB start mostly stymied the Twins’ offense, and when this team gets into a bullpen battle, they’d lose to the Bad News Bears. Inning-by-inning notes:
1: We begin a sparsely-attended game with a Jackson Chourio double; he scores on a William Contreras single. Three hits for Milwaukee in the inning; each at 107 MPH or higher. Not ideal.
The Twins go down in a hurry to Brewers starter Coleman Crow; not ideal. Incidentally Crow was part of a trade that went from the Angels to the Mets for Eduardo Escobar! (The Mets later traded Crow to Milwaukee.)
EE is still playing, or was as of this winter. For the Tigres de Aragua of the Venezuelan Winter League. No word on if he knowsthenamesofhisteammatescorrectlyornot. Brewers 1-0
2: Easier go-round for Ryan this inning. The Ball Talc must finally be working.
Also easy is Coleman Crow’s second inning. Here’s the ascending order in which I hate the movies of writer/director Cameron Crowe. Almost Famous, Say Anything, We Bought a Zoo, Elizabethtown, Aloha, Singles, Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky. I actually haven’t seen four of these but I’m ranking them by how much I hate the plot outlines. I hate Cameron Crowe. A friend told me Almost Famous was OK but I think they’re trying to make me suffer after I made them watch In the Loop and it pissed ‘em off. Well, it’s SUPPOSED to piss you off!
3: Another good inning for Ryan. I like how GameDay foretells the Future:
I mean, it’s currently still light out in St. Paul, but the sun will go down in 105 minutes or so. GameDay KNOWS.
Coleman Crow is throwing a perfect game. This pisses me off.
4: A leadoff Jake Bauers single; he steals second. Ryan stops him from scoring. As in, he doesn’t allow an RBI. Not that he stands in front of home plate as Bauers is running from third and goes “You shall not pass!” Although that would be good.
Hey, Ryan Jeffers breaks up the perfecto! A one-out single. Which probably could have also been ruled an error, but what the hey. We’ll take it. Does he score? This is a journey of a thousand miles, folks, you’ve got to make the little steps before you can make the big ones. In other words no, he doesn’t score.
5: David Hamilton takes a one-out walk (on a rare missed ABS challenge by Ryan Jeffers) and is caught stealing for out #3. Nice job, Joe.
Would you like a bagel recipe? Here is a bagel recipe. Skip the whole part about putting the dough in the fridge. After the bagels are shaped into rounds, I cover them with a damp cloth for exactly one hour. Then I boil them for 30 seconds on each side before they go in the oven. I usually make 7 at a time and freeze 4 or 5 of them.
Why a bagel recipe? Because I’m making bagels. Why am I making bagels? Because after you’ve lived in either New York or Los Angeles, you DEMAND good bagels, and no place in the Twin Cities has them.
Why am I writing about bagels? Because the Twins’ offense sucks. Kody Klobberin’ Klemens gets HBP, and with two outs Ryan Kreidler singles him over to third… then gets thrown out by a mile trying to steal second. Booooo. Make bagels, not basepath outs.
6: According to Dan Gladden on radio, Kreidler missed a sign. He was supposed to stop about halfway, try to draw a throw and get into a rundown so Clemens could scamper home. Oops. No bagels for you Kreidler.
Hey, a leadoff single for Minnesota! James Outman belying his name for once! Austin Martin with a single; it confuses Outman for a bit, but he takes third anyways. Coleman “Ben Sheets” Crow leaves the game. Good news, except the Brewers’ bullpen guys are quite good — and none pitched in last night’s 7-1 Brewers victory.
LHP Aaron Ashby gets about the ideal result; a Brooks Lee GIDP. At least it’s tied 1-1
7: Taylor Rogers in for the Twins (Ryan had 90 pitches). One-out weak singles to Andrew Vaughn and Sal Frelick. Luis Rengifo BARELY beats out the back end of a GIDP. (The umps called him out at first; Milwaukee made the successful challenge.) Rogers still gets out of it on an itty-bitty grounder by David Hamilton.
All right! Twins POINTS! A one-out single (maybe error) from Luke Keaschall where Jake Bauers boots the ball. Then a solid single from Klobberin’ Kody, and another by long-lost Royce Lewis to score Keaschall. (For some da*n reason Clemens gets himself out in a rundown between second and third.)
A wild pitch puts runners on second and third, but James Outman can’t knock them in. It’s Twins Bullpen Confidence Is With Us All time! Better half of Duluth/Superior 2-1
8: Fu***ng youngster nobody Andrew Morris in to pitch? GREAT. Right off the bat, an infield single for Chourio. He runs on the 3-2 pitch and takes third on the Brice Turang single. THIS EFFING BULLPEN. Turang steals second. Infield in.
Contreras hits it sharply to short and Chourio heads back to third; Lee throws it to Lewis and Royce tags Chourio out.
Bauers doubles home another. Morris gets two outs, and Anthony “He’s Bad” Banda gets a lucky lineout hit RIGHT at Outman, but the damage is done, and the f***in’ bullpen sucks again.
Brewers tough pitcher Abner Uribe (no relation to former ChiSox infielder Juan) gives up a one-out Lee single and Jeffers walk, but induces a Josh Bell GIDP to continue the Twins’ inevitable loss. ‘Sconnies 3-2
9: Banda still in. A nice play by Clemens! A one-out grounder to short, and Lee throws it a bit too high to first. Clemens jumps, grabs it, and tags pinch-hitter Joey Ortiz on his way down. Well done, son of Rog. Yoendrys Gómez comes in to K Chourio for the final out.
Radio tells us the Twins have not won a game trailing by one in the ninth so far this year.
Trevor Megill in to pitch for Milwaukee. He was a Twin in 2022. Master Dealer Derek Falvey traded him to the Brewers for a PTBNL (turned out to be Taylor Floyd, a righty reliever now with the Reds’ organization in AA).
Keaschall grounds out, Clemens has an easy flyout, Lewis strikeout. Thanks Falvey! Twins lose
Studs: Joe Ryan, and that’s it. (Nice plays by Lee, Lewis, and Martin, and that good tag by Clemens, though.) Duds: Josh Bell (0-4), Derek Falvey for trading Megill for bupkis and setting up yet another of what’s gonna be a LONG season of Twins’ bullpen game blows.
Happy birthdays to Kody Clemens (30th), Brian Dozier (39th) and Justin Morneau (45th).
COTG goes to Naginskiinnortheast for “I know it’s suboptimal but id rather not see freshness back on the mound… gotta preserve him especially after the recent injury scare.” (“Freshness” meaning Captain Ball Talc Ryan.)
Thanks to everyone who participated in the GT on a night where, on radio at least, it practically sounded like there were more Twins fans here than at Target Field.
Tomorrow’s game is at 6:10 Central, and features Brewers RHP Logan Henderson against our own Connor Prielipp. Catch ya next time!
ATLANTA, GA - MAY 15: Mike Yastrzemski #18 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates after hitting a walk off double in the tenth inning during the game against the Boston Red Sox at Truist Park on May 15, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Braves started their series against Boston off with Spencer Strider on the mound, looking to build on his strong start against the Dodgers.
Spencer worked around a leadoff walk with two contact outs and a nice pickoff for a clean first inning. It didn’t take long for the Braves to give him some help, as Drake Baldwin hit his sixth home run against left-handed pitching this season, just barely eluding Ceddanne Rafaela’s glove in centerfield. The Braves got another couple of baserunners, as Ozzie was hit by a pitch and Austin blistered a single, but to no avail.
Exactly half of Baldwin's 12 homers have come against left-handed pitchers. His six left-on-left HRs matches Yordan Alvarez for the MLB lead. David Justice (1993) and Fred McGriff (1996) share the Braves single-season record of 11 left-on-left HRs pic.twitter.com/cL8clUS6bc
Strider walked another in the second, but struck out two batters on high heat and got a groundout to end the frame. Both pitchers settled in and pitched around a few scattered baserunners until Michael Harris added on with another lefty-on-lefty solo shot to lead off the fourth.
After a quiet fifth, Strider allowed a soft leadoff double before striking out Durbin, at which point Walt Weiss pulled him for Dylan Lee, keeping him to just two times through the Boston lineup. His 5.1 innings with 4 strikeouts and 3 walks isn’t his best, but he kept the Red Sox to one run and induced 16 whiffs, with his fastball averaging 95.5 MPH. It wasn’t quite the Dodgers start, but those whiffs are still a good sign for Spencer. Dylan Lee struck out Duran, but allowed an RBI single before inducing an inning-ending pop-up.
After another quiet outing from the Atlanta offense, Tyler Kinley got the seventh and recorded two outs before allowing a Chop House homer and a ground rule double. Robert Suarez came in to finish the inning and worked a clean eighth as well after more of nothing from the Braves’ offense. Drake Baldwin led off the home eighth with a scalded single, but Ozzie, Olson, and Austin went down in order. Iglesias got the ninth and recorded the first two outs before allowing a single and a walk to put the go-ahead run in scoring position for Boston. Iggy struck out Monasterio to keep the game tied and give the Braves a chance to walk the game off in the bottom of the ninth.
They did not, however, as Aroldis Chapman breezed through the 6, 7, and 8 spots of the order. Didier Fuentes took the tenth and gave the Braves a golden opportunity with a scoreless frame, despite the ghost-runner. Mike Yastrzemski took quick advantage of that opportunity after trying to bunt for his first two strikes, ultimately landing a walk-off single to bring Kim home.
The Braves will have two chances to win the series now this weekend, so join us tomorrow at 7:15 PM ET, as they look to take their first chance behind Bryce Elder.
The Pistons forced a Game 7 with their win against the Cavaliers on Friday.
CLEVELAND — Cade Cunningham scored 21 points and the top-seeded Detroit Pistons dominated the second half, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-94 on Friday night to force a Game 7 in their Eastern Conference second-round series.
The decisive game is Sunday in Detroit.
Jalen Duren had 15 points and 11 rebounds while Daniss Jenkins also scored 15 for the Pistons, who have won four games this postseason when facing elimination.
They were down 3-1 to Orlando before winning the last three to advance out of the first round.
Cunningham made five 3-pointers as the Pistons went 16 of 36 from beyond the arc. Duncan Robinson, who missed Wednesday’s Game 5 with a lower back injury, had four 3-pointers and scored 14 points off the bench.
Cade Cunningham reacts during the Pistons’ May 15 win over the Cavaliers. Getty ImagesJalen Duren drives to the basket during the Pistons’ May 15, 2026 win over the Cavaliers. NBAE via Getty Images
Paul Reed also had 17 points as Detroit’s reserves outscored Cleveland’s 48-19.
James Harden scored 23 points for Cleveland, which suffered its first home loss of the postseason. Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley scored 18 apiece.
Detroit asserted its will on the offensive boards and took advantage of Cleveland turnovers. The Pistons converted 13 offensive rebounds into 20 points. The Cavaliers had 20 turnovers, which resulted in 28 Detroit points.
Donovan Mitchell attempts a shot during the Cavaliers’ May 15 loss to the Pistons. NBAE via Getty Images
The Pistons were up 54-41 at halftime and started the second half with a 12-2 run. The Cavaliers rallied to get within 74-68 before the Pistons put it away with a 13-2 spurt.
Evan Mobley missed a dunk and Marcus Sasser drove the length of the floor for a layup at the buzzer to give Detroit a 84-70 lead at the end of the third quarter.
May 15, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket against Detroit Pistons forward Duncan Robinson (55) during the first half in game six of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers fumbled an opportunity to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Now they face their second Game 7 of the postseason. This time, on the road against the Detroit Pistons.
Let’s go over today’s losers.
LOSER – Donovan Mitchell
Closing out a team as talented as the Pistons isn’t easy. It’s borderline impossible if you can’t have the best player on the floor. Cade Cunningham fully took that title as Donovan Mitchell failed to replicate any of his magic from the last time they played in Cleveland.
Mitchell couldn’t find it tonight. He shot 6-20 from the floor and was a team-worst minus-20. He had the right idea, at times bursting downhill towards the basket, but his insistence on shooting floaters instead of going all the way to the rim or trying to dunk is a concern. This isn’t the same athlete that layed it all on the floor and scored 40+ points over the Orlando Magic in 2023. The vertical pop just isn’t there.
The idea of the core four was never for the Cavs to win a title with Mitchell as their outright best player. But I have believed they can win with him as their best scorer.
That’s something that felt possible in the past, and looked realistic as recently as Game 4. But currently, this isn’t it. The door is closed when Mitchell doesn’t score efficiently. And it’s harder for him to score efficiently when you remove one layer of the floor away from him. The rest of his game hasn’t been enough to make up for the lack of rim finishing. He’s more reliant on finesse than ever before, and that can come and go.
LOSER – The Force Battle
Big games can be decided on the margins. Especially in an evenly-contested matchup like this one. The Cavs have stressed the importance of winning the possession battle in each game. But all of that is easier said than done.
In a case of Deja Vu, first-half turnovers put the Cavs in a hole. 13 turnovers led to 15 points for the Pistons. That’s the type of stuff you can’t concede to a team that is fighting for its life. They’ll claw for every last opportunity. You can’t make it easy for them.
James Harden had 8 turnovers while Donovan Mitchell added three more. Dennis Schroder coughed it up three times in his first six minutes. The guards can’t be this loose with the ball. Not if you want to win.
Fortunately, the Cavs managed to force turnovers of their own. Cleveland finished with 20 turnovers while Detroit had 17. That kept them in it for most of the game, and they managed to snag 16 offensive rebounds to further cut into the gap.
Still, Cleveland allowed the Pistons to salvage a handful of possessions that should have been defensive stops. Cade Cunningham, in particular, converted on multiple three-point attempts off of second-chance opportunities. Detroit claimed 13 offensive rebounds of its own.
By the end of the night, the Pistons took five more shots than the Cavs and beat them 48-26 in the paint. Their force and physicality won out.
LOSER – Dennis Schroder
I don’t want to pile on the third-string point guard. The contributions Schroder gave in Game 5 versus Toronto should have made the rest of his postseason bulletproof. But… the Cavs have continued to lean on him way past the point of no return.
Again, Schroder is the third-best guard on the roster. There’s no reason he should be carrying as much usage as he did, particularly in the third quarter when Donovan Mitchell was alongside him, and Ausar Thompson was on the bench. Those are the minutes that Mitchell needs to hit the ground running and score in bunches. Instead, Schroder bricked a three-pointer and was swatted on a layup attempt while Mitchell spaced the floor away from the ball.
There’s only so much that Schroder is supposed to give this team. In the biggest moments, Harden and Mitchell should be the ones determining the game. It was a bizarre decision to lean on Schroder for 15 minutes as he went 0-4 from the field and finished with as many turnovers as assists.
The Detroit Pistons, the No. 1 seed in the East, played with more intensity and energy, and their shot-making responded in kind Friday, May 15 in a 115-94 victory over the No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6.
The Pistons finally got some help for Cade Cunningham, as they saw six players reach double-figures in scoring.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Friday night’s Game 6s of the NBA Playoffs:
Cleveland’s effort, in a closeout game at home, was unacceptable
The Pistons were clearly the more desperate team, but Cleveland compounded that with effort at times that could be described only as casual. And it started early in the game.
Players like James Harden, who stood around on defense – and often didn’t get back on after most of his 8 turnovers – were emblematic of Cleveland’s issues Friday night. Detroit, time and time again, won the hustle plays.
All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell did play with some effort, but a poor shooting night (6-of-20) marred that energy. The biggest issue was that many of his teammates didn’t follow suit.
“They was just hungry, from the jump” Mitchell said of the Pistons. “At the end of the day, we didn’t match it.”
The most fight the Cavaliers showed Friday night was with 0.3 seconds left in the game, when Cleveland’s bench players who were on the floor in garbage time, shoved a few Pistons players.
“Nope,” Harden said when asked if he was satisfied with the level of intensity with which Cleveland played. “No, not at all.”
When pressed about why that effort wasn’t there, Harden added that it “was a great question” and cited the team’s slow start.
“Throughout the course of the game, we never really kicked it to that second level,” he said.
Early turnovers and offensive rebounds allowed put Cavaliers in a hole
The most concerning part was that these effort problems led to many of the same issues that have plagued the Cavs throughout the postseason: turnovers and offensive rebounds.
Through the first 14:34 of the game, the Pistons had generated six offensive rebounds (and 15 boards, overall) compared to Cleveland's two (and 9). In both the regular season and playoffs, the more intentional and aggressive teams tend to be rewarded with rebounding.
Somehow, early turnovers were even worse. Through that first 14:34, the Cavs gave the ball away 11 times, which turned into 14 Pistons points off turnovers, compared to five Detroit turnovers (for six Cavaliers points off those).
Cleveland let itself down with its lack of energy and careless attention to detail.
Jalen Duren (finally) responds
Give Jalen Duren credit. The Pistons All-Star center was benched in Game 5 and didn’t play the entire fourth quarter and overtime, ceding that time to backup Paul Reed.
Just two days after that, Duren played his most impactful game of the series. The stats (15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 steal) don’t necessarily paint the entire picture. Duren’s activity led to contested shots and Cavaliers players backing away from drive attempts and his performance was closer to what he showed during the regular season.
All series long, the Pistons had been far too dependent on Cade Cunningham. The reserves showed up big to force a Game 7.
Detroit’s bench shot 18-of-29 (62.1%) and scored 48 points, as Paul Reed (17 points and 6 rebounds) and Duncan Robinson (14 points) were particularly effective. But it was a collective effort; Marcus Sasser scored 9 points but posted a remarkable plus-minus of +27 — a game high — in 18 minutes on the floor.
On the other end of that, Cleveland’s bench disappeared at the worst time: even as Cavs starters played rather sluggishly, the bench also lacked burst and scored just 19 points (through three of those came in garbage time) on a combined 6-of-23 shooting (26.1%).
The reserves that show up Sunday, May 17 in Game 7 may dictate who goes on to face the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 15: Adley Rutschman #35 of the Baltimore Orioles watches the game in the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on May 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
If there is one thing this Orioles team has been good at this year, it’s failing to maintain any momentum. They are coming off a feel-good series win against the Yankees and could have kept the good vibes going with a solid game tonight against a pitcher who has had no success this year. But they did not. They opened up their road trip with a dismal loss to the Nationals. They made some noise in the ninth to make the score 3-2, but in the end it was another loss.
Nats pitcher Zack Littell has been the worst starting pitcher in baseball this year. He came into the game with an ERA of 6.94 and a FIP of 8.25. He has given up a ton of homers. He doesn’t strike a lot of guys out. His season has been a disaster.
Enter the Orioles, who managed just two hits and two walks against this pitcher. They did hit him hard at times and had some bad luck, but they just couldn’t get the job done against a pitcher who has struggled again and again this year.
Both walks came in the second inning, sandwiched around three outs. They looked like they might score in the fifth inning when Coby Mayo was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Gunnar Henderson absolutely scorched a ball to right field. It got off his bat at 111.9 mph, a ball that would have been a home run in 19 parks. As part of the bad luck by the Orioles tonight, it hit off the wall and bounced directly to the right fielder. Mayo was unable to score and both runners were stranded on a Taylor Ward groundout.
The only other hit Littell allowed was a single by Ward in the second inning.
As for bad luck, in the first, Adley Rutschman was robbed of extra bases by center fielder Jacob Young. In the second, Pete Alonso hit what looked like a homer off the bat, but it stayed in the park. Tyler O’Neill had two flyouts that looked like they might go out. They did not. It wasn’t a warm night in DC, and at least a few of those may have been out of the park on a hot, humid day in the Mid-Atlantic. That doesn’t help the Orioles tonight, though.
Littell exited the game after five innings and was relieved by Andrew Alvarez. The lefty was activated before tonight’s game. He made five starts for the Nationals last year and was pitching as a starter at Triple-A with a 5.29 ERA. So naturally, he dominated the Orioles for three innings. He allowed just two hits, both in the seventh inning. Mayo singled ahead of Jeremiah Jackson, who doubled. Like Henderson’s double, Jackson’s 110.0 mph hit was too hard to give Mayo time to score.
Alvarez allowed just those two base runners in innings six, seven, and eight. He struck out five and looked in control. It did not extend to the ninth, where he allowed a Basallo single and O’Neill walk prompting his removal from the game.
From there, the Orioles made it interesting but couldn’t come all the way back. Pinch-hitter Leody Taveras took a walk from the new pitcher to load the bases with no outs. Mayo, who had been on base twice in the game, flailed at strike three out of the zone. But Jackson hit a sac fly and Henderson lined a single back up the middle to make the score 3-2. Ward walked, but Rutschman struck out to end the game. It was an off night for Adley, who went 0-for-5 with three Ks.
Lost in the offensive futility was a solid start from Shane Baz. Like Littel, Baz got hit hard early on without much damage. He worked around a single in the first inning and got out of trouble again in the second after allowing two baserunners. His first run allowed came in the fourth on a sac fly after back-to-back singles.
With the score just 1-0, it felt like the Orioles were still in the game. But then in the sixth inning, Baz walked Curtis Mead before giving up a big home run to Daylen Lile. It was Lile’s third hit of the game and the 3-0 lead felt insurmountable. Turns out it was. Baz ultimately finished seven innings with pretty good results despite a lot of traffic on the bases. His final pitching line: 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 4 K.
Orioles lose, 3-2. These two teams meet again tomorrow at 4:05 with Chris Bassitt on the mound vs Cade Cavalli.
Josh Smith #8 of the Texas Rangers fields a ground ball in the seventh inning against the Athletics at Globe Life Field on April 26, 2026 in Arlington, Texas.
Rangers second baseman Josh Smith was diagnosed with viral meningitis and will be hospitalized for at least a week, the team announced Friday.
Smith, 28, is at a Dallas-area hospital and is expected to remain there for 7-10 days, according to the Associated Press.
The Rangers said that Smith was feeling ill on Wednesday before seeing a doctor.
“Our only concern right now is Josh’s health,” Texas president of baseball operations Chris Young said. “This is obviously an unexpected illness, but we hope to see him return to full health and rejoin the club very soon.”
Josh Smith of the Texas Rangers fields a ground ball in the seventh inning against the Athletics at Globe Life Field on April 26, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. Getty Images
According to the CDC, viral meningitis is the most common variant of the disease, which is the swelling of the protective lining of the brain and spinal cord.
The illness is caused by a viral infection, with a fever, stiff neck and headache often arising as common symptoms.
Texas Rangers shortstop Josh Smith (8) lays down a bunt single during the sixth inning against the Athletics at Globe Life Field. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Nausea, vomiting and an altered mental state can also occur, albeit more rarely.
Texas placed Smith on the 10-day injured list, and a program for his return will be determined once he’s able to resume physical activity.
After being drafted by the Yankees in the second round of the 2019 draft, Smith has been with the Rangers since July 2021 and made his MLB debut with the club in 2022.
Smith, who was a part of Texas’s 2023 World Series championship team, has taken a larger role in recent seasons, playing in over 140 games in 2024 and 2025, serving as a utility player.
Since the Rangers traded Marcus Semien to the Mets in November, Smith has served as the team’s everyday second baseman, starting 26 games at the position to start the year.
He has been off to a slow start at the plate this season, however — putting up a modest slash line of .217/.324/.239 across 108 plate appearances.
May 15, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson (9) fouls Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) while going for a loose ball during the first quarter in game six of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
CLEVELAND — Before Game 6, Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said that you would have to “choke the life out of” his team. Those words proved to be prophetic.
The Cleveland Cavaliers weren’t up for the challenge. They didn’t value possessions like they needed to, and overall didn’t have the attention to detail you need to close out a 60-win opponent. That came back to bite them as they dropped their best chance to go to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2018 with a 115-94 loss in Game 6.
Now, it all comes down to Game 7 in Detroit on Sunday.
The Cavs once again got off to a sloppy start, which has been a trend throughout the playoffs. Turnovers were once again to blame. Good three-point shooting allowed them to close the first quarter just down one, but the giveaways caught up with them in the second.
Detroit pushed its lead to 12 before Cleveland responded. A 7-0 run, capped off by a Max Strus triple, cut the deficit to just three at the break.
The Cavs had all the momentum going into the half. It seemed like they were going to turn things around and take control of the game coming out of the third quarter. Instead, it was the Pistons that did so.
Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can buy the comfortable Cavs hoodie HERE. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE.
Detroit opened the third on a 14-4 run to push their advantage back to 13 and went into the fourth up 14.
Cleveland never mounted a serious comeback attempt in the fourth quarter. They weren’t able to bring the deficit below double digits as Detroit cruised to a somewhat stress-free victory.
The Cavs have talked this series about letting anyone but Cade Cunningham beat them. They weren’t able to do so. Instead, it was Cade and also everyone else who beat them.
Cunningham was once again the best player on the court. He got to his spots and was efficient with the opportunities he got. This led to 21 points on 7-19 shooting with 8 assists.
This was in stark contrast with Cleveland’s star guards.
Donovan Mithell wasn’t able to find a rhythm. He had a difficult time finishing when he got into the paint, going 3-12 on shots there, which included going 3-9 on shots in the restricted area. This led to an 18-point night on 6-20 shooting with three assists and as many turnovers.
Turnovers were an issue all evening. James Harden was front and center. It’s difficult to have a functional offense when your starting point guard gives it away eight times. Those turnovers wiped out any good that game came from his 23 points on 6-13 shooting.
This theme carried over in the other position group matchups.
Jalen Duren had his best game of the series (15 points and 11 rebounds), while Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley couldn’t get anything going.
Detroit’s role players also significantly outplayed their counterparts. Paul Reed had 17 points, Daniss Jenkins had 15, Ausar Thmopson had 10, and Duncan Robinson — with a bad back — put up 14 points on 4-7 shots.
Meanwhile, Sam Merrill was the only Cavalier outside of the core four with double-digit points. Max Strus, who hit multiple clutch shots in Game 5, had just six points on 2-9 shooting.
Every time you want to believe in the Cavs, they show you that there’s no reason to quite do so yet. We’ll see if they can respond with their season on the line.
Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson (20) runs off the field after out on second base against Texas Rangers during the sixth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Tigers came home from New York with their tails between their legs, hoping their fortunes would change with some home-cooking. An unexpected bullpen game (of sorts) with finally some strong pitching, a key stolen base and a well-placed line drive gave the Tigers a 3-2 victory in the opener of a three-game weekend series against a former division rival.
Brenan Hanifee was the opener; he didn’t make the big-league team out of Spring Training this year, which was a little strange. He’s been a solid part of the Tigers’ bullpen the past two years, and especially in 2024 when he was sensational down the stretch. But, as the saying goes, “relievers are fungible,” so they can be great one year and lousy the next. The plan was for Ty Madden to be the Bulk Guy; he’s done that twice so far this season, and in his previous outing he started the third and finished the game. Kinda seems backwards to me.
The Blue Jays started highly-regarded rookie Trey Yesavage. It seems weird to still think of him as a rookie, given how valuable a pitcher he was for the Jays in their World Series run last year, but the fact remains that tonight was his seventh major-league regular-season start. He gets a lot of attention in Toronto sports media, and rightly-so: he was a first-round draft pick in 2024, rocketed through the minor leagues in 2025, and had a mostly-sensational post-season too. He has an exaggerated over-the-top pitching motion that causes a ton of vertical break on his fastball.
Hanifee had a 1-2-3 first inning, then threw one pitch in the second that Kazuma Okamoto hit for a double; Brant Hurter came in to face a stretch of left-handed hitters. With two out he walked Ernie Clement, and Andrés Giménez squeaked a double down the right-field line to score both runners. After Hurter walked Brandon Valenzuela — nice job with all those lefties, pal — Madden came on and got George Springer to fly out.
In the top of the third, Madden got hit by a 108-mph Yohendrick Piñango line drive on the right arm, and he had to leave the game after two batters; so much for being the bulk guy. I just hope he’s alright; especially so given the spate of injuries to Tigers starting pitchers lately.
Burch Smith became the fourth Tiger pitcher of the night, and they were going to have to get some length out of him, and the rest of the pitchers in the bullpen. Smith then picked off Piñango for a bit of revenge for injuring his teammate, which is nice.
With one out in the bottom of the third, Kevin McGonigle walked and Dillon Dingler singled; McGonigle took third on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch to narrow the lead to 2-1.
Smith gave the Tigers two innings, then Drew Anderson — who has a background as a starter — took over. He got a nice 5-4-3 double play to end the fifth after giving up a single to Valenzuela.
In the bottom of the sixth Dingler hit a grounder to Clement at second; he airmailed the throw and Dingler ended up on second base. Greene followed with a double on a middle-middle splitter to the right-field corner to score Dingler and tie the game at 2.
Anderson ended up pitching four innings of one-hit, no-run baseball, doing a heck of a job in a game in which the guys in the bullpen probably thought they could relax for a while. Kenley Jansen took over for the ninth and he sandwiched a lineout between a pair of strikeouts.
Jeff Hoffman, who’s now sharing closer duties with Louis Varland, took over for the bottom of the ninth for the Jays. With one out Matt Vierling blooped a single into centre; Gage Workman struck out and extra innings were looming. With Zach McKinstry at the plate, Vierling stole second base; this prompted Toronto manager John Schneider to intentionally walk McKinstry so Hoffman could face Spencer Torkelson, who went hitless in the Mets series. Well, Torkelson must’ve been saving up his hits for just such an occasion, as he spanked a fastball to the right-centrefield gap; Vierling raced around third to score the winning run.
– Casey Mize will start for the Tigers on Saturday – Beau Brieske & Will Vest are scheduled to pitch for Toledo tonight – Skubal playing catch – Torres close to a rehab assignment
One transaction – Connor Seabold up, Ricky Vanasco to Toledo
Coming into tonight, Riley Greene was second in the American League, hitting .341. If you had that on your bingo card this offseason, my goodness, you’re good.
Drew Anderson has pitched professionally in Australia, Japan and South Korea. Neat.
As per usual, there were plenty of Blue Jays fans in attendance that found their way over a bridge or through a tunnel to Detroit.
On this day in 1911, the US Supreme Court ruled that Standard Oil, founded by John D. Rockefeller, had an unreasonable monopoly on the oil market. As such, it was ordered to be broken up under the Sherman Antitrust Act. Famously — or, perhaps, infamously — a lawsuit filed a few years later against Major League Baseball resulted in the organization not being found to be a monopoly, because it did not engage in “interstate commerce.” Now, I’m no Matlock, but that sounds like complete horsefeathers to me.
May 15, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Trey Yesavage (39) puts his cleat back on after cleaning dirt off his sock during a break in the action against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
Well, after a dramatic walk off victory on Wednesday we get a crushing walk off loss. Jeff Hoffman takes the L, but actually wasn’t really bad. The bigger problem was managing just five hits and two walks off a pretty bad bullpen in a game where the expected bulk guy was knocked out after two batters.
The Tigers’ bullpen was mostly effective today. Their intended bulk guy, Ty Madden, was knocked out by a comebacker on his second batter, but Drew Anderson assumed the role and shut the Jays down for four innings. Brenan Hanifee got through the first facing the minimum, but a lead off double from Kazuma Okamoto knocked him out in favour of Brant Hurter. Hurter got two outs, but then a walk to Ernie Clement and an Andres Gimenez double right down the left field line resulted in a pair of runs for the Jays. He’d then walk Brandon Valenzuela, leading AJ Hinch to call for Ty Madden to clean up. He got a fly out to end the inning. Leading off the third, Yohendrick Pinango lined a comebacker off Madden, going for a single and knocking yet another Tigers reliever out of the game. Burch Smith got out of the inning, on a pop up and a K plus picking Pinango off first. Smith stuck around for the fourth, getting a double play to erase a Jesus Sanchez ground ball single. Drew Anderson did exactly the same in the fifth, with George Springer hitting the double play ball to erase a Valenzuela single. Anderson did one better in the sixth, sitting the Jays down in order, and then repeated the trick in the seventh and eighth.
Trey Yesavage had some struggles with his command today, as he has since his injury-delayed debut this season, but was pretty effective in spite of that. He got into a jam in the first, with a walk to Dillon Dingler and a Colt Keith single putting men on the corners with one out, but a pair of Ks helped him escape. After a 1-2-3 second, he found himself in another two-on-one-out jam in the third. Kevin McGonigle walked and Dingler singled. He struck out the next batter, but a pair of wild pitches while facing Riley Greene plated McGonigle and cut the Jays’ lead to 2-1 before a fly out ended the inning. The fourth was another clean inning. His wildness returned in the fifth. His third walk put Hao-Yu Lee on, and his third wild pitch moved him to second base. He got a weak fly from McGonigle that Lee thought was going to drop, but Daulton Varsho made a sliding catch and then threw back to second for the rare fly ball double play. The Tigers tied it up in the sixth. Dingler hit a grounder to second. Ernie Clement fielded it but his throw to first was way wide, allowing Dingler to advance to second. A ground out moved him to third, and a Greene line drive double scored him. The next two batters hit balls hard but some solid outfield D got Yesavage out without falling behind.
In spite of the wildness, Yesavage got through six in 88 pitches. Because he’s still ramping up, though, that was it for his night. All told he allowed two runs on four hits and three walks with three wild pitches, striking out six. He racked up 18 swinging strikes, which shows that his stuff was as dominant as ever. Trey still doesn’t have the feel for his splitter, but it’s a good sign that he’s getting through innings in spite of that, and as he gets dialed in the Jays can hope he gets even better.
Braydon Fisher took over in the bottom of seven. He walked Spencer Torkelson but a double play got him out of it with the tie preserved.
The eighth belonged to Joe Mantiply. Jahmai Jones lined a two out single, but Valenzuela gunned him down trying to steal second to end the inning.
Kenley Jansen sat the Jays down in order in the ninth. In the bottom half, Jeff Hoffman struck Greene out before a soft Matt Vierling fly ball found the exact spot where none of Varsho, Pinango or Gimenez could get to it. Hoffman bounced back to strike out Gage Workman. Vierling stole second, and Hoffman fell being Zach McKinstry 2-0 before deciding to intentionally walk him to get force plays at every base and get a matchup with Spencer Torkelson. That seemed questionable, and sure enough Torkelson lined a walk off single to right to end the game.
Jays of the Day: Gimenez (0.12), Mantiply (0.11)
Less so: Springer (-0.14), Pinango (-0.10), Vlad (-0.10), Varsho (-0.11), Hoffman (-0.36)
It’s a day game tomorrow. The Jays have not officially announced a starter. Last time through, Spencer Miles pitched three innings opening for Eric Lauer. With Lauer banished to the phantom zone, it’ll likely be a bullpen day, probably with Miles as a bulk guy or opener again since he hasn’t pitched in five days now. We know who’ll represent the Tigers: Casey Mize (2-2, 2.90), who’s off to a terrific start. Things get rolling at 1:10pm ET.
Apr 23, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) greets the umpire before taking an at bat against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
The Dodgers (26-18) travel to Orange County Friday evening to battle the Angels (16-28) for a three-game series at Angel Stadium.
Blake Snell was scratched before his scheduled start and is going on the injured list due to loose bodies in his left elbow.
The Dodgers will go with a bullpen game in the series opener.
Blake Snell has loose bodies in his left elbow. He’s going on the IL.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 10: Tyler Mahle #54 of the San Francisco Giants pitches during the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Sunday, May 10, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Kavin Mistry/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The San Francisco Giants head to Sacramento tonight to begin a three-game series against the Athletics.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Tyler Mahle, who enters tonight’s game with a 5.18 ERA, 5.03 FIP, with 42 strikeouts to 20 walks in 41.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 7-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, in which he allowed four runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in five and two thirds innings.
He’ll be facing off against A’s right-hander Aaron Civale, who enters tonight’s game with a 2.59 ERA, 3.78 FIP, with 33 strikeouts to 13 walks in 41.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Athletics’ 6-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday, in which he allowed six hits and three walks with six strikeouts in five innings.
