Stephon Marbury is asking for a pen and paper. The waitress brings him an envelope.

To Marbury, the envelope, like many things in his life, has become a basketball court. On this court, constructed with a few strokes of a pen, Jalen Brunson sits at the center. And he’s on an island defending C.J. McCollum, the Atlanta Hawks guard who scored 32 points to hand the Knicks their first loss of the playoffs to even the series at one game apiece on Monday.

Four of his six of his fourth-quarter points, McCollum admitted after the victory, came via brush screens intentionally designed to switch Brunson onto the Hawks’ crafty-scoring guard. On one possession, McCollum used a between-the-legs dribble into a crossover, the “UTEP two-step,” to knock the Knicks’ captain off-balance.

“It’s gonna come down to strategy with Mike Brown,” says Marbury, seated on the 100th floor of a sleek high-rise overlooking Central Park. “It’s gonna come down to structure and strategy with Mike Brown — and I believe he’s going to make the adjustments.”

The Knicks head to Atlanta with more questions than answers as a team with an NBA Finals mandate that has now ceded home-court advantage. Chief among those questions is what adjustments the Knicks will make on both ends of the floor around Brunson, who holds the keys to the Knicks’ title run.

And their future as currently constructed.

“You know that they’re running a high pick and roll. It’s really like a brush screen, just so you can switch. And it’s slow. Like, it’s like stand there, touch his body, drag him down,” Marbury explains. “And now you’ve gotta switch. And it’s embarrassing if you don’t switch, ‘cause you on the court, on the island, by yourself in the NBA. So you standing there like, “Damn.’

“I could literally walk real slow and just grab you like, ‘it’s time,’ and that’s the switch. Now, you’ve gotta stomp your feet, slap the ground, and just get ready every time.”

That future could very well hinge on how effectively the Knicks can cover for their All-Star scoring guard on the defensive end. McCollum called Brunson’s number over and over again to help his Hawks win Game 2. Marbury offered a solution, a newer defensive coverage teams have deployed in recent months to keep weaker defenders off of premier scoring threats.

But it will require all five Knicks on the floor to be on a string.

“Jalen will have to get over the screen on C.J.’s hip and push him downhill, then whoever’s man is creating the switch, they’ll stay in the help position to make C.J. pass the ball. Then, the wing man will cheat over to the middle, and the [Knicks’] corner man will have two men: [Atlanta’s] wing man and the corner man,” Marbury explains. “If Jalen blitzes the screen, now if C.J. goes to drive and the help defender is in the blue position, Jalen can switch back to his man. He can switch to the other guy.

“And that’s how you kill it. Now we’re gonna watch, and we’re gonna see if they’re gonna make that adjustment. Because [Atlanta is] gonna run the same play. They’re gonna do it old-school and make us adjust.”

DISTURBING FREEDOM

These days, Marbury spends his time building WellBall, what he calls the “pickleball of basketball.” That time was interrupted on Monday.

Because, of course, he saw the tweet.

Words Marbury never associated with his Knicks career reached nearly 1 million viewers when a NY Post reporter denigrated the ex-point guard’s time with the franchise. The post included a video from the Knicks’ own social media account of Marbury supporting the team courtside during Game 1.

“The celebration of Stephon Marbury is such a strange thing,” the NY Post reporter wrote. “He was a terrible Knick. Dragged down the franchise for five years. Won zero playoff games.”

Those words are buried inside the archives of Marbury’s iMessage app, incoming and outgoing messages alike, disturbing the freedom he’s worked hard to create.

“I get it. I understand. Things happen. Things didn’t go well,” he says. “But the purity of New York basketball is in my DNA.

“I’m the wrong one. I’m the kid from Coney Island, for real.”

Marbury amassed a 113-174 record during his four-plus seasons in New York. His Knicks went to the playoffs once and were swept by the New Jersey Nets, who lost in the second round to the eventual NBA champion Detroit Pistons.

Marbury was in his late 20s then. Twenty years have passed since his final season in New York. Today, he wants to see the Knicks — yes, the “Nova Knicks” — reach heights he couldn’t during his time in orange and blue.

“I was a Knicks fan before I was ever a Knick. My mom was a Knicks fan. I was a Knicks fan in the womb. I’m almost close to half of a century living on this Earth being a Knicks fan,” he says. “This is why people in your industry are being replaced by former players. What [the NY Post reporter] said doesn’t matter. It gets voided when real people who’ve been on the hardwood speak.”

Marbury admits his years in New York weren’t the best. But when he first joined the Knicks, he got on a plane with then president of basketball operations Isiah Thomas. Thomas, who took the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons to back-to-back NBA titles, gave him a blueprint on leading a team through tumultuous times as a floor general.

“He said, ‘Teams bring you in when there’s a sh-t storm. You are able to weather the storm when things are going bad, and you’ll come in and just play and do what you do,’” Marbury recalled. “I’ll put on my sneakers. I’m gonna lace them up. I’m gonna play. A lot of people have their opinion about how I played, and I can submit in the moment that I wasn’t perfect in all of what I’ve done.

“But I tried. I was trying, and I came ready, and I came prepared. People that are unprepared, I think those are the people who [critics] will be able to look at and contest. Some of the people that are in my draft class, I lap them. And I’m talking about years played. Not even talent or stats.”

NOTHING WITH CAP

Marbury and Brunson don’t have a relationship, but the former Knick sees a little bit of himself in New York’s current captain.

“His ground attack is crazy, but right now he makes a lot of moves, and when you make a lot of moves, it takes a lot of energy,” Marbury says. “It’s a lot of movement to breathe through all that. He’s conditioned to do it, so he makes it look easy. But it’s super hard to do.”

Marbury believes Brunson has what it takes to make good on James Dolan’s January mandate: that he can lift the Knicks to their first NBA title since 1973.

“We’re behind [Jalen]. We support him, but we also want him to make adjustments,” he says. “Jalen is the guy that we want and we love because he’s a great human being. Now, he’s in the process of making his adjustments towards being a leader worthy of building two statues outside The Garden.

“You’d have to literally build him, then build one with him, Clyde and all the other dudes, if he wins a title.”

To get there, Brunson has to adjust, not just on the defensive end, but offensively, too. He can get his own shot at any moment, but far too often, the offense stagnates: It happened in crunch time against the Hawks when Brunson took eight shots in the final eight minutes while Karl-Anthony Towns took just two.

“I feel like Jalen Brunson has to play like Allen Iverson and John Stockton. He has to find the balance. I don’t think it’s a hard transition for him because he’s smart, and he’s astute, and because he’s smart and astute, he’s aware of what happened,” Marbury says. “Right now, this is the first four years of him being the man where he’s making decisions and he’s going on the court. He’s playing at the highest level and everything is in his hand.

“And he’s got all of the support. We are going to support him because we believe him and we trust him. We believe that. I believe that.”

In the locker room after the Game 2 loss, several Knicks players pointed to the same issue: a lack of ball movement and fluidity down the stretch, when the Hawks closed on a 20-9 run to erase a 14-point deficit.

“We’ll wait and watch and see if that’s something that [Jalen’s] going to do. Because if he makes that adjustment — if he plays like Stockton and Iverson — yeah. We’re going to witness what we all started to believe in and trust in,” Marbury says. “And why we call him Mr. Clutch.”

Marbury also believes Brunson needs more help — from both his coach and his co-star. He wants the Knicks to run more traditional high pick-and-roll with their two All-Stars — “not that Spain action,” he says — and believes Towns has to be more forceful in demanding the ball.

“KAT’s not going to get plays drawn up in this system with Coach Brown. He has to assert himself. He has to demand — he has to demand the ball come his way, man,” Marbury says. “It’s different when you demand something. When you command it, now it’s like, ‘OK, that’s what we’re doing. We’re going there.’ When he puts his hand up and demands the ball, everybody knows to throw it.”

That’s one side of the ball.

The other is Brunson’s own matchup. Because McCollum isn’t going anywhere. And a player used to diagnosing opposing defenses now must do the same to his own.

“What he takes from [Game 2] and how he grows from that night — that’s him. That’s going to be the truth and true honesty in the next game,” Marbury said. “It’s not about playing harder or scoring more or not missing any shots. That’s not it. It’s evaluating how they play him. How am I going to play defensively?

“Am I going to submit and say, look, this is where I need help at? Am I thinking about knowing that I have a weakness right now and now everyone sees it? Everybody in the gym knew it. The whole world sees I can’t defend C.J. McCollum, and I’m gonna have to guard him in the next game.

“How are we gonna prep? And how are you gonna prepare to play against him?”

Analyst drops thought-provoking update on Rashee Rice’s Chiefs future originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The NFL Draft is nearly upon us, and the Kansas City Chiefs are dotting their I’s and crossing their T’s to finalize the draft board.

Holding two first-round picks, the franchise can turbocharge the roster rebuild under Brett Veach.

For ESPN’s Matt Miller, in his latest mock draft, he has the Chiefs taking Rueben Bain Jr. at No. 9, and at No. 29, corner Chris Johnson.

But that’s not the headline. It’s what Miller writes about Rashee Rice’s future.

“I believe wide receivers would be in play if the board fell differently, as a team source mentioned that Rashee Rice’s off-field conduct might prevent the Chiefs from re-signing him after his deal expires following the 2026 season,” Miller wrote. “Xavier Worthy also has not broken out yet, but this mock draft is not favorable for K.C. getting a wideout here.”

More:ESPN urges Bills fans to not rule out 1 position in NFL Draft

Rice’s Chiefs future in doubt?

Well, going by what the team source said about Rice’s off-field issues, it appears that is certainly in play, which, to me, is big news.

In the final year of his rookie deal, it feels like the Chiefs are uncertain as to whether they will be able ot re-sign him after this season, and that would leave a huge hole in Patrick Mahomes’ offense.

Of course, it doesn’t mean the Chiefs won’t re-sign Rice, but it is certainly on the board, at least right now.

As such, the Chiefs might look to add a receiver at No. 29, as insurance.

More NFL news:

• Analyst names 1 player firmly on Chiefs’ draft radar
• Jayden Daniels gets ultimate Commanders gift in latest mock draft
• David Bailey has ideal response to Jets’ canceled draft visit
• Steelers only have 1 option in NFL Draft according to analyst
• ESPN hints at Commanders’ potential NFL Draft selection

We’ve had the good (not enough), we’ve had the bad (too much), now welcome to the weird of the Mariners season. Logan Gilbert was shaky but shaken, the defense (non-Cole Young edition) was porous and also game-saving, the bullpen was fine and also not fine but also still kind of fine, the offense was good and then bad and then good again. The 2026 Mariners! They’re fine, probably.

“Just a regular Wednesday,” quipped Dan Wilson postgame, and if Dan Wilson is making a joke, you know this game was wacky.

It certainly started off weird. Logan Gilbert loaded the bases in the first through a series of events that were mostly not his fault: two unchallenged strikes to Nick Kurtz that resulted in a walk, a 70 mph exit velocity lollipop on a curveball that dropped for a base hit; and then this, the latest entry in “you never know what you’ll see when you come to the ballpark” [derogatory]:

As those of you who read Short Relief over the years know, the rule is that a player cannot field a ball with anything other than a glove or a bat, because baseball is designed by men with tiny minds. However, umpires also have some discretion in declaring a play dead, and it feels like if a ball gets lodged in a player’s jersey to the point where he must disrobe to retrieve it, it seems fair to call that play dead instead of a base hit, much like if I made a cake and then a bird fell out of the sky and died in the cake it seems fair to call that a ruined cake and not dessert.

“I’ve never seen a ball go in someone’s shirt before. That’s a first for me,” said Dan Wilson postgame, and if Dan Wilson, who has seen more baseball played than 99% of the population, has never seen something, that’s how you know it’s weird times. That, and a joke? Wacktacular.

I had hoped for Logan to bounce back after escaping having his abdomen look like an outtake from Alien, and it seemed he might, as he got his first two outs of the inning – one on a sac fly, and one on a harmless pop out – and looked like he might get out of the jam with just the one run scored. But Jeff McNeil spoiled that hope, lacing a line drive on a fastball that crept too close to the middle of the plate, putting the Mariners in an early 2-0 hole. The inning ended when McNeil tried to steal second, which at 34 years of age is just rude, and Cal Raleigh had the throw there well in time, run down by a particularly determined-looking Cole Young.

Speaking of Young, the defense did not do Gilbert any favors as he labored through his outing, bobbling balls in the outfield (Julio Rodríguez), making offline throws (J.P. Crawford), and whiffing on gettable ground balls (Leo Rivas), so thank goodness for Cole Young’s defense, as I have always said.

Unfortunately, Gilbert didn’t help himself out in a similar fashion, immediately hitting Max Muncy after that and then walking Lawrence Butler to load the bases and cost himself a bunch of extra pitches in order to get out of the inning. Gilbert just was not efficient today, making it just four innings on his weekly allotment of pitches.

Afterwards, a banged-up Gilbert – wincing around the bruise in the center of his chest (“it’s not great”), his wrist bandaged but a bright red spot still blooming through, looking like a 19th century Legionnaire washed up at T-Mobile Park – said the issue for him today was in not having his fastball command.

“I was fighting against myself, like fastball and cutter were missing armside, and I wasn’t really able to make an adjustment during the game. So my other pitches felt fine, but you know, that’s kind of the baseline. Commanding those pitches sets everything else up. So it’s kind of unfortunate. I’m usually able to make a quick adjustment, but that just wasn’t the case today.”

Since Gilbert narrowly avoided a fate where he was punched clean through the chest like Elmer Fudd facing a Bugs Bunny-wielded cannon, we’ll give him a pass on the adjustment. But that did leave four innings for the bullpen to cover – a bullpen that had been stretched fairly thin over the previous two games, and coming up on the end of a 13-game stretch.

In college I wrote a really terrible poem about a chair I saw in a museum with a big sign on it that said “PLEASE DO NOT SIT” and I wondered, what is a chair you can’t sit on? Divorced from its function, is it still a chair? Anyway, this occurred to me for no discernible reason while watching José A. Ferrer throw two innings in relief of Logan Gilbert. What is a ground ball pitcher who can’t get ground balls? No sooner had I posed the question then Ferrer rolled an inning-ending double play, so we will save that particular existential question for another day.

Meanwhile, though, as the SS Gilbert shuddered and limped into port on a shorter journey than anticipated, the significantly older and rustier SS Civale rebounded from an inflated pitch count first inning and dispatched the Mariners neatly over the next four innings, a lone Cal Raleigh solo shot the only damage other than the first inning. Oh, you would like to see the Cal Raleigh dinger? Out of respect to Civale and how terrible this pitch is I was going to skip it, but if you insist:

I know Cal Raleigh has been struggling early in the season, but you absolutely cannot throw him that pitch there. But thank you for doing so.

With Josh Naylor aboard in the sixth, the A’s lifted him for lefty Brady Basso, causing Dan Wilson to push the big red scuffed-up button labeled PLATOON! in the dugout. First up was Mitch Garver, in for Luke Raley, and Garver found the sauce: Basso tried to throw him similar pitches in the same location and after taking the cutter for a strike, Garv pounced on the changeup, walloping (for Garver, 101.5 off the bat is a certified Wallop) it for a double. Then Rob Refsnyder, who is one of the few Adults on this team, did his job and got the run home with a sac fly. Platoon Power!

With a brand-new-ballgame that allowed Dan Wilson to pull on the leverage side of his bullpen, bringing out Matt Brash for the seventh. Brash had a bumpy spring but I thought he looked very sharp in his last outing against the A’s, and he was so again today, tossing an aesthetically pleasing 1-2-3 inning where the outs were recorded 6-3, 5-3, and 4-3: the infield defense version of an immaculate inning.

The A’s brought out Jack Leiter Jr. for the bottom of the seventh and with one out, J.P. Crawford poked a single through the right side of the infield. Cal Raleigh followed that up with a double deep into the right field corner (after it rolled past Carlos Cortes). J.P. had to hold up to see if Cortes would catch the ball so was only able to make it to third, but Julio Rodríguez was able to bring in the run anyway, shooting a ball at a drawn-in Jacob Wilson, who had to slide to snag the ball and opted for the safe out at first rather than the play at home.

With a narrow 4-3 lead, the Mariners turned to one of their leverage arms: that’s right, I speak of 6’6 Cooper Criswell, who can probably be used as a lever to move the world if necessary. Criswell pitched a clean 1-2-3 inning, setting up Andrés Muñoz for the ninth after the Mariners failed to add on in the bottom of the eighth. Rob Refsnyder, Certified Adult, put away the first out with a nice sliding catch that I’m not sure Luke Raley gets to, so another point for platoons today. But then Nick Kurtz did what Nick Kurtz does and socked a 2-2 slider from Muñoz to dead center for a game-tying home run.

Refsnyder making that catch turns out to be important, then, because instead of the A’s being ahead 5-4, the Mariners went into the ninth inning tied, facing the Mason Miller-less A’s. Joel Kuhnel just does not spark the same fear, as made manifest by Leo Rivas leading off the inning with a single against him. Unfortunately, J.P. Crawford grounded into a double play, putting the threat of extras on the table with the Mariners down to just recently-called-up Alex Hoppe left in the bullpen. But the big bats, which have been warming up this series, did what they needed to do. Back-to-back singles from Raleigh and Rodríguez put two on for Josh Naylor, who leapt on a first-pitch cutter for his first walkoff as a Mariner.

“It’s awesome,” said Naylor. “You work hard to get those results. It’s a hard game we play. It’s arguably the hardest sport we chose to play, and we’re idiots for choosing it, but we did, and we have decided to come to this ballpark every day and grind. Working hard is awesome; working hard with this group is even better.”

Oh, Josh. We’re all idiots for choosing it.

Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor exited Wednesday’s game against the Twins with left calf tightness.

In the fourth inning, Francisco Alvarez lined a double that split the center and right fielders while Lindor was on first base. Lindor rounded third base and seemed to grimace before sliding safely feet first into home plate. Lindor went into the tunnel, but did not come out for the top of the fifth.

Bo Bichette moved to shortstop and Brett Baty came in to play third.

Lindor left after going 2-for-2 with an RBI infield single in the first inning, and is one of the Mets’ hottest hitters. Over his last seven games, including Wednesday, Lindor is 9-for-25 with two home runs and five RBI. That production allowed Mets manager Carlos Mendoza to move Lindor to the cleanup spot in Wednesday’s game.

The injury also comes as the Mets welcomed back Juan Soto to the lineup after their slugger missed 15 games with a calf strain.

This story is still developing….

Francisco Lindor has been pulled from tonight’s game after grimacing rounding third on Francisco Alvarez’s RBI double pic.twitter.com/wi7PGalANx

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 23, 2026

The Dodgers finish up their road trip with one more game under the sun on Thursday afternoon against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.

Tyler Glasnow started this road trip last Friday by pitching seven innings at Coors Field, and allowed only one run. The right-hander has lasted at least six innings in each of his four starts this year, with a 3.24 ERA, 2.61 xERA, 29 strikeouts and six walks in 25 innings.

Logan Webb led the National League in innings pitched in each of the previous three seasons, including a major-league-best 207 frames in 2025. He has 30 innings thus far in his five starts this year, but also a 5.40 ERA and 4.39 xERA. He get the ball for the Giants on Thursday.

Thursday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Giants
• Ballpark: Oracle Park, San Francisco
• Time: 12:45 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The Athletics entered Wednesday’s series finale against the Seattle Mariners seeking a road sweep, but fell 5-4 on a walk-off, undone by shaky defense and relief pitching.

The action started fast and furious in this matchup. A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz drew a leadoff walk against Mariners starter Logan Gilbert, extending his streak to 13 consecutive games with a walk, two shy of tying franchise great Rickey Henderson for the record. Designated hitter Shea Langeliers and right fielder Carlos Cortes followed with singles to load the bases.

Cortes’ hit was a searing line drive comebacker that was ruled a hit due to it somehow ending up in Gilbert’s jersey, not his glove. What do you think about that play? Did the umpires correctly rule it a hit or should it have been an out?

okayyyy 🤷 pic.twitter.com/pbArL8UqzK

— Athletics (@Athletics) April 22, 2026

Left fielder Tyler Soderstrom’s sacrifice fly and second baseman Jeff McNeil’s RBI single gave the A’s an early 2-0 lead.

The boys gettin’ started 👏 pic.twitter.com/uruc9cSx70

— Athletics (@Athletics) April 22, 2026

In the bottom of the first, the Mariners immediately responded against A’s starting pitcher Aaron Civale. They loaded the bases on three singles and then halved the deficit on left fielder Randy Arozarena’s sacrifice fly. Civale escaped further damage by striking out right fielder Dominic Canzone to end the inning and strand the bases loaded.

In the second inning, the A’s threatened to score again. They got two runners on base, only for Langeliers to hit a rocket line drive right to the Mariners third baseman to end the inning. Following a one-two-three second inning of work for Civale, his team increased its lead in the third.

Cortes recorded his second single in two at-bats. Two batters later, he came around to score on shortstop Jacob Wilson’s RBI double past the diving third baseman down the left field line.

J Willy’s RBI double adds to the A’s lead 😎 pic.twitter.com/SOMkbNIa02

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) April 22, 2026

The A’s had a chance to score more, but Gilbert got catcher Austin Wynns to fly out with the bases loaded and two outs. Earlier in the inning, Mariners second baseman Cole Young’s outstanding defensive play likely robbed McNeil of his second RBI single of the game.

For the second time in three innings, Civale unsuccessfully pitched a shutdown inning. Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who hit an MLB record for a catcher 60 home runs last season, connected for a solo home run in the third inning, his third in three games and fifth of the season. The Mariners left the tying run on second, yet inched closer once again.

Gilbert pitched four innings with the Mariners turning things over to their bullpen in the fifth inning. His performance today was a far cry from what the team normally expects from him. In five starts against the A’s over the last two seasons, Gilbert had compiled a 1.99 ERA with 42 strikeouts and two walks allowed.

The Athletics wasted another scoring opportunity in the fifth inning as center fielder Lawrence Butler struck out with two guys on and two outs. Seattle’s hard-throwing left-handed reliever Jose Ferrer got through that inning and the next, keeping his team’s deficit at one. However, the hosts would not score any more against Civale, who only gave up two runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. Civale struck out five and most importantly ended his outing retiring seven of his final eight hitters faced.

With two lefties due up and a runner on first, A’s manager Mark Kotsay summoned recently promoted left-handed reliever Brady Basso to make his season debut. In response, the Mariners called upon two right-handed hitters to pinch hit. Mitch Garver doubled and then Rob Refsnyder hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Basso’s inherited runner to tie the game at three apiece. The Mariners had a chance to take their first lead of the game with a runner on third and two outs, but Basso got the next hitter he faced to line out to keep the game tied.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Mariners took a 4-3 lead. Facing Athletics reliever Mark Leiter Jr, Seattle’s shortstop JP Crawford singled to right and then Raleigh hit a line drive to right that Cortes misplayed, resulting in a double. With runners on third and second and one out, center fielder Julio Rodríguez hit a grounder that was snagged by A’s shortstop Wilson. His only play was to first, allowing Crawford to score the go-ahead run.

The eighth inning was scoreless, though the Mariners threatened with a runner on second and no outs in the bottom half before A’s reliever Justin Sterner escaped the jam.

In the top of the ninth, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year winner came up huge for the A’s. The “Big Amish” blasted a game-tying solo home run to center off Seattle’s stellar closer Andrés Muñoz.

CHURN IT UP 🧈 pic.twitter.com/ljDj8Il9Yl

— Athletics (@Athletics) April 22, 2026

Reliever Joel Kuhnel entered to pitch the bottom of the ninth, hoping to send the game to extra innings. Following a leadoff single, he got Crawford to ground into a big double play. Alas, the Mariners big three of Raleigh, Rodríguez and Josh Naylor hit three straight singles with two outs to earn the walk-off win and salvage game three of the series.

The Athletics have a day off Thursday after a stretch of 16 games in 16 days. The team opens a three-game series Friday at the Texas Rangers. These teams split a four-game series in Sacramento last week, so it will be interesting to see which team wins this weekend’s series. Luis Severino is scheduled to pitch for the A’s, while the Rangers have not listed a starter.

Boring game today.

No runs, 5 hits, lots of runners left on base.

Bibee was fine today, barring a horrific pitch to Yordan Alvarez. He gave up his only runs on a 2-run shot off Alvarez’s bat in the 1st. He was fine after that. Some traffic, but none crossed the plate.

Offense was rough. 5 hits off Peter Lambert; a career 5+ ERA pitcher. Offense looked like it usually does on day game getaway days. DeLauter had 2 of the Guardians’ 5 hits — an encouraging sign.

The bullpen was good, pitching 3 scoreless innings between Festa, Gaddis, and Sabrowski.

Onto Toronto, where it’ll be Williams vs. Scherzer on Friday. The Blue Jays (as of my writing this) seem to have turned things around on a 3-game win streak.

Spurs forward Keldon Johnson was a breath of fresh air coming off the bench for San Antonio and it’s being recognized and rewarded.

Johnson, 26, was named the 2025-26 NBA Sixth Man of the Year after his seventh NBA season.

Johnson appeared in all 82 games for the Spurs and didn’t start any of them. He set a franchise record with 1,081 bench points this season, a record previously held by Hall of Famer Manu Ginobili.

Johnson has started 232 career games with the Spurs, but hasn’t started any games the last two seasons.

For someone who had been a starter his entire life, Johnson told ESPN’s “Inside the NBA” that he’s embraced his new role to be a part of “something special” in San Antonio.

“Honestly, you know, it just came down to wanting to be a part of something special here in San Antonio. I knew that in order (to) really be the best for the team, that coming off the bench was probably my best possibility,” Johnson said. “At first it was tough. I had to really remove my ego, put the team first. And you know, after that, the sky was the limit. I feel like my teammates, my coaches, really allow me to be myself. Really allowed me to bring that energy, you know. So my hat goes off to them to allow me to do that and be in the position I am today.”

During the 2025-26 campaign, Johnson averaged 13.2 points on 51.9%/36.3%/79.4% shooting splits. He averaged 23.3 minutes per game.

He was selected out of Kentucky with the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft by the Spurs.

“It’s a little emotional,” Johnson said as he celebrated amongst his mom, dad, little sister and best friends. “It’s a big accomplishment. It’s a lot of hard work that goes into an award like this, especially, you know, through everything I’ve been through.”

He is the second Spurs player to win an NBA award this season. Teammate Victor Wembanyama was recently named the 2025-26 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Keldon Johnson highlights

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: San Antonio Spurs’ Keldon Johnson named NBA Sixth Man of the Year

The Colorado Rockies have mostly pitched well against the San Diego Padres in the five games played thus far this season. However, the Rockies are 0-5 against the Friars due to a lackluster offense that was on display in the 1-0 loss on Tuesday.

Tomoyuki Sugano (1-1, 3.92 ERA) performed well through his first couple of starts in a Rockies uniform before delivering his first clunker in purple. Facing the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sugano allowed five runs on nine hits over four innings. Sugano has also now allowed a home run in each of his four starts, but has also managed 15 strikeouts against five walks in 20.2 innings of work. His last outing against the Padres on April 10 saw Sugano allow just two runs on four hits over six innings with three strikeouts on 81 pitches. The Rockies could certainly use a rebound outing for the veteran right-hander.

The Padres will send out Walker Buehler (1-1, 4.58 ERA) to take the mound. Buehler got off to a bit of a shaky start to the season through his first two outings, but his start on April 10 against the Rockies seemed to get him back on track. Buehler tossed six shutout innings, allowing just three hits with four strikeouts. In the following outing, he allowed two runs on five hits in five innings against the Seattle Mariners while striking out seven. The Rockies would likely hope that Buehler would replicate his last outing at Coors Field in 2024. In that game, Buehler allowed seven runs on seven hits in just four innings of work.

First Pitch: 6:40 pm MDT

TV: Rockies TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Padres SB Nation site: Gaslamp Ball

Lineups:

For the visiting Padres:

Mid-week matchup. pic.twitter.com/jUcIO2QfOn

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 22, 2026

and the Rockies:

Sugano gets the start! pic.twitter.com/vh8OqKO2h3

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 22, 2026

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