Mason Miller closed out the San Diego Padres’ 6-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday in the two-game Mexico City Series at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú.

Allowing no runs against the top of the D-Backs’ lineup, Miller has now pitched 34 2/3 scoreless innings going back to last August. That set a Padres team record, surpassing Cla Meredith, who didn’t allow a run in 33 2/3 frames during the 2006 season.

“It’s a big load off, for sure,” Miller said, referring to setting the Padres’ record. “I think we can stop talking about it now and just keep pitching and see how long we can go.”

However, the questions likely won’t stop because Miller is now chasing another record. He is now seven innings away from achieving the longest scoreless streak by a reliever in MLB history. Gregg Olsen threw 41 innings without allowing a run from 1989-90 with the Baltimore Orioles. Six other relievers now stand between Miller and Olsen’s record.

Olson, Orioles: 41 innings
Brad Ziegler, Athletics: 39 innings (2008)
Ryan Pressly, Astros: 39 (2018-19)
Josh Hader, Brewers: 38 (2021-22)
Bob Moose, Pirates: 38 (1975-76)
Craig Kimbrel, Braves: 37 2/3 (2011)
J.C. Romero, Twins: 36 (2004)

Miller’s streak is the longest by any reliever or starter since Zac Gallen threw 44 1/3 scoreless innings for the D-Backs in 2022.

The all-time MLB record is 59 scoreless innings, set by Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting pitcher Orel Hershiser during the team’s 1988 World Series championship season.

Miller has converted 10 saves in 10 opportunities this season with 27 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings. He has allowed only five baserunners on three hits and two walks.

Since being acquired from the Athletics in 2023, Miller has an 0.49 ERA in 35 appearances with a strikeout rate of 17.7 per nine innings.

The right-hander has been so dominant that observers are already pondering whether or not he can win the National League Cy Young Award this season. The last reliever to do it was Dodgers closer Eric Gagne, who converted 55 saves in 55 chances during the 2003 season.

It’s far too early in the season to make such projections. But after 26 games, Miller doesn’t appear to have much competition for the award. Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow (3-0, 2.45 ERA) may be the other top contender.

With the win, the Padres (18-8) hopped over the Dodgers (18-9) for first place in the NL East by a half-game.

Boston is burning — at least, the baseball part of it.

The Red Sox, tied for the American League’s second-worst record, parted ways with manager Alex Cora on Saturday. Five other members of the coaching staff, including hitting coach Peter Fatse, were also let go. The shocking purge came just hours after Boston’s struggling lineup erupted for what appeared to be a cathartic 17-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

That offensive outburst clearly arrived too late for Cora, a polarizing figure hired as Boston’s skipper in the autumn of 2017. A lifeless sweep at home to the rival New York Yankees last week was the likely nail in the coffin. Triple-A manager Chad Tracy will serve as interim manager. Much-maligned chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and team president Sam Kennedy will address the media Sunday in Baltimore.

Principal team owner John Henry wrote in a statement:

“[Alex Cora] has had a lasting impact on this team and on this city. He has led on and off the field in so many important ways. These decisions are never easy, but this one is especially difficult given what Alex has meant to the Red Sox since the day he arrived.”

Cora’s tenure in Boston got off to a rip-roaring start in 2018, when a Mookie Betts-led squad stampeded to a franchise-record 108 regular-season wins and a convincing World Series title over the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was only the fifth time in MLB history that a first-year manager had ever led his team to a championship. That instant success made Cora the talk of the town. It also solidified his status as an abnormally powerful figure within the Red Sox franchise.

Nowadays, few managers have meaningful influence over significant baseball operations decisions or organizational philosophies. Most skippers are, in the main, implementing the directives and preferences of their executive overlords. Cora, serving under his third top baseball exec, was thought to be a notable exception.

When the 2019 Red Sox underperformed, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, not Cora, got the boot. After Major League Baseball suspended Cora for all of 2020 because of his involvement as a ringleader in the Houston Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal (Cora was the bench coach for that team), the Red Sox rehired the disgraced skipper immediately after the season, as if nothing had ever happened. 

A surprise run to the ALCS in 2021 under new chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom only strengthened Cora’s position. And when a power struggle emerged between Bloom and Cora in 2023, it was Bloom who ultimately lost his job.

“For a while there, he was more powerful than the execs,” explained one big-league source who was offered anonymity in exchange for candor.

That’s part of what makes Cora’s firing so stunning. The former 14-year big leaguer had evolved into a seemingly inextricable part of the Red Sox, an institution all his own. Cora was generally liked by his players, who appreciated his intensity, loyalty and communication skills. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, the 50-year-old was also celebrated for his ability to relate to the game’s many Latin American players. Many opposing coaches begrudgingly respected his thorough preparation and winning track record.

He is, simply put, considered to be good at the gig and all it entails.

But in other pockets around the game, Cora had garnered something of a mixed reputation. A handful took issue with his conduct surrounding Bloom’s departure in 2023. Others pointed toward his involvement in Houston’s can-banging controversy as disqualifying. To some, he came across as sanctimonious, carrying himself with the untouchable confidence and self-righteousness of a tenured professor.

“Treated people poorly for years,” a different front-office employee shared.

“He’s not my favorite human,” another quipped.

But baseball, like many communities, is full of divisive characters. One does not need to be a teddy bear, or a saint, to hold down a job. This is a results-based business, and Cora’s results, as of late, were not up to par in the eyes of Boston’s leadership trio of Henry, Kennedy and Breslow. That group, to be fair, is deserving of criticism in its own right. Opinions of Breslow are particularly split across the industry, with many knocking him for a robotic tone and a lack of feel. Others laud his willingness to make tough decisions and his forward-thinking approach to pitching development.

For now, Breslow remains unscathed. Cora wasn’t so lucky. His recent résumé might help explain why.

Since 2018, Cora’s Red Sox have emerged victorious in just one playoff series. The club did not reach October between 2022 and 2024, despite carrying top-10 payrolls. Last summer, the relationship between the franchise and cornerstone slugger Rafael Devers completely disintegrated, precipitating a deal that sent Devers to San Francisco. Boston battled through that drama to earn a wild-card spot but was swiftly knocked out by the Yankees in the first round.

That triggered a significant amount of offseason roster turnover. And the new faces, for the most part, have not shined in the early going. That, alongside slow starts from young star Roman Anthony, mercurial outfielder Jarren Duran and veteran shortstop Trevor Story, sent Boston tumbling down the April standings.

Through it all, Cora adopted a posture of confidence, maintaining an unshakable faith in the group his bosses had assembled. On Saturday, that faith was resoundingly not reciprocated. Asked on Friday when exactly early-season struggles begin to necessitate a change in approach, Cora held firm, his eyes on the big picture. 

“I don’t think you know after 20-something games, right?” he said. “I mean, like, that’s the reality of the game.”

For Cora, as it turned out, the reality was much harsher: Twenty-something games was more than enough for Boston’s front office to show him the door.

Minnesota Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards will miss multiple weeks with a bone bruise and hyperextension of his left knee, ESPN reported.

Edwards underwent an MRI that revealed the injury. He reportedly did not suffer ligament damage to the knee.

Donte DiVincenzo, Minnesota’s other starting guard, is out for the season after tearing his Achilles.

The Timberwolves lost both starters before the end of the first half of Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets. Minnesota still won Game 4 110-96 to take a 3-1 series lead.

The Nuggets and Timberwolves are also awaiting any possible punishment from Nikola Jokić shoving Jaden McDaniels at the end of Saturday’s game. Jokić and Julius Randle were both ejected in the skirmish.

DiVincenzo’s injury occurred after playing only one minute and 19 seconds, with the guard sustaining an apparent non-contact injury. He was later diagnosed with a torn right Achilles tendon, and will undergo surgery in New York on Sunday, the team announced.

Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch addressed the injury after the game:

“Completely devastating for Donte. He’s had such a great season. He’s the heart and soul of so many things that we do. You could see the look in his eye when it happened and you knew. We’ll love him and be there for him.”

DiVincenzo went down after he missed a 3-point attempt, then planted his leg in an attempt to go after the rebound. The guard immediately headed to the locker room, though he was able to walk under his own power; the Timberwolves ruled him out shortly afterward.

At halftime, the broadcast showed footage of DiVincenzo in a wheelchair, with a splint cast on his right leg.

Then, right before the end of the first half, Edwards landed awkwardly on his left leg, appearing to hyperextend his knee. He fell to the ground, staying down for a moment while slapping the court in frustration; he needed help to walk into the tunnel.

Edwards was assessed by trainers during halftime, with Mike Conley stepping in at point guard to start the second half. Partway through the third quarter, the team announced that Edwards had also been ruled out of the game with a left knee injury.

Minnesota entered Saturday’s game with a 2-1 series lead over the Nuggets. For a moment, it looked as though Denver would tie the series, with the Nuggets holding the narrow lead throughout most of the second and third quarters. But the Timberwolves pulled away in the fourth quarter to eventually earn the win.

With Edwards and DiVincenzo out, Ayo Dosunmu stepped up big for Minnesota, scoring a career-high 43 points off the bench. Per the broadcast, Dosunmu was only the fourth player in NBA history to hit 40+ points off the bench in a playoff game.

The 2025-26 NBA regular season reached an exciting conclusion, with playoff and play-in tournament positioning coming down to the final Sunday, and now the playoffs are here.

The Detroit Pistons closed with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Boston Celtics had an impressive regular season — most of which was played without Jayson Tatum as he recovered from an Achilles injury suffered in last year’s postseason — and finished with the second seed in the East.

Oklahoma City Thunder are the top seed in the West for the second straight season, finishing two games ahead of Victor Wembanyama’s hard-charging San Antonio Spurs.

The Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic made it to the postseason out of the East play-in tournament, while the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns made it out of the West’s play-in tournament.

Here are the current odds for every NBA playoff series.

Odds courtesy of BetMGM.

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Detroit Pistons (-275) vs. No. 8 Orlando Magic (+225)

Series tied 1-1

No. 2 Boston Celtics (-3000) vs. No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers (13-1)

Celtics up 2-1

No. 3 New York Knicks (+110) vs. No. 6 Atlanta Hawks (-130)

Hawks lead 2-1

No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers (-1000) vs. No. 5 Toronto Raptors (+650)

Cavs up 2-1

Western Conference

No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder (OFF) vs. No. 8 Phoenix Suns (66-1)

Oklahoma City Thunder up 2-0

No. 2 San Antonio Spurs (-3000) vs. No. 7 Portland Trail Blazers (13-1)

Spurs up 2-1

No. 3 Denver Nuggets (+105) vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves (-125)

Wolves lead 2-1

No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers (-1400) vs. No. 5 Houston Rockets (+800)

Los Angeles Lakers up 3-0