The Boston Red Sox have left us collectively feeling like we’re living with a diabetic.

If you want some juice, you gotta go elsewhere.

Payton Tolle, however, knew we were missing out and brought his own on Thursday, putting together a stupendous performance during his season debut against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park — so if you were more focused on the local hockey club’s playoff game, the drama involving your football team’s head coach, or the world’s biggest job fair, you missed out.

Until you didn’t…

Danny Coulombe and Greg Weissert combined to ruin the entire thing, giving up the lead in the seventh inning in a 4-2 loss that completed the series sweep for New York.

STUDS

Payton Tolle: I don’t think he’s going anywhere anytime soon, folks…

Tolle finished with 11 strikeouts in six innings of work, but perhaps the most impressive part of the start was allowing zero runs after loading the bases with no outs in the fourth inning — eventually sitting down Giancarlo Stanton (strikeout), Randal Grichuk (popout), and Trent Grisham (strikeout).

Carlos Narváez: I’ll always respect dudes who play well against their former team. Narváez sent one over that big wall in left field, marking his first home run of the season.

DUDS

Danny Coulombe: HOW DARE YOU, SIR!?

Coulombe was tasked with protecting a one-run lead in the seventh inning, but instead loaded the bases before being yanked in favor of Greg Weissert.

Greg Weissert: Weissert didn’t fare much better, giving up back-to-back hits that plated three runs that were ultimately credited to Coulombe.

LOOKSMAXXING/MOGGING OF THE GAME

Jarren Duran tried to steal this award when he almost lost his cool after colliding with Caleb Durbin.

Tolle would not be denied, however, as he looked like a man on top of the world after his first inning strikeout of Aaron Judge. It’s rare that you see that much beef on the diamond, but we’re talking about the size of a weaning calf between these two.

I’d give it to his scream after getting out of that fourth inning jam, but this allowed us to celebrate even more of our beautiful boy.

The Red Sox ruined what would have been a truly electric celebration, though… As they’re one to do.

The Philadelphia Phillies sprayed five runs across the seventh, eighth and ninth innings on Thursday in Chicago, only to watch their late-game comeback be for naught in extras.

Dansby Swanson sent a bases-loaded, walk-off single to right-center field in the bottom of the 10th and Wrigley Field into its latest frenzy, celebrating an 8-7 victory. The Friendly Confines enjoyed a four-game sweep of the Phillies and, before that, a three-game sweep of the New York Mets.

Chicago (16-9) has won nine straight games and is tied with the Cincinnati Reds atop the NL Central. Philadelphia (8-17), on the other hand, has lost nine consecutive games and is tied with the Kansas City Royals for MLB’s worst record.

The Phillies’ tailspin comes on the heels of their NL East rival Mets notably dropping 12 games in a row, New York’s worst slide since the 2002 season. The Mets finally ended that on Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins.

The last time Philadelphia suffered nine straight defeats was September 2018. The Phillies haven’t toiled through a 10-game losing streak since they lost 11 consecutive games in September 1999.

Nothing is going right for the Phillies at the moment. Not even last year’s NL Cy Young Award runner-up could get them back on track Thursday.

The Cubs piled up five straight hits against Philadelphia ace Cristopher Sánchez in the third inning, scoring three runs that frame. All three runs were driven in by one swing, and it came on a Michael Busch dinger.

Ian Happ went yard in the fourth, and Sánchez clocked out with six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings of work, a stain on his ERA, which was sitting pretty at 1.59 prior to Thursday.

The Phillies rallied late, with Edmundo Sosa and Adolis García tying the game as pinch-hitters in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. That was before Swanson put the Cubs back in front for good in the 10th.

Chicago and Philadelphia are trending in opposite directions after playing each other seven times in the past 11 days.

Early in the teams’ latest series, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski dismissed speculation that manager Rob Thomson is on the hot seat. Since then, the Phillies have lost three more games to the Cubs and their starting catcher to the injured list.

The Philadelphia Phillies sprayed five runs across the seventh, eighth and ninth innings on Thursday in Chicago, only to watch their late-game comeback be for naught in extras.

Dansby Swanson sent a bases-loaded, walk-off single to right-center field in the bottom of the 10th and Wrigley Field into its latest frenzy, celebrating an 8-7 victory. The Friendly Confines enjoyed a four-game sweep of the Phillies and, before that, a three-game sweep of the New York Mets.

Chicago (16-9) has won nine straight games and is tied with the Cincinnati Reds atop the NL Central. Philadelphia (8-17), on the other hand, has lost nine consecutive games and is tied with the Kansas City Royals for MLB’s worst record.

The Phillies’ tailspin comes on the heels of their NL East rival Mets notably dropping 12 games in a row, New York’s worst slide since the 2002 season. The Mets finally ended that on Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins.

The last time Philadelphia suffered nine straight defeats was September 2018. The Phillies haven’t toiled through a 10-game losing streak since they lost 11 consecutive games in September 1999.

Nothing is going right for the Phillies at the moment. Not even last year’s NL Cy Young Award runner-up could get them back on track Thursday.

The Cubs piled up five straight hits against Philadelphia ace Cristopher Sánchez in the third inning, scoring three runs that frame. All three runs were driven in by one swing, and it came on a Michael Busch dinger.

Ian Happ went yard in the fourth, and Sánchez clocked out with six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings of work, a stain on his ERA, which was sitting pretty at 1.59 prior to Thursday.

The Phillies rallied late, with Edmundo Sosa and Adolis García tying the game as pinch-hitters in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. That was before Swanson put the Cubs back in front for good in the 10th.

Chicago and Philadelphia are trending in opposite directions after playing each other seven times in the past 11 days.

Early in the teams’ latest series, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski dismissed speculation that manager Rob Thomson is on the hot seat. Since then, the Phillies have lost three more games to the Cubs and their starting catcher to the injured list.

After both teams combined to score 34 runs in the first two games of the series, the rubber match turned into a pitchers’ duel between Davis Martin and Michael Soroka. At least it was until the ninth.

Arizona scored off Martin in the first on a Ketel Marte single and an Adrian Del Castillo double. After that, though, he didn’t allow another runner past first, thanks in part to a fourth-inning play from Munetaka Murakami that showed he’s more than just a slugger.

Davis ended up going 6 1/3 innings, giving up six hits and just one walk while striking out seven. He was matched most of the way by Soroka, who gave up four straight singles to Andrew Benintendi, Murakami, Miguel Vargas, and Colson Montgomery, most of them off curve balls that hung in the middle of the plate, but otherwise kept the Sox off the board.

Soroka gave up one more hit than Martin and had one fewer K, but the key difference is that he threw a lot more pitches per inning and lasted only five frames.

Both bullpens performed well, at least until one didn’t. Grant Taylor relieved Martin with one out and Nolan Arenado on first in the seventh. He gave up a double to Alek Thomas that missed a home run by about a foot, but bounced back with a strikeout and a scoreless eighth.

The Sox had a runner in scoring position in the eighth on Montgomery’s third single of the day (one a lucky pop-up, the others solid), a fielder’s choice, and a stolen base by pinch runner Derek Hill, but that was part of their 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

However, in the ninth, tied 1-1, the Diamondbacks went to their closer, Paul Sewald, who came into the game with a 1.93 ERA. Sewald had only issued one walk all season, but he had no idea where the ball was going this time. He walked Chase Meidroth (2-for-3) on four pitches, one on a challenge, the others not even close. Tristan Peters moved him over with a sacrifice, then he issued another free pass to pinch-hitter Edgar Quero with the balls all completely non-competitive (as Stoney would say). Behind in the count to Andrew Benintendi, he finally tried to steal a strike, and left a 92 mph fastball so middle-middle it might as well have been a game under 1870s rules, where a batter got to instruct the pitcher where to throw it. Benintendi showed his appreciation.

Balls don’t usually carry well in Arizona when the dome is shut, as it was today, but that 104.5 mph shot went 410 feet.

Will Venable handed a three-run lead to Seranthony Domínguez, who managed not to blow the save, getting two strikeouts in a clean ninth.

Only downer — the three consecutive-game homer streaks of Murakami, Montgomery, and Vargas all ended, so Mune will have to settle for tying the team and MLB rookie streak record at five.

The win ended a 4-2 western road trip and raised the Sox record to 10-15. Next, they head home to open a series with the Nationals tomorrow night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are looking to do what hasn’t been done in nearly a decade in the NBA: win back-to-back titles.

Although their path to the NBA Finals will be difficult, as they are almost guaranteed to have to face two of the Lakers, Rockets, Nuggets, Timberwolves, and Spurs in the next two rounds, they have proven themselves a capable team very much worthy of creating the next NBA dynasty.

However, their road to the championship was just made a whole lot tougher.

Star guard-forward Jalen Williams was diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain following the team’s Game 2 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, April 22.

Jalen Williams left Game 2 vs. the Suns with an apparent hamstring injury. pic.twitter.com/P47wjF0c9T

— ESPN (@espn) April 23, 2026

Williams exited during the third quarter after grabbing his left hamstring following a layup attempt and did not return. The 2025 NBA All-Star had scored 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting in 23 minutes when he exited the game.

Williams has proven himself an invaluable asset to this Thunder squad and an extended absence could be devastating to the Thunder’s championship hopes.

Jalen Williams evaluation

Williams will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis. According to The Oklahoman, part of the USA TODAY Network, a Grade 1 hamstring strain is a mild strain with very little torn muscle. The injury usually has a recovery timeline of 1-2 weeks, which would keep Williams sidelined for at least Games 3-5 of the first round.

This injury is rather concerning for Williams considering that Williams already missed 49 games this season due to a hamstring strain in his right leg.

Williams has also suffered other injuries since last year’s NBA Finals victory, undergoing wrist surgery soon after the championship, which forced him to miss the start of the regular season.

Jalen Williams stats

Jalen Williams averaged 17.1 points and 5.5 assists per game this season, a major reason the team boasted the best record in the NBA this season. Williams recorded 22 points and seven rebounds in Oklahoma City’s Game 1 win.

Thunder vs. Suns playoff schedule

Thunder lead series 2-0

• Game 1 at Oklahoma City: Thunder 119, Suns 84
• Game 2 at Oklahoma City: Thunder 120, Suns 107
• Game 3 at Phoenix: Saturday, April 25 at 3:30 p.m. | NBC, Peacock
• Game 4 at Phoenix: Monday, April 27 | Time and TV TBD
• *Game 5 at Oklahoma City: Wednesday, April 29 | Time and TV TBD
• *Game 6 at Phoenix: Friday, May 1 | Time and TV TBD
• *Game 7 at Oklahoma City: Sunday, May 3 | Time and TV TBD

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jalen Williams hamstring injury: Thunder star week-to-week in playoffs

The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to keep the momentum going as they take on the Toronto Raptors in Game 3.

Share your thoughts as the game unfolds. If you aren’t a member of the community, sign up so you can talk to your fellow Cavalier fans and make your voice heard!

Go Cavs!

The Dbacks were not able to complete what would’ve been their 5^th straight series win on Thursday as they lost to the Chicago White Sox on a 3 run home run in the top of the 9^th inning.

After the offensive explosion that happened last night at Chase Field with the 6 home runs, today was very much the opposite type of game. Michael Soroka pitched well today and did a great job quieting the red hot White Sox offense. Soroka was able to go 5 innings and only allowing 1 run, however due to a few particularly long innings with base traffic wasn’t able to pitch into the 6^th inning. He was able to notch 6 Ks today generating 13 swing and misses. Soroka’s slurve was especially sharp today generating a 29% whiff rate. Definitely one of the best pitches on this team for sure.

The Diamondbacks bullpen was good for the most part this afternoon as Ginkel, Morillo, and Loasiga combined for 3.1 innings of 0 ER with 4 Ks. However the strange trend with non-save opportunity Paul Sewald reared its ugly head again today as he came in in the 9^th, walked 2 batters, and then gave up the go ahead 3 run home run on a fastball that literally could not have been more center cut. I mean when Paul Sewald misses, he misses really really bad. The ball may as well have been on a tee and that simply cannot happen with the game on the line.

Im inclined to just chalk this one up as Sewald maybe just isn’t as locked in in non save opportunities as he is in save opportunities, however I just don’t know how much I buy that. You should always be locked in entering a major league baseball game and there is NEVER a good time to throw pitches middle middle like that. Sewald owns a 27.00 ERA in tie game situations so far this season after allowing his 5^th ER in just 1.2 innings of tie game action so far this season. And I feel like the majority of those runs came on center cut fastballs middle middle.

Certainly this was a series you wanted to win if you were the Dbacks, however I also think the White Sox played some pretty good baseball over the past couple of days especially on offense and the series essentially came down to 1 mistake in the heart of the zone.

The other argument here as to why the Dbacks lost this game which is valid is that the offense was only able to piece together 1 run. Especially considering they scored 11 runs in the game last night. Carroll went 0-4 and the rest of the offense was only able to scatter hits here and there while only drawing 1 walk. Pretty tough to win a major league game with offensive performances like that.

The Dbacks will look to get back to winning series in Mexico City on Saturday when they take on the red-hot San Diego Padres in a quick 2 game series. I think it will be fun to see the energy that Mexico City brings to the ball park as well as how the ball plays at almost 2,000 feet ABOVE Coors Field elevation.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Austin Reaves has been upgraded to questionable for Game 3 of the Los Angeles Lakers’ first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets.

The Lakers made the designation on their high-scoring guard Thursday while the team flew to Houston. Los Angeles has a surprising 2-0 series lead heading into Game 3 on Friday night despite playing without Luka Doncic and Reaves, its top two scorers.

Reaves hasn’t played since he strained his oblique muscles and Doncic strained his hamstring in a game at Oklahoma City on April 2, but Reaves returned to on-court basketball activities over the past few days. Before the Lakers’ flight, coach JJ Redick said he had no update on the schedule for his injured starters’ return to play.

Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds during an impressive regular season for the Lakers, although he played in only 51 games due to two lengthy injury absences. In his fifth season with Los Angeles, the former undrafted free agent cemented his status as a prolific secondary scorer and dependable offensive facilitator while the Lakers won 53 games and the Pacific Division.

But Reaves and NBA scoring champion Doncic were both injured during the Lakers’ blowout loss to the Thunder three weeks ago.

Doncic is still out for Game 3, but Redick said earlier this week that the Slovenian superstar is expected to begin initial on-court work soon. The Lakers haven’t publicly speculated on the date of either guard’s return.

After losing three straight games following the injuries, the Lakers have regrouped and won five in a row. Los Angeles stunned the NBA by claiming the first two games of its first-round series at home over the Rockets, who were perceived as the strong favorites in the series due to the Lakers’ injury problems.

Although 41-year-old LeBron James is leading the way, Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart also have stepped up impressively in the absence of the Lakers’ starting backcourt. Kennard scored 27 points in Game 1 and 23 in Game 2, and Smart scored 25 points with five 3-pointers in Game 2 while leading Los Angeles’ impressive defensive effort against Kevin Durant, who managed only three points after halftime.

Reaves will be eligible for a big new contract this summer if he declines his option for next season, as expected. Both Reaves and team officials have said they believe the guard will remain with the Lakers, his favorite team since childhood.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

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Will Victor Wembanyama play in Game 3?

We may not know the availability of the San Antonio Spurs’ star until shortly before tip-off against the Portland Trail Blazers.

These Spurs vs. Trail Blazers predictions and NBA picks have a better chance of cashing if Victor Wembanyama is ruled out, but it could still win with him in the lineup on Friday, April 24.

Our best Spurs vs Trail Blazers SGP for Game 3

Unless you’re a San Antonio Spurs team doctor, you don’t actually know whether Victor Wembanyama is trending toward playing in Game 3 against the Portland Trail Blazers. 

If Wembanyama plays, De’Aaron Fox could still score 20+ points… but if Wembanyama does not, this thought may become an assurance.

Fox averaged 24.6 points in 18 games without Wembanyama this season, clearing this prop in 15 of those 18 contests.

Stephon Castle averaged 6.8 rebounds per game in eight matches without Wembanyama, a number deflated by a reboundless 16-minute showing in November. Remove that, and it jumps to 7.7 rpg in seven games.

As for including the Over with Wembanyama on the sideline, he is the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year. San Antonio’s defensive rating jumps 6.6 points per 100 possessions in games that Wembanyama does not play.

There is too much value in this thought not to include the Over, regardless of knowing Wemby’s status.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.