Are the Houston Astros the most injured team in MLB?

On the latest episode of “Baseball Bar-B-Cast,” the hosts discussed the struggling Houston Astros, and the reality that they are very, very injured, with Taylor Trammell their latest player to land on the injured list.

As Jordan Shusterman noted, teams sometimes like to crown themselves the most injured team in baseball, whether as an excuse or as some kind of badge of honor.

But you know what no team ever says? “We’re so healthy. We’ve got everyone available. Nobody’s hurt!” Shusterman said.

To fact check the Astros’ claim, the hosts looked at each team’s tally of players on the injured list. Trammell is Houston’s 16th player to land on the IL, 11 of whom are on the 15-day or 10-day IL. As Shusterman noted, that’s 11 players the Astros are essentially missing from their active roster. Of the 16 total, 10 are pitchers and six are position players, which is more than any other team is missing.

The team with the second-most players on the IL is the Dodgers, with 13 (10 pitchers, three position players). “That’s just a bunch of pitchers that I don’t even know are on the Dodgers that they probably signed to rehab,” Jake Mintz interjected.

Third on the list is the Orioles, with 12 players on the IL after they activated Adley Rutschman. And the Diamondbacks, Giants, Cubs and Blue Jays all have 11 players on the injured list.

On the other end of the spectrum, which teams have the fewest injured players about a month into the regular season? The Phillies, Twins and Nationals have zero position players on the IL. In terms of total players, the Guardians, Pirates and A’s each have only two injured players (one pitcher and one hitter). Most of the league has eight or nine players on the IL at this point, Shusterman noted.

What should we make of this? It’s difficult to say, particularly this early in the season.

“This is just a snapshot in time, but this is a real thing that certainly impacts certain teams,” Shusterman said. “So if you hear any of the other teams say, ‘Oh man, we’re so injured,’ it’s like, ‘No, you’re not, though.’”

With the Guardians and Astros playing this week, we have both ends of the injury spectrum on display in Cleveland.

Where to watch San Diego Padres vs. Colorado Rockies: Live stream, TV channel, odds for Wednesday, April 22

The San Diego Padres (16-7) meet the Colorado Rockies (9-15) in the second game of their series. The Padres won the opener 1-0 on Tuesday. Starting pitchers are Walker Buehler for San Diego, with a 4.58 ERA, and Tomoyuki Sugano for Colorado, with a 3.92 ERA.

  • Date: Wednesday, April 22

  • Time: 8:40 p.m. ET / 5:40 p.m. PT

  • Where: Coors Field, Denver, CO

  • TV Channels: Rockies.TV, Padres.TV Presented by UC San Diego Health

  • Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

  • San Diego Padres: 16-7 (No. 2 in NL West)

  • Colorado Rockies: 9-15 (No. 5 in NL West)

  • Spread: Colorado Rockies +1.5

  • Moneyline: Colorado Rockies +135 (40.9%) / San Diego Padres -160 (59.1%)

  • Over/Under: 11.5

San Diego Padres: Walker Buehler (1-1, ERA: 4.58, K: 18, WHIP: 1.25)
Colorado Rockies: Tomoyuki Sugano (1-1, ERA: 3.92, K: 15, WHIP: 1.16)

Weather: 78°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 50,144 | Roof: Open | Surface: Grass

Where to watch Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants: Live stream, TV channel, odds for Wednesday, April 22

The Los Angeles Dodgers (16-7) face the rival San Francisco Giants (10-13). The Giants won the series’ first game 3-1 on Tuesday. Starting pitchers are Shohei Ohtani for the Dodgers, with a 0.50 ERA, and Tyler Mahle for the Giants, with a 7.23 ERA.

  • Date: Wednesday, April 22

  • Time: 9:45 p.m. ET / 6:45 p.m. PT

  • Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA

  • TV Channels: NBCS BA, SportsNet LA

  • Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

  • Los Angeles Dodgers: 16-7 (No. 1 in NL West)

  • San Francisco Giants: 10-13 (No. 4 in NL West)

  • Spread: San Francisco Giants +1.5

  • Moneyline: San Francisco Giants +165 (36.1%) / Los Angeles Dodgers -200 (63.9%)

  • Over/Under: 7.5

Los Angeles Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani (2-0, ERA: 0.50, K: 18, WHIP: 0.72)
San Francisco Giants: Tyler Mahle (0-3, ERA: 7.23, K: 21, WHIP: 1.93)

Weather: 62°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 41,915 | Roof: Open | Surface: Grass

Keldon Johnson wins Sixth Man of the Year

SAN ANTONIO, TX – APRIL 21: Keldon Johnson #3 of the San Antonio Spurs reacts before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers during Round One Game Two of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on April 21, 2026 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photos by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

The San Antonio Spurs are collecting the hardware after their strong 2025-26 regular season. On Wednesday, Keldon Johnson was named the Sixth Man of the Year.

This was Johnson’s second full season coming off the bench. He played all 82 games, averaging 23.3 minutes, 13.2 points, and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 51.9% from the field and 36.3% from three. He beat out Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tim Hardaway Jr. to win his first-ever Sixth Man of the Year award.

Johnson was the first-ever Spur to score at least 1,000 points off the bench in a single season. He scored 1,081 points off the bench this year, the second most in the NBA. He is the first Spur to win the award since Manu Ginobili did so in the 2007-08 season. He is the second Spur to win the award.

Johnson became the heart and soul of the team off the bench. He wrote an excellent piece in the Players’ Tribune about coming off the bench before the end of the season. He accepted the role with grace and has now been rewarded for it.

The now-Sixth Man of the Year will be needed more than ever as the Spurs are likely to be without Victor Wembanyama in Game Three against the Portland Trail Blazers, with the series tied 1-1.

Where to watch New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox: Live stream, TV channel, odds for Wednesday, April 22

The New York Yankees (14-9) take on the Boston Red Sox (9-14). The Yankees shut out the Red Sox 4-0 in the series’ opener on Tuesday. Starting pitchers are Max Fried for the Yankees, with a 2.97 ERA, and Ranger Suarez for the Red Sox, with a 3.22 ERA.

  • Date: Wednesday, April 22

  • Time: 6:45 p.m. ET / 3:45 p.m. PT

  • Where: Fenway Park, Boston, MA

  • TV Channels: MLB Network, NESN, Amazon Prime Video

  • Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

  • New York Yankees: 14-9 (No. 1 in AL East)

  • Boston Red Sox: 9-14 (No. 5 in AL East)

  • Spread: Boston Red Sox +1.5

  • Moneyline: Boston Red Sox +115 (44.4%) / New York Yankees -140 (55.6%)

  • Over/Under: 7.5

New York Yankees: Max Fried (2-1, ERA: 2.97, K: 23, WHIP: 0.81)
Boston Red Sox: Ranger Suarez (1-1, ERA: 3.22, K: 15, WHIP: 1.07)

Weather: 46°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 37,755 | Roof: Open | Surface: Grass

Spurs’ Keldon Johnson honored as NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, topping Jaquez, Hardaway

Keldon Johnson was the ultimate backup for the San Antonio Spurs this season.

He played in all 82 games, all off the bench, becoming only the second NBA player in the last decade to do that. He became the first Spurs player to score 1,000 points as a reserve in a season. And all year long, San Antonio touted him as the best backup in the league.

Voters agreed — and the Spurs have another award winner.

Johnson was announced Wednesday as the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, joining Manu Ginobili in 2008 as the only Spurs to win the award. It’s the first individual NBA award for Johnson, who was part of the U.S. Olympic team that won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

“I started for a long time,” Johnson said on ESPN after he was revealed as the winner. “Now, it’s my time to come off the bench. I just continue to analyze the game, come off the bench, go in there and just do my thing.”

Jaime Jaquez Jr. of the Miami Heat finished second in the voting and Tim Hardaway Jr. of the Denver Nuggets was third. Jaquez led all NBA reserves in scoring and double-digit games, while Hardaway led reserves with 205 3-pointers and was fourth in the league in scoring off the bench.

Hardaway and Jaquez tied for ninth in 2024. Hardaway was also fifth in 2021, 10th in 2017 and tied for 13th as a rookie in 2014.

It was the culmination of a two-year run like few others for Johnson, who has appeared in 159 games over the past two seasons — always coming off the bench. No other player in the NBA has played anywhere near that many games without a start in that span.

“I wanted to be part of something special here in San Antonio,” Johnson said. “I knew that in order for me to really be the best for our team that coming off the bench was probably my best possibility. At first, it was tough. I had to (control) my ego and put the team first. After that, the sky was the limit.”

It was the third award the NBA has handed out this postseason, the second won by the Spurs and the first with any real intrigue about who was going to win.

On Monday, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama became the first unanimous selection as Defensive Player of the Year. And on Tuesday, reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Oklahoma City was named the Clutch Player of the Year — getting 96 of the 100 possible first-place votes.

In the Sixth Man balloting, Johnson got 63 first-place votes, while Jaquez got 34. Hardaway was followed by Minnesota’s Naz Reid (the 2024 winner who got one first-place vote this year) in fourth, Oklahoma City’s Ajay Mitchell in fifth, Houston’s Reed Sheppard in sixth, Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart (one first-place vote) in seventh, New York’s Mitchell Robinson (one first-place vote) in eighth, Minnesota’s Ayo Dosunmu in ninth, Toronto’s Sandro Mamukelashvili in 10th, San Antonio’s Dylan Harper in 11th and Toronto’s Jamal Shead in 12th.

“It’s a little emotional,” Johnson said. “It’s a big accomplishment. A lot of hard work goes into an award like this.”

The league’s Sportsmanship Award winner will be announced Thursday, with one player from each division — Miami’s Bam Adebayo (Southeast), San Antonio’s Harrison Barnes (Southwest), Gilgeous-Alexander (Northwest), Golden State’s Al Horford (Pacific), Indiana’s T.J. McConnell (Central) and Boston’s Derrick White (Atlantic) — selected as the finalists. That award is voted on by players, not the media panel that decides most winners.

The Most Improved Player award — either Nickeil Alexander-Walker of Atlanta, Deni Avdija of Portland or Jalen Duren of Detroit — will be revealed Friday.

Other awards that are coming but have not had their announcement dates revealed are Coach of the Year (Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff, San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson or Boston’s Joe Mazzulla), Rookie of the Year (Philadelphia’s VJ Edgecombe, Dallas’ Cooper Flagg or Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel) and MVP (Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama or Denver’s Nikola Jokic).

___

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

Suns vs Thunder Prediction, Picks & Odds for NBA Playoffs Game 2

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The Oklahoma City Thunder are not worried about this first-round series. Nor should they be.

Frankly, the Phoenix Suns might not be worried, either. They can see the writing on the wall.

My Suns vs. Thunder predictions and NBA picks expect at least one piece of Phoenix’s rotation to go down swinging, hopefully more figuratively than literally, in Game 2 on Wednesday, April 22.

Tip-off is set for 9:30 p.m. ET from the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, with the game airing on ESPN. 

  • UPDATE: Added a prediction for who will win tonight.

Suns vs Thunder prediction

Who will win Suns vs Thunder Game 2?

Thunder: Oklahoma City is poised to notch its third straight sweep in the first round of the playoffs.

This series may be only 1-0 right now, but anyone who watched Game 1 knows what more to expect: a one-sided rout that loses your attention at halftime if you’re not sweating a player prop.

Suns vs Thunder best bet: Dillon Brooks Over 17.5 points (-110)

Here comes desperation. Not from the Oklahoma City Thunder, of course, but from the Phoenix Suns.

Losing Game 1 by 35 should make the Suns’ plight rather clear. A similar beatdown in Game 2 would create an absolutely deflated atmosphere in Phoenix for Game 3 on Saturday.

No one will embody that desperation more openly than Dillon Brooks. He has never been known for concealing his emotions.

Brooks already chucked plenty in Game 1, partly out of necessity. Phoenix knows it is out-gunned. It needs its backcourt of Brooks, Devin Booker, and Jalen Green to get hot and stay out, and even then, the Suns may not have enough.

Thus, Brooks went 6-for-22 from the field for 18 points. As inefficient as that may be, it is simply what Phoenix needs.

Counting Game 1, Brooks has cleared this modest prop in three of his last five games, averaging 18.2 points. Perhaps more pertinently, he has taken 14.8 shots per game. That latter number should stay elevated in this series, for better or for worse, thus elevating Brooks’s scoring output.

Suns vs Thunder same-game parlay

Oklahoma City knows the only way it loses this series is if Booker goes thermo-nuclear for four games. Getting the ball out of his hands should always be the Thunder’s priority, creating logic to back Brooks while fading Booker.

And if Oklahoma City can dictate those terms, it will stifle Phoenix’s offense to such an extent that this game cannot come near its total.

Suns vs Thunder SGP

  • Dillon Brooks Over 17.5 points
  • Devin Booker Under 23.5 points
  • Under 215

Our “from downtown” SGP: SGA’s Easy Living

Why should Shai Gilgeous-Alexander play extended minutes when Oklahoma City is likely to be up by two dozen points early in the third quarter? The Thunder led by 21 at halftime in Game 1 and by 31 after the third quarter, part of why the presumptive MVP played only 29 minutes and scored only 25 points.

Sure, his postseason free-throw shooting could push his points tallies higher. Gilgeous-Alexander took 18 field goals in Game 1 and 17 free throws. Judge that as you should. But even with that foul-baiting, SGA still came more than a bucket short of this prop, simply because he did not need to pour it on.

Suns vs Thunder SGP

  • Thunder 1H -10
  • Thunder -17
  • Under 215
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Under 29.5 points

Suns vs Thunder odds for Game 2

  • Spread: Suns +17 (-110) | Thunder -17 (-110)
  • Moneyline: Suns +1100 | Thunder -2200
  • Over/Under: Over 215 (-110) | Under 215 (-110)

Suns vs Thunder betting trend to know

Oklahoma City has gone 4-1 against the spread at home in the first round across the last three postseasons. Find more NBA betting trends for Suns vs. Thunder.

How to watch Suns vs Thunder Game 2

Location Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Date Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Tip-off 9:30 p.m. ET
TV ESPN

Suns vs Thunder latest injuries

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Spurs’ Keldon Johnson wins Sixth Man of the Year

The San Antonio Spurs picked up another award Wednesday, with Keldon Johnson earning Sixth Man of the Year honors. Johnson beat out the Miami Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and the Denver Nuggets’ Tim Hardaway Jr. for the award.

Johnson played in all 82 games this season, averaging more than 23 minutes per contest off the bench. He averaged 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game within those limited minutes while making a clear impact for the surging Spurs.

Johnson was selected No. 29 overall by the Spurs in 2019, and he was a starter in the 2020-21 season. But with the arrival of 2025 Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, Johnson’s starts were limited, so the 26-year-old has since become a key piece of the Spurs’ bench.

This year, Johnson worked primarily behind Castle at shooting guard, but also operated as a backup small forward and power forward in a pinch. Johnson finished the year with 13 games scoring 20-plus points, including a season-high 27 points twice; he also put up five double-doubles in points and rebounds.

Johnson set a franchise record this season with 1,081 points off the bench, which surpassed the mark Manu Ginóbili set in 2007-08 when he won Sixth Man of the Year. They are the only Spurs in history to win the award.

Jaquez came in second in the voting on Wednesday, and Hardaway finished in third.

Johnson becomes the second Spurs player to win an NBA award this week, joining Victor Wembanyama, who was unanimously named Defensive Player of the Year on Monday. Wembanyama is also nominated for NBA MVP, while Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson has been nominated for Coach of the Year in his first full season.

The Spurs are in the midst of their opening-round playoff series with the Portland Trail Blazers. That series sits at 1-1 after two opening games in San Antonio, though the Spurs lost Wembanyama to a concussion on Tuesday night. Game 3 of the series is set for Friday in Portland.

Spurs’ Keldon Johnson wins Sixth Man of the Year

The San Antonio Spurs picked up another award Wednesday, with Keldon Johnson earning Sixth Man of the Year honors. Johnson beat out the Miami Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and the Denver Nuggets’ Tim Hardaway Jr. for the award.

Johnson played in all 82 games this season, averaging more than 23 minutes per contest off the bench. He averaged 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game within those limited minutes while making a clear impact for the surging Spurs.

Johnson was selected No. 29 overall by the Spurs in 2019, and he was a starter in the 2020-21 season. But with the arrival of 2025 Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, Johnson’s starts were limited, so the 26-year-old has since become a key piece of the Spurs’ bench.

This year, Johnson worked primarily behind Castle at shooting guard, but also operated as a backup small forward and power forward in a pinch. Johnson finished the year with 13 games scoring 20-plus points, including a season-high 27 points twice; he also put up five double-doubles in points and rebounds.

Johnson set a franchise record this season with 1,081 points off the bench, which surpassed the mark Manu Ginóbili set in 2007-08 when he won Sixth Man of the Year. They are the only Spurs in history to win the award.

Jaquez came in second in the voting on Wednesday, and Hardaway finished in third.

Johnson becomes the second Spurs player to win an NBA award this week, joining Victor Wembanyama, who was unanimously named Defensive Player of the Year on Monday. Wembanyama is also nominated for NBA MVP, while Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson has been nominated for Coach of the Year in his first full season.

The Spurs are in the midst of their opening-round playoff series with the Portland Trail Blazers. That series sits at 1-1 after two opening games in San Antonio, though the Spurs lost Wembanyama to a concussion on Tuesday night. Game 3 of the series is set for Friday in Portland.

Pistons vs. Magic Discussion: Game Time, TV, Odds, and More

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – APRIL 19: Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons drives past Desmond Bane #3 of the Orlando Magic in the second half during game one of the first round of the eastern conference playoffs at Little Caesars Arena on April 19, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. 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

Of all the superlatives that one can bestow on the Detroit Pistons this season, one of the most significant is the team’s resilience. The 60-win Pistons have experienced multiple-game losing streaks three times this season. When the team dropped four in a row in early March, you would have thought the roof was caving in on their season.

When a bunch of starters were out at the beginning of the season, the team stepped up. Whenever they would lose, they bounced back. When Cade Cunningham went down with a collapsed lung the team banded together. It’s just what these Pistons do. We shouldn’t expect anything different tonight in what is effectively a must-win game against the Orlando Magic.

Detroit is down 0-1 in the best-of-seven series, and doesn’t want to fly to Orlando facing a giant two-game deficit. We know Cade will step up. He tried to will his team to victory in Game 1, scoring 39 points while the rest of the team seemingly short-circuited. We need Jalen Duren to step up, one game after one of his worst showings of the season. We need JB Bickerstaff to step up and find the lineup combinations and matchups that unlock the offense and slow down Orlando, no offensive juggernaut.

The Pistons are looking to break an 11-game losing streak at home, the longest in the NBA. They have spent the entire season brushing aside old, embarrassing records. Tonight shouldn’t be any different. It can’t be.

Game Vitals

When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Watch: ESPN
Odds: Pistons -9.5

Projected Lineups

Detroit Pistons (0-1)
Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Orlando Magic (1-0)
Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr.