CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 5: James Harden #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks to pass the ball during the game against the Indiana Pacers on April 5, 2026 at Rocket Arena 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
38 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal
This was the Donovan Mitchell show. He set the tone immediately by attacking the paint on every other possession. Mitchell ended the game with a career-high 28 points in the paint, BLANK points total before rolling his ankle in the closing minutes.
Harden stepped back and buried countless jumpers over the Pacers today. There aren’t many moves in the league that are more unguardable than that. Indiana looked hopeless trying to contain him — especially when Harden was using his gravity to create openings for his teammates.
He finished the game hitting 5-11 three-pointers, giving the Cavs enough offensive juice to get over the hump.
Grade: A
Keon Ellis
13 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal
The Cavs needed Ellis to hit a few three-pointers today. He was the only Cavalier other than Harden to connect on 3+ three-pointers. That extra boost was needed, not only because the rest of the team struggled, but because Ellis himself hadn’t hit that many outside shots in a game since March 13.
Ellis had been shooting 8-32 from deep in his 10 games before this.
Grade: B+
Max Strus
4 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists
Strus had a rough night. He was tangled up more than a few times and suffered an injury to his left wrist as a result. He shot 1-710 from the floor and bricked a dunk.
He avoids flunking this one because of his contributions elsewhere.
Grade: D+
Thomas Bryant
14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
This is why the Cavs signed Bryant in the summer. Gone are the days of having no viable option in the case of losing both Mobley and Allen to injury. Bryant stepped up and hung a double-double on his former team to help the Cavs win this game.
Can you rely on Bryant as the starting center in a playoff series? No. But eating innings in the regular season is nothing to scoff at. The Cavs have been needing this.
Grade: A+
Craig Porter
5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks
Porter’s been phased out of the rotation lately. This was his first time playing 20+ minutes in more than a month. I’d say he handled it well, attacking the glass and throwing a bullet pass to the corner for a Nae’Qwan Tomlin three-pointer. More on that later.
Grade: B+
Dennis Schroder
6 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
Schroder can be erratic at times, but this was one of his more neutral games. He was a steady presence, shooting 2-6 from the floor but not sticking out at any point.
He matched Harden as a team-high plus-12, for whatever that’s worth.
Grade: C+
Larry Nance Jr
6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block
Nance hasn’t played nearly as big a role as I thought he would when the season began. That said, this was a solid showing from the veteran forward. He had some rough moments, but he also nailed a three-pointer and dunked all over the Pacers at one point.
His three steals, one of which came at a key point in the fourth quarter, helped the Cavs win this game on the margins.
Grade: B
Nae’Qwan Tomlin
3 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block
Tomlin hasn’t been able to stay on the court recently, as his lack of a three-point shot has buried him in the rotation. Well, he converted on a big one tonight in the fourth quarter. It was only his 22nd make on more than 100 attempts this season. But I’d argue it was his most impactful one.
The Yankees couldn’t secure a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins on Sunday, losing 7-6 and ending their four-game winning streak.
Here are the takeaways…
— Despite the start of the game being delayed by three hours and 35 minutes due to inclement weather, scheduled starter Max Fried still took the mound for New York when the game began and delivered a gusty performance in less-than-ideal conditions to help out the bullpen which had a taxing night the previous game following Ryan Weathers‘ short start.
The left-hander was down early, allowing a run through the first four batters in the first inning after Otto Lopez singled home Austin Slater who led off the game with a single before stealing second base. Fried limited the damage to just one run and struck out two in the inning.
— The Yankees’ offense quickly up their starter in the bottom half of the frame, though. Trent Grisham started things off with a walk, followed by a single from Aaron Judge. With one out, Ben Rice turned on a 97 mph fastball on the inner half of the plate and absolutely crushed it to the second deck in right field for a three-run homer and just like that, New York had the lead.
— Fried took it from there and didn’t allow another run until the fourth inning when Xavier Edwards doubled in Connor Norby who worked a two-out walk. Fried put an end to the threat with a flyout and pitched a clean fifth inning before finding more trouble in the sixth. After a walk led off the inning, Lopez singled to put runners on the corners and then promptly stole second to put two in scoring position.
Heriberto Hernandez followed and reached base on a throwing error by shortstop Jose Caballero which allowed a run to score and trimmed New York’s lead to one. But Fried immediately picked up his shortstop by picking off Hernandez at first base for the first out of the inning. The runner was initially ruled safe, but the Yankees challenged the call and it was overturned.
With the tying run at third base, Norby hit a ground ball to the drawn in infield and Caballero wasted no time making a strong throw to home plate which beat the runner by a mile. Austin Wells applied the tag but the call on the field by home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez was safe, causing the Yankees to challenge another ruling in the inning and go 2-for-2. With help from the Marlins running themselves out of the inning, Fried got the third out to keep it a one-run game.
— At 94 pitches, Fried went back out for the seventh and recorded the first two outs before manager Aaron Boone pulled his ace who showed a lot of grit during his 6.2 innings in which he threw 103 pitches (64 strikes).
— Fernando Cruz was the first reliever out of the bullpen for New York and after closing out the seventh with a strikeout, he began the eighth inning with a strikeout before issuing a walk. Boone then turned to Jake Bird who had been perfect to start the season. But the right-hander didn’t have it on Sunday, walking the first batter he faced and hitting the next one to load the bases with one out.
Bird then lost Graham Pauley on a 1-2 pitch and allowed a two-run double that gave the Marlins their first lead since the first inning. Ryan Yarbrough came in to put out the flame but the left-hander allowed a two-run single to Edwards and Miami’s lead grew to 7-4 thanks to the four-run eighth inning.
— The Yankees got the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning after back-to-back walks to Cody Bellinger and Rice brought up Giancarlo Stanton who was 2-for-4 in the game and off to a scorching start at the plate. Stanton struck out looking which brought Jazz Chisholm Jr. to bat. Chisholm, 0-for-4 on the night and struggling offensively, laced a two-run double to right-center field against his former team to cut New York’s deficit to one.
After the Marlins intentionally walked Wells, pinch-hitter J.C. Escarra entered for Caballero but struck out on three pitches to end the game and handing the Yankees their second loss of the season.
Game MVP: Max Fried
Even in a loss, Fried’s outing saved New York’s bullpen for down the road.
The Yankees enjoy a day off on Monday before returning to action on Tuesday night to host the Athletics for a three-game series. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
RHP Aaron Civale (1-0, 3.60 ERA) takes the mound against RHP Cam Schlittler (2-0, 0.00 ERA).
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – APRIL 05: Drake Baldwin #30 of the Atlanta Braves rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Chase Field on April 05, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Say it with me, now: “You always take a four-game series split on the road.” With that being said, it sure seemed like this could’ve been more than just a split for the Atlanta Braves as they made their annual trip out to the desert. It especially feels like a bit of a bummer when you consider how this series opened up in such dominant fashion for the Braves as they brought out the boomstick early on in this series.
Despite the disappointing ending to the series, there’s still a lot to leave you encouraged as the Braves shift venues from Arizona to Anaheim. Let’s break it down, shall we?
It took the Braves nine attempts in 2025 to win their first road game. This season, it took only one and not just that, the Braves picked up their first road win in emphatic fashion. This was actually a close one through the early goings — though the Braves still had the advantage thanks to a first-inning solo homer from Matt Olson and a third-inning solo dinger from Dominic Smith.
Then the fifth inning rolled around and the floodgates opened. After Ozzie Albies got on with a leadoff walk (that was aided by ABS), the following events occurred for the Braves: Lineout, Walk, Fielder’s Choice Error, Bases Loaded Walk, RBI Groundout, RBI Double, RBI Double, Walk, RBI Single, RBI Double, Groundout. That, folks, is an eight-run inning.
Thanks to five strong innings from Reynaldo López, a scoreless inning fo relief from Tyler Kinley and three innings of long relief work from Osvaldo Bido, the Braves ended up cruising to a 17-2 win. Atlanta tacked on five runs in the ninth when the Diamondbacks waved the white flag by putting in catcher James McCann to go out there and soft toss, which is how we ended up getting to the really gaudy scoreline. Needless to say, this was fun! Matt Olson definitely had a lovely time in this one.
Grant Holmes and Eduardo Rodriguez engaged in an intense pitchers’ duel in this one. While Rodriguez ended up outlasting Holmes with seven shutout innings, Holmes certainly kept pace with Rodriguez and tossed six shutout innings of his own. Holmes also struck out four batters along the way and even carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. This was certainly a strong start from Grant Holmes and it’s definitely encouraging to see the way he (and the rest of this pitching staff) has started off this campaign.
This eventually came down to which team’s bullpen would blink first. Fortunately for all of us Braves fans, Ozzie Albies continued to exert dominance over Paul Sewald. Albies had two homers against Sewald in the past and on this night, he made it three as he crushed one out to right field for a solo shot that broke the deadlock. Matt Olson then proceeded to make it back-to-back jacks after he sent the third pitch he saw from Sewald flying into the seats in left-center. Raisel Iglesias locked things down in the ninth inning and just like that, the Braves had at least assured themselves. of a split out in the desert.
The Braves made history on Saturday! It’s not necessarily history that they’d want to make but they made history, nonetheless!
It’s been a long, long time since the Braves had such a feast-or-famine swing over the course of three games. I know there’s that old cliche of “Save some for tomorrow” but this was getting to be kinda wild. Either way, the only run of the game for the Braves came from an RBI single from Dominic Smith in the second inning. That was all the Braves could muster up and it wasn’t enough to overturn the two-run deficit that they entered the second inning with as the game eventually ended 2-1.
Arizona got those two runs in creatively frustrating fashion, as Jose Fernandez surprised the Braves went a bunt. Bryce Elder was certainly caught by surprise, as his error ended up proving costly. It’s a shame because Elder was once again in very good form on the mound — those two unearned runs would be the only blemish on his record for the day as he went seven innings and struck out eight batters. Elder certainly deserved better than what he got as the Braves were unable to really figure out old friend Michael Soroka and the rest of Arizona’s pitching staff on the day.
This was a back-and-forth affair between the two squads, as the Braves looked desperate to come away with the series win while the Diamondbacks were trying to make sure that they didn’t suffer the indignity of losing three games out of a four-game home series. Indeed, this game had a real ‘punch-then-counter punch’ feel to it as the two squads were unable to get real separation from each other as the game progressed. Drake Baldwin continued his hot start to the season with another home run in the first inning but then Arizona responded with two runs via a triple from Ildemaro Vargas in the fourth inning to take a 3-1 lead. The Braves responded immediately with two runs in the fifth to make it a 3-3 contest heading into the second half of the game.
Arizona got the edge once again as they plated one run in the sixth and seventh innings while Atlanta’s lone run from the first inning (from a RBI groundout from Baldwin) meant that the Braves had their backs against the wall going into the ninth inning. That was when Jorge Mateo got a rally going with a leadoff single. Ronald Acuña Jr. followed that up with a single of his own and then (who else but) Drake Baldwin brought in the game-tying run in order to make it a tie game in the ninth inning. Raisel Iglesias kept the D-Backs quiet in the ninth and we got our first ManfredBall experience of the 2026 season partly thanks to Drake Baldwin’s heroics.
Extra innings didn’t go Atlanta’s way at all — Ghost Runner Michael Harris II got to third base but the Braves were unable to cash him in. After watching that painful experience of seeing the Braves leave the runner stranded at third, it was even more painful to see Ketel Marte take the first pitch he saw from Joel Payamps and promptly dump it into the outfield for the game-winning RBI that ensured that the Diamondbacks were able to salvage a split.
Again, this could’ve been an impressive series win for the Braves out in Arizona had just a few things gone Atlanta’s way. That’s baseball, though — opportunities come in a flash and if you can’t grab onto it, you usually get punished for it at the big league level. The power outage immediately following the 17-run game was particularly frustrating — it felt like one of those baseball clichés coming to life where the Braves did not, in fact, save some for the next game.
Still, the offense bookended this series with a pair of solid performances at the plate and the pitching was impressive for the most part. The fact that the Braves have three shutout wins already is impressive — they had a grand total of eight throughout the entire 2025 season, so they’re nearly halfway towards that mark and we’re still in the infancy of April. Reynaldo López and Bryce Elder were big question marks heading into this season and while it’s still very early, the fact that they’ve come out of the gates in such a strong manner is encouraging to see and could be crucial to this team’s level of success as we get deeper into the regular season.
There’s a lot to be happy about but it’s totally understandable to see this as a missed opportunity for the Braves to make a statement here in the early goings. Again, a split of a four-game series is always acceptable but it’s also acceptable to want more and it really feels like the Braves left more by the wayside here. Atlanta’s going to have a tricky series on their hands in Anaheim against the Angels and they’ll also be looking to exorcise some demons after the entire state of California bedeviled them to seemingly no end in 2025. The Braves played 13 games in the Golden State last season and won a grand total of one (1) game out there all last season. Here’s hoping that they can do better than that with a series win right out of the gates against the Angels so they can bounce back from dropping two straight in the desert. We’ll see what happens!
Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin (21) hits a two-run single during the second inning of their National League Division Series game against the Chicago Cubs Saturday, October 4, 2025 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Milwaukee Brewers, coming off their third consecutive series win to begin the season and now sitting at 7-2 on the year, are headed to Boston to take on the Red Sox this week. The Brewers and Red Sox are probably most tied together at this point thanks to a pair of trades in the last two seasons, as Milwaukee picked up Quinn Priester, Kyle Harrison, Shane Drohan, and David Hamilton from Boston in exchange for Yophery Rodriguez, a pair of draft picks, a player to be named later (John Holobetz), Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, and Anthony Seigler. So far, it looks like Milwaukee has come out on top, as Priester and Harrison have both been solid for Milwaukee while the only major league pieces on the other side — Durbin and Monasterio — have struggled to begin the season.
Speaking of struggling, the Red Sox sit at the bottom of the AL East with a dismal 2-7 record through three series, as they lost two of three to the Reds, were swept by the Astros, and just lost two of three to the Padres this weekend.
Andrew Vaughn and Jackson Chourio are the key injuries for Milwaukee, with Vaughn expected to be out until mid-May and Chourio out until late April. The latest injury is Sal Frelick, who exited the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader with left side tightness — something to monitor in the coming days, though he’s expected to be fine. Quinn Priester is targeting a May return as he deals with thoracic outlet syndrome, while Craig Yoho could be ready in April but may start the year with Triple-A Nashville. Rob Zastryzny suffered a setback in his rehab, and his return is now TBD. Outfielder Akil Baddoo is also out until midseason with a quad strain.
Boston’s injury list includes new acquisition Johan Oviedo, who is out with an elbow strain. Fellow pitchers Patrick Sandoval, Kutter Crawford, and Tanner Houck are also out, with Sandoval and Crawford expected to return in the coming weeks but Houck expected to miss most, if not all, of 2026. First baseman Triston Casas and utilitymen Romy Gonzalez and Anthony Seigler are also shelved.
Milwaukee’s offense has done the little things well thus far, as the only multi-homer hitters are Gary Sánchez (three) and Jake Bauers (two). Garrett Mitchell has gotten off to a solid (see: healthy) start, William Contreras, Brice Turang, and Christian Yelich are all hitting well, and even some of the utility guys like Blake Lockridge, David Hamilton, and Luis Rengifo have held their own. Frelick, who as mentioned above is dealing with some side tightness, has gotten off to a slow start, but he still boasts a .344 OBP, and Joey Ortiz has also looked at least slightly better from his very rough 2025. As a team, Milwaukee is hitting .267/.369/.446 (.815 OPS ranks third), with 10 homers (tied for eighth), 60 runs scored (second), and 20 steals (first).
Wilyer Abreu is a key bright spot in Boston’s disappointing offense to this point, as he has 15 hits, including three homers, four doubles, and a triple, slashing .429/.444/.857. Roman Anthony has gotten off to a slow-ish start, as he’s hitting .235/.316/.382 with a homer. Ceddanne Rafaela, Carlos Narváez, and Connor Wong are the only other hitters hitting over .250 (and all three have seven or fewer hits). Speedy Jarren Duran has two of Boston’s three steals, but he’s hitting just .200/.314/.267. The aforementioned Durbin is hitting just .071/.133/.071 with a pair of singles and a pair of walks over 28 at-bats, while Monasterio is 1-for-7 with a double and an RBI. As a team, Boston is hitting .226/.297/.372 (.669 OPS ranks 18th), with eight homers (tied for 20th), 30 runs scored (tied for 27th), and three steals (tied for 25th).
Milwaukee’s bullpen remains one of the best in baseball even with some under-the-radar names. Grant Anderson and Aaron Ashby lead the squad with five appearances each, while DL Hall has held opponents scoreless over five innings, allowing three hits and four walks while striking out nine. Trevor Megill is 3-for-3 in save opportunities with one run allowed and five strikeouts over four innings, and Abner Uribe has also been solid with one run allowed over 3 2/3 innings (2.45 ERA). Ángel Zerpa, Jared Koenig, and Jake Woodford round out the Brewer bullpen. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.38 team ERA (eighth), including a 3.98 starter ERA (15th) and a 2.75 reliever ERA (seventh). They’ve struck out 103 batters (fifth) over 80 innings.
Boston’s bullpen is anchored by closer Aroldis Chapman, who is 2-for-2 in save opportunities with one run allowed and three strikeouts over four frames. Garrett Whitlock (currently on the paternity list, dating back to April 3) hasn’t allowed a run over three innings, and Justin Slaten’s allowed only an unearned run over 3 1/3 innings. Greg Weissert’s five runs allowed over 4 2/3 innings are pushing the bullpen’s ERA up drastically. Danny Coulombe, Zack Kelly, Jovani Morán, Tyler Uberstine, and Ryan Watson round out Boston’s bullpen, though one of them will have to be demoted upon Whitlock’s return. As a staff, the Red Sox have a 4.71 team ERA (tied for 23rd), including a 5.19 starter ERA (27th) and a 4.11 reliever ERA (14th). They’ve struck out 76 batters (tied for 18th) over 78 1/3 innings.
Probable Pitchers
Monday, April 6 @ 5:45 p.m.: RHP Brandon Woodruff (1-0, 3.60 ERA, 5.98 FIP) vs. RHP Brayan Bello (0-1, 9.64 ERA, 7.04 FIP)
Woodruff is lined up to make his second start of the 2026 season to open the series. He went five innings against the Rays his last time out, allowing a pair of solo homers but nothing else while striking out six on 67 pitches. Expect him to stretch out to 75-80 pitches this time around. Woodruff’s only career start against the Red Sox came back in 2022, when he picked up the win, allowing one run on four hits and a pair of walks with nine strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings.
Bello, 26, is in his fifth MLB season, all with the Red Sox. He’s made 101 career appearances (98 starts) with a 4.14 ERA and 4.18 FIP. His only start this season came against Houston on the last day of March, as he was roughed up to the tune of six runs (five earned) on eight hits and three walks, striking out just two over 4 2/3 innings. Bello has made three career appearances (two starts) against the Brewers, with a 3.95 ERA and nine strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings.
Tuesday, April 7 @ 5:45 p.m.: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (1-0, 2.45 ERA, 3.91 FIP) vs. LHP Garrett Crochet (1-1, 3.27 ERA, 2.73 FIP)
Misiorowski is lined up for his third start of the year on Tuesday. In his first two starts of the season, he’s allowed three runs on six hits and five walks over 11 innings, striking out an NL-best 18 batters. He took the no-decision in his last start against the Rays, allowing two runs and striking out seven over six frames. This marks his first career start against the Red Sox.
Crochet, 26, is Boston’s ace, as he finished second in AL Cy Young voting to Tarik Skubal last season. In two starts this year, he’s allowed five runs (four earned) over 11 innings with 15 strikeouts. His last outing came against the Astros on April 1, when he allowed all five of those runs and struck out seven over five frames. He’s made two career starts against Milwaukee, one while with the White Sox and one with the Red Sox. Across 12 2/3 innings, he struck out 19 batters and allowed three runs (2.13 ERA), though he has an 0-1 record to show for it.
Wednesday, April 8 @ 12:35 p.m.: RHP Chad Patrick (1-0, 0.96 ERA, 4.36 FIP) vs. RHP Sonny Gray (1-0, 4.50 ERA, 3.18 FIP)
Patrick hasn’t been the most efficient this season, but his results have been solid. In a pair of outings against the White Sox and Royals, he’s spanned 9 1/3 innings, allowing one run (a solo homer), nine hits, and four walks with seven strikeouts for a sterling 0.96 ERA but 4.36 FIP. He started the first game of Milwaukee’s doubleheader against the Royals, going five scoreless innings with three strikeouts to pick up the win. He made his lone start against the Red Sox last May, allowing no runs on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts across 4 2/3 innings.
Gray, now with his sixth MLB team in his 14th season, has made two starts with his new team in Boston. Over 10 innings against the Reds and Padres, he’s allowed six runs (five earned) on 10 hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. He picked up the win in his last appearance against San Diego, allowing two runs over six frames. A familiar foe from his five combined seasons with the Reds and Cardinals, Gray has made 20 career starts against Milwaukee, with a 5-6 record, 3.52 ERA, and 139 strikeouts over 110 innings.
How to Watch & Listen
Monday, April 6: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Tuesday, April 7: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Wednesday, April 8: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Prediction
The Red Sox have limped out of the gate this season, especially on offense. Even so, this is a tough battle at Fenway, but I’ll take the Crew to win two of three.
HOUSTON, TEXAS – MARCH 31: Cam Smith #11 of the Houston Astros reacts after hitting a home run in the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox at Daikin Park on March 31, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Astros had an early lead, they had a late lead. Neither held up, and Houston fell to the Athletics in Sacramento 12-10 in 10 innings.
Brent Rooker entered the game with no extra base hits on the season. He would hit two home runs on the day, including a walk-off 3-run homer off Bryan Abreu to end the game.
Abreu, who came into the game with 2 outs in the 9th in relief of Bryan King, didn’t seem to have command coming back out for the 10th. He opened the bottom of the tenth walking Tyler Soderstrom on 5 pitches, the last 4 of which were nowhere near the strike zone. He then threw a knee high fastball middle in to Rooker, who blasted it at 104,8 MPH on a line over the wall in left field to send everyone home.
It wound up being a barn burner of a game, but it didn’t start that way. The score was 0-0 through the first four innings.
The Astros took an early lead in the top of the 5th on a Yordan Alvarez two-run homer. Yordan got an 89.4 MPH sinker from Jacob Lopez that he drilled 399 FT to right center field at 110.8 MPH off the bat.
Yordan’s homer made it 2-0. Later in the inning, after Carlos Correa walked and stole second, Cam Smith would single to left scoring Correa to make it 3-0.
That would seemingly be a solid lead for Lance McCullers Jr., who was the beneficiary of 2 double plays through 4 scoreless innings, but it was not to be. McCullers suffered a catastrophic loss of command in the 5th.
McCullers had thrown his cutter more than any other pitch through the first 4, and sporadically throwing his four-seam, sinker, and knuckle curve.
His first pitch of the fifth was an 89.9 MPH sinker. He would give up a single to Max Muncy later in that AB leading off the bottom of the fifth. He then walked Jeff McNeil on 5 pitches, 4 cutters and a change (three of the balls weren’t close), bringing up Carlos Cortes. Cortes would see 3 knuckle curves, and his the last one for an RBI double. That would end McCullers day after 79 pitches.
Steven Okert would come on in relief of McCullers and threw gasoline all over the place.
Okert’s first batter was Nick Kurtz, whom he walked on 5 pitches to load the bases. After getting Shea Langeliers to fly out, Okert allowed a bases-clearing triple to Tyler Soderstrom on a ball that CF Jake Meyers appeared to lose in the sun:
That would give the A’s a 4-3 lead and end the day for Okert, who faced the minimum 3 batters and threw 9 pitches. A.J. Blubaugh was then brought in to try to get out of the inning. Blubaugh allowed a sac fly to make the game 5-3 before getting out of the inning.
In the 7th, the Astros would tie the game again. Carlos Correa worked a 1 out walk, and then Christian Walker took a slider from J.T Ginn 397 feet to left center for his 2nd HR of the season.
The tie wouldn’t last as the Astros bullpen fell apart again.
After walking Soderstrom to lead off the bottom of the 7th, Blubaugh surrendered a 2-run homer to Rooker. Rooker took a 95.7 MPH fastball belt high and deposited it just over the wall in left to give the A’s a 7-5 lead.
Mark Leiter Jr. then replaced Barlow, and promptly walked Yordan to load the bases. He then got Carlos Correa to line to right and Walker to pop to first, but Cam Smith delivered a 2-run single to tie the game again.
Bryan King would work a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and neither team would score in the 9th.
In the top of the 10th, the Astros would take the lead.
Correa delivered an RBI single, scoring Allen, and gave the Astros a 10-9 lead. Despite loading the bases with one out, the Astros would not push across any other runs.
In the bottom of the 10th, Abreu would come undone, and the Astros would drop 2 of 3 to an A’s team that dropped 5 of it’s first 6 games entering this series.
The Astros fall to 6-4 on the season, the A’s improve to 3-6.
Tomorrow the Astros open a 3-game series in Denver against the 3-6 Colorado Rockies.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 23 of his 38 points in the second half, James Harden had 28 points and seven assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the injury-plagued Indiana Pacers 117-108 on Sunday night.
Thomas Bryant added 14 points and 10 rebounds in his first start of the season for Cleveland, which didn’t take its initial lead until the third quarter. It went ahead for good early in the fourth at 99-96 on Nae’Qwan Tomlin’s 3-pointer, eventually going up by 15.
The playoff-bound Cavaliers (49-29) reduced their magic number for home-court advantage in the first round to one, despite resting their starting frontcourt of Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and Sam Merrill. Mitchell made 16 of 27 shots and had six rebounds and six assists in 33 minutes.
Fourth-place Cleveland is four games ahead of Atlanta in the Eastern Conference with four to play. It hosts the Hawks on Wednesday night, then plays at Atlanta on Friday night.
Obi Toppin scored a season-high 21 points with eight rebounds, and Micah Potter had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers (18-60). Two-way forward Jalen Slawson scored a career-best 19 points.
Indiana only had nine players in uniform — and was missing its top five scorers — after losing All-Star forward Pascal Siakam (left ankle sprain) and guard Ben Sheppard (right hip sprain) to injuries in its previous game Friday at Charlotte.
The Pacers have the second-worst record in the NBA, one game in front of Washington.
Slawson scored 14 points and had four 3-pointers as the Pacers built a 47-35 advantage early in the second. Indiana made eight threes in the first half.
Indiana carried a 58-55 lead into the break as Potter had 14 points and seven rebounds, while Harden scored 19 and Mitchell had 15 points for the Cavaliers.
CLEVELAND, OHIO – APRIL 05: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots over Jalen Slawson #18 of the Indiana Pacers during the second quarter at Rocket Arena on April 05, 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 Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers beat an even more depleted Indiana Pacers team. Let’s go over today’s winners and losers.
WINNER – Next Man Up
This was one of the larger injury reports you’ll see for an NBA game. That’s saying something in today’s age.
Cleveland wasn’t as banged up as the Pacers, who were missing more than half of their roster due to injury. But the Cavs were still knackered enough to be without five rotational players. That puts a strain on any team.
Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Jaylon Tyson, and Sam Merrill were all out today. That meant the Cavs would need a ‘next man up’ mentality to pull out this win, regardless of the opponent.
I can’t say it was perfect. Both the offense and defense struggled at various points. A few role players missed the mark and weren’t able to be super productive in their opportunities. But helpful contributions from Dennis Schroder, Craig Porter Jr., and Keon Ellis made up the difference. Even Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who is shooting 20.4% from deep this season, nailed a huge shot in the fourth quarter.
Thomas Bryant, who started as the lone big man in place of Allen and Mobley, put up 14 points and 10 rebounds on 6-9 shooting against his former team. His dunk at the end was a cherry on top.
Beggars can’t be choosers in these situations. Would you have liked to see the Cavs run up the score and obliterate an inferior opponent? Sure. Yet given the circumstances, this was a hard-fought win that was made possible by support from Cleveland’s deep reserves.
LOSER – Three-Point Defense
I don’t want to beat a dead horse. We’ll make this quick.
The Pacers opened this game by shooting 6-8 from downtown in the first five minutes. That’s… never going to be acceptable. The Cavs failed to set the tone in this game, and once a team gets rolling, it’s much harder to slow them down.
Per usual, it was a mixture of good shooting from the Pacers and poor defensive communication that led to Indiana’s hot start. But in this league, giving an inch often comes with your opponent taking a mile. Cleveland must do a better job of stopping this trend before it starts.
The Cavs eventually tightened up defensively and did enough to get this job done. It’s just worth mentioning that this has been a consistent issue for the team.
WINNER – Bagcourt
As mentioned, the Cavs were down key players for this game. That puts some onus on James Harden and Donovan Mitchell to carry even more weight than usual.
They handled that with ease.
Mitchell quickly made his presence felt by relentlessly attacking the paint. He finished with 38 points, 28 of which were in the paint, setting a new career-high for a single game.
The Cavs felt like they had an advantage inside, even without Mobley and Allen. That allowed Mitchell to knife into the lane and finish below the rim throughout the game. This is a skill that can be overlooked by Mitchell’s electric three-point shooting. He’s still one of the best below-the-rim finishers in basketball, and it’s always a treat when he makes an extra effort to attack the basket.
Harden took a different approach. He launched an aerial assault, bombarding the Pacers with step-back three-pointers and earning multiple trips to the line on jump-shot attempts. At one point, Harden had 21 points on just 9 field goal attempts. That’s pretty efficient.
In total, the two guards combined for 66 points and 13 assists on 24-44 shooting. With other stars across the league at risk of being ineligible for end-of-season awards, it’s possible the Cavs backcourt could both land All-NBA nods this year.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry was set to play about 25 minutes against Houston on Sunday night in his return from a two-plus-month absence because of a right knee injury.
Coach Steve Kerr said before the game that it’s still unclear how many of the remaining games Curry will play given Golden State has five contests in eight days with a back-to-back the rest of the way — and the expectation is he wouldn’t play on consecutive nights.
“We’re going to manage it accordingly. The plan for tonight would be shorter bursts and we’ll see on the minutes,” Kerr said. “But first game back he’s not playing 48 minutes.”
The schedule will be determined by how Curry feels and input from Vice President of Player Health and Performance Rick Celebrini.
Curry scrimmaged several times this past week to test his injured right knee, and he said Saturday it was never a consideration to shut it down for the rest of the season. Kerr hoped to have Curry and younger brother Seth finally play together.
Kerr had said Saturday that Curry was expected to play for the first time since Jan. 30 against Detroit, though the Warriors listed him as questionable.
“He’s scheduled to play,” Kerr said pregame Sunday.
After Saturday’s practice, Curry said dealing with the pain is part of his “new normal” and the offseason will require a significant reset.
The 38-year-old Curry initially expected to be playing right after the All-Star break, but the recovery was prolonged by some difficult moments when he would feel good, push hard then pay for it the following day.
Curry leads the Warriors in scoring with 27.2 points per game and it has been frustrating.
The Warriors (36-41) had lost three straight games overall and were 13-25 this season without Curry — including 9-18 during this stretch with him sidelined by patellofemoral pain syndrome.
Jerar Encarnacion reached first base on an error, until he didn’t.
San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello took exception and earned the first ejection of his MLB career in the process.
In the bottom of the seventh inning in Sunday’s 5-2 loss to the New York Mets at Oracle Park, Encarnacion chopped a sinker from Mets pitcher Huascar Brazobán into the infield and took off toward first base. Brazobán fielded the ball and fired it to first baseman Mark Vientos, who couldn’t hang on as the ball plopped out of his glove and hit the ground.
But first base umpire Nestor Ceja called Encarnacion out anyways, declaring that he failed to stay inside the runner’s lane. The call itself though, was controversial because umpires usually only make it when a runner interferes with the ball or the throw, which Encarnacion did neither of.
“Jerar was on the grass,” Vitello told reporters postgame. “You’re not going to be automatically out for being on the grass only if the (umpire) sees that the runner impedes the throw. The throw didn’t hit the runner.”
Vitello immediately confronted Ceja on the field, the veins in his neck popping as he got in the ump’s face and delivered an expletive-filled rant that’s sure to get a lip reading from Jomboy in the next few days. Ceja entertained Vitello for a while, standing in front of him with his arms crossed as the two exchanged words before Ceja ultimately sent Vitello packing for the rest of the game.
“I said one last thing, just out of frustration or being all fired up. That was complete nonsense,” Vitello said. “I think it was misinterpreted a little bit. When you’re on the field that long, and you’re not a player, you’re probably out of place a little bit.”
As Vitello walked back through the dugout and into the clubhouse, he received pats on the backside in support from several of his players.
The last time Vitello had been ejected was just under a year ago on May 4, 2025 for arguing balls and strikes while he was coaching at the University of Tennessee.
Through the first 10 games of the season, the Giants are 3-7 under Vitello. The Mets, meanwhile, improved to 6-4 with Sunday’s win.
“We had a great conversation about his future at Michigan and my commitment to him, his staff and his team,” Manuel told the Detroit Free Press on Sunday evening. “Thrilled to have him continuing to lead our men’s basketball team and to have Anna [his wife] and his family remain in Ann Arbor.
“His focus and mine is on the game Monday night versus UConn.”
May fielded multiple questions about his name being tossed into the North Carolina job search at the Final Four in Indianapolis, but never named the Tar Heels directly in his responses.
“After last year, I decided I’ll never respond to any job speculation. I had already agreed to terms with Michigan, was 100% done, and I made the comment that I was flattered about a certain job opening because of my background, and that was misconstrued, so I just decided I’m never going to comment on any job that I don’t have,” May said on Friday, April 3 in a media availability.
“I think it’s well documented how happy I am at Michigan. Obviously, my private life, my personal life, my family, their happiness is very important. I love it at Michigan, but you’ll never hear me comment on any other job unless Michigan lets me go, and then I’ll comment on every job.”
In two seasons under May, the Wolverines have quickly jumped back up to the top of the Big Ten standings. Last season, Michigan improved its win total by 19 games under May from a year prior and made it to the Sweet 16, where it lost to Auburn.
This year, the Wolverines have been one of the top programs in the country for much of the season. He led the program to the Big Ten outright regular season title and a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance for the fourth time in program history.
As noted by USA TODAY, May signed a new contract with Michigan in February 2025, just under a year after he became the Wolverines’ next coach. His current deal is through the 2030 season, according to his contract obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
His base salary for the 2025-26 season was $4.6 million and will see an increase to $4.85 million next season if his current deal doesn’t change, which seems likely to happen after the type of season the Wolverines have had.
Monday night’s national championship game at 8:50 p.m. ET inside Lucas Oil Stadium against No. 2 UConn will be the first May has coached in, and the program’s first since they lost to Villanova in 2018. The Wolverines cruised through their Final Four semifinal over No. 1 Arizona, even with Yaxel Lendeborg sustaining multiple injuries and playing through them.
Should the Wolverines win April 6, it will be the first men’s basketball title for the Big Ten in over two decades, with the last one coming from their in-state rival, Michigan State, in 2000.
