Baseball, perhaps more than any other, is a sport steeped in superstition.

Just ask Zach Neto.

The Los Angeles Angels shortstop and leadoff hitter entered Tuesday in arguably the worst slump of his career. Through 36 games, he was slashing .210/.323/.371 with a batting average and slugging percentage that would stand as career lows over the course of a full season.

He was in the midst of a five-game hitless streak. He hadn’t hit a home run since April 10, a span of 23 games. He led the league in strikeouts.

Enter Pokémon. Charizard to be precise.

Neto broke out of his slump in Tuesday’s 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. He and Mike Trout each hit solo home runs in the win. Neto’s fifth-inning blast gave the Angels the lead for good at 3-2.

Neto finished the game 2 of 4 at the plate with one home run and one RBI.

After the game, Neto was asked on the Angels broadcast about breaking his slump. His answer about some pregame downtime with Trout was … unexpected.

“He texted me this morning about ripping Pokémon cards and that if we found a Charizard, I was gonna hit a homer, and we did,” Neto said. “And we both hit a homer, so that was pretty cool.”

As it turns out, there’s a method to the superstition madness.

“You know, it’s just the little things to get my head out of baseball a little bit,” Neto continued. “You know, sometimes that’s what you need. And I was able to come through.”

Neto concluded the interview with a parting message:

“Thanks, Charizard.”

In case you’re unaware, Charizard is a rare pull and among the most coveted cards in any Pokémon set. Finding one is good luck, indeed. Here’s guessing that Neto keeps his close by.

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Tarik Skubal’s season—and possibly his financial future—just took a major hit. The Tigers ace is expected to miss 2–3 months with an elbow injury, and Jake and Jordan break down what this means not only for Detroit’s season but also for Skubal’s looming free agency. Could this injury cost him a historic contract? They also discuss Framber Valdez’s struggles on the mound and the fallout from hitting Trevor Story in a lopsided loss to the Red Sox.

Shohei Ohtani continues to be one of the most fascinating players in baseball, but is there cause for concern? The guys analyze his recent pitching performance and dig into the narrative that his hitting dips when he’s on the mound. Is this just small sample size noise, or something teams should actually be paying attention to?

To wrap things up, it’s time for some early-season hardware. With one month in the books, Jake and Jordan hand out their picks for AL and NL MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year. Who’s real, who’s surprising, and who might not last? The overreactions are flying—and that’s exactly how we like it.

Timetamps: 

(1:00) – Tarik Skubal our 2-3 months with elbow injury 

(26:30) – Framber Valdez ejected for hitting Trevor Story

(35:45) – Shohei Ohtani continues to not hit when pitching 

(45:00) – Carlos Correa suffers major ankle injury 

(50:30) – Early season MLB awards

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Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Dončić made it clear Wednesday that he’s doing everything he can to return to the court against an Oklahoma City Thunder team he suffered his left hamstring strain against on April 2. Dončić also revealed that he was given an eight-week recovery timeline at the time his Grade 2 strain was diagnosed.

Game 2 of the Lakers’ Western Conference semifinals series against the Thunder is set for Thursday night, which will mark five weeks since Dončić’s setback.

Dončić told reporters that he’s started running again but hasn’t been cleared for full contact yet.

The Lakers are down 1-0 against the defending NBA champion Thunder after dropping the series opener in Oklahoma City 108-90 on Tuesday.

“This is a different injury than I’ve ever had,” Dončić said Wednesday, via California Post’s Khobi Price.

“It’s been the second time I did a hamstring, obviously way less [at the] end of January. So the recovery’s been a little longer, but I’m feeling good. Working every day, trying to come back.”

Dončić was making a push for NBA MVP prior to his regular-season injury against the Thunder. As he alluded to, he first injured that hamstring in early February during a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. That time, however, the six-time All-Star avoided a major issue. He missed only four games before returning to the lineup after All-Star Weekend.

His Grade 2 strain against the Thunder two months later has come with a significantly longer road back to the floor. In the aftermath of that injury, news broke that the Slovenian standout was headed to Europe to receive specialized medical treatment.

“I went to Spain to do PRP,” Dončić said, via Price, referring to platelet-rich plasma therapy, an injection treatment that uses a patient’s own blood cells to accelerate healing.

“Everybody knows that it’s just one of the best countries to do that. And, obviously, we talked with the Lakers’ doctors, so everybody agreed for me to go there. … Why I was in Spain so long? It’s because I needed four days in between every shot. So I did it four times. That’s why I stayed longer.”

Dončić was asked Wednesday if he has any intention to play when the semifinal series shifts back to L.A. on Saturday, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

“I’m just doing everything I can,” Dončić said, via McMenamin. “Every day, I’m doing stuff I’m supposed to do — obviously recovering, now I’m working. Doctor said eight weeks at the beginning of the first MRI, so I’m just going day by day, and I feel better every day.”

The Lakers have struggled mightily against the Thunder this season. L.A. has lost all five of its meetings with OKC in 2025-26, including Tuesday’s postseason showdown. Only one of those five games has been decided by fewer than 10 points, and it was a nine-point game on Feb. 9 that didn’t include the Thunder’s top player, reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The Lakers are facing an uphill battle in the West. They already cleared one hurdle, defeating the Houston Rockets while shorthanded in the first round.

Yet the Thunder pose the stiffest of tests for the Lakers, with or without Dončić on the court.

The San Antonio Spurs lost Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals 104-102 to the Minnesota Timberwolves despite a record-setting defensive performance from center Victor Wembanyama.

The Spurs dropped an important home game in the series to the Timberwolves, and reportedly brought in an expert to help review game film with the team.

Matthew Tynan, who covers the Spurs for Locked On Sports, reported that longtime Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich sat in with the team during the day’s film session on Tuesday. San Antonio had a lighter practice, and then Popovich helped to break down film with the team, per Tynan.

Popovich took over as San Antonio’s head coach in 1996 and held the role for 29 years. He won five NBA championships with the franchise and was named Coach of the Year three times. Popovich is one of the few head coaches to have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame while still actively coaching, getting enshrined in 2023.

The longtime head coach has a 1,390-824 record in 2,214 regular-season games and a 170-114 record in the postseason. He coached his final season in 2024, but was only able to coach five games before his health declined.

Popovich suffered a stroke on Nov. 2, 2024, and two days later, it was announced that he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence.

In Feb. 2025, he confirmed to the team that he would not be returning as their coach that season, and in May, the team announced he was stepping down as head coach and transitioning into a new role as president of basketball operations.

The Spurs will face the Timberwolves for Game 2 on Wednesday night to try to even the series before they head to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4.

The Philadelphia 76ers will look to even their playoff series against the New York Knicks on Wednesday without one of their biggest stars. Center Joel Embiid has been ruled out for Game 2 due to ankle and hip injuries, as first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The news comes after Embiid scored 14 points in 25 minutes during a blowout 137-98 loss to the Knicks in Game 1.

It’s been another injury-riddled year for Embiid, who missed time early in the regular season due to a knee issue. In February, Embiid sustained an oblique injury, causing him to miss 13 games. He also missed games down the stretch due to oblique management.

Due to those injuries, Embiid was limited to just 38 regular-season games. It marked the third-straight season in which Embiid has failed to exceed 40 games played.

With the playoffs just around the corner, Embiid missed time after undergoing an appendectomy. The procedure caused him to miss the first three games of the 76ers’ first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics. Philadelphia went 1-2 without Embiid.

The 32-year-old was able to return for Game 4, however, and proved to be the difference in the series moving forward. Though the 76ers lost that contest, Embiid led the team to three straight wins, propelling the team to the second round.

Like most members of the 76ers, Embiid had a rough night in Game 1 versus the Knicks. He went just 3-of-11 from the field, with just four rebounds and one assist in the blowout loss.

Embiid initially appeared on the team’s Game 2 injury report as probable due to an ankle injury. He reportedly received treatment ahead of Game 2, but was unable to take part in the team’s shootaround on Wednesday, per ESPN, leading to the center being ruled out for the contest.

The most productive season of Jaylen Brown’s NBA career came to an abrupt and stunning end in the first round of the playoffs this past weekend. His No. 2-seeded Boston Celtics blew a 3-1 lead to a No. 7 seeded Philadelphia 76ers franchise that had never come back from that postseason deficit. For the first time in five years, the Celtics, an Eastern Conference titan, have gone one-and-done in the playoffs, and Brown is clearly frustrated.

Tracy McGrady, who notably has a close relationship with Brown, suggested this week on the “Cousins” podcast that Brown’s frustration “lies deeply within the organization.”

But Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, Brown’s head coach the first five seasons of his tenure in Boston, said Wednesday that he and Brown spoke on Monday and that “none of that has been expressed” to Stevens.

“[It] was nothing but positive,” Stevens said of his brief chat with Brown, while the executive addressed reporters in his end-of-season news conference.

Stevens continued: “He has not expressed those frustrations to me. We’ve been here 10 years together. Obviously, I love JB, and everybody around here loves JB. And I think, just like any of our other guys, as we get to the end of the season, I’ll be here, and my door’s always open. If anybody ever wants to come in and talk about it and talk about their team, their place, whatever the case may be, I’m all ears. And that would be one through 16, not just Jaylen, not just Jayson [Tatum], not just the guys that have been here.

“I think it’s really important to be available. So I certainly am and none of that has been expressed to me.”

Later Wednesday, after hearing Stevens’ remarks, Brown said that he’s on good terms with Stevens and the Celtics.

“Me and Brad have a great relationship,” Brown said on a Twitch stream, per the Boston Herald. “I love Boston. If it were up to me, I would play in Boston for the next 10 years.”

Brown’s previous comments raised eyebrows

On Sunday night, a day after Boston lost to Philadelphia at home in Game 7, Brown, 29, aired out some grievances on the streaming platform Twitch.

The five-time All-Star wing called out Sixers star center Joel Embiid for flopping and put the officials on blast. Brown also raised eyebrows when he described the 2025-26 campaign, most of which the Celtics played without a recovering Tatum, as his “favorite year” of his basketball career.

That was an interesting choice of words considering Brown won an NBA title, plus NBA Finals MVP, during the 2023-24 season. This season, however, he thrust himself into the NBA MVP conversation during Tatum’s absence.

While Brown emphasized the pride he had in a team that fought through adversity and a cloud of external doubt, his declaration predictably raised questions about his relationship with Tatum and his desire to keep coexisting with his co-star in Boston.

The clips from Brown’s stream spread like wildfire online, and McGrady’s cryptic remarks only stoked those flames.

“I think his frustration lies deeply within the organization and other things that we don’t really have the details to,” McGrady said on the podcast with cousin and fellow basketball Hall of Famer Vince Carter.

“There’s just been a lot of stuff that I’ve been hearing just going on with the Boston organization, with JB,” McGrady said. “So I think part of him is like, ‘I showed you guys more of who I am as a basketball player, not only just what I did on the basketball court, but the leadership that I displayed within this team. And you’ve seen that, not having our best player in JT, you’ve seen the different side of me and what I’m able to bring to the game of basketball.’“

McGrady added: “So all of that stuff I think just came into play with him and his frustration.”

Stevens and the Celtics will now go back to the drawing board to evaluate how they can rebound from their first-round exit next season.

With the Celtics’ previously reported interest in Milwaukee Bucks superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brown’s head-turning reaction in the fallout of Game 7, trade speculation has grown this week.

It could persist, even after Stevens’ news conference on Wednesday.