MLB
Austin Wells became the first catcher to hit a leadoff homer on opening day, Anthony Volpe also went deep and the New York Yankees began their AL pennant defense with a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Carlos Rodón, starting because of ace Gerrit Cole’s season-ending elbow injury, allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. Devin Williams, facing his former team for the first time since he was traded in December, held on for the save.
Wilyer Abreu dedicates this two-homer game to his newborn twin boys. Abreu went deep twice in Boston’s season-opening 5-2 win at Texas, including a tiebreaking three-run shot in the ninth inning Thursday. It came nearly eight months after the 25-year-old outfielder’s only other multihomer game in the same stadium the day after his grandmother died. This one came 10 days after his sons were born. He had a part in every run for Boston. He singled and scored in the third, and homered in the fifth off Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi. His game-winner was a 394-foot liner off Rangers reliever Luke Jackson.
Cam Smith walked to the plate to a huge ovation in Houston before hitting an opposite-field single on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues. The 22-year-old prospect made his debut for the Astros against the New York Mets after playing just 32 minor league games. Batting seventh and starting in right field, he became the second-youngest Astros position player to make his MLB debut as a starter on opening day and the youngest since Rusty Staub was 19 in 1963.
The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired pitcher Noah Davis from the Boston Red Sox for cash considerations. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers transferred pitcher Emmet Sheehan to the 60-day injured list. Davis, a 27-year-old right-hander, will head to Triple-A Oklahoma City. He made nine appearances for the Rockies last season, allowing 13 runs in 20 1/3 innings with 15 strikeouts. He pitched in four Grapefruit League games this spring with Boston, striking out nine in 9 1/3 innings while posting a 0.86 WHIP and .206 batting average against.
Bryce Harper has hit his sixth opening-day homer and first as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. His solo shot in the seventh inning provided the first run of the day for the Phillies in what became a 7-3 victory over the Washington Nationals in 10 innings. Harper used to play for the Nationals and was greeted with boos repeatedly at Nationals Park on Thursday. He said he loves playing in Washington, where he was the 2012 NL Rookie of the Year and the 2015 NL MVP. The first five opening-day longballs for Harper came while he was with the Nationals.
Lars Nootbaar homered and Sonny Gray pitched five solid innings to help the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. Nolan Arenado also went deep for the Cardinals late in their rain-delayed opener. Harrison Bader hit a two-run shot for Minnesota against his former team. Nootbaar slammed a two-run drive off Pablo Lopez in the second inning to stake the Cardinals to a 4-0 lead. Gray allowed two runs and four hits, striking out six. The right-hander pitched for the Twins from 2022-23. Ryan Helsley earned the save.
Blake Snell won his Dodgers debut, Teoscar Hernández hit a three-run homer and Los Angeles defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-4 in its home opener. Shohei Ohtani launched his second home run of the season and scored twice for the Dodgers. Tommy Edman also went deep. Snell allowed two runs in five innings. Ohtani's solo homer in the seventh extended the lead to 5-3. The defending World Series champions and a sellout crowd of 53,595 were in a celebratory mood beforehand. The Commissioner's Trophy arrived on the field in a blue convertible and team co-owner Magic Johnson carried it to home plate.
Tyler O’Neill hit a three-run home run, extending his major league record by homering for a sixth straight opening day, and the Baltimore Orioles hit a franchise record six opening day home runs to rout the Blue Jays 12-2. Adley Rutschman and Cedric Mullins both homered twice and Jordan Westburg also connected in Baltimore’s biggest ever opening day power display. The Orioles hit four opening day homers in 1982 and 2006. Toronto had its franchise-record streak of season-opening wins snapped at five.
Los Angeles Angels reliever Ryan Johnson has made his professional debut, becoming the 24th player to go from the amateur draft to the major leagues without playing in the minors. The 22-year-old Johnson allowed five runs and four hits in 1 2/3 innings in an 8-1 loss at the Chicago White Sox. The right-hander struck out one and walked one. Johnson was drafted by the Angels in the second round last year out of Dallas Baptist University. He made the opening-day roster after going 1-0 with a 3.97 ERA in six Cactus League games this spring, striking out 10 in 11 1/3 innings.
Kyle Manzardo had a two-run double in the 10th inning to tie the club record for most RBIs on opening day and the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Kansas City Royals 7-4. Manzardo joined Tris Speaker (1925) and Leon Wagner (1964) with four RBIs on opening day. Manzardo also become the third MLB player with a double, triple and homer on opening day, joining Don Baylor (1973), Gee Walker (1937). Steven Kwan led off the 10th with a run-scoring double. With two outs and Kwan at third, reliever Sam Long intentionally walked Carlos Santana to face Manzardo, who drove in both runners. Emmanuel Clase took the win and Paul Sewald earned the save.
Jorge Polanco and Randy Arozarena hit eighth-inning home runs and the Seattle Mariners rallied to beat the Athletics 4-2. Polanco’s two-out, two-run home run to dead center field sealed the win after Arozarena tied it at 2 with a shot to left. Tyler Soderstrom — one of three players under the age of 24 in the Athletics’ opening day starting lineup — hit two solo home runs in his team’s first game of the post-Oakland era. The second put his team ahead 2-1 in the eighth. Reliever Trent Thornton (1-0) earned the win and closer Andrés Muñoz earned the save.
Terry Francona’s first opening day as manager of the Cincinnati Reds started in a dentist’s chair. About 12 hours later, Francona was experiencing baseball’s equivalent of a root canal. The Reds were one out away from a successful debut for Francona, until the San Francisco Giants rallied for four runs in the ninth inning. Cincinnati got a run in the home half but ended up falling short 6-4. Francona began the day with an emergency trip to the dentist for treatment of a broken veneer. Francona said after the game that he stood by hois decisions in the game, including bringing in Ian Gibaut to close it out.
Kyle Stowers hit a run-scoring single in the ninth inning and the Miami Marlins spoiled the first opening day start for Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes with a 5-4 victory over the Pirates. Nick Fortes tripled to lead off the inning against reliever David Bednar (0-1) and Xavier Edwards was intentionally walked. After Edwards stole second, Stowers sent a line drive to right that scored pinch runner Javier Sanoja and gave new Marlins manager Clayton McCullough a win in his debut. Jesús Tinoco (1-0) pitched the ninth for the win. Skenes, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, gave up three hits and struck out seven over 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball.
The San Diego Padres beat the Atlanta Braves 7-4 on opening day. Jackson Merrill drove in four runs, and Gavin Sheets’ tying homer kicked off the Padres’ four-run rally in the seventh inning. Fernando Tatís Jr. had three hits, while Luis Arraez and Manny Machado added seventh-inning RBIs in a rematch of last season’s wild-card playoff series won by the Padres. Ozzie Albies hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs for the Braves. Austin Riley also homered. Chris Sale yielded three runs and six hits over five innings for Atlanta, striking out seven in his sixth opening day start.
Miguel Amaya hit two doubles and had five RBIs, Ian Happ added a homer, double and three RBIs and the Chicago Cubs beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-6 on Thursday night. Amaya’s double with the bases loaded in the fifth bounced off the glove of Jake McCarthy, who couldn’t come up with the catch after diving for the ball in center field. It brought home Michael Busch, Pete Crow-Armstrong and rookie Matt Shaw for a 7-3 lead. Amaya pushed Chicago’s lead to 10-5 in the ninth with a two-run double down the left field line.
NHL
Jiri Kulich scored twice as part of a five-goal second period, and the Buffalo Sabres routed Pittsburgh 7-3 in an outing Penguins captain Sidney Crosby broke an NHL record for point-per-game consistency he shared with Wayne Gretzky. Buffalo won its fourth-straight home game with Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, Tyson Kozak each securing a goal and assist. Crosby’s goal 8:49 in cut Buffalo’s lead to 2-1 was his 80th point, to assure he’ll finish his 20th NHL season averaging at least a point per outing. The 37-year-old surpassed Gretzky, who finished all but his 20th and final NHL season in 1998-99 averaging a point a game.
Matvei Michkov had two goals and an assist and the Philadelphia Flyers got off to fast start in their first game after coach John Tortorella’s morning firing, beating the Montreal Canadiens 6-4 on Thursday night. With Brad Shaw serving as interim coach, Philadelphia ended a six-game losing streak and handed Montreal its fourth straight loss. Michkov opened the scoring at 1:55 of the first period, assisted on the first of Sean Couturier’s two goals and added his 22nd goal in the third. Tortorella came under scrutiny when he scratched Michkov or benched him for long periods, explaining it was part of a tough-love approach toward with the Russian rookie. Nicolas Deslauriers and Tyson Foerster also scored, and Samuel Ersson made 26 saves.
The Philadelphia Flyers fired coach John Tortorella on Thursday with nine games left in another losing season for a franchise that hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2020. The decisive blow came when the Flyers were blown out by Toronto 7-2 on Tuesday night. Tortorella, who won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004, said after the game he was not “really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season, where we’re at right now.” The Flyers named Brad Shaw the interim coach, then went out and beat Montreal 6-4 on Thursday night to end a six-game losing streak
Thomas Chabot and Tim Stutzle scored in the first period for Ottawa and the Senators held off the Detroit Red Wings in a 4-3 victory. Linus Ullmark made 31 saves and David Perron and Michael Amadio also had goals for the Senators, who have won eight of their last 11 while holding the first wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Lucas Raymond had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings, who scored three times in the third period but lost for the fourth time in five games. Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for Detroit.
Jake Guentzel and Oliver Bjorkstrand scored two goals each, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves for his sixth shutout of the season, and the Tampa Bay Lightning routed the Utah Hockey Club 8-0. Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, Gage Goncalves and Victor Hedman also scored for Tampa Bay, which won its second in a row and has won five of its last seven games. Kucherov also had three assists. It was the fourth time this year Tampa Bay has scored eight goals in a game. Utah starting goalie Karel Vejmelka — who had started 15 straight games — had a rough night, giving up four goals on 11 shots before being lifted.
Matt Boldy had the go-ahead goal in the second period for the Minnesota Wild in a 4-2 victory over the Washington Capitals. Frederick Gaudreau had two goals and Jon Merrill also scored for the Wild. They are the only NHL team this season that hasn’t lost when leading after two periods at 28-0. Matt Roy and Brandon Duhaime scored for the league-leading Capitals who lost their second straight after a 9-1 stretch. Minnesota got a big boost for its playoff push having entered with a five-point cushion above the cut for the last West wild-card spot.
Dylan Holloway scored two goals to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 3-2 comeback victory over the Nashville Predators for their season-best eighth straight win. Cam Fowler also scored and Joel Hofer made 16 saves for the Blues. Robert Thomas had two assists. Fedor Svechkov and Brady Skjei scored and Juuse Saros made 18 saves for Nashville, which has dropped two of three. Nashville’s Jonathan Marchessault appeared to tie it late in the third, but a video review determined that time had expired before the puck entered the net.
Casey DeSmith made 46 saves, Roope Hintz and Mikko Rantanen each had a goal and an assist and the Dallas Stars beat the Calgary Flames 5-2. Wyatt Johnston and Mikael Granlund also scored and Matt Duchene added an empty-net goal for the Stars, winners of four games in a row. DeSmith got the start for Dallas after Jake Oettinger made 42 saves in the previous night’s 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Nazem Kadri scored twice for the Flames. Flames starter Dustin Wolf stopped 14 of 18 shots in the loss.
Martin Necas had two goals and an assist, Jonathan Drouin and Logan O’Connor also sored, and the streaking Colorado Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-0, their fourth in a row.Mackenzie Blackwood had his third shutout with Colorado and fourth overall this season. Cale Makar had two assists.O’Connor and Necas scored goals 1:32 apart early in the second, Necas added a power-play goal later in the period, and Drouin added another on the man-advantage in the third.Nathan MacKinnon had the primary assist on Drouin’s goal to extend his home point streak to 23 games.
Jaden Schwartz scored twice, linemates Jani Nyman and Matty Beniers scored 16 seconds apart and Joey Daccord made 36 saves to help the Seattle Kraken beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-1 and snap a three-game skid. Andre Burakovsky and Jared McCann also had goals for the Kraken, who scored five times in the second period. Zach Hyman had Edmonton’s only goal. Calvin Pickard made 24 saves. Olivier Rodrigue took over in the third period and made seven saves. Edmonton stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl sat out for the third straight game with injuries.
Tyler Toffoli scored two goals and had an assist and the San Jose Sharks defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 in a shootout after blowing a late lead. Collin Graf, Alexander Wennberg and William Eklund also scored for the Sharks, who led 5-3 with less than a minute left. John Tavares cut Toronto’s deficit to one with 59 seconds remaining and William Nylander tied it 45 seconds later with his second goal of the game. Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini scored in the shootout and Alexandar Georgiev stopped Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to seal the win.
NBA
The Indiana Pacers broke their franchise record for points in an NBA game, beating the Washington Wizards 162-109. It was also the most points allowed by Washington, the most lopsided defeat in Wizards history and the most points scored by an NBA team this season. It was the most points by a team in a non-overtime game since Denver beat Seattle 168-116 on March 16, 2008. The Pacers also set a franchise record with 27 3-pointers, and they had 48 assists on 59 made field goals.
Zach LaVine scored 29 points and Domantas Sabonis finished with 22 points, 19 rebounds and six assists to help the Sacramento Kings beat the Portland Trail Blazers 128-107 to snap a four-game skid. LaVine made 13 of 18 from the field and Sabonis was 9-of-11 shooting for the Kings. DeMar DeRozan had 21 points and 10 assists. The Kings shot 64.9% (48 of 74) and scored 60 points in the paint, while the Trail Blazers made 35 of 88 (39.8%) from the field. Deni Avdija had 24 points and nine rebounds, Shaedon Sharpe scored 22 points and Anfrenee Simons 20.
Jarrett Allen scored a season-high 29 points, Donovan Mitchell had a career-high 14 assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers looked more comfortable back home, holding off the San Antonio Spurs 124-116. Allen went 10 of 11 from the floor and added 16 rebounds for Cleveland, which went 2-4 on a just completed six-game trip out West. Mitchell scored 25 and flirted with his first career triple-double, finishing with eight rebounds. Allen’s three-point play — on an assist from Mitchell — put the Cavs up 117-112 and Darius Garland’s 3-pointer put the Spurs away with 1:16 left. Rookie Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell had 22 points apiece for the Spurs, who are fighting to make the Western Conference play-in.
Tyler Herro scored 36 points, Davion Mitchell and Andrew Wiggins each added 16 and the Miami Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks 122-112 on Thursday night for their third straight win. Bam Adebayo had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Miami, which trailed by 14 in the first quarter but controlled the second half. Trae Young had 29 points and 12 assists for the Hawks, who got 17 points from Caris LeVert and 15 from Oneyka Okongwu. The win moved the Heat (32-41) within three games of Atlanta (35-38) for the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, both having nine games left to play.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points and Oklahoma City defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 125-104 as the Thunder won their eighth straight and team-record 61st game of the season. All-Star guard Jalen Williams scored 20 points in his return for the Thunder after missing seven games with a hip injury. Isaiah Hartenstein added 18 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma City. The Thunder remained two games ahead of Cleveland for the league’s best record with nine games to play. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 27 points and Scotty Pippen Jr. added 17 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals for the Grizzlies.
Josh Giddey made a halfcourt heave at the buzzer to cap perhaps the wildest finish in the NBA this season, giving the Chicago Bulls a 119-117 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. Patrick Williams and Coby White hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the closing seconds for the Bulls, who trailed by five points with 12.6 seconds remaining. Giddey finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. White scored 26 points and Kevin Huerter added 21 as the Bulls won for the ninth time in 11 games. And this one was easily their wildest in recent memory.
Alperen Sengun had 33 points and 10 rebounds, Amen Thompson finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and the Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz 121-110. The Rockets have a two-game lead over the third-place Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference standings with a little more than two weeks left in the regular season. Jalen Green added 21 points and Tari Eason scored 15 for Houston. Collin Sexton led Utah with 21 points. Keyonte George scored 17, and Isaiah Collier and Kyle Filipowski had 16 apiece. Houston outrebounded Utah 58-40 and had a 30-8 advantage in second-chance points.
Zach LaVine scored 29 points and Domantas Sabonis finished with 22 points, 19 rebounds and six assists to help the Sacramento Kings beat the Portland Trail Blazers 128-107 to snap a four-game skid. LaVine made 13 of 18 from the field and Sabonis was 9-of-11 shooting for the Kings. DeMar DeRozan had 21 points and 10 assists. The Kings shot 64.9% (48 of 74) and scored 60 points in the paint, while the Trail Blazers made 35 of 88 (39.8%) from the field. Deni Avdija had 24 points and nine rebounds, Shaedon Sharpe scored 22 points and Anfrenee Simons 20.
MARCH MADNESS
Duke stud Cooper Flagg put on a skills clinic and overcame an onslaught from Arizona and Caleb Love, finishing with 30 points, six rebounds and seven assists in a 100-93 NCAA Tournament victory that pulled the Blue Devils within one win of the Final Four. Flagg, long over the balky ankle that sidelined him earlier this month, did enough to prevent Love from ruining another Blue Devils season. Love finished with 35 points, including a streak of 15 straight for his Wildcats during a ferocious second-half run that cut a 19-point deficit to five, but it’s the top-seeded Blue Devils moving to the Elite Eight to play Alabama on Saturday.
Led by Mark Sears, Alabama broke the 35-year-old record for 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game, making 25 in a 113-88 victory over BYU in an East Region semifinal. Sears finished 10 for 16 from 3 to help the Crimson Tide knock Loyola Marymount’s high-octane 1990 team out of the top spot. Sears fell one short of the individual record set by Loyola Marymount’s Jeff Fryer in a memorable 149-115 second-round win over Michigan. Alabama also broke a week-old record for 3-point attempts in March Madness with 51. Texas Tech shot 46 last week in a first-round win over UNC-Wilmington.
Darrion Williams scored to break a tie with 7.3 seconds left in overtime after tying the game with a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation to lead Texas Tech to an 85-83 win over Arkansas and a spot in the Elite Eight. The first overtime game of March Madness came thanks to a furious comeback by the third-seeded Red Raiders from 16 points down midway through the second half against coach John Calipari’s 10th-seeded Razorbacks. Texas Tech advanced to play top-seeded Florida in the West Regional final on Saturday.
Will Richard scored 15 points, Alijah Martin added 14 points and seven rebounds, and top-seeded Florida played a steady second half to run away from No. 4 seed Maryland and into the NCAA Tournament’s West Region final with an 87-71 win. Walter Clayton Jr. contributed 13 points and four assists as Florida’s Big Three seniors and their deep supporting cast took down the Maryland “Crab Five” starters. Freshman sensation Derik Queen scored 27 points to lead Maryland in what might have been coach Kevin Willard’s final game guiding the program. Florida will play Texas Tech for a spot in the Final Four.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl says he wasn’t mixing politics with sports last week when he called for the release of an American hostage in Gaza. Pearl says his comment was about “survival” when he called for the release of Edan Alexander, the last living American being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas. No. 1 seed Auburn will play No. 6 seed Michigan in an NCAA Tournament regional semifinal on Friday night. Auburn is in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019. Auburn players Dylan Cardwell and Johni Broome say they support Pearl's right to speak out.
Nearly every year there’s at least one lovable underdog that rises from obscurity in the NCAA Tournament to capture the hearts of basketball fans and bust their brackets. Not this year. All 16 regional semifinalists are from power conferences for the first time since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The popular theory is that the transfer portal has led to a concentration of the best players at the big schools paying the most NIL money and, soon, the most through revenue sharing. Coaches say don't write off future Cinderellas because there is so much talent.
We’re into the Sweet 16. Men’s play today will see #6 Ole Miss face #2 Michigan State at 7:09, #3 Kentucky play #2 Tennessee at 7:39, #5 Michigan against top-seed Auburn at 9:39, and #4 Purdue facing top-seed Houston at 10:09 tonight.
In women’s action, #3 North Carolina plays versus #2 Duke at 2:30, #4 Maryland is up against top-seed South Carolina at 5 p.m., # 3 LSU plays #2 NC State at 7:30 this evening, and 5-seed Ole Miss plays top-seed UCLA at 10 p.m.
GOLF
Ryan Gerard and Keith Mitchell are part of a four-way tie for the lead at the rainy and windy Houston Open. They each shot 65. Scottie Scheffler is two behind after a bogey-free 67, while Rory McIlroy was never too far away from his umbrella and shot a 70. Scheffler and McIlroy are playing a final tournament before the Masters. This didn't look like a lot of fun with the rain and wind coming and going for so much of the day. Gerard had the best round going until a bogey-bogey finish. Mitchell did well late with an eagle putt.
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