MLB:
It was a good day for a pair of AL West teams.
The Oakland Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Rays for the third time in four days as Cole Irvin pitched into the seventh inning to lead the A’s to a 6-3 victory. Irvin allowed three runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings as the rebuilding A’s under new manager Mark Kotsay improved to 4-3.
Cristian Pache and Sean Murphy each had two hits and an RBI for Oakland.
Homers by Jarred Kelenic, Cal Raleigh and Mitch Haniger powered the Mariners past the White Sox, 5-1 in Chicago. Kelenic hit a two-run homer off the right-field foul pole on an afternoon in which swirling winds turned popups into an adventure.
Winning pitcher Logan Gilbert allowed an unearned run and four hits over five innings.
In other major league games:
Michael King escaped a bases-loaded, no-outs jam created by Aroldis Chapman to preserve the Yankees’ 3-0 win over the Blue Jays. Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. struck out four times for the first time in his career, a night after hitting three homers and going 4 for 4. Luis Severino became the first pitcher to fan Guerrero three times in a game.
Victor Reyes and Austin Meadows had RBI singles in the seventh inning to push the Tigers past the Royals, 4-2. The game was tied 2-2 until Eric Haase hit the first of three straight two-out singles off reliever Jake Brentz to continue the rally. Miguel Cabrera had three of the Tigers’ nine hits, leaving him six shy of 3,000 for his career.
Jonah Heim hit a grand slam off Shohei Ohtani and collected five RBIs off the Japanese hurler to carry the Rangers’ to a 10-5 win over the Angels. Corey Seager smacked his first homer for Texas, a two-run shot that gave his new team a 7-2 lead. Ohtani struck out five over 3 2/3 innings, but the reigning AL MVP allowed his first grand slam and surrendered six runs on six hits.
Trae Turner singled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning before Will Smith smacked a three-run homer in the Dodgers' 9-3 victory over the Reds. Freddie Freeman started the rally with a double and received cheers of “Freddie! Freddie” before he took off his helmet and patted his heart. Freeman had two hits and Smith collected four RBIs in the Dodgers' second night home opener.
San Diego crushed Atlanta, 12-1 as Joe Musgrove pitched 6 2/3 brilliant innings for his hometown Padres. Manny Machado slammed a two-run homer and tied his career high with five hits. Rookie C.J. Abrams hit his first homer for the Padres.
Seiya Suzuki stayed hot with an RBI double in a three-run first that propelled the Cubs past the Rockies, 5-2. Suzuki extended his hitting streak to six games since joining the majors from Japan and drove in his 10th run when the Cubs collected five straight hits against Kyle Freeland. Frank Schwindel had a run-scoring single in the first and went deep leading off the sixth after the Rockies had sliced Chicago’s lead to 3-2.
The Brewers opened their home schedule with a 5-1 win over the Cardinals as Brandon Woodruff scattered three hits over five shutout innings. Omar Narvaez was 2-for-4 with a sol homer and an RBI double. St. Louis didn’t score until Tommy Edman’s eighth-inning homer.
Joey Wendle drove in a pair as Sandy Alcantara allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings of the Marlins’ home-opening win over the Phillies, 4-3. Garrett Cooper hit his first home run of the year, while Jesús Sánchez had two hits and an RBI for Miami. Bryce Harper drove in three runs and J.T. Realmuto reached base five times in Philadelphia’s third straight loss.
Bryan Reynolds hit a two-run home run after settling his arbitration case, helping the Pirates overcome a three-run deficit to beat the Nationals, 9-4 Daniel Vogelbach led off a game with a home run for the first time in the big leagues and matched his career high with four hits. Rookie Roansy Contreras pitched three scoreless innings of one-hit relief to win his first big league decision.
MLB:
The average salary in the major leagues rebounded to $4.4 million on opening day, boosted by a frenzy of free agent signings before and after the 99-day lockout, according to a study of baseball contracts by The Associated Press.
Mets pitcher Max Scherzer set a season record at $43.3 million, topping the previous mark established last year by Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer at $38 million.
Scherzer earns more than the entire Orioles roster. The average was up 5.9% from the the start of last season.
In other MLB news:
The Pirates and All-Star center fielder Bryan Reynolds have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year deal worth $13.5 million. Reynolds and the Pirates were scheduled to go to arbitration after failing to come to an agreement on a one-year deal for 2022. He hit .302 last season.
Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernández was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain. Hernández was pulled from Wednesday’s 6-4 win over the Yankees with left side discomfort, and an MRI revealed the strain.
Rangers reliever Dennis Santana has been placed on the COVID-19 injured list after arriving at the ballpark on Thursday with symptoms. The move came four days after Santana and the Rangers returned from a season-opening series in Toronto, where all players had to be vaccinated.
NBA:
The Golden State Warriors could have Steph Curry in the lineup when they open their Western Conference quarterfinal series against Denver.
Curry participated in a full scrimmage and said he’s optimistic he can play in Game 1. The two-time NBA MVP also expects to start the game if he’s cleared to play.
Curry hasn’t played since March 16 due to a sprained ligament in his left foot.
In other NBA news:
The league has fined Hornets forward Miles Bridges $50,000 for throwing his mouthpiece into the crowd following his ejection from Wednesday night’s play-in game loss to the Hawks in Atlanta. After picking up two technical fouls for arguing a call, an agitated Bridges left the floor for the locker room and was heckled by a male fan in the tunnel. He then heaved his mouthpiece in that direction, hitting a young female.
Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley has been fined $30,000 for what the league declared “inappropriate statements.” The NBA punished him for the “egregious use of profanity” in a media interview and social media post following the team’s play-in game victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
NHL:
The Carolina Hurricanes hosted the non-contending Detroit Red Wings on Thursday with a chance to pad their two-point lead over the New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division. The Canes couldn’t do it.
Alex Nedeljkovic turned back 46 shots against his former team as the Red Wings blanked the Hurricanes, 3-0. Carolina finished with a 46-22 edge in shots, but Nedeljkovic managed to post his third shutout of the season. He helped Detroit keep the game scoreless until Moritz Seider scored with 13 seconds left in the second period.
Adam Erne and Filip Zadina also scored for the Wings.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
Second-period goals by Brady Tkachuk (kah-CHUHK’), Josh Norris and Tim Stutzle allowed the Senators to rally for a 3-2 win over the Bruins, sending Boston to its first three-game losing streak this season. The rally occurred after Linus Ullmark was lifted after one period because of an injury. The B’s led, 2-0 until Tkachuk beat Jeremy Swayman 47 seconds into the middle period.
William Nylander, Ilya Mikheyev and Michael Bunting each scored twice for the Maple Leafs in a 7-3 thumping of the Capitals. Eight Leafs had at least two points, led by John Tavares with three assists. Matthews became the third player in Maple Leafs’ history to score 100 or more points in a season.
The Penguins have wrapped up their 16th consecutive playoff berth with a 6-3 win over the Islanders. Jake Guentzel had two goals and two assists for Pittsburgh, while Sidney Crosby chipped in added a goal and two helpers. Tristan Jarry made 36 saves for the Penguins, who have won two of three overall.
Anthony Cirelli scored 1:58 into overtime to give the Lightning a 4-3 win over the Ducks and another berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Ross Colton, Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov also scored for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 10 saves before being replaced by Brian Elliott, who stopped all 13 shots he faced.
The Avalanche claimed their eighth straight win as Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and an assist in a 3-1 verdict over the Devils. Logan O’Connor and Andre Burakovsky also scored and Pavel Francouz had 26 saves for Colorado, which has a league-best 114 points with eight games remaining. Colorado seized control with a dominant second period, when it outshot New Jersey 14-4 and scored three times.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored three times as part of a career-best five-point outing in the Blues’ seventh consecutive win, 6-2 at Buffalo. Robert Thomas had five assists, giving him 23 points during an 11-game point streak. Pavel Buchnevich, Brandon Saad and David Perron also scored for the Blues, whose surge has them battling the Wild for second place in the Central Division standings.
Frederick Gaudreu capped his three-point night by scoring 1:40 into overtime to give the Wild a 3-2 win over the Stars. Gaudreau ended the game after setting up Kevin Fiala’s two goals, helping Minnesota stay within two points of St. Louis for second place in the Central Division. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 34 shots for Minnesota, allowing a pair of goals by Jason Robertson.
The Golden Knights earned a 5-1 win over the Flames as Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson each had a goal and two assists. Calgary native Logan Thompson made 35 saves for Vegas, which is two points behind Dallas and Nashville for the two Western Conference wild-card berths. The loss prevented the Flames from clinching a playoff berth.
Leon Draisaitl had a hat trick and Mike Smith made 30 saves in the Oilers’ first win in three games, 4-0 against the Predators. Draisaitl’s hat trick gave him 54 goals this season, four behind NHL-leading Auston Matthews of Toronto. Darnell Nurse also scored and Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had two assists for Edmonton.
The Blackhawks earned a 5-4 win over the Sharks in a shootout to end an eight-game losing streak. Alex DeBrincat scored the lone shootout goal after having three assists in regulation. Patrick Kane scored his 24th goal and added two assists for Chicago.
Vasily Podkolzin and Alex Chiasson each scored twice in the Canucks’ 7-1 thumping of the Coyotes. J.T. Miller set up five Vancouver goals.
NFL:
Receiver A.J. Green is returning to the Arizona Cardinals on a one-year deal. The seven-time Pro Bowler played in 16 games last season, catching 54 passes for 848 yards and three touchdowns. The 33-year-old is expected to be the team’s No. 2 option next to three-time All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
The Packers have found a replacement for All-Pro receiver Davante Adams by signing free agent Sammy Watkins. The fourth player taken in the 2014 has 348 receptions for 5,059 yards and 34 touchdowns, much of that coming before being plagued with injuries over the last six years. Watkins caught 27 passes for 394 yards and only one touchdown last season with the Baltimore Ravens, his fourth NFL team.
The Lions have signed safety DeShon Elliott to a one-year contract. Elliott has had a host of injury issues and missed 10 games last season with a torn biceps-pectoral muscle. He has 106 career tackles, including 3 1/2 sacks, two forced fumbles, and an interception since being drafted by the Ravens four years ago.
PGA:
Cameron Young fired an 8-under 63 to take the first-round lead in his RBC Heritage debut.
The 24-year-old PGA Tour rookie had eight birdies and no bogeys. It was his first score under 70 in 11 rounds going back to a closing 65 at the Honda Classic more than six weeks ago.
Young is two shots in front of Chile’s Joaquin Niemann and three ahead of seven others, including reigning FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay. Shane Lowry and Corey Conners are also three off the lead after they had top-6 finishes at the Masters last weekend.
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