MLB
The Tampa Bay Rays tied Major League Baseball’s post-1900 record of 13 consecutive wins at a season’s start, rallying to beat the Boston Red Sox 9-3 behind a seven-run fifth inning that Harold Ramirez began and capped with doubles. Tampa Bay matched the 13-0 start of the 1982 Atlanta Braves and 1987 Milwaukee Brewers. The only longer opening streak was a 20-0 start by the 1884 St. Louis Maroons of the Union Association. Playing before a crowd of 21,175, the largest at Tropicana Field since opening day, the Rays set a team record for wins at any point in a season.
Michael A. Taylor, rookie Edouard Julien and Carlos Correa hit consecutive homers in a nine-run first inning, and the Minnesota Twins routed the New York Yankees 11-2. Taylor homered twice and drove in four runs from the No. 9 spot in the batting order. Joe Ryan struck out 10 and walked none while allowing one run and three hits over seven innings. Jhonny Brito allowed seven runs and six hits in two-thirds of an inning. Anthony Rizzo hit a pair of solo homers for the Yankees.
Wil Myers hit a pair of run-scoring singles and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 after after getting swept in a three-game series at Atlanta. Spencer Steer, Tyler Stephenson and Jose Barrero drove in runs for the Reds, who had lost six of seven after a 3-1 start — the last four all by one run. Kyle Schwarber became the first left-handed batter to hit a home run off Nick Lodolo, a left-hander in his second major league season. The defending National League champions have lost three straight and are 4-9.
St. Louis rookie Jordan Walker’s hitting streak ended at 12 games when he went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in the Cardinals’ 5-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 20-year-old tied the record for longest hitting streak at the start of a career by a player 20 or younger, set by Eddie Murphy, who hit in 12 straight games with the Philadelphia Athletics from Aug. 26, 1912, to Sept. 5, 1912. Carlos Santana doubled twice, and Connor Joe and Rodolfo Castro hit consecutive homers in the eighth against Génesis Cabrera.
NHL
David Pastrnak’s goal midway through the third period was the winner and the Boston Bruins closed out their record-setting regular season with a 5-4 comeback win over the Montreal Canadiens. Dmitry Orlov had a goal and an assist. Trent Frederic, Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle also scored for Boston (65-12-5). Jeremy Swayman made 30 saves. The Bruins closed their Presidents Trophy-winning season by establishing records for wins (65) and points (135) in a single season. Lucas Condotta scored in his NHL debut, and Michael Pezzetta added a goal and an assist for the Canadiens. Nick Suzuki and Justin Barron also scored for Montreal. Sam Montembeault made 16 saves.
Casey Mittelstadt scored 1:18 into overtime and Craig Anderson stopped 30 shots before announcing he is retiring at the end of the season as the Buffalo Sabres closed their home schedule with a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators. Tage Thompson scored his team-leading 47th goal, while Henri Jokiharju and Victor Olofsson also scored for Buffalo in a game between Atlantic Division rivals eliminated from playoff contention. Anderson closed his 20-year career with his 319th win, which ranks fifth among U.S.-born goalies. Claude Giroux achieved a single-season career-best by scoring his 35th goal. Tim Stutzle had a goal and assist and Dylan Gamrell also scored for the Senators, who closed their season with a 39-35-8 record.
Noel Acciari scored the go-ahead goal late in third period, Joseph Woll made 22 saves and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Thursday night in the season finale for both teams. Acciari nudged the puck past goal Jaroslav Halak with 7:39 left to snap a tie and send the Maple Leafs into the playoffs with a 5-0-1 record in their last six games. Rangers forward Filip Chytil appeared to hit one in with 1.9 seconds left, but officials ruled he kicked the puck into the net. Timothy Liljegren and William Nylander also scored for Toronto. Artemi Panarin and Kaapo Kakko scored for the Rangers.
Luke Hughes scored his first NHL goal to give the New Jersey Devils a 5-4 comeback victory at the Washington Capitals in their regular-season finale. They'll face the rival New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. New Jersey erased a three-goal deficit after Mackenzie Blackwood allowed four on 11 shots and was pulled. The Devils would have needed a win and a loss by Carolina to win the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Jonathan Toews scored in his final game with the Chicago Blackhawks, but Ivan Provorov scored 3:09 into overtime to lift the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-4 victory in the season finale for each team. Toews won three Stanley Cup titles in 15 seasons with Chicago, but general manager Kyle Davidson announced earlier in the day that the team would not re-sign its longtime captain. Toews turns 35 on April 29, and the lowly Blackhawks are rebuilding. Toews had a chance to win the game in overtime, but he was denied by Felix Sandstrom on a breakaway with about 2:15 remaining. Provorov then closed it out for Philadelphia, beating Alex Stalock for his sixth goal of the season.
Johnny Gaudreau scored a minute into overtime and the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2, snapping a four-game losing streak and moving ahead of Chicago and Anaheim for the worst record in the NHL. Andrew Peeke and Emil Bemstrom also scored for Columbus. Michael Hutchinson stopped 34 shots. Kris Letang and Jake Guentzel scored for the Penguins, and Sidney Crosby added two assists. Tristan Jarry stopped 31 shots.
WORLD HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP
Sarah Nurse scored at 4:26 of overtime and Canada dodged its biggest women’s hockey upset, beating Sweden 3-2 on Thursday night in the world championship quarterfinals. After scoring in regulation, Nurse took a pass from Sarah Fillier and beat goalie Emma Soderberg with a high shot in the 3-on-3 overtime. Sweden forced the extra period on Hilda Svensson’s goal with 9.2 seconds left in regulation. Earlier, Aerin Frankel made 18 saves for her first national-team shutout and the United States beat Germany 3-0, and the Czech Republic edged Finland 2-1. In the semifinals, the Americans will face the Czech Republic, and Canada will meet Switzerland — a 5-1 winner over Japan in the final quarterfinal.
NFL
The Baltimore Ravens acquired receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on a one-year deal worth up to $18 million including $15 million guaranteed. That agreement led to some obvious questions: Was this a sign that Beckham knew Lamar Jackson would be the quarterback in Baltimore this season? Or would the addition of a star wide receiver make it easier for the Ravens to keep their franchise quarterback? Beckham says he can’t make any promises about Jackson’s future. The Ravens used the franchise tag on Jackson, who then announced that he’d requested a trade in early March.
Two people with knowledge of the situation tell The Associated Press that Dan Snyder will soon no longer own the Washington Commanders. A group led by Josh Harris and Mitchell Rales and including Magic Johnson has an agreement in principle to buy the Washington Commanders from the longtime owner (Dan Snyder). Harris and Rales are set to pay $6.05 billion for the storied NFL franchise. It's the most money a professional sports franchise in North American has been sold for, topping the $4.65 billion paid by Walmart heir Rob Walton's group for the Denver Broncos last year. The sale of the Commanders is pending approval from the rest of the league's owners. That could happen as soon as their next meeting in Minnesota in May.
The team dropped its longtime name in 2020 just before more than a dozen former employees said they were sexually harassed during their time working there. An investigation prompted a $10 million fine and led to a congressional review. The Commanders also recently settled a lawsuit with the District of Columbia for cheating fans out of ticket money.
NBA
The NBA playoffs begin tomorrow with the Nets taking on the 76ers at 1 p.m.in Philadelphia, Knicks go up against the Cavaliers at 6 p.m. in Cleveland, and the Hawks face the Celtics at 3:30 p.m.
Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant has filed a countersuit against the Memphis teenager suing the two-time All-Star, accusing the teen of slander, battery and assault over a pickup basketball game at Morant’s home last July. The lawsuit filed Wednesday night in Shelby County Circuit Court accuses the teenager of damaging Morant’s reputation and putting him at risk of losing millions of dollars. The teen's lawsuit was amended March 28 after he turned 18. Morant had no comment Thursday when asked about his countersuit after practice. The Grizzlies are the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference preparing to host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
BOSTON MARATHON
It’ll be a decade tomorrow since the Boston Marathon bombing. The attacks occurred on April 15 2013, killing three and injuring 280 people. This year the 127th running of the Marathon is this Monday April 17th, the Massachusetts holiday of Patriot’s Day.
RBC HERITAGE GOLF
Viktor Hovland shot a 7-under 64 to take the first-round lead at the rain-delayed RBC Heritage. Masters champion Jon Rahm was eight shots back after a frustrating 1-over 72 and acknowledged the fatigue from his win at Augusta National affected him. Hovland also shared the first-round lead at the Masters and finished tied for seventh. He led Brian Harman by one shot at Harbour Town. Aaron Rai and Jimmy Walker were also 6 under but did not finish their rounds before darkness halted play. The RBC Heritage is a designated event on the PGA Tour this year, giving it a $20 million purse and a strong field.
All contents © copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
