NHL
Jiri Smejkal scored his first career goal midway through the second period and Jakob Chychrun scored less than a minute later as the Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins 3-1 in the regular-season finale for both teams. Artem Zub added an empty-net goal with 1:48 remaining and Anton Forsberg had 34 saves for the Senators, who avoided a three-game season series sweep by Boston that had a chance of spoiling the Bruins’ hopes of clinching the Atlantic Division title. The Bruins entered the day leading second-place Florida by one point. The Panthers were playing at Toronto. Pavel Zacha scored for Boston, and Linus Ullmark finished with 17 saves. The Bruins loss, their second in as many nights, ultimately delivered the Bruins to a first-round matchup against Toronto when the playoffs open this weekend.
Zach Werenski had two goals and two assists, Jet Greaves made 38 saves and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat a diminished version of the playoff-bound Carolina Hurricanes 6-3. The Hurricanes, who finished second in the Metropolitan Division, rested eight regulars in the meaningless regular-season finale. Carolina finished with 111 points at 52-23-7, the second-best record in the Eastern Conference behind the division champion New York Rangers. The Hurricanes reached the postseason for the sixth straight year. The injury-plagued Blue Jackets missed the playoffs for a fourth straight season. Luca Del Bel Belluz scored in his NHL debut for Columbus.
T.J. Oshie scored into an empty net in the rare situation of a team pulling its goaltender in a tie game, and the Washington Capitals are in the playoffs after beating the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1. Philadelphia coach John Tortorella pulled goalie Samuel Ersson for an extra attacker because his team needed to win in regulation to keep its hopes alive. Oshie's goal with exactly 3 minutes left came perhaps a minute after Detroit scored to force overtime in Montreal, eliminating the Flyers. The Capitals will face the NHL-best New York Rangers in the first round.
Patrick Kane scored the shootout winner in a 5-4 Detroit win over the Montreal Canadiens in their regular-season finale Tuesday night, but the Red Wings were eliminated from playoff contention. The Red Wings entered the night tied with Washington for the East’s second wild-card spot. But the Capitals clinched the final playoff spot with a win over Philadelphia. Daniel Sprong had a goal and an assist, while Moritz Seider, Joe Veleno and David Perron also scored for Detroit, and James Reimer stopped 29 shots. Brendan Gallagher and Juraj Slafkovsky had a goal and an assist, while Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield also scored for Montreal. Cayden Primeau made 36 saves.
Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart scored 10 seconds apart midway through the second period, and the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2. With the victory and Boston’s 3-1 loss to Ottawa, Florida clinched the Atlantic Division title. The Panthers finished with the season with a four-game win streak to make up a five-point deficit in the standings. They will play the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round of the playoffs. John Tavares and Noah Gregor scored for the Maple Leafs, and Joseph Woll made 37 stops. Toronto will play Boston in the first round of the playoffs.
Kyle Connor scored twice and Tyler Toffoli broke a third-period tie to lift the Winnipeg Jets to a key 4-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night. The win clinched second place in the Central Division for the Jets and home-ice advantage in their first-round playoff series with the Colorado Avalanche. Nikolaj Ehlers also scored. Connor Hellebuyck made 20 saves for the Jets. Yanni Gourde had a goal and assist and Tomas Tatar and Tye Kartye also scored for the Kraken.
Brayden McNabb, Michael Amadio and Nicolas Roy scored, and the Vegas Golden Knights moved into third place in the Pacific Division after defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1. The Knights, who have won three consecutive games, are one point ahead of Los Angeles. If Vegas beats Anaheim on Thursday, the Knights will clinch that spot and face Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs. The Kings host the Blackhawks in their season finale on Thursday night. Logan Thompson made 23 saves for Vegas. He was working on his second shutout of the season before Jason Dickinson scored for Chicago with 3:58 to go.
Tyler Myers had a goal and an assist, Thatcher Demko stopped 39 shots in his return from a knee injury and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Tuesday night to clinch the Pacific Division title. Nils Hoglander, Dakota Joshua and J.T. Miller also scored to help Vancouver win a division for the first time since 2013. The Canucks are two points behind Dallas for the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference, and both teams have one game remaining. Brayden Pachal scored for the Flames and Jacob Markstrom had 27 saves.
NBA
LeBron James had 23 points, nine assists and nine rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers secured a playoff berth with a 110-106 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference play-in tournament. Zion Williamson had 40 points and 11 rebounds in his NBA postseason debut. But shortly after tying the game on a driving layup with 3:19 to go, Williamson went to the locker room with an unspecified leg injury. Anthony Davis had 20 points and 15 rebounds. De'Angelo Russell scored 21, hitting five 3-pointers. The Lakers open the playoffs Saturday at Denver. The Pelicans will host Sacramento on Friday with the winner receiving the No. 8 seed.
Keegan Murray scored 32 points, De’Aaron Fox added 24 and the Sacramento Kings stayed alive in the play-in tournament, eliminating the Golden State Warriors with a 118-94 victory. Sacramento advanced to play at New Orleans on Friday night with a chance to return to the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference after snapping an NBA record 16-year playoff drought last season. The loss kept Golden State out of the playoffs for the third time in the past five seasons, including two eliminations in the play-in tournament.
Zion Williamson’s 40-point, 11-rebound showing in his NBA postseason debut ended in a worrisome way for the New Orleans Pelicans. He missed the final three minutes of a 110-106 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference play-in tournament because of a left leg injury. Williamson is due for imaging Wednesday and his status is unclear heading into a do-or-die play-in finale against Sacramento on Friday night to the decide the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Williamson missed most of his first four seasons because of a series of injuries but played in 70 games this season.
Joel Embiid is again dealing with injuries headed into the NBA playoffs. Embiid tweaked his surgically-repaired left knee last week and sat out the regular-season finale. Sixers coach Nick Nurse remained hopeful that Embiid would be ready to start Wednesday in the NBA play-in tournament game against Miami. The 76ers finished 31-8 this season with Embiid and a woeful 16-27 without him. The Sixers would earn the No. 7 seed and play the New York Knicks in the first round if they beat the Heat. A loss would mean they have to win the next play-in game on Friday to clinch the No. 8 seed.
MLB
Jose Hernandez balked home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, Jeff McNeil added an RBI double and the New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1. Joey Wendle came off the bench and delivered a tying double for the Mets, who have won nine of 12 following an 0-5 start to move over .500 for the first time since early June last year. New York came back to beat the Pirates for the second consecutive night and has won four straight series after dropping its first two. Wendle replaced an ailing Brett Baty at third base in the top of the seventh and doubled off losing pitcher Luis Ortiz moments later. Reed Garrett struck out six over two scoreless innings in relief of Mets starter Jose Quintana.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reached base four times and had two RBIs, Yusei Kikuchi pitched six sharp innings to win for the first time this season and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Yankees 5-4, handing New York its third consecutive loss. Bo Bichette hit an RBI single and Justin Turner added a sacrifice fly as the Blue Jays became the first opponent to win a series against the Yankees. New York had won its first five series for the third time in franchise history. Guerrero went 2 for 3 with two walks and two singles.
José Ramírez hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the 11th inning, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Boston Red Sox 10-7. With no outs and runners on first and second, Ramírez hit a low liner back up the middle against Josh Winckowski. After Brayan Rocchio sacrificed and Bo Naylor was walked intentionally, Estevan Florial added a two-run single. Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase pitched the 10th for the win, surrendering a tying sacrifice fly to Connor Wong. Scott Barlow got three outs for his first save of the season, striking out two.
Ranger Suárez pitched a seven-hitter, Bryce Harper homered and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies 5-0. Suárez struck out eight and walked one in the majors’ second complete game this season. It was the first shutout for a Philadelphia pitcher since Michael Lorenzen’s no-hitter against Washington on Aug. 9. Harper hit an RBI double in the sixth inning and a two-run shot in the eighth. J.T. Realmuto also went deep for Philadelphia, which moved two games over .500 for the first time this season.
Reynaldo López struck out seven over six scoreless innings, Orlando Arcia homered and the Atlanta Braves won their third straight, 6-2 over the Houston Astros. López allowed four hits and walked one in his third straight sterling outing to start the season. He has given up one run in 18 innings for an ERA of 0.50. Arcia hit a solo home run to left in the second and a sacrifice fly in the seventh. The Braves added four runs in the ninth to make it 6-0. Kyle Tucker homered in the ninth for the Astros, who made it 6-2 before Raisel Iglesias got the final out for his fourth save.
Lance Lynn earned his first win for the St. Louis Cardinals in seven years, a 3-2 victory over the Athletics before a season-low crowd of 3,296 at the Oakland Coliseum. Lynn allowed two runs- one earned- and five hits in seven innings, lowering his ERA to 2.18 in four starts. The 36-year-old right-hander went 72-47 for the Cardinals from 2011-17. After pitching for five other teams, he returned to St. Louis during the offseason for an $11 million, one-year contract. JoJo Romero and Ryan Helsley each got three straight outs, with Helsley earning his major league-leading seventh save.
Logan Gilbert allowed three hits in 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball, Julio Rodríguez made two highlight defensive plays in the seventh inning to preserve Seattle’s lead, and the Mariners beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-1. Jonatan Clase had an RBI double in his second major league game and Mitch Haniger added a key two-out RBI single. But Gilbert was overpowering for most of the night and got help from Rodríguez in the field. Rodríguez made a running catch deep in left-center and later threw out Elly De La Cruz at third base to end the inning before Jake Fraley could score and keep it a two-run lead for Seattle.
Amed Rosario drove in the winning run with an infield single and the Tampa Bay Rays scored twice in the 13th inning to complete a late comeback and beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-6. Each team scored once in the 10th and 11th innings and the Angels moved ahead in the top of the 13th. Richie Palacios got the Rays even at 6 with a two-out double in the bottom half of the inning against Carson Fulmer (0-1). Rosario then had a bases-loaded hit down the third-base line that scored Palacios and won it.The Rays rallied to tie it at 3 in the ninth on a two-run, two-out triple by José Caballero off Carlos Estévez. After two getting outs, the Angels closer allowed singles to Harold Ramírez and Amed Rosario.
Gio Urshela had an RBI single and Matt Vierling scored on a wild pitch in the eighth inning to put Detroit ahead, and the Tigers’ pitchers continued their solid play to beat the Texas Rangers 4-2. Andrew Chafin worked 1 1/3 hitless innings on Tuesday. Jason Foley retired pinch-hitter Adolis Garcia for his fifth save of the season. Casey Mize, making his first home start since 2022, went six innings, allowing two runs and five hits. Mize missed most of the 2022 season and all of the 2023 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery and a back operation. Jose Urena took the loss for the Rangers.
Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and Ryan O’Hearn homered, Grayson Rodriguez pitched six solid innings and the Baltimore Orioles trounced the Minnesota Twins 11-3. Colton Cowser had two more hits for the Orioles to raise his average to .405. It was the fourth straight game Baltimore homered at least three times, the first time the team has had a streak that long since 2013. Chris Paddack allowed nine runs and 12 hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Ryan Weathers struck out a career-high 10 before departing because of cramps in his left hand, and the Miami Marlins beat the San Francisco Giants 6-3. Weathers allowed two runs and five hits in six innings. The left-hander warmed up for the seventh, but was replaced by Burch Smith. Luis Arraez had two hits and two RBIs for the Marlins, who improved to 4-14. Josh Bell also had two hits and scored a run. Miami can earn its first series win of the season with a victory on Tuesday night. Matt Chapman homered for San Francisco.
Dylan Cease pitched six strong innings, Ha-Seong Kim hit a three-run homer and the San Diego Padres beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3. Fernando Tatis Jr. had three hits and scored twice as the Padres handed the Brewers their first series loss of the season. San Diego will try to complete a three-game sweep Wednesday afternoon. Sal Frelick had three of the Brewers’ six hits, and William Contreras drove in two runs. Cease walked five batters, but he struck out seven. He surrendered one run and two hits while throwing 110 pitches, three off his career high.
Mookie Betts tied his career high with five hits, doubling twice and driving in two runs to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-2 victory over the Washington Nationals. Betts singled leading off the first against Patrick Corbin and scored as Teoscar Hernández grounded into a double play. Betts hit an RBI double that increased the lead to 3-0 in the second. He singled in the fourth, doubled and scored in the seventh, and hit a run-scoring single that drove in the Dodgers’ final run in the eighth. Andy Pages, a 23-year-old Cuban outfielder, went 1 for 4 in his major league debut for the Dodgers.
Ketel Marte hit a tying solo homer with two outs in the ninth, and Randal Grichuk won it with a pinch-hit RBI double in the 10th, lifting the Arizona Diamondbacks to a wild 12-11 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Grichuk ripped the second pitch he saw from Drew Smyly into the left-center gap, easily scoring Christian Walker from second as D-backs players poured onto the field to celebrate. The Cubs rallied from two three-run deficits, but still couldn’t get the win. Ian Happ hit a go-ahead grand slam as part of a six-run seventh inning that gave Chicago an 11-8 lead.
Kansas City at Chi White Sox 5:40 p.m. (Postponed)
Carl Erskine, who pitched two no-hitters for the Brooklyn Dodgers and was a 20-game winner in 1953 when he struck out a then-record 14 in the World Series, has died at 97 in his hometown of Anderson, Indiana. Among the last survivors from the celebrated Brooklyn teams of the 1950s, Erskine spent his entire major league career with the Dodgers. He helped them win five National League pennants from 1948-59. Erskine won Game 3 of the 1953 World Series, beating the Yankees 3-2. He appeared in five World Series, with the Dodgers beating the Yankees in 1955 for their only championship in Brooklyn.
An Arizona woman who accused former major league pitcher Trevor Bauer of sexual assault has been charged with defrauding the baseball player. An indictment unsealed Monday in Maricopa County Superior Court names Bauer as one of two victims. It charges the woman with felony fraud and theft by extortion but doesn’t provide specific details about the alleged scheme. The woman sued Bauer in 2022 and accused him of rape two years earlier. Bauer has never been arrested or charged and said Tuesday in a video statement that he is innocent. Bauer was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers in January 2023 and has been trying to revive his major league career.
OLYMPICS
LeBron James plans to go back to the Olympics. Stephen Curry is planning on going for the first time. Kevin Durant will go there with his eye on history. And they’re just part of a star-studded roster the Americans have assembled for the Paris Games. USA Basketball has gotten confirmations from 12 players — James, Curry, Durant, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards and Kawhi Leonard — that they will accept invitations to be on the Olympic roster. That's according to three people with knowledge of the decisions who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the roster had not been released.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Kylian Mbappé has scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain reversed its first-leg loss at home to return to the Champions League semifinals with a 4-1 win over Barcelona. PSG took advantage of a first-half red card to Barcelona defender Ronaldo Araujo to advance 6-4 on aggregate and keep its title hopes alive in Mbappé’s last season in Paris. Former Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembélé and Vitinha also scored for PSG after Araujo was sent off in the 29th minute for fouling Bradley Barcola to stop a breakaway. Barcelona had gotten off to a good start and opened the scoring with a goal by Raphinha in the 12th.
Marcel Sabitzer scored late to send Borussia Dortmund into the Champions League semifinals with a helter-skelter 4-2 win over Atlético Madrid. Dortmund had to come from behind twice over two legs to advance 5-4 on aggregate after losing the first leg of the quarterfinal 2-1 in Madrid. Julian Brandt opened the scoring Tuesday to level the tie before Sabitzer set up Ian Maatsen to give Dortmund a 2-0 lead on the night. But a Mats Hummels own goal and goal from substitute Joaquín Correa put the Spanish side back in front on aggregate. Then Sabitzer set up Niclas Füllkrug in the 71st minute and scored himself three minutes later to send Dortmund into the last four.
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