Taijuan Walker and Kevin Pillar have joined a long list of injured Mets players as both were forced to leave New York's 3-1 win over the Braves. Walker pitched only three innings before exiting with tightness in his left side. Pillar was hit square in the face by a pitch from Jacob Webb and knocked to the ground with blood pouring from his nose. The veteran outfielder was quickly helped to his feet with towels covering his face as he was escorted off the field. After the game, Pillar went to the hospital for a CT scan — he says on Twitter that he's doing "fine." Meanwhile, outfielder Michael Conforto and second baseman Jeff McNeil were added to the 10-day IL with hamstring injuries.
In other MLB action:
Adolis Garcia and Willie Calhoun homered as the Texas Rangers ended a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the New York Yankees. Texas denied Gerrit Cole's bid to become the American League's first six-game winner. Rangers right-hander Jordan Lyles fanned six in six innings to win for the first time in his last eight starts.
Willson Contreras, Jason Heyward and Javier Báez homered off Jon Lester in his return to Chicago, and the Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 7-3. Lester and Kyle Schwarber, two key members of Chicago's 2016 World Series championship team, heard loud cheers all night long in their first game against their former team.
Logan Webb pitched six shutout innings and the San Francisco Giants backed him with three home runs, beating the Cincinnati Reds 6-3. Wilmer Flores, Mike Yastrzemski and Mauricio Dubón homered for the NL West-leading Giants. Webb gave up six hits, struck out four and walked a batter. The Reds left the bases loaded in the second inning, but Webb didn't allow a runner past second for the rest of his outing and induced a pair of double-play balls. Nick Castellanos and Eugenio Suárez hit back-to-back homers for the Reds in the eighth.
Yu Darvish struck out 10 in seven brilliant innings and also doubled and scored, and Manny Machado hit a two-run homer for the San Diego Padres, who beat the Colorado Rockies 7-0 for their fourth straight win. The Padres are 6-1 since last Tuesday, when star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. tested positive for the coronavirus before a game at Colorado and right fielder Wil Myers and first baseman Eric Hosmer were pulled from the game. A positive test was returned for Myers while Hosmer was put in the contact tracing protocol.
Albert Pujols delivered an RBI single in his Dodgers debut, and Walker Buehler pitched seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball in Los Angeles' 3-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Pujols went 1 for 4 while playing first base and batting cleanup for the defending World Series champions, who formally signed the 10-time All-Star on Monday after the Los Angeles Angels cut him earlier this month. Eduardo Escobar had an RBI single in the eighth for Arizona, which opened a four-game series at Chavez Ravine with its fifth loss in six games. Buehler dominated Arizona except one wild stretch in the fourth.
Eric Haase hit two home runs, Casey Mize took a two-hit shutout into the eighth inning and the Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners 4-1. The Tigers, who began the day 12 games under .500, have won six of eight. Seattle's three-game winning streak ended. Mize allowed just three hits and permitted only two runners past first base in a career-high 7 2/3 innings. It was his second straight win and fourth consecutive quality start. Mize, the 24-year-old centerpiece of Detroit's rebuild and the overall No. 1 pick in the 2018, struck out seven — that matched his career high, set in his debut last year.
Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 13th home run and the Los Angeles Angels defeated the slumping Cleveland Indians 7-4 after star outfielder Mike Trout was injured early. Trout strained his right calf in the first inning. The three-time AL MVP was limping after running to third on an inning-ending popup. Ohtani drove Sam Hentges' fastball into the seats in right-center during a five-run second to give the Angels a 6-1 lead. The Japanese superstar, who hit the go-ahead homer with two outs in the ninth inning Sunday at Boston, has gone deep in consecutive games twice this season.
Nick Madrigal had three hits, including his first major league homer, and Danny Mendick launched his first career grand slam as the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 16-4. Seven players had multiple hits for Chicago, which posted season highs in runs and hits, with 18. Dallas Keuchel was the beneficiary, pitching seven innings and allowing three runs on seven hits. J.A. Happ was roughed up again by the White Sox.
In MLB news:
New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left quad strain. Stanton missed all three games in their weekend series at Baltimore. Stanton is hitting .282 with nine homers and 24 RBIs in 33 games this season. He is 3 for 25 since homering in three consecutive games May 4-6.
The Houston Astros will allow maximum attendance starting May 25. The Boston Red Sox announced earlier Monday that they will fill Fenway Park to capacity as of May 29, making them one of the first teams in major league baseball to play to a full house. The Texas Rangers played to 100% capacity for opening day, and the Atlanta Braves on May 7 were the first MLB team to go to full capacity full-time.
NHL
Brad Marchand scored 39 seconds into overtime and the Boston Bruins rallied to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 and even the East Division first-round series at a game apiece. Marchand was Boston's OT hero in a game in which he made more noise for taking post-whistle penalties than producing. The Bruins' leading scorer, who ranked third in the NHL in points, looked more like himself on the one-timer he ripped past Craig Anderson in overtime. Taylor Hall tied it with 2:49 left in regulation for the Bruins. Game 3 is Wednesday night in Boston.
In other NHL playoff action:
Nathan MacKinnon scored the tiebreaking goal 30 seconds into the third period and later added an empty-netter, Philipp Grubauer stopped 22 shots and the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Gabriel Landeskog also added a third-period goal by tipping in a blue-line blast from MacKinnon. Cale Makar got things started with a power-play goal in the first period. Game 2 is Wednesday. Jordan Kyrou scored his first postseason goal for a Blues team missing leading scorer David Perron, who's out due to the NHL's virus protocols.
Jordan Staal scored twice and Nino Niederreiter beat Juuse Saros for the go-ahead goal early in the third period, helping the Carolina Hurricanes to a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators in the first game of the teams' first-round playoff series. Niederreiter hammered the puck past Saros from between the circles at 2:26 of the third. Staal followed midway through the third by corralling a loose puck and beating Saros. Teuvo Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov also scored for Carolina. Filip Forsberg and Erik Haula scored for Nashville. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday.
In NHL news, Vancouver Canucks forward Jake Virtanen has been accused in a lawsuit of sexually assaulting a woman four years ago. The suit was filed last week in British Columbia and alleges Virtanen took the unidentified woman to a hotel in West Vancouver and assaulted her as she repeatedly said no and pleaded with him to stop. The allegations have not been tested in court and a defense statement has not been filed. On May 1, the Canucks placed the 24-year-old player on leave. The team said then it was pursuing an independent investigation.
NBA
The matchups for the NBA's new play-in tournament are set. It starts Tuesday with the Eastern Conference: No. 10 Charlotte at No. 9 Indiana and No. 8 Washington at No. 7 Boston. And things shift to the West on Wednesday: No. 10 San Antonio at No. 9 Memphis and No. 8 Golden State at the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron James and Stephen Curry have squared off four times for championships, when Warriors vs. Cleveland was an annual NBA Finals matchup. They'll square off Wednesday for a different prize — the No. 7 seed in the West.
In other NBA news:
Marv Albert plans to retire after the Eastern Conference finals, ending a broadcasting career spanning nearly 60 years. Albert will call the series for TNT. He has been with Turner Sports for 22 years, 19 as an NBA play-by-play announcer. Albert, known for his signature "Yes!" call, turns 80 next month. He has covered everything from football and boxing to hockey, baseball and tennis. But he is linked most to basketball, having called 13 NBA Finals and 25 All-Star Games for NBC and Turner, along with the Dream Team's romp to the gold medal in the 1992 Olympics.
Zion Williamson's name has surfaced in court documents that are part of a lawsuit filed against Adidas by another player who was at the center of the federal investigation into college basketball, and never got the opportunity to play in college. According to the documents, an employee of the apparel maker allegedly funneled money through his company to Williamson's family while the New Orleans Pelicans star and former Duke All-American was in high school. The lawsuit was filed by Brian Bowen II, who initially signed with Louisville and then later with South Carolina. Bowen became entangled in the federal corruption investigation into the sport when his father accepted payments for his son to play for Louisville.
THOROUGHBRED RACING
Bob Baffert has been temporarily suspended from entering horses at New York racetracks pending an investigation of the failed drug test by Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit. Baffert's ban in New York includes races at Belmont Park with the Belmont Stakes being run on June 5. The New York Racing Association made the announcement Monday. Baffert had not committed to entering any horses in the third leg of the Triple Crown but had many in consideration for other races on Belmont Stakes day. Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for the steroid betamethasone in post-race testing and faces disqualification unless a second test comes back negative. Medina Spirit finished third in the Preakness on Saturday.
NFL
The Patriots have signed veteran offensive linemen James Ferentz and Alex Redmond. Ferentz returns to New England, where he's appeared in 24 games over the past four seasons. The 31-year-old also previously spent two seasons in Denver and one in Houston. Redmond was signed by Cincinnati as an undrafted free agent in 2017. The 26-year-old has played mostly at right guard and has appeared in 32 games for the Bengals since then, including 24 starts.
In other NFL news:
The Philadelphia Eagles and four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Ryan Kerrigan have agreed on a one-year contract. The 32-year-old Kerrigan played 10 seasons in Washington and is the franchise's all-time leader with 95 1/2 sacks. Kerrigan had 5 1/2 sacks last season for the NFC East champions but played a career-low 38 percent of the snaps.
The Green Bay Packers have signed Kurt Benkert in their latest attempt to add quarterback depth while MVP Aaron Rodgers' future with the team remains unclear. Green Bay has signed both Benkert and former Jacksonville Jaguars starting quarterback Blake Bortles over the past week. Rodgers and 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love had been the only quarterbacks on the Packers' roster. The 25-year-old Benkert has never appeared in an NFL regular-season game.
The Denver Broncos have hired Kelly Kleine as executive director of football operations and special adviser to the general manager. She is believed to be the highest-ranking female scouting executive ever with an NFL team. Kleine spent the last nine seasons working with Broncos first-year GM George Paton with the Minnesota Vikings.
The Indianapolis Colts' career sacks leader, Robert Mathis, will be inducted into the Colts Ring of Honor later this year. The ceremony will take place at halftime of its Nov. 28 game against Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay. Mathis was supposed to become the 17th honoree last season but the induction was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Jacksonville Jaguars signed sixth-round draft pick Jalen Camp on Monday and waived third-year running back Ryquell Armstead. Armstead spent all of last season on the COVID-19 list.. Armstead became expendable after the emergence of running back James Robinson in 2020. Under the NFL's rookie slotting system, Camp's four-year deal is worth about $3.64 million.
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