The New York Mets received a gift in their home opener. Michael Conforto was credited with a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded by plate umpire Ron Kulpa, bringing home the winning run in the Mets' 3-2 decision over the Marlins. The pitch was in the strike zone, and Conforto made no attempt to avoid the pitch. Certain camera angles made it unclear he was hit by the pitch. Kulpa admitted to a pool reporter after the game that he should have called Conforto out. The Mets filled the bases after Jeff McNeil led off the bottom of the ninth with a homer. Taijaun Walker looked good in his Mets debut, throwing shutout ball before Miami nicked up for two runs in the sixth.
Also on major league diamonds:
Eduardo Rodríguez won in his return from heart inflammation that caused him to miss the 2020 season, allowing three runs over five innings to lead the Red Sox over the Orioles, 7-3 in Baltimore. Rodríguez gave up four hits, including a two-run homer by Ryan Mountcastle and a solo shot by Pedro Severino. Rafael Devers and Kiké Hernández homered for the Red Sox, who have won four consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 14-18, 2019.
The Angels pulled out a 7-5 win over the Blue Jays on David Fletcher's two-run single in the 11th inning. Los Angeles star Mike Trout went 3 for 5 with a first-inning double and a homer. With the game relocated to Dunedin, Florida, Toronto became the first team in Major League Baseball history to play home openers in three different cities over three consecutive seasons.
Carlos Correa, Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve homered as the Astros beat the Athletics, 6-2 and continued their strong start. Houston is 6-1 this season, tied for the best seven-game start in franchise history after winning its home opener. Cristian Javier scattered three hits with seven strikeouts over five scoreless innings for the win.
Nolan Arenado hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the eighth inning of his home debut with the Cardinals to lead a 3-1 win over the Brewers. Adam Wainwright allowed a run over five innings while starting his sixth home opener, tying the franchise record set by the late Bob Gibson. Alex Reyes finished the six-hitter for his third save, allowing a leadoff single to Omar Narváez in the ninth and stranding him at third.
Jayy Baez hit a go-ahead, two-run home run in the sixth inning to send the Cubs past the Pirates, 4-2. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo also homered as the Cubs pounded out a season-high 11 hits against Tyler Anderson and four relievers. Baez, Rizzo, Bryant and Jake Marisnick had two hits each for Chicago, which raised its major-league worst team batting average from .143 to .157.
White Sox hurler Lance Lynn pitched a five-hitter for the first complete game and shutout in the major leagues this season, a 6-0 whipping of the Royals. Lynn struck out 11 and walked none in his second shutout in 238 career starts, his first since a five-hitter against the New York Yankees on May 27, 2014. Yermín Mercedes kept up his scorching start with a 485-foot homer and Yoán Moncada went deep as well.
Homers by Mitch Garver, Byron Buxton and Luis Arraez backed another strong start by José Berríos as the Twins ripped the Mariners, 10-2. Garver had the three-run shot that got the Twins going in their home opener. Berrios was reached for two runs over 5 2/3 innings, one start after no-hitting the Brewers over six innings.
Jon Gray took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and got his first win of the season in pitching the Rockies over the Diamondbacks, 7-3. Gray allowed three runners through six innings, helped in the sixth when third baseman Ryan McMahon made a barehanded grab of Tim Locastro's grounder. Trevor Story hit a run-scoring double and an RBI triple before Dom Nunez hit a three-run homer.
In MLB news:
New York Mets reliever Dellin Betances has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement. The oft-injured Betances made his season debut yesterday in an 8-2 loss to the Phillies. The former flame-thrower failed to reach 92 mph on the radar gun. New York selected right-hander Trevor Hildenberger to the major league roster and added him to a bullpen that struggled during the first three games of the season in Philadelphia.
Infielder Ketel Marte was placed on the 10-day injured list by the Diamondbacks, a day after hurting his right hamstring against the Rockies. Arizona recalled Andrew Young, who had been with its taxi squad. Marte was injured in the sixth inning of the Diamondbacks' 8-0 loss.
Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was not in the starting lineup against Milwaukee Thursday because of lower back tightness. St. Louis said the move was made for precautionary reasons.
PGA
A Rose looked very good amid the azaleas at Augusta National. Justin Rose opened with a 5-under 65 to grab a four-stroke lead in The Masters. He played the last 11 holes at 9 under and shot 30 on the back side, one off the tournament record shared by Mark Calcaveccia and David Toms. Rose's 65 looked even better on a day so tough only 12 players broke par, and the average score was 74.5. He tied a Masters record by taking at least a share of first-round lead for the fourth time. Rose has a pair of runner-up finishes at Augusta, including a playoff loss to Sergio Garcia four years ago. Brian Harman and Hideki Matsuyama share second, one ahead of Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson, Will Zalatoris, Christiaan Bezuidenhout. Harman was the last player to get into the 88-man field. Defending champion Dustin Johnson struggled after setting the record last year at 20-under 268. He failed to break par at Augusta for the first time since the opening round in 2018, closing with a three-putt for double bogey on the 18th to complete a 74.
NHL
The Islanders blew a 2-0 lead before Ilya Sorokin stopped all five Flyers shootout attempts to help New York post a 3-2 victory. Brock Nelson provided the game-winner as the Isles improved to 4-0 on their six-game homestand. Nelson and Jordan Eberle netted first-period goals 63 seconds apart for the Islanders, who are 17-1-2 at Nassau Coliseum this season.
In other NHL action:
The Isles lead the East Division by two points over Washington following the Capitals' 4-2 loss to the Bruins. Brad Marchand scored a shorthanded goal, Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves to win his second NHL start. Swayman allowed two power-play goals in under 20 seconds to Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie but kept the Bruins ahead when the Capitals tilted the ice toward him in the second period.
The Penguins remain four points off the East lead after Radim Zohorna and Jason Zucker each furnished a goal and an assist in their 5-2 victory over the Rangers. The game was tied at two until Kris Letang and Evan Rodrigues scored in the second period. Tristan Jarry stopped 22 shots for Pittsburgh, which surrendered 15 goals in dropping its previous two games.
Jesper Boqvist scored the go-ahead goal with 11:15 remaining in the Devils' 6-3 win over the Sabres. Pavel Zacha scored two power-play goals and Jack Hughes snapped a 10-game scoring drought while adding two assists. The win snapped the Devils 0-2-2 skid, and came a day after Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac were packaged in a trade to the New York Islanders for two draft picks.
Connor Hellebuyck made 36 saves and the Jets began a five-game trip with a 4-2 verdict over the Canadiens. Josh Morrissey, Trevor Lewis, Nikolaj Ehlers and Andrew Copp as Winnipeg improved to 24-13-3, with only two regulation losses in their last nine games. Phillip Danault and Paul Byron scored for the Canadiens, and Jake Allen made 23 saves.
The Carolina Hurricanes are the new leaders in the NHL's Central Division, moving one point ahead of Florida and staying one ahead of the Lightning. Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves for his third career shutout as the Hurricanes downed the Panthers, 3-0. Vincent Trocheck scored another goal against his former team. Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas also scored for Carolina, which swept a two-game set from the Panthers.
Tampa Bay scored three times in the first six minutes before Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 32 saves, sending the Lightning to a 6-4 win over the Blue Jackets. Blake Coleman roofed a shot 58 seconds in, and then Steven Stamkos and Barclay Goodrow scored a minute apart to put the Blue Jackets in an early hole. Ryan McDonagh tallied twice, and Ross Colton also had a goal as the Lightning stopped a three-game skid and earned a split of the two-game series with Columbus.
Viktor Arvidsson scored three times to lead the surging Predators to their ninth win in 10 games, a 7-1 blowout over the Red Wings. Arvidsson and Nick Cousins scored early and late in the second period to put Nashville ahead 3-1. Juuse Saros stopped 25 saves for the Predators.
Blake Comeau scored twice and Roope Hintz had a goal and three assists as the Stars handled the Blackhawks, 5-1 to end a two-game slide. Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen also scored to help Dallas pull closer in the battle for the fourth place and the final playoff spot in the Central Division. Dominik Kubalik connected for the Blackhawks, who fell four points behind fourth-place Nashville in the Central.
The Oilers completed a nine-game season sweep of the Senators as Devin Shore scored the tiebreaker with 7:02 left in Edmonton's 3-1 victory. Mike Smith made 39 saves, Kailer Yamamoto tallied in the second period and Jesse Puljujarvi added an empty-netter. The Oilers have points in nine of their last 10 games and are within five points of the first-place Maple Leafs in the North Division.
NBA
Nikola Vucevic and Zach Lavine each scored 22 points and the Bulls earned their third straight win by topping the Raptors, 122-113. LaVine and Vucevic combined for 15 points on an early 19-3 run that gave the Bulls their first 10-point lead. LaVine also had 15 assists, and Lauri Markkanen came off the bench to score 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
In other NBA action:
The Dallas Mavericks have dropped the Milwaukee Bucks another half-game out of first place in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Luka Doncic scored 27 points and Kristaps Porzingis had a double-double as the Mavericks dumped the Bucks, 116-101. Porzingis contributed 26 points and 17 rebounds playing on consecutive days for the first time in two months. Porzingis scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including eight in a row while giving Dallas the lead for good. Donte DiVincenzo scored 22 points for the Bucks, who dropped to 1-2 since reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo left the lineup due to left knee soreness. The outcome puts Milwaukee 3 1/2 games behind the East-leading Nets.
Donovan Mitchell scored 37 points to lead the Jazz to their 23rd straight home victory, 122-103 over the Trail Blazers. Rudy Gobert had 18 points and 21 rebounds for the Jazz, who won the battle of the boards, 58-41 while snapping a two-game skid. Utah went on a 25-4 run over a six-minute stretch to take a 93-72 lead.
The Clippers earned a 113-103 win over the Suns as Paul George and Kawhi Leonard combined for 60 points. George was 7 of 9 from 3-point range while scoring 33 points in 30 minutes. Leonard furnished 19 of his 27 points in the second half for Los Angeles, which hit 18 3s.
Jimmy Butler scored 28 points to lead the Heat past the Lakers, 110-104. Victor Oladipo added 18 points but limped off the court, favoring his right knee, after a dunk late in the fourth quarter. Tyler Herro finished with 15 points for the Heat, who bounced back from Tuesday's 12-point home loss against Memphis.
Cory Joseph had a season-high 24 points and seven assists in his first game against his former team, helping the Pistons beat the Kings by a 113-101 margin. Isaiah Stewart added 16 points and 13 rebounds in place of injured Mason Plumlee for the Pistons. Jhalil Okafor had 11 points in his first game since missing 27 straight due to left knee surgery.
Collin Sexton provided 27 points to help the Cavaliers beat the Thunder for the first time in their last six meetings, 129-102. Taurean Prince scored 22 points and Cleveland began the second half with an 11-0 run to break the game open. Kevin Love had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs.
In NBA news:
Toronto Raptors guards DeAndre' Bembry and Fred Van Vleet and Los Angeles Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker have been suspended one game without pay following their fight in Tuesday night's game. The suspensions were the result of the three players leaving their bench areas during the scuffle in the Lakers' 110-101 win. Also, Toronto's OG Anunoby and Montrezl Harrell of Los Angeles were fined for their roles, leading to their ejections. The altercation came in the first quarter after Dennis Schroder fouled Anunoby's layup attempt. Schroder and Anunoby squared off and other players became involved.
Hawks forward John Collins will be out at least another 7-to-10 days with a sprained left ankle. The team announced that Collins has progressed to drills such lateral shuffling and individual court work. Collins was injured in a March 30 loss at Phoenix.
Golden State Warriors President and chief operating officer Rick Welts will leave his job after this season but stay with the organization as an adviser. The Warriors said Thursday they expect to name a successor within a week.
NFL
Authorities in South Carolina say former NFL player Phillip Adams fatally shot five people including a prominent doctor, his wife and their two grandchildren before killing himself. York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson told a news conference Thursday that investigators had not yet determined a motive. Tolson said evidence at the scene of Wednesday's shootings led authorities to Adams at his parents' nearby home. He was later found dead in a bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head. Adams played in 78 NFL games over five seasons for six teams. He joined the 49ers in 2010 as a seventh-round draft pick out of South Carolina State.
Also, the Detroit Lions have signed safety Dean Marlowe, hoping he can help a defense that was one of the worst in NFL history last season. Marlowe just completed its third NFL season, playing 15 games for the Buffalo Bills last year. He had a career-high two interceptions along with 16 tackles and a fumble recovery last season. Detroit gave up 519 points and 6,716 yards last season, breaking team records set by its winless team in 2008.
TENNIS
For the second year in a row, the traditional French Open schedule is being disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. The clay-court Grand Slam tennis tournament said Thursday it will push back the start of this season's event by one week because of surging virus cases in France. It was scheduled to start on May 23, but first-round matches will now get underway on May 30. This year's Australian Open was delayed by three weeks because of the virus, and quarantine restrictions affected the preparations of several players.
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