Armadillo Sports

— Dodgers 4, Rockies 1
Shohei Ohtani led off the first inning with a home run.
Ohtani also pitched six innings, didn’t allow a hit.
Rockies have lost their last ten games in Dodger Stadium.

— Brewers 2, Cardinals 1
Dustin May no-hit Milwaukee for the first seven innings.
Brewers scored the winning run on an error by the St Louis SS.
St Louis has lost seven of its last nine games.

— Phiilies 3, Padres 0
Cristopher Sanchez pitched seven shutout innings.
Sanchez has thrown 44.2 consecutive scoreless IP, the all-time Phillies’ record.
Phillies are 20-7 in their last 27 games.

— Astros 4, Rangers 3
Yordan Alvarez homered twice for the second night in a row.
Joc Pederson also hit two home runs, scored three runs.
Texas is 9-13 against its AL West rivals.

— Umpire Emil Jimenez had a rough night behind the plate at the Reds-Mets game Tuesday night. Teams challenged nine of his pitch calls; seven of the nine calls were overturned.

— Mets 4, Reds 2
Juan Soto homered for second day in a row, Mets snap a five-game skid.
In their last seven games, Mets have scored a total of 12 runs.
In this game, Cincinnati left 17 men on base, was 3-15 with RISP.

— In 2022, Aaron Judge hit 62 home runs; here are the counts he hit them on:
0-0- 10 home runs
1-0- 8 home runs
2-0- 3 home runs

0-1- 4 home runs
1-1- 6 home runs
2-1- 6 home runs
3-1- 4 home runs

0-2- 2 home runs
1-2- 5 home runs
2-2- 5 home runs
3-2- 9 home runs

— Famous birthdays, May 27th:
Tom Blanchard, 78
Steve Watson, 69
Bill Doran, 68
Ed Rubbert, 64

Glen Rice, 59
Michael Oher, 40
Craig Kimbrel, 38
Rafi Gavron, 37

— Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce became part of the Cleveland Guardians’ ownership group as a minority investor; Kelce grew up in Cleveland. Must be nice to be really rich.

— Northern Arizona is playing a basketball game at New Mexico November 10th; Lumberjacks are getting a check for $88,000 from New Mexico for making the trip to Albuquerque.

— Guardians 3, Nationals 2
Gavin Williams tossed 7 IP, retired last 13 batters he faced.
Cade Smith recorded his 19th save of the season.
James Wood went 8-for-12 in this series, scoring fine runs.

— Tigers 4, Angels 0
Five Tiger pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout.
Detroit’s win snapped their seven-game home losing skid.
Loss snapped the Angels’ four-game winning streak. 

— Cubs 10, Pirates 4
Ian Happ hit a three-run homer, had five RBI.
Cubs snapped their ten-game losing skid.
This was the 2,000th regular season game at PNC Park (Pirates 1003-996-1)

— Blue Jays’ C Tyler Heineman threw out four Marlins runners trying to steal a base Tuesday, the first time any major league catcher has done that since 2011.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres-Cardinals-Arizona
AL: Rays, Guardians, Mariners. Wild Cards: New York-White Sox-Min/Tor

— Pirates 12, Cubs 1
Pirates scored five runs in the first inning.
Esmeryn Valdez hit his second HR in his 4th MLB game.
Cubs have now lost ten games in a row.

— It is still May; the Cubs have two ten-game winning streaks and a ten-game losing streak. Only other team to do that over a full season; the 2017 Dodgers. 

— Reds 7, Mets 2
Reds got six runs, 11 hits, 3 walks in five innings off of David Peterson.
Cincinnati bullpen got the last 11 outs, giving up one hit.
Mets have lost five in row, scoring six runs on 25 hits in those games.

— At one point last year, the Mets were 45-24, at the time the best record in the National League. Since then, they are 60-88.

— Rangers 10, Astros 7
Monday night, Texas didn’t get any hits, lost 9-0.
Tuesday night, Texas scored eight runs in the first inning.
Yordan Alvarez homered twice, had four RBI for Houston.

— Angels 10, Tigers 6
Detroit led 6-4 after seven innings.
Vaughn Grissom hit a grand slam, had six RBI.
Tigers have lost 12 of their last 14 games.

— Kyle Schwarber has 21 home runs; here are the counts he hit them on:
0-0- 5 home runs
1-0- 2 home runs
0-1- 3 home runs
1-1- 1 home run

2-1- 3 home runs
3-1- 1 home run
1-2- 2 home runs
3-2- 4 home runs

— Famous birthdays, May 26th:
Lee Meriwether, 91
Jackie Slater, 72
Richard Schiff, 71
Allen Leavell, 69

Peri Gilpin, 65
John Jaha, 60
George McCloud, 59
Frank Thomas, 58

Jeff Bagwell, 58
Garrett Richards, 38
Yoan Moncada, 31
Daniel Jones, 29

— Thunder 127, Spurs 114
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points, had nine assists.
Thunder were +29 in the 31:00 Cason Wallace played.
Alex Caruso scored 22 points in 28:00 off the bench.
Oklahoma City leads the series, 3-2. 

— Chargers gave S Derwin James a three-year deal worth $75.6M, making him the highest-paid safety in the NFL.

— Braves 7, Red Sox 6
Michael Harris was 4-for-4, homered, had three RBI.
First two batters of the game for Boston hit home runs.
Atlanta leads the NL East by 8.5 games.

— Twins 5, White Sox 3 (11)
Brooks Lee hit a bases-loaded double in the 11th inning.
Munetaka Murakami hit his 19th homer for the White Sox.
Minnesota has won seven of its last nine games.

— Chances are, umpire Chris Segal isn’t enjoying the ABS challenge system. He’s had 51 pitches challenged this season, which is a lot, and 35 (68.6%) of those calls were overturned.

— RIP Bob Horner, who passed away this week. Horner played for the Braves from 1978-86; he was the first Atlanta Brave to hit four home runs in a game. He hit 218 home runs, was Rookie of the Year in 1978.

Bob Horner was 68 years old. RIP, sir.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres-Cardinals-Arizona
AL: Rays, Guardians, A’s. Wild Cards: New York-White Sox-Twins

— Astros 9, Rangers 0
Tatsuya Imai, two relievers combined to pitch a no-hitter.
Christian Walker hit his 4th home run in his last three games.
Texas falls to 24-29, in third place in a bad AL West.

— That was the 18th no-hitter in Astros’ history; five of the 18 were combined no-hitters.

— Orioles 9, Rays 7 (13)
Colton Cowser hit his second walk-off HR in Baltimore’s last three games.
Rays lost on a walk-off homer for the second day in a row.
Tampa Bay’s bullpen allowed seven runs in the last three innings.
Only second MLB games this season that reached the 13th inning.

— Reds 7, Mets 2
Nolan McLean gave up seven runs in 3.2 IP.
Mets lost their last four games, outscored 17-4.
With the 2nd-highest payroll in MLB, Mets are 22-32, 3-11 vs lefty starters.

— Mets are 21-9 when they score 3+ runs, 1-23 when they score less than three.

— Pirates 2, Cubs 1
Henry Davis had the go-ahead homer in the 7th inning.
Pittsburgh bullpen allowed one baserunner in four IP.
Cubs have lost nine games in a row, and 13 of last 15.

— Major League leaders in hits:
70- Otto Lopez, Mia
64- Luis Arraez, SF/Xavier Edwards, Mia
63- Bobby Witt Jr, KC
61- Ernie Clement, Tor
60- Riley Greene Det/Shea Langeliers A’s/Elly De La Cruz Cin

— Famous birthdays, May 26th:
Darrell Evans, 79
Pam Grier, 77
Dan Pastorini, 77
Philip Michael Thomas, 77
Tom McMillen, 74

Wesley Walker, 71
Margaret Colin, 68
Travis Lee, 51
Ben Zobrist, 45
Paul Sewald, 36

— Knicks 130, Cavaliers 93
Knicks are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
New York made 19 of its 43 three-point shots.
Knicks have won 11 games in a row, ten of them by 10+ points.
Knicks now have nine days off until the NBA finals start June 3rd.

— Vanderbilt missed the NCAA baseball tournament for the first time since 2005. LSU is the 7th defending national champ to miss the baseball tournament the next year.

— White Sox 3, Twins 1
Munetaka Murakami hit his 18th home run.
Anthony Kay allowed one run, five hits in six IP (94 PT)
Twins have lost their last seven games against Chicago.

— Last three years, White Sox lost 102-121-101 games; this year, they’re 27-26. Will Venable is your early leader for AL Manager of the Year.

— Bronx 4, Royals 3
Anthony Volpe hit a two-run single in the 9th inning.
Bobby Witt Jr had put the Royals ahead with an 8th inning homer.
Kansas City has lost 12 games in a row against Bronx.

— Nationals 10, Guardians 2
Washington hit six home runs, two by Luis Garcia Jr.
Zack Littell pitched seven IP, after an opener pitched the first 2 innings.
Nationals are 18-11 on the road, 10-16 at home.

— Phillies 3, Padres 0
Kyle Schwarber hit his 21st home run, most in MLB.
Jesus Luzardo allowed four hits in his six IP.
Phillies are 3-4 in last seven games, scoring total of 17 runs.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres-Cardinals-Arizona
AL: Rays, Guardians, A’s. Wild Cards: New York-White Sox-Twins

— Monday is Memorial Day, a national holiday, but there are only 13 major league games, so four teams have a national holiday off. You’d think that attendance would be better on a holiday but the schedule makers have a different idea. 

Plus, Toronto is playing at home, even though Memorial Day isn’t a holiday in Canada.

— Astros 8, Cubs 5
Cubs have already had two ten-game winning streaks this season; now, they have an 8-game losing streak.

Christian Walker hit a three-run homer for the Astros.
Houston has won four of its last five games.

— Marlins 4, Mets 0
Heriberto Hernandez hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning.
It was the first walk-off grand slam in the major leagues since 2013.
Mets got swept in Miami, going 11-88 at the plate, scoring 2 runs in the three games.

— A’s 5, Padres 2
Carlos Cortes led the game off by hitting a home run.
Nick Kurtz extended his 0n-base streak to 47 consecutive games; the record is 84.
4-3 road trip to southern California this week for the first place A’s.

— Dodgers 5, Brewers 1
Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in seven IP.
Kyle Tucker put LA ahead for good with a two-run triple.
Dodgers wound up their three-city road trip with a 7-2 record.

Dodgers’ bullpen hasn’t allowed a run in its last 36 innings pitched.

— Angels 2, Rangers 1
Reid Detmers allowed one hit, struck out 14 in eight IP.
Jake Burger’s 2nd inning home run was the only hit he gave up.
Winning run scored in bottom of 9th on a throwing error.

— Major league RBI leaders:
45- CJ Abrams, Wsh/Andy Pages, LA
44- Liam Hicks, Mia
42- Jordan Walker StL/Matt Olson Atl
38- Drake Baldwin Atl/Jonathan Aranda, TB

— Famous birthdays, May 25th:
Leslie Uggams, 83
Karen Valentine, 79
Bob Knepper, 72
Mike Myers, 63

Todd Walker, 53
Miguel Tejada, 52
Brian Urlacher, 48
Chris Young, 47

Kevin O’Connell, 41
Michael King, 31
Jake Fraley, 31
Cam Ward, 24

Missed two birthdays yesterday; the great musician Bob Dylan turned 85, and Buck Showalter turned 70. We could use more Buck Showalter on TV analyzing baseball games.

— Spurs 103, Thunder 82
San Antonio led 50-38 at halftime.
Victor Wembanyama scored 33 points, had five assists.
Series is now tied, 2-2.

— UFL standings:
7-2- Orlando
6-3- St Louis
5-4- DC Defenders
5-4- Louisville
4-5- Birmingham
3-6- Houston
3-6- Dallas
3-6- Columbus

— Twins 6, Red Sox 5
Minnesota has won 10 of its last 14 games.
Red Sox fell to 8-17 at home on a rainy, cruddy day.
Boston 1B Willson Contreras got his 1,000th career hit this weekend.

— Bronx 4, Rays 0
Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth.
Good pitching duel between Drew Rasmussen/Ryan Weathers.
Tampa Bay still leads the AL East by 4.5 games.

— Nationals 2, Braves 1
Foster Griffin allowed three hits in six scoreless IP.
Washington is 17-11 on the road, 10-16 at home.
This was only second series Atlanta (14-2-1) has lost this year.

— Major league leaders, runs scored:
45- James Wood, Wash
41- Brice Turang Mil/Aaron Judge NYY
39- Drake Baldwin Atl/Mike Trout LAA
38- Xavier Edwards, Mia

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres-Cardinals-Cubs
AL: Rays, Guardians, A’s. Wild Cards: New York-White Sox-Twins

— Marlins 4, Mets 1
Liam Hicks hit two home runs.
Max Meyer allowed one hit in seven shutout IP.
Mets lost four of their last five games, are in last place.

— NL East standings:
Braves —
Phillies 9.5 GB
Nationals 10 GB
Marlins 12 GB
Mets 13.5 GB

— Astros 3, Cubs 0
Christian Walker hit two home runs.
Kai-Wei Teng allowed two hits in his six IP.
Cubs have lost seven in a row, 11 of last 13 games.

— Cardinals 8-6, Reds 1-7 (10)
Teams split a twin bill caused by Friday’s rainout.
Jordan Walker knocked in seven runs in the two games.
Bryan Torres homered in his MLB debut for St Louis.

— NL Central standings:
Brewers —
Cardinals 2 GB
Cubs 2.5 GB
Reds 4.5 GB
Pirates 5.5 GB

— Phillies 3, Guardians 0
Zack Wheeler pitched six shutout innings.
Phillies are 6-0 in Wheeler’s starts this season.
Start of the game was delayed two hours by rain.
Loss snaps Cleveland’s seven-game winning streak.

— Twins 4, Red Sox 2
Trevor Larnach was 4-for-5, scored twice.
Taj Bradley allowed three hits in 5 IP, in his return from the IL.
Minnesota has won nine of its last 13 games.

— Famous birthdays, May 24th:
Gary Burghoff, 83
Mitch Kupchak, 72
Kristin Scott Thomas, 66
Pete Metzelaars, 66

Joe Dumars, 63
John C Reilly, 61
Jerry Dipoto, 58
Jeff Zgonina, 56

Bartolo Colon, 53
Dash Mihok, 52
Tracy McGrady, 47
Aaron Ashby, 28

— Knicks 121, Cavaliers 108
Jalen Brunson scored 30 points, had six assists.
Knicks have won 10 in a row, nine of them by 10+ points.
Cleveland was only 12-41 behind the arc.
New York leads series, 3-0.

— Blue Jays 5, Pirates 2
George Springer hit his 65th career leadoff home run.
Toronto has won four in a row, seven of last ten games.
Blue Jays are 15-11 at home, 10-16 on the road.

— AL East standings:
Rays —
Bronx 5.5 GB
Blue Jays 10.5 GB
Red Sox 13 GB
Orioles 13 GB

— Giants 10, White Sox 3
Harrison Bader hit his second grand slam in a week.
Giants had scored total of 12 runs in their previous four games.
San Francisco bullpen got the last 13 outs, not allowing a run.

— AL Central standings:
Guardians —
White Sox 3.5 GB
Twins 5 GB
Royals 9 GB
Tigers 10 GB

— They’ve been talking on Mets’ TV broadcasts this week how official scorers give out a lot more hits now on marginal scoring decisions. Teams have their lowest batting averages since 1968, the year before they lowered the pitching mounds (and added four new teams).

There was a play Saturday night in Miami where Xavier Edwards was gifted a hit, when it was obviously an error. Official scoring needs to get better.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres-Cardinals-Cubs
AL: Rays, Guardians, A’s. Wild Cards: New York-Min/Tor

— Guardians 1, Phillies 0
Kyle Manzardo hit a pinch-ht home run in 9th inning.
Quite a pitching duel; Cristopher Sanchez-Gavin Williams.
Game took only 2:05 to play, on a drizzly night.

— Rays 4, New York 2
Tampa Bay scored four runs in the 8th inning.
Gerrit Cole threw six scoreless IP in his return from the IL.
Tampa Bay leads the AL East by 5.5 games.

— Marlins 2, Mets 1
Eury Perez gave up two hits in a strong 6.1 IP.
Owen Caissie knocked in both of the Marlins’ runs.
Juan Soto was 2-for-3 with a HR; rest of the Mets were 1-for-25.

— Brewers 5, Dodgers 1
William Contreras hit a three-run homer in the first inning.
Six of the first seven Milwaukee batters in the game got hits.
Logan Henderson threw five shutout IP for the first-place Brewers.

— Rockies 3, Diamondbacks 2
Arizona led 2-1 after seven innings.
TJ Rumfield tied the game with an 8th inning double.
Chad Stevens won the game with a 9th inning single.
Colorado improves to 10-17 on the road.

— Famous birthdays, May 23rd
Joan Collins, 93
Drew Carey, 68
Rich Karlis, 67

Jay Feely, 50
Kirk Saarloos, 47
Jordan Zimmerman, 40

Chad Hall, 40
Aaron Donald, 35
Jonathan Aranda, 28

— Cubs catcher Carson Kelly has challenged 26 called balls this season; 22 of the 26 pitches were changed to strikes, that’s the best percentage of any catcher this season.

— Payroll for USC’s football team this fall is scheduled to be $37M; QB Jayden Malava is going to be paid $2.5M.

— LSU’s football team hired its former head coach Ed Orgeron as an assistant coach who will work in recruiting/defense. As a head coach, Orgeron led LSU led to the 2019 national title. He is a great recruiter.

— Thunder 123, Spurs 108
San Antonio started the game on a 15-0 run.
Thunder’s bench outscored San Antonio’s subs, 76-23.
Oklahoma City was +28 in 24:00 Alex Caruso played.
Thunder leads series, 2-1

— Knicks 109, Cavaliers 93
Jalen Brunson scored 19 points, had 14 assists.
Knicks outscored Cleveland 32-21 in third quarter.
Cavaliers shot only 9-35 on the arc.
Knicks have won their last nine games, lead this series, 2-0.

— In the history of the NBA, teams leading a best-0f-7 series 2-0 won 336 of 365 series.

— Movie of the Day: A Few Good Men (1992)- A military lawyer intends to prove that two US Marines charged with murdering a fellow Marine were only following their base commander’s orders.

Tom Cruise is the lawyer, Kevin Pollak/Demi Moore are lawyers helping him on the case. Kevin Bacon is the opposing lawyer; Kiefer Sutherland, JT Walsh, Noah Wyle, Joshua Molina are also in this epic cast, but the biggest star is Jack Nicholson, who plays Colonel Jessup- his testimony on the witness stand is one of the best scenes in movie history. 

Aaron Sorkin wrote the film, Rob Reiner directed it. An excellent movie.

— Mariners 2, Royals 0
Mitch Garver hit a two-run homer in the 7th inning.
Logan Gilbert got 17 outs, allowing only two hits.
Royals scored nine runs in their last six games.

— Astros 4, Cubs 2
Spencer Arrighetti threw 5 scoreless IP; he is 6-1, 1.32 this season.
Christian Vazquez homered, had two RBI.
Cubs have lost six in a row, 10 of last 12 games.

— Angels 9, Rangers 6
Zach Neto hit two home runs for the Halos.
Wade Meckler hit the first pitch he saw in the majors for a three-run homer.
Jacob deGrom took the loss, giving up six runs in three IP.

— White Sox 9, Giants 4
Chicago scored all nine of its runs in the 4th inning.
Davis Martin got the win; he is 7-1, 2.04 this year.
Last three years, White Sox lost 324 games; they’re 26-24 this year.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres-Cardinals-Cubs
AL: Rays, Guardians, A’s. Wild Cards: New York-White Sox-Mariners

NL East
Trends are thru May 21st
— Braves (35-16)
Braves are 9-3 in their last dozen games.
Atlanta is 20-12 vs righty starters, 15-4 vs lefties.
Braves’ last five games went over the total.

— Marlins (22-29)
Marlins are 15-15 at home, 7-14 on road.
Miami is 1-6 in last seven series openers.
Marlins’ last nine games went over the total.

— Mets (15-25)
Mets won seven of their last ten games. 
New York is 3-10 vs lefty starting pitchers.
Mets are 13-1 when they score 5+ runs.

— Phillies (25-25)
Phillies are 16-6 in their last 22 games.
Under is 8-2 in their last ten games.
Phiilies are 18-13 vs righty starters, 7-12 vs lefties.

— Nationals (25-26)
Nationals are 10-16 at home, 15-10 on the road.
Over is 12-4 in their last sixteen games.
Nationals are 14-20 vs righty starters, 11-6 vs lefties.

NL Central
— Cubs (29-21)
Chicago lost five in row, nine of last 11 games.
Cubs scored 31 runs in those eleven games.
Under is 8-4 in their last dozen games.

— Reds (26-24)
Reds lost their last seven games, when winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Over is 16-4 in their last 20 home games.
Reds are 18-21 vs righty starters, 8-3 vs lefties.

— Brewers (29-18)
Milwaukee is 19-5 in its last 24 games.
Milwaukee is 22-2 when they score 5+ runs.
Under is 11-4-2 in their last 17 games.

— Pirates (26-24)
Pirates are 5-7 in their last 12 games.
Pittsburgh is 22-15 vs righty starters, 4-9 vs lefties.
Four of their last five games stayed under the total.

— Cardinals (28-21)
St Louis is 14-8 in its last 22 games.
St Louis is 13-13 at home, 15-8 on the road.
Cardinals are 10-3 in one-run games.

NL West
— Diamondbacks (26-23)
Arizona won nine of its last twelve games.
Diamondbacks are 18-20 vs righty starters, 8-3 vs lefties.
Arizona is 2-7 in road series openers.

— Rockies (19-32)
Rockies are 5-15 in their last 20 games.
Colorado is 15-23 vs righty starters, 4-9 vs lefties.
Over is 7-3 in their last ten road games. 

— Dodgers (31-19)
Dodgers are 7-1 in their last eight games.
Under is 6-3 in their last nine games.
Dodgers are 27-2 when they score 4+ runs.

— Padres (29-20)
San Diego is 13-4 in games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Under is 8-1 in their last nine home games.
Padres are 20-4 when they score 4+ runs.

— Giants (20-30)
Giants are 8-17 in their last 25 games.
SF is 17-23 vs righty starters, 3-7 vs lefties.
Under is 12-5 in their last 17 road games.

— Famous birthdays, May 22nd:
Richard Benjamin, 88
Tommy John, 83
Michael Kelly, 58

Randy Brown, 58
Dre Bly, 49
Eric Sogard, 40

Lauri Markkanen, 29
Ezequiel Duran, 27
Jordan Walker, 24

AL East
— Orioles (21-29)
Baltimore is 6-14 in its last 20 games.
Orioles are 18-18 vs righty starters, 3-11 vs lefties.
10 of their last 13 games stayed under the total.

— Red Sox (22-27)
Boston is 12-10 since they changed managers.
Under is 9-2 in their last eleven games.
Red Sox are 4-8 against their AL East rivals.

— New York (30-21)
New York won 11 of its last 14 home games.
Over is 8-3 in their last eleven home games.
New York is 19-16 vs righty starters, 11-5 vs lefties.

— Rays (33-15)
Tampa Bay won 21 of its last 25 games.
Rays are 21-13 vs righty starters, 12-2 vs lefties.
Tampa Bay is 13-2 against their AL East rivals.

— Blue Jays (23-27)
Toronto is 7-10 in its last seventeen games.
Blue Jays are 13-11 at home, 10-16 on the road.
Toronto is 16-8 if they score 4+ runs.

AL Central
— White Sox (25-24)
White Sox are 19-11 in their last 30 games.
Over is 6-2-1 in their last nine games.
Chicago is 20-7 when they score 4+ runs.

— Guardians (30-22)
Cleveland won nine of its last ten games.
Guardians are 18-18 vs righty starters, 12-4 vs lefties.
Guardians are 11-5 in series openers.

— Tigers (20-31)
Tigers are 13-12 at home, 7-19 on the road.
Detroit is 15-20 vs righty starters, 5-11 vs lefties.
Tigers are 4-10 against their AL Central rivals.

— Royals (20-30)
Kansas City lost nine of its last ten games.
Royals are 13-13 at home, 7-17 on the road.
Under is 13-7-2 in their last 22 games.

— Twins (23-27)
Minnesota is 3-10 in games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Twins are 15-14 at home, 8-13 on the road.
Over is 11-4 in their last 15 road games.

AL West
— Astros (20-31)
Houston is 5-12 in its last 17 home games.
Under is 9-2-1 in their last twelve games.
Astros are 6-12 against their AL West rivals.

— Angels (17-34)
Halos lost 24 of their last 29 games.
Six of Angels’ last eight road games stayed under the total.
Angels are 11-24 vs righty starters, 6-10 vs lefties.

— A’s (26-24)
A’s won six of their last eight road games.
A’s are 19-16 vs righty starters, 7-8 vs lefties.
50 games into the season, A’s are in first place in AL West.

— Mariners (24-27)
Mariners lost eight of their last 12 games.
Seattle is 23-11 when they score 3+ runs, 1-16 when they don’t.
Mariners are 18-18 vs righty starters, 6-9 vs lefties.

— Rangers (24-25)
Texas is 7-4 in its last eleven games.
Under is 9-2 in their last 11 home games.
Rangers are 2-5 in home series openers.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres-Cardinals-Cubs
AL: Rays, Guardians, A’s. Wild Cards: New York-White Sox-Rangers

13 of my favorite non-sports movies……..

13) Good Will Hunting (1997)— Robin Williams is a counselor who tries to help a young delinquent (who is also a Math genius) find his way. Matt Damon plays the young man, who is a custodian at MIT, and can solve complex questions that some of the professors can’t solve. 

Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver are also in this movie, but the scenes with Williams/Damon really carry the story.

12) Leap of Faith (1992)— One of the buses carrying a traveling preacher’s crew breaks down in a small down in the midwest, during a brought that is killing the town’s farms. The preacher decides to set up his tent just outside the town and try to make some $$$ until the bus gets fixed

Steve Martin runs amok as the preacher; Debra Winger is his partner, Liam Neeson is the local sheriff trying to shut his act down. Meat Loaf is part of the music group that travels with the preacher.

11) The Verdict (1982)— Paul Newman is a down-on-his-luck lawyer who has a chance to win a big case and rehabilitate his career. Jack Warden plays his friend in the movie. 

There is a scene in this movie that would never fly today; Newman’s character has a girlfriend in the movie- turns out she is a double-agent, working for the opposing lawyer to gain intel on the big case.

When Newman finds out, he meets the girlfriend in the lounge of a bar and decks her with one punch. Ouch.

10) Danny Collins (2015)— An aging rock star’s life changes when he is given a 40-year old letter that John Lennon wrote to him, but up until then, he had never gotten it. He decides to fly to New Jersey to find his adult son, who he had never met.

Al Pacino is the singer, Annette Bening plays the manager of the hotel  he says at in New Jersey, Christopher Plummer is the singer’s agent, Jennifer Garner is the son’s wife.

9) This Is Where I Leave You (2014)— After their father dies, four grown siblings return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week.

Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Corey Stoll play the four siblings; Jane Fonda is their mother. Rose Byrne, Connie Britton are both very good in this. 

Odd thing is: First time I ever saw this movie was 11 years ago this week, when I came home from my dad’s funeral. Turned the TV on, and this was the movie on HBO, which was a little eerie. Very good movie.

8) Begin Again (2013)— Down and out music producer discovers a talented young singer; together they produce an album, using New York City as the background.

Mark Ruffalo is the music producer, Keira Knightley the singer, Adam Levine is the singer’s ex-boyrfriend, and James Corden is great as the singer’s friend from home in England.

Hailee Steinfeld plays the producer’s daughter; in real life, she is married to Buffalo Bills’ QB Josh Allen.

7) The Bodyguard (1992)— Kevin Costner is a former Secret Service agent hired to protect a famous singer, who has a contract out on her. She isn’t that eager to have someone protecting her all the time.

Kevin Costner is the bodyguard, Whitney Houston is the singer. When Whitney Houston died in real life, Costner spoke at her memorial service, an excellent speech.

— Famous birthdays, May 18th:
Archie Manning, 77
Jack Thompson, 70
Luis Salazar, 70
Bill Laimbeer, 69
John Friesz, 59

Turk Wendell, 59
Paul Justin, 58
London Fletcher, 51
Kevin Garnett, 50
Brandon Inge, 49

6) Cousins (1989)— Two couples go to a mutual friend’s wedding and wind up trading their partners. Ted Danson/William Petersen are the guys, Isabella Rossellini/Sean Young are the women. Lloyd Bridges provides comic relief in his brief appearance.

Weird thing about this movie: Danson/Petersen both wound up working on the TV show CSI. Last scene in Cousins is one of the couples sailing off into the sunset on a boat. Last scene with William Petersen in CSI is virtually the same exact shot, with Gil Grissom/Sara Sidle sailing off into the sunset.

5) Last Vegas (2013)— Four senior citizens who are lifelong friends head to Las Vegas for a bachelor party; their 70-year old friend is marrying a 30-year old. Morgan Freeman wins $87K playing blackjack, because, doesn’t everyone win in Vegas?

Morgan Freeman, Robert DeNiro, Michael Douglas, Kevin Kline play the four friends; Mary Steenburgen plays a lounge singer they meet in downtown Las Vegas. Joanna Gleason, Jerry Ferrara are also in the movie.

4) Molly’s Game (2017)— True story about a young lady who just missed making the Olympics as a skier, and wound up running high stakes poker games in Los Angeles/New York, until the FBI got involved because Russian mobsters were playing in the games. 

Jessica Chastain plays the young lady, Idris Elba is her lawyer. Michael Cera is one of the poker players, Kevin Costner is the young lady’s father.

3) Prince of Tides (1991)— Nick Nolte is a high school football coach from South Carolina who travels to New York and falls for his sister’s therapist (Barbra Streisand). George Carlin is the sister’s neighbor, Blythe Danner is the coach’s wife, Jeroen Krabbe is the therapist’s husband, who is a famous musician.

Great scene at a dinner party, with Nick Nolte threatening to smash the musician’s million dollar violin unless he apologizes. Very good movie, fairly intense at times.

2) Rounders (1998)— Movie about a law student/poker player; this movie is credited with helping the poker boom in the late 90’s. Matt Damon is the law student, Edward Norton is his sleazy friend, John Malkovich is a Russian gangster who runs some of the card games, John Turturro is a seasoned gambler who tries to mentor the law student, and Martin Landau is a law professor.

“Listen, here’s the thing. If you can’t spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker.”

1) A Star Is Born (2018)— A hard-drinking, famous singer discovers a skilled singer by accident, and the two musicians fall in love. First half of this movie is great, the rest of it is well done, but very sad. 

Lady Gaga is the singer, Bradley Cooper the famous musician; Sam Elliott is his brother, Andrew Dice Clay is the Lady Gaga’s father, Anthony Ramos is her friend who is instrumental in a couple of key moments in the movie.

A Star Is Born has been made four different times; this version is similar to the 50’s movie, with Judy Garland and James Mason. 

Quick thoughts after looking at the 2026 NFL schedule……..

NFC East
Cowboys
Dallas plays the Ravens in Brazil in Week 3.
Six primetime games, plus Thanksgiving game against the Eagles.
Games vs Washington are Week 2 and Week 18

Giants
First two games are in primetime: Week 1 vs Dallas, Week 2 @ Rams
Overall, they have four primetime games.
Three of their first four games are at home.

Eagles
Play the Jaguars in London in Week 5.
Have three straight home games, Weeks 14-16.
Five primetime games, plus a Thanksgiving game in Dallas.

Commanders
Open season with divisional road games, at Eagles, Cowboys.
Play the Colts in London in Week 4.
Dan Quinn hosts his old team, the Falcons, in Week 15. 

NFC North
Bears
Have three straight home games, Week 2-4
Have three straight primetime games, Weeks 7-9
Last three games are against their NFC North rivals.

Lions
Play the Patriots in Germany in Week 10
Three of their four primetime games are on the road.
Only six of their 17 games are outdoors, but Weeks 17-18 are (Bears/Packers)

Packers
Three of their first four games are on the road.
Three of their first four home games are in primetime.
Four of last five games are home, with the road game in Chicago. Brrrr…..

Vikings
Playing the 49ers in Mexico City in Week 11.
Only two road tilts after that: cold weather games at Patriots, Jets.
Games against Chicago are in Weeks 2, 18.

NFC South
Falcons
Coach Stefanski visits his old team (Cleveland) in Week 14.
Play the Bengals in Spain in Week 9.
Have three straight primetime games, in Weeks 3-5. 

Panthers
Four of their last five games are at home.
Games against Atlanta are in Weeks 2, 18.
Have a Thursday night game at Green Bay in Week 8.

Saints
Open season with road games, at Detroit, Baltimore.
Play the Steelers in France in Week 7.
Two games vs Tampa Bay are in Weeks 15, 18.

Buccaneers
Three of their first four games are at home.
Bucs host Baker Mayfield’s old team (Cleveland) in Week 2.
Only one cold weather game: Week 14 at Baltimore. 

NFC West
Cardinals
No primetime games; NFL has low expectations for them.
Three of their first four games are on the road.
Games against the 49ers are in Weeks 3, 18.

Rams
Open the season in Australia against San Francisco.
Four of their first five games are in primetime.
Host Green Bay on a Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving.

49ers
After the Australia opener, 49ers play at home Weeks 2-4.
49ers play Minnesota in Mexico City in Week 11.
Three of their last four games are on the road. 

Seahawks
Seattle opens season with a Super Bowl rematch vs New England.
Have three straight primetime games, Week 6-8
Games against the Rams are in Weeks 16, 18. 

Famous birthdays, May 15th:
Don Nelson, 86
Lainie Kazan, 86
Billy North, 78
George Brett, 73

John Smoltz, 59
Emmitt Smith, 57
Desmond Howard, 56
AJ Hinch, 52

Justin Morneau, 45
Michael Brantley, 39
Kody Clemens, 30
Cole Anthony, 26

AFC East
Bills
Open their new stadium with a Week 2 Thursday game vs Detroit.
Have six primetime games, three at home, three on road.
Have playoff rematch with the Broncos on Christmas in Denver.

Dolphins
Open season with West Coast trips, at Las Vegas/San Francisco.
New coach Jeff Hafley visits his old team, the Packers, in Week 15.
Miami has December/January games in Denver, Green Bay, Foxboro.

Patriots
Three of their first four games are on the road.
Play the Lions in Germany in Week 10.
After a bye, they play the Chargers in LA in Week 12.

Jets
No primetime games for Gang Green; only two 4:00 games.
Three of their first four games are on the road.
Geno Smith hosts his old team, the Raiders, in Week 8.

AFC North
Ravens
Ravens play the Cowboys in Brazil, in Week 3.
Games against the Steelers are in Weeks 15, 18
Baltimore’s last four games are all vs division rivals.

Bengals
Bengals play the Falcons in Spain in Week 9.
Have primetime games the two weeks after the game in Madrid.
Games against Cleveland are in Weeks 13, 18

Browns
Open season with two games in Florida, at Jaguars, Buccaneers.
Weeks 7-9, have 3 straight road games: Titans, Steelers, Saints.
Play three of their last four games on the road.

Steelers
Play the Saints in France in Week 7.
Finish the season with road games, at Tennessee/Baltimore.
Four primetime games; they’re expecting Aaron Rodgers to eventually show up.
Three of the four AFC North teams have new head coaches.

AFC South
Texans
Open season with home games, vs Buffalo, Cincinnati.
Have playoff rematch at Pittsburgh in Week 13.
Play the Jaguars in London in Week 6.

Colts
Play the Commanders in England in Week 4.
Come right back the next week, with a game in Pittsburgh.
Have two primetime games, both on road (Chiefs, Texans)

Jaguars
Will be in London in Weeks 5-6 (vs Eagles, Texans)
Weeks 9-11, have 3 straight road games (at Ravens, Titans, Giants)
Three of their last four games are on the road.

Titans
HC Robert Saleh hosts his old team, the Jets, in Week 1.
OC Brian Daboll visits his old team, the Giants, in Week 3.
Four of their last five road games are in domed stadiums.

AFC West
Broncos
Open season with a Monday night road game in Kansas City.
Have Black Friday afternoon game in Pittsburgh in Week 12.
Have playoff rematch with New England in Week 17.

Chiefs
Open season with home games, vs Broncos, Colts.
Week 5 bye is early, probably good with Mahomes coming off knee surgery.
Weeks 12-14, are on road 3 weeks in row (at Bills, Rams, Bengals)

Raiders
Have only three games outside of the western time zone.
Weeks 14-16, have three straight home games.
No primetime games, league has low expectations.

Chargers
Open season with home games, vs Cardinals, Raiders.
Have a “road game” at the Rams at SoFi, in Week 8.
Jim Harbaugh’s team plays the Ravens, who canned his brother, in Week 10.

One non-statistical thing I always think about when making this list:

My team has the ball on its own 20-yard line, down 3 points with 2:00 to go.; what QB would I want leading my team?

Here is my list of the 13 best quarterbacks of the Super Bowl era, with some exclusions:

Johnny Unitas/Bart Starr aren’t on this lost; they obviously were all-time great QB’s, but the peak of their careers happened before the Super Bowl started. Three of Starr’s five NFL titles were before the Super Bowl, two of the three that Unitas won were before I was born.

I’m also eliminating anyone who played for the Rams, just to make the list more fun for me to do. Kurt Warner/Matthew Stafford are two of my three favorite QB’s ever, but neither one will be on this list. 

With that said, here is the list……..

13) Troy Aikman
94-71 in regular season, 11-4 in playoff games.
Won three Super Bowls. 
Threw for 32,942 yards in regular season games.
First pick in the 1989 draft.

12) Ben Roethlisberger
165-81 in regular season, 13-10 in playoff games.
Won two Super Bowls. 
Threw for 64,088 yards in regular season games.
First round pick in the 2004 draft.

11) Jim Kelly
101-59 in regular season, 9-8 in playoff games.
Won the AFC title four years in a row.
Threw for 35,467 yards in regular season games.
Also played two seasons in the USFL.
First round pick in the 1983 draft.

10) Brett Favre
186-112 in regular season, 13-11 in playoff games.
Won Super Bowl with the 1996 Packers. 
Threw for 71,838 yards in regular season games.
Second round pick in the 1991 draft.
Falcons traded him to Green Bay after his rookie season.

9) Steve Young
94-49 in regular season, 8-6 in playoff games.
Won his only Super Bowl as a starter with ’94 49ers. 
Also played two seasons in the USFL.
First round supplemental pick in the 1984 draft.

8) Patrick Mahomes
95-31 in regular season, 17-4 in playoff games.
Went 5-2 in AFC title games in a seven-year span. 
Won three of those five Super Bowls.
First round pick in the 2017 draft.
By the time his career ends, he’ll probably be on top of this list.

7) Dan Marino
147-93 in regular season, 8-10 in playoff games.
Most career wins by a QB who didn’t win a Super Bowl. 
Threw for 61,631 yards in regular season games.
First round pick in the 1983 draft.

Famous birthdays, May 6th:
George Clooney, 65
Jason Witten, 44
Chris Paul, 41

Goran Dragic, 40
Gerardo Parra, 39
Jose Altuve, 36

6) Terry Bradshaw
107-51 in regular season, 14-5 in playoff games.
Won four Super Bowls, and is still somehow underrated.
His four Super Bowl titles came in a six-year span.
First pick in the 1970 draft.

5) Roger Staubach
85-29 in regular season, 11-6 in playoff games.
Won two Super Bowls, six years apart with the Cowboys. 
Went to the Naval Academy; his rookie year was five years after he was drafted.
10th round pick in the 1964 draft.

4) Peyton Manning
186-79 in regular season, 14-13 in playoff games.
Won two Super Bowls, one with the Colts, one with Denver.
Threw for 71,940 yards in regular season games.
First pick in the 1998 draft.

3) Tom Brady
251-82 in regular season, 35-13 in playoff games.
Won seven Super Bowls, including three of the first four years he started.
Won six Super Bowls with New England, one with Tampa Bay
6th round pick in the 2000 draft.

He has accomplished the most of any QB, but if I had my pick of any QB on this list in their prime, I’d take the next two guys before Brady……..

2) Joe Montana
117-47 in regular season, 16-7 in playoff games.
Won four Super Bowls in a nine-year span.
Threw for 40,551 yards in regular season games.
3rd round pick in the 1979 draft.

1) John Elway
148-82 in regular season, 11-6 in playoff games.
Denver won the AFC five times with him as their QB.
Won the Super Bowl in each of his last two seasons.
1st round pick in the 1983 draft.

There’s the list; it is easier to play quarterback now, they don’t get hit nearly as much. The rules favor the offense; back in the 70’s/80’s QB’s got hit a lot harder than they do now. 

— Braves 8, Rockies 6
Colorado led 6-2 after seven innings.
Mauricio Dubon hit a bases loaded double in 8th inning.
Michael Harris hit the game-winning HR in 9th inning.

— Mets 4, Angels 3
Angels led 3-0 after five innings; their pitcher got hit by a line drive, had to leave the game.
Ronny Mauricio hit the game-winning HR in 7th inning.
Last 21 Angel batters were retired in order.

— Cardinals 7, Dodgers 2
Jordan Walker went 4-for-4, with two doubles, two RBI.
St Louis has won four games in a row.
Dodgers are 5-8 in their last thirteen games.

— Pirates 9, Reds 1
Catcher Henry Davis hit his first two home runs of the year.
Pittsburgh snaps a five-game losing skid.
Reds are 12-0 in games decided by 1 or 2 runs.

— Red Sox 3, Astros 1
Jarren Duran hit a three-homer in the third inning.
Chad Bennett threw five innings, won his MLB debut.
Houston is 8-8 at home, 4-13 on the road.

— Phillies 6, Marlins 5
Bryson Stott hit a three-run HR in 7th inning.
Zach Wheeler allowed three hits in six IP.
Kyle Schwarber was 0-for-5, with five strikeouts.

— Rays 3, Giants 0
Shane McClanahan allowed five baserunners in six IP.
Yandy Diaz, Junior Caminero hit home runs.
Giants were shut out for the seventh time this season.

— Famous birthdays, May 2nd:
Jo Ann Pflug, 86
Clay Carroll, 85
Christine Baranski, 74
Jamaal Wilkes, 73

Keith Moreland, 72
Russ Grimm, 67
Dwayne Johnson, 54
Pat McAfee, 39

Paul George, 36
Jonathan Villar, 35
Ian Anderson, 28
Alec Pierce, 26

— Pistons 93, Magic 79
Orlando led 60-36 at halftime.
Orlando got outscored 57-19 in second half. 57. to, 19,
At one point, the Magic missed 23 shots in a row.
Series is tied, 3-3.

— Raptors 112, Cavaliers 110 OT
RJ Barrett hit a 3-pointer with 0:01.2 left.
Cavaliers outscored Toronto 23-12 in 4th quarter.
Series is tied, 3-3; home team has won all six games.

— Lakers 98, Rockets 78
Los Angeles won 49-31 at halftime.
Lebron James scored 28 points, had 8 assists.
Houston shot 35% from the floor.
Lakers win series, 4-2.

— Movie of the Day: Lucky You (2007)- A poker player tries to win a big tournament in Las Vegas, but is fighting a losing battle with his personal problems.

Eric Bana is the poker player, Robert Duvall plays his famous father, Drew Barrymore is the woman he tries to impress. Debra Messing, Robert Downey Jr have smaller roles, as well as several real-life poker players.

— Virginia Cavaliers were 11-3 last year; they’re the only football team from a Power 4 league that didn’t have a player taken in this year’s NFL Draft.

— NFL’s Cleveland Browns are getting a new stadium in 2029; the 67,500-seat stadium will be located fifteen miles south of Cleveland.

— When the college football magazines start popping up on newsstands next month, the Pac-8 will be back in business. 

Boise State, Colorado State, Florida State, Oregon State
San Diego State, Texas State, Utah State, Washington State

When basketball rolls around, Gonzaga will make it the Pac-9.

— Speaking of Gonzaga, they won a recruiting battle over St John’s for the services of 7-foot-2 Arizona State transfer Massamba Diop, who scored 13.6 ppp last year, grabbing 5.8 rebounds a game for the Sun Devils.

— Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer still works some Orioles games on TV; he was saying recently how he has never had eaten chicken wings. Ever.

Palmer said if the Orioles hit a grand slam while he was working a game, he’d eat a chicken wing. Sure enough, Baltimore hit two grand slams, Adley Rutschman and Jeremiah Jackson the other day, and Palmer ate a chicken wing for the first time.

— Alex Cora isn’t going to be too anxious to get back to work after the Red Sox fired him; Boston owes him $13.7M over the next year and a half.

— Average salary in the major leagues this season is $5.34M, up 3.4% from last season. 

NL East
Trends are thru April 30th
— Braves (22-10)
Braves won 12 of their last 15 games
Under is 4-1-1 in their last six games.
Atlanta is 20-4 when they score 4+ runs.

— Marlins (15-16)
Marlins are 10-6 at home, 5-10 on road.
Over is 7-2-1 in their last ten road games.
Marlins are 12-5 when they score 4+ runs.

— Mets (10-21)
Mets lost five of their last six games.
New York is 1-6 vs lefty starting pitchers.
Mets are 4-21 when they score 4+ or fewer runs.

— Phillies (12-19)
Phillies won four of their last five games.
Over is 4-1-1 in their last six road games.
Phiilies are 10-8 vs righty starters, 2-11 vs lefties.

— Nationals (15-17)
Nationals are 3-10 at home, 12-7 on the road.
Over is 10-2-1 in their home games.
Nationals are 7-17 if they score less than seven runs.

NL Central
— Cubs (19-12)
Cubs are 12-3 in their last fifteen games.
Cubs are 14-7 vs righty starters, 5-5 vs lefties.
Over is 10-1-2 in their last thirteen road games.

— Reds (20-11)
Cincinnati is 11-4 in their last fifteen games.
Over is 12-2 in their last 14 home games.
Reds are 7-3 in games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Brewers (16-14)
Milwaukee is 4-0 in road series openers.
Milwaukee is 14-2 when they score 5+ runs.
Brewers are 11-7 vs AL teams, 5-7 vs NL teams.

— Pirates (16-16)
Pirates lost their last five games.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight home games.
Pittsburgh is 14-8 when they score 3+ runs.

— Cardinals (18-13)
St Louis won its last four games.
Cardinals are 3-6 in series openers.
Cardinals are 6-3 in games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.

NL West
— Diamondbacks (16-14)
Arizona is 3-6 in its last nine games.
Diamondbacks are 10-14 vs righty starters, 6-0 vs lefties.
Over is 6-3 in their last nine games.

— Rockies (14-18)
Rockies are 8-6 in their last 14 games.
Colorado is 7-6 at home, 7-12 on the road.
Under is 8-4 in their last 12 home games. 

— Dodgers (20-11)
Dodgers are 5-7 in their last 12 games.
Under is 7-2 in their last nine road games.
Dodgers are 17-2 when they score 4+ runs.

— Padres (19-11)
Padres are 6-5 in their last 11 games.
San Diego is 8-2 in games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight home games.
Padres are 14-2 when they score more than three runs.

— Giants (13-18)
Giants lost five of their last seven games.
SF is 11-13 vs righty starters, 2-5 vs lefties.
Giants are 9-1 when they score 5+ runs.

— Famous birthdays, May 1st:
Dann Florek, 76
Eddie Johnson, 67
Charlie O’Brien, 66
Tim McGraw, 59
Alex Van Pelt, 56

Wes Welker, 45
Marcus Stroman, 35
Lucas Erceg, 31
Denzel Clarke, 26
Chet Holmgren, 24

AL East
— Orioles (15-16)
Orioles are 15-10 vs righty starters, 0-6 vs lefties.
Nine of their last ten games went over the total.
Orioles are 6-3 in games when the winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Red Sox (12-19)
Boston is 2-2 since they changed managers.
Over is 7-3 in their last ten road games.
Red Sox are 9-15 vs righty starters, 3-4 vs lefties.

— New York (20-11)
New York won ten of its last 12 games.
Under is 7-3 in their last ten games.
New York scored in first inning in 7 of its 13 home games.

— Rays (18-12)
Tampa Bay won six of its last seven games.
Under is 7-2 in their last nine games.
Tampa Bay is 17-5 when they score 3+ runs.

— Blue Jays (14-17)
Toronto is 7-4 in its last 11 games.
Blue Jays are 10-8 at home, 4-9 on the road.
Toronto is 12-4 if they score 4+ runs.

AL Central
— White Sox (14-17)
White Sox are 8-4 in their last 12 games.
Under is 5-2 in their last seven games.
Chicago is 11-4 when they score 4+ runs.

— Guardians (16-16)
Guardians lost five of their last seven games.
Cleveland is 10-13 vs righty starters, 6-3 vs lefties.
Under is 5-2 in their last seven games.

— Tigers (16-16)
Tigers are 10-2 at home, 6-14 on the road.
Detroit is 7-5 in games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Tigers are 13-6 if they score 4+ runs.

— Royals (12-19)
Royals are 9-7 at home, 3-12 on the road.
Over is 6-0-1 in their last seven home games.
Royals are 3-8 in games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (14-18)
Minnesota has lost seven of its last nine games.
Twins are 9-8 at home, 5-10 on the road.
Over is 6-3 in their last nine road games.

AL West
— Astros (12-20)
Houston is 8-8 at home, 4-12 on road.
Over is 10-2 in their last dozen games.
Astros are 1-5 in games when winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Houston is 3-8 vs its AL West rivals.

— Angels (12-20)
Halos lost 10 of their last 11 games.
Five of Angels’ last six home games stayed under the total.
Angels are 7-14 vs righty starters, 5-6 vs lefties.

— A’s (17-14)
A’s won six of their last nine games.
Under is 4-1-1 in their last six games.
A’s are 13-9 vs righty starters, 4-5 vs lefties.

— Mariners (16-16)
Mariners won six of their last seven games.
Seattle is 10-7 at home, 6-9 on the road.
Under is 9-4-1 in their road games.
Over is 10-6-1 in their home games.

— Rangers (15-16)
Texas is 4-7 in its last eleven games.
Under is 8-2 in their last ten games.
Texas scored total of 13 runs in their last six games.

— Boston Red Sox have won four World Series since 2004; in three of those four seasons, Boston’s manager was in his first year managing the Red Sox. Terry Francona is the only manager this century who has won two World Series in Boston.

— Blue Jays 8, Red Sox 1
Vladimir Guerrero went 3-for-3, scored two runs.
Boston has lost eight of its last 12 games.
Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet (shoulder) is on the IL.

— White Sox 3, Angels 2 (10)
Sam Antonacci tied the game with a 9th inning triple.
Colson Montgomery had a walk-off hit in the 10th.
Angels have lost six in row, 10 of last 11 games.

— A’s 5, Royals 2
Lawrence Butler hit a 3-run homer that broke a 1-1 tie.
Luis Severino pitched 7 innings, got the win for the first place A’s.
Nick Kurtz has drawn a walk in 18 consecutive games, the longest streak since Ted Williams’ 19-game streak in 1951.

— Since he’s been on the Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani has pitched/hit in 17 games; he hit only .203 in those 17 games. He hasn’t hit in his last two starts.

— Famous birthdays, April 30th:
Isiah Thomas, 65
Al Toon, 63
Dave Meggett, 60
BJ Tyler, 55

Stephen Kunken, 55
Luis Scola, 46
Quinton Ross, 45
Edouard Julien, 27

— Pistons 116, Magic 109
Cade Cunningham scored 45 points, hit winning shot with 0:32 left.
Detroit never trailed, led by 15 early in fourth quarter.
Pistons’ subs were +29; Orlando’s subs were minus-26.
Orlando leads series, 3-2

— Cavaliers 125, Raptors 120
Cavaliers outscored Toronto 25-17 in fourth quarter.
Raptors scored 74 points in first half, 46 in second half.
Toronto shot 7-28 from floor in the 4th quarter.
Cleveland leads series, 3-2

— Rockets 99, Lakers 93
Houston outscored the Lakers 30-19 in the second quarter.
Houston’s subs were +13; Lakers’ subs were minus-22.
Los Angeles shot 7-for-27 behind the arc.
Lakers lead series, 3-2

— Movie of the Day: The Prince of Tides (1991)- A high school football coach from the south goes to New York City to talk to his suicidal sister’s psychiatrist, and they fall in love.

Nick Nolte is the coach, Barbra Streisand is the psychiatrist, Blythe Danner is the coach’s wife, Kate Nelligan is the coach’s mother. George Carlin has a small role as a the sister’s neighbor.

Very good movie, but intense at times. There is one scene at a dinner party that is one of my all-time favorite movie scenes.

— Mariners 5, Twins 3
Cole Young’s two-run single in 9th inning was a game-winner.
Last two games, Twins were 3-for-22 with RISP.
Seattle has won eight of its last 11 games.

— Marlins 3, Dodgers 2
Javier Sanoja’s 8th inning infield hit drove in the winning run.
Marlins’ bullpen threw three scoreless innings.
Dodgers are 5-7 in their last dozen games. 

— Nationals 14, Mets 2
Curtis Mead was 4-for-5, scored four runs.
Brady House hit his first career grand slam.
Washington led 9-1 in the fourth inning.

— Cardinals 5, Pirates 4
LF Nathan Church ended the game, robbing Nick Gonzales of a home run.
Ivan Herrera went 2-for-4, scored two runs.
Pirates have lost four in a row, for first time this season.

— Braves 4, Tigers 3
Matt Olson hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning.
Tarik Skubal allowed five hits, two runs in his 7 IP; he left with a 3-2 lead.
Atlanta has won all nine of its series so far this season. 

— The over-educated morons who run college/minor league sports are at it again; looks like starting next March, the NCAA basketball tournament will now be 76 teams, instead of 68. 

76 teams means six games on Tuesday, six more on Wednesday before the field is down to 64 teams, where it should be in the first place. for the first round on Thursday/Friday. 

Expansion means that high major coaches who miss the NCAA’s will be on the hot seat for sure, especially with the NIL $$$ being thrown around.

— Speaking of which, only 71 early-entrant players are going into the NBA Draft this year, the lowest amount since 2003. College kids are getting paid; seems like most of them would rather get paid paying college ball than spend some time in the G League.

— Brendan Sorsby is a college quarterback who played two years for Indiana, then transferred to Cincinnati, played there for two years, then this offseason bolted to Texas Tech, where he was expected to be paid a boatload of NIL $$$$ ($5M or so).

But there’s a problem(s):
a) Cincinnati is suing to recover $1M of the money they paid him, citing breach of contract.

b) This week, Sorsby checked into a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction. Apparently, he made thousands of online prop bets on a lot of different sports.

Oy.

— Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson Tuesday; he took over the Phillies during the 2022 season. Here is his record:

2022- 65-46
2023- 90-72
2024- 95-67
2025- 96-66
2026- 9-19

Bad start this year, but firing the guy?

Bench coach Don Mattingly is the interim manager; his son Preston is the general manager of the Phillies, working under Dave Dombrowski.

Awkward.

Apparently Dombrowski reached out to hire former Red Sox manager Alex Cora, but Cora turned the job down.

Tuesday’s NBA games
76ers 113, Celtics 97
Joel Embiid scored 33 points in his second game back from appendicitis.
76ers outscored Boston 28-11 in the fourth quarter.
Tyrese Maxey had 25 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists.
Celtics lead series, 3-2.

Knicks 126, Hawks 97
Jalen Brunson scored 39 points, had 8 assists.
Knicks led 35-22 after the first quarter.
New York shot 57% from the floor. 
Knicks lead series, 3-2

Spurs 114, Trail Blazers 95
San Antonio led 65-45 at halftime.
De’Aaron Fox scored 21 points, had nine assists.
Portland shot only 35% from the floor.
San Antonio wins series, 4-1.

— Famous birthdays, April 29th:
Jim Hart, 82
Tom House, 79
Ron Washington, 74
Jerry Seinfeld, 72
Michelle Pfeiffer, 68

Uma Thurman, 56
Josh Booty, 51
Jay Cutler, 43
David Lee, 43
Zach McKinstry, 31

— Phillies 7, Giants 0
Phillies win Don Mattingly’s first game as interim manager.
Jesus Luzardo allowed two hits in 7 IP, struck out 8.
Trea Turner went 4-for-5, scored two runs.

— Rays 1, Guardians 0
Tampa Bay wins in sixth game in a row.
Nick Martinez allowed three hits in the first seven innings.
Tanner Bibee allowed one run in five IP, throwing 93 pitches.

— Orioles 5, Astros 3
Pete Alonso hit his 4th home run for the Orioles.
Shane Baz got 17 outs, got his first win with Baltimore.
Houston is 11-19, 3-11 in road games.

— AL West is struggling, from top to bottom:
15-14 A’s
15-16 Seattle
14-16 Texas
12-19 LA Angels
11-19 Houston

— Marlins 2, Dodgers 1
Janson Junk blanked the Dodgers for six innings.
Kyle Stowers went 2-for-5 with an RBI
Dodgers are 5-6 in their last eleven games.

— Cardinals 11, Pirates 7
Nolan Gorman homered, drove in three runs.
Top two hitters in St Louis lineup both scored three runs.
Pirates have lost three in row for first time this year.

— Blue Jays 3, Red Sox 0
Trey Yesavage got 16 outs, allowed four hits.
Kazuma Okamoto drove in two of Toronto’s three runs.
Blue Jays are 9-8 at home, 4-8 on the road. 

A good friend of mine passed away Monday.

Richard (Doc) Sauers was the basketball coach for the Albany Great Danes from 1955-1997; he won 702 games in his career, went to 10 NCAA tournaments. He is amongst the top 40 all-time winningest coaches in NCAA history. 

I was lucky enough to work for Coach Sauers for six years, first as a student manager, then as an associate coach. It was the greatest learning experience of my life, finding out first-hand what it took to run a successful operation.

Doc was also a really good golfer and handball player. He was honest, competitive, fair, he just wanted to win, and boy, he won a lot.

One of Doc’s biggest strengths was how he prepared his team for the opponent we were about to play; I was lucky enough to go on many scouting trips with him, after practice. He would drive to the game (Oneonta, Plattsburgh, Binghamton, wherever……) and I would drive home, while he napped after a very long day of work. 

We scouted a game in Jersey City once; got lost on the way home, something we discovered when a sign appeared, “Welcome to Delaware”. But we won that game, the preparation paid off.

If you had an idea for a different kind of statistic, he would listen to you and if it made sense, we would use it. Pretty cool for a 20-year old nerd, to say the least. 

Richard (Doc) Sauers passed away Monday at age 96.

RIP, Doc. Thanks a lot, for everything.