review Page 4 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Rays 'encouraged' by return of Shane McClanahan as he prepares to face Giants
The Tampa Bay Rays will turn to former ace Shane McClanahan on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series with the San Francisco Giants in St. Petersburg, Fla.,The Rays continue to see progress from the left-hander, who recorded his first home win in almost three years last weekend against th...

Phillies ride momentum of series sweep into opener vs. Marlins
The Philadelphia Phillies are showing signs of life under interim manager Don Mattingly.,The Phillies will go for their fourth straight victory Friday night when they visit the Miami Marlins in the opener of a four-game series. ,Philadelphia parted ways with manager Rob Thomson on Tuesday morning af...

Without Garrett Crochet, Red Sox gear up to open series vs. Astros
The Houston Astros might have caught a break in advance of their Friday night road game against the Boston Red Sox., ,Houston was scheduled to face Boston ace Garrett Crochet in the opener of a three-game series but is expected to see rookie left-hander Jake Bennett instead., ,The Red Sox placed Cro...

Orioles' Pete Alonso returns to New York to face Yankees
In every season of his career, Pete Alonso's lone visit to Yankee Stadium occurred for the New York Mets in the "Subway Series.",After not being offered a contract by the Mets in the offseason, Alonso will make multiple trips to the Bronx for the first time in his career starting Friday night when t...

Nationals get first look at Brewers fireballer Jacob Misiorowski
The Washington Nationals will try to find an answer for Jacob Misiorowski when they open a three-game series against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.,Misiorowski (1-2, 3.31 ERA) will oppose Milwaukee right-hander Jake Irvin (1-3, 4.85) in the series opener.,The Brewers right-hander ha...

First-place Reds carry 5-series winning streak into Pittsburgh
The Cincinnati Reds begin May atop the National League Central standings, having won five consecutive series heading into a seven-game road trip that begins Friday night in Pittsburgh.,Cincinnati's 20-11 record is the team's best 31-game start since 2006 and also marks the first time in franchise hi...

Optimistic Rangers begin weekend series against Tigers
All things considered, Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker appears pleased with his team's performance heading into May.,The Rangers are 15-16 as they begin a three-game series against the host Detroit Tigers on Friday.,Texas snapped a three-game losing streak and concluded its nine-game homestand ...

Zac Gallen attempts to steady D-backs' staff in opener vs. Cubs
Zac Gallen will start the opening contest of the Arizona Diamondbacks' three-game series against the Chicago Cubs on Friday afternoon with a purple, baseball-seamed bruise on his right shoulder after being struck by a line drive in his latest start.,The Diamondbacks as a whole can relate.,The D-back...

Mammoth return home with season on line vs. resilient Golden Knights
After their second consecutive 5-4 overtime loss on Wednesday, you might expect the Utah Mammoth to be a little demoralized heading into Game 6 of their best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series with the Vegas Golden Knights.,But the mood around the Mammoth was surprisingly upbeat heading ...

Rockets take stab at tying series with turnover-prone Lakers
The one distinct advantage the Houston Rockets carried into their Western Conference first-round series with the Los Angeles Lakers was a youthful core that, if deployed effectively, would yield an unmistakable edge.,Playing without Kevin Durant for the fourth time in the series, the Rockets relied ...

Sabres bring road success into Game 6, try to finish off Bruins
The Boston Bruins have life.,After winning in Buffalo for the second time in three tries in their Eastern Conference first-round series, the Bruins look to bottle up their solid road play as the scene shifts back to Boston for the final time.,At the same time, Game 6 on Friday marks a second opportu...

Cavs hope 'mental toughness' leads to series-clinching win at Raptors
The Cleveland Cavaliers feel they passed the toughness test in winning Game 5 at home.,The next step is to show the same grit on the road Friday night in Game 6 against the Toronto Raptors and clinch the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.,Cleveland took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven se...

Canadiens ready for home chance to eliminate Lightning in tight series
The Montreal Canadiens are aware of the opportunity before them as they prepare to host the Tampa Bay Lightning for Game 6 of their Stanley Cup playoff series on Friday.,Thanks to a 3-2 victory Wednesday night in Tampa for a 3-2 edge in the Eastern Conference first-round meeting, the young Canadiens...

Down 3-2, Pistons shift pressure to Paolo Banchero, Magic in Game 6
Cade Cunningham and Paolo Banchero are proving they know how to put on a show, and they're going to be called upon in another possible elimination game in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.,Cunningham's heroics Wednesday night bought the Pistons another game as No. 1 seed Detroit v...

Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr seeks first homer, wins in series vs. White Sox
It's safe to say that no one had San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. getting to May 1 without a homer on his stat sheet.,But that's the case as Tatis and San Diego gear up for the first game on Friday of a three-game weekend series against the visiting Chicago White Sox.,It would be ironic if T...

Against Nationals, Mets strive to close dreadful month on a high note
The New York Mets insist they are better than their record indicates.,As the first full month of the season concludes, it is time for the Mets to prove it.,The Mets will attempt to end a disappointing month on a high note Thursday afternoon when they host the Washington Nationals in the rubber game ...

Twins pursue reversal of fortunes in series opener vs. Jays
The Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays are riding completely different streaks entering the opener of a four-game series on Thursday in Minneapolis.,The Twins took two of three games from the Blue Jays on April 10-12, part of a four-game winning streak.,Since the streak ended, they have since los...

A's Lawrence Butler eager to heat up as finale vs. Royals approaches
Lawrence Butler's bat has been in a deep slumber, and the 25-year-old outfielder hasn't resembled the player who topped 20 homers in each of his first two full major league seasons.,Perhaps that's why Athletics manager Mark Kotsay was so excited to see the "Law Dog" deliver a pivotal three-run homer...

Giants' bullpen prepares to size up Phillies in doubleheader
The San Francisco Giants have one of the top bullpens in the majors. And that group likely will be put to the test on Thursday when the Giants play a doubleheader against the host Philadelphia Phillies.,The middle contest of a scheduled three-game series was rained out Wednesday, leading to a day/ni...

Michael Soroka, D-backs chase series victory vs. Brewers
The Arizona Diamondbacks will look for Michael Soroka to continue his hot start when they visit the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday afternoon in the deciding contest of a three-game series.,Soroka (4-0, 2.60 ERA) will oppose fellow right-hander Brandon Woodruff (2-1, 3.77). ,The Diamondbacks evened th...