Velasquez, Phillies hold off Brewers 4-3

By

-

May 4, 2021

PHILADELPHIA — Vince Velasquez threw six sharp innings, J.T. Realmuto hit a two-run homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 Monday night.

Velasquez (1-0) allowed one run and four hits, striking out six in his longest outing this season. Hector Neris struck out Lorenzo Cain with the bases loaded in the ninth to preserve the win.

Brewers starter Adrian Houser (2-3) gave up four runs — two earned — and four hits in six innings.

Cain blasted a solo homer onto the concourse behind the left-center field stands to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead in the first in his first at-bat off the injury list. But NL Central-leading Milwaukee couldn’t do anything else until Philadelphia went to the bullpen.

Sam Coonrod struck out the side in the seventh but the Brewers loaded the bases the next two innings. Connor Brogdon walked two and yielded an infield single to Christian Yelich in the eighth. After Travis Shaw’s sacrifice fly cut it to 4-2, Neris entered. Avisail Garcia’s fielder’s choice grounder drove in another run.

Neris then picked Garcia off first to end the inning and needed 40 pitches to earn his sixth save in seven chances.

TWINS 6, RANGERS 5

MINNEAPOLIS — Kenta Maeda steered himself back on track by keeping Texas scoreless into the sixth inning, and Minnesota won the opener of a four-game series.

Maeda (2-2) had a season-high eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings, allowing only two singles and two walks in what was by far the best of his six starts this season.

Jorge Polanco had an RBI triple and an RBI double, and rookie Alex Kirilloff kept up his torrid start with two doubles for the Twins. One of them was a two-out, run-scoring line drive to left field in a three-run sixth that came against the left-handed reliever, Kolby Allard, brought in to face him.

Adolis García hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning for the Rangers. Joey Gallo hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth against Taylor Rogers, who got his second save by striking out García. Dane Dunning (1-2) allowed two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings.

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Gallinari, Bogdanovic lead Hawks past Trail Blazers 123-114

By

The Associated Press

-

May 4, 2021

ATLANTA — Danilo Gallinari made seven 3-pointers and finished with 28 points, leading the Atlanta Hawks to a 123-114 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in a matchup Monday night of teams battling for playoff positioning in their respective conferences.

The Hawks snapped Portland’s four-game winning streak, which had come entirely on the road.

Atlanta came into the night tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference, with the Trail Blazers holding the same spot in the West. Both teams are looking to avoid dropping as low as seventh, which would force them into the play-in tournament.

After getting in early Monday from Boston, where they beat the Celtics the previous night, the Trail Blazers were forced from the hotel rooms for about a half-hour by a tornado warning in Atlanta.

They ran out of steam in the fourth quarter, ruining a 33-point night for Damian Lillard.

Bogdan Bogdanovic provided the bulk of Atlanta’s offense over the first two quarters, scoring 23 of his 25 points for the second highest-scoring half of his career. He also made seven 3s, one shy of his career best.

Gallinari took over in the second half, scoring 21 points and hitting six of seven beyond the arc.

As a team, the Hawks were 20 of 41 from 3-point range.

TIP-INS

Trail Blazers: CJ McCollum had 20 points. … Norman Powell was able to play more than 32 minutes despite a sore right knee. He was listed as questionable but suited up and scored 15 points after playing 39 minutes the night before at Boston.

Hawks: Have won six consecutive home games, one off their high for the season, and 14 of 16 at State Farm Arena. They won seven straight at home from Feb. 21 to April 6. … Trae Young had 21 points and 11 assists. He went eight of eight at the foul line, moving past Walt Bellamy for the 24th spot in franchise history with 1,269 free throws made.

UP NEXT

Trail Blazers: Wrap up a six-game road trip against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

Hawks: Host the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, continuing a stretch where they are closing the regular season with seven of their last eight games at home.

Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at https://twitter.com/pnewberry1963 His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/paulnewberry

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Maeda pitches Twins past Rangers 6-5 in series opener

By

The Associated Press

-

May 4, 2021

MINNEAPOLIS — Kenta Maeda steered himself back on track by keeping the Texas Rangers scoreless into the sixth inning, and the Minnesota Twins won the opener of a four-game series 6-5 on Monday night.

Maeda (2-2) had a season-high eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings, allowing only two singles and two walks in what was by far the best of his six starts this season.

Jorge Polanco had an RBI triple and an RBI double, and rookie Alex Kirilloff kept up his torrid start with two doubles for the Twins. One of them was a two-out, run-scoring line drive to left field in a three-run sixth that came against the left-handed reliever, Kolby Allard, brought in to face him.

Adolis García hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning for the Rangers against Brandon Waddell, who was called up from Triple-A before the game, but Tyler Duffey escaped with a 5-3 lead intact after allowing his inherited runner to score.

Joey Gallo hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth against Taylor Rogers, who got his second save by striking out García.

Maybe the biggest mystery of Minnesota’s rough first month was the struggle by Maeda, who finished second in AL Cy Young Award voting last year. The Twins weren’t publicly worried, though, just hopeful he’d make some adjustments to his off-speed pitches. The right-hander obliged, lowering his ERA from 6.56 to 5.34 while leading the Twins to their fourth victory in five games.

Dane Dunning (1-2) was better than his last two starts for the Rangers, done in by a bit of bad luck and plain old hustle by the Twins while allowing two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Kirilloff used a headfirst slide for his first double in the second inning, went to third on a flyout by Polanco and came around to score on Gallo’s errant throw from right field.

Luis Arraez scored on Josh Donaldson’s two-out double in the third, when he awkwardly collided with airborne catcher Jose Trevino’s legs and leaped up to touch the plate. The players were tangled, but Trevino’s glove hand never grazed Arraez, who was later removed with concussion symptoms.

SURGING BUXTON

Byron Buxton, who went hitless for only the fourth game this season, was selected the AL player of the month for April. He’s the first Twins player to win the monthly award since Delmon Young in July 2010, after batting .426 in 68 at-bats with the best OPS (1.363) for any month in team history.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: No decision had been made yet on whether RHP Kohei Arihara (sore right middle finger) will need time on the injured list, manager Chris Woodward said. Arihara’s next turn in the rotation has already been pushed back. The pitcher will play catch Tuesday to test his finger.

Twins: Starting pitchers for Wednesday and Thursday had yet to be determined, with Michael Pineda hurting a little and Matt Shoemaker struggling a lot. Pineda was hit on the wrist by a batted ball Friday and has experienced some swelling and stiffness since. RHP Randy Dobnak was sent to Triple-A St. Paul for more work, eliminating one option if a fill-in starter is needed.

UP NEXT

Twins LHP J.A. Happ (2-0, 1.96 ERA) takes the mound Tuesday night, when Rangers RHP Kyle Gibson (3-0, 2.16 ) makes his first appearance against his longtime team. Drafted in the first round in 2009, Gibson pitched seven seasons in Minnesota before signing with Texas last year. He is the career leader in both wins (32) and losses (36) at Target Field.

The oldest of Gibson’s three children, 7-year-old daughter Hayden, assured him prior to the series she would be cheering for him, despite her diehard allegiance to the Twins. She once asked her parents if she could marry Buxton’s son, Brix, who is the same age.

“I’ve got to take it easy there, because you never know when that relationship’s going to go farther,” Gibson said, when asked if he planned to initiate any friendly ribbing of his former teammates.

More AP MLB coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Kaprizov, Brodin give Wild come back over Golden Knights 6-5

By

The Associated Press

-

May 4, 2021

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Jonas Brodin scored with 1:06 left, 26 seconds after Kirill Kaprizov had tied the game to help the Minnesota Wild beat the Las Vegas Golden Knights 6-5 on Monday night.

Nick Bonino added two goals and an assist, while Joel Eriksson Ek and Kevin Fiala also scored for Minnesota, which trailed by two goals twice in the game. Cam Talbot stopped 27 shots for the Wild, who have beat West-leading Las Vegas five times in the seven matchups this season.

Mark Stone had a goal and assist. Shea Theodore, Alec Martinez, Alex Tuch and Jonathan Marchessault also scored for the Golden Knights. Robin Lehner made 26 saves in goal.

The two teams finish a two-game set Wednesday in Minnesota.

Monday was a particularly chippy game between two teams who could possibly meet in the playoffs. Las Vegas started the day first in the West with 74 points, four ahead of the Colorado Avalanche. Minnesota was third in the division with 68 points, two behind Colorado.

Fiala started the comeback and three-goal third period with his 20th goal of the season. Kaprizov, who is earning a reputation for clutch plays in his rookie season, scored his 24th and Brodin flipped a puck from the blue line that found it’s way past Lehner’s right shoulder.

Eriksson Ek’s goal just 3:36 was an early sign of a dizzying game between the two teams who have already clinched playoff berths. There were three goals scored 7:48 and five total in the first period.

Stone scored for the ninth time in 11 games in the second. Marchessault’s goal was his fifth in five games.

Bonino added his second goal between Stone and Marchessault’s tallies for his first multi-goal game of the year.

PACIORETTY SCRATCHED

Max Pacioretty, Las Vegas’ leading goal scorer with 24, was scratched with an undisclosed injury. Pacioretty didn’t play in the third period or overtime of the Golden Knights’ win at Arizona on Saturday. Pacioretty has missed three games all season.

Nicolas Roy (undisclosed) was back in the lineup for Las Vegas after missing three games.

GETTING KNIGHTED

To help fill in for Pacioretty, Peyton Krebs made his NHL debut. Krebs was the 17th overall pick in the 2019 draft by the Golden Knights. The 20-year-old earned his first NHL point with an assist on Tuch’s goal in the first.

Krebs started this season with Winnipeg of the Western Hockey League before making his pro debut with the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League. He had one goal and four assists in five games with Henderson.

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Curry’s 41 points push Warriors past Pelicans 123-108

By

The Associated Press

-

May 4, 2021

NEW ORLEANS — Stephen Curry scored 41 points, Draymond Green had 10 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors took a big step toward locking up a postseason berth with a 123-108 victory over the desperate New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night.

The Warriors, who currently occupy a Western Conference play-in position, moved four games ahead of 11th-place New Orleans with seven games remaining. But these teams meet twice more, giving the Pelicans a small measure of hope — if they can figure out how to contain Curry.

Pelicans defenders often looked mesmerized by the Warriors star as he dribbled along the perimeter before pulling up for deep 3-pointers or initiating clever drives toward the rim. His eight 3s included a pull-up from 30 feet as he seemed to dazzle what should have been a hostile New Orleans crowd of nearly 4,000.

Andrew Wiggins added 26 points for Golden State, with 10 coming in a key stretch early in the fourth quarter.

Zion Williamson scored 32 points and Brandon Ingram added 19 points for the Pelicans, who trailed by as many as 25 in the first half of a game they urgently needed to win. Lonzo Ball, who helped spur an overtime victory in Minnesota two night earlier, continued to struggle with consistent production.

He missed 15 of 18 shots, going 1 of 9 from 3-point range.

New Orleans was as close as six points when Willy Hernangomez’s short hook made it 79-73 with nearly five minutes still remaining in the third quarter.

That’s when Curry led another Warriors surge, highlighted by his step-back 3 from 28 feet that made it 92-76.

Despite Curry and Green heading to the bench early in the fourth quarter, New Orleans struggled to close the gap. Wiggins scored Golden State’s first 10 points of the final period, hitting a pair of 3s and a leaning, left-handed layup before tumbling across the baseline.

Then Curry checked back in and hit his final 3 of the night to make it 108-90.

Curry scored 21 points in the first half, including a trio of 3s in the first quarter, the final two of which had the crowd gasping. On the first, Curry pulled up from 30 feet. He came back soon after with a 27-footer that gave him 17 first-quarter points and the Warriors their first 20-point lead at 39-19.

Pool’s 3 made it 58-33 before the Pelicans suddenly found a bit of momentum. They closed the half on a 19-6 run, which included Eric Bledsoe’s double-pump pull-up from the top of the key as he was fouled from behind, and Ball’s right wing 3 at the horn.

The spurt cut the Warriors’ lead to 66-54 and gave the Pelicans hope. That is, until Curry squelched it.

TIP-INS

Warriors: Juan Toscano-Anderson scored 14 points and Poole finished with 11. … Improved to 2-1 on their current four-game trip and have won nine of 13 overall. … Curry’s point total eclipsed his already prolific 36.5-point average during his previous 17 games. … Curry has nine 40-point games this season, including six in the past 15 games. … Combined for 17 3s. … Outscored New Orleans 23-14 on fast breaks.

Pelicans: Naji Marshall scored 12 points, while Bledsoe added 11 and Hernangomez 10. … Fell to 17-17 at home. … Missed 20 of 25 3-point attempts. … Committed 17 turnovers, leading to 29 Warriors points.

UP NEXT

Warriors: Remain in New Orleans to play the Pelicans again on Tuesday night before heading home for their final six regular-season games.

Pelicans: A five-game road trip follows the rematch with Golden State.

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Carmelo Anthony moves into 10th place on NBA scoring list

By

The Associated Press

-

May 4, 2021

ATLANTA — Carmelo Anthony of the Portland Trail Blazers moved into 10th place on the NBA’s career scoring list with 14 points against the Hawks on Monday night.

Anthony now has 27,318 points in his career, surpassing Elvin Hayes (27,313) to move into the Top 10.

Next up for the 36-year-old Anthony: Moses Malone at 27,409 points

In the past two seasons, Anthony has passed nine players on the career scoring list.

He knocked off Alex English, Kevin Garnett, John Havlicek and Paul Pierce last season; this season, he’s taken down Tim Duncan, Dominique Wilkins, Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon and now Hayes.

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Bortuzzo, Schenn score in Blues’ 3-1 victory over Ducks

By

The Associated Press

-

May 4, 2021

ST. LOUIS — Robert Bortuzzo got his first goal of the season and Brayden Schenn also scored, leading the St. Louis Blues to a 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night.

Jordan Binnington had 19 saves to earn his 70th career win, becoming the 10th goaltender in Blues history to reach the mark. The Blues have won seven of their last nine against the Ducks and are 5-1-1 this season against Anaheim.

Ryan O’Reilly added an empty-netter to seal the win.

Ryan Getzlaf scored for Anaheim and John Gibson had 29 saves.

The teams meet again Wednesday in St. Louis.

Bortuzzo gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead at 2:13 of the third period. From behind the net, Jordan Kyrou saw Bortuzzo in the slot and his wrist shot found the back of the net. It was Bortuzzo’s 17th goal in his 10-year NHL career. His last goal came March 8, 2020, at Chicago.

The Blues have won six of their last eight games at home. The win puts St. Louis five points ahead of Arizona for the final playoff spot in the West Division. The Blues have three games in hand on Arizona, which hosted Los Angeles Monday.

After a scoreless first period, each team scored within 25 seconds of each in the second period.

St. Louis took a 1-0 lead at 5:52 when Schenn snapped a wrist shot by Gibson for a power-play goal. Schenn has seven points in seven games against the Ducks this season.

The Ducks tied it with an unassisted goal by Getzlaf at 6:17. Colton Parayko was unable to handle a pass from Sammy Blais. Getzlaf picked off the pass and buried the puck on a breakaway.

MILESTONE

RW David Perron played in his 900th career game and 600th with St. Louis. He has 600 career points and 400 with the Blues. Perron, who assistd on O’Reilly’s late goal, is the 14th player in Blues history to dress in 600 games with the club and the 57th active player to reach 900 career games. Perron was originally drafted 26th overall by the Blues in 2007.

MAYBE WEDNESDAY

David Backes, who is in the final year of a five-year contract he signed when he left St. Louis, did not take part in the morning skate. Backes has played in one of the last 11 games and only 14 all season. Ducks coach Dallas Eakins held out hope Backes has a chance to play Wednesday.

“I know what he has meant to the St. Louis organization in the past, obviously being a captain and I think really setting a standard for leadership, character and work ethic,” Eakins said. “Even though he has been limited in the number of games he has played for us, he has not relented with his leadership, with his character or with his work ethic.”

INJURY UPDATES

Blues: RW Vladimir Tarasenko (lower-body injury) returns to the ice after missing two games. With Tarasenko back, Kyle Clifford was scratched. … D Vince Dunn (upper-body injury) will miss his fourth consecutive game. He did take part in the morning skate. … D Torey Krug (upper body injury) will miss his second consecutive game. He is second on the team with 28 assists.

Ducks: C Adam Henrique, who has been out the past week while in COVID-19 protocol (though he did not test positive), is on the road trip but did not play. He has missed five games. … D Josh Manson (upper-body injury) hasn’t played since suffering his injury during a fight April 20 — missing six games — at Los Angeles. He is on the trip but is “day to day and we’ll see how that one goes,” Eakins said.

ROSTER MOVE

The Ducks recalled D Josh Mahura, 22, from San Diego of the AHL on Monday. Mahura, who hasn’t seen any NHL action since March, has a goal and three points in 11 games with Anaheim this season.

More AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Sprong sends Capitals to 6-3 win over eliminated Rangers

By

The Associated Press

-

May 4, 2021

NEW YORK — Daniel Sprong’s tiebreaking goal in the third period propelled the Washington Capitals to a 6-3 victory over the fading New York Rangers, who were knocked out of playoff contention Monday night.

Nic Dowd, Conor Sheary, Garnet Hathaway, Niklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson also scored for the Capitals as they snapped a two-game skid. Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves to earn the 19th win of his rookie season.

Mika Zibanejad scored twice and Kaapo Kakko also had a goal for New York, which dropped its third consecutive game. Artemi Panarin added two assists and Igor Shesterkin stopped 34 shots, but the Rangers were eliminated from the postseason picture when Boston beat New Jersey.

Alex Ovechkin returned to the lineup after missing four games with a lower-body injury but went to the locker room after playing 39 seconds in the first period and did not return. Washington’s captain remains one goal from tying Marcel Dionne for fifth on the NHL’s career list.

Sprong put the Capitals ahead 4-3 at 4:37 of the third period. Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith misplayed a puck that set up Sprong for his 12th goal of the season.

Backstrom provided insurance when he flipped the puck over the glove of Shesterkin at 11:41 to make it 5-3.

Hathaway knotted the game at 3 with his sixth of the season at 18:30 of the second. Dowd stripped the puck from 21-year-old defenseman K’Andre Miller prior to a scramble in front that Hathaway eventually capitalized on.

New York erased a 2-0 deficit in the first period with three consecutive goals.

Zibanejad notched his second of the game on the power play at 2:30 of the second. Ryan Strome found the Swedish center all alone in the slot after receiving a cross-ice pass from Panarin.

Kakko gave New York a 3-2 advantage at 4:35 with a skilled forehand-backhand maneuver. Alexis Lafreniere fooled Washington defenseman Zdeno Chara with a deke to his backhand to set up Kaako.

Zibanejad trimmed the Rangers’ first-period deficit to one goal with his 21st of the season at 18:00. Panarin received a pass outside the blue line, then gracefully spun into the offensive zone and found a streaking Zibanejad. The goal helped the Rangers snap a 144:11 scoring drought that included back-to-back shutout losses against the New York Islanders.

The Capitals gained a two-goal advantage with first-period goals from Dowd and Sheary just 92 seconds apart.

Dowd opened the scoring when his wrist shot zipped through the legs of Shesterkin at 14:12.

Washington doubled its advantage when a puck eluded several Rangers skaters and found its way to Sheary’s stick before a turnaround wrist shot. Michael Raffl and Tom Wilson assisted.

Panarin did not return after a second-period quarrel that led to a double-minor penalty and 10-minute misconduct for Wilson. The bruising forward added an empty-net goal late in the third.

ROSTER SHUFFLING

Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov and goaltender Ilya Samsonov did not dress for disciplinary reasons after being late to a team function. … F T.J. Oshie missed the game while attending to a personal family matter. … D Justin Schultz unexpectedly did not participate in warmups due to a lower-body injury. As a result, Washington was only able to dress 17 skaters (11 forwards, six defensemen) instead of the permitted 18.

BALANCED ATTACK

The Rangers are the only NHL team that has five players with at least 44 points (no other team has more than three). New York is one of two clubs with three players who have 20 or more goals (Pittsburgh is the other).

TRI-STATE AREA

The Rangers are in the midst of a 17-game stretch in which they only play in the New York metropolitan area (11 games at MSG, four at Nassau Coliseum and two at Prudential Center in New Jersey). It began April 6 and will end Thursday when the Rangers visit Boston.

UP NEXT

The teams conclude their eight-game season series Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Barkov scores OT winner, Panthers over Stars 5-4.

By

The Associated Press

-

May 4, 2021

SUNRISE, Fla. — Aleksander Barkov scored 2:50 into overtime to lift the Florida Panthers to a 5-4 win over the Dallas Stars on Monday night.

Jonathan Huberdeau, Nikita Gusev, Gustav Forsling and MacKenzie Weegar also scored for the Panthers, and Owen Tippett had two assists.

Spencer Knight stopped 25 shots in his third career start and fourth appearance. Knight, who turned 20 on April 19th, is the youngest goalie in NHL history to start 4-0.

The Panthers are two points behind Carolina for first place in the Central Division and two points ahead of Tampa Bay. The Hurricanes and Lightning each have two games in hand over the Panthers.

Tyler Seguin scored a goal in his first game of the season, Roope Hintz had a goal and an assist, and Joe Kiviranta and Joe Pavelski also scored for Dallas. Anton Khudobin allowed four goals on 15 shots before being replaced by Jake Oettinger early in the second period. Oettinger finished with 27 saves.

The Stars sit four points behind the Nashville Predators for the final playoff spot in the Central Division.

In overtime, Barkov fired a shot from the right circle during a power-play that beat Oettinger on the stick side.

Trailing 4-2, the Stars scored two goals in 11 seconds to tie the score. Kiviranta pulled the Stars within one when his shot from the left circle went past Knight’s glove and into the net at 3:55 of the third. Seguin, playing his first game since hip surger last Nov. 2, tied it when he backhanded in a rebound. It was the fastest two goals the Stars have scored this season.

Huberdeau and Gusev scored 49 seconds apart to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead 2:42 into the game.

Pavelski’s power-play goal pulled Dallas wthin one with 7:56 left in the first. Pavelski leads the Stars with 45 points, scoring 22 goals and 23 assists.

Weegar had a hand in the next two goals, but one was credited to Dallas. Weegar’s wrist shot from the slot stretched the Panthers lead to 3-1 with 5:47 left in the first.

Hintz was credited with a goal when forechecked Weegar before Weegar threw the puck across the crease and it hit Knight’s skate and went across the goal line. The fluky goal closed the score to 3-2 with 2:44 left in the first.

Forsling’s goal 54 seconds into the second put the Panthers ahead 4-2 and chased Khudobin from the game.

TIMELY RETURN

Seguin returned to action for the first time since undergoing a right hip arthroscopy and labral repair after the 2020 post-season. Seguin was activated off the injured reserve earlier on Monday and was a game-time decision. Seguin, 29, led the Stars in scoring the past two seasons.

FIRST TIME

Panthers goalie Philippe Desrosiers backed up Knight. Desrosiers, 25, was selected by the Stars in the second round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft anddonned an NHL jersey for the first time.

INJURY UPDATE

Panthers: Sam Bennett day-to-day (upper body), Carter Verhaeghe: out (upper body), Patric Hornqvist: day-to-day (upper body).

ATTENDANCE

The Panthers cap attendance at 25% capacity. Monday’s game drew 4,702.

UP NEXT

Stars: At Tampa Bay on Wednesday night to open a two-game series.

Panthers: Host Tampa Bay on Saturday night to open a two-game series.

Velasquez, Realmuto, Neris lift Phillies over rewers 4-3

By

The Associated Press

-

May 4, 2021

PHILADELPHIA — Vince Velasquez threw six sharp innings, J.T. Realmuto hit a two-run homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 Monday night.

Velasquez (1-0) allowed one run and four hits, striking out six in his longest outing this season. Hector Neris struck out Lorenzo Cain with the bases loaded in the ninth to preserve the win.

Brewers starter Adrian Houser (2-3) gave up four runs – two earned – and four hits in six innings.

Cain blasted a solo homer onto the concourse behind the left-center field stands to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead in the first in his first at-bat off the injury list. But NL Central-leading Milwaukee couldn’t do anything else until Philadelphia went to the bullpen.

Sam Coonrod struck out the side in the seventh but the Brewers loaded the bases the next two innings. Connor Brogdon walked two and yielded an infield single to Christian Yelich in the eighth.

After Travis Shaw’s sacrifice fly cut it to 4-2, Neris entered. Avisail Garcia’s fielder’s choice grounder drove in another run.

Neris then picked Garcia off first to end the inning and needed 40 pitches to earn his sixth save in seven chances.

Daniel Vogelbach lined a double to start the ninth and Pablo Reyes ran for him. Neris struck out Luis Urias and Luke Maile swinging. Pinch-hitter Billy McKinney walked and Kolten Wong reached on an infield single to load the bases. Cain went down on a checked-swing to end the game.

Realmuto crushed his third homer into the second deck in left to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead in the first.

Roman Quinn drove an RBI triple the opposite way in the second and scored on Velasquez’s infield grounder to make it 4-1. Both runs were unearned because of a throwing error on shortstop Luis Urias that allowed Odubel Herrera to reach second safely following his grounder.

TOSSED

Phillies LF Matt Joyce was ejected by plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt for arguing a called third strike to end the seventh.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers: Yelich hadn’t played since April 11 due to a lower back strain. Cain hadn’t played since April 13 because of a left quad strain.

Phillies: RF Bryce Harper wasn’t in the lineup because of a sore left wrist. Manager Joe Girardi said he’s hopeful the slugger will avoid the injury list.

ROSTER MOVES

Brewers: Slumping 1B Keston Hiura and OF Tyrone Taylor were sent to the alternate training site to make room for Yelich and Cain. … RHP Phil Bickford was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Phillies: LHP José Alvarado was placed on suspended list. … INF Scott Kingery was optioned to alternate training site. … LHP Cristopher Sánchez was recalled from alternate training site.

UP NEXT

LHP Eric Lauer (1-0, 0.00 ERA) starts for Milwaukee and RHP Aaron Nola (2-1, 3.11) goes for the Phillies on Tuesday night.

More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports