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Pirates Roster moves

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Pirates Roster moves

The Pittsburgh Pirates today placed infielder Ji Man Choi on the 10-day injured list (retro to April 14) with a strain of the left Achilles tendon.

Infielder Tucupita Marcano has been recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Marcano was hitting .422 (19-for-45) with seven doubles, one triple, one home run, 10 RBI, .458 OBP, .689 slugging percentage and 1.147 OPS in 11 games with Indianapolis at the time of his promotion to the big leagues.

Coming into today, Marcano ranked fourth in the International League in batting, tied for first in hits and doubles, tied for fourth in extra base hits (nine) and tied for seventh in total bases (31).

Marcano will wear uniform #30.

Twins reinstate Max Kepler from 10-day injured list

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Twins reinstate Max Kepler from 10-day injured list

Matt Wallner optioned to Triple-A St. Paul

NEW YORK, NY – The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have reinstated outfielder Max Kepler from the 10-day Injured List.

Kepler, who missed the Twins’ last 10 games with right patellar tendinitis, went 2-for-16, with a walk and a home run in four games prior to landing on the 10-day Injured List on April 8.

To make room for Kepler on the 26-man roster, the Twins have optioned outfielder Matt Wallner to Triple-A St. Paul. Wallner played in six games for the Twins, going 0-for-8 with one walk and one run scored.

NBA Playoff Round 1 Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves (0-0) at Denver Nuggets (0-0)

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NBA Playoff Round 1 Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves (0-0) at Denver Nuggets (0-0)

The Denver Nuggets are a No. 1 seed for the first time since joining the NBA, but the franchise knows the perils of being the Western Conference’s top team.

Denver became the first No. 8 seed to win a series when it upset the Seattle SuperSonics in 1994. The Nuggets were playing without pressure that season, but they have to face the burden of expectations in 2023.

They will start dealing with those expectations when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday night.

Minnesota grabbed the No. 8 seed with a blowout win over Oklahoma City on Friday night and will play after a day of rest.

The franchises have met in the postseason once, in 2004, when the Timberwolves, the No. 1 seed, beat the eighth-seeded Nuggets in five games. The roles are reversed this time, but Minnesota is confident.

The teams split four games in the regular season, with each winning on its home court, but there were caveats to those games. The Timberwolves didn’t have Karl-Anthony Towns available in any of the four games, but he is healthy for this series, and now veteran point guard Mike Conley is in the rotation after coming over in a trade-deadline deal.

And for Denver, which was missing pieces when the teams met, three of those four contests were the second game of a back-to-back.

The Nuggets’ hopes for a deep postseason run will come down to health. MVP candidate Nikola Jokic missed several games down the stretch with a tight calf but says he is fine.

Point guard Jamal Murray is dealing with a thumb injury on his right (shooting) hand. He is listed as day-to-day but should be in the lineup.

The top players in this series could cancel each other out, so it would be up to secondary players to decide the outcome. For Denver, that means Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon playing key roles.

Gordon will likely draw Towns as a defensive assignment while the Nuggets will count on Porter’s ability to hit shots. Denver coach Michael Malone has encouraged Porter to “let it fly” when he has an open look, which is bound to happen with Jokic orchestrating from the middle and drawing double teams.

Mostly, the Nuggets have to be ready against a familiar opponent.

NBA Playoff Round 1 Preview: Los Angeles Clippers (0-0) at Phoenix Suns (0-0)

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NBA Playoff Round 1 Preview: Los Angeles Clippers (0-0) at Phoenix Suns (0-0)

The Phoenix Suns bought Kevin Durant to help them get over the hump in their quest for their first NBA title.

The fourth-seeded Phoenix Suns and fifth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers will begin their best-of-seven Western Conference first round series on Sunday night in Phoenix.

After losing in the 2021 NBA Finals to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Suns finished the regular season with a 64-18 record, which was the best in the NBA. However, Phoenix was humiliated by the Dallas Mavericks in the conference semifinals of last season, losing by an average of 30 points in the final two games.

When Devin Booker went down with a groin injury this season, Phoenix had a bad season, so the team came up with a solution: the Brooklyn Nets by acquiring Durant. They acquired the four-time scoring champion as part of a deal that also included five first-round draft picks and outstanding young forwards Cameron Johnson and Mikal Bridges.

Durant has only appeared in eight Suns games due to injuries, scoring an average of 26 points and helping Phoenix win all eight, but his presence gives the Suns hope that they can win a championship. Phoenix has never won a NBA Finals game.

Another flop in the playoffs would be a significant disappointment with Durant, Booker, and star point guard Chris Paul in the same lineup.

When star forward Kawhi Leonard tore the ACL in his right knee in the previous series against the Utah Jazz, the Clippers lost to the Suns in the Western Conference finals.

Since suffering the injury, Leonard hasn’t played in a playoff game in 22 months. During the second half of this season, the two-time NBA Finals MVP played solid basketball.

Paul George, who suffered a knee injury on March 21 and split four regular-season meetings with the Suns, will start the series for Los Angeles.

Concerning Leonard, he said he realizes the Suns are different with Durant on the program he sees it as an agreeable test.

Late in the season, Los Angeles brought in veteran point guard Russell Westbrook, who adds a tasty side dish to the series.

Before Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder as a free agent in the summer of 2016, there were reports that Westbrook and Durant’s relationship had soured. They worked together for eight seasons with the Thunder.

Durant additionally got along when gotten some information about his previous running mate and said he hopes to see one of a kind Westbrook.

NBA Playoff Round 1 Preview: Miami Heat (0-0) at Milwaukee Bucks (0-0)

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NBA Playoff Round 1 Preview: Miami Heat (0-0) at Milwaukee Bucks (0-0)

In preparation for their anticipated extended run in the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks have been resting.

With a victory of 102-91 over the visiting Chicago Bulls in a play-in elimination game, the Miami Heat just advanced into the postseason. After losing on Tuesday to the Atlanta Hawks, who were visiting, the Heat were faced with the challenge of winning or going home.

The Heat currently hold the No. 8 seed as they travel to play the top-cultivated Bucks in Game 1 on Sunday. Milwaukee, which had the NBA’s best normal season record (58-24), rested MVP finalist Giannis Antetokounmpo in the last three rounds of the customary season.

When Antetokounmpo spoke to reporters, he was aware of the opponent in the first round, but he wasn’t looking past the Heat. However, Milwaukee’s core group, which includes Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year, Khris Middleton, and Bobby Portis and is just two years removed from winning the NBA title, has the highest expectations.

After losing their bid for the title in the Eastern Conference semifinals the year before, the Bucks are also well aware of the significance of having homecourt advantage. In Game 7, the Boston Celtics won because they played at home.

The Heat were the last group to qualify in the East subsequent to completing Friday’s success with a 15-1. Jimmy Butler and Max Strus each scored 31 points.

The Heat, who lost in the East finals to the Celtics last year, won nine fewer games in the regular season and finished 44-38.

Miami and Milwaukee split the season series, with Milwaukee winning all four games. In January, Antetokounmpo missed both games because of knee soreness, but the Heat won both games in three days. He participated in both of the Bucks’ victories in February, but he was forced to leave the 128-99 victory on February 24 due to a knee injury.

In the last four seasons, the teams have met three times in the playoffs. In 2020, Miami won five games, and in 2021, Milwaukee won a sweep.

NBA Playoff Round 1 Preview: Los Angeles Lakers (0-0) at Memphis Grizzlies (0-0)

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NBA Playoff Round 1 Preview: Los Angeles Lakers (0-0) at Memphis Grizzlies (0-0)

On Sunday afternoon, Ja Morant’s rested Memphis Grizzlies take on LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.

The seventh-seeded Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime in Tuesday’s play-in game, while the second-seeded Grizzlies have had a week off to get ready for the postseason.

James (30 focuses, 10 bounce back) and Anthony Davis (24 focuses, 15 sheets) kept twofold duplicates in the Lakers’ 108-102 win against the Wolves.

The Los Angeles defense held Minnesota to 12 points in the fourth quarter and four points in overtime, and Davis added three blocked shots.

Eight times since March 3, Davis has scored 30 or more points, contributing significantly to Los Angeles’ surge in the final month of the regular season. Over that time, the Lakers went 13-6, putting them in a good position to host the play-in game.

Their reward is a meeting with a Memphis team that won 51 games during the regular season and finished second in the West by two games. However, on March 7, the Lakers defeated the Thunder 112-103 to win the season series 2-1.

In that game, Davis scored 30 points and grabbed 22 rebounds despite missing James and Morant.

Morant is the impetus of the Memphis offense, averaging group highs of 26.2 places and 8.1 helps per game. D’Angelo Russell, a late-season acquisition for the Lakers, however, stated that he “would rather talk about (Los Angeles)” when asked about facing Morant.

Russell did admit that “containing Ja Morant” was the key to slowing Memphis down.

Without one of its stoppers, Memphis will attempt to contain Los Angeles on the other end. With a knee injury that has kept him out since January, Steven Adams, who averaged 11.5 rebounds per game during the regular season, could miss the playoffs.

As a result, Jaren Jackson Jr., one of the three finalists announced on Friday for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, will have to deal with Davis more.

Jackson contributed significantly to Memphis’ finishing the regular season with the NBA’s lowest opponent field-goal percentage (.453) and an average of a league-high 3.0 blocks per game.

In the absence of Adams, Xavier Tillman Sr. will be asked to perform some of the defensive responsibilities. In his 29 games played this season, Tillman averaged 9.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

Memphis held the No. 2 seed last year, as well, yet bowed out in the Western Conference elimination rounds with a 4-2 series misfortune to possible boss Golden State.

During the 2020-21 postseason, Phoenix eliminated the Lakers in the first round, leaving them out of the playoffs last year.

MLS Preview: Los Angeles Football Club (4-0-2) at Los Angeles Galaxy (0-3-3)

MLS Editor
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MLS Preview: Los Angeles Football Club (4-0-2) at Los Angeles Galaxy (0-3-3)

The Los Angeles Galaxy and the Los Angeles Football Club each won their two home matches against each other in 2022, including the Los Angeles Football Club’s 3-2 win in the Conference Semifinals en route to lifting MLS Cup. Eight of the 16 meetings between the sides have featured at least five goals, including each of the last two.

The Los Angeles Galaxy have collected just three points in their first six matches this season (W0 D3 L3), equaling their fewest points at this stage of a season (1997). Los Angeles Galaxy’s three goals after six games are the fewest its ever scored at this stage of season.

Los Angeles Football Club has won its first four home matches this MLS season but has played scoreless draws in both of its away matches. Prior to the last two matches, none of Los Angeles Football Club’s first 77 away MLS matches (including playoffs) finished goalless.

Riqui Puig has attempted to take on defenders 37 times this season, successfully beating them 24 times. No player with 25 or more take-ons this season has a higher success rate than Puig (64.8%).

Carlos Vela has scored 10 goals in 11 career MLS appearances against the Los Angeles Galaxy (including playoffs), equaling the most by any player against a single opponent since Los Angeles Football Club joined the league in 2018 (R. Ruidiaz vs Portland Timbers). Vela has not scored in any of his last four meetings with the Los Angeles Galaxy in all competitions.

MMA Preview: Max Holloway (23-7) vs Arnold Allen (19-1)

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MMA Preview: Max Holloway (23-7) vs Arnold Allen (19-1)

Max Holloway is taking on Arnold Allen in the headliner bout of UFC on ESPN 44, an event taking place in Kansas City on Saturday, April 15

Max Holloway vs. Arnold Allen headlines the next UFC event, and it’s going to be a real barnburner. Holloway is one of the best strikers in history, while Allen is currently one of the most technical fighters in the featherweight division. 

Max Holloway vs. Arnold Allen Odds

MoneylineOdds
Max Holloway-165
Arnold Allen+135

*Odds taken from Sports Odds Direct on Friday, April 14, 2023.

When, Where, and How to Watch?

  • Place: T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City, Missouri
  • Date: Saturday, April 15, 2023
  • Time: ~10:00 PM ET
  • How to Watch: ESPN 2 / ESPN+

Max Holloway’s Resurrection Starts on Saturday

Max Holloway is 23-7 with four of those losses happening in the last seven fights. But there’s a caveat. All of those defeats happened to elite fighters. He lost three times to the UFC Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, while the fourth loss happened to Dustin Poirier.

What’s interesting is that all of those defeats happened by decision, meaning that Holloway did not get himself embarrassed in any of those fights. The same goes actually for all of his fights in the UFC, in each of which he fought until the very end.

This guy’s not great on the floor, but he’s one of the greatest strikers in the world. In fact, Holloway is the record holder for the most significant strikes landed in the history of the UFC. He averages 7.24 strikers per minute, which is more than two times more than his next opponent.

Arnold Allen Hoping for That Great Leap Forward

The Englishman is 19-1 in his professional career with his only loss happening in 2014. It was a decision loss, and since then, he’s 12-0. In his last two, he won by KO/TKO each time, but before that, most of his wins came after the final bell. He also has four wins by submission, but the most recent of those happened in 2018.

Allen hasn’t fought as elite fighters as his next opponent, but he did a couple of big fights. In his most recent fight, for example, he defeated Calvin Kattar by technical knockout. His opponent injured his knee in round 2, but before that, Allan was the one who was dominating. That said, he 100% deserved to win that fight.

MLS Preview: Sporting Kansas City (0-4-3) at San Jose Earthquakes (3-2-2)

MLS Editor
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MLS Preview: Sporting Kansas City (0-4-3) at San Jose Earthquakes (3-2-2)

San Jose Earthquakes have just one win against Sporting Kansas City in the last 14 competitive meetings (D5 L8, with two of those draws ending with Sporting Kansas City advancing on penalties). If the Earthquakes fail to win on Saturday, it will be seven straight without a win, tying their longest winless streak in a series history (all competitions).

The San Jose Earthquakes are unbeaten at home this season (W3 D1) with the streak being the team’s longest home unbeaten run to start a season since 2017 (6 straight – W3 D3). The team’s 10 points at home are tied for its second most ever through four home games, trailing only the 2002 season (12).

Sporting Kansas City is the second team in MLS history to score only two goals in its first seven matches of a season, joining themselves (as the Wizards) in 1999. Sporting Kansas City is second in MLS in shot attempts this season, however, its shot conversion rate is just 1.9% (lowest in the league).

Cristian Espinoza opened the scoring in San Jose’s 1-1 draw the with New York Red Bulls on Saturday. It was Espinoza’s third time this season scoring the first goal of a match (among both teams), the most such goals of any MLS player this season.

Erik Thommy attempted five shots in Sporting Kansas City’s 1-0 loss to the Colorado Rapids, Thommy’s third game this season with at least five shots. That is tied for the most such games in MLS this season with Orlando City SC’s Martin Ojeda as Thommy also leads the league in shots with 29.

MLS Preview: Seattle Sounders FC (5-1-1) at Portland Timbers (1-4-2)

MLS Editor
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MLS Preview: Seattle Sounders FC (5-1-1) at Portland Timbers (1-4-2)

In the 18 MLS regular-season games played at Providence Park between the Portland timbers and Seattle Sounders FC. there have been 67 goals scored between the two teams (Seattle – 34, Portland 33). That is the most combined goals of any MLS fixture in a single venue since the Portland Timbers joined MLS in 2011.

The Portland Timbers have mustered 55 shots this season, the fewest in MLS in 2023 and 10 fewer than any other team that has played seven games. The Portland Timbers have never taken fewer than 76 shots over the first seven games of a season with its output also being their lowest in any seven-game span in the team’s MLS history.

Following a 3-0 win over St. Louis City SC, the Seattle Sounders FC are the first team in MLS history to score at least 15 goals while allowing three or fewer over the first seven games of a season. the only teams with larger goal differentials through seven games in MLS history are the Los Angeles Football Club in 2019 (+16) and Sporting Kansas City in 2000 (+13).

Aljaz Ivacic made eight saves in the Portland Timbers’ loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, tied for his second most in an MLS game (9vs Toronto FC last season). Since the beginning of last season, Ivacic is tied with Brad Stuver for most saves by a goalkeeper with 128, despite having played fewer games than 14 other goalies in that time.

In the win over St. Louis City SC, Nicolas Lodeiro notched his fourth assist of the season and the 74th in his MLS career. Since his debut in July 2016, Lodeiro leads MLS in assists while his 114 goal contributions (40 goals, 74 assists) trail only Carlos Vela (119) in that time.

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