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Four teams. Two spots in the World Series up for grabs. The league championship round of the 2023 MLB playoffs is in full swing with both the ALCS and NLCS now underway.

In the American League, the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros met in the early game, with the Rangers beating Houston for a second straight day to grab a dominant 2-0 series lead before heading to Arlington. Then, the Philadelphia Phillies jumped all over the Arizona Diamondbacks early — and held on late — to take a 1-0 NLCS lead.

We have you covered with takeaways and updates from both ballparks.

Key links: Full playoffs schedule and results

Takeaways

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Kyle Schwarber hammers first pitch to right for solo home run

Kyle Schwarber wastes no time putting the Phillies on the board with a solo home run to right field on the first pitch of his at-bat.

Philadelphia Phillies 5, Arizona Diamondbacks 3: The Phillies entered this NLCS as heavy favorites to beat the Diamondbacks and after a whole lot of early thunder against Arizona starter Zac Gallen, those odds now change to heavy, heavy favorites. Kyle Schwarber blasted a first-pitch home run to lead off the bottom of the first — with a Herculean 117 mph exit velocity. Two batters later, Bryce Harper launched another first-pitch home run off a four-seamer. In the second inning, Nick Castellanos tied Reggie Jackson’s mark of five home runs over three postseason games by going deep against yet another Gallen four-seamer.

Meanwhile, Zack Wheeler cruised into the sixth inning, retiring 15 in a row at one point. Give the Diamondbacks credit for scrapping their way back into this game and making it interesting, but now comes an uphill scenario. The feeling going into the series was the Diamondbacks had to fare well in the Gallen/Merrill Kelly starts since they will have to rely heavily on their bullpen in Games 3 and 4. Now they’ve lost a Gallen game while the Phillies’ offense remains on fire in becoming the first team in postseason history with 12 home runs over a three-game span.

As always, Citizens Bank Park was loud and happy, and it’s becoming more and more clear that it feels like a huge home-field advantage for the Phillies. They improved to 11-2 in the postseason there over the past two years, including 5-0 this October. — David Schoenfield


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Jonah Heim’s 1st postseason HR gives the Rangers a 5-1 lead

Jonah Heim hammers a solo home run to left field to give the Rangers a 5-1 lead over the Astros.

Texas Rangers 5, Houston Astros 4: The defending champion Astros are in a whole heap of trouble. There were several fulcrum-type moments in Game 2 in which the Astros seemed to be on the verge of tipping things back to familiarity, or at least the kind of dynamic we’ve come to expect from this bunch in the playoffs. But starter Nathan Eovaldi, manager Bruce Bochy and the Rangers responded every time.

This is what the playoffs are about: winning the big moments. The highlight reel for this dynamic was Eovaldi’s Houdini job in getting out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam with no runs scoring. Those were the three highest-leverage plate appearances of Eovaldi’s outing and he won them all.

The Astros kept chipping away with the long ball and that created some drama for the late innings. But Bochy went out on a limb to give Jose Leclerc a shot at a four-out save, which he completed despite issuing two walks before that first out in the bottom of the eighth. As has happened so many times when Bochy makes a postseason call, his players answer. The Rangers are up 2-0 with the next three games slated for Globe Life Field and Max Scherzer taking the hill in Game 3. — Bradford Doolittle

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Follow live: Kings look to take 3-0 series lead vs. Oilers

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Hagel suspended for Game 3 due to hit on Barkov

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Hagel suspended for Game 3 due to hit on Barkov

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Brandon Hagel was suspended one game by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday night for what it labeled “an extremely forceful body check to an unsuspecting opponent” that injured Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.

Hagel will miss Saturday’s Game 3 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers lead the series 2-0.

Around midway through the third period of Thursday’s Game 2, Tampa Bay was on the power play while trailing 1-0. Barkov pressured defenseman Ryan McDonagh deep in the Lightning zone. With the puck clearly past Barkov, Hagel lined him up for a huge hit that sent the Panthers captain to the ice and thumping off the end boards.

A penalty was whistled, and the officials conferred before calling a “five-minute penalty.” After review, Hagel was given a 5-minute major for interference. Barkov left the game with 10:09 remaining in regulation and did not return to the Panthers’ 2-0 win.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after the game that he didn’t expect Hagel to receive a major penalty for the hit.

“Refs make the call. I was a little surprised it was a five, but it was,” he said.

The NHL ruled that Hagel’s hit made “some head contact” on Barkov.

“It’s important to note that Barkov is never in possession of the puck on this play and is therefore not eligible to be checked in any manner,” the league said.

In the Friday hearing, held remotely, Hagel argued that he approached the play anticipating that Barkov would play the puck. But the Department of Player Safety said the onus was on Hagel to ensure that Barkov was eligible to be checked. It also determined that the hit had “sufficient force” for supplemental discipline.

It’s Hagel’s first suspension in 375 regular-season and 36 playoff games. He was fined for boarding Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen in May 2022.

The Panthers held an optional skate Friday. Coach Paul Maurice said Barkov “hasn’t been ruled out yet” but “hasn’t been cleared” for Game 3.

“He’s an irreplicable player,” Panthers defenseman Seth Jones said of Barkov. “One of the best centermen in the league. He’s super important to our team.”

The Lightning lose Hagel while they struggle to score in the series; they scored two goals in Game 1 and were shut out in Game 2. Tampa Bay was the highest-scoring team in the regular season (3.56), with Hagel contributing 35 goals and 55 assists in 82 games.

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Goalies Montembeault, Dobes leave Caps-Habs

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Goalies Montembeault, Dobes leave Caps-Habs

The Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens lost their starting goalies because of injuries in Game 3 of their first-round series Friday night.

Canadiens starter Sam Montembeault was replaced by rookie Jakub Dobes, who made his playoff debut, in the second period. Capitals starter Logan Thompson left late in the third period after a collision with teammate Dylan Strome.

The Canadiens won 6-3 to cut their series deficit to 2-1.

Montembeault left the crease with 8:21 remaining in the second period and the score tied 2-2. Replays showed him reaching for the back of his left leg after making a save on Capitals defenseman Alex Alexeyev. Montembeault had stopped 11 of 13 shots. For the series, he stopped 58 of 63 shots (.921 save percentage) with a 2.49 goals-against average.

Dobes, 23, was 7-4-3 in 16 games for the Canadiens in the regular season with a .909 save percentage. Dobes had a win over the Capitals on Jan. 10, stopping 15 shots in a 3-2 overtime win.

Thompson was helped from the ice by a trainer and teammates after Strome collided with him with 6:37 left in regulation right after Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky made it a 5-3 Montreal lead. Thompson attempted to skate off on his own but couldn’t put weight down on his left leg.

Backup goalie Charlie Lindgren replaced Thompson, who had been outstanding for the Capitals in the first two games of the series, winning both with a .951 save percentage and a 1.47 goals-against average. He made 30 saves on 35 shots in Game 3.

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