Injured Leafs forward Nylander misses Game 3
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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporter
William Nylander remained out of the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ lineup as they lost Game 3 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
The Leafs winger had already missed Games 1 and 2 with an undisclosed injury. Toronto trails 2-1 in the series after Wednesday’s 4-2 loss.
Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe had said there was “a chance” of Nylander stepping back in after he was a full participant in the team’s morning skate. Keefe said the final decision would hinge on how Nylander responded throughout the day.
Wednesday was the first time since his injury that Nylander had been in the Leafs’ regular rotation at the pregame skate, appearing on a line with Calle Jarnkrok and Pontus Holmberg. Nylander had been on the ice at least twice before Wednesday’s workout but stayed mostly on the perimeter doing his own work.
Once the main portion of Wednesday’s session concluded, Nylander performed extra drills with the Leafs’ projected scratches. That left some question about whether he’d be ready for Wednesday’s action.
Toronto was likely to get an offensive boost if Nylander played. He is coming off a 40-goal season with a career-best 98 points. He also has been a consistent playoff performer, registering 17 goals and 40 points in 50 postseason contests.
With Nylander unavailable, Keefe stuck with the same lineup he used in Games 1 and 2. That put rookie Nick Robertson back in on Toronto’s third line, where he’s been entrenched since the postseason started. Auston Matthews also was back in his top-line spot after skipping the Leafs’ morning skate for extra rest.
Meanwhile, the Bruins turned back to Jeremy Swayman in net for Game 3. Boston secured a dominant 5-1 victory behind Swayman in Game 1 then went with goaltender Linus Ullmark in a 3-2 Game 2 loss. Boston also shuffled the deck on its backend, replacing injured defenseman Andrew Peeke with Mason Lohrei and slotting him onto the top pairing with Charlie McAvoy.
TORONTO — Cleveland Guardians star Jose Ramirez was back in the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, two days after the third baseman left in the third inning because of a mild right ankle sprain.
The six-time All-Star was injured when he stumbled and fell while crossing first base on an infield single. Ramirez went down after being struck in the back by a throw from Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt.
Ramirez was batting third Sunday against right-hander Bowden Francis.
Ramírez sat out Saturday when Cleveland beat Toronto 5-3. He went 2 for 2 before departing Friday, boosting his average to .274. He has five home runs and 15 RBIs in 31 games.
In last Thursday’s 4-3 victory over Minnesota, Ramirez became the first primary third baseman to reach 250 homers and 250 stolen bases.
The Miami Marlins activated catcher Nick Fortes from the 10-day injured list Sunday morning. To make room for him on the active roster, starting second baseman Otto Lopez was placed on the 10-day injured list.
Fortes, the Marlins’ Opening Day catcher, posted six hits in 20 at-bats with two doubles, one triple and one RBI in seven appearances before going on the IL on April 10 with an injured left oblique muscle. The 28-year-old missed 20 games as the Marlins went 7-13 without him. To prepare for Sunday’s return, he rehabbed for two games at Triple-A Jacksonville and went 0-for-6.
Fortes figures to split time with 23-year-old rookie catcher Agustin Ramirez, who has delivered a .256/.293/.615 slash line with three homers and five RBIs in 10 games during his first stint in the bigs.
The 26-year-old Lopez hits the injured list, retroactive to Saturday, with a sprained right ankle. Lopez started the season hot with a .400 average to go with two homers, six RBIs and one stolen base during five games in March. Since then, he has batted .191 (17-for-89) with no homers, five RBIs and two steals.
Rookie Javier Sanoja, 22, has filled Lopez’s spot at second base the last two games and provided two doubles, two runs and one RBI in seven at-bats.
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