Connect with us

Published

on

PRAGUE — Brady Tkachuk scored a goal and added three assists, Cole Caufield scored twice and the United States clinched a playoff-round berth with a 4-1 win over Poland in preliminary round play at the men’s world hockey championships on Friday.

Michigan State goalie Trey Augustine stopped 20 shots, including all 11 he faced in a scoreless first period. Michael Kesselring also scored for the Americans, who improved to 3-1-1 and moved into second place in the Group B standings.

John Murray, who has Polish roots and is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, stopped 53 shots, including 34 of the first 36 he faced through two periods to keep the score tight. Grzegorz Pasiut scored Poland’s lone goal, briefly cutting the U.S. lead to 3-1 with 13:38 left in the third period.

Poland dropped to 0-4-1 and is in jeopardy of facing relegation.

Kesselring, a defenseman for NHL Utah, was set up by Tkachuk on a 3-on-1 rush to open the scoring 9:49 into the second period.

Tkachuk, the U.S. and Ottawa Senators captain, then made it 2-0 with 42 seconds left in the frame on a 2-on-1 break. Murray made the initial stop on Shane Pinto, and the puck got caught up in Tkachuk’s skate and went in as the forward was pushed from behind and crashed into the net.

The Americans close preliminary round play facing Kazakhstan on Sunday and Latvia on Tuesday.

In Group A play, Dominik Kubalik and Jakub Flek scored second-period goals 64 seconds apart, and the Czech Republic beat Austria 4-0. Petr Mrazek, who plays goal for the Chicago Blackhawks, picked up the shutout with 21 saves, and the host Czechs improved to 3-1-1 to take over first place in their pool.

Austria dropped to 1-3-1.

Earlier in the day, JJ Peterka had a goal and three assists, Wojciech Stachowiak set up four goals, and Germany clinched a Group B playoff berth with an 8-2 rout of Kazakhstan.

Philipp Grubauer, who plays for the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, stopped 18 shots. Peterka, a member of the Buffalo Sabres, scored the eventual game-winning goal in putting the Germans ahead 3-1 at the 1:11 mark of the second period.

Roman Starchenko and Artyom Korolyov scored for Kazakhstan, which is in jeopardy of facing relegation after dropping to 1-4. Andrey Shutov allowed three goals on 10 shots before being replaced by Nikita Boyarkin, who stopped 20 of 25 shots.

In Group A preliminary round play, Christian Wejse scored the decisive goal with 7:59 left in regulation of Denmark’s 4-3 win over winless Britain.

Mikkel Aagaard scored twice and Phillip Bruggisser had a goal and assist for the Danes, who snapped a three-game skid to improve to 2-3. Frederik Dichow made 28 saves in the victory.

Liam Kirk, Cade Neilson and Nathanael Halbert scored for Britain, which dropped to 0-4. Jackson Whistle finished with 24 saves for a team that’s been competitive despite its record, and opened the worlds with a 4-2 loss to Canada.

Continue Reading

Sports

Springer out after 3rd base hop, ending Jays’ rally

Published

on

By

Springer out after 3rd base hop, ending Jays' rally

TORONTO — Blue Jays outfielder George Springer skipped into third base on a key RBI hit by teammate Alejandro Kirk, and hopped right into an inning-ending out in the fifth on Sunday against the Athletics.

Springer was called out following a replay review after Athletics third baseman Max Schuemann alertly kept his glove on the Blue Jays right fielder while Springer hopped up and down on third base.

Springer, who had reached on an RBI single that opened the scoring for Toronto, was celebrating Kirk’s double that cut the deficit to 3-2.

The out call meant Toronto slugger Addison Barger didn’t get to bat with runners at second and third.

Schuemann had just entered the game as a defensive replacement, taking over for Miguel Andujar.

The Athletics had lost five straight and 16 of 17 entering Sunday.

Continue Reading

Sports

Rangers keep slumping slugger Garcia on bench

Published

on

By

Rangers keep slumping slugger Garcia on bench

ARLINGTON, Texas — Slumping Rangers slugger Adolis García was held out of Texas’ lineup for the third consecutive day Sunday, with president of baseball operations Chris Young saying the club wants the 2023 ALCS MVP to make some mechanical changes.

“We need him to kind of commit to some of these changes that we think will get him back to the ’23 version of himself and help him be the player that we know he can be,” Young said before Texas’ series finale against St. Louis.

García is hitting .155 in the past 20 games with 25 strikeouts. He is hitting .208 overall, with seven homers and a team-high 27 RBIs for a Rangers club that has struggled offensively. He ranked 14th in the majors with 122 home runs over the past four seasons.

García, who has started 55 of Texas’ 60 games in right field this season, missed only one other game before this weekend, with manager Bruce Bochy saying Friday that García was being given a mental break.

“It’s about the mental reset and coming back with more energy,” García told reporters Saturday. “I’m working on some stuff without the pressure of having to do something up there.”

García, 32, is in the final season of a two-year contract.

The anticipated return of Evan Carter to the active roster Tuesday, joining Wyatt Langford, Alejandro Osuna and Sam Haggerty, further crowds the Rangers outfield as García tries to return to the lineup.

“It’s going to be performance-driven at this point,” Young said.

Texas also made three roster moves before Sunday’s game. Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (triceps fatigue) was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Thursday, catcher Tucker Barnhart was designated for assignment, and right-hander Codi Heuer was selected from Triple-A Round Rock.

Continue Reading

Sports

Phils moving Walker to relief in bullpen shakeup

Published

on

By

Phils moving Walker to relief in bullpen shakeup

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies made moves to restructure their bullpen Sunday, removing Taijuan Walker from the rotation and recalling right-handed reliever Seth Johnson before their series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Mick Abel will take Walker’s place in the starting rotation Thursday in Toronto. Reliever Jose Ruiz was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for Johnson.

“I think Tai’s got a chance to make us a lot better coming out of the ‘pen,” manager Rob Thomson said.

Walker has made 10 appearances, including eight starts and two long relief appearances, with a 2-4 record and 3.53 ERA in 43⅓ innings. Thomson will use Walker in one-inning roles.

The 32-year-old Walker has been primarily a starter throughout his 13-year career. He is in the third year of a $72 million, four-year contract.

Abel made his major league debut on May 18, throwing six scoreless innings. The 23-year-old was the No. 15 pick in the 2020 amateur draft.

Johnson, 26, is 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 33 innings with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, transitioning from the starting rotation to a relief role. He made one appearance for the Phillies last year, allowing nine earned runs in 2⅓ innings on Sept. 8 against Miami.

Johnson was acquired by the Phillies from Baltimore on July 30, 2024, in a trade for Gregory Soto.

Ruiz had an 8.16 ERA in 14⅓ innings this season, including allowing five runs in one inning of Saturday’s 17-7 loss to the Brewers. The 30-year-old right-hander had a 5-1 record and 3.71 ERA in 52 appearances in 2024.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Trending