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MONTREAL — Brady and Matthew Tkachuk came out hitting, started scoring and put together a display of brotherly dominance playing together for the first time on a big stage.

The Tkachuks each scored twice, flourishing after being put on the ice at the same time, and the United States beat Finland 6-1 on Thursday night night in each team’s opening game at the 4 Nations Face-Off, a physical showdown played with edge throughout.

“That’s the way we play, one of the reasons why we’re on the team,” said Matthew Tkachuk, a reigning Stanley Cup champion who finished with three points. “You don’t change your game. You play your identity. It’s up to us and the rest of the guys to play to your strengths. That’s one of them.”

Everyone was finishing checks, including Jack Eichel dumping Finnish captain Aleksander Barkov into the U.S. bench. Brady Tkachuk bowled over 6-foot-6 Niko Mikkola with one of his game-high eight hits, and Matthew Tkachuk gave Patrik Laine an earful before a faceoff as the Americans began to take over.

Matthew called Brady “a beast,” and coach Mike Sullivan said the brothers “just have a funny way of dragging us into the fight.”

“I mean we kind of knew what to expect after watching [the Canada-Sweden] game that it was going to be fast and physical,” said defenseman Zach Werenski, who had three assists. “We have some guys on this team that can do that, right? You have the Tkachuks. We got [J.T.] Miller. We got a lot of big bodies. Eichel was throwing his body around tonight. I thought the pace was really good. I thought the physicality was good and I thought we responded well to all of it.”

The scoreboard made it look like more of a rout than it was for the first two periods, when quality chances were at a premium and space on the ice was hard to find. Matt Boldy scored the go-ahead goal on a textbook deflection of Minnesota Wild teammate Brock Faber‘s shot late in the second, then the floodgates opened early in the third.

Many fans hadn’t even returned to their seats from intermission when Matthew Tkachuk sailed a long shot in past Juuse Saros 15 seconds into the period. Saros then gave up another softie to Jake Guentzel, and Brady Tkachuk beat the struggling Nashville goaltender again to make it three U.S. goals in less than three minutes.

“The start of the third, it was — I don’t know how to say that, but we weren’t ready for that,” said Finland coach Antti Pennanen, who acknowledged he and his staff considered pulling Saros.

That onslaught quieted the very pro-Finland crowd full of Canadians eager to root against their country’s biggest hockey rival. Some even booed the U.S. anthem before the game, and there was plenty more where that came from for Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews several times he touched the puck.

Matthew Tkachuk added another for good measure on the power play with 8:47 left, and that was enough for the “U-S-A!” chants to fill the bowl at Bell Centre. In the waning minutes, a few U.S. fans proclaimed, “We want Canada!”

They face off Saturday night.

“I think it’s going to be the biggest game that I’ve ever played in my career,” Brady Tkachuk said. “We’ve been talking about that game especially. Really excited to experience it.”

Finland gave fans only one real opportunity to cheer, when late-added defenseman Henri Jokiharju beat Connor Hellebuyck clean on a shot 7:31 in to make it 1-0. Hellebuyck stopped the next 18 shots he faced to finish with 20 saves.

The same could not be said for Saros, who allowed six goals on 32 shots and could be replaced in net by Kevin Lankinen for Finland’s game against Sweden on Saturday.

“Of course we need to think about that,” Pennanen said. “It was a tough day for Juuse. “He was really good the first 40 minutes, but I think we need to analyze this game and make those decisions tomorrow or Saturday.”

The U.S. does not need to worry about making a switch there, but Sullivan made some keen midgame adjustments that contributed to his team moving to the top of the 4 Nations standings one turn through round-robin play.

During the second period, Sullivan moved Brady Tkachuk to left wing with Eichel and Matthew Tkachuk, and Kyle Connor to the second line alongside Matthews and Jack Hughes, and he flip-flopped his second and third defense pairs to put Noah Hanifin with Adam Fox, and Jaccob Slavin with Brock Faber.

“We’ve been together for four days,” Eichel said. “He’s coached for quite a while. I think we’re all trying to find chemistry and get comfortable with each other. That could mean some changes in lines and pairings and whatnot. I think everyone was prepared when their number was called and helped contribute to the win.”

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‘So that’s why they’re called the 0’s’: Twins troll Orioles after shutout win

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'So that's why they're called the 0's': Twins troll Orioles after shutout win

The Minnesota Twins are on a roll. They extended their winning streak to 11 games Thursday with a 4-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles that completed a series sweep. Their confidence carried over to social media, too, as they trolled the Orioles.

Minnesota used a three-run third inning to propel itself to victory, with home runs from DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Byron Buxton.

The Twins hold the longest win streak in MLB; its their their longest run of victories since winning 12 straight from April 22 to May 4 last season, according to ESPN Research. The franchise record is 15 set in 1991.

Minnesota poked fun at Baltimore’s namesake with a post after the game, referring to the Orioles also being known as the “O’s” — and swapping a zero in for the O.

The Twins have won each of their six matchups against the Orioles this season. All of them have come during Minnesota’s current win streak.

Minnesota (24-20) is fourth in the American League Central behind the Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers.

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Red Sox rookie Campbell working out at 1st base

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Red Sox rookie Campbell working out at 1st base

Star Boston Red Sox rookie Kristian Campbell has started working out at first base in the wake of Triston Casas‘ season-ending knee injury.

Campbell worked out at first before Friday night’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora addressed the situation when he spoke to reporters before the game.

“Looking for options,” Cora told reporters. “Obviously, we’re getting Romy [Gonzalez] probably at the end of the week, early next week, but just introduce him to first base and see how he looks. That’s where we’re at.”

Casas ruptured the tendon in his left knee while running to first base during a game against the Minnesota Twins earlier this month. His replacement at first, Gonzalez, was placed on the 10-day injured list because of a left quad contusion last week.

One potential replacement, star slugger Rafael Devers, said after Casas went down that he would not be open to moving to first after he went from third base to designated hitter during spring training to make room for Alex Bregman.

Campbell, one of baseball’s top prospects, broke camp with the big league team and has been its primary second baseman through the start of the season. He has also played in the outfield and at shortstop and third base in his career, but never first.

Asked what he would need to see for Campbell to be a realistic option at first for his team, Cora added: “The process started, right? It can take 10 days, 15 days, a month, two months. But we started the process and introduced him to first.”

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McCullers on mound after threatening messages

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McCullers on mound after threatening messages

ARLINGTON, Texas — Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. gave up two unearned runs over four innings against the Texas Rangers on Friday, six nights after the right-hander failed to get out of the first inning in a game that he said was followed by online threats.

McCullers, who is making a comeback after sitting out two full seasons because of injuries, gave up seven runs while getting only one out in Houston’s 13-9 loss last Saturday, then said afterward that he had received online death threats directed at his children. The Astros said Houston police and Major League Baseball security were alerted to the threats.

The 31-year-old right-hander on Friday made only his third start for the Astros since the 2022 World Series. He earned a no-decision.

McCullers needed 83 pitches to get through his four innings and he threw 53 strikes. He struck out two, walked one and gave up four singles.

The only runs against McCullers came when Jonah Heim had a two-run single with two outs in the second inning. That was three batters after shortstop Jeremy Peña was charged with an error when he failed to catch a throw from McCullers, who was trying to get the lead runner at second base after fielding a comebacker.

Jake Burger, whose homer was the only run in the Rangers’ 1-0 win in the series opener Thursday night, then had an infield popout before Heim’s hit into the right-field corner.

Astros manager Joe Espada said before Friday’s game that McCullers mentally was “in a good spot. Physically, he’s fine. He just needs to go out there and just have some confidence and pitch, be aggressive in the zone and we have his back.”

McCullers had surgery in June 2023 to repair his right flexor tendon and remove a bone spur, and was rehabbing last June when he had a setback during a bullpen session that shut him down for the rest of the season. He made four starts in the minor leagues this year before rejoining the Astros rotation on May 4.

“We all have confidence he can do it. He just needs to go out there and do his thing,” Espada said. “It’s going to happen.”

McCullers is 49-33 and 3.53 ERA in 133 games (130 starts) for the Astros since his big league debut with them in 2015.

An All-Star in 2017, McCullers went 10-6 with a 3.86 ERA in 25 games in 2018 before Tommy John surgery. He was 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA in 28 starts in 2021, then signed an $85 million, five-year contract that goes through 2026.

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