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CLEVELAND — The Chicago White Sox were hoping 2025 would be better after they lost 121 games last year, a major league record since 1900.

Instead, their pain is continuing in new and unique ways.

Chicago’s 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday night was its seventh straight. The South Siders are 2-9, the same record they had after 11 games last season.

The White Sox were on the verge of tying the score in the ninth inning when Mike Tauchman appeared to get injured while rounding third base after an RBI single by Miguel Vargas.

Tauchman, who just came off the injured list Sunday after sustaining a right hamstring strain late in spring training, pulled up after rounding third and was tagged by catcher Austin Hedges for the final out following a throw from left fielder Steven Kwan.

Chicago manager Will Venable said after the game that Tauchman was still being evaluated for a lower-body injury.

“It’s unfortunate, obviously. Hope Mike is all right, and the outcome of the game speaks for itself,” Venable said. “We’re still gathering information on him and see what we got.”

Kwan said he thought it was going to be a close play at the plate, so he was just trying to secure the ball at first.

“It wasn’t really a great throw, but Austin corralled it and I saw how nonchalant (Tauchman) was,” Kwan said. “I saw the guy pulling up and you never want to see a guy pulling up like that, especially when the game is on the line. You had to know that was really hurting him.”

The White Sox held the Guardians to three hits for the second straight day but still lost. It’s the first time in the 125-year history of the franchise the team has dropped consecutive games with three or fewer hits allowed.

The close defeat wasn’t the only unfortunate thing to happen to Chicago on Wednesday.

White Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi, their best offensive player this season, was placed on the 10-day injured list before the game. During the sixth inning, catcher Korey Lee had to be helped off the field after he rolled his left ankle.

Lee was trying to get back to first base after pinch-hitter Nick Maton struck out when he stepped awkwardly on the bag as Hedges made a pickoff throw. Lee got back in time initially but his foot came off the bag and he was tagged out by Carlos Santana to end the inning.

Venable said X-rays on Lee’s left ankle were negative and he was undergoing more tests.

Benintendi is sidelined because of a left adductor strain. He said before Wednesday’s game that he thinks the injury occurred during the first inning of Saturday’s game when he made a leaping catch into the left-field wall to rob Jake Rogers of a hit.

Benintendi leads the White Sox in several offensive categories, including batting average (.290), total bases (15) and RBIs (six). He also is tied for the team lead in home runs with two.

“He’s a big part of our offense. I mean, he’s right there in the heart of our order every day,” Venable said. “He’s a guy that I think everyone looks to and has that kind of stability and presence in our lineup that we’re definitely going to miss.”

The White Sox are batting .202 after Wednesday’s game, the third-lowest average in the majors.

“I think right now you’re seeing some quality at-bats and we’re just not having the results,” Venable said. “There’s a process in play here that we’ve gone through. We’re really happy about some of the underlying stuff. We look forward to that bringing results on the field with runs and wins.”

If Tauchman and Lee end up joining Benintendi on the injured list, the White Sox might end up being short-handed for Thursday’s early afternoon start.

Cleveland — which won its home opener 1-0 on Tuesday on a game-ending walk to Nolan Jones with the bases loaded — has won two straight with three or fewer hits for the first time since 1901.

The Guardians are the first team since the 1995 Colorado Rockies to do that.

“Yeah, it’s definitely something a little different,” Kwan said. “You come to the ballpark, you can see something new every day, so it’s good that we were on this end of it. But we could have very easily been on the other side.”

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U.S. shut out by Switzerland at hockey worlds

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U.S. shut out by Switzerland at hockey worlds

HERNING, Denmark — Switzerland, last year’s runner-up, shut out the United States 3-0 and handed the Americans their first loss at the ice hockey world championship Monday.

Damien Riat, Jonas Siegenthaler and Dean Kukan scored in the Group B game in Herning. Netminder Leonardo Genoni stopped 23 shots for the shutout.

“Give credit to Switzerland,” U.S. coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “But I know our group has a lot more in them. We’ll regroup and get ready to play Norway.”

Riat put Switzerland ahead with 7:14 remaining in the first period, redirecting the puck into the goal from the air. It was the first goal the U.S. conceded at the tournament.

The second followed 3:13 later by Siegenthaler from the blue line. Kukan’s came halfway through the final period from the top of the left circle.

“After the first goal we did a better job,” Swiss forward Kevin Fiala said. “We got into it more and more, and shut them out.”

Fiala recorded an assist in his first game at the worlds. He joined the Swiss late after his Los Angeles Kings were eliminated from the NHL playoffs in the first round.

U.S. goalie Joey Daccord made 24 saves.

The U.S., which beat Denmark 5-0 and Hungary 6-0 in its first two games, will next face Norway on Wednesday.

In other games, Martin Necas had two goals and David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists as the defending champion Czech Republic used a four-goal middle period to ease past Denmark 7-2.

Nick Olesen also had a goal and an assist for Denmark.

In Stockholm, Sweden topped archrival Finland 2-1 on goals from Leo Carlsson and Jonas Brodin for a third victory in regulation from three games.

Austria defeated Slovakia 3-2 in a penalty shootout.

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Leafs’ Domi fined $5K for hit to Panthers’ Barkov

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Leafs' Domi fined K for hit to Panthers' Barkov

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi was fined $5,000 — the maximum amount allowed by the league’s collective bargaining agreement — for boarding Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov as time expired in Game 4 of their second-round Eastern Conference playoff series Sunday.

Toronto was trailing 2-0 when the final buzzer sounded, and Domi hit Barkov from behind, sending him headfirst into the boards. Domi was given a minor penalty for boarding at the time while several other scrums broke out before officials moved players off the ice.

Florida’s victory evened the best-of-seven series at 2-all. Game 5 is set for Wednesday in Toronto.

Toronto coach Craig Berube didn’t comment on the Domi hit directly Monday, but he did say he thought Dmitry Kulikov‘s hit on Mitch Marner “was way worse”

On that play, the Panthers defenseman caught Marner up high with an elbow, leaving the Leafs forward momentarily dazed. No penalty was called on Kulikov.

It wasn’t the first elbowing incident to draw attention in the series.

In Game 1, Panthers forward Sam Bennett sent an elbow to the head of Leafs netminder Anthony Stolarz shortly before Stolarz left the game. He was later hospitalized for further evaluation and hasn’t been able to resume skating since. There is currently no timeline for his return.

The physical intensity of the series might continue to rise now that it’s down to being a best-of-three. Based on how Game 4 played out, the Leafs are prepared to push back when they host Florida on Wednesday.

“We expected [the physicality], and I think we’re fine with it,” Berube said. “We’re handling it. We’re physical. I thought we were the more physical team [in Game 4].”

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Stars’ Heiskanen still on pace to return vs. Jets

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Stars' Heiskanen still on pace to return vs. Jets

DALLAS — Stars coach Pete DeBoer expects injured star defenseman Miro Heiskanen to play in their series against the Winnipeg Jets.

“I’m still sticking by what I projected: that we would see him in the second round,” DeBoer said Monday during an optional Dallas practice.

The Stars lead their series with the Jets 2-1, with Game 4 scheduled for Tuesday night.

Heiskanen remains day-to-day, with him not having played since Jan. 28, when his left knee was injured in a collision with Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone. Heiskanen had knee surgery and has been working his way back to the lineup since Winnipeg’s opening-round series against the Colorado Avalanche. Heiskanen had 25 points (5 goals, 20 assists) in 50 games this season, averaging 25:10 in ice time.

Monday was a scheduled off day for Heiskanen. DeBoer said he’ll be “back at it tomorrow.” The coach said that any decision on Heiskanen’s status will be made together by the coach, the player and the team’s medical staff.

Last round, DeBoer said everything was “on the table” to ease Heiskanen back into the lineup, including playing seven defensemen. The coach said he’s not looking for the 25-year-old defenseman to log his usual minutes right away, having ranked fifth in the NHL in average ice time during the regular season.

“I don’t think there are specific restrictions, but we’re not going to put ‘im out on the ice for 30 minutes in his first game back in three months,” DeBoer said. “We’ll have to be smart about that.”

Dallas forward Jason Robertson has seen firsthand what it’s like to go from watching the playoffs to competing in them. He returned to the Stars’ lineup after being injured in an April 16 game, making his postseason debut in Game 1 at Winnipeg.

“You’re coming back from injury, so whatever you had is obviously going to bother you. So that’s the No. 1 thing. And then getting up to game speed in the playoffs is a different animal,” he said. “There’s no hiding out there. Every moment’s heightened, every missed assignment, any forecheck. Anytime you get beat up the ice, everything just gets heightened. So you just try to be super simple out there until you get your legs back and get in game shape. That could take a little bit.”

The Stars have weathered the loss of Heiskanen thanks to the depth of their defense corps. Thomas Harley has filled in on the power play, collecting four points in the postseason. Veteran Cody Ceci has handled an increase of over two minutes per game in ice time. Players such as Lian Bichsel and Alexander Petrovic have played effectively, DeBoer said.

“I think it’s been exceptional what our group’s done,” the coach said.

Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel acknowledged that Dallas, already leading in the series, will get an instant emotional boost when Heiskanen returns.

“An elite, elite player obviously,” he said. “We can’t worry about somebody that’s not here. If all of a sudden we show up and he’s out there in warmups, then yeah, we certainly have to recognize it.”

With the possibility there that Heiskanen could return as early as Game 4, Arniel would be fine if the Stars continued to take a cautious approach with their star defenseman.

“Hopefully, he takes a little bit more time to make sure he’s getting back on it,” the Jets coach said with a grin.

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