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TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — The New York Rangers blamed their own lackluster play for getting coach Peter Laviolette fired but said that “outside noise” this season contributed to their disastrous drop in the standings.

Laviolette was fired Saturday after the Rangers failed to make the playoffs after their Presidents’ Trophy-winning 2023-24 season, in which they advanced to the Eastern Conference finals. Laviolette was the second consecutive Rangers coach fired after two seasons behind the bench. In 2023, he replaced Gerard Gallant, who made the conference finals in his first season with the Rangers and was fired after losing to New Jersey in the first round.

“Do we think too highly of ourselves after one good year? I don’t know,” center Mika Zibanejad said of this pattern.

“Obviously in a place like New York, you know what our expectations are,” center Vincent Trocheck said. “After a season like last year, to come in here and not perform the way we needed to, coaches are often blamed. So it’s tough.”

Defenseman Adam Fox said the players didn’t have any issues with Laviolette or his message. “I think you look around the league and whenever a coach gets fired, I think players kind of wear that pretty hard, because if we did our jobs, those coaches would still be here,” he said.

The Rangers started strongly under Laviolette this season, going 12-4-1. But New York went 3-10-0 in December and could never find enough constancy after that to make the postseason cut.

“I think it started off good, even with some noise, and obviously once it kind of started to spiral, it was hard for us to grab that back. That’s when the wheels just really fell off,” Fox said.

That “noise” was a big topic of conversation in the Rangers’ dressing room in their final day of media availability this season. The “noise” started last offseason, when general manager Chris Drury used waivers to get around well-liked forward Barclay Goodrow‘s no-trade clause and send him to last-place San Jose. He also tried to trade captain Jacob Trouba last summer before successfully moving him in December, again using waivers as a threat to get around his trade protection.

Forward Chris Kreider, who was also shopped in his 13th season with the Rangers, said those moves shook the locker room. “It’s part of professional sports, but obviously at a certain point it does become somewhat of a distraction. Those two guys that were massive leaders for us and a big part of our room,” he said.

Zibanejad echoed that. “I think [there’s] frustration when you don’t know everything. We don’t know what’s going on. Obviously, we don’t have control over that kind of stuff, but it’s still something that we talk about or we have to go through,” he said. ” It’s two of our leaders. It’s our captain and assistant captain and big parts of our locker room. So of course it shakes things around a bit.”

Kreider became part of that noise when Drury circulated a memo to 31 other general managers on Nov. 24 to say that his team was open for business in the trade market — specifically mentioning the availability of Trouba and Kreider.

“I mean, it wasn’t the first time, [and] hopefully the last time that that kind of stuff comes out. That’s part of professional sports. I’m lucky I don’t have any social media, so I wasn’t really aware of it until people close to me brought it to my attention,” Kreider said. “This is home for me. This is the organization that gave me an opportunity to live out my dream. I’ve developed so many incredible relationships and grown up and spent so much time in this area. So obviously this is where I want to be and this is the group that I want to help in whatever fashion.”

Zibanejad and Kreider are core players, but both had disappointing seasons. Zibanejad had just 29 points in his first 50 games before finding his offense again when the Rangers acquired J.T. Miller from Vancouver on Jan. 31. Kreider saw his goal total drop by 17 from last season, mustering only 30 points in 68 games. He said Monday that he was dealing with a series of ailments, including a back problem, a bout with vertigo in December and a hand injury in the Rangers’ first game after the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

“I think ‘challenging’ is the right word. We obviously went in with very high expectations for ourselves, and we didn’t meet those expectations,” Zibanejad said.

Veteran defenseman Calvin de Haan, who played only three games for the Rangers after being acquired from Colorado in March, was stunned this wasn’t a playoff team.

“It was frustrating to see some of the goals we were letting in. I’m not pointing fingers at anyone; this is a group of five on the ice that just wasn’t necessarily cohesive at times. But then there was flashes of brilliance where you’re like, holy f—, this team should be in the playoffs. Frankly, you look at this team on paper and it would be crazy not to think that,” he said.

The Rangers now face an offseason of uncertainty, from the fate of the rest of their core players to the next coach behind their bench. It’s expected Drury will cast a wide net that includes veteran coaches and ones with much less NHL experience.

Fox said that, at the end of the day, it’s all about the players shutting out the noise and getting back to the success they had in previous seasons.

“Whoever the next coach is, obviously it’s on us to make sure there’s sustained success not just a quick burst and then back to being mediocre,” he said.

“Everyone has to really look in the mirror. This year was unrecognizable [from] the team that’s made a conference final in two of the past three years. A lot of those characteristics and traits that led to that success weren’t there this year.”

In other Rangers news, forward Artemi Panarin declined to discuss a report in The Athletic last week that Panarin and Madison Square Garden Sports, which owns the Rangers, paid financial settlements to a former team employee last year after she alleged that Panarin had sexually assaulted her during a road trip in December 2023. Panarin said he would answer only questions about hockey in his final media availability of the season Monday.

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Ohtani takes Miz deep but phenom fans 12 in win

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Ohtani takes Miz deep but phenom fans 12 in win

MILWAUKEE — Shohei Ohtani greeted Jacob Misiorowski with a leadoff homer, but the Milwaukee Brewers‘ rookie phenom got the last word.

After giving up Ohtani’s 431-foot blast, Misiorowski responded with another dominant outing. He struck out a career-high 12 batters — including two-way superstar Ohtani in the third inning — to lead the Brewers to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.

“It’s Shohei Ohtani,” Misiorowski said. “You kind of expect [that]. It’s cool to see him do it in action, but it fires me up even more coming back the next at-bat and striking him out. I’m right there. I think it was a moment of like, ‘OK, now we go.'”

Misiorowski, whose fastball routinely tops 100 mph, threw an 88.2 mph curveball on an 0-2 count to Ohtani, who crushed it for his 31st homer. That’s the most by a Dodgers player before the All-Star break.

It was the 21st career leadoff homer for the three-time MVP, who struck out swinging on a curveball in the third and walked to start the sixth. That was the only walk given up by Misiorowski, who scattered four hits.

“Really good stuff, aggressive in the zone,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “But what really stood out to me was his command and control.”

Misiorowski outdueled three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who surpassed 3,000 career strikeouts in his previous outing. Asked Monday about his matchup with Misiorowski, Kershaw said he only knew that the 6-foot-7 right-hander threw hard.

“I know him now, huh?” Kershaw said Tuesday. “That was super impressive. That was unbelievable. It was really special. Everything. Obviously the velo, but he’s got four pitches, commands the ball. I don’t know how you hit that, honestly. That’s just really tough.”

Misiorowski was glad to get Kershaw’s attention.

“I saw something online that he didn’t now who I was, so I hope he knows me now,” Misiorowski said. “It’s kind of cool.”

In five starts since the Brewers called him up from the minors, Misiorowski has already beaten Kershaw and 2024 NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes. In another outing, Misiorowski carried a perfect game into the seventh inning.

“He’s just broken the shell,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s just out of the egg, all arms and legs. He’s still got gooey stuff coming off, you can see it, all arms and legs, but there’s something special about him.”

The numbers would indicate as much. Misiorowski is 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA and has given up only 12 hits in 25⅔ innings.

He topped out at 101.6 mph and threw 20 pitches of at least 100 on Tuesday. He also threw 19 curveballs after using curves only 10% of the time before Tuesday.

He was coming off his only shaky performance, giving up five runs — including a grand slam by Brandon Nimmo — and three walks over 3⅔ innings Wednesday in a 7-3 loss to the New York Mets.

It looked as if it might be more of the same after Ohtani went deep. Misiorowski responded by striking out 12 of the next 16 batters.

“I think that’s my job, is to figure it out on the fly,” he said. “I feel like I did it tonight.”

He got out of a jam in the sixth. The Dodgers trailed 2-1 and had runners on second and third with one out, but third baseman Andruw Monasterio fielded a grounder and threw out Ohtani at the plate, and Misiorowski retired Michael Conforto on a grounder.

Misiorowski pumped his fist as he headed toward the dugout, then watched the Brewers’ bullpen nail down the win.

“It’s so satisfying,” Misiorowski said. “It’s just a dream come true, to do what I did.”

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Giants walk off on Bailey’s inside-the-park homer

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Giants walk off on Bailey's inside-the-park homer

SAN FRANCISCO — Patrick Bailey hit a three-run, inside-the-park home run with one out in the ninth inning, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.

Bailey became just the third catcher in MLB history to hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run, joining the Chicago Cubs’ Pat Moran in 1907 and the Washington Nationals’ Bennie Tate in 1926.

Bailey’s homer would have been an outside-the-park home run in 29 of 30 ballparks, with Oracle Park being the exception.

Mike Yastrzemski reached base twice and scored to help the Giants to their sixth win in seven games.

Casey Schmitt began the rally with a leadoff double. After Jung Hoo Lee popped out, Wilmer Flores lined a single to center.

Bailey, who grounded into a double play and struck out in two of his previous at-bats, then smashed a 1-0 fastball from Jordan Romano (1-4) into right-center field that ricocheted off the brick part of the wall.

Ryan Walker (2-3) retired one batter, with two on in the top of the ninth, to earn the win.

Phillies All-Star Kyle Schwarber had two hits, including his team-leading 28th home run.

Schwarber flew out, struck out and was hit by a pitch before homering off Giants reliever Spencer Bivens into McCovey Cove. Brandon Marsh, who singled as a pinch hitter leading off the inning, scored on the play.

Two days after being named an All-Star for the second time in his career, Robbie Ray gave up four hits and one run in 5⅔ innings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Mets’ Mendoza: Snubbed Soto ‘an All-Star for us’

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Mets' Mendoza: Snubbed Soto 'an All-Star for us'

BALTIMORE — The New York Mets consider Juan Soto to be a bona fide All-Star, despite the snub he received from those who selected the National League squad for the Midsummer Classic on July 15.

Soto, in his first year with the Mets, has performed well enough to earn the respect of his manager and teammates. In their opinion, he’s deserving of a place in the All-Star Game next week in Atlanta.

“He’s an All-Star for us,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday night after the Mets beat Baltimore 7-6. “It’s frustrating, but I’m hoping in the next couple of days we hear something and he makes it.”

Soto drove in the winning run with a sharp single on the first pitch of the 10th inning. That capped a night in which he went 3 for 5 to raise his batting average to .269 with 21 homers and 52 RBIs.

Soto has walked 72 times, by far the most in the majors, but he can also lash out at a pitcher when necessary.

“He’s got a pretty good understanding of what the pitchers are trying to do to him,” Mendoza said. “There is his awareness of the game, he’s going to see pitchers. There are times when he’s going to be aggressive. Tonight was one of those nights. First pitch in the 10th, he’s attacking.”

Soto made the All-Star team as a member of the Nationals, Padres and Yankees each year since 2021. The streak appears to be over. But his teammates believe he deserves to go.

“What he done all year is just incredible, and the results are good enough,” Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes said. “The consistency he’s showed up with, at the at-bats he’s taken, is more than an All-Star. He’s one of the best in the game and a big part of our lineup.”

Soto seems rather philosophical about the snub.

“Sometimes, you’re going to make it and sometimes you don’t,” he told reporters after Sunday’s loss to the Yankees. “It’s just part of baseball.”

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