Mike Trout made history by homering for four consecutive days at Yankee Stadium, while Aaron Judge also hit a home run in the same series. Cade Cunningham and Luka Dončić were deemed eligible for NBA year-end awards despite not meeting the 65-game requirement. Guardians rookie Parker Messick nearly achieved a no-hitter against the Orioles.
Key points
Mike Trout homered for four consecutive days at Yankee Stadium
Aaron Judge also hit a home run in the same series
Cade Cunningham and Luka Dončić ruled eligible for NBA awards
Parker Messick nearly achieved a no-hitter against the Orioles
Messick's ERA improved to 1.05 after the game
Mike TroutAaron JudgeCade CunninghamLuka Dončić
Yahoo Sports AM is our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it every weekday morning.
🚨 HEADLINES
⚾️ Dueling MVPs: Mike Trout homered again on Thursday, making him the first visiting player ever to go yard on four consecutive days at Yankee Stadium. Aaron Judge also homered again, as the three-time MVPs combined for nine home runs in their four-game series in the Bronx.
🏀 Cade, Luka ruled eligible: Cade Cunningham and Luka Dončić have both been ruled eligible for year-end awards despite falling just shy of the 65-game threshold after the NBA and NBPA ruled in their favor on their Extraordinary Circumstances Challenges. Cunningham (63 games) missed 12 games for a collapsed lung and Dončić (64) missed two for the birth of his second child.
⚾️ No-hit bid spoiled: Guardians rookie Parker Messick came three outs away from a no-hitter against the Orioles before allowing a pair of singles in the ninth. He still earned the win, improving to 3-0 with a sterling 1.05 ERA.
📺 Bill to end blackouts: U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is expected to introduce the "For the Fans" act, a bill that will make local games easier to watch while ending most sports blackouts.
🏀 Jones to plead guilty: Former NBA player Damon Jones is set to plead guilty to sports gambling charges stemming from last year's FBI case that resulted in more than 30 arrests. He is the first defendant in the case to signal he'll plead guilty.
Q&A
What record did Mike Trout set at Yankee Stadium?
Mike Trout became the first visiting player to hit home runs on four consecutive days at Yankee Stadium.
Why were Cade Cunningham and Luka Dončić ruled eligible for NBA awards?
They were ruled eligible despite not meeting the 65-game threshold due to the NBA and NBPA's decision on their Extraordinary Circumstances Challenges.
How close was Parker Messick to achieving a no-hitter?
Parker Messick was three outs away from a no-hitter before allowing two singles in the ninth inning.
What was Parker Messick's ERA after his latest game?
Parker Messick's ERA improved to 1.05 after earning the win against the Orioles.
Related Articles
Soccer·Preview
Haaland: I feel no pressure facing Arsenal - we have nothing to lose
Haaland claims no pressure facing Arsenal as City aims for title.
Sky Sports··1 min read
NHL
GM Patrik fired by Canucks after last-place finish
Vancouver Canucks part ways with GM Patrik Allvin after last-place finish.
ESPN News··1 min read
Soccer·Preview
Man City vs. Arsenal: What to watch for in Premier League title showdown
Key points to watch in the Man City vs. Arsenal title clash
ESPN News··1 min read
NHL·Preview
Lapsed fan's guide to the Stanley Cup playoffs: The NHL's second season begins
Get ready for the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs with our guide!
ESPN News··1 min read
Sports
Friday Bantering: Jose, Someday
José Berríos shows improved velocity in spring training despite rough outing.
Yahoo Sports··1 min read
Soccer·Injury Update
De Zerbi: Romero out for the season, but Bentancur available vs. Brighton
Tottenham's Romero is out for the season, but Bentancur is fit for Brighton clash.
Royals 3B Maikel Garcia initiates an ABS challenge. (Mikayla Schlosser/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Royals 3B Maikel Garcia initiates an ABS challenge. (Mikayla Schlosser/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Griping about umpires is a tradition nearly as old as baseball itself. But for all the ire directed their way, both in the game's long history and in the nascent days of ABS, it turns out the boys in blue are remarkably good at their job — and only getting better.
A new era: As you no doubt already know, MLB introduced the ABS challenge system this season, giving each team two challenges per game on the home-plate umpire’s ball/strike calls. It's a monumental change, but its impact is probably smaller than you think.
There have been 1,143 challenges through the first three weeks of the season, or just over four per game. Put another way, there have been roughly 80,000 pitches thrown, and roughly 1% have been challenged.
54% of challenged pitches have been overturned, with fielders (60%) having more success than batters (47%).
And while there have been a few egregious errors, over half of all umpires (49 of 83) are missing calls by an average of less than one inch, according to the website Tap To Challenge.
What they're saying: "I don't think people realize 0.2, 0.3 inches off the plate — they're like, oh my gosh, I can't believe you missed that call. Go get a ruler out, please, and realize how much they just missed it by," Orioles pitcher Chris Bassitt told The Athletic ($), sticking up for the umpires who are being judged more harshly than ever in the age of the robots.
Between the lines: Baseball umpires are much better than you probably realize, especially these days. Just check out their improvement over the past two decades…
(Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports)
(Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports)
Trending up: The strike zone has evolved over the years, but remained constant since 1996. In that time, umpires have honed their skill and locked in on the zone, improving from 84.1% accuracy in the first year of the pitch-tracking era (2008) to 92.8% last year, per MLB.
This year, of course, things changed. Not just with the introduction of ABS, but also with another evolution of the strike zone, which is now two-dimensional (a vertical plane across the center of home plate) instead of three-dimensional (the whole depth of home plate).
That means, for example, that the same pitch called a strike last year (say, a slider that caught the front left corner of the 3-D plate) could be called a ball this year. One result of that smaller strike zone? This year's walk rate of 9.9% would be the highest since 1950.
But the good news is that umpires, outfitted with earpieces, can now get real-time feedback on any pitch (challenged or not) by asking the ABS operator, "Did I miss that?" Those data points should add up to continually improve their accuracy moving forward.
Big picture: When you add it all up, we're currently looking at the most accurately called strike zone in MLB history. And though some umpires would prefer not to be judged on such fine margins, and some players would tweak a few things here and there (e.g. more challenges), it's ultimately been a pretty smooth transition.
🏒 THE NHL PLAYOFFS ARE SET
(Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports)
(Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports)
The NHL regular season came to a close on Thursday night, marking the end of the road for half the league's teams. For the other 16, the road to the Stanley Cup now begins.
The Play-In Tournament concludes tonight with a pair of games to determine each conference's No. 8 seed before the playoffs begin in earnest this weekend.
Friday: Hornets at Magic (7:30pm ET, Prime); Warriors at Suns (10pm, Prime)
Saturday: Raptors at Cavaliers (1pm, Prime); Timberwolves at Nuggets (3:30pm, Prime); Hawks at Knicks (6pm, Prime); Rockets at Lakers (8:30pm, ABC)
Sunday: 76ers at Celtics (1pm, ABC); Warriors/Suns at Thunder (3:30pm, ABC); Hornets/Magic at Pistons (6:30pm, NBC); Trail Blazers at Spurs (9pm, NBC)
No rest for the weary. The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin tomorrow, two days after the conclusion of the regular season.
Saturday: Senators at Hurricanes (3pm, ESPN); Wild at Stars (5:30pm, ESPN); Flyers at Penguins (8pm, ESPN)
Sunday: Kings at Avalanche (3pm, TNT); Canadiens at Lightning (5:45pm, TNT); Bruins at Sabres (7:30pm, ESPN); Mammoth at Golden Knights (10pm, ESPN)
⚽️ Manchester City vs. Arsenal
The Premier League's top two teams meet in a monumental clash with title implications on Sunday at the Etihad (11:30am, NBC).
Where it stands: Arsenal (70 points) lead City (64) by six points, but they also have one fewer game remaining. If City win this weekend, and win their game in hand next week against relegation-bound Burnley, the two clubs will be tied on points with five matches left.
🤸 NCAA Gymnastics Championships
The women's champion will be crowned tomorrow when Oklahoma, Florida, LSU and Minnesota take the floor in Fort Worth (4pm, ABC).
Meanwhile, on the men's side: The 12-team qualifiers are today in Champaign, Illinois (2pm, ESPN+; 8pm, ESPN+), where the top three teams and top three individuals in each event will advance to Saturday's championship (7pm, ESPN2).
More to watch:
⚾️ MLB: Rays at Pirates (Fri. 6:40pm, Apple); Tigers at Red Sox (Fri. 7:15pm, Apple); Braves at Phillies (Sun. 7:20pm, Peacock)
⛳️ Golf: RBC Heritage (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/Golf/CBS); LA Championship (Fri-Sun, Golf); LIV Mexico (Fri-Sun, FS1)
⚽️ Friendly: USWNT vs. Japan (Fri. 9pm, TNT) … Colorado hosts the rubber match in this three-game series.
⚽️ MLS: LAFC vs. San Jose (Sun. 7pm, Apple) … Second vs. third in the West.
🎾 Tennis: Barcelona Open and Stuttgart Open (Fri-Sun, Tennis) … Finals on Sunday in Spain (ATP) and Germany (WTA).
🏁 Motorsport: NASCAR at Kansas Speedway (Sun. 2pm, Fox); IndyCar's Grand Prix of Long Beach (Sun. 5:30pm, Fox)
🏉 Women's Six Nations: Week 2 of 5 (Sat. 8:30am, Peacock) … France, England and Scotland look to start 2-0.
👊 WWE: Wrestlemania 42 (Sat-Sun, ESPN+) … Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas hosts the two-night, 13-bout melee.
Got plans this weekend? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. Get tickets now!
🏀 NO PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE? NO PROBLEM
(Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports)
(Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports)
Postseason experience has long been seen as a prerequisite to playoff success, but the Spurs — one of the least-experienced teams in this year's field — are out to prove that in the modern NBA, young legs may rule the day.
Tom Haberstroh, Yahoo Sports:
For a guy who is the tallest player in the NBA, Victor Wembanyama doesn't seem to care much about ceilings.
Many doubted Wemby and the San Antonio Spurs' legitimacy before the season. Vegas projections gave them just the 17th-best odds to win the championship and an over/under win total of 44.5. With Wembanyama leading the way with an impressive MVP case, they smashed that figure with 20 games remaining in the schedule. The team finished 62-20, the second-best record in the NBA.
They're way ahead of schedule, and it's clear they're setting their sights higher: They want a championship.
Despite the Spurs outpacing their win projection by more than any other team in the league, the oddsmakers still aren't totally sold on their title makeup.
According to BetMGM, the team is +450 to win the NBA title, giving them implied odds of 18%, which is worlds better than the preseason prognostication, but still not a gushing review. They remain a distant second behind the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who currently show implied odds of 44%, more than double the Spurs' figure.
A confidence gap that large, one would assume the Thunder have dominated the Spurs this season, but the complete opposite has happened. The Spurs have soundly overwhelmed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's club, winning four of the five matchups, three by double-digits.
So what's holding the Spurs back from a rosier outlook? Ah, playoff experience.
(Tom Haberstroh/Yahoo Sports)
(Tom Haberstroh/Yahoo Sports)
Speaking to ESPN's Scott Van Pelt after a 40-point performance earlier this month, Victor Wembanyama wasn't on board with the idea that the Spurs' inexperience will hurt them.
"We don't have experience, right?" Wembanyama said. "Screw it."
The 22-year-old is on to something. In an injury-riddled NBA where young teams are flourishing in an increasingly uptempo playoff environment, the Spurs are closer to a championship than it appears. In today's NBA, the most-experienced playoff teams seem to be the ones getting screwed in the postseason. And the Spurs can use that to their advantage.
After LeBron James and Stephen Curry dominated the NBA Finals for nearly a decade, the league has seen a revolving door at the top. The league has crowned a new champion in each of the last seven years, the longest stretch of championship parity the league has ever seen.
We hope you enjoyed this edition of Yahoo Sports AM, our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
