NBA

• 76ers hire Nick Nurse as head coach
  • Nurse isn’t a perfect coach, but he’s achieved success with the Raptors, and is generally regarded as one of the game’s better coaching minds. The 76ers are championship or bust — or at least close to it, so Nurse will be facing more pressure in Philadelphia than he did in Toronto. He should be up for the task, though, as this feels like a smart hire by the 76ers.
    Grade: A-

MLB

• I realize that yesterday was a Monday, one of two days in which MLB teams tend to receive off days, but every team should play on Memorial Day. The fact that eight teams didn’t play yesterday was a mistake by the league office.
• Guardians 5, Orioles 0
  • Cleveland might have something in Logan Allen. The rookie was brilliant yesterday, shutting out Baltimore across seven innings, while striking out 10 batters. The Guardians are excellent at finding pitching.
• Rangers 5, Tigers 0
  • Corey Seager is so, so good. Seager — and the Rangers, disappointed a bit a year ago, but that’s all been forgotten this season. After going 2-5 with four RBIs in this contest, Seager is slashing .333/.398/.607. Texas is probably the best team in the AL West.
• Royals 7, Cardinals 0
  • The Royals, as a team, pitched a perfect game through seven innings in this game. The Cardinals broke it up in the eighth inning, which was perhaps a good thing, since it would’ve been the first combined perfect game in MLB history. Perfect games should be reserved for just one pitcher, not an opener plus a reliever.
• Cubs 1, Rays 0
  • Marcus Stroman is having a career year. When Chicago’s ace is inducing ground balls at a high rate, he’s at his best, which is exactly what occurred in this outing. Stroman, while forcing the Rays into a high number of groundouts, also struck out eight batters while pitching the whole game and surrendering just one hit. Because of his excellent performance in 2023, Stroman is a sure bet to opt out of his contract following the season.
  • Stroman, of course, was phenomenal in this affair, but Taj Bradley is a good building block for Tampa Bay. The Rays’ rookie allowed zero earned runs yesterday and holds a 3.60 ERA on the year.
• Diamondbacks 7, Rockies 5
  • Ryan McMahon has been on a TEAR lately. In yesterday’s portion of his hot streak, McMahon went 4-5 with a home run and three RBIs. For what feels like the 100th season in a row, Colorado’s pitching is its downfall.
• Twins 7, Astros 5
  • Welcome back, Royce Lewis. Lewis, after tearing his ACL a season ago, made his season debut in this game, and it’s safe to say it went well for the former No. 1 overall pick. In his sparkling return, the infielder went 2-5 with a home run and four RBIs. The Twins should run away with the AL Central if Lewis plays like a No. 1 pick in 2023.