NBA

• Pistons hire Monty Williams as head coach
  • This is a nice move by Detroit — a refreshing turnaround from the prior rumors of the club considering the likes of Kevin Ollie and Charles Lee for this position. Williams will have a big undertaking on his hands, as Detroit is nowhere close to being competitive, and took a tumble on lottery night. Still, the Pistons have some solid young building blocks, including Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, and this month’s No. 5 overall pick, among others. Williams will likely be given ample time to get Detroit back to the playoffs.
    Grade: B+

NCAAB

• Richmond transfer PF Tyler Burton commits to Villanova
  • Villanova, especially in the early going, was a mess last season, so it was imperative for Kyle Neptune to upgrade the roster. Mission accomplished. This offseason, the Wildcats have added Burton, Hakim Hart, TJ Bamba, and Lance Ware, four players that can easily be solid rotation guys in the Big East. While I’m a bit concerned about Villanova’s point guard play heading into 2024, Burton’s 19.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game should be a huge boost for the program. The Wildcats have a great chance to make it back to the NCAA Tournament after missing out last season.

MLB

• Tigers 3, Rangers 2
  • The Tigers are doing some unexpectedly good things. Detroit has a litany of players on the IL, such as Riley Greene, Spencer Turnbull, Eduardo Rodriguez, Tarik Skubal, and Austin Meadows, yet the Tigers are a stunning 26-28. A.J. Hinch deserves a lot of credit.
• Angels 12, White Sox 5
  • The White Sox are 12 games under .500, and Lance Lynn’s struggles are one cause of that. Lynn, 36, has been brutal this season, and that was only exemplified in this game, where Lynn allowed eight runs in just four innings.
• Rays 4, Cubs 3
  • The Cubs took the first two games of this series, so it’s no surprise the Rays grabbed the final game, thus avoiding the sweep. After all, Tampa Bay is the best team in baseball.
  • A loss is bad enough, but the Cubs’ biggest worry right now is the status of Justin Steele. Chicago’s second-best pitcher tossed just three innings yesterday before leaving with forearm tightness. The Cubs can ill afford to lose Steele and his 2.65 ERA for an extended period given their place in the standings.
• Guardians 12, Orioles 8
  • The Guardians desperately need some more juice in their lineup. For at least one day, Josh Naylor provided that. Naylor is an up and down player, but he was up in this game, going 4-5 with a homer and six RBIs.
• Braves 4, Athletics 2
  • At least a part of James Kaprielian is lucky the Athletics are so dreadful. With the team at 12-46, Kaprielian’s leash has likely been lengthened, thus allowing his to work through his extreme struggles this season. Following this start, the 29-year-old’s ERA is a bloated 8.12.
• Nationals 10, Dodgers 6
  • It sure feels like a career year for a Jeimer Candelario is in the works. Already 29, Candelario floated on a bunch of mostly irrelevant teams in Detroit for the majority of his career, but he’s broken out this season in Washington. Candelario is on pace to set career highs in home runs and RBIs, while also maintaining an OPS of just under .800.
• Marlins 2, Padres 1
  • There are a couple of solid options for this designation, but the Padres are probably MLB’s biggest disappointment thus far. San Diego is now 25-30, and is getting an embarrassingly low level of output at the plate. Last night’s one run was just another instance of that. Perhaps hitting somebody other than Brandon Dixon fifth would be a good start.
• Brewers 4, Blue Jays 2
  • Julio Teheran is … back? The 32-year-old hasn’t put together a full and productive campaign since 2019, but Teheran, after tossing six scoreless frames yesterday, holds a 0.82 ERA through two starts. Milwaukee’s starting pitching, partly due to injury and partly due to performance, hasn’t been as advertised this season, so getting some vintage outings from Teheran would be a significant boost.
• Reds 5, Red Sox 4
  • Nick Senzel deserves credit for getting his career back on track. After three difficult campaigns from 2020-2022, Senzel looked like a complete bust, but he’s righted this ship in 2023, at least to a degree. After going 2-4 with an RBI last night, Senzel’s OPS is up to .747 — an above average figure.
• Mets 4, Phillies 1
  • David Robertson recorded his 10th save of 2023 in this game, while also lowering his ERA to 1.48. He’s obviously been a key piece of the Mets’ bullpen this year. The 38-year-old has had an underrated career, as well. Without looking, would you have guessed that Robinson has over 300 combined career saves and holds? Robinson was solid from 2009-2018, then had three forgettable years, and is now back to the guy he was at his peak. Nice career.
  • The Trea Turner situation gets more uncomfortable by the game. Philadelphia’s big offseason acquisition obviously hasn’t played up to his standards, and it’s becoming more and more of a problem. Last night, Turner went 0-4, lowering his average to .236 and on-base percentage to .280 for the 25-30 Phillies. That won’t play, especially in a high-pressure environment such as Philadelphia.
• Twins 8, Astros 2
  • A lot of clubs dodged a bullet when Jose Abreu chose the Astros over them this past offseason. Abreu, after going 0-3 last night, is slashing .211/.276/.260 on the year. The 36-year-old might be finished, yet the Astros owe him $19.5 million in 2025. Houston played around with its front office for plenty of years, and a reckoning for that may be coming soon.
• Mariners 1, Yankees 0
  • Good things are happening for the Mariners. The team has won seven of 10. Julio Rodriguez is getting back to doing Julio Rodriguez things. And add a walk-off victory over the Yankees to that list. George Kirby is a good young pitcher and further made a name for himself last night, tossing eight innings of no-run ball.