NBA

• Heat 111, Nuggets 108
  • Miami’s resolve is so impressive. I was a bit wary of optimism surrounding the Heat’s chances in this series following a poor shooting night in Game 1, but Miami proved it could shoot better — and win — in this game. Gabe Vincent, in particular, was the player that put Miami over the top last night, scoring 23 points on 8-12 shooting. Erik Spoelstra played 10 guys in the first half, which was one or two too many, and he wisely shortened his rotation to nine in the second half by axing Haywood Highsmith. I still don’t love the Heat’s chances against a superior Nuggets team, but it isn’t a good idea to count this team out.
  • Denver, for the most part, let the Heat stick around all night, instead of imposing their will and taking advantage of home court. The Nuggets, after all, have a fairly large margin for error when playing the Heat, but there was just no urgency on Denver’s side in this game. It would help matters if Nikola Jokic had a better and more consistent supporting cast, but the pieces fit well enough for the Nuggets to handedly win this series. Jokic was great last night, tallying 41 points, but Miami probably did the right thing in forcing the superstar to be a score-first player, as the center attempted 28 shots. Michael Porter was just 2-8 for five points. Unacceptable. Despite this discouraging loss, the Nuggets are still more than fine in this series, but it may take seven games for Denver to win its first title.

MLB

• Pirates 2, Cardinals 1
  • The Cardinals, at 25-35, clearly aren’t where they want to be. It seemed as if St. Louis was turning the tide, but the RedBirds have now lost three straight and seven of 10. Nolan Arenado, who went 0-4 in this game, has been quite human at the dish this season, and it would benefit the Cardinals if he turned into the Arenado of old at some point.
• Rays 6, Red Sox 2
  • Like Arenado, Rafael Devers hasn’t been his usual self this season, either. The third baseman is typically good for an on-base percentage around .350, but it’s under .300 this year for Devers. Boston is in the mix at 30-29, so if Devers gets going, the Red Sox could make a serious push for a postseason spot.
• Marlins 7, Athletics 5
  • The Marlins have to be the most quietly successful team in MLB this season. Miami is 32-28, and Bryan De La Cruz has put his imprint on this team. De La Cruz went 2-5 yesterday, and has an OPS of nearly .800. The Marlins are full of quality young pieces.
• Blue Jays 6, Mets 4
  • Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered in this contest, and the Jays are going to need more of those out of the slugger if they wish to earn a wild card spot (or the AL East crown). Guerrero Jr. now has nine home runs, putting his pace well short of the 48 he smacked in 2021.
  • The Mets, for all the money they spent this past winter, didn’t upgrade their team as much as some people believed. Much of the dollars spent by New York were simply to replace lost production, such as adding Justin Verlander to replace Jacob deGrom. At 30-30, New York needs to turn it on. Thankfully, though, the race for the third National League wild card spot is more of a jog than a sprint at the moment.
• Angels 2, Astros 1
  • I didn’t realize just how effective Carlos Estevez has been as Los Angeles’ closer this season. Estevez, after closing out this tilt, has 14 saves and a 1.42 ERA.
• Guardians 2, Twins 1
  • It’s good to have Triston McKenzie back. McKenzie hadn’t pitched yet this season coming into yesterday, and he was dominant in his debut. The lanky starter threw five innings and recorded 10 strikeouts. Cleveland, at 27-32, needs all the help it can get, and McKenzie can provide that.
  • Max Kepler’s regression as a player started too soon. Just 30, Kepler smashed 17 homers in 2016, 19 in 2017, 20 in 2018, and 36 in 2019, but it’s been downhill since then for the outfielder. Kepler has just 43 long balls over the course of the past four years, and he’s hitting .192 in 2023 after going 0-4 in this game.
• White Sox 6, Tigers 2
  • Detroit’s offense is anemic. In yesterday’s lineup, the Tigers’ five through nine hitters all finished the game with a batting average of .200 or lower for the season. That won’t play.
• Rangers 12, Mariners 3
  • It’s starting to feel like Texas has an offensive explosion every other game. The Rangers already have 376 runs scored on the year, more than any other team, and Marcus Semien’s active 23-game hitting streak has obviously helped matters.
• Orioles 8, Giants 3
  • The success and failure for relievers year-to-year is pretty volatile, but the success of Yennier Cano this season has been surprising. Albeit in limited action, Cano was dreadful a year ago, but he’s been one of the most effective relievers in MLB this campaign. Cano’s ERA is now 0.87 for Baltimore.
  • I sometimes feel like I have nothing to write about the Giants, but it makes sense why. San Francisco is 29-30 with a +1 run differential. The definition of average.
• Yankees 4, Dodgers 1
  • Don’t blame Bobby Miller for this loss. The Dodgers may have a gem on their hands in the young right-hander. Miller, in this contest, pitched six scoreless frames, lowering his ERA to 1.06.