NBA

• Nuggets 109, Heat 94
  • Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are not only a phenomenal duo, but both have games that mesh together beautifully. Jokic, per usual, was excellent in this game, putting up 32 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists, but Murray wasn’t bad, either, recording a triple-double himself. Aaron Gordon continued his steady play for Denver last night, scoring 11 points, but Michael Porter’s play has been poor, to say the least. Not only has the forward struggled shooting, but he’s been lost on defense. The Nuggets have ample margin for error in this series, so Porter’s performance hasn’t been disastrous. With how Jokic and Murray played, Denver didn’t need a ton of bench production, but Christian Braun provided it anyway, shooting 7-8 for 15 points. If Braun develops a good, consistent jump shot, he has a chance to be one of the league’s better two-way wings.
  • This game was a pretty accurate representation of the gap in talent between these two teams. Sure, Miami didn’t shoot the ball well, but it offered little resistance against the Nuggets’ attack. The Heat’s two best players, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, had solid box score numbers in this contest, but were significantly outplayed by Denver’s top duo. The Heat’s starting backcourt of Gabe Vincent Max Strus shot 3-17 yesterday, putting Miami far behind the eight ball. The Heat will be in decent shape if it wins Game 4, but there’s a lot for Erik Spoelstra’s team to overcome. Plus, winning at least one game in Denver won’t be easy. Nuggets in five.

MLB

• Athletics 9, Pirates 5
  • Allowing 17 hits to Oakland feels suboptimal. Roansy Contreras had an outing to forget for the Pirates yesterday, lasting just 1/3 of an inning and surrendering seven runs.
• Padres 10, Mariners 3
  • Juan Soto, for his standards, had his share of struggles to begin his Padres career, but most of them should be forgotten. Yesterday, Soto went 5-5 with four RBIs, pumping his 2023 OPS over .900. Ideally, I bet Soto would prefer to be over 1.000, but the left fielder has taken plenty of steps in the right direction lately.
• Marlins 6, Royals 1
  • Sure, the games have been against the Athletics and Royals, but the Marlins have won six consecutive games, and are a surprising seven games above .500. The possibility of Miami advancing to the postseason is very real and underrated players such as Bryan De La Cruz and Jesus Sanchez have been big factors as to why. De La Cruz and Sanchez combined for all six of the Marlins’ RBIs last night.
  • Jordan Lyles hasn’t been MLB’s worst pitcher this season — his 1.29 WHIP proves that — but he’s now 0-10 with a 6.84 ERA. Just pitiful.
• Rays 2, Twins 1
  • The Carlos Correa signing isn’t aging well for the Twins. After going hitless yesterday, the shortstop is batting .204 with just six home runs and an on-base percentage under .300. Also, Correa is on pace to set a career high in strikeouts this season.
• Diamondbacks 6, Nationals 2
  • The first two batters for Arizona in this game, Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll, make up a deadly top of the lineup duo. Last night, Marte and Carroll combined for seven hits — the same amount the Nationals had as a team.
  • The Nationals aren’t explicitly bad at 25-36, but it’s going to prove difficult to find Washington’s required All-Star for next month’s game. Maybe Josiah Gray or MacKenzie Gore? Joey Meneses? No matter what, an undeserving player will be heading to Seattle.
• Blue Jays 3, Astros 2
  • Since the beginning of May, Chris Bassitt has done a tremendous job of pitching deep into games. In seven starts since April ended, the 34-year-old has lasted at least seven innings five times. The three-year, $63 million contract Toronto handed Bassitt prior to this season is looking good at the moment.
• Guardians 5, Red Sox 2
  • He’s only in his first full year as a big leaguer, but the Red Sox need more out of Triston Casas. After going 0-4 yesterday, the first baseman is hitting .194, simply not good enough for a player at his position.
• Reds 8, Dodgers 6
  • The impact a single player can have on an organization is shocking. Cincinnati, to nobody’s surprise, promoted Elly De La Cruz on Tuesday, and the atmosphere surrounding the club has been electric ever since. Last night, the Reds celebrated their second consecutive walk-off victory, and De La Cruz was a big part of it. In the first inning, the infielder bombed a 458-foot home run. De La Cruz has special tools.
  • The Dodgers might need to take action regarding Noah Syndergaard. The big righty has been bad all year for Los Angeles, and things got even worse last night, as Syndergaard allowed six runs across just three frames, raising his ERA to 7.16.
• Braves 7, Mets 5
  • The Braves should be charged with robbery for how the club stole Sean Murphy from the Athletics prior to this season. Murphy is a great two-way catcher, and is having a career year, slashing .287/.389/.552 for the first-place Braves.
  • Another frustrating loss for the 30-32 Mets, but of even higher concern is the potential injury suffered by Pete Alonso when hit by a pitch last night. Losing Alonso and his 22 home runs would be a near death blow to New York.
• Brewers 10, Orioles 2
  • Peak Corbin Burnes made an appearance in this game. Lasting eight innings, Milwaukee’s ace allowed just two hits and zero earned runs. If Burnes is elite the rest of the way, the Brewers will probably win the NL Central.
• Cardinals 1, Rangers 0
  • Jon Gray, for the losing Rangers, pitched nine innings in this game — a rare accomplishment in this day and age where pitchers don’t throw as deep into games as they used to.