Padres bullpen spoils potential Mexico City sweep
The San Diego Padres middle relief implodes, the NBA Playoffs are pure chaos, SDFC tries to take a moral victory in a loss, the Wave stay hot, NFL Draft takes, and more in today's Front Row Seat.
I can’t figure out the NBA Playoffs.
The teams that are significantly better than the rest of the league (Thunder and maybe the Spurs) look significantly better than the rest of the league. Every other teams looks ready to lose the thread and their season at any moment.
Two of the eight series are tied at 2-2. A #8 seed (Magic) has a lead over the #1 seed in the East (Pistons). The Nuggets are down 3-1 but the Timberwolves have lost two of their most important players to injury for the rest of the series, so most everyone is still picking the Nuggets to win the series.
There are rumors that Damian Lillard, who missed the entire season after tearing his Achilles tendon about a year ago, is going to come back and play for Portland Trail Blazers. Again, after not playing all season. Joel Embiid, who had his appendix removed about two weeks ago, played against the Boston Celtics last night.
It’s just an especially unpredictable NBA Playoffs in some respects and an especially predicable NBA Playoffs in others. It’s enough to give you whiplash.
Now, onto the links…
San Diego Padres
Late-game implosion costs Padres sweep in Mexico City Series - San Diego Union-Tribune
The Diamondbacks scored six runs in that inning off relievers David Morgan and Bradgley Rodriguez and added four more against Ron Marinaccio with help from a base-loaded triple in the eighth for a 12-7 victory in Sunday’s finale of a two-game series at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú.
Only once in franchise history — 30 years ago — had a Padres bullpen allowed more runs in a two-inning stint.
“You never want to give away a game where you have a … six-run lead at one point,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “But circumstances are different here at this ballpark. You know, six-run lead and five-run lead, those aren’t really leads here. Anything can happen, and something did happen today. We’ve been on the good end of this so far. We get a taste of what it feels like on the other end.”
Padres notes: Feliciano, Jones take in game; King thrives in thin air - San Diego Union-Tribune
José E. Feliciano and his wife, Kwanza Jones, arrived at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú about an hour before first pitch and watched the Padres’ 12-7 loss from the suite of the man after whom the stadium is named.
Most team employees, including manager Craig Stammen and the players, seemed unaware their future bosses were in town.
“They were here?” Manny Machado said. “Oh, man. Nice, awesome. I mean, I wish we would have brought them a ‘W.’ This is their team now. So, I love the support. Hopefully we see them more often and see them around San Diego.”
Miller stands alone, setting record for longest scoreless streak in Padres history - Padres.com
With the scoreless inning, Miller moved past Cla Meredith for the longest scoreless streak in Padres history -- now 34 2/3 frames.
“Big load off, for sure -- I think we can stop talking about it now,” Miller said with a wry smile. “Just keep pitching, see how long we can go.”
Bad news for Miller: He’s approaching another record that could soon have the whole baseball world talking.
Not only did Miller surpass Meredith for the top spot on the Padres all-time list, he’s now closing in on the longest scoreless streak by any reliever (since at least 1961). Miller currently sits eighth, 6 2/3 innings from passing Baltimore’s Gregg Olson for the top spot.
In Mexico City, a glimpse of the Padres’ future — and reasons for cautious optimism - The Athletic
For all the underperformance in their lineup, the Padres might have been due for such a result. They had already rallied from a deficit of at least four runs in five victories, tying the 1998 Philadelphia Phillies for the most such comeback wins in April. Their Pythagorean winning percentage, calculated based on runs scored and allowed, suggests they should be closer to 15-12 than 18-9.
Collective success aside, this sport can be maddening — even for star talents. Tatis ranks second in the majors in hard-hit percentage. Earlier this month, he voiced his belief that the baseball gods were angry with him. This weekend, he confirmed he still felt that way; all he had to show for five more batted balls with an exit velocity above 95 mph was a pair of singles.
Good Morning San Diego: Sung-Mun Song makes MLB debut in Padres’ loss to Diamondbacks - Gaslamp Ball
Sung-Mun Song was added to the San Diego Padres roster as the 27th-man for the Mexico City Series and made his debut with two outs in the top of the eighth inning of their 12-7 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks when he came in to run for Luis Campusano. He was able to advance to third base on a wild pitch, but he was unable to score as Jake Cronenworth grounded out to first base to end the inning. Song was then replaced in the order by Freddy Fermin who came in to catch the bottom of the eighth inning.
San Diego Soccer
Timbers score in injury time, send slumping SDFC to fifth straight loss - San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego FC coach Mikey Varas acknowledged “no one wants to hear this” amid a losing skid that reached five MLS Cup matches with Saturday’s 2-1 decision against the Portland Timbers at Snapdragon Stadium.
But, Varas said, SDFC (3-2-6) showed true progress in its fifth consecutive loss. For more than 90 minutes, the Blue and Chrome were on the verge of ending the slump, even if only with a draw.
Alex Bonetig’s goal more than five minutes into extra time made the difference for Portland (4-1-5), which threatened repeatedly late to break a 1-1 stalemate that lasted nearly the entire second half.
Own-goal lifts first-place Wave past Summit in Denver - San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Wave won Saturday to remain in first place in the National Women’s Soccer League standings.
This time, they were both lucky and good.
Carson Pickett’s own-goal in the 65th minute gave the visiting Wave a come-from-behind, 3-2 victory over the expansion Denver Summit on Saturday night in Colorado. At 5-1-0, the Wave maintain their league lead. Denver falls to 1-2-3.
Pro Sports Report: Sockers will play Monday night for MASL title; Gulls’ season ends in playoffs - San Diego Union-Tribune
The short-handed San Diego Sockers will play one last match to decide the Major Arena Soccer League’s Ron Newman Cup finals.
The Milwaukee Wave forced a winner-take-all Game 3 by beating the Sockers 7-2 late Friday night in front of a Frontwave Arena-record crowd of 5,521. The teams will return to Oceanside at 7:05 p.m. on Monday night; win, and the Sockers will capture their 17th indoor soccer championship and their first MASL crown since 2022.
The visitors scored the final seven goals after the Sockers had taken a 2-0 lead.
NBA Playoffs
Spurs overwhelm Blazers late in Wembanyama’s return - ESPN
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama didn’t dazzle offensively early, but his stifling defense laid the groundwork Sunday for a comeback that sent the Portland Trail Blazers to the brink of elimination.
Wembanyama logged seven blocks and four steals to go with 27 points and 12 rebounds as San Antonio rallied from a 19-point deficit to defeat the Trail Blazers 114-93 in Game 4 to seize a 3-1 lead in a Western Conference first-round series. In his first game back after sustaining a concussion in Game 2, Wembanyama became the first player to log at least 25 points and five blocks in his first career postseason road game since 1973-74, when blocks became an official statistic, according to ESPN Research.
LeBron James takes blame for turnovers, poor performance in Game 4 loss to Rockets: ‘It started with me’ - Yahoo Sports
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James isn’t going to sugarcoat it, he played a significant role in the team getting blown out by the Houston Rockets in Game 4 on Sunday. James shouldered the blame for the loss after the game, saying the Lakers’ struggles “started with me, obviously.”
It was an extremely muted performance for James, who scored 10 points on 2-of-9 shooting in the 115-96 loss. His struggles from the field were one thing, but his game-leading eight turnovers were what stuck with James following the game. “My turnovers were unacceptable,” he told ESPN.
Odds & Ends
2026 NFL Draft grades: Giants among 4 teams with an A, while a Super Bowl contender doesn’t do so hot - Yahoo Sports
Nate Tice and Charles McDonald go through every team’s draft class and hand out grades. Find out if your NFL team had a great weekend or one they’ll regret for a long time.
FIFA struggling to sell tickets for USMNT’s World Cup opener vs. Paraguay - The Athletic
Ticket sales for the United States’ high-priced World Cup opener are lagging behind other matches in Los Angeles, according to a document distributed to local organizers and a variety of other indicators.
The document, dated April 10 and shared with hosts to ensure adequate planning, listed 40,934 tickets purchased for that June 12 match between the U.S. and Paraguay, compared with 50,661 for the Iran-New Zealand match three days later at the same venue, SoFi Stadium.
Tottenham’s Relegation Would Be Shocking. It Now Seems Inevitable. - The Ringer
Spursy has never suggested anything close to the perilous situation Spurs find themselves in right now. With less than a month remaining in the season, Tottenham is staring down the increasingly likely and terrifying prospect of relegation from the Premier League. It’s been a swift fall—remember that less than a year ago, they beat Manchester United in the Europa League final to claim their first trophy since 2007. Betting markets now think Spurs are more likely than not to be relegated, something that has not happened to the club in its 34-year history in the Premier League. The club has kept its place in the highest division of English soccer every year since 1978.
Sabastian Sawe finishes London Marathon in under two hours to obliterate men’s world record - The Athletic
Sabastian Sawe broke the men’s marathon world record at the London Marathon on Sunday, becoming the first person to run the distance in under two hours in a legal race.
The Kenyan athlete produced a phenomenal race, closing hard to finish in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds. He obliterated the previous world record of 2:00:35, held by Kelvin Kiptum from the 2023 Chicago Marathon, with second-placed Yomif Kejelcha running 1:59:41 on his debut.
The Saudi Sports Bubble is Bursting - Sports Politika
The US-Israel war on Iran, and the subsequent fallout in the Middle East, has jeopardized Saudi’s sports ambitions and raised concerns that the Kingdom’s investment-driven gold rush may be drying up.