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Skenes and Alcantara show early dominant flashes in hyped opening day matchup

MIAMI (AP) — Hyped as the most appealing starting pitchers’ matchup of opening day, Paul Skenes outlasted Sandy Alcantara but neither was involved in the decision of the Miami Marlins’ 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday. Pittsburgh’s Skenes is the reigning NL Rookie of the Year. Alcantara, the veteran Marlins right-hander who won the NL Cy Young Award in 2022, missed last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Skenes struck out seven over 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball. The 22-year-old right-hander had a 4-1 lead but was lifted after issuing consecutive ...

NBA and FIBA to take steps toward adding new European league

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA may soon be significantly expanding its presence in European basketball, in the form of partnering with FIBA on a new league that the sides have been talking about for many years. Specifics are few, with the initial target — for now — being that it would be a 16-team league. But the announcement made Thursday by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis is a major step forward after a long process of the sides going back and forth with ideas about what might work. “We feel now is the time to move to that next stage,” ...

Flyers fire coach John Tortorella in midst of another losing season

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — John Tortorella popped off after another Philadelphia loss — the sixth straight on his watch — and declared he was not interested in learning how to coach a losing team in another empty season. It’s not his worry anymore. The Flyers fired the notoriously brusque Tortorella on Thursday with nine games left in another losing season for a franchise that hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2020. The decisive blow came when the Flyers were blown out by Toronto 7-2 on Tuesday night. Tortorella, who won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004, said after the game he ...

Four-way tie for lead at Houston Open

HOUSTON (AP) — Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy wanted a final tune-up before the Masters and spent parts of the Thursday at the Houston Open under an umbrella in wind and rain that prevented anyone from getting too far away. Keith Mitchell made a late eagle and Ryan Gerard let a good start slip away by finishing with two bogeys. They both wound up at 5-under 65, tied for the lead with Alejandro Tosti and Taylor Pendrith when play was suspended by darkness. Scheffler didn’t dazzle. He just didn’t do much wrong, one of his best attributes. The world’s No. 1 player played ...

Teams favored on 52.2% of ball/strike challenges during robot umpire test

NEW YORK (AP) — Teams won 52.2% of their ball/strike challenges during the spring training test of robot umpires, and catchers had a markedly better success rate than pitchers. Major League Baseball said Wednesday that 617 of 1,182 challenges were successful in the 288 exhibition games using the Automated Ball-Strike System. Batters won exactly 50% of their 596 challenges and the defense 54%, with catchers successful 56% of the time and pitchers 41%. Teams challenged 2.6% of called pitches; offense asked for computer reviews of 4.4% and the defense 1.8%. ABS was installed at 13 ...

Back to the NBA All-Star drawing board

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA will not bring back its All-Star Game mini-tournament next season. Commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday that the format used last month — a four-team tournament made up of 24 NBA All-Stars and another team of rookies and sophomores that played their way in by winning the Rising Stars event on All-Star Friday, all the All-Star matchups playing untimed games to a target score of 40 points — “was a miss.” “We’re not there in terms of creating an ... experience that we can be proud of and our players can be proud of,” Silver said. The game is ...