Harden, Rockets Even Series With Upset at Oracle
Once the Houston Rockets lost homecourt advantage with a Game-1 loss at the Toyota Center, many basketball experts did not give them much of a chance to take it back. Although, they pulled off a decent-sized upset on Tuesday night to flip the switch on the momentum, and take homecourt advantage right back. James Harden had 30 points and Chris Paul scored 27, as the Rockets evened the series at two-apiece with a 95-92 win, snapping the Golden State Warriors' 16-game playoff home win streak. The Rockets had both of their stars step up to help overcome a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit, which was their second rally from a double-digit deficit on the night. The Warriors did have a chance to tie or take the lead in the final seconds, but could not get a much-needed timeout before the inbounds play, and were forced to settle with Klay Thompson's off-balanced shot at the buzzer, which got nothing but air. Steph Curry had 28 points on the night, but was held to just three points in the fourth quarter after leading the Warriors' third quarter, where they outscored the Rockets by 17. Kevin Durant finished with a double-double of 27 points and 12 rebounds, but the Warriors missed their final five shots down the stretch, failing to make it a back-and-forth affair in the final minutes. Those missed shots included Curry missing multiple three-pointers that would've tied the game. This rare home loss forces the Warriors to get the job done at least once in the final three games in Houston, with their first shot coming in Game 5 on Thursday night.
Price, Betts Lead The Red Sox on the Road
The Boston Red Sox turned to their best pitcher and best hitter on Tuesday night to earn another win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mookie Betts hit his major league-leading 16th home run of the season, as the Red Sox doubled-up the Rays, 4-2, in their first game in St. Petersburg since their season-opening series. Chris Sale took over on the mound by striking out nine over 7.2 innings, while only allowing one run. His support mainly came from Betts, who had two hits in four at-bats and also leads the majors with a .368 batting average. The Red Sox have won eight of their past 11 games against the Rays, and now sit with a stellar 21-9 record against the American League East Division this season. The one bright spot for the Rays came from rookie shortstop, Willy Adames, who went 1-for-4 with his first career home run in his major league debut. With the win, Sale improved to 5-1 on the season, and has now given up fewer than three runs in each of his first 11 starts on the year. That is the longest such stretch from a Red Sox pitcher since Pedro Martinez went 12 games in a row in 2001. Joe Kelly and Craig Kimbrel finished things off for Boston, with the closer working out of a bases loaded jam in the ninth with only one run against him. These two teams will continue their series at the same place on Wednesday night.
Harper Homers Again, Nats Walk-Off
Following their much slower than expected start, the Washington Nationals are successfully overcoming their injuries to stay competitive in what is a very tough NL East this season. Their main star, Bryce Harper, stayed hot on Tuesday night with a home run in his second consecutive game, as the Nats went on to walk-off for a 2-1 win over the San Diego Padres. Michael Taylor had his second-career walk-off hit in the ninth with an RBI double, as Harper's long ball was his NL-leading 15th home run of the season. He is second in the majors behind Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox. Taylor ended up coming in clutch, despite holding a .189 batting average coming in to play. Juan Soto had another big day in his second career start by reaching base four times, just one day after smacking his first-career home run. The 19-year-old went on to score the winning run on Taylor's double, continuing his masterful start to his major league career. Sean Doolittle struck out the side in the ninth inning to earn his second win out of the bullpen for the Nats. Jeremy Hellickson pitched well in the start for the Padres by allowing just the Harper home run over 5.1 innings, while Franchy Cordero's homer was the lone run of the game for San Diego. Eric Lauer allowed six hits and struck out seven in just his sixth-career start for Washington. The Nats will look to complete the sweep with a matinee series finale on Wednesday.
Once the Houston Rockets lost homecourt advantage with a Game-1 loss at the Toyota Center, many basketball experts did not give them much of a chance to take it back. Although, they pulled off a decent-sized upset on Tuesday night to flip the switch on the momentum, and take homecourt advantage right back. James Harden had 30 points and Chris Paul scored 27, as the Rockets evened the series at two-apiece with a 95-92 win, snapping the Golden State Warriors' 16-game playoff home win streak. The Rockets had both of their stars step up to help overcome a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit, which was their second rally from a double-digit deficit on the night. The Warriors did have a chance to tie or take the lead in the final seconds, but could not get a much-needed timeout before the inbounds play, and were forced to settle with Klay Thompson's off-balanced shot at the buzzer, which got nothing but air. Steph Curry had 28 points on the night, but was held to just three points in the fourth quarter after leading the Warriors' third quarter, where they outscored the Rockets by 17. Kevin Durant finished with a double-double of 27 points and 12 rebounds, but the Warriors missed their final five shots down the stretch, failing to make it a back-and-forth affair in the final minutes. Those missed shots included Curry missing multiple three-pointers that would've tied the game. This rare home loss forces the Warriors to get the job done at least once in the final three games in Houston, with their first shot coming in Game 5 on Thursday night.
Price, Betts Lead The Red Sox on the Road
The Boston Red Sox turned to their best pitcher and best hitter on Tuesday night to earn another win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mookie Betts hit his major league-leading 16th home run of the season, as the Red Sox doubled-up the Rays, 4-2, in their first game in St. Petersburg since their season-opening series. Chris Sale took over on the mound by striking out nine over 7.2 innings, while only allowing one run. His support mainly came from Betts, who had two hits in four at-bats and also leads the majors with a .368 batting average. The Red Sox have won eight of their past 11 games against the Rays, and now sit with a stellar 21-9 record against the American League East Division this season. The one bright spot for the Rays came from rookie shortstop, Willy Adames, who went 1-for-4 with his first career home run in his major league debut. With the win, Sale improved to 5-1 on the season, and has now given up fewer than three runs in each of his first 11 starts on the year. That is the longest such stretch from a Red Sox pitcher since Pedro Martinez went 12 games in a row in 2001. Joe Kelly and Craig Kimbrel finished things off for Boston, with the closer working out of a bases loaded jam in the ninth with only one run against him. These two teams will continue their series at the same place on Wednesday night.
Harper Homers Again, Nats Walk-Off
Following their much slower than expected start, the Washington Nationals are successfully overcoming their injuries to stay competitive in what is a very tough NL East this season. Their main star, Bryce Harper, stayed hot on Tuesday night with a home run in his second consecutive game, as the Nats went on to walk-off for a 2-1 win over the San Diego Padres. Michael Taylor had his second-career walk-off hit in the ninth with an RBI double, as Harper's long ball was his NL-leading 15th home run of the season. He is second in the majors behind Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox. Taylor ended up coming in clutch, despite holding a .189 batting average coming in to play. Juan Soto had another big day in his second career start by reaching base four times, just one day after smacking his first-career home run. The 19-year-old went on to score the winning run on Taylor's double, continuing his masterful start to his major league career. Sean Doolittle struck out the side in the ninth inning to earn his second win out of the bullpen for the Nats. Jeremy Hellickson pitched well in the start for the Padres by allowing just the Harper home run over 5.1 innings, while Franchy Cordero's homer was the lone run of the game for San Diego. Eric Lauer allowed six hits and struck out seven in just his sixth-career start for Washington. The Nats will look to complete the sweep with a matinee series finale on Wednesday.
