Philadelphia Union rally with two late goals to defeat Toronto FC 2-1
TORONTO - Add another painful chapter to Toronto FC's challenging season.
Toronto (3-9-4) held the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia Union (10-3-3) scoreless for 85 minutes Wednesday and looked headed for just its second home win of the season after Norwegian forward Ola Brynhildsen roofed a shot in the 75th minute.
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Winnipeg Free Press
6 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh leads MLB in homers and is on pace to set a season record for catchers
SEATTLE (AP) — Just before Big Dumper put a thump into a soaring flyball, a smattering of 'MVP! MVP!' chants broke out from behind home plate Sunday. Given the way Cal Raleigh's season has started, perhaps the Mariners' catcher is wholly deserving of such high praise. With a solo shot during Seattle's latest victory, a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins, Raleigh upped his total to a major league-leading 23 home runs. 'He's having an excellent season, not only offensively but also defensively,' teammate Randy Arozarena said, with bench coach Manny Acta translating. 'What he's doing right now, it's great because he's carrying our offense pretty much.' That's no exaggeration on Arozarena's part. And what Raleigh is doing is also unprecedented. The 28-year-old backstop from North Carolina with the funny nickname became the first catcher in major league history to reach 20 home runs before the end of May. His 22 home runs entering June tied for the second-most in Mariners history behind only Ken Griffey Jr., who had 24 in 1997. 'He just continues to grow and mature in this game,' said Mariners manager Dan Wilson, a former catcher who was on that Seattle team in 1997. 'And the pace that he's on right now with home runs — and he's not just hitting home runs, he's still just hitting the ball hard. 'You add that to what he does behind the plate in a game like this — whew, he's a real special player and he's doing it all right now.' According to Baseball Savant, Raleigh ranks eighth among big league catchers in Fielding Run Value. He also has more home runs than Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge. So it's no wonder Raleigh has already been worth 3.3 Wins Above Replacement, per less than 60 games into the season for the AL West-leading Mariners. 'I just wish that he continues to stay healthy and (has) a very long career,' Seattle pitcher Luis Castillo said, with Acta translating. 'Because it's a lot of fun right now.' Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals holds the big league record for home runs in a season by a catcher with 48 in 2021. Raleigh is on pace for 64 this year, which would break the American League mark of 62 set by Judge in 2022. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Sure, there's still a long way to go in 2025. But, awfully impressive for someone playing such a demanding and taxing position, where offense is often considered a luxury rather than a requirement. 'Sometimes it's not playing harder, it's playing smarter,' said Wilson, a major league catcher for 14 years. 'And he continues to play smart baseball whether it's behind the plate or at the bat. He's coming up huge for us all over the place.' ___ AP MLB:
Ottawa Citizen
7 hours ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Charlotte breezes to 5-1 victory over Laval Rocket
Article content No longer is it a question of whether the Laval Rocket will win this AHL Eastern Conference final series. Article content Article content Instead, can the Rocket even win a game? That appears unlikely. Article content Laval, a relatively young team, has provided little opposition for the vastly superior, more talented and experienced Charlotte Checkers. Article content Sunday afternoon, in what had to be considered a must-win scenario, the visiting Rocket were nothing but pushovers and totally outclassed yet again. The Checkers skated to an easy 5-1 victory before 8,292 spectators at the Bojangles Coliseum and now lead the best-of-seven series 3-0. Article content Article content On the bright side, for the first time in the series, Laval didn't surrender a shorthanded goal. Small consolation. Article content Article content While the Rocket finished first overall in the league this season, the team has collectively hit a wall. The players and head coach Pascal Vincent simply have no answer and appear unable to stop the bleeding. Article content Laval will attempt to stave off elimination Tuesday night in Charlotte (7 p.m., RDS). Should the visitors somehow triumph, the fifth game would be played in Charlotte on Thursday night. Article content In the opening-round of the 1960 playoffs, Rochester defeated Cleveland. In the 1989 Southern Division final, Adirondack defeated Hershey. The fifth and deciding games were decided in overtime. And in the 2013 Eastern Conference semifinal, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton beat Providence. Article content Article content Laval hasn't lost three successive games since late November — those three defeats all coming on the road. Article content Riley Bezeau paced Charlotte on Sunday with two goals. Will Lockwood, John Leonard and Sandis Vilmanis also scored. Bezeau, who scored only two goals in 24 regular-season games, now has three alone against Laval. As for Leonard, he continues to lead Charlotte in scoring, with six goals and 10 points in 11 games. Leonard also extended his point streak to seven games, while Lockwood has points in four consecutive games. Article content The Checkers are on a seven-game winning streak, having not lost since May 9. Article content Charlotte broke this game open with four second-period goals. Two were scored within 68 seconds, providing the Checkers with a 3-0 lead. Vincent called a time-out at that juncture in an attempt to settle down his team, but it didn't work. Charlotte added another score, taking a 4-0 lead — the three goals coming in a span of 4:21.
Montreal Gazette
7 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
Charlotte breezes to 5-1 victory over Laval Rocket
Laval Rocket By No longer is it a question of whether the Laval Rocket will win this AHL Eastern Conference final series. Instead, can the Rocket even win a game? That appears unlikely. Laval, a relatively young team, has provided little opposition for the vastly superior, more talented and experienced Charlotte Checkers. Sunday afternoon, in what had to be considered a must-win scenario, the visiting Rocket were nothing but pushovers and totally outclassed yet again. The Checkers skated to an easy 5-1 victory before 8,292 spectators at the Bojangles Coliseum and now lead the best-of-seven series 3-0. On the bright side, for the first time in the series, Laval didn't surrender a shorthanded goal. Small consolation. While the Rocket finished first overall in the league this season, the team has collectively hit a wall. The players and head coach Pascal Vincent simply have no answer and appear unable to stop the bleeding. Laval will attempt to stave off elimination Tuesday night in Charlotte (7 p.m., RDS). Should the visitors somehow triumph, the fifth game would be played in Charlotte on Thursday night. Three teams in AHL history have overcome 3-0 deficits. In the opening-round of the 1960 playoffs, Rochester defeated Cleveland. In the 1989 Southern Division final, Adirondack defeated Hershey. The fifth and deciding games were decided in overtime. And in the 2013 Eastern Conference semifinal, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton beat Providence. Laval hasn't lost three successive games since late November — those three defeats all coming on the road. Riley Bezeau paced Charlotte on Sunday with two goals. Will Lockwood, John Leonard and Sandis Vilmanis also scored. Bezeau, who scored only two goals in 24 regular-season games, now has three alone against Laval. As for Leonard, he continues to lead Charlotte in scoring, with six goals and 10 points in 11 games. Leonard also extended his point streak to seven games, while Lockwood has points in four consecutive games. The Checkers are on a seven-game winning streak, having not lost since May 9. Charlotte broke this game open with four second-period goals. Two were scored within 68 seconds, providing the Checkers with a 3-0 lead. Vincent called a time-out at that juncture in an attempt to settle down his team, but it didn't work. Charlotte added another score, taking a 4-0 lead — the three goals coming in a span of 4:21. 'They got one goal there,' captain Lucas Condotta told the media in Charlotte. 'We had about a five- or six-minute stretch where we gave up a few goals. That kills you in the playoffs. It's hard to dig yourself out of a hole like that. 'It's a different game in the playoffs. We have to regroup for the next game here and figure something out. It's on the guys in the room. We have to get going here. Just believe, that's it.' Following the fourth goal, starting goaltender Cayden Primeau was replaced by Jacob Fowler. It marked the second consecutive game in which Primeau was removed in the second period after being beaten four times; this time on 16 shots in barely more than 25 minutes. Fowler stopped 12 of 13 shots in 34:46. It would appear Vincent has no choice, with the season on the line, but to start Fowler on Tuesday. As for Primeau, a potential restricted free agent this summer, he has done nothing in this series to attract a new franchise. Jared Davidson, on the power play, scored Laval's only goal at 8:49 of the second period, deflecting an Owen Beck shot. 'We don't want to be in this position right now,' Davidson told the media in Charlotte. 'They're playing well (but) we have a little more than we can give. We'll come in (Tuesday) and try to earn another game. No championship team goes through nothing throughout the whole season and the playoffs. Crazier things have been done. We just have to come ready to play.' The Rocket has been outscored 15-4 in the series and has yet to produce the opening goal. Two of the four goals have been scored by defencemen. Charlotte goalie Kaapo Kahkonen has stopped 75 of 79 shots and has now won 16 of his last 20 games, dating back to March 21. Kahkonen played four full NHL seasons with Minnesota and San Jose between 2020-24. The Checkers won the Calder Cup in 2019 and appear headed to the final again. While the Rocket is now 3-2 on the road this post-season and 11-3-1 since Feb. 26, it has never won in Charlotte in five attempts. Laval was without centre and leading playoff scorer Laurent Dauphin, who didn't return after being taken into the boards from behind by defenceman Marek Alscher in the second period of Thursday's second game. He was replaced Sunday by Luke Tuch. The Rocket produced only 23 shots against Kahkonen. Joshua Roy had a team-leading four shots. Florian Xhekaj was a minus-3, while eight others — including defencemen Logan Mailloux, David Reinbacher, Noel Hoefenmayer and Zack Hayes — were all minus-2. Laval started well, generating the game's first three shots, before defenceman Adam Engstrom lost his check, allowing Bezeau to open the scoring at 9:17. In the period's 12th minute, Alex Barré-Boulet came dangerously close to tying the score, only to hit the post on a breakaway. It was that kind of an afternoon for Laval. And then everything fell apart in the second period.
