SPORTS DIGEST

BASEBALL

The Boston Red Sox extended their best start in franchise history in MLB with a 9-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Rafael Devers hit his first career grand slam as the Red Sox racked up their sixth straight victory - meaning they have won 15 of their 16 games since losing on the opening day. The New York Mets eased past the Washington Nationals 11-5 to prevent a three-game sweep. Yoenis Cespedes launched a grand slam during a nine-run outburst in the eighth inning that proved to be the catalyst for New York. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: Arizona Diamondbacks 3 San Francisco Giants 4 (10 innings), Atlanta Braves 7 Philadelphia Phillies 3, Chicago Cubs P St Louis Cardinals P, Detroit Tigers 6 Baltimore Orioles 5, LA Angels 0 Boston Red Sox 9, Milwaukee Brewers 2 Cincinnati Reds 0, Minnesota Twins 2 Cleveland Indians 1 (16 innings), New York Mets 11 Washington Nationals 5, Oakland Athletics 12 Chicago White Sox 11 (14 innings), Pittsburgh Pirates 10 Colorado Rockies 2, San Diego Padres 4 Los Angeles Dodgers 13, Seattle Mariners 1 Houston Astros 7, Tampa Bay Rays 4 Texas Rangers 2, Toronto Blue Jays 15 Kansas City Royals 5.

BASKETBALL

The Cleveland Cavaliers edged the Indiana Pacers 100-97 to level up their Eastern Conference series at 1-1. Lebron James excelled with 46 points and 12 rebounds – with the Cavs’ first 16 points of the game coming from the 14-time NBA all-star. The Pacers were unlucky, though, as Victor Oladipo missed a three-pointer to tie the game with 27 seconds on the clock, having earlier fought an 18-point deficit to bring the game to 95-92. The Houston Rockets overcame the Minnesota Timberwolves 102-82 to claim a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference play-off. Chris Paul scored 27 points and was backed up by Gerald Green, who claimed a play-off best with 21 points. James Harden could not repeat his performance from the play-off opener, reaching only 12 points on Wednesday night, but a 22-point lead for Houston in the last nine minutes was too much for the Timberwolves to chase down in their first play-off series since 2004. Donovan Mitchell led the scoring with 28 points for the Utah Jazz as they managed to level their series at 1-1 with a 102-95 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. NBA PLAY-OFFS Eastern Conference 1st rd: Cleveland Cavaliers 100 Indiana Pacers 97 (series tied 1-1). Western Conference 1st rd: Oklahoma City Thunder 95 Utah Jazz 102 (series tied 1-1), Houston Rockets 102 Minnesota Timberwolves 82 (Houston lead Series 2-0).

ICE HOCKEY

The San Jose Sharks beat the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 to complete a 4-0 series sweep and set up a play-off showdown with the Vegas Golden Knights. Martin Jones made 30 saves as San Jose sealed their progress to the second round of the Stanley Cup. The Sharks took the lead for the third time in the series when Marcus Sorensen broke the deadlock by sweeping home a rebound 5:43 into the first period. Andrew Cogliano levelled after 7:53 in the third, only for Tomas Hertl to deflect Marc-edouard Vlasic’s shot into the net a little over a minute later for what proved to be the winner. Sidney Crosby became the Pittsburgh Penguins’ all-time leading scorer in Stanley Cup play-offs as a 5-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers gave them a 3-1 series lead. Crosby had a goal and an assist to surpass Mario Lemieux’s tally of 172 play-off points. Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang and Riley Sheahan also netted for the Penguins, who can wrap up the series on home ice on Friday. The Tampa Bay Lightning are also one game from victory after beating the New Jersey Devils 3-1, with Nikita Kucherov scoring twice. The Nashville Predators held off a strong comeback by the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center to win 3-2 and edge into a 3-1 series lead. NHL PLAY-OFFS Eastern Conference 1st rd: New Jersey Devils 1 Tampa Bay Lightning 3 (Tampa Bay lead series 3-1), Philadelphia Flyers 0 Pittsburgh Penguins 5 (Pittsburgh lead series 3-1). Western Conference 1st rd: Colorado Avalanche 2 Nashville Predators 3 (Nashville lead series 3-1), San Jose Sharks 2 Anaheim Ducks 1 (San Jose win series 4-0).