Texas’ Gallo powers up without trying
Joey Gallo got to spring training trying to lower the launch angle of his swing, straighten his posture and hit more line drives. The 6foot5 Rangers slugger isn’t worried about trying to hit home runs.
Long balls have still come, with five in 14 atbats. “I’m really just trying to get back into where I was in 2019, just a relaxed feel at the plate and trusting my stuff,” Gallo said.
That was his AllStar season, when Gallo hit .253 with 22 homers in 70 games, plus a home run on the first pitch in his only AllStar Game atbat. But a broken bone in his hand sidelined him for the rest of what was shaping up as a breakthrough year. Then came 2020 — his .181 batting average was the secondlowest among 142 qualified batters. Surgery for Britton: Yankees lefthander Zack Britton had surgery Monday to remove a bone chip from his pitching elbow. The reliever is likely to be out until May.
Braun retiring? Ryan Braun said he’s strongly leaning toward retirement, but the Brewers’ home run leader isn’t ready to make a decision. Braun, 37, visited the Brewers’ training site Monday and said he hasn’t picked up a bat since the end of the 2020 season.
Twoway battle: In a matchup of twoway players, Shohei Ohtani hit two home runs off Michael Lorenzen in the Reds’ 73 win over Ohtani’s Angels. Ohtani is 9for16 with three homers this spring. Lorenzen has pitched nearly 450 bigleague innings and played more than 30 times in the outfield.
It was clear from the noise in the seats, even with only about 1,600 fans in attendance.
It was obvious from the emotion on the court, where Julius Randle had to be restrained by Knicks teammates after the buzzer following a call that went against him in the final seconds.
New York’s basketball rivalry was alive and heated Monday night.
“I got a little taste of it tonight,” James Harden said.
Kyrie Irving scored 34 points and Harden posted his 10th tripledouble of the season, leading the host Brooklyn Nets to a 117112 victory over the Knicks.
Harden finished with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in his first game against the Knicks since arriving in Brooklyn two months ago and turning the Nets into one of the NBA’s best teams.
Randle had 33 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, before a number of his teammates had to get off the bench to hold the AllStar forward back as he tried to get near the referees at midcourt.
He wouldn’t comment on his intentions, or the traveling call with the Knicks down three and 3.2 seconds left.
“I was just frustrated,” Randle said. “Obviously we fought so hard to come back and try to win the game, so I was just frustrated and that was pretty much it.”
Hornets 122, Kings 116: Terry Rozier scored 26 points, Gordon Hayward added 25 and host Charlotte overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half to beat Sacramento. The Kings lost forward Marvin Bagley III to a broken left hand.
Bucks 133, Wizards 122: Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his third consecutive triple-double to lead visiting Milwaukee past Washington for its fourth consecutive victory. Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 37 points after sitting out Saturday to rest a sore left knee.
Spurs 109, Pistons 99: Dejounte Murray had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead a balanced attack as San Antonio won in Detroit. The Pistons’ leading scorer, Jeremi Grant, left the game in the third quarter after falling hard on his hip while trying to drive between Drew Eubanks and Rudy Gay.
Nuggets 121, Pacers 106: Nikola Jokic notched his 35th double-double with 32 points and 14 rebounds, leading host Denver over travelweary Indiana. The start of the game was moved back an hour because the Pacers were unable to fly from Phoenix into Denver until the afternoon. Clippers 109, Mavericks 99: Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points, Marcus Morris Sr. added 14 in a rare start and visiting Los Angeles beat Dallas. The Clippers answered a 51-point loss to Dallas early in the season and a 20-point defeat in New Orleans the night before.
Suns 122, Grizzlies 99: Devin Booker scored 27 points, Chris Paul added 18 and host Phoenix rolled past Memphis. The Suns have won six of their past seven games and bounced back emphatically from a 122-111 loss to Indiana on Saturday.