MILWAUKEE — Lorenzo Cain is eligible to come off the disabled list Wednesday but won’t quite be ready to go when the Milwaukee Brewers wrap up their
three-game series against the Minnesota Twins with a matinee at Miller Park.
Cain has been sidelined since June 24 with a strained left groin and had been making progress in his rehab but isn’t 100 percent yet and will need a little
more time
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“He had a good day on the field, but there’s enough caution there that we have to get over the last hurdle,” Counsell said. “We’re not to 100 percent yet.
We’re definitely going in a good direction.”
Christian Yelich has been out since the first inning of Sunday’s game thanks to a stiff back but he took batting practice for a third straight day Tuesday
and came into the game as a ninth-inning defensive sub, leaving him on the verge
of returning to the lineup — perhaps as early as Wednesday.
“He’s feeling pretty good,” Counsell said. “I’m very optimistic.”
With both Cain and Yelich out, and Jesus Aguilar punishing opposing pitchers while playing first base, Eric Thames has become a regular in Milwaukee’s
outfield. Since returning from a 40-day stint on the disabled list June 12,
Thames has made five starts at first and 10 in the outfield. He’s appeared in 18
games overall since returning, batting .226 with four home runs and 11 RBIs
during that stretch but has been red-hot over the last week with three home runs
over his last six games.
“I’m just trying to have quality at-bats and trying not to hit 30 home runs in the first week to try and catch back up with everybody else,” said Thames,
who’s third on the team with 12 home runs this season. “I’m just trying to have
good at-bats, get on base, take my walks
Dan Feeney Jersey , trying not to swing at everything that comes over the plate like I did in Cincinnati. I’m just trying to take a quality at-bat and
help the team win.”
Thames’ two-run homer was the difference in Milwaukee’s victory Tuesday and gave the Brewers at least one home run in each of their last nine games.
Jose Berrios will try to stop that streak Wednesday as he leads the Twins in their efforts to avoid a sweep. The right-hander served up two home runs his
last time out as he was dinged for six runs on six hits and four walks over just
4 1/3 innings by the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
“I don’t know if it’s the hottest game I’ve thrown, but coming from 80 degrees to almost 100, I felt it out there,” Berrios said through an
interpreter. “I wanted to keep competing for my team. … I kind of felt like I
lost stamina out there because it was so hot. It just was what it was.
“I tried to execute my pitches. I struck out (two). I kept trying to battle. It wasn’t my day today.”
It was Berrios’ worst outing of the season and snapped what had been an impressive stretch for the young right-hander. He’d gone 5-1 with a 2.05 ERA in
his eight previous starts, striking out 69 with just 11 walks in 57 innings of
work.
“Jose was just a little off,” manager Paul Molitor said. “Command of fastball, a couple breaking balls that he got hurt on. … Glanced up there now
and then. (His velocity) was maybe down a mile or two from what you would
expect.”
Wednesday will mark his first career appearance against the Brewers, who counter with right-hander Chase Anderson.
Anderson allowed just a run over six innings in his last outing, Friday at Cincinnati, and is 3-3 with a 4.40 ERA in eight starts since returning from the
disabled list on May 20.
He’s faced Minnesota just once in his career and took the loss after allowing five runs (four earned) on 11 hits over five innings back on April 18,
2016.
David Pastrnak had a hat trick and three assists to help Boston blow out the Toronto Maple Leafs for the second straight game, leading the Bruins to
a 7-3 victory Saturday night and a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern
Conference playoff series.
Pastrnak shattered his previous career high of four points, scoring his third goal with 1:36 left to bring two trash cans full of caps and winter hats
fluttering down to the ice. Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron each had four
assists
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Tuukka Rask stopped 30 shots for Boston, and David Krejci, Rick Nash, Jake DeBrusk and Kevan Miller also scored.
Two nights after Frederik Andersen allowed five goals in the series opener, he gave up three more on five shots in the first 12:13 before he was replaced by
backup Curtis McElhinney. The Bruins added another power-play goal – their
second of the night and fifth of the series – to make it 4-0 after one.
Mitch Marner, Tyler Bozak and James Van Riemsdyk scored for the Maple Leafs, who never got closer than three goals down after that. McElhinney stopped 19 of
the 23 shots he faced.
The series moves to Toronto for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Thursday. Game 5 would be back in Boston on Saturday, if necessary.
PREDATORS 5, AVALANCHE 4
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Ryan Hartman’s empty-net goal with 1:09 left wound up the winner as Nashville held off Colorado for a 2-0 lead in the first-round
Western Conference series.
After Hartman gave the Predators a 5-3 lead, Alexander Kerfoot pulled Colorado to 5-4 with 35.8 seconds left. But the Avalanche couldn’t get another
puck past goalie Pekka Rinne.
The Presidents’ Trophy winners started slowly, giving up a goal on Colorado’s first shot for a second straight game. Yet the Predators rallied again to take
their first 2-0 lead when starting a best-of-seven series in their own
building.
Kevin Fiala had a goal and an assist, and Viktor Arvidsson
Frank Gore Jersey , Ryan Johansen and Austin Watson scored a goal apiece. P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm each had two assists for Nashville, which has won 12
straight over the Avalanche. Rinne made 26 saves. Nathan MacKinnon had a goal
and an assist, and Gabriel Bourque and Gabriel Landeskog each added a goal for
Colorado.
Game 3 is Monday night in Denver.
LIGHTNING 5, DEVILS 3
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Alex Killorn scored twice during a four-goal second period, helping Tampa Bay beat New Jersey for a 2-0 lead in the Eastern
Conference series.
The Lightning scored three times in a 2:47 span in the second period, and the reeling Devils pulled goalie Keith Kinkaid after Killorn’s third goal in two
games made it 5-1 with 6:48 remaining in the period. Kinkaid, whose stellar play
since January helped New Jersey finish strong and claim its first playoff berth
since 2012, yielded five goals on 15 shots.
Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Tyler Johnson also scored for Tampa Bay, which is up 2-0 in the series after going 0-2-1 against the Devils during the
regular season.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 41 shots, limiting the Devils to rookie Nico Hischier’s unassisted goal in the opening period, Sami Vatanen’s sixth career
playoff goal late in the second
Marshall Newhouse Jersey , Blake Coleman’s third-period tally that trimmed Tampa Bay’s lead to 5-3 with eight minutes left.
Game 3 is Monday night in Newark, New Jersey.
SHARKS 3, DUCKS 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Logan Couture had a goal and an assist, Martin Jones made 28 saves and San Jose excelled on the road again, beating Anaheim to take a
2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.
Marcus Sorensen and Tomas Hertl also scored for the Sharks, who gave another disciplined, organized performance while moving halfway to their first playoff
series victory since their Stanley Cup Final run in 2016. The Sharks also are
halfway to their first playoff series victory over Anaheim, their longtime
downstate rivals.
Hampus Lindholm had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who are leaving Honda Center with an 0-2 series deficit for the third time in their last five playoff
series.
Jakob Silfverberg scored in the opening minute and John Gibson stopped 32 shots as Anaheim dropped to 3-6 in its last nine home playoff games overall.
Game 3 is Monday night in San Jose.
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