Mickey Togs

Gerrit Cole made his return to the mound in a rehab start Tuesday at Double-A Somerset and looked like his old self.

Cole threw 3 innings against the Hartford Yard Goats, allowing zero runs, no walks and two hits and striking out five.

The New York Yankees ace threw 45 pitches, which was right in line with the 40-50 Somerset manager Raul Dominguez planned to hold Cole to heading into the game. Of those 45 pitches, 34 went for strikes, and his fastball sat between 94 and 96 mph.

“It felt really great to get back out there, get back in the flow of things, get some adrenaline,” Cole said afterward.

Cole, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, hasn’t pitched for the Yankees this season after being shut down during spring training due to right elbow inflammation.

Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 25th home run with a 436-foot, two-run drive into the fountain behind the center-field seats, and the New York Yankees routed the Kansas City Royals 10-1 on Tuesday night for their 11th win in 14 games.

Giancarlo Stanton followed Judge in the seventh with a 446-foot shot to center against reliever Nick Anderson for his 16th home run of the season. Austin Wells hit a three-run homer in a four-run fourth off starter Brady Singer.

Back in the lineup after his first game off this season, Judge hit his 21st homer in his last 41 games and also singled in New York’s first run. Judge raised his average to .309 and is hitting .419 with 44 RBI in his last 35 games after batting .197 through May 2.

“I’m trying not to take that for granted. It’s a lot of fun to witness and to watch what he’s doing on a nightly basis,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. 

The franchise is temporarily relocating to West Sacramento starting in the 2025 season as it prepares for its eventual permanent relocation to Las Vegas.

The Oakland Athletics announced their temporary move to Sutter Health Park in Sacramento for the 2025, 2026 and 2027 Major League Baseball seasons ahead of their official move to Las Vegas.

Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento will host the A’s for the 2025-27 seasons – ahead of the team’s move to Vegas in 2028.

Sutter Health Park has just over 10,000 seats and seating options to increase capacity to 14,000.

The option year for the A’s moving from Oakland to Sacramento gives the team flexibility if its stadium in Las Vegas is not complete. 

The Atlanta Braves suffered a gigantic blow with the announcement that All-Star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. of La Guaira, Venezuela is out for the remainder of the 2024 Major League Baseball season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. 

The reigning National League Most Valuable Player is without a doubt the heart and soul of the entire Atlanta organization. 

Acuna Jr. has had ACL injuries before which caused him to miss time in 2018, 2021 and 2022.

Acuna Jr. was in between second and third base during the first inning on Sunday in an 8-1 Braves win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, when he had a fake break to third base, stopped and tried to get back to second base. In the process, Acuna Jr. went down, favored his knee,  and did not return to the lineup. 

In 48 games this season, Acuña Jr. slashed .246/.348/.356 with four home runs, 15 RBI and 16 stolen bases.

The Mets insist they still have a run in them. If they’re going to go on one, they have to beat certain teams, with the rebuilding Washington Nationals being one of them.

They took care of business Wednesday at Nationals Park with a 9-1 win to complete a three-game series sweep. It was their fifth win in the seven games since they held a players-only meeting.

Luis Severino gave the Mets some much-needed length with eight innings of one-run baseball. A beleaguered bullpen didn’t have to worry about a save situation or any tense late-game pitching performances with the Mets beating up on left-hander Patrick Corbin and right-hander Jordan Weems, taking all nine runs off of the two Washington hurlers, including a six-run sixth inning that sunk the Nats (27-34).

“We won three games in a row and we got a chance to win four,” Severino told reporters after the game. “When we combine hitting and pitching at the same time, it’s huge for us. We have this mentality now that we have to go out there and give 100 percent every time.”

The Stanley Cup Final will feature the Florida Panthers of the Eastern Conference and Edmonton Oilers of the Western Conference in a best-of-7 series.

Oilers: 49-27-6, 104 points; defeated Los Angeles Kings 4-1 in first round, Vancouver Canucks 4-3 in second round, Dallas Stars 4-2 in conference final

Panthers: 52-24-6, 110 points; defeated Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 in first round, Boston Bruins 4-2 in second round, New York Rangers 4-2 in conference final

Season series: FLA 2-0-0; EDM 0-2-0

Connor McDavid has been a man on a mission. The Florida Panthers have been a team on a mission.

Their paths will collide when McDavid and the Oilers take on the  Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.

NEW YORK — Hoops Cabaret in New York City (48 West 33rd Street), featuring dozens of sexy Hoops exotic dancers, and hailed as “the sexiest sports bar,” will show the highly anticipated matchup of lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis defending his WBA title against Frank Martin on Saturday, June 15. 

Davis is 29-0 with 27 knockouts. He last fought in April, defeating Ryan Garcia via seventh-round TKO. Martin is 18-0 lifetime with 12 knockouts. He’s coming off a unanimous decision victory over Artem Harutyunyan last July.  The June 15th card from Las Vegas will also feature David Benavidez fighting Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC interim super middleweight title.

At Hoops Cabaret, fans can view the exciting bouts on the club’s giant Mega-Tron Video Wall and numerous HD TVs and flat screens, giving every seat a clear view of all the action.

Hoops girl Alexa said, “Great boxing and the after-party here with so many sexy dancers is going to be off the hook. And the bartenders and waitresses are gorgeous too! Come make it rain. Don’t miss it!” 

Hoops Cabaret combines the  fun of a sports bar with the excitement of a gentlemen’s club. Sports and beautiful girls, it’s a win, win. And be sure to check out the club’s VIP Man Cave. 

HOOPS CABARET and Sports Bar

Beautiful Entertainers, VIP “Man Cave”

Next door to the world famous Rick’s Cabaret NYC

Panera is launching new Sourdough Melts. Here’s a closer look at the new Sourdough Melts:

• Bacon Avocado Melt: Applewood-smoked bacon, fresh avocado, smoked gouda, everything bagel seasoning and chipotle aioli on our toasted Country Rustic Sourdough.
• Southwest Chicken Melt: Smoked, pulled chicken raised without antibiotics, smoked gouda, red onion, cilantro and chipotle aioli on our toasted Country Rustic Sourdough.

Is the season slipping away from the New York Mets?

Edwin Diaz, who has forgotten how to save games, and Kodai Senga, who keeps getting further away from a return, are signed through 2027. Is Diaz, who blew his fourth save in his last five tries ever going to be elite again after his devastating knee injury? How about Senga after his shoulder woes?

Brett Baty, the third baseman of the future, can’t beat out Mark Vientos in the present. Has anyone heard much good about the Mets’ farm system this year, particularly its best position players? 

The Mets have lost five straight and at 21-30 are a season-high nine games under .500 and have the majors’ worst record (9-22) since April  21. 

The Mets had plotted wild-card contention this year but the product on the field currently looks ill-equipped to make a playoff run even with the third wild card being fought for among mediocrities.

They were staring down the possibility of losing back-to-back home games to begin this Eastern Conference Final when Barclay Goodrow reminded everyone why he was a priority add a few summers ago. 

Goodrow scored the winning goal with 5:59 remaining in overtime, giving the Blueshirts a much-needed 2-1 victory over the Panthers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final on Friday at Madison Square Garden.

That evened the series at 1-1 as they shift to Florida for Game 3, which will be played Sunday at 3 p.m.

“To see him score a goal like that tonight is awesome because his role doesn’t always consist of that,” head coach Peter Laviolette said. 

“It’s not always in the offensive zone. It’s not on the power play, but when you see somebody who does so many other things that helps a team be successful, you’re really happy for a guy like that when he can make a huge impact in the game tonight offensively.”