Isaiah Joe scored 21 points off the bench and Jalen Williams added 18 as the Thunder grabbed the Western Conference's No. 1 playoff seed for the third consecutive season with their seven straight victory. Oklahoma City, which won the franchise's first NBA title last season, will have home-court advantage through the NBA Finals.

Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points and Kobe Sanders added 17 off the bench for the Clippers, who have already clinched a spot in the play-in tournament following a 6-21 start to the season. Los Angeles played without Darius Garland (toe).

Brook Lopez and Jordan Miller each scored 16 points as the Clippers remained in eighth place in the Western Conference. The eighth and ninth seeds in the West will be decided Friday when the Clippers visit the Portland Trail Blazers.

Suns 112, Mavericks 107

Devin Booker had 37 points and nine assists, Dillon Brooks scored 28 points and made a late layup to seal the outcome, and host Phoenix held off Dallas to clinch the seventh seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

Royce O'Neale scored 14 points and fellow reserve Collin Gillespie had 13 for the Suns (44-36), who lost an 18-point lead and fell behind in the fourth quarter in their final regular-season home game. The Suns will open the play-in round Tuesday at home against the Los Angeles Clippers or Portland Trail Blazers, who still must decide the Nos. 8 and 9 seeds.

John Poulakidas had a career-high 23 points and made five 3-pointers, and Marvin Bagley III had 20 points for the Mavericks (25-55), who have lost 10 of 12. Cooper Flagg had 11 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, strengthening his Rookie of the Year case. Flagg and his former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets are in a two-man race.

Cavaliers 122, Hawks 116

Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points and Evan Mobley had 22 points and a career-high-tying 19 rebounds, powering Cleveland to a win over visiting Atlanta in a potential Eastern Conference playoff preview.

James Harden put up 21 points and Jarrett Allen netted 16 for Cleveland, which is assured of finishing no lower than fourth in the East. The Cavaliers, who have won four straight and six of their past seven, moved within one-half game of the third-place New York Knicks.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 25 points and Jonathan Kuminga added 24 off the bench for the fifth-place Hawks, who failed to clinch a playoff berth. All-Star forward Jalen Johnson had 12 points, 11 rebounds and six assists before fouling out. Atlanta is one-half game ahead of the Toronto Raptors, but both teams could fall out of the top six and into the play-in tournament.

Pistons 137, Bucks 111

Jalen Duren scored 21 points with nine rebounds to lead Detroit to a win over visiting Milwaukee.

Detroit, already the owner of the top seed in the Eastern Conference, won its fourth game in its last five contests. Duncan Robinson added 20 points while superstar Cade Cunningham made his return from an 11-game absence for a collapsed lung. He contributed 13 points with 10 assists.

The Bucks fell for the second game in a row and eighth time in their last 10 games. Michigan native Ryan Rollins led Milwaukee with 23 points while Jericho Sims put up a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Magic 132, Timberwolves 120

Paolo Banchero had 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists as Orlando beat visiting Minnesota for its fourth consecutive victory.

Desmond Bane scored 18 points and Franz Wagner added 17 for Orlando, which moved into seventh place in the tight Eastern Conference standings, one-half game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers with two games remaining. Goga Bitadze had 14 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, Tristan da Silva added 12 points, and Jalen Suggs and Jevon Carter finished with 11 apiece.

Terrence Shannon Jr. set career highs with five 3-pointers and 33 points for short-handed Minnesota, which clinched the sixth position in the Western Conference on Tuesday. Jaden McDaniels returned after missing six games with a knee injury and scored 18 points in 19 minutes. Naz Reid had 15 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 12.

Nuggets 136, Grizzlies 119

Jamal Murray scored 26 points, Nikola Jokic finished with 14 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his 34th triple-double of the season, and host Denver beat Memphis for its 10th win in a row.

Cameron Johnson posted 18 points as the Nuggets moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

Cedric Coward finished with 27 points for the Grizzlies, who have lost six in a row and 19 of their past 21.

Spurs 112, Trail Blazers 101

De'Aaron Fox poured in 25 points and San Antonio's reserves contributed 48 points as the host Spurs defeated Portland.

San Antonio played without Victor Wembanyama (rib) and Stephon Castle (knee) but still had enough to log their 13th win in 14 games. The Spurs became locked into the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference when the Oklahoma City Thunder won their game.

Deni Avdija paced Portland with 29 points, with Scoot Henderson scoring 20. The Trail Blazers remain ninth in the West, a game back of the Los Angeles Clippers ahead of the teams' Friday meeting in Portland.

The Blue Jays salvaged the finale of the three-game series, a rematch of the 2025 World Series won by Los Angeles, to end a six-game skid and end the Dodgers' five-game winning streak. Jeff Hoffman pitched around a single and a walk in the ninth to earn his second save. Tyler Rogers (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings for the win.

Davis Schneider walked with one out in the eighth against Ben Casparius (0-1) and took third on Andres Gimenez's single. Schneider scored on catcher Will Smith's throwing error when Gimenez stole second. George Springer and Jesus Sanchez each hit an RBI double and Daulton Varsho added an RBI single.

Shohei Ohtani's leadoff walk in the first extended his on-base streak to 43 games dating to August. That ties Ichiro Suzuki (2009) for the longest such streak by a Japanese-born player. Ohtani pitched six innings, allowing one unearned run, four hits and one walk with two strikeouts. Freddie Freeman and Will Smith delivered RBI singles and Teoscar Hernandez lifted a sacrifice fly.

Guardians 10, Royals 2

Angel Martinez had four hits, including a grand slam, and Cleveland rolled past visiting Kansas City in the rubber game of their three-game series.

Rhys Hoskins had three doubles, an RBI and run scored, and Jose Ramirez and Juan Brito each had two hits, an RBI and run scored for Cleveland, which has won three of four. Guardians left-hander Joey Cantillo (1-0) allowed two runs (one earned) and three hits over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out nine and walked two.

Bobby Witt Jr. produced two hits and an RBI for Kansas City, which has lost three of four. Royals starter Cole Ragans (0-3) lasted just five batters after he sustained a thumb contusion on his throwing hand when was hit by a comebacker by Ramirez.

Padres 8, Pirates 2

Nick Castellanos drove in two runs and Jake Cronenworth hit his first homer of the season to lead San Diego to a victory over host Pittsburgh.

It was more tough luck for Pirates starter Mitch Keller, who tossed six scoreless innings. Through his first three starts, Keller has a 1.00 ERA and has allowed only two runs in 18 innings but has just one win to show for it. Rookie Konnor Griffin and Joey Bart had RBIs for Pittsburgh.

San Diego starter Michael King (1-1) pitched six innings and allowed two runs on four hits and three walks. King struck out four and threw 95 pitches. Mason Miller worked a scoreless ninth, but had a streak of 11 consecutive strikeouts snapped when Mangum grounded out to end the game. Luis Campusano and Fernando Tatis Jr. each had an RBI.

Red Sox 5, Brewers 0

Sonny Gray tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings and Trevor Story drove in two runs to help Boston defeat visiting Milwaukee.

Gray (2-0) limited Milwaukee to three hits, walked two and struck out two. The victory gave Boston back-to-back wins for the first time this season. The Red Sox beat the Brewers 3-2 in the second game of the series Tuesday. The victory in the finale also handed Boston its first series win.

Milwaukee starting pitcher Shane Drohan (0-1) made his MLB debut, but was pulled with two outs in the third. He gave up three runs on three hits, walked four and struck out two. Three of the four walks he issued came in Boston's three-run third inning.

Rangers 3, Mariners 0

A three-run inning was all Texas needed to defeat Seattle in Arlington, Texas, giving the Rangers a three-game series sweep over the slumping Mariners.

A bases-loaded throwing error by Mariners first baseman Connor Joe allowed two runs to score, and Texas added another in the bottom of the fifth against Seattle starter Bryan Woo (0-1). The Rangers got five scoreless innings from starter MacKenzie Gore (2-0), who allowed one hit and struck out nine with two walks. Then, their bullpen finished off the Mariners with four scoreless innings.

The Mariners managed just three runs total in the series despite good pitching. Seattle lost its fifth straight game and seventh in its last eight. Seattle has been shut out three times in that eight-game stretch and has not scored more than three runs in any of those games.

Rockies 9, Astros 1

Hunter Goodman homered, Ezequiel Tovar, Troy Johnston and Edouard Julien had two hits apiece, and Colorado beat Houston in Denver.

Michael Lorenzen bounced back from his last start to get his first win with Colorado. Lorenzen (1-1) allowed one run on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings to help the Rockies sweep the three-game series from Houston at home for the first time since 2012. Right-hander Zach Agnos tossed 3 1/3 innings of relief to earn his first save for Colorado, which has won four in a row.

Christian Walker had two hits for the Astros, who lost outfielder Jake Meyers to an injury in the second inning. Houston has dropped its last four games.

Orioles 5, White Sox 3

Taylor Ward went 4-for-5 with three doubles and two RBIs as Baltimore completed a three-game series sweep of host Chicago.

Baltimore right-hander Kyle Bradish (1-2) earned his first victory of the season. Bradish spaced three runs (two earned) and six hits over five innings. He had three walks against seven strikeouts. Rico Garcia worked around a pair of walks in the bottom half to pick up his first career save.

Down 3-2 with one out in the top of the sixth, the Orioles loaded the bases against reliever Lucas Sims (0-1). Bryan Hudson replaced Sims, but a passed ball by catcher Reese McGuire allowed the tying run to score. Dylan Beavers then hit a sacrifice fly for a 4-3 Orioles lead.

Marlins 7, Reds 4

Griffin Conine slugged a two-run homer and Connor Norby hit a solo shot as host Miami ended Cincinnati's five-game win streak.

Michael Petersen pitched a scoreless ninth for his first career save as the Marlins halted a two-game skid. Reds rookie first baseman Sal Stewart, a Miami native who had several family members and friends in the stands displaying posters with his likeness, went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, two runs and a stolen base. Eury Perez (1-1) earned the win, allowing six hits, two walks and four runs (two earned) in five innings.

Native Floridian Brady Singer (0-1) took the loss, allowing 10 hits and six runs (five earned) in 2 2/3 innings. He was also charged with two errors on failed pickoff plays. Cincinnati's Elly De La Cruz scored a run for the eighth straight game after drawing a walk and stealing second base in the first inning. Julien drove in two with a single, Mickey Moniak hit a sacrifice fly and Julien scored on a wild pitch.

Cubs 6, Rays 2

Nico Hoerner homered to highlight his three-hit performance and Michael Conforto drove in a pair, fueling Chicago past host Tampa Bay for the Cubs' first back-to-back wins and first series victory of the season.

Hoerner led the game off with a homer and added an RBI double during a five-run fifth inning for the Cubs. Colin Rea (1-0) allowed one run on two hits in five innings while taking the spot in the rotation of Cade Horton, who is out for the season with an elbow injury.

Tampa Bay starter Joe Boyle (0-1) was charged with six runs (five earned) on four hits in 4 1/3 innings and took the loss. The Rays committed three errors en route to losing for the fifth time in their last eight games.

Cardinals 6, Nationals 1

Jordan Walker homered again, Alec Burleson drove in three runs and notched three hits and St. Louis won the decisive game of a three-game series at Washington.

Walker hit his fifth home run of the season and three St. Louis relievers completed what became a combined four-hitter. Michael McGreevy (1-1) worked six innings, yielding one run.

Nationals starter Miles Mikolas (0-3) allowed two runs on five hits in three innings. James Wood went 2-for-4.

Athletics 3, Yankees 2

Brent Rooker lifted a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, and the Athletics earned a victory at New York.

A's reliever Elvis Alvarado (2-0) got two outs in the eighth, and Joel Kuhnel retired the side in the ninth for his second career save and first since 2022. Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers and Jeff McNeil had multi-hit games for the A's.

The Yankees managed just four hits, three in the first inning, when Cody Bellinger had an RBI single. David Bednar (0-1) took the loss.

Giants 5, Phillies 0

Tyler Mahle combined with four relievers on a four-hitter, Rafael Devers broke a sixth-inning tie with a three-run home run and San Francisco made it two of three from visiting Philadelphia.

Making his third start as a Giant, Mahle matched zeroes with Phillies starter Aaron Nola for five innings before getting pulled with two outs in the sixth. Nola completed six innings, allowing three runs and five hits. He walked one and struck out three.

Willy Adames doubled with one out in the bottom of the sixth, and Luis Arraez followed with a walk. After Nola struck out Matt Chapman, Devers launched the first pitch he saw over the fence in center field for a 3-0 lead. Devers added his fourth RBI on a single. Mahle yielded four hits and struck out six in 5 2/3 innings.

Braves 8, Angels 2

Matt Olson hit a home run and Ronald Acuna Jr. doubled twice and scored a run to lead Atlanta past Los Angeles in the rubber game of their three-game series in Anaheim, Calif.

Austin Riley doubled, stole a base and scored three runs, and Mauricio Dubon had a two-run double for Atlanta, which finished a seven-game western road trip with a 4-3 record. Atlanta starter Grant Holmes (1-1) picked up the win, allowing two runs on five hits in 6 2/3 innings. The right-hander walked three and struck out six.

Jorge Soler, appealing a seven-game suspension for his role in a benches-emptying brawl with Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez on Tuesday night, homered for the second straight game, and Jo Adell had three hits for Los Angeles. Reid Detmers (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing six runs (five earned) on five hits in 4 1/3 innings. The left-hander walked two and struck out four.

Diamondbacks 7, Mets 2

Ryne Nelson tossed 5 2/3 solid innings and earned the win for visiting Arizona, which cooled off surging New York.

Corbin Carroll and Ildemaro Vargas had three hits apiece for the Diamondbacks, who have won six of nine. Carroll and Jorge Barrosa each had two-run doubles, while Gabriel Moreno, Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo had an RBI apiece. Jose Fernandez added two hits.

Brett Baty had an RBI single, and Mark Vientos lofted a sacrifice fly for the Mets, who won their previous four games by a combined score of 28-8. Baty, Luis Robert Jr. and Bo Bichette had two hits each.

Twins 8, Tigers 6

Royce Lewis went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Minnesota won its third straight with a win over Detroit in Minneapolis.

Byron Buxton went 3-for-4 with a double and scored three runs for Minnesota while Matt Wallner doubled and drove in a run. Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (1-0) allowed two runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Gleyber Torres went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs to lead Detroit, which lost its fourth in a row. Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez (1-1) surrendered eight runs on 10 hits in five-plus innings after permitting only two runs (one earned) in his first two starts combined.

Isaiah Joe scored 21 points off the bench and Jalen Williams added 18 as the Thunder (64-16) grabbed the Western Conference's No. 1 playoff seed for the third consecutive season.

Oklahoma City, which won the franchise's first NBA title last season, will have home-court advantage through the NBA Finals.

The Thunder pulled away in the second quarter to lead by as many as 25 points before finishing off their seventh consecutive victory. They have gone 19-1 starting Feb. 27 to hold off the San Antonio Spurs for the top seed. The Spurs lost ground despite going 18-2 since March 3.

Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points and Kobe Sanders added 17 off the bench for the Clippers (41-39), who have already clinched a spot in the play-in tournament following a 6-21 start to the season. Los Angeles played without Darius Garland (toe).

Brook Lopez and Jordan Miller each scored 16 points as the Clippers remained in eighth place in the Western Conference. The eighth and ninth seeds in the West will be decided Friday when the Clippers visit the Portland Trail Blazers.

Oklahoma City had the game well in hand with a 69-49 lead at halftime by shooting 58.1% from the floor and committing just three turnovers while holding the Clippers to 38.3%. The Thunder shot 57.8% in the game.

The Clippers used an 11-3 run in the third quarter to pull within 87-75 but Derrick Jones Jr. missed a 3-pointer that would have cut the deficit to single digits and the Thunder took a 94-80 lead into the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma City took a 101-83 lead on an Isaiah Hartenstein dunk with 10:11 remaining in the game as part of an 8-0 run. The Thunder extended the run to 13-2 for a 109-85 advantage with 8:45 left.

Gilgeous-Alexander (30 minutes) and Dort (20 minutes) did not play in the fourth quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander went 0 of 1 from the free-throw line and did not make a foul shot in a game for the first time this season.

Royce O'Neale scored 14 points and fellow reserve Collin Gillespie had 13 for the Suns (44-36), who lost an 18-point lead and fell behind in the fourth quarter in their final regular-season home game.

The Suns will open the play-in round Tuesday at home against the Los Angeles Clippers or Portland Trail Blazers. The Clippers (41-38) are 1 1/2 games ahead of Portland (40-40) for the eighth seed in the West with two games to play.

John Poulakidas had a career-high 23 points and made five 3-pointers and Marvin Bagley III had 20 points for the Mavericks (25-55), who have lost 10 of 12.

Cooper Flagg had 11 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, strengthening his Rookie of the Year case. Flagg and his former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets are in a two-man race.

The Suns had an 18-point lead early in the second half but the Mavericks used a 16-0 burst to close before taking a 95-93 lead on Max Christie's 3-pointer with eight minutes remaining. Christie had 18 points and four threes.

Booker's 3-pointer gave the Suns a 110-104 lead with 1:13 remaining before Poulakidas answered with a three moments later, but Oso Ighodaro blocked Moussa Cisse's layup and Brooks made a layup for a 112-107 lead with 13.7 seconds left.

Suns rookie center Khaman Maluach had a career-high 14 rebounds and blocked a Flagg dunk in the fourth quarter in his first start.

O'Neale and Brooks made four 3-pointers, Jordan Goodwin had three and the Suns went 14 of 35 from distance.

The Suns lost starters Jalen Green (right knee) and Goodwin (left ankle) to left injuries in the first half and neither returned.

Green left the game and limped to the locker room with 8:10 remaining in the first quarter after missing his first two field goal attempts. He missed 41 of the first 43 games with a right hamstring injury and started the last 24.

Goodwin, who had nine points on three 3-pointers, left in the second quarter.

San Antonio played without Victor Wembanyama (left rib contusion) and Stephon Castle (right knee soreness) but still had enough to outlast the determined and hungry Trail Blazers.

The win was the Spurs' 13th in their past 14 games. San Antonio (61-19) is guaranteed the No. 2 spot in the West and will open its first trip to the playoffs since the 2018-19 season at home next week.

The Trail Blazers (40-40) remain ninth in the West, a game back of the Clippers with two contests remaining. Portland can finish no higher than eighth in the conference standings.

Keldon Johnson led the Spurs' reserves with 20 points while Carter Bryant hit for a career-high 17. Devin Vassell had 14, Dylan Harper scored 13 and Luke Kornet hit for 10.

Deni Avdija paced Portland with 29 points, with Scott Henderson scoring 20, Toumani Camara contributing 18, Jrue Holiday tallying 13 and Donovan Clingan racking up 11 points and 11 rebounds.

San Antonio led by 15 in the second quarter and by 10 at halftime before the Trail Blazers clawed back to within 73-68 midway through the third quarter. The Spurs responded by scoring 13 of the period's final 15 points to carry an 88-73 edge into the final quarter..

Portland closed to within 103-97 on a 3-pointer by Holiday with 3:34 remaining. The Spurs swung back with a jumper from beyond the arc by Fox and a dunk by Kornet and were never again seriously threatened.

The Spurs owned a 32-23 advantage after 12 minutes of play. San Antonio stoked its advantage to 15 when Johnson punctuated a 9-0 run with a pair of free throws at the 4:34 mark of the second quarter. Portland culled its deficit to eight on Avdija's layup with 1:55 left before San Antonio settled for a 61-51 advantage at the break.

Fox led all players with 16 points before halftime while Avdija paced the Trail Blazers with 15 and Camara added 12 in the first half.

Denver (52-28) has its first double-digit winning streak since the 2012-13 season and moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

The Nuggets finish their regular season with two games against the top seeds in the Western Conference -- home against Oklahoma City on Friday and Sunday night at San Antonio.

Los Angeles (50-29) holds the tiebreaker over Denver.

Cameron Johnson had 18 points and Jonas Valanciunas scored 14 in his 1,000th career game, Christian Braun also had 14 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown contributed 13 each and Julian Strawther added 10.

Valanciunas, who was recognized for his milestone game, picked up four fouls in less than four minutes in the second quarter but came alive in the fourth when he scored 10 points.

Cedric Coward finished with 27 points for Memphis (25-55). The Grizzlies have lost six in a row and 18 of their last 20.

Taylor Hendricks and Lucas Williamson scored 16 apiece, Walter Clayton Jr. and Toby Okani had 15 points each and Adama Bal added 12 points for Memphis.

The Grizzlies, despite being without several top players, went on a 23-6 run in the second quarter to lead by eight. Denver clawed back to take a two-point lead late but Williamson was fouled on a 3-pointer and hit the free throw, then added a short hook shot to give Memphis a 72-68 halftime lead.

The Grizzlies opened an eight-point lead early in the third but the Nuggets went on a 14-3 run to go ahead 84-81 midway through the period. Jokic got his 10th assist during the spurt to secure his 198th career triple-double.

Denver extended the lead to 107-94 heading to the fourth and went ahead 121-100 with 6:32 left in the fourth.

Former major champion Mark Calcavecchia was escorted off the grounds by security after using his phone, Golfweek reported.

Calcavecchia, 65, was in attendance as an "honorary invitee," not a player. The 1989 Open Championship winner, Calcavecchia was a 13-time champion in a PGA Tour career that saw him play in the Masters 18 times.

Reached on the phone by Golfweek, Calcavecchia didn't refute the report of his ejection, though he offered no details. He added, "I've got nothing negative to say about Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters, so I think we should literally hang up right now," which he then did.

Others including coaches and media members have been removed from the Masters over the years for using phones. Augusta National's rules ban cell phones, laptops, tablets and two-way pagers in an attempt "to maintain a traditional atmosphere," Golfweek reported.

It doesn't take math major to determine that would eliminate more than 85% of this week's 91-player field from winning the 90th edition of the Masters Tournament.

Told of Reed's assessment, Bryson DeChambeau quipped, "I hope I'm one of those 12. That would be nice."

Unlike Reed, DeChambeau has yet to claim a Masters title, but it's still safe to assume he was among Reed's short list.

The bigger point is that heavy underdogs rarely win at Augusta National. The first major of the year is the only one that is played at the same course every year. It's a stiff test that lends itself best to those who are not only immensely talented with their ability to hit a variety of shots, but have experience with the different winds, course conditions and nuances that make Augusta National one of the most unique tests in golf.

And Reed explained that 10 to 12 are more players than he typically believes enter a Masters with a legitimate chance of winning.

"I just feel like with how deep golf has been, especially this past year to two years, that the fields are obviously getting a lot stronger," he said. "I feel like the field this week is really strong like always. I feel like it used to be five or six, maybe seven guys.

"It just makes this event a little bit more special and even more fun going out there and playing against the best."

Three of the past four Masters have been won by the current top two players in the world: Scottie Scheffler in 2022 and 2024 and Rory McIlroy last year, when the Northern Irishman completed the career grand slam in a dramatic playoff victory over Justin Rose.

Included in that stretch was the 2023 victory by former world No. 1 Jon Rahm.

The last player to win the Masters in his first attempt was Fuzzy Zoeller, who overcame a six-shot deficit and beat Ed Sneed and Tom Watson in a playoff 47 years ago.

On Thursday, McIlroy will begin his quest to become only the fourth player in history to win consecutive Masters. If successful, he would join Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Nick Faldo (1989-1990) and Tiger Woods (2001-02).

"It's arguably maybe not the largest field in golf, but it's the strongest," McIlroy said this week. "There's so many great players and so many players with so much experience on this golf course, it's not quite like some of the other major championships. It seems like you get a lot of the same guys contending year in and year out."

The conditions could serve to increase that likelihood this year.

Augusta National has not seen a drop of rain this week. After some chilly and breezy conditions on Thursday morning, the forecast calls for mostly sunny -- and completely dry -- skies throughout the tournament.

That includes temperatures in the mid-80s over the weekend. That's an equation for a firm and fast Augusta National, which will demand precision with all elements of players' games.

"The forecast looks great," Scheffler said. "It's going to get firm and fast. I would imagine they would like the greens to get fast. I think that increases the challenge of the golf course.

"I'm excited to see how it plays this week. We might get a little bit of wind, too. The golf course is shaping up nicely."

Byron Buxton went 3-for-4 with a double and scored three runs for Minnesota, which won its third game in a row. Matt Wallner doubled and drove in a run.

Gleyber Torres went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs to lead Detroit, which lost its fourth in a row

Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (1-0) allowed two runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez (1-1) surrendered eight runs on 10 hits in five-plus innings after permitting only two runs (one earned) in his first two starts combined.

Twins southpaw Kody Funderburk recorded the final two outs for his first save of the season.

Minnesota pounced on Valdez for six runs in the bottom of the first.

Buxton hit a leadoff single and came around to score the game's first run on a wild pitch. Ryan Jeffers followed with an RBI groundout to make it 2-0.

Josh Bell added an RBI single and Wallner ripped an RBI double to make it a four-run lead. Lewis capped the big inning with a two-run single to center that scored Bell and Wallner.

Valdez settled down until the fourth, when he gave up another run that put the Twins on top 7-0. Buxton got things going once again as he hit a one-out single, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on a single to center by Luke Keaschall.

The Tigers pulled within 7-2 in the sixth. Kerry Carpenter hit a one-out single to score Colt Keith and Dillon Dingler added a two-out single to score Gleyber Torres.

Buxton scored another run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 8-2. Martin got caught in a rundown between first and second and Buxton scampered home before the Tigers could react.

Detroit erupted for four runs in the seventh to cut the deficit to 8-6.

Torres started the comeback attempt with a two-run double to right. Riley Greene pulled the Tigers within three runs on a two-out RBI infield single, and he advanced to third on a single by Dingler and scored on a wild pitch by reliever Cole Sands.

The Athletics won for only the fourth time in their past 17 visits to Yankee Stadium and earned the win after a shaky opening inning and a night after blowing a two-run lead in the eighth.

David Bednar (0-1) allowed a single to Nick Kurtz and a double to Shea Langeliers to put runners at second and third. After Tyler Soderstrom struck out on a splitter, Rooker lifted a 1-0 curveball to center field and Kurtz scored.

Elvis Alvarado (2-0) struck out Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a 100-mph fastball to end the eighth and set up the ninth. Joel Kuhnel retired the side in the ninth for his second career save and first since 2022 with Cincinnati.

Kurtz, Langeliers and Jeff McNeil had multi-hit games for the A's, who stranded 11 and went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

McNeil had an RBI single in the fourth off New York's Will Warren and the A's scored the tying run when Max Muncy trotted home on a wild pitch.

The Yankees were unable to win in their last at-bat after doing so in their last two wins. New York struck out a season-high 15 times and had one of their four hits in the final eight innings.

Cody Bellinger hit an RBI single in the first and J.C. Escarra drew a bases-loaded walk against former New York starter Luis Severino.

Severino, who pitched for the Yankees from 2015 to 2023, allowed two runs on four hits in five innings. The right-hander struck out seven and issued five walks in his third appearance against his former team.

Warren allowed two runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings. The right-hander struck out five and walked three.

Severino threw 32 pitches in the opening inning when the Yankees took the lead on Bellinger's bloop single to shallow left and Escarra's bases-loaded walk after the A's lost an ABS challenge.

Severino allowed one hit the rest of the way and retired Judge and McMahon on double plays to end the second and fourth.

The A's tied it in the fourth as four straight hitters reached with two outs. McNeil singled to left and Muncy scored on a wild pitch during an at-bat to Kurtz, who ended the inning by striking out with two on.