{allcanada} Vilade hits three-run homer as Rays beat Jays for fourth straight win

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Vilade hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Taylor Walls added a two-run single in the sixth and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Monday night.

Tampa Bay has won four straight games and 10 of its last 11.

Jonathan Aranda went 3-for-5 with a run scored — a day after delivering a game-ending single in the 10th to cap a 4-for-5 afternoon and complete a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants.

Vilade hit the first pitch he saw 413 feet to give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead. It was the Rays’ first three-run shot this year and 30th homer overall.

Vilade’s only other major league homer came in 2024 with Detroit.

Walls singled to left field with two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth to make it 5-1.

Nick Martinez (3-1), who entered third in the AL and fifth in the majors with a 1.70 ERA through six starts, struck out four in five innings while allowing just one run. Bryan Baker came on for three pitches in the ninth to get his ninth save.

Eric Lauer (1-4) permitted three runs and five hits over 4 1/3 innings.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up his 16th RBI on a single in the third to trim Tampa Bay’s lead to 3-1. Yohendrick Pinango had three hits and scored a run.

Toronto dropped to 6-11 on the road this season and 4-8 in series openers.

UP NEXT

Toronto RHP Kevin Gausman (2-2, 3.10 ERA), who leads current Blue Jays pitchers with 26 career games against Tampa Bay, is scheduled to start Tuesday against Rays RHP Drew Rasmussen (2-1, 2.64).

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{allcanada} Blue Jays’ Barger expected to be activated this week

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The Toronto Blue Jays are slowly getting healthy.

Addison Barger is one of those players as the left-handed slugger is expected to be back with the team this week.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters on Monday that “worst case scenario” Barger will be active by Friday when they open a series against the Los Angeles Angels at Rogers Centre.

Barger could return as soon as Wednesday when the Jays close a three-game set against the Rays in Tampa Bay.

The 26-year-old, who injured both ankles while running down the first baseline on April 5, hit a home run with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays on Sunday during his first rehab game.

Barger will have another rehab game in Dunedin on Tuesday.

He had a slow start to the 2026 season before getting injured, hitting just .053 with two RBIs and a .279 OPS.

In other injury news, veteran designated hitter George Springer could be available off the bench on Monday after getting hit in the same toe he fractured earlier this season on Saturday against the Minnesota Twins.

The 36-year-old Springer was sidelined nearly three weeks with the original toe injury and is hitting .212 with two homers and seven RBIs this season.

Starting pitcher Jose Berrios, who hasn’t pitched this season with an elbow injury, is joining the team in Tampa on Monday to discuss the next steps in his rehab.

The 31-year-old right-hander struggled with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Sunday, surrendering seven earned runs on six hits and four walks over 3.2 innings.

“Just want to sit down with him, Pete and the trainers, and kind of see exactly where he’s at and what he’s comfortable with going forward,“ Schneider told reporters on Monday.

The 16-18 Blue Jays sit third in the American East heading into Monday’s series opener against the 21-12 Rays

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{allcanada} New Leafs GM Chayka: Berube a ‘tremendous’ coach

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New Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka said he spoke with head coach Craig Berube after being hired and referred to him in Monday’s introductory news conference as a “tremendous coach.”

“I talked to [Berube] last night… I think he’s a tremendous coach, a Stanley Cup coach and a good person," Chayka told reporters.

Chayka said he and new executive senior advisor Mats Sundin will speak with Berube later this week to get his perspective and go from there. He did not address whether or not Berube will be head coach the Leafs in the 2026-27 season.

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president Keith Pelley said after firing general manager Brad Treliving at the end of March that Berube’s future would be up to Treliving’s replacement.

Berube, who is under contract for two more seasons, guided the Leafs to a 32-36-14 record last season as they missed the playoffs. Their 78 points were their lowest 82-game total since the 2015-16 campaign when they finished with 69.

The 60-year-old Berube was hired as Sheldon Keefe’s replacement ahead of the 2024-25 season and led the Leafs to a 108-point season and a first-round playoff series victory over the Ottawa Senators. However, the Leafs were unable to hold onto a 2-0 series lead in the second round, falling to the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers in seven games, including a pair of lopsided 6-1 losses on home ice in Games 5 and 7.

Prior to his time in Toronto, Berube guided the St. Louis Blues for six seasons from 2018 to 2024, highlighted by a Stanley Cup victory in 2019.

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{allcanada} NHL Draft Lottery drama to play out in real time

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For the second straight year, the drama of the NHL Draft Lottery will play out in real time for all to see.

Like the lottery in 2025, instead of watching a countdown from 16 to 1 after the lottery balls have been drawn behind the scenes, fans will watch on live TV as the lottery balls are drawn at NHL Network's studio in Secaucus, New Jersey, on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS).

The 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on June 26-27.

The four-number combinations for each team are posted below.

"We learned a lot from last year, and this evolution makes the experience even more transparent and dramatic," said Steve Mayer, NHL president of content and events. "As we get down to the final ball, every team still in the mix will know exactly what needs to be drawn—and when it happens, it’s one of the most exciting moments of the entire year."

Up until last season, the actual drawing of the lottery balls was conducted in a separate, sequestered room at NHL Network's studio right before the TV broadcast revealing its results. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman would preside over the draw, which would be overseen by the accounting firm Ernst & Young, observed by members of the media, and video recorded for fans to view later that evening.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly then would reveal the order of selection on the TV broadcast, flipping cards with team logos to count down from 16 to 1.

For transparency, the NHL would post a YouTube video of the draw afterward.

That changed last season when the new format was introduced and the whole hockey world found out at the same time that the New York Islanders had won the lottery and the right to eventually select defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 pick.

Bettman will still preside over the draw, and Ernst & Young will still oversee it. Daly will still announce the order, but now fans will feel like they're in the room.

There are four balls numbered 1 to 14 and 1,001 possible four-number combinations. One combination is designated as a redraw (11, 12, 13, 14), allowing the NHL to divide by 1,000 among the 16 teams that did not make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Based on the final NHL regular-season standings and the draft lottery odds determined by the Board of Governors, each team receives an allotment of randomly assigned four-number combinations. Essentially, the lower you finish, the more lottery tickets you receive.

The Vancouver Canucks, who finished 32nd in the NHL standings, receive 185. The Chicago Blackhawks, who finished 31st, receive 135. The New York Rangers, who finished 30th, receive 115. And so on.

There are two draws, not one, and a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots. That means only the top 11 seeds can win the first pick; the bottom five cannot. That adds potential wrinkles too.

The first draw locks in the No. 1 pick (and potentially another pick). The second draw determines the rest of the order. If the winner of the first draw wins the second draw, there is a redraw.

Last year, the Islanders won the No. 1 pick, the San Jose Sharks moved up a spot to get the No. 2 pick and picks 3-16 were slotted in by order of their finish in the standings.  Picks 17-32 will be determined by the results of the playoffs.

The prize for the winning team this year is likely Penn State freshman Gavin McKenna, who was No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings of North American skaters.

McKenna finished tied for fifth in the NCAA with 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) and was second with 1.46 points per game in 35 games this season. The 18-year-old is expected to be the first men's ice hockey player from Penn State to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft; forward Charlie Cerrato, chosen by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round (No. 49) last year, is the highest-drafted player in the program's history.

Another possibility for the No. 1 pick is left wing Ivar Stenberg of Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League, who is No. 1 on the final ranking of International skaters. The 18-year-old had 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) in 43 games for Frolunda, the most points in a season by an 18-year-old SHL player since Daniel Sedin (42) and Henrik Sedin (34) in 1998-99.

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