Bruins try to secure series victory over the Capitals

The Boston Bruins look to clinch the series over the Washington Capitals in game five of the first round of the NHL Playoffs

Boston Bruins (33-16-7, third in the East Division during the regular season) vs. Washington Capitals (36-15-5, second in the East Division during the regular season)

Washington; Sunday, 7 p.m. EDT

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Capitals +153, Bruins -152; over/under is 5.5

NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Bruins lead series 3-1

BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Bruins look to clinch the first round of the NHL Playoffs over the Washington Capitals in game five. The teams meet Sunday for the 13th time this season. The Bruins won the last matchup 4-1.

The Capitals are 36-15-5 against division opponents. Washington ranks fifth in the league recording 9 points per game, averaging 3.4 goals and 5.6 assists.

The Bruins are 33-16-7 against the rest of their division. Boston leads the league with nine shorthanded goals, led by Brad Marchand with four.

TOP PERFORMERS: Alex Ovechkin leads the Capitals with 24 goals, adding 18 assists and recording 42 points. T.J. Oshie has five goals and two assists over the last 10 games for Washington.

Marchand has 69 total points while scoring 29 goals and totaling 40 assists for the Bruins. Taylor Hall has five goals and two assists over the last 10 games for Boston.

LAST 10 GAMES: Capitals: 5-3-2, averaging 2.5 goals , 4.2 assists, 5.3 penalties and 15.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game with a .916 save percentage.

Bruins: 6-2-2, averaging 3.1 goals , 5.2 assists, 3.6 penalties and 8.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game with a .914 save percentage.

INJURIES: Capitals: Michal Kempny: out (lower body).

Bruins: Ondrej Kase: day to day (upper body), Kevan Miller: day to day (undisclosed), Jeremy Lauzon: day to day (hand).

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from ==Sportradar==.

Bauer K's 11, Dodgers beat Giants for fifth straight win

A theatrical Trevor Bauer struck out 11 in his first career start against San Francisco, Chris Taylor hit a two-run homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak to five by beating the Giants 2-1
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A theatrical Trevor Bauer struck out 11 in his first career start against San Francisco, Chris Taylor hit a two-run homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak to five by beating the Giants 2-1 Friday night.

With the Dodgers down to only four available relievers, Bauer (5-2) held the Giants to two hits over 6 1/3 innings and threw a season-high 126 pitches.

Bauer, who signed a $102 million, three-year deal with the Dodgers in the offseason, was up for the drama in his first experience of the rivalry.

After he struck out Alex Dickerson to strand runners at second and third in the fourth inning, Bauer appeared to mimic placing a sword in its sheath on his waist. As he left the game to a chorus of boos from the Oracle Park crowd in the seventh, he cupped his hand to his ear and raised his arms to provoke Giants fans.

“They’re going to hate me anyway. I might as well lean into it,” Bauer said. “I like when crowds get into it. I perform better in those moments. It just feeds me.”

Giants left-hander Alex Wood (5-1) held Los Angeles to two runs over six innings but suffered his first loss of the season. Asked about Bauer’s antics afterward, Wood could only smile.

“Do you expect anything else from Trevor?” he asked. “I’m sure Giants fans will love to hate Trevor. And he’ll love that they hate him.”

With Kenley Jansen unavailable, Blake Treinen handled the ninth for Los Angeles and got his second save.

Coming off an 8-1 homestand, Los Angeles pulled within one game of first-place San Francisco. The streaky Dodgers started the season 13-2, lost 15 of their next 20 games and have won nine of their last 10.

A day after scoring 19 runs at Cincinnati, the Giants went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position and had their five-game winning streak stopped.

The Dodgers got all the offense they needed in the third off Wood. Mookie Betts doubled with one out and Taylor followed by crushing a 2-0 slider over the wall in straightaway center for a 2-0 lead.

Opponents entered hitting just .131 with two extra-base hits against Wood’s slider.

The Giants closed to 2-1 in the sixth without registering a hit. Bauer walked two and, with two outs, Evan Longoria’s comebacker deflected off the pitcher’s glove. Bauer then threw past first base for an error that brought home an unearned run.

HE WAS ROBBED

Bauer also provided entertainment with the bat. With two runners on in the sixth, he hit one sharply to right field only to have Mike Yastrzemski charge the ball and throw to first for a 9-3 putout that ended the inning.

ROSTER MOVES

With their bullpen depleted after heavy use Thursday, the Dodgers selected the contract of right-hander Nate Jones from the minors. Jones was signed just last week after pitching for Atlanta earlier this season.

The Giants promoted right-hander Nick Tropeano from Triple-A Sacramento, and he’s a candidate to potentially start Saturday after Logan Webb joined the injured list with a strained shoulder.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: OF Cody Bellinger went 1 for 4 with an RBI for Triple-A Oklahoma City in his first rehab game as he works back from a fractured left leg.

Giants: Backup catcher Curt Casali was OK after getting hit with a fastball on the elbow Thursday, manager Gabe Kapler said.

UP NEXT

RHP Walker Buehler (2-0, 2.98) takes the mound for Los Angeles on Saturday and is unbeaten over his past 17 regular-season starts dating back to September 2019. The Giants hadn’t announced a starter.

Climbing guide says at least 100 virus cases on Everest

An expert climbing guide says a coronavirus outbreak on Mount Everest has infected at least 100 climbers and support staff

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — An expert climbing guide said Saturday that a coronavirus outbreak on Mount Everest has infected at least 100 climbers and support staff, giving the first comprehensive estimate amid official Nepalese denials of a COVID-19 cluster on the world’s highest peak.

Lukas Furtenbach of Austria, who last week became the only prominent outfitter to halt his Everest expedition due to virus fears, said one of his foreign guides and six Nepali Sherpa guides have tested positive.

“I think with all the confirmed cases we know now — confirmed from (rescue) pilots, from insurance, from doctors, from expedition leaders — I have the positive tests so we can prove this,” Furtenbach told The Associated Press in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.

“We have at least 100 people minimum positive for COVID in base camp, and then the numbers might be something like 150 or 200,” he said.

He said it was obvious there were many cases at the Everest base camp because he could visibly see people were sick, and could hear people coughing in their tents.

A total of 408 foreign climbers were issued permits to climb Everest this season, aided by several hundred Sherpa guides and support staff who've been stationed at base camp since April.

Nepalese mountaineering officials have denied there are any active cases this season among climbers and support staff at all base camps for the country's Himalayan mountains. Mountaineering was closed last year due to the pandemic.

Nepalese officials could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday. Other climbing teams have not announced any COVID-19 infections among their members or staff. Several climbers have reported testing positive after they were brought down from the Everest base camp.

Furtenbach said most teams on the mountain were not carrying virus testing kits, and that before his team pulled out, they had helped conduct tests and had confirmed two cases.

Most teams are still at base camp, hoping for clear weather next week so they can make a final push to the summit before the climbing season closes at the end of the month, Furtenbach said.

In late April, a Norwegian climber became the first to test positive at the Everest base camp. He was flown by helicopter to Kathmandu, where he was treated and later returned home.

Nepal is experiencing a virus surge, with record numbers of new infections and deaths. China last week canceled climbing from its side of Mount Everest due to fears the virus could be spread from the Nepalese side.

Nepal reported 8,607 new infections and 177 deaths on Friday, bringing the nation’s totals since the pandemic began to more than 497,000 infections and 6,024 deaths.

World Athletics approves 23 Russians to compete as neutrals

World Athletics has declared 23 Russian track and field athletes eligible to compete under a neutral flag ahead of the Tokyo Olympics

MONACO (AP) — World Athletics has declared 23 Russian track and field athletes eligible to compete under a neutral flag ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

With their national federation under a doping suspension, Russians must apply for individual exemptions to gain “authorized neutral athlete” status after their drug-testing records have been vetted.

High jumper Mikhail Akimenko and race walker Vasiliy Mizinov — both silver medalists from the 2019 world championships — were among the names on the list released Saturday by track's governing body.

A total of 27 Russian athletes have so far been declared eligible to compete internationally in 2021 as neutrals.

The other four include three-time world champion high jumper Mariya Lasitskene and world champion pole vaulter Anzhelika Sidorova.

No more than 10 Russian athletes, however, will be granted eligibility to compete at the Tokyo Olympics, under rules approved by the World Athletics council when it recently revived the authorized neutral athlete or “ANA” scheme.

Two applications for ANA status have so far been rejected by the World Athletics doping review board. Saturday's announcement did not identify them.

The Russian track federation, known as RusAF, has been suspended since 2015 after investigations revealed doping was rife among elite Russian athletes.

Count 'em! MLB hits 20,000 players when Godoy debuts for M's

There was a big number reached in Major League Baseball during the San Diego Padres’ 16-1 blowout over Seattle, and it had nothing to do with runs

SAN DIEGO (AP) — There was a big number reached in Major League Baseball during the San Diego Padres' 16-1 blowout over Seattle, and it had nothing to do with runs.

Because when Mariners backup catcher José Godoy made his big league debut Friday night, he became the 20,000th player in MLB history.

There was no fanfare at Petco Park when Godoy came in to catch in the bottom of the sixth inning with the Mariners trailing 12-1. The 26-year-old from Venezuela who signed with St. Louis in 2011 and joined the Seattle system last winter grounded