Cavs open Saturday

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers will open the NBA playoffs by hosting the Toronto Raptors at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Cavaliers (52-3) are the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, while Toronto (46-36) is the fifth seed. The Raptors swep the season series 3-0 (by scores of 110-99, 126-113 and 112-101)

But the Cavaliers have won 11 of their last 14 games and are 35-14 since Dec. 29.

Saturday’s game will be televised on Prime Video.

Leetonia seeks HOFers

LEETONIA — The Leetonia Athletic Hall of Fame is now accepting nominations for the Class of 2026. Induction of the new members will be held the weekend of September 4-5. Nomination forms are available on the school website www.leetonia.k12.oh.us and the administration office. Deadline to nominate is May 31. Nomination forms should be mailed to Leetonia Athletic Hall of Fame 450 Walnut Street, Leetonia, Ohio 44431.

Golf outing benefits Indians

SALINEVILLE — The annual Southern Local Golf Outing will be held at 8 a.m. May 23 at Turkana Golf Course. Teams of four can register for $320 by May 14. The event includes lunch at the turn, a dinner catered by Bad Axe BBQ, cash prizes, hole prizes and raffle baskets. All proceeds will benefit the Southern Local golf program. To enter or for more information, call (330) 679-8921 or (330) 679-2343 or email gerard.grimm@slindians.org.

Potters take down Lions

EAST LIVERPOOL — East Liverpool’s boys tennis team tripped up Heartland Christian 4-1 on Monday at Thompson Park.

East Liverpool is 3-1.

The Potters are at Canfield on Wednesday.

East Liverpool 4, Heartland 1

FIRST SINGLES: Brady Dawson (EL) def. Jacob Vande Kappele 4-6, 6-2, 7-5

SECOND SINGLES: Garrett Cooper (EL) def. Kegan Pruitt 6-0, 6-1

THIRD SINGLES: Rowan Stokes (EL) def. Capri Drokin 6-1, 4-6, 6-2

FIRST DOUBLES: Maylee Norbo-Corrine Holm (HC) def. Andrew Dalton-Logan Cornell (EL) 7-5, 5-7, 10-4

SECOND DOUBLES: Hunter Estell-Braydan Schwerha (EL) def. Abigail Day-Ava Shaulis (HC) 6-1, 6-2

Manager takes ball to the face

BALTIMORE (AP) — Craig Albernaz was struck in the face by a line drive, then returned after receiving treatment to embrace the guy who sent the baseball whistling into the dugout.

That’s because Orioles second baseman Jeremiah Jackson did more than just injure his manager. He also hit a grand slam that helped Baltimore erase a six-run deficit in a 9-7 win over Arizona on Monday night.

Turns out, Albernaz wasn’t seriously hurt by the liner that struck him in the left cheek. But he was immediately taken into the tunnel and treated by the team’s medical staff.

“He’s doing good. Just as a precaution, he’s going to get it scanned,” said bench coach Donnie Ecker, who pinch-hit for Albernaz at the postgame news conference.

Jackson, meanwhile, was delighted to see Albernaz emerge from the tunnel to give him a big hug after the sixth-inning grand slam that cut a 7-2 deficit to a single run.

“That was awesome,” Jackson said of the impromptu embrace from his manager. “You never want to hurt anybody, and Alby’s awesome. It sucked. But he wore it well and he’s in good spirits so it made me feel better.”

One inning earlier, Jackson looked on in horror as the foul ball went from his bat directly to his manager’s face.

“I hit and then I kind of saw Alby holding his face. My heart kind of dropped,” Jackson said. “I was able to see him afterward and see he was doing OK.”

Albernaz, in his first season as Baltimore’s manager, appears to be popular with his players.

“Knowing he was OK helped. It made me feel a little bit better,” Jackson said. “I’m just happy he’s doing OK and in good spirits.”

Guardians stick it to Cardinals

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Angel Martínez and Brayan Rocchio homered as the Cleveland Guardians beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-3 on Monday night.

Gavin Williams (2-1) allowed two runs in five-plus innings for the win. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out four.

Jordan Walker’s major league-best eighth home run leading off the sixth ended Williams’ night. Walker became the fifth player in Cardinals history to hit at least eight homers in the first 16 games of a season, joining Stan Musial (1954), Mark McGwire (1998), Scott Rolen (2004) and Albert Pujols (2006).

Martínez gave the Guardians a 1-0 lead in the first inning, sending Matthew Liberatore’s curveball 398 feet over the left-field wall.

Daniel Schneemann’s two-run single sparked a Guardians rally in the fourth. Austin Hedges followed with a sacrifice fly to give Cleveland a 4-1 lead.

Rocchio made it 6-1 with a two-run homer off Justin Bruihl in the sixth that left his bat at 108.1 mph, according to Statcast.

Steven Kwan capped a three-run outburst in the eighth with a two-run single. Five of the nine Guardians batters reached safely at least twice.

Liberatore (0-1) needed a season-high 105 pitches to get through five innings. He allowed four runs on six hits, walked three and struck out two.

Alec Burleson’s RBI single drew the Cardinals even at 1 in the first, capping a string of three straight two-strike singles off Williams.

Up next

LHP Joey Cantillo (1-0, 2.45 ERA) starts for the Guardians against Cardinals RHP Michael McGreevy (1-1, 2.16) on Tuesday night.

Guardians activate reliever Gaddis

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Cleveland Guardians on Monday activated right-handed reliever Hunter Gaddis and outfielder George Valera from the injured list the start of a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Gaddis (right forearm stiffness) started the season on the 15-day injured list after making one appearance in spring training on Feb. 27. One of the league’s top setup men, Gaddis has a 2.29 ERA in 151 appearance over the past two seasons.

Gaddis provides a jolt to a bullpen that is weathering a stretch of 13 games in 13 days, including a doubleheader on April 5.

“You want to be out here with the team, and you want to be able to go pitch, but it’s like, just trust in the process, and when you’re ready, I think it’ll be time to go,” Gaddis said.