4/21/25 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Monday
21 April 2025 Sports
The Milwaukee Brewers believe their aggressiveness on the basepaths is part of their identity.
Never was it more apparent than on Sunday.
Milwaukee stole nine bases in a 14-1 victory over the Athletics to break the team’s 33-year-old record for steals in a game. Brice Turang, who had three of the steals to increase his season total to eight.
All of them came in the first four innings. Six were swiped in the first, the first time in the expansion era a team stole that many bases in an inning.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, no team had stolen as many as six bases in one inning since the expansion era started in 1961. A team has stolen five bases in an inning 13 times since 1961, most recently by Cincinnati against Colorado on April 19, 2016.
Sportradar said the Brewers were the first team to steal six bases in an inning since Aug. 26, 1919, when the New York Giants had six steals in the third inning of the first game of a doubleheader against Pittsburgh.
The Brewers broke their franchise game record in the fourth inning when Caleb Durbin got his first career stolen base, two days after his major league debut. The Brewers had stolen eight bases in a 7-2 victory over the Toronto on Aug. 29, 1992.
Durbin was initially called out at second, but a video review determined he was safe. Durbin scored to extend Milwaukee’s lead to 8-0.
No Brewer got caught stealing until the fifth, when Shea Langeliers threw Sal Frelick out at second with Milwaukee leading 8-1.
Frelick finished the day with two steals to increase his season total to seven. Christian Yelich, William Contreras, Rhys Hoskins and Caleb Durbin stole one base each.
Milwaukee’s six first-inning steals included a pair of double steals. The Brewers scored four runs in that first inning by capitalizing on two hits, three walks, the six steals, a balk from Springs and two throwing errors by Langeliers.
Milwaukee’s nine steals increased its season total to an MLB-leading 33 through 22 games. The Brewers have been caught just five times.
Milwaukee starter Logan Henderson had a stellar major league debut in earning the win. He allowed just one run on three hits, while walking one and striking out nine.
Last year, the Brewers won their second straight NL Central title while stealing 217 bases, second in the majors behind Washington’s 223. Before last season, no major league team had stolen as many as 217 bases in a year since Montreal’s 228 in 1993.
The Brewers are in San Francisco tonight to play the Giants with the first pitch set for 8:45.
Elsewhere in the NL Central the Reds walloped the Orioles 24-2, the Guardians nipped the Pirates 5-4, the Mets downed the Cardinals 7-4 and Cubs lost 3-2 to the Diamondbacks in 11 innings. The Cubs lead the Brewers by a game, the Reds are two games back, the Cardinals four and the Pirates are 5 ½ games back.
In Midwest League baseball the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers shutout the Lansing Lugnuts 2-0 at Fox Cities at Fox Cities Stadium. There are no games in the league today.
The NBA released the three finalists for its major trophies on Sunday night, with Antetokounmpo on the MVP list alongside Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver’s Nikola Jokic, the runaway frontrunners for the award.
Jokic was last season’s MVP and is bidding for his fourth MVP award in the last five years. Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s scoring champion this season and the leader of a Thunder team that won 68 games while setting a league record for scoring margin, is seeking his first MVP trophy.
They were considered such big favorites that BetMGM Sportsbook didn’t even offer realistic odds toward the end of the regular season on anyone else winning. Gilgeous-Alexander was the favorite, Jokic was the second choice and nobody else had odds shorter than 500-1.
Given that All-NBA voting now essentially mirrors MVP voting, being an MVP finalist basically guarantees an All-NBA first-team nod. It’ll be the ninth appearance on that team for Antetokounmpo, the seventh for Jokic and the third for Gilgeous-Alexander.
Last year’s MVP finalists were Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic — then of Dallas, now of the Los Angeles Lakers.
A panel of writers and broadcasters who cover the NBA voted on the awards last week. The NBA will announce the winners of the various awards, along with the All-NBA and All-rookie teams, over the coming weeks.
The coaching finalists are Kenny Atkinson of Cleveland; J.B. Bickerstaff of Detroit; and Ime Udoka Houston.
The inalists for Rookie of the Year are Stephon Castle of San Antonio; Zaccharie Risacher of Atlanta and Jaylen Wells, Memphis.
Pascal Siakam kept it simple Saturday. He got to his spots, hit his shots and made the plays.
The three-time All-Star finished with 25 points and seven rebounds while Tyrese Haliburton added 10 points and 12 assists to lead the Indiana Pacers past the Milwaukee Bucks 117-98 for a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference best-of-seven first-round series.
“It’s just playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played — not a lot of thinking, just play the game,” Siakam said after going 10 of 15 from the field. “I think as long as we play the right way and we get the shots we’re supposed to get and we want to get, that’s what’s important.”
Siakam took full advantage of the festive atmosphere as Indiana hosted its first series opener since 2014.
Team officials handed out gold T-shirts that lit up Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Fans repeatedly counted the seconds it took for two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to shoot free throws and heckled Bucks forward Bobby Portis. And they roared with delight when WNBA star Caitlin Clark and others appeared on the video board.
Myles Turner capped a 19-point, four-block performance with a late 3-pointer to seal the win after Milwaukee had cut a 28-point deficit to 107-95. Six Indiana players finished in double figures and Milwaukee made just one basket over the final 5:24.
It was eerily reminiscent of last year’s first-round series, which Indiana won 4-2.
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 36 points and 12 rebounds after missing all six games last year because of a calf injury. This time, the Bucks played without their other All-Star, Damian Lillard, who continues to work his way into game shape after battling deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. He may return in Game 2.
The difference was defense.
Indiana negated Antetokounmpo’s impact over the final three quarters with traps, double teams and against defenders of all sizes. The result: Antetokounmpo had only one assist and nobody else scored more than 15 points. Plus, the Bucks, who shot a league-best 38.7% on 3-pointers, were limited to just 2 of 16 in the first half and finished 9 of 37.
But Antetokounmpo also took issue with Milwaukee’s defense.
“I think we were late, like we got into scrambling mode and they would create for the next guy and that’s what they want you to do,” he said. “We didn’t have enough urgency. Going into Game 2, hopefully we can change that.”
On the men’s PGA Tour, Justin Thomas won the Heritage Open Sunday by sinking a long putt on the first hole of a playoff to beat Andrew Novak. Thomas finished 17-under par. It was Thomas’ first tour win in three years.
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