DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Rockies got to shake hands after a game for only the second time in three weeks, and they celebrated after a rookie outpitched the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner.

“You guys can probably hear it now. We’re in pretty good spirits,” Chase Dollander said after Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves stopped an eight-game losing streak. “I would never say we were down in the locker room. Obviously, losing’s not fun, but at the same time, we know that we’re capable of winning and we can put a winning product on the field, so that’s exactly what we did today.”

Colorado had lost 16 of its previous 17 games. At 5-25, the Rockies avoided becoming just the second MLB team since 1901 to lose at least 26 of its first 30 games of the season.

Only the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, who went on to go 54-107, had a worse 30-game start.

“There's frustration, sure. Guys are angry,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “These guys are professional baseball players who want to win games and want to do well and it just hasn't happened as a group, right? We just don't have enough guys playing well. For us to get going, we have 26 players, they all have to do a little better, maybe not all 26, but we need a higher majority of the guys to perform and right now, we only have a few guys.”

Brenton Doyle hit a tiebreaking home run in the third inning. Ryan McMahon went 0 for 3 and extended his hitless streak to a team record 0 for 34, one more than Desi Relaford in 2005. McMahon has two hits in his past 58 at-bats.

“We have to as a group and more players have to do a little bit more on the field,” Black said.

Doyle’s home run ended a skid of 20 consecutive at-bats without a hit.

“Everyone in here is a competitor, so losing definitely hurts,” Doyle said. “But we know we have to celebrate the wins. That’s what we’re going to do today.”

Dollander, the Rockies’ No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 amateur draft, got his second big league win in his fifth major league start by limiting the Braves to one run and two hits in 5 2/3 innings as part of a three-hitter.

He left because of a cracked fingernail on the middle finger of his throwing hand.

“This is a great confidence-builder for him, going up against Chris Sale, a Cy Young Award winner, and he basically outdueled him," Black said. "What a great feat today for him.”'

Mikko Rantanen is settling in as a Star, and now really on other side after goal against the Avs

DALLAS (AP) — Mikko Rantanen is now really on the other side, settling in as a Star and going back to Colorado with a chance to advance in the NHL playoffs.

In his first postseason series with Dallas, against his former team no less, Rantanen broke through with first playoff goal and two assists for the Stars in their Game 5 victory that put them on the verge of eliminating the Avalanche for the second year in a row.

“It's reality, I guess,” Rantanen said with a grin Wednesday, the day before Game 6 of the series.

After being in the playoffs with the Avs each of the past seven years and playing with them during 10 seasons, including their Stanley Cup title in 2022, Rantanen was traded twice in a six-week period — first to Carolina on Jan. 24, then to Dallas on March 7 in a deadline deal completed after he agreed to a $96 million, eight-year contract extension.

Playoffs included, the 28-year-old Rantanen has now played 25 games with the Stars.

“That's the biggest thing, I think, is settling in and playing with instinct,” Rantanen said. “The systems and everything, it’s in the back of my mind now, so I don’t have to think about anything on the ice, like where I have to go. It comes with instinct and it’s going to come even more the more games go by. ... Settling is a good word to say, which is always key to playing well.”

It was in Game 6 at Colorado last season that the Stars wrapped up a second-round series on Matt Duchene's goal 11:42 into the second overtime for a 2-1 victory. Rantanen had the lone Avalanche goal in that game.

In Game 3 of this series, his first in the playoffs as an opponent in Colorado, Rantanen had the secondary assist on Tyler Seguin's overtime winner. That was Rantanen's only postseason point for Dallas until Game 5, when his goal came on a 2-on-1 break and some nifty back-and-forth passing with Roope Hintz. He did have 12 shots on goal the first four games.

“He is settling and I think he’s a lot closer than the numbers say. I thought he’s had two or three really good games in this series so far,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “He played great that night in Colorado (Game 3). ... I think he’s stringing together more and more games here where he looks comfortable, and he’s going to make an impact even if the points aren't showing it.”

In 81 career playoff games for Colorado, Rantanen had 101 points (34 goals, 67 assists). His last game with the Avalanche was Jan. 22, but the regular season ended with him still as their third-leading scorer with 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) in his 49 games there, behind Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.

After six points (two goals) in his 13-game stint with Carolina, Rantanen had five goals and 13 assists over the final 20 regular-season games for Dallas, giving him an 82-game total of 88 points (32 goals). It was the seventh time in eight seasons to average more than a point a game, the lone exception in that stretch being 41 points in 42 games in 2019-20.

He is on a line in Dallas with fellow Finnish players Hintz and Mikael Granlund. Hintz, the same age as Rantanen, has played all seven of his NHL seasons with Dallas. The 33-year-old Granlund was acquired from San Jose in a trade on Feb. 1, and has only 11 more games in Dallas than Rantanen.

“They have a history together as Finnish players and national teams and things like that,” DeBoer said. “I don’t know if they played together as a line before, but I think that always speeds up the chemistry when you have a familiarity like that and you know, they’re countrymen, they speak Finnish to each other, they can communicate really easily.”

Duchene played his first eight-plus NHL seasons with Colorado, where his final full season was when Rantanen was a rookie.

“Having him in the room is good,” Duchene said. “You know he's a great player because he behaves like a great player. So, easy guy to bring in.”

Cale Makar trying to get back on scoring track as Avalanche face elimination in Game 6 against Stars

DENVER (AP) — Cale Makar broke in a new pair of skates Wednesday at an optional practice.

Next up, breaking out of a scoring slump.

Nothing has come easy for the standout Colorado Avalanche defenseman against the tenacious play of the Dallas Stars. Makar has been held to no goals and two assists in a first-round series the Avalanche trail 3-2. Dallas can close out the series Thursday night in Game 6 at Ball Arena. The Stars were in the same spot a year ago and ended Colorado's season in double overtime.

“I’m not worried about him,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of Makar. “I think he’s going to bounce back with a huge game for us tomorrow.”

Makar sets the bar high when it comes to scoring expectations. He entered the first-round series averaging 1.11 points per playoff game, which was the second-highest mark among blue liners in Stanley Cup history. Only Hall of Fame defenseman Bobby Orr had a higher average (1.24).

The 26-year-old Makar is coming off a regular season in which he had 30 goals and 62 assists. He’s just the ninth different defenseman in NHL history to score at least 30 goals.

In recent days, the honors have poured in for Makar. He's a finalist for the Norris Trophy, an award given to the blue liner voted the best at his position.

On Wednesday, Makar, along with teammate Nathan MacKinnon and Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov, were announced as finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award. It's an award given to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the NHL Players’ Association.

He appreciates the recognition. But he's focused on Game 6.

“Honestly, I’ve got to be a lot better,” Makar said. “There have been glimpses where I’ve been pretty good. ... There’s a lot of things I can do a lot better. It’s do-or-die now, so we’ve got to step it up.”

Makar’s not alone as the defensive-minded Stars have locked up the high-flying Avalanche. New forward additions Martin Necas and Brock Nelson have yet to find the back of the net in the series. Same goes for Jonathan Drouin, while Valeri Nichushkin only has one goal.

“Pressure is a privilege, and you earn that pressure," Bednar said. "Pressure, a lot of times, can drive the best out of your team.”

Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Thursday. 9:30 p.m. EDT (TBS)

Series: Stars lead 3-2

Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen knows full well how challenging a close-out game in Denver can be. He's seen the electricity in the building after spending parts of 10 seasons with Colorado before joining the Stars (by way of Carolina in a March trade). Rantanen helped Colorado to a Stanley Cup title in 2022, going 7-3 at home during that run.

On the flip side, Dallas is 4-1 in Denver over the last two playoff series against Colorado. That includes wrapping up the second-round series in Game 6 at Ball Arena last season on Matt Duchene's double-overtime winner.

“We’d love to end it tomorrow,” Duchene said. “We’d love to not have to come back (to Dallas) for Game 7.”

For Colorado, this game is a mixture of desperation and fear.

“It’s a number of different words to describe it, but it’s win-or-go-home,” Nelson said. “It’s all that wrapped into one, and I think it’s just kind of bottling it up and harnessing it to use to your advantage.”

Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Thursday. 7:30 p.m. EDT (ESPN)

Series: Golden Knights lead 3-2

This is a familiar situation for the Wild, facing another possible first-round departure. They haven't won a playoff series since advancing to the second round in 2015.

Minnesota is coming of consecutive overtime losses to the Golden Knights, including 3-2 on Tuesday night.

“Our guys are obviously disappointed that we lost the game, but I think there’s a lot of belief,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “You can see the conviction with the way we played. The last two games could’ve went either way, but we’ve got another one coming.”

Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said Wednesday that Pavel Dorofeyev is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. He led the Knights with 35 goals this season.

For the Wild, “all signs point toward” goalie Filip Gustavsson returning to the net after an illness forced him out for the third period and overtime, coach John Hynes said.

“Right now he feels better, feels good,” Hynes said after the team returned to Minnesota.

Marc-Andre Fleury, the retiring fan favorite who's second in NHL history in wins, produced another inspiring performance by coming in cold off the bench and making several sharp saves until letting in Brett Howden's winner on a one-timer with a clear shooting lane that any goalie would've had trouble stopping.

“You get a goalie go down like Gus who’s been playing great and then you have Marc-Andre Fleury coming in, no one’s panicking,” Wild left wing Marcus Foligno said. "It’s pretty special to have that guy come in when you need him.”

Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Thursday. 10 p.m. EDT (ESPN)

Series: Oilers lead 3-2

Being behind doesn't seem to rattle the Oilers. They became the third team in league history with three comeback wins after facing a 2-0 series deficit.

“We wanted to play pedal-on-the-gas type hockey,” said Oilers forward Evander Kane, who had a goal in a 3-1 win on Tuesday in Los Angeles. “We stayed in the fight, we didn't get frustrated even though they scored first.”

Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Thursday. 7 p.m. EDT (TBS)

Series: Maple Leafs lead 3-2

Ottawa has won two straight. This marks the third straight postseason where a team has forced a Game 6 after falling behind 3-0 in their series. Edmonton came back on Florida in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final before losing in Game 7, while Carolina rallied in round two last season against the New York Rangers before falling in six games. In 2023, Dallas was down 3-0 to Vegas in the conference finals before winning two straight and then bowing out.

“I don’t think there’s any panic in this room,” Leafs forward Auston Matthews said. “It’s the ups and downs of playoffs. We’ve been here before. We’re just going to put our best foot forward, go into the next game with confidence.”

NFL fines Falcons and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich following prank call to Shedeur Sanders

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons have been fined $250,000 and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has been fined $100,000 as a result of Ulbrich’s son participating in a prank call to Shedeur Sanders during the NFL draft.

The NFL confirmed the fines on Wednesday for the roles the Falcons and Ulbrich played in failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club ahead of the draft.

The Falcons, who disclosed the role of Ulbrich’s 21-year-old son Jax in the prank call as the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders was waiting for his name to be called in the draft, said they accept the discipline from the league.

At a news conference, Jeff Ulbrich apologized to Shedeur Sanders, his family, Falcons owner Arthur Blank and the rest of the organization.

“My actions — my actions — of not protecting confidential data were inexcusable," Ulbrich said. "My son's actions were absolutely inexcusable, and for that we are both deeply sorry. The NFL has taken action and I fully respect the punishment. We take full responsibility, my son and myself, and we will not be appealing the fine in any way. Going forward I promise my son and I will work hard to demonstrate we are better than this.”

The Falcons said in a statement that they appreciated the NFL's “swift and thorough review” of the matter.

“We were proactive in addressing the situation internally and cooperated fully with the league throughout the process, and accept the discipline levied to Coach Jeff Ulbrich and the organization," the statement said. "We are confident in our security policies and practices and will continue to emphasize adherence to them with our staff whether on or off premises.”

The Falcons also said the Ulbrich family “is working with the organization to participate in community service initiatives in relation to last week’s matter."

On Sunday, the Falcons said in a statement that Jax Ulbrich “unintentionally came across the draft contact phone number for Shedeur Sanders off an open iPad while visiting his parent’s home and wrote the number down to later conduct a prank call.”

Jax Ulbrich was sitting beside an unidentified friend who actually made the call to Sanders on Friday, the second day of the draft. Sanders, a standout quarterback from Colorado, is the son of Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders, who began his NFL career with the Falcons.

Sanders, who entered the draft expecting to be a first-round pick, was selected Saturday in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns.

The Falcons said Jeff Ulbrich was unaware of the data exposure or the prank until after the fact. He said he made the Falcons aware of the situation and then got hold of the Sanders family to apologize.

“The Sanders family, Shedeur and Coach Sanders, were amazingly gracious. More gracious than they needed to be in a moment like this,” Ulbrich said.

The team also offered “sincere apologies to Shedeur Sanders and his family.” And Jax Ulbrich posted a public apology on social media.

The NFL continues to investigate prank calls made to other players during the NFL draft. The Associated Press reported Tuesday the call to Shedeur Sanders wasn’t related to the other prank calls.

Abdul Carter, Tyler Warren, Kyle McCord, Mason Graham and Chase Lundt also have reported receiving prank calls.

Knicks and Nuggets have a chance to eliminate Pistons and Clippers from NBA playoffs

DETROIT (AP) — Two teams will have a chance to advance in the NBA playoffs on Thursday night against franchises playing a Game 6 on their home court in each conference.

All four squads will count on key players they added over the last year.

The third-seeded New York Knicks will get a second shot at eliminating the sixth-seeded Detroit Pistons in an Eastern Conference first-round series. In the nightcap, the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets will have their first opportunity to get past the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers in the West.

New York, in a quest to at least reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000, made win-now moves to acquire Karl-Antony Towns and Mikal Bridges to complement Jalen Brunson. With Brunson banged up in Game 5, Towns and Bridges scored 17 points apiece.

Detroit, desperately seeking relevance, welcomed Tobias Harris back for a second tour with the team as part of a busy summer that surrounded Cade Cunningham with some veterans.

In a season-extending win in New York on Tuesday night, Harris became the first Pistons player in a playoff game to fill out the box score with 17 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, two assists and two steals.

“He is our safety blanket," Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "He’s reliable. He’s dependable. He understands what needs to happen in the moment. He’s an unbelievable human being, unbelievable teammate. Fierce competitor.”

Denver, trying to win an NBA title for the second time in two years, signed nine-time All-Star and former Clippers guard Russell Westbrook to improve the roster with reigning MVP Nikola Jokic.

Westbrook, looking like the MVP he was eight years ago, had 13 points in a seven-minute stretch in the first half of Game 5 and finished with 21 points of a 131-115 win at Denver that gave the Nuggets a 3-2 lead in the series.

Los Angeles, seeking a new formula to win after choosing not to keep All-Star Paul George, added depth with subtle moves such as acquiring Kris Dunn from Utah in a trade that involved Westbrook to give the Kawhi Leonard-led team more depth.

Dunn, who has started each playoff game, scored 15 points on Tuesday night for his second double-digit scoring performance against Denver.

New York Knicks at Detroit Pistons

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, 7:30 p.m. EDT (TNT)

Series: Knicks lead 3-2.

BetMGM Sportsbook: Knicks by 2.5.

What to Know: Each team has won two games on the road. If the Pistons lose a third straight game at Little Caesars Arena, they will be eliminated and break an NBA record with a 10th straight home playoff loss in a skid that dates to 2008. “Need to protect the crib now,” Cunningham said. "Never say die. We’re still in it.” Cunningham is the third NBA player to have at least 120 points, 40 rebounds and 40 assists in his first five playoff games, joining Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson and five-time All-Star Luka Doncic. The Knicks are limping back to the Motor City. Brunson aggravated his injured right ankle in Game 5. “I’m all good,” Brunson said after he had as many field goals (four) as turnovers and was stuck on the sideline late in the game because coach Tom Thibodeau chose not to call a timeout. Josh Hart has a wrist ailment, but said his whole body is hurting and Thibodeau said OG Anunoby also missed some time Tuesday night with an injury. Detroit has been without rugged center Isaiah Stewart (knee) since he played in Game 1 and shooting guard Jaden Ivey since he broke his leg in January.

Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Clippers

 

When/Where to Watch: Thursday, Game 6, 10 p.m. EDT (TNT)

Series: Nuggets lead, 3-2

BetMGM Sportsbook: Clippers by 6.5.

What to Know: The Jokic-led Nuggets have two chances to close out the series, just as they did last year, and are hoping for a different result. Denver lost Game 6 in Minnesota and then blew a 20-point, second-half lead in Game 7 at home in the second-round exit. Jokic refuses to spend too much time looking back. “I’m just playing,” he said after he had 13 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in Game 5. For the Clippers, they simply would like to avoid falling behind by big margins. In the last two games, they trailed by 22 points before climbing back. “Just trying to stay in the game early instead of trying to make the heroic comebacks,” Leonard said. “That’s all we can do. We’ve got to fight.” The Clippers are trying to find a way to get James Harden back on track. He’s 8 of 20 from the floor — 1 of 4 from 3-point range — over the last two losses.