SEATTLE (AP) — Quinton Byfield scored twice, Anton Forsberg made 28 saves and the Los Angeles Kings secured a playoff spot with Monday night's 5-3 win over the Seattle Kraken.
Trevor Moore, Adrian Kempe and Alex Laferriere also scored for the Kings, who won their fifth straight and are playoff-bound for the fifth consecutive season.
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The Seattle Kraken, including center Bobby McMann, line up to greet Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) after a Kings win in an NHL hockey game Monday, April 13, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Los Angeles Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg (31), center Anze Kopitar (11) and right wing Mathieu Joseph (17) celebrate a win over the Seattle Kraken in an NHL hockey game Monday, April 13, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Kraken center Bobby McMann, right, celebrates scoring against the Los Angeles Kings during the third period of an NHL hockey game Monday, April 13, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Los Angeles Kings right wing Adrian Kempe, center, celebrates his goal with center Anze Kopitar, left, and defenseman Brandt Clarke, right, against the Seattle Kraken during the third period of an NHL hockey game Monday, April 13, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Los Angeles Kings right wing Alex Laferriere (14) celebrates an empty net goal against the Seattle Kraken with defenseman Joel Edmundson, second from left, defenseman Drew Doughty (8) and center Scott Laughton, right, during the third period of an NHL hockey game Monday, April 13, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
With two games left, Los Angeles is in position for the second Western Conference wild card and fourth in the Pacific Division, just two points behind second-place Edmonton. The Kings' victory, combined with Nashville's loss to San Jose earlier Monday night, wrapped up their playoff spot and eliminated both the Predators and the Sharks.
Adam Larsson, Frederick Gaudreau and Bobby McMann scored for Seattle, all in the third period. Nikke Kokko stopped 25 shots in his second career start. Matty Beniers had two assists.
LA's Samuel Helenius and Seattle's Jacob Melanson dropped the gloves with 7:57 to go in the first, and both earned five-minute majors. Their fight occurred just after the forwards finished serving matching roughing minors for an attempted altercation earlier in the period.
Byfield opened the scoring when a failed pinch by Ryan Lindgren allowed him to take off on a two-on-one. He added his 22nd goal later in the first period when a pass jumped Lindgren's stick at the Kings' blue line, leading to a breakaway that Byfield converted.
Moore scored on a rebound 7:13 into the second. The Kraken twice got within one goal in the third, but Laferriere's empty-netter in the closing seconds ended their hopes.
Already eliminated from the playoffs, Seattle lost to Los Angeles for the first time this season and has not won three straight games since January.
Kings: At Vancouver on Tuesday.
Kraken: At Vegas on Wednesday.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
The Seattle Kraken, including center Bobby McMann, line up to greet Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) after a Kings win in an NHL hockey game Monday, April 13, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Los Angeles Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg (31), center Anze Kopitar (11) and right wing Mathieu Joseph (17) celebrate a win over the Seattle Kraken in an NHL hockey game Monday, April 13, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Kraken center Bobby McMann, right, celebrates scoring against the Los Angeles Kings during the third period of an NHL hockey game Monday, April 13, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Los Angeles Kings right wing Adrian Kempe, center, celebrates his goal with center Anze Kopitar, left, and defenseman Brandt Clarke, right, against the Seattle Kraken during the third period of an NHL hockey game Monday, April 13, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Los Angeles Kings right wing Alex Laferriere (14) celebrates an empty net goal against the Seattle Kraken with defenseman Joel Edmundson, second from left, defenseman Drew Doughty (8) and center Scott Laughton, right, during the third period of an NHL hockey game Monday, April 13, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
SEATTLE (AP) — Josh Naylor hit his first two homers of the season and drove in five runs, George Kirby allowed two runs in 7 2/3 innings, and the Seattle Mariners completed a four-game sweep of the Houston Astros with a 6-2 win on Monday.
It was Naylor’s seventh career game with five or more RBIs.
Seattle was coming off a five-game skid before sweeping Houston. The banged-up, last-place Astros have lost eight in a row, their longest skid since they dropped the last 15 games of the 2013 season en route to 111 losses.
Kirby (2-2) allowed his only runs in the fifth on an RBI single by Yainer Diaz and a double-play grounder from Nick Allen. He struck out six, allowed seven hits and walked one while throwing 99 pitches.
ORIOLES 9, DIAMONDBACKS 7
BALTIMORE (AP) — Jeremiah Jackson hit a grand slam and a solo shot, Pete Alonso put Baltimore in front with a seventh-inning homer and the Orioles rallied from a six-run deficit to beat Arizona.
Nolan Arenado hit two home runs and had five RBIs, and Ketel Marte hit a pair of solo homers to put the Diamondbacks up 7-1 in the sixth.
But Arizona’s bullpen gave up the lead.
Taylor Rashi allowed two hits and a walk in the sixth before Jackson hit a hanging slider into the left-field seats. One inning later, Jonathan Loáisiga (0-1) hit Taylor Ward with a pitch before Alonso launched his second homer of the season.
PHILLIES 13, CUBS 7
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber homered twice and drove in three runs, Cristopher Sánchez pitched six strong innings and Philadelphia defeated Chicago.
JT Realmuto had three hits and three RBIs for the Phillies, who got back to .500 with just their second win in the last six games.
Dansby Swanson hit a two-run homer for the Cubs, who have lost three of four.
TWINS 13, RED SOX 6
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Boston ace Garrett Crochet was battered by Minnesota for 11 runs — 10 earned — and nine hits in 1 2/3 innings.
Crochet, a two-time All-Star who finished second in AL Cy Young Award voting last season, became the first Red Sox pitcher to allow 10 runs in less than two innings.
The 26-year-old left-hander gave up four runs, three earned, in a 31-pitch first inning. Minnesota scored seven more in the second before Crochet was removed with two outs and Boston trailing 11-0.
Victor Caratini hit his first home run for the Twins in the second, a three-run drive off the facing of the third deck in left field. Light-hitting infielder Ryan Kreidler ended Crochet’s night with his third career home run, a solo shot into the second deck in left.
PIRATES 16, NATIONALS 5
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes allowed one hit in six strong innings and Brandon Lowe homered for the third time in two games, driving in five runs as Pittsburgh steamrolled Washington to begin a four-game series Monday night.
Skenes (3-1) struck out six and walked one, throwing a career-high 32 changeups among his 88 pitches while improving to 7-1 in his last 11 home starts. The only run he gave up came on a first-inning homer by CJ Abrams.
Lowe went 3 for 5 with a two-run single in the second and his sixth homer — a three-run shot in the Pirates’ 10-run sixth. He had a grand slam and a solo shot Sunday at Wrigley Field in a 7-6 loss to the Cubs.
Lowe became the first Pirates player to knock in at least five runs in consecutive games since RBIs became an official statistic in 1920.
Oneil Cruz reached base four straight times for Pittsburgh and went 2 for 3 to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games. He had three RBIs and scored three runs.
MARLINS 10, BRAVES 4
ATLANTA (AP) — Agustín Ramírez and Connor Norby homered and Miami ended their three-game skid with a win over Atlanta.
Ramírez hit a 418-foot, three-run shot in the fifth inning off Aaron Bummer (0-1) that broke a 3-3 tie. He finished 3 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Liam Hicks was 3 for 4 with three RBIs, Norby was 2 for 5 and drove in two runs, and Xavier Edwards was 2 for 4 and scored three times.
Andrew Nardi (1-0) pitched a scoreless fifth in relief of Eury Pérez, who gave up four runs (three earned) and seven hits in four innings.
Nardi, Calvin Faucher, John King, Lake Bachar and Anthony Bender combined for five scoreless innings out of the Marlins bullpen and gave up two hits.
Atlanta starter Grant Holmes retired the first nine Marlins batters, then gave up three runs in a 30-pitch fourth inning and was pulled.
Michael Harris II was 2 for 3 with a walk in his return from paternity leave, and Austin Riley knocked in two runs for the Braves.
GUARDIANS 9, CARDINALS 3
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Angel Martínez and Brayan Rocchio homered as Cleveland beat St. Louis.
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).
YANKEES 11, ANGELS 10
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge and Trent Grisham both homered twice and New York scored on a game-ending wild pitch in a three-run ninth inning to overcome Mike Trout’s two homers and five RBIs in a win over Los Angeles that stopped a five-game losing streak.
Judge and José Caballero each hit a two-run homer off Yusei Kikuchi for a 4-0 second-inning lead on an unseasonably warm 77-degree night, but Caballero’s error on Trout’s fourth-inning leadoff grounder to shortstop led to four unearned runs.
Grisham’s pinch-hit, three-run homer off Shaun Anderson lifted New York into a 7-4 lead in the fifth. Trout, like Judge a three-time AL MVP, retied the score with a three-run drive in the sixth against Jake Bird.
Judge’s homer off Anderson leading off the bottom half gave him 47 multi-homer games, one more than Mickey Mantle and trailing only Babe Ruth’s 68 among Yankees.
RANGERS 8, ATHLETICS 1
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Nathan Eovaldi allowed three hits in seven scoreless innings, Jake Burger homered twice and drove in four runs, and Texas snapped the Athletics’ five-game winning streak.
Eovaldi (2-2), who entered with a 7.98 ERA through his first three starts, gave up three singles, walked two and struck out seven. He threw 53 of his 84 pitches for strikes in the opener of a four-game series.
Luis Curvelo allowed a run in two innings to close it out.
Evan Carter and Corey Seager drew one-out walks from Luis Severino (0-2) in the first inning and Burger followed with his third home run for a 3-0 lead.
Burger notched his eighth multi-homer game with an opposite-field shot to right leading off the third to make it 4-0.
Lawrence Butler robbed Seager of a home run to right in the fifth before hitting his second homer in the eighth off Curvelo to prevent a shutout.
DODGERS 4, METS 0
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Justin Wrobleski pitched two-hit ball over a career-high eight innings, Andy Pages launched a three-run homer and Los Angeles beat New York in a matchup between two of baseball’s biggest spenders.
The two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers (12-4) have won eight of 10 and lead the NL West.
New York (7-10) lost its sixth straight and was shut out for the fourth time this season.
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby throws against the Houston Astros during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Monday, April 13, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
