With the first round nearly over, let's cruise through some winners and losers -- with a focus on teams we haven't written about yet, or aren't writing about ahead of Round 2.

Russell Westbrook

The only important question for the Thunder after their third straight post-Kevin Durant flameout is whether this season signals the beginning of a long-term decline for Westbrook -- and what, if anything, they can do if they believe it does.

It's not really that Westbrook -- after four knee surgeries in six years -- is perhaps the worst high-volume 3-point shooter ever. He is, but that's almost trivial -- a punchline. He has always been a bad 3-point shooter; he's just worse now, so bricky that opponents are braver taking an extra step away from him when he doesn't have the ball. And as has been the case for the entirety of his career -- see last season's version of this same column -- Westbrook has never been much interested in making himself useful when he doesn't have the ball.

Paul George is the only long-range threat Thunder opponents guard off the ball. George running a pick-and-roll is the NBA's "Jon Snow wielding a sword alone against an entire charging army" meme.

The real issue is that Westbrook's shot has deserted him inside the arc. He emerged as an MVP candidate in part because he became reliable -- 40 percent-plus -- on what he calls his "cotton shot" from the elbow.

He hit 32 percent on jumpers from between 15 and 19 feet this season, per NBA.com. Of 104 players who attempted at least three pull-up jumpers per game, Westbrook ranked 104th in accuracy. Against Portland, he alternated between looking afraid to take them, and burying the Thunder under a pile of endless misses.

His dunks are down, and he could not always summon the explosive midair fury that once busted conventional defenses.

The Blazers dropped Enes Kanter far back in the pick-and-roll, and dared Westbrook to blow through him. Westbrook couldn't do it.

His defense, overrated for years, came and went even in one of his most focused seasons. Portland's monster Game 5 fourth-quarter comeback started with a sloppy Westbrook closeout on CJ McCollum in the right corner, opening the door for an easy floater -- a sequence that would be repeated on the opposite side four-plus minutes later. He still dies on screens, loitering around half court.

In his MVP season, the Thunder could not survive without him. This season, they were a disaster whenever Westbrook played without George -- while thriving in the opposite scenario. That continued in the playoffs; the Thunder were plus-13 in 39 George-only minutes against the Blazers. Portland obliterated them by 33 points in 32 Westbrook solo minutes, per NBA.com.

Westbrook is still a very good player. I selected him third-team All-NBA. He's just not as good as he used to be. He lost some of what made him an MVP candidate, and refined none of the weak spots in his game.

His mega-max contract runs through 2022-23, when Westbrook will be 34. The Thunder are capped out through at least 2020-21. Setting aside the James Harden trade -- yeah, I know -- Sam Presti has used magic to keep this thin, rickety roster afloat. He thinks years in advance, and tracks devalued young players -- Victor Oladipo, for instance -- because he knows they will carry trade cachet if an opportunity arises. He has somehow turned disgruntled players and bad contracts into semi-helpful things: Reggie Jackson became Enes Kanter became Carmelo Anthony became Dennis Schroder. When does the music stop?

A poor shooter needs shooters around him. Oklahoma City has been thin on shooting for Presti's entire run. His track record suggests a fetish for long, defense-first tweeners, and some faith the Thunder can teach such players to shoot. They have failed. Andre Roberson was dynamic enough on defense to thrive in the highest-stakes moments, but he's hurt. Most of the other long-shot bets busted.

Most late first-round picks bust. Most "second draft" prospects -- e.g., Dion Waiters -- just are what they are. If shooters who could survive on defense were easy to find, every team would have a bunch.

But good teams stay good as their stars age because they nail a couple of long-shot bets. One of the Thunder's stars -- the remaining foundational Thunder star, the one they in many ways chose over Harden -- appears to be aging, and aging badly. Presti surely has a plan, even as he appears pinned in by cap realities. Let's see what it is.

Damian Lillard and the determined Blazers

A lesser team -- hell, most teams -- would have broken apart after the four-game humiliation New Orleans inflicted on Portland a year ago. The Blazers didn't run from it. They took time to hurt. They acknowledged weakness. And then, they fortified themselves.

They didn't overhaul their system, on either end. They got better at it, and added new wrinkles. Lillard came back with new ways to skirt trapping defenses. They stormed out of the gate, survived a hellish winter schedule, and surged again in March and April. They believed, even after losing Jusuf Nurkic -- their second-best player for much of the season.

They knew they could win, but also that they could lose without fracturing. Losing no longer scared them. "There's nothing for us to be afraid of," CJ McCollum told me in November, "because the worst has already happened."

They were ready for Oklahoma City's blitzing defense. Lillard picked the Thunder apart. He wore down the redoubtable Steven Adams. On one Lillard pick-and-roll midway through the third quarter of Portland's pivotal Game 4 win, Adams failed to rumble beyond the 3-point arc. Lillard, perhaps surprised by the open space in front of him, walked into an easy triple to put Portland up 12.

Billy Donovan then shifted Adams away from Portland's screen-setters, and had him guard Maurice Harkless off to the side. It was surrender. It was merciful. A year ago, Lillard's confidence melted under pressure from New Orleans' trapping defense. You could see it. He broke. This time around, he broke the Thunder.

The whole team played with poised ruthlessness. McCollum cooked pull-up jumpers, and rescued wobbly all-bench units. Portland's guards will never have classic postseason size, but the ability to make tough shots -- to make something from nothing -- is a must-have playoff skill, too. Al-Farouq Aminu, the Blazers' quiet soul, did a little of everything. Harkless scrounged for double digits. Bit players stepped up.

The Blazers spent the season asking: Why not us? Why can't we be the second-best team in the Western Conference? Why can't we make the conference finals?

But perhaps even they didn't realize what they were really asking: If Durant departs Golden State, why can't we challenge for the NBA Finals?

Maybe they'll never get there. Nurkic has a long recovery ahead. Zach Collins looks like a guy who can make the leap, but actually making it is a different thing. The cap is strangling them. They are always one bad playoff matchup from facing the same old questions about the smallish LIllard-McCollum backcourt.

But right now, the Blazers look like a case study in persistence -- proof there is value in staying good in a league that too often disparages prolonged goodness.

Derrick White

If you paid attention during the regular season, you knew White was good. I'm not sure anyone expected him to work as San Antonio's best player for much of its series against Denver, with a 36-point eruption in Game 3 that stood as the best single-game performance of the first round -- a two-way masterpiece that bordered on perfection -- until Lillard's 50-pointer.

Foul trouble slowed White in Game 5. Tiny cracks emerged in his defense. But zoom out, and the Spurs must be thrilled with how at home he looks in the postseason hothouse.

The Nuggets are ignoring him off the ball -- White will have to shoot better from deep eventually -- but it hasn't mattered. When his man dips into the paint to help, White skulks a few feet left or right, girds himself for a pass, and charges into the lane before his defender can figure out where he has gone. He reduced Jamal Murray to a quivering, uncertain mess, head turning frantically upon realizing he had sprinted to where White no longer was. (Denver has since hid Murray on lesser threats.)

Once on the move, White has overwhelmed every Denver guard with sheer physicality. If he can't get around them, he just drives through them.

On defense, White is doing everything the Nuggets need someone to do against him. He helps and recovers on a string, head up, never losing track of the ball or his man. He thinks one step ahead of the offense. I mean, look at this:

White sees that DeMar DeRozan has left Will Barton to double Nikola Jokic; he begins rotating there. But he also knows Barton, in a hellish slump at that point in Game 3, probably doesn't want to shoot. He approaches him slowly, on balance, ready to pivot and intercept Barton's pass.

White and Dejounte Murray -- each drafted at No. 29 -- should make a formidable long-term backcourt duo. What the Spurs have done avoiding any bottoming out -- or anything close to it -- since drafting Tim Duncan 22 years ago is remarkable.

A counterfactual I'd love to see: How many games would the Spurs have won this season had they traded Kawhi Leonard for a more rebuild-oriented package centered on picks and younger players? DeRozan steadied them as a playmaker and scorer. He can, and will, play alongside the Murray/White duo. He bought White and Bryn Forbes time to grow. He added wins. But I wonder: How many?

D'Angelo Russell

Russell averaged more than 19 points against the burly Sixers, and played with his usual fearlessness. The playoff stage did not shake him. But if you harbored doubts about Russell as a No. 1 option against top competition, these playoffs deepened that anxiety.

The Sixers dropped Joel Embiid back and invited Russell to take shots he likes -- floaters, midrangers, off-the-bounce 3s. They put larger-than-usual defenders on him -- mostly Ben Simmons -- and bet they could pressure him into more misses. They wagered he would not adapt.

Russell shot 36 percent, and 32 percent from 3, with just 13 free throws and 18 assists in five games. He got to the rim at his usual (very low) rate.

Russell is good. This season was not simply a case of Russell making more than usual on an inefficient shot diet. Making more shots is not always some fluky thing. It is a skill guys improve. Beyond that, Russell played a craftier, smarter floor game.

But it's fair to wonder how far any team can go with a No. 1 option taking these sorts of shots, earning so few free throws, and playing below-average defense. Caris LeVert looked like Brooklyn's best player before he busted his foot, and he began looking like it again against Philadelphia. Spencer Dinwiddie is really good.

Maybe the ballsiest move on the board is Brooklyn signing-and-trading Russell -- or re-signing him to trade him at the first chance -- at the peak of his value. There would be some PR hit in dealing away the first All-Star nurtured under the Sean Marks/Kenny Atkinson regime. The trade market for Russell might not be as strong as you'd think.

Phoenix still needs a point guard, but a Russell-Devin Booker backcourt amounts to long-term defensive suicide. The Suns ending up in position to draft Ja Morant would make the issue moot before trade season. I've long been intrigued by a trade centered on Russell and Aaron Gordon, but Russell doesn't quite fit the Jeff Weltman/John Hammond player type.

Indiana makes some sense; Russell and Oladipo could split ballhandling duties, and Oladipo can defend both guard positions -- allowing more leeway in hiding Russell. It's unclear what Indiana would send back, especially since Brooklyn already has a young center in Jarrett Allen. Other teams will come out of free agency with holes at point guard.

It's easy to dismiss the idea of Brooklyn trading Russell. The Nets probably won't. But smart teams consider everything, and plot out dozens of scenarios. The Nets are smart. If you think they haven't had an internal spitballing session about Russell's trade value, you're kidding yourself.

Pascal Siakam

Oh, you thought he was fake -- a regular-season mooch who would quake in the playoffs? Drink some hot sauce. He was Toronto's best player in the highest-stakes moments of their highest-stakes first-round game -- their close-ish Game 3 win in Orlando. He defended everyone. When the Magic slotted smaller defenders on him -- as they had to in playing their best five-man lineup -- Siakam beasted them.

He was an ironman, leading the team in minutes, and bridging the gap between the starters and small-ball lineups featuring Leonard at power forward. (That said, the Siakam-as-solo-starter lineups should probably vanish as the competition ramps up.)

He's real.

Nikola Jokic

So is Jokic. Even Jokic fans were curious how his idiosyncratic game would translate to the playoffs. Would amped-up defenses scheming for him yield Jokic's pet backdoor passes? Could he bulldoze top defenders in the post, and draw double-teams? Most pressing: Could he survive on defense?

The slow, old-school Spurs are a soft landing spot in that regard; they don't have the tools to stretch Jokic beyond his breaking point. He has held up well after an uneven start. Denver's defense has given up only 102 points per 100 possessions with Jokic on the floor over five games, a tick below Milwaukee's league-best season-long figure, per NBA.com. He susses out what San Antonio wants to do early, and lumbers his way into position. He has 15 deflections, sixth most overall.

He can't snuff emergencies at the rim; it wasn't surprising to see Jokic teeter over the first three games as Denver's perimeter defense hemorrhaged straight-line drives. As Denver tightened up with more focused effort, some toggling of assignments and one lineup change -- Torrey Craig for Will Barton -- Jokic has looked better (minus some blown box-outs against the relentless Jakob Poeltl).

His offense has sustained. Jokic is averaging 20 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists, and is finding more ways to puncture San Antonio's defense. His two-man game with Murray started to sing in Game 5. Almost every post-up for Jokic produces an open shot, and Jokic has gradually figured out where and how to hunt for position on the block. A favorite tactic Jokic leaned on more the past two games: picking-and-popping, catching the ball, pump-faking, and then dribbling into deep post position.

He will face teams more equipped to exploit his defense, next round or next season. But Jokic belongs, and the Nuggets showed real mettle winning Game 4 in San Antonio after melting down a bit in Game 3.

Utah: Regular-season team?

Utah is now 2-8 over two postseasons against the Rockets. An interesting debate raging in league circles: Is that more about a singularly bad matchup -- and the Rockets being awesome -- or might it signal that Utah is built for the regular season?

It is probably some of both, though the "good regular season" backhanded compliment is a little reductive. It really just means "not as good as the very best teams," and, like, duh. Utah is clearly good -- perhaps the third-best team in the West. The Jazz shot about 25 percent -- preposterous! -- on wide-open 3s, per NBA.com; hit at an average rate, and the series looks different.

The Jazz are better at producing good shots than making them, but this was an anomalous performance even by their standards.

Every drop-back rim protector like Rudy Gobert is going to run into a problematic matchup at some point over four playoff series. If it weren't Houston and Harden, it would have been someone else. If your goal is a championship, you have to grapple with that. You need some other stylistic card to play. Clint Capela's switchability becomes more important in the playoffs.

And yet: After the shock-and-awe of Games 1 and 2 -- some of it self-inflicted with a radical strategic shift -- Utah's defense was sound. That includes Gobert. He has fared better against Golden State than you'd expect given his foot speed and the five-out, go-go stylistic card the Warriors can play.

This is true: Among Utah's perimeter players, only Donovan Mitchell can exploit switching defenses that become more prevalent in the playoffs -- and he's not great at it yet. He's not efficient from anywhere, and his assist-to-turnover ratio is not where it needs to be. He either misses too many easy kickout passes, or sees them and decides to force the issue. Some improvement will come with experience.

Really, all of this hand-wringing over Mitchell, Westbrook, Russell, and even George makes you appreciate how transcendent you must be as a No. 1 option -- how impossible, how rare -- to elevate a normal roster into contention. Being an All-Star isn't enough. Being All-NBA sometimes isn't enough.

Flip it around: Every postseason seems to illustrate the limited importance of big men who can't (or don't) post up switches -- Gobert and Myles Turner in this first round, for instance -- and stretch-whatevers who can't make plays with the ball. In some ways, that fretting is fair. Things get harder in the playoffs. Defenses switch more. They poke at any weakness. It matters that those guys aren't comfortable working with their backs to the basket against guards.

But they are also unlucky in that they don't play with Harden, or Stephen Curry, or Kevin Durant, or LeBron James. Capela can't (or doesn't) post up switches, and it doesn't matter, because Harden can exploit the other end of those switches in almost every circumstance. Mitchell can't. Voltron every healthy perimeter player on the Pacers into some super-player, and that guy probably couldn't, either.

Utah is a really good team that needs a little more top-end scoring and playmaking talent to crack the NBA's most rarefied territory. The Jazz knew that before this series. More talent allows for more schematic versatility. Beyond that obvious thing, I'm not sure Utah should worry that its best players or fundamental belief systems are somehow at odds with playoff success.

Masai Ujiri and Marc Gasol

The Raptors did not appear to need Marc Gasol. Serge Ibaka was thriving as a full-time center. Nabbing Gasol would mean demoting Ibaka to reserve duty, and no one was sure how he would take that. (Nick Nurse experimented with flipping the starting job between them, but it was clear from the start that Gasol would supplant Ibaka.)

Jonas Valanciunas had found his water level as a backup scoring force. Why risk chemistry for a marginal upgrade?

But Ujiri and his staff knew better. Gasol is much more than a marginal upgrade, even if he's barely shooting -- just 5.6 attempts per game against the Magic! He has changed the look and feel of Toronto's team. He shored up the Raptors' defensive rebounding. He yields nothing in the post; Nikola Vucevic couldn't dislodge him, and he gives Toronto a chance to guard Embiid without sending urgent double-teams.

He and Kyle Lowry share a basketball sensibility -- head-on-a-swivel selflessness that can bleed into fastidiousness -- and together, they injected a sometimes sloggy half-court offense with new verve. With about five minutes left in the third quarter of Toronto's Game 4 blowout, Gasol caught a pass on the move at the left elbow with two shooters -- Siakam and Leonard, looking dangerously like the "Thanks, I'll be taking the ball from you now" Kawhi from two years ago -- open on the right side.

In one motion, Gasol turned his head, glanced at Siakam, and fired the ball to Leonard. Ibaka can make that pass; he needs a second to scan the floor. That second is everything. Gasol gave that second back to the Raptors, and that alone has justified the trade.

Nikola Vucevic

Oof. Vooch waited six years to get back into the playoffs, and ran into a brutal matchup -- a post-up bulwark in Gasol surrounded by a harrowing group of fast, handsy, high-IQ help defenders. Vucevic just couldn't do anything. A bad way to end what had otherwise been a fantastic contract season.

Eric Gordon: Rock solid

Gordon is the unheralded ingredient in Houston's success over the past two seasons. He is more than a 3-point expert, though he shot 49 percent against Utah in a series that became a slog -- a battle in which Houston needed every bucket to breathe -- after Game 2.

He is playing with both physicality and hunger. Just when you expect Gordon to spot up for another 28-footer, he puts his head down, shoulder-checks some sucker, and burrows to the rim for more of a sure thing. Houston needs more of that during stretches when the 3s stop falling, and the game gets away from them.

Gordon absolutely stonewalled Mitchell on the other end. A great series for an important, underappreciated player.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Landry Shamet

I don't really care that Gilgeous-Alexander has struggled with his shot outside his 25-point outburst in Game 5, or that the Warriors stick Draymond Green on him precisely because Green can ignore him and rove. Sometimes you watch, and know: This dude is ready. The stage -- postseason games against the superteam that has defined much of SGA's basketball life -- does not unnerve him.

He has defended Curry and Klay Thompson, and switched across all sorts of assignments without suffering too many hiccups of hesitation and miscommunication -- blips Golden State feasts upon. He fights, and he pokes, and he has defended the Warriors with more steady ferocity than most veterans 10 years his senior manage.

Shamet doesn't have Gilgeous-Alexander's physical gifts, but he has fared better than anyone could have expected chasing around both Splash Brothers -- first Thompson, and then Curry for the latter part of the series. Both have stayed within their roles on offense, never overstepping but also never shying away when the situation requires they shoot or drive. They have played with a certain polish.

There are certain random mid-rung teams that win a place in the hearts of NBA nerds: the 2017 Heat team of misfit toys that finished 30-11, or the Suns that accidentally won 48 games behind Goran Dragic's mad rushes. Even if they can't stretch this to Game 7 -- and holy cow, imagine that! -- these Clippers are going to be one of those teams.

Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams: Still freestylin'

In Houston two seasons ago and now as the slithering, juking, gliding soul of these weirdo Clippers, Williams has shed his reputation as an empty calories gunner whose game -- all those sly shooting fouls -- drops off when refs swallow the whistle in the postseason. He has been too crafty for the Warriors.

Harrell has been too fast, too fierce, and probably too furious. They are still out here, partying.

The Warriors, keeping it interesting

In 2017 and 2018, the Warriors experienced one playoff series among eight longer than five games. Four were sweeps. The ragtag Clippers, a No. 8 seed starting two rookie guards and -- over the past two games -- an out-of-position "center" they acquired two months ago, have pushed the Durant-era Warriors to where only last year's 65-win Rockets have ever taken them.

Golden State still blitzes through quarters and halves in which they look invincible -- when they get stops and run, and turn into a wave of sound and energy that overtakes everything in its vicinity.

But they are now 12th in both points allowed per possession and defensive rebounding rate in the playoffs -- my God, those soft non-box-outs of Patrick Beverley in Game 5! -- after a mediocre regular season on that end. They have made mistakes -- of sloth, but also of communication and connectivity -- uncharacteristic of this team. The Warriors of the 2017 and 2018 postseasons do not drop two home games to these Clippers. They do not blow that 31-point lead in Game 2, not all the way. Maybe it gets to six, or eight, but they don't lose.

Durant fluctuating between pass-first KD and "I'm Kevin Durant!' has been ... strange. His free agency hovers over everything. They are a win away from the one series in which they could really use -- maybe need -- DeMarcus Cousins.

When I had Bob Myers, Golden State's president, on my podcast last month, I told him the league's great hope was that for whatever reason -- Durant's free agency, complacency, some kind of tension -- the Warriors would crumble when someone punched them in the face. He didn't seem worried.

They are one of four teams still playing in a first round in which juggernauts have stomped lesser lights. They have been punched. They have been my pick to win the title all season, over the field. I'd still pick them now. But something isn't quite right. Let's see how they respond.

The Los Angeles Angels demoted Cody Allen as their closer Wednesday following a four-game stretch in which he allowed five runs, including three home runs.

Allen, who joined the Angels on a one-year, $8.5 million deal, began the season with five scoreless innings before struggling in his next four appearances. He is 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA.

Angels manager Brad Ausmus said he will turn to Ty Buttrey, Hansel Robles and Luis Garcia as his primary options in the ninth inning.

"We're going to go with whoever we think gives us the best chance in a save situation," Ausmus said. "We're actually much better as a team when Cody is closing, but right now, we're going to put him in some lower-leverage situations to try to get back to where he needs to be and get command of his pitches."

Allen, 30, is coming off a subpar 2018 season that saw his ERA balloon to 4.70 following five straight seasons of sub-3.00 ERAs.

He had been a longtime workhorse for the Cleveland Indians, recording three straight 30-save seasons from 2015-17.

"Brad's job is to put guys in position to help the team win," Allen said. "I'm working through some things to get back to being the guy I was before that. And there are some guys down there who are throwing the ball very well, Ty Buttrey and Hansel Robles. They give us a better shot to win games or close games out."

CHICAGO -- Cubs closer Pedro Strop had to cut short talking with the police about his stolen car on Wednesday, just in time to secure a save in a wild 7-6 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Strop said his car was stolen earlier in the day. The incident disrupted his pregame routine, and he said he was still dealing with it during the game when he told police he had to go.

"I was still giving them my information in the fourth inning, and I told them, 'I have to go. I might have to pitch,'" Strop said.

Strop came on in the ninth inning, inducing a game-ending double play to earn his third save of the season.

Earlier, the Cubs erased a three-run deficit with a six-run sixth inning that featured a pair of two-out, three-run home runs by Javier Baez and Jason Heyward. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Cubs are the first team since the 2010 Blue Jays to record multiple two-out, three-run (or more) home runs in the same inning.

The big inning meant Strop went from probably sitting the night out to having to get ready to pitch in a hurry.

"I didn't know if I was going to get in the game," Strop said. "But I had to be ready."

Strop said he was told that his stolen car was involved in a police chase Wednesday, but he didn't have many other details. He said he wasn't distracted by the events of the day and evening, though he did walk the leadoff hitter in the final inning.

After getting Justin Turner to hit into a double play, Strop gave a loud scream and fist pump, which isn't too far from his normal reaction when he gets a save.

"It was a crazy day," Strop said. "I'm still dealing with it."

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- On the day the New York Yankees finally got back one reinforcement from their 13-man injured list, manager Aaron Boone disclosed some less promising news about two other banged-up stars.

According to Boone, outfielder Clint Frazier will go on the injured list Thursday because of a left ankle injury that popped up this week and has been more temperamental than previously believed.

An MRI revealed "enough in there" to shut Frazier down, Boone said.

"Some partial tear and stuff that it's going to cost him the 10 days," Boone said, adding that he didn't know at the time the exact nature of what was partially torn. "The good news is we feel like [the IL stint] will be short. [Doctors] feel like it's 10-14-day thing. Maybe a little less. So we don't feel like it's a long thing."

Several hours before announcing the update on Frazier, Boone revealed that outfielder and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton's recovery from an arm injury has hit a snag. Although the left biceps strain that landed Stanton on the IL on April 1 has completely healed, Boone said Wednesday that a separate, "residual" left shoulder problem has appeared.

Boone didn't specify the nature of the injury but said Stanton in recent days has been dealing with "stuff" in his left shoulder.

"He's just kind of had it," Boone said.

Once, early in the 2013 season while he was with the Miami Marlins, Stanton was scratched from a game because of a sore left shoulder. He was listed as day-to-day with the injury over the next six days before returning to the lineup. He hasn't been formally diagnosed with any other shoulder ailments during his big league career.

Upon arriving in Anaheim with the rest of the club earlier this week, Stanton had a cortisone shot, Boone said.

"He's in day two or three of not swinging," Boone said.

The Yankees will let the effects of the shot settle into Stanton a little longer before he's able to pick up a bat. The plan is to leave the superstar in Southern California this weekend while the rest of the team travels to Northern California for its scheduled three-game series with the San Francisco Giants.

A native of suburban Los Angeles, Stanton has rehabbed from other injuries in Southern California in the past, and the Yankees will be allowing him to do that for the next several days. When the Bronx Bombers conclude their three-city road trip with a visit to Phoenix to face the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday, Stanton will join them.

"We figured now while he's down coming back from [the biceps injury], let's make sure to treat this as best we can so it doesn't become a lingering issue if we can help it," Boone said.

While it's unclear exactly when Stanton hurt his shoulder, the Yankees are able to pinpoint the moment Frazier got hurt. It was in the middle of Monday's series opener, when he jammed his foot awkwardly into second base while retreating on a pickoff attempt.

Frazier, 23, was visibly hobbled by the injury but played through it the rest of that game. He also said Tuesday that he believed he was good enough to play on the bum ankle.

Frazier is batting .324 with six homers and 17 RBIs in the 18 games since he was called up for Stanton.

Besides getting what he believed was a somewhat expected day off Tuesday, Frazier said the only other thing that would keep him out of any future lineups was if the ankle was broken. The Yankees apparently had a somewhat favorable original prognosis, too.

"Initially when the doctor saw him [Monday], he didn't feel like he needed to get any tests," Boone said Wednesday afternoon, before results of the MRI came back. "And then we kind of proactively [Tuesday], when he had some black and blue in there, decided, 'Hey, let's just make sure we get this thing covered the best we can and make sure we have all the answers we need.'"

Both of these injury updates came on a day when the Yankees reinstated catcher Gary Sanchez following his stint on the 10-day IL for a left calf strain.

Sanchez went 0-for-4 in the Yankees' 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night.

"Felt we were pretty conservative in how we treated this," Boone said of Sanchez's injury. "Obviously really excited to get him back. It was good to write his name in the lineup, no question. Looking forward to him getting back in the fray and helping us continue to win games."

Sanchez started at catcher and batted fourth Wednesday. Before going on the 10-day IL on April 12, Sanchez batted .268 with six homers.

In addition to Sanchez's return, the Yankees had some other more promising injury news Wednesday. Boone said third baseman Miguel Andujar (small labrum tear) is "doing really well" in his rehab at the team's facility in Tampa, Florida, and trending in the direction of not needing surgery.

He still needs a formal reevaluation to determine that, but it appears the injury can be best managed healing on its own. That will allow Andujar to stay on the field and avoid a season-ending issue.

"There's a chance this weekend he could get some at-bats in an extended spring and then maybe make a decision about a rehab assignment from there," the manager said.

Along with Andujar, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (left calf strain) and center fielder Aaron Hicks (lower back tightness) could be close to playing in a rehab game, as well, Boone said. Hicks has been making throws from the outfield and running, and will soon face live pitching.

All three players have been rehabbing in Tampa, along with shortstop Didi Gregorius, who "continues to progress how we hoped" from his offseason Tommy John surgery. Gregorius recently made throws from shortstop, Boone said.

Even with their packed IL, the Yankees have been producing on the field. They are on a six-game winning streak, and have taken eight of their past nine.

"We never put our heads down at all, even with all the injuries," Sanchez said through an interpreter.

Added Boone: "We got a lot of good players in there that are capable of getting this thing done, so we'll keep doing that."

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., widely considered one of the top prospects in baseball, will be called up by the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday and is expected to make his major league debut, manager Charlie Montoyo announced.

Guerrero, a 20-year-old third baseman and the son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, was No. 2 on ESPN insider Keith Law's 2019 top prospects list. The Jays have yet to announce a corresponding roster move.

"It's going to be a great moment. I get goosebumps just thinking about it," Montoyo told ESPN's Marly Rivera. "We have been talking about this for a long time, and it's just so exciting that the moment is finally here.

"I am so happy. This was such an important moment, not only for the city of Toronto and for the Toronto Blue Jays but for our entire baseball community, that the No. 1 prospect in baseball will debut Friday. He is so talented, that the sky is the limit for that young kid. In my case, personally, I am just excited to see him play every day and see what he can do."

Guerrero's father, who played the first eight seasons of his 16-year career with the Montreal Expos, took to Twitter to celebrate the news.

My son! The country that saw you as a child will now see you turn into a big one.

Working hard everything can be done. I'm proud of you!

Love you! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/WJyLBVKWoR

— Vladimir Guerrero (@VladGuerrero27) April 25, 2019

Toronto will host Oakland on Friday for the start of a three-game series, with right-hander Mike Fiers scheduled to start for the A's and Marcus Stroman taking the hill for the Blue Jays.

Montoyo told Rivera that he hasn't decided where he'll slot Guerrero in the lineup.

Guerrero hit .381 with 20 homers and 78 RBIs in 95 games while rocketing through four levels of minor league ball last season.

There was a possibility that he could make the Blue Jays' big league roster out of spring training, but a strained oblique early in spring camp ruined any chance of that.

Guerrero has continued to perform this season with Triple-A Buffalo, hitting .367 with three homers and eight RBIs in eight games, including a home run in Wednesday's game.

NEW YORK -- Rhys Hoskins homered off reliever Jacob Rhame and taunted him with a slow jog around the bases a night after Rhame buzzed him with two fastballs, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 6-0 on Wednesday.

Hoskins was furious after Rhame sailed two pitches over his head with two outs in the ninth inning of New York's 9-0 win Tuesday. The slugger faced Rhame again in the ninth Wednesday, flipping his bat emphatically after hooking a two-run shot over the wall in left.

It took Hoskins 34.23 seconds to touch 'em all, the slowest trot in the majors this season. His previous slowest time around the bases this season was 23.82 seconds.

"He got me," Rhame said after the game when asked about the home run. "[If I] make a better pitch, he doesn't get to run the bases."

Added Mets manager Mickey Callaway: "I really don't have any thoughts on it. That's their team. They can do what they wanna do. I'm not really worried about what they do."

Hoskins has five career home runs at Citi Field, his most at any visiting ballpark and tied for the most by any visiting player since his debut in 2017.

"If a ball goes over your head the night before, the best way to get back at the pitcher is by putting the ball in the seats," Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. "So I thought it was worthy of him having that moment and really taking it all in, soaking it all in. He deserved that."

Hoskins said the leisurely jog wasn't about retaliation, but he didn't mind giving a jolt to the struggling Phillies.

"A couple of guys kind of said the phrase, 'Don't poke the sleeping bear,'" he said. "Seemed to be the last couple innings was a pretty good indication that may have happened."

Bryce Harper doubled in a run but struck out three times, and Vince Velasquez pitched five innings for Philadelphia. The Phillies avoided a three-game sweep and won for the second time in seven games.

Velasquez (1-0) struck out six and allowed three hits, dropping his ERA to 1.99. Pat Neshek, Seranthony Dominguez, Adam Morgan and Juan Nicasio pitched an inning each to close up shop.

Jason Vargas (1-1) allowed Harper's RBI double in the first but was otherwise strong, dropping his ERA to 7.20. He allowed a run and three hits in 4 2/3 innings, walking off to applause after striking out Harper for the second time. Mets fans had been calling for the struggling left-hander to be bounced from the rotation.

Hoskins sparked a three-run eighth with his first career triple, and then made his statement against Rhame in the ninth.

"Baseball's a funny game like that," said Hoskins, when asked how much he enjoyed the home run in light of the previous night's events. "It seems to put you in situations that have happened before -- usually on the next night, and of course that's what happened. Good exclamation point for us at the end there, I think. Kinda needed that as a club, a win like that, going back home right before the long homestand."

Kapler said before the game he was "still fairly upset" over Rhame's high-and-tight pitches to Hoskins, which Philadelphia took as retaliation for two Mets who got plunked Monday night.

Kapler didn't sound eager to throw at the Mets, though.

"We do not retaliate, and we do not throw at anybody intentionally," he said before the game.

Velasquez did hit Todd Frazier in the upper arm with a fastball leading off the fourth, but Frazier was unfazed and took his base calmly. Plate umpire Brian Gorman issued warnings to both dugouts.

Kapler spoke with Gorman during the next inning break.

Harper's double in the first ended the Phillies' 14-inning scoreless streak. Vargas got out of the inning when right fielder Michael Conforto made a sliding catch and shortstop Amed Rosario picked a tough grounder.

Each of Harper's strikeouts came with runners on, and he went 1-for-9 with seven punchouts in the series. He let out a frustrated yell after nearly colliding with second baseman Cesar Hernandez while catching a popup in the sixth.

Philadelphia's only other run in the series was Hoskins' homer in a 5-1 loss Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brit becomes embroiled in row with Haile Gebrselassie on eve of Sunday’s big race following hotel theft claims

Mo Farah’s preparations for the Virgin Money London Marathon took a stormy turn four days before the big race when he got involved in a heated spat with Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie.

At the end of his London Marathon press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Farah said that while staying at a hotel owned by Gebrselassie in Addis Ababa, where the Briton was on a training camp, he had money, a watch and two phones taken from his room.

Farah said that Gebrselassie did not help him, and added: “I was just disappointed with Haile.

“Just to be honest, it’s Haile who owns the hotel and when you stay for three months in that hotel, it was very disappointing to know that someone who has that hotel and that kind of support couldn’t do nothing.”

Gebrselassie later issued a response including some claims of his own relating to Farah’s time at the hotel.

“It’s with deep sorrow that I learn Mo Farah dispatched a deceit information against me and my property in Addis Ababa, towards our unreserved support and commitment in regarding to his unproven claim of robbery at YAYA Village on 23rd March 2019, in today’s press conference held at London ahead of the 2019 London Marathon,” began the statement.

Gebrselassie claimed that there had been “multiple reports of disgraceful conduct” by Farah and his entourage made by hotel staff.

@HaileGebr Statement on Mo Farah's robbery report pic.twitter.com/fjkO6FvkRD

— ??Haileegziabher?? (@haileadhanom) April 24, 2019

Following Gebrselassie’s statement, a spokesperson for Farah said: “Mo is disappointed with this statement and the continued reluctance by the hotel and its owner to take responsibility for this robbery.

“Mo disputes all of these claims which are an effort to distract from the situation, where members of his hotel staff used a room key and stole money and items from Mo Farah’s room (there was no safe as it was faulty, and Mo requested a new one).

“Police report confirm the incident and the hotel admitted responsibility and were in contact with Mo’s legal advisor. The hotel even offered to pay Mo the amount stolen, only to withdraw the offer when he prematurely left the hotel and moved to other accommodation, due to security concerns.

“Despite many attempts to discuss this issue privately with Mr Gebrselassie, he did not respond but now that he has, we would welcome him or his legal team getting in touch so that this matter can be resolved.”

The world’s greatest marathoner faces a fired-up Farah in the UK capital and neither will be backing down without a fight

Given his incredible track record on the roads, not many would bet against Eliud Kipchoge winning a fourth title at the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday.

The stats speak for themselves. Beaten only once over the marathon distance, the Kenyan’s 10 wins include 2016 Olympic victory and world record-breaking success in Berlin, plus there’s the 2:00:25 he ran for 26.2 miles at the non-record-eligible Breaking2 time trial in Monza in 2017.

Kipchoge, however, does believe he is beatable.

“Anybody can be beaten,” said the world record-holder, preparing to return to marathon action for the first time since his remarkable time of 2:01:39 in the German capital last September.

“Mo can beat me, others can beat me, but the best thing is that if you can accept the results, that’s the only way to enjoy the sport.”

While the field features six other sub-2:05 runners, it’s Kipchoge vs Mo Farah which is being billed as the big head-to-head in the UK capital, as the Briton aims to build on his maiden major marathon win in Chicago where he broke the European record with 2:05:11.

October’s Chicago race was 10-time global track gold medallist Farah’s third marathon and Kipchoge admitted to being surprised and motivated by his progress.

“I’m really surprised that [Mo] is learning so fast,” he said. “As far as the sport is concerned, he is a fast learner. It doesn’t worry me, but it makes me get interested in him because that’s what you want in sport; it’s what helps you perform.

“I am coming to London to win the race and defend my title. If I can win again in London, I will be a happy man because it will be my first race after running the world record.”

Farah made a strong statement by breaking the British record to finish third in the UK capital behind Kipchoge and Ethiopia’s Shura Kitata last year, with his decision to stick with the leaders despite the brutal early pace paying off.

Kitata also returns to race, while they will be joined by athletes including Kenya’s Wilson Kipsang, who beat Kipchoge over 26.2 miles in 2013 when he broke the world record in Berlin.

Others with PBs faster than Farah’s 2:05:11 are Ethiopia’s Chicago runner-up Mosinet Geremew (2:04:00), Valencia Marathon champion Leul Gebrselassie (2:04:02), world silver medallist Tamirat Tola (2:04:06) and Amsterdam runner-up Mule Wasihun (2:04:37).

At the pre-event press conference, 61:20-61:25 was mentioned as a potential target halfway split time for the leading men’s group, with 61:00 clocked at that stage last year.

“My aim is to win the London Marathon one day, that is my task, but you can’t take anything for granted because Eliud is a great athlete and he’s the world record-holder – 2:01. On Sunday, if I do beat him, and it comes down to that, it would be an amazing achievement,” said Farah.

On whether he’d again stick with the lead group at that pace, he added: “I’ll have a chat with my coach and see what we can do. If I’m feeling good, then why not?

“Chicago was 2:05, I know I can run 2:05, I know I can run 2:04-something. I’ve done some great training over the last few months.

“I’m learning as I go along. The marathon is completely different to the track. Since racing against Eliud in London last year and having to learn the hard way – I believe I’ve learned a lot. Each race you get better and get a bit more experience.”

Away from road race action, Farah’s head-to-head with Kipchoge wasn’t the only clash hitting the headlines on Wednesday as a dispute over an alleged theft led to a public spat between Farah and Ethiopian running great Haile Gebrselassie. Read more here.

The ATP Finals will move from London to Turin after the Italian city was named as host of the event from 2021 to 2025.

Manchester, Singapore and Tokyo were also on a five-city shortlist to stage the season-ending tournament.

It has been held at London's O2 Arena since 2009 but will move to the Pala Alpitour stadium.

"We believe that Turin has all the ingredients to take the event to new heights," said the ATP's executive chairman Chris Kermode.

The ATP Finals feature the world's best eight singles players and doubles teams of the season and will boast a record prize fund of $14.5m (£11.2m) in 2021.

Turin will be the 15th city to host the event, and first in Italy, since it was first staged in 1970.

A cumulative total of more than 2.5 million spectators have watched the ATP Finals at the O2 Arena, which will host the event in 2019 and 2020.

The Pala Alpitour stadium, which was opened in 2005, has a capacity of around 15,000 and is Italy's largest indoor sporting arena.

World number one Novak Djokovic, who lost to Alexander Zverev in last year's final, said: "The ATP Finals is the biggest and most prestigious event that we have at the ATP.

"It's a tournament that has historically moved around and so I'm very excited to see it move to Turin from 2021."

Italy also hosts the Next Gen ATP Finals, with Milan staging the first five editions of the tournament for 21-and-under players from 2017 to 2021.

"We are disappointed that the ATP Finals will move from London in 2021. We have been fortunate to have had such a fabulous tournament staged in this country for so long and it has been a great asset to tennis in Britain," a statement from the LTA read.

"The LTA believes events play an important role in increasing visibility of our sport and inspiring people to pick up a racquet."

Analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller

With the exception of New York's Madison Square Garden, no other city has hosted the ATP Finals for as long as London.

The event does need to move around, and the world number one and ATP Player Council president Novak Djokovic has been making that argument for some time.

The O2 Arena's 12-year run has been a phenomenal success, consistently attracting more than 250,000 people with style and panache. The departure of the Finals robs British tennis of a prime spot - at a traditionally fallow time - to showcase the sport.

Turin has a very hard to act follow. But there is a lot of money behind this bid.

Prize money will increase by more than 50%, and put men on a par with women.

The current disparity had not gone unnoticed by ATP players. The prize fund in London this year will be $9m; in Shenzhen, at the start of a 10-year run in China for the WTA Finals, it will be $14m.