straight game

Kings’ struggles at home continue in loss to Florida Panthers

Brad Marchand scored two goals and Sam Reinhart got the go-ahead goal on his 30th birthday in the Florida Panthers’ 5-2 victory over the Kings on Thursday night.

Anton Lundell got a shorthanded goal in the third period and Sam Bennett also scored for the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Panthers, who rebounded from a 7-3 loss against the Ducks to get their first victory on their four-game West Coast road trip.

Marchand has scored a goal in three straight games since returning to the Panthers from a one-game absence to travel to Nova Scotia to support a close friend who lost his daughter to cancer last month. The veteran tied the game late in the first period after taking the puck from Anton Forsberg behind the Kings’ net, and he added his ninth goal of the season in the third.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves.

Anze Kopitar got the first goal of his 20th NHL season and Corey Perry also scored for the Kings, who have lost three of four.

Forsberg stopped 19 shots for the Kings, who have started 1-4-2 at their downtown arena after being the NHL’s best home team last season.

Bennett put the Panthers ahead just 2:06 in, controlling and converting the rebound of Jeff Petry’s long shot.

Kopitar scored on the power play midway through the first, and Perry put the Kings ahead on a breakaway set up by a spectacular long pass from Mikey Anderson.

Reinhardt put the Panthers back ahead in the second, getting to the slot and firing a backhand for his seventh goal.

Lundell scored on a short-handed breakaway in the third after a turnover by Adrian Kempe.

Several members of the back-to-back World Series champion Dodgers were the Kings’ guests at the game, getting multiple loud ovations.

Up next for Kings: at Pittsburgh on Sunday to open a six-game trip.

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Angels move back to .500, beating Marlins for 8th straight win

Taylor Ward hit his 15th home run and the host Angels beat the Miami Marlins 7-4 on Friday night for their eighth straight win.

Ward’s solo homer in the second inning gave him seven, including two grand slams, in his past 11 games. Jorge Soler also hit his seventh homer giving the Angels (25-25) at least two homers in a club-record seven straight games. They have homered in 13 consecutive games, the longest active MLB streak.

Ward added a sacrifice fly and Logan O’Hoppe an RBI double for a 3-0 lead in the fourth.

Catcher’s interference, a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded made it 6-0 in the sixth.

Yusei Kikuchi (1-4) went 5 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up seven hits and four walks while striking out five. He picked up his first win in 11 starts this season. Kenley Jansen walked two in the ninth but got his 11th save in 11 opportunities.

Ward’s homer gave him an extra-base hit in nine straight games, tying Darin Erstad (1998) for the club record.

Sandy Alcantara (2-7) went 5 1/3 innings, giving up six runs, five earned, with two walks and six strikeouts for Miami (19-30).

Eric Wagaman had three hits including his fourth homer of the season in the seventh and a two-run single in the eighth.

Kyle Stowers had an RBI double among his three hits. He has a 20-game on-base streak and has hit safely in 10 straight.

Key moment: Hunter Strickland relieved Kikuchi with two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth. Liam Hicks hit a soft grounder that shortstop Zach Neto charged and threw to first to barely get Hicks.

Up next: Miami’s Cal Quantrill (3-4, 6.47 ERA) pitches against the Angels’ José Soriano (3-4, 3.57) on Saturday.

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Taylor Ward grand slam powers Angels to sweep over Athletics

Taylor Ward hit a go-ahead grand slam, Logan O’Hoppe also homered in a five-run seventh inning and the Angels rallied past the skidding Athletics 10-5 on Thursday for their seventh consecutive victory.

Ward and O’Hoppe both connected off reliever Grant Holman (4-1), sending the A’s to their ninth loss in a row.

It was the second go-ahead slam in 10 days for Ward, who finished with three hits and five RBIs. He has an extra-base hit in eight straight games — one shy of the club record set by Darin Erstad in 1998.

Ward has 17 RBIs in his last 10 games. He and O’Hoppe each have 14 homers this season. Zach Neto also had three of the Angels’ 13 hits.

The Angels (24-25) completed a 7-0 trip, winning four games against the Athletics to sweep them on the road for the first time in 28 years. The Angels have hit multiple home runs in six consecutive games for the third time in franchise history (also 1961 and 2019). It’s only their third seven-game win streak in the last 10 seasons.

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