The Los Angeles Lakers on Friday announced the hiring of Darvin Ham as their new head coach, with general manager Rob Pelinka praising the Milwaukee Bucks assistant's "no-nonsense and hard-working approach."

The Lakers said Ham had signed a multiyear deal to be their 28th head coach in franchise history but did not disclose further contract details. Sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski last week that Ham had agreed to a four-year contract.

Ham, 48, has served as an NBA assistant coach for the past 11 seasons, including two years with the Lakers (2011-13). He also spent nine seasons working under Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta and Milwaukee, including winning the 2021 NBA championship together.

That Lakers experience played a role in Ham's hiring, Wojnarowski reported last week. The team was also sold on Ham's stature and toughness, his history of coaching star players and his championship pedigree as an assistant and player, sources said, aspects Pelinka hit on in the team's announcement.

"Our players and fans will immediately identify with Darvin's no-nonsense and hard-working approach, which we feel will bring toughness and a competitive edge to all we do," Pelinka said in a statement. "When you add that to Darvin's sophisticated grasp of in-game strategy and deep knowledge of the game of basketball, we have the ideal coach for this next chapter in Lakers history. We could not be more honored and proud to name Darvin Ham as our new head coach."

An introductory news conference has been scheduled for Monday.

Ham will be tasked with turning around a Lakers team that went 33-49 this season and missed the playoffs, leading to Frank Vogel's firing. Sources told Wojnarowski that Ham will need to find a way to incorporate Russell Westbrook into the franchise's framework with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That was a significant subject of every Lakers coaching interview, sources said.

The Lakers also interviewed Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, Bucks assistant Charles Lee, Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, former Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts and former Warriors coach and current ESPN broadcaster Mark Jackson, sources told ESPN.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Not long after the Golden State Warriors' fourth-quarter meltdown to drop a rare Game 1 in the coach Steve Kerr era, a relaxed Draymond Green began setting the tone for the team entering Game 2.

"It's fine," Green said after the Boston Celtics stunned the Warriors 120-108. "You get a chance to do something else, do it in a different way, embrace the challenge. We've always embraced challenges. It's no different. We'll embrace this one. So no, it's not a hit to the confidence at all not one bit.

"... It's just nothing to panic about."

For only the third time in the Kerr era, the Warriors lost a series opener. They were 21-2 in Game 1s entering Thursday night. And the Warriors were on track to win another Game 1 when they went up 87-72 with 2:10 remaining in the third quarter.

But then they were blindsided by a 48-18 run by the Celtics, who drilled nine 3-pointers and scored 40 points in the fourth quarter.

"Obviously everybody is down," Kerr said. "You want to go out and win the first one. We had every opportunity, 12-point lead going into the fourth. Guys are bummed, as you would expect. But it's a seven-game series for a reason. I think you give Boston credit. They came in and earned the win. Played a great fourth quarter. We'll come in, watch the film and see where we can get better, and you know, it's one game."

This is the first time this postseason these Warriors have fallen behind 1-0 in a series. In fact, it was their first home loss this postseason, dropping them to 9-1 at Chase Center during this run.

The Warriors have been in this position twice before. They lost Game 1 during the 2016 Western Conference finals to the Oklahoma City Thunder. And they lost Game 1 of the 2019 NBA Finals to the Toronto Raptors. In both cases, the Warriors won Game 2. They came back from down 3-1 to beat the Thunder but lost in six games to the Raptors in their previous Finals appearance.

And they also know they've won at least one road playoff game in an NBA-record 26 straight playoff series. Game 2 is at Chase Center on Sunday.

"I remember just putting [those Game 1 losses] past us," said Klay Thompson, who shot 6-for-14 and scored 15 points. "There's no reason to hold on to a loss when you have another game so soon. I remember watching film and realizing, there's many things we can do better, and applying those strategies.

"So it's pretty simple. And I just know we'll be better Game 2. I'll be better."

The last time the Warriors rebounded from a shocking loss was when they eliminated the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 6 after losing Game 5 by 39 points.

But even then, they led 3-2 in the series. Now, they find themselves down 1-0 in a must-win situation at home on Sunday to avoid a 2-0 hole heading to Boston.

"It's not ideal," said Stephen Curry, who scored 21 points in the first quarter before finishing with 34 points. "But I believe in who we are and how we deal with adversity, how we responded all year, how we've responded in the playoffs after a loss. So learn a lot from that fourth quarter."

The Warriors have two days to make their adjustments.

"We know they are a good team," Curry said. "So are we. We have to respond on Sunday."

SAN FRANCISCO -- After yet another ugly third quarter in a playoffs full of them for the Boston Celtics, it looked to all the world like the Golden State Warriors were on their way to claiming Game 1 of the NBA Finals at Chase Center on Thursday night.

But then the fourth quarter started. And, after an avalanche of Celtics 3-pointers, this game -- and series -- was completely turned on its head.

Boston hit its first seven 3-pointers to open the fourth and outscored Golden State 40-16 to stun the Warriors 120-108. In doing so, Boston became the first team in NBA Finals history to win by double-digits after entering the fourth quarter trailing by double-digits, per ESPN Stats & Information research.

"Being resilient has been the word for this year," Payton Pritchard said. "I think it showed tonight."

It certainly did in the second half. Boston has struggled the entire playoffs in the third quarter, and did again in Game 1, as it went up against a Warriors team that has historically dominated coming out of the halftime break.

The Celtics were outscored 38-24 in the third. They committed five turnovers. They let Golden State get going from 3-point range. And Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined to shoot 2-for-10 from the field.

At that point, Chase Center -- hosting its first ever NBA Finals game -- was rocking. The celebration was seemingly on. But, inside Boston's huddle, the feeling was different.

"The message at the start of the fourth was, 'We've been here before,'" Tatum said. "We know what it takes to overcome a deficit like that.

"Obviously that's a great team. It's not going to be easy. But just knowing we've been in that situation before and we've gotten our self out of it. We had a lot of time left, right? It wasn't time to hang your head or be done, it was time to figure it out."

The Celtics proceeded to do just that. It helps, of course, when a team comes out and buries its first seven 3-pointers, as Boston did. But it went beyond that. The Celtics finished the fourth quarter 9-for-12 from 3-point range.

Golden State, on the other hand, shot only 7-for-17 from the field. The Celtics stopped turning the ball over, putting up an absurd 12-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the fourth. Boston's plus-24 scoring margin in the fourth quarter was the best in an NBA Finals game.

And the Celtics got contributions from up and down the roster, including Celtics coach Ime Udoka leaving the reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart on the bench for most of the fourth quarter, opting instead to ride Pritchard for the biggest moments of Boston's season thus far.

"We pride ourselves on everybody being able to contribute on both ends," Udoka said. "That's rewarding, especially on a night when your best guy has an off night, others step up."

Derrick White continued his brilliant play since the birth of his child early in the Eastern Conference finals, scoring 21 points off the bench and hitting five 3-pointers.

Al Horford, playing in his first NBA Finals game after previously being the record holder for playoff games played without a Finals appearance, had 26 points, six rebounds and three assists, including hitting all four shots he took in the fourth quarter -- and set his career high with six 3-pointers.

Even with Tatum struggling, going 3-for-17 from the field, he still finished with 13 assists to just two turnovers, and was plus-27 in the fourth quarter without scoring a single point. He finished with four assists and no turnovers while missing all three shots he took in the quarter.

"Ecstatic," Tatum said with a smile, when asked how he felt about the game. "Forty points in the fourth quarter ... guys made big shots, timely shots as well. And we won.

"I had a bad shooting night. I just tried to impact the game in other ways. We're in the championship. We're in the Finals. All I was worried about was trying to get a win, and we did. That's all that matters at this point.

"So I don't expect to shoot that bad again. But if it means we keep winning, I'll take it."

That was the message across the board from the Celtics: That they managed to steal Game 1 while still not playing their best. Yes, they hit shots, going 21-for-41 from 3-point range. But they had that sloppy third quarter and also got off to a slow start to begin the game, when a roster that didn't feature a single player with NBA Finals experience looked like it at times in the first quarter.

"Just continue to play. That was our message throughout the whole game," Horford said. "They're such a good team. And for us, it was just, you know, continue to play no matter what.

"And our guys, that's what we did. It wasn't our best game, but we continued to fight and find different ways to get this win."

In many ways, this game was a microcosm of Boston's roller-coaster season. The Celtics were under .500 in late January, before tearing through the NBA over the final 35 games of the regular season, posting the best offensive and defensive ratings in the league over that stretch.

Boston then endured two difficult seven-game series against the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat to get here, including winning elimination games on the road against both teams. They now have become the first team to beat the Warriors at Chase Center in a playoff game.

Now, after entering the NBA Finals having played 12 games in 23 days across the Eastern Conference semifinals and finals, Boston will now get another three days rest and prepare to play here again in Game 2 Sunday night, when the Celtics will have an opportunity to put a stranglehold on this series with another victory.

"It just says what we've been doing all year," Smart said. "We've been counted out all year. Rightfully so. We've had moments. But we continue to fight. That's who we are.

"I think over the last couple months, that's our identity. I think it stuck with us for a reason."

And, as a result, the Celtics are three wins away from an NBA title.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Like two heavyweights feeling each other out in the opening round of a championship bout, the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics opened the 2022 NBA Finals, with the Celtics striking the first blow with a 120-108 comeback victory.

The Celtics won Game 1 with a scintillating 17-0 run in the fourth quarter, the second-largest spurt in the closing frame of a Finals game over the past 50 seasons.

Like many NBA Finals Game 1s, Thursday night's contest began as less of a display of surprise tactics than two elite teams throwing their best stuff at their opponent and observing what it can and can't handle. The Warriors showed off their elegant offense, full of constant motion and clever off-ball action, to test the Celtics' defensive precision. The Celtics worked their stretchy drive-and-kick game, patiently working for favorable matchups or open looks against the Warriors' rotations. Both teams deployed their defensive switch-heavy schemes, with the Warriors dabbling in occasional zone coverage.

With a rousing fourth-quarter comeback, the Celtics overcame a 15-point second-half deficit. In a flash, Boston unleashed a devastating barrage from beyond the arc. In less than seven minutes, the Celtics nailed six 3-pointers, many of them heavily contested. By midway through the fourth, Boston had completely erased a deficit that stood at 12 points to start the quarter. All the while, the Warriors turned ice cold from the field. In the final tally, the Celtics outscored the Warriors 40-16 in the final frame, shooting 9-for-12 on field goals from deep, the most recorded by any team in the fourth quarter in Finals history, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

Though the Warriors centered their defensive strategy on first-team All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum, it was teammates Jaylen Brown, Al Horford and Derrick White who provided the firepower during the Celtics' blistering late run. Each topped 20 points on the night -- Marcus Smart added 18 of his own, including four 3-pointers -- more than compensating for Tatum's 3-for-17 struggle. To illustrate the improbable nature of the performance, Horford's six 3-pointers represented the most in any game of his career, regular season or playoffs. White, a catalyzing midseason acquisition, has enabled the Celtics to play small and with great spacing. And Brown, so opportunistic in the flow of the offense, never relented with his aggressive play.

The Celtics don't boast the kind of elegant offense that defines the Warriors, but they have established themselves as a deadly offense from long distance. Coming into the Finals, Boston had attempted 45.5% of its field goals from 3-point range -- only the Dallas Mavericks attempted a higher percentage this postseason.

Those stout defenses -- the NBA's two strongest -- couldn't do much to contain the offensive explosion set off at Chase Center in the first half. As strong as the Celtics have been defensively during the regular season and postseason, they neglected the single most important imperative: Find Stephen Curry early and stay attached.

In the first quarter alone, Curry, in search of his first Finals MVP, drained an NBA-record six 3-pointers, four of them uncontested. His 21 points in the opening frame were his most in any quarter in a Finals game, the most by any player in a Finals first quarter, and the fourth most overall in any Finals quarter -- only Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas have scored more. Ultimately, the Warriors squandered Curry's 34-point output.

The Celtics, who reached their first Finals since 2010 on the strength of their defense, demonstrated that they have an offensive bag that can punish the Warriors' defensive rotation on the right night. If Boston can pair a fraction of its offensive exhibition in Game 1 with its signature defense on three additional occasions, the Celtics will have an opportunity to consummate a steady nine-year rebuild following their legendary Big Three era.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A year ago, Boston Celtics owners Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca executed an audacious move: They made their successful coach a rookie team president and replaced him with a rookie coach.

Had anyone on the dais the day the move to elevate Brad Stevens was formalized -- June 2, 2021 -- been told that exactly 365 days later the Celtics would win Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals 120-108 over the Golden State Warriors, they would've found it hard to believe. That included retiring team president Danny Ainge, who built the bones of a team now three wins away from a championship.

Stevens, the Celtics' former coach turned executive, and his maneuvers since accepting the shocking promotion have been both sublime and sensational.

There are quite a few reasons the Celtics have assembled a five-month rally that has them stalking their first title in 14 years, but many of Stevens' moves over the past year have provided instant and overwhelming returns.

• He hired Ime Udoka as his replacement, betting on the longtime assistant's history of learning under San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich followed by further seasoning as an assistant coach in Philadelphia and Brooklyn. Udoka's blend of tough love combined with his ability to build up the team's resilience has been exactly what this group of younger players needed. More to the point, Udoka reached the team in a way that Stevens hadn't, and it has unlocked the Celtics' potential.

Udoka taking over for Stevens wasn't exactly Bill Russell stepping in to replace Red Auerbach, with neither having equity in their jobs. Stevens' hiring his successor was a gamble.

"It was a different situation that a lot of people may not think is appealing, but I think it's only a benefit to have a guy that's coached for seven, eight years in the building with the same guys down the hall," Udoka said about how things have fallen into place.

"We talk about every situation [Stevens has] been through and kind of lend his support as far as that. But also step back and let me do my thing. In a unique situation, it's helped out this year for sure."

• Stevens traded guard Kemba Walker for center Al Horford. This was the first move that established how things were going to be different in Boston. The Celtics admitted that signing Walker to a four-year max contract in 2019 was a mistake and letting Horford walk to the Philadelphia 76ers in that offseason hurt the team.

Stevens sent out a first-round pick, No. 16 last year, to do the deal. This wouldn't have been a typical Ainge move, as he preferred to hoard picks to use either on developmental players or as bait to chase a star. It wasn't that Ainge's process was flawed; the entire core of the team is players he drafted who have paid off. But at this point, Horford was a 35-year-old role player yet Stevens made getting him a priority -- all a definite departure from the team's typical priorities.

The move has proved to be a major plus, both during the season and in the playoffs. Horford has played the hero role numerous times in this postseason, including his 26-point performance on Thursday.

• Stevens signed center Robert Williams III to a four-year, $48 million extension (some bonuses can make it worth up to $54 million). The transaction was seen as a bit of a stretch at the time, as Williams had been plagued by injuries and shown a limited game over the first three years of his career.

Within weeks, Williams earned the team's faith, becoming one of the league's defensive difference-makers, earning a spot on the All-Defensive Team. He has fought through injury this postseason and also played a big role in the Game 1 victory, blocking four shots and being a lob threat around the rim.

• At his first trade deadline in February, Stevens executed an aggressive move by trading a first-round draft pick and a future pick swap with the Spurs for Derrick White. As with Horford, Stevens went against the grain that Ainge had established by investing future draft assets in a role player.

But White, who was signed to a reasonable long-term deal worth $17 million per year and was known for being versatile on offense and a quality defender, has proved to be an ideal fit. Combined with the choice to trade away Dennis Schroder -- an offseason signing that didn't work out for Stevens but a misstep he quickly dealt with -- the move freed up Marcus Smart to be the Celtics' primary point guard while providing a perfect combo guard off the bench.

"This is about adding guys that you think and can see playing in a seven-game knockdown, drag-out playoff series," Stevens said after acquiring White. "And you know they can be on the floor and play a role in helping you win."

White has been a vital contributor over the past two rounds and had a brilliant Finals debut, scoring 21 points and making five 3-pointers.

Add it all together and it's a masterpiece in the first year of work for the Celtics under their rookie president and rookie coach. Stevens finished a distant sixth in the Executive of the Year voting, well back of winner Zach Kleiman of the Memphis Grizzlies. But that's an imperfect award in which the true work is often not seen in a single-season cycle; it often can turn into an 18-month award, which was the case for Kleiman.

The honor is irrelevant at this point; the ultimate hardware is close. And Stevens' touch has made it possible.

And fast.

The Baltimore Orioles have promoted Eve Rosenbaum to assistant general manager of baseball operations, the team announced Friday.

Rosenbaum most recently served as the team's director of baseball development, a role she has held since 2019. She'll advise GM Mike Elias and assistant GM Sig Mejdal.

Rosenbaum spent five seasons with the Houston Astros after playing softball for and graduating from Harvard.

Rosenbaum will help oversee roster construction, transactions, financial planning and major league operations and administration.

Assistant general manager is the second-highest position in the baseball operations department.

Miami Marlins GM Kim Ng is the only woman who is a top executive in baseball.

TORONTO -- The struggling Minnesota Twins have arrived in Toronto without regular right fielder Max Kepler and relief pitchers Emilio Pagán, Caleb Thielbar and Trevor Megill; all of them are on the restricted list to comply with the Canadian government's COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The four players will miss the three-game series against the Blue Jays. The Twins were waiting to announce replacements until closer to game time on Friday night. Canada requires anyone traveling to the country to have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, the second one at least 14 days before entry.

Pagán discussed his decision not to get a shot with reporters before the Twins departed for Toronto.

"I know that there are going to be people that are very angry for this opinion and the stance, but that's fine," Pagán said. "I feel like I had a choice to make, and they have also a choice if they're going to be mad at me or not."

Pagán was the losing pitcher on Thursday afternoon in Detroit after allowing a two-run homer to Daz Cameron in the eighth inning of a 3-2 defeat. He's one of the late-inning relievers for the AL Central-leading Twins, who have lost seven of their past 10 games, all to division bottom-dwellers Detroit and Kansas City.

"I've gone to every guy in this locker room and explained where I was, and how I came up with my decision, and apologized because I do know it's hurting the team," 31-year-old Pagán said. "I do not believe this is a baseball decision. This is the Canadian government. It's not even an MLB rule."

Kepler, who was born in Germany and is in his seventh full season in the majors, currently has career bests in batting average (.253) and on-base percentage (.357) and is tied for second on the team with six homers.

Thielbar, the most-used left-hander in the bullpen, has a 5.59 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings. Megill, a righty in his first season with the Twins, has a 1.04 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings.

The Twins entered June with a particularly depleted roster, with a long injured list that includes starting pitcher Sonny Gray and rookie shortstop Royce Lewis. A handful of players are out with COVID-19, including shortstop Carlos Correa and starting pitcher Joe Ryan.

Pagán is 1-2 with seven saves and a 3.00 ERA in 18 games this season. He arrived in a trade with San Diego that sent relief pitcher Taylor Rogers to the Padres. Starting pitcher Chris Paddack, who also came to Minnesota in the deal, is done for the year to recover from Tommy John elbow surgery.

Players not allowed to travel into Canada to face the Blue Jays in Toronto because of their vaccination status will not be paid for those games missed. The agreement with the MLB Players Association covering unvaccinated players and travel to Canada expires at the end of the 2022 season.

For all the teams running into this issue for road games in Toronto, a bigger problem waits in October if the Blue Jays make the playoffs. If their opponent were to be the Twins, Pagán said he wouldn't rule out getting vaccinated then.

"Yeah, of course, I've thought about it. I considered doing something to be able to go this time around," he said. "It's not like I'm anti-medicine. I just felt like I made a decision that was best for me at this time. Things can change. Studies change. I don't want to get into the science of it. I'm not a scientist. I'm not 100% against it, but I'm going to make a decision that I'm comfortable with, and right now when I consider it, I get anxious."

Joe Girardi managed a Philadelphia Phillies team with the reigning National League MVP, five 2021 All-Stars, a payroll above the luxury tax and expectations of ending the NL's longest playoff drought.

But buried deep in the NL East standings and with a sagging bullpen, defensive deficiencies and slumbering starts from some of their high-priced veterans, Girardi paid the price for Philadelphia's poor start. He was fired Friday, becoming the first major league manager to lose his job this season after failing to turn a team with a record payroll into a playoff contender.

The move was made with the Phillies at 22-29, having lost seven of their past nine games and sitting in third place in the National League East, 12 games behind the New York Mets and 5½ games out of the second NL wild-card spot.

"I think we can make the playoffs. I think we're in a position where we can battle back to do that. I do believe that," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said.

After the Phillies' announcement, Girardi made his regular appearance on Sirius XM's MLB Network Radio, saying, "We underperformed and that falls on me. This is what happens." Girardi noted struggles in the bullpen and some slow offensive starts among the "number of reasons we didn't win."

"I think you can overcome, sometimes, one thing, maybe even two, but sometimes when it's more than that, I think it's somewhat difficult," Girardi said. "... I just pray that they, you know, get better and they get to the playoffs."

Girardi, 57, had served as Phillies manager for the past three seasons, going 132-141 as Philadelphia continues to seek its first playoff appearance since 2011. His first year with Philadelphia was the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The Phillies went 82-80 last year, eight games out of a wild-card bid.

In 14 seasons as a major league manager for the Marlins, Yankees and Phillies, Girardi is 1,120-935, winning a World Series with New York in 2009.

Also dismissed Friday was coaching assistant Bobby Meacham, who had joined the team in 2020 along with Girardi.

Bench coach Rob Thomson will serve as the team's interim manager for the rest of the season, while quality assurance coach Mike Calitri was promoted to bench coach.

The Phillies have a $233 million payroll -- the fourth-highest in the majors, per Spotrac -- and boast 2021 NL MVP Bryce Harper and NL Cy Young Award runner-up Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto and free-agent sluggers Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber. Yet Philadelphia hasn't won the World Series since 2008 and has watched fan interest plummet through a decade-plus of mediocre baseball.

"It's not something that can't be fixed and changed," Dombrowski said. "I think we already started some of those changes this winter time when we made some changes within our system, our organization, a lot of changes, but those things don't show up overnight."

Harper has been plagued most of the season with right forearm soreness and was forced to give up right field and play designated hitter. Second baseman Jean Segura is out for up to three months with a fractured right index finger. The Phillies are 12-15 at home and are 4-10 in one-run games.

Thomson has been with the Phillies since the 2018 season. He previously spent 28 years in the Yankees organization, including 10 seasons when Girardi served as manager from 2008 to 2017.

"As a bench coach you're spending a whole lot of time preparing for the other club and probably not so much time in the clubhouse," Thomson said. "I'm going to take the preparer hat off. I'm still going to prepare some, but I'm going to have my confidence in the coaches around me to keep me informed of information. Now I can go out in the clubhouse and really communicate with the players, get to know them, get the feel, know what they like, know what they don't like, know when they're hurt, know when they're not hurt, so that they know that I've got their back and that I support them."

Thomson's first game Friday will be against a Los Angeles Angels team that has lost eight straight games overall and six straight on the road.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Slugger Yordan Álvarez and the Houston Astros agreed to a six-year, $115 million contract extension, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan. The deal will begin next season and buys out three of Álvarez's free-agent years, sources said.

It represents the biggest contract ever for a player whose primary position is designated hitter and guarantees him $26 million a year for the free-agent seasons, according to sources. The deal is the fifth largest for a player who has yet to reach arbitration, behind Fernando Tatis Jr.'s 14-year, $340 million contract, Wander Franco's 11-year, $182 million extension, Buster Posey's eight-year, $159 million deal and Mike Trout's six-year, $144.5 million agreement.

A unanimous Rookie of the Year Award winner in 2019, Álvarez played in just two games in 2020 as he underwent surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon in his right knee, along with arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

After a 2021 regular season in which he had career bests of 33 home runs and 104 RBIs, Álvarez, 24, followed that up with a stellar postseason. He was named ALCS MVP after going 12-for-23, including a 4-for-4 performance in the series-clinching Game 6 that sent the Astros past the Boston Red Sox and into the World Series.

This past offseason, Álvarez's contract was renewed by Houston, raising his salary from $609,000 to $764,600. The deal was negotiated by Dan Lozano of MVP Sports Group.

Álvarez, who serves as Houston's designated hitter and plays left field, enters Friday tied for third in the majors with 14 homers and has driven in 31 runs.

We speak to an Olympic distance runner turned triathlete to hear more about juggling three sports in one

Rio Olympian Beth Potter committed to triathlon with a move to Leeds in 2017, but she raced back into athletics’ consciousness when she ran what was, at the time, the fastest women’s 5km in history (14:41) at Barrowford in April last year. 

Although her performance wasn’t ratified as an official world record, it served as a reminder that class is permanent, even when her participation – in athletics at least – was temporary.

An experienced and talented runner with PBs of 15:28.32 (5000m) and 32:03.45 (10,000m), Potter switched to triathlon with the goal of making it on to a global podium. 

“I just felt like it was so unachievable for me to get a global medal on the track in the 5000m or 10,000m,” she says. “It’s just so hard to compete [with the African athletes]. I want a global medal at the end of the day.

“Triathlon is still really hard because all the really good guys are Brits, so I’m working my way up to the top, but I just didn’t see it happening [on the track]. I just didn’t think I was good enough.”

The 30-year-old has created her own unique training set-up in Leeds. Jack Maitland, former head coach at Leeds Triathlon Centre, oversees her programme and, together with two-time Olympic triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee, he also helps out with her cycling. Andy Henderson, who has a talented group of athletes including Olympic 800m runner Alex Bell, looks after her running; Coz Tantrum, former coach to the Brownlee brothers, looks after her swimming; and Dane Mitchell is her gym coach.

The 2019 European triathlon champion made history at Gold Coast 2018 when she became the first Team Scotland athlete to compete across two sports – athletics and triathlon – in the same Games. She will represent Scotland in the triathlon at her third Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer. 

 “I know I’m in good shape, but I don’t know how I’ll stack up against the other girls,” she says. “I don’t want to put a mark on it because I don’t want to be disappointed or unrealistic, but I’ll be aiming for the podium.”

Typical training week

As a runner, Potter was coached by Mick Woods from 2012-2018 and averaged 80-85 miles per week while working full-time as a physics teacher. Now, she rarely exceeds 30 miles per week (running). “It’s about getting the quality in,” she says. “I ran the 14:41 5k mainly off swim and bike. My running was just complementing the huge aerobic engine that I had.”

Monday: easy aerobic day; (am) easy technique, aerobic swim with focus on recovery from the weekend; (pm) 1.5-2hr easy bike ride, followed immediately by a run (“a longer aerobic session just to get used to running straight off the bike”). Gym session in the evening: “At this time of year (spring) we’re lifting heavier weights, shorter reps and just introducing more plyometric stuff,” she explains.

Tuesday: (am) 90min VO2 session (pool) e.g., main set 1500m-2km worth of top end work, reps around 100-200m range, no more than 400m; easy spin (75-90min) in the middle of the day either on the turbo or outside; (evening) track session – only hard run session of the week currently – with a group based at Leeds Beckett University: “We do either 8km worth of effort on the track or we split it up with a bit of tempo, bit of track, bit of tempo, bit of track.”

Wednesday: aerobic day – long aerobic miles; (am) 5.5-6km swim (pool in winter, open water in summer); break, then 3-3.5hr of steady riding .

Thursday: key session day; (am) swim 1.5hr: “It’s a threshold day, so it’s a big block of thresholds in the pool broken into longer reps 300m/400m range off short recovery then straight out for an easy run 45-60min.”; (pm) VO2 session on the bike with something like 24min worth of effort and mixture of reps.

Friday: easy swim: “We call it ‘toys Friday’, we get all the toys out in the pool, a lot of upper body strength stuff, parachute, sponges, paddles and we have a 300m block broken into 50ms and 25ms for some really fast stuff.”; gym session and chill out rest of the day.

Saturday: (am) group ride with the Leeds cyclists, around 45min of effort within the ride but the whole ride is quite fast: “We brought it in at the start of the year and planned to do it for 2-3 months, but we’ve ended up keeping it in. It’s really helped with my riding this year. I’ve learned a lot … little habits that I’ve picked up that are good habits.”; (pm) 45min easy run.

Sunday: easy aerobic day like a Wednesday; (am) 2.5-3hr riding; (pm) 60min running.

Favourite session

“I still like track! I really enjoy my Saturday group ride with the cyclists, too, it’s a good atmosphere and a good community …. I like anything that’s either VO2 or threshold across all three, I enjoy that aspect of it.”

Least favourite session

“The only thing I struggle with is doing my Sunday run. All the runners go in the morning and I’m often on my own in the afternoon. I’m really tired on a Sunday afternoon and the thought of it, even though it’s just an hour, I just find it hard at the end of the week to drag myself out.”

As a young athlete, Potter – recently announced as a UK ambassador for Garmin – excelled in swimming and running. Given her starting point of relative inexperience, her greatest gains in triathlon, so far at least, have come on the bike where she opts for the support of Garmin’s Edge 1030 Plus model.

“I really like that you can download routes,” she says. “It was so useful to have satellite navigation on group rides over the winter so that when the cyclists split, I knew where the route was going.

“I often repeat the same sessions, too, so I’ve got a spreadsheet now and we like to compare sessions week on week, track it basically. I think that throughout the winter I’ve become stronger, and the Garmin data has proved that.” 

For runners considering a move to triathlon, Potter’s advice includes phasing it in gradually and choosing quality over quantity. “It’s also about enjoyment,” she adds. “Join a club, train with people that are better than you, and don’t get hung up on the times you used to run as a runner.”