Yankees starter Corey Kluber held the Rangers hitless on Wednesday — the second no-hitter in 24 hours, and the sixth of the season. It's May 20.

Why it matters: Six no-hitters is the most ever before the end of May, and it's already one shy of tying the most in a season in the modern era.

• It's just two shy of tying the MLB record of eight set in 1884 — the same year Mark Twain wrote "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
• Of note: The six no-hitters have happened against three teams, with the Rangers, Mariners and Indians each falling victim twice.

The no-hitters:

• April 9: Joe Musgrove, Padres vs. Rangers (10 K, 1 hit batter, 112 pitches)
• April 14: Carlos Rodón, White Sox vs. Indians (7 K, 1 hit batter, 114 pitches)
• May 5: John Means, Orioles vs. Mariners (12 K, 1 passed ball, 113 pitches)
• May 7: Wade Miley, Reds vs. Indians (8 K, 1 BB, 114 pitches)
• May 18: Spencer Turnbull, Tigers vs. Mariners (9 K, 2 BB, 117 pitches)
• May 19: Kluber, Yankees vs. Rangers (9 K, 1 BB, 101 pitches)

Bonus: And let's not forget Madison Bumgarner's seven-inning no-hitter on April 25 that didn't officially count as one (7 K, 1 error, 98 pitches).

❤️ In other baseball news ... Orioles slugger Trey Mancini, who missed the 2020 season after being diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer, launched two bombs on Wednesday and now leads MLB with 38 RBIs.

The 2021 PGA Championship tees off today at Kiawah Island's Ocean Course, which could play out to 7,876 yards, making it the longest in major championship history.

• In addition to being extremely long and windy, the Ocean Course also presents a logistical challenge for the PGA.
• After all, it's located at the end of a barrier island with ocean and marsh on all sides, and alligators lurking in the lagoons. Coronavirus protocols are also still in place.

I visited the course last week and rode around with the PGA's chief championships officer, Kerry Haigh, to see how they're prepping the grounds.

• Limited space: The Ocean Course has 10 oceanfront holes, the most of any course in the U.S. And the holes cut through marsh, leaving limited space for spectators. "There are a lot of holes where fans can only be on one side," says Haigh. "We've had to put together detailed plans for each hole and be efficient with how we use the space."
• No grandstands: The PGA didn't set up any grandstands due to COVID-19, so spectators are being encouraged to bring their own chairs and scout out places to sit. There are still corporate pavilions and tents alongside some holes, but they're all open air.
• Multiple tee boxes: The PGA has told players to practice from multiple tees, as they could change over the course of the weekend depending on the wind factor.
• Transportation: The Ocean Course is only reachable by two-lane roads. That led to huge traffic jams in 2012, but the PGA learned from that and made shuttle and parking logistics a priority this year. Limited attendance (10,000 spectators per day) will also help.
• Staff and volunteers: Haigh says there are 3,500 volunteers working this weekend, plus a couple thousand staff, with the broadcasters (ESPN, CBS, Golf Channel and others) needing 800 employees alone.

Hitting the links:

• Look: Tee times, pairings (CBS Sports)
• Watch: Course overview (The Fried Egg)
• Read: The Ocean Course, by the numbers (SI)

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James (22-11-10) hit a 34-footer over Steph Curry (37 points) to lead the Lakers past the Warriors, 103-100, in an instant classic at Staples Center.

• All-time quote: James, who got poked in the eye before the shot: "I was literally seeing three rims out there, so I just shot for the middle one."
• What's next: The Lakers earned the No. 7 seed and a date with the No. 2 Suns, while the Warriors will play the Grizzlies tomorrow night.

MEMPHIS — Dillon Brooks (24 points), Jonas Valanciunas (23-23) and the Grizzlies took down the Spurs, 100-96, to keep their season alive.

• The scene: Memphis doubled capacity to 40%, with a sellout of 7,019 fans. This guy was loving it.

📆 Tonight (TNT): Pacers at Wizards, 8pm ET

A Canadian team hasn't hoisted the Stanley Cup since 1993. But thanks to this year's unique format, they have a one-in-four shot at breaking that ignominious streak, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.

The state of play: While the all-Canadian North division is likely a one-year novelty, it's been a real treat for fans in the birthplace of organized hockey, who got to watch their favorite teams beat up on each other.

• And the fun's not over yet: For the first two rounds of the playoffs, it will continue to be an all-Canadian affair.
• Matchups: No. 1 Maple Leafs vs. No. 4 Canadiens (starts tonight); No. 2 Oilers vs. No. 3 Jets (started last night).

By the numbers: The Canadiens have won by far the most Stanley Cups of any franchise (24). The Leafs have won 13, the Oilers have won five and the Jets have never made the Stanley Cup Final.

• A rare sight: Due to standard conference alignment and a little bad luck, Canadian teams have matched up in the first round just seven times this century.
• They haven't met in the second round since 2002, and the last all-Canadian Stanley Cup Final was 1989, when the Flames took down the Canadiens.

Storylines:

• Stars galore: Four of the league's top five point-scorers are on the Oilers (Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl) and Maple Leafs (Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner).
• Toronto's drought: The Leafs haven't won a playoff series since 2004, but are heavily favored against the Canadiens, their Original Six foe who they last met in the playoffs 42 years ago.
• No fans (for now): For all the excitement in Canada, fans won't be allowed in any of the four arenas until May 29, when Quebec's eased restrictions would allow the Canadiens to host a potential Game 6.

NHL scoreboard:

• Last night: Bruins 3, Capitals 2, 2OT (BOS leads 2-1); Hurricanes 3, Predators 0 (CAR leads 2-0); Jets 4, Oilers 1 (WPG leads 1-0); Avalanche 6, Blues 3 (COL leads 2-0)
• Tonight: Panthers at Lightning, 6:30pm ET (TB leads 2-0); Penguins at Islanders, 7pm (Tied 1-1); Canadiens at Maple Leafs, 7:30pm; Golden Knights at Wild, 9:30pm (Tied 1-1)

Welcome to Sports Betting Week, where we're covering the expanding industry and its impact on everything from sports leagues to state budgets.

Capital One Arena will host the Wizards play-in game tonight, plus at least one more Capitals playoff game this weekend. And off the court/ice, there's even more excitement brewing.

Driving the news: Monumental Sports, the parent company of both franchises, has built North America's first in-arena sportsbook — and it opens next week.

The sportsbook, built in partnership with William Hill, was supposed to open eight months ago but was delayed due to the pandemic.

• In the interim, fans have been placing bets in a retrofitted ticketing area while construction continues. The William Hill mobile app also works within a few blocks of the arena.

On nights when the Wizards or Capitals aren't playing, the sportsbook — which feels more like a sports bar than a casino floor — will still be a destination for fans, with plans to host watch parties.

• Monumental believes it will drive at least 2 million additional visitors to the venue each year.
• What to watch: Many more in-stadium sportsbooks are on their way. FanDuel plans to open one just miles from Capital One Arena at D.C. United's Audi Field.

📆 Sports Betting Week:

• Monday: Three-year PASPA anniversary
• Tuesday: Sports betting niches
• Wednesday: How tax revenue is spent
• Friday: The sports betting spectrum

The NCAA plans to hold softball regionals on the campuses of Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee this month, Axios' Orion Rummler writes.

• Why it matters: LGBTQ advocacy groups argue the NCAA is violating its own policies to allow transgender participation in sports, since all three states have passed bills banning trans students from teams that match their gender identity.
• Where it stands: Seven states so far this year have passed bills into law — or issued executive orders, as South Dakota did — to restrict trans students' participation in sports, per ACLU data.

What they're saying: The NCAA said it "unequivocally" supports trans students competing in college sports on April 12 — after bills were signed in Arkansas and Tennessee.

• The NCAA said at the time it would only hold championships in areas "free of discrimination," and that it would continue to monitor the situation. The NCAA did not respond to a request for comment.
• The backlash: "The NCAA should be ashamed of themselves for violating their own policy," Human Rights Campaign president Alphonso David said in a statement.

Nathan MacKinnon recorded his first career playoff hat trick on Wednesday.

Fun fact: MacKinnon's 1.45 points per game average in the postseason ranks fourth all-time, trailing only Wayne Gretzky (1.84), Mario Lemieux (1.61) and Barry Pederson (1.53).

Giphy

27 years ago today, Scottie Pippen ripped out Patrick Ewing's heart on national television with a thunderous, wildly disrespectful dunk.

• What they're saying: "It was beautiful, gory, disrespectful chaos," wrote Shea Serrano, who ranked this as the most disrespectful dunk in NBA history in his 2017 book, "Basketball (and Other Things)."
• The backdrop: The dunk happened during Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, which ended up being the final Bulls game at Chicago Stadium, where they'd played since their inception.

What happened: The dunk was explosive enough to become an iconic poster on its own, but we're still talking about it today because of what happened after the ball went through the net.

• First, Pippen shoved Ewing and walked directly over his face with a menacing stare down.
• Then he found Knicks super fan Spike Lee sitting courtside, pointed directly at him and told him, "Sit your ass down."

The aftermath: The Bulls coasted to a 14-point win to send the series back to New York, but Ewing and the Knicks got the last laugh in Game 7.

The last word, from Pippen ... "Patrick Ewing still doesn't speak to me because of that dunk."

Davis Mills (N0. 67 pick to the Texans) is the 24th Stanford QB to have been selected in the history of the NFL draft.

• Question: Only one school has had more QBs drafted. What school is it?
• Hint: West of the Mississippi.

Answer at the bottom.

COVID infections continue to plummet across the U.S., Axios' Sam Baker and Andrew Witherspoon report.

• By the numbers: The U.S. averaged about 30,000 cases per day over the past week, a 20% improvement over last week, when the average daily cases dropped below 40,000 for the first time in months.
• Why it matters: Experts have warned many times over the past year that it wouldn't be safe to rush back into pre-pandemic life without containing the virus. Now, we're containing the virus.

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