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Archives for July 2024

Sox in the Afternoon

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Report) – If streaks are made to be broken, the Boston Red Sox have one they are particularly eager to snap: They have allowed at least seven runs in each of their past six games.

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The next chance for Boston’s pitchers to stage a turnaround comes Wednesday afternoon when the Red Sox host the Seattle Mariners in the decisive matchup of a three-game series.

Boston has surrendered a combined 63 runs in those six games, most recently falling 10-6 to the Mariners on Tuesday. The Red Sox beat Seattle 14-7 on Monday, but they are just 3-8 since the All-Star break.

“Not surprised because it’s 162 (games). We’re playing with kids and they’re still learning,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “Because they played so well for a month and a half doesn’t mean that it’s the complete (package). …

“The development continues. You see it the way we work every day. Challenging them with their defensive drills. We’re adding stuff offensively for them to be better. It doesn’t stop.

“Over the course of 162, you’re going to go through stretches. We’re not perfect. We have a talented team, and our job as coaches is to continue working with them and helping them to be big-leaguers.”

Seattle’s Justin Turner, who was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday, played first base and batted in the cleanup spot on Tuesday. He had a hit and drove in two runs against Boston, the team he played for in 2023.

“I’ve been through just about everything you can go through as a player,” Turner said prior to the game. “I’ve been traded now twice, I’ve been designated for assignment, I’ve been non-tendered … bounced around a few organizations, so I’ve seen a lot of stuff, and hopefully I can help these guys out in whatever way they need me.”

Seattle’s Victor Robles, Jorge Polanco and Dylan Moore each added two hits on Tuesday.

“Really excited about our offense,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “The guys are really starting to come together. Certainly, the additions have helped, but some of the guys that have been here all year are picking it up as well.”

Boston committed three errors that led to five unearned runs on Tuesday. Two of the three errors came in Seattle’s five-run fifth inning. The Red Sox lead the major leagues with 81 errors this season.

The probable Wednesday pitchers are right-handers George Kirby (8-7, 3.03 ERA) for Seattle and Brayan Bello (10-5, 5.27) for Boston.

Kirby tossed seven scoreless innings in a 10-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday. It was his ninth straight quality start.

Kirby, who is known for his exceptional control, has walked just 14 batters in 130 2/3 innings this season. He is 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA in five career starts against the Red Sox, including a 1-0 victory on March 29, when he fired 6 2/3 shutout innings.

Bello has the highest ERA among pitchers in Boston’s starting rotation, but he is 3-0 with a 3.94 ERA in three career starts against Seattle. He defeated the Mariners on March 28, when he threw five innings of two-run ball.

In his latest start, Bello was pulled after surrendering three runs in five innings during Boston’s 9-7 victory over the visiting New York Yankees on Friday.

Seattle and Boston have split six games this season. Wednesday’s matchup is the final regular-season game between them, giving the winner an advantage toward postseason tiebreakers.

Servais said Robles, who left the Tuesday game due to a sore hip, won’t play Wednesday.

–Field Level Media

Moore in the 5th, Downs Red Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Seattle’s Dylan Moore hit a three-run double during a five-run fifth inning that led the visiting Mariners defeat the Boston Red Sox 10-6 on Tuesday. Seattle sent 11 batters to the plate in the fifth, which included three hits, two errors, two walks and a hit batter. Moore’s two-out double gave the Mariners a 7-3 lead.

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Jorge Polanco delivered his 10th homer this season and finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored for Seattle.

Rafael Devers hit his 24th home run for Boston, a three-run shot in the third inning. Devers had three hits and four RBIs in the loss. Masataka Yoshida had two hits and extended his hitting streak to seven games when he singled in the first inning.

Luis Castillo (9-10) tossed six innings to earn the win. He allowed three runs on six hits, walked one and struck out four.

James Paxton (8-3) went 4 1/3 innings and allowed six runs (three earned) on six hits. He walked one and fanned five in his first start with the Red Sox since he was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Sox Beef Up Bullpen at Deadline

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox added some much-needed bullpen help by acquiring right-hander Lucas Sims from the Cincinnati Reds, then adding another right-hander, Luis Garcia, from the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline.

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The Red Sox sent minor league right-hander Ovis Portes to the Reds in exchange for Sims and sent four minor league players to the Angels in exchange for Garcia: infielder/outfielder Matthew Lugo, first baseman Niko Kavadas and right-handed pitchers Ryan Zeferjahn and Yeferson Vargas.

Garcia, 37, was 5-1 with a 3.71 ERA in 45 relief appearances in his first season with the Angels after signing a one-year, $4.25 million deal in December. He is 26-28 with a 4.02 ERA in 530 career appearances (four starts) in 12 seasons for five teams.

Lugo, 23, was Boston’s No. 17 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, drafted in the second round in 2019. The nephew of nine-time All-Star Carlos Beltran, Lugo was batting .285 with 16 home runs and 54 RBIs in 78 games in Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester this season.

Kavadas, 25, hit .281 with 17 home runs and 63 RBIs in 83 games this season at Worcester.

Zeferjahn, 26, was 1-3 with a 3.52 ERA in 25 games (one start) with Portland and Worcester this year.

Vargas, a 19-year-old from the Dominican Republic, was 4-2 with a 3.03 ERA in 11 games (4 starts) with the Red Sox farm teams in the Florida Complex League and Single-A Salem.

Sims, 30, went 1-4 with a 3.57 ERA and one save in 43 appearances out of the Cincinnati bullpen this season. The right-hander struck out 40 batters and walked 20 in 35⅓ innings.

Sims owns a career record of 22-17 with a 4.41 ERA and 12 saves in 230 games (14 starts) with the Atlanta Braves (2017-18) and Reds.

Portes, 19, was in his second season with the Boston organization. He went 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA and two saves in 11 games (five starts) between Class-A Salem and the Florida Complex League.

The Red Sox designated left-hander Brandon Walter, 27, for assignment to make room for Sims on the 40-man roster.

Patriots’ Judon Holding Out

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FOXBOROUGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Unhappy with his current contract situation, New England Patriots outside linebacker Matthew Judon had an animated conversation with head coach Jerod Mayo and Patriots’ front-office members while not participating in practice on Monday.

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Judon had been a full participant in four previous practices before sitting out the team’s first full-pads practice at training camp.

He told reporters at camp on July 24 that he wanted to upgrade his contract, which will pay him a base salary of $6.5 million in the final year of a four-year, $56 million deal.

“Honestly, it’s tough going into the last year of the deal. You kind of look at everybody around the league and in the building, and you see them getting deals done and worked out, and it’s tough to not be envious or jealous and stuff like that,” Judon said that day.

“But I have to focus on myself. I’m happy for those guys. As much as everybody wants to see me stay around here for a long time, it’s really not up to me. You have to ask those guys who are making those decisions.”

On Monday, Mayo approached Judon, who was watching practice from the sidelines, and spoke briefly before the linebacker replied and left the field.

Judon also engaged in talks with executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and director of player personnel Matt Groh.

Judon, who turns 32 on Aug. 15, said on a recent podcast that he hasn’t heard back from the Patriots after sending them his own contract proposal.

The nine-year veteran missed 13 games last season after suffering a torn biceps against the Dallas Cowboys in a Week 4 loss.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 28

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While We’re Young (Ideas) on The 2024 Olympic Games

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Just think how great it would’ve been. Instead of the Seine, we could’ve shown off the Charles. Instead of The Avenue des Champs-Élysées we could’ve shown the world that 128 and 95 are the same road. They’ll show off The Louvre but we could’ve polished up Fenway Park or the New England Sports Museum.

A studio in the sky for the Boston Summer Games could’ve looked live at Storrow Drive just as some BU kid drove his Ryder Truck into the overpass and sawed off his new Sleep by Number bed, fully Storrowed.

Face it. We blew it.

We (meaning the citizens of Boston) did what we always do. We complained. We complained about cost over-runs, we complained about traffic, we complained that the Olympics might interfere with Patriots’ Training Camp, for God’s sake. We would’ve complained about the Sox being on the road for two-plus weeks. Of course, it would’ve been the Olympics that cost the ‘24 Sox a Wild Card spot, not Kutter Crawford’s failing cutter.

Truthfully, the chances of Boston getting out of the first round of global IOC Olympic site voting was about as strong as the Bruins getting out of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Paris had the deck stacked, as the ‘24 Games are the 100 year anniversary of the 1924 Games, when Paris last hosted the Summer Olympics. That’s good enough for me, but don’t blame WWYI for thinking there should be a nice new 12,000 seat stadium for the Revs and an upgraded Alumni Stadium for Boston College football and a brand spankin’ new Aquatics Center for swimming and diving that could’ve been a legacy venue for Boston to host future swim meets and world competitions. We’d have built it, but the IOC would’ve paid for it.

Just think? Boxing and Badminton at Fenway! Or maybe they’d bring back Baseball as a temporary exhibition sport, like they’re doing with Break Dancing and Skate Boarding in Paris.

For Boston, it wasn’t meant to be and that’s okay.

Just seeing semi-retired Boston Globe Olympic sports columnist John Powers’ byline from PARIS was enough for this Bostonian to be happy to kick-it-back, wake up at 4:00am (ET) or even watch the plausibly live taped turnaround coverage.

One thing enjoyed this morning was to re-program the “favorites” on the old remote, eliminating the March Madness leftovers of CBS, TBS, TNT and Tru which were replaced by NBC, USA Network, CNBC, and The Golf Channel on linear with Peacock ready for the OTT setup. No matter, the TV will be tuned in at all hours of the day.

Saturday morning, on USA Network, we had the treat of watching the US women’s water polo team defeat Greece, 15-6, in their opener. The best part was getting the play-by-play call from the great Kenny Albert who made the Water Polo sound like a New York Rangers’ NHL game. It was terrific. Maybe Albert can do double duty at Field Hockey and Water Polo?

Paris 2024

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: There’s going to be a ton written, reported and pontificated upon to readers and television audiences around the world during the great fortnight to come. The 2024 Summer Olympics is upon us and Friday’s Opening Ceremony sur le Seine was one of the great sights sporting audiences will ever see. It was an ode to “vive la différence’ in many ways.

It seems when polled, everyone wants something new and exciting. They want something different and original. They criticize the same old, same old and want a progressive world at their finger tips. But, when they get it, they complain that “it wasn’t an Opening Ceremony the way it should be.”

Go figure.

The most important thing from this vantage point is a wish for a safe and secure Olympics for all. Let the athletes play.

In terms of great moments and memories, there are thousands of them to recall. I had the great pleasure to work on eight Olympic Games with USA Basketball and attend four of those events (Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney and Athens). Without a doubt, they were the greatest experiences of my career – each and every one of them. Yes, the 1984 NBA Finals were the best basketball I’ve ever witnessed and we all care so much about our USA/Canada based pro sports results, but the Olympics and representing the United States as a member of the official delegation were – by far – the biggest thrill and most meaningful, humbling and gratifying moments of my career in sports. All the Games had incredible highs and some hit the depths of the lows (think Atlanta bombing).

And, thinking back on ’72, with the horrific terrorist attack on Team Israel in their dorms in Munich, that was the worst of it, without a doubt. On the court that same year, the USA was totally screwed out of a Gold Medal in Men’s basketball when Renato William Jones came down from his seat in the stands and decided to put three more seconds on the game clock, overruling the game officials. What a farce. Shameful. But, that was YESTERDAY.

The Opening Ceremonies, however, delivered so much hope, inspiration and promise. That ceremony started an Olympics of TODAY.

While we tend to look for the brightest of stars, the medalists, I found the Olympics to be more about a swimmer from Budapest, Hungary I was so fortunate to meet on an Olympic Village bus ride in Athens 2004. She had finished her heat in swimming and came in 46th overall. She was not expected to be in the Top 100. It was her personal best performance and she was so happy and proud. She did not advance to the next round of heats, but her team recognized the great individual effort and celebrated her accomplishment. It was a great moment for her and her team. It was the best day of her life, and she was so happy to share it with someone with USA on their shirt/jacket. She also spoke such perfect English and I was at such a loss not to be able to communicate better with her in her native language. We are so isolated in North America.

Overall, no other great shakes for this post.

My main message?

The Summer Games are here. Let’s enjoy them instead of complaining about ridiculous distractions from some non-source without a clue but with an agenda.

BRONZE TID-BITS, SILVER OBSERVATIONS AND GOLDEN NUGGETS: How cool is it to have two children of your friends compete in the Olympics? That is the case with Sam Coffey, the daughter of former New York writer/columnist extraordinaire Wayne Coffey. His daughter, who played college soccer at Boston College and Penn State, is a new member of the USWNT and a player to be reckoned with, for sure. She plays pro ball for the Portland Thorns and is part of the bright future for the USA women, whether at the Olympics or future World Cup. … Nic Fink, a swimmer, is the son of Peter Fink – a partner in crime and one of the best Events execs in NBA history. Peter was a guy who was always loyal, always respectful of his colleagues, knowing decisions made would effect a wider contingent than just the Events Department. He is experiencing the second act of his career, a bright one, but his son, Nic, is swimming (possibly for his last big time event) in Paris. Nic qualified through the various heats and will be swimming in the final of the 100m breaststroke as you read this Sunday morning. (or, if you’re on it Saturday night, set your alarm).

By the way, Nic stood out as a collegiate swimmer at the University of Georgia and earned a degree in Engineering while he was at it. Check out his career – HERE.

Yankees Come Back at Fenway

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New York catcher Austin Wells hit a sacrifice fly and his shortstop, Gleyber Torres, added a two-run double in the 10th inning to finish the Yankees’ 11-8 come-from-behind win over the host Boston Red Sox on Saturday night at Fenway Park

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Tyler O’Neill (3-for-4, four RBIs) hit go-ahead homers in the fifth and seventh innings for the Red Sox, but New York scored single runs in the eighth and ninth to tie the game.

Aaron Judge went 4-for-4 with a double, homer, three RBIs and three runs to lead New York’s 16-hit attack in making Sunday’s game the rubber match of their three-game series.

Judge hit an RBI double in the eighth, though Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran started a relay that cut down Juan Soto, the potential tying run, at the plate.

In the ninth, Massachusetts native Ben Rice doubled with one out, and Trent Grisham’s two-out double drove in pinch runner Jahmai Jones against Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen, who blew a save for the third time this season.

In the 10th, Torres crushed his double off the center field wall off Chase Anderson (0-2).

New York’s Clay Holmes (2-4) threw two scoreless innings for the win.

Aaron Judge went 4-for-4 with a double, homer, three RBIs and three runs to lead New York’s 16-hit attack in making Sunday’s game the rubber match of their three-game series.

Judge hit an RBI double in the eighth, though Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran started a relay that cut down Juan Soto, the potential tying run, at the plate.

In the ninth, Massachusetts native Ben Rice doubled with one out, and Trent Grisham’s two-out double drove in pinch runner Jahmai Jones against Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen, who blew a save for the third time this season.

In the 10th, Torres crushed his double off the center field wall off Chase Anderson (0-2).

New York’s Clay Holmes (2-4) threw two scoreless innings for the win.

PGA Tour: Vegas Has Hot Hand

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BLAINE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas birdied six of the final eight holes for an 8-under-par 63 to surge into the lead after three rounds of the 3M Open on Saturday in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.

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Matt Kuchar’s eagle on No. 18 gave him 63 and a temporary share of first place before Vegas, who’s at 16-under 197, birdied the last hole.

Vegas, who hasn’t won on the PGA Tour in seven years, had three birdies in a four-hole stretch to pull into a share of the lead after No. 14 and kept the momentum going.

Kuchar, who hasn’t won in more than five years and is aiming for his 10th career victory on the tour, will be contending in the final round at TPC Twin Cities. He nearly aced the par-3 17th before his final-hole eagle came with a short chip from in front of the green, with the ball bouncing a couple of times before clanking against the pin and dropping into the cup.

Maverick McNealy also shot 63 to move to 14 under, while Patrick Fishburn (63) and Sahith Theegala (66) share fourth place at 12 under.

Canada’s Adam Svensson (66), Matt NeSmith (70) and Australia’s Cam Davis (65) are tied for sixth at 11 under. Among Svensson’s highlights was sinking a shot from a sand trap for a birdie on the par-3 eighth

Canadian Taylor Pendrith, who led after the second round by two strokes, tumbled with a 2-over 73. He had a five-hole stretch at 5 over, ending with a double-bogey 6 at No. 11, though he made it through the last seven holes at 1 under. He’s tied for ninth at 10 under.

Fishburn emerged atop the leaderboard among early finishers before others caught up.

Jacoby Brissett is No. 1 for Pats

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FOXBOROUGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo knows all about being the new guy, but he reiterated on Tuesday the importance of experience.

That’s the main reason he’ll start his first camp as a head coach since replacing Bill Belichick with a veteran as the starting quarterback.

“Coming out of spring I think it’s clear Jacoby [Brissett] looks like the starting quarterback at this point in time,” Mayo said Tuesday of the depth chart at quarterback. “With that being said, there’s going to be competition. All of those guys will have opportunities.”

No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye will get “as much work as he can” with the first team.

Mayo said if Maye comes out and “lights it up,” he could emerge as the starting quarterback.

The Patriots are starting from scratch at quarterback under Mayo, who is a first-time head coach and part of the monumental shift away from the Belichick-led regime that ruled the AFC East for most of the past two decades.

Maye was the first draft pick in years not influenced or directly chosen by Belichick, with Eliot Wolf promoted to executive vice president of player personnel. Wolf said after rookie minicamp that any decision on the starting QB job likely would be a collaborative effort. He also pointed to Brissett being the starter “right now.”

“He’s taking the first reps, and we’re excited about what he’s shown not only off the field but on the field with his throwing ability. Drake Maye, let’s be honest, we’ve had him for three weeks now,” Wolf said at the time. “There’s a long way to go to for all of our rookies and all of our players as we adapt to this new scheme that coach (Alex) Van Pelt is implementing offensively.”

 

 

Red Sox Rally Past Yanks, 9-7

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida’s two-run single up the middle highlighted a three-run eighth inning that helped Boston earn a 9-7, series-opening victory over the visiting New York Yankees on Friday night at Fenway.

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The Red Sox rallied after back-to-back home runs by Aaron Judge and Austin Wells in the seventh gave the Yankees a 7-4 lead in the seventh inning. Judge bashed a go-ahead, three-run shot to deep center.

Starting the comeback in the bottom of the seventh, Ceddanne Rafaela crushed a two-run homer to deep left that scored Yoshida.

In the eighth, Boston put two on against reliever Luke Weaver (4-2) before Wilyer Abreu greeted reliever Clay Holmes with a game-tying single. That set up Yoshida for the game-deciding hit.

Rob Refsnyder finished with three hits, two runs and an RBI for the Red Sox, who have won two of three following a four-game skid.

Bailey Horn (1-1) earned his first major league win, and Kenley Jansen worked around two hits and struck out two in the ninth for his 20th save.

Wells and Gleyber Torres had three hits apiece for New York, which has lost three straight and five of the past six.

Tyler O’Neill’s sacrifice fly staked Boston to a 1-0 lead. Consecutive one-out singles by Refsnyder and Connor Wong and a walk to Rafael Devers loaded the bases before the RBI opportunity.

The visitors were not down for long, as Anthony Volpe crushed a two-out solo homer to straightaway center field to bring the Yankees even in the second.

A pair of one-out hits by Wong and Devers helped the Red Sox jump back in front in the third. After Wong doubled inside third base, Devers’ knock to left made it a 2-1 game.

It was more of the same for Boston in the fourth. Romy Gonzalez began the inning with an infield single before Jarren Duran’s knock moved him to third, while a second consecutive two-out hit by Refsnyder rolled to the left field wall for an RBI double.

The Yankees quickly responded with a two-run fifth to tie the game, getting an RBI double from Trent Grisham and a sacrifice fly from Alex Verdugo.

The hosts continued to put the pressure on in the bottom of the fifth, scoring a go-ahead run on Yoshida’s sacrifice fly following a walk to Devers and O’Neill’s double through the left side.

Boston reliever Zack Kelly was greeted rudely during the visitors’ four-run seventh, allowing the back-to-back homers.

–Field Level Media

Patriots Extend Safety Peppers

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FOXBOROUGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers signed a contract extension, coach Jerod Mayo confirmed on Friday morning.

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“I can confirm it. I’m the head coach. I can confirm it,” Mayo said. “… I am very happy for Peppers and for his family and also for our team and the organization. He really embodies everything that we want on the field. He’s very selfless and flying around all the time. It’s good to get that deal done.”

While Mayo didn’t provide terms of the deal, multiple media reports penned Peppers’ extension as a three-year contract. It reportedly has a base value of $24 million and is worth up to $30 million with incentives.

Peppers, 28, had been heading into the final year of his existing contract.

He recorded 78 tackles, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 15 games (all starts) last season.

Peppers has totaled 471 tackles, six interceptions, 5.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries in 93 career games (79 starts) with the Cleveland Browns (2017-18), New York Giants (2019-21) and Patriots. He was selected by the Browns with the 25th overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft.

–Field Level Media