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Archives for May 2025

Devers: “Oh, Henry”

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KANSAS CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – After meeting with Boston Red Sox principal owner John Henry, veteran slugger Rafael Devers remained at designated hitter for Friday night’s road game against the Kansas City Royals.

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Devers, a three-time All-Star at third base, already lost that spot on the field when the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman to a three-year contract in February. The nine-year veteran was vocal this week about not wanting to take over at first base, at least not full time.

Devers met with Henry and manager Alex Cora before the game. Boston’s chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow, who joined team president Sam Kennedy and Henry on the trip to Kansas City, said Henry “seems to have had a productive conversation (with Devers), and that’s where it is at right now.”

Cora also called it “a good conversation,” although he said no decision was made about Devers’ position going forward.

Devers “expressed his feelings. John did the same. I think everybody saw who was here, so I think that carries weight in the clubhouse,” Cora said.

The first base vacancy arose when Triston Casas went down with a season-ending injury to his left knee on May 2. Casas had surgery on his left patella.

Devers said on Thursday that the Red Sox floated the idea of him moving to first shortly after Casas’ injury. He said the team “can’t expect me to play every single position out there.”

Devers, who has played exclusively at DH this season, started the season slowly at the plate, going 0-for-19 with 15 strikeouts before breaking into the hit column in his sixth game.

He has rebounded of late, hitting .365 in his last 13 games to raise his batting average to .253. He went 1-for-5 and drove in Boston’s only run in a 2-1 loss to the Royals in 12 innings on Friday.

Devers has a career batting average of .278. In his nine seasons in the majors, he has 206 home runs and 664 RBIs.

 

Charlie Woods Falls Short

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PALM BEACHES – (Wire Service Report) – Charlie Woods was unsuccessful in his second attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open. Woods, 16, carded a 3-over-par 75 at Wellington Golf Club near the Palm Beaches on Thursday. The son of 15-time major champion Tiger Woods was seven strokes shy of the required score of 68.

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The younger Woods did show improvement, however.

Last year, he fired a 9-over 81 at The Legacy Golf & Tennis Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. He rebounded to qualify for the U.S. Junior Amateur, however he missed the cut at that tournament by 18 strokes.

Arth Sinha finished atop the heap in the U.S. Open qualifying at 6-under 66, one stroke better than Matthew Marigliano.

Devers Hits – Baseball and Breslow

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Before he went way off script to question the Red Sox organization and team General Manager Craig Breslow, current designated hitter Rafael Devers had two hits, including a home run, and the Boston Red Sox used four pitchers to earn a 5-0 victory over the visiting Texas Rangers on Thursday.

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Devers made it a five-run lead when he hit a solo home run against reliever Jacob Latz in the seventh inning. It was his sixth home run of the season. Devers also had an RBI single in the fifth.

“In spring training, they talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove, that I wasn’t going to play any other position but DH, so right now, I just feel like it’s not an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position,” said Devers to reporters through an interpreter (Spanish-English).

“I don’t feel that they stayed true to their word,” he said. “They told me that I was going to be playing this position, DH, and now they’re going back on that. So I just don’t think they stayed true to their word,” said Devers. “They’ve told me I’m a little hard-headed. [But] they already asked me to change once, and this time, I don’t think I can be as flexible.”

Back to the ballgame, Ceddanne Rafaela also had two hits for the Red Sox, who had six total hits, while winning consecutive games for the first time this month.

Boston starter Brayan Bello pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings but struggled with his control. He held Texas to four hits and struck out one with five walks.

Justin Slaten (1-3) took over for Bello in the fifth inning and did not allow a run over 1 1/3 hitless innings. Garrett Whitlock pitched the seventh and Liam Hendriks was on the mound for the final two innings, recording two strikeouts.

No. 9 hitter Tucker Barnhart had three hits for Texas, which was limited to five singles in the loss. Wyatt Langford and Josh Smith also had hits for the Rangers.

Texas received 5 1/3 innings from starting pitcher Jack Leiter (2-2), who allowed three runs on three hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

The Red Sox scored two runs in the second, one in the fifth, one in the sixth and one in the seventh.

Trevor Story handed Boston a 1-0 lead when he scored on a Leiter wild pitch in the first inning. The Red Sox doubled their lead later in the inning on a Jarren Duran groundout that allowed Carlos Narvaez to score.

It remained 2-0 until the fifth, when Rafaela scored on a Devers single to center. A Narvaez single drove in Story to make it 4-0 in the sixth before Devers’ home run in the seventh.

–Field Level Media

ROAD RAGE

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New York’s all-star guard Jalen Brunson made two free throws with 12.7 seconds to play, lifting the Knickerbockers to a 91-90 win over the host Boston Celtics on Wednesday, resulting in an astonishing 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

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Boston had a chance to recover in the final seconds, but Mikal Bridges knocked the ball away from Jayson Tatum and New York took possession.

NY’s Josh Hart had a game-high 23 points for the Knicks who trailed by 20 points in the third quarter and by 16 in the fourth. The Knicks received 21 points and 17 rebounds from center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Bridges put up 14 points — all in the fourth quarter. Brunson finished with 17 points and a game-high seven assists.

Derrick White and Jaylen Brown each scored 20 points for the Celtics.

Game 3 of the best-of-seven series will be played Saturday afternoon in New York.

New York took its first lead on a Brunson layup that made it 87-86 with 1:59 to play. Another Brunson layup capped a 21-2 run that stretched New York’s lead to three points before two Tatum free throws pulled the Celtics within one point with 44.9 seconds left.

Boston took a 90-89 lead on a Tatum dunk with 18.5 seconds to go, but Brunson knocked down two free throws on the ensuing possession.

Tatum, who averaged 26.8 points per game during the regular season, was held to 13 points, but he grabbed 14 rebounds.

Boston also received eight points off the bench from Kristaps Porzingis, who didn’t play in the second half of Game 1 because of an illness. Porzingis played only 14 minutes in Game 2.

The Celtics played without Sam Hauser, who sustained an ankle injury in the third quarter of Game 1.

Boston led 24-13 after one quarter on Wednesday and 50-41 at halftime. The Celtics were up by 16 before the Knicks finished the second quarter on an 11-4 run. Tatum was held to two points in the first half.

The Celtics extended their lead to 70-50 on a Porzingis dunk with 4:05 remaining in the third, but New York scored the final eight points in the quarter to cut Boston’s lead to 73-61 entering the final frame.

In NBA history, no team has won a best-of-seven series after losing the first two games at home.

–Field Level Media

The Squanderers

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New York’s Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby each scored 29 points as the visiting Knicks pulled-off a 108-105 overtime victory against the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Monday night.

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The Knicks overcame a 20-point deficit in the third quarter and sealed the win when Mikal Bridges stole the ball from Jaylen Brown after Boston inbounded the ball with three seconds to play.

During the fourth quarter, Brunson tied the game at 89 with a 3-pointer and 91 on two free throws before giving the Knicks their first lead since the second. His 3-pointer put them up 94-91 with 4:07 to play, and his third triple of the period extended New York’s advantage to six points, but Boston responded with a 7-0 run to take a 98-97 lead.

It was 100-100 when Brunson missed a layup with two seconds left. After a timeout, Jayson Tatum missed a 3-point shot at the buzzer. The game went to overtime, where Anunoby’s dunk and foul shot and Bridges’ 3-pointer gave the Knicks the cushion they needed to finish the comeback.

Karl-Anthony Towns was in foul trouble for much of the game, but had 14 points and 13 rebounds in 31 minutes. Josh Hart had 14 points and 11 boards, and Bridges recorded eight points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals while playing 51 of the possible 53 minutes.

Brown and Tatum each tossed in a team-high 23 points for Boston. Tatum also had 16 rebounds, and Derrick White put up 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Kristaps Porzingis was scoreless in 13 minutes during the first half and didn’t play in the final two quarters with what the Celtics called an “illness.” Boston’s Sam Hauser also went to the locker room with an ankle injury with 28.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter and didn’t return to the game.

Boston led 26-25 after one quarter and outscored New York by 15 in the second quarter to take a 61-45 halftime lead. The Celtics scored the final eight points in the first half. The Knicks were 8-of-19 from the free throw line in the half.

Towns was called for his fourth foul and went to the bench with 7:07 left in the third quarter, but the Knicks made a strong run without him. New York was within six points before Al Horford made a 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds remaining in the quarter that gave the Celtics an 84-75 lead entering the fourth.

Game 2 in the best-of-seven series will be played Wednesday in Boston.

–Field Level Media

Nuggets Shock OKC

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OKLAHOMA CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Denver’s Aaron Gordon hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to score 22 points and lift the Nuggets to a 121-119 road victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of their second-round Western Conference playoff series.

With 9.5 seconds remaining and the Thunder up by one, the Nuggets’ Russell Westbrook fouled Chet Holmgren.

Holmgren missed both free throws, giving Denver an opening to finish off the comeback.

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Christian Braun grabbed the rebound, fed it to Westbrook, who barreled down the floor before finding Gordon for the game-winning three.

The Nuggets hadn’t led since the first quarter, trailing by as many as 13 in the fourth quarter. But they  ended the game with a 19-6 run to knock off the top seed in the Western Conference and take home court advantage in the best-of-seven NBA Western Conference semifinal series.

Nikola Jokic scored 18 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and eight free throws.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points to lead the Thunder, who had not played in nine days.

Oklahoma City didn’t make it easy on Jokic, using several different players to defend him.

Jokic showed frustration multiple times with the way he was being guarded.

With less than seven minutes to play, Jokic elbowed Luguentz Dort in the jaw while Dort was guarding Jokic in the lane.

Dort remained down for several moments, and after a lengthy review, Jokic was called for a Flagrant 1 foul. It was Jokic’s fifth foul of the game.

But Jokic never picked up his sixth, and scored 16 points from that point on to help the Nuggets stay in it for Westbrook and Gordon to team up for the final play.

Jokic also added 22 rebounds, tying his career playoff high.

Westbrook, who was a longtime star with the Thunder, helped keep Denver in it.

With less than five minutes left in the third quarter, Oklahoma City led by 14 points.

But the Nuggets ended the quarter on a 17-8 run to cut the deficit to five before the end of the quarter.

Westbrook scored eight of his 10 third-quarter points during the stretch.

Oklahoma City missed its first 10 3-pointers before Alex Caruso’s 3-pointer early in the second quarter.

Caruso added 20 points for the Thunder.

–Field Level Media

 

NY Islanders Land No. 1 Pick

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Bruins Fall from No. 5 to No. 7 Pick

ELMONT – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Despite having the 10th-best chance of winning the draft lottery at 3.5 percent, the New York Islanders secured the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft on Monday.

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The Islanders will have the top overall selection for the first time since drafting John Tavares in 2009 and the fifth time overall. In 1972, the team selected forward Billy Harris, followed by Hall of Fame defenseman Denis Potvin in 1973. In 2000, goaltender Rick DiPietro went No. 1 overall to the Islanders.

“The hockey gods smiled on us,” Islanders director of pro scouting Ken Morrow said at the lottery, not mentioning his connections to said gods via the 1980 Miracle on Ice team and four consecutive Stanley Cup championships thereafter. “And I can’t tell you how thrilled I am for Islander fans, for our ownership, for the entire Islander organization.

“It’s adding to the tradition that the Islanders have. A great fan base, a new arena, terrific ownership, and better days are ahead here.”

This year’s draft will be held in Los Angeles on June 27-28. Day 1 will feature the first round, followed by rounds 2-7 on Day 2.

The lottery only determined the top two picks, with the rest of the non-playoff team lottery field slotted by order of finish in the 2024-25 standings. The remaining selections (Nos. 17-32) will be ordered by playoff results.

Following the Islanders in the draft will be the San Jose Sharks, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Utah Hockey Club. The Sharks had the best chance to land the No. 1 pick at 18.5 percent. Utah won the drawing for the No. 2 pick, but rules state that a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots, so the franchise leapt from the would-be 14th spot to No. 4.

Rounding out the top 10 will be the Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, Seattle Kraken, Buffalo Sabres and Anaheim Ducks.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have the No. 11 pick, followed by the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens.

As for whose name might be called first on June 27, defenseman Matthew Schafer of Erie in the Ontario Hockey League, center Michael Misa of Saginaw (OHL), Boston College center James Hagens, center Jake O’Brien of Brantford (OHL) and defenseman Radim Mrtka of Seattle in the Western Hockey League are the top five skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings.

On Central Scouting’s list of international skaters, center Anton Frondell and right wing Victor Eklund, who play for Djurgarden in Sweden’s second division, are ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively.

–Field Level Media

Can Knicks Reverse the Curse?

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics will be looking to remain unbeaten against the visiting New York Knicks this season when the teams meet in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Monday night.

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The Knicks lost each of their four regular-season games against the Celtics — and the first three losses came by at least 13 points. Boston also beat New York 119-117 in overtime April 8.

“Obviously, (we have to) play better than we did (against them) throughout the regular season,” said Knicks guard Jalen Brunson. “Be better, ready to do it from the jump, knowing it’s going to be a game of runs, knowing that they’re capable of doing a lot of great things.

“I feel like we played better in that (fourth) game. We adjusted from the first three times we played them, obviously still not getting it done, but definitely played better and competed better than the first three games. So that’s something we can look at and build off of.”

Six-time All-Star Jayson Tatum averaged 33.5 points on 53.5 percent shooting — 47.8 percent from 3-point territory — in the four regular-season games as Boston averaged 125 points per game against third-seeded New York, which advanced by beating Detroit in six games during the first round.

Twins Narrowly Defeat Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Minnesota’s Byron Buxton homered and Twin Cities’ DH Ryan Jeffers added two hits and two RBIs to help the visiting Twins defeat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 on Sunday. Buxton hit his seventh home run of the season on the game’s first pitch, and Jeffers had a two-run single with two outs in the seventh that erased a 3-1 deficit.

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It remained 3-3 until Harrison Bader doubled against Justin Slaten (0-3) in the eighth inning. Carlos Correa scored on the play to give the Twins a 4-3 lead. Trevor Larnach followed with a single that drove in Bader to make it 5-3.

Boston’s Wilyer Abreu collected three hits, including a solo home run in the eighth inning that cut Minnesota’s lead to 5-4, but Jhoan Duran pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve the one-run lead and earn his fourth save.

Louis Varland got the win (2-3) for pitching one inning of scoreless relief. The victory gave Minnesota two wins in the three-game series.

Boston starter Garrett Crochet exited the mound after five innings (89 pitches). He gave up a run on four hits, walked two and struck out six.

Minnesota’s Chris Paddack also pitched the first five innings. He allowed three runs on five hits, walked two and recorded two strikeouts.

Carlos Narvaez gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second when his single drove in Abreu and Romy Gonzalez, both of whom singled earlier in the inning.

The Red Sox extended their lead to 3-1 in the third. Alex Bregman led off the inning with a walk, moved to third on Abreu’s single and scored on Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly.

The Twins tied the game in the seventh against reliever Garrett Whitlock. Jeffers’ two-run single drove in Bader and Christian Vazquez.

Correa had two hits in the victory. Boston received two hits from Ceddanne Rafaela.

–Field Level Media

Scheffler Just Missed PGA Tour Record

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DALLAS – (Staff and Wire Servi ce Report) – World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has racked up massive credentials, but his latest achievement came with special significance.

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Scheffler won a tournament for the first time this year and did so in a big way, shooting 8-under-par 63 in the final round Sunday for an eight-stroke victory at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in McKinney, Texas, a northern suburb of Dallas.

“This story means a lot to me,” he said. “It’s my first start as a pro 11 years ago (in this event). I had my sister (as caddie for the tournament). She’s back there, too.”

Scheffler tied the PGA Tour record for lowest 72-hole score at 31-under 253. His bogey on the par-3 17th prevented him from breaking the record.

Scheffler captured his first championship in more than eight months, doing so near his native Dallas. It’s his 14th PGA Tour victory.

He didn’t enter the tournament at TPC Craig Ranch last year because he was about to become a first-time father.

“It feels like a lifetime of hard work and sacrifice for little moments like these, and they’re pretty special,” he said.

South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen was the runner-up, also shooting 63 for the final round and ending at 23 under.

Joining Scheffler with the hometown vibes for this tournament were Sam Stevens and Jordan Spieth.

“What he’s doing is inspiring,” Spieth said of Scheffler.

Stevens shot 64 for third place at 20 under. Spieth’s 62 tied his personal best on the PGA Tour and allowed him to rise to fourth place at 19 under.

Scheffler led each step of the way for his first victory since wrapping up the Tour Championship on Sept. 1.

After a weather-related interruption Friday and a late-afternoon tee time for Saturday’s third round that finished after dusk, it was smooth sailing for Scheffler on the tournament’s last day.

He began the round with an eight-stroke lead and recorded five birdies, a bogey and then an eagle on No. 9 for a front-nine score of 30. He was 29 under through the tournament’s first 63 holes.

van Rooyen also notched a front-nine 30 but made up no ground.

The hometown favorite then moved into record territory with birdies on Nos. 11, 14 and 15. He was in the rough off the tee on No. 17 and, after his chip shot rolled back off the green, settled for bogey.

But winning a tournament named after Nelson added to the importance for Scheffler.

“He was a great person, a family man, and I’m proud to be the champion at his event,” he said.

Spieth and Scheffler are longtime friends. Being near the top of the leaderboard together was special, but because of the margin they weren’t exactly jockeying for position.

“I don’t think this counts,” Spieth said. “I went off two hours ahead of him. Yeah, it would have been really cool if I were the one in that last group, and at least we were going back and forth a little. That would have been pretty fun, just being hometown players.”

Stevens soaked in the atmosphere. He had his best round of the tournament Sunday, bouncing back after Saturday’s 70.

“It was nice to kind of keep the pedal down a little bit,” Stevens said.

Spieth embraced what has been a steady recent rise. He said good fortune contributed.

“I got a bit lucky on 18. I thought I hit it in the water, and I ended up making birdie,” Spieth said. “Those are the kinds of breaks you need to sometimes shoot 62.”

Eight golfers tied for fifth place at 17 under: Sam Burns (65), Mark Hubbard (65), Will Gordon (65), Eric Cole (67), Kurt Kitayama (68), Ricky Castillo (69), Adam Schenk (69) and Japan’s Takumi Kanaya (65).

–Field Level Media