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Archives for June 2, 2026

Baltimore’s Alonso Reminds Red Sox of What Could’ve Been – “A Monster”

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief, Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – The ballgame was tied 1-1, going into the top of the 3rd inning. Baltimore catcher Adley Rutschman singled to left-center field with one out and Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early was throwing darts.

But …

Batter-up, Pete Alonso.

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Alonso was floating in the wind for two seasons as he completed a stellar career playing for the New York Mets. Aside from Mets retired third baseman, David Wright, Alonso was the face of the franchise and very well liked and respected by the fans. But, the Mets were beginning a re-build and both time and money were short.

The Mets signed Alonso to a couple short-term contracts when he was seeking, at least a five year deal. Then, last summer Alonso opted for free agency and hit the jackpot with the Orioles, signing a 5-year, $155 million contract that pays him $31m this season, then $33m for four more years. It was a major commitment by the O’s.

The Red Sox stood by and watched, never a serious bidder, and instead signed Willson Contreras, currently the club’s No. 4/clean-up hitter and the most consistent bat on the team. Contreras has 11 home runs and 33 RBI – not too shabby.

But Tuesday night, the fans in Fenway Park – both Red Sox and busloads of Orioles fans – witnessed what might have been if the Sox had taken an aggressive play at Alonso.

As the third batter up in the 3rd inning, Alonso hit a ball 400 feet at 110.8 mph and it was rising as it cleared the Green Monster and then plugged a seat so hard, the Fenway Park and Boston building inspectors might need to take a look later tonight, or maybe Wednesday morning when the steam subsides. It was a glimpse of “what might have been” for the Red Sox is they truly went after the long ball hitting free agent – either in 2024 or 2025.

It wasn’t meant to be for the Sox, and Alonso’s homer put the Orioles ahead 3-1. Baltimore followed up with an insurance run in the fourth inning to make it 4-1.

Boston’s Mickey Gasper scored in the 5th inning, the result of a single, a wild pitch, advancing to third base on a ground-out and then scoring on a Marcelo Mayer sacrifice fly to center field.

Baltimore starter Shane Baz went seven full innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs while walking two and striking out six Boston batters. He was credited with the win and is now (3-5).

Boston’s Connelly Early pitched well, but allowed four earned runs in 5.1 innings. He allowed six hits of which two were home runs. (Coby Mayo’s seventh, hit in the 2nd inning. Early walked only one batter and struck out six. He threw 96 pitches and 64 were strikes. Two were mistakes.

Baltimore and Boston continue their three-game series Wednesday night when Chris Bassitt (4-3) takes the mound for the Orioles and rookie Payton Tolle (2-2) starts for Boston. Baltimore is three games ahead of the AL East cellar-dwelling Red Sox.

NHL: Stanley Cup Final Preview

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RALEIGH – (Wire Service Preview) – The Vegas Golden Knights know that the bookmakers in their own city have them as the underdogs in the Stanley Cup Final.

All that matters to the Golden Knights is what happens on the ice during the best-of-seven finals that begin Tuesday when they face the Carolina Hurricanes in Carolina.

“I honestly don’t really think I care or it matters to us,” Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore said on Monday. “We have belief in our room from the first game of playoffs up until now. Whatever is said is said. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter who picks who. The better team ends up winning.”

The Golden Knights, who are riding a six-game winning streak, and the Hurricanes, who are looking to become the first NHL team to go 16-1 in the postseason, are both chasing a second Cup title in franchise history.

Carolina — the former Hartford Whalers franchise which became the Hurricanes for the 1997-98 season — for the won its only Cup in 2006 and had not reached the finals since. Vegas, which won in 2023, is in the finals for the third time in its nine-year history.

Thirteen players on this season’s Vegas roster played on that 2022-23 team.

“You can draw from your experience, knowing what to expect, having done it before and knowing what this is gonna look like,” said forward Jack Eichel, a member of that Cup-winning team. “But I think every series and every season has its own story, so we’re trying to write that now.”

Although Carolina’s run is garnering more headlines, the Golden Knights have been just as hot since the final few weeks of the regular season. After John Tortorella was hired in a late-season coaching change, Vegas posted a 7-0-1 mark down the stretch to claim the top spot in the Pacific Division and has marched through its opponents with a 19-4-1 record since he took over.

“He’s a big personality guy,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “So it’s very easy to get comfortable right away. He tells you exactly what he wants from you and it’s all black and white.

“He came in and preached the right things and got us playing better and better as a team.”

That said, the Hurricanes are worthy of their favorite status. Carolina reached this point by sweeping its opponents in the first two rounds — the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers — and then knocking out the Montreal Canadiens in five games in the conference finals, which it concluded with a pair of dominant victories.

The Hurricanes are the first team since the 1976 Montreal Canadiens to win 12 of 13 games to open a playoff run. That Montreal team claimed the Stanley Cup, and the Hurricanes are looking to duplicate the feat.

“We went through so much … now we’re here,” forward Andrei Svechnikov said. “But still the job is not done. This is the biggest stage, we all know that, but now we have one more step.”

Reaching this point was a huge achievement for a Carolina club that reached the Eastern Conference finals for the third time in four years and fourth time in eight seasons, but was becoming known for falling short.

A key to the Hurricanes continuing their success, beyond the club’s stifling defensive play, will be to embrace the situation. After all, hockey history is loaded with clubs that managed to reach a new point but then failed to reload.

“We’ve been knocking on the door for this for a while. To be in this moment now, I think everyone is extremely grateful and super excited,” forward Seth Jarvis said.

“We’re competing for the Stanley Cup with 20 of my best friends. Twenty guys I’ve spent a lot of time with. To be here in this moment with this group of guys, I can’t ask for anything more.”

–Field Level Media

MLB Preview Red Sox vs. O’s

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BOSTON – (Wire Service preview) – Quality at-bats and quality starts are what it’s all about in baseball.

The Boston Red Sox hope that both trends can continue as they return home to host the Baltimore Orioles for the first time this season, opening a three-game series with their American League East rival on Tuesday night.

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After Boston rode a six-run seventh inning to a series-clinching 9-4 win at the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday, rookie Connelly Early (5-2, 2.95 ERA) will take the ball looking to deliver another quality start. The 24-year-old left-hander has worked at least six innings in five of his last eight outings.

Sunday’s win saw Boston log 12 hits — including at least one from all nine starting batters — with Masataka Yoshida highlighting the big inning with a go-ahead two-run single.

“You got to tie the game before you can take the lead, so those were really quality at-bats,” interim Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said. “We keep stacking on after that to get into a comfortable lead.”

Tracy’s lineup also has Isiah Kiner-Falefa riding a seven-game hit streak, while Caleb Durbin tripled as part of his second consecutive multi-RBI effort.

While left-hander Garrett Crochet deals with left lat tightness in a setback of his return from shoulder inflammation, the Red Sox hope that Early can continue the team’s recent momentum. He pitched seven scoreless, four-hit innings with seven strikeouts en route to his win over the Atlanta Braves last time out on Wednesday.

“After what he did last year for us in the playoffs, I feel like he had to grow up pretty quick,” outfielder Jarren Duran said of Early. “Some of us forget he’s a rookie and he’s doing the things that he’s doing.”

Early faced the Orioles for the first time in his career on April 26, recording the win and allowing just a pair of solo home runs on four hits through 6 2/3 innings.

The Red Sox are just 9-19 at home. Early’s performance came in the only win of Boston’s last homestand — a 1-5 stretch against the Minnesota Twins and Braves.

Though the Orioles sit just ahead of the Red Sox at the bottom of the division standings, they’ve put together one of their most consistent runs of the season.

A 9-5 Sunday win against the Toronto Blue Jays was Baltimore’s seventh on a season-high 10-game homestand it entered having lost five of six. Colton Cowser hit a three-run homer and drove in four to lead the support of Kyle Bradish, who allowed just one unearned run over seven innings.

“I’m not going to say the team needed it, but I think it’s one of those things that is encouraging and keeps morale up, keeps confidence up, and hopefully (we’ll) continue to build momentum,” said Cowser.

Manager Craig Albernaz agrees.

“We were playing the baseball that we’re capable of,” he said. “Just all the work that these guys have been putting in relentlessly every day, we’re starting to see the rewards now, and against some really good teams. It’s been fun to watch.”

Confidence has gone a long way on the mound as well. Shane Baz (2-5, 4.48) has been a part of it, putting together back-to-back solid starts ahead of taking the mound at Fenway Park.

Baz notched a season-high nine strikeouts across seven innings of one-run ball against the Tampa Bay Rays last Tuesday. It was his third straight start working at least six frames and his second straight allowing just one run.

The right-hander, who has spent his entire five-season career in the AL East with the Tampa Bay Rays and Orioles, is 3-1 with a 2.64 ERA in five career starts against the Red Sox.

–Field Level Media