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Archives for September 25, 2026

“It’s On to Tampa Bay”

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FENWAY – (Staff Report from Official Team News Statement) – Major League Baseball announced today that the Red Sox series finale against the Chicago Cubs will be relocated to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Originally set for 7:15 p.m. on September 25 at Fenway Park, the new game is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. on Sunday, September 26 at the home of the Tampa Bay Rays.

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The change was made in continued consultation with the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs due to the unchanged forecast of a major nor’easter expected to bring heavy rain, high winds, and potential flooding to the region during the weekend. Tickets purchased directly from the Red Sox will be automatically refunded back to the original payment. The ticket will hold no cash value. Refunds will be completed within 7 days. Sunday’s game will be televised on NESN

Red Sox Rally Past Cubs

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FENWAY – (Wire Service Report) – Boston left fielder Roman Anthony went 3-for-3 with three runs, including one on Connor Wong’s tie-breaking RBI double in the seventh inning, leading the Red Sox to a 4-3 win over the visiting Chicago Cubs in the first game of their Friday doubleheader.

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Anthony hit two doubles and walked before lining a one-out triple down the right field line off Cubs reliever Aaron Civale (6-8) to spark the Red Sox in the seventh. Wong then drove in Anthony, lining a double over third baseman Matt Shaw’s leap and into the left field corner.

Adley Rutschman was 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the Red Sox (86-74), tying the game with a two-run single in the fifth.

Greg Weissert (4-2) pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the victory. Raymond Burgos locked down his second save of the season, striking out three of the final six batters.

Shaw and Michael Busch both had multiple hits and Miguel Amaya drove in two for the Cubs (88-72), who clinched a National League playoff berth Thursday and remain in the running to host a wild-card series.

Alex Bregman returned to Chicago’s lineup just five days after sustaining multiple facial fractures from a foul ball. He went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter.

The Cubs struck first in the opening frame. After Red Sox opener Alec Gamboa struck out leadoff hitter Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki walked and scored when Tyrone Taylor hit a two-out RBI double into the wind and off the Green Monster two batters later.

Back-to-back hits by Shaw and Busch to start the second helped Chicago extend its lead to 3-0. After Shaw was cut down on Dansby Swanson’s fielder’s choice, Amaya knocked a two-run double down the left field line.

The Red Sox wasted Anthony’s leadoff double in the first and two on with one out in the second, but cut into their deficit with a run in the third. Anthony drew a leadoff walk and reached second on Rutschman’s single to right before scoring on shortstop Swanson’s overthrow while attempting to double up Wilyer Abreu.

Rutschman’s game-tying single up the middle came after Caleb Thielbar relieved Holmes in the fifth. Setting the table, Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a leadoff single to left before Anthony doubled into the corner.

Jake Bennett pitched 3+ innings of three-hit shutout ball behind Gamboa.

Cubs starter Clay Holmes allowed three runs (two earned) in his 4 1/3-inning start.

Red Sox catcher Mickey Gasper left with right biceps discomfort after striking out in the fifth.

–Field Level Media

The Road to Inglewood via Jacksonville

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JACKSONVILLE – (Wire Service Preview) – The New England Patriots were the best road team in the NFL last season, a perfect 8-0 in the regular season.

New England travels to Jacksonville on Sunday afternoon looking to start a new streak against the Jaguars. The Patriots lost at Seattle to begin the regular season.

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It won’t be easy against a Jacksonville crew going for its sixth consecutive regular-season home win dating back to last season.

“They play well at home. They’ve been getting great first-half leads,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said of Jacksonville. “They feast off turnovers. They’ve been creating turnovers and turning those into points.”

Division winners in the AFC last season, Jacksonville and New England have taken opposing paths to their respective 1-1 records.

The Jaguars opened with a convincing win over the Cleveland Browns before blowing a fourth-quarter lead in last week’s 20-13 loss at Denver.

Trevor Lawrence threw a touchdown pass to four different receivers in the opening win, then was held under 200 passing yards with no touchdowns against the Broncos.

Jacksonville hasn’t found the same consistent offensive success as it had in Liam Coen’s first season as head coach.

The 2025 Jaguars finished sixth in the NFL in scoring offense (27.9 points per game) and 11th in total offense (337.4 yards per game). This year’s team ranks 15th in scoring (23.5 ppg) and total offense (314.0 ypg) through two games.

Wide receivers Brian Thomas Jr. (80 yards) and Jakobi Meyers (68) and tight end Brenton Strange (48) haven’t carried over their production which buoyed the 2025 offense.

Parker Washington, however, has built on his breakthrough 2025 campaign, following up his 847 yards and five TDs with a team-high 181 yards and a touchdown this season.

“Obviously, he’s super talented. He gets open, creates separation. He’s a really good route runner, great ball skills, can make contested catches. All those things are part of it,” Lawrence said of Washington’s success. “I trust him. Our chemistry has grown more and more over the past year of him being put in a lot of different situations and excelling and winning his 1-on-1s. All those things kind of play into that.”

New England features a lockdown cornerback in Christian Gonzalez, who has excelled since signing a record-breaking four-year, $135 million extension before the regular season began. Gonzalez locked up DK Metcalf in the Patriots’ win last week. Washington isn’t the same type of physical specimen, but has been more productive.

He’s No. 2 in the NFL in target share behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba at 36.7% which is why he warrants the attention of Gonzalez.

The Patriots were unable to beat the Drew Lock-led Seahawks in their opener but bounced back with a resounding 20-3 home win over Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh last week.

New England is allowing a league-best 8.0 points per game, while Drake Maye scrambles to recapture the momentum of his second-place MVP finish last season.

The third-year quarterback has one touchdown pass and four interceptions. Vrabel is trusting the process over the early results.

“Being decisive, believing in what you see,” Vrabel said of what he wants to see from Maye. “All we ask all our players to do is prepare to try to play fast and aggressively and make great decisions. So, yeah, we could always say, ‘Man, we should have let that one rip,’ or ‘We’ve got to make a better decision.’

“Ultimately, it’s his responsibility to be able to distribute the football as quickly and decisively as possible in the places that it’s supposed to go.”

Meyers (thumb), running back LeQuint Allen Jr. (hip), offensive linemen Robert Hainsey (elbow/groin) and Cole Van Lanen (knee) as well as defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton (back) were all limited in Jacksonville’s practice on Thursday. Cornerback Christian Braswell (knee) pracaticed in full one day after being limited.

A pair of New England linebackers in Dre’Mont Jones (shoulder) and Quintayvious Hutchins (knee), along with safety Craig Woodson (shoulder) and tight end Eli Raridon (thigh) didn’t practice Thursday, while starting right tackle Morgan Moses (foot) was limited.

Jacksonville has won the last two times it hosted New England, most recently in 2024, but the Patriots hold a 12-3 edge in the all-time series, including postseason play.

–Field Level Media

Cubs Visit Cold, Rainy Boston for Finale

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – As Boston braces for an extended nor’easter, the Red Sox and the visiting Chicago Cubs are looking to get ahead of the storm and make sure baseball gets played with a Friday doubleheader.

The teams will begin their final regular-season series with 1:05 and 6:05 p.m. games today. The opener originally was slated for Sunday. The clubs’ final regular-season game remains set for Saturday night, but it could be moved to another location with multiple days of continued wind and rain in the Boston-area forecast.

“There have been discussions around an alternate site. They’ve talked about a handful of different places. But at this point, nothing is concrete,” Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said before his team’s 1-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday.

The Cubs (88-71) earned a 2-1 win over the Miami Marlins on Thursday afternoon, clinching their second straight postseason berth.

It was a memorable day in Chicago even before the result. Pete Crow-Armstrong became the seventh 40-homer, 40-steal player in major league history after stealing second base in the first inning. The National League MVP favorite has 45 homers to go with his 40 steals.

“You’re just part of enjoying it,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “And I think it’s the things you remember about the job, moments like that and moments that he’s provided all of us.”

Chicago’s Seiya Suzuki homered and Nico Hoerner had the deciding RBI in the playoff clincher.

The Cubs have work to do this weekend if they want to host a best-of-three wild-card series. Chicago sits in the second NL wild-card spot, one game behind the San Diego Padres (89-70) and one game up on the Philadelphia Phillies (87-72). The top wild-card team stays home through the opening round of the playoffs.

“It’s a time when things feel stronger — the end of the season with a lot on the line,” Hoerner said. “Those are also times with the greatest opportunity, too. So just really leaning into all of it.”

The Cubs are expected to start Clay Holmes (6-8, 3.25 ERA) and David Peterson (9-8, 4.96) — both midseason acquisitions from the New York Mets — in the Friday games.

Holmes allowed six runs in 5 1/3 innings in a Sept. 18 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, and he is 0-2 with a 9.39 ERA in three starts this month. He has faced the Red Sox 21 times in his career (one start), going 4-2 with a 3.42 ERA and four saves.

Peterson threw six innings of one-run ball while fanning seven in each of his past two outings, including Sunday against the Reds. He is 2-1 with a 2.79 ERA in five career outings (three starts) opposite Boston.

The Red Sox (85-74) have lost four of their last five, scoring no more than two runs in any contest over that span. The recent series loss to Cleveland finished a split of consecutive 1-0 games, a Red Sox win on Wednesday and a Guardians victory on Thursday.

In the series finale, Boston managed only two hits, singles by Nick Sogard and Jarren Duran, wasting a solid five-inning pitching performance from Ranger Suarez.

Andruw Monasterio snapped an 0-for-21 skid with a game-winning RBI single the previous night.

“Over these next three games, if you see some (offense) bust out, that would be great,” Tracy said. “We did have some quality plate appearances from certain guys, which was good to see.”

Tracy’s lineup on Thursday included Ceddanne Rafaela in center field. One night earlier, Rafaela exited the game due to right hamstring tightness. However, first baseman Willson Contreras sat out his sixth game in a row.

Contreras was hit in the right hand by a pitch a week ago, and he couldn’t swing a bat the past two days. Tracy hopes to have him back for postseason play on Tuesday, but the first baseman gave a disappointing update about his condition.

“It’s really frustrating when you’re doing the best you can do, you’re expecting to heal faster and it doesn’t happen,” Contreras said.

Rookie southpaw Alec Gamboa (1-0, 1.16 ERA) will pitch for the Red Sox in the Friday afternoon game. He has made 20 appearances this season, including two outings as an opener. In his past 13 outings, he has allowed just two runs, one earned, in 18 innings (0.50 ERA).

Gamboa will be facing the Cubs for the first time.

Right-hander Brayan Bello (6-7, 4.49) is slated to start the nightcap after striking out 11 Tampa Bay Rays over eight innings of one-run ball on Saturday.

In two career starts vs. the Cubs, Bello is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA.

–Field Level Media