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Dalbec Awaits Sox Opportunity

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CHICAGO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora is dealing with a lineup problem as his team finishes a three-game road series against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, but it’s a problem he may be happy to have.

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Bobby Dalbec

The Red Sox recalled hot-hitting corner infielder Bobby Dalbec from Triple-A Worcester on Friday, but they have no obvious place to play him.

Dalbec, 27, was used as a third baseman for much of his minor league career, but he played first base when the Red Sox called him up in 2020. Boston has Rafael Devers at third base and Triston Casas at first. Justin Turner has been the team’s primary backup at both positions.

Based on how Dalbec performed in Triple-A this year, it may behoove the Red Sox to find playing time for him, however. Dalbec batted .296 with 18 home runs and 42 RBIs in 54 games with Worcester and hit .333 with 15 home runs and 38 RBIs over his last 36 games.

Dalbec appeared in 133 games for the Red Sox in 2021 and 117 games in 2022. He totaled 37 home runs over those two seasons, 25 of them in 2021.

“Obviously, where we’re at roster-wise, he needs to be patient,” Cora told reporters before Boston’s 3-1 victory over Chicago on Friday night. “And I understand how it works. It’s part of it. While he’s here, he’s going to get chances to contribute. And he’s ready to go. That’s part of being a big-leaguer, a professional baseball player. He sees what’s going on here.

“But at the same time, he belongs to us. He’s with us. And he’s been working hard to get better. In this business, you’re always one injury away from coming up here and contributing. He’s here right now, and hopefully, he’s in the right frame of mind. And whenever he gets a shot, just go ahead and keep doing the things you were doing at Triple-A.”

Devers, Red Sox Blast White Sox

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CHICAGO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Brayan Bello turned in another strong start and Rafael Devers hit a two-run home run as the Boston Red Sox ended a two-game losing streak by beating the host Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Friday night.

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It was a 1-1 game until Devers hit his 18th home run of the season in the fourth inning. Masataka Yoshida, who reached on an error, also scored on the blast.

The homer came against Chicago starting pitcher Lucas Giolito (5-5), who allowed three runs (one earned) and struck out 10 in six innings. Giolito surrendered three hits and walked one.

Devers raised his RBI total to 60. Yoshida had two of Boston’s four hits in the win, with Enrique Hernandez collected the Red Sox’s other hit.

Bello (5-4) limited the White Sox to a run on six hits in 6 2/3 innings. He recorded five strikeouts and walked one. Bello has given up no more than two earned runs in nine of his past 10 starts, and pitching to a 2.45 ERA in that span.

Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 16th save of the season.

The Red Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the third, when David Hamilton walked, stole second and scored on a two-base error by second baseman Tim Anderson. The White Sox made it 1-1 in the bottom of the inning on Anderson’s sacrifice fly, which scored Seby Zavala.

Hamilton made his major league debut on Wednesday and made his second start on Friday, going 0-for-2 to leave him 1-for-5 overall. He stole 70 bases for Double-A Portland last season and had 27 thefts with Triple-A Worcester this year.

Eloy Jimenez had three hits for the White Sox, who have lost nine of their last 12 games. Chicago, which finished with eight hits, is 18-20 at home this season.

Boston’s victory came in the opener of a three-game series. It was the first meeting between the Red Sox and White Sox this season.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Acquire Porzingis; Trade Smart

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Boston Acquired Jordan Walsh with 38th Pick in NBA Draft

BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The Boston Celtics have acquired center-forward Kristaps Porzingis from Washington, a 2023 Memphis first round draft pick (25th overall), and a future first round draft pick from Golden State via Memphis as part of a three-team transaction. As part of the transaction, Memphis received all-defensive team guard Marcus Smart from Boston, while Washington acquired guard Tyus Jones from Memphis and forwards Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala, in addition to the draft rights to the 35th overall pick in 2023 from Boston.

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With the 25th pick, the Celtics drafted another Marcus – Marcus Sasser of the University of Houston – and immediately dealt him to the Detroit Pistons in a deal that saw Boston move back to No. 31 and acquire future second-round picks.

“On behalf of everyone here, I would like to thank Marcus for his many contributions, both on and off the court, as a Celtic. The greatest legacy you can leave is to make a place better than you found it. We are all better for getting to compete with Marcus Smart these past nine years,” said the head of the Celtics’ basketball operations department, Brad Stevens.

Smart was selected by the Celtics with sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and has since appeared in 581 games (360 starts) while averaging 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.6 steals in 30.0 minutes per game. The three-time all-defensive team selection led the Celtics to a playoff berth in each of his nine seasons with the franchise, including the 2022 Eastern Conference Championship and five Conference Finals. Smart ranks fourth in Celtics history with 914 steals and was honored with the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year award, becoming the first league guard to take home the honor since Gary Payton in 1995-96.

“We are very happy to welcome Kristaps to Boston” said Stevens in a statement. “He brings a skill set and ability to impact the game that not only fits the needs of our team, but is elite for his position and size. The ability to play to his strengths with any combination of players is unique.”

Originally selected by New York with the fourth overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft, Porzingis, 27, has appeared in 402 career games and has averaged 19.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.8 blocks in 31.1 minutes per game. The seven-year NBA veteran joins the Celtics after stints at New York (2015-19), Dallas (2019-22), and Washington (2022-23).

Porzingis was named to the 2018 NBA All-Star Game and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team with the Knicks in 2015-16. He became one of five players in league history to record at least 4,000 points, 1,500 rebounds, 400 made three-pointers and 400 blocks before his 25th birthday, joining LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Tracy McGrady, Karl-Anthony Towns.

This year with Washington, Porzingis made the most starts in a season (65) since his 2016-17 campaign (65) and recorded career-highs in points (23.2), assists (2.7), and steals (0.9). The Latvia native finished the season as one of only three players in the league to average at least 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks during the 2022-23 season (Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid). Porzingis led the Wizards with 20 double-doubles while shooting a career-high 49.8 percent from the floor this season and has now shot above 45.0 percent from the field in three consecutive years.

The Celtics also made a series of Draft night transactions and the following trades are not yet finalized: (i) Boston acquired the 31st  pick and two future second round picks from Detroit in exchange for the draft rights to the 25th pick (Sasser); (ii) Boston then acquired the 34th and 39th pick from Charlotte in exchange for the draft rights to the 31st pick (James Nnaji); (iii) Boston then acquired the draft rights to the 38th pick (Jordan Walsh) and a future Dallas second round draft pick from Sacramento in exchange for the draft rights to the 34th pick (Colby Jones); and (iv) acquired a future second round draft pick from Atlanta in exchange for the draft rights to the 39th pick (Mouhamed Gueye).

The following future second round draft picks will be acquired by the Celtics once the trades have been finalized:

  • Dallas’ 2024 second round pick
  • The best of Detroit’s, Golden State’s, or Washington’s 2025 second round pick
  • The best of Minnesota’s, New Orleans’s, New York’s, or Portland’s 2026 second round pick
  • Atlanta’s 2027 second round pick

In one of the proposed future trades, the Celtics will acquire the draft rights to forward Jordan Walsh, who was selected with the 38th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Walsh, 6-7/205, tied the program record for most games played by a freshman with 36 appearances in his lone season at Arkansas and averaged 7.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 24.4 minutes per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field. The Branson, Mo., native helped the Razorbacks advance to the Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Walsh was ranked the No. 11 prospect by ESPN in the Class of 2022 after being named to the 2022 McDonald’s High School All-American Game and a Jordan Brand Classic participant.

CFP’s Hancock To Retire in 2025

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IRVING, Texas – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock announced that he will step down when his contract expires February 1, 2025.
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“My time at the CFP has been a dream come true,” said Hancock, 72, who will be entering his 19th season working in post-season football this fall. “I cherish what I do and the folks I get to work with. And I do love college football. Now I will run through the tape, as the track coaches say, and then I will enjoy whatever next steps are waiting for (his wife) Nicki and me.”
Hancock was named executive director of the CFP a few months after the event was created in 2012. He was the only CFP employee at the time. The leaders of the 10 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences and Notre Dame directed him to finalize the details of a media rights agreement, negotiate agreements with bowl games and championship-game host cities, build a staff, find office space, contact members to serve on the selection committee, and draft protocol and procedures for the committee to use.
The result has been nine enormously successful years for the CFP so far.
The CFP is slated to expand from four to 12 teams after the 2023-24 season.
“The plan was established several years ago for me to notify the CFP Board of Managers a year in advance if I decided to step aside, in order to provide ample time to plan a smooth transition to the next executive director,” Hancock said.
“I’m advising the board now, so the new executive director will have a long on-ramp, as he or she prepares to guide the CFP into the 12-team era.”
“Everyone who is blessed to work with Bill knows he is a highly skilled administrator, strong leader and truly good person. He’s a legend in college sports,” said Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum, the chairman of the CFP Board of Managers. “We were sorry when Bill told us about his and Nicki’s decision, but we are so grateful for his service in getting the CFP started and carrying it through the first nine years—10 after next year.”
Hancock will remain in his current duties through the 2023-2024 season.

Scouts Sue MLB for Age Discrimination

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LOS ANGELES – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – A group of former Major League Baseball scouts sued commissioner Rob Manfred, the league office and all 30 teams on Wednesday, contending age discrimination, the Los Angeles Times reported.

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The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Denver and contends MLB “blacklisted” older scouts and used the pandemic and the trend toward analytics as a “pretext for coordinated and systemic discrimination based on age.”

The lawsuit alleges MLB and the teams violated the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act and age discrimination laws in 12 states.

“We believe the commissioner and the owners colluded to eliminate veteran personnel because of salaries,” Rick Ingalls, who was a scout for 37 years, told the Times.

Named as plaintiffs in the suit are 17 former scouts between the ages of 55 and 71. All but one had at least 24 years’ experience. The plaintiffs are seeking class-action status that could grow the case to involve more than 100 “older” scouts and a request for at least $100 million in lost wages and damages.

Per the Times, the suit contends that MLB stopped posting notices when scouts became available to hire, listed older scouts who shouldn’t be hired and used the pandemic as “an opportunity to terminate an entire class of older employees.”

Ingalls told the Times that some of the scouts are in financial straits.

“These guys, when they’re let go, they’re not given a year of severance, they have no health insurance, no paycheck,” Ingalls said. “A lot of guys who are 55-60 when they’re fired can’t take pensions without penalties until they’re 65. They can’t get social security until they’re 62. They have no health insurance.

“A lot of these guys who we’re fighting for are losing their homes. They have kids, and the cost of [health] insurance is off the charts.”

–Field Level Media

SlamBall is Back; ESPN OnBoard

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ESPN Platforms to Carry More Than 30 Hours of Live Action in 2023, Starting Opening Night, July 21, from 7 to 9 p.m. ET on ESPN

LAS VEGAS/BRISTOL, Conn – (Staff Report from Official News Release) –

SlamBall is Back and ESPN – the worldwide leader in sports – is onboard for the ride, coming this July.

SlamBall, the fast-paced, gravity-defying sport that combines elements of basketball, football, hockey and trampolines, today announced an exclusive, two-year national broadcast partnership with ESPN for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

The broadcasting partnership begins on Opening Night, as SlamBall relaunches live action from its home-base in Las Vegas on July 21 from 7-9 p.m. ET.  ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+ will combine to air more than 30 hours of live SlamBall programming across five weekends, culminating August 17-19 with the SlamBall Playoffs and SlamBall Championship Game.

All games will be played at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, with ticket sales beginning on June 27.

“ESPN’s multi-year commitment to SlamBall is further validation of the enormous appeal and growth potential of our sport,” said SlamBall creator and CEO Mason Gordon. “The level of interest in our hybrid team sport not just in the United States, but across the world, has been beyond our expectations for the 2023 season. It’s clear that this best talent we have had in the sport’s history.”

“Mason and I couldn’t help but respond to the #BringBackSlamBall clamor,” said SlamBall co-founder Mike Tollin. “Live sports dominate the airwaves these days and audiences are looking for the next big thing. It’s a thrill to collaborate with ESPN in bringing this ground-breaking sport back to the world.”

“SlamBall is a league that combines elements of some of our fans’ favorite sports, resulting in a unique game that’s sure to entertain viewers across ESPN’s platforms.” said Ashley O’Connor, Sr. Director, Programming & Acquisitions at ESPN.

The broadcast team, production details, and full broadcast schedule will be announced in the weeks to come.

SlamBall has a long-term partnership with global premium experiences company Legends to provide e-commerce and on-site event retail; global, data-driven partnership strategy and execution; and business intelligence with actionable insights to drive revenue across all areas of the league.

David Levy at Horizon Sports and Experiences is providing additional sponsorship sales support in the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

SlamBall recently closed an $11 million Series A round led by Roger Ehrenberg’s IA Sports Ventures and Eberg Capital (Owner and Advisory Board Member, Miami Marlins, Betr, Simplebet) with participation from strategic investors across sports, gaming, entertainment, and media.

Strategic investors include David Blitzer (Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, Cleveland Guardians, Crystal Palace), David Adelman (76ers, NJ Devils), Michael Rubin (Fanatics), Gary Vaynerchuk (VaynerX, Major League Pickleball), and Blake Griffin (Boston Celtics power forward and six-time NBA All-Star).

Additional investors include: Kevin Nagle (Sacramento Kings), Lloyd Danzig (Sharp Alpha), Legends, Brian Lovell (Red Games), Jesse Sharf (Gibson Dunn), Accelerate Sports, and Eric Manlunas (Wavemaker Partners). Accelerate Sports provided investment banking services for the round.

Originally staged in 1999 by founders Mason Gordon and Mike Tollin, SlamBall is a one-of-a-kind sports and entertainment property with a rich history of success in the United States and in markets around the world.

It is a compelling hybrid combination of the best elements of basketball, football, and ice-hockey, infused with the essence of a video game come to life. The new, enhanced league, which includes partner Tom Penn, founder of LAFC, is set for its full comeback in the summer of 2023. Amid the current resurgence of interest in alternate sports, the hashtag #BringBackSlamBall has garnered more than 200 million views on social media, offering a powerful foundation of fandom for the sport’s revival.

For additional information, visit https://slamballleague.com/

Red Sox Clicking Over Five Game Streak

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MINNEAPOLIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Everything is clicking for the Boston Red Sox, who have outscored their opponents 40-14 during their current five-game winning streak. Boston will look to maintain its momentum when it continues a four-game series against the Minnesota Twins tonight in Minneapolis.

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Alex Verdugo drove in four runs and Triston Casas belted a two-run homer in Boston’s 9-3 win over Minnesota on Monday. Jarren Duran added three doubles and two RBIs.

Alex Cora, who recorded his 400th victory as the Red Sox’s manager on Monday, said the team’s recent offensive output has been building for several weeks.

“The line was moving before we started scoring runs the last few days,” Cora said. “Now we’re getting the big hits, so hopefully the fun starts.”

While Boston is receiving contributions from throughout the order, Minnesota’s offense is becoming a source of concern. Byron Buxton is mired in an 0-for-24 slump for the Twins, who have lost four of their past five.

“Baseball is a hot and cold game, and we’re kind of lukewarm right now,” Twins infielder Kyle Farmer said. “We’ve just got to keep playing and putting good at-bats together and stick to our routines and keep working.”

Minnesota will aim to bounce back against Boston right-hander Kutter Crawford (1-3, 4.20 ERA), who is set to make his sixth start of the season. Crawford returned to the rotation earlier this month after Chris Sale landed on the injured list with a stress reaction in his scapula.

Crawford allowed four runs over four innings in a no-decision against the Colorado Rockies on June 13.

Crawford owns a 5.40 ERA in seven home games (three starts) this season compared to a 2.60 mark in six appearances (two starts) away from Fenway Park. He is 0-1 with a 12.00 ERA in two career games (one start) vs. Minnesota.

Right-hander Bailey Ober (4-3, 2.65 ERA) will get the nod for the Twins. He earned a win on Wednesday after allowing two runs and striking out seven over six innings in a 4-2 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Ober has pitched at least five innings in each of his 10 starts this season, compiling a 54-to-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.86) over that stretch.

Ober will be facing the Red Sox for the third time in his career after not allowing an earned run in his previous two starts covering 11 innings.

Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli is looking for an improved effort on Tuesday after his team struck out 11 times and had just one extra-base hit — Christian Vazquez’s three-run homer — in the series opener.

“One of these days we’re going to show up and this is going to flip on us, but not everything is up to chance. It’s up to us,” Baldelli said. “We have our work cut out for us, and we have to figure it out because we aren’t playing well.”

The Twins will need a strong game at the plate to keep pace with Boston, which is averaging 7.7 runs per game in its past six games. Verdugo is 17-for-43 (.395) with seven RBIs during his 10-game hitting streak.

“Just kind of keep the next guy going and just timely hitting, I think that’s the big thing,” Verdugo said. “We were getting a lot of hits, but getting the runners in is what we’re trying to pride ourselves with.”

Celtics: Pressey New Assistant Coach

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics are set to hire former guard Phil Pressey as an assistant coach, according to multiple reports Monday.

Pressey is the third addition to Boston’s coaching staff this month, joining former Philadelphia 76ers assistant Sam Cassell and former Milwaukee Bucks assistant Charles Lee as the Celtics attempt to revitalize head coach Joe Mazzulla‘s bench.

Boston still plans to add at least one more assistant in the coming weeks, per the report.

In three NBA seasons, the 32-year-old Pressey posted career averages of 3.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 148 games (11 starts). He signed with the Celtics as an un-drafted free agent in 2013 and spent the first two seasons of his career with Boston, later also playing briefly with the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns.

Pressey served as an assistant at Missouri during the 2022-23 season but has no coaching experience in the NBA. In addition to his two seasons with the Celtics, Pressey also established Massachusetts ties by attending two high schools in the state.

–Field Level Media

Beal for Paul: Wizards, Suns Dump Contracts

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PHOENIX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – You take my problem and I’ll take yours.

The Phoenix Suns are finalizing a deal to acquire All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards in exchange for veteran point guard Chris Paul, shooting guard Landry Shamet and multiple second-round draft picks and pick swaps, The Athletic and ESPN reported Sunday.

The Suns — who had no first-round picks available to move in a trade — nevertheless managed to land Beal to pair with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.

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Over the weekend, reports indicated the Beal sweepstakes were down to the Suns and the Miami Heat. Beal, who’s long stood firm about wanting to make things work in Washington, has to waive the NBA’s only no-trade clause in order to approve the deal.

Paul, a 12-time All-Star and 11-time All-NBA selection, could attract an interested third party to the deal as he’s expected to ask the Wizards to move him to a contender, multiple reports said. One of Paul’s old teams, the Los Angeles Clippers, is likely to pursue a reunion with him, according to Bleacher Report.

Beal, who turns 30 this month, played in just 50 games (all starts) last season. He averaged 23.2 points, 5.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game and shot 36.5 percent from 3-point range. Injuries and multiple stays on the COVID-19 reserve list have limited Beal to just 90 games over the past two seasons.

In his 11-year career since the Wizards made him the third overall draft pick out of Florida in 2012, Beal has averaged 22.1 points, 4.3 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game over 695 games (661 starts). He was an All-Star in 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2020-21 and finished second in the NBA in scoring twice (30.5 ppg in 2019-20, 31.3 ppg in 2020-21).

Paul, 38, averaged 13.9 points, 8.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals across 59 starts for the Suns in 2022-23. He has career averages of 17.9 points, 9.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 1,214 games with the New Orleans Hornets (2005-11), Clippers (2011-17), Houston Rockets (2017-19), Oklahoma City Thunder (2019-20) and Suns (2020-23).

Paul led the NBA in assists just two seasons ago when he averaged 10.8 per contest in his second campaign with the Suns.

Phoenix posted a league-best 64-18 record that season after falling to the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals in 2021. But the Suns were knocked out of the playoffs in the second round in both 2022 and 2023. New team owner Mat Ishbia fired veteran coach Monty Williams and hired former NBA champion Frank Vogel as his replacement earlier this month.

Shamet, 26, has played in 302 games (92 starts) for four teams since the Philadelphia 76ers drafted him in the first round (No. 26 overall) in 2018. He has career averages of 8.9 points and 1.7 assists per game with a 38.8 percentage from 3-point range for the 76ers (2018-19), Clippers (2019-20), Brooklyn Nets (2020-21) and Suns.

–Field Level Media

Sweeps x 2 for Red Sox Over Yankees

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BOSTON – Brayan Bello pitched seven innings against the New York Yankees for the second time in as many starts, leading the host Boston Red Sox to a 4-1 win on Sunday night. The win capped sweeps of a day-night doubleheader and the three-game series for Boston, which is 5-1 against the rival Yankees this season.

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Bello (4-4) struck out a career-high eight batters and allowed just one run on four hits and three walks across his seven-inning outing.

Alex Verdugo went 2-for-4 and Triston Casas hit a two-run double to lead the Red Sox offense.

After Josh Winckowski pitched a scoreless eighth inning, Kenley Jansen struck out two and worked around a single in the ninth to post his 15th save.

Gleyber Torres had a pair of doubles to account for two of New York’s five hits. Anthony Rizzo had the Yankees’ lone RBI.

Bello danced out of the first allowing only one run after Jake Bauers walked, Torres lined a double to right and Rizzo had an RBI groundout. Bello retired the next two Yankees to limit the damage.

A two-out run allowed the Red Sox to even the score in the second. After a Rafael Devers leadoff single and Rob Refsnyder’s sacrifice bunt, Enrique Hernandez ripped an RBI double down into the left field corner.

The Red Sox defense made several strong plays to keep the visitors to one run. Center fielder Jarren Duran’s running catch into the triangle in center was a definite highlight, robbing Rizzo of an extra-base hit to end the third.

In the fourth, Reese McGuire reached on catcher’s interference to score Verdugo for Boston’s go-ahead run.

Two runs in the fifth allowed the Red Sox to extend their lead to 4-1. Duran drew a leadoff walk and stole second base with one out. Shortly after Verdugo’s fly ball to shallow center landed for a base hit, Casas stepped up with the bases loaded and hit a two-out, two-run double that bounced into the right field stands.

Luis Severino (0-2) was the New York starter, and he allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits in five innings. He fanned six.

Bello stranded two Yankees in both the sixth and seventh innings, striking out Bauers swinging on his final pitch of the game.

–Field Level Media