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Red Sox Win in 12 Innings

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Romy Gonzalez ripped a walk-off single just inside the first-base line in the bottom of the 12th inning as the Red Sox earned a 5-4 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.

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Before scoring single runs in the 11th and 12th innings, the Red Sox had been held scoreless since Ceddanne Rafaela’s solo home run in the fifth.

Dominic Smith first put Boston ahead with a two-run double in the fourth.

Rafaela’s throwing error from shortstop on Isaac Paredes’ fielder’s choice scored Randy Arozarena to put Tampa Bay ahead in the 11th. The Red Sox answered in the bottom of the inning as Rob Refsnyder’s grounder back to the pitcher — which was unable to turn into an inning-ending double play — scored David Hamilton with Boston’s tying run.

The Red Sox then won it in the 12th after reliever Brennan Bernardino (2-1) caught Rays catcher Ben Rortvedt looking at strike three, stranding runners on the corners. Wong then scored the clinching run for Boston.

Josh Lowe (home run), Paredes and Amed Rosario all had multiple hits for Tampa Bay. Arozarena also went deep.

Manuel Rodriguez (0-1) took the loss.

After Tampa Bay tied the game at 3-3 in the sixth, strong relief pitching limited each team to just a single hit until the game reached extras.

Zack Kelly worked an impressive 10th, stranding the automatic runner at third with an inning-ending strikeout of Harold Ramirez. In the bottom half, Tampa Bay reliever Jason Adams turned a Vaughn Grissom liner into a double play to get through the frame.

The Rays struck first in the first inning for the second straight night, staking Aaron Civale to a 1-0 lead when Lowe took Pivetta deep to right-center field for a two-out solo home run.

Civale allowed only Rafael Devers’ leadoff single through the first three innings, but the Red Sox tagged him for two go-ahead runs in the fourth as Smith ripped a double past Lowe’s dive in right.

Rafaela upped Boston’s lead to 3-1 in the fifth, taking a one-out pitch deep down the left-field line for a solo homer.

After Arozarena homered to left-center to end Pivetta’s outing, Justin Slaten came out of the Boston bullpen and allowed a Lowe double to center and then Paredes dumped a single into shallow right to make it 3-3.

Aside from the homers, Pivetta allowed just two other hits and struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings.

A product of nearby Northeastern University, Civale finished the first Fenway Park start of his MLB career with six strikeouts and three runs allowed on five hits across the first five innings.

–Field Level Media

Atlanta Hawks Win NBA Lottery

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CHICAGO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The NBA Draft Lottery has been completed, the order has been doled out and the Atlanta Hawks beat the odds to come out on top, when they were granted the top overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft.

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It is the first time the Hawks have won the top choice via draft lottery in franchise history. They had the No. 1 overall pick in 1975, via the New Orleans Jazz, and selected David Thompson (who chose to play for the ABA’s Denver Nuggets).

Triumphant Hawks general manager Landry Fields celebrated the reveal Sunday afternoon on live television as the team’s onsite representative when the order of the top two selections was revealed.

Fields flashed a toothy grin when the Washington Wizards — who had the second worst record in the NBA at 15-67 last year — were announced to have landed in the second spot, giving the top choice to Atlanta.

The Hawks (36-46) had just a three percent chance at receiving the top choice, as opposed to a 65.91 percent chance at picking tenth overall. It is the fifth lowest odds all time for a team to wind up with the top selection in the lottery.

The Houston Rockets will select third, while the San Antonio Spurs are at No. 4.

Despite having the league’s worst record at 14-68, and the best odds at winning the lottery, the Detroit Pistons fell all the way to the fifth choice.

Rounding out the top ten will be the Charlotte Hornets (No. 6), Portland Trail Blazers (No. 7), Spurs (No. 8), Memphis Grizzlies (No. 9) and Utah Jazz (No. 10).

The Chicago Bulls will pick 11th, while the Oklahoma City Thunder are 12th. The Sacramento Kings are 13th and the Trail Blazers are 14th.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Activate, Start Bello

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Prior to the 1:35pm game today, the Boston Red Sox reinstated right-hander Brayan Bello from the 15-day injured list to start the final game of the series against the visiting Washington Nationals.

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Fellow right-hander Josh Winckowski was optioned to Triple-A Worcester to make room for Bello, who last pitched for Boston on April 19. Bello landed on the injured list five days later because of lat tightness.

Sunday will mark Bello’s first career appearance against the Nationals, who, like the Red Sox, will seek a series victory.

Bello, who was Boston’s Opening Day starter, is 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA in five starts this season.

Bello, who turns 25 on Friday, is 17-20 with a 4.22 ERA in 46 career appearances (44 starts) in three seasons with the Red Sox.

Winckowski, 25, is 1-1 with a 3.33 ERA in 12 appearances (three starts) this season.

He is 10-12 with a 4.12 ERA in 87 career games (18 starts) with Boston.

–Field Level Media

Marchand Out for Game 4

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Bruins captain Brad Marchand has been ruled out for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference second-round series versus the visiting Florida Panthers on Sunday with an upper-body injury.

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Marchand, a forward, received a hard check from Florida’s Sam Bennett in the first period of the Panthers’ 6-2 victory in Game 3 on Friday. Marchand logged 10:51 of ice time through two periods before sitting out the third for the Bruins, who trail 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

Marchand, 36, did not participate in practice on Saturday. He has team-leading totals in assists (seven) and points (10) in 10 playoff games for Boston.

Bruins coach Jim Montgomery would not confirm or deny whether Marchand sustained a concussion on the hit.

“It can be (galvanizing); it has been and it should be tonight with who our captain is,” Montgomery said.

Marchand had 67 points (29 goals, 38 assists) in 82 games this season. He has 929 points (401 goals, 528 assists) in 1,029 career games since being selected by the Bruins in the third round of the 2006 NHL Draft.

–Field Level Media

Patriots Name Eliot Wolf as EVP Football

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FOXBORO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The New England Patriots named Eliot Wolf their executive vice president of player personnel on Saturday. Wolf, 42, has 20 seasons of NFL experience, including the last four as director of scouting for the Patriots. His duties will include overseeing the personnel department, managing the salary cap and control of the 53-man roster.

The Patriots also have a first-year head coach in Jerod Mayo.

“As I have stated multiple times during the offseason, the plan was to observe the working relationship and involvement between Eliot and Jerod and see how they managed our offseason personnel decisions,” Patriots CEO Robert Kraft said in a prepared statement. “Then, following the draft we would formally undertake a process for setting up the permanent structure of our personnel department.

“I have been impressed with Eliot’s management style and experience and I’m excited that he has agreed to take on this new position.”

Wolf previously spent time with the Green Bay Packers (2004-17) and Cleveland Browns (2018-19). He was assistant general manager with the Browns.

“It is an honor to accept this position with the New England Patriots,” Wolf said. “I am grateful to the Kraft family for this opportunity and want to thank my family, especially my wife and children, for the support and strength they have given me as I move forward in my new role. I also want to thank all of the people I have worked with and learned from over the years.”

Wolf is the son of former Packers general manager Ron Wolf, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

–Field Level Media

Patriots: Maye Putting In the Work

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FOXBORO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New England Patriots rookies – head coach Jerod Mayo and quarterback Drake Maye – spent a good deal of time together the past two days at the team’s rookie camp, with Mayo taking a level approach in his initial reviews.

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“Early impressions of Drake?” Mayo said Saturday. “He has a lot to work on. But I have no doubt he’ll put the work in.”

Maye, the Patriots’ first-round pick (No. 3 overall) from North Carolina, has not yet been named the starter but that’s widely expected to come this summer.

Until then, Mayo will watch closely and continue to challenge the 21-year-old quarterback.

“He has a lot to work on. A lot to work on …,” Mayo continued. “He was here all night trying to get on the same page as everyone else.”

While “all night” might be a stretch, Mayo underscored the importance of spending quality time with his rookies.

“We’ll be here ‘til 7, 8, 9 o’clock,” he said. “Go in for a lift, then we have some meetings.

“The best thing about mini-camp is being around the guys for the first time. We’re at the hotel together. We’re right across the hallway from each other, so we’ll watch the film and look at the scripts for the next day together. We’ve got nothing else to do up here. Why not focus on football?”

Among Maye’s future targets, wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk spoke highly when asked for his evaluation of Maye.

“Guy can sling it,” said Polk, New England’s second-round selection. “Very confident and vocal. He’s a leader.

“He’s setting the tone in practice, trying to get guys moving around and operating at a high level. This is new to all of us. We’re still learning and trying to get to know each other so everybody can get on the same page.”

Much of Maye’s early work centered on fundamentals.

“I’m trying out two new stances that I’m getting used to,” he said. “Just getting more reps at it. Footwork is huge. It’s something that’s not easy.”

Along with Mayo, Maye will lean on Mayo as well as New England offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, offensive assistant coach Ben McAdoo and quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney.

“T.C. is talking to us during the meetings,” Maye said, “Coach Van Pelt will chime in when he needs to. (McAdoo) is awesome. All three of them know a lot of football.”

-Field Level Media

Can Cavs Defend Home Court vs C’s?

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CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Cavaliers have wrestled home-court advantage away from the top-seeded Boston Celtics. The next task is not giving it right back.

After splitting two games in Boston, the fourth-seeded Cavaliers look to make a big statement when they host the Celtics on Saturday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference second-round series.

After being crushed 120-95 in Game 1, Cleveland thrashed the Celtics on Boston’s home floor in Game 2 and notched a 118-94 victory.

Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell understood that it was a huge breakthrough but immediately turned the attention to Game 3 — suddenly the most important game of the playoffs for both teams.

“It’s always good to get a win on the road, but at the end of the day, it’s one game,” Mitchell said after scoring 29 points. “So it was good to get the win. We did a lot of really positive things. But, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.

“You got to go take care of home court. It’s nice to get this win, but at the end of the day, we got one day to prepare and get ready to protect home court.”

Boston is looking to bounce back quickly after it appeared it was going to roll through the series following the dominating Game 1 performance.

Trailing by as many as 29 in the second half of Game 2, after being tied at halftime, was a stunning development to the Celtics.

“Just get ready for Saturday,” said Boston star Jayson Tatum, who had 25 points in Game 2. “Nobody was in there defeated, deflated. I mean, you never want to lose, especially in the playoffs.

“There’s a lot of things we can learn from, and we get it — the world thinks we’re never supposed to lose. We’re supposed to win every game by 25. And it’s just not going to be like that all the time.”

Mitchell was one of three 20-point scorers for Cleveland on a night in which his club shot 54.7 percent from the field. Evan Mobley had 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists and Caris LeVert scored 21 points off the bench.

Mobley was a big factor on the defensive end as Boston shot just 41.3 percent from the field. Tatum and Jaylen Brown (19 points) were both 7 of 17 from the field and Derrick White (10 points) was 3 of 11. White scored 25 points in Game 1.

“That’s where he’s at his best, continuing to protect the paint,” Mitchell said of Mobley. “Especially having him guard on the ball, and being able to deter them on their shots and layups. …

“It’s not easy attacking Evan like that, so just having him able to be that dominant, but also give us offensive production, was big time.”

Mobley’s play in the interior was huge with center Jarrett Allen (ribs) again sidelined. Allen has missed five straight games and is listed as questionable for Saturday.

Boston big man Kristaps Porzingis (calf) will miss his fourth straight game.

NBA Draft Lottery: Who Will Pick #1

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CHICAGO – Four teams enter the 2024 NBA Draft lottery on Sunday with better than 13 percent odds of landing the No. 1 pick, but the prize holds relatively modest value one year after Victor Wembanyama arrived in the NBA from France.

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The Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards share the top odds — 14 percent — ahead of the Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers, who picked second and third behind the San Antonio Spurs last June. The Spurs scored the No. 1 pick, selected Wembanyama, and hold the fifth-best chance (10.5 percent) at getting the first overall pick in the 2024 draft via the lottery.

Since the lottery rules changed in 2019, each of the four teams to win the lottery and No. 1 pick entered with 14 percent odds to land the pick. The first year under the competitive balance rules in 2020, the Timberwolves won the lottery and selected Georgia’s Anthony Edwards.

While any team in the NBA would’ve welcomed a chance to bring Edwards or Wembanyama on board, there’s a bit of a red-headed stepchild narrative around the 2024 draft class.

The order of draft selections for lottery teams — the 14 teams not in the NBA playoffs — will be assigned mid-afternoon (3 p.m. ET, ABC) on Mother’s Day. Final positioning in the lottery was determined after the regular season based on record with the NBA settling tiebreaks involving teams with identical regular-season records.

Detroit drafted first overall in 2021 (Cade Cunningham) and fifth in 2022 (Jaden Ivey) and 2023 (Ausar Thompson). The Pistons find themselves back in this position following a league-worst 14-68 finish to the regular season.

Equal chances for the No. 1 pick belong to the Wizards. Washington last won the lottery in 2010, selecting Kentucky point guard John Wall.

The Hornets picked first once — in 1991, when they selected UNLV’s Larry Johnson — but have drafted outside of the lottery only once in the past 23 years. Charlotte selected Brandon Miller No. 2 overall in 2023 and LaMelo Ball with the third pick in 2020.

Greg Oden was the Trail Blazers’ pick at No. 1 in 2007 and Portland hasn’t been back in the top spot since. Point guard Scoot Henderson went at No. 3 to Portland in 2023. Kentucky shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe (seventh overall, 2022) and Lehigh guard CJ McCollum (10th overall, 2013) were the only other top-10 draft picks for the franchise since Oden.

Sporting the best record in the West in the regular season and playing in the conference semifinals, trade-happy Oklahoma City maintains two chances in the lottery as owed compensation in previous swaps with the Utah Jazz (6 percent chance at No. 1 pick) and Houston Rockets (1.5 percent odds at No. 1 pick). Because of pick protections placed on the trade, the Thunder would receive Utah’s selection only if it’s Nos. 11-14.

The current scouting consensus for the No 1 pick is Zaccharie Risacher.

Bruins Fall into a Hole

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Florida Panthers built a four-goal lead and finished off a 6-2 win over the host Boston Bruins in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday. Evan Rodrigues scored twice, Brandon Montour had a goal and an assist, while Vladimir Tarasenko, Carter Verhaeghe also scored for Florida, which took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

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Matthew Tkachuk had three assists, while Aleksander Barkov added two assists as the Panthers went 4-for-6 on the power play. Panthers’ goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky needed to make only 14 saves in Florida’s net in an impressive defensive effort, as Boston recorded half of its 16 shots in the third period.

After the Bruins accumulated only seven shots by the halfway mark of the game, Jakub Lauko and Jake DeBrusk each scored in a 3:30 span in the third period to break up Florida’s 10-0 scoring run in the series. DeBrusk added an assist.

Prior to Florida’s dominating run of goals, no team had scored more than seven straight in this postseason.

Jeremy Swayman stopped 27 shots for the Bruins.

Boston captain Brad Marchand did not return for the third period due to an upper-body injury.

Pavel Zacha’s blind backhand pass allowed Florida to maintain offensive-zone possession and score the opening goal 8:04 into the first period. Gustav Forsling took a shot from above the left circle that Rodrigues deflected over Swayman’s shoulder from the doorstep.

Boston defenseman Mason Lohrei’s double-minor penalty for high sticking in the second period proved costly, leading to two Florida goals in exactly a minute.

Tarasenko made it 2-0 when he snapped off a wrist shot from the left circle that beat Swayman upstairs at 16:14 of the middle period. A minute later, Verhaeghe redirected Matthew Tkachuk’s centering pass over Swayman’s blocker for a 3-0 lead.

After Lauko was called for a questionable goaltender interference penalty on a net drive early in the third, Montour took advantage on the ensuing power play and ripped a top-shelf shot from the center point at 3:09 for a 4-0 lead.

A delayed penalty helped Boston get on the board at 5:01, as Lauko tucked a wrister over Bobrovsky off a DeBrusk feed to the left circle.

Lohrei sent a pass to DeBrusk for a hard shot from the left dot that brought Boston back within 4-2 at 8:31.

Reinhart’s empty-netter with 1:24 left punctuated the Florida win, and Rodrigues added on with a power-play tally inside the final minute.

–Field Level Media

Cavaliers Look to Even Series

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The visiting Cleveland Cavaliers look to even their second-round Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Boston Celtics when the teams play Game 2 of the best-of-seven series tonight. The top-seeded Celtics pulled away in the second half of Game 1 to earn a 120-95 victory on Tuesday.

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“Obviously there’s a lot of areas that we can improve on,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Facing a team like Boston, I think it’s good to be able to play them and see them, and then play them again because you’re not used to the speed, the spacing, the shooting — all those things — until you get up against them. Especially coming from the series that we just came from (against Orlando) that was more of a half-court slugfest. … We’ll learn from it and we’ll be better on Thursday.”

Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell said the improvement has to start on offense. The fourth-seeded Cavaliers have failed to score 100 points in six of their eight playoff games.

“We got (42) 3s up and we hit 11,” said Mitchell, who scored a game-high 33 points in Game 1. “I think the biggest thing now is just being able to hit and knock them down.”

Boston received 32 points from Jaylen Brown and 25 from Derrick White, who sank seven 3 pointers.

“I think the most important thing is to win,” White said. “I’ve said before, it doesn’t matter if I score zero or score however many I scored (Tuesday). When we win, I’m doing enough.”

Cleveland was held to 15 points in the second quarter and trailed 59-49 at halftime. Boston led by 15 points after three quarters and opened the fourth on a 10-2 run.

“I thought we created some open shots,” Bickerstaff said. “I think we got some of the looks we were looking for; they just didn’t go. I think we missed four or five layups in that second quarter. Typically, we make those. We got some open 3s from guys who we wanted to take them. We’ll make more of those as the series goes along.”

Brown said it would be a mistake to read too much into the Game 1 result, especially since Cleveland had little time to recover after it advanced with a Game 7 victory over Orlando on Sunday.

“Anything can happen,” Brown said. “It’s the NBA playoffs. We’re just taking it one game at a time and that’s all we can control. And we try to come out, be the harder playing team. We stick to our agenda and we let the chips fall where they may. It’s gonna be tough for a team to have to beat us four times. But as long as we come out, we execute both ends, we’re the harder playing team, I think we’ll be fine.”

After Thursday, the series shifts to Cleveland for Game 3 (Saturday) and Game 4 (Monday). The Celtics won two of their three games against the Cavaliers during the regular season, but Cleveland won the only game it played at home.

“They came out here and did what they were supposed to do,” Mitchell said. “Now we have to find a way to steal Game 2.”

–Field Level Media