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Sox On, Walk Off

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Reports) – A night after an exhilarating walk-off victory in the series opener, the Boston Red Sox will look for their fourth consecutive win when they oppose the visiting Toronto Blue Jays tonight.

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Jarren Duran (3-for-5) hit a single on Monday to score Ceddanne Rafaela with the game-winning run for the Red Sox, who trailed 6-2 after seven innings but came back for their eighth win in nine games.

Three of Boston’s wins in that stretch came during a series sweep at Toronto early last week.

Rafael Devers (3-for-4 on Monday) and David Hamilton each homered and Romy Gonzalez hit a game-tying, pinch-hit, two-run single to help the Red Sox prevail with the NBA champion Boston Celtics in attendance.

“It was just amazing,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve never really been a part of something like this, and hopefully we can just keep this thing rolling.”

Duran has hit safely in a career-high 14 consecutive games.

The Tuesday pitching matchup is a rematch from the finale at Toronto last week. Red Sox right-hander Brayan Bello (7-4, 4.83 ERA) will oppose Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman (5-6, 4.24).

Bello pitched six innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts in Boston’s 7-3 win on Wednesday.

“When you’ve got 97-98 (mph) with movement, a good changeup and a good slider, we want our guys to keep pounding the strike zone and he did,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said after Bello’s latest outing. “(The starting pitchers) worked hard (last) week just controlling the counts and pounding the strike zone, and he executed the plan.”

Bruins Trade Ullmark to Senators

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BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Boston Bruins acquired forward Mark Kastelic, goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and a 2024 first-round draft pick (25th overall) from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for goaltender Linus Ullmark. Ottawa will retain 25% of Korpisalo’s salary.
Kastelic, 25, appeared in 63 games during the 2023-24 season, recording five points and five assists for 10 points. The 6-foot-4, 226-pound forward has skated in 144 career NHL games, all with the Senators, tallying 14 goals and 11 assists for 25 points. Among Ottawa forwards in 2023-24, Kastelic ranked third in penalty minutes (63) and fourth in hits (126). The Phoenix, Arizona native was originally selected by Ottawa in the fifth round (125th overall) of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
Korpisalo, 30, appeared in 55 games with Ottawa during the 2023-24 season, recording a record of 21-26-4 with a 3.27 goals against average and .890 save percentage.  The 6-foot-3, 189-pound goaltender has played in 276 career NHL games with Ottawa, Los Angeles and Columbus, compiling an overall record of 115-107-29 with a 3.06 goals against average and .901 save percentage. The Pori, Finland native was originally selected by Columbus in the third round (62nd overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Blue Jays Visit Fenway to Face Hot Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox look to get the best of an American League East rival for the second straight week, beginning another three-game series against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, who will head to Fenway Park for the first time this season tonight.

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It has been a winning stretch for Boston, which took series from the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees on their last homestand before going 5-1 on a trip through Toronto and Cincinnati.

The Red Sox are 9-2 over their past 11 games after heading home following a 7-4 win over the Reds on Sunday, moving them into the third American League wild-card position.

Boston manager Alex Cora sees a talented team from top to bottom that is “playing with joy.”

“We went from a roster that we had some question marks early on in the season and now it feels like it’s one of the best rosters position-player-wise that we’ve had in a while,” Cora said. “From one to 13, we’re not afraid to play them. We’re in a good spot right now.”

Jarren Duran finished a highlight-filled series with a 3-for-5 performance Sunday to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. He also stole his 20th base.

“He works so hard and he now understands what he needs to do to play every day, to keep his energy the way he should,” Cora said.

Of course, starting pitching has also been a major strength. Tanner Houck (7-5, 2.14 ERA) is slated to pitch on Monday.

Houck allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and struck out five in 5 2/3 innings Tuesday at Toronto. The right-hander had a streak of five straight outings of at least six innings snapped, but the Red Sox were eventual 4-3 winners en route to the series sweep.

Houck, who is 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA in six career outings (five starts) against Toronto, has still not allowed more than three earned runs in 12 straight starts dating to April 12.

“I’ve always known I can do better,” Houck said recently. “I’ve always known that I had the ability to do it and it was just kind of putting it together.”

The Blue Jays are trending in the opposite direction, having lost six straight and fallen to seven games under .500 after being swept in Cleveland.

On top of the extended skid, Orelvis Martinez — the organization’s star prospect who recorded his first major league hit Friday — received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.

Home Runs Propel Sox Over Reds

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CINCINNATI – (Wire Service Report by Field Level Media) – Boston’s Connor Wong and Rob Refsnyder each hit a two-run home run to propel the visiting Red Sox to a 7-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.

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Wong (No. 7 of the season) homered in the fourth inning, and Refsnyder (No. 3) belted his home run in the sixth. Jarren Duran had three hits and two RBIs for the Red Sox, who took two of three games in the series and have won seven of their last eight.

Wong extended his hitting streak to 13 games.

Cincinnati starting pitcher Nick Lodolo (8-3) had won his five most recent starts, but exited the mound with two outs in the fifth. Lodolo allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits. He walked four and struck out three over 77 pitches.

Cincinnati manager David Bell was ejected in the fourth inning for arguing balls and strikes. It was the 30th time he has been ejected during his managerial career, which ties him with Sparky Anderson for most ejections by a manager in Reds’ history.

Greg Weissert (3-1), one of eight pitchers Boston used in the game, picked up the win for tossing one scoreless inning. Kenley Jansen recorded his 15th save.

The Red Sox scored four times in the fourth. After Wong’s homer opened the scoring, Boston took a 3-0 lead when Ceddanne Rafaela hit into a fielder’s choice and Romy Gonzalez scored on Jonathan India’s throwing error from second base. Rafaela made it 4-0 by scoring on Duran’s RBI double.

The Reds got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth. Elly De La Cruz doubled and scored on Jeimer Candelario’s single to left.

Duran’s RBI single drove in David Hamilton to stretch Boston’s lead to 5-1 in the sixth before Refsnyder homered two pitches later.

Cincinnati kept things interesting by scoring three runs in its half of the sixth, which included an RBI double by Tyler Stephenson and RBI singles from Santiago Espinal and Stuart Fairchild.

De La Cruz, India and Fairchild each had two hits in the loss.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Close Road Trip vs Lodolo

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CINCINNATI – (Staff an d Wire Service Report) – The Cincinnati Reds will send one of the National League’s hottest pitchers to the mound Sunday afternoon when they try to win the rubber match of a three-game series against the visiting Boston Red Sox.

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Left-hander Nick Lodolo (8-2, 2.76 ERA) is listed as Cincinnati’s starter for Sunday’s matchup. Lodolo won his fifth consecutive start Tuesday when he pitched seven innings in a 2-1 victory over Pittsburgh. He recorded eight strikeouts, gave up four hits and didn’t walk a batter. Lodolo has limited opponents to seven runs in 30 1/3 innings over his past five outings.

“I thought, overall, I just felt in control,” Lodolo said following Tuesday’s victory. “I just want to go out there and give us a good chance to win. … The goal is for me to go out there and get myself in position to win.

“I’m really just five days at a time. I feel like you start looking ahead, you never know. I just have to stay present and do it again in five days.”

The only run Lodolo allowed against Pittsburgh was a solo home run to Ke’Bryan Hayes with one out in the seventh inning. He retired 11 in a row before giving up the home run.

Lodolo is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in his career against the Red Sox. He’s made one appearance against Boston and allowed three runs on three hits — including two homers — in five innings of a 5-3 setback on Sept. 20, 2022.

Cincinnati opened the three-game series against Boston with a 5-2 victory on Friday. The Reds, however, squandered a three-run lead in a 4-3 loss on Saturday and fell to 2-5 in their past seven games.

Boston has won six of its past seven. Saturday’s win improved the Red Sox to 4-1 on their current road trip.

“Secures a good week, right,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “That’s four (wins) this week. We get a chance tomorrow against a good lefty. He’s really good, so we’ll see what we do. It feels good winning this one.”

“A good team win,” Boston’s Rob Refsnyder said. “Just looking back at it, it feels like everyone contributed.”

The Red Sox are expected to employ a bullpen game Sunday after sending right-handed starting pitcher Cooper Criswell to Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday. Criswell made 11 starts for the Red Sox after being recalled from Worcester.

Right-hander Zack Kelly (2-1, 1.75) is expected to get the start. Kelly is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two career appearances (1 1/3 innings) against Cincinnati.

The Red Sox didn’t play Thursday and have three days off during a 12-day stretch that begins June 27. That could allow Boston to use its top four starters — Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Nick Pivetta — until at least early July.

The Reds have hit five home runs in the first two games of the series but had two players thrown out at the plate and another picked off second base Saturday.

“We’re going to be an aggressive baserunning team,” Cincinnati manager David Bell said. “We have to continue to learn from each thing and get every edge on the bases. It’s going to be a part of our game.”

–Field Level Media

Home Sweet Home for Bradley

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CROMWELL – Back close to home, Keegan Bradley looks to defend his Travelers Championship title when he tees off this week at TPC River Highlands in the suburbs of Hartford, Connecticut.

The Woodstock, Vermont and Hopkinson, Massachusetts native carded an event-record 23-under finish to earn his sixth and most recent PGA Tour win here in 2023.

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“I have great memories of here throughout my whole entire life, so it’s fun to come back as a winner of the tournament,” said Bradley, returning to his favorite golf course.

“I can think of when I was a 12-, 13-year-old kid coming here to watch David Duval play. And then now getting to come as defending champion is pretty cool.”

Bradley has had an up-and-down 2024.

He missed the cut at three of four events across February and March, but he has posted a pair of T2 finishes, including last month’s Charles Schwab Challenge.

“It’s been a weird season,” Bradley said, adding that he has felt “really strong” over the last few months.

Bradley, though, has shot over par in each of his last two events. He followed his season-worst 9-over-par finish at the Memorial by shooting 7-over at last week’s U.S. Open.

Putting has been a struggle, Bradley said, but he feels like his short game is coming along as of late and returning to TPC River Highlands may give Bradley’s putter another boost.

“Sometimes coming to a course like this that you’ve had some success at is just what you need to maybe hopefully contend,” he said.

Asked if he had re-watched his victory from last year, Bradley said he was selective about it.

“I can watch up until about 13 or 14, and then I started whacking balls in the water and making bogeys, so we fast forwarded through that part,” he said.

Bradley said he’s proud to have the Travelers Championship represent his “home event” and relishes the nostalgia it delivers aside from last year’s win.

“This tournament really, it means a lot to me before I had won. I mean, like I say every week, this is a very important tournament to the Northeast and New England golfers,” Bradley said. “And a kid like me, this is the only chance I would get to come up here and watch professional golfers play. So this is an important week for the game of golf in this area.”

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Take the Fifth

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TORONTO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Enmanuel Valdez and Jarren Duran hit solo home runs and visiting Boston defeated the Blue Jays, 7-3. Duran also had an RBI single to help the Red Sox sweep the three-game series and extend their winning streak to five games.

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Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman (5-6) allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out four in 5 2/3 innings.

Red Sox Keep On Rollin’

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TORONTO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Ceddanne Rafaela had three hits, including the go-ahead, two-out single in the eighth inning, and the visiting Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 on Tuesday.

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Tyler O’Neill’s home run to center leading off the eighth tied the game for the Red Sox, who have won the first two games of the three-game series and four straight overall.

Toronto right-hander Chris Bassitt allowed two runs, seven hits and two walks while striking out six in six innings.

Boston right-hander Tanner Houck gave up three runs (two earned), six hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings. He fanned five.

The Red Sox opened the scoring in the second inning. O’Neill led off with a double to left and scored on Dominic Smith’s two-out bloop single to center.

Toronto took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning. Justin Turner and Addison Barger began the frame with singles, and both scored on Ernie Clement’s two-out double.

Boston tied the game in the sixth. Rafael Devers doubled to left-center with one out and scored on a two-out single to center by Masataka Yoshida.

Toronto regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Daulton Varsho reached first on an error and stole second. Turner walked. Alejandro Kirk’s one-out grounder to third forced Varsho before Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a soft RBI single past first base. Zack Kelly (1-0) replaced Houck, escaped the jam and pitched 1 1/3 innings.

Nate Pearson took over from Bassitt and allowed a double and a single in the seventh before being replaced with two outs by Brendon Little (0-1), who struck out Devers to end the threat.

O’Neill tied the game when he opened the eighth against Little with his 15th homer of the season and his third of the series. Smith singled with two outs, prompting Toronto to replace Little with Chad Green. Pinch runner David Hamilton then stole second and scored on Rafaela’s single to left.

Kenley Jansen pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his 13th save of the season and fourth in seven days.

Toronto put shortstop Bo Bichette (right calf strain) on the injured list Tuesday and recalled infielder Orelvis Martinez from Triple-A Buffalo. Boston reinstated right-hander Chris Martin (anxiety) from the IL and optioned right-hander Cooper Criswell to Triple-A Worcester.

–Field Level Media

Championship Window is Wide Open

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – With a Game 5 win on Monday night the Celtics sealed the NBA title, but Boston had actually been waiting for this moment for over a decade. Just over five years after the Celtics claimed their 17th championship, Boston went into a complete rebuild on June 28, 2013, trading franchise centerpieces Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for a package that included role players and draft picks.

What followed was a stretch of nearly 11 years that featured ups and downs, plenty of change and a constant belief that Banner 18 was always just one season away.

Two of the draft picks in the Brooklyn deal ended up turning into Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, drafted third overall in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The Celtics decided to build around the duo, and it ended up being the right choice.

But before the arrival of Brown and Tatum, Boston went through the 25-57 2013-14 campaign that featured Jeff Green as the frontman. Then a 5-foot-9 Isaiah Thomas came to town and started to establish himself as “The Little Guy,” in the words of the late Tommy Heinsohn.

Those teams may not have realized it at the time, but they were laying the foundation for something special.

Once Brown’s rookie season rolled around, the Celtics were really starting to look like contenders. Thomas averaged 28.9 points per game during the 2016-17 season, leading Boston to its first Eastern Conference finals appearance since 2012.

The Celtics came up short but proceeded to load up the following offseason, trading for Kyrie Irving and signing Gordon Hayward. Even though Hayward fractured his left tibia just minutes into his Boston debut, the Celtics ended up returning to the East finals, where they fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games.

From there, Boston overcame a fallout with Irving and an underwhelming two seasons with Kemba Walker running the point to punch its ticket to the Finals in 2022. Heartbreak was again in the cards, though, as the Golden State Warriors raised the coveted Larry O’Brien Trophy after beating the Celtics in six games.

After getting bounced in the Eastern Conference finals once more a year ago, Boston went all in.

The Celtics parted ways with fan favorite Marcus Smart, considered by many to be the heart and soul of the team, to acquire Kristaps Porzingis via trade, and they also made a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers to bring in point guard Jrue Holiday.

Those moves paid off, and now a league-record 18th banner will be raised this fall.

While this year’s team was the one that broke a 16-year title drought, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla is forever thankful for Green, Thomas, Smart and every other player that checked in for Boston over the past 11 seasons.

“I think the most important thing, something that’s really been going through my mind throughout this process, is you can’t lose sight of the people that came before us,” Mazzulla said. “And I want to make sure every person that’s worked for the Celtics, that’s played for the Celtics that didn’t win, knows that their work and what they have done has not gone unnoticed

“It can be so easy when you work for this organization and you don’t win that the work that people put in just gets brushed over or gets ignored. … So I think that’s one of the first things that came to mind, was just because we won this doesn’t mean what the people have done before us isn’t just as important.”

Through everything over the past seven years, Brown and Tatum have been the one constant.

“We’ve been through a lot, the losses, the expectations,” Brown said. “The media have said all different types of things: We can’t play together, we are never going to win.

“We heard it all. But we just blocked it out, and we just kept going. I trusted him. He trusted me. And we did it together.”

Brown was named Finals MVP. He averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the series, and Tatum quickly shot down any notions of him being jealous of his co-star.

“Extremely happy for him. This is a hell of an accomplishment,” Tatum said. “The main goal for us was to win a championship. We weren’t — we didn’t care who got Finals MVP.”

The Celtics traveled to Miami on Tuesday to celebrate for a bit before returning to Boston for their championship parade on Friday morning. And if all goes to plan, Celtics fans should get used to lining the streets and watching the city’s duck boats roll by.

“I think we definitely have a window,” Brown said. “We take it one day at a time. We definitely have to make sure we stay healthy. But, you know, we’ll enjoy the summer, enjoy the moment, and then we get right back to it next year.”

– Field Level Media

Brown, Tatum Lead Celtics to Banner 18

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BOSTON – (Staff and wire Service Report) – Forward Jayson Tatum dominated with 31 points and 11 assists as the Boston Celtics locked up their league-record 18th championship with a 106-88 blowout of the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals.

Tatum also had eight rebounds while teammate Jaylen Brown added 21 points, eight boards and six assists for Boston, which celebrated the 16th anniversary of its previous title by completing a 16-3 playoff run. The Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2008 Finals, and those two teams shared the league record with 17 championships apiece before Monday.

Jrue Holiday had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Derrick White chipped in 14 points as Boston wrapped up the best-of-seven series on its home court.

Luka Doncic paced the Mavericks with 28 points and 12 boards, but he committed seven turnovers. Kyrie Irving finished with 15 points and nine assists for Dallas, and Josh Green netted 14 points.

After Dallas called a timeout with 3:11 left in the second quarter, trailing by 11 points, Boston completely broke the game open.

The Celtics scored 17 of the next 24 points, six of which came from Brown. Boston reserve guard Payton Pritchard capped the outburst in jaw-dropping fashion, canning a 49-foot heave from beyond half-court at the buzzer to send Boston into the break with a 67-46 lead.

Holiday’s layup pushed the Celtics’ lead to 78-52 with 9:10 to go in the third quarter. Green then converted a putback and knocked down a 3-pointer as part of a 10-2 run that got the Mavericks within 80-62.

Dallas later got the deficit down to 17, but Boston took an 86-67 lead into the fourth.

The Celtics were on top by at least 18 the rest of the way.

A three-point play from Tatum put the Celtics up 46-31 with 7:08 remaining in the first half, but Dallas then took over down low. The Mavericks scored all of their points in the paint during an 8-2 spurt to get within nine before Al Horford stemmed the tide with a hard-nosed layup.

Horford’s bucket came just before the Mavericks’ timeout that preceded Boston’s game-changing run.

Boston came to life in the final 1:39 of the first quarter, ripping off nine unanswered points to take a 28-18 lead into the second.

The Celtics wound up shooting 42.7 percent from the floor. Dallas shot 44.9 percent overall but was outscored by 10 points at the foul line and committed 13 turnovers to Boston’ nine.

– Field Level Media