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Bello Returns for Rubber-Game vs DC

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BOSTON – Right-hand starting pitcher Brayan Bello will make his return from the 15-day injured list when the host Red Sox and Washington Nationals wrap up a three-game series this afternoon. Bello (3-1, 3.04 ERA) hasn’t pitched since April 19, when he picked up a win against the Pittsburgh Pirates after allowing just one hit across six shutout innings. He landed on the IL five days later because of lat tightness.

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

After Washington opened the series with a 5-1 victory on Friday night, Boston battled back for a 4-2 win on Saturday. Rafael Devers broke a 2-2 tie by hitting a two-run double with two outs in the eighth inning.

Devers doubled off of Robert Garcia after the Nationals elected to intentionally walk Tyler O’Neill with Romy Gonzalez on second base.

“I thought that was the right matchup,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said. “It’s a good battle up there. He fouled a couple of good, tough pitches off, and (Devers) just got the best of him (Saturday). But Garcia’s throwing the ball good. He’s our left-handed guy, so we decided to go that route.”

Devers said he couldn’t remember a time when a team intentionally walked a player to pitch to him.

“Those are baseball decisions,” Devers said through an interpreter. “Tyler is a right-handed batter. I’m lefty, so if I’m a manager someday, I might make the same decision.”

The outcome ended Boston’s three-game losing streak, and the Red Sox struggled immensely at the plate with runners in scoring position during the skid. Boston stranded 33 runners during those three setbacks, in which the team was 2-for-29 with runners in scoring position.

“Raffy against anybody — we’ll take that,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “As a manager you gotta kind of like pick your poison, right? They had the righty ready. They’re watching, too. At that point they made the decision to go against Raffy. (Garcia) had him with two strikes. He was one pitch away from getting out of the inning.

“You’re managing that inning, you’re managing the whole game, you’re managing the series, right. Probably the lefty won’t be there (Sunday). They got a lefty going. So there’s a lot of thought process, not only like it’s Raffy Devers. I bet if he has to do it again, he’ll do it again, because I know Dave. There’s a lot of conviction behind it. I understand the reasoning.”

Washington was held to four hits in Saturday’s loss, but two were solo home runs by Joey Meneses and Eddie Rosario.

The Nationals will send left-hander MacKenzie Gore (2-3, 3.44 ERA) to the mound on Sunday.

In his most recent outing, Gore was tagged for six runs (two earned) and six hits in three innings against the Toronto Blue Jays last Sunday. He did not factor into the decision.

Gore’s only career appearance against the Red Sox came last August, when he gave up one hit and no runs in 6 1/3 innings during Washington’s 6-2 victory. Gore struck out seven and walked two but settled for a no-decision.

–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

Tatum, Brown Drive Celtics to Victory

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CLEVELAND – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jayson Tatum recorded 33 points, 13 rebounds and six assists and the Celtics regained the lead in their Eastern Conference second-round series with a 106-93 victory over the host Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night.

Tatum’s teammate, Jaylen Brown, scored 28 points on 13-of-17 shooting and collected nine rebounds as top-seeded Boston took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Jrue Holiday added 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Derrick White had 12 points for the Celtics.

Donovan Mitchell made seven 3-pointers and scored 33 points for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers. Evan Mobley had 17 points and eight rebounds, while Caris LeVert and Darius Garland scored 15 points apiece for Cleveland.

Game 4 is Monday night at Cleveland.

The Cavaliers were without big man Jarrett Allen (ribs) for the sixth straight game. Kristaps Porzingis (calf) missed his fourth straight game for the Celtics.

Boston shot 51.2 percent from the field, including 13 of 34 from 3-point range. Cleveland connected on 42.9 percent of its shots and was 12 of 36 from behind the arc.

The Cavaliers trailed by 15 points before scoring the first six points of the final quarter. Mobley capped it with back-to-back hoops to bring Cleveland within 84-75 with 10:29 remaining.

Payton Pritchard and White nailed 3-pointers over the next few minutes as Boston pushed its lead to 94-81 with 6:58 remaining.

After a three-point play by Mitchell, Brown and White scored to give the Celtics a 98-84 advantage with 5:42 left.

Tatum’s fall-away baseline jumper over Max Strus made it 104-89 with 2:14 left, and Boston closed it out.

Boston led by nine at the break before opening the third quarter with 14 consecutive points.

Tatum opened the quarter with a three-point play, White added a 3-pointer and Brown followed with a layup to increase the margin to 17. White and Holiday knocked down treys to end the surge and give the Celtics a 71-48 lead with 9:06 left in the third quarter.

Mitchell hit a short jumper with 8:39 left in the third to start a 9-0 run as the Cavaliers pulled within 14 with 5:25 left. Boston thwarted the charge, and Brown drained a long 3-pointer with 20.3 seconds left to give his team an 84-69 advantage entering the final stanza.

Tatum scored 18 points in the first half as the Celtics took a 57-48 lead into the break. Mitchell had 23 in the half for Cleveland.

–Field Level Media

Devers Doubles Sox to Victory

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Rafael Devers hit a two-run double with two outs in the eighth inning to propel the Red Sox to a 4-2 victory over the visiting Washington Nationals on Saturday.

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Devers’ line-drive double hit the base of the wall in left field and broke a 2-2 tie by driving in Romy Gonzalez and Tyler O’Neill. Gonzalez reached on a fielder’s choice before O’Neill was walked intentionally. Devers had two of Boston’s six hits.

Wilyer Abreu hit his fourth home run of the season for Boston, which ended a three-game losing streak. The Red Sox were 2 for 29 with runners in scoring position during those three losses.

Chris Martin (2-1) pitched a scoreless eighth inning to earn the win. Kenley Jansen struck out two of three batters he faced in the ninth to record his sixth save.

Reliever Robert Garcia (0-2), who surrendered the double to Devers, took the loss.

Joey Meneses and Eddie Rosario each homered for Washington.

Boston starting pitcher Cooper Criswell went five innings. He allowed two runs on three hits, walked one and recorded a career-high nine strikeouts. It was a 2-2 game when he exited.

Washington’s Jake Irvin gave up two runs on four hits in seven innings. He struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.

Meneses opened the scoring by leading off the second with a solo home run, his first home run of the season.

The Red Sox tied the game at 1 on Abreu’s home run in the third.

After Rosario homered on a ball that hit the Carlton Fisk pole in left field to give Washington a 2-1 lead in the fifth, Boston pulled even when Jarren Duran’s two-out double drove in David Hamilton to make it a 2-2 game in the bottom half of the inning. Rosario’s homer was his fourth of the season.

CJ Abrams had two of Washington’s four hits.

-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.

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