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by Terry Lyons
TAMPA – ST PETE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Tamps starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow matched his career high with 14 strikeouts as the Tampa Bay Rays topped the Boston Red Sox 3-1 on Wednesday in the rubber game of a three-game series.
Across six innings in a 103-pitch outing, Glasnow (8-5) yielded one run on three hits and one walk.
The 6-foot-8 right-hander rounded out his start by fanning six consecutive batters in the fifth and sixth innings. Glasnow’s only previous 14-K game came against the Texas Rangers on April 12, 2021.
Brandon Lowe and Isaac Paredes both homered and Harold Ramirez doubled home a run as Tampa Bay (85-55) improved to 9-2 this season against the Red Sox (72-68).
Pete Fairbanks struck out two in a scoreless ninth for his 20th save in 22 chances.
The Rays added to their sterling home record against Boston, beating their division rival for the 15th time in the past 16 matchups in the dome.
For the Red Sox, Connor Wong had an RBI triple, but the visitors produced only five hits and fanned 17 times, including seven straight midgame.
Injured on Sunday, Boston outfielder Alex Verdugo (left hamstring tightness) did not play and missed the entire series.
In the third inning, Boston went up 1-0 with no outs on Wong’s triple, a high shot into the right field corner that plated Enmanuel Valdez, who had singled.
Glasnow, who had recorded five strikeouts in the first two frames, left Wong stranded at third after a diving stop by shortstop Osleivis Basabe was surrounded by Wilyer Abreu and Justin Turner both looking at third strikes.
Lowe, the hero on Tuesday with a walk-off homer in a 8-6, 11-inning win, went deep on a four-seam fastball from Nick Pivetta (9-8) with two outs in the bottom of the first on Wednesday.
He ripped his game-tying 19th long ball out to right-center at 109.2 mph at 416 feet, giving him 18 homers in 53 career games against Boston.
Paredes took Pivetta deep with two outs in the fourth, hammering a 3-2 four-seamer for his 28th homer and 87th RBI for a 2-1 lead.
The Rays made Pivetta pay for wildness in the fifth. After two walks, Ramirez’s two-out double off the center field wall sent home Yandy Diaz and chased Pivetta after 4 2/3 innings. The right-hander yielded three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five.
–Field Level Media
TAMPA – ST. PETE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – As Tampa Bay prepares to conclude a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox, there is a good chance a lot of momentum will be on the Rays’ side in the Wednesday night finale at Tampa Bay.
On Tuesday night, the Rays fought back for a dramatic win when Brandon Lowe swatted a three-run homer to beat Boston 8-6 in 11 innings.
Tampa Bay (84-55) almost got the win in the 10th — then it almost didn’t happen at all.
With one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, Josh Lowe, representing the potential winning run, was doubled up at home on Christian Bethancourt’s fly to right. Adam Duvall’s throw was up the third base line but in time enough for catcher Connor Wong to tag the speedy Lowe.
The Red Sox (72-67) took a one-run lead into the bottom of the 11th when Luis Urias dropped a flare into right over the Rays’ drawn-in infield. Brandon Lowe appeared to catch the ball, bobbled it and saw it fall to the ground as Rob Refsnyder came home with the go-ahead run.
Though Urias was credited with a hit, Brandon Lowe atoned for his inability to make the play by crushing his game-winning homer to right off Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen after Yandy Diaz walked.
“It felt great, honestly, with us being up early and kind of playing some shoddy defense there in that inning,” said Lowe, who also made an error at second base in the seventh when Boston scored twice to tie it at 5. “I guarantee you half of our infield and some of our other guys felt horrible.
“Feeling that off (homer) the bat kind of relieved all that pressure from the stank of that inning.”
The Red Sox saw their three-game winning streak end and failed to clinch the series. They will try again on Wednesday, likely with outfielder Alex Verdugo (left hamstring tightness) on the bench.
“He’s doing OK,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “We’ll take it day by day, obviously. Playing here (on artificial turf) doesn’t help, obviously. We’ll see how he responds to treatment.”
Cora did not rule out the availability of Verdugo for the series finale but stressed that a return later in the week was more realistic.
“Maybe Wednesday, and then hopefully, he can get better throughout the week and be ready for Friday,” Cora said.
The left-handed-hitting Verdugo is batting .278 with 13 homers and 53 RBIs in 124 games.
On Wednesday, Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow (7-5, 3.17 ERA) will make his 10th career appearance (all starts) against the Red Sox. He look to improve on his 2-1 record and 3.59 ERA vs. Boston. Glasnow got a no-decision against the Red Sox on June 3 after giving up one run in 5 1/3 innings.
Boston has hit .215 against the Newhall, Calif., native and stolen 12 bases — the most by any team against him.
The Red Sox will send out Nick Pivetta (9-7, 4.49 ERA) in an effort to leave the Sunshine State with a series-clinching victory.
In 10 career appearances (nine starts) against the Rays, the right-hander is 1-5 with a 4.44 ERA and a .214 opponents’ batting average. He has no decisions and a 1.59 ERA in two games (one start) vs. Tampa Bay this year.
–Field Level Media
by Terry Lyons
TAMPA-ST. PETE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – In their longshot push for a wild-card spot, the Boston Red Sox did something Monday afternoon they have not been able to accomplish in more than a year — win on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Having snapped a 13-game losing streak at the dome with a 7-3 win in the series opener, Boston will try to clinch the three-game set Tuesday night in its second matchup with the Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Desperately needing a victory, Boston (72-66) got a career-high four-RBI game from Triston Casas and a strong start from Brayan Bello to win for the third consecutive outing and first time in the bayside ballpark since April 22, 2022.
“I think he’s going to keep hitting fourth in this lineup,” Boston manager Alex Cora said after Casas produced a two-hit game that included a 419-foot homer — his 23rd — to put Boston up for good in the sixth inning.
The Rays (83-55) started fast with three runs on three hits in the first inning, but they managed only two more hits over the next eight frames.
Regular Tampa Bay starters Yandy Diaz, Isaac Paredes and Jose Siri were given the day off, but manager Kevin Cash gave credit to Bello for shutting down his squad. The Red Sox right-hander gave up three runs and struck out seven in six innings.
“We had good at-bats early on, but I felt like Bello settled in,” said Cash, whose club is 7-2 against the Red Sox this year. “He threw a good ballgame. He had a lot of late movement between the sinker and changeup going in one direction and the big sweeping slider going in the other direction. He made it tough for us.”
The pitching matchup Tuesday night will feature a pair of native Floridians, Boston’s Kutter Crawford and Tampa Bay’s Zach Eflin.
A product of the lakeside town of Okeechobee, Crawford (6-7, 4.08 ERA) will appear in his 27th game and make his 19th start of the year.
The right-hander surrendered six runs and seven hits in 2 2/3 innings and absorbed a 7-4 loss to the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
Before the start, Cora said Crawford had progressed tremendously from 2022 (3-6, 5.47 in 21 games).
“Since day one, he’s been one of our best pitchers,” the manager said. “Whenever he pitches, he gives us a chance to win. He’s grown so much from last year.”
Crawford is 1-0 with a 2.21 ERA in five appearances (two starts) against the Rays, 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two games (one start) this year.
Eflin (13-8, 3.40 ERA) went 2-2 in August with his best monthly ERA this season — 2.62 — but had tough no-decisions against the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins.
In those two starts, the Orlando native allowed a total of one run and nine hits in 13 1/3 innings — a 0.68 ERA.
Tied for the AL lead in victories (13) with Toronto’s Chris Bassitt and Baltimore’s Kyle Gibson, Eflin also has two no-decisions in his pair of career starts against Boston to go along with a 7.00 ERA over nine innings. Both of those outings occurred in 2020.
–Field Level Media
KANSAS CITY – Boston’s Masataka Yoshida and Adam Duvall homered, and starting pitcher Chris Sale earned his first win since May, leading the Red Sox past the host Kansas City Royals, 7-3, on Sunday in the rubber game of the three-game series.
Yoshida’s two-out, three-run fly barely cleared the right-center field wall for his 14th home run and a 3-0 advantage in the fourth inning. The rookie had two of the Red Sox’s nine hits, his 46th multi-hit game.
Sale (6-3) allowed two singles and two walks, striking out five while permitting just one runner past first base to collect his first win since May 26 and 13th against the Royals, his most against any opponent.
Duvall’s 416-foot solo blast to left, his 19th homer, improved Boston’s lead to 4-0 in the sixth. Duvall has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games, batting .408 with eight home runs and 16 RBIs.
Salvador Perez got Kansas City on the scoreboard with an RBI single off reliever Mauricio Llovera in the sixth, cutting the deficit to 4-1. Perez had two of the Royals’ eight hits.
Red Sox right fielder Alex Verdugo was seen limping after fielding Perez’s hit and left the game one batter later. Per the Boston Globe, Verdugo is battling a tight left hamstring.
Bobby Witt Jr.’s seventh-inning throwing error led to a pair of Red Sox runs as Justin Turner delivered a sacrifice fly for a 6-1 lead. Rafael Devers’ two-out RBI double in the ninth capped Boston’s scoring.
Dairon Blanco’s two-run single in the ninth off Kenley Jansen capped the scoring.
After opener Taylor Clarke retired the Red Sox in order in the first, Zack Greinke (1-14) went 3 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk. Greinke has not won since May 3.
Boston (71-66), which has lost five of seven, earned its first series win since a three-game sweep at the New York Yankees Aug. 18-20.
The Royals are 6-21 since their season-long seven-game winning streak ended Aug. 4, falling to 42-96 and dropping 54 games below .500 for the first time in franchise history.
–Field Level Media

By TERRY LYONS
CHESTNUT HILL – If this column were to be written from hometown New York some 15 years ago, the opening of the College Football season would NOT have registered as a major sports weekend. New York City is not a college sports town. Yes, there are plenty of taverns that welcome college football fans to congregate for their school’s games – they call it LSU HQ or ACC Football Hub and dozens of other bars that establish themselves as the place to be if you’re from Faber College and you’re looking for your game.
To the extent of anything you might call Division I NCAA College Football in New York is few and far between. Columbia University provides the IVY League experience while Fordham University plays in the sub-division (FCS) and is a partial member (just for football) in the Patriot League. (Otherwise, for most sports, Fordham toils in the A-10).
After that, you’re looking at trips to Staten Island (Wagner), Long Island (Stony Brook), or points much further away and mainly Upstate NY (Albany, Buffalo, Cornell, Marist (Poughkeepsie), Colgate (Hamilton, NY) or Syracuse.
Here in Boston, the city’s College football fans face much the same problem. Although Boston is home for some 35 colleges and universities and more than. 154,320 students descend upon Boston every August/September, Boston remain a pro sports town with a lot of colleges. If you look at Massachusetts as a whole (as in counting the likes of Holy Cross in Worcester, Wellesley, Springfield, UMass in Amherst), the State’s population grows by some 483,488 from college students studting in the Commonwealth.
Yes, that’s a half-million Red Sox fans created every year.
Boston College rates highest in the Boston area college football meter, playing a highly competitive schedule in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). This weekend, Alumni Stadium in Chesnut Hill played host (and LOST) to Northern Illinois University in a non-Conference game vs FBS club with a devastating loss as the Eagles opened 2023 with high hopes but a realistic viewpoint when looking at a schedule that includes: No. 8 Florida State, and ACC tough Miami, Virginia, Louisville, Virginia Tech and Syracuse, among others. With a rotating ACC schedule, the Eagles were spared match-ups vs the likes of Clemson, North Carolina, Duke, NC State and Wake Forest.
Geez: Even next week’s opponent – Holy Cross – is a challenger.
Believe it or not, very soon, BC might face SMU, Cal or Stanford in the 2024-25 season as ACC school presidents and chancellors voted to allow the westward expansion Friday. That’ll make the ACC register 18 schools while the Pac 12 was reduced to the Pac 2 (Oregon State and Washington State), rendering the Pac 12 Network useless.
Looking elsewhere back in Boston, you can see Harvard compete in the IVY, or the UMass Minutemen play as an independent FBS school. Holy Cross plays in the Patriot League while Tufts always fields a competitive Division III team over in Somerville where you can see Bates, Williams, Colby and Wesleyan (New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is a proud alum).
Before Notre Dame defeated Navy over in Dublin, it was 32 weeks of the year without college football. This weekend, it’s open the floodgates.
HERE NOW, THE NOTES: USA Today sprang a list of the “Ten best colleges for sports fans” this week. The paper touted, “From game day thrills to championship victories: Experience college sports like never before,” although every year, it’s sort of the same, isn’t it? The list (with commentary by WWYI):

USA BASKETBALL UPDATE: The USA Basketball 5×5 Men’s senior national team, competing in the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Manila, will play its second round match vs Lithuania today, Sunday September 3 at 8:40am (ET). For you Saturday night bulldog edition readers, that means “Get Up” tomorrow and for you Sunday morning readers, “Turn on the TV.”
In their most recent game, the USA was losing to Montenegro, 39-38, at halftime, trailing for the first time in this World Cup tournament. A much-improved second half secured the win, as Anthony Edwards scored a team-high 17 points – all in the second half. Edwards leads the U.S. A. in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game. Improved team field goal shooting made the difference. The US shot 13-for-37 (.351) in the first half, but responded with a 17-for-36 (.472) performance in the final two quarters. The U.S. also shot 1-for-9 (.110) from “3” in the first half before going 4-for-10 (.400) in the second half.
The U.S. is seeking its sixth FIBA Men’s World Cup gold medal.
3×3: In addition to the senior men’s national team for 5×5, the 2023 USA 3×3 U18 national team finished atop Pool B at the 2023 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup on Friday. The U.S.A. joins seven other nations who will play for the gold medal on Sunday. The Americans went 2-0 in pool play after defeating Brazil and Germany on Thursday.
Notice basketball isn’t only distinguished by “men’s and women’s” anymore? Now-a-days, you need the 5×5 (five on five) or 3×3 (three on three) to be added for FIBA ball.
USA FOUNDATION: The USA Basketball Foundation made an important announcement this week as the second Torch Leadership in Sport Mentoring cohort will be staged. A fully funded program, Torch Leadership will run from this September to May 2024.
Torch Leadership provides opportunities for minority students to be mentored by USA Basketball executive staff with the goal of empowering the next generation of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) leaders in sport by introducing them to opportunities at USA Basketball and other sports-related entities.
“It is an honor to welcome our second Torch Leadership cohort to the USA Basketball family,” said Jennifer Lynne Williams, USA Basketball Foundation chief development officer. “The application process was extremely competitive with 130 students applying to be a part of this special program. The 120% increase in applications is a direct testament to the importance and value of Torch. I look forward to working with each student as they develop their leadership skills and learn more about the business of sport,” she added.
TIDBITS: Readers surely have heard the term, “Once in a Blue Moon.” That’s a true statement when it comes to this columnist receiving the No. 1 draft choice in the annual SWFL Fantasy Football League, known nationally as the best league with the best team captains and best rules which includes the game-changing, ultra-difficult requirement of TWO active quarterbacks and THREE wide receivers and/or tight ends. The challenge of the TWO QBs changes draft strategy, especially in the 1st and 2nd rounds, will make my No. 1 pick (this Tuesday night at 7pm ET) a choice between the quarterback trio of Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes or Philly’s Jalen Hurts – with Buffalo’s Josh Allen receiving consideration. … NFL Insider Adam Schefter has my club, the LOVETRONS (in honor of the late Darryl Dawkins residence on earth as it is in heaven), selecting Mahomes who was a clear 30 points higher than the others and the top overall scorer in the SWFL for multiple years. … Next week, I’ll list the club and that’s about all you’re gonna read about Fantasy Football, unless something is incredibly newsworthy.
A RARE – MUST WATCH – TV SPOT: The PepsiCo/Frito–Lay ad, certainly worthy of clearing the high bar as a Super Bowl-level commercial is seeing airtime this week as the NFL opens its 2023 regular season come Thursday night when Detroit travels to Kansas City for an 8:20pm (ET) tilt on NBC.
The theme of “retirement” is a great idea but “coming out of retirement” might not be so great idea for many players, including the inclusion of the show-stopper at the finish. Pepsi broke the bank by pulling some of the greatest recent stars together for the shoot (or series of shoots). No spoilers here in the intro. It’s a MUST WATCH!
by Terry Lyons
CHESTNUT HILL – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Rocky Lombardi’s 1-yard quarterback sneak in overtime lifted visiting Northern Illinois to a 27-24 victory over Boston College in the season opener for both teams Saturday.
Liam Connor’s 39-yard field goal put Boston College ahead after the first series of the extra session, but Lombardi led the winning four-play drive to give the Huskies (1-0) their second Week 1 win over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent in three years. Northern Illinois defeated Georgia Tech in 2021
Lombardi ended the game 13-of-29 passing for 165 yards.
Antario Brown accounted for the first two Northern Illinois touchdowns, catching one and throwing for the other as the Huskies led 14-0 with 10:33 remaining in the third quarter.
Quarterback Thomas Castellanos led a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives to help Boston College (0-1) overcome a 21-7 deficit and force overtime. Castellanos hit J Williams on a 30-yard scoring pass with 1:44 remaining in the game to forge a 21-21 tie.
The UCF transfer was 12 of 28 for 138 yards and rushed for 67 yards on nine carries, taking over for Emmett Morehead for the majority of the game after the first quarter.
After JaVaughn Byrd intercepted Castellanos’ final pass of the third quarter, Brock Lampe broke through for a 1-yard touchdown with 9:24 remaining in regulation to put NIU up 21-7. The 12-play drive, aided by a pass interference call on a fourth-down attempt, took 7:04 off the clock.
A 2-yard Castellanos run with 5:59 left brought BC back within 21-14 before Williams’ TD capped a 6-play, 83-yard drive in only 1:39.
Ten penalties for 95 yards hurt BC in its second straight season-opening loss.
NIU scored the game’s first points with 2:44 left before halftime. Justin Lynch’s 7-yard screen pass to Brown got the Huskies in the end zone to cap an 8-play, 60-yard drive that also included Chris Carter catching a 32-yard pass over the middle from Lombardi.
The visitors doubled their lead at the end of a 10-play drive in the first 4:27 of the third quarter. Brown’s 2-yard run to the right resulted in the touchdown.
A big defensive play helped set the Eagles up to make it 14-7 with 4:58 left in the third. Khris Banks recovered a Lombardi fumble, leading to a five-play series that ended with Castellanos and Bond connecting on an 11-yard pass.
–Field Level Media
BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Houston Astros capped their first-ever series sweep at Fenway Park with a 7-4 win over the host Boston Red Sox Wednesday afternoon.
Houston’s Jeremy Pena hit a double and a triple, scored two runs and drove in another to pace the Astros, which scored three runs in both the second and third innings, added another in the fourth and held on for its fifth consecutive victory. Houston’s Michael Brantley, just off the 60-day IL, had two hits, two RBIs and a run, while Alex Bregman and Martin Maldonado each added two hits and an RBI.
Astros starter Framber Valdez (10-9) struck out five across six innings of five-hit ball. He allowed four runs (two earned). Ryan Pressly threw a scoreless ninth to notch his 29th save. Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford (6-7) was tagged for six runs on seven hits across 2 2/3 innings.
BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – With August drawing to a close, the Boston Red Sox are seeing their playoff hopes fade.
The Red Sox, who are now 6 1/2 games out of the final American League wild-card spot, will attempt to salvage the finale of a three-game series against the visiting Houston Astros on Wednesday afternoon.
In Houston’s 6-2 win on Tuesday, the Astros took advantage of a Boston error in the fifth inning after back-to-back home runs by Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez in the first set the tone.
Brayan Bello was the fourth straight Red Sox starter who failed to complete five innings.
“We are where we are because we’ve struggled in certain areas of the game,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “It’s catching up (with us) now.”
Right-hander Kutter Crawford (6-6, 3.65 ERA) will look to give the Red Sox a much-needed strong start today.
Crawford struck out seven and allowed just two runs on four hits across five innings in a no-decision against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.
In his lone career start vs. Houston, Crawford allowed just one run on seven hits across six innings in a victory on Aug. 2, 2022.
The Red Sox, in the midst of a difficult week that also included call-up Kyle Barraclough being tagged for 10 runs on 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings on Monday, promoted top prospect Ceddanne Rafaela from Triple-A Worcester to make his major league debut.
Rafaela is the No. 3 prospect in the organization, according to MLB Pipeline.
“Obviously this is a different level, but we expect him to come in, and whenever he plays, just go out there and have fun playing center. He can play short. He can run,” Cora said. “He’s been hitting for power. Discipline has been a lot better the last few weeks, which is very important at this level.”
Rafaela recorded his first hit in Boston’s 13-5, series-opening loss on Monday but has yet to make a major league start.
Boston is also getting impressive production from center fielder Adam Duvall, who has hit seven home runs during his current nine-game hitting streak. He homered for the fourth game in a row on Tuesday.
The Astros have won four straight games, amassing 66 hits in that span to tie a franchise record. They climbed into a three-way tie for first place on Tuesday with the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.
Though he went 0-for-4 in the Tuesday win, Michael Brantley provided a boost to the Houston lineup in his return from right shoulder surgery.
Brantley last played in the majors on June 26, 2022. He went 14-for-47 (.298) with a homer and 12 RBIs in 16 rehab games for Triple-A Sugar Land.
“It’s great to have him back, he’s worked hard to get back to this point,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “He’s been as patient as any man can be. He’s the consummate team man, team player, team leader.”
Left-hander Framber Valdez (9-9, 3.40 ERA) will take the mound for Houston in the series finale.
Valdez no-hit the Cleveland Guardians on Aug. 1 before allowing 16 runs (15 earned) on 24 hits over his next three starts, but he bounced back for seven no-hit innings on Friday in a no-decision at Detroit.
Valdez worked around five walks and a hit batter vs. the Tigers.
“That was part of my plan, just mix a lot of my pitches,” Valdez said through an interpreter. “Mix them up, mix them around, try not to get predictable.”
In four career appearances (two starts) against the Red Sox, Valdez is 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA.
–Field Level Media
BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – As the Boston Red Sox fight to remain in the hunt for a playoff spot, they’ll have to do so without center fielder Jarren Duran, who will undergo turf toe surgery Wednesday that will end his season, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters Tuesday.
“He’s gonna lose the season,” Cora said. “The expectations are for him to be back and ready to go for spring training.”
Duran had been on the 10-day injured list and hadn’t played since August 10.
Duran, who turns 27 on Sept. 5, started the season with Triple-A Worcester but was called up to Boston when fellow outfielder Adam Duvall went down with an injury in mid-April.
Since then, he’s collected career highs across the board, slashing .295/.346/.482. He also blasted eight home runs and knocked in 40 RBI while collecting a team-leading 24 stolen bases and 34 doubles in 102 games.