Digital Sports Desk

Online Destination for the Best in Boston Sports

Patriots Extend DeVante Parker

by

FOXBORO – The New England Patriots and wide receiver DeVante Parker are in agreement on a new three-year contract worth $33 million, NFL Network and multiple media outlets reported.

Embed from Getty Images

The deal includes $14 million in guaranteed money and per-game roster bonuses, per the report.

Parker, 30, was set to enter the 2023 season on the final year of his current contract, which would have paid him a base salary of $5.7 million.

Parker caught 31 passes for 539 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games (11 starts) for the Patriots in 2022, his first season with the team. The Patriots acquired Parker in a trade with the Miami Dolphins in April 2022.

Parker has 369 catches for 5,266 yards and 27 TDs in 106 career games (75 starts) with the Dolphins and Pats. He was selected No. 14 overall in the 2015 draft by Miami.

The Patriots also signed free agent wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year, $25.5 million deal in March and reportedly are one of the teams in on free agent DeAndre Hopkins.

–Field Level Media

Sox Back Home for Marlins

by

BOSTON – With the MLB All-Star break approaching in two weeks, a crucial stretch of games stands ahead for the Boston Red Sox.

After dropping a three-game set to one of the worst teams in the American League in the Chicago White Sox, Boston returns home for a three-game interleague series with the Miami Marlins beginning tonight.

Embed from Getty Images

The series begins a stretch of nine straight games for Boston against teams currently in playoff position. The Red Sox had won six straight before dropping four of five games, including Sunday’s 4-1 series finale in Chicago.

“It’s just baseball. That’s the way it works,” Boston infielder Justin Turner said. “You can go out there and beat up on really good pitchers and sometimes pitchers that on paper that you’re supposed to beat up pitch really well. … We had a winning streak going but can’t take anything for granted.”

Turner has reached base multiple times in nine of his past 15 games.

In Sunday’s game, the Red Sox managed just two hits after the third inning. Outfielder Adam Duvall had two of the team’s five hits.

“There’s a lot of good teams out there,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We’ve just got to play good baseball.”

The Marlins are one of those strong clubs, entering Monday with the third-best record in the National League. Garrett Whitlock (4-2, 4.50 ERA) will be the first Boston starter to face them in the series.

Whitlock, who has never started against Miami, has worked seven innings in back-to-back starts but took a no-decision after allowing four runs on eight hits and striking out six last Wednesday at Minnesota. His past three decisions dating back a month have been wins.

In the series opener, the Red Sox will be up against a tough starter in reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara (2-6, 5.08).

Alcantara will look to follow up yet another impressive performance by 20-year-old rookie Eury Perez, who struck out nine and extended his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 21 in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Pittsburgh.

Miami has 16 wins during the month of June, including three of the past four games.

“It’s been a lot of fun. Winning is fun,” Perez said. “So we’ve got to continue winning a lot of games. Our next step is the playoffs. That will be the next step. (I) want to stay healthy so I can continue competing with all my teammates and win more games.”

Leading the way offensively, second baseman Luis Arraez enters the series with a .399 average, falling below the .400 mark after back-to-back one-hit games. He has not struck out since June 14.

Despite Alcantara’s overall struggles, he has pitched at least seven innings in three of his past four outings and six in total this season.

However, he has given up five runs and 10 hits in each of his two most recent games. All five runs in his start against Toronto last Wednesday came in the second inning.

“I’m going to bet on Sandy. Our clubhouse is going to bet on Sandy,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said. “Obviously, we need him to be that version (from the end of the game) moving forward if we want to get to where we want to get to.”

Alcantara’s only career start against Boston was on Sept. 15, 2020, working six innings of one-run ball.

–Field Level Media

Bradley Wins Travelers, $3.6 million

by

CROMWELL, Connecticut – New Englander Keegan Bradley, born in Vermont and reared in Hopkinton, Mass., looked at the annual Travelers Championship at the TPC River Highlands golf course as his only chance to play a home game.

Embed from Getty Images

For a veteran of the PGA Tour and its relentless travel schedule, Bradley actually welcomed his poor performance at the recent U.S. Open in Los Angeles for a chance to work with his golf coach, Darren May, for some down and dirty and much-needed instruction this past Monday through Wednesday while Bradley enjoyed some time with his immediate family who were easily able to cruise into this suburb of Hartford to re-unite as four with his wife, Jillian, and two young boys, Logan and Cooper.

What the Bradley’s couldn’t have anticipated was the golfer in the family shooting a scorching 62-63-64 to start his adventure and approach the final round of this elevated PGA Tour $top on top of the leaderboard, a stroke ahead of playing partner, Chez Reavie, and a full five strokes ahead of Patrick Cantlay and the pack of FedEx Cup[ point-seeking professionals.

“This was the first PGA Tour event I’d ever been to back when I was a kid,” said Bradley to a crowded press room of mostly Connecticut-based media, all woofing-down some Frank Pepe New Haven pizza as a treat from The Travelers. “I drove from Vermont and drove here to come and watch David Duval play.

“It’s an event, my first handful of years on Tour, I really struggled at because the pressure of wanting to play well for my family and the local community. It was too much. I had to learn how to do it,” he said.

“Other than the majors and those type of tournaments, this was always on the top of my list.”

Heading into the day, Bradley knew he’d need another low score to stay on top of the pack and earn a cool $3.6 million dollars for his weekend of work. His scoring pace was setting records for 54-hole play on the PGA Tour and the possibilities for Sunday were for the best four rounds in Tour history.

Birdies on three of the first nine holes and two of the first three holes on the “Back Nine” of the Tournament Players Club course, put Bradley at a torrid (-26) for the tournament and in full control of his own destiny.

Then came hole No. 13.

“On that backside, there is water everywhere so you can make a bogey in a second,” noted Bradley.

Bradley’s bogey six was only his second bogey of the four-day sojourn as Cantlay showed his capabilities to post a (-22), applying just enough pressure for the New England leaning crowd to tense up while the confidence in Bradley’s face, his body-language and gate noticeably stiffened as the humidity took the air temperature soaring, sucking the breeze right out of the landscape on hole No. 14.

Another bogey.

Embed from Getty Images

Then, a par-save on No. 15 led to his third bogey in four holes, dropping his score to (-23) while Cantlay was within reach. Bradley’s other competition finished their rounds, posting (-20 – for – 260s), safely three back for a golfer who then stared at No. 17 and No. 18, needing only to par (or better) the holes – which he had done all weekend.

Bradley’s tee shot on No. 17, he claimed in his post tournament interviews, was one of the best shots he could lay claim to.

“It was what was going to win or lose me the tournament,” he noted. “I remembered when I won the PGA (Championship), I made triple on 15 and then my tee shot on 16 was regular tee shot, but, again, I always used to say that was the best shot I’ve ever hit and not one that anyone would remember.

“That 17th hole, you have to take an aggressive line.”

“I just did an interview with (Golf Channel host) Brandel Chamblee and he said (the 17th) played as the second hardest hole on the course, or maybe the first (today). There were 44 balls in the water today.

“It was a stressful finish, but once I got that ball on the green on 17, I kind of could take a little bit of a deep breath,” he said. “What a great shot, one of the best I’ve ever hit in my life.”

A pair of fours brought Bradley in at (68 – 257) and (-23) for the Travelers tournament record, but not the 253 that would’ve been engraved in the record books. The win, however, earned Bradley a few welcome texts from some of the all-time greats, like basketball’s Michael Jordan, Howard Stern‘s “Baba Booey” and football’s Aaron Rodgers, “even though he’s a Jet now,” laughed Bradley.

“Winning a tournament with your family is the greatest feeling because they put up with a lot of nonsense,” Bradley said. “I would say because of my traveling, missing first days of school, or my wife being alone all the time when I’m on the road, so for them to be able to feel the excitement of this and be here and feel it,”

“I can’t put a price on that. It’s just the greatest feeling,” said the 2023 Travelers Champion.”

 

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – June 25

by

While We’re Young (Ideas) on the PGA Tour Travelers Championship and the NBA Draft

The following story appeared here on Digital Sports Desk earlier this week. Your trusty columnist and editor thought it worthy of sharing to those who might’ve missed it).

By TERRY LYONS

CROMWELL, Conn – Sixty-two might be a typical score registered by the St. John’s University Red Storm in a mid-winter BIG EAST basketball game, but Keegan Bradley, an alum of the basketball-centric school currently undergoing a massive overhaul, was thrilled with a score of 62 posted today in the opening round at the Travelers Championship.

Embed from Getty Images

It stood as the clubhouse lead until Denny McCarthy carded a (60) in the afternoon and Australian Adam Scott recorded a (62) in the afternoon to equal Bradley.

The story at day’s end was the New England kid played well.

Bradley flaunts his Northeast upbringing with a badge of honor. From his Vermont roots to his formative days in Hopkinton, Mass to his collegiate experience as sports management major in Jamaica Estates, graduating from his beloved St. John’s in 2008, Bradley eats-up the Travelers as a “home game.” With the loss of the Deutsche Bank – Northern Trust at TPC Boston, it’s his only “real” home game of the year, unless you count the tournaments in Westchester County, NY.

The nephew of LPGA superstar Pat Bradley, the St. John’s guy had an early wake-up call for his 7:25am tee-time, and he saddled up with Emiliano Grilloof Argentina and PGA Tour star Xander Shauffele of San Diego for a start off the 10th tee this morning.

Shauffele was coming off an impressive T-10 at last weekend’s U.S. Open while Grillo (+5) and Bradley (+6) each missed the cut at the Los Angeles Country Club.

“I just played so awful last week,” said Bradley, ” and I was able to get out of there (LA) and I got here early and flew my coach, Darren Mahan, out here and we got some great work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. It really helped,” he added.

“It was better for me to miss the cut, honestly, and get here and feel better about my swing. It helped a lot, said the Thursday morning clubhouse leader.

Just what did that extra work and maybe a little rest in familiar surroundings do for Bradley?

He went out with five birdies being etched to his scorecard from No. 10-to-14. Then, made a shot that even St. John’s Dream-Teamer, Chris Mullin couldn’t hit – Bradley drained a 74-foot birdie putt on No. 17 which combined with a par four on No. 18, gave him an impressive (29) score on his first nine holes.

“I can’t believe how hard I hit that putt (on No.17),” noted Bradley. “As soon as I hit it, I couldn’t believe it. A lot of times on those putts you’re begging for it to hit the flag. It’ll just miss or bang off, and (this putt) just hit perfectly in the center and dropped down.

“It was at least – probably – a two-shot swing. Instead of walking off that green at 6-under, I’m (might’ve been) minus-4, maybe minus-3. It’s a huge swing.”

Even flirting with the idea of a Jim Furyk-esque (58) is a dream in itself, but Bradley went on to birdie two of his first three holes on his back nine, holes No. 2 and 3.

“Well, when I made that really long putt on 17 and it was — it could have gone in the water. I don’t know, (59) crossed my mind. I wasn’t thinking about it a lot, but I certainly was going to try to do it.

“And, I thought about it hardly. You know, I got enough on my hands when I play out here,” he said.

“So, I mean, it popped into my mind for a second. For the most part I was trying to execute the shots and do what we’ve been trying to do out here, and it was fun to match up a good ball striking and putting day,” Bradley noted on his complete round, the best of his 2023 PGA Tour season.

He and his caddie (Scott Veil) came back down to earth when Bradley bogeyed No. 5, to drop his score from (-8) to (-7) and a stroke closer to the wild pack of PGA Tour hyenas chasing him from hole-to-hole at TPC River Highlands in the suburbs of Hartford, Connecticut – the insurance capital of the world.

But while Bradley was enjoying his round, he and Veil had a little fun along the way, carrying on with a superstition unlike any other.

“I don’t know,” Bradley paused before admitting, “we bow to the putter. When it’s working, that’s our God.”

That thought of joy brought Bradley to speak about his real priorities and his support group, a difficult circumstance for a Northeastern (and Florida, too) based golfer jetting all over the States and the world.

“This is a special week,” he said. “I don’t get to have my family out here a lot anymore with school, and having them out here is an advantage for me. It’s really special to see my son out in the crowd watching, cheering. It’s just really great.”

Does his son “get” the whole PGA Tour and intense competition?

“He’s five, and I would say over the last six months, eight months he’s getting it now and he loves to come out and watch. He likes to cheer and clap and it’s really special.

“I’ve grown up watching the veteran guys have their kids out here and seeing them grow up on the Tour, so it’s really fun to have my boys out here now, too.”

As Bradley exited from his interview duties, it seemed to be the right time to ask if he’s kept up on the St. John’s University basketball drama with the school making the bold hire of Rick Pitino, and Pitino’s summertime overhaul of all but one player from a year ago in center Joel Soriano.

With such a question, coming out of the blue, Bradley’s eyes lit up like the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center.

“Yeah, I’ve been following it,” he said as a PGA Tour official ushered him towards the player’s-only area of the clubhouse. The tour marshall wasn’t quick enough, though, as Bradley turned back a second later.

“I’m REALLY excited,” he said.

Let’s see if Bradley can hold a spot high on the leaderboard to the afternoon today and if the St. John’s faithful turn out at TPC River Highlands for a weekend of golf within 100 miles of (Lou) Carnesseca Arena, as the golf ball flies. On Saturday, Bradley remained high on the leaderboard at the last “elevated event” of the Tour season, meaning there’s $20 million in the kitty and a winner’s share of $3.6 million awaiting the best player of this well-run tournament.

After all, the new St. John’s basketball coach lives on the famed Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, NY, a place both Bradley and Pitino are sure to be when Bradley wants to play a round or two to practice long before he takes another shot at another U.S. Open, for that event is at Winged Foot in 2028.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Boston Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers has been in and out and back in batting slumps since May when he was leading the majors in Home Runs. On Friday night Devers hits a two-run HR 434-feet at 110.1 mph to extend his season long RBI total to (60), tops in the big leagues. Despite his intermittent struggles, Devers hit five home runs in 13 games after going 27 of his previous 28 contests without a homer. … Boston’s Sunday game will end a streak of 23 games in 23 days with one rain-out tucked in there.

SLAMBALL, the fast-paced, gravity-defying sport that combines elements of basketball, football, hockey, man-to-man combat and gymnastics trampolines, announced an exclusive, two-year national broadcast partnership with ESPN for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The partnership will begin on SlamBall’s opening night, as the popular sport of yesteryear re-launches live from Las Vegas on July 21 from 7-9 p.m. EDT.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+ will combine to air more than 30 hours of live SlamBall programming during five dog-days of summer weekends, culminating August 17-19 with the SlamBall Playoffs and SlamBall Championship Game. All games will be played at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, the same site that hosts part of the NBA Summer League.

SUMMER LEAGUE: Speaking of which, the NBA announced the game and broadcast schedules for its NBA 2K24 Summer League 2023, which will take place July 7-17 at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

All 76 games of the 11-day competition will air live on television somewhere as the ESPN networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews) air a bunch and NBA TV sweeps up a few more. Every game will also be available to stream on the ESPN App or NBA App.

Now in its 18th NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, all 30 NBA teams will play at least five games each. Each team will play four games from July 7-14. Winners advance to the playoffs, July 16-17. SlamBall will move in right afterward.

Top picks from the 2023 NBA Draft are expected to play. ESPN will televise potential matchups between both the No. 1 and No. 2 picks and the No. 3 and No. 4 picks from this week’s Draft. No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama is set to lead the San Antonio Spurs against No. 2 pick Brandon Miller and the Charlotte Hornets at 9pm ET. Earlier in the day, No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson and the defending NBA Summer League champion Portland Trail Blazers are scheduled to face No. 4 pick Amen Thompsonand the Houston Rockets at 7pm ET.

A head-to-head matchup between the Thompson Twins (see note below), pitting Amen Thompson and his twin brother, No. 5 pick Ausar Thompsonof the Detroit Pistons, is set for Sunday, July 9 at 6pm ET on ESPN2.

TIDBITS: Buzz on the Bill Walton 30-for-30 on ESPN continues to build. This columnist has yet to see the three-part documentary but has it high on the list of priorities and will report here very soon without any spoilers.

The worldwide publicity and anticipation to see France’s Victor Wembanyama at the NBA Draft. The rookie-to-be enjoyed his whirlwind tour in New York City which included a trip to Yankee Stadium on the NYC Subway system. Wembanyama was quite complimentary of the ragged and aging subway cars, noting he could “stand-up” in the car, as opposed to the smaller cars in Paris’ “Metro.” … Wembanyama tossed a baseball for the first time in his life and his large hands completely covered the baseball, making his “first pitch” from the mound of the most famous baseball stadium in the world – well – a ball.

Asked about the rookie’s impact to the NBA Europe’s Tom Marchesi who has seen it all, from Basketball without Borders magic to the rise of Tony Parkerto the Greek Freak, he said: “Difficult to put into words but his athleticism and skill is matched only by his maturity. It’s quite something,” said multi-lingual Marchesi so eloquently.

MEET THE THOMPSON TWINS: As noted just a paragraph above, this week’s NBA Draft was full of intrigue as France’s Victor Wembanyama – the 7-foot-3 bundle of energy, personality, joy and – most importantly – game wowed a global audience tuned into the annual NBA poker game to distributed its burgeoning talent pool.

Wembanyama’s meet and greet with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was the most-watched NBA Draft ever on any network, according to Nielsen company, the monitor of ratings and determining factor for NBA ad sales and money. The first round of the annual Draft averaged 4,928,000 viewers across ESPN and ABC, up 24 percent from last year’s first round on both platforms. It peaked with 6,085,000 viewers in the 8 p.m. ET quarter hour. Disney decided to broadcast two different feeds of the event, one with the knowledgeable Jay Bilas and one without.

Overall, the NBA Draft averaged 3,743,000 viewers across ESPN (both rounds) and ABC (first round-only). The average audience was up 23 percent from last year. The NBA Draft started airing on both ESPN and ABC in 2021.

Putting the French Fantastique and his wingspan the width of a Boeing 747 aside, NBA Draft night unfolded with a second plot when Commissioner Silver announced brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson as back-to-back draft picks in the first five selections. Amen went to the Houston Rockets at No. 4 and Ausar followed when the Detroit Pistons grabbed him at No. 5.

The Thompson Twins became the hottest siblings since Hamilton the Musical’s “The Schuyler Sisters” and they came similarly dressed in the subplot, both basketball and Fashion Show.

The twins, who played in the non-college non-NBA G-League “Overtime Ignite” program, joined Lonzo and LaMelo Ball as the only brothers to both go in the top 5 in a draft in the modern era.

Regardless of the accolades and the trivia, the same sentiment for success in the NBA is for all to “Work, work!”

Red Sox Lose Series to White Sox

by

CHICAGO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Luis Robert Jr. hit two home runs to power the Chicago White Sox to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

Robert hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning and a solo homer in the sixth. Both home runs came against Red Sox starting pitcher Kutter Crawford (2-4). Robert, who went 3-for-4 in the win, also homered in Chicago’s 5-4 triumph over Boston on Saturday. He has 21 home runs this season.

The victory allowed the White Sox to win the final two games in the three-game series after Boston posted a 3-1 victory on Friday night. Chicago’s Andrew Benintendi, who began his career with the Red Sox, went 2-for-4 Sunday and had seven hits in the series.

Jesse Scholtens (1-2) tossed four innings of scoreless relief to earn the victory. He gave up two hits, struck out three and walked one. Scholtens replaced starter Tanner Banks with two outs in the third inning.

Keynan Middleton pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his second save.

Crawford gave up four runs on five hits in six innings. He recorded four strikeouts and walked one.

Boston’s Adam Duvall doubled in the third inning and drove in Justin Turner to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead, but the White Sox grabbed the lead when Robert hit the first of his two home runs to make it a 2-1 game in the fourth. Benintendi also scored on the play.

Duvall collected two of Boston’s five hits.

In the fifth inning, Benintendi hit an RBI double that scored Gavin Sheets to increase the lead to 3-1, and Robert’s solo home run in the sixth capped the scoring.

Sunday’s game ended Boston’s seven-game road trip. The Red Sox went 3-4 in those seven contests.

The loss dropped Boston’s record against teams at or below the .500 mark to 12-15.

–Field Level Media

Dalbec Awaits Sox Opportunity

by

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

Embed from Getty Images

Bobby Dalbec

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bradley Not Slowing Down at Travelers

by

CROMWELL, Conn – New England’s Keegan Bradley recorded opening 54-hole score of 189, his lowest on the PGA Tour and one stroke shy of the all-time PGA Tour record. Bradley is seeking his sixth career Tour victory.

Embed from Getty Images

The 2019 Travelers Championship winner Chez Reavie is looking for his fourth career Tour title. Reavie posted his lowest career opening 54-hole score (190) ever.

Bradley and Reavie play in the final round together for the third time on Tour (2019 Travelers Championship, 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions).

Australia’s Adam Scott is seeking to become the first international winner at the Travelers Championship since 2016 (Russell Knox/Scotland).

Defending champion Xander Schauffele (T-18) has never successfully defended a title in five previous attempts on the Tour.

Travelers Championship | Leaderboard After 54 Holes

Keegan Bradley 62-63-64—189 (-21)

Chez Reavie 64-63-63—190 (-20)

Patrick Cantlay 65-68-61—194 (-16)

Rickie Fowler 70-65-60—195 (-15)

Adam Scott 62-68-65—195 (-15)

Denny McCarthy 60-65-70—195 (-15)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

Devers, Red Sox Blast White Sox

by

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

Embed from Getty Images

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

–Field Level Media

Bradley, McCarthy Tied After Record 36 Holes

by

CROMWELL, Conn – Co-leaders Denny McCarthy and Keegan Bradley set the Travelers record for best 36-hole score. McCarthy holds 36-hole lead/co-lead for the first time in his career while Bradley is the second player this season to open with two rounds of (63) or better.

Only four players have posted lower opening 36-hole scores in PGA Tour history.

Reigning FedEx Cup champion and World No. 3 Rory McIlroy (T-10) moved into the Top-10 with 6-under (64).

Travelers’ 2022 winner, Xander Schauffele, (T-10) has never successfully defended a title in five previous attempts on Tour.

FedExCup leader Jon Rahm missed the cut for the first time on Tour since 2021 Fortinet Championship (Note: WD after first-round 71 at 2023 PLAYERS Championship)

Of the nine players at 9-under or better, three are international players – all from Australia (Adam Scott, Lucas Herbert, Min Woo Lee).

Travelers Championship | Leaderboard After 36 Holes

Denny McCarthy 60-65—125 (-15)

Keegan Bradley 62-63—125 (-15)

Chez Reavie 64-63—127 (-13)

Eric Cole 64-65—129 (-11)

Zac Blair 65-65—130 (-10)

Adam Scott 62-68—130 (-10)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

Celtics Acquire Porzingis; Trade Smart

by

Boston Acquired Jordan Walsh with 38th Pick in NBA Draft

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

Embed from Getty Images

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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