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Sox Win Rain-Shortened Game vs Miami

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BOSTON – It was a wash-out. The Boston Red Sox defeated the Miami Marlins, 5-2, in a Friday night drench-fest, delayed following the top of the 6th inning at 9:19 p.m and finally called at 10:44 p.m. The win brought the Sox to a season-high-tying 11 games above .500 (31-20) after winning six of their last nine games.

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Red Sox starter Martin Perez pitched 5.0 innings, allowing five hits and only two runs while striking-out four Miami batters. Perez allowed three earned runs or fewer for the ninth time in 10 starts this season, including each of his last seven outings. Perez retired 12 of his 13 batters faced, including a double play, following a home run surrendered to Miami’s Jorge Alfaro in the 2nd inning.

Boston’s J.D. Martinez went 2-for-3, as he hit a two-run double in the 3rd inning, tying the score at 2-2. Martinez also singled in the 5th. The two-run double marked the 300th and 301st RBI of his Red Sox career.

Red Sox outfielder Hunter Renfroe went 2-for-2, with doubles and runs scored in the 3rd and 5th innings. Each of Renfroe’s last four hits have gone for extra bases (three 2B, one HR). In 22 games this month, is batting .286 with an .838 OPS, 11 extra-base hits, and 13 RBI.

Miami starter Cody Poteet went 4.1 innings, held the Sox scoreless through two while eventually allowing four hits, five runs, with two walks and six strike-outs. He threw a career-low in innings and took his first career loss. The Marlins have lost each of their last two games after winning four of their previous five.

PGA Tour: Spieth Leads After 36 Holes

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FORT WORTH – Tournament leader and local favorite Jordan Spieth is the only player bogey-free through 36 holes. He holds his 13th second-round lead/co-lead on the PGA Tour. Spieth is 6-for-12 when holding lead/co-lead at the halfway point.

Last week’s PGA Championship winner and 2000, 2008 Charles Schwab Challenge winner Phil Mickelson missed the cut.

Jason Kokrak (65-65) is trying to become the third player with multiple titles during the 2020-21 season, joining Bryson DeChambeau (U.S. Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard) and Stewart Cink(Fortinet Championship, RBC Heritage). Kokrak is solo second and only one stroke behind Spieth.

Patton Kizzire (T-3/-8) is coming off a solo third at the AT&T Byron Nelson two weeks ago, his best finish on Tour since winning the 2018 Sony Open in Hawaii.

Defending champion Daniel Berger is T-16 at 4-under.

Scott Piercy was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.

Si Woo Kim withdrew during R-2 (back injury). Brandon Grace (76 in R-1) withdrew Friday.

Aside from Mickelson, other notables to miss the cut (+1) were: Patrick Reed, Scottie Scheffler, Lee Westwood, and Henrik Stenson.

Leaderboard After 36 Holes:

Jordan Spieth 63-66—129 (-11)

Jason Kokrak 65-65—130 (-10)

Sebastián Muñoz 67-65—132 (-8)

Sergio Garcia 63-69—132 (-8)

Patton Kizzire 67-65—132 (-8)

PGA Tour: Charles Schwab Challenge R-2 Coverage

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Garcia and Spieth Share Lead After 18 Holes

FORT WORTH – Is it old-timer’s month for the PGA Tour? 2001 Charles Schwab Challenge winner Sergio Garcia opened with his lowest score on Tour since 2016.

On the younger side, local favorite Jordan Spieth birdied his last three holes (Nos. 7-9) to post his best score in 33 rounds at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Spieth won the 2016 Charles Schwab Challenge champion and now seeks his second win of the season and third consecutive Top-10 finish in this event.

Playing on a sponsor exemption and in just his fourth Tour event since the conclusion of the 2015-16 season, Erik Compton opens with a bogey-free 5-under 65, his lowest score on Tour in six years. (See story below).

Defending Charles Schwab Challenge champion Daniel Berger opened with 2-under (68), while 2000, 2008 Charles Schwab Challenge winner and last week’s PGA champion Phil Mickelson opened with a 3-over (73) in his 17th Colonial start.

Since 1990, the first-round leader/co-leader has won the Charles Schwab Challenge just three times.

Leaderboard After 18 Holes:

Jordan Spieth 63 (-7)

Sergio Garcia 63 (-7)

Erik Compton 65 (-5)

Jason Kokrak 65 (-5)

This Week on PGA Tour: Opening Round at Charles Schwab Challenge

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PGA Tour Brunch – Charles Schwab Challenge

COURSE: Colonial Country Club (Fort Worth, Texas)

ARCHITECT: John Bredemus/Perry Maxwell

YARDS/PAR: 7,209 yards/Par 70

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $7,500,000/$1,350,000

DEFENDING Champion (June 2020) – Daniel Berger – (2020 Leaderboard)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points Available/Winner: 2,989/500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @CSChallengeFW

OFFICIAL SITE: (Charles Schwab Challenge) – (Official Tournament Site)

TV COVERAGE: Today and Friday, May 27 and 28: 4:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. On Saturday, May 29 Golf Channel’s coverage runs from 2:00pm to 5:30pm EDT and CBS takes over from 5:30pm to 7:00pm EDT. On Sunday, May 30, Golf Channel’s coverage runs from 1:00pm to 2:00pm (EDT), then CBS takes over from 2:00pm to 6:30pm (EDT).

STREAMING: It’s back to usual with PGA Tour Live streaming coverage of Featured Groups on both today and Friday from 8:00am to 7:00pm (EDT). On the weekend, PGA Tour Live expands coverage with Featured Groups and Holes. On Saturday, Featured Groups runs from 9:00am to 5:30pm (EDT) and Featured Holes from 5:30-7:00pm (EDT). On Sunday, streaming coverage runs from 8:30am to 2:00pm (EDT) with Featured Groups, then finishes off with Featured Holes from 2:00pm to 6:30pm (EDT).

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE:  Beginning today, May 27 and continuing Friday, May 28, PGA Tour Radio coverage airs 1:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT). On Saturday, hear live hole-by-hole coverage from 2:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT) and Sunday’s final round will be covered 1:00pm to 6:30pm (EDT) (or until completion of play). PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on PGATour.com.

How to Watch: In case of changes, see: (PGATourCom)

There are 121 players teeing-it-up at The Colonial CC today.

Kevin Na tied a tournament record by shooting a (61) in R-4 of 2018 and won the Charles Schwab Challenge in 2019. Na last won at the SONY Open, the second tournament of the current (winter/spring/summer) season and the first full field tournament of 2021.

Defending champion Daniel Berger currently stands as the No. 16 player in the world golf rankings and is No. 20 in FedEx Cup points with 1,114. Berger won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this season.

There have been just five first-time PGA Tour winners this season: Carlos Ortiz, Vivint Houston Open; Jason Kokrak, THE CJ Cup @ Shadow Creek; Joel Dahmen, Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship; Sam Burns, Valspar Championship; and K.H. Lee, AT&T Byron Nelson. The last time there were fewer than 10 first time winners in a season was 2012 when there were nine. The fewest in any season was only four (1992).

Michael Visacki, who received widespread attention after his Monday qualifying for the Valspar Championship, is in the field on a sponsor exemption this week. Visacki missed the cut at the Valspar Championship after carding scores of 74-71 (+3).

Tough Stretch Ahead for Red Sox

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BOSTON – When the Boston Red Sox score seven (or more) runs, they’re 15-0. When they score four or more runs, they are an MLB best 26-3 (.897). Last night, they scored but one run and lost to the Atlanta Braves, 3-1, and have now dropped each of their last two games after winning four in a row and going 5-1-0 in their last six series match-ups.

The Sox pitching staff has been equally impressive. Red Sox pitchers have allowed an AL-best 0.74 HR/9.0 IP (35 HR), good enough for second-fewest in MLB, aside from the St. Louis Cardinals staff at 0.70.

Dating back to April 8, a lifetime ago to many, yesterday was the first day the Red Sox took to the field being out of first place in the AL East. They began 46 consecutive days from 4/9-5/24 with at least a share of the top spot, including 43 consecutive days in sole possession of first place from 4/11-5/23.

Starting Thursday, each of Boston’s next 19 games will be against teams that made the 2020 MLB Postseason, and that extends to 27 of the next 30 contests – the bulk of the very important stretch in mid-season (HOU-7, NYY-6, ATL-3, TOR-4, MIA-3, TB-3).

Tonight’s starting pitcher for the Red Sox will be Nick Pivetta. Since being acquired by the Red Sox, Pivetta is 7-0 with a 3.28 ERA in 11 starts (57.2 IP, 21 ER). The only other pitchers to go unbeaten in their first 11-plus starts with the Red Sox were Matt Clement (first 12 in 2005) and Mike Nagy (first 12 in 1969).

The Red Sox are 10-1 in Pivetta’s starts. The Sox have never won as many as 11 of a pitcher’s first 12 starts with the club.

The Sox will play their 50th game of the season this evening. They have won at least 30 of their first 50 games 27 times, reaching MLB’s Postseason in each of the last five instances (2007, ‘08, ‘13, ‘16, ‘18).

Charles Schwab Challenge First Look

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PGA Tour: Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial

COURSE: Colonial Country Club (Fort Worth, Texas)

ARCHITECT: John Bredemus/Perry Maxwell

YARDS/PAR: 7,209 yards/Par 70

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $7,500,000/$1,350,000

DEFENDING Champion (June 2020) – Daniel Berger – (2020 Leaderboard)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points Available/Winner: 2,989/500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @CSChallengeFW

OFFICIAL SITE: (Charles Schwab Challenge) – (Official Tournament Site)

TV COVERAGE: Thursday and Friday, May 27 and 28: 4:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. On Saturday, May 29 Golf Channel’s coverage runs from 2:00pm to 5:30pm EDT and CBS takes over from 5:30pm to 7:00pm EDT. On Sunday, May 30, Golf Channel’s coverage runs from 1:00pm to 2:00pm (EDT), then CBS takes over from 2:00pm to 6:30pm (EDT).

STREAMING: It’s back to usual with PGA Tour Live streaming coverage of Featured Groups on both Thursday and Friday from 8:00am to 7:00pm (EDT). On the weekend, PGA Tour Live expands coverage with Featured Groups and Holes. On Saturday, Featured Groups runs from 9:00am to 5:30pm (EDT) and Featured Holes from 5:30-7:00pm (EDT). On Sunday, streaming coverage runs from 8:30am to 2:00pm (EDT) with Featured Groups, then finishes off with Featured Holes from 2:00pm to 6:30pm (EDT).

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE:  Beginning on Thursday, May 27 and continuing Friday, May 28, PGA Tour Radio coverage airs 1:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT). On Saturday, hear live hole-by-hole coverage from 2:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT) and Sunday’s final round will be covered 1:00pm to 6:30pm (EDT) (or until completion of play). PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on PGATour.com.

How to Watch: In case of changes, see: (PGATourCom)

Welcome to PGA Tour Brunch – 1st Look at Charles Schwab Challenge

The 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge is the 35th of 50 events on the PGA Tour. The tournament is played at the famed Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas and is set-up at 7,209 yards.

Last year, the 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge marked the PGA Tour’s return to competition after a 12-week hiatus due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The 91-day gap between the cancellation of THE PLAYERSChampionship and the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge represented the longest unscheduled break from PGA Tour competition since World War II.

Phil Mickelson, 50, won his sixth major championship title at last week’s PGA Championship, becoming the oldest major winner in history and the sixth-oldest winner of any tournament in PGA Tour history. Two of Mickelson’s 45 career PGA Tour victories have come at the Charles Schwab Challenge (2000, 2008) and he will be making his third start in the event since 2010 (T-29/2017, MC/2020). The last player to win the week after winning a major: Tiger Woods, 2006 (PGA Championship, WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational)

Dallas native Jordan Spieth has three consecutive top-10s in the state of Texas, highlighted by his 12th career PGA Tour title at the Valero Texas Open. His others: T-9/WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, T-9/AT&T Byron Nelson). Spieth, who won at Colonial in 2017, enters the week at No. 9 in the FedExCup standings.

Tournament Tee Times begin Thursday at 7:10am (local)/8:10am (EDT) through 1:39pm (local)/2:39pm (EDT).

Weather: Thursday’s forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80s. Winds will blow at 14 mph with 69% humidity and a 10% chance of rain. The Friday forecast is calling for scattered thunderstorms and a 40% chance of rain in 80% humidity.

Knicks Randle Named Most Improved

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NEW YORK – (Source: Official News Release) – New York Knicks forward Julius Randle was named the 2020-21 Kia NBA Most Improved Player, the NBA announced.

A first-time NBA All-Star selection in his seventh season, Randle becomes the first player to win the Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award with New York. The annual award, which was first presented in the 1985-86 season, is designed to honor an up-and-coming player who has made a dramatic improvement from the previous season or seasons.

Randle received 98 first-place votes and earned 493 total points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant received the other two first-place votes and finished in second place with 140 points. Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. finished in third place with 138 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

In his second season with the Knicks, Randle averaged 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists in an NBA-high 37.6 minutes in 71 games. He set career highs for averages in points and assists and matched his career high in rebounds, ranking in the top 20 in the NBA in all three categories. The 6-9 Randle is the sixth player in NBA history to average at least 24.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in a season, joining Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Nikola Jokić (who also did it this season), Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook.

Randle made a career-high 160 three-pointers in 2020-21, eight fewer than his total for the previous five seasons combined (168). He shot 40.1 percent from three-point range, well above his career mark of 29.5 percent entering the season. Randle also shot a career-high 81.1 percent from the free throw line.

Selected as a reserve for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, Randle tied for eighth in the league in double-doubles with 41 and tied for seventh in triple-doubles with six. Randle was named the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for April and the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for Week 17.

Behind Randle, the Knicks (41-31) finish tied for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference. New York made the NBA Playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

Randle, 26, signed with the Knicks as a free agent on July 9, 2019. Before joining New York, he played his first four seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and one season with the New Orleans Pelicans. Randle entered this season with career averages of 16.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists.

The voting results for the 2020-21 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award are below. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP. Complete ballots for each voter will be posted at PR.NBA.com after the announcement of all end-of-season awards.

VOTING RESULTS: 2020-21 KIA NBA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD
 
Player (Team) 1st Place Votes(5 Points) 2nd Place Votes(3 Points) 3rd Place Votes(1 Point) Total Points
Julius Randle (New York) 98 1 0 493
Jerami Grant (Detroit) 2 33 31 140
Michael Porter Jr. (Denver) 0 40 18 138
Christian Wood (Houston) 0 10 14 44
Zach LaVine (Chicago) 0 5 5 20
Jaylen Brown (Boston) 0 1 7 10
Chris Boucher (Toronto) 0 3 1 10
Mikal Bridges (Phoenix) 0 0 8 8
Zion Williamson (New Orleans) 0 2 0 6
Nikola Vučević (Chicago) 0 1 0 3
Clint Capela (Atlanta) 0 1 0 3
Jordan Poole (Golden State) 0 1 0 3
Jordan Clarkson (Utah) 0 1 0 3
Luguentz Dort (Oklahoma City) 0 1 0 3
Darius Garland (Cleveland) 0 0 3 3
Kyle Anderson (Memphis)

RJ Barrett (New York)

Miles Bridges (Charlotte)

Lonzo Ball (New Orleans)

T.J. McConnell (Indiana)

Andrew Wiggins (Golden State)

Richaun Holmes (Sacramento)

Bojan Bogdanović (Utah)

Terry Rozier (Charlotte)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City)

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Below is the all-time list of winners of the Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award.

KIA NBA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD WINNERS

1985-86 – Alvin Robertson, San Antonio
1986-87 – Dale Ellis, Seattle
1987-88 – Kevin Duckworth, Portland
1988-89 – Kevin Johnson, Phoenix
1989-90 – Rony Seikaly, Miami
1990-91 – Scott Skiles, Orlando
1991-92 – Pervis Ellison, Washington
1992-93 – Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Denver
1993-94 – Don MacLean, Washington
1994-95 – Dana Barros, Philadelphia
1995-96 – Gheorghe Muresan, Washington
1996-97 – Isaac Austin, Miami

1997-98 – Alan Henderson, Atlanta
1998-99 – Darrell Armstrong, Orlando
1999-00 – Jalen Rose, Indiana
2000-01 – Tracy McGrady, Orlando
2001-02 – Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana
2002-03 – Gilbert Arenas, Golden State
2003-04 – Zach Randolph, Portland
2004-05 – Bobby Simmons, LA Clippers
2005-06 – Boris Diaw, Phoenix
2006-07 – Monta Ellis, Golden State
2007-08 – Hedo Türkoğlu, Orlando
2008-09 – Danny Granger, Indiana

2009-10 – Aaron Brooks, Houston
2010-11 – Kevin Love, Minnesota
2011-12 – Ryan Anderson, Orlando
2012-13 – Paul George, Indiana
2013-14 – Goran Dragić, Phoenix
2014-15 – Jimmy Butler, Chicago
2015-16 – CJ McCollum, Portland
2016-17 – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee
2017-18 – Victor Oladipo, Indiana
2018-19 – Pascal Siakam, Toronto
2019-20 – Brandon Ingram, New Orleans
2020-21 – Julius Randle, New York

Utah’s Clarkson Named NBA Sixth Man

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NEW YORK – (Source: Official News Release) – Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson won the 2020-21 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award for his contributions in a reserve role, the NBA announced. This is the first Sixth Man honor for Clarkson, who becomes the first player to win the annual award with the Jazz.

Clarkson received 65 first-place votes and earned 407 total points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Utah forward Joe Ingles finished in second place with 272 points (34 first-place votes), making this the first time that teammates hold the top two spots in voting for the Kia NBA Sixth Man Award. New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose finished in third place with 77 points (one first-place vote).

Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote. To be eligible for the Kia NBA Sixth Man Award, players had to have come off the bench in more games than they started.

Clarkson averaged a career-high 18.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 26.7 minutes in 68 games (one start). His scoring average of 18.3 points as a reserve was the highest in the NBA. Clarkson made a career-high 208 three-pointers overall (seventh in the NBA among all players) and a league-high 203 as a reserve. The 203 three-pointers are the fourth-highest single-season total off the bench in NBA history. He also ranked ninth in the NBA in free throw percentage this season (89.6).

Playing his first full season with Utah and seventh in the NBA, Clarkson recorded two games with at least 40 points, five games with at least 30 points and 23 games with at least 20 points off the bench. He scored 40 points against the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 15 and 41 points against the Golden State Warriors on May 10, giving him two of the five 40-point games off the bench in Jazz history.

Clarkson joined Ingles in helping Utah finish with an NBA-best 52-20 record and the fifth-highest single-season winning percentage in franchise history (.722). The Jazz earned the top seed in the Western Conference for the 2021 NBA Playoffs.

Clarkson, 28, was acquired by Utah in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 24, 2019. He re-signed with the Jazz on Nov. 23, 2020. Clarkson, the 46th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, has career averages of 15.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 521 games. He played with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cavaliers before joining the Jazz.

The voting results for the 2020-21 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award are below. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP. Complete ballots for each voter will be posted at PR.NBA.com after the announcement of all end-of-season awards.

Player (Team) 1st Place Votes(5 Points) 2nd Place Votes(3 Points) 3rd Place Votes(1 Point) Total Points
Jordan Clarkson (Utah) 65 26 4 407
Joe Ingles (Utah) 34 31 9 272
Derrick Rose (New York) 1 15 27 77
Jalen Brunson (Dallas) 0 14 25 67
Tim Hardaway Jr. (Dallas) 0 5 9 24
Montrezl Harrell (L.A. Lakers) 0 3 5 14
Carmelo Anthony (Portland) 0 1 5 8
Chris Boucher (Toronto) 0 1 4 7
Bobby Portis (Milwaukee) 0 0 6 6
Enes Kanter (Portland) 0 1 2 5
T.J. McConnell (Indiana) 0 1 1 4
Miles Bridges (Charlotte) 0 1 0 3
Shake Milton (Philadelphia) 0 1 0 3
Thaddeus Young (Chicago) 0 0 2 2
Facundo Campazzo (Denver) 0

KIA NBA SIXTH MAN AWARD WINNERS

1982-83 – Bobby Jones, Philadelphia
1983-84 – Kevin McHale, Boston
1984-85 – Kevin McHale, Boston
1985-86 – Bill Walton, Boston
1986-87 – Ricky Pierce, Milwaukee
1987-88 – Roy Tarpley, Dallas
1988-89 – Eddie Johnson, Phoenix
1989-90 – Ricky Pierce, Milwaukee
1990-91 – Detlef Schrempf, Indiana
1991-92 – Detlef Schrempf, Indiana
1992-93 – Clifford Robinson, Portland
1993-94 – Dell Curry, Charlotte
1994-95 – Anthony Mason, New York

1995-96 – Toni Kukoc, Chicago
1996-97 – John Starks, New York
1997-98 – Danny Manning, Phoenix
1998-99 – Darrell Armstrong, Orlando
1999-00 – Rodney Rogers, Phoenix
2000-01 – Aaron McKie, Philadelphia
2001-02 – Corliss Williamson, Detroit
2002-03 – Bobby Jackson, Sacramento
2003-04 – Antawn Jamison, Dallas
2004-05 – Ben Gordon, Chicago
2005-06 – Mike Miller, Memphis
2006-07 – Leandro Barbosa, Phoenix
2007-08 – Manu Ginóbili, San Antonio

2008-09 – Jason Terry, Dallas
2009-10 – Jamal Crawford, Atlanta
2010-11 – Lamar Odom, L.A. Lakers
2011-12 – James Harden, Oklahoma City
2012-13 – J.R. Smith, New York
2013-14 – Jamal Crawford, LA Clippers
2014-15 – Lou Williams, Toronto
2015-16 – Jamal Crawford, LA Clippers
2016-17 – Eric Gordon, Houston
2017-18 – Lou Williams, LA Clippers
2018-19 – Lou Williams, LA Clippers
2019-20 – Montrezl Harrell, LA Clippers
2020-21 – Jordan Clarkson, Utah

Bruins Dominate Caps, Advance

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WASH DC – Boston’s Patrice Bergeron scored twice while high-scoring line-mate David Pastrnak added a goal and an assist while goal-keeper Tuukka Rask turned away 40 shots as the Bruins won their East Division first-round playoff series with a 3-1 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 5.

The Bruins won this series 4-1 and must now await to play the winner of the Pittsburgh-New York Islanders series in the second round. That series is deadlocked at 2-2, with Game 5 set for tonight in Pittsburgh.

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Rask was up to the task once again as Boston seemed content to play defense most of the time after it took the lead in the second period. Washington outshot the Bruins, 41-19, and Rask remained steady throughout.

The Washington power play was ineffective, once more, going 0-for-4 in this game and just 1-for-10 in the past two games when the club had a man advantage. Washington had problems finding good scoring chances against a Bruins’ defense that seemed to be faster than the Caps, which slowed the usually high-scoring team down throughout the series.

Pastrnak gave Boston a 1-0 lead 2:28 into the second period. He got the puck near the left boards in Washington’s end and made two slick moves — the first coming when he slid the puck between his legs — that beat two Capital defenders and put a quick shot past goalie Ilya Samsonov (16 saves).

Bergeron made it 2-0 later in the period after a Washington turnover near the blue line. Pastrnak pushed it to Mike Reilly, who fed Bergeron, and the forward ripped a hard shot past Samsonov with 5:55 left in the period.

Lefty Sends Father Time Packing

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KIAWAH ISLAND – In the Year 2021, Father Time is 0-2. First it was Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady turning the NFL upside down with his 2021 Super Bowl victory at age 43. This weekend, it was Phil “Lefty” Mickelson winning the PGA Championship, a major in pro golf, at age 50. He earned $2,160,000 for the effort.

Mickelson won his sixth major championship title, and second at the PGA Championship, at the age of 50 years, 11 months, 7 days, becoming the oldest major winner in PGA Tour history and first player to win a major after age 50.

The victory span of 30 years, 4 months, 10 days passed since Mickelson’s first PGA Tour title at the 1991 Northern Telecom Open as an amateur, and it marks the longest time between wins by a player in Tour history.

Mickelson is now the fourth player to win PGA Tour events in four different decades. The others: Sam Snead, Raymond Floyd, Davis Love III)

Brooks Koepka finished T-2, his seventh win or runner-up finish in a major since the start of 2017.

Louis Oosthuizen (T-2) recorded his fifth runner-up in his 49th major championship start. No player has more runner-up finishes in PGA Tour majors since 2012.

Harry Higgs finished T-4 in his first major appearance

 

Final Leaderboard at the PGA Championship

Phil Mickelson 70-69-70-73—282 (-6)

Louis Oosthuizen 71-68-72-73—284 (-4)

Brooks Koepka 69-71-70-74—284 (-4)

Shane Lowry 73-71-73-69—286 (-2)

Padraig Harrington 71-73-73-69—286 (-2)

Harry Higgs 72-71-73-70—286 (-2)

Paul Casey 71-71-73-71—286 (-2)