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Red Sox Dread Extra Innings

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SAN DIEGO – (Wire Service Report) – Ramon Laureano’s RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning Saturday night lifted the San Diego Padres to a 5-4 win over the visiting Boston Red Sox.

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Xander Bogaerts was placed on second to start the inning and reliever Garrett Whitlock (5-2) issued an intentional walk to Ryan O’Hearn. Laureano chopped the first pitch over the head of third baseman Alex Bregman and Bogaerts easily beat Roman Anthony’s throw home.

Jason Adam (7-3) stranded a pair of runners in the top of the 10th, inducing an inning-ending fielder’s choice grounder from Ceddanne Rafaela to earn the win.

Boston forced extra innings when Anthony slashed a ground-rule double to left-center off MLB saves leader Robert Suarez in the ninth that scored Rafaela. He legged out an infield hit to start the inning and swiped second.

San Diego went ahead in the fifth with two runs when Boston starter Lucas Giolito lost the strike zone, issuing four straight two-out walks after a leadoff single by Fernando Tatis Jr. Free passes to O’Hearn and Laureano drove in the tying and go-ahead runs.

Giolito allowed five hits and four runs in 4 2/3 innings, walking six and striking out one. San Diego starter Michael King lasted two-plus innings and 57 pitches, permitting two runs on four hits and two walks with a strikeout.

Making his first start since May 18 after a thoracic nerve issue sidelined him for nearly three months, King trailed 1-0 by the game’s third batter. Bregman lined the first of his two doubles and scored on Jarren Duran’s single to center.

Bogaerts evened the score in the second with his 10th homer, a liner into the seats in left that traveled an estimated 358 feet. The Red Sox regained the lead in the third with two runs as reliever Wandy Peralta balked home Bregman, who led off with his second double, and Masataka Yoshida’s fielder’s choice grounder scored Trevor Story.

The Padres got a run back in their half of the third as Bogaerts looped a two-out RBI single to center, scoring Luis Arraez.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Pound Padres

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SAN DIEGO – (Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida belted two-run homers and Walker Buehler tossed six scoreless innings as the visiting Red Sox stopped the San Diego Padres 10-2 on Friday night.

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Buehler (7-6) allowed four hits and two walks while striking out four in arguably his best outing of the year. The former Los Angeles Dodger improved his career mark against San Diego to 7-1 with a 1.67 ERA in 13 starts.

Nick Pivetta (11-4) took his first home loss of the year, permitting five hits and five runs in six innings while walking three and fanning three.

It was the eighth win in nine games for Boston, which scored double-digit runs for an major-league-high 18th time this year. The Red Sox got started with four runs in the fourth, thanks to a lapse in control by Pivetta.

After Alex Bregman led off with a single, the Red Sox’s first hit, Pivetta walked Jarren Duran and Trevor Story. Yoshida’s sacrifice fly cashed in Bregman, and a throwing error by Pivetta on a pickoff attempt at first scored Duran. Abreu capped the inning with his 21st homer, a two-run shot over the wall in right-center.

Bregman’s groundout to third in the fifth inning scored Connor Wong for a 5-0 advantage. Wong broke the game open in the eighth by lining a bases-clearing double into the left field corner off reliever Sean Reynolds after three straight walks filled the sacks.

The Padres avoided a shutout with two runs in the bottom of the eighth against reliever Chris Murphy via an RBI fielder’s-choice grounder from Ramon Laureano and Jake Cronenworth’s run-scoring single.

Yoshida capped the scoring in the ninth by lining his second homer of the year to right with Story aboard after a leadoff walk. Boston’s patient hitters worked eight walks, five issued by Reynolds.

oshida, Wong and Roman Anthony each collected two of the Red Sox’s 10 hits. Cronenworth and Luis Arraez bagged two hits apiece for San Diego.

The Padres stranded 12 runners and managed only one hit in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Take On New Look Padres

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SAN DIEGO – (Wire Service Report) – Newcomers have already made a significant impact for San Diego, and they’ll aim to continue that trend as the Padres open a three-game home series against the Boston Red Sox.

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Ramon Laureano has hit like a sledgehammer in his first week with the Padres, while Freddy Fermin has given them more offense from the catching position than they’ve had most of the year.

Mason Miller has made his presence felt on an already-deep San Diego bullpen, and Nestor Cortes gave them a decent start on Wednesday night.

Then Ryan O’Hearn, who came over with Laureano from Baltimore a week ago, made his first significant contribution to his new team with a ninth-inning homer that tied Wednesday night’s game in Arizona. The Padres added another run in the ninth to pull out a 3-2 win.

Prior to drilling his first homer off a left-handed pitcher this year, O’Hearn had just a single to show for his first 12 at-bats with San Diego. The American League’s starting designated hitter in the All-Star Game last month needed something good to happen.

“Just got to keep going, keep getting comfortable, keep grinding out at-bats and hopefully continue to contribute,” O’Hearn said. “To do something finally felt good.”

The Padres come into the series with nine wins in 11 games and have crawled within two games of the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.

They have also jumped over the New York Mets for the second wild-card spot and have drawn within 2 1/2 games of the Chicago Cubs for the first wild card, which opens the postseason at home.

San Diego will try to keep the momentum going behind Nick Pivetta (11-3, 2.73 ERA). He last pitched on Aug. 1, allowing just one hit and one run in seven innings of a 4-1 win over St. Louis. Pivetta, who walked none and fanned five that night, has permitted just one run in 13 innings in two previous starts against Boston, where he pitched the last 4 1/2 seasons.

The Red Sox will counter with Walker Buehler (6-6, 5.74 ERA), who was no-decisioned on Saturday in his team’s 7-3 victory over Houston. Buehler gave up nine hits and three runs in 4 1/3 innings, walking three and whiffing none — the first time this season he failed to record a strikeout. He’s 6-1 with a 1.80 ERA in 12 career starts against the Padres.

Boston manager Alex Cora said Buehler is better than he’s pitched this year. The former Dodger mainstay has permitted at least three earned runs in nine of his last 11 outings.

“This guy is too important for us,” Cora said. “He knows he’s better than this and we know he’s better than this.”

Buehler’s uneven performance has been one of the few problems lately for the Red Sox, who won seven straight games prior to Wednesday night’s 7-3 home loss to Kansas City.

Boston trails Toronto by four games in the American League East and owns the top wild-card spot by one game over Seattle.

The Red Sox’s trade of Rafael Devers to San Francisco in June, which was widely criticized by national media, has turned out to be addition by subtraction. Boston is 27-16 since the deal and is scoring more runs than it did with Devers while playing better defense.

San Diego won two of three games in last year’s series at Fenway Park.

–Field Level Media

C’s Mazzulla Signed to Multi-year Contract Extension

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – Head coach Joe Mazzulla has signed a multi-year contract extension with the Boston Celtics.

The team announced his signing on Friday but did not reveal either the length of the deal or its monetary value.

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Mazzulla, 37, has compiled a 182-64 regular-season record and a 33-17 playoff mark in three seasons with Boston. The Celtics won the NBA title in 2024.

He was the youngest head coach to win the NBA Finals since the 1968-69 season, when Bill Russell, then 35, led the Celtics to the NBA championship as a player-coach.

“He understands the job and has a passion for the Celtics that is only rivaled by our most die-hard fans,” said Brad Stevens, the team’s president of basketball operations. “He’s worked hard and accomplished amazing things in his first three years as a head coach — including averaging over 60 wins per season and winning the 2024 NBA Championship. Joe is a gifted leader who brings a consistent commitment to learning, improving and maximizing each day we get to compete for the Boston Celtics.”

Fleetwood On Top as Storm Holds FedEx

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MEMPHIS – (Wire Service Report) – England’s Tommy Fleetwood, seeking his elusive first win on the PGA Tour, followed a first-round 63 with a second-round 64 Friday to take the lead at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the opening tournament of the season-ending FedEx Cup playoffs.

Play was suspended in the afternoon with 21 golfers on the course at TPC Southwind as heavy rains flooded the area. Second-round play will resume Saturday morning before the third round begins off two tees in threesomes.

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Fleetwood’s 13-under 127 total was four strokes better than Collin Morikawa and Akshay Bhatia. Morikawa’s 5-under 65 Friday included holing out from the fairway on the par-4 ninth for an eagle. Bhatia, the first-round leader after an 8-under 62, managed a 69 that included 15 pars.

England’s Justin Rose also was tied for second at 9 under with two holes remaining when the rains hit. Kurt Kitayama posted a 7-under 63 to finish at 8-under 132.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who opened with a 67, had a roller-coaster round that included four bogeys and eight birdies, but finished at 4-under 66 and stands at 7 under. Scheffler was visibly frustrated throughout the round, from attempting to kick his club after an errant drive to talking to himself after a poor approach.

A win by the 34-year-old Fleetwood would give the tour back-to-back first-time champions. Cameron Young won last weekend’s Wyndham Championship, the final regular-season event.

“Maybe this weekend is the weekend,” Fleetwood said. “We’ll see.”

Fleetwood, in his 15th year as a pro, entered the second round one stroke behind Bhatia. Fleetwood quickly overtook him by recording birdies in bunches. They came at Nos. 2, 3 and 4 on the front side and at Nos. 13, 14, 15 and 16 on the back nine, building a five-stroke cushion at the time. His only bogey came on No. 18 after his drive found a fairway bunker and his approach missed the green.

From early in the first round through the 17th hole of the second round, Fleetwood played a 30-hole stretch bogey-free with 14 birdies.

“When you shoot two good scores, it’s easy to say everything has been going well, but I think for the most part I’ve been very good off the tee, put myself in position to have a go at the course,” Fleetwood said. “My iron play has been good and solid, and I’ve rolled the ball well. The greens are really true.”

Fleetwood has won seven times on the European Tour, his last victory coming in the 2024 Dubai Invitational. He has come close multiple times on the PGA Tour. Among his three top-10 finishes in 2025 is a tie for second at the Travelers Championship in June.

[Read more…] about Fleetwood On Top as Storm Holds FedEx

Roman Pockets “A Whole Lotta Lira”

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – When in Rome, spend on the Romans. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony and the Sox organization are finalizing an eight-year, $130 million contract extension, according to multiple media accounts all reporting on Wednesday.

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The deal is pending a physical, includes a club option and will keep Anthony in Boston through the 2034 season. Anthony was nursing a sore back in the past two days, but not a serious injury.

Anthony, 21, created a buzz before he suited up with the Red Sox by launching a 497-foot grand slam for Triple-A Worcester on June 7. Called up to Boston two days after that blast, Anthony is batting .283 with two homers, 15 doubles and 19 RBIs in 46 games with the Red Sox. He has hit safely in each of his last eight games, however he has been idle since Sunday due to the back tightness issue.

Anthony was selected by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft.

–Field Level Media

Big Innings Fuel Red Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) The Boston Red Sox will attempt to extend their winning streak to seven games when they face the visiting Kansas City Royals on Tuesday.

Boston opened the three-game series with an 8-5 victory on Monday. The Red Sox scored five runs in the first inning after scoring six times in the fourth of a 6-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday.

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“We’re not chasing as much, we’re not striking out,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “We’re putting the ball in play. We’re running the bases extremely well, too. … We’ve been really good the past three weeks baserunning-wise, and that puts pressure on the opposition.”

Boston particularly has been tough at home. The Monday victory gave the Red Sox 13 wins in their past 14 games at Fenway Park.

“When we’re rolling, this place is another weapon for us, so it’s just been awesome to see the fans get behind us and help us with this push,” said Boston’s Jarren Duran, who hit a three-run homer in the first inning off Royals starter Bailey Falter.

“I think we just have to keep our heads down and keep working, because I feel like that’s what we’ve been doing all year and it’s showing.”

After Kansas City scored four runs in the eighth to make it an 8-5 game, Nick Loftin ran through his coach’s third base stop sign and was thrown out at the plate for the final out of the inning. Had Loftin stayed at third, the Royals would have had the bases loaded with Vinnie Pasquantino at the plate. Pasquantino homered earlier in the frame.

“I talked to him in the dugout,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said of Loftin. “You gotta understand the game situation at that point. He’s trying to be aggressive. He probably got a little carried away knowing there were two outs.

“Normally you would take chances with two outs, but when you’re down by three and you’re getting the go-ahead run to the plate right there, you gotta stay at third. It’s a mental mistake and he won’t make that again.”

Boston won’t have outfielder Roman Anthony in the lineup on Tuesday. Anthony was a late scratch Monday due to back tightness, and Cora said he planned to rest the rookie on Tuesday.

“Everything felt normal all day and I felt something as I was stretching on the line,” Anthony said. “Just figured we’d be cautious with it and was super uncomfortable. I relayed that quickly, and we decided we were going to shut it down.

“I’ll get with the training staff and figure that out, but I’m already definitely trending in the right direction and feeling better than it was earlier.”

The Red Sox appear to be in a good position to build on their winning streak since left-hander Garrett Crochet (12-4, 2.23 ERA) — Boston’s ace — is scheduled to start on Tuesday.

Crochet is 1-1 with a 1.62 ERA in eight career appearances (two starts) against the Royals. He won at Kansas City on May 10 after throwing seven innings of one-run ball and striking out nine.

Rookie right-hander Ryan Bergert (1-0, 2.78) is scheduled to make his Royals debut. Bergert, who was acquired from the San Diego Padres just before the trade deadline last week, will be making his first career appearance against Boston.

Bergert made 11 appearances (seven starts) for the Padres this season, and he recorded 34 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

 

Sox Ready for Royal Treatment

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox will have plenty of momentum and a rested bullpen when they open their three-game series against the visiting Kansas City Royals tonight at Fenway Park.

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Boston completed a three-game sweep by beating the visiting Houston Astros 6-1 on Sunday, running its winning streak to five games. The Red Sox have registered seven victories in their past eight games overall.

“I feel like we’re kind of figuring out our identity a little bit,” Red Sox outfielder Rob Refsnyder said. “Guys are settling into their roles. The trade deadline has passed and it’s go time.”

Center fielder/second baseman Ceddanne Rafaela added: “Our mindset is not only on the Yankees, it’s just playing good baseball and trying to win the division.”

Boston has won its past five home games. The Red Sox are 12-1 in their last 13 home contests, and they own a 37-21 record at Fenway Park this season, the third-highest home win total in the majors.

“We’re much better than the last two years,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “We’re healthier. … We have a complete team. Guys are playing with an edge now. You can tell. Like I said, this place (Fenway Park) — it’s fun. It’s fun again.

“We just have to continue. Kansas City is playing good baseball. We have to show up (Monday) and try to win a game.”

Red Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito pitched a season-high eight innings and limited Houston to one run on three hits during the Sunday win.

“Between him and (Brayan) Bello, they’re doing an outstanding job,” Cora said. “So we have capable guys who can go out there and compete. … We trust our guys. All of them — Bello, Gio and obviously (Garrett) Crochet has been amazing the last two months.”

Bello (7-5, 3.19 ERA) is Boston’s scheduled starter for Monday. He is 1-0 with a 3.57 ERA in 17 2/3 innings over three career games (all starts) against the Royals.

Left-hander Bailey Falter (7-5, 3.73 ERA) is expected to make his Kansas City debut as the Monday starter. Falter, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates before the Thursday trade deadline, is 1-1 with a 7.94 ERA in two games (one start) in his career against Boston. He has seven strikeouts and one walk in 5 2/3 innings against the Red Sox.

Kansas City also acquired rookie right-hander Ryan Bergert from the San Diego Padres on Thursday. He is tentatively scheduled to start Tuesday in Boston.

“(The) message to those guys is, ‘Look, your job is to help us … give us the best chance to win,’” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “‘Go out there and compete your butt off for as much as you can.’”

Like Boston, Kansas City has been playing winning baseball lately. The Royals came from behind to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 in 10 innings on Sunday. Kansas City trailed 2-1 before tying the game in the eighth and then scoring five runs in the 10th.

The victory gave Kansas City two wins in the three-game series at Toronto. The Royals have won four of their past five games and each of their past four series.

The Royals will not have Steven Cruz available in the near future. The right-handed reliever, who left the Saturday game against the Blue Jays after feeling discomfort in his right shoulder, was placed on the 15-day injured list before the Sunday contest. Cruz has a 3.61 ERA in 42 1/3 innings (43 games) this season.

–Field Level Media

While We’re Young!

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GREENSBORO – Cameron Young shot 2-under-par 68 in the final round of the Wyndham Championship and wasn’t challenged on his way to his first PGA Tour victory Sunday in North Carolina.

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Young strung together five consecutive early birdies and cruised to a six-stroke triumph at 22-under 258 at Sedgefield Country Club, where he matched the tournament scoring record.

Young, who began the day with a five-stroke advantage and held the 54-hole lead for the first time on the tour, became the 1,000th different winner in the history of the PGA Tour. He was a seven-time runner-up on the tour.

Mac Meissner posted 66 to finish as the runner-up at 16 under. Mark Hubbard (63) and Sweden’s Alex Noren (64) tied for third place at 15 under. Amateur Jackson Koivun (67), a junior golfer at Auburn University, Chris Kirk (68), and defending champion Aaron Rai (68) of England shared fifth place at 14 under.

Playing not far from the Wake Forest campus where he went to college, Young was in control for most of the tournament.

After a bogey on the first hole Sunday, Young put together his string of birdies for what became a nine-stroke advantage. Young then had pars on nine consecutive holes before bogeys on the par-3 16th and par-4 17th. He barely missed a birdie attempt on the last hole.

Colombia’s Nico Echavarria, who was in the final pairing with Young, tumbled from the leaderboard with a disastrous stretch on the back nine. After a bogey at No. 10, he carded double-bogeys on the next two holes. His 75 left him tied for 19th place at 10 under.

Denny McCarthy matched Hubbard’s 63 for the best score Sunday and ended up at 12 under and tied for 11th place.

Rookie Karl Vilips posted his first hole-in-one with a 179-yard shot on the third hole. His 67 put him at 10 under.

The tournament marks the final regular-season event on the tour, with golfers needing to finish in the top 70 of the season standings to advance to the FedEx Cup playoffs beginning Thursday.

Kirk played his way into the tournament by jumping 12 spots since the beginning of the tournament.

Davis Thompson (68) nded at 12 under, missing the top-70 position by one spot. Gary Woodland was on the bubble, but his final-day 70 left him at 9 under for the tournament and sharing 23rd place, so he was projected to finish 72nd.

–Field Level Media

Giolito Leads Sox to Sweep

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – The kids are running the bases after Boston’s 6-1 victory and series sweep of the Houston Astros today. They might as well, as the base paths are clear and clean. Aside from Carlos Correa‘s home run in the 4th inning, the ‘Stros only had three base runners and not one reached third base against Boston’s starter Lucas Giolito.

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Giolito (8-2) had his most successful and deepest outing of 2025, going eight innings and allowing only the three hits and one walk. He struck out four Houston batters as he threw a 103 pitches (67 strikes). Since June 10th, he’s won seven games and dropped only one (at Chicago Cubs, July 18). Giolito’s eight innings were the deepest he’s gone in a game since August 9th of the 2021 season.

And, get this?

The Red Sox gave him a full blast-off of run support, all coming in a six run fourth inning when Houston starter and club ace Framber Valdez simply imploded. The six-run rally started with a Roman Anthony double to left center field, then Valdez walked Romy Gonzalez. From there, Valdez committed a balk, threw a wild pitch, threw a pitch that caused Houston catcher Yanier Diaz to be charged with a passed ball and allowed Boston’s Trevor Story, Ceddanne Rafaela and Abraham Toro to hit consecutive singles before Valdez made an error on a soft grounder up the middle.

The fourth inning saw all the scoring in the game, starting as a 1-0 lead for the Astros but finishing with a 6-1 lead for the Sox.

Valdez had his own 10-game win streak broken, dating back to May 7. During that 10-game span, Valdez posted a 1.84 ERA, struck out 104 batters and kept his opponents to a .202 batting average.

Over in the home dugout, Boston is now 11 games over the .500 mark (62-51), as they’ve won seven of their last eight games, including five in a row (two vs. Minnesota; three vs. Houston). Today, August 3, 2025 marks the first time Boston is 11 games over .500 since June 26, 2022.

The reason? Boston pitchers have allowed only six earned runs over the last four games for a 1.46 ERA.

Houston has lost the three straight games vs Boston, but have dropped eight of their last 10 games.