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ICED OUT

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LOS ANGELES – (Staff Report from Official US Homeland Security News Release) – The Department of Homeland Security announced Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained prominent Mexican boxer and criminal illegal alien Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and is processing him for expedited removal from the United States. Chavez is a Mexican citizen who has an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives.

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In August 2023, he entered the country legally with a B2 tourist visa that was valid until February 2024.

Chavez is also believed to be an affiliate of the Sinaloa Cartel, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. ICE arrested Chavez in Studio City, California on July 2.

On April 2, 2024, Chavez filed application for Lawful Permanent Resident status. Chavez’s application was based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen, who is connected to the Sinaloa Cartel through a prior relationship with the now-deceased son of the infamous cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

On December 17, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services made a referral to ICE that Chavez is an egregious public safety threat. However, an entry in a DHS law enforcement system under the Biden administration indicated Chavez was not an immigration enforcement priority.

 

Red Sox “Stranded” in Nightcap

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s seventh-inning grand slam sparked a Cincinnati comeback as the visiting Reds defeated the Boston Red Sox 8-4 in the finale of a three-game series on Wednesday night.

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Encarnacion-Strand joined Tyler Stephenson, Gavin Lux and Matt McLain with multiple hits for the Reds, who erased a 3-0 deficit by scoring five in the seventh and three in the eighth. They remain the lone major league team that has not been swept this season.

Despite trailing for most of his outing, Cincinnati right-hander Nick Martinez (6-8) wound up working 6 2/3 innings in his second straight winning start. He allowed four runs on nine hits and no walks with two strikeouts.

Boston errors helped fuel both of the Reds’ big innings, which included seven of their 12 total hits. Stephenson led off both frames with singles.

In the seventh, Stephenson reached second on Red Sox third baseman Abraham Toro’s fielding error on a Rece Hinds fielder’s choice before Lux walked to load the bases. Encarnacion-Strand then crushed a 439-foot slam to deep center.

The Reds continued the inning against Red Sox reliever Greg Weissert (2-3) with a one-out double from TJ Friedl, who scored on Elly De La Cruz’s two-out single.

Trevor Story went 3-for-4, Ceddanne Rafaela had two hits and Wilyer Abreu (home run) and Romy Gonzalez each had two RBIs for Boston, which won the first two games of the series.

Back-to-back doubles by Marcelo Mayer and Gonzalez pulled the Red Sox within 5-4 in the seventh. Gonzalez, though, was thrown out trying to take third, as left fielder Austin Hays fielded the ball high off the Green Monster.

After Stephenson’s single in the eighth, a fielder’s choice, a walk and an Encarnacion-Strand single loaded the bases ahead of Santiago Espinal’s RBI hit to right. Friedl then reached on shortstop Story’s error, turning a fielder’s choice into two runs.

Rafaela gave Boston a lead in the second, doubling to deep center field and reaching third on Friedl’s fielding error before scoring on a Gonzalez sacrifice fly.

Red Sox opener Brennan Bernardino (1 2/3 innings) and the duo of Jorge Alcala (1 1/3 innings) and Chris Murphy (2 2/3 innings) allowed Boston’s lead to stand up through two-thirds of a bullpen game. The trio allowed three hits and no runs through the first 5 2/3 innings.

Right fielder Hinds took a likely extra-base hit away from Duran to end the fifth, but he just missed grabbing Abreu’s two-out, two-run homer into the first row of the corner seats in the sixth. Story’s third hit of the game set the table as Boston’s lead increased to three.

Encarnacion-Strand was a late lineup addition after the Reds scratched Spencer Steer, whose right hand was swollen from getting hit by a pitch Wednesday afternoon during the completion of a game suspended Tuesday night.

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour Making Changes

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – (Wire Service Report) – The PGA Tour has restructured the distribution of playoff bonuses, including the FedEx Cup champion this season earning $10 million in prize money instead of $25 million as in the past two years.

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The new payouts from the $100 million total in bonus money — first reported Wednesday by Front Office Sports and posted on the PGA Tour website — were revealed weeks after an announcement in May that the Tour Championship’s “starting strokes” format will be eliminated. The season-ending tournament in August — for the top 30 following two previous playoff events — will be a standard 72-hole stroke-play format at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

The new three-tier system will reward golfers based on the FedEx Cup points standings after the regular-season finale at the Wyndham Championship (the top 10 splitting $20 million, with No. 1 getting $10 million), and after the second playoff event, the BMW Championship (top 30 splitting $23.93 million, with No. 1 getting $5 million).

The Tour Championship winner will get $10 million of the remaining prize money ($57.08 million), with the rest paid to the other 29 players based on their finishes. Players ranked Nos. 31-150 will divide $17.08 million in deferrals.

“To account for the increased volatility of the final event, reward season-long performance and recognize the significance of the FedExCup, the FedExCup bonus distributions for the top 30 positions were rebalanced,” the PGA Tour posted on its website.

Front Office Sports worked the scenario that if current points leader Scottie Scheffler is the No. 1 at the end of the regular season and after the BMW Championship and then wins the Tour Championship, he will receive the same total of $25 he collected for winning the 2024 FedEx Cup.

The tour also posted that there are no changes in 2025 for the Comcast Business Tour Top 10, which pays $40 million to the top 10 players in the standings at the end of the regular season. First place is worth $8 million, and each place earns less down to $2 million for 10th place.

The bonus structure was led, per the Front Office Sports report, by the PGA Tour Player Advisory Council’s business subcommittee, which consists of Maverick McNealy, Keith Mitchell, Brandt Snedeker and Kevin Kisner, and is overseen and player director Patrick Cantlay.

–Field Level Media

Sox Rally in 9th to Beat Reds

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Wilyer Abreu and Trevor Story drove in runs in the eighth inning to lift the Red Sox to a 5-3 win over the visiting Cincinnati Reds in a suspended game that was completed on Wednesday afternoon.

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The first three innings were completed on Tuesday night before heavy rain halted play.

In Boston’s eighth, Abraham Toro hit a one-out single to left before pinch runner Nate Eaton swiped second. Carlos Narvaez’s 4-3 groundball out moved Eaton to third, and Abreu then knocked an RBI single through the right side.

Story followed with a two-out RBI double but got tagged out while slipping around the second base bag.

The two-run cushion was plenty for Aroldis Chapman, who tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning to make a winner out of Brayan Bello (4-3). It was Chapman’s 14th save.

Bello took the mound when play resumed, as starter Richard Fitts was knocked out with the rain. Bello tossed five innings of one-run ball, allowing only a two-run homer to Spencer Steer in the fourth inning that gave Cincinnati a 3-2 lead.

Toro and Abreu each had two hits while Narvaez had two RBIs for Boston, which will go for the three-game series sweep in the nightcap.

The Red Sox had an 8-3 advantage in hits.

Lyon Richardson (0-3) took the loss for the Reds after Scott Barlow blew a save. Sam Moll had struck out four and did not allow a hit across Wednesday’s first two innings, following up three innings of starting work by Brady Singer.

Before the rains came on Tuesday night, the Red Sox held a 2-1 lead after scoring a pair of first-inning runs off Singer.

Jarren Duran and Roman Anthony hit back-to-back doubles, with Anthony’s liner into the left-field corner driving in the first Boston run. After Anthony tagged up on Toro’s fly ball, Narvaez made it 2-0 on a single through the right side.

Fitts retired six straight batters after issuing a leadoff walk, but the visitors halved their deficit in the third. Will Benson and Christian Encarnacion-Strand began the inning with consecutive singles, and Benson worked his way home thanks to TJ Friedl’s sacrifice bunt and a Matt McLain RBI groundout.

When play resumed, Steer swung for the fences against Bello, who had been the scheduled Red Sox starter for Wednesday night. The reigning National League Player of the Week knocked his 10th homer to left in the fourth, bringing in Gavin Lux following a walk.

–Field Level Media

Globetrotters to Conduct Open Tryout

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HARLEM – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The world-famous Harlem Globetrotters will be hosting the club’s first-ever open tryouts to help select athletes for their Centennial season in 2026.

The Globetrotters’ tryouts will take place in the early fall with the final team being assembled and announced in November. The organization’s goal is to expand and elevate the talent within its ranks and to act as competitive offering for men and women hoopers around the globe for 2026

The Globetrotters continue to add athletic team members, which has been reflected in recent years in the signing of former LSU captain Alexis Morris and this past year with the addition of 6-5 rookie forward Asanti “Cash” Price (Columbia, SC), who signed a contract with the NBA G League’s Texas Legends, the affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. Price was one of six rookies signed to the Globetrotters this past November and had the option to return to the club when his G League time ended, which he did.

“We are creating one of the most unique, once in a lifetime opportunities for talented athletes and entertainers,” said Keith Dawkins, President, Harlem Globetrotters & Herschend Entertainment Studios. “The (opportunity is) to be part of the Centennial of the most iconic global sports and entertainment property.  The right athletes will have that special element of ‘showpersonship’ that the Globetrotters have been known for. It should make for a fun and exciting way to uncover our next group of stars.”

This past year Globetrotter athletes set a new and high bar for excellence on and off the court, bringing their talents to 50 locations around the world and an additional 46 cities in North America.  The Globetrotters anticipate bringing in approximately 30 athletes to the tryout. It will be the first step of a months-long process in selecting the athletes for the Centennial team.

Over the many years, the Globetrotters legacy has seen athletes ranging from Wilt Chamberlain to Connie Hawkins to to Lynette Woodward create lasting memories in the basketball world.

Rain Stops Sox Game in 4th Inning

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – Continuing rain in the Boston area suspended Tuesday’s game between the Boston Red Sox and visiting Cincinnati Reds in the top of the fourth inning. The Red Sox held a 2-1 lead on the strength of a pair of first-inning runs.

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The game will resume at 2:30 p.m. ET Wednesday before the regularly scheduled series finale at 7:10.

The Red Sox needed just two batters to take the lead against Cincinnati’s Brady Singer. Jarren Duran and Roman Anthony cracked back-to-back doubles for the first run. After Anthony moved to third on Abraham Toro’s fly ball, Narvaez made it 2-0 with an RBI single through the right side.

Boston starter Richard Fitts worked around a leadoff walk to retire the next six Reds he faced before the visitors halved their deficit. Will Benson and Christian Encarnacion-Strand began the third with consecutive singles, then Benson worked his way home on TJ Friedl’s sacrifice bunt Matt McLain’s RBI groundout.

After allowing two runs and three hits in the first, Singer threw two hitless innings and finished with four strikeouts and two walks to show for his three innings of work.

Fitts did not allow a hit outside of Cincinnati’s run-scoring frame. He posted one strikeout and one walk in three innings.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Ride Abreu vs Reds

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox have to like what they have seen from Wilyer Abreu at the plate lately.

Abreu, who has hit three home runs in his past three games, will look to remain hot Tuesday when the Red Sox face the visiting Cincinnati Reds in the second contest of a three-game series.

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Abreu hit an inside-the-park home run and a grand slam during Boston’s 13-6 victory over Cincinnati on Monday. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Abreu became the first Boston player with those two varieties of homers in the same game since 1939 (Jim Tabor).

Jocko Fields, Everett Scott, Charlie Gehringer and Roger Maris are the other MLB players who have hit a grand slam and an inside-the-park home run in the same game. Maris did it most recently, in 1958.

Abreu also belted a three-run home run during a 15-1 win against Toronto on Saturday.

After hitting 15 home runs in 132 games last year, Abreu has 16 homers in 74 games this season.

“So far, it’s been an outstanding season for him,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “It’s been great.

“He got a fastball he could handle down in the zone for the grand slam, and that’s something we’ve been talking about with him. He gets a lot of pitches –especially fastballs — and he fouls them straight back. … There’s a lot of communication lately about who you are as a hitter and what (pitches) we need to attack. It’s getting to that point in the season where tendencies are out there and they know who you are.”

It was just the kind of game the Red Sox needed after going 1-7 in the previous eight games.

Cincinnati’s Chase Burns made his second MLB start, but exited the mound with one out in the first inning. Burns, the No. 2 selection in last year’s MLB draft, surrendered seven runs (five earned) on five hits.

Given how relentless the Red Sox were, Cincinnati manager Terry Francona wondered if Burns was tipping his pitches.

“(Tipping) is something you probably always need to check,” he said. “There were pitches that caught the plate. They were definitely hit hard. Those are always things you try to check for. Cora is one of the best at that. They were certainly ready.”

“We don’t play this game for a good showing, but I was proud of our guys,” Francona added. “We kept the energy up. We kept fighting. … There were some quirky things that happened tonight, but they battled. We’re OK.”

Jordan Hicks, a hard-throwing reliever the Red Sox received from the San Francisco Giants in the Rafael Devers trade, made his Boston debut and pitched a one-two-three eighth inning. One of his pitches was clocked at 100.5 mph.

Right-hander Brady Singer (7-6, 4.31 ERA) is scheduled to start on the mound for Cincinnati on Tuesday. Singer is 2-2 with a 4.71 ERA in four career appearances (all starts) against Boston. He’s allowed 28 hits in 21 innings against the Red Sox.

Righty Richard Fitts (0-3, 4.68) is Boston’s probable starter. It will be his first career appearance against the Reds.

Fitts allowed two runs on four hits in four innings during his last start, Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, though he took a no-decision. He struck out six and walked one.

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sports Notes | June 29

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Back in the ‘80s, NBA teams suffered through tougher than tough road trips when traveling into the Western Conference’s Southwest, Pacific and Northwest Divisions. Sometimes, it was a Utah-Portland-Seattle run, other times it might be a trip to LA to play the Lakers, followed by a stop in Phoenix and then a get-away game at Denver in the Mile High city.

Possibly the toughest road trip was the very challenging three games in four night through the “Texas Triangle,” visiting the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs.

At different intervals throughout the decade, a stop in Dallas meant a match-up with Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman and Derek Harper, and later in the decade, the guards were backed-up by a young and efficient Roy Tarpley – Coach Dick Motta’s orJohn MacLeod’s first experimentation with the “stretch four and stretch five.”

In San Antonio, you might battle the great center Artis Gilmore, George “The Iceman” Gervin, and point guard Johnny Moore backed by the Baseline Bums and bigs like Dave Corzine, Mark Olberding and George T. Johnson.

In the early ‘80s, a trip to Houston would require a match-up vs MVP-level center Moses Malone, but soon after, the Rockets fell into fortune via the NBA Draft’s “coin-flip,” rather than the NBA Lottery of today. That luck of Jim Foley, Charlie Thomasand their map of Ireland taken from the walls of Jimmy Weston’s bar in midtown resulted in a Rockets roster of 7-4 Ralph Sampson, 6-9 center Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon – The Twin Towers – and a supporting cast of forwards Otis Thorpe, Robert Horry, Carl Herrera, Rodney McCray, and guards like G-F Clyde Drexler, point guard Kenny Smith, along with Mario Elie, Sam Cassell and a host of others.

Put all together, it was the vaunted “Texas Triangle” and it just might be returning “to a theatre near you” this Fall.

With the Dallas Mavericks selecting consensus college player of the year, Cooper Flagg of Duke, with No. 1 pick in this week’s NBA Draft, the franchise which was under fire from fans and media, alike, has now been rejuvenated. Tickets are flying off the shelves. That said, the state of the Mavericks will depend largely on the injury status of point guard Kyrie Irving (torn ACL in March) who is not expected to play until January 2026.

Meanwhile, NBA All-Star center Anthony Davis battled back at seasons’ end from a left adductor strain suffered just after his trade from the LA Lakers to Dallas in exchange for Mavs’ franchise cornerstone Luka Dončić – a deal that shook the NBA for months.

If Flagg can perform to his highest standards and both Irving and Davis are healthy come the eve of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, Dallas could be a force out West, but chances are, it will take another year or two for the Mavericks to be in full contention.

That leads us to the Houston Rockets, the Southwest Division champion of 2024-25 and the No. 2 seed in the 2025 NBA Playoffs because of their 50-32 record. Houston was upset in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs this past April/May, losing a seven game series to the Golden State Warriors. Of the three Texas teams, however, Houston has the best chance to advance in the 2026 NBA Playoffs and they will depend of budding NBA All-Star in Turkish center Alperen Sengun who averaged 20.9 points and 11.9 rebounds last season.

Next?

The San Antonio Spurs might be a 12-for-12 roster flip wish for every team in the NBA, sans the OKC Thunder. The duo of the past two NBA Rookies of the Year (7-foot-3 Victor Wembanyama and tough-as-nails guard Stephon Castle will be joined this coming season by Spurs’ first-round, No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper, a 6-foot-6 scorer out of Rutgers. Depending on Flagg’s development with the Mavericks, theoretically, the Spurs could roster the last three NBA ROY winners. (NBA teams have had two in a row, but never three consecutive ROY).

As your self the question, ‘If you were GM of Indiana, Cleveland, New York, Boston, or the LA Lakers or Clippers, would you trade rosters with the San Antonio Spurs?’

I would, after all, everything in Texas is BIG.

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HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Writing from Fenway Park on a Saturday afternoon, one has to wonder if the Boston Red Sox switched “babies” overnight and fielded a new team? Friday night saw the Toronto Blue Jays shutout the Sox 9-0 and the score could’ve been worse. Despite a halfway decent outing by Sox SP Brayan Bello (three earned runs on eight hits over six innings), the Boston bullpen gave up another six runs to the Jays. On Saturday, the roles were reversed and Boston jumped on Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt for nine runs (eight earned), on eight hits over two innings pitched. … The Saturday afternoon Boston victory snapped a a season high losing streak of six games with much of the recent damage done on a Sox 9-game road trip to the West Coast. Prior to departing on that trip (which coincided with the day Boston shipped Rafael Devers off to San Francisco), Boston had won eight of the nine previous games, dating back to June 10. On Saturday, with a 15-1 win, the Red Sox scored more runs in one game than they scored in their previous five.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: The NHL Draft was held on Friday night and the New York Islanders selected No. 1 for the fifth time in franchise history and first since 2009. The Isles made highly touted defenseman Matthew Schaefer of the Erie Otters the top pick. Schaefer became the first OHL player to go first overall in the Draft since Connor McDavid in 2015 (also out of Erie) and the first OHL defenseman to be picked at No. 1 in more than a decade, with Aaron Ekblad (2014) the last before him.

An emotional moment for any top pick of a major league sports draft, the dream-fulfilling night had added meaning for Schaefer who lost his mother, Jennifer, to breast cancer in February 2024.

EMOTIONS RAN HIGH: The emotions of the first-rounders and their families at the NBA Draft in Brooklyn Wednesday night were flowing. ESPN anchor Malika Andrews did a great job putting those lifelong dreams into perspective as each player had his name announced. It started with Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks and his entire family embracing for several minutes and continued throughout the first round.

The best reaction, by far, was that of Duke center Khaman Maluach who stayed at his table for an extra 30 seconds to gather his emotions. There certainly wasn’t a dry eye in the house when he lifted his head, stood up and embraced his family and friends before walking to shake hands with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Maluach, who was selected by the Houston Rockets but traded, will have an opportunity to play immediately as a member of the Phoenix Suns, a club overhauling its roster.

While there might not be crying in baseball, there was a fair share of crying at the NBA Draft and it was nothing other than great. Each year, the sound of their names being called by Commissioner Silver sends shivers up and down the spines of the players and their families.

(Personal note: Back when I worked with the league, we used to try (and I stress try) preparing the rookies for the rush of emotion upon being drafted. The day before each draft, the rookies would be playing it cool, and stating, ‘They’d be alright when the time came.’ We’d warn them, and even go to the length of slipping a roster of the team they were picked by into their hands after they shook the Commissioner’s hand and were welcomed into the League.

Players would forget their names, never mind the names of new teammates or the head coach, and quite a few players came to us after things calmed down to say, ‘You were right. I couldn’t think of a thing.’

THIS JEST IN: A few picks after the Islanders, the Boston Bruins selected forward James Hagens in the first round (7th overall) of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. Hagens, 18, appeared in 37 games for Boston College during the 2024-25 season, recording 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points, with a plus-21 rating. The 5-foot-11, 177-pound forward ranked third among Boston skaters and fourth among NCAA freshmen in points, earning a spot on the Hockey East All-Rookie Team.

In 2023-24, Hagens appeared in 58 games for the U.S. National U18 Team, as part of the National Team Development Program, totaling 39 goals and 63 assists for 102 points. The Hauppauge, Long Island, NY native was part of the United States’ gold medal-winning team at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, ranking second among U.S. skaters in points (nine). Hagens was named most valuable player after leading tournament scoring at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship, recording 22 points in seven games to help Team USA win the silver medal.

He also won gold at both the 2023 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship and 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge

SAD, BUT YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: Louisiana’s Supreme Court this week ruled that former LSU coach Ed Orgeron owes his ex-wife Kelly nearly half of the buyout he received from the school … In a 5-2 ruling, the court said Kelly Orgeron should receive $8.13 million from the buyout since the two were married when Ed signed his extension to coach football for the LSU Tigers in January 2020. Coach Orgeron filed for divorce six weeks after he signed the extension, though the contract was not approved by the school’s board of directors until divorce proceedings had already begun. Orgeron received nearly $17 million from the school when he was fired in 2021 with an agreement to finish the season. In November of 2021, former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was named LSU’s 33rd head coach … In 2018 Ms. Orgeron underwent surgery to correct the back condition, “scoliosis.” After complications from the surgery, she fully recovered. She maintained a social media presence until 2021 at Twitter.

PGA Tour: Potgieter Wins in Playoff

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DETROIT – (Wire Service Report) – As a grueling playoff unfolded in the Rocket Classic, South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter was determined to have enough pace on what became the final putt Sunday.

Potgieter drained an 18-foot birdie putt on the fifth playoff hole to secure his first PGA Tour victory by winning the Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club.

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“Struggled to make putts. Left a lot short,” Potgieter said. “Finally got one to the hole.”

Potgieter outlasted Max Greyserman in an extended playoff that began with three golfers. Chris Kirk’s bogey on the second playoff hole cost him a chance and reduced the playoff to two golfers.

Potgieter, a big-hitting 20-year-old, began the tournament with a 62 on Thursday and ended up with the biggest prize. He is the youngest South African to win on tour.

“Big thanks to my family, friends, coaches, everyone who has been involved to kind of get me to this point,” Potgieter said.

The trio of Potgieter, Greyserman and Kirk finished 72 holes at 22-under-par 266.

“This one is going to sting a little bit,” Greyserman said.

Potgieter, who became the seventh-youngest PGA Tour winner since 1983, and Greyserman both had birdies on the par-5 14th hole — the fourth stop in the playoff — before Potgieter sank the winning putt on the par-3 15th hole.

Kirk and Greyserman shot final-round 5-under-par 67s and Potgieter, who was the first- and third-round leader, had 69.

Kirk had the best chance on the first playoff hole, but he was off the mark on a birdie putt of slightly more than 9 feet.

“It’s a shame that first playoff hole,” Kirk said. “Hit just three perfect shots and I misread that putt a little bit. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Greyserman missed from 11 feet on the second extra hole before Kirk was eliminated with a three-putt bogey moments later.

“Just really disappointed right now,” Kirk said. “Felt like I played great today. I’m happy with the way I played.”

[Read more…] about PGA Tour: Potgieter Wins in Playoff

Sox Drop Series to Blue Jays

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – If Major League Baseball would determine series wins by cumulative score, the Boston Red Sox would’ve defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 18-15. That’s not the way it works.

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In the rubber game of their three game series played under bright sunshine at Fenway Park on Sunday, Toronto beat Boston, 5-3. Red Sox starter Walker Buehler took his sixth loss of the season, largely because he let up back-to-back home runs in the top of the first inning.

Blue Jays right fielder Addison Barger, batting second, took Buehler long with a liner to right field to make it 1-0. Batting third, slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. plopped a long drive into the second row of fans in the Green Monster seats in left field to make it 2-0, Toronto.

In the second inning, Boston was able to fight back and tie the game, utilizing a solo home run by catcher Carlos Narvaez and a double by centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela who knocked in shortstop Trevor Story. Story had singled and then stole second base.

The Jays doomed Buehler in the visitor’s fourth inning, as the Boston starter allowed three walks sprinkled through an infield hit by centerfielder Nathan Lukes and a run-scoring single to right field by second baseman Andres Gimenez which scored Lukes.

Buehler was relieved in the fifth inning, but reliever Zack Kelly allowed a Lukes singled to score veteran shortstop Bo Bichette who had doubled off Kelly to lead off the inning.

The series had a very strange vibe, as Toronto opened the three-game set with a 9-0 victory on Friday night only to lose 15-1 on Saturday afternoon.

On Sunday, Jays reliever Yariel Rodriguez (2-0) earned the victory while Buehler’s record dropped to (5-6). Toronto closer Jeff Hoffman earned his 18th save of the season.

Boston fell to 13-13-1 in season series, 6-6-1 at home. Boston has allowed 5+ runs for the seventh time in the last 11 games, dating back to June 17. Boston has lost seven of their last eight , dating back to June 21. Previously, they won 10 of 12 games.

For the Red Sox, it’s on to Cincinnati as the Reds visit Fenway for a three-game set where the Sox will memorialize their 1975 American League title, but World Series loss to the Reds in one of the great Fall classics of our time.

Notes:

  • Reliever Zack Kelly left the game after facing only one batter in the sixth inning, suffering from right oblique tightness.
  • Toronto’s back-to-back HRs today marked the third time they hit back-to-backs this season.
  • Toronto is 29-18 (.617) since May 8, trailing only AL clubs Tampa Bay and Houston during that span.