Astros 6, Red Sox 3

 

The Sox lose a game to a team almost as bad as them. 

Young Connelly Early pitched four innings, giving up five runs on six hits, including one three-run homer. Reliever Ryan Watson gave up another three-run homer in the fifth. The Red Sox, to their credit, kept on playing and scored three comeback runs on Abreu and Story singles and a Contreras sac fly, but too little, too late.

The Red Sox fall to 13-20, but at .394 are still better than the Astros (13-21, .382), if only slightly. And the whole league is better than the Mets (11-22, .333).

The rubber game of this series is this afternoon. Ranger Suarez (2-2, 3.09) is pitching against Cody Bolton (0-1, 5.79). Baseball fever - catch it! /s 

Sixers 109, Celtics 100

 

And now another Boston season has ended. Friday night, the Bruins played their last game of the season. Saturday night, the Celtics bowed out, blowing a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series. 

It would suck even more if it weren't so expected. Despite two Boston blowout wins, 123-91 and 128-96, the Sixers proved over the course of the series that they were the better team. Jayson and Jaylen are great, but no match for Embiid, Maxey, George, Edgecombe, and Oubre. Too many  weapons, and all healthy at just the right time for the Sixers. More than these Celtics could handle.

Not to mention Boston didn't even have Jayson in Game 7. I'm not saying Tatum's absence (sore knee) was the reason for the loss - the Sixers already proved they could beat Boston with him on the floor - but we didn't even have him to help.

Still, the game was close. The Celtics fell way behind, trailing by as many as 15 in the third quarter, but battled back and pulled to within one point in the fourth. For a few thrilling moments there, it looked like a Boston win was within reach, but after a pair of Neemias Queta free throws made it 99-98, the Sixers made a 10-2 run to end the game. 

The game seemed cursed right from the very start. With Tatum out of the lineup, Mazzulla put in the unusual lineup of Mr. Brown and Mr. White, Luka Garza, Baylor Scheierman, and Ron Harper Jr. The Sixers immediately ran off nine unanswered points against that lineup to start the game, and then jumped out to a double-digit, 30-15, lead. Harper only lasted 4:02 in the game, and Garza, 8:38, but the damage had already been done. 

Brown finished the game with 33 points, but the team was -16 with him on the floor. Queta had a great game off the bench, replacing Garza at center, and scoring 17 points, snagging 11 rebounds, and hitting 7 of 8 shots. He was also the only Celtic to consistently drive inside and not desperately toss three-pointers from way outside - the rest of the team was 13-of-49 on threes. 

The Bruins loss on Friday night hurt, but they were a wild-card team playing the number two seed. The Celtics were the number two seed in this series and the Sixers the wild card, and as mentioned before, Boston had a 3-1 series lead including two blowout wins. So this one hurt a lot more.

So now we're left with a long, hot, Super El Nino summer of nothing but Red Sox baseball to hold us over until Georgia Bulldogs football season begins. I have little interest in the WNBA and even less in World Cup soccer. Captain Ella intends to resume her solo trip around the Arctic Ocean soon, so there's that to look forward to.

Friendly reminder that this was always supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Celtics. With Tatum out for most of the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, no one had high hopes for the team this year, but Brown and White rose to the occasion and the team became a top-seed contender even before their superstar returned. So everything this year was gravy, and if the front office sticks with their long-term strategy, the Celtics could well be a juggernaut next season.         

Red Sox 3, Astros 1

 

Yeah, baby! Back in Fenway! The last-place Red Sox hosted the last-place Astros last night and picked up a much-needed win at home. 

Rookie Jake Bennett picks up a W in his major-league debut.  He scared the shit out of everyone by giving up a solo home run to Carlos Correa in the top of the third, but nonetheless lasted five innings with only five hits and three Ks. Jarren Duran helped him out with a three-run homer in the bottom of third, the bullpen kept the lead, and Chapman closed out the game. 

The Red Sox improve to 13-19, still dead last in the AL East and a distant eight games back from the Yankers. Yes, the Sox are bad, but they're not Houston Astros bad. At least not last night.

This afternoon (4:!0), Connelly Early (2-1, 2.84), one of the few bright spots of this season, takes the mound against the Stros' Spencer Arrighetti (3-0, 2.00), one of the few bright spots of the Houston season. Over two seasons, Arrighetti has pitched twelve innings against the Sox in two games, and given up two home runs while recording 16 strikeouts. It's either go deep or go away with him. 

The Red Sox have yet to sweep a series against any opponent this season. Houston might be our best opportunity yet to remedy that situation.

Sabres 4, Bruins 1

 

There's no joy in Beantown today. The Bruins season is over. 

Last night, the Buffalo Sabres mercifully ended Boston's suffering with a 4-1, Game 6 win. One less team to worry about in this sad season of the demise of Boston teams. The Celtics are struggling against the Sixers and have a Game 7 situation tonight. The Red Sox are underwater in their worse start to a season ever and already fired their manager. Fans are still embarrassed by the Patriots' performance in the Super Bowl, but, hey, at least they made the Super Bowl. No final-round Stanley Cup embarrassments by the Bruins this year.

For what it's worth, Pastrnak, who won Game 5 in OT for the Bruins, scored Boston's lone goal in Game 6.

We now face a long, hot summer of watching a hapless Red Sox team struggle through another season. 

        

Sixers 106, Celtics 93

 

Scary times we're living in my friend. Scary times. The Bruins, down 3-2, are potentially one opposing goal away from ending their brief postseason. The Red Sox are off to an historically bad start to their season. A Super El Niño is brewing in the Pacific and a demented, malignant narcissist has his short fingers on the nuclear launch button. We're probably not getting out of this world alive. 

To add to those miseries and woes, the Boston Celtics have picked the absolute worst possible time to forget how to shoot the basketball. Starting sometime during the third quarter of Game 5 in Boston Tuesday night, it seemed the ball simply couldn't find a path from Celtic hands to the hoop. The same problem occurred again midway through the second quarter last night, and pretty much continued for the rest of the game. The Celtics lost, 106-93, and the best-of-seven series is now tied at 3-3, with a fateful Game 7 in Boston on Saturday night.

Worse, Jayson Tatum left the game last night in the third quarter with left calf "discomfort." It's not yet clear whether or not he'll be available to play tomorrow.

The Sixers have already won twice in this series in the Garden, and will enter the game with confidence and momentum. Personally, if I had to pick my poison, I'd rather the Celtics lose to the Sixers in seven games tomorrow than lose in the next round to the fucking Knicks, who beat Atlanta last night, 140-89, to win their quarterfinal series in six games.  

We may well be facing a long, hot summer with nothing to distract us other that watching the Sox slide into ignobility. 

College football season begins in 120 days.

Blue Jays 8, Red Sox 1

 

And just like that, the Boston Red Sox are back to their losing ways, dropping two in a row in Toronto. They're now 2-2 in the Chad Tracy era, which at least is better than their year-to-date 12-19 record. The last-place Red Sox are eight games out of first place and 2½ behind the fourth-place Jays.  

Willson Contreras homered in the top of the first, so the game started off on a positive note, but after Toronto starter Eric Lauer settled in, that was it for the Sox. They managed to load the bases in the fifth, but then Contreras hit into a double play, ending the inning. They loaded them up in the eighth, too, but a Duran strikeout and a Wong grounder ended that inning. Still, at least they were hitting and threatening to score, even if not capitalizing on their opportunities.

But the news gets worse. No more Crochet Days for a while, at least 15 days. As many suspected, there was a physical problem that affected his season so far this year, and yesterday the Sox put him on the 15-day IL with an inflamed left shoulder. The Sox are off today and will play the equally hapless Astros (11-19) back at Fenway starting Friday; no word yet on who will be Boston's starting pitcher in lieu of Crochet in the first game of that series.

Bruins 2, Sabres 1 (OT)

 

I'll admit it - I've been pretty tough on the Bruins so far this postseason, probably more than they deserve. But after the past few years, after they've disappointed me season after season, I've learned to protect myself from optimism.  

But last night, after Pastrnak scored a goal 9:14 minutes into overtime, my hope resumed. The Bruins, now 2-3 in the best-of-seven series, return home with a Philadelphia 76ers-size chance of taking back the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. The Bruins had 29 wins at home during the regular season, tied only with Carolina for the most home wins in the NHL. 

Elias Lindholm scored the only Bruins goal in regulation in the second period, and Swayman made 24 saves, including surviving some furious onslaughts in the OT. 

Game 6 is at 7:30 on Saturday. The Bruins can tie it up then, and then return to Buffalo and deny the Sabres their first playoff series win since 2007.  

   

Sixers 113, Celtics 97

 

Early in the third quarter last night, the Boston Celtics had a 13-point lead. Protecting that lead would have won the quarterfinal playoff series for Boston. But the Celtics only managed 34 more points the rest of the game while allowing the Sixers 63, and blew the opportunity. The series heads back to Philly 3-2, with the Sixers thinking they now have a longshot chance at winning.

There's no pointing the finger at any one player for blame - the whole team shot poorly all game, especially down the stretch. Nothing seemed to drop in the fourth, and although the three-point scoring was ice cold, the C's kept launching from outside. Even Pritchard was 1-5 on three-pointers. 

Down three games to one at the start of last night's contest, the Sixers were facing elimination and were obviously more motivated and wanted it more that the lackadaisical Celtics. That attitude had better be reversed Saturday for Game Six in Philly, because the Celtics shouldn't want to face the Sixers in a Game 7 back in the Garden, where Philly is 2-1 and confident this series.   

Blue Jays 3, Red Sox 0

Well, expecting a 4-0 run from these Red Sox might have been a bit much, even with the coaching shakeup and team reset. Payton Tolle went 4⅔ innings and gave up three runs. He's now 0-1 on the season, and his ERA went from 1.50 to 3.38.

Offensively, the Sox had nothing. After getting 27 runs in their last three games, Boston settled for none last night. The Jays' Yesavage wasn't overpowering - he allowed four hits and got three Ks - but the Sox only managed four hits all game and twice left runners stranded on third base. 

The Jays tie up the series, 1-1, and regain their 1½-game over the last place Sox (12-18). Boston's not leaving Toronto ahead of the Blue Jays.

Bello (1-3, 9.00) pitches today (5:00 pm). Bello is 3-6 against the Jays in 11 career games, with a 5.20 ERA and three home runs but 53 strikeouts. He's up against Toronto's Eric Lauer (1-3, 6.75), who's a career 1-0 versus Boston.  

After today's game, the Red Sox return home for a three-game series against Houston (11-19), one of the few teams in baseball with a record worse than Boston's. So I've got a crazy idea: win today and then return home and sweep the Astros to get that 4-0 win streak that eluded us yesterday.   

 

Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 0

 

The Boston Red Sox get the trophy for three consecutive wins for the first time this season. Last night, they shut out the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-0, after beating them 5-3 the day before and humiliating the Orioles, 17-1, the day before that. The Sox are 2-0 in the Chad Tracy era.

Ranger Suarez pitched an absolute masterpiece last night. He had a no-hitter going until the sixth inning, and finished in eight with only one base hit and 10 strikeouts. Weissert pitched the ninth and preserved the shut out. 

Carlos Narváez hit a solo homer to deep left center in the eighth, but prior to that blast the Red Sox had already made it 4-0 with base hits by Mayer, Anthony, Abreu, and Durbin. Funny how consistent hitting and good pitching win you games.

Tonight, the Sox will go for an unprecedented (for them) (this season) four in a row. Payton Tolle (0-0, 1.50) will take the mound against Trey Yesavage, making his first start of the season. The Sox haven't faced Yesavage before; he only pitched three regular season games last year in his rookie season. Tolle, meanwhile, has all of one inning against the Jays in a game last year (one walk, one K, and one hit - unfortunately, a homer), but friendly reminder that he struck out 11 Yankees in six innings last week, so there's that.

You feel the excitement in the air? Like a new start for the Red Sox, a new attitude, and a new confidence? Tracy fever - catch it!

Celtics 128, Sixers 96

 

Complete, utter domination by the C's. Joel Embiid was adorable in his comeback attempt, scoring the Sixers' first eight points before getting shut down by the Jays. Boston won the game by 32 points, and it was only by that few because the Celtics sat their starters in the fourth. 

Philadelphia, you must do some things great - I don't know, cheese-steak sandwiches? - but playing the game of basketball isn't one of them.

Payton Pritchard led all scorers with 32 points, including his trademark end-of-period points in the first and the third, and off the bench at that. Tatum had 30 points and 11 assists, and Brown had 20 points. As a team, the Celtics outrebounded the Sixers, 51-30, and hit 24 three--pointers to the Sixers' nine. 

The Celtics take a 3-1 series lead, and can seal it tomorrow back in Boston.

It's still not clear who the next opponent will be. The Knicks apparently have their hands full with the Atlanta Hawks. New York won last night after back-to-back, single-point victories by Atlanta - the series is currently tied at two games to two. But whoever emerges from that scrum, it's still a smart-money bet that the Celtics will eventually play the Pistons for the Eastern Conference championship.

Red Sox 5, Orioles 3

 

Someone just hit the "reset" button. The Boston Red Sox, after a historically bad start to the season, fired coach Alex Cora and a bunch of his assistant coaches, and they're ready to start over. Think of it this way - the real season started today, April 26, and they spotted the New York Yankees a seven-game lead just to make things more interesting.

Chad Tracy of the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox is assuming the interim coach role. To welcome him to the majors, the Red Sox beat Baltimore for back-to-back victories for only the fourth time this season. Willson Contreras hit his sixth home run of the season, and Ceddanne Rafaela, Marcelo Mayer, and Andruw Monasterio also had RBI hits. 

Connelly Early allowed two runs in 6⅔ innings, striking out four. Zach Kelly retired the last batter of the seventh inning and Garrett Whitlock allowed a run in the eighth. Aroldis Chapman worked a perfect ninth for his fifth save. Chapman now has 1,341 career strikeouts, passing Goose Gossage for second place as MLB's all-time leader among relievers. He's 23 strikeouts away from passing Hoyt Wilhelm, who played from 1952 to 1972.

The Sox are 11-17 and trail the Blue Jays (12-15) by a game and a half. They head to Toronto next for a three-game series against the Jays and can potentially pass them in the standings with a few wins. Ranger Suarez (1-2, 4.00) will take the mound for Boston against Dylan Cease (1-0, 2.10), who has yet to give up his first home runs after 25⅔ innings. First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 pm.