Red Sox Blow 6-Run Lead in Toronto

 

The much anticipated and long awaited debut of Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito, who signed a two-year, $38.5 million contract with Boston in December 2023, finally make his Boston debut tonight. His performance was brilliant for five innings - no runs, seven strikeouts, and only two walks. Meanwhile, the Red Sox got six runs on homers by Bregman and Narváez and RBI base hits by Duran and Devers. 6-0, Red Sox. Nothing can go wrong, right?

Unfortunately, after two outs in the sixth, Giolito gave up back-to-back homers, giving the Blue Jays three runs. In the seventh, reliever Garrett Whitlock gave up a three-run homer after two outs of his own and the game was tied, 6-6.

There was no scoring in the eighth or ninth, and the Sox went three-up/three-down in the top of the tenth. In the bottom of that extra inning, the Sox allowed the Jays to load the bases with two intentional walks, and then a single to deep left center brought a runner home and Toronto won, 7-6.

As bad as the Sox blowing a six-run lead is the fact that they did it on a night when the Yankees lost, squandering a chance to move with a half game of first place. As it is, the Red Sox (17-15) are now 1½ back from New York in the AL East.

Game 3, the rubber match in this series, is tomorrow at 7:00. Tanner Houck (0-2, 7.58) will face José Berríos (1-1, 4.24). 

My take is Giolito's debut wasn't the disaster some are making it out to be, although the game was a disaster. He got left in the game too long - should have been pulled after the first homer, if not sooner - and then the shaky Boston bullpen allowed the tie. And for the life of me, I don't understand intentionally walking two batters on one out in the 10th.

Let's do better tomorrow, okay?   

Celtics Win Series, Beat Magic, 120-89, in Game 5

 

This was the game we needed. After a tentative first half with no three-point shots made by Boston, the Celtics exploded in the second half, outscoring the Magic by 33 points and completing 13 threes. Tatum scored 35 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds, finishing 4 for 5 from beyond the arc, and Brown scored 23 points.

See? Told you the Celtics would win in five.

The team is banged up with Porzingis' stitched-up forehead, Tatum's wrist, Holiday's hamstring, and Brown's hand. Fortunately, Detroit beat the Knicks tonight and forced a Game 6 in that series, so  the Celtics will have at least a few days to rest up and heal.

No date is set yet for the first game of the next round against whoever wins the Pistons-Knicks series. But congratulations to the Celtics - you've now won four of the 16 playoff games you need to become the repeat NBA champions!

Let's go, Boston!

Red Sox 10, Toronto 2

 

The Red Sox started the game with two home runs (Durran and Bregman) in the first three at-bats in the first inning. . . but all anyone’s going to be talking about is New York got three HRs in the first three at bats today. Fucking Yankees suck.

But let's not look at the glass half-empty. The Red Sox won today and won big, with homers not only by Durran and Bregman but also by Wilyer Abreu, Rafael Devers, and Kristian Campbell, who also hit an RBI double. Boston's first seven runs were all on homers. 

Garret Crochet (2-2, 1.95) went seven innings giving up only two runs and getting six strikeouts. The Boston bullpen (Guerrero and Bernardino) was flawless in the last two innings - no hits, no runs, no walks.

The Red Sox improve to 17-14, one and a half back from New York. Game two against the Jays is tomorrow at 7:00. 

    

Celtics 107, Magic 98

Jayson Tatum scored 37 points with  14 rebounds and Jaylen Brown scored 21 points with 11 rebounds as the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics beat the Magic by nine points in that festering, moldy snake den of a stadium in Orlando, Florida, the venereal disease capital of North America*.

Watching the Celtics and Magic play is about as fun as watching a root canal procedure. It feels good when it's over, but painful while it's going on.

Every time I see the stitches on Porzingis' forehead or see Tatum rub his wrist or see Holiday on the sideline, I'm reminded about what a punk team the Magic are. 

The Celtics go up 3-1 in the series. Game 5 is 8:30 pm Tuesday back in the Garden. I said it before and I'll say it again: the Celtics win this series in five.

*I don't know that for a fact, but it feels good saying it.  

Red Sox 13, Cleveland 3

 

Wow! Another stolen home plate! Second game in a row. This time it was Romy González in the fifth inning to give the Sox a 6-0 lead over the Guardians in Cleveland.  

Boston got that big lead with a Rob Refsnyder homer and a whole bunch of singles, doubles, and sacrifice flies. Rafaela hit a three-run homer in the seventh to give Boston a 12-3 lead, and Duran hit an RBI double in the ninth for the final, 13-3 score. Brayan Bello pitched six innings to go 2-0 on the season.

The Sox win the series, 2-1, and are 16-14 overall on the season. They're off tomorrow, and then have a three-game series in Toronto against those pesky Jays (13-14). Sean Newcomb (0-3, 4.43) will face off against Bowden Francis (2-3, 3.58) in the opener.   

Red Sox Split Doubleheader in Cleveland

The Red Sox lose the first game of a double header, played due to yesterday's rain cancellation, with a 5-4 loss, but made up for it with a 7-3 win in the second game.

In the opener, Tanner Houck gave up four runs in the bottom of the first before settling down for the next four innings. Wilyer Abreu homered in the first and Rafael Devers homered in the third, but other than that, the Boston offense never really got clicking and Cleveland won the game. 

It was a whole different story in the second game. Trevor Story got an RBI single in the first, and in the second, Duran and Devers got RBI hits of their own before Cleveland's Doug Nikhazy walked in a run with the bases loaded. 4-0, Red Sox. 

Then in the third, things really got interesting. Jarren Durran hit an RBI triple and then, with the next batter (Devers) at the plate, proceeded to steal home. 6-0, Red Sox.

Cleveland chipped away at the lead in the fourth, but Alex Bregman hit an insurance RBI single in the sixth. The shaky Boston bullpen held on, and the Sox won the second game, 7-3.

When the smoke cleared, Boston was 15-14 and in second place in the AL East, 1½  back from New York. 

The rubber match of th weekend road series is tomorrow, 1:40 pm.

Magic 95, Celtics 93

 

The Orlando Magic take Game 3 in their humid, musty, swampy quagmire of a home court with a 95-93 win. The Celtics had Jayson Tatum back, but still got out-rebounded, 15-8, on offense, and turned the ball over 19 times to the Magic's 13.

Both teams had scoring runs and both led at times by double digits - the Celtics in the first half and the Magic in the second. Derrick White even tied the game up at 91 each with 2:31 left to play but Boston never led after mid-way through the third.

Big deal. The way I see it, each team has 28 chances to get 16 wins in the playoffs, and no one realistically expects to go undefeated. You gotta just keep on going until you get to that 16th double-you. 

Game 4 is Sunday night at 7:00 pm. That will be win number 3 on the road to 16.      

Mariners 4, Red Sox 3

 

An uncharacteristically bad start by pitcher Garrett Crochet (five hits, four runs, five walks, and nine K's over five innings) gave Seattle all they needed to win the rubber match of this homestand series. Bregman homered in the first and hit an RBI single in the third, and Carlos Narváez hit a solo homer 349 feet into right in the eighth, but it wasn't enough to keep up with the Mariners. 

The Sox end this homestand going 4-3 and fall to 14-13 overall and two games back from the Yankees, although they managed to stay in second place in the AL East. They head to Cleveland (14-10) for a weekend series. The struggling Tanner Houck (0-2, 7.66) hopes his fortunes turn around in his start tomorrow against Ben Lively (1-2, 3.86).    

Mariners 8, Red Sox 5

 

Seattle evens up the three-game home series with an 8-5 win over the Red Sox. Our bullpen (Bernardino and Winckowski) gave up four runs in two innings, putting a still potentially winnable 4-2 game out of reach. However, Triston Casas tried to catch the team back up with  three-run homer in the 8th, but it wasn't enough and it was too late. The Sox fall to 14-12 and 1½ back from New York, who won today.

Okay, you can't win 'em all. However, let's win this series with a victory tomorrow (1:35) - Garrett Crochet (2-1, 1.13) vs. Bryan Woo (2-1, 3.12). We got this!    

Celtics 109, Magic 100

Kristaps Porziņģis sacrificed his face for this win. A wild elbow from Magic center Goga Bitadze in the third quarter left  Porziņģis with a massive, bloody gash on his forehead. But Porzingis still took his free  throws for the flagrant foul and then left for the locker room free bleeding with a towel on his head. This image will probably become the next iconic Boston sports photograph. A few stitches and bandages later, he returned to the game with a big smile on his face.

Porziņģis finished the game with 20 points and 10 rebounds, a double double, but that wasn't even the biggest story of the night. Jaylen Brown stepped up his game tonight with Tatum out with an injured wrist after his mugging in Game 1, and scored 36 points and got 10 rebounds, another double double (a double double double?). 

And even THAT wasn't the biggest story. The biggest of all stories, the one that will go in the record books and be remembered, is that the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics have gone up 2-0 in the 7-game first-round series against Orlando.

Game Three is in Orlando on Friday night, 7:00 pm. Let's put this series to bed before those Florida goons bang up any more of the Celtics players because enough of these guys already! 

Red Sox 8, Seattle 3

With six wins in their last seven games, the Boston Red Sox (14-11) are finally back on track. After today's 8-3 beatdown of the Seattle Mariners, Boston is now in second place, a mere ½ game back from the damn Yankees, who lost today.     

The big play of the game was Triston Casas' three-run homer to deep (421 ft.) center in the seventh inning. Earlier in the game, Alex Bregman got three RBI's on back-to-back doubles and Devers opened up the scoring with an RBI sac fly in the first. After Casas' homer, Duran hit an RBI single in the seventh. 

Brayan Bello earns his first win of the season, keeping his ERA at a miserly 1.50 with three strikeouts over five innings. The Sox went deep into their bullpen to preserve this win, pitching  Justin Wilson, Greg Weissert, and Garrett Whitlock before bringing in Liam Hendriks to close. 

Red Sox 4, White Sox 2

Today's game started early because of the Boston Marathon. Apparently, the City wants to make sure there's a maximum of traffic and security issues and so time the two events to coincide as closely as possible. For the record, John Korir of Kenya won the Marathon this year with an unofficial time of 2:04:45 (his brother Wesley won the Marathon in 2012). Alphonce Felix Simbu of Tanzania came in second and Cybrian Kimurgor Kotut of Kenya came in third, both finishing with a time of 2:05:04. American Conner Mantz finished in fourth, four seconds behind Simbu and Kotut.

Meanwhile, in Fenway, Rob Refsnyder got his first home run of the season with a 413-foot shot to deep left center. Trevor Story went 3-for-4, including an RBI single in the third, and Kristian Campbell went 2-for-3, including a two RBI single in the same inning. Starting pitcher Walker Buehler held the White Sox to one run through seven innings, and then our old friend and former Red Sox Andrew Benintendi homered off reliever Aroldis Chapman in the eighth. Boston held on for the 4-2 win.

Boston (13-11) will host the Seattle Mariners for three games starting tomorrow at 6:45.

Celtics 103, Magic 86

 

It got a little dicey there late in the second period when Orlando overcame a 9-point deficit to take a one-point lead into halftime, but other than that it was all Celtics all the way. Derrick White led the way with 30 points, Pritchard scored 19 off the bench, and Tatum got his double double on 17 points and  14 rebounds. 

It's only the first game of the Playoffs and the road ahead is long and arduous, so let's not draw too many conclusions after one game. 

I stand by my prediction of Celtics in five for this series.  

White Sox 8, Red Sox 4

 

It's like a game script from last season: Boston's starting pitching sets the team up for a win, but the bullpen manages to salvage a loss.

Tanner Houck pitched six innings, giving up two early runs before settling down and fanning seven batters. The Red Sox get three runs on a first-inning Wilyer Abreu  homer, and an insurance run in the second on a Jarren Duran RBI single. Red Sox lead, 4-2. 

But in the seventh, Zack Kelly loads up the bases, including two runners on hit-by-pitches, and then Justin Wilson brings the runners home before getting the side out. A two-run  Andrew Vaughn homer in the 8th and another Chicago run brought in on another hit-by-pitch in the 9th seals the win for the White Sox and they win, 8-4. 

Boston's four-game win streak snapped. Tomorrow's game starts early (11-ish) because of Patriots Day and the Boston Marathon.   

Red Sox 4, White Sox 3 (10 Innings)

 

A Triston Casas RBI single to left center wins the game in the 10th inning as the Red Sox win their fourth straight game. 

Devers hit a three-run homer to deep left center in the third to give Boston the lead. Pitcher Garrett Crochet gave up no runs and struck out seven and over six innings, but reliever Greg Weissert let the White Sox tie it back up in the seventh. Garrett Whitlock earned the win with shutout pitching in the 10th.

The Yankees suck. They just lost to Tampa Bay, 10-8, in 10 innings. Second place Toronto lost today too,  so Boston (12-10) is now still in third, but only one win back from first. Game three against Chicago starts tomorrow at 1:30.  

Red Sox 10, White Sox 3

It's nice to be back in Fenway. After going 1-2 against the White Sox in Chicago, the Red Sox return to Boston and thump the Pale Hose, 10-3. Trevor Story homered twice, Ceddanne Rafaela homered, Carlos Narvaez homered, even our old friend and former Red Sox Andrew Benintendi homered, but for Chicago. 

Starting pitcher Hunter Dobbins got six strikeouts over six innings, Brennan Bernardino pitched a no-hit, no-walk, shutout seventh, and closer Josh Winckowski gave up only two hits in two innings of relief.

Third win in a row for the Red Sox (11-10). Three more games against Chicago in this home stand - I can get used to all this winning!      

Red Sox Shut Out Rays, 1-0

 

David Hamilton's sole and solo homer in the 3rd inning was the difference between the Red Sox and the Rays today in a good old-fashioned pitchers' duel.

Sean Newcomb started for the Sox and pitched 4.2 shutout innings with four strikeouts, but after Hamilton got the go-ahead run, he gave up a walk and a single in the fifth. The Sox brought on reliever Greg Weissert with two outs, and he got the third out with a K to end the inning and then went three-up and three-down in the sixth with a pop fly and two more Ks.  Garrett Whitlock struck out the side in the seventh and got another K in the eighth, and then Justin Slaten ended the game with three quick outs on a fly ball and two more strikeouts. In all, the Boston pitchers made 13 strikeouts in the game.

The Red Sox return to .500 (10-10). They get a day's rest tomorrow and then start a weekend home stand against the White Sox (4-13, but 2-1 against Boston so far this season).    

It's Magic

The Orlando Magic (41-41) won the No. 7 seed in the NBA East Play-In tournament after Atlanta's Trae Young pulled some stupid shit with the refs and the ball and got ejected from the game. The Magic will play the No. 2 seed and reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics, with Game 1 in the Garden on Sunday afternoon (3:30 pm).

The Celtics are 2-3 against the Magic this season, with both teams winning on their home courts. Most recently, back on April 9, the Magic beat the Celtics' bench by 20 points (Coach Joe Mazzulla sat out all his starters for the game). However, assuming Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, White, and Holiday all don't sustain injuries during practice this week, Boston will win this series in five, with Game 3 in Orlando going to the Magic.    

Devils 5, Bruins 4

 

What? There was another Bruins game? I thought Sunday's win was the last of the season!

Well, technically, Sunday's game WAS the last win of the season, because the Bruins lost in OT tonight in what I've certified to be the actual, for-real, no-shit last game of this miserable season. 

Pastrnak scored a goal and made an assist, fittingly. Boston finishes the 24-25 season with a 33-39-10 record, dead last in the Atlantic and the East. 

Let's not talk hockey again for at least six months, okay?   

Red Sox 7, Rays 4

 

Yeah, now THAT'S more like it!  Alex Bregman, Boston's new certified A-list slugger, scores four runs on two homers and an RBI double and single. Jarren Duran homers to deep left center, also scoring Carlos Narváez, and Ceddanne Rafaela hits an RBI single. Walker Buehler (2-1, 5.23) faces 21 batters over five innings, relievers Justin Wilson and Zack Kelly give three solid innings of relief before Kelly got into some trouble in the bottom of the 9th, and closer Aroldis Chapman gets his fourth save of the season by getting the strikeout Boston needed for the win.

See? Isn't winning fun? Let's do this more often!

The road series in Tampa is tied, 1-1. The rubber match is tomorrow, 7:00 pm.

Tampa Bay 16, Red Sox 1

 

Like, literally, WTF? Tanner Houck gives up 10 earned runs to the Rays, the most a Red Sox pitcher has ever allowed Tampa Bay for some sort of new record. The Sox fall to 8-10 on this young season, fourth in the AL East, but are still somehow only two games back from New York (Yankees suck).

Something's got to change. All the hope and good will we felt on opening day with some new starting pitchers and badly needed relievers, and with a certified A-list slugger in the lineup, is all gone in a dismal start that feels like the despair we were experiencing at the end of last season.

We gotta get it together and start playing better.       

Bruins End Forgettable Season with a Win

 

The Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-1, in their last game of the season. They end the season with 73 points on a 32-29-9 record, last in the Atlantic and last in the East.  

FWIW, Elias Lindholm scored first, assisted by Pastrnak, Fabian Lysell scored his first of the season on its last day, Morgan Geekie scored a power-play goal assisted by Pasta, and Jakub Lauko hit an open netter late in the third, also with a assist by Pasta.

And that's it for the 2024-25 Boston Bruins. One less team to have to follow here at SDW. 

Red Sox Avoid Sweep by Worst Team in AL

 

Trevor Story wasn't about to let the Red Sox get swept by the White Sox. He hit a two-RBI double in the sixth to give Boston a 2-0 lead and then homered to deep left center in the top of the 9th for a 3-1 win.

Garrett Crochet (2-1, 1.38) gets the win for Boston with 11 strike-outs over 7.1 innings. 

Next, the 8-9 Red Sox go to Tampa for a three-game series with the Rays (7-8). 

Celtics 93, Hornets 86

 

See? I told you the Celtics bench could beat the Hornets. 

Joe Mazzulla continued his on-again/off-again rotation of playing his starters one game, then resting them the next by playing the bench against Charlotte today after playing his starters against them on Friday (the starters rested on the previous road game in Orlando). Boston won both games against the Hornets to end the season with back-to-back wins and an overall 19-3 run going back to March 2.

The defending NBA champions finished the 2024-25 season 61-21 (.744), first place in the Atlantic Division and three games back from Cleveland in the East. As the No. 2 seed in the East, they will get a week off and then play the No. 7 seed as determined by the play-in tournament.

Best wishes for the postseason, gentlemen.

Congratulations to BU Men's Hockey

 

One game short of winning the National Championship, 2025 Beanpot Champion Boston University lost the NCAA Frozen Four final to Western Michigan, 6-2. The Terriers entered the third period trailing 3-2, but three unanswered WMU goals sealed the win for the Broncos.

Friendly reminder that BU got to this game by beating Ohio State, Colgate, and Penn State. 

Hell of a season, BU, and thanks for the memories. We'll be cheering for you next year.  

White Sox 3, Red Sox 2

 

Okay, let's make sure I've got this straight - when you're playing one of the worst teams in MLB, you're supposed to sweep them for three easy wins, right? Right?

Then can someone please explain to me why the Red Sox have fallen 0-2 to the White Sox so far this series? Please? 

Public Service Announcement

The BU Terriers play for the national championship in college hockey tonight at 7:30 pm tonight against fourth-seeded Western Michigan. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2. Rearrange your schedule and arrange your day such that you can watch this game.   

Go, Terriers!

White Sox 11, Red Sox 1

 

Oh, dear. This is going to be another one of those seasons, isn't it?

Celtics 130, Hornets 94

 

So much for resting the starters before the playoffs. For reasons unknown to me, Mazzulla put the Celtic starters back in the lineup tonight and risked injury for a meaningless win over a team the Boston bench could have easily beat.

But it's all good. We won the game and no one was injured. Big Al Horford got tonight's double double on 13 points and 11 rebounds. Sam Hauser came off the bench and led the team in points (20) on 6-9 three-point shooting.

One more game against Charlotte Sunday afternoon to end the regular season.    

BU Beats Penn State to Advance to Frozen Four Final

Cole Eiserman, Jack Harvey, and Jack Hughes score goals for BU as the Terriers beat the Penn State Nittany Lions, 3-1, and advance to the NCAA championship game. They will face the Western Michigan Broncos (33-7-1) on Saturday night for all the marbles.

Bonus points: the game was televised on ESPN2, even here in the Deep South.

Red Sox Avoid Sweep with 4-3 Win Over Toronto

 

The Red Sox did NOT want to lose this game. They did NOT want to get swept at home. 

After five scoreless innings, Alex Bregman singled home the first run of the game in the sixth and gave Boston a 1-0 lead. Toronto came back and scored two runs in the top of the seventh, but Rob Refsnyder tied the game back up on a wild pitch and the ninth inning ended with the teams tied at two.

A 10th-inning sacrifice fly gave the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead, but in the bottom of the inning Jarren Duran singled to center, scoring ghost runner Blake Sobol and tied the game back up at 3. Rafael Devers singled and Bregman and then Casas both took bases after getting hit by pitches. Finally, Trevor Story grounded out, scoring David Hamilton, running for Devers. The Sox win, 4-3 and Boston returns to .500 (7-7).

Next up is a three-game weekend series against the Chicago White Sox (2-10), just the thing the Sox need right now while the Yankees play the Giants (9-3) and the Jays play division rivals Baltimore.         

Magic 96, Celtics 76

The Boston Celtics lost to the Orlando Magic in their last road game of the season. However, their 33-8 road record this season is the best in franchise history and they came within one win of tying the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors for the best road record in the history of the NBA.

"You can't say they didn't try" is the phrase people often use to console themselves. But in this case, they didn't try.  Joe Mazzulla sat all the Celtics starters - Tatum, Brown, White, Porzingis, Holiday, even big Al Horford - and played the bench for the entire game. Baylor Scheierman and Payton Pritchard both led the team with 15 points, and Pritchard's 10 assists gave him a double double.

Strategically, Boston has nothing to gain from another win, but everything to lose if a starter gets injured right before the playoffs. Season road records don't win playoff games . . . but it still would have been nice to beat the Warriors at something.

Two home games left to the regular season, both against Charlotte for some reason. First one's Friday, 7:30 pm.  

Blue Jays 2, Red Sox 1

 

So far, the Jays are 3-0 in this four-game series. But what a weird game - tied 1-1 after the first, neither team scored again until a Bo Bichette sacrifice fly in the 11th inning. 

Game 4 is at 4:00 tomorrow. 

Celtics Beat Knicks to Sweep Season Series

 

The first-string Celtics starters (Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, Holiday, and White) all played tonight, free of injuries and personal issues, and beat a scrappy Knicks team in MSG, 119-117. With the win, the Celts sweep the season series with the Knicks, and if they win tomorrow night in Orlando, their last road game of the season, they will set an NBA record for most road wins in a season.

Porzingis led the Celtics with 34 points, including 8 three-pointers on 13 attempts. 

The Knicks led, 58-52 at the half, but a 31-20 third quarter gave Boston a five-point lead after three. But the Knicks answered with a strong fourth, and the game was tied at 107 at the end of regulation. Another Porzingis three-pointer and four Jrue Holiday free throws gave Boston the lead in the last minute,  although a 27-foot Jalen Brunson three-pointer at the buzzer kept the Knicks close. 

The Celtics have won 17 of their last 19 games. An historic road win tomorrow in Orlando will be the icing on the cake before the playoffs begin. Tip-off is at 7:00.    

Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 1

 

Those pesky Jays! Just as the Sox were gaining some traction and the Yankees were starting to slip, Toronto comes to Boston and wins the first two of a four-game series. With the win, the Jays (7-5) take first place while the Sox (6-6) fall to third behind the stinkin' Yankees (6-5). 

Starting pitcher Garrett Crochet kept the Jays scoreless for five innings before giving up a pair of runs in the sixth and loading the bases. Reliever Zack Kelly came on with two outs, but gave up two more runs, both credited to Crochet, before he got the third out. 

The Sox answered with one run on the seventh, but that was it for the night. Toronto scored two more in the eighth and that was that.

Should Boston win the next two games and tie up the series, they'd pass the Jays in the standings and possibly even move into first, provided the Yankees keep on losing. Game three starts at 6:45.  

BRUINS WIN!!

 

Tonight, the Boston Bruins beat the New Jersey Devils, 7-2, on the road. David Pastrnak scored, of course,  and so did Michael Callahan, Jakub Lauko, Casey Mittelstadt, Morgan Geekie, Fraser Minten, and Cole Koepke, The last four goals in the game going back to the second period were all unanswered Bruins scores. Way to go!

Of course, Boston is still in last place in the Atlantic Division, so there's that.

Three games left to go, starting with the Chicago Blackhawks in the Garden on Thursday night and ending on a rematch with the Devils.  

Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 2

 

Well, shit. The Yankees lose today and then the Red Sox squander a perfectly good opportunity to move into first place, losing to Toronto, 6-2.

Richard Fitts pitched six innings and takes the loss, his second of the season.

Game two of this four-game series is tomorrow, starting at 6:45. 

Red Sox 18, St. Louis 7

 

First series sweep of the season for Boston. Five straight wins and perfect so far in Fenway. The cumulative score over the past three home games was 36-20. 

The Red Sox, who started the week in last place, are now in second, a half game back from the Yankees.

Eighteen runs, and yet the only homer was a three-RBI, Alex Bregman blast to center in the third.

Starting pitcher Hunter Dobbins gets his first MLB win. 

Feels good, man.

Those pesky Jays are flying down from Toronto for a four-game series in Fenway starting tomorrow.  

Bruins Lose Again

 

Does it matter to who?  Do you feel any better (or worse) knowing that it was to the Buffalo Sabres? Does it matter by how much? How do you feel knowing the final score was 6-3?

The Bruins are 1 and 11 in their last 12 games. Four more games, staring Tuesday night in Jersey, and it will all be over.  

Celtics 124, Washington 90

 

No Tatum, no Porzingis, no problem - Celtics still win by 34.

A Sam Hauser 3-pointer in the fourth quarter was the NBA’s 31,580th overall of the season, surpassing the record set last season. The Celtics’ fifth 3-point attempt of the game was their NBA-record 3,722nd, one more than Houston in 2018-19. They already set the record on 3-pointers made (1,370) yesterday.

Tuesday night, the Celts will drop in on MSG in NYC to play the Knicks.

Red Sox 5, Cardinals 4

 

Woo-hoo! Fourth straight win for the Red Sox, first extra inning win of the season, and Boston is undefeated at home. 

In the bottom of the 10th, Wilyer Abreu knocked an RBI single to left center, scoring Alex Bregman for the win.  Prior to that, Devers homered to deep (413 feet) left center in the fifth to get the Sox on the board, and in the 9th, he got an RBI for drawing a walk with the bases loaded to tie the game.

Sean Newcomb got the start, pitching 4.2 innings with five K's and allowing only one run. However, reliever Aroldis Chapman (ERA - 0.00) got the win, his second of the season.

Game 2 of the double header to make up for yesterday's rain out has already begun. Boston currently has a 10-2 lead in the fourth inning.

David Pastrnak Hat Trick Snaps Bruins' 10-Game Losing Streak

 

Pretty much what the headline says. Tonight, the woeful Boston Bruins, owners of a 10-game losing streak, beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-1, on three goals by David Pastrnak. Morgan Geekie and Elis Lindholm scored in the first period, both goals assisted by Pasta, and then Pastrnak scored three consecutive goals in the second and third periods.

Jeremy Swayman made 39 saves at goalie.

Nice. Let's remember this game as this miserable season grinds to its ignoble end, and hope a little of this juju rubs off on the next five and final games of the year.

Next up: a road trip to Buffalo (33-36-6), a team almost as bad as the Bruins (31-37-9). 

Celtics 123, Suns 103

 

Jayson Tatum went 1-for-8 on three-point shooting last night, but Jaylen Brown was 3-for-4, Derrick White was 4-for-8, and Payton Pritchard was 2-for-3. All told, the team sank 14 three-pointers and in so doing set a new NBA record for the most threes in a single season. The previous record (1,363) was set by the Golden State Warriors in the 2022-23 season. As of last night, the Celtics have 1,370.

And there's still five more games to go.

Porzingis had to leave the game early after he took an elbow to the face from Cody Martin. The cut required stitches, and there's no telling when he'll return to the lineup. With only five games left and the Division clinched, the Celtics ought to rest him and let him heal until the Playoffs. 

Boston improves to 57-20 on the season. Sunday, they host the Washington Wizards (17-60) at the Garden.

Red Sox 13, Cardinals 9

 

The Red Sox certainly made their home opener an interesting game.

Let's talk about that five-run first inning - Jarren Duran singles to center and then steals second, Rafael Devers walks, and then Alex Bregman doubles to left, scoring Duran. 1-0, Red Sox. After one out, Trevor Story homers to deep (378 feet) left, scoring Bregman and Devers. 4-0, Red Sox. In the very next at-bat, Wilyer Abreu homers to deep (408 feet) right center. 5-0, Red Sox.  Great way to start your first home stand.

Things got a little unnecessarily interesting in the top of the ninth when the Sox gave up three runs and then loaded the bases with only one out, but a double play got us out of the jam, ended the inning, and won the game. 13-9, Red Sox.  

Pitcher Walker Buehler gets his first win of the season. Reliever Aroldis Chapman gets the save.

The Sox improve to 4-4 (.500, baby!). Game 2 of this series is tomorrow at 4:00.  

Canadiens 4, Bruins 1

 

10th straight loss. Last place in the Atlantic Division. Only six games left to the season. 

This team sucks. 

Red Sox 8, Orioles 4

 

The Sox win their first back-to-back games of the year and their first series of the season, taking 2 of 3 games in Baltimore.

Alex Bregman got his first home run of the year, a 411-foot blast in the first inning to deep left center that also scored Rafael Devers.  Bregman brought Raffy home again in the 9th with a double to deep right center, and was brought home himself on  a Triston Casas homer to deep left center in the 7th. 

Tanner Houck (6.52) went four innings with six K's, but gave up three runs, including a Cedric Mullins homer in the first. Zack Kelly (1-0) got the win.

The Sox moved up to a tie with Baltimore for fourth place in the AL East. Sure, that's still last place, but at least it isn't as lonely there as yesterday.

The Sox will head to Boston for their home opener on Friday and a weekend series against the St. Louis Cardinals (4-2).     

Celtics Lose to Heat, 124-103

 

WTF? The Celtics win nine straight, all but one on the road, and then come back home to the Garden and lose to the Miami Heat? How is that even possible?

True, Holiday was out with a right shoulder impingement, Horford was out with a left big toe sprain, and Porzingis is still reconditioning from an illness. Nobody was hitting threes tonight and Brown led the team with 24 points; Tatum had 16. 

It was also a meaningless game. Boston has already clinched the Atlantic Division, and is five games back from Cleveland in the playoff standings with only six games left to the regular season. But still. How do you lose to the Heat? WTF, man? 

Red Sox 3, Orioles 0

 

Tonight, the Boston Red Sox doubled their number of wins this season with a 3-0 shutout of the Baltimore Orioles. Boston is now 2-4 and 2½ games back from first-place Toronto (5-2).

Trevor Story homered 413 feet into deep left center in the second inning in what turned out to be the winning run. In the fifth, Ceddanne Rafaela brought Kristian Campbell home with a single to center, and then Rafael Devers finally snapped out of his slump and scored Ceddanne with a double to right center. 

Garrett Crochet (1.38) got his first win as a Red Sox, fanning eight batters over eight innings while giving up zero runs. 

The rubber match of this road series is tomorrow at 1:00 pm.

Capitals 4, Bruins 3

 

The Bruins are the inverse version of the Celtics. While the Celts have won their last nine straight games, the Bruins have lost nine straight. Not even a pair of Pastrnak goals could save them last night. 

Seven more games until the end of this disappointing season. Time to let the ice melt, let the entire team go (the good players deserve better teams and the poor players won't be missed), design some new uniforms, rebrand the entire enterprise, and maybe even burn down and rebuild the stadium. 

Cause this shit ain't working.    

Celtics 117 - Memphis 103

 

Jalen Brown was out, but Big Al Horford stepped up and scored 26 points off the bench, including 6 for 13 shooting on threes. Tatum had a 25-point, 14-rebound double double and Derrick White had a 14-point, 10 assist double double.

The game marks Boston's 9th consecutive win and the team has gone 14-1 since back-to-back losses at the end of February.

Seven more games left to the regular season, starting with the Miami Heat in the Garden tomorrow night.