Red Sox 9, Guardians 1

 

I saw this one coming. Sox pitcher Sonny Gray continued to feed off of Cleveland batting, getting seven strikeouts over a full six innings and giving up only one run on four hits. It took the Sox a while to wear down Cleveland's starting pitcher, Parker Messick, but once they finally got him off the mound after five innings, Wong scored a run in the sixth and Durbin scored his second of the game in the eighth.

But let's talk about that ninth inning. Cleveland reliever Will Dion loaded the bases with a walk, a hit-by-pitch, and a single, and then walked Yoshida on five pitches to bring home a run. Wong hit a two-run single, giving him three RBIs on the day. Duran then tied Wong's three RBIs with a three-run blast into deep right center. It was Duran's ninth homer of the season, and five of them have come in the ninth inning. 

The Red Sox win, 9-1, and tie up the road series at one game each. What a team! I love these guys! 

Tampa Bay lost yesterday, so the Sox bounce from 13 games  back to "only" 12 in the division. Toronto lost as well, so the Sox are now four back in the Wild Card standings, with five teams ahead of them in the race. Yesterday was apparently a tough day for the AL East, and I can't pass up the opportunity to point out that the Yankees lost, too.

Ranger Suarez (2-3, 3.02) takes on Tanner Bibee (0-7, 4.57) in this afternoon's rubber match. Suarez is 1-1 against Cleveland in three career games, giving up 11 hits and getting 11 K's. He's yet to give up his first homer to the Guardians. Bibee's had 10- and 12-win seasons, but he's off to a terrible start this year, taking the loss in seven of his 12 starts. He's  1-0 against the Sox in two career starts, striking out five over 10 innings and giving up nine hits, including a two-run homer by Connor Wong in 2024 (Wong's in the game as the DH today).

Let's go, Boston! Let's go, Wong! Let's go, Duran! Let's go, Suarez! Let's beat these Guardians!  

   

Guardians 4, Red Sox 3

 

So how did that jack-assy strategy of putting in a reliever to start the first inning for Bello work out yesterday? Well, the reliever, Tyler Samaniego, gave up four runs on six hits in the first inning and cost us the game, while Bello shut out Cleveland over seven innings, striking out three and giving up only four hits. 

I don't know, what say we use our starting pitchers to start games and our relievers for relief when necessary, and stop this cutesy bullshit  of putting in a reliever as a "short starter" for the first inning of games? Just spitting out ideas here, but what do I know - I'm not managing a .411 ball team.

The Sox got a little bit of offence going in the fifth inning, getting three runs on a Mayer single, a Durbin double, and a Duran sac fly, but that was all we got. We're now an unlucky 13 games back from first place.

This afternoon, Sonny Gray (5-1, 3.27) will see what he can do for the Sox against Cleveland. Gray had a career 95 strikeouts against Cleveland in 103 innings, his third highest count against any other team. In his last game against the Guardians, a masterful performance for St. Louis back on June 27 of last year, he struck out 11, went the full nine innings, and was but one single short of a no-hitter.

He'll be up against The Guardian's Parker Messick (6-1. 2.24). He's only faced the Sox once before, striking out two but giving up three runs on nine hits in a short start in Fenway back on September 1 of last year. 

If past performance is any indicator of future results, this matchup is favorable for Boston and we've got a chance. Carpe diem, motherfuckers! Let's beat these guys!

Braves 10, Red Sox 2

Last night, Tolle and the Boston bullpen essentially provided batting practice for the Braves, giving up 10 runs on 11 hits. As a rule of thumb, if a Braves batter got on base, he got home. The Sox pulled a couple of runs out of their ass in the bottom of the fourth on a walk, single, and double, but otherwise let Sale cruise for five innings and then let the Atlanta bullpen pad their stats.

Man, I hate this team. In 50 years of cheering for the Red Sox, this is the worst I've ever seen.

Now the last-place Sox (23-32) are off to Cleveland (33-25), the first-place team in the AL Central. Rookie reliever Tyler Samaniego (0-2, 1.04) will be making his first career start. The team sent Samaniego down to the minors early this week, but had to call him right back after more pitching injuries. However, he's thrown 13 K's and allowed only two earned runs in 17⅓ innings of relief, so we know he's got good stuff, but I don't know if he'll be expected to go long tonight, or if he's in just as a short starter for some other pitcher. I give up. Who knows, and just as importantly, who cares?

The Guardians will be starting pitcher Slade Cecconi (3-5, 5.18), who's only faced the Sox once before, going 5⅓ innings last September 2 with eights K's but seven earned runs. 

100 more days until college football.

Red Sox 8, Braves 0

 

Well, I'll be. The Boston Red Sox, the best 23-31 team in all of MLB (they're better than the Tigers, Royals, Angels, Mets, Giants, and Rockies) beat the Atlanta Braves, 8-0, the team with the most wins (37) in baseball this year, one third of the way through the long season.

Supposedly good Atlanta pitcher Bryce Elder, who gave up seven hits including a home run to Willson Contreras back on May 16, gave up nine hits last night, and completely melted down in the fourth inning, giving up four runs and leaving two on with one out when he finally got pulled. He had faced 20 batters in the game and managed only one strikeout.  

Meanwhile, young Connelly Early, a legitimately good pitcher, went seven full shutout innings, striking out seven and giving up only four hits. 

Everyone on the Boston lineup got at least one hit last night. Duran got four of them, including an eighth inning homer against Braves reliever Carlos Carrasco. Rafaela got three, including a two-run single in the fourth to make the game 4-0, and then stole second base before Abreu brought him home on a single. 

Wins like this are few and far between for the Red Sox - hell, any win is a rare occurrence this season - so we'll celebrate when we can. The win changes nothing - the Sox are still cellar dwellers, 11½ back from Tampa Bay (who, interestingly, are on a four-game losing streak right now) and three games back in the Wild Card standings with five teams ahead of them. Still, it feels good to win one.

I love the Red Sox - always have, always will. In 50 years of cheering for them, I've seen worse seasons.

Unfortunately for Boston, though, it's Sale Day. The Sox managed to avoid him down in Atlanta, but he's scheduled to take the mound in Fenway tonight. He's a career 3-1 against the Red Sox with 41 strikeouts and is 7-3 overall this season with a 1.89 ERA. He'll be facing Boston's Payton Tolle (2-2, 2.45), who may not have Sale's stats but is nonetheless one of the bright spots in this cursed season. He pitched a winning game against the Braves in Atlanta on May 16, going eight innings and allowing only two runs of four hits. If Tolle can repeat that effort and the Boston bats stay hot, we have a chance at winning this series.

Braves 7, Red Sox 6

 

Well, at least it was close, but it's now four straight losses (and counting) for the third time this season. 

It all started so good. The first two batters on the first inning, Duran and Rafaela, both hit solo homers to give the Sox an early 2-0 lead. Suarez gave up a two-run homer in the fourth to let the Braves tie the game and gave up another run in the sixth for an Atlanta lead. Weissert came on that inning with two on and no outs and brought both base runners home before ending the inning at 5-2, Atlanta. 

Boston got to within 5-4 until Guerrero gave up a two-run homer in the eighth. The Sox managed to scrape together two more runs in the bottom of the ninth to get to within one run of the Braves, but ended up with a final score of 7-5, Atlanta. 

Boston (22-31) is now two full games back from the fourth-place Orioles, and 12½ back from Tampa Bay in the AL East. While they were recently two games back in the Wild Card standings, they're now four back.

Connelly Early (4-2, 3.33), who got six strikeouts against the Braves back in a losing effort on May 15, starts tonight. He'll be facing Bryce Elder (4-2, 1.97) who gave up three runs, including a two-run Contreras homer, in the Sox only win this season against the Braves on the 16th. 

Friendly reminder that the Braves don't actually play in Atlanta. Their current home, Truist Park, is actually out in suburban Smyrna, Georgia, where their racist fans can go to see a game while encountering fewer negroes than at the former downtown Atlanta Turner Field. Fuck them both, both the team and their fans.

Twins 6, Red Sox 5

 

We got swept. The Twins, a sub-.500 team a game-and-a-half back from qualifying for a Wild Card berth, came into Fenway, sacred ground, and won three straight games, sweeping the Red Sox. When they left Boston, the Twins were in the third and final Wild Card spot. 

Boober ("that's B. Ober," etc.) got the win for Minnesota. Guerrero took the mound in the sixth for Boston and gave up two runs, sparing Gray, who gave up three, from suffering yet another career loss to the Twins.

Offensively, this was far from the worst Boston performance this year. Yoshida and Contreras both homered, and Mayer brought Yoshida home with a single in the fourth. Sogard tripled in the ninth, and Kiner-Falefa brought him home with a double and advanced on a balk before the inning ended with the tying run on third and the winning run on first.      

It's all the more frustrating when you look at the team stats - the Sox had more extra base hits than the Twins (7-3), more homers (2-0), threw more Ks (12-7), and left fewer on base (15-24). It should have been a Boston victory, but instead was a one-run home loss and a series sweep.

The Sox are now all alone in last place in the AL East. Even the Orioles looked at our 22-30 record and said, "Nah, fuck that shit," and moved a half-game ahead of us. Boston's fallen from two back in the Wild Card standings to 3½ back.

Red Sox management has Memorial Day off to reflect on what they have and haven't done to this team. Then on Tuesday, it's Sale Day, but unfortunately Sale (7-3, 1.89) will be pitching for the Atlanta Braves, the National League's first-place team (36-18). The Sox will be starting Ranger Suarez (2-2, 2.40). Both Sale and Suarez managed to miss a start in this month's series down in Atlanta, but Sale is a career 2-0 against the Sox since leaving Boston and Suarez is a career 4-4 against the Braves. 

After they get swept by the Braves, the Red Sox have road trip to Cleveland (32-23) and then a tour of the AL East, with a home series against Baltimore (23-30) and then a brutal road trip to New York (31-22) and Tampa Bay (34-16). 

We're toast.

Twins 4, Red Sox 2

 

See? I told you I don't like one-inning openers! Jovani Morán started the game, gave up two runs in the first inning, and took the loss. Bello could have done that much, and he "relieved" Morán in the second inning only to give up two more runs in the fifth. Meanwhile, Boston's offense disappeared once again, with only one RBI base hit the entire game and a gifted run on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth. 

Back to last place, where we're now tied, 22-29, with the Orioles. We even fell to 2½ back in the Wild Card standings.

The Twins have clinched the series, but we can still at least avoid a sweep this afternoon (1:35). Sonny Gray (5-1, 2.93) will be taking the mound today for the Sox. Over the years, Gray's struggled against the Twins, going 1-6 in nine starts with a career ERA of 5.67 versus Minnesota. He's given up 11 home runs to the Twins, the most to any team other than the Rays (15), but he's pitched 30 more innings in his career to Tampa Bay than to Minnesota. He gave up two homers and five runs to the Twins in Boston's 6-0 loss back on April 14. 

The Twins  will be starting Boober ("Actually, it's B. Ober, for Bailey Ober, but that new guy, Ronald, in back, he drew in that other "O" and made it "Boober,' fucking asshole"). (IYKYK) Anyway, Boober (5-2, 3.63) is a career 2-2 against the Sox in five starts and an ERA of 2.48 versus Boston.

Twins 8, Red Sox 6

 

Heading into the seventh inning with a 6-3 lead last night, it looked like the Red Sox were really going to do it - win their first four-game streak of the season. They had just swept the Royals and were back home against a team, Minnesota, only a mere half-game ahead of them in the Wild Card standings. They were nine outs away from their fourth straight win, and after striking out the Twins' Alex Jackson, eight outs away. 

That's when Justin Slayton gave up a pair of home runs, both with runners on first. Four quick runs, and the Twins lead, 7-6. 

A Boston throwing error, a Minnesota single, and a hit-by-pitch loaded up the bases in the ninth, and then reliever Tyron Guerrero walked in the Twins' eighth run. The Sox were hitless in the bottom of the ninth, although Jarren Duran did get on base on a wild pitch, but a Minnesota double play ended his chances to advance and ended the game and ended the winning streak. 

Sadly, the bullpen wiped out a great start by Payton Tolle. He gave up three runs in the second inning, but otherwise struck out nine and gave up only four hits over six innings. 

So the Sox now find themselves out of their former tie for third place with Toronto and all alone in fourth, 1½ back from the Jays and 12½ back from the first place Rays. They're still two back in the Wild Card standings, though - it seems like nothing can change that. 

This afternoon (4:10 pm), the Sox will use Jovani Morán (0-1, 2.81) as a short-game opener for Brayan Bello (2-5, 7.16). They'll be facing the Twins Taj Bradley (4-1, 2.07), who's a career 4-1 against the Sox with 42 Ks over 26 innings. Today will be the first time this season either Bello or Bradley face their opposing teams, although Morán shut out the Twins over 2⅓ innings in relief on April 13 following a disastrous, 11-run start by Crochet (remember that game?).  

I don't understand the logic of  a short reliever opening a game. On the one hand, if the starter can go only so many innings, it doesn't matter if it's the first innings or middle innings. But if the problem is that a starter tends to be a little wild in the first inning before settling down, it's the start that throws him off, not the skill of the first-inning batters, and delaying that wild start by one inning shouldn't make any difference.

But what do I know? I'm not managing a 22-28 MLB baseball team.

Red Sox 4, Royals 3

 

Sweet! A sweep! The lowly Boston Red Sox entered this three-game road series a half-game back from the Royals in the Wild Card standings, and leave Kansas City 2½ games ahead of them. 

Nick Sogard, back up from the minors to replace an injured Roman Anthony, hit an RBI single in the first inning, and Carlos Narváez hit into a double play that same inning but still managed to score Ceddanne Rafaela. 

Jarren Duran, who hit a two-run homer in the ninth on Tuesday night, hit another two-run homer last night in the seventh, launching the ball 383 feet into deep left center. Duran has a double, a triple, and two homers in this series, and also stole a base, becoming the 11th player to reach 35 career triples and 100 stolen bases in Red Sox history, and the first to do so since Carl Yastrzemski. He also singlehandedly saved the game last night with an incredible leaping catch in foul territory in the bottom of that same seventh inning in which he hit the home run. 

Young Connelly Early picked up his fourth win of the season. He went 6⅓ innings with five K's and three runs on six hits and only one walk. The bullpen shut out the Royals with three more K's and Chapman got his 12th save of the season. 

This is a miserable season but it's hard not to feel good right now. The Sox improve to 22-27 with three straight wins and the second series sweep of the season. The Rays and the Jays both won last night so Boston is still tied with Toronto for third place in the AL East, 11½  back from Tampa Bay (but at least the Yankees lost last night). Texas, the latest team to cling to the third and final Wild Card spot, also won, so the Sox are still tied with the Jays at two games back in the Wild Card standings.

More reasons to be cheerful: the Sox are off today, but their next series is back home in Fenway against the Minnesota Twins (23-27), another team like Kansas City entering the series a mere half game ahead of them in the standings. This is another fortunate matchup, one we can win, even though the Sox are 1-2 against the Twins so far this season. Payton Tolle (2-2, 2.05) will start tomorrow against rookie Connor Prielipp (1-2, 2.88). Neither pitcher played in last month's series in Minneapolis and neither has ever faced tomorrow's opposing teams. 

Can the Sox make it four straight for the first time this season? They will be returning to Fenway on a three-game winning streak in front of a friendly (hopefully) home crowd to play a team almost as pathetic as they are, and are starting the series with one of their best pitchers. They have a chance, and while it may not be all "field of dreams," highlight-reel material, we should still be excited.

Red Sox 7, Royals 1

 

Two in a row! The Red Sox beat the Royals a second straight time in a 7-1 rout in Kansas City. 

Starter Ranger Suarez gave up one run and struck out three in 4⅓ innings and lowered his ERA to 2.40. However, disregarding a rough start to the season, his ERA over his last seven starts is 1.12, the best for a Red Sox starter over a seven-game span within a single season since Chris Sale in 2018 and Luis Tiant in 1972. 

The bullpen gave up only two hits in the remaining 4⅔ innings while striking out seven. Whitlock got outs on the three straight batters he faced in the eighth with only seven pitches and picked up the win.  

But the real hero last night was Willson Contreras, who went 2-5 at bat, getting an RBI on each of his hits. He even scored a run on a groundout in the eighth, bringing Rafaela home from third. Durbin hit an RBI in the second and Durran launched a two-run homer to deep right in the ninth.

The pitching seems to be coming into focus for this year's sorry-ass Red Sox, and it's nice to see the offense come alive last night, although Boston still has the second fewest runs this year (177) in MLB. 

Winning has benefits - after two straight wins, the Sox (21-27) move out of the AL East basement and are now tied for third with Toronto. However, while the Sox were going 2-0, the Rays have been 3-0, and Boston is still 11½ out of first place. On the other hand, Boston is still only two games back from qualifying for a Wild Card berth. 

Lefty Connelly Early (3-2, 3.21) pitches tonight versus righty Michael Wacha (4-2, 2.83). It will be the young Early's first time facing the Royals. His last start was May 15 against the hard-hitting Braves, the team with the highest batting average (.263) in MLB, yet he managed to strike out six but also gave up two solo homers. Wacha is a career 3-1 against Boston. In his last start against the Sox back on August 6 of last year, Romy Gonzalez hit a double to deep right center in the first for two runs, but Wacha gave up only two more hits and no runs over the next five innings.

Can the Sox complete their second series sweep of the season? Can they break the tie in the standings with Toronto and take sole possession of third? And will Early be able to take advantage of the Royals low batting average (.238), or will Wacha exploit Boston's .239? Stay tuned and see!    

Everest Update

 

Bartek Ziemski of Poland summited Everest today without bottled oxygen, the first no-oxygen ascent of Everest this season. Despite the crowds, he then completed only the second nonstop ski descent all the way back to Base Camp, including through the Khumbu Icefall, without O₂. Amazingly, he accomplished all this without any Sherpa or other support, carrying his own equipment, tent, and supplies up and down the mountain. 

One week ago, Ziemski performed the same feat on Lhotse and his descent of Everest today completed the first double ski descent of Lhotse and Everest in the same season. On both mountains, he carried up and retrieved his own gear and didn’t rely on supplemental oxygen or anyone else to accompany him. 

Incidentally, his climb to the summit today was the first no-oxygen ascent of Everest this season and his climb last week was the first no-oxygen ascent of the season on Lhotse. The ski descent of Lhotse was the first from the summit all the way down to Base Camp, and the first ever without oxygen.

Everest, on the other hand, was climbed without oxygen and skied down completely once before. In the fall of 2025, Andrzej Bargiel accomplished that feat, but he had a team fixing the route, setting the camps, and breaking trail. Ziemski had no support except for the packed trail and fixed ropes established by the commercial outfitters for their clients. He didn't rely on Sherpas or anyone else to carry his equipment, had no drones, and no support team. Bargiel had a team to film the climb and the descent.  Ziemski had to ask another climber to take a photo of him while on the summit of Everest. Finally, Bargiel hadn't accomplished the same feat the week before on Lhotse. 

Meanwhile, it's full tourist client season on Everest. Several small groups outfitted by Nepalese outfitters summitted on Sunday and the numbers multiplied on Monday. The peak summit days could be today and tomorrow, the day chosen for summit attempts by many of the groups that left Base Camp on Sunday. The Lhotse Face is reportedly a traffic jam from top to bottom in an endless line of climbers intending to summit tomorrow.

Red Sox 3, Royals 1

 

Finally, the Red Sox faced a matchup they could win: Sonny Gray entered last night's game 9-0 against the Royals, who started Seth Lugo, who was 0-4 against Boston. The Sox entered the game a mere half-game back from K.C. 

Now, after a 3-1 Boston victory, Gray is 10-0 against the Royals, Lugo is 0-5 against the Sox, and Boston is a half-game ahead of Kansas City.

Contreras hit a two-run homer in the sixth and Duran brought Wong home with a sac fly in the seventh. Gray continued to own the Royals and went a masterful six innings with nine K's and only one run on five hits. Chapman closed out the game, earning his 378th career save. Chapman passed Joe Nathan to move into 10th place on the all-time saves list and is now closing in on Dennis Eckersley, who is 12 saves ahead of him for the ninth most saves in MLB history. We'll cheer for whatever we can in this sorry-ass season. 

With the win, the Sox move past the Royals in the Wild Card standings and are now two games back from Seattle for a qualifying spot. They're still 11½ back in the AL East, however. 

We have another favorable pitching lineup scheduled for today: Ranger Suarez (2-2, 2.44) versus Bailey Falter (0-0, 10.13). Suarez has limited experience against K.C. (six innings in one start) but got six strikeouts against only one earned run. Falter is 1-2 against the Sox with 12 earned runs, including one HR, and nine Ks.

Braves 8, Red Sox 1

 

What'd ya expect? The 2026 Red Sox were lucky to get out of Truist Park with one win in this series.

For five innings yesterday, starter Brayan Bello was giving out runs like an Atlanta traffic cop issuing parking tickets. By the time he was relieved in the bottom of the sixth, the score was already 7-0 and the Braves had two home runs off him. They got another run in the eighth without a single hit on a combination of walks, a fielder's choice, and a sac fly. It wasn't until the ninth inning that Nick Sogard, called back up again from the minors to replace an injured Trevor Story, hit an RBI double scoring catcher Conner Wong.

Tampa Bay won last night, so the Sox (19-27) are back to 11½ out from first place in the AL East. Hilariously, they're still only three back in the AL Wild Card race.

The Red Sox are off to Kansas City for a three-game series against the Royals (20-27), a team only a half-game ahead of them in the Wild Card standings. Sonny Gray (4-1, 3.18) starts for Boston against Seth Lugo (1-3, 3.76). Gray has basically owned the Royals up to now, going 9-0 in 11 starts, striking out 63 and giving up only one home run in 68 innings. Lugo, on the other hand, is 0-4 against the Sox and has given up five homers to Boston. 

We might actually have a chance in this game.      

Red Sox 3, Braves 2

 

Well, will you look at that. The last-place Boston Red Sox drag their sorry, losing asses into Truist Park, the home of the Braves and the team with the most wins in MLB, and won a game. Who'd a thunk it?

It wasn't easy. Payton Tolle pitched an outstanding game - eight innings (a career long for him) with only four hits, but one of those hits was a solo homer in the first inning to give the Braves a 1-0 lead in their home park.

Macho Man Masataka Yoshida tied it up in the fourth with an RBI single that scored Mickey Glasper from third, but the Braves took the lead back with an RBI single of their own in the fifth. Then, late in the eighth inning with two already out, Willson Contreras homered 436 feet into deep left center, bringing Wilyer Abreu home from second and giving the Sox a 3-2 lead with one-and-a-half innings left.

Tolle made short work of the Braves in the bottom of the eighth, getting all three batters to fly out. The Sox didn't add any insurance in the ninth, and the reliable Aroldis Chapman came on in the bottom of the ninth to close out the game.

But damn, did he ever make it unnecessarily interesting! After getting two quick fly outs, the Braves got a runner on base on a Boston fielding error. And then Chapman loaded up the bases with two walks on eight straight pitches outside the zone. The Sox were still technically one out away from winning, but now the tying run was on third and the winning run was on second, our pitcher appeared to be melting down, and the home crowd was going wild.

Red Sox Nation felt an all-too-familiar sinking in their stomachs when the sixth Braves' batter of the inning hit an infield grounder and the baserunners were heading for home. Chapman, however, was able to field the ball and threw it to first just in time to get the batter out with mere nanoseconds to spare and won the game. It's the fastest I've ever seen Chapman move, and I've seen him throw 100-mph speedballs. A collective sigh of relief was heard around the world as the miracle win in Atlanta turned out not to be another painful loss in this nightmare of a season.

As if to congratulate the Sox for their unlikely win, both the Rays and the Yankees lost last night, so Boston (19-26) picks up a game in the AL East standings and are now "only" 10½ games out of first. Perhaps more importantly, Seattle lost last night, too, their second straight loss, so the Sox are now unbelievably a mere two games back from a potential Wild Card berth. Crazy, right?

It's a battle of the righties this afternoon (1:35). The Sox will relay on right-hander Brayan Bello (2-4, 6.46), and no Braves hitter has faced Bello more than nine times. He's a career 1-1 against Atlanta in three starts, striking out 12 while also giving up a dozen earned runs in 16⅓ innings. Seven of those earned runs were in his last start against the Braves, a 10-4 disaster in Fenway on May 18 last year. Let's hope he atones for that performance today.

The Braves will counter with righty Grant Holmes (2-1, 4.35), who hasn't yet beaten the Sox and took the loss in one of two games against Boston. The Sox beat the Braves, 5-1, in Truist last year (May 30) in Holmes' last start against Boston, so let's hope that streak continues.

Braves 3, Red Sox 2 (10)

 

Classic Red Sox: game's tied in the tenth inning, Yaz comes to the plate, and hits a game-winning double. The only problem is "Yaz" is Mike Yastrzemski,  Carl's son, and for some reason he's playing for the Braves.

In all, though, I'm not surprised the Red Sox lost, playing on the road against the team with the most wins in MLB. I'm surprised the game was that close and that the Boston offense, such as it is, came back from a 2-0 deficit to force extra innings.

Mickey Gasper singled in the sixth, bringing home Carlos Narváez, and Marcelo Mayer homered to deep right center in the seventh. After that, the bullpen held on, giving up only one hit while earning five K's., and then Yaz stepped to the plate in the tenth . . . 

For the record, young Connelly Early got more strikeouts (6) than hits (5) and lasted five innings, but both Atlanta runs were scored against him.

And with that, the Sox are unsurprisingly down 0-1 in this three-game road series in Smyrna, Georgia (the Braves don't play in the City of Atlanta, and for that this Atlanta urbanite will never be a fan).

We may be in last place, back 11½ from Tampa Bay, but we're still only three games back in the Wild Card chase (the Boston Red Sox: still better than the Houston Astros and L.A. Angels).

Tonight is Payton Tolle (1-2, 1.99) versus Bryce Elder (4-1, 1,81). Last year, the Sox got three runs off Elder on six hits, but three of the four batters who had hits are now gone, and no one is expecting Trevor Story to get two hits again off Elder tonight (not least because they just put him on the IL). Tolle will be facing the Braces for the first time tonight. 

How did we not acquire Yaz? 

Phillies 3, Red Sox 1

 

Sox lose again, Phillies take the series, 2-1, in Fenway, and Boston is 10½ back a quarter of the way through the 2026 season. Amazingly, they're only three games back from Seattle for the last wild-card slot, and wouldn't it be fitting to see them make the postseason just to get eliminated in the first round like the Celtics and the Bruins?. 

What can one say? Ranger Suarez had a no-hitter going against his old team through four innings, and between him and the bullpen, kept the Phillies scoreless through seven. But in the same old, sad song as the rest of the season, the Sox batters failed to score during that stretch, and when the Phillies finally broke through with three runs in the eighth, Boston could only answer with a Wilyer Abreu one-RBI single in the bottom of the inning. 

Oddly enough, the Red Sox have a higher team batting average (.235) than the Yankees (.234), but are second to last in MLB in slugging, total runs, and homers, and third from last in RBIs. Prognosis: they can hit, sometimes, but when they do it's usually weak-ass singles and they can't get the base runners home. I don't anticipate things getting better this long, hot summer.

To add injury to insult, the Sox (18-25) head down here to Atlanta for three games against the Braves, the team with the best record (30-14) in baseball. Tonight, young Connelly Early (3-2, 3.16), who's never pitched in Truist Park, takes the mound against Spencer Strider (1-0, 2.89). The Sox have faced Strider only once before - July 26, 2023 - and struck out 10 times but also got three homers, but those were by Devers, Duvall, and Casas, none of whom are in the Red Sox lineup now. Casas is on the IL, Duvall was traded - to the Braves - and we're still wondering WTF they were thinking when Devers got traded.

Devers, who was the lone remaining player from the team’s 2018 World Series team, was dealt to the Giants last season for Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, James Tibbs, and Jose (not Brayan) Bello, none of whom are still with Boston this season. It's little consolation that Devers is underperforming for the woeful Giants (18-26), who are struggling to trade him away. I've always liked Rafi . . . and he was able to take Spencer Strider 409 feet into deep right in Fenway. 

Red Sox 3, Phillies 1

The wind must have been blowing out to left field last night. All four runs scored by both teams were on homers hit into deep left-center or center field. Trevor Story hit one in the second inning and the Phillies in the third. Rafaela hit a two-run homer into left center in the sixth. 

Three runs were enough for Boston to pick up a win with Sonny Grey going six full innings with only two hits (including that third-inning HR) and six Ks, and the "good" bullpen (Slaten, Whitlock, and Chapman) giving up only one hit and no runs. Chapman made it interesting by walking two, but ultimately struck the side out, getting his third K with runners on second and third.

Tampa Bay and New York both lost last night, so the Sox (18-23) move back to 10 games out of first.

Former Phillie Ranger Suarez (2-2, 2.77) pitches tonight against his old team. He'll be pitching against the Jesus Lizard, Jesús Luzardo, who struck out seven but gave up a grand slam home run to Romy Gonzalez in an 11-inning thriller on July 23 of last year.

First Everest Summit of 2026

 

Wednesday morning (10:25 am, Nepali time), a team of 10 to 15 Sherpas completed the first summit of Mount Everest this year. There is some disagreement about which team of the various trekking companies working the mountain made the first summit, so precisely who it was that first set foot on the mountaintop this year remains unclear, not that it matters (it's not a competition).

Hakon Andreas and Hanne Nicole Hyttedalen of Norway and Chinese national Li Yitong, clients of the outfitter Imagine Nepal, followed the Sherpas and were the first foreigners to summit this year. 

With the ropes now fixed all the way to the top, the route is now open for the hundreds of other climbers waiting at the lower camps.

Phillies 2, Red Sox 1

 

Off-fence, we need some off-fence, boyos. Do you know what I mean by the word, "offence"? Hit the ball. Get some runs. 

After an 18-run streak in three games earlier this month, the Red Sox have scored only four runs in the last three games. That's 0.15 runs per inning in the last three, incidentally all home at Fenway. Boston's slugging percentage (.351) is second lowest in MLB, on-base plus slugging (.664) is third lowest, and total runs on the season (157) is fourth lowest. The pitching isn't the problem - the team ERA is 3.95, 12th of 30 in MLB. But our hitting stinks.

Last night, the Sox only managed one run against the Phillies, an RBI single to right center by Raefela in the seventh inning. Other than that, bupkis.

Brayan Bello gave up one run over 6⅓ innings (opener Jovani Morán gave up the other run) and even Zach Kelly didn't allow any runs. But even the best pitching isn't going to win many games when the batting only gets one run, or 0.15 runs per inning.

The Sox are now 11 games out of first place, the furthest back in their division of any team in MLB except the Mets (12½). 

Sonny Gray (3-1, 3.54) pitches tonight, if it even matters. Gray is a career 2-2 against the Phillies, striking out 46 while allowing only five home runs over 40⅔ innings, although he did get roughed up in his last two starts against them with the Cardinals in 2025 and '24. He'll be pitching against rookie Andrew Painter (1-4, 6.89), who's given up 25 runs on 44 hits this season, including six homers.

Statistically, if pitching matters, the odds would favor the Red Sox, but unless the offence improves ("off-fence") a Little Leaguer could pitch for the Phillies and probably still win.

Everest Update

 

Preparations for the final summit push on Everest have been hampered by bad weather. Ropes and supplies have only been set as far as Camp 4, although a team of Sherpas plans to attempt a summit on Wednesday, possibly along with some clients, to complete the ropes up to the top. 

Meanwhile, a Nepali climber fell sick on his way to Camp 2 and died near Camp 1 on Sunday, the first death on the mountain this season. The climber, Bijay Ghimire Bishwakarma, age 35, had previously summited four times and was the first from Nepal’s Dalit community to summit. Although not officially on the mountain, a Sherpa guide died last week while approaching Base Camp.

A Polish climber who goes by the name Lucas Extreme had cycled all the way to Everest from sea level at the Bay of Bengal and was planning a no-oxygen ascent of the mountain. He arrived in Base Camp back on April 16, but was only able to make a single acclimatization rotation. With the route to higher altitudes not yet ready, he was forced to cancel this year’s attempt and will postpone the expedition until next year. Another Polish mountaineer, Bartek Ziemski, completed an acclimatization climb up to Camp 3 and then skied back down to Base Camp.

Meanwhile, Back in the Bering Sea, Capt. Ella Reunites With the Yeva

 

After some seven moths or so, Capt. Ella Hibbert has returned to the tiny Pribilof island of St. Paul (population, 413) in the Bering Sea and has reunited with her sailboat, the Yeva. Once she gets her ship back into operating condition and out of dry dock, she will resume her solo voyage around the Arctic Ocean, sailing across the northern coast of Russia, over Scandanavia, and on to her original starting point east of Iceland.

It will be the first known solo circumnavigation of the Arctic Circle in a sailboat. Completion of the voyage was delayed last year due to a combination of bad weather, malfunctioning navigation equipment, and a grounding off the North Slope of Alaska.

Bon voyage, Captain! We look forward to tracking your progress again here.

Rays 4, Red Sox 1

 

The Red Sox played Saturday's game on Sunday because of the rain and delivered a Mothers' Day loss to the Fenway Faithful assembled. 

Tolle pitched a pretty good game - five innings and four Ks but three runs on seven hits, including  one solo, first-inning homer.  Zach Kelly gave up another run because that's what he does, but after that, the bullpen was flawless - no runs, no hits, two walks, and one K.

But the lack of any sustained offense killed the Sox once again. Despite getting eight hits, the same as the Rays, and four of them extra-base hits, four times as many as the Rays, the Sox left 18 runners stranded on base and only scored one run on an RBI single in the sixth. You don't win many games like that.

The Rays win the rain-shortened series, 2-1, with the missing game to be made up at some future date - hopefully when Boston has some hitters at the plate.

With the loss, Boston (17-23) is once again all alone in last place in the AL East, while the Rays take a one-game lead for first over the Yankees, who have now lost three straight. The Sox are 9½ back from Tampa Bay. 

The Sox are off today and will host the Phillies (19-22) for three starting Tuesday. No idea who'll start that series.

 

Rain Delay/Yankees Suck

 

The Red Sox game got rained out last night, but they still picked up a game on first place because yesterday the Yankees lost to the Brewers, 4-3, their third loss in their last four games. Tampa Bay's now in first place, and Boston trails them by nine games.

The Tolle-Martinez pitching matchup scheduled for yesterday will occur today (1:35), so everything I said yesterday applies today. The forecast today is for partly to mostly cloudy skies, but with only a 15% chance of showers, so the show should go on.

Red Sox 2, Rays 0

 

A bright spot in this Super El Nino-influenced summer of our discontent: Abreu and Rafaela homer and Early strikes out eight as the Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays,2-0, in Diamond City.

It was Abreu's sixth home run of the year and Rafaela's third. The only other Boston hit all game was a Jarren Duran single in the seventh, but he stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error to capitalize on his hit. However, with two out already that inning, the Sox weren't able to bring him home.

Early lived up to his potential and hype, and went seven full innings with no runs, only four hits, and eight Ks. Whitlock and Chapman were immaculate in relief and didn't give up a single run. 

Also, DA JANKEES LOSE!, 6-0, to Milwaukee last night, so the Sox pick up a game on their lead. They're still nine games back, but at least Baltimore also lost, 4-3, to the Angels last night, so Boston is no longer all alone in last place in the AL East. Both teams are 17-22 (.436), which is more than the Twins, Astros, and Angels can say, or for that matter, the NL's Mets, Rockies, and Giants.

This afternoon (4:10 pm), Payton Tolle (1-1, 2.04) is slated to take the mound for Boston against the Rays' Nick Martinez (3-1, 1.71). Statistically, it might appear that Martinez has the advantage, but he's started seven games this season for Tampa Bay, while Tolle has started only three. Martinez is a career 1-3 against Boston in five games (nine starts) and has given up eight homers, while the Sox have earned a total of 23 runs against him in 35⅔ innings.

But who knows? This game probably won't happen - there's currently a 100% chance of rain forecast for Boston between 4:00 and 7:00 today, so we're most likely looking at a rainout to be made up at some future date.      

Rays 8, Red Sox 4

 

No four-in-a-row. Following their sweep of the Tigers in Detroit, the Boston Red Sox broke their three-game win streak and also their 3-0 streak of games back in Fenway following a road trip. Last night, the Red Sox got three runs in the second inning to tie up the game, but then gave up five more runs to lose. 

Greg Weissert came on in relief in the sixth inning with the game tied, 3-3, one on and one out, and promptly loaded up the bases and then gave up a two-run single before getting yanked.

Boston falls to 16-22, last in the AL East. The Jays were off last night, so the Sox are only a half-game back from Toronto, but once again 10 back from first-place New York.

Connelly Early (2-2, 3.79) pitches tonight. He faced the Rays once before in a 7-3 loss in Tampa last year, when he got four strikeouts and gave up two earned runs on three hits. He'll be up against the Ray's Jesse Scholtens (3-1, 3.18), who's a career 1-1 against the Sox in two relief appearances, once with Tampa Bay and once with the White Sox.     

Also, Roman Anthony is now officially on the 10-day IL.

Everest 2026

 

Following the success last year of the Chinese DJI Flycart 100 heavy-lift cargo drone, Seven Summit Treks has subcontracted the American firm, Airlift Technology, to conduct test flights of the American Alta X Gen 2 drone. However, in a development that caught Nepali authorities off guard, Airlift also proposed testing a robot that could go up and down the Khumbu Icefall and also climb Everest itself. The plan ran into immediate uncertainty, as Nepal currently has no legal framework that allows a non-human entity to attempt an ascent of the peak.

The Khumbu Icefall is perhaps the deadliest portion of the route up Everest. Located between Base Camp and Camp 1, the Icefall is characterized by massive blocks that calve off the upper glacier, gaping crevasses hundreds of feet deep and often over 50 feet wide, often concealed by snow bridges, and overhanging ice blocks (seracs) ranging from several tons to thousands of tons that can collapse with little warning. Since Everest was first summitted in 1953, nearly 50 climbers have died in the Icefall, mostly Sherpas, with 16 killed in 2014 alone and six in 1970. Two people were injured in an avalanche there this week.

The use of specially designed, high-altitude heavy-cargo drones, especially through the Icefall, can quite literally save the lives of Sherpa and other climbers. The American-made drone can carry 50 kg of gear to Camp 1 in about 10 minutes, a feat that would take a dozen Sherpas five to seven hours, making it the safest way to carry loads through the Khumbu Icefall.

Arguably, at very high altitudes closer to the summit, robots could safely carry gear where the air is too thin for drones to operate. However, they might also further crowd the already overcrowded route to the summit, potentially interfere with climbers' progress, or cause other unforeseen hazards. Also, while they might preserve Sherpa lives, they could also put Sherpas out of work in the classic high-tech threat to human labor. 

Weather permitting, summit pushes may begin by next week. Ropes have been fixed up to Camp 3 and a team of Sherpa rope fixers is speeding up the Lhotse Face and expected to reach the South Col and Camp 4, the last stop before the summit, by Friday. With Camp 3 established and the ropes fixed higher, the route is open for load ferrying and acclimatization rotations, and other teams are following closely behind the rope fixers to set up camps for their clients. Forecasts predict moderate winds and afternoon snow flurries, but no major storms or high, jet-stream winds are expected.

According to the latest update, 464 climbers have received permits to climb Everest so far this year. With an even higher number of Sherpas currently on the mountain, the final summit tally could reach record numbers.

Red Sox 4, Tigers 0

 

The Boston Red Sox sweep their first series of the season, beating the Tigers three games to none in Detroit, and win the First Series Sweep Award! Congratulations, Boston!

Not only was this Boston's first sweep, it was only the second time this year they've won three straight. It's been a tough year, so I'll celebrate what I can. 

Last night, the Sox shut out the Tigers, 4-0, in Sonny Gray's return from the IL. Gray pitched five innings with only four hits and two walks, striking out two. The bullpen (Samaniego, Kelly, and Weissert) pitched four no-hit innings to preserved the win.

The Sox scored their runs on on a Durbin double, a Contreras sac fly, and a Detroit fielding error, the first of two gifts to the Sox last night (thanks, guys!).   

The Sox are still in last place, but at least now they have company as they're tied with Toronto at 16-21. Also, the second gift to Boston last night was . . . DA JANKEES LOSE! They lost last night to Houston, one of the very few teams with a season record (15-23) even worse that Boston's, so now the Red Sox trail New York by "only" nine games! Like I said, I'll celebrate whatever I can get this dismal season. 

The Red Sox took the red-eye out of Detroit and start a three-game home series against the second-place Tampa Bay Rays (24-12) tonight. Rookie Jake Bennett (1-0, 1.80) will take the mound for Boston in his second MLB appearance. The lefty posted an 0.86 ERA with just 12 hits allowed in five starts at Triple-A, and went five innings against Houston on May 1 in his major-league debut, striking out three, allowing only one run, and earning the win. He'll be up against veteran righty Griffin Jax (1-2, 5.14), who's a career 0-1 against the Sox in 14 games (one start), giving up four home runs and striking out 22 over 17⅓ innings.    

Should the Sox hang on and win the game tonight (they're 3-0 in Fenway following road trips), it will be the first time this year they've gone 4-0.

Red Sox 10, Tigers 3

 

Back-to-back wins! One more win and the Sox will have their first series sweep of the season!

Ceddanne Rafaela homered in the first last night, a three-run blast into deep right center. He also hit an RBI single in the third, followed by RBI base hits by Montesario, Durbin, Wong, and Kiner-Falefa to make it 8-2, Red Sox.

The real fun began in the fourth though, when Contreras and Abreu hit back-to-back homers. Tigers pitcher Framber Valdez was clearly frustrated and deliberately hit Trevor Story with a fastball on the next at-bat, clearing both benches. Both bullpens, too, but actual fighting never occurred - this is baseball, not ice hockey. Valdez was ejected and will probably be suspended for at least seven days.    

Lost in all the excitement over Valdez' theatrics was the fact that Brayan Bello, who replaced starter Jovani Moran after one inning, pitched a pretty good game, getting seven Ks over seven innings while giving up only one run, and earning his second win of the season. Is he over his early season struggles and back in the groove? Only time will tell.

One win, or even two back-to-back wins, doesn't change anything - the Sox are still 10 games back from first and one behind both Toronto and Baltimore - but at least their win-loss record (15-21) is better than that of the Astros and the Angels, or over in the National League, than the Mets, the Giants, and the Rockies.   

Adding to the miseries, the Injured List keeps on growing. The Red Sox now have starting pitchers Garrett Crochet and Kutter Crawford on the 15-day list, and Tanner Houck and Patrick Sandoval are on the 60-day list. Ranger Suarez is day-to-day with a hamstring issue. As for batters, Roman Anthony is also day-to-day with a wrist injury and both first-basemen Tristan Casas and Romy Gonzalez are on the 60-day list. 

Sonny Gray, who hasn't pitched since April 20, may start tonight. In that last start, a home game against Detroit, Gray left after 2⅔ innings with a hamstring pull, but had first managed to get two strikeouts off the Tigers. He's a career 5-2 against Detroit with 65 strikeouts over ten games. 

Whoever starts today will be facing the Tigers' Jack Flaherty (0-2, 5.90). The Red Sox tagged Flaherty with three hits and two runs in that April 20th game from which Gray had to step down, so statistically, Boston has a chance of completing their first series sweep of the season.

Red Sox 5, Tigers 4

 

With both the Celtics and the Bruins seasons over and the stage all to themselves, the Red Sox did the right thing and actually won a game, beating Detroit, 5-4, last night.

Tiger's pitching ace Tarik Skubal scratched that afternoon, which certainly improved Boston's chances. He's scheduled to undergo elbow surgery and we wish him all the best, even as we breathe a sigh of relief for not having to face him last night.

In place of Skubal, the Tigers went into deep improv mode and started the game with reliever Tyler Holton, who lasted all of one inning. Holton was replaced by Ty Madden, making his first mound appearance since 2024 and lasting five innings. The seventh inning brought out Ricky Vanasco, another pitcher who hadn't played since '24, but who helpfully gave up a three-run homer to Jarren Duran, his fourth of the season. Enmanuel De Jesús, who hadn't pitched since 2023, replaced Vanasco and gave up two more runs on RBI singles by Abreu and Mayer.  Finally, the Tigers trotted out our old friend, former Red Sox reliever Kenley Jansen, to close out the ninth, even though Detroit was trailing by five runs. 

With the parade of rehab projects pitching for the opposing team, all the Red Sox had to do was not fuck up, or at least not too badly, and Payton Tolle more than rose to the occasion. He threw eight Ks over seven innings with only one hit, one walk, and two unearned runs thanks to fielding errors by Monasterio and Narváez. Whitfield gave up two more runs in relief to make the game more interesting before Chapman came on in the ninth and shut that shit down. 

So the Red Sox pick up a much-needed win, but every win for the rest of the season will probably be "much needed." They're still 10 games back from first in the AL East but at least they once again have a better record than Houston, who took the first of most likely three loses to the Dodgers in L.A. last night. 

It will be a battle of the lefties tonight with Jovani Morán (0-1, 2.33) starting for the Red Sox. On April 18, Morán relieved a struggling Brayan Bello and threw three strikeouts in three innings against the Tigers, giving up only one hit and no runs. Tonight, he'll be up against Detroit's Framber Valdez (2-1, 3.35), who gave up a home run but struck out seven Red Sox batters the night after Morán's relief appearance.  

A Boston sweep of this series will not only be a welcome change of pace and a bright spot in this dismal year, but would be the Sox' first sweep of the season.

Astros 3, Red Sox 1 (10)

 

We got Zack Kelly-ed. 

It was all going so well until it didn't anymore. Ranger Suarez pitched four innings of shutout baseball - three hits, no runs, three Ks. But then he didn't come back on in the fifth. It turns out he was suffering from tightness in the left hamstring. He's not on the IL (at least not yet), which is good because Crochet and Gray are both already there and Bello is struggling, if still putatively healthy.

But no problem - Duran hit a homer to deep right in the bottom of the fifth, and the Sox took a 1-0 lead. The Astros tied it up in the sixth with a run off of Weissert, but the bullpen kept it tied the rest of the way and Chapman closed out the ninth.

Then Zach Kelly came on in the tenth and loaded up the bases with two walks, and despite a double play that should have bailed him out, allowed a two-run single to give Houston the lead. For their part, the Sox managed to load the bases up themselves in the bottom of the tenth, not by hitting, of course - that would take offensive strength - but a ghost runner, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch. But then Rafaela hit into a double play and the game ended, 3-1, Houston.

The Boston Red Sox lost a home series, 2-1, to the worst team in the American League. Let that sink in.

Of course, with the wins over Boston, the Astros are no longer the worst in the AL. Their 14-21 (.400) record is now better than the Red Sox (13-21, .382). However, the Angels, who somehow figured out a way yesterday to lose to the Mets, the worst team in all of MLB (12-22, .353), are now officially the worst in the AL at 13-22 (.371).

The Bruins are eliminated. The Celtics are eliminated. And now, even though they've only played 34 games of a 162-game season, the odds are that the Red Sox will finish the season dead last in the AL East. 

But every game is a chance to turn things around, and there's always one more game. Today, the Sox begin a three-game home series against the Detroit Tigers (18-17). The Sox went 2-2 against the Tigers in Detroit last month, and right now, playing .500 baseball sounds like a dream come true. But the series will open with Payton Tolle (0-1, 3.38) taking the mound against Detroit's Tarik Skubal (3-2, 2.70). Tolle didn't face the Tigers last month, but Skubal struck out 10 and gave up only one run through six innings back on April 18.

Wonder if he'll pitch a no-hitter tonight?

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.