Bruins 3, Rangers 0

 

Oh yeah, almost forgot, while I was watching the meltdown in the Bronx, the mighty Boston Bruins started their 2026-27 season. They won, beating the sniveling New York Rangers, 3-0, on home ice. 

There was no scoring the entire game until late in the third period when Fraser Minten finally hit the first goal of the game. Less than a minute later, the German new-guy JJ Peterka, a former career Sabre who we picked up after a season in Utah, scored. The Rangers pulled their goalie and then Mark Kastelic scored an open netter. The Bruins' Jeremy Swayman made 24 saves.

Bad-ass defenseman Charlie McAvoy (BU, 2016) did not get any time on ice last night because he is still serving a six-game suspension for slashing during last season's playoffs. 

The Bruins start this season, 1-0. They're off to Winnipeg next to play the Jets on Friday night (8:00 pm).

Yankees 9, Red Sox 0

An epic failure, a belly-flop into the bitter pool of post-season remorse.

The team that couldn't score runs didn't "figure it all out" in the one day off between their first playoff game and the loss that ended their regular season. Shitler dominated, Brayan Bello gave up five runs, including a grand slam homer, in the eighth, Roman Anthony left the game with an injury (and probably won't be back), and the Sox got all of three hits the entire game. No runs, only three hits. 

You don't win a playoff game in the Bronx with three hits. You don't win any games without any runs.

 

Sonny Gray (18-5. 2.72) will pitch tonight against the Yankee's Max Fried (5-5, 2.80). It will almost assuredly be the last game of the Red Sox' weird-ass season. Our bullpen is depleted, our batters listless, and our opponent energized and confident.  

The Yankees still suck - last night offered no evidence to the contrary - but the Red Sox are already mentally resigned. It was a nice mid-season streak (what a ride!), but now the frost is on the pumpkin and it's time to think about football and basketball and even ice hockey.

The Red Sox will probably break my heart again next year.

Cubs 6, Red Sox 2

 

Season's over, folks, at least the regular season. 162 games in the books, and the Boston Red Sox won 87 of them (.540).  Third place finish in the AL East, clinched the second Wild Card seed. Oorah.

What a long, strange trip it's been! The season started out with a spectacularly, even historically, bad start. By June 24, they were dead last in the AL East, 14 games under .500 (.410), and 15½ back from then first place New York. And then the Yankees came to Fenway for a four-game series and everything turned around. 

The Red Sox swept the Yankees in that series - four straight wins for the first time all season. They even won their next game against the Nationals - five straight wins. They lost the next two games but then won 15 straight and completed a 27-3 run for a spectacular July before falling back to earth and playing .500-baseball the rest of the way - respectable, but not nearly as thrilling as that 27-3 run. 

And now here we are, one day off between the regular season and a three-game Wild Card series played entirely in the Bronx. Lose more than one game and the season's over; win two and face Tampa Bay in the ALDS.

The Yankees will start their pitching ace, Adolf Shitler, because of course they will. The motherfucker's got a 14-6 record and a 1.95 ERA, and in his last start against the Sox, struck out eight enroute to a 1-0 Yankees victory. He's 2-0 against Boston this season in three starts, but notably did not pitch during the Sox' four-game sweep of New York in June. Pro tip: do not listen to the announcers of the televised coverage of tomorrow's game - their already-scripted narrative of the Yankee's supposed superiority and Shitler's dominance will be almost as nauseating as their gooning over Aaron Judge. The Yankees suck, so listen to the local coverage on WEEI radio (via SiriusFM or any other means accessible to you) instead during the broadcast.  

The Sox have not yet announced their pitching for the series, but it will most likely be either Sonny Gray (18-5, 2.72) or Payton Tolle (9-6, 3.03), with either a healthy and rejuvenated Garrett Crochet or Tanner Houck in Game 3. Expect long relief by Brayan Bello, and Whitlock and Chapman as the closers.

The pitching is looking fairly solid for the Wild Card, but the Boston batting has been pretty anemic the entire month of September. The Red Sox scored only 11 runs in the last week of the season (six games, 1.8 runs per game). The batters better wake the fuck up by tomorrow for there to be even a chance of anything beyond the Wild Card series in the post-season. 

Red Sox Nation once again finds itself standing on a precipice, not quite sure what to make of the season. Were they a good team that just got off to a bad start? Were they a bad team that just got a lucky, mid-season break? Both? Neither? No one knows. Do they have a chance to win two out of three in New York? Sure, statistically, anything's possible. Ignore those Calvinistic cloud of self-doubt - we're 6-7 vs. the Yankees this season and are certainly capable of taking two more. Maybe. 

Oh, yesterday afternoon. Almost forgot. In the first inning, catcher Adley Rutschman homered, his 13th of the season and fifth for the Red Sox, and Andruw Monasterio brought Nick Sogard home from third with an infield hit in the second. The score was 3-2, Cubbies, going into the ninth, but then reliever Patrick Sandoval, after 4⅓ innings of three-hit, shut-out relief, gave up three runs and put the game out of reach. The 2026 Red Sox ended the regular season with a loss.

Update: It's Tolle. Payton is 1-0 against New York in two starts, and has struck out 18 Yankees over 13 career innings pitched against them, with only one run.  His last start against the Yankees was in that four-game Fenway sweep last June, when he went seven shutout innings with only one hit but seven K's. We can use some of that kind of pitching tomorrow. 

Yankees suck.

Jaguars 35, Patriots 6

 

Today's game was an absolute mess. QB Drake Maye turned the ball over three times - a dropped ball, a second-quarter interception in the Jag's end zone, and another INT in the third quarter. Trevor Lawrence and the Jags got TDs off of two of those turnovers, and missed a FG on the other. 14-3 on turnover points alone (Trevor got intercepted once, resulting in a New England FG).   

Don't despair (yet). Remember last season when the Patriots started 1-2 and then won their next ten straight games?

With today's loss, the Pats fall to 1-2 (just like last year). Last year, the season seemed to turn around during Week 5 in Buffalo. This year, the Pats visit Buffalo in Week 4. I'm not writing the Patriots or Drake Maye off this season until I see how they fare next week against the Bills.

The Pats fall to 1-2 and third place in the AFC East, while the 3-0 Bills lead the division. The Bills are 7-point early favorites, but Buffalo has had it easy so far this season, with wins over the 0-3 Texans and 0-3 Chargers. At 48.6 and 54.8, Maye and Josh Allen, respectively, are the two lowest-rated QBs in the NFL. Allen has only five more yards (204) than Maye's 199, yet the Bills still lead the NFL in points per game (50.5). I chalk that up to the powder-puff defenses Allen's been facing so far and James Cook III"s 192 yards rushing (fifth highest in the NFL). 

Football - it ain't always pretty but you can't look away.

Another Week at No. 2

 

The Texas Longhorns (4-0), who had to struggle to beat No. 14 Tennessee, 17-14, yesterday, are still good enough in the eyes of 62 of the AP Poll voters to stay at No. 1. However, six sagacious voters chose the University of Georgia Bulldogs (4-0) to be No. 1 after the Dawgs 41-13 win over the unranked Oklahoma Sooners. The six first-place votes are twice as many voters as last week, so at least there's some progress.

AP Polls are meaningless. The only poll that matters is the final Selection Committee rankings and everything else is just a beauty pageant. Still, it's nice to be recognized. 

Notre Dame (4-0) is still No. 3 and didn't get any first-place votes - no one thinks they're anything more than third best. No. 4 Miami (4-0) got three first-place votes and No. 6 Indiana (5-0) got one. No. 5 Ohio State (3-1) didn't get any first-place votes because you're not No. 1 with a loss hanging around your neck.

Half of the Top 10 teams are in the SEC (Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Old Miss). Alabama (4-0) is ranked No. 7 and Florida (4-0) moved up 13 places to No. 8 after beating then-No 4 (now No. 9) Ole Miss, 52-28. 

I don't know if the Gators are finally back or just got lucky yesterday, but the Bulldog's schedule just got a whole lot tougher. With a Week Nine game against No. 8 Florida and road games at No. 7 Alabama and No. 9 Ole Miss this season, any whiners about Georgia playing an easy schedule had better shut up after the Dawgs run that gauntlet.

In all, ten SEC teams are in the Top 25. In addition to the five teams in the Top 10, LSU (3-1) is No. 11, Mississippi State (4-0) is No. 16, Tennessee (3-1) is No. 17, Kentucky (3-1) is No. 24, and Missouri (3-1) is No. 25.  Polls are meaningless beauty contests, etc., but the Big 10 has only six teams in the Top 25, and only two in the Top 10.

Next weekend, No. 8 Florida plays No. 25 Missouri, so at least one SEC team will probably drop out of the Top 25. Also, No. 7 Alabama plays at No. 16 Mississippi State, and depending on the final score, two teams might drop out. 

Despite an interception and 11 incompletions, Georgia's Gunner Stockton still has a QB rating of 209.1 after last weekend, second only to No. 4 Miami's Darian Mensah (228.2). Overall, the Bulldogs lead the FBS in points per game (54.8), but Florida is right behind them at No. 2 with 53.5 points. making that Week Nine matchup all the more ominous. Georgia is tied with four other teams for third in total touchdowns (12). 

Defensively, Georgia is fourth in fewest yards given up per game (232.5), but 18th in points per game (13.3, tied with Texas, incidentally). Next week's opponent, Vanderbilt, has given up 21.8 points per game, 60th in the FBS, but still better than Florida's 22.8 (69th). The Dawgs will romp over the unranked Commodores, but then after that things will get real interesting, with games at No. 7 Alabama (4-0), home against unranked Auburn (3-1),  No. 8 Florida (4-0) here in Atlanta, at No. 9 Ole Miss (3-1), and then No. 25 Missouri (3-1) in Athens. 

In other words, whoever wins the SEC this season will have EARNED it.

Georgia 41, Oklahoma 13

 

In his post-game interview, Coach Kirby Smart expressed his dissatisfaction with Georgia's performance. It wasn't humility or false modesty on Smart's part - the Dawgs offense really was hot garbage in this game. Fortunately, Oklahoma played even worse, turning the ball over four times on interceptions and fumbles and once on downs. Georgia scored 20 of its 41 points on those turnovers, including the play of the game - an 85-yard return by linebacker Chris Cole of an Oklahoma fumble for a TD. 

After falling behind, 28-0 at the half, Oklahoma scored a third-quarter TD following an interception of Georgia QB Gunner Stockton but missed the PAT. Later, following a recovered Georgia fumble, they managed to miss a 54-yard field goal. It was that kind of day for the Sooners.

Both sides played ugly, but Oklahoma was at least twice as ugly as the Bulldogs. Stockton finished the day with 171 yards on 14 of 25 attempts, including one touchdown and one interception. Running back Nate Frazier was out with an injury, but  Dwight Phillips Jr. led the Dawgs with 84 yards and one rushing TD an one reception for a TD. The day's breakout performer was probably wide receiver Talyn Taylor who had one touchdown and four receptions for 110 yards, including one beautiful one-handed catch with a defender draped all over his body (the penalty was declined).

The No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs are now 4-0. No. 1 Texas struggled this afternoon at No. 14 Tennessee, eventually winning by a field goal, 20-17. If the AP Poll voters only look at the scores tomorrow, there's a chance Georgia moves ahead of Texas in the rankings. But the Bulldogs weren't playing like a No. 1 team today if you watch the tape and the AP voters love Texas and their Arch Manning, so they're likely to decide that a 3-point road win over a No. 14 team is better than a 28-point home win over an unranked team and keep at least the top two rankings as they are. No. 3 Notre Dame beat unranked Purdue on the road, 49-10, but I don't think they'd dare move the Irish up over Georgia on a day when both teams won.

Next up for the Dawgs are the unranked Vanderbilt Commodores (3-1) in Athens. Vandy lost at Auburn today, 21-15. Fortunately for Georgia, the Commodores' Heisman runner-up QB Diego Pavia has graduated and is gone, and new quarterback Jared Curtis got sacked four times today and threw an INT. The early line favors Georgia by 23½ points.

Four games down, eight to go - at least until the playoffs. 

Red Sox 2, Cubs 0

 

The Red Sox sweep Friday's doubleheader in Fenway, beating the Chicago Cubs, 2-0. All of the scoring in the entire game (both teams) came on Wilyer Abreu's double in the eighth inning, bringing home Jones and Kiner-Falefa. 

The Sox are 87-74 with one game left to this season. They'll play that last game in Tampa tomorrow to avoid the massive nor'easter barreling down on New England. Some unexpected logistical drama to end the season. Also, one less day to rest up and prepare before the Wild Card games in New York.

Red Sox 4, Cubs 3

 

My message is apparently finally starting to get through. The Red Sox scored more than one run, and won the game, 4-3, in the first of a double header. Plus they scored runs in three separate innings, too, rather than settle for a few runs in one advantageous pitching matchup.

Meaningless game since they've already clinched and the playoff matchups are set. But it is good to see the offense finally wake up as we head for the post-season. 

Guardians 1, Red Sox 0

 

Or as Cleveland puts it, you can also lose a 1-0 game.

Need I point out that, poor as they may be, your chances of winning a game are better if you score at least one run than if you don't score at all? 

Red Sox 1, Guardians 0

 

So, I guess I stand corrected. You CAN win a baseball game with only one run after all!

Guardians 3, Red Sox 2

 

"It takes more than one run to win  baseball game." The Red Sox apparently heard me and scored not one, but two, runs yesterday but still found a way to lose the game. 

Top of the ninth, scored tied 2-2, Erik Miller takes the mound and hits the first batter with a pitch, putting him on base. A single advances him to third, and a sac fly brings him home to give the Guardians a 3-2 lead. The Sox go scoreless in the bottom of the inning, of course they do, and lose the game. 

Third straight loss. Fifth loss in the last seven games. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your September swoon. 

Cleveland hasn't yet clinched and is highly motivated as they're clinging to a one-game lead ahead of the White Sox in the AL Central. They're going to play their hearts out this series. The Sox have clinched a playoff spot, but it's more important in these final games of the season to stay healthy and to get the team fine-tuned for the playoffs, but the lack of offense is alarming. Plus a "losing mentality" can be hard to shake after a multi-game skid. 

The Rays clinched the AL East and the top seed in the league last night if anyone cares. I don't. These Red Sox won't be seeing the Rays again until 2027. 

Sonny Gray (17-5, 2.82) pitches tonight. To keep him well rested, they'll probably pull him early, especially if Boston gets ahead of Cleveland's Foster Griffin (15-5, 3.67) early in the game.

Rays 5, Red Sox 1

 

Okay, Red Sox, big fan here. This post's for y'all, so I'm going to take you by the hand, look directly into your eyes, and say this slowly so that I'm sure you'll understand - it takes more than one run to win a baseball game. 

Yeah, sure, sometimes (rarely) there are 1-0 wins. It happens. But you can't count on it. A team that expects to consistently win with 1-0 scores is going to finish a 162-game season with a record of, like, 2-160. 

It was great that yesterday Trevor Story hit a 9th inning solo home run. I cheered. But you were already down, 5-0, at that point. I also loved Roman Anthony's RBI double the day before that, but that was another one-run game. Single runs don't win games. 

Tampa Bay's a good team, sure, but it's not like you're playing against the 1995 Atlanta Braves here. You can score more than one run. It's allowed. It's okay.

Look Red Sox, you had me there for a minute. You won the first game of this series on Friday, and I thought that the old 27-3 Sox of mid-summer might have returned. But then the bats went quiet again, and two one-run games later, I see that you're 4-6 in the last ten games, 5-7 since you swept the Orioles in Baltimore.

How does it feel that you finally clinched a playoff appearance not with a win but because the Braves beat the Astros? That Mike Yastrzemski, of all people, clinched the post-season for you?

You're off today. Terrific. Head back to Fenway for the final half dozen of the season. Cleveland (81-75) and then the Cubs (87-69). 

Both teams will probably kick your ass. And after that, two more losses in the Bronx and then this will all be over. It won't hurt. You won't feel a thing. After that, nothing. No more pain, no more men left in scoring position, no more watching opposing batters knock it out of the park. Sweet, empty nothingness, and it will last until next April, when we can do this all again. 

Sleep well, gentlemen.

Patriots 20, Steelers 3

 

There are two kinds of people: those who dislike Aaron Rodgers and those who hate Aaron Rodgers. Today's 20-3 win by the New England Patriots over Rodgers' Pittsburgh Steelers satisfied both groups.

Two plays stand out in particular. Third and 7 on the New England 22. The Patriots' Christian Ellis sacks Rodgers and he fumbles the ball. Player after player, Patriot and Steeler alike, tries to grab the loose ball, but it just keeps on bounding back further and further from the goal line (cue the Benny Hill music) until Pittsburgh finally recovers it all the way back on their own 42, forcing a fourth and 47. Good times. 

But wait, there's more! Rodgers fumbled again in the fourth quarter on his own 30, and the ball was recovered by New England's Elijah Ponder for a scoop 'n' score. 

TreVeyon Henderson made his season debut in the game after a Week 1 ankle injury and immediately made his presence felt with a  39-yard TD run in the first quarter. He finished the day with 76 yards on 16 carries. Injured receiver AJ Brown is still out and will miss next week as well.  

Drake Maye finished the game with 208 passing yards and 17 rushing yards. He threw another INT after last week's three and was sacked three times, all things the Pats need to work on. Also of concern is that the team scored only one offensive TD all game, all the other points coming on field goals and Aaron's fumble.

The Pats are now 1-1, so let's not look at the half-empty part of the beer bottle. Buffalo beat Detroit on Thursday night and are 2-0, leading the division, and the Jets lost to the Packers and are 1-1, tied with New England.  The Dolphins are 0-1 and are playing the Niners in San Francisco. 

Next up for New England are Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars (1-0) in Jacksonville. The Jags are playing the Broncos (0-1) in Denver this afternoon. This could be a tough test for New England, as Jacksonville is tied with three other teams (Kansas City, Seattle and the Jets) for the second-lowest points given up per game (10). The Niners lead the league with seven. Meanwhile, Lawrence leads the NFL in QB rating at 150.6, is second in yards per attempt (9.7), and third in total TDs (four). The only stat that Drake leads the league in is interceptions (four). 

The early line favors the Jags by 2½. Kickoff is at 1:00 pm.

We're (Still) No. 2

 

Another meaningless, early season AP Poll came out today and the Georgia Bulldogs are still No. 2, while Texas remains at No. 1. Three AP voters picked the Dawgs as No. 1, probably the same three voters who picked Georgia as the top team last week. No. 3 Notre Dame didn't get any No. 1 votes (lol), and No. 4 Ole Miss got three, No. 5 Indiana got four, and No. 6 Miami got one. 

Ole Miss was the big story of the week, moving up from No. 8 to fourth place after beating No. 7 LSU, 32-24, in the Lane Kiffin Bowl. Kiffin's LSU fell down to No. 10 with the loss. The other big news was Texas A&M falling from No. 9 all the way down to No. 23 after losing to unranked Kentucky, 31-21. With those moves, Indiana, Miami, and Ohio State all moved down one spot to five, six, and seven to make room for new No. 4 Ole Miss, and Alabama and BYU moved up two places to Numbers 8 and 9 with LSU and A&M out of the way.

Five SEC teams are in the Top 10. and ten are in the Top 25. SEC - it just means more.

The Aggies losing to the Kentucky Wildcats isn't surprising as Texas football fundamentally sucks. They just play an inferior, low-athleticism form of the game. Texas teams spend the first weeks of the football season beating other half-assed Texas teams and think they're kings of the hill, strutting around like cocks of the walk, but eventually they have to cross the Red River and play out-of-state teams and lose. The only reason Oklahoma even exists is to put Texas teams back in their place.

As evidence, I offer No. 1 Texas going all Matthew McConaughey because they beat unranked UTSA, 30-6, yesterday, and No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 22 Houston going at it in a meaningless game with Tech winning, 28-26. But then, in interstate play, No. 9 Texas ATM lost to unranked Kentucky, 31-21, No. 16 SMU was upset by No. 23 Louisville, 41-31, and unranked UTEP lost to No. 19 Michigan, 52-17. Spoiler alert: the Longhorns aren't finishing the season at No. 1.

Georgia's opponent next week, Oklahoma, beat unranked New Mexico, 14-6, yesterday, but nonetheless fell from No. 24 out of the Top 25. No. 10 Alabama, our Week 6 opponent,  beat unranked Florida State, 50-36. As previously mentioned, No. 4 Ole Miss (Week 10) beat No. 10 LSU, 32-24, and No. 19 Missouri (Week 11) beat unranked Troy, 27-17.

Go, Dawgs!

Rays 2, Red Sox 1

 

You don't win games by scoring only one run. 

Bottom of the ninth, two out, two on, score tied at one, the Red Sox learned that it's batting that wins games when the Rays won the the game with a walk-off, RBI single off reliever Whitlock. The Sox squander what was certainly Bello's finest pitching performance this season (eight innings, 11 K's, and one run).

The rubber match of this series is this afternoon (1:40). For the final game, the Red Sox will start lefty Patrick Sandoval (1-6, 4.99) . . . oh fuck, we're gonna lose again, aren't we? 

There's only seven games left to the regular season and Boston leads the White Sox by five games in the Wild Card standings. Apparently, Chad Tracy is resting his starters for the playoffs (Tolle was originally scheduled to start yesterday instead of Bello) and is conceding games to teams like Tampa Bay. He has apparently accepted what I'm having a hard time with, that the Red Sox will be the second Wild Card team and will play a three-game (probably only two) playoff series in New York and that will be the end of this improbable and strange season. 

Georgia 45, Arkansas 17

 

The No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs start the season 3-0 for the 12th straight year, the longest 3-0 starting streak in the FBS in the modern era.. Today, they beat the Arkansas Razorbacks, 45-17, in Little Rock. 

QB Gunner Stockton passed for 147 yards and one TD, and led Georgia rushers with 97 yards on the ground, including one epic 62-yard run. Backup QB Ryan Puglisi came on in the fourth quarter and had a passing TD as well and finished with 63 yards. 

Running back Nate Frazier had 75 yards, but left the game with a limp in the third quarter. Red-zone specialist Chauncey Bowens rushed for three TDs on 39 yards. Receivers Craig Dandridge (74 yards) and Lawson Luckie (59 yards) both caught TDs. 

The bad news is that the Georgia o-line allowed Stockton to get sacked three times, while the defense gave up two fourth quarter TDs. 

The No. 2 Bulldogs lead the FBS with an average 66.5 points per game and are fourth in total yards per game (576.5). Those rankings may change as more games are played today. 

Meanwhile, No. 1 Texas plays a laugher tonight against unranked UTSA (2-0). The Longhorns are 29½-point favorites and will remain No. 1. No. 3 Notre Dame is favored by the same number of points over unranked Michigan State (2-0).  

The next game for Georgia is No. 24 Oklahoma (1-1), who are favored by "only" 21½ points today over unranked New Mexico (2-0) and will come to next week's game with a 2-1 record. Oklahoma's loss was a 17-10 decision in Michigan, which vaulted the then-unranked Wolverines to No. 19. Oklahoma has been averaging only 20.5 points per game (72nd in the FBS) and 345 yards per game (105th). 

Defensive is a different story, as the Sooners give up only 8.5 points per game (12th in the FBS)  and 98.5 passing yards per game (3rd), Gunner will more than have his hands full against their passing D. However, Oklahoma's given up 132 yards rushing (86th), so we better hope that Nate Frazier is okay by next week if we want to score against them. Also, this is where Gunner's 97 rushing yards will prove advantageous.

Go, Dawgs! Sic them Sooners!

Red Sox 4, Rays 2

Well, I'll be! They still got it in them, don't they? The mighty Boston Red Sox went all the way down south to the swampy backwaters of Tampa Bay, Florida to face the first-place Rays and they won the first game of the series. Friendly reminder to give a little bit of context: last June, before their historic turnaround, the Sox got swept in three games down in Tampa, but in July, during their epic, 15-game winning streak, the Sox swept a four-game series against the Rays in Fenway. Now, back in the dismal swamp that is west-central Florida, which Sox team are they now?

They're opening game winners - we know at least that much. Last night, Ranger Suarez pitched a gem of a game - one run in 5⅔ innings with five strikeouts. Roman Anthony homered in the first and scored two more runs with a single in the second. Jahmai Jones made it 4-1, Boston, with a homer in the third. Reliever Erik Miller got in some trouble in the ninth inning and gave up a run to the Rays, but ultimately pitched his way out of the jam with a strikeout and a ground out.

The win was an inadvertent gift to the Yankees, who won last night and are now four games back from Tampa Bay in the AL East. Not to look too far ahead, but should the Sox sweep the Rays in this series and New York sweeps Arizona this weekend, the Yankees will find themselves one game back from the Rays as they start a four-game series in Tampa Bay next week. Not to look too far ahead, but should the Yankees take over first place in the AL East, the Sox would then play three games in Tampa Bay in the Wild Card series rather than three in New York. I like the Sox' chances on the Bay more than in the Bronx.

The White Sox lost last night, so with eight games remaining, the Sox are now six games ahead of Chicago in the Wild Card standings.

Payton Tolle (9-6, 3.02) starts this afternoon (4:10). The Sox are 11-1 in Tolle's last twelve starts. He missed a start against Tampa Bay during the July sweep in Fenway and got roughed up for four runs during the June fiasco in Tampa. He'll be out for revenge today. The Rays will start former Mets pitcher Freddy Peralta (9-11, 4.67), who gave up a two-run homer to Andruw Monasterio in New York on July 11. 

 

The Red Sox seem to rise to the occasion and generally play their best baseball against first-place teams and other teams well over .500. Let's hope that trend leads to a sweep of the Rays this weekend!        

 

Red Sox 4, Rangers 3

 

Alright! That's how you do it! The Boston Red Sox, mired in a late-season, low-effort, .500 run, came back from a 3-0 deficit last night with some late-inning offense and won the game. See? You can do it! I knew you had it in you!

Not that the Rangers didn't give us a little boost. In the top of the seventh, Texas walked Eaton and Durbin with no outs, and then Sogard advanced Eaton to third on a sacrifice fly. Roman hit into a fielder's choice but brought Eaton home as the Sox managed to score a run in the inning without a single base hit. Thanks, Texas!

With the score 3-1 in the top of the eighth, the Rangers again gifted Boston. With no outs, they walked Abreu and put Contreras on base with a hit-by-pitch, putting on two more base runners without a hit. And then, Trevor Story stepped up to the plate and hit a game-winning home run 420 feet into deep left center. 4-3, Boston for the dub after Gamboa and Whitlock nailed down the save.

Sonny Gray uncharacteristically gave up three runs in the first two innings, but settled down for the next four to finish with six K's.

Good things happen when you win, and last night the Yankees lost, so Boston is back to "merely" 5½ back from the Yankees and remains five ahead of Cleveland in the Wild Card standings.

The Tampa Bay Rays remain in first place in the AL East, where they've been almost all of this season, and lead Boston by 10½ games. Tonight, the Sox head down to the humid, swampy backwaters of Florida for a three-game weekend series in Tampa and will probably get swept. 

But we can hope. We can dream. Tonight, Ranger Suarez (7-4, 3.33) will start against the Ray's Ian Seymour (9-6, 4.27).  Ranger hasn't yet faced the Rays in a Red Sox uniform and in two career starts against them has yet to get a decision, either win or lose. In 12⅓ innings, he's struck out nine and hasn't given up a single homer. Seymour has a 1-0 record against the Sox in two starts, but last July, in the 12th win of Boston's delicious 15-game winning streak, gave up homers to Jahmai Jones and Wilyer Abreu before getting yanked in the third inning without a decision. 

So you're telling me there's a chance?

Rangers 7, Red Sox 3

 

The Red Sox lost. Again. Second straight and fifth in their last ten games. "It doesn't matter," and "the Wild Card matchups are already set," and all, which are valid points, but my god, if they don't start hitting the ball soon, the question isn't whether or not they'll get swept in the first round, it's how embarrassing the losses will be.   

Speaking of sweeps, Sonny Gray (17-5, 2.76) will try to prevent one tonight when he starts the final game of this series against Texas' Tyler Alexander (5-2, 3.38). With only ten games left to the season over the next eleven days, Sonny probably won't get 20 wins with this Red Sox team this season, but no reason not to cheer for him tonight, right? 

Right?

Texans 4, Red Sox 2

 

You can have Patrick Sandoval pitching, or you can have a lack of offense, but you can't have both. The Sox tried to have it both ways last night and failed, 4-2, way down Texas way. 

Nick Sogard hit a two-run homer in the third inning but that was it offensively - Boston went hitless five of the other eight innings and although five other players also had hits in the game, they were all singles and the Sox left nine runners on base in the game. 

Meanwhile, Sandoval gave up four runs on four hits in his meager 2⅔ innings, forcing Boston to go deep into the bullpen (Bello, Gamboa, Olds, and Moran) in the first game of a three-game series. The bullpen performed well, no runs and only three hits with five K's over the remaining 5⅓ innings, showing how poor the Texas batting really is, and hence how much worse Sandoval's pitching is (his ERA is now 4.99).

Sandoval better be nowhere near the mound in a three-game Wild Card series on the road.

Of course the Yankees won last night and the Sox are now six games back with only eleven games remaining in the season. Any hopes of catching up to New York vanished when the Sox lost three straight games to last place teams in the home stand last week. Cleveland is 5½ games behind Boston in the Wild Card standings, so it's equally unlikely they will catch up and gift the Sox with the easier series in Chicago or Houston than the Bronx.All that being said, the remaining games are becoming increasingly meaningless - mere warm-up practice for the Wild Card series. 

Tonight, big Jake Bennett (9-7, 3.69) is up against the Texan's lefty Mackenzie Gore (8-11, 4.62). Expect a righty-heavy lineup for the Sox tonight.

Red Sox 4, Royals 1

 

Okay, we have some things to cheer about here: Willson Contreras returned to the lineup for the first time in two weeks and went 2 for 3, and Payton Tolle pitched an immaculate first inning: three outs on nine pitches, all strikes. And Caleb Durbin homered in the second, his 13th long ball of the season.  

Boston won the game, 4-1, for their second straight win and won the home series against last-place Kansas City. New York and Cleveland won, too, so the Sox remain 4½ back from the Yankees in the Wild Card standings and six ahead of Cleveland.

The Red Sox are off today as they travel to Arlington, Texas to play three against the Rangers (74-76). Sandoval (1-5, 4.58) is the probable started tomorrow, so good luck with that. The good news is that the Rangers are starting Cody Bradford (0-5, 4.72). 

 

 

We're (Still) No. 2!

 

Groupthink. Herd mentality. Cultlike behavior. Call it what you will, but 56 of the 68 voters in the AP Poll, whoever they may be, voted to make former No. 4 Texas the new No. 1 team, even though the Longhorns trailed former No. 1 Ohio State for three quarters last night, falling as many as 20 points behind. True, they came back and scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, but was that truly Longhorn prowess or just an epic collapse by the Buckeye defense? 

Three voters apparently thought the latter and voted for the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs (2-0) to be the new No. 1 team instead. That's three more first-place votes than the Dawgs got last week. Apparently, at least some of the other voters have loose screws in their head, as one voted for LSU to be No. 1, another one for Notre Dame, three voted for Indiana, and four voted for Miami. Don't ask me, I can't figure it out either. 

But anyway, if you haven't heard, Texas came back last night from a 23-3 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter and scored 21 unanswered points to beat Ohio State, 24-23. The obedient AP voters elected the Longhorns as the new No. 1 team, leapfrogging over Georgia and Notre Dame, and dropped Ohio State to No. 6. 

Georgia and Notre Dame remained at No. 2 and 3, and Indiana and Miami are the new No. 4 and 5. 

The SEC rounds out the rest of the top ten with No. 7 LSU and No. 8 Ole Miss, Georgia's Week 10 opponent. Texas A&M is No. 9 and Alabama, Georgia's Week 6 opponent, is No. 10 to make it six SEC teams in the top ten.

Hilariously, Oregon lost to unranked Oklahoma State yesterday and fell 15 places in the poll all the way down to No. 21. Meanwhile, Oklahoma, Georgia's Week 4 opponent, lost to unranked Michigan, 17-10, and fell from No 11 down to No. 24, while Michigan debuted in the poll at No. 19.  

The Missouri Tigers, who the Bulldogs play in Week 11, rose to No. 20 in the poll by beating Kansas (like that's hard?).

Although I don't agree, I'm not surprised that the AP made Texas No. 1 and kept Georgia at No. 2. Last week, Georgia didn't get a single first place vote, while then-No. 4 Texas, fresh off their triumph over unranked Texas State, got two first-place votes. That's a large part of the reason I hate Texas football - the teams mostly play other, generally unranked, Texas teams, and think they're hot shit until they cross the Red River and get the snot beat out of them by non-Texas teams (anyone remember TCU?). Next week, the Longhorns play another one of those unranked Texas teams, the UTSA Roadrunners, so their reign in first place is secure at last until they start their SEC schedule with the No. 18 Volunteers the following week in Tennessee. 

Georgia's next opponent are the unranked Arkansas Razorbacks (1-1) in Little Rock on Saturday (12:00). The Dawgs are 24½-point favorites.  After two games, Georgia leads the NCAA in points per game (66.5) and are fourth in yards per game (576.5), behind Miami, Mississippi State, and LSU. 

It's going to be a rough day for Arkansas.

Red Sox 5, Royals 1

 

The Sox end their losing streak and set themselves up to possibly win the home series against the last-place Royals. Doesn't change a thing - this team is still going nowhere in the post-season.

Rutschman, Abreu, Durbin, and Sogard each had a one-run-or-more RBI base hit in the game, which was a refreshing change from the last week or so. Suarez pitched well, getting eight strikeouts and giving up but one run in seven complete innings. Even though the game wasn't on the line, the Sox gave Chapman a chance to throw a little in the ninth, and he didn't allow one single hit. Nice effort, but there's a reason Kansas City is 66-83.

The Yankees lost yesterday bit the Sox are still 4½ games back in the Wild Card standings and aren't catching up. Cleveland lost, too, and are six games behind Boston and won't be catching up to the Sox and giving Boston an easier path through the first-round of playoffs.

The rubber game of this weekend homestand series in this afternoon (3:05, delayed because of rain). Payton Tolle (9-6, 3.15) will pitch for the Sox against the Royals' Noah Cameron (9-8, 3.93). 

I don't care any more what happens in the game.       

Georgia 70, Western Kentucky 20

 

Another week, another laugher against an unranked opponent. This game had it all, including a fumbled kickoff recovery that resulted in Georgia's first TD, a Bulldog pick-six, and a 70-yard TD run by Georgia backup QB Ryan Puglisi 

The Bulldogs actually showed some restraint in this game. After scoring 49 points in the first half, they eased up and scored "only" 14 in the third quarter and 7 in the fourth. Starting QB Gunner Stockton finished the day with 234 passing yards (13 of 16) and five TDs. Puglisi had only 19 passing yards but can boast a total of 79 rushing yards, the most of any Bulldog today, with that 70-yard TD. Running back Nate Frasier finished with 55 yards and one TD, and sophomore wide receiver Landon Roldan had a rushing TD in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on their first seven possessions and didn't punt the ball until the third quarter. To be honest, the game stopped being interesting even before the half, and one almost pitied the Hilltoppers. Fourteen of their 20 points came in the fourth quarter, and it was hard to begrudge them the points. 

The No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs are 2-0 with a composite score of 133-23 in their first two games. The team's in a good position to move up in the standings if No. 1 Ohio State loses to No. 4 Texas tonight. 

Enough with the cream-puffs already. The Dawgs begin their SEC schedule next week with a game in Arkansas against the unranked Razorbacks. The Hogs are 1-0 and play No. 20 Utah in SLC late tonight (10:15 pm). 

Today, unranked Michigan beat No. 11 Oklahoma, Georgia's Week 4 opponent, 17-10. No. 23 Missouri, Georgia's Week 11 opponent, beat unranked Kansas, 38-21. But all eyes tonight, including mine, are going to be on Texas to see how the Longhorns fare against the top-ranked Buckeyes.        

Royals 3, Red Sox 2

 

Even Sonny Gray can't save the Sox at this point. He gave up three runs by the end of the third, and the Red Sox limp-dick offense continued to make mediocre pitchers on basement-dwelling teams look like Greg Maddox. 

Mickey Gasper homered in the fifth, so the Sox put Jahmai Jones (.216) in to pinch hit for him in the seventh. He flied out after two taking two strikes. 

This is the third straight loss in a late-season home stand against the teams with the lowest win-loss records in the AL. Unacceptable. The Yankees, who are currently playing against the worst teams in the NL, have won four straight and the Sox are now 5½ games back in the Wild Card standings with 14 games to play, including three against the Rays in Tampa Bay. 

With a five-game lead over Cleveland, the third Wild Card team, the Red Sox seem nearly assured of winning the second seed and playing the Yankees in a three-game series, all in the Bronx. They will lose that series and this most unusual of seasons will end on the sourest of notes.

I don't mean to sound like a gloomer and the Red Sox are still and always will be my team - I'm a fan - but I'm also realistic. Too many injuries, too little offense, inconsistent pitching. At what point does one throw in the towel for mental health reasons, and kick back and watch the Patriots and the Georgia Bulldogs until the start of the NBA and NHL season?

The only solace I can find, the only glimmer of hope, is the cynical thought that as the Sox continue to fold, they might drop below Cleveland in the Wild Card standings (they have three games against the Guardians in two weeks) and instead of playing three in New York, they play three against either the White Sox or the Astros, two teams just barely above the .500 mark. They would still have to wake the fuck up and start hitting the ball, but you have to like our chances in Chicago or Houston more than in New York.

But as I said, it's finally football season, so let the Sox play but it's not advisable to be emotionally invested in the outcome from here on in.

Seahawks 13, Patriots 10

 

The 2026 NFL season opened last night with a repeat of last winter's Super Bowl LX: the New England Patriots versus the Seattle Seahawks. Like last year's Super Bowl LX, Seattle won.

Seattle starting QB Sam Darnold left the game early in the Seahawk's very first drive, and the Pats took a 10-0 lead on a second-quarter passing TD to rookie receiver Eli Raridon and a third-quarter FG. The Patriots' defense held Seattle scoreless in the first half, and then forced them to settle for a FG late in the third despite four plays inside the New England red zone. 

Patriot receiver A.J. Brown, the biggest acquisition by New England in the offseason, had to leave the game in the third with an ankle injury and did not return. The timeline for his return is still up in the air. New England teams, incidentally, seem to have the worst luck with new players getting injured in their first game, from Curtis Mead getting hit by a pitch on the wrist in his first game as a Red Sox to Gordon Hayward breaking his leg in his first Celtics' game, not to mention the tragedy of Len Bias.   

But the fourth quarter was when last night's catastrophe occurred. New England QB Drake Maye, who finished the game with 23 completions on 33 attempts for 178 passing yards and 47 rushing yards, threw an interception in the opening minute of the fourth that led to a Seattle TD and a 10-10 tie. Another Drake interception that quarter led to a Seattle FG for a 13-10 Seahawk lead. 

But no worries. New England got the ball back with 5:50 left to play. The drive started inauspiciously with a 10-yard holding penalty and a sack, but Maye then started a Brady-esque drive from his own 17 to the Seattle 16 in fourteen plays and 5:24 minutes. It was looking like New England was either going to score or at the very least tie the game up with a FG and force OT. 

And then Maye committed his third interception of the quarter, throwing it to a Seattle defender in the end zone with 0:26 left to play. The Seahawks took possession and after one short play, the game was over, 13-10.  Maye called the INT "unacceptable," and vowed to be better, but the Patriots start the season 0-1. Seattle fans couldn't help but remember Malcolm Butler's 2015 interception of Russell Wilson at the goal line with 0:20 left to play to seal New England's win in Super Bowl XLIX. 

One down, but sixteen more games to go. You can rationalize the loss by saying the Pats led most of the way, and losing to the defending Super Bowl champion by only a field goal isn't so bad. But the Patriots were also in that same Super Bowl, and were playing against Seattle's backup QB. The game revealed the weaknesses New England has to work on, from Maye's rashness in the fourth, to the health of receiver A.J. Brown, to a Romeo Doubs' drop of a pin-point accurate pass, to a poor overall rushing performance, and to the o-line's inability to adjust to the Seahawks' blitzes.

The good news is that since they were in the season's earliest premiere game, the Patriots have 10 days for Brown to recover and work on those identified weaknesses. They play the Pittsburgh Steelers back home in Foxborough on Sunday, September 20. The Steelers will host the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday before visiting New England, and should give the Pats a preview of what Pittsburgh's 42-year-old starting QB Aaron Rogers has left in him, if anything. 

But mostly, they should be looking at themselves, shore up their o-line, work of their ground game, and nurse Brown back to health.     

Angels 6, Red Sox 4

So it goes.

The Red Sox lose a home series, 1-2, to the team with the worst record in the American League. If the team isn't interested in winning, why should I care if they win or lose?

The Sox fall to 80-67 and four back from the Yankees in the Wild Card standings with 15 games left to the season. It's looking increasingly likely that the season will end with two losses in the Bronx in the Wild Card round.  

Meanwhile, this easy, late-season homestand against AL basement dwellers, this scheduling gift from above, resumes tomorrow with three games against Kansas City (65-82). Sonny Grey (17-4, 2.69) is scheduled to start against Seth Lugo (6-8, 5.04). If ever there's a time to seize the moment and win the top Wild Card spot, it's now.

Make it so.        

Angels 6, Red Sox 1

 

By the end of the third inning, Patrick Sandoval had already given up six hits and three runs, but Chad Tracy kept him in the game. Sandy gave up two more hits and another run in the fifth, and still stayed in the game through the sixth inning. Meanwhile, the Red Sox scored all of zero runs during those six innings.

I'll break it down for you: a Sandoval start + recent Red Sox offense = another team loss.

"You can' win 'em all," "shit happens," and all, and I wouldn't be as upset if the loss weren't so indicative of the problems emerging on this team as they head down the final stretch of the season. There's a reason Sandoval is 1-5 and 4.58, and it's not because of bad breaks and unlucky outings. Can we just admit the rehab experiment isn't working out and send him down to the minors to complete his comeback, or give him back to the Angels and let him leave Boston with the team tomorrow? And the Red Sox offense has been dogshit of late, scoring in only seven of the last 45 innings over the past five games. They've been relying on one big play each game and then the bullpen to bail them out in order to win, and if the pitching lets them down or they need a second big play, well . . .    

It gets worse. Shitler and the Yankees beat Colorado because of course they did, so the Sox fall back to three games behind New York in the Wild Card standings.

Game Three of the home stand against the last-place Angels is tonight. Big Jake Bennett (9-6, 3.34) goes up against L.A. loser Ryan Johnson (3-8, 5.17).  

I would like to offer some free strategic advice to Chad Tracy and the Red Sox - WIN THE EASY FUCKING GAMES! This six-game home stand against AL basement dwellers was a gift from the MLB front office, wrapped up with a bow on top, a chance to extend your four-game wining streak and sweep of Baltimore into a ten-win run, and here you go starting it off, 1-1! God damn, wake the fuck up and start playing baseball!

Don't make me come up there . . .  

We're No. 2!

 

Despite the fact that we played a cupcake in Week One (almost everyone did), Georgia moved up from No. 3 to No. 2 in this week's AP poll. Oregon, who struggled to beat their cupcake, Boise State, by a TD, fell from the preseason No. 2 all the way down to No. 6.

Georgia earned 1,532 points in the poll, but didn't get a single first-place vote, even though No. 3 Notre Dame got four, No. 4 Texas got two, and No. 5 Indiana got eight. Even No. 6 Oregon got three first-place votes. But the Dawgs? None. Not one.

Rounding out the Top 10 are No. 7 Miami (one first-place vote), and No. 8 LSU (five votes for first). Ole Miss was No. 9 and Texas A&M, No. 10, both without any first-place votes. Other SEC teams in the Top 25 are No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 12 Alabama, No. 18 Tennessee, and No. 23 Missouri. That's a total of nine SEC teams in the Top 25.

This weekend, Georgia plays another unranked team, Conference USA's Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (0-1), who lost to Nevada last weekend, 49-14. The Bulldogs are 40½-point favorites, and will probably still cover the spread. 

But the big game on Saturday will be No. 1 Ohio State against No. 4 Texas. The Longhorns are 1½-point favorites. Arguably, Georgia would benefit from a Buckeye loss, making the No. 1 spot available if the AP voters don't decide to award it to Texas (or Oregon, for that matter). On the other hand, early season AP polls are meaningless, and a loss to an SEC rival could provide more advantages to the Dawgs in the long run. But we here at Sweat Dissolves Water despise both teams, and can only hope that the game goes into triple OT, depletes both benches, and knocks the two starting QBs out of the lineup for the rest of the season.

We're No. 2! Go, Dawgs, and beat them Hilltoppers!

Red Sox 5, Angels 2

 

Jarren Duran got a haircut. The mullet is gone and I doubt anyone misses it. He took his hair all the way down to a buzzcut and then on top of that, dyed it blond. He looks like Eminem now. 

Even more unrecognizably, he hit a solo homer in the second inning to kick off Boston's scoring in the game. Later, he hit a double to go 2-for-4 on the day. 

Adley Rutschman also hit a homer in the second, a three-run blast to deep right field to make the score 4-0. Eli White singled to right center in the third scoring Caleb Durbin from third to make it 5-0.

Brayan Bello didn't get a haircut but he surprised everybody by getting through a first inning without a hit or a run. He went five shutout innings with seven strikeouts and four hits. After 103 pitches with no runs, Wyatt Olds relieved him in the sixth and gave up a homer to the Angels on his very first pitch. But Wyatt settled down and went two innings without any further hits and struck out five. Alec Gamboa gave up another run in the eighth to make the game a tad more interesting, but Garrett Whitlock closed it out in the ninth, and the Red Sox won, 5-2, their fifth straight victory and 80th of the season. . 

Once fourteen games under .500 earlier this season, the Red Sox are now fifteen games over .500 at 80-65. They trail New York, who was idle today, by two games in the Wild Card standings. The Yankees will face the woeful Rockies (55-88) and then the Mets (66-78) this week, so it's imperative that Boston keeps its steak going against the Angels (54-90) and the Royals (64-81) so as not to lose any ground in the Wild Card race. 

Game two of the home series with the Halos is tonight (6:45) with Patrick Sandoval (1-4, 4.41) facing his former team for the very first time. Reid Detmers (4-8, 3.44) will start for the Angels. Back on July 2, Detmers gave up five runs to the Sox, including a home run to Durbin and two RBI sac flies to Duran. 

The Red Sox carried Sandoval on the IL for a year and a half  after acquiring him from the Angels. It's time for Big Sandy to pay back the favor with a big win over L.A. tonight.

Red Sox 3, Orioles 1

 

The Red Sox win their four straight and complete a sweep of the Orioles! 

Another pitching masterpiece by Tolle, who struck out 12 Baltimore batters in six innings and gave up only one run.  Eli White homered in the second to score the only three Boston runs of the game. While it's great that the Red Sox pitchers have held the Orioles  to one or no runs the last three games, we need a more consistent offense than one scoring play a game if we're going to be serious about the playoffs.

The Yankees lost yesterday because they suck, so Boston (79-65) is once again within 2½ games of the top Wild Card spot - so close, they can almost just reach out and grab it. Tampa Bay lost, too, and are now 6½ games ahead of the Sox in first place, but with only 18 games left to the season, Boston should forget about winning the AL East and focus on the Wild Card race instead. The Red Sox' path to the World Series does not run through a division championship but goes from the Wild Card series to the ALCS to the big show.

The Red Sox have two "easy" series left against teams below .500 (both at home, too), and then four "hard" series against teams over .500 with playoff aspirations of their own, and half of those are on the road. Fortunately, considering all of the players currently doing time on the 10-day IL, the next two series are the "easy" ones, starting with the L.A. Angels (54-89) this afternoon (1:35 pm) at Fenway.

Brayan Bello (5-7, 5.07) starts today without the prophylactic luxury of a separate starter for the first inning. Bello has been spectacular as a reliever, even if he comes on as early as the second inning, and a first-inning disaster as a starter. Psychiatrists will spend decades trying to figure out why. Bello is a career 1-2 against the Angels in four starts, and the last time he played them, back on June 3 of last year, he gave up three runs in the third inning in a 4-3 L.A. win.

The Angels will start righty Grayson Rodriguez (4-6, 6.03). The last time Rodriguez pitched to Boston (May 28, 2024), he was with Baltimore and Abreu homered off him, Duran hit an RBI double, and good ol' Rafael Devers hit a pair of RBI singles. 

It's essential that Boston wins or even sweeps these next two series to build as much of a cushion as possible for that final "hard" stretch to end the season.