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.         

Red Sox 3, Astros 1

 

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

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

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

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

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

Sabres 4, Bruins 1

 

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

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

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

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

        

Sixers 106, Celtics 93

 

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

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

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

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

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

College football season begins in 120 days.

Blue Jays 8, Red Sox 1

 

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

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

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

Bruins 2, Sabres 1 (OT)

 

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

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

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

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

   

Sixers 113, Celtics 97

 

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

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

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

Blue Jays 3, Red Sox 0

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

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

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

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

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

 

Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 0

 

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

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

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

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

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

Celtics 128, Sixers 96

 

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

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

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

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

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

Red Sox 5, Orioles 3

 

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

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

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

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

Sabres 6, Bruins 1

 

Keep moving. Nothing to see here. The Boston Bruins are not a serious team, and are down 3-1 in the Stanley Cup quarterfinals.

Only one more game and then we can stop thinking about them for six months.  

Cora Fired

Today, the Boston Red Sox (10-17) fired manager Alex Cora. The team also parted ways with hitting coach Peter Fatse, bench coach Rámon Vazquez, third-base coach Kyle Hudson, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson, and major league hitting strategy coach Joe Cronin. 

Game-planning coach Jason Varitek has been reassigned to a "new role" within the organization.

Red Sox 17, Orioles 1

 

WT the literal F? The lowly Boston Red Sox scored 17 runs, 10 in the ninth inning alone when they were already leading 7-1, and nine of those 10 ninth-inning runs were on homers, including an Andruw Monasterio grand slam?  I said "more home runs," but I didn't mean all in one inning when you've already pretty much clinched the win.

The scoring started in the second inning, when Caleb Durbin hit a double to deep right center, scoring Monasterio. Isiah Kiner-Falefa then singled to left, scoring Durbin, and then Ceddanne Rafaela hit another single into left field, scoring Connor Wong.

Kiner-Falefa scored again in the fourth, when Willson Contreras brought him home on a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0, Boston.

Wong hit a three-run RBI double in the fifth that was very nearly a grand slam, but still scored Durbin, Monasterio, and Trevor Story.

And then, finally, let's talk about that ninth inning, arguably the best inning of Red Sox baseball so far this season. The inning opened with a Rafaela triple to deep right, and then Contreras brought him home with a single. Contreras advanced to second on a Wilyer Abreu single, and then Story advanced Contreras and Abreu on another single. With the bases thus loaded, Manasterio then hit his grand slam 412 feet into deep left center. 12-1, Boston. No outs.

After Jarren Duran followed Monasterio's grand slam with a single, the Orioles finally replaced their battered reliever with a new pitcher, who promptly gave up a home run to Durbin, a two-run blast that also brought Duran home. 14-1, Boston. No outs. 

Wong flied out for the first out of the inning, but Kiner-Faleda and Rafaela, in his second plate appearance of the inning, hit two consecutive singles, and then Contreras brought them both home with a three-run homer, 17-1, Boston. One out. 

The Orioles finally ended the inning with two fly balls, but not before a throwing error put Story back on the bases. Ten runs on ten hits, fourteen batters.       

   

Meanwhile, Garrett Crochet (it was Crochet Day, remember?) picked up his third win of the season, going six shutout innings, striking out seven, and giving up only three hits.  

Of course, all this doesn't mean shit. Boston is still in dead last place and 15 of the Red Sox' 17 runs were unnecessary for the win. But goddamn, were they ever fun to watch on this sorry-ass season and at least we no longer have the fewest homers in MLB (thank you, San Francisco!). Boston's now only one homer back from the Marlins, the Brewers, and the Mets, so maybe our next goal for this season should be to be the team with only the fifth fewest home runs in the majors.

Celtics 108, Sixers 100

 

With the Bruins obviously going nowhere in the playoff and the Red Sox off to a historically horrific start, a weary Beantown turns it's eyes to the legendary Celtics and all those championship banners hanging in the TD Garden. And the Celtics deliver, giving the fans a hard-fought but decisive 108-100 victory in Philadelphia.

The Sixers, for their part, never gave up in the game and kept coming back at the Celtics again and again. However, the Celtics never gave up either, and successfully fought back each successive Philly assault. When the smoke finally cleared, both J's, Brown and Tatum, had 25 points. Pritchard, as per his style, scored all 15 of his points on threes. Vučević came alive with 15 points, same as White, along with six rebounds and three blocked shots. 

Meanwhile, Tatum's 25-point playoff performance tied Nikola Jokic in number of 25-point playoff games.  He joined John Havlicek, Kevin McHale, and Larry Bird with 3,000+ Celtic playoff points. He also joined Bird and LeBron as the only three players in NBA history to have 3,000+ points, 1,000+ rebounds, and 500+ assists in the post-season. From here on in, every game he plays and every point he scores puts him in ever more rarified air.  

The Celtics take a 2-1 lead in the series. Game 4 is in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. Boston in five.

Orioles 10, Red Sox 3

 

When I talked about the Red Sox' lack of home runs yesterday and suggested they needed more, I meant offensive home runs. Homers hit by Red Sox players. The team must have misunderstood my request, because in Baltimore yesterday, they gave up seven home runs to the Orioles, three to the first five batters in the first inning. Cora didn't even pull starting pitcher Brayan Bello until the fourth but after he gave up two more homers and the score was 8-1, Baltimore.

Boston remains dead last in the AL East, and last in MLB in slugging percentage and home runs (offensive), I'm stating to think this Red Sox team isn't championship caliber. They're 9-17 on the season and have caught up with Kansas City to tie for the worst record in the American League. The only reason they're not the worst in MLB is because the Phillies are 0-10 in their last ten, while the Sox have gone a mere 3-7.

Today is Crochet Day. Remember when that used to be something to look forward to, something to be excited about? This season, Garrett has fallen to a 2-3 start and a 7.88 ERA, but even if the Sox don't turn their season around, you gotta believe Crochet will turn his. He has a career 1.64 ERA against the Orioles, and is 1-1 in three career starts. He's only given up two home runs and made 28 strikeouts against the Birds in 22 innings. He'll be facing lefty Trevor Rogers, who's off to a 2-2 start and 4.08 ERA. Rogers has a 1-2 record versus the Sox and a career 2.13 ERA. 

But pitching almost doesn't matter. The Red Sox batters need to wake up and start scoring some runs. Bello's performance yesterday aside, it doesn't matter how good your starting pitching is if you don't give them any runs with which to work.