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Mayfield Leads Browns to Comeback Victory Over NY Jets

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CLEVELAND – Rookie No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield relieved a concussed Tyrod Taylor and rallied the Cleveland Browns from a 14-point deficit past the visiting New York Jets for a 21-17 win to break a 19-game winless streak Thursday night at FirstEnergy Stadium. It marked the first Browns win in 635 days and was cause for beer-soaked celebrations throughout northern Ohio.

Mayfield, in his NFL debut, finished 17 of 23 for 201 yards in a little over one half of work for the Browns (1-1-1), who tallied their first victory since Dec. 24, 2016. It was just Cleveland’s second win in 38 games.

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Baker Mayfield

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Running back Carlos Hyde’s second 1-yard touchdown, with 2:07 remaining in the fourth quarter, put the Browns ahead for good at 21-17. Linebacker Joe Schobert and cornerback Terrance Mitchell intercepted Jets quarterback Sam Darnold on the next two possessions, sealing the game.

Hyde totaled 23 carries for 98 yards, and Jarvis Landry had eight catches for 103 yards.

Darnold, whom many thought the Browns would take No. 1 overall in the April draft, finished 15 of 31 for 169 yards and the two picks. He has thrown five interceptions through three games.

The Jets (1-2) grabbed a 14-0 lead on a pair of touchdowns by former Browns running back Isaiah Crowell. A blocked punt set up Crowell’s 7-yard waltz on the first play of the second quarter, and he capped the next possession with a 2-yard score.

Mayfield entered the game with the Browns down 14-0 and 1:42 remaining in the first half after Taylor was hurt. The rookie completed his first three passes for 47 yards and led the Browns to a field goal for a 14-3 halftime deficit.

After another field goal by new Browns kicker Greg Joseph cut the deficit to eight, Hyde scored from a yard out to make it 14-12 with 47 seconds left in the third quarter. Mayfield caught a pass from Landry on a variant of the Eagles’ famous “Philly Special” for a two-point conversion to tie it at 14.

The Jets went 65 yards in 12 plays for a 28-yard Jason Myers field goal to lead 17-14 with 8:58 remaining, setting the stage for the Browns’ winning drive.

Taylor was concussed when his head hit the turf on a sack by Jets linebacker Avery Williamson, but he might have been replaced even if healthy.

He went 4 of 14 for 19 yards, taking three sacks and an intentional-grounding penalty as the Browns punted on their first six possessions. Taylor underthrew wide-open rookie wideout Antonio Callaway for a potential 75-yard touchdown four minutes into the game.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Taylor was the first QB to throw for fewer than 20 yards on 14-plus attempts in the first half of a game since 2011.

Cleveland still has not won on a Sunday under Hue Jackson, as its lone 2016 victory came on a Saturday Christmas Eve game. But, Browns fans basked in the glory of the victory and were treated to cases and cases of cold Bud Light as a special promotion with the brewer unlocked coolers of beer around Cleveland as the victory was clinched.

–Field Level Media

BC Steams Towards Boilermakers

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WEST LAFAYETTE – Boston College is nationally ranked for the first time since 2008 and looks to remain unbeaten when it visits winless Purdue on Saturday in Indiana. The No. 23 Eagles (3-0) are attempting to open a season with four consecutive wins for just the fifth time since 1955. They also are enjoying the momentum of the hot start after scoring 40 or more points in the first three games of a season for the first time in program history.

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“To be in the Top 25 means you’re bringing attention nationwide to your school and to your team,” standout sophomore running back AJ Dillon told reporters. “It’s good for the program but it’s even bigger for the university. We talk about representing ourselves, and having the opportunity to be among the nation’s best is to shine light on everybody else (at BC).”

While the players are thrilled at the increase in national respect, coach Steve Addazio isn’t so excited about cracking the Top 25.

“I really haven’t even wasted one second thinking about it,” Addazio said during a press conference. “In fact, to me it’s just one more distraction. Listen, it’s great for your fan base, OK? It recognizes the fact that you’ve made improvements. It recognizes the fact that you’re moving in the right direction.

“But really what I want to recognize is having a chance to be 4-0 around 4 o’clock Saturday afternoon, or that doesn’t mean anything. I’ve been around long enough to know and see it all. There’s no conversation going on in our program.”

The Boilermakers (0-3) may be searching for their first victory but they are viewed as a dangerous opponent.

Purdue’s three setbacks are by a total of eight points and last Saturday’s 40-37 loss to Missouri featured a school-record 572-yard passing game by senior quarterback David Blough.

Blough wasn’t even slated to be the starter until junior Elijah Sindelar suffered an undisclosed injury at a mid-week practice. He took advantage of the opportunity by breaking the school mark held by Curtis Painter (546 in 2007) and posted the second most yards in Big Ten history behind Illinois’ Dave Wilson (621 in 1980).

“It was a great game plan,” Blough told reporters. “This is what we can be. It was fun to reflect on, but I would trade it all for a victory.”

Purdue rolled up 614 total yards against Missouri but its defense was way too generous by allowing 608.

“We’ve got a long ways to go,” Boilermakers coach Jeff Brohm said. “We’re not where we need to be, not even close.”

The defensive issues could pose a problem against Boston College, which is averaging 52.7 points and saw sophomore quarterback Anthony Brown establish career bests of 304 yards and five touchdowns in last Saturday’s 41-34 win over Wake Forest. Dillon, who has 432 rushing yards, also recorded his ninth career 100-yard outing by rushing for 185 yards on 33 carries.

Senior defensive end Wyatt Ray posted a career-best four sacks and has five on the season.

–Field Level Media

Tiger, Fowler Lead Tour Championship

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ATLANTA – Tiger Woods eagled the 18th hole Thursday to grab a share of the lead with Rickie Fowler after the first round of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club, the final stop on the PGA Tour this season.

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Rickie Fowler

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Fowler carded the first 5-under-par round of 65 of the day, and briefly took over the projected No. 1 spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Woods equaled his effort a few groups later, but both need a victory and some help to claim the FedEx Cup title this week.

Justin Rose birdied his final two holes to tie Gary Woodland at 4 under and take over the projected No. 1 spot from Bryson DeChambeau, who is tied for 21st at 1 over. With three rounds to play, DeChambeau has fallen behind Rose, Woods and Fowler in the projected standings.

Tony Finau (T5 at 3 under) sits in the No. 5 spot, and along with Rose and DeChambeau is one of five players who would win the FedEx Cup with a victory at the Tour Championship. Justin Thomas (3 under) and Dustin Johnson (T12, 1 under) are the other two.

Johnson, whose fiancee Paulina Gretzky made headlines earlier Thursday with a social media post appearing to reference their reported strained relationship, was 3 over before going 4 under over his final four holes, including an eagle on No. 18.

Rory McIlroy is part of the group tied for fifth at 3 under. He birdied four of his first six holes, but mixed in two bogeys and a double bogey with three more birdies over his final 12 holes. McIlroy will enter Friday in 14th in the projected standings.

While the rankings formulas continued to play out, Fowler and Woods were the stories on the course Thursday.

Fowler, who skipped the first two playoff events recovering from an oblique injury, posted his fourth 65 in his past five rounds. He rolled in six birdies against a lone bogey in recording his lowest career round at East Lake.

“There’s a lot of golf left,” Fowler told the Golf Channel. “All I can control is what I do, and try to go out and win this week and see where the chips fall.”

Fowler was projected to take over the No. 1 spot in the FedEx Cup when he walked off the course. That was fleeting, as Rose overtook him just minutes later with a birdie on No. 10. Woods then drained his eagle on No. 18 to grab a share of the tournament lead.

Woods is the only player to win the FedEx Cup twice (2007, ’09), and also has four runner-up finishes at East Lake. He’s back at the Tour Championship for the first time in five years, and posted the second lowest opening round at East Lake in his career. He went on to win after shooting a 64 in the first round in 2007.

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Tiger Woods

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“This was by far better than the 62 at Aronimink (in the first round of the BMW Championship),” Woods told reporters. “Conditions were soft there. It’s hard to get the ball close here. There’s so much chasing in it, and if you drive the ball in the rough you know you can’t get the ball close (to the pin). The Bermuda rough, you just can’t control it.

“So it puts a premium on driving, and it puts a premium on allowing for a little bit of chase on some of these greens. When I had some good looks, I went right after it. And otherwise, I went pretty conservative with it.”

Billy Horschel (2014) is the last first round leader or co-leader to win Tour Championship, while Bill Haas (2011) is last player to make the season finale his only win of season. Finau, Fowler and Woods – who will each play for Team USA in next week’s Ryder Cup – are still seeking their first victories of 2018.

“I saw the projection on the board when I came up the 18th there, and it said I was projected at 1, but there’s a lot of golf left,” Fowler said. “That’s where it’s going to be different next year in terms of how you see things, and it’ll probably be easier for guys to follow for the players on the course as well as the fans. But all I can do right now is go win and see what happens.”

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour: Tiger Fires a 65

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ATLANTA – Tiger Woods drained a 27-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole to card a 5-under-par 65 during the first round of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club on Thursday. Woods’ sixth eagle of 2018 vaulted him into a tie for the lead with Rickie Fowler.

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Tiger Woods

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Entering the week needing a win and some help to claim an unprecedented third FedEx Cup title, Woods followed a familiar pattern this year in getting off to a rough start with a bogey on the first hole.

He got his round into red figures with consecutive lengthy birdie putts on Nos. 5 and 6 and made the turn in 1-under 34. Woods added birdies at Nos. 12 and 14 before reeling off three consecutive pars.

He found the fairway on the par-5 18th, and then blistered a 5-wood from 255 yards to just inside 28 feet.

“Once it reached its peak, I saw it was going through the wind and I just started walking,” Woods told the Golf Channel. “I knew it was good.”

It was the same hole he famously eagled during the 2007 Tour Championship — No. 9 at the time before the nines were flipped.

Woods faced a tricky left-to-right putt this time around, and managed to slide it into the left side of the cup, eliciting a fist pump as he put a punctuation mark on his first round at the Tour Championship in five years.

“That putt was taking forever for that grain to take it, and it finally did in the last three to four feet,” Woods said.

How good did it feel to be back at East Lake, competing in the season finale?

“You’re not going to get an exemption into this event, you’ve got to earn it,” Woods said. “You have to be part of the Top 30, you have to be consistent and you’ve got to be one of the guys who have had a good year.

“And I’ve earned my way back. All things considered, it’s been a pretty good success.”

–Field Level Media

Week 3: NFL Notebook

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Here is your weekly NFL Notebook:
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Josh Allen:
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AFC East
Buffalo Bills: NBC Sports’ Peter King has been covering football a long time and has seen really bad player debuts and really good ones. He marked the first career start of Bills quarterback Josh Allen in the not-too-bad category. “Well, I thought it was better than I expected,” King said. “He is obviously going to have difficultly with protection issues, the Bills are. And so you’re probably not going to be able to use everything. You wonder how many seven-step drops he has, when he does take snaps from under center, when that happens, but overall you know, I’d give him a good mark.”

Miami Dolphins: Will the real “FitzMagic” please stand up? That’s a nickname that has been associated with Tampa Bay quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in the past, and with his hot start in 2018, it’s gotten a lot of use. But one player is officially laying claim to it. Representatives of Dolphins defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick last week filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on his behalf. Fitzpatrick — Minkah, that is — wants to sell merchandise and apparel using the moniker. His mother said the Alabama product, whom the Dolphins took 11th overall in April’s draft, has used the nickname since high school.

New England Patriots: Down 14-0 to Jacksonville after the first quarter Sunday, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels huddled together the offense — and yelled. He explained why on a conference call. “Our overall performance, I feel like that’s what my job is and so I didn’t do a good enough job obviously on Sunday,” he said. “We didn’t score enough points, didn’t produce enough first downs, didn’t control the game at all, and we weren’t playing as well as any of us would like at that point in the day. I think part of coaching is understanding there’s times where you do things quietly and pull somebody aside, and there’s other times where you either just want to try to create a spark or what have you and just refocus on the things that are really important, and that’s really all I was doing.”

New York Jets: Football fans lauded the most recent season of HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” which featured the Cleveland Browns. The Jets meet the Browns on Thursday night, and coach Todd Bowles was asked this week if he learned anything about the opponent from the show. He said he hadn’t watched it. “I watch ‘Power’ and ‘Queen of the South’ and that is about it,” he said. “That’s my leisure time.” The 2010 Jets, coached by the animated Rex Ryan, were the subject of “Hard Knocks” that season. Would Bowles ever want his team on the show? “If I had to do it, we’d do it,” he said. “But, I’d probably be the most boring person on the show. I don’t think they want to come this way.”

AFC North
Baltimore Ravens: Left tackle Ronnie Stanley is expected to be a game-time decision Sunday when Von Miller and the Denver Broncos are in town. When Stanley was hurt last Thursday at Cincinnati, he was replaced by right tackle James Hurst, and Orlando Brown Jr. entered the game at right tackle. Neither matchup is ideal for the Ravens against Miller, who has 4.0 sacks in two games to lead the NFL. Stanley would not confirm reports that he injured his right arm, and said he wouldn’t have final say in whether he plays this week. “It is coach Harbaugh’s decision,” Stanley said.

Cincinnati Bengals: With kicker issues aplenty around the league, the Bengals this week moved to lock up placekicker Randy Bullock with a two-year extension through the 2020 season. Bullock has made all 12 of his kicks this season (four field goals) and 27 of 30 field goals with the Bengals. Head coach Marvin Lewis said his confidence in Bullock was high, but it wasn’t always that way. Bullock missed two extra points and a potential game-winning field goal last season. At that time, Lewis said the misses “affect our patience level.”

Cleveland Browns: When you have one victory in a span of 37 games, progress is measured any way possible. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor is expecting the Browns to realize a major breakthrough this season, and the fourth quarter of the last week’s game at New Orleans is a big reason why. “For us to take the ball down and score in a critical moment and then to get the ball back down the field for a chance to tie the game was definitely some growth,” said Taylor, who completed a pair of passes to set up the potential game-tying field goal in the final 21 seconds of the loss. “It is our job to keep getting better.”

Pittsburgh Steelers: While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers voice optimism first-round pick Vita Vea could be in the lineup on “Monday Night Football,” the Steelers are still gauging the availability of both of their offensive guards, David DeCastro and Ramon Foster. DeCastro didn’t play Week 2 with a fractured hand, and Foster is “managing a knee injury,” according to coach Mike Tomlin. Offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert (hamstring) is also on the injury report. DeCastro said he hopes his injury would be a one-game issue. Tomlin would only say DeCastro “has a chance” to go against the Buccaneers. Vea, a 347-pound nose tackle, has been mostly idle since being carted off the field with a calf injury on July 29. His return would give Tampa Bay a likely jolt alongside Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.

AFC South
Houston Texans: Quarterback Deshaun Watson said he’s not worried about the Houston-area superintendent of schools making an inflammatory comment about the trustworthiness of black quarterbacks. Lynn Redden — superintendent of the Onalaska Independent School District in the Piney Woods, about an hour north of Houston — is reportedly under investigation for a comment made on Facebook about Watson holding onto the ball as time ran out in Week 2. Redden claimed he thought the comment was a direct message. “When you need precision decision making you can’t count on a black quarterback,” Redden wrote, later admitting to the message in a Houston Chronicle interview. Texans coach Bill O’Brien shared his pointed thoughts on the post Wednesday. “I really don’t want to waste a lot of time responding to outdated, inaccurate, ignorant, idiotic statements. I’ll just let Deshaun’s proven success on the field (and) his character off the field speak for itself. He’s one of the greatest guys I’ve ever coached. He represents everything that’s right about football, about life. His teammates respect him, his coaching staff respects him. In this day and age, it’s just amazing that that BS exists, but it does.”

Indianapolis Colts: Le’Raven Clark could remain in the lineup at left tackle Sunday, and the task is tall against the Philadelphia Eagles’ deep defensive line rotation. Clark started at left tackle in Week 2 when Anthony Castonzo’s chronic hamstring injury kept him on the sideline, after Joe Haeg filled in for Castonzo in Week 1. Castonzo will attempt to return and make his season debut against the Eagles, but head coach Frank Reich indicated the Colts are playing it safe with quarterback Andrew Luck’s blind-side protector. “We think he’s going to be back,” Reich said, cautioning that both player and coach expected Castonzo to start at Washington.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Leonard Fournette was back on the field for practice Wednesday, returning for the first time since he exited the Week 1 win over the New York Giants with a hamstring injury. Fournette, who said his hamstring popped, did not play last week in the Jaguars’ win over the Patriots. But his understudy, T.J. Yeldon, missed practice Wednesday with an ankle injury. Quarterback Blake Bortles said Fournette looked good. “It looked like he was Leonard. He was flying around, making some good plays. He got some touches and looked good,” Bortles said.

Tennessee Titans: Quarterback Marcus Mariota experienced tingling in two of his fingers, and the Titans are not sure when he will be ready to return from an elbow injury suffered Week 1. Mariota took the practice field Wednesday with the index and middle fingers cut out of a glove on his throwing hand. He said the issue is with the nerves in those fingers. “It’s getting better, but it is frustrating. It is hard because it’s one of those things where you can’t really do a whole lot,” Mariota said. Blaine Gabbert, who started Week 2 and guided Tennessee to a 20-17 win over Houston, will continue to take the first-team reps with the offense in preparation for Sunday’s game with the Jaguars.

AFC West
Denver Broncos: Quarterback Case Keenum isn’t known for his legs, but he had three carries for 16 yards and a touchdown Sunday in a comeback win over the Oakland Raiders. However, he paid a bit of a price, missing Wednesday’s practice with left knee soreness. “I guess I need to slide a few more times instead trying to go run and bounce around off of defenders,” Keenum told reporters Wednesday, adding he wanted to practice but coaches held him out. “But I want to get a first down, I want to score. I’m competitive in that way.” Coach Vance Joseph expects Keenum to return to practice Thursday and play on Sunday in Baltimore.

Kansas City Chiefs: As fantastic as Patrick Mahomes’ season has started, coach Andy Reid knows that opposing teams will get a better read on the young QB as they get more film to study. “That’s the challenge,” Reid said Wednesday. “As they study him, you’ve got to be able to rise up and do that. Is there going to be a hiccup here or there? Yeah, there’s going to be learning experiences going on here. And everything hasn’t been roses to this point — it looks like it, but that’s not been the case.” Reid added that Mahomes got great experience in training camp going against defensive coordinator Bob Sutton’s complex designs, but he expects other challenges. “Everybody’s got their flavor (on defense), and you’ve got to be able to answer it,” Reid said. “If you don’t answer it, then you’ve got problems.”

Los Angeles Chargers: Most out-of-conference games inherently feature unfamiliarity between opponents, but Philip Rivers has a pretty good feel for the Los Angeles Rams’ defense after playing for Wade Phillips from 2004 to 2006 and facing him twice a year when Phillips was with the Broncos in 2015 and 2016. “They don’t try to trick you with their scheme,” Rivers said Monday. “They just line up and say they’re better than you, and shoot, that works for them a lot of the time. So it’ll be a heck of a challenge.” Rivers is also all-too-familiar with former Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib and former Chiefs corner Marcus Peters, whose four picks of Rivers are his most against any single QB. “I’d put ’em up there with the top corners in the league, both those guys,” Rivers said.

Oakland Raiders: Despite Derek Carr’s 29-for-32 day against the Broncos on Sunday, wide receiver Jordy Nelson again wasn’t heavily involved in the offense, finishing with two catches for 30 yards. The former Green Bay Packer now has five grabs for 53 yards through two games, but those numbers should increase, according to coach Jon Gruden. “We expect to see more and more from Jordy as the weeks unfold,” Gruden said Wednesday. “(Amari) Cooper had a big week last week. (Jared) Cook had a big week in Week 1. Hopefully Jordy has one this week.” Cooper broke out in Denver with 10 grabs for 116 yards, one game after having just one catch for 9 yards.

NFC East
Dallas Cowboys: With the addition of Brice Butler, the Cowboys now have seven wide receivers. One of them, Cole Beasley, doesn’t seem worried about how quarterback Dak Prescott will distribute the ball. “Like I’ve been saying, the strength is in the group,” Beasley said, via The Dallas Morning News. “We don’t need a No. 1, superstar-type guy. When you spread the ball around and each guy just makes their plays when their number is called upon, it’s like the same thing. I think it just makes us that much harder to defend, not knowing where the ball is going to go.”

New York Giants: Coach Pat Shurmur has named veteran John Greco as the starting center, replacing Jon Halapio. Halapio was lost for the season with a broken leg and broken ankle that he suffered during the 20-13 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday night. “We’ll start with John and then obviously get Spencer [Pulley] ready to go,” Shurmur said during a conference call. “We have guys on the roster who have played center. John Greco went in there and played and then we brought in Spencer Pulley on the roster who played all last season at center [with the Chargers], so we’ve got guys that have done it and they’ll just slide up and get ready to go.”

Philadelphia Eagles: Quarterback Carson Wentz will reclaim his starting spot Sunday, more than nine months after suffering a serious knee injury. And one of the men charged with protecting him, right tackle Lane Johnson, doesn’t want him to try to do too much. “All he has to do is just be Carson Wentz,” Johnson said, via the team’s website. “You don’t have to be Superman. You don’t have to go out of the way to make plays, just do what you do. Don’t overcomplicate it. He just needs to be him. He’s super-talented, super-humble, and works hard man, so he’ll be fine.”

Washington Redskins: Safety D.J. Swearinger said his team might have gotten too self-satisfied after a Week 1 win when it came time to the following game — a 21-9 home loss to Indianapolis. “We can’t relax,” he told the Washington Post. “Last week … for whatever reason, there was complacency in the building. But we haven’t done anything, so we should never get complacent around here. I feel like we just gotta work as hard as we can this week to be focused on the little things and the little details, because they’re going to be huge going against [Week 3 opponent] Green Bay.”

NFC North
Chicago Bears: Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky remains his own harshest critic, which is not a major shock to head coach Matt Nagy. Nagy said Wednesday he wants Trubisky not to dwell on individual plays that don’t work, and to leave failed drives in the past to avoid carrying the weight into more important spots in the game. One area in which Trubisky is excelling is throwing on the move. Nagy said changing the launch point is elevating Trubisky’s comfort level and confidence. “Mitch does a really good job,” Nagy said. “He did it in college. He was really good outside the pocket. And so we need to be able to figure out ways to do that and where we feel it’s advantageous for the offense and I know he’s comfortable in that.”

Detroit Lions: Matt Patricia’s NFL voyage began with the New England Patriots as a quality control coach in 2004, when his best friend on the support staff of Bill Belichick was an offensive assistant. They’ll convene again Sunday night at Ford Field when first-time head coach Patricia goes for his first win by trying to stop that assistant — current Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. “Josh and I are really close,” Patricia said. “I think the two of us leaned on each other quite a bit, helped each other out a lot as young coaches and developing into wherever we are right now. … Utmost respect for him.” Even McDaniels expects a few surprises from Patricia. “He’ll keep you off balance. There’s definitely an element of spinning the wheel with Matt,” McDaniels told Masslive.com.

Green Bay Packers: Cornerback Kevin King’s groin injury kicked the door open for the Minnesota Vikings’ fourth-quarter rally last week, and King is a longshot to return this week at Washington. King, 23, was a first-round pick in 2017 — his season ended early due to a shoulder injury — and helped frustrate Kirk Cousins through three quarters in Sunday’s game. Without King, the Packers are going to need to be creative. “We probably didn’t handle Kevin King’s injury very well,” McCarthy said. “We just weren’t as detailed down the stretch. It was obviously an ability for them to extend drives, and they hit the big play there on the (75-yard Stefon Diggs) touchdown, too.”

Minnesota Vikings: Settling the kicker position might finally be checked off of general manager Rick Spielman’s to-do list. The Vikings parted with kicker Daniel Carlson in what head coach Mike Zimmer described as an easy decision after Carlson failed to deliver in overtime at Green Bay. His replacement happens to be the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history, Dan Bailey. Bailey was on the street only because the Dallas Cowboys opted not to pay his $4 million salary and released him Sept. 1. “I wanted to go somewhere that had an opportunity to win and be a part of an organization that’s right there and right on the brink of having a lot of success,” Bailey said Wednesday. “When this situation came up, it fit the bill perfectly. I can’t complain about eight games out of the year inside (at U.S. Bank Stadium); that was a plus.”

NFC South
Atlanta Falcons: Injuries are denting the depth chart of the Falcons, and wide receiver Julio Jones was the latest casualty. Jones missed Wednesday’s practice with a calf injury, but the injury is not considered serious. Head coach Dan Quinn called Jones day-to-day, and of more concern are the potential absences against the New Orleans Saints of running back Devonta Freeman (knee) and defensive ends Takk McKinley and Derrick Shelby (groin injuries). Already down multiple starters due to injury, the latest role player to be thrust into a starting role, guard Wes Schweitzer, is stepping in for Andy Levitre, who was placed on injured reserve Monday with a triceps injury.

Carolina Panthers: Linebacker Luke Keuchly grew up 25 miles from Cinergy Field — formerly home of the Cincinnati Bengals — and dreamed of wearing a tiger-striped helmet. In high school, he was a lacrosse rival of Bengals coach Marvin Lewis’ son, Marcus. On Sunday, he’ll play a professional game against the Bengals for the second time. The previous game was a 37-37 tie in Cincinnati in 2014, and Kuechly led all players with 13 tackles. “I was a Bengals fan,” Kuechly said, recalling a game in which Corey Dillon rushed for nearly 200 yards against the Browns. Lewis said the Bengals are “still trying to clone guys like Luke Kuechly around here.”

New Orleans Saints: Lamenting a stagnant running game and other issues with his typically potent offense was not a high priority for Sean Payton on Wednesday, but he has made a call for more playmaking from Saints tight ends. Veteran Benjamin Watson has been the primary tight end this season with Josh Hill playing about 20 percent of offensive snaps. Watson has seven catches in two games. “I can play better, definitely, make more plays, do more,” Watson said. “That’s the goal. The goal is always to get better, so I definitely feel like I can get better.” Drew Brees uncharacteristically missed a wide open Watson in the end zone in the first quarter on Sunday.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Ryan Fitzpatrick is guaranteed only one more start before Jameis Winston’s suspension ends. Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter is not planning to commit to either one until he’s required to do so; Winston can be activated Tuesday, one day after Tampa hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers on “Monday Night Football.” Fitzpatrick has nine of the team’s 10 touchdowns (one rushing) in two games and completed 78.7 percent of his passes entering Week 3, good for a passer rating of 151.5. A third stellar showing against a Steelers defense lit up for 42 points by second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs last week could shift the impending decision. “Right now we’re going to start working on Pittsburgh, and that’s all that matters right now,” Koetter said. “Everything else is in the future because it could all change just like that.”

NFC West
Arizona Cardinals: At 0-2 with the league’s second-worst point differential (minus-52), the Cardinals don’t have a lot to hang their hats on, but there could be reinforcements coming Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Tight end Jermaine Gresham and defensive end Markus Golden, who are each returning from serious injuries sustained in 2017, returned to a full practice Wednesday for the first time this season. “That is a major plus when you are talking about a team that is 0-2, that needs a spark, needs some energy,” coach Steve Wilks said. “Those two guys definitely bring that, particularly Jermaine. Very vocal, high-strung guy. Loves to compete, is going to get his teammates going. And Markus is the same way. I can’t wait to get those guys back out there, and hopefully it’s this week.”

Los Angeles Rams: After adding three players with a combined 12 Pro Bowl nods to their name (five each for Ndamukong Suh and Aqib Talib, two for Marcus Peters) this offseason, the Rams’ defense is off to a scorching start. The unit has allowed the fewest points (13) and first downs (25) in the NFL while ranking third in yards per game, fourth in interception rate and fifth in yards per play. Talib and Peters have been particularly special, allowing just 37 yards combined through two weeks, per Pro Football Focus. This week, they face a familiar foe in Philip Rivers, whom Talib has intercepted once and Peters has intercepted four times, more than he’s victimized any other QB. “I’d put ’em up there with the top corners in the league, both those guys,” Rivers said Wednesday.

San Francisco 49ers: After serving a two-game suspension, middle linebacker Reuben Foster returns to the team this week, an addition that coach Kyle Shanahan expects to make a major difference. “Reuben’s one of our best players,” Shanahan said Wednesday. “Just having his presence out there, just from a leadership standpoint, guys gravitate to him. We really enjoy having him around.” Shanahan added that Foster “seems great mentally” and should be in good shape after two weeks off. The team has not decided yet how to use Foster with fellow linebackers Malcolm Smith, who is returning from a hamstring injury, and rookie Fred Warner, who started in Foster’s absence and is second in the NFL with 22 tackles.

Seattle Seahawks: After opening the season with two road losses, the Seahawks return to CenturyLink Field to host the Dallas Cowboys this week, and coach Pete Carroll can’t wait to get back in front of the raucous home crowd. “It’ll be tremendous to come home,” he said Tuesday on 710 ESPN Seattle. “I hope the 12s will be jacked and help us out and give us the kind of feeling so we can take advantage of the pass rush and those kinds of things.” Carroll also hopes the team will be closer to full strength, with linebackers Bobby Wagner (groin) and K.J. Wright (knee) both having “a chance to play,” and guard D.J. Fluker “pretty darn close” to a return.

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour: Top 5 Win/or/Lose?

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ATLANTA – Thirty of the world’s best golfers have descended upon East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta for this week’s season-ending Tour Championship.

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Justin Thomas

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However, only five hold their FedEx Cup championship destinies in their own hands, with the other 25 needing a victory in the Tour Championship and some help to claim the $10 million playoff prize.

Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose, Tony Finau, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas know all they need to do is win this week. Take 5 looks at why each will — or won’t — claim the ultimate PGA Tour bounty.

5. Justin Thomas
Thomas will win because: Expectations are tempered after he showed up to East Lake wearing a bandage on his wrist, saying he took last week off after suffering the injury at the BMW Championship. Sometimes the most dangerous athletes are the ones forced to take some pressure off the gas and play within themselves. Perhaps the break from pounding balls last week was just the mental rest Thomas needed after a busy summer.

Thomas won’t win because: No one has successfully defended a FedEx Cup title. In fact, only Tiger Woods has won more than one, and that came nine years ago. Oh, and there’s the chance the injury is a very real factor and Thomas will have to make some choices in order to be ready for next week’s Ryder Cup.

4. Dustin Johnson
Johnson will win because: The FedEx Cup is one of the glaring omissions from his resume. He not only lost his No. 1 ranking two weeks ago — he dropped to No. 3. The pressure to hold onto the top spot is off, and he can let it rip. Arguably no one has a better all-around game than Johnson, yet somehow he enters this week as a dark horse.

Johnson won’t win because: He tied for 17th at East Lake last year and while he has played solidly at times during the playoffs, D.J. has struggled to put together four solid rounds over the past month. Despite his one U.S. Open title, there are lingering questions about his play down the stretch while in contention on Sundays.

3. Tony Finau
Finau will win because: He has finished in the top eight in each of the first three playoff events and few have been as consistent all summer as Finau. East Lake is a Par 70, but a long one at 7,385 yards. He tied for seventh here last year, and a good week with the driver should have the bomber sniffing contention again.

Finau won’t win because: Well, because he hasn’t all season. Finau has 11 top-10s on the 2017-18 season, but the 6-foot-4 Salt Lake City native has only one career victory, at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open.

2. Justin Rose
Rose will win because: Newly minted as the No. 1 player in the world, Rose admitted he is motivated to hold onto that ranking through the end of the year. He has a victory at the Fort Worth Invitational, top-20s at all four majors and two playoff runner-up finishes in 2018 and finished T10 at last year’s Tour Championship.

Rose won’t win because: Nerves. He admitted the thought of claiming No. 1 was on his mind when he bogeyed the 18th hole — twice — to finish second at the BMW Championship. Short putting woes have dogged Rose for years in pressure situations, and there’s nothing like the No. 1 ranking and $10 million at stake to test your hands standing over a 5-footer on 18.

1. Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau will win because: He’s the hottest golfer on the planet and has already smashed his way into elite status since his win at the Memorial in June. DeChambeau won the first two legs of the playoffs, then admirably tied for 19th at the BMW while playing on fumes. He’s a notoriously hard worker, and proved his strong mental game by overcoming some adversity late in the summer to put together the best stretch of golf in his career.

DeChambeau won’t win because: This is all new territory and there’s a ton at stake. It’s hard to win three tournaments in a year, much less do it over a five-week stretch against a motivated field of the best players in the world trying to close the season out with a bang.

There’s no shame in DeChambeau not winning this week, especially if the consolation is building momentum toward his Ryder Cup debut.

-By Field Level Media

No Magic in Bronx

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NY Yankees 10, Boston 1

When: 7:05 PM ET, Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
Attendance: 43,297
Recap for Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media
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BRONX – Luke Voit went 4-for-4 with homers in consecutive at-bats off David Price, and the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 10-1 Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, preventing their rivals from clinching the American League East title.

Voit hit a solo homer to right to start the fourth inning and give the Yankees (93-58) a 4-0 lead. In his next at-bat, the burly first baseman hit a two-run homer into the first row of the right field seats — in nearly the same spot as his first — for a 6-1 edge.

After replay confirmed that a fan did not interfere by reaching over, Voit’s second homer knocked out Price (15-7).

It was Voit’s second career multi-homer game. In 29 games as a Yankee, he has nine homers and 20 RBIs. Voit’s second homer also was New York’s 245th, tying the Yankees’ single-season record set in 2012.

Voit also singled twice and set a career high with his four hits.

Rookie Miguel Andujar hit his 25th homer in the second off Price. Aaron Hicks hit a two-run triple in the sixth off Joe Kelly and added an RBI single in the eighth against William Cuevas.

Aaron Judge went 1-for-4 in his second game back in the lineup from a broken right wrist. Judge reached on a two-run error by third baseman Eduardo Nunez in the second inning, and he scored on the Hicks triple after singling off Kelly.

New York’s Luis Severino (18-8) won for the first time in four starts by pitching one-run ball for seven innings. The right-hander allowed an RBI single in the fifth to Sandy Leon among six hits. He struck out six and walked one.

The Red Sox (103-49) maintain a magic number of two to clinch their third straight division title and 10th overall.

Price dropped to 0-6 at Yankee Stadium since joining the Red Sox. He was tagged for six runs (four earned) on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. Price walked four and fanned two. He was unable to win his seventh straight decision and absorbed his first loss since lasting 3 1/3 innings in the Bronx on July 1.

Mookie Betts returned to Boston’s lineup after sitting out Tuesday to rest his left side. He started at designated hitter and went 0-for-4 with a walk.

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour Championship

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PGA TOUR
LAST WEEK: OFF.

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THIS WEEK: Tour Championship, Sept. 20-23
East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta (Par 70, 7,385 yards)
Purse: $9 million (Winner: $1.62M); FedEx Cup champion wins $10M bonus
Defending champion: Xander Schauffele
Television: Thursday-Friday, 1-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30-6:30 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, Noon-1:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 1:30-6 p.m. (NBC)
Any of the top five players in the FedEx Cup standings who win the Tour Championship automatically will win the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus. If a player outside of the top five wins, the FedEx Cup champion will be determined by a points formula. The top five entering East Lake are Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose, Tony Finau, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas. … Thomas is seeking to become the first player to successfully defend a FedEx Cup title. … Tiger Woods (2007, ’09) is the only player to win the FedEx Cup twice. He qualified for the Tour Championship for the first time since 2013 and enters the week No. 20 in the standings. The lowest-seeded player to win the FedEx Cup was Bill Haas (No. 25) in 2011. … 2015 FedEx Cup champion Jordan Spieth missed the cut for East Lake and is the only member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team not in this week’s field. … The playoffs will be trimmed to three events next year.
NEXT WEEK: Ryder Cup, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France

More Drama in Foxboro

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FOXBORO – A new book about New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick gives the latest glimpse into his allegedly rocky relationship with star quarterback Tom Brady.

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According to “Belichick: The Making of the Greatest Football Coach of All Time,” by ESPN writer Ian O’Connor, Brady had a tough time deciding whether to return to the Patriots this season.

“If you’re married 18 years to a grouchy person who gets under your skin and never compliments you, after a while you want to divorce him,” a source told O’Connor after the 2017 season. “Tom knows Bill is the best coach in the league, but he’s had enough of him. If Tom could, I think he would divorce him.”

Late last season, multiple media outlets reported about a rift between Brady and Belichick, reportedly over the team’s treatment of Brady’s personal trainer, Alex Guerrero. The Patriots reportedly banned Guerrero from the sideline, took away his office at Gillette Stadium and no longer allowed him to fly with the team.

Guerrero reportedly has been back in the team’s good graces this season.

O’Connor wrote of Brady’s offseason decision-making, “But in the end, even if he wanted to, Brady could not walk away from the game, and he could not ask for a trade. The moment Belichick moved (Jimmy) Garoppolo to San Francisco, and banked on Brady’s oft-stated desire to play at least into his mid-forties, was the moment Brady was virtually locked into suiting up next season and beyond. Had he retired or requested a trade, he would have risked turning an adoring New England public into an angry mob.”

The book also alleges that Brady was unhappy about Belichick’s response to the Deflategate scandal.

A close friend of Brady told O’Connor, “I thought Bill handled it terribly, especially when it involved a guy who’d done everything to help your career as a coach, and you hung him out to dry.”

Belichick, 66, had a 36-44 record in five seasons as the Cleveland Browns coach before starting his legendary run in New England. Since taking over in Foxborough in 2000, he has a 215-75 regular-season mark with the Patriots.

He and Brady have reached eight Super Bowls, winning five championships.

–Field Level Media

NLL: “Who’s Got Next?”

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HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA – (Staff Report with Information from Official NLL News Release) – In 1997, the WNBA launched to great fanfare with the marketing slogan of “Who’s Got Next?” It was a clever campaign, despite the obvious grammatical miscue, as it depicted a popular hoops playground saying that fit quite well with the women’s sports movement, shining brightly after the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

For the sport of indoor lacrosse, National Lacrosse League franchise movement is an issue but the league is working hard to fit strong ownership groups together with loyal and passionate fan bases in large, mid-size and small cities throughout North America.

As the 2018-19 winter NLL season fast approaches, the question for the NLL and its team owners and league Commissioner Nik Sakiewicz , is “Who’s Got Next?”

Will it be Dallas?

Will it be a brand new franchise for a brand new building that will open next year and be christened by the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco?

Might it be the recently renovated and remodeled Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, forever a hotbed for the traditional lacrosse game and a fervent breeding ground for lax players – both male and female – that stock collegiate rosters from Maine to Southern California?

Surprise! It’s Halifax.

The National Lacrosse League, North America’s prominent indoor lacrosse league, recently announced it awarded a franchise to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Curt Styres, the current owner and general manager of the Rochester Knighthawks, will relocate his team and received approval from the NLL Board of Governors.

For the upcoming season, Rochester team’s full roster will remain intact and will play at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester. The first game in Halifax, under a new team name for the 2019-20 season, will be played at Scotiabank Centre in December 2019.

In addition, the league announced the sale of the Rochester franchise, inclusive of the brand, to Terry and Kim Pegula starting with the 2019-20 season. They are planning to field an expansion team for the 2019-20 NLL season.

“We are very proud to welcome the great city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, as a National Lacrosse League franchise,” said the NLL’s Sakiewicz. “Known as a great events city with a passionate, loyal, and hungry fan base for major league sports, Halifax proved to be an ideal location for our league’s expansion in Canada.

“Curt Styres is one of our longest standing and most passionate owners and I am sure he will bring his knack for winning to this great City just as he has in Rochester. This marks yet another exciting step towards the execution of our 5-year plan.”

The Halifax franchise will begin play during the 2019-20 season at Scotiabank Centre, with many of the players on the current Knighthawks roster. The season will include nine regular season home games, pre-season and playoff games.

“When I took over ownership of the Knighthawks on June 19, 2008, I said that when I left, I wanted to leave the team in better shape than I found it,” said Styres. “I believe we have done that as we have added three banners to the rafters as NLL champions and made a fourth trip to the Finals last season. We have also created hundreds of new fans and introduced the game to thousands of children across western New York State. Again, I cannot put into words how proud I am of everything that WE have accomplished together.”

Finishing the regular season with a 10-8 record, the 2017-18 Knighthawks were crowned East Division champions and advanced to the franchise’s first NLL Finals appearance since 2014. Though falling short to the defending champion Saskatchewan Rush in Game 3, the franchise was still awarded for their stellar season. Four members of the Knighthawks took home NLL season awards.

“Our city, partners and customers are ready for the unprecedented mix of sport and entertainment the NLL will bring to Halifax,” said Carrie Cussons, president & CEO of Scotiabank Centre. “We’re committed to providing our customers with a diverse mix of events and I can’t think of a better addition than professional lacrosse. We’re thrilled to welcome the NLL and Curt Styres to Halifax and can’t wait for the 2019-20 season.”

Sox Scout: Post Clinch

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Boston at Cleveland

When: 7:10 PM ET, Friday, September 21, 2018
Where: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
Preview for Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote
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CLEVELAND – The Boston Red Sox have wrapped up their third consecutive American League East title and look to clinch the best record in the majors. Boston has a magic number of two over the Houston Astros in that quest as its opens a three-game series against the host Cleveland Indians on Friday.

The Red Sox (104-49) won the AL East crown with an 11-6 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday and need one more victory to tie the franchise mark held by the 1912 World Series championship team. Mookie Betts hit his 30th homer while going 4-for-5 with five RBIs in the victory, while J.D. Martinez drove in his major league-leading 124th run. Cleveland (85-67) lost 5-4 in 11 innings to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday to fall to 8-10 in September. Standout right-hander Trevor Bauer returns from the broken right fibula he suffered on August 11 and is expected to pitch the first two innings, while Boston ace Chris Sale takes the mound and will be limited to 65 pitches as he attempts to rebuild his strength after recent shoulder soreness.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, ESPN2, NESN (Boston), SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH Chris Sale (12-4, 1.92 ERA) vs. Indians RH Trevor Bauer (12-6, 2.22)

Sale pitched three innings of one-hit scoreless ball in his last tuneup against the New York Mets on Sunday. The 29-year-old has won seven consecutive decisions since losing to the Chicago White Sox on June 8. Sale hasn’t faced Cleveland this season and is 5-8 with a 4.78 ERA in 29 career appearances (18 starts) versus the Indians.

Bauer won four consecutive starts and five straight decisions before going on the disabled list with the leg injury. The 27-year-old has stood out at home, posting a 6-1 record with a 1.87 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 12 starts. Bauer is 2-2 with a horrific 8.24 ERA in five career appearances (four starts) against the Red Sox.

WALK-OFFS

1. Red Sox SS Xander Bogaerts is 2-for-18 over the past five games.

2. Cleveland LF Michael Brantley had three hits Thursday for his fifth multi-hit outing in his last nine appearances.

3. Boston INF Eduardo Nunez (hamstring), who was injured Wednesday, isn’t expected to return until early next week.

PREDICTION: Indians 6, Red Sox 5

Billie Jean King Joins Dodgers

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CHAVEZ RAVINE – International Tennis Hall of Famer Billie Jean King and partner Ilana Kloss have become members of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ ownership group, the team announced Thursday. The Dodgers plan to introduce the tennis icon King and Kloss during a press conference at Dodger Stadium on Friday.

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Dodgers Stadium

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The 74-year-old King, who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 39 overall in a legendary career on and off the court, grew up as a Dodgers fan in Long Beach, Calif., and expressed her excitement to become minority owners along with her partner Kloss.

“I’m totally going to pinch myself … I’m pinching myself already,'” King told the Los Angeles Times Thursday from her New York residence. “When you’re born and raised a Southern California kid, you dream your dreams of coming back, but how could I have ever dreamed of something like this? Joining the Dodgers is my life coming full circle.'”

In a statement released by the Dodgers, King praised the organization for being a franchise that demonstrated inclusion, from breaking the color barrier with Jackie Robinson and the team’s many foreign player additions through the years.

“[Dodger Owner & Chairman] Mark Walter and the entire Dodger organization are a first-class operation that have proven to be leaders in sports on and off the field of play,” she said. “We share a commitment to equality and inclusion, including the LGBTQ community, and we hope to further expand the team’s efforts in those areas as we move forward together.”

“We’re excited and proud to welcome two trailblazing athletes, social advocates and businesswomen, Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss, to our ownership group,” said Walter. “Just like Billie Jean and Ilana, the Dodger franchise has a history of and commitment to breaking barriers, inclusion and winning, and we’re looking forward to them continuing to promote these attributes within our organization.”

In addition to joining the Guggenheim Baseball Management Group headed by Walter and including Lakers legend Magic Johnson, King and Kloss also hope to become members of the LA Sparks’ ownership group, pending WNBA approval.

King’s younger brother, Randy Moffitt, pitched 12 major-league seasons, 10 of them with the rival San Francisco Giants from 1972-81. He also pitched for the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays and went 43-52 with a 3.65 ERA and 96 saves.

–Field Level Media

2018 AL EAST CHAMPS

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Boston 11, NY Yankees 6

When: 7:05 PM ET, Thursday, September 20, 2018
Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
Recap for Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media
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BRONX – Mookie Betts helped the Boston Red Sox clinch their third straight American League East title by collecting four hits, including a towering three-run homer off Aroldis Chapman with two outs in the eighth inning in an 11-6 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium.
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“We haven’t won what we want to win yet,” Betts said after the game.

 

Betts tied a season high with five RBIs to help the Red Sox (104-49) win their 10th division crown and clinch for the second time in three years in New York. However, per Elias Sports Bureau, it marks the first time the Red Sox ever clinched a division by beating the Yankees.

“To be able to do it here, obviously, I know the history. It feels great,” Red Sox first-year manager Alex Cora said.

Two years ago, the Red Sox won the division title despite Joe Kelly allowing a game-ending grand slam to Mark Teixeira because Toronto lost to Baltimore. This time, Boston achieved it without any outside help, taking over first place for good on July 2.

New York slugger Giancarlo Stanton said of the Red Sox, “They’ve had a solid year. You can’t deny that. You never want it to be here that they get it. We gave it what we got. They can celebrate now. We got time to celebrate later.”

After Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a game-tying homer off Chad Green (8-3) to start the seventh, Xander Bogaerts lifted a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to put the Red Sox ahead. Bogaerts’ fly ball also scored another run when center fielder Aaron Hicks committed a throwing error on the throw to third.

Betts padded the lead an inning later with a drive into the left field seats on a 1-1 slider by Aroldis Chapman. His third homer against the Yankees this year gave him 15 RBIs in the season series.

The Yankees held a 6-4 lead after Stanton hit a grand slam into the right field seats with two outs in the fourth off Heath Hembree.

New York (93-59) saw its lead over the Oakland A’s reduced to 1 1/2 games in the race for the top AL wild card.

Before allowing the Yankees to take a lead, the Red Sox built a 3-0 lead thanks to Betts. Boston’s designated hitter opened the game with a double off Masahiro Tanaka, scored on J.D. Martinez’s RBI single and produced a two-run single in the third.

New York’s Luke Voit followed a second-inning walk to Gary Sanchez with a homer to make it a one-run game. Voit became the 12th Yankee to reach double digits in homers, setting a major record, and his latest long ball broke New York’s single-season mark for homers of 245, previously set in 2012.

Brock Holt homered in the third to give the Red Sox a 4-2 lead.

Neither starter made it past the fifth in a laborious game.

Boston left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez allowed five runs on four hits in 3 2/3 innings. He issued a career-high seven walks and was lifted right before Stanton’s grand slam.

Four relievers followed Rodriguez, and Steven Wright (3-1) pitched three scoreless innings for the win. Craig Kimbrel secured the title by striking out Stanton.

Tanaka allowed five runs on eight hits in four-plus innings. He was pulled after allowing hits to Betts and Andrew Benintendi to open the fifth.

–Field Level Media

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