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Archives for April 12, 2019

Two in a Row

April 12, 2019 by Digital Sports Desk

Boston Red Sox 6, Baltimore Orioles 4

BOSTON – Eduardo Rodriguez became the first Red Sox starter to win a game this season as Boston held off the visiting Baltimore Orioles 6-4 on Friday night in the opener of a four-game series.

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Rodriguez, who entered the seventh having allowed just one hit, gave up a two-run home run to Dwight Smith Jr. with two outs in the inning, ending his night. He gave up the two runs on three hits, striking out eight and walking none.

Entering the game, Boston starters had been 0-8 with a league-worst 8.79 ERA this year. The Red Sox (5-9) are on their first winning streak of the season following a walk-off victory over Toronto a night earlier.

The Orioles (5-9) dropped their fourth straight game and have lost eight of their last nine following a 4-1 start. Baltimore scored two in the ninth on a Renato Nunez homer off Tyler Thornburg, and Ryan Brasier came in to get the final two outs for his third save.

Chris Davis made the final out as a pinch hitter to extend his hitless streak to 54 at-bats, a record for a non-pitcher.

Rodriguez, who began the day 0-2 with a 12.38 ERA, appeared locked in from the start. He struck out two in the first inning, only throwing fastballs and consistently hitting 95 mph.

The Red Sox offense broke through in the third against Orioles starter David Hess on Andrew Benintendi’s first home run of the season. Boston added two more runs in the fourth, with Xander Bogaerts doubling in one and Eduardo Nunez sending him home with a single.

Hess (1-2) gave up three runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out three.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, continued to cruise. He retired the first 14 batters he faced before Hanser Alberto singled to left. After getting the first out of the seventh, though, Trey Mancini doubled on a ball that appeared to deceive Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts, giving the Orioles their first scoring threat.

Smith then pulled a 1-2 changeup down the line in right for his second homer in as many days.

Boston added an insurance run in seventh before pulling away with two in the eighth. Jackie Bradley Jr., who helped preserve the lead with a leaping grab at the wall with a runner on to end the top of the eighth, had a sacrifice fly as part of the rally.

NOTES: The four-game series between the Red Sox and the Orioles continues this weekend with a pair of 1:05pm EDT starts on both Saturday and Sunday at Fenway. On Saturday, RHP Rick Porcello (0-2, 13.50 ERA) throws for Boston while Baltimore RHP Andrew Cashner (2-1, 5.28 ERA) goes for the O’s. On Sunday, LHP David Price (0-1, 6.00 ERA) will take the mound for the Sox while LHP John Means (1-1, 2.08 ERA) pitches for Baltimore. … On Monday, Patriots’ Day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston’s starter is TBA but Baltimore is scheduled to toss RHP Dan Straily (0-1, 19.29 ERA). … Monday’s game has a first pitch of 11am to coincide with the famed Boston Marathon but, like last year, the ballgame is in jeopardy of a rainout, as the current forecast is calling for a 100% chance of rain most of the day. … J.D. Martinez is two home runs shy of hitting 200 for his career. Interestingly, it took him 609 games and 2,229 at-bats to reach his 100th HR (22.3 AB/HR), but he’s hit 98 in his last 327 games and 1,217 at-bats (12.4 AB/HR). Martinez has batted .333 (AVG) over his last 79 games at Fenway Park. … Martinez (11.54), Joey Gallo (11.60) and Mike Trout (11.75) are the only major leaguers under 12 ABs/HR.

-Staff and Field Level Media Report

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Filed Under: Boston Red Sox, Boston Sports, MLB Tagged With: Boston Red Sox, MLBB

Five Tied for Lead at Masters

April 12, 2019 by Digital Sports Desk

AUGUSTA – Tiger Woods made a move and that garnered much of the attention during the second round of the Masters. However, others did their parts to stake a claim to the top spot at Augusta National Golf Club.

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Italy’s Francesco Molinari shot a bogey-free, 5-under-par 67 on Friday to share first place going into the weekend in Augusta.

Brooks Koepka, South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen and Australia’s Jason Day and Adam Scott are level with Molinari at 7-under-par 137. Oosthuizen posted a 66 for one of the best scores of the round.

However, a big stir occurred late in the day when Woods pulled within one of the leaders. His 68 left him at 6 under in a four-way tie for sixth behind the top group.

Woods had pars on the final three holes with chances to make an even bigger splash.

He used 30 putts on his round. Through two rounds, he has drained five putts of 20 or more feet — more than any other golfer in the field.

It all could be coming together for Woods.

“I feel like my body is good and my game is good, it’s sharp,” he said. “So just got to go out there and execute and I got to do the proper things, and if I do miss, I miss in a proper spot.”

Scott surged to the front with an eagle on No. 15 before giving back a stroke with a bogey on the next hole. He ended up with a 68.

“I know where and when my game is coming into really good shape, and I can see it coming back,” Scott said. “I think I got some good confirmation.”

Day carded five birdies overall, including birdies on all four of the par-5 holes. His only two bogeys came on the back nine en route to a 67.

“The whole goal is to try and take advantage of the par 5s here this week,” Day said.

Day dealt with a sore back that limited some of his flexibility. His wife told him that he couldn’t use it as an excuse while at a major.

“You need to suck it up,” Day said was the message from his wife, Ellie.

Others weren’t surprised that Day pulled it together.

“He seems to have a bad back all the time and plays great,” Scott said, “so I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.”

Koepka, a first-round co-leader, had a slow start to the second round but finished at 71.

Koepka was 2 over on the day through six holes, with a double bogey, two bogeys and two birdies. His errant tee shot on the second hole led to the double bogey. He recovered to produce nine pars and three birdies over his last 12 holes.

“Understanding where to miss it,” Koepka said. “I think sometimes maybe I was a little bit too aggressive. I’m super aggressive at a normal event, and that kind of backfires sometimes. But at a major, just know there’s 72 holes, so I kind of let things brush off my back a little bit easier.”

Dustin Johnson (70), Xander Schauffele (65) South Africa’s Justin Harding (69) are even with Woods at 6 under.

Harding made four consecutive birdies (Nos. 12-15) and added another on No. 17 before finishing with a bogey.

Play was suspended for about a half-hour shortly after 5 p.m. EDT because of thunderstorms in the area.

Woods made a putt of about 40 feet on No. 9, then added a birdie on No. 11 before play was stopped.

Spain’s Jon Rahm was at 5 under for the tournament after 11 holes but never made another move and was stuck two strokes behind the leaders following a 70.

England’s Ian Poulter had grabbed the lead at 4 under early in the day, but he stalled with nine straight pars. Poulter shot 1 under on Friday to go to 5 under for the tournament after briefly reaching 6 under.

Phil Mickelson remained within range as he was 1 over for the round and at 4 under for the tournament.

Patton Kizzire was among the early finishers, notching a 70 for the second day in a row. His 4-under total made him the leader in the clubhouse before some golfers teed off for the second round.

Matt Kuchar shot 3 under for the round to join Kizzire and Mickelson among 4-under finishers.

First-round co-leader Bryson DeChambeau dipped to 3 under after notching a 75.

Defending champion Patrick Reed shot 70 to reach 1 under for the tournament and make the cut.

–Field Level Media

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Filed Under: PGA TOUR Tagged With: Masters, PGA Tour, The Masters

Red Sox Game Scout

April 12, 2019 by Digital Sports Desk

Baltimore Orioles at Boston

When: 7:10 PM ET, Friday, April 12, 2019
Where: Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Preview for Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote

BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox created a spark with a comeback victory last night and hope to ignite their first winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Baltimore Orioles for the opener of their four-game series. The Red Sox trailed by five runs early against Toronto on Thursday and entered the ninth inning down by one before rallying for a 7-6 victory to avoid losing their fourth straight series.

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Rafael Devers singled home the winning run and has collected four hits in his last two games to give Boston three regulars batting at least .270 as he joined J.D. Martinez (hits in 12 of 13 games) and Mitch Moreland, who has homered in four straight contests in which he had an official at-bat. Eduardo Rodriguez will try to begin changing the trend after two rough outings when he takes the mound for the Red Sox in the series opener as the Orioles counter with David Hess, who has producd one good start and one poor one thus far in 2019. Baltimore has lost seven of its last eight games after a 4-1 start, giving up 31 runs while dropping the past three, and slugger Chris Davis has gone 0-for-32 this season to extend his major-league record to 53 at-bats without a hit.

“It is what it is,” Davis told the Baltimore Sun. “The more I try to go out there and do, or the more I try to shoulder this all by myself, the harder it gets. I have to trust the process, I have to trust the work I’m putting in. At some point, it’s going to turn around.”

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MASN (Baltimore), NESN (Boston)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH David Hess (1-1, 2.70 ERA) vs. Red Sox LH Eduardo Rodriguez (0-2, 12.38)

Hess suffered the loss against the New York Yankees on Sunday, when he allowed four runs and five hits – three homers – in five innings after producing two solid outings to open the season. The 25-year-old Tennessean limited his first two opponents to one hit with 10 strikeouts over 8 1/3 scoreless frames. Martinez is 2-for-2 with a pair of homers and two walks versus Hess, who went 0-2 with an 11.25 ERA in two turns against Boston last year.

Rodriguez has played a big role in Boston’s early pitching struggles by permitting 12 runs – 11 earned – over eight innings in his first two starts of 2019. The 26-year-old Venezuelan has struck out seven and walked six in the early going after registering 146 strikeouts and issuing just 45 free passes last year. Joey Rickard is 5-for-15 with a homer against Rodriguez, who went 3-0 with a 1.31 ERA in five games (three starts) versus Baltimore in 2018.

WALK-OFFS

1. Orioles 1B-OF-DH Trey Mancini has launched six homers in his last 11 games and leads the team with 12 RBIs.

2. Boston 2B Dustin Pedroia, who was limited to three games last season due to injuries, has notched hits in his first two contests of 2019.

3. Baltimore INF Jonathan Villar has hit safely in 11 of his first 13 games and driven in eight runs.

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Filed Under: Boston Red Sox, Boston Sports, MLB Tagged With: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, MLB

Elevated: Global Rise of the N.B.A.

April 12, 2019 by Digital Sports Desk

By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief

BOSTON – As followers of the National Basketball Association, we’re accustomed to having a guide to walk us through the vast wilderness of games, events, playoffs, personalities and information. N.B.A. broadcasts on TNT are guided by the able hands and voice of Ernie Johnson Jr. and Marv Albert while the venerable Mike Breen of ABC/ESPN takes us through the Finals.

As the NBA enjoyed an amazing period of growth from 1980 through the present day, much was written about the rise to prominence and global awareness/slash/relevance of the League.

In a new book – Elevated: The Global Rise of the N.B.A., veteran New York Times sports columnist Harvey Araton, much like Ernie or Mike Breen, acts like the most accompanying Maître D’ and takes us on a tour of more than four decades of N.B.A. history through his work of hoop art in editing and annotating the very stories that were written – usually from Courtside and right on-site – by the award-winning Times staff.

Coinciding with the relatively short timeframe of the N.B.A.’s history was an incredible changing of the times, both on and off the court.

“The most telling thing I came away with from the book is while the sport has changed so dramatically and the game looks so different from when it began, many of the same issues–especially how the sport remains a virtual laboratory with glass walls for social and cultural issues that sometimes plague the NBA but mostly lift its players above other team-sport athletes in terms of their visibility and popularity,” said Araton when he was asked for the “a’ha moment from his work. “One moment that made me stop and think was when I paired a George Vecsey column on the Lakers’ 1984 visit to the White House with a John Branch piece comparing the NBA’s dealing with Trump as opposed to the NFL’s. The Vecsey column in particular saddened me because it’s a look back that makes painfully clear how polarized and divided we have become as a nation.”

Yes, the times changed but Araton was on it.

To his credit, he chose to start with the simplest but most important milestone in N.B.A. history when he began the 483-page journey with a chapter on the Godfathers of the Modern Game, specifically underlining the impact of the late Danny Biasone, the League pioneer and franchise owner of the Syracuse Nationals, who orchestrated the concept and eventual adaptation of the 24-second shot clock.

In that opening chapter, Araton highlights the very foundation on which the League was built, whether it be through the lens of Boston Celtics team patriarch Arnold “Red” Auerbach or the League’s first Commissioner, Maurice Podoloff.

The NBA is sometimes sliced into decades or various note eras of time, and in Elevated, Araton covered it all.

“The book is nearly 500 pages, which allowed me more leeway than I initially thought I would have,” noted Araton.  “That said, while we wanted to cover the obvious generational periods–Bird/Magic, Michael, etc–we didn’t want it to be too linear.

“Many of the chapters address the various eras, per se, as well as how the league impacted on social issues, the entertainment culture and the like. For instance, one chapter pairs the death of Len Bias and effect it had on the dangers of cocaine use with the story of Micheal Ray Richardson’s banishment from the league but ultimate triumph over drugs,” he added.

As the decades of basketball march on, Araton paves the way and then turns it over to the NYT columnist or reporter who was on the scene. In each instance, Araton carefully chose the iconic moments in the N.B.A.’s history.

One such example are the words written by NYT great George Vecsey when he witnessed “Bird Stole the Ball,” back in May of 1987.

I can remember helping Vecsey situate himself, alone, in a small locker room at the old Boston Garden to complete his column that night. The crowd frenzy, crowded working conditions and general hustle and bustle forced Vecsey to leave the auxilary work area and sit on the hard staircase in the corners of the long-gone building. His column that night told a better story.

If there’s one thing that sets this book apart from others written, it’s the fact Araton, recognized by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a Curt Gowdy Award winner as one of basketball’s very best reporters/columnists/story-tellers, was THERE for so-many of the moments.

Within Elevated, Araton provides insight, perspective and keen perception, and – when he wasn’t there himself – he tells the story through the solid reporting of his colleagues and contributors to this great book on the N.B.A.’s most interesting and glorious period in time.

Topics like: The NBA on NBC, the rise of Michael Jordan, NBA lock-outs/work stoppages, Yao Ming, the Olympics, controversial issues such as the New York Knicks fielding their first “All-Black” team or the N.B.A. having to face violence and racial bias (former team owner Donald Sterling), Araton touches the rim on every single topic.

Araton even reaches to the 1979 NCAA Final Four in Salt Lake City to have the great Malcolm Moran provide the memories from a column entitled, “Johnson: Magical by Nature.” 

What many of us can’t believe? That story was written 40 years go!

What can the younger generation believe? 

Simply buy the book to find out.

Here’s what Araton thinks: 

“The take away for those who buy this book, I believe, is that it will be the most entertaining and penetrating basketball history book they will come across,” he said.  “With chapter introductions, author postscripts and the way the book is structured, you can read it the old fashioned way, start to finish, or browse it, depending on what catches your eye.” 

Our suggestion? As you watch the 2019 NBA Playoffs unfold, you might do so by reading a single chapter of Araton’s book every night from Game 1 of the First Round right through the 2019 NBA Finals. To do so, simply order the book HERE.

Note: The author of this book review worked at the N.B.A. from 1980-2007.

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Filed Under: NBA, OPINION, SPORTS BIZ Tagged With: NBA, Sports Biz

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