Digital Sports Desk

The online destination for sports purists

Red Sox Can’t Catch Rays

by

Tampa Bay 5, Boston 4
When: 7:10 PM ET, Friday, May 12, 2017
Where: Fenway Park, Boston
Attendance: 36,496
Special to Digital Sports Desk by The Sports Xchange

BOSTON — Alex Cobb set the tone with six one-hit innings for the Tampa Bay Rays, and the bullpen took it from there. Jose Alvarado, Erasmo Ramirez, Danny Farquhar and Alex Colome combined for 2 2/3 scoreless innings after Cobb gave up four in the seventh to lift the Rays to a 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.”The pitchers we asked to come in there did a really, really nice job,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

 Alex Cobb

Boston native Cobb (3-3) allowed four runs (three earned), four hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.

“It was a good day through six innings for sure, and the seventh inning got away a bit. … I was in the locker room before I knew what happened,” Cobb said of his outing.

Colome capped the win with a four-out save, his ninth of the season.

Evan Longoria added a two-run homer, Tim Beckham had two RBIs and Corey Dickerson drove in one run for Tampa Bay (18-20), which had lost six of nine games coming in.

“To be able to get out of the funk we’re in, we’ve got to be able to win ballgames like that,” Cobb said.

Reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello (2-5) allowed five runs (three earned) and nine hits and punched out seven in six innings for Boston (18-17).

Porcello fell to 0-2 with a 9.58 ERA in 10 1/3 innings during two starts against Tampa Bay this season. He is 2-3 with a 2.53 ERA in 39 innings in six other outings.

“It’s just the result of some poorly executed pitches,” Porcello said of his struggles against the Rays.

Sandy Leon had two RBIs for the Red Sox and Xander Bogaerts extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a first-inning single to left field.

Despite the loss, the Red Sox offense has scored 47 runs in its last six games (7.8 per game), but the team is just 3-3 during that stretch.

“There’s been a major step forward,” Boston manager John Farrell said of his club’s offense. “We can still improve, there’s no question. Tonight we got handcuffed for the first six innings.”

While the offense is making strides, the defense still needs work. Boston had another error at third base from Josh Rutledge, its major-league-leading 13th of the season.

“It’s been a tough position for us, make no mistake about it,” Farrell said. ” … The opportunity is there for someone to step up and grab the job.”

Boston’s offense came alive in a chaotic seventh that saw Tampa Bay commit three errors.

Chris Young scored from second base on Rutledge’s soft grounder down the third base line, which Cobb threw past first baseman Logan Morrison.

Leon followed with a two-run, ground-rule double that chased Cobb. He later scored when Jackie Bradley Jr. reached as Rays second baseman Brad Miller mishandled his grounder.

Miller chased the ball into center and fired it wildly back into the infield, accounting for his second error on the play and allowing Bradley to reach second.

“We had an opportunity to really cave there, with things working against us,” Cobb said. “We were shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit.”

Bogaerts led off the Boston eighth with a double and Andrew Benintendi walked to bring up Young, who moved Bogaerts to third with a sacrifice fly to right.

Farquhar entered and struck out Mitch Moreland before Colome induced a 5-3 inning-ending groundout by Rutledge.

Colome faced no resistance in a 1-2-3 Red Sox ninth.

“Never a dull moment,” Cash quipped.

Tampa Bay struck for five runs in the middle innings.

Beckham hit a two-out, two-run single in the fourth. Dickerson added an RBI double in the fifth before Longoria’s 406-foot blast over the Green Monster in left made it 5-0.

“Just two innings where I didn’t make pitches with runners on base and I ended up getting hurt by it,” Porcello said.

NOTES: Boston DH Hanley Ramirez (right trapezius strain) did not play after leaving Wednesday’s game in Milwaukee with the injury and missing Thursday’s series finale. “(Optimistic) that he’ll be back in the lineup (Saturday),” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. … Tampa Bay RF Steven Souza Jr. (bruised right thumb) was feeling better and hoped to return Saturday or Sunday. “I (expected) him to be in there tonight if a situation presents itself,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. … Red Sox INF Marco Hernandez (left shoulder subluxation) may be headed for season-ending surgery, per Farrell. … Rays LHP Blake Snell (0-3, 3.96 ERA) opposes Red Sox LHP Chris Sale (3-2, 1.92) on Saturday. The game was moved up six hours to 1:05 p.m. ET due to anticipated sustained periods of rain. “We’d like to avoid a doubleheader … so I’m glad that they did that,” Cash said.

PGA Tour: Oosthuizen, Stanley Lead at Players Championship

by

PONTE VEDRE BEACH – (Special to Digital Sports Desk by The Sports Xchange) – Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa and American Kyle Stanley are a lot alike.
The co-leaders after two rounds at The Players Championship, Oosthuizen and Stanley are similar in their records on the PGA Tour and in their approach of taking nothing for granted heading to the weekend on the treacherous Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

Louis Oosthuizen

Oosthuizen and Stanley fired 6-under-par 66s on Friday to move to 9-under 135 and assume a two-stroke lead in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

This is the tournament professional golfers consider a fifth major because of the difficulty of the course and the overall quality of the field. It’s also one of the toughest tracks to tame when leading.

J.B. Holmes (69) is alone in third at 137 with Vijay Singh of Fiji (68) another shot in arrears and by himself in fourth at 138.
David Hearn of Canada (69), Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain (70), Patrick Cantlay (70), Ian Poulter of England and Alex Noren of Sweden (71) are tied for fifth at 139. Six players — including Jon Rahm of Spain (72), former U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson (69), Brendan Steele (71) and England’s Paul Casey (69) — are another stroke back at 140 and tied for 10th.

Oosthuizen, whose only win on the PGA Tour was at the British Open in 2010, has 13 victories worldwide, including eight on the European Tour. His round on Friday, which began on the back nine, featured six birdies and no bogeys after he collected four birdies and one bogey in the opening round on Thursday.
Oosthuizen said it was important to keep a positive mindset and stay to a predetermined strategy when tangling with the devious Stadium Course.

“The history about the tournament, the golf course, everything about it, you see it as another major week of golf,” Oosthuizen said. “For a professional, this is definitely one of the courses that you try and up your game and just give it that little bit more for the week and try and win the championship. That enough is a lot of motivation.

“It doesn’t matter what your golf game looks like. It’s a week where, like a major week, it’s all on how you mentally go about it and just stay in the moment and try your best every shot.”

Stanley, who also started on the back nine, endured more of an up-and-down round. He had two bogeys and two birdies in his first four holes (Nos. 10-13) and then birdied Nos. 15-17 in succession. Stanley added three birdies on the front nine, including on the par-5 ninth on which he hit his approach to five feet.

He has won just once (at the 2012 Waste Management Open) in 173 events and had 12 career top 10s but lost his Tour card in the 2014-15 season. Stanley said he would try to draw from the experience from that victory.

“Maybe I’ll try to harvest that a little bit — just knowing that I’ve been in the position before and was able to pull it off,” Stanley said. “But for the most part, not really. I feel like maybe I was a little bit of a different player back then. It was kind of a long time ago.

“I went a couple years there where it was pretty disappointing, but you’ve just got to keep working hard. You never really quite know when it’s going to show up or pay off. I’ve been pretty consistent about what I’ve been doing practice-wise and off the golf course. I feel like I’ve been working on a lot of the right things.”

Defending champion Jason Day forged a 72 and is at 142 along with Phil Mickelson (70), Adam Scott of Australia (72), Henrik Stenson of Sweden (70) and first-round co-leaders William McGirt (75) and Mackenzie Hughes of Canada (75).

World No. 1 Dustin Johnson followed his first-round 71 with a 73 and stands at 144, nine strokes off the lead heading into the weekend. Johnson needed 31 and 29 putts, respectively, in the first two rounds.

Among the others at 144 are Masters champion Sergio Garcia of Spain (71), Justin Thomas (71), Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (71) and Rickie Fowler (75).
Jordan Spieth, the world’s No. 5 golfer, was among the top players not making the cut, which was at 2-over 146. That list included Martin Laird of Scotland, Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela, Jim Furyk, Tony Finau and Luke Donald of England (all at 147), Marc Leishman of Australia (148), Matthew Fitzpatrick of England,

Bill Haas, Bernhard Langer of Germany (149) and Ernie Els and Charl Schwartzel of South Africa (150) and Bubba Watson and Billy Horschel (151).

“I just got a little off yesterday and came back today and hit the ball well,” said Spieth, who has missed the cut here each of the past three years.

“I gave myself a lot of chances and from those mid-range opportunities that I had, just couldn’t quite get comfortable. It’s just been on and around the greens I just haven’t quite figured it out.”

NOTES: 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett (back) withdrew after nine holes of his second round. … If Vijay Singh wins this week, he would become the oldest player to do so on the PGA Tour at 54 years, 2 months. Sam Snead currently owns the record at 52 years. … Luke List became the first player to make eagle on the par-4 12th after driving the green. His eagle putt was 14 feet, 9 inches. List still missed the cut. … Scott Piercy recorded the first-ever quintuple bogey nine on the par-4 fifth hole. … Only four of 25 first-round leaders/co-leaders (stroke play) have gone on to win in the 2016-17 season, none since Justin Thomas won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January in wire-to-wire fashion. … On Thursday, the Stadium Course played 1.27 strokes easier (72.22-73.49) than in the afternoon wave

NBA Playoffs: San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard Ready for GS Warriors

by

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Spurs All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard, still nursing a sore left ankle, is expected to return against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

Leonard, who injured his ankle Tuesday, missed the Spurs’ semifinals-clinching 114-75 win in Game 6 over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night. The Spurs got a season-high 34 points from LaMarcus Aldridge and played without Leonard and Tony Parker (torn left quadriceps).

Gregg Popovich

The Spurs made the decision to sit Leonard to get him healthy for Sunday, according to reports. He received treatment on his ankle throughout the day Thursday and spent the game in the Spurs’ locker room and not on the bench. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich announced before the game that Leonard would not play. Jonathon Simmons filled in for Leonard and scored 18 points.

“Everybody picked it up,” Popovich said after the Game 6 win. “Four, five, six guys all had good games. It wasn’t one guy scoring 40 or anything like that.

“Everybody contributed. It was a real team effort with (32) assists and just (seven) turnovers. They played well at the offensive ends with a lot of sets, and at the defensive end it was one of our best nights as far as scrambling around trying to keep up with these guys.”

Leonard walked slowly but was able to participate in the team’s shootaround on Thursday morning. The 25-year-old told reporters that he would play in Game 6 shortly after the Spurs claimed a 3-2 edge in the series following a 110-107 win on Tuesday night.

Leonard sustained the injury when he came down on the foot of Houston’s James Harden while turning to run up the court with 5:37 remaining in the third quarter of Game 5. He played half of the fourth quarter and did not take the court for overtime but still led the Spurs with 22 points and 15 rebounds.

Leonard is averaging 27.8 points on 52.4 percent shooting, 7.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists during the postseason.

Red Sox: Back in the “W” Column

by

Boston 4, Milwaukee 1
When: 1:10 PM ET, Thursday, May 11, 2017
Where: Miller Park, Milwaukee
Attendance: 26,499
Wire Service Report by The Sports Xchange
MILWAUKEE — Mookie Betts had done well during the Boston Red Sox’s first two games at Milwaukee this week, but had little to show for it as the Red Sox lost both those contests.

Mookie Betts

He had another big day Thursday, reaching base four times but also making sure Boston would avoid a sweep by blasting a three-run home run in the ninth inning to give the Red Sox a 4-1 victory over the Brewers at Miller Park.

“You don’t want to get swept,” Betts said. “We had a couple of frustrating days where we could have won a couple of ballgames, but avoiding the sweep and coming back with a little momentum is a positive.”

Betts went 2-for-3 with a double, home run and two walks Thursday and finished the series 7-for-11 with eight RBIs.

“This road trip, he’s certainly impacting the baseball,” manager John Farrell said. “No bigger than the three-run homer in the ninth to give us the lead. He’s come up big in so many situations. In the early part of the season, maybe 25 percent through, probably as big of a swing as he’s had all year for us.”

Betts opened the game with a double and scored on an error by Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar as the Red Sox put pressure on Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson early, but he limited Boston to just a run over 6 2/3 innings thanks to a pair of double plays and eight strikeouts.

Milwaukee, though, accomplished little against Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who allowed a one-out double to Keon Broxton in the first but only faced the minimum through his first five innings. He allowed just a run on five hits over six innings of work.

“Both starters were excellent,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “We were having a hard time against Rodriguez. His changeup was very effective. Jimmy was pitching very well. The first batter of the game hit a ball real hard but the was kind of the end of the hard contact. Jimmy did an outstanding job. It felt like a game that runs were going to be pretty tough to come by.”

Milwaukee’s Manny Pina hit a leadoff single in the sixth and tied the score when he came home on a double by Jonathan Villar.

Josh Rutledge singled off Nelson to open the seventh but was left stranded as Nelson retired Christian Vazquez and pinch hitter Chris Young, and Corey Knebel struck out Betts to end the inning.

The Red Sox challenged Knebel again in the eighth, loading the bases with one out but Knebel escaped by striking out Jackie Bradley Jr. and Rutledge.

“He pitched his butt off,” Counsell said. “He has to make a bunch of big pitches and they fouled some balls off but he’s pitching at a really high level right now.”

Milwaukee threatened in its half of the inning, but Craig Kimbrel struck out pinch hitter Eric Thames, and, after Villar’s infield single put two on, Kimbrel struck out Broxton.

“He is going up there and guys are swinging and it doesn’t even look like they are close,” Betts said of Kimbrel. “Knowing that when he comes into the game that he is shutting it down is a good feeling.”

Vazquez opened the ninth with a walk off Brewers closer Neftali Feliz (0-4). Deven Marrero reached on a botched force play that allowed Vazquez to reach second. Betts was next, and he smacked a 2-2 fastball at the belt to left-center.

“They were aggressive using him today,” Counsell said. “I was hoping to get Eric an at-bat before Kimbrel just because he’s so good but they were aggressive about putting him in right there.”

Kimbrel (2-0) struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth.

NOTES: LF Ryan Braun was out of the Brewers’ lineup Thursday. He had missed a week with arm and shoulder soreness, then played 1 1/2 games before experiencing tightness in his left calf Tuesday night. Manager Craig Counsell said Braun isn’t likely to return Friday when Milwaukee hosts the Mets. … The Red Sox were without INF Hanley Ramirez, who tweaked his right trapezius muscle while playing 1B Tuesday night. … Boston SS Xander Bogaerts extended his hitting streak to 14 games Thursday with a third-inning single off RHP Jimmy Nelson. … LHP Robbie Ross Jr. joined the Red Sox bullpen Thursday after he was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket. He took the roster spot of RHP Kyle Kendrick, who was sent down Wednesday night after a second consecutive rough start.

Sports Biz: Brady on Madden NFL ’18

by

BOSTON – (Special to Digital Sports Desk by The Sports Xchange) – New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, following his fifth Super Bowl ring, has been selected to be on the cover of “Madden NFL 18.”

Brady, who will turn 40 in August, becomes oldest player to appear on the cover of the popular EA Sports football video game.

EA Sports Gaming

EA Sports announced Friday morning that Brady follows teammate Rob Gronkowski, who was on the cover of last year’s edition. It marks the first time in Madden’s 29-year history that teammates have been on the cover in back-to-back years.

“Madden 18” is dubbed the G.O.A.T. edition and the cover image shows Brady emitting his trademark scream.

Brady grew up a few miles away from where Electronic Arts, or EA, opened in his hometown of San Mateo, Calif.
According to ESPN, a young Brady would work out in the EA gym, in part because the company employed a family friend who lived across the street from him.

“When this all came about,” Brady said, “I thought, ‘How cool is that to do this knowing when I was a kid in high school I was tagging along down there, working out where it all started?’ It’s been such a great game over a long period of time. I played it so much when I was younger, a little less now. … My son Jack loves beating up on me.”

Gronkowski was limited to just eight games in 2016 because of a back injury after appearing on the cover, the latest NFL player to fall to the so-called “Madden Curse.”

Brady isn’t worried about the curse.

“The cover is a great honor for me,” Brady said in a prepared news statement. “Especially since I have been playing the game since growing up next to EA headquarters in the Bay Area. I’m not one to believe in curses, so I’m ready to take the challenge head on like always! It doesn’t stand a chance!!!

Copyright 2019

www.digitalsportsdesk.com