Thanks To Verdugo's HR In The 8th, Sox Rally For Their MLB-Best 33rd Comeback Win Of The Season

 

    Their games still might take way too long to complete but at least the Red Sox (62-39 overall, 32-20 home) in 2021 are making it worth your while if you stick around for the later innings since they seem to have a special ability to never be out of almost any contest. Tonight in their series opener against the Blue Jays (49-47 overall, 27-25 away) at smoky Fenway Park (because of the wildfires in California), they trailed 4-3 in the eighth inning before left fielder Alex Verdugo crushed a two-run bomb (his 10th of the season) into the right centerfield seats that scored right fielder Hunter Renfroe (2-for-3 w/2B, 2 runs, BB). Closer and UConn product Matt Barnes worked an easy 1-2-3 ninth inning on just nine pitches to record his 22nd save of the season. 

    The win over the stunned Jays was the 33rd comeback victory of the season for Boston-the most in MLB-and it put them a season-high 23 games over .500 while their slim lead over the second-place Rays (60-40 overall) in the AL East slightly increased to 1.5 games while Tampa Bay has a game in hand. The Sox struck first with a pair of runs in the second inning on an RBI single by Verdugo that plated Renfroe and second baseman Michael Chavis drove in Verdugo with a ground out. Toronto tied it with a pair of RBI singles in the third inning by their superstar first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (that scored catcher Reese McGuire) and second baseman Marcus Semien (that scored UConn's George Springer). 

    Boston's star third baseman Rafael Devers (2-for-4) helped the Red Sox pull ahead again 3-2 with a solo homer (his team-leading 27th of the season) in the third inning that hooked a few rows back into the right field seats. Red Sox killer and Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette hit a two-run blast over the Green Monster (his 18th of the season also scored Springer) in the fifth inning that gave the Jays a 4-3 advantage. From there, it was a battle of the bullpens which the Red Sox predictably dominated as relievers Phillips Valdez (2.1 scoreless innings with two strikeouts) and Northeastern's Adam Ottavino (3-3; scoreless eighth inning) bridged the gap from the ineffective starting pitcher Nick Pivetta (4.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 hits, 3 Ks, 2 BBs) to Barnes. One of the main reasons why the Blue Jays currently sit where they are in the standings is due to their putrid bullpen.

    Boston improved to 8-4 against Toronto this season and they'll go for their fourth straight win against them tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) as good old Garrett Richards (6-5) faces Jays ace Robbie Ray (8-5). Obviously, Ray is a much better pitcher than Richards but this same matchup actually happened last Wednesday in Buffalo with Richards outlasting Ray in a 7-4 Red Sox triumph. The Sox are 7-3 since the All-Star break and they own the best record in the American League with the Giants (62-37) being the only team with a better mark than them at this point of the season. Oh yeah and the trade deadline is Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. so if you need me, I'll be busy reading juicy tweets and rumor-filled stories about possible deals until that time.

The Red Sox Locked Up Their All-Star Closer UConn's Matt Barnes For At Least Two More Years

 

    Before the Red Sox (55-36) dropped their first half finale 5-4 this afternoon at Fenway Park vs. the Phillies (44-44), the team broke the great news that they had re-signed their free-agent-to-be All-Star closer Matt Barnes to a two-year extension worth $18.75 million with a club option for the 2024 season. At age 31, the Bethel, CT native and UConn alum is having a career year: he's 4-2 with 19 saves, a 2.61 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 63 strikeouts in 38 innings of work. This type of financial commitment by Boston's GM Chaim Bloom shows that he must believe that Barnes' 2021 season (thus far) is no fluke. Rather, it's the turning point of a reliever who was at times very good earlier in his career but never really great before this campaign. He has become one of Boston's best players and one of their biggest keys in the second half if they hope to reach the playoffs and progress far in October.

    Fittingly on the first night of the 2021 MLB Draft, we can't forget that Barnes was a first-round pick (19th overall) by the Sox in 2011. He progressed through their farm system relatively fast and made his MLB debut in 2014. That means that he has only ever played for the Red Sox and also, he's currently their longest-tenured player for what that's worth. Up until this year, Barnes was best known as the maddingly inconsistent righty with good stuff that could never completely put it all together for long stretches of time. Thankfully for his sake and the team's (who is tied with Houston for the best record in the American League at the All-Star break), it has been a totally different story this season as he was named the closer in Spring Training and he has never really looked back since then. Nothing is guaranteed in pro sports, especially in the world of closers but Matt is tied for the second-most saves in the AL for a reason.

Barnes has made such a huge leap this year (thanks Alex Cora?) that it is difficult to logically explain how he has seemingly morphed into one of the most dominant closers in baseball overnight and a first-time All-Star in his early 30s. I suppose that he always had this ability within himself but perhaps it's just taken this long to unlock it. Whatever the case may be, he headed out to Denver tonight with four of his teammates (Xavier Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez and Nathan Eovaldi) for the 2021 MLB All-Star Game at Coors Field on Tuesday night (7:30, Fox). It is crazy how fast he has become almost automatic in terms of consistently high performance levels and likewise in the hearts and minds of critical Sox fans. It seems like every time that he comes in a game these days, I am extremely confident that he will get the job done and probably without breaking much of a sweat in the process. He has always thrown hard (in the upper 90s) but his curveball and off-speed pitches have reached another level not to mention that he is locating everything so well all around the strike zone.

In Brad Stevens' First Move In His New Role With The Celtics, He Flips Kemba Walker For Al Horford

 

    The Celtics offseason began two weeks ago but you could say that it officially got underway this morning as new president of basketball operations Brad Stevens (in Danny Ainge's old job) made a pretty significant trade: Boston swapped point guard Kemba Walker, the 16th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and a 2025 second-round pick to Oklahoma City for center Al Horford (remember him?!), center Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick. Wow, take a breath. More than simply an exchange of aging players and draft picks, this was about saving some money for the Celts and getting out from under Kemba's awful contract (he's owed roughly $73 million over the next two years). Of course, the C's also had to take on Horford's brutal deal (he's due to make $53 million with $41 million guaranteed in the next two years as well) to make it all work.  

    Before I get into Walker and Horford some more, let me be the first to say that Brown might actually be the most valuable player from this trade in only a year or two. He's 21 years old and he just wrapped up his second season in the NBA averaging 8.6 points per game, 8.9 rebounds per game and 1.1 blocks per game. No doubt, Stevens must have remembered when Brown absolutely torched the Celtics for 21 points and 23 rebounds back on March 27 in Oklahoma City. At 7-foot-2 and 245 pounds, Brown figures to get a legitimate shot at center or at least backup center which have both been somewhat of a black hole for years for the Celtics. As it stands right now, he'd be competing with the likes of Horford (a shell of his former shelf), Robert Williams (always hurt), Tristan Thompson (loves the night life), Luke Kornet (goofy white guy) and Tacko Fall (fan favorite side show) for minutes at center. Also, Brown was undrafted out of UCLA and he has only played for the tanking Thunder so being in (what hopefully is) a winning environment should bring out the best in him. 

    Even if you didn't go to UConn or at least root for the Huskies, you had to love Walker dating back to his college days. He used to be an electrifying guard but injuries really derailed his brief two year stay here in Boston. After missing a grand total of 45 games in eight years with the Hornets, Kemba was out for 16 games his first year with the C's and 29 this past season. He's still only 31 but he has a ton of mileage on his gimpy left knee that forced him to fittingly miss the last two games (Games 4 and 5 vs. Brooklyn) with Boston. In 2020-21, he still averaged 19.3 points per game and 4.9 assists per game but he's never been a great 3-point shooter (36% in his NBA career) and his on-court chemistry with Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown was always sort of lacking something. It sounds like he won't be with the rebuilding Thunder for too long though so hopefully he gets to play for a quality team to wrap up his great NBA career on a true contender. He seems like an awesome guy so we wish Kemba nothing but success in the future. 

    You have to laugh at the irony of one Celtics free agent flop (Kemba) essentially being replaced by another free agent who willfully chose to leave the team two years ago but since then he's bounced around from the Sixers to OKC and now he returns to the C's at the ripe old age of 35. Does Al have much left in the tank after 14 seasons in the NBA? Probably not, you'll remember that Oklahoma City paid him to sit out for much of last season (what a life!) since they were you know trying to lose as many games as possible. In the 28 games he did play in 2020-21, he averaged 14.2 points per game, 6.7 rebounds per game and 3.4 assists per game. More than anything, I think Horford's biggest role moving forward is to be the leader that this group so desperately lacked last season. It also cannot hurt that such a respected veteran around the league at least appears to be genuinely excited to return to Boston where he had played for three seasons from 2016/2017-2018/2019. The Celts need all the recruiting help that they can get when it comes to free agency because unfortunately they will always be fighting an uphill battle against much more attractive markets for NBA stars like Los Angeles, Miami or New York and Brooklyn just to name a few.

Red Sox Take Round One With The Yankees, 5-2 At Yankee Stadium As Eovaldi Shuts Them Down

 

    The Red Sox (34-23 overall, 18-10 away) didn't win a single game last season at Yankee Stadium in their wretched 2020, therefore tonight's 5-2 series-opening victory was Boston's first in the Bronx since 2019. The starting pitcher for the Sox-Nathan Eovaldi (7-2)-went six solid innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on eight hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. Boston's win put them 3.5 games ahead of New York for second-place in the AL East while Texas' (23-36) surprising 5-4 victory over the Rays (36-23) this evening left Tampa Bay only one game up on the Red Sox. Tampa is finally showing some signs of slowing down a bit (6-4 in their last 10 games) after being the hottest team in MLB for awhile.

    As good as Eovaldi's outing was, the two relievers that followed him out of the Sox' bullpen were even better. Hirokazu Sawamura got his first taste of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry and he must have loved it as he went two scoreless innings and struck out five without allowing a hit. Around the same time that UConn baseball opened its 2021 NCAA Tournament journey with a 6-1 win vs. Michigan, Huskies alum Matt Barnes did his now customary thing by striking out the side in a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 13th save of the season. Sawamura threw 29 pitches therefore I doubt that he'd be available on Saturday but Barnes only had 17 pitches so I think that he could be ready in the right spot for tomorrow's game if he is needed. 

    BC's Michael King (0-3) got the start for the Yanks and while he went 5.1 innings which is more than they could have expected, he made one fatal mistake: Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers crushed a three-run bomb to the upper deck in right field in the first inning (his team-leading 15th HR of the season) that scored left fielder Alex Verdugo and shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2 singles, 2 runs). Boston opened up a 5-0 lead when first baseman Marwin Gonzalez (2 doubles) tacked on two more runs with a two-run double in the sixth down the left field line that scored right fielder Hunter Renfroe and Bogaerts. Both of New York's runs came in the home half of the sixth inning as right fielder Aaron Judge hit a Yankee Stadium special-an opposite field homer to right that just got over the fence. Luckily his team-leading 14th home run of the season was a solo shot so no big deal. The other Yankees run came when Gonzalez made two errors on the same play which is pretty hard for a big leaguer to do. 

    Tomorrow's game (7:15, FOX) starts at exactly the same time as Game 4 of Bruins-Islanders so I think I know what you'll be checking in on during commercials and intermissions from the hockey game or you can be a cool guy like me and have one of them on your laptop while the other is on your TV at the same time. As bad as the Yankees' offense has been this season, it could be a slugfest since Boston's former ace Eduardo Rodriguez (5-4, 5.64 ERA) takes on New York's Jameson Taillon (1-4, 5.10 ERA). Rodriguez has been a mess lately and arguably the Red Sox' worst starter in 2021 (as crazy as that sounds) while Taillon is a journeyman bum. This could serve as a good spot for Eddie to start to return to form or he could continue to struggle and give us more reasons to worry about him. Only time will tell as Boston tries to clinch the series already.

Week 3: Patriots vs. Raiders Injury Report

The traveling freak show that is the Oakland Raiders (0-2) makes a rare stop at Gillette Stadium on Sunday (1, CBS) to face the Patriots (1-1). In their 2014 home opener, New England is by far the biggest favorite in the NFL this weekend and with good reason, as usual the past decade the Raiders are a complete disaster. Oh and that joker with the bowl cut up above is the late Al Davis' mysterious son Mark that hit the genetic lottery (well kind of) and he's now the current owner of these losers.

The injury report was released this afternoon with six Patriots listed as questionable, one Raider already out and seven others questionable. Defensive lineman Michael Buchanan (ankle), Jamie Collins (thigh), Alfonzo Dennard (shoulder), safety Don Jones (hamstring), Shane Vereen (shoulder) and center Ryan Wendell (knee) are the guys on New England who could be out for what should be the easiest win of the season. Collins, Dennard and Vereen are the most notable; the first two were out last week in Minnesota while Vereen is a new addition.

UConn safety Tyvon Branch returns to New England with Oakland as a starter but his fellow Husky alum linebacker Sio Moore (ankle) has already been ruled out. The Raiders who are most in danger of missing out on this beating are cornerback Chimdi Chekwa (knee), Maurice Jones-Drew (hand), offensive tackle Matt McCants (knee), linebacker Nick Roach (concussion), cornerback Carlos Rogers (knee), defensive lineman Antonio Smith (back) and wide receiver Rod Streater (hip). Jones-Drew, Rogers and Smith are all former stars that might be washed up (why else would they come to Oakland?).

Sunday could be the last summer like day of the year in these parts so enjoy it but check in for my update before kickoff regarding the inactives.

UPDATE 9/21: The Patriots inactives are Dennard, Jones, Wendell, DL Zach Moore, WR Aaron Dobson, OL Josh Kline and RB James White. The Raiders inactives are Chekwa, Jones-Drew, Moore, Roach, QB Matt Schaub, OL Matt McCants and OL Tony Bergstrom.

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