Rafael Devers homered and drove in two runs, and five Boston pitchers combined for a five-hit shutout as the Red Sox defeated the Texas Rangers 5-0 on Thursday afternoon. Devers hit a solo shot for his sixth home run of the season, sending it into the Green Monster seats in the seventh inning. His first RBI of the game came on a single in the fifth inning. Carlos Narvaez also produced a run-scoring single for the Red Sox, which took two of three against the Rangers. Red Sox starter Bryan Bello teamed up with four relievers to produce Boston’s third shutout of the season. Justin Slaten (1-3) earned the win with 1.1 scoreless innings. Garrett Whitlock tossed one inning with Liam Hendricks finishing off Texas with two innings.
Rafael Devers is the Boston Red Sox’s designated hitter. And he’s not interested in another position switch. Speaking with reporters for the first time since Triston Casas was ruled out for the season after rupturing his left knee tendon and undergoing surgery, Devers said on Thursday that Red Sox management approached him about the idea of filling in as Boston’s first baseman. The three-time All-Star doesn’t see it in his best interest to make another position switch after being asked to move from third base to DH during spring training after the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman to play third.
Minnesota 5 Baltimore 2
Brooks Lee had a go-ahead two-run double with two outs in the eighth inning to propel the Minnesota Twins to a 5-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday, completing a three-game sweep with their fifth straight victory. Lee’s double came off reliever Gregory Soto, who entered after Yennier Cano walked Harrison Bader leading off and Byron Buxton with one out. Soto struck out Trevor Larnach before Lee doubled to center. Ty France followed with an RBI single for a three-run lead. Buxton went 0 for 2 after homering in three straight games, but he walked twice, scored two runs, stole a base and threw a runner out at home.
Kansas City 10 Chicago White Sox 0
Bobby Witt Jr. had four hits, Kris Bubic pitched seven innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 10-0 to complete a four-game series sweep. Salvador Perez had three RBIs as the Royals posted their sixth consecutive win. Jonathan India had two hits, two RBIs and scored three times. Bubic allowed six hits, struck out seven and walked one. Chris Stratton and Steven Cruz each got three outs for the Royals, finishing a six-hitter. Kansas City scored its first six runs on two-out hits.
Final Toronto 8 L.A. Angels 5
Anthony Santander hit a go-ahead, two-run single during Toronto’s four-run sixth inning, and the Blue Jays snapped their four-game losing streak with an 8-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Atlanta 5 Cincinnati 4
The Cincinnati Reds lost to the Atlanta Braves in 11 innings Thursday night off a walk-off single from Drake Baldwin that drove in Ozzie Albies.
Final Arizona 5 L.A. Dodgers 3
Gabriel Moreno hit a grand slam off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Brandon Pfaadt threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 in the opener of a four-game series. Shohei Ohtani hit a solo homer in the ninth, which was his 11th of the season, but the Dodgers have dropped three of their past five games. The grand slam was Moreno's first homer of the year. Ketel Marte added a solo shot that made it 5-0 in the fifth. The Dodgers scored two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth, but couldn't complete the rally.
INTERLEAGUE
Detroit 11 Colorado 1
Detroit 10 Colorado 2
Keider Montero pitched eight strong innings, Colt Keith homered, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Colorado Rockies 11-1 in the second game to sweep their doubleheader. Spencer Torkelson had three hits and Brewer Hicklen singled in the third for his first career hit for Detroit. The Tigers won the first game 10-2 and finished 7-3 on their 10-game road trip. Montero (1-1) allowed a run and five hits to earn his first victory since Sept. 15, 2024. Two of Montero’s seven career wins have come against the Rockies. He blanked them on Sept. 10, 2024, for his only complete game and has a 0.53 ERA against them. Colorado has lost six in a row and is a major league-worst 6-31.
Philadelphia 7 Tampa Bay 6
Brandon Marsh and Trea Turner each had two hits and drove in a run in the 10th inning to cap a comeback from four runs down and lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-6 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Philadelphia tied the score in the ninth, handing Pete Fairbanks his first blown save in nine opportunities. After Kyle Schwarber led off with a single to extend his on-base streak to 43 games, the Phillies lifted him for pinch runner Johan Rojas. Fairbanks then sailed a pickoff attempt over first base, allowing Rojas to advance to third and score on Max Kepler’s RBI grounder. Marsh led off the 10th with a double to left-center off Manuel Rodriguez (0-1) to drive in pinch-runner Edmundo Sosa, and he scored two batters later on Turner’s single to center.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have fired manager Derek Shelton following a rocky opening month to the season that saw Pittsburgh quickly slip into last place in the NL Central. General manager Ben Cherington made the announcement. Bench coach Don Kelly will take over for Shelton. The decision comes with Pittsburgh riding a seven-game losing streak that dropped its record to 12-26. Shelton, hired by Cherington in November 2019 as part of a franchise-wide reset by owner Bob Nutting, went 306-440 in five-plus seasons with the Pirates.
The Yankees and Mets were off last night, N-Y begins a series against the Athletics at 10:05 p.m., and the Mets take on the Chicago Cubs 7:10 p.m.
NBA PLAYOFFS
Final Minnesota 117 Golden State 93
Julius Randle had 24 points and 11 assists to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves through another uneven performance, this time capitalizing on Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry’s absence in a 117-93 victory that tied the second-round series at one game apiece. Anthony Edwards finished with 20 points after an injury scare as the Wolves more than tripled their 3-point output from their Game 1 loss when Curry suffered the left hamstring strain. The injury will likely sideline Curry at least until next week. Jonathan Kuminga had 18 points and Trayce Jackson-Davis had 15 points for the Warriors off the bench.
NHL PLAYOFFS
Washington 3 Carolina 1
Connor McMichael and John Carlson scored, Logan Thompson made 27 saves and the Washington Capitals beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 in Game 2 to tie the second-round playoff series. Tom Wilson sealed it with an empty-net goal with a minute left. The Hurricanes' streak of 19 consecutive penalty kills to start the postseason ended with Carlson's power-play goal. Game 3 is Saturday night in Raleigh.
OT Edmonton 5 Vegas 4
Leon Draisaitl took a pass from Connor McDavid and scored off the rush at 15:20 of overtime to give the Edmonton Oilers a 5-4 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night and a 2-0 lead in the second-round series. After failing to capitalize on a five-minute power play when Vegas defenseman Nicolas Roy was assessed a major penalty for cross-checking 5:37 into overtime, the Oilers didn’t waste the opportunity later when the NHL’s most dynamic offensive duo combined for the winner. Vasily Podkolzin, Jake Walman, Darnell Nurse and Evander Kane also scored for the Oilers, and Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had two assists. Calvin Pickard made 28 saves. Game 3 is Saturday night in Edmonton.
Stephen Curry sat down after the Golden State Warriors went through their gameday shootaround practice in Minneapolis and quickly announced that he’s feeling great. He was not telling the truth. “Sarcasm,” the four-time NBA champion with the Warriors clarified, just in case anyone missed the joke. Curry is going to be a postseason spectator for at least a few games, his Grade 1 hamstring strain bad enough that it took him out of most of Game 1 of the Warriors’ Western Conference semifinal series on Tuesday — and will sideline him not only for Game 2 on Thursday but likely Games 3 and 4 in San Francisco.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have seen Anthony Edwards writhing in pain on the floor several times throughout his career before eventually welcoming their star guard back to the game. This sprained left ankle that forced Edwards out in the second quarter of Game 2 gave the Timberwolves a scare. Edwards made it back yet again. He delighted the crowd when he walked back onto the court for warmups before the start of the second half. Edwards finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Timberwolves in the 117-93 victory over Golden State that tied the series.
Joel Quenneville is returning to the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks for his first head coaching job since the second-winningest coach in league history resigned and was banned from the league for his handling of a sexual assault scandal. The 66-year-old Quenneville was hired by Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek for his first coaching job since his resignation from the Florida Panthers 3 1/2 years ago in the wake of his handling of the sexual assault scandal during his tenure with the Chicago Blackhawks. Before his departure, Quenneville spent parts of 25 NHL seasons behind the benches of St. Louis, Colorado, Chicago and Florida.
SOCCER
For Manchester United or Tottenham, a miserable campaign will end in Europa League glory. Despite both teams languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League, the Champions League is now just one game away. That’s the reward on offer after the two troubled English clubs advanced to the final of Europe’s second tier competition on Thursday. United beat Athletic Bilbao 4-1 in the semifinal second leg at Old Trafford and won 7-1 on aggregate. Tottenham won 2-0 away at Bodø/Glimt to seal a 5-1 aggregate victory.
POPE LEO XIV
The sports loyalties of Pope Leo XIV became a topic of conversation almost as soon as the white smoke emerged from the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. Robert Prevost is the first pope from the United States in the history of the Catholic Church. The Chicago-born missionary, who took the name Leo XIV, also attended Villanova University near Philadelphia, where he received a Bachelor of Science in 1977. Chicago’s two baseball teams were front and center as sports fans reacted to the news. It was initially reported that the new pope was a Cubs fan. But his brother, John Prevost, set the record straight in an interview with WGN-TV. The pope is a White Sox fan.
CRICKET
The Pakistan Cricket Board has shifted the remaining eight matches of its Pakistan Super League Twenty20 competition to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates following rising military tensions between India and Pakistan. The PCB confirmed the relocation in a statement released early Friday, citing growing concerns among overseas players and the need to prioritize their safety. Once logistical arrangements are finalized, the remaining schedule, including revised dates and venues, will be announced.
D-1 COLLEGE LACROSSE
Several colleges from our region will be playing in the Division I lacrosse tournament starting this week. On the men’s side, Colgate faces fifth-seeded Penn State on Saturday, and sixth-seeded Syracuse goes up against Harvard on Sunday. In women’s action, UMass faces Princeton, while Yale hosts UAlbany today. The winner of that game will advance to meet the Syracuse-Brown victor.
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