There was no Boston Marathon on Patriots' Day, but there was plenty of base-running at Fenway Park Monday. The Red Sox erupted for six runs in the first inning of an 11-4 rout of the White Sox. Kiké Hernández led off with a replay-aided home run, and Bobby Dalbec worked a 14-pitch walk during the big rally. J.D. Martinez and Alex Verdugo each had three hits, including a solo homer. Lucas Giolito was pulled in the second inning, charged with seven earned runs and eight hits. Position players Yermín Mercedes and Danny Mendick each pitched an inning of relief. The Marathon was moved to Oct. 11 because of Massachusetts limits on crowds during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The Patriots' Day game has been played by the Red Sox since 1959.
In other major league finals:
Brandon Belt hit a two-run homer and Kevin Gausman pitched out of trouble in six innings of the Giants' 2-0 shutout of the Phillies. Gausman allowed six hits with four walks and five strikeouts while lowering his ERA to 2.45.
Paul DeJong belted two of the Cardinals' five homers, in a 12-5 trouncing of the Nationals. Tommy Edman and Paul Goldschmidt went deep back-to-back as St. Louis offered Jack Flaherty his usual strong run support.
Josh Fleming pitched two-hit ball into the sixth inning of the Rays' 4-1 win against the Royals. Kevin Kiermaier had two hits and two RBIs from the nine-hole and combined with seven-hitter Joey Wendle and eight-hitter Willy Adames for five of Tampa Bay's seven hits.
Kohei Arihara took a shutout into the sixth inning and the Rangers got their offense on track in a 6-4 win over the Angels. Adolis García homered and doubled off Dylan Bundy and Justin Upton went deep for Anaheim.
Rookie Taylor Trammell homered and added a key RBI double for the Mariners in a 4-3 win over the Dodgers. José Marmolejos hit a two-run homer as Seattle handed the Dodgers a second straight loss, the first time on the young season Los Angeles has dropped consecutive games.
Brandon Woodruff and three relievers combined on a two-hitter and Luis Urias homered in his return to Petco Park before leaving with an injury as the Brewers downed the Padres, 3-1. Billy McKinney also homered off Joe Musgrove, who is 0-2 since throwing the first no-hitter in Padres history.
In MLB news:
Miami Marlins center fielder Starling Marte will be sidelined for at least a few games with a non-displaced fracture of his left rib suffered while batting in the ninth inning of Sunday's loss to San Francisco. Marte will refrain from activity for five to seven days before being evaluated, and he's expected to go on the injured list. He's batting .316 with an OPS of .912, three stolen bases and two home runs.
Cincinnati outfielder Nick Castellanos will begin serving his two-game suspension when the Reds start a series with the Diamondbacks in Arizona on Tuesday. The suspension was upheld Monday by Major League Baseball special assistant John McHale Jr. after Castellano appealed. Castellanos was punished for inciting a benches-clearing brawl during a game against St. Louis on Apr. 3.
The Braves say Ronald Acuña Jr. had an MRI on Monday that revealed a mild abdominal strain that leaves the star outfielder day to day heading into a series at Yankee Stadium beginning Tuesday. Acuña was injured in the fourth inning of Atlanta's 13-4 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night.
The Phillies have placed Left-handed reliever José Alvarado, lefty starter Matt Moore and infielder Ronald Torreyes on the injured list due to COVID-19 protocols. First-base coach Paco Figueroa and assistant Bobby Meacham also entered COVID-19 protocols, joining hitting coach Joe Dillon, third-base coach Dusty Wathan and bullpen coach Dave Lundquist.
NBA
Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors have shaved a half-game off the Philadelphia 76ers' lead in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Curry nailed 10 3-pointers and scored 49 points to extend his sizzling stretch, leading the Warriors to a 107-96 victory at Philadelphia. His 3 that tied the game at 86-all gave him 11 straight games with 30 or more points, topping Kobe Bryant for the most by any player 33 or older. Joel Embiid scored 28 for the 76ers, whose conference lead is down to one game over the idle Brooklyn Nets.
Checking out Monday's other NBA action:
The Bulls ended the Celtics' six-game winning streak as Nikola Vucevic delivered 29 points and nine rebounds in Chicago's 102-96 victory. Coby White added 19 points and seven assists to help the Bulls win their second straight since a five-game skid. Jaylen Brown had 23 points for the Celtics and Jayson Tatum posted the first triple-double of his career with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Wizards nailed down a 119-107 win at Oklahoma City as Bradley Beal scored 30 points and Davis Bertans made six 3-pointers in his return from paternity leave. Bertans finished with 21 points in Washington's fifth straight win, a streak that has the Wizards back in playoff contention. Wizards guard Russell Westbrook had 13 points, 17 assists and 11 rebounds for his 26th triple-double of the season.
The Jazz downed the Lakers, 111-97 as Jordan Clarkson scored 22 points and Joe Ingles added 21 with five 3-pointers. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points as NBA-leading Utah avenged the Lakers' 127-115 overtime victory on Saturday. The Jazz rested Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley Jr. and Derrick Favors in the first game on the second night of a back-to-back set, but all three returned for the rematch at Staples Center.
Devin Booker made a free throw with 0.3 seconds left after getting fouled on a jump shot, giving the Suns a 128-127 overtime victory over the Bucks. Booker finished with 24 points and Chris Paul had 22 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds as Phoenix opened a five-game trip that includes games with five of the top six teams in the East.
Nikola Jokic scored 47 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer late in the second overtime to push the Nuggets past the Grizzlies, 139-137. Jokic added 15 rebounds and eight assists, Will Barton scored 28 and Michael Porter Jr. 21 for the shorthanded Nuggets. Ja (jah) Morant had 36 points and 12 assists for Memphis.
Kendrick Nunn dropped in a season-high 30 points, while Duncan Robinson and Goran Dragic each added 19 for the short-handed Heat in a 113-91 rout of the Rockets. Andre Iguodala scored 16 for Miami, which closed within 1 ½ games of Atlanta for the fourth seed in the East. The Heat outscored Houston 59-36 in the second half despite playing without Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro a trio that averages 55 points per game.
Derrick White and Jakob Poeltl took advantage of their early mismatches by delivering a quick knockout punch and leading the Spurs to a 109-94 victory over the Pacers. White scored 16 of his 25 points in the first quarter, while Poeltl finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in the Spurs' second straight win. White's 3-pointer capped a 15-4 run to close the first quarter, which gave the Spurs a 36-21 lead.
Frank Jackson provided 20 points, including a tiebreaking baseline drive in the final minute of the Pistons' 109-105 decision over the Cavaliers. Saddiq Bey also scored 20 points for the Pistons, who started three rookies and a second-year player making his first career start.
In NBA news:
The Los Angeles Clippers have signed guard Yogi Ferrell to a 10-day contract. He averaged 9.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in two games with Cleveland this season.
Hornets guard LaMelo Ball has been cleared to return to individual basketball activity by doctors after having a cast removed from his right wrist. Ball sustained a fractured right wrist during the Hornets' March 20 game against the Clippers and has not played since. It's unclear at this point when he'll be ready to play in a game.
The Rockets say that guard Sterling Brown was assaulted by unknown individuals after the team arrived in Miami late Sunday night, suffering cuts to his face. The team did not divulge any other details. It was not immediately known if any incident reports were filed with police.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Chet Holmgren is heading to Gonzaga. The nation's No. 1 overall recruit has announced he will play what will likely be his only college season with the Bulldogs over Ohio State, Michigan, North Carolina, Minnesota, Memphis and Georgetown. Holmgren has the skills of a guard in a 7-foot-1 frame and has been projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft. As a senior at Minnehaha Academy in Minnesota, Holmgren averaged 20.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 4.7 blocks, shooting 80% from the field.
NHL
Connor McDavid scored the winner late in the third period and had two assists as the Oilers knocked off the Canadiens, 4-1. Jesse Puljujarvi added a goal and an assist for Edmonton, which trailed 1-0 with about 10 minutes to play. The Oilers stretched their home winning streak to eight games and improved to 2-3-1 against Montreal this year.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
Just one point separates the top three teams in the NHL's Central Division. The Florida Panthers have moved back into a first-place tie with the Carolina Hurricanes, one point ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Panthers were 4-2 winners over the Blue Jackets as Frank Vatrano scored twice, Anthony Duclair had a pair of assists. Sam Bennett and Radko Gudas also scored for the Panthers, who have won five straight games against the Blue Jackets and gone 6-0-1 in their last seven meetings. Florida netminder Sergei Bobrovsky made 34 saves.
Yanni Gourde scored 2:50 into overtime to give the Lightning a 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes. Alex Killorn and Brayden Point also scored to support Andrei Vasilevskiy's 25-save performance. Andrei Svechnikov and Brady Skjei scored for Carolina, which has only one regulation loss in its past eight games. Petr Mrazek stopped 33 shots.
Alex Tuch scored the winner in a shootout to send the Golden Knights to their seventh straight win, 3-2 against the Sharks. Robin Lehner stopped 29 shots and Vegas overcame a two-goal deficit behind a pair of power-play goals from captain Mark Stone. Sharks forward Patrick Marleau passed Gordie Howe for the most games played in NHL history.
Kevin Fiala collected a goal and an assist, while Cam Talbot stopped 22 shots to carry the Wild to their fourth win in a row, 5-2 against the Coyotes. Kirill Kaprizov, Jordan Greenway and Marcus Johansson also scored to help Minnesota strengthen its playoff position. The Wild have 59 points, 14 ahead of fourth-place Arizona in the West Division.
Luke Kunin and Calle Jarnkrok each scored a goal and added an assist to lead the Predators over the Blackhawks, 5-2. Matt Duchene, Mattias Ekholm and Tanner Jeannot also scored and Mikael Granlund had two assists as Nashville snapped a two-game skid. The Preds have won all six meetings between the teams so far this season as they battle for fourth place in the Central Division.
Denis Gurianov scored in the fifth round of a shootout to give the Stars a 3-2 victory against the Red Wings. Roope Hintz and rookie Jason Robertson both scored in regulation for the Stars, with Miro Heiskanen assisting on both. Anton Khudobin stopped 20 shots before the shootout, including a glove save reaching around a defender with less than three minutes left in regulation.
Connor Brown scored a short-handed goal and added an empty-netter for the Senators in a 4-2 win over the host Flames. Josh Norris had a goal and an assist and Brady Tkachuk also scored for Ottawa. Ottawa netminder Matt Murray made 26 saves.
In NHL news, the league has suspended Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler for two games for kneeing Toronto forward Zach Hyman. The collision happened in the second period of Vancouver's 3-2 overtime win Sunday when Edler took out Hyman in front of the Leafs bench. The left winger dropped hard to the ice and stayed down for several minutes before a trainer came to his aid. Hyman went directly to the locker room and did not return. Edler will be eligible to return on Saturday.
NFL
Alex Smith has retired after making an improbable comeback from a gruesome broken leg, saying he's ready to leave the NFL but believing he's still able to play quarterback. Smith earned AP Comeback Player of the Year honors for getting back on the field last season, two years removed from an injury that required 17 operations. The first player taken in the 2005 draft threw for 35,650 yards and 199 touchdowns in 174 regular-season games.
In other NFL news:
Tom Brady expects to be ready for June minicamp with the Buccaneers as he recovers from offseason knee surgery. Brady joked he didn't know "if I can go this week," then added he is aiming to be back on the field relatively soon for the Super Bowl champions.
An attorney for Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has accused the 22 women who have filed lawsuits alleging they were sexually assaulted or harassed by the NFL player during massages of lying, claiming their assertions are based on "an avalanche of false accusations." The statement comes after the NFL player's legal team on Monday filed in court its initial response to the lawsuits. It alleges that eight of the women bragged about giving Watson massages and that five "wanted to get money." The attorney for the women called the claims in the initial response "weak and vague allegations" and "demonstrably false."
With groups of players from 20 NFL teams saying they will skip in-person attendance, voluntary offseason programs began Monday across the league. Through the NFL Players Association, players from the Super Bowl champion Buccaneers and 19 other clubs posting statements that they would not be on hand at team facilities for voluntary work. Those statements did not cover every player from those teams.
SOCCER
The proposed Super League of European soccer is drawing the wrath of the sport's officials, players and fans. Condemnation of the 12 rebels clubs from England, Spain and Italy even came from Prince William, who followed the British government in railing against moves to split from longstanding structures to play in a largely closed competition rather than Europe's existing UEFA-run Champions League. UEFA's president turned on club leaders he called "snakes" and "liars" and threatened players from the Super League clubs with being banned from the European Championship and next year's World Cup.
Liverpool midfielder James Milner became the first player from one of the so-called founding clubs to criticize plans for the Super League, saying he doesn't like and hopes it doesn't happen. Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp said the latest developments would not make him quit as manager and he "will try to help to sort it somehow." Klopp said in 2019 he was against the formation of a Super League and reiterated that opinion ahead of the Reds' 1-1 draw with Leeds. Premier League clubs Liverpol, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham make up half the Super League. They are joined by Spanish superpowers Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, along with Italian leaguers AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus
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