Showing posts with label Stanley Cup Playoffs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stanley Cup Playoffs. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Sports Chowdah Update- O No! Sox Come out On Top Thanks To Workman-Like Effort; Kings For More Than A Day, LA Takes Commanding 3-0 Lead in Cup Final; Dulled Chrome, California Chrome Misses Shot at Triple Crown
RED SOX- After a disastrous road trip through the rust belt where they lost five out of six games, the Red Sox were back in the AL East on Monday, facing off against Baltimore at Camden Yards and on the wrong end of a 4-0 shutout.
On a rainy Tuesday night, the Sox looked to reverse their fortunes with Brandon Workman on the mound. Heading into a scoreless 3rd inning, Workman got a bit of run support when Mike Napoli hit a 2-out RBI single that plated Brock Holt. Despite a couple of rain delays, Workman was able to maintain his rhythm and fooled most of the Baltimore batters he faced, not allowing a hit until the 6th inning. Miller, Tazawa and Uehara came out of the bullpen to make Napoli's RBI stand up. Workman goes on to pitch 6⅔ innings of 1-hit ball, allowing one walk and striking out four. Boston goes on to win by a 1-0 final and after losing ten straight, winning seven straight and then losing five straight [going back to May 14th- NANESB!] the Red Sox have won two out of their last three games- although the recent streak has put Boston 9 games out of first place, it still isn't bad enough to put them in the AL East cellar. Currently Toronto leads the AL East and both Baltimore and the Yankees are tied for 2nd place at 5 and a half games.
The series will continue Wednesday night with ex-Dodger Rubby De La Rosa [1-1; 2.84 ERA] going up against Baltimore's Wei Yin Chen [6-2; 4.13 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 ET and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
OTHER RED SOX NEWS- Former Red Sox manager and one of the last remaining Brooklyn Dodgers Don Zimmer has passed away at the age of 83. Zimmer, who survived a near-fatal beaning in the minor-leagues would go on to play 2nd base for the Brooklyn Dodgers for their only World Series title in Ebbets Field.
Zimmer was teammates with Jackie Robinson for a few seasons and remained with the Dodgers for a year after their move to Los Angeles. Between 1960 and 1965, Zimmer bounced around between the Cubs, Mets, Reds and Senators before playing a single season for the Toei Flyers in Japan. As a player, Zimmer had a career .235 batting average and 91 homers along with 352 RBI.
After his playing days, Zimmer found work as a manager- first for the San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos before landing with the Red Sox between 1974 and 1976. After the Red Sox won the AL Pennant in 1975, an infamous 'Zim' moment was during the wild and chaotic Game 6 of the 1975 World Series was when Boston had the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the 9th with 2B Denny Doyle on 3rd. After a fly ball to shallow left, 3rd base coach Zimmer saw Doyle start to break and shouted "No! No!". Doyle apparently thought Zimmer was shouting "Go! Go!" and continued running towards home plate, only to be cut down by the throw from shallow left. Cincinnati was able to get out of the 9th and force extra innings, setting up Carlton Fisk's legendary and photogenic walk-off homer off a Pat Darcy pitch in the 12th inning.
The Red Sox lost the World Series and the following season, manager Darrel Johnston was fired in July and Zim was named interim manager before the position was more permanent. Although Boston finished flat in 1976, the Red Sox would win 90+ games between 1977-1979. However, this would include the infamous 'Boston Massacre' in which the Yankees trailed the Red Sox by as much as 14 games late in the season only to force a 1-game playoff that was decided by a home run from light-hitting Yankees catcher Bucky Dent.
Zim was also known for his acrimonious relationship with lefty pitcher Bill 'Spaceman' Lee during his time in Boston and reportedly avoided starting him during the infamous 1-game playoff against New York in 1978 despite Lee's winning record against the Bronx Bombers.
After being fired from Boston, Zim spent time coaching or managing with the Rangers, Yankees, Rockies, Cubs, Giants and Rays. In 1999, Zimmer filled in for Yankees then-manager Joe Torre while he was recovering from prostate cancer, going 21-15 during that timeframe. In 2003, Zimmer returned to Fenway as bench coach for the Yankees in the 2003 ALCS. During Game 3, the benches cleared after Manny Ramirez charged the mound after a high and inside pitch from Roger Clemens. Zimmer came out of the dugout and charged Pedro Martinez- Martinez responded by throwing Zimmer to the ground [the TV announcers had initially mistaken the 72 year old Zimmer for Yankees starter David Wells- NANESB!].
With Tampa Bay, Zimmer worked as a senior advisor to the Rays and was a regular fixture around the dugout during Spring Training and home games at Tropicana field. Zimmer also had the distinction of being the last Brooklyn Dodger player who was still in the majors- either as a coach or in the front office. While with the Rays, he wore a uniform that changed numbers each year- the numbers represented the years he had spent in baseball, with his most recent number being 66. In an interview, Zimmer said he prided himself on being able to draw a paycheck his entire life from the game he loved.
For starters, no Bruins hockey for the better part of a month after they lost in Game 7 of the eastern conference semifinals to the Canadiens. The Canadiens themselves were bested in 6 games against the New York Rangers while the Los Angeles Kings got past the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks in a roller-coaster 7-game series.
The first two games of the Stanley Cup final got underway at the Staples Center in Los Angeles- in each of those contests, the Kings rallied from behind to tie the game late and force OT with the Kings winning Game 1 by a 3-2 final in OT and Game 2 by a 5-4 final in double OT.
On Monday, the Kings did not need extra-time to take care of the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. With time expiring in the first period, the Kings got on the board with a goal from Jeff Carter to make it 1-0 Los Angeles. This was followed up by goals from Jake Muzzin and Mike Richards in the 2nd to give LA a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 lead while Jonathan Quick turned aside all 32 shots he faced to secure the Kings' 3-0 win.
After being on the wrong end of a 3-0 lead earlier in the playoffs, the Kings now have a commanding 3-0 lead over the Rangers and can secure their second Stanley Cup championship since 2012 with a win at Madison Square garden on Wednesday night. It's do-or-die for New York as Game 4 gets underway from Madison Square Garden tonight at 8:00 ET and will be televised on NBC Sports and the CBC.
HORSE RACING- After winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, there was all kinds of buzz surrounding California Chrome heading into this weekend's Belmont Stakes. California Chrome was poised to be horse racing's first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.
After stumbling out of the gate, Chrome ended up finishing 4th to Tonalist and finishing in a near dead heat with Wicked Strong. A review of the starting gate showed that one of the horses next to him- Matterhorn- accidentally stepped on California Chrome's heel and had a small chunk taken out of it. The defeat led to an on-air post-race tirade from California Chrome's owner Steve Coburn, who referred to Tonalist's owners as 'cowards' and criticized owners who ran their horses in the Belmont Stakes but not the Preakness or Kentucky Derby.
FIFA WORLD CUP- Just days before the 2014 World Cup is set to get underway in Brazil, soccer's international governing body- FIFA- is under scrutiny for their bidding process in which the Middle Eastern emirate of Qatar named the host country of the 2022 World Cup. Qatar beat out competing bids from Australia, Japan, South Korea and the USA.
Since Qatar was announced, there have been allegations of bid-rigging and bribery on the part of FIFA according to the British Sunday Times. The newspaper claims to have been given e-mail correspondence between FIFA delegates and Qatari officials where a reported £3m in payoffs were given.
Qatari soccer official Mohammed Bin Hammam reportedly gave money and gifts to African members of the FIFA delegation to influence the governing body's votes and paid more than €300,000 to a Tahtian FIFA official who was caught in a Sunday Times sting soliciting money in support for a bid from people posing as American FIFA delegates.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- Bruins Power Play Comes Out Of Hibernation, B's Take Series Lead Against Montreal; Red Sox Back to .500 After Texas Series
All in all, not a bad weekend despite the Red Sox nearly getting no-hit on Friday night.
BOSTON BRUINS- With Thursday night's game-winning goal, Matt Frasier made a little bit of history by becoming the first player to score OT goals in both the AHL's Calder Cup playoffs and the Stanley Cup playoffs in the same postseason. On April 25th, Frasier tallied the OT goal in Game 2 of the series against the Springfield Falcons [the Columbus Blue Jackets' AHL affiliate- NANESB!] and Providence would go on to win that series 3 games to two. The Providence Bruins are now knotted at 1-1 in their series against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins ['SWB Pens or 'Baby Pens' as they're sometimes referred to- NANESB!], Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate.
Meanwhile, just up the I-95 at the Garden, Saturday's contest at the TD Garden got underway with the series knotted at 2-2. The Bruins got on the board first thanks to a goal from Carl Soderberg [who was fed by a brilliant pass from Bartkowski to Loui Eriksson behind the net- NANESB!] giving Boston the early 1-0 lead. Interestingly, despite the strong showing by the Habs power play throughout the series, Montreal was shut out in the first half, despite three opportunities that seemed poised to kill whatever momentum the Bruins had gained.
However, Montreal's Tomas Plekanec would get sent to the sin bin for goaltender interference with less than 20 seconds to go in the first. Although the Bruins had some power play opportunities of their own in the first, they went 0-3 prior to the interference call against Plekanec, which carried over into the second period. With 40 seconds to go on the power play and just 1:04 into the second, Reilly Smith put the Bruins up 2-0 with a power play goal.
Less than 30 seconds later, Plekanec would head back to the sin bin on a high-sticking penalty and Montreal would pay as Torey Krug passed to Iginla who was in front of the Montreal net all by himself and buried the puck past price to give Boston a 3-0 lead.
However, with 5:20 remaining in the second, the Habs would get on the board thanks to a Brendan Gallagher power play goal to make it a 3-1 Boston lead heading into the 2nd intermission [it easily could've been a 1-goal game if Tukka Rask didn't block a David Desharnais breakaway shot on goal with 2:40 to go in the period- NANESB!].
With the proverbial 'dreaded' two goal lead, the Bruins were able to get some insurance thanks to Loui Eriksson shooting the puck past a sprawling Carey Price with just over 5 minutes remaining in regulation to make it a 4-1 Boston lead. The Habs would get a goal back on a PK Subban power play tally with 2:30 left in regulation, but Boston goes on to win Game 5 by a 4-2 final and takes a 3-2 series lead- their first lead in this best of seven series against Montreal.
Tukka Rask stopped 29 of 31 shots faced while Montreal's Price allowed 4 goals on 30 shots faced. Montreal's two goals came on the power play where they went 2 for 5 with the mad advantage while the Bruins were no longer shutout against the Habs on the power play- they went two for 4 with both goals coming in the second.
The Bruins can close the series out tonight in Montreal. Game 6 is scheduled for 7:30 ET from the Bell Centre and the game will be televised on NBC Sports Network and the CBC.
ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- In the other Eastern Conference semifinal matchup, the New York Rangers have managed to stave off elimination after Pittsburgh won three straight games. On Friday, New York beat Pittsburgh by a 5-1 final and on Sunday night, they managed to tie the series up at 3-3 after the Blueshirts 3-1 win over the Pens.
Out in California, the Ducks and Kings have managed to even up their I-5 series with at 2-2 with each team winning on the road. Game 5 is set for Monday night from Anaheim and will be shown on NBC sports after the conclusion of the Bruins/Habs contest. Also out west, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks have taken a 3-2 series lead over the Minnesota Wild.
BOSTON RED SOX- After narrowly avoiding being no-hit by Texas' Yu Darvish, the Red Sox bounced back behind Lester and Lackey on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, Lester got some early run support as the Red Sox jumped out to a 6-0 lead through the first 4 innings, although the Rangers got two runs back in the bottom of the 4th thanks to a Prince Fielder sac Fly and an Alex Rios RBI triple to make it 6-2. In the bottom of the 5th, Elvas Andrus belted an RBI double off of Lester to cut the Red Sox lead in half, but in the 8th the Red Sox would get two more runs thanks to a Pedroia RBI single and a Victorino sac fly that plated Jackie Bradley Jr to make it 8-3.
In the bottom of the 8th, Tazawa came on in relief of Lester and immediately gave up a leadoff single to Andrus, but it quickly became two out and nobody on when Adrian Beltre grounded into a double play. Tazawa then got Prince Fielder to strike out looking. Burke Badenhop then came out of the Boston bullpen in the bottom of the 9th and got the first two batters he faced out before giving up a single to Leonys Martin and Rougned Odor before Andrew Miller came out of the pen to strike out Sardiñas for the final out of Saturday's game.
On Sunday, the Red Sox bats once again got their starter some early run support thanks to a Mike Napoli RBI double and a 2-RBI AJ Pierzynski single to give Boston an early 3-0 lead in Arlington on Sunday. In the 2nd inning, JBJ would come home after Shane Victorino grounded into a fielder's choice to give Boston a 4-0 edge.
Meanwhile, Lackey was cruising through the first three innings before giving up a solo homer to Shin Soo-Choo to lead off the 4th. Although Lackey got Beltre and Andrus out with no problem, Fielder and Rios would then single [Fielder reaching 3rd on Rios's single- NANESB!] but with a run 90 feet away, Lackey got Mitch Moreland to strike out and end the Rangers threat.
In the top of the 7th, the Red Sox would add to their lead with a 2-out Dustin Pedroia solo homer to make it a 5-1 Boston lead. In the bottom half of the 7th frame, Mitch Moreland hit a 1-out RBI double to make it a 5-2 game.
Miller would come on in relief of Lackey in the bottom of the 8th and start off by striking Shin Soo-Choo out before hitting Andrus with a pitch. However, Miller would get around that by striking out Beltre and getting Fielder to fly out to deep center. Koji would come on in the bottom of the 9th and get Alex Rios to ground out before striking out Mitch Moreland and Michael Choice to preserve Boston's 5-2 win.
So Boston goes into Arlington and takes two out of three from the Rangers a little over a month after hosing the Rangers at Fenway with the same outcome. This not only wraps up the season series with Texas, but brings the Red Sox over the .500 mark for the first time since the season opening series at Baltimore. Despite what some see as a lackluster start, the Red Sox are only two games behind the Orioles for the AL East lead.
The Red Sox will travel to Minnesota next to take on the Twins on Tuesday night. Felix Doubront [1-3; 5.09 ERA] is scheduled to get the start against Minnesota's Ricky Nolaso [2-3; 5.64 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.
BOSTON BRUINS- With Thursday night's game-winning goal, Matt Frasier made a little bit of history by becoming the first player to score OT goals in both the AHL's Calder Cup playoffs and the Stanley Cup playoffs in the same postseason. On April 25th, Frasier tallied the OT goal in Game 2 of the series against the Springfield Falcons [the Columbus Blue Jackets' AHL affiliate- NANESB!] and Providence would go on to win that series 3 games to two. The Providence Bruins are now knotted at 1-1 in their series against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins ['SWB Pens or 'Baby Pens' as they're sometimes referred to- NANESB!], Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate.
Meanwhile, just up the I-95 at the Garden, Saturday's contest at the TD Garden got underway with the series knotted at 2-2. The Bruins got on the board first thanks to a goal from Carl Soderberg [who was fed by a brilliant pass from Bartkowski to Loui Eriksson behind the net- NANESB!] giving Boston the early 1-0 lead. Interestingly, despite the strong showing by the Habs power play throughout the series, Montreal was shut out in the first half, despite three opportunities that seemed poised to kill whatever momentum the Bruins had gained.
However, Montreal's Tomas Plekanec would get sent to the sin bin for goaltender interference with less than 20 seconds to go in the first. Although the Bruins had some power play opportunities of their own in the first, they went 0-3 prior to the interference call against Plekanec, which carried over into the second period. With 40 seconds to go on the power play and just 1:04 into the second, Reilly Smith put the Bruins up 2-0 with a power play goal.
Less than 30 seconds later, Plekanec would head back to the sin bin on a high-sticking penalty and Montreal would pay as Torey Krug passed to Iginla who was in front of the Montreal net all by himself and buried the puck past price to give Boston a 3-0 lead.
However, with 5:20 remaining in the second, the Habs would get on the board thanks to a Brendan Gallagher power play goal to make it a 3-1 Boston lead heading into the 2nd intermission [it easily could've been a 1-goal game if Tukka Rask didn't block a David Desharnais breakaway shot on goal with 2:40 to go in the period- NANESB!].
With the proverbial 'dreaded' two goal lead, the Bruins were able to get some insurance thanks to Loui Eriksson shooting the puck past a sprawling Carey Price with just over 5 minutes remaining in regulation to make it a 4-1 Boston lead. The Habs would get a goal back on a PK Subban power play tally with 2:30 left in regulation, but Boston goes on to win Game 5 by a 4-2 final and takes a 3-2 series lead- their first lead in this best of seven series against Montreal.
Tukka Rask stopped 29 of 31 shots faced while Montreal's Price allowed 4 goals on 30 shots faced. Montreal's two goals came on the power play where they went 2 for 5 with the mad advantage while the Bruins were no longer shutout against the Habs on the power play- they went two for 4 with both goals coming in the second.
The Bruins can close the series out tonight in Montreal. Game 6 is scheduled for 7:30 ET from the Bell Centre and the game will be televised on NBC Sports Network and the CBC.
ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- In the other Eastern Conference semifinal matchup, the New York Rangers have managed to stave off elimination after Pittsburgh won three straight games. On Friday, New York beat Pittsburgh by a 5-1 final and on Sunday night, they managed to tie the series up at 3-3 after the Blueshirts 3-1 win over the Pens.
Out in California, the Ducks and Kings have managed to even up their I-5 series with at 2-2 with each team winning on the road. Game 5 is set for Monday night from Anaheim and will be shown on NBC sports after the conclusion of the Bruins/Habs contest. Also out west, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks have taken a 3-2 series lead over the Minnesota Wild.
In the bottom of the 8th, Tazawa came on in relief of Lester and immediately gave up a leadoff single to Andrus, but it quickly became two out and nobody on when Adrian Beltre grounded into a double play. Tazawa then got Prince Fielder to strike out looking. Burke Badenhop then came out of the Boston bullpen in the bottom of the 9th and got the first two batters he faced out before giving up a single to Leonys Martin and Rougned Odor before Andrew Miller came out of the pen to strike out Sardiñas for the final out of Saturday's game.
On Sunday, the Red Sox bats once again got their starter some early run support thanks to a Mike Napoli RBI double and a 2-RBI AJ Pierzynski single to give Boston an early 3-0 lead in Arlington on Sunday. In the 2nd inning, JBJ would come home after Shane Victorino grounded into a fielder's choice to give Boston a 4-0 edge.
Meanwhile, Lackey was cruising through the first three innings before giving up a solo homer to Shin Soo-Choo to lead off the 4th. Although Lackey got Beltre and Andrus out with no problem, Fielder and Rios would then single [Fielder reaching 3rd on Rios's single- NANESB!] but with a run 90 feet away, Lackey got Mitch Moreland to strike out and end the Rangers threat.
In the top of the 7th, the Red Sox would add to their lead with a 2-out Dustin Pedroia solo homer to make it a 5-1 Boston lead. In the bottom half of the 7th frame, Mitch Moreland hit a 1-out RBI double to make it a 5-2 game.
Miller would come on in relief of Lackey in the bottom of the 8th and start off by striking Shin Soo-Choo out before hitting Andrus with a pitch. However, Miller would get around that by striking out Beltre and getting Fielder to fly out to deep center. Koji would come on in the bottom of the 9th and get Alex Rios to ground out before striking out Mitch Moreland and Michael Choice to preserve Boston's 5-2 win.
So Boston goes into Arlington and takes two out of three from the Rangers a little over a month after hosing the Rangers at Fenway with the same outcome. This not only wraps up the season series with Texas, but brings the Red Sox over the .500 mark for the first time since the season opening series at Baltimore. Despite what some see as a lackluster start, the Red Sox are only two games behind the Orioles for the AL East lead.
The Red Sox will travel to Minnesota next to take on the Twins on Tuesday night. Felix Doubront [1-3; 5.09 ERA] is scheduled to get the start against Minnesota's Ricky Nolaso [2-3; 5.64 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Quickie WKRP Sports Chowdah Update- Red Sox Sweep Quick Series With Cincinnati; I Want Fraier! Providence Call-Up Comes Up Big in Playoff Debut; A-OK, Oklahoma City's Durant Named NBA's MVP
With Montreal leading the series between their Original Six rivals in Boston 2 game to 1, regulation went by without a single goal given up by either Rask or Price [Rask stopped 30 in regulation while Price stopped 28 shots faced- NANESB!]. This set up overtime and an opportunity for a very unlikely hero called up from Providence.
Fraser, who arrived courtesy of last offseason's trade that sent Seguin to Dallas, had appeared in 14 games for the Bruins this season and was on the shuttle between Boston and Providence. However, recalling him from the Pruins looked like a master stroke as he buried the puck in the net behind Price just 1:17 into OT.
Frasier's goal ties the series up at 2-2 and Game 5 is set to take place from the TD Garden on Saturday, with the puck scheduled to drop at 7:00 ET and the game televised on NBC Sports and the CBC.
ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- The Los Angeles Kings became the 5th team in North American professional sport to rally from behind an 0-3 deficit to win a postseason series last week when they won four straight games against in-state rival San Jose. The comeback was made final when Los Angeles was trailing 1-0 in the second period of Game 7 of their first round series against the Sharks, only to score five unanswered goals and go on to win by a 5-1 final on April 30th.
The win set up a first-ever postseason matchup between the Kings and their cross-town rivals Anaheim after Anaheim knocked off Dallas during a furious rally in the 6th and deciding game. Although the Kings took the first two games at Anaheim's Honda Center, the Ducks beat Los Angeles 3-2 on Thursday night to make it a 2-1 series.
Curiously, teams from Boston have been on both sides of the 'rallying down from an 0-3 deficit' scenarios- during the 2009-2010 season, the Bruins gave up four straight games to Philadelphia. More famously, the Boston Red Sox were trailing the New York Yankees by a run in the bottom of the 9th in Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series- the Yankees were three outs away from advancing to the World Series when first baseman Kevin Millar drew a leadoff walk from New York closer Mariano Rivera before Red Sox manager Terry Francona lifted Millar for pinch-runner Dave Roberts. Roberts successfully stole second base, despite Rivera and catcher Jorge Posada knowing full well Roberts was going to run on them. With a base runner now in scoring position, the Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller then hit a game-tying RBI single. Not only did the Red Sox go on to win that game in extra innings, they would win the next three games against the Yankees and sweep the St Louis Cardinals to win the 2004 World Series. It also stands as the only time a team has come back from an 0-3 defecit to win a series in Major League Baseball. Such a scenario has never happened in the NBA, but it has happened twice in the NHL prior to the Bruins 2010 postseason collapse- in just their 3rd year of existence, the New York Islanders came from behind to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1975 and in the Original Six era, the Toronto Maple Leafs staged a similar rally against the Detroit Red Wings in the 1942 Stanley Cup final.
RED SOX- The Boston Red Sox are now a .500 team, which I guess means we can start talking pennant once again.
Of course, despite the lackluster start and shoddy record against most AL East opponents, the Red Sox were never really more than two games out of first place in the AL East [although the NL East has been ridiculously close as well- NANESB!].
Thursday night's game wrapped up a quick two game series against the Reds [they'll play two more at Cincinnati in August- NANESB!] and Cincy got on the board early thanks to a 1-out Skip Schumaker homer to give the Reds a 1-0 lead. The Red Sox rallied in the bottom of the 6th when with one away and two on, Big Papi had an RBI single to right and Napoli followed that up with an RBI double to tie the game up at 2-2.
The Reds re-took the lead in the 7th when Todd Frazier led off with a booming double to left and Brayan Pena followed up with a single. Ryan Ludwick- acting as the DH for Cincinnati- then drew a walk to load the bases and Chris Capuano came out of the bullpen in relief of starter Jake Peavy. Reds outfielder Roger Bernardina would ground out to second, but it was enough to get the go-ahead run home and give the Reds a 4-3 lead. Burke Badenhop then came on the relieve Capuano and got Chris Heisey to hit into a fielder's choice- Pena was gunned down at home plate- and Zach Cosart grounded out to end the inning.
In the bottom of the 8th, Reds reliever Manny Parra got David Ortiz to strike out before walking Napoli and Gomes came into the game as a pinch hitter for Grady Sizemore as Parra was pulled for JJ Hoover. Gomes worked a walk from Hoover before AJ Pierzynski belted a ground-rule double to bring Napoli home for the tying run. Jackie Bradley Jr was then intentionally walked so Hoover could face Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks took a 3-2 pitch and put it up the middle to bring the go-ahead run home, making it a 3-4 game. Hoover would then get pinch-hitter Mike Carp and Dustin Pedroia to strike out.
It was up to Koji Uehara in the 9th inning to preserve the Boston lead, and he got Pena, Frazier and Ludwick to strike out in order, preserving Boston's 4-3 lead for the win and the sweep of the brief 2-game interleague series. The Red Sox wrap up the homestand by winning four out of their last five games.
Thursday was a travel day- Boston will now embark on a weeklong road trip where they'll face the Rangers in Arlington, TX before heading to the Twin Cities for a 3-game series against Minnesota. Friday night's scheduled starters Clay Buchholz [2-2; 5.63 ERA] against Yu Darvish [2-1; 2.87 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 PM ET and the game will be televised on NESN.
NBA- What a week it's been for Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant. Less than a week after The Oklahoman dubbed him Mr Unreliable after a poor showing in their first round series against the Memphis Grizzlies, Durant garnered the NBA's Most Valuable Player honors.
In an emotional speech, Durant thanked his mother for making sure that he and his siblings would have food on the table while she would often go to bed hungry when they were growing up in Washington DC.
This is the first MVP honor for the number two draft pick in the 2007 NBA draft [Durant was drafted by a team that technically doesn't exist anymore, the Seattle Supersonics- NANESB!] but he did garner Rookie of the Year honors in 2008 and has been a 5 time All Star. This season, Durant has averaged 32 points, five assists and 7 rebounds per game.
The Thunder did end up getting past the Memphis Grizzlies in 7 games in the first round of the NBA playoffs and are currently playing the Los Angeles Clippers- that series is tied at 1 game apiece with game 3 set to take place at Friday night in LA's Staples Center.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
My Old Kentucky Sports Chowdah Update- Chrome Finish, Thoroughbred California Chrome Wins 2014 Kentucks Derby; Seeing Red At Fenway- Red Sox Beat Cincinnati in 12;
HORSE RACING- Mint juleps and gorgeous southern women with big.......hats. What's not to love?
Yep- it was Kentucky Derby time this past weekend and all the assorted owners, big hats, horses, jockeys, trainers and celebs descended on Louisville's Churchill Downs [NASDAQ- CHDN] for all manner of revelry that just happened to be bookended by a horse race.
Despite taking place halfway across the country, New Englanders had a rooting interest in the 2014 as 2 year old colt Wicked Strong was among the racehorses participating.
Owned by Boston-based Centennial farms, Wicked Strong was named in honor of the post-marathon bombings 'Boston Strong' rallying cry.
According to Centennial Farms, the name 'Boston Strong' was taken, so they decided on the "wicked" prefix, which is a new England colloquialism for 'Very' or 'Extremely'. Heading into Saturday's race, Wicked Strong was tied with Danza Closest at 8:1 odds for the colt, who had won New York's Wood Memorial Stakes at the Aqueduct in Queens a few weeks prior.
However, it would be California Chrome who would win the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby going away, finishing several lengths ahead of the pack. Wicked Strong ended up finishing fourth, 5¾ lengths behind California Chrome.
Wicked Strong will reportedly skip the Preakness to focus on training for the Belmont stakes. Meanwhile, California Chrome will run in the Preakness in an attempt to become the first Triple Crown winner in horse racing since Affirmed in 1978.
RED SOX- After dropping the final game of last weeken's 3-game series against Oakland, the Red Sox were set to host the Cincinnati Reds in a 1975 World Series rematch for a quick 2-game series before heading on the road.
With the game tied at 1-1, it looked as though the Red Sox were set to chase Reds starter Homer Bailey from the mound in the bottom of the 3rd when Mike Napoli drew a bases-loaded walk and Grady Sizemore hit an RBI single. However, Bailey was able to limit the damage done and get through without coughing up any more runs- despite the Red Sox getting baserunners with a 3-1 lead.
Boston starter Felix Doubront, however, was only able to get through the first 5⅓ innings before the Red Sox had to get to the bullpen. This would come back to haunt Boston as Tazawa would allow a pair of runs to come home in the top of the 8th- a Todd Frasier RBI single that plated Joey Votto and a Ryan Ludwick sac fly that brought Brandon Phillips home to tie the contest up at 3-3.
Uehara, Andrew Miller and Craig Breslow would come out of the bullpen, and while getting some of those outs looked like they might be an adventure, the game remained tied at 3-3 heading into extras. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati relievers seemed to be pretty efficient in getting Red Sox batters out- at least until the bottom of the 12th when Logan Ondrusek came out of the bullpen and promptly gave up a leadoff single to Big Papi followed by a Mike Napoli single. The game ended when Grady Sizemore hit a wall-ball to deep left center [that was scored a single for some reason- NANESB!] that brought Big Papi home and gave the Red Sox the 4-3 win. Sizemore had the most productive night out of all the Red Sox, going 3 for 6 with two RBI- including the game-winner
The quick two game series wraps up later on Wednesday night at Fenway when Jake Peavy [1-1; 2.87 ERA] takes on Mike Leake [2-3; 3.53 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.
NHL- Turns out falling behind by two goals doesn't always guarantee a 3rd quarter come-from-behind win.
On Tuesday night's game 3 of the series between Montreal and Boston, the Habs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead midway through the first with goals by Tomas Plekanec and PK Subban. In the 3rd, Dale Weise make it a 3-0 Montreal lead before Patrice Bergeron got Boston on the board with just over two minutes to go in the 2nd.
It remained a 3-1 game until late in the 3rd when Jarome Iginla scored to make it 3-2 Montreal with just over 2 minutes to go in regulation. Tukka Rask was pulled for the extra attacker, but that only translated to an empty-net goal from Lars Eller with less than 10 seconds left in the game.
Montreal goes on to win by a 4-2 final and takes a 2-1 series lead over the Bruins.
Game 4 is scheduled for Thursday night from Montreal and will be televised on NBC sports and CBC, with the puck scheduled to drop at 7:30 ET.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Quickie Sports Chowdah Update For May 3rd- Lester is More, Red Sox Starter Throws 1-Hit, 8-Inning Gem;
RED SOX- Saturday's matchup against the A's was looking good for the Red Sox early and Jon Lester was cruising through the second game of the three game series against Oakland.
In the bottom of the first, Dustin Pedroia led off with a walk followed by a Xander Bogaerts single and a walk to David Ortiz to load up the bases with nobody out. A's starter Tommy Milone then got Mike Napoli to strike out, bringing Johnny Gomes up with the bases loaded and one away. Gomes cranked the 21st pitch of the game into the monster seats for the Red Sox second grand slam in less than 24 hours and giving the Red Sox an early 4-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Lester would give up his only hit of the day- a leadoff single to outfielder Craig Gentry- to lead off the top of the 3rd, but got Josh Reddick, Nick Punto and Coco Crisp [all former Red Sox players- NANESB!] to strike out, stranding Gentry on base.
Big Papi would lead off the bottom of the 3rd with a solo homer to make it 5-0 and David Ross led off the bottom of the 4th with a homer to left field, giving the Red Sox a 6-0.
Jon Lester's day was done after throwing 8 complete innings of 1-hit baseball and striking out 15, but the top of the 9th inning was an adventure when Chris Capuano came on in relief of Lester and promptly gave up 2 runs without even recording an out to cut the A's deficit by a third. After a Jed Lowrie double and hitting Josh Donaldson with a pitch, Capuano had to be pulled for Koji Uehara. Koji then walked Yoenis Cespedes. Derek Norris hit into what looked like a sure double play with Lowrie getting thrown out at home, but David Ross threw high to Napoli and the ball went into shallow right field to bring Donaldson home and have the lead cut in half with only one away in the 9th. However, Uehara would get Alberto Callaspo to strike out for out number two and the game ended on a Brandon Moss fly ball to right field.
The Red Sox go on to win by a 6-3 final and after getting swept in a day-night doubleheader by the Rays, the Red Sox have already won this weekend's series against the team with the best record in the American league. The Red Sox look for the sweep on Sunday afternoon. Sonny Gray [4-1; 1.76 ERA] will get the start against John Lackey [4-2; 3.83 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 and the game will be televised on NESN.
BOSTON BRUINS- The Boston Bruins staged a late come-from-behind win against the Montreal Canadiens in the 3rd period of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Saturday afternoon.
Danny Paille put the Bruins on the board with just under 7 minutes to go in the first- the only scoring in the first. However, Montreal would tie the game up with a Mike Weaver tally just 1:10 into the second period. The Habs would then take the lead- seemingly for good thanks to back to back power play goals from Thomas Vanek- one with just two minutes to go in the second and one six and a half minutes into the third- to make it a 3-1 Montreal.
Then things got interesting.
Just after the midway mark of the third, Dougie Hamilton got the Bruins to within one. Just a little more than three minutes later Patrice Bergeron managed to tie the game up at 3-3. But the Bruins had something besides overtime on their minds as Reilly Smith put Boston back on top for the first time since the first period to give Boston a 4-3 lead with 3:30 to go in regulation. And just in case you thought a 1-goal lead wasn't safe enough for the Bruins in the final 3 minutes of regulation Milan Lucic tallied an empty netter after Carey Price was pulled with just over a minute to go, giving Boston a 5-3 lead.
Boston goes on to score four unanswered goals in just under 8 minutes to tie the series up at 1-1. Carey Price stopped 30 of 34 shots faced while Tukka Rask turned aside 25 of 28 shots faced. Despite the loss, the Habs still were more effective on the power play going 2 for 6 while the Bruins went 0 for 3.
The series will resume in Montreal on Tuesday night. Puck is scheduled to drop at 7:00 ET from Montreal and the game will be televised on the NBC Sports Network.
Friday, May 2, 2014
Ides of May Sports Chowdah Update- Athletic Pursuits, Red Sox Beat Oakland on Pedroia Grand Slam; Boston, We Hab A Problem- Montreal Takes Game 1 in 2OT
Getty ImagesRED SOX- After a disappointing Thursday in which an injury-depleted Tampa Bay managed to sweep the day-night doubleheader at Fenway, the Red Sox had little time to lick their wounds before hosting the AL West-leading Oakland A's on Friday. At 18-10, the A's had the best record in the American League.
After a shaky start to the season, Boston starter Clay Buchholz showed improvement in last weekend's game against Toronto at the Rogers Centre- although the bullpen came perilously close to coughing up a win late in the game.
After a scoreless first inning, Grady Sizemore led off the bottom of the 2nd with a double to deep left center. Xander Bogaerts flew out for the first out of the inning, but AJ Pierzynski hit a single to (or through) short and Sizemore came home all he way from first to get the Red Sox on the board. After Oakland starter Dan Straily got Will Middlebrooks to strike out for the 2nd out, Jackie Bradley Jr hit a double to center. Pierzynski scored from first and JBJ moved up to third on the throw home as the Red Sox took a 2-0 lead.
Leading off the top of the 3rd inning, A's catcher John Jaso led off the inning with a triple, but Buchholz got the next two batters out- 2B Eric Sogard struck out and former Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp flew out to shallow center. However, Clay uncorked a wild pitch that Jaso came home on and the Red Sox lead now 2-1.
In the bottom of the 5th, the Red Sox managed to chase Straily from the mound with only one away and two runners on. However, reliever Fernando Abad struck out David Ortiz and intentionally walked Napoli to load the bases and get to Sizemore, who ended the inning by striking out with the bases loaded.
For the top of the 6th, Buchholz was able to get out of a jam after allowing two walks (one intentional) and the tying run in scoring position, but he got Yoenis Cespedes to strike out and end the A's threat.
Already into their bullpen before five complete innings, the A's had Dan Otero come out of the pen in relief of Abad for the bottom half of the 6th. Bogaerts and Pierzynski managed to get back to back singles off of Otero before he managed to strike out Middlebrooks. After walking JBJ, A's manager Ken Macha decided to once again go to the bullpen and brought Ryan Cook into the game to face Dustin Pedroia.
Pedroia cleared the bases and gave the Red Sox plenty of cushion after taking an 0-2 Cook offering and depositing it in the Monster seats for a grand slam- career HR number 100 while only his second Grand Slam since 2008.
Although Victorino would strike out swinging for out number two, Big Papi doubled and Mike Napoli walked before Cook was pulled for Drew Pomeranz. The Red Sox took a 6-1 lead over Oakland in the 6th inning. Mike Napoli would hit a 2-out RBI single in the bottom of the 8th to make it a 7-1 lead before Craig Breslow closed things out in the 9th to give Boston the 7-1 win. Buchholz went 6⅓ innings for his second win of the season- the only thing standing between him and a shutout was the wild pitch with two gone in the 3rd. Meanwhile, Dustin Pedroia went 2 for 3 with 4 RBI, a homer and was walked twice.
Starters for tomorrow afternoon's game will be Jon Lester [2-4; 3.10 ERA] and Tommy Milone [0-2; 4.56 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.
ELSEWHERE IN THE AL EAST- After sweeping the day-night doubleheader in Boston, the Tampa Bay Rays went down to the Bronx and bested the Yankees by a 10-5 final in a 14-inning contest where the Yankees were playing catch-up all night (and into the early morning hours) and captain Derek Jeter went 0-7.
As you might imagine, the game was a little tighter than the 10-5 final might indicate. Former Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury batted in the game-tying run for New York in the bottom of the 9th but was thrown out. Reliever Chris LeRoux came on in the top of the 14th and allowed a leadoff walk to Rays OF Desmond Jennings before getting Evan Longoria to strike out. However, Jennings would successfully steal 2nd and came home on a Will Myers RBI single. Myers would then come home on a double from OF Sean Rodriguez to make it a 7-5 game. Brandon Guyer, Yunel Escobar and Ryan Hannigan would then follow that up with RBI singles of their own to give the Rays the 10-5 lead while Josh Lueke came on in the bottom of the 14th to close out the game for Tampa.
The New York loss- couple with Baltimore's win over the Twins at Target Field- means that the Orioles are now in first place in the AL East after tonight's (or this morning's) game in the Bronx.
NHL- Game One of the eastern conference semifinals got underway at the TD Garden on Thursday, and unfortunately for the Bruins, the scoring ended much the same way it began- with power play goals from PK Subban.
The Habs got on the board first with the Subban tally at the 11:23 mark of the first. This was followed up by a Renee Bourque tally just three and a half minutes into the second period to give Montreal a 2-0 lead. In the 3rd, the Bruins managed to cut the lead in half with a Reilly Smith goal just 2 minutes and 44 seconds in. The equalizer came off the stick of Torey Krug six and a half minutes into the third period, but a Francis Bouillon goal put Montreal back on top with 7:51 to go in regulation.
However, Johnny Boychuck would tie the game up at 3-3 with just over 2 minutes to go in the 3rd, forcing overtime. After a scoreless OT, the Bruins and Habs headed to double OT and with the man advantage, PK Subban bookended the game's scoring with...a Montreal power play goal just 4:17 into the second OT. Montreal takes game 1 by a 4-3 final on Thursday.
Montreal netminder Carey Price stopped 48 of 51 shots faced on Thursday while Tukka Rask turned aside 29 of 33 in the losing effort. One stark difference between the two teams was the power play differential- while neither team had many opportunities, Montreal went 2 for 3 while the Bruins went 0 for 2.
The teams will go right back at it on Saturday afternoon. Puck is scheduled to drop at 12:30 ET from the TD Garden and the game will be televised on NBC and the CBC.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- Mild Wings, Bruins Close out Series Against Detroit; Rays the Roof- Lackey Hurls Another Gem Against Tampa Bay; Cano Place Like Home- Cano Returns to Bronx as Visitor; Sterling Clipped- Audio of LA Clippers Owner Making Racist Remarks Results in NBA Ban
BOSTON BRUINS- It was a busy Saturday for Boston sports- besides the Red Sox heading north of the border to take on the Blue Jays for the first time this season, the Bruins had an opportunity to close out the Red Wings in Game 5 at TD Garden on Saturday afternoon.
Boston got on the board first thanks to a power play goal from Loui Eriksson just 3 and a half minutes into the first to make it a 1-0 game. Of course, no lead is as hard to maintain as a one goal lead and at the 14:41 mark of the second period, Pavel Datsyuk notched a power play goal to tie the contest up at 1-1. But with less than 5 seconds remaining in the second and the Bruins on a 4 on 3 power play, Zdeno Chara blasted one past Gustavsson to give Boston the lead back heading into the second intermission.
Just four and a half minutes into the 3rd, the Bruins added to their lead with a goal from Milan Lucic to make it 3-1- but the Red Wings weren't done yet. As the crowd at TD Garden started reserving seats for the Boston/Montreal series, Detroit pulled to within one after Henrik Zetterberg got one past Tukka Rask with 3:52 to go in regulation. Inside of two minutes, the Red Wings pulled Gustavsson for an extra attacker, but with less than a minute to go Jarome Iginla made it a 2-goal game once again when he tallied an empty-netter to make it a 4-2 game. Boston would go on to win by a 4-2 final and take the series 4 games to one. Tukka Rask turned away 31 of 33 shots he faced while the Bruins went 2 for 6 on the power play. For his part, Gutavsson stopped 29 of 32 shots faced while Detroit went one for seven with the man advantage.
This sets up another all Original-6 matchup as the B's will take on the Montreal Canadiens on May 1st. Puck is scheduled to drop at 7:30 ET and the game will be televised on NBC Sports and CBC.
ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- While the Canadiens made quick work of the Lightning, the same can't be said for three other playoff series.
Wednesday night will feature no less than three game 7s to close out the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. At 7:00 ET, the Flyers and Rangers will face off in Madison Square Garden for their decisive Game 7- that game will be televised on NBC Sports while Game 7 of the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche series gets underway at 9:30 ET from Denver- that game will be broadcast on CNBC. Things will wrap up on the West Coast when the Los Angeles Kings- who fell into an early 0-3 hole against the Sharks- will play a decisive Game 7 in San Jose starting at 10:00 ET (7:00 PT)- that game will be televised on the NBC Sports network and the CBC.
No matter who wins that Game 7, the next round in the Western Conference Semifinals will feature an all-California matchup. On Sunday night in Dallas, the Anaheim Ducks came from 2 goals down in the 3rd to tie the game with 24 seconds left in regulation to force OT, where Anaheim's Nick Bonino scored less than 3 minutes into sudden death overtime to give Anaheim the series win.
BOSTON RED SOX- After taking two out of three from the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre [I'm not sure what the bigger surprise was- Clay Buchholz settling down after giving up an early 3-0 lead and getting the win on Saturday or Lester and the bullpen getting lit up on Sunday- NANESB!] the Red Sox returned home to take on yet another AL East opponent in Fenway on Tuesday night.
Amid chilly temperatures and strong winds at Fenway on Tuesday night, the Red Sox faced off against the Tampa Bay Rays for the first time this season. With Lackey facing off against former Red Sox and Oriole starter Eric Bedard, the early innings had the makings of a pitcher's duel with batters struggling to reach base- or score on the few times they did get on base.
However, the Red Sox worked Bedard's pitch count up to over 100 in just five innings, forcing Rays manager Joe Maddon to go to the bullpen early. In the bottom of the 5th, Middlebrooks led off with a walk, followed by a Jackie Bradley Jr double. Pedroia lined out to 3rd thanks to a great play made by Rays 3B Evan Longoria, nearly catching Middlebrooks off-base as well. However, Shane Victorino hit a fly ball deep enough to center for Middlebrooks to come home on for the second out of the inning.
In the top of the 6th, the Rays would get on the board thanks to a 1-out Longoria sac fly to center to bring home Desmond Jennings and make it a 1-1 game After Napoli and Gomes walked to lead off the bottom of the 6th, Xander Bogaerts popped out to shallow left for the first out of the bottom half of the inning. With one away, AJ Pierzynski brought Napoli across home plate with an RBI single while Gomes came home on a Middlebrooks double. Jackie Bradley Jr then brought Middlebrooks and Pierzynski home on a 2-RBI double off of Rays reliever Juan Oviedo and advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch. Although Oviedo got Pedroia to ground out to short for out number two, Victorino came to the plate and his a ground-rule double to bring JBJ home and make it a 6-1 Red Sox lead. The Rays got a run back in the top of the 7th to make it 6-2 but Big Papi would hit a 1-out RBI single with runners on 1st and 2nd to make it 7-2 Boston.
However, after Mujica took the mound in the top of the 9th and Tampa got two more runs, John Farrell sent for Koji Uehara to close out the game, striking out Ben Zorbist to end the ballgame and give Boston the 7-4 win.
The two teams will go back at it tomorrow (weather permitting) with Chris Archer [2-1; 4.11 ERA] going up against Felix Doubront [1-3; 6.00 ERA] with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 on ESPN.
ELSEWHERE IN THE AL EAST- Amid completely self-unaware chants of "You sold out!", former Yankees 2B Robinson Cano returned to the Bronx for the first time since leaving for Seattle after signing a 10 year, $240 million deal with the Mariners.
Cano went 1 for 5 with an RBI, two strikeouts and a stolen base in Tuesday night's game as the Seattle Mariners rallied from a 2-0 deficit to go on and win by a 6-3 final.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS- Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is expected to be out until July after tearing a ligament in his last week. Harper was batting .289 with a homer and 9 RBI so far this season. Harper underwent surgery on Tuesday and even tweeted a picture of himself from the hospital room.
On the road to recovery..Everything went great and I'll be back soon! Thank you to all the fans for the support! pic.twitter.com/66Wn7sxHQ9
— Bryce Harper (@Bharper3407) April 29, 2014Harper made his MLB debut in 2012 at age 19 and has a career .273 batting average with 43 homers and 126 RBI in just under two whole seasons. Last week, manager Matt Williams benched Harper because he didn't run out a groundball to first.
NBA- Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has received a lifetime ban from the NBA and a $2.5 million fine from NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday. Sterling was recorded by his mistress asking her not to bring black people to Clipper's home games and upset that she posted an instagram photo of herself and NBA hall of famer Magic Johnson. The recordings were made public by gossip website TMZ and have been replayed over multiple networks all weekend, sparking outrage and planned protests.
Former Celtics head coach Doc Rivers had reportedly declined a meeting with Sterling and was reportedly looking for ways out of his contract with the organization before Silver's press conference on Tuesday. Sterling, a California real-estate mogul, reportedly lost a civil rights lawsuit a few years ago in which the plaintiffs allege he discriminated against black and Hispanic tenants. Up until fairly recently, Sterling ran the Clippers on a shoestring budget frequently resulting in last place finishes, but savvy draft picks like Blake Griffin and key free agent signings like Chris Paul had reversed the Clippers fortunes in recent years.
On the hardwood, the Clippers returned to the Staples Center for the first time since the recordings of Sterling was made public, beating the Golden State Warriors by a 113-103 final on Tuesday night. Earlier in the series, Clippers players had worn their practice jerseys inside-out and donned black wristbands a s a means of protests when the recordings first came out.
Currently, the Clippers hold a 3-2 series lead over Golden State in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- Everything's Jake for Red Sox in Toronto; OT in the Motor City
RED SOX- After Thursday night's embarrassing 14-5 home loss to the Yankees, the Red Sox needed to not only bounce back, but do it efficiently without burning through their bullpen.
Not only did Jake Peavy manage to do that with a solid outing, but the former Padres and White Sox starter got some run support early on. The Red Sox got on the board in the 2nd with runners on 2nd and 3rd and a 1-out sac fly from AJ Pierzynski to bring Napoli home. This was followed up by a Will Middlebrooks RBI single that plated Bogaerts, a Jackie Bradley Jr double and 2-RBI Dustin Pedroia single- all with two out- to give the Red Sox a 4-0 lead.
From there, Peavy seemed to cruise- throwing 7 innings, allowing just 5 hits, an earned run [on a solo homer from DH Juan Francisco in the bottom of the 7th- NANESB!] while striking out 7 and walking just two batters.
The Red Sox had much more luck against Jays starter Mark Buehrle- in addition to the 4 run uprising in the 2nd, Big Papi added a 1-out solo homer in the top of the 3rd to give Boston a 5-0 lead before Will Middlebrooks hit an RBI double and Jackie Bradley Jr drew a walk before Toronto went to the bullpen in the 6th. Neil Wagner came out of the pen to ground out to shortstop, however, everybody was ruled safe on Jose Reyes' throwing error before Victorino popped out for the first out of the top half of the 6th. Wagner then walked Big Papi to load the bases and then walked Napoli to bring Bradley Jr home to make it a 7-0 Red Sox lead.
Despite the 1-out homer Peavy gave up to Juan Francisco, he was able to get out of the inning without any further damage. Chris Capuano and Andrew Miller came out of the pen in the 8th and 9th innings to close out the ballgame for Boston, giving Peavy his first win of the 2014 season and a nice bounce-back against an AL East opponent after Thursday's fiasco against the Yankees. Friday night's game also marked the second game of the 2014 season for Shane Victorino and Will Middlebrooks also returned to the lineup after Daniel Nava was sent down to Pawtucket.
Saturday's game will get off to a fairly early start with Clay Buchholz [0-2; 7.71 ERA] going up against Brandon Morrow [1-2; 5.03 ERA] with first pitch scheduled for 1:07 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.
BOSTON BRUINS- The Boston Bruins staged a late rally after trailing the 0-2 to the Red Wings. Niklas Kronwall opened up the scoring for Detroit in the first with a power play goal at the 9:00 mark to give Detroit a quick 1-0 lead. Pavel Datsyuk would add to Detroit's lead around 4 and a half minutes into the second period.
However, the Bruins would finally figure a way around Red Wings goalie Jonas Gustavsson with a power play goal by Torey Krug with 9:46 left in the second. Just 1:15 into the 3rd, the Bruins got the equalizer thanks to Milan Lucic, tying the game at 2-2.
That would be all the scoring in the second and the contest would head to overtime where Jarome Iginla would get the game winner 13:32 into OT, giving Boston a 3-1 series lead. Tukka Rask turned aside 35 of 37 shots faced while Red Wings backup goalie Jonas Gutstavsson saved 37 of 40 shots faced. Detroit went 1-4 on the power play while the Bruins were 1-2....seemed as though the refs put away the whistle once the 3rd period got underway as there were no penalties after the last 5 minutes of the second period.
The series heads back to Boston for Saturday and the Bruins can close it out with a win [Montreal is awaiting the winner of the series after a 4-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning- NANESB!]. Puck is scheduled to drop at 3:00 ET and Game 5 will be televised on NBC Sports network.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Tar Pits of Fenway Sports Chowdah Update- Yankees Starter PINEda Ejected From Wednesday Night's Game; Bruins Takes Series Lead in Detroit
RED SOX- After Sunday night's late rally, the Red Sox attempted another come-from-behind win against Baltimore on Patriot's day after falling behind 6-0. Boston managed to cut the O's lead in half in the bottom of the 5th and a 7th inning David Ross solo homer made it a 2-run game. However, Baltimore would get a key insurance run thanks to a Ryan Flaherty RBI single in the top of the 8th to make it 7-4. Mike Napoli led off the bottom of the 8th with a solo homer to once again pull the Red Sox to within two. In the bottom of the 9th, Tommy Hunter managed to load the bases with one away, allowing an infield hit to Brock Holt, a double to Dustin Pedroia and an intentional walk to David Ortiz. Once again, Napoli was able to pull the Sox to within 1 after hitting into a fielder's choice that brought Holt home, but Mike Carp grounded out to first base for the final out of the ballgame.
The Red Sox lost by a final of 7-6 on Marathon Monday and things didn't get much better when the Yankees came to Fenway for the first time this season. Jon Lester- ostensibly the 'stopper'- was lit up like a Byung Hyun Kim-shaped Christmas Tree and the Red Sox would go on to lose by a 9-3 final.
It was up to Lackey to stop the damage and he got off to a good start, getting the first two batters out before allowing a single from Carlos Beltran before Yankees catcher Brian McCann flied out to end the inning.
In the bottom of the first, Grady Sizemore led off with a triple before Pedroia singled to bring him home and give the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead. After Big Papi flew out to center, Napoli singled and Pedoira moved over to 3rd. Mike Carp then followed up with a fly ball to shallow left center for the second out, but not deep enough to bring Pedroia home. With 2 away, AJ Pierzynski singled to bring Pedroia home and make it a 2-0 Boston lead.
In the 2nd, Lackey got Soriano, Teixeria and Gardner to strike out in order, but what happened in the bottom of the 2nd will have people talking about this game for weeks. After New York starter Michael Pineda got Holt and Jackie Bradley Jr to fly out, Red Sox manager John Farrell asked the umpires to check Pineda for a foreign substance....which turned out to be pine tar on his neck. Pineda was immediately ejected- this coming 10 days after he appeared to get away with using pine tar on a glove in a game against the Red Sox in Yankee Stadium. Clearly Farrell didn't object because Pineda wasn't confounding the Red Sox batters. David Phelps came out of the Yankee bullpen and managed to strike out Grady Sizemore on one pitch [Pineda had a 2-strike count against Sizemore when the umpires went to the mound- NANESB!].
Lackey- apparently unaided by foreign substances on his person- continued dealing in the 3rd. Despite allowing a leadoff single to Brian Roberts, Lackey got Kelly Johnson to hit into a fielder's choice, before getting Jacoby Ellsbury and Derek Jeter to strike out swinging.
Dustin Pedroia led off the bottom of the 3rd by reaching 1st on a throwing error by Jeter. Big Papi then managed to beat the shift employed against him and hit a single. With nobody out and two on, Mike Napoli then hit a ball that New York outfielder Brett Gardner couldn't find- turned out it had jammed itself into the padding of the wall in fair territory by the Pesky Pole for a ground rule double [Gardner initially thought it was still rolling around along the wall behind him- NANESB!]. That brought Pedroia home but Big Papi had to hold up at third. Carp then struck out swinging before Pierzynski drew a walk and Xander Bogaerts flew out to right field- but not deep enough to bring Papi home. However, Papi would come home on a wild pitch by Phelps to make it a 4-0 Red Sox lead.
Lackey's only blemish on Wednesday night came in the 6th when Carlos Beltran led off the inning with a double and moved up to 3rd on a Brian McCann groundout. Alfonso Soriano then hit a sac fly deep enough to bring Beltran home to put the Yankees on the board and ruin Lackey's shutout bid. Lackey then struck out Teixera to end the 6th inning.
The Red Sox got some extra insurance in the bottom of the 8th when Xander Bogaerts got on board and advanced to second thanks to a throwing error from 3B Kelly Johnson before coming home on a Brock Holt RBI single. Koji Uehara came on in the 9th and immediately gave up a single to Alfonso Soriano, but struck Teixiera, Gardner and Roberts out to end the ballgame and give the Red Sox the 5-1 win.
Lackey was nothing short of stellar on Wednesday night, going 8 complete innings, allowing 7 hits, one earned run, no walks and striking out 11 while improving his record to 3-2. Mike Napoli went 3-4 with an RBI [the foam wall by the Pesky Pole robbing him of at least one more RBI- NANESB!] and Uehara made an appearance despite this not being a save situation.
Of course, the biggest takeaway was the Pineda pine tar fiasco- however, subtlety was never the Yankees' strong suit [which makes Pineda a better fit with the organization than Yankees fans will admit- NANESB!]. Reaction was instantaneous as the topics 'Yankees', 'Pineda', 'Pine Tar' and 'Girardi' began trending on social networking sites like twitter immediately.
Tomorrow represents the rubber game of the 3-game series before the Red Sox head off to Toronto for their first meeting of the season against the Blue Jays on Friday. CC Sabathia [2-2; 5.19 ERA] will take to the mound for New York while Boston sends out Felix Doubront [1-2; 5.48 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET and the game will be televised on NESN as well as the MLB network in some markets.
BOSTON BRUINS- The Boston Bruins have taken a 2-1 series lead over the Red Wings after Tuesday night's Game 3 from Joe Louis Arena. Most of the scoring took place in the first period and it was all Boston.
Dougie Hamilton got the Bruins on the board nine minutes into the first with a power play goal. With just over 4 minutes remaining in the first, Jimmy Howard couldn't get a glove on a Shawn Thornton rebound, but Jordan Caron was able to, beating Howard and putting the ruins up 2-0. Meanwhile, the Bruins defense managed to stymie the Red Wings and Tukka Rask ended up facing only 23 shots on goal- turning aside all of them.
With just over two minutes to go in regulation, the Red Wings decided to pull Howard for the extra attacker, but Patrice Bergeron was able to get ahold of the puck and score an empty-netter to give Boston a 3-0 lead. After going 1 for 3 on their power play opportunities, the Bruins take a 2-1 series lead as the series resumes Thursday night from Detroit. Game 4 is set to get underway from the Motor City at 8:00 ET and the game will be televised on NESN, NBC Sports as well as TSN north of the border.
The Red Sox lost by a final of 7-6 on Marathon Monday and things didn't get much better when the Yankees came to Fenway for the first time this season. Jon Lester- ostensibly the 'stopper'- was lit up like a Byung Hyun Kim-shaped Christmas Tree and the Red Sox would go on to lose by a 9-3 final.
It was up to Lackey to stop the damage and he got off to a good start, getting the first two batters out before allowing a single from Carlos Beltran before Yankees catcher Brian McCann flied out to end the inning.
In the bottom of the first, Grady Sizemore led off with a triple before Pedroia singled to bring him home and give the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead. After Big Papi flew out to center, Napoli singled and Pedoira moved over to 3rd. Mike Carp then followed up with a fly ball to shallow left center for the second out, but not deep enough to bring Pedroia home. With 2 away, AJ Pierzynski singled to bring Pedroia home and make it a 2-0 Boston lead.
In the 2nd, Lackey got Soriano, Teixeria and Gardner to strike out in order, but what happened in the bottom of the 2nd will have people talking about this game for weeks. After New York starter Michael Pineda got Holt and Jackie Bradley Jr to fly out, Red Sox manager John Farrell asked the umpires to check Pineda for a foreign substance....which turned out to be pine tar on his neck. Pineda was immediately ejected- this coming 10 days after he appeared to get away with using pine tar on a glove in a game against the Red Sox in Yankee Stadium. Clearly Farrell didn't object because Pineda wasn't confounding the Red Sox batters. David Phelps came out of the Yankee bullpen and managed to strike out Grady Sizemore on one pitch [Pineda had a 2-strike count against Sizemore when the umpires went to the mound- NANESB!].
Lackey- apparently unaided by foreign substances on his person- continued dealing in the 3rd. Despite allowing a leadoff single to Brian Roberts, Lackey got Kelly Johnson to hit into a fielder's choice, before getting Jacoby Ellsbury and Derek Jeter to strike out swinging.
Dustin Pedroia led off the bottom of the 3rd by reaching 1st on a throwing error by Jeter. Big Papi then managed to beat the shift employed against him and hit a single. With nobody out and two on, Mike Napoli then hit a ball that New York outfielder Brett Gardner couldn't find- turned out it had jammed itself into the padding of the wall in fair territory by the Pesky Pole for a ground rule double [Gardner initially thought it was still rolling around along the wall behind him- NANESB!]. That brought Pedroia home but Big Papi had to hold up at third. Carp then struck out swinging before Pierzynski drew a walk and Xander Bogaerts flew out to right field- but not deep enough to bring Papi home. However, Papi would come home on a wild pitch by Phelps to make it a 4-0 Red Sox lead.
Lackey's only blemish on Wednesday night came in the 6th when Carlos Beltran led off the inning with a double and moved up to 3rd on a Brian McCann groundout. Alfonso Soriano then hit a sac fly deep enough to bring Beltran home to put the Yankees on the board and ruin Lackey's shutout bid. Lackey then struck out Teixera to end the 6th inning.
The Red Sox got some extra insurance in the bottom of the 8th when Xander Bogaerts got on board and advanced to second thanks to a throwing error from 3B Kelly Johnson before coming home on a Brock Holt RBI single. Koji Uehara came on in the 9th and immediately gave up a single to Alfonso Soriano, but struck Teixiera, Gardner and Roberts out to end the ballgame and give the Red Sox the 5-1 win.
Lackey was nothing short of stellar on Wednesday night, going 8 complete innings, allowing 7 hits, one earned run, no walks and striking out 11 while improving his record to 3-2. Mike Napoli went 3-4 with an RBI [the foam wall by the Pesky Pole robbing him of at least one more RBI- NANESB!] and Uehara made an appearance despite this not being a save situation.
Of course, the biggest takeaway was the Pineda pine tar fiasco- however, subtlety was never the Yankees' strong suit [which makes Pineda a better fit with the organization than Yankees fans will admit- NANESB!]. Reaction was instantaneous as the topics 'Yankees', 'Pineda', 'Pine Tar' and 'Girardi' began trending on social networking sites like twitter immediately.
Tomorrow represents the rubber game of the 3-game series before the Red Sox head off to Toronto for their first meeting of the season against the Blue Jays on Friday. CC Sabathia [2-2; 5.19 ERA] will take to the mound for New York while Boston sends out Felix Doubront [1-2; 5.48 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET and the game will be televised on NESN as well as the MLB network in some markets.
BOSTON BRUINS- The Boston Bruins have taken a 2-1 series lead over the Red Wings after Tuesday night's Game 3 from Joe Louis Arena. Most of the scoring took place in the first period and it was all Boston.
Dougie Hamilton got the Bruins on the board nine minutes into the first with a power play goal. With just over 4 minutes remaining in the first, Jimmy Howard couldn't get a glove on a Shawn Thornton rebound, but Jordan Caron was able to, beating Howard and putting the ruins up 2-0. Meanwhile, the Bruins defense managed to stymie the Red Wings and Tukka Rask ended up facing only 23 shots on goal- turning aside all of them.
With just over two minutes to go in regulation, the Red Wings decided to pull Howard for the extra attacker, but Patrice Bergeron was able to get ahold of the puck and score an empty-netter to give Boston a 3-0 lead. After going 1 for 3 on their power play opportunities, the Bruins take a 2-1 series lead as the series resumes Thursday night from Detroit. Game 4 is set to get underway from the Motor City at 8:00 ET and the game will be televised on NESN, NBC Sports as well as TSN north of the border.
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Easter of Eden Sports Chowdah Update- Bruins Clip Wings to Even Series at 1-1; Red Sox Rally Late Against Baltimore on Sunday Night
Unlike Game 1, the Bruins didn't have to wait long to get on the board- Justin Florek caught Wings netminder Jimmy Howard out of position and he found the back of the net 7 and a half minutes to go in the first period. This had the distinction of not only being Florek's first NHL goal, but the Bruins first tally of the series.
About two minutes later, the Bruins would have a 5 on 3 man advantage for about 20 seconds with Detroit's Jakub Kindl being sent to the bin for interference at the 8:15 mark and Danny DeKeyser getting two for slashing at the 9:54 mark. Although Boston wasn't able to take advantage of the brief 2-man advantage, Reilly Smith put Boston up 2-0 with a power play goal 10:35 into the first period.
However, with 6:40 to go in the second, Detroit cut the lead in half on a goal that ricocheted in and was credited to Luke Glendening, making it a 2-1 game. However, Boston got the two goal cushion back in the final 1:45 of the second period on a Milan Lucic goal. In the opening two and a half minutes of the 3rd, Detroit's Kyle Quincey was given two minutes for roughing and Zdeno Chara would give the Bruins a 4-1 lead thanks to a power play goal 2:27 into the third.
The Bruins go on to win Sunday's Game 2 by a 4-1 final, sending the series over to Detroit knotted up at a game each. Tukka Rask stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced while Jimmy Howard stopped 25 of 29 shots faced. The Bruins were also 2 for 4 on the power play on Sunday afternoon.
Game 3 is set to take place from Joe Louis Arena on Tuesday night with a scheduled start time of 7:30 ET. The game will be televised on NESN, NBC Sports and TSN.
OTHER STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF NEWS- The defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks will have to do without the services of Defenseman Brent Seabrook, who received a suspension from the NHL after a hit on St Louis Blues captain David Backes on Saturday.
Video of the game shows Seabrook targeted Backes' head and at least one skate was off the ice when the Blackhawks defender was setting up for the hit, which came with the Blackhawks leading by a score of 3-2 with less than 5 minutes to go in regulation during Game 2. Seabrook was given a game misconduct and the Hawks were assessed a 5 minute charging penalty. In the dying seconds of regulation, the Blues also pulled Ryan Miller from the net for an additional attacker and that strategy bore fruit when Vladimir Tarasenko beat Corey Crawford with 7 seconds to go in the game, forcing OT in which Barrett Jackman would score the game winner 5:50 into the first OT to give the Blues a 2-0 series lead.
RED SOX- Coming into this weekend's series against Baltimore, the Red Sox were looking to climb out of the AL East basement- even though all of the teams were separated by no more than 2 and a half games on Friday. The series got off to a rough start when the O's manhandled Lackey on Friday night and Baltimore cruised to an 8-4 win over Boston.
On Saturday, Big Papi broke a 1-1 deadlock in the bottom of the 4th with a solo homer. Brock Holt, who was only called up from Pawtucket on Friday, gave the Red Sox some insurance in the bottom of the 7th when he belted a 1-out triple with Mike Carp on first to make it 3-1. Jonathan Herrera then grounded into a fielder's choice, sending Holt home and making it a 4-1 game before Koji Uehara came out of the pen and despite walking Matt Weiters to lead off the 9th, got the next three batters to strike out swinging, ending the ballgame.
Sunday night's nationally televised game on ESPN also marked the 1-year anniversary of the first Red Sox home game after the Boston Marathon bombings, and there was a pregame ceremony to honor the marathon runners, first responders and medical personnel from that fateful day.
Jake Peavy took to the mound on Sunday night and gave up three quick runs to Baltimore in the top of the first- a Nelson Cruz solo homer, a Matt Weiters RBI single and a JJ Hardy RBI sac fly. Meanwhile, Ubaldo Jiminez confounded the Red Sox bats through the first five innings as the O's added to their lead thanks to a 2-out David Lough ground rule double with 2 runners on that made it 4-0 in the 5th while outfielder Adam Jones hit an RBI single with two away in the top of the 6th. That was enough to chase Peavy from the mound and Chris Capuano came in from the bullpen to retire Weiters and prevent any further damage.
However, things were looking promising in the bottom of the 6th after David Ortiz got on board with a 1-out single, followed by Mike Napoli drawing a walk. Johnny Gomes then took a 2-2 Jiminez offering and planted it into the Monster Seats to put the Red Sox on the board and cut the O's lead to 5-3. Zach Britton came out of the Baltimore bullpen to relieve Jiminez and got the next two batters out. Capuano would get the Baltimore batters he faced out in order to give the Red Sox batters another chance in the bottom of the 7th.
After Pierzynski struck out to lead off the inning, Brock Holt singled and then made it to second when O's SS Ryan Flaherty dropped the ball when transferring it from his glove to his hand while attempting the double play on a Grady Sizemore ground ball- something the Red Sox admittedly caught a break on. Dustin Pedroia then singled to load the bases up before Big Papi beat the shift Baltimore had employed against him all night and hit an RBI single to make it a 1-run game. With Evan Meek coming out of the bullpen to relive Britton, Mike Napoli hit a ground ball to 3rd, but instead of trying to get the easy out at first or third, O's 3B Jonathan Schoop attempted to throw home and erase the runner there, but the throw was wide and his error tied the game. Gomes then fouled out and Danielv Nava struck out to end the Boston threat, but the game was tied 5-5.
Baltimore had a credible threat going in the top of the 9th thanks to a leadoff double from Adam Jones, who advanced to 3rd on a Weiters groundout. However, 2B Lombrardozzi would ground out to Andrew Miller and Jones couldn't advance. With two away, Mujica came out of the Boston bullpen in relief of Miller and got outfielder David Lough to strike out on four pitches to end the inning and strand Jones 90 feet away from home.
For the bottom of the 9th, Brian Matusz came out of the pen and got Grady Sizemore to strike out to start off the inning. Dustin Pedroia then belted a fly ball that was just a few inches short of a homer that caromed off the Green Monster in deep left center field [thanks to some fan interference- NANESB!]. After the umpires huddled and the play was reviewed in New York, the call was upheld and instead of a walkoff solo homer, Pedroia was at second with one away. Pedroia then advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch by Matusz with Big Papi in the batter's box. After falling behind 3-0 to Ortiz, O's manager Buck Showalter had Matusz intentionally walk Big Papi before bringing Darren O'Day out of the pen. O'Day struck Mike Napoli in the kneecap with a pitch to load up the bases and John Farrell decided to have Mike Capr pinch-hit for Jonny Gomes.
For a second, it looked as though Carp would end the game with a liner to shallow left field, but O's outfielder David Lough tracked it down for out number two. As Pedroia was returning to 3rd base, Lough made a way offline throw towards home that rattled around the backstop and seizing the opportunity, Pedroia ran home for the game-winning run. The Red Sox come all the way back from being shut out 5-0 to win Sunday night's game with two outs in the bottom of the 9th.
Tomorrow being Patriot's Day, the Red Sox and Baltimore will get underway especially early- 11:05 AM ET- and the game will be televised on NESN. Wei-Yin Chen [2-1; 4.76 ERA] will go up against Clay Buchholz [0-1; 5.51 ERA] to wrap up the 4-game series against the birds. As it turns out, Thursday's contest against Chicago was the last time they'll face an opponent that doesn't call the AL East home until early May. After the Baltimore series, the Yankees will come into town for a 3-game series before Boston head to Toronto for a 3-game series next weekend. On April 29th, the Red Sox will host the Tampa Bay Rays- the first time the two teams have met this season- before hosting Oakland on May 2nd.
Friday, April 18, 2014
Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- May the Schwartz Be With You, Blues Down Blackhawks in 3OT; Lester Pitches Gem on South Side
John K Kim- Chicago Tribune
MLB- After stumbling out of the gate early by being swept by the Brewers and dropping 3 out of four to the Yankees in the Bronx, the defending World Series Champion Red Sox were hoping to get back into the things by stringing together a few road wins against the White Sox. The opening game of the series didn't go their way when Chicago got a walkoff win in the bottom of the 9th thanks to a costly Xander Bogaerts throwing error, but on Wednesday night the Red Sox persevered in 14 innings [but only after Chicago sent an infielder onto the pitcher's mound, as some critics rightfully point out- NANESB!].
The win set up a Thursday evening rubber game, and with both teams having burned through their respective bullpens earlier that morning, they each needed quality outings from their starter to take them deep into the game. The two starters- Lester and Sale- had each taken shutouts into the top of the 6th inning, the only difference was that Lester was throwing a perfect game while Sale has allowed a few base hits and his pitch count was much higher. However, in the top of the 6th, Lester was finally able to get some run support thanks to a solo homer by Xander Boagerts to deep left. However, in the bottom of the 6th, Lester's bid for a perfect game fell by the wayside when he gave up a 1-out single to Tyler Flowers. Fresh off his pitching debut, White Sox 2B Leury Garcia then hit a ground-rule double to right field to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with only one out. Adam Eaton tied the game and got Chicago on the board with an infield hit to make it 1-1. However, Lester struck out Semien and got Viciedo to fly out to end the White Sox threat.
In the bottom of the 7th, Adam Dunn led off with a single and after Lester retired Paul Konerko and Alexi Ramirez, Alejandro de Aza hit a double to shallow right that Nava had a hard time corralling. Dunn decided to keep running to home plate, but he was gunned down by Pedroia's relay throw for the 3rd out of the inning.
In the 8th, Ronald Belasario came out of the White Sox bullpen to relieve Sale and led off by walking Jackie Bradley Jr. However, Belasario would then get Dustin Pedroia to hit into a double play ball and get Xander Bogaerts to strike out. Lester, still on the mound in the bottom of the 8th, led off the inning by giving up a single to Tyler Flowers, who then advanced to second on a Garcia sac-bunt. After striking out Eaton, Semien got on board with a swinging bunt and Flowers advanced to third, representing the go-ahead run for Chicago. But Lester got Dylan Viciedo to strike out and end the White Sox threat.
Big Papi led off the top of the 9th and grounded out, but Napoli hit a 1-out single to get on base. This was followed by a pinch-hit single from Mike Carp to give Boston 2 runners on base. David Ross would then take an 0-2 offering and belt a double into right field, driving Napoli home for the tie-breaking run and putting Carp on 3rd. After intentionally walking Nava, the White Sox pulled Belasario and had Scott Downs come out of the pen while Farrell had Grady Sizemore pinch-run for Carp. Jonathan Herrera then pinch-hit for Ryan Roberts and laid down a bunt that he beat out to first, allowing Sizemore to score and give Boston a little bit of insurance heading into the 9th. Jackie Bradley Jr ended the inning by hitting into an unusual double play where he lined out to short and Ross was caught off the bag at 3rd.
Still, the Red Sox re-took the lead heading into the bottom of the 9th and brought Junichi Tazawa out of the pen to close things out. Tazawa got Dunn and Konerko out but allowed a single to Alexei Ramierz [making it 16 games in a row he's hit in, breaking a club record set by Frank Thomas- NANESB]. However, Tazawa got pinch hitter Jose Abreu to ground out, ending the ballgame and giving the Red Sox a 3-1 win and taking two out of three from the Southsiders.
On Friday, the Red Sox will return home to Fenway to face off against Baltimore. John Lackey [2-1; 3.86 ERA] gets the start against Chris Tillman [1-1; 0.84 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET and the game will be televised on NESN and the MLB Network.
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS- The 2013-14 Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway (although the Bruins aren't in action until Friday night) and already we've got a series out in the Midwest that's raising some eyebrows.
In a wild first period that saw a total of five goals, the Blackhawks jumped out to a 3-2 lead over St Louis and after a scoreless 2nd period, Jaden Schwartz managed to tie the contest back up for St Louis and force OT with a goal with just 1:45 remaining in regulation.
Excpet not only did Schwartz force OT, there were two scoreless overtimes before things were resolved in triple overtime when Alexander Steen beat Cory Crawford to end the game and win Game 1 of the series for St Louis by a 4-3 final. Crawford faced 52 shots on goal for the Blackhawks while Miller faced 42 for St Louis [a busy night in regulation for Tukka Rask, some might say- NANESB!].
Meanwhile, Game 1 of the Bruins series against Detroit is set to start on Friday night. This is Detroit's 23rd consecutive year of playing in the NHL postseason. Puck will drop at 7:00 ET and the game will be televised on NBC Sports, NESN and TSN.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Extra Time Sports Chowdah Update- BoSox Snap Skid After 14 Inning Game in South Side; Something Special in Storrs, UConn Brings Home Men's, Women's Basketball Title; Union? Yes! Dutchmen Win First Ever NCAA Hockey Title
RED SOX- It took all night, but the Red Sox were able to snap their three-game losing streak.
Heading into Comiskey after dropping three out of four to the Yankees in the Bronx, the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox squandered a good start by Jake Peavy against his former team when the White Sox broke a 1-1 deadlock on a 2-out throwing error by Xander Bogaerts in the bottom of the 9th that plated Alexei Ramirez to give the southsiders a 2-1 walkoff win.
Wednesday night's game seemed full of missed opportunities for both teams as the Red Sox took an early 1-0 lead on a Bogaerts RBI single in the first inning. Chicago tied the game in the bottom of the first when Adam Eaton came home from third on a Ryan Robert throwing error to make it 1-1. The Pale Hose would then take a 3-1 lead when Alexei Ramirez belted a 2-run homer off of Clay Buchholz in the bottom of the 6th, but the Red Sox would chip away at that lead.
Boston would get a run back in the bottom of the 8th when Big Papi was walked to lead off the inning and went to second on a walk to Jonny Gomes, then 3rd when Grady Sizemore hit into a fielder's choice. Former White Sox catcher AJ Pierzynski then hit a sac fly deep enough to bring the lumbering Big Papi home to make it 3-2 Chicago. In the 9th, Dustin Pedroia drew a leadoff walk, followed by Bogarts drawing another walk and Big Papi flying out to left. Jonny Gomes then hit an infield single to load the bases before Pedroia came home on a Sizemore sac fly to tie the game before Pierzynsky grounded out to end the inning.
So into extras they went on the South Side, and once again walks would cost the White Sox as Boston took a 4-3 lead in the top of the 11th when Dustin Pedroia came home on a Jonny Gomes sac fly. However, in the bottom half of the 11th and with the White Sox down to their last strike and Jordan Danks on 2nd, Tyler Flowers got a base hit to tie the game at 4-4. Adam Eaton would then fly out to end the ChiSox threat in the bottom of the 11th, so the game continued into the early hours of Thursday morning.
With a depleted White Sox bullpen, Chicago sent out 2B Leury Garcia onto the pitchers mound. Garcia managed to get two out before Daniel Nava and Jonathan Herrera were on board for Jackie Bradley Jr hit a 2-out double to give Boston the lead once again, plating Nava and Herrera and making it a 6-4 Boston lead. After Capuano went 2⅔ innings, Burke Badenhop came out of the bullpen to face the final Chicago batter, striking out Marcus Semien to end the ballgame.
Boston goes on to win this one in 14, despite the fact that Chicago pitching allowed a total of 15 walks and Boston left 28 runners stranded on base- averaging two per inning in Wednesday night's game.
The rubber game is Thursday night with Jon Lester [1-2; 2.57 ERA] going up against Chicago's Chris Sale [3-0; 2.66 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.
NHL- The Boston Bruins ended the regular season by winning their final two games against Buffalo and New Jersey. The wins mean that Boston has secured the President's Cup Trophy- the NHL's award for the club with the best regular-season record [for point of reference, the Canucks won the President's Cup in the 2010-11 season and the Blackhawks won the honors during the lockout shortened 2013 season -NANESB!].
Under this year's newly-revised NHL playoff structure, the Bruins will face the Red Wings in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with the winner of this series going on to face the winner of the Montreal-Tampa bay Series. The Habs already lead that series 1 game to nothing while the Bruins and Red Wings won't get started until Friday at 7:30 ET from Boston. The Original Six matchup is set to be aired on NESN locally, NBC Sports network nationwide and TSN in Canada.
<NCAA HOOPS- Once again, it's been a pretty good week for University of Connecticut basketball. The Men's team faced off against the Kentucky Wildcats in the Men's final last week and led wire-to-wire [although Kentucky would close the gap considerably in the second half- NANESB
NCAA HOCKEY- Sadly, there will be no NCAA Men's hockey title inside the Hub this year. Union, the small upstate New York college just northwest of Albany, made the most of their second Frozen Four appearance since the 2011-2012 season, skating past the Boston College Eagles by a 5-4 final to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the National Title Game.
Although Minnesota got out to an early lead, Union took command late in the first period with an explosive two minutes getting goals from Mike Vecchione, Eli Lichtenwald and Daniel Ciampini to give the Dutchmen a 4-2 lead by the first intermission. Minnesota clawed back, getting the only goal of the 3rd from Taylor Cammarata to make it a 1-goal contest, but Union pulled away for good in the 3rd and would go on to win their first ever hockey title.
The Men's hockey title is the first national championship to come to Union since a 1926 Men's Lacrosse title.
OTHER NCAA MEN'S HOCKEY NEWS- Boston College senior Johnny Guardeau was awarded the Hobey Baker trophy this year. The Calgary Flames 4th round pick led the nation in scoring with 80 points in 40 games for Boston College and led in goals (6) and assists (44).
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