The one constant for the Boston Red Sox this season has been their relentless offense, and that theme continued at Fenway Park in a 13-2 walloping of the Minnesota Twins last night.
The Sox pounded out seventeen hits, with Dustin Pedroia collecting five of those. Mookie Betts homered on the first pitch of the game, and Jackie Bradley Jr. also went yard along with David Ortiz, his twenty-fourth of the year and five-hundred twenty-seventh for his stellar career as he keeps making a push for the greatest retirement year ever for a pro athlete. Steven Wright got the start for the Sox and didn't give up a hit until the fifth inning, finishing with nine strike-outs, tying his career high.
In the Bronx, the Baltimore Orioles avoided a four-game sweep at the hands of the NY Yankees, winning 4-1 behind Chris Tillman's fourteenth win of the year, tying him for the league lead in wins among A.L. pitchers. CC Sabathia took the loss for the Yankees, failing to get the present he probably most wanted on his thirty-sixth birthday.
The NY Mets were idle last night. They're in Miami tonight to face the Marlins.
One other note, and it's not a good one for fans of the L.A. Dodgers. Ace pitcher and last year's CY Young winner Clayton Kershaw is likely done for the season with a back problem that may require surgery.
In New York Penn League action, two wild pitches led to the tying and eventual game-winning run for the Vermont Lake Monsters in their 4-3 win over the Hudson Valley Renegades at Centennial Field last night.
Nate Mondou was two for four with an RBI single and Will Gilbert picked up his professional save, working out of a two-on, one-out jam in the eighth, and then finishing off the Renegades in the ninth.
In the NECBL the Vermont Mountaineers split a double-header with the Plymouth Pilgrims, winning game one 3-2 and falling in the nightcap 4-3. Both games were as close as the scores would indicate, each ending in walk-off hits. Joe Tiejen got the job done for Vermont in game one with a walk-off RBI double in the seventh to plate Trevor Ezell with the game winner. In game two, the Mountaineers seemed poised for a comeback win in the final frame, scoring three in the seventh to tie the game, but Tyler Kirkpatrick won it for Plymouth with an RBI single in the bottom of the frame. The Mountaineers move on to play the Gulls in Newport, Rhode Island tonight.
In White River Junction, the Upper Valley Nighthawks couldn't stop the Sanford Mainers offense in an 11-2 loss. The Nighthawks have ten games left in their inaugural season, with time running out to make it into the playoffs.
At Thunder Road in Barre, Milton's Scott Dragon won the Governor's Cup race by about as slim a margin you can possibly muster, crossing the line one-hundredth of a second ahead of Nick Sweet in the most thrilling finish in the history of the 150 lap race.
There are three days of racing still to go on bicycles at the Tour de France, two in the grueling Alps stages, but Britain's Chris Froome has a comfortable lead and looks likely to capture his third title with an overall lead of nearly four minutes over his closest competitor.
