The adage that slow and steady wins the race seems pretty apt for the first ever major championship won yesterday at the British Open by Francesco Molinari.
The Italian golfer finished with a 2 under par 67 and didn't record a single bogey over the final 237 holes of the notoriously difficult course, even as the pressure was ratcheted up with a surge by Tiger Woods that had many thinking he could recapture a major title for the first time since 2007.
Defending champ Jordan Spieth was also in the mix but failed to record a birdie, and faded along with Woods, who misfired off the tee on the eleventh hole and double-bogeyed to ruin his chances for a win. The 35-year old Molinari finished with an overall 8-under 276 to earn the Claret Jug and the British Open title.
To major league baseball, and the Boston Red Sox coasted to a 9-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers yesterday, taking two out of three from the Tigers in their first series since the all star break.
Chris Sale struck out nine, pitching into the 7th, and there was plenty of run support including a three run opposite field homer from Jackie Bradley Jr. and a two-run triple off the bat of Andrew Benintendi.
The Red Sox have the last place Baltimore Orioles up next, another chance to make hay while the sun shines against a team with a losing record, and in the Orioles, one that no longer has its best player, Manny Machado, now with the contending Dodgers in Los Angeles.
The Sox also picked up half a game to extend their lead over the NY Yankees to five games for first place in the American League east, with the Yankees and Mets being rained out last night. The Yankees travel to St. Petersburg, Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Rays tonight and the Mets will host the San Diego Padres.
The Mets, however, didn't escape the Yankees series unscathed, and while the Mets have made something of an art in recent years out of finding ways to land players on the disabled list, their latest is about as unpredictable as anyone could imagine. Starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard is going on the 10-day disabled list after exhibiting symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease, a viral illness that most often affects children younger than 5 years old. The Mets did say it's not a situation that will keep Syndergaard out long, but he will miss his next scheduled start.
The Toronto Blue Jays got a go-ahead home run from Yangervis Solarte in the eighth inning, god for a 5-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
In the NY Penn League, the Vermont Lake Monsters couldn't prevent a three game sweep at the hands of the Hudson Valley Renegades, who rallied for a run in the bottom of the 9th and beat the Lake Monsters 2-1 in New York.
Jake Stone tripled for Hudson Valley to lead off the 9th and eventually scored on a sac fly for the walk-off victory. Rafael Kelly pitched well for Vermont, coming on for Gus Varland and going six innings while giving up just one run on five hits, but Clark Cota couldn't maintain the 1-all tie in the 9th and the Monsters drop to two games under .500 with the loss.
In the NECBL, Liam Griffin blasted a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning at Recreational Field in Montpelier, part of a seven-run inning that led to a 10-4 win over the Newport Gulls last night.
The Mountaineers needed the win as they try to climb into playoff contention, now five games out of a post-season berth. They get a day off today before taking on the Ocean State Waves in Rhode Island tomorrow.
The Upper Valley Nighthawks are much closer to that last available playoff spot in the northern division, one and a half games behind the Keene Swamp Bats, but they suffered a setback last night with a 4-2 loss against the North Adams Steeple Cats, just the first time Upper Valley has lost to North Adams in five games against them this season.
Finally this note from the Canadian Football League with news that former Texas A&M star quarterback Johnny Manziel has been traded from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to the Montreal Alouettes.
Manziel won the Heisman trophy as the best college player in the U.S. back in 2012 but a promising NFL career was derailed by a number of off-field problems, including a domestic assault charge in 2016 that was dismissed after he took an anger management course and participated in the NFL's substance abuse program. Manziel also recently said he stopped drinking after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
