The Boston Red Sox completed their biggest comeback of the season yesterday, overcoming a 7-1 deficit to beat the Atlanta Braves on a home run by a former all-star, who until yesterday's game, was content to wait for his Red Sox debut while toiling in the minors.
Brandon Phillips is 37 years old and could have opted out from his minor league assignment with Boston's Triple A team, where he's been playing for half the season after failing to get picked up by another major league club when the season started.
But the former gold glover wanted a chance to play with a contender, and he got his shot yesterday following the September first expansion of rosters. Phillips started at second base, wearing number zero, the first Red Sox player in history to do so, and came to the plate in the 9th inning with the Red Sox trailing 8-7, one man on and two out.
Freddie Freeman had given Atlanta that one run lead with a homer off Brandon Workman in the bottom of the 8th, and that looked like it would thwart Boston's chip-away comeback from six runs down to tie it.
But Phillips blasted an offering from A.J. Minter deep into the left field stands, and former Braves closer Craig Kimbrel finished things off to secure a 9-8 Red Sox win, and the Sox get out of Atlanta with a three-game sweep of the N.L. east-leading Braves.
In Oakland, the A's beat the NY Yankees 8-2, pushing New York 9 1/2 games behind the Red Sox and the A's are now within three and a half of the Yanks for the top wild card spot. Mike Fiers won his fourth start for Oakland since being acquired at the trade deadline and worked out of a bases loaded jam in the first that could have blown the game open. Yankee ace Luis Severino took the loss and got crossed up multiple times with catcher Gary Sanchez in the first, issuing two wild pitches to go along with two passed balls by Sanchez leading to two Oakland runs.
Zach Wheeler of the NY Mets is a tough customer. He suffered a chest contusion on a line drive comebacker against the L.A. Dodgers last night, but stayed in the game and pitched the Mets to a 7-3 win, playing spoiler as it sets the Dodgers back further into second place in the N.L. west, now a game and a half behind the division leading Colorado Rockies.
At the U.S. Open tennis tournament John Millman will have to be content with defeating Roger Federer in the quarter finals. He bowed out in straight sets to Novak Djokovic yesterday, and Djokovic will next face Kei Nishikori of Japan, who won a 5-set marathon against Marin Cilic yesterday.
And along with having a men's player make it to the semis, Naomi Osaki becomes the first Japanese woman to advance to a Grand Slam semifinal since 1996. She'll take on American Madison Keys tonight and Serena Williams will be in action as well, facing Anastasija Sevastova.
The other men's semi-final this morning features defending champ Rafael Nadal against Juan Martin del Potro.
The Saint Michael's Purple Knights men's soccer team won their first game of the season at their Duffy Field home opener, on goals by Jacob von Giebel , Jake Bannon, and Manchester, Vermont native Burr and Burton Academy alum Wesley Lord, beating St. Anselm 3-1.
In women's college soccer, Hannah Coupas scored her first collegiate goal, the game winner in Castleton topping Westfield State University 2-1.
The Middlebury Panthers scored four unanswered goals for a 5-1 win over Gordon College. Sabrina Glaser scored twice for the Panthers.
In Northfield, Julia Koron scored twice and Barnard, Vermont native Kaila Lemmer also tallied to lead the Cadets to a 4-1 win over Northern Vermont-Johnson. The Cadets are off to a 3-0 start to their season, matching the best start in program history.
