By Tiffany Williams –
Friday night turned into a complete New England sports whirlwind with the Connecticut Sun getting steamrolled in Brooklyn, the Worcester Red Sox continuing to own first place at Polar Park, the Portland Sea Dogs surviving absolute baseball insanity in Portland, and the New York Knicks putting Philadelphia on the edge of elimination in front of a stunned crowd at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The loudest statement of the night came from the defending powerhouse New York Liberty, who opened their historic 30th season by completely dismantling the Connecticut Sun, 106-75, at Barclays Center. Breanna Stewart looked like an MVP candidate from opening tip, torching Connecticut for 31 points and 10 rebounds while Julie Vanloo carved apart the Sun defense with 11 assists.
Connecticut never recovered from a catastrophic first quarter.
The Liberty exploded for 36 points in the opening frame while the Sun managed only 13. Diamond Miller tried dragging Connecticut back into the fight and finished with a career-high 16 points, while Aneesah Morrow added 15 and Brittney Griner chipped in 13, but New York’s offense was simply overwhelming from start to finish.
Marine Johannès bombed away from deep, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton extended the lead in the second quarter and Breanna Stewart completely controlled the game whenever Connecticut threatened to build momentum. The Liberty shot 52.2% from the field and dominated the rebounding battle 53-43 while handing the Sun a brutal opening-night reality check.
Meanwhile back in Worcester, the WooSox kept turning Polar Park into a nightmare for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
The Worcester Red Sox rolled to an 8-3 victory Friday night in front of a sellout crowd of 7,958, moving to 21-15 on the season and strengthening their grip atop the International League East division. Eight of Worcester’s nine starters recorded at least one hit as the WooSox improved to 3-1 in the six-game series against the Triple-A Yankees affiliate.
Tsung-Che Cheng blasted a solo homer in the first inning to erase an early RailRiders lead before Nick Sogard completely blew the game open in the fourth inning with a three-run homer to right-center field. Jason Delay collected three hits, Matt Thaiss doubled home a run and Kristian Campbell ripped a two-run double down the left-field line in the sixth to bury Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for good.
Isaac Coffey gave Worcester four solid innings while Noah Song delivered one of the biggest moments of the game out of the bullpen, escaping a dangerous sixth inning by getting Anthony Volpe to ground out with runners on second and third. Tommy Kahnle later stranded two runners in a scoreless ninth inning to close the door.
And because Worcester baseball apparently refuses to slow down this week, Polar Park immediately pivoted into another massive weekend of promotions and events.
Saturday’s scheduled game featured the return of “Deuces Wild,” bringing $2 hot dogs, $2 beers and $2 waters back to the ballpark, along with Brain Tumor Awareness Day activities, the Larry Lucchino Writers Series featuring Women’s Professional Baseball League Commissioner Justine Siegal and a postgame Sunset Catch on the Field event.
Up in Portland, the Sea Dogs somehow managed to lose one of the craziest games of the entire minor league season.
The Portland Sea Dogs fell 15-13 in 10 innings to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats after a game that turned into complete baseball chaos by the late innings. Portland smashed a season-high five home runs, including two from Brooks Brannon, and still lost after running completely out of available pitchers.
The Sea Dogs trailed 7-0 almost immediately before beginning a furious comeback powered by home runs from Nate Baez, Nelly Taylor and Brooks Brannon. Then came the ninth inning madness.
Trailing 13-10 with two outs, Marvin Alcantara crushed a game-tying two-run homer 412 feet to straightaway center field, sending Hadlock Field into a frenzy.
But because Portland had completely exhausted its bullpen, infielder Tyler McDonough was forced to pitch the 10th inning cold after recording the final out of the ninth. The Fisher Cats immediately capitalized, blasting the eventual game-winning homer and escaping with the wild victory.
And at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox quietly continued building momentum.
Boston shut out the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 behind another dominant performance from rookie left-hander Connelly Early, who delivered seven scoreless innings while allowing only four hits and striking out eight.
The Red Sox have now won four of their last five games and continue tightening things defensively, recording their Major League-leading sixth shutout of the season. Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela both launched solo home runs while Aroldis Chapman extended his streak to 23 consecutive converted save opportunities.
Connelly Early’s numbers are becoming impossible to ignore.
The young lefty became the first player in MLB’s Modern Era to start and allow three or fewer runs and five or fewer hits in 11 of his first 12 career games. His 68 strikeouts through 12 career games are already the third most in Red Sox history behind only Daisuke Matsuzaka and Lynn McGlothen.
And finally, down in Philadelphia, the New York Knicks moved within one win of advancing after overpowering the 76ers 108-94 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Jalen Brunson completely controlled the game with 33 points and nine assists while Mikal Bridges added 23 points and Karl-Anthony Towns grabbed 12 rebounds. The Knicks now lead the series 3-0 and have completely flipped the pressure onto Philadelphia heading into Game 4.
The 76ers had no answer once New York’s offense settled in after the first quarter.
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 22 points for Philadelphia while Joel Embiid added 18 and Tyrese Maxey finished with 17, but the Knicks dominated the glass 49-33 and repeatedly punished the Sixers inside the paint.
By the end of the night, Friday had turned into a brutal sports reality check for Connecticut basketball, another celebration at Polar Park, complete baseball insanity in Portland and yet another reminder that the Knicks suddenly look very real in the Eastern Conference playoffs.