By Tiffany Williams –
The Red Sox are rolling, the WooSox are surging, the Sea Dogs delivered a late comeback, Hartford wasted a brilliant pitching performance, the Connecticut Sun pulled out a home win, and the Patriots continued training camp with Mike Vrabel offering updates on several key players.
Across New England, Friday delivered a packed sports slate that stretched from Fenway Park to Polar Park, Mohegan Sun Arena and beyond.
The Red Sox extended one of the hottest stretches in franchise history with a 13-1 rout of the Athletics, while Worcester stayed in the thick of the International League playoff race with another win at Polar Park.
Portland rallied from three runs down with a massive seventh inning, Hartford fell 1-0 despite a near no-hitter, and Connecticut closed out Phoenix in a tight WNBA matchup.
Meanwhile, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel addressed injuries, roster competition, the team’s Blue-White scrimmage and the legacy of former teammate Adam Vinatieri.
Red Sox Stay Red-Hot With Ninth Straight Win
The Boston Red Sox improved to 64-51 with a 13-1 victory over the Athletics, extending their winning streak to nine games and giving Boston 11 victories in its last 12.
The Red Sox are now a season-high 13 games over .500 and are 18-3 since the All-Star break.
Boston has gone an MLB-best 27-3 since July 3 and 32-5 since June 25. Both stretches represent the best 30-game and 37-game spans in franchise history.
The offense has been relentless.
Boston has homered in a season-high 11 consecutive games dating back to July 27, producing 20 home runs during that stretch.
It is the longest active home run streak in Major League Baseball and Boston’s longest since a 12-game stretch from April 13 through April 26, 2025.
The Red Sox improved to 53-23 when hitting at least one home run this season, compared with an 11-28 record when failing to homer.
Boston has also now scored at least 12 runs in consecutive games for the first time since May 9 through May 11, 2016, when the Red Sox did it in three straight.
Friday marked the seventh time this season Boston scored at least 10 runs and the third time in the last four games.
The Red Sox have scored 51 runs in their last five games, their most over a five-game span since August 11 through August 15, 2021.
Boston also climbed back to .500 at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox improved to 29-29 at home, reaching the .500 mark there for the first time since April 20 against Detroit.
They have won 12 of their last 14 games at Fenway and 17 of their last 21 home games dating back to June 25.
Payton Tolle Turns In Historic Strikeout Performance
Payton Tolle delivered one of the most dominant pitching performances by a Red Sox starter in recent years.
Tolle worked six innings, allowed two hits and one run, and struck out a career-high 14 batters.
His previous career high was 11 strikeouts, recorded April 23 against the Yankees.
Tolle became the first Red Sox pitcher to record at least 14 strikeouts in a game since Chris Sale struck out 17 against Colorado on May 14, 2019.
He also became only the second Red Sox pitcher age 23 or younger to record at least 12 strikeouts without issuing a walk.
The other was Roger Clemens, who struck out 20 against Seattle on April 29, 1986.
Tolle became just the 19th pitcher in MLB history to accomplish that combination and the first since Spencer Strider recorded 16 strikeouts against Colorado on September 1, 2022.
His 14 strikeouts were also the most ever by a Red Sox pitcher in an outing lasting no more than six innings.
The previous high was 13, accomplished three times, most recently by Nick Pivetta against Oakland on July 17, 2023.
According to OptaStats, Tolle also became the only MLB pitcher since pitches were first tracked in 1988 to record at least 14 strikeouts while throwing fewer than 85 pitches.
Boston’s Offense Keeps Pouring It On
Jarren Duran went 1-for-4 with a run, a home run, two RBI and a walk.
His two-run homer in the second inning was his third home run in his last five games.
Duran is batting .302 with an .830 OPS over his last 14 games dating back to July 24.
Wilyer Abreu went 2-for-2 with a run, a double, three RBI and a walk.
He drove in two runs with a second-inning double before adding an RBI single and scoring in the fourth.
Abreu has 11 hits in his last 30 at-bats with five home runs and 10 RBI over his last eight games.
Jake Rogers went 2-for-3 with three runs, two doubles, an RBI and a walk.
His two extra-base hits marked his first game with multiple extra-base hits since August 31, 2025, when he was with Detroit.
Masataka Yoshida went 2-for-4 with a run, a double, two RBI and a sacrifice fly.
Yoshida recorded his 17th multi-hit game of the season and his fifth in his last seven games played.
He is batting .370 with a .993 OPS over that stretch.
Andruw Monasterio added two hits, a run, an RBI and a walk.
He extended his career-high on-base streak to 19 games.
Monasterio has hit safely in 18 of those 19 games and in each of his last eight.
He is batting .400 with a 1.145 OPS during the streak.
Athletics Continue Slide
The Athletics fell to 45-71 and extended their losing streak to nine games.
That is their second-longest skid of the season behind a 10-game losing streak from July 3 through July 17.
The Athletics are 4-25 over their last 29 games dating back to July 3 and 7-33 over their last 40 games dating back to June 20.
They dropped to 24-35 on the road and have lost 16 of their last 18 away games since June 27.
Athletics batters struck out at least 14 times against an opposing starter for the first time since Pablo López recorded 14 strikeouts for Minnesota on June 23, 2024.
Boston became the latest opponent to score at least 10 runs against Oakland, which has now allowed double-digit runs an MLB-high 18 times this season.
The Athletics were also held to one run or fewer for the 28th time, also the most in Major League Baseball.
Tyler Soderstrom supplied Oakland’s only run with a solo home run in the fifth inning.
It was his 18th homer of the season.
Worcester Continues Its Own Surge
Forty-five miles west of Fenway Park, the Worcester Red Sox continued an impressive run of their own.
Franklin Arias, the No. 2 rated prospect in Minor League Baseball, delivered a two-run double in the fifth inning as the WooSox beat the Lehigh Valley IronPigs 5-4 Friday night at Polar Park.
A season-high crowd of 8,797 watched Worcester improve to 59-48.
The WooSox have won 14 of their last 16 games and moved 11 games over .500 for the first time since finishing the 2023 season at 79-68.
Worcester has also won three straight, seven of its last eight overall and 10 of its last 11 home games.
The WooSox are 14-2 since July 22 and 23-7 since June 28.
Their 23-13 second-half record has moved them to within one-half game of first place in the 20-team International League race for the second-half playoff berth.
Romero Goes Deep at Polar Park
Lehigh Valley struck first with two runs in the opening inning.
Keaton Anthony and former Red Sox outfielder Tommy Pham each delivered two-out RBI doubles against Worcester starter Alec Gamboa.
Gamboa worked two innings and allowed the two runs.
Worcester answered in the second.
Mikey Romero crushed a solo home run over everything in right field.
The blast traveled 433 feet and came off the bat at 108 mph.
It was Romero’s team-leading 10th home run of the season.
The WooSox tied the game in the fourth inning.
Romy Gonzalez, playing his first game since being optioned from Boston earlier in the week, walked to begin the inning.
Mickey Gasper followed with a double.
Gonzalez eventually scored the tying run on Allan Castro’s sacrifice fly.
Arias Delivers the Biggest Hit
Noah Song provided 3⅓ scoreless innings in relief of Gamboa.
Song allowed only one hit and struck out three.
He improved to 2-2 after Worcester broke the tie in the fifth.
Arias came through with a clutch two-run double that pushed the WooSox in front.
The 20-year-old infielder, serving as the designated hitter Friday, extended his hitting streak to nine games.
Arias is batting .319 through his first 11 games with Worcester after hitting .318 with 19 home runs and 52 RBI in 75 games for Double-A Portland.
Lehigh Valley pulled within one run in the seventh, but Worcester added an insurance run in the eighth.
Gasper singled before scoring on Brett Harris’ RBI fielder’s choice.
Paul McIntosh hit a solo home run with two outs in the ninth for Lehigh Valley.
Angel Bastardo finished the game, allowing one run on one hit across two innings while striking out three.
He earned his second save of the season.
Worcester’s defense also turned three double plays.
The WooSox have committed only two errors over their last 12 games.
Adley Rutschman Heading to Worcester
Another major development came after Boston’s win at Fenway Park.
Red Sox manager Chad Tracy announced that recently acquired catcher Adley Rutschman will report to Worcester on Saturday for an injury rehabilitation assignment.
Rutschman is expected to catch and play five innings when Worcester hosts Lehigh Valley at 4:05 p.m. at Polar Park.
The WooSox will also debut 23-year-old right-hander Gage Ziehl.
Ziehl spent the season with Double-A Portland, where he went 6-3 with a 4.33 ERA.
He is scheduled to face Lehigh Valley right-hander Brian Keller, who enters at 0-2 with a 3.32 ERA.
The game will air on NESN+ and will be carried on NASH 98.9 FM.
Saturday’s schedule will also include the Larry Lucchino Writers Series featuring Teddy Tannenbaum in the DCU Club from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Pregame ceremonies will feature Military Appreciation Day.
A Sunset Catch on the Field is scheduled following the game, weather permitting, followed by a Scout Sleepover presented by Convenient MD.
Sea Dogs Rally With Six-Run Seventh
The Portland Sea Dogs produced one of the night’s biggest comebacks.
Portland scored six runs with two outs in the seventh inning to rally past the New Hampshire Fisher Cats 7-4.
The Sea Dogs improved to 21-16 in the second half and 56-49 overall.
Brooks Brannon and Miguel Bleis both homered, giving Portland its 41st multi-home run game of the season.
Brannon went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
Bleis went 2-for-4 with a walk and three RBI.
Nate Baez finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run.
Brannon opened the scoring with a solo home run in the third inning.
New Hampshire answered with two runs in the bottom half on RBI singles by Alexis Hernandez and Hedbert Perez.
Aaron Parker’s two-run homer in the fifth pushed the Fisher Cats’ advantage to 4-1.
Then Portland erupted.
Ahbram Liendo opened the seventh with a walk.
Will Turner later walked for his 70th free pass of the season, and Brannon singled to load the bases.
Yoeilin Cespedes drew a four-pitch walk to force in a run.
Baez then delivered a two-run single with two strikes to tie the game at 4.
Bleis followed with a three-run home run to left that put Portland ahead 7-4.
Patrick Halligan earned the win after throwing two scoreless innings.
Jeremy Wu-Yelland recorded his first save of the season with two scoreless innings and four strikeouts.
Hartford Falls Despite Flesland Gem
The Hartford Yard Goats received seven outstanding innings from Stu Flesland but still suffered a 1-0 loss to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
Flesland carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning.
He allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out seven across seven shutout innings.
The loss extended Hartford’s skid to a season-high five games.
Flesland retired the first nine hitters he faced and struck out the side in the second inning.
He recorded six strikeouts through the first three innings and allowed only one baserunner through six innings.
That came on a leadoff walk in the fourth.
He retired 18 of the first 19 batters he faced.
Binghamton starter Noah Hall was nearly as dominant.
Hall allowed just two hits across six scoreless innings.
Hartford’s best early opportunity came in the first after Dyan Jorge singled and stole second.
He was later thrown out attempting to steal third.
The Yard Goats also received a leadoff walk in the second and a two-out double from Cole Messina in the fifth but failed to score.
Marco Vargas ended Flesland’s no-hit bid with a leadoff single in the seventh.
Flesland escaped the inning without allowing a run.
Binghamton finally broke through in the eighth.
John Bay led off with a single against reliever Carlos Torres.
Kevin Parada followed with a double to the right-field fence, scoring Bay from first for the only run of the night.
Saul Rivera worked around a one-out walk in the ninth to earn the save.
Connecticut Sun Rally Past Phoenix
The Connecticut Sun improved to 8-23 with a 75-72 win over the Phoenix Mercury at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Kennedy Burke led Connecticut with 15 points off the bench.
Aaliyah Edwards added 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Leila Lacan and Diamond Miller each scored nine points.
Connecticut trailed 27-18 after the first quarter and entered halftime behind 40-32.
The Sun began cutting into the deficit during the third quarter before producing a 26-point fourth quarter.
The game remained tight throughout the closing minutes.
Burke hit a three-pointer to tie the game with five minutes remaining.
Saniya Rivers then scored in the paint to put Connecticut in front.
Phoenix regained the lead briefly before Miller hit a three and Edwards scored inside.
Kelsey Plum answered with a three for Phoenix.
Burke then connected from deep again to push Connecticut’s lead back to four.
The Mercury continued to battle, but Connecticut held on for the three-point victory.
The Sun shot 7-of-20 from three-point range compared with Phoenix’s 5-of-28.
Connecticut outrebounded Phoenix 34-29 and finished with five blocks to the Mercury’s one.
Phoenix led 10-5 in steals and held a 40-32 advantage in points in the paint.
The Mercury also forced 18 Connecticut turnovers and scored 20 points off those turnovers.
The difference came from Connecticut’s bench.
The Sun reserves outscored Phoenix’s bench 39-9.
Plum led all scorers with 25 points for Phoenix.
The Sun will host the Atlanta Dream on Thursday, August 13 at 7 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Vrabel Updates Patriots Ahead of Blue-White Scrimmage
At Patriots training camp, head coach Mike Vrabel announced that wide receiver Romeo Doubs was back with the team after missing two practices.
“Nope, Romeo is back today. It was a personal thing, if he wants to address it. It’s all very positive, but back and ready to work. And today, I know Stacey [James] mentioned to you a little bit about what the schedule would be, but I’ll just clean it up. We have the second annual Blue-White scrimmage. We split the coaching staff up. We had a draft. Terrell Williams will be the head coach on the white team. The blue team will be led by Tony Dews. The offensive coordinators for the game will be Todd Downing and Ashton Grant, and then calling defense is going to be Scott Booker and Justin Hamilton. And then we split Jeremy Springer and Tom Quinn up. So, Stretch [John Streicher] and I will be the officials, if there’s any issues there. But, we held a draft, and excited about just getting out there, playing, competing and putting them in the same situations that we’ve been here working through camp.”
Vrabel also addressed the physical demands of camp.
“Grind? My body feels the same every day that I wake up, so I don’t know what the grind is for me. I guess you’d have to ask the players. We try to put a good schedule together, one that allows them to get the work in that they need, and then try to find a way to recover the best that we can, but also continue on with the training camp installation and things that have to get covered this time of year. So, I mean, I think it’s — everybody’s doing the same thing all around the National Football League, in colleges and everything else. So, the grind is part of it. I had a coach tell me one time, “The grind is going to get to everybody sooner or later. Some guys it’s sooner, and some guys it’s later.” So, the grind will get you eventually, but we hope that it doesn’t happen anytime soon.”
Camp Injuries Remain Part of the Story
Vrabel said Will Campbell should be ready after the weekend.
“I think he’ll be ready to go after the weekend. I don’t know if he’ll participate this morning.”
The Patriots are also taking a cautious approach with Brenden Schooler.
“Well, I think it’s hard to tell. I think it’s one that we just want to be very cautious with. And he’s got such a specific, unique role, and yes, he wants to be involved in defense and use those reps to improve what his number one role is on our football team, which is to be an elite special teams player, which he did last year. You’d see him out there playing safety because he wanted to practice open field tackling and all these things, which I think is great. And so, until he’s back, I don’t think there’s any real reason to push that or force that issue. We want to make sure that he’s healthy. So, still a large part of what we want to do and what we’re planning on doing. I just don’t think there’s any reason to rush him back right now, until he’s as close to 100% as he possibly can be.”
Cornerback Carlton Davis III is expected to remain out through next week.
“CD will be out probably till the end of next week. I don’t anticipate seeing him with the joint practices with the Colts or available for that game, but staying engaged, and this is why you love to develop young coaches on your staff. So, let’s say, for example, Justin [Hamilton]’s meeting with the corners in the morning as they get ready for practice, and we know that CD’s not going to be up for that day of practice. Kevin Richardson can take him into the mobile classroom and go through a specific script and plays and cater to exactly the things that CD needs, so that again, he can stay engaged while he’s not in. I’ve always told you, it’s hard to be out dealing with something and then install new installations going in, but you’re not getting to rep it physically. So, we’re trying to just keep him engaged, and he is, and I’m excited that we have good young coaches that can do that while the other coaches are taking the rest of the group.”
Competition Continues at Wide Receiver
Vrabel also addressed Kyle Williams and the crowded receiver room.
“Again, all these opportunities, and he’ll continue to earn opportunities. I really, really know that Kyle is going to help us. His speed is going to help us. And I don’t want to use this and get this to be overblown, and I’m going to use the word scheme or – He’s got a skill set, right? We’re going to find ways to get him the ball, and it may be outside of just the normal installation plays, but that’s my responsibility, that’s Josh [McDaniels]’s responsibility, that’s Todd [Downings]’s, responsibility is to put him in those positions where we see the speed that showed up last year. And so, I know that he is going to be a large part of what we’re going to do, and those opportunities will continue to come. His release skills, his speed, his vertical speed, those are all things that we have to continue to take advantage of as we progress. And it’s a great room. It’s a good competitive room. And by competing and getting out there every single day, those will by nature increase his opportunities.”
Vrabel said uncertainty is part of professional football.
“Well, I think that uncertainty in professional sports, it’s a large part of what you have to deal with. And we ask them and try to help them not focus on what things that they can’t control. Focus on trying to come in every day, compete, figure out what they need to do to get better, take the coaching from yesterday, not make the same mistakes twice, figure out what their role is, and then usually everything kind of takes care of itself after that. This isn’t the first time that a team’s had good depth at a position. I can go back to when I played here and showed up and there was eight linebackers that had all started for teams the previous year, and nobody asked a whole lot of questions. It was just practice your ass off and earn a role.”
Vrabel later said keeping all seven receivers remains possible.
“Sure. Yeah. All we have to do is figure out the best way to keep guys that are going to help us win, that have roles on this team and that help us win. And that’s our job, that’s me, Eliot [Wolf], Ryan [Cowden] and Stretch [John Streicher], and everybody’s job is to try to find ways to keep the guys that give us the best chance to win however that may be.”
Vrabel Reflects on Adam Vinatieri
Vrabel also spoke about former Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri ahead of his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction.
“Well, I think the favorite story is he showed up one offseason with a yellow Lamborghini or Ferrari or something, and we crushed him. And I think he took it back and then got a normal color. But the kick in the snow, if you were there, you were on that field, to be able to think that could somehow be done. I struggled to run on that field that day, and he was able to make the kick that he made. And it was always just – any time we got into those situations, we knew if we can just get it to the 35-yard line that we were going to win the football game. And so, for him to be able to do that in the biggest moments was a pleasure to – He trained hard, he had a routine, engaged with — He wasn’t off. He wasn’t the lonely kicker, wasn’t by himself. He was a part of the football team.”
Vrabel said watching former teammates receive Hall of Fame recognition remains meaningful.
“Well, I think when you have success as a team, I think everybody gets celebrated, and rightfully so. So, to be able to have spent time with all those players as teammates, people and former players and be excited to see them this season, hopefully as many that can come back for the 25-year anniversary of that 2001 team, that’ll be something that I’m looking forward to.”
Friday’s WNBA and Soccer Results
Elsewhere in the WNBA, Washington defeated Atlanta 79-74.
Shakira Austin led Washington with 21 points, while Allisha Gray scored 26 for Atlanta.
Golden State and Dallas were also scheduled to play Friday night.
In the English Carabao Cup, Wolverhampton defeated Port Vale 3-0 at Molineux Stadium.
Stevenage defeated Wycombe 2-1 at Adams Park.
Middlesbrough defeated Wrexham 1-0 at Riverside Stadium.
In the NWSL, Louisville defeated Orlando 3-1 at Inter&Co Stadium.
Gotham FC defeated San Diego 1-0 at Red Bull Arena.
In the Dutch Eredivisie, Excelsior defeated Cambuur 4-0 at Kooi Stadium.
In Portugal’s Primeira Liga, Estoril and Famalicão played to a 1-1 draw at Estádio António Coimbra da Mota.
In UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifying, Breidablik defeated Dinamo 3-2 after extra time at Aktobe Central Stadium.
Servette defeated Aktobe 4-0 at the same venue.
In Mexico’s Liga de Expansión MX, Tampico Madero defeated Durango 3-0, while La Paz defeated Tepatitlán 5-0.
In ASEAN Championship play, Singapore and Indonesia finished in a 1-1 draw at Jalan Besar Stadium.
Vietnam defeated Cambodia 3-1.
A Big Friday Across New England Sports
The biggest story of the night remained the surge of the Red Sox organization.
Boston has won nine straight games and owns the best 30-game stretch in franchise history.
Worcester has climbed within one-half game of first place in the International League second-half race.
Portland showed its ability to erase a late deficit with six runs in one inning.
Hartford received seven dominant innings from its starter but came away empty.
Connecticut earned a badly needed victory behind a massive contribution from its bench.
And in Foxborough, the Patriots continued preparing for the season with roster battles, injury management and the Blue-White scrimmage taking center stage.
For Boston and Worcester in particular, what looked like separate midseason surges has become something much larger.
The Red Sox are playing their best baseball of the season.
The WooSox are doing the same.
And as August moves forward, both clubs suddenly find themselves playing games with increasingly significant postseason implications.