Weekend Sports Update: Red Sox Roll, Mets Rally, Yankees Fall, Sun Battle Liberty and More

By Tiffany Williams –

Saturday delivered everything at once across the New England and New York sports landscape — dominance, collapse, missed opportunities, late-game drama and some performances that deserve a much harder look than the final score alone.

The Boston Red Sox walked into Pittsburgh and suffocated the Pirates. The New York Mets waited until the ninth inning to steal a game from Washington. The Yankees scored once in Toronto and then practically vanished offensively. The Connecticut Sun fought New York to the finish but could not survive the Liberty’s three-point barrage.

Down in the minors, Worcester stranded an astonishing 17 runners, Portland got demolished, Hartford gave away a late lead, New Hampshire’s losing streak against Somerset reached double digits and Brooklyn won a game in which one run was enough.

And that wasn’t all.

The New England Revolution somehow outshot Toronto FC 25-3, controlled 65 percent of possession and still lost.

That is the kind of sports day Saturday became.

Sonny Gray Makes Pittsburgh Look Helpless

The Red Sox did not need an offensive explosion at PNC Park.

They had Sonny Gray.

Gray gave Boston seven shutout innings in a 4-0 victory over Pittsburgh, allowing six hits and only one walk while striking out seven. He threw 86 pitches, 56 for strikes, improved to 15-3 and never allowed Pittsburgh to turn its occasional traffic into actual damage.

The Pirates went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position.

That number tells the story.

Pittsburgh had six hits and still produced nothing. Boston’s defense turned two double plays, Gray controlled seven innings, E. Miller handled the eighth and Aroldis Chapman struck out two in a perfect ninth.

Wilyer Abreu supplied the first punch in the second inning when he crushed a 96 mph fastball 420 feet to right for his 22nd home run.

For seven more innings, that one run stood.

Then Boston buried Pittsburgh in the ninth.

Jarren Duran and Caleb Durbin scored when Andruw Monasterio doubled to center, stretching the lead to 3-0. Jahmai Jones followed with an RBI single that scored Monasterio.

Abreu finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, the home run and an RBI.

Boston went just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, so this wasn’t some flawless offensive masterpiece.

It didn’t need to be.

When Gray is throwing seven scoreless innings, one run can feel like four.

By the ninth inning, Boston actually had four.

Game over.

Mets Refuse to Die at Citi Field

Washington thought it had this one.

The Mets had other plans.

New York entered the bottom of the ninth trailing the Nationals 4-3 before Francisco Alvarez doubled to left, scoring Brett Baty and moving Christian Pache to third.

Tie game.

Then Francisco Lindor stepped in and ended it.

Lindor singled to right, Pache scored and the Mets walked off Washington 5-4 at Citi Field.

That finish erased what had become an ugly middle portion of the night for New York.

The Mets jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning when J. Young doubled to left, scoring A.J. Ewing and Lindor.

Washington punched back.

Andrés Chaparro launched a 380-foot solo homer in the fourth.

Then Brady House detonated a three-run homer in the sixth, scoring Andrew Pinckney and Chaparro and flipping a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 Washington lead.

Carson Benge answered immediately with a 372-foot solo shot in the bottom of the sixth.

That homer mattered enormously.

Instead of entering the ninth down two, the Mets needed only one run to tie.

They got it.

Then they got another.

Sean Manaea allowed four runs in 6 1/3 innings while striking out seven, but the bullpen kept New York alive. D. Núñez allowed one hit in a scoreless inning before J. Yan delivered 1 2/3 hitless innings with three strikeouts.

Washington built the lead.

New York hung around.

And that is exactly how teams get burned.

Yankees Offense Goes Missing in Toronto

The Yankees scored first.

Then Toronto’s pitchers essentially erased them from the game.

New York managed only four hits in a 4-1 loss to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, wasting a strong start from Cam Schlittler and watching Toronto pull away late.

Spencer Jones singled and stole second in the second inning before George Lombard Jr. drove him home with a single to left.

That gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

It was also the last run they scored.

Toronto tied the game in the third when Alejandro Kirk singled home B. Bateman.

Schlittler did his job. He worked 5 1/3 innings and allowed one run on four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

He left with the game tied.

Then the Yankees bullpen cracked.

C. McAdoo doubled home E. Clement in the seventh to give Toronto a 2-1 advantage.

McAdoo struck again in the eighth, driving home Andrés Giménez with a single. N. Lukes followed with a groundout that scored B. Valenzuela.

Suddenly it was 4-1.

Toronto used seven pitchers and held the Yankees to four hits, two walks and one run.

New York produced no extra-base hits.

No home runs.

And just one hit in three opportunities with runners in scoring position.

L. Varland finished the Yankees off in the ninth with three strikeouts.

That’s not a bad offensive night.

That’s an offense getting completely neutralized.

Connecticut Sun Fight — Liberty Finish

The Connecticut Sun made New York work for it.

They just couldn’t finish it.

Connecticut fell to 8-25 after an 82-75 loss to the New York Liberty at Mohegan Sun Arena despite a career night from Olivia Nelson-Ododa.

Nelson-Ododa scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.

She also reached 1,000 career points.

Charlisse Leger-Walker added 14 points, five rebounds, four assists, one steal and two blocks while knocking down four three-pointers. Diamond Miller finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, and Leila Lacan scored 10 with six assists.

Connecticut actually controlled the opening quarter.

The Sun scored 27 points, built a double-digit advantage and looked capable of taking command.

Then New York flipped everything.

The Liberty outscored Connecticut 27-10 in the second quarter.

Jonquel Jones was at the center of it, finishing with 23 points and 11 rebounds as New York turned Connecticut’s early advantage into its own double-digit lead.

Connecticut fought back again in the fourth.

Leger-Walker hit from deep to cut the margin to three. Saniya Rivers followed with a mid-range jumper that pulled Connecticut within one.

That was the moment.

And New York slammed the door.

Marine Johannes hit another three. Jones scored. Johannes struck again from beyond the arc. Rebecca Allen later added another three as the Liberty rebuilt the lead.

New York finished 13-of-27 from three-point range.

Johannes made five of them.

Connecticut made only eight of 29.

The Sun outrebounded New York 35-30 and blocked seven shots to the Liberty’s four, but New York won the paint 34-28 and held a 15-10 advantage in points off turnovers.

Connecticut battled.

New York executed.

That’s the difference between 8-25 and 22-14.

WooSox Strand 17 and Pay for Every Missed Chance

Seventeen runners left on base.

That number should haunt Worcester.

The WooSox lost 7-5 to Buffalo in 10 innings at Polar Park despite outhitting the Bisons 11-9 before a season-high crowd of 9,508.

Worcester went 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position.

Three hits.

Eighteen chances.

That is how a team loses a game it had repeated opportunities to control.

The WooSox led 4-3 after five innings but had already stranded 11 runners by that point.

Buffalo didn’t waste its biggest swings.

Peyton Williams blasted a 429-foot two-run homer in the second inning before C.J. Stubbs followed with a solo shot.

Worcester responded immediately.

Brett Harris scored on a wild pitch before Franklin Arias singled, Nate Eaton doubled and Mickey Gasper walked to load the bases. Romy Gonzalez then ripped a two-run single to put Worcester ahead 4-3.

Gonzalez finished 4-for-6 with three RBIs.

But Buffalo had another home run waiting.

Sean Keys hit a two-run shot in the seventh off Noah Song to put the Bisons back ahead 5-4.

Mikey Romero tied it in the eighth with a two-out bloop single that scored Gasper.

Then came extras.

Wyatt Olds surrendered a two-run double to Ismael Munguia in the 10th.

Worcester couldn’t answer.

Buffalo’s bullpen held the WooSox to one run over the final 8 1/3 innings and struck out 14.

Worcester didn’t lose because it couldn’t get runners on base.

It lost because it couldn’t get enough of them home.

The WooSox also announced that Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story will begin an injury rehabilitation assignment Sunday at Polar Park. Story has been on Boston’s injured list since May 15 with a sports hernia that eventually required surgery and is expected to play shortstop.

Sea Dogs Get Flattened on Star Wars Night

There isn’t much spin available for a 14-2 loss.

Binghamton crushed Portland at Delta Dental Park and clinched the series in front of another sellout crowd.

The Rumble Ponies scored five runs in the third inning, four more in the sixth and added two runs in both the eighth and ninth.

Portland managed four hits.

Tyler McDonough, Will Turner, Yoeilin Cespedes and Ahbram Liendo accounted for them.

Kevin Parada and Billy Amick homered during Binghamton’s five-run third.

Portland briefly responded with two runs in the fourth, but that was it.

Michael Sansone took the loss after allowing five runs on six hits and three walks in four innings.

This wasn’t close.

Binghamton controlled it.

Portland absorbed it.

Yard Goats Let One Slip Away

Hartford had the lead.

Then Erie took it right back.

The Yard Goats lost 5-4 at Dunkin’ Park after Jimmy Obertop delivered a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth before the SeaWolves eventually reclaimed control.

Hartford starter Connor Staine gave the Yard Goats five strong innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out six.

Hartford grabbed the first run in the opening inning when Andy Perez drove home Jared Thomas.

Erie tied it on an E.J. Exposito solo homer in the second and moved ahead 3-1 in the sixth on Thayron Liranzo’s two-run double.

Hartford answered with three.

GJ Hill drove home Braylen Wimmer before Obertop’s two-run single scored Jack O’Dowd and Hill, giving Hartford a 4-3 lead.

But Erie came back again in the eighth.

A wild pitch scored Andrew Jenkins to tie it, and Roberto Campos followed with the RBI single that scored Izaac Pacheco and made it 5-4.

Hartford had fought its way back.

Then it gave the lead away.

Fisher Cats Losing Streak Against Somerset Hits 10

Johnny King made his Double-A debut.

Somerset ruined the celebration.

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats lost 5-1 to the Patriots, their fifth consecutive loss in the series and their 10th straight against Somerset.

King, Toronto’s No. 3 prospect, allowed two runs on four hits with five walks and five strikeouts over four innings.

New Hampshire pitching struck out 11 overall.

It didn’t matter.

Somerset starter Cade Smith allowed one run over seven innings and struck out six.

Carter Cunningham drove in New Hampshire’s only run with an RBI single in the fourth.

Somerset broke the game open in the sixth when Manny Palencia hit a two-run homer and Core Jackson added an RBI single.

The streak is now 10.

At some point, losing repeatedly to the same opponent stops being a bad weekend and becomes a problem.

Brooklyn Wins With One Run — Because One Was Enough

The Brooklyn Cyclones didn’t need fireworks.

They needed José Chirinos.

Chirinos tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and no walks while striking out five as Brooklyn beat Jersey Shore 1-0.

The outing tied the deepest a Brooklyn starter has gone this season.

Josh Blum, Calvin Ziegler and Juan Arnaud completed the shutout with 2 1/3 scoreless innings.

Brooklyn didn’t score until the eighth.

Jamari Baylor singled. Antonio Jimenez reached on a throwing error, sending Baylor to third.

Then Chase Meggers hit a grounder that brought Baylor home on an RBI fielder’s choice.

One run.

That was all Brooklyn needed.

Arnaud finished it in the ninth by getting Kodey Shojinaga to ground into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.

The Cyclones have now shut out Jersey Shore twice through the first five games of the series, while allowing only six total runs.

That is domination from the mound.

Revolution Dominate Everything Except the Scoreboard

Here is the number that should make New England sick.

25-3.

That’s how badly the Revolution outshot Toronto FC.

They still lost 2-1.

New England controlled 65 percent of possession and spent huge stretches of the night pushing Toronto backward at BMO Field.

Toronto scored on both of its first-half shot attempts.

That’s brutal.

Peyton Miller nearly scored early on a scissor-kick attempt. Jack Harrison came close in the 18th minute and later hit the woodwork in the second half.

Toronto didn’t need volume.

Theo Corbeanu’s low cross deflected off Will Sands and went inside Matt Turner’s near post.

Then Niklas Dorsch blasted a long-range strike into the top-right corner.

Two chances.

Two goals.

New England kept attacking.

Toronto eventually went down a man when Djordje Mihailovic was shown a red card for a foul from behind on Carles Gil.

Wilson Harris finally scored in the closing minutes, heading home Harrison’s cross for the first MLS goal of his career.

Too late.

The Revolution had 25 shots.

Toronto had three.

Toronto won.

There may not be a more frustrating way to lose a soccer match.

Saturday’s MLB Board Brings Blowouts and Extra-Inning Drama

The rest of Major League Baseball gave Saturday a little bit of everything.

The Chicago White Sox edged Detroit 4-3. St. Louis beat the Cubs 8-4. San Francisco handled Colorado 7-1.

Baltimore needed 10 innings to beat Tampa Bay 4-3.

Miami beat Cincinnati 8-4. Cleveland dominated San Diego 6-1. Philadelphia crushed Minnesota 9-1.

Seattle hung 10 runs on Houston in a 10-5 win.

Arizona did the same to Atlanta, pounding the Braves 10-3.

Milwaukee beat the Dodgers 4-1.

The Angels won the day’s tightest listed game, shutting out Kansas City 1-0.

Texas beat the Athletics 5-3.

There were blowouts.

There was an extra-inning grinder.

There was a 1-0 game.

And there was no shortage of teams getting exposed.

WNBA: Minnesota Survives A’ja Wilson’s 32

Washington beat Los Angeles 80-70 behind Sonia Citron’s 21 points, while Rae Burrell scored 20 for Los Angeles.

Minnesota then survived Las Vegas 92-87.

Olivia Miles led Minnesota with 23 points.

A’ja Wilson erupted for 32.

It still wasn’t enough.

That is the cruel part of basketball.

A superstar can own the scoring column and still watch the other team walk away with the win.

NFL Preseason Delivers Blowouts, Evaluations and More Questions

The preseason isn’t about trophies.

It’s about jobs.

And plenty of players got another chance to make their cases Friday and Saturday.

Denver beat Atlanta 27-7 behind a game-high 131 passing yards from Jarrett Stidham.

Tampa Bay beat the Jets 24-16.

Washington handled Miami 20-7.

Buffalo beat Carolina 29-14, with Josh Allen leading the game with 111 passing yards.

Chicago hammered Cleveland 34-10 as Tyson Bagent threw for 169 yards and Kaden Davis recorded 88 receiving yards.

Minnesota squeezed past the Giants 13-10.

The Rams beat Kansas City 20-12 behind Ty Simpson’s 190 passing yards.

Jacksonville held off New Orleans 24-20.

Baltimore blasted Philadelphia 24-7, with Joe Fagnano throwing for 224 yards.

Dallas closed the listed slate with a 17-7 victory over Seattle.

The scores will disappear when the regular season starts.

The evaluations won’t.

Coaches now have more film, more evidence and fewer excuses when roster decisions arrive.

Some teams imposed themselves Saturday.

Others wasted chances.

Boston’s Sonny Gray turned Pittsburgh’s lineup into background noise.

The Mets waited until the ninth and ripped victory away from Washington.

Toronto held the Yankees to four hits.

The Liberty survived Connecticut’s challenge because their three-point shooting eventually became too much.

Worcester stranded 17 runners.

Portland got buried.

Hartford surrendered a late lead.

New Hampshire lost to Somerset for the 10th consecutive time.

Brooklyn won 1-0 because its pitching staff refused to give up anything.

The Revolution somehow controlled almost every measurable part of their match except the only measurement that ultimately matters.

The scoreboard.

That’s sports.

You can dominate possession and lose.

You can put 17 runners on base and lose.

You can score 32 points and lose.

You can trail entering the ninth and win.

And sometimes, like Sonny Gray and the Red Sox in Pittsburgh, you simply grab the game by the throat and never let go.