By Tiffany Williams –
A playoff chase is tightening in Worcester, the Connecticut Sun are returning to the court, and the New England Patriots are trying to turn an opening-week loss into lessons before Pittsburgh comes to town. Wednesday delivered another dramatic night across New England sports, while Major League Baseball went deep into extra innings and the WNBA prepares for a five-game Thursday night return following the FIBA World Cup break.
ALLAN “MR. CLUTCH” CASTRO DELIVERS AGAIN FOR WOOSOX
Allan Castro has done it again. For the third consecutive Worcester Red Sox game, the 23-year-old from Santo Domingo delivered the game-winning hit, this time blasting a two-run homer in the seventh inning to send the WooSox past the Durham Bulls, 8-5, Wednesday night at Polar Park.
Worcester trailed 5-3 entering the seventh before Tsung-Che Cheng singled and Braiden Ward followed with another hit. Ward then stole his 60th base of the season, extending his own Red Sox Triple-A single-season record, before Franklin Arias delivered a sacrifice fly that scored Cheng and cut the deficit to one.
Then Castro struck. His towering two-run homer over the Flexcon Landing sign in right-center field turned a 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 Worcester lead. It was Castro’s second homer of the game, his 14th of the season and pushed his team-leading RBI total to 70.
The late-game heroics have become a pattern. Castro hit a two-run homer in the ninth Sunday to give Worcester an 8-7 victory at Lehigh Valley, then ripped a walk-off single in the 10th Tuesday to beat Durham, 2-1.
Worcester added two insurance runs in the eighth before Sam McWilliams needed only six pitches for a perfect ninth and his second save. Seth Martinez struck out the side in the seventh and earned the victory, while John Brebbia worked a scoreless eighth.
The WooSox improved to 39-30 in the second half and 75-65 overall with their third straight victory and 10th win in 14 games. Four games remain, and Worcester sits two games behind Rochester and Indianapolis, who are tied for first in the battle for the International League’s second-half playoff spot.
Boston Red Sox right-hander Johan Oviedo is scheduled to make his first WooSox rehab start Thursday at 6:05 p.m. at Polar Park. It will be his first game appearance since his Boston debut on March 30 after being placed on the injured list March 31 with a right elbow strain.
Thursday is also the final “Deuces Wild” game, with the WooSox playing as the Worcester Kelley Squares. Community College Night is also scheduled, while former Red Sox pitcher and Milton native Rich Hill will sign autographs and take photos during innings three through six.
CONNECTICUT SUN RETURN FROM FIBA BREAK AGAINST ATLANTA
The Connecticut Sun return to action Thursday night and begin the final stretch of their season against the Atlanta Dream at Gateway Center Arena in College Park.
Connecticut enters at 10-30 while Atlanta stands at 26-14. The game begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised on NBC Sports Boston with Alexandra Maund and Brendan Glasheen on the call.
The Sun’s last game before the break was a 97-71 road loss to Dallas on August 28. Aaliyah Edwards matched her career high with 26 points, while Charlisse Leger-Walker also matched her career high with 17. Edwards and Nell Angloma each grabbed six rebounds.
Atlanta entered the break with an 89-81 victory over Minnesota. Allisha Gray scored 23 points, Jordin Canada and Rhyne Howard added 16 each and Angel Reese finished with 15. Gray and Reese each grabbed 11 rebounds, while Canada recorded 10 assists.
The Dream won the previous meeting against Connecticut, 104-69, on August 13 at Mohegan Sun Arena. Howard and Gray scored 29 points apiece for Atlanta, while Reese collected 15 rebounds, four blocks and three steals.
DRAKE MAYE FOCUSES ON DECISION-MAKING BEFORE STEELERS MATCHUP
Drake Maye knows exactly where the spotlight will be Sunday. After New England’s loss in Seattle, the Patriots quarterback spent Wednesday discussing decision-making, knowing when to take what the defense gives him and understanding that every choice at quarterback can change a game.
“I think my position is built on split-second decisions, and that’s football. It’s a game of inches. It’s a game of decisions in an instant,” Maye said. “I think you get to see the consequences when you do not make the right one, and you try to force one or you try to maybe push it down the field.”
Maye said there are situations when repeatedly checking the ball down may feel monotonous but remains the correct decision if it keeps the offense moving. That challenge becomes significant against a Pittsburgh defensive front featuring T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward.
Maye described Watt’s impact simply: “He just wreaks havoc.”
The quarterback also enters the week without A.J. Brown available for a period of time. Maye said other players will have to step forward, but he also placed responsibility directly on himself.
“I think based on last week I need to elevate my game in general,” Maye said. “I’m trying to be the best I can back there and strive to have games like last year where I am close to completing every pass.”
MIKE VRABEL WANTS AGGRESSION WITHOUT RECKLESSNESS
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel delivered essentially the same message from the coaching side. New England does not want Maye afraid of making plays, but Vrabel wants the quarterback to understand the difference between taking an opportunity and creating unnecessary risk.
“We want to be aggressive. That’s how we want to play. But we also have to make great decisions when there is a look or something that maybe would take a certain play away,” Vrabel said.
New England must also prepare for Aaron Rodgers and a Pittsburgh offense Vrabel believes will test the Patriots before the snap. Vrabel said attempting elaborate disguises against a quarterback with Rodgers’ experience can create problems if defenders sacrifice proper positioning.
On defense, Vrabel wants New England attacking the football and creating more turnover opportunities. Offensively, he wants improvement in a running game that struggled to generate enough production in Seattle.
“You have got to get into the line of scrimmage. You have got to block force. You have got to run where they ain’t. Look, I’m not the smartest guy here, so that is how you run the football,” Vrabel said.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT BASEBALL GOES DEEP INTO EXTRA INNINGS
Major League Baseball produced another packed Wednesday night, including two games that stretched well beyond nine innings.
Minnesota outlasted the New York Yankees, 5-4, in 13 innings, with Tommy Nance earning the victory and John Schreiber taking the loss. San Francisco also needed extra innings, beating St. Louis, 6-5, in 10 behind winning pitcher Reiver Sanmartin and a save from Joel Kuhnel.
Cleveland beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-3, while Toronto stopped Detroit, 5-1, behind Max Scherzer. Tampa Bay edged the Athletics, 4-3, and Cincinnati knocked off the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-2.
Milwaukee continued its winning run with a 5-4 victory over Pittsburgh. Philadelphia blanked Washington, 3-0, behind Zack Wheeler, while Baltimore overwhelmed the New York Mets, 7-1.
The Chicago Cubs defeated Atlanta, 8-4. Texas handed Boston another loss, beating the Red Sox, 7-3, with Nathan Eovaldi earning the victory.
Kansas City defeated Houston, 5-2, San Diego beat Colorado, 9-3, and Seattle handled the Los Angeles Angels, 7-2. Miami completed the night with a 4-3 victory over Arizona as Cade Gibson earned the win and Sandy Alcantara recorded the save.
WNBA RETURNS WITH FIVE-GAME THURSDAY NIGHT SCHEDULE
The FIBA World Cup break is over, and the WNBA returns Thursday with five games on the schedule.
Connecticut opens the night at Atlanta at 7:30 p.m., with the Dream listed as 15.5-point favorites and the over-under at 167.5. Washington visits Chicago at 8 p.m., with the Mystics favored by 1.5 and the over-under set at 165.5.
Los Angeles visits Dallas at 8 p.m. on USA Network. Dallas is favored by 8.5 points with an over-under of 177.5.
The late window begins with Phoenix at Portland at 10 p.m., where the Mercury are favored by 2.5 with the over-under at 172.5. Las Vegas visits Seattle at 10 p.m. on USA Network and CNBC, with the Aces favored by 10.5 and the over-under set at 173.5.
For Worcester, however, the immediate focus remains Polar Park. Three games, three winning hits for Allan Castro, and four regular-season games remain with the WooSox still chasing the International League’s final second-half playoff spot.