Sports
Red Sox, desperate for clutch hits, try to avoid sweep by Blue Jays
Jun 17, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida (7) eyes the ball in the second inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Jaiden Tripi-Imagn Images It’s been a familiar refrain this season, but the Boston Red Sox have to find a way to produce more offense.
That will be among Boston’s goals Thursday afternoon, when the Red Sox wrap up a three-game series against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto will be seeking a sweep after winning 6-1 on Tuesday and 3-0 on Wednesday.
Boston has left 13 runners on base in each of the first two games of the series while going a combined 1-for-24 with runners in scoring position. The Red Sox stranded at least one runner in each of the first eight innings of their shutout loss on Wednesday.
“Got a really good effort out of Jake (Bennett, the starting pitcher), and again we had our opportunities,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said. “In the first six innings (we) had a lot of guys in scoring position, so it was similar (to Tuesday).
“I just think (the players are) pressing, in general. They want it bad. You can feel the frustration. They know we’re getting the chances. They’re working hard at it, and we’re getting some spots and not getting a hit, but then we’ll have a stretch where it will come.”
Boston has failed to score more than three runs in 39 of its 71 games. Thanks to the current three-game losing streak, the Red Sox are a season-worst 13 games below .500.
The Red Sox enter the Thursday contest with a .695 OPS (25th in the majors) thanks to a .314 on-base percentage (21st) and a .381 slugging percentage (26th).
“We took some walks, we got some baserunners,” Tracy said. “Some of the opportunities that we created were the result of taking walks and getting a guy out there. We need to drive a ball with two outs, one out and find a gap. Usually you get one swing and it turns things, but just a struggle right now.
“We had some stretches in the latter part of May where it felt like we came through a lot, and right now we’re struggling. There’s a lot of baserunners out there in scoring position and you’re looking for a knock. So we’re gonna keep plugging away at it.”
Toronto’s Andres Gimenez had two hits, three stolen bases and two runs on Wednesday. He had a solo home run and a double while scoring twice on Tuesday. Gimenez entered the series batting .179 (12-for-67) with one homer and one steal over his previous 22 games.
“I’ve been working a lot in the (batting) cage and obviously it feels great when you’re helping the team win,” Gimenez said. “(Stealing bases) feels great. That’s something that I do. That’s how I play. If I’m healthy and my legs are feeling good, obviously it’s part of my game.”
The Thursday pitching matchup features Boston’s Sonny Gray (8-1, 3.03 ERA) and Toronto’s Trey Yesavage (3-3, 3.78) in a battle of right-handers.
In his past eight starts, Gray is 6-0 with a 2.36 ERA, and he won each of his past three outings. Most recently, he threw six innings of one-run ball to beat the Texas Rangers 10-1 on Friday.
Gray is 4-4 with a 2.91 ERA in 15 career appearances (14 starts) against the Blue Jays.
Yesavage wasn’t effective but earned a win his last time out, permitting five runs and walking six in five-plus innings during an 8-5 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday.
He faced Boston for the first time in his career on April 28, and he fired 5 1/3 shutout innings en route to a 3-0 victory in Toronto.
The Blue Jays had lost four of their past six games before arriving in Boston this week.
–Field Level Media
Sports
MLB Best Bets Today: Brewers and Mariners Lead Friday Card
Jun 14, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Seattle Mariners manager Dan Wilson (6) watches from the dugout against the Washington Nationals during the fifth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images We’ve made it through another week and scarily the halfway point of the MLB season is nearly upon us.
Let’s try to head to the beach with a couple winning MLB Picks.
Season Record 37-34-1, +0.26 Units
Brewers at Braves
Brewers F5 -0.5 (-125 Caesars)
Nobody beats The Miz!….ok you had to be there.
But yes, The Miz, Jacob Misiorowski, travels to Atlanta to take on Martin Perez and the Braves. Until yesterday’s rainout, it set up as this year’s overwhelming NL Cy Young favorite vs. the 2024 winner and future HOFer. But Sale got pushed back unfortunately.
The Miz as you probably know has looked downright insane lately, capped off with a complete game 15 K, 1 hit masterpiece vs. the Phillies last time out. He flashed 104 MPH hit and faced the minimum 27 batters with a Game Score of 107 that best I can tell is the highest ever. On the year he has a 1.34 ERA and 0.74 WHIP with a crazy 39.8% K%. Control was his big question mark going into the season, but his 6.7% BB% is actually good.
Normally the price on Miz games is so tilted it’s hard to come up with a play. But it’s at least reasonable here as he’s on the road against a good team. And Perez has pitched very well this year, sporting a 2.90 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. But the Brewers are scorching hot vs. lefties with a 134 wRC+ vs. southpaws over the past month. Meanwhile it’s not the full Braves as Ronald Acuna Jr. is back on the IL and Michael Harris II is in and out of the lineup lately. Let’s take the Miz and Brewers here.
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Red Sox at Mariners
Mariners F5 -0.5 (-105 BetMGM)
We’ve got a bit of a banged up Mariners team here hosting the reeling Red Sox. Randy Arozerena is on the IL at least until next week, while Julio Rodriguez missed yesterday’s game. On the flip side, Cal Raleigh has returned, as has JP Crawford.
It’s another top notch pitching matchup with Ranger Suarez (3.21 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 17.1% K-BB%) goes up against Bryce Miller (1.54 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 24.8% K-BB%). Ostensibly facing a lefty should pose big trouble for the Mariners as they’re not the deepest lineup in the league to begin with and it takes too good lefty platoon bats out of the lineup in Dominic Canzone and Luke Raley. In their place we get Rob Refsnyder who’s slashing a brutal .143/.214/.242 on the year and….one of Mitch Garver (.200/.327/.322) or the recently called up Connor Joe.
So take the Red Sox at plus money here, right? Well, as Lee Corso would say, “not so fast my friend!”
The Mariners still have the better pitcher, and they’re also not hitting that badly vs. lefties lastly as they have a 107 wRC+ vs. southpaws over the past month. Meanwhile Boston is in a bunch of spots where they have had just brutal results in 2026. On the F5 run line they are 9-12 with a -21.3% ROI as underdogs as well as 12-22 with a -32.6% ROI on the road and an impossibly bad 15-38 with a -45.3% ROI vs. righty starters. Let’s roll with the Mariners here.
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Sports
Tempo Gs Brittney Sykes, Kiki Rice to miss extended time
Jun 16, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Toronto Tempo guard Brittney Sykes (20) shoots the ball while Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Toronto Tempo guards Brittney Sykes and Kiki Rice will be out of the lineup for the foreseeable future with their respective injuries, the expansion team announced Friday.
Rice, a rookie, sustained a Grade 3 ankle sprain on June 3, and Sykes suffered a plantar fascia injury on Tuesday. The players will be re-evaluated in the coming weeks, per the team, with the expectation that they will return at some point this season.
Sykes, 32, was helped off the court in the third quarter of Toronto’s 131-91 loss to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday. She averages a team-best 20.1 points per game along with 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 15 games this season.
Rice, 22, is averaging 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 10 games this season. She played for national champion UCLA and was the sixth overall pick of the 2026 WNBA Draft.
The Tempo will play the Connecticut Sun on the road Friday night.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees Are Proving They're World Series Favorites Even Without Aaron Judge
It’s not new information that the New York Yankees are the best team in the American League. They’ve been No. 1 or No. 2 virtually all season, depending on how the Tampa Bay Rays have performed at any given time.
What is new: the Yankees are showing they’re good enough to win the World Series. They’re legit, because they’re making a big push without the best player in the league, Aaron Judge.
The Yankees have gone 9-4 without Judge since June started. Earlier this season, Judge made a dive in the outfield and aggravated a rib injury, something he’s been dealing with in some form for a much longer time. Against the Guardians, Red Sox, Blue Jays and the White Sox, they haven’t missed a beat.
Per Baseball Reference, they’ve scored 5.77 runs per game without him, opposed to averaging 5.17 runs in the first 59 games when Judge played. It’s only 13 games, but the lineup has come through with a collective slash line of .262/.332/.470, which includes 23 home runs, 49 walks and 15 stolen bases in that span.
Ben Rice is an MVP candidate. Cody Bellinger is having one of his best individual seasons. Paul Goldschmidt, at 38 years old, is slugging like a 34-year-old Goldy, when he won NL MVP with the Cardinals.
In recent years when Judge has been absent, the Yankees haven’t held their own nearly as well. Since the 2020 season, the Yanks have gone 57-64 when Judge missed a game. They had a .583 winning percentage when he played in the same span. It’s reasonable to expect the Yankees to be weaker without the best hitter of his generation, but this season’s team still might be the best in the AL even with Judge not playing.
It’s only the middle of June but, absent any more significant injuries, the Yankees are going to hold their own against a weak American League. The bigger picture looks much brighter. Judge is hoping to return in August, and if he plays like himself, with this mix of teammates, the Yankees will compete for their 28th franchise championship.
Right-hander Cam Schlittler is a leading candidate for AL Cy Young. Gerrit Cole looks renewed after recovering from Tommy John surgery. Left-hander Max Fried, while on the IL right now because of a bone bruise on his left elbow, is still Max Fried. Carlos Rodón has been strong in seven starts since getting healthy.
New York’s starting pitching, plus a lineup with a healthy Judge, can win it all.
It’s hard to imagine the Yankees failing earlier than the Fall Classic. Only three teams on the AL side have a positive run differential. Only five teams have a winning record. The White Sox looked like maybe they could put together a historical upset run, but the Yankees have toyed with them this week. The Mariners lurk, the Guardians are a pain in the butt, and the Rays have beaten up the Yankees head to head, but the Yankees list of rationalizations for not reaching the World Series would be pretty short if Judge is healthy in October.
The Yankees are showing they wouldn’t just be a token team that got lucky to get past a woeful AL field. They can play with the Dodgers, Brewers, Braves and anyone else coming out of the NL.
This is clearly their best chance to win a ring since 2009.
MLB Best Bets Today: Brewers and Mariners Lead Friday Card
Tempo Gs Brittney Sykes, Kiki Rice to miss extended time
