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BOSTON — One of manager John Schneider’s messages to his Blue Jays players upon arrival to Fenway Park this weekend: Have fun.
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FUN'S IN THE RUNS: Blue Jays sweep away Red Sox in dominating fashion – Toronto Sun
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You want fun?
How about scoring runs in bunches, running up one of the longest winning streaks of the season and, for good measure, beating down a nose-diving division opponent in humiliating fashion.
Producing at a sizzling rate to match the 38C temperatures here, the Jays finished off a three-game sweep of the Red Sox that, in totality, was pure domination.
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In Sunday’s finale, a five-run first inning sent the Jays off to a cruise-control 8-4 win as they essentially kicked the collective backside of the Sox, who are careening out of playoff contention.
“I feel like we did what good teams do when they see and sense a weakness in a team,” said starting pitcher Ross Stripling, who gave up two runs on five hits over four innings. “That Red Sox team is riddled with injuries and not playing as good as they can, but we took advantage of it and we swept them here in Fenway,.
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“When good teams smell blood in the water, they get after it. It’s just a really good way to start off the second half.”
There is certainly some big momentum with the Jays now. Winners of six in a row — their second-longest streak of the season — they Jays are 7-1 under manager John Schneider and return home for a six-game homestand beginning Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Even better, with the Rays losing in K.C., the Jays moved into second place in the AL East and are now atop the AL wild-card race.
Pushing the right buttons on the field and off of it, Schneider is getting the most of his players
“I love having fun because baseball is hard,” said Schneider, who capped off his first road road trip as manager with three wins and an aggregate margin of 40-10. “I respect what (the players) do every day — playing and grinding and travel and the heat and all the stuff that goes with it.
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“So you’ve got to try to keep it light. But at the same time, you’ve got to understand what you’re here for.”
It would appear that the Jays players are well aware of the mission. The managerial bump is alive, for sure, as the Jays clearly have responded to Schneider’s verbal and tactical initiatives.
The aggression was in evidence yet again when leadoff man George Springer singled to lead off the second inning, stole second base and advanced to third on the first installment of what would be a sloppy defensive effort by the Sox.
Springer also was the first across the plate in a nine-batter, five-run first.
What may be most impressive about the weekend was the one-sidedness of it all.
On Friday, it was putting up 28 runs and Saturday starter Alek Manoah mowing down Boston hitter then letting the Red Sox dugout know about it. The 40 combined runs are a club record for a three-game series.
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The Jays improved to 10-3 against the Sox this season and have won five of six at Fenway. Toronto has also clinched a season series win over the Sox (the first since 2016) and swept them for the first time at Fenway since 2015.
“We’ve been through some tough spots and right now is more of what we’re expecting and more of what we’re hoping for going forward,” Schneider said. “All the respect in the world for (the Red Sox) but to come in here and play like this … that’s what we’re trying to do.”
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GAME ON
The Jays sent nine to the plate in the first inning and five of them came home, the biggest shot a bases-loaded triple from left fielder Raimel Tapia. All five runs came with two outs, which is becoming a thing with the Jays these days … The five-run first was the fourth inning in the series in which the Jays scored four runs for more … Matt Chapman, who had a pair of doubles on the day, scored a run the hard way in the fifth, taking a 92 mile-per-hour throw from Jeter Downs on his back as he was running from third to home … Tapia’s four RBIs on Sunday gave him 10 for the weekend, one short of the franchise record for a series at Fenway. Junior Felix, who also had an inside-the-park grand slam, had 11 back in June of 1989 … Vlad Guerrero Jr. is heating up at the plate with a four-hit day. It was a the fourth four-hit outing of his career and third this season … Sunday’s victory capped the Jays’ fourth sweep of the season.
NO CANADA
Looks like it will be a spartan St. Louis Cardinals team shipping in to Toronto for games against the Jays on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Cards announced on Sunday that two of their all-stars will not make the trip because they’ve yet to be vaccinated for COVID-19.
Infielders Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt will be the biggest impact absentees, but backup catcher Austin Romine is also ineligible.
Goldschmidt (who leads the National League in batting average at .333) and Arenado are the heart of the Cardinals batting lineup. Combined, they have 133 RBIs and 40 home runs.
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Sports
Canadian momentum build continues at women's curling worlds with wins over Italy, Scotland – CBC.ca
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Canada’s Kerri Einarson improved to 4-1 in round-robin play with a sweep of her matches Monday at the world women’s curling championship.
Einarson, Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard and Briane Harris downed Italy’s Stefania Constantini 7-2 in the morning draw before holding on for a 9-8 win over Scotland’s Rebecca Morrison in the late session. The wins moved Canada into sole possession of second place behind Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni (5-0).
“We’ve had a few really tight battles and a few where we’re very grateful to win,” Birchard said. “It feels similar to last year when I know we dropped one or two early but then powered through the rest of the week.
“We need to keep the momentum going. We’re feeling strong and feeling good out there on the ice. All we can do is keep getting better.”
The Canadians meet the Swiss in Tuesday’s afternoon draw at the Goransson Arena before taking on New Zealand in the evening.
WATCH | Canadians defeat Scotland for 3rd straight victory:
Canada’s Kerri Einarson moves into sole possession of second place at the world women’s curling championship by beating Scotland’s Rebecca Morrison 9-8.
Einarson scored four in the first end against Morrison, but the Scots replied with four in the second.
The Canadians started slowly building a lead, and went up 9-5 after steals of one in the seventh and eighth ends.
Morrison got two back in the ninth, and made it close with a steal of one in the 10th.
WATCH | Canada’s Einarson beats Italy’s Constantini at women’s curling worlds:
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Canada’s Kerri Einarson improves to 3-1 in round-robin play with a 7-2 victory over Italy’s Stefania Constantini at the world women’s curling championship.
“We talked about it after the second end and it was essentially like we blanked the first two ends and it was just going to be an eight-end game from there on. We really parked it,” Birchard said. “We were firing after that and there were no real missteps. I feel like we put together a pretty good game.”
In the earlier match, Italy faced a triple-raise double-takeout to score in the ninth end but gave up a steal of two to end the game.
The top six teams in the 13-team field qualify for the playoff round. The final is scheduled for Sunday.
Einarson won bronze at last year’s world championship in Prince George, B.C.
WATCH | Einarson talks worlds on CBC Sports’ ‘That Curling Show’:
Fresh off her fourth straight Scotties title, the skip joins That Curling Show to talk about what makes her team so dominant, having her kids be able to watch the final and how she’s prepping for worlds.
Three misdemeanour charges were filed Monday against the son of Philadelphia Flyers interim general manager Danny Briere after a video posted on social media showed him and another Mercyhurst University athlete pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down a staircase.
Police in Erie, Pa., filed charges of criminal mischief, criminal conspiracy to commit mischief and disorderly conduct against Carson Briere, who completed his third hockey season at Mercyhurst. Patrick Carrozzi, listed as a senior member of the school’s lacrosse team, faces the same three charges, according to documents filed with District Judge Sue Mack.
The two are scheduled to appear in court on May 22.
Briere and Carrozzi are seen on a surveillance video at the top of a staircase of a local bar, where they push the wheelchair down the steps on March 11. Police say their actions posed a potential danger to anyone coming up the stairs, while also creating a hazardous condition by blocking the staircase.
The wheelchair’s owner, identified as Sydney Benes, filed a complaint saying the fall down the stairs damaged the left brake handle, broke the right arm rest’s plastic molding, bent a rear handle and caused the wheels to drag when moving forward. Benes said the wheelchair was purchased a year ago, costing US$2,000.
It’s unclear if Briere or Carrozzi have lawyers who can speak on their behalf.
Briere and two other athletes were placed on interim suspension, while the school investigated the matter.
A message seeking comment left with a Mercyhurst athletic department spokeswoman was not immediately returned.
Last week, the 23-year-old Briere apologized in a statement released through the NHL’s Flyers.
“I am deeply sorry for my behaviour on Saturday,” he said. “There is no excuse for my actions, and I will do whatever I can to make up for this serious lack of judgment.”
Danny Briere, who was promoted to run the Flyers after Chuck Fletcher was fired two weeks ago, said he was shocked to see his son’s actions and called them “inexcusable,” while saying his son “accepts full responsibility for his behaviour.”
Mercyhurst previously released a statement saying the actions displayed in the video fall short of the school’s “belief in the inherent dignity of each person,” adding the school’s “tradition also reminds us that students and all people who make poor choices deserve opportunities to learn, change behaviours and atone for harmful actions.”
Carson Briere previously was dismissed from Arizona State’s hockey club in 2019 for what the school called a violation of team rules.
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O. Anunoby37 MIN, 22 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 8-12 FG, 4-5 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/-
Not much more you could ask for from OG tonight, except maybe for some more touches down the stretch. His run of great form continued against the Bucks tonight where he played phenomenally on both ends. |
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P. Siakam39 MIN, 13 PTS, 12 REB, 7 AST, 2 STL, 5-14 FG, 1-5 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -12 +/-
Siakam is one of the better players in the league in terms of finding ways to impact the game when his shot isn’t falling, but boy the shot would have been nice to have tonight. He’s cooled down a bit from his unfathomably hot start earlier in the season. It’s not a cause to be concerned just yet, but as the team around him starts to hit their stride, it’ll be even sweeter as Pascal does as well. |
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J. Poeltl31 MIN, 20 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 10-18 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, -17 +/-
It was nice to finally have someone who can take the Brook assignment without Nurse having to implement an entire scheme to make up for the lack of size. Even so, it wasn’t the greatest performance from the big man tonight, who went a shocking -17 in his 30 minutes. |
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S. Barnes13 MIN, 5 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 2-3 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -5 +/- The X-ray came back negative thankfully, but Scottie missed the second half with a wrist injury. He was playing well up until his departure. While the loss is tough to swallow, it’s important to keep in mind that Mr. 4th Quarter had to watch it from the locker room. |
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F. VanVleet38 MIN, 23 PTS, 4 REB, 11 AST, 1 STL, 9-21 FG, 3-8 3FG, 2-3 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, 3 +/-
Fred always plays well against the Bucks and tonight was no different. He kept the ball moving and made shot after shot for a team that desperately needed it. |
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P. Achiuwa20 MIN, 5 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 2-3 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 7 +/-
The numbers are underwhelming sure, but Precious looked like vintage Precious tonight. In a good way, too. Getting Precious back into a rhythm this season hasn’t been easy but he’s slowly finding his step, and was absolutely a positive on the floor tonight in a matchup where his physicality on defence was necessary. |
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G. Trent Jr.33 MIN, 18 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 6-18 FG, 5-10 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 3 +/-
This is a different Raptors team when Gary is on. He played great early on but it trailed off toward the latter half. I think he’ll continue to excel in his role off the bench, but in particular with Scottie out for the second half, Gary couldn’t deliver when they needed it tonight. |
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C. Boucher16 MIN, 5 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-1 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/-
A pretty unremarkable stretch from Boucher all things considered. The Bucks are not a great match-up for him either and it showed. |
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W. Barton13 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 0-6 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -10 +/-
The Barton minutes were, too put it bluntly, bad. He got an extended run in the fourth and it cost the team a lot more than it should have. The backup PG revolving door may continue until game 82 at this rate. |
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Nick Nurse
Outside of a questionable lineup to open up the fourth, Nurse did fine to put us in a position to win against perhaps the best team in the league. |
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Things We Saw
- The Raptors clearly wanted to let the Bucks shoot from 3, and it almost worked. They took 45 threes tonight and only made 16.
- OG Anunoby took one shot in the fourth quarter after playing a stellar three quarters offensively. As easy as it is to say I’d love to see him be more assertive, the Raptors also have to make an effort to find him in these situations.
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