Walker Buehler was ejected from the Red Sox-Mets on Tuesday in rather epic fashion. Buehler disagreed with a call by home plate umpire Mike Estabrook and things escalated quickly from there.
One thing that might have been glossed over in the heat of the moment was Francisco Lindor's role in the incident. Lindor had been the previous batter and Buehler hit him in the toe. Then Lindor stole second base which caused catcher Carlos Narvaez to obstruct Estabrook's view of the pitch that caused Buehler to complain about.
As Buehler argued with Estabrook, Lindor was standing on second encouraging the ump to toss the pitcher. A fan posted video of Lindor getting hit and accused him of "leaning into a pitch" despite the fact that the ball hit him in his back foot which did not move.
Buehler quote-tweeted that post saying, the Red Sox bullpen is "full of f—— animals."
It's an interesting choice to deliver that message using a fan's post that says, "Big loser energy. Warrants a fastball to the back tomorrow if I’m the Red Sox."
However, Buehler does seem to have a point about the Boston bullpen. With the starter ejected in the middle of the inning five guys combined to give up just four hits and zero runs in 6 2/3 innings.
Boston and New York finish their series tonight at Fenway.
As the San Francisco Giants took the field in Los Angeles this afternoon, still reeling from the news that they had executed a blockbuster trade to bring Boston Red Sox DH Rafael Devers aboard, the man at the center of the deal stood at shortstop.
The biggest transaction of the 2025 season was not really about the four players headed to the Red Sox—converted starting pitcher Jordan Hicks; swingman Kyle Harrison, who was pulled from the bullpen just minutes before his scheduled start against the Dodgers; outfield prospect James Tibbs; or pitching prospect José Bello—or even Devers himself, the top-10 hitter who has twice squabbled with team officials over his position. No, this deal was five years in the making, dating back to the last time the Red Sox made a major trade: the 2020 Mookie Betts trade.
Back then, just a year removed from the best season in franchise history and the organization’s ninth World Series title, the Boston ownership group considered the most talented player its farm system had produced since Carl Yastrzemski and shrugged. Management, led by principal owner John Henry, decided not to offer Betts an extension; rather than let him walk in free agency for nothing but a draft pick, they ordered then–head of baseball operations Chaim Bloom to trade him.
Bloom scrounged around among an industry that knew he had to move Betts, tacked on the three years and $96 million remaining on lefty David Price’s deal, and ended up with a forgettable package from the Dodgers: outfielder Alex Verdugo and two prospects, shortstop Jeter Downs and catcher Connor Wong. (The Red Sox traded Verdugo to the Yankees before last season after he publicly feuded with manager Alex Cora, waived Downs after he played in 41 games and have received zero RBIs from Wong in 41 games this season.)
Betts immediately signed a 12-year, $365 million extension with the Dodgers that will look like a bargain no matter how the last six years go: He has been an All-Star every season and finished No. 2 in MVP voting twice while slotting in easily in right field, at second base and at shortstop, and leading the team to two titles. (He reportedly told friends he would have signed the same deal in Boston.)
Betts has thrived in his six seasons since being traded from the Red Sox to the Dodgers. / Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
So naturally, two years later, Henry’s ownership group lowballed its next homegrown star, shortstop Xander Bogaerts, in extension talks, then watched him decamp to the San Diego Padres in free agency for 11 years and $280 million—some five years and $140 million more than Boston had offered. Amid a roar of fan fury so loud it all but drowned out the team’s Winter Weekend the next spring, Henry and Bloom tried to make amends by signing the final remaining young star, Devers, to a 10-year, $313.5 million deal. (Henry fired Bloom following the 2023 season.) Devers had always been a talented hitter, but even then, when he was 26, it was clear that he was the least fit of the three for that sort of commitment. He did not profile to spend the rest of his career at third base, and he had yet to show the kind of leadership you might ask of the face of your franchise. The whole deal felt a bit like when an umpire misses a pitch down the middle, then calls the next pitch a strike no matter where it ends up.
This spring, the cracks began to show. The Red Sox upgraded at third base by signing Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million deal with two opt-outs, but apparently failed to inform Devers that he’d been unseated. At spring training, Devers told reporters, “Third base is my position.” Eventually, Cora convinced him that designated hitter was his new position, although Devers never seemed especially thrilled about it.
Then, a month ago, first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury, and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow turned to Devers. “They can’t expect me to play every single position,” Devers lamented to reporters. He added, “They put me in this situation, and they told me that they didn’t want to allow me to play any other position. Now, I think they should do their jobs, essentially, and hit the market and look for another player. I’m not sure why they want me to be in-between the way they have been.” His frustration was so evident that Henry flew to Kansas City to meet the team and address the issue with Devers.
Evidently he was not satisfied with how that conversation went.
The Red Sox may yet win this trade—the Giants will pay the entire $250 million remaining on Devers’s contract, and Tibbs was their first-round draft pick last year—but this was certainly not the situation they envisioned when they sat at a dais in Boston two and a half years ago and anointed Devers the face of the franchise. In the end, though, perhaps this franchise got the face it deserved: a talented but mercurial player who didn’t always have his priorities straight and never quite lived up to his potential.
Shohei Ohtani is in the midst of another tremendous season for the Los Angeles Dodgers, leading the NL with 32 home runs and 91 runs at the All-Star break. The Japanese superstar got back on the mound, too, a huge achievement after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023. It's going pretty well there, too; Ohtani has allowed one run in nine innings pitched so far.
Now, the reigning MVP is proving he can really do it all by coming out with a children's book.
On Thursday Ohtani surprised the baseball world by revealing he had co-written a children's book about his dog, Decoy. The title? .
Tremendous content. And what can't this man do? He hits so well he's a perennial MVP candidate as a DH, and when healthy pitches at a Cy Young level. Now he's writing kids books. Some people have it all.
An exciting announcement for Ohtani, and especially Decoy.
Shohei Ohtani started his sixth game of the season on Monday night, striking out three batters in three innings pitched. Ohtani surrendered a season-high four hits and allowed his first earned run since his first start back in the middle of June as he allowed a lead-off home run to Byron Buxton.
While he did not earn a decision, the Los Angeles Dodgers did beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2, thanks it part to Shohei Ohtani who hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 1st.
Facing a 2-1 count with lead-off man Mookie Betts on first, Ohtani crushed a home run to centerfield to give the Dodgers a lead they would never relinquish.
Ohtani also threw in a casual, but effective bat flip to celebrate giving himself some early run support.
Ohtani has now homered in three straight games to raise his season total to 35. He's fourth in MLB in home runs and just three behind Cal Raleigh who has not hit a home run since the Derby.
The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to make moves in the MLB offseason.
The Dodgers have reportedly agreed to a minor-league contract with former NLCS MVP and 2021 World Series winner Eddie Rosario, according to MLB insider Ari Alexander.
Rosario, 33, is the latest in a laundry list of additions L.A. has made in the offseason, and he comes with some valuable postseason experience as the team aims to repeat as World Series champions.
The Guayama, Puerto Rico native has struggled in recent seasons, but he's less than four years removed from winning a championship with the Atlanta Braves, during which he recorded a 1.073 OPS with three home runs and 11 RBI across 16 postseason games. The Braves beat the Dodgers in the 2021 NLCS, a series in which Rosario was named MVP.
In 2024, Rosario featured for both the Washington Nationals and Atlanta, appearing in a total of 91 games. He struggled at the plate, recording a -1.6 WAR while logging a .531 OPS with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs.
The Dodgers have been MLB's busiest team during the offseason, and they're making another low-risk move by bringing Rosario aboard on a minor-league deal. Both sides will be hoping he can turn back the clock and shake off some of his recent woes at the plate.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his new haircut were back in a familiar place Monday night, sitting courtside in Lubbock for the Texas Tech-Houston men's basketball game. Mahomes, who fell short in the Super Bowl earlier this month, saw a good one, too, but his Red Raiders fell short in the upset bid, losing to the No. 4 Cougars, 69-61.
Mahomes was fired up all night rooting on his alma mater and also celebrating with a fan who drained a long putt during a time out.
There was one moment with the QB that frustrated fans, but it wasn't his fault. With just over a minute left in a three-point game, the ESPN broadcast showed Mahomes reacting to a key play instead of showing the key play, which wasn't ideal for viewers.
Texas Tech came very close to getting a huge turnover here, but you wouldn't know it because, well, ESPN's cameras were on Mahomes.
Vic Schaefer led the Texas women's basketball team to their first Final Four since 2003 on Monday after the Longhorns beat TCU 58–47 in the Elite Eight.
Schaefer was understandably emotional after his team's win, and he gave quite the tearjerking interview on the court after having confetti thrown on him by the Longhorns.
"I know I'm not their world, but they are my world," Schaefer said. "They say 'It's not who you are, it's what you do'—this is who I am. This is what I've done all my life. … You invest so much. You invest your heart and soul into these kids, you want it so badly for them. But, sometimes it's hard to show them."
Schaefer is just the fifth head coach in women's college basketball to take at least two teams to the Final Four in their careers. Schaefer previously led Mississippi State to the Final Four in 2017 and '18, in which the Bulldogs were runners-up both times. He will be seeking his first career national title with the Longhorns, against the winner of UConn vs. USC.
Aged 36, fast bowler cements place at the top of the ICC World Rankings with match haul of 9 for 43
Andrew Miller at Lord's13-Aug-20181:35
‘So much fun’ bowling in those conditions – Anderson
James Anderson could keep on bowling at his best in Test cricket until he is 40, according to England’s head coach Trevor Bayliss, in the wake of Anderson’s starring role in the second Test win over India at Lord’s on Sunday.Anderson, 36, cemented his place at the top of the ICC World Rankings with a match haul of 9 for 43, and in attaining a career-high points total of 903, he became the first England bowler since Ian Botham in 1980 to cross the 900 mark.In so doing, he helped carry England to their third Test win in a row this summer, and a 2-0 lead over an Indian team whose highest score of the match was R Ashwin’s second-innings 33 not out.None of Anderson’s opponents looked remotely comfortable against his relentless combination of high-class swing and seam and probing line and length, and asked if he was surprised that England’s attack leader was maintaining such high standards even after his 36th birthday, Bayliss admitted that yes, he had been somewhat taken aback.”If you compare him with other bowlers around the world, yeah,” he said. “A lot of other bowlers do start to drop off in their mid-thirties or so. It’s only the very, very best that are able to keep it going. I think he’s showing that he is the very, very best.”He’s not just good when the conditions suit him, but in these conditions he’s the best in the world. It’s a test for any batsman in the world to try to face him in these conditions.”Anderson was already 33 when Bayliss took charge of England’s fortunes in the summer of 2015, and he might therefore have expected to be overseeing a changing of the guard among England’s new-ball bowlers. But in Anderson’s case in particular, the economy of his approach to the wicket, coupled with the careful management of a bowler who has not played in white-ball cricket since the 2015 World Cup, has given the impression that he could go on forever.James Anderson was in menacing form•Getty Images
“I don’t think there’s any age [when he’s too old],” said Bayliss. “He’s fit and keeps himself fit. As long as he keeps his body fit there’s no reason why he can’t go on for three or four years.”Let’s wait and see! He keeps surprising everyone. At the moment, the last 12-18 months, he has had a shoulder problem, but at the moment he seems to have got over that pretty well and he just bowls and bowls and bowls. Hopefully that continues for a few years yet.”It wasn’t just Anderson among England’s bowlers who thrived in the swinging conditions at Lord’s, however. Stuart Broad enjoyed a four-wicket burst to break open India’s second innings, while Chris Woakes was named Man of the Match after capping a superb performance with the ball with his maiden Test hundred.For a man not given to overt shows of emotion, Bayliss’s reaction to Woakes’ hundred was notably effusive, and he admitted afterwards that he had been particularly pleased for one of the genuine nice guys of world cricket.”Woakesy is one of those guys who is very well respected in the team,” Bayliss said. “He has done a lot of hard yards, not just with the ball but with the bat over the last few years too. He’s a lovely bloke, and one of those guys who everyone genuinely wants to do well, so to see him go out there and do so well when we thought we were in a bit of trouble, to go and play the way he did with Jonny [Bairstow] was fantastic, and the boys were very happy for him.”Woakes had only stepped into the starting XI due to Ben Stokes’ ongoing court case in Bristol, and Bayliss admitted that the manner in which he had taken his chance in the side could prove to be the making of him as a Test cricketer.”After Anderson and Broad, who put so much pressure on the opposition, there could be a bit of relaxation, ‘awh good, they’re off’, but the other guy who comes on is just as good in these conditions. He might catch a few off guard, but I thought he bowled beautifully in this game. His command of line and length with some away swing was fantastic.”However, Bayliss also cautioned that the real challenge for Woakes – as with many of England’s players – would come overseas.”There’s no reason why he can’t [succeed],” he said. “Lord’s would have to be his favourite ground, and the challenge for him is away from home, as it is for a lot of the boys, being able to do that away from home. At the moment we are playing at home and we look forward to some more success.”When the ball is swinging around [India] have some difficulties, as it is when it’s spinning and we go to the subcontinent. It’s a challenge for any team to play in conditions you’re not used to and some of them are struggling a little bit. They have some extremely good players so our job is to try and stay on top.”
The seamer became the third South Africa women’s bowler to claim 100 wickets in ODIs. She finished with figures of 9-2-14-3 as West Indies were bowled out for 161 while chasing 202
ESPNcricinfo staff17-Sep-2018ICC/Getty Images
Marizanne Kapp’s economy and potency with the ball led South Africa’s defence of 201 in the first ODI in Bridgetown, where West Indies slumped to a 40-run defeat. The seamer finished with figures of 9-2-14-3 as West Indies were bowled out with four overs still to play.The win was South Africa’s third in seven Women’s Championship matches; they are now second from bottom on the table, but have played two games fewer than Sri Lanka, India, England and table-toppers New Zealand.Kapp dealt an early blow to West Indies’ hopes when she had Hayley Matthews caught behind off the second ball of the chase. In doing so she became the third South Africa women’s bowler – after Dane van Niekerk and Shabnim Ismail – to claim 100 wickets in ODIs. By the end of the 15th over, West Indies were three down for 45 with the debutant medium-pacer Tumi Sekhukhune sending back Stafanie Taylor and Chedean Nation.West Indies had recovered somewhat to 84 for 4 when the legspinner Sune Luus ended a cameo from Deandra Dottin (19 off 21) in the 24th over. Kapp took two in three balls in the next over, effectively ending the contest, which was only prolonged by a 71-ball 46 from Shemaine Campbelle, who was last out to Zintle Mali, who finished with 2 for 11 from three overs.Sent in to bat, South Africa seemed set for a big score at 104 for 1, as Laura Wolvaardt and Luus added 99 for the second wicket. Both fell in quick succession, however – Luus for 58 off 86 balls, her seventh ODI fifty – and the innings never recovered. Wickets fell steadily at one end, Taylor picking up 3 for 37 with her offspin, but captain Dane van Niekerk scored an unbeaten 46 off 77 balls to ensure South Africa batted through their 50 overs, finishing nine down.
Spinner Kirstie Gordon impressed by dismissing all three of Storm’s most potent batsmen, including the top scorer in the competition, Smriti Mandhana
ECB Reporters Network15-Aug-2018
ScorecardLoughborough Lightning established themselves as firm favourites for the 2018 Women’s Kia Super League with a crushing victory over defending champions Western Storm at Edgbaston.Chasing 125 to win, Lightning eased home with seven and a half overs to spare, a humbling margin for Storm, who had beaten Lightning at Taunton in a rain-reduced five-over thrash earlier in the campaign but this time were no match for their impressive opponents.Australian opener Rachael Haynes led the way with her third half-century of the tournament, finishing on 66 not out from 40 deliveries including 10 fours and a six.New Zealand allrounder Sophie Devine weighed in with 38 off 30 balls and picked up two wickets as Lightning displaced Storm at the top of the KSL table with one match remaining, the bonus point giving them a three-point lead into their final fixture, away to Yorkshire Diamonds on Saturday evening.Storm take on Surrey Stars at The Oval. The team that finishes top of the table goes straight into the KSL Final at Hove on Monday week, which is preceded by a semi-final between second and third in the chart.Lightning’s tightly disciplined bowling attack had vindicated skipper Georgia Elwiss’s decision to bowl first by restricting Storm to 124 for 6 in their 20 overs, the defending champions’ lowest score in the tournament.Spinner Kirstie Gordon had been the star of the show, dismissing all three of Storm’s most potent batters, including the top scorer in the competition, Smriti Mandhana, who came into this match with an average of 77.40 and a strike rate but this time fell for 29.An eventful Powerplay saw Mandhana riding her luck from the start on a day when she could never quite muster the destructive powers that had brought her the tournament’s only hundred so far.Unable to play with her usual freedom, the KSL’s most prolific scorer escaped a stumping chance before she had got off the mark in Jenny Gunn’s opening over, although the replay showed Lightning’s appeal to be a little optimistic. That was followed by a genuine let-off in the sixth over when, on 17 and beginning to find her timing, she was put down at extra cover, where a stretching Elwiss had a good hand on the ball but could not hold on.It looked like it might be a costly miss when Mandhana repeated the shot a couple of balls later, hitting seamer Devine over the head of the Lightning captain for her third boundary as Storm reached the end of the Powerplay at 43 for 1. They had lost opener Rachel Priest when the New Zealand batter sliced Devine to short third man, but there was plenty of batting to come.England and Storm captain Heather Knight punished Sarah Glenn’s legspin with a couple of boundaries but then a brilliant over from the left-arm spinner Gordon, one of the break-out players of the tournament, changed the complexion of the innings.Called into the attack in the ninth over with Storm 60 for 1, Gordon claimed the major scalps of Mandhana and Knight with consecutive balls, the former failing as she tried to clear Elyse Villani on the long-off boundary. Gordon then came up with a beauty that turned past the outside edge to clip Knight’s off stump.Thereafter, Storm were never able to regain any consistent momentum as Gordon and fellow left-armer Linsey Smith combined with Elwiss’s medium pace to produce a near-perfect bowling performance on a slow surface, seldom giving away any easy runs.Gordon picked up a third success – her 14th of the tournament – and a third of Storm’s batting trump cards when Stefanie Taylor hit her into the safe hands of Georgia Adams on the long-off boundary, giving her figures of 3 for 19 as the leading spin bowler in the competition.Elwiss got in on the act with a deserved wicket when Villani grabbed a second catch in the deep, before doing well to hold on to a low chance at wide extra cover as Naomi Dattani became Devine’s second victim in the final over of the innings.