KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chris Sale tossed a three-hitter for his third career shutout, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Rafael Devers drove in three runs apiece, and the Boston Red Sox trounced the woeful Kansas City Royals 8-0 on Wednesday night. Sale’s dominant performance was summed up by the eighth inning, when the seven-time All-Star struck […]

The Sanford Mainers were held to just one hit as they dropped their NECBL season-opener, 13-0, to the Steeplecats in six innings at Joe Wolfe Field in North Adams, Massachusetts. Tyler Hays picked up the win for North Adams, pitching 5 ⅓ perfect innings and striking out 10. Jacob Abbot took over for Hays with […]

SACO — Thomas Levasseur attended Thornton Academy’s senior athletic banquet Wednesday night wearing neither tie nor coat. Instead, he was adorned with splotches of maroon paint beneath each eye, his hair tousled and his shirt soaked with sweat. That sort of thing can happen when the playoffs roll around. “They told us they were going […]

BOSTON — Kyrie Irving can opt out of his Celtics contract and become a free agent. Gordon Hayward might never play like he did before his injury. It’s possible Brad Stevens won’t figure out a way to deploy all of the team’s talent. There’s one thing, though, that Boston boss Danny Ainge was able to […]

BOSTON — Twice the Boston Bruins have been forced to finish a Stanley Cup Final game down a defenseman. The St. Louis Blues won each time. That’s not a coincidence. Wearing out opponents and winning the war of attrition has been an ingredient of the Blues’ playoff success. They took advantage of injuries to San […]

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Jarrett Stidham doesn’t have time to listen to the talk about him being a possible successor for a Hall of Fame-bound quarterback. For the Patriots’ rookie, every day of the team’s offseason program is simply another opportunity for self-improvement. “Every single day I wake up and I say, I’ve got to get […]

STANDISH  — As Jan Corliss approached her celebrating Bonny Eagle High softball team, the tears welled in her eyes. And with good reason. The eighth-ranked Scots rallied from a nine-run deficit to defeat ninth-ranked Cheverus/North Yarmouth Academy 12-9 Tuesday afternoon in a Class A South preliminary round playoff game. Bonny Eagle scored six runs in […]

KENNEBUNK — With infielders playing in on the grass, a runner on third base and the score tied in the sixth inning of a playoff game, Biddeford junior Delano Hale pawed at the dirt in the batter’s box. The No. 8 batter in the Tigers’ lineup, Hale had grounded back to the mound and was […]