MLB power rankings: Red Sox get pummeled as Rafael Devers powers up
MLB power rankings: Red Sox get pummeled as Rafael Devers powers up
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Pete Rose now eligible for Hall of Fame after years of ineligibility
USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale discusses Pete Rose now being eligible for the Hall of Fame and what it means for the steroid era players.
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In reality, Rafael Devers is among the least of the Boston Red Sox's worries.
Devers' reticence – or flat-out refusal – to move to first base after he agreed to a shift to designated hitter created plenty of headlines and prompted owner John Henry to fly to Kansas City and talk it out with his $313.5 million slugger.
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, Henry didn't pack any pitching reinforcements on the plane.
Since that summit, Devers has been nearly unstoppable – with 15 hits in 34 at-bats, three homers and 13 RBIs in nine games. But the Red Sox are slowly slipping from shouting distance of the first-place New York Yankees, with 11 losses in their past 17 games to fall six spots in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings.
ORIOLES FIRE MANAGER: Brandon Hyde survived epic tanking – then Baltimore failed him
It might have been 12 losses in 17 games if not for Devers, who saved them with his first career walk-off homer against Atlanta on Saturday.
A few hours later in the series finale, he erased an early deficit 3-0 with a grand slam. But the Red Sox gave up that lead and more, as they've done often lately. In losing five of its last six, Boston has twice given up 10 runs in a game and 14 in another. Their rotation ERA now languishes at 4.28, 22nd in the majors.
And nowadays, that means it doesn't much matter how many runs the Red Sox score.
A look at our updated rankings:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (-)
Feeling the change of the guard: Stalwarts Chris Taylor, Austin Barnes cut as Dalton Rushing steps on the scene.
2. Detroit Tigers (+2)
Tigers win Jackson Jobe's first eight starts, setting franchise record.
Edwin Diaz, now 10-for-10 in save chances, ramps his fastball back up to 99 mph.
At least Jose Alvarado's PED suspension came well before the trade deadline.
Almost mathematically eliminated in the Vedder Cup.
Wilmer Flores, RBI machine, wins epic battle against Mason Miller for walk-off walk.
PCA vs. the White Sox was no match: 8-for-14, nine RBIs, four extra-base hits.
8. New York Yankees (-1)
Jonathan Loaisiga's return a nice boost for bullpen.
There's a new ace in town and his name is Bryan Woo.
10. Cleveland Guardians (-)
Shane Bieber getting closer to a rehab assignment.
You win 13 in a row, you jump 14 spots in the standings. Them's the rules.
12. St. Louis Cardinals (-)
Started the year 1-10 on the road; just finished 7-2 road trip.
Those heavy footsteps you hear? Jac Caglianone is one step from the big leagues.
Will be more than halfway done with Dodgers after three-game road set this week.
15. Houston Astros (-1)
Thirteen come-from-behind wins.
16. Texas Rangers (+3)
Evan Carter's injury woes continue with quad strain.
17. Cincinnati Reds (+3)
Is Will Benson happening? He slams five homers in four games.
18. Atlanta Braves (+3)
They climb over .500, just in time to welcome back Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr.
19. Boston Red Sox (-6)
Kristian Campbell sliding to first to create room for Marcelo Mayer would be a helluva fix.
Tigers show how far they have to go to be playoff team
Jackson Chourio dropped to sixth in order, promptly strikes out four times.
22. Tampa Bay Rays (-)
Chandler Simpson survives unsettling slide at home plate.
23. Athletics (-)
Yolo County vs. San Francisco doesn't quite have the same ring.
24. Washington Nationals (-)
Michael Soroka wins first game since July 2023.
25. Los Angeles Angels (+1)
First three-game sweep over Dodgers since 2010.
15-30 record matches 2019 start, when they lost 108 games.
27. Miami Marlins (-)
Sandy Alcantara drops his sixth straight decision, a career high.
Shut out in eight of their 32 losses.
29. Chicago White Sox (-)
.University of Tampa product Jordan Leasure racking up 12.9 strikeouts per nine.
30. Colorado Rockies (-)
8-38, a pace that would knock the White Sox out of the record books.
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Indianapolis Star
2 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
Personal touches, secret messages: Behind the scenes of making Caitlin Clark's new Wilson basketballs
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Clark joined Michael Jordan as the only athletes with full basketball collections for Wilson, signing a multiyear sponsorship deal in May 2024 with the official manufacturer of basketballs for the WNBA, NBA and NCAA. In part because of the short turnaround time before the release of her first signature ball last October, Clark's first line leaned heavily into history. The records she broke at Iowa. Her historic rookie season with the Fever. But Clark and Wilson knew they wanted future lines to be more personal, reflecting who Clark is as a person as much as a player. 'She's actually influencing this. It's not just people at Wilson picking the design,' said Hudson Vantrease, director of product design at Wilson. 'We never wanted to just put her name on a ball and call it a day,' he added. 'We want to tell the most compelling story, and having her as part of that is a positive to it.' Wilson invited USA TODAY Sports to attend the design team meeting in April where Clark saw the finished basketballs for the first time. The design team also gave USA TODAY Sports a behind-the-scenes look at the collaboration process with Clark for the latest collection, which will be released June 23. There are four balls in the collection, and they differ in both purpose (one is an indoor-only ball, one is outdoor-only and two can be used either indoors or outdoors) and price point. One, the Embrace, is an Evo NXT basketball, meaning it has the same construction as a regulation W ball and could be used in official games. 'Awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome,' Clark said when she walked into the Fever's practice gym and saw the four new basketballs. 'You guys killed it.' The team responsible for developing Clark's line has about a dozen core members. They met with Clark at last year's All-Star Game and got her initial thoughts about the collection, including what a young Caitlin Clark would have wanted. 'I think she said a blue ball,' said Haley Reines, the product line manager at Wilson. Afterward, Reines and product designer Julia Muscarello sent Clark a detailed questionnaire, asking her everything from her favorite color to her hobbies outside of basketball to what she'd be if she wasn't a basketball player (chef). They also monitored social media, taking note of Clark's clothes — there's an Instagram account devoted to her fits — and what she does off the court. 'I don't want to say borderline stalking, but yeah,' Muscarello said with a laugh. 'I was trying to stay on the Caitlin pulse.' Those answers and details drove the design process, which involved 'hundreds' of hours. Christopher Rickert, the senior director of global production at Wilson, said the team began with 50 design ideas and whittled them down. 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New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Are the Cardinals this season's plot twist? Plus: Boston rookie brought the spice
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New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
What to watch in sports this week: NBA and Stanley Cup finals are tied, U.S. Open tees off
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Only if you live in a market featured on the MLB Network broadcast. This Friday's series opener between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, for instance, will be blacked out for in-market households that don't have the regional carrier (YES and NESN, respectively). Will you get in trouble if you miss any of these matches? That's a clown question. Programming on ABC and ESPN is also available on ESPN+. NBC's U.S. Open coverage can be streamed on Peacock. When: Monday, 8 p.m. ET Why you should watch: Friday night's Game 2 epic should be immortalized in hockey history. Breathe in: There were five goals netted in the frantic first period. Breathe out: Both sides tightened up and allowed just three scores across the second and third. Breathe in again: Corey Perry's improbable game-tying goal with 18 seconds made for Edmonton euphoria. And breathe out once more: Brad Marchand's stunner in double-overtime tied the series and silenced all of Alberta. 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Rounds go Thursday through Saturday before Sunday's Open finale. When (Eastern): Friday 7:10 p.m. | Saturday 7:15 p.m. | Sunday 1:35 p.m. Why you should watch: May we interest you in some dingers? Wholesale, industrial-sized shipping containers of dingers, really. These two East Coast archenemies went all out in this weekend's three-game series. New York won the first contest, 9-6; star batters Jazz Chisholm Jr., Paul Goldschmidt and Rafael Devers each went yard. Then Boston bounced back in the Saturday showcase, winning 10-7 behind five RBI from Trevor Story. And the Sox stole the rubber match in the Bronx on 'Sunday Night Baseball.' That game was unhinged — eight combined homers and 49 total bases. Off to Fenway Park for this weekend's re-do. Aaron Judge is essential summertime viewing as he goes for baseball's Triple Crown. When: Saturday and Sunday Why you should watch: Monday and Tuesday give us some World Cup qualifying action, but it's all about Concacaf come Saturday and Sunday. Matchday 1 kicks off with Mexico and the Dominican Republic, followed by the USA against Trinidad and Tobago. Together, USMNT and 'El Tri' have lifted the last 12 trophies. The initial group stage play has Mexico in Inglewood's SoFi Stadium and the U.S. in San Jose's PayPal Park. USA then goes to Austin for its second match and finishes in 'Jerry World' (Dallas) on June 22. Mexico plays Suriname in the Dallas Cowboys' mega-arena next week, then wraps up Group A in the Las Vegas Raiders' Allegiant Stadium. Decorated keeper Guillermo Ochoa leads Mexico with 151 international caps; captain center-back Tim Ream tops the Americans with 68 caps. 1990: Monica Seles made a grand entrance at the top of women's tennis. From Robin Finn in the New York Times: 'The girl with the biggest grunt in the game and tennis strokes lifted from the blueprints in her father's physics textbook swiftly and noisily rendered a rainy afternoon in Paris historic today. Seles, the teen-age terror whose two-fisted ground strokes have spelled a special kind of double trouble ever since she burst upon the scene here last year, became the youngest women's champion in French Open history when she ran roughshod over top-seeded Steffi Graf, 7-6, 6-4.' Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Connor McDavid and Gustav Forsling: Leila Devlin / Getty Images)
