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Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
From ‘Mamma Mia' to ‘Singin' in the Rain,' here are the best movies to see around Boston this week
The Big Lebowski (1998) Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) finds his days of bowling and getting high upended when two henchmen break into his home, mistaking him for a millionaire with the same name. The millionaire then hires Lebowski to track down his kidnapped wife, sending 'The Dude' and his bowling buddies (John Goodman, Steve Buscemi) on a whirlwind journey of seedy and silly encounters that get in the way of their upcoming bowling tournament. July 29, 7 p.m. $12.50. Landmark Kendall Square Cinema, 355 Binney St., Cambridge. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Jeff Bridges, Steve Buschemi, and John Goodman in "The Big Lebowski." handout Advertisement Happy Gilmore (1996) Revisit a '90s Adam Sandler classic with a free screening of 'Happy Gilmore' to celebrate the July 30, 9 p.m. Free. The Anchor, 1 Shipyard Park, Charlestown. Mamma Mia! double feature (2008, 2018) At her Greek island wedding, bride Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) goes against her mother Donna's (Meryl Streep) wishes and invites three men (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård) with the suspicion that one of them is her father. If that isn't juicy enough, it's also a screen-adapted, Broadway musical comprising solely of Swedish band ABBA's hits. Why? Why not! July 31, 7 p.m. $19.75. Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St., Brookline. Will Ferrell in a publicity still from "Elf." REUTERS Elf (2003) For Christmas lovers who can't wait another five months to celebrate, you're in luck. Fenway Park will screen the holiday classic family comedy 'Elf,' which follows Will Ferrell as Buddy, a human raised by elves in the North Pole, who travels to New York to find his human father, Walter (James Caan). Walter is a book publisher who hates his job, and Buddy's elvish need to spread joy clashes with his father's cynical outlook as someone who pumps out children's content — hijinks ensue and hearts are warmed. July 31, 7:30 p.m. $12, $7 for children. Fenway Park, 4 Jersey St. Advertisement Singin' in the Rain (1952) A movie about silent film stars forced to grapple with the introduction of synchronized sound in Hollywood may seem like a comically dated conflict in 2025. But, it's also an ironic one, because the classic musical numbers in 'Singin' in the Rain' some of the best evidence for why combining image and sound was such a good idea. Whether it's Gene Kelly whirling around a lamppost or Donald O'Connor performing stunts with a mannequin, see why this musical withstands the changing tides seven decades later. Aug. 2-3, 12:30 p.m. $14.50. Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge. Ryan Yau can be reached at
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Watch MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers v Boston Red Sox
Update: Date: 19:04 BST Title: First Pitch - 19:15 BST Content: Grounds crew members remove the tarp from the infield before a game Update: Date: 17:57 BST Title: Dodgers' journey from 'best ever' to 'rock bottom' Content: Ben CollinsBBC Sport Los Angeles Dodgers v Boston Red Sox Venue: Fenway Park, Boston Date: Sunday, 27 July First pitch: 18:35 BST Coverage: Live coverage on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Red Button and the BBC Sport website and app, from 18:30 After winning last year's World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers picked up from where they left off. They made a flying start to the current Major League Baseball season, becoming the first defending champions to win their first eight games. It had many saying this is the best MLB team that has ever been assembled. Three months later, the Dodgers remain top of their division, but they are struggling. After Tuesday's defeat to Minnesota, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was desperate to stop the rot, saying: "It better be rock bottom." Now his team visit the Boston Red Sox hoping to get their title defence back on track, and you can watch the final game of their three-game series live on the BBC. To continue reading, click here. This video can not be played Shohei Ohtani: La Dodgers star hits a home run in five consecutive games Update: Date: 13:11 BST 25 July Title: Can the Red Sox slow the high-flying Dodgers? Content: The Dodgers sit top of the National League West division, continuing to dominate this season after their impressive World Series win last year. They look in good shape to return to the post-season in September, with Shohei Ohtani at the forefront already smashing 37 home runs this year. But the Red Sox have their own post-season ambitions. After three years outside the play-offs, they are for now just ahead in a very tight Wild Card race and in position to qualify – but can they stay there? Update: Date: 13:04 BST 25 July Title: Schedule of matches live on iPlayer Content: Update: Date: 13:01 BST 25 July Title: Ask Me Anything Content: Our team at Ask Me Anything will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and pundits. No sport is off limits, no question is too big or too small. Open the contact form here and fire away! This week Jish from Somerset asked 'how does scoring in baseball work?' You can find a full explanation of the scoring system, home runs and innings in baseball in this week's Ask Me Anything answer. Update: Date: 12:47 BST 25 July Title: Catcher interference wins game for first time since 1971 Content: This video can not be played Philadelphia Phillies beat Boston Red Sox in a way not seen since 1971 The Philadephia Phillies beat the Boston Red Sox after a catcher interference ruling with the bases loaded - a way of winning a game not seen in the major leagues since 1971. Update: Date: 12:29 BST 25 July Title: Get Involved Content: Get Inspired#GetInspired Are you inspired to start playing and following baseball or softball? Do you want to know what to expect when you start? Click here to find out how you can get involved, search for your nearest club and follow links to key organisations in the United Kingdom. #GetInspired
New York Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Dodgers' bullpen needs deadline upgrades. They're also expecting internal improvement
BOSTON — Dave Roberts stared out at the visiting bullpen Friday night and into uncertain territory. The Los Angeles Dodgers manager has overseen a relief unit that has logged more innings than any team in baseball. His prized free-agent closer has struggled and is now hurt. His most valuable reliever this past October hasn't pitched in a big-league game since April. His path to closing out games is littered with trapdoors. Advertisement Friday night, it meant calling on rookie Ben Casparius for his first big-league save in the middle of the worst stretch of his young career. He completed the feat in the ballpark he'd grown up going to, recording the save against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. It was a moment of celebration, but also an indication of where things stand right now for this team. The Dodgers are aggressively pursuing relief upgrades at the deadline. They also just need to get healthy, and for this current group to perform better than they have. 'We have enough talent right now to be better in the 'pen,' Roberts said this weekend. The club is baking in the impending return of Blake Treinen into its trade deadline calculus, with the postseason stalwart expected to be active either Sunday or Monday after dealing with a forearm issue. Roberts said Tanner Scott's timetable is 'shorter than longer,' but the Dodgers won't truly know until Scott resumes playing catch. The $72 million closer hasn't pitched particularly well this season, but there's belief that having him in a set of high-leverage options rather than solely tasked with the ninth inning could help out his results. Michael Kopech has given the Dodgers all of seven innings this season; his return at the end of next month will give the Dodgers another internal option. So will Brusdar Graterol once he ramps up after shoulder surgery. The club still has to get some of its current healthy pitchers right. Kirby Yates' signing to a one-year, $13 million deal toward the end of the winter was an odd catalyst for critics saying the Dodgers' spending was destroying the integrity of the sport. The two-time All-Star reliever, in turn, has delivered his worst healthy season to date since 2016. His 4.31 ERA in 31 1/3 innings appears earned; he's giving up plenty of hard contact, including twice as many home runs (six) as he allowed all of last year with the Texas Rangers. Advertisement The source of his struggles is obvious. Yates' development of a splitter, in many ways, carved out a career for him. Opposing hitters last year hit just .114 against the pitch, which induced soft contact and a .139 slugging percentage. Both those figures have more than doubled against the splitter this year (.278 batting average, .415 slugging percentage entering Saturday). Yates has grown frustrated with the pitch's movement profile, which he said hasn't felt right since shortly before he hit the injured list in May. Yates theorized that raised seams on the baseballs are at least partially responsible for the shift in movement profile. He still hasn't been able to click an adjustment into place. 'Terrible,' Yates said of how the pitch has played. He's a two-pitch pitcher. Lack of a feel for his split and, recently, poor fastball command have doomed him. 'If you put the combination of both together and you've got lack of command and you don't really have anything to back it up with, any time you throw a ball over the plate, it's probably going to get hit hard,' Yates said. 'That's pitching in the big leagues.' Still, Roberts said he trusts Yates in leverage spots. He doesn't have much in the way of options. Yates threw a scoreless inning in the eighth Saturday. 'He's certainly going through some things mentally right now, and scuffling,' Roberts said. 'There's a little bit of confidence kind of wavering, I'm sure. But I just feel that with the guys that we have out there, if the situation calls for it, I've got no problem having him finish a game.' First time at Fenway Park means it's time to sign the Green Monster! — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 26, 2025 Then there's Casparius, who has ping-ponged between roles, logging the third-most innings on the club and facing a reality check as he endures his first full season in the big leagues. His mechanics have fallen out of whack. The Dodgers staff has worked with him to address what they believe could be a pitch-tipping issue that knocked him out of the rotation after a brutal start against the Houston Astros. Some of his pitch sequencing has gotten predictable. Just a handful of days ago, it seemed more likely that Casparius would land on the injured list for a cramping right calf than he would be closing out a game. Even after Friday, Casparius' ERA on the season has ballooned to 4.98 after a promising April and May. Fellow rookie Jack Dreyer has arguably been the team's most consistent bullpen arm not named Alex Vesia. Advertisement Maybe Alexis Díaz can earn his way into the fold, though Roberts acknowledged the Dodgers still aren't quite sure what they have yet in the former All-Star closer. Edgardo Henriquez throws quite hard but still doesn't even have 10 big-league innings under his belt for his career. Kyle Hurt could linger as an option over the season's final month so long as he continues to make steady progress in his return from Tommy John surgery. The Dodgers are exploring adding another internal option to their relief mix. Bobby Miller — the team's Game 2 starter just two postseasons ago — is being shifted to the bullpen in Triple-A Oklahoma City, according to league sources. The team's former top pitching prospect has had another lost season to date. Through 69 1/3 innings with Oklahoma City, his ERA sits at 5.58. The concerns about his ability to consistently execute as a starter have come to fruition. It's still an intriguing potential package. His four-seam fastball has averaged 97.8 mph in the minor leagues this season, still down from the 99.1 mph he averaged on the pitch in his rookie campaign. Maybe it ticks up in shorter bursts. That, along with tweaks to his pitch usage, could play well in relief. Given the state of the rest of the bullpen, it's worth a shot. (Photo of Ben Casparius: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Clayton Kershaw can't match Garrett Crochet's consistency in Dodgers' loss to Red Sox
Garrett Crochet got out of his jams on Saturday night. Clayton Kershaw failed to do the same. In the Dodgers' 4-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox, that was the difference — with Crochet, an in-his-prime Cy Young candidate with a heavy fastball and premium all-around stuff, frustrating the Dodgers by stranding baserunners and working out of trouble; and Kershaw, an aging left-hander who battled command in the early going, too often failing to escape danger unscathed. Making his first career regular-season start at Fenway Park (he had only previously pitched here in the 2018 World Series), Kershaw appeared to be battling his mechanics from the start. He delivered a first-pitch strike to only five of his first 14 batters. Even worse, he couldn't put guys away when he got to two-strike counts. Read more: Shaikin: Home again? Why Kenley Jansen could be a good trade match for Dodgers It culminated in a three-run second inning from the Red Sox (56-50), after Trevor Story worked a leadoff walk, Carlos Narváez belted a double off the Green Monster, and Jarren Duran laced a line drive to center that got over Andy Pages' head for a triple (Duran had another triple and a double later in the night). It led to more stress for the 37-year-old Kershaw in the third, when he yielded a pair of singles to lead off the inning before getting a double-play and fanning Story with a slider. After that, Kershaw started to settle down. He rediscovered his command, getting ahead of each of the final seven batters he faced. He found the kind of rhythm that has keyed his surprisingly strong 18th season, retiring seven consecutive batters while working into the fifth. But with two outs in that fifth inning, star Red Sox slugger Alex Bregman outlasted Kershaw in a 10-pitch at-bat, finally prevailing on a single through the infield. Then, rookie starlet Roman Anthony drove him home with a double, Bregman able to score on a bang-bang play at the plate after the ball ricocheted off the Monster and bounced past Pages in left center. Kershaw's night ended there, a 4-⅔ inning, four-run start (which tied the second most earned runs he has allowed this year) that raised his earned-run average to 3.62. And while Crochet faced similar levels of duress, he never let the Dodgers (61-44) break open an inning. The closest the Dodgers came was in the first. Shohei Ohtani started things off with a home run to deep center, his National League-leading 38th of the season and 10th to lead off a game. Teoscar Hernández followed with another solo shot two batters later, clearing the Monster in left field to continue his recent surge at the plate. After that, however, Crochet kept the Dodgers in the ballpark, and stranded each of the eight other batters who reached base. Unlike Kershaw, who failed to limit damage with his diminished velocity and inconsistent execution of breaking pitches, Crochet overpowered the Dodgers in each leverage situation, preventing any further scoring with the help of 10 strikeouts — giving him an MLB-leading 175 on the season. The Dodgers didn't help their cause along the way. After the first-inning home runs, a later first-inning rally fizzled when Freddie Freeman was thrown out trying to go from first to third base on a Pages single (the Dodgers challenged, with manager Dave Roberts applauding Freeman's aggressiveness from the dugout, but the call was upheld). The Dodgers had two other innings end with outs on the bases. Hernández was caught stealing for the final out of the fifth (on a close play that the Dodgers might have challenged had they not burned it earlier in the game). Will Smith was gunned down trying to turn a single into a double in the seventh, after Crochet's exit. But the most deflating moments came with Ohtani at the plate. In both the second and fourth, No. 9 hitter Hyeseong Kim managed to single off Crochet (surprising results given Kim's recent struggles and a seemingly poor left-on-left matchup against the Red Sox ace). But both times, Ohtani followed with inning-ending strikeouts, part of an evening that saw him go down swinging three total times. The Dodgers gave themselves one late chance against Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman, bringing the tying run to the plate after a two-out walk in the ninth from Esteury Ruiz. Read more: With trade deadline looming, Dodgers showcase revived offense in win over Boston The batter representing that tying run: Mookie Betts, who was out of the starting lineup for a second-straight game after spending this week back home in Nashville following a death in his family. But, making just his second trip back to Fenway Park since being dealt from the Red Sox to the Dodgers in 2020, the former MVP brought a night of missed chances to a frustratingly fitting conclusion, getting rung up on a called third strike to set up a series rubber match Sunday. Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Facing Dodgers for first time gives Walker Buehler chance to reflect on his time in L.A.
It had been nine months since Walker Buehler struck out Alex Verdugo, stretched his arms on the Yankee Stadium mound, and was dogpiled after recording the final outs of last year's World Series. But on Friday afternoon, ahead of Buehler's first reunion with the Dodgers since departing for the Boston Red Sox in the offseason, the memory remained vividly fresh — for him, his former teammates and coaches, and even a traveling contingent of Dodgers fans in town for this weekend's series at Fenway Park. As Buehler chatted with members of his old organization hours before Friday's series opener, Dodger fans taking a pregame tour of the stadium spotted him on the diamond. Within moments, an otherwise empty ballpark was echoing with cheers and applause, the fans shouting Buehler's name as he acknowledged them with a wave of his hand. 'That was really cool,' Buehler said later, the moment reminding him of a conversation he had with Dodgers broadcaster Orel Hershiser (a World Series hero of a different generation who became a mentor of Buehler's during his time with the team). Read more: Beyond the bullpen, how aggressive will the Dodgers be at the MLB trade deadline? 'Talking to Orel about some of that stuff that he's gone through and the way people react to him, I think it's obviously two different situations,' he added. 'But for the fans walking around to yell at me, I kind of imagine in L.A. it'll be like that for a while, I hope.' Indeed, if there was any doubt about how Buehler's Dodgers tenure was destined to be remembered, his role in last year's World Series enshrined it in legendary status. No, the right-hander didn't quite reach the Cy Young-winning expectations many had when he first came up as a highly touted prospect with a big fastball and fiery mound presence. For as dominant as he was from 2018-2021, when he went 39-13 with a 2.82 earned-run average and two All-Star selections, the end of his seven-year stint was derailed by a 2022 Tommy John surgery (the second of his career) and a disappointing regular-season performance upon his return in 2024 (when he was 1-6 in the regular season with a 5.38 ERA). Buehler's best Dodger moments, though, always came in the postseason: From his division-clinching gem in Game 163 as a rookie in 2018, to his 1.80 ERA in five starts during the Dodgers' 2020 World Series run, to when he took the ball on short rest twice in a failed title defense in 2021, to his 10 consecutive scoreless innings in the final two rounds of last year's postseason most of all; an unexpected star turn following his post-Tommy John struggles throughout the summer. 'That moment means a lot to all of us, that we were a part of it with the city and the fans that came out every day for us there,' he said, while talking to reporters in the Red Sox's home dugout. 'I think it would have been hard to leave that for anywhere — except for here.' While Buehler expressed interest in remaining with the Dodgers ahead of his free agency last winter, his eventual departure became clear in the first week of the offseason. The team didn't extend him a one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer — which ended up being the same amount he signed for with the Red Sox. The Dodgers instead went after Blake Snell with a $182-million contract, and won the January sweepstakes for Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki. 'It was an interesting situation. I think there's obviously two sides to that situation,' Buehler said when reflecting back on his free agency. 'We had conversations about it, we talked through it. And they went and signed guys that they wanted to sign. And I signed with a place that I wanted to play. It kind of is what it is.' Read more: Shaikin: Walker Buehler struggling to rediscover his Dodgers World Series magic with Red Sox In hindsight, it was an outcome neither side seemed to be regret. In Buehler's absence, the Dodgers have managed to work around first-half injuries to several key starters, and are on track to have a potential postseason rotation featuring Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani and Snell (who could return from a shoulder injury after one last minor-league rehab start with triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday). Meanwhile, Buehler said he has enjoyed playing for the Red Sox, even though he has regressed with a woeful 5.72 ERA (sixth-worst in the majors among 107 pitchers with at least 80 innings). 'It's been a really fun year, outside of some of the playing stuff for me,' he said. 'But my family and me, we're loving it here and have felt really very welcomed here, as well, just like we were in LA.' Buehler has been better lately, giving up just three earned runs in his last 18 innings to help the Red Sox maintain the final wild-card spot in the American League. His next start, fittingly, will come in Sunday's series-finale against the Dodgers. 'It'll be interesting,' Buehler said with a laugh. 'Obviously, I was one of the last of the wave coming up there. So I've kind of got little bits and pieces of it playing against Joc [Pederson] and [Cody Bellinger] and Corey [Seager]. So it'll be nine of those for me, I guess.' Buehler wished he could have squared off against Clayton Kershaw; something he said he and the future Hall of Fame left-hander (who will instead pitch Saturday's game) joked about while meeting up on Thursday's off day. Still, Buehler added, "I think you just try to keep it as normal as you can. Obviously it'll be a little awkward or funny or whatever. But I don't know. At the end of the day, we're all playing a sport for a paycheck. The goal is go and to get one over on them. I don't think the preparation against them is really different." Friday, on the other hand, was a day for nostalgia, with Buehler receiving his World Series ring from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and most of the remaining players from last year's team during pregame batting practice. Read more: Freddie Freeman's walk-off hit saves the day, lifts Dodgers to win over Twins 'I was very fortunate to be drafted and developed and get to spend so much time there,' Buehler said. 'Should credit a lot of good success that I've had to them, and how they handled and treated me. Nothing but good things to say there." As for if his ring — a diamond-studded reminder of what, for now at least, remains the lasting image of his Dodgers career — gave him any closure, Buehler smirked. "I think you already have it,' he said. 'But I think everyone kind of knows I'm on a one-year contract, so you never know what's going to happen down the road.' Betts absent for Friday The Dodgers were without shortstop Mookie Betts, who was home in Nashville with his family attending to a personal matter. Roberts said Betts was expected to rejoin the club on Saturday, but was unsure if he'd be back in the starting lineup for that day's game. Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
