Club America, the reigning champion and current leaders of Mexico-based power conference LIGA MX, controlled all three areas of the pitch in a 4-0 victory over the Revolution in the opening match of a home and home Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal series.

Club America’s two goals in the opening 24 minutes were one more than the Revolution (3-1-1) gave up in their four previous Champions Cup games.

The second leg of the home and home series will be played on April 9 at Estadio Azteca in the high altitude of Mexico City. Club America has won the Champions Cup seven times while the Revolution have never advanced beyond the quarterfinals.

The Revolution are in last place in the MLS Eastern Conference at 0-4-1 and they resume league play the end of a three-game homestand against Charlotte FC on Saturday night (7:30) at Gillette.

After playing an arduous stretch of eight games in 26 days, the Revolution entered their bye week after a 1-1 draw with Chicago Fire FC on March 23. Porter put a rested and potent Starting XI on the pitch for Club America with one big exception. Porter started Earl Edwards Jr. in goal in place of Henrich Ravas, who had three clean sheets in the four Concacaf games he started.

Ravas returned to the team after missing the Chicago Fire FC match to honor his FIFA international commitment to Slovakia. The other returnees from international duty were homegrown midfielders Esmir Bajraktarevic (U.S.) and Noel Buck (England), both of who were left off the starting lineup.

Porter also made an interesting adjustment on the back line by starting three center backs, Dave Romney, Henry Kessler and Jonathan Mensah, flanked by outside backs DeJuan Jones and Ryan Spaulding.

Giacomo Vrioni was the striker with Tomas Chancalay, who leads the club with four goals and 10 shots in Champions Cup play, at attacking forward on the left side and Nacho Gil on the right.

Club America made several deep probes in the early going and eventually broke down the Revolution’s beefed up back line in the 16th minute. Midfielder Alvaro Fidalgo caused a turnover in the Revolution end and got the ball to Club America captain Henry Martin on the scoring area.

Martin side kicked the ball across the box to forward Javairo Dilrosun and broke for the net on a give and go. Dilrosun got the ball back to Martin who pivoted in the middle of the box and kicked it by Edwards.

Martin was the playmaker in Club America’s second tally in the 24th minute. Martin made a precision pass between two Revolution defenders and connected with forward Alejandro Zendejas on a dead run down the right side of the box. Zendejas made a cut towards the cage and let fly a liner that beat Edwards to the far post.

Club America went up 3-0 when defender Cristian Calderon chipped home the rebound at the business end of a free kick in the 64th minute.

The spirited Club Amerca supporters located in the south end zone released a blinding smoke screen in the 87th minute that covered the pitch in a yellow haze. Club America midfielder Brian Rodriguez closed out the scoring in stoppage time.

Locked in a scoreless game late in the third period, the B’s got three late goals to beat the Predators, 3-0, on the strength of Linus Ullmark’s 32-save shutout.

The win allowed the B’s to open a four-point lead over the Florida Panthers for the Atlantic Division race.

Ullmark was excellent, but he didn’t steal the game. The B’s played a strong 200-foot game from start to finish and earned the win. There was little with which to quibble in this one.

“It was a great job,”  Ullmark told NESN. “We battled all 60 minutes. We knew it was going to be a hard game. They came in with a lot of confidence but we really went to work.”

The back-and-forth competition to be the Game 1 starter for the playoffs continued. Last week Jeremy Swayman beat the Panthers and then was huge in overtime to beat the Capitals in a shootout. But since the trade deadline, Ullmark is 4-2 with a .950 save percentage.

“Every game is a new challenge,” said Ullmark. “It doesn’t matter what you did last game or the game prior. It’s all about looking forward and keep performing and focus on the process and not get too carried away with results-based thinking. It’s been working well lately in that department. I’ve got a lot of confidence with the fellas and we feed off each other.”

On Saturday in Washington, the B’s came up with a huge four-minute penalty kill to survive overtime and get it to the shootout. On Tuesday, the PK (4-for-4) actually broke the deadlock.

Charlie Coyle broke the scoreless tie with 6:42 left in regulation with a beauty of a shorthanded goal that started with the B’s most important player in the game. With Mason Lohrei in the box for hooking, Ullmark jumped on a loose puck behind the net and wrapped it up the glass for Brad Marchand to chase down. Marchand held the puck at the left point to draw a Nashville checker to him and then fed Coyle for the clean break-in. Coyle picked his spot over the Juuse Saros’ glove and beat the netminder for his 24th of the year.

Then, after playing some dogged defense in their own zone, the B’s got an insurance goal with 2:42 left. David Pastrnak bulled the puck out of the defensive zone, took it in deep and fed Danton Heine at the side of the net. Heinen in turn hit a wide open Pavel Zacha for an open net goal.

The Preds then pulled Saros, but there was no panic in the Bruins and Pastrnak ended it with an empty netter.

“What a great play by Brad Marchand, our captain. Great goal by Charlie. After that, I thought we played with a lot of poise. I thought we were real clean coming out of our own end. I liked our second and third effort and obviously I liked the way we put the game away,” said coach Jim Montgomery.

The first period was an entertaining, up-and-down 20 minutes of scoreless hockey in which the B’s outshot the Preds, 11-6. Despite he back-and-forth nature of the action, it was also a well-checked contest.

Both teams had one power play apiece and both teams had glittering chances to take the lead in the first. The B’s best one came on an excellent penalty kill when Charlie McAvoy stood up at the blue line and created a breakaway for himself. Juuse Saros made the blocker save on him, but the breakaway would be a harbinger of things to come. Pastrnak also landed four shots on net in the first (seven in the game).

Ullmark also had to make a couple of big saves of his own. The first one was a nice skate on Luke Evangelista, who cut through the slot to get a good shooting angle. An even better stop came later in the period when Gus Nyquist connected with Ryan O’Reilly for a one-touch shot from the low slot that Ullmark kicked out.

The B’s suffered a big loss late in the period when Justin Brazeau had to leave the game when he was caught in an open ice hit by Luke Schenn, for which the Nashville defenseman was called for roughing. Brazeau, who’d been a revelation as a big puck-protecting winger with some scoring touch since being called up from Providence, left the ice holding his right arm close to his body and immediately went to the dressing room. There was no immediate word on his prognosis, but he did not return.

The game remained scoreless through two periods – miraculously so, from a Bruins perspective.

The Preds were given a power play at 14:19 when Jake DeBrusk nudged Kiefer Sherwood on a puck pursuit and was called for interference.

The B’s did a solid job of penalty killing again until late in the man advantage when it looked like Nashville had the sure 1-0 lead. As Ullmark got tangled up with Hampus Lindholm and a Predator at the right side of the net, Evangelista hit Norris Trophy candidate Roman Josi with a pass at the inside of the left circle and, with a wide open net staring at him, the Nashville captain clanged the near post.

Nashville put the B’s back on the power play at 17:22 when Cole Smith high-sticked Kevin Shattenkirk, but the B’s did nothing with the opportunity and the game went to the third deadlocked at 0-0.

The Preds (16-2-2 in their previous 20) seemingly had some semblance of momentum after outshooting the B’s, 12-6, in the second period. But, on this night, the Bruins made the plays down the stretch for the hard-earned win.

Every obituary and remembrance will tell you about a resumé that was nearly unparalleled, especially in the baseball department. His tenures as president of the Orioles and president and CEO of the Padres were transformational, highlighted by the construction of Baltimore’s Camden Yards, and San Diego’s Petco Park.

Together with principal owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner, Lucchino ushered in a new golden age of Boston baseball: the Sox reversed the ‘Curse of the Bambino’ in 2004, one of seven postseason runs and the first of a trio of championships (2007, 2013). He then spearheaded the purchase of their Triple-A club, which he moved from Pawtucket, R.I., to a beautiful, award-winning new home in Worcester, breathing new life into the ‘Heart of the Commonwealth.’

As Commissioner Rob Manfred summed it up, he was “one of the most accomplished executives that our industry has ever had.”

You will read time and time again about this visionary, a champion of this game the likes of which it may never be blessed with again. Lucchino was passionate about putting MLB on the world stage, helping facilitate regular-season games in Mexico (‘96 Padres), Hawaii (‘97 Padres) and Japan (‘08 Sox). He had a keen eye for talent, including bringing Theo Epstein to Boston as the youngest general manager in MLB history.

In an era in which many teams sought to construct modern ballparks, Lucchino, a history major at Princeton, was a staunch proponent of retro designs. He took care to incorporate traditional ballpark elements into each new venue, and spearheaded the preservation of Fenway Park. When current ownership took over the Sox in 2002 and his longtime right-hand man, Dr. Charles Steinberg, asked if Boston was about to get a new ballpark, the new president replied, “You preserve the Mona Lisa!”

Between May 2003 and April 2013, the not-new, but improved Fenway set a Major League record with 820 consecutive home sellouts.

About a decade later, Lucchino proved once again how much he valued Fenway when the Red Sox moved into their new spring training complex in Fort Myers. He’d overseen the design of JetBlue Park, including its near-exact replicas of the Green Monster and manual scoreboard.

He’s the only person in history with a Super Bowl ring (Washington Redskins), a World Series ring – let alone five – and an NCAA Final Four watch (he played varsity basketball at Princeton). He was also the first person to refer to the Yankees as the “Evil Empire.”

He was a force, a titan, argumentative, exacting, stubborn, someone who strove for and demanded excellence. He was also kind, a father figure to many, and immensely generous, and philanthropic. He co-founded the Orioles Foundation, Padres Foundation and Red Sox Foundation, and served as the chairman of the Jimmy Fund from 2016 until his passing. While beating three different types of cancer between 1985 and 2019, he worked tirelessly in every way he could to make baseball better for fans, because at heart, he was one of them.

Somehow, this is all an understatement for a man who should’ve been enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame long ago.

So, I’d also like to share a little bit about the Larry Lucchino I had the honor of getting to know.

We met for the first time almost a decade ago, before I began working in sports. My family was attending a Fenway concert as guests of a friend, and when we arrived, we were surprised to find out that we’d be sitting in one of the suites. As we walked, I recall telling my father that we were probably getting to do this because no one important needed the space, since the team wasn’t playing.

Of course, it was Larry who opened the door.

To someone who’d grown up just down the street before and while he transformed the Red Sox, he was a rock star in his own right.

“It’s you,” I said. Then, realizing that I sounded very lame, I managed to add, “It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Lucchino. I’m such a big fan.”

“Call me Larry,” he said with a smile. “So, you like baseball?”

Just like that, I found myself talking about baseball, music, and Mexican food with the great Larry Lucchino.

Two years later, we met again, under even more unexpected circumstances. A friend who worked for the team offered to give me a ride home from a dinner in Chestnut Hill, but said they had to make a quick stop to drop off a gift the Sox had for Derek Jeter, of all people. When we pulled into the driveway of this beautiful house, they insisted I be the one to ring the doorbell.

Once again, Larry opened the door.

“Hello,” he said, looking equal parts confused and amused by what was, unbeknownst to me, an ambush by our mutual friend.

“I’m so sorry to bother you so late,” I replied, utterly mortified to be showing up unannounced on what was clearly his doorstep. “We’re just here to drop off the Jeter gift.”

“You’ll probably appreciate my baseball room,” Larry said. He proceeded to give me a quick tour of a baseball fan’s equivalent to Disneyland. Then, he told me to open one of the doors near the foyer, and suddenly, I was standing in front of his 2004, 2007, and 2013 World Series trophies.

He got such a kick out of surprising baseball fans in such ways. In recent years, those trophies sat in his suite at Polar Park, and he delighted in watching fans gaze into the case.

Next week marks seven years since I wrote my first-ever story about the Red Sox. Someone forwarded it to Larry, and he responded with encouragement.

He was someone who still got newspapers delivered. More than once after I began reporting for the Herald, he called to discuss something I’d written, or texted to inform me that it had been too long since I’d been to a WooSox game. I hope I properly conveyed how much it all meant to me.

Larry Lucchino will live on in the historic details he thoughtfully included in his ballparks and in the countless lives he touched, including mine. Baseball won’t be the same without him, but it is infinitely better because of him.

Wakefield and his wife Stacy both recently passed away after battling cancer, and the club plans to pay tribute to the pair as part of the pregame festivities as well. Schilling, who drew the ire of teammates and club officials after disclosing the Wakefields’ cancer diagnoses without their permission, was invited to participate but declined the offer in order to avoid taking any attention away from the Wakefields.

When news initially broke that Schilling had been invited, there was speculation that his presence might invite backlash from former teammates. But at least one member of the 2004 Red Sox says there wasn’t any kind of player pushback, with former outfielder Trot Nixon saying Tuesday that the whole situation was a shame but that Schilling’s presence wouldn’t have been a distraction, at least not to him.

“Everything that happened with that was very unfortunate and could’ve been worded differently, but hopefully there was no ill-will towards that,” said Nixon, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Polar Park for the WooSox home opener on Tuesday. “I still can’t believe when I say Timmy’s name that he’s not here and his wife Stacy, I believe Stacy really wanted the team to be together and considering everything they went through with that and Schill not being here, that’s his decision, it wasn’t anything that we asked for or anything like that.”

Nixon will be in attendance at Fenway Park next Tuesday, and for the former Red Sox outfielder the 2004 World Series championship still feels like it was just yesterday. The idea that the historic season’s 20th anniversary is coming up had never occurred to him, he said, until former teammate Derek Lowe mentioned it recently.

“It’s amazing how fast time flies,” said Nixon, who spent 10 of his 12 big league seasons in Boston. “I can’t believe it’s 20 years. It’s a reminder of how old I’m getting.”

Now 49, Nixon has settled into family life since his big league career ended after the 2008 season. These days he spends much of his time watching his sons Chase and Luke play Division 1 baseball at North Carolina State, but says he maintains a deep connection with the Red Sox and their fans, many of whom still stop him to bring up the 2004 championship to this day.

“When fans can recognize me now when I’m up here now, deep down it’s a tremendous appreciation,” Nixon said. “Even if I’m in North Carolina and I run across someone who is from Massachusetts and they stop me and quietly talk to me, I’m like wow, that’s amazing.”

In addition to throwing out the first pitch in Worcester on Tuesday and taking part in the Red Sox home opener next week, Nixon will also be inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame later this spring alongside former teammates Dustin Pedroia and Jonathan Papelbon.

“It was a dream come true,” Nixon said of his time in Boston. “Not only to win a championship but to be able to play in an atmosphere like Fenway Park for the 10 years I did, it was the greatest thrill.”

And with him, so did an integral part of Red Sox history.

John Henry famously told the listeners of “Felger and Mazz” back in 2011 that “Larry Lucchino runs the Red Sox.”

During the time Lucchino “ran the Red Sox,” the team won the World Series three times. In 2004, 2007 and 2013. They also lost Game 7 of the ALCS twice  – on the road – by a combined score of 9-6.

They were “The Other Dynasty.”

Lucchino became Red Sox president and CEO on Nov. 15, 2001. In the 14 seasons that followed under his administration, the Red Sox finished over .500 11 times and made the postseason in 7 seasons.

The Red Sox were 1,247-1,021 (.549) on Lucchino’s watch. Lucchino’s Red Sox won 95 or more games six times. They also finished last three times. Swing big. Miss big. The current Red Sox have finished last in 3 of the past 4 seasons playing the smallest ball possible.

More importantly, Lucchino’s Red Sox tried to win every inning. Every game. Every series. Every season.

Lucchino saw the cash-cow potential in Fenway Park and realized how its milk and honey could be used to finance the most successful MLB franchise during the first two decades of the 21st century.

Not soccer teams. NASCAR teams. Hockey teams. Or the PGA Tour.

And fans rewarded that passion with five seasons of more than 3 million in attendance during Lucchino’s time with the Red Sox, in addition to monstrous ratings on NESN and WEEI. Lucchino was raised in Pittsburgh and attended Yale Law School. But he got it when it came to the Red Sox and the once-unbreakable emotional relationship the team shared with its fan base.

Now that passion, too, has died on both sides of the equation.

Lucchino more so than any other person in the front office changed the historic trajectory of the Red Sox. Dan Duquette came close. But he never got the chance to finish the job.

There was never any concern about salary limitations, luxury taxes, or balancing the books for the Fenway Sports Group.

Lucchino was an OG Jedi Master. He gave us the “Evil Empire” and then oversaw the Red Sox team that blew up the Death Star 20 years ago. Nothing in the Bronx has been the same since. It got so bad they tore the place down four years later.

“The evil empire extends its tentacles even into Latin America,” Lucchino quipped after the Yankees outbid the Red Sox and others for Cuban pitcher Jose Contreras in December 2002.

That non-deal, much like the non-deal that almost brought Alex Rodriguez to the Red Sox, turned out to be a blessing.

Still, the Red Sox never quit trying to get better under Lucchino.

Lucchino was a “killer” in the most non-violent sense of the word. His impact on baseball was clear before he arrived in Boston as part of John Henry’s ownership cabal. While the aloof Henry and his squishy Hollywood pal Tom Werner had the cash, Lucchino delivered the brains and guts of the operation.

Henry said as much in a statement issued by the team above his name Tuesday.

Lucchino “engineered the ideal conditions for championships wherever his path led him, and especially in Boston,” Henry said.

“Yet, perhaps his most enduring legacy lies in the remarkable people he helped assemble at the Red Sox, all of whom are a testament to his training, wisdom, and mentorship. Many of them continue to shape the organization today, carrying forward the same vigor, vitality, and cherished sayings that were hallmarks of Larry’s personality. Larry was a formidable opponent in any arena,” Henry added. “I was lucky enough to have had him in my corner for 14 years and to have called him a close friend for even longer. He was truly irreplaceable.”

Lucchino was president of the Baltimore Orioles when that team built Camden Yards, the first of its kind inner-city ballpark that has been the template of nearly every new MLB park since. He brought Theo Epstein with him to San Diego from Baltimore, and then to Boston.

Lucchino knew that spending and winning went hand-in-hand. And Lucchino knew enough to know what he didn’t know. It was Lucchino who saw enough potential in Epstein to make him Red Sox general manager at age 28.

Theo tried to warn the masses that 2010 was going to be a “bridge year.” Soon he felt enough heat from his boss and lifetime mentor to walk it back. The 2010 Red Sox fell short of the postseason and finished 89-73.

2011 was also a “bridge year” given how many Red Sox fans wanted to leap off the Tobin into an endless metaphorical bucket of chicken and beer after it was over.

The wreckage of baseball’s “Greatest Team Ever” in 2011 wrought the Bobby Valentine Error in 2012.

And just when it seemed the Red Sox franchise had ended its “Dynasty,” the 2013 season delivered a poignant triumph that no one who experienced it will ever forget.

The Red Sox begin their celebration of 2004 before Fenway Park Opening Day on Tuesday. Given the team’s solid start on the West Coast, the game should be sold out by the time fans will be asked to find their seats ahead of the pre-game ceremonies.

Raffy Devers and the Men of Mystery had baseball’s lowest team ERA (1.26) after their first five games. They only walked one opposing batter, granted the Oakland A’s are no longer an official MLB team. The Red Sox also opened 5-0 against the baseball run line (think point spread).

The team will honor the late Tim and Stacy Wakefield before Tuesday’s opener.

And now, Lucchino, sadly, will also be remembered posthumously for his success with the Red Sox.

The end of an era, indeed. In so many ways.

Bill Speros (@RealOBF and @BillSperos) can be reached at bsperos1@gmail.com.

Yet when it came time to make the final roster cuts at the end of camp, Bernardino was shockingly demoted.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said the decision to option Bernardino to Triple-A was largely roster driven — fellow lefty Joely Rodriguez had to be added to the big league roster or he’d become a free agent, and Bernardino had minor league options remaining. Yet even if it wasn’t a reflection of his performance, the move was a bitter disappointment for Bernardino, who was one of last season’s greatest success stories.

“It is what it is, I’m trying my best to be in the best form I can be in so whenever that phone does ring I can do my job,” Bernardino said prior to Tuesday’s WooSox home opener.

Chad Tracy, the WooSox manager, said Bernardino has handled the setback remarkably well. He called the lefty “an incredible human being” and expressed confidence that his stay in Worcester won’t be long.

“I’m sure he was disappointed like any of us would be, but we had him here before, he knows and we expressed to him when he got here we’re going to do everything we can to get you off on the right foot and get you back there,” Tracy said. “He wants to get back, so yes there’s disappointment with all of them when that happens, especially when you think you’re going to make the club. But then their instinct kicks in, I’ve got to get back to work because I want to get back, but he’s been incredible since he’s been back down here.”

The WooSox opened their season by taking two out of three against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, and during that series Bernardino appeared in one game, throwing a scoreless inning in the club’s season-opening loss on Friday. Even if he’d prefer to be with the big league club, Bernardino said he’s excited for the new season and is striving to improve no matter where he is.

“I’m just trying to get my stuff as tight as I can, my breaking ball, my cutter, fastball, try to get ahead of counts, just be the best I can be,” Bernardino said. “So really nothing’s changed, I’m just trying to be the best I can be no matter where I’m at.”

Nelson, 24, will finish out this season on an amateur tryout deal with the Providence Bruins.

The undrafted free agent brings size to the mix. He’s 6-foot-4, 220 pounds and finished up his fifth year of eligibility strong, scoring 11 goals in his last eight games for the Gophers. But he was a late bloomer in the scoring department. He had 19-12-31 totals in 31 games in 2023-24, but his highest goal total before this season was 10 last season.

“Jaxon is a big, right shot, two-way centerman with leadership qualities as a captain of a very successful collegiate program,” said GM Don Sweeney in a team release. “He has shown consistent growth throughout his time at the University of Minnesota and the Bruins are excited to have Jaxon join our organization.”

The Magnolia, Minn., native had 42-47-89 totals in 169 collegiate games. The B’s hope Nelson will join young centermen Matt Poitras and John Beecher as the next wave to bolster the B’s traditional strength down the middle.

The college free agent market for the B’s has been and will be an important one for the B’s, who have traded away a lot of high draft picks in pursuit of the Stanley Cup, as they try to reload their roster by any means necessary. Last summer they signed Harvard center John Farinacci, who did not sign with with the Arizona Coyotes after they picked him in the third round of the 2019 draft.  Providence Bruins’ leading scorer Georgii Merkulov was signed two years ago as an undrafted free agent out of Ohio State.

The B’s are without their first three picks in the upcoming draft.

JVR set to return

James van Riemsdyk was set to return to the lineup for the B’s against the Predators in Nashville, replacing Jakub Lauko. Van Riemsdyk had been scratched for five of the previous eight games. Some of those absences were due to illness, but his offense had dried up as well. Going into Tuesday’s game, he had just one assist in 15 games and that’s including regular time on the power play. His last goal came on Feb. 15, when he scored two with an assist against the Los Angeles Kings.

Coach Jim Montgomery was asked what van Riemsdyk needed to do to get his game back.

“I guess what he was doing earlier in the year when he was on top of pucks and he was executing in all three zones and making things happen,” Montgomery told reporters in Nashville.

Said van Riemsdyk: “For my game, I think my strengths are playing smart, playing with detail, making the right play all the time and playing within the structure of the team. Those are things we’re trying to work on this time of year.”

Van Riemsdyk had lost 12 pounds due to his illness a couple of weeks ago.

“It’s kind of a weird thing. I usually pride myself on not being sick too often, so it definitely took a lot out of me but I’m excited to be feeling a lot better,” said van Riemsdyk.

Lohrei back in

On the back end, rookie Mason Lohrei went back into the lineup after being a scratch for six of the previous seven games. Matt Grzelcyk, who played just 13:46 in the B’s shootout win in Washington last Saturday, was scratched. … Pat Maroon, still working his way into the lineup since he underwent back surgery as a member of the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 7, traveled with the team and took part in the morning skate. The B’s are scheduled to practice on Wednesday in Raleigh, N.C., ahead of their game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.

Lucchino served as Red Sox president and CEO from 2002 to 2015, a period that coincided with one of the greatest stretches in franchise history. In addition to the club’s historic championships in 2004, 2007 and 2013, Lucchino also played an integral role in the modernization of Fenway Park and in his later years served as principal owner of the Worcester Red Sox.

“We are heartbroken to share that our beloved brother and uncle, Lawrence Lucchino, passed away on April 2 surrounded by his family,” his family said in a statement released by the Red Sox. “The Lucchino family wishes to thank his friends and caregivers who, over the past few months, have surrounded him with love, laughter, and happy memories.”

Prior to his time in Boston, Lucchino served as President of the Baltimore Orioles (1988-93) and President/CEO of the San Diego Padres (1995-2001). He was deeply involved in the creation of Camden Yards, the Orioles’ game-changing new ballpark that opened in 1993, and laid the groundwork for the eventual creation of the Padres new ballpark, Petco Park, which opened in 2004. He later helped bring together future Red Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner. The group purchased the franchise ahead of the 2002 season.

“Larry’s career unfolded like a playbook of triumphs, marked by transformative moments that reshaped ballpark design, enhanced the fan experience, and engineered the ideal conditions for championships wherever his path led him, and especially in Boston,” said Red Sox Principal Owner John Henry.

“Yet, perhaps his most enduring legacy lies in the remarkable people he helped assemble at the Red Sox, all of whom are a testament to his training, wisdom, and mentorship,” Henry added. “Many of them continue to shape the organization today, carrying forward the same vigor, vitality, and cherished sayings that were hallmarks of Larry’s personality. Larry was a formidable opponent in any arena, and while he battled hard, he always maintained the utmost respect for a worthy adversary and found genuine joy in sparring with people. I was lucky enough to have had him in my corner for 14 years and to have called him a close friend for even longer. He was truly irreplaceable and will be missed by all of us at the Red Sox.”

Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner added: “When John and I joined forces with Larry in 2001, we dreamed not only of breaking an 86-year curse and winning multiple Championships, but also about how a baseball team could transform and uplift a region.

“Larry was more decorated in sports than any of us, coming to the group with a Super Bowl ring, a World Series ring, and even a Final Four watch from his days playing basketball at Princeton,” Werner said. “He added to that impressive collection with us in Boston because he was the kind of man who would find a path to success no matter the obstacles. He was bold and had the audacity to dare, challenge, and even taunt our rivals in ways that made the game of baseball better. In a sport defined by statistics and standings, he was accomplished in every way, and while his career is a masterclass in leadership and innovation, he will be equally remembered for his unwavering commitment to community engagement and his hands-on role with the Red Sox Foundation and The Jimmy Fund. We are devasted by the loss of a great man, a great leader, and a great friend.”

In addition to his accomplishments in the baseball world, Lucchino was also an active philanthropist. He created the Red Sox Foundation as well as its counterparts in Baltimore and San Diego, and also served as Chairman of the Jimmy Fund, helping establish the club’s highly successful WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon. His connection to Dana-Farber went beyond just fundraising: the institute helped save his life three times, first from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1985, second from prostate cancer in 2000, and third from cancer in the kidney area starting in 2019.

In 2015 Lucchino assembled a group that purchased the Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston’s longtime Triple-A affiliate, and several years later moved the team to Worcester after attempts to build a new ballpark in Rhode Island fell short. The club’s new Polar Park debuted in 2021 and the WooSox began their fourth season in Worcester this past week.

Lucchino sold the WooSox to Diamond Baseball Holdings this past offseason for a reported $70 million. Lucchino remained with the club as chairman, and the team’s existing front office staff remained in place as well.

Lucchino is survived by his brother the Honorable Frank J. Lucchino (Bobbie), a nephew F.J. Lucchino (Jane) and a niece Jennifer Lucchino (Freddie Croce), of Pittsburgh, as well as a younger nephew David L. Lucchino (Carrie Beth), who lives in Boston. He also is survived by seven grand-nieces and grand-nephews.

1. Taunton

2. King Philip

3. Central Catholic

4. Bishop Feehan

5. Tewksbury

6. Peabody

7. Silver Lake

8. Burlington

9. Methuen

10. Lincoln-Sudbury

11. Walpole

12. Triton

13. Amesbury

14. Dartmouth

15. Dighton-Rehoboth

16. Woburn

17. Middleboro

18. Bedford

19. Bridgewater-Raynham

20. Greater New Bedford

21. Case

22. Archbishop Williams

23. Hanover

24. Natick

25. Norton

Here is the preseason Boston Herald EMass Top 25 baseball rankings. Please note that rankings do not include any results which have occurred in the first week of the high school baseball season.

1. Taunton

2. Andover

3. Franklin

4. BC High

5. St. John’s (Shrewsbury)

6. Westford Academy

7. St. John’s Prep

8. King Philip

9. Mansfield

10. Xaverian

11. Milford

12. Lincoln-Sudbury

13. Milton

14. Chelmsford

15. Oliver Ames

16. Plymouth North

17. Whitman-Hanson

18. Central Catholic

19. Weymouth

20. Seekonk

21. Hanover

22. Somerset Berkley

23. Bridgewater-Raynham

24. Walpole

25. Westwood

Sam Keene, Charlie Bushley, and Alex Parisi combined to toss a no-hitter, finishing with 15 strikeouts in total as BC High blanked Newton North, 7-0. … Freshman Braedan Nicholson threw a one-hitter with 13 strikeouts as Rockland (1-0) cruised to a 9-0 victory over nonleague opponent Holbrook. … Felix Ham’s two-run single proved the difference for Brookline in a 3-1 win over Newton South.

Jake Maydak went the distance with only four hits allowed as Mansfield (1-0) blanked North Attleboro 2-0 in a Hockomock League tilt. … Tommy McLeish drove in three runs on two hits, helping King Philip to an 11-5 win over Stoughton. … Harrison Fitzpatrick reached base safely four times in as many at-bats, David Rodgers (2-for-3) drove in two RBI and Lucas Riley threw five two-hit innings to pace Oliver Ames past Franklin, 5-3.

In the Middlesex League, Ayden Balter struck out 10 over five three-hit frames as Wilmington shutout Winchester 1-0. … Vince Libretto batted 3-for-3 with a home run, pacing the Lexington offense in a 17-1 win over Watertown.

In the Mayflower Athletic Conference, Jordan Medeiros threw a five inning no-hitter as Avon (1-0) cruised to a 17-1 victory over Norfolk Aggie.

Jon Sellon tossed a complete-game shutout with five strikeouts, backed by two hits and three RBI from both Steve Madden and Pat Cummings as Abington topped South Shore League foe Carver, 10-0.

BOYS LACROSSE

Carson Palmer and Liam Keaney each found the back of the net twice in a well-rounded effort, helping Swampscott edge nonleague foe Lynnfield, 8-7.

GIRLS LACROSSE

Addie Pyy erupted for eight goals and three assists to surpass 100 goals on her career, powering Plymouth North to a 14-10 nonleague win over Dartmouth. … Kyla Darmon netted a hat trick, Kolbie Darmon and Quinn Anderson each added two goals, and Sandwich held on to beat Scituate 10-7.

In the Mayflower Athletic Conference, Peyton Mathisen notched five goals and an assist as South Shore Voke (2-0) defeated Southeastern 11-3.

SOFTBALL

Bella Piekarski finished with three hits, driving in a pair of runs as Plymouth North defeated Hingham in Patriot League action, 8-2.

Haley Labrador fanned 12 and the offense erupted for Fontbonne in a 13-1 nonleague win over NDA (W). … Jill Ondrick struck out 17 over six frames and drove in three and scored twice with a homer as Archbishop Williams (1-0) shutout Boston Latin 15-0. … Cami Friedrich caught fire with a 4-for-4, two-RBI performance, pairing with multi-hit games from Katie Crompton and Penelope Riggs to guide Manchester Essex to a 7-2 win over Swampscott.

In Middlesex League play, Lily Mackenzie and Ali McElligott each batted 2-for-4 with three runs and an RBI as Wilmington soared past Winchester 12-0. … Senior Piper Guiney showed off the ice in her veins, hitting a game-tying double in the sixth inning and a walk-off single in the seventh to boost Arlington over Wakefield, 6-5.

Savannah Azoff put up a monster performance for Dennis-Yarmouth in a 29-4 Cape and Islands League win over St. John Paul II, falling just a single shy of hitting for the cycle while driving in seven runs and striking out nine batters from the circle.

In the Hockomock League, Samantha Lincloln struck out all 15 batters she faced in a perfect win victory as Taunton (1-0) blanked Sharon 17-0 in five innings.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Jack MacPhee dished 28 assists and Liam Quinn buried 17 kills, leading Chelmsford to a 3-0 nonleague win over Westford Academy. … Cody Fitzpatrick posted 17 kills and Ceazar Joseph added 13, pairing with 38 assists from Tyrell Lout for Lowell in a 3-1 signature win over Cambridge.

SCORES

BASEBALL

Abington 10, Carver 0

Avon 17, Norfolk Aggie 1 (5i)

Belmont 9, Melrose 4

BC High 7, Newton North 0

Brookline 3, Newton South 1

Canton 3, North Attleboro 2

Chelsea 10, Brighton 9

Diman 6, West Bridgewater 1

King Philip 11, Stoughton 5

Lexington 17, Watertown 1 (5i)

Lincoln-Sudbury 7, Framingham 1

Mansfield 2, Attleboro 0

Millbury 2, Sutton 0

Milford 8, Foxboro 0

Monomoy 10, Cape Cod Tech 0 (6i)

Nauset 9, Bristol-Plymouth 6

Needham 5, Bishop Feehan 2

New Mission 12, Tech Boston 0

O’Bryant 5, Nashoba Valley Tech 0

Oliver Ames 5, Franklin 3

Rockland 9, Holbrook 0

Scituate 2, Cohasset 1

Somerset Berkley 2, Middleboro 1

Taunton 7, Sharon 3

Upper Cape 4, Southeastern 1

Westborough 6, Grafton 2

Wilmington 1, Winchester 0

Winthrop 8, Cardinal Spellman 6

Woburn 16, Stoneham 3

BOYS LACROSSE

Bishop Feehan 14, Abp. Williams 1

Bishop Stang 16, Cardinal Spellman 4

Blue Hills 12, Upper Cape 3

Bristol-Plymouth 10, Tri-County 4

Dover-Sherborn 13, Bellingham 3

Hopkinton 10, Holliston 5

Manchester Essex 12, Masconomet 8

Middleboro 16, New Bedford 2

Oliver Ames 10, Taunton 2

Pembroke 8, Rockland 5

Plymouth North 7, Dartmouth 5

Plymouth South 9, Barnstable 6

Quincy/North Quincy 18, Cambridge 10

South Shore Voke 8, Southeastern 7

Swampscott 8, Lynnfield 7

GIRLS LACROSSE

Bishop Feehan 17, Abp. Williams 6

Braintree 17, Bridgewater-Raynham 5

Dedham 11, Medway 6

Foxboro 18, North Attleboro 4

Franklin 19, Attleboro 4

Lowell Catholic 10, Northeast 4

Manchester Essex 14, Marblehead 6

Medfield 19, Norwood 4

Nauset 9, St. John Paul II 8

North Reading 11, Triton 2

Notre Dame (W) 19, Fontbonne 11

Plymouth North 14, Dartmouth 10

Quincy 14, Cambridge 2

Sandwich 10, Scituate 7

Shawsheen 10, Greater Lowell 7

South Shore Voke 11, Southeastern 3

Taunton 17, Sharon 0 (5i)

Tri-County 12, Bristol-Plymouth 1

Upper Cape 14, Bourne 3

Westboro 14, North Middlesex 2

Wilmington 9, Tewksbury 7

SOFTBALL

Abington 8, Braintree 0

Abp. Williams 15, Boston Latin 0 (6i)

Arlington 6, Wakefield 5

Burlington 7, Reading 6

Chelmsford 6, Acton-Boxboro 1

Dennis-Yarmouth 29, St. John Paul II 4 (5i)

Diman 8, West Bridgewater 3

East Boston 19, Excel Charter 6

Fontbonne 13, NDA (W) 1

Franklin 12, Oliver Ames 3

Hull/Cohasset 9, Cardinal Spellman 7

King Philip 16, Stoughton 0

Lexington 13, Watertown 1

Manchester Essex 7, Swampscott 2

Middleboro 8, Durfee 0

Milford 6, Foxboro 4

Monomoy 17, Sandwich 11

North Quincy 17, Brockton 1

O’Bryant 15, Cristo Rey 1

Pembroke 7, Whitman-Hanson 4

Plymouth North 8, Hingham 2

Taunton 17, Sharon 0

Wareham 9, Carver 6

Wilmington 12, Winchester 0

BOYS TENNIS

Apponequet 4, Fairhaven 1

Arlington 5, Wilmington 0

Bourne 4, Wareham 1

Boston Latin 5, Catholic Memorial 1

Brookline 4, Milton 1

Dennis-Yarmouth 5, St. John Paul II 0

East Longmeadow 5, Agawam 0

Hopkinton 5, Algonquin 0

Latin Academy 5, Brockton 0

Longmeadow 5, Ludlow 0

Lowell 3, Everett 2

Manchester Essex 5, Masconomet 0

Melrose 3, Reading 2

Nantucket 3, Monomoy 2

Nauset 4, Falmouth 1

North Andover 5, Amesbury 0

North Quincy 5, Norwell 0

Pembroke 5, Rockland 0

Plymouth North 4, Bridgewater-Raynham 1

Wakefield 5, Woburn 0

GIRLS TENNIS

Algonquin 5, AMSA 0

Apponequet 3, Fairhaven 2

Arlington 4, Wilmington 1

Latin Academy 5, Brockton 0

Lowell 4, Everett 1

Masconomet 3, Manchester Essex 2

Monomoy 3, Nantucket 1

Nauset 3, Falmouth 2

New Bedford 3, North Quincy 1

North Andover 5, Amesbury 0

Norwell 5, Rockland 0

Oliver Ames 4, Franklin 1

Plymouth North 4, Bridgewater-Raynham 1

St. John Paul II 5, Martha’s Vineyard 0

Wakefield 3, Woburn 2

Wareham 4, Bourne 1

VOLLEYBALL

Algonquin 3, Ayer Shirley 2

Barnstable 3, St. John Paul II 0

Chelmsford 3, Westford Academy 0

Dighton-Rehoboth 3, Norwood 0

Greater Lawrence 3, Innovation Academy 0

Greater Lowell 3, Billerica 1

Latin Academy 3, Chelsea 2

Leominster 3, Wachusett 0

Lowell 3, Cambridge 1

Lowell Catholic 3, Lawrence 1

Madison Park 3, Pacific Rim 0

Medfield 3, Millis 0

Milford 3, Brookline 1

Natick 3, Wayland 0

New Bedford 3, North Quincy 1

Newton South 3, Acton-Boxboro 1

Quincy 3, Weymouth 1

Taunton 3, Hingham 1

Coaches are encouraged to report their scores and highlights to hssports@bostonherald.com

Prospects will still be hosted on Top 30 visits at Gillette Stadium. But with the information currently at our disposal, here’s how we see the draft shaking out for the Patriots.

Round 1, Pick No. 3: UNC QB Drake Maye

The Patriots were out in full force at UNC’s pro day last week, where Maye was the main attraction.

Unless they decide to move up, which would be unexpected, the Patriots are not in full control of who they can take at No. 3 overall. And until the top quarterbacks visit Gillette Stadium, which head coach Jerod Mayo said he expects, they might not even be decided on who they want to select with their first-round pick.

NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported last week that there was buzz around the NFL Annual Meeting that the Commanders could take J.J. McCarthy at No. 2 overall. Some people within the organization would welcome that.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly then said last week at his team’s pro day that QB Jayden Daniels is “gonna get the ball out to his playmakers and make plays for Washington.”

Let’s assume the Commanders pick McCarthy or Daniels. Either way, that leaves Maye for the Patriots.

Maye has prototypical size at 6-foot-4, 223 pounds. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo raved about Maye at the owners meetings last week.

“Drake Maye had a fantastic interview at the combine. He brings a lot of energy,” Mayo said. “You can tell he has that leadership ability. And also the exciting part about a guy like Drake Maye is the ceiling. Like, there is really no ceiling with a guy like that. Now, in saying that, when we’re trying to put together this roster, I know a lot of people look at the ceiling, but you also got to kind of see how low is the floor? And I would say that a guy like Drake Maye, he has a lot of room to grow. He’s a young guy. Honestly, he hasn’t played football nearly as much as these other guys. So that’s definitely something that we’ve looked at, but he definitely is going to develop.”

He was less expansive about Daniels, which might have been strategic.

Maye is believed to be a developmental prospect. Unless the Patriots can find a starting caliber left tackle and “X” receiver, then it might be best for him to sit for a year behind Jacoby Brissett anyway.

Round 2, Pick No. 34: Arizona OT Jordan Morgan

We skip the wide receiver for now and grab someone who can protect Maye’s blindside in the future.

The Patriots currently have Mike Onwenu for the right side but no obvious player to align at left tackle. The current best option would probably be free-agent pickup Chukwuma Okorafor, but he was primarily a right tackle with the Steelers.

Morgan is 6-foot-5, 311 pounds and ran a 5.07-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. He started 37 games at right tackle for Arizona.

He let up just two sacks in 2023 and three over the last two seasons. He played under head coach Jedd Fisch, who the Patriots know well from his time with the team in 2020, at Arizona.

Round 3, Pick No. 68: UNC WR Devontez Walker

Walker, who’s 6-foot-2, 193 pounds and ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash at the combine, would come in with a connection to Maye.

He was a deep threat with the Tar Heels, catching 10 deep passes for 375 yards with four touchdowns in just eight games. The Patriots pretty desperately need big wide receivers with speed.

Round 3, Pick 99 (Trade): UCF WR Javon Baker

Let’s package the 102nd overall pick in the third round with the 184th overall pick in the sixth round to move up to take Baker in the third. An Alabama transfer, Baker finished out his college career with a 52-catch, 1,139-yard, seven-touchdown campaign as a senior.

The 6-foot-1, 202-pound pass-catcher doesn’t come with Walker’s pure speed (he ran a 4.54-second 40-yard dash) but was even more productive on deep balls, catching 15 passes of 20-plus yards for 574 yards with four touchdowns.

Let Walker and Baker battle it out in training camp to see if either one can carve out a starting role in a wide receiver group that already includes Kendrick Bourne, DeMario Douglas and K.J. Osborn, all of whom are better suited to play in the slot or “Z” receiver roles.

Round 5, Pick 137: Florida State CB Jarrian Jones

The 6-foot, 190-pound cornerback has experience outside and in the slot. The Patriots could work with his 4.38-second 40-yard-dash speed.

Round 6, Pick 193: Ohio State S Josh Proctor

The Patriots need more depth at safety with Kyle Dugger’s status still slightly uncertain after receiving the transition tag. The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Proctor has experience at free safety, where the Patriots are lacking.

Round 7, Pick 234: Washington TE Devin Culp

Patriots wide receivers coach Tyler Hughes worked with the offense as a graduate assistant at Washington last season. Culp is worthy of a flier at 6-foot-3, 231 pounds. He was timed at 4.47-second in the 40-yard dash at the combine.

The Revolution breezed through the opening two rounds, going 3-0-1 and outscoring their two opponents 9-1. The Revolution registered clean sheets in their aggregate 4-0 home-and-home series sweep of Panamanian entrant CA Independiente in the first round. The Revolution exited the Round of 16 with an aggregate score of 5-1 against Costa Rica power LD Alajuelense.

The Revolution’s Concacaf comfort zone will get a lot less cozy on Tuesday night (9) when they host reigning LIGA MX champion Club America in leg one of their home-and-home quarterfinal series at Gillette Stadium. The second leg will be played on April 9 at Estadio Azteca in the high altitude of Mexico City.

“Playing Club America will arguably be the best (team) we’ve played all season,” said Revolution coach Caleb Porter. “It is one of the most talented teams you are ever going to see in this continent.

“They are a true positional play team. A team that dominates games with the ball, presses very high up and is extremely aggressive with and without the ball. So, that is a huge task for us.”

The Revolution’s success in Champions Cup play has not carried over into the start of the MLS regular season, where they went 0-4-1 and are mired in last place in the Eastern Conference. The Revolution closed out an arduous stretch of eight games in 26 days with a 1-1 draw with Chicago Fire FC on March 23 at Gillette Stadium.

Porter has used the ensuing bye week to rest his players and work on ways to improve the Revolution’s MLS standing. The Revolution close out a three-game MLS homestand against Charlotte FC on Saturday night (7:30) at The Razor.

“It’s been nice to have training and a little break too,” said Porter. “What we went through with eight games in (26) days was a gauntlet, very difficult and you could see guys were chewed up mentally and physically.

“I think that has been a big part of the issue in the league, we have not been fresh and not had time to prepare. We have put a lot into the Concacaf Champions Cup as well and at times in the league when you have so many games and it’s early.

“We’ve managed the Champions Cup well but not the league so it was nice to have a couple of weeks to reset, recharge and prepare. The long-term vision will not change but the short-term vision might be based on knowing our group now after three months.”

The Revolution’s roster got deeper for these next two crucial home games with the return of three keys players who missed the Chicago match while honoring their respective nation’s international commitments.  The returnees are homegrown midfielders Esmir Bajraktarevic (U.S.) and Noel Buck (England) and goalkeeper Henrich Ravas (Slovakia).

“Obviously we have players go and play for their countries and it is good experience for them and there is growth that comes from that, especially with the young guys like Esmir,” said Porter. “It’s an opportunity to go and get games and gain confidence and I always feel like it’s a good thing.

“But it is also nice to have extra bodies and simply put, the more players we have available the better. In the last game we didn’t have much on the bench for what we could do to change the game and give ourselves a push. That push would have certainly helped at 1-1 to win the game.”

Revolution midfielder and team captain Carles Gil, the 2021 league MVP, is one of the premier playmakers in MLS and he makes the players around him compete harder. Gil understands the need to have the full complement of players available to get the Revolution going in the right direction in both Concacaf and MLS matches.

“It is important to have everyone back in training and ready because this is a difficult part of the season with many games,” said Gil. “So, we need everyone ready to play because we are playing every three days and it is important to have has many players ready.”

But bad as it often seemed, we never saw anything like the pathetic display put on by the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.

The hapless Athletics committed five errors within the first three innings to effectively hand the game to Boston on a silver platter. The Red Sox took full advantage, running out to a big early lead and cruising to a decisive 9-0 win in the series opener.

Whether it was sailing a throw on a stolen base attempt, botching a pickoff or a routine throw to the first base bag, airmailing a throw home or just flat out letting an easy fly ball fall in, the Athletics couldn’t get out of their own way. Starting pitcher Joe Boyle didn’t help his own case, issuing four walks with a wild pitch, and the Red Sox broke the dam in the top of the third, scoring five runs aided by two Oakland errors.

All told, the Athletics have committed 13 errors through their first five games, by far the most in MLB.

Jarren Duran set the tone early en route to one of the best games of his career, recording a hit and a stolen base in each of the game’s first three innings. He finished 3-5 with three steals, an RBI, and he also scored on Triston Casas’ RBI single to break the ice in the top of the first.

Though Duran forced Oakland’s first error with his initial stolen base attempt, nobody benefitted more from the Athletics’ ineptitude than Enmanuel Valdez. The 25-year-old second baseman reached on errors in consecutive at bats, first on a deep fly ball that center fielder JJ Bleday inexplicably failed to catch in the second, and then on an infield grounder that first baseman Ryan Noda threw away in the third, allowing a run to score.

Both of those errors were immediately followed by Ceddanne Rafaela sacrifice flies, one of which also led to another error allowing a second run to score. While the Red Sox failed to capitalize on a subsequent bases-loaded, one-out situation in the second inning, they had no such trouble in the third. Following the Valdez infield play and Rafaela’s second sac fly, Duran came through with an RBI single and then Trevor Story delivered the dagger with a two-run double to make it 8-0.

Masataka Yoshida added an RBI fielder’s choice in the sixth to round out the offense, and in addition to Duran’s big day, Casas also finished 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.

While the Red Sox lineup gave the Athletics’ defense fits, Tanner Houck continued the starting rotation’s early dominance. The 27-year-old tied his career-high with 10 strikeouts while holding the Athletics scoreless over six innings. He drew 16 whiffs in the process while allowing only three hits with no walks.

Through the first turn of the rotation Boston’s starters have now collectively posted 37 strikeouts against only one walk. They’ve allowed four earned runs over 28 innings, good for a 1.29 ERA.

“They definitely set the bar high but that’s what you want from your teammates,” Houck said of his fellow starters’ performances leading into Monday. “You want to go out there and compete against them and make each other better.”

Chase Anderson came out of the bullpen and wound up finishing the game for Boston, throwing three shutout innings to record a save in his Red Sox debut. With the win Boston improves to 3-2 on the season and will look to clinch the series with another win Tuesday night when Brayan Bello takes the mound against Oakland’s Alex Wood.

First pitch is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET.

The Hornets proceeded to call a timeout, and it was their kiss of death.

Shorthanded without Jaylen Brown, on the last leg of their longest road trip of the season and facing a familiar yet inferior foe, the Celtics avoided a letdown. It was a trip that featured some turbulence after back-to-back losses to the Hawks last week, but the Celtics summoned enough energy to close it out the right way with a 118-104 victory over the Hornets on Monday night.

There are just seven regular-season games remaining for these Celtics – with six at home – before the playoffs begin later this month, and while this road trip against mostly inferior teams was certainly not perfect, they felt stronger as they returned to Boston after pocketing more lessons they can use down the road. One of them was resiliency, as they bounced back from a brutal trip to Atlanta with two decisive wins.

“We’re in the unique position of having the best record in the league and we got home-court advantage, all those things, first place, and I think for most of this road trip, we’ve been playing against teams that are fighting for playoff position, play-in spots except for the team tonight,” Jayson Tatum told reporters in Charlotte. “Just understanding that it’s not always going to go the way we expect it to and how are we going to respond? If we lose the first game in Round 1, how are we going to respond?

“Each game just brought something different out of us, and it was good for us to go through that.”

Tatum scored 25 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 20 as the Celtics pulled away in the second half for their 59th win of the season. They can clinch the No. 1 overall seed in the NBA and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs with a victory over the Thunder on Wednesday night back home at TD Garden.

The Celtics faced a unique matchup on Monday, as the Hornets went small by starting old friend Grant Williams at center against Porzingis. Williams had a good game against his former team, finishing with 23 points and seven rebounds, and the Hornets had some success in the first half as they punished the C’s in the paint. But the Celtics ultimately figured things out.

The Hornets dominated the paint in the first half with a 36-18 edge, but the Celtics raised their defensive level and held them to just 12 points inside the paint in the second half. And after a slow shooting start – the Celtics began the game 6-for-20 from the 3-point line – they pulled away on the strength of their balance.

Porzingis scored 11 of his 20 in the third quarter as the Celtics continued to find him for mismatches, Tatum found lanes to the basket and that started to open things up. On the last play of the third quarter, Tatum was double-teamed and found Sam Hauser for a 3-pointer to give the Celtics their largest lead at 16 entering the fourth.

That helped Hauser catch fire, as he hit four 3-pointers inside the first six minutes of the fourth quarter as the Celtics maintained their double-digit advantage despite a push from the Hornets.

The Celtics finished 19-for-53 from distance, with the 53 3-point attempts tying their second-most attempts from deep this season. The C’s are now 27-0 this season when they make at least 18 threes, a product of Joe Mazzulla’s continuous emphasis on taking the right shots.

“Usually, we take good ones,” Mazzulla told reporters. “Those types of shots that we get, especially the corner ones, I think our corner threes have increased a little bit, but it’s a shot that we have to be able to take, that teams are willing to give, but if you make a couple, it forces the defense to guard you differently.

“So, again, our goal is not to necessarily shoot threes, but to get the best shots. … The most important thing is getting into the layers of the defense and taking the best shot that we can.”

White’s floater that came after three offensive rebounds on one possession put the Celtics up 15 with 5:37 to go. That possession was another result of the points of emphasis Mazzulla has preached all season, the concepts of crashing the offensive glass to create more possessions and that good offense and taking the right shots leads to good defense. As the regular season winds down, the Celtics have stayed consistent in those areas.

“The guys have taken pride in that, and that puts us in position to win because we keep getting good shots,” Mazzulla said. “That was a really fun possession. I enjoyed it.”

Coming off a 50-112 season, the Oakland Athletics are in a dismal spot. The club has announced its intention to relocate to Las Vegas, and with a roster striped bare of talent there’s little reason for fans in Oakland to come to the ballpark. That’s been reflected in the club’s attendance, and after drawing only 13,522 fans on Opening Day, the Athletics drew fewer that total over the next three games combined, averaging just 4,460 over that stretch. Given how well the Red Sox typically draw on the west coast, it’s entirely possible there could be more Red Sox fans in the Oakland Coliseum than Athletics fans this week.

Oakland lost its first series 1-3 to the Cleveland Guardians, dropping the first three before winning 4-3 on a walkoff on Sunday. Surprisingly, the Athletics actually stand fourth in the AL West ahead of the Houston Astros, who were swept by the New York Yankees in their first series. The Red Sox are currently tied for third in the AL East at 2-2.

Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming three-game set.

Red Sox starting pitchers

Tanner Houck will make his first start of the season in Monday’s series opener. The 27-year-old is looking to build on a strong spring training showing in which he posted a 2.40 ERA over 15 innings, striking out 16 while giving up only three walks. Last season Houck had a roller coaster season, posting a 5.01 ERA over 21 starts while missing nearly two months after being hit in the face by a line drive in mid-June.

Brayan Bello is scheduled to make his second start of the year on Tuesday and Nick Pivetta is in line to pitch the finale on Thursday. Bello allowed two runs over five innings on Opening Day, and Pivetta allowed one run over six innings while striking out 10 in a tough-luck 1-0 loss on Friday.

Athletics starting pitchers

Joe Boyle is scheduled to start Monday’s opener for the Athletics. The 24-year-old right-hander is making his fourth career start in the big leagues, having made a three-start cameo last September before earning a spot in Oakland’s rotation out of spring training. So far Boyle has fared well in limited action, going 2-0 while allowing three runs over 16 innings (1.69 ERA).

Alex Wood (0-1, 16.20 ERA) and Ross Stripling (0-1, 7.20) are listed as Oakland’s probable starters for Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Red Sox lineup for Monday

Jarren Duran LF

Rafael Devers 3B

Trevor Story SS

Triston Casas 1B

Tyler O’Neill RF

Masataka Yoshida DH

Enmanuel Valdez 2B

Ceddanne Rafaela CF

Reese McGuire C

Tanner Houck P

What time is each game?

Monday: 9:40 p.m. ET

Tuesday: 9:40 p.m. ET

Wednesday: 3:37 p.m. ET

How to watch?

All three games against the Athletics will be broadcast on NESN, WEEI 93.7 FM and in Spanish on WCCM 1490 AM.

Who’s up next?

After finishing this week’s series in Oakland, the Red Sox will have an off day on Thursday before finishing their 10-game west coast swing with three games in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels.

This weekend we finally started getting some answers.

If you weren’t able to stay up late for the club’s season-opening series out in Seattle, you missed some good baseball. The Red Sox and Mariners split the four-game set, and all four games were competitive, well-pitched affairs that left both sides with a lot to be encouraged by. Here are five takeaways from the Red Sox side.

Starters go the distance

The biggest question coming into the season was how the starting rotation would fare once the rubber hit the road, and while one weekend is far too small a sample size to draw any firm conclusions, we can certainly say so far so good.

Through four games the Red Sox starters collectively allowed four runs over 22 innings (1.64 ERA) while tallying 27 strikeouts against only one walk. All four also made it through at least the fifth inning, with Nick Pivetta and Kutter Crawford each finishing six while Brayan Bello (84 pitches) and Garrett Whitlock (81 pitches) likely could have gone another frame if asked.

Boston’s four starters also deployed notably revamped pitching mixes, emphasizing their best pitches while sidelining their weaker offerings. That was a change promised by new pitching coach Andrew Bailey upon his arrival this past winter, and so far his program is getting tangible results.

Defense much improved

The starters aren’t the only one who have made clear progress, and there was a moment early on Opening Day that illustrated just how this year’s Red Sox team could separate itself from last year’s disappointing outfit. After Bello allowed a double and a single to put runners on the corners with one out in the bottom of the first, he drew a weak ground ball that Trevor Story and Enmanuel Valdez were able to turn into an impressive inning-ending double play.

Last year the Red Sox routinely botched plays like that, and instead of getting out of the inning unscathed the club frequently got burned by easily avoidable runs.

Those miscues had a compounding effect as well, because not only did they often lead to runs, but they also forced the pitchers to expend more effort getting out of the inning and often led to earlier exits overall. For example, Bello threw 17 pitches in the scoreless first, but had that double play attempt failed he might have wound up throwing closer to 25 or 30. Then maybe instead of allowing two runs over five innings, he gives up four over 3.2, putting the bullpen in a much tougher spot and significantly increasing the likelihood of a loss.

We saw plenty of other great defensive plays throughout the weekend too, and even after a handful of games it’s obvious what a difference having Story at shortstop and Ceddanne Rafaela in center field is going to make.

Devers the difference-maker

It goes without saying that Boston’s lineup is going to suffer when the guy who has a $300 million contract isn’t in it, but this weekend we saw just how big a difference Rafael Devers can make.

In the two games Devers was available, the third basemen went 3 for 10 with a home run and two RBI, helping the Red Sox to a pair of wins in which they collectively scored 11 runs. In the games he wasn’t available, the Red Sox offense collectively went 11 for 67 (.164) and at one point scored only one run over 18 innings before finally breaking through for two in the top of the 10th on Saturday night. The Red Sox lost both games.

A lot of that offensive futility can be attributed to Seattle’s excellent pitching staff, which should rank among the best in baseball again this season, but the best response to elite talent is elite talent of your own. Hopefully the shoulder issue that knocked Devers out of action for two days doesn’t prove to be a long-term hindrance, because the Red Sox can’t afford to be without him.

Mariners a measuring stick

This weekend offered the Red Sox an early opportunity to test themselves against a likely playoff contender. Few clubs can trot out a rotation featuring a trio as talented as Luis Castillo, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert, and the Mariners project to battle with the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros all season long.

If the Red Sox hope to make the playoffs, this is the kind of team they’ll need to be able to beat.

All things considered the Red Sox acquitted themselves well. Their pitching overwhelmed Seattle’s lineup throughout the weekend, and despite its struggles the offense got timely hits from both its veterans and newcomers alike. Tyler O’Neill in particular demonstrated his value with two home runs and some excellent outfield defense, and Enmanuel Valdez stepped up with a big three-run homer to break the game open in Sunday’s win.

Could this weekend have gone better? Sure! But given the low expectations many fans had coming in, it’s hard to find much worth complaining about.

Road gets easier

Things should get a lot easier for the Red Sox over the next few weeks. Boston’s next opponent, the Oakland Athletics, are widely regarded as the worst team in the majors, and after that they’ll finish their west coast swing against a diminished Los Angeles Angels club that seems destined to finish a distant fourth in the AL West.

Their first series at home against the Baltimore Orioles will be a tough one, but all told 15 of Boston’s 26 games in April will come against teams projected to finish below .500 according to FanGraphs, and another seven will be against a Cleveland Guardians team projected to finish 82-80.

The Red Sox should have a good opportunity to start the season strong, so it will be interesting to see how well they’re able to take advantage in the days and weeks to come.

But there’s nothing like being in a dogfight with your new teammates to make a player really feel like he’s a part of the team.

Just such an occurrence arose on Saturday night in Washington, D.C. The B’s were in overtime against the Capitals and they really needed that second point to allow themselves to feel good about the game in which they had outplayed their opponent.

But things looked bleak when Hampus Lindholm was tagged with a double minor for a high-sticking penalty 57 seconds into OT. But the B’s managed to kill it off and get that second point in the shootout. On that pivotal kill, Peeke took two big shifts, the first one that lasted 1:09 and the second that lasted 1:37.

For a guy who has scored 10 goals in 226 NHL games, those are the moments for which Peeke lives.

“There’s nothing like competing with the guys and grinding out those tight wins,” said Peeke on Tuesday. “Playing in tight games like that when it seems like the odds are against you and the next thing you know, you win in the shootout… little things like that, and just being out there and being able to celebrate with the guys, that builds the camaraderie that you hear about. Obviously, it’s nice walking around and talking to guys, but competing on the ice is second to none.”

After getting a couple of practices under his belt upon arrival, Peeke has played eight games and is plus-3 with 20 hits and 16 blocks while averaging 17:39 of icetime.

He’s been a fixture on the right side of the third pairing since getting in the lineup (his partner in Monday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena was again Kevin Shattenkirk), which is a far cry from his time in Columbus this year. After playing 162 games over the previous two years, he was for some reason designated as the odd-man out most of the time this year on the struggling Blue Jackets’ back end. He dressed for just 23 games.

But if that experience shook his confidence, he’s done a good job of hiding it.

“Obviously, it was a long year in Columbus and hopefully for me when this opportunity would possibly present itself, it would be a fresh start and a little reset,” said Peeke. “I think for me, just working hard every single day and doing what you can at the rink, whether you’re playing or not, you’re only going to set yourself up for that moment when your in that lineup in Columbus or being traded here. You just have to prepare yourself any way possible.”

While Peeke is finding his comfort level, the confidence from the coaching staff to put him in key defensive situations is also growing.

“I think for everybody it is, because of just how consistently hard he is to play against,” said coach Jim Montgomery.

And Peeke is buoyed by that message.

“It’s awesome having some of the trust from the coaches being out in those scenarios. And then obviously, you use it as a confidence builder,” said Peeke. “For me, I know the way I play, certain situations like the 4-on-3 or a penalty kill, I cherish a moment like that and being out there. We’ll block the shots, we’ll do the little things like that you love doing.”

And for the Bruins, whose issues with closing out games remains a concern going into the playoffs, having another player who can be employed in those hard minutes can only be beneficial.

“I’ll try to help as much as I can,” said Peeke. “Hockey is such a team sport in that regard. Obviously, each guy has their own role and different style of play. I cherish and appreciate being out there in moments like that, whether it’s protecting a lead or being on a penalty kill. Those are things in my game that I really love. But it’s such a team thing and I think when everyone buys into the system and knows what you have to do, it makes each individual look better.”….

Pat Maroon, still recovering from Feb. 7 back surgery, joined the B’s for practice for the first time on Monday. He won’t play this week as he continues to get his timing and conditioning back. Montgomery said the best-case scenario for him to see his first game action would be a week from Saturday in Pittsburgh. That would give him a chance to play two, maybe three games before the playoffs.

“I would like to play a couple of games,” said Maroon. “I think that’s the goal, to play a couple of times before the playoffs. They’ve been really good with me. I can’t thank enough the staff. They’ve been really patient with me and doing all the right things to make sure I’m back to 100 percent. They’ve been really good and they have a plan for me, so we’re just going to keep sticking with that.”

While Maroon and the staff are being prudent, the player said he’s itching to get in a game.

“Trust me, I’m really excited,” said Maroon. “I can’t wait, especially watching the Florida and Tampa games. It makes you just want to go out there and battle with the boys. I’m really looking forward to it. I think I mentioned it before, but just putting on that jersey, an Original Six team… this is a team that a lot of people want to play for and I’m just excited to get with the guys and get in the lineup and go to battle with them. They have a great group here.”…

We’ll see what the lineup looks like on Tuesday in Nashville, but it appeared as though Matt Grzelcyk was headed for a scratch. Mason Lohrei was paired with Brandon Carlo – Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy were paired together again – and Grzelcyk was on a fourth pairing with Parker Wotherspoon. Grzelcyk played just 13:46 in Washington.

Center Jack Malone gave BC its first lead at 3:06 of overtime in a 5-4 victory over defending national champion Quinnipiac in the Providence Regional final on Sunday at Amica Mutual Pavilion.

“We wanted to get more traffic to the net and throw more pucks on net,” said Malone, a graduate transfer from Cornell. “Colby (Ambrosio) did a great job creating chaos in front of the net and it came out to me and I tried to rip it and it went in.”

The No. 1 ranked and top seed Eagles (33-5-1) equaled the school single season record for wins, extended their win streak to 14 games and advanced to the Frozen Four for the 26th time. BC opened the season with a 2-1 overtime victory at Quinnipiac.

BC, a five-time national champion with four in this century, will face  Michigan (23-14-3) on April 11 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Hockey East runner up Boston University will take on Denver in the other semifinal.

“It is always hard to play a team that has won because they know what it takes and they don’t beat themselves,” said BC coach Greg Brown. “You have to do a lot of things right and all in all we beat a very good team.

“When you are playing the defending champs, I don’t know who is the favorite in that one. They did a lot of things right to be successful last year and be right back at it this year.”

Quinnipiac finished the season with a sparkling 27-10-2 record. But with 14 players back from last year’s title run, the Bobcats’ uncompromising effort against BC showed they were not ready to assume the empty status of former champions.

“The goal from day one when we first stepped on campus was defend our crown,” said Quinnipiac captain Jayden Lee. “Ultimately we fell short but I’m just so proud of our group and how far we have come from this summer.”

Quinnipiac blew up a 3-3 deadlock on a power play goal just 16 seconds into the third period. Junior center Jacob Quillan fired a bad angle wrist shot from below the left circle that beat BC freshman goalie Jacob Fowler (26 saves) for his 16th of the season.

BC tied the game 4-4 at 15:16 from an unlikely contributor. Freshman defenseman Aram Minnetian took a pass from Cutter Gauthier in the high slot and ripped a wrist shot that beat Bobcats goalie Vinny Duplessis (27 saves) for his third of the season.

“Quinnipiac was clamping down and we hardly got any shots in the third,” said Brown. “We were able to breakthrough with Aram’s goal which got us jumping again to finish out the third very solidly and, in the overtime, we had our legs.”

The first period displayed the contrasting offensive styles of the two elite college programs. Quinnipiac employed an elevated risk-reward swarming attack (think: Jim Montgomery) while BC countered with its opportunistic high energy transition game. The first period ended 0-0 with BC holding 15-10 advantage in shots on goal. The penalty-filled second period would be something totally different.

The Eagles found themselves down 2-0 less than two minutes into the second period. Bobcats’ sophomore left wing Sam Lipkin ripped a wrist shot from the top of the right circle that beat Fowler on the power play at 1:19.

Quinnipiac went up 2-0 at 1:54 when defenseman Hvari Rasanen intercepted a clear at the left point and fired a slapper through a screen for his fourth of the season.

“As a team I don’t think we’ve trailed by two very often this year,” said Fowler. “Playing in these types of tournament games at some point you going to face some adversity but credit our group we responded quickly.”

BC made it 2-1 on a power play goal by freshman right wing Ryan Leonard at 2:20 of the frame. Leonard, a Washinton Capitals first round draft pick, took a feed from Cutter Gauthier at the bottom of the right circle and fired it near post for his 30th of the season.

The Eagles tied the game 2-2 at 11:35, just seconds after their power play expired. Oskar Jellvik delivered a pass from the end boards to sophomore left wing Andre Gasseau at the top of the left circle. Gasseau’s wrist shot beat Duplessis to the far post for his 12th of the season.

Quinnipiac regained the lead at 15:59 when sophomore left wing Anthony Cipollone flicked home a Charles Alexis Legault rebound for his eighth of the season.  BC tied the game 3-3 at 17:55 on a wraparound goal by Leonard, his second of the match and 31st of the season.

“They kept throwing the first punch and we kept having to respond,” said Brown. “Fortunately, we got the last punch.”

Seattle’s arms dominated over the four-game set, to be sure. But throughout the series, the Red Sox rotation also looked like a force to be reckoned with. Alex Cora wanted each starter to cross the five-inning threshold, and they went 4-for-4; Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, and Garrett Whitlock each pitched at least five innings without allowing more than two runs. According to the club’s media relations, this is the fourth time in franchise history the rotation has begun the season with four such performances. In the three prior instances – 1916, 1999, 2018 – they went to the postseason. Twice, they won the World Series.

Pitcher’s duels dominated the series, but less so in the finale. The first inning looked much like the previous two games, as both pitchers struck out three batters in the first, with Rafael Devers’ one-out single mixed in.

In the top of the second, Tyler O’Neill gave Boston a 1-0 lead with his second first-pitch home run of the series, but Whitlock got into a spot of trouble in the bottom of the frame. He allowed a leadoff double and single, and gave up the tying run on a two-out single.

But unlike Mariners starter Bryce Miller, who allowed four earned runs on six hits over five innings, Whitlock settled in as the game progressed. After needing 46 pitches to get through the first two frames, the Red Sox right-hander needed just 35 to complete the following three innings. He hit the leadoff man to begin the bottom of the third, then retired his remaining nine batters.

It required a mid-game change for the pitcher and his catcher, Reese McGuire. “Halfway through the game, we changed the script,” Cora said. “It seems like they were sitting on soft stuff and Whit was able to use his sinker. I think him and Reese did an outstanding job recognizing what was going on in front of them.”

“I think we just adjusted to what they were doing,” Whitlock explained. He also praised his catcher for guiding their tandem through the pivot. “I feel like they saw what my game plan was, they made their adjustment, so I started to see that and changed back. It was back and forth.”

Whitlock finished the afternoon charged with only one earned run on three hits, zero walks, and eight strikeouts over five. According to Sox media relations, Whitlock’s 5.40 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks fourth in franchise history among pitchers with at least 200 innings, behind Koji Uehara (7.86), Chris Sale (6.06), and Pedro Martinez (5.45).

“Everybody has been throwing well so it was good to go out there and put up five good ones,” Whitlock said. “Wish I could have gone deeper but it was good.”

The Red Sox rotation departs Seattle with a 1.64 ERA and 0.68 WHIP through their first four games of the season. Since the Wild Card era began in 1995, only the ’99 and ’18 squad put up better numbers over that span. But according to MLB.com, their WHIP is the club’s best to open a season since at least 1906.

“It’s really big, we build off of each other,” Whitlock said of the energy and momentum they’re building. “We’re all there competing with each other and cheering each other on so it was huge to rally together. Again, same thing, we’ll be behind Tanner (Houck on Monday). Just keep it going.”

The Boston bullpen compiled four strong innings, highlighted by rookie Justin Slaten, who debuted in extra innings on Saturday night. Slaten pitched 2 1/3 innings without allowing a baserunner to earn his first career save.

Overall, the Red Sox pitching staff combined for 35 1/3 innings, 45 strikeouts, and only issued six walks throughout the series. To call that a far cry from how last season begin would be the understatement of the year.

After two virtually silent nights at the plate, the Boston bats reawakened on Sunday. They drew three walks and collected 10 hits, including O’Neill’s solo blast – one of his two hits in the contest – and a three-run go-ahead homer by Enmanuel Valdez in the fourth.

Though it was a quiet day at the plate for several of the team’s most electric hitters – Jarren Duran and Triston Casas were a combined 0-for-8 – Trevor Story snapped an 0-for-11 skid with a pair of singles, and McGuire contributed two hits and a run batted in.

“It was good, but not what we came here for,” Cora said of splitting the series. “We had them (Saturday) and it just didn’t happen, but it was a good series for us. (The Mariners) have a good team. We talked about this road trip the whole offseason and we played with energy, we played good baseball, we pitched well, and we put some good swings. We’ll take it.”

At least one of his players was a bit happier with the result.

“It feels great to be able to split this series against their pitching staff,” Valdez said. “I think we started on the right foot.”

The sheets aren’t baseball-related, rather, crossword puzzles and sudokus.

Several members of the team enjoy these brain teasers, the pitching staff, in particular. Tanner Houck is a sudoku man, filling out a sheet almost every day with handwriting he describes as “chicken-scratch.”

“I’m not a crossword kinda person, but I’ll grab (sudokus) and work on ‘em when I’ve got some downtime,” he said. “I try to stay off my phone as much as possible.”

The general consensus was that Isaiah Campbell, Garrett Whitlock, and Greg Weissert are among the biggest brainiacs on the pitching staff.

“Greg is a smart guy,” Chase Anderson said.

“Isaiah does ‘em both,” Houck said of the sudoku and crosswords.

“Garrett, he’s a deep thinker,” Chris Martin said. “Isaiah, he’s sneaky-smart, good numbers guy. Crossword puzzle, he’s okay at, he can do the easy ones.”

“Oh god, who told you that?” a smiling Campbell asked, when told that several of his teammates had called him the Einstein of the clubhouse. “I like it. I’ll wear it. I’ll be the guy who knows everything on the team.”

What he really likes, though, is trivia.

“I grew up in an airforce family, and my dad, we always joke that my dad knows everything, so I kind of get it from him,” the reliever explained. “I like doing trivia, I know just some weird facts that people are like, ‘Why do you know that? How do you know that?’ It’s a little quirk to me.”

“Weissert, he might play not-smart, but he’s got some brains in there, some good brain cells in there,” Campbell joked. “I haven’t seen many people do crosswords, Whitlock’s not great at ‘em.”

“Whitlock’s good at ‘em,” Bobby Dalbec countered. “(Jarren) Duran will do it every now and then, (Connor) Wong likes to do ‘em.”

“I can’t do sudoku,” Dalbec explained. “I do the crosswords, typically. I’m not good with numbers, but I play a lot of word association games. Me, (Daniel) Palka, a bunch of (Triple-A) guys last year would do them every day.”

Solving sudokus can improve memory and focus, among other benefits for the brain. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that doing crosswords could improve cognitive function. Both types of puzzles have been shown to help prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Throughout the spring, players have competed in all manner of games. The Fort Myers clubhouse has a basketball hoop. Several players golf in their free time.

“I don’t mess with those,” Martin said, referring to the sudokus and crosswords. He’s an avid golfer, and “big YouTube guy.”.

Likewise for Anderson, who grew up doing a lot of yard work and landscaping, so he enjoys watching videos of that ilk. “I love chainsaws, I love lawn mowers, tree-trimming,” the newcomer said. “That’s just what I grew up doing with my dad.”

One game you probably won’t find anyone playing in the Sox clubhouse is Immaculate Grid. Houck chuckled when reminded that during one particularly lengthy rain delay last year, the game went up on Fenway’s centerfield video board.

“I’m terrible at it,” Campbell said. “It really shows me how much I don’t know about the history of baseball.”

To each their own.

Kyle Schwarber welcomed his former Red Sox teammate to the National League East with a leadoff home run. The Philadelphia Phillies slugger sent Sale’s second pitch of the contest 382 feet to right at 114.4 mph.

Schwarber and Sale overlapped briefly when the slugger arrived in Boston at the 2021 trade deadline, but their time as teammates included an unexpected Red Sox playoff run. Expected to finish in last place, the Sox instead clinched one of the AL Wild Cards and defeated the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays before falling to the Astros in Game 6 of the ALCS.

Otherwise, the 35-year-old (his birthday was Mar. 30) left-hander’s performance was strong. He departed after 5 1/3 innings, having allowed two earned runs on five hits, walked two, hit a batter, and struck out seven. He threw 83 pitches, 56 for strikes (67.4%).

It was Sale’s longest season debut since 2018. He pitched Opening Day ’19 in Seattle but the Mariners knocked him out after three frames, charged with seven earned runs. After missing the entire ’20 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and starting the subsequent two campaigns on the injured list (he pitched five innings in his eventual debuts), the southpaw lasted just three innings in his ’23 debut, when the Orioles tagged him for seven earned runs. He only threw 83 or more pitches in nine of his 20 starts for the Sox last season.

Sale spent six seasons in Boston following a trade from the Chicago White Sox in December 2016. Before injuries derailed his career, he was an All-Star back-to-back in ’17 and ’18, finished second and fourth in AL Cy Young voting, respectively, and made a memorable ninth-inning performance to clinch the 2018 World Series.

The Red Sox traded Sale to the Braves just before the new year for infielder Vaughn Grissom. As a player with 10-and-5 rights, he had to agree to the trade.

Front-office members are returning to headquarters for a final set of meetings and no intentions of flying out to another Pro Day. Coaches are splitting attention between prospects and preparing veterans for their offseason program, weeks of basic instruction and workouts. And then, all together, we will wait for the final days before the draft to float by; tumbleweeds of time on the football calendar.

Because at some point, there are diminishing returns to poring over the same film. To comparing the same combine numbers. To reheating and rehashing the same debates over prospects over and over again. It’s time to make a call.

The Patriots are not there yet, but they’re getting close.

In the meantime, here are 25 Patriots thoughts 25 days away from the draft:

1. Draft the quarterback

Don’t overthink it.

There are three elite prospects at the top of the draft, the only consistent place to find franchise quarterbacks (the trade and free agency markets don’t exist for franchise quarterbacks). The Patriots need a quarterback and are not returning to contention until they find one.

Lock that player in, sit him if he needs protecting in 2024, and simultaneously develop both that quarterback and the team around him. This is the path.

2. Drake Maye is ideal, odds-on favorite

LSU coach Brian Kelly appeared to slip in an interview this week mentioning his former quarterback, Jayden Daniels, “making plays” for Washington next season. Daniels is the odds-on favorite to be the Commanders’ pick at No. 2 overall.

And that leaves the Patriots with … a best-case scenario.

Not because North Carolina’s Drake Maye is an appreciably better prospect than Daniels, who has fairly drawn comparisons to Lamar Jackson. The Maye-Daniels debate is different strokes for different folks. But the fit Maye offers in cold-weather New England, as a big-bodied, strong-armed quarterback with modern mobility and an alpha personality, is clear. Plus, his profile checks most of the traditional boxes the Patriots’ new braintrust values.

And you should too. He’s accurate, protects the ball, creates plays on his own and layers throws to all levels and corners of the field. If Maye’s footwork needs tightening up, take the time to tighten it.

That’s why Jacoby Brissett is here. To take the hits, and provide the mentorship and steady hand in a locker room destined for a 3-6-win season. Oddsmakers have Maye as the team’s most likely pick at No. 3 overall. The future looks bright.

3. Left tackle hole still, somehow, underrated

Here are the Patriots’ best options at left tackle: ex-Steelers right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor (who’s only really played left tackle in the preseason), Calvin Anderson (who didn’t play left tackle last year), Vederian Lowe and Conor McDermott.

Yikes.

4. Consensus could be dangerous

The Patriots sent too many people to the most important Pro Days.

Nine — yes, nine — Patriots evaluators traveled to meet with Daniels and Maye around their respective Pro Days. They did so in the name of collaboration and perspective. And, apparently, establish consensus.

From Mayo earlier this week: “One thing that Alonzo Highsmith, one of our scouts, told me … all the bad picks that he’s seen, it’s really been where everyone wasn’t on the same page. And you would hope that you could get everyone on the same page, coaches and also scouts.”

Here’s the problem: if someone like new quarterbacks coach TC McCartney disagrees on Maye, are the Patriots really going to subject themselves to a hung jury? And not pick a quarterback?

It’s understandable Wolf, Mayo and others want all voices heard. But it sounds like insisting on consensus may keep the Patriots from making the right pick, let alone a pick at all. And this idea of consensus first, getting it right second feels like a version of the perfect being the enemy of the good.

5. QB batting practice

Speaking of Pro Days, no need to evaluate from your couch.

Pro Day passing sessions are essentially batting practice for quarterbacks. There is nothing about those sessions that simulate a game environment. Every quarterback looks his best on his Pro Day, calm, confident and capable.

That is by design.

6. Delay of game?

The Patriots are opening their offseason program on April 8, six days later than teams with first-year head coaches are allowed to invite players back for initial voluntary workouts and meetings.

Most first-year coaches are doing the same (in Carolina, Seattle and Tennessee). Here was Mayo’s explanation at the NFL Annual Meetings: “I just want to make sure that we as coaches are all on the same page before we get with the players. We’ve been a part of situations where you bring different coaches in and this guy has one philosophy, this guy has another philosophy. I just wanted to make sure that the coaches, the staff, we’re all on the same page going forward.”

Considering the Patriots’ crunched schedule and long to-do list — identify a franchise quarterback, wide receiver and left tackle, build an offensive system without those players and minimal available talent, align all underlying techniques and fundamentals for that system taught by assistants pulled from various staffs, establish a new philosophy, roles and more — fine by me.

7. Barmore extension framework

The Patriots are working on a contract extension with fourth-year defensive tackle Christian Barmore, and Jacksonville nose tackle Davon Hamilton’s recent deal may offer a framework.

The comparison is far from a one-for-one, but Hamilton was drafted a year before Barmore (2020), went on Day 2 of his draft and received his extension around this time last year. Like Barmore, Hamilton was not a regular starter prior to his extension. That extension was a three-year, $34.5 million deal, including a $20 million signing bonus and two extra void years for salary cap purposes.

Barmore has several edges over Hamilton at the time of his deal — statistical production, age, draft status — so let’s give him a bump overall. Three years, $41.5 million, including a $23 million signing bonus.

That would make him the 16th-highest paid defensive tackle by total value and average annual value. Win-win.

8. Matt Judon extension

Tack on an extra year, guarantee his $6.5 million salary, add another $3.5 in signing bonus and another $7 million in incentives.

Done deal.

9. Underrated roster need: corner

This group remains too small, too shallow and too reliant on Christian Gonzalez emerging as the No. 1 corner we all saw for three-plus games last year.

Three games is a tiny sample, and with Jonathan Jones’ best days behind him, the Patriots probably need a steady No. 2 corner. If Gonzalez gets hurt, or suffers from Year 2 regression, this corner corps is in big trouble.

10. Would the Patriots trade Kyle Dugger?

Dugger remains dissatisfied with the transition tag, a one-year, $13.2 million placeholder that will keep him here in New England. As of late this week, he had not signed the tag.

So what might he fetch in a trade?

Ex-Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, younger, better and playing a more premium position, only fetched a 2025 third-round pick. Part of the trade return includes expected compensation, and Sneed got a $76.4 million bag.

It’s unlikely Dugger commands more than a fourth-round value, but if dealing him closes the gap in a draft-day trade that allows the Patriots to add an extra first- or second-round pick, would they do it?

(This would be a non-starter were it not for Jabrill Peppers coming off a career year and Marte Mapu waiting in the wings. But there are three box safeties with space for one or two on the starting defense.)

11. Early breakout player pick

Defensive lineman Keion White is a a second-year edge defender with elite athleticism, a sure path to playing time and a deeper repertoire of pass-rush moves than he started with last season. He is a logical, if not obvious, pick.

Still, I bet he delivers.

12. Breakout player, brave edition

OK, stepping a little further out on the branch: wide receiver Tyquan Thornton.

Another former second-round pick, yes. But Thornton has done nothing, zero, as a pro to prove he’ll live up to his draft status. So why do I kinda, sorta, maybe, maybe not believe?

Thornton has added notable muscle this offseason, and must produce if he hopes to stick in the league past Year 3. A 4.2-second time in the 40-yard dash can only get you by for so long.

13. ‘The Dynasty’ a downer

You’ve heard from Devin McCourty and Rodney Harrison. Matthew Slater and Julian Edelman. Critics, all of them.

Robert Kraft chimed in Tuesday, co-signing on their sentiments, except the unfair portrayal of Bill Belichick. That spoke loudest. And yes, Belichick’s portrayal was, to a degree, unfair.

But here’s the best way I can put it: I looked forward to introducing my wife to the early Patriots dynasty via this docu-series. To explain how and why I got into this business, the teams I followed and the stories I absorbed. I screened the first half of the series myself, and decided I’d continue watching solo.

The doc only got worse. A transparently slanted production with gaping holes. For the fans, ex-Patriots players and coaches, for outsiders, it’s all, simply, too bad.

14. Take it from Scar

Don’t agree?

Here was Patriots Hall of Famer and ex-offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia speaking on “The Dynasty” during a Friday interview with SiriusXM radio: “When I had heard after the first couple of episodes that they had talked to one coach, I started texting guys and asked Charlie (Weis) if he had been (interviewed) and he said ‘No.’ Then Romeo (Crennel). Then Brad Seely. Those three guys came there and, in the first year, implemented systems on offense, defense and special teams that essentially transcended the next 20 years. … There is some selective journalism here and I don’t like it.”

15. Cash spending check-in

Overall 2024 cash spending: 25th

Overall 2025 cash spending: 31st

Overall 2026 cash spending: 26th

Free-agent total spending: 13th

Free-agent guaranteed spending: 10th

Free-agent first-year cash spending: 7th

Callahan: Jerod Mayo’s growing pains are coinciding with the Patriots’

16. Over-under oof

After free agency, oddsmakers have posted the Patriots' over-under win total for next season at 5.5 or 4.5, second-lowest in the league.

Prepare for pain.

17. Top-10 rookies on the schedule

Running through a last-place schedule, the Patriots should face seven of the top 10 players selected in the draft next season: *Chicago (away), Arizona (away), Los Angeles Chargers (home), Tennessee (away) and New York Jets (home/away).

*The Bears own the No. 1 and No. 9 overall picks.

18. Way-too-early 2025 free agent look-ahead

Who will the Patriots target next offseason, when they're scheduled to lead the NFL in cap space?

Understanding that most free agents at the top of the market are usually removed via the franchise tag or preceding extensions, here are the best free agents the Patriots might pursue based on their current needs and potential interest: quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receivers Justin Jefferson, Tee Higgins, Brandon Aiyuk, Amon-Ra St. Brown, CeeDee Lamb, Chris Godwin, Marquise Brown and Diontae Johnson, offensive tackles Tristan Wirfs, Garrett Bolles, Carm Robinson, Taylor Decker, Jedrick Wills and Joseph Noteboom, edge rusher Josh Allen, cornerbacks A.J. Terrell, Calrton Davis, Charvarius Ward and D.J. Reed.

How Robert Kraft plans to fix Patriots’ low marks in NFLPA report card

19. No excuses

Robert Kraft claimed he was "unaware of how bad" the team's weight room and treatment of player families have been, according to the Patriots' latest NFLPA report card. One problem with that: the Patriots received similarly terrible marks last year.

So there are only two explanations then on Kraft's answer: he truly didn't know, or he knew and didn't care. Either way, it's bad look, and inexcusable for someone presiding over a supposed first-class organization.

Kraft did say the team is working to address both issues.

"We’ve had a plan that we put in place where we’re committing to a whole new facility adjacent to ours," Kraft said. "That has been discussed with the leadership team and a building that will be in excess of $50 million. We have to correct everything."

20. Sign Wolf long-term

The Patriots should keep their front office together post-draft. The notion that Kraft will evaluate Eliot Wolf after he's used the No. 3 overall pick and spent hundreds of millions of dollars this offseason — even if that notion only serves to protect the reality the team postponed a "GM" search to satisfy the league's diversity hiring rules later on — is ridiculous.

Ink Wolf to a long-term deal, and let him continue his rebuild past mid-May, when most key front-office members have expiring contracts.

What we learned about the Patriots at the NFL Annual Meeting in Florida

21. Return the silver pants

Jerod Mayo told reporters he will be introducing the "C" patch on captains' jerseys this year, a first for the Patriots since the league introduced them more than a decade ago. The Pats shouldn't stop there.

To mark the start of a new era, as they did after Tom Brady left, they should alter their uniforms. The current set is too bland. Nothing pops. It's a simple sandwich.

Spice up the jersey and return the gray or silver pants, like the Patriots wore last year in their home upset of the Bills. And bring back the Bledsoe Blues as an alternate!

22. Captain predictions

Kendrick Bourne wants to be a captain next year, and the bet here is he earns the honor as part of Mayo's culture shift.

Full captain predictions: center David Andrews, tight end Hunter Henry, defensive lineman Deatrich Wise, linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley and safety Jabrill Peppers.

23. Troy Brown, demoted?

The Patriots replaced Troy Brown as their receivers coach with Tyler Hughes, a former quality control assistant (2020-22) who left to take the same job with the University of Washington last year. Brown will now be working in skill development, according to Mayo, who said Monday: "He’ll work with the players. He’ll work with the skill players and also work with the scheme and the offensive side of the ball."

24. The Book of Belichick

Bill Belichick is reportedly writing a book. The rumor at the NFL Annual Meeting was it would be about leadership, according to NFL reporter Mike Giardi. It doesn't matter the subject. I'll put in a pre-order.

Right now.

25. Quote of the Week

"Shout-out to orange juice." — Patriots coach Jerod Mayo at the NFL Annual Meeting on Monday, referencing a viral 2015 photo of Bill Belichick sipping OJ at the same event

Luke Faletra registered four goals and an assist as Central Catholic edged Westford Academy, 10-9. … Luke Kelly and Cam McCarthy had had tricks as St. John’s Prep defeated Acton-Boxboro, 11-9.

Josh Do, Will Croom, Chad Bartlett and Keaton Gaynor each scored a pair of goals as Rivers (2-0) defeated New Hampton 11-7 in NEPSAC action.

Girls lacrosse

Sara McLeod scored five goals, while teammate Audrey Toce added three goals and an assist as Billerica (1-0) defeated Winchester 11-9 in a nonleague contest. … Sienna Reeves scored four goals and Coral Punch added three as Nauset defeated Mashpee, 17-5. … Shannon Balfe and Lily O’Donnell each had three goals as Whitman-Hanson edged Bridgewater-Raynham, 9-8. … Bailey Lower, Cydney Mosscrop and Emerson Pekarcik all recorded hat tricks as Nantucket cruised to a 16-1 win over rival Martha’s Vineyard. … Lydia Tangney scored four goals as Brooks (2-0) defeated Holderness, 13-11.

Softball

Jackie Giordano struck out 11 in five innings, while helping her own cause with a home run as Brooks defeated Kimball Union 14-4 in the NEPSAC. Sophia Alvarez-Backus went 3-for-4 with three RBI, while Kay LaLiberty added two hits and two runs scored.

Hockey

Massachusetts swept all three games against Connecticut in the annual Conn./Mass. All-Star Border Challenge.

In the girls games, Duxbury’s Zoey Madigan scored twice in earning game MVP honors in a 6-3 win. Also scoring were Caroline Doherty (Hingham), Madeleine Greenwood (Duxbury), Ava Iantosca (Dedham) and Callie Pineau (Norwood/Scituate/Abington).

Oliver Ames’ Matt Lawson scored twice on his way to MVP honors, while Noah Gurdin (Brookline) tallied the game-winner in overtime to give Massachusetts a 6-5 win in the Senior Game. Henry Eaton (Medway), Aiden Umina (Newton North) and Casey Kelley (Archbishop Williams) had the other goals.

In the Sophomore/Junior Game, MVP Will Manchuso (Concord-Carlisle), Brady Leonard (Essex Tech) and Shaun Teehan (Oliver Ames) tallied twice in a 10-3 victory. Nolan Dawson (Billerica), Seumas McMakin (Burlington), Finn Kelly (Archbishop Williams) and Mike Yucius (Duxbury) also scored.

Scores

BASEBALL

Austin Prep 10, Wilbraham & Monson 0

Martha’s Vineyard 10, Nantucket 0

St. George’s 14, Beaver Country Day 12

BOYS LACROSSE

Central Catholic 10, Westford Academy 9

Duxbury 18, Burnt Hill (NY) 4

Haverhill 13, Cambridge 6

King Philip 17, Bishop Feehan 6

Mansfield 12, Nauset 9

Nantucket 17, Martha’s Vineyard 1

North Reading 11, Woburn 6

Rivers 11, New Hampton 7

St. John’s Prep 11, Acton-Boxboro 9

Sandwich 6, Scituate 5 (ot)

Thayer Academy 19, Austin Prep 3

GIRLS LACROSSE

Belmont 11, Winchester 9

Billerica 11, Winchester 9

Brooks 13, Holderness 11

Central Catholic 12, Norwell 7

Malden Catholic 8, St. Mary’s 6

Nantucket 16, Martha’s Vineyard 1

Nauset 17, Mashpee 5

North Reading 11, Latin Academy 4

South Shore 13, Bristol-Plymouth 2

Whitman-Hanson 9, Bridgewater-Raynham 8

SOFTBALL

Brooks 14, Kimball Union 4

BOYS TENNIS

Austin Prep 6, Thayer Academy 3

But in Shohei Ohtani, baseball finally has a talent who can’t be ignored.

Baseball’s first true two-way superstar since Babe Ruth, Ohtani has achieved superhuman status in his native Japan and broken into the American cultural mainstream unlike any other player of this generation. The two-time MVP recently signed the largest contract in North American professional sports history, and by joining the powerhouse Dodgers, the expectation is he’ll finally have a chance to showcase his talents on the biggest stage in October.

But fame can be a double-edged sword, as MLB learned the hard way these past few weeks.

Right as Ohtani was set to begin his career with the Dodgers, he found himself at the center of a bizarre and unsettling gambling scandal that has taken the sports world by storm.

Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s longtime interpreter, was fired by the team after he allegedly stole millions of dollars from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts. The situation came to light after reporters inquired about $4.5 million in wire transfers sent from Ohtani’s bank account to a bookmaking operation that is under federal investigation.

Those questions led to a rapid series of events in which Mizuhara initially claimed Ohtani had paid off his debts, only to later recant that story after Ohtani reportedly began questioning that version of events following a clubhouse meeting in which Dodgers officials informed the team a negative story was coming.

Ohtani’s lawyers then told ESPN that “in the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities.” MLB has since opened a formal investigation into the matter, and baseball fans across the country have been left to wonder just what’s going on.

Given baseball’s unpleasant history with gambling any scandal like this was bound to garner headlines, but Ohtani’s involvement has taken things to another level. Instead of talking about March Madness, NFL free agency or the usual go-to topics like the Lakers or Cowboys, all the national daytime sports talk shows focused on Ohtani, and much of the conversation revolved around the inconsistencies in the story and to what extent Ohtani might have been involved.

For as long as the investigation is ongoing, this situation is going to loom like a cloud over Ohtani and the Dodgers.

At this point Ohtani hasn’t been accused of any wrongdoing and the investigation could prove he truly was the victim of Mizuhara’s crimes. It doesn’t seem to have affected his performance either, as Ohtani was batting .385 with an .862 OPS through his first three games with Los Angeles, but any perception that baseball’s biggest star could be a gambling cheat is a horrible place for the sport to be.

For better or worse Ohtani is going to be the story of this season once again, and hopefully by season’s end for on-field reasons and not because this story has developed in a way that could tar his legacy forever.

Primed for breakout?

In 2022, the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks finished fourth in their respective divisions with fewer than 75 wins and were more than 37 games out of first place.

A year later, the clubs faced off against one another in the World Series.

Things can change quickly in baseball, and six months from now there will probably be at least one team nobody is talking about who will emerge as a surprise contender. Who could that be? Trying to guess now is a recipe for looking foolish down the road, but there are a couple of clubs who fit the profile.

The most likely candidate for a turnaround has to be the St. Louis Cardinals, who have reliably been among the most steady franchises in baseball before the bottom inexplicably fell out last season. St. Louis finished 71-91, its worst season in 33 years, thanks to a perfect storm of underperformance, injuries and the complete collapse of its starting rotation. The Cardinals have since revamped their pitching staff, signing Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson in free agency, and boast a talented lineup led by Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.

The NL Central isn’t a gauntlet either, so St. Louis should at minimum get back in the conversation this year.

As for the American League, the Red Sox might have the most potential for improvement. Despite a disappointing offseason in which the club barely brought in any meaningful reinforcements, Boston’s roster is well stocked with young talent and should benefit from a full season of Trevor Story at shortstop. Even if that is only good for a six or seven win improvement, that might be all it takes to climb back into the playoff conversation.

While they started from such a deep hole it’ll probably take a couple more years to climb out, the Kansas City Royals are interesting too. The Royals were arguably the most active player in free agency after the Dodgers, shoring up their roster with numerous proven veterans who will significantly raise the club’s floor, and they also boast high-end talent with MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr. and potential Cy Young dark horse Cole Ragans.

With the AL Central in such a sorry state, it’s not hard to imagine the Royals making a significant jump. Going from 56-106 to division title contention will be a tall order, but Kansas City should at least be worth paying attention to.

Rangers reinforcements

It’s not often you see a team pick within the top five of the MLB Draft and then win the World Series a couple of months later, but that’s how things worked out the Texas Rangers last year.

It’s even less often you see that top five pick make the Opening Day roster the following season.

Wyatt Langford, who the Rangers selected No. 4 overall in last July’s draft, made Texas’ Opening Day roster and should provide an immediate boost to a Rangers club that already features All-Stars up and down the lineup. The 22-year-old outfielder, who this time last year was crushing SEC pitching for the Florida Gators, feasted on the Cactus League competition throughout spring training and batted fifth for the defending champions on Opening Day, going 1 for 3 with a walk and a sacrifice fly in Texas’ 4-3 extra-innings win over the Chicago Cubs.

The best part for Texas, he might not even be the club’s top contender for Rookie of the Year. That honor likely belongs to fellow outfielder Evan Carter.

Beyond the continued development of its elite position player core, Texas could potentially bring in some high-level pitching reinforcement as the season goes on. Future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, who will miss the start of the season after undergoing offseason back surgery, may not be out as long as feared and opened the season on the 15-day injured list instead of the 60-day IL.

Jacob deGrom, who underwent Tommy John surgery last season, is also targeting an August return and could give the Rangers rotation a massive boost.

Even with the talent they have available now, Texas should be more than capable of competing with the Houston Astros atop the AL West. But at full strength? The Rangers could be looking at another special October.

Watch out for Skubal

When discussing potential contenders for AL Cy Young, usually you’ll hear a familiar handful of names. Toronto’s Kevin Gausman, Baltimore’s Corbin Burnes, Seattle’s Luis Castillo, Houston’s Framber Valdez and, before his elbow injury, New York’s Gerrit Cole. But there’s also another name that’s garnered a lot of buzz, one less familiar to casual fans who has nonetheless emerged as a preseason favorite for the award.

Detroit’s Tarik Skubal.

The 27-year-old left-hander is entering his fifth season in the big leagues, and multiple projections suggest he’s about to pop off in a big way. Last season Skubal posted ace-like numbers, including 2.70 ERA with 102 strikeouts in only 80.1 innings, but he was limited to only 15 starts due to a flexor tendon injury. This year he enters 2024 projected by FanGraphs’ Steamer system to post a 3.33 ERA with 198 strikeouts over 171.1 innings, all of which are expected to rank among the best in baseball. The Athletic sees him similarly, projecting a 3.47 ERA with 180 strikeouts over 158 innings.

Skubal certainly lived up to those expectations on Opening Day, throwing six shutout innings in Detroit’s 1-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.

D-Backs strike fast

The Arizona Diamondbacks have big ambitions after winning the National League pennant last October, and they certainly made a statement on Opening Day, jumping out to a 16-1 lead on Colorado by the third inning, including a historic 14-run bottom of the third.

The Diamondbacks batted around twice, sending 18 men to the plate while forcing the Rockies to use three different pitchers. The onslaught featured 10 singles, three doubles, two walks and a sacrifice fly, and it didn’t end until Rockies reliever Jalen Beeks came on and was finally able to get Alek Thomas to ground out to end the inning after 34 minutes of real time.

The 14 runs set a new Arizona franchise record for runs in an inning, and according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs was tied for the fourth most in an inning by any team since 1900. The Red Sox hold the record in that span, having scored 17 runs in the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers on June 18, 1953.

Not a good look

Two months ago when players started reporting for spring training, they got their first look at MLB’s newly redesigned uniforms. The reception was not good.

Designed by Nike and manufactured by Fanatics, the new uniform’s perceived lack of quality became a flashpoint at camps across the sport, with players complaining about the jersey’s papery feel, the smaller names on the back, colors that weren’t quite right, and especially the pants, which players said were both see-through and poorly fitting.

The Red Sox clubhouse was no exception, with numerous players expressing disappointment about the uniforms and Nick Pivetta describing them as “not professional.”

MLB notes: New uniforms ruffling feathers in Red Sox clubhouse

This week the new uniforms took center stage for the first time on big league fields, and they didn't look any better under the bright lights. Beyond the usual complaints over the small names and cheap look, fans also noted other issues that hadn't previously been apparent, like the New York Yankees players being completely drenched in sweat during their opener in Houston.

Maybe it wasn't as glaring before because spring training jerseys aren't supposed to look that great anyway, but this week highlighted just how big a fiasco this redesign's proven to be. While these uniforms are likely here to stay for at least the rest of this season, hopefully common sense will prevail and Nike will either go back to the old template or make the necessary improvements to bring the new one up to major league standard.

Patriots fans have plenty of questions about what the team will do and what’s real and what’s not. Let’s dig into them.

@godiroc
Are you team QB at 3 or team let’s add 4 players in the top 45 this year and get a few more picks next year too?

I’m Team QB at 3.

Get the quarterback when you have the chance, because you don’t know when that opportunity will arise again. The Patriots have the third overall pick, and there are at least three top quarterbacks in this class worthy of a top-five pick in USC’s Caleb Williams, UNC’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels.

I don’t think there should be any expectations for the Patriots to be overly competitive in 2024. They know they can get a quarterback in this year’s draft. They can try to fill needs at wide receiver and left tackle in the second and third rounds. And if they can’t, then they can always sit their rookie quarterback for a year and grab those players early in 2025.

It just seems like too big of a risk to pass when they’re in the perfect opportunity to get a franchise QB, because there’s always the risk that they won’t have this chance in 2025.

@TheDTSB
Do you believe the Washington/Daniels hype or do you think they’re still taking Maye? I won’t be convinced they’re going Daniels until his name is announced. Also do you stay at 3 and pick JD if they take Maye?

The latest hype at the NFL Annual Meeting, courtesy of my buddy Tom Pelissero from NFL Media, was that the Commanders could take Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy at No. 2 overall.

So, it’s really anyone’s guess where the Commanders will go at No. 2. I think some people in the Patriots’ organization would enjoy getting to pick between Daniels and Maye at No. 3 overall.

If Maye is picked No. 2 overall, then I know there are fans of Daniels in the organization.

@littleashtag
What wide receiver do you personally want the Patriots to draft? Would they have to move back into the end of the 1st round before KC or Buffalo get can get them?

They need an “X” receiver, since they’re currently loaded with slot and “Z” receivers. LSU’s Brian Thomas is a good fit, but they might need to package their second- and third-round picks to move up high enough to take him in the middle of the first round. Florida State’s Keon Coleman could be in range when the Patriots are picking 34th overall.

Unfortunately, most of the receivers in that second- or third-round range are “Z” or slot receivers. It would be interesting to package Maye and UNC’s Devontez Walker.

I like UCF’s Javon Baker too.

@Taco_Stevep
What would a successful rest of the off-season look like?

Draft your future starting quarterback, “X” wide receiver and left tackle with your first three picks.

It’s interesting to look at the Patriots’ roster and see who would be their top players at those positions right now. It would be Jacoby Brissett at QB, either Jalen Reagor or Kayshon Boutte at “X” receiver and either Chukwuma Okorafor, Calvin Anderson, Vederian Lowe or Tyrone Wheatley Jr. at left tackle.

It’s funny that of those three, the quarterback situation would be the least concerning. But I do still believe it’s a must to take a QB at No. 3 overall, because this draft isn’t about the 2024 season. It’s about the future of the franchise.

Wide receiver might actually be more troubling than left tackle. But it’s not ideal to head into the draft needing starters at those three positions.

There is still the possibility of a trade or add in free agency, but I don’t believe the Patriots are looking for one-year fill-ins.

@TrevorJayCFB
As of right now on March 29th, what is the likeliest scenario: pick QB at 3, pick WR at 3, or trade down?

League executives expect the Patriots to take a quarterback at No. 3 overall. So, I think that’s the likeliest scenario. I do truly believe the Patriots need to be “convicted,” as head coach Jerod Mayo said this week, to take a QB at No. 3. I don’t believe they’ll force it.

@SportsFellow_
If the Pats trade down, should they aim at taking Michael Penix Jr at QB?

I’d personally be surprised if Michael Penix was the quarterback that winds up in New England, barring him falling pretty far.

@KevinPOBrien
Do the patriots really believe there are 5-6 franchise QBs in this draft instead of 3-4?

Not from most people I’ve spoken to.

@FFFTakes
Is there a world where the Pats trade back with the Vikings for a haul including 11 & 23 for this year, then use 11 and change to move back up with Falcons or Titans to jump Chicago for one of the three top WRs? Cardinals of last year scenario…

Thanks Doug.

It’s possible, that’s almost too complicated to predict.

I do think one of the issues with trading back with the Vikings is that the drop from No. 3 to No. 11 is too far. If the Patriots were to accept that deal, they would almost need another trade agreed to in order to move back up.

@ronnie09795147
Do you get the sense the Krafts realize the fan base is not happy with “Dynasty” and the lack of spending in FA?

Based on his answers at the NFL Annual Meeting about free agency and “The Dynasty,” yes.

Or perhaps it’s that, as feared throughout the offseason when the Sox let Justin Turner and Adam Duvall depart in free agency, there’s simply not enough power in this lineup.

Whatever it was, the Red Sox and Mariners needed 10 innings to complete Saturday evening’s contest, a pitcher’s duel that culminated in a 4-3 Seattle walk-off.

The Red Sox rotation has begun the season on historically strong footing. According to the club’s media relations department, the pitching staff’s 23 strikeouts over the first two games is their most ever over such span, surpassing their previous record of 22, first achieved in 1966 and repeated in 2003. This is also the first time the Sox have struck out at least 20 batters while issuing no more than three walks in their first two games.

Kutter Crawford only improved upon this in his season debut on Saturday night. After getting off to a shaky start, giving up leadoff singles to J.P. Crawford and Ty France in the first and second, respectively, the right-hander settled in for six innings. He set the Mariners down 1-2-3 in the third, fourth, and fifth frames. After the single to France, he retired the following 14 batters before issuing a two-out walk, the first free pass by a Sox starter this season.

The only blemish came early in the first, when Crawford singled to lead off the bottom of the first, and Pablo Reyes’ throwing error allowed the Mariners shortstop to advance to second. When Mitch Haniger singled two batters later, Crawford scored. The run was unearned, but still came back to bite the Sox when they went to extra innings tied 1-1 a couple of hours later.

Crawford lived up to the K in his first name, striking out seven batters over six innings. Never before has the Red Sox pitching staff combined for at least 30 strikeouts while allowing no more than six runs in their first three games of a season. It’s a far cry from the first three games of last season, and most of the year, when too-short starts absolutely exhausted the bullpen.

“It’s been great,” Cora lauded of the strike-throwing thus far. “We’ve been doing this for a while now, and I know it’s not, it’s too early, it’s only three games, but we’ve been feeling pretty comfortable in the way they’re approaching the games, the way they’re throwing the ball.”

Unfortunately, there’s significantly less power in the Boston bats than there was last year. Turner and Duvall combined for 44 home runs, but the team’s combined 182 homers ranked fifth-worst in the American League, well below AL-average (195).

Much like Friday night, when Nick Pivetta and George Kirby dueled, Crawford had a veritable opponent in Mariners starter Logan Gilbert, who punched out eight Boston batters over seven. When the Sox did make hard contact, the ball died on the warning track. When Ceddanne Rafaela doubled to lead off the top of the fifth, he owned both of Boston’s hits in the game to that point.

Entering the ninth, Boston and Seattle were tied 1-1 with four hits and a walk each. The Sox struck out swinging three times in the top of the frame, wasting a one-out walk by Triston Casas, and Greg Weissert faced four Mariners in the bottom of the frame, adding two strikeouts to the tally and sending the game into extras.

“That was fun to watch,” Cora said of Weissert’s outing. “Marty did an outstanding job, too,” he lauded of Chris Martin, who made his 22nd consecutive scoreless appearance for the club. Only Joe Kelly (23), Daniel Bard (25), Josh Taylor (26), and Koji Uehara (27) had longer streaks.

At long last, the Boston bats came alive in the top of the tenth. With Rafaela as the ghost-runner on second, Reyes made up for his first-inning error by singling to score the go-ahead run. He was caught stealing moments later, but Reese McGuire kept the inning alive with a pinch-hit double. After an intentional walk to Tyler O’Neill, who was pinch-hitting for Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida’s single plated an additional run.

That extra bit of insurance proved to be nothing more than a hurdle waiting to be cleared, as Joely Rodríguez took the mound for the bottom of the tenth and immediately gave up an RBI single to put the Mariners within one. A single and fielding error by Wilyer Abreu moved the runners to second and third, and J.P. Crawford’s fielder’s choice tied the game.

With the game re-tied, Alex Cora sent Justin Slaten in to make his Major League debut against Julio Rodríguez. The Mariners wunderkind promptly singled to right, driving in the winning run.

“I mean, (it’s) Julio Rodriguez,” Cora said with a smile. “(Slaten) threw a good pitch, and his first big-league appearance, you know, so I told him, you’re a big-leaguer.”

Kenley Jansen wasn’t available, the Sox skipper explained postgame, as his back was tight. He also decided not to use Devers as a pinch-hitter, but was optimistic that the third baseman would be available for Sunday’s series finale.

“I tried to get ready,” Jansen explained. “I gotta be smart. I go out there and aggravate it, then it could be worse for a week or two, so I’d rather lose one day or two.”

It’s the “same thing” the veteran closer dealt with during spring training, but he said it’s not as bad.

“It’s frustrating,” Jansen admitted. “What can I do? You go to bed, you wake up in the morning and have a bad back. You try to ramp it up, and it’s not allowing you to.”

The Boston bats collected seven hits and three walks, but went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.

“They were the best pitching staff last year,” Cora said of their opponents. “They have some horses over there. We kept grinding with them.”

“We will hit,” he added. “Of course, we’re facing one of the best pitching staffs in the big leagues, but they have struggled against us, and they’re supposed to score runs, too.”

Ultimately, the Mariners scored enough.

And the aging comic sitting seated behind the scorer’s table had seen enough. Enough, I tell you. Enough.

“You can stop coaching, the game’s over,” Larry David hollered at Dan Hurley from his seat behind the scorers table. “Stop coaching!”

Later, the septuagenarian star of “Curb Your Enthusiasm, screamed, “Shame on you, Hurley. Take the starters out.”

Illini-lated: UConn storms past Illinois 77-52, will meet Alabama in Final Four

If ever there was a moment to encapsulate the historic excellence, as well as the sheer absurdity of what we are watching, this was it. Dan Hurley heckled by Larry David. The irascible David, 76, in Boston for a live performance this week, got up and left with a few minutes to go, before Hurley did empty his bench.

Too bad he didn’t stay and heckle Hurley after the game. What could’ve gone wrong?

“Wow. I’m like the Larry David of college coaching with my antics and idiosyncrasies,” Hurley said, laughing. “So I’m disappointed. … No, Curb Your Enthusiasm, that’s a good show.”

So is UConn at the Final Four, and it has been renewed for another season. The semifinals Saturday and championship game Sunday will avoid going head-to-head with the final episode of Curb, scheduled for Sunday. The Huskies, after the 77-52 victory Saturday in the East Regional final at TD Garden, are headed for Phoenix, two wins to go for a repeat as national champions.

But what is happening on the court right now is no comedy show, as much as this NCAA Tournament has become one Globetrotters-vs.-Washington Generals matchup after another.

“It’s a special level of basketball we were playing,” Hurley said.

Try to get your mind around this. A 30-0 run. Illinois, second in the Big 10, winner of the conference tournament, in possession of a win over Purdue during the season, had clawed back from a 9-0 deficit to tie the game at 23 with 1:49 left in the half.

“We play every possession like it’s our last,” Alex Karaban said. “We don’t care what the score is, what we’re doing, we want to continue to go, go, go. We thought we could break them, we thought we could demoralize them. It really affects a team when we go on a run like that.”

Looking like the Illinois HC may get his prediction “I don’t care if he blocks 100, we are going after him”. @clingan_donovan is absolutely DOMINATING!!!

— Jim Mora (@CoachJimMoraFB) March 30, 2024

Very few teams, players, ever go on a run like that. UConn was 0-for-10 on 3-pointers before Hassan Diarra hit one to put the Huskies back in the lead, and start the avalanche. Tristen Newton made a couple of free throws to make it 28-23 at the half.

While the Huskies were missing shots they usually make, Illinois was stifled by UConn’s defense. Then Brad Underwood, an experienced, respected coach, made his own stab at comedy. “We’re going to keep going at (Donovan Clingan),” he told sideline reporter Andy Katz. “If he blocks 100, he blocks 100.”

Illinois went 0 for 19 on shots contested by Clingan and for a while, it looked like they’d go 0 for the second half. They stayed at 23, UConn started hitting shots and before long the lead was 10, 20, 30.

“It’s like a train going down the track as fast as it can and it’s unstoppable,” Diarra said. “It’s happening pretty fast, and you’re just like in the moment. Let’s keep our foot on the throttle and after the fact, we’re just like, ‘man, this team is really special and we have to enjoy it like we can.”

UConn women grind past Duke, 53-45, to set up Elite 8 meeting with top seed USC

With the score 53-23, Illinois ended its 9-minute scoring drought, and Larry David was right. The game was over, but if he thought Hurley would stop coaching, well, just what was he thinking? Hurley was still reminding his team about various comments he’d heard from Illinois and pundits the day before, that they’d seen everything in the Big 10, yada, yada, yada.

“I think we were up 30 and Coach said, ‘remember what these guys were saying yesterday? We’ve got to go put them away,’” said Clingan, who finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks, dominating a game in which Newton and Stephon Castle were a combined 1 for 12 and the team was 3 for 17 on threes.

“Everybody’s super connected,” Castle said, “Everybody’s having fun, everybody’s throwing down dunks. I mean, it’s just super fun. We work to get to this point and to have that kind of fun on the court, it means our work is paying off.”

No team has emerged in this tournament that can stop all of UConn’s weapons on any given night. The Huskies have dispensed with No. 3 seed Illinois, No. 5 San Diego State, No. 9 Northwestern as easily as they did No. 16 Stetson in the first round. They’ve trailed a total of 28 seconds in the four games.

They’ve achieved at a level that must seem amazing even to them, whether they admit it or not. They’ve achieved a level a fan of sports must admire, even if a certain curmudgeonly comic would rather they call off the dogs a little sooner than they do.

“When we walk out of here, we look at each other and say, ‘how have we done this in this tournament?’” Hurley said. “Nine straight relatively non-competitive games. But we’re relentless, as coaches, we coach every possession, we have incredibly competitive players and we have incredible respect for our opponents. We know that when you have somebody down, you better beat them down, you better break ’em. We just don’t want to let a team hang around in a game.”

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The Huskies’ unstoppable NCAA hoop run continued with their most dominant performance, a 77-52 bashing of Illinois, as the Herald’s Steve Hewitt writes.

Larry David, Seinfeld co-creator and star of his own hit series “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” seemed annoyed (but when doesn’t he seem so) at photo requests while watching the game. Did he realize he’s in Boston?

“Groundhog Day” star Bill Murray was also in the stands. He’s a Chicago native but his son, Luke Murray, is a UConn men’s basketball assistant coach.

On many levels.

Among the sellout crowd at the TD Garden in Boston watching UConn destroy Illinois, 77-52, to punch its ticket to the Final Four were comedians and actors Bill Murray and Larry David.

David, sitting a row back near the UConn bench, didn’t even try to curb his enthusiasm, although he did depart the game before the final buzzer as the Huskies romped to the regional championship thanks to an astounding 30-0 run.

Also spotted in the crowd was Murray, star of “Caddyshack,” “Ghostsbusters” and “Groundhog Day,” among other classics.

Murray, an avid sports fan, was born in Evanston, Ill., so the final score was probably no laughing matter for the 73-year-old icon. Although his son is an assistant coach for the Huskies.

The regional at the TD Garden was a rousing success. It attracted top-flight basketball — and a couple of A-list celebs.