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“I think about his first bullpen and you could tell he had outstanding talent,” Sox manger Tony La Russa said. “And then I watched the progress where he got more consistent in repeating his delivery and commanding pitches and he takes it into the season and all different situations he had to face, sometimes it was really good early and then got a little struggle, never quit competing. And then quickly would tweak, come to the dugout, he and (pitching coach) Ethan (Katz) would talk and he’d fix it. Just watched him progress, it’s been really fun for all of us to see him … just get better at a quicker rate than you would expect. And he was pitching for a team all of the time in contention, so a little extra pressure.
In a game that saw six lead changes, Toledo (3-3, 1-1) used Dequan Finn’s 11-yard TD toss to Devin Maddox to grab a 20-19 lead with 3:35 left to play. The Rockets were stopped on their two-point try. Rocky Lombardi took over from there, directing a nine-play, 60-yard game-winning drive. A pass interference penalty and Lombardi’s 34-yard strike to Tyrice Richie on back-to-back plays gave the Huskies (4-2, 2-0) the ball at the Rockets’ 7-yard line, setting the stage for Richardson.
“To be honest with you, a week or two away from camp, I was a little worried, a little panicky, but I think I kind of just stayed with that attitude, just take it one day at a time and don’t look too closely at that big picture,” he said Saturday. “Made some pretty good progress with how I’m feeling and how I’m playing out there and just trying to be smart with the puck, and just rely on my instincts and my experience and slowly everything else will come as long as I keep chipping away, so just having fun with the process.
2004 All-State Girls Basketball Team players (from left) Allie Quigley, of Joliet Catholic; Lindsay Schrader, of Bartlett; Lauren Lacey, of Marian Catholic; Candace Parker, of Naperville Central; and Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, of Neuqua Valley pose in the Naperville Central locker room on March 11, 2004. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)
The Return of the Mack, to borrow from Mark Morrison, is now unavoidable for Gruden and the Raiders, although Sunday’s game will be played at Allegiant Stadium, their second-year home in Las Vegas, and not in Oakland. Nonetheless, plenty of Raiders fans wish Mack still was wearing silver and black.
“He understood his role coming in here and that it was complementary to what we were doing with David,” Nagy said. “But, yes, you go back and you say, OK, big-time moments. He played on a big-time stage and made some big-time plays. The players know that, the coaches know that, so there’s a sense of calm knowing that in this type of situation he can step in.”
Giants manager Gabe Kapler, making his own playoff debut on the dugout’s top step, had absolute confidence the 24-year-old Webb would thrive in the biggest start of his life. On Sunday, Webb pitched the Giants past the San Diego Padres in the regular-season finale as they clinched the club’s first division title since 2012. Webb hasn’t lost since May 5 at Colorado.
LAS VEGAS — Diana Taurasi scored 14 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter, and Brittney Griner had 28 points and nine rebounds as the Phoenix Mercury beat the Las Vegas Aces 87-84 on Friday night to advance to the WNBA Finals against the Chicago Sky.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — J.D. Martinez hit a tie-breaking three-run homer in his return to the lineup and the Boston Red Sox backed Tanner Houck’s clutch relief effort with a franchise postseason record five home runs, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 14-6 Friday night to even their American League Division Series at a game each.
The Sox appeared to be in good shape Friday after scoring three in the top of the fifth to take a 4-2 lead. Starter Lucas Giolito wasn’t at the top of his game, but if he could’ve gotten through the fifth unscathed, La Russa could’ve employed a stretched-out Michael Kopech for the sixth and seventh, Craig Kimbrel for the eighth and Liam Hendriks to close it out.