Jun 12, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox right fielder Wilyer Abreu (52) celebrates his home run as he runs the bases during the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Ah yes, the once in a blue moon offensive firepower game that makes us want deliriously to believe again! We’re at that point in the torture cycle of this 2026 season. Still, I’ll take an entertaining game of baseball any day over the dreck we’ve seen lately by this Boston Red Sox squad.
The top of the first inning felt too ominous with Wyatt Langford singling home Joc Pederson to give the Rangers an early 1-0 lead.
Somehow, that’s all the push the Rangers would muster in this one. And it wouldn’t take long for the Sox to respond!
A Wilyer sac fly (credits to Chad Epperson for an aggressive send of Rafaela) and a Contreras bomb gave Boston the lead and they frankly didn’t look back. Four runs poured on in the fifth, and four more between the eighth and ninth and this game was done and dusted.
For once as well, the lineup made every opposing pitcher look weak in some way, shape or form. Jack Leiter was overthrowing and overextending and instead of an aggressive approach where they wouldn’t stretch him out, they let Leiter keep it up. Two walks, eight hits, and 103 pitches for the righty in just five frames is an approach the offense should take more often! Let guys who are making mistakes of their own keep making them. Cal Quantrill and Luis Curvelo were also no match, neither coming out unscathed.
Revel in this win tonight, it’s deGrom vs Suarez tomorrow!
Studs
Ceddanne Rafaela (3-for-5, 3 RBI, 3 runs scored)
Wilyer Abreu (3-for-4, 3 RBI, 3 runs scored)
Willson Contreras (3-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored)
I’m going to lump these three guys together here because this was the crux of the offense on Friday night. After making terrible history with the 1-2-3 guys in Tampa Bay, the 2-3-4 hitters came through and then some in the Fenway greens!
Sonny Gray (6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 7 Ks)
If you stopped watching in the first inning of this one, you probably saw a very different Sonny Gray than the latter five frames he pitched. After he settled in on the mound, he was absolutely lights out.
Duds
The bottom half of the lineup
For as great as the top of the order was, the bottom of the order scrapped together two combined hits, one of you consider Duran in the middle of the order. Not saying everyone needs to contribute, just a quiet part of the lineup tonight.
Play of the Game
Honestly, every homer belongs here. I love seeing some power out of these guys.
Jun 12, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) faces off against Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) in the first inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images
We’ve gotten used to the idea that when Jacob Misiorowski pitches, you might see something you’ve never seen before.
Tonight, I saw one of the greatest games ever pitched.
Misiorowski, who’d never pitched in the eighth inning before, threw a complete game shutout. He did it on just 95 pitches. He struck out 15 batters. He threw the fastest pitch ever tracked by a starting pitcher. He faced the minimum. He was one hit away from a perfect game. And he did it against a good team.
It would be fair to say that Misiorowski came out hot. He started Kyle Schwarber with five fastballs that were at least 103.4 mph, and the fifth one, which struck Schwarber out, was 104.5. That’s a new career high for Misiorowski, who breaks his own record for fastest pitch ever recorded by a starting pitcher every time he sets a new career high. Misiorowski then blew away Trea Turner, and got Bryce Harper on three pitches—two of which were fastballs over 104.
Jacob Misiorowski is back on the mound for the second inning after an opening frame like we've never seen before.
Strikeouts at : 104.5 mph 103.5 mph 104.1 mph
The three fastest strikeout pitches for a starter in the pitch tracking era (since '08) IN ONE INNING. pic.twitter.com/hQpT3t1Jxf
The Brewer offense opened against an opener, the lefty Tanner Banks. Christian Yelich drew a leadoff walk, but Banks came back with strikeouts of Jackson Chourio and Brice Turang. William Contreras came through with two outs, though, and lined a double over the head of right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. which scored Yelich from first base. Jake Bauers drew a two-out walk to bring Andrew Vaughn to the plate against the lefty, but he flew out to right to end the inning. The Brewers were on the board early, though, and handed a 1-0 lead over to the Human Flamethrower. (I’m trying it out.)
The Phillies were just as helpless in the second. Brandon Marsh struck out on three pitches. Alec Bohm fouled off two pitches before being the first Philly to put a ball in play, a harmless groundout to shortstop. Bryson Stott struck out looking on an 0-2 curveball that was overturned after a Contreras challenge. Nine pitches, nine strikes, two more strikeouts.
Milwaukee manufactured a second run in the bottom of the second inning against the Phillies’ bulk pitcher for the evening, Andrew Painter. Garrett Mitchell led off with a ground ball up the middle—Bryson Stott was able to reach it, but he was running in the wrong direction and his throw wasn’t quite in time to beat Mitchell to the bag. A David Hamilton bunt didn’t go for a hit but it did move Mitchell to second, and a Joey Ortiz groundout moved him to third. With Yelich at the plate, a Painter slider got away from catcher J.T. Realmuto, and Mitchell scored from third. Yelich grounded out to end the inning, but Milwaukee was up 2-0.
Rincones Jr. led off the third in the unenviable position of having to face Jacob Misiorowski in his first career plate appearance. He struck out on three pitches. Realmuto got a ball and fouled off a 1-2 pitch, but he struck out too. So did Justin Crawford. Misiorowski had struck out eight of the first nine batters, in utterly dominant fashion.
Chourio hit a line drive on the first pitch of the bottom of the third but hit it right at Bohm at third base, so he was the first out. Turang grounded out to first for the second out, and Contreras flew out to shallow left to end the inning.
Schwarber made the first solid contact of the game for the Phillies when he jumped on the first pitch of the fourth and lined a single into center field. But Misiorowski struck out Turner and got Harper to ground into a double play, so he’d still faced the minimum through four. Vaughn picked up a one-out walk in the bottom of the inning, and Mitchell reached when Turner couldn’t handle a ground ball. The Brewers couldn’t capitalize on the error, though, when Hamilton and Ortiz struck out.
Miz struck out his 10th batter on just the 13th Philadelphia batter of the game when Marsh struck out swinging to start the fifth. Bohm popped up to Turang for the second out, and Stott hit a fly ball a bit deeper but Bauers had plenty of room to make the catch in right field. Minimum through five for Misiorowski.
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Turang sliced a double down the left-field line. With Contreras batting, Turang stole third, and a pitch later, Contreras walked. On the first pitch after a visit from the pitching coach, Bauers lined a ball into left that looked like it would hit the wall for a double, but it just cleared the wall and landed in the Milwaukee bullpen for a three-run homer. After a Vaughn walk, Mitchell lined out to end the inning, but Bauers’ shot extended the Brewers’ lead to 5-0.
If you haven't voted for Jake Bauers today, what the heck are you doing ⁉️
Miz struck out Rincones Jr. for a second time to start the sixth. Realmuto hit a solid line drive to right but Bauers caught it for the second out, and Crawford struck out again. 12 strikeouts and the minimum number of batters faced through six.
Ortiz reached with one out in the bottom of the sixth—the official scorer gave Turner his second error of the night, both of which could’ve gone either way—and after a Yelich fly out, Ortiz stole second. That mattered when Chourio lined an RBI single into center field and gave the Brewers a 6-0 lead.
Misiorowski got his career-high 13th strikeout to start the seventh inning after a Contreras challenge. Turner grounded out for the second out. Harper grounded out too, and Miz was through seven innings while facing the minimum. And he’d thrown only 75 pitches.
Right-hander Chase Shugart was the new pitcher for the Phillies in the seventh. He quickly got Contreras and Bauers, and with two outs the Brewers went to pinch-hitter Sal Frelick in place of Vaughn. Frelick got jammed but snuck a pop fly over the glove of Stott for a two-out single, but Mitchell flew out to left to end the inning.
Marsh flew out on the first pitch of the eighth, which certainly didn’t hurt Misiorowski’s efficency. Bohm grounded out to first for the second out—on a pitch that was at 102.5 mph, in the eighth inning! Misiorowski struck out Stott for the third out, and he was through eight innings, had faced the minimum, and had 14 strikeouts. Words are beginning to fail.
Lefty Tim Mayza was in for the Phillies in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Ortiz lined a double into the left-field gap. After a Yelich strikeout, Chourio made good contact but flew out to center. The lead stayed at six.
Rincones Jr. helped Miz’s “Maddux” bid (a colloquial term for a shutout on less than 100 pitches) by grounding out to first on the first pitch of the inning. Realmuto grounded out to Hamilton at third. Miz started Crawford with a 103.7 mph fastball—in the ninth inning—and three pitches later blew him away with a 103.1 mph fastball.
Schwarber’s single was the only thing standing between Misiorowski and a perfect game. His 15 strikeouts were three more than his previous career high. He was still throwing over 103 at the end of the game. A guy who struggled with command as a minor leaguer didn’t get into a three-ball count all night. This was a truly legendary start, very possibly the greatest in the history of the franchise.
Offensively, Ortiz was the only player with more than one hit but Milwaukee did a goo job of picking up timely hits. Contreras, Turang, and Ortiz hit doubles in the game, while the big hit was Bauers’ three-run homer in the fifth.
What a night. The Brewers continue the series tomorrow, when Shane Drohan takes the mound against Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola. First pitch is at 6:10 p.m.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JUNE 12: Jacob Misiorowski #32 of the Milwaukee Brewers reacts after the final out of the ninth inning in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at American Family Field on June 12, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Misiorowski threw a complete game and allowed only one hit. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Jacob Misiorowski pitched the game of his life, allowing one hit and facing the minimum in his first career complete game shutout as the Milwaukee Brewers (42-25) embarrassed the Philadelphia Phillies (37-32) to the tune of a 6-0 drubbing in the opening game of the weekend series at American Family Field.
Misiorowski faced 27 hitters, allowing one single to Kyle Schwarber in the fourth inning that was erased two batters later as Bryce Harper grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Don Mattingly tried to be creative in turning things around for his struggling rookie starter, Andrew Painter, by opening the game with lefty, Tanner Banks, to allow Painter to avoid dangerous lefties, Christian Yelich and Brice Turang, on the first go-round. Banks allowed a leadoff walk to Yelich and struck out the next two batters before William Contreras doubled home Yelich for the game’s first run.
Painter took the bulk of the game from there, going five innings, and his struggles continued as he allowed five runs on five hits and three walks, culminating with a three-run home run by Jake Bauers in the bottom of the fifth.
MIL – Jake Bauers 3-run HR (13)
📏 391 ft | 💨 106.5 mph | 📐 19° ⚾️ 83.4 mph sweeper (PHI – RHP Andrew Painter) 🏟️ Out in 5/30 parks
In all honestly, it didn’t matter how well the Phillies pitched tonight. No one was matching Misiorowski’s performance.
“The Miz” set a major league record for the fastest pitch thrown by a starting pitcher, set a career high in strikeouts, and became the first pitcher since Gary Waslewski in 1969 to one-hit the Phillies and face the minimum in a complete game shutout. He was the first starter to strike out 15 Phillies since Max Scherzer in 2018.
Misiorowski improved to 8-2 with a 1.34 ERA and a 0.74 WHIP to entrench himself in the historically competitive race for the National League Cy Young Award along with Cristopher Sanchez and Shohei Ohtani, to name a few.
Aaron Nola is slated to face Shane Drohan in the middle game of the series tomorrow night.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Yordan Alvarez became the first player to hit a grand slam and multi-run homer in the first inning of a Major League Baseball game, pulling off the feat for the Houston Astros against the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.
He became the eighth player to hit a grand slam and a multi-run homer in an inning and the first since Angels slugger Kendrys Morales did it against Texas in 2012, according to Sportradar.
The left-handed Alvarez drove in two runs with an opposite-field homer early in the inning and cleared the bases with a two-out shot to center, giving him six RBIs in Houston’s nine-run inning.
Alvarez, the AL leader in homers, tied Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead at 24 with his two-homer inning.
The 28-year-old designated hitter, who is from Cuba, was the AL rookie of the year in 2019 with Houston. The three-time All-Star was the AL Championship Series MVP in 2021 and led the Astros with six RBIs the next year when they won the World Series.
The Miz has somehow unlocked an even higher level of dominance.
Jacob Misiorowski, the Milwaukee Brewers' nearly untouchable fireballing right-hander, tossed the first complete game and shutout of his career, needing just 95 pitches to toss a one-hitter and strike out 15 against the Philadelphia Phillies Friday, June 12 at American Family Field.
Only a Kyle Schwarber single in the fourth inning separated Misiorowski from perfection. And Schwarber was erased one batter later on a Bryce Harper double play ball.
Yep, he faced the minimum 27 batters in the Brewers' 6-0 victory and along the way, Misiorowski tossed a 104.5 mph pitch to strike out Schwarber in the first, the hardest pitch by a starting pitcher since pitch tracking began in 2008. It was his first time pitching beyond the seventh inning in 28 career starts.
And pitching on the one-year anniversary of his major league debut, he made it look easy: Not only did Misiorowski not walk a batter, he did not face a three-ball count all game.
And his 15 strikeouts were the most by a pitcher in a shutout of less than 100 pitches, breaking Detroit Tiger lefty Tarik Skubal's record of 13. Seventy-four of his 95 pitches were strikes.
Misiorowski said it felt like he was "floating" in a postgame interview with the Brewers TV broadcast. He certainly maintained his stuff, given he hit 104.5 mph on the first batter of the game and 103 mph on his last pitch − a fastball he blew by Justin Crawford to finish his gem.
"There was no chance," says Misiorowski, "I was going to throw something other than a heater there."
It capped a night the crowd of 40,205, with the roof open on a gorgeous night in Milwaukee, urged him along, giving him a standing ovation when he emerged from the dugout for the ninth inning. The Phillies stood little chance.
"That was as good as it gets," says Brewers manager Pat Murphy. "With all those All-Stars and great players they have over there, incredible, incredible performance. Efficient.
“Amazing young man. Really is. He just goes out and lets it eat."
It was the Brewers' first complete game since Brandon Woodruff went the distance in September 2023. And it figures to be the first of many for Misiorowski.
The 6-foot-7, 24-year-old continues to defy convention − that his body can't sustain such prolonged hard throwing, that he can't be pitch-efficient while striking out so many guys.
But all that's a little easier when you simply don't let anyone on base.
He sat hatless atop the Brewers bench in the bottom of the eighth inning, just 86 pitches to his name. Murphy dared to joke with him: "You good?"
Catcher William Contreras shot Murphy a "You gotta be kidding?" look and of course, he was: There was little doubt he'd go out to try and finish it − and needed just nine pitches to do so.
Unsurprisingly, he recorded 12 of his 15 strikeouts on his fastball, and threw 58 pitches of at least 100 mph, 31 of those 102 mph or harder.
Little wonder his ERA now sits at 1.34, best in the major leagues.
He'll continue stacking up the velocity benchmarks: The hardest pitch, the most pitches above a certain speed, things of that nature. But now it's Miz, The Pitcher, who is commanding the headlines, with seemingly no ceiling.
"It’s really cool," Misiorowski said of his velo accomplishments, "but there’s always another step to go with it.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 12: Josh Jung #6 of the Texas Rangers slides safely into first during a pickoff attempt in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on June 12, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Texas Rangers scored one run but the Boston Red Sox scored ten runs.
The Rangers collected three hits in their first four at-bats against tonight’s Boston starter Sonny Gray but because they’re now, paradoxically, a pop-less small ball team with slow baserunners, all three hits were singles and all three were required to score their first inning run that put them up 1-0.
If you didn’t watch the game or check the score or read the headline of this post or read the introductory sentence, yes, that was the only run that Texas scored on the night. In fact, the Rangers didn’t even have another hit until the top of the sixth and just three more total after the flurry to begin the game. By the time they got that fourth hit, it was 6-1 Boston.
It was 2-1 Boston after the first inning so that Texas lead didn’t even last very long. In fact, it was 2-1 Boston after their first hit of the game. Because they hit a home run.
Technically it wasn’t a two-run home run because Boston’s first run scored in part because the Rangers were poor at virtually every aspect of the sport tonight. In this instance Jack Leiter walked the leadoff hitter and, following a force out, Ceddanne Rafaela reached third base on a throwing error on a stolen base attempt and scored on a sac fly like 220 feet down the left field line.
The score remained 2-1 until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Red Sox decided to pepper the Green Monster with bullets to further inflate Leiter’s ever-expanding ERA. By the end of the frame, Boston had scored four runs following three consecutive doubles and a two-base throwing error by Josh Jung.
Leading the way with three RBIs tonight was Wilyer Abreu (tied with Rafaela) who would be make Shohei Ohtani look like Justin Foscue if he were allowed to play the Rangers every night. The Red Sox scored three more in the eighth. The Nos. 2-4 hitters for Boston had nine hits and eight RBIs between them.
Anyway the Rangers are back below .500.
Player of the Game: It’s quaint comparatively but Wyatt Langford had two whole hits and drove in a run tonight!
Up Next: The Rangers will look to rebound with RHP Jacob deGrom on the mound against LHP Ranger Suarez for Boston.
Saturday’s first pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 3:10 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 12: Spencer Strider #99 of the Atlanta Braves throws a pitch during the first inning of the game against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on June 12, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Tonight has not gone well for the Atlanta Braves as they’re currently in a deep hole against the New York Mets in the opening game of this weekend series. They could be dealing with some more injury woes to their core players as Spencer Strider exited tonight’s game with trainer George Poulis following a concerning velocity drop.
Strider’s fastball was down to around 88-mph — a significant drop from his usual velocity of 95-mph so far this season. Following a disastrous three innings of work (including six runs given up on two dingers hit by Bo Bichette and one from Juan Soto), his efforts on the mound prompted a mound visit from both Walt Weiss and George Poulis and a visibly-frustrated Strider agreed to leave the game due to the issues that he was dealing with.
Spencer Strider's fastball is suddenly down to 87-88 here in the fourth and the Jeremy Hefner and Walt Weiss are both out to check on the Braves' righty.
Hopefully it’s nothing serious but at the same time, it’s tough to not be alarmed when you consider what was going on with his velocity once he was making his exit. We’ll update this post with any new developments so stay tuned.
UPDATE [10:16 p.m. ET]: The Braves are calling it “right arm soreness” for Strider as the cause for his exit. It’s vague but that’s also not the type of catch-all that you want to see. Let’s continue to hope for the best.
RHP Spencer Strider left tonight’s game due to right arm soreness.
As farfetched as a trade to the Yankees might be, Aroldis Chapman created a stir this week when he told ESPN Deportes that he would want an apology from general manager Brian Cashman before potentially being dealt to The Bronx.
Boone on Friday said he did not agree with the idea that the organization owed the Red Sox closer an apology for how his Yankees tenure ended in 2022.
Aroldis Chapman (44) dominates during the ninth inning when the New York Yankees played the Boston Red Sox Friday, June 5, 2026 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Chapman, who struggled and lost his closer job that season, missed a mandatory workout ahead of the ALDS for what Boone said at the time was an unacceptable excuse. Cashman fined him for the absence, and the Yankees ultimately left him off the roster.
“At the end of the day, he wasn’t at the workout,” Boone said. “I made the decision, based on a lot of things and thought, to leave him off because I thought that was the right thing to do at the time. Chappy apologized, and really, it’s water under the bridge for me.
Aaron Boone walks to the dugout in the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Bronx, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
“I love Chappy. I have a really good relationship with him to this day. But the ending of the ’22 season was what it was. He wasn’t there, and I made the decision that I didn’t think it was best for him to come back at that point. He maintained that he was throwing and would be ready as the playoffs unfolded that year. But ultimately, I made that decision.”
BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 12: Gunnar Henderson #2 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates with Adley Rutschman #35 after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning during the game between the San Diego Padres and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Friday, June 12, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It is Friday night.
The Orioles have beaten the Padres, 7-3. Gunnar Henderson reached base four times, with three hits – including his 14th homer. It was his 100th homer of his career, making him the fourth-fastest Oriole to reach 100 homers with the franchise. Tyler O’Neill had a pair of hits (really!), and Shane Baz survived five innings despite not looking like he would for a while there, with four Orioles relievers combining to keep San Diego from scoring after that. The team won their third straight game as they took this series opener.
MILWAUKEE, WI - JUNE 01: San Francisco Giants pitcher Landen Roupp (65) pitches during a game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the San Francisco Giants at American Family Field on June 1, 2026 in Milwaukee, WI. (Photo by Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The San Francisco Giants welcome the Chicago Cubs to Oracle Park tonight for a rematch of last weekend’s series.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Landen Roupp, who enters tonight’s game with a 4.00 ERA, 3.02 FIP, with 77 strikeouts to 30 walks in 69.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 3-2 loss to the Cubs on Saturday, in which he allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts and three walks in five and two thirds innings.
He’ll be facing off against Cubs right-hander Javier Assad, who enters tonight’s game with a 4.73 ERA, 4.37 FIP, with 19 strikeouts to eight walks in 32.1 innings pitched. His last start was in the Cubs’ 2-1 loss to the Giants on Sunday, in which he allowed just one hit and one walk with five strikeouts in six and a third innings.
TORONTO — Trent Grisham continued a red-hot run Friday night, but it came at a cost.
After roping a two-run single in the sixth inning, Grisham took second base on the throw home and got hurt doing so, leaving the Yankees’ 8-5 loss to the Blue Jays with right hamstring tightness.
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Grisham said he felt it rounding first base but that it was “too early to tell” what his level of concern was.
“We’ll see where it wakes up [Saturday],” said Grisham, who almost immediately began walking off the field after sliding into second base. “Hopefully, it’s good news, no IL, but we’ll see.”
Manager Aaron Boone indicated that Grisham could go for tests in the coming days, but nothing was planned immediately.
If Grisham is forced to the injured list, which would not be surprising given how he needs his legs to play center field, the Yankees likely would activate Jasson Domínguez off the IL to replace him on the roster, with Spencer Jones potentially taking over regular center field duties.
Domínguez, who homered in his fifth rehab game Friday night while coming back from a left AC joint sprain — and playing right field for the third straight game — initially was scheduled to play another game at Triple-A on Saturday, but those plans were up in the air with Grisham’s status.
Trent Grisham #12 of the New York Yankees leaves the game with first base coach Dan Fiorito #85 after injuring himself on a play at second base in the sixth inning. Getty Images
“There’s a chance we bring [Domínguez] up, depending on Grish,” Boone said. “It just depends. We’ll see what we have overnight and in the morning. But Jasson could be in play.”
The timing of the injury is brutal for Grisham, who entered Friday batting .377 with a 1.014 OPS over his last 18 games — having reached base multiple times in 12 of those games — and .285 with a .832 OPS over his last 34 games.
Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) hits an RBI double against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning. Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
After a relatively healthy start to the season, the Yankees have taken on a pile of injuries of late. They have Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Austin Wells, Max Fried and Domínguez all on the IL.
Instead of a starting outfield of Cody Bellinger, Grisham and Judge, that unit by Saturday could feature Bellinger, Jones and Domínguez.
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“It’s part of it,” Boone said. “Everyone kind of deals with it. Fortunately, as we’ve talked about all year, I feel like it’s one of the deeper rosters we’ve had in a while. So we got capable people of going in there and picking up any slack left. You never like key guys going down of course, but in a long season, that’s unfortunately part of it sometimes.
“Another opportunity for potentially a couple really good players that are stepping in. We’re not hoping on guys that can’t play. We’ll weather it and look forward to getting more and more guys back in the mix.”
This is either the most hopeful or depressing statistic for Spurs fans watching the NBA Finals: Through four games, the point differential is Knicks +8.
It may be a little of both. This has been an intense, close NBA Finals, with three of the four games decided by four points or less. Yet San Antonio finds itself down 3-1 and on the verge of its season ending due to a combination of the Knicks' grit and maturity in the clutch versus the Spurs' self-inflicted wounds and mistakes of youth.
"There's no avoiding what's happened," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "There's no avoiding all four games have been winnable games. There's no avoiding we're down 3-1. There's no avoiding ways that we could be better. There's nobody that's going to be harder on ourselves and accountable to ourselves than the people in the locker room and each other. That's what helped us get to where we are, and how the group is built. There's no circumstance that will change that."
Will the NBA Finals end Saturday night in San Antonio, where the party from 7th Ave. in Manhattan would overtake the Riverwalk — there are going to be a lot of Knicks fans at the game — or can the Spurs finally win a game at home? There are two key things to watch in Game 5.
Can Spurs rebound emotionally?
I have a theory about NBA playoff series: There comes a point in nearly every series when one team realizes they are beaten, usually long before Game 6 or 7. They don't have the answers to the questions the other team is posing. The players and coaches never say it out loud — players don't make it to this level without being fierce competitors — but you can see it in body language and their eyes. They know.
The Spurs had that look after Game 4, a gut-punch loss in which they blew a 29-point lead (and, more disturbingly, a 20-point lead with 9:30 left in the game).
Usually, after a loss like that, the end comes pretty quickly, as it could for the Spurs in Game 5 on their home court. However, these young Spurs have shown a genuine resilience this postseason — they won Game 7 on the road in Oklahoma City. They won a game in Madison Square Garden. If you told me these Spurs showed that resilience on Saturday night and bounced back with a double-digit win, it would not be shocking. If San Antonio lost by double digits, that's not shocking either.
I've seen one team turn things around after having that defeated look: LeBron James and the Cavaliers against the Warriors in 2016. The Spurs are saying all the right things, exactly what you expect them to say, about following in the Cavs' footsteps and forging their own epic comeback.
"Absolutely. Everybody thinks, everybody knows, we're going to do it," Victor Wembanyama said, almost as if he was trying to manifest the outcome. "One game at a time. Just one game at a time..." Devin Vassell said. "So we need to go 1-0, and whatever we need to do for that to happen, we've got to do that."
Saying the right thing is one thing, doing it on the court — especially when adversity hits, as it inevitably will — is something else entirely. These Spurs have shown toughness and resilience throughout the playoffs, but can they do it when the Knicks smell blood in the water?
Because these Knicks have the feel of a team of destiny, a team on a historic run. On the other side of that coin, can the Knicks avoid human nature, which is to relax a little after a win, especially knowing they can head home for a potential coronation in Game 6? Like the Spurs, they are saying all the right things.
"The biggest thing is everybody has to stay present," coach Mike Brown said. "You have to be present. You can't think about the outcome. It's about the process, the next play, the next play, the next play."
We'll see which team shows more emotional maturity on Saturday night.
Touching the paint
There has been one defining factor in all four games: The team driving the lane, touching the paint or getting it inside to their big men, then scoring (and drawing fouls) or spraying the ball out to shooters is the team that takes control.
There was no better example than Game 4, when the Spurs scored 24 points in the paint in the first half on their way to a 27-point lead. Then they became less aggressive in the second half, settled for far too many 3-pointers and pull-up jumpers, Wembanyama became tentative after picking up a flagrant foul on Towns (leaving him one flagrant from a suspension), and the Spurs scored just four points in the paint in the second half. Meanwhile, it was the Knicks behind Jalen Brunson who got downhill and into the paint in the second half, sparking their comeback win.
By Game 5 of a series, there are not a lot of technical adjustments left to be made. Both teams know their opponent, the game plan and what they need to do. It's just that doing it against an elite defense in a very physical series is something else entirely. Both teams will execute their game plan for stretches, then not for others.
"I think what you can do when you do move the ball and allow the IQ to flow and the ball to flow is you allow great shots to happen, especially when you're touching the paint or having movement on the offense and allowing the defense to make a mistake, instead of us having to make a tough shot or a great shot," Karl-Anthony Towns said.
Which team touches the paint, moves the ball and plays to their strengths on Saturday night will determine whether the Finals head to another game in New York or whether the Knicks' destiny can wait no longer.
