Sports
THE BOSTON GLOBE WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2019 | BOSTONGLOBE.COM/SPORTSC
TVHIGHLIGHTS
Baseball:Rays-Red Sox, 7:10 p.m., NESN
Soccer:MLS All-Star Game, 8 p.m., FS1
Baseball:Cubs-Cardinals, 8:15 p.m., ESPN
Listings,C7
Ellis steps down
Coach led US women’s soccer team to eight tournament
titles, including back-to-back World Cup crowns.C2Mining for talent
A look at the undrafted rookies trying during training
camp to earn a spot on the Patriots’ roster.C3Bauer traded
Indians pitcher, fined by MLB for heaving a ball over
center-field wall, dealt to Reds.Baseball notebook, C6INSIDE
Losing grip
RedSoxfailtokeepleads,getkeyhitsagainstRays
They’reinnoplace
fordeadlineblockbuster
By Matt Porter
GLOBE STAFF
Rays 6
RedSox5Tuesday evening, David Price
treated Fenway Park to the ver-
sion of him they watched last
October.
Before the sun set, he lost his fastball, and
a lead, and the Red Sox couldn’t make good
on their golden chances.
After a 6-5 loss to the Rays on the eve of
Wednesday’s trade deadline, the Red Sox are
anticipating bullpen upgrades, while won-
dering when the starters that carried them to
the World Series will begin carrying more of
the load.
The lefthander struck out eight Rays
through the first four innings, every victim
retired on a fastball. He hadn’t had that kind
of finishing success with his hard stuff all
year. He challenged them with heat that
touched 95 miles per hour.
Afterward, he said he felt great: “The best
I’ve felt in a while.”
But he didn’t make it out of the fifth after
blowing a 3-1 lead.
“Everything was middle-middle, down,
and they put some good swings on it,” man-
ager Alex Cora said of Price’s command in his
final inning, calling the lefty’s location “way
off.”It’s been that way for a month. It started
in Detroit, “a lot of foul balls, grinding at-
bats,” Cora said, and continued in Baltimore.
He’s had his velocity, sure, but couldn’t paint
the edges.”
“It’s been a grind the last five or six starts,”
said Price, who allowed solo homers to Travis
d’Arnaud and Avisail Garcia in the fateful
fifth, both on batting-practice offerings.
Price has given up six homers in his last four
starts (19‚ innings). Before that, he went six
starts (29‚ innings) without one against.
Additionally, Price, who has allowed 13
earned runs in his last three starts (14‚ in-
REDSOX,PageC4Ben Volin
ON FOOTBALLImpressions
formingat
Patriotscamp
FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots are slowly edging their
way toward the regular season.
One week of training camp is in the books, and the
“teaching” phase of the season has turned to “competi-
tion.” The Patriots have finally started tackling, holding
two practices with full pads and full contact. Bill Belichick
mentioned Monday that the Patriots will now start to in-
corporate situational football into practices, and begin in-
stalling the offense, though, “We’re still a ways off on
that.”
“Just trying to string some days together here,”
Belichick said.
The position battles are just starting to shape up, and a
lot can happen between now and the Sept. 8 opener, par-
ticularly injuries. But here are some initial impressions
after watching five training camp practices:
REveryone knows the three positions to watch: wide
receiver, tight end, and left tackle.
At receiver, Julian Edelman and N’Keal Harry are
locks, and Phillip Dorsett is a good bet to make the team.
My very early impression is that fourth-year veteran
Maurice Harris has the initial inside track on a roster
spot. Harris has been taking a lot of first-team reps, and
has great versatility as a 6-foot-3-inch receiver who can
ONFOOTBALL,PageC3Stidham armed
for QB challenge
By Nora Princiotti
GLOBE STAFF
FOXBOROUGH — We’re just five practices into train-
ing camp, but it seems like the scouting reports on Patriots
rookie quarterback Jarrett Stidham were solid.
Stidham has a sensational, accurate arm and can make
pinpoint throws on the move. On the other hand, going
from running spread offenses at Baylor and Auburn to pi-
loting the Patriots’ system is like trading in a four-door se-
dan for an F-16.
It has been an up-and-down few days for the fourth-
round pick, with most of the downs characterized by Stid-
ham holding onto the ball too long and processing too
slowly what’s in front of him.
“When you go from high school to college or college to
pro, there’s always going to be some new things,” Stidham
said Sunday. “Like I’ve said, I’m just trying to learn as
much as I can. This is my first go-around, so I’m just trying
to learn and not make the same mistakes twice.”
PATRIOTS,PageC3FILE/CRAIG F. WALKER/GLOBE STAFF
Jarrett Stidham has been watched closely by Tom
Brady (left), Brian Hoyer (2), and Josh McDaniels.Alex Speier
ON BASEBALLJIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFFRafael Devers is a picture of frustration after he lined out with the bases loaded to end the eighth inning Tueday at Fenway.
JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF
Mookie Betts races back toward the wall in right field to snare
Guillermo Heredia’s bid for extra bases in the second inning.Assessments of Red Sox trade chatter in the hours lead-
ing up to Tuesday night’s game between the Red Sox and
Rays ranged from “nothing” to “eerily quiet.” The fueling of
the hot stove earlier in the week with the mention of Mets
reliever Edwin Diaz as a Red Sox trade target quickly died
off, with multiple industry sources Tuesday characterizing
the addition of the righthander by the Red Sox as unlikely.
That, of course, is subject to change. At some point,
teams with assets to sell declare themselves ready to start
making deals, and a single phone call can change the trade
market from dormant to frenzied.
“Teams are going to make trades,” Red Sox manager Al-
ex Cora said Tuesday. “We just have to be patient and see
what happens.”
Nonetheless, as the Red Sox and the other 29 teams
stare down Wednesday’s 4 p.m. trade deadline, the likeliest
scenario remained a bullpen upgrade, albeit of a lesser-
known pitcher rather than a player with star credentials in
the mold of Diaz.
ONBASEBALL,PageC5
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