C6 Sports The Boston Globe WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2019
they coming to get me? Is Gabby going
into labor?’ The last month has been
stressful for both of us.’’
That huge win was the US Openat
Pebble Beach,
which was filled
with plenty of
tense moments.
Woodland
handled those
with ease, no
small task with
two-timedefend-
ingchampion
BrooksKoepka
chasing him all
the way to the fin-
ish line.
That still
didn’t equip him
for six weeks of
nerves that fol-
lowed.‘‘At Pebble,
I felt in control.
The last month,
I’ve had no con-
trol,’’ Woodland
said.
It was at the
Dell Match Play
two years ago
whenWoodland
learnedthat one
of the twins his
wifeGabby was
carryinghad
died. Their son,
Jax, was born at
30 weeksand
spentsix weeksin
the neonatal in-
tensive care unit.
The followingINTERNATIONAL LEAGUE
North Division
Scranton/W-B.........64 50 .561WLPct.GB—
Buffalo .....................58 56 .509 6
Rochester................58 56 .509 6
Syracuse..................57 57 .500 7
Lehigh Valley..........54 58 .482Pawtucket............... 50 63 .44213½ 9
South Division
WLPct.GB
GwinnettDurham....................64 50 .561..................66 47 .584 —2½
Charlotte .................6053.531 6
Norfolk.....................45 68 .398 21
West Division
Columbus................64 49 .566WLPct.GB—
Indianapolis............56 57 .496 8
Toledo......................51 63 .44713½
Louisville .................47 67 .41217½
TUESDAY'S RESULTS
Norfolk 8............................Indianapolis 1
Durham 5................................Syracuse 0
Toledo7......................................Buffalo 5
Charlotte5.Scranton/W-B3.10 innings
Rochester8............................Gwinnett 3
Lehigh Valley 5......................Louisville 4
Pawtucket5..........................Columbus 4
WEDNESDAY'SGAMES
Indianapolisat Norfolk.....................7:05
Charlotteat Scranton/W-B..............7:05
Syracuseat Durham.........................7:05
Buffaloat Toledo...............................7:05
Louisville at Lehigh Valley...............7:05
Pawtucketat Columbus...................7:05
Gwinnettat Rochester.....................7:05
THURSDAY'SGAMES
Pawtucketat Columbus.................12:05
Indianapolisat Norfolk...................12:05
Syracuseat Durham.........................7:05
Buffaloat Toledo...............................7:05
Charlotteat Scranton/W-B..............7:05
Gwinnettat Rochester.....................7:05
Louisville at Lehigh Valley...............7:05
Pawtucket, 5-4
PAWLin ssTUCKET AB 322 RHBI BB SO Avg. 31 0.261
Hernandez 2b3 1001 1.325
Owings cf 311212 .329
Castillorf 40200 0.291
DeLaGuerr 3b4Dalbec 1b 40000101001 .297.250
Ockimeydh 301010 .205
Sturgeon lf 41000 2.276
Centeno c3Totals 31 57549 00002 .246
COLUMBUSABRHBIBBSOAvg.
Bauers 1bVelazquezcf 412101400001 .417.255
Flaherty3b 412100 .275
Chang ss 400002 .256
BradleyMathias 2bdh4 30000100001 .278.269
Johnsonrf 21101 0.302
Haase c3 1120 0.239
Tom lf 30000 0.305
Totals 3146416
Pawtucket.....320 000 000 — 5 7 0
Columbus......000 200 020 — 4 6 0
LOB—Pawtucket3, Columbus1.
HRtillo (), Bauer—Owings, Bauers, Haase.s ().DP—PawtuckeCSt 2; Co-—Cas-
lumbus1.
Pawtucket IPHRERBBSOERA
RamirezTapia 752203112211 4.194.92
Velazquez 100002 4.05
ColumbusStephens 4„IP HR 55533 ER BB SO ERA9.13
Hoyt1‚1 0011 4.36
Otero 100001 3.00
Hill1 10002 1.65
Kaminsky 100002 3.24
Umpires—Home,RyanAdditon;
First, Skyler Shown; Third, Ryan Wills.
T—2:30.A—1 0,100.
EASTERN LEAGUE
EasternDivision
WLPct.GB
ReadingPortland...................................2918.617....2322.511 — 5
Binghamton............22 25 .468 7
x-Trenton.................2126.447 8
Hartford...................19 25 .432 8½
NewHampshire..... 19 27 .413 9½
Western Division
WLPct.GB
Erie ...........................3313.717 —
Bowie ................x-Harrisburg...........1923.452.......3113.705 121
Altoona....................2025.44412½
Richmond................18 26 .409 14
Akron........................1728.37815½
TUESDAY'S RESULTS
Harrisburg(ppd.).......... at Binghamton
Portland2.........................................Erie 0
Bowie 4......................................Trenton 3
New Hampshire 7.......................Akron 0
Reading5.................................Hartford 4
WEDNESDAY'SGAMES
Bowie at Trenton..................................12
Harrisburgat BinghamtonGame15:35
Harrisburgat BinghamtonGame2TBD
Richmondat Altoona........................6:30
Richmond(ppd.)...................at Altoona
Erie at Portland.......................................7
Akron at NewHampshire................7:05
Hartfordat Reading..........................7:10
Portland,2-0
ERIE ABRHBI BB SO Avg.
Hill rf 400002 .227
ParedesAzocarcf3b 30040100201 1.276.287
Lester 1b 401001 .215
Pinero2b 200011 .227GibsonAlcantarlfa ss (^30000130100) 1.246.250
Rosa dh3 00002 .000
Numata c3 01002 .221
Totals 29 0402 13
PORTLAND ABRHBI BB SO Avg.
Duran cf 300011 .261
WilsonChathamrfss 4003000001 2.2201.294
Curletta dh 31001 2.216
Tendlerlf 31201 0.238
Osinski 1b 30210 0.364
Netzer 2bNunezc2 2001102000 0.245.280
Rei pr-c 20000 1.158
Rivera3b 30100 1.237
Totals 28 27258
Erie.................000 000 000 — 0 4 0
Portland.........010 000 01x — 2 7 0
LOB—Erie4, Portland 9.2B—Lester,
Numa(), Pinero ().ta, Rivera, Nunez.CS—Paredes
Erie IP HRER BB SO ERA
Mize 651117 2.65
Pinto 1‚ 1113 01.17
DeCaster „10 01 11.83
PortlandIPHRERBBSOERA
McGrathBazardo 730029110003 1.344.09
Jimenez 100001 3.72
IBB—offDeCaster ().WP—Pinto.
Umpires—Home, BenPhillips; First,
Tom Hanahan;T—2:33.A—6 ,433.Third,Scott Molloy.
NEWYORK-PENN LEAGUE
Stedler Division
Lowell.......................3020.600WLPct.GB—
Connecticut.............24 26 .480 6
Vermont...................2229.431 8½
Tri-City.....................21 28 .429 8½
McNamara Division
WLPct.GB
HudsonValley........28 21 .571 —
Brooklyn ..................28 22 .560 ½
AberdeenStaten Island.......................27 23 .540....28 23 .549 (^1) 1½
Pinckney Division
WLPct.GB
Batavia.....................29 21 .580 —
West Virginia..........25 23 .521State College..........25 26 .490 (^3) 4½
Mahoning Valley....22 28 .440 7
Williamsport...........2029.408 8½
Auburn.....................20 30 .400 9
TUESDAY'S RESULTS
Brooklyn2.....................HudsonValley 1
Auburn 5.........................State College 1
Tri-City 16....................................Lowell 4
Connecticut3........................Aberdeen 2
WestVirginia(ppd.)..........at Mahoning
StatenIsland7.......................Vermont 5
Batavia(ppd.).............. at Williamsport
WEDNESDAY'S GAMES
Bataviaat Williamsport...Game1...5:05
Bataviaat Williamsport...Game 2...TBD
HudsonValley at Brooklyn...................7
StateCollege at Auburn........................7
Lowellat Tri-City....................................7
Aberdeenat Connecticut.................7:05
WestVirginiaat Mahoning Valley.7:05
StatenIslandat Vermont................7:05
Tri-City, 16-4
LOWELL ABRHBI BB SO Avg.
Jimenezdh 502002 .3 38
Cannon 2b 410011 .213
Davis 1bCampanarf 211301411102 .333.224
Northcut 3b 401001 .199
Bandy cf 400001 .149
Flores ss 300010 .183
Miranda c3Arnoldlf 2100220000 2.100.135
Totals 31 4544 12
TRI-CITY ABRHBI BB SO Avg.
Guerrerorf 511211 .220
Paulino lf 51100 1.302
Lee c4 2110 0.254
Perry 1bPerez 3b 332310523600 .243.230
Barefootdh3 00002 .048
Pavlica ph-dh2 00002 .110
Brewer cf 411010 .161
SantanaLee ss 2b (^43401043331) 1.241.267
Totals 39 16 16 15 57
Lowell............001 001 020 — 4 5 4
Tri-City...........330 205 03x — 16 16 1
LOB—Lowell7, Tri-City 6.2B—Jime-
nez, Lee 2, Perez,Paulino.HR—Campa-
na, Lee, Perry.DP—Lowell3; Tri-City1.
LowellLucas 2‚IP HR 66523 ER BB SO ERA4.22
Requena 355420 3.21
Baker 1„ 22002 6.23
Larez 133312 9.28
Tri-City IP HRER BB SO ERA
Bellozo 531116 1.52
LopezFigueroa 3‚„00011 23325 4.695.73
HBP—byLarez(), by Bellozo ().WP—
Lucas,Baker, Bellozo 2, Lopez.Um-
piresin Levine.—Home,T—3:Joe McCa04.A— 3,239.rthy; First, Kev-
Tennis
ATP ROGERS CUP
at Montreal
Singles first round
Marin Cilic (14) def. BradleyKlahn,
6-3, 7-6 (7).; DanEvansdef.Alexde
Minaur, 6-4, 7-6 (6).;RaduAlbot,Mol-
dova def. Gilles Simon,Isner(12)def. JordanThom6-4, 6-2.;pson,John3-6,
6-3, 7-6 (6).; GuidoPella def. David Gof-
fin (15),6-4, 7-6 (4).; John Millman def.
Feliciano Lopez, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-3.;Di-
ego Schwanato,3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.; Felix Auger-rtzman def. Marco Cecchi-
Aliassimedef. Vasek Pospisil,6-2, 6-7
(3), 7-6 (3).; Borna Coric (11) def. Peter
Gojowczyk,Hurkaczdef. Taylor Fritz, 6-3, 7-5.2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (2).;Hubert
WTA ROGERS CUP
at Toronto
Singles first round
Carla Suarez Navarro def. Venus
Williams,6-4, 6-2.;EkaterinaAlexan-
drovadef. MisakiDoi, 6-2, 6-2.;Zhang
Shuai7-6 (5), 6-2.;def.AnastasijaKaterina SiniakSevastovaova def.(10),
DanielleCollins, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2.;Victo-
ria Azarenka def.CamilaGiorgi,6-2,
6-2.; Tatjana6-3, 6-4.;Iga SwiatekMariadef. Zhengdef.AjlaSaisai,Toml-
janovic,4-1 retired.; Alison Riskedef.
Maria Sakkari,4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7).;Donna
Vekicdef. MadisonKeys (14),3-6, 7-6
(5), 7-6 (5).
Second round
SofiaKenindef.AshBarty(1), 6-7
(5), 6-3, 6-4.;Kiki Bertens (5) def. Fran-
cescadi Lorenzo, 6-2, 6-1.
Soccer
MLS
EASTERNCONFERENCE
WLTPts. GF GA
PhiladelphiaAtlanta........................127.1293 (^6424637) 39 41 29
New York.............119437 41 34
D.C. United............97936 32 31
NYCFC ....................94835 37 27
Montreal...........NEWENGLAND...10123.....99633 344433 34 41
Toronto FC.............910532 38 40
OrlandoCity..........811529 32 33
Chicago..................6109Columbus...............714427 35 3525 25 37
Cincinnati ..............517217 23 55
WESTERNCONFERENCE
Los Angeles FC...163452 61 23
MinnesotaSan Jose...............1175............117538 39 3038 40 34
Seattle..................117538 35 31
LA Galaxy ............1210137 3034
Real Salt Lake.....1094FC Dallas................99634 33 3133 31 28
Portland.................99431 35 33
Houston..................911330 32 36
Kansas City ...........79728 36 41
VancouverColorado................6125.............511924 25 4223 39 48
THURSDAY’S GAME
Houston................at New York City FC
Transactions
BASEBALL
Commissioner’s Office :Suspended Se-
attle INF Tim Beckham80 games for vi-
olating MajorLeagueBaseball’s Joint
Drug Prevention andgram. Treatment Pro-
Arizona(NL):Optioned P TaylorClarke
to Reno (PCL). Designated P ZackGod-
ley for assignment. RecalledP Robby
Scott fromReno. Selectedthe contract
of P Kevin GinkelfromReno.
BaltimofromNorfolk (IL).re (AL):RecalledOF DJ Stewart
ChicagoBanuelos to the 60-day(AL):TransferredIL. SelecteP Mannyd the
contract of P HectorSantiagofrom
Charlotte (IL). Reinstated C Welington
Castillo from the familymedical emer-
gency leave list.
Chicagozler on the 10-day(NL):Placed P BrandoIL. Activated P Pedron Kint-
Strop off of the 10-day IL.
Cincinnati(NL):Optioned P Wandy
Peraltato Louisville (IL).
Detroit (AL):Placed3B JeimerCan-
delarioand P JordanZimmermann on
the 10-dayIL, Candelario retroactive to
Monday. Optioned RHPs Eduanez andVictor Alcantara to Toledrdo Jime-o
(IL). RecalledP MattHall and 3B Dawel
Lugo from Toledo. Reinstated P Spen-
cerClaimedTurnP Davidbull fromMcKaytheoff waivers10-day IL.
fromthe SeattleMariners.
Los Angeles (AL):Released C Jonathan
Lucroy.
Los Angeles (NL):Placed OF Alex Ver-
dugoon the 10-dayIL. RecalledP Caleb
Ferguson andINF EdwinRios from
OklahomaGonsolin to OklahomaCity (PCL). OptionedCity. P Tony
Miami (NL):to NewOrleansReturn(PCL). Designated INFed P Robert Dugger
Yadiel Rivera for assignment. Selected
the contractof P Hector Noesifrom
New Orleans(PCL).
Minnesota(AL):TradedP Drew
Hutchison to the L.A. Angels for cash.
NewLockettYork (NL):to SyracuseRetu(IL).rned P Walker
PittsbuAltoona (EL)rgh (NL):for a rehabSentP Clay Holmes toassignment.
ReinstatedP Richard Rodriguez from
paternitylist.ReinstatedP Steven
Braultfromthe 10-day IL. OptionedP
Yefry Ramirez and P DarioIndianapolis (IL). Agrazal to
St. Louis (NL):Designated P Adalberto
Mejia for assignment. Assigned P Mike
Mayersoutright to Memphis(PCL). Se-
lectedthe contract of P Junior Fernan-
dez from Memphis.
SanDull and P SamFrancisco(NL):Selman to SacramentoOptioned P Ryan
(PCL). Designated INF Joe Panik for as-
signment. Recalled LHPs Conner Me-
nez andWililams Jerez from Sacra-
mento.
Seattle (AL):the 10-dayIL. ReinstatedPlaced2B Tim Lopes onP Brandon
Brennan from the 10-day IL. Optioned
P GersonBautistato Tacoma(PCL).
Tampa Bay (AL):PlacedP Yonny Chiri-
nos on the 10-day IL. Recalled P Austin
Pruittfrom Durham (IL).
Texas (AL):Sent P LukeFarrell and P
Yohandehab assignments.r Mendezto Frisco (TL) for re-
Washingtontionalrelease waivers for P Tony Sipp.(NL):Requested uncondi-
SignedINF AsdrubalCabrera on a one-
year contract. Optioned INF Adrian
Sanchezed P Kyleto HarrisburgBarraclough for assignment(EL).Designat-.
BASKETBALL
AtlantaGoodwin(NBA)to a two-w:Signeday contractG Brandon.
Miami (NBA):Signed F Udonis Haslem.
FOOTBALL
Cleveland (AFC):Waived/injured WR
Blake Jackson.
Green Bay (NFC):Claimed RB Keith
Ford off of waiveolisColts. Waived/injured T Jasonrs fromthe Indianap-
Spriggs.
NewYork (NFC):WaivedOL Austin
Droogsma. Signed OL Malcolm
Bunche.
Basketball
WNBA
EASTERNCONFERENCE
Connecticut.............WL 16 6.Pct. 727 —GB
Washington.............15 7.682 1
Chicago....................12 9.571 3½
New York...................813.381 7½
IndianaAtlanta........................................815.3488......518.21711½½
WESTERNCONFERENCE
Las Vegas............Los Angeles ............13....15 8.6528.619 — 1
Phoenix....................11 10 .524 3
Seattle......................12 11 .522 3
Minnesota...............1111.5003½
Dallas .........................616.273 8½
TUESDAY'SRESULT
Minnesota85...........................Atlanta 69
WEDNESDAY'SGAME
New York at Chicago.............................8
THURSDAY'S GAMES
Indianaat Washington..........................7
Phoenixat Los Angeles....................... 10
Dallas at Seattle....................................10
Golf
US WOMEN’S AMATEUR
At Old Waverly GC, West Point,Miss.
Yardage:6,494; Second round (par 72)
138 — Jiarui Jin, China, 72-66;Alexa Pa-
no, LakeWorth, Fla., 70-68.
139 — LaurenHartlage, Elizabethtown,
Ky., 68-71; MeganSchofill, Monticello,
Fla., 69-70.
140 — AnnabellFuller,England,71-69;
Gabriela Ruffels, Australia, 72-68;
MorganBaxendale,Windermere,Fla.,
69-71.
141— MichaelaMorard,Huntsville,
Ala., 67-74; Allisenwaii, 71-70. Corpuz,Kapolei,Ha-
142—GurleenKaur,Houston,72-70;
BrookeSeay,SanDiego,74-68;Julie
Houston,Allen,Texas,72-70;Albane
Valenzuela,Switzerland, 69-73; Min A
Yoon, South Korea,Hermosa Beach, Calif.,73-69; Andrea67-75; BethanyLee,
Wu, DiamondBar, Calif.,71-71.
143— GinaKim, Chapel Hill, N.C., 77-66;
Brooke Matthews, Rogers, Ark., 72-71;
YukaSaso,Philippines,71-72;Brynn
Walker, St. Davids,Pa., 72-71.
144 — AngelaLiu, China,72-72;Ther-
ese Warner, KennRinoSasaki, Japan,ewick, Wash., 70-74;71-73; Dylan Kim,
Sachse,Texas, 72-72;Caroline
Canales, Calabasas, Calif., 76-68; So-
phie Linder, CarthDoey Choi, Australia, 71-73; Ashley Gil-age, Tenn., 76-68;
liam,Manchester,Tenn.,74-70;Tyler
Akabane,Danville,Calif.,73-71;Ya
ChunChang,Taiwan,69-75;Delaney
Martin,An, Taiwan,Boer74-70.ne, Texas, 75-69;Ho-Yu
145 — Hailey Borja, LakeForest,Calif.,
75-70;LaurenBeaudreau,Lemont,Ill.,
73-72;KenzieWright, McKinney,Tex-
as, 71-74; Madelyn Gamble, Pleasant
Hill, Calif., 76-69; Katie Chipman, Can-ton,Mich.,76-69;HaylinHarris,Car-
mel,Ind.,73-72;AmandaDoherty,
Brookhaven, Ga., 75-70;Elina Sinz,
Katy, Texas, 73-72;Melanie Green, Me-
dina,Cory LopeN.Y.,z, Mexico,75-70; Lei Ye, China, 73-72;71-74;YurikaTani-
da, Japan,70-75.
146 —JuliaPotter-Bobb,Indianapolis,
73-73; KaitlynPapp, Austin, Texas,75-
71; Auston Kim,St. Augustine,Fla., 71-
75; Megha Ganne,BentleyCotton, AustiHolmdel, N.J., 73-73;n, Texas, 75-71;
Sabrina Iqbal, San Jose,Calif.,74-72;
Paris Hilinski, Los Angeles, 72-74; Sier-
ra Brooks, Orlando,Fla.,74-72; Aneka
Seumanutafa,Emmitsburg, Md., 74-72.
147 —Ste75-72; PimnipaphaniPanthe Kyriacou,ong,ThailanAustralid, 76-a,
71; Sophie Guo, China, 71-76; Malia
Stovall,Winchester,Tenn., 75-72; Lucy
Li, RedwoodShores, Calif.,74-73; Shae-
bugHannah HolzmanScarberry, Purcell,n, San Antonio,Okla.,73-74;73-74;
Malia Nam, Kailua, Hawaii, 75-72; Trini-
ty King, Arlington, Texas, 74-73; Rem-
ington76; Emily Hawkins,Isaac,MontgoLexington,mery, Texas,N.C., 74-71-
73.
Scoreboard
YYY
WED
8/7
THU
8/8
FRI
8/9
SAT
8/10
SUN
8/11
MON
8/12
TUE
8/13
KC
7:10
NESN
LAA
7:10
NESN
LAA
7:10
NESN
LAA
4:05
NESN
LAA
1:05
NESN,TBS
CLE
7:10
ESPN,
NESN
CLE
7:10
NESN
DET
(exh.)
7:30
Ch. 4
SEA
4:00
NBCSB
Homegamesshaded For updatedscores:bostonglobe.com/sports
On the radio,unlessnoted:RedSox,WEEI-FM93.7;Patriotsand Revolution,WBZ-FM98.5
ONTHE AIR
BASEBALL
1 p.m. Atlantaat Minnesota MLB
4 p.m. Washingtonat San Francisco MLB
7:05 p.m. Milwaukee at Pittsburgh ESPN
7:10 p.m. KansasCity at Boston NESN
10 p.m. Philadelphiaat Arizona MLB
GOLF
4 p.m. US Women’s AmateurFS1
HORSE RACING
1 p.m. Saratoga Live FS2
OLYMPIC SPORTS
11 a.m. Pan American Games ESPNU
2 p.m. Pan American Games ESPNU
7 p.m. Pan American GamesESPNU
TENNIS
11 a.m. Rogers Cup Tennis
Baseball
Royals’ slide a history lesson
the Royals went13-16 in June and 7-
19 in July. Yet withseveral players —
includingoutfielder Lorenzo Cain,
first baseman Eric Hosmer, thirdbase-
manMike Moustakas, and closer
Wade Davis — a year and a half from
free agency, Kansas City elected to
stand pat at that year’s trade deadline.
Even though the Royals were8½
games out of wild-card contention on
July 31, 2016, it was hard for them to
ignorethe allureof giving their core a
chanceto win again.Yet even though
they played better down the stretch,
the Royals’ season ended at 81-81,any
echo of the previous year’s glory hav-
ing beenrendered all but inaudible.
“I don’t know if it was hard [to
make the decisionto keep the core to-
gether].We still felt like we couldget
hot and win,” Yost said. “In ’14, at the
end of the yearwe came out of no-
where and made a run all the way to
the World Series. We thoughtwe had
the opportunity to do that, so we
didn’t want to trade away any chance
of that happening. But, it just didn’t
happen.”
In the offseason,the Royalstooka
half-measure to reconfigure their core,
dealing Davis to the Cubsfor outfield-
er Jorge Soler, but still kept the rest of
the groupfor a last hurrah.
At the 2017 trade deadline, the
frontoffice again elected to stand pat
— understandablegiventhat the Roy-
als owned the second wild-cardspot
on July 31. But they again missedthe
playoffs, finishing 80-82 in a season
more memorable for sentimentality
than on-field accomplishments.
What Kansas City did was,and is,
understandable. The team’s remark-
able 2014-15 run was built in no small
part on the trust placedby the front of-
fice over the long haul.
Yet the consequencesof the keep-
the-band-together strategy — both
during the slide to mediocrity in 2016-
17, and a descent into 100-loss territo-
ry bothin 2018 and now 2019 — offer
something of a warning for a Red Sox
team that faces growing questions
about its future identity.
Obviously, Boston is in a different
financialuniversethanKansas City —
the Red Sox have already reached long-
uONBASEBALL
Continued fromPageC1
termdeals with a trio of key World Se-
ries contributors, Nate Eovaldi (four
years, $68 million), Chris Sale (five
years,$145millionextension), and
Xander Bogaerts (six years,$120mil-
lion). Whereas the Royals rodeout
their years of control of their core with
a full rebuildas a consequence, the
Red Sox aren’t likely to enduresuch a
long process given both their financial
resources and the fact that not all of
their core position players will hit free
agency at once.
Still, the poor return on Eovaldi’s
first season and Sale’s concerning 2019
performance— one year before his ex-
tension takes effect — underscoresthe
point that the Royals demonstrated:
Faith in a group’s collective accom-
plishments, and fear of alteringwhat
onceproveda successful formula, is a
dangerousroster-buildingprinciple.
The magicof one year doesnot easily
get replicated the next.
“We all foundout — and I think
Boston is finding out — how tough it is
to defend.I don’t knowwhy,” Yost said.
“I thought for sure Boston would have
a team capable of doing it. I thought
Houston would have a team capable of
doing it, I thought the Cubshad a
team capable of doing it, and I thought
we had a team capable of doingit. It’s
really tough to do.”
Eventually, players on a champion-
shipclubbecometoo expensiveto
keep together. Whenthat happens,a
teamfacesa crossroadin whichit
must decide whether to see a breakup
by design (via trades) or by default
(freeagency). The Red Sox are nearing
such a point, potentially as soonas this
winter. Whenever it comes, muchlike
the Royals, therewill be questions
about whether the Red Sox waited too
long to begin the inevitable.
Even thoughthe Royals failed to re-
peat, however, Yost does not second-
guess what his team did — or, more ac-
curately, did not do — after 2015.
Whena teamwinsa title,it’s hard to
change course and make the aggres-
sive decision to moveon fromplayers
who were the heartbeat of a champi-
onship run.
“I don’t live in retrospect. I don’t
have regrets. We made a decision and
we live by our decisions,” Yost said. “It
was a group that came up together, did
somethingspecialtogether, and we
wanted to give themone more oppor-
tunity to do it together againand it
just didn’t workout.”
It remains to be seen whether the
Red Sox look backon this groupwith
similar sentiments.There is time for
the 2019Red Sox to altertheirout-
look. But as KansasCity can attest, the
notion of a title defense can evolve
quickly from an opportunity to a trap.
Alex Speiercanbe reachedat
[email protected]. Follow himon
twitterat @alexspeier.
FIRST HOLE
(TV: Thursday, 2-6 p.m., Golf Channel)
7:10 a.m.:Michael Thompson,Adam Schenk, Brian Harman
7:21 a.m.:Emiliano Grillo, Vaughn Taylor, Cameron Champ
7:32 a.m.:Rafa Cabrera Bello, Ian Poulter, Ryan Moore
7:43 a.m.:Billy Horschel, Si Woo Kim,Adam Hadwin
7:54 a.m.:Lucas Glover, Brandt Snedeker, Phil Mickelson
8:05 a.m.:Shane Lowry, Adam Scott, Kevin Kisner
8:16 a.m.:J.B. Holmes, Kevin Na, Collin Morikawa
8:27 a.m.:Luke List, Branden Grace, WyndhamClark
8:38 a.m.:Scott Brown, Danny Willett, SeppStraka
8:49 a.m.:Aaron Baddeley, Carlos Ortiz, Peter Malnati
Noon:Tyrell Hatton, BrianStuard, Cameron Smith
12:11 p.m.:Kevin Streelman, Jordan Spieth,Matthew Wolff
12:22 p.m.:DylanFrittelli, Graeme McDowell, Adam Long
12:33 p.m.:Kevin Tway, Jason Kokrak, Nate Lashley
12:44 p.m.:Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood
12:55 p.m.:Justin Rose, Marc Leishman, Rickie Fowler
1:06 p.m.:Xander Schauffele, Gary Woodland, Patrick Cantlay
1:17 p.m.:Chris Stroud, Brice Garnett, Mackenzie Hughes
1:28 p.m.:Sam Ryder, Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Scott Stallings
1:39 p.m.:PattonKizzire, Martin Laird, Aaron Wise
1:50 p.m.:Sebastian Munoz, Pat Perez
10TH HOLE
7:10 a.m.:Joaquin Niemann, Matt Every, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
7:21 a.m.:Bubba Watson, Troy Merritt, Charley Hoffman
7:32 a.m.:PatrickReed, Louis Oosthuizen, Max Homa
7:43 a.m.:Scott Piercy, J.T. Poston, Tiger Woods
7:54 a.m.:Chez Reavie, CharlesHowell III, Tony Finau
8:05 a.m.:Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson, Jon Rahm
8:16 a.m.:BrooksKoepka, Rory McIlroy, Matt Kuchar
8:27 a.m.:Talor Gooch, Kyle Stanley, NickWatney
8:38 a.m.:PatrickRodgers, Cameron Tringale, Harold Varner III
8:49 a.m.:Kelly Kraft, Jonas Blixt, Andrew Landry
Noon:Jhonattan Vegas, Russell Henley, ChessonHadley
12:11 p.m.:Sergio Garcia, Danny Lee, Abraham Ancer
12:22 p.m.:Joel Dahmen, Byeong HunAn, Keegan Bradley
12:33 p.m.:Andrew Putnam, Jim Furyk, JasonDay
12:44 p.m.:C.T. Pan, Rory Sabbatini, Keith Mitchell
12:55 p.m.:SungKang, Hideki Matsuyama, Corey Conners
1:06 p.m.:Sungjae Im, Ryan Palmer, Francesco Molinari
1:17 p.m.:Roger Sloan, Bud Cauley, J.J. Spaun
1:28 p.m.:Russell Knox, Denny McCarthy, Ryan Armour
1:39 p.m.:Matt Jones, Brian Gay, Nick Taylor
Thursday’s NorthernTrust tee times
JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF
Red Sox presidentof baseballoperationsDave Dombrowsky (top,left)
wasn’t pleasedwhentheRoyalspaddedtheirleadin thesixthinning.
Stress-free Woodland back in play
ByDougFerguson
ASSOCIATEDPRESS
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Gary Wood-
land made sure plans werein place for
him to leave tournaments before he
even arrived.
And whenhe did showup, just the
sight of officials in a golf cart made him
nervous. Most of the time, they were on
theirway to administer a ruling. Wood-
land always assumedthey were coming
to tell him his wife had gone into labor.
It was like that for the last six weeks.
So the smilethat never left him
Tuesday at Liberty NationalGolf Club
had nothing to do with the $15 million
prize at stake as the FedEx Cup playoffs
begin. It was all about his twin daugh-
ters Maddox and Lennox born Thurs-
day, making his best year in golf the
greatest year of his life.
‘‘I feel 100 pounds lighter,’’ Wood-
landsaid as he walked off the course
during a weather delay in a practice
roundTuesday for The Northern Trust.
‘‘Obviously, I had a huge win and that
was great. But it’s been stressful every
week because every cart I see... ‘Are
April, she had a miscarriage.
So imagine the surprise — and trepi-
dation — whenthey learned in January
that she was pregnant with twins.
Her last trip was to the PGA Cham-
pionship at Bethpage, where she was
sick and never madeit out to the golf
course. She stayed up late at homein
Floridato watch Woodlandholdoff
Koepkaat Pebble Beach,and she saw
that rare burst of emotionwhen he
made a 30-foot birdieputt on the 18th
to win by three.
Withthe silver trophy at his side
that evening, Woodland thought about
the next two monthsand said life was
about to get real.
The US Open,his greatest achieve-
ment in golf, didn’t feel real at all.
‘‘It was awesome to win,’’ Woodland
said, ‘‘but I haven’t really enjoyed it.’’
That was a time to wait and to hope.
Woodlandanticipated the twins being
born prematurely and having to spend
a monthor two in the neonatal inten-
sive care. He tried to keep playing, and
golf never felt so hard.He missedthe
cut in Detroit. He missed the cut in the
BritishOpen.There was no cut at the
FedEx St. Jude Invitational, where
Woodlandfailedto break par in any
roundand tied for 55th.
‘‘The British, and even Memphis,it
was like I wasn’t there,’’ Woodland said.
The best news was four days after he
got home.The twins werebornThurs-
day, 15 seconds apart. His wife was re-
leased from the hospital on Sunday.
Woodland spentfive hourson the
range at Liberty National and said
Tuesday was the best he has hit the ball
sincehe won the US Open.He never
looked happier.
CAROLYNKASTER/ASSOCIATEDPRESS
Gary Woodlandsays hecouldn’t truly enjoyhisUSOpenvictory at Pebble
Beachin Juneuntilafterhiswifegave birth to twin girlslast weekend.