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NEW YORK — New Jersey Devils coach Lindy Ruff blamed a parade of penalties for breaking his team’s early momentum in Game 6, as the New York Rangers pushed their Eastern Conference first-round series to a seventh game after a 5-2 win on Saturday night.

“I thought the penalties took our best players away from the game. They had to spend too much time on the bench. That hurt us,” said Ruff, who watched the Rangers knot up the series at three games apiece.

The Devils’ discipline was one reason they entered Game 6 with a chance to eliminate the Rangers. In the first three games of the series, they handed New York 15 power-play opportunities; in the next two games, the Rangers had only five power plays combined.

But in Game 6, the Devils reverted to taking too many penalties and too many of them in the offensive zone. New Jersey was whistled for four minor penalties in the first 23:20 of Game 6.

“The penalties hurt us. Some of the calls I didn’t like, but you have to get through them,” Ruff said.

Those calls led to a Rangers power-play goal from Chris Kreider that tied the score 1-1 in the first period, giving New York its first goal with the man advantage since Game 2.

But more importantly, those penalties kept the Devils busy on special teams rather than building on the 5-on-5 play that saw them control the early part of the first period at Madison Square Garden.

“I think the first period we started really well. They didn’t have much at all,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you take penalties, that’s how you’re going to help them get into the game.”

The Rangers played desperate hockey and earned the win. Coach Gerard Gallant said the talk before the game was about “getting hungry” in the offensive zone. He made a series of changes to his lineup, including moving Vladimir Tarasenko up to play with Mika Zibanejad and Kreider, and most paid off.

“They battled hard. They competed hard. They got to the blue paint and scored some goals,” Gallant said.

The Devils got on the board first at 11:49 of the opening period as their fourth line generated a goal. Defenseman Kevin Bahl blasted a shot that Igor Shesterkin (34 saves) stopped, but forward Curtis Lazar was there to send home the rebound for his first of the playoffs.

The Rangers struck back at 19:35 of the first period, scoring on the power play for the first time since Game 2. Zibanejad’s shot deflected off forward Kreider and into the net. It was Kreider’s sixth goal of the playoffs and his fifth on the power play.

“They got puck luck on that goal,” Ruff said. “You deal with it and move on.”

Zibanejad finally connected for a goal of his own in the second period to break the 1-1 tie. As the Rangers forechecked in the Devils’ zone, New Jersey left Zibanejad alone in the slot and Kreider found him with a pass. He blasted a shot past Devils goalie Akira Schmid at 10:10 to give the Rangers their first lead since Game 2.

Tarasenko made it 3-1 at 18:25 of third period, as Schmid was beaten from the slot again. The onslaught continued for the Rangers in the third period, as the Devils could never get to their game. Barclay Goodrow scored his first of the series after the puck bounced off Schmid’s pad.

Schmid was pulled after Braden Schneider scored from the blue line to make it 5-1. Dawson Mercer of the Devils made it 5-2 with a late power-play goal.

Ruff said after the game that he pulled Schmid to “buy some time” for his players rather than use a timeout. But he didn’t definitively say whether Schmid would start Game 7, as Games 1 and 2 starter Vitek Vanecek — the Devils’ primary goaltender in the regular season — finished off Game 6.

Schmid was asked if he had done enough in the Devils’ three straight wins before Game 6 to earn the start in Game 7.

“It’s a tough question. Obviously, you try to prove yourself every day,” he said. “I mean, both of us I guess deserve the spot. And [third goaltender] Mackenzie [Blackwood] too. So we’ll see.”

Game 7 is Monday night at Prudential Center. For the Rangers, it’s another chance to rally from a 3-2 deficit to win a series, which is what they did in the first two rounds of the 2022 Eastern Conference playoffs. Gallant said his players learned from those comeback wins.

“They got some character and pride, and they didn’t like the way the last three games went,” Gallant said. “Obviously, we got outplayed. So tonight was a chance to redeem ourselves a little bit.”

For the Devils, it’s another chance to put their archrivals away after whiffing on one in Game 6.

“It definitely sucks right now, but I think effort was there,” Hischier said. “I don’t think it was a bad game at all. So we’ve got to take the good things out of here and see these guys in Newark.”

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Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

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Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

The San Francisco Giants are acquiring All-Star slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday evening.

The Giants are sending starter Jordan Hicks and 23-year-old lefty Kyle Harrison, among others, to Boston in exchange, sources said.

Devers, 28, is in just the second season of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract he signed to stay in Boston in January 2023, however his relationship with the team suffered a significant blow after the star third baseman was reportedly blindsided by a move to designated hitter in the spring.

Tensions flared again last month after Devers refused an offer from the team to move him to first base after starting first baseman Triston Casas was ruled out for the season with a knee injury.

It reached a point where Red Sox owner John Henry met with the disgruntled star, making a rare trip to meet the team on the road and smooth things over after Devers’ pointed comments about the request to switch positions again.

Hicks and Harrison give a pitching-starved Red Sox team more depth on their staff while Devers provides a huge boost to a middling Giants offense.

Devers has more than 200 career home runs to his name and has a .894 OPS for Boston this season.

The deal was first reported by Fansided.

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Ohtani’s pitching return might be coming soon

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Ohtani's pitching return might be coming soon

Shohei Ohtani‘s pitching debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers might be quickly approaching.

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday that Ohtani would throw another simulated game in the coming days that could “potentially” be his last one, and a source told ESPN’s Buster Olney that Ohtani should join the Dodgers’ rotation “sooner rather than later,” potentially within the week.

Ohtani took a big step forward during his most recent simulated game at Petco Park on Tuesday, throwing 44 pitches over the course of three innings against a couple of lower-level minor league players. Ohtani’s fastball reached the mid- to upper-90s, and he exhibited good command of his off-speed pitches in what amounted to his third time facing hitters. Afterward, Roberts said there was a “north of zero” chance Ohtani could join the rotation before the All-Star break.

Because of his two-way designation, the Dodgers can carry Ohtani as an extra pitcher, which means he can throw two to three innings and have someone pitch after him as a piggyback starter. At this point, it seems that is the Dodgers’ plan.

The Dodgers’ pitching staff has again been plagued by injury, with 14 pitchers on the injured list, including four starting pitchers the team was heavily counting on for 2025 — Blake Snell, Tony Gonsolin, Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow.

If Ohtani returns in July — the likely outcome at this point — he will be 22 months removed from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament.

The update isn’t as optimistic for Sasaki. He paused his throwing program and is set for a lengthy layoff. Sasaki has not pitched in a game since May 9 and is not part of the team’s long-term pitching plans this season.

“I think that’s what the mindset should be,” Roberts said. “Being thrust into this environment certainly was a big undertaking for him, and now you layer in the health part and the fact he’s a starting pitcher, knowing what the build-up [required to return] entails … I think that’s the prudent way to go about it.”

Sasaki, 23, went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts after joining the Dodgers from the Pacific League’s Chuba Lotte Marines, averaging less than 4⅓ innings per start. He walked 22 and struck out 24 in 34⅓ innings, and his fastball averaged 95.7 mph, down 3-4 mph from his average in Japan.

Roberts said Sasaki was pain free when he resumed throwing in early June, but the pitcher was shut down after feeling discomfort this past week. Sasaki recently received a cortisone injection in the shoulder; Roberts said no further scans are planned.

“I don’t think it’s pain,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if it’s discomfort, if it’s tightness, if he’s just not feeling strong, whatever the adjective you want to use. That’s more of a question for Roki, as far as the sensation he’s feeling.

“He’s just not feeling like he can ramp it up, and we’re not going to push him to do something he doesn’t feel good about right now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

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Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

BOSTON — Aaron Judge blamed himself for swinging at pitches outside the strike zone as the New York Yankees were swept in a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

“You got to swing at strikes,” Judge said after going 1-for-12 in the series, which Boston completed with a 2-0 victory on Sunday.

Judge struck out three or more times in three straight games for only the third time in his major league career.

“That usually helps any hitter when you swing at strikes,” Judge added. “Definitely some pitches off the edge or off the edge in, you know, taking some hacks just trying to make something happen.”

Judge had a tying solo homer in the opener Friday night but struck out nine times as the Yankees were swept in a series for the first time this season.

New York scored only four runs in the three games, matching its fewest in a three-game series at Fenway Park, on June 20-22, 1916 and on Sept. 28-30, 1922.

“It’s very hard,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of facing Judge. “He’s so good at what he does. We used our fastballs in the right spots, we got some swing and misses.”

“Throughout the years we’ve been aggressive with him,” Cora added. “Sometimes he gets us, sometimes we do a good job with that. It’s always fun to compete against the best, and, to me, he’s the best in the business right now.”

Judge’s major league-leading average dipped to .378.

“I don’t think much of it,” teammate Ben Rice said. “If I could have that guy hitting every single at-bat even if he’s not at his best, I would do it. I’m sure he’ll bounce back. He’ll be all right.”

Judge faced Garrett Whitlock with two on in the eighth Sunday and bounced into an inning-ending double play.

“He’s one of the greatest hitters in the world,” Whitlock said. “It’s special to watch him play and everything. We tried to execute and had some execution this weekend.”

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