LEADING OFF: Red Sox try to close out Rays on Marathon Day

A look at what's happening around the majors on Monday:

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MARATHON DAY

Boston fans hope to enjoy plenty of runners -- and runs -- on a big sports day in town.

It begins with the 125th Boston Marathon, the first time the event is being held in the fall. Canceled last year and postponed this spring from its usual Patriots’ Day start by coronavirus concerns, the course takes runners through Kenmore Square, about a block from Fenway Park, with a mile to go to the Back Bay finish line.

The Red Sox traditionally play on the April date of the marathon. They’ll be in action this time, too, with higher stakes -- Game 4 of the AL Division Series against Tampa Bay.

A day after winning a wild one, helped by a bizarre bounce, the wild-card Red Sox look to close out the Rays at Fenway. Boston leads 2-1 in the best-of-five series.

SCHERZER STRINGS

Dodgers ace Max Scherzer is riding a pair of long streaks going into his start in Game 3 of the NL Division Series against the Giants.

He wouldn’t mind ending one of them.

On the mound, the three-time Cy Young Award winner is 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA in 12 starts since being traded from Washington to Los Angeles in late July. That includes a no-decision in the NL wild-card game Wednesday against St. Louis when he allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings.

At the plate, Scherzer hasn’t been so hot. A good-hitting pitcher for most of his career, he’s been shut out this year: a whopping 0 for 59. He hasn’t safely reached base a single time -- he has four sacrifice bunts and a sacrifice fly.

The best-of-five matchup is tied at one game each. Alex Wood is set to start for the Giants at Dodger Stadium.

Wood helped the Dodgers win the World Series last year, pitching four scoreless innings in a pair of...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/LEADING-OFF-Red-Sox-try-to-close-out-Rays-on-16523662.php