The MLB had some great action last night with the AL first round heating up. The Boston Red Sox won their first round series with the Tampa Bay Rays behind some solid pitching and also some mistakes from the Rays. The Rays' reliever Joel Peralta threw a wild pitch in the seventh inning that brought a run in for the Red Sox. Their closer Fernando Rodney was an abomination to the game of baseball throwing wildly in the ninth which led to the Red Sox adding to their lead. The Red Sox won 3-1 in the game and the series and look like a dangerous team heading into the ALCS.
The WNBA Finals also were on the schedule and the Minnesota Lynx defeated the Atlanta Dream 88-63 behind 14 points and 8 rebounds from Maya Moore and a sterling defensive performance. The rout made Atlanta sports even sadder by the moment. The Atlanta Falcons had a tough Monday Night Football loss to the New York Jets, the Atlanta Braves were eliminated by the Dodgers, and now the Dream add to the misery. Here are The Shoes That Won Last Night.
Rafael Canton is a freelance writer from Queens, NY and contributor to Sneaker Report. Anytime there is a conversation about the NBA, music, or nutella, he can be found in the thick of the discussion. He can be found on Twitter @RafelitoC7.
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Shoe: Nike KD VI
Player: Kevin Durant
Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Philadelphia 76ers
While being an ambassador of the game, Kevin Durant decided to floss his KD IV's in the Thunder's pre-season 103-99 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in Manchester. Durant nearly finished with a triple-double. The Durantula finished with 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 12 assists in just 33 minutes putting in the work of a player starving to start the NBA season. Durant scored 14 of his 21 points in the third quarter where OKC made a big run that turned a 51-48 deficit into an 83-74 lead. KD stays on top of the NBA forums and discussion boards with performances like these.
$180
Shoe: Fila Sentinel
Player: Andrea Seppi
Game: Shanghai Rolex Masters First Round
Andrea Seppi is the current comeback kid right now after his win against Lleyton Hewitt in the first round (6-2, 6-4) of the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Seppi trailed 0-3 in the first set, but won 12 of the next 15 games to put away Hewitt in their match. Now Seppi will have to defeat the odds as he has a career 0-9 record against Roger Federer who he will face in the next round.
Shoe: Jordan Aero Mania
Player: Maya Moore
Game: Minnesota Lynx vs. Atlanta Dream
Maya Moore brought the goods once again. Moore doesn't have the obvious huge stat line, but she always remains at the center of the success of the Minnesota Lynx. Moore had 14 points and 8 rebounds in the Lynx's 88-63 win that placed them one win away from a second WNBA championship. Her tough defense including a sweet block on Angel McCoughtry in the first quarter set the tone for a physical defensive presence for the Lynx.
$140
Shoe: Nike Air Max Gamer
Player: Craig Beslow
Game: Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Relievers come a dime a dozen, but Craig Breslow's performance against the Rays in Game Four comes once in a blue moon. The Red Sox reliever has been a shut-down option all season and continued with his phenomenal performance in the Red Sox win. Breslow got five outs and of those five outs he struck out four batters consecutively. He's on fire and along with the other relievers like Koji Uehara have made this Red Sox team the fortress of solitude when it comes to holding onto a lead.
$140
Shoe: Nike LeBron Zoom Soldier VII
Player: Reggie Jackson
Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Russell Westbrook who? We're obviously just joking but Reggie Jackson is making some noise in preseason with some solid basketball. With the Thunder's star Westbrook out with an injury, Jackson has been thrust into the starting lineup and is performing albeit int he preseason. Jackson came on strong with a game-high 29 points as well as 6 rebounds, and 8 assists for the Thunder in their 103-99 over the Philadelphia 76ers.
$125
Shoe: Mizuno 9-Spike Vapor Elite 6
Player: Victor Martinez
Game: Detroit Tigers vs. Oakland Athletics
Victor Martinez had a home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to knot up the score 4-4 in the A's-Tigers game. Martinez has been great with six hits during the series and has played a big part in keeping the Tigers struggling offense in this series with Oakland. We're just glad that he didn't cause the benches to clear with any of his actions.
Shoe: New Balance 3000 Low
Player: Dustin Pedroia
Game: Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Dustin Pedroia is always in style with his New Balance 3000's in PE form and he brought some solid at-bats to the Red Sox win last night. Pedroia had a sacrifice fly that extended the Red Sox lead over Tampa Bay to two runs in the top of the ninth inning. Pedroia is always going to be fighting off pitches and working good at-bats to get his team wins.
Shoe: adidas adiPower Barricade 8
Player: Kei Nishikori
Game: Shanghai Rolex Masters First Round
Kei Nishikori looks primed to make some noise during the Shanghai Rolex Masters tournament. Nishikori defeated the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets 6-3 6-4, breaking serve to conclude the match. Kei Nishikori's consistency in shot-making and his patience will only help him down the road in the tournament. Those adidas might also add a little positive momentum.
$135
Shoe: Nike MVP Keystone 3/4
Player: Jhonny Peralta
Game: Detroit Tigers vs. Oakland Athletics
Where would the Detroit Tigers be without Jhonny Peralta? Although he's much maligned for his use of Performance Enhancing Drugs, Peralta willed the tigers to a Game Five matchup with the Athletics with his three-run homer to tie up the game 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Athletics went on to win the game, and step one to that had to go to Peralta. let's just hope people don't start adding asterisks to what he does on the field.