ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Just over a week ago, Will Middlebrooks took a shot to the ribs. On Thursday night, he delivered one to the Rays.

With the Red Sox trailing, 3-1, in the top of the ninth, the bases loaded and his team down to its final strike, Middlebrooks laced a 1-2 changeup from Rays closer Fernando Rodney into the gap in right-center. The ball scooted all the way to the wall in left-center, allowing all three runs to score.

It was a mammoth hit, turning a 3-1 deficit and a fourth consecutive series loss into a 4-3 advantage that permitted the Sox to leave Tampa Bay with its first series victory in two weeks. The hit represented something of a landmark for Middlebrooks...

Another month, another forearm surgery for Rob Gronkowski.

According to multiple reports, Gronkowski will undergo his fourth surgery on his left forearm next week. Albert Breer of the NFL Network reports that Dr. Jesse Jupiter is set to perform the operation next week at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

In this case, the looming surgery was anticipated because of an infection. According to ESPN, assuming the infection has cleared, next week’s procedure would replace the plate in the forearm, and from that point, the recovery time would be 10 weeks, which would be approximately the start of training camp in July. If the infection hasn’t yet cleared, the NFL Network is reporting that a fifth surgery would almost certainly be needed, which would throw the start of Gronkowski’s season into serious doubt.

Gronkowski suffered the initial break in a Week 11...