A day after missing the Red Sox’ win over the Mets to attend his daughter’s graduation at Boston College manager Alex Cora defended his decision and fired back at talk radio critics.

The Kansas City Royals will never be a big-market team, but maybe they can use that to their advantage. Some of those big-market franchises around Major League Baseball have some interesting logjams this season.

They went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left six on base, extending their losing streak to a season-high three games.

The chilly wind that blew over the Green Monster during Monday night’s game against the Mets left Fenway Park feeling more like October than May. It was postseason weather. With the season now a third over, the Red Sox rank as one of the biggest disappointments in baseball, a jumble of useful players who haven’t fit together well.

The New York Mets (29-17) are in the Bronx this weekend to face the New York Yankees (26-19) and will close out the Subway series on Sunday Night Baseball.