There is a lighter MLB schedule on Monday, June 2, but there is still plenty of action taking place, including a matchup pitting the Boston Red Sox against the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park in Boston that starts a three-game series between the squads.
The game is scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast on NESN and FanDuel Sports Network West LAs Vegas 2. Fans looking to watch this MLB game for free can do so using DirecTV, which offers a free trial, or FuboTV, which also offers a free trial and up to $25 off your first month. Fans can also watch MLB games for free through MLB.TV, which offers a free trial and has different packages to choose from, including one that allows fans to listen to radio broadcasts with no blackout restrictions.
The Red Sox were in the midst of a season-long five-game losing streak headed into their weekend series with the Atlanta Braves and took two our of three on the road to improve to 29-32 on the season.
The Angels enter this matchup at 26-32 and losers of seven of their last eight, which has come directly after an eight-game winning streak they had in mid-May.
Who: Los Angeles Angels vs. Boston Red Sox
When: Monday, June 2 at 7:10 p.m. EDT
Where: Fenway Park in Boston
Stream: DirecTV (free trial); FuboTV (free trial); MLB.TV (free trial)
Betting: Check out our MA sports betting guide, where you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read odds for those interested in learning how to bet in Massachusetts.
What is DirecTV?
DirecTV is an internet TV service that offers your favorite entertainment, news and sports channels, as well as local TV stations and regional sports networks. Sign up now and get three free months of premium channels including MAX, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME and Starz.
What is FuboTV?
FuboTV is an internet television service that offers more than 200 channels across sports and entertainment including Paramount+ with SHOWTIME. From the UEFA Champions League to the WNBA to international tournaments ranging across sports, there’s plenty of options available on FuboTV, which offers a free trial and up to $25 off the first month for new customers.
What is MLB.TV?
MLB.TV is the easiest way for fans to make sure they are able to watch as many out-of-market MLB games as possible. You can sign up to follow just one club for the whole year for $129.99 or get the entire league for $149.99. You can sign up to get the radio broadcast with no blackout restrictions, or check out Giants.TV which allows fans to stream the San Francisco Giants in-market with no blackout restrictions. All packages on MLB.TV come with a free trial.
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Wander Franco trial: Rays star faces sexual abuse, human trafficking charges in Dominican Republic
By MARTÍN ADAMES Associated Press
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco is scheduled to go to trial Monday in the Dominican Republic in a sexual abuse case involving a 14-year-old girl.
Now 24, Franco was having an All-Star season in 2023 before Dominican authorities began investigating allegations he had been in a relationship with a minor and paid her mother thousands of dollars for her consent. The trial was initially scheduled for Dec. 12 but was postponed until June.
Here’s what to know about the trial:
What are the charges against Wander Franco?
Franco has been charged with sexually abusing a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking. After an investigation that lasted over a year, judge Pascual Valenzuela of the northern province of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, ruled in September that the evidence presented by prosecutors was worthy of the case moving to trial.
Documents that prosecutors presented to the judge in July and were viewed by The Associated Press alleged that Franco, through his mother Yudelka Aybar, transferred 1 million pesos or $17,000 to the mother of the minor on Jan. 5, 2023, to consent to the abuse. The mother of the minor has been charged with money laundering and is under house arrest.
Prosecutors say that the minor’s mother went from being a bank employee to leading an ostentatious life and acquiring assets using the funds she received from Franco. During raids on the house of the minor’s mother, prosecutors say they found $68,500 and $35,000 that they allege was delivered by Franco.
After the hearing in September, Franco said “everything is in God’s hands.” He has otherwise refused to speak to the media.
When is Franco’s trial?
The trial was set to begin June 2 at a court in the northern province of Puerto Plata. His case will be heard by either three or five judges. There are no jury trials in the Dominican Republic. The judges will hear the arguments from both sides and the witnesses’ testimony, and then analyze the evidence and deliver a verdict. The trial could take up to eight months to conclude, based on the average duration of trials in the Dominican Republic.
Dominican judge Yacaira Veras postponed the trial in December at the request of prosecutors because of the absence of several key witnesses in the case. Franco’s lawyers asked the court to reconsider the postponement, arguing Franco needed to report to spring training in mid-February. The judge replied that Franco is obligated to continue with the trial schedule and his conditional release from detainment.
What could be his sentence if found guilty?
If convicted, Franco could face up to 20 years in prison.
Is Franco being held in jail?
Franco has been free on supervised release, although he had been required to make monthly control visits to the judge.
He was also arrested and granted another supervised release in November for illegally carrying a gun in his vehicle. The arrest followed an argument in an apartment complex parking lot. Another man and a woman also were detained in the confrontation. Two firearms were seized, police said. Dominican judge Viamerca Ruiz said Franco needs to report to court once a month while he is being investigated for carrying the firearm that was registered under his uncle’s name. One of Franco’s lawyers said because the gun has a license, “there’s nothing illegal about it.”
A conviction for illegally possessing a firearm could prompt a three- to five-year prison sentence.
Is Franco still being paid?
No, but he was for nearly a year after Dominican authorities opened their probe.
Franco, who signed a $182 million, 11-year contract with the Rays in 2021, was briefly placed on the restricted list and then administrative leave in August 2023 when Dominican authorities opened their investigation. Because administrative leave is not disciplinary under the sport’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy, Franco was paid during that time.
Technically, there is no leave during the offseason, and Franco was again placed on administrative leave at the start of the 2024 season until prosecutors filed the current charges on July 10. At that time, MLB placed Franco — who had a $2 million salary in 2024 — on its restricted list, cutting off the pay he had been receiving under administrative leave.
He had been receiving 50% of his salary on administrative leave, a person familiar with his situation told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because that detail had not been disclosed publicly. That meant Franco accrued $559,140, or half of his salary for 104 days of the 186-day season.
MLB is likely to wait until the Dominican trial is concluded before deciding whether there will be any discipline.
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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report.
The Associated Press contributed to this post