Nolan Arenado's broken-bat bloop in 10th sparks Diamondbacks to 7-6 win over Red Sox

BOSTON (AP) — Nolan Arenado hit a tiebreaking broken-bat bloop single over a drawn-in infield to spark a two-run 10th inning, and the Arizona Diamondbacks avoided a series sweep by beating the Boston Red Sox 7-6 on Wednesday.

Lars Nootbaar hit a pinch-hit two-run homer and Gabriel Moreno a two-run double for Arizona, which was without All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte for the third straight game.

Mickey Gasper homered for the third straight game, a tying three-run shot, Nick Sogard had a solo shot for his first major-league homer and Jarren Duran also hit a solo drive for the Red Sox.

Manager Torey Lovullo said before the game that he still hasn’t heard from Marte, following little communication on Monday when he was AWOL for the series opener. Before Tuesday’s loss, Lovullo was told he traveled to Phoenix for tests on his left knee.

Arenado hit his floater into shallow left off Jovani Morán (2-3) to score automatic runner Moreno. Jose Fernandez drew a bases-loaded walk.

Willson Contreras’ RBI grounder came off Jonathan Loáisiga (4-3) in the bottom half.

Gasper’s two-out drive chased starter Brandon Pfaadt and cleared Arizona’s bullpen, making it 5-all in the sixth.

Moreno’s double capped a three-run fifth and Nootbaar’s drive came off reliever Greg Weissert in the sixth.

Fresh off Boston’s consecutive blowout wins, Sogard opened the bottom of the first by hitting the first pitch into the Red Sox bullpen.

Coming in 7-0 with a 1.15 ERA in his last nine starts, Pfaadt allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Payton Tolle gave up all three of his runs in his final inning, the fifth, after going eight-shutout in his previous start.

Up next

Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (12-4, 2.71 ERA) is set to start the series opener Friday at home against Cincinnati.

Red Sox RHP Sonny Gray (15-3, 2.65) is slated to go Friday when they host former Boston 3B/DH Rafael Devers and San Francisco.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Arizona Diamondbacks' Geraldo Perdomo bunts the ball during the tenth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/CJ Gunther)

Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno congratulates pitcher' Jonathan Loáisiga following the win of a baseball game over the Boston Red Sox Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/CJ Gunther)

Boston Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela reaches for a catch during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/CJ Gunther)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Lars Nootbaar gestures to the dugout after Nootbaar hit a two run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/CJ Gunther)

Boston Red Sox designated hitter Mickey Gasper watches his three run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/CJ Gunther)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Justice is defending its prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey, saying “there is no serious dispute" that a social media post of seashells he made last year could be understood as a threat against President Donald Trump.

Prosecutors also called into question Comey's account that he had found the seashells in the numerical arrangement of “86 47” while walking on a beach in North Carolina and suggested that his May 2025 post on Instagram was an effort to generate attention for a forthcoming novel about a social media personality whose words inspire his fans to attack his foes.

The arguments in motions late Tuesday represent the government's most detailed explanation of its indictment and were filed in response to wide-ranging defense efforts to dismiss the case on grounds including that it constitutes a vindictive prosecution and that Comey's post did not amount to a true threat. Comey's lawyers contend that investigators in the case misled judges, submitted documents containing false statements, withheld key facts and repeatedly came up empty in their efforts to prove that Comey intended a physical threat or knew that the number 86 could suggest violence.

The entry for “86” from Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by The Associated Press, says its meaning is “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.” Trump, a Republican, is the 47th president.

Federal prosecutors maintain that the photo of the seashells, which Comey said he found on the beach, constituted a threat against Trump. Comey deleted the post shortly after he put it up, saying he did not know that anyone interpreted the numbers as a call to violence. His lawyers have said that the slogan has long meant to “get rid of” or “eject” and has been featured on thousands of items sold online and regularly displayed at protests.

But the department sought in its filings to place the post against the backdrop of assassination plots or attempts against Trump in the months before and after Comey's post. Prosecutors say that two minutes before the post was made, Comey's wife texted him a screenshot of a definition of “86” that said "to get rid of or refuse service.”

"There is no serious dispute that an objective viewer of Comey’s post could read it to mean ‘Kill President Trump,’” prosecutors wrote.

The photo was posted days before Comey was set to release a novel he wrote titled “FDR Drive,” in which a prosecutor pursues a far-right social media personality who has called out his adversaries by name and inspired violence against them by his fans, the department said.

After the Instagram post provoked an outcry, according to the government's filings, Comey's publishing agent observed in a text message to him that he had “gone viral.” Comey responded that that was “not my intention, but I’ll be OK if it sells books.” The agent replied, ”Music to an agent's ears."

Prosecutors also asserted there was “reason to doubt” Comey’s account of having come upon the seashells while on a walk, saying they were located 4 miles (6 kilometers) “down from the beach from beachfront property where Comey was staying, in an area separated from the ocean by a sand dune.” They said there was "no evidence that anyone else arranged, photographed, or even saw the shells.”

Comey's lawyers have called the indictment, which was filed months after an earlier and unrelated case against him was dismissed, part of a Trump retribution campaign targeting one of the president’s vocal critics. Trump fired Comey as head of the FBI in 2017 as Comey was overseeing an investigation into potential ties between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. Trump since then has called for him and other perceived adversaries to be jailed.

But the Justice Department denied allegations of vindictiveness, saying the decision to indict Comey was made by the U.S. attorney in the area and did not stem from a directive from the president or the attorney general.

To bolster their claims that Comey was unjustly targeted, the defense team argued that investigators struggled to develop compelling evidence from witnesses that Comey had intended the post as a threat, but they concealed that from federal magistrates as they applied for warrants to search digital accounts associated with Comey and his wife

For instance, defense lawyers have said that the FBI searched an internal database of information about open and closed investigations for any indication of an association between Comey and the term “86” but found inconclusive results. An FBI agent also requested a review of the FBI file for the case against reputed mobster John Gambino, which Comey worked on as a young prosecutor, but found no references to the term “86.”

Investigators also interviewed a key government cooperator in the case, Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, who said he did not recall ever discussing the term “86” with Comey or hearing it in connection with the trial.

The latest filings made clear that the administration was standing behind the premise of the case.

“No Government theory was disproved at that time, or now. No intentionally false omission exists, much less one made with reckless disregard for the truth,” prosecutors wrote.

“The evidence still supports that Defendant acted at least recklessly by consciously disregarding a substantial risk that his coded message of ‘8647’ that he sent to his 200,000 or so Instagram followers, and the millions of secondary social media users who would view this as threatening violence against the President of the United States," they added.

FILE - A portrait of President Donald Trump is displayed at the Justice Department building in Washington, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - The U.S. Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a news conference, May 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)