The Wednesday, May 26, 2021

* The Boston Globe

Atlanta survives early flurry, keeps Red Sox in check for series-opening win

Alex Speier

Already, the Red Sox have proven capable of defying the measured expectations that greeted them at the start of the season. After a residence of more than six weeks in first place, their talent will no longer be overlooked.

Still, their recent slip from atop the AL East has likewise offered a reminder. As the Sox hope to transform from early-season surprise to season-long contender, they do not have the luxury of fumbling opportunities in an ultra-competitive division.

Tuesday night, a 3-1 loss to Atlanta at Fenway underscored the point. The Sox had an immediate chance to seize control of the game from opposing starter . Instead, they blew it in a way that seemed at once impossible, yet somehow familiar.

Despite six of the first eight Sox hitters reaching base, that game-opening pressure turned into just one through two innings — and none thereafter.

“When you have a man on third, I think we have to bear down, we have to put the ball in play,” said manager . “For us to keep the line moving and win close games, we have to do that. We haven’t been doing that for a while.”

In the bottom of the first, the Sox loaded the bases (single, walk, error) with no outs. But that golden promise — a situation that, on average, produces more than two runs — soon proved a ruse. Though Morton forced in a run by hitting on the foot with a pitch, that event was bookended by a and Christian Vázquez lining into an inning-ending play.

Danny Santana, in his first Fenway plate appearance as a Red Sox, lined a Morton to right for a leadoff triple in the second. A walk put runners on the corners, but struck out and Kiké Hernández grounded into another inning-ending .

That futility — 0-for-4 with two and two double plays — in situations where a mere ball in play can score a run has proven unexpectedly common for one of the game’s highest scoring offenses. The Red Sox entered Tuesday at or near the bottom of the league in average (.246, 25th), on-base (.284, 27th), and slugging (.275, 30th) with a runner on third and fewer than two outs, while posting the 10th highest strikeout rate (23.9 percent) in such moments.

Since May 7, they’re 2-for-27 with a .074/.152/.111 line, 10 strikeouts, and four double-plays in 33 such plate appearances.

“We haven’t done the job,” Cora lamented. “In an era or a year that is hard to , and runs are at a premium . . . it’s very important to make contact with a man on third.

“We’ve been preaching this since and we haven’t been able to do it so far this season,” he added. “We have to put the ball in play. That’s very important for us.”

The inability to do so on Tuesday allowed Morton (3-2, 3.98) to settle into a comfortable rhythm. He retired 17 of 18 batters from the second through seventh innings, and finished having allowed just one unearned run on three hits and two walks while striking out nine.

Meanwhile, Atlanta’s offense went to work against on an off-night. The Sox righthander yielded three runs over 5⅔ innings. Despite featuring his best fastball velocity of the season (up to 97 mph), he spent most of the night fighting his lack of control (four walks) and the absence of feel for his and .

“I didn’t really have much tonight,” said Richards. “Just kind of made it work, tried to go as long as I can. Tonight was just an off night. Just didn’t really feel good, just didn’t have great . . . stuff.”

Richards opened the third with a leadoff walk to nine-hole hitter , which was followed by a one-out single through the shift by and a ringing RBI double to center by that tied the game.

Ozzie Albies then pulled a grounder into the shift, deep enough to permit Freeman to cross the plate with a 2-1 advantage. But Hernández, seeing from second that Ozuna got a bad jump, alertly made the long throw to third to cut down the slugger.

“One of the best plays I’ve seen,” said Cora. “To do it from the shift, first time I’ve seen that. Amazing play.”

The play came with consequence beyond the run and the out for Atlanta, as Ozuna dislocated his left ring and middle fingers when his hand got caught in Devers’ spikes. Ozuna left the game and will head to Atlanta to see a specialist.

Atlanta added another run in the sixth, a rally set in motion by a one-out single from former Sox , who responded to the zealous boos of 9,357 Fenway patrons by going 3-for-4. Sandoval advanced to second when Richards issued another two-out walk to nine-hole hitter Contreras, his last batter.

Reliever proved unable to fulfill the daunting task for which he was summoned. Superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. stayed on a down-and-in splitter and ripped it down the left field line for a run- scoring double that put Atlanta ahead, 3-1.

That was plenty for Morton and his bullpen, as Atlanta did not permit a runner to advance past first the last seven innings. Lefty closed out the game with two strikeouts in a perfect ninth.

The Sox dropped to 13-13 at Fenway, while missing out on a chance to reclaim first place when Tampa Bay’s 11-game winning streak was snapped with a loss to the Royals. One of several missed opportunities on the night for the Red Sox.

Kiké Hernández has found his form from the top

Alex Speier

The Red Sox have featured one of baseball’s most prolific offenses, yet early in the season, that came in spite of the team’s theoretical catalysts.

Manager Alex Cora’s decision to install Kiké Hernández as the leadoff hitter to start the year paid few initial dividends. In April, Red Sox leadoff hitters posted a combined .239 average (20th in MLB), .287 on- base (26th), and .407 slugging mark (13th).

Leadoff rarely set up the veritable fortress in the second through fifth spots — , J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, and Rafael Devers. Hernández, who hit .230/.270/.400 in April, was chiefly accountable for that.

Still, Cora didn’t consider veering from that lineup structure. Even when Hernández landed on the , Cora used and Marwin Gonzalez rather than tinker with his Nos. 2-5. Why not bump up Verdugo to leadoff and keep Martinez, Bogaerts, and Devers together behind him?

“I’m not going to hit J.D. second. No chance. Well for now, no chance — you never know,” said Cora before Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to Atlanta. “I like where we’re at structure-wise. . . . As far as leadoff hitter, we have to be better, of course, but we’ve been doing a good job of scoring runs the way we are so . . . if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”

That ongoing commitment has been made easier by the recent performance of Hernández. In the four games before his hamstring injury, Hernández found his groove, going 4-for-12 with a homer, double, and three walks. In his seven games since coming off the injured list, he’s been even better, hitting .357/.379/.500 following a 1-for-4 on Tuesday.

Cora credited improved selectivity. In April, Hernández swung at 28.6 percent of the pitches he saw outside of the . In May, that number has plummeted to 17.6 percent.

“I do believe he’s controlling the zone a little bit more. Everything starts with walks,” said Cora. “I think towards the end [before going on the IL], he started controlling the zone. Maybe the 10 days on the IL helped, too. It just, recharge your body, reset your body, and he feels good where he’s at. He’s been able to stay up the middle. He’s in a great place.”

For now, it seems that place will remain the top of the order.

Christian Arroyo activated

The Red Sox activated from the injured list, satisfied after a brief rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester that he’s recovered from being hit by a pitch in the left hand on May 5.

“The hand’s feeling really good,” said Arroyo. “There’s still a bruise there, which is to be expected. . . . You touch it or hit it or something, it’s going to aggravate you, but it’s nothing that’s [debilitating].”

Arroyo said that after getting hit on the left hand twice in a week and a half, he’ll now wear a custom-fitted EvoShield hand guard to protect himself from further harm. His role may be reduced, however, with the team’s recent roster addition of .

Arroyo started 18 of the first 31 games, including many against righthanded starters, and hit .275/.333/.377. But the switch-hitting Santana now is able to play center, and permit Hernández to move back to second base.

Arroyo wasn’t in the lineup against Atlanta starter Charlie Morton, but expressed nothing but enthusiasm for the state of the Red Sox roster.

“[Santana] is a really good player that’s going to help us win, and that’s the goal,” said Arroyo. “It takes more than 25, 26 guys to get to the light at the end of the tunnel, which is where we’re trying to go. For me, the way I look at it is [Santana’s] here to help us win. Anytime anyone can help us win, that’s all I’m concerned about.”

The Worcester winds

Arroyo said the way the ball carried at Polar Park in Worcester was eye-opening. On Saturday, he stood in the on-deck circle as WooSox leadoff hitter Jarren Duran hit a pair of rockets into jet streams in right- center that traveled a projected 475 and 480 feet. “[Xander Bogaerts] was asking me about [Worcester] and I said, ‘Dude, the ball flies. It’s kind of crazy,’ ” recounted Arroyo. “It was pretty incredible to see some of the balls that were hit. Obviously, guys are strong. Duran hit a ball like 475 feet on a breaking ball . . . that might be one of the furthest hit balls I’ve ever seen hit in person” . . . Righthander Austin Brice cleared outright waivers and was assigned to Worcester. Brice had a 6.94 ERA in 11⅔ innings for the Red Sox . . . joined the Red Sox taxi squad from Triple-A Worcester. Though Wong hasn’t played since May 11 due to a hamstring injury, the Red Sox evidently feel comfortable that he’ll be able to help as a bullpen catcher during the brief series against Atlanta . . . Single-game tickets for June 8-July 11 will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. The Red Sox also announced $9 tickets will once again be available for college students . . . A woman sitting in the State Street Pavilion was struck in the forehead by a foul ball in the top of the sixth inning. According to a Red Sox spokesperson, she received immediate attention from Red Sox and emergency medical services personnel before being transported to Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center for further treatment.

Red Sox prospect Jeremy Wu-Yelland coming along slowly but surely in Salem

Julian McWilliams

Jeremy Wu-Yelland finally knows what it feels like to be a player. After his 2020 minor league season was canceled because of COVID-19, the lefthanded is in his element.

“There’s no feeling to describe it, honestly,” said Wu-Yelland, who is in Low A Salem. “The first couple games especially, it didn’t really feel real. I can’t really ask for anything better, honestly, just to be playing baseball.”

Wu-Yelland was the Red Sox’ fourth-round pick out of the University of Hawaii last year. He caught the eyes of the Red Sox brass in the Cape Cod League in 2019 when he registered a 3.16 ERA, and gave up just one run in 13 innings for Hawaii prior to the 2020 season shutdown.

The intrigue with Wu-Yelland has made its way into this year. In 11⅓ innings (four starts) for Salem, Wu- Yelland has a 1.59 ERA with 14 strikeouts. Since he hadn’t pitched in a competitive atmosphere for more than a year, the team is slowly stretching him out. Wu-Yelland pitched just 2⅓ innings in his first start, then three innings in each of his next three.

“They want to bring me into it pretty slowly,” Wu-Yelland said. “Obviously, right now, staying healthy is the No. 1 priority. I’m hoping that I get stretched out here the next couple weeks/months. But I’m going to do whatever they ask me to, and I’m going to do it to the best of my ability. But for right now, I think they’re going to want to keep things at least a little bit short.”

Wu-Yelland’s fastball heading into the draft sat between 91-94 m.p.h., touching 96. He utilized a low-80s breaking ball and changeup, too. A concern, at times, is his command, and he already has six walks.

Wu-Yelland has intimated on a number of occasions that his goal is to continue to be a starter. That hasn’t changed.

“That’s their plan with me,” he said, “and that’s the direction they want to take things, at least right now. I’m definitely happy to do that. I want to be on the field as much as I possibly can. And I want to help the team win as much as I possibly can. However they feel that the best way for me to do that is what I’m going to do.”

Fast learner

Gilberto Jimenez is just 20 years old and already has an idea of what he wants to do at the plate. He hits from a crouched stance, preferring bat-to-ball skills over launch angle, and so far it has paid off.

In 2019, Jimenez won the New York-Penn League batting title at .359/.393/.470, with just a 15 percent strikeout rate for the Lowell Spinners. He held his own in this year’s big league spring training — an environment that can overwhelm many young players — registering three hits (two doubles) in 13 at-bats.

Keep in mind, Jimenez just began switch hitting after he turned pro in 2017.

“Gilberto’s progression to date has been one that has caught our attention,” Red Sox assistant general manager Eddie Romero said. “He hasn’t been switch hitting for long, and the fact that his contact rates and OBP have been this good early in the season are encouraging signs.

“He worked very hard in the offseason to prepare himself, showed very well in major league spring training, and has earned every bit of his success early on in the Salem season.”

About that Salem season: Jimenez came into Tuesday hitting .352/.403/.479. The adds an element of speed to the organization. And as speed across the game picks up, players like Jimenez are becoming a necessity.

“Gilberto recognizes his ability to impact the game because of his speed,” Romero said. ”So it doesn’t matter how he gets on base. Once he’s on, he knows it’s his time.”

Striking impression

Brayan Bello is turning heads in High A Greenville. The 22-year-old righthander has racked up 23 strikeouts in 16⅓ innings (three starts), inducing a 62.5 percent ground-ball rate. Bello has an impressive fastball that has reached 100 to go along with a devastating changeup.

In his first two outings, he registered 10-strikeout performances.

“In conjunction with the development of his breaking ball to go along with his refined changeup, we can’t help but be excited about his future,” said Romero.

When the Red Sox first scouted Bello, they were impressed with his fastball/changeup mix. But as with most starters, having a third pitch is almost a necessity, and it’s something the player development team and Bello have zeroed in on.

“He needs to continue to work on this repertoire as the season goes along, but we’ve all been excited to see his progression so far in these early stages,” Romero said.

It’s safe to raise our Red Sox expectations — they’re in the AL East hunt to stay

Chad Finn

In my 40-plus years of watching the Red Sox, I’m not sure I’ve witnessed a season where expectations were drastically recalibrated in an optimistic direction before Memorial Day the way they have been this year.

The 1986 and ’88 Red Sox both won the East after finishing fifth the previous year, but those teams were rich in veteran talent. The emergence of well-regarded young players into true stars — AL Cy Young winner and Most Valuable Player in ’86, MVP runner-up Mike Greenwell and Ellis Burks in ’88 — took them to another level.

The 1995 Red Sox were a surprise division champ after going 54-61 in the strike-shortened ’94 season. There are some parallels to this year’s team, as I’ve written about before, especially the front office’s knack for finding helpful players on the margins of free agency and the waiver wire. You say Garrett Richards, I say Erik Hanson.

The team most similar to this one probably is 2013. After going 69-93 under preening debacle Bobby Valentine, the Sox dumped him, brought over from the Blue Jays — an extremely popular hire at the time — added more than a half-dozen respected veteran free agents, and became an avatar for the city’s hope and healing after the Marathon bombings en route to winning the franchise’s third in 10 years.

But I’d argue that the ’13 team entered its season with more optimism than the ‘21 Red Sox did. missed 72 games in ’12, but he was still a monster at the plate. , Dustin Pedroia, and Jacoby Ellsbury were all entering their age-29 seasons, still in their prime. looked like the classic power-hitting third baseman in the ’77 mold, and top prospect Xander Bogaerts was on his way.

There was hope. If a few things broke right, they might be pretty good. As it turned out, everything broke right on the field, and the clubhouse was as unified as any we’ve seen, including 2004. If ’13 is your favorite Red Sox team, I understand why.

I’m not sure anyone outside of the Red Sox clubhouse and front office had high expectations for this 2021 entry, and I’m not convinced everyone within those walls thought they’d be better than adequate this year. I pegged them for around 83 wins and a spot on the fringe of the playoff race in September, which brought on charges of being excessively bullish after last year’s abbreviated 24-36 disaster. Those charges were probably fair, too.

I figured they’d score runs by the barrel, especially if J.D. Martinez found his swing — has he ever — and that roster architect Chaim Bloom had added quality depth and versatility to the roster. Weeding out the half-dozen to a dozen 2020 who had no business on a major league roster also has helped. Fare thee well, Mike Kickham.

But I did not expect this — 29-19 as they began a three-game series with the Braves on Tuesday, a half- game back of the scorching Rays (11 wins in a row) in the AL East. The Red Sox are second to the Astros — are we sure the trash cans have been silenced? — in runs per game (5.19) among American League teams, and rank a respectable sixth in fewest runs allowed (4.21; the AL average is 4.46).

After losing three straight games to the Orioles to open the season, a here-we-go-again bummer in which they were outscored, 18-5, the Red Sox have outscored their opponents, 244-184, a margin of 60 runs, their last 45 games.

That’s crazy impressive given they’ve had legitimate issues to overcome, such as finding the bridge to in the bullpen, getting production from the bottom of the order, and recent inconsistency from presumed ace Eduardo Rodriguez as he makes his way back from a season lost to COVID-19 and the aftereffects.

That they’ve been resilient, their collective confidence never waning, is a reflection of manager Alex Cora and their leader/MVP candidate Bogaerts, but it also suggests that, as in 2013, taking character into consideration while building a team is paying off in the win column.

I’ve seen enough, roughly a third of the way into the schedule, to believe drastically recalibrating those preseason expectations is absolutely the correct thing to do. The question is no longer whether this team can be decent, or whether the excellent April is for real, or whether it will be in the playoff picture come late September.

The question is whether we should expect them to win the AL East.

Fangraphs’s projection model gives the Red Sox an 18-percent chance, a 60.7-percent chance of earning a postseason berth, and a 4.9-percent shot at winning the World Series. Baseball Reference’s model (the methodology of which eludes the C+-in-algebra capabilities of my brain) is more skeptical, putting playoff chances at 30.7 percent, with just a 3.6-percent chance at taking the division and 1.2 percent to win the World Series.

Baseball Reference, my go-to site for stuff like this, is much higher on the Rays (96.9 playoffs, 15.2 to win the Series) and Yankees (84, 7.6), who have won six in a row, than it is the Red Sox. Some of that is due to strength of schedule — the Red Sox have already played the Orioles 10 times, twice as often as they’ve played any other team. They have played the Rays just three times, sweeping them, and won’t face the Yankees until the first week of June.

It seemed like the Red Sox were miles ahead of everyone in April, but their biggest lead was only 3½ games on May 9. I think we knew then that the Yankees and Rays would have their say soon enough, and that time has come.

It’s going to be a summer-long battle for the division, carrying into fall. The projections might not like the Red Sox’ chances, but projections can’t account for the palpable sense that something good is going on here. The lead in the division is gone, at least for the moment, but the Red Sox aren’t going away.

There’s a reason those early expectations can be recalibrated: We’ve seen enough to know, even before Memorial Day, that these Red Sox are for real.

Former Sox target Charlie Morton could be a road map for a Garrett Richards resurgence

Peter Abraham

That free agent righthander Charlie Morton would be a great fit for the Red Sox seemed obvious after the declined his $15 million option a few days after the World Series.

Morton had a strong relationship with Sox manager Alex Cora dating back to their time with the 2017 Astros and was friendly with chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, who had been with the Rays.

Morton was the reliable No. 2 starter the Sox needed.

But the made Morton a priority and signed him to a one-year, $15 million deal on Nov. 24.

Morton wanted to play for a contending team fairly close to his home in Sarasota, Fla., significant factors in the decision.

“There’s no denying that we actually showed interest in Charlie,” Cora said. “He’s been one of the best since 2017. The way he pitched in Houston and obviously what he did with the Rays, everybody knows.

“The way he competes, the person, and the way he cares about his teammates and the organization that he plays for is up there. It’s a guy I really respect, I really like.”

Bloom and Cora recruited Morton, but the Braves had more advantages.

“I understand why he made the decision, but we moved on,” Cora said.

The Sox instead signed Garrett Richards, who was five years younger, $5 million cheaper, but far less accomplished.

Richards also agreed to a $10 million option for 2022 that the Sox envisioned as being a possible bargain if he fulfilled what was seen as considerable potential.

The off-season calculations were put to a test at Fenway Park on Tuesday night when the Sox played the Braves and Richards faced Morton.

Morton was the pitcher the Sox has come to admire, allowing one unearned run on three hits over seven innings. The 37-year-old walked two, struck out nine, and retired the final 13 batters he faced in order in a game the Braves won, 3-1.

“He blows me away,” Braves manager said. “The stuff has been so good.”

Morton, who averaged 95.1 mph with his fastball, left two runners stranded in the first inning. Danny Santana then opened the bottom of the second inning with a triple down the line in right before walked.

Morton struck out Bobby Dalbec on three pitches, the third a curveball well off the plate. Then Kiké Hernández grounded a fastball to second for a double play.

“That could have gone bad real quick,” Morton said.

From there he mixed five pitches in a way that befuddled the Sox, never falling into any predictable pattern.

Richards went 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and four walks. He struck out only four and threw an unnerving number of pitches that catcher Christian Vázquez had trouble getting his mitt on.

Morton understands what that’s like. He was a career underachiever before the Astros helped him gain better command of his curveball and more consistent velocity with his fastball.

Morton is 50-20 with a 3.41 and 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings since 2017.

Cora believes Richards can follow that map.

“I think where Garrett is in his career right now is very similar to where Charlie was in 2017,” Cora said. “Hopefully it turns into something special like that.”

Cora and Morton formed a friendship early in 2017. They had shared sensibilities about baseball and digging into topics like defensive shifts.

“We clicked right away,” Cora said. “He did some amazing things that year … he’s such a good guy.”

The championship the Astros won that season was later stained by the revelations of how they stole signs from opposing .

But it couldn’t detract from how Morton pitched the final four innings of Game 7 of the World Series in Los Angeles, holding the Dodgers to one run.

Morton attended games at Fenway growing up and loves the tradition that comes with playing in Boston. He said his secret desire Tuesday was to be warming up for the eighth inning while “Sweet Caroline” was playing.

He only missed it by an inning.

“This is a special place for me and a special place for baseball,” Morton said.

That’s what made his decision so tough.

“Knowing Alex, having a chance to speak with some of the guys over there, getting a chance to play in this park, put on that uniform, all those things were very enticing,” Morton said.

Before the game, Cora said there have been certain times this season he watched Morton pitch and wished he had decided to join the Sox.

By the end of the night, that was definitely the case.

* The Boston Herald

Red Sox squander big chances against Charlie Morton in loss to Braves

Steve Hewitt

The Red Sox had Charlie Morton on the ropes and couldn’t finish against him.

That’s a lesson Alex Cora knows wouldn’t yield success.

As a bench with the Astros in 2017, Cora developed adoration for the veteran pitcher who helped them win a World Series. The relationship created between the two that season continued, and played a part in Cora’s recruitment of Morton this offseason as the Red Sox sought starting pitching help. But the 37- year-old wound up with the Braves.

“I have a lot of respect for him,” Cora said before Tuesday’s game. “I do. There’s certain times that you see him on the mound and you wish that, ‘Oh, man, I wish he was with us,’ but in this case, I understand the reason, and you have to respect it. I wish him the best except for the two starts probably he’s going to have against us.”

Morton proceeded to remind Cora what he could have had.

The Red Sox had prime opportunities early on Tuesday against Morton, but couldn’t cash in. And when they didn’t, they stood no chance. After they squandered two chances to start the game, Morton and the Braves were practically unhittable the rest of the way as the Red Sox fell 3-1 in the first of their brief two- game series at Fenway Park.

It started with a little bit of luck for the Red Sox, as J.D. Martinez reached on an error to load the bases with no outs, before Rafael Devers was hit by a pitch with two strikes to gift them a 1-0 lead.

It was somehow the only run the Red Sox scored on Tuesday.

Christian Vazquez hit into a double play to end any chance of a big first. And then with runners on first and third to start the second, the Red Sox came up empty. Morton took full advantage.

It seemed obvious it would come back to bite them against Morton, who’s been one of the best starters in baseball over the last four years. The veteran allowed just one more hit — a single by Xander Bogaerts in the third — as he retired 17 of the final 18 Red Sox batters he faced, including the last 13.

The Red Sox had just three hits on the night, and none past the third inning. Morton had nine strikeouts.

“Good pitchers will do that,” Cora said. “He struggled early on with command, but he made some pitches, got out of situations and after that, he did what he usually does and that’s why he’s one of the best pitchers in the big leagues.”

Garrett Richards, who’s been on a tear over the last month, was far from his sharpest. He was hit hard in the third, with three exit velocities of at least 107.2 mph, as he coughed up the lead. He surrendered three runs and four walks, including two to No. 9 hitter William Contreras. He was fortunate it wasn’t worse.

“As soon as I stop walking people I feel like I’m going to take the next step,” Richards said. “That’s just something I’m dealing with right now. I didn’t really have much tonight. Just kind of made it work, tried to go as long as I can. Tonight was just an off-night. Just didn’t really feel good, just didn’t have great stuff.”

The bigger issue, though, was the offense. As potent as the Red Sox have been at the plate this season, it’s not clicking in some prime situations. They entered Tuesday with just a .559 OPS with a runner on third and less than two outs. It’s something that needs fixing as Cora continues to ask his players to just put the ball in play.

“We’ve been preaching this since spring training and we haven’t been able to do it so far this season,” Cora said. “It’s something that, we talk about it, I know the effort is there, I know that they’re trying and for us to keep the line moving and win close games, we have to do that. We haven’t been doing that for a while here.”

Other takeaways from Tuesday:

— Pablo Sandoval was greeted with loud boos from Red Sox fans in each of his at-bats in his first game at Fenway Park since being released by the Sox in 2017. The Braves’ , who’s served mostly as a pinch-hitter this season, reminded them of what could have been with a 3-for-4 night, hitting all singles. He came around to score on Ronald Acuna’s two-out, two-strike double in the sixth off Hirokazu Sawamura, which gave the Braves some much-needed insurance.

— Kiké Hernandez made one of the plays of the night in the third. After Marcell Ozuna hit a double to put runners on second and third with one out, Ozuna took off for third on a grounder to Hernandez at second. Hernandez, surprisingly, threw to third for the force out that unfortunately left Ozuna injured as he slid in and hurt a finger.

But it was a perfect throw from Hernandez, who impressed his manager.

“A great head’s-up play,” Cora said. “He’s into every play and he anticipates and you don’t make that play without thinking about it. You just don’t react to that. You plan that before. He saw it before it happened and it was one of the best plays I’ve seen, it looked routine, it looked easy, but to throw the ball from the shift to third base to get the runner, that was the first time I’ve seen that.”

Red Sox Notebook: Christian Arroyo activated and ‘feeling really good,’ Pablo Sandoval makes return to Fenway Park

Steve Hewitt

Christian Arroyo was certainly frustrated when he was hit by a pitch in the same exact spot on his left hand that he was a week before. But he wasn’t mad at anything but the situation.

The Red Sox knew there was no intent when Tigers pitcher Casey Mize threw a 92-mph fastball that hit Arroyo on his hand, which ultimately put him on the injured list for almost three weeks. But that wasn’t the whole point.

“That’s baseball,” Arroyo said Tuesday as he was activated from the injured list.

It’s certainly been baseball this year. Pitchers are throwing harder than ever, and dangerously, as wild as ever. J.D. Martinez recently noted that it’s become a “stuff over command league,” with no fault to the pitcher. But the results have been scary this season, with images of players like and Kevin Pillar being hit with fastballs to their head. Arroyo is just another victim of it.

“I think it’s just one of those things. Some guys, maybe their mentality is go up there and grip and rip it, and wherever it goes, it goes, kind of thing,” Arroyo said. “That’s something a pitcher will have to work on if it becomes an issue where they’re hitting guys, that’s going to be up to them to hone in on their ability and the adjustments they think they need to make.

“I think it stinks when guys get hit in spots where they’ve got to miss some time, because it’s not fun getting hit by 97, 98. Guys are obviously throwing harder now. For the hitting side, everyone is going to make adjustments. It’s the big leagues.”

Arroyo, who impressed offensively and defensively in April, was not in the Red Sox’ lineup as he returned to Boston. But he’s well-prepared for his next at-bats as he hopes to obviously not get hit again. He said he’s on his third different kind of padding for his hand, an EvoShield pad that’s formed to his hand that he’s still getting more comfortable with. He’s wearing it every day when he swings.

“It’s kind of hard to just put it on and be comfortable in it because it’s something you’re not used to, so for me I’m just going to keep using it and get used to it, really,” Arroyo said. “Hopefully down the road in a month or two when I’m comfortable again, maybe I can take it off, but by that time I might even be comfortable with just having it on. It’s a day by day thing, just getting comfortable and getting used to having it on.”

Arroyo, who played a pair of rehab games in Worcester over the weekend, said there’s still a bruise on his hand where he was hit, but it’s “feeling really good” and shouldn’t limit him.

Chavis impressed Cora

Michael Chavis was sent back to Worcester to make room for Arroyo, but Alex Cora was pleased with his contributions over the last two weeks. The manager was impressed with him defensively, where he’s “become a good second baseman,” and liked what he saw with his baserunning. But he still has plenty of room to improve offensively, and it’s a good time for him to get consistent at-bats with the Triple-A season in full swing.

“He needs at-bats,” Cora said. “He needs at-bats. I know it’s tough to be in this situation but Christian has done a solid job with us. Now we got Danny (Santana), we’ve got Marwin (Gonzalez), we’ve got Enrique (Hernandez), we’ve got a lot of guys that can cover us at second, short, third, first base. So it’s tough. As a player, I can tell you that. I was in that situation in 2000, and it sucks, the up and down, but that’s part of becoming a big leaguer. …

“At one point, he’s going to be in the other situation, and hopefully he can force our hand. He goes there and he dominates Triple-A, which is something, it’s not that he hasn’t done it, but he hasn’t had the opportunity to do that at the Triple-A level and see what happens in the future. But like we told him, something might happen in the upcoming days, in the upcoming weeks, a month, whatever, he’ll be back with us and he’s ready to contribute and he helped us to win ballgames, which is very important.”

Familiar face returns

Pablo Sandoval was back at Fenway Park on Tuesday for the first time since the Red Sox released him in 2017. Now with the Braves, Sandoval was batting seventh as their designated hitter.

Sandoval famously signed a five-year, $90 million contract prior to 2015 that became a disaster. He batted .237 with 14 homers and 59 RBI over 161 games as he missed almost all of 2016 with a shoulder injury. He returned to the Giants from 2017 to 2020 before being designated for assignment and signing a minor- league deal with the Braves at the end of last season.

The 34-year-old has mostly been a pinch-hitter this year, with four homers in 45 plate appearances. Braves manager Brian Snitker said he’s made an impact with his teammates in the clubhouse.

“I think they’re very aware of Pablo and the professionalism and the consistency that he brings,” Snitker said. “Any time he walks in the clubhouse, it’s instant credibility, and how he carries himself and like I said, the consistent daily preparation that he has. I can see why he’s been such a strong player for all these years.” …

The Red Sox announced that tickets for games from June 8 to July 11 will go on sale on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at redsox.com/tickets.

Pablo Sandoval booed by fans in Fenway Park return, ‘happy’ to record three hits in Braves’ win over Red Sox

Steve Hewitt

Pablo Sandoval doesn’t seem to have any resentment towards Boston, but his return to Fenway Park probably felt pretty satisfying.

Nearly four years since the Red Sox cut ties with him after a disastrous tenure in Boston, Sandoval returned as a visitor for the first time with the Braves and recorded three hits in their 3-1 win over the Red Sox on Tuesday night. Sandoval was booed loudly every time he stepped to the plate — and even after each of his hits — but the 34-year-old feels no ill will toward his former club and fanbase.

“Happy, happy. It’s one of the things I was looking forward (to),” Sandoval said when asked if it was satisfying to have a good performance in his return. “They don’t treat me that bad here. Great fan support, great organization. … I’m happy to be back and win games. That’s the most important thing, to try to help my team to win games.”

After the 2014 season, the Red Sox and then-general manager famously signed Sandoval — who had become a postseason legend and cult hero with the — to a five-year, $95 million contract. It ended up being arguably the worst contract in team history. The third baseman batted .237 with 14 homers and 59 RBI over 161 games as he missed nearly all of the 2016 season with an injury before his release in July 2017.

The Red Sox opted to eat the nearly $48 million left on Sandoval’s deal instead of keeping him. He wound up returning to the Giants, and admitted that it was a mistake that he ever left for Boston, where it was never a fit for him.

Four years later, he seems to be in a good place. The Giants designated him for assignment last season, but he signed with the Braves on a minor-league deal and has carved out a nice role for himself. He’s mostly been used as a pinch-hitter — he’s hit four homers this season — but his greatest value seems to be coming in the clubhouse, where he’s a respected leader of a talented roster.

“He’s a glue guy,” said veteran pitcher Charlie Morton. “He’s a guy that reaches across cultures and languages. He keeps the team together and he’s doing a heck of a job. He’s a lot of fun in the clubhouse. Just a good guy. Getting the chance to play with him, getting the chance to play with guys like that, it’s really special.”

* The Providence Journal

Wasteful Red Sox enter teeth of their schedule to date

Bill Koch

BOSTON --- The next 21 games mark a significant step up in class for the Red Sox, and what promises to be a challenging stretch didn’t start so well on Tuesday.

Boston faces nothing but postseason teams from 2020 until visiting Kansas City on June 18. Atlanta figures to be a contender in the East and punished the Red Sox for their wastefulness on a perfect night at Fenway Park.

This 3-1 defeat suffered by Boston to begin its five-game homestand came thanks to some empty at-bats in critical situation. Garrett Richards tried to take the blame onto his shoulders, but few looked toward the right-hander and two relievers after they scattered a combined eight hits.

“We haven’t done the job,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “In an era or a year where it’s hard to hit and runs are at a premium, I think – and I’ve been saying it all along – it's very important to make contact with men at third.

“You put the ball in play, you’re going to cash in.”

Charlie Morton allowed six of the first eight men he faced to reach base. The right-hander was punished to the tune of just one unearned run and ultimately rolled through seven strong innings. Morton set down the final 13 men he faced and didn’t allow another hit after a two-out Xander Bogaerts single in the bottom of the third.

“Sometimes it goes that way,” Richards said. “You start out slow and you kind of build momentum as the game goes. You find your groove, you start putting pitches together and you take off.”

Boston loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the first but allowed Morton to wriggle off the hook. Rafael Devers was hit by a bouncing curveball to force in the lone run. Bogaerts struck out swinging and J.D. Martinez was doubled off second base when Christian Vazquez sent a soft liner to short.

“He struggled early on with command, but he made some pitches,” Cora said. “He got out of those situations, and then after that he did what he usually does. That’s why he’s one of the best pitchers in the big leagues.”

There was more disappointment to come in the bottom of the second after Danny Santana whacked a leadoff triple to the corner in right. Hunter Renfroe drew a walk that ultimately came back to bite the Red Sox – it set up a double play. That’s exactly what happened after a Bobby Dalbec strikeout, as Kiké Hernandez sent a one-hopper to second that wound up going 4-6-3.

“We had Charlie on the ropes the first two innings,” Cora said. “You only score one – that's what good pitchers do. We had our chances early on. We didn’t cash in.”

Morton required 39 pitches to record his first six outs and just 64 to notch his next 15. Boston was powerless against him from there and managed one baserunner against a pair of relievers. Alex Verdugo drew a two-out walk from in the bottom of the eighth but was stranded when Martinez bounced to third.

“Making contact is very important,” Cora said. “I know pitching – it's incredible what these guys are doing. But when you’ve got that runner at third you have to bear down. You have to put the ball in play.”

The Red Sox have enjoyed reasonable luck against some elite arms thus far, and there will be much more to follow over the next three weeks. Trevor Rogers, Lance McCullers Jr., , Hyun Jin Ryu – they all held an ERA of less than 3.00 entering Tuesday. Boston could see McCullers and Cole twice in addition to Morton once again during the June 15-16 rematch of this series at .

Sound daunting? It certainly should, especially if nine more innings like these are in store.

Arroyo replaces Chavis on Red Sox roster

Bill Koch

BOSTON — The back end of the Red Sox roster suddenly feels a bit more competitive.

Christian Arroyo (left hand contusion) was activated off the 10-day injured list prior to Tuesday night’s home matchup with Atlanta. The infielder completed a weekend rehab assignment at Triple-A Worcester and was cleared to return by Boston’s medical staff after taking batting practice at Fenway Park.

Red Sox second baseman Michael Chavis watches his throw to first base during a game against the on May 20. Chavis was sent to the on Monday. Michael Chavis was optioned late Monday to clear a space and joined the WooSox on their six-game road trip to Lehigh Valley. His 11 games with the Red Sox included five of nine hits for extra bases and improved defense at second base. Chavis also failed to draw a walk and struck out in 13 of his 33 plate appearances — there is work still to be done in the batter’s box.

“For a kid we called up in ‘19 out of necessity — we needed somebody to stand at second and swing the bat — he's become a good second baseman,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “He turned some good double plays. He made all the plays. He did well.

“Of course, there’s stuff offensively he needs to keep working on, and now is a good time for him to go down there and do that. They’re in the middle of things. They’re playing other teams. It’s not the controlled environment that it was early on. Now he has to go out there and compete.”

Chavis played just 29 games at Triple A prior to his debut two years ago. He appeared in only 46 games across three levels in 2018 after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug and receiving an 80- game suspension. The 25-year-old's development time has been comparatively limited since being selected 26th overall in the 2014 draft.

Sending Chavis down could eventually serve dual purposes for Boston — personal improvement from the player and an increase in his trade value for a possible move later this summer. Chavis still retains his draft pedigree and some interesting physical tools. The Red Sox are surprise contenders near the top of the American League East and would seem unlikely to move trusted veterans or premium prospects — think Triston Casas, Jarren Duran, etc. — in a deadline deal to better the Boston roster.

“Hopefully he can force our hand,” Cora said. “He goes there and he dominates Triple A. It’s not that he hasn’t done it — he hasn’t had the opportunity to do that at the Triple-A level. We’ll see what happens in the future.

“Like we told him, something might happen in the upcoming days or the upcoming weeks, a month — he'll be back with us. He’ll be ready to contribute. And he helped us win ballgames, which is very important.”

Arroyo, Kiké Hernandez and Marwin Gonzalez all broke spring training with Boston as multi-position options. Danny Santana was added for the weekend series with the Phillies after rehabbing from a right foot infection and made an instant impression. The utilityman homered in each of his first two games — both Red Sox victories — and continued what was a 13-for-30 start over eight appearances with Class-A Greenville and Worcester.

“He comes in, hits a homer in his first game and a homer in his second game,” Arroyo said. “That’s an instant impact right there. Nothing wrong with that.

“I’ll take guys who can help this team win any single day of the week. That’s kind of how I feel.”

The other obvious candidate to be shipped out would be , who was out of the lineup against right-hander Charlie Morton on Tuesday. Of the few factors to keep in mind there, one stands out among them — Cordero was acquired by the current Boston regime. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom sanctioned the trade of to Kansas City for Cordero, right-hander Josh Winckowski and three players to be named later from the Royals and Mets.

Cordero is a left-handed hitter on a 26-man roster that is largely right-handed at the plate. His production has lagged behind some obvious attributes — power at the plate is chief among them. It certainly appears the Red Sox made the deal less to gain a big-league player and more for ancillary benefits — minor-league depth, an extra year of arbitration control for Cordero versus Benintendi and $3 million off their Competitive Balance Tax figure for 2021.

* MassLive.com

Boston Red Sox lose to Braves as Pablo Sandoval records 3 hits in Fenway Park return, Charlie Morton retires 17 of final 18 hitters he faces

Christopher Smith

BOSTON — Braves starter Charlie Morton — who the Red Sox aggressively pursued and made a competitive offer in free agency this past offseason — allowed six Boston baserunners in the first two innings.

But he then settled in to lead the Braves to a 3-1 win over the Red Sox here at Fenway Park on Tuesday.

Morton retired 17 of the next 18 hitters after Danny Santana led off the second inning with a triple and Hunter Renfroe followed with a walk.

Morton struck out nine and allowed just three hits and two walks in 7 innings.

Meanwhile, former Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval made his return to Fenway Park for the first time since Boston released him in July 2017. He heard boos every time he stepped to the plate but he went 3-for-4 with three singles and a run.

Wasted opportunities in the first, second innings

The Red Sox loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning after Kiké Hernández singled, Alex Verdugo walked and J.D. Martinez reached on an error.

But Boston scored just one run when Rafael Devers was hit by a pitch.

Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging for the first out. Christian Vázquez lined into a 6-4 double play to end the inning.

Danny Santana led off the bottom of the second inning with a triple and Hunter Renfroe followed with a walk. But Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging and Hernández grounded into a double play.

Richards pitches well again

Red Sox starter Garrett Richards pitched 5 ⅔ innings, allowing three runs, six hits and four walks while striking out four.

Hirokazu Sawamura pitched 1 ⅓ scoreless innings but allowed one of the inherited runners from Richards to score. He allowed one hit and one walk while striking out one.

Garrett Whitlock pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.

Boston Red Sox’s Kiké Hernández makes ‘one of the best plays I’ve seen,’ Alex Cora says

Christopher Smith

BOSTON — It was one of the best defensive plays Red Sox manager Alex Cora has seen.

Second baseman Kiké Hernández was in the shift, positioned into shallow right field with two runners in and one out in the third inning against the Braves here at Fenway Park on Tuesday.

Hernández fielded ’ 93.3 mph grounder. Instead of throwing to first base for the easy second out, Hernández fired the baseball to third baseman Rafael Devers to cut down Marcell Ozuna who was headed from second to third.

It was one of the few bright spots for the Red Sox in their 3-1 loss to the Braves

“It’s a great heads-up play,” Cora said. “He’s into every play and he anticipates. You don’t make that play without thinking about it. You just don’t react to that. You plan that before. He saw it before it happened. And it was one of the best plays I’ve seen. It looked routine. It looked easy. But to throw the ball from the shift to third base to get the runner, this is the first time I’ve seen that. As a second baseman, I used to take chances with men at second and a routine ground ball to second with no outs. But to do it from the shift, first time I’ve seen that. Amazing play. Amazing play.”

Freddie Freeman scored from third base but it kept Ozuna out of scoring position in a one-run game.

“I thought it was awesome,” Red Sox Garrett Richards said. “It was unexpected. I’m watching him field the ball and just thinking he’s going to throw it over to first. It was an aggressive play. It probably changed a lot in that inning. I was happy with it.”

Boston Red Sox batting .233 with runner at third, fewer than 2 outs; ‘We haven’t done the job,’ Alex Cora says

Christopher Smith

BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox wasted opportunities in both the first and second innings Tuesday as they continue to have issues scoring with a runner at third and fewer than two outs.

Boston lost 3-1 to the Braves here at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox went 0-for-4 with a runner at third and fewer than two outs Tuesday. They are 17-for-73 (.233) with 23 strikeouts when there’s a runner at third base and fewer than two outs this season. They entered Tuesday with just a .559 OPS in those situations.

Boston loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning after Kiké Hernández singled, Alex Verdugo walked and J.D. Martinez reached on an error.

But the Red Sox scored just one run when Rafael Devers was hit by a pitch.

Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging for the first out. Christian Vázquez lined into a 6-4 double play to end the inning.

Danny Santana led off the bottom of the second inning with a triple. Hunter Renfroe followed with a walk. But Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging and Hernández grounded into a double play.

Cora doesn’t know how to explain it.

“To be honest with you, a ground ball to second, a ground ball to short, cash in. That’s all we need,” Cora said. And we talk about it. There’s only 25, 30 at-bats that you come up with men at third base and less than two outs. And we haven’t done that. We haven’t done the job. In a year that it’s hard to hit — that runs are at a premium — I’ve been saying all along, it’s very important to make contact with men at third. You just put the ball in play and you’re going to cash in.

“I saw it with (Oakland’s) Jed Lowrie against Eduardo Rodriguez. It was a big run. I saw it with the Jays against us in Dunedin. They put the ball in play and they score. You saw it with them (the Braves) today. Ozzie Albies put the ball in play, (Freddie) Freeman scores.”

Albies’ RBI fielders choice to second base with one out in the third put the Braves ahead 2-1.

“So making contact is very important,” Cora said. “I know pitching, it’s incredible what these guys are doing. But when you’ve got a man at third, we’ve have to bear down, we have to put the ball in play. It’s very important for us.”

Boston Red Sox lineup: Alex Verdugo (hamstring) returns; Danny Santana in center field vs. Braves

Christopher Smith

BOSTON — Alex Verdugo is back in the Boston Red Sox’s starting lineup Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves.

The Red Sox and Braves will play at 7:10 p.m. at Fenway Park. It is the first game of a two-game set.

Verdugo left Boston’s win Friday early because of left hamstring tightness. He did not start Saturday and Sunday but he did pinch hit Sunday in Philadelphia.

Danny Santana will play center field. Hunter Renfroe is in right field and Verdugo is in left field.

Franchy Cordero will not start despite the Red Sox facing a right-handed starter, Charlie Morton.

Christian Arroyo — who is expected to be activated from the injured list (left hand contusion) after batting practice — is not starting. The Red Sox optioned Michael Chavis to Triple-A Worcester on Monday, opening a spot on the active roster for Arroyo.

The Red Sox aggressively pursued and made a competitive offer to Morton this past offseason when he was a free agent.

Xander Bogaerts is 10-for-29 (.345) with one homer, three doubles and two RBIs in his career against Morton. J.D. Martinez is 9-for-26 (.346) with two doubles against Morton.

Garrett Richards will start for Boston. He is 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA (31 ⅔ innings, eight earned runs) in his past five starts.

Before Tuesday’s game, right-handed reliever Austin Brice cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Worcester.

Boston Red Sox lineup

1. Kiké Hernández 2B

2. Alex Verdugo LF

3. J.D. Martinez DH

4. Xander Bogaerts SS

5. Rafael Devers 3B

6. Christian Vázquez C

7. Danny Santana CF

8. Hunter Renfroe RF

9. Bobby Dalbec 1B

Pitching matchup: Tuesday: RHP Garrett Richards (4-2, 3.72 ERA) vs. RHP Charlie Morton (2-2, 4.60 ERA), NESN

Boston Red Sox vs. Atlanta Braves preview: TV schedule, pitching probables, key stories (May 25- 26)

Christopher Smith

BOSTON — The Red Sox host the Atlanta Braves for a two-game series Tuesday and Wednesday.

During this homestand — starting on May 29 — Fenway Park will be at full capacity for the first time since Sept. 29, 2019. The Red Sox play three games against the on Friday, Saturday and Sunday before returning out on the road.

The Red Sox must begin to play better at home. They are 13-12 at Fenway Park and 16-7 on the road.

Boston is in second place for the first time in 46 days. The Rays have won 11 straight games to overtake Boston by a half game.

The Yankees are only a half game behind Boston in a tight AL East race.

Atlanta Braves (23-24) vs. Boston Red Sox (29-19) · Fenway Park · Boston, MA SERIES SCHEDULE (and TV information):

Tuesday, May 25: Braves at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m., NESN

Wednesday, May 26: Braves at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m., NESN

HOW TO WATCH:

Tuesday. May 25, 7:10 p.m. ET -- NESN (Channel finder: Comcast Xfinity, Verizon Fios, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV, Dish, AT&T U verse, fuboTV and Sling) · Live stream: fuboTV, MLB.tv (out of market)

Wednesday. May 26, 7:10 p.m. ET -- NESN (Channel finder: Comcast Xfinity, Verizon Fios, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV, Dish, AT&T U verse, fuboTV and Sling) · Live stream: FOX Sports, fuboTV, MLB.tv (out of market)

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT:

Ronald Acuña Jr. is one of baseball’s best young players. The 23-year-old is slashing .276/.380/.622/1.001 with 15 homers, seven doubles, one triple, 37 runs and 31 RBIs in 43 games. He and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are tied for the MLB lead in homers.

Freddie Freeman, the 2020 NL MVP, is slashing .235/.360/.471/.830 with 12 homers, four doubles, 30 runs and 29 RBIs in 46 games.

Third baseman has a .320/.414/.549/.963 line with nine homers, eight doubles, 27 runs and 21 RBIs in 47 games.

PITCHING PROBABLES:

Tuesday: RHP Garrett Richards (4-2, 3.72) vs. RHP Charlie Morton (2-2, 4.60) NESN

Wednesday: RHP (5-0, 3.59) vs. LHP (2-2, 5.11), NESN

THREE SOX TO WATCH:

1. Franchy Cordero

Cordero remains on Boston’s 26-man roster. He seemed like a top candidate to be optioned to Triple-A Worcester to make room for Christian Arroyo, who will be activated from the IL on Tuesday. But the Red Sox instead optioned Michael Chavis. Cordero hit his first Sunday in Philly. It went 474 feet and left the bat at 118.6 mph. Cordero should be in the starting lineup Tuesday against righty Charlie Morton.

2.

The opposition is only 1-for-19 (.053) against the left-handed reliever during May. But hitters are batting .405 (17-for-42) against him at Fenway Park. Opponents are 2-for-22 (.091) against him on the road.

3. Garrett Richards

The righty, who starts Tuesday, is 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA (31 ⅔ innings, eight earned runs) in his past five starts.

SERIES NOTES:

The Red Sox optioned Michael Chavis to Triple-A Worcester on Monday. Christian Arroyo (left hand contusion) is expected to be activated before Tuesday’s game.

The Red Sox face both a right-handed and left-handed starter this series. They are 19-14 against right- handed starters and 10-5 against left-handed starters.

Xander Bogaerts is 10-for-29 (.345) with one homer, three doubles and two RBIs against Charlie Morton, who starts for the Braves on Tuesday. J.D. Martinez is 9-for-26 (.346) with two doubles against Morton.

The Braves are third in the majors in OPS (.758). They are second in slugging (.442) trailing only the Red Sox (.450). They lead the big leagues with 78 home runs.

Atlanta is 22nd in reliever ERA (4.62).

Boston has won seven of its past 10 games but has dropped to second place in the AL East for the first time in 46 days.

Nick Pivetta, who starts Wednesday, leads Red Sox starters in opponent batting average (.205) and strikeouts (50).

UP NEXT:

Thu. 5/27: OFF DAY

Fri. 5/28 - Sun. 5/30: vs. Marlins (3)

Boston Red Sox roster moves: Austin Brice clears waivers, will join WooSox bullpen

Chris Cotillo

The Red Sox outrighted reliever Austin Brice to Triple-A Worcester after he cleared waivers, the club announced Tuesday. Brice was designated for assignment Friday afternoon when the team activated infielder/outfielder Danny Santana.

Brice, who was originally acquired in a trade with the Marlins in Jan. 2020, posted a 6.94 ERA and recorded 34 strikeouts in 33 appearances with the Red Sox over the last two years. The tall righty struggled to find consistent success this year (6.94 ERA in 11 ⅔ innings) and was primarily being used in low leverage situations.

Brice will join former Red Sox hurlers , Marcus Walden and Colten Brewer as veterans in the WooSox’ bullpen along with Brandon Brennan, Kevin McCarthy, John Schreiber and Matt Hall, who all have big-league experience elsewhere. If the Red Sox need to add a relief arm, Brewer will likely be the first option called upon because he is on the 40-man roster; righty is currently on the injured list after suffering a lat strain and will be shut down from throwing for three weeks.

Both the Red Sox and WooSox will begin new series Tuesday evening. Boston will host the Braves for the first of two games at Fenway Park and Worcester will travel to Allentown, Pa., for a six-game set against Lehigh Valley.

Michael Chavis to WooSox: Boston Red Sox’s Alex Cora says, ‘There’s stuff offensively he needs to keep working on’

Christopher Smith

BOSTON — The Red Sox optioned Michael Chavis to Triple-A Worcester on Monday, making room on the 26-man roster for Christian Arroyo who will be activated from the IL before Tuesday’s game.

Chavis appeared in 11 games for Boston, batting .273 (9-for-33) with a .273 on-base percentage, .485 , .758 OPS, one homer, four doubles, seven runs and two RBIs.

“I think Michael did a good job, especially defensively,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday. “For a kid that we called up in ‘19 out of necessity — we needed somebody to stand at second and swing the bat — he’s become a good second baseman. He turned some good double plays. He made all the plays. He did well. Of course, there’s stuff offensively that he needs to keep working on. And now is a good time for him to go down there and do that.”

Chavis struggled to lay off high fastballs above the strike zone, something he has had difficulty with in previous seasons. He had 13 strikeouts and no walks. He had a 39.4% strikeout percentage in his small sample size with Boston this year.

“He’s become a good baserunner, a fast runner, to be honest with you,” Cora said. “And we were very pleased. But right now, he needs at-bats.”

Chavis should benefit from playing every day for Worcester. It should help his development. His playing time would be sporadic if he remained with Boston.

“I know it’s tough to be in this situation,” Cora said. “But Christian (Arroyo) has done a solid job with us. Now we’ve got Danny (Santana). We’ve got Marwin (Gonzalez). We’ve got Enrique (Hernández). We’ve got a lot of guys who can cover us at second, , third and first base.

“So it’s tough as a player. I can tell you that. I was in that situation in 2000. It sucks — the up and down. But that’s part of becoming a big leaguer. At one point, he’s going to be in the other situation. And hopefully, he can force our hand if he goes there and he dominates Triple A. It’s not that he hasn’t done it. It’s that he hasn’t had the opportunity to do that at the Triple-A level. And see what happens in the future. But we told him something might happen in the upcoming days, in the upcoming weeks, a month, whatever. He’ll be back with us and he’s ready to contribute. And he helped us win ballgames, which is very important.”

Jarren Duran’s Polar Park homer ‘one of the farthest’ Boston Red Sox’s Christian Arroyo has seen in person; ‘The ball flies’ in Worcester

Christopher Smith

BOSTON — Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts on Tuesday asked Christian Arroyo his thoughts about brand-new Polar Park in Worcester.

Arroyo spent the weekend with Triple-A Worcester on a rehab assignment. The Red Sox are expected to activate Christian Arroyo (left hand contusion) from the injured list after batting practice Tuesday.

“Dude, the ball flies,” Arroyo told Bogaerts. “It’s kind of crazy. There’s like a jet stream out to right. I saw some homers where I was like, ‘Whoa.’ It was pretty incredible to see some of the balls that were hit. Obviously guys are strong. (Jarren) Duran hit a ball like 475 feet on a breaking ball. And I was on deck and I saw it and I was like, ‘That might be one of the furthest balls I’ve ever seen hit in person.”

Duran belted two home runs Saturday. One blast went an estimated 480 feet. The other one went 475 feet. Duran, Boston’s top outfield prospect, has seven homers in 18 games at Triple A.

“And Jeter (Downs) hit a home run in one of the games to right center,” Arroyo said. “I mean just flicked the wrists and I’m like, ‘Jeezum crow. This place flies.’ That’s not a knock on them (Duran and Downs). Those guys can hit. They’ve got some juice in there. But I’m also seeing it where I’m seeing guys hit pop- ups to right and all of a sudden, the guy’s at the track and he’s catching the ball on the track.”

Arroyo said he hit a pop-up to left field that carried.

“I was like, ‘That ball’s still going?’” Arroyo said.

Boston Red Sox catching prospect Kole Cottam has power, .408 OBP, played with ex-big leaguers in Battle of the Bourbon Trail last summer

Christopher Smith

Red Sox catching prospect Kole Cottam spent summer 2020 playing with former major leaguers , Ben Revere, Robbie Ross Jr. and Iván De Jesús in the Battle of the Bourbon Trail, a league formed the day after the minor league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was some of the most fun baseball I’ve ever played,” said Cottam who Boston drafted in the fourth round out of the University of Kentucky in 2018.

“It was in Lexington where I went to college,” Cottam added. “So we had a lot of friends, even families get to come and watch. A couple of my best friends from college were on the same team as me. ... We had a lot of former big leaguers. We had a lot of minor league guys. And it was just an incredible experience in a time when we couldn’t play (professional) baseball.”

Cottam — who participated in major league spring training camp — is off to a strong start for High-A Greenville in 2021. He’s batting .275 (11-for-40) with a .408 on-base percentage, .450 slugging percentage, .858 OPS, two homers, one double, six runs and five RBIs in 12 games.

He led Kentucky with 19 home runs in 56 games during 2018. He recorded 34 extra-base hits (25 doubles, eight homers, one triple) in 87 games at Low A and High A combined during 2019, his first full professional season.

“I would say I’m a gap-to-gap hitter,” he said.

“Trying to be a little bit more selective, see the ball a little bit better,” Cottam added. “That’s going to help my overall approach and help my overall swing decisions.”

The 2021 Prospect Handbook has him listed as the top defensive catcher in Boston’s system. He used his time in the Battle of the Bourbon Trail to work on his defense.

The 6-foot-3, 226-pounder is one of the many Red Sox catchers who has transitioned to the one-knee catching stance. He began working on it during spring training 2020.

“During the quarantine and going into spring training of ’21, I made the full transition to one knee only,” Cottam said. “I absolutely love it. It helps me being a bigger catcher with being able to stay low to the ground, use my flexibility and be able to just kind of relax my body. It takes some wear and tear off the body being able catch a lot more and kind of keeping you fresh. But it kind of frees me up to be more athletic.”

Cottam has a similar build to who was approximately 6-2, 230 pounds during his playing career. Varitek told Alex Cora he likely would have used the one-knee stance if he had known the benefits back during his playing career.

“It kind of keeps me short and simple being a bigger person,” Cottam said. “Throwing’s been a big point of mine to improve on and just show everybody that I can throw with the best of them. So it definitely has helped. I’ve got to give a lot of credit to our coaches and staff with the Red Sox.”

Summer 2020

The Lexington Legends, then a ’ Class-A affiliate, joined with the Florence Y’alls of the independent Frontier League to form a four-team Battle of the Bourbon Trail league.

Lexington and Florence fielded two rosters each. Lexington’s two teams were the Legends and Leyendas. The Florence teams were the Y’Alls and Freedom.

The Lexington Legends were one of the minor league teams that lost its affiliation when contracted the minor leagues this past offseason.

Each team played a 40-game schedule and games were held Wednesday-Sunday.

“There was a lot of players over the course of the summer who filtered in when they saw what was going on,” Cottam said. “We were able to have a season, have fans. We were getting tested regularly. Everything went without a hiccup. Once people saw what we were able to be doing at a time when most weren’t, a lot more players started filtering in.”

Transylvania University manager Zack Getsee —who just won Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference coach of the year honors — managed Cottam’s team.

Cottam played on Lexington with Brandon Phillips who recorded 2,029 hits (including 211 homers, 368 doubles, 35 triples) over 17 big league seasons (2002-18).

“Just being able to catch four days a week and be able to improve on the little things on defense,” Cottam said. “I worked on a lot of the one-knee stuff during that summer league. And it gave me a little bit better perspective on baseball. It was a lot of fun. We had a great time. It was a very low-stress environment. I played with a lot of players who had excellent big league careers. So kind of being able to learn from them and see how they go about their business every day, you couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Thirteen surgeries

Cottam wore No. 13 both at Knoxville Catholic High and Kentucky because he underwent 13 surgeries around his right eye growing up.

“So it’s a very special number to me,” he said.

He was born with a congenital melanocytic nevus.

“It’s a fancy word for a birthmark,” Cottam explained. “There was risk with it being on my face that it could have turned cancerous down the road. So when I was born, my parents made a decision to have it slowly removed over time. So just basically taking skin grafts. And there was some different things along the way. It ended up being 13 surgeries.”

He underwent his first surgery at 3 months old and his final surgery at 14.

“They just basically took skin from behind my ears and removed the skin from eyelid and everything,” he said. “So it was just kind of a process over a long time. And that’s all behind me, which is fantastic.”

An athletic family

Jeff Cottam, Kole’s father, played both handball and baseball at the University of Memphis.

“He was one of the best in the world at handball,” Kole Cottam said. “He’s from Toronto.”

Jeff has been a Delta pilot for more than 20 years. Kole’s mother Kori is a doctor who practices Obstetrical and Gynecologic care.

Kori played basketball at Memphis.

“She’s crazy athletic,” Cottam said. “She still kicks our butt in horse in the driveway every once in a while.”

Cottam has a brother Kyle who golfs for Clemson where he has a 72.58 stroke average and has played 15 rounds in the 60s during his four years as a starter, per the school’s website.

“He’s doing great. They’re actually in the national championship this week,” Cottam said. “So they’re heading down to Arizona in a few days. I know they’re excited. I’m excited. It’s on TV so I’m going to be able to watch. So it’s going to be awesome.”

MINOR LEAGUERS TO WATCH

Cameron Cannon, Boston’s top draft pick in 2019, belted a for Greenville on Tuesday. It was his fourth homer this season.

The second baseman/shortstop is batting .319 with a .367 on-base percentage, .583 slugging percentage, .950 OPS, four homers, seven doubles, 12 RBIs and 13 runs in 18 games (72 at-bats).

“He’s showing everybody what he can do,” Cottam said. “He’s a very aggressive player. He’s a great hitter, great defender. ... He’s fun to watch. He’s an electric player. He’s taken extra bases and he’s making great plays. It’s very fun to watch right now.”

Tyler Dearden, a 22-year-old outfielder, has a .313/.468/.729/1.197 line with five homers, five doubles, 15 runs and 15 RBIs in 15 games (48 at-bats) for Greenville.

“He’s playing a good outfield, too,” Cottam said. “He’s had a couple of assists. He’s swinging it great. He’s a great dude. It’s great to see him hitting well. We have a lot of guys on the team that are hitting really well. It’s a fun lineup. It’s a fun team to be a part of.”

Bradley Blalock, a 20-year-old right-handed pitching prospect, hurled 3 innings in a start for Low-A Salem on Tuesday. He allowed one unearned run, four hits and one walk while striking out three.

He has allowed just two earned runs in 12 innings (1.50 ERA) in four starts for Salem.

Blalock’s fastball touches the 90s. He told MassLive.com he eliminated fast food breakfasts and added 10 pounds of productive weight during the COVID-19 shutdown

Josh Winckowski — the pitching prospect who Boston acquired in the Andrew Benintendi trade — hurled 5 ⅔ innings for Portland on Sunday. He allowed two runs, seven hits and two walks while striking out four.

The 22-year-old has made four starts for Portland. He has a 1.80 ERA (four earned runs, 20 innings), .184 batting average against and 1.15 WHIP.

“There’s a good foundation there,” chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said about Winckowski in April. “The changeup shows a lot of promise. It’s a pretty hard changeup right now but you can still have success with that. It’s more of a power change. And that pitch is going to evolve but I think his other stuff will evolve, too. And he’s going to learn different ways to use it as he goes.”

Ryan Fitzgerald went 3-for-4 with an RBI and run for Double-A Portland on Tuesday. The shortstop is slashing .292/.352/.523/.875 with two homers, nine doubles, nine RBIs and eight runs in 18 games (65 at- bats). The Red Sox signed him out of independent baseball in 2018.

Red Sox release ‘Local Market’ hat with Massachusetts area codes -- but leave out 413, Western Mass.

Nick O'Malley

UPDATE (6:15 p.m.) - Within hours of their initial release, the “Local Market” hats were no longer listed on the New Era website.

Once again, Western Mass. gets no respect.

The Boston Red Sox were among MLB teams to release a new “Local Market” hat Tuesday as part of a partnership with New Era. It’s certainly a sight for the eyes, featuring the Paul Revere statue, a lobster roll and Massachusetts area code numbers.

Now, if you’re from Western Mass., you may have already noticed something wrong with that list of area code numbers. Namely, the numbers “413″ are absent from the list.

In case you were wondering. Yes, this hat is real and produced by New Era, the official hat provider for Major League Baseball.

According to the New Era website, the Boston Red Sox Local Market 59FIFTY Fitted Cap is “inspired by their home city.” The Red Sox are one of a number of teams that have put out similar hats, which all include area codes and a selection of colorful imagery that represents the region.

Throwing in Boston’s 617 area code on local sports merch isn’t anything new. City pride is easy to sell. However, the Red Sox took it a step further in this instance, throwing in the 508, 774, 781 and 978 area codes. That list represents an area that stretches from Wendell and Sturbridge on the western edge to Salisbury and Provincetown on the eastern edge.

It does not, however, include Springfield, Chicopee, Pittsfield, Westfield, Holyoke or Amherst, which are all among the 50 biggest towns and cities in the state by population.

For the most part, the Local Markets cap in this instance focuses on a lot of Boston-specific material and general history for the region. The lobster roll may be a peculiar addition, but at least it represents the places like Springfield, where basketball was invented.

For those who aren’t worried about the Red Sox forgetting that Western Mass. exists, the hats were available to purchase for $39.99. But as of Tuesday evening were pulled from the website.

* RedSox.com

With Morton 'on the ropes,' Sox can't cash in

Ian Browne

This homestand was off to a promising start for the Red Sox.

Bases loaded, nobody out in the first. A Danny Santana triple to lead off the second.

And with those two golden opportunities against battle-tested veteran Charlie Morton, Boston managed a total of one run en route to a frustrating 3-1 loss to the Braves on Tuesday night at Fenway Park.

Baseball 101 tells you that when you don't capitalize against a pitcher of Morton's caliber in the early innings, it will come back to haunt you. Never was that more true than in this game.

"Good pitchers will do that," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "He struggled early on with command, but he made some pitches and got out of situations. And after that, he did what he usually does -- and that's why he's one of the best pitchers in the big leagues."

Morton was flat-out nasty after his shaky opening, going seven innings and retiring the last 13 batters he faced following a two-out single by Xander Bogaerts in the bottom of the third. The right-hander gave up three hits and no earned runs while punching out nine. In fact, the Red Sox didn't have a hit in the final six innings.

"We had Charlie on the ropes the first two innings," said Cora. "We only score one and that's what good pitchers do. We had our chances early on, we didn't cash in. Bases loaded, no outs, we only score one, then we had men on third, no outs, we don't score and that's it."

Though the Red Sox have one of the top offenses in baseball this season, one weakness has continually surfaced. That is their inability to drive in that runner from third with less than two outs.

Boston's .548 OPS with a man on third and less than two outs ranks 29th out of MLB's 30 teams.

"I don't know. I wish I could find [the reason]," said Cora. "To be honest with you, a ground ball to second or a ground ball to short, cash in and that's all we need and we talk about it. There's only 25, 30 at-bats [per season a player] comes up in with men at third and less than two outs and we haven't done the job."

This is particularly frustrating for Cora, because it is something that he preached as far back as the earliest days of Spring Training.

"In an era or a year that it's hard to hit and runs are at a premium, it's very important to make contact with a man on third [and less than two outs]. You just put the ball in play and you're going to cash in," said Cora.

"I saw it with Jed Lowrie against Eduardo Rodriguez [on May 12]. It was a big run," said Cora. "I saw it [last week]. The Jays against us in Dunedin, [Fla.], they put the ball in play and they score. You saw it with them today, Ozzie Albies put the ball in play, [Freddie] Freeman scores. Making contact is very important."

Red Sox righty Garrett Richards battled to keep his team in the game, though he didn't have his best stuff. The lanky righty gave up six hits and three runs over 5 2/3 innings, walking four and striking out four. Of his 97 pitches, just 59 were for strikes.

The Red Sox slipped to 13-13 at home this season compared to 16-7 on the road.

Why is that?

"I don't know," said Richards. "I have no idea. We've got a pretty damn good record, though, so I wouldn't worry about the last couple of games."

Play of the night

There was one standout play for the Red Sox in this one, and it came in the top of the third inning.

With runners on second and third and one out for the Braves, Albies hit one into short right field, where second baseman Kiké Hernández was playing in the shift. It is a play in which the second baseman invariably throws to first for the sure out. But in an aggressive play you hardly ever see, Hernández came up firing and threw to third, where Rafael Devers slapped down the tag on Marcell Ozuna.

Unfortunately, Ozuna was injured on the unusual play, dislocating the ring and middle fingers on his left hand when they got tangled in Devers' spikes.

"A great heads-up play," said Cora. "He's into every play and he anticipates, and you don't make that play without thinking about it. You just don't react to that. You plan that before. He saw it before it happened, and it was one of the best plays I've seen. It looked routine, it looked easy, but to throw the ball from the shift to third base to get the runner, that was the first time I've seen that.

"As a second baseman, I used to take chances with men on second and a routine ground ball to second with no outs, but to do it from the shift, [that's the] first time I've seen that. Amazing play."

* WEEI.com

Before J-Lo, Lou Merloni had his own history with A-Rod and Ben Affleck

Alex Reimer

Lou Merloni opened up his phone after a game and was baffled. Several of his friends left enraged voice messages, threatening to drive out to Dorchester so they could kick somebody’s ass. It took about four listens for Merloni to figure out whom his buddies were slamming.

Ben Affleck?

The Hollywood star and diehard Red Sox fan made an appearance in the NESN booth that night, and when Merloni came up to the plate, started tearing into him. A few days prior, Merloni said the Red Sox were making a “mockery” of his career for constantly sending him down to Triple-A Pawtucket. He thought it was time for the “Merloni Shuttle” to be taken out of service.

On NESN, Affleck turned Merloni’s words against him, saying he was responsible for making a mockery of himself. This was back in May 2002, so Merloni didn’t hear the commentary until he rewatched his at- bats in the video room. At that point, he was livid. Merloni fired back at Affleck in the press.

“A mockery is his last four movies,” Merloni told reporters in June 2002. “That's a mockery. You've got to be kidding me. He's got enough issues to worry about.”

Merloni’s history with Affleck is relevant today, because the A-list actor is currently involved in a star- studded love triangle with Jennifer Lopez and , with whom Merloni has also beefed.

Before there was J-Lo, there was Framingham Lou, though he wasn’t feeling very loving when Affleck tried to apologize during a TV segment.

“To be honest with you, I really didn’t want to let him off the hook,” Merloni said. “He was like, ‘I’ll send you all of my movies,’ and I’m like, ‘I’m all set.’ And he was like, ‘Come out to LA, I’ll set you up with all of the girls,’ and I was like, ‘Nah, I’m all set, too.’ I was just like, ‘Whatever, dude. On NESN, you talk so much trash about me on TV, and then on one phone call, you sober up and feel f—- bad? F— you.”

Years later, Merloni was equally defiant when the roles were reversed, and Rodriguez confronted him about something he said on TV. At the time, Merloni was working as a studio analyst for NBC Sports Boston, and Rodriguez was an outright pariah. Fans found out about his steroid use and alleged Centaur self-portrait. About four years later, Rodriguez would sue MLB.

Just like other talking heads, Merloni tore into A-Rod for his litany of transgressions, and somehow, he heard it. Who knew Rodriguez was so aware of “The Baseball Show?”

When Merloni was covering a Red Sox-Yankees game a few days later, Rodriguez approached him, and asked for a minute. Merloni was shocked A-Rod even knew his name.

“That was always the difference between Jeter and A-Rod,” Merloni said. "I played Derek a lot more, but I always had respect for him, and he was always talkative no matter who you were. You never felt that way with A-Rod.”

But when Rodriguez approached Merloni, he acted like they were best buddies.

“He was just like, ‘I heard you say some things. I thought we were always cool, you and I,’” Merloni said. “‘I always respected your game. That’s why I was really taken aback when I heard you say some of those things you said about me.’ I didn’t even bother to ask him where he heard it, and I said, ‘A-Rod, honestly, I never thought we were cool. I never thought you even knew my name.’”

The incident is a remarkable example of Rodriguez’s hypersensitivity. For Merloni, it’s amazing how much A-Rod’s petulance has been forgotten.

"It was weird. He’s a different bird,” Merloni said. “The guy sued Major League Baseball. Now everybody loves him?”

* NBC Sports Boston

Danny Santana is looking like a steal for Red Sox

John Tomase

There are more players than everyday jobs in the big leagues, which means that every offseason, someone talented inevitably falls through the cracks.

This past winter it might have been Danny Santana.

Once a Rookie of the Year candidate with the , Santana regressed for four straight seasons until breaking out with the in 2019, slamming 28 home runs while posting an .857 OPS. The fact that he possessed 20-steal speed as well as the ability to play every position on the diamond should've given him some value.

Except Santana endured a miserable 2020 with the Rangers, hitting just .145 in 15 games before undergoing modified Tommy John surgery in September to repair a torn elbow ligament. He was supposed to be sidelined for eight months, but the Red Sox signed him to a minor-league deal in early March, and just when it looked like he might have a shot to make the roster, a foot infection sidelined him through April.

He returned for the minor league season and was promoted at the start of the last road trip, homering twice in his first three games and stealing a base to give a glimpse of the impact he could make on an offense struggling to find production outside of its top four hitters.

"He's a good player," said manager Alex Cora. "He had a great season a few years ago. Just the way he controls the at-bat, there's no panic, the way he takes pitches. He can drive the ball the other way and you know what that means at home. He can shoot it the other way with power."

On a team that prized versatility this offseason, Santana fits right in alongside Kiké Hernández and Marwin Gonzalez. He has appeared everywhere except pitcher and catcher, with his primary positions center field and shortstop.

The Red Sox have used him at first base and in center, and it's easy to envision the switch hitter hopping around the outfield, where the Red Sox have searched for consistent production beyond Alex Verdugo.

"I'm ready for everything," Santana said. "I played a couple positions back in Worcester a couple weeks ago, last week, so I'm ready."

Santana doesn't just provide positional flexibility. The switch hitter also helps balance a right-handed-heavy lineup that includes two lefties -- Verdugo and Rafael Devers -- as well as Gonzalez, a fellow switch hitter who is hitting only .188 from the left side.

Both of Santana's homers came from that side vs. the . On the first, he cranked a hanging curveball from All-Star right-hander Aaron Nola. On the second, he smoked a 98 mph fastball low and in from Sam Coonrod.

"The at-bats, you can see quality at-bats, he controls the strike zone," Cora said. "He said he was actually a little bit nervous before his first at-bat, during his first at-bat, and I said, 'Well, you're only human. That's part of what we do and if you don't feel nervous at this level, there's something wrong with you. We all feel that way on a daily basis, so put a good swing on it.'

"A breaking ball stayed in the zone and that's what he brings. He can hit the ball out of the ballpark, we're very excited that he's with us and I know he's going to help us."

The other area where Santana could make an underrated impact is on the bases. The Red Sox rank in the middle of the pack in the American League with 21 steals, but Santana has twice swiped 20 bases, including 21 during his breakout 2019.

"He's a switch hitter who can hit the ball out of the ballpark, but I think the thing that he brings that we don't have is speed," Cora said. "We run the bases well, we pick and choose where we want to go, and we've been pretty effective, but he can run. I think that's a dimension that will add something to the equation. Offensively we should be better. It creates more balance, it gives us more alternatives and we're very happy he's with us."

Why Red Sox were 'enticing' to Charlie Morton in free agency

Darren Hartwell

Both Charlie Morton and the Boston Red Sox got a glimpse of what could have been Tuesday night.

Morton dazzled for the Atlanta Braves against the Red Sox in their series opener at Fenway Park, allowing just one unearned run on three hits with nine strikeouts over seven innings.

Morton might have had extra motivation: The 37-year-old right-hander grew up a Red Sox fan in southwestern Connecticut.

"This is a special place for me," Morton said about Fenway Park after the game, via The Atlanta Journal- Constitution. "This is a real special place for baseball. … Getting a chance to play against a very, very good team in a special place, that was pretty cool."

That "special place" was nearly Morton's home in 2021. The Red Sox reportedly made a "competitive offer" to the two-time All-Star in free agency, and the lure of playing for his childhood team and manager Alex Cora -- who was with Morton in 2017 as the Astros' bench coach when Houston won the World Series -- almost led him to choose Boston.

"Knowing Alex, having a chance to speak with some of the guys over there, getting a chance to play in this park, put on that uniform, all those things were very enticing," Morton said.

"Ultimately I was weighing a lot of factors," Morton said. I made my (major league) debut with the Braves. I knew people in the organization, and I knew how special and talented this group was, one game away from going to the World Series last year. I knew there were good people here, and also just the proximity to home (in Bradenton.

“It was a hard decision, but I certainly respect that (Boston) organization."

That respect is mutual: Morton owns a 7-1 career record against the Red Sox and has been particularly dominant at Fenway Park, with a 4-0 record and 2.57 ERA over five starts.

* BostonSportsJournal.com

Final: Braves 3, Red Sox 1

Sean McAdam

After squandering a number of chances in the first two innings, the Red Sox didn't get any more the rest of the way and dropped a 3-1 decision to the Atlanta Braves.

The Sox were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position in the early going against Charlie Morton, who shut them thereafter, allowing one baserunner over his final five innings of work.

The Braves got two in the third off Garrett Richards on a run-scoring double by Marcell Ozuna and a fielder's choice and added another in the sixth when Ronald Acuna Jr. greeted reliever Hirokazu Sawamura with a double that drove home Pablo Sandoval.

WHO: Red Sox (29-19) vs. Atlanta Braves (23-24) WHEN: 7:10 p.m. WHERE: Fenway Park STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Garrett Richards (4-2, 3.72) vs. RHP Charlie Morton (2-2, 4.60) TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM 93.7

LINEUPS

BRAVES

Acuna RF Freeman 1B Ozuna LF Albies 2B Swanson SS Sandoval DH Heredia CF Contreras C

RED SOX

Hernandez CF Verdugo LF Martinez DH Bogaerts SS Devers 3B Vazquez C Santana CF Renfroe RF Dalbec 1B

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

B7: Morton finishes strong, retiring the final 13 hitters he faced and 17 of the last 18. He's at 1-2 pitches and presumably done.

T6: Sawamura makes a pretty good pitch to Ronald Acuna Jr. -- a splitter, down-and-in. But Acuna pulls his hands in a rifles a run-scoring double into the left field corner.

T6: That's all for Richards, who allows two runs in 5.2 innings, and leaves two runners for Hirokazu Sawamura.

B5: As if often the case with veteran starters -- if you don't get them early, you don't get them at all. Since Danny Santana's leadoff triple and a walk to Hunter Renfroe in the second, Red Sox hitters are 1-for-12 against Charlie Morton.

T3: Alert play by Kike Hernandez, who cuts down the trail runners, Marcell Ozuna, trying to advance from second third on a fielder's choice as a run scores.

T3: Marcell Ozuna, who had a three-homer game here last season, renews his assault on Fenway with a line drive double to The Triangle, scoring a run.

B2: For the second straight inning, Red Sox failed to cash in. Had runners at first-and-third with no out, and get nothing from it. They're already 0-for-5 with RISP.

T2: Pablo Sandoval, in a glorious and long-awaited return to Fenway, bangs a single off The Wall and is greeted by rapturous applause by Sox fans. ( Not really).

B1: Rafael Devers credited with his 40th RBI in a most unusual fashion -- taking a bases-loaded pitch off the foot, forcing in the first run of the night.

B1: Bizarre play. J.D. Martinez hits a lower liner right at second baseman Ozzie Albies, who was intent on snaring it and doubling up Kike Hernandez at second. Instead, the ball ticks off his glove for an error and the Red Sox have the bases loaded with no out.

T1: Garrett Richards is flashing improved velocity with his fastball in the early going, routinely hitting 96 mph. Unsurprisingly, he's throwing it often -- 13 of his first 17 pitches.

WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox have won seven of their last 10 and four of their last five...They've also won three consecutive series and are 5-1-0 in their last six.... At 29-19 (.604), the Sox have MLB’s fourth-best record behind San Diego (30-18), the (29-18), and Tampa Bay (30-19)...This is the first day the Red Sox are not in first place in their division since April 8....They had had a run of 46 consecutive days from April 9 through May 24 in which they were either in first place by themselves or owned a share of first, including 43 consecutive days in sole possession of 1st place from April 11 through May 23.. Starting tonight, each of the Red Sox’ next 21 games will be against teams that made the 2020 postseason, as well as 27 of the next 30 with seven games against Houston, six against the Yankees, four against the Braves, four against the Jays, three against the Marlins and three against the Rays... So far, the Sox are 11-6 (.647) against teams that entered today with at least a .500 , the second- best record in the majors...The Red Sox are 13-12 at Fenway Park, fifth-best home mark in the American League...They are 13-9 at home since getting swept by BAL to begin the season....On the road, the Sox are 16-7 (.696), the second-best record on the road. Only the Rays at 19-7 are better on the road....The Sox are 6-1-0 in road series, but just 3-2-3 in series at Fenway....The Red Sox lead the majors in runs (tied, 249), doubles (105), extra-base hits (173), slugging percentage (.450), and OPS (.774)...They're second in batting average (.263) behind HOU (.270). The Sox are an MLB-best 26-3 (.897) when scoring four or more runs and 15-0 when scoring seven or more runs....: The Red Sox are out-homering opponents, 65-35, for a plus- 30 differential, the largest in either league....The Sox rank tied for third in the AL with 65 homers...They have hit multiple homers in nine of their last 10 games for a total of 21 homers....The Sox are the only AL team featuring as many as 7 players with five or more homers...Meanwhile, Sox pitchers have allowed an AL-best 0.74 homers per nine innings...They've given up one or no homers in 12 straight games...The Red Sox are 4-1 vs. NL teams this season are are 267-181 (.596) all time against the NL, the highest Interleague winning percentage in the majors....Among relievers with at least 20 innings pitches, Matt Barnes leads the majors in strikeout % (50.0, 40 of 80) and WHIP (0.63) and ranks second in SO/9.0 IP (16.12)....Josh Taylor has made 10 consecutive scoreless appearances and has made five. Ottavino hasn't allowed a homer this year in 18.1 innings pitched...Garrett Richards allowed eight earned runs in his first three innings. but has since compiled a 2.38 ERA....Pablo Sandoval is 2-for-6 lifetime against Richards while Freddie Freeman is 0-for-2....Xander Bogaerts is 10-for 29 with a homer in his career against Charlie Morton while J.D. Martinez is 9-for-26....Both Rafael Devers and Bogaerts have five-game hitting streaks.

NEWS:

* The Red Sox activated Christian Arroyo (left hand contusion) from the IL. Arroyo spent three days on a rehab assignment in Worcester and pronounced himself fully recovered, though he will continue to wear a padded glove for a while to offer himself extra protection.

* Alex Cora had both Kike Hernandez and Danny Santana in the lineup together, and put Santana in the outfield and Hernandez at second even though each has played the other position. Cora said he wanted Santana to get more time to become comfortable with Xander Bogaerts around second base.

BSJ Game Report: Braves 3, Red Sox 1 - Sox let Morton off the hook

Sean McAdam

All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the Braves, complere with BSJ analysis and insight:

HEADLINES

Morton stymies Sox: In the offseason, the Red Sox were aggressive in their pursuit of veteran starter Charlie Morton. Morton was a free agent and had formed a close bond with Alex Cora when Cora was the Astros' bench coach in 2017. Ultimately, Morton chose the Braves, in part because of geography. Morton liked the idea of being a short flight away from his home on Florida's Gulf Coast, while also being able to spend more time at home in spring training for six weeks (the Braves train about 20 miles away). Perhaps the Red Sox should have just tried harder, because Morton completely dominated them Tuesday night, limiting them to an unearned run over seven innings while holding them to just three hits. When they failed to get to him early, Morton appeared to find himself and got better as the night went along.

Richards off just enough: Red Sox starter Garrett Richards certainly kept the Sox in the game, pitching into the sixth inning and allowing two runs (a third was charged to him after he left). But by his own admission, Richards was not his usual self on this night. The Braves squared up a lot of hard-hit balls against him and the righty didn't help himself with four walks, one which led directly to one run and another which contributed to a second. "As soon as I stop walking people, I feel like I'm going to take the next step,'' said Richards. "That just kind of something I'm dealing with right now. Tonight was just an off night; didn't really have great stuff.'' Indeed, Richards has walked 11 in his last three starts. The first two times, it didn't matter because of the run support he got and the fact that he minimized the damage. That wasn't the case against the Braves.

TURNING POINT

It was bad enough that the Red Sox didn't get more than one run with the bases loaded and no outs in the first inning. But things got compounded in the second when the Sox got a leadoff triple from Danny Santana, followed by a walk to Hunter Renfroe. Surely, the Sox would take better advantage with this scoring chance, right? Right? Turns out, no. Bobby Dalbec went down swinging and Kike Hernandez hit into a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play. Unable to break through against Morton, the Sox seemed to fold their tents. They collected one (1) more baserunner the rest of the way - a two-out single by Xander Bogaerts in the third inning that resulted in -- you guessed it -- nothing.

TWO UP

Garrett Whitlock: The rookie, who has struggled some in May, rebounded with two strong innings, allowing only ine hit while fanning two.

Kike Hernandez: Hernandez singled and scored the only Boston run of the night and also had a heads-up play in which he cut down a baserunner at third base.,

TWO DOWN

J.D. Martinez: It was an uneventful night at the plate for the DH, who, after reaching on an error in the first, didn't reach base again with strikeouts along the way.

Christian Vazquez: After lining into a rally-killing double play in the first, it got worse for the catcher with three strikeouts in his next three plate appearances.

QUOTE OF NOTE

"We had Charlie on the ropes in the first two innings and we only scored one. We had our chances early on and we didn't cash in.'' - Alex Cora on Charlie Morton.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

* This game marked the eighth time the Red Sox were limited to one or no runs.

* The three hits tied a season low, established two previous times.

* Kike Hernandez has scored 20 runs in his last 24 games.

* All three of Danny Santana's hits since joining the club have been for extra-bases -- two homers and a triple.

UP NEXT

This quick two-game interleague series finishes up at 7:07 p.m. Wednesday night, with Nick Pivetta (5-0, 3.59) vs. LHP Drew Smyly (.2-2, 5.11)

Red Sox failure to drive in runners from third with fewer than two outs a season-long failure

Sean McAdam

By most conventional measurements, the Red Sox have had one of the best offenses in baseball this season.

As they began their homestand Tuesday night, they were ranked first in all of baseball in runs scored, doubles, extra-base hits, slugging percentage, and OPS and were second in batting average and third in the American League in home runs.

In general, it's hard to complain about what they've been able to produce. The Sox have been proficient, and at a time when offense is depressed, plenty of teams would gladly switch lineups with the Sox.

There is, however, one area in which the Sox have been far less than satisfactory: getting runners in from third base with less than two outs.

Call it situational hitting. Call it a failure to put the ball in play enough.

However you wish to label it, the Red Sox have been ghastly. Tuesday night, and not for the first time, it cost them a game.

The Sox had the bases loaded in the first inning with no outs against the Atlanta Braves' Charlie Morton and managed just one run. And that came when Morton's breaking pitch glanced off the foot of Rafael Devers, forcing in a run. As bad as that was, the second inning was worse: a leadoff triple by Danny Santana followed by a walk to Hunter Renfroe got the Sox nothing.,

Having allowed Morton to wiggle out of two jams, the Sox never got another opportunity. Morton pitched five more innings and allowed one more hit. The Red Sox didn't get another man into scoring position against him and came up short in a 3-1 interleague loss to Atlanta.

It's part of a season-long pattern for the Sox, who can be explosive with the bats at any time, but curiously feeble when there's a chance to knock home a baserunner from third.

With runners at third base and fewer than two out, the Sox rank 27th in baseball with a .233 batting average, including 0-for-4 Tuesday night. When it comes to OPS in those situations, the Sox are even worse, ranking 29th -- or next-to-last.

The frustrating thing is that, as bad as those numbers reflect on the lineup, teams don't need a big hit in those spots, though they're always welcome. Sometimes, the Sox would do well to hit a grounder to the right side, or a flyout to the outfield.

Too often, they've instead struck out or failed to make a productive out.

Alex Cora foresaw this issue in spring training when he began preaching the importance of the team's hitters -- particularly in the lower half of the order -- being able to put the ball in play. Sometimes that requires a less aggressive swing, with an eye toward simply making contact.

Instead, the free-swingers in the bottom third of the order are often striking out. In the four such plate appearances that presented themselves Tuesday, the Sox got the following outcomes: strikeout, double play, strikeout, double play.

At this point, it's difficult to say who is more frustrated: the hitters themselves or Cora.

"I don't know...I wish I could find it,'' sighed Cora when asked to what he attributed the Sox' struggles. "To be honest with you, a ground ball to second, a groundball to short....cash in. That's all we need when we talk about it. There's only 25-30 at-bats (per player over the course of the season) when you come up with a man on third and less than two outs. We haven't done the job.

"In a year when it's hard to hit, when runs are at a premium, I believe -- and I've been saying it all along -- it's very important to make contact with men at third. You just put the ball in play and you're going to cash in.''

Only four teams have recorded more strikeouts than the Sox in those instances. And as previously detailed, fully half of the four opportunities the Sox had in the first two innings resulted in hitters swinging at strike three.

"Making contact is very important,'' said Cora. "I know it's incredible, what (pitchers) are doing. But, when you've got men at third, you have to bear down. You have to put the ball in play. It's very important to us. We've been preaching this spring training and we haven't been able to do it this season.

"I know the effort is there. They're trying. But for us to win close games, we have to do that.''

The homers will come most nights. And when the Sox bang the ball around and score four or more runs, they've almost unbeatable (26-3).

But on the night when they're facing someone the likes of Morton, it requires more precision than a sledgehammer. And the Sox, time and again, keep coming up empty.

* The Athletic

Red Sox’s feast-or-famine offense on display again in latest frustrating loss

Jen McCaffrey

Through nearly 50 games, the Red Sox offense has taken an exasperating feast-or-famine approach at the plate. Some days they pound out runs with reckless abandon. Other days they appear as if they might never score another run again.

On Tuesday, it was the latter, as the Red Sox were dominated by 37-year-old Charlie Morton and the Braves, who allowed one early run and then clamped down in Atlanta’s 3-1 win.

“We had Charlie on the ropes the first two innings,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We only score one and that’s what good pitchers do. We had our chances early on, we didn’t cash in.”

Morton went on to retire 17 of the next 18 batters, including 13 in a row from the end of the third through the seventh. The Red Sox scraped out just three hits on the night.

On Sunday, Cora had given Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez days off and rested Alex Verdugo, who was nursing a sore hamstring. The game off, followed by Monday’s day off, was supposed to rejuvenate the heart of the order. Instead, they appeared lifeless.

Sometimes a good pitcher shuts down an offense. For the Red Sox this season, the problem has too often been their failure to take advantage of the opportunities they do have to score.

Entering Monday, the Red Sox were hitting just .246 with a runner on third and less than two outs, ranking them 25th in the league. The league average for that situation is .305.

“I wish I could find it, to be honest with you,” Cora said when asked about the inability to drive in runs in that situation. “A groundball to second or a groundball to short, cash in, and that’s all we need — and we talk about it. There’s only 25, 30 at-bats that you come in with men at third and less than two outs, and we haven’t done that. We haven’t done the job. In an era or a year that is hard to hit, and runs are at a premium, it’s very important to make contact with a man on third. You just put the ball in play and you’re going to cash in.”

The Red Sox lead the majors in OPS (.767) and slugging percentage (.445), but their offense comes in bunches. When they aren’t slamming the cover off the ball, they struggle in close, low-scoring games. They’re just 3-17 when scoring fewer than four runs, while they’re 26-3 when scoring four or more.

“We have to bear down, we have to put the ball in play. That’s very important for us,” Cora said.

“I know the effort is there, I know that. They’re trying and for us to keep the line moving and win close games, we have to do that. We haven’t been doing that for a while here.”

Red Sox starter Garrett Richards wasn’t as effective as he’s been of late, but still kept Boston in the game, allowing three runs on six hits and four walks over 5 ⅔ innings. His command was spotty, but he nevertheless held the Braves to what should have been a surmountable score.

“I didn’t really have much tonight,” Richards said. “Just kind of made it work, tried to go as long as I can. Tonight was just an off night.”

Perhaps it was an off night for the offense too.

On a night when the Rays lost for the first time in 11 games and the Yankees dropped their game to the Jays, the Red Sox didn’t lose ground in the standings, remaining a half-game back of Tampa Bay. But as the season progresses and tougher opponents loom, taking advantage of chances to score is vital toward staying atop the division.

Ex-Red Sox star Kevin Youkilis casts his patient eye on the coffee business

Tyson Alger

PORTLAND, Ore. — Kevin Youkilis didn’t chase fame, he looked for ways to escape it.

His coiled stance with his right hand reaching up the handle of his bat made the former Boston Red Sox all- star instantly recognizable at the plate, and his scrappy, do-anything-to-get-on-base style of play endeared him to fans. Coined the “Greek God of Walks” in “Moneyball” (even though he’s, uh, not Greek), Youkilis was part of two World Series champions with a franchise that once went 86 years without one. That alone helped ensure he’d get noticed on the street.

“That’s something I’ve always tried to stay away from,” Youkilis said. “I’ve never really enjoyed the celebrity lifestyle.”

But Youkilis did enjoy his mornings, especially on the road. The infielder would rise earlier than most of his teammates and carve out some time for caffeine.

“Coffee for me was getting up, going and grabbing a newspaper, sitting down and being alone,” Youkilis said. “That was a big thing for me, because we’re always with each other all day long in the baseball world. So that was my alone time.”

Now, it’s become a large part of his post-baseball career. Youkilis, 42, is the owner of Loma Coffee Company in Portland, Ore. The roaster/cafe opened in September in the city’s Southeast District, a place where coffee shops line the blocks and tout roasts from local heavy hitters like Stumptown and Water Avenue.

It’s the big leagues of beans in the Northwest, and Youkilis’ Loma, sandwiched between a UPS Store and credit union on Woodstock Blvd., is getting its hacks in with offerings such as the Ethiopian Shantawene Anaerobic 48 hour Natural. That’s coffee fermented for two days in a CO2-dense environment to create a clean-tasting cup described by one Yelp reviewer as a “juice bomb and I mean that in a good way.”

What isn’t mentioned is Youkilis’ baseball background. Walk into Loma and the only reference to the former big leaguer is an espresso blend named after him. Portland doesn’t have Major League Baseball. It doesn’t have Minor League Baseball. Youkilis, who makes his home near San Jose, Calif., doesn’t even live there.

What brought Youkilis’ business to Portland was a coffee roaster Youkilis believed in, and a desire to prove his product by starting out in the deep end.

“When you look at competition, it’s not always the greatest idea to go into saturated places,” he said. “But if you have a high-quality roaster and buyer like we do, we feel like we can compete and provide for that community on Woodstock.

“And if we can compete there, we can compete anywhere.”

This isn’t the starting point of Youkilis’ next phase.

He hung up the cleats in 2014 after a 10-year MLB career, hovered around baseball as a consultant for a few seasons with the Cubs and first started scratching that post-baseball itch in 2016 when he opened Loma Brewing Company in Los Gatos, Calif., with his brother, Scott. It was there they developed the “Greek God of Hops,” a double IPA that packs a punch at 9 percent ABV. Within a year, Loma was named California’s 2017 commercial brewery of the year.

He studied business and finance while playing college ball at Cincinnati, and went back to finish his degree once he retired. Getting into the beer industry made sense: There’s not a ballpark without it, and Youkilis enjoyed the beverage to help wind down from the nightly adrenaline of a 162-game schedule.

After Youkilis opened the brewery, he partnered with San Francisco’s Four Barrel Coffee company to open up a small cafe off the brewery’s private dining room. Through that partnership, Youkilis met Brandon Smyth, a roaster-turned-restaurateur from Portland.

“A buddy of mine said, ‘Hey I have this friend that’s looking to get back into the coffee scene in Portland,’” Youkilis said. “So I just took a chance. I feel like that’s what I do in life a lot of times, just taking a chance on people that are passionate about what they do and are good at it.”

Smyth broke into the Portland industry two decades ago, starting as a packager at Stumptown and working his way through the company until moving over to the production side to get a crash course in roasting.

“That was a great learning experience,” Smyth said. “I got to roast all the craziest coffees in the world, weird stuff that you normally couldn’t afford. At one point we had 15 Costa Ricas and maybe 50 different coffees on the menu.”

Smyth co-founded his first coffee company, Water Avenue, in 2010, buying a retrofitted roaster from Switzerland and roasting out of his garage. From Corvallis, Ore., Smyth grew up a baseball fan enchanted with , Chris Sabo and the 1990s of Youkilis’ hometown. They connected over the sport, then for a shared love of “third wave” coffee, which Smyth describes as a branch of the industry that places a focus on quality and a connection between roaster and grower. When he met Youkilis, Smyth was out of the coffee industry and running one of Portland’s more popular pizza joints, Pizza Jerk.

“Fuck the restaurant industry, man. That was too much work,” Smyth said with a laugh. “With coffee, you have the advantage and luxury of one thing in and one thing out. I mean, maybe there’s a bunch of ways of putting that one thing out, but I take green coffee, I roast it for 15 minutes and it’s brown. It’s easy to track inventory, cost of goods and that type of thing.

“When I decided to dive back into coffee, Kevin called and it was like, ‘OK. Sure.’”

Smyth is the artist. He’s the one who flies out to different coffee farms around the world, meeting with growers and sourcing the beans that eventually make their way to Portland.

Youkilis, the numbers guys’ guy when he played, is now his own numbers guy.

“Now, looking at the numbers at night, seeing that we had huge numbers, that’s the dopamine rush,” Youkilis said. “And it’s not just the money, it’s the fact that it shows that people enjoyed themselves at your place.”

“We’re completely polar opposites, which I think is important,” Smyth said. “I’m design and aesthetics and I’m really good at sourcing beans and finding farms and stuff like that.

“Kevin is a hard-nosed business guy, the ‘I don’t care about that bullshit, just give me the numbers’ type of guy, and it creates an equilibrium. Instead of going one way where you could basically have an art installation that sells coffee, or you have a Starbucks, we’ve found a middle ground.”

Youkilis doesn’t know if it’s this hard to get something built around the rest of the country, but the year- and-a-half it took to get the proper permits to construct the garage-sized roastery in Portland delayed Loma’s opening until September, in the middle of the pandemic, right as smoke from the worst fire season in recent memory socked the city in.

“The day we opened up I called Kevin up and was like, ‘Hey man, I don’t know if this is going to work. I can’t see the sun,’” Smyth said.

Things have gotten better from there. Smyth said about 80 percent of the shop’s business so far has been through selling bags of beans (11 ounces of the Ethiopian runs $25, but prices for other blends start around $17), and they’re in the process of getting into local grocery stores. Weather is improving. Foot traffic is increasing.

“I was very blessed,” said Youkilis, who has three children with his wife, Julie, and made $56 million throughout his playing career. “I didn’t live the real life for many years of my life. It was real in the sense of the hardships of baseball and the toll it took on my body, but when you’re making such good money, you don’t understand the real world in a lot of ways.

“During COVID, a lot of people aren’t trying new places, and we’ve been very fortunate that we’ve had a lot of regulars come back. We’ve stayed steady. I mean, we definitely need sales to be higher to meet the demands of rent and labor, but we’re going to ride it out.”

If things go well, Youkilis and Smyth said they may expand within Portland and possibly to Boston, where Youkilis may be forced to get comfortable with his fame.

“I always joke around that the farther you get away from playing, the people just don’t care about you anymore. It dissipates,” he said. “But from a business standpoint, yeah you want to be hot. You want people coming in and enjoying your place and talking about you. But it’s to your comfort level.

“For me, I try to sell it as, come in for the beer, come in for the coffee, come in for the good times. But I also know that if I’m on the message saying something, it might bring in a few more Red Sox or baseball fans. And that’s cool.”

Fans have seen more of Youkilis lately. This season he’s appeared as an analyst on Red Sox TV broadcasts, commenting on a sport that seems to have drastically changed since his retirement with a focus on spin rates, launch angles and exit velocities.

Then again, Youkilis said, it’s not that different. Just like opening a coffee business in the middle of a pandemic, success can come down to how good you are and how you respond.

“If someone throws a 90-mile-per-hour fastball, there’s no difference in how you hit it in 2004 versus 2021,” Youkilis said. “Yes, pitchers are pitching up in the zone more, but our job as hitters is to make adjustments. Our job is to figure out how to handle pitches throughout the zone that are different speeds and different locations.

“You have to adapt and grow.”

*

Sandoval has 3 hits in return to Boston, Braves win 3-1

BOSTON (AP) — Pablo Sandoval was happy to be back at Fenway Park for the first time since his disastrous tenure with the Red Sox.

It was the Boston fans who weren’t so happy to see him.

Booed for every at-bat, Sandoval delivered three hits and Charlie Morton retired the last 13 Red Sox he faced to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 3-1 victory over Boston on Tuesday night.

“It’s one of the things I was looking forward to,” said Sandoval, who was released by the Red Sox in 2017, midway through his five-year, $95 million contract.

“Great fan support, great organization,” he said. “Things don’t go well some time.”

Morton (3-2) allowed six of the first eight Boston batters to reach base, loading the bases in the first with nobody out and giving up a leadoff triple in the second. But the Red Sox managed only one run in the first two innings, and Morton retired 13 straight batters after Xander Bogaerts’ third-inning single.

“After the first inning, I was hoping he’d go five,” Braves manger Brian Snitker said. “First couple innings, he was struggling a little bit. Then he got in that rhythm — it was real encouraging to see him go seven.”

In all, Morton gave up one unearned run on three hits, striking out nine and walking two in seven innings for his first victory in a month. Freddie Freeman added two hits for the Braves, who won their fourth straight game to improve to .500.

Sandoval won three titles with the San Francisco Giants and was the MVP before he signed with Boston for the 2015 season. But he played in just 161 games, batting .237 with 14 homers in parts of three seasons, before he was released.

He returned to San Francisco before joining the Braves at the end of last season.

Sandoval lined one up the middle in the sixth to start the rally that chased Boston starter Garrett Richards (4-3), then scored to give the Braves a 3-1 lead. The three hits on Tuesday raised his average to .286.

“We came up around the same time. He’s a postseason legend,” Morton said. “It’s just been a ton of fun. He’s a glue guy. ... Having a chance to play with a guy like that, it’s really special.”

Will Smith pitched the ninth to seal Atlanta’s fourth straight win and earn his eighth save.

Richards, who had won four straight decisions, allowed three runs on six hits and four walks, striking out four in 5 2/3 innings. The Red Sox had won seven of their previous 10 games — but still fell out of first place in the AL East for the first time since April 8 while the Rays ran off 11 wins in a row.

Boston loaded the bases with nobody out in the first inning — on one hit, followed by a walk and an error. Bogaerts struck out before Morton hit Rafael Devers with a pitch to score one run; Christian Vázquez lined into a double play to end it.

Danny Santana led off the second with a triple, but Boston stranded him there.

Richards walked William Contreras to lead off the third and then gave up a one-out single to Freeman. Marcell Ozuna doubled in one run to tie it; Freeman scored to make it 2-1 on a fielder’s choice that erased Ozuna as he tried to take third.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: LF Ozuna left the game after injuring his left hand when he slid head-first into third base in the third inning. Ozuna banged his fingers into Rafael Devers’ foot and remained on the dirt, in obvious pain, while a trainer ran out to attend to him. He went straight through the dugout into the tunnel. replaced him in the bottom half of the inning.

Snitker said after the game that Ozuna dislocated the ring finger and middle finger of his left hand, adding that Ozuna would return to Atlanta to see the team’s hand specialist.

“He wasn’t feeling real bad. But he did them both,” Snitker said. “When you start doing those hand things, all them bones in there, it can get a little tricky.”

Red Sox: Reinstated INF Christian Arroyo (bruised left hand) from the injured list.

UP NEXT

Braves lefty Drew Smyly (2-2) will face Boston righty Nick Pivetta (5-0) on Wednesday night.

* The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Like Braves, Red Sox wanted Morton as free agent

Tim Tucker

Before Charlie Morton signed a one-year, $15 million deal with the Braves as a free agent in late November, the Red Sox tried to recruit him to Boston.

And it was tempting, Morton said after pitching against the Red Sox on Tuesday night.

“Getting a chance to play in this park (Fenway Park), put on that uniform, all those things were very enticing,” said Morton, who grew up in southwestern Connecticut. “But ultimately I was weighing a lot of factors.”

In the end, the lure of returning to the Braves — his original big-league organization — won out.

“I made my debut with the Braves. I knew people in the organization, and I knew how special and talented this group was, one game away from going to the World Series last year,” Morton said. “I knew there were good people here, and also just the proximity to home (in Bradenton, Fla.)

“It was a hard decision, but I certainly respect that (Boston) organization.”

Morton demonstrated Tuesday night why the Braves and Red Sox, among others, wanted to sign him. He allowed just three hits and one unearned run in seven innings as the Braves beat Boston 3-1. He dominated the Red Sox, one of baseball’s top offensive teams, after navigating through trouble in the first two innings. He struck out nine and retired the last 13 batters he faced.

“This is a special place for me,” Morton said of Fenway. “This is a real special place for baseball. … Getting a chance to play against a very, very good team in a special place, that was pretty cool.”

Morton tends to fare well against the Red Sox. The 37-year-old right-hander is 7-1 in 12 career starts against them, including 4-0 in Fenway.