The Saturday, June 22, 2019

* The Boston Globe

A familiar name made his own path to the big leagues

Peter Abraham

Mike — forget his last name for now — had a chance to sign for $300,000 after his junior year at Vanderbilt but turned down the because he promised his mother Anne-Marie back home in Andover that he would get his degree.

He got that degree and was named first-team All-SEC and third-team All-American as a senior. The Orioles drafted him and this time he signed.

Mike rose quickly in the organization, getting to Triple A in 2016. But he never could quite break through and was traded to the Giants at the end of this season.

Finally, after 703 minor league games, Mike was called up to the majors May 25 at the age of 28. That’s old for a rookie but not too old to achieve a lifelong dream.

With his mother and wife watching from the stands at Oracle Park, Mike scored his first that night and had three hits the next day. He has been in the lineup almost every day since and well.

“At some point I just wanted to get there even for one day just to say I did it,” Mike said. “That was the goal, just one day. My wife was my biggest supporter. My mom was, too. This has been a big thing for my family.”

It’s a heck of a story, one of persistence in the face of obstacles.

Mike’s last name is Yastrzemski, by the way. He’s the grandson of Hall of Farmer Carl Yastrzemski. That makes a heck of a story even better.

“It’s the only last name I’ve ever had. I’ve never felt any added pressure because of it,” Yastrzemski said. “My grandfather has always helped me out, but I’m not here because of my name.”

That’s certainly true, otherwise his ascent to the majors would have happened long before this.

Yastrzemski forced his way into the conversation by hitting .265 with an .801 OPS for Triple A Norfolk last season. That earned him an invitation to major league spring training with Baltimore.

“I just played my game and stopped worrying about what I couldn’t control,” he said. “I had peace of mind.”

Paige Yastrzemski, a former Vanderbilt lacrosse player, helped with that. She understood the ups and down of being an athlete.

“My wife kept supporting me and pushing me,” Yastrzemski said. “She had a lot to do with it.”

When the Orioles hired a new , coaching staff, and front office before this season, Yastrzemski hoped that would open the door for him. But it didn’t happen.

“I saw how things were going halfway through spring training,” Yastrzemski said. “It didn’t look like it was going to work out.”

The Orioles did Yastrzemski a favor and traded him March 23 for righthander Tyler Herb. An energized Yastrzemski had a 1.090 OPS in 40 games for Triple A Sacramento and earned a promotion.

He went into the weekend hitting .264 with a .797 OPS, six extra-base hits — four of them home runs — and 11 RBIs in 23 games. With the Giants in rebuilding mode, the outfielder has fit right in.

Yastrzemski made a game-saving catch last Saturday, a diving grab for the final out against the Brewers in a one-run game. He then hit two home runs in a series against the rival Dodgers.

“It’s been fun to watch him,” said manager Bruce Bochy, who has used Yastrzemski in left field with a few starts in right. “He plays the game the right way.”

The Giants are in last place in the West. But Yastrzemski is enjoying every minute.

“It has been great, the day-in, day-out stuff,” he said. “The older guys have taught me how you handle your business. [Bochy] is a Hall of Famer and being around him has been incredible.

“It’s a good group of people. We get a lot of support, too. Every game at home, it’s 30,000 fans.”

Vanderbilt has had 13 players in the majors this season, a testament to the job Tim Corbin has done.

Corbin, a New Hampshire native, has successfully recruited New England for years. That was how Yastrzemski, who played at St. John’s Prep in Danvers, got on his radar.

“Vanderbilt was important for me because of the level of competition and who I was around on a daily basis,” said Yastrzemski, who settled in Nashville after he graduated. “I felt like I was prepared for pro ball.”

Red Sox lefthander , Vanderbilt’s most accomplished big leaguer, plays golf with Yastrzemski in the offseason.

“I couldn’t be happier for him,” Price said. “He worked hard to get there.”

The story could get even better. The Giants play three games at Sept. 17-19. Mike Yastrzemski could play left field in the same spot where his grandfather did and maybe even field a ball off the Green Monster and whirl around to throw the runner out at second.

Even Red Sox fans would have to cheer that.

“Playing at Fenway would just be awesome,” Yastrzemski said. “I get chills just thinking about it.”

Yastrzemski has played at Fenway before. His mother has helped organize a tournament for high school prospects at the ballpark. Yastrzemski also played in a pre-draft showcase game there in 2009. The Red Sox selected him in the 36th round that season knowing he would attend college.

Carl Yastrzemski, 79, has not watched his grandson play in person yet this season, following the Giants games from home on television. The elder Yaz has tended to stay close to his North Shore home in retirement.

“We’re working on it,” Mike Yastrzemski said. “But he likes being in his comfort zone. Hopefully he’ll come to Fenway in September.”

Grandson and grandfather do talk baseball on the phone, discussing his approach at the plate on certain pitches and how to adjust.

“He’s always been there for me with advice,” said Mike Yastrzemski, whose father passed away in 2004. “I’d be foolish not to listen to him.”

Mike Yastrzemski is wearing No. 5 with the Giants, turning down his grandfather’s No. 8. He did the same at Vanderbilt.

He’s making his own way now.

SUMMER SHOWCASE

Are Red Sox lacking stars?

How many of his own players will Alex Cora have at the All-Star Game? Not as many as you might think.

Only J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts made it through the first round of voting into what MLB is calling the “Starters Election.” The online voting starts at noon Wednesday and runs through 4 p.m. Thursday.

Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers deserved better. But Bogaerts, who objectively is at least the second-best in the , finished fifth. Devers was fourth, somehow behind Gio Urshela of the Yankees and Hunter Dozier of the Royals.

Dozier has not played in a game since May 30 because of injury and Urshela is a journeyman who isn’t remotely as good as Devers.

Not sure who is to blame. The fan base obviously didn’t turn out at the polls. Perhaps the Sox needed a better campaign. Bogaerts has 241,000 followers on Instagram and never used that forum to appeal to fans.

The player voting should correct some of the mistakes and deserving players usually seem to get on the roster as injury replacements.

A few other observations on the Red Sox:

Betts has fallen into a habit of jogging out routine groundballs to second base or shortstop. Plenty of players do that but plenty of others — Aaron Judge and Mike Trout among them — also run hard through the bag.

The day is coming when a will bobble the ball and Betts will be out on a close play when he could have been safe.

Shortstop Matthew Lugo, the team’s second pick in the draft, signed for $1.1 million, a healthy $170,200 over the slot value for that pick, which was 69th overall.

Cora was thrilled for Lugo, who is from Puerto Rico.

“You know what? Good for him,” Cora said. “That’s something people back home need to understand. He got that money because he had the opportunity to go to a four-year school [Miami].

“He did everything possible to get a scholarship and got it. He had some options. Most of the kids back home don’t have options. That’s something we’re trying to help, help them get a scholarship and be a good player. Now they can treat you just like an American kid. ‘OK, going to Miami? We’ll give you a little more.’ ”

Cora, who played at Miami, said he was glad Lugo chose the Red Sox.

Related: Alex Cora thrilled with Red Sox’ selection of Matthew Lugo

The Red Sox caught a break when Oakland righthander Frankie Montas was suspended for 80 games for using a performance-enhancing drug.

The Athletics are one of the teams in the hunt for a wild card and now they have lost their best starter until the final week of the season. Montas was 9-2 with a 2.70 average in 15 starts.

The Athletics operate with a small margin for or injury and won’t easily be able to replace Montas, a former Red Sox prospect who was part of the three-team Jake Peavy deal in 2013.

Diamondbacks outfielder Adam Jones on his friend being shot in the Dominican Republic: “Just everything about it is terrible,” he said. “I mean, no one is safe. If Big Papi is getting shot, no one is safe. No one.

“I’m hoping for a speedy recovery for him. It’s all the way bad. It makes you get all emotional because the guy is a just an unbelievable guy. One of the best humans I’ve ever been around in this game. Him, Adrian Beltre, some of the best humans I’ve been around, period.”

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR

That MLB granted the Rays permission to study the idea of playing half their games in Montreal is interesting, if not very practical.

Asking players, coaches, and team staff members to relocate to Canada for half the season would be a burden financially. Where would playoff games be? Would both cities be expected to build ballparks for 41 games?

This is more likely a lever to force politicians in the Tampa Bay area to come up with a viable ballpark plan or let the Rays go elsewhere. The Rays are committed to Tampa Bay until 2027, so a move is unlikely to happen any time soon.

It’s hard to blame for MLB for tying something creative, even if it might not work. Tampa Bay has an exciting young team run by a smart organization and they’re averaging 14,545 fans a night. The Rays deserve to play where people will care, whether that’s Montreal or somewhere else. It’s probably somewhere else at this point. This news could make attendance even worse.

The Marlins, dreadful as they are, have a new stadium. The Rays offer MLB a chance to fix the mistake of expanding to Florida.

Having an AL East opponent in Montreal would be a bonus for Red Sox fans. It’s a 75-minute flight from Boston and a relatively easy drive from New Hampshire and Vermont.

ETC.

Manny Machado can be a bit of a jerk, just ask the players he has injured with his reckless base running in recent years. Everybody also understands that umpires have a difficult job to do. But it was irresponsible of the MLB Umpires Association to label Machado’s heated argument with Bill Welke last week as “violence in the workplace.”

In a statement released on Twitter following Machado’s one-game suspension, an unnamed spokesman for the umpires criticized Machado for throwing his bat “with absolutely no regard for anyone’s safety.”

That the tweet included such hashtags as #Nonsense, #RepeatOffender, and #MakeanExampleof was childish.

Major League Baseball released a statement taking the umpires to task.

“We do not believe it is appropriate for the union representing Major League Umpires to comment on the discipline of players represented by the Players Association, just as it would not be appropriate for the Players Association to comment on disciplinary decisions made with respect to umpires,” it said. “We also believe it is inappropriate to compare this incident to the extraordinarily serious issue of workplace violence.”

Replays showed that if Machado bumped Welke, it was briefly and did not amount to any sort of attack. At a time in our history where shootings happen with alarming frequency at places of employment, suggesting a baseball argument rises to the level of violence was ridiculous.

Extra bases

Rich Hill could be facing the end of his career. The 39-year-old Dodgers lefthander, who grew up in Milton, is on the injured list with a flexor tendon strain and has started PRP therapy to strengthen his elbow. Hill pitched only an against the Giants Wednesday and had to leave the mound because of discomfort. He will try throwing again in 3-4 weeks. “I think I’ll be able to pitch again this season, definitely, but when that is, I don’t have that answer,” Hill said. “There wasn’t anything that was indicative of a [ulnar collateral ligament] tear, which was good, but it’s going to take some time to heal.” Hill, who is the oldest starter in the majors, was 4-1 with a 2.55 ERA in 10 starts after missing the first month of the season with a knee sprain. Hill is signed through the end of the season, so any sort of long-term injury could end his career after 15 seasons. The Dodgers will use either Ross Stripling or Julio Urias to replace Hill . . . The Cubs’ Cole Hamels topped the 2,500- mark when he punched out eight White Sox on Tuesday night. He’s only the 10th lefthander with 2,500 , the first since CC Sabathia in 2015. The 35-year-old Hamels, a free agent after this season, has a chance to join Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton, and Sabathia as the only lefties with 3,000 . . . Congratulations to WBZ Red Sox reporter Jonny Miller, who will be inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame on Sept. 27. Miller has been covering the Sox for 47 seasons and nobody on the beat works harder . . . Happy 61st birthday, Marty Barrett, who was drafted four times from 1977-79 before signing with the Red Sox out of Arizona State and playing nine seasons for them (1982-90). Barrett was 24 of 60 (.400) with nine RBIs in 14 postseason games in 1986.

Bullpen gave Red Sox offense time to recover

Nick Kelly

The ball rocketed off Christian Vazquez’s bat and soared deep into right-center field, plunking off the top of the dugout.

It was almost as if the walk-off was acknowledging what made it possible.

Sure, the offensive surge in the seventh and eighth tied the game for the Red Sox, who trailed the Blue Jays until that point. But that surge would not have meant near as much if not for the efforts of the bullpen.

Boston relievers allowed one earned run the final five innings, helping set up a 7-5, 10-inning victory at Fenway on Friday to open the series against Toronto.

“If you look around the league, not everybody is perfect in the bullpen,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “And these guys have been amazing. They have to pitch a lot, but they are ready to pitch every day. There are certain days we feel we are limited, but we have to do it so we can continue doing what we are doing. Testament to them. They have been amazing.”

It’s because of Chris Sale’s performance in the first five innings that the Red Sox needed heroics from the bullpen.

Sale started out the game losing an 11-pitch battle with Eric Sogard, walking two batters with two out, and putting Boston down 2-0 in the first inning. It became clear Sale might not last as long as the Red Sox would like him to last.

The third inning was not much better. Sale gave up a two-run home run to Randal Grichuk that gave Toronto a 4-0 lead.

“Didn’t really have a rhythm,” Sale said. “Kind of got out of sync. The first inning for sure, I was just kind of battling myself. Just fell in and out of being in a rhythm.”

Sale was finished after just five innings, given up three earned runs, seven hits, one hit batter, plus those two walks and one home run. It was certainly not the line the Red Sox wanted or needed.

But the bullpen saved him, and the day.

Colten Brewer allowed a run and two hits in his 1⅓ innings, but the bullpen allowed only four hits total. The combination of Brewer, Josh Taylor, Ryan Brasier, Matt Barnes and Brandon Workman fanned seven, and held the Blue Jays offense at bay enough for the offense to put together the rally.

Friday’s victory, which officially went to Workman, was yet another solid effort by a group hardly lacking for usage — see the 17-inning game against the Twins this past Tuesday — and fifth in the majors for bullpen ERA.

“Guys in the bullpen held it down,” Sale said. “That’s why you never hang your head. You just keep fighting and do what you’ve got to do and, hey, you end up on top.”

Christian Vazquez’s two-run homer caps perfect 10th in Red Sox’ win

Julian Benbow

At first glance, the decision Red Sox manager Alex Cora made in the 10th inning of the Red Sox’s 7-5 win Friday over the might have been a head-scratcher.

With the game knotted at 5 and Cavan Biggio on second, Cora had reliever Brandon Workman intentionally walk pinch hitter Rowdy Tellez to get to Eric Sogard.

It was a matter of picking a poison.

“It’s just a matter of matchups and it didn’t feel right against Rowdy,” Cora said. “He’s been great against us all season.”

But Sogard already had four hits on the night and another might have pushed across the go-ahead run.

Workman’s history against Sogard was limited, but favorable. Sogard was 0 for 3 against Workman for his career.

But Cora did some different calculus.

“We don’t take the 0 for 3,” Cora said. “It went like, ‘Well he has four hits, it’s hard to get five.’ ”

In a matter of three pitches, Workman made it 0 for 4. He got a ground ball back to the mound to get the Sox out of the inning.

“We took a chance with Sogard and we got the out,” Cora said.

The gamble paid off even bigger in the bottom of the frame when Christian Vazquez delivered a walkoff two-run homer, blasting a full-count slider from Jays reliever Jordan Romano off the roof of the Red Sox bullpen and sending his teammates streaming from the dugout to celebrate their fourth walkoff win of the season.

“I knew it,” Vazquez said. “I hit it good.”

The Sox picked up their eighth win in the past nine games, pulled off off their 23d come-from-behind win of the season, and upped their record at Fenway to 18-17.

J.D. Martinez went 3 for 5 with an RBI. Andrew Benintendi went 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Michael Chavis went 2 for 5.

“We’re starting to play some good baseball,” said Sox starter Chris Sale. “We’re finally getting back to things that make us successful. The confidence has always been there, but you feel it a little bit more now.”

The Jays jumped on Sale early. Sogard started off the game with a . Sale got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to line out and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to fly out, but got himself in a jam when he walked Teoscar Hernandez and Randal Grichuk to load the bases. Freddy Galvis took advantage by shooting a single to left field that gave the Jays a 2-0 lead.

Sale had to work around more trouble in the third when Eduardo Nunez booted a ground ball from Hernandez to start the inning. Sale then left a 1-and-0 changeup over the plate and Grichuk launched it into the Monster seats for a two-run homer (his 14th of the season) that pushed Toronto’s lead to 4-0.

“I put us in a pretty bad hole early on and I think AC tapped me after the third or fourth inning and was like, ‘We’re going to win this game.’ You just kind of feel it,” Sale said.

The Sox got on the board in the bottom of the third thanks to a sacrifice fly from Brock Holt that scored Benintendi and cut it to 4-1.

Sale lasted just five innings. He gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits, including the homer, with two walks. Sale’s streak of four straight starts with at least 10 strikeouts was snapped. He finished with eight.

The Jays padded their lead in the seventh on an RBI single from Grichuk that made it 5-1. Grichuk matched his season highs with three hits and three RBIs.

When the Sox needed a rally, down, 5-1, in the seventh inning, Mookie Betts provided the spark with a one-out triple. Benintendi singled to left to plate Betts and cut the lead to 5-2.

Xander Bogaerts kept the line moving with a to center that scored Benintendi and made it a two-run game. Then Martinez stepped to the plate and stroked 2-and-0 cutter to center for an RBI single that trimmed the deficit to 5-4.

The Sox got the equalizer in the eighth, taking advantage of another one-out triple, this one from Jackie Bradley Jr. Out of the starting lineup with a hamstring injury, Rafael Devers stepped into the box to pinch hit and laced a single to right field that pushed Bradley across for the tying run.

The Jays have lost 12 of their last 14 at Fenway. They were 6-20 against the Sox going back to last season.

“We found a way to chip away and stay on it and just put really good at-bats together,” Sale said. “Our guys in the bullpen held it down. That’s why you never hang your head. Just keep fighting and do what you need to do and end up on top.”

Alex Cora makes case for Xander Bogaerts’s All-Star candidacy

Julian Benbow

As he awaited the announcement of all-star finalists on Friday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora made the case for shortstop Xander Bogaerts.

“He’s one of the best in the league,” Cora said. “Offensively, he’s one of the best. We always talk about [Francisco] Lindor and [Carlos] Correa. This guy, year in and year out, he shows up every day. That’s the most important thing.”

Even though Bogaerts didn’t make the cut — Correa, Jorge Polanco, and Gleyber Torres were voted the three finalists — he enters the weekend having a career year with a .300/.392/.536 slash line, 14 home runs, and 49 RBIs. He leads the American League with 24 doubles. The seven-year veteran leads all qualified AL shortstops in runs (58), extra-base hits (38), on-base percentage, and RBIs.

“Everybody knows who he is,” Cora said. “Just the way he goes about his business and showing up every day, people appreciate that. Obviously the results, this guy, he’s playing a premium position at [6-1, 210]. He’s a big shortstop, he’s a strong shortstop and he keeps getting better. He’s not only a good defender, a good offensive player, he runs the bases well, he’s a smart individual and I’m lucky that he’s my shortstop.”

In the offseason, Bogaerts signed a six-year, $120 million extension and Cora said the security allowed him to play with new-found freedom.

“No doubt about it,” Cora said. “People might say look at the season and what he’s doing, but for him, that was good enough. It was great. Let’s put everything in perspective, it’s a lot of money, but I think for him, it was security and knowing that he was going to be here for a while in a place that he loves and people not only love him but respect him. I think it was a good business decision for everybody.”

Holt key contributor

A month into the season, Cora had a candid conversation with Brock Holt. The Sox were still navigating an uncertain situation with Dustin Pedroia trying to return from a knee injury. Holt was on the injured list with a scratched cornea. But Cora knew Holt would ultimately have to play a significant role in order for the Sox to succeed.

“We need you,” Cora said to Holt. “You’re very important to us.”

Holt missed 44 games, but since returning in May, he was hitting .371 with one homer and 13 RBIs in 18 games entering Friday.

“With everything that was going on with Pedey, his role was going to be bigger,” Cora said. “He’s been amazing. Very solid for us.”

Holt’s versatility has been crucial. Cora’s been able to play him in left and right field, first base, shortstop, and DH.

“We missed him the first month,” Cora said. “We did. That’s a guy that gives you a quality at-bat. He’s hitting in a spot that there’s going to be a lot of traffic in front of him and he makes contact. Defensively, he’s been solid. He’s a good base-runner. When he doesn’t play, he’s a weapon off the bench. We felt it the first month when he wasn’t there. He’s been great.”

As a utility man himself, Cora can respect what Holt brings. He even gave him the edge, head-to-head.

“He’s a better utility than I am,” Cora said. “He’s a better hitter, he’s a better player. I tell him all the time. He’s hitting sixth for us. Today he’s hitting fifth. There’s a reason for that. We like to make contact with men on second and third. Then those big boys are going to be on base and he will put a quality at-bat there.”

Wright in relief

As Steven Wright continues to work his way back from a knee injury and an 80-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs, Cora reiterated that he still believed the best role for Wright would be out of the bullpen.

Wright can be activated on Tuesday.

“That’s a tough one because can he go deep into games because of the knee?” Cora said. “Baseball-wise, it makes sense but then medically it comes into play can he do that? Last year, we decided that the best way was to put him in the bullpen in shorter stints. It’s better for him.”

It’s been three years since Wright made the All-Star team as a starter, going 13-6 in 24 outings. Last season, he made just four starts in 20 appearances.

Eovaldi: wait and see

Nathan Eovaldi continued to work his way back into baseball activity, throwing catch from 90 feet on Friday. Cora said the team will see how he responds and continue to add to his workload . . . Rafael Devers was out of the lineup to start Friday night with a hamstring injury but Cora was hopeful he’d return Saturday. Devers did get the call as a pinch hitter in the eighth, and delivered a game-tying single to right. He was promptly removed for a pinch runner . . . Mitch Moreland (quad) was scheduled to take ground balls Friday, but wasn’t able to because of the wet weather . . . Rick Porcello will start Sunday in the series finale against the Blue Jays. Eduardo Rodriguez will pitch Monday against the White Sox. David Price will pitch Tuesday . . . Steve Pearce (back) was in the lineup for Triple A Pawtucket. He went 0 for 4 and struck out there times.

Dominican explanation in Ortiz case is just not believable, and other thoughts

Dan Shaughnessy

Picked-up pieces while hearing the sounds of lie detectors exploding from Santo Domingo to Boston . . .

While we continue to wish David Ortiz the best as he recovers from being shot almost two weeks ago, the explanation we were given Wednesday by authorities in the Dominican Republic is simply not believable. Seriously.

Mistaken identity? Do the Dominican authorities think we are all stupid? Would Elvis Presley have been mistaken for anyone else if he sat at a cafe in Memphis in the 1960s? Tom Brady on Newbury Street in Boston in 2019?

Many had much to lose if uncomfortable truths were unearthed in this case. So 10 days after the crime, we got this whopper of whoppers. The authorities cracked the case. Wrong guy.

It was the ultimate broom job, with Claude Rains, uniform festooned with medals, calling to “round up the usual suspects” and Baghdad Bob reporting live from the scene. What’s next — Bob Dylan writing “The ballad of Rolfi Ferreras Cruz’’? Wow. Just wow.

The implosion of the Celtics is depressing. The blame pie is large, but at this hour it’s hard to come up with a figure more loathed in Boston sports history than Kyrie Irving. He lied to us when he said he was coming back. He blew up the team chemistry. He was a nut. And he choked in the playoffs after telling us all year that he would take care of business then.

Now Anthony Davis is a Laker and Al Horford is headed out the door and the Celtics are in full rebuild. We get to watch the kids develop. Swell.

One year after taking us to the threshold of the Finals, the Celtics are in the dreaded upper middle class of the NBA. They are losing 40 percent of their starting lineup, they could lose three or four of their top nine players, and they aren’t getting Davis.

They can sell it any way they want: This is a full-blown disaster. And all in less than one year.

Does any big league baseball flagship station cram more commercials into the two minutes between innings than NESN? Did the network oversell its sports this year?

When the third out of any inning is made, Dave O’Brien barely has time to say “out at first” before NESN cuts to Jordan’s Furniture. We get no line score, no wrap of the inning, just an abrupt cut to commercial. And then we have to hope we don’t miss the first pitch of the next inning.

It’s truly breathless and a disservice to loyal baseball viewers.

While I’m at it, can the Sox/Bruins network lose the annoying (and sponsored) “Heat Zone’’ feature (“our guy is great, their guy stinks, and here are the numbers to prove it”)? It’s truly childish.

The Bruins’ flat performance in Game 7 remains a head-scratcher. This was a blown golden opportunity. The worthy, lovable Spoked-B’s worked their way to the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Final. All they had to do was win a home game against the flippin’ St. Louis Blues. They delivered a stink bomb. What a waste.

We obviously are spoiled around here, so it goes away relatively quickly, but who knows when any Boston team will get that close again? In this century, Bruins-Blues Game 7 goes down as the worst Boston performance in a championship loss.

Our teams are 12-6 in Finals. The other five losses include Super Bowls against the Giants (twice) and Eagles. Those were all thriller games. The 2010 Celtics had a Game 7 fourth-quarter lead against a Laker team with Kobe Bryant. The 2013 Bruins were matched against a powerhouse Blackhawk team and managed to hold a one-goal lead in the closing minutes of Game 6 in Boston. The lifeless loss to the Blues was the worst.

Phil Regan, the Mets’ “new” pitching coach, is 82 years old and faced in 1960. Regan, a rookie with the Tigers, walked Teddy Ballgame on six pitches, all low and away.

Quiz: The Cy Young Award was first given in 1956. Name the only two to win multiple Cy Youngs and multiple championships while also throwing multiple no-hitters. (Answer below.)

How is NBA free agency like late 1960s rock and roll? Simple. Think Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. David Crosby was kicked out of the Byrds, Graham Nash bolted from the Hollies, and Stephen Stills and Neil Young got together with them in a supergroup after their days in Buffalo Springfield. It was the precursor of the LeBron Effect that dominates today’s NBA free agency.

Brad Marchand sustaining a hand injury in the Bruins’ “stay sharp” scrimmage during the long layoff was mildly reminiscent of the 1946 Red Sox scheduling exhibition games against American League stars to stay sharp while waiting for the Dodgers and Cardinals to finish a playoff series. During one of the exhibitions, Williams got hit in the elbow by a Mickey Haefner pitch. Teddy Ballgame batted .200 in the World Series with no extra-base hits.

Wonder if I can be like Brady and patent “Curly-Haired Boyfriend” and “Shank” so that no one else gets it first.

The Blues and Toronto Raptors won “first-ever-for-the-franchise” championships on back-to-back days. Longest current droughts:

Baseball: , who last won in 1948.

NFL: Arizona Cardinals, who last won in 1947 when they were in Chicago.

NBA: The Rochester Royals won the NBA in 1951. Since then, while playing in Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Sacramento, they have not won again.

NHL: The Maple Leafs last won a Cup in 1967. The Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres came into the league in 1970 and have never won.

Kudos to the Patriots for signing Ben Watson even though Watson came down hard on Twitter on Bob Kraft after the Orchids of Asia scandal.

You never know whom you might be watching when you watch college baseball. Cy Young winners Jake deGrom and Corey Kluber both played at Stetson in Florida. DeGrom was a skinny shortstop who once homered off an even thinner lefty from Florida Gulf Coast named Chris Sale.

Speaking of Sale, this is the Murderers Row of batters Sale fanned in his two “immaculate” innings: Hanser Alberto, Dwight Smith, Stevie Wilkerson (Orioles); Kelvin Gutierrez, Nicky Lopez, Martin Maldonado (Royals).

Having the Rays split their home season between St. Pete and Montreal is the best idea since folks tried to bring the 2024 Olympics to Boston.

Another thing to like about the hockey playoffs: No silly champagne celebrations for winning any of the first three rounds.

Quiz answer: and Tim Lincecum.

There was never anyone exactly like

Bob Ryan

Channeling my inner Voltaire, I can’t quite say that if Moe Berg hadn’t existed it might have been necessary to invent him, but I would say it sure would have been a lot of fun to try.

Moe Berg was unique in American annals, and this is one time that word is being used properly. That is, unless someone can identify another Ivy League-educated player who was fluent in an estimated dozen languages (including ); who dazzled audiences as a panelist on the immensely popular radio show “Information Please”; and who was recruited by William “Wild Bill” Donovan as an espionage agent during World War II. That’s before we get into his extraordinary personal eccentricity.

Trust me, please. There was never anyone exactly like Moe Berg.

He has been the subject of two significant biographies. gave us “The Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg.” Louis Kaufman (a Globe writer at the time), Barbara Fitzgerald, and Tom Sewell gave us “Moe Berg, Athlete, Scholar . . . Spy.” And now renowned Washington-based filmmaker Aviva Kempner has produced a fine documentary titled “The Spy Behind Home Plate,” which opens Friday at the Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge.

Moe Berg was born in on March 2 or March 3, 1902. See? Right from the start he was a man of mystery. He remained so until his death in 1972. To this day no one is quite sure what became of his remains.

But among the things we do know is that he graduated from Princeton in 1923 and broke into the major leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers that same year. He hit .186 in 138 plate appearances and would not return to the bigs until 1926, when he resurfaced with the White Sox. He would remain employed as a backup catcher for the next 13 years, moving from the White Sox to the Indians to the Senators, back to Cleveland, and then to Boston in 1935, where he became the resident backup, playing in 148 games over five seasons until his retirement in 1939.

He was not like everyone else. For one thing, there was his linguistic ability. Given that he was the ultimate good- field, no-hit catcher, Washington teammate Dave Harris wise-cracked that “Moe Berg speaks 12 languages and can’t hit in any of them.” Indeed, his lifetime batting average was .243. He hit but six career homers and had an underwhelming career OPS of .577.

He also had a fetish for newspapers, going into a rage if someone touched one of his newspapers before he finished reading it because to him they were “live.” Only when they were fully read, and thus declared “dead,” was it permissible to touch one of his newspapers.

This is all kind of quaint and cute, but otherwise, so what? He might be worth a magazine article. Why the books? Why has Kempner turned her attention to Moe Berg?

It’s because Moe Berg was something more than a brainy backup catcher. It’s pretty well documented he served his country before and during WWII as a spy.

Kempner likes to make films about what she calls “under-known Jewish heroes.” Her previous works include “Yoo- Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg,” the story of Gertrude Berg, an actress who not only starred in both the radio and TV versions of “The Goldbergs,” but also wrote numerous scripts. Berg became enmeshed in McCarthyism when her co-star Philip Loeb was blacklisted. And Kempner produced “The Life and Times of .”

Now we have “The Spy Behind Home Plate.”

“If someone had told me before ‘Hank Greenberg’ I would wind up making two movies about sports people, I would have laughed,” Kempner says.

But she did, in fact, grow up in Detroit knowing the story of Greenberg, who ranks with Sandy Koufax as one of the two greatest Jewish ballplayers.

Moe Berg is believed to have first utilized his linguistic skills in service to his country during a 1934 postseason trip to Tokyo. Japanese was one of his languages, so he circulated freely and comfortably. He is alleged to have pulled out a camera underneath his kimono and taken numerous shots of locations that might indicate the extent of Japan’s military preparedness.

But the big move came years later when Donovan, head of the Office of Strategic Services, recruited Berg for a very important mission. The long and the short of it is that he was dispatched under the guise of being a student to see if he could determine whether the Germans were on the path to developing a . This involved going to Zurich, where famed German physicist was giving a lecture. If Berg were to reach the conclusion that the answer was in the affirmative, his instructions were to shoot Heisenberg. No, I’m not making this up. Keep in mind this was all possible because of Moe’s extraordinary linguistic capabilities.

There have been previous attempts to bring the Berg story to light as a film, and Kempner tells us in addition to her original work on the subject she has leaned heavily on 18 prior interviews done by Jerry Feldman and Neil Goldstein.

“Those 18 interviews really make the film,” she maintains.

But these interviews have fallen into the hands of a skilled professional. Kempner always knows exactly what she is doing.

I never met Moe Berg, but I have known people who did, and, oh boy, the stories. He spent much of his later years as a classic “America’s guest,” moving about to stay with people, whom, he correctly reasoned, were always happy to be in his company. This would include bunking with accommodating writers during the World Series. And it was well understood that Moe Berg did not pick up any checks. But everyone involved knew the rules.

Kempner became enamored of her subject. She laments that his World War II service may have cost him a chance to manage. She feels badly that his father never saw him play. She thinks his unique career has never been properly acknowledged and thinks it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Red Sox to consider retiring his number.

The filmmaker hopes viewers will emerge from the film with two takeaways.

“One,” she says, “how much fun he was. Two, how important he was.”

As an aside, she acknowledges that Moe having been a catcher enhances the story.

“I think ‘The Shortstop Was a Spy’ just wouldn’t work,” she reasons.

Anyway, Moe Berg had to be a catcher. Shouldn’t the smartest guy on the team be running the ballgame?

Moe Berg: There was only one.

Darwinzon Hernandez loaded with promise but can’t find his spot

Alex Speier

In some ways, the Red Sox’ top pitching prospect seems like a metaphor. Lefthander Darwinzon Hernandez is a with considerable upside but whose place and role remain uncertain.

For 2½ months, Hernandez rode an unusual shuttle between Double A and Boston, getting called up directly from Portland on three occasions — once to pitch out of the bullpen in a in mid April, again to provide potential long relief in late April (he never pitched), and then to make his first big league start last week.

After the third callup, Hernandez was redirected not to Portland but to Triple A Pawtucket, where he made his first start Wednesday.

That Hernandez, 22, started the year in the Sea Dogs rotation made plenty of sense, given that he’d ascended to Double A at the end of last year, and when he did, it was in the bullpen. The Sox wanted him to build momentum in the season and develop as a Double A rotation member.

“We still felt he needed development time in Double A,” said president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. “But when we needed somebody, his stuff played better than anybody else. It didn’t really make a difference where he was coming from.”

In one sense, Hernandez is a pitcher for whom the level is of limited relevance.

“When he throws the ball over the plate,” said Dombrowski, “he can get people out at any level. He overmatches people.”

But the Sox still face the question about where and how best to prepare him to throw strikes — and in what role he’s best suited to do so. His performance in his first big league start against the Rangers was noteworthy for a number of reasons.

First, he dominated in the first inning, striking out the side. But then he lost the strike zone in dramatic fashion while seeing his fastball velocity decline in each inning, resulting in his departure after three-plus innings.

That performance was part of a year-long pattern in which Hernandez has dominated in the first inning of nearly all of his appearances. Outside of one awful late-April outing — one in which his routine had been derailed by his brief big league callup — he’s allowed one run in 11⅔ innings while striking out 19.

The Sox haven’t given up on Hernandez as a starter, particularly as a depth option, with Nate Eovaldi and Hector Velazquez on the injured list. But the Sox also recognize that Hernandez has been vulnerable to train-wreck innings, and those usually come a bit deeper than the first inning. That suggests a potential near-term contributor as a reliever who would remain a project of uncertain duration and success as a starter.

“There are some people that think he could come in and play well in that type of [bullpen] role maybe right now,” said Dombrowski. “I don’t want to put unnecessary expectations, but you look at the value of a Josh Hader type of guy, how valuable he is.

“That time could come, but it’s not yet. It doesn’t hurt him to go down and start right now. But I wouldn’t rule anything out for the rest of the year.

“That’s why, when people start talking about what are you going to do at the trading deadline, there’s still time, and he’s a factor in that.”

For now, Triple A represents a valuable development opportunity for Hernandez. The fact that Triple A now uses the same ball as the big leagues is part of that, as is the fact that in Pawtucket, the Sox have two (Juan Centeno and Oscar Hernandez) who are bilingual and have big league experience.

Pawtucket likely offers the best environment for his progress as a potential rotation member.

Still, as much as the Sox would love to see Hernandez develop as a starter — Felix Doubront is the only homegrown pitcher since Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz to make 25 starts with the Sox — they aren’t caught up in the optics of it.

“When I came here, one of the challenges to us, to me, was that the Red Sox haven’t developed any homegrown starting pitching for a period,” said Dombrowski. “I think people have to be careful when they phrase that now.”

Dombrowski noted first that several elite teams don’t lean on homegrown starters. The Astros, for instance, have had eight starts from homegrown pitchers this year; the Cubs have had none.

Moreover, the Red Sox have seen a number of pitchers who were drafted and (to varying degrees) developed in their system — including lefthander Jalen Beeks with the Rays, righthander Shaun Anderson with the Giants, and lefthander Logan Allen with the Padres — graduate to the big leagues in either starting roles or, in the case of Beeks, the primary pitcher who follows Tampa Bay’s opener.

Dombrowski also noted the contributions of homegrown righthander Mike Shawaryn out of the bullpen, as well as pitchers acquired from other organizations (Eduardo Rodriguez, Ryan Brasier, Marcus Walden, Josh Taylor) who have progressed within their system.

“Our development people have done a good job with [pitchers],” said Dombrowski. “Where we are as an organization, you trade young talent sometimes to win. You’d love to have guys you bring up. We just happen to have mostly position players.”

This year, Dombrowski sees Shawaryn as a present contributor, Hernandez as a potential contributor, and righthanders like Tanner Houck (7-4, 4.02 ERA, 9.0 strikeouts per nine and 3.0 walks per nine in Double A), Bryan Mata (likely to be promoted to Portland soon after forging a 1.56 ERA with 9.1 strikeouts and 3.1 walks per nine in eight starts in High A Salem), and Thad Ward (just promoted to High A Salem from Single A Greenville after going 5-2 with a 1.99 ERA in the first half) emerging on the horizon.

In short, there is potential among the pitching prospects in the system — even if, as with Hernandez, the when and how of the contributions remain to be determined.

THREE UP

Outfielder Rusney Castillo hit .529/.556/.853 over a nine-game hitting streak to improve to .289/.336/.427 overall. He was named the Player of the Week for June 10-16.

In his last 12 games, Greenville Brandon Howlett is hitting .400/.511/.571 with 10 walks and 13 strikeouts. For the year, the 19-year-old is hitting .255/.354/.373 while showing solid strike zone command and steady improvement in a fashion atypical for a high school player in his first full pro season.

In the Dominican Summer League, 16-year-old shortstop Brainer Bonaci is off to a spectacular start, hitting .415/.473/.631 with 10 extra-base hits, 11 steals, and nearly as many walks (7) as strikeouts (9) in his first 16 pro games.

THREE DOWN

Righthander Tyler Thornburg has allowed eight earned runs while walking seven and striking out six over 4⅔ innings in his rehab assignment with the PawSox.

Lefthander Yoan Aybar, who impressed in his conversion from the outfield to the mound last year, has endured severe control difficulties in Greenville, walking 26 in 26⅓ innings on the way to a 6.84 ERA. The 21-year-old does have 33 strikeouts.

Lefthander Jay Groome, the 2016 first-rounder who underwent surgery in May 2018, still has yet to progress to a mound. If he pitches in games this year, it will be little more than as a late-season building block toward 2020.

“We’re already in the middle of the year,” said Dombrowski. “I’m not ruling him out, but his development comes more towards next year.”

* The Boston Herald

Christian Vazquez’s walk-off homer caps Red Sox comeback win over Blue Jays

Steve Hewitt

Early on Friday night, after Chris Sale gave up four runs in the first three innings to put the Red Sox in a deep hole, Alex Cora had a message for his ace.

“He was like, ‘We’re going to win this game,’ ” Sale said.

Then, the Red Sox went out and backed them both up.

That’s just the way things have been going for this team lately.

Trailing by four runs, the Red Sox came alive in the seventh and rallied all the way back. Christian Vazquez’ two- run homer in the 10th inning capped a 7-5 comeback victory Friday night as the Red Sox began a six-game homestand at Fenway.

After an impressive road trip in which the Sox swept Baltimore before taking two out of three from Minnesota, Cora wanted to see the run of good play continue at home, where they have struggled this season. It took some time to wake up last night, but the Red Sox clearly are feeling good about themselves.

“We’re playing better,” said Vazquez, who hit his second career walkoff homer. “We’re playing better now. This road trip and this game, we’re playing like a team, together. Like last year, we’re playing like a family here.”

It didn’t look pretty early, as Sale struggled with command and needed 33 pitches to get through a rough first. In the third, he gave up a two-run bomb to Randal Grichuk that gave the Jays a 4-0 lead.

But the Red Sox (42-35) didn’t waver.

They began their rally in the seventh when Mookie Betts hit a one-out triple to the triangle that started a string of four consecutive hits. Andrew Benintendi followed with a single, then Xander Bogaerts smashed an RBI double to right before J.D. Martinez hit a slow-rolling RBI single, and suddenly it was a 5-4 game.

“The line kept moving,” Cora said. “Stay in the big part of the field and you saw the results.”

Brock Holt couldn’t sustain it when he hit into an inning-ending , but the momentum carried into the eighth. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a one-out triple off the wall in the right field corner, and that’s when Cora summoned Rafael Devers to pinch hit for Eduardo Nunez.

Cora was hoping to stay away from Devers after the third baseman was removed from Wednesday’s win over the Twins with a minor hamstring injury. But the situation presented the perfect spot for Devers, who delivered the game-tying RBI knock.

“Actually, he hasn’t been great in those situations lately, he’s been swinging at a lot early and not hitting the ball hard, so he was very patient there,” Cora said. “He got a pitch that he could handle and hit it through the infield.”

Matt Barnes shut down the Jays with a 1-2-3 ninth, and Brandon Workman navigated some traffic in the 10th, but got through it. That set the stage for the heroics in the 10th.

After Michael Chavis and Bradley Jr. both struck out, Marco Hernandez was hit by a pitch. That brought up Vazquez, who had pinch-hit for Sandy Leon in the eighth. The catcher found a pitch to drive on Jordan Romano’s 3- 2 fastball, and crushed it to the bullpen for the walkoff hit.

The clutch knock was a reminder of how valuable Vazquez has been for the Red Sox this season. He’s continued his strong play defensively, but also has put it together at the plate.

“He’s been one of the best catchers in the American League,” Cora said. “I think he’s right there with — as far as WAR — with (the Yankees’ Gary) Sanchez and (the Tigers’ James) McCann, I think he is. Probably he went ahead of them today. But he’s been amazing. He’s been good offensively. He’s done an outstanding job. …

“I’m very happy for him. I know what he tried to accomplish in the offseason and he sees the results now.”

So are the Red Sox, who have won eight of their last nine and are a season-best seven games above .500.

“We’re starting to play some good baseball,” Sale said. “We’re finally getting back to things that make us successful and the confidence has always been there. You feel a little bit more now. Like I said, coming off a good road trip, you can kind of just feel things around here just starting to change a little bit. To cap it off with a walkoff homer, Vazqy crushed that ball. That’s always fun. Give us a little momentum to start the homestand and get off on the right foot. Now we go.”

Said Vazquez: “It’s fun. Every win is fun and if we continue to play like this, we’re going to be fine and in first place.”

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. maintains ‘great relationship’ with David Ortiz

Steve Hewitt

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., of course, had his Hall of Fame father to look up to as he grew up and into one of the best young talents in baseball, but that isn’t the only great that’s been in his corner.

The Toronto Blue Jays third baseman, the top prospect in baseball upon his call-up to the majors earlier this season, has received help from David Ortiz along the way.

Guerrero doesn’t remember exactly when he first met the Red Sox legend, but it’s clear the two remain close. Guerrero, who was the DH Friday night as the Jays and Red Sox opened a three-game series at Fenway Park, described their relationship as “great.” The two spoke on the phone as Ortiz continues to recover at Mass. General after getting shot in the Dominican Republic nearly two weeks ago.

There’s even a chance Guerrero will visit Ortiz on Saturday.

“He sounds very good,” Guerrero said of Big Papi. “He feels very well right now and that’s what the Dominican wants and what all of baseball wants, is for him to feel really well.”

The impact Ortiz has had on Guerrero is clearly profound, and as he continues his rookie season with the Blue Jays, he’s still heeding the advice and lessons he’s learned from him.

“The same advice that my dad always gave me,” Guerrero said. “Just keep working really hard every day. It’s not to make it to the big leagues, it’s keeping working hard to stay in the big leagues.”

It’s been an expected work in progress at the big league level for Guerrero, who made his debut on April 26 and has been up and down since. Entering Friday night, he was batting .249 with seven homers and 19 RBI in 45 games. He’s been a regular at the top of the order for the Jays.

Asked about the biggest difference playing defensively at third base in the big leagues compared to Triple A, Guerrero candidly said, ““Up here, they hit it very hard. Way harder than they did in Triple A.”

It’s certainly been an adjustment, but he maintains a regular dialogue with his dad about everything that he’s seeing.

“Basically, after every game, me and my dad, we talk, see about the game, what I did right, what I did wrong,” Guerrero said.

Guerrero batted second on Friday night in his first career game at Fenway, a place he had been before as a young boy when his father was a player. He didn’t remember anything beyond saying the clubhouse is a lot smaller than it is now.

But he certainly recognized the gravity of playing in a storied venue.

“It’s a historic stadium and since I was a young kid, it’s a stadium that you really want to play,” he said.

Devers sits out

Rafael Devers, who left Wednesday’s series finale in Minnesota early with a minor hamstring injury, was out of the lineup on Friday, and manager Alex Cora was hopeful he’d be back Saturday. . . .

Cora said Steven Wright, who has made four appearances in his rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket will probably make one more before he’s activated. The knuckleballer is eligible to return on Monday after his 80-game PED suspension ends.

It doesn’t seem Cora envisions Wright as a starter when he comes back.

“That’s a tough one because, can he go deep in the game because of the knee?” Cora said. “That’s one of those, like, medically … baseball wise, it makes sense but medically it comes into play, can he do that? Last year we decided that the best way was to put him in the bullpen in shorter stints. It’s better for him.” . .

Steve Pearce (back) was scheduled to play seven innings at first base for Pawtucket on Friday night, and Mitch Moreland (quad) was supposed to field grounders on Friday, but it got pushed to Saturday because of wet field conditions. Nathan Eovaldi (elbow) played catch from 90 feet on Friday and the Red Sox will see how he feels Saturday to determine what’s next.

Rotation schedule

With the Red Sox’ two-game series against the Yankees in London looming, Cora has an idea of what his rotation will look like. Brian Johnson will take the ball Saturday before Rick Porcello on Sunday and Eduardo Rodriguez on Monday. Cora said David Price will likely pitch Tuesday, which means Chris Sale would probably finish the homestand on Wednesday.

The Red Sox then have two days off before they play in London next Saturday and Sunday. Cora said he expects Porcello and Rodriguez to start those games.

Betts, Martinez named finalists

The finalists for All-Star Game voting were announced on Friday night and two Red Sox made the cut. Mookie Betts is one of nine American League outfielders to be a finalist, and J.D. Martinez is one of three designated hitters. Voting begins Wednesday at noon as voters choose who will start the Midsummer Classic on July 9 in Cleveland.

Xander Bogaerts: Not an All-Star finalist, but the Red Sox’ MVP

Michael Silverman

Xander Bogaerts isn’t getting any love.

Not the love he deserves.

Not the love that Cody Bellinger and Mike Trout receive in Los Angeles.

Not the love Christian Yelich gets in Milwaukee.

Those are the only three big leaguers more valuable than Bogaerts this season. His 3.5 WAR ranks fourth in MLB, according to FanGraphs. All while he’s played a dazzling shortstop in his seventh big league season.

But when the All-Star finalists were revealed Friday night on MLB Network, Bogaerts wasn’t even in the top three among American League shortstops. If he wants to make the All-Star team now, he’ll have be the backup voted on by the players, or a fill-in player added to the roster by the commissioner’s office.

“He deserves it,” said Sox manager Alex Cora, who will manage the A.L. team in the midsummer classic July 9. “He’s been working so hard for this and he’s proven to everybody he belongs to the elite ones. Hopefully he’ll be there in Cleveland.”

The fan voting, as usual, was nothing more than a silly popularity contest. The top three shortstops were Jorge Polanco, Carlos Correa and Gleyber Torres. Bogaerts was ranked sixth in the latest results released Monday by MLB. The two players directly above him, Tim Anderson and Francisco Lindor, have combined for the same WAR (3.5) as Bogaerts has provided this season.

Not a WAR fan? No problem. He’s got a higher batting average (.300) and OPS (.923) than Correa, Torres, Lindor and Marcus Semien. He’s hit more home runs (14) than every A.L. shortstop but Torres (17). Defensively, only Semien and Aldaberto Mondesi have a higher UZR.

“Offensively, defensively, he’s one of the elite shortstops in all of baseball,” David Price said. “I’ll take him over anybody.”

There’s a case to be made that Bogaerts, not Mookie Betts, should be the face of the Red Sox’ franchise.

While Betts can become a free agent after 2020, Bogaerts will make $20 million a year starting next year through at least 2025 on a contract that may end up looking quite the bargain for the Sox.

With a premium bat and an above-average glove at a premium position, Bogaerts is on pace to become just the seventh shortstop since Nomar Garciappara to hit .300 with an OPS over .900 in a full season. That list is full of stars: Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Hanley Ramirez, Troy Tulowitzski, Carlos Guillen and Rich Aurilla.

And none of what Bogaerts is doing looks like a fluke.

His offense has been on a slow-and-steady incline since his major league debut in 2013. He was long considered a guy that hits for average. He became a power hitter when Cora arrived in 2018 and hit the ball harder than he ever had before in his career, according to StatCast data. This year, he’s put them both together.

He ranks among the top 20 percent of hitters in almost all the hitting categories like exit velocity (91.2 mph), barrel percentage (10.7) and hard-hit percentage (45.5). And he’s doing it while walking 13.7 percent of the time (top-10 percent in the league).

All of these are career-highs for a player who doesn’t turn 27 until October.

“Do I like this version? Love it,” Cora said. “He’s looking to do damage. Even in Minnesota, they were shifting him. And three or four years ago he’d probably shoot the ball the other way, get his singles, go 3-for-4 and be happy with three singles. Now he wants to do damage, hit for power.”

It was in the top of the ninth Monday that Bogaerts got a pitch off the plate outside and had the power to drive it to the right-center field gap for an RBI double an insurance run. Two days later, with the Sox down 4-3 in the fifth, he was getting pitched away, away, away for six straight pitches. Then he got a hanging curve on the inside part of the plate and was adaptable enough to sit on it and drive it to left field for a game-tying double.

He’s doing extreme damage on anything inside, particularly high and inside. He’s doing enough damage on anything outside. And unless you get him to chase something down and a away, he’s going to beat you.

Those of us who have seen him develop from an unsure fielder into the guy who is making the Jeter-throw regularly while showing improving range to his left, too, can vouch for his candidacy as a Gold Glove contender one of these years. Maybe this one will be it.

So forget about the All-Star Game voting results. Bogaerts’ season has spoken for itself. He’s one of the elites, not just at his position, but at any position.

“Everybody knows who he is,” Cora said. “And he keeps getting better. I’m lucky he’s my shortstop.”

* The Providence Journal

Roger Clemens takes his place in PawSox Hall of Fame

Mike Scandura

Prior to former Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens being inducted into the Pawtucket Red Sox Hall of Fame at McCoy Stadium on Friday night, the team’s play-by-play and public-address announcer Josh Maurer stated that “Pawtucket was the launching pad for the Rocketman.”

After Clemens’ career was “launched” at Pawtucket he went on to carve out a reputation as one of baseball’s greatest pitchers.

Among other things: Clemens earned seven Cy Young Awards, finished his Boston career as the team’s all-time strikeout leader (2,590) and was one of only 14 pitchers to record 300 victories (354) and 3,000 or more strikeouts (4,672).

“Bruce Hurst gave me my nickname the ‘Rocketman’ and I answer it more these days than I do my first name,” Clemens said. “But this game isn’t easy. It takes a lot of focus and a lot of work.”

Even though Clemens pitched in only seven games with Pawtucket in 1984, he admittedly didn’t envision the type of career he had in the majors.

“No, not really,” Clemens said. “I was taught my winning ways at Texas. We kind of carried those on here. Then, we marched through the minor-league deal. We won in New Britain, which was great. I had a bunch of fantastic teammates when I got to Pawtucket.

“When I got called up to the big leagues, it was great. You never look back. I’m reminiscing about the passing of Billy Buckner. I had some fantastic veteran teammates like Jim Rice, Dwight Evans, ‘Geddy’ (Rich Gedman), Bruce Hurst and Marty Barrett. I was lucky. I had some great leadership.”

During the pre-game ceremony Clemens called Buckner “a fantastic teammate.”

“We love Billy Buckner,” he said. “He’ll always be a winner in our hearts.”

If there was a signature moment in Clemens’ career it occurred on April 29, 1986, when he became the first pitcher in history to strike out 20 batters in a nine-inning game in a victory over Seattle at Fenway Park.

“I talked with my batterymate, Rich Gedman, and he got me on the map in that 20-strikeout game,” Clemens said. “Obviously the biggest stepping stone was the 20-strikeout game with ‘Geddy.’ ”

Clemens was presented with a memento of that 20-strikeout game — two cases that included 20 with the name of every player he fanned in his 20-strikeout game.

Former Boston manager , who shared the pre-game ceremony with another former teammate Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, stated why he felt Clemens became one of the game’s great pitchers.

“What kind of pitcher was Roger when he got to Boston,” queried Morgan. “He had a knee-high fastball that was unhittable and picked up speed the last 10 feet.

“He also had the best slider I’ve ever seen.”

Even though Clemens enjoyed his greatest years with Boston he admittedly couldn’t find his first spring training home with a GPS.

“They sent me to Winter Haven in Florida and I didn’t know where it was,” Clemens said. “After New Britain, I came here and had the opportunity to play before you fans. What a special journey it was.”

Clemens said he relishes his visits to Pawtucket.

“It’s always great to come back and see some familiar faces,” he said. “I’ve been back a handful of times to Pawtucket. They do a great job. They called me about a month or two ago and said they wanted to put this together and I was pretty excited.

“Like I said, for me it’s just coming back and seeing a lot of familiar faces in the area because this was one of my stops that I had on my way to Boston. I wish I could have played my whole career there but fortunately for me it worked out. My friends here in Pawtucket and Boston are always going to be my friends. They know the work I did here.”

* MassLive.com

Boston Red Sox’s Christian Vazquez, like Xander Bogaerts, a snub in All-Star Game voting

Chris Cotillo

Christian Vazquez’s walk-off home run did more than give the Red Sox a dramatic 7-5 win over the Blue Jays on Friday night. It helped show that Xander Bogaerts isn’t the only member of the Sox who was snubbed by the first round of All-Star Game voting.

Bogaerts, who finished fifth among American League shortstops and is not a finalist to be an All-Star starter, got all the attention this week after expressing his frustration with how fans haven’t supported him in balloting. While Bogaerts’ gripes are fair, the same can be said for Vazquez, who also finished fifth despite being within 0.1 WAR of two of the finalists-- New York’s Gary Sanchez and Chicago’s James McCann-- entering Friday.

“It’s tough,” Vazquez said. “It’s tough to not be there in the top three. We can’t control that. It’s voting.”

Vazquez has put together a fantastic all-around first half for the Sox, hitting .292 with a career-high nine homers in 61 games. While he doesn’t have the name recognition of someone like Sanchez or Robinson Chirinos, Vazquez has quietly emerged as a force for Boston.

“He has been one of the best catchers in the American League,” manager Alex Cora said.

Entering Friday, Vazquez led A.L. hitters (with at least 100 plate appearances) in average with a .328 mark. Defensively, he ranks fourth in baseball with a 36.7% caught stealing rate and leads the league with three catcher pickoffs this season.

“Offensively, he has done an outstanding job,” Cora said. “He had some tough games behind the plate— bullpen games and a lot of games he had to maneuver throughout— and he gave us a chance to win. He doesn’t get enough credit behind the plate but he’s one of the best defensive catchers in the league.”

Vazquez’s improvement has happened in the shadows of a bunch of more intriguing storylines for the Red Sox. Chris Sale’s roller-coaster season, Rafael Devers’ rise to superstardom, Mookie Betts’ regression and the team’s all- around inconsistency have dominated headlines while Vazquez has quietly produced.

But compared to how Vazquez was viewed in the second half of last season, his rise is quite remarkable. Less than a year after it looked like a broken finger and Sandy Leon’s strong rapport with the pitching staff put Vazquez second on the catching depth chart, the 28-year-old has established himself as Boston’s clear No. 1 catcher.

That ascent should put Vazquez squarely into the conversation to suit up for the American League in Cleveland next month. Even if he won’t be the starter, there’s still a chance he’ll be selected by his peers or the Commissioner’s Office as a reserve.

“Everybody wants to be in the All-Star Game,” Vazquez said. “So let’s see what happens.”

Boston Red Sox’s Rafael Devers delivers game-tying single in ‘perfect situation’ despite hamstring injury

Chris Cotillo

Usually when Alex Cora says he’ll try to "stay away” from an injured player and not use him off the bench, the Red Sox manager keeps his word. So it took a perfect scenario for Rafael Devers-- who is dealing with hamstring tightness-- to pinch hit and deliver a game-tying single in the eighth inning against the Blue Jays on Friday night.

With Boston trailing 5-4 after scoring three runs in the seventh, Jackie Bradley Jr. ripped a one-out triple to put the tying run just 90 feet away for Eduardo Nunez. With righty David Phelps pitching, Cora pulled Nunez back in favor of Devers, who was supposed to have the night off after leaving Wednesday’s game in the fifth inning.

Devers, who suffered two hamstring injuries last season, was supposed to use Friday to heal. But Cora simply couldn’t pass up using one of his best hitters with the game on the line-- as long as the player felt good enough.

“With the infield in and a man at third,” Cora said. “That was it."

Devers delivered, slapping a 2-2 breaking ball through the right side to tie the game. Cora immediately removed Devers for pinch-runner Marco Hernandez.

“He was very patient there, got a pitch he could handle and hit it through the infield,” Cora said.

Devers’ swing forced extras and the Sox ended up beating the Jays, 7-5, on a Christian Vazquez walk-off home run in the 10th inning. Devers is considered questionable to play Saturday.

Christian Vazquez hits walk-off homer for Boston Red Sox to seal 7-5 comeback win over Blue Jays

Chris Cotillo

Alex Cora’s plea for the Red Sox to play better at home took seven innings to have any effect on his team. But once it did, Boston delivered one of its best wins at Fenway Park all season Friday night.

After trailing 5-1 in the seventh, the Sox rallied back with six runs in four innings to beat the Blue Jays, 7-5, on a Christian Vazquez walk-off homer in the 10th.

Vazquez’s blast was the second walk-off homer of his career, coming against Jordan Romano with a runner on first and two outs. Vazquez took a 3-2 fastball and sent it 402 feet over the bullpen in right field to give the Sox their first walk-off homer of the season.

Vazquez’s blast put an exclamation point on an impressive comeback for the Sox, who fell behind early thanks to an uneven performance from Chris Sale and a failure to capitalize against Jays starter Trent Thornton. Sale allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits in just five innings while Boston went 0-for-5 while plating one run with runners in scoring position through the first six innings.

With one out in the seventh and the Jays leading, 5-1, the Red Sox strung together four straight hits-- a Mookie Betts triple, Andrew Benintendi single, Xander Bogaerts double and J.D. Martinez single -- to cut the deficit to 5-4. After Jackie Bradley Jr. tripled with one out in the eighth, Cora called upon Rafael Devers (who was thought to be unavailable due to a hamstring injury) to pinch hit for Eduardo Nunez.

Devers delivered with a game-tying single through the right side and was immediately lifted for pinch-runner Marco Hernandez. Devers’ heroics came less than 48 hours after he was lifted from Wednesday’s game with hamstring tightness.

Brandon Workman worked around two walks in the tenth to retire the side in the 10th. Romano struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the inning before hitting Hernandez with a pitch to set up Vazquez’s heroics.

The Red Sox improved to 42-35 with the win and will have the chance to clinch a series victory over Toronto on Saturday afternoon. Brian Johnson will make his second start of the year opposite righty Derek Law.

Sale’s struggles uncharacteristic

Entering Friday, Sale had allowed just two earned runs while striking out 32 in 22 innings this month, putting together his best three-start stretch of the season. His five innings were his fewest in 11 starts, dating back to April 23.

Sale’s ERA rose from 3.49 to 3.59 while the Sox improved to 6-10 in his starts. He said after the game he thought his overall command was lacking against Toronto.

Betts triples for third time in five games

Betts’ third triple of the season was also his third since Sunday. The reigning A.L. MVP hit two triples on Boston’s six-game road trip: in Baltimore on Sunday and in Minnesota on Wednesday night.

Betts’ career-high for triples in a season is eight, set in 2015.

Boston Red Sox injuries: Mitch Moreland begins baseball activities, Steve Pearce continues rehab assignment

Chris Cotillo

Red Sox Mitch Moreland is set to begin baseball activities for the first time since hitting the injured list with a right quad strain June 8. Moreland was supposed to work out on the field before Friday’s game but was pushed back a day due to wet field conditions at Fenway Park.

“He was actually going to take ground balls today,” manager Alex Cora said. “He ran a little bit.”

Moreland has been shut down completely after being removed from Boston’s game against the Rays on June 8. He will begin building back up before eventually heading out on a rehab assignment.

Pearce continues rehab

First baseman Steve Pearce (low back strain) is playing first base for Pawtucket on Friday night as he continues his rehab assignment. Pearce has appeared in four rehab games (two for Lowell and two for Pawtucket) since being sent out last Friday.

“I actually watched the game yesterday,” Cora said. “He was moving well. See how he reacts to playing back-to- back games and all that stuff. So far, so good.”

Pearce has been out since June 1. He’s likely to rejoin the Sox before the end of their six-game homestand and possibly as soon as this weekend.

Wright getting close

Knuckleballer Steven Wright is expected to be activated Tuesday, when he is eligible to return from his 80-game suspension for violating baseball’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Cora said Wright is expected to make one more rehab appearance with the PawSox before then.

Wright has posted a 2.35 ERA while striking out four batters in 7 2/3 innings with the PawSox. Wright’s balky knee means he’ll be used as a reliever instead of filling a rotation spot.

“Baseball-wise it makes sense, but medically, it comes into play if he can do that," Cora said.

Eovaldi throws again

Starter Nathan Eovaldi played catch from 90 feet before Friday’s game. It marked the fourth time in five days the righty has thrown since restarting his rehab process.

Eovaldi had surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow April 23 and had his rehab shut down due to biceps soreness in early June. He’ll start to ramp things up again soon.

“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow and keep adding on,” Cora said.

Other injuries

Tyler Thornburg (right hip impingement), Heath Hembree (right elbow extensor strain) and Hector Velazquez (low back strain) also remain on the IL. Thornburg is rehabbing with Pawtucket.

Red Sox’s Martinez, Betts voted finalists to start All-Star Game; Bogaerts, Devers don’t advance

Chris Cotillo

Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts and designated hitter J.D. Martinez are finalists to start for the American League in next month’s MLB All-Star Game, the league announced Friday.

Betts finished fifth among outfielders in the first round of voting while Martinez was the top vote-getter at DH. The top nine outfielders and top three designated hitters advanced to the final round.

Shortstop Xander Bogaerts (fifth among shortstops) and third baseman Rafael Devers (fourth among third basemen) came close but did not make the final round of voting. Bogaerts recently expressed disappointment in where he had ranked in preliminary voting tallies.

Under MLB’s new voting system this year, fans first voted in a “primary” stage of balloting that allowed the top three vote-getters at each position (and top nine outfielders) to advance to the final round. The ballot counts will now reset ahead of “Election Day,” a 28-hour voting period from June 26-27 that will determine the All-Star Game starters.

Betts will go up against Michael Brantley (Indians), Joey Gallo (Rangers), Aaron Judge (Yankees), Austin Meadows (Rays), Josh Reddick (Astros), Eddie Rosario (Twins), George Springer (Astros) and Mike Trout (Angels) while Martinez will face Nelson Cruz (Twins) and Hunter Pence (Rangers).

Players who are not selected as All-Star starters can still be selected to participate in the game, either by their fellow players or the Commissioner’s Office. Once fan voting is completed, the A.L. team will fill 23 roster spots (11 for position players) via those two avenues.

Red Sox voting in All-Star Game primary round:

C: Christian Vazquez (5th)

1B: Mitch Moreland (8th)

2B: Michael Chavis (7th)

SS: Xander Bogaerts (5th)

3B: Rafael Devers (4th)

OF: Mookie Betts (5th), Andrew Benintendi (12th), Jackie Bradley Jr. (13th)

DH: J.D. Martinez (1st)

* The Lawrence Eagle Tribune

Five Takes: Christian Vazquez plays hero as Red Sox keep finding ways to win

Chris Mason

Alex Cora said it last week and it’s rang true ever since.

“We found a way to win today instead of finding a way to lose,” Cora said after an improbable win over the Rangers.

It happened again at Fenway Park last night. After dozing through six innings and trailing the Blue Jays, 5-1, the Red Sox came alive late and won the ballgame in walk-off fashion. They got clutch contributions from up and down the lineup card.

Here are five takes from a wild one at Fenway:

1. Vazqy is the hero

With two outs in the bottom of the tenth and Christian Vazquez in a 2-2 count with Jordan Romano, the game felt destined to head to the eleventh.

The catcher had other ideas.

Instead, Vazquez blasted a game-winning two-run homer over the Boston bullpen. He knew it was gone off the bat, and the Sox had stolen another win, their eighth in nine games.

2. Pretty good in a pinch

Nursing a sore hamstring, Rafael Devers didn’t find himself in last night’s starting lineup.

“Day to day. He came in, he feels better,” Cora said before the game. “We’ll try to stay away from him tonight.”

When a perfect pinch-hitting opportunity presented itself in the eighth inning, Devers was good enough to go and Cora couldn’t stay away.

With Jackie Bradley on third in a 5-4 game, Devers pinch-hit for Eduardo Nunez. The 22-year-old smacked a ball off his shoetops for an RBI single, and the game was tied. Not a bad option to have on your bench.

3. Bogey gets snubbed

In about the fourth inning, Major League Baseball announced the finalists to start next month’s All-Star Game. In an unnecessarily complex new format, after an initial vote, fans will select starters from a group of three. Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez are the only Red Sox players eligible.

Xander Bogaerts, Boston’s best player this season, won’t be on the ballot. The top three shortstops were Jorge Polanco, Gleyber Torres and Carlos Correa. Polanco is deserving, but putting Torres and Correa ahead of Bogaerts is downright laughable. The Red Sox shortstop has better numbers than both, and far more games played at the position.

4. Then he gives the Sox life

Bogaerts has made no bones about it: He wants to be an All-Star starter. So he took his frustration out on the baseball.

With the Sox trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh, the shortstop smoked an RBI double center field, then waved his arms wildly at the home dugout to try and pump his team up. It certainly helped jar them awake.

5. Chris isn’t crisp

With a high-stress first inning, it was clear Chris Sale didn’t have his best stuff.

The ace needed to battle to get through five innings, allowing four runs (three earned), and tying a season high of seven hits. His location was just a little off all night, as he also walked a couple Jays and hit a batter.

* The Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Red Sox Journal: Holt continues to do what’s needed

Bill Doyle

With cleanup hitter Rafael Devers sidelined by tightness in his right hamstring, Red Sox manager Alex Cora juggled his batting order a bit on Friday night against the Blue Jays.

One of the changes involved moving Brock Holt from sixth to fifth. Holt lacks the power of a typical No. 5 hitter and he hadn’t batted in that spot all season, but he’s been on a tear at the plate lately.

Since returning from the injured list on May 27, he was hitting .371 in 18 games entering Friday night with a .929 OPS, 13 RBI and 14 runs scored. For the season, he was hitting a career-high .308 with one home run and 14 RBI in 24 games.

“We missed him the first month,” Cora said. “We did. He’s a guy that gives you a quality at-bat. He’s hitting in a spot that there’s going to be a lot of traffic in front of him and he makes contact. Defensively, he’s been solid. He’s a good baserunner, and when he doesn’t play, he’s a weapon off the bench. We felt it the first month when he wasn’t there. He’s been great.”

Holt missed seven weeks with a scratched cornea and a right-shoulder impingement. The utility player has started at second base lately with Michael Chavis moving to first to replace the injured Mitch Moreland and Steve Pearce. Holt has also played at first, shortstop, left field and right field this season.

“He understands his role,” Cora said. “I think that’s the most important thing.” Holt has played more than expected this season because of Dustin Pedroia’s inability to overcome his knee injury.

“We had a talk a month into the season, I’m like, ‘We need you, you’re very important to us,’ ” Cora said.

Cora was a utility player himself so he appreciates what Holt brings to the team. “He’s a better utility than I am,” Cora said. “He’s a better hitter, he’s a better player. I tell him all the time.”

In his career, Holt hit only .160 (4-for-25) in the No. 5 spot in the order with one home run and two RBI. The home run came last year.

Bigger and better Entering Friday, Xander Bogaerts was hitting .300 with 14 home runs and he led A.L. shortstops with 58 runs scored, 24 doubles, 38 extra-base hits, 49 RBI, 45 walks and a .392 OBP. Cora lobbied for him to be among the top three finalists at shortstop in the All-Star fan voting, but he wasn’t. Jorge Polanco of the Twins, Carlos Correa of the Astros and Gleyber Torres of the Yankees were.

Bogaerts is hitting for both average and power.

“He’s a great hitter with two strikes,” Cora said, “and instead of with two strikes going the other way he’s actually hitting for power with two strikes. I would love him to be more aggressive early in the count, of course. He knows it, too, but do I like this guy, this version? I love it. He’s looking to do damage.” No longer is Bogaerts happy with getting three singles and hitting to the opposite field. He’s also doing the job in the field.

“He’s playing a premium position at 6-[foot-]3, 225 [pounds],” Cora said. “He’s a big shortstop. He’s a strong shortstop and he keeps getting better.”

Bogaerts may lack the range of some shortstop, but Cora believes he’s no longer hesitating and he’s playing with more conviction in his first step.

“He hates errors,” Cora said. “He hates them and he’s been taking a lot of chances, too. Barehanded plays, balls in the hole, up the middle. It’s not that he’s just not trying to make errors, he’s actually trying to make plays.”

Signing a six-year, $120-million contract extension has obviously allowed the 26-year-old Bogaerts to relax and play ball.

“It was a good business decision for everybody,” Cora said.

Injury update

Devers left a 9-4 win at Minnesota in the fourth inning on Wednesday with right hamstring tightness. Cora said Devers felt better and that the Sox manager hoped he could play on Saturday.

Pearce (lower-back strain) was scheduled to play for Pawtucket on Friday and Cora said the team wanted to see how he reacted to playing on back-to-back days.

Moreland (right-quad strain) ran a bit and was scheduled to field ground balls, but couldn’t because the field was covered by a tarp with a light rain falling prior to the game. He’ll field grounders on Saturday.

Cora expects knuckleballer Steven Wright to make one more start for Pawtucket before he’s activated from his 80- game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. The Sox could use a fifth starter, but Cora said Wright would pitch in relief when he returns because the team doesn’t think he can pitch deep into games after undergoing surgery on his left knee in November.

Nathan Eovaldi (loose body in right elbow) played catch from 90 feet again as he works his way back to the mound.

Cora also said on Friday that he was happy to hear that David Ortiz is feeling better at Massachusetts General Hospital after suffering a gunshot wound in his back in the Dominican Republic and he’s praying for him and hopes to visit him soon.

* RedSox.com

Vazquez on walk-off: 'I knew it. I hit it good.'

Ian Browne

The Red Sox were down early, but manager Alex Cora had a feeling that he shared with ace Chris Sale.

“I put us in a pretty bad hole early on and AC tapped me I think after the third or fourth inning and was like, ‘We’re going to win this game.' We just kind of feel it,” said Sale.

It took a while, but the Red Sox are back to that place where they are feeling it again.

And the emotion of a thrilling 7-5, 10-inning victory could be felt as soon as Christian Vázquez's two-run, walk-off homer caromed from the roof of the home bullpen into the bleachers.

Vazquez didn’t even start the game (Sandy Leon usually catches Sale and was behind the plate for the first eight innings), but he sure did finish it by belting the second walk-off homer of his career.

“Good feeling,” said Vazquez. “Get the W there and help the team win was the best feeling ever.”

After Michael Chavis and Jackie Bradley Jr. struck out to open the 10th, and Marco Hernandez fell behind 0-2, it looked like the game was going to the 11th. But Hernandez was hit on the elbow on the 1-2 pitch from Blue Jays reliever Jordan Romano, giving Vazquez an opportunity to close it out.

The catcher -- who is having a highly-underrated season at the plate -- smashed a 3-2 fastball from Romano for the third opposite-field homer of his career. It was by far the longest one at a projected distance of 403 feet, according to Statcast.

Vazquez wasn’t trying to go deep. But he knew he had as soon as he felt the ball leave his bat.

“I knew it. I hit it good. The wind was that way and I was trying to hit the ball to the gap and Marco was running with two outs and I just wanted to get the run in,” Vazquez said.

The surging Sox have won eight of their last nine, with the only loss in that span taking 17 innings. At 42-35, Boston trails the Yankees by seven games in the .

“It’s fun,” Vazquez said of playing the role of hero. “Every win is fun and if we continue to play like this, we’re going to be fine and in first place.”

It was a game Boston trailed by four runs in the third and again in the top of the seventh.

They came storming back with three in three in the seventh, one in the eighth and then the rocket by Vazquez in the 10th to finish it.

Mookie Betts sparked the surge in the seventh with a one-out triple to right-center. Andrew Benintendi (RBI single), Xander Bogaerts (RBI double) and J.D. Martinez (RBI single) followed with three straight hits, and suddenly it was a one-run game.

In the eighth, it was Bradley who smashed a one-out triple -- this one into the corner in right. Rafael Devers, who was not in the lineup due to a sore right hamstring, pinch-hit for Eduardo Núñez and ripped a game-tying RBI single to right.

“We’re playing better now. This road trip and this game, we’re playing like a team, together,” said Vazquez. “Like last year, we’re playing like a family here.”

Sale labored through his start, allowing seven hits and four runs (three earned) while throwing 101 pitches in five innings. The lanky lefty walked two and struck out eight, needing 36 pitches to get through the first inning.

But by the end of what proved to be a joyous night, Sale’s early struggles were a footnote instead of a story.

“That’s why you never hang your head,” said Sale. “You just keep fighting and do what you need to do and you know, hey, end up on top.”

That feeling -- that vibe -- has once again permeated the dugout and the clubhouse. As for why it took so long, that no longer matters.

“We’re finally getting back to things that make us successful and the confidence has always been there,” said Sale. “You feel a little bit more now. Like I said, coming off a good road trip, you can kind of just feel things around here just starting to change a little bit. To cap it off with a walk-off homer, Vazqy crushed that ball. That’s always fun. Give us a little momentum to start the homestand and get off on the right foot. Now we go.”

Martinez and Betts both All-Star Game finalists

Ian Browne

Hours after Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez were named finalists at their respective positions to be starters at the upcoming All-Star Game, both players demonstrated their worth with key hits that helped the Red Sox pull out a thrilling, 7-5 victory on Friday night at Fenway Park.

In a game-turning bottom of the seventh, Betts smashed a one-out triple. Three batters later, Martinez hammered an RBI single. The Sox trailed 5-1 before that three-run frame.

Red Sox fans have become used to such heroics from Betts and Martinez, who helped lead their squad to a World Series championship last season.

Martinez is one of three finalists at DH. His competition is Hunter Pence of the Rangers and Nelson Cruz of the Twins. As the first round of voting closed on Friday to determine the finalists, Martinez was the leading vote-getter at his position with 1,564,520 votes.

Betts, last year’s American League MVP Award Winner, ranked fifth among the nine finalists in the outfield with 1,325,117 votes. The top three vote-getters will be in the lineup for the American League squad at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

The other eight finalists in the outfield are Mike Trout (Angels), George Springer (Astros), Michael Brantley (Astros), Austin Meadows (Rays), Eddie Rosario (Twins), Josh Reddick (Astros) and Joey Gallo (Rangers).

Betts is trying to earn his fourth consecutive starting nod at the All-Star Game. Martinez has been an All-Star twice before, including last year, when he started at DH in his first season with the Red Sox.

The 2019 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard will be played on Tuesday, July 9, at Progressive Field in Cleveland. It will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 180 countries. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish-language coverage in the , while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. During the game, fans may visit MLB.com and the 30 club sites to submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. For more information about MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, please visit AllStarGame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.

* WEEI.com

Summer is here and so are last year's Red Sox

Rob Bradford

A month ago the Red Sox don't win this game. But it isn't a month ago. It feels like nine months ago, and that has made all the difference in the world.

The Red Sox' come-from-behind, 10-inning, 7-5 win over the Blue Jays had that 2018 vibe, that same kind of feeling Alex Cora said a few days ago had returned to his club. They've won eight of their last nine games and are seven over .500 for the first time all season. It's hard to argue with Cora's assessment.

"It was big. Especially, we picked up some momentum on the road trip," said Chris Sale after Christian Vazquez' two-run, walk-off homer punctuated the Sox comeback. "Played really well the entire time, lost a tough one. Coming here, continuing that and good vibes and keep it rolling, getting the first win of the series, you know, picking me up. That was big. I put us in a pretty bad hole early on I think AC tapped me I think after the third or fourth inning and was like, ‘we’re going to win this game’. We just kind of feel it."

Make no mistake about it, if the Red Sox are going to make a legitimate run at this thing (and by this "thing" we mean the division title) they are going to need better from Sale. For whatever reason the lefty didn't have the dominant stuff he has been carting out of late, giving up four runs over five innings. Coming into the start against the Jays, Sale's month had seen him give up just two earned runs over 22 innings, striking out 32 and walking just two.

But even with Sale's hiccup, there was enough for the Red Sox to hang their hat on to feel like things have turned for good.

- The combination of Josh Taylor, Ryan Brasier, Matt Barnes and Brandon Workman went the final 3 2/3 innings without giving up a run.

- Rafael Devers helped continue the Red Sox' pinch-hitting mastery, coming off the bench with a game-tying pinch- hit single in the eighth. It improved the Sox' pinch-hitting batting average to a major league-best .450 (18-for-40).

- Michael Chavis continues to trend back in the right direction, claiming a pair of hits to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. It is the longest stretch by a Red Sox rookie since Andrew Benintendi notched a hit in 11 straight games two seasons ago.

- And then there was Vazquez and his walk-off...

"He’s been one of the best catchers in the American League," Cora said. "I think he’s right there with - as far as WAR - with (Gary) Sanchez and (James) McCann, I think he is. probably he went ahead of them today. But he’s been amazing. He’s been good offensively. He’s done an outstanding job, he had some tough games behind the plate. Bullpen games and games he had to maneuver throughout and give us a chance to win.

"He’s had some tough games behind the plate, bullpen games, and a lot of games that he had to maneuver throughout and gave us a chance to win. He doesn’t get enough credit behind the plate, but he’s one of the best defensive catchers in the league. It just happens that we have two of them, and I think that benefits him, too. That Sandy (Leon) can catch certain days and he stays fresh, but offensively, he’s been good. He’s been really good. I know it’s tough for him sometimes. He would love to catch five out of seven or six out of seven, but you just gotta be patient, and I’m very happy for him. I know what he tried to accomplish in the offseason and he sees the results now."

The Red Sox still sit seven games out of first place behind the juggernaut that is the Yankees. And there are three teams sitting within two games of the Sox for the second Wild Card spot. There is undoubtedly a long, long way to go.

But first thing is first. The Red Sox had to feel like they once again belonged back in the championship conversation.

"I think it's just that we all know that we can't be saying, hey, things are going to turn around. Things are going to turn around," said Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts. "We've gotta really step it up and turn it around by acting that way. Thankfully we started doing that and it's been going good so far for us."

Despite not finishing All-Star voting as one of the top three American League shortstops, Bogaerts didn't seem broken up after the win.

"Aw. (Expletive). It happens," he said. "So show up to the field tomorrow and try to win the baseball game and we'll see what happens."

Bogaerts kept on making his case on the field, claiming a key RBI double in the seventh. He leads the Red Sox with 50 RBI and leads the American League with 24 doubles.

Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez only Red Sox to have chance for All-Star starts

Rob Bradford

Red Sox fandom didn't come out in droves when it came to All-Star voting, as was evident by the results first round of balloting. Now there is a chance for some redemption thanks to Major League Baseball's new method to select the All-Star starters.

With the voting closed out Friday, MLB announced the top three vote-getters at each position with the exception of outfielders and pitchers. The top nine were surfaced for those playing the outfield. The plan now is for the voting to re-open starting Wednesday at noon at each position, with the finalists starting on an even playing field. Voting will run for 28 hours, with the top vote-getter at each spot (and top 3 outfielders) getting the nod to start in Cleveland.

The only Red Sox players to earn the right to enter the fray Wednesday and Thursday were J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts. Martinez will go up against Nelson Cruz and Hunter Pence at the designated hitter spot, with Betts' competition coming from Mike Trout, Michael Brantley, Joey Gallo, Aaron Judge, Austin Meadows, Josh Reddick, Eddie Rosario and George Springer.

Ending up on the outside looking in were Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers, both of whom still have an opportunity to make the team thanks to the voting done by managers and players. For all the finalists, click here.

All pitchers and reserves for the All-Star Game will be revealed Sunday, June 30 at 5:30 p.m.

* BostonSportsJournal.com

Bullpen has become underappreciated factor for Red Sox in recent weeks

Sean McAdam

The Red Sox’ bullpen is an obvious and inviting target. It’s easy to poke fun at the fact that the team has eschewed the notion of a formal closer, and the 14 blown saves welcome further ridicule.

But over the last two weeks, the bullpen has become a sort of secret weapon for the club as it attempts to climb back into the American League East race. Four times in the last 11 games, the Sox have gone into extra innings, winning three of those games — including Friday’s 7-5 comeback walk-off win over the Toronto Blue Jays — and on each occasion, the Sox have gotten big contributions from its group of relievers:

At the end of the team’s last homestand, the Sox won in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the ninth, getting 2.1 innings from two relievers.

The next night, after David Price was knocked out in the second, the Sox cobbled together 7.1 scoreless innings from seven different pitchers to edge Texas.

Last Sunday in Baltimore, after spot starter Brian Johnson ran out of gas without getting an out in the fourth, the bullpen again stepped up and provided six innings of relief until the Sox could tie in the ninth. And while Josh Smith was racked for three runs — just one earned — in the bottom of the 10th, that came only after the Sox blew the game open with five in the top of the inning.

On Tuesday night in Minneapolis, seven relievers went 12 innings, and while the Sox ultimately lost in the bottom of the 17th, one run over the first 11 innings of work bought the offense plenty of time to win the game. The team’s woeful 1-for-13 performance with runners in scoring position was the reason for the marathon loss, not the bullpen. Finally, in Friday’s homestand opener, the bullpen again came through. Chris Sale lasted only five, leaving plenty of outs for the bullpen to collect. It did so dutifully, yielding just one run in six innings of work, again keeping the game within reach until the Sox pulled to within one in the seventh, tied in the eighth and won it in the 10th on Christian Vazquez’s two-run belt into the Red Sox bullpen.

Over the last four games alone — not extending back to the series in Baltimore or the last homestand — Red Sox relievers have chipped in with 20.1 innings while allowing just four earned runs for a 1.77 ERA.

“Our guys in the bullpen held it down,” said an appreciative Sale.

The Sox bullpen ERA for the season is 3.84, good for fourth in the American League.

“I do feel the bullpen has done an outstanding job throughout the season,” said Alex Cora. “We went through a stretch with the Cleveland game (where a late-inning was lost) and we struggled somewhere else and people, right away, were talking about our bullpen (as a problem area). But I think overall, if we’re fair to them, they’ve been pretty good.”

In the last week or so, Cora’s confidence in Colten Brewer and Josh Taylor has grown. Brewer gave up the only run the bullpen permitted Friday night, but also got four big outs in relief of Sale. And Taylor, pitching across two innings, got an inning-ending double play in the seventh and struck out the only two batters he faced in the eighth.

“You look around the league, and not everybody’s perfect with their bullpen,” said Cora. “These guys have been amazing. They’re ready to pitch every day. There are certain days where we feel we’re limited (and can’t use some of their best relievers in high-leverage spots because of usage), but we have to do it so we can continue to do the things we’ve been doing.

“It’s a testament to them. They’ve been amazing.”

Which isn’t to suggest that the Sox couldn’t stand to bolster the pen between now and the July 31 deadline. Undoubtedly, that will be the primary focus, as it will be for most contenders.

But for now, what the Sox’ relievers have has been better than advertised, in particular, over the last 10 days, been essential to a stretch that has seen the Sox go 8-1 to reach a season-high seven games over .500.

BSJ Game Report: Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 5 (10) – Sox overcome slow start as Vazquez HR leads to extra- inning win

Sean McAdam

Vazquez delivers in walk-off win: With some dramatic wins of late, the Red Sox have been getting contributions up and down the lineup and on Friday night, it was Christian Vazquez’s turn. Vazquez wasn’t even in the starting lineup but entered in the eighth when he delivered a single when called upon to hit for starting catcher Sandy Leon. But the real heroics were saved for the 10th inning. With two out, Marco Hernandez reached when he was plunked on the arm by a pitch. Over a seven-pitch at-bat against Toronto reliever Jordan Romano, finally, Vazquez swung and drove the ball the other way, on a liner that didn’t come down until it cleared the home bullpen wall in right field. “I hit it good and the win was blowing that way,” recounted Vazquez. “I was trying to hit the ball to the gap. Marco was running, 3-2, two outs, to score the run.” Hernandez could trot most of the way, since it was obvious that the ball was going out. Vazquez estimated that the homer was the longest ball he’s ever hit to the opposite field. It was the second walk-off homer of his career.

Sale stumbles early in short outing: Starter Chris Sale earned yet another no-decision Friday night. At times this year, that’s been the result of poor run support, but on this occasion, Sale, by his own admission, didn’t pitch very well. He was tagged for two runs in the first and another two in the third and by the time he got through the fifth, he was done for the night, done in by a high pitch count (101), the result, mostly, of a 36-pitch first inning. “I didn’t really have a rhythm,” Sale offered, “and kind of got out of synch. In the first inning for sure, I was battling myself. I talked to Dana (LeVangie, pitching coach) throughout the start and he was giving me some things to stay on top of, to get back within myself. But today was just one of those grinds. I felt like my stuff was good, but I couldn’t really coral it at one time and put it all together.

Bogaerts misses out in first round of All-Star balloting: As Major League Baseball released the first round of fan balloting, Xander Bogaerts missed the cut and is now not eligible to start next month’s All-Star Game at shortstop. Bogaerts made some headway in recent days, but still finished out of the Top 3 of the voting in MLB’s newly- designed “primary” round. This, despite the fact that Bogaerts went into Friday’s action leading all A.L shortstops in runs scored, doubles, RBI, extra-base hits, and on-base percentage. Bogaerts can still be selected to the team by either the player vote or as part of a group added by the commissioner’s office. Two other Red Sox players did advance beyond the primary round — J.D. Martinez finished on top in the DH category and outfielder Mookie Betts was sixth among the top nine outfielders chosen in the first round.

TURNING POINT

The Red Sox trailed in the seventh inning 5-1, but began their comeback bid with one out. A triple by Mookie Betts chased starter Trent Thornton but the offense kept chugging against the Jays bullpen with three straight hits to bring the Sox to within a run at 5-4.

TWO UP

J.D. Martinez: His performance has been up-and-down of late and he did strike out twice more, but also delivered three more hits and knocked in a run.

Andrew Benintendi: He reached base three times with two hits and a walk, knocked in one run and scored twice as part of the Red Sox’ win.

ONE DOWN

Sandy Leon: Leon was hitless in three at-bats and is now without a hit in his last 14 at-bats.

QUOTE OF NOTE

“I put us in a pretty bad hole early on … but I’m going home with a smile on my face.” Chris Sale.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

This marked the fourth time in the last 11 games that the Sox have gone to extra innings. Boston collected doubles from Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. and has seven in the last 10 games. Xander Bogaerts has doubled in each of his last six games. The Sox improved to a season-high seven games over .500. UP NEXT

The Red Sox and Blue Jays play again at 4:05 p.m. Saturday with LHP Brian Johnson (1-1, 10.00) vs. RHP Derek Law (0-1, 5.16) * The Toronto Sun

Blue Jays self-destruct at Fenway as Sox walk it off in the 10th

Rob Longley

It was hoped to be the start of a homestand in which the World Series champs set the groundwork for a run towards another playoff spot and possibly more October glory.

With 10 of their next 21 against the struggling Blue Jays, it seemed like as good a place as any to start for the Red Sox and their Sweet Caroline singing faithful.

The young Jays had other ideas on Friday night, however, and seemed poised to spoil the fun before the bullpen blew a 5-1 lead in the seventh. The Sox socked it to them from then on with a two-run Christian Vazquez walk-off homer in the 10th inning the decisive blow in a 7-5 victory.

There were hanging heads in the cramped visitor’s clubhouse here at famed Fenway Park as there would be in any such defeat, but Jays manager Charlie Montoyo felt his kids showed him plenty.

It began with rookie starter Trent Thornton, who allowed two earned runs through 6.1 innings and was in line for back-to-back wins against the two previous World Series winners. And it ended with Canadian reliever Jordan Romano reliever who struck out five in the meat of the Boston order before letting Vazquez beat him with the opposite field blast to turn Fenway to frenzy.

“We played good baseball,” Montoyo said. “No team wants to lose in a walk off. No team wants to miss out on beating the World Series champions, but we played a good game against one of the best teams in baseball. We were right there to the end.”

The Jays have now lost 12 of their past 14 at Fenway and are 1-2 here this year but got a stellar effort from Thornton in his first visit to the Beantown shrine. Some early run support off of Boston ace Chris Sale was looking good until the late collapse, not the first time an opponent has run into that fate.

“He’s such a bulldog out there,” Montoyo said of Thornton. “I love watching this kid pitch. He’s in command. He’s not afraid. Even right here in this place with all that noise, he keeps making pitches.”

Thornton returned to pitch the bottom half and after striking out Sandy Leon, allowed a triple to Red Sox leadoff hitter Mookie Betts to end his night.

Turned out it was just the beginning of the end for the Jays.

Tim Mayza promptly allowed Betts to score on an Andrew Benintendi single and the Red Sox rally was in flight as Joe Biagini became the next victim allowing two more across.

The Sox tied it in the eighth when a Rafael Devers pinch-hit single brought home Jackie Bradley Jr. to set the stage for extra innings.

Despite taking the loss, Romano was brilliant in relief, striking out Benintendi, J.D. Martinez and Brock Holt in the ninth to send the game to extra innings. He got two more in the 10th before Vazquez walked it off.

“He’s part of our future,” Montoyo said. “His third outing and now we know he has a power arm and he’s not afraid. He likes being out there in the tough moments.”

GAME ON

It was the fourth walk off loss of the season for the Jays, who were 21-1 when leading after seven innings so far this season.

– It was a big night for Jays outfielder Randal Grichuk, who reached base in each of his first four at-bats going walk, homer, single, single for three RBI.

– The Jays once again weren’t intimidated by Sale, getting to him early in a highly productive first inning. Not only did the Jays score a pair of runs on a two-out, bases-loaded single from Freddy Galvis, they made Sale throw 36 pitches in a 21-minute half frame.

– How impressive was it that the Jays got to Sale early? Friday was the lefty’s first outing of five innings or less since April 23. Sale allowed four runs (three earned) while allowing seven hits and two walks and striking out eight.

– From Sportsnet stats guru Scott Carson, in four career starts vs. the Jays at Fenway, Sale has logged just 15 innings of work allowing 23 hits and 13 earned runs.

– The Sox certainly hope they are making their move, improving to seven games above .500 for the first time this season and have won eight of their past nine.

SO GOOD, SOGARD

Jays utility man/leadoff hitter continued his hot streak at the plate on Friday getting four base hits to match a career high.

It was back-to-back three-plus hit nights for the veteran and his fifth three-hit game of the season and his eighth in 10 getting multiple base hits.

Sogard has certainly emerged as a reliable leadoff man for the Jays, entering Friday’s play with a .210 average when batting at the top of the order, the fifth best in the American League. And in his past 10 games, Sogard has been lighting it up to the tune of .463

Sogard is a stellar 19-for-41 over his past 10 games, eight of which have been multi-hit games. That’s a .463 batting average

VLAD TO THE DERBY?

With the all-star break a little more than two weeks away, speculate away on who the Blue Jays representative might be — though closer Ken Giles would have to be the lead contender.

It appears that whoever it is will have company, however. Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae reported on Friday that Jays rookie Vlad Guerrero Jr. has been invited to participate in the Home Run Derby.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Guerrero was the only Jays position player to finish in the top 10 in voting or top 20 among outfielders.

AROUND THE BASES

With the starting staff depleted, Montoyo will go with an “opener” for Saturday’s matinee here. Derek Law will get the ball first followed by Sam Gaviglio and a hope and a prayer that the team can get some innings from that pair given how beat up the bullpen is.

– Guerrero said he spoke with Red Sox legend and fellow Dominican David Ortiz and hopes to visit him in a Boston hospital on Saturday. Ortiz is recovering from gunshot wounds after being shot in his homeland on June 9.

*

Vázquez's HR in 10th caps Red Sox rally past Blue Jays 7-5

Trailing by four runs in the seventh, the Red Sox needed a little extra time to complete their latest dramatic comeback.

Boston scored three runs in the seventh and another in the eighth to tie the score, then Christian Vazquez won it with a two-run homer in the 10th inning as the Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5 on Friday night.

"Little by little, things started turning," shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. "We started getting a feeling of `this actually is our game."

It was indeed the Red Sox's night, although it didn't appear so earlier as Toronto rookie Trent Thornton kept Boston in check while Boston ace Chris Sale struggled to make it through five innings.

Boston trailed 5-1 before Andrew Benintendi's RBI single and J.D. Martinez's two-run single in the seventh, and pinch-hitter Rafael Devers' run-scoring single in the eighth tied it.

Jordan Romano (0-1) got two quick outs in the 10th before hitting Marco Hernandez with a pitch. Vazquez then drove a 3-2 pitch out to right for his ninth homer of the season to give the Red Sox their eighth win in nine games.

"That's why you never hang your head. Just keep fighting do what you need to do," Sale said. "We're starting to play some good baseball. We're finally getting back to things that make us successful."

Brandon Workman (6-1) pitched a scoreless 10th for Boston, getting himself out of a jam with a nice fielding play on a grounder headed for center field by Eric Sogard, who had four singles in the game.

Randal Grichuk homered for Toronto, which got six strong innings from Thornton but couldn't hold off the late rally by the Red Sox.

"We played a good game against one of the best teams in baseball. You get frustrated when you lose on a walk-off but we played a great game yesterday, another great game today," Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo said.

On Thursday, it was the Blue Jays who rallied to a 10th inning victory over the Angels in Toronto, winning 7-5 on Billy McKinney's two-run homer.

The Blue Jays were on the other end Friday against the resurgent Red Sox, who improved to a season-best seven games above .500 at 42-35.

Freddy Galvis hit a two-run single in the first as the Blue Jays got to Sale early. Grichuk hit a two-run homer in the third and added an RBI single in the seventh to give Toronto its four-run lead.

Boston began its comeback in the bottom of the seventh when Mookie Betts tripled to the triangle in center to start and scored on Benintendi's hit. Bogaerts doubled and Martinez followed with his single to pull the Red Sox within one.

In the eighth, Jackie Bradley Jr. tripled with one out against David Phelps and scored the tying run on Devers' hit to right.

"We strung together some good at-bats and the line kept moving," Boston manager Alex Cora said.

OFF SALE

Sale lasted just five innings. He struck out eight, but struggled with his control at crucial times. He didn't retire Toronto in order until the fourth and threw 101 pitches in just five innings while giving up four runs and seven hits with two walks.

"They picked me up. That was big. I put us in a pretty bad hole early on," Sale said.

STRONG START

Thornton pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and eight hits, with one walk and seven strikeouts.

"He was really good and he's such a bulldog out there. I love watching this kid pitch. He did a great job again," Montoyo said. " He's in command, he's not afraid even in right there, this place with all that noise and stuff. He keeps fighting and making good pitches when he has to."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Red Sox: Devers was out of the starting lineup two days after leaving a game at Minnesota in the fifth inning with tightness in his right hamstring. ... Cora said LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (8-4) and RHP Rick Porcello (5-6) will be the starters when the Red Sox play the next weekend in London.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: RHP Derek Law (0-1, 5.16 ERA) will open for the Blue Jays, Montoyo said after the game.

Red Sox: LHP Brian Johnson (1-1, 10.00 ERA) gets his second start of the season. Johnson pitched three innings Sunday at Baltimore and didn't figure in the decision.