The Boston Red Sox Thursday, May 13, 2021
* The Boston Globe
Red Sox offense sputters again vs. Oakland in matchup of division leaders, losing skid now three games
Alex Speier
For so much of the season’s first five weeks, the Red Sox offense seemed imbalanced but nearly slump- proof. While the team got next to nothing from the bottom of the order, the second through fifth spots in the lineup — occupied by Alex Verdugo, J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, and Rafael Devers — represented an often insurmountable obstacle for opposing pitchers.
Yet as the Red Sox zoomed to the top of the standings, an unasked question loomed beneath the surface: What might happen if the Fearsome Foursome faltered?
Now, the question has been asked — and the Sox have found the answer disconcerting. On Wednesday night, with the heart of the order failing to capitalize on tantalizing opportunities, the Red Sox continued their offensive skid in a 4-1 loss to the A’s at Fenway.
The Sox have lost three straight, totaling four runs in those contests. The team’s Core Four is 7-for-41 with a .171/.244/.293 line and three extra-base hits during those contests, while the team as a whole is hitting .141/.198/.239 with 32 strikeouts in 101 plate appearances over the three-game rut.
“Obviously we’re just going through a rough stretch right now,” Bogaerts said. “We’re in a slump right now as a team.”
The Sox had an opportunity to escape their slide almost from the first pitch of the game against A’s rookie James Kaprielian, who appeared jittery at the outset of his first big league start. Three batters and 15 pitches into the bottom of the first, the Sox had loaded the bases with no outs on a Marwin Gonzalez double, Verdugo walk, and Martinez single.
Yet Kaprielian regained his composure and got Bogaerts (strikeout on a slider out of the zone) and Devers (pop-up to first on a fastball on the inside corner) to chase his pitches. Though Christian Vázquez accepted a four-pitch walk to force in a run, the 1-0 advantage felt like a squandered opportunity — particularly given that, on average, teams that load the bases with no outs score more than two runs in an inning.
“When the big boys are not swinging the bats the other guys have to contribute, too,” manager Alex Cora said. “We know they’re going to go through their up and downs, and that’s part of this, but other guys have to pick it up.”
The A’s likewise proved inefficient early in the game, as they managed just one game-tying run in the top of the second despite three straight hits that included a pair of doubles — thanks in part to a brilliant play by right fielder Hunter Renfroe.
Matt Chapman crunched an Eduardo Rodriguez fastball off the fence in center, with the carom carrying past Verdugo in center. Chapman sniffed a triple, but Renfroe raced to back up his teammate and uncorked a one-hop throw to third to cut down Chapman for the second out of the inning. That out proved significant, as the A’s followed with a single and Sean Murphy RBI double — hits that netted one run instead of at least two.
The exchange of fumbles permitted both starters to settle into the middle of the game. Kaprielian found his footing, retiring nine of 11 from the second through fourth, and Rodriguez — who threw two- or four-seam fastballs a season-high 61 percent of the time while working at 91-94 m.p.h. — tore through the A’s lineup while striking out six of the nine batters following Murphy’s double.
“I finally had the feeling that I’m back with my fastball velocity,” Rodriguez said. “That’s big progress for me.”
But Rodriguez faltered in the fifth. Ex-Sox stalwart Mitch Moreland cued a cutter off the end of the bat for a dribbler that snuck inside the third base line, then jogged to third when Elvis Andrus nearly left the building, pounding a double off the fence in center.
After a strikeout, Jed Lowrie’s RBI grounder gave Oakland a 2-1 advantage. The A’s stretched the lead to 3-1 when Andrus distracted Rodriguez by dancing down the third base line, inciting a run-scoring balk.
The Sox immediately had a chance to return serve against Kaprielian in the bottom of the fifth, and again failed to capitalize. With runners on the corners and no outs, Martinez tapped a comebacker on which Marwin Gonzalez broke but then hesitated before getting thrown out at the plate. (“If he keeps going he’s probably safe,” Cora said.)
Kaprielian (1-0) then reasserted himself, blowing a 94 m.p.h. fastball past Bogaerts and getting Devers to chase a pitch in the dirt — the fifth and sixth strikeouts of the night for the 27-year-old A’s rookie, who allowed one run on four hits and three walks in five innings.
“I really love those moments. Those are the moments that I think great pitchers are able to come out of,” Kaprielian said. “The crowd going, chanting for the Red Sox — I love that . . . That’s almost putting me at my best.”
With the Sox still stunned by their inability to score, the A’s quickly delivered another punch in the sixth. Matt Olson attacked the first pitch of the inning, launching a Rodriguez two-seamer into the right field grandstand for a solo homer, his eighth of the season.
Though Rodriguez (5-1, 4.15) struck out a season-high nine over six innings, his yield of four runs matched a season high. In three May starts, opponents are tagging him at a .338/386/.523 clip.
Still, on a different night, four runs would have given the Sox a chance. Wednesday, however, offered no bailouts.
Instead, the Sox mounted then flubbed one more chance in the eighth, failing to score after putting runners on second and third with one out. They went 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position on the night and are now 1 for 18 with eight strikeouts in such situations over the last three games.
In the process, their lead in the AL East dwindled to a single game over the Yankees, and their record at Fenway fell to 10-11.
“Things are going to come around,” Bogaerts said. “You can’t keep a good guy down for too long. We’re going to bounce back.”
Ex-Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland touched by warm reception upon return to Fenway
Alex Speier
Mitch Moreland spent 3½ seasons in Boston, yet the duration seemed considerably longer.
The 35-year-old emerged not just as a productive regular for the Sox — hitting .251/.332/.471 with 64 home runs in 386 games, while also delivering a pivotal pinch-hit homer in Game 4 of the 2018 World Series — but also as a clubhouse leader whom many players viewed as a mentor who contributed to their growth.
That legacy was recognized Tuesday night, when Moreland — who was traded by the Sox to the Padres last August for prospects Jeisson Rosario and Hudson Potts — returned to Fenway Park as a member of the A’s.
When Moreland approached the plate for his first at-bat, catcher Christian Vázquez called time so that he and other players in the Red Sox dugout could applaud.
“Those guys, they’re still close friends and great teammates,” Moreland said before Wednesday night’s 4-1 Oakland victory over the Red Sox. “For Vazqy to do that, to look around and see the other guys following his lead on that, was special. It’s something I’ll never forget.”
Moreland also expressed his gratitude for the sustained ovation of the crowd at Fenway.
“I’m humbled by it. It’s a great fan base,” Moreland said. “It’s a special place to play baseball. I was fortunate enough to play here and enjoy that from the home side. It’s still fun being here as a visitor as well.”
Pivetta on COVID-19 list
Righthander Nick Pivetta was placed on the COVID-19-related injured list with side effects from his vaccination.
“Not feeling great after his second shot,” manager Alex Cora said. “Hopefully he’ll be OK for his next start.”
Pivetta (5-0, 3.19 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday against the Angels at Fenway. The Sox are hopeful that he’ll be ready to return by then but will monitor his progress. If he’s unavailable, Cora suggested that Garrett Whitlock or Matt Andriese would be candidates to start.
To fill Pivetta’s roster spot, the Sox called up righthander Eduard Bazardo from Triple-A Worcester. Bazardo tossed two scoreless innings, striking out two.
Santana keeps moving up
After three games with Greenville, super-utility player Danny Santana — who signed a minor league deal with the Sox in spring training — joined Worcester, batting second and playing third base Wednesday night.
Santana, who underwent modified Tommy John surgery last season and then was slowed in spring training by a foot infection, has played second, short, third, and center in his four games this season.
“This is a guy that had a great season two years ago,” Cora said of Santana, who hit .283/.324/.534 with 28 homers in 2019. “Last year he was hurt. He needs to play, that’s the most important thing. Just because he’s [in Worcester], it doesn’t mean he’s that close to being added here, or he’s going to be part of this. But the fact that he’s with the organization is very important.”
Cora’s memorable at-bat
Wednesday marked the 17th anniversary of Cora’s epic 18-pitch at-bat against then-Cubs righthander Matt Clement — a plate appearance in which Cora got ahead, 2-1, then fouled off 14 consecutive pitches.
Cora noted with amusement that when he stepped to the plate in that game, Dodgers broadcasting legend Vin Scully noted he was 0-for-2 with a pair of flyouts, calling flyballs from the power-deficient Cora as wasted at-bats. Eighteen pitches later, after Cora crossed the plate, Scully described it as “one of the finest at-bats I’ve ever seen.”
“If you look for something in your career that represents who you are, that’s probably the moment,” Cora said. “Grind and try to hit with a plan and the home run was the icing on the cake, but to stick to the plan and be able to do that was amazing.”
Struggling Dalbec sits
For the second consecutive night, Michael Chavis started at first base while Bobby Dalbec sat. Over his previous 14 games entering the night, Dalbec was hitting .102/.137/.245 with one walk and 16 strikeouts in 51 plate appearances. For the season, he’s 0 for 18 with 14 strikeouts against fastballs registering 93 m.p.h. or better from righthanders, playing into the decision to sit him against A’s starter James Kaprielian . . . Injuries continue to befall top Red Sox pitching prospects. Lefthander Jay Groome left Tuesday’s start for High-A Greenville after getting hit by a liner off the shin. The issue has been diagnosed as a bruise and the 22-year-old is considered day-to-day. Triple-A Worcester righthander Connor Seabold, who is on the injured list with elbow inflammation, will start throwing in Fort Myers once he completes his travel/intake protocols . . . Cora said he would like both Kiké Hernández (hamstring) and Christian Arroyo (hand) to receive brief rehab assignments before they’re activated from the injured list, but both remain on track to return at or near the 10-day mark of their stints on the sidelines. “It seems like both of them should be with us sooner rather than later,” Cora said.
The Red Sox will likely be one of the last MLB teams to be fully vaccinated. Here’s why.
Peter Abraham
There are 12 teams considered fully vaccinated by Major League Baseball. That number is expected to climb to at least 15 before the end of the week.
The Red Sox are not part of that group and won’t be for quite some time, if ever.
Part of that is a function of timing. The organization waited until April 19 to inoculate its players to abide by age-group rules for Massachusetts residents. Sox players and staffers started receiving their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine this week.
But a bigger part has been the hesitancy by some players.
For a team to be considered fully vaccinated, 85 percent of its 100-person “Tier 1” group must be vaccinated. That’s as many as 70 players and 30 staff members.
The player group includes the Triple A roster, as those players are subject to the same testing protocols as the major league players in the event they are promoted.
According to a team source, enough Worcester players have resisted getting the vaccine to keep the Sox from reaching 85 percent. There are some holdouts on the major league roster, too.
“We’re closer than probably 10 days ago,” Sox manager Alex Cora said Wednesday. “I don’t know how close to 85 [percent], but we are close.”
Within the organization, the hope remains the Sox will get there eventually. But there’s no certainty as the team tries to find a path across the cultural divide with Latin American players.
Vaccines are not as common or trusted in some of their native countries as they are in the United States.
The Red Sox have undertaken educational efforts — including presentations from Spanish-speaking medical professionals — to bring those players on board.
When the MLB Players Association put out a pro-vaccination public service announcement in conjunction with MLB, Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez was included for that reason.
Ideally, all players would be amply motivated to protect themselves and their loved ones from a virus that has caused the deaths of 3.3 million people worldwide. Vaccinations are saving lives and returning society closer to normal.
But there’s no ignoring the competitive advantage, either.
The Yankees have been able to play this week despite some “breakthrough” positive tests among some vaccinated coaches because MLB and MLBPA officials determined the high rate of vaccinations among the team’s players, coaches and staff lessened the risk.
So rather than have some games postponed, the Yankees played on.
Meanwhile the Padres are playing without star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., who tested positive, and first baseman Eric Hosmer, who was a close contact.
Players on fully vaccinated teams also gain a series of personal comforts including being able to bring their families on the road, not wearing masks in the dugout, undergoing fewer tests, and meeting with friends outdoors.
I asked J.D. Martinez if he considered it important for the Red Sox to gain that same advantage as other teams, as it could make a difference in their season. He acknowledged that’s been mentioned to the players.
“That’s not a team decision,” Martinez said. “That’s a personal decision. That’s to each his own. Everyone has the right to believe and to think what they want to think about their body and what they’re putting into their body.
“It’s one of those things where it would be nice to have that kind of advantage. But it is what it is, you know?”
Is that really true? Doesn’t a member of a team also have a responsibility to his teammates, coaches and the organization to learn the facts?
If a professional golfer or a tennis player decides not to get vaccinated, that affects a handful of people. But the decisions made by baseball players affect hundreds.
The Red Sox have one of the best teams in baseball with the season nearly a quarter finished. Fans have emotionally re-invested in the team.
Cora is fully vaccinated and has mentioned it several times, saying he wanted to protect his friends and family. By being public about his decision, the manager is modeling responsible actions.
As one of the oldest and most successful players on the team, Martinez could have a similar impact. But he has taken a different route.
“Everyone has a right to their body and what they do,” Martinez said. “It’s a crazy time we’re living in. I think I understand that. So it’s one of those things. If you want to do it, do it. If you don’t, then don’t do it. It’s bigger than the game, you know what I mean? It’s your life. It’s bigger than just baseball.”
Martinez lives in the Miami area, a region of the country hit particularly hard by the virus. But he said that has not influenced his opinions.
So I finally just asked Martinez if he were vaccinated. He declined to answer.
“That’s one of those personal things for me,” he said.
For now the Sox will wait. Uneasily.
Bruins’ trade for Taylor Hall may take its place among great deadline deals in Boston history
Chad Finn
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The Bruins coveted Taylor Hall — and as he’s since revealed, Taylor Hall coveted the Bruins — in the 2010 NHL draft.
Owning the No. 2 overall pick, the Bruins were a spot too low to get the no-doubt No. 1 overall choice, ending up instead with decent consolation prize Tyler Seguin.
More than a decade later, Hall and the Bruins were finally united at last month’s NHL trade deadline. He has fit in as though he’d been wearing the Spoked B alongside David Krejci, Brad Marchand, and Patrice Bergeron all along.
Hall has eight goals and six assists in 16 games with the Bruins, including an absolute beauty of a winner in overtime against the Islanders Monday night. He has reinvigorated Krejci, who hasn’t played with a winger blessed with anything close to Hall’s skill since Nathan Horton.
And I’d say he’s rather reinvigorated himself: Hall already has scored four times as many goals with the Bruins than he did in 37 games with the due-to-be-relegated-to-the-AHL Sabres this year.
He’s already shaping up to be one of the best deadline pickups in Bruins history, if not Boston sports lore.
If you think about it for even a moment, plenty of memorable deadline deals rush to mind. Across the major sports, there have been extraordinary in-season acquisitions and some regrettable ones too. They’ve tended to fall into three categories:
▪ Bold moves for the moment, or trading for established stars to aid an immediate championship quest.
▪ Smaller deals that enhance the quality depth of a contending roster (a Bill Belichick specialty).
▪ Dealing veterans for young players who ideally help out down the road (early indications are that this could be a Chaim Bloom specialty).
The Hall deal, which also brought Curtis Lazar to Boston while general manager Don Sweeney sent forward Anders Bjork and a second-round pick to Buffalo in return, fits that first category. The closest trade to it in Bruins history is probably the 1992 swap with the Blues that brought Adam Oates aboard while sending Craig Janney and Stephane Quintal to St. Louis.
Oates proved the ideal setup man for Cam Neely — kind of the inverse of what Hall is for Krejci — while tallying 499 points in 368 games in Boston, including a 45-goal, 97-assist season in 1992-93.
Since the Oates deal happened in February, several weeks before the deadline, we’ll have to put an asterisk on it.
Because they almost always have had some level of championship aspirations over the last decade-plus, the Bruins have made several meaningful moves at the actual deadline, including acquiring a couple of Mario Lemieux-era former Penguins superstars in Mark Recchi (2009) and Jaromir Jagr (’13).
Recchi proved crucial on the ice and in the locker room during the Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup run. Jagr didn’t work out quite so well, going goalless in the ’13 postseason, but he was a blast to have around. It was mesmerizing during his snakebitten performance that postseason to watch him go out, solo, on the Garden ice after a game and put himself through a grueling workout. No wonder he lasted in the league until age 45, five seasons beyond his frustrating Bruins stint.
The biggest Bruins deadline trade actually sent away a franchise icon so he could pursue a Stanley Cup elsewhere. Fans get grief for celebrating Raymond Bourque’s championship with the Colorado Avalanche at City Hall in 2001, but the real embarrassment is that the Bruins put themselves in such a hopeless spot that such a classy player had to unite with Patrick Roy to win a title.
Sometimes, trading a star ends up igniting the team he left behind. Jason Bay had 1½ excellent seasons here after the Red Sox got him in a three-team transaction that ended the Manny Ramirez era in 2008, and manager Terry Francona ranked his team that year as perhaps the best he ever had.
I think we can all agree that Nomar Garciaparra was superior to Derek Jeter from 1997-2003. (Everyone who has somehow managed to read this far nods in agreement.) But Red Sox history would be much different, and 2004 would not have been nearly as cathartic or satisfying, had Theo Epstein chickened out on trading him that July to the Cubs in a four-way deal that brought steady Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz to the Red Sox.
The afterthought deal that same day worked out pretty well, too: I don’t know much about Henri Stanley, sent to the Dodgers, but I’ll never forget a thing about Dave Roberts.
There have been many fulfilling deadline deals for quality if unheralded players who went on to have memorable runs here.
Dennis Seidenberg, acquired from Florida in 2010, was a rock-steady defensive partner alongside Zdeno Chara on the Cup champs.
Isaiah Thomas, picked up by the Celtics from the Suns in February 2015, had a truly magical run, and nothing with the franchise has gone quite right since his career-altering hip injury in May 2017.
Belichick’s deadline deals for Aqib Talib (2012) and Kyle Van Noy (2016) brought the Patriots a couple of defensive cornerstones at minimal cost.
Sweet-swinging switch hitter Victor Martinez (2009) put up an .865 OPS over a season and a half after coming to the Red Sox from the Indians. You kind of forgot about him, didn’t you?
The worst and best deadline deals in Boston sports annals involve prospects and the Red Sox. Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen in 1990 haunts here. Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe for Healthcliff Slocumb in 1997 haunts in Seattle.
The 1988 trade that delivered prospects Curt Schilling and Brady Anderson to Baltimore for reliable veteran Mike Boddicker worked the way those kinds of deals are designed to. Schilling and Anderson developed into stars, though it didn’t happen for Schilling until he was with his fourth organization. Boddicker was a dependable cog in the rotation on the Red Sox’ 1988 and ’90 AL East champs.
Giving up a good prospect who ultimately pans out — as the Bruins did with Blake Wheeler in 2011, along with Mark Stuart, to get Rich Peverley — is worth it if the deal aided a fulfilled championship pursuit.
Sometimes there are unsentimental deals that send a favorite away, leaving the home fans cold. Few liked Danny Ainge’s NBA deadline trade of Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City in 2011, though it was probably the right thing to do. And few liked it when Ainge himself was traded back in 1989, to the Kings for taller folks Ed Pinckney and Joe Kleine. A deal I never liked, that preceded Ainge’s tenure as general manager: rookie Joe Johnson to the Suns for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers in 2002.
Hall is still in the early stages of etching a place in Boston sports and Bruins history. Who knows whether it will even last beyond this spring, given his pending free agency? But right now, he’s playing like a Bruins lifer — and with each goal, rising up the list of deadline deals to appreciate.
* The Boston Herald
Red Sox haunted by missed chances, mental errors in 4-1 loss to A’s
Steve Hewitt
J.D. Martinez didn’t seem worried about the rut the Red Sox’ league-leading offense was in heading into Wednesday night’s game against the A’s, saying that every offense, even the great ones, go through slumps.
But as short as this skid may last, it’s cost them in a series that could have have served as a statement.
Missed opportunities once again came back to haunt the Red Sox in a 4-1 loss to the A’s that also included some frustrating mental errors on both the mound and base paths. They’ve now lost three in a row, and have dropped the first two of their three-game series against the A’s (23-15), who took control of the AL’s best record with Wednesday’s win.
The Red Sox’ (22-16) offense is in a rare tailspin, with just four runs and 13 hits in their last three games.
“We know we’re a good offense,” manager Alex Cora said. “When the big boys are not swinging the bats the other guys have to contribute, too, right? Xander (Bogaerts) and Alex (Verdugo) and J.D. and Raffy (Devers). They’re going to go through some slumps or streaks or whatever, and we have to pick them up.”
Opposing starters have posted a 2.04 ERA in that span, and the Red Sox couldn’t even get to Oakland righty James Kaprielian, who was making his first career big-league start on Wednesday.
And he put it on a platter for them.
The Red Sox’ clunker at the plate began right away, when they loaded the bases with no outs in the first and only scored one run. Xander Bogaerts struck out and Rafael Devers popped out before Christian Vazquez walked in a run, and that’s all they could show for it as Hunter Renfroe struck out to end the threat.
In the fifth, the Red Sox, trailing 3-1, had another prime chance with runners on first and third with no outs as Marwin Gonzalez walked and Alex Verdugo reached on a throwing error by Kaprielian. They came away empty again after Gonzalez made a baserunning mistake.
Martinez hit a tapper to Kaprielian and Gonzalez started racing home, but he stopped in his tracks before reaching the plate and was caught in a rundown for the first out. Bogaerts and Devers then struck out as the Red Sox went away quietly.
“Marwin had a good jump but then he hesitated,” Cora said. “I think if he keeps going he’s probably safe.”
Somehow, the Red Sox weren’t done wasting chances as they put runners on second and third with one out, trailing 4-1. Vazquez hit a ground out to second, and Bogaerts inexplicably raced home. First baseman Matt Olson was well aware as he gunned him down at the plate to end the inning.
Bogaerts explained after that he was waiting for the ball to bounce, but he didn’t see it right away and he was a step too late.
“I definitely would play it differently next time,” Bogaerts said. “I wish I hadn’t gone.”
Bogaerts stayed on the ground for a moment after the play, clearly frustrated. It was that kind of night for the Red Sox, who were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and are searching for answers at the plate.
“We’re in a slump right now as a team,” Bogaerts said. “We have some guys that are getting their hits, and some guys that aren’t. As I said the other day, it’s kind of hard to have nine guys that are clicking at the same time. We have to do a better job putting the ball in play when there’s guys on base, a lot of traffic on base. Starting with me. I mean, that first inning, I kind of messed up the whole game starting from there. I’ve got to do a better job.”
Other takeaways:
— Alex Cora has been singing the praises of Renfroe’s defense since spring training, and on Wednesday the right fielder made his best play yet. With one out in the second, Matt Chapman crushed a first-pitch slider that went over Verdugo and bounced off the center-field wall. But Renfroe was there for backup, and fired an absolute missile to third as Devers applied the tag to finish one of the plays of the year.
— Eduardo Rodriguez was hit hard over six innings as he struck out nine, but he committed yet another Red Sox mental mistake in the fifth. The A’s had just gone ahead 2-1 with two outs and Elvis Andrus at third. Andrus tried fooling Rodriguez by faking a run home, and the Red Sox lefty fell for it as he committed a balk. Andrus, with a smile on his face, trotted home and to the dugout as the A’s went up 3-1.
Alex Cora: Red Sox getting closer to 85% fully vaccinated threshold
Steve Hewitt
As vaccination numbers continue to rise around the country, the Red Sox are seeing an uptick, too.
They still haven’t reached the 85% threshold of fully vaccinated Tier 1 individuals, which includes players, coaches and support staff, needed to relax COVID-19 health and safety protocols, but they’re getting there.
“We’re closer than probably 10 days ago, but I don’t know how close to 85%,” manager Alex Cora said Wednesday. “But we are closer.”
It came with its first minor hiccup on Wednesday as pitcher Nick Pivetta was placed on the COVID-19 injured list due to side effects from his vaccination, but it’s possible that stint only lasts a couple days until he gets better. Pivetta’s next start is scheduled for Friday and he might not miss it, but the Red Sox called up Eduardo Bazardo to give them an extra bullpen arm in the meantime.
Major League Baseball announced on April 30 that four teams had reached the 85% threshold to relax protocols, with another five teams that reached 85% on second vaccine doses likely to be fully vaccinated in two weeks, which would take effect within two weeks from April 30.
The Red Sox had a later start because vaccinations weren’t available to all adults until April 19, but they’ve been proactive. Groups of players have gone to get vaccinated after games and the team has brought in Spanish-speaking medical experts to educate players on vaccinations.
Cora has received his second dose and he said recently that most of his coaching staff was going to be vaccinated. But they’re not putting pressure on anyone to get it. Cora has repeatedly said that it’s a personal choice for everyone.
J.D. Martinez didn’t say whether or not he was getting vaccinated, but echoed that sentiment on Wednesday.
“Everyone has a right to their body and what they do,” Martinez said. “It’s a crazy time we’re living in and I think I understand that. It’s one of those things. If you want to do it, do it. If you don’t, don’t do it. It’s bigger than the game, you know what I mean? It’s your life. It’s bigger than just baseball.”
Moreland humbled
Tuesday’s game featured a special moment as former Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland, now with the A’s, returned to Fenway Park. When he stepped to the batter’s box for his first at-bat, catcher Christian Vazquez made a point to call timeout so that Moreland could receive a deserved ovation from the fans and his former teammates.
Moreland appreciated the gesture.
“Definitely special,” Moreland said. “Those guys are still close friends and were great teammates. I spent a lot of time with those guys, so for Vazqy to do that, to look around and see other guys following his lead on that was special. It’s something I’ll never forget.”
Moreland was certainly appreciative of the fans, too.
“Something that I greatly appreciated and I’m humbled by,” he said. “It’s a great fanbase, one of the best. It’s nice to be back and see some familiar faces, for sure.”
Moreland spent four seasons with the Red Sox and played a big role in their 2018 World Series title before being traded to the Padres at the deadline last year for prospects. The 35-year-old said he was in contact with the Red Sox about a potential return in the offseason before he ultimately signed a one-year, $2.25- million deal with the A’s.
“Kind of stayed in touch with the Red Sox all the way through, right there until the end,” Moreland said. “We definitely talked about it.”
Santana starts with WooSox
After playing three games with High-A Greenville, Danny Santana was set to make his first start with Triple-A Worcester, batting second and playing third on Wednesday night. After he missed time in the spring due to a foot infection, Cora wants to see the versatile Santana continue to get more reps before he’s big-league ready.
“He needs to play, that’s the most important thing,” Cora said. “Because he’s there, it doesn’t mean he’s that close to being added here, or he’s going to be part of this, but the fact that he’s with the organization is very important. This is a proven big-leaguer. Somebody that we recognize in the offseason and there’s a reason we brought him to the organization, so now it’s about him building up stamina, getting at-bats, moving around, running around. He hasn’t played in a year and a half so it’s good that he’s there and that he’s gonna be able to play.” …
Christian Arroyo (hand) and Kiké Hernández (hamstring) are both on target to return from the injured list when they’re eligible, and Cora would like to see them play a rehab game or two with the WooSox this week.
“We feel good about where they’re at, especially with Enrique,” Cora said. “We would like to see them play a little bit. A little bit might be one game or two games, but especially in that situation, hammy, to run around, to play the outfield, maybe play second base one day. But it’s trending in the right direction, and it seems like both of them should be with us sooner rather than later.”
Hunter Renfroe’s incredible throw reminds Red Sox teammates of Mookie Betts
Steve Hewitt
Hunter Renfroe is no Mookie Betts, but on Wednesday night, the Red Sox right fielder made a play that reminded some of Boston’s former superstar.
With one out in the top of the second, Renfroe made the play of the night. Matt Chapman blasted a pitch from Eduardo Rodriguez over Alex Verdugo’s head in center and looked destined for a triple. But the ball bounced off the wall and rolled to Renfroe, who fired a perfect missile on one hop to third, where Rafael Devers applied the tag on Chapman.
Xander Bogaerts was supposed to be the cutoff man, but the incredible throw sailed past him. It reminded the shortstop of the play Betts made at Tropicana Field late in the 2019 season, when the former outfielder made a throw from the right-field corner on the warning track to third base without needing a bounce.
“It kind of reminded me a little of that throw, from how far and how accurate,” Bogaerts said. “Obviously JBJ (Jackie Bradley Jr.) made some great players out there, but that was pretty much one that Mookie came into my mind when I saw that play.”
Rodriguez was backing up third on the throw, and pointed to Renfroe with his glove in appreciation after the play. It also reminded the pitcher of Betts.
“I had a guy like that before here that impressed me a lot but I think Renfroe surprised me more because I’ve never seen him play,” Rodriguez said. “I think I faced him in San Diego but I never saw him throwing like that. Every time he’s doing something back there, it seems like he just does something special. …
“Those plays like that, they’re really good to enjoy, especially when you are the guy on the mound.”
The play came as no surprise to Alex Cora, who’s been singing the praises of Renfroe’s underrated defense since spring training. The right fielder, who signed a one-year deal in December, is living up to his manager’s hype. He’s leading all right fielders in defensive runs saved this season, according to FanGraphs.
Cora was especially impressed with Renfroe’s awareness to back up Verdugo, which allowed him to have a shot at the play.
“That’s what he does,” Cora said. “We’ve been talking about his defense since Day 1 in spring training and he finds a way to be where he’s supposed to be. He’s very responsible. It starts in batting practice with his preparation. He saw the play, he got there in time, I saw his throw and I was like, ‘There’s a good chance he’s going to be out.’ He is that good in the outfield.”
Red Sox bullpen could lean heavier on 33-year-old rookie Hirokazu Sawamura
Jason Mastrodonato
With the Red Sox bullpen suddenly in a funk, manager Alex Cora is getting excited about 33-year-old rookie Hirokazu Sawamura.
Cora mentioned Sawamura as a lone bright spot in the Sox’ 3-2 loss to the A’s on Tuesday, when Sawamura struck out four over two scoreless innings after Darwinzon Hernandez and Adam Ottavino allowed the decisive runs before Sawamura entered.
With a fastball that averages 96 mph and touches 99 mph, a splitter that looks like Koji Uehara’s and a useful slider, Sawamura is having a lot of success missing bats early in his big league career.
The Japanese-born right-hander has struck out 21 batters in 16-1/3 innings with a 3.31 ERA.
“I think the split is playing now better than in early in the season or in spring training,” Cora said Wednesday. “The fastball, obviously we’ve been talking about it, there’s been some damage with fastballs down in the zone. But overall, he’s been solid. If you look at the numbers at the end of the day, he’s been good. There’s been a few home runs here and there, but we’re fair to him and see the whole package.”
The only problem is that when hitters do make contact against Sawamura, the ball goes a long way. He’s given up four homers already, and the average exit velocity against him is among the hardest in the game.
Cora said he can live with the homers because Sawamura is being aggressive in the zone, the hallmark of the 2021 Red Sox’ pitching staff.
“Look at these guys; there are not too many walks,” Cora said. “There are a lot of strikeouts. How do you do that? Well, you have to pitch ahead. We like the fact that he is more aggressive. We’re going to keep preaching that. We need to do that.”
Cora is struggling to find middle relievers to bridge the gap to lights-out closer Matt Barnes. Hernandez and Ottavino were the guys, but have been shaky.
Sawamura could play himself into higher leverage spots.
“For a guy who’s a rookie at this level, regardless of the age, he’s done a good job with us,” Cora said. “I think yesterday was his best split. He got some swings and misses. He’s been actually really good against lefties. Struggled with command sometimes, but overall, he’s been really good.”
Why the Red Sox should be missing Jackie Bradley Jr. right now
Jason Mastrodonato
Jackie Bradley Jr. wasn’t much of a leadoff hitter, nor was he the kind of guy you’d want in the middle of the order.
But for as little notoriety as his offensive ability received during his eight-year career with the Red Sox, Bradley quietly gave his team something they’ve been badly missing since he left.
He was a terrific nine-hole hitter.
Not just a good nine-hole hitter; he was one of the best in baseball history.
Why are we talking about this now?
Take a look at what the Red Sox are doing this week.
Wednesday night, they lost to the A’s, 4-1, in another close game, their third in a row. The middle of the order has finally cooled off. And as much damage as J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers have done for this team, they can’t do it all themselves.
The pressure starts to mount on those three in close games in particular.
You could see it on Martinez’s face on Tuesday night, when he walked back to the dugout after an eighth- inning strikeout. You could see it in the way they tried to manufacture their own runs on Wednesday, when Devers aggressively turned a simple ground ball into a double, then Bogaerts over-zealously got thrown out at home making a similarly aggressive decision the very next play.
It’s all on these guys right now. They’re forcing baserunning plays and swinging at questionable pitches seemingly because they know they’re the ones who need to lead this offense.
It’s not sustainable. The best teams are deep. One through nine, they can get you.
Bradley is struggling out of the gate for the Brewers, but he had a ton of success hitting ninth in Boston. He put together a 29-game hitting streak in 2016 while hitting ninth on most nights. And when former manager John Farrell moved Bradley to the top of the order for one game, he went 0-for-4 and the hitting streak was over.
The nine spot is where he thrived, and he did it as well as anyone. Since the American League adopted the designated hitter in 1973, the nine-hole has been a good place for defensive specialists who can’t do much with the bat.
There haven’t been many great ones. But of the 60-plus players since ’73 who were good enough to stay in the big leagues and accumulate at least 1,000 at-bats from the nine-hole, Bradley’s .763 OPS ranks second only to Marco Scutaro’s .771.
His .438 slugging percentage is the best in baseball history by a nine-hole hitter.
This year, the Red Sox have Franchy Cordero as their primary hitter in the nine-hole. After another disappointing 0-for-3 performance Wednesday (albeit in the eight-hole as Michael Chavis had a chance to hit ninth), Cordero is hitting .150 with a .397 OPS in 80 at-bats this year. It’s gotten so bad that manager Alex Cora had to pinch-hit for Cordero in the ninth inning with Jonathan Arauz.
At this point, it’s like the Red Sox are playing with eight men on offense. If they had it their way, they probably would be.
The nine spot has been a black hole. Overall, nine-hitters for the Red Sox this year have hit .167 with a .450 OPS.
That’s more than 300 OPS points away from Bradley’s .763 mark. Sure, 300 OPS points from the nine spot may seem like small potatoes. But put those 300 points in the three spot and that’s just about the same difference as if you replaced J.D. Martinez with Hunter Renfroe.
Not only are the Red Sox not getting production from the bottom of their order, where first base has also been a disappointing position, but one can imagine what it does for the rest of the team’s confidence.
Automatic outs are a buzzkill, a wet blanket, a statistical nightmare, and they continue to put incredible pressure on the heart of the order to make everything happen.
The Red Sox are too good of a team to keep using Cordero as their primary left fielder. Meanwhile, Jarren Duran homered twice in the Woo Sox’ home opener at Polar Park on Tuesday. Even Chavis is taking more competitive at-bats than Cordero. When Christian Arroyo and Kiké Hernandez come back from the injured list, perhaps they can fill some gaps and push other players to left field.
NESN’s newest analyst and a fantastic hitter in his day, Ellis Burks had an interesting suggestion for Cordero on the broadcast: move away from the plate. He can’t get his arms extended when he stands so close to the plate.
“He needs a breather,” Burks said.
Something’s gotta give. The American League East is too good to write off some losses in early May as not a big deal. Every game counts. To lose close game after close game while getting nothing from left field, a position that’s long been full of some of baseball’s greatest hitters, is a crime in itself.
There are better players in Triple-A Worcester, surely.
If only the Sox still had Bradley.
* The Providence Journal
No Red Sox appear immune during current skid
Bill Koch
Not even Xander Bogaerts was above a costly mistake or two Wednesday night.
This is how it looks when a team is on the verge of a third straight loss and starts to press a bit. The Red Sox star shortstop struck out in a key spot early and made a painful base running error late in a 4-1 defeat against the Athletics.
Boston managed its lone run after loading the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the first inning. Its final threat was snuffed out when Bogaerts was tagged at the plate to compete a double play in the bottom of the eighth. The larger crowds at Fenway Park in accordance with loosening COVID-19 restrictions have yet to see the best of the home team to date.
“A lot of traffic on the bases – it started with me,” Bogaerts said. “That first inning I kind of messed up the whole game starting from there.”
The Red Sox have managed just 13 hits since the start of the week, dropping their series finale at Baltimore and the first two against Oakland. Boston is 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position and has struck out 32 times. Christian Vazquez plated the lone run on Wednesday thanks to a four-pitch walk.
“They’re not going to carry the offense through 162 games,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of his sluggers. “We know they’re going to go through their ups and downs, and that’s part of this. Other guys have to pick it up.”
Marwin Gonzalez doubled twice and was the only Red Sox player to cross the plate. Bogaerts struck out, Rafael Devers popped up and Hunter Renfroe struck out to end the bottom of the first. Gonzalez was caught in a rundown to snuff out another potential rally in the bottom of the fifth, one killed off for good when Bogaerts and Devers struck out.
“We’re in a slump right now as a team,” Bogaerts said. “We have some guys who are getting their hits and some guys who are not.”
The final chance came in the bottom of the eighth when Bogaerts walked and Devers chopped a hustle double to shallow right. Vazquez sent a soft liner toward second that was fielded on a hop and ultimately went down as a 4-3-2 double play.
“I wish I wouldn’t have gone,” Bogaerts said. “Renfroe is coming up – we know how much power he has, and obviously he’s been swinging the bat real good as of late.
“I messed up in the first and I messed up there also.”
Jonathan Arauz pinch hit for Franchy Cordero in the bottom of the ninth. The Red Sox were in search of a right-handed bat to face Jake Diekman, Oakland’s left-handed closer. The motivation to make the decision was bothersome for two reasons
First, Cordero is back to appearing helpless at the plate. He’s in an 0-for-17 slide and now has just four hits over the past calendar month. Three of those came in the same May 6 victory against the Tigers – too many at-bats have been noncompetitive.
Second, Boston turned to a Rule 5 Draft pick from a season ago – Arauz – among options that also included Bobby Dalbec and Kevin Plawecki. None of those three would suggest elite bench depth, and even taking Kiké Hernandez and Christian Arroyo off the injured list wouldn’t scare an elite closer. The Red Sox need more quality players on their roster, and they need them now.
The regulars who have won championships here know it. Renfroe’s fantastic throw from deep center to retire Matt Chapman in the top of the second brought a certain former Boston player to mind. Bogaerts and starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez both referenced Mookie Betts and a certain play he made in Tampa Bay late in 2019, sounding like a pair of longing ex-partners seeking a reunion.
That’s not happening, of course. And the Red Sox still lead the American League East ahead of the surging Yankees. But nights like Wednesday – and, truthfully, the two before them – suggest that could be a temporary position in the near future.
Red Sox Journal: Starter Nick Pivetta placed on COVID-19 list
Bill Koch
Nick Pivetta has been placed on the COVID-19 injured list.
The Red Sox right-hander is suffering from side effects after receiving his most recent vaccination shot. Boston declined to specify Pivetta’s symptoms or when his inoculation was administered. Eduard Bazardo was recalled from Triple-A Worcester.
Pivetta made his last start Sunday at Camden Yards in a 4-3 victory over Baltimore. He improved to 5-0 on the season and is a perfect 7-0 through his nine starts with the club since an August trade from the Phillies. Pivetta has posted a 3.19 ERA in 2021 and held opponents to just a .190 batting average.
It’s the second stint on the active roster for Bazardo, a right-handed reliever. He was recalled as the 27th man for an April 14 doubleheader at Minnesota and tossed a scoreless inning during a sweep at Target Field. Bazardo recorded a perfect inning against Buffalo on Saturday, striking out a pair.
Tanner Houck (flexor muscle soreness) has been shut down and Connor Seabold (right elbow inflammation) is on the seven-day injured list with the WooSox. Jay Groome is the only other starter on the 40-man roster among the affiliates, and he’s at Class-A Greenville. Pivetta’s turn in the rotation would come up again Friday.
Boston has yet to announce starting pitchers beyond Thursday’s series finale against the Athletics at Fenway Park. Garrett Richards is scheduled to work against Oakland prior to a three-game weekend series with the Angels. The Red Sox have Monday off prior to a six-game road swing against the Blue Jays and Phillies.
Bullpen issues
It hasn’t been a good two weeks for the Red Sox bullpen.
Matt Barnes remains superb in the closer’s role. Boston’s other eight relievers have staggered to a 7.20 ERA in May.
Darwinzon Hernandez and Adam Ottavino combined to allow a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning Tuesday night. The Athletics stole a 3-2 victory by snapping a late 1-1 tie at Fenway Park. Matt Chapman lined an RBI single to left and Elvis Andrus dunked an RBI single into right.
Hernandez took the loss and saw his ERA climb to 4.63. His leadoff walk of Matt Olson invited the trouble. Ottavino stranded a pair but allowed an inherited runner to score on the Andrus single.
“At the end, guys are hitting .230,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “The big-league average is .230. Let’s put it that way.
“I know some guys hit the ball hard and they run into bad luck. It seems like a lot of people are unlucky this season so far. Just make sure you’re aggressive in the zone and make them earn it.”
Cora acknowledged Tuesday that the Red Sox were still “searching” in terms of locking high-leverage relievers into roles. Hernandez has allowed five of his first 14 leadoff men to reach while Ottavino has allowed seven of his 17 to reach. Austin Brice and Matt Andriese have combined to allow 12 of the first 23 leadoff batters they’ve faced to reach safely.
“We like them to be aggressive,” Cora said. “In an era when you go 0-1, 0-2 — they bury you. The numbers go from one end to the other.
“We like to work ahead. Everybody does.”
Hernandez’s spot among the back three isn’t guaranteed simply because he’s a left-hander. Boston won its most recent championship in 2018 with Joe Kelly, Barnes and Craig Kimbrel — three right-handers — receiving the bulk of the high-leverage, postseason innings among relievers. Kelly’s reverse splits helped earn him the chance — a .610 OPS for left-handed hitters versus a .703 OPS for right-handed hitters.
“We use the people who are getting people out,” Cora said. “We do believe our guys can get righties and lefties out no matter who they are.”
Worcester rehabs likely
Kiké Hernandez (right hamstring) and Christian Arroyo (left hand contusion) could begin rehab assignments at Triple-A Worcester within the next week.
Hernandez and Arroyo are both on the 10-day injured list. The Red Sox recalled Michael Chavis and Jonathan Arauz to fill open spots among position players.
“It’s trending in the right direction,” Cora said. “It seems like both of them should be with us sooner rather than later.”
Hernandez suffered his injury running the bases after a double off the Green Monster. Arroyo was hit twice by pitches on the back of his left hand.
Danny Santana (right foot) continued his rehab assignment with the WooSox on Wednesday. The utility man played third base and batted second at Polar Park. Santana was moved from Class-A Greenville after going 4-for-10 with a home run and a double in three games.
“This is a proven big-leaguer, someone we recognized in the offseason, and there’s a reason we brought him to the organization,” Cora said. “Now it’s about him building up stamina.”
Chasing the vaccination line
Boston has yet to reach the 85% threshold required to relax COVID-19 protocols.
Cora and Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez were asked about vaccinations in light of two positive test results among the Yankees on Tuesday. Third-base coach Phil Nevin and first-base coach Reggie Willits both missed a matchup with the Rays at Tropicana Field.
“We’re closer than probably 10 days ago,” Cora said. “I don’t know how close to 85. But we are closer.”
Martinez would not confirm or deny whether or not he had been vaccinated. Red Sox medical staff members have made presentations to players about the merits of receiving an inoculation against the virus. Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have agreed to certain less-stringent measures in place if any team reaches the threshold.
“They’ve mentioned it to us,” Martinez said. “But that’s not a team decision. That’s a personal decision. To each his own. Everyone has the right to believe and to think what they want to think about their bodies and what they’re putting into their bodies.
“Obviously, it would be nice to have that kind of advantage, but it is what it is.”
Pitchers have Sox hitters guessing at the plate
Bill Koch
The Red Sox weren’t entirely sure what to expect from Athletics starter James Kaprielian on Wednesday night.
If given a choice, J.D. Martinez would have scouted Kaprielian’s raw stuff instead of his tendencies. Boston’s slugger sees the league’s pitchers trending in that direction over the last two seasons and started a debate when he articulated his position within the last couple of weeks.
Kaprielian made a pair of relief appearances in 2020 and started one game for Triple-A Las Vegas this season. The right-hander missed all of 2017 and 2018 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Kaprielian was the 16th overall pick by the Yankees out of UCLA in the 2015 draft.
“The game’s kind of changed,” Martinez said. “It’s a copycat league, and teams that have done this have had success. Now everyone’s doing it. You see it every night.
“Guys throw extremely hard and a lot of times don’t know where they’re going, then all of a sudden they just paint — boom, boom, boom. Or they’ll walk you. Or you have guys who chase them out of the zone. Or they make a nasty pitch and strike you out.”
Oakland targeted Kaprielian in a 2017 blockbuster trade that sent right-handed starter Sonny Gray to New York. Dustin Fowler and Jorge Mateo went with Kaprielian to the Athletics for Gray and international bonus pool money. Kaprielian made eight total appearances with the Yankees organization and never appeared above Class A.
“There’s not much information,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “But at the end, it really doesn’t matter if it was him or somebody we’re familiar with. We have to get back to what we do. It’s putting the ball in play, use the big part of the field and keep the line moving.”
The Red Sox dropped back-to-back games against Baltimore and Oakland while managing just four hits in each. Tuesday night was a 3-2 defeat at Fenway Park in which Boston received a sacrifice fly from Martinez and a solo home run from Rafael Devers. Oakland closer Jake Diekman worked around a pair of walks in the bottom of the ninth inning to finish the Red Sox.
“Right now, I think it’s about us,” Cora said. “We need to get back to putting the ball in play.
“[Kaprielian’s] stuff is close to what it used to be. This is a guy who everybody was very high on before the injuries. It’s going to be a challenge.”
Kaprielian averaged 94.9 mph on his fastball out of the bullpen last season. He also shows a curveball, slider and changeup. None of those secondary offerings are rated as elite options.
The chase for advanced velocity or a wipeout breaking pitch has left hitters like Martinez feeling a bit exposed at the plate. Christian Arroyo is on the injured list after being hit twice on the back of the left hand with fastballs. National League stars like Bryce Harper and Ronald Acuña have both been struck by pitches riding high and tight in recent games.
“How can you stop it?” Martinez said. “What are you going to do? You’ve got elbow guards and wrist guards and stuff you can wear — that's about it.”
Boston entered Wednesday evening with a league-leading .759 OPS, a number that’s down considerably from Major League Baseball’s last full season. The Astros boasted the sport’s top offense in 2019 with an .848 OPS, and 12 teams closed at .767 or better. The game continues to trend toward the three true outcomes at the plate — home runs, walks or strikeouts.
“When guys are throwing the ball that hard and they’re spinning the ball that much, pretty much all you have to do is touch it and it goes over the fence,” Martinez said. “It’s that kind of league right now.”
* MassLive.com
Eduardo Rodriguez strikes out 9 Athletics, but Boston Red Sox squander chances, fall 4-1, for third straight loss
Chris Cotillo
BOSTON -- Wednesday’s game against the Athletics consisted of missed opportunity after missed opportunity for a struggling Red Sox offense.
Three times, the Red Sox had two runners on -- including one on third base -- with less than two outs, but Boston only scored one total run on those chances. The A’s won, 4-1, extending Boston’s losing streak to three games.
The Sox loaded the bases with no outs in the first but scored just a single run, as Marwin Gonzalez came around on a Christian Vázquez walk. Oakland then evened the score on a Sean Murphy RBI double on the second and took the lead in the fifth, taking a 3-1 advantage on a Jed Lowrie RBI groundout and an Eduardo Rodriguez balk with a runner on third.
In the fifth, the Red Sox had runners on first and third with no outs but didn’t score, as A’s starter James Kaprielian got J.D. Martinez to ground into a fielder’s choice and then struck out Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers to end the inning.
After Matt Olson crushed a solo homer that made it 4-1 on the first pitch of the sixth inning, Rodriguez struck out two of the last three batters he faced to end his night with nine punch-outs. The lefty was hit around all night, allowing four runs on seven hits, but showed increased velocity while suffering his first loss of the year.
Trailing by three in the eighth, the Red Sox once again squandered a great scoring chance. With two men in scoring position and one out, Vázquez grounded out sharply to second base and Bogaerts ran home, where he was promptly thrown out by Olson for an inning-ending double play.
The Red Sox dropped to 22-16, tallying five hits after back-to-back games with four. They’ll look to avoid a series sweep Thursday with Garrett Richards on the mound opposite A’s lefty Sean Manaea at 7:10 p.m.
Renfroe shows off cannon
Right fielder Hunter Renfroe had the play of the night for Boston, throwing out Matt Chapman trying to stretch a double into a triple in the second inning. From deep right-center, Renfroe one-hopped Rafael Devers with a 92 mph throw; Devers applied the tag on a diving Chapman.
Bazardo impressive in Fenway debut
Making just his second big-league appearance -- and his Fenway Park debut -- righty reliever Eduard Bazardo was nearly perfect, allowing one hit while striking out two in two scoreless innings. Bazardo was called up before the game in place of Nick Pivetta, who was placed on the COVID-19 related injured list after experiencing vaccine side effects.
Boston Red Sox notebook: J.D. Martinez calls vaccination a ‘personal decision,’ club not yet at 85% threshold; Eduardo Rodriguez shows signs of life vs. A’s
Chris Cotillo
BOSTON -- The Red Sox have still not reached the 85% threshold of vaccinated players and coaches required for the league to relax COVID-19 protocols, and it’s unclear if they will ever get there. Asked before Wednesday’s game if he had been vaccinated, designated hitter J.D. Martinez declined to answer, calling the decision “one of those personal things” to him.
“Everyone has the right to their body and what they do,” Martinez said. “It’s a crazy time we’re living in and I think I understand that. It’s one of those things, if you want to do it, do it, and if you don’t, then don’t do it. It’s bigger than the game, you know what I mean? It’s your life. It’s bigger than baseball.”
Red Sox players who elected to be vaccinated started receiving shots on April 19 after the club’s Patriots’ Day win over the White Sox. In the last few weeks, the vaccination process has continued, with many players electing to get shots. If the team gets to 85%, players and coaches will no longer be required to wear masks in the dugout and be allowed -- under MLB rules -- to do more activities, such as dining inside and playing card games on team flights.
Many teams across baseball have already reached 85%, including the Yankees, who were allowed to play Tuesday’s game despite at least two coaches registering “breakthrough” positives for COVID-19. There’s a clear competitive advantage for teams who reach the 85% mark; teams under it likely would not be allowed to play under similar circumstances.
“They’ve mentioned it to us but that’s not a team decision,” Martinez said. “That’s a personal decision. To each his own. Everybody has the right to believe and to think what they want to think about their body and what they’re putting into their body. Obviously, it’s one of those things where it would be nice to have that kind of advantage but it is what it is.”
Manager Alex Cora has already gotten two doses of the vaccine and has recommended that his players follow suit. Throughout the process, the Red Sox have stressed that the decision is a personal one.
“We’re closer,” Cora said. “We’re closer than probably 10 days ago,” Cora said. “I don’t know how close to 85%, but we are closer.”
Rodriguez better despite loss
Though Eduardo Rodriguez took his first loss of the season Wednesday night, he still showed some signs of progress. He struck out nine in six innings against the A’s, allowing four runs on seven hits.
Save for two mistakes -- a balk that forced in a run in the fifth and a missed location on a crushed Matt Olson solo home run an inning later -- Rodriguez felt good about his outing. His fastball velocity was up from his last start, as he averaged 92.3 mph and maxed out at 94 mph. On Friday in Baltimore, his average sat at 91.6 mph with the hardest pitch coming in at 92.8 mph.
“I felt really good today,” Rodriguez said. “I would say, for the first time in all the starts I’ve had, I really felt I had the fastball back. Felt really strong to throw it. You guys saw I throw it today. That’s some big progress for me.”
Rodriguez relied on a changeup-heavy attack in Baltimore and threw his fastball just 19 times in 91 pitches (21%) over seven innings. Against the A’s, he threw it 43% of the time (43 of 99 pitches) and generated 29 strikes.
“Overall, a lot better than the last two, maybe three,” Cora said. “(Velocity) was good, changeup was good. They did a good job staying back but then he was able to expand up. I know the numbers don’t look that well, but one walk, (nine) strikeouts, the velocity was up. Besides the loss, I think he was a lot better than the last three.”
Sawamura showing signs
Cora was particularly impressed with the performance of reliever Hirokazu Sawamura on Tuesday night, as the righty struck out four while allowing only two hits in two scoreless innings. Overall, Cora said, he feels that Sawamura has been solid despite allowing four homers in 16 ⅓ innings.
Those four homers account for four of the 14 hits against Sawamura this season, skewing an otherwise strong stat line. Sawamura has issued just five walks while striking out 21 batters and hasn’t walked anyone since April 18; his ERA sits at 3.77 while his ERA+ is at 134 (league average is 100).
“I think the (splitter) is playing now better than early in the season or in spring training,” Cora said. “The fastball, obviously we’ve been talking about it. There has been some damage on fastballs down in the zone. Overall, he has been solid. You look at the numbers at the end of the day, he has been good. There’s a few home runs here and there. If we’re fair to him and see the whole package… he’s a rookie at this level regardless of the age. He has done a good job with us.
“I think yesterday was his best split,” Cora said. “He got some swings and misses. He has been actually really good against lefties. Struggled with command sometimes. But overall, but he has been really good.”
Back end of bullpen still fluid
Darwinzon Hernandez’s struggles caused Cora to declare that the club is “still searching” for a perfect back-end bullpen structure after Tuesday’s loss. Cora previously identified Hernandez, Adam Ottavino and Matt Barnes as his top three options in the final three innings but isn’t committed to that trio.
Specifically, Cora said he didn’t believe he needed a lefty to pitch the seventh or eighth inning ahead of Barnes.
“We did it (2018) with Joe (Kelly), (Barnes) and Craig (Kimbrel),” Cora said. “There are righties who can get lefties out. We use the people who are getting people out. We do believe our guys can get lefties and righties out regardless of who they are.
Sawamura, Garrett Whitlock and Matt Andriese appear to be candidates for increased roles and could potentially appear in the seventh or eighth inning if Hernandez continues to be inconsistent. Cora has previously expressed a desire to ease Sawamura into leverage situations in his first big-league season but might be willing to push him a little more now that he has seen six weeks of big-league action.
“At the end of the day, you’ve got to get outs,” Cora said. “You don’t need a lefty to quote-unquote survive at this level.”
Martinez mum on impacts of new ball
Martinez, who is tied for second in the majors with 10 homers this season, played coy when he asked if he thought the new baseball -- which is a little lighter and less tense than the balls used in 2020 -- had impacted fly balls so far in 2021.
“I’ve had occasions this year where I’ve thought hit the ball a lot better and it two-hops the wall. And then there’s sometimes I’ve hit the ball really good and it goes out of the ballpark. So, I don’t know,” he said. “The pitchers have complained about it for so long that I wouldn’t be surprised that MLB tried to just silence them a little bit by changing the ball up or anything. I don’t know. I can’t say here and say yes or no. I try to stay out of it. I plead the fifth.”
Casas homers; Santana has 2 hits
Red Sox top prospect Triston Casas crushed his first Double-A homer on Wednesday night, hitting a solo shot off Rockies minor-league pitcher Will Gaddis in the sixth inning of Portland’s 14-3 win. Casas hit 20 homers in 120 games split between Single-A and High-A in 2019.
Infielder/outfielder Danny Santana was 2-for-5 with an RBI for the WooSox in his Triple-A debut. Santana spent three games on a rehab assignment with High-A Greenville before being sent up to Worcester.
Richards tasked with avoiding sweep
Right-hander Garrett Richards will take the ball in Thursday night’s series finale against the A’s as the Red Sox try to avoid being swept for the first time since opening weekend. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. with lefty Sean Manaea -- who no-hit the Red Sox in 2018 -- scheduled to start for Oakland.
Boston Red Sox notebook: Jason Varitek ‘more vocal’ as coach than he was as a player, should Hunter Renfroe have caught ball in 7th?
Chris Cotillo
BOSTON -- In his first year as a full-time coach, former Red Sox captain Jason Varitek has worn many hats. The 49-year-old is officially called the club’s “game-planning coordinator” but is involved in all facets of the game, working with catchers, hitters and the pitching staff.
Varitek spends most of his time working with Christian Vázquez and Kevin Plawecki and helps the team’s pitchers but has also emerged as a source of moral support for the entire team. Manager Alex Cora, who played with Varitek in Boston from 2005 to 2008, thinks Varitek’s personality has changed.
“As a person and as the captain, he’s doing the things that he used to do, but in a different way,” Cora said Tuesday. “More vocal, more outspoken, which is great.
“He’s louder in the dugout for sure,” Cora added. “It’s not like he’s a cheerleader but he’s a lot louder pulling for the guys.”
Varitek served a hybrid front office/coaching role in recent years after taking on a special assistant role in 2011. In his old job, he played a significant role in game-planning and on-field coaching. The new title hasn’t changed much, though he’s now around every day instead of leaving the team for stretches like he did previously.
“It has not been much different than what I’ve been doing,” Varitek said. “It’s great to have your hands on people day in and day out in all avenues. Not just getting people out. Not just defensive. It’s offensive, it’s positioning, it’s being a part of everything and watching these guys compete every day and trying to aid them when you can.”
Varitek has long held managerial aspirations and said he still has them. A full-time coaching role is a natural stepping stone toward managing.
“But that’s not the focus right now,” Varitek said. “The focus right now is what you can do to make this team the best that you can. We have an unbelievable leader around us (Cora) and it’s a great working environment to work with.”
Cora has repeatedly said he thinks his former teammate will get a chance in the big chair someday.
“He can run a team and he can impact a team,” Cora said. “I’m glad he’s still with us here. Obviously, I know he has his goals. We talked about it last year a little bit. For him to become a big-league manager is something he really wants. At the same time, right now he wants this organization to win a World Series, which is very important for us. He’s a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Hernández, Arroyo won’t be out long
Utility man Kiké Hernández (right hamstring strain) and second baseman Christian Arroyo (left hand contusion) are both expected to come off the injured list after the minimum 10 days, Cora said. Hernández will be eligible to return May 18 and Arroyo can be activated two days later.
“It feels that way,” Cora said. “Yesterday, after the game we talked and (head athletic trainer Brad Pearson) feels like they should be okay.”
Should Renfroe have caught ball in 7th?
With the Red Sox trailing, 2-1, in the seventh, Athletics shortstop Elvis Andrus hit a bloop RBI single off Adam Ottavino that dropped a few feet in front of right fielder Hunter Renfroe. It appeared Renfroe might have had a play on the ball if he slid or dove, but instead it dropped and gave Oakland an insurance run that ended up being the difference in the game.
Cora didn’t seem to think Renfroe had a play on the ball.
“He’s one of the best defenders in right field,” Cora said. “If he didn’t get it, not too many right fielders can get it.”
Varitek compliments Vázquez
Varitek said he has enjoyed watching the progression of Vázquez, a former defensive-minded backstop who has transformed into one of the best all-around catchers in baseball.
“It has been phenomenal to watch,” Varitek said. “There’s nothing on a baseball field Christian can’t do. His athleticism, his hands, his quickness, his brains behind the plate. Those have all developed and come together over the time. His mental tools are now matching his physical tools.”
Sawamura shines
Though the Red Sox’ bullpen ended up costing them Tuesday’s game, Cora was impressed with the performance of Hirokazu Sawamura. The righty pitched two innings, allowing two hits while striking out four batters on 32 pitches.
“For the negative, there was a positive,” Cora said. “Sawamura was amazing tonight.”
Wong, Groome both banged up in minor-league action
A couple of Red Sox prospects were banged up Tuesday, with catcher Connor Wong and pitcher Jay Groome each leaving their respective games. Wong appeared to tweak a hamstring running the bases for Triple-A Worcester and Groome had to leave his start for High-A Greenville after being struck in the shin by a liner in the third inning.
WooSox manager Billy McMillon told reporters (including MassLive’s Katie Morrison) that he didn’t anticipate Wong being out for long. Groome is day-to-day.
Hunter Renfroe’s amazing throw reminded Boston Red Sox teammates Xander Bogaerts, Eduardo Rodriguez of Mookie Betts
Chris Cotillo
BOSTON -- Hunter Renfroe’s amazing throw to gun down Matt Chapman on Wednesday night reminded Red Sox stars Xander Bogaerts and Eduardo Rodriguez of a famous former teammate who used to roam right field at Fenway Park.
Renfroe doesn’t have the reputation or accolades that Mookie Betts does, but he sure looked like him for a moment in the second inning of Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to Oakland. After Chapman hit a Rodriguez pitch off the wall in right-center, Renfroe fielded the ricochet and threw a 92 mph missile on one bounce to beat Chapman at third base.
The assist -- Renfroe’s first of the season -- was the highlight of the night for the Red Sox in a disappointing loss. For Rodriguez, who has only been playing with the former Padre and Ray for six weeks, it came as a surprise.
“I had a guy like that before here that impressed me a lot,” Rodriguez said, referencing Betts. “I think Renfroe surprised me more because I’ve never seen him play… I think we faced him in San Diego but I’ve never seen him throw throws like that. Every time he’s doing something like that, it’s something special. Especially, I was pitching today and I saw it.”
The toss reminded Bogaerts of one of Betts’ most impressive -- and final -- plays in a Red Sox uniform, a 305-foot throw to get Avisail Garcia at third base during a game at Tropicana Field on Sept. 23, 2019.
“That was awesome, man,” Bogaerts said. “I think Mookie made one in Tampa a couple years back. It kind of reminded me a little bit of that throw from how far and how accurate. Obviously, (Jackie Bradley Jr.) made some great plays out there. That was pretty much it — Mookie came in my mind when I saw that play.”
Manager Alex Cora, who managed Betts for his final two seasons in Boston before the former MVP was traded to the Dodgers last February, said the play reminded him of a different outfield assist -- a Ramón Laureano throw to cut down Bogaerts at the plate in Oakland two years ago. Cora was most impressed with how Renfroe ran over to assist center fielder Alex Verdugo, who attempted to catch the ball against the wall.
“Forget the throw, him backing up Alex, that’s what he does,” Cora said. “We’ve been talking about his defense since Day 1, even in spring training. He finds a way to be where he’s supposed to be. He’s very responsible. It starts in batting practice with his preparation. He saw the play, got there in time. As soon as he threw it, I was like, ‘There’s a good chance he’s going to be out.’ He is that good in the outfield.”
Rodriguez, who took the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits in six innings, thought Chapman had an easy three-bagger.
“It was right in front of me,” Rodriguez said. “After the guy hit the ball, I was like, ‘This is going to be a triple.’ As soon as he caught the ball and made that cannon throw to third base, I saw the ball and saw (Devers) and everything was in the right place and he tagged the guy and he was out at third.
“Those plays like that, it’s really good to enjoy them, especially when you’re the guy on the mound,” Rodriguez said.
Boston Red Sox’s Xander Bogaerts ‘tried to do too much’ when thrown out at home plate in 8th inning: ‘We’re in a slump right now as a team’
Chris Cotillo
BOSTON -- With the Red Sox trailing, 4-1, to the Athletics in the eighth inning Wednesday night, Xander Bogaerts made a costly baserunning mistake that all but ended Boston’s chances of a comeback.
With one out and two men in scoring position, Christian Vázquez hit a sharp liner toward second base that bounced before Jed Lowrie threw him out at first base. Realizing the ball had hit the ground, Bogaerts ran home -- despite it not being a force play -- and was cut down at the plate by first baseman Matt Olson for an inning-ending double play.
The eighth inning was the third time on the night the Red Sox had at least two runners on base -- and one on third -- with less than two outs. Despite those chances, Boston plated only one run and lost its third straight game.
Bogaerts’ blunder was arguably the most costly.
“Trying to do too much in that situation,” said manager Alex Cora. “He froze on the line drive, went back and saw the throw to first and he took off. The effort was great, but obviously, in that situation — second and third — you stay there. He’s such a good baserunner. He thought, getting the run right there, he had it. But it’s a gamble in that situation.”
Bogaerts said he wasn’t going on contact and was unsure if the ball was going to bounce or not. Once the umpire gave the signal that it has bounced, he made ill-fated call to run home.
“It was just a little bit too late,” Bogaerts said. “I definitely would play it differently next time. I wish I didn’t (go).”
Bogaerts was not the first Red Sox runner to be thrown out at home plate, as Marwin Gonzalez had been thrown out trying to score for the first out of the fifth. That helped the Red Sox squander a chance with runners on the corners and no outs while trailing, 3-1.
“Marwin had a good jump but then he hesitated,” Cora said. “I think if he keeps going, he’s probably safe.”
The Red Sox had just five hits against starter James Kaprielian and the Athletics, posting one more hit than they did in each of their previous two games. They left eight men on base. During their three-game losing streak, Boston has scored only four runs on 13 hits.
“We haven’t been able to do too much,” Cora said. “We had bases loaded, two outs and we had that kid on the ropes. We only scored one. Double digits in strikeouts again. We didn’t do much. He settled down and started mixing up his slider. The bullpen is that solid, but we know we’re a good offense. When the big boys aren’t swinging the bat, the other guys have to contribute, too.”
Bogaerts was 0-for-3 with a walk, striking out with the bases loaded and no outs in the first before costing the team again seven innings later.
“We’re in a slump right now as a team,” he said. “We have some guys who are getting their hits and some guys that aren’t. As I said the other day, it’s kind of hard to have nine guys clicking at the same time. We have to do a better job of putting the ball in play when there’s guys on base.”
Boston Red Sox lineup: Bobby Dalbec sits for second straight night vs. Athletics; Eduardo Rodriguez looks to stay undefeated
Chris Cotillo
BOSTON -- First baseman Bobby Dalbec is out of the lineup for the second straight night as the Red Sox host the Athletics at Fenway Park on Wednesday evening.
Dalbec was 4-for-15 with a homer and five RBIs in four games against the Orioles from Friday to Monday but has been held out in favor of Michael Chavis in each of the last two nights with righties on the mound for the A’s. Chavis is starting at first base and hitting ninth as the Red Sox look to snap a two-game losing streak Wednesday.
Boston mustered just four hits in Tuesday’s loss but will trot out the same exact lineup for the second straight night against Oakland right-hander James Kaprielian, who is making his first career major-league start. The former first-round pick (16th overall by the Yankees in 2015) allowed three earned runs on four hits in 3 ⅔ relief innings in 2020.
Eduardo Rodriguez has not taken a loss in his first six outings of the year, going 5-0 with a 3.82 ERA. He’ll look to stay undefeated on the year while making his first start against Oakland since April 29, 2019.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.
Oakland Athletics (22-15) vs. Boston Red Sox (22-15) · Fenway Park · Boston, MA FIRST PITCH: 7:10 p.m. ET
TV CHANNEL: NESN
LIVE STREAM: NESN | fuboTV - If you have cable and live in the New England TV market, you can use your login credentials to watch via NESN on mobile and WiFi-enabled devices. If you don’t have cable, you can watch the game via fuboTV, in New England | MLB.tv (subscription required)
RADIO: WEEI 93.7 FM
PITCHING PROBABLES: RHP James Kaprielian (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (5-0, 3.82 ERA)
RED SOX LINEUP:
1. 2B Marwin Gonzalez
2. CF Alex Verdugo
3. DH J.D. Martinez
4. SS Xander Bogaerts
5. 3B Rafael Devers
6. C Christian Vázquez
7. RF Hunter Renfroe
8. LF Franchy Cordero
9. 1B Michael Chavis
ATHLETICS LINEUP:
1. LF Mark Canha
2. 2B Jed Lowrie
3. CF Ramón Laureano
4. 1B Matt Olson
5. 3B Matt Chapman
6. RF Stephen Piscotty
7. C Sean Murphy
8. 1B Mitch Moreland
9. SS Elvis Andrus
Boston Red Sox’s Nathan Eovaldi encouraged by strong start despite being outdueled by Chris Bassitt: ‘The fastball felt really good coming out’
Chris Cotillo
BOSTON -- Like he always does between outings, Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi spent the time between Thursday and Tuesday tweaking his mechanics and making adjustments. Whatever he found worked, as he bounced back from his worst start of the season and threw solid innings in Boston’s 3-2 loss to the Athletics on Tuesday night.
On Thursday, against the Tigers, Eovaldi allowed six earned runs on seven hits in 4 ⅓ innings. On Tuesday, he allowed one run on two hits while striking out four but was outdueled by Chris Bassitt, who struck out 10 in seven innings for Oakland.
“They were both phenomenal,” said Sox manager Alex Cora. “Bassitt has done it the last few years. His ball is going everywhere. A good sinker, good four-seamer, good breaking ball. Had us off balance and then was able to finish us off with fastballs up.
“Nate was solid,” he said. “He was really good. He gave us six innings, did a good job with using his fastball a little bit more. It was a good baseball game.”
Eovaldi used a fastball-heavy attack against Oakland, throwing it for 50 of his 102 pitches (49%), up from his season average of 43%. He got 36 strikes on those pitches and 11 strikes on 13 cutters.
“I didn’t really have great command of my slider or my curveball today but my cutter was really what worked really well today and I mixed in enough off-speed pitches to keep them off balance,” Eovaldi said.
Unlike last time out, when the Red Sox won despite Eovaldi’s performance, the club wasted a quality start by mustering only four hits for the second straight night. Bassitt needed just 86 pitches to cruise through seven innings, allowing three hits and no walks.
“Our offense is the best in the league,” Eovaldi said. “For them to go out there and shut us down, it’s good for them.”
For an offense that leads the majors in OPS, batting average and runs scored, the last two games have been an outlier. Cora credited Bassitt and Baltimore starter Jorge López, who went 5 ⅔ strong innings in a 4-1 Orioles win Monday.
“Those two guys the last two days have been really good,” Cora said. “You’re going to run into this. López, last night was throwing 97 (mph) sinker balls and a good changeup and this guy, he has been one of the best the last few years. You’re going to go through stretches.”
Eovaldi took a no decision, with Darwinzon Hernandez taking the loss after being charged with two runs in a wild seventh inning. But Boston’s No. 2 starter still took away a bunch of positives from one of his longest outings of the year.
“Before, I was kind of getting into a little bit of predictable counts,” he said. “I think that’s why my outings weren’t as great the two prior. Tonight, I felt like I mixed my pitches really well and again, the fastball felt really good coming out.”
Mitch Moreland discussed Boston Red Sox reunion ‘all the way through’ free agency; ovation in Fenway return was ‘something (he’ll) never forget
Chris Cotillo
BOSTON -- Mitch Moreland returned to Fenway Park this week for the first time since leaving the Red Sox last summer, but his return to Boston could have come much sooner -- and in a much more familiar- looking uniform.
Moreland, who signed as a free-agent with the Athletics in February, confirmed Wednesday that he had serious talks with the Red Sox about a reunion throughout the off-season. In January, MassLive reported the Red Sox were in talks with Moreland about being a left-handed complement to Bobby Dalbec at first base; Boston eventually signed Marwin Gonzalez and Moreland agreed to terms with Oakland a few weeks later.
“Kind of stayed in touch with the Red Sox all the way through, right there until the end,” Moreland said Wednesday. “We definitely talked about it.”
Moreland, who appeared in 386 games with Boston before being traded to the Padres at last year’s trade deadline, saw action as a visitor at Fenway Park on Tuesday for the first time since July 2016. When he came to the plate in the first inning, he received a nice ovation from the 9,264 fans on hand and tipped his helmet toward the crowd twice.
“It was definitely special,” Moreland said. “Something that I greatly appreciated and am humbled by. It’s a great fan base. One of the best. It’s nice to be back and see some familiar faces for sure.”
Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez prolonged Moreland’s ovation by calling timeout and walking halfway toward the pitcher’s mound before turning around and applauding his former teammate along with the rest of the Red Sox. Vázquez’s actions meant a lot to Moreland.
“Those guys, they’re still close friends,” he said. “Great teammates. Obviously, I spent a lot of time with those guys. For (Vázquez) to do that and to look around and see those other guys following his lead on that was special. It’s something I’ll never forget.”
Moreland went 1-for-4 with a single in Tuesday’s 3-2 Oakland win and is batting eighth against Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez on Wednesday night. He plans to soak in his return to Fenway for the next two nights.
“It’s a special place to play baseball,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to play here and enjoy that from the home side. It’s still fun being here as a visitor as well.”
Boston Red Sox place Nick Pivetta on COVID-19 IL (vaccine side effects), recall reliever Eduardo Bazardo from Worcester
Chris Cotillo
BOSTON -- The Red Sox placed starter Nick Pivetta on the COVID-19 related injured list and recalled reliever Eduard Bazardo from Triple-A Worcester, the team announced Wednesday afternoon. Pivetta is dealing with side effects from vaccination, the club said.
Pivetta can be activated at any time, as the COVID-19 related IL does not require a minimum stint. He is scheduled to pitch Friday night against the Angels but it’s unclear if he’ll be ready in time to make that start.
“Not feeling great after the second shot,” said manager Alex Cora. “Hopefully, he can be okay for his next start.”
If Pivetta is unable to pitch, Red Sox relievers Matt Andriese and Garrett Whitlock are the top two candidates to start. That decision will depend on how Pivetta feels and how Cora uses his bullpen in Thursday’s series finale against the Athletics.
“We’ve got two guys that probably can start -- Matt and Garrett,” Cora said. “We’ll see how it goes, where we’re at, after the game tomorrow -- how our bullpen is and then we’ll go from there.”
Red Sox players have been going through the vaccination process since April 19. Players throughout baseball have required stints on the IL for vaccine side effects and have usually been activated within a couple of days.
“Hopefully, he can bounce back,” Cora said. “It’s normal. It’s not the first person who struggled with this. Hopefully, he can be ready.”
Major League Baseball is allowing teams to relax COVID-19 protocols -- including mask-wearing and restrictions on indoor dining and carpooling -- once 85% of a club’s players and coaches are fully vaccinated. The Red Sox are not yet at that point, manager Alex Cora said Wednesday.
“We’re closer. We’re closer than probably 10 days ago,” Cora said. “I don’t know how close to 85%, but we are closer.”
Pivetta has been one of Boston’s best pitchers this year, going 5-0 with a 3.19 ERA and 35 strikeouts in his first seven starts of the year. Bazardo, who is ranked by SoxProspects.com as the No. 19 prospect in the Sox’ organization, made his major-league debut on April 14, striking out one and walking two in a scoreless inning against the Twins.
Red Sox injuries: Kiké Hernández, Christian Arroyo expected to rehab with WooSox later this week; Danny Santana starts in Worcester on Tuesday night
Chris Cotillo
BOSTON -- Two members of the Red Sox are expected to begin rehab assignments in Worcester later this week.
Infielder/outfielder Kiké Hernández (right hamstring strain) and second baseman Christian Arroyo (left hand contusion) are expected to rehab with the WooSox during their series against Syracuse this week, manager Alex Cora said Wednesday afternoon.
“Most likely, (Kiké) and Christian, they’ll play maybe two games in Worcester,” Cora said on WEEI’s Ordway, Merloni & Fauria. “Rehab games. Hopefully, they’ll be ready for the road trip or whenever they’re available to come off the IL.”
Hernández went on the 10-day injured list Friday and is eligible to be activated Tuesday when the Red Sox take on the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla. Arroyo was placed on the IL on Sunday and can come back next Wednesday.
The Red Sox haven’t mapped out exact plans for either player, Cora said, but the expectation is that they’ll both make appearances at Polar Park. Infielders Michael Chavis and Jonathan Araúz were called up to take the empty roster spots and will likely head back to Worcester once Hernández and Arroyo are activated.
“Not mapped out, but it’s an idea,” Cora said. “We feel good about where they’re at. Especially with Enrique. So we would like them to see (pitchers) to play a little bit. It might be one game or two games. Especially in that situation (with a hamstring). To run around, play the outfield, maybe play second base one day. It’s trending in the right direction and it seems like both of them should be with us sooner rather than later.”
Santana starting Wednesday for WooSox
Infielder/outfielder Danny Santana will start at third base for the WooSox on Wednesday night and bat second against Syracuse as he makes his first appearance at Triple-A this season.
Santana, who has played 509 big-league games over the last seven seasons, signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox in mid-March. Santana is rehabbing from two injuries -- a modified Tommy John procedure he underwent in September and a foot infection he suffered at the end of spring training -- and could be in Worcester for an extended period.
Cora wants Santana to move around to different positions, get at-bats and build up strength before the Red Sox decide whether or not to activate him. The 30-year-old was 4-for-10 with a homer, a double and two RBIs in three rehab games for High-A Greenville.
“Like we said when we got him, this is a guy who had a great season two years ago and last season he was hurt,” Cora said. “He needs to play. That’s the most important thing. Because he’s there doesn’t mean he’s that close to being added here or he’s going to be part of this. The fact he’s part of the organization is very important.
“This is a proven big-leaguer, somebody we recognized in the off-season and there’s a reason we brought him to the organization,” Cora added. “Now, it’s about him building up stamina, getting at-bats, moving around and running around. He hasn’t played in a year and a half. It’s good that he’s here and he’s going to be able to play.”
* RedSox.com
Cora on missed chances: 'We didn't do much'
Ian Browne
BOSTON -- That vaunted Red Sox offense that was tearing up the competition for much of the season has gone into a three-game lull that has uncoincidentally turned into a three-game losing streak, matching their longest of the season.
For a microcosm of what has happened lately, and again in Wednesday’s 4-1 defeat to the Athletics, look no further than the bottom of the first inning.
The Sox had the bases loaded with nobody out and it was a golden chance to rattle A’s righty James Kaprielian, who was making his first Major League start.
Instead, Boston squandered a big chance with some big hitters at the plate. Xander Bogaerts struck out on a 2-2 slider out of the strike zone. Rafael Devers popped out on a 1-0 pitch that also appeared to be a ball. And even after Kaprielian gift-wrapped a run for the Red Sox by walking Christian Vázquez with the bases loaded, Hunter Renfroe struck out to end what was once such a promising rally.
“That first inning, I kind of messed up the whole game starting from there,” said Bogaerts. “I’ve got to do a better job.”
Over this three-game skid, opposing starting pitchers Jorgé Lopez, Chris Bassitt and Kaprielian combined for a 2.04 ERA against the normally-dangerous Boston offense, giving up an aggregate four runs.
• Renfroe shows off cannon with electric assist
If one thing has been proven this season, it’s that the Red Sox win when they score even a modest amount of runs. The club is 19-2 when it scores four or more runs and 3-14 when it scores fewer than four.
“I mean, we’re in a slump right now as a team,” said Bogaerts. “We have some guys that are getting their hits, and some guys that aren’t. As I said the other day, it’s kind of hard to have nine guys that are clicking at the same time. We have to do a better job putting the ball in play when there’s a lot of traffic on bases, starting with me.”
Manager Alex Cora often talks about his team needing to control the strike zone, and they didn’t do it in this one.
Instead, promising rallies continued to fall short, as they went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base.
“We haven't been able to do too much,” said Cora. “We had bases loaded, no outs. We had the kid on the ropes and we only score one. Double digits in strikeouts again. We didn't do much. He settled down, started mixing up his slider. We know we're a good offense. When the big boys are not swinging the bats the other guys have to contribute, too, right? Xander and Alex [Verdugo] and J.D. [Martinez] and Raffy, they're going to go through some slumps or [cold] streaks or whatever, and we have to pick them up.”
Two other missed opportunities haunted the 22-16 Sox, who now lead the Yankees by just one game in the American League East.
After Marwin Gonzalez led off the fifth with a walk, Kaprielian again did the Sox a favor when he threw a potential double-play grounder off the bat of Verdugo into center field. With runners on first and third and nobody out, Boston came out of it with no runs. Bogaerts and Devers had back-to-back strikeouts. The pitch Devers swung at to end that inning was in the dirt. Earlier in the frame, Gonzalez got hung up between third and home on a contact play when Martinez hit one back toward the mound.
“Marwin had a good jump, but then he hesitated. I think if he keeps going, he's probably safe,” said Cora.
In the eighth, the Sox had runners at second and third with one out, and again came away without a run, this time on a strange double play on a tapper by Vázquez. After the A’s got Vázquez at first, Bogaerts tried to score from third, and was tagged out.
When teams struggle offensively, they are sometimes more prone to being overly aggressive on the bases.
“With Xander, [just] trying to do too much in that situation. He froze on the line drive, went back during the throw to first. The effort was great, but obviously in that situation, second and third, you stay there,” said Cora. “He's such a good baserunner, he thought getting that run right there, he had it. It's a gamble in that situation.”
On Thursday, the Red Sox will try to snatch the finale of this three-game set against Oakland.
“Things are going to come around,” Bogaerts said. “You can’t keep a good [team] down for too long, and we’re going to bounce back.”
Moreland gets 'special' welcome at Fenway
Ian Browne
BOSTON -- Mitch Moreland played four seasons with the Red Sox, and his towering, three-run, pinch-hit homer to right field at Dodger Stadium in Game 4 of the 2018 World Series will forever be part of club lore.
“I think it landed in Pasadena,” quipped Red Sox manager Alex Cora.
This week, Moreland is enjoying his homecoming at Fenway Park as a member of the Oakland Athletics.
When he stepped up to the plate for his first at-bat of the series on Tuesday night, the Fenway faithful ignored his green road jersey and treated him like he was still wearing the home whites.
“It was definitely special,” Moreland said on Wednesday. “Something that I was greatly appreciated, humbled by. It’s a great fanbase, one of the best. It’s nice to be back and see some familiar faces, for sure.”
While the homer in Game 4 in 2018 changed the complexion of that entire Fall Classic -- Boston trailed 4-0 when he hit it, and a loss would have knotted the series at 2-2 -- Moreland is most beloved by Boston fans and teammates for his grit.
Moreland played hard and he played hurt, and he was a leader in the clubhouse and in the community. Getting traded to the Padres a couple of hours before a Sunday home game on Aug. 30 of last season meant that Moreland didn’t really get a chance to say goodbye to his teammates or the city of Boston.
That chance came around when he stepped back on to the Fenway field on Tuesday. The respect of his former teammates became evident when during that ovation at the start of his first at-bat, catcher Christian Vázquez stood behind the plate and clapped into his glove, and several Red Sox players applauded from the dugout.
“Definitely special,” said Moreland. “You know, they’re still close friends, great teammates, and obviously, you know, spent a lot of time with those guys. For Vazqy to do that and to look around and see other guys, you know, following his lead on that was special. It’s something I’ll never forget.”
Moreland developed an affinity for Fenway a decade or so before he even played for the Red Sox.
“It's definitely a special place to play,” said Moreland. “This place, it goes all the way back to college when I was playing in the Cape Cod League and was still in college and I got to come up here and watch games. It’s just a special place to play baseball and I was fortunate enough to play here and enjoy that from the home side. It's still fun being here as a visitor as well.”
Pivetta to COVID-19 IL
Roughly 40 minutes prior to Wednesday’s game, the Red Sox placed righty starter Nick Pivetta on the COVID-19 injured list.
In a press release, the Red Sox stated that the reason for the move was that Pivetta experienced side effects after getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
To take Pivetta’s spot on the roster, the Sox recalled righty Eduard Bazardo from Triple-A Worcester.
Pivetta, who is 5-0 with a rotation-leading 3.19 ERA, was scheduled to make his next start on Friday. It is unclear if he will be able to take that turn.
This is the second time Bazardo has been called up this season. He is ranked No. 27 among Red Sox prospects by MLB Pipeline. Bazardo has pitched twice this season for Worcester and had a perfect ninth inning in his most recent appearance on May 8.
Chavis over Dalbec; Franchy’s funk
When Bobby Dalbec broke out of an 0-for-27 slump and belted a homer on Friday night, there was hope that he might be ready to get in a groove. But Dalbec had just two hits over 12 at-bats in the next three games.
On Wednesday night, Michael Chavis started at first base for the second night in a row over Dalbec.
Chavis, who was recalled from Triple-A Worcester last weekend, is 3-for-9 with a homer since his return.
Similarly, Franchy Cordero snapped an 0-for-25 slump with a 3-for-5 game on May 6. But in his last five games entering Wednesday, he is 0-for-13.
“He’s making contact. That’s important. But that [three-hit] game he had here, he pulled the ball,” said Cora. “He’s been more aggressive with pitches in the zone. We’ll keep preaching, talking to him, helping him out, just, if you get your pitch, let it go. Hopefully he can put a few good swings on it today and get back on track.”
Sawamura’s splitter
As lefty Darwinzon Hernandez continues to be inconsistent in high-leverage situations, Japanese rookie righty Hirokazu Sawamura continues to show encouraging signs that he might be ready for more responsibility.
“I think the split is playing now better than in early in the season or in Spring Training,” said Cora. “The fastball, obviously we’ve been talking about it, there’s been some damage with fastballs down in the zone. But overall, he’s been solid. If you look at the numbers at the end of the day, he’s been good. I think yesterday was his best split. He got some swings and misses. He’s been actually really good against lefties.”
When asked if he’d prefer one of his high-leverage relievers to be left-handed, Cora said it doesn’t really matter. He wants outs.
“No, it’s not necessary,” said Cora. “We did it in ‘18 with [righties] Joe [Kelly], [Matt Barnes] and Craig [Kimbrel]. There's righties that can get lefties out.”
Kiké and Arroyo: ‘Sooner rather than later’
The Red Sox are currently short-handed with both Kiké Hernández (right hamstring strain) and Christian Arroyo (left hand contusion) on the injured list. But Cora expects both of them to be back right around the time they are eligible, which is May 17.
“We feel good about where they’re at, especially with Enrique. We would like to see them play a little bit [on rehab],” said Cora. “A little bit might be one game or two games. It's trending in the right direction, and it seems like both of them should be with us sooner rather than later.”
Cora’s ‘amazing’ anniversary
Wednesday was the 17th anniversary of the best at-bat of Cora’s playing career. That was when he belted the 18th pitch of an at-bat against Cubs pitcher Matt Clement for a home run on May 12, 2004.
“One thing I remember, if you take a look at that at-bat [on video], it’s Mr. [Vin] Scully and he goes, ‘Alex Cora 0-for-2 with two flyballs. When you don’t have power, two fly balls are like wasting at-bats,' ” said Cora. “He said that right away. It just happened that I hit a homer. It was a special moment. It’s one of those that if you look for something in your career that represents who you are, that’s probably the moment.
“Grind and try to get a hit somehow, and the home run was the icing on the cake, but to stick to the plan and be able to do that was amazing.”
Renfroe shows off cannon with electric assist
Ian Browne
BOSTON – As a ridiculous throw from right-center came searing into the waiting glove of third baseman Rafael Devers, you might have thought for a moment that Dwight Evans or Mookie Betts was back in uniform for the Red Sox.
But it was Hunter Renfroe who came up with this ridiculous throw, which Statcast measured at 92 mph, in the top of the second inning of Boston's 4-1 loss to the Athletics on Wednesday night at Fenway Park.
It was, without question, the highlight of the night for the Red Sox.
“Every time he’s doing something back there, it seems like he just does something special,” said Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez. “I was pitching today, and I see it right in front of me after the guy hit the ball off the wall. I was like, 'This is going to be a triple,' but as soon as he caught the ball and made that cannon throw to third base, I see the ball and Raffy was in the right place, and he tagged the guy and he was out at third. Those plays like that, they’re really good to enjoy, especially when you are the guy on the mound.”
Here is how it unfolded.
With the Red Sox leading, 1-0, at the time, Matt Chapman belted a one-out drive to deep center field, where Alex Verdugo ran out of real estate as the ball banged off the wall. In fact, Verdugo fell down in his attempt to catch the ball.
But that was fortuitous for the Red Sox. Renfroe was in perfect position to back up the play and came up firing with a perfect one-hop throw to third, as Devers slapped the tag down to get Rodriguez a highlight- reel second out of the inning.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora has continually said since Spring Training that Renfroe is an exceptional outfielder, and the veteran proved it on this electrifying play.
“Forget the throw,” said Cora. “Him backing up Alex, that's what he does. We've been talking about his defense since Day 1 in Spring Training, and he finds a way to be where he's supposed to be. He's very responsible. It starts in batting practice with his preparation. He saw the play, he got there in time, I saw his throw and I was like, 'There's a good chance he's going to be out.' He is that good in the outfield.”
It was the hardest-thrown assist by a Boston outfielder this season, and the third-hardest by a Boston outfielder since the start of 2020.
“That was awesome, man. I think Mookie made one in Tampa a couple of years back, it kind of reminded me a little of that throw, from how far away he was and how accurate,” said Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts. “Obviously [Jackie Bradley Jr.] made some great plays out there, but it was pretty much one that Mookie [made that] came into my mind when I saw that play.”
Casas homers twice, plates 6 in 4-hit night
Michael Avallone
Whatever frustration Triston Casas might have been feeling over a slow start came to a head Wednesday night. The baseball took the brunt of it.
Boston's top prospect homered twice en route to a career-high six RBIs as Double-A Portland rolled past Hartford, 14-3. Casas added his first double of the season and singled to equal his personal best of four hits set on June 10, 2019.
"Those first few games were tough," Casas said. "I think I was trying to do too much last week. The bat felt like a feather in my hands and my eyes were getting big with every pitch. I was trying to crush everything."
Baseball's 35th-ranked prospect stepped into the box in the top of the first inning in the midst of a 1-for-14 slide over his previous four games. He singled to right field in the opening frame and flied out in the second before hitting the accelerator. Casas blasted his first Double-A homer over the right-center field fence in his third at-bat and followed that with a three-run blast to right-center two innings later. His double to left in the seventh brought home two more runs to give him six RBIs, eclipsing his previous high of four done three times previously. Casas led off the ninth with a chance for a fifth hit but grounded out.
The offensive explosion hiked the 21-year-old's batting average 104 points to .286 while his OPS jumped to .891.
"I'm feeling really good physically and mentally," Casas said. "Tonight I just shortened up my approach, didn't go out of the [strike zone] and had some success. Hopefully I'll keep riding this as long as I can, but I'm really happy to be back out there. I feel good."
Slow starts seem to be a habit for Casas, who hit .208 with 31 strikeouts across 27 games with Greenville in April 2019. The Miami native rebounded to finish his first full-season campaign at .256/.350/.480 with 20 homers and 81 RBIs in 120 contests. He led the Boston farm system with 51 extra-base hits and was named a postseason All-Star.
Without Minor League action in 2020, Casas took up residence at the Red Sox alternate training site last summer. The 6-foot-4, 252-pound first baseman made sure his time around veterans of the Majors and the Minors wouldn't go to waste. Casas took the same approach during his time with the Major Leaguers in Spring Training. Although he tallied only a single hit in 11 Grapefruit League at-bats, the experience left a lasting impression.
"It was an awesome time for me," Casas said. "I got along with all of the guys and I tried to stick around the bat rack as much as I could. There's some impressive talent [on the Red Sox] and I was able to pick up some tips from a number of guys, all of who were eager to help."
Despite his strong 2019 season, Casas knows his work and time as a Minor Leaguer is far from over ... and he's fine with that.
"I'm not putting any expectations on myself this year. I don't have any specific numbers in mind," Casas said. "I just want to stay healthy, go out there every day and play hard to see where it gets me. I'm not Major League ready yet. I have a lot of work to do, but I'm happy to do it and get where I want to go."
Portland's offense was clicking on all cylinders as the club rapped out 17 hits, including eight for extra bases. Johan Mieses, Joey Meneses and Roldani Baldwin joined Casas in the homer barrage.
Sea Dogs starter Josh Winckowski allowed a run on two hits and a walk with four strikeouts in six innings to earn his first Double-A victory.
* WEEI.com
A painful reminder of what really drives this Red Sox team
Rob Bradford
Before the Red Sox' 4-1 loss the A's Wednesday night, J.D. Martinez was asked if he believed a few key players in a lineup -- the heart of a batting order -- could carry a team.
"I believe it," Martinez said. "I mean, if you look at every great team, it’s hard to have one through nine that rake. I think the last team that does that is like the Yankees super teams back in the day."
That's certainly been the feeling when it comes to these Red Sox, which has been the primary reason Alex Cora's club has reached such lofty early-season heights.
But what happens when the power is shut off in the middle of the aforementioned batting order.
That's what we're finding out now.
"They're not going to carry the offense for 162 games," said Cora regarding the likes of J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers. "We know they're going to go through their up and downs, and that's part of this, but other guys have to pick it up."
During this three-game losing streak, there has been no picking up.
The Red Sox have scored a total of four runs on 13 hits over the past three games, hitting double-digit strikeouts in each one of them. There has been one home run and a .141 team batting average.
The stretch has also witnessed the Red Sox collecting only one hit in 18 at-bats with runners in scoring position. And the combination of Martinez, Bogaerts and Devers? They are 6-for-31 with 13 strikeouts and just two walks.
In fairness to the Big 3, nobody else has heeded Cora's call.
The fourth option when it comes to finding a bat to lean on, Alex Verdugo, has one hit in nine at-bats. In fact, nobody other than Martinez (3)has more than two hits over the past three games. That simply can't work.
Here are the Red Sox' realities and records ...
When Devers has at least one RBI: 13-6. When Devers has two hits or more: 10-2. When Devers scores one run or more: 13-4.
When Martinez has at least one RBI: 11-6. When Martinez has two hits or more: 10-4. When Martinez scores one run or more: 14-6.
When Bogaerts has at least one RBI: 10-3. When Bogaerts has two hits or more: 10-2. When Bogaerts scores one run or more: 12-4.
The No. 3 (2nd), No. 4 (1st), and No. 5 spots (4th) all have the Red Sox ranked at or near the top in all of Major League Baseball in terms of OPS. The bottom four -- No. 6 (22nd), No. 7 (29th), No. 8 (11th) and No. 9 (23rd, last in the American League) -- not so much.
In case you thought the blueprint was complicated, now you know it's really not. The Red Sox can ups and downs from all corners of their roster, just not the one smack dab in the middle.
For now ... lesson learned.
Ellis Burks had a great debut as Red Sox analyst
Alex Reimer
Ellis Burks is insightful, introspective and full of captivating stories from his illustrious playing career.
He’s already shining as a Red Sox analyst just five days into the job.
Burks made his debut on NESN as a Red Sox studio analyst May 7, and was immediately thrust into rain delay duty. Luckily, Burks arrived to the station with plenty of anecdotes. He reminisced about playing his 2,000th-career game in Baltimore, where the Red Sox were playing last Friday, and reflected about his role in the historic 2004 championship run. Though Burks only played 11 games for the ’04 Red Sox, astute observers will remember he was the first player to emerge with the World Series trophy when they landed back in Boston from St. Louis — thanks to a thoughtful suggestion from Pedro Martinez.
It was a sweet capper for Burks’ return to Boston. The speedy outfielder was an immediate star when he debuted with the Red Sox in 1987, swatting 20 home runs and stealing 27 bases in his rookie season, along with offering elite center-field defense. He played six seasons in Boston, but when he left, he doubted he would ever return. When Jim Rice retired in 1989, Burks became the only Black player on the Red Sox.
The pressure was difficult to handle.
That backstory is one of the reasons why it was illuminating to hear Burks, Rice and Mo Vaughn hold an extended conversation Monday about their experiences playing in Boston. When Burks got called up, Rice told a clubhouse manager to put Burks’ locker next to his, since they were the only two Black players on the team. The Hall of Famer took Burks under his wing, and when Vaughn got called up in 1991, Burks returned the favor.
The discussion took place under the cloud of MLB's diversity crisis. Right now, only 7.6 percent of players identify as Black. Back in 1981, the figure peaked at 18.7 percent.
Burks surfaced one possible way to increase representation.
“Why don’t we implement academies in the United States in warm states like Florida, California, Arizona?,” he said. “Get some of these kids to come to these different academies and develop their skills and everything else just like you do in the Dominican [Republic], just like you do elsewhere.”
Burks presented a lighter side of himself when he joined the Red Sox booth Tuesday, enjoying great chemistry with Dennis Eckerlsey. It was especially amusing to hear Eckersley remind the two-time All-Star how many times he had taken him yard in his career (three times, for those keeping score at home).
Burks also regaled viewers with a story about how Nolan Ryan once plunked him in the head — only to tell him he was aiming for his ribs.
“I had a concussion,” Burks said. "He said, ‘I wasn’t trying to hit you in the head. I was trying to hit you in the ribs.’ That made me feel better.”
It sure feels good to have Burks back in Boston. Here’s hoping for an extended third run.
* NBC Sports Boston
The Red Sox suddenly have a Yankees problem
John Tomase
The thought was tantalizing, albeit fanciful: Maybe the New York Yankees would simply languish at the bottom of the American League East all season like a goldfish decomposing on the floor of a neglected aquarium.
It didn't feel crazy in April. Their starting pitching stunk, their offense looked hopelessly dated and lethargic, and the ghost of George Steinbrenner stirred at possibly claiming the soul of either manager Aaron Boone or general manager Brian Cashman.
Alas, their struggles weren't meant to last. And now it looks like the Boston Red Sox will have a real fight on their hands for American League East supremacy.
Tomase: Remembering 'Dice-K Mania' in Boston The Red Sox dropped their third straight Wednesday, losing 4-1 to the Oakland A's to fall below .500 at Fenway Park. The Yankees, meanwhile, shut out the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 in Tampa for their fourth straight win, a streak that started with consecutive walk-offs in Washington.
The Yankees now trail the Red Sox by only a game. It's the closest they've been to first place since they were 3-3 on April 7.
We shouldn't be surprised. The Yankees were always supposed to be good. It's the Red Sox who have played over their heads. Now we'll see how they respond to the breath of their rivals raising the hairs on the back of their necks.
"Yeah, they will be in it all season," shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. "We know the team that they are, and obviously we know the team that we are. We're going to go in this thing until the end."
It's hard to overstate how bad the Yankees looked in April. They started 5-10 and had almost nothing to hang their hats on beyond ace Gerrit Cole. Major rotation additions Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon combined to win one game with an ERA over 5.00, and controversial starter Domingo German pitched himself down to the alternate site.
Offensively, they had one player (Jay Bruce) struggle so badly, he retired. Catcher Gary Sanchez barely hit .190. Slugger Giancarlo Stanton was right there with him, catching the kind of boos that only $325 million can buy, until igniting in the final week.
The Yankees still found themselves mired in last place as recently as April 26, when they lost the opener of a four-game set in Baltimore to fall to 9-13. The idle Red Sox had beaten the Mariners a day earlier to improve to 14-9.
Since the calendar flipped to May, however, the clubs have rebounded like opposite ends of the same rubber band. The Yankees are 8-2, while the Red Sox have gone just 5-6.
But more than the results, it's how the teams have played. On Wednesday, the Red Sox ran into a pair of outs at home plate and failed to dent a pitcher making his big-league debut for more than a run despite loading the bases with no outs in the first inning.
The Yankees, meanwhile, didn't let seven positive COVID diagnoses keep them from playing flawlessly behind Cole, who blanked the Rays for eight innings on four hits and 12 strikeouts before closer Aroldis Chapman, as unhittable as ever, slammed the door in the ninth.
The Yankees have allowed one or zero runs in six of their last 14 games, with Kluber, in particular, finding the range. He's now 2-2 with a 3.06 ERA and is two starts removed from shutting out the Detroit Tigers for eight innings with 10 K's in a return to his Cy Young form.
Offensively, Stanton has been a monster. He entered Wednesday's action hitting .409 with six homers and 12 RBIs in his previous 16 games, boosting his season average near .300. He's finally partnering alongside fellow behemoth Aaron Judge to give the Yankees the terrifying 1-2 punch they envisioned when they acquired him from the Miami Marlins three years ago.
What that means for the Red Sox is they will not be allowed to comfortably address their own current concerns from the safety of a sizable division lead. Their offense has become too reliant on just four hitters, they don't seem to have anyone who can bridge the eighth inning to closer Matt Barnes, and their low- margin-for-error approach is starting to show signs of cracking just as they enter the most brutal portion of their schedule, a gauntlet of almost nothing but contenders between now and freaking August.
That stretch includes their first visit to New York at the start of June. Those games are going to matter, because it turns out the Yankees had no intentions of staying down for long. We can only hope that three weeks from now we're saying the same about the Red Sox.
"We both have good squads, and as I said, it's going to go to the end," Bogaerts said. "To the wire. Whoever is hot at the end is going to be the one that gets it, but obviously we're just going through a rough stretch right now. Things are going to come around. You can't keep a good guy down for too long, you know, and we're going to bounce back."
Why J.D. Martinez doesn't blame pitchers for record HBP levels
John Tomase
The moments involving some of baseball's biggest stars have been hard to miss.
Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper took a wayward 97 mph fastball to the face and missed three games. Atlanta Braves five-tool star Ronald Acuna Jr. was plunked on the hand by a 98 mph heater and dodged a bullet after fears he had broken a bone. In both cases, relievers had little idea where the ball was going -- just one pitch after drilling Harper, for instance, St. Louis Cardinals reliever Genesis Cabrera nailed Didi Gregorius.
The incidents have not escaped the attention of Boston Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez. He highlighted the issue a couple of weeks ago with his observation that the game values stuff over command like never before, and he doesn't even necessarily blame pitchers for the resulting safety issues that leave hitters at risk.
Martinez knows what's plaguing baseball, and it's not launch angle "It's not their fault," he said. "They're taught to throw the ball as hard as they can, up or down, not necessarily in or out. The game has changed. It's a copycat league. The teams that have done this, they've had success, so now it's just like everyone's doing it. You see it every night."
The Red Sox have experienced the issue up close, with infielder Christian Arroyo on the injured list after taking a pair of fastballs off his hand.
"How can you stop it? What are you going to do?" Martinez said. "You've got shin guards or elbow guards and wrist guards and stuff that you can wear. You see it. Arroyo got hit in the hand twice already. Hit by pitches are the highest they've ever been, right, this year? It is what it is."
The overwhelming power and spin rates dotting every pitching staff has the game facing a reckoning. The league batting average of .234 is the lowest ever. Hit by pitches are at an all-time high of nearly 0.5 a game. Strikeouts have reached nine per game for the first time, and hits have dropped to a level reached only in 1968, the fabled Year of the Pitcher that led to changes to the mound.
"There are guys that throw extremely hard, a lot of times they don't know where it's going, and then all of a sudden they just paint -- boom, boom, boom -- or they'll walk, or you'll have guys that chase them out of the zone, or they make a nasty pitch and they strike them out," Martinez said.
"It kind of leads to this whole game that we're playing right now, which is a strikeout, a walk, or they make a mistake and leave it over the plate, and when guys are throwing that hard and spinning the ball that much, pretty much all you have to do is touch it and it goes over the fence. So it's that kind of league right now. It's been like that for the last year and a half, two years."
Tomase: First-place Red Sox striking more defiant tone Besides Arroyo, the Red Sox been lucky not to suffer any serious injuries. But for every young reliever who throws 97 mph at the eyes and drops hammer curves or nasty sliders below the knees without pinpoint command, the odds increase that someone's going to get hurt.
And the solution for hitters -- wearing even more armor to the plate -- comes at a cost.
"They have batting gloves that are safer," Martinez said. "They have them. They have batting gloves that are padded. You see Arroyo. He's got the whole hand guard thing, you could wear that. There's guys that do it, but it's uncomfortable. You're putting something on that feels very stiff and jagged and it's just uncomfortable. When you hit, you want that softness, that looseness in your wrists to be able to swing."
AAPI Heritage Month: Remembering Dice-K Mania
John Tomase
Before Daisuke Matsuzaka even set foot in the United States as a member of the Red Sox, his legend had already spun wildly out of control.
A hero known as Dice-K in his home country for throwing 250 pitches in a high school championship watched by the entire nation. Owner of a fastball that clocked in at 155 km/h, which sounds really fast! A sorcerer conjuring something known as a gyroball, a pitch theorized about in labs, but never seen in the wild.
The Red Sox scouted Matsuzaka for years. They spent months formulating a $51.1 million bid just to earn the right to negotiate with him. It took heart-pounding 11th hour negotiations with super-agent Scott Boras to forge a contract in December of 2006.
And so for the next two months, between Matsuzaka signing a six-year, $52 million deal and arriving in Fort Myers for the start of spring training, Boston pulsed with an anticipation akin to the debut of The Beatles.
In Matsuzaka, not only did they secure their next great pitcher in a line that traced from Roger Clemens to Pedro Martinez to Curt Schilling, but they had found the international sensation who could lead them into their next era of championships while becoming a global superstar.
"I want to see what he brings to the table," Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon mused at the time, as curious as the rest of us.
If one moment came to summarize the Daisuke experience, it was his arrival in Tampa on a commercial flight from Los Angeles in February of 2007. Dozens of media and cameras surrounded him at baggage claim, where Matsuzaka held an impromptu press conference while confused travelers held up digital cameras, wondering who exactly merited such attention. One European traveler asked an AP reporter if Matsuzaka played soccer.
The Red Sox were ready for the crush of attention. They warned other clubs during spring training to prepare for 50 or more reporters when Matsuzaka started, at one point requiring temporary press seating in foul territory. They served sushi in media dining. They added space in the back of the Fenway Park press box to account for the influx of Japanese reporters whose sole job was to chronicle the doings of Daisuke, whose exploits merited 24-7 coverage in his home country, even if he only pitched once every five days.
"I've never seen anything like this," said then-Red Sox PR director John Blake, who quickly learned that Matsuzaka could only conduct group interviews, lest he spend all of his free time answering questions from the insatiable horde on the Dice-K beat.
When Matsuzaka finally took the mound, he looked pretty good, although he didn't measure up to the Sidd Finch levels of hype that accompanied his arrival. He struck out 10 in his big-league debut, beating the Royals with seven innings of one-run ball. He struck out 10 more two starts later and then beat the Yankees two starts in a row despite not pitching particularly well in either of them.
Matsuzaka went 15-12 with a 4.40 ERA as a rookie, helping the Red Sox to another World Series. By the end of that season, we knew he'd never be transcendent, not with his tendency to nibble around the strike zone and serve up home runs, and indeed, the legend of Daisuke would fizzle after he went 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA while finishing fourth in the 2008 Cy Young voting, his career derailed by a series of injuries that limited him to an average of 14 starts a year over his final four seasons in Boston. We never did see him throw a gyroball.
But even if Matsuzaka never lived up to that early hype, at least he generated it in the first place, because for those who lived it, there was nothing quite like Dice-K Mania.
* The Athletic
Red Sox have one of league’s best offenses, but one that still remains uneven
Chad Jennings
Rafael Devers swung and missed at a slider near his feet, and when he saw the ball skip away from the catcher, he ran for first base still carrying his bat. It was a desperate bid to make something of nothing, and of course he was thrown out by several feet.
Fifth inning over. Two runners left stranded. Another opportunity wasted for what had been the most formidable lineup in baseball.
The Red Sox, though, have stopped hitting. It hasn’t been a prolonged slump — they scored in double digits three times last week against the last-place Orioles and Tigers — but it’s been pronounced. A 4-1 loss to the Athletics on Wednesday was their third loss in a row, their longest losing streak since being swept in their first three games of the season. They went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position, with Devers and Xander Bogaerts alone leaving 10 stranded. Alex Verdugo and J.D. Martinez have gone cold the past week. The Red Sox have scored a total of four runs on 13 hits in the three losses. They’ve had double-digit strikeouts in each game.
“When the big boys are not swinging the bat, the other guys have to contribute, too,” manager Alex Cora said. “They’re going to go through their slumps, and we have to pick them up.”
Against Oakland call-up James Kaprielian, the Red Sox had plenty of chances to snap out of their slump and take control of the game, but every opportunity was squandered. Consider:
Bases loaded with no outs in the first inning? The Red Sox settled for just one run, and that came on a walk.
Given two runners on a walk and an error in the fifth? The heart of the order couldn’t drive in a single run, partially because Marwin Gonzalez hesitated going home on a groundball and was tagged out retreating to third.
Runners at second and third with one out in the eighth? Xander Bogaerts tried to sneak a run with a late break on a groundout to second, but he was thrown out at the plate for a double play that ended the inning and left Bogaerts face down in the dirt.
“It’s kind of hard to have nine guys that are clicking at the same time,” Bogaerts said. “We have to do a better job putting the ball in play when there’s guys on base, a lot of traffic on base. Starting with me. I mean, that first inning, I kind of messed up the whole game starting from there (with the strikeout). I’ve got to do a better job. … I messed up in the first, and I messed up (on the play at the plate) also.”
Cora said he thought Gonzalez would have been safe if he’d kept going home in the fifth inning, and he felt Bogaerts was trying to do too much with his late sprint in the eighth. Starter Eduardo Rodriguez wasn’t great, but he struck out nine through six innings. A balk and a home run were costly, but with so little run support, his margin for error was razor-thin, and it hardly mattered that the bullpen pitched well.
“Things are going to come around,” Bogaerts said. “You can’t keep a good guy down for too long, you know, and we’re going to bounce back.”
The Red Sox had the best offense in the American League in April, and for a while were leading the majors in runs per game, but they’ve consistently been one of the worst teams in the league with runners at third and less than two outs, a point of emphasis for Cora since spring training. The Red Sox are essentially being carried by Martinez, Bogaerts, Devers and Verdugo, all of whom have OPS marks above .800, while most of the other regulars tote around sub-.700 stats. With Martinez and Verdugo suddenly not delivering, there aren’t a lot of other options to pick up the slack.
Renfroe and Gonzalez have been better lately — Renfroe especially; he nearly homered in the ninth — but the Red Sox still are getting next to nothing from left fielder Franchy Cordero, who went 0-for-3 and is now hitting .150 for the year. He was lifted for a pinch hitter in the ninth inning. Struggling first baseman Bobby Dalbec has been out of the lineup the past two days in favor of recent call-up Michael Chavis.
There may be help on the way soon because Cora said Kiké Hernández and Christian Arroyo — who have been out since the weekend with hamstring and hand injuries, respectively — could begin Triple-A rehab assignments by the end of the week. They might need only a game or two before returning, and both are eligible to come off the injured list Tuesday. Veteran utility man Danny Santana has also started playing in Triple A and represents another potential call-up alternative, but the Red Sox say he needs several games worth of at-bats after dealing with elbow and shoulder issues.
For now, the Red Sox have Thursday’s series finale against Oakland, which now has the best record in the American League. Then they face the Angels, a team with a dangerous lineup. The Yankees are charging in the division standings, and the Blue Jays have won 11 of their past 17. The Red Sox were a surprise front runner a while, but the gap has closed.
“We’re going to go in this thing until the end,” Bogaerts said. “It’s going to go to the end, to the wire. Whoever is hot at the end is going to be the one that gets it.”
The end is still a long way away.
* Associated Press
Kaprielian picks up 1st MLB win as A’s outlast Red Sox 4-1
BOSTON (AP) — James Kaprielian got the victory in his first major league start with five innings of one- run ball, Matt Olson homered and the Oakland Athletics held off the Boston Red Sox 4-1 Wednesday night.
Sean Murphy and Jed Lowrie also had RBIs for the A’s, who will try for a three-game sweep Thursday.
Burch Smith and Lou Trivino combined to pitch three scoreless innings for Oakland, and Jake Diekman completed a scoreless ninth for his fifth save.
Boston has lost three straight.
Kaprielian (1-0) settled down after a rocky first inning and ended his night after giving up just four hits and three walks with six strikeouts. The right-hander made his first start of the season at Triple-A Las Vegas last week but got the call after starters Jesus Luzardo and Mike Fiers both went on the injured list. He made two big league relief appearances last season.
He earned his first big league win in front of his father, an uncle and several friends who flew in to watch. He also did it thinking about his mother, Barbara Kaprielian, who died in 2014 after a 14-year battle with breast cancer.
The 27-year-old said he could hear his father’s voice every time the got to the top step of the dugout between innings. The victory was a long-time coming — as a minor leaguer, he missed nearly three full years due to Tommy John surgery and other injuries.
“They’ve been in my corner times when I didn’t think I’d be in this position,” Kaprielian said. “They are the backbone of who I am.”
Oakland pounded out seven hits and four runs against Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez (5-1). He struck out nine but also balked in a run and didn’t get the run support he received in his previous six starts.
Boston entered the night leading the major leagues in runs (190), but it struggled with runners on base. The Red Sox loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning, had runners on the corners with no outs in the fifth, and runners at second and third with one out in the eighth. They’ve scored eight runs in their last four games after totaling 45 runs in their previous five.
“We know we’re a good offense. When the big boys are not swinging the bat, the other guys have to contribute, too,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.
Meanwhile, the A’s did just enough with their handful of opportunities.
With the score tied 1-1, Mitch Moreland led off the fifth with a single, followed by Elvis Andrus’ double. Rodriguez struck out Mark Canha, but Lowrie’s groundout to Xander Bogaerts was deep enough to score Moreland and move Andrus to third.
The lead grew to 3-1 when Rodriguez was called for a balk, scoring Andrus.
Kaprielian said he couldn’t have imagined his first major league start ending any better.
“My journey to get to this point was an absolute struggle. There’s time when it was great and times when it was bad,” he said. “At the same time, when my back is against the wall you’re never going to see any quit out of me.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Athletics: Reinstated C Aramis Garcia from the injured list. He was on the opening day roster and hit .135 with a home run and two RBIs in 13 games before being placed on the 10-day IL May 4 with viral enteritis.
Red Sox: Placed right-handed pitcher Nick Pivetta on the COVID-19 injured list after he experienced side effects from his recent vaccination. Eduard Bazardo was recalled from Triple-A Worcester to take his roster spot.
EJECTED
Oakland center fielder Ramón Laureano was called out on strikes to end the A’s half of the third inning. He remained at the plate arguing as Boston’s players exited. He eventually threw both his batting helmet and bat and was ejected by home plate umpire Ryan Wills.
Laureano made a few steps toward Wills and pointed emphatically at Wills’ face before being restrained by members of the coaching staff. It was the second career ejection for Laureano.
UP NEXT
Athletics: LHP Sean Manaea (3-1, 3.07 ERA) will make his eighth start of the season. He is 3-0 with a 2.23 ERA over his last six starts.
Red Sox: RHP Garrett Richards (2-2, 4.54) has gone at least seven innings in two of his last three starts.