sign in sign up
<<
Home , Billy McMillon, Bobo Newsom, Chris Colabello, David Price (baseball), Deven Marrero, Gary Waslewski

The Sunday, July 21, 2019

*

Red Sox reliever comfortable pitching to his strengths

Julian McWilliams

When the Red Sox traded infielder to the Diamondbacks last season, it was for a player to be named later. Nine days later, lefthander Josh Taylor was sent to the Sox and assigned to Double A Portland.

His arrival to the organization did not gain much notice.

Now Taylor has become an important member of the bullpen. He threw a scoreless inning in Saturday night’s 17-6 rout of the . Taylor has a 3.74 earned average over 21 appearances and 21⅔ innings while striking out 28. The 26-year-old has allowed one run in his last nine games.

What’s been the catalyst for him?

“I’m just getting more comfortable with pitching to my strengths than trying to be perfect,” Taylor said Saturday. “I’m just going after hitters and trying to let them it versus trying to pitch around them. When you’re trying to pitch around them and not get hit that’s when you tend to make mistakes because you’re less aggressive with your pitches.”

Said : “He’s been good. He’s been throwing the ball well. He’s a guy that has a big arm. He’s been learning how to pitch at this level. When we sent him down the last time we talked about certain things he needed to do. When he got back we knew he was going to be OK. There were certain times that we extended him because we were very limited in the bullpen.”

He’s the only lefty in the bullpen, too, and Cora hasn’t been afraid to use him in high-leverage situations.

“It’s shows the confidence they have on me,” Taylor said. “It helps me gain more confidence in my stuff. Being able to pitch in big situations and hand it off to the next guy it’s a step in the right direction.

Moreland improves When went first-to-third in his rehab game Friday night at Pawtucket, Cora said he was nervous. Afterward, he was waiting for the moment Moreland might feel his right quad tighten up. That moment didn’t come for the Sox , which is a step in the right direction.

“It was one of those mental hurdles you kind of have to jump and he felt good about it,” Cora said.

Moreland played seven innings Saturday night, going 0 for 3. He’s 0 for 5 with a walk in two games. The plan is for Cora to sit down with Moreland and president of baseball operations to decide what the next steps will be.

Eovaldi set to go can only help this Sox bullpen. And with the team officially activating him for Saturday night’s contest, Cora believes he will do just that.

“First of all, he wanted to contribute as soon as possible,” Cora said. “This is the way we feel he can do that. He’s in good spirits and he’s ready to go. It’s just a matter of going out there and performing.”

Martinez ‘just off’ J.D. Martinez was hitting just .204 since July 2 after going 0 for 3 in Friday night’s loss. He had just one homer in that span and hadn’t been getting on base, sporting a .278 on-base percentage in that time frame.

“He’s expanding,” Cora said. “He’s just expanding. He’s getting in some good hitter’s counts: 2-0, 3-1 and just swinging at pitches in the zone, but not exactly where he wants it. He’s very disciplined with his approach and his plan. It seems like lately he’s been just off.”

From the start of the season through June 30, Martinez chased outside the zone 33.6 percent of the time. That number has jumped to 37.6 percent July 2 to July 19.

Yet maybe Saturday’s game is what gets him going. Martinez was 3 for 5 with a walk and drove in two. His average on the season is back up to .288.

Bogaerts leading way

After his team’s embarrassing 11-2 loss to the Orioles on Friday, called the showing unacceptable. After going 2 for 4 in Saturday’s win, he is hitting .314 with a .399 OBP. His OPS is up to .966 with 31 doubles and 21 homers.

For as good as he’s been on the field, he’s been equally impressive in the clubhouse.

“We made a huge commitment to him,” said Cora, referring to the six-year, $120 million contract extension agreed to in April. “He’s very responsible and he understands everything that’s going on with the organization. He got here in 2013 and he’s been great. The consistency not only on the field, but off the field is what impresses me.

“Very smart guy with a presence and I’m glad that he’s taking that step because he’s going to be here for a while. He’s one of those guys that I’m going to rely on when I need to send a message.”

Nunez released

The Sox released Eduardo Nunez on Saturday after he was designated for assignment earlier in the week. Cora said he hopes Nunez can latch on somewhere else. “Hopefully, in the right situation,” Cora said. “He can help a team. He’s very helpful with the young players. He’s a winning player. Those are always needed.” . . . It was 97 degrees at first pitch Saturday night, the highest temperature for a Sox game since July 25, 2012, when it was 98 at Texas.

Jackie Bradley Jr. powers Red Sox in rout of Orioles

Julian McWilliams

It doesn’t get any closer to home than Baltimore for Jackie Bradley Jr.

Whenever the team plays at Camden Yards, his family makes the trip up from Prince George County, Va. You could hear his mother, Alfreda Hagans, beneath the press box after Bradley Jr. recorded his second hit of the game Friday. Despite the 11-2 loss, arguably the Sox’ worst of the season, it didn’t stop his mother’s voice from echoing throughout the stadium until the final out.

Afterward, he posed for pictures with his two nephews and brother, who also made the 2-½ hour drive. Saturday, Jackie Bradley Sr. made the morning drive to see his son. Seated behind home plate, the elder Bradley watched his namesake record six RBIs by the fourth inning on a pair of three-run homers off Orioles’ Tom Eshelman, going 2 for 5 in a 17-6 Red Sox romp.

It was Bradley’s fourth multi-homer game of his career and his first of the year. He picked the right time to do it.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Bradley said of his performance with family in attendance. “It kind of reminds you of playing back in like high school ball. Family is always there and people that grew up with you. Not only was my family here, but I had people here from my high school that came out. It was pretty cool to be able to have a performance like that for them.”

The Sox put up five runs in the second inning against Eshelman. Christian Vazquez singled, scoring J.D. Martinez. Then Bradley’s three-run homer later in the inning scored Vazquez and .

But there’s always one inning or pitch this season that turns a good outing into a bad one for , who took the hill Saturday night. You saw it in his start against the recently. He was cruising, yielding just two runs in his first five innings, but in that sixth, he surrendered an additional four runs to bring his earned-run total to six on the day.

He held what was supposed to be a comfortable lead Saturday, but in the third inning it imploded for the right-hander. Baltimore’s doubled to score Richie Martin and Renato Nunez belted a three- run homer to pull the Orioles within one. Later on that inning, Chris Davis’ RBI single tied the game, 5-5.

“I’m more than frustrated inside,” Porcello said. “I promise you, I’m doing everything I can physically and mentally to get it right and I just have to keep grinding. Trust me, I want the results more than anybody. They’re just not coming right now.”

Yet the Sox’ offense, led by Bradley, proved too strong to let this one slip away. hit a two- run homer in the top of the fourth inning that put the Sox back on top, 7-5. Then Martinez doubled to drive in a pair of runs, increasing the Sox lead to 9-5. Vazquez drove in another run. Then came Bradley again, who crushed his second homer of the evening and put the Sox ahead, 13-4.

“We always talk about it,” Cora said. “It takes one swing. It’s always when he hits the ball to the opposite field. I’m glad he swung the bat the way he did today, and hopefully we can build from that one tomorrow.”

Bradley Sr. was at a loss for words to describe his son’s performance. Sure, he’s seen him have them before in all the years he’s seen him play, but to do it on this stage — against the Orioles — was still a surreal moment.

“You never know what your kid is going to do,” Bradley Sr. said as he waited for his son after the game in one of the common areas at Camden Yards. “It’s unbelievable. I don’t know what to really to say.”

The Sox tacked on three more runs in the fifth to increase their lead to 16-5. It was the most runs the Sox had scored all season. Their previous high was 15 against the . Porcello then gave up another homer in the bottom half of the fifth to Anthony Santander. In five innings, Porcello allowed six earned runs on 11 hits and inflated his ERA to 5.61.

Nonetheless, the Sox lead was too large and the bullpen worked four scoreless innings to seal the win. The last one to leave the field was Bradley, whose releatives and friends cheered from the stands as he disappeared beneath the dugout and headed back to the visiting clubhouse.

“It’s always good to have a great support system,” Bradley said. “When you’re going through things, they still have your back.”

Bradley knows the Red Sox still have their backs against the wall. So, for all the special moments he authored for his friends and family this weekend, Bradley knows the Sox face a daunting upcoming schedule.

“We definitely want to be able to win,” Bradley said. “We just have to go out there and play like we know we can. We have some good opponents coming up. We know how crucial these games are.”

As the deadline looms, the Red Sox face a tough call: salvage or shutter the season?

Peter Abraham

The Red Sox are in the exact wrong place as the trade deadline approaches. Stuck in the middle.

They are in third place in the East and fourth in what is shaping up to be a six-team chase for the two wild-card spots. Right in the middle.

The Sox are too good to give up and not good enough to merit trading more prospects from a farm system that has just started getting back on its feet.

Plus the payroll is largely inflexible considering they’re already close to $246 million, the level that triggers the harshest financial penalties of the luxury tax and a loss of 10 spots in the draft.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski split the difference on July 13 by trading for Andrew Cashner. The Sox took on only $1.57 million in payroll and gave up two 17-year-old prospects from the Dominican Summer League.

The response has so far been tepid. Although the Sox thumped the Baltimore Orioles, 17-6 on Saturday night, they are only 5-4 since the All-Star break.

Now Cashner, who allowed six runs in five innings in a 10-4 loss against Toronto in his first start for the Sox on Tuesday night, faces Baltimore on Sunday. Then the Sox will play three games at Tampa Bay and four against the Yankees at Fenway before a day off on July 29.

That day should be the organization’s deadline to decide whether this season is worth trying to .

The division title is out of reach; we can all admit that even if Alex Cora won’t. The Sox are 11 games behind the first-place Yankees, who have played with great passion all season.

The wild card is still in play. But here’s the question Dombrowski, Cora, and the rest of the decision makers have to answer: Are the Sox good enough to win in the postseason if they get there?

The Sox have played six of the 10 teams who either lead their division or hold one of the wild-cards spots. They are 11-18 against those clubs.

Sure, the Sox could win the wild-card game with , , or Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound. But could they take three of five from the Yankees or Astros in the Division Series?

“I feel like we’d be dangerous in the playoffs because of our experience last season,” said. “So many of our guys were tested last year and we’d be comfortable in that environment.”

Barnes makes a good point. But this team has played all season with the attitude that they’ll hit the gas when the time comes and it hasn’t happened.

At some point a team has to earn roster upgrades and the Sox haven’t done that. That’s what makes the coming week such an important one in determining their strategy at the deadline.

If Cashner pitches well on Sunday and if Nate Eovaldi looks like a difference maker in the bullpen, it would make sense for Dombrowski to seek another low-risk addition.

If not, the 2016 Yankees offer a good blueprint.

The Yankees were in roughly the same place that season, 9½ games out of first place on July 16 with a roster full of underachieving well-paid stars.

General manager Brian Cashman pulled the plug on July 25, taking advantage of a trade market hungry for relievers by dealing Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs. Then at the deadline he sent to the Indians.

Infielder Gleyber Torres, one of the prospects obtained from the Cubs, is now a two-time All-Star under team control for four more seasons.

Outfielder Billy McKinney, another piece of the Chapman trade, was one of the prospects Cashman traded to Toronto to get J.A. Happ.

Cashman flipped one of the players he received from the Indians, lefthander Justus Sheffield, to land James Paxton in a trade.

Dombrowski has been a seller before. He dealt away Yoenis Cespedes, David Price, and Joakim Soria in 2015 when the Tigers fell out of contention.

The Tigers got back Matt Boyd, Michael Fulmer, and , who have all been in the Detroit rotation.

The Sox have a number of veteran players on expiring contracts — , J.D. Martinez, Mitch Moreland, and Rick Porcello in particular — who could bring back an interesting prospect or two.

Kick the tires on what somebody would give you for Andrew Benintendi before his value drops even more.

The Yankees didn’t blow it up in 2016, but they knocked down a few walls and were better for it in the long run.

The Sox would benefit from the same bold thinking. Good teams are playing to win and bad teams are playing for the future. Being in the middle is playing for nothing.

Eck on David Price: ‘He’s my new Kirk Gibson’

Dan Shaughnessy

I’ve never really found it hard to take sides in the David Price- dust-up. Price is a talented baby who feels he is being a good teammate and a tough guy when he rips Eckersley. A bewildered Eckersley, who never wants to talk about it, just shrugs his shoulders and wonders about his nonsensical nemesis in the Sox clubhouse.

“He’s my new Kirk Gibson,’’ Eckersley said with a laugh Saturday in Cooperstown, N.Y. “Everywhere I go people are asking me about David Price, telling me what he said about me. For years, I carried the Gibson thing around. Everybody was droppin’ a Gibson on me. Now I got this. I don’t get it.’’

No one understands it. But let’s get one thing straight: This is not a back-and-forth feud. This is Price — twice in three years — going out of his way to attack Eckersley. Eck has never fired back and he’s not firing back now. He initiated none of it and studiously avoids the topic. I tried to get him to talk about it again Saturday with no luck. Eck just wants to enjoy his life, his grandchildren, and his broadcast career. He’s recovered from alcoholism, broken marriages, and surrendering one of the most famous home runs in history. A few mean words from a petulant millionaire lefty can’t hurt him.

The old story was re-ignited last week when the Globe’s Chad Finn profiled Eckersley for a lengthy Sunday Magazine feature. In three hours of conversation over multiple days, Finn asked one obligatory Price question and got this non-answer: “I don’t plan on saying a word to him, I don’t plan on seeing him, never. I don’t really give a [expletive] one way or another. I don’t think he really cares one way or the other.”

That was it . . . until Wednesday when Price saw an aggregated version of the story in which Eckersley’s small comment was amplified and headlined.

Price reacted instantly and foolishly, firing off an insulting tweet toward Eckersley, then promising things were gonna “get lit” later in the day. When the clubhouse doors opened, Price was armed with a new batch of insults aimed at Eckersley. He claimed that Eckersley keeps talking about the incident from 2017 (Eck merely gave a non-answer as part of a lengthy profile). He claimed Eck is “going on the radio” talking about it. (Eckersley made one comment on a podcast two years ago, but that’s it). In a pathetic attempt to paint himself as a great guy and Eck as a selfish loner, Price noted that none of Eck’s teammates were part of an MLB Eckersley documentary.

“To me, that’s all you need to know,’’ said the passive-aggressive Price.

Translation: I have friends. He doesn’t.

Of course, it turned out that no less than six players were in the doc, all of them praising Eckersley as a great friend and teammate. The producer of the documentary said he got 100 percent cooperation from everyone he asked to talk about Eckersley.

Price on Wednesday also said Eckersley failed to show for a meeting scheduled when this bleepstorm first erupted two summers ago.

We all have different memories of this one. I was with Eckersley in Cooperstown in 2017 after the initial ambush and my recollection is that Red Sox and Hall of Fame folks were trying to broker a clear-the-air meeting at Fenway for when Eckersley returned to Boston. While that was being negotiated (it was never set), Price made more comments indicating he had no plans to apologize (Sox bosses tried and failed to get Price to say he was sorry). When Eckersley learned of Price’s doubling-down stance, the broadcaster lost all interest in any potential meeting with Price.

And here we are, two years later, still hearing about it.

Rick Vaughn, public relations director of the Rays when Price pitched in Tampa said, “I didn’t see much of this side of David when I worked with him. I know he wants to be a good teammate and I think he thinks he’s protecting other players when he does this. David and were the two who started that thing of going to watch other pitchers throw side sessions. That started in Tampa in 2008. When I see this stuff, I think David just thinks he’s protecting his teammates.’’

Alex Cora watched from afar when this nonsense went down in 2017. Now it’s Cora’s problem.

Friday in Baltimore, Cora told reporters, “The timing was like, ‘Why now?’ It was out of nowhere. David is very honest and he speaks his mind. But at the same time, why do we have to talk about this while we’re in the middle of the season?”

Let the record show that while Price was channeling his rage and trashing Eckersley’s legacy in the Sox clubhouse Wednesday, Eck was touring the Jimmy Fund Clinic, cheering up the kids with NESN’s Tom Caron. Two nights later, when Price was coughing up six runs on eight hits in an 11-2 loss to the worst team in baseball, Eck was dining at the Hall of Fame dinner with 50 or more of the greatest ballplayers who ever lived.

Wade Boggs gets the last word.

“This is ridiculous,’’ said the Hall of Fame third baseman. “Everybody in the game loves Eck. He was a great teammate. And David Price? Please. He should ask me what it used to be like to play in Boston. These guys today don’t hear any noise compared to the stuff that was aimed at us. I mean, seriously.

“ ‘Yuck?’ Give me a break.’’

Here’s why Rich Hill wants to pitch as long as he can

Peter Abraham

At age 39, Rich Hill is preparing for another comeback.

Hill hasn’t pitched for the since June 19 when he was pulled from his start against the after one inning because of a flexor strain in his left forearm.

The initial fear was that Hill had torn a ligament in his elbow and would be lost for the season.

“That was just for a day,” he said. “Then once we got the MRI, I was able to get a clear diagnosis from [Dr. Neal ElAttrache] and that made me feel a lot better. That it was my flexor and not my ligament made a world of difference.”

Hill is on the 60-day and not eligible to return until next month. But he started a throwing program Thursday, the first step in getting into a game.

Hill spent the All-Star break in Boston with his family then rejoined the Dodgers for the series at last weekend. He used some of the time to talk to members of the Red Sox medical staff about his injury and get their feedback.

“Trying to get as much information as I can,” Hill said. “I’m anxious to get started again.”

For good reason, too. Hill is 41-20 with a 2.93 average in 84 major league games since 2015 when he changed the path of his career by taking advice from then Red Sox scouts and Jared Porter about how to better shape his curveball and make the high spin rate of his work for him.

Hill was out of baseball at the time, having been released by the Orioles.

“They helped me find a way to be successful,” Hill said. “I had to adapt. That’s the survival aspect, whether you’re in sports or business. What Brian showed me, which was new at the time, was so valuable. I appreciated that so much. It set off the creativity fireworks for me.”

Hill allowed five earned runs over 29 innings for the Sox at the end of that year, but wasn’t promised a starting job for the following season and signed with Oakland. He was then traded to the Dodgers in 2016 and has been with them since.

Hill was 11-5 with a 3.66 ERA last season then allowed only four runs over 16⅔ innings in the postseason. He started Game 4 of the World Series against the Red Sox and gave up one run over 6⅓ innings.

The Dodgers had a 4-0 lead when Hill left the mound. The Sox came back to win, 9-6.

“I try not to think about that game,” Hill said. “You have to move forward.”

Hill averaged 91 miles per hour with his four-seam fastball prior to the injury this season, plenty of velocity to give hitters pause considering he throws his curveball 45 percent of the time. Hill also has the ability to change arm slots from pitch to pitch yet keep his pitches looking the same as they approach the plate.

Once the ball breaks, it’s too late. If they guess curve, he can get them with a fastball. Hill also throws an occasional or sinker, but usually it’s all and curveballs.

In an era where hitters are angling their swings to get the ball in the air, Hill has a perfect approach.

“I’ve got a pretty good swing-and-miss rate on those two pitches, even my fastball,” Hill said. “Depending on the feel for a certain pitch, I can change from start to start.”

Hill doesn’t plan on retiring any time soon. He had a 2.55 ERA through 53 innings at the time of his injury and believes he can continue on with that level of performance.

Related: Dodgers’ Rich Hill is a man on a mission

Hill is in the final season of a three-year, $48 million contract, so his financial future is secure. He also has 10 years of major league service time, which means he can draw a pension of $220,000 a year if he waits until he’s 62 to collect.

His desire to keep playing at this point is based on how much he enjoys baseball.

“I want to play as long as I can,” he said. “There are things I can’t control, like injuries. Those are outliers. We’ll see how I come back. Hopefully I’m healthy and strong and can come back again after this season. It could be one of those things where I go year to year. I’m not 100 percent sure.

“I love playing baseball. If it’s not at the major league level maybe I’ll go back and play in a men’s league in Boston. But hopefully I can stay in LA. The success we’ve had here is awesome and I want to continue to be a part of that. Obviously there is a business side of that.

“I want to be with a team that’s contending. I played for a championship last season and winning is the ultimate goal.”

Hill has another good reason to continue on: he and his wife Caitlin have a 7-year-old son, Brice. The opportunity to share experiences at the ballpark is meaningful for both father and son.

“It’s really cool. He gets the opportunity to be on the field and he gets an idea of what it’s like to come into the ballpark,” Hill said. “That’s important to me, especially over the next couple of years as he gets older. It’s challenging because he’s in school now. I don’t see him for a month after because they’re back in Boston.”

Related: Rich and Caitlin Hill pledge $575,000 to MGH for genetic disease research

Hill is one of only five players in history who played for the Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs, and Dodgers over the course of his career. Willie Banks, Babe Dahlgren, , and Johnny Schmitz are the others.

Banks played from 1991-2002. The others played for the Dodgers when they were in Brooklyn.

“I’ve been fortunate to play for those teams and see how much baseball means in places like Boston and those other major markets,” Hill said. “I love it. The postseason experience I’ve been able to gain the last three years makes me appreciate it even more. I have something to offer to teams in places like that.

“The one underlying thing with those teams is that the fans appreciate the effort. In Boston, they want performance. If you don’t perform and you don’t hustle, you’ll get dragged out pretty quick. But if they see the effort is there, the appreciation goes through the roof because people pay their hard-earned money to see the team.”

Maybe Hill could return to the Red Sox one day for what would be a third stint.

“This has always been home,” he said. “The biggest thing is getting a chance to compete. I feel like I have a lot of good pitching left in me.”

GONE, NOT FORGOTTEN

Nunez is a good bet to resurface soon

Baseball moves fast and it wasn’t too long after Eduardo Nunez was designated for assignment Monday that Marco Hernandez moved into his locker in the Red Sox clubhouse.

On the face of it, Nunez was a bad deal for the Sox. For a cost of $9 million, he hit .255 with a poor .644 OPS over two seasons and 187 games. His defense at second and third base was well below average, too.

It was the right move to let him go. Hernandez is a more valuable player at this point.

But don’t forget Game 4 of the Division Series at Yankee Stadium last season. allowed two runs and had two runners on with two outs and a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning when Gleyber Torres hit a slow roller to third base. Nunez charged the ball and ended the series with a strong throw to first.

Had he failed to make that play, the bases would have been loaded for Andrew McCutchen with Kimbrel already having thrown 28 pitches.

Then in Game 1 of the World Series, Nunez cracked a three-run pinch-hit homer to turn a tense 5-4 game into a much easier victory for the Sox.

Players such as Hernandez, Xander Bogaerts, , and Christian Vazquez looked at Nunez as a big brother because of his experience. He has a good sense of humor, too. That matters in a place like Boston where the expectations get heavy.

“He brought energy,” Alex Cora said.

Don’t be surprised if Nunez lands with another team soon. He’s got a few big hits left.

A few other observations on the Sox:

How many players would happily take what has been a “down season” for Mookie Betts? He went into the weekend hitting .284 with an .879 OPS. Betts scored 86 runs over the first 97 games of the season. That puts him on pace to finish with 144 runs.

Only Ted Williams has ever scored 140 or more runs in a single season for the Red Sox. The last player in the majors to do it was , who scored 143 times for the 2007 Yankees.

The Red Sox are paying only $1,577,000 of Andrew Cashner’s remaining salary this season. The Orioles agreed to pick up $1,777,839 of his salary, plus up to $2.5 million in any bonuses Cashner will earn for accumulating starts and innings.

Cashner needs two more starts to reach 20 and earn $625,000. He is 8⅔ innings away from 110 innings and a bonus of $250,000. He also gets bonuses for 120 innings ($250,000), 130 innings ($275,000), 140 innings ($350,000), and 150 innings ($750,000).

The Orioles also agreed to pay the $3 million remaining on Cashner’s signing bonus. Not counting the signing bonus, the Orioles essentially decided to pay $4,277,839 to get two 17-year-old prospects from the Red Sox.

Tyler Thornburg, who was released July 10, remains a free agent. The Sox are responsible for the remainder of his contract outside of the prorated minimum, which is roughly $215,000 at this point.

When Nate Eovaldi pitched an inning Thursday afternoon for the PawSox, he left McCoy Stadium shortly after without speaking to the five media people who were covering the game.

Eovaldi was driven back to Boston and did speak to reporters there. But the Red Sox certainly could have asked him to give a few minutes to the people who cover the PawSox.

The PawSox were left sending out a release explaining they had to do what the parent club asked.

Rhode Island has been a good host for Triple A baseball for decades now and will lose its team to Worcester in 2021. The Red Sox should be a little nicer to the folks there.

ETC.

Memories of Hall inductees say a lot

On the occasion of being inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday, here’s a little story from my time covering the Yankees.

Rivera blew a save one Friday night and when reporters were let into the clubhouse, he wasn’t available. It was the first time anybody could remember that happening. Rivera was always accountable on those rare occasions he pitched poorly.

The next morning, when the clubhouse opened before a day game, Rivera was waiting for us. He explained that his daughter became sick during the game so he drove his family home immediately afterward.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you guys last night,” he said. “I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have.”

That little gesture was one of many that demonstrated what kind of person Rivera is. As great as he was on the mound, Rivera made an even better impression on those around him with how he treated people.

As for fellow new Hall of Famer , he was a character. He made $144 million in his career and would show up at the park with T-shirts from a 1980s television show that he boasted he found online for $10.

But Mussina was hotly competitive, too. In 2006, as he was trying to finish off a against the Tigers, Mussina allowed a run in the ninth inning.

Joe Torre started walking up the dugout steps, which meant Mussina was coming out of the game. Mussina shouted at Torre to stay where he was, then struck out Carlos Guillen to end the game.

“It was a little bit different,” Torre said afterward.

So was Mussina, who won 20 games in his final season in the majors in 2008 then walked away wholly satisfied with what he had accomplished in his career. He has coached high school in his hometown of Montoursville, Pa., since.

Mussina beat the Sox at Fenway Park on the final day of that season (with Rivera getting the save, of course) then joyfully defied manager Joe Girardi’s ban on junk food in the clubhouse by feasting on a McDonald’s burger and fries.

Extra bases

The Players Alumni Association presents a “Heart and Hustle Award” to a player from every team. The winner for the San Francisco Giants this year was — seriously — . In 2017, after the Red Sox released him, Sandoval wrote in The Players Tribune, “Every day I spent in Boston, my heart was still back in San Francisco.” Sandoval hit .237 over parts of three seasons with the Red Sox. His best hustle was convincing Ben Cherington he would play hard . . . Birthday greetings this week go out to Gary Waslewski, who is 78. The Connecticut native made his major league debut with the Red Sox in 1967 and started Game 6 of the World Series, a surprise choice by manager considering he had not made a start since July 29. Waslewski allowed two runs over 5⅓ innings in a game the Sox won, 8-4. “Waslewski did one heck of a job,” Williams said at the time. “He had no starting jobs for quite a while, but he did it today. He was marvelous.” Waslewski stayed with the Sox in 1968 then was traded to the Cardinals. He went to play for the Expos, Yankees, and Athletics. His son, also named Gary, is the orthopedic surgeon and works with the professional teams in the Phoenix area. Happy birthday as well to Henry Owens, who is 27. He was a supplemental first-round pick of the Sox in 2011 and had a 5.19 ERA in 16 major league starts before being claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks. Owens is now a member of the independent Kansas City T-Bones along with former Red Sox Daniel Nava and Framingham native Chris Colabello.

Bill Lee is one of a kind — but you knew that

Kevin Paul Dupont

Neil Armstrong, astronaut, and Bill Lee, lefthanded , never flew in the same circles.

Armstrong became arguably the most famous spaceman of all time a half-century ago this weekend (July 20, 1969) as the first human to step foot on the moon, with buddy Buzz Aldrin hard on his heels.

Lee, a rookie with the Red Sox that same summer, soon became baseball’s forever Spaceman, a moniker that has followed him around for nearly an identical 50 years and one that no doubt will be with him whenever the day comes that it’s his turn to leave planet Earth.

“I don’t think,” the 72-year-old Lee said the other day, musing over his life of interesting, eclectic orbits. “I don’t wear a ring. I’m not bound to anything but gravity . . . and going to space, which is when you have to leave. But you better bring a supply of oxygen, ’cuz there ain’t any up there.”

For those unfamiliar with the oft-zany, non-conforming California-born Lee, he remains the good-humored, accessible, sometimes-controversial, off-center, eminently-quotable character who helped lead the Red Sox to the World Series in 1975, ultimately to get himself traded for the highly forgettable Stan Papi, and to this day still loves to be on the mound with the ball in his hand.

If you’re scoring at home, Lee will pitch Sunday in a senior game in Montpelier, not far from where he lives in Craftsbury, Vt., and then again Monday just outside Montreal. More recent engagement have had him on the mound in Carmel, Calif., and Thetford Mines, Quebec, once the Double A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“Oh . . . I’ll tell ya . . .,” said Lee, “ . . . as long as they’re breeding hitters, I can get ’em out.”

Over the last 20 or so years, Lee became pals with Jim Bouton, the ex-Yankee hurler who passed away in recent days at age 80. Best known for his controversial book, “Ball Four”, Bouton was 13-6 lifetime against the Sox, while Lee was 12-5 vs. the Yanks, a fact that Lee was unaware of until nearly three years ago when Lee invited Bouton to present him here at the Sports Museum’s annual Tradition gala at the Garden.

“Such a great night, and people wondered why I picked Bouton to intro me,” said Lee. “Always a dream of mine to have a Yankee honor me in Boston.”

Bouton, said Lee, was “first and foremost” an entrepreneur, recalling his pal’s myriad business ventures, including those as an author and businessman, endorsing such things as bubble gum and trading cards.

“Every time he talked to me, he was always looking for an angle to make money,” said Lee. “And I was always looking for angle just to play ball. That was the difference between us.”

Bouton’s wildly successful “Ball Four”, written along with sportswriter Leonard Schechter, was considered sensational and revolutionary for its time — an unvarnished look at the Major League Baseball and the many, shall we say, foibles and predilections of the men who played it. Which is to say it was heavy on swearing, drinking, and womanizing, with a side order of baseball.

“Ball Four” was published in 1970 when Lee, 23, went 2-2 for the Sox as a sometimes starter mixed in with the likes of regulars , Sonny Siebert, , and Mike Nagy.

“I read a little bit of it then,” recalled Lee, “but it didn’t mean that much to me because I was living the exact same life he was. I’ve been rereading it lately and it is hilarious.”

It was the following summer, 1971, when Lee officially became the Spaceman, a nickname pinned on him by John Kennedy.

“Not John Kennedy the US president,” Lee is quick to caution, “but John Kennedy the [hot-tempered] third baseman.”

Following Armstrong’s giant leap for mankind in ’69, the delivered five more crewed landings to the lunar surface over the next three years. One of them, Lee recalled, happened near the day in ’71 when he took over a rocky start by Sox newcomer .

“I throw 8⅔ innings of relief, get two hits, win the ballgame, beat Baltimore and go into first place,” remembered Lee. “We land on the moon — the second moon landing in ’71. And John Kennedy had made a date with a divorcee. But he couldn’t get to his locker because it was [alphabetical] — H, I, J, K, L — and the press was all around me, and I’m talking about the space program. And Kennedy’s trying to get his clothes off so he can spark this divorcee over on the third base line. And he goes, ‘We’ve got our own spaceman right here!’ And the next morning, the headline was, “Spaceman Lands in Baltimore.”

The name lives on . . . and on . . . and on. A bit of an entrepreneur himself, Lee sells wine under the “Spaceman” moniker along with partners John and Michele Truchard.

“I’ve got 80,000 gallons right now to put in bottles,” said the southpaw vintner. “I’m either going to be really dead early or make a boatload of money. My wine is like 15 percent alcohol by volume, so you have to decant it for two weeks. We might have to sell it to Turkey for jet fuel.”

On a recent night in Craftsbury, with the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing approaching, the Spaceman grabbed a lawn chair and stared at the moon, the sky so clear he was able to spot the Sea of Tranquility with the naked eye. Fireflies lit up around him, said Lee, describing what sounded like a scene written by Roy Hobbs himself.

“Yeah, the moon rose over Stoner Ridge,” said Lee, noting the ridgeline was named after a local family in Craftsbury. “And I thought, ‘Yeah, Stoner Ridge . . . so apropos.’ ”

Like Field of Dreams, the fans still come. Oh, they come, typically with a baseball for Lee to sign. More often than not, he said, they request that he signs “Bill ‘Spaceman’ Lee.”

Whatever they ask, he says, the aged astronaut is happy to deliver.

“Sure, right there on the sweet spot, ‘Spaceman,’ ” he said. “But underneath it, on the other side, I always put, ‘Earth, 2019.’ A person . . . a place . . . and time.”

Fifty years. We chose to go to the moon, not because it was easy, but because it was hard. Like those lunar shots of long ago, they don’t make ’em like the Spaceman anymore.

* The

Jackie Bradley Jr. belts two homers in Red Sox’ rout of Orioles

Steve Hewitt

Jackie Bradley Jr. never will be confused for Mookie Betts when it comes to hitting, but they have something in common at the plate.

They both love raking at Camden Yards.

Betts has been a noted Orioles killer throughout his career, and his outfield mate is doing the same.

A night after they were embarrassed by the O’s, the Red Sox responded emphatically. Bradley hit two three-run homers and Betts added a two-run shot as the Red Sox offense erupted for a 17-6 romp of the worst team in the major leagues on Saturday night at Camden Yards.

For Bradley, trips here mean something special. He grew up about 2.5 hours away in Richmond, Va., and on Saturday night, he had his family, including his dad, in the stands. Friends from high school also made the trip to watch him put on a show.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Bradley said. “It kind of reminds you of playing high school ball when family’s always there, people that grew up with you. … It’s pretty cool to be able to have a performance like that.”

Bradley hit his first shot of the night in the second inning. After Christian Vazquez put the Red Sox (54-45) on the board with an RBI single, Bradley came up with runners on and crushed the first pitch he saw. He was on top of Tom Eshelman’s backdoor curveball and smoked it to left-center to give the Sox a 4-0 lead.

“It’s funny, we always talk about it,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Bradley. “It takes one swing. It’s always when he hits the ball to the opposite field.”

The Red Sox led 5-0 in the third before Rick Porcello coughed it all up, with Renato Nunez’ three-run homer doing most of the damage as the Orioles tied it.

But with the way the offense was swinging, it didn’t matter.

The Red Sox put up an eight spot in the fourth, sparked by Betts’ two-run shot to left, his 15th homer in 46 career games at Camden Yards, where he has the second-most homers in franchise history behind ’ 29.

The Sox sent a parade to the plate, scoring twice on a J.D. Martinez double and another RBI single by Vazquez. They eventually batted around with Bradley jumping on Jimmy Yacobonis’ 0-2 slider, sending a missile to right field for his second homer of the night.

Like Betts, Camden Yards has been good to Bradley. It was the third multi-homer game of his career, and first since he hit two here last Aug. 11. And like Betts, his 10 career home runs at Camden is more than any other enemy ballpark.

“It’s a very nice ballpark,” Bradley said. “I enjoy playing here. As most of you all know, my family’s able to come consistently here, so that’s pretty cool.”

The Red Sox plated three more in the fifth, and added one more on a Sandy Leon homer in the ninth. The 17 runs were a season high for the Red Sox. Their three highest scoring games under Alex Cora have now come against the Orioles, who surrendered 19 twice last season.

It covered up another forgettable outing for Porcello, who got the win to improve to 8-7 but saw his ERA climb to 5.61. It was the fifth consecutive start he’s given up at least four runs.

“I know I have to be better,” Porcello said. “I’m more than frustrated inside, and I promise I’m doing everything I can physically to get it right, and I just have to keep grinding. Trust me, I want the results more than anybody.”

The Red Sox can take the series in a Sunday matinee as Andrew Cashner faces the Orioles, who traded him last weekend. They Sox then hit a stretch of 13 in a row against the Rays and Yankees.

“We just have to go out there and play like we know how we can,” Bradley said. “We have some good opponents coming up, and we know how crucial these games are.”

Sam Travis makes most of opportunities

Steve Hewitt

Sam Travis has gotten used to going back and forth between Boston and Pawtucket throughout his young career, but he might be starting to figure out what it takes to stay with the big club.

Travis’ opportunities with the Red Sox have come few and far between as he’s been recalled for four different stints this season. But with the roster in some injury upheaval at first base and beyond, he’s made the most of his chances lately.

A day after hitting a double in Thursday’s win against the Blue Jays, the 25-year-old belted a two-run shot — his second career homer — for the only runs in the Sox’ 11-2 loss to the Orioles on Friday.

“Kind of got a better idea of how to handle it,” Travis said of the up-and-down season. “Kind of had a better idea of how to handle it last year, but yeah, you have to stay ready, take it one day at a time and contribute any way you can.”

Travis has made the necessary adjustments at the plate and has hit lefties consistently enough. He’s hit .348 against southpaws this season in Pawtucket, and that has carried over some to the big leagues, where manager Alex Cora likes to put him in the lineup against lefties.

“He’s a guy that if he stays within his swing instead of trying to create and hit the ball in the air, when he tries to do that, it doesn’t work,” Cora said. “But when he’s staying on top of the ball and hitting line drives, he has enough power that the ball will go.”

Cora likes his defensive versatility, too. With Mitch Moreland and on the injured list, he’s made four starts at first and another four in left field. Cora also likes his bat off the bench as a pinch-hitter.

There’s enough value there to have him stick around for a while, but there’s a chance he might get sent back down when Moreland makes his eventual return. But Travis isn’t thinking about that.

“It’s out of my control, but obviously it’s a goal of mine to stick around and play in this league for a long time,” said Travis, whose contract runs out after this season. “In order to do that, you have to take it one day at a time and one pitch at a time and always be ready.”

EOVALDI ACTIVATED

The Red Sox made it official Saturday when they reinstated Nathan Eovaldi from the injured list. They optioned back to Pawtucket after he pitched 3⅔ innings of relief on Friday. Eovaldi will assume a role out of the bullpen.

“He wanted to contribute in some spot, that’s the most important thing, and this is the way we feel he can do that,” Cora said. “He’s in good spirits, he’s ready to go. He went through a process. We’re very comfortable with the process. Now it’s just a matter of go out there and perform.”

INJURY UPDATES

Cora said Moreland (quad) felt good after he played nine innings with Pawtucket on Friday, and that he passed a mental hurdle by running first to third on a play. The plan was for him to play seven innings at first with Pawtucket on Saturday before figuring out what the next step would be. Cora didn’t rule out a return by this week’s series in Tampa Bay.

Steven Wright, who’s on the 10-day IL with a toe injury, is rehabbing in Fort Myers. Cora said it’s “probably going to take longer than expected” for his return.

BOGAERTS LEADS

Xander Bogaerts often has taken accountability after Red Sox losses through the years, and that was no exception after Friday’s 11-2 defeat to the Orioles. The shortstop called it one of the worst losses of the year and an “unacceptable” performance.

Cora has been impressed with the growth of Bogaerts’ leadership.

“We made a huge commitment with him, and one of the reasons is who he is,” Cora said. “He’s very responsible. He understands everything that is going on with the organization. … I’m glad he’s taking that step because he’s going to be here for a while. He’s one of those guys I’m going to rely on whenever I need to send a message.” …

Michael Chavis left Saturday night’s game in the bottom of the fifth inning with back spasms. He’s day to day.

Cora said Chavis will get treatment early on Sunday but won’t play in the series finale. Brock Holt will start at first base and Marco Hernandez will play at second.

“He should be fine,” Cora said of Chavis.

Andrew Cashner returns to Baltimore as he completes ‘unique’ week

Steve Hewitt

Andrew Cashner didn’t pitch as well as he had hoped in his debut with the Red Sox last week, but some of that can be excused for circumstance.

Not only had the veteran right-hander experienced a long layoff due to the All-Star break, but he was in the midst of what’s been a whirlwind week after he was traded from the Orioles in the middle of a doubleheader last Saturday.

That began a “quick week,” as Cashner described it, in which he had to report to Boston last Sunday before pitching with his new team on Tuesday, and then returning to Baltimore on Friday for this weekend’s series, all while trying to handle the logistics of being uprooted and moving in the middle of a season. But this isn’t the first rodeo for the 32-year-old Cashner, who’s now been traded three times in his career, and twice during a season.

“Being traded and living out of suitcases, that’s kind of what you sign up for,” Cashner said.

Still, there are a few factors that make this a pretty unique situation for Cashner, who’s playing with his sixth team in 10 MLB seasons.

Cashner’s wife Jamie is pregnant and due the first week of December, but that hasn’t made things more difficult this week. In fact, she drove up from Baltimore with her grandparents to watch her husband pitch at Fenway on Tuesday. Cashner said they’ll have to find a new doctor in Boston, but didn’t seem too worried about that.

The most difficult part of the transition, Cashner said, will be finding a new place to live. He said they’ve been looking everywhere, and specifically somewhere that has a yard or park nearby for their yellow lab.

Logistics aside, Cashner is entering a situation he’s never had in his career. He’s never played on a contender or pitched in the postseason, and he has his best opportunity now that he’s a member of a Red Sox team in the thick of the wild card race.

“I think it’s pretty cool to get traded to a team that won a World Series the previous year, because you definitely know you got a shot and chance of winning,” Cashner said.

His new teammates have welcomed him with open arms. Cashner said David Price and J.D. Martinez each reached out to him as he was traded, and he’s made immediate bonds with the handful of other Texas natives on the Red Sox.

“Everybody’s been great,” Cashner said. “I’ve only made one start but I think as time goes on, guys will see what I’m about and what I bring to the table and stuff like that, but I’ve played against a lot of these guys in here and I think it helps having so many guys from Texas in here, so that makes it nice. …

“I feel like this is a pretty close-knit group, so a lot of great guys in here. Just trying to get to know everybody, every day.”

The last piece of what makes this situation so different comes Sunday. Just a little more than a week after he was teammates with them, Cashner will start against the Orioles at Camden Yards to wrap up the three- game series.

Though it’s coming so quickly, Cashner didn’t think it would be too weird. As he returned to town on Friday, he used the opportunity to see some familiar faces and say goodbye to people he didn’t have the chance to last weekend. And once he gets through the heat, which could reach 100 degrees on Sunday, he’ll get to work against his former club.

After giving up eight hits and five earned runs in a loss to the Blue Jays on Tuesday, Cashner is looking forward to getting back into a regular routine, even if the week has been anything but normal.

“It’s different, but it’s one of those things, I’ve been over here on this side before,” Cashner said. “It’s unique to come back so early and see a lot of the faces. …

“I’ve faced some of the guys on that team over there before, on other teams. So, I think it will be more exciting than anything getting to face those guys that we went to battle with every day.”

Rafael Devers hitting the ball harder than anyone

Jason Mastrodonato

It’s starting to get ridiculous.

When Rafael Devers squared up a dead-center fastball on Thursday afternoon and met the 88-mph pitch with the barrel of his bat, it exploded at 110 mph, soaring 417 feet over the right-center field wall.

It was Devers’ 154th time this season hitting a ball with an exit velocity over 95 mph – 11 more than any other major leaguer.

Everything he hits is a rocket.

“He’s hitting the ball so hard,” Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. “It’s kind of like J.D. (Martinez) last year. I mean, obviously J.D. is still doing it, but Devers kind of became something like that now and it’s pretty impressive to see.”

Devers is actually on pace to shatter Martinez’ mark in 2018 of 225 hard-hit balls (exit velocity of 95 mph or harder).

The statcast data is only available as recently as five years ago, but Devers is making a mark, with a chance to top Manny Machado’s record of 256 hard-hit balls, which he set last year.

“He’s been amazing,” Martinez said. “Hitting the ball harder than anybody all year. Just seems like every time I look he’s hit a double somewhere. It’s one of those things, you don’t say anything to him because you want to leave him alone, but I’m proud of him. You’re excited for him. Especially because he has such a great heart and is a good kid.”

In spring training, Martinez wondered if Devers was ready to take that next step and become more of a complete hitter rather than just a hard-swinger who gets by on talent.

“Everybody has different personalities,” Martinez said in March. “Some kids like Mookie Betts are just infatuated with hitting. Then there are ones that are kind of just listening and do what they’re told. That’s not a knock. Just different. Devers is a natural hitter. He’s always been a natural. He doesn’t play well when he thinks. You just have to guide him in the right direction and he’ll get it.”

Martinez continued, “Some days he’s like, ‘I’m in.’ Other days, he’s like, ‘Whatever.’ But he’s a great talent, man. I tell him all the time, his abilities, the sky’s the limit for him. He just has to really dedicate himself to this and what he wants to do in this game.”

Five months later, it looks like Devers has made the adjustment.

Hitting has noticed Devers’ commitment to studying video and having a more focused attack plan.

And while Devers is still playing with the fun-loving, free-spirited attitude that drew attention early in his career, he seems to be doing it with more intention and discipline than ever before.

“Yesterday I was talking to J.D.,” manager Alex Cora said Wednesday. “And I said, ‘J.D., where were you when you were 22?’ And he said, ‘I was raking in A-ball.’ Yeah. And you look at Raffy and it’s fun to watch. He stuck with the process. He stuck with what Timmy and (assistant hitting coach ) were preaching, as far as staying in the zone. He started hitting the ball in the air and we see this.”

Statistically, Devers is hitting the ball in the air far less frequently this year than he did a year ago, when he hit just .240 with a .741 OPS and 21 homers. His flyball percentage that year was 38 percent. This year? It’s just 32 percent.

But Devers is smoking everything on the barrel, hitting line drive after line drive.

And the way the are flying out of the park this year, Devers’ approach has allowed him to compile 19 homers and 73 RBI as of Thursday, all while hitting a remarkable .325.

“Quality at-bat after quality at-bat,” Cora said. “Hard contact. Making adjustments, getting to fastball, off speed pitches, going the other way.”

Devers’ homer over the on Wednesday was one of the most unique homers of the season. It brought memories of the famous he hit off Aroldis Chapman in Yankee Stadium. Though instead of fighting off a fastball, it was a breaking ball just outside and a bit high. Devers smoked it opposite-field and it flew directly to the top of the Monster, just sailing over and into the first row of seats.

Over a two-day stretch this week, he hit line drives on breaking balls up-and-away and down-and-away, then two more on fastballs down-middle and up-and-in.

His plate coverage has always been a strength, but the Sox have seen him make adjustments in the way he’s stopped swinging at horrible pitches.

“His first home run was straight center in Seattle, and the Chapman home run (to left), and in the playoffs he hit that rocket to left-center for that inside the park homer (against the Astros in 2017),” Cora said. “His ability to stay on pitches and at the same time turn on pitches, when he’s not expanding the zone, he’s very dangerous.

“Early in the season when his average got to .330 at one point, it looked like he felt he could swing at anything and his average went down. And I think that was a great learning experience for him. Don’t chase hits just stay within yourself and good things are going to happen.”

Devers, though, doesn’t think he’s doing anything different.

“Overall, I haven’t changed anything,” he said. “I’ve always remained aggressive. This is how I’ve always played.”

Devers’ turnaround hasn’t simply been on the offensive side. Defensively, he has his first positive ultimate zone rating (UZR) at plus-1.3. He’s a net zero on defensive runs saved (DRS), this after checking in at negative-13 DRS last year. And though he made eight errors in his first 29 games this season, he has just seven errors in his last 60 games.

“Defensively, man, you’ve been seeing it all year,” pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez said. “He’s making it look different and getting better and better.”

Devers was notably snubbed from the All-Star team this year, though Mookie Betts noted that Devers to be there. And Devers did earn a different achievement just one week later, when the MLB Players Alumni Association named him the 2019 Red Sox Heart and Hustle Award winner, given to one player on each team who “demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embody the values, spirit and traditions of the game.”

“He’s not 22; he acts much older,” said David Price.

Said Cora, “It’s great to see him performing that way and he enjoys playing too, that’s the cool thing. He always has a smile and he enjoys coming to the ballpark and performing.”

The only thing left to wonder is if Devers has a shot at the American League MVP this year.

The latest odds on betting site Bovada had Devers as the sixth favorite to win the award at 14-to-1. Mike Trout (2-to-3), Jorge Polanco (6-to-1), Matt Chapman (10-to-1), (12-to-1) and (12-to-1) were the only players ahead of him.

Before the season, Devers wasn’t even on the board.

He’s come a long way since January of 2018, whenRed Sox legend David Ortiz, who never won an MVP award, predicted Devers would one day get there.

“He reminds me of myself a lot,” Ortiz said 18 months ago. “Because at that age, you come into the league all wild, just trying to have fun and get things done. And the little time that he have, he impressed me. He impressed me because he’s not into the mechanical side of the game yet. He’s just out there having fun, playing the game without an experience.

“When a kid like that, a couple years from now, learns about the game and figures things out, and he’s only going to be what? 22? You’ll probably have an MVP-caliber in your lineup at 22.”

Ortiz knew. And the Red Sox are now seeing it.

ARE SOX A TEAM OF OVERTHINKERS?

As Martinez said of Devers, he doesn’t like to think much when he plays. He just likes to hit.

But for the rest of the Red Sox lineup (and pitching staff), the question has to be asked: Are they thinking too much?

So often during the game Red Sox players are calling time, stepping off the mound or out of the batter’s box to contemplate the next pitch. They do it more than any other team.

According to FanGraphs.com, not only do the Red Sox pitchers take the longest time between pitches, at 26.2 seconds on average, but Sox hitters are also the slowest of all 30 teams, taking a matching 26 seconds between pitches.

Christian Vazquez, at 30 seconds between pitches, is the slowest hitter in Major League Baseball this year. Mitch Moreland, Martinez and Bogaerts (28 seconds each), are also near the top of the leaderboard in this not-so-prestigious category.

On the pitching side, Price is the slowest in the game, averaging a remarkable 29.6 seconds between pitches, more than two seconds slower than second-slowest starter in the American League, Kyle Gibson.

Matt Barnes, 30.8 seconds, and , 30.1, are two of the game’s slowest relievers.

Add it all up and what do you get? A Red Sox team that’s averaging 3 hours, 24 minutes per game this season, nine minutes longer than any other team.

Based on data collected by Baseball-reference.com, it would be the longest average game time ever recorded, breaking the previous record by the 2017 Red Sox, who averaged 3 hours, 20 minutes.

WEIRDEST STAT OF THE SEASON

The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays, 5-0, on Thursday ahead of their trip to Baltimore to make them 15-3 in their last 18 games on getaway days.

* MassLive.com

Sox’s Cashner identified Boston as strong fit before trade: ‘This is one of the places I would come’

Chris Cotillo

New Red Sox starter Andrew Cashner wasn’t just going to go pitch for any team that acquired him this summer. Even without a no-trade clause in his contract, the righty would have considered sitting out of the rest of the season (and forfeiting the remainder of his salary) if the fit wasn’t right.

Cashner told The Athletic’s Dan Connolly back in May that he wanted a say in his future if the Orioles tried to trade him before the July 31 trade deadline.

“I wish I had a no-trade clause,” Cashner told Connolly. “But it’s all part of where you’re at (in your career). And, I think, once something comes (on the trade front), I’ll have to sit down with my family and decide what’s best for me.”

Speaking at Fenway Park last week, Cashner confirmed he would have sat out the rest of the season if Baltimore had dealt him to a team he didn’t find desirable. Fortunately for all involved parties, the O’s sent him to Boston, a destination he had identified as one he’d accept.

“I mean what I said,” Cashner said. “This is one of the places I would come. It wasn’t a place that I would ever not come to. We’re talking about the World Series champions. Why would you not come here?”

Cashner stayed in contact with Baltimore’s front office in the weeks leading up to the trade and tried to remain updated on potential destinations. He told reporters he was surprised by the timing of the trade, which happened between games of a doubleheader last Saturday, one day before he was scheduled to pitch against the Rays.

After acquiring Cashner, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said he believed Cashner’s retirement threat was overblown.

“That was something that got carried away in conversation,” Dombrowski said. "He’s not like that. He’s excited to be here, excited to pitch and excited to join the club and be part of a pennant race.” Cashner was acquired from the Orioles for two prospects Saturday evening.

Cashner declined to discuss the specific factors that he considered, but his beard appears to be a significant one. The righty had to shave when he was traded from the Padres to the Marlins in 2016 and wasn’t willing to do so again this summer.

“They made me shave,” Cashner told MassLive’s Chris Smith. “That was kind of the reason I was kind of maybe (reluctant) on the whole trade stuff whenever I came out with that article."

Boston Red Sox's Andrew Cashner had a beard clause in his contract with the Orioles. He wouldn't sign with them unless he could keep his beard.

The Red Sox were not the only team interested in acquiring Cashner, as the Phillies reportedly made a strong push as well. Philadelphia backed off their pursuit, according to a report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, because of concern’s with Cashner’s makeup.

“I don’t read nothing,” Cashner said when asked about the report. “I don’t pay attention to anything. I just kind of do me.”

Cashner struggled in his Sox debut, allowing six runs (five earned) in 5+ innings in a loss to the Blue Jays on Tuesday night. His next start will come in a familiar place, as he pitches against the O’s at Camden Yards on Sunday.

Jackie Bradley Jr. hits 2 three-run homers as Boston Red Sox rout Orioles, 17-6

Chris Cotillo

After an embarrassing 11-2 loss to the Orioles in the series opener Friday night, the Red Sox took their frustrations out on Baltimore’s pitching staff en route to a 17-6 victory in the second game of the series.

Jackie Bradley Jr. had two three-run homers and Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez each had three hits as the Sox posted their highest run total of the season. Betts, Rafael Devers and Sandy Leon each homered.

Boston took an early 5-0 lead on homers by Bradley Jr. (second inning) and Devers (third) before the Orioles stormed back to tie the game with a five-run third inning against Rick Porcello. The Sox then broke things open with an eight-run fourth, as Betts (two-run homer), Martinez (two-run double) and Christian Vazquez (RBI single) set up Bradley Jr.'s second three-run blast of the night.

The Sox tacked on three more runs in the fifth to make it 16-5. Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander hit a solo shot in the fifth to bring Baltimore within 10 runs and Leon took outfielder Stevie Wilkerson deep in the ninth to make it 17-6

Starter Rick Porcello was gifted with incredible run support for the fourth straight start after Boston had scored at least 10 runs in each of his last three starts. The righty lasted five innings, allowing six runs on 11 hits as his ERA rose to 5.61.

Porcello won his third start in a row despite posting an 11.65 ERA (22 runs in 17 innings) over his last four outings. He has not recorded a quality start since June 17 in Minnesota.

Heath Hembree, Darwinzon Hernandez, Josh Taylor and Colten Brewer each pitched scoreless innings in relief. Hernandez worked around a walk and a single to strike out the side in the seventh.

The Red Sox improved to 54-45 with the win. The teams will meet in the rubber game of a three-game series Sunday afternoon, with righty Andrew Cashner making his return to Baltimore opposite righty Asher Wojciechowski. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

Bradley Jr. has 2 homers, 6 RBIs

Bradley Jr. had his first multi-homer game of the season and the fourth of his career. The six RBIs fell one short of his career-high for RBIs in a game, as he had seven RBIs on Aug. 15, 2015.

Chavis removed from game (back spasms)

First baseman was removed from the game in the fifth inning due to back spasms. He’s day-to-day.

Chavis was replaced in the lineup by Marco Hernandez, who took over at second base when Brock Holt shifted to first.

Sox post highest run total of season

Boston’s 17 runs marked a new season-high. The Sox had previously scored 15 runs in a win over the White Sox on May 4.

The Red Sox scored 19 runs against the Orioles on two separate occasions last season.

Michael Chavis injury: Boston Red Sox 1B removed from game with back spasms Saturday

Chris Cotillo

Red Sox first baseman Michael Chavis was removed in the fifth inning of Saturday’s game with back spasms, the team announced. Chavis is day-to-day.

Chavis was 0-for-3 with a run before leaving the game against the Orioles. Marco Hernandez entered the game at second base and Brock Holt shifted to first base for the bottom of the fifth inning.

Chavis’ removal from the game is likely a precautionary measure by the Red Sox on a brutally hot night in Baltimore. The first-pitch temperature at Camden Yards was 97 degrees.

Chavis has played in 78 of Boston’s 79 games since he was called up to the majors on April 20. He entered Saturday hitting .258/.332/.454 with 16 homers and 52 RBIs.

Wade Boggs on Red Sox’s David Price: ‘He should ask me what it used to be like to play in Boston’

Chris Cotillo

Former Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs chimed in on the reignited Dennis Eckersley-David Price feud Saturday, defending Eckersley in an interview with Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe.

“This is ridiculous. Everybody in the game loves Eck,” Boggs told Shaughnessy." He was a great teammate. And Price? Please. He should ask me what it used to be like to play in Boston. These guys today don’t hear any noise compared to the stuff that was aimed at us. I mean, seriously. 'Yuck?’ Give me a break.’’

Boggs and Eckersley-- both Hall of Famers-- played together in Boston from 1982-84. Eckersley’s reputation among teammates was called into question earlier in the week, when Price erroneously claimed a MLB Network documentary profiling Eckersley included zero interviews with former teammates.

That documentary actually includes more than 20 clips featuring six of Eckersley’s former teammates speaking highly of Eckersley and his character. Boggs, speaking to Shaughnessy during the annual Hall of Fame induction weekend in Cooperstown, seems to agree.

Price cited an MLB Network documentary featuring Eckersley on Wednesday.

The 2017 feud between Price and Eckersley was reignited this week when, as part of an in-depth profile in the Globe that ran Tuesday, Eckersley said he didn’t plan on seeing or speaking to Price anytime soon. Price responded a day later by calling Eckersley’s comments “trash” and claiming the lack of teammates featured in the documentary spoke to Eckersley’s character.

“The one thing that stood out to me was that he had zero former teammates in that interview,” Price said Wednesday. “Not one talking about him. It was him talking about himself. If anybody ever does a special on me after baseball, I won’t need to go on that interview. I will have former teammates. I will have former coaches. They can all vouch for me. He didn’t have that. To me, that is all you need to know. That tells the entire story right there.”

Dennis Eckersley responds to David Price: ‘He’s my new Kirk Gibson'

Chris Cotillo

Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley spoke publicly for the first time since Red Sox lefty David Price ripped him Wednesday afternoon, telling Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe that his feud with Price has taken over as the thing people ask him about most.

“He’s my new Kirk Gibson,” Eckersley told Shaughnessy. “Everywhere I go, people are asking me about David Price, telling me what he said about me. For years, I carried the Gibson thing around. Everyone was droppin’ a Gibson on me. Now I got this. I don’t get it.”

Eckersley, of course, is referencing the iconic walk-off home run he gave up to Gibson in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Eckersley has been linked to that moment in the 30+ years since and has forged a strong bond with Gibson.

Earlier this week, Eckersley and Price renewed a feud that originated in 2017 when Price screamed at Eckersley on the team plane about a comment he had made on a broadcast. As part of an in-depth profile in the Globe that ran Tuesday, Eckersley said he didn’t plan on seeing or speaking to Price anytime soon and Price responded a day later by calling Eckersley’s comments “trash” and questioning his character in a meeting with reporters.

Eckersley, who is in Cooperstown this weekend for the annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony, is expected to resume his duties in the broadcast booth next week in St. Petersburg, when the Sox face the Rays in a three-game series. Price and Eckersley are not expected to speak.

Mitch Moreland injury: Boston Red Sox 1B to play ‘at least’ 7 innings for Pawtucket on Saturday after 5 innings Friday

Christopher Smith

Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland went 0-for-2 with a walk in a rehab game for Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday. He played five innings at first base before being replaced by Josh Ockimey.

He’ll play again Saturday. Moreland is expected to play “at least seven innings” against Charlotte, the PawSox noted on Twitter.

Boston Red Sox's Sam Travis blasted a two-run homer in the second inning vs. the Orioles on Friday.

Moreland has played only one game for Boston since May 26. The Red Sox initially placed him on the injured list with low back strain. He returned from the IL on June 7 but left that night’s game with a right quad strain. He returned to the IL on June 8.

He’s batting .225 with a .316 on-base percentage, .543 slugging percentage,.859 OPS, 13 homers, nine doubles and 34 RBIs in 47 games this season.

Moreland also took at-bats against Nathan Eovaldi and in simulated games earlier this week.

Boston Red Sox release Eduardo Nunez, making him a free agent

Chris Cotillo

The Red Sox announced they released infielder Eduardo Nunez, making him a free agent after designating him for assignment Monday.

Nunez is now free to sign with any team for a prorated portion of the major-league minimum salary. The Sox were unable to find a trading partner for him since cutting him earlier in the week.

Nunez played 225 games over the last three seasons and was, at times, an important piece of Boston’s roster. He has struggled this season though, hitting .228/.243/.305 with two homers in 60 games while losing favor due to the emergence of second baseman Marco Hernandez and the steadiness of breakout star Rafael Devers at third base.

Nunez will now look to sign with an other organization in hopes of contributing down the stretch. The 32- year-old is in his 10th big-league season and will look for a new team after stints with the Yankees (2010- 13), Twins (2014-16), Giants (2016-17) and Red Sox (2017-19).

Red Sox roster moves: Eovaldi activated to pitch out of bullpen, Weber optioned to Pawtucket

Christopher Smith

Nathan Eovaldi hasn’t pitched in a major league game since April 17 when he allowed just one unearned run in 6 innings vs. the Yankees in New York.

He’s finally back. And he returns as a reliever.

The Red Sox activated the hard-throwing righty from the 60-day injured list Saturday. They optioned Ryan Weber to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Eovaldi struck out the side in his lone rehab game for Pawtucket on Thursday.

"I feel really good,” Eovaldi said after his outing Thursday. “Fastball felt good, cutter felt good. I didn’t throw any splits today but I threw two curveballs and they felt really good coming out of the hand.”

The righty underwent an arthroscopic procedure to remove loose bodies from his right elbow in New York City on April 23. Biceps soreness while rehabbing prolonged his return.

Boston Red Sox’s Sam Travis knows what he’s ‘been doing wrong the past two years’, must continue to hit well as options expire in 2020

Christopher Smith

Sam Travis has experienced a difficult past couple of years since returning from an ACL injury. He posted just a .726 OPS in 2017 and only a .677 OPS in 2018 for Triple-A Pawtucket.

“I know what I’ve been doing wrong the past two years,” Travis said. “When I’ve been hitting, I’ve been making the adjustment but I haven’t been able to do it consistently. And it’s just a matter of not spinning and getting some direction going forward and letting my hands work.”

Travis belted a two-run homer during the second inning in the Red Sox’s 11-2 loss to the Orioles on Friday. He connected on a 78.5 mph changeup and sent it 396 feet into the left field stands.

The 25-year-old right-handed hitter has made the right adjustments at the plate the past three months. The Red Sox recalled him from Pawtucket earlier this week when they designated Eduardo Nunez for assignment. Boston will option him back to Triple A when Mitch Moreland returns from the IL in the coming days.

Travis slashed only .214/.353/.286/.639 with three extra-base hits in 22 games for Pawtucket during April. But he’s 50-for-166 (.301) with a .366 on-base percentage, .488 slugging percentage, .854 OPS, six homers, 11 doubles and one triple in his past 46 games for the PawSox dating back to the beginning of May.

Travis has gone 2-for-6 with a homer, double, two RBIs and one walk in two starts for Boston this week.

“People say, ‘Stay back, stay back and see the ball.' But you don’t want to stay back too much because kind of your hands get caught, your elbow gets caught," he said.

He’s able to “fire through” with his hands and use them more to generate power when he doesn’t stay back too long.

“I was too back and kind of just spinning,” Travis said. “I’d hit some balls but I’d just clip ‘em. I wouldn’t be working through it. That’s been a big adjustment. The adjustments help me see better pitches; swing at better pitches.”

Travis has handled left-handed pitchers well this year. He has gone 24-for-69 (.348) with a .375 on-base percentage, .580 slugging percentage, .955 OPS, three homers, seven doubles and 12 RBIs vs. lefties at Pawtucket.

Travis will be out of minor league options next season. He must make the 2020 Red Sox Opening Day roster or else Boston will be forced to designate him for assignment or trade him.

He’s not thinking ahead to next year though.

“I’m trying to take it day by day and focus on what I’ve got to do right now,” Travis said. “I’m feeling good right now. I’ve gotta keep it going on a consistent basis. That’s the most important thing. If you have a bad day at the yard, everybody has bad days. It’s about showing up the next day and forgetting about it. So picking up where you left off, getting it going. Have a short-term memory. And like I said, I’m trying to take it day by day and impact this team any way I can."

Travis suddenly is emerging as a solid option to make the the 2020 Red Sox as a fourth outfielder and backup first baseman.

“It also goes back to not trying to do too much (at the plate) and just get the barrel to the ball and let the work and preparation take over,” Travis said.

* The Lawrence Eagle Tribune

Xander Bogaerts opens up about being a leader, who he wants to emulate

Chris Mason

If you're looking for a leader in the Red Sox clubhouse, most young players will point you towards Xander Bogaerts' locker.

Armed with a contract extension that's set to keep him in Boston through 2026, Bogaerts is a twotime World Series champion, multilingual, and still just 26 years old. The shortstop received plenty of guidance when he was called up at 19, and is determined to pay that mentorship forward.

"I think that whole team in '13 pretty much (molded me)," Bogaerts said. "It had so many guys. I mean, (expletive), we had a lot of veteran guys on that team. A lot. And I think that's stuff you take in as a young kid, and one day you're in that type of (veteran) position. You'll remember that stuff and apply it to your game. Bring that type of attitude to the table."

Asked who he wants to model his own leadership after, Bogaerts picked a David, but one you may not have guessed.

"I always liked David Ross," Bogaerts told the Eagle-Tribune. "I can see him being a manager one day. I've told him that before. One day he'll probably be one. He has that type of attitude. Sometimes he can be a little emotional, show a lot of emotion, but I guess that's what happens whenever you play baseball. You've gotta have a little fire in you. He does it the right way.

"I think (bench coach Ron) Roenicke also," he continued. "That's a coaching view but he comes up to you and he kind of lets you know what he thought you could have differently in his mind. 'Why did you do this?' That's little stuff that you can ask younger guys whenever you see them doing something. Like, 'What was your thought on doing it this way as opposed to that way?' Everyone has a different opinion, but just to see how their mind is processing."

Is there a specific time Bogaerts remembers Ross giving him some tough love as a rookie?

"I won't say anything, but, yeah, there were some times," he chuckled. "As I said, all meaning in a good way and looking out for you as a young kid. He had a little point to it, but he does it the right way."

Seemingly always upbeat, it may be a challenge for Bogaerts to ream a teammate out when the time comes.

"Ahhhhh, it might be," Bogaerts said. "But sometimes you've gotta do what you've gotta do. I think in the end people will understand that you're not doing it because you're picking on them or you want to wish them wrong or anything like that. I think you're doing it because stuff is meant to be done a certain way. The right way. The proper way. And you're looking out for them.

"I think the guys have been pretty solid," he added. "I don't think we've had anything uncharacteristic happen. I think it's been pretty cool so far."

Though he's only been in the majors for seven seasons, Bogaerts believes leadership is looser now than when he was a rookie.

"I'd say when I came up and now it's a lot different," he explained. "I could never go on the second bus. Always had to go on the first. It wouldn't be good if you showed up after the veterans. Stuff like that. It was so different. Going to the field you had to wear collared shirts. Now it's a little different. I think the game has changed a little bit. Now it's a little more loose."

How much of that comes from Alex Cora?

"It definitely comes from him," Bogaerts replied. "Like the way we travel. With John (Farrell) we had to go with suits. With him it's kind of relaxed... Yeah, I think that's definitely a difference between those two. But some stuff like running the bases hard and playing the game the right way and doing the little stuff that makes us win games, I think that's stuff that's still the same.

"Treat everyone with respect. Stuff that you hear over and over again, but sometimes you can see it getting a little out of hand. But it's been good so far."

* The Pawtucket Times

HOF CREDENTIALS: PawSox manager Billy McMillon batted .333 against Mariano Rivera

Brendan McGair

PawSox manager Billy McMillon is the proud owner of a Hall of Fame-worthy batting average against one of the newest members of Cooperstown’s exclusive baseball club.

Specifically, McMillon notched one hit in three career at-bats against Mariano Rivera, the former Yankees closer who will take his HOF bows this weekend as the Class of 2019’s headline inductee.

When McMillon was broached earlier this week about his lifetime .333 mark versus Rivera, it took all of two seconds before he rattled off his own personal statistical achievement that clearly doubles as a badge of honor.

“I’ve got Hall of Fame numbers against him,” said McMillon with a big smile. “Very fortunate.”

The ironic thing is that the three at-bats that McMillon registered against Rivera all took place within a week’s time during the 2004 season, which marked McMillon’s final campaign in what amounted to a seven-year MLB career. The common thread between all three at-bats is that McMillon was summoned as a to face a pitcher in Yankee pinstripes who went on to establish the all-time saves record (652).

“As a pinch hitter, my mentality was to always be aggressive. I knew (Rivera) had a very good cutter and didn’t want to get too deep in the count and have to face it,” said McMillon. “I knew what a cutter was, but I didn’t make any adjustments where I backed off the plate. He tried to start the pitch away before it cut over the heart of the plate.”

With Baseball-Reference.com serving as our caddie, we started with the first at-bat on April 27, 2004 at the old Yankee Stadium. A member of the , McMillon was the first hitter to face Rivera in the ninth inning. Rivera was asked to preserve a 10-8 lead for New York. McMillon was pinch hitting for , who briefly played for Pawtucket in 2011.

The box score from that game shows that McMillon fouled to the catcher after getting ahead 1-0. McMillon recalls a different outcome – a fly out to right field.

The second at-bat took place on May 3, 2004 in Oakland. Taking the place of Damian Miller, McMillon got ahead 2-0 before fouling off two straight pitches. The fifth and final pitch of the at-bat featured an offering from Rivera that McMillon took for strike three. After dealing with McMillon, Rivera needed to lock down only one more out in a 10-8 win for New York.

Then came the third and final confrontation, where McMillon finally got the better of Rivera.

On May 4, 2004, McMillon was once again called upon to hit for Scutaro. The Athletics had a runner at first after Miller led off the ninth with a single. This time, McMillon fell into an 0-2 hole before batting back to make the count even (2-2).

On the fifth pitch of the at-bat and the final one he would ever see from Rivera, McMillon singled to center field. The Athletics had two on with one down against Rivera, but ever calm and commanding, the pitcher who re-wrote the history books on what it means to be a ninth-inning stopper was able to stand his ground in a 4-3 victory for the Yankees.

“The single was a line drive right up the middle,” said McMillon, who batted from the left side. “I thought I was one of those guys he faced where (Rivera’s bread-and-butter pitch) didn’t cut as much. I was able to put a good swing on it.

“The art of being a good pinch hitter is that you don’t want to fall behind. Otherwise, it opens up the kitchen sink and he can throw anything,” McMillon delved further. “You knew he was a dominant pitcher. You wanted to be aggressive and get a pitch you could handle. I was really fortunate that I got a pitch that I lined right up the middle.”

In his MLB career, McMillon actually fared pretty well against well-known pitchers. On September 23, 2000, McMillon took deep for a grand slam. In Game 5 of the 2003 American League Division Series between Oakland and Boston, McMillon turned on a Pedro Martinez curveball and sent it into right field for an RBI single. McMillon’s hit came in the eighth inning and spelled the end of the night for Martinez.

When McMillon was inducted into the Hall of Fame last month, the clip of the aforementioned hit against Martinez was shown on the video board at McCoy Stadium. With MLB Hall of Fame weekend upon us, it seems appropriate to revisit the time McMillon notched a successful at-bat against Rivera.

“In terms of closers, there’s no question that (Rivera) is No. 1,” said McMillon. “I can say I did a good job against a Hall of Famer.”

For McMillon’s sake, let’s hope that .333 batting average stays put.

“I hope this doesn’t go national and he decides to come out of retirement to face me,” said McMillon.

* RedSox.com

Red Sox rebound, romp behind JBJ's 2 HRs

Zachary Silver

The Red Sox slinked back into the visitors’ clubhouse Friday after what they called their worst loss of the season -- a nine-run defeat at the hands of the last-place Orioles -- changed back into their street clothes and somberly reflected upon the manner in which they dropped to 4-4 out of the All-Star break.

“It seems like every team that comes to play against us, they are playing extra,” shortstop Xander Bogaerts said then. “They really want to beat us and humiliate us. ... It’s a bad moment to have one of these losses. ... They’re not one of the leading teams in any category or one of the top teams.”

It took just 24 hours for that sobering wake-up call to manifest in a change, as the Red Sox scored a season high in runs en route to a 17-6 win over the Orioles on Saturday night.

“Anytime you take a loss you want to turn around, turn the page and go out there the next night and have a good night,” said Rick Porcello, who took the win despite being tagged for six runs over five innings. “And we were able to do that.”

The Red Sox know that games like Saturday will be imperative if they have any hopes of staying alive in the Wild Card hunt. It’s what made Friday so aggravating. Boston knows what is it capable of -- it leads the Majors in runs scored -- but it’s been the consistency of playing that way that has been a thorn in its side.

“We have the talent to do it so we have to go out there and play like we know how we can,” said Jackie Bradley Jr., who belted a pair of three-run homers Saturday. “We know how crucial these games are.”

“We feel good offensively. We do,” added manager Alex Cora. “We always talk about don’t stop playing regardless of the score, and tonight we did.”

The Red Sox showcased that talent on a humid mid-Atlantic night where the ball simply could not stay in the yard. Boston’s offense combined for 17 hits, five homers, three doubles and a triple. Every batter apart from late-inning replacement Sam Travis reached base in some format -- including Marco Hernandez, who replaced Michael Chavis (back spasms) in the fifth inning -- and six collected multi-hit nights.

Playing relatively close to his hometown of Richmond, Va., and with family and high school friends in attendance, Bradley led the charge with his six RBIs -- one short of his career high. And it was the second time in as many years he launched a pair of long balls close to home.

“It reminds you of playing back in high school ball -- family’s always there, people that grew up with you,” Bradley said. “It’s pretty cool to be able to have a performance like that for them.”

Orioles killer Mookie Betts -- who has been turning it up in the second half -- poured it on with his 15th homer in 46 games at Camden Yards via a two-run shot in the fourth. Betts finished a triple shy of the cycle, and the Red Sox tacked on six more runs in that fourth inning -- capped off by Bradley’s second long ball -- and three more in the fifth.

All of this came only after the Orioles tortured Porcello for five quick runs in the third, continuing for him a string of five consecutive starts in which he’s given up at least four. In that span is included an outing that lasted one-third of an inning and an ERA that has all too quickly inflated from 4.31 to 5.61.

His night can be boiled down to that third inning, and partly due to bad luck at that. Two batters after a Trey Mancini RBI double, Renato Nunez soared a three-run blast 169 feet up into the ether only to land in the first row of the left-field stands. Similarly batted balls have an expected batting average of .110, per Statcast, and the 48-degree launch angle is the highest-hit ball that turned into a home run by an Oriole since Statcast started tracking in 2015.

“It’s been a grind,” Porcello said. “I know I have to be better. I’m more than frustrated inside. I promise you I am doing everything I can physically and mentally to get it right. I just have to keep grinding. Trust me, I want the results more than anybody, they’re just not coming right now.”

Porcello, however, is somehow 3-1 in this five-game span after Saturday’s result. It’s not a sustainable model for him to depend on the offense each outing, but he knows the most important box on his stat line is a “W” or “L” next to the final score.

“We know as a team we can score runs. We know what we are capable of,” Bradley said. “Now it’s all a matter of doing it.”

Chavis to rest with lower back issue

Zachary Silver

The Red Sox will be without Michael Chavis for Sunday's rubber game against the Orioles after the infielder left Saturday's 17-6 blowout win over Baltimore with lower back spasms in the fifth inning.

Manager Alex Cora wasn't overly worried about the rookie's ailment, saying Chavis would arrive at the ballpark early on Sunday for treatment.

Marco Hernandez -- who replaced Chavis on Saturday -- will start at second on Sunday and Brock Holt will slide over to start at first.

"Chavis is OK," Cora said. "His back got tight a little bit, so he'll come tomorrow, get some treatment early. ... He should be fine."

For his part Saturday, Chavis went 0-for-2 in the onslaught but he made what Cora said was one of the more important plays on the night. He hustled on a ball in the infield that forced Baltimore's Richie Martin into an error. Two batters later, Mookie Betts belted a two-run shot that regained a Boston lead after the Orioles had stormed back to make it 5-5 the half inning prior.

"That changed the complexion of the game," Cora said.

For the season, Chavis is hitting .255/.329/.450 with 16 homers, 52 RBIs and 41 runs scored -- with the latter two numbers leading all American League rookies.

Moreland feels good after Triple-A rehab game

Zachary Silver

Nathan Eovaldi's return to the 25-man roster Saturday may be one of the first of a few returns to a Red Sox squad in need of a boost out of the All-Star break. Other comebacks, however, may take longer than expected.

The positives: Mitch Moreland (right quad strain) is progressing well in his rehab stint and Brian Johnson (non-baseball-related medical issue) is now just working to build arm stamina back up. The negative: Recovery for Steven Wright's right big toe contusion may take longer than initially expected.

Manager Alex Cora was encouraged by the report from Moreland after a rehab game with Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday, where he went 0-for-2 with a walk, which resulted in him going from first base to third on an ensuing single.

"In the beginning he was a little bit hesitant, but he got there," Cora said of Moreland, who is expected to play seven more innings at first base Saturday. "After the game he was like, 'When am I going to feel this?' And he didn't. This morning he felt good. ... It's one of those mental hurdles that you have to jump, and he did. He felt good about it."

There was hope that Moreland could have been back by this weekend's series in Baltimore, but given that this is now his second lengthy injured-list stint of the year, the Red Sox are opting for caution.

"The defensive part with him, it's not a big deal," Cora said. "He doesn't want to take a chance again that he goes out there and feels it again and something else happens and we're in a hole with him. That's why it's taking longer than expected, but he's being smart about it."

And while Moreland may soon bolster the ongoing uncertainty at first base, Johnson may join Eovaldi soon in a return to the bullpen. For Johnson to return, it's merely all about building up pitch count and arm durability back to where he was before landing on the shelf June 29. The first step is a pitching session either Sunday or Monday, Cora said.

"He's good arm-wise," the manager added. "He just needs the repetitions. We're not very worried about building him up, it's just a matter of building him up, that's about it. He should be with us as soon as we feel he's comfortable as far as the innings and we're extending him long enough that he should help us."

The one dour note is Wright, who has appeared in just six games this season -- missing time earlier due to suspension and now with a toe injury after taking a comebacker off his foot last Saturday. He's in Fort Myers, Fla., for rehab, and there is no timetable for a potential return.

"Probably going to take longer than expected," Cora said.

Nunez released

The Eduardo Nunez era in Boston is officially over. The team announced Saturday that it has released the infielder after he was designated for assignment Monday. Nunez, who is batting .228/.243/.305 in 2019, is now free to sign with any team for a prorated portion of the Major League minimum salary.

"Hopefully, in the right situation," Cora said when asked if he hopes Nunez finds a new club. "Veteran guy that can help a team. He's very helpful with the young players, and he's a winning player. Those are always needed. It just so happened that where we were roster-wise, it was going to be tough."

Sam Travis, who plated Boston's only runs via a homer in Friday's loss, was the position player called up in Nunez's place. And he's the most probable candidate to be sent down when Moreland eventually returns.

* WEEI.com

Can the Red Sox simply slug their way to the postseason?

Rob Bradford

Maybe we have to readjust our thinking.

The mantra for this Red Sox team dating back to the first day of spring training was that its foundation was going to be those five starting pitchers. David Price, Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez, Rick Porcello and Nathan Eovaldi. So when uneven performances and injuries made such a blueprint uneasy doubts about their postseason viability kept growing.

There have been flashes. But as we sit here, facts are facts. The Red Sox' starters have the seventh-best ERA in the American League (4.78), with the rest of the playoff contenders all besting them. The rotation is also just 32-31. Compare that with Minnesota (42-24), Oakland (42-24), Houston (41-28), the Yankees (36-21) and Cleveland (35-32) and you can understand that there is some catching up to do.

Make no mistake about it, there is still the possibility that the group starts living up to expectations. For instance, you would think that the Porcello that has shown up recently -- with his five-inning, 11-hit, six- run win Saturday night serving as the latest bout of underachievement -- would get better. Since dominating the Twins in Minnesota, the righty has totaled a 10.57 ERA over his five starts. Barring an unforeseen health issue, track record would suggest things start to even off.

Yet until Porcello and Co. find their way, there is an avenue for this Red Sox team to hang in a Wild Card race they sit three games out of. It is a strategy that was put on full display in the club's 17-6 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards. (For a complete recap of the Red Sox' win, click here.)

This lineup might be good enough to pull a Cedric Maxwell: "Get on my back boys!"

While it is hard to imagine this Red Sox team as currently constituted making any sort of run through the postseason, it should be understood that there is still hope for the opportunity to play in October because the Sox have more offensive firepower than most. It might not seem that way at times due to the slumping of individuals, but a look into the numbers and you will find the true foundation this team is currently built on.

Going back to June 13 (30 games) no team in baseball has scored more runs or has a better team batting average and OPS than the Red Sox.

Want to get an idea of how important those bats have been?

During that stretch the Red Sox are 19-11, more wins than either the Astros or Twins. Their Sox' team ERA? That would be a horrific 5.30, with the starters clip sitting at 5.28.

How the Red Sox are managing isn't that complicated. They are scoring early and often. For instance, while the starters' ERA is among the worst in MLB over the last month-plus their record stands at 14-5. Using that June 13 jumping-off point, the Sox have six regulars with OPS of better than .900 with J.D. Martinez sitting at a respectable .821.

Now comes perhaps the most important question: Can they execute this plan against the next-level competition.

Against Tampa Bay -- a team the Sox will be seeing a whole lot of over the next two weeks -- Cora's club carries just a .212 batting average and .635 OPS in nine games, averaging 3.11 runs per game. That isn't going to work.

It's an imperfect plan in an imperfect season. For now, however, it will have to suffice.

Let the Nathan Eovaldi relief-pitching experiment officially begin

Rob Bradford

The Red Sox made what figures to be a very important move Saturday morning. They activated Nathan Eovaldi.

The reason for the heightened interest in the announcement (which also included sending Ryan Weber to Triple-A) is because of the role Eovaldi figures to fill. The righty, who went on the injured list April 20 with a loose body in his right elbow, is being viewed as the weapon on the Sox' bullpen the team has seemingly been searching for.

Eovaldi only made one rehab outing, striking out the side Thursday in Pawtucket. He did, however, throw multiple live batting practice sessions under the watchful eyes of the Red Sox chief decision-makers and training staff at Fenway Park.

His exact role? That remains to be determined. But rest assured it undeniably won't be as a mop-up man.

"We’ll find a way,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters in Baltimore Friday. “I do think that obviously we gotta protect him, but at the same time, he’s going to make us better. We feel comfortable with where he’s at stuff-wise. The game will dictate how we’re going to use him, but we’ll sit down and talk about it. We’ll use him in high-leverage situations. I don’t know if we’re going to work him into it, like go ahead and get an inning. He did that (Thursday). He feels great. We know what he can do as far as competing. We know the guy. So, we’ll see. We’ll see how it goes."

Eovaldi has made 12 relief appearances in his career as a reliever, most recently serving in the role for four outings during last season's postseason run.

In terms of getting to the finish line, the Red Sox most likely will now be leaning on , Matt Barnes and Eovaldi in the most important moments. Heath Hembree and Marcus Walden, both of whom have served as late-inning relief options at different points this season, also might find themselves in the mix. The Sox own the third-most blown saves (18) in the major leagues.

* Bostonsportsjournal.com

MLB Notebook: Chris Sale’s former battery mate, A.J. Pierzynski, assesses the Red Sox’ ace

Sean McAdam

In Chris Sale’s 10-year major league career, former teammate A.J. Pierzynski caught him more times (83) than any other catcher except one (Tyler Flowers with 90), though virtually every game Pierzynski caught was in a relief role. By the time Sale moved into the rotation in 2012, Pierzynski had left the Chicago White Sox.

Still, there’s a lot of familiarity there. Pierzynski, who now works as an analyst for Fox Sports, continues to watch most of Sale’s starts from his home in central and was in the broadcast booth last Saturday when Sale was cuffed around by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

We figured Pierzynski, who had a three-month stay with the Red Sox in 2014, was the perfect person to speak to about Sale’s struggles this season.

“He’s a buddy of mine and I want him to do well, so obviously, I watch him probably more than I do other people because of that,” said Pierzynski. “I watch a lot of his starts and where he’s at and what he’s doing. His stuff has been there. It’s still electric with movement. But (until Thursday’s win over Toronto), there was something not right. You can’t put your finger on it.

“The only thing you can come up with — and I kind of said this on the air last weekend — was that he’s always been ‘effectively wild.’ But when you watch him pitch this season, he’s wild around the strike zone, whereas before, it was in the strike zone. Yes, you want him to throw strikes, but at the same time, you want him to throw the right kind of the strikes.

“In the past, if he wanted to miss away, it’d still be a strike. What I see now is hitters aren’t having the same takes. When he misses, it’s a ball out of his hand and when you watch hitters, they know that right away and they don’t have to commit. And in the game against the Dodgers — and I don’t know if this was part of the scouting report or not — but he threw zero pitches away from righthanded hitters.”

As Sale as himself noted, he’s seldom had a good feel for his changeup this season and Pierzynski has noticed a reluctance to throw the change. When his slider isn’t as effective, that leaves him with only his fastball to attack hitters.

On Thursday, Sale eased up some on his velocity with the goal of having better fastball command. For much of the year, he was yanking fastballs because he was overthrowing, and Pierzynski believes that’s a byproduct of Sale’s environment.

“All he hears all day long is, ‘Where’s your velocity? How come you don’t throw as hard?’ ” said the former catcher. “So what’s your natural reaction to that? It’s, ‘Screw you, I’m going to show you that I can still throw hard.’ And then he loses touch with his fastball command. If you’re always reaching back to throw hard, you’re obviously not going to have that same control.”

Pierzynski also believes that Sale may be a victim of his past success.

“He’s set the bar so high,” Pierzynski noted. “People think he should go out and win every time out and it just doesn’t happen like that. He’s going to be fine. But in today’s world, it’s all about overreaction and Chris puts more pressure on himself than anybody. He’s a competitor. You’ve heard him say after games, ‘I suck, I’m terrible, I’m embarrassing my family.’ Well, after a while, you start believing that.

“He’s never really struggled in the big leagues before. Yeah, he’s had some falloff in the second-half at times, but he’s never been through a stretch like this, so there’s probably a little bit of him not understanding what’s going on. But he’ll get through it. He’s too good and he works too hard.

One explanation that Pierzynski doesn’t buy, however, is one which suggests that Sale is trying too hard as a way of justifying his contract extension.

“I hate that,” said Pierzynski, dismissing that theory out of hand. “I get why people say that, but no, absolutely not. Him signing a contract, is there a little bit of, ‘Oh, man, I have to prove I’m worth it?’ A little bit, maybe. But at the same time, Chris doesn’t care about that. He wants to win. I remember talking to him about the famous jersey-cutting in Chicago (when Sale took scissors to alternate uniform tops, claiming that he wasn’t comfortable wearing them on the mound). He said, ‘I just want to win; I don’t care about the other stuff.’

“When he doesn’t pitch up to his expectations, which are higher than anybody else’s, he feels it because he genuinely cares. I think that gets lost. The only thing he cares about is going out and trying to win for the Boston Red Sox and his teammates, not because he signed a big extension.”

Noting that Sale’s history has included strong first halves followed by diminishing returns down the stretch because of fatigue, it’s possible that this year could see a flip of that script.

“Normally, Chris is going to the All-Star Game and pitching (having started the previous three before this one),” said Pierzynski. “But this year, he got those four days off and he got the chance to look back and figure some things out. This year, he had a below-average first half and he absolutely can take that as a positive, where he can say, ‘I’m going to have my great first half in the second half this year and get this team back to the playoffs.’

“Maybe that start the other day (against Toronto) was a step in that direction .” ______

Signing Nathan Eovaldi to a four-year deal last winter and extending Sale for five seasons at the end of spring training may prove to be risky investments for the Red Sox.

Certainly, there’s been little return in the first year. Eovaldi has been limited to just four mostly poor starts and is only now able to contribute out of the bullpen. Sale, meanwhile, has just four wins and a mediocre 4.05 ERA. Presumably, there is more to come from both pitchers.

But in the short-term, the control the Red Sox have over their starts for the near future has brought about some unintended consequences.

Sale is signed through 2024, with a vesting option for 2025. Eovaldi is signed through 2022. David Price is signed through 2022. And Eduardo Rodriguez, arbitration-eligible, is under control through 2021.

Assuming the quartet stays healthy — no guarantee, certainly — the Sox have 80 percent of their rotation set for a minimum of two full seasons after this one and 60 percent it set for the next three seasons.

That, in turn, buys some time for the organization’s player development system, which is now under no pressure to have to provide much in the way of starting pitching for the foreseeable future. Presuming Rick Porcello doesn’t return for 2020 — although coming back on a qualifying offer for one season cannot be ruled out — the team has just one vacancy for next season.

That could be filled with a less expensive veteran — perhaps even Andrew Cashner — on a one-year deal. But it doesn’t have to be filled internally. In the meantime, the Sox have the luxury of having some of their top pitching prospects contribute in a relief role.

Already, the team transitioned Darwinzon Hernandez to the bullpen — first at Double-A Portland, then at Triple-A Pawtucket, and as of last week, in Boston.

The same path is being followed by 2017 first-round pick , now at Pawtucket.

In Hernandez’s case, the move was also partly influenced by his control issues. Hernandez was averaging 7.5 walks per nine innings in the minors, a figure that would be disastrous as a starter. By having him pitch in shorter stints in relief, Hernandez can pitch with more aggression and not be as affected by walks. And while he would need to more fully develop a third pitch as a starter, Hernandez can be effected out of the bullpen with just his two best pitches: a 95-96 mph fastball and a plus slide.

Houck has not had the same command issues as Hernandez, but he has struggled to achieve consistency at Double-A and above. The Red Sox attempted to overhaul his pitch mix in the spring of 2018, only to allow him to return to his original repertoire with improved results.

Like Hernandez, Houck is an unfinished project. He’s pitched better than his primary numbers would suggest — he sports an ERA of 4.10, but his secondary numbers, including FIP, suggest he’s been the victim of some bad luck.

But what’s noteworthy about Houck this season is how tough he’s been on right-handed hitters, limiting them to a .220 batting average against. With a low three-quarter delivery, he can be an uncomfortable at-bat against righties and it’s not hard to imagine him being used to get a succession of righties out in the big leagues in August and September.

The use of Hernandez and Houck in relief is far from a novel idea. A generation ago, it was common for teams to introduce young pitchers to the big leagues in bullpen roles, reasoning that it was a good way to assimilate and learn about pitching at the highest level. Then, if they had success in relief, they eventually earned a chance at starting. The Baltimore Orioles, most notably, were notorious — and highly successful — with this philosophy.

The future roles for Hernandez and Houck are, of course, unknown. The Red Sox are careful to emphasize that these switches aren’t permanent and that, after the season, the organization’s plan is for them to both continue as starters.

Internally, the Sox regard Bryan Mata — still at Single-A — as the prospect most suited to potentially become a front-line starter, thanks to his more complete pitch mix. He now has time to continue his development.

“That’s the guy to watch, for me,” said a scout who has seen a lot of the Boston system this year. “He’s got the highest ceiling of (the pitching prospects).”

Meanwhile, for Houck and Hernandez, the time could be now — albeit in a role they hadn’t imagined. ______

TOP 3/The List

Aaron Boone’s lengthy and profane dressing down of rookie umpire Brennan Miller — complete with emphatic handclaps! — went viral earlier this week, making some of us at least a little nostalgic about the days when manager-umpire arguments were entertaining sideshows. That doesn’t happen nearly as much, now that replay challenges have been introduced and actual manager-umpire interaction is quite limited.

Here are the three greatest umpire arguers:

1. Earl Weaver: Weaver’s tirades were highly comical. He could inject some true comedy gold into his rants and was inventive enough to sometimes turn his cap around so that he could get closer to his target’s face without actually making contact.

2. Lou Piniella: Piniella’s temper was legendary. He wasn’t above pulling a base out of the ground and heaving it to demonstrate his frustration. And thanks to his Spanish heritage, he was fully capable of cursing out umpires in one of two languages.

3. : The fiery Martin was involved in some classics over the years, and perhaps more so than any of his contemporaries, wasn’t above staging arguments in order to motivate his dugout.

BSJ Game Report: Red Sox 17, Orioles 6 – After blowing five-run lead, Red Sox pull away

Sean McAdam

Bradley at home in Baltimore: Back in May, Jackie Bradley Jr. turned in what may turn out to be the catch of the year in taking away a sure homer by Trey Mancini. This series, it’s been more about his bat. On Friday, he collected two singles for his sixth multi-hit game of the season, And on Saturday, it was time for him to flash some power. Bradley swatted a three-run homer to left field to get the Red Sox going. Then, after lining out in his next at-bat, he chipped in with another three-run belt in the fifth, giving him six RBI for the night, one shy of his career-best. In his first 49 games, Bradley didn’t hit a single homer. In the last 50 games, he has 11 while boosting his average from .144 in mid-may to his present .232.

Porcello a lingering concern: Rick Porcello picked up his third straight win with five innings of work, but that doesn’t tell the story of his night, or how he’s been pitching of late. Porcello coughed up a 5-0 lead when he gave up five runs in the bottom of the third. He went on to add two scoreless innings, but the recent trend is troubling. In his last four outings, he’s given up 21 runs in his last 18 innings, and while he’s 3-0 with a no-decision in those four starts, that’s a testimony to the incredible run support he’s been getting, and hardly indicative of pitching well. When Porcello was tagged in his last start by the Blue Jays, he claimed that pitching coach Dana LeVangie had detected something in his delivery which allowed him to finish with three shutout innings. Problem solved? Hardly, based on the results he got Saturday. “I know I’ve got to be better,” said Porcello. “I’m more than frustrated inside. I promise I’m doing everything mentally and physically to get it right. I’ve just got to keep grinding.”

Betts on the upswing: For the last two months, the Red Sox offense has been operating at near-peak level, but they’ve done it with little in the way of contributions from Mookie Betts. Initially, not even restoring him to the leadoff spot got him going. But in the last three weeks, Betts has started to take off. Coming into last night, he was slashing .351/.435/.532 and the hot streak continued with a 3-for-6 night that included a homer, single and double. He’s also scoring runs at an incredible pace, with 17 runs scored in his last 12 games and 27 in his last 20. He’s scored at least once in 14 of his last 15 games. Ultimately, that’s one of the keys for being a successful leadoff hitter — Betts is on pace to score almost 150 runs — but it’s only been in the last little while that Betts has made the same sort of offensive impact that he made all of last year when he was named the A.L. MVP.

TURNING POINT: After Porcello had squandered a 5-0 lead by allowing five in the bottom of the third, it looked to be the start of a frustrating night for the Red Sox. But in the top of the fourth, to their credit, the Sox rebounded and sent 11 men to the plate, scoring eight times to pull away from the O’s a second time. This time, it stood, as the Orioles scored just once more over the final six innings.

TWO UP:

Darwinzon Hernandez: The fire-balling lefty continued to show power, fanning three in an inning of work and overpowering Orioles hitters in the process.

J.D. Martinez: Martinez broke out of a slump that had him hitless in his last 10-bats, bashing out three hits and knocking in a run.

ONE DOWN:

Andrew Benintendi: Benintendi was given Friday night off, but that didn’t seem to help much. He was 0- for-4 with three in his return to action and stranded four baserunners.

QUOTE OF NOTE:

“It’s a bounce-back win. We needed a game like this. They beat us pretty bad (Friday), so it was good for us to respond.” Jackie Bradley Jr.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:

Mookie Betts extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

The Red Sox have scored 50 runs in Rick Porcello’s last four starts.

Rafael Devers hit his eight homer of the month.

The Sox improved to 15-3 in their last 18 road games.

UP NEXT: The Red Sox wrap up their series in Baltimore at 1:05 Sunday with RHP Andrew Cashner (9-4, 4.09) vs. RHP Asher Wojciechowski (0-3, 5.74)

* The New York Times

The Home for the Hall of Fame, Nestled in the Past

Tyler Kepner

Steve Pindar immediately spotted the problem on Thursday morning. The night security folks at the Baseball Hall of Fame had printed out two days’ worth of scores and standings, instead of just one, for him to post on a board in front of the museum. He double-checked for the proper date.

“Occasionally they don’t give us the right ones,” Pindar said, “so we go to our trusty phones.”

The Hall of Fame welcomes around 300,000 visitors each year, and nearly all, of course, carry a trusty cellphone with access to scores of any major league game, as well as the daily standings.

Yet every morning before 9 a.m., a Hall employee — usually Pindar, the museum’s visitor services coordinator — lugs a frayed, wooden tray filled with magnetic numbers and opens the back latch of a display case marked: BASEBALL SCOREBOARD.

Even the hand-operated scoreboard at Fenway Park has lights to show balls, strikes and outs. But here there are no advertisements, no tickers for breaking news, no ways to update games in progress. This is how baseball awakens each morning, and how it remains all day.

“What would it look like to have something with blinking letters and numbers?” said Ted Spencer, the former chief curator for the Hall of Fame, who updated the board in the 1980s and 1990s. “I still think it would be out of keeping with the look of the building.”

The board was closer to the street when Spencer worked here, and cars would stop in front of it in the morning for a quick check of the scores, including those elusive West Coast results that were too late to make the papers. The board is set farther back now, but it remains a prominent part of the sidewalk presentation for a building that opened in 1939.

Tim Mead, the new Hall of Fame president, posed for a photograph in front of the board last week with a family of Yankees fans; the picture wound up on the front page of the Cooperstown newspaper, The Freeman’s Journal. Mead, 61, lives six blocks from the museum and walks to work. He could not do that as a vice president for the in Anaheim, Calif., where he had worked for 40 years.

“When you come to Cooperstown, you want to come to Cooperstown, you make that effort,” Mead said. “There’s just a genuine purity to it all. If you come to the Hall, you have a chance to live in the past a little bit — and not be told, ‘You’re living in the past.’”

On Main Street in Cooperstown, the past is the point. There are plenty of video displays and interactive exhibits within the museum; you can create your own baseball card and have it appear in your email inbox within seconds. But the whiff of nostalgia is unmistakable — so thick, as the James Earl Jones character in the film “Field of Dreams” might have said, that you have to brush it from your face.

“It has that Norman Rockwell-type feel for me,” the Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman said Friday morning, before a clinic on a field near the induction site at the Clark Sports Center. “You’re out among the grass, you’ve got elbow room, it’s kind of the essence of where we play in these big cathedrals, and how beautifully manicured things are. This is where it starts, the grass roots.”

Travel delays kept Hoffman and Ozzie Smith, who ran the clinic, from arriving in town until around 3:30 a.m. on Friday. But there they were just a few hours later, in full uniform with their fellow Hall of Famers and , teaching fundamentals and posing for photos. Nearly 60 Hall of Famers were expected to attend Sunday’s ceremony welcoming Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, , Lee Smith and the late to the shrine.

A young player participated in a clinic run by Ozzie Smith on Friday.

Many of the Hall of Famers sign autographs for a fee throughout the weekend, as does a lineup of others not inducted, an eclectic group that has included the notorious (John Rocker), the obscure (Pete LaCock) and the ubiquitous (, who is banned from baseball and therefore from the Hall of Fame).

This year’s induction crowd might challenge the record estimate of 82,000 for Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn’s ceremony in 2007. For the locals who rent out their homes, the weekend can be lucrative. For those who stay, it can be a nuisance.

“The average Cooperstown resident is no more or less of a baseball fan than the average anywhere-else resident — and maybe less so, because of the impact it has on daily life,” said Jeff Katz, who served three terms as mayor, from 2012 to 2018. “But everyone is aware that baseball is what makes Main Street what it is. Any other village of 1,800 in upstate New York is not us.”

Katz is now president of Friends of Doubleday, which hopes to renovate Doubleday Field, the rickety 99- year-old ballpark on Main Street. The Hall of Famers gather there on Saturday every induction weekend to honor a writer and a broadcaster, and then board trucks for a parade to the museum.

State and local governments take pains to secure the parade: The garbage cans lock, and snipers patrolled the roofs last year. Even a bucolic village must be vigilant today, Katz said, but the essence of the weekend, and the Hall of Fame itself, is a reverence for things past.

Pindar, 67, has lived much of that history. He was born in Cooperstown, saw and others inducted here, and spent many years working for a local minor league team. He runs a charity named for that donates baseball equipment to underprivileged children. He keeps track of the Dodgers because their star outfielder, , has family in nearby Oneonta, where Pindar lives.

Pindar does not think he will need to move the Dodgers’ logo from its first-place perch atop the West column of his standings board. But if he does, some passers-by might be there to see him do it. And he would happily share in his work.

“I’ve had people stand and watch the whole process, and sometimes they’ll come around with their child and ask if he can change one of them,” Pindar said. “What are you going to say — ‘No’? For me, this is all about customer service. The little guy comes around, changes the score of his favorite team, they take pictures and off they go, happy, which is the way it’s supposed to be.”

* The USA Today

Dennis Eckersley on beef with David Price: 'I'm not going to talk to him'

Bob Nightengale

Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley said Saturday he does not plan to meet with Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price about their recent war of words. Eckersley hopes the dispute disappears.

“I thought everything was good. I was doing what I was doing,’’ said Eckersley, a Red Sox TV analyst. “I’m just doing the game, just keep going. I got to stay on track. I’m trying not to get flustered but I’m human.’’

Does he have any intention of speaking with Price?

“No, I’m not going to talk to him,’’ Eckersley said. “I’m just going to keep doing the games.’’

Price has been unhappy with Eckersley's inability to move on from a 2017 incident that involved Price yelling at Eckersley on the team plane.

"He wants to move on, but he continues to go on the radio and do interviews about it," Price said Wednesday. "If you want to move on, move on. We’re two grown men. We can meet. Nothing’s going to happen. I yelled at you. I’m sure everybody in here has been yelled at. It’s unfortunate that it happened. I wanted to tell him that face-to-face. He chose not to show up. That was that."

* The Baltimore Sun

Orioles allow most runs this season in 17-6 loss to Red Sox

Jon Meoli

Any frustration the visiting Boston Red Sox had about getting thumped by the Orioles in Friday’s series opener was paid back with interest Saturday night, as the hosts allowed five home runs in a 17-6 loss before an announced 21,339 at muggy Camden Yards.

Rookie right-hander Tom Eshelman held his own in his first two starts with the Orioles (30-66), but had things unravel in his third try.

After a scoreless first inning, Eshelman surrendered single, walk, run-scoring single, then allowed a three- run home run to Jackie Bradley Jr. to send the Orioles to an early 4-0 deficit. Rafael Devers homered in the third inning to make it 5-0, only for the Orioles to storm back and tie with a five-run third powered by a towering three-run home run by Renato Núñez.

But a fourth-inning throwing error by Richie Martin meant doom for Eshelman and the Orioles. Mookie Betts hit a home run after what would have been the third out of the inning, and Eshelman left two runners on for Jimmy Yacabonis, who allowed both of those to score and four of his own in an eight-run inning.

“That’s a good lineup, and it just looked like Tom — they fouled off a ton of pitches, and hit some mistakes,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “And he just had a tough time navigating that lineup. I thought Yac just didn’t have the same stuff as last night, when it was electric. We were hoping he could give us a little bit of length and it just didn’t happen. Just one of those really bad nights. Last night, his stuff was great. Tonight, it just looked a flat. I don’t know if he was tired or what.”

Eshelman was charged with nine runs (five earned) in 3 2/3 innings, raising his ERA to 6.91. Yacabonis ultimately retired just the one batter while allowing seven earned runs, though left-hander Tanner Scott's three shutout innings were encouraging.

“It’s tough,” Eshelman said. “You’ve got a guy in here who was a double shy of the cycle, and for that not to be the headline is tough for me. The offense did a phenomenal job tonight, and for me not to get into the dugout quicker and keep going is kind of frustrating on my end of things. I’ve just kind of got to learn from what I’m doing and go forward an understand what I can do better.”

Saturday was the fourth time this season the Orioles have allowed 15 runs or more at home, and fifth time overall.

Santander strikes again For the second straight game, outfielder Anthony Santander showed his power with a big home run, though Saturday’s was mostly consolation as it cut their deficit to 16-6 at the time.

Santander hit Eutaw Street for the second time this season — he was also responsible for the 100th Eutaw Street home run in the ballpark’s history on June 28 — as part of his first career four-hit game, and ended a double shy of the cycle.

The 24-year-old outfielder is batting 12-for-31 (.387) with seven RBIs on the homestand.

Núñez touches sky On the one-year anniversary of his joining the Orioles, Núñez hit his 22nd home run of the season in unprecedented fashion.

With a launch-angle of 48 degrees, according to MLB Statcast data, Núñez's home run was one of the highest since the league began tracking such data in 2015. It went 169 feet high, and barely made it over the left-field fence at 364 feet.

Breeze on bump For the second time this homestand, the Orioles had to turn to do-it-all utility man Stevie Wilkerson to pitch in mop-up relief, this time for two innings.

Wilkerson, who had a scoreless ninth inning on July 12 against the , retired the Red Sox on 11 pitches in the eighth inning but allowed a home run to Sandy Leon to spoil his shutout streak.

Wilkerson didn’t throw any of his 20 pitches over 60 mph, and ended the day with a of Andrew Benintendi.

After Wilkerson said he was throwing “poo poo” in his last relief outing, Hyde called him “Dr. Poo Poo,” and credited him with saving the rest of the bullpen for Saturday.

*

Red Sox go on offensive, hit 3 HRs in 17-6 rout of Orioles

On a sizzling night at Camden Yards, the Boston Red Sox worked up a sweat running around the bases during their most prolific offensive performance of the year.

Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a pair of three-run homers, Mookie Betts homered and had three RBI, and Boston blew out the Baltimore Orioles 17-6 Saturday.

Rafael Devers and Sandy Leon also went deep for the Red Sox. Betts and J.D. Martinez had three hits apiece, and every starter scored at least once.

"It was great," manager Alex Cora said. "We had good at-bats and hit the ball all over the place."

The temperature was 97 degrees at game time, and the Red Sox bats were even hotter. It was Boston's highest-scoring outburst since a 19-3 rout of Baltimore last Sept. 26.

Orioles rookie Tom Eshelman (0-2) pitched a perfect first inning, but ended up giving up nine runs before getting pulled in the fourth.

"They're all veterans over there," Eshelman said. "You just have to understand that they've been around the game a long time, they know what to do, they understand what I'm trying to do, and they made their adjustments."

Bradley's second home run of the game highlighted an eight-run fourth inning that turned a tie into a 13-5 runaway. All eight runs were unearned, courtesy of a throwing error by shortstop Richie Martin.

"We couldn't stop the bleeding after the error," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said.

Boston really didn't need the help.

"We know as a team we can score runs," Bradley said. "We've got a lot of talent. We know what we're capable of. It's all a matter of doing it."

Rick Porcello (8-7) was the beneficiary of the robust support. The right-hander won his third straight start despite giving up six runs and 11 hits in five innings.

Anthony Santander had a career-high four hits, including a homer, and Renato Nunez also connected for Orioles. But that wasn't nearly enough pop to offset a pitching staff that allowed a season high in runs after surrendering 16 three times previously.

"I thought we did some good things offensively," Hyde said. "We just didn't pitch real well."

Bradley's first home run capped a four-run second inning. Devers hit his 20th leading off the third, but Baltimore answered with five runs in the bottom half.

Boston hammered Eshelman and Jimmy Yacabonis in the pivotal fourth, and continued the onslaught in the fifth. Yacabonis got one out and yielded seven runs and eight hits.

"Rick gives up five. We answer back," Cora said. "And after that, we did a good job."

Infielder/outfielder Stevie Wilkerson pitched the final two innings for Baltimore, throwing mostly curveballs in the 55 mph range. He gave up a solo shot to Leon.

GOING, GOING, GONE!

Adley Rutschman, the top pick in the June draft, hit his first professional homer for the Gulf Coast Orioles on Saturday.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Red Sox: 1B Michael Chavis left in the fifth inning with back spasms. ... RHP Nathan Eovaldi (elbow) was activated from the 60-day IL. "He's ready to go," Cora said. RHP Ryan Weber was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket. ... 1B Mitch Moreland (quadriceps) continued his rehab at Pawtucket, going 0 for 3 over seven innings. ... LHP Brian Johnson (a non-baseball related medical matter) is making progress, but needs more reps. Johnson's ailment was discovered during routine testing by the team's medical staff. ... RHP Steven Wright (foot), struck by a comebacker a week ago, might take a bit longer than originally believed to return.

Orioles: RHP Nate Karns (forearm strain) threw 20 pitches in a simulated game and hopes to return in the next two weeks. "It shouldn't be too long," said Karns, sidelined since April 9. ... C Pedro Severino was available as a backup after being ill for several days.

UP NEXT

Red Sox: Andrew Cashner (9-4, 4.08 ERA) faces his former team just eight days after being traded by the Orioles for two 17-year-old prospects. In his Boston debut, Cashner was beaten by Toronto on Tuesday.

Orioles: Winless in three starts this season, Asher Wojciechowski (0-3, 5.74) tries again to earn his first victory since 2017 with the Reds.