The Boston Red Sox Saturday, May 1, 2021

* The Boston Globe

Red Sox have a blast at Rangers’ expense, slam four homers in road rout

Julian McWilliams

The Red Sox pride themselves in stringing together runs in multiple ways. It could be by the homer, the single through the right side, or the double in the gap. Or, perhaps, a good at-bat that works a pitch count up.

This year, they have honed in on hitting with men in scoring position, sometimes surrendering their own numbers at the expense of scoring a run. It’s how, in part, they’ve put together this productive start to the season. They have proven themselves to be complete hitters, accruing their runs in multiple ways.

Nevertheless, manager Alex Cora and hitting coach Tim Hyers don’t want their players to lose an aggressive approach. When the homer is there, take it.

In the 6-1 win over the Rangers on Friday, they flexed their homer muscles, with all six runs coming on the long ball.

“We can do that, too,” Cora said.

J.D. Martinez had four RBIs and two of Boston’s four home runs, and after scoring just a run in each of their last two games, the Red Sox established early offense.

The Red Sox jumped on Rangers starter Kohei Arihara in the top of the first, leadoff walks to Christian Arroyo and Alex Verdugo followed by Martinez’s first home run and a Xander Bogaerts solo shot. Martinez, taken out of Thursday’s contest with migraine symptoms, belted an Arihara offering to dead center for a solo homer in the third, registering his MLB-leading ninth of the season.

Martinez, who finished 3 for 4, became the fourth Red Sox to hit as many as nine homers before May, tying Manny Ramirez (2001) and falling one shy of the 10 from David Ortiz (2006, his franchise record 54- homer season) and Hanley Ramirez (2015).

“I’ve been doing well. Been hitting, been producing, and we’ve been winning. It’s been a great month,” Martinez said.

Two batters later, Rafael Devers hit a line drive, opposite field shot to left, the game’s scoring done in its first hour.

“That was impressive,” Cora said of Devers. “His batting practice [Thursday], it was phenomenal. We were talking about it today. He’s been able to stay back and drive the ball to left.”

Nate Eovaldi was fresh off his first underwhelming start of the season, when the righthander allowed five earned runs in five innings against the Mariners. Eovaldi is best when his fastball lives at the top of the zone, and he made that his point of attack Friday, striking out five in six innings with two walks.

“I had a good feel for my curveball today,” Eovaldi said. “And the splitter. Well, um, with those two pitches going down in the zone, it just kind of complements the fastball up, so I was able to get a couple strikeouts that way and a couple quick outs later in the game.”

The lone Texas run came in the second, on a Brock Holt single dumped into shallow right field. Holt’s hit scored Adolis García from second and helped lead to a 28-pitch inning, Eovaldi’s only rocky frame.

“I kind of let the second inning get to me a little bit,” Eovaldi said. “I felt like I was getting squeezed a little and I got to do a better job of letting those things go. I wasn’t attacking the zone.”

Josh Taylor allowed a lone single in relief of Eovaldi in the seventh. Darwinzon Hernandez continued his recent success by striking out three around an infield single in the eighth, and Austin Brice walked two before finishing it in the ninth.

The Red Sox finished April at 17-10, still sitting in first in the American League East.

“It was a great month,” Cora said. “A month that we struggled in a few things. We played well for a good period of time. But, knowing that this is just a start, we still have to keep working.”

Red Sox not among first swath of teams to reach 85 percent vaccinated

Julian McWilliams

Major League Baseball and the players association announced four teams have reached the threshold of 85 percent of their Tier 1 individuals — players, coaches, and support staff — being fully vaccinated. Those four, which includes the Yankees and Tigers, are able to relax certain health and safety protocols, with five other teams set to join them within two weeks.

Alex Cora said his Red Sox team isn’t there just yet.

“There were four more guys that got the shot [after the last homestand],” the manager said before his team’s 6-1 win over the Rangers on Friday. “It’s trending up. As you know because of where we play, our process started a little bit later than other places. So we just have to be patient.”

It wasn’t until April 19 that everyone in Massachusetts, age 16 and up, could receive the vaccination. That was a lot slower than other states.

Cora, who received his second dose a little more than a week ago, noted that the majority of his coaching staff has received the vaccine.

The team has had medical experts available to the team to talk about the importance of receiving the vaccine. Cora has intimated that to his players as well, including some of the realities that stand in the team’s way if they don’t reach 85 percent vaccination.

“It’s not the [85 percent] mark, it’s for me, for the people close to us,” Cora said. “I know how it works, that they’re going to get more freedom to do stuff. I would love to have my family on the road, right. And if we don’t get to 85 percent, we’re not going to be able to do that regardless if my family is vaccinated or I’m vaccinated.

“I would love everybody here to do it for the right reason. It is to protect each other.”

As of Friday, according to MLB and the MLBPA, more than 81 percent of all Tier 1 individuals are considered partially or fully vaccinated.

Garrett Whitlock’s up for whatever

Garrett Whitlock is just happy to be a big leaguer. He doesn’t care about becoming a starter. Despite the Rule 5 draft pick — who was plucked from the Yankees system last offseason — putting up stellar numbers, he knows how it feels to be injured or on the backburner.

“Like I told bench [coach Will Venable], I said, ‘I’ll be the janitor up here,’ ” Whitlock said.

In his first 13⅓ MLB innings, his first year back since undergoing Tommy John surgery, Whitlock has 18 strikeouts and is yet to allow a run. Even though it seems inevitable he’ll earn a rotation spot at some point beyond this season, the Red Sox have brought Whitlock along slowly. The club has pitched him in spurts, often going days between outings in an effort to stretch him out.

Whitlock’s gone at least two innings in all but one of his six outings.

“The veterans and my teammates deserve all the credit,” Whitlock said. “They’ve given me confidence that like, ‘Hey, we know you’re a Rule 5 guy, but you got this stuff, go do it.’ And so I can’t thank them enough for that.”

Needed day off

Kiké Hérnandez was out of the lineup Friday after going 4-for-24 in his last six games. Perhaps a breather could do him well. For the season, Hérnandez has been a weak spot in the leadoff spot, hitting .230 and not getting on base (.271) in 107 plate appearances. Despite his early season woes, Cora isn’t thinking about dropping Hérnandez in the lineup, saying he’s been controlling the strike zone better the last few days despite not getting the results. “Just keep pushing,” Cora said. “I think we saw it in spring training, he was able to hit line drives and control the strike zone. And right now he’s been on and off, but we feel comfortable with [him]” . . . Rich Gedman, a Worcester native, will open the inaugural Worcester Red Sox season next week as its hitting coach, and couldn’t be happier to be back in his hometown. “I left home at 17 years old,” Gedman said. “So I’ve been away longer than I’ve been here, but I’ve never been too far away. I walked the streets. I certainly walk the streets around the ballpark. It’s nice to be back here. And so proud to say that I’m from here. And I never thought in our lifetime that we’d ever see this.” The WooSox open Tuesday, May 4, on the road; their Polar Park opener is scheduled for May 11 against the Syracuse Mets . . . Former Red Sox Brock Holt and his wife, Lakyn, have brought their philanthropy back to their home state of Texas. Holt, now with the Rangers, announced the #HoltOffCancer initiative to help raise awareness and fight against childhood cancer in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Holt will be working closely with the pediatric oncology unit at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth. Holt was an active member in the Red Sox community and, more specifically, the Jimmy Fund throughout his tenure with the club.

J.D. Martinez’s planned day off turns into another stellar night at the plate for the Sox

Peter Abraham

ARLINGTON, Texas — Red Sox manager Alex Cora fully embraces the idea of giving even his best players regular days off. He feels some extra rest in April, May, and June makes for better production in September and beyond.

Most managers believe that to be true. Players are valuable to their teams and wearing them down is bad for business. It’s better to be cautious.

Kansas City second baseman Whit Merrifield has the longest active streak of consecutive games with 332. Cal Ripken Jr. isn’t losing any sleep over that.

So when J.D. Martinez came out of Thursday night’s game against the Texas Rangers with a migraine headache that sent pain down to his neck, Cora was quick to say he’d be out of the lineup on Friday.

It was just the excuse the manager needed to get his designated hitter off his feet with two more games remaining on the road trip.

But when the Sox posted their lineup on Friday afternoon, there was Martinez, hitting third as usual. Then he went 3 for 4 with two home runs and four RBIs in a 6-1 victory.

Martinez stopped by Cora’s office on Thursday well after the game and said his symptoms had passed and he didn’t need time off.

Cora still wanted to be cautious.

“No, no, no, I’ll be fine,” Martinez said. “I’m in, I’ll be fine.”

Martinez followed that up with a text message early Friday morning and Cora agreed to cancel the day off.

“You’ve got to trust your players, right?” Cora said. “He’s not going to lie to us. If he’s feeling dizzy or has a migraine he’s not going to try to compete that way. That was an easy one, 100 percent.”

The barrage started in the first inning after Texas starter Kohei Arihara, a rookie from Japan, walked Christian Arroyo and Alex Verdugo on 12 pitches.

The righthander seemed determined to get ahead of Martinez and threw a first-pitch slider over the plate. Martinez sent it over the fence in left field.

“I’m just ready to hit,” he said. “When you have guys on base, especially early in the game, you’ve got to be up there ready to hit. Just up there trusting my eyes.”

Xander Bogaerts followed with a home run and it was 4-0.

Martinez came up again in the third inning and drilled a splitter that stayed up 440 feet to center field for his major league-leading ninth home run.

Martinez, who also leads the majors with 25 RBIs, settled for a single in the fifth inning.

Martinez is the fourth Red Sox player with nine home runs before May 1. Manny Ramirez (nine in 2001), David Ortiz (10 in 2006), and Hanley Ramirez (10 in 2015) are the others.

Martinez hit .213 with seven homers in 54 games last season. Pandemic baseball and protocols didn’t allow for his usual routine of getting to the ballpark early in the day to prepare for games.

It was more than not being able to watch video of prior at-bats during games. Martinez just never got comfortable and with the team collapsing around him, it was a lost cause.

“It’s an all-day process for his swing,” Cora said. “He feels better physically and he’s in a better place with his mechanics.”

A .351 batting average offers proof of that. Martinez is back to being a power hitter who also hits for average, a linchpin in the lineup.

“He is that good,” Cora said. “He’s on a mission.”

In only 375 games with the Sox, Martinez already has 95 home runs. That’s 33rd in Red Sox history. Outside of last season, he’s been everything the Sox hoped for when they signed him.

Nate Eovaldi, who took the mound with a 4-0 lead, benefited from Martinez’s big night.

“To watch him get back to what he does best, last year obviously was a fluke for him,” Eovaldi said. “To be able to see him overcome that and go out there — he’s one of the best hitters out there in the league.

“To have him on our team, on our side, hitting the way he is now, it’s awesome to see. I think everybody feeds off that.”

* The Boston Herald

J.D. Martinez homers twice as Red Sox finish strong April with win over Rangers

Steve Hewitt

The Red Sox have taken the rest of baseball by storm with a surprising April, and they closed their strong opening month on Friday the best way they know how.

With their bats.

After what’s been an uncharacteristically cold week for the Red Sox at the plate, the offense finally woke from its slumber with four home runs on their way to a 6-1 victory over the Texas Rangers. J.D. Martinez, who wasn’t originally supposed to play, led the way with two homers, including a three-run shot in the first inning as the Red Sox ended April on a loud note at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

With the victory, the Red Sox finished April with a surprising 17-10 record, good enough for the most wins in baseball. The Athletics, Brewers, Dodgers and Giants each have 16 wins.

“I mean, 17 wins are 17 wins,” manager Alex Cora said. “You do that consistently over the course of a season, you win 17 games a month, you put yourself in the conversation. It was a great month, a month that we struggled in a few things, we played well for a good period of time, but knowing this is just a start, we still have to keep working, keep getting better. I’m just proud of them, the work they put on in spring training, it paid off in April. We turn the page tonight, we need to be ready to play tomorrow.”

It was fitting that the man who fueled the victory was Martinez, who’s been the Red Sox’ — and arguably baseball’s — hottest hitter through the first month of the season.

The designated hitter exited in the eighth inning of Thursday’s loss after what he explained was a bad migraine that he got when he woke up on Thursday. Treatment provided enough relief for him to start on Thursday, but it recurred late in the game.

Cora said after that Martinez would get Friday off, but Martinez insisted that he would be fine. When he woke up Friday, he sent Cora a text telling him he was good to go. The manager didn’t need to hear anything else in order to plug him back into the No. 3 spot in the lineup.

“You’ve got to trust your players,” Cora said. “He’s not going to lie to us. If he’s feeling dizzy or has a migraine, he’s not going to try to compete that way. That was an easy one.”

Martinez rewarded Cora’s faith — and then some.

After Christian Arroyo and Alex Verdugo opened the game with back-to-back walks, Martinez wasted no time and blasted the first pitch he saw from Rangers starter Kohei Arihara for a three-run shot, which started something of a Home Run Derby for the Red Sox. Xander Bogaerts made it back-to-back jacks with a solo blast that gave the Sox a quick 4-0 lead and they never looked back.

Martinez homered again in his next at-bat in the third as he crushed one 440 feet to center for his MLB- leading ninth homer of the season. He became the fourth Red Sox to hit nine before May, joining David Ortiz (10 in 2006), Hanley Ramirez (10 in 2015) and Manny Ramirez (nine in 2001).

It was yet another reminder of the difference in Martinez from last year’s shortened season, which was a complete aberration for one of the best hitters in the game.

“Last year obviously was a fluke for him and to be able to see him overcome that and go out there, he’s one of the best hitters out there in the league,” Nathan Eovaldi said. “So good to have him on our team and our side, hitting the way he is now. It’s awesome to see and I think everybody kind of feeds off that.”

Added Cora of Martinez: “He’s on a mission.”

Martinez finished his red-hot April with nine homers, 10 doubles and 25 RBI to go with his slash line of .351/.430/.745. But he knows that just like his team’s strong opening month, it’s only a start.

“It’s been a great start,” Martinez said. “I’ve been doing well. I’ve been hitting, been producing, and we’ve been winning. Our team is in first place. It’s been a great month. Just got to keep this going. It’s been one month. There’s still five more to go.”

Other takeaways from Friday’s win:

* Before the game, Cora said Rafael Devers’ pregame batting practice on Thursday was the best he’s seen from the third baseman. Devers backed that up with a home run in the third, his seventh of the season, that made it 6-1.

“He’s in a great place right now,” Cora said.

* Eovaldi bounced back from his worst start of the season with six strong innings of one-run ball to pick up his fourth win. He had a laborious second inning in which he was squeezed on some calls, but was efficient enough in the rest of his outing and was aided by some strong defense behind him.

The righty also checked off a milestone by hitting 1,000 career innings.

“I’m definitely grateful for me to achieve that goal,” Eovaldi said. “I’ve been part of a lot of different organizations and things like that, but to overcome the injuries and stuff like that, I think that’s been the toughest part for me. For me to be able to reach 1,000, it means a lot to me for sure.”

Alex Cora not considering taking Kiké Hernández out of Red Sox leadoff spot despite struggles

Steve Hewitt

Alex Cora challenged Kiké Hernández to be the Red Sox’ leadoff hitter when he signed this winter and he earned the job with a strong spring training, but through the first month, his impact at the top of the lineup still leaves something to be desired.

In 23 games in the leadoff spot, Hernández is batting just .242 with a .284 on-base percentage. To compare, Alex Verdugo, who played mostly leadoff last season, is hitting .314 with a .371 OBP. But Cora has no plans to take Hernández out of the leadoff spot soon.

“One of the things that he needs to do is actually get on base against lefties,” Cora said. “This is something that we talk about it and the last few days, he’s done a good job not swinging at bad pitches, but they haven’t been called bad pitches, so we like the fact that he’s controlling a little bit of the strike zone. He went the other way in New York. Just keep pushing. We saw it in spring training. He was able to hit line drives and control the strike zone. Right now it’s been on and off but we feel comfortable with that.

“This is more than Enrique. I think keeping those two lefties split up, it works to our benefit.”

Hernández had a scheduled day off Friday against the Rangers. Cora joked about putting some pressure on him when he returns to the lineup.

“I should actually challenge him (Saturday), Cora said. “You better get on base. If not, you’re going to start hitting ninth, and maybe that works.”

Devers coming into own

Cora is starting to see some signs that Rafael Devers is about to break out.

The Red Sox manager said the third baseman is in a great spot, evidenced by watching him in batting practice before Thursday’s game against the Rangers.

“Yesterday’s batting practice was the most impressive BP I’ve seen from Raffy,” Cora said. “He was actually unreal. He was hitting line drives to left-center, the ball was going out, he was hitting the ball to center field, the ball was going out to right field. He’s happy as he always is, right? ‘I’m happy playing the game.’ But the last two days, it seems like, I don’t want to say more quiet because he’s always talking or whatever, but it seems like he’s getting into the zone. …

“I know he got off to a good start but it feels like he’s going to go into those runs like he did in Baltimore, early on, that he’s going to start hitting everything hard and the ball is going to start going out of the ballpark.”

Vaccine shots ‘trending up’

MLB announced on Friday that four teams have reached the threshold of 85% or more of Tier 1 individuals being fully vaccinated, the number required to relax certain health and safety protocols. The Red Sox are not one of those teams, but Cora said they’re “trending up.” Some more players got the shot at the end of last week’s homestand, and some are still deciding if they’ll get it.

Cora said the “vast majority” of the coaching staff has been vaccinated, including himself. …

J.D. Martinez was in Friday’s lineup, a night after he left the eighth inning with migraine-like symptoms. Cora had originally thought the designated hitter would need a day off.

Red Sox star rookie Garrett Whitlock willing to do it all: ‘I don’t care what my role is’

Steve Hewitt

Garrett Whitlock is just happy to be here.

Almost two years ago, the pitcher was just a prospect with only Double-A experience and coming off Tommy John surgery. Now, he’s a star rookie with the Red Sox, a Rule 5 pick doing everything asked of him, and excelling at all of it, even impressing his manager with how he carries beer on to the team plane.

He doesn’t care if he’s a starter, which he was before surgery. He’s satisfied with having a shot in the big leagues, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to stay there.

“I told (bench coach) Will (Venable) when I first showed up, ‘Shoot, I will be the janitor on this team if it means I get to be in the big leagues,’” Whitlock said. “Whatever the job is that I can do to possibly help the team out, that’s what I’m glad to be doing.”

That job right now is coming out of the bullpen, where he’s surpassed expectations. He still hasn’t given up an earned run through his first 13 1/3 innings in the majors, something he laughed about when asked what he’d think if he was told that would happen before the season started.

Whitlock didn’t want to take much credit for his early success, instead heaping praise on his coaches and teammates that have given him the confidence to perform since the beginning.

“(My) biggest moment was when A.C. (Alex Cora) first handed me the ball against Baltimore on my debut and he said, ‘Trust your stuff, go do it,’ and Bogey (Xander Bogaerts) looks right at me and says, ‘You got it, kid,’” Whitlock said. “That inspired confidence in me.

“Like I said, the veterans and the teammates are who deserve all the credit because they’ve given me confidence that like hey, we know you’re a Rule 5 guy but you got the stuff, go do it. And so I can’t thank them enough for that.”

Cora has said that the Red Sox envision Whitlock to be a starter in the future, and they’ve continued to stretch him out and seem to be pitching him on a schedule of once every four or five days. It’s unclear what his role may look like the rest of the year, but with it being his first experience in the majors and first time regularly pitching since surgery in 2019, they’re being cautious with their prized rookie.

Whitlock seems to be just fine with that.

“I don’t care what my role is,” Whitlock said. “Whatever they tell me to do, that’s what I want to do. It’s a team sport. It takes starters, it takes relievers, it takes position players, it takes everyone. Whatever they ask me to do, I’m perfectly comfortable with doing that.”

* The Providence Journal

Red Sox reach magic number early while cracking Rangers

Bill Koch

The Red Sox needed just four batters Friday night to reach what has become their magic number early in this 2021 season.

Boston had four runs on the board after Xander Bogaerts swatted a solo home run to left-center field. J.D. Martinez preceded him with a three-run shot to the bleachers in left at Globe Life Field.

Kohei Arihara had yet to record an out and was already on his way to being tagged with the loss. The Red Sox bashed their way to a 6-1 victory and evened up this four-game weekend series.

Boston improved to a perfect 14-0 this season when scoring at least four runs in a game. Nathan Eovaldi was the beneficiary, cruising through six innings to earn the win. Eovaldi’s first out of the sixth gave him 1,000 career innings and came in his home state, a milestone that coincided with securing at least a split of the six-game road trip.

“I’m just proud of them,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “The work they put on in spring training, it paid off in April.”

The Red Sox finish the month with a 17-10 mark – that's on pace for 102-60 over the course of a full season. Progress like that the rest of the way can’t be taken for granted, but it’s better than the alternative. Boston has proven difficult to beat when its big bats show up, and Martinez drove a pair of home runs in his first two plate appearances.

“It’s been a great start,” Martinez said. “I’ve been doing well. I’ve been hitting. I’ve been producing. And we’ve been winning.

“Our team’s in first place. It’s been a great month. We’ve just got to keep this going.”

Christian Arroyo and Alex Verdugo drew back-to-back walks to lead off, and Arihara was in immediate trouble. He paid dearly for hanging a slider to Martinez, who crushed a drive toward the grandstand in left. Bogaerts punished another mistake out over the plate and the Red Sox enjoyed an immediate working margin.

“The walks were huge,” Cora said. “We controlled the strike zone. We did a good job early in the game.”

Martinez was a mild surprise in the lineup after exiting early Thursday due to migraine symptoms. He enjoyed only about four hours of sleep after traveling from the two-game sweep of the Mets to Texas and received treatment both before and during the series opener with the Rangers. Martinez felt better leaving the ballpark after a 4-1 loss and made a point of stopping by Cora’s office.

“When I was leaving Alex was like, ‘Hey, I’m going to give you tomorrow,’” Martinez said. “And I was like, ‘No, no, no. I’ll be fine.’”

“I told him he wasn’t playing tomorrow and he was like, ‘No, I should be okay,’” Cora said. “This morning he texted me right away. He let me know.

“You’ve got to trust your players. He’s not going to lie to us.”

Martinez is up to nine home runs and 25 RBI through his first 27 games. He played twice as often in a shortened 2020 and managed just seven home runs and 27 RBI. To say he’s reverted to usual form is an understatement, and his teammates have noticed.

“To watch him get back to what he does best – last year was obviously a fluke for him,” Eovaldi said. “To be able to see him overcome that, he’s one of the best hitters out there in the league.”

Eovaldi and the starting rotation posted a 2.73 ERA last time through, and the right-hander spent Friday night lowering that number over six games. He was nicked for a single run in the bottom of the second but controlled Texas the rest of the way. Josh Taylor, Darwinzon Hernandez and Austin Brice each covered an inning to close it out.

“You do that consistently over the course of the season – you win 17 games a month – and you put yourselves in the conversation,” Cora said. “It was a great month. We struggled on a few things, we played well for a good period of time.”

RED SOX JOURNAL: Cordero working to end season-long slump

Bill Koch

The Red Sox's Franchy Cordero, who has one hit and 16 strikeouts in his last 27 plate appearances, made his first start in six days on Friday night against the Texas Rangers. Franchy Cordero made his first start in six days on Friday night as the Red Sox faced the Texas Rangers.

The offseason trade acquisition from the Royals played left field and batted ninth. The Red Sox were hoping for something of a spark from a player who has one hit and 16 strikeouts in his last 27 plate appearances.

“I think the most important thing is controlling the strike zone,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “He’s been expanding up, expanding down. He’s in a bad place. Let’s be honest.”

Cordero doubled twice in his first four games but has no other extra-base hits to his credit. He’s drawn just one walk in his last seven games. His .489 OPS through 19 games leads only Kevin Plawecki among position players on the current roster.

“Yesterday he had a great (batting practice) session here,” Cora said. “He was hitting line drives to left- center. But we have to go to the game and recognize pitches in the zone and put good swings on it.

“He put in work the last three or four days, and he’s not going to stop. Hopefully, today is the start of something good.”

Boston is in the midst of facing four straight right-handed pitchers in this series. Kohei Arihara took the ball for the Rangers on Friday while Jordan Lyles and Mike Foltynewicz are the next two scheduled starters. The Red Sox are searching for offense after managing just three hits in a 4-1 loss on Thursday.

Lineup moves

Kiké Hernandez and Marwin Gonzalez both received a day off on Friday.

Hernandez smashed into the center-field wall at Globe Life Field chasing an Isiah Kiner-Falefa home run in the bottom of the seventh inning on Thursday. Gonzalez was replaced at second base by Christian Arroyo, who batted leadoff.

Both players were scheduled for a rest in this series. Hernandez has been scuffling topping the order, managing just a .271 on-base percentage. He’s in a 5-for-33 rut over his last eight games, including a hitless last nine at-bats.

“We’ll keep putting pressure on him,” Cora said. “I should actually challenge him tomorrow — ‘You better get on base. If not, you’re going to start hitting ninth.’ Maybe that works.”

J.D. Martinez was a surprise addition to the lineup batting third. Martinez gave his final at-bat to Arroyo on Thursday while suffering from migraine symptoms. Cora said after the game Martinez would receive the day off, but the next 16 hours were enough time to change his mind.

He's on track

Alex Verdugo has hit in three of his last five games after going a combined 0-for-10 in the series finale against the Blue Jays and the series opener against the Mariners.

The outfielder’s OPS is a fine .894, and his .314 batting average is six points higher than his .308 finish in his Boston debut. Verdugo doubled to deep center leading off the top of the sixth and scored the lone Red Sox run on Thursday.

“I haven’t managed someone like him,” Cora said. “His intensity at 7:05 (p.m.) is cool to see. Sometimes we’ve got to talk to him to control his emotions.”

Verdugo batted leadoff throughout the second half of the 2020 season and has settled into the second spot for 2021. He’s generally charged with fronting Martinez and Xander Bogaerts in the order. Verdugo’s 18 runs scored trail Martinez by one for the team lead.

“He’s going to get stronger,” Cora said. “He’s going to hit the ball in the air a little bit more. The doubles are going to become homers.”

Masks remain — for now

Friday night’s baseball schedule featured something of a milestone in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tigers and Yankees met in the Bronx without being required to wear masks in the dugouts and bullpens.

Both Detroit and New York have met the 85% threshold among players and staff members to result in a relaxation of virus protocols. The Red Sox have yet to reach that number despite receiving vaccination shots over the last two weeks.

“Our process started a little bit later than other places,” Cora said. “We just have to be patient. I’m not sure how close we are to the 85%.”

Cora said four more players signed up for shots prior to the current road trip. He’s had a second dose along with “the vast majority” of the club’s coaching staff. Cora is hopeful Boston will eventually reach the number in the coming weeks.

“I would love everybody to do it for the right reason,” Cora said. “It’s to protect each other. If we do that, the baseball side of it, we’ll take care of that part. I think it’s more for us as individuals.”

* MassLive.com

J.D. Martinez crushes two homers to lead Boston Red Sox over Rangers; Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers also go deep

Christopher Smith

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Boston Red Sox scored as many runs four batters into Friday’s game as they had scored altogether in their previous three games.

Christian Arroyo and Alex Verdugo walked to begin the top of the first inning, then J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts crushed back-to-back homers to put Boston ahead 4-0.

Martinez, who was removed from Thursday’s game with migraine symptoms, went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs on Friday. The Red Sox won 6-1 over the Texas Rangers here at Globe Life Field on Friday to improve to 17-10 overall and 9-2 on the road.

Boston also improved to 8-1 when it scores first and 12-0 when it scores five or more runs in a game.

Martinez is batting .351 with a .430 on-base percentage, .745 slugging percentage, 1.175 OPS, nine homers, 10 doubles, 25 RBIs and 21 runs in 25 games (94 at-bats).

Martinez’s three-run blast in the first inning went 402 feet to left-center field. Bogaerts followed with a 405-foot solo home run to center field.

Martinez also crushed a 440-foot, 107.9 mph home run to center field in the third inning.

Rafael Devers’ 395-foot homer to left-center field put Boston ahead 6-1 in the third.

Nathan Eovaldi pitched 6 innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks while striking out five. He improved to 4-2 with a 3.63 ERA.

Former Red Sox Brock Holt drove in the Rangers’ only run against Eovaldi. He singled to right field in the second to make it 4-1.

The Red Sox and Rangers will play the third game of this four-game series Saturday at 7:05 p.m., eastern. Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (4-0, 3.52 ERA) will start for Boston opposite Texas righty Jordan Lyles (1-2, 6.75 ERA).

Boston Red Sox’s J.D. Martinez overcame ‘crazy migraine’ to belt two homers in win Friday; ‘He’s on a mission,’ Alex Cora says

Christopher Smith

ARLINGTON, Texas — Red Sox manager Alex Cora planned to give J.D. Martinez a day off Friday after the designated hitter left Thursday’s game in the eighth inning because of migraine symptoms.

But Martinez texted Cora on Friday morning telling him, “I’m good to go.”

“He was good to go,” Cora said after Martinez went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs in a 6-1 victory over the Rangers here at Globe Life Field.

Martinez said he didn’t fall asleep until about 4 a.m. Thursday after the Red Sox flew into Texas from New York overnight.

“Then woke at 8 a.m. with a crazy migraine and couldn’t fall back to sleep,” Martinez said. “And then got to the park, trainers did some stuff on my neck and it just released and it felt so much better. And then after my third at-bat, right before my third at-bat, I was in the cage swinging, getting loose and it just hit me. And I was feeling terrible. Everything was so bright. It got to the point where I felt a little dizzy.”

Martinez said the trainers worked on his neck again after Thursday’s game.

“I told him, ‘You’re not playing tomorrow.’ He was like, ‘Nah, I should be OK,’” Cora said. “And this morning, he texted me right away. He let me know. You’ve got to trust your players, right? He’s not going to lie to us. If he’s feeling dizzy or has a migraine, he’s not going to try to compete that way. So that was an easy one.”

Martinez said he woke with symptoms Friday but more treatment made him feel better and ready to play.

“It’s some muscle or something that tightens up,” Martinez said. “I don’t know why it happens but it just tightens up and I get this crazy migraine.”

Martinez is batting .351 with a .430 on-base percentage, .745 slugging percentage, 1.175 OPS, nine homers, 10 doubles, 25 RBIs and 21 runs in 25 games (94 at-bats).

“He’s in a good place,” Cora said. “He’s doing a great job. It’s not only on the field what he’s doing. It’s in the cage, talking to players. He’s on a mission. He’s on a mission.”

Boston Red Sox’s Rafael Devers, who homered Friday, talks to himself at plate, ‘getting into the zone’ and becoming a calm player

Christopher Smith

ARLINGTON, Texas — Rafael Devers went on a four-game hitting bonanza in early April, going 7-for-16 with five homers and 10 RBIs in three games in Baltimore and one game in Minnesota.

“It feels like he’s going to go into one of those runs like he did in Baltimore early on that he’s going to start hitting everything hard and the ball is going to start going out of the ballpark,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said before Friday’s game.

Cora — who correctly predicted Devers’ first homer this season — was right again. Devers blasted a 390- foot, 105.6-mph home run to center field in the Red Sox’s 6-1 victory over the Rangers here at Globe Life Field on Friday.

The slugger’s 105.5 mph line-out during the first inning actually was hit harder than both back-to-back home runs that J.D. Martinez (98.8 mph) and Xander Bogaerts (102.6 mph) belted earlier in the inning.

“(Thursday) in BP was the most impressive BP I’ve seen from Raffy,” Cora said pregame Friday. “It was actually unreal. He was hitting line drives to left-center. The ball was going out. He was hitting the ball to center field. The ball was going out. To right field. And mentally, he’s happy. As he always says, ‘I’m happy playing the game.’ But the last two days, I don’t want to say more quiet because he’s always talking but it seems like he’s getting into the zone as far as keeping stuff to himself and be calm.”

Devers always has been an emotional player. He’s hard on himself. He even has been known to punch his helmet during at-bats.

He’s acting calmer. Still, he talks to himself in the batter’s box like he did before hitting a two-out, game- tying double Thursday. But that’s one way of focusing. Boston Globe’s Alex Speier summed it up perfectly on Twitter: “Devers is the quirkiest, most entertaining Red Sox player in the batter’s box since (Adrian) Beltre. Also, he’s quite good. Works the count to 3-2, shakes his head about 1,000 times while talking to himself, then golfs a game-tying double to RF.”

Cora said Martinez and then-mental skills coordinator Laz Gutierrez in 2019 taught Devers to take a deep breath at the plate.

“And he took it by heart and he’s doing that,” Cora said. “He talks to himself.”

Cora said he hears Devers talking to himself both in English and Spanish.

“The English is actually getting better,” Cora said. “You can see him talking to the players and all that.”

His defense also is improving. He has made just three errors. Two of them came early in the season on rushed throws.

“He will always hit,” Cora said. “But the defensive part is the one that really bothers him because he wants to be really good. When he’s not playing good defense, he takes it to the batter’s box. But I think he found a routine. ... He’s been really good in the shift playing in the shortstop area. He looks very comfortable.”

His homer Friday came on a changeup low and away.

“Like I told you guys, his batting practice yesterday was phenomenal,” Cora said after the game. “It was unreal. We were talking about it today. (Alex) Verdugo was saying that what he did yesterday was impressive. He’s been able to stay back, drive the ball to left field. Hit the first changeup hard to right field. He moved well in the infield. He’s in a great place right now. He’s slowing down the game. And I do believe he’s about to go on one of those runs that he’s going to start hitting the ball out of the ballpark, hit for average, get on base. He got another walk today against a lefty. That’s very important.”

J.D. Martinez in Boston Red Sox lineup Friday after exiting in eighth inning Thursday; Kiké Hernández, Marwin Gonzalez not starting

Christopher Smith

ARLINGTON, Texas — J.D. Martinez is in the Boston Red Sox’s lineup Friday against the Texas Rangers here at Globe Life Field.

The Red Sox and Rangers play at 8:05 p.m., eastern.

Martinez left Thursday’s game in the eighth inning because of migraine symptoms. Manager Alex Cora said Thursday night that Martinez would not play Friday. But the slugger must be feeling better. He will serve as the DH and bat third.

Left fielder Franchy Cordero returns to the lineup after not starting since Sunday.

Kiké Hernández and Marwin Gonzalez both will receive an off day.

Christian Arroyo will lead off and play second base. This is Arroyo’s first start since Sunday when he was hit in the hand with a 93.8 mph fastball. He did pinch hit in the loss Thursday.

Righty Nathan Eovaldi will pitch for the Red Sox.

Japanese righty Kohei Arihara, a 28-year-old rookie, will start for the Rangers. He is 2-2 with a 4.03 ERA. He combined for 11 ⅓ scoreless innings and just five hits allowed in wins against the Rays and Angels on April 14 and 19. But he lasted just 2 innings against the White Sox on Sunday. He gave up five runs, six hits and four walks.

Boston Red Sox lineup:

1. Christian Arroyo 2B

2. Alex Verdugo CF

3. J.D. Martinez DH

4. Xander Bogaerts SS

5. Rafael Devers 3B

6. Christian Vázquez C

7. Bobby Dalbec 1B

8. Hunter Renfroe RF

9. Franchy Cordero LF

Pitching matchup: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (3-2, 3.77) vs. RHP Kohei Arihara (2-2, 4.03)

Kiké Hernández struggling in Boston Red Sox leadoff spot; ‘I should actually challenge him. You better get on base. If not, you’re going to start hitting ninth’

Christopher Smith

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Red Sox are near the bottom of the league in production from the leadoff spot.

The Red Sox rank 21st in the major leagues in batting average (.239), 26th in on-base percentage (.282), 14th in slugging percentage (.413) and 20th in OPS (.695) from the leadoff position.

Kiké Hernández has batted leadoff in all 23 games he has started. He’s hitting just .230 with a .271 on-base percentage, .400 slugging percentage, .671 OPS, three homers, six doubles, one triple, eight RBIs and 16 runs in 25 games (107 plate appearances). He is 5-for-33 (.152) with a .200 on-base percentage in his past eight games.

That said, the Red Sox are tied for sixth in the majors in runs (18) from the leadoff spot.

Hernández will receive a day off here Friday against the Rangers. He’s expected back in the lineup Saturday.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora was asked if he has thought about experimenting with someone else in the leadoff spot.

“No, we’re good,” Cora said. “One of the things he has to do is actually get on base against lefties.”

Hernández, a right-handed hitter, has hit better against righties this year. He has a .282 OBP and .700 OPS against right-handers compared to a .252 OBP and .614 OPS against left-handers.

“The last few days, he’s done a good job not swinging at bad pitches but they haven’t been called bad pitches,” Cora said. “So we like the fact that he’s controlling a little bit of the strike zone. He went the other way in New York. Just keep pushing. We saw it in spring training. He was able to hit line drives and control the strike zone. Right now, it’s been on and off. But we feel comfortable with that.”

Cora also mentioned he prefers not having two left-handed hitters (Alex Verdugo and Rafael Devers) batting back-to-back at the top.

“And this is more than Enrique,” Cora said. “I think keeping those two lefties split up, it works to our benefit. We saw it in Minnesota in certain decisions they made. And we’ve seen it throughout the first month — when to bring a lefty for Alex when you have those two guys (J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts) behind him. We’ll keep pushing. We’ll keep putting pressure on him. I should actually challenge him tomorrow. “You better get on base. If not, you’re going to start hitting ninth.’ And maybe that works.”

Garrett Whitlock, Boston Red Sox rookie: ‘I’ll be the janitor on this team if that means I get to be in the big leagues’

Christopher Smith

ARLINGTON, Texas — Righty Garrett Whitlock is in charge of carrying the beer onto the team plane, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.

“I just try to be a good rookie,” Whitlock said Friday. “Everyone’s got a role to play on the team. So I told (bench coach) Will (Venable) when I first showed up, I said, ‘Shoot. I’ll be the janitor on this team if that means I get to be in the big leagues.’ Whatever the job is that I can do to possibly help the team out, that’s what I’m glad to be doing.”

He’s doing more than carrying beer.

The 24-year-old rookie — who Boston selected from the Yankees in the Rule 5 Draft — has hurled 13 ⅓ scoreless innings in six outings so far. He has allowed just six hits and two walks while striking out 18.

Whitlock appears unafraid. He’s aggressive in the strike zone and challenges hitters. He has just two walks in 22 ⅓ innings combined between spring training and regular season.

Cora said he’s “a cool individual.”

“At the very beginning of the year, my church back home in Birmingham, Church of the Highlands, we do 21 days of prayer,” Whitlock said. “I told God, ‘If I can’t stay humble, don’t let me have it.’ Because I’m not out here for me. This is a team sport. That’s what this is all about. It was bad for me before when I was in Double A with the Yankees and I was like, ‘Man, why am I not doing this?’ ... It was kind of just a wake-up call like, ‘Hey, enjoy those around you. Kids all over the world would kill to be in your position right now.’

“We’re here in Arlington right now. I just go out and I look at the stadium and I’m just so thankful for every aspect of this,” Whitlock added. “So whether I go out there and give up 10 — yeah, I don’t want to do that for my team — but if I go out there and give up 10 or I go out there and give up 0, I’m still so fortunate to be in this game. That’s all I’m focused on.”

He said he was in a bad spot mentally before undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2019.

“I was angry at myself for not performing better,” he said. “That’s why I say, Tommy John saved my life. It gave me a chance to realize my relationship with Jesus, my relationship with God is the most important thing for me. It gave me a chance to step back and really look closely at that stuff. It gave me a whole new appreciation of the game.”

His biggest moment in the big leagues so far?

“When AC handed me the ball against Baltimore in my debut,” Whitlock said. “He said, ‘Trust yourself and go do it.’ And Bogey (Xander Bogaerts) looked right at me and said, ‘You’ve got it, kid.’ That inspired confidence in me. The veterans and my teammates deserve all the credit. They’ve given me confidence that like, “Hey, know you’re a Rule 5 guy but you’ve got the stuff. Go do it.’ I can’t thank them enough for that.”

Boston Red Sox closer Matt Barnes’ 9-year-old cleats sit beside John Havlicek, Tony Gwynn & Nolan Ryan memorabilia on bullpen coach Kevin Walker’s mantel

Christopher Smith

ARLINGTON, Texas — Red Sox bullpen coach Kevin Walker’s living room mantel is decorated with several items of sports memorabilia, including a Nolan Ryan signed jersey, a Tony Gwynn jersey and a John Havlicek autographed basketball.

Matt Barnes’ nine-year-old Single-A autographed cleats also sit there on the mantel.

“There’s some cool things in there,” Walker said. “But having one that’s personal like that with somebody who you worked with, who you’ve kind of been there with from step one and then reuniting here again (with the Boston Red Sox), those are pieces that are really special to me.”

Barnes has dominated as Boston’s closer this year. He has converted all six of his save opportunities. He has a 2.57 ERA, 0.57 WHIP and .106 batting average against. He has allowed just five hits and three walks while striking out 25 in 14 innings.

Walker served as High-A Salem’s pitching coach during 2012, Barnes’ first full professional season after Boston drafted him in the first round out of UConn in 2011.

Barnes began the 2012 season at Low-A Greenville. He allowed only one run in 26 ⅔ innings (five starts), then earned a promotion to Salem where he made 20 starts and pitched in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game.

Walker asked Barnes to autograph something from the game for him.

“He autographed his shoes for me,” Walker said. “He put ‘Futures Game’ on there. I thought that was really cool. We just started to kind of build our relationship there. But that’s just the type of guy he is. What you see and how he is, that’s who he is. He’s very genuine. Great guy.”

Barnes’ cleats sit right beside Ryan’s autographed jersey.

“Being from Texas, he was kind of the king,” said Walker, an Irving, Texas native, about Ryan.

Walker was San Diego Padres teammates with Gwynn in 2000 and ’01 and so the Hall of Famer gave him his jersey. The signed Havlicek basketball came from Havlicek’s son-in-law Brian Buchanan, Walker’s former Padres teammates.

“He was able to get me a signed basketball from him, which I thought was really cool,” Walker said.

Walker’s first impressions on Barnes in 2012?

“He was very polished when it came to delivery and fastball command,” Walker said. “He had the velocity, but his command of the fastball was some of the best I’ve ever seen at that level. He was able to pinpoint the fastball. Really dominate games with the fastball. At the time, his curveball was still a work in progress. He was throwing it and he had a changeup. But his command of the fastball was great. And obviously his curveball over time has gotten elite. But at the time, that was what really stuck out to me was how he pinpointed the heater and consistently did it over and over.”

Barnes was an aggressive striker thrower back in 2012, averaging just 2.2 walks per nine innings (119 ⅔ innings). Similarly, that’s what has made him so dominant this year. He’s pounding the strike zone with his fastball early in counts and getting ahead of hitters. That makes his elite curveball play even better.

“I’ve got a special relationship with Matt knowing him for a decade now,” Walker said. “Just very proud of where he’s come from and where he’s gotten. But I’m really, really proud of the next step he has taken, evolving into one of the top, elite bullpen arms in the game. And it’s his willingness to make some adjustments. He’s really happy with the things we’ve all talked about. He’s understood them. He’s gone out, taken to his approach and he’s seen success. He’s bought in. You’re seeing the results right now. He’s got really good stuff and he’s attacking the zone. He’s rushing to two strikes and putting hitters away.”

Barnes has accepted a leadership role in the bullpen.

“He’s a very thoughtful guy,” Walker said. “He’s been around this league for a long time. He’s had a lot of appearances as a Red Sox. He’s been through it all. He’s been to a World Series. But the one thing is he’s very thoughtful and cares about other people. He takes time to listen to other people.”

Zack Scott adjusting to life as Mets acting GM after 17 years with Boston Red Sox

Chris Cotillo

NEW YORK -- From the time Zack Scott was a kid, the Red Sox were part of his identity. A Natick native who worked in the club’s front office for 17 years after starting as an intern in 2004, the new acting general manager of the Mets never even thought about rooting for another team before taking on his new gig in December.

In fact, Scott’s two kids -- six-year-old Perry and nine-year-old Zoe -- still are a bit hesitant to give up their allegiance.

“My kids, for a while, were saying they were not going to wear Mets gear,” Scott said. “I think I even remember, my daughter -- we were talking about the Mets and she was walking away -- and she just said, ‘Red Sox for life!’ which was amusing. That has turned a little bit. I think they still like their Red Sox gear and I’m not making them get rid of Red Sox gear.”

Their dad, on the other hand, has adjusted much more quickly. After joining the Mets as an assistant GM under longtime friend and former Red Sox executive Jared Porter right before Christmas, Scott was elevated to acting GM in January in the wake of Porter being fired for sending explicit text messages to a reporter. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Scott found his team facing the Red Sox for two games at Citi Field -- the first time he has ever had to root against Boston.

“It wasn’t that weird, to be honest,” Scott said. “I was more excited to see people like (assistant GMs) Eddie (Romero) and Raquel (Ferreira) and (manager) Alex (Cora), some of the players and other folks. That was more the emotion going into it. And then once we played the games, the games are the games. You always want to win. It didn’t feel any different trying to beat them. It was more how it normally feels.”

Scott, a University of Vermont graduate who oversaw the Red Sox’ analytical department in his role as assistant GM, interviewed for the Mets’ GM job after the club fired Brodie Van Wagenen but was passed over in favor of Porter. A few weeks later, Porter and team president Sandy Alderson called to ask if he wanted to join the club as an assistant. Though the move was a lateral one, the Red Sox supported Scott’s desire to pursue a new adventure. In Boston, he was one of five top decision-makers in the front office. In New York, he’d be in the top three.

Scott’s Massachusetts roots and comfortability within the organization made the decision a difficult one. But once his heart was set on joining the Mets, the Red Sox weren’t going to stop him -- or even demand player compensation. Scott called it a gesture of goodwill by chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom.

“Chaim basically said, ‘You’ve given a lot of yourself to the Red Sox. We want to be respectful of that and the fact this is an opportunity to go work for a close friend and quite honestly, a professional opportunity to move up the ladder,’” Scott said.

For Scott to leave the only organization he had ever worked for, the circumstances had to be right. The Mets, under new owner Steve Cohen and Alderson, 73, were looking for a bright young mind to potentially lead the baseball operations department in the near future. The path to a No. 1 spot appeared clearer in Flushing than it did in Boston, where the Red Sox had hired Bloom, now 38, in Nov. 2019. Scott was not considered for that job despite being one of the “group of four” who led the club after Dave Dombrowski was fired; Brian O’Halloran, another longtime executive, was promoted to general manager.

“I felt like I probably maxed out at the Boston Red Sox,” Scott said. “That was the first time I started thinking about what’s next. That was the first time I thought about seriously considering leaving. And that’s fine, they made a choice.

“It’s not a bitterness thing,” he added. “It’s just a reality and a logical thing -- if the people who know me best aren’t going to consider me, well maybe I need to start fresh somewhere else.”

Because Alderson oversees the entire organization, Scott has the power to run the team’s day-to-day baseball operations -- a role he never had in Boston. Though Cohen and Alderson get involved in big decisions -- “like paying shortstops $341 million,” Scott joked, referencing Francisco Lindor’s extension -- he gets to mold the club how he wants to.

“He’s in a good situation with the Mets,” Cora said. “I know he has made some moves already that have benefited that team. He’s going to keep working hard to get that team to where they want to.”

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Scott watched most of the games with his longtime colleagues Ferreira and Romero but left before the late innings in fear that the Mets might lose. They did, as the Red Sox won two one-run games to sweep the series.

Scott joked that his reunions with former colleagues get less enjoyable when the games between their teams are close in the late innings.

“I’m pretty frustrated that I feel like I’m doing a tour of, ‘This is my life,’ and then getting my ass kicked by my former bosses,” he said. “I was just in Chicago talking to Jed (Hoyer), Jason (McLeod) and Jared Banner and then they sweep us. I was watching a lot of these last two games with Eddie and Raquel. Now we go to Philly (where Dave Dombrowski is GM), so I’m just like, ‘I’m just going home. Nothing good can happen.’”

Scott has found himself following the Red Sox more than other teams, both because of his attachment to those in the front office and his interest in how some of the acquisitions he helped bring to Boston are faring. Watching pitchers Garrett Whitlock and Nick Pivetta dominate the Mets was frustrating, Scott said, but also at least a tiny bit gratifying because he was involved in Boston’s acquisitions of both players.

During the series, that was about the extent of Scott’s rooting interest in anyone wearing red and gray.

“You quickly move on from that,” Scott said. “I’ve been asked that question by people I work with. They’re like, ‘You’ve rooted for this team since you were a little kid and then you worked there forever. How do you flip that switch?’ Obviously, I didn’t know how that would go until I came over here.

“There’s some attachment there, but I’m definitely not rooting for any players, especially when we’re playing them,” Scott said.

Even Perry and Zoe, who attended the home opener at Citi Field, are coming around.

“We took them to the store, got them any Mets gear they wanted,” Scott said. “My wife and I decided we were just going to say yes to everything that day so they could have a positive experience with New York. And it worked. They loved it. That was the most I’ve ever seen them into baseball, so it was really cool.”

***

10 observations from the last week in baseball

1. The Red Sox’ win over Jacob deGrom might go down as their best win of the season. What a well- played series by both teams.

2. It’s incredible how much Brandon Workman’s value has fallen since the end of 2019. Have to wonder if the Red Sox are interested in bringing him back for the major-league minimum.

3. Citi Field is underrated. Really well-done ballpark, and no one ever talks about it as such.

4. Danny Santana is going to help out the Red Sox, and soon. The writing is on the wall for him to replace Franchy Cordero on the roster.

5. Have to love Nick Pivetta’s mindset -- and confidence -- heading into his showdown with deGrom on Wednesday.

6. Good to see Jon Lester finally getting his chance to pitch for the Nationals after spending the first month of the season on the COVID-19 injured list.

7. Awesome to see the Red Sox are increasing capacity to 25% in mid-May. Slowly but surely, we’re getting there.

8. Brock Holt is an All-Star off the field, but that’s nothing new.

9. It was a pleasure to have WooSox principal owner and chairman Larry Lucchino on this week’s edition of “The Fenway Rundown.” Be sure to check it out.

10. Our Chris Smith had an interesting column earlier this week projecting the Red Sox’ 2026 rosters.

* The Worcester Telegram

Back in baseball: Retired Worcester police sergeant director of security for Worcester Red Sox at Polar Park

Joe McDonald

WORCESTER — When Lee Boykin retired from the Police Department last July after 26 years of service, his plan was to relax, play golf and vacation in Maine.

He told his wife, Marilyn, and the couple’s three daughters, that he wanted to just “chill out” and enjoy the downtime. The idea of playing countless rounds of golf, or enjoying summers in Maine brought a smile to his face.

His dream of retirement did not last long.

In fact, it was his love of baseball that pulled him back into the working world. Less than a year after he handed in his badge, Boykin, 59, was named the new director of security for the Worcester Red Sox.

“It put a curveball into our plans a little,” he said with a smile. “My wife’s really happy for me because she knows how much I love being in this type of environment.”

It’s the best of both worlds for Boykin. Last summer, WooSox president Dr. Charles Steinberg spoke with the rank and file of the WPD and asked for recommendations for the team’s new security team. Boykin came highly recommended.

Boykin grew up three miles from Polar Park in the Beaver Brook area. He attended Worcester Vocational High School and played baseball as a catcher/outfielder. After graduation, he went to the University of Tampa in 1980, but he decided to return home and attended Quinsigamond Community College. It was there he enjoyed the best experiences of his baseball career when he played in the Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado in 1982.

It was then he caught the attention of Division 1 schools and pro scouts. The New York Yankees drafted him in the 10th round after JUCO, but he decided to transfer and play at Florida International University.

When he finished school, he returned home and played for a local men’s league team and was fortunate to play a half season for Hyannis in the Cape Cod League in1985. Unfortunately, his baseball career came to a screeching halt when he suffered an injury diving for a ball.

“That was basically the end of my baseball career,” he said.

Becoming a police officer happened by chance. When Boykin realized his baseball career was over, he was trying to figure out the next chapter of his life. The chief of police at Worcester State College, Jim Granger, became a mentor for Boykin and he became a campus police officer in 1985.

“He guided me in the right direction,” Boykin said of Granger, who passed away. “Not that I was a mischievous kid, but he gave me good advice about doing the right thing.”

Granger “ordered” Boykin to take the Massachusetts State Police and the Worcester Police tests. He did well on both and WPD came calling in 1994. During that time he served many different roles, including operations, training, quality of life, detective and finished as the diversity officer at the rank of sergeant.

He remembers patrolling the vacant area where the ballpark now stands. It was an area with homeless and skateboarders but nothing too dangerous. He never thought it would become a state-of-the-art ballpark.

“Not in a million years,” he said.

With a strong background in baseball, and a Worcester native, Boykin always thought one of the Red Sox’ minor league affiliates should set up shop in the Heart of the Commonwealth.

“This is right in the center of New England and this city could probably fill the ballpark itself without outside fans coming in,” he said. “I always thought the location made sense, but I never thought it would come here. So, this is just outstanding. This is beautiful.”

He sees the potential with the ballpark and the Canal District.

“Economically, it’s going to create jobs. It’s going to create people coming into the city of Worcester and helping out the local businesses,” he said.

His job, in partnership with the WPD, is to make sure the area around Polar Park is safe for fans and residents. There will be police details inside and outside the ballpark every game day and for non-baseball events. Safety is on his shoulders and he takes it very seriously.

“It’s very important because, especially being a brand new park, the first impression is going to be the most crucial,” Boykin said. “If somebody comes here and has a bad experience it will really determine if they want to make that return trip to the area. It’s crucial that we get it right.”

The WPD will have a strong presence.

“I will give an ‘attaboy’ to the Worcester Police because I think they are one of the top-notch police departments in the country,” he said. “The Worcester police has stepped up to create a safe environment for the people who live here and all the visitors. I’m giving a biased opinion, but it’s more truthful than not.”

Running security for any entertainment venue is nearly a 24/7 responsibility and Polar Park is no different for Boykin, especially since he’s starting from the ground level with a new ballpark. First and foremost, the security team needs to be in place well before the home opener on May 11. All of that includes the necessary resources in conjunction with Worcester police.

“My mind has not stopped going since I’ve been here,” he said.

His baseball career has come full circle. Instead of enjoying his summers on the golf course, or on the beach, Boykin will be busy at the ballpark. So, while his retirement is on hiatus, his business is to keep WooSox fans safe inside and outside of Polar Park.

“We’re starting from scratch and this is going to be our baby from here on in,” he said.

Polar Park is way more than a place to watch baseball. It's a Worcester social experience.

Joe McDonald

WORCESTER — Polar Park was built for fun.

The new home of the Worcester Red Sox is designed to be a very social experience. The open concept is a fantastic way to enjoy the complete experience. There’s nothing generic or minor league about the ballpark. From its inception, it is meant to be a transformational project for the city and the Canal District.

“It’s a gem,” said Larry Lucchino, the WooSox principal owner and chairman who has built five ballparks in his career. “It’s a win-win proposition. It will bring a sense of pride, not that Worcester lacks one, but there’s a co-sense of civic pride. If you’re from Worcester, it means something to you.”

When the historic first pitch is delivered this spring, it will be the culmination of years of hard work by the organization, the city and its fans.

Even before the first shovel went into the ground, the original assumption was the ballpark would be built on the property south of Madison Street due to the expansive area. However, the idea of building it where it currently stands stems from the energy of the Canal District with all the restaurants, bars and businesses in that neighborhood. Now the ballpark fits perfectly within its surroundings, and the field dimensions are unique but fair.

Like any other construction project, there were challenges to build the ballpark, especially during a global pandemic. The final price tag will be approximately $117 million.

The seven-week work stoppage because of COVID-19 did not help last spring. Crews are racing to the finish line to have the ballpark ready for the home opener. Due to social distancing requirements, crews could not work in the same areas, and in many instances, workers had to complete projects on their own. Changes in the normal work environment added stress and time to the project, so it’s impressive that Polar Park will be ready for baseball.

“I can’t believe the job they’ve done, even during the pandemic to get this thing done and done on time. It’s a remarkable feat,” said Ralph Crowley, Polar Beverage's president and CEO. “The buzz around here is amazing.”

Basically, everything between the foul poles will be ready for the home opener, including the clubhouses, the field, scoreboards and videoboards, seating, media areas, suites and the DCU Club.

The areas that will be completed throughout the season include the grass berm in left field, the Plymouth Street extension, Summit Street entertainment areas and the kids' playground behind the batter’s eye in center field. The hope is to have the majority of the work complete for the planned Fourth of July firework spectacular.

The land south of Madison will be developed into a neighborhood with more service amenities, including residential, retail, banking, pharmacies, dry cleaning and parking.

“As excited as we are about all of the new developments that are coming, we also hope that the area doesn’t lose its spark of Old Worcester and the charm that made us want to be part of this growth in the first place,” said Janet Marie Smith, the WooSox’s ballpark design consultant, who has worked with Lucchino for 32 years.

The neighborhood around the ballpark is on the verge of a renaissance. The plan is to have Polar Park host events year-round as a multi-purpose facility, including concerts, winter sports and other community- oriented events.

“It is very special. The Canal District couldn’t be more exciting,” Smith said. “It’s nice because it has enough energy and growth to already have us feel like we’re building on something that’s very organic. The ballpark itself will be adding a huge spark to what’s already been started in Worcester.”

For the WooSox players, they will enjoy state-of-the-art facilities with all of the amenities of a major league clubhouse, which will help develop winners in the hopes of one day helping the Red Sox capture another World Series.

“Hopefully having exciting games in Worcester and winning championships in Worcester, but ultimately preparing those guys for a future in baseball in Boston and win championships there,” WooSox co-owner Jim Skeffington Jr. said.

When it came to the naming rights, Polar was a natural fit. Crowley drives around the city with a constant smile when he sees the signs that read: Polar Park, future home of the WooSox.

“It’s crazy,” Crowley said. “The most fun part is our associates here at Polar because they are so proud to have their logo on what could be one of the more important buildings around the city. Everybody in the company is taking a lot of pride in this, and not just the Crowley family.”

Probably the most exciting aspect of the new ballpark will be the 9,508 fans. Due to COVID guidelines, only 12 percent capacity (1,140) is expected to be allowed for the opener.

“We’re glad we will be open to fans,” Lucchino said. “I’d be a little less than honest if I didn’t say we’re a little disappointed. With the all the steps and precautions we’re taking, we were hoping for a little higher opening percentage than what was given, but we’ll work with the city, the state and make it work out.”

* RedSox.com

Day off? No thanks. J.D. mashes 2 homers

Ian Browne

The migraine-like symptoms that prevented J.D. Martinez from taking his final at-bat Thursday were expected to keep him out of the lineup Friday.

But the star DH talked his way into the starting nine and let his bat do the rest of the talking while leading the Red Sox to a 6-1 victory over the Rangers at Globe Life Field.

If Martinez was still feeling ill, it didn’t show.

He took the first pitch that he saw in his first at-bat and belted it over the wall for a three-run homer. In the top of the third, he mauled one over the wall in center field for a solo shot.

“He stopped by the office last night after he got treatment and I told him, ‘You're not playing tomorrow.’ He's like, ‘No, I should be OK.’ This morning he texted me right away, he let me know,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “You've got to trust your players. He's not going to lie to us. If he's feeling dizzy or has a migraine, he's not going to try to compete that way. That was an easy one.”

The migraines first started bothering Martinez in the wee hours of Thursday morning, after the Red Sox arrived in Texas following their victory at Citi Field against the Mets.

“I mean, I had a really, really bad migraine,” Martinez said. “We got in, didn’t go to bed until about 4 a.m. and then woke up at 8 a.m. with a crazy migraine and I couldn't fall back asleep. And then I got to the park, trainers did some stuff on my neck and it just released and it felt so much better.

“And then, after my third at-bat -- like right before my third at-bat -- I was in the cage swinging and getting loose and it just hit me and I was feeling terrible, like, everything was so bright. I mean, I'm sure you guys have had migraines. I got to the point where I felt a little dizzy.”

Again, the training staff helped Martinez get past the issue. That’s when he told Cora that he should be good to go.

Did the migraine come back at all Friday?

“Yeah, I woke up with it; and then came in, did some more treatment and then it went away and started up a little bit, but it's all some muscle or something that just tightens up,” said Martinez. “I don't know why it happens, but it just tightens up and then I get this crazy migraine.”

Martinez is pleased that Cora took him up on his offer to play. So are the Red Sox.

“Alex always has a good feel with all that stuff, so he knows I want to be in there every day as much as I can,” Martinez said.

Perhaps Martinez should keep coming off the sick bed. Martinez missed the game on April 10 in Baltimore due to allergies that gave him a severe head cold. The next day, he blasted three homers.

Martinez continues to be one of the best early-season stories in baseball. After hitting .213 with seven homers in 54 games last season, the right-handed hitting masher already has nine homers in his first 25 games of ‘21.

“It’s been a great start. I’ve been doing well. I’ve been hitting, been producing and we’ve been winning,” said Martinez. “Our team is in first place. It’s been a great month. Just got to keep this going. It’s been one month; there’s still five more to go.”

Yes, the Red Sox, who really weren’t picked by any prognosticators to do well this season, finished April with a 17-10 mark, good for a 3-1/2 game lead in the American League East. Entering May 1, they boast both the most wins in the Majors and the highest winning percentage (.630).

“You do that consistently over the course of a season -- you win 17 games a month -- you put yourself in the conversation,” said Cora. “It was a great month. A month that we struggled in a few things, we played well for a good period of time, but knowing this is just a start and we still have to keep working and getting better.”

As for Martinez, the Red Sox just need him to stay right where he is.

“We have a lot of guys swinging the bat really well, but J.D., to watch him do it and get back to what he does best [has been great],” said winning pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. “Last year, obviously, was a fluke for him. And to be able to see him overcome that and go out there, he’s one of the best hitters out there in the league, so it’s good to have him on our team and our side, hitting the way he is now. It’s awesome to see and I think everybody kind of feeds off that.”

'It takes everyone': Whitlock all-in for Red Sox

Ian Browne

While sparkling as a Rule 5 Draft pick for the Red Sox, righty reliever Garrett Whitlock doesn’t mind doing some non-glamorous work to pay his dues.

So far, this includes making sure that the veteran players have the right type of liquid refreshments for flights.

“I just try to be a good rookie,” said Whitlock. “Everyone has a role to play on the team. I told [bench coach] Will [Venable] when I first showed up, ‘Shoot, I will be the janitor on this team if it means I get to be in the big leagues.’ Whatever the job is that I can do to possibly help the team out, that’s what I’m glad to be doing.”

While his team-first attitude has been refreshing, the work that Whitlock has been doing from the mound is what has set him apart the most.

In the 24-year-old’s first six career appearances entering Friday night’s game in Arlington against the Rangers, he didn’t allow a run while waking two and striking out 18 over 13 1/3 innings.

The fact that the Red Sox got Whitlock from the Yankees -- who didn’t protect him back in December -- makes the entire thing more delicious for Boston fans.

“I’m just glad to be here. Whatever anyone else wants to think about me, that’s fine, but I love the group of guys that I’m around,” Whitlock said. “I love the staff that we’ve got, so I’m thankful to be here.”

Whitlock underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019, which likely played a role in the Yankees not transferring him to their 40-man roster in December. He had never pitched above Double-A before his debut with the Red Sox this season.

Though recovery from surgery is likely what cast enough doubt for Yankees decision-makers to put him up for grabs, Whitlock actually thinks it was the catalyst for turning his career around.

“Before TJ, I was in a bad spot mentally. I was angry at myself for not performing better and stuff like that. That’s why I say Tommy John saved my life,” Whitlock said. “It gave me a chance to realize my relationship with Jesus, my relationship with God is the most important thing for me. It gave me a chance to step back and really look closely at that stuff and give me a whole new appreciation for the game.”

Faith is a big part of who Whitlock is.

“At the very beginning of the year -- my church back home in Birmingham, [Ala.,] Church of the Highlands, we did 21 days of prayer,” said Whitlock. “My whole thought process during that time of prayer, I told God, I said, ‘If I can’t stay humble, don’t let me have it.’ Because I’m not out here for me. This is a team sport. That's what this is all about. It was bad for me before when I was in Double-A with the Yankees, and I was like, 'Man, why am I not doing this? Why am I not doing this?' And it was just kind of a wakeup call.”

Whitlock gained better perspective on how lucky he is to wear a baseball uniform.

“Kids all over the world would kill to be in your position right now. Just enjoy that. We’re here in Arlington right now, I just go out and look at the stadium and I’m just so thankful for every aspect of this [situation] that we’re in,” Whitlock said. “Whether I go out there and give up 10 -- yeah, I don’t want to do that for my team, but if I go out there and give up 10 or I go out there and I give up zero, I’m still so fortunate to be in this game. That’s all I’m focused on.”

It will be interesting to see if Whitlock’s current role of middle and long reliever evolves back into his natural role of starting.

“Whatever they tell me to do, that’s what I want to do. It’s a team sport,” said Whitlock. “It takes starters, it takes relievers, it takes position players, it takes everyone. Whatever they ask me to do, I’m perfectly comfortable with doing that.”

Cora sticking with Kiké at top

As Kiké Hernández got a night of rest Friday, manager Alex Cora didn’t seem to be giving any thought of taking the veteran out of the leadoff spot.

Hernández is slashing .230/.271/.400 with six doubles, three homers and eight RBIs through his first 25 games.

“No, we’re good,” Cora said, when asked of a potential lineup switch. “One of the things that he needs to do is actually get on base against lefties. This is something that we’ve talked about, and the last few days, he’s done a good job not swinging at bad pitches. But they haven’t been called bad pitches, so we like the fact that he’s controlling a little bit of the strike zone. He went the other way in New York.

“Just keep pushing. We saw it in Spring Training; he was able to hit line drives and control the strike zone. Right now it’s been on and off, but we feel comfortable with that.”

Cora noted that part of the reason that Hernández is batting first is for overall lineup balance.

“This is more than Enrique,” said Cora. “I think keeping those two lefties [Alex Verdugo and Rafael Devers] split up, it works to our benefit,” said Cora. “We saw it in Minnesota in certain decisions they made and we’ve seen it throughout the first month -- when to bring in a lefty for Alex when you have those two guys behind him.

"We’ll keep pushing, we’ll keep putting pressure on him [to improve].”

* WEEI.com

Garrett Whitlock reflects on path: 'Tommy John saved my life'

Rob Bradford

Garrett Whitlock hasn't had many hiccups.

The rookie -- who came to the Red Sox through the sometimes awkward path of the Rule 5 Draft -- has dominated in his first month in the majors, not allowing a run in any of his 13 1/3 innings while striking out 18 and walking just two.

He has listened, learned and played the part to perfection ... as Red Sox manager Alex Cora recently pointed out when saying how everything -- down to how Whitlock has brought the beer on the team plane for the veterans -- continues to be meticulously on-point.

"We were saying how he's he perfect rookie," joked Red Sox pitcher Matt Andriese.

"I just try to be a good rookie," Whitlock said. "Everyone has a role to play on the team. I told (bench coach) Will (Venable) when I first showed up, ‘Shoot, I will be the janitor on this team if he means I get to be in the big leagues.’ Whatever the job is that I can do to possibly help the team out, that’s what I’m glad to be doing."

Talking to the media Friday afternoon, Whitlock explained where everything took a turn for the better. That crossroads just happened to arrive thanks to his lowest point, in 2019 when he underwent Tommy John surgery.

"I was definitely down," Whitlock revealed. "Before TJ I was in a bad spot mentally. I was angry at myself for not performing better, and stuff like that. That’s why I say Tommy John saved my life. It gave me a chance to realize my relationship with Jesus, my relationship with God is the most important thing`for me. It gave me a chance to step back and really look closely at that stuff and give me a whole new appreciation for the game. I told you guys in spring training, whether I’m playing in the GCL or fortunate to be up here, I’m going to be all of it. That’s the way I continue to go about it each day."

He added, "It definitely helped because mentality-wise and obviously spiritually it saved me. So for that I’m grateful for Tommy John."

Whitlock's newfound spirituality not only served him well during his rehab from surgery, but the uncertainty that came when switching from his original organization (the Yankees) to his new one (the Red Sox).

“At the veery beginning of the year, my church back home in Birmingham, Church of the Highlands, we did 21 days of prayer," Whitlock sam. "My whole thought process during that time of prayer, I told God, I said, if I can’t stay humble, don’t let me have it. Because, I’m not out here for me. This is a team sport. This what this is all about.

"It was bad for me before when I was in Double-A with the Yankees, and I was like, man, why am I not doing this? Why am I not doing this? Why am I not doing this? And it was just kind of a wakeup call. Hey, enjoy those around you. Kids all over the world would kill to be in your position right now. Just enjoy that. We’re here in Arlington right now, I just go out and look at the stadium, and I’m just so thankful for every aspect of this that we’re in. Whether I go out there and give up 10, yeah, I don’t want to do that for my team – yeah, I don’t want do that for my team – but if I go out there and give up 10 or I go out there and I give up zero, I’m still so fortunate to be in this game. That’s all I’m focused on.”

And, so far, the Red Sox are fortunate to have him.

Former Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly finally reveals his unspecified injury

Rob Bradford

Joe Kelly is on the verge of pitching for the first time in the 2021 season. The former Red Sox reliever has been throwing in simulated games against the Padres' minor-leaguers, totaling about six outings with each appearance resulting in at least a couple of strikeouts, with his two-seam fastball registering in the high 90's.

If all goes as planned, Kelly could very well be back with the Dodgers next week.

So, why did it take this long? Up until now that was somewhat of a mystery.

The most specific anyone had gotten regarding Kelly's ailment was identifying the issue as a shoulder ailment. But as he told WEEI.com Friday, "I don't think people knew how serious it was."

In this world of the internet and information, such a secret involving a key piece of a World Series-winning bullpen is a rarity.

"I guess when you win the World Series, whatever you say people just take it ... Everybody is on the World Series high," Kelly said. "Say one of your guys is hurt and they ask what is wrong and they say, 'Oh, he'll be back tomorrow,' and it becomes three months later, Dodgers fans aren't going to get too mad. It's easy to get overlooked, is what I'm saying. A lot of people didn't think it was going to be that serious, but it ended up being a pretty good thing."

What most didn't know is that the delay in Kelly's debut stemmed from fairly significant right shoulder surgery performed by Dr. Neal Elattrache on Nov. 10.

"We found some cysts," Kelly explained. "My shoulder hasn't been good since the end of 2019. But during my suspension after the thing with the Astros (early August) my arm was super weak. If I was laying on a table I couldn't lift my arm past gravity. They asked me how long it was going on for and I told them forever. I couldn't sleep at night and it felt like fire ants were eating my arm from the inside-out."

So during his eight-game suspension, the Dodgers set up an MRI for Kelly. It turned out a "massive" cyst was growing on Kelly's nerve, allowing him to pitch with 50 percent of the muscles in his shoulder.

The plan was to try and decompress it, but that wasn't working.

"I ended up pitching in the World Series topping out at 95 mph, not knowing where it was going because had these cysts on my nerve," said Kelly, who would pitch five times in the postseason, allowing one run over 3 2/3 innings. "They ended up putting metal clamps on my labrum and then they decompressed all the cysts. They sucked out some loose bodies from my rotator cuff. So it was a good little surgery."

Kelly didn't start throwing off a mound until the middle of spring training. Other than a short hiccup due to scar tissue issues, the process has been a fairly smooth one.

"I figured after surgery I would be about a month behind, and that's pretty much where we're at now," he said. "I thought I had chance to come back a little sooner, but I amped it up a little too much. But it has been going pretty well."

Kelly is in the final guaranteed year of a three-year, $25 million deal with the Dodgers that carries a team option that would pay him $12 million for 2022 if picked up.

The Dodgers head into Friday night residing in second-place in the National League West at 16-10, 1/2- game in back of San Francisco.

* NBC Sports Boston

Red Sox' top-heavy offensive attack isn't sustainable

John Tomase

If the Boston Red Sox offense were one of those old-fashioned Lady Liberty scales, one dish would be embedded in the dirt, and the contents of the other would be launched over the Mass. Pike.

To say the attack has become top-heavy doesn't begin to describe the disparity between the sluggers and the scufflers. The first group consists of Alex Verdugo, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, and J.D. Martinez, with second baseman Christian Arroyo pushing for membership. The latter is populated by Franchy Cordero, Bobby Dalbec, Hunter Renfroe, and Marwin Gonzalez, with Kiké Hernández and Christian Vazquez in danger of joining their ranks.

If the first group is locked in and someone delivers multiple hits, the Red Sox win. If anyone from the second group makes a meaningful contribution, the Red Sox win.

But when the first group returns to earth and the second burrows deep beneath it, the Red Sox struggle to score.

In other words, welcome to their last nine games. Since shelling Chicago White Sox ace candidate Lucas Giolito in an 11-4 victory on Marathon Monday, the bats have gone silent. They've topped four runs just twice and have been limited to four runs total in their last three games.

It just so happens that they won two of them because of outstanding pitching and the offensive ineptitude of the New York Mets, but after impressing early in the season with a throwback all-fields approach, they've entered an extended rut that isn't tenable long-term.

"Overall it's been a grind the last week, to be honest with you," said manager Alex Cora after Thursday's 4- 1 loss to the Texas Rangers. "We haven't been able to do too much, but as you guys know, this is a good offense. It's just a matter of, get back and start doing the things we do best. Compete out there, hit the ball the other way, and when we do that we become a good, good offense."

The danger with the current incarnation of the offense is that it can be navigated by opponents. The Red Sox proved during the 2018 American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros that a lineup built around a handful of standouts can be beaten. They treaded very lightly around Alex Bregman, George Springer, and Carlos Correa and took their chances with everyone else. Gonzalez burned them with a pair of home runs, but otherwise, a struggling Jose Altuve, Josh Reddick, Yuli Gurriel, and Martin Maldonado provided enough outs to limit the Astros to four runs a game and the Red Sox took the series in five.

The top four names in the lineup have combined to hit .318 with 19 homers and 61 RBIs. The bottom four are batting .194 with three homers and 24 RBIs.

Their struggles are varied. Cordero is completely lost, swinging at fastballs above the zone and curves in the dirt and taking pitches over the plate. Once the minor league season begins, he's a prime candidate to be demoted. Gonzalez is struggling to catch up to fastballs and his swing has gotten bigger as a result. Renfroe pulls the ball nearly half the time, and yet his only hit to the dead pull side is an infield chopper with English to third against the White Sox. Dalbec hit two more line drives on Thursday with nothing to show for either of them, and is probably the closest of the bunch to contributing.

The travails at least partly extend to Hernández and Vazquez, too. The former will not be a viable leadoff hitter for much longer if his on base percentage remains in the .270 range, while the latter is repeating a pattern of following home run binges with extended runs of fruitlessly swinging for the fences -- the exception being his game-winning double off Mets ace Jacob deGrom on Wednesday, when he shot an elevated 100 mph fastball to the right-center gap.

Their travails puts the pressure on Martinez, Bogaerts, and Co. to carry the offense, and when any of them slumps -- or when Martinez leaves a game with a migraine, like he did on Thursday -- it just increases the pressure on everyone else to deliver.

For the last couple of weeks, that hasn't been happening. Until it does, the Red Sox will be left trying to win a bunch of 3-2 and 2-1 games, and that's not a viable recipe for contention.

* BostonSportsJournal.com

Final: Red Sox 6, Rangers 1

Sean McAdam

Relying on the long ball, the Red Sox blasted four homers in the first three innings and cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Texas Rangers, improving to 9-2 on the road this season.

J.D. Martinez belted two — including a three-run shot in the first — and Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers added one each.

Nathan Eovaldi overcame aa 28-pitch second inning and limited the Rangers to a solo run on four hits to pick up his fourth win of the season.

WHO: Red Sox (15-10) vs. Texas Rangers (11-15) WHEN: 8:05 p.m. WHERE: Globe Life Field SERIES TO DATE: Texas 1-0 STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (3-2, 3.77) vs. RHP Kohei Arihara (2-2, 4.03) TV/RADIO: NESN, WEEI-FM

LINEUPS

RED SOX

Arroyo 2B Verdugo CF Martinez DH Bogaerts SS Devers 3B Vazquez C Dalbec 1B Renfroe RF Cordero LF

RANGERS

Calhoun Lf Solak 2B Gallo R Lowe 1B Garcia CF Dahl LF Kiner-Falefa SS Holt 3B Heim C

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

B8: It would seem that Darwinzon Hernandez has figured some things out. Around the strike zone far more regularly and he’s overpowering hitters. In the last two games, he’s faced seven hitters and struck out six.

B6: Eovaldi really settled down after that long second inning, with just 31 pitches over the last three innings. It would appear that six innings and 91 pitches will be enough for him.

B4: Though he hasn’t contributed much at the plate, Hunter Renfroe has shown himself to be a good right fielder. Roamed effortlessly toward the warning track to haul in a fly ball from Holt, then doubled up David Dahl at second.

B3: You could argue that Nathan Eovaldi has been squeezed on a few pitches, but he’s not showing the same efficiency he showed on Patriots Day. Thanks mostly to a long second inning, he’s already creeping up to almost 60 pitches in the third inning.

T3: Home run derby comes to Texas, as Rafael Devers lined a pitch the other way that just cleared the fence in left.

T3: It’s time for the Rangers to experience headaches. Martinez goes deep for a second time. He’s seen three pitches and hit two of them out. He has nine homers this year, or, two more than he hit all of last year.

B2: Old friend Brock Holt dumps a single into right, scoring the first Texas run of the evening.

B2: By my rough count, home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn has missed — conservatively — a half-dozen pitches in the first couple of innings.

T1: Xander Bogaerts follows up Martinez’s blast with a homer of his own — a line shot over the left field fence on a hanging cutter.

T1: With one swing, J.D. Martinez provides the Red Sox with more runs than they had in the previous two games combined. Martinez snaps an 0-for-9 with his team-high eighth homer of the season.

PRE-GAME STATS: The Red Sox are unbeaten in their last 7 series (4-0-3)…They have won three of their last four games, four of their last six, and 16 of their last 23…..The Sox’ .615 winning percentage is tied with the A’s and Dodgers (both 16-10) for 3rd-best in the majors behind the Royals (.652, 15-8) and Giants (.640, 16-9). The Sox’ +19 run differential ranks 5th in the major…The Sox have a +32 run differential since beginning the season 0-3……Only four Red Sox teams in franchise history have won as many as nine of their first 11 road games (9-2 in 1946, ‘82, ’02, & 2018)….The Sox can match that start with a victory Friday night…The Red Sox’ 2.85 road ERA is second in MLB behind only KC…Over his last nine starts, dating back to last Aug. 20, Nathan Eovaldi is 6-2 with a 2.54 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP….Eovaldi hasn’t allowed a home run in his last 41.2 innings, the longest active homerless streak in the majors…He has faced 172 batters since allowing his last home run (Austin Meadows, Sept 12)..He’s one of three qualified pitchers to not allow a home run in 2021, joined by Kyle Gibson of Texas and Brandon Woodruff of Milwaukee….Over their last four games, Red Sox pitchers have a 1.54 ERA as opponents have hit just .180 against them…..Overall, the Red Sox are fourth in the AL in ERA (3.61)…..Rafael Devers is the Devers is the fourth player, age 24 or younger to have 20 or more RBI before May in multiple seasons…The others: Carlos Delgado (1994, ‘96), B.J. Upton (2007-08), and Bryce Harper (2016-17)….Red Sox starters have gone five or more innings in 20 of the team’s first 26 games, including the last five in a row…In that stretch, the starters have a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 35-4….Boston starters have allowed one or no earned runs in each of the last 3 games….Nate Lowe is 1-for-3 lifetime against Eovaldi while Brock Holt is 4-for-12….Darwinzon Hernandez is unscored upon in five road appearances this season.

NOTES:

Franchy Cordero returned to the lineup after sitting the last three. He’s been struggling mightily. “There’s a few things that he’s going through,” said Alex Cora. “I think the most important thing is controlling the strike zone. He’s been expanding up, expanding down. He’s in a bad place, let’s be honest – late on fastballs, out in front of off-speed pitches. (Thursday), he had a great BP session here. He was hitting line drives to left-center. But we have to go to the game, recognize pitches in the zone and put good swings on them. He put in the work the last three or four days. Hopefully, today is the beginning of something good.”

Kike Hernandez is getting the night off, but Cora said he’s not thinking about replacing him in the leadoff spot despite an OBP of .271. “No, we’re good,” he said. “One of the things he needs to do is get on base against lefties. The last few days, he’s done a good job not swinging at bad pitches. We like the fact that he’s controlling the strike zone. He went the other way in New York. We saw it in spring training — he was able to hit line drives and control the strike zone. Right now, he’s been on and off.”

Garrett Whitlock, who’s yet to allow a run in the big leagues in his first month, said: “I just try to be a good rookie. Like I told Will (Venable, bench coach), ‘Shoot, I’ll be the janitor on this team if it means I get to be in the big leagues.’ ”

Cora said he’s unsure if his team is going to clear the 85 percent threshold necessary for MLB to relax health and safety protocols on the road (no masks required in bullpen and dugout, ability to eat in restaurants, to have vaccinated family members visit, etc.).

J.D. Martinez, who came out of the game late Thursday night because of a migraine headache was expected to be sidelined until Saturday, but was back in the lineup Friday night. Martinez is in the midst of a mini- slump (0-for-9).

BSJ Game Report: Red Sox 6, Rangers 1 – Sox ride four homers early to easy win

Sean McAdam

All you need to know about the Red Sox’ 6-1 win over the Rangers, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:

HEADLINES

Sox power their way out of slump: In their previous three games, the Red Sox had scored a grand total of four runs. The wonder was that they actually won two of those three games — thanks to their pitching. But no matter how good your pitchers are, you’re not going to win a lot of games averaging a little more than a run per night. The Sox took that to heart in the first inning when, three batters in, they led 3-0 on a three- run homer by J.D. Martinez, whose first swing resulted in a blast to left. Immediately after, Xander Bogaerts added a solo shot of his own, and after just four batters, the Sox had equaled their output from the previous three games. But wait — there’s more! In the third, the home runs kept coming as Martinez hit yet another — this one, a majestic belt, well over 430 feet, to straightaway center, followed two batters later by Rafael Devers. That’s four homers from the first 14 hitters of the night. From there, they cruised the rest of the way.

Eovaldi gets back to attack plan: By his own admission, Nathan Eovaldi wasn’t as aggressive in his last outing and it’s probably not coincidence that it was his worst outing of the season. Friday night started with more of the same, as Eovaldi did too much nibbling in the early going. But backed by a big lead, he felt determined to change that, and following the credo that Alex Cora has been preaching since spring training, went back to attacking the strike zone. The deeper Eovaldi went in the game, the tougher he got as he filled up the strike zone and dared the Rangers to put the ball in play. He retired seven of the last eight hitters he faced and improved to 4-2.

TURNING POINT

Having been staked to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, Eovaldi really labored in the second inning. Some of his struggles were related to the uncertain strike zone of D.J. Reyburn, who appeared to squeeze him on a couple of pitches. Nonetheless, Eovaldi threw 28 pitches in that inning alone, and with a big lead already, wasn’t being economical. After just two innings, he was already at 40 pitches. After the second, he made it a point to be more aggressive and get quicker outs, and he was far more economical, needing just 51 pitches over his final four innings of work.

TWO UP

Darwinzon Hernandez: For the second straight night, Hernandez was both overpowering and in command. On Thursday, he struck out all three hitters he faced. On Friday, he got nicked by a two-out single, but still registered three more strikeouts in an inning of work.

Christian Arroyo: Filling in the leadoff spot for the night, Arroyo reached base twice with a walk and a single, and also turned in the defensive gem of the night in the sixth when he went sliding to make play on Adolis Garcia, then, throwing across his body, made the throw to first from his knees.

TWO DOWN

Franchy Cordero: If we’re giving out brownie points, Cordero managed to make contact in his first two plate appearances. But he still went hitless in three trips and is now 0-for-16 with just one hit in his last 22 at-bats.

Austin Brice: Brice ultimately got through the ninth inning without giving up a run, but there are no excuses for back-to-back walks with a five-run lead and one out to go.

QUOTE OF NOTE

“Seventeen wins is seventeen wins. You do that consistently over the course of the season — win 17 games in a month — you put yourself in the conversation. It was a great month.” Alex Cora on the Red Sox’ play in April.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

The Red Sox improved to 14-0 when they score four or more runs this season.

Nathan Eovaldi reached 1,000 innings for his career.

J.D. Martinez has more homers in the first month of this season (nine) than he had all of last season (seven).

The Sox improved to 9-2 on the road and have won nine of their 11 road games to start the season for only the fifth time in franchise history.

UP NEXT: The series continues at 7:05 p.m. Saturday night with Eduardo Rodriguez (4-0, 3.52) vs. LHP Jordan Lyles (1-2, 6.75).

As April wraps, Martinez and Red Sox have already proven a few things

Sean McAdam

When the season began, four whole weeks ago, no one knew quite what to expect from either the 2021 Red Sox or the 2021 J.D. Martinez.

Both had 2020 seasons to forget: Nasty, brutish, and thanks to the pandemic, short. The Red Sox finished with their worst record in more than 50 years and Martinez suffered through his worst season since he re- made his swing and salvaged his career back in 2013.

There were plenty of reasons for the dual drop-offs.

The starting rotation lost its two best starters to injury, necessitating a reliance on a handful of not-ready- for-prime-time replacements, with predictable results.

As for Martinez, he never seemed to get untracked after the three-month long pause between spring training and summer camp, and pandemic protocols robbed him of the ability to review his at-bats in-game.

Still, there were no guarantees that either the club or Martinez would rebound in 2021. Expectations were kept in check for both.

But one month in, there’s reason for optimism all around. And it was only fitting that as the Red Sox finished out April with the best record in the American League (17-10), it was Martinez who led the way in their final game of the month.

His first swing of the night produced a three-run homer three batters into the game. That not only matched the Sox’ meager scouring output from the previous two nights combined, it also provided enough of a cushion for the rest of the night against the Texas Rangers. The Sox would go on to win a 6-1 decision with another run coming on Martinez’s second homer of the night, a solo shot in the third. But Martinez’s early blow was all they would need.

And there was some neat symbolism to all of that, too. While it’s been the Red Sox pitching that has been the biggest surprise of the young season, it’s been Martinez who has driven the team’s offense.

One month in and five to go, Martinez leads Major League Baseball in the following categories: homers (nine); RBI (25); and total bases (70). Among qualified hitters, he’s second in slugging and OPS only to Mike Trout.

All of which wouldn’t be so surprising except for two factors: as noted, Martinez was coming off a season in which his slugging percentage (.389) looked like some cruel misprint. And historically, he’s never been a very good early-season hitter.

Not so this year.

“It’s been a great start,” said Martinez, who battled a migraine headache Thursday night but assured manager Alex Cora that he would be back in the lineup Friday. “I’ve been doing well. I’ve been hitting, been producing and we’ve been winning. Our team’s in first place. It’s been a great month. Just gotta keep this going. It’s been one month.”

That’s a familiar refrain for Martinez, who tends to value long-term production over short-term results. That’s why he railed against the 60-game schedule last year, strongly hinting that it wasn’t a fully legitimate season, or at least not an accurate measurement of a player’s abilities.

At the time, it seemed like a lot of rationalizing. But with the benefit of time, Martinez was onto something. Now that a certain normalcy has returned to the game, so too has his usual production.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, not only sit atop the American League East, but also have the biggest lead of any first-place team. None of which guarantees them a spot in the postseason or even a successful regular season, with 135 games still remaining.

But there’s no denying what they’ve accomplished to date, or ignoring the foundation they’ve built for themselves in what was thought to be a dreaded “bridge year.”

“Seventeen wins are seventeen wins,” said Cora. “You do that consistently over the course of a season, you win 17 games a month, you put yourself in the conversation, right? It was a great month. It was a month when we struggled with a few things, we played well for a good period of time. But knowing that this is just a start, we still have to keep working and keep getting better.

“I’m just proud of them. The work they put in in spring training, it paid off in April. We turn the page tonight and we’re gong to be ready to play tomorrow.”

May will have its own challenges, to be followed by four more months after that, all of which will test the Sox in ways that can’t yet be understood.

But already, they know more about themselves than they did at the start, and that includes the status of their veteran DH, who is hitting as if 2020 never happened.

* The Athletic

From carrying the beer to racking up strikeouts, Garrett Whitlock has been Red Sox’ most pleasant surprise

Chad Jennings

On its website, the Alabama-based Church of the Highlands offers a 68-page prayer guide, which opens with a letter from the pastor.

“Many times,” he writes, “people act first and then want God to bail them out of that situation, but prayer should be our first response, not our last resort.”

For 24-year-old congregant Garrett Whitlock, that meant a three-week devotion to humility before he embarked on the professional opportunity of a lifetime. His previous 18 months had been a test of will and faith. Tommy John surgery in July of 2019 had derailed his career, but he had emerged mentally, physically and spiritually stronger. By January of this year, the Red Sox had taken him in the Rule 5 draft and invited him — an 18th-round pick who’d never pitched above Double A — to major league spring training with a real chance of making the team. His church encouraged its congregation to commit to 21 days of prayer at the beginning of the year, and so Whitlock prayed.

“I told God,” he said. “‘If I can’t stay humble, don’t let me have it.’”

Through the first month of his major league career, Whitlock has yet to allow a run. By almost every measure — abundance of strikeouts, lack of walks, sheer volume of workload — he’s been one of the best relief pitchers in baseball and something of a marvel to his teammates and coaches, who say he’s as unflinchingly polite as he is effective.

“We talked about it the first week (of spring training),” manager Alex Cora said. “You guys asked me, ‘Who caught your attention?’ and it was him. From what he does in bullpens to the weight room to the training room, even carrying the beer (for the other players) on the plane, is kind of perfect. Everything is so structured. We’ve got a good one.”

At the start of spring training, Whitlock said, he had a conversation with bench coach Will Venable.

“Shoot,” Whitlock told him. “I’ll be the janitor on this team if it means I get to be in the big leagues.”

He then allowed one run, no walks and struck out 12 in nine spring innings. He made his big-league debut in the third game of the season and went 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Four days later, he pitched two hitless innings in a one-run game in Baltimore. He added another hitless inning in Minnesota, then 2 2/3 more at home against the White Sox. He finally walked a batter in his 12th major league inning, but even that was a part of a 2 1/3 inning scoreless outing. Wednesday night in New York was his finest hour when Whitlock pitched two scoreless innings in a 1-0 win against Jacob deGrom and the Mets. He struck out All-Stars Francisco Lindor and Michael Conforto, and he struck out veterans James McCann and Jonathan Villar. He got dangerous home run hitter Dominic Smith to ground out with two runners on base to escape a jam.

“I think he’s starting to realize how good he can possibly be,” teammate and veteran mentor Matt Andriese said.

Performances like Whitlock’s speak for themselves, and they would seem impossible without some level of bravado and extreme confidence, but Whitlock asked God to let him have this only if his humility remained intact. He should be capable of striking out the side only if he stayed willing to sweep the floors. The injury, he said, forced that sort of perspective.

Whitlock had been a decent prospect with the Yankees, but not a high-profile one on a fast track to the big leagues. He’d been excellent in 2018 — a 2.24 ERA mostly in A ball — but his 2019 season was cut short when he needed surgery after 14 Double-A starts. At the time, he had a 3.07 ERA. Whitlock rehabbed throughout 2020, and the Yankees, facing a roster crunch, elected not to protect him from the Rule 5 draft last winter. That’s when the Red Sox took him and discovered the best version of Whitlock there’s ever been.

“I’m not out here for me,” he said. “This is a team sport. This what this is all about. It was bad for me before when I was in Double A with the Yankees, and I was like, ‘Man, why am I not doing this? Why am I not doing this? Why am I not doing this?’”

As he repeated the question, he stressed the word “I” every time.

“And it was just kind of a wake-up call. Hey, enjoy those around you. Kids all over the world would kill to be in your position right now. Just enjoy that. We’re here in Arlington right now (to play the Rangers). I just go out and look at the stadium, and I’m just so thankful for every aspect of this.”

During a 12-minute Zoom call with reporters Friday before Boston’s 6-1 victory, Whitlock was asked almost exclusively about himself, but he mentioned 16 different people, unprompted, by name. He gave credit to two Red Sox strength coaches, two Red Sox athletic trainers, and both Red Sox pitching coaches. He talked about the doctor who performed his surgery and the Alabama trainer who led his rehab. He thanked Andriese for mentoring him in spring training and honing his change-up. He gave Matt Barnes, Adam Ottavino and Nathan Eovaldi credit for teaching him to be a professional. He said four words from Xander Bogaerts put him at ease in his debut.

“The biggest moment,” Whitlock said, “was when (Cora) first handed me the ball against Baltimore in my debut and he said, ‘Trust your stuff. Go do it.’ And Bogey looks right at me and says, ‘You got it, kid.’ That inspired confidence in me. Like I said, the veterans and the teammates are who deserve all the credit because they’ve given me confidence that, like, hey, we know you’re a Rule 5 guy, but you got the stuff, go do it. And so, I can’t thank them enough for that.”

When the Zoom interview ended, I texted a Red Sox official. If behind the scenes Whitlock were secretly a jerk, I said, I didn’t want to know.

“Trust me when I say,” he wrote back, “it’s 100 percent genuine.”

* Associated Press

Martinez 2 HRs, leads majors with 9, as Red Sox beat Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — J.D. Martinez homered twice, raising his major league-leading total to nine, and the Boston Red Sox beat Kohei Arihara and the Texas Rangers 6-1 on Friday night.

After Arihara (2-3) walked the game’s first two batters, Martinez hit a 79-mph slider into the left-field seats and Xander Bogaerts homered into the Red Sox bullpen in left-center field.

Martinez led off the third with a 440-foot blast to center off an 80-mph splitter thrown by the Japanese right-hander.

It was the 17th career multihomer game for Martinez, and second this season. He hit three homers at Baltimore on April 11.

Rafael Devers also went deep for the AL East-leading Red Sox, who in the first four batters matched their combined runs in their previous three games — two of those wins.

While the Red Sox were hitting balls over the wall, Nathan Eovaldi (4-2) allowed one run on four singles over six innings with five strikeouts and two walks. The right-hander extended his MLB-longest active homerless streak to 47 2-3 innings. He has faced 196 batters since Austin Meadows homered off him in Tampa Bay last Sept. 12.

Arihara had another short outing, allowing six runs on four hits (all homers) with two walks and a hit batsman over 2 2-3 innings. The 28-year-old right-hander, in his first MLB season after six years in Japan, gave up five runs in two innings against the White Sox last Sunday, following consecutive starts when he threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings.

Brock Holt, who played from the Red Sox from 2013-19 and joined his hometown Rangers this offseason, drove in the only Texas run with two-out single in the second.

After Martinez homered for MLB-leading 25th RBI and Bogaerts had a 380-foot flyout to center to start the third, Devers hit his seventh homer for his 21st RBI.

It is the second time in four seasons for Martinez and Devers to both have at least six homers and 20 RBIs by the end of April (also 2018). Only five other times in franchise history have a pair of Red Sox teammates reached those totals before May in the same season.

The only Red Sox players with more April home runs, with 10 each, are David Ortiz in 2006 and Hanley Ramírez in 2015.

Hyeon-Jong Yang struck out four and allowed only one hit in 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief for Texas. The 33-year-old from South Korea made his big league debut earlier this week.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: DH David Dahl fouled a pitch off his right foot when batting in the sixth. After taking a moment to walk it off, he struck out swinging at a 97 mph fastball. He remained in the game and batted again later.

UP NEXT

Boston lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (4-0, 3.52 ERA) tries to become the first American League pitcher to five wins when he starts Saturday night against the Rangers, who went 0-8 on Fridays and Saturdays in April. RHP Jordan Lyles (1-2, 6.75), who has allowed 18 runs in 24 innings, starts for Texas.

* The New York Times

Roberto Alomar Is Removed From Baseball’s Present, if Not Its Past

Tyler Kepner

When Roberto Alomar was first eligible for the Hall of Fame, for the 2010 class, he missed by eight votes. He made it the next year with 87 more votes than he needed. It was fairly clear that some voters had decided to make Alomar wait a year as punishment for the worst transgression of his career: spitting on an umpire in 1996.

On Friday, Commissioner Rob Manfred made a decision on Alomar that had no time parameters. After reviewing an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against the Hall of Fame infielder, Manfred placed him on the ineligible list — not for a year, not for a decade, just “ineligible,” a sentence that amounts to a lifetime lockout of an all-time great.

“At my office’s request, an independent investigation was conducted by an external legal firm to review an allegation of sexual misconduct reported by a baseball industry employee earlier this year involving Mr. Alomar in 2014,” Manfred said in a statement. “Having reviewed all of the available evidence from the now completed investigation, I have concluded that Mr. Alomar violated M.L.B.’s policies, and that termination of his consultant contract and placement on M.L.B.’s Ineligible List are warranted.

“We are grateful for the courage of the individual who came forward. M.L.B. will continue to strive to create environments in which people feel comfortable speaking up without fear of recrimination, retaliation, or exclusion.”

With that, M.L.B. assigned Alomar — who made 12 All-Star teams in a row, from 1990 through 2001 — to its official list of the damned. Alomar enters the “Prison Without Bars,” as Pete Rose called it in the title of his book in 2004, when he finally admitted to the sin that put him there.

Rose was found to have bet on his own team, the Cincinnati Reds, as their manager in the 1980s. Others on the ineligible list include Chris Correa, a former St. Louis Cardinals scouting director who illegally hacked the Houston Astros’ database, and John Coppolella, a former Atlanta Braves general manager who violated international signing rules.

Manfred sentenced them both in 2017, and last year he issued five one-year bans: Alex Cora, A.J. Hinch, Jeff Luhnow and J.T. Watkins were punished after investigations into sign stealing by the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox, and Brandon Taubman, a former Houston executive, was cited for hostile behavior toward female reporters in the Astros’ clubhouse.

The league had jurisdiction over Alomar, 53, because it employed him as a consultant. The Toronto Blue Jays, who won their only two championships with Alomar at second base, said in a statement that they were “severing all ties” with him. They added that they would remove Alomar from the team’s Level of Excellence and take down his banner at Rogers Centre.

For his part, Alomar wrote on Twitter that he was “disappointed, surprised, and upset,” but added, “With the current social climate, I understand why Major League Baseball has taken the position they have.”

He offered no admission or denial about the episode that compelled the league to act, but said he hoped that “this allegation can be heard in a venue that will allow me to address the accusation directly.”

Alomar also serves as one of four former players on the Hall of Fame’s 15-person board of directors, with Cal Ripken Jr., Brooks Robinson and Ozzie Smith. A Hall of Fame spokesman said Friday that the board would meet soon to discuss Alomar’s status. But the board also includes Manfred, so it would seem highly unlikely that Alomar would remain.

Jane Forbes Clark, the chairman of the Hall of Fame’s board, said in a statement that she was “shocked and saddened” to learn the news about Alomar, but that his plaque would remain in the gallery.

This is a quirk of timing. Had Alomar been placed on the ineligible list before he was up for election, he could never have appeared on a ballot. In 1991, the year Rose would have made his ballot debut, the Hall’s board passed a rule barring anyone on the ineligible list from being elected to the Hall of Fame.

The Hall’s museum displays items from Rose’s career, and also tells the story of Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was put on the ineligible list with seven other Chicago White Sox in connection with the infamous scheme to throw the 1919 World Series. Artifacts from the so-called steroid era — when chemically enhanced players broke records but lost credibility with voters — are also displayed.

The ongoing display of Alomar’s plaque is consistent with a subtle, sensible addition to the gallery late last year. In December, the Hall added a sign at the entrance reminding guests that “enshrinement reflects the perspective of voters at the time of election.” While the exhibits and library offer more thorough accounts of each member’s life and career, the mission of the institution, the sign added, is to preserve history.

As such, there has been no removal of plaques for executives who upheld the color barrier, like Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, or players who refused to participate in exhibitions with Black players, like Cap Anson. Landis, Anson and others were deemed worthy of enshrinement in their time, just like Alomar, Kirby Puckett and others whose reputations have been shattered in retirement.

In that context, the Blue Jays’ decision to expunge Alomar’s name from their ballpark seems rash, or at least historically inaccurate; the Buffalo Bills, after all, still display O.J. Simpson’s name beneath their scoreboard, acknowledging his long-ago impact. As awkward as it is now, Alomar will always be a part of the Blue Jays’ past.

And that is where Alomar will remain for the sport: in its history, not its present or, very likely, its future. He cannot set foot on a field without Manfred’s approval. He cannot attend a game unless he buys a ticket. His excommunication is a signal that baseball is finally trying to change a culture too often hostile to women.

“My client commends other baseball industry survivors who have come forward, and who helped her feel safer in sharing her own terrible and life-altering experience,” Lisa Banks of Katz, Marshall & Banks in Washington, who represents Alomar’s accuser, said in a statement.

“My client has no plans to file a lawsuit or take further action. She has not exposed Mr. Alomar’s behavior for notoriety or for money and looks forward to moving on with her life. She simply wants to ensure that Mr. Alomar is held accountable for his wrongdoing and hopes her actions can help Major League Baseball create a safer workplace for its employees.”