The Saturday, May 29, 2021

* The Boston Globe

Alex Verdugo strokes three-run homer to send Red Sox past Marlins in six-inning rain-soaked game

Alex Speier

Urgency hovered over ’s arrival in the batter’s box in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The steady game-long rainfall had been sufficiently measured to allow half of the game to be played, but its stubbornness was taking a toll. Infield dirt turned to muddy pools. The cold of a 54-degree gametime temperature sank deeper into the uniforms of those on the field.

“The playing conditions, they were definitely a little bit unsafe,” said Verdugo. “There was no secret on how that field was kind of looking towards the end of that game. Infielders were playing in some puddles so we kind of knew it was just, hey, keep playing, keep grinding and try to get to five innings and have that lead.”

With the Red Sox and Marlins tied, 2-2, the game had entered what felt like stoppage time — players at risk of conceding the field to a tarp at any moment. With Red Sox on second and third and one out, Verdugo had a golden opportunity to push home what seemed likely to be the winning run simply by putting the ball in play.

His mission was simple: Get something in the air and drive it into the outfield.

He surpassed that goal. Verdugo crushed a first-pitch curveball from Marlins starter , launching a rocket beyond the visitor’s bullpen and into the right field bleachers for a 5-2 advantage.

That score became final a half-inning later when Red Sox reliever navigated the nearly impossible pitching conditions — he walked three batters — by striking out Marlins second baseman and Springfield native to end the top of the sixth. The umps called for the tarp, and after 1 hour, 25 minutes, called the contest.

The mere ability to complete a game represented something of a victory for both teams with the Marlins’ only visit to Boston this year calling for a relentless weekend-long deluge. Still, the outcome was significant for two teams within arm’s reach of the top of their divisions.

With questions about the potential duration of the game, the opening proved ominous for the Red Sox. Marlins leftfielder Corey Dickerson laced a Martín Pérez changeup for a single to lead off the second, then trotted home when Jorgé Alfaro blasted a thigh-high cutter that remained over the plate to the opposite- field, depositing it into the Marlins bullpen for his first homer of the season and a 2-0 lead.

But Pérez (3-2, 3.55) settled from that point forward, allowing just two of the next 14 batters to reach — while erasing one of those on a play. In five raindrop-dodging innings, he allowed just those two runs on five hits while walking none and striking out four. The outing was his sixth straight of at least five innings and three or fewer runs allowed, a span in which he has a 2.43 ERA.

“As soon as the umpire threw the ball to us, it was a lot of water in the ball. It’s hard to throw the ball like that,” said Pérez. “That’s when you have to go out there and compete, no matter what. That’s what I did.”

In doing so, Pérez allowed the Sox offense to find its form. Renfroe kickstarted a game-tying rally in the third by smashing a one-out double down the left field line. Kiké Hernández walked, and after Verdugo flied out, J.D. Martinez crushed a two-run double to center to knot the game at 2-2.

After Poteet got through the fourth, Renfroe played a key role in the decisive rally in the fifth. After Marwin Gonzalez walked to lead off the inning, Renfroe (2 for 2 with two doubles on Friday, .286/.302/.536 with 11 extra-base hits in May) doubled to left to put runners on second and third.

Afforded a chance to drive in the go-ahead run, Hernández jumped out of his shoes on a swing at a first- pitch fastball, then disgustedly cast aside his bat when he popped up the pitch. Undeterred by his teammate’s aggressiveness, Verdugo likewise swung at a first pitch — with very different results.

His three-run homer clocked at 108.7 mph — the fourth hardest-hit homer of his career. It was his seventh longball of the year and his second of the season on a first pitch.

Still, with the umpires electing to let the game proceed into the sixth inning, the Red Sox weren’t guaranteed victory even with the three-run advantage. Cora, recognizing that the game was being played with an emptying hourglass, summoned primary setup man Ottavino for the sixth, the righthander’s earliest entry into a game this year.

Though Ottavino registered two quick outs, his grip on the ball and the lead became slippery. As the rain began to intensify, a bewildered Ottavino periodically shook water from his hat, a frustrating accent to a stretch in which he missed the strike zone with 12 of 13 pitches — loading the bases on three walks. The conditions verged on unplayable.

“Obviously, the ball became an issue. His grip became an issue,” said Sox bench coach Wil Venable, who will fill in as manager on Saturday so that can attend his daughter’s high school graduation. “He did a great job battling it.”

Ottavino overcame the conditions for three final pitches, all sliders, to strike out Díaz for the final out of what proved to be the righthander’s second save of the season. The umpires then summoned the tarp, and the teams scattered.

When they return, it will be to a new reality. On Friday, attendance was announced at 9,005. On Saturday, the ballpark’s COVID-19 capacity restriction will conclude, offering a reminder of hope that extends beyond whatever occurs on the fabled — and, for now, soaked — field at Fenway.

Now a member of the Marlins, Sandy León glad to make a return to Boston

Alex Speier

On the surface, Sandy León’s tenure as a member of the Red Sox was one of modest distinction. In 358 career regular season contests and 15 more postseason games from 2015-19, León hit .223/.283/.339 with 24 homers. Outside of a couple of astonishing hot streaks, he was mostly a defense-first contributor over five seasons.

Yet that characterization fails to capture how those in the organization viewed León. He emerged during that time as a quiet yet tremendously respected presence whose daily commitment to the work of his staff both endeared him to pitchers and helped Christian Vázquez in his own development.

“Great, great, great player,” said Vázquez. “He helped me a lot to grow [as] a player and get better every day.”

That view of León’s contributions both behind the plate and in the clubhouse prompted Vázquez to form a plan with his former teammate in town as a member of the Marlins. With scratched for precautionary reasons, León was added late to the Marlins lineup as the designated hitter in the eighth spot in the lineup. Vázquez planned to step in front of the plate to pause the game in hopes that Fenway Park would recognize a valued contributor who earned a ring during his time in Boston.

León made no secret of how much it meant to be back in the park where he established himself as a big leaguer.

“I love Boston, man,” said León. “There were times when I was outside that it was the first time for me as a big leaguer that [the fans] knew who I was — at restaurants, at the grocery store. As a player, you feel grateful because they recognize you. I love Boston. I love the fans. I’m glad to be back [and] still in the big leagues.” …

Friday marked a family reunion as José Devers, the 21-year-old cousin of Red Sox slugger , was in town as the starting shortstop for the Marlins. José Devers, who was acquired by the Marlins from the Yankees in the Giancarlo Stanton trade, made his big league debut in April.

The chance to play on the same field represented a special opportunity for the players.

“We haven’t played together ever in our lives,” José Devers said through a translator, noting that the two grew up in different regions of the Dominican Republic (José Devers is from Samana, while Rafael Devers played in Santo Domingo). “So it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be the first time so hopefully everything goes well.”

Rafael Devers was able to offer the Red Sox a scouting report on his cousin.

“Raffy said he flies, so we have to be ready for that,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “Hopefully if he hits a groundball to [Rafael Devers at] third, he’ll be the first one to know and gets rid of it.” …

Capacity restrictions at Fenway Park will be lifted on Saturday. The Red Sox had been limited by the Commonwealth to 25 percent capacity. Their largest paid attendance crowd this year had been 9,374 entering Friday. While the team does not expect a sellout (or anywhere close to it) on Saturday, a crowd that is at least double the size of any in Boston this year is expected.

“It should be fun for the guys,” said Cora. “At the same time you also think about your family members, people who enjoy coming to the game and watching the games, and your kids. That part is always there, the doubt.

“But knowing the organization does it right, they’re going to take all the steps to make it quote-unquote safe,” he continued. “We never know. We’re battling against something that’s invisible. Hopefully everything goes well. But I’m excited, looking forward to this place to be packed and keep trending in a positive way.”

CDC director Rochelle Walensky is scheduled to throw out the first pitch prior to Saturday’s game. …

Ultimately, the decision to option outfielder to Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday was fairly straightforward. With Danny Santana having joined the Red Sox roster, Cordero’s part-time role was squeezed further — an unacceptable outcome for a talented 26-year-old who has just 417 career plate appearances as a result of an array of injuries in parts of five big league seasons.

“It was getting hard to get him at-bats,” said Cora. “Although he’s important for us in the present, he’s very important for us in the future. He hasn’t played a lot the last few years. For him to go down there and get at-bats, consistent at-bats, keep improving his swing decisions and controlling the strike zone, it’s very important. We have a good team here. We have a complete baseball team here. The thought process is we need him to get better. We need him to get at-bats.”

The Red Sox recalled righthander Colten Brewer from Triple-A Worcester to take the spot created by the decision to option Cordero. …

Though sat on Friday against Marlins righty Cody Poteet, Cora said that he does not expect to limit Dalbec solely to starting against lefties. Though Dalbec is hitting .138/.211/.241 against righties and .313/.340/.646 against lefties, Cora said he plans to use Dalbec, Santana, and Marwin Gonzalez roughly two out of every three games.

Change coming slowly to dugout and clubhouse as Red Sox fail to reach vaccination threshold

Alex Speier

A sea change will take place on Saturday at Fenway Park, when capacity restrictions are lifted and fully vaccinated patrons of the ballpark will no longer be required to mask.

But change will be slower to come to the Red Sox dugout and clubhouse this season — if it comes at all. While a majority of teams now have reached the vaccination thresholds that allow them to relax some of their COVID-19 protocols and restrictions, the Red Sox are not among them.

MLB and the MLB Players Association announced on Friday that 16 of the 30 teams had seen at least 85 percent of their Tier 1 personnel — a group that includes big league and Triple-A players and coaching staff, trainers and medical staff, and a small cadre of front office members — become fully vaccinated. Additionally, three more teams have had at least 85 percent of their Tier 1 personnel receive their final dose of COVID-19 vaccine, with full vaccination status coming in the next two weeks.

“We’re not in that mix,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who is fully vaccinated. “We got closer two weeks ago but then this week we didn’t make any progress. It is what it is.”

Across MLB, 81.2 percent of Tier 1 individuals are considered fully vaccinated, and 84.5 percent of all Tier 1 personnel have received at least their first injection of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Cora emphasized that the decisions of Tier 1 personnel in Worcester factor into the team’s ability to reach the 85 percent vaccination threshold. He said that, as was the case with the big league team, there had been no progress in the past week in getting more Tier 1 individuals vaccinated in Triple-A.

Arrival at the 85 percent vaccination milestone comes with certain team benefits, including the removal of masking requirements in the dugout and bullpen, permission to resume team activities such as clubhouse card games, the opportunity to spend time indoors with other vaccinated individuals such as family members on the road, the ability to resume dining indoors at restaurants, and more.

Cora wasn’t overly concerned about the inability to relax protocols at the ballpark. However, he did worry that while Red Sox players have been good about abiding by the COVID-19 rules to this point, players might end up being quarantined for failing to adhere to guidelines in their off-the-field behavior.

“I think [the lack of relaxed protocols] impacts when we leave the stadium,” said Cora. “That worries me a little bit because we, as a group, we cannot take advantage of certain rules, you know, or break the rules in this situation, because we’re not at 85 percent.”

Unvaccinated players are also subject to seven-day quarantine periods if they come in close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19. By contrast, vaccinated players do not need to enter close contact quarantine unless they become symptomatic.

Cora has remained consistent throughout the spring that vaccination is an individual decision. But on Friday, he wondered aloud how he would feel if a player who hadn’t been vaccinated landed on the COVID-19 restricted list for a week for violating protocols.

“It’ll be very difficult for me and respecting the decision of each individual [if] somebody gets put on quarantine because they broke a rule because he’s not vaccinated,” said Cora. “I always wonder, how are we going to react [if] somebody just decides ... to go to a restaurant or to a spa or go out, and then all of a sudden, that person misses seven days because you have to be put in quarantine because you broke the rules.”

To date, there have been no such incidents for the Red Sox. But with the accelerating reopening of the country, Cora expressed concern that members of the team will be tempted to engage in activities that will remain prohibited for as long as the team remains below the 85 percent vaccination threshold.

“This group has been very disciplined,” said Cora. “But at the same time, Monday’s a holiday. You can feel it. The summer is here. The world is moving forward. And hopefully, you know, we can stay disciplined throughout the process.”

The extent of that discipline will remain elevated so long as the team’s vaccination rate remains unaltered.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky to throw out first pitch at Fenway Park as capacity limits are lifted

Travis Andersen

She’s thrown herself into the job of running the CDC amid a once-in-a-generation global pandemic, and on Saturday, she’ll throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park, the same day capacity limits at the ballpark will be lifted.

Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will do the honors before Saturday’s game against the , slated for 4:10 p.m., the Red Sox confirmed in a statement Friday.

Because she’s taking the mound the same day most COVID-19 restrictions, including capacity limits at Fenway, will be rescinded, she’ll likely throw out the pitch in front of some 37,000 spectators.

“Starting May 29, masks will no longer be required for fully vaccinated fans at Fenway Park, in accordance with current CDC guidelines,” the statement said, adding that unvaccinated fans are “strongly encouraged” to keep donning masks.

In addition, the team said, the health survey requirement outside Fenway that’s been required for entry this season will be eliminated Saturday. However, bags will still be restricted, except for parcels holding medical devices and diaper bags.

Fenway will continue operating at 25 percent fan capacity through Friday night’s game, according to the statement.

The team’s principal owner, John Henry, also owns the Boston Globe.

Walensky and other health officials have repeatedly pointed to the COVID-19 vaccination drive as a key factor in hastening a return to something resembling pre-pandemic life, when stadiums were full and people mingled freely in crowds great and small.

Via Twitter on Tuesday, Walensky hit on that theme again.

* The Boston Herald

Alex Verdugo’s three-run shot leads Red Sox to rain-shortened win over Marlins

Jason Mastrodonato

If Alex Verdugo doesn’t consider this to be a good year, the Red Sox should be doing backflips.

Two days ago, Verdugo said he was disappointed with his performance in 2021, his first full season with the Red Sox since he was traded for Mookie Betts.

Friday, Verdugo hit a bullet into the right-field bleachers for the decisive, three-run homer to lead the Red Sox to a 5-2, rain-shortened win over the Marlins.

The game was called after six innings due to inclement weather.

“There was no secret on how that field was looking towards the end of that game,” Verdugo said. “Infielders were playing in some puddles, so we kind of knew it was, ‘keep playing, keep grinding and try to get to five innings and have that lead.’ The fifth inning was kind of like the eighth inning in reality.”

They were tied, 2-2, heading into the fifth inning Friday night when the Sox started a rally.

With rain in the forecast all night, the Red Sox needed runs and needed them fast. Marwin Gonzalez drew a walk and smoked a double to set the table for Verdugo two batters later. He got a first-pitch curveball at the bottom of the zone and hammered a laser into the right-field seats.

“Honestly, I never sit pitches,” he said. “I don’t really ever do that. But for some reason today, I just kind of felt like he was gonna throw me a curveball or a changeup… It just was one of those things that right out of the hand I just had a good look at it, just saw it well out of the hand, stayed on it, didn’t try to get too big, and obviously was able to hit one out and put us up.”

The rain made it look difficult to see on the field.

“I think it was more difficult to see it in the outfield than it would have been at the plate, the plate was actually not too bad,” Verdugo said.

It was Verdugo’s seventh homer and pushed his average to .293. Since joining the Red Sox last year, he’s a .301 hitter who has 13 homers in 100 games while having played above-average defense in the outfield and ran the bases with authority.

If this is the “grinding” version of Verdugo, the Red Sox are doing OK.

He’s been a consistent force in the No. 2 spot in the order. He’s scored 32 runs in 47 games. And he’s done it while playing through a hamstring injury that’s severely impacted his play.

Though Betts has 24 homers since joining the Dodgers compared to Verdugo’s 13 since joining the Sox, Verdugo’s .301 average is well above Betts’ .274 mark.

Whether he likes it or not, he’ll be forever compared to the player he was traded for.

Other takeaways from Friday’s game:

1. Alex Cora managed this game like he knew it’d be over after six innings. He pulled starter Martin Perez after five strong innings in which he threw just 71 pitches. Cora handed the ball to his set-up guy, Adam Ottavino, for the sixth inning and had closer warming up for the seventh, though he was never needed.

“As soon as I saw Ottavino, I said I have to finish this game,” Perez said. “I don’t know how I’m going to do it because the weather was so hard. But I’m going to try to do my best and was able to do it.

“Ottavino came in in the sixth and it was hard for him because we spoke after the game and it was hard for him to throw the ball because as soon as the umpire threw the ball to us, there was a lot of water in the ball. It’s hard to throw the ball like that. But when you go out and compete, anything can happen. Good things happened after that.”

2. Former Red Sox Sandy Leon got a nice ovation when he was announced before the game. The Sox played a highlight reel on the big video board and Leon smiled and tipped his cap. He then roped a single to right field off Perez while hitting eighth as the Marlins’ designated hitter.

3. Rafael Devers had a nice moment with his cousin, Jose Devers, who was playing shortstop for the Marlins. On Devers’ first at-bat, Rafael looked at him and started laughing. Jose went 0-for-2 while making an error on a routine grounder by Danny Santana. Rafael was 0-for-3 with two .

Red Sox Notebook: Struggling Bobby Dalbec ‘is going to play’

Jason Mastrodonato

The Red Sox aren’t turning away from struggling rookie Bobby Dalbec, manager Alex Cora said on Friday.

Dalbec was on the bench in favor of Danny Santana for the second time in a week.

Santana, who has a 1.139 OPS in five games, clearly looks like the better option against right-handed pitchers, but Cora said it won’t be a straight platoon with him and Dalbec.

“No, Bobby’s going to play,” Cora said. “Actually, he’s playing two out of three in this series. We’ve got to play the guys we have, look for match-ups, and try to win ballgames.”

But Dalbec hasn’t been helping the Red Sox win many games this year. He’s been worth negative-0.9 WAR while striking out 36% of the time, the second-highest rate in the majors (minimum 140 at- bats).

He has a .138 average with a .452 OPS against right-handers.

Dalbec will play Saturday against Miami lefty and on Sunday against right-hander Sandy Alcantara, the skipper said.

“I think from now on, it feels and looks like all those guys somehow, some way, they’re going to play two out of three games in every series,” Cora said. “It feels that way. I’m not promising playing time here, but we’ve got to take care of guys physically.”

Cordero’s next chapter

Franchy Cordero needed at-bats, and the Red Sox could no longer justify giving him any.

After Cordero was optioned to Worcester on Thursday, Cora said it was getting too difficult to find him playing time.

“It was very hard,” Cora said. “Although he’s important for us in the present, he’s very important for us in the future. He hasn’t played a lot the last few years. For him to go down there and get at-bats, consistent at- bats, keep improving his swing decisions and controlling the strike zone, it’s very important.

“We have a good baseball team here. We have a complete baseball team here. The thought process is we need him to get better. We need him to get at-bats. He showed up yesterday right away, he had five at-bats yesterday. He’s going to continue to play every day down there. He’ll play in left, some right, too. I think that’s going to benefit him in the long run.”

The Red Sox called up pitcher Colten Brewer to replace Cordero on the roster.

Another Devers Rafael Devers’ 21-year-old cousin, Jose Devers, was batting ninth and playing shortstop for the Marlins on Friday night.

Jose Devers is hitting .250 with a .566 OPS in 11 big league games this season.

“Raffy said he flies,” Cora said. “So we have to be ready for that. Hopefully if he hits a ground-ball to third, he’ll be the first one to know and gets rid of it.

“But (Rafael is) very proud of him. I remember when he got called up we here, I think we were in Texas, he stayed up late and it was an off-day, he stayed up late to watch him. He said he was so nervous. I think (Jose) saw nine pitches and swung at nine. I told Raffy, ‘very similar to you, right?’ He started laughing.”

Sandy’s return

Old friend Sandy Leon returned to Fenway Park as part of the Marlins’ catching tandem.

Leon is hitting just .167 with a .439 OPS in 27 games, but the Red Sox have fond memories of him over five years in Boston, where he won a World Series in 2018.

“He was huge for us,” Cora said. “When I got here, you guys asked about and Sandy, how we were going to do that. It just happened organically. … He was amazing. Really good to us. Not only on the field but off the field, in the clubhouse. He prepares. He takes pride in what’s so important for a catcher, which is the pitching staff.

“I’m very proud of him, proud that he’s still playing. He’s making a difference with the Marlins.”

Christian Vazquez said Leon was a great teammate who “helped me a lot to grow like a player and get better every day.”

Vaccination rate lagging

Every Friday, MLB announces how many teams have reached the 85% vaccination rate and can loosen restrictions, such as not wearing masks in the dugout.

But the Red Sox once again were not on that list, which means starting Saturday, fans in the stands at Fenway Park won’t need to wear masks, but players and coaches in the dugout will.

“We didn’t make any progress this last week,” Cora said. “It is what it is.”

Cora said the Triple-A team in Worcester also contributes to the 85%. He said he’s not frustrated that his players aren’t getting vaccinated, as long nobody catches COVID-19 and has to be quarantined, which could keep players and coaches away from the team for a week.

“That’s the one that I always wonder about,” Cora said. “So far, we’ve been very disciplined.”

* The Providence Journal

Red Sox, rain proved too much for Marlins to overcome

Bill Koch

BOSTON --- CB Bucknor granted the Marlins one final chance.

Rain began to saturate the infield at Fenway Park in the top of the sixth inning Friday night. Standing water progressed from behind the corners to the feet of at shortstop and Marwin Gonzalez at second base.

What was left of the 9,005 fans on hand retreated for the cover of the main grandstand. They wouldn’t be forced to wait there all that long. There were just three outs to go in what turned out to be a shortened evening in the Back Bay.

Miami couldn’t find a way to tie or take the lead. Alex Verdugo’s three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth was a walkoff of sorts. Bucknor, the umpiring crew chief, called for the tarp with the Red Sox holding a 5-2 cushion that ultimately became the abbreviated final.

The Marlins don’t make another trip here this season. The expected deluge over the next two days didn’t leave much of a window for a postponement and a doubleheader. That meant starting the series as scheduled on Friday, and Boston found a finishing kick after facing an early 2-0 deficit.

“We saw the field,” Verdugo said. “We were out there. We knew there was no way we were going to keep going with this game.”

The Red Sox coaching staff also seemed to have a clear inkling this would be a short night. Adam Ottavino was up and warming in the top of the fifth. Matt Barnes did the same in the top of the sixth. Needless to say, those aren’t the usual spots for setup man and closer to enter.

“I think we had a pocket Alex (Cora) liked for Ottavino,” Red Sox bench coach said. “It just came at a time where we were trying to get ahead of that weather. It was just the right move at that point.”

Boston’s manager had departed for his native Puerto Rico at the conclusion of the 85-minute rain delay. Cora is attending his daughter’s high school graduation back home on Saturday, and Venable is scheduled to make his managerial debut. His opening press conference came one night early thanks to a change in plans from Mother Nature.

“It’s a lot of water,” Red Sox starter Martin Perez said. “I couldn’t feel the ball in my hands. I was just trying to do my best.”

The Red Sox were in a position to be aggressive with their bullpen thanks to Verdugo. Gonzalez drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fifth and Hunter Renfroe lashed his second double of the night off the Green Monster. Cody Poteet induced a first-pitch pop to the right side from Kiké Hernandez but wasn’t so fortunate when he left a curveball down and in on the first pitch to Verdugo.

The outfielder sent one on a line to deep right and took just a few token steps back toward the wall. Verdugo was posing on contact and let the Red Sox dugout hear it all the way to first base. It was the sort of moment that will electrify the full grandstands expected late Saturday afternoon.

“Right out of the hand I had a good look at it,” Verdugo said. “I saw it well right out of the hand and didn’t try to get too big.”

J.D. Martinez pulled a two-run double off the wall in the bottom of the third and Boston never trailed again. Perez faced the minimum over his final three frames, using a 6-4-3 double play to erase a Corey Dickerson single in the top of the fourth. Perez has now pitched at least five innings in his last six starts and allowed more than two earned runs only once.

Perez’s only mistake came in the top of the second, a cut-fastball out over the plate to that wound up in the visiting bullpen. That gave Miami its early 2-0 lead and was the second extra-base hit allowed by Perez in just six batters. He buckled down from there, surrendering two more singles and finishing with four strikeouts against no walks.

“A couple of times they told me it was going to rain all night,” Perez said. “My plan was just trying to throw more than five innings. More than five, less than two runs – give a chance to the team to score.”

RED SOX JOURNAL: Leon has warm memories of time with Boston

Bill Koch

BOSTON — In terms of his baseball career, Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez has both his father and his older brother at Fenway Park this weekend.

Former catcher , who is now the game-planning coordinator and coach, remains a strong presence among Red Sox players past and present. Sandy Leon, who played with the Red Sox from 2015- 2019 and is now with the Marlins, was the veteran teammate who helped Vazquez apply some of the finishing touches to his development.

Leon played a career-high 89 games with Boston in 2018, helping the franchise capture its fourth World Series championship this century. The 32-year-old emerged as a personal favorite of pitchers Chris Sale and Rick Porcello, all but guaranteeing him a place in the lineup on days when they took the mound.

“He was a great teammate here,” Vazquez said. “Great player. He helped me a lot to grow as a player and get better every day.”

Vazquez eventually overtook Leon for the postseason and caught the final pitch of 2018 from Sale at Dodger Stadium. Leon, who was claimed off waivers from the Nationals in March 2015, was traded to Cleveland prior to 2020 for minor-league right-hander Adenys Bautista. was signed to back up Vazquez, providing a bit more offensive punch from the right side.

“It was the first time for me as a big leaguer where they knew who I was outside the ballpark,” Leon said of his five seasons with the Red Sox. “Eating, grocery store, going shopping — they knew who I was. As a player, you feel grateful.”

Leon enters as the understudy to Miami catcher Jorge Alfaro, who was in the lineup on Friday. The 27- year-old was a significant prospect with the Phillies and part of a February 2019 blockbuster with Philadelphia. Alfaro and right-hander Sixto Sanchez were the headliners going to the Marlins for slugging catcher J.T. Realmuto.

Leon was a last-minute addition to the Miami lineup on Friday. Adam Duvall (left side soreness) was a late scratch, opening a spot for Leon to serve as the designated hitter.

Carousel at first base

The Red Sox continue to rotate through their options at first base.

Danny Santana drew the start on Friday against Miami right-hander Cody Poteet. Santana was preferred to fellow switch-hitter Marwin Gonzalez and Bobby Dalbec, who sat out a potential right-right matchup.

“It feels and looks like all of those guys — somehow, some way — are going to play two out of three games in every series,” Cora said. “It feels that way.”

Dalbec is expected to start on Saturday against left-hander Trevor Rogers. He’s bashing southpaws thus far to the tune of a .986 OPS, including seven extra-base hits in just 50 plate appearances. Right-hander Sandy Alcantara is expected to start the Sunday finale for the Marlins.

“They’re going to get at-bats but they’re not going to start 10 games in a row, 12 games in a row,” Cora said. “We’re going to mix and match with all of them.”

Brewer gets the call

Boston on Friday recalled right-hander Colten Brewer from Triple-A Worcester.

The Red Sox announced the move about 30 minutes prior to the first pitch. Brewer has allowed an earned run in each of his first four appearances with the WooSox, pitching to a 9.00 ERA.

Brewer was the corresponding move for Franchy Cordero, who was optioned after Wednesday’s 9-5 win over Atlanta. Cordero debuted with Worcester on Thursday, batting cleanup and playing left field. He collected a single to right, a walk, a strikeout and two runs scored in a 9-2 victory at Lehigh Valley.

“We have a complete baseball team here,” Cora said. “The thought process is we need him to get better. We need him to get at-bats.”

In the family

Miami’s shortstop on Friday had a familiar name — Jose Devers. He’s a cousin of Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers.

The 21-year-old debuted in April and was appearing in his 12th game. Each of his first four hits was a single. He also has a walk to show for his first 19 plate appearances. He was an international signing from the Dominican Republic in 2016, agreeing to a bonus of $250,000.

“Raffy said he flies, so we’ve got to be ready for that,” Cora said. “Hopefully, he hits a ground ball to third and he gets rid of the ball and gets him out.”

Devers played just nine games at Triple-A Jacksonville this season before being promoted. His previous experience included 185 games at the Class-A level or below.

Vaccination rate lags: Red Sox must continue with virus protocols

Bill Koch

BOSTON — Fenway Park will open to full capacity on Saturday but certain Red Sox personnel still will be wearing masks.

Boston has yet to reach the 85% COVID-19 vaccination threshold required to ease virus restrictions. More than half of the sport’s Tier 1 groups — 16 of 30 — had met or exceeded the standard as of Friday. Three more will do so in the next two weeks after their respective immunity periods following a second shot have passed.

After this weekend's series against the Miami Marlins, the Red Sox will embark on a seven-game road trip to Houston and New York still observing social-distancing measures on charter flights and charter buses. Players and staff members still will be prohibited from frequenting local bars and restaurants before and after games. Fans looking on from the stands this weekend at Minute Maid Park and at Yankee Stadium all figure to be allowed to do so.

“So far, we’ve been very disciplined,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “But as the world keeps becoming normal, hopefully, we don’t see that as a window where we can take advantage. That’s my biggest worry.”

Boston managed to avoid any COVID-19 cases throughout a shortened 60-game season in 2020. Matt Barnes and several close contacts were banished from spring training after what turned out to be a non- infectious positive test in March. J.D. Martinez missed one game at Baltimore in April after reporting potential virus symptoms — each of his subsequent test results was negative.

“I do believe we’re doing things the right way,” Cora said. “Everybody is preparing the right way. It impacts when we leave the stadium. That’s the one. That worries me a little bit. We as a group cannot take advantage of certain rules because we’re not at 85%.”

Mask use in dugouts and bullpens is no longer required once clubs reach the magic number. Players and staff members would be allowed to watch video in a communal clubhouse space rather than in smaller groups or individually. Use of team treatment rooms, spas and saunas would be subject to fewer restrictions.

PCR and saliva testing would be reduced, and both players and staff members would be allowed to use ride-share services such as Uber and Lyft during road trips. Vaccinated family members and children who are not vaccinated would be able to stay with players and staff members at team hotels. Leaving team hotels without advanced notification and staying at personal homes while on road trips also would be allowed.

“As of now, we’ve been very good — we've been very disciplined — with the testing,” Cora said. “But at the same time, Monday is a holiday. You can feel it — summer is here. The world is going forward.”

Part of the inability to reach the threshold rests with Red Sox minor leaguers and staff members. Triple-A Worcester is included among Boston’s Tier 1 group, which includes roughly 100 people in all. Cora said there has been little progress both with the Red Sox and WooSox over the last week in terms of receiving vaccines.

“I think people have this wrong idea that it’s only the big-league team,” Cora said. “In Tier 1, it’s the big leagues and Triple A. It’s a combination of both.

“Right now, we didn’t make any progress here or down there in Worcester.”

Cora was outside baseball’s bubble last season while serving his suspension for the 2017 electronic sign- stealing with the Astros. His native Puerto Rico enforced mandatory lockdowns and curfews in an attempt to reduce the number of cases on the island. Cora said he wore gloves and a hooded sweatshirt while venturing to the grocery store for the first time and immediately showered upon his return home.

“As far as what we bring for the city and what’s going to happen tomorrow, it’s great,” Cora said. “It feels like we’re moving forward as a society. There’s a lot of information out there we didn’t have on March 17 of last year.

“We were panicking, right? You were panicking. Everybody was panicking. What were we going to do? Now it feels like it’s as normal as possible — obviously, with some rules or guidelines or stuff we have to do.”

* MassLive.com

Alex Verdugo hits game-winning as Boston Red Sox beat Marlins, 5-2, in rain-shortened game amid downpour

Chris Cotillo

Two days after waiting through a two-hour, 53-minute rain delay before beating the Braves, the Red Sox finally were the beneficiaries of a game being called early due to rain.

Boston beat the Marlins, 5-2, in six innings amidst a downpour at Fenway Park, with Alex Verdugo hitting the game-winning, three-run home run in the fifth inning. The game went into a rain delay after the top half of the sixth and was called shortly before 10:45 p.m.

While Marlins rookie right-hander Cody Poteet shut down the Sox’ offense early, Miami took an early 2-0 lead on a Jorge Alfaro home run in the second inning. Boston rallied back in the third, tying the ballgame on a J.D. Martinez two-run double.

After Marwin Gonzalez walked and Renfroe doubled to lead off the fifth, Verdugo crushed a Poteet curveball over the Marlins’ bullpen to give the Red Sox a lead. Sensing that the rain was not letting up, Sox manager Alex Cora turned to setup man Adam Ottavino for the sixth -- and even had closer Matt Barnes warming when Ottavino ran into trouble.

With rain falling hard in the sixth, Ottavino had trouble gripping the ball and issued three straight two-out walks before striking out Springfield native Isan Díaz to end the inning. Within seconds of the strikeout, the grounds crew brought the tarp out onto the field.

Sox starter Martín Pérez continued his effective stretch, settling down after the second to last five innings, allowing two runs on five hits. The left-hander picked up the win as the Sox improved to 31-20.

Eovaldi looks to extend winning streak to three games

Right-hander will get the ball for Boston on Saturday afternoon as the Red Sox look to extend their winning streak to three games with Fenway Park allowed to be filled to 100% capacity for the first time this season. Left-hander Trevor Rogers will start for Miami with first pitch scheduled for 4:10 p.m.

Alex Verdugo’s game-winning homer for Boston Red Sox ‘did kind of feel like’ a walk-off shot in rain-shortened game at Fenway

Chris Cotillo

There’s no such thing as a walk-off home run in the fifth inning, but Alex Verdugo hit the closest thing possible Friday night at Fenway Park.

With torrential rain pouring down in Boston, Verdugo broke a 2-2 tie with a three-run blast off Marlins starter Cody Poteet with one out in the fifth inning. After Adam Ottavino worked out of a bases-loaded jam to retire Miami in the sixth, the game was put in a rain delay and eventually called more than an hour later; the Red Sox won, 5-2.

Verdugo’s blast ended up coming in Boston’s last offensive half-inning of the night.

“It did kind of feel like that,” Verdugo said. “As players, we knew. We saw the field, we were out there. We knew there was no way we were going to keep going with this game. It just was getting dangerous.”

With rain forecast throughout the weekend in Boston, it was clear the Red Sox and Marlins would do everything in their power to play five innings Friday night and complete an official game. The downpour did not let up at any point during the 2+ hours of play, leaving puddles all over the infield and on the pitcher’s mound.

The Red Sox, recognizing they were unlikely to play nine innings, knew a fifth-inning run could be the difference in the game. Once Marwin Gonzalez walked and Hunter Renfroe doubled to lead off the fifth, Boston had a potential game-winning rally going.

“We knew the rain was coming and that we wanted to push a couple across,” said bench coach Will Venable, who took postgame questions in place of Alex Cora, who is en route to his daughter’s graduation in Puerto Rico. “I don’t think we were playing for one run by any means. We definitely wanted to put the pressure on and push a couple across.”

In Verdugo’s head, the game was getting late early.

“There was no secret on how that field was looking toward the end of that game,” he said. “Infielders were playing in some puddles. We kind of knew. It was just, ‘Hey, keep playing, keep grinding and try to get to give innings and have the lead.’ Obviously, the fifth inning, which was kind of like the eighth inning in reality.”

Verdugo was 0-for-2 entering his fifth-inning at-bat, who dominated the Red Sox early in his fourth career big-league start. He swung at a first-pitch curveball and flew out for the second out of the third inning, so when he came to bat two innings later, he had an off-speed pitch in mind. With two runners on, the outfielder’s goal was to hit the ball in the air and push ahead the go-ahead run.

“I never sit pitches,” Verdugo said. “I don’t really ever do that, but for some reason, today I felt like he was going to throw me a curveball or changeup.

“I had curveball in my mind but I wasn’t necessarily sitting, dead red curveball,” he added. “I had it in my mind and I knew he likes to throw it. It just was one of those things. Right out of the hand, I had a good look at it, saw it well out of the hand, stayed on it and didn’t try to get too big.”

Verdugo said he has played in harder rain in the past, but the duration of the heavy precipitation was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Two nights after waiting through a two-hour, 53-minute rain delay before finishing their game against the Braves, it was clear the Red Sox knew there was a good chance Friday’s game would be shortened.

After Verdugo’s homer, Sox manager Alex Cora began to use his bullpen aggressively, inserting setup man Adam Ottavino for the sixth inning -- and having closer Matt Barnes warm once Ottavino ran into trouble. From the start, Boston played with an increased sense of urgency knowing how likely a rain-shortened game was.

“If we did have what we had today, a little delay and we had to bang it, at least we got five innings in and that was it,” Verdugo said.

Boston Red Sox weather: Friday’s game vs. Marlins ‘going to be a grind’ with rain in forecast throughout night

Chris Cotillo

BOSTON -- Friday’s game between the Red Sox and the Marlins appears to be in jeopardy because of rain forecast in the Fenway Park area. As of now, first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m with lefty Martín Pérez on the mound for Boston opposite Marlins rookie righty Cody Poteet.

The National Weather service forecasts calls for rain throughout the night. The radar calls for rain to start around 8 p.m. and pick up significantly throughout the night and into Saturday morning.

From the NWS: “Rain, mainly after 8pm. Low around 47. East wind 6 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.”

Speaking around 3:30 p.m., Red Sox manager Alex Cora seemed unsure about if the game would be played. The Sox and Marlins are scheduled to play three times this weekend in Boston but the forecast signals that rain is going to be a problem on all three days.

“It’s going to be a grind tonight,” Cora said.

Boston and Miami don’t seem to have many options for potentially rescheduling postponed games, as any doubleheaders over the weekend will be threatened by rain and the Sox are scheduled to leave for Houston on Sunday afternoon. Boston’s last game -- Wednesday’s series finale against the Braves -- included a two- hour, 53-minute rain delay and finished at 12:59 a.m. Thursday morning.

Stay tuned for more updates throughout the night.

Boston Red Sox’s Rafael Devers playing against cousin -- Marlins shortstop José -- for first time in majors: ‘He’s very proud of him,’ Alex Cora says

Chris Cotillo

BOSTON -- This weekend’s series between the Red Sox and Marlins will be special for Sox third baseman Rafael Devers, who will get to play against his cousin, José, for the first time in the majors.

José Devers, a 21-year-old infielder who was traded from the Yankees to the Marlins in the Dec. 2017 deal that sent Giancarlo Stanton to New York, made his big-league debut in April and has appeared in 11 games for Miami since being promoted. In Friday’s series opener, José is batting ninth and starting at shortstop for the Marlins while Rafael is hitting fifth and playing third base for Boston.

“Raffy said he flies, so we’ve got to be ready for that,” said Sox manager Alex Cora. “Hopefully, if he hits a ground ball to third, (Rafael) is the first one to know, he gets rid of the ball and gets him out.

“He’s very proud of him,” Cora continued. “I remember when he got called up... he stayed up late to watch him. He said that he was so nervous. He saw nine pitches and swung at nine. I told Raffy, ‘Very similar to you, right?’ and he started laughing.”

The two cousins grew up in different cities in the Dominican Republic (Rafael in Santo Domingo and José in Samana) and are three years apart, so they didn’t play against each other growing up. But they have stayed in contact and got a chance to briefly chat before their teams faced off Friday night at Fenway Park.

“We haven’t played together ever in our lives,” José said. “It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be the first time. Hopefully, everything goes well.”

Throughout his journey in the minor leagues, José relied on Rafael with advice on how to eventually reach the majors. His older cousin’s words clearly paid off.

“Since I signed in 2016, we developed a good relationship, having good conversations,” José said. “Mostly, he knew the road of the minor-league system, how hard it is, the good times and the bad times. He gave me (advice several times) about how to go about my business in the minor leagues. He really helped me through that path.”

Boston Red Sox lineup: Bobby Dalbec sits, Danny Santana starting at first base vs. Miami; José Devers, cousin of Rafael, starts at shortstop for Marlins

Chris Cotillo

BOSTON -- Bobby Dalbec is out of the lineup and Danny Santana is starting at first base for the Red Sox as they open up a three-game series against the Marlins at Fenway Park on Friday night.

Dalbec is expected to play Saturday and Sunday but manager Alex Cora thought Santana was a better matchup against Marlins rookie right-hander Cody Poteet, who is making his fourth big-league start.

“Bobby’s going to play. Actually he’s playing two out of three games this series, so we’ve just got to play the guys that we have and look for matchups and try to win ballgames. We feel like today’s a good matchup for Danny to play first and hit sixth. Tomorrow, with a lefty, Bobby’s going to play and on Sunday, he’s going to play.”

Alex Verdugo (left field), Kiké Hernández (center) and Hunter Renfroe (right) are starting in the outfield for the Sox with Marwin Gonzalez playing second base.

José Devers, the cousin of Sox third baseman Rafael Devers, is hitting ninth and starting at shortstop for Miami. Sandy Leon, who played for the Red Sox from 2015 to 2019, was a late addition to the lineup as the designated hitter and is hitting eighth.

Lefty Martín Pérez is on the mound for Boston with first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

Miami Marlins (24-26) vs. Boston Red Sox (30-20) · Fenway Park · Boston, MA FIRST PITCH: 7:10 p.m. ET

TV CHANNEL: NESN / MLB Network (out of market)

LIVE STREAM: NESN | fuboTV - If you have cable and live in the New England TV market, you can use your login credentials to watch via NESN on mobile and WiFi-enabled devices. If you don’t have cable, you can watch the game via fuboTV, in New England | MLB.tv (subscription required)

RADIO: WEEI 93.7 FM

PITCHING PROBABLES: RHP Cody Poteet (2-0, 1.06 ERA) vs. LHP Martín Pérez (2-2, 3.55 ERA)

RED SOX LINEUP:

1. CF Kiké Hernández

2. LF Alex Verdugo

3. DH J.D. Martinez

4. SS Xander Bogaerts

5. 3B Rafael Devers

6. 1B Danny Santana

7. C Christian Vázquez

8. 2B Marwin Gonzalez

9. RF Hunter Renfroe

MARLINS LINEUP:

1. 3B

2. CF

3. 1B Jesús Aguilar

4. RF Garrett Cooper

5. LF Corey Dickerson

6. C Jorge Alfaro

7. 2B Isan Díaz

8. DH Sandy Leon

9. SS José Devers

Boston Red Sox vs. Miami Marlins TV schedule, pitching probables, key stories (May 28-30)

Christopher Smith

The Boston Red Sox welcome the Miami Marlins to Boston for three games Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday’s game marks the first time since Sept. 29, 2019, that Fenway Park will be at 100% capacity as COVID restrictions will be lifted that day.

Boston (30-20) enters in second place in the AL East, one game behind the Tampa Bay Rays (32-20) and one game ahead of the third-place New York Yankees (29-21).

Miami Marlins (24-26) vs. Boston Red Sox (30-20) · Fenway Park · Boston, MA SERIES SCHEDULE (and TV information):

Friday, May 28: Miami at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m., NESN, MLB Network (out of market)

Saturday, May 29: Miami at Red Sox, 4:10 p.m., NESN

Sunday, May 30: Miami at Red Sox, 1:10 p.m., NESN, (MLB Network out of market)

HOW TO WATCH:

Friday, May 28, 7:10 p.m. ET -- NESN (Channel finder: Comcast Xfinity, Verizon Fios, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV, Dish, AT&T U verse, fuboTV and Sling) · Live stream: fuboTV, MLB.tv (out of market)

Saturday, May 29, 4:10 p.m. ET -- NESN (Channel finder: Comcast Xfinity, Verizon Fios, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV, Dish, AT&T U verse, fuboTV and Sling) · Live stream: FOX Sports, fuboTV, MLB.tv (out of market)

Sunday, May 30, 1:10 p.m. ET -- NESN (Channel finder: Comcast Xfinity, Verizon Fios, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV, Dish, AT&T U verse, fuboTV and Sling) · Live stream: FOX Sports, fuboTV, MLB.tv (out of market)

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT:

Miami enters this series in fourth place in the NL West but only three games behind the first-place New York Mets. It’s a tight race. Only four games separate the first-place Mets and last-place .

The Marlins are seventh in the major leagues in team ERA (3.34). They are seventh in starter ERA (3.18) and sixth in reliever ERA (3.54).

Miami ranks 25th in the majors in OPS (.664)

PITCHING PROBABLES:

Friday: LHP Martín Pérez (2-2, 3.55 ERA) vs. RHP Cody Poteet (2-0, 1.06 ERA)

Saturday: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (5-2, 4.39 ERA) vs. LHP Trevor Rogers (6-2, 1.75 ERA)

Sunday: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (5-3, 5.06 ERA) vs. RHP Sandy Alcantara (2-4, 3.46 ERA)

THREE SOX TO WATCH:

1. Eduardo Rodriguez

The lefty went 5-0 with a 3.82 ERA in his first six starts this season. Since then, he’s 0-3 with a 7.80 ERA in three starts.

2. Alex Verdugo

Verdugo is 11-for-28 (.393) with a .452 on-base percentage, .643 slugging percentage, 1.094 OPS, two homers, one double, six runs and four RBIs in his past nine games.

3. Bobby Dalbec

The first baseman is just 3-for-24 (.125) with 14 strikeouts in his past eight games.

SERIES NOTES:

Trevor Rogers is the cousin of former Red Sox outfielder Cody Ross. Rogers is 6-2 with a 1.75 ERA in 10 starts. He will pitch Saturday.

Marlins shortstop/second baseman José Devers is the cousin of Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers. The 21-year-old rookie is 4-for-16 (.250) in 11 games.

Springfield Central grad Isan Díaz also is in Boston with the Marlins this weekend. He’s 7-for-54 (.130) with two homers in 21 games this season.

Former Red Sox catcher Sandy León plays for Miami. He’s slashing .167/.221/.218/.439 in 27 games (78 at-bats).

Miguel Rojas is 4-for-5 with a double against Red Sox righty Nathan Eovaldi who starts Saturday.

UP NEXT:

Monday, 5/31 - Thursday, 6/3 at Astros (4)

Friday, 6/4 - Sunday, 6/6 at Yankees (3)

Monday, 6/7 - Off Day

Boston Red Sox roster moves: Colten Brewer promoted from WooSox ahead of Friday’s game vs. Marlins

Chris Cotillo

BOSTON -- The Red Sox called up reliever Colten Brewer before Friday’s game against the Marlins, the club announced. Brewer takes the roster spot of outfielder Franchy Cordero, who was optioned to Triple-A Worcester on Thursday.

The promotion of Brewer means the Red Sox have 14 pitchers and 12 position players on their active roster, which is the same mix the club carried for the entire season up until last Friday. Boston carried 13 pitchers and 13 position players for the last five games after activating infielder/outfielder Danny Santana a week ago in Philadelphia but will now go back to having five starters and nine relievers.

Brewer, 28, made 69 appearances out of Boston’s bullpen over the last two seasons, compiling a 4.59 ERA in 80 ⅓ innings. He didn’t make the team out of spring training and has spent the year with the WooSox, posting a 9.00 ERA (four earned runs in four innings) in four appearances so far this season.

Brewer was one of two healthy pitchers at Triple-A who are members of Boston’s 40-man roster, along with righty Brandon Brennan, who was claimed off waivers from Seattle earlier this month. , Marcus Walden, Kaleb Ort, Kevin McCarthy and Austin Brice are all in Worcester’s bullpen but are not on the 40-man roster.

The Sox will start a three-game series -- weather-permitting -- against the Marlins on Friday night with lefty Martín Pérez scheduled to start opposite rookie right-hander Cody Poteet.

Boston Red Sox pitching coach , who took no-hitters into 8th inning three times in career, reflects on why so many have been thrown in 2021

Chris Cotillo

For Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush, the rash of recent no-hitters across Major League Baseball has served as a frequent reminder of what could have been years ago.

Bush, who made 187 big-league starts for Toronto, Milwaukee and Texas between 2004 and 2013, pitched into the eighth inning with a no-hitter on three occasions during his career. He came within five outs twice and six outs once but was never able to complete the feat.

Every no-hitter thrown in the big leagues -- including the six that have already happened this year -- brings Bush back to the nights when he flirted with history.

“I could take you back through almost every pitch of all those games,” Bush said last weekend in Philadelphia. “They were special games that sort of got imprinted in my mind. The days when I had those kind of games going, everything was locked in. My mind was good, my body was good. Pitches were going where I wanted them to. Everything just seemed to work out, so I think those are the moments where the totality of being a pitcher all falls together in one day.”

Bush considers all three of his close calls to be equally special. The first one, in which he tossed 7 ⅓ hitless innings for the Blue Jays in Oakland on July 20, 2004, was just his third big-league start. The second -- on June 19, 2008 -- came while Bush was with the Brewers pitching against Toronto and was broken up by one of the players he was traded for (Lyle Overbay) to lead off the eighth. The last instance, on April 23, 2009, took place in Philadelphia, near his hometown of Berwyn, Pa., as he lasted 7 ⅓ hitless innings in front of his parents and friends.

“For a different reason, each of them stuck in my mind,” Bush said. “But really fun games overall.”

Unlike some superstitious pitchers, Bush always knew exactly how many outs were left when he carried no-hitters deep into games. In the fifth or sixth inning of those outings, he said, he began actively counting down the outs.

“In the course of any game, I knew every hit that had happened, so whether it was the first batter of the game or it happened in the eighth inning, I always knew exactly where I was in the game and what was happening,” he said.

In the first two months of the 2021 season, no-hitters have been happening more frequently than ever. In April, San Diego’s Joe Musgrove and Chicago’s Carlos Rodón threw no-nos within five days of each other. In early May, Baltimore’s John Means tossed one only to be followed by Cincinnati’s Wade Miley two nights later. On May 18 and 19, Detroit’s Spencer Turnbull and the Yankees’ Corey Kluber threw no- hitters on back-to-back days.

The six no-hitters so far this season puts the league on pace to shatter the previous record of seven in a season, set four times (and most recently in 2015). Some have opined that the increased frequency makes the feat less sacred or special. Bush doesn’t buy that.

“It never takes away from the individual,” Bush said. “For the guys who throw no-hitters, those are special days whether it’s the first one of the year or the fifth one or sixth one. For each guy, it’s very special.

“I think the rate is a little bit of an aberration,” he added. “Things go in cycles. Sometimes, there are multiple years between no-hitters and then you see a string where there’s a whole bunch in a row. I do think what we have now is a little bit of a reflection of the game overall, just in the development of pitching and as velocity and stuff has increased.”

Bush does think -- in some aspects -- that modern pitching has surpassed hitting in a game in which strikeouts and home runs have increased dramatically. The fact that offense looks different -- and is down league-wide -- has allowed pitchers to run into less trouble and have more dominant outings.

“The game is always cyclical and the hitters are going to have to make adjustments,” Bush said. “If there’s going to continue to be two no-hitters a month here or three no-hitters a month, the hitters are going to have to make adjustments just like how in eras of big offense, pitchers had to figure out how they can combat it.”

Though the Red Sox’ starting rotation has pitched well all season, only one pitcher -- -- has flirted with a no-hitter, taking one into the sixth inning against Seattle on April 22. The last no-no by a Red Sox hurler came more than 13 years ago, when Jon Lester shut down the Royals on May 19, 2008.

“For guys who can get it done, it’s a pretty special day,” he said.

***

10 observations from the last week in baseball:

1. Being sent to Worcester will allow Franchy Cordero the chance to get frequent at-bats, which isn’t something that was possible in the majors. He had started just four of the Sox’ last 11 games.

2. It will be interesting to see the kind of reaction Alex Cora gets when he returns to Houston early next week. That will start a tough stretch for the Red Sox as they face the Astros and Yankees for 10 straight games.

3. Rafael Devers’ cousin José -- an infielder for the Marlins -- will play at Fenway Park this weekend. He was acquired from the Yankees in the Giancarlo Stanton trade in Dec. 2017.

4. It was cool to hear how passionately Cora spoke about his daughter Camila and her impending high school graduation earlier this week. Cora will fly to Puerto Rico for the ceremony on Saturday while Will Venable manages the Sox.

5. Couple of big blows for the Yankees as Aaron Hicks will likely miss the rest of the season and Corey Kluber is out until the All-Star break.

6. The Red Sox are being cautious with Chris Sale and might take him along even more slowly in the wake of the news that Mets starter Noah Syndergaard is being shut down for six weeks due to elbow inflammation.

7. Playing for Team USA in Olympic qualifiers will be a great opportunity for Jarren Duran and Triston Casas. Jeter Downs is scheduled to play for Colombia.

8. Darwinzon Hernandez’s celebration on Saturday in Philadelphia could go down as one of the biggest moments of the season for the Red Sox. Also, are the Phillies always as bad defensively as they were against Boston?

9. Sounds like the Red Sox still aren’t one of the teams with 85% of their players and coaches vaccinated. That has to be irritating to some in the organization.

10. Two great episodes of The Fenway Rundown dropping soon -- one with Chris Smith and one with an exciting guest from the WooSox.

Franchy Cordero still ‘very important’ for Boston Red Sox in the future, Alex Cora says: ‘We need him to get at-bats’ with WooSox

Chris Cotillo

BOSTON -- Just because the Red Sox demoted outfielder Franchy Cordero to the WooSox on Thursday doesn’t mean they think he is a lost cause. The hope, manager Alex Cora said, is for Cordero to play frequently at Triple-A and help the big-league club down the road.

“It was getting hard to get him at-bats and, although he’s important for us in the present, he’s very important for us in the future,” Cora said. “He hasn’t played a lot the last few years. For him to go down there and get at-bats -- consistent at-bats -- and keep improving on swing decisions and controlling the strike zone, it’s very important.”

Cordero, who came over from the Royals in the Andrew Benintendi trade in February, hit .179 (17-for-95) with one homer, six doubles and a .501 OPS in 34 games with the Red Sox before being optioned to Worcester. The 26-year-old was supposed to be part of a platoon in left field and start against right-handed pitchers, but his struggles relegated him to a bench role and he started only four of Boston’s last 11 games before being sent down.

The oft-injured Cordero played 123 games split between Triple-A and the majors in 2017, when he debuted for the Padres, but was limited to 87 total games for San Diego and Kansas City (combining games in the minors and majors) from 2018 to 2020. The Red Sox control a Cordero rights through the 2023 season, so there’s a chance he could become a big-league contributor in the years to come. Cordero was one of five players -- along with minor-league pitcher Josh Winckowski and three players to be named later who should be revealed soon -- the Sox acquired in the Benintendi deal.

The emergence of newcomer Danny Santana and the healthy returns of Kiké Hernández and made Cordero redundant on the major-league roster. The Red Sox are expected to call up a relief pitcher to take his roster spot before Friday’s game against Miami.

“We have a good baseball team here,” Cora said. “We have a complete baseball team here. The thought process is that we need him to get better. We need him to get at-bats.”

Cordero started in left field and hit cleanup for Worcester against Lehigh Valley on Thursday night, going 1-for-5 with two runs and a walk in his WooSox debut. He will get the chance to be in the lineup every day at Triple-A.

“He’s going to continue to play every day down there,” Cora said. “He played left, some right, too. I think that’s going to benefit him in the long run.”

Fenway Rundown podcast: MassLive’s Chris Cotillo and Chris Smith discuss Red Sox demoting Franchy Cordero, what Alex Cora should expect in Houston & more

Chris Cotillo

On this week’s episode of The Fenway Rundown podcast, MassLive Red Sox writers Chris Cotillo and Chris Smith discuss the last couple weeks for the Red Sox. The two scribes get into why Franchy Cordero was sent down to the WooSox, the club’s bullpen structure, the emergence of newcomer Danny Santana and much more.

Click here to listen to the full episode. You can subscribe to the show on Spotify and iTunes.

Here are some highlights:

Smith on Franchy Cordero’s demotion:

“Cordero wasn’t getting at-bats against right-handed pitchers. (Alex) Cora, on (the radio) the other day, referred to him as a ‘bench player,’ right? A guy they’re using off the bench. He wasn’t starting. The goal coming into the year was for him to be a platoon player in the outfield and to start against all right-handed starting pitchers. That hadn’t been happening of late. I think it will be a good opportunity. He has had a better month of May, even if the main stats might not show it.”

Smith on the Red Sox’ bullpen:

“The first couple of weeks of May was a very difficult stretch for them, obviously. They had a pretty good April. (Matt) Barnes has just amazed me like crazy this year. He’s just a totally different type of pitcher. I always thought Barnes had elite stuff. He just didn’t throw strikes and have enough confidence in his stuff as he does right now. You have to look at the fact he has always been a first half pitcher, too, so there could always be some regression, obviously, in the second half.

“(Adam) Ottavino has looked better. The big thing with him is the first hitter and throwing strikes. I think almost half the time, the first batter has reached against him. has looked a lot better... the guy has got good stuff. He showed it in 2019. He looks good right now. I’d like to see the strikeout numbers up a little bit.”

Red Sox Foundation will award non-profit mental health organizations based on fans choices

Douglas Hook

Boston Red Sox fans will have the opportunity to nominate two mental health organizations in each New England state to receive grants, presented by the Ruderman Family Foundation, through the seventh annual IMPACT Awards.

The pandemic has been hard on people’s mental health and although the true extent of it is not yet known, according to the National Institutes of Health, there has been an uptick in the need for mental health services in the United States and abroad.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide while the demand for mental health is increasing, according to a World Health Organization survey conducted between June through Aug. 2020 in 130 countries.

“More than a year into the COVID-19 crisis, there is a growing sense that brighter days are ahead from a physical health perspective, in the realm of containing the spread of the virus. Yet the often-overlooked mental health consequences of the pandemic will undoubtedly carry long-term implications across society, including the psychological impact on individuals who remain in isolation or those who are only beginning to transition back to a relatively normal lifestyle,” said Jay Ruderman, president of the Ruderman Family Foundation. “Amid these ongoing challenges, it is essential to eradicate the stigma surrounding mental health issues, and to recognize the efforts of the organizations which are working tirelessly to carry out that mission in their communities.”

The Ruderman Family Foundation presented $125,000 to the Red Sox Foundation’s IMPACT Awards that will be given to 12 non-profits working in the field of mental health across New England. The 12 non- profits, two in each state, will receive either a first-place $10,000 grant, second place $3,000 grant, or a third-place $2,000 grant.

The general public can vote, through the Red Sox website, for an eligible organization and the non-profit with the most online votes will be the designated winners. There will be two non-profits selected from each New England state. To be eligible, charities must be 501(c)(3) non-profits in good standing whose work is focused on improving the outcomes for those in their community through mental health services and/or awareness.

The previous year saw Kyle Cares Inc. and Mental Health Collaborative winning first and second place respectively.

“As we look forward to supporting the recovery and rebirth of our local communities, the Red Sox Foundation is proud to continue working alongside the Ruderman Family Foundation to recognize organizations making deep and meaningful change in the mental health space,” said Bekah Salwasser, executive vice president of social impact for the Boston Red Sox and executive director of the Red Sox Foundation. “The Ruderman Family Foundation is an invaluable partner and resource, and we are honored to collectively leverage our brands to amplify the efforts being made around mental health, which is so critical each and every day.”

The nomination period is open through June 7. Finalists will be announced on June 18, at which time the public voting period will begin. Voting ends July 9 and takes place on the Red Sox website.

* RedSox.com

Verdugo hits clutch HR: 'I got a perfect pitch'

Ian Browne

For the one last night that Fenway Park was operating at less than full capacity, Alex Verdugo once again created emotion -- both for the fans who were there and within himself -- with a game-breaking hit.

With the rain pouring down on an unseasonably dreary Friday night and the game locked in a tie, Verdugo mashed a two-out, three-run homer to right in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the Red Sox a 5-2 win over the Marlins.

Despite the mucky conditions, Verdugo roared with excitement as the ball hit the roof of the bullpen, and he pounded his chest as he rounded first base.

Given the weather and the forecast for the rest of the night, the fifth inning felt more like the eighth or ninth inning, and the Red Sox knew it.

"There was no secret on how that field was kind of looking towards the end of that game," said Verdugo. "Pretty much, infielders were playing in some puddles. So we kind of knew it was just, 'Hey, keep playing, keep grinding and try to get to five innings and have that lead in the fifth inning,' which was kind of like the eighth inning in reality."

For that reason, Red Sox manager Alex Cora brought in primary setup man Adam Ottavino, who typically doesn't pitch until the seventh or eighth, for the sixth.

Having a hard time gripping the baseball, Ottavino gritted his way through the frame and got out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam by striking out Isan Díaz for his second save of the season.

"It was tough. Obviously, the ball became an issue," said Red Sox bench coach Will Venable, who will manage the team Saturday while Cora attends his daughter's graduation from high school. "His grip became an issue. The rain just never stopped and I just thought he did a great job battling it. He was able to overcome some harsh conditions and did a great job for us there."

After that punchout, the tarp was rolled onto the field, play never resumed after a delay of an hour and 25 minutes and the Red Sox improved to 31-20 to stay a half-game behind the Rays in the American League East.

Martín Pérez (3-2, 3.55 ERA) pitched well for the sixth straight start, allowing two runs over five innings.

If not for Verdugo, the game could have wound up as a suspended tie.

The left-handed hitter got the curveball he was looking for from Marlins lefty Cody Poteet and hammered it at an exit velocity of 108.7 mph and a projected distance of 408 feet for his seventh homer this season.

"Honestly, I never sit pitches," said Verdugo. "I don't really ever do that. But for some reason today, I just kind of felt like he was gonna throw me a curveball or a changeup.

"That last at-bat, I had curveball in my mind, but I wasn't necessarily sitting dead red curveball. I had it in my mind, I knew he likes to throw it.

"It just was one of those things that, right out of the hand, I just had a good look at it, just saw it well out of the hand, stayed on it, didn't try to get too big, and obviously was able to hit one out and put us up."

As the rain poured down as Verdugo stepped up for that critical at-bat, he admitted that he could smell the finish line.

"We knew there was no way we were going to keep going with this game. It was getting dangerous," said Verdugo. "I think for sure, once [Hunter] Renfroe got the hit, Marwin [Gonzalez walked], my biggest goal was just, let's hit something not on the ground -- let's hit it in the air, hit it to the outfield. I got a perfect pitch to do it."

'Super exciting' as Devers cousins reunite

Ian Browne & Christina De Nicola

Like many first cousins in the baseball-crazed Dominican Republic, Rafael Devers and José Devers bonded through their favorite sport as kids and dreamt that they would one day reach the highest level of competition.

This is why Friday was surreal for both of them, as it was the night they shared a big league diamond (Fenway Park) for the first time.

Raffy, who has continued his ascension as a slugging star in his age-24 season, batted fifth and started at third base for the Red Sox.

José, who made his Major League debut on April 24 at the age of 21 and is ranked the Marlins' No. 8 prospect by MLB Pipeline, batted ninth and started at shortstop.

Though the cousins keep in touch over the phone, it was special for them to actually see each other during the pregame hours on Friday.

"Obviously, super exciting," said Rafael. "I've known my cousin my entire life, so it's really exciting to have him up here in the big leagues. And I actually have another cousin that plays for the Cleveland organization as well. So hopefully when he makes it, it'll be all of us up in the big leagues at the same time, but it's very exciting."

In the world of the Red Sox, even as long as he's been around and as much as he has done, Devers still likes to absorb knowledge from the veterans.

But to his cousin, Rafael is the veteran who can pass on his expertise.

José came to the organization as part of the Giancarlo Stanton trade with the Yankees in December 2017. Since signing as an international free agent in '16, he has leaned on his older cousin for advice.

"We've developed a good relationship, and had good conversations," José said. "Mostly he knew the road of the Minor League system -- how hard it is, the good times, the bad times, and he gave me several pieces of advice about how to go about my business in the Minor League system, and he really helped me through that path."

The circumstances in which every big prospect gets called up to the Major Leagues is unique. For Rafael, it was in the middle of the 2017 pennant race when the Red Sox needed more production at third base. He delivered instantly.

In the case of José, he is up a bit earlier than planned. While José stood out at big league camp this spring, an unexpected IL stint for Brian Anderson led to his callup from Triple-A Jacksonville. After a rough debut (3 K's), he has more than held his own, going 4-for-13 with four runs, two RBIs, one walk, one hit-by-pitch and two strikeouts in 10 games.

José was in the middle of the Marlins' late rally on Wednesday against the Phillies, recording his first multihit contest in the process.

Rafael was buzzing when he found out José got the callup last month.

"As soon as I found out, I sent him a note, because at the end of day, family is family and I'm super excited for him and hopefully he has a successful career up here," said the elder cousin.

While Rafael is known for his ability to mash the baseball, José relies more on his athleticism.

"Raffy said he flies, so we have to be ready for that. Hopefully if he hits a ground ball to third, he'll be the first one to know and gets rid of it," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "But he's very proud of him. I remember when [José] got called up, I think we were in Texas. It was an off-day and he stayed up late so he could watch him. He said he was so nervous. I think he saw nine pitches and swung at nine. I told Raffy, 'Very similar to you, right?' He started laughing."

When the cousins were kids, Raffy was impressed the way José would play up.

"You know he's really fast, but he can hit," said Rafael Devers. "He's always been able to hit since he was young. He actually has three brothers, and they're all pretty good at baseball. But like all those guys, and when we were in tournaments, he would play with us, even against the older kids because he was that good of a hitter. So he's always been good."

Miami catcher Sandy León, who was teammates with Rafael from 2017-19 in Boston, remembers his first question to José when they met at Spring Training: Do you know Devers from the Red Sox?

"He's young," León, a 10-year veteran, said of José. "I think he's going to get a lot better, and we know he can run, and I know he can swing the bat, so I think the more he's going to play the better he's going to be. I think he can be really good."

If José comes roaring into third at some point this weekend, Rafael hopes to be ready and waiting to slap the tag on him.

"Yeah, of course," said Rafael Devers. "If he gets to third, that means he did something good, so I'll be happy for him. But at the end of the day, that's my family and I'm overjoyed that he's actually up in the big leagues."

* WEEI.com

Rafael Devers' cousin is coming to town

Rob Bradford

The Devers family will be well-represented at Fenway Park this weekend.

Obviously, Rafael Devers will be manning third base for the Red Sox during their three-game set with the Marlins. The newcomer to the Boston-baseball-playing world will be Rafael's cousin, Jose Devers, who is a 21-year-old middle infielder for Miami.

Jose was originally signed out of the Dominican Republic for $250,000 by the Yankees, but ultimately landed with Miami in the trade that sent Giancarlo Stanton to New York.

His major league debut came on April 24, with Devers playing both second base and shortstop for the Marlins. In 11 appearances he is hitting .250 with a .560 OPS.

Entering the 2021 season, Devers was ranked as the Marlins' No. 8 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline. He entered the year as the youngest player on the Miami 40-man roster.

Unlike his cousin, Jose will never be known for his power, having totaled just one home run as a professional. Like Rafael, however, he does hit from the left side.

Sandy Leon gets his well-deserved Fenway Park tribute

Rob Bradford

Sandy Leon deserved a tip of the hat from the Red Sox and their fans. He got a bit Friday night.

Playing at his first game at Fenway Park since leaving the Red Sox, the catcher was greeted with a video board tribute just before stepping to the plate for his first at-bat. And once at the plate for his second-inning showdown with Sox starter Martin Perez, his former teammate Christian Vazquez paused action just long enough so Leon could get an audible hug from the Fenway crowd.

Leon was hitting eighth and serving as designated hitter for the Marlins. He would ultimately manage an opposite field single in his first at-bat.

Forget Tom Brady, Sandy Leon is coming back to town

Rob Bradford

For the first time since he wore a Red Sox uniform, Sandy Leon will be returning to Fenway Park.

It's a good time to reflect on just how important this unassuming backup catcher was to this team's last world championship.

In case you didn't know, Leon has landed with the Miami Marlins -- who come to town for a a weekend series -- getting regular playing time for 's team. In 27 games, the 32-year-old is hitting .162 with a .439 OPS.

But if our time watching Leon with the Red Sox taught us anything it was to savor any sort of offense, but certainly don't count on it. Other than the aberration that was 2016 (hitting .310 with an .845 OPS), that was never his thing.

Pitchers flat-out loved throwing to Leon, and, for that 2018 title team, that was the be-all, end-all.

He was Chris Sale's guy. And then other pitchers also wanted to prioritize throwing to Leon. (He started the Red Sox' first two postseason games in 2018.) By the end of the regular season, his catcher's ERA stood at 3.28, the best of any qualifying backstop.

That hasn't changed.

Heading into Friday night's game against his old team, Leon's catcher's ERA sits at 2.98. This is what Leon continues to be all about.

The Red Sox have found a suitable replacement with Kevin Plawecki, with Christian Vazquez emerging as more of an all-around, everyday catcher than when he teamed with the current Marlin.

But what Leon did for the Red Sox shouldn't be forgotten. Consider it a tune-up for Tom Brady's return.

Christian Vazquez on Jason Varitek: 'He's my dad … He's still the captain of this boat'

Rob Bradford

It's pretty obvious what Red Sox game-planning coordinator Jason Varitek means to his team's . But in case there was any doubt, Christian Vazquez came up with another pretty powerful testimonial Friday afternoon.

“He’s my dad," Vazquez said when asked about the influence of Varitek. "I think he helped me a lot in my career. When I came to the big leagues, all the good advice he had in the past and now, and calling games. He’s got the most no-hitters in the game, so I think that’s helped me to get better calling games. He’s still the captain of this boat, so we’re very happy to have him here.”

Among the many things Varitek has assisted Vazquez with, one of the more recent adjustments has been the strategy of catching on one knee.

Vazquez has jumped into the 81st percentile of major league catchers for pitch-framing this season, having lived in the 56th percentile in 2018. But that's just part of the payoff, according to the Sox catcher.

“I think the stance, you’re on the floor already so it’s easier to throw the glove, and quicker to block the ball," he said in response to a question about his improved blocking. "And you see it better, the ball, and you rest more. All the games of the season, your legs are fresh. I think it’s less taxing on your body, your knees, so you can play with more energy because before when you block with the normal stance, you throw your knees, You’re getting impact on those knees, and you get tired. I think now it’s easier. You’re on the ground already, so I think it’s easier for blocking.”

He added, "It’s way easier. You straighten the left leg to the left and you’re already there on the floor ready to block. You know where the pitches are going, so you need to stay there. If not, you steal a strike. You’re close to the strike zone, you can steal it and that’s a point for me. Working from down to up with the glove, that’s helped me to get better with my framing, too.”

Vazquez is in the lineup for the first of three games against the Marlins, hitting seventh while serving as the batterymate for Red Sox starter Martin Perez.

Who says no to this Red Sox' trade for Pirates' lockdown closer?

Rob Bradford

It's about that time. Let's talk some Major League Baseball trade deadline.

While there is still two months to go until the deadline, it surely is not crazy to introduce some possible acquisitions that might help separate the Red Sox in what figures to be a wild American League East race.

Remember, in 2003 the Red Sox proactively hit the trade market by acquiring Byung-Hyun Kim for Shea Hillenbrand on May 29.

As we sit here, perhaps the spot on the Red Sox' roster that needs to be solidified above all others is the late-inning bridge to closer Matt Barnes. Sure, there might be internal options. Adam Ottavino has been better of late. will be returning semi-soon from his torn calf muscle. And Brandon Workman has shown promise while remaking himself in Worcester.

But this is about taking things to another level. A guy like Pittsburgh closer Richard Rodriguez can do that.

So, who says no?

Red Sox get: Reliever Richard Rodriguez. Pirates get: Infielder .

On the surface, it feels like a stretch to suggest the Pirates would be giving up on Rodriguez, who has two more years of arbitration-eligibility after this season. But ... He will be 34 years old by the time he reaches free agency, and those couple of years leading up to that could get expensive for the always-cash-strapped Pirates.

Make no mistake about it, Rodriguez would be a difference-maker. He has been one of Major League Baseball's best relievers this season, holding hitters to a .127 batting average while giving up just two earned runs in 21 innings. He has also struck out 16 and walked just one.

It's not complicated how Rodriguez gets it done. He throws his fastball, and throws it a lot. Ninety-percent of the time, to be exact. And hitters don't hit it, with opponents managing just a .119 batting average against it. While it's a pitch that sits at about 93 mph, its spin rate is in the 95th percentile of all MLB pitchers.

As for Chavis, it would seem the Pirates would be the perfect new start. With the Red Sox, it appears to be a bit of a square-peg-round-hole scenario with Bobby Dalbec and Rafael Devers entreated at the corners for the foreseeable future.

It would certainly seem that in a place like Pittsburgh, Chavis could add significant for a team starved for power. (The Pirates have the fewest homers of any team in baseball.) Their top prospect, Ke'Bryan Hayes, would seemingly be the preferred route at third base going forward, but first base (with occasional stops at other infield positions) could be right down Chavis' alley.

Oh, and remember who drafted Chavis in the first-round of the 2014 MLB Draft? That would be current Pirates general manager Ben Cherington.

As for Chaim Bloom's approach regarding this type of acquisition, look at 2019 when his Rays made one of the subtly most impactful deadline moves by securing the services of then-Marlins reliever Nick Anderson.

Anderson came in and proved to be the Rays' best reliever for the final few months of 2019 and in 2020, with Tampa giving up minor-league outfielder Jesus Sanchez and swingman Ryne Stanek.

Something to think about ...

Jarren Duran already leaving powerful impression with Team USA

Rob Bradford

Jarren Duran seems to make his mark wherever he's playing.

For the past few years, it was throughout the Red Sox' minor league system. Then came a stint in the Puerto Rican Winter League. A few months ago the Red Sox got a taste in Grapefruit League action. Lately, it's been with the Triple-A .

Now, it's Team USA. And it didn't take long.

According to those witnessing the Team USA training camp, where the club is getting ready for the Olympic qualifying round, Duran has already separated himself.

In Team USA's three exhibition games this week Duran -- who is one of 13 prospects on the club -- was the only player to hit a home run. He is setting himself up to become the team's starting center fielder when the real games kick off next week.

"Looking at video ever since he was selected for our club, you just see the talent jump off the screen," Team USA manager Mike Scioscia was quoted as saying in a report. "Seeing him in person, his first step is incredible everywhere, whether he's trying to steal a base or he's in center field. He's a five-tool player. When you call a guy a five-tool player you're saying that he's special. He's in an elite group. I think that Jarren has that skill-set that can make him an impact player very quickly in the major leagues.

Longtime major league third baseman Todd Frazier, who is also playing for Team USA, concurs with Scioscia's analysis.

"This kid Duran from the Red Sox has opened my eyes," Frazier said. "I talk about work ethic with these kids. I mean, head and shoulders way above where I was at that age."

Added Team USA general manager Eric Campbell, "He makes you stop and watch."

Duran left Worcester hitting .278 with a .991 OPS and seven homers in 18 games.

* NBC Sports Boston

How alarming Polar Park stats could impact prospect evaluation

John Tomase

Last we checked, Worcester is nowhere near the Pacific Coast.

You wouldn't know it from the way Polar Park has played this season.

The Triple-A may be renowned as a home run haven, but the home of the Worcester Red Sox is playing like a California launching pad this season.

With fans feeling justifiably excited over the hot start of prospect Jarren Duran, it's worth noting that he and the WooSox are doing almost all of their damage at home.

Worcester opened Polar Park with a four-homer barrage on May 11, and the balls haven't stopped leaving the yard since. Worcester owns 23 homers at home, the most in the Triple-A , versus just four on the road, which is second-lowest.

Since we're only talking about a sample size of 12 games, it's too soon to say this is anything more than random variance. But anecdotally, it's eye-catching.

Just ask Red Sox infielder Christian Arroyo, a veteran of five big league seasons. He recently rehabbed in Worcester and couldn't believe how the park played.

"Dude, the ball flies," Arroyo said. "It's kind of crazy. There's like a jet stream out to right. I saw some homers where I was like, whoa. It was pretty incredible to see some of the balls that were hit."

The Red Sox are aware of the park's unique characteristics, but aren't making any rushes to judgment. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom noted that the organization will have a better idea of how the park plays once warm weather arrives for good.

"We've definitely seen days at Polar Park where the wind has played a role," he wrote in an e-mail. "Realistically, it's so early in the summer and in the life of the park that it's going to take a while before we know a lot about what that means for guys' numbers."

The home run disparity raises the question of how the Red Sox should evaluate their prospects, particularly left-handed ones like Duran, in a park where the ball flies out consistently to right and right-center.

Duran, for instance, is hitting .286 with six homers, 11 RBIs and a 1.110 OPS in 12 games at home, vs. .261-1-1-.737 on the road. The right-handed Downs, meanwhile, is hitting .300 with three homers at home and .161 with no homers on the road.

In particular, Arroyo was wowed by a 475-foot Duran blast to right on a breaking ball that he watched from the on-deck circle.

"That might be one of the furthest hit balls I've ever seen hit in person," he said. "Jeter (Downs) hit a home run one of the games to right center, just like flicked the wrist, and I'm like jeezum crow, this place flies."

It's not as if Polar Park is a bandbox. It's 329 feet to left, 391 to left center, 402 to center, 370 to right- center, and 320 to right, which features its own version of the Green Monster, called the Worcester Wall, that stands 22 feet tall.

If the park plays small anywhere, it's to right field, which helps explain why 12 of the team's 23 homers have come from left-handed hitters, including three by switch hitters Danny Santana and Jonathan Arauz. Of course, Duran hasn't needed a short porch for most of his blasts -- he already owns homers of 440, 475, and 480 feet.

"It's not a knock on them, those guys can hit, they've got some juice in there," Arroyo said. "But I'm also looking at it where I'm seeing guys hitting pop-ups to right and all of a sudden the guy's at the track and he's catching the ball at the track. I had one of those, I hit like a pop-up to left and I was like, that ball's still going."

Complicating matters is that opponents have only hit 13 homers in Polar Park, a middle-of-the-pack total that leaves the ballpark ranking third in the IL in home runs this season at 36, behind the 39 each hit out of Charlotte and Syracuse.

Still, as Red Sox fans clamor for Duran's arrival, it's worth noting that his prodigious early power might have something to do with his brand new home park. Either way, the Red Sox are more interested in outcomes that are independent of park, such as quality of contact and the way he controls the strike zone.

"In any environment, we work to evaluate players on the things they can control," Bloom wrote. "A pitcher can control where he throws a pitch, and how it moves, but he can't control what the umpire or the hitter does with it. A hitter can control where and how hard he hits the ball, but he can't control what the elements or the defense do once he hits it. What players can control is what's more important to us in evaluating them, even if it's not always the same as what shows up on the back of their baseball cards."

* BostonSportsJournal.com

Final: Red Sox 5, Marlins 2 (6)

Sean McAdam

Amid a torrential downpour, Alex Verdugo smacked a three-run homer in the fifth inning, snapping a 2-2 tie and giving the Red Sox a rain-shorted 5-2 win over the Miami Marlins in a game called by rain in the middle of the sixth inning.

The Sox had erased a 2-0 lead when J.D. Martinez belted a two-run double to left in the third.

Martin Perez gave the Sox five innings, allowing two runs, before Adam Ottavino took over for the sixth. Unable to grip the ball properly, Ottavino walked the bases loaded on 13 pitches at one stretch, but fanned Jorge Alfaro to end the threat.

Following a delay of just over 90 minutes, the game was then called.

WHO: Red Sox (30-20) vs. Miami Marlins (24-26) WHEN: 7:10 p.m. WHERE: Fenway Park STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Martin Perez (2-2, 3.55). vs. RHP Cody Poteet (2-0, 1.06) TV/RADIO: NESN: WEEI-FM 93.7

LINEUPS

MARLINS

Berti 3B Marte CF Aguilar 1B Cooper RF Dickerson LF Alfaro C Diaz 2B Leon DH Devers 6

RED SOX

Hernandez CF Verdugo LF Martinez DH Bogaerts SS Devers 3B Santana 1B Vazquez C Gonzalez 2B Renfroe RF

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

T6: Adam Ottavino can't grip the baseball and he's not happy to be out there in this slop. He's thrown 12 balls in the span of 13 pitches while walking the bases loaded.

B5: Alex Verdugo jumps all over a curveball down and in and drives it just over the visitors bullpen for a three-run shot. Huge, given that the game is two outs shy of becoming official, with hard rain falling.

T5: Danny Santana has shown himself to be well above-average at first base. He backhanded a tough hop off the lip of the grass and stayed with it nicely.

T4: Veteran instincts shown by Marwin Gonzalez, who, realizing that a catcher (Alfaro) is running, took his time with his throw to first on the double play.

B3: J.D. Martinez golfs a changeup down and drills it high off the Wall in left-center, scoring two and tying the game.

B3: Hunter Renfroe, who had gone up the middle and to right field to break out of an early season slump, seems to be back more recently to pulling the ball. Bangs a double off The Wall there with out in the third.

B2: Red Sox squander a scoring chance as Christian Vazquez goes down swinging with a runner at second.

T2: Some indecision between Perez and Red Sox middle infielders when it came to covering the bag, so Perez has to wait to make his throw to second for the forceout. Took too long to unfold, so no shot at the double play.

T2: Martin Perez with cutter over the plate and Jorge Alfaro goes inside-out with a two-run shot into the home bullpen.

WHAT' S UP: The Red Sox are 5-2 in their last seven games and 13-8 in their last 21...They are unbeaten in their last 4 series (3-0-1) and 5-1-1 in their last seven... At 30-20 (.600), the Sox are tied with the Giants for MLB’s 4th-best record, 1.5 games behind the Padres....This is the 28th time the Red Sox have won at least 30 of their first 50 games...They reached the postseason in each of the last five instances (2007, ‘08, ‘13, ‘16, ‘18)....Using the 10-team playoff format from 2012-2019, 31 of the 38 teams (81.6%) who won at least 30 of their first 50 games went on to make the postseason...The Sox are 14-13 at Fenway Park, good for the sixth-best home record...They are 14-10 at home since getting swept by the Orioles to begin the season. At 16-7 (.696), the Sox own the majors’ 2nd-best record on the road with only Tampa Bay (19-7) better....They are 6-1-0 in series away from Fenway Park...: The Red Sox lead the majors in doubles (107), extra-base hits 178), slugging percentage (.445), and OPS (.767), and are tied for the lead in runs (259).. They're second in batting average (.260). The Sox are an MLB-best 27-3 (.900) when scoring four or more runs and 16-0 when scoring seven or more runs....The Sox are out-homering opponents, 67-37 (+30), the largest difference in MLB... They rank fourth in the AL in HR hit (67). The Sox have hit multiple homers in 10 of their last 12 games...They are 17-2 (.895) when hitting two or more homers...The Red Sox are 5-2 vs. NL teams this season. All-time, they're 268-182 (.596) all time against the NL, the highest Interleague winning percentage in the majors. The Sox are 28-13 all time against the Marlins, including 13-3 in the last 16 meetings and 6-1 in the last seven...The Sox have won their last seven home games against the Marlins...They are 7-0-0 in their last 7 series vs. Miami at Fenway Park, going 15-4 in games in that time....Xander Bogaerts (second), J.D. Martinez (fourth), and Rafael Devers (fifth) each rank in the Top Five in the AL in OPS...They each have an OPS above .950; the rest of the AL combined has three such players...Red Sox starters have thrown five or more innings 42 times, tied with the Dodgers for second- most in the majors behind the A’s (43)...Sox starters have thrown five or more innings in 27 of their last 29 games. Sox starters have thrown six or more innings in 10 of their last 17 games, after doing so in only eight of their first 33....The Red Sox are 8-2 in their last 10 games against left-handed starting pitchers...In those 10 games, lefty starters are 1-7 with a 9.21 ERA and .328 opponent AVG vs. the Sox...Adam Duvall is 2-for-3 lifetime against Martin Perez while Corey Dickerson is 3-for-8.. Perez leads Red Sox starters with a 3.55 ERA and has allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight of his nine starts this season, including each of his last six...Perez received eight runs of support in each of his last 2 starts (12.0 RS/9.0 IP) after receiving just nine runs total over his first seven starts, one or no runs in five of those even....Perez has a 2.22 ERA in five starts.... HE leads the majors with 29 strikeouts on called strikes this season...Xander Bogaerts is slugging .633 with 10 homers in his last 32 games....Rafael Devers has five homers in his last 10 games and seven in his last 16.

NOTES:

* The Sox are tonight welcoming back former catcher Sandy Leon, now a member of the Marlins, to Fenway. "He was huge for us,'' recalled Alex Cora. "He was amazing. He was really good -- not only on the field, but off the field, in the clubhouse. He prepares. He takes pride in what's important for a catcher -- which is the pitching staff. He could go 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, but if he we threw a shutout, he was happy. But if he went 4-for-4 and we struggled on the mound, he would take it personally. I'm very proud of him and he's making a difference for the Marlins. The fact that he's still in the big leagues is awesome.''

* Cora projects that a group of players -- Bobby Dalbec, Danny Santana, Marwin Gonzalez -- will "somehow, someway, play two out of every three games in every series. It feels that way. I'm not promising playing time here, but we've got to take care of guys physically. We have to protect guys. We'll mix-and- match. They're going to get at-bats. But we're not going to play guys 10 games in a row.''

* The Red Sox finally announced that Colten Brewer was added to the roster, replacing the spot made vacant by the demotion of Franchy Cordero. Brewer was optioned to Worcester earlier this month and appeared in four games in Worcester, allowing four runs in four innings of relief.

Still short of vaccine threshold, Red Sox are taking chances

Sean McAdam

On Saturday, an odd scene figures to play out at Fenway Park.

Many -- if not most -- of the fans in attendance will not be required to wear masks, as the state lifts virtually all remaining restrictions as it pertains to public events. Vaccinated fans will not be required to wear masks.

Meanwhile, in the Red Sox dugout and bullpen, Red Sox players and staff members will be wearing masks, even though most are already vaccinated.

On Friday, Major League Baseball announced 16 of its teams had cleared the necessary rate of vaccinations to allow for relaxed protocols, with another three teams ready to join the list once some already-vaccinated players wait out the two-week period to become fully vaccinated.

The Red Sox, once again, are not in either group. Almost two-thirds of MLB clubs have been -- or will soon be -- allowed to relax protocols. They can dine at restaurants while on the road, visit with vaccinated friends and family members, and be exempt from mask-wearing mandates in the dugout, bullpen and clubhouse.

But not the Red Sox.

"No, we're not in that mix,'' confirmed Alex Cora. "Actually, we didn't make too much progress this last week. We got closer two weeks ago, but this week, we didn't make any progress. It is what it is.''

For a team to qualify, it must have 85 percent of its personnel (players, staff members, trainers and medical professionals) along with players at its Triple-A affiliate. For weeks, multiple sources have suggested that while the vast majority of personnel in Boston have already been vaccinated, the organization is falling well shy of the 85 percent mark because of the reluctance of a number of players at Triple-A to get the vaccine.

Cora seemed to confirm that Friday when he went out of his way to note: "I think a lot of people have the wrong idea (that) it's all your big league team. But in Tier 1, it's the big leagues and Triple-A. It's a combination of both.''

Two weeks ago, Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer angrily reacted to his team failing to meet the threshold and said the failure to do so would put the major league team at a competitive disadvantage.

"There are conveniences that come with getting to 85% as a group,” Hoyer said on May 20, “just mask- wearing and dining and things like that that we would all like to have. But I also feel like there’s a real competitive advantage that we’re gonna miss. The contact-tracing thing is a big deal. And when you have a positive case, but the people around you have been vaccinated, that takes away that contact-tracing element to guys being out and by not getting the 85% we’re missing that.''

Indeed, if a player is vaccinated and his team has reached the 85 percent threshold, he's not required to quarantine if he's in contact with someone exposed to the virus. Without the 85 percent threshold, quarantining is needed.

Think about, then, the Red Sox losing a key performer -- Xander Bogaerts, Matt Barnes -- for a week because of contract tracing. That scenario would be avoidable if the team reaches 85 percent.

Shy of that, the Sox run the risk of losing players to quarantine.

Cora, at least publicly, wasn't quite willing to echo Hoyer's remarks publicly.

"It's about the outside world, the real world,'' said Cora. "Honestly, I don't mix the vaccine with baseball. Jed has his own opinion about this. If a competitive advantage is to bring your family on the road and to the hotel and hang out with them, being able to do that, then, yeah. But as far as the clubhouse, the dugout, the game itself, it is what it is for us. I don't see any difference. I do believe we're doing things the right way. Everybody's preparing the right way.

"But it impacts when we leave the stadium. That worries me a little bit because we as a group can not take advantage of certain rules because we're not at 85 percent.''

Reminded that, as Hoyer noted, the Sox could find themselves shorthanded if a key player (or several) have to be quarantined because of contact tracing, Cora said: "Hopefully, we don't get to that situation. That's the one (that worries me).''

As it should.

Players and staff members in Boston and Worcester alike have the right to make their own decisions as they see fit. But in a competitive environment like professional sports, there are potential pitfalls for declining vaccination.

And as the Sox welcome back fans on Saturday, masked up still, they have to either continue lobbying holdouts, or, remain ever-vigilant with their protocols.

* The Athletic

As Boston reopens this weekend, Red Sox will remain on lockdown because of low vaccination rate

Chad Jennings

Massachusetts is opening again. The state’s COVID-19 guidelines are being lifted on Saturday, meaning masks will come down, bars will open up and Fenway Park will be at full capacity for the first time in 20 months.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora will be there, still wearing his mask in the dugout, still unable to gather his players for a meeting in the clubhouse, still not allowed to bring his family on the road and still unable to eat inside a restaurant when the game is over.

More than half of Major League Baseball teams have reached 85 percent vaccination of Tier 1 players and staff, meaning they have met the threshold to relax league-wide health and safety protocols and allow more independence and less hassle — but the Red Sox are not among them. Because of their relatively low vaccination rate, the Red Sox are still beholden to MLB’s strict limitations. Even as the world around them returns to normal, the Red Sox will remain in a kind of lockdown — a personal and logistical challenge that could become a competitive disadvantage if even one player steps out of line.

“Because we’re not at 85 percent,” Cora said, “(If) somebody decides to go to a restaurant or to a spa, or go out (to a restaurant or a bar), and then all of a sudden, that person misses seven days because you have to be put in quarantine because you broke the rules. That’s the one that I always wonder (about). So far, we’ve been very disciplined. But as the world keeps becoming normal, hopefully, you know, we don’t see that as a window that we can take advantage (of). That’s my biggest worry.”

When Major League Baseball announced its COVID-19 protocols in early February, the restrictions were familiar, governing elements of day-to-day life within the pandemic. Among the limitations: no indoor gatherings of more than 10 people, no indoor dining at bars and restaurants, no guests on road trips, masks to be worn in the dugout, tracking devices to be worn at team facilities, and mandatory testing every other day for Tier 1 players and staff (basically the Major League and Triple-A rosters, plus coaches and other staff members in close proximity to the players). Anyone who violated the rules would be subject to a precautionary quarantine, plus additional discipline.

But as the vaccine became more readily available in late March, the league and Players Association announced an amendment to the rules: restrictions would be significantly lifted for any team that reached 85 percent vaccination. For those teams, vaccinated individuals would be allowed to dine indoors, to gather in large groups, to bring family members on the road, and to be tested less often. Also, simply coming into contact with someone who tested positive would not trigger an automatic quarantine.

A memo sent to teams on March 29 read, in part: “Vaccination for COVID-19 is a critical component of promoting and protecting the health and safety of all players, staff and their families. All players and staff are strongly encouraged to receive one of the approved COVID-19 vaccines when eligible.”

The league and union announced jointly on Friday that 16 teams had reached the 85 percent threshold, and three other teams were set to join them once second doses took full effect within two weeks. Leaguewide, 84.5 percent of Tier 1 individuals were fully or partially vaccinated, according to the announcement.

“No, no, we’re not in that mix,” Cora said. “We got closer two weeks ago, but then this week we didn’t make any progress. It is what it is.”

Cora noted that it’s not only major-league individuals who count toward that 85 percent threshold. It’s also the Triple-A players and staff, which may be holding back their total numbers. The Red Sox have not announced their exact vaccination percentage at either level.

On April 19, when Massachusetts made vaccinations available to anyone 16 and older, Cora announced that he was nearing the date of his second shot and said two groups of players and staff had signed up to get their first. The organization brought doctors and experts to speak to players about the benefits of the vaccine, and to answer questions about risks and concerns.

“For those who had doubts or still have questions at that point, it was very important for the organization to do this,” Cora said that day. “This is not about, ‘Just get the vaccine so we can have benefits in the dugout and clubhouse.’ This is more about off-the-field stuff. And I’m glad we provided them with that help and hopefully they make the decisions that obviously it’s going to help everybody, not only here but around the area, your family and obviously dealing with the pandemic.”

Massachusetts is one of the most vaccinated states in the country by percentage of eligible population, and it’s by far the most heavily vaccinated of any state that has a Major League Baseball team, but the Red Sox roster comes from all over the world, with a wide range of backgrounds and political leanings. There may be multiple advantages to getting the shot, but not everyone is going to be interested, and clearly some have not been convinced.

“They’ve mentioned it to us, but that’s not a team decision,” designated hitter J.D. Martinez said earlier this month. “It’s a personal decision, so to each his own. Everyone has the right to believe and to think what they want to think about their body and what they’re putting into their body. Obviously, it’s one of those things where it would be nice to have that kind of advantage (at the 85 percent threshold), but it is what it is, you know.”

What it is has been the norm for more than a year, but as the rest of Boston opens this weekend, the Red Sox will remain in Major League Baseball’s lockdown, hoping no one breaks the rules, hoping no one is forced into quarantine and hoping no one gets sick.

“We’ve been very disciplined,” Cora said. “But at the same time, Monday’s a holiday. You can feel it. The summer is here. The world is moving forward. And hopefully, you know, we can stay disciplined throughout the process.”

* Associated Press

Verdugo, Red Sox beat Marlins 5-2 in rain-shortened game

BOSTON (AP) — Alex Verdugo hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning, J.D. Martinez drove in two runs with a double and the Boston Red Sox beat the Miami Marlins 5-2 Friday night in a game that was called after 5 1/2 innings because of rain.

A drizzle at the onset grew into a downpour, with puddles forming throughout the infield despite the grounds crew’s efforts.

“As players we knew. We saw the field. We were out there. We knew that there was no way we were going to keep going with this game. It just was getting dangerous,” Verdugo said.

With a delay clearly on the way, Verdugo said the Red Sox wanted to be the ones who broke the tie — just in case the game couldn’t continue in those conditions.

“I don’t know how the infielders were actually able to throw the ball, either. It felt like every ball I would get was just waterlogged,” Verdugo said. “I was kind of lucky I was in the outfield. The infield started getting muddy and pretty bad.”

Adam Ottavino slogged through a soggy top of the sixth before umpires suspended play. After a delay of 1 hour, 25 minutes, the game was called, with Ottavino awarded his second save.

It was the second straight game the Red Sox have had to sit through a delay. Boston’s home game Wednesday night against Atlanta was also interrupted because of rain, and the delay lasted almost three hours before the Red Sox finished off a 9-5 win over the early Thursday.

With the weekend series the only visit to Boston for the Marlins this season, the clubs tried to squeeze in the opener despite the ominous forecast for Friday night and another Saturday that wasn’t any better.

Martín Pérez (3-2) pitched five innings and got the win, holding Miami to two runs on five hits and struck out four.

“Every pitch was hard in these conditions to throw the ball,” Pérez said.

Rookie Cody Poteet (2-1) took his first loss. Poteet pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on four hits and two walks. Poteet also struck out six.

Jorge Alfaro hit a two-run homer for the Marlins in the second. Martinez hit a two-run double to tie it in the third, then Verdugo broke the tie in the fifth with a shot that cleared the Marlins’ bullpen.

FIRST LOSS

After picking up a pair of victories and one no-decision in three career starts, Poteet ended up taking his first loss despite starting strong on Friday. Poteet got Kiké Hernández looking to start the game and had four strikeouts after two innings.

“I thought he looked good early. It seemed like his command tonight was not as good as we’ve seen it,” Miami manager Don Mattingly said. “He was kind of grinding some counts, things like that. ”

DOUBLE DEVERS

The interleague series features two members of the Devers family going head-to-head. Boston third baseman Rafael Devers faced his younger cousin, José Devers, a rookie infielder with the Marlins, for the first time in their careers.

OPEN UP!

The game was the last before Massachusetts lifted COVID-19 restrictions and capacity limits. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Saturday’s game — weather permitting.

WELCOME BACK

Former Boston catcher Sandy León, who played five seasons for the Red Sox and helped the club win the 2018 World Series with, received a warm welcome back from fans when the video monitors showed some highlights of his Red Sox years, then a live shot of him in the Marlins’ dugout after the first inning.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: OF Starling Marté was reinstated from the injured list after missing 34 games with a broken rib and started in center field. Marté hit a one-out double to center with one out in the first in his first at-bat since April 18. ... The Marlins also placed SS on the 10-day IL with a dislocated left index finger and optioned 1B Lewin Diaz to Triple-A Jacksonville.

Red Sox: Recalled RHP Colten Brewer from Triple-A Worcester. Brewer, who hasn’t pitched in the majors this season, made four relief appearances for the WooSox, allowing four runs on four hits over four innings.

UP NEXT:

Marlins: LHP Trevor Rogers (6-2, 1.75 ERA) leads Miami in victories. Rogers held Philadelphia to one run over five innings Monday but did not figure in the decision of the Marlins’ 9-6 win.

Red Sox: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (5-2, 4.39) returns for his first start since his streak of 68 straight innings without a homer ended when the Phillies’ Rhys Hoskins went deep last Saturday in Philadelphia.