Author: Brendan Campbell

Writing about the Red Sox and the Red Sox farm system.

Red Sox outfield prospect Eduardo Lopez celebrates 20th birthday by hitting third home run in his last 5 games

Red Sox outfield prospect Eduardo Lopez celebrated his 20th birthday on Sunday by having a very productive day at the plate for Low-A Salem in their doubleheader against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

Batting sixth and starting in center field for both contests at Haley Toyota Field, Lopez went a cumulative 3-for-6 with one double, one home run, three RBIs, and one run scored as Salem split the twin bill with Myrtle Beach.

Over his last five games, Lopez has hit three home runs and collected six RBIs. On the 2022 season as a whole, the switch-hitter is batting .306/.364/.531 to go along with two doubles, all three of his homers, seven runs driven in, four runs scored, three stolen bases, five walks, and 19 strikeouts over 13 games spanning 55 plate appearances. He began the year on the injured list and did not make his 2022 debut until April 23.

Defensively, Lopez has seen all of his playing time to this point in the year come in either center or right field. Taking Sunday’s showing into account, the 6-foot, 187 pounder has now logged 72 innings in center and 17 innings in right while recording a total of three outfield assists.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Lopez originally signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent in July 2018 and received a hefty $1.150 million bonus — the largest of the class — by doing so. He made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League the following June.

After the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor-league season and injury limited him to just 11 games between the Florida Complex League and Salem in 2021, Lopez came into the 2022 campaign ranked by SoxProspects.com as the No. 35 and by FanGraphs as the No. 33 prospect in Boston’s farm system.

Per his SoxProspects.com scouting report, Lopez possesses a high baseball IQ and has “solid overall instincts” for his age. FanGraphs, on the other hand, notes that Lopez “is a fluid athlete with a smooth, well-connected swing from both sides of the plate and decent feel for contact” who also is an average runner “with good outfield instincts and a plus arm.”

Given his history, it feels safe to assume that the Red Sox will exercise patience when it comes to Lopez’s development. In other words, it would not be surprising if he spent the rest of the year with Salem regardless of how he performs. Could a late-season promotion to High-A Greenville be possible? Perhaps, but only time will tell.

(Picture of Eduardo Lopez courtesy of the Salem Red Sox)

Red Sox’ Carlos Martínez allows 5 runs on 4 hits in first start for Triple-A Worcester

Carlos Martinez made his Red Sox organizational debut for Triple-A Worcester on Sunday afternoon. It did not go well.

Getting the start against the Toledo Mud Hens at Fifth Third Field, Martinez allowed five earned runs on four hits, two walks, and no strikeouts while only recording the first two outs of the first inning.

The right-hander got those two outs rather quickly, but then gave up a two-out double to Daz Cameron, a seven-pitch walk to Josh Lester, an RBI single to Ryan Lavarnway, a six-pitch walk to Jacob Robson, an RBI single to Dustin Garneau, and a two-run double to old friend Jack Lopez.

Lopez would be the last batter Martinez faced on Sunday as he was replaced on the mound by Eduard Bazardo. He finished with a final pitch count of 33 — only 16 of which went for strikes — and was ultimately charged with the losing decision.

The Red Sox signed Martinez to a minor-league contract on Saturday. The 30-year-old hurler began the 2022 season in the Giants organization but asked for and was granted his release by San Francisco in late April, thus making him a free-agent to begin with.

Shortly after the news of his signing broke, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reported that the Sox view Martinez “as a low-risk addition to their organizational pitching depth and believe they have identified some adjustments that could lead to quick improvements.”

Martinez, who turns 31 in September, originally signed with Boston as an infielder coming out of the Dominican Republic in 2009. But the Puerto Plata native’s contract was voided and he would up signing with the Cardinals the following spring.

A two-time All-Star who also pitched against the Red Sox in the 2013 World Series during his time in St. Louis, Martinez most-recently posted a 6.23 ERA and 4.76 FIP with 57 strikeouts to 36 walks over 16 starts (82 1/3 innings pitched) for the Cardinals in 2021. His season ended in July due to a torn thumb ligament that required surgery. The Cardinals subsequently declined his $17 million club option for 2022 over the winter.

After getting some work in with Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League during the off-season, Martinez inked a minors pact with the Giants in March but did not see any in-game action with any of San Francisco’s affiliates before getting released last month.

With that, Sunday’s start for Worcester marked Martinez’s first outing of 2022. While the results may not have been there in Toledo, it’s likely the veteran of nine major-league seasons was more concerned with shaking off any rust and getting back into the swing of things.

Before going under the knife last summer, Martinez primarily worked with a six-pitch mix that consisted of a four-seam fastball, slider, cutter, sinker, changeup, and curveball.

Given his past experience as both a starter and reliever, Martinez could prove to be a versatile option for the Red Sox should chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Co. elect to call him up to the big-league club at some point this season.

For the time being, one would have to think Martinez will make another start for the WooSox during their upcoming series against the Rochester Red Wings that begins Tuesday at Polar Park.

(Picture of Carlos Martinez: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Michael Wacha on 15-day injured list, recall Tyler Danish from Triple-A Worcester

Prior to getting swept by the White Sox on Sunday, the Red Sox placed right-hander Michael Wacha on the 15-day injured list due to left intercostal irritation. In a corresponding move, fellow righty Tyler Danish was recalled from Triple-A Worcester.

Wacha had been slated to start Sunday’s series finale against Chicago at Fenway Park, but was scratched shortly before first pitch due to what Boston manager Alex Cora described as left side soreness.

At that time, Cora was hopeful that Wacha would be able to pitch in Texas next weekend since he underwent an MRI on Saturday that came back clean. Cora also told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) that the Red Sox were being cautious with the 30-year-old hurler since he has a prior history of oblique injuries.

Since his stint on the injured list was backdated to May 5, the soonest Wacha could return to the mound for the Red Sox is May 20. This means that he will not be available for next weekend’s series against the Rangers as Cora had originally hoped.

Through five starts for Boston this season, Wacha has posted a miniscule 1.38 ERA and 3.89 FIP to go along with 19 strikeouts to 11 walks over 26 innings of work. The 6-foot-6, 215 pound righty led the Sox in bWAR (1.4) coming into play on Sunday.

With Wacha sidelined, Tanner Houck started in his place in Sunday’s series finale and allowed three runs on four hits, no walks, one hit batsman, and two strikeouts across just 2 2/3 innings pitched. It seems likely that Houck will take Wacha’s spot in the starting rotation for the time being.

Danish, meanwhile, re-joins the Red Sox for the third time this season after previously being used as a COVID-related substitute on two separate occasions. The 27-year-old made his fifth relief appearance of the year on Sunday and has now produced a 3.18 ERA with seven strikeouts and two walks over 5 2/3 total innings at the big-league level.

(Picture of Michael Wacha: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Red Sox can’t avoid sweep, fall to White Sox, 3-2, for fifth straight loss

The Red Sox wrapped up a miserable homestand by getting swept by the White Sox at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon. Boston fell to Chicago by a final score of 3-2 to extend their losing streak to five consecutive games and drop to 10-19 on the season.

Tanner Houck, starting in place of the injured Michael Wacha, allowed three earned runs on four hits, no walks, and one hit batsman to go along with two strikeouts over just 2 2/3 innings of work.

After facing the minimum through his first two innings, Houck ran into some trouble in the top half of the third when he yielded a leadoff single to Reese McGuire. The right-hander then plunked Josh Harrison with a 94 mph sinker to put two runners on base, both of whom advanced an additional 90 feet on a Danny Mendick sacrifice bunt. Leury Garcia plated McGuire on a softly-hit single that didn’t even reach the infield dirt. Jose Abreu followed by drilling a two-run double down the left field line that put the White Sox up, 3-0.

Abreu would be the final batter Houck would face. The 25-year-old hurler needed 39 pitches — 25 of which were strikes — to record eight outs. Of those 39 pitches, he only managed to induce four swings-and-misses while raising his ERA on the season to 5.70.

In relief of Houck, Hirokazu Sawamura received the first call out of the bullpen from Red Sox manager Alex Cora, and he stranded the lone runner he inherited in the third. A 15-minute delay that saw first base umpire Marty Foster take over behind the plate for Ron Kulpa did not prevent Sawamura from pitching a scoreless frame in the fourth as well.

Tyler Danish, just called from Triple-A Worcester in place of Wacha, worked his way around a bases-loaded jam in the fifth before giving up a leadoff single to Yasmani Grandal in the sixth. Austin Davis then came on and continued to keep the White Sox off the scoreboard despite hitting a batter.

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup had been stifled by White Sox starter Dallas Keuchel through the first 5 1/2 innings of Sunday’s contest. Keuchel, who owned an 8.40 ERA coming into play Sunday, had managed to work his way around a significant amount of traffic on the basepaths up until the bottom of the sixth.

There, the Boston bats finally made the left-hander pay after Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts reached base via a pair of back-to-back one out singles. With runners on the corners and one out in the inning, J.D. Martinez drove in Devers on a productive groundout and Christian Vazquez did the same with Bogaerts on an RBI single to left field. The Red Sox now only trailed by one run at 3-2.

Boston relievers continued to impress from there, as Hansel Robles retired the side in the seventh, Jake Diekman punched out the side in the eighth, and Matt Strahm faced the minimum in the top of the ninth.

Down to their final three outs in the bottom of the ninth and now matched up against White Sox reliever Jose Ruiz, Martinez led off by drilling a double off the Green Monster before being pinch-ran for by Franchy Cordero, who represented the potential tying run.

Despite the encouraging start to the inning, Vazquez popped out to second base, Alex Verdugo struck out on a foul tip, and the pinch-hitting Kevin Plawecki flew out to center field to seal the 3-2 defeat.

Some notes from this loss:

The Red Sox went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base as a team. Trevor Story, meanwhile, went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and is now batting .194 with a .545 OPS on the season.

By losing by one run on Sunday, Boston fell to 3-7 in one-run games this season.

Next up: On to Atlanta

The Red Sox will look to take advantage of their first of two off days this week before opening up a quick two-game series against the Braves in Atlanta on Tuesday night.

Georgia native and right-hander Garrett Whitlock is slated to start the opener for Boston, while Atlanta will roll with fellow righty Kyle Wright.

First pitch from Truist Park on Tuesday is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. eastern time on NESN and TBS.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Rich Hill, Jason Varitek test positive for COVID-19

Red Sox left-hander Rich Hill and game planning coordinator/catching coach Jason Varitek have both tested positive for COVID-19, manager Alex Cora revealed before Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the White Sox at Fenway Park.

Hill was originally placed on the COVID-19 related injured list alongside Enrique Hernandez on Friday. Both players were exhibiting symptoms at that time but had yet to test positive for the virus.

Since then, Hernandez has been cleared to return to action. Hill, on the other hand, will need to register two negative tests or reach an appropriate CT (cycle threshold) value on-back-to-back days before he is eligible to return.

John Schreiber, who was called up in place of Hill on Friday, remains on Boston’s major-league roster. Garrett Whitlock, meanwhile, will take the veteran left-hander’s spot in the Sox’ starting rotation for Tuesday’s contest against the Braves in Atlanta.

As for Varitek, who tested positive a few days ago, Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) earlier Saturday that the former catcher was “feeling better.”

This should not come as a surprise, but both Hill and Varitek will remain away from the team until they are cleared to return.

(Picture of Rich Hill: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox activate Kiké Hernández from COVID-19 related injured list, option Jarren Duran to Triple-A Worcester

Before losing to the White Sox on Saturday night, the Red Sox announced that they had activated center fielder Enrique Hernandez from the COVID-19 related injured list. In a corresponding move, outfielder Jarren Duran was optioned to Triple-A Worcester.

The Red Sox initially placed Hernandez on the COVID IL on Friday after the 30-year-old had been feeling under the weather the previous day, which left him out of Boston’s lineup for their series finale against the Angels at Fenway Park.

At that time, Hernandez had yet to test positive for COVID-19 despite exhibiting virus-like symptoms. That must have remained the case through Friday and into Saturday since he was able to make his return to the lineup on Saturday afternoon.

Starting in center field and batting sixth, Hernandez went 0-for-4 with one strikeout in Boston’s 3-1 loss to Chicago. The right-handed hitter is now slashing a meager .182/.252/.293 with eight doubles, one home run, 12 RBIs, 12 runs scored, nine walks, and 23 strikeouts over 25 games (111 plate appearances) this season.

Duran, on the other hand, made his 2022 debut in place of Hernandez on Friday night. The 25-year-old reached base two times via a triple and HBP while also striking out once in five trips to the plate.

Though Duran’s first big-league stint of the season was a short one, it would not be surprising if he made his way back up to the Red Sox later in the year, especially if the team remains uncompetitive. Before being promoted on Friday, the speedy left-handed hitter had batted .397/.478/.638 with four doubles, two triples, two home runs, 11 RBIs, 15 runs scored, seven stolen bases, nine walks, and 13 strikeouts across 15 games (67 plate appearances) with the WooSox.

(Picture of Enrique Hernandez: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Hansel Robles blows save as Red Sox lose late lead and fall to White Sox, 3-1, in 10 innings to drop to 10-18 on season

The Red Sox lost their sixth consecutive series on Saturday following a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the White Sox in 10 innings at Fenway Park. By dropping their third straight game, Boston has fallen to 10-18 on the season as they remain in the basement of the American League East.

Nick Pivetta impressed for the Sox in his sixth start of the year. The right-hander kept the White Sox off the scoreboard while scattering five hits, no walks, and one hit batsman to go along with a season-high eight strikeouts over six innings of work.

After giving up a leadoff single to Tim Anderson to begin his day in the first, Pivetta stranded the dangerous shortstop on three separate occasions. He got through the first inning unscathed, retired the side in order in the second, left two runners on — including Anderson — in the third and fifth innings, then sat down three of the final four batters he faced in the sixth.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 91 (62 strikes), Pivetta turned to his four-seam fastball 58% of the time he was on the mound Saturday and induced seven swings-and-misses with the pitch while topping out at 94.3 mph with it. The 29-year-old hurler also lowered his ERA on the season to 6.08.

Shortly before his night ended, the Red Sox put Pivetta in a position to pick up the win by finally getting to White Sox starter Dylan Cease in their half of the fifth. Franchy Cordero reached base via a one-out single, advanced to second base on a Trevor Story walk, and scored from second on an RBI double off the bat of Rafael Devers.

Story moved up to third on the play, but could not score from there as Xander Bogaerts grounded out and J.D. Martinez struck out to kill any shot of an extended rally.

In relief of Pivetta, Ryan Brasier received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen for the seventh inning and worked his way around a two-out single and stolen base from Leury Garcia. John Schreiber recorded the first two outs of the eighth before allowing two straight White Sox to reach base on a single and fielding error committed by Story. Matt Strahm came on and got the final out of the inning.

Protecting a one-run lead heading into the ninth, Hansel Robles was called upon for the save. Instead of closing things out, though, Robles issued a leadoff walk to Jake Burger that was immediately followed by a line-drive double from Adam Engel. Garcia knocked in the tying run on a sacrifice fly as Robles was charged with his second blown save of the season.

Now trying to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Christian Vazquez created some one-out magic with a single and double that put the potential winning run at third base. Bobby Dalbec failed to come through as he fanned on four pitches. Story then swung at the first pitch he saw from Reynaldo Lopez and popped out to shallow right field to leave Bradley Jr. where he was standing.

With this one headed into extras, Matt Barnes was responsible for the top of the 10th with the automatic runner (A.J. Pollock) already at second base. Barnes was promptly greeted by Jose Abreu, who drove in Pollock by drilling a 107.7 mph RBI double to center field. Luis Robert followed with a hard-hit single of his own that plated Abreu and made it a 3-1 game in favor of the White Sox. Barnes through the rest of the 10th, but the damage had already been done.

Down to their final three outs and matched up against White Sox closer Liam Hendriks yet again, Devers, Bogaerts, and Martinez all grounded out to seal a 3-1 defeat for the Red Sox.

Frustrations boiling over

Red Sox manager Alex Cora was ejected for the first time this season in the third inning of Saturday’s loss. He was thrown out by home plate umpire Carlos Torres for arguing a called strike three against Story.

The Red Sox went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position on Saturday and left 10 runners on base as a team. On the other side of things, the Boston bullpen staff blew their ninth save in 14 opportunities so far this season.

All told, the Red Sox are now 0-6 in extra-inning games this season.

Next up: Keuchel vs. Wacha

The Red Sox will look to avoid the three-game sweep against the White Sox on Sunday morning. Boston will roll with right-hander Michael Wacha in the finale while Chicago will turn to left-hander Dallas Keuchel.

First pitch from Fenway Park on Sunday is scheduled for 11:35 a.m. eastern time on NBC and Peacock.

(Picture of Alex Cora: Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)

Red Sox sign former Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martínez to minor-league deal

The Red Sox have signed free-agent right-hander Carlos Martinez to a minor-league contract, according to the team’s transaction log on MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Worcester. SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield was the first to bring this news to the forefront.

Martinez, 30, began the 2022 season in the Giants organization after signing a minors pact with San Francisco in late March. He did not appear in a game at any level before being released by the club on April 28.

As an article XX(B) free agent, Martinez had the ability to opt out of his deal by May 1 and informed the Giants he would be doing so beforehand, per The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Martinez originally signed with the Red Sox as a shortstop in February 2009. His contract was voided by Major League Baseball, though, and he ultimately signed with the Cardinals the following year.

After debuting with St. Louis in 2013 and pitching against Boston in the World Series that fall, Martinez spent the first nine years of his major-league career with the Cardinals and was used as both a starter and reliever.

Most recently, the two-time All-Star opened the 2021 campaign in St. Louis’ starting rotation and posted a 6.23 ERA and 4.76 FIP to go along with 57 strikeouts to 36 walks over 16 starts spanning 82 1/3 innings of work. His season ended in early July after suffering a torn ligament in his right thumb that required surgery.

Five months after going under the knife, Martinez began throwing again and started two games for Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League, allowing a total of four runs over three innings in those two outings.

Listed at 6-feet and 200 pounds, Martinez pre-surgery worked with a six-pitch arsenal that consisted of a four-seam fastball, slider, cutter, sinker, changeup, and curveball.

Considering that he is only 30 and does not turn 31 until September, Martinez may not be who he once was in his peak years with the Cardinals, but the righty should still provide the Red Sox with some experienced and versatile rotation/bullpen depth in Worcester.

According to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, Martinez will start for the WooSox in their series finale against the Toledo Mud Hens on Sunday afternoon.

(Picture of Carlos Martinez: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

Nathan Eovaldi grinds through 5 innings, but Red Sox held to just 6 hits in 4-2 loss to White Sox

The Red Sox saw their losing streak grow to three consecutive games on Friday following a 3-1 to the White Sox at Fenway Park. Boston drops to 10-17 on the season and now find themselves squarely in the basement of the American League East.

Nathan Eovaldi, making his sixth start of the year, surrendered three earned runs on six hits and three walks to go along with four strikeouts over five innings of work. It was truly a grind for the right-hander, who saw all three runs scored off him come in the third inning.

After giving up back-to-back singles that put runners on the corners with no outs, Jose Abreu lifted a sacrifice fly off Eovaldi that brought in Tim Anderson from third base to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. The very next batter, Luis Robert, crushed a two-run home run 389 feet over the Green Monster to make it a 3-0 game.

Eovaldi escaped the third while evading any further damage, but had done so while seeing his pitch count rise to 72. He then worked his way around a leadoff single in the fourth before retiring six of the final seven White Sox hitters he faced through the middle of the fifth.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 101 (65 strikes), Eovaldi turned to his four-seam fastball 45% of the time he was on the mound Friday. The 32-year-old hurler induced four swings-and-misses with the pitch and hovered around 93 to 99 mph with the pitch. His ERA on the season now sits at 2.94.

To that point in the contest, a Red Sox lineup that featured Jarren Duran for the first time this year had been stymied by White Sox starter Vince Velasquez. In the bottom of the fifth, though, Alex Verdugo broke out of an 0-for-12 skid with a leadoff double and scored from second on an RBI double off the bat of Jackie Bradley Jr.

Bradley Jr.’s eight double of the season got the Sox on the board to cut the deficit to 3-1. A Kevin Plawecki groundout allowed Bradley Jr. to advance to third and Duran getting plunked by a pitch put runners on the corners for Trevor Story. Story, in turn, was rung up by first base umpire Carlos Torres on a questionable check swing call that nonetheless extinguished the threat.

In relief of Eovaldi, Austin Davis got the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The left-hander recorded the first two outs of the sixth before making way for the recently called-up John Schreiber, who ended things in the sixth and also sat down the side in 1-2-3 fashion in the seventh.

Ryan Brasier, on the other hand, was responsible for the eighth inning and immediately gave up a leadoff single to Adam Engel. Engel promptly stole second base, moved up to third on a lineout, and scored an important insurance run on a Reese McGuire sacrifice fly to give his side the 4-1 advantage.

To lead off the bottom of the eighth, Duran was able to put his elite speed on display by tripling on an 80.4 mph fly ball to right field that got past Adam Engel. The speedster then came into score on a Story RBI groundout that brought the Red Sox back to within two runs of the White Sox at 4-2.

Rafael Devers followed with a groundball single that brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Xander Bogaerts, who fanned on five pitches and thus left it up to J.D. Martinez. Previously 0-for-3 on the night, Martinez beat out an infield single to third base to keep the inning alive for Verdugo, who softly grounded out to Kendall Graveman.

Matt Barnes took the mound for the top of the ninth and managed to work his way around a leadoff walk of of A.J. Pollock when Bradley Jr. gunned down Barnes at home plate to complete a well-executed 9-1 double play. Barnes then struck out Robert on five pitches to hold the White Sox at four runs.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth and matched up against vaunted White Sox closer Liam Hendriks, Franchy Cordero came off the bench for the Red Sox in place of Bobby Dalbec and struck out looking. Shortly thereafter, Bradley Jr. fanned himself before Christian Vazquez, who was pinch-hitting for Plawecki, drew a walk to once again bring the tying run to the plate as the lineup flipped back over.

With a chance to come through in the clutch, Duran got ahead in the count at 2-0 but struck out swinging to seal another Red Sox defeat. Durant went 1-for-4 with one run scored and one strikeout in his 2022 debut.

As a team on Friday, Boston went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left a total of eight runners on base.

Next up: Cease vs. Pivetta

The Red Sox will send right-hander Nick Pivetta to the mound in the middle game of this three-game series on Saturday afternoon. The White Sox will counter with fellow righty Dylan Cease.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Kiké Hernández and Rich Hill on COVID-19 related injured list, recall Jarren Duran and John Schreiber from Triple-A Worcester

Before opening up a three-game weekend series against the White Sox at Fenway Park on Friday night, the Red Sox placed center fielder Enrique Hernandez and left-hander Rich Hill on the COVID-19 related injured list. In a corresponding move, outfielder Jarren Duran and right-hander John Schreiber have been recalled from Triple-A Worcester.

Neither Hernandez nor Hill, who are both vaccinated, have yet to test positive for COVID-19. However, the two veterans have been exhibiting virus-like symptoms and will remain away from the team as they continue testing.

Hernandez first started feeling ill on Thursday and was left out of the Sox’ lineup for their series finale against the Angels. Hill, on the other hand, made his fifth start of the season on Thursday and pitched well. Garrett Whitlock will take Hill’s spot in Boston’s rotation and start against the Braves in Atlanta next Wednesday.

Even though Hernandez or Hill have not yet registered positive test results, the Red Sox are allowed to place them on the COVID-related injured list since both players have exhibited symptoms. As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, Boston is acting out of an abundance of caution after three players — Christian Vazquez, Kevin Plawecki, and Jonathan Arauz — and manager Alex Cora all missed games last month after testing positive.

With Hernandez and Hill down for the time being, Duran and Schreiber are up. As was first reported by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, Duran is up for the first time this season after getting off to a strong start in Worcester. The left-handed hitting 25-year-old was batting .397/.478/.638 with four doubles, two triples, two home runs, 11 RBIs, 15 runs scored, seven stolen bases, nine walks, and 13 strikeouts over his first 15 games (67 plate appearances) with the WooSox.

Upon making his big-league debut for Boston last July, Duran struggled to the tune of a 215/.241/.336 slash line with three doubles, two triples, two home runs, 10 RBIs, 17 runs scored, four walks, and 40 strikeouts across 112 plate appearances as a rookie. The speedster will be looking for redemption this time around as he will bat leadoff and start in center field in his 2022 debut on Friday.

Schreiber, meanwhile, is up with the Sox for the second time this season after being used as a COVID substitute in Toronto. In two relief appearances against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on April 27 and 28, the righty retired seven of the eight batters he faced while allowing just one hit and recording one strikeout. With the WooSox this year, he has posted a 1.46 ERA with 15 strikeouts to three walks over seven appearances spanning 12 1/3 innings of work.

(Picture of Enrique Hernandez: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)