Category: Baseball

Alex Verdugo comes through with game-winning 3-run homer as Red Sox hold off Braves, 10-8

Alex Cora’s Red Sox certainly seem to have a flair for the dramatic, especially when it comes to playing games against the Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta.

Brandon Phillips provided the Sox with one of their standout moments in 2018 by crushing a game-winning homer in September of that season. On Tuesday, Alex Verdugo may have done the same for the 2021 Red Sox.

With two outs in the top of the eighth and runners at second and third in what was at the time a 7-7 contest, Verdugo came through in the clutch yet again.

On a 2-0, 86 mph changeup at the top of the zone from Braves reliever Chris Martin, Verdugo demolished a go-ahead, three-run home run 409 feet to left-center field.

While celebrating his ninth homer of the year by pounding chest and pointing to his teammates in the visitor’s dugout, Verdugo put the Sox up. 10-7 late.

The fact that the Red Sox reached such a crucial point on Tuesday was somewhat surprising when considering they had leads of 5-0 and 7-4 over Atlanta, but the late-game dramatics were necessary nonetheless.

Devers notches 500th career hit in first inning

Matched up against Braves rookie left-hander Tucker Davidson to begin things on Tuesday, Rafael Devers got the scoring started for the Sox by reaching a significant career milestone.

Coming into the day with 499 career hits under his belt, Devers certainly made No. 500 count when he took Davidson 435 feet deep to dead center field for a three-run home run that got his side on the board first.

Hunter Renfroe followed with a big fly of his own, and Devers tacked on another on an RBI single in the second to make it a 5-0 contest early.

Rodriguez’s struggles continue

Eduardo Rodriguez, making his 13th start of the season for Boston, was rewarded for tossing two scoreless innings to begin his outing by being given a five-run lead to work with going into the third.

Alas, over his next two frames of work, Rodriguez saw that five-run edge trimmed down to just one as he surrendered a total of four runs on an RBI single from Freddie Freeman in the third and a pair of run-scoring doubles from Abraham Almonte and Ronald Acuna Jr. in the fourth.

The left-hander was able to punch out Freeman to limit any further damage, but that would mark the end of his outing since he had already given up four runs on six hits, one walk, and eight strikeouts over four innings.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 80 (53 strikes), Rodriguez raised his ERA on the season to 6.21 while getting hit with the no-decision. The 28-year-old’s next start should come against the Rays in Tampa Bay next Tuesday.

Bogaerts joins in on the home run action

The Red Sox were able to add to their 5-4 lead in their half of the fifth inning, when Xander Bogaerts deposited a solo shot to left field and Hunter Renfroe later drove in Rafael Devers on a run-scoring single off Braves reliever Edgar Santana.

Costly errors lead to three Braves runs

Garrett Whitlock was the first reliever the Sox turned to on Tuesday, and he delivered by tossing a scoreless fifth inning in addition to picking up his first career big-league hit in the top of the sixth.

Called back out for the bottom half of that frame, Whitlock walked the first batter he faced in Abraham Almonte before falling victim to some sloppy defense behind him, though he was not alone in that respect.

An Enrique Hernandez fielding error and Hunter Renfroe throwing error led to one Braves run crossing the board. 7-5.

After getting the first out of the sixth, Whitlock was replaced by left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez, who subsequently saw Atlanta’s sixth run of the night come into score on a passed ball that eluded Christian Vazquez behind the plate.

That same passed ball allowed Guillermo Heredia to advance to third base, and he came into score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Freddie Freeman, which knotted things back up at seven runs apiece.

Eighth-inning rally

Following a scoreless frame courtesy of Hirokazu Sawamura in the seventh, Christian Vazquez and Bobby Dalbec led off their half of the eighth with a pair of back-to-back singles off Chris Martin.

Both runners advanced into scoring position on a well-placed bunt from the pinch-hitting Marwin Gonzalez, which paved the way for Alex Verdugo to deliver the moment of the night: a go-ahead, game-winning three-run blast.

Ottavino and Barnes close it out

Adam Ottavino took over in the bottom half of the eighth, and he needed all of 14 pitches to toss yet an shutout inning.

Sox closer Matt Barnes, meanwhile, made things interesting by yielding a run, but he was ultimately able to hold the Braves off to preserve the 10-8 victory as well as his 15th save of the year.

With the win, the Red Sox improve to 41-27 on the season and move to two games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East.

Next up: Richards vs. Anderson

The Red Sox will send right-hander Garrett Richards to the mound as they go for the quick two-game sweep over the Braves on Wednesday.

The Braves will send fellow righty Ian Anderson to the hill as they look to prevent that from happening.

First pitch Wednesday is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. eastern time on NESN and ESPN.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Josh Taylor extends scoreless streak to 18 consecutive appearances in Monday’s win over Blue Jays; ‘He did an outstanding job,’ Alex Cora says

Slowly but surely, Red Sox reliever Josh Taylor has emerged as one of manager Alex Cora’s most trusted weapons out of the bullpen.

The latest instance of just how effective Taylor has been this season arose during the seventh inning of Monday night’s 2-1 victory over the Blue Jays at Fenway Park.

After getting 6 2/3 quality innings from Nathan Eovaldi, Cora turned to Taylor with one out to get in the top of the seventh and the potential tying run at third in the form of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Working with a 1-0 lead to protect, the left-hander took advantage of a lefty-on-lefty matchup by getting Rowdy Tellez to fan on six pitches, punctuating the at-bat by making the Blue Jays first baseman look foolish on a 2-2, 88 mph slider at the bottom of the zone.

As he came back out for his next inning of work in the eighth, Taylor again did not waste much time, as he got Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to ground out to third base on the first pitch he saw before picking up two more swinging strikeouts against Cavan Biggio and Reese McGuire.

“J.T.’s been throwing the ball great,” Eovaldi said. “He comes in in that big situation right there. I got the double play ball, and he was able to leave Vlad over there at third base and he got Tellez. It was a huge situation right there to clean up that inning. And then he followed that up with another clean inning to bridge that gap to (Matt) Barnes.”

When all was said and done and the Red Sox walked off the Blue Jays, 2-1, Taylor only needed 15 pitches to get through 1 1/3 innings of relief in the process of picking up his eighth hold of the season.

“He’s been doing that for a long time,” Cora said of Taylor’s performance. “We felt that pocket belonged to him. He gets the lefty. … He had Tellez, and then we felt like he could get Gurriel in that spot. And with all the lefties coming up, it was a great spot for him.

“That’s the way we saw it before the game,” added Cora. “The way they constructed their lineup and their defensive alignment, so we felt that was a good pocket for him and he did an outstanding job.”

By retiring all four hitters he faced on Monday, Taylor extended his scoreless appearance streak to 18 consecutive games, which dates all the way back to April 30.

Over that dominating stretch, opponents are hitting a measly .149/.231/.170 off the 28-year-old hurler. He has struck out 18 batters and walked just four in his last 14 innings out of the bullpen.

Among 38 major-league left-handed relievers who have thrown at least 14 innings since April 30, Taylor ranks first in ERA (0.00), first in hits allowed (7), fifth in batting average against, sixth in on-base percentage against, third in slugging percentage against, fourth in weighted on-base average against (.193), seventh in strikeout percentage (34.6%), second in FIP (1.65), and seventh in xFIP (2.78), per FanGraphs.

The fact that Taylor has turned in solid performance after solid performance as of late is certainly encouraging considering how poorly of a start he got off to earlier this season.

Because of his recent run of success, the southpaw has lowered his ERA on the year from 9.72 — which is where it sat the morning of April 30 — all the way down to a respectable 3.63.

(Picture of Josh Taylor: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers walks it off as Red Sox salvage series split against Blue Jays with 2-1 victory

The Red Sox were three outs away from picking up a hard-fought, 1-0 shutout victory over the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Monday.

Matt Barnes came on for the save in the top half of the ninth and got the first two outs of the inning easily before making the decision to pitch to one of the hottest hitters on the planet in Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

That decision would turn out to be costly for the Sox, as Barnes served up a towering, 451-foot mammoth shot of a game-tying home run in the process of being charged with his third blown save of the year.

Still, even with that setback, the Red Sox did not falter going into the bottom portion of the inning.

Matched up against reliever Rafeal Dolis, Alex Verdugo and J.D. Martinez led off with a pair of singles to eventually put a runner in scoring position with one out for Rafael Devers.

On the fourth pitch he saw from Dolis, Devers got a hold of a 95 mph sinker on the inner half of the plate and crushed it off the Green Monster.

Devers knew it was good for a hit as soon as it left the bat, as Verdugo came into score from second to seal a 2-1 walk-off victory for the Red Sox.

With the win, not only does Boston halt a two-game losing skid, but they also salvage a series split with Toronto in addition to improving to 40-27 on the season.

Eovaldi takes perfect game into fourth inning

The Sox were in desperate need of a quality starting pitching performance at on Monday, and that’s exactly what they got from Nathan Eovaldi.

Having seen his team get outscored 25-6 over its last two games, both losses, Eovaldi put together one of his most impressive outings of the season to date against the Blue Jays.

In what was his 14th start of the year, the veteran right-hander kept the Jays off the scoreboard while scattering just three hits and one walk to go along with four strikeouts over 6 2/3 pristine innings of work.

After retiring the first 10 hitters he faced, Eovaldi saw his perfect game and no-hit bid come to an end all at once when he yielded a one-out single to Bo Bichette in the top of the fourth.

Eovaldi escaped the inning without allowing Bichette to get past second base before sitting down six more Jays batters in order.

The seventh presented a bit of a challenge for the righty, as he gave up back-to-back singles to lead things off, but nullified that by inducing a 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Randal Grichuk; at which point his night came to a close.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 81 (55 strikes), the 31-year-old hurler turned to his four-seam fastball 40% of the time he was on the mound Monday, inducing just one swing-and-miss while topping out at 100.3 mph with the pitch.

Despite being hit with the no-decision, Eovaldi did lower his ERA on the season to 3.78. His next start should come against the Royals in Kansas City on Sunday.

Verdugo comes through early

The Red Sox lineup was matched up against an unfamiliar opponent in the form of Blue Jays rookie right-hander Alek Manoah, who was making his first career start at Fenway Park, to begin things on Monday.

While Manoah got through the first two innings unscathed, the bottom half of the third was somewhat of a different story.

With two outs and Enrique Hernandez at first base after reaching on a fielder’s choice, Alex Verdugo delivered what would turn out to be the most important Red Sox hit of the night.

On a 1-0, 94 mph fastball from Manoah, Verdugo laced a double to left field that was just out of the reach of left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Because the ball eluded Gurriel Jr.’s glove, Hernandez was able to hustle in to score all the way from first while Verdugo was credited with an RBI double.

Taylor shines again out of bullpen, Barnes earns win

By the time Nathan Eovaldi’s night had come to an end with two outs in the top of the seventh, left-hander Josh Taylor came on in relief of the starter.

Taylor fanned Rowdy Tellez on six pitches to end the inning and punched out two more in a shutout top of the eighth to extend his scoreless appearances streak to 18 consecutive games dating back to April 30.

Matt Barnes, meanwhile, was able to strike out Teoscar Hernandez after giving up that game-tying home run to limit the damage in the ninth, and he earned his third winning decision of the season since he was the last Red Sox pitcher to take the mound on Monday.

Next up: On to Atlanta

The Red Sox will board a flight to Atlanta for the start of a three-city, eight-game road trip on deck that starts with two against the Braves at Truist Park.

Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will get the start for Boston in the opening game of the two-game interleague series on Tuesday, while rookie southpaw Tucker Davidson will do the same for Atlanta.

First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

Red Sox acquire right-hander Yacksel Rios from Mariners, add him to 40-man roster

The Red Sox have acquired right-handed reliever Yacksel Rios from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for cash considerations, the team announced before Monday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Rios, who turns 28 later this month, will be added to Boston’s 40-man roster after the club designated fellow righty Ryan Weber for assignment to create an opening on its major-league roster for Michael Chavis earlier Monday afternoon.

Per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, “it appears Rios may take Chavis’ active roster spot when he is ready to join the team.”

The 27-year-old hurler allowed an earned run in each of his three appearances out of Seattle’s bullpen this month before he, too, was designated for assignment on June 11 despite having a minor-league option remaining.

A former 12th-round draft pick of the Phillies back in 2011, Rios made his major-league debut for Philadelphia during the 2017 campaign.

Since then, the 6-foot-3 hurler has made a total of 69 appearances in parts of four big-league seasons between the Phillies, Pirates, and Mariners. He owns an ERA of 6.47, a FIP of of 4.82, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 70:36 in those outings dating back to August 2017.

After being let go by Pittsburgh over the winter, Rios inked a minor-league pact with the Rays in February, though his time in Tampa Bay did not last long considering the fact he was dealt to the Mariners for cash considerations on June 4.

With that being said, Rios’ tenure in Seattle lasted all of a week.

Per Baseball Savant, Rios works with a sinker, a four-seam fastball, a slider, a split-finger fastball, and a rarely used curveball.

A native of Puerto Rico, Rios — a former catcher — hails from the same home town as Red Sox manager Alex Cora in Caguas.

(Picture of Yacksel Rios: Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

Red Sox recall Michael Chavis from Triple-A Worcester, designate Ryan Weber for assignment

Before wrapping up their four-game series against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Monday night, the Red Sox recalled infielder Michael Chavis from Triple-A Worcester.

In a corresponding move, right-hander Ryan Weber was designated for assignment in order to make room for Chavis on the Sox’ 26-man roster, Sox manager Alex Cora announced.

Chavis will be called up to Boston for the third time this season, most recently spending a little more than two weeks with the big-league club last month.

In the 10 games he got into during that stretch, the 25-year-old slashed .273/.273/.485 with four doubles, one home run, two RBI, six runs scored, zero walks, and 13 strikeouts over 33 plate appearances while primarily playing second base.

With Triple-A Worcester, Chavis has put up similar numbers, albeit over a larger sample size.

Narrowing it down to just what he has done since being optioned on May 24, the right-handed hitter owns a slash line of .275/.338/.420 (104 wRC+) to go along with one double, three homers, 12 runs driven in, 13 runs scored, six walks, 21 strikeouts, and one stolen base over his last 17 games (69 plate appearances) for the WooSox.

Weber, meanwhile, was designated for assignment one day after being selected from Worcester and getting absolutely shelled in his 2021 debut against Toronto on Sunday.

Working in relief of starter Martin Perez, the 30-year-old hurler surrendered a whopping 11 runs — all of which were earned — on 13 hits, two walks, seven strikeouts, and four home runs over 5 2/3 innings pitched.

The Red Sox will have the next seven days to either trade, release, or waive Weber.

Assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers, it seems likely that the veteran righy would be outrighted back to Worcester, where he put up a 4.63 ERA in seven outings (six starts) and 35 innings pitched this year prior to getting promoted over the weekend.

It should be noted that the move to designate Weber also opens up a spot on Boston’s 40-man roster, so that may be something to monitor in the coming days.

(Picture of Michael Chavis: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Nick Yorke, top Red Sox prospect, is having torrid month of June (.382/.462/.559) with Low-A Salem

Red Sox infield prospect Nick Yorke moved up to the leadoff spot for the first time in his professional career on Sunday, and the move yielded some pretty encouraging results.

Batting leadoff for Low-A Salem in their series finale against the Fredericksburg Nationals at Salem Memorial Ballpark, Yorke went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, an RBI, and two stolen bases while scoring three of his team’s five runs in what would turn out to be a 5-0 victory for the Red Sox.

Matched up against Nationals right-hander Karlo Seijas to begin things on Sunday, the right-handed hitting Yorke led off the bottom of the first by reaching base on an infield single. He stole second base moments later and eventually came into score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jaxx Groshans.

In the third inning, Yorke took advantage of a one-out triple from Salem’s No. 9 hitter, Dean Miller, and drove the runner in from third on a hard-hit RBI double to the opposite field.

Yorke’s stay on second base did not last long, however, as he successfully stole third and was later driven in on a run-scoring single from Groshans.

Fast forward to the fifth, and Yorke again got things started with a bang, this time leading off the frame with a single to right that would allow him to score on an RBI groundout courtesy of Stephen Scott that same inning.

By going 3-for-4 (with a seventh-inning lineout) on Sunday, Yorke raised his batting average on the season to .250 (29-for-116), which is the highest it has been since May 6 (.273).

The fact that the 19-year-old turned in a three-hit performance on Sunday is just the latest example of how Boston’s No. 9 prospect (according to Baseball America) has adjusted to the professional game since making his debut with Salem earlier this spring.

After slashing .195/.264/.228 with two doubles, nine runs, nine RBI, eight walks, 21 strikeouts, and three stolen bases over 21 games in the month of May, Yorke has turned things around for the better a few weeks into June.

Following Sunday’s solid showing, the California native is now hitting a scorching .382/.462/.559 to go along with four doubles, one triple, one RBI, five walks, four strikeouts, and four stolen bases in 10 games (39 plate appearances) so far this month.

Among the top hitters in the Low-A East with at least 30 at-bats this month, Yorke ranks third in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage, sixth in slugging percentage, fourth in OPS (1.021), and seventh in stolen bases, per MiLB.com.

Yorke, who has primarily been playing second base this season, was originally selected by the Red Sox with the 17th overall pick in last year’s amateur draft out of Archbishop Mitty High School (San Jose, Calif).

While the pick at the time was perceived as a surprising one considering where different industry publications had Yorke ranked on their draft boards as well as his commitment to the University of Arizona, the Red Sox viewed the prep infielder as a promising prospect with a legitimate — if not elite — hit tool for his age.

As the youngest player currently at Salem, Yorke has certainly been through his ups and downs while getting his first taste of life as a professional baseball player.

That being said, Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Co. believed the 6-foot, 200 pounder could handle the assignment after the way he turned heads at the alternate training site and fall instructional league last year as well as at major-league spring training this year.

It’s still only been just over a month of minor-league baseball, but at the moment, Yorke appears to be making the necessary adjustments to back up why the Red Sox are just so high on him.

(Picture of Nick Yorke: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox pitchers serve up 8 homers in historic blowout 18-4 loss to Blue Jays

The vibes were immaculate at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, those vibes were not of the feel-good variety, and instead reminiscent of what the team endured in 2020.

Sox pitchers — including two position players — combined to give up eight home runs in a blowout 18-4 pounding at the hands of the Blue Jays.

With the defeat, their second straight to Toronto, Boston falls to 39-27 on the season while dropping three full games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East.

A historic day at Fenway

The eight homers Red Sox pitchers surrendered on Sunday are the most the team has ever given up in a single game in franchise history.

Perez gets rocked in another short outing

Martin Perez made his 13th start of the season for Boston on Sunday, fresh off what was his shortest outing of the year in his last time out against the Astros.

This time around, Perez was unable to turn the page, and he instead got bombarded in yet another brief showing on the mound.

Over just 1 1/3 innings of work, the veteran left-hander yielded five runs — all of which were earned — on six hits, one walk, and zero strikeouts on the afternoon.

Three of the six hits Perez gave up to the Jays went over the fence, with Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. crushing a three-run and solo homer in the first, and Marcus Semien going yard with one out in the second, at which point the lefty’s day came to a quick close.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 38 (22 strikes), the 30-year-old hurler ultimately fell to 4-4 on the year while inflating his ERA to 4.52. He has allowed a total of 11 runs over his last two starts, but will look to turn things around in his next start against the Royals in Kansas City on Saturday.

Weber takes one for the team

In relief of Perez, Ryan Weber was deployed sooner than he likely expected with just one out in the top of the second.

Just selected from Triple-A Worcester, Weber was called up in the event that the Red Sox would need a long reliever out of the bullpen on Sunday, and that they did.

While he did provide 5 2/3 innings of relief in his 2021 debut, the right-hander was shelled for 11 earned runs on 13 hits and two walks to go along with seven strikeouts.

Nine of the 11 runs Weber surrendered came by way of the home run ball, with Teoscar Hernandez, Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggo, and Vladimir Guerror Jr. taking the righy deep over the course of his 95-pitch outing.

Position players get in on the action

Trailing 16-2 going into the eighth inning, Red Sox manager Alex Cora opted to preserve his bullpen and instead turned to Marwin Gonzalez to pitch.

Making his first career appearance as a pitcher, the versatile Gonzalez turned in the only 1-2-3 inning the Sox enjoyed all day by retiring Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Cavan Biggio, and Riley Adams in order.

Of the 11 pitches Gonzalez needed to get through the scoreless frame, six were strikes. He also showed off a 90 mph cutter in addition to a mid-40s curveball.

Christian Arroyo, meanwhile, got the call for the ninth inning in what was also his big-league debut on the mound. The right-hander served up a two-run home run to Rowdy Tellez, which put Toronto up 18-4.

Another quietish day for the Sox lineup

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup has typically found success this season when scoring four-plus runs. But that was not the case against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

Matched up against Toronto left-hander Robbie Ray, Xander Bogaerts and Enrique Hernandez provided some early offense with a solo home run and two-run double, respectively.

Bobby Dalbec stayed hot by mashing his eighth homer of the season to lead off things in the eighth, but at that point the Sox’ deficit was already too large to mount a comeback.

Next up: Looking to salvage a series split

Right-haner Nathan Eovaldi will take the hill for the Red Sox on Monday night as the club looks to bounce back and settle for a four-game series split with the Blue Jays.

Toronto will send rookie righty Alek Manoah as they look for a series win.

First pitch Monday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Kevin Plawecki and Ryan Weber: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox select Ryan Weber, designate Brandon Brennan for assignment

Before taking on the Blue Jays in the third game of a four-game series at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon, the Red Sox selected the contract of right-hander Ryan Weber from Triple-A Worcester and added him to the major-league roster.

In a corresponding move, fellow right-hander Brandon Brennan was designated for assignment, the club announced earlier Sunday morning.

Weber, 30, re-joins the Sox’ 40-man roster after being designated and outrighted to Triple-A Worcester last November.

In seven appearances (six starts) with the WooSox this season, the veteran hurler posted a 4.63 ERA and 3.98 xFIP to go along with 10 walks and 33 strikeouts over 35 innings of work.

Weber’s last start for Worcester came on June 8, an outing in which he pitched well against the Syracuse Mets by only allowing two runs in seven innings, so he would be in line to start once again on Sunday.

“It was his spot in the rotation (for Worcester) and he can give us multiple innings,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “If something happens with (Sunday’s starter) Martín (Pérez), we were running short on innings. So he’ll be a guy who can give us multiple innings.”

Originally signing a minor-league pact with Boston in December 2018, Weber has put up a 4.73 ERA over 35 appearances (eight starts) and 83 2/3 innings pitched in parts of two seasons with the Red Sox.

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Brandon Brennan, meanwhile, was designated for assignment despite the fact that he does have minor-league options remaining.

The 29-year-old was called up from Triple-A Worcester this past Thursday. He tossed three scoreless innings while scattering three hits, two walks, and one strikeout in his lone appearance out of the Boston bullpen against Toronto on Saturday.

The Red Sox will have seven days to either trade, release, or waive Brennan, who was claimed off waivers from the Mariners last month.

(Picture of Ryan Weber: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Red Sox pitching prospect Brayan Bello allows 1 run over 4-plus innings in debut for Double-A Portland

Red Sox pitching prospect Brayan Bello’s Double-A debut on Saturday night did not disappoint.

After getting promoted from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland this past Tuesday, Bello made his first start of the year for the Sea Dogs at Hadlock Field, facing off against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (the Double-A affiliate of the Blue Jays).

Over four-plus innings of work, the young right-hander allowed just one earned run on five hits and two walks to go along with two strikeouts on the night.

While he did not have the benefit of a clean inning, Bello did do an effective job of maneuvering his way around traffic on the base paths, as he stranded five runners on base and also faced the minimum in the fourth thanks to inducing a 6-4-3 double play.

Both walks issued by Bello came against the first two — and subsequently final two — batters he faced in the top half of the fifth, at which point his outing came to a close.

One of those he walked would come into score on a sacrifice fly off Sea Dogs reliever Joan Martinez later in the inning, which is how he was charged with that lone run.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 78 (46 strikes), the righty was sitting between 96-97 mph with his fastball according to those who were in attendance for his start in Portland.

Bello, who turned 22 last month, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 20 prospect in Boston’s farm system, ranking ninth among pitchers in the organization.

The 6-foot-1, 170 pound hurler began his 2021 season in Greenville, where he posted a a 2.27 ERA and 2.60 xFIP to go along with 45 strikeouts to just seven walks over six starts and 31 2/3 innings pitched with the Drive.

Per his SoxProspects.com scouting report, Bello — who was a standout at fall instructs last year — throws from a mid-three-quarters arm slot and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a fastball, a changeup, and a slider.

On the surface, the fact that the Dominican native only went four-plus innings into his first start at a new level may seem underwhelming, but as noted by SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield, “the jump from High-A to Double-A is often regarded as the hardest in the minor leagues.”

With that thought in mind, that Bello did what he did on Saturday should be considered a positive more than anything else.

As he prepares for his next outing with the Sea Dogs, it’s important to remember how pivotal the 2021 campaign is for Bello and those in and outside of the Red Sox organization who are and will be evaluating him this summer.

That being the case because the former international signee can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in his professional career this winter if he is not added to Boston’s 40-man roster by the November 20 deadline.

Something to certainly keep in mind there.

(Picture of Brayan Bello: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Nick Pivetta gets knocked around, gives up 4 homers as Red Sox fall to Blue Jays, 7-2

The Red Sox’ starting rotation has not been particularly sharp as of late, and that recent trend continued in a 7-2 loss at the hands of the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Saturday.

With the defeat, the Sox fall to 39-26 on the season and drop to two full games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East.

Coming into play on Saturday, Boston starters owned a cumulative ERA of 7.99 over the team’s last seven games, the second-highest mark in baseball over that span according to FanGraphs.

Nick Pivetta made his 13th start of the season for the Sox on Saturday, and he only saw that 7.99 starters ERA jump up to 8.36 in the last eight games by surrendering a season-high six runs — all of which were earned — on six hits and two walks to go along with four strikeouts over five innings of work.

Four of the six hits Pivetta gave up were home runs, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushing a two-run homer off the right-hander in the first inning and Cavan Biggo, Marcus Semien, and Bo Bichette each going deep in the top half of the fifth.

It’s fair to say that Pivetta did get blitzed in his fifth and final frame of work, but he did manage to sit down the last three hitters he faced in order.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 96 (60 strikes), the 28-year-old hurler later fell to 6-2 on the season while inflating his own ERA up to 4.28. His next start should come against the Royals in Kansas City on Friday.

Brennan’s Red Sox debut

In relief of Pivetta, Brandon Brennan got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen for what was his team debut in the sixth inning.

Brennan, who was claimed off waivers from the Mariners in May and called up from Triple-A Worcester on Thursday, created a bit of a jam for himself by loading the bases on the first three Blue Jays hitters he faced.

Put in a tough spot immediately, the 29-year-old got Reese McGuire to fan on five pitches before getting Marcus Semien to ground into an inning-ending 5-3 double play with some help from third baseman Rafael Devers.

From there, Brennan maneuvered his way around two more walks en route to tossing two more scoreless innings of relief.

Brandon Workman, meanwhile, served up another solo shot to McGuire in the ninth, which put Toronto up 7-2.

Red Sox’ offensive woes

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against a familiar foe in Blue Jays left-hander Steven Matz, who they got to for five runs the last time they saw him in Dunedin, Fla. back on May 20.

This time around, however, Matz proved to be a much tougher opponent, as it took the Sox until the sixth inning to push anything across against the veteran southpaw, though they certainly had their chances.

Christian Vazquez ripped an RBI single off Matz to score Rafael Devers from second with two outs in their half of the sixth, and that would prove to be all the Sox could do against the Blue Jays starter.

In addition to scoring a run, Devers collected his 49th RBI of the season by plating J.D. Martinez on a run-scoring single off Toronto reliever Rafael Dolis in the eighth inning, which cut the Sox’ deficit to four runs at 6-2.

Bobby Dalbec also hit his second triple of the year earlier in the fifth. All in all, though, Boston finished the day having gone 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position while leaving seven on base as a team.

A scary moment for Hernandez

Enrique Hernandez was struck in the helmet by a 96 mph fastball from Blue Jays reliever Anthony Castro during his seventh inning at-bat.

The ball glanced off the protective jaw flap of Hernandez’s helmet, and the center fielder was able to remain in the game.

Next up: Perez vs. Ray

Sunday afternoon’s starting pitching matchup between the Red Sox and Blue Jays will feature a pair of veteran left-handers going at it, with Martin Perez getting the ball for Boston and Robbie Ray doing the same for Toronto.

First pitch Sunday, the third game of this four-game set, is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. eastern time on Sunday.

(Picture of Nick Pivetta: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)