Category: Baseball

Orioles’ Chris Davis Ends Hitless Streak with First Inning Two-Run Single off Rick Porcello

At long last, Chris Davis’ hitless streak for the Baltimore Orioles has come to an end after 54 consecutive at-bats without a base knock dating back to September of last season.

Davis, 33, entered Saturday with four career hits off Red Sox starter Rick Porcello, and capitalized on his first plate appearance of the afternoon, ripping a first inning two-RBI single to drive in Baltimore’s first two runs.

After reaching first base safely, Davis was able to get the ball back for his own keeping.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Davis’ 54 straight hitless at-bats are the most for a position player in the history of Major League Baseball.

Eduardo Rodriguez Impresses, Andrew Benintendi Homers, and Jackie Bradley Jr. Dazzles with Glove as #RedSox Take Opener from Orioles

For the first time this season, the Red Sox have won back-to-back games following a 6-4 victory to open up a four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.

Entering Friday, Red Sox starting pitchers ranked dead last in all of baseball in terms of ERA as a group (8.79). Eduardo Rodriguez had the chance to improve that mark in his first outing in front of the Fenway faithful since last year, and that he did.

Making his third start of the season overall, Rodriguez put together the best start from any Red Sox starter 14 games into 2019, as he surrendered just two earned runs on three hits and no walks to go along with eight strikeouts on the night.

Retiring the first 14 Orioles hitters he faced in this one, the left-hander’s bid for a perfect game came to an end when Hanser Alberto grounded a two-out single to left in the top half of the fifth.

After a seemingly clean sixth inning, Rodriguez’s evening would come to a close an inning later following a one out double from Trey Mancini and a two out, two-run home run off the bat of Dwight Smith Jr to make it a one-run contest at the time it was hit.

That homer, the third Rodriguez has yielded this season already, may have been on the last pitch the Venezuela native threw, but it was an impressive performance nonetheless, especially when you take the zero walks into consideration.

Working at a quick tempo all night, Rodriguez finished with a final pitch count of 93 (62 strikes). In total, he topped out at 95.7 MPH with his four-seam fastball, a pitch he threw 48 times and got eight swinging strikes out of.

It was the first time a Red Sox starter has pitched into the seventh inning this season. Rodriguez’s next start should come against the New York Yankees next week.

In relief of Rodriguez, the Red Sox bullpen limited the Orioles bats to two runs over the final 3.1 innings of this one.

Matt Barnes, who entered this contest after Rodriguez gave up that two-run homer to Smith, retired the side in the seventh while also recording two strikeouts.

Brandon Workman worked his way around a two out walk and received some tremendous assistance from Jackie Bradley Jr. to keep it a one-run game in the eighth.

https://twitter.com/redsoxstats/status/1116878198346850305?s=20

And in the ninth, Tyler Thornburg came on for his first relief appearance since Tuesday with a four-run cushion to work with, but trimmed his team’s lead in half after serving up another two-run dinger to Renato Nunez.

Thornburg did manage to record one out before making way for Ryan Brasier, who earned his third save of the season by retiring the final two hitters he faced, including Chris Davis on that third and final out. Davis is now 0-for-his-last-54 at the plate dating back to 2018.

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against Orioles right-hander David Hess to start this one out on Friday.

It took a little while for them to get going, but once the Red Sox bats began to figure Hess out, the hard contact was consistently there, and that was evident by Andrew Benintendi going deep the first time this season with a third inning solo shot to give his team an early lead.

An inning later, Mitch Moreland got a two-run rally started by lining a leadoff single up the middle for his second hit of the night. He would come around to score on a 106 MPH RBI double courtesy of Xander Bogaerts, who also crossed the plate on another hard-hit RBI knock from Eduardo Nunez. 3-0.

Fast forward all the way to the eighth, after Christian Vazquez had scored Boston’s fourth run on a wild pitch from Orioles reliever Paul Fry in the seventh, and Nunez was back at it again. This time delivering with his second RBI single of the night to plate JD Martinez from third and advance Xander Bogaerts from second.

Bogaerts, with one run scored under his belt already, would also score his team’s sixth and final run of the day thanks to a Jackie Bradley Jr. sacrifice fly. That made it a 6-2 game, which is all the runs the Red Sox would need to pick up the win.

Some notes from this win:

In 10 games, this month, Mitch Moreland is slashing .313/.371/1.152 with four home runs and nine RBI.

Through seven appearances this season, Brandon Workman has given up just one hit and three walks over 6.1 total scoreless innings.

The Red Sox are 2-0 in their last two games and 3-1 in their last four.

—

Next up for the Red Sox, it will be a starting pitching matchup that features two veteran right-handers in the form of Andrew Cashner for Baltimore and Rick Porcello for Boston.

Cashner, 32, last made a start at Fenway Park when he was the Texas Rangers in 2017. He gave up five runs over five innings in a losing effort in that outing, and comes into Saturday with a 5.28 ERA on the 2019 season so far.

Porcello, meanwhile, has yet to make it to the sixth inning through two forgettable starts this year.

In his career against the Orioles, the 30-year-old hurler is 6-11 with a lifetime 4.62 ERA over a span of 20 starts and 122.1 innings pitched.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 1:05 PM EDT on NESN. Red Sox going for their third consecutive win.

 

Mitch Moreland and Rafael Devers’ Late-Inning Heroics Lift #RedSox to First Home Win of 2019

After dropping their first home game of the 2019 season on Tuesday, the Red Sox bounced back in dramatic fashion on Thursday, as they walked off the Toronto Blue Jays to capture their first victory at Fenway Park this year.

In a contest that took nearly three-and-a-half hours to complete, it was Nathan Eovaldi who got the ball to start things out in this one.

Making his third start of the season, the right-hander managed to work through five full innings despite surrendering five earned runs on six hits, two of which were home runs, and four walks to go along with four strike outs as well.

One thing that helped Eovaldi make it through five innings was the double-play ball, as he only retired four of the first seven Blue Jays hitters he faced with the help of his infield turning a pair of DP’s behind him.

The top half of the third is where things started to take a turn for the worst, however, with Toronto plating all five runs they scored off Eovaldi in a span of a few minutes thanks to a three-run home run from Justin Smoak and a two-run homer from Rowdy Tellez.

After fanning Danny Jansen to end that disaster of an inning though, the 29-year-old hurler induced two more twin killings before his evening came to an end following a scoreless fifth frame.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 89 (51 strikes), Eovaldi threw his four-seam fastball 36 times, topping out at 99.8 MPH while inducing eight swings and misses with the heater.

His next start should come against the Yankees in New York next week.

In relief of Eovaldi, the Red Sox bullpen was responsible for the final four innings of this one, and they relatively held their own.

Heath Hembree and Colten Brewer each struck out a pair in back-to-back shutout innings in the sixth and seventh before Ryan Brasier yielded a solo home run to Freddy Galvis in an otherwise clean eighth frame.

From there, Marcus Walden worked his way around a tight situation where the Blue Jays had runners on second and third with just one out to close the door on them and keep this contest at a one-run game going into Boston’s half of the ninth. He improved to 2-0 on the season thanks to the solid effort.

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against a familiar foe in Toronto right-hander Aaron Sanchez, who entered Thursday with a lifetime 3.79 in nine career outings (six starts) at Fenway Park.

Getting the scoring started for Boston in this one was JD Martinez, whose one out RBI double in the second to plate Mookie Betts would wind up being the catalyst for a three-run inning, with both Rafael Devers and Dustin Pedroia collecting their first RBI of the season as well.

That cut Toronto’s lead to two runs after they had just scored five of their own.

Fast forward to the fifth, and the Red Sox would cut that deficit down to one run thanks to a wild pitch from Sanchez that allowed Xander Bogaerts to easily score from third with Dustin Pedroia at the plate.

Two innings later, Mitch Moreland, who is without a doubt the team’s clutchest player at the moment, came through in the big time again, as his fifth home run of the season, this one coming off Blue Jays reliever Joe Biagini, knotted this contest up at five runs a piece.

After Toronto scored what appeared to be a vital go-ahead run on that aforementioned dinger from Freddy Galvis in the eighth, the Red Sox entered their half of the ninth with three outs to work with and a 3-10 start staring them dead in the face.

With closer Ken Giles, who entered the night 34-for-34 in his last 34 save opportunities, on the mound for Toronto, Mookie Betts put the tying run on base by drawing a one out, six-pitch walk.

Just a few moments after that, Moreland was at it yet again, ripping a 389 foot double to dead center to drive in Betts all the way from first and tie this game up for the second time on the night.

Eduardo Nunez would come on to pinch-run for Moreland, and all of a sudden, the winning run was only 180 feet away.

In a bit of a tough spot, the Blue Jays decided to put JD Martinez on intentionally in hopes of turning a double play, but after Giles fell behind on Xander Bogaerts and walked him, the bases were loaded for Rafael Devers.

Entering the ninth inning with an RBI double under his belt already, Devers had the chance to send his team home with their first win since Sunday, and he did just that by bouncing the game-sealing, run-scoring single over the head of any Blue Jays infielder into shallow right field.

That allowed Nunez to calmly score from third to make it 7-6, which would go on to be the final score in this one.

Some notes from this win:

In the Red Sox’ four wins this season, Mitch Moreland is 5-for-14 with two doubles, three home runs, and eight RBI. He is directly responsible for all four of those victories.

Dustin Pedroia has two hits in two games since his return from the injured list on Tuesday. He’s also looked pretty solid at second base.

—

Next up for the Red Sox, they welcome the 5-8 Baltimore Orioles into town for the first time this season.

Eduardo Rodriguez, who hasn’t pitched since last Thursday in Oakland, will get the ball for Boston, while right-hander David Hess will do the same for Baltimore.

Rodriguez, 26, has walked six batters in a total of eight innings of work in 2019.

Hess, meanwhile, has only made one prior start at Fenway Park in his two-year career, an outing in which he surrendered five earned runs in less than five innings pitched last May.

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7:10 PM EDT on NESN.

 

 

 

 

 

#RedSox Activate Dustin Pedroia from 10-Day Injured List, Option Tzu-Wei Lin to Triple-A Pawtucket

The Red Sox have activated second baseman Dustin Pedroia from the 10-day injured list ahead of their home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. To make room on the 25-man roster, utility man Tzu-Wei Lin was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket in a corresponding move.

The club made the transaction official earlier Tuesday morning.

Pedroia, 35, completed his three-game rehab stint with the Class A Greenville Drive this past Sunday, where he went 3-for-9 with one double, one run scored, and a pair of walks to go along with a handful of defensive plays as well.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Monday that whether or not Pedroia would be activated for Boston’s home opener would be dependent on how the infielder was feeling Tuesday morning.

Now, with Pedroia being activated from the injured list, it appears that all systems are a go, as the four-time All-Star bats seventh and starts at second for the Red Sox in their 12th game of the 2019 season.

Having only played in a total of three games since the end of the 2017 campaign, it wouldn’t be too surprising if Pedroia is out for vengeance this year in what will be his 14th season in the majors. Whether or not he can stay on the field, though, is also something to pay attention to.

Again, first pitch Tuesday against the Blue Jays is scheduled for 2:05 PM EDT.

Former #RedSox Closer Craig Kimbrel Will Not Be in Attendance for Tuesday’s Ring Ceremony, Says Team President and CEO Sam Kennedy

Earlier last week, Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy extended a formal invitation to former closer Craig Kimbrel to attend the club’s Opening Day festivities at Fenway Park on Tuesday.

Fast forward to Monday, the day before Boston’s home opener, and Kennedy told reporters that Kimbrel will in fact not be in attendance, as he does not want to cause any distractions.

MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo has the full quote from Kennedy:

Kimbrel, who of course won a World Series with the Red Sox in 2018, has yet to sign a contract with a big league club and remains a free agent.

When the report first popped up that the 30-year-old hurler could make an appearance at Fenway to receive his World Series ring, my initial reaction was that if you’re Dave Dombrowski, you can’t let that man leave without a contract offer.

Now, as we talk about the Red Sox bullpen 11 games into the new season, things do not as dire as many expected them to be. That much is highlighted by both Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier owning an ERA of 0.00 in eight combined appearances so far this year.

Still, one of the more elite relievers baseball has seen should be contributing in a major league bullpen right about now. We’ll have to wait and see if that happens anytime soon though, especially with a compensatory draft pick potentially on the line for the Red Sox.

Any way, first pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays is scheduled for 2:05 PM EDT on Tuesday at Fenway Park, with pregame festivities kicking off the day at 1 PM EDT.

Mitch Moreland Comes Through in Clutch yet Again as #RedSox Cap 11-Game Road Trip with Narrow Win over Diamondbacks

The Red Sox improved to 3-8 on Sunday afternoon following a 1-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Somehow, that news is very encouraging as the club makes the trek back to Boston.

Wrapping up their 11-game west coast road trip to start the 2019 season, it was more of a bullpen day pitching-wise for the Sox, with Hector Velazquez making his first start of the year in this one.

Having already appeared in three games as a reliever before Sunday, the right-hander really impressed in a short sample size in the desert.

Tossing three full innings, Velazquez held Arizona scoreless while yielding just one hit and zero walks to go along with three strikeouts on the evening.

Pitching at Chase Field for the first time in this three-year career, the 30-year-old hurler sat down nine of the 10 hitters he faced and finished with a final pitch count of 39, 26 of which went for strikes.

Unable to pick up the winning decision due to the number of innings he pitched, Velazquez is still the first Red Sox starter to not give up at least one run 11 games into the 2019 season.

In relief of Velazquez, the Red Sox bullpen was almost equally impressive, as Brandon Workman, Marcus Walden, Matt Barnes, and Ryan Brasier combined to work six innings of shutout ball, giving up just one walk and two hits in the process.

Workman, who was responsible for the fourth, retired all three hitters he faced while fanning one in a perfect frame of relief. He has yet to give up a run through five appearances out of the ‘pen so far.

Walden, meanwhile, made his first relief outing since being recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket on Saturday. He, like Matt Barnes, pitched two scoreless innings, which made sense given the circumstances of why he was called up in the first place: to provide the bullpen with a fresh arm. Walden was also credit with his first winning decision of the season.

Going back to Barnes, the UCONN product made his first appearance since Wednesday in this one, and he collected a pair of punch outs over two perfect innings while featuring a four-seamer that topped out at 97.2 MPH en route to the hold.

And finally, Brasier, pitching for the second straight day, worked his way around a two-out double from David Peralta to notch his second career save.

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against Diamondbacks rookie right-hander Merrill Kelly, who had never faced Boston before in his career, as you may have guessed.

Surprisingly, the 30-year-old Kelly held his own in his second career big league start, limiting the Red Sox to just four hits over eight innings.

As a matter of fact, it wasn’t until the top half of the seventh when Boston’s bats finally got going a little bit.

Entering the inning already 0-for-2 against Kelly, Mitch Moreland came through in the clutch for the Red Sox yet again, leading off the seventh by blasting the first pitch he saw that barely landed out of Adam Jones’ reach in right field.

Still, a home run is a home run, and Moreland’s third of the young season gave the Sox the only lead they would need to secure their third win of the year in this one.

Some notes from this slim 1-0 victory:

From Red Sox Notes (@SoxNotes):

JD Martinez’s 10-game hitting streak may have came to a close following an 0-for-3 day at the plate on Sunday, but an intentional walk in the ninth inning means the Red Sox slugger has now reached base in 11 straight contests to start the new season.

Outside of that ninth inning double given up by Brasier, the Red Sox pitching staff only gave up one extra-base hit to the D-backs on Sunday.

—

Next up for the Sox, it’s a well-deserved off day back in Boston on Monday following 11 straight on the road before the home opener on Tuesday.

At 3-8, things could certainly be better, but with six games at Fenway Park over the next eight days, this club has the chance to show that they still should be taken seriously as defending World Series champions.

Ace left-hander Chris Sale will get the ball for Boston on Tuesday, while the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, now under new manager Charlie Montoyo, will go with former Los Angeles Angel Matt Shoemaker.

First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 2:05 PM EDT with plenty of pregame festivities with plenty of special guests set to take place beforehand.

Have a good week, everyone.

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The Reason Brock Holt Was Placed on the Injured List with a Scratched Right Cornea: His Son, Griffin

Earlier Saturday, the Red Sox placed utility man Brock Holt on the 10-day injured list due to a scratched cornea in his right eye.

Fast forward a few hours later, and Holt explained to reporters prior to Boston’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks just why he had been shelved.

Holt, 30, has got his 2019 season off to a sluggish 1-for-16 start at the plate, and that’s pretty understandable given the just-revealed circumstances.

“It’s something I thought I could play through and still be able to do my job, but the vision in my right eye is really different,” Holt said. “It was obviously affecting me on the field. I don’t want to be out there if I can’t help us.”

Just as recently as Wednesday, we saw Holt sporting a pair of clear glasses out in Oakland.

“I can see, but there’s still a little blurry spot in my right eye,” the Texas native explained Saturday. “I wasn’t able to pick up spin. I wasn’t able to do anything in the box.”

Defensively, Holt has still been solid despite not being able to see out of his right eye clearly. He did mention that he is going to try to see an eye doctor.

Holt’s son Griff, meanwhile, is still as sensational as ever.

#RedSox Recall Marcus Walden and Tzu-Wei Lin from Triple-A Pawtucket, Place Brian Johnson and Brock Holt on Injured List

The Red Sox have recalled right-hander Marcus Walden and utility man Tzu-Wei Lin from Triple A-Pawtucket.

In a series of corresponding moves, Boston also placed left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson and utility man Brock Holt on the 10-day injured list. The club made the transactions official earlier Saturday.

As the tweet reads, Johnson has been shelved with left shoulder inflammation. The southpaw, making his second consecutive Opening Day roster this season, has struggled out of the gate, and that was highlighted by the seven runs he gave up to the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday in just over one inning of relief.

Holt, meanwhile, is hitting the injured list due to what the Red Sox are describing as a, “scratched cornea,” in his right eye.

Holt, too, has experienced some struggles at the plate to kick off his seventh year with the Red Sox, as the 30-year-old is just 1/16 with two walks and seven strikeouts over six games in 2019.

On the other side of this news, Walden will look to provide the Red Sox with a fresh arm they appear to desperately need at the moment.

A member of Boston’s Opening Day roster in 2018, the 30-year-old hurler impressed once again this past spring training, posting a 1.42 ERA over seven appearances and 12.2 innings pitched.

Lin, as we know, has already played in 67 total games for the Red Sox dating back to the middle of the 2017 season.

With Holt on the shelf and Dustin Pedroia nearing his return from the injured list himself, expect Lin to provide Boston with solid depth around the infield and even the outfield.

Now 25-years-old, Lin slashed .321/.387/.571 with one home run and six RBI in 12 games with the Red Sox this past spring.

#RedSox’ Dustin Pedroia Collects Two Hits in First Game of Rehab Assignment with Class A Greenville

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia made his first ever start for the Class A Greenville Drive on Thursday as part of his rehab assignment after beginning the 2019 season on the 10-day injured list.

Batting second and manning second base per usual, the 35-year-old veteran went 2/3 at the plate with a fourth inning single, a sixth inning walk, and an eighth inning double.

On the field, the four-time Gold Glove Award winner turned a 6-4-3 double play in the fifth inning.

Playing all nine innings in front of a record crowd of 7,551 for Greenville’s home opener at Fluor Field, Pedroia had nothing but positive things to say about his experience playing down in South Carolina.

“It was fun,” Pedroia said following the Drive’s 1-0 loss to the West Virginia Power, a minor league affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. “This is a great atmosphere here. I mean these guys are lucky. The stadium is unbelievable. The fans are great. The playing surface is awesome. You couldn’t ask for more out of a minor league affiliate. This is a pretty special place for these guys, so it was a great experience to be out there.”

Pedroia is slated to play another nine innings Friday before getting the day off on Saturday, then doing it all again on Sunday in what could be his last rehab appearance before being activated from the injured list ahead of the Red Sox’ own home opener on Tuesday.

“That would mean a lot,” Pedroia said. “That would be pretty cool.”

In the past two seasons, Pedroia has only managed to play in 108 out of a possible 324 regular season games with Boston due to different injuries.

Eight games into the 2019 campaign, Red Sox second baseman rank 27th out of 30th in OPS from the second base position. Not great.

When he does finally make his return to the big league club, perhaps a healthy Pedroia can provide the Red Sox with a spark they need to get back to winning baseball.

#RedSox Activate Steve Pearce from Injured List, Option Sam Travis to Triple-A Pawtucket

After starting his first full season with the Red Sox on the 10-Day injured list, Steve Pearce is back, as the club activated him from the IL prior to Thursday’s game against the Oakland Athletics.

As the above tweet reads, to make room on Boston’s 25-man roster, first baseman Sam Travis was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket Wednesday night.

Pearce, 35, strained his left calf while running out a ground ball in the first inning of a Grapefruit League game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 17th.

He was removed from that game seemingly as a precaution, but did not appear in any other big league games for the remainder of the spring.

Now, after getting some work in at the minor-league level down in Fort Myers, the South Carolina native appears ready to make his 2019 debut. He re-joined the club in Oakland Wednesday.

Given his .304/.400/.559 slash line to go along with five home runs and 20 RBI in 120 plate appearances against left-handers last season, it would not be surprising to see Pearce in the three-hole against southpaw Brett Anderson and the Athletics Thursday afternoon.

In Pearce’s place, Sam Travis went 2/7 with two singles in two games played while making Boston’s Opening Day roster for the first time in his career.

First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 3:37 PM EDT on NESN.