Red Sox’ Matt Barnes, Nathan Eovaldi, J.D. Martinez named to American League All-Star team, joining Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers for 91st Midsummer Classic in Denver

In addition to Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers, the Red Sox will be sending three more players to the All-Star Game in Denver next week.

Right-handers Nathan Eovaldi and Matt Barnes, and designated hitter J.D. Martinez were all selected to represent the American League as All-Stars, Major League Baseball announced earlier Sunday afternoon.

Eovaldi and Barnes will be two of the 12 pitchers on Rays manager Kevin Cash’s staff, while Martinez will be one of three designated hitters on the AL roster alongside Angels two-way phenom and starter Shohei Ohtani as well as fellow reserve Nelson Cruz of the Twins.

For Eovaldi and Barnes, Sunday marks the first time in their respective careers that they were chosen to play in the All-Star Game. The same can be said for Devers, who was voted in as a starter at third base on Thursday, as well.

Martinez, meanwhile, will be heading to his fourth Midsummer Classic and his third as a member of the Red Sox organization.

Bogaerts, like Devers, was voted in as a starter at shortstop for the second time in his career and will be making his third overall All-Star Game appearance.

By sending the likes of Barnes, Bogaerts, Devers, Eovaldi, and Martinez to Denver to represent them, the Red Sox will have the highest number of All-Stars among any major-league team partaking in the festivities at Coors Field from July 11 through July 13.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, this is the second time in four years that Boston has had at least five All-Stars. They most recently did so in 2018 with Mookie Betts, Craig Kimbrel, J.D. Martinez, Mitch Moreland, and Chris Sale.

(Picture of Matt Barnes: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Nick Pivetta punches out 10 over 7 strong innings as Red Sox take series from Athletics with 1-0 victory

This year’s version of the Red Sox seem to have a knack for not letting tough losses get to them.

After getting blown out by the Blue Jays, 18-4, on June 13, they came back the next night to walk off Toronto, 2-1. After falling to the Rays, 1-0, in heartbreaking fashion on June 24, they bounced back by topping the Yankees, 5-3, on June 25 for what would be the start of an eight-game winning streak.

That same winning streak was snapped in Saturday night’s soul-crushing 7-6 loss to the Athletics in 12 innings at Oakland Coliseum, but the Sox again showed just how resilient they are in Sunday’s series finale against the A’s, which also served as a rubber match between the two teams.

Nick Pivetta made his 17th start of the season for Boston, and he, too, rebounded from his worst outing of the year in his last time out against the Royals.

That being the case because over seven dominant innings, the right-hander kept Oakland off the scoreboard while scattering just two hits and two walks to go along with a season-high 10 strikeouts on the afternoon.

Pivetta was put in a tough spot out of the gate, as he issued a two-out walk and two-out single to the dangerous duo of Matt Olson and Matt Chapman in the bottom half of the first, but he escaped the early jam by fanning Jed Lowrie on seven pitches.

From there, Pivetta proceeded to retire 18 of the next 20 hitters he faced, and his day came to a close when he got Seth Brown to fly out to center field for the final out of the seventh inning.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 101 (65 strikes), the 28-year-old hurler ultimately improved to 7-3 on the season while lowering his ERA to 4.09. His next start should come against his former team in the Phillies back at Fenway Park next Saturday.

While Pivetta was in the process of stringing together seven scoreless frames, the Red Sox lineup was having a difficult time in scoring themselves with right-hander James Kaprielian on the mound for the A’s.

It took until the top half of the sixth inning, but a leadoff double off the bat of Alex Verdugo followed by a hard-hit single by J.D. Martinez put runners at the corners with no outs for Rafael Devers, who came through by grounding into a run-scoring double play that brought in Verdugo from third to make it a 1-0 game.

Even though Devers was not credited with an RBI on that particular play, what he did was good enough to give the Sox the only lead they would need.

After Pivetta recorded the final out of the seventh, Red Sox manager Alex Cora turned to rookie Garrett Whitlock for the eighth since Adam Ottavino was unavailable.

Whitlock, working in a rare one-inning role, put the potential tying run on base and allowed that runner to advance into scoring position on a wild pitch, but maneuvered around that by getting Tony Kemp and Elvis Andrus to pop out for the final two outs of the frame.

That paved the way for first-time All-Star Matt Barnes to get the call for the ninth in a 1-0 game, and he also played with fire a bit by yielding a leadoff single to Olson and a one-out walk to Jed Lowrie to put the tying and go-ahead runs on base.

Barnes was able to recover, though, as he got Ramon Laureano to ground into a force out before fanning Brown on three straight knee-buckling knuckle-curveballs.

When all was said and done, Barnes needed 33 pitches to get through the ninth, but he did secure the 1-0 victory for his side while also notching his 19th save of the year.

With the win, not only do the Red Sox take the three-game weekend series from the A’s, but they also improve to 53-32 on the season and remain 4 1/2 games up on the Rays for first place in the American League East.

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Next up for the Red Sox, they will head south for Orange County to open up a three-game set against the 42-41 Los Angeles Angels that begins on Monday night.

Left-hander Martin Perez is slated to get the ball for Boston in the series opener, and he will be opposed by fellow Venezuelan southpaw Jose Suarez for Los Angeles.

First pitch Monday is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. eastern time on NESN and ESPN.

(Picture of Nick Pivetta: Theoron W. Henderson)

Red Sox blow pair of late 2-run leads, see 8-game winning streak snapped in 7-6 loss to Athletics in 12 innings

The Red Sox began their eight-game winning streak the night after a soul-crushing 1-0 loss to the Rays on June 24.

After stringing together eight consecutive victories from June 25 through July 2, it just so happened that the Sox’ winning ways were abrupted by yet another back-breaking defat at the hands of the Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday night, though this one came in the form of a 7-6 loss in 12 innings.

Garrett Richards made his 17th start of the season for Boston to begin things on Saturday, and he stumbled out of the gate a bit by walking and beaming the first two hitters he faced before yielding a run-scoring triple to Sean Murphy an inning later.

The Red Sox offense was able to pick up Richards, however, and they did so on account of some sloppy defense from the Athletics.

Matched up against Oakland starter Cole Irvin, Xander Bogaerts proved to be the catalyst for a two-run top of the fourth by reaching base on a fielding error committed by second baseman Tony Kemp.

Bogaerts advanced up to second on a hard-hit single from Rafael Devers and was also able to score all the way from there on a throwing error on a failed pickoff move from catcher Sean Murphy.

That same miscue allowed Devers to move up to third, and he scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Hunter Renfroe to give Boston their first lead of the night at 2-1.

The Sox and A’s traded blows over the next few innings, with J.D. Martinez ripping an RBI single in the fifth, and Richards serving up a pair of hits to the first two hitters he faced in the sixth, resulting in Frank Schwindel driving in Matt Chapman and Red Sox manager Alex Cora giving the right-hander the hook.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 92 (60 strikes), Richards wound up surrendering two earned runs on five hits, three walks, and just two strikeouts over five-plus innings of work. The 33-year-old hurler did not factor into the decision, though he did lower his ERA on the season to 4.88.

In relief of Richards, Hirokazu Sawamura was inserted into somewhat of a jam in the bottom of the sixth, but he escaped said jam on just 12 pitches.

From there, Kiké Hernández provided what at the time was much-needed insurance in the seventh when he clubbed a solo home run — his 10th of the season — off Irvin to put Boston ahead at 4-2.

The Athletics countered with two runs of their own in the eighth, though, as they took advantage of the fact that the Red Sox were without two of their high-leverage relievers in Garrett Whitlock and Matt Barnes.

Instead, after Josh Taylor tossed a scoreless seventh inning to extend his scoreless appearances streak to 25 straight games, Yacksel Rios got the call for the eighth, and he allowed a run to score while also put the tying run on base on a pair of hits before getting pulled in favor of Darwninzon Hernandez.

Hernandez issued a one-out walk to Kemp, which brought Elvis Andrus to the plate in a prime scoring spot, and he did just that by plating the tying run in Seth Brown on a line-drive single to right field. 4-4.

Boston threatened in their half of the ninth when the pinch-hitting Marwin Gonzalez reached base on a one-out walk off Oakland reliever Lou Trivino, but he — representing the potential go-ahead run — was gunned down at second base by Murphy on a failed stolen base attempt.

With no Barnes, Adam Ottavino was responsible for the ninth. The veteran right-hander did allow the winning run to reach base on a leadoff single from Chapman, but retired the next three A’s he faced in 1-2-3 fashion to strand that all important runner and send this one to extras.

In extras, Danny Santana represented the go-ahead run for the Sox in the 10th since he recorded the final out of ninth. Like Gonzalez, Santana had the chance to create offense with his legs, but he was instead thrown out while trying to swipe third base.

The A’s ran into an out themselves in the 10th, however, as Brandon Workman first put himself in a bases loaded jam before recording the first out of the frame on a poorly-executed bunt from Kemp.

Workman proceeded to get Andrus to line out to Martinez in left field, and the runner at third (Murphy) made a poor decision in taking off for home since he was thrown out at the plate by Martinez, who was doing his best (Kiké) Hernández impression in notching his team’s league-leading 26th outfield assist of the season.

That clutch double play sent this one to the 11th, where the Boston bats went down in order and Workman again maneuvered his way around a sticky situation by inducing two fly outs and a ground out.

Gonzalez made up for his baserunning blunder in his side’s half of the 12th, as he plated Devers from second on a then go-ahead single off A’s reliever and former Red Sox farmhand J.B. Wendelken before scoring himself on another RBI single courtesy of Hernández.

Again, the Red Sox found themselves in possession of a two-run lead at 6-4, but they were unable to hang on to said lead while simultaneously being down to their last available reliever in Matt Andriese.

Andriese failed to record a single out in the bottom half of the 12th, as the veteran righty yielded three straight hits to the likes of Murphy, Brown, and old friend Jed Lowrie to knot things up at six runs apiece.

He then got Kemp to fly out to center field, but despite Hernández’s best efforts, the ball was hit deep enough to bring in Brown from third base and give the A’s a 7-6 come-from-behind win in 12 innings.

Andriese was charged with the loss and blown save while also inflating his ERA on the year to 5.70.

With the crushing loss, the Red Sox see their eight-game winning streak come to an end and fall to 52-32 on the season, though they remain four games up on the Rays for first place in the American League East.

—

Next up for the Red Sox, they will send right-hander Nick Pivetta to the mound on Sunday afternoon as they go for the series win over the A’s, who will counter with fellow righty James Kaprielian.

First pitch Sunday is scheduled for 4:07 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Tony Kemp: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Kiké Hernández providing boost for Red Sox since moving back into leadoff spot

Remember when the Red Sox were struggling to find a consistent leadoff hitter? Neither does Kiké Hernández.

Over his last six games batting out of the leadoff spot for Boston, Hernández is slashing .364/.481/.818 with one double, three home runs, six RBI, four runs scored, four walks, and two strikeouts.

He may have collected just one base hit in Oakland on Friday night, but it proved to be the most important and clutchest one of the game since it drove in the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.

In the bottom half of the inning, Hernández showed off his defensive prowess in center field as well, as he gunned down the potential tying run — Seth Brown — at home plate to keep the score at 3-2 in the Sox’ eventual one-run win over the Athletics.

“I like playing defense,” Hernández said Friday night. “I take a lot of pride in it. Hunter (Renfroe’s) really good, he does the same thing. We work really hard at it. Every day, we’re out there taking live reads off the bat in (batting practice). (Alex Verdugo) is a gifted athlete as well. Everybody talks about our lineup but at the end of the day, pitching and defense is what wins ballgames.”

Hernández’s run of success on both sides of the ball as of late comes at a time when he was recently moved back up to the leadoff spot.

The 29-year-old, who signed a two-year, $14 million deal with Boston over the winter, opened the 2021 season as Red Sox manager Alex Cora’s leadoff hitter, but struggled in that role out of the gate.

From April 2 until June 15, Hernández hit .229/.287/.385 (80 wRC+) in 195 plate appearances out of the leadoff spot, resulting in Cora dropping him down in the lineup for a week’s worth of games beginning on June 19.

While he did not necessarily produce in terms of batting average (.227) over that stretch, Hernández did post an exceptional .845 OPS, which prompted a move back up to the leadoff spot on June 27 against the Yankees at Fenway Park.

On the very first pitch of his first at-bat that Sunday, Hernández cranked a 379-foot leadoff home run off Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. He followed that up by crushing another leadoff homer against the Royals the next night, and then again this past Thursday.

In clubbing three leadoff home runs in the span of five days, Hernández became the first Red Sox player to accomplish that particular feat, per Red Sox Notes.

Prior to Hernández’s move back into the leadoff spot on June 27, Red Sox leadoff hitters ranked dead last in the majors in OPS (.638), weighted on-base average (.280), and wRC+ (71).

As of Saturday afternoon, Boston leadoff hitters (primarily Hernández) ranked second in the majors in OPS (1.282), third in wOBA (.513), and third in wRC+ (226) since June 27, per FanGraphs.

The Red Sox offense has pushed across the most runs in the American League (46) since Hernández reclaimed the top spot in Boston’s lineup, so it goes without saying that that move has made an impact.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Sox are 8-0 in their last eight games, the last six of which featured Hernández batting leadoff. At 52-31 on the season, they have opened up a 4 1/2 game lead over the Rays, who have dropped four straight, for first place in the American League East.

“It feels nice to be able to breathe a little bit as far as having the division lead,” said Hernández. “For a second there, it felt like Tampa Bay wouldn’t lose, even if they played themselves. You know, we’re getting hot at the right time and they’re kind of scuffling a little bit right now and we’re trying to get away from the teams that are under them as well.

“This doesn’t matter right now if, come the end of September, we’re not in first place,” he added. “So, we’re trying to play good baseball, we’re hot right now, and we’re trying to ride it out for as long as we can. We’re trying to minimize mistakes, we like where we’re at right now, and hopefully we can keep it going for a little longer.”

(Picture of Kiké Hernández: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

Kiké Hernández’s clutch 10th inning propels Red Sox to 3-2 win over Athletics

The Red Sox did not let a cross-country flight disrupt their winning ways, as they opened up their six-game West Coast road trip with a 3-2 victory over the Athletics in 10 innings at the Oakland Coliseum on Friday night.

With the extra-innings win, Boston extended its winning streak to eight consecutive games while improving to 52-31 on the season. They also moved to four full games ahead of the Rays for first place in the American League East.

Eduardo Rodriguez made his 16th start of the season for the Sox on Friday, and, for the third straight time out, thoroughly impressed.

Over six strong innings of work, the left-hander kept the A’s off the scoreboard while yielding just one hit and two walks to go along with six strikeouts on the evening.

Oakland did threaten in their half of the second, as Chad Pinder reached first on a throwing error from third baseman Marwin Gonzalez and moved up to third on a Frank Schwindel single, but Rodriguez was able to punch out Tony Kemp on four pitches to end the inning and strand the runner 90 feet from home plate.

From that point forward, Rodriguez retired 11 of the last 12 hitters he faced and put the finishing touches on a stellar outing by striking out the dangerous Matt Olson on a foul tip to end things in the sixth.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 89 (57 strikes), the 28-year-old hurler turned to his four-seam fastball 29% of the time he was on the mound Friday, inducing three swings-and-misses and topping out at 94.5 mph with the pitch.

Ultimately hit with the no-decision, Rodriguez did at least lower his ERA on the season to 5.42. His next start should come against the Angels in Anaheim on Wednesday.

While Rodriguez was in the process of putting up six scoreless frames, the Red Sox lineup was having offensive struggles of their own against Athletics starter — and former Boston farmhand — Frankie Montas.

Rafael Devers, fresh off being named to his first All-Star team, got his side on the board first in the fourth inning by driving in his fellow All-Star Xander Bogaerts on a hard-hit RBI double that eluded a diving Tony Kemp in right field.

Alex Verdugo followed suit an inning later, as he plated Danny Santana on a two-out run-scoring single down the left field line.

That gave the Sox a 2-0 lead, but they did have further opportunities to add on to that, particularly in their half of the sixth.

There, the bases were loaded with two outs for Michael Chavis, who was about to face newly-inserted A’s reliever J.B. Wendelken for the first time. Chavis swung at the first pitch he saw, which resulted in him popping out to foul territory to end the inning.

After the Boston bats went down in order in the seventh, Garrett Whitlock got the first call out of the bullpen in relief of Rodriguez.

The right-hander served up a solo home run to old friend Jed Lowrie to cut the lead in half, but then bounced back by striking out a pair in a 1-2-3 eighth inning.

With a 2-1 lead to protect going into the last half of the ninth, Matt Barnes was next up, and he saw that one-run lead fade away when he gave up a game-tying homer to Elvis Andrus.

Going into extras deadlocked at 2-2, Chavis was placed at second base to begin things in the 10th, and he immediately came into score on a go-ahead RBI single off the bat of Kiké Hernandez.

Hernandez’s clutch hit would prove to be the game-winner, as the center fielder also made the defensive play of the night a half inning later by gunning down the potential tying run in the form of Seth Brown at home plate.

With Adam Ottavino on the mound and Brown at third base, Sean Murphy lifted a fly ball to Hernandez in center field. Hernandez caught it, gathered himself, and unleashed an absolute dart to Christian Vazquez to snuff out the runner, convert the double play, and preserve his side’s 3-2 advantage.

That highlight reel outfield assist was good for the second out of the inning, and Ottavino closed things out in the 10th by getting Schwindel to fly out to left field, which secured the 3-2 win for the Sox as well as his sixth save of the season.

Next up: Richards vs. Irvin

The Red Sox will go for the series win over the Athletics on Saturday by sending right-hander Garrett Richards to the hill. Oakland will counter by turning to left-hander Cole Irvin.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. eastern time on FOX.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts and Kiké Hernandez: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Red Sox injuries: Christian Arroyo (knee contusion) could rejoin team in Anaheim, Kevin Plawecki (hamstring strain) ‘feeling better,’ Alex Cora says

Red Sox infielder Christian Arroyo was sent out on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Thursday and went 0-for-1 with a strikeout in Game 2 of a rain-shortened doubleheader while starting at designated hitter against Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees affiliate) at Polar Park.

Arroyo was also slated to start at second base and bat out of the two-hole for the WooSox on Friday night, but that game wound up getting rained out due to wet conditions in the Worcester-area.

The 26-year-old has been held out of action since he sustained a right shin bone bruise after colliding with center fielder Enrique Hernandez in Kansas City on June 20.

Later placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right knee contusion on June 24, Arroyo’s stint on the IL was backdated to June 21, meaning he could have been activated as soon as Thursday.

With that being said, though, it would appear that the Red Sox would like Arroyo to get more at-bats before he is cleared to rejoin the big-league club. Just ask manager Alex Cora.

“He’ll be there tonight, most likely tomorrow,” Cora said of Arroyo prior to Friday’s contest against the Athletics in Oakland. “I think the weather over there is not great, I guess, right? We’ll make a decision tomorrow. But most likely, he’ll be there Monday with us if everything goes accordingly.”

The Red Sox are in Oakland for a three-game weekend series against the A’s that concludes Sunday afternoon. They will then travel south to take on the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim in another three-game set that begins on Monday and wraps up on Wednesday.

Kevin Plawecki, meanwhile, is with the Sox in the Bay Area and is traveling with the team despite currently being on the 10-day injured list like Arroyo.

The 30-year-old catcher was originally placed on the IL with a left hamstring strain on June 22, which came as a result of him chasing down an errant throw in that same series against the Royals Arroyo got hurt in.

Cora had said that Plawecki suffered a setback in his recovery earlier this week, but his outlook regarding the veteran backstop seemed more optimistic as of Friday afternoon.

“He’s feeling better. Not quite there yet,” said Cora. “I feel like having him here — if something happens and he feels OK, then we can plug him into the roster, right? With all the traveling and how far we are from the East Coast, it would become difficult. He feels like he’s making progress. He’s catching bullpens, he caught (Chris) Sale the other day. So, he’s getting closer.”

Unlike Arroyo, Boston does not feel as though Plawecki would require a rehab assignment since he only plays once every six or seven days and has not lost much in terms of his timing at the plate.

“We’ll play it by year,” Cora said. “We’ll see how the rest of the week goes and we’ll make decisions from there.”

While Arroyo and Plawecki have been sidelined with their respective injuries, the Red Sox have had infielder/outfielder Michael Chavis and catching prospect Connor Wong up in their place.

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox minor-leaguers Triston Casas, Jack Lopez named to Team USA’s Olympic roster

A pair of Red Sox minor-leaguers will represent the United States in the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo.

First baseman Triston Casas and utility man Jack Lopez were both named to Team USA’s 24-man Olympic roster, USA Baseball announced on Friday.

Darren Fenster, a minor-league outfield and baserunning coach within the Red Sox organization, will serve as Team USA’s third base coach under manager Mike Scioscia.

Casas, 21, is regarded by Baseball America as the top prospect in the Red Sox farm system and the No. 24 prospect in all of baseball.

In 36 games with Double-A Portland this season, the left-handed hitter is slashing .275/.357/.413 (113 wRC+) with three doubles, two triples, four home runs, 23 RBI, 26 runs scored, 17 walks, 38 strikeouts, and three stolen bases over 157 plate appearances.

Selected by the Red Sox with the 26th overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft, Casas participated in the Baseball Americas Qualifier Tournament in late May and early June and will once again be representing his country in the coming weeks.

Lopez, meanwhile, was added to Team USA’s roster after initially playing for Team Puerto Rico before they were eliminated from Olympic contention during qualifiers.

The 28-year-old originally inked a minor-league deal with the Sox in January after spending the first nine years of his professional career between the Royals and Braves organizations.

After opening the 2021 season with Double-A Portland, Lopez was promoted to Triple-A Worcester on May 11. Since then, the right-handed hitter has posted a .336/.369/.434 slash line (114 wRC+) to go along with eight doubles, one homer, 19 RBI, 18 runs scored, seven walks, 21 strikeouts, and seven stolen bases over the course of 33 games (122 plate appearances).

Despite playing nothing but second base, third base, and shortstop in his brief time with the WooSox, Lopez is listed as an outfielder on Team USA’s roster. This is the case because the former 16th-round draft pick out of Puerto Rico does have limited professional experience in both left and center field.

Speaking of outfielders, top Red Sox prospect Jarren Duran, like Casas, aided Team USA in qualifying for the Summer Games this spring and turned the heads of many while doing so.

That said, Duran was not named to the United States’ Olympic roster on Friday. According to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, the reasoning behind this comes from the decision makers at the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, not the Red Sox.

“The Red Sox would have been OK with him going, with the proviso that if they wanted to call him up, they could,” Speier wrote on Friday. “With visa requirements and the logistical challenges of replacing a player, the US elected not to include Duran on the roster for the same reason that the team doesn’t feature members of MLB 40-man rosters: Duran is de facto big league depth at this point.”

Duran, who turns 25 in September, is regarded by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in Boston’s farm system and the No. 25 prospect in all of baseball, ranking eighth among the game’s top young outfielders.

With the WooSox this season, Duran has proven that he is more than capable of handling Triple-A pitching, as he came into play Friday boasting a .278/.372/.599 batting line in addition to 15 homers and 31 RBI over 39 games.

The speedy outfielder has been on the verge of a big-league call up for quite some time now, and the fact that he will not be headed to Tokyo may signal that his impending promotion could be coming sooner rather than later.

As for the Olympic baseball tournament itself, Team USA will open play with a game against Team Israel on July 30. The tourney runs through August 7 as the U.S. will be going for its third gold medal in baseball.

(Picture of Triston Casas: Mark Brown/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers named to American League All-Star team as starters

Red Sox infielders Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers have been named to the American League All-Star team as starters, Major League Baseball announced Thursday night.

Bogaerts becomes an All-Star for the third time in his career and is slated to start an All-Star Game for just the second time after getting the starting nod at shortstop for the American League back in 2016.

Following a 1-for-4 showing at the plate in Boston’s 15-1 win over the Royals at Fenway Park on Thursday, the 28-year-old is now slashing .329/.391/.550 with 25 doubles, 13 home runs, 48 RBI, 50 runs scored, 29 walks, 57 strikeouts, and five stolen bases through his first 77 games (325 plate appearances) of the 2021 season.

Among qualified American League shortstops, Bogaerts came into play Thursday ranking first in hits (94), first in doubles (24), third in homers, third in runs scored (49), third in RBI, first in batting average (.330), second in on-base percentage, first in slugging percentage (.551), first in OPS (.942), first in weighted on-base average (.400), second in wRC+ (151), and first in fWAR, per FanGraphs.

“For Xander to be a starter, that means the world. He’s one of the best, if not the best shortstop in the big-leagues,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said following the rout over Kansas City on Thursday afternoon. “The way he goes about his business, it’s amazing. I’ve been saying all along, he’s the most consistent in this organization. He’s amazing. Day in and day out he shows up, he works and he goes out there and performs. There’s no red flags on the field and off the field. This kid got here and he contributed to win a World Series.”

By finishing in first place in regards to the fan vote, Bogaerts beat out the likes of Toronto’s Bo Bichette and Houston’s Carlos Correa for the top spot among AL shortstops.

Devers, meanwhile, becomes an All-Star for the first time in his young career after nearly making the team in 2019.

The 24-year-old enjoyed a productive day at the plate on Thursday, as he went 3-for-5 a home run, three runs scored, and five runs driven in to raise his batting line on the season to .288/.359/.582.

The homer, a 426-foot three-run blast, was his 20th of the season, while his five RBI brought his total on the year up to an American League-leading 69 through 78 games (329 plate appearances).

As of Thursday morning, Devers ranked first among qualified AL third basemen in hits (81), first in doubles (24), first in home runs (19), second in runs scored (52), first in RBI, first in batting average (.282), fourth in on-base percentage (.355), first in slugging percentage (.571), first in OPS (.926), first in isolated power (.289), first in weighted on-base average (.387), first in wRC+ (143), and first in fWAR (3.0), according to FanGraphs.

Devers finished in first place among American League third baseman in terms of fan votes, as he beat out Houston’s Alex Bregman and Chicago’s Yoan Moncada for the No. 1 spot.

“[With] Raffy, we had a conversation early in the season, actually in spring training. It was him understanding what was going on in the business,” said Cora. “Looking around and everybody’s talking about all these young kids, right? (Fernando) Tatis, (Ronald) Acuña, (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.), (Cavan) Biggio, (Bo) Bichette, and people forget about the fact that he’s 24. He led the big leagues in extra-base hits two years ago and he’s doing what he’s doing now. For him to get recognized, I know it it means the world for him, it means the world for the organization.”

To put it simply, both Bogaerts and Devers are having stellar seasons with the Red Sox to this point, and the two teammates will become the first pair of Boston infielders ever to start in the same All-Star Game at shortstop and third base.

—

J.D. Martinez and Alex Verdugo, who were both named All-Star finalists along with Bogaerts and Devers on Sunday, were not named as starters for the American League side on Thursday.

That being the case because Martinez finished second behind Angels two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani to start at designated hitter for the AL, while Verdugo finished ninth among eligible AL outfielders and behind the likes of the Angels’ Mike Trout, the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, and the Blue Jays’ Teoscar Hernandez.

While Martinez and Verdugo will not start this year’s Midsummer Classic, there is still a chance for both of them to partake in the festivities, as pitchers and reserves for both the American League and National League teams will be announced on Sunday, July 4.

From there, All-Star Week will begin in Denver on July 11 with the All-Star Futures Game, and the All-Star Game itself will take place at Coors Field on July 13.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers, Danny Santana collect 5 RBI each as Red Sox crush Royals, 15-1, to finish off sweep and perfect homestand

Even on short rest, the Red Sox opened up the second half of their season by crushing the Royals, 15-1, at Fenway Park on Thursday afternoon to finish off a four-game sweep of Kansas City while also wrapping up a perfect 7-0 homestand.

With the win, Boston improves to 20 games over .500 for the first time this season at 51-31. They also increase their lead over the Rays, who were idle on Thursday, for first place in the American League East to 3 1/2 games.

Kiké Hernández got the scoring started for the Sox right away, as he led things off against Royals starter Kris Bubic by clubbing his third leadoff home run in the last five days in the first inning.

J.D. Martinez followed suit in the fourth, as he led the inning off with another solo shot — his 17th homer of the season — to give Boston a 2-0 lead.

A two-out walk drawn by Hunter Renfroe and two-out single from Marwin Gonzalez brought Danny Santana to the plate with the chance to do some damage, and the switch-hitter did just that by mashing an opposite field three-run blast into the Red Sox bullpen. Santana’s first big fly since late May put his side up by five runs.

The Boston offense put up another four-spot in their half of the fifth against Royals reliever Ervin Santana, with Alex Verdugo, Martinez, and Xander Bogaerts loading the bases with one out, and Rafael Devers plating a pair on a two-run single to center field.

The bases were re-loaded when Gonzalez was issued another free pass, and Santana came through in that spot by placing a softly-hit, 108-foot RBI single to second base that came as a result of the Kansas City infield playing in a shift.

A balk with Connor Wong at the plate brought in another run, and the Red Sox found themselves in possession of a 9-0 lead.

Devers tacked on three more runs on one swing of the bat in the sixth. With two outs and runners on second and third, the left-handed slugger absolutely obliterated a 98 mph sinker from Josh Staumont and sent it flying 426 feet — with an exit velocity of 110.2 mph — over everything in right field for his 20th dinger of the season.

Michael Chavis, pinch-hitting for Hernández, drove in an additional run on a sacrifice fly in the seventh, while Gonzalez and Santana wrapped up productive days at the plate by collecting one more RBI each in the eighth.

All in all, the Red Sox lineup totaled 15 runs on 17 hits on Thursday. Devers went 3-for-5 with a home run, three runs scored, and five RBI to tie a season-high in that department. Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, an RBI, and one walk. And Santana — in his best game in a Sox uniform to date — went 3-for-5 with a double, one run scored, an a season-high five runs driven in.

Eovaldi tosses seven scoreless frames

While the Red Sox were getting stellar production out of their lineup on Thursday, they also got yet another impressive start from Nathan Eovaldi.

Making his 17th start of the season in this one, the right-hander tossed seven scoreless innings while scattering just five hits and zero walks to go along with six strikeouts on the afternoon.

Four of the five hits Eovaldi allowed came within the first three innings. From the top of the fourth up until the middle of the seventh, the flame-throwing righty retired 12 of the last 13 hitters he faced.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 84 (63 strikes), the 31-year-old hurler picked up his team-leading ninth winning decision of the year while also lowering his ERA to 3.41. His next start should come against the Angels in Anaheim next Tuesday.

Andriese gives up shutout bid

In relief of Eovaldi, Matt Andriese came on the for the eighth inning, faced the minimum in the inning thanks to a double play, but was unable to keep the shutout going in the ninth when he served up an RBI double to Jarrod Dyson.

Still, Andriese did stay on until the end, and he saw the Sox’ 15-1 victory through to its completion.

Next up: Heading out West

The Red Sox will board a flight to San Francisco later Thursday afternoon and open up a three-game series against the Athletics in Oakland on Friday.

Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez is slated to get the ball for Boston in the series opener, while right-hander Frankie Montas will be doing the same for Oakland.

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Danny Santana: Boston Red Sox)

J.D. Martinez and Hunter Renfroe homer, Kiké Hernández makes jaw-dropping diving catch as Red Sox top Royals, 6-2, on rain-filled night at Fenway Park

It took more than five hours to complete on account of two lengthy rain delays, but the Red Sox were able to come away with a 6-2 win over the Royals on a stormy Wednesday night/early Thursday morning at Fenway Park.

With the victory, Boston reaches the halfway point of their season having improved to 50-31 on the year. They also extended their winning streak to six consecutive games while increasing their lead over the Rays for first place in the American League East to three full games.

Martin Perez made his 16th start of the season for the Sox on Wednesday (at 7:40 p.m. as opposed to 7:10 p.m. thanks to a 30-minute delay), facing off against Kansas City for the second time in as many weeks.

The left-hander stumbled out of the gate a bit by serving up a solo home run to Salvador Perez in the second inning, but then managed to settle in nicely from there.

Over 5 1/3 innings of work, Perez wound up surrendering just two runs — both of which were earned — on seven hits and zero walks to go along with two strikeouts on the night.

In the top of the fifth, Perez received some help from his center fielder, as Enrique Hernandez made a fantastic sprawling catch on a Hanser Alberto fly ball to both prevent the Royals from scoring and end the inning since it came with two outs.

The only other run Perez gave up came in the top half of the sixth, when he yielded an RBI groundout to Carlos Santana, and his outing came to a close shortly after that.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 86 (54 strikes), the 30-year-old hurler was ultimately hit with the no-decision in this one, though he did lower his ERA on the year to 4.04. His next start should come against the Angels in Anaheim next Monday.

In relief of Perez, Brandon Workman came on and escaped the sixth by inducing an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Hunter Dozier.

At that point, the skies opened up in the Fenway-area, the tarp came on the field, and another rain delay commenced, with this one lasting nearly two hours.

By the time the game resumed and a Red Sox pitcher took the mound again, it was nearly midnight. That long layoff did not seem to affect the Boston bullpen, though, as Darwinzon Hernandez tossed a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, Josh Taylor extended his consecutive scoreless appearance streak to 24 games with a perfect eighth inning, and Matt Barnes shut the door on the Royals in the ninth to preserve a 6-2 win for his side.

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On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against a familiar foe in Royals left-hander Mike Minor, who they also saw last week in Kansas City.

Despite falling behind early on Wednesday, J.D. Martinez did not mess around in taking that lead back, as he belted a 420-foot three-run home run to deep center field off Minor to get his side on the board in the third inning.

Martinez’s 16th homer of the year had an exit velocity of more than 108 mph, and it also gave the Sox a 3-1 lead.

Fast forward to the fifth, and a leadoff single from Alex Verdugo proved to be the catalyst for another multi-run inning, with Xander Bogaerts plating him on an RBI base hit off the Green Monster and Hunter Renfroe driving in another run (Martinez) on a force out.

Renfroe’s productive night at the plate would not end there, however, as the right-handed hitting slugger came out of the in-game delay and cranked a 427-foot solo shot over everything in left field with one out in the eighth inning.

Capping off his month of June with a bang, Renfroe’s 12th big fly of the season (and fifth of the month) left his bat at 106.9 mph on a hanging slider from Royals reliever Anthony Swarzak.

The towering blast also gave the Red Sox a 6-2 lead over the Royals, and that would go on to be Wednesday’s final score, though the final out was technically recorded on Thursday morning.

Some notes from this win:

From Red Sox Notes:

From MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo:

Next up: Bubic vs. Eovaldi

The Red Sox will wrap up their four-game series against the Royals while simultaneously opening up the second half of their season (Game No. 82) on Thursday afternoon.

Left-hander Kris Bubic is slated to get the ball for Kansas City, while Nathan Eovaldi will be doing the same for Boston. Also expect Connor Wong to get the start behind the plate.

First pitch Thursday (weather permitting) is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN. Final game of the homestand in which the Red Sox are a perfect 6-0.

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