Red Sox injuries: Bobby Dalbec (hamstring tightness) out of Wednesday’s lineup, Christian Arroyo (knee contusion) set for rehab assignment with WooSox, Tanner Houck sharp in latest start

Red Sox manager Alex Cora provided injury updates pertaining to Bobby Dalbec, Christian Arroyo, and Tanner Houck prior to Wednesday’s game against the Royals at Fenway Park.

Dalbec, who experienced right hamstring tightness that forced him to exit in the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s win over Kansas City, is out of Boston’s starting lineup for Wednesday’s contest.

“Bobby’s OK,” Cora said earlier Wednesday afternoon. “He’s still tight. He’s going to get treatment. I don’t know if we’re going to try to make him run today. But better than yesterday, but not 100%.”

While it certainly looks like Dalbec, who actually turned 26 on Tuesday, will avoid a trip to the injured list and should be considered day-to-day, Michael Chavis will start in his place at first base and bat ninth on Wednesday.

Arroyo slated to begin rehab assignment with WooSox

Christian Arroyo, meanwhile, has been on the 10-day injured list since June 24 (backdated to June 21) due to a right knee contusion that was originally diagnosed as a right shin bone bruise after he collided with Enrique Hernandez in Kansas City two weekends ago.

Because his stint on the IL was backdated to June 21, Arroyo is eligible to be activated on Thursday, July 1. That said, the Red Sox would like the 26-year-old infielder to get some at-bats in with Triple-A Worcester before that happens.

“Most likely he’ll go to Worcester and he’ll DH tomorrow,” Cora said of Arroyo. “He faced Chris [Sale] today. I think he had two at-bats against him. But there’s not too much going on the field today as far as batting practice and all that. But that was the plan last night. Probably after the game we’ll let you guys know, but that seems to be what he’s going to do.

Arroyo himself expects to head out to Polar Park on Thursday to DH for the WooSox before rejoining the big-league club for their upcoming West Coast road trip.

Houck feeling good after third start back for WooSox

Red Sox pitching prospect Tanner Houck woke up Wednesday morning with no ill effects from his latest start with the WooSox at Polar Park on Tuesday night, Cora said.

In his third start back off the injured list after missing more than a month with flexor muscle soreness, Houck allowed two earned runs on three hits, zero walks, and two hit batsmen to go along with four strikeouts over four innings of work.

It was the right-hander’s longest outing (67 pitches, 40 of which were strikes) since he returned to the mound on June 17.

“Everything went well,” Cora said when asked about Houck, who turned 25 on Tuesday. “I actually texted with [WooSox pitching coach Paul Abbott] this morning, he felt like [Houck] was really good. Command was good, the intent was good, very aggressive. Everything went well. Obviously, let’s see how he shows up today and if there’s any red flags. We don’t expect red flags, so it was a good one for him.”

As he continues to build up his arm strength, Houck could make his return to the Sox’ starting rotation out of the All-Star break if the club opts to add a sixth starter to the mix out of the gate in late July.

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Also, for what it’s worth, Cora did not provide an update on backup catcher Kevin Plawecki, who has been on the injured list with a left hamstring strain since June 22 but suffered an apparent minor setback on Monday.

(Picture of Bobby Dalbec: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Chris Sale’s latest live bullpen session at Fenway Park was ‘eye-opening,’ Alex Cora says

Chris Sale keeps giving the Red Sox reasons to get excited for his impending return to the mound.

On Wednesday afternoon, Sale threw a live batting practice session at Fenway Park. marking the second time he has faced hitters since undergoing Tommy John surgery last March.

Facing off against the right-handed bats of Christian Arroyo and Connor Wong in near-100 degree heat in the Fenway-area, the ace left-hander threw 15 pitches and topped out at 95 mph with his fastball, per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

Wednesday’s outing marked another important milestone for Sale, and it was one that, quite frankly, left Red Sox manager Alex Cora thoroughly impressed with what he saw from the lefty.

“What we saw today was eye-opening,” Cora said earlier Wednesday afternoon. “Good slider, good changeup, 94-95 mph velocity. We just got to be patient. But he’s already making an impact in the clubhouse — just his mere presence. His knowledge, his communication with other guys is helping. I know he’s looking forward to contributing on the field, but so far, he’s made an impact already on this club.”

What about Sale’s performance was so “eye-opening” in Cora’s view? Well, his command of the strike zone certainly helped.

“Just his command of the pitches. That’s something that I didn’t expect,” said Cora. “He was able to throw fastballs inside, fastballs arm-side up and away to put people away. The changeup was good, the slider was good. And that’s something that — throughout the process — I do believe that’s kind of like the last thing you get, right? The changeup and command. And for him to be dotting pitches already, that’s a great sign.”

Assuming Sale wakes up on Thursday without any sort of issue, the next step for the 32-year-old hurler will be to throw to hitters once again sometime next week, according to Cora. That will however take place in Fort Myers — and last two innings as opposed to just one — since the Red Sox will be out on the west coast and Sale will not be traveling with the team.

From there, Sale could be ready to head out on a rehab assignment with a minor-league affiliate by next week, though Boston would like to keep him close by (with Double-A Portland or Triple-A Worcester) as opposed to far away (with Low-A Salem or High-A Greenville).

“[Head trainer Brad Pearson] feels like we should keep [Sale] around and play him at the highest two levels (Double-A and Triple-A),” Cora said. “And the fact that Worcester is right here, the facilities are good, we can do the same thing we used to do in Pawtucket. They get their work in here, then they go over there and pitch. I think that’s what Brad envisions, so hopefully that’s the case.”

Sale, who underwent Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020 — his 31st birthday — last pitched in a major-league game on August 13, 2019.

As noted by The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham, Sale could be ready to make his return to the Red Sox’ starting rotation by late July or early August depending on how many rehab starts he requires.

If that plan comes to fruition and Sale is activated off the injured list within the coming weeks, the Sox would be adding a seven-time All-Star to their rotation at just the right time for the home stretch of the regular season and beyond.

“It’s like I said before, ‘Nobody can trade for Chris Sale,'” Cora said emphatically. “We can add Chris Sale to the equation. This is a guy, he’s looking forward to contribute. He’s in a great frame of mind. Physically, he looks tremendous.”

(Picture of Chris Sale: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Red Sox infield prospect Jeter Downs to represent Boston in All-Star Futures Game on July 11

Red Sox infield prospect Jeter Downs will represent the Red Sox in the 2021 All-Star Futures Game on July 11, Major League Baseball announced on Wednesday.

Downs will serve as Boston’s lone representative for the American League squad in one of the hallmark events that will lead up to the 91st MLB All-Star Game at Coors Field in Denver on July 13.

“I think it’s great, honestly,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Wednesday when asked about Downs’ selection. “It’s a showcase. He’s going to be around the best of the best prospects in the league. This is a guy that we believe is going to be a good big-league player. Just to be in that environment he has to be special. So, looking forward for Jeter to go over there, do his thing, and enjoy the whole experience.”

This year’s American League team will be managed by former big-league reliever LaTroy Hawkins. The game itself is a seven-inning exhibition that features some of the top prospects in baseball that will begin at 3 p.m. eastern time on Sunday, July 11.

Downs, who turns 23 in late July, is regarded by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline as the No. 2 prospect in Boston’s farm system, trailing only fellow infielder Triston Casas for the top spot in the organization.

One of three players acquired from the Dodgers in the infamous Mookie Betts/David Price trade last February, Downs has certainly experienced the trials and tribulations of playing at the Triple-A level for the first time in his career this season.

Coming into play on Wednesday, the right-handed hitting middle infielder is slashing .243/.323/.410 with three doubles, seven home runs, 16 RBI, 20 runs scored, 16 walks, 51 strikeouts, and 10 stolen bases over his first 38 games (164 plate appearances) for Triple-A Worcester.

In just his last seven games, though, Downs has seemed to turn a corner offensively, as he is hitting .320/.379/.440 (.819 OPS, 118 wRC+) since June 20.

That said, Downs was forced to exit the WooSox’ latest game on Tuesday after an awkward collision at home plate with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders catcher Rob Brantly. He was later checked for a head injury, per MassLive.com’s Katie Morrison.

With that in mind, it should be noted that Downs will be held out of Worcester’s lineup on Wednesday, though Morrison notes that ‘he looks to be fine’ and was out taking ground balls at shortstop earlier in the afternoon.

(Picture of Jeter Downs: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Tanner Houck tosses four 2-run innings in third start back for Triple-A Worcester as questions loom for Boston’s starting rotation

Red Sox pitching prospect Tanner Houck took another important step in building up his arm strength at Polar Park on Tuesday night, which also happened to be his 25th birthday.

Making his third start for Triple-A Worcester since coming off the injured list after missing more than a month with flexor muscle soreness, Houck put together his longest outing in quite a while.

Over four innings of work, the right-hander allowed two runs — both of which were earned — on three hits, zero walks, and two hit batsmen to go along with four strikeouts on the evening.

Both runs Houck surrendered came in his fourth and final frame, as he breezed through the first three and retired the first nine hitters he faced in order before running into some trouble as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders’ (Yankees affiliate) flipped back over.

In the fourth, Houck issued a leadoff single to Estevan Florial, a run-scoring groundout to Hoy Jun Park that was aided by a throwing error, and back-to-back singles to Ryan LaMarre and Socrates Brito.

He followed that sequence by plunking the next two RailRiders — Derek Dietrich and Kyle Holder — to first load the bases and then allow another run to score.

From there, Houck got Trey Amburgey to ground into a forceout and proceeded to fan Rob Brantly on five pitches to limit any further damage while also ending his night on a more somewhat positive note.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 67 (40 strikes), the 25-year-old hurler now owns an ERA of 3.32, a WHIP of 0.66, and a batting average against of .158 in three starts (10 2/3 innings pitched) with the WooSox since returning the mound on June 17.

In each of those starts, Houck has seen his workload increase from three innings on 45 pitches (26 strikes) to 3 2/3 innings on 58 (38 strikes) to four full innings on 67 pitches (40 strikes) on Tuesday.

“I feel good, feel strong, everything feels normal, and I’m excited for [my next start] Sunday,” Houck told MassLive.com’s Katie Morrison following the WooSox’ 9-7 loss to the RailRiders. “I’ve felt strong since the first outing. I just want to continue to pitch, pitch strong and keep moving forward.”

Houck has not started a major-league game for the Red Sox since April 18. Since making his big-league debut last September, the former first-round pick has posted a 1.98 ERA and 2.92 FIP over six total appearances (five starts) and 27 1/3 innings of work.

At the moment, the Sox have a healthy five-man starting rotation comprised of Nathan Eovaldi, Eduardo Rodriguez, Garrett Richards, Nick Pivetta, and Martin Perez.

That said, Boston’s starters have not been particularly sharp as of late (5.40 starters’ ERA in June), and the club is preparing for a stretch out of the All-Star break next month where they are scheduled to play 18 games in 18 days (all against the Yankees, Blue Jays, and Rays) from July 15 until August 1.

When asked earlier Tuesday afternoon if the team would consider reshuffling its starting rotation or adding a sixth starter — such as Houck — to the mix post-All-Star break, Red Sox manager Alex Cora did not get too specific, but he did seem open to the idea of reinforcements for the rotation in the not so distant future.

“We’ll talk about it. I actually found out yesterday that we play on Thursday after the All-Star break. I thought it was a three-game series and I was actually planning on going to Puerto Rico. But, no, I’m not going to do that now,” Cora said with a grin on his face. “It’s a lot of straight games, a lot of good lineups. We’re talking about that. We’re talking about that.

“August, it’s going to help us with the five off-days,” added Cora. “That’s going to be very important. But, we’re going to need some help at one point. And these guys, they’ve been posting the whole time. So we’ll see where we go with it.”

In addition to Houck building back up in Worcester, Chris Sale is also slated to throw another live batting practice session at Fenway Park.

Cora described Sale, who is on the road back from Tommy John surgery after undergoing the procedure last March, as someone who “is feeling amazing” in between the days he has pitched, so that is certainly an encouraging development on the Red Sox’ note.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, if all goes well with Sale on Wednesday and the day after, the ace left-hander could be in line to begin a rehab assignment with a Red Sox minor-league affiliate sometime in July.

Like Houck, Sale represents another potential reinforcement for a Red Sox starting rotation that has left plenty to be desired recently.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Ashley Green/Telegram & Gazette)

J.D. Martinez comes through with clutch 2-run double as Red Sox hold on to defeat Royals, 7-6

It was a back-and-forth affair that saw six lead changes and 25 total hits exchanged between both sides, but the Red Sox were able to hold on and defeat the Royals by a final score of 8-7 at Fenway Park on Tuesday night.

Nick Pivetta, making his 16th start of the season for Boston, saw his run of no-hit baseball come to an end moments after he delivered his first pitch Tuesday, as he served up a leadoff home run to the first man he faced in Whit Merrifield.

The Red Sox lineup, however, responded promptly to being put in an early hole. Enrique Hernandez didn’t lead things off in the first with yet another leadoff homer, but he did reach base by getting plunked by Royals starter Brad Keller.

An Alex Verdugo single advanced Hernandez up to third, and both runners came into score on back-to-back RBI base hits from J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts.

Despite getting that sort of run support right from the jump, Pivetta gave the lead up when he issued a run-scoring single to Michael A. Taylor in the second.

Again, the Boston bats answered almost immediately, as three straight one-out walks from Keller loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the third for Hunter Renfroe, who drove in Martinez on a sacrifice fly to put his side back up 3-2.

The Sox were unable to enjoy that lead for too long, though, with Pivetta serving up a two-run shot to Taylor with no outs in the top half of the fourth inning, thus putting his side back in a one-run hole at 4-3.

On the contrary, Kansas City was not able to enjoy their lead either, as the bottom of the Boston lineup paved the way for Hernandez to plate the tying run on a line-drive single and later for Martinez to bring in the then go-ahead run on another sac fly with the bases loaded.

Even with his team constantly battling back early on, Pivetta again surrendered the lead in his fifth and — what would turn out to be — final inning of work on a two-run blast off the bat of Ryon O’Hearn with one out in the inning.

At that point, the 28-year-old right-hander had yielded six runs (all earned) on a season-high nine hits (three of which went for home runs) and two walks to go along with five strikeouts, all while throwing 89 pitches (57 strikes).

With that relatively high pitch count in mind, Red Sox manager Alex Cora gave Pivetta the hook in what was at the time a 6-5 in game in favor of Kansas City. With an ERA of 4.43 on the season now, the righty’s next start should come against the Athletics in Oakland on Sunday.

In relief of Pivetta, Yacksel Rios came on, ended the fifth inning in quick fashion, and also tossed a clean top half of the sixth. Five of his six appearances with Boston have been scoreless, and he is now 2-0 in a Red Sox uniform.

In the bottom half of the sixth, Bobby Dalbec led off with a single, Verdugo drew a six-pitch walk off Royals reliever Jake Brentz, and that set the stage for Martinez.

On the first pitch he saw from Brentz, a 91 mph changeup on the outer half of the plate, Martinez came through in the clutch and laced a two-run double down the right field line to score both runners.

That gave the Red Sox a 7-6 lead going into the late innings of this one.

From there, the Red Sox bullpen only did what they have been doing as of late, and that’s keeping the opposition off the scoreboard.

Darwinzon Hernandez hurled a scoreless seventh inning with the help of Verdugo’s fifth outfield assist of the year, Adam Ottavino danced his way around a jam and stranded the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base in the eighth, and Matt Barnes punched out the side in the ninth to preserve the 7-6 win while also notching his 18th save of the season.

With the one-run victory, the Red Sox improve to 49-31 on the season while extending their winning streak to five consecutive games. They now sit two full games ahead of the Rays for first place in the American League East.

Dalbec leaves with right hamstring tightness.

On his 26th birthday, Bobby Dalbec was forced to exit Tuesday’s contest in the sixth inning due to right hamstring tightness, Alex Cora said. He likely won’t be in the lineup on Wednesday.

Next up: Minor vs. Perez

Wednesday’s starting pitching matchup between the Red Sox and Royals will feature a pair of veteran left-handers going at it, with Martin Perez getting the ball for Boston and Mike Minor doing the same for Kansas City.

First pitch Wednesday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN. Red Sox will be going for their sixth straight win.

(Picture of Red Sox celebrating: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Red Sox injuries: Christian Arroyo (knee contusion) likely to begin rehab assignment this week, Kevin Plawecki (hamstring strain) suffers minor setback, Alex Cora says

Prior to Tuesday’s game against the Royals at Fenway Park, Red Sox manager Alex Cora provided updates on a pair of key injured position players in Christian Arroyo and Kevin Plawecki.

Arroyo, who has been held out of action since June 20 and on the 10-day injured list with a right knee contusion since June 24, appears to be on the verge of starting a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester — who are at home through July 4 — before rejoining the Sox ahead of their West Coast road trip that begins later this week.

The 26-year-old second baseman sustained a right shin bone bruise last Sunday in Kansas City after colliding with center fielder Enrique Hernandez while going after a fly ball.

At the time, Arroyo was hitting .264/.324/.432 with nine doubles, four home runs, 17 runs scored, 19 RBI, one stolen base, five walks, and 38 strikeouts through his first 42 games of the season.

Because his stint on the IL was backdated to June 21, the soonest Arroyo could be activated would be this coming Thursday, July 1. That said, it seems as though the Sox would like the right-handed hitter to get some playing time in with the WooSox before he is back in the big-league lineup once again.

In terms of proximity to a return date, Arroyo is in better shape than Plawecki. That being the case because the Sox’ backup catcher suffered somewhat of a setback in regards to his hamstring injury while working out at Fenway on Monday.

Plawecki was placed on the 10-day injured list on June 22, two days after straining his left hamstring while chasing down an errant throw last weekend in Kansas City.

Like Arroyo, Plawecki’s stint on the IL was backdated to June 21, but it looks like the 30-year-old backstop will require more than the minimum 10 days.

“Yeah, Arroyo is going to run the bases,” Cora told reporters (including NESN.com’s Alexandra Francisco) earlier Tuesday afternoon. “Kevin, he didn’t feel great throughout the day yesterday. He is going to get treatment. It’s not a big setback, but it’s probably going to slow him down a little bit. If I can guess, it feels like Christian, he’ll be back when he has to, he’ll be OK.

“Probably will send him to Worcester to a rehab assignment to get a few at-bats, and then he should be ready to go for the West Coast trip,” added Cora. “And Kevin, now we have to wait a little bit, I’ll see how he feels today. Nothing major, but like I told him, I said, ‘This is not about this week or next week, this is about the whole season, and we need you, you know? So just make sure you’re patient enough and we’ll see where it takes us.’”

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

After wrapping up their four-game series with Kansas City on Thursday, Boston will set out to Oakland for the start of a two-city, six-game road trip against the Athletics and Angels that begins on Friday and concludes on Wednesday, June 7 in Anaheim.

(Picture of Kevin Plawecki: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Alex Cora on Hunter Renfroe: ‘He has been amazing the last two months’

Red Sox manager Alex Cora wants the baseball world to put more respect on Hunter Renfroe’s name.

Playing in the 500th game of his major-league career Monday night, Renfroe came through with two incredibly important home runs as part of a 2-for-4 showing at the plate in the Red Sox’ 6-5 come-from-behind victory over the Royals at Fenway Park.

In the fourth inning, Renfroe took Royals starter Danny Duffy 439 feet deep to dead center field on a 1-0 changeup for a 107.5 mph two-run homer that cut the Sox’ deficit down to one run at 5-4.

In the sixth inning of what at the time was a 5-5 ballgame, Renfroe delivered once more, this time depositing a hanging, 2-1 curveball from Royals reliever Josh Staumont 434 feet over the Green Monster for the go-ahead (and what would prove to be game-winning) home run.

“He’s on balance, he’s making good swing decisions,” Cora said of Renfroe late Monday night. “He got a changeup up in the zone, he hit it out of the ballpark. And then a hanging breaking ball. He’s been doing this for a while.”

By going 2-for-4 with a pair of homers, two runs scored, and three runs driven in in Monday’s win, Renfroe raised his batting line on the season to .272/.330/.473, which subsequently bring his OPS over .800 (.803) for the first time this year.

After signing a one-year, $3.1 million deal with Boston over the winter, the 29-year-old’s Red Sox career did not get off to the best of starts as he hit a dismal .167/.235/.250 in the month of April, leaving many to wonder if he was long for remaining on the major-league roster.

Since the calendar flipped to May, however, Renfroe has flipped the switch offensively — all while providing Gold Glove-caliber defense in right field, as has been the case since the start of the season.

Going back to May 1, the right-handed hitter is slashing an impressive .307/.362/.547 to go along with 10 home runs and 32RBI over his last 49 games (196 plate appearances).

Coming into play on Monday, Renfroe had been worth 1.3 fWAR since the start of May, per FanGraphs. That put him ahead of the likes of Alex Verdugo (0.5) and J.D. Martinez (0.3) over that time frame.

“You start looking at his numbers, the average, the RBIs, the home runs, the on-base percentage, the last two months he has been playing All-Star caliber baseball,” said Cora. “And we know what he can do defensively. The way he’s playing, people need to start recognizing him as one of our best players.

“He’s been huge for us,” added Cora. “We always talk about the four guys (Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, Martinez, Verdugo), but what he’s doing, he has been amazing the last two months.”

For Renfroe, this rise in offensive production comes at a point in the season where he is getting consistent playing time, the weather is getting warmer, and — probably most importantly — he is healthy and locked in at the plate, as evidenced by his ability to take the ball to the opposite field when necessary.

“I feel good,” Renfroe said. “I like where I am right now. Swinging the bat well, seeing the ball well. I think that’s the biggest part, seeing the ball before you hit it. Seeing the ball as good as I have in a long time so I’ve just got to keep going, staying with my approach and staying with my routine in the cage and just stay healthy.”

(Picture of Hunter Renfroe: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Hunter Renfroe delivers with 2 clutch home runs as Red Sox come back to defeat Royals, 6-5, in slugfest at Fenway Park

The Red Sox were able to extend their winning streak to four consecutive games at Fenway Park on Monday night, though it certainly did not look like it was going to turn that way early on.

Facing off against the Royals in the first of four, Sox starter Garrett Richards stumbled immensely out of the gate, as he issued back-to-back singles to Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler before serving up a three-run home run to Carlos Santana.

Put another way, Richards had put his side in a three-run hole without recording a single out, and he allowed that hole to increase even more by yielding a pair of solo homers to Michael A. Taylor and Merrifield to make it a 5-1 contest in favor of Kansas City.

While Richards was having a difficult time of things, the Red Sox lineup certainly did their part to back him up.

Matched up against Royals ace left-hander Danny Duffy to begin things on Monday, Enrique Hernandez led off the bottom of the first by crushing a solo home run — his eighth of the season — over the Green Monster for the second straight day to get his side on the board.

An inning later, Bobby Dalbec followed suit by also leaving the yard on a 2-1, 94.5 mph fastball from Duffy that was down and in and deposited 397 feet to left field with an exit velocity of 107.6 mph off the bat. His 10th big fly of the year cut Boston’s deficit down to three runs at 5-2.

Having given up hits to six of the first 10 Royals he faced Monday, it did not seem Richards would be long for this one and Red Sox manager Alex Cora would have to go to his bullpen earlier than anticipated.

Somehow, someway though, Richards recovered and even settled into a decent groove, albeit without being able to put together a 1-2-3 frame.

Still, after surrendering five runs in the first two innings, Richards kept Kansas City off the scoreboard from the top of the second on. In doing so, he provided the Red Sox offense with a sizable window to get back into this one, and they capitalized on that in their half of the fourth.

Following a leadoff double from Xander Bogaerts, Hunter Renfroe — playing in the 500th game of his big-league career — demolished a two-run home run 439 feet to dead center to bring the Sox back to within one.

A pitching change in the fourth that saw righty Kyle Zimmer take over Duffy did not halt Boston’s momentum, as Dalbec greeted the Royals reliever with a single, moved up to second on a groundout, and advanced to third on a wild pitch before Michael Chavis drove him in on a game-tying, RBI single through the left side of the infield.

Richards, meanwhile, retired 12 of the final 17 hitters who came to the plate against him up until Nicky Lopez reached base on a two-out single in the sixth.

At that point, the 33-year-old hurler’s pitch count had reached 94 — 67 of which were strikes –and has night ultimately came to a close. Of those 94 pitches thrown by Richards, 38 were four-seam fastballs, 22 were changeups, 21 were sliders, 11 were curveballs, and two were split changeups.

In relief of Richards, Hirokazu Sawamura got the first call out of the Boston bullpen, and he recorded the final out of the sixth inning, setting the stage for Renfroe once more in the bottom half of the frame.

There, the right-handed hitting slugger came through with the clutchest hit of the night: a go-ahead, 434 foot solo blast off reliever Josh Staumont that left Fenway Park in a hurry.

Renfroe’s second homer of the contest, and his 11th of the season, gave the Red Sox a 6-5 lead going into the late innings.

Sawamura came back out for the seventh, faced the minimum three batters, and later earned his fourth winning decision of 2021 to improve to a perfect 4-0.

From there, left-hander Josh Taylor extended his scoreless appearance streak to 23 consecutive games by working a perfect eighth inning, while Matt Barnes induced two fly outs and one pop out in the ninth to notch his 17th save of the campaign in addition to preserving a 6-5 victory for the Red Sox.

With the win, their 26th come-from-behind triumph this year, the Red Sox improve to 48-31 (24-17 at home) on the season and move a full game ahead of an idle Tampa Bay Rays team for first place in the American League East.

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Next up for the Red Sox, they will send right-hander Nick Pivetta to the hill on Tuesday as they go for their fifth straight win. The Royals, meanwhile, will counter with fellow righty Brad Keller.

First Pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Hunter Renfroe: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Red Sox injuries: Christian Arroyo (knee contusion), Kevin Plawecki (hamstring strain) ‘progressing well’ and could rejoin team ‘sooner rather than later,’ Alex Cora says

Christian Arroyo and Kevin Plawecki are both progressing well from their respective injuries and could be ready to return to the Red Sox within the coming days, manager Alex Cora said prior to Monday’s game against the Royals at Fenway Park.

Arroyo has been out of action since June 20, when he collided with center fielder Enrique Hernandez while going after a fly ball in the fifth inning of last Sunday’s loss to the Royals in Kansas City.

Later diagnosed with a right shin bone bruise, the infielder was placed on the 10-day injured list on June 24 with what the Red Sox called a right knee contusion.

Because Arroyo’s stint on the IL was backdated to June 21, the soonest the 26-year-old could be activated is this Thursday, July 1.

Plawecki, meanwhile, suffered a left hamstring strain in Kansas City last weekend while chasing after an errant throw from Hernandez.

The veteran catcher was placed on the 10-day injured list on June 22, though, like Arroyo, the move was made retroactive to June 21, meaning he could be activated as soon as Thursday.

While Arroyo and Plawecki have been on the shelf, they have been able to take part in baseball activities, as both were involved in Chris Sale’s live batting practice session at Fenway Park on Saturday.

Taking that into consideration, Cora is hopeful the Sox can get both players back potentially by the end of the week. Infielder/outfielder Michael Chavis and catching prospect Connor Wong have been up with the big-league club in the interim.

“They’re progressing well, both of them,” Cora said earlier Monday afternoon. “Kevin, as you guys saw, he caught Chris [Sale’s] live BP. Christian and Kevin, they should be hitting right now outside. So they’re moving well, they’re feeling better. So they seem like this is going to be something short and they should be with us sooner rather than later.”

The Red Sox will wrap up their seven-game homestand against the Royals on Thursday afternoon before departing for the west coast for the start of a two-city, six-game road trip on Friday. That may be something to keep in mind in regards to upcoming roster moves.

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Garrett Whitlock on 2021 Red Sox: ‘We’re here to win’

It’s fair to say that Garrett Whitlock has quickly immersed himself into the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry.

As a former Yankees prospect who came over to the Sox by way of the Rule 5 Draft over the winter, that was probably to be expected. Still, Whitlock has seemingly exceeded expectations while serving a key role out of the Boston bullpen in his rookie season, especially when going up against his former club.

Sunday afternoon’s outing at Fenway Park proved to be the latest instance of that, as the right-hander was dispatched in the seventh inning of a 6-2 game in favor of the Sox.

Inheriting a situation in which the Yankees had put runners at first and second while only recording one out, Whitlock walked the first man he faced in Gary Sanchez, which brought the tying run to the plate in the form of one of, if not New York’s most dangerous hitter: D.J. LeMahieu.

On just four pitches, Whitlock struck out LeMahieu, getting the two-time batting champ to go down looking on a 96 mph sinker on the outer half of the plate.

Having cleared one hurdle, the next challenge for the young reliever was to retire the vaunted Aaron Judge, who had already gone deep off Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez the inning prior.

This time needing three pitches, Whitlock got Judge to pop out to first baseman Danny Santana in foul territory, thus putting out the flames by leaving the bases loaded going into the bottom half of the seventh.

When asked about what his approach was while going up against a hitter who has the ability to drive one out of the ballpark at any moment such as Judge, Whitlock credited his catcher, Christian Vazquez, for the preparation that went into that anticipated matchup.

“I was trusting Vazqy,” he said. “During our meetings, we knew exactly how we were going to attack him. So I trusted Vazqy and we just stuck to the approach and got some executed pitches and, luckily, he got out.”

The pitch Whitlock got Judge to pop out on was a well-executed, 84 mph slider on the outer half of the plate that the Yankees slugger got under with no real force.

The slider is a pitch Whitlock has been implementing more and more into his repertoire — especially against right-handed hitters — as of late to complement his fastball and changeup as well as add another dimension to his effectiveness. It has proven to be a useful asset thus far.

“It’s something we needed to implement against righties,” said the Georgia native. “Because, as you all saw, once the quote-unquote book got out on me, they were just taking the fastball to the opposite field, and that would make them on-time for the changeup.

“So with the slider, it adds a third speed and a different direction that the ball moves,” he added. “So it’s just something that to try so that the hitters can’t just sit fastball the other way and be on time for changeups. Now we’re just trying to be able to have a three-pitch mix rather than just two.”

After the Red Sox added to their lead in the seventh, Whitlock came back out for the eighth, worked his way around a leadoff single by inducing an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Gio Urshela to face the minimum, and later earned his sixth hold of the season in what would go down as a 9-2 win for Boston.

On the 2021 campaign as a whole, Whitlock has been more than impressive, as the 25-year-old rookie now owns an ERA of 1.42 and batting average against of .234 over 22 relief appearances spanning 38 total innings of work.

Against the Yankees specifically, Whitlock has essentially been lights out. Sunday’s performance marked the righty’s third appearance of the year against the team he began his professional career with, and he has yet to give up a run to them while scattering three hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings pitched in those appearances.

This weekend also marked the first time Whitlock had the opportunity to pitch against the Yankees at Fenway Park, as his only outing against them earlier this month had come in the Bronx.

While taking the mound at either venue has proven to be nothing out of the ordinary for Whitlock performance-wise, he certainly appreciates having the support of the home fans when working at Fenway as opposed to Yankee Stadium.

“I would say it was a lot more fun today because this time the crowd was behind me, rather than cheering on me to not do good,” Whitlock said when asked about the atmosphere the fans created on Sunday. “Got to love the Red Sox faithful. That’s for sure.”

With a 9-2 win over New York, Boston improved to 6-0 on the season against their archrivals, having swept them twice this month alone. From 2019-2020, the Sox went a combined 6-23 when going up against the Yankees.

“Any time we get a win against anybody, it’s great,” Whitlock said. “But obviously, with the history between the Red Sox and Yankees, you love to beat the Yankees any chance you get. To take six of them so far this year, hopefully we take a lot more than just six.”

For someone who is just three months into his major-league career with the Red Sox, Whitlock is certainly establishing himself as a driving force for why the team has been so successful this year.

After being given just a 39% chance to make the postseason by FanGraphs prior to Opening Day, the Sox are nearly halfway into their 2021 campaign and are currently in possession of first place in the American League East with a record of 47-31.

As is the case with Whitlock, this year’s Red Sox — led by Alex Cora — have unquestionably exceeded preseason expectations, but don’t tell that to anyone inside the Boston clubhouse.

“We’re here to win. This isn’t just another year for the Red Sox,” said Whitlock. “We’ve got a competitive team and we’re trying to go out there every single day. We believe we can win every single day.”

(Picture of Garrett Whitlock: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)