Alex Verdugo, Xander Bogaerts, Hunter Renfroe, Kiké Hernández all homer as Red Sox hold on to defeat Tigers, 11-7

It was no easy feat, but the Red Sox held on to take the opener of their three-game series against the Tigers by a final score of 11-7 at Fenway Park on Tuesday.

The Sox jumped out to an early four-run lead in this one by teeing off on Tigers starter Michael Fulmer, with J.D. Martinez getting his side on the board in the first inning by grounding into a run-scoring fielder’s choice.

A string of RBI singles from the likes of Christian Vazquez, Marwin Gonzalez, and Hunter Renfroe would knock Fulmer out of Tuesday’s contest earlier than he probably expected, but Boston was far from done in the scoring department.

That being the case because an inning later, Alex Verdugo and Xander Bogaerts tacked on three more runs to the Red Sox’ total by crushing a pair of home runs over the Green Monster off Tigers reliever Alex Lange.

In the third, Renfroe scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth, he belted a solo homer to make it a 9-3 game.

After Detroit made things interesting in the middle innings, Vazquez provided some much-needed insurance in Boston’s half of the sixth when he plated Martinez on an RBI double down the left field line.

Enrique Hernandez followed suit in the eighth, as the leadoff man joined the home run party and clubbed his fourth of the season to left-center field to give his side an 11-7 lead.

Pivetta fans eight over five innings

Nick Pivetta made his his sixth start of the season for the Red Sox on Tuesday, and his first ever start (second career appearance) against the Tigers.

Over five innings of work, the right-hander yielded three runs — all of which were earned — on six hits and two walks to go along with a season-high eight strikeouts on the night.

Those first two Tigers runs were given up by Pivetta in the top half of the first. The other one was given up in the top half of the fifth, an inning in which it seemed like Pivetta would not be able to get through after he put the first three hitters he faced on base.

Inducing a 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Miguel Cabrera aided Pivetta tremendously, though, and he was able to end the fifth by getting Jonathan Schoop to ground out to third.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 100 (65 strikes), the 28-year-old hurler turned to his four-seam fastball 54% of the time he was on the mound Tuesday and topped out 96 mph with the pitch. He also induced eight of his 10 swings-and-misses on his slider, a pitch he threw 36 times.

Able to improve to a perfect 4-0 on the season, Pivetta will look for winning decision No. 5 in his next time out, which should come against the Orioles on Tuesday.

Red Sox bullpen takes over for final four innings

In relief of Pivetta, Austin Brice got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen for the sixth inning, and he put two of the first three Tigers he faced on base before serving up a three-run home run to JaCoby Jones.

Only able to record one out while inflating his ERA on the season to 7.88, Brice was given the hook in favor of Matt Andriese, who allowed one inherited runner to cross the plate before fanning a pair to retire the side.

From there, Adam Ottavino maneuvered his way around a one-out walk in an otherwise clean seventh inning, while Darwinzon Hernandez managed to get just one out in eighth before filling the bases on a Victor Reyes groundball that was misplayed by Bobby Dalbec and a pair of walks.

That led the Sox to make another pitching change, as Matt Barnes came on in a 10-7 game to face the potential go-ahead run for the Tigers in the form of Cabrera.

Fresh off being named the American League Reliever of the Month for April, Barnes escaped the jam by getting Cabrera to ground into yet another twin killing. He then 1-2-3 ninth inning to preserve an 11-7 win for the Red Sox and notch his seventh save of the season in the process of doing so.

Renfroe reaches milestone

By depositing a 362-foot solo shot off Buck Farmer in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s win, Renfroe picked up the 100th big fly of his major-league career.

With a 3-for-4 showing at the plate, the 29-year-old is now slashing .333/.364/.714 over his last seven games played.

Next up: Rookie vs. a vet

Wednesday’s pitching matchup between the 18-12 Red Sox and 8-22 Tigers will feature rookie right-hander Casey Mize getting the ball for Detroit and veteran left-hander Martin Perez doing the same for Boston.

Mize, a 2018 first-round draft pick out of Auburn, will be making his first career start against the Sox.

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

(Picture of Hunter Renfroe: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers out of Red Sox’ lineup for Tuesday’s game against Tigers due to sore shoulder

As the Red Sox prepare to open up a three-game set against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park on Tuesday night, they will be without third baseman Rafael Devers for the series opener.

The reason for Devers being out is due to what transpired in Texas over the weekend.

In the ninth inning of Saturday’s 8-6 loss to the Rangers, the 24-year-old took a violent swing at a 93 mph fastball from Ian Kennedy, but came up empty and immediately appeared to be in pain after dropping his bat and indicating to Red Sox manager Alex Cora and a team trainer that he had done something to his right shoulder.

Devers was able to remain in the game and finish his at-bat, and he even played the entirety of Sunday’s contest as well, though there was a moment in the third inning where you could tell he was still experiencing some discomfort.

After fielding a grounder off the bat of Jonah Heim, Devers made a relatively routine throw to first to record the first out of the third. Upon making the play, however, he could be seen briefly stretching and massaging that same right shoulder.

Devers finished Sunday’s contest by going 0-for-3 at the plate with a walk and strikeout.

He was one of a handful of Red Sox players who went to Fenway during the team’s off day on Monday to receive treatment on his shoulder. The decision was later made that a second straight day of rest would de most beneficial for the young infielder.

“We’re going to give him one more day,” Cora said on Tuesday when asked why Devers was not in his starting lineup. “He came in for treatment yesterday for his shoulder, but felt like one more day was going to benefit him. So he’s not starting today.

Devers, who came into the week having played in 27 of Boston’s first 29 games this season, is currently slashing .283/.368/.566 with seven home runs and 21 RBI over 114 plate appearances.

Marwin Gonzalez will be making his third start of the year at third base in Devers’ place.

Here is how the rest of the 17-12 Red Sox will be lining up behind right-hander Nick Pivetta for Tuesday’s game against fellow righty Michael Fulmer and the 8-21 Tigers.

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

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Aric Becker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Matt Barnes named American League Reliever of the Month for April

Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes has been named American League Reliever of the Month for the month of April, Major League Baseball announced Monday.

In 13 appearances out of the Red Sox bullpen last month, Barnes posted a 2.57 ERA and a minuscule .351 OPS against to go along with 25 strikeouts and just three walks over 14 innings of work. He also went 1-0 while converting all six of his save opportunities.

By recording 25 strikeouts in April, the 30-year-old hurler punched out exactly half of the 50 batters he faced, which ranked third among qualified American League relievers behind only the Yankees’ Aroldis Chapman and the Indians’ James Karinchak, per FanGraphs.

As for why Barnes has been enjoying so much success through the first four-plus weeks of the 2021 season, he has been working at a quicker tempo, been more aggressive, and has focused on attacking hitters early on in counts.

For someone who was previously known to fall behind in counts and nibble quite frequently in the past, Barnes started to change his approach on the mound upon learning about just how advantageous a first-pitch strike can be.

“If you throw 100 fastballs down the middle of the plate in an 0-0 count, 92% of the time, you get a positive result,” Barnes said last week. “To me, if you tell me 92% of the time I can be successful doing something, I’m going to take those odds all day every day.

“We looked at some of the analytical stuff on attacking the strike zone, working quick and forcing guys of make some decisions at the plate,” he added. “I’ve taken that wholeheartedly and really tried to use that to my advantage. It’s about working quick, it’s about attacking guys. It’s being confident in my stuff and being aggressive in the zone.”

Barnes, who turns 31 next month, takes home the first Reliever of the Month award of his eight-year big-league career and becomes the first Red Sox reliever to receive the honor since Brandon Workman did so in September 2019.

Per Baseball Savant, Barnes currently ranks in the 98th percentile in expected weighted on-base average (.199), the 98th percentile in expected ERA (1.48), the 97th percentile in expected batting average (.144), the 93rd percentile in expected slugging percentage (.260), the 99th percentile in strikeout percentage (48.1%), the 97th percentile in whiff percentage (40.2%), and the 96th percentile in chase rate (36.6%).

The former first-round pick out of UCONN is set to become a free-agent for the first time this winter, so he has certainly gotten his contract year off to a strong start.

(Picture of Matt Barnes: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Red Sox claim reliever Brandon Brennan off waivers from Mariners, place Ryan Brasier on 60-day injured list

The Red Sox have claimed right-hander Brandon Brennan off waivers from the Seattle Mariners and optioned him to Triple-A Worcester, the team announced Monday afternoon.

In order to make room for Brennan on the 40-man roster, fellow right-hander Ryan Brasier was placed on the 60-day injured list.

Brennan, 29, was designated for assignment by the Mariners last Wednesday after starting the season at the team’s alternate training site in Tacoma.

In two big-league seasons with Seattle (2019-2020), the California native posted a 4.45 ERA, a 4.73 FIP, and a 54:29 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 49 total relief appearances spanning 54 2/3 innings of work.

He was however limited to just five outings last year on account of suffering a left oblique strain in late July.

A former fourth-round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox out of Orange Coast College, Brennan originally joined the Mariners via the 2018 Rule 5 Draft.

Per Baseball Savant, the 6-foot-4, 207 pound hurler works with a changeup, a sinker, a four-seam fastball, and a slider.

Among the 198 major-league relievers who compiled at least 50 innings pitched over the last two seasons, Brennan ranked 26th in terms of swinging strike percentage (15.3%), per FanGraphs.

Now that he has been added to Boston’s 40-man roster, Brennan — who has three minor-league options remaining — will look to provide right-handed bullpen depth for the Sox in Worcester. He will join the likes of Eduard Bazardo and Colten Brewer as WooSox relievers currently on the Sox’ 40-man.

Brasier, meanwhile, opened the 2021 season on the 10-day injured list for the Red Sox, so transferring him to the 60-day IL is more of a formality than anything.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, the 33-year-old “has dealt with two significant injured since the end of last season, as he fractured his pinky finger during an off-season workout and then strained his calf during a ‘B’ game during the last week of spring training.”

The earliest Brasier can be activated from the injured list now is May 28 after the start of his initial IL stint was backdated to March 29.

(Picture of Brandon Brennan: Abbie Parr/Getty Images)

Feleipe Franks, technically a Red Sox prospect, signs with Atlanta Falcons

After not being selected in this past week’s NFL Draft, former University of Arkansas quarterback Feleipe Franks signed with the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday, according to his agents at Overtime Sports Management Group.

Franks, 23, originally began his collegiate career at the University of Florida after signing with the Gators out of high school in 2015.

While attending Wakulla High School in Crawfordville, Fla., Franks was a two-sport athlete, as he played baseball in addition to football.

On the baseball side of things, Franks was fairly effective as a pitcher, reaching 88 mph with his fastball. And while he did not get drafted by a major-league club out of high school on account of not playing his senior year, the interest in baseball still remained.

During his time at Florida, Franks appeared in a total of 28 games over three seasons and enjoyed a great deal of success as a sophomore in 2018, throwing 24 touchdown passes and just six interceptions while accounting for more than 2,800 yards of total offense.

In the months leading up to the 2019 football season, Franks received word that the Boston Red Sox were interested in selecting him in the upcoming MLB first-year player draft.

Despite having not thrown a baseball since his junior year of high school, Franks took the Red Sox up on their interest and threw a bullpen session, one in which he reached 94 mph on the radar gun.

Shortly thereafter, the Sox selected Franks in the 31st round of the June draft and signed him for $40,000 the following month, though he ultimately opted to continue his college football career.

Back in March, Franks told The Boston Globe’s Nicole Yang that being drafted by the Red Sox came as a shock.

“It definitely was surprising for me,” he said. “But it was a great experience. Still is.”

—

The Florida native came into his junior season with high expectations, but suffered a season-ending ankle injury in September that would cost him the rest of the year.

Later transferring to Arkansas for his redshirt senior season, Franks led the Razorbacks to a 3-6 record in the nine games he played in 2020, but he did so while completing more than 68% of his passes in addition to accounting for 17 touchdowns and just four turnovers.

On an individual level, the 6-foot-7, 234 pound passer wrapped up his college career on a solid note and was even one of six quarterbacks to participate in this year’s Senior Bowl, yet no NFL team thought he was worthy of spending a draft pick on.

With Atlanta, Franks will join a quarterback room that includes the likes of Boston College alumni Matt Ryan and veteran backup A.J. McCarron.

As he explained to Yang, he is hopeful that his experience on the diamond can help him further develop on the gridiron.

“I think you can just see it with different guys — Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes,” said Franks. “It helps with arm angles. There’s so many different arm angles you throw in football, especially as a quarterback. It’s rare that you’ll just sit there and throw a perfect ball.”

By drafting and signing Franks in 2019, the Red Sox — as noted by SoxProspects.com — “reserve his baseball rights in the event he moves on from football down the line.”

According to Yang, the Sox will retain Franks’ rights through the 2024 season, so the door will remain open for him to pursue a career in baseball if the whole NFL thing does not work out.

—

Franks is not the only former Florida quarterback the Red Sox have drafted in recent years. Boston also took Jeff Driskel, now of the Denver Broncos, in the 29th round of the 2013 amateur draft.

(Picture of Feleipe Franks: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Brian Van Belle a Red Sox pitching prospect to watch as minor-league season begins this week

Of the 16 undrafted free agents the Red Sox signed following last June’s draft, none might stick out more than right-handed pitching prospect Brian Van Belle.

Van Belle was reportedly one of the most sought-after seniors in the 2020 unsigned free agent class before inking his first professional contract with the Sox in June.

Regarded at the time by Baseball America as the 16th-ranked draft-eligible senior, the 6-foot-2, 187 pound hurler had just put the finishing touches on a successful college career at the University of Miami.

In two seasons with the Hurricanes (2019-2020) after transferring from Broward College, Van Belle emerged as Miami’s Friday night ace while posting a 2.74 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and a 122:28 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 20 starts and 121 2/3 total innings pitched.

Because of the 2020 minor-league season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the southern Florida native really did not get the chance to work under the Red Sox’ watchful eye until the team began their fall instructional league in Fort Myers.

There, according to SoxProspects.com’s director of scouting Ian Cundall, Van Belle showed why he was highly sought-after as an undrafted free agent.

“Van Belle’s bread and butter is his changeup, a plus offering and a potential difference maker,” Cundall wrote back in November. “Van Belle also showed an average fastball at 89-93 mph and below-average curveball at 77-80 mph. The changeup separated him from a lot of the younger arms who are still refining their secondary pitches and gives him a high floor of at least an organizational arm, especially with his command profile.”

Coming off that impressive showing at fall instructs, the 24-year-old came into the 2021 minor-league season ranked as the No. 53 prospect in Boston’s farm system, per SoxProspects.com.

Cundall recently updated Van Belle’s SoxProspects.com scouting report, writing that the righty “always competes [and is] used to pitching in big spots. [Possesses] strong pitchability and feel on the mound.”

As this highly-anticipated minor-league season is set to begin on Tuesday, Van Belle will start the year in High-A Greenville’s starting rotation.

The fact that Van Belle was assigned to Greenville makes him the only member of Boston’s 2020 undrafted free-agent class to begin the 2021 season at a level as high as High-A. The other 15 members are either starting at Low-A Salem or extended spring training.

(Picture of Brian Van Belle: Al Diaz/Miami Herald)

Red Sox’ Garrett Whitlock finally gives up first run of season after tossing 13 1/3 scoreless innings to begin career: ‘He’s only human, man,’ Alex Cora says

It was bound to happen eventually, but Garrett Whitlock finally gave up his first major-league run as a member of the Red Sox in Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the Rangers.

The right-hander came into the weekend having tossed 13 1/3 scoreless innings over six outings to begin his big-league career. The Rangers got to him for one run on two hits and a strikeout on Sunday.

Working in relief of Garrett Richards and Darwinzon Hernandez, Whitlock got the call to work the seventh inning of what at the time was a 3-1 game in favor of Boston.

Matched up against the bottom third of Texas’ lineup, Whitlock served up a leadoff home run to the first man he faced in Isiah Kiner-Falefa on a 1-1, 83 mph changeup down the heart of the plate.

Prior to making his first career appearance at Globe Life Field, the 24-year-old hurler had yet to allow a hit on his changeup this season, as opponents were 0-for-12 with six strikeouts against it.

So not only did Sunday mark the first time this season the righty had given up a run, it also marked the first time the opposition had reached base off of it.

Whitlock did allow a one-out single following the home run to Kiner-Falefa, but he retired the final two hitters he faced in order to end the seventh inning, preserve a 3-2 lead, and lower his ERA back down to 0.63 while picking up his fourth hold of the season.

Of the 15 pitches the Georgia native threw on Sunday, 12 were sinkers, two were changeups, and one was a slider, per Baseball Savant. He induced two swing-and-misses and topped out at 98.1 mph with his sinker.

Immediately after giving up the home run, the very next pitch Whitlock threw was a 96.4 mph sinker at the top of the zone that induced a flyout off the bat of Brock Holt.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora liked that aggressive approach, and he did not seem all that concerned about Whitlock’s ERA no longer being spotless.

“I mean, he’s only human, man,” Cora said with a chuckle during his postgame media availability. “The fact that he gave up the home run [and] the next pitch was 96 mph right down the middle, it tells you a lot about him. So, we’ll keep running him out there and he should be OK.”

Through seven appearances now in what his rookie season, the 2020 Rule 5 Draft pick has put up an 0.67 ERA and a .157 batting average against to go along with two walks and 19 strikeouts over 14 1/3 total innings of work.

As noted by Red Sox Stats on Twitter, Sunday marked the third time this season that Whitlock has been used on three days rest. He has been used on four days rest on two occasions and on five days of rest just once.

For Whitlock, who before joining the Red Sox over the winter was primarily a starting pitcher in three seasons in the Yankees organization, it’s probably safe to assume that some adjustments have needed to be made as he acclimates to his new role.

But after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2019, he really is just someone who is happy to be pitching in the majors.

“I just try to be a good rookie,” Whitlock said on Friday. “Everyone’s got a role to play on the team. So I told (bench coach) Will (Venable) when I first showed up, I said, ‘Shoot. I’ll be the janitor on this team if that means I get to be in the big-leagues.’ Whatever the job is that I can do to possibly help the team out, that’s what I’m glad to be doing.”

(Picture of Garrett Whitlock: Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Red Sox close out road trip by blowing another lead in 5-3 loss to Brock Holt’s Rangers

Despite strong efforts from Garrett Richards on the mound and Xander Bogaerts at the plate, the Red Sox squandered yet another lead in the process of dropping another winnable game to the Rangers by a final score of 5-3 on Sunday.

After getting a quality outing from Richards and a scoreless sixth inning from Darwinzon Hernandez, the Sox turned things over to Garrett Whitlock with a 3-1 lead to work with in the seventh.

Whitlock, who had not surrendered a run through his six big-league appearances, served up a solo home run to the first man he faced in Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, Whitlock gave up the homer to Kiner-Falefa on an 83 mph changeup, marking the first time he had given up a hit on that particular pitch this seaason.

Adam Ottavino was responsible for the eighth, and he walked the first batter he faced — Nate Lowe– to put the tying run on base.

Lowe stole second base to advance into scoring position, then scored from second on an RBI single from David Dahl, which knotted things up at three runs a piece.

Another walk from Ottavino resulted in the righty getting the hook in favor of Matt Barnes for a rare eighth inning appearance.

With one out to get and runners at first and second in the eighth, Barnes was greeted by old friend Brock Holt, who gave the Rangers their first lead of the afternoon by lacing a hard-hit single to center field that Alex Verdugo could not come up with cleanly.

One run was already going to score regardless, but Verdugo’s miscue — which was ruled a fielding error — allowed another runner to cross the plate for Texas to put them up 5-3 going into the ninth.

Richards allows one run over five innings

Richards, making his sixth start of the season for Boston, allowed just one earned run on four hits and one walk to go along with seven strikeouts over five solid innings of work on Sunday.

The lone Rangers run the right-hander gave up came in the bottom half of the fourth, when Joey Gallo led things off with a double, advanced to third on a flyout, and scored on a groundout.

Outside of that, it’s fair to say Richards was not as efficient as he was in his last time out against the Mets, but he was still effective nonetheless.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 93 (63 strikes), the 32-year-old hurler turned to his four-seam fastball 48% of the time he was on the mound Sunday, inducing five swings-and-misses and topping out at 96.4 mph with the pitch.

Hit with the no decision in this one, Richards’ next start should come against the Orioles in Baltimore next weekend.

Renfroe and Bogaerts give Red Sox early two-run lead

Matched up against right-hander Mike Foltynewicz for the Rangers, the Red Sox jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top half of the second when Bogaerts led off with a single and came around to score on a Hunter Renfroe RBI groundout later in the inning.

Fast forward to the fourth, and Bogaerts struck again, this time taking Foltynewicz 435 feet to deep center field for his fifth home run of the season.

Bogaerts’ big fly, which had an exit velocity of 103.7 mph, to lead off the top of the fourth gave Boston a 2-0 advantage.

After Texas tacked on a run of their own, Enrique Hernandez provided what at the time looked to be an important insurance run in the seventh when he drove in Renfroe on an RBI single, but it would not prove to be enough in the end.

Some notes from this loss:

The Red Sox went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position on Sunday. They left five runners on base as a team.

Per Baseball Savant, the Red Sox had a 70% chance to win this game at the midway point of the eighth inning.

Next up: Off day

After closing out a 3-3 six-game road trip, the 17-12 Red Sox will have a day off on Monday before opening up a three-game series against the Tigers at Fenway Park on Tuesday.

Right-hander Nick Pivetta is slated to get the ball for Boston. Detroit has yet to name a starter.

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

(Picture of Brock Holt and Xander Bogaerts: Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Hunter Renfroe homers, but Red Sox squander scoring chances while Eduardo Rodriguez allows 4 runs over 5 innings in 8-6 loss to Rangers

The Red Sox lost a game they very well could have won against the Rangers at Globe Life Field on Saturday night.

In the fifth inning of what at the time was a 3-3 game, the first five Red Sox hitters to come to the plate reached base, resulting in two more runs crossing the plate on back-to-back RBI singles from J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts.

Now up 5-3, Boston had the chance to really blow this one open as Rafael Devers drew a five-pitch walk to re-load the bases for the bottom of the lineup.

Matched up against hard-throwing left-hander Taylor Hearn for Texas, Christian Vazquez grounded into a 5-2 force out at home plate while both Bobby Dalbec and Hunter Renfroe struck out on foul tips to retire the side.

Even while adding two runs in their half of the fifth, the Red Sox could have done more to put this game out of reach. They later paid for their inability to do much with runners in scoring position when the Rangers came back to secure an 8-6 win for themselves.

Rodriguez allows four runs in five innings

Eduardo Rodriguez made his fifth start of the season for the Sox on Saturday, but was unable to improve to 5-0.

Over five innings of work, the left-hander yielded a season-high four earned runs on eight hits and one walk to go along with five strikeouts on the night.

The Rangers first got to Rodriguez for three runs in the third inning on a run-scoring base hit from Nick Solak and a two-run knock from Nate Lowe.

They got to him once more in the fifth inning when Isiah Kiner-Falefa led things off by belting a booming solo shot to left field, which at the time broke a 4-4 deadlock.

Rodriguez then sat down the final three hitters he faced in order, but his outing came to an end relatively quickly when considering the fact he only threw 67 pitches — 46 of which were strikes.

Of those 67 pitches, the 28-year-old hurler mixed in a healthy diet of 19 cutters, 14 sinkers, 14 changeups, 12 four-seam fastballs, and eight sliders. He topped out at 93.4 mph with his four-seamer.

Andriese, Sawamura struggle out of bullpen

In relief of Rodriguez, Matt Andriese got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen for the bottom half of the sixth inning.

Facing off against the bottom half of the Rangers’ lineup, the veteran right-hander allowed Jose Trevino to reach base on a one-out single before serving up a two-run blast to Willie Calhoun that put Texas ahead by one run at 6-5.

Andriese walked the next man he faced in Charlie Culberson, who came around to score on a two-out RBI triple off the bat of Kiner-Falefa moments later.

Josh Taylor managed to stop the bleeding by working a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh, but Hirokazu Sawamura’s struggles in the Lone Star State continued as he allowed the Rangers to score what would prove to be an important insurance run on an RBI double from Culberson in the eighth.

Renfroe homers to give Red Sox early lead

Before any of Saturday’s mid-inning drama took place, Hunter Renfroe gave the Sox an early 2-0 lead when he crushed his second home run of the season: a towering 417-foot two-run blast to deep left field off Rangers starter Jordan Lyles in the top of the second.

There was a moment in the sixth inning where Renfroe had the opportunity to perhaps prevent Kiner-Falefa’s RBI triple from ever happening, but he could not come up with the hard-hit groundball that wound up rolling all the way to the right-center field wall.

Late comeback attempt falls short

After the Rangers took a 7-5 lead in the sixth, the Sox attempted to get back into it in the seventh with a leadoff double courtesy of Bogaerts.

The star shortstop moved up an additional 90 feet by swiping third base, then scored on a Vazquez sacrifice fly to make it a 7-6 game.

In the eighth, Bogaerts essentially had the game in his hands when with two outs, the Rangers intentionally walked Martinez to fill the bases for Boston’s No. 4 hitter.

On an 0-1, 89 mph changeup from Joely Rodriguez, Bogaerts laced a sharply-hit ground ball to the left side of the infield, but it was one that could be fielded by Culberson at third base and went down as an inning-ending 5-3 groundout.

Rangers closer Ian Kennedy struck out the side in order in the top of the ninth to pick up the save.

Some notes from this loss:

From The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham:

From MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith:

Next up: Richards vs. Foltynewicz

The 17-11 Red Sox will look to wrap up their six-game road trip on a positive note in Sunday afternoon’s series finale against the Rangers.

Right-hander Garrett Richards will be getting the ball for Boston, and he will be opposed by fellow righty Mike Foltynewicz for Texas.

First pitch Sunday is scheduled for 2:35 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Eduardo Rodriguez and Co.: Aric Becker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Andrew Benintendi crushes 2 homers for Royals; former Red Sox outfielder has found success since moving down in Kansas City’s lineup

Andrew Benintendi’s tenure with the Royals did not get off to the best of starts.

After being dealt from the Red Sox to Kansas City as part of a three-team, seven-player trade back in February, Benintendi struggled throughout his first spring training in Arizona, and that coincidentally carried over into the regular season as well.

Through his first 15 games as a member of the Royals, the 26-year-old put up an underwhelming .193/.270/.246 slash line with just three extra-base hits (all doubles), four RBI, three stolen bases, six walks, and 17 strikeouts over 63 plate appearances.

In that time, Benintendi — primarily Kansas City’s No. 2 hitter — failed to barrel up a single ball and posted a dismal wRC+ of 51 to show for his efforts.

As of the morning of April 21, it looked as though the former first-round pick was still on the path towards regression that started during the final month of the 2019 season.

But on that day against the Rays, Benintendi did something he had not done in a while: make significantly hard contact, and he did it twice by barreling up a pair of balls in the fourth and eighth innings.

Both balls the left-handed hitter squared up went for lineouts, but the fact he made more than solid contact on more than one occasion was encouraging — and a harbinger of positive things to come.

Since then, Benintendi has been on a roll as of late. He came into Saturday’s action riding an eight-game on-base streak and undoubtedly put together his best performance of the season to this point against the Twins at Target Field.

Batting seventh and starting in left field for Kansas City, the Cincinnati native went 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of home runs — his second and third homers of the season, two RBI, and three runs scored while leading his side to an 11-3 victory over Minnesota.

At the time Benintendi hit his first big fly of the afternoon (about 4 p.m. eastern time), Red Sox manager Alex Cora was fielding questions from reporters during his pregame Zoom call at Globe Life Field.

Cora had the Royals-Twins game on the television playing in his office as well.. That being the case because at one point, while talking about Eduardo Rodriguez, he paused, saw Benintendi’s home run, and said, “Look at Benny. He hit a homer.”

Following Saturday’s showing, Benintendi raised his batting average on the season to .262 and his OPS on the season to .757.

Over his last seven games alone, Benintendi is slashing an unworldly .435/.519/.870 with three homers six RBI, seven runs scored, four walks, and one stolen base dating back to April 23.

The success Benintendi has enjoyed as of late can be linked to when he was dropped from second to seventh in the Royals’ lineup on April 19.

The Red Sox moved on from Benintendi over the winter after originally taking the outfielder in the first round of the 2015 amateur draft out of the University of Arkansas.

In exchange for Benintendi, the Sox acquired outfielder Franchy Cordero and two players to be named later from the Royals as well as pitching prospect Josh Winckowski and one player to be named later from the Mets.

Cordero, the only player Boston got back in that trade who has seen any major-league time to this point, came into Saturday’s game against the Rangers sporting a .176/.236/.216 slash line to go along with 26 strikeouts in 55 trips to the plate (47% strikeout rate).

(Picture of Andrew Benintendi and Michael A. Taylor: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)