Top Red Sox pitching prospect Bryan Mata heads to Triple-A Worcester’s injured list with shoulder inflammation

Red Sox pitching prospect Bryan Mata has been placed on Triple-A Worcester’s 7-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

Mata exited his start against the Rochester Red Wings early on Tuesday. The right-hander appeared to be in visible discomfort after delivering a 1-0, 86.2 mph fastball to Franklin Barreto with one out and one runner on in the bottom of the third inning at Innovative Field.

After WooSox catcher Jorge Alfaro motioned to the visitor’s dugout, a conference on the mound ensued. Mata then left the field with a trainer and was replaced by Jake Faria, who allowed both runners he inherited to score in what would go down as a 7-3 loss to the Red Wings.

Up until that point in the contest, Mata had yielded six runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks to go along with five strikeouts over 2 1/3 innings of work. The 24-year-old finished with 49 pitches (29 strikes). He topped out at 99.1 mph with his slider, an offering that accounted for four of the five swings-and-misses he induced.

Following Tuesday’s injury-shortened outing, Mata now owns an 0-3 record and 5.61 FIP with 27 walks to 26 strikeouts in seven starts (25 2/3 innings) for the WooSox so far this season. Despite those unimpressive numbers, the native Venezuelan is still regarded by publications such as Baseball America as the top pitching prospect in Boston’s farm system.

Originally signed as an international free agent coming out of Maracay for just $25,000 in January 2016, Mata was added to the Sox’ 40-man roster in November 2020 to receive protection from Rule 5 Draft eligibility. He tore the UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) in his right elbow the following March and underwent Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter.

After missing all of the 2021 season, Mata returned to action last June as part of a rehab assignment with Low-A Salem. He made one start for Salem, three starts for High-A Greenville, and nine starts (10 total appearances) for Double-A Portland before earning a promotion to Worcester in late August.

Since then, Mata has forged a 4.59 ERA with 52 strikeouts to 46 walks in 12 starts (49 innings) with the WooSox. Alongside the likes of lefties Brandon Walter and Chris Murphy, who are also on the 40-man roster, Mata represents legitimate big-league pitching depth for the Red Sox at the club’s top affiliate.

With that being said, though, Mata has just one minor-league option remaining, meaning this is the final year the Red Sox can freely shuttle the righty between Boston and Worcester without having to first expose him to waivers.

Even before this latest setback, there were signs that Mata could transition to a bullpen role in the near future since he has power stuff but has had difficulty in harnessing it effectively. Depending on how long he is out for (the hope is the issue isn’t too serious), that scenario could become a reality if the Red Sox want to get a look at Mata at the major-league level before season’s end.

(Picture of Bryan Mata: Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Nick Pivetta gets shelled for season-high 7 runs as Red Sox drop opener to Braves, 9-3

The Red Sox suffered their second straight defeat in a series-opening loss to the Braves on Tuesday night. Boston fell to Atlanta by a final score of 9-3 at Truist Park to drop to 21-16 on the season.

Nick Pivetta struggled in his seventh start of the year for the Sox. The right-hander went just four innings, allowing a season-high seven earned runs on eight hits, three walks, and one hit batsman to go along with two strikeouts.

The Braves got to Pivetta right away in the bottom of the first. Following a leadoff single from Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson opened the scoring by crushing a 426-foot two-run home run to deep right field. Pivetta then walked Austin Riley and plunked Sean Murphy before fanning Eddie Rosario.

A wild pitch allowed Riley and Murphy to advance an additional 90 feet. Ozzie Albies then drove in Riley with a run-scoring single through the right side of the infield before Marcell Ozuna gave Atlanta a 4-0 lead with an RBI groundout that brought in Murphy.

An inning later, Murphy singled in Acuna Jr. with two outs to extend the lead to five runs. The Red Sox got one of those runs back in the top of the third. After being held in check by Braves starter Charlie Morton to that point, Alex Verdugo ripped a leadoff double and took third base on a balk. Justin Turner then drove him in on a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to four runs at 5-1.

Pivetta made quick work of the Braves in the bottom half of the frame, but ran into more trouble in the fourth. Orlando Arcia, Acuna Jr., and Olson all reached to fill the bases with no outs. Murphy then broke it open by plating both Arcia and Acuna Jr. on a two-run single to left field that put Atlanta back up, 7-1.

Though Pivetta did retire the final two batters he faced in the fourth, the damage had already been done. The 30-year-old hurler finished with 90 pitches (52 strikes) and induced 11 swings-and-misses. He was charged with the losing decision and his ERA on the season now sits at an unsightly 6.23.

In relief of Pivetta, Brennan Bernardino received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The lefty beaned Michael Harris II to put runners at first and second with no outs and then yielded an RBI ground-rule double to Arcia to give the Braves an 8-1 advantage.

Turner struck again in the sixth, this time taking Morton 389 feet deep to the opposite field for a leadoff home run (his third of the season). That was all the Red Sox could do off Morton, though, as the veteran righty allowed just two runs over six innings on exactly 100 pitches before being lifted for reliever Kirby Yates.

Following a pair of scoreless frames from Ryan Brasier and Zack Littell, Turner laced a one-out double off A.J. Minter in the top of the eighth for the 300th two-base hit of his career. He then moved up to third and scored his side’s third run of the night on a line-drive RBI single off the bat of Enrique Hernandez.

After Littell surrendered an RBI double to Murphy in the bottom of the eighth, the Red Sox went down quietly in the ninth to end it. Masataka Yoshida grounded out for the final out of the game. He went 0-for-5 on the night, meaning his 16-game hitting streak has ended.

As a team, the Red Sox tallied eight hits and went 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position while leaving eight runners on base. Verdugo went 3-for-5 with a run scored and Turner went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored to lead the way offensively.

Next up: Bello gets the start in finale

The Red Sox will look to salvage a split in the finale of this quick two-game set against the Braves on Wednesday night. Right-hander Brayan Bello is slated to start for Boston while Atlanta will go with a bullpen game after placing projected starter Max Fried on the injured list.

First pitch from Truist Park is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

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

Red Sox outfield prospect Roman Anthony ‘has shown a lot of positive markers in his first full season as a pro’

The numbers might not be there quite yet, but Red Sox outfield prospect Roman Anthony is still drawing the attention of talent evaluators in the Carolina League.

To kick off his first full season in affiliated ball, Anthony has batted just .221/.378/.294 with five doubles, nine RBIs, 12 runs scored, seven stolen bases, 17 walks, and 18 strikeouts in 18 games (90 plate appearances) for Low-A Salem. The left-handed hitter broke out of an 0-for-17 rut by doubling twice and driving in three runs as part of a three-hit performance on Sunday.

While a slash line of .221/.378/.294 is not exactly eye-popping, there is a lot to like about Anthony’s offensive approach. Among qualified Carolina League hitters, Anthony currently ranks 15th in walk rate (18.9 percent), 24th in strikeout rate (20 percent), 30th in on-base percentage, 15th in line-drive rate (28.3 percent), and fourth in swinging-strike rate (5.7 percent), per FanGraphs.

To that end, Baseball America’s Josh Norris recently identified Anthony as a prospect who could be on the rise.

“Anthony’s numbers this season might not jump off the page, but scouts who have seen him believe the ingredients are there for a potentially special player,” Norris wrote on Tuesday.  “He has a gorgeous swing from the left side, an outstanding knowledge of the strike zone and raw power that belies his meager slugging output this year at Low-A Salem.

“That raw juice also shows up in his 90th percentile exit velocity, which hovers around 108 mph,” added Norris. “For that power to really begin manifesting itself on the stat sheet, he’ll need to get the ball in the air much more often. Nonetheless, the 18-year-old Anthony has shown a lot of positive markers in his first full season as a pro.”

Anthony, who turns 19 this weekend, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 9 prospect in Boston’s farm system. The Red Sox selected the Stoneman Douglas High School (Parkland, Fla.) with the 79th overall pick in last year’s draft. They swayed him away from his commitment to Mississippi by signing him for an over-slot $2.5 million.

After debuting in the rookie-level Florida Complex League last August, Anthony has since compiled a .264/.376/.329 line in 38 minor-league games. He is still in search of his first professional home run. Defensively, the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder has seen playing time at all three outfield positions for Salem this season. He has logged nine innings in left, 45 innings in center, and 64 innings in right.

Considering his youth, it would not be too surprising if Anthony spent the majority — if the not the entirety — of the 2023 campaign with Salem as he continues to mature. That being said, a late-season promotion to High-A Greenville should not be ruled out.

(Picture of Roman Anthony: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox promote prospects Nathan Hickey, Chase Meidroth to Double-A Portland

The Red Sox have promoted catching prospect Nathan Hickey and infield prospect Chase Meidroth from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland, per the club’s minor-league transactions log.

Hickey, 23, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 15 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks first among catchers in the organization. The Red Sox originally selected the Florida product in the fifth round of the 2021 amateur draft and signed him for exactly $1 million.

After closing out his first full professional season with the Drive, Hickey returned to Greenville for the start of the 2023 campaign. Leading up to Monday’s promotion, the left-handed hitter was batting a stout .294/.402/.588 with six doubles, one triple, four home runs, nine RBIs, 13 runs scored, 12 walks, and 20 strikeouts in his first 18 games (82 plate appearances) of the year.

For as impressive as those numbers may be, Hickey has been struggling on the other side of the ball. Defensively, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound backstop logged 146 innings behind the plate for Greenville. He allowed three passed balls and was 0-for-37 when it came to throwing out base stealers, though that might not have been all on him.

To that end, as noted by SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield, Hickey could benefit from this promotion since Sea Dogs manager Chad Epperson previously served as Boston’s catching coordinator for 12 season. With Elih Marrero on the injured list and Matt Donlan on the development list, Hickey will form a catching tandem in Portland with fellow SEC product Stephen Scott for the time being.

Meidroth, meanwhile, is ranked by Baseball America as the No. 27 prospect in the Red Sox’ farm system. The 21-year-old was taken by Boston in the fourth round of last summer’s draft out of San Diego. He signed with the club for $272,500.

After showing signs of promise between the Florida Complex League and Low-A Salem in his pro debut, Meidroth broke camp with Greenville this spring. In 20 games with the Drive, the stocky right-handed hitter batted .338/.495/.459 with three doubles, two home runs, 14 RBIs, 19 runs scored, four stolen bases, 21 walks, and 20 strikeouts across 97 trips to the plate.

Defensively, Meidroth has seen the majority of his playing time come at either second or third base. While in Greenville, the 5-foot-9, 170 pounder logged 92 innings at second and 73 innings at third and committed a total of two errors in 51 chances.

Meidroth, who turns 22 in July, is now slated to join a Sea Dogs infield mix that includes Alex Binelas, Niko Kavadas, Christian Koss, Matthew Lugo, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Nick Yorke. It should be interesting to see how he adjusts to more advanced competition at the Double-A level.

Other moves:

In addition to promoting Hickey and Meidroth to Portland, the Red Sox made several other minor-league roster moves. Infielder Edwin Diaz was promoted from Portland to Triple-A Worcester and catcher Ronaldo Rosario was promoted from Salem to Greenville.

Furthermore, catcher Enderso Lira was added to Salem’s roster from extended spring training while right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn was activated from Portland’s injured list. Like Donlan, left-hander Sylar Arias was transferred to the Sea Dogs’ development list.

(Picture of Nathan Hickey: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

First MLB Pipeline mock draft of 2023 has Red Sox taking Florida righty Hurston Waldrep

The Red Sox have not used a first-round draft pick on a college pitcher since 2017. Could that change this summer?

In his first mock draft of the year for MLB.com, Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline has the Red Sox taking Florida right-hander Hurston Waldrep with the 14th overall pick in the 2023 amateur draft.

Waldrep, 21, is currently regarded by MLB Pipeline as the No. 11 draft-eligible prospect, which ranks fourth among pitchers in this year’s class. The junior righty owns a 5.07 ERA and 1.45 WHIP with 102 strikeouts to 40 walks in 12 starts (65 2/3 innings) for the Gators so far this season. Opponents are batting .227 against him.

A native of Georgia, Waldrep began his college career at Southern Mississippi after going undrafted out of Thomasville High School in 2020. He compiled a 3.22 ERA in two seasons with the Golden Eagles before transferring to Florida last July.

Standing at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Waldrep operates with “a legitimate three-pitch power mix, with all three offerings having the potential to be at least above-average,” per his MLB Pipeline scouting report. He sits between 95-99 mph with his four-seam fastball, which is complemented by a whiff-inducing split-changeup and an upper-80s slider.

Mechanically, there are some concerns when it comes to Waldrep’s delivery. MLB Pipeline notes that “while Waldrep is generally around the strike zone, there is a little effort in his up-tempo delivery, causing some inconsistencies with his command and control, which led to an uptick in his walk rate this spring.”

To that end, Waldrep had an uneven start for the Gators on Saturday. Going up against Texas A&M on the road, he allowed four earned runs on two hits and five walks to go along with a season-high six walks over three innings of work in a 15-2 loss to the Aggies.

Because of those aforementioned command issues, Waldrep could project as a reliever as opposed to a starter in the long-run. Even so, Waldrep will almost certainly come off the board early on account of his potential and arsenal. Whichever team drafts him will probably do so with the idea that they can help him throw strikes more consistently.

The last time the Red Sox took a college pitcher in the first round of a draft was 2017, when righty Tanner Houck was selected out of Missouri at No. 24 overall. Since Chaim Bloom took over as Boston’s chief baseball officer in late 2019, the club has exclusively drafted high school infielders (Nick Yorke, Marcelo Mayer, and Mikey Romero) with their top pick.

The Red Sox landed the 14th overall pick in this year’s draft in the first-ever MLB Draft Lottery back in December. It did not come as much of a surprise since Boston finished with the 14th-worst record in baseball last season.

The 14th overall pick in the 2023 draft, which takes place from July 9-11, comes with a slot value of $4,663,100 (up from $4,243,800 last year). The Red Sox as a team have a bonus pool of $10,295,100.

(Picture of Hurston Waldrep: James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Top Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer earns South Atlantic League Player of the Week honors

Top Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer has been named the South Atlantic League Player of the Week for the week of May 1-7, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.

Mayer went 16-for-31 (.516) at the plate with six doubles, three home runs, 12 RBIs, eight runs scored, one stolen base, zero walks, and four strikeouts in all six of High-A Greenville’s games on the road against the Asheville Tourists last week.

After going 2-for-5 with a pair of singles in Tuesday’s series opener at McCormick Field, Mayer finished a triple shy of the cycle as part of a four-hit effort on Wednesday. The left-handed hitting shortstop then had one hit on Thursday, two hits on Friday and three hits on Saturday before closing out the weekend with another four-hit performance on Sunday afternoon.

As noted by SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield, McCormick Field is considered to be one of the more hitter-friendly ballparks in all of Minor League Baseball given its favorable dimensions. That being said, it was nonetheless an impressive week of work for Mayer.

Though his first full season in Greenville got off to a slow start, Mayer has picked things up as of late. He is now batting a stout .337/.414/.582 (161 wRC+) with 10 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 23 RBIs, 17 runs scored, four stolen bases, 13 walks, and 24 strikeouts over 23 games (111 plate appearances) with the Drive in 2023.

Among qualified South Atlantic League hitters, Mayer ranks eighth in batting average, 14th in on-base percentage, 10th in slugging percentage, ninth in OPS (.996), 17th in isolated power (.245), 23rd in strikeout rate (21.6 percent), and ninth in wRC+ (161), per FanGraphs.

On the other side of the ball, Mayer has unsurprisingly seen all of his playing time on the field to this point in the season come at shortstop. The 6-foot-2, 188-pounder has logged 193 innings at short thus far and has committed six errors in 72 defensive chances.

Mayer, 20, is regarded by most publications as the No. 1 prospect in Boston’s farm system. As far as top-100 rankings are concerned, Baseball America has him at No. 13 while MLB Pipeline pegs him as the seventh-best prospect in the sport.

A native of Chula Vista, Calif., Mayer was originally selected by the Red Sox with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft out of Eastlake High School. Though he grew up a Yankees fan, Mayer forwent his commitment to Southern California and signed with Boston for a lucrative $6.664 million that July

As the Sox’ highest-selected player since 1967, Mayer entered the professional ranks with plenty of hype surrounding him. In a relatively small sample size of 140 minor-league games between the Florida Complex League, Low-A Salem, and Greenville, Mayer has shown why he is worthy of such attention.

Mayer, who does not turn 21 until December, is bilingual and has shown leadership qualities in the clubhouse. He has the ability to connect with both English- and Spanish-speaking teammates on and off the field, which only adds to his value within the organization.

As the Drive prepare to open a 12-game homestand at Fluor Field on Tuesday, more people have begun to wonder when Mayer will make the jump from Greenville to Double-A Portland. For Mayer himself, he is focused on the present as well as the challenge at hand.

“For me, I’m going out there and playing and I’m being where my feet are,” Mayer recently told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “I’m not really going to be thinking about Fenway when I’m in Portland. If I’m in Portland, I’m thinking about being in Portland.

“Obviously, my goal is to be a big leaguer. I want to be there as soon as possible,” he added. “There’s a lot of great players in this organization. So it’s not as easy as just saying, ‘Oh, I want to be in the big-leagues this year.’ But I’m really excited. I worked my tail off in the offseason. I’m super excited for this season.”

Liu named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week

After tossing a seven-inning no hitter in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Akron RubberDucks on Friday, Portland Sea Dogs right-hander C.J. Liu was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week.

Liu, 24, becomes the second Sea Dogs pitcher to earn the honor this season, joining lefty Shane Drohan. You can read more about Liu’s stellar outing — and his 2023 campaign as a whole — by clicking here.

(Picture of Marcelo Mayer: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Masataka Yoshida named American League Player of the Week

Red Sox rookie outfielder Masataka Yoshida has been named the American League Player of the Week for the week of May 1-7, Major League Baseball announced on Monday.

In six games against the Blue Jays and Phillies last week, Yoshida went 12-for-25 (.480) at the plate with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs, seven runs scored, one walk, and zero strikeouts. The left-handed hitter is currently riding a league-leading 16-game hitting streak.

Following a 2-for-4 showing in Philadelphia on Sunday, Yoshida is now batting a stout .321/.403/.536 with six doubles, six homers, 24 runs driven in, 22 runs scored, two stolen bases, 13 walks, and 11 strikeouts in his first 29 games (129 plate appearances) with Boston this season.

Among qualified American League hitter coming into play on Monday, Yoshida ranks 14th in hits (36), fifth in batting average, sixth in on-base percentage, 11th in slugging percentage, seventh in OPS (.939), first in strikeout rate (8.5 percent), and ninth in wRC+ (155), per FanGraphs.

According to Baseball Savant, Yoshida has not swung and missed at a pitch since the start of May. Going back to April 20, when his hitting streak began, the 29-year-old out of Japan has slashed .438/.479/.750 with five doubles, five home runs, 18 RBIs, 14 runs scored, five walks, and six strikeouts over his last 16 games. His 16-game hitting streak is the longest active streak in the big-leagues and the third-longest of the season thus far.

Yoshida becomes the second member of the 2023 Red Sox to earn American League Player of the Week honors, joining fellow outfielder Adam Duvall, who won it for his performance during the first week of the season. Boston is now the first team this year to have multiple Player of the Week recipients.

On the other side of things, Braves catcher Sean Murphy took home National League Player of the Week honors. Fittingly, the Red Sox and Braves open a two-game series in Atlanta on Tuesday night.

(Picture of Masataka Yoshida: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Christian Arroyo on 10-day injured list with right hamstring strain, recall Bobby Dalbec from Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox placed infielder Christian Arroyo on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain, the club announced prior to Sunday’s series finale against the Phillies. In a corresponding move, fellow infielder Bobby Dalbec was recalled from Triple-A Worcester.

Arroyo had been playing through a lingering hamstring issue that first popped up in mid-April. Though the 27-year-old was able to tolerate the pain, the Red Sox ultimately decided to shut him down for the time being.

“It was pretty sore,” Arroyo told The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham at Citizens Bank Park. “Nothing abnormal, but it got to the point where I can’t keep doing this to the team. I tried everything I could.”

Arroyo opened the season as Boston’s primary second baseman and had gotten off to a slow start offensively. But the right-handed hitter was beginning to heat up and was batting .458/.500/.708 with one home run and eight RBIs in his last 11 games coming into play on Sunday, so the timing certainly is unfortunate.

“It just sucks,” said Arroyo. “But I think we made the best decision as a group. Hopefully a few days will make a difference and I can start up again.”

To that end, Arroyo is optimistic that he will only need to miss the minimum 10 days. That would line him up to return to action when the Red Sox wrap up a three-game series against the Mariners at Fenway Park on May 17.

Dalbec, meanwhile, is back with the Red Sox for the second time this season. The 27-year-old pinch-hit for Enmanuel Valdez in the eighth inning of Sunday afternoon’s 6-1 loss to the Phillies. He struck out on four pitches against lefty reliever Matt Strahm and played an inning of second base in Valdez’s place.

With Arroyo sidelined, the Red Sox do not have too many options on the active roster who can back up Enrique Hernandez at shortstop. Dalbec has started five games at short for Worcester and one game at short for Boston so far this season, so he could be an option there.

“We’ll see how we use Bobby,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, per MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith. “I do believe he can make the routine play at second and short. Obviously the corners.”

As noted by Smith, the Red Sox could have called up middle infield prospect David Hamilton, who is already on the 40-man roster and has more experience at short than Dalbec. Unlike Dalbec, though, Hamilton hits from the left side of the plate and Boston already has seven left-handed hitters on its big-league roster.

“He’s lefty,” Cora said of Hamilton. “So where we’re at right now, this is our unit right now.”

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Red Sox held to just 5 hits, see eight-game winning streak come to an end in 6-1 loss to Phillies

The Red Sox saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of the Phillies on Sunday afternoon. Boston fell to Philadelphia by a final score of 6-1 in the series finale at Citizens Bank Park to drop back to 21-15 on the season.

Tanner Houck, making his seventh start of the year for the Sox, allowed three earned runs on five hits and one walk to go along with four strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings of work.

After facing the minimum through three scoreless frames out of the gate, Houck ran into some trouble in the fourth. The right-hander gave up back-to-back singles to Bryson Stott and Trea Turner to lead off the inning. He then issued a five-pitch walk to Bryce Harper, which filled the bases for Nick Castellanos.

Castellanos, in turn, opened the scoring by grounding into an RBI force out at third base. Had Rafael Devers fielded the grounder cleanly, he could have gone for the force out at home and possibly start a 5-2-3 double play. Devers instead bobbled the ball, which forced him to make a diving tag on Turner for the only out he could get.

Stott scored from third as a result of Devers’ bobble. Kyle Schwarber then doubled the Phillies’ early lead by plating Harper on a run-scoring single through the right side of the infield.

Despite falling behind first, the Red Sox quickly got one of those runs back in the top of the fifth. After Phillies starter Taijuan Walker retired Devers and Jarren Duran for the first two outs of the inning, Triston Casas cut the deficit in half by crushing a 416-foot solo shot into the trees in deep center field.

Casas’ fourth home run of the season left his bat at 106.4 mph and brought Boston back to within one run of Philadelphia at 2-1. Houck then made quick work of the Phillies’ 8-9-1 hitters in the bottom of the fifth and came back out for the sixth.

After giving up a one-out single to Harper, Houck got Castellanos to ground out for the second out of the inning. With Schwarber due to hit next for the Phillies, Red Sox manager Alex Cora made the somewhat surprising decision to bring in lefty reliever Richard Bleier.

Schwarber came out on top in the left-on-left matchup. The former Red Sox slugger took Bleier 434 feet deep to right field on a 1-0, 88.3 mph sinker down the heart of the plate for his eighth home run of the year. The towering two-run blast put the Phillies up, 4-1, and officially closed the book on Houck’s afternoon.

Finishing with a final pitch count of just 74 (50 strikes), Houck was charged with the tough luck loss. The 26-year-old did, however, induce a game-high 12 swings-and-misses while lowering his ERA on the season to 5.26.

Now trailing 4-1, the Red Sox got a scoreless seventh inning out of Ryan Brasier. The Phillies then put this game out of reach by pushing across two runs on a J.T. Realmuto two-run single off recent trade acquisition Zack Littell.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth, former Red Sox left-hander Matt Strahm put the finishing touches on his first save in a Phillies uniform by retiring Alex Verdugo, Masataka Yoshida, and Raimel Tapia in short order.

The one run the Red Sox pushed across on Sunday is the fewest they have scored in a game since April 10, when they were shut out by the Rays at Tropicana Field. Boston had just five hits and zero walks as a team, though Yoshida (2-for-4) was able to extend his hitting streak to 16 games with a first-inning single.

Wong throws out two more base stealers

Despite going hitless at the plate on Sunday, Connor Wong did throw out two more would-be base stealers. The 26-year-old gunned down his counterpart in J.T. Realmuto at second base for the final out of the second inning. He then threw out Edmundo Sosa at second for the final out of the seventh. Wong has now thrown out eight of 16 potential base stealers to begin the year.

Next up: On to Atlanta

With their eight-game winning streak behind them, the Red Sox will have an off day in Atlanta on Monday. They will then open a quick two-game series against the Braves on Tuesday night. Nick Pivetta is slated to get the start for Boston in the series opener opposite fellow right-hander Charlie Morton.

First pitch from Truist Park on Tuesday is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. eastern time on NESN and TBS.

(Picture of Raimel Tapia: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers collects 3 hits as Red Sox defeat Phillies, 7-4, for eighth straight win

The Red Sox rode a five-run fourth inning to a series-clinching victory over the Phillies on Saturday night. Boston defeated Philadelphia by a final score of 7-4 at Citizens Bank Park to extend its winning streak to eight and improve to 21-14 on the season.

Corey Kluber made his seventh start of the year for the Sox. The veteran right-hander allowed three earned runs on seven hits, zero walks, and one hit batsman to go along with just one strikeout over five innings of work.

The Phillies got to Kluber in the bottom of the second. Kluber plunked leadoff man Bryson Stott, who advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Alec Bohm then opened the scoring by driving in Stott on a softly-hit RBI single to center field.

In addition to falling behind early, the Red Sox also struggled to get anything going against Phillies starter Bailey Falter. The left-hander retired the first nine Boston hitters he faced and took a perfect game into the fourth inning. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, Falter’s success did not carry over the second time through the order.

Rob Refsnyder broke up the no-hit bid with a leadoff single that was immediately followed by an Alex Verdugo double. Justin Turner then drew a four-pitch walk to fill the bases for Rafael Devers, who delivered by lacing a 106.4 mph two-run double to left-center field to bring in both Refsnyder and Verdugo.

After Enrique Hernandez and Jarren Duran were retired for the first two outs of the inning, Christian Arroyo kept the rally alive with a two-run single. Reese McGuire then gave the Red Sox a 5-1 lead by plating Arroyo with a run-scoring base hit of his own that knocked Falter out of the game.

Kluber quicky recorded the first two outs in the bottom of the fourth before giving up three straight two-out singles. Edmundo Sosa plated Bohm with his base hit — which came on the 11th pitch of his at-bat — to cut the deficit to three runs at 5-2. An inning later, Kluber served up a 396-foot solo shot to Bryce Harper.

Harper’s first home run of the season made it a two-run contest, but Kluber was at least able to limit the damage by getting through the rest of the fifth unscathed. The 37-year-old finsished with 91 pitches (60 strikes) and induced nine swings-and-misses. He also earned his second winning decision of the year while lowering his ERA to 6.29.

With Kluber’s night done, the Red Sox lineup went back to work in the top of the sixth. Following a one-out double from Arroyo and two-out walk from McGuire, Refsnyder drove in both runners with a two-run double off Phillies reliever Connor Brogdon to give his side a 7-3 edge.

Out of the Boston bullpen, John Schreiber worked his way around a leadoff walk in an otherwise clean sixth inning before making way for Brennan Bernardino, who yielded a 399-foot solo homer to Trea Turner in the seventh. Bernardino ended things in the seventh and recorded the first out of the eighth. Josh Winckowski ended the inning to pave the way for Kenley Jansen in the ninth.

Jansen, closing out a game for the second night in a row, gave up a leadoff single to Sosa. The veteran closer then got Kyle Schwarber to strike out, Turner to fly out, and Harper to ground out to seal the 7-4 win and notch the 499th save of his career.

Refsnyder, Devers lead the way

In his first start since May 2, Rob Refsnyder went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBIs, and one run scored out of the leadoff spot on Saturday. Christian Arroyo also registered a multi-hit game while Rafael Devers led the team with three hits.

Next up: Houck gets the start as Sox go for sweep

The Red Sox will go for a three-game sweep of the Phillies on Sunday afternoon. Tanner Houck is slated to start for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Taijuan Walker for Philadelphia.

First pitch from Citizens Bank Park is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)