Blogging the Red Sox

Red Sox place Chris Martin on 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, transfer Wyatt Mills to 60-day injured list

Before taking on the Angels at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon, the Red Sox placed veteran reliever Chris Martin on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation.

To take Martin’s place on the big-league roster, Jake Faria had his contract selected from Triple-A Worcester. In order to make room for Faria on the 40-man roster, fellow right-hander Wyatt Mills was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list.

Martin, who last pitched against the Rays this past Wednesday, underwent an MRI after reporting arm discomfort earlier in the week. The MRI revealed only inflammation as opposed to any structural damage. Because of that diagnosis, the Red Sox are optimistic that the 36-year-old’s stint on the injured list (which was backdated to April 13) will last the minimum 15 days.

“He’s a little bit banged up. It started with the bicep, now the shoulder,” manager Alex Cora said of Martin when speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo). “So we have to stay away from him. Actually, he’s getting checked by the doctor. There’s a good chance he’ll go on the IL. It’s nothing serious, serious. But it’s something we have to take into consideration. So we were talking about it and we’ll see what we do.”

Martin, for his part, told The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham: “It’s something I’ve had before early in the season. It’s just inflammation, nothing structural. We can knock it out.”

Boston signed Martin to a two-year, $17.5 million deal back in December to serve as a setup man in the back of the bullpen. The righty has allowed just two runs through his first seven appearances (seven innings) of the season, but he has struggled to miss bats and has a 5.08 FIP to show for it.

Faria signed a minor-league pact with the Red Sox back in February and broke camp with Worcester last month. In three relief appearances for the WooSox thus far, the 29-year-old has yielded six earned runs on four hits, six walks, and five strikeouts over five innings of work.

The Red Sox did not need Faria to defeat the Angels on Sunday, as Garrett Whitlock, Kaleb Ort, and Ryan Brasier combined for nine innings of one-run ball in the 2-1 win. Considering that the club will need to make a corresponding move in order to activate Brayan Bello from the injured list for his start on Monday, it seems likely that Faria could be designated for assignment since he is out of minor-league options and is a candidate to go through waivers unclaimed.

Mills, meanwhile, was acquired from the Royals in exchange for relief prospect Jacob Wallace back in December. The 28-year-old began his first season in Boston on the 15-day injured list after being shut down with elbow discomfort at the end of spring training. Though he has resumed throwing, Mills will not be eligible to be activated (and pitch in the majors) until late May at the earliest.

Following Sunday’s series of roster moves, the Red Sox now have four players on the 60-day injured list in Mills, Zack Kelly, Adalberto Mondesi, and Trevor Story.

(Picture of Chris Martin: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox claim lefty reliever Brennan Bernardino off waivers from Mariners, transfer Zack Kelly to 60-day injured list

The Red Sox have claimed left-hander Brennan Bernardino off waivers from the Mariners, the club announced earlier Sunday afternoon. In order to make room for Bernardino on the 40-man roster, right-hander Zack Kelly was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list.

Bernardino, 31, was designated for assignment by Seattle last Wednesday and has since been optioned to Triple-A Worcester. The lefty made his major-league debut for the Mariners last July and made just two appearances for the club, allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits, two walks, and zero strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings of relief.

A native of California, Bernardino was originally selected by the Reds in the 26th round of the 2014 amateur draft out of Cal State Dominguez Hills. After four years in the Reds organization, Bernardino was released by Cincinnati in July 2018. He then latched on with the Guardians the following February, but was cut loose again shortly thereafter so he could pursue an opportunity in the Mexican League.

After spending parts of three seasons in Mexico, Bernardino returned to affiliated ball when his contract was purchased by the Mariners last June. He made 23 relief appearances for Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma last season and posted a 2.20 ERA with 35 strikeouts to 10 walks over 32 2/3 innings of work.

To begin the 2023 campaign, Bernardino surrendered 11 runs (eight earned) on 13 hits, one walk, and 11 strikeout in his first two outings (six innings) for the Rainiers before losing his spot on Seattle’s 40-man roster last week.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds, Bernardino operates with a two-pitch mix that consists of a low-90s sinker and a high-70s curveball. The southpaw should provide the Red Sox with some optionable, left-handed bullpen depth. As things stand now, Richard Bleier is the only lefty reliever on Boston’s big-league roster while Joely Rodriguez (right oblique strain) remains on the injured list.

Kelly, meanwhile, was initially placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation on April 13. That came one day after the 28-year-old injured his right elbow in the fifth inning of last Wednesday’s loss to the Rays in St. Petersburg.

Though Kelly was visibly upset as he was taken out of the game, an MRI on Friday apparently revealed no structural damage to his right UCL (ulnar collateral ligament). Because Kelly had an internal bracing procedure on his right elbow in May 2020, though, the Red Sox have sent the results of Friday’s MRI to the physician who performed the surgery for a second opinion.

Regardless of the outcome there, Sunday’s decision means Kelly will not be eligible to be activated until mid-June at the earliest. Kelly becomes the latest player to be placed on Boston’s 60-day injured list, joining fellow reliever Wyattt Mills and infielders Adalberto Mondesi and Trevor Story.

(Picture of Brennan Bernardino: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Yu Chang ends hitless drought with homer, go-ahead single as Red Sox come back to defeat Angels, 9-7

The Red Sox overcame a pair of deficits to pick up their second consecutive win over the Angels on Saturday afternoon. Boston defeated Los Angeles by a final score of 9-7 at Fenway Park to improve to 7-8 on the season.

Nick Pivetta, making his third start of the year for the Sox, was not at his sharpest. The right-hander surrendered six earned runs on five hits, three walks, and one hit batsman to go along with four strikeouts over four-plus innings of work.

Four of those runs came on one swing of the bat in the top of the first. After loading the bases with a pair of two-out walks, Pivetta served up a 385-foot grand slam to Gio Urshela to put the Red Sox in an early 4-0 hole.

Boston quickly responded in the latter half of the first. With Tyler Anderson starting for Los Angeles, Rob Refsnyder reached base on a two-out double to deep center field that was just out of Mike Trout’s reach. That brought Rafael Devers to the plate for the first time, and he came through by clubbing a two-run shot over the Green Monster for his seventh home run of the season already.

Devers’ 410-foot blast cut the deficit in half at 4-2. Two innings later, Justin Turner made it a one-run game by scoring from third when Devers grounded into a 6-3 double play. In the fourth, the Red Sox were able to leapfrog the Angels in somewhat surprising fashion.

Connor Wong ignited the two-out rally by ripping a 100.2 mph double off the Monster. Yu Chang — who was 0-for-17 at the plate to begin the season coming into the fourth inning — followed by taking a 1-0, 88.9 mph fastball from Anderson and depositing it off the DraftKings sign in left field for his first home run in a Red Sox uniform.

Chang’s go-ahead, two-run shot put Boston up, 5-4. After Anderson put Alex Verdugo (single) and Turner (walk on base), Refsnyder added to the lead with an RBI single that drove in Verdugo from second to make it a 6-4 contest going into the fifth.

To that point, it appeared as though Pivetta had settled in by tossing three straight scoreless frames. But the righty ran into more trouble in the top of the fifth by giving up a leadoff double to the vaunted Trout. Shohei Ohtani moved Trout over to third with a single and Anthony Rendon plated him with a base hit of his own.

With his pitch count already at 99 (57 strikes), Pivetta was given the hook by manager Alex Cora in favor of Kaleb Ort out of the bullpen. Ort fanned Hunter Renfroe for the first out before giving up a softly-hit game-tying RBI single to Urshela. He escaped any further damage by retiring the next two batters he faced.

Richard Bleier took over for Ort in the sixth and immediately plunked the first batter he faced in Matt Thaiss. The lefty then got Taylor Ward to ground into a force out at second base. Ward, however, reached base safely and — after advancing to second on a wild pitch — came into score on a two-out RBI single from Ohtani.

The Angels took a 7-6 lead on Ohtani’s second hit of the day and that is where the score would remain after John Schreiber and Ryan Brasier each worked a scoreless inning of relief. The bottom of the eighth is where things got interesting.

Matched up against veteran reliever Ryan Tepera, Enrique Hernandez led off with a groundball single. The pinch-hitting Raimel Tapia then appeared to line out to left for what would have been the first out of the frame, but he was instead awarded first base after home plate umpire Cory Blaser ruled that Tapia’s bat made contact with the glove of Thaiss behind the plate.

Two batters later, catcher’s interference was called again while the pinch-hitting Reese McGuire was at the plate. That unique sequence of events filled the bases with one out for Chang, who delivered yet again with a go-ahead, two-run single through the left side of the infield. Both Hernandez and Tapia scored on the play. Refsnyder provided some added insurance later in the inning by drawing a bases-loaded walk.

Taking a two-run lead into the ninth, Kenley Jansen sealed the 9-7 victory for the Red Sox by recording his second save of the series and his fourth of the season overall.

Next up: Detmers vs. Whitlock

The Red Sox will look to take this four-game series from the Angels with another win on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Garrett Whitlock will get the start for Boston opposite left-hander Reid Detmers for Los Angeles.

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

(Picture of Yu Chang: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers homers, Kenley Jansen records first save at Fenway Park as Red Sox snap skid with 5-3 win over Angels

Five hits is all the Red Sox needed to pick up a series-opening win over the Angels on Friday night. Donning the yellow City Connect uniforms for the first time in 2023, Boston defeated Los Angeles by a final score of 5-3 at Fenway Park to put an end to a four-game losing streak and improve to 6-8 on the season.

Tanner Houck, making his third start of the year, for the Sox, allowed two earned runs on four hits and four walks to go along with six strikeouts over just four innings of work.

Both of those Angels runs came right away in the top of the first. After putting Shohei Ohtani (walk) and Anthony Rendon (single) on base with two outs, Houck surrendered a two-run double to former teammate Hunter Renfroe that was inches away from clearing the Green Monster in left field.

Despite the early struggles that put the Angels up 2-0, Houck was at least able to settle in a bit, though he did deal with his fair share of traffic on the base paths. After Connor Wong threw out Luis Rengifo at second to end the second and Renfroe grounded into a force out to end the third, the right-hander stranded two more runners in the fourth by retiring the final three batters he faced.

Because he had already thrown 90 pitches (56 strikes) to that point, though, Houck was done after four, meaning a Red Sox starter has still yet to pitch into the sixth inning of a game this season. The 26-year-old hurler did not factor into Friday’s decision as his ERA on the year remained at 4.50.

With Houck’s day done, the Red Sox got on the board in their half of the fourth. Still opposed by Angels starter Patrick Sandoval, Rafael Devers led off by reaching on Rengifo fielding error. He then took second on a wild pitch before coming into score on opposite-field RBI double off the bat of Enrique Hernandez.

Three batters later, Wong prolonged the inning by drawing a two-out walk off Sandoval to put runners at first and second for Yu Chang. Chang, in turn, hit a groundball towards Rendon at third base. Rendon fielded the ball cleanly, but he made a poor throw that got past first baseman Jake Lamb. As a result of the throwing error, Hernandez scored from second to knot things up at two runs apiece.

Josh Winckowski received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora as he took over for Houck in the fifth. The righty began his outing by putting two runners on with one out before getting Renfroe to ground into an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play.

In the bottom of the fifth, Devers broke the tie by crushing a one-out solo shot to right field off Angels reliever Jimmy Herget. Devers’ sixth home run of the season already had an exit velocity of 106.6 mph and travelled 349 feet off his bat. It also gave the Red Sox their first lead of the night at 3-2.

An inning later, the Red Sox again took advantage of some sloppy defense from the Angels infield. With two outs and two runners (Chang and Wong) at second and third, Rendon committed yet another throwing error on a Rob Refsnyder groundball. Devers then drew a walk off lefty reliever Aaron Loup, which filled the bases for Hernandez.

Hernandez, however, did not need to do anything, as Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe could not corral a first-pitch changeup in the dirt, which allowed Chang to come in to score from third and give the Red Sox a 5-2 advantage heading into the seventh.

Los Angeles did get one of those runs back in the seventh, as Winckowski yielded an RBI groundout to Rendon after putting runners at second and third with one out. Still, it was a productive outing for Winckowski, who allowed just the one run over three innings of relief and was later credited with his first winning decision of the year.

From there, John Schreiber worked a scoreless eighth inning to pave the way for Kenley Jansen, who recorded his first career save at Fenway Park by striking out three of the four batters he faced.

The veteran closer made it a bit interesting by giving up a two-out single to Rendon, which brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Renfroe. But Jansen did not falter and instead responded by getting Renfroe to whiff on a nasty 87 mph slider to end it.

With the victory, the Red Sox pick up their first win in a night game this season while improving to 3-4 at home.

Next up: Anderson vs. Pivetta

The Red Sox will go for their second straight win over the Angels on Saturday (Jackie Robinson Day) afternoon. Right-hander Nick Pivetta will get the start for Boston while left-hander Tyler Anderson will do the same for Los Angeles.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Masataka Yoshida remains out of Red Sox lineup, will be available off bench in series opener against Angels

Outfielder Masataka Yoshida will be available off the bench for the Red Sox in Friday night’s series opener against the Angels, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey) at Fenway Park.

Yoshida is out of Boston’s starting lineup for a third straight game after originally being scratched with right hamstring tightness before Wednesday’s contest against the Rays in St. Petersburg.

While the Red Sox were initially optimistic that Yoshida would be back in time for Friday’s date with the Angels, Cora now says the 29-year-old will return to the lineup for the second game of this four-game weekend series on Saturday afternoon.

Yoshida, who signed a five-year, $90 million contract with Boston over the winter after spending the first seven years of his professional career in Japan, has started in 10 of the Sox’ first 13 games this season. The left-handed hitter is currently batting .216/.356/.324 with one double, one home run, six RBIs, eight runs scored, two stolen bases, seven walks, and three strikeouts in 45 plate appearances.

With Yoshida out of the lineup yet again, Rob Refsnyder will start in left field and bat third. Enrique Hernandez will start in center and Alex Verdugo will start in right while Yu Chang — who is hitless in his first 13 at-bats of the season — will round out the lineup and start at shortstop.

Here is how the rest of the Red Sox will be lining up on Friday against Angels lefty Patrick Sandoval. Right-hander Tanner Houck will be making his third start of the year for Boston.

Verdugo RF
Turner DH
Refsnyder LF
Devers 3B
K. Hernández CF
Arroyo 2B
Casas 1B
Wong C
Chang SS

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time. The game will be broadcasted exclusively on Apple TV+ as part of the platform’s 2023 ‘Friday Night Baseball’ lineup.

(Picture of Masataka Yoshida: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

Red Sox overpowered, swept by Rays as 7-run inning leads to 9-3 loss

Despite all the struggles they endured this week, the Red Sox had a chance to secure a winning road trip with a victory over the Rays on Thursday. Boston instead fell to Tampa Bay by a final score of 9-3 and were swept in four games as a result.

With the loss, their 13th straight at Tropicana Field, the Red Sox drop to 5-8 on the season. The unbeaten Rays, meanwhile, improve to a perfect 13-0, matching the 1982 Braves and 1987 Brewers for the best start to a season in major-league history.

Thursday’s series finale actually started in positive fashion for Boston. With old friend Jeffrey Springs starting for Tampa Bay, Rob Refsnyder gave the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead in the first inning by taking the lefty 409 feet deep to left field for his first home run of the year.

The Rays quickly responded, though, as Yandy Diaz crushed a leadoff home run off Red Sox starter Corey Kluber to begin things in the bottom of the first. Kluber would settle in, however, and Boston got back on the board in the top of the fourth.

After Springs was forced to exit with ulnar neuritis, Justin Turner greeted new Rays reliever Garrett Cleavinger by ripping a leadoff double to left field. Turner stole third base and then came into score on an Enrique Hernandez force out to put the Red Sox up 2-1. An inning later, Turner struck again, this time plating Christian Arroyo on an RBI single to make it a 3-1 game heading into the bottom of the fifth.

That is where things began to unravel for Boston. Kluber, who retired each of the last nine batters he had faced, yielded a leadoff double to Harold Ramirez. After issuing a one-out walk to Josh Lowe to put runners on the corners, Kluber gave up an RBI single to Francisco Mejia to cut the lead to one run at 3-2.

With two outs, Red Sox manager Alex Cora opted to pull Kluber for left-hander Richard Bleier. Bleier, in turn, allowed the then-game-tying run to cross the plate on an RBI single from Brandon Lowe that was just out of the reach of Arroyo. Randy Arozarena then gave the Rays their first lead of the afternoon with a groundball single of his own.

After plunking Wander Franco to fill the bases, the pinch-hitting Manuel Margot laid down a perfectly-executed bunt off Bleier to push across Lowe. Ramirez then broke it open with a bases-clearing, three-run double down the left field line to cap off a seven-run fifth inning and give the Rays a commanding 8-3 edge.

Kluber was charged with three of those seven runs. All together, the veteran right-hander surrendered four earned runs on four hits and one walk to go along with seven strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings of work. He was hit with the losing decision and is now 0-3 with a 6.92 ERA through three starts.

Bleier, on the other hand, was charged with the other four runs that crossed the plate in the fifth. Kutter Crawford, who was just recalled from Triple-A Worcester, took over the lefty and served up a solo homer to Brandon Lowe in the seventh. Besides that one blemish, the righty was effective in his three frames of relief.

Offensively, the Red Sox did not have a response for the Rays bullpen after the fifth inning. They went 1-2-3 against Kevin Kelly in the sixth, stranded a runner at scoring position in a hitless seventh inning, and then went down quietly against Braden Bristo in the eighth and ninth. In total, Boston had just four hits as a team while going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

Casas’ 14-pitch walk

With one out and one runner on in the fourth inning, Triston Casas fouled off seven consecutive pitches in the process of working a 14-pitch walk off Rays reliever Garrett Cleavinger. Upon taking ball four, Casas flipped his bat and let out an emphatic yell towards the Red Sox dugout.

According to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, the last at-bat by a Red Sox hitter that lasted longer than 14 pitches came on April 25, 2012, when Adrian Gonzalez had a 15-pitch groundout against Liam Hendriks, who was then starting for the Twins.

Next up: Sandoval vs. Houck in first of four against Angels

On the heels of a 3-4 road trip, the Red Sox will head home and open a four-game weekend series against the Angels on Friday night. Right-hander Tanner Houck is slated to get the ball for Boston in the opener while left-hander Patrick Sandoval is expected to do the same for Los Angeles.

First pitch from Fenway Park on Friday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time. The game will be broadcasted exclusively on Apple TV+.

(Picture of Corey Kluber: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Zack Kelly on injured list, recall Kutter Crawford from Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have placed reliever Zack Kelly on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation, the club announced prior to Thursday’s series finale against the Rays. In a corresponding move, fellow right-hander Kutter Crawford was recalled from Triple-A Worcester.

Kelly was visibly upset after injuring his right elbow in the fifth inning of Wednesday night’s 9-7 loss to Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field. The 28-year-old will undergo an MRI in Boston on Friday to determine the severity of the injury, but the fear is that it is serious.

Crawford, meanwhile, rejoins the Red Sox just two days after being optioned to make room on the roster for Garrett Whitlock. The 27-year-old made two starts to begin the season was sent down so that he could remain stretched out as a starter in Worcester, but he is back as a reliever for the time being.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, Crawford last pitched against the Tigers on Sunday and is on three days rest, meaning he could be available out of the bullpen if the Red Sox need on Thursday. Crawford was a logical choice to take Kelly’s place since he is the only healthy pitcher on Boston’s 40-man roster with big-league experience.

It remains to be seen how the Red Sox plan on using Crawford moving forward. He could, in theory, remain in the bullpen in be utilized in a similar fashion to Josh Winckowski, who has thrived in multi-inning stints to this point in the season. The more likely option, though, is that Crawford will be sent back down to Worcester in the coming days so that he can start and so that Boston can add a more traditional reliever to its bullpen mix.

Doing that, of course, would require the Red Sox to clear a 40-man roster spot, but they could accomplish that by transferring Kelly to the 60-day injured list if his injury is severe enough. Potential options to come up from the WooSox include righties Jake Faria and Andrew Politi and lefties Ryan Sherriff and Oddanier Mosqueda.

(Picture of Kutter Crawford: Duane Burleson/Getty Images)

Red Sox reliever Zack Kelly emotional after leaving game with elbow injury

Red Sox reliever Zack Kelly left Wednesday’s game against the Rays with what appeared to be serious arm injury.

Kelly, who took over for starter Chris Sale in the fifth inning, had allowed two runs on two hits and a walk before facing Yandy Diaz with two outs. The right-hander plunked the Rays’ leadoff hitter with a 2-2, 81 mph changeup — the 23rd pitch of his outing.

While Diaz was in the process of taking his base, Kelly removed his glove and began grabbing at his right elbow. He then went into a crouch and became emotional as Red Sox manager Alex Cora and a member of the team’s training staff rushed to the pitcher’s mound to see what was wrong.

With tears in his eyes, Kelly left the field under his own power and made his way back towards the visitor’s clubhouse alongside Cora and a trainer. The Red Sox later described Kelly’s injury as “right elbow pain” but could not provide a more specific diagnosis.

When speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) following the Red Sox’ 9-7 loss to the Rays on Wednesday night, Cora indicated that Kelly would undergo further testing back in Boston on Friday. Until then, there will be uncertainty surrounding the 28-year-old’s status for the rest of the season.

“It’s the elbow, he had surgery a few years ago,” Cora said. “Tough to see. Hopefully, there’s nothing wrong.”

Kelly, who first joined the Red Sox organization as a minor-league free agent in January 2021, previously underwent elbow surgery in May 2020. More specifically, he had an internal bracing procedure done in lieu of Tommy John surgery after tearing the UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) in his right arm.

Fast forward nearly three years since then, and Kelly said on Wednesday that he felt pain throughout the fifth inning. That pain only got worse and intensified to the point where he could not continue pitching. He did not feel a pop in his elbow, however.

“The last five or six pitches I threw, I felt it a little bit more,” said Kelly. “hat one, I just started turning the changeup over and didn’t really feel like I could turn it over like I’m used to.

“I told (Cora) after, I just tried to get through the inning and didn’t want to quick-start anybody in the bullpen,” he added. “Unfortunately, I just couldn’t do it.”

When asked about what led to him crying on the mound, Kelly responded by saying that his previous elbow injury and his unique journey to the major-leagues were both on his mind at that time.

“I was definitely emotional for two reasons,” he said. “One, because I care. I care about this game, these guys and I enjoy doing this. Two, just all the shit I went through to get here. It’s just a lot. Whenever something like that happens, you get emotional about it.”

A former undrafted free agent out of Division II Newberry College, Kelly made his big-league debut for Boston last August at the age of 27. He posted a 3.95 ERA in 13 appearances (13 2/3 innings) down the stretch and then made his first career Opening Day roster this spring.

Coming into play on Wednesday, Kelly had allowed just one earned run on four hits, five walks, and five strikeouts through his first five outings (6 2/3 innings) of the season. The Virginia native is now expected to be placed on the injured list ahead of Thursday’s series finale against Tampa Bay.

“I don’t want to assume the worst,” Kelly said. “I just want to wait until we get some imaging done and we’ll figure it out from there.”

The Red Sox will need to call up another pitcher to take Kelly’s spot on the roster. Fellow righty Kutter Crawford, who was recently optioned to Triple-A Worcester, is a logical choice under the pretense that he is still with the club.

UPDATE: Kelly was indeed placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation on Thursday. Crawford was called up to take his place on the roster.

(Picture of Zack Kelly: Duane Burleson/Getty Images)

Chris Sale’s struggles continue as Red Sox fall short of comeback in 9-7 loss to Rays

They made it interesting in the late stages on Wednesday night, but the Red Sox could not come back to knock off the unbeaten Rays. Boston fell to Tampa Bay a final score of 9-7 to drop to 5-7 on the season.

Chris Sale, making his third start of the year for the Sox, surrendered six runs (five earned) on seven hits and two walks to go along with six strikeouts over four innings of work.

The Rays got to Sale right away in the bottom of the first, but the left-hander was not fully responsible for what happened. That being the case because with one out, starting shortstop Bobby Dalbec — a natural corner infielder — mishandled a groundball off the bat of Wander Franco, which allowed Franco to reach base safely.

Franco promptly stole second base off Reese McGuire before Isaac Paredes drew a four-pitch walk off Sale to put runners at first and second. Moments later, Randy Arozarena made the Red Sox pay by clubbing a three-run opposite field home run to give the Rays an early 3-0 lead.

The Red Sox lineup, meanwhile, could do nothing against Rays starter Taj Bradley early on. Bradley, making his major-league debut for Tampa Bay took a no-hit bid into the fourth inning before giving up a leadoff double to Alex Verdugo. Following a Rafael Devers strikeout, Justin Turner pushed across Boston’s first run of the night by plating Verdugo from second on a one-out RBI single to left field.

Sale appeared to have settled in to that point by putting up a pair of zeroes in the second and third, but the lefty ran into more trouble in the latter half of the fourth. There, a Taylor Walls leadoff double and back-to-back singles from Christian Bethancourt and Vidal Brujan filled the bases with no outs. Yandy Diaz drove in Walls with a sacrifice fly before Franco ripped a two-run double into the gap in left-center to make it a 6-1 contest in favor of Tampa Bay.

The fourth inning would prove to be Sale’s last. The 34-year-old finished with 81 pitches (55 stirkes), but he only managed to induce eight swings-and-misses. He was ultimately hit with the losing decision an now owns an ERA of 11.25 through three starts.

With Sale’s day done, the Red Sox went back to chipping away at the deficit in the top of the fifth. Enrique Hernandez broke out of a lengthy 0-for-28 skid by driving in McGuire on a two-out RBI double. Verdugo followed with a run-scoring hit of his own to trim the Rays’ lead down to three runs at 6-3.

Tampa Bay did not back down, however. In the bottom of the fifth, Zack Kelly issued a leadoff walk to Harold Ramirez and surrendered back-to-back RBI hits to Bethancourt (double) and Brujan (single) before coming out of the game with an elbow injury. Boston got one of those runs back in the sixth when Turner scored from third on a Raimel Tapia groundout.

Still trailing by four after Ryan Brasier worked his way around a leadoff single in the bottom half of the sixth, the Red Sox added some intrigue to this one in the seventh. After McGuire singled and Hernandez doubled to put runners at second and third with two outs, the Rays replaced Ryan Thompson with Colin Poche to set up a lefty-on-lefty matchup against Devers.

After fouling off the first pitch he saw, Devers won the battle by crushing a 366-foot three-run blast down the left field line for his first home run of the season. Devers’ homer, which left his bat at 100.8 mph, suddenly brought the Sox back to within one run of the Rays at 8-7.

Unfortunately, that is where the scoring would stop for Boston. After John Schreiber tossed a scoreless seventh inning, Justin Adam made quick work of the three Red Sox hitters he faced in the top half of the eighth before Chris Martin allowed a very important insurance run to score in the bottom half on a sacrifice fly from Arozarena.

Down by two runs heading into the ninth, McGuire reached base yet again with a leadoff single off Pete Fairbanks. Connor Wong, who pinch-ran for McGuire, moved up to second on a Yu Chang sacrifice bunt but did not advance any further as Hernandez flew out and Verdugo grounded out to end it.

Wednesday’s 9-7 loss, which took two hours and 44 minutes to complete, marks the Red Sox’ 12th straight defeat at Tropicana Field. The Rays, on the other hand, are now the first team to start a season 12-0 since the 1987 Brewers.

Next up: Kluber vs. Springs

The Red Sox will look to avoid a sweep while simultaneously handing the Rays their first loss of the year in the finale of this four-game set on Thursday afternoon. Right-hander Corey Kluber is slated to start for Boston while left-hander Jeffrey Springs is expected to do the same for Tampa Bay.

First pitch from Tropicana Field is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Chris Sale: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Masataka Yoshida scratched from Red Sox lineup due to right hamstring tightness

Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida has been scratched from Wednesday’s starting lineup against the Rays due to right hamstring tightness, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe) at Tropicana Field.

Yoshida was originally starting in left field and batting cleanup for Boston in the second game of this four-game series in St. Petersburg. Now that he has been taken out of the lineup on account of a tight hamstring, Raimel Tapia will move from center to left field while Enrique Hernandez will shift from shortstop to center field and play there for the first time this season.

Bobby Dalbec was not in the original lineup. He will now start at short in Hernandez’s place and bat sixth as the Red Sox go up against Rays rookie right-hander Taj Bradley, who will be making his major-league debut. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

“We had to make some arrangements,” Cora said, per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

According to Cora, the Red Sox do not believe Yoshida’s hamstring tightness is a serious issue. The 29-year-old is unlikely to play on Thursday as well, but the hope is he will be able to return to the lineup for Friday’s series opener against the Angels at Fenway Park.

“He showed up here, tried to run,” said Cora. “Obviously, if it’s later in the season, we’d push him to do it and he’d be OK to do it, but it doesn’t make sense to play him tonight.”

Yoshida, who signed a five-year, $90 million contract with Boston in December after spending the first seven years of his professional career in Japan, has started 10 of the Red Sox’ first 11 games this season. The left-handed hitter is currently batting .216/.356/.324 with one double, one home run, six RBIs, eight runs scored, two stolen bases, seven walks, and three strikeouts in 45 plate appearances.

(Picture of Masataka Yoshida: Mike Carlson/Getty Images)