Triston Casas, Kutter Crawford lead the way as Red Sox finish off sweep of Tigers with 4-1 win

The Red Sox finished off a three-game sweep of the Tigers on Easter Sunday. Boston defeated Detroit by a final score of 4-1 to remain unbeaten on the road and improve to 5-4 on the season.

Kutter Crawford, making his second start of the year for the Sox, pitched well after getting roughed up in his 2023 debut last Monday. This time around, the right-hander allowed just one earned run on five hits and zero walks to go along with six strikeouts over five strong innings of work.

The one run Crawford allowed came right away in the bottom of the first. With two outs and runners on first and second base, Crawford gave up an RBI single to Spencer Torkelson to give the Tigers an early 1-0 lead. The Red Sox, however, wasted no time in responding.

Matched up against Detroit starter Matthew Boyd, Enrique Hernandez drew a one-out walk in the top of the second and promptly scored all the way from first on a line-drive RBI double off the bat of Triston Casas that had an exit velocity of 105.8 mph. Casas’ productive day at the plate was only just beginning.

Crawford, meanwhile, settled in by retiring the side in order in the latter half of the second, stranding one runner in the third, and striking out two in a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth. Boston took its first lead of the afternoon in the following half-inning, as Connor Wong led off with a 106.9 mph double off Boyd and then came into score on a softly-hit single from Rob Refsnyder.

Taking a newfound 2-1 edge into the bottom of the fifth, Crawford ended his day by putting up another zero. The 27-year-old hurler finished with an economical final pitch count of 65 (44 strikes). He induced nine swings-and-misses en route to picking up his first winning decision of the year.

In relief of Crawford, John Schreiber received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Schreiber, who grew up just outside of Detroit, made quick work of the Tigers in the sixth. Justin Turner then tacked on another run to Boston’s lead by plating Refsnyder on a sacrifice fly off Alex Lange in the top of the seventh.

Following two more scoreless frames of relief from Josh Winckowski and Chris Martin, Casas led things off in the top of the ninth by taking new Tigers reliever Chasen Shreve 401 feet deep to right-center field for his second home run of the season and his first-ever off a left-handed pitcher. The ball left Casas’ bat at 107.4 mph and put the Red Sox up 4-1, heading into the bottom of the ninth.

There, Kenley Jansen made things interesting by loading the bases with one out. But the veteran closer did not falter and got out of the jam to record his second save in as many tries.

Duvall injures left wrist

With no outs in the ninth inning, center fielder Adam Duvall attempted to make a sliding catch on a fly ball off the bat of Spencer Torkelson. He instead landed awkwardly on his left wrist and was immediately taken out of the game.

Duvall was undergoing x-rays when Alex Cora was speaking with reporters afterwards, but no other updates were provided. It is a notable injury since Duvall underwent season-ending surgery on that same left wrist last July.

Next up: Looking to hand the Rays their first loss

The Red Sox will head south to St. Petersburg to take on the unbeaten (9-0) Rays for the first time this season. In the opener of this four-game series, right-hander Nick Pivetta will get the ball for Boston while left-hander (and old friend) Jalen Beeks will take the mound for Tampa Bay.

First pitch from Tropicana Field on Monday night is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Rafael Devers and Triston Casas: Duane Burleson/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Wyatt Mills (right elbow inflammation) behind in throwing program, Alex Cora says

Injured Red Sox reliever Wyatt Mills is behind in his throwing program, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) prior to Saturday’s 14-5 win over the Tigers in Detroit.

Mills began the season on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation. The right-hander was initially shut down from throwing shortly after allowing four runs on four hits, one walk, and two hit batsman in one inning against the Blue Jays in his final outing of the spring on March 13.

Prior to that, though, Mills had pitched well in Grapefruit League play, yielding just one run on three hits, four walks, and 10 strikeouts over four appearances spanning five innings of work in which he held opposing hitters to a .158 batting average against.

As MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reported last month, Mills was officially diagnosed with elbow inflammation in his right flexor muscle. And while the 28-year-old was able to start playing catch earlier this week, his progress has been slower than anticipated.

“Right now, he’s a little bit behind,” Cora said of Mills at Comerica Park. “He hasn’t started his throwing program yet. Not responding the way we thought in the beginning.”

The Red Sox acquired Mills from the Royals in exchange for relief prospect Jacob Wallace back in December. The Gonzaga product is coming off a 2022 campaign in which he forged a 4.60 ERA — but much more respectable 3.62 FIP — with 26 strikeouts to 13 walks over 27 appearances (29 1/3 innings) between stops in Seattle and Kansas City.

Equipped with a unique sidearm delivery, Boston brought in Mills hoping that he could replicate the same sort of success fellow reliever John Schreiber enjoyed during his breakout season last year. Like Schreiber, the 6-foot-4, 214-pound Mills  throws from a similar angle and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a four-seam fastball, a slider, and a sinker.

Given Saturday’s development, when Mills will be cleared to start pitching in games again is an unknown at this point. Looking ahead, Mills — who does not turn 29 until January — has just one minor-league option remaining but is not eligible for salary arbitration until 2026.

(Picture of Wyatt Mills: Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Rafael Devers crushes grand slam, solo homer as Red Sox rout Tigers, 14-5

The Red Sox got back to .500 with a series-clinching win over the Tigers on Saturday afternoon. Boston blew out Detroit by a final score of 14-5 at Comerica Park to improve to 4-4 on the season.

Matched up against Tigers starter Joey Wentz out of the gate, the Sox broke out for six runs in their half of the second inning. After loading the bases with two outs, Wentz issued back-to-back bases-loaded walks to the final two batters he would face in Connor Wong and Rob Refsnyder. Wentz was then given the hook in favor of right-hander Garrett Hill.

With a 2-0 lead already in hand, Rafael Devers greeted the new Tigers reliever by crushing a 356-foot opposite-field grand slam. The ball barely cleared the left-field fence as it left Devers’ bat at 102 mph and extended Boston’s lead to 6-0.

An inning later, the Red Sox again took advantage of ball four when Masataka Yoshida drew a leadoff walk off Hill. A red-hot Adam Duvall followed by unloading on a hanging sinker and depositing it 423 feet into the left field seats for his fourth home run of the season already. The two-run blast had an exit velocity of 109.8 mph and put Boston up, 8-0.

That is where the score would remain through 3 1/2 innings. Up until that point in the contest, Red Sox starter Tanner Houck had retired 8 of the first 10 batters he had faced. But the right-hander began to run into some trouble in the latter half of the fourth.

There, Houck yielded a leadoff walk to Riley Greene and a one-out single to Kerry Greene to put runners on the corners. Nick Maton then put the Tigers on the board with an RBI double to right field that plated Greene. Spencer Torkelson followed by driving in Carpenter on a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to six runs at 8-2.

Houck, for his part, got through the rest of the fourth unscathed and then sat down the side in order in the fifth to end his afternoon on a strong note. The 26-year-old hurler wound up allowing just the two earned runs on three hits and two walks to go along with four strikeouts over five full innings of work. He threw 74 pitches (45 strikes), induced eight swings-and-misses, and was ultimately credited with the winning decision — his second in as many tries.

With Houck’s day done, Zack Kelly got the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Kelly, in turn, stranded two base runners in the sixth and tossed a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh. In between Kelly’s first and second frame of relief, Devers went deep for a second time off Tyler Alexander to make it a 9-2 game in the top of the seventh. Devers’ second big fly of the day and fourth of the season had an exit velocity of 110.3 mph and travelled 395 feet over the right field wall.

In the eighth, Alex Verdugo, Wong, and Refsnyder, tacked on three more runs to the Sox’ advantage with a trio of RBI singles. Following another scoreless inning of relief from Michigan native Kaleb Ort, Raimel Tapia hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run off Tigers second baseman Zack McKinstry in the top of the ninth.

Tapia’s first homer in a Red Sox uniform gave his side a commanding 14-2 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. Ryan Brasier surrendered three runs (two earned) on two hits, one walk, and an Enrique Hernandez throwing error before recording the third and final out to secure a 14-5 victory.

Duvall’s dominance continues

With two more RBIs on Saturday, Adam Duvall now has 14 through his first seven games of the season. Those 14 RBIs are the most ever by a player in their first seven games as a member of the Red Sox.

Duvall’s 10 extra-base hits are the most through seven game with Boston, surpassing Jose Offerman’s mark of nine in 1999.

Devers records first multi-homer game of season

By hitting two home runs on Saturday, Rafael Devers registered the 13th multi-homer game of his career. He now moves into a two-way tie with Vern Stephens for the 12th most multi-homer games in Red Sox history.

Next up: Crawford starts as Sox go for sweep

The Red Sox will go for a three-game sweep over the Tigers in Sunday’s series finale. Right-hander Kutter Crawford will take the mound for Boston while veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd will get the ball for Detroit.

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

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Duane Burleson/Getty Images)

Red Sox pitching prospect Shane Drohan tosses 5 scoreless innings in 2023 debut for Double-A Portland

Red Sox pitching prospect Shane Drohan was sharp in his season debut for Double-A Portland on Friday night.

Going up against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies in chilly conditions at Hadlock Field, Drohan scattered just three hits and one walk to go along with five strikeouts over five scoreless innings of work.

Drohan retired the first four batters he faced before giving up a one-out single to Luke Ritter in the top of the second. The left-hander then got Matt Rudick to ground into an inning-ending, 4-6-3 double play and sat down the side in order in the third. In the fourth, he navigated his way around a leadoff single off the bat of Wyatt Young.

The fifth inning proved to be the toughest for Drohan, as he began it by issuing a leadoff walk to Ritter, who later moved up to second base on a one-out single from Hayden Senger. With runners at first and second and only one out, Drohan locked in by fanning Daniel Gomez and getting Mateo Gil to pop out to escape the jam and end his day on a positive note.

Drohan needed just 69 pitches (46 strikes) to get through five scoreless frames. The 24-year-old southpaw induced 10 swings-and-misses and was credited with the winning decision as the Sea Dogs held on for a 2-0 victory over the Rumble Ponies to improve to 2-0 on the young season.

Originally selected by the Red Sox in the fifth round of the COVID-shortened 2020 amateur draft out of Florida State, Drohan comes into his third full professional season in a unique position. Despite not being ranked by either Baseball America or MLB Pipeline, the Fort Lauderdale native is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 12 prospect in Boston’s farm system. That ranks fourth among pitchers in the organization.

Drohan, who just turned 24 in January, is coming off a 2022 campaign in which he posted a 3.89 ERA and 4.49 FIP with 157 strikeouts to 51 walks in 27 appearances (25 starts) spanning 129 2/3 innings between High-A Greenville and Portland. According to FanGraphs, his 28.5 percent strikeout rate ranked 50th among the 311 minor-league pitchers who threw at least 100 innings last year while his swinging-strike rate of 16 percent ranked 15th.

While putting up those numbers and earning SoxProspects.com All-Star honors last season, Drohan flashed an 88-92 mph fastball that topped out at 94 mph as part of a three-pitch mix that included a 78-81 mph changeup and 75-78 mph curveball. Over the winter, though, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound hurler added a new pitch (a cutter) to his arsenal while also adding velocity to his fastball.

As noted by SoxProspects.com’s director of scouting Ian Cundall earlier this week, Drohan “sat at 91-94 mph this spring, where as last year, he averaged 90.8 mph with his fastball.”

On Friday, The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier wrote that the increase in velocity Drohan displayed during spring training is “creating intrigue about his development as a starter.”

Drohan can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in his career later this year if he is not added to Boston’s 40-man roster by the deadline in November. In the meantime, one would have to figure that Drohan will have the opportunity to earn a promotion to Triple-A Worcester at some point this season if he continues to impress in Portland.

(Picture of Shane Drohan: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox’ Garrett Whitlock strikes out 8 in rehab start for Double-A Portland; righty is likely to be activated from injured list next Tuesday

Red Sox starter Garrett Whitlock had his rehab assignment transferred from Triple-A Worcester to Double-A Portland on Thursday night.

After starting for the WooSox on Opening Day at Polar Park last week, Whitlock did the same for the Sea Dogs at Hadlock Field. Facing off against another Mets affiliate in the Binghamton Rumble Ponies this time around, the right-hander allowed just one run on one hit and one walk to go along with eight strikeouts over six strong innings of work.

Whitlock took a no-hit bid into the fifth inning before giving up a leadoff home run to Rumble Ponies third baseman Luke Ritter. From there, he retired the last six batters he faced in order to get through six full frames. The 26-year-old hurler finished with 81 pitches (56 strikes) and was consistently in the low-90s with his fastball. He also induced 13 swings-and-misses as Portland went on to defeat Binghamton by a final score of 7-5.

“It was pretty good. Obviously, I would like to take one pitch back. Other than that, though, a decent outing,” Whitlock told Travis Lazarczyk of the Portland Press Herald. “I’m feeling healthy. That’s the biggest thing, and ready to go.”

Between his stops in Worcester and Portland, Whitlock yielded two earned runs on seven hits, two walks, and 14 strikeouts across 10 innings in which he held opposing hitters to a .194 batting average against.

With two rehab starts under his belt, Whitlock now appears ready to rejoin the Red Sox’ rotation. Barring any unforeseen setbacks, the righty will more than likely make his season debut against the Rays at Tropicana Field next Tuesday, according to manager Alex Cora.

Before then, Whitlock said he plans on driving back to Boston on Thursday night before flying out to Detroit and joining the Red Sox for the remainder of their series against the Tigers this weekend.

Whitlock has been in the process of building back up after undergoing right hip surgery in September, which resulted in him getting a late start in spring training and beginning the season on the 15-day injured list. Because his stint on the injured list was backdated to March 27, April 11 (next Tuesday) is the earliest he can be activated.

(Picture of Garrett Whitlock: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers and Adam Duvall both homer as Red Sox snap skid with 6-3 win over Tigers

The three-game losing streak has come to an end. After getting swept by the Pirates at home, the Red Sox opened the road portion of their schedule with a win over the Tigers on Thursday afternoon. Boston defeated Detroit by a final score of 6-3 at Comerica Park to improve to 3-4 on the season.

Chris Sale, making his second start of the year for the Sox, was able to bounce back from a rough 2023 debut last Saturday. The veteran left-hander allowed three runs on four hits and three walks to go along with seven strikeouts over five innings of work.

It was an interesting start to the day for Sale, who issued back-to-back walks to the first two batters he faced on eight consecutive balls. He then received a mound visit from pitching coach Dave Bush and promptly struck out the next three Tigers he faced to escape the jam in the top of the first. An inning later, though, Sale issued a one-out walk to Jonathan Schoop and Jake Rogers followed by clubbing a 414-foot two-run home run to left field to give Detroit an early 2-0 lead.

The Red Sox were able to get one of those runs back off Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull in the top of the third. With no outs and runners on the corners following a Christian Arroyo walk and Reese McGuire, Enrique Hernandez drove in Arroyo with an RBI groundout. Detroit quickly responded, however, as Sale gave up three straight two-out singles in the latter half of the frame. Miguel Cabrera pushed the lead back to two runs by plating Spencer Torkelson with his base hit.

Rafael Devers got his productive day at the plate started in the fourth, as he led things off by taking Turnbull 401 feet deep to left-center field for his second home run of the season. The ball left Devers’ bat at a blistering 107.9 mph and cut Boston’s back down to one run at 3-2.

Sale meanwhile, ended his outing on a strong note by retiring six of the last seven batters he faced from the middle of the fourth through the end of the fifth. The 34-year-old southpaw finished with 74 pitches (46 strikes). He averaged 91.5 mph and topped out at 95 mph with his sinker while inducing 10 total swings-and-misses.

With Sale’s day done after five, the Red Sox put the lefty in position to pick up his first win of the season by breaking out for four runs in the sixth. Alex Verdugo got the rally started with a one-out single. Four pitches later, Devers came through with a game-tying, 414-foot RBI double to center field that had an exit velocity of 108.3 mph. Masataka Yoshida kept the inning alive by drawing a two-out walk off Turnbull, which simultaneously ended the righty’s day.

Following a Detroit pitching change that saw Jose Cisnero take over for Turnbull, Adam Duvall greeted the new reliever by crushing a 414-foot three-run shot to left-center field to break the tie. Duvall’s third big fly of the season, which had an exit velocity of 104.2 mph, gave Boston its first lead of the afternoon at 6-3.

From there, the Red Sox bullpen took over. In relief of Sale, Michigan native John Schreiber faced the minimum in the bottom of the sixth before making way for Chris Martin, who stranded one runner in a scoreless seventh inning. Ryan Brasier then danced his way around some trouble in the eighth to pave the way for Kenley Jansen in the ninth.

Jansen made quick work of the Tigers and sat down the side in order to pick up his first save in a Red Sox uniform. All told, Boston needed just two hours and 23 minutes to pick up a series-opening victory in Detroit.

Devers passes Pedroia on all-time homers list

Rafael Devers’ solo shot in the fourth inning was the 141st of his major-league career. The 26-year-old has passed Dustin Pedroia and is now in sole possession of 19th place on the Red Sox’ all-time home run list.

Duvall makes history

With three more RBIs on Thursday, Adam Duvall now has 12 on the season. According to director of baseball communications and media relations J.P. Long, the 12 RBIs are the most ever by a player in their first six games as a member of the Red Sox.

Next up: Off day Friday, Houck starts Saturday with chance to win series

The Red Sox and Tigers will enjoy an off day on Friday before resuming this three-game series on Saturday afternoon. Right-hander Tanner Houck is slated to make his second start of the year for Boston in the middle game opposite left-hander Joey Wentz for Detroit.

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

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Red Sox get swept by Pirates after losing, 4-1, in series finale

The Red Sox were unable to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Pirates on Wednesday afternoon. In sloppy fashion, Boston dropped its third straight to Pittsburgh at Fenway Park to fall to 2-4 on the season.

Corey Kluber, making his second start of the year for the Sox, was able to bounce back from a poor 2023 debut on Opening Day. Despite dealing with chilly conditions yet again, the veteran right-hander held the Pirates to just one run on three hits and one walk to go along with two strikeouts over five solid innings of work.

After working his way around a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first, Kluber settled in nicely by retiring the side in order in both the second and third innings. The lone run he surrendered came in the fourth, when Carlos Santana led off by clubbing a 340-foot solo shot down the right field line to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

Again, though, Kluber did not falter. He sat down the next six batters he faced after giving up that homer to Santana to get through five one-run frames. Despite the fact that Kluber had only thrown 67 pitches (44 strikes) to that point, Red Sox manager Alex Cora made the somewhat surprising decision to pull the 36-year-old hurler in favor of John Schreiber in the sixth. That is where things began to unravel for Boston.

Schreiber yielded two quick hits to Bryan Reynolds and Andrew McCutchen to put runners at second and third with no outs. Ke’Bryan Hayes then played Reynolds from third on a bunt single to double Pittsburgh’s lead to 2-0. An inning later, Kaleb Ort entered the game and gave up a leadoff double to Jason Delay. Delay then advanced to third when first baseman Triston Casas attempted to make a heads-up play by unsuccessfully throwing him out on a grounder off the bat of Oneil Cruz.

With one out and runners on the corners, Reynolds drove in Delay with a sacrifice fly to left field. Masataka Yoshida attempted to gun down Delay at home plate, but made an errant throw that allowed Cruz to move up to third as well. Two batters later, Santana plated Cruz with an RBI double down the right field line to make it a 4-0 contest in favor of the Pirates.

Trailing by four runs going into the latter half of the seventh, the Red Sox were finally able to get to Pirates starter Mitch Keller. After being held to just one hit through the first six innings, Casas ripped a two-out double to bring Christian Arroyo at the plate. Arroyo then pushed across Casas on an RBI single through the middle of the infield to cut the deficit to three.

Arroyo stole second base and advanced to third on a Raimel Tapia single. Cora then dipped into his bench by having Reese McGuire pinch-hit for Connor Wong. McGuire, representing the potential tying run, very nearly flipped the game on its head by lofting a deep fly ball towards the Pesky Pole in right field. The moonshot was initially called a three-run home run, but was later ruled foul following a video review. McGuire then went down looking at a 96 mph fastball from Keller, who extinguished the threat with his 107th and final pitch.

Richard Bleier and Zack Kelly combined for two scoreless innings of relief heading into the bottom of the ninth. Justin Turner led off with a single, but that was immediately snuffed out when Yoshida grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. Casas then popped out on the first pitch he saw from Duane Underwood Jr. to end it.

All told, the Red Sox were held to just five hits in Wednesday’s loss, which took all of two hours and 32 minutes to complete. They also allowed two more stolen bases by way of a double steal in the ninth inning, meaning teams are now 14-for-14 on steal attempts against them through six games.

Next up: Sale starts first road game in Detroit

On the heels of a 2-4 homestand to begin the season, the Red Sox will now embark on a two-city, seven-game road trip that includes stops in Detroit and Tampa Bay.

The Red Sox will open a three-game series against the Tigers on Thursday afternoon. Left-hander Chris Sale will get the ball for Boston opposite right-hander Spencer Turnbull in Detroit’s home opener.

First pitch from Comerica Park is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network. The two sides are then off on Friday and will resume the series on Saturday.

(Picture of Triston Casas: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox held to just 4 hits in 4-1 loss to Pirates

The Red Sox were held to just four hits in their second straight loss to the Pirates on Tuesday night. Boston fell to Pittsburgh by a final score of 4-1 to drop to 2-3 on the young season.

With Roansy Contreras starting for the Pirates, the Red Sox drew first blood in their half of the first inning. Alex Verdugo led off with a 109.9 mph single and went from first to third on a one-out single from Justin Turner. Masataka Yoshida then drove Verdugo in with a softly-hit RBI groundout.

Yoshida gave the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead with his sixth RBI of the year, but the lineup sputtered from there. Nick Pivetta, meanwhile, was on the mound making his 2023 debut for Boston.

Over five innings of work, Pivetta allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks to go along with six strikeouts. The right-hander maneuvered his way around a leadoff walk in the first and recorded the first two outs of the second before running into a bit of trouble.

Pivetta actually should have retired the side in order in the second, as he got Canaan Smith-Njigba to strike out swinging on a 3-2, 79 mph curveball. But catcher Reese McGuire could not come up with the pitch cleanly as it rolled towards the backstop, allowing Smith-Njigba to reach base safely.

The Pirates immediately took advantage of McGuire’s blunder as the very next batter, Ji Hwan Bae, uncorked a two-run blast to left field that barely cleared the Green Monster for the first home run of his big-league career. Neither of those runs were charged to Pivetta.

Bryan Reynolds, fresh off a two-homer performance on Monday, continued to torment the Red Sox in the third inning when he took the first pitch he saw from Pivetta — a hanging 77 mph curveball — and crushed a 388-foot leadoff shot into the Red Sox bullpen. Reynolds’ fourth big fly of the season put Pittsburgh up, 3-1.

Pivetta, for his part, was able to settle down after that by retiring nine of the last 11 batters he faced. The only other hit he gave up came in the fifth on a two-out double off the bat of Reynolds, who he stranded at second to at least end his evening on a more positive note.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 87 (54 strikes), Pivetta topped out 95.5 mph with his four-seam fastball, an offering he threw 52 times. The 30-year-old hurler also induced seven swings-and-misses.

With Pivetta’s day done, Josh Winckowski received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen. The righty pitched well yet again, yielding just one run across three innings of relief. That lone run came in the seventh, when Tyler Heineman reached on a one-out single, stole second base, and scored an important insurance run on an RBI single from Reynolds.

Trailing 4-1 going into the latter half of the seventh, McGuire ripped a two-out double — his second in three innings — but was stranded at second when the pinch-hitting Christian Arroyo struck out looking against Pirates reliever Jose Hernandez. After going down quietly in the eighth, and getting a scoreless top of the ninth from Ryan Brasier, the Red Sox were suddenly down to their final three outs.

Opposed by All-Star closer Will Bednar, Yoshida led off the ninth inning by reaching on a fielding error committed by Pirates first baseman Carlos Santana. But Yoshida was left at first as Adam Duvall popped out, Triston Casas flew out, and Enrique Hernandez struck out to end it.

All told, the Red Sox only recorded three hits after the first inning. They also went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base as a team in their quickest game of the season (two hours and 36 minutes) thus far.

Other worthwhile observations:

Nick Pivetta went five full innings on Tuesday, meaning a Red Sox starter has yet to pitch into the sixth inning through one turn in the rotation.

Through five games, teams are 12-for-12 on steal attempts against the Red Sox. All 12 of those stolen bases have come while Reese McGuire was behind the plate.

Next up: Kluber looks to avoid sweep in series finale

The Red Sox will look to avoid getting swept by the Pirates on Wednesday afternoon. Corey Kluber, who surrendered five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings on Opening Day, will get the start for Boston while fellow righty Mitch Keller will do the same for Pittsburgh.

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

(Picture of Reese McGuire: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Alex Verdugo takes issue with Alek Manoah’s on-field antics: ‘It just pisses me off’

Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo is no stranger to wearing his emotions on his sleeve. But even the fiery 26-year-old believes there are lines that should not be crossed on the baseball field.

Verdugo, for instance, is not a fan of the way Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah carries himself on the mound. This feeling of disdain towards the All-Star righty stems from an incident at Fenway Park on July 23 of last season.

In the sixth inning of that contest between Boston and Toronto, Manoah recorded back-to-back strikeouts of Franchy Cordero and Bobby Dalbec. After fanning Cordero on five pitches, Manoah stared down the designated hitter as he made his way back to the dugout and told him to “go sit the [expletive] down.”

Moments later, Manoah punched out Dalbec on a 95 mph heater at the top of the zone to retire the side. As he made his way back to the visitor’s dugout, Manoah pounded his chest with his glove before turning back to Dalbec and telling him to “sit down, [expletive].”

After the game, in which the Blue Jays won 3-1, Manoah attributed his gestures towards Cordero and Dalbec as being part of his competitive nature. Verdugo, however, does not see it that way.

“If it’s a genuine reaction and it’s for the boys, not directed towards somebody, then yeah [it’s fine],” Verdugo told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford on Audacy’s “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. “Like I’ll say it right now, I think Alek Manoah goes about it the wrong way, 100 percent I think he does. You can find videos of him, footage of him in Triple-A going like this to hitters. Last year, telling Franchy and Bobby like ‘go sit’ and [expletive] like that while looking right at them.

“So it’s like, [expletive] like that just pisses me off,” he continued. “It’s not the way it should be played. It should be played like you’re celebrating it with your team, you’re not [expletive] disrespecting another player who is – at the end of the day we’re just trying to compete, man, that’s it.”

Manoah, for his part, shrugged off Verdugo’s comments when speaking with Rob Longley of The Toronto Sun on Tuesday.

“Coming from him? I don’t give a [expletive],” Manoah said. “My job is to pitch and get guys out.”

The Red Sox were not the only team who took issue with Manoah’s antics last season. Back in August at Yankee Stadium, the 25-year-old drilled Aaron Judge in the elbow, which prompted Gerrit Cole to emerge from the dugout and shout at Manoah as if it was intentional. Manoah later told reporters that “if Gerrit wants to do something, he can walk past the Audi sign next time.”

Looking ahead to the 2023 campaign, which is already underway, the Red Sox do not see the Blue Jays until the beginning of May for a four-game series in Boston. As things stand now, Manoah would be in line to start one of those games for Toronto, so that potential matchup could be something to look forward to.

(Picture of Alek Manoah: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Masataka Yoshida homers as part of 5-run first inning, but Red Sox still fall to Pirates, 7-6

The Red Sox homered three times, but it was not enough to overcome another poor starting pitching performance in the first of three against the Pirates on Monday night. Boston fell to Pittsburgh by a final score of 7-6 at Fenway Park to drop to 2-2 on the young season.

Kutter Crawford, making his first start of the year after breaking camp as a member of the starting rotation, struggled in his 2023 debut. The right-hander surrendered seven earned runs on eight hits and two walks to go along with six strikeouts over just four innings of work.

Three of those seven runs came right away in the top of the first. Crawford allowed hits to two of the first four batters he faced, including a one-out pop-up single that should have been caught by Rafael Devers. He then gave up a two-out RBI single to Ke’Bryan Hayes. Canaan Smith-Njigba followed with a three-run double to extend the Pirates’ lead to 3-0 right out of the gate.

Despite falling behind early yet again, the Red Sox responded in their half of the first. Matched up against Pirates starter Johan Oviedo, Devers made up for his blunder by crushing a one-out, 424-foot solo shot to dead center for his first home run of the season. After Bryan Reynolds dropped a fly ball that allowed Justin Turner to reach base safely, Masataka Yoshida came through with the first home run of his big-league career: a 390-foot two-run blast over the Green Monster.

Yoshida’s first homer in a Red Sox uniform knotted things up at three runs apiece. That stalemate did not last long, though, as reigning American League Player of the Week Adam Duvall drew a one-out walk and Triston Casas looped a towering two-run shot to the left of Pesky’s Pole to put Boston up, 5-3.

Reynolds, like Devers, made up for his error in the field by mashing a solo home run off Crawford with two outs in the second. The Pirates then pulled back even with the Sox an inning later when Jack Suwinski scored Hayes on a two-out single. Crawford ran into more trouble in the fourth by serving up two more solo shots to Jason Delay and Reynolds, giving Pittsburgh a 7-5 lead.

In his four innings of work, Crawford threw 93 pitches (59 strikes). Though the 27-year-old hurler induced 15 swings-and-misses, he also gave up six hits that had exit velocities of 100 mph or more. With Crawford’s outing in the books, Red Sox starters now own a 12.91 ERA (22 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings) so far this year.

After breaking out for five runs in the first, the Boston lineup quited down for a bit. There were opportunities to score, but Connor Wong was stranded at third in the fourth and struck out with the bases loaded to end things in the fifth. On the heels of two scoreless frames of relief from Zack Kelly, though, the Sox were able to get something going in the latter half of the sixth.

There, Alex Verdugo led off with a single and moved up to second when Yoshida drew a six-pitch walk. Duvall then greeted new Pirates reliever Duane Underwood Jr. with a broken-bat RBI single that plated Verdugo and cut the deficit to one. Yoshida advanced into scoring position on the play, but he and Duvall were left on base when Casas fanned to end the inning.

Richard Bleier and Kaleb Ort combined for two more shutout innings out of the bullpen before Verdugo led off the bottom of the eighth with a single off Colin Holderman. Turner walked and Yoshida advanced both runners on a one-out groundout, but Duvall grounded out himself to extinguish the threat.

Down to their final three outs after Ryan Brasier worked a scoreless top of the ninth, the Red Sox were up against All-Star closer David Bednar. The pinch-hitting Raimel Tapia made things interesting by beating out a one-out infield single, but Bednar prevailed by fanning Enrique Hernandez and Rob Refsnyder to end it.

All told, the Red Sox went 2-for-9 (.222) with runners in scoring position on Monday and left 12 runners on base as a team.

Duvall’s dominance

Adam Duvall s the first player ever to reach base as many as 13 times (10 hits, two walks, one hit-by-pitch) in his first four games as a member of the Red Sox, according to director of baseball communications and media relations J.P. Long.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Contreras

The Red Sox will look to bounce back against the Pirates on Tuesday night. Nick Pivetta will make his season debut for Boston while Pittsburgh will counter with fellow right-hander Roansy Contreras.

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

(Picture of Masataka Yoshida: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)