Tag: 2021 season

Red Sox’ Alex Verdugo suffers leg cramp in loss to Mariners, but outfielder is OK

In the midst of the Red Sox falling to the Mariners by a final score of 8-2 on Saturday afternoon, a scary moment arose in the top half of the fourth inning.

With no outs and the bases empty, Mariners left fielder Sam Haggerty laced a 105.7 mph line drive off Nathan Eovaldi to center field.

Alex Verdugo was starting in center for Boston on Saturday. At the crack of Haggerty’s bat, the 24-year-old hustled to his right and made what was a pretty simple routine catch for the first out of the inning.

Upon catching the ball, though, Verdugo appeared to come up lame and with a winced expression on his face, reached towards the rear of his upper left leg while gingerly returning to his position before getting into a series of stretches.

Despite clear concern from the Red Sox medical staff, Verdugo remained in the game until its completion and even picked up a single and double as part of a 2-for-4 day at the plate.

While it initially looked as though the young outfielder had maybe suffered a left hamstring strain or something of the sort, it was later revealed that he had just been dealing with a cramp.

“He kind of cramped up,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Verdugo during his postgame media availability. “He cramped up at one point. But he was OK. Obviously, he has to be smart about it. But he put a good game. He put good at-bats. Obviously hobbled a little bit, but he’s OK.”

Verdugo himself confirmed as much, telling reporters Saturday afternoon that his left leg did cramp up a little bit, but he wanted to stay in the game even after suffering said cramp.

“It was actually a very weird play,” he recalled. “Just shuffled my feet, felt something grab a little bit, and just had to make sure that I kept that in mind and loosened it up throughout the game. But no problem.”

Following Saturday’s loss, the Red Sox dropped to 13-9 on the season and 4-6 over their last 10 games. They are slated to wrap up their four-game series against the Mariners on Sunday afternoon, though the forecast for the Fenway area around first pitch time does not look particularly promising.

Sunday’s series finale was going to lead into an off day for the Sox on Monday, but it now seems increasingly likely that the club will have two straight days off before embarking upon a six-game road trip that starts with a two-game interleague tilt against the Mets in Flushing on Tuesday.

“Every off day is huge,” Verdugo said when asked if his team would benefit from a day of rest. “We’re out here grinding. We had a tough schedule to start off this year. Lot of day games, then we had some doubleheaders run across. That’s no excuse, either. Because at the end of the day, we come out here and we come out to play.

“At any point, with the snap of the finger, our offense can get going, our pitchers can get on a roll,” he added. “It’s just one of those things. Today, the Mariners were better. But, as you said, that off day will be huge. We will use that to rest our bodies, rest our minds, and regroup and come back stronger for that New York series.”

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Nathan Eovaldi allows 5 runs (4 earned) as listless Red Sox fall to Mariners, 8-2

If the Red Sox want to prove that they can be contenders this year, they need to play better at home. That is something manager Alex Cora has emphasized since spring training began in late February.

Following Saturday’s 8-2 loss at the hands of the Mariners, though, the Sox fell to 7-8 at Fenway Park and are now 13-9 on the season.

Eovaldi gets shelled for five runs

Nathan Eovaldi struggled in his fifth start of the season for the Red Sox in this one. The veteran right-hander came into Saturday’s contest sporting a respectable 3.04 ERA, but got lit up for five runs — four of which were earned — on seven hits, one walk, one hit batsman, and just three strikeouts over five innings of work.

The first four of those runs Eovaldi gave up came in the first two innings, with a seemingly red-hot Kyle Seager recording an RBI single in the top half of the first and a two-run triple in the top half of the second.

Alex Verdugo, starting in center field on Saturday, appeared to have a chance at making a play on Seager’s flyball, but instead got turned around and watched the ball bounce off the warning track in the center field triangle for a three-base hit.

The Mariners third baseman also scored from third on a wild pitch to give his side an early 3-0 edge.

Eovaldi did manage to settle down a little bit, at one point sitting down eight hitters in a row before serving up a one-out double to Seager in the fifth.

Another wild pitch from Eovaldi with two outs in the frame allowed Seager to advance to third, and he would come into score on a run-scoring groundout off the bat of Taylor Trammell that took a bad hop on Xander Bogaerts, who was playing in the shift.

Bogaerts was charged with a fielding error on the play, though it’s understandable to see why he struggled to come up with Trammell’s grounder cleanly once it hit the lip of the infield grass.

Eovaldi finished his day by getting Luis Torrens to pop out for the final out of the fifth, but the damage had already been done.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 87 (56 strikes), the 31-year-old hurler turned to his four-seam fastball 40% of the time he was on the mound Saturday, inducing just one swing-and-miss while topping out 99.1 mph with the pitch.

Falling to 3-2 on the year while inflating his ERA on the year to 3.77, Eovaldi’s next start should come against the Rangers on Friday.

Bullpen gives up three additional runs

In relief of Eovaldi, Austin Brice got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen, tossed a 1-2-3 sixth inning, allowed a leadoff double to Ty France in the seventh, then made way for a struggling Josh Taylor.

Taylor, to his credit, got out of the seventh without allowing the runner he inherited to score and nearly worked a scoreless top half of the eighth as well.

However, with two outs in the frame and Sam Haggerty at the plate, the lefty served up a solo shot to the Mariners left fielder that saw the Sox’ deficit grow to five runs at 6-1. Taylor’s ERA on the season now stands at 9.72.

Phillips Valdez surrendered two more runs to Seattle in the ninth, though the second run he gave up was certainly avoidable had he just gotten to first base quicker on a softly-hit grounder from Haggerty with two outs that went down as an RBI single.

Red Sox lineup outmatched by Flexen

A reeling Red Sox lineup managed all of four hits against Mariners right-hander Chris Flexen on Saturday. Only one of those hits resulted in a Boston run when Marwin Gonzalez drilled an RBI single back up the middle in the seventh.

Rafael Devers, who scored on that Gonzalez hit, collected an RBI of his own in the ninth by plating Alex Verdugo from second on his fourth double of the season.

That cur the Red Sox’ deficit to six runs at 8-2, which would go on to be Saturday’s final score. Boston went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position in the process of falling to Seattle for the second time in three days.

Cordero fans three times

Red Sox outfielder Franchy Cordero’s recent struggles at the plate ensued on Saturday.

Batting out of the eight-hole, the 26-year-old went 0-for-3 on the day with three swinging strikeouts. He saw all of 13 pitches in his three at-bats.

Following Saturday’s action, Cordero has now struck out 23 times in 49 plate appearances since the season began earlier this month.

Verdugo “cramped up”

There was a moment in the fourth inning where after fielding a lineout in the top of the fourth, Verdugo came up lame with a left hamstring issue of some sort.

Verdugo remained in the game and wound up finishing the day 2-for-4 with a double. Cora said during his postgame media availability that the 24-year-old “cramped up,” hence the reason for his hobbling around some.

Next up: Margevicius vs. Rodriguez

Sunday’s series finale between the Mariners and Red Sox (weather permitting) will feature another pitching matchup of two left-handers.

Eduardo Rodriguez will be getting the ball for Boston, and he will be opposed by Nick Margevicius for Seattle.

First pitch Sunday is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN, though the forecast for the Boston area does not look promising.

(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Alex Verdugo picks up third outfield assist of season in win over Mariners: ‘That throw was amazing,’ Alex Cora says

Alex Verdugo made a name for himself in his debut season with the Red Sox by leading the American League with seven outfield assists last year.

Just over three weeks into the 2021 campaign, and Verdugo is again showcasing not only his offensive talent, but his defensive ability as well.

The latest instance of the 24-year-old’s defensive prowess came in the fifth inning of the Sox’ eventual 6-5 victory over the Mariners on Friday night.

With two outs and one runner — Kyle Seager — on base in what at the time was a 3-2 game in favor of Boston, Mariners first baseman Evan White took a Hirokazu Sawamura splitter and scorched a 101 mph line drive off the Green Monster.

Starting in left field for Boston on Friday, Verdugo sprinted to his left at the crack of the bat, barehanded the ball on one hop, quickly turned, lined up his feet, and unleashed a missile to Rafael Devers at third that got there in plenty of time to snuff out a helpless Seager.

“That throw was amazing because probably he was feeling, ‘Let me go to second,'” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said during his postgame media availability. “But he had the presence of mind where he turned, he saw Seager right there, and he put it right on the money.”

What made the play even more impressive was that Verdugo could have just gone with a conservative approach and throw the ball back in to second base to prevent White from advancing into scoring position.

“He had the play right in front of him,” said Cora. “Sometimes runners take that for granted. But he saw it and he saw the window. I mean, it wasn’t a close play at third base. So he saw it, he trusts his arm, he’s very accurate, and he got him out.”

By nabbing Seager at third to preserve his side’s 3-2 lead, Verdugo picked up his third outfield assist of the season already.

He should have four based on what happened in the first inning Friday night, but just going back to the start of the 2020 season, no one in the American League has more outfield assists than Verdugo (10).

Verdugo, who has seen time at all three outfield spots this season, has stated before that he takes pride in his versatility and ability to play either of the three positions on any given night. He echoed that same sentiment again following Friday’s win when speaking with NESN’s Jahmai Webster.

“I pride myself with defense in all three outfield positions,” the Arizona native said. “I don’t feel like if I go to right, center, or left it’s any different. I feel like I play all three positions at a high level, and I take pride in that. I take pride in the versatility.

“Obviously, it would be nice to stick at one spot to maybe get some stuff, some awards, but at the end of the day, I do what my coach wants,” he added. “And he wants me bouncing around in the outfield, wants me at any of the three. Every day, it’s a blessing to have your name penciled in that lineup. I come out here to give it my all no matter what position, no matter where I’m at in the lineup.”

On the heels of a 3-for-5 showing at the plate in which he scored two runs on Friday, the left-handed hitting outfielder is now slashing .316/.365/.526 with three home runs, 13 RBI, and 16 runs scored through his first 20 games of the season.

Over his last seven games alone, Verdugo has posted a preposterous .440/.462/.640 slash line while primarily batting out of the two-hole.

“He’s gaining confidence in his game,” Cora said of Verdugo. “Offensively, you look up at the last at-bat, and he was up to .320, getting on base, hitting lefties… We like Alex, the way he’s playing. The fact that he can play all over the place and be really good, that’s a plus for us.”

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Xander Bogaerts hits third homer in 4 games, drives in 3 runs as Red Sox hold on to defeat Mariners, 6-5; J.D. Martinez also homers

Xander Bogaerts joked earlier this week about how he had yet to hit a homer this season.

Following the Red Sox’ 6-5 victory over the Mariners at Fenway Park on Friday night, the star shortstop has now hit three home runs in his last four games.

Bogaerts’ third big fly of the 2021 campaign came right away in the bottom half of the first inning, when after his side fell behind early, the right-handed hitter crushed an 0-1, 82 MPH slider from M’s starter Yusei Kikuchi 409 feet to deep left field to score himself as well as Alex Verdugo to put the Sox up 2-1.

J.D. Martinez followed suit in the third, as the vaunted slugger picked up his team-leading seventh home run of the season — this one being a solo shot — by depositing another Kikuchi slider 343 feet to the opposite field. 3-1.

After the Mariners got a run back in the fourth, the Red Sox put the pressure on by loading the bases with the first three batters who reached base off Kikuchi to lead off the fifth, but could only get two runs out of it when Martinez grounded into a run-scoring double play and Bogaerts collected his third RBI on a hard-hit single that drove in Enrique Hernandez.

Verdugo scored another run for the Sox in the seventh following a leadoff single off Mariners reliever Ljay Newsome. Another base hit from Martinez advanced the outfielder to second, and he then came around to score on a fielding error to make it a 6-2 contest.

Verdugo records third outfield assist of season

In addition to enjoying a 3-for-5 day at the plate with two runs scored out of the two-hole, Verdugo also notched his third outfield assist of the season already on Friday.

Starting in left field, the 24-year-old recorded the final out of the top half of the fifth inning by gunning down Kyle Seager at third base to preserve what was then a 3-2 lead for Boston.

Perez can’t make it through four innings

Making his fourth start of the season for the Red Sox in this one was Martin Perez.

The veteran left-hander dealt with his fair share of control issues in the process of surrendering two runs on four hits, four walks, and three strikeouts over just 3 2/3 innings of work. Only 46 of the 83 pitches Perez threw on Friday went for strikes.

Although he was not involved in the decision, Perez did see his ERA on the season drop from 5.93 to 5.71. His next start should come against the Rangers sometime next week.

Red Sox bullpen sees it through

With Perez unable to go deep into Friday’s contest, the Red Sox bullpen was put to the test beginning in the fourth inning.

Hirokazu Sawamura took over for Perez, recorded the final out of the fourth by fanning Mitch Haniger, then picked up two more strikeouts in a scoreless fifth which would later result in him notching his first winning decision in the majors.

Garrett Whitlock took over from there, and the Rule 5 pick continued to impress by hurling 2 1/3 scoreless frames of relief while scattering two hits and one walk to go along with three strikeouts before getting the hook with one out and two runners in scoring position in the eighth.

Adam Ottavino was the one who got the call to take over for Whitlock, and the veteran reliever escaped the jam by punching out the only two Mariners he faced to retire the side.

With a 6-2 lead to protect going into the ninth, Red Sox closer Matt Barnes took over and was fortunate enough that he had a four-run cushion to work with.

That being the case because after walking J.P. Crawford — Seattle’s No. 9 hitter — and giving up a one-out single to Ty France, Barnes proceeded to serve up a three-run bomb to Seager, which cut the Mariners’ deficit from four runs to just one.

Barnes did manage to retire the next two hitters he faced in relatively simple fashion, and the Sox were able to come away with a 6-5 home victory and improve to 13-8 on the season because of it.

Next up: Flexen vs. Eovaldi

Saturday’s pitching matchup will feature a pair of right-handers, with Chris Flexen getting the ball for Seattle and Nathan Eovaldi doing the same for Boston.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Nick Pivetta takes no-hitter into sixth inning, but Red Sox still fall to Mariners, 7-3, in extras

Despite giving up just three hits over 10 innings, the Red Sox’ struggles at Fenway Park continued on Thursday with a 7-3 loss at the hands of the Seattle Mariners.

The Sox are now 12-8 on the season, 6-7 at home, and 3-5 in their last eight games coming off that nine-game winning streak earlier this month.

Nick Pivetta is not to blame for Boston’s second consecutive defeat. The right-hander took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and retired 16 of the first 17 hitters he faced Thursday before issuing a pair of two-out walks to J.P. Crawford and Mitch Haniger in the top half of the sixth.

Moments after walking Haniger, Pivetta surrendered his first hit — a two-run double off the bat of Ty France that appeared catchable for left fielder Franchy Cordero — and saw the Mariners take a 2-0 lead before France was tagged out between second and third base.

That would turn out to be Pivetta’s final inning. So over six frames of work in total, the 28-year-old yielded two runs on one hit, three walks, and four strikeouts. 55 of the 86 pitches he threw went for strikes.

His next start should come against the Mets in Queens on Wednesday.

Ottavino charged with blown save

After Matt Andriese tossed a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Pivetta, Adam Ottavino got the call for the top half of the eighth with a 3-2 lead to protect.

The veteran righty put the first two Mariners he faced in Luis Torrens and a pinch-hitting Jose Marmolejos on base via a pair of free passes.

Crawford, Seattle’s No. 9 hitter, followed by laying down a sacrifice bunt towards the left side of the infield. Ottavino fielded the ball rather quickly and attempted to make the throw to the third to get the lead runner out.

The throw instead got away from Ottavino, which allowed Sam Haggerty (pinch-running for Torrens) to score from third base and knot things up at three runs a piece.

Hernandez gives up three-run bomb in extras

Matt Barnes managed to hold the M’s at three runs and needed all of 12 pitches to toss a 1-2-3 top half of the ninth. But even after getting through that portion of the game rather effortlessly, Red Sox manager Alex Cora turned to Darwinzon Hernandez rather than Barnes for the 10th.

Hernandez, in turn, allowed the runner who starts each extra inning at second base to score on a sac bunt and an RBI double from Haggerty, then proceeded to walk Crawford with two outs as the Mariners lineup flipped back over.

As the adage goes, “walks will haunt.” And the walk to Crawford did indeed haunt Hernandez when he served up a three-run home run to Haniger moments later.

That three-run blast from Haniger put the Mariners up 7-3 and would prove to be the final dagger in this one.

Devers homers, but team’s offensive struggles continue

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against Mariners right-hander Justin Dunn, who pitched at Boston College from 2014-2016 before getting drafted by the Mets.

Rafael Devers greeted Dunn by crushing a 427-foot solo home run to lead off the second inning to give the Sox a 1-0 advantage. His sixth homer of the season left his bat at 108.2 mph.

In the fourth, Devers would again prove to be the catalyst for more offensive production, as he led things off with a single and would later come in to score on an RBI knock off the bat of Hunter Renfroe.

Enrique Hernandez tacked on his side’s third run of the night when he led off the bottom of the seventh with a hard-hit triple off the Green Monster and scored from third on a wild pitch from Mariners reliever Casey Sadler.

At the time, Seattle’s blunder put the Sox up 3-2, but the Boston bats were unable to do anything from that point forward and wound up recording nine consecutive outs from the eighth inning on.

All in all, the Red Sox went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position Thursday.

Next up: Kikuchi vs. Perez

Friday’s pitching matchup between the Mariners and Red Sox will feature a pair of foreign-born southpaws.

Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi will be getting the ball for Seattle, and he will be opposed by Venezuelan left-hander Martin Perez for Boston.

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

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

Garrett Richards issues 6 walks as Red Sox fall to Blue Jays, 6-3

On a rainy Wednesday night at Fenway Park that caused first pitch of their game to be pushed back by about 31 minutes, the Red Sox fell short of their pursuit of another come-from-behind-victory and were instead beaten by the Blue Jays, 6-3, to drop to 12-7 on the season.

Garrett Richards struggled mightily and battled control issues in his fourth start of the year for Boston in this one.

Over 4 2/3 innings of work, the veteran right-hander yielded four runs — all of which were earned — on four hits, one hit batsman, and a season-high six walks to go along with two strikeouts on the night.

Richards put the first three Blue Jays he faced — Cavan Biggio, Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — on base on a walk, a HBP, and an RBI single off the bat of Guerrero Jr.

He managed to escape the top half of the first having just given up the one run, but more trouble arose for Richards in the second when he surrendered an additional three runs in an inning that included three hits, two walks, a sacrifice fly and run-scoring groundout, and a wild pitch.

After recording the final out of the second, Richards did string together a decent stretch in which he retired eight out of 10 Toronto hitters at one point, but a two-out walk of Marcus Semien in the fifth that put runners on first and second would mark the end of his day.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 92 — only 48 of which were strikes, the 32-year-old hurler turned to his four-seam fastball 72% of the time he was on the mound Wednesday, inducing just two swings-and-misses while topping out at 95.7 mph with the pitch.

Falling to 0-2 on the year while seeing his ERA inflate to 6.48, Richards will look to bounce back in his next time out, which should come against the Mets in Queens next Tuesday.

In relief of Richards, Hirokazu Sawamura came on with two outs and two runners on in the top half of the fifth, recorded the final out of the frame, then faced the minimum three batters in a scoreless sixth inning.

From there, Phillips Valdez continued his impressive season-opening run by punching out two in a perfect top of the seventh, Austin Brice danced his way around traffic while keeping the Jays off the board in the eighth, and Josh Taylor got rocked for two runs on two hits and three walks in the ninth, which resulted in Toronto going from having a 4-3 lead to a 6-3 lead.

Taylor now owns a 10.80 ERA through his first eight appearances of the season.

On the other side of things, a Red Sox lineup that welcomed back the likes of Alex Verdugo and Rafael Devers was matched up against Blue Jays right-hander Trent Thornton to begin things on Wednesday.

After falling behind 4-0 early on, Devers got the scoring started for his side in the fourth inning by driving in J.D. Martinez from third on an RBI groundout to short off reliever Tommy Milone.

A double and single from Marwin Gonzalez and Bobby Dalbec to lead off the fifth put the Sox in a prime position to score, and they did so when Enrique Hernandez greeted David Phelps and drilled a one-out, run-scoring double down the left field line that brought in Gonzalez from second.

Now trailing by just two runs with one out and runners in scoring position, Boston appeared ready to turn this game on its head with the meat of their lineup due to hit.

Instead of that happening, though, Verdugo was called out on strikes, Martinez walked to fill the bases, and Xander Bogaerts grounded out to retire the side and thus extinguish the threat.

Bogaerts was able to cut into the deficit by crushing his second home run in as many days in the bottom of the eighth, but three runs is all the Red Sox could manage offensively in what would go down as a 6-3 defeat.

Some notes from this loss:

The Red Sox went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position on Wednesday.

The Red Sox are 11-4 in games not started by Garrett Richards.

The Red Sox are 6-6 at Fenway Park and 6-1 away from Fenway Park.

After winning nine in a row from April 5-14, the Red Sox are 3-4 in their last seven games.

—

The Red Sox — after settling for a series-split against the Jays — will welcome the Mariners into town for a four-game weekend series that begins Thursday night.

Right-hander Nick Pivetta will be getting the ball for Boston, and he will be opposed by fellow righty Justin Dunn for Seattle.

Dunn, a former first-round pick of the Mets back in 2016, spent three years at Boston College from 2014-2016.

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

(Picture of Garrett Richards: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Could Red Sox take overpowering pitching prospect Kumar Rocker with No. 4 pick in 2021 MLB Draft?

It wasn’t too long ago that it seemed like the Red Sox landing Kumar Rocker with the fourth overall pick in this summer’s draft was a pipe dream at best.

The Vanderbilt University right-hander came into the 2021 season regarded by many as the consensus top amateur prospect ahead of the July draft and was projected to go to the Pirates at No. 1 overall.

Since Vanderbilt’s season began in late February, Rocker has seen his stock fall to some degree, while his fellow rotation mate, Jack Leiter, has seen his stock rise.

Rocker, a 21-year-old junior, has posted a 1.64 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP to go along with 81 strikeouts and 15 walks through his first nine starts and 55 innings pitched this year.

Leiter, meanwhile, turned 21 on Wednesday and is a draft-eligible sophomore. The son and nephew of former big-leaguers, Leiter has produced a miniscule 0.98 ERA and 0.70 WHIP while striking out 94 and walking 22 over nine starts and 55 1/3 innings of work. He threw a no-hitter against South Carolina on March 20.

The pair of Commodores are undoubtedly the top amateur pitching prospects in the country, but the two hurlers have seen their draft projections shift in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo ran through a 20-pick mock draft on the latest installment of the Pipeline Podcast, and the two will publish a list of their top 150 draft prospects later this week.

Alternating between picks, Callis had the Pirates taking Leiter with the top overall pick, writing, “It feels like a four-man race to go No. 1 right now, but give me the guy who’s dominating the Southeastern Conference and can pitch off his fastball like few can.”

After high school shortstops Jordan Lawlar and Marcelo Mayer were taken off the board by the Rangers and Tigers at picks Nos. 2 and 3, it was Mayo’s turn to pick for the Red Sox at No. 4. He went with Rocker.

“No way I was going to let Rocker go further than this,” Mayo wrote while explaining his pick, “not with that ridiculous fastball-slider combination that comes from his intimidating 6-foot-5 frame.”

Per his MLB Pipeline scouting report, Rocker “is a physical right-hander who can overpower hitters with his fastball and slider. He usually operates at 93-96 mph with his heater, which can reach 99 and features some run and sink but also can get flat at times. He notched all 19 of his whiffs in his no-hitter with his slider, a mid-80s beast with power and depth that grades as plus-plus at its best. 

“Rocker hasn’t used his changeup much, and while his third offering has average potential and some sink, it gets too firm at times. He throws strikes but has just average command, and he’ll need more finesse for days when he doesn’t have his top-notch stuff. He has the makings of a frontline starter but isn’t a finished product and scouts would like to see him dominate more consistently this spring.”

Because the Red Sox will be picking so early in this year’s draft, the club has been able to hone in on a select group of prospects they may be interested in drafting “and scout those players really, really hard,” as amateur scouting director Paul Toboni told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier in March.

Rocker and Leiter are surely two of the players the Sox have been monitoring closely this spring, and area scout Danny Watkins — who covers Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee for the team — recently provided some insight into what makes each of them so intriguing.

“Both of those guys are phenomenal talents,” Watkins explained last month on Podding the Red Sox: A BloggingtheRedSox.com Podcast. “[They] have many differences, but they’re so similar in some ways as well. We’re sitting there at No. 4 in this year’s draft and the thought of having one of them available at 4 is pretty nice.”

At the moment, the Red Sox taking either one of Rocker or Leiter at No. 4 would be pretty nice. But, as MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith notes, the 2021 Draft is not slated to begin until July 11, so there is still plenty of time for rankings and projections to change between now and then.

(Picture of Kumar Rocker: Peter Aiken/Getty Images)

New Podding the Red Sox episode: Boston Balling host Gabby Hurlbut joins the show

On this week’s installment of Podding the Red Sox: A BloggingtheRedSox.com Podcast, I am joined by Gabby Hurlbut, host of the Boston Balling podcast.

Among the topics Gabby and I discussed are how she got her start in sports media, how she got her foot in the door at ESPN, the lessons she took away from her time at ESPN, what led to her starting her own podcast, how she feels about the Red Sox after their 12-6 start to the season, the Red Sox’ City Connect jerseys, Tanner Houck and Bobby Dalbec’s development, and much more!

The episode is available to listen to on iTunes and Spotify, among other platforms.

Thanks to Gabby for taking some time out of her busy schedule to have a conversation with me. You can follow Gabby on Twitter (@gabbyhurlbut10) by clicking here. You can check out the Boston Balling podcast by clicking here.

Thank you for listening and we will see you next time! Please make sure to subscribe and leave a five-star review if you can!

(Picture of Fenway Park: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Alex Cora predicted Xander Bogaerts would hit first home run of season Tuesday night: ‘You talking about me hitting a home run? I don’t have a home run at all’

Xander Bogaerts’ first home run of the season proved to be the difference maker in the Red Sox’ 4-2 victory over the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Tuesday night.

With no outs and two runners on in the bottom half of the fourth, Bogaerts came to the plate for a second time after already doubling in his first at-bat against tough left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu two innings prior.

That double was actually more of a gift than anything considering the way it was played by Blue Jays left field Lourdes Gurriel Jr., but Bogaerts made sure to make his second hit of the night count.

On a 1-2, 91 mph slider from Ryu that was on the inner half of the plate, the 28-year-old was able to get his hands in front of the ball and wound up depositing said pitch 408 feet into the second row of Green Monster seats in left-center field. Per Baseball Savant, the ball left Bogaerts’ bat at a blistering 102.1 mph.

Bogaerts’ three-run blast put the Sox up 3-1 and would prove to be instrumental in the club’s 4-2 win over Toronto to improve to 12-6 on the young season.

“They needed a shutdown inning. They didn’t get it,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said in regards to the impact of Bogaerts’ homer. “It was a good swing. That was a good effort against a good pitcher. That guy, he’s very tough. He’s got a good breaking ball, a good changeup. But we hung in there with him and we were able to score some runs.”

The fact that Bogaerts was able to hit a home run on a pitch that was relatively up and in was impressive. There’s no doubt about that. With that being said, though, that ability is something the three-time Silver Slugger Award winner has regularly put on display over the years. Just ask his longtime teammate — and Tuesday’s starter — Eduardo Rodriguez.

“I’ve been here, what? Like six seasons, I think. And I’ve been seeing him hitting balls like nobody can hit it,” Rodriguez said of the Aruban-born shortstop. “I know he’s a really special guy. I can’t even explain to you how good he is. I’ve been watching him too much. Hitting balls out of the ballpark, both sides of the field, middle of the field. I know every time he steps up to the plate something good is going to happen. That’s how special he is.

“I love the way he plays all the time, the way he goes up there,” added Rodriguez. “After he hit that homer, he comes to me and says, ‘I got you. Go out there now and do your thing.’ That’s something that I really appreciate from him every time I’m pitching and he’s doing things like that.”

Rodriguez said he expects 35 home runs out of Bogaerts this season, but Bogaerts himself was just happy to get the first one out of the way, which is something Cora actually foresaw moments before it happened in the bottom of the fourth on Tuesday.

“I think that whole inning, Alex Cora predicted, to be honest with you,” Bogaerts recalled during his postgame media availability. “I remember him saying that the guy’s going to get a hit, J.D. [Martinez] is going to get a hit, and I’m going to hit a two-run homer. So he kind of predicted that whole inning to be honest. You guys got to see what’s up with AC and those predictions with his mind and stuff like that.

“I was like, ‘You talking about me hitting a home run? I don’t have a home run at all,'” joked Bogaerts. “And he’s talking about me hitting a homer.”

Following a 2-for-4 showing at the plate with two extra-base hits on Tuesday, Bogaerts is now slashing a scorching .393/.439/.557 to go along with that one homer and seven RBI through his first 16 games of the year.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Xander Bogaerts hits first home run of season, Eduardo Rodríguez punches out 6 in return to Fenway Park as Red Sox top Blue Jays, 4-2

For the second consecutive day, the Red Sox were matched up against one of the top pitchers in the American League. And for the second consecutive day, the Red Sox needed just one inning to get the best of that pitcher.

They did so in the first inning of Monday’s 11-4 win over the White Sox by getting to Lucas Giolito for six runs. They did so in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the Blue Jays by getting to Hyun-Jin Ryu for all four of their runs.

Facing off against one of the toughest left-handed pitchers in baseball to kick off a quick two-game series at Fenway Park, the Sox lineup went down quietly the first time through the order, but eventually got to Ryu in their half of the fourth.

There, back-to-back singles off the bats of Christian Arroyo and J.D. Martinez to lead off the frame set the stage for Xander Bogaerts, who — on a 1-2, 91 mph fastball on the inner half of the plate from Ryu — crushed his first home run of the season 408 feet over the Green Monster.

Not only did Bogaerts club his first homer of the year in the fourth inning, but Marwin Gonzalez also collected his first double with one out.

Bobby Dalbec, meanwhile, hit the first triple of his big-league career on a 101.3 mph scorcher that traveled 408 feet to deep center field and brought in Gonzalez from second to make it a 4-1 game.

That would be all the scoring the Sox would need in this one, but it should not be ignored that Arroyo went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored while batting out of the two-hole Tuesday.

Rodriguez shines in return to Fenway

Eduardo Rodriguez made his third start of the season for the Red Sox on Tuesday, marking the first time he had started a game at Fenway Park since the final day of the 2019 season.

In his return to Fenway, the left-hander was impressive as he held the Blue Jays to just two runs on three hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts over six-plus innings of work.

Both runs Rodriguez gave up came by way of the long ball, with Bo Bichette taking the southpaw deep to lead off the top half of the fourth and Randal Grichuk doing the very same thing three innings later.

Rodriguez serving up a solo shot to Grichuk would mark the end of his night, but his homecoming of sorts was a triumphant one to say the least.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 90 (62 strikes), the 28-year-old hurler turned to his four-seam fastball 33% of the time he was on the mound Tuesday, inducing six swings-and-misses while topping out at 94.8 mph with the pitch.

Able to improve to 3-0 on the young season while lowering his ERA to 3.38, Rodriguez’s next start should come against the Seattle Mariners in the final game of the Sox’ homestand on Sunday.

Andriese, Ottavino, and Barnes close things out

In relief of Rodriguez, Matt Andriese got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen for what was essentially a clean top half of the seventh inning. The right-hander retired the only three hitters he faced and capped off his outing by punching out noted Red Sox killer Rowdy Tellez on five pitches.

From there, Adam Ottavino maneuvered his way around a two-out walk and a throwing error committed by Christian Vazquez in an otherwise perfect eighth inning, while Matt Barnes notched his third save of the season and preserved the 4-2 victory for his side by working a scoreless ninth inning.

The Red Sox are now 12-6.

Next up: Richards vs. Thornton

Next up for the Red Sox, it’s the finale of this two-game set against the Blue Jays on Wednesday night.

Right-hander Garrett Richards will be making his fourth start of the season for Boston, and he will be opposed by fellow right-hander Trent Thornton for Toronto.

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

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)