Tag: 2022 season

Red Sox top prospect Triston Casas tweaks right ankle in Worcester

Red Sox top prospect Triston Casas was removed in the seventh inning of Triple-A Worcester’s 4-3 win over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at Polar Park on Tuesday night.

With two outs in the top of the seventh, Casas was visited at first base by WooSox manager Chad Tracy and trainer David Herrera before being lifted in favor of Roberto Ramos.

To that point in the contest, Casas had gone 1-for-2 with one walk and one strikeout. Following Worcester’s come-from-behind victory that snapped a 10-game losing streak, it was revealed why the 22-year-old had to come out of the game.

As reported by The Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s Joe McDonald, Casas tweaked his right ankle on the first base bag while recording the final out of the fifth. In the bottom half of the frame, he rolled that very same ankle as he attempted to get back to third base before getting doubled up.

“I played the next two innings and felt fine,” Casas explained. “They told me if I felt it at all, whether it was hurting a little bit, to let them know. The same motion I made injuring it, or hurting it, was the same motion I need to do to hit, so I was telling them to get (Roberto) Ramos to come into hit for me.”

Ramos did end up taking over for Casas at first base, but it does not appear as though the promising infielder sustained any sort of long-term injury that will require him to miss an extended period of time.

“It was just for precautionary reasons,” said Casas. “I feel good now. We’re going to see how I come in tomorrow, and we’ll take it slow. I feel good.”

Through 36 games with the WooSox this season, Casas is batting .248/.359/.457 with nine doubles, six home runs, 22 RBIs, 22 runs scored, 23 walks, and 35 strikeouts over 156 plate appearances.

The left-handed hitting 22-year-old is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect in Boston’s farm system and the 19th-ranked prospect in all of baseball. He is expected to make his major-league debut for the Red Sox at some point this year.

(Picture of Triston Casas: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Nathan Eovaldi gives up 5 home runs in single inning as Red Sox get blown out by Astros, 13-4

The Red Sox fell behind early and could never recover against the Astros on a breezy Tuesday night at Fenway Park. Boston fell to Houston by a final score of 13-4 to drop to 14-22 on the season.

Matched up against Jose Urquidy to start things out, the Sox got off to a quick start thanks to Rafael Devers. With one out in the bottom of the first inning, Devers extended his hitting streak to 11 consecutive games by crushing a one-out home run 108.7 mph to center field. Moments later, J.D. Martinez extended his own hitting streak to 18 straight games with a single.

After needing just five pitches to retire the side in the top half of the first, Nathan Eovaldi took the mound in the second inning with a 1-0 lead to work with. Despite those two things working in his favor, the right-hander did not make it out of the second.

Instead, Eovaldi served up a leadoff homer to Yordan Alvarez that saw that one-run lead disappear. Yuli Gurriel then reached base on a missed catch error and Kyle Tucker capitalized on Boston’s mistake by mashing a two-run home run over Houston’s bullpen. Jeremy Pena, who played his college ball at the University of Maine, followed with a solo blast to left-center.

So the Astros had plated four runs without recording an out in the second. Eovaldi got that elusive first out, but then ran into more trouble by giving up back-to-back one-out hits to Martin Maldonado and Jose Altuve. Michael Brantley capitalized on the opportunity in front of him by cranking a three-run home run to right field. Houston batted around in the inning as Alvarez singled with two outs and Gurriel ended Eovaldi’s night with a 381-foot two-run blast.

Eovaldi’s eighth start of the season was also his shortest. The 32-year-old allowed nine runs — six of which were earned — on eight hits, no walks, and no strikeouts over just 1 2/3 innings of work. He also became the first Red Sox pitcher to ever give up as many as five home runs in a single inning, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne.

Tyler Danish took over for Eovaldi and ended things in the second. An inning later, Devers stayed hot by ripping a leadoff double to left field. Martinez followed — and also stayed hot — by hitting his fifth big fly of the season. A 401-foot two-run shot trimmed the Sox’ deficit down to six runs at 9-3.

Danish, meanwhile, had gotten through a scoreless third inning before loading the bases with one out in the fourth. The reliever then yielded a 386-foot grand slam to Kyle Tucker that put the Astros back up by 10 runs.

Following a perfect top half of the fifth from Hirokazu Sawamura, Boston got one of those runs back in the latter half when Trevor Story scored on an RBI groundout off the bat of Kevin Plawecki.

Ryan Brasier, Matt Barnes, and Jake Diekman worked one shutout frame each, as did Austin Davis.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth, Alex Verdugo, Story, Franchy Cordero, and Plawecki went down in order against Blake Taylor to seal a 13-4 defeat for the Red Sox.

Boston went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday and left 13 runners on base as a team. Despite those situational struggles, Devers and Martinez combined for six hits as they each finished a triple shy of the cycle. Verdugo and Story also had four hits between them.

Next up: Garcia vs. Pivetta

The Red Sox will look to bounce back as they go for the series win over the Astros on Wednesday. Boston will turn to right-hander Nick Pivetta while Houston will roll with fellow righty Luis Garcia in the series finale.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Darwinzon Hernandez suffers right knee strain with Triple-A Worcester

The Worcester Red Sox are placing Darwinzon Hernandez on the seven-day injured list with a right knee strain, according to Joe McDonald of The Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Per McDonald, Hernandez tweaked his right knee while throwing a bullpen session at Polar Park on Sunday. It is currently unclear how much time the left-hander will miss.

In eight appearances (seven starts) for the WooSox this season, Hernandez has posted a 5.95 ERA and 4.42 FIP to go along with 30 strikeouts to 16 walks over 19 2/3 innings of work.

Last time out against the Rochester Red Wings on May 13, the 25-year-old southpaw impressed by allowing just one unearned run on three hits, one walk, and three strikeouts across three innings pitched. He retired nine of the 13 batters he faced and 33 of the 43 pitches he threw went for strikes.

The Red Sox surprisingly optioned Hernandez to Triple-A Worcester at the end of spring training so that he could improve his mechanics while working on a starter’s schedule (i.e. every five or six days). The goal was for him to make his start, then use the days in between outings to work with WooSox pitching coach Paul Abbott in order to become more consistent with his delivery and such.

Now that Hernandez has been sidelined because of a knee strain, the Sox have lost yet another left-handed pitcher to injury for the time being. Of the nine lefties on Boston’s 40-man roster, three (James Paxton, Chris Sale, and Josh Taylor) on the 60-day injured list and one (Hernandez) is on the minor-league injured list.

(Picture of Darwinzon Hernandez: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Xander Bogaerts homers after Red Sox fans call on team to re-sign him: ‘I heard it. If I struck out, it wouldn’t have helped my cause’

After a 98-minute rain delay, the majority of the 29,706 fans on hand for Monday night’s game between the Astros and Red Sox at Fenway Park had already left the premises.

The ones who stuck around, however, made their voices heard. Especially in the eighth inning as Xander Bogaerts stepped up to the plate looking to follow J.D. Martinez’s go-ahead RBI double with a productive hit of his own.

As Bogaerts prepared to face off against Astros reliever Hector Neris, the Red Sox fans still at Fenway began to break out into a “Re-sign Xander! Re-sign Xander!” chant.

On the sixth pitch he saw from Neris, Bogaerts turned on a 94 mph fastball and crushed it 397 feet over the Green Monster to score both Martinez and himself to give the Sox a 6-3 lead. That would go on to be Monday’s final score.

“I heard it,” Bogaerts told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) early Tuesday morning. “If I struck out, it wouldn’t have helped my cause.”

Bogaerts has the ability to opt out of his contract with Boston and become a free-agent this winter. While the 29-year-old has expressed a desire to remain with the organization he began his professional career with for the foreseeable future, the two sides have yet to come to terms on a potential extension.

Despite the distractions contract extension talks can present, Bogaerts has not been phased by them to this point in the season. Following Monday’s clutch performance, the right-handed hitter is now batting .346/.403/.477 with three home runs and 15 RBIs on the year.

“He’s not the first guy in this situation,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Bogaerts. “From my end, he is the shortstop, he plays everyday, he posts and he’s a good player.”

Since debuting with the Red Sox in 2013, Bogaerts has gone from a soft-spoken rookie playing out of position to one of the more respected and admired individuals in the organization. Even while in the midst of his 10th season in the big-leagues, the Aruban still appreciates the support from fans that was on full display Monday night.

“You always feel the love and appreciation around here,” said Bogaerts. “Just coming up through the system and being here for a long time up to this point. It has been fun. A game that (was delayed), you don’t even know how many people are going to be sticking around to see if the game is going to go ahead. I heard it.”

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Trevor Story and Xander Bogaerts come through with late homers as Red Sox defeat Astros, 6-3

Right before the clock struck midnight on Monday, the Red Sox put the finishing touches on a series-opening win over the Astros at Fenway Park. It took nearly five hours to do so because of the weather, but Boston defeated Houston by a final score of 6-3 to improve to 14-21 on the season.

Matched up against veteran starter Jake Odorizzi to begin things on Monday, the Sox did not register their first hit of the night until the fourth inning, when Enrique Hernandez led off with a line-drive single. J.D. Martinez extended his hitting streak to 17 straight games and advanced Hernandez up to second base before Xander Bogaerts drew a five-pitch walk to fill the bases with one out.

Alex Verdugo followed by lifting a 235-foot fly ball to center field that was just out of the reach of sprawling Chas McCormick and brought in Hernandez from third to give the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead. Martinez was thrown out at third on the play and Trevor Story popped out to end the inning.

To that point in the contest, Garrett Whitlock had gotten through his fifth start of the season without yet giving up a run. The right-hander’s fortunes changed in the fifth, though, as he served up a solo homer to McCormick that pulled the Astros back even with the Sox at 1-1.

Shortly after that happened, Franchy Cordero led off the latter half of the fifth by showing off his power and speed on a 104.3 mph double off the Green Monster. Cordero then moved up to third on a Jackie Bradley Jr. groundout and scored on a pitch that got past Astros catcher Jason Castro.

Odorizzi was able to limit the damage to one run in the fifth, but in the process of getting Hernandez to ground out to first for the final out, suffered a serious injury while running off the mound. He fell to the ground and was ultimately taken off the field. The Astros described Odorizzi’s injury as lower left leg discomfort.

Whitlock came back out in the sixth but immediately gave up a leadoff ground-rule double to Michael Brantley that was followed by a four-pitch walk of Alex Bregman. He was then given the hook by Red Sox manager Alex Cora in favor of Jake Diekman, who walked the first batter he faced before yielding a game-tying sacrifice fly to Yuli Gurriel.

John Schreiber was called upon to finish the inning, and he officially closed the book on Whitlock’s outing by striking out McCormick on eight pitches to keep the 2-2 stalemate intact.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 80 (52 strikes) Whitlock wound up allowing a total of two earned run on three hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with three strikeouts over five-plus innings of work. The 25-year-old’s ERA on the season now sits at 2.43.

As soon as Schreiber recorded the final out of the sixth, the skies above Fenway began to open and the rain started to pour. A rain delay that lasted 98 minutes started and the game did not resume until approximately 10:45 p.m.

Matt Barnes was dispatched for the seventh inning and only saw his struggles continue by giving up a leadoff double to Castro. A sacrifice bunt allowed Castro to advance to third and Jose Altuve drove him in by ripping an RBI single back up the middle. Barnes faced just three batters and was replaced by Matt Strahm, who proved to be far more effective. The left-hander worked his way around a hit batsman by striking out two in the seventh, then worked his way around a two-out double in an otherwise clean eighth inning.

Moments before the eighth inning began, though, Trevor Story came through in the clutch to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Matched up against Astros reliever Phil Maton, Story crushed a solo home run 428 feet over the Green Monster.

Story’s first Fenway Park homer as a member of the Red Sox had an exit velocity of 106.7 mph. It also knotted things back up at three runs a piece. This tie, however, did not last too long.

On the heels of what Strahm did in the top of the eighth, Hernandez led off the bottom half against Hector Neris with a double to left field that was deflected by Bregman. Martinez plated him with the go-ahead double while also putting a runner in scoring position with one out for Bogaerts.

As the fans who remained at Fenway started a “Re-sign Xander!” chant, Bogaerts heard them and delivered with a clutch, two-run blast over the Monster to give Boston a commanding 6-3 advantage. Bogaerts’ third big fly of the year left the shortstop’s bat at 103.7 mph and traveled 397 feet.

With a three-run lead to protect now, Hansel Robles got the call for the ninth inning. He yielded a leadoff single to Mauricio Dubon, but negated it by getting Altuve to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. Robles then got Brantley to fly out to left to slam the door on the Astros and pick up his second save of the year.

Next up: Urquidy vs. Eovaldi

The Red Sox will send right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to the mound as they go for a series victory on Tuesday night. The Astros will counter with fellow righty Jose Urquidy.

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

(Picture of Trevor Story: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox promote relief prospect A.J. Politi to Triple-A Worcester

In addition to Brayan Bello, the Red Sox are also promoting relief prospect A.J. Politi from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

Politi, who turns 26 next month, began the 2022 season in Portland’s bullpen and posted a 2.03 ERA and 3.54 FIP to go along with 20 strikeouts to just three walks over 12 relief appearances spanning 13 1/3 innings of work for the Sea Dogs. The right-hander also went a perfect 4-for-4 in save opportunities.

Among Eastern League pitchers who have accrued at least 10 innings on the mound this year, Politi ranks 14th in strikeouts per nine innings (13.5), 23rd in walks per nine innings (2.03), 11th in strikeout rate (38.5%), 15th in swinging strike rate (17.9%), 25th in walk rate (5.8%), 19th in batting average against (.149), sixth in WHIP (0.75), 30th in ERA, and fifth in xFIP (2.29), per FanGraphs.

The Red Sox originally selected Politi in the 15th round of the 2018 amateur draft out of Seton Hall University. The New Jersey native signed with Boston for a modest $25,000 and has been used as both a starter and reliever throughout his professional career.

Last season, for instance, Politi made 15 starts for Portland and yielded a 7.01 ERA before moving to the bullpen on a full-time basis in September. He impressed in four outings there, made 11 appearances for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League, and really has not looked back since then.

Listed at 6-feet and 195 pounds, the 25-year-old works with four different pitches in a mid-90s fastball (his best offering), a high-80s slider, a lower-80s curveball, and a changeup. He is currently regarded by FanGraphs as the No. 46 prospect in Boston’s farm system and can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft later this winter.

If the Red Sox would like to prevent that from happening, they would need to add Politi to their 40-man roster by the November deadline. Giving the righty an extended look at the Triple-A level will surely play a role in the club’s decision when that time comes.

With the WooSox, Politi will be joining a bullpen that includes the likes of Eduard Bazardo, Silvino Bracho, Michael Feliz, Durbin Feltman, Zack Kelly, Kaleb Ort, and Phillips Valdez, among others.

In order to call up both Bello and Politi to Worcester, the Red Sox will be sending left-hander Kyle Hart and right-hander Darin Gillies down to Portland.

(Picture of A.J. Politi: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox promote top pitching prospect Brayan Bello to Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have promoted top pitching prospect Brayan Bello to Triple-A Worcester, as confirmed by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. Per his Instagram story, Bello spent part of his Monday at Polar Park and will wear the No. 64 with the WooSox.

According to Boston Strong on Twitter, who first took note of Bello’s social media activity, Bello will make his Triple-A debut against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Wednesday night.

Bello, who turns 23 on Tuesday, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 1 pitching prospect (fourth overall) in Boston’s farm system and the 86th-ranked prospect in all of baseball.

In six starts for Double-A Portland this season, the hard-throwing right-hander has posted a 1.60 ERA and 3.20 FIP to go along with 42 strikeouts to 12 walks over 33 2/3 innings of work. He tossed a seven-inning no-hitter against the Reading Fightin Phils at Hadlock Field earlier this month.

Among qualified Eastern League pitchers, Bello ranks seventh in strikeout rate (32.6%), second in swinging strike rate (19.3%) first in batting average against (.137), second in WHIP (0.83), second in ERA, eighth in FIP, and fifth in xFIP (2.68), per FanGraphs.

The reigning Red Sox Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year, Bello was originally signed by Boston for a modest $28,000 coming out of the Dominican Republic in July 2017. It has been quite the ascent for the Samana native since then.

Listed at a lanky 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, Bello operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a high-90s fastball that tops out at 99-100 mph, an 85-89 mph changeup, and an 84-88 mph slider.

Since he is already on the Boston’s 40-man roster, Bello could very well make his big-league debut later this season. For the time being, though, the 22-year-old will join a talented WooSox rotation that consists of other high-caliber prospects like Connor Seabold, Josh Winckowski, and Kutter Crawford.

(Picture of Brayan Bello: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

On a day Red Sox could have used him, pitching prospect Connor Seabold dominates in latest start for Triple-A Worcester

While the Red Sox dropped Sunday’s series finale to the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, pitching prospect Connor Seabold put together another impressive performance on the mound about 1,700 miles away in Worcester, Mass.

Making his seventh start of the season — and second straight against the Rochester Red Wings — for Triple-A Worcester, Seabold allowed just one hit and one walk to go along with a season-high 11 strikeouts over six scoreless innings of work at Polar Park.

It was a bounce back effort for Seabold, who got rocked for six runs (five earned) across just three innings in his last time out against Rochester on May 4.

Of the 92 pitches Seabold threw on Sunday, 66 went for strikes. The right-hander now owns an ERA of 2.45 and WHIP of 0.93 with 37 strikeouts to 10 walks through his first seven starts (36 2/3 innings) of the 2022 campaign for the WooSox. He is also holding opposing hitters to a .179/.252/.246 slash line against.

Seabold, 26, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 21 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks 10th among pitchers in the organization. He made his major-league debut for the Red Sox against the White Sox last September.

Given the fact that he has been dominating in Worcester and has already gotten a taste of the big-leagues, it was somewhat surprising to see the Red Sox not call up Seabold to start against the Rangers at Globe Life Field on Sunday.

Instead, after pushing Garrett Whitlock back one day so he could start against the Astros in Boston on Monday, Alex Cora and Co. elected to go in the direction of a bullpen game, which did not go well since it ultimately resulted in a loss.

When speaking with reporters following Sunday’s 7-1 defeat, Cora explained why the Sox decided against calling up Seabold and kept things in-house with Austin Davis, Tanner Houck, Ryan Brasier, and Tyler Danish.

“I think roster-wise it was going to get complicated,” Cora said. “We got the guys that we have here and then we actually, we got what we wanted, you know? Five innings and we had it set up for the rest of the day. We didn’t make pitches in that sixth inning and we weren’t able to get to the next level, to the last part of the game.”

It’s an interesting statement from Cora. As noted by SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield on Twitter, the Red Sox could have optioned Brasier, Danish, or Hirokazau Sawamura to Worcester in order to call up Seabold, who is already on the 40-man roster. They also could have had Seabold start on short rest on Saturday and then activated Rich Hill from the COVID-19 related injured list so he could start on Sunday.

These sorts of things usually receive more attention in losses than they do wins. The Red Sox may not have used Seabold on Sunday for roster-related purposes, but they soon might have no other choice but to promote the righty in some capacity (as a starter or reliever) if he continues to shine for the WooSox.

(Picture of Connor Seabold: Katie Morrison/MassLive)

Red Sox’ Michael Wacha will throw simulated game on Monday, is likely to return from injured list later this week

Injured Red Sox starter Michael Wacha threw a bullpen session at Globe Life Field on Saturday. The right-hander is now slated to throw a simulated game back at Fenway Park on Monday.

Wacha was slated to make his sixth start of the season for Boston against the White Sox last Sunday, but was scratched shortly before first pitch and was later placed on the 15-day injured list due to left intercostal irritation.

Since his stint on the injured list was backdated to May 5, the Red Sox are hopeful they can get Wacha back after the minimum 15 days are over. That would line up the 30-year-old to take the mound against the Mariners this coming Friday, May 20.

When speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) earlier Sunday morning, Sox manager Alex Cora said Wacha “feels good” and added that “everything looks like he’ll be OK” in regards to his anticipated return date.

Through his first five outings of the year, Wacha has impressed in the back-end of Boston’s starting rotation. The veteran righty has posted a 1.38 ERA and 3.93 FIP to go along with 19 strikeouts to 11 walks over 26 innings of work.

Wacha, who turns 31 in July, signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the Red Sox last November, so the 6-foot-6, 215-pound hurler can become a free-agent again this winter.

(Picture of Michael Wacha: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Red Sox fail to complete sweep of Rangers, end road trip with 7-1 loss in Texas

The Red Sox were unable to finish off a three-game sweep of the Rangers to close out the weekend. Boston instead saw their winning streak snapped at two games following a 7-1 loss to Texas at Globe Life Field on Sunday afternoon. Their record is now 13-21.

In what was a bullpen game for the Sox’ pitching staff, Austin Davis served as the opener while also making the first start of his major-league career. The left-hander pitched well, allowing just one walk to go along with two strikeouts over two-plus scoreless and hitless innings of work. 19 of the 35 pitches he threw went for strikes.

Davis’ day came to an end after issuing a leadoff walk to Nathaniel Lowe in the bottom of the third. He was replaced by Tanner Houck, who took a combined no-hit bid into the fifth inning.

Shortly before Houck took the mound for the bottom half of the fifth, the Boston lineup finally got something going against old friend Martin Perez in their half of the fifth. With two outs in the inning, Enrique Hernandez singled and immediately came into score on a 110.6 mph RBI double off the bat of Rafael Devers.

That gave the Red Sox their first lead of the day at 1-0. Houck, however, gave that run right back when he served up a leadoff homer to Kole Calhoun a half-inning later, which knotted things back up at 1-1.

After Houck got through the rest of the fifth, manager Alex Cora next turned to fellow righty Ryan Brasier out of the Boston bullpen. Brasier, in turn, got hit hard. He gave up a one-out double to Marcus Semien that was followed by a five-pitch walk of Corey Seager. Jonah Heim fanned for the second out, but Adolis Garcia demolished a three-run home run 413 feet to right-center field.

Calhoun followed in Garcia’s footsteps by going deep again moments later. His second big fly of the afternoon put the Rangers up 5-1. Tyler Danish took over for Brasier in the seventh and surrendered another homer to Adolis Garcia. This one was good for two runs and gave Texas a commanding 7-1 lead.

Besides what they did in the fifth inning, the Red Sox bats were held in check by Perez and three relievers out of the Rangers’ bullpen. After exploding for 10 runs on Saturday, Boston went a measly 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position on Sunday while leaving nine runners on base as a team.

If there are any positives to take away from Sunday’s performance, it’s that Devers extended his hitting streak to eight consecutive games with a 3-for-4 showing at the plate. J.D. Martinez, on the other hand, went 1-for-4 with a single to extend his hitting streak to 16 straight games.

Next up: Back to Boston

The Red Sox will head back to Boston and kick off a seven-game homestand by first welcoming the Astros into town for the first of three on Monday night. Boston will give right-hander Garrett Whitlock the ball in the series opener while Houston will roll with fellow righty Jake Odorizzi.

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

(Picture of Kole Calhoun: Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)