Tag: 2023 season

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liu named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

β€œHe’s lefty,” Cora said of Hamilton. β€œSo where we’re at right now, this is our unit right now.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wong throws out two more base stealers

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

Next up: On to Atlanta

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Refsnyder, Devers lead the way

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

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

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

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

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

Red Sox to activate James Paxton from injured list in coming days

The Red Sox are planning on activating James Paxton from the 15-day injured list during next week’s two-game series against the Braves in Atlanta.

Though Paxton will not pitch in that series, there is a strong chance the veteran left-hander will make his season debut next weekend, when the Red Sox host the Cardinals in a three-game series at Fenway Park.

Paxton began the season on the injured list after straining his right hamstring in his first spring training start on March 3. The 34-year-old did not pitch again in camp and began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on April 9.

In six rehab outings (five starts) with the WooSox, Paxton posted a 6.23 ERA and 4.48 FIP with 26 strikeouts to 16 walks over 21 2/3 innings of work. He allowed two runs on two hits, five walks, and four strikeouts across five innings (96 pitches) in his final rehab start at Polar Park on Friday night. His 30-day rehab stint expires on Tuesday.

“He threw the ball well,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christoper Smith) at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday. “He threw 90-something pitches. Finished strong. Location (was off). He walked five. Long first inning but overall we’re very pleased with the way he threw the ball.”

With Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, and Tanner Houck starting in Philadelphia and Nick Pivetta and Brayan Bello scheduled to start in Atlanta, Boston already has a full five-man rotation. When asked about the possibility of bringing back a six-man rotation in order to accommodate Paxton, Cora did not rule that idea out.

“If we want to, yeah,” said Cora. “We’ll see.”

Paxton last started a game at the major-league level on April 6, 2021. He tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow in that outing for the Mariners and underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter.

After signing a one-year deal with the Red Sox that December, Paxton experienced a series of setbacks that prevented him from returning to the big-league mound in 2022. He then exercised a $4 million player option last November that brought him back to Boston for the 2023 campaign.

While Paxton was unable to break camp with the club this spring due to that aforementioned hamstring injury, his first start in a Red Sox uniform is fast approaching. It’s been a long time coming.

(Picture of James Paxton: Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox select Zack Littell to active roster, option Kaleb Ort to Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox selected the contract of right-hander Zack Littell and have added him to the active roster, the club announced prior to Saturday’s game against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

In order to make room for Littell on the 26-man roster, fellow reliever Kaleb Ort was optioned to Triple-A Worcester. In order to make room for him on the 40-man roster, outfielder Adam Duvall was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Boston acquired Littell from the Rangers in exchange for cash considerations on Friday. The 27-year-old had a May 1 upward mobility clause in his minor-league deal with the Rangers, which required Texas to either promote or trade him if another club was willing to call him up.

According to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, the Red Sox expressed a willingness to add Littell to their big-league roster, which led to Friday’s trade taking place.

Littell spent the first month of the 2023 season with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock after signing a minors pact with Texas in February. In eight relief appearances for the Express, the righty posted a 2.25 ERA with 16 strikeouts to two walks over 12 innings of work.

A former 11th-round draft selection of the Mariners out of Eastern Alamance High School (N.C.) in 2013, Littell made his major-league debut in 2018 and owns a lifetime 4.08 ERA (4.66 FIP) with 151 strikeouts to 60 walks in 145 career outings (four starts, 169 2/3 innings) between the Twins and Giants.

After a breakout 2021 campaign in which he produced a 2.92 ERA in a career-high 63 appearances for San Francisco, Littell struggled to a 5.08 ERA across 44 1/3 innings last season. He most notably got in a heated argument with manager Gabe Kapler after getting pulled from a game in September and was later outrighted by the Giants before electing free agency in November.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Littell operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a mid-90s four-seam fastball, a high-80s slider, and a mid-80s splitter, per Baseball Savant.

Littell, who will wear the No. 52 with the Red Sox, is out of minor-league options. In other words, the North Carolina native has to stick on Boston’s 40-man roster or he will otherwise be designated for assignment if the club intends on sending him back to the minors by hoping he clears waivers.

Ort, meanwhile, returns to Worcester after a brief one-day stint with the Red Sox. The 31-year-old was called up on Friday night to take the roster spot of Kutter Crawford, who was placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain. He did not pitch in Friday’s win over the Phillies.

Duvall has been on the injured list since April 10 due to a distal radius fracture in his left wrist. The 34-year-old slugger did not require surgery and has since transitioned from a hard cast to a removable splint. While he has yet to swing a bat, he has been running and doing other conditioning work, per The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham.

Because he was transferred to the 60-day injured list, Duvall cannot be activated June 9 at the earliest. It remains to be seen if he will require the minimum 60 days or will still be sidelined beyond that date.

(Picture of Zack Littel: Ben Ludeman/Texas Rangers/Getty Images)

Chris Sale strikes out 10 as Red Sox top Phillies, 5-3, for seventh straight win

The Red Sox kicked off a five-game road trip with a series-opening win over the Phillies on Friday night. Boston defeated Philadelphia by a final score of 5-3 at Citizens Bank Park to extend its winning streak to seven and improve to 20-14 on the season.

With Zack Wheeler starting for the Phillies, the Sox drew first blood in the top of the first inning. Raimel Tapia led off by reaching second base on a 333-foot flyball to left field that was dropped by old friend Kyle Schwarber. He then advanced to third on a Masataka Yoshida groundout and scored the first run of the game on a sharply-hit RBI single off the bat of Rafael Devers.

Two innings later, Tapia and Yoshida led off with back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners. Turner followed by plating Tapia on an RBI groundout. Enrique Hernandez then put Boston up, 3-0, on a two-out single that brought in Yoshida.

Chris Sale, meanwhile, was in the midst of his seventh start of the season for the Red Sox. The left-hander impressed out of the gate by piling up strikeouts over three scoreless frames. The fourth inning was a bit of a different story, however.

Trailing 3-0, Bryce Harper led off with an infield single that Sale could not field cleanly and immediately scored all the way from first on a Nick Castellanos RBI double that rolled down the left field line. J.T. Realmuto followed with an extra-base hit of his own and pushed across Castellanos with a run-scoring triple. Alec Bohm then drove in Realmuto on a single to pull the Phillies back even with the Sox at three runs apiece.

It appeared that Philadelphia may have had Sale on the ropes after Bohm took second base on a wild pitch. But the lefty did not falter and instead stranded Bohm at second by getting Josh Harrison to ground out and both Edmundo Sosa and Dalton Guthrie to punch out. He struck out two more in the bottom of the fifth, paving the way for Boston to break the tie in the sixth.

A leadoff double from Jarren Duran immediately put a runner in scoring position for Hernandez, who lofted a bloop single to center field to put runners at first and third. Triston Casas then brought in the speedy Duran with a 401-foot flyout to deep center. Following a Phillies pitching change, Enmanuel Valdez greeted new reliever Connor Brogdon with an RBI single through the right side of the infield.

Valdez gave the Red Sox a 5-3 lead, which is where the score would remain. Sale ended his night by putting up another zero in the latter half of the sixth. So the 34-year-old southpaw wound up allowing just the three earned runs on seven hits, one walk, and one hit batsman to go along with 10 strikeouts over six quality innings of work. He reached 99 mph with his four-seam fastball, finished with 98 pitches (69 strikes), and induced 17 swings-and-misses en route to picking up his third winning decision of the year.

With Sale’s day done, Richard Bleier received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The lefty worked his way around a two-out single in an otherwise clean frame before making way for Chris Martin, who made quick work of the Phillies in the bottom of the eighth.

Taking a 5-3 lead into the ninth, Kenley Jansen made his first appearance since tweaking his back at Fenway Park last Saturday. Jansen made things somewhat interesting by issuing a one-out single and walk to bring the potential winning run to the plate. Like Sale, though, Jansen did not buckle. He instead responded to the challenge by fanning Schwarber and Trea Turner to seal the win and notch the 398th save of his career.

Yoshida extends hitting streak

With his third-inning single, Masataka Yoshida extended his hitting streak to 15 games, which is the longest active streak in the majors.

Game delayed due to medical emergency

In the top of the first inning, the game was delayed for approximately 10 minutes after a fan fell into the visitors’ bullpen. That fan, who was trying to retrieve a ball that was thrown to him, was carted off in a stretcher and taken to a local hospital.

Next up: Kluber vs. Falter

Looking for their eighth straight win, the Red Sox will aim to take this series from the Phillies on Saturday night. Right-hander Corey Kluber will get the start for Boston opposite left-hander Bailey Falter for Philadelphia.

First pitch from Citizens Bank Park is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. eastern time on FOX.

(Picture of Chris Sale: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Red Sox pitching prospect C.J. Liu throws seven-inning no-hitter for Double-A Portland

Red Sox pitching prospect Chih-Jung “C.J.” Liu threw a seven-inning no-hitter in Game 1 of Double-A Portland’s doubleheader against the Akron RubberDucks on Friday night.

Making his fifth start of the season for Portland on the road at Canal Park, Liu walked just two and struck out six over seven scoreless, no-hit frames. The right-hander took a bid for a perfect game into the bottom of the third before issuing a two-out walk to Connor Kokx. He then retired the next eight batters he faced before giving up another free pass to Kokx with out in the sixth.

Liu once again stranded Kokx at first base by recording back-to-back strikeouts of Julian Escobedo and Angel Martinez. He preserved the no-hit effort by sitting by inducing one groundout and two flyouts in a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

All told, Liu sat down 21 of the 23 RubberDucks hitters he faced on 91 pitches (48 strikes). With Stephen Scott handling catching duties, the 24-year-old hurler induced 12 swings-and-misses and earned the winning decision with the first complete game shutout of his professional career.

Liu becomes the second Sea Dogs pitcher in franchise history to throw a complete game, seven-inning no-hitter. Brayan Bello, who is now with the Red Sox, first accomplished the feat at Hadlock Field exactly one year ago Friday.

Through five starts with the Sea Dogs to begin the 2023 season, Liu has posted a 3.65 ERA and 1.22 WHIP with 29 strikeouts to 11 walks over 24 2/3 innings of work. Opponents are hitting just .216 against him.

A native of Taiwan, Liu originally signed with the Red Sox for $750,000 as an international free agent coming out Tainan City in October 2019. He was considered to be a switch-hitting two-way player at that time but has since been converted into a full-time pitcher. Liu did not name his pro debut until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and closed out the 2022 campaign with Portland after earning a late-season promotion from High-A Greenville.

Listed at 6-feet and 185 pounds, Liu throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a 93-95 mph fastball that tops out at 98 mph, an 80-82 mph changeup, an 83-86 mph slider, and a 78-80 mph curveball, per his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

Liu, who just turned 24 in April, is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 58 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks 24th among pitchers in the organization. He can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in his career later this year if he is not added to the Sox’ 40-man roster by the deadline to do so in November.

(Picture of C.J. Liu: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)