Tag: 2023 season

Red Sox’ Adam Duvall injures left wrist while trying to make sliding catch, undergoes X-rays

Red Sox center fielder Adam Duvall was forced to exit Sunday’s 4-1 win over the Tigers in the ninth inning due to an unspecified left wrist injury.

To lead off the bottom half of the frame, closer Kenley Jansen got Spencer Torkelson to lift a 244-foot flyball to shallow center field. Duvall ran in and attempted to make a sliding catch to rob Torkelson of a base hit, but he instead landed awkwardly on his left wrist.

More specifically, it appears as though Duvall jammed his wrist as his glove made contact with the outfield grass. Though he immediately got back on his feet, the 34-year-old could be seen grabbing at his left wrist in pain. He was then taken out of the game and was accompanied by head athletic trainer Brandon Henry as he made his way back towards the visitor’s clubhouse at Comerica Park.

When speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) after the fact, Red Sox manager Alex Cora indicated that Duvall was undergoing imaging but could not provide any updates beyond that.

“He’s getting X-rays right now, so we don’t know,” Cora said. “We’ll know more during the day and obviously tomorrow.”

While with the Braves last year, Duvall injured that same left wrist in July and subsequently underwent surgery to repair a torn tendon sheath, which ultimately ended his season.

The Red Sox signed Duvall to a one-year, $7 million deal back in January to serve as their everyday center fielder. The right-handed hitter has quickly made his impact felt by batting .455/.514/1.030 with five doubles, one triple, four home runs, 14 RBIs, 11 runs scored, three walks, and five strikeouts in his first eight games (37 plate appearances) with Boston.

“That’s a big guy out there,” said left fielder Rob Refsnyder. “I don’t think people realize how big he is and how fast he moves. “Looks like he was fully extended. I think he’s going to test right now so fingers crossed and hopefully it’s just kind of precautionary. He almost made a spectacular play. He’s all around a really, really good ballplayer. So we’re all hoping for the best.”

Though more information regarding Duvall’s status will be made available on Monday, the Red Sox are already making preparations in the event that he is placed on the injured list. According to Smith, infielder Bobby Dalbec will join the club in St. Petersburg ahead of Monday’s series opener against the Rays at Tropicana Field and is a candidate to get called up from Triple-A Worcester.

As far as immediate, 40-man outfield depth is concerned, Refsnyder and Raimel Tapia are already on the big-league roster while Jarren Duran is in Worcester. Depending on how long Duvall is sidelined for, the Red Sox could also consider moving Enrique Hernandez back to center field given his defensive struggles at shortstop so far this year.

(Picture of Adam Duvall: Duane Burleson/Getty Images)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Duvall injures left wrist

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

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

Next up: Looking to hand the Rays their first loss

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Duvall’s dominance continues

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

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

Devers records first multi-homer game of season

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

Next up: Crawford starts as Sox go for sweep

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next up: Sale starts first road game in Detroit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other worthwhile observations:

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

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

Next up: Kluber looks to avoid sweep in series finale

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Duvall’s dominance

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

Next up: Pivetta vs. Contreras

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

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

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

Red Sox’ Adam Duvall named American League Player of the Week

Red Sox outfielder Adam Duvall has been named the American League Player of the Week for the week of March 30-April 2, Major League Baseball announced on Monday.

Duvall had a monster series against the Orioles to kick off the 2023 season. The right-handed hitting slugger went 8-for-14 (.571) at the plate with three doubles, one triple, two home runs, eight RBIs, 14 runs scored, zero walks, and three strikeouts in three games at Fenway Park.

Both of those homers came in Saturday’s 9-8 win over Baltimore. In the fifth inning, Duvall crushed a 414-foot two-run shot off O’s starter Dean Kremer for his first big fly in a Red Sox uniform. In the bottom of the ninth, with Boston trailing 8-7 and down to its final out, Duvall came through by clubbing a 387-foot, two-run walk-off home run off Felix Bautista that barely cleared the Green Monster.

By hitting one triple, two homers, and three doubles, Duvall became the first player to ever record six or more extra-base hits in their first three games as a member of the Red Sox. The 34-year-old’s eight RBIs are also tied for the second-most in the team’s first three games of a season.

This marks the first time in his 10-year big-league career that Duvall has earned Player of the Week honors in either the American or National League. The one-time All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner signed a one-year, $7 million deal with the Red Sox back in January after spending the better part of the last four seasons with the Braves.

Duvall will be batting fifth and starting in center field as the Red Sox welcome the Pirates into town for the first of a three-game interleague series on Monday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Adam Duvall: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Adam Duvall, Kiké Hernández stay hot as Red Sox take series from Orioles with 9-5 win

Despite nearly blowing a pair of three-run leads, the Red Sox held on for a series-clinching win over the Orioles on Sunday afternoon. Boston defeated Baltimore by a final score of 9-5 at Fenway Park to improve to 2-1 on the young season.

With lefty Cole Irvin starting for the O’s, the Sox got off to a quick start. The first three batters to greet Irvin all reached base to begin things in the bottom of the first inning. Masataka Yoshida then drove in his side’s first run by plating Rob Refsnyder from third on an RBI groundout.

Enrique Hernandez led off the bottom of the second by launching a 365-foot solo shot over the Green Monster for his second homer in as many days. An inning later, Adam Duvall stayed hot by ripping a two-out double before coming into score on a softly-hit RBI single off the bat of Alex Verdugo.

Verdugo gave the Red Sox an early 3-0 lead heading into the fourth. To that point, Tanner Houck had been cruising right along. Coming off a miserable spring training, the right-hander kicked off his first start of the regular season by retiring nine of the first 11 batters he faced. He then faced the minimum in the top of the fourth before running into some trouble in the fifth.

After giving up a one-out single to Austin Hays, Houck served up a two-run home run to Adam Frazier to get the Orioles on the board. Two batters later, Cedric Mullins took the righty 380 feet deep to right-center field to knot things up at three runs apiece.

Though it ended on a sour note, Houck was still the first Red Sox starter to pitch into the fifth inning and pick up a win this season. Over those five innings of work, the 26-year-old hurler allowed three runs on five hits, one walk, and five strikeouts. He induced 10 swings-and-misses and 45 of the 70 pitches he threw went for strikes.

With Houck’s day over, the Boston lineup got back to work in the latter half of the fifth. Rafael Devers and Justin Turner led off with back-to-back singles before Yoshida drove in Devers with a fly-ball single to center field. That broke the tie and knocked Irvin out of the game. Duvall then greeted new Baltimore reliever Bryan Baker by plating both Turner and Yoshida on a two-run single to left field.

That sequence of events put the Red Sox back up, 6-3, going into the sixth. Following a scoreless inning of relief from John Schreiber, left-hander Richard Bleier made his season debut in the seventh. Acquired from the Marlins for fellow reliever Matt Barnes in January, Bleier yielded a pair of one-out hits to Frazier and Urias, which put runners at second and third for Mullins.

Mullins responded by lacing a two-run single back up the middle to cut the lead to one. But the Red Sox responded in their half of the seventh as Yoshida singled and Duvall doubled off Keegan Akin. After Verdugo popped out, Triston Casas came off the bench and came through with a pinch-hit, 109 mph RBI single to drive in Yoshida. Hernandez followed with a run-scoring base hit of his own to push across Duvall.

Chris Martin stranded one runner in an otherwise clean top of the eighth before Verdugo drove in Yoshida with another RBI single in the bottom half, extending the lead to four runs at 9-5. Kaleb Ort then worked his way around a leadoff double in the ninth to slam the door on the Orioles and secure the series victory.

With Sunday’s win, the Red Sox have taken a series from an American League East opponent. It took them until August 14 to first accomplish that feat last season.

Other worthwhile observations:

The Red Sox are the third team in major-league history to score nine or more runs in three straight games to open a season, joining the 1976 Reds and 1978 Brewers.

Adam Duvall is the first player ever to record six extra-base hits in their first three games as a member of the Red Sox, according to director of baseball communications and media relations J.P. Long.

Next up: Red Sox welcome in the Pirates

The Red Sox will now welcome the Pirates into town for a three-game interleague series that starts on Monday night. Kutter Crawford is expected to get the ball for Boston in the opener while fellow right-hander Johan Oviedo is in line to do the same for Pittsburgh.

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

(Picture of Enrique Hernandez: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)