Tag: alex cora

Rafael Devers homers in fourth straight game, Josh Winckowski tosses 5 scoreless innings in second career start as Red Sox roll to 10-1 win over Athletics

The Red Sox once again had their way with the Athletics at Fenway Park on Wednesday night. Boston defeated Oakland, 10-1, to take the three-game series and improve to 34-29 on the season.

Early scoring was yet again key for the Sox. Matched up against A’s starter James Kaprielian out of the gate, Alex Verdugo got his productive night at the plate started and got his side on the board first with a bases-loaded RBI groundout in the first inning.

An inning later, Jackie Bradley Jr. reached base via a one-out single and Rafael Devers followed by crushing a 387-foot two-run home run into Oakland’s bullpen. Devers’ 16th home run of the season — and fourth in his last four games — gave the Red Sox a 3-0 lead.

Xander Bogaerts led off the third inning with a hard-hit double to left field and immediately scored from second on an RBI single off the bat of Verdugo. Jarren Duran, just called up from Triple-A Worcester, led off the fourth by drawing a four-pitch walk before Devers did the same. Duran, after tagging up to third, scored on a Bogaerts sacrifice fly. Devers scored from third on a throwing error committed by Kaprielian.

On the other side of things, Josh Winckowski was in the midst of putting together a solid outing in his second career major-league start. Over five scoreless innings of work, the right-hander yielded just four hits and one walk to go along with three strikeouts on the night.

Like Duran, Winckowski was recalled from Worcester on Wednesday afternoon. Despite walking the very first batter of the contest, the 23-year-old was able to work his way around some traffic on the base paths. He faced the minimum in just one of his five frames, but ultimately pitched well enough to earn his first big-league win.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 79 (52 strikes), Winckowski induced seven total swings-and-misses and topped out at 96 mph with his sinker, a pitch he threw 35 times.

In relief of Winckowski, Jake Diekman received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora for the sixth inning and served up a two-out solo shot to the pinch-hitting Matt Davidson. But the Red Sox got that run back and one more when Verdugo cranked a two-run homer of his own in the bottom half of the inning.

Verdugo’s fourth big fly of the year — and first since April 16 — left his bat at a blistering 104.5 mph and traveled 393 feet into the Sox’ bullpen. It also put Boston up by seven runs at 8-1.

After Hirokazu Sawamura and Ryan Brasier combined for two scoreless innings out of the ‘pen, the Red Sox tacked on two more runs in their half of the eighth. Back-to-back one-out doubles from J.D. Martinez and Bogaerts pushed across the first of those two runs. Trevor Story then drove Bogaerts in from second on an RBI single to right field.

Story’s 42nd RBI of the season gave the Sox a commanding 10-1 lead. Tyler Danish closed things out in the ninth to slam the door on the A’s and preserve the victory.

Next up: Hill vs. Blackburn

The Red Sox will go for the three-game and season series sweep of the Athletics on Thursday afternoon. Former A’s left-hander Rich Hill will get the start for Boston and right-hander Paul Blackburn will do the same for Oakland.

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

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Elsa/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Christian Arroyo tests positive for COVID-19

Red Sox utility man Christian Arroyo has tested positive for COVID-19 and has therefore been placed on the COVID-19 related injured list, manager Alex Cora announced prior to Wednesday’s game against the Athletics.

Arroyo, who is vaccinated against the virus, was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup shortly before first pitch due to illness. He was replaced by Franchy Cordero and was subsequently entered into COVID protocols.

Since Arroyo has indeed tested positive for COVID-19 and is not just exhibiting symptoms, it is unlikely that he will be able to return to the Red Sox within the next few days.

Instead, the 27-year-old could be sidelined for the next 10 days, though there is a chance he comes back before then if he registers two consecutive COVID-19 tests (taken at least 24 hours apart) and does not exhibit any virus-like symptoms.

In 34 games with Boston this season, the right-handed hitting Arroyo has slashed .187/.227/.319 with three doubles, three home runs, 10 RBIs, 10 runs scored, three stolen bases, three walks, and 17 strikeouts over 98 plate appearances. He has seen playing time at first base, second base, third base, shortstop, and right field.

With Arroyo on the COVID injured list, the Red Sox have recalled outfielder Jarren Duran from Triple-A Worcester. The speedy Duran will bat leadoff and start in center field on Wednesday. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez both homer as Red Sox cruise to 6-1 win over Athletics

The Red Sox returned home to Fenway Park for the first time in nearly two weeks on Tuesday and continued their winning ways with a series-opening win over the Athletics.

Boston defeated Oakland by a final score of 6-1 in a tidy two hours and 43 minutes to take the season series from the A’s and improve to 33-29 on the year.

Matched up against rookie left-hander Jared Koenig to begin things on Tuesday, Xander Bogaerts kicked off the scoring with a first-inning broken-bat RBI single to right field.

An inning later, Rob Refsnyder delivered with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly that scored Christian Vazquez from third base. In the bottom of the third, J.D. Martinez clubbed his eighth home run of the season and his third in his last four games.

Rafael Devers’ doubled Boston’s advantage in the fourth. With runners on first and second and no outs in the inning, Devers took an 0-1, 88 mph sinker on the inner half of the plate from Koenig and crushed it 439 feet into the right field bleachers.

Devers’ team-leading 15th big fly of the year — a three-run blast that left his bat at a blistering 107.3 mph — gave the Sox a commanding 6-0 lead at the end of the four.

To that point in the contest, Nick Pivetta had been cruising right along in his 13th start of the season for Boston. The right-hander took a no-hit bid into the fourth inning before giving up a leadoff single to Tony Kemp. He then took a shutout bid into the eighth inning before yielding a leadoff home run to Stephen Vogt.

Pivetta did not let that rattle him, though, as he proceeded to retire the next (and final) three batters he faced to end his night on a solid note. Finishing with a final pitch count of 100 (67 strikes), the 29-year-old hurler wound up allowing just the one run on three hits, two walks, and three strikeouts over eight strong innings of work.

Of the 100 pitches Pivetta threw, 55 were four-seam fastballs. He induced a game-high seven swings-and-misses with the pitch while topping out at 96.2 mph with it. He also lowered his ERA on the season down to 3.50.

In relief of Pivetta, Phillips Valdez received the first and only call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The righty allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base, but closed it out from there to secure the 6-1 victory.

Next up: Kaprielian vs. Winckowski

The Red Sox will call up rookie right-hander Josh Winckowski to start the second game of this three-game set on Wednesday. The Athletics, on the other hand, will turn to fellow righty James Kaprielian.

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

(Picture of J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers: Elsa/Getty Images)

Shohei Ohtani steals the show yet again as Red Sox fall to Angels, 5-2, to snap 7-game winning streak

The Red Sox saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end on Thursday night following a 5-2 loss at the hands of the Angels at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

Boston was unable to complete the four-game sweep of Los Angeles, who put an end to a historic 14-game losing streak with its first win since May 24.

Nick Pivetta and two-way star Shohei Ohtani opposed one another on the mound and traded zeroes through the first four innings of Thursday’s contest.

In the top of the fifth, Franchy Cordero drew a leadoff walk and came into score from third on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Bobby Dalbec. In the bottom half, Ohtani took things into his own hands by crushing a 394-foot two-run home run that came on a 1-1, 92 mph heater from Pivetta at the top of the zone.

Pivetta continued on, but ran into some trouble in the sixth when he issued back-to-back walks to lead off the inning. That prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora to go to his bullpen and pull the right-hander in favor of Hirokazu Sawamura.

Sawamura, in turn, recorded the first two outs of the sixth before serving up a back-breaking, three-run homer to Andrew Velazquez that gave the Angels a commanding 5-1 lead.

Pivetta was charged with four of those five runs. In addition to four earned runs, the 29-year-old gave up six hits and two walks over five-plus innings. He also plunked one batter while striking out a season-high of 11. 67 of the 97 pitches he threw went for strikes.

Ohtani, on the other hand, wound up yielding just one earned run over seven strong innings. The 27-year-old phenom finishes the regular season having allowed just one run in 14 innings of work against the Red Sox.

Once Ohtani came out, the Sox responded when Christian Arroyo led off the eighth inning with a line-drive single off Angels reliever Ryan Tepera. Arroyo proceeded to steal second base and scored from there on a 104.5 mph RBI single from Alex Verdugo.

That made it a 5-2 game, which would go on to be Thursday’s final score after Austin Davis and Hansel Robles each tossed a scoreless frame of relief for Boston and Halos closer Raisel Iglesias retired the side in order in the ninth. The Red Sox as a team went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left a total of six runners on base.

With the loss, Boston falls to 30-28 on the season and 6-1 on the west coast road trip that concludes this weekend.

Next up: On to Seattle

The Red Sox will now travel north for a three-game series against the Mariners in Seattle. Veteran lefty Rich Hill will get the start for Boston on Friday night while fellow southpaw Marco Gonzalez will do the same for Seattle.

First pitch from T-Mobile Park is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Shohei Ohtani: John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Nathan Eovaldi grinds through 5 scoreless innings Wednesday night while dealing with tightness in right hip

Nathan Eovaldi made his 12th start of the season for the Red Sox against the Angels on Wednesday night.

Coming into play on Wednesday, the right-hander was averaging 96.7 mph on his four-seam fastball — his most-frequently used pitch.

In his latest outing at Angel Stadium, 32 of the 84 pitches Eovaldi threw were four-seamers, but he only averaged 94 mph and topped out at 97.1 mph with it, per Baseball Savant. It was Eovaldi’s lowest average fastball velocity in a start since 2012.

Nevertheless, the 32-year-old grinded through five scoreless innings, yielding just six hits and no walks to go along with five strikeouts en route to picking up his fourth win and lowering his ERA on the season to 3.16.

Following Boston’s 1-0 victory over Los Angeles, manager Alex Cora revealed that Eovaldi has been dealing with right hip tightness, which likely attributed to the dip in fastball velocity.

“Yeah, probably that’s it,” Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith). “He pitched well. He got us five scoreless innings. The stuff wasn’t great but he did a good job changing speeds, using his off-speed pitches.”

While his fastball velocity was down, Eovaldi still proved effective elsewhere. He induced seven swings-and-misses with the 24 splitters he threw, three swings-and-misses with the 13 curveballs he threw, and three more whiffs with the 10 sliders he threw.

Cora indicated that Eovaldi should not need to miss his next start since the Red Sox will enjoy an off day back in Boston on Monday, which will give the veteran righty an extra day of rest.

“It’s part of it sometimes,” said Cora. “The traveling and the beds, whatever. He should be OK.”

For his part, Eovaldi was ready to come back out for the sixth inning even after receiving a visit on the mound from Cora and a member of the training staff in the bottom of the fifth.

That ultimately did not happen, and Eovaldi revealed afterwards that he first began experiencing tightness in his hip when he woke up on Tuesday. It is not believed to be a serious injury.

“Yesterday, I woke up and it was a little tight, but I did some treatment and it felt better,” Eovaldi said, via MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “I came in and played catch, went about my normal business and today, during the game, it just got a little tighter as the game went on. But we were able to make big pitches when we needed to and the defense was great tonight, and we were able to come out on top.”

Assuming Eovaldi makes his next start as scheduled, that should come against the Athletics at Fenway Park next Tuesday.

(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Bobby Dalbec’s RBI double lifts Red Sox to another 1-0 win over Angels

For the second time in three games, the Red Sox squeaked out a 1-0 win over the Angels in Anaheim on Wednesday night.

They did not get a complete game from their starting pitcher this time around, but they still held on to win their seventh straight game and improve to 30-27 on the season.

The game’s lone run came in the sixth inning. Up until that point in the contest, the Rafael Devers-less Red Sox lineup had been held in check by Angels pitching despite squandering a number of scoring opportunities.

With two outs in the sixth, though, Alex Verdugo drew an eight-pitch walk off Halos reliever Jimmy Herget. Three pitches later, Verdugo scored all the way from first when Bobby Dalbec laced a 93 mph double down the left field line.

Dalbec then attempted to score from second on a Kevin Plawecki single, but was thrown out at home plate. Still, the damage had already been done.

In the middle of the sixth, Red Sox manager Alex Cora elected to turn to his bullpen after getting five scoreless innings from Nathan Eovaldi. While Eovaldi scattered six hits without walking a batter and struck out five in his 12th start of the season, the right-hander’s velocity was noticeably down.

Of the 84 pitches (56 strikes) Eovaldi threw, 32 were fastballs. He averaged 94 mph with the pitch, down from the 96.7 mph he averaged with it coming into play on Wednesday. The 32-year-old also induced seven swings-and-misses with his splitter, a pitch he threw 24 times in the process of lowering his ERA on the season to 3.16.

In relief of Eovaldi, Tyler Danish received the first call from Cora out of the Boston bullpen. With a brand new 1-0 lead to work with, Danish tossed a scoreless frame in the bottom of the sixth before plunking the first batter he faced in the seventh.

That prompted Cora to call upon Jake Diekman, who got the pinch-hitting Max Stassi to ground into a 6-4-3 double play that was capped with a nice scoop at first base by Christian Vazquez, who was making his first start of the year at the position.

Diekman then fanned the dangerous Shohei Ohtani to retire the side in the seventh and make way for John Schreiber in the eighth. Schreiber, in turn, got the next four outs before Cora pulled him in favor of Matt Strahm.

Tasked with recording the final two outs of the ballgame, Strahm did just that on five pitches to earn the save and seal the win.

According to MLB.com’s Ian Browne, this is the first time the Red Sox have won two games in the same series by a final score of 1-0 since July 18 and 19 of 2006 against the Royals.

Browne also notes that Eovaldi was dealing with a tight right hip on Wednesday, which likely led to the dip in velocity.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Ohtani in series finale

The Red Sox will look to keep their perfect west coast road trip going by completing a four-game sweep over the Angels on Thursday night. Boston will turn to right-hander Nick Pivetta while Los Angeles will roll with fellow righty Shohei Ohtani.

First pitch from Angel Stadium is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Christian Vazquez and Bobby Dalbec: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Kiké Hernández on 10-day injured list due to right hip flexor strain, recall Jonathan Araúz from Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox placed centerfielder Enrique Hernandez on the 10-day injured list because of a right hip flexor strain, Alex Cora announced before Wednesday’s game against the Angels.

In Hernandez’s place, infielder Jonathan Arauz has been recalled from Triple-A Worcester. Arauz, who was with the WooSox in Buffalo, was able to join the Red Sox ahead of first pitch at Angel Stadium on Wednesday night and will be available off the bench.

Cora indicated to reporters (including The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey) that Hernandez had been playing through his injury in recent weeks, but the team believes some down time would be more beneficial.

With the Red Sox this season, Hernandez has batted just .209/.273/.340 with 16 doubles, four home runs, 24 RBIs, 27 runs scored, 18 walks, and 38 strikeouts over 51 games spanning 238 plate appearances. The versatile 30-year-old has seen the majority of his playing time come in center field, though he has also made three appearances at shortstop.

Arauz, meanwhile, will join Boston for the second time this year after making the club’s Opening Day roster out of spring training. Occupying a bench role, the switch-hitting 23-year-old went 0-for-7 at the plate with one RBI and one run across five games before being placed on the COVID-19 related injured list on April 19.

Less than two weeks later, Arauz was sent out on a rehab assignment with Worcester and was officially optioned there on May 12. The native Panamanian has slashed .185/.242/.239 with five doubles, three RBIs, 11 runs scored, one stolen base, seven walks, and 13 strikeouts in 24 games (99 plate appearances) with the WooSox.

As noted by McCaffrey, the Red Sox went with Arauz in this scenario because they want an extra infielder on their roster for now as Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, and Trevor Story will all be getting days off this week . Boston could, however, swap Arauz for outfielder Jarren Duran ahead of this weekend’s series against the Mariners in Seattle or when it opens a three-game series against the Athletics back at Fenway Park next Tuesday.

(Picture of Enrique Hernandez: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Xander Bogaerts doing ‘OK’ after leaving Tuesday’s win early due to left shoulder tightness

Xander Bogaerts was removed in the ninth inning of the Red Sox’ 6-5 win over the Angels on Tuesday night due to what the team described as left shoulder tightness.

As Red Sox Stats pointed out on Twitter, Bogaerts appeared to reach for his left shoulder after he whiffed on a 94 mph slider and struck out against Angels reliever Ryan Tepera in the seventh inning.

Bogaerts was able to remain in the game defensively, but he was pinch-hit for by Franchy Cordero when his spot in the lineup came up again in the ninth. He was then replaced at shortstop a half-inning later by Enrique Hernandez, who slid over from center field and wound up making a great play to end the game in the 10th.

When speaking with reporters following his team’s sixth consecutive victory, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that Bogaerts is doing well and revealed that this issue with Bogaerts’ left shoulder actually stems from when he collided with Alex Verdugo at Fenway Park last month.

“He’s doing OK,” said Cora. “He ran into Dugie in Boston. It’s been kind of on-and-off bothering him. So, we’ll see tomorrow. He’s begging to play. We’ll see how it goes.”

Prior to leaving Tuesday’s contest, Bogaerts had gone 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. The 29-year-old is now batting .320/.388/.481 on the season with six home runs and 26 RBIs over 55 games and 232 trips to the plate.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Christian Vázquez comes through in 10th inning to lift Red Sox to 6-5 win over Angels

It took 10 innings and nearly four hours to accomplish, but the Red Sox won their sixth straight game on Tuesday with a hard-fought, come-from-behind win over the Angels at Angel Stadium.

Boston defeated Los Angeles by a final score of 6-5 in 10 innings to improve to 29-27 on the season and a perfect 5-0 on its current west coast road trip.

Garrett Whitlock, making his ninth start of the season for the Sox, allowed four earned runs on six hits, zero walks, and five strikeouts over just four innings of work. The right-hander served up a two-run home run to Mike Trout in the bottom of the first before giving up another run on a fielder’s choice in the second and a Max Stassi RBI double in the third.

Whitlock ended his night by striking out the side in the bottom half of the fourth. The 25-year-old finished with a final pitch count of 71 (47 strikes). He did not factor into Tuesday’s decision, though he did raise his ERA on the season to 3.51.

While Whitlock may have struggled, the Red Sox lineup certainly backed him up out of the gate. With left-hander Jose Suarez on the mound for the Angels, Trevor Story jump-started a three-run second inning with a leadoff double. Alex Verdugo and Christian Vazquez then both reached to fill the bases for Christian Arroyo, who drove in Story on a force out. Back-to-back RBI singles from Bobby Dalbec and Enrique Hernandez allowed Verdugo and Arroyo to score and give the Sox their first lead of the night at 3-2.

Picking things up in the middle of the fifth inning, Jake Diekman received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Taking over for Whitlock with his team trailing by a run, Diekman issued a leadoff walk to Luis Rengifo, who advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored from there on a run-scoring double off the bat of Jo Adell.

The veteran lefty managed to limit the damage to just one run, though, and the Sox immediately got that one run back when Dalbec plated Verdugo on an RBI single a half-inning later.

After Hirokazu Sawamura retired the side in order in the sixth, Boston struck once again in the seventh with Rafael Devers ripping a leadoff double and scoring on a 31-foot RBI single from Story that deflected off the leg of Angels reliever Ryan Tepera.

Sawamura also got the first out in the latter half of the seventh before making way for Austin Davis, who worked his way around a two-out walk to keep things tied at five runs apiece.

Tanner Houck was next up, and he ensured this one would head to extra innings by working a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth and stranding a runner at second base in a scoreless ninth.

With Story in scoring position representing the potential go-ahead run, Vazquez came through by lacing a 96 mph RBI single to right field off Jaime Barria. The speedy Story easily scored from second to give the Sox a 6-5 lead.

Matt Strahm was tasked with keeping the score that way in the bottom of the 10th. He fanned both Jared Walsh and Stassi before getting the pinch-hitting Kurt Suzuki to ground out to Hernandez to seal the win and earn the save.

Hernandez, who started in center field on Tuesday, had moved to shortstop in the ninth inning after Xander Bogaerts was removed from the game due to left shoulder tightness.

So, despite leaving 10 runners on base as a team, the Red Sox came away with another one-run win on Tuesday. That five different relievers combined to surrender just one run in six innings was undoubtedly key.

Next up: Eovaldi vs. Detmers

The Red Sox will look to extend their winning streak to seven consecutive games when they send right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to the mound on Wednesday night. The Angels will counter with left-hander Reid Detmers.

First pitch from Angel Stadium is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Christian Vazquez: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Michael Wacha tosses complete game shutout to lead Red Sox to 1-0 win over Angels

One run of support is all Michael Wacha needed to put together one of the best performances of his career on Monday night.

Wacha, making his ninth start of the season, threw a complete game shutout to lead the Red Sox to a 1-0 victory over the slumping Angels at Angel Stadium. The veteran right-hander dazzled by allowing just three hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts over nine dominant frames.

Boston’s lone run came in the top of the second inning, when Christian Vazquez drove in Alex Verdugo all the way from first base on an RBI single off Los Angeles starter Noah Syndegaard. Besides that, the Sox lineup went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base as a team.

That did not matter for Wacha, though, as he worked his way around two singles in the first inning with the help of a double play and at one point retired 15 straight batters before giving up a two-out double to Matt Duffy in the sixth.

Duffy, representing the potential tying run, was stranded at second base when Wacha reached back and struck out the dangerous Shohei Ohtani on a foul tip. His last two pitches to Ohtani — both fastballs — registered at 96.4 and 96.6 mph, respectively. They are his two fastest pitches of the season to date.

From there, Wacha maneuvered his way around a leadoff walk in the seventh by inducing another twin killing before fanning two in a clean eighth and retiring the side in order in the ninth. He fittingly put an exclamation point on his outing by getting Ohtani to ground out to second for the third and final out.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 105 (71 strikes), Wacha improved to 4-1 on the season while lowering his ERA down to 1.99. The 30-year-old hurler became the third Red Sox pitcher to toss a complete game this season, joining Nathan Eovaldi and Nick Pivetta. Boston currently leads all of baseball in complete games thrown.

With the win, the Red Sox extend their winning streak to five straight games to improve to 28-27 on the season. This is the first time since April 19 that they are over .500. The Angels, meanwhile, dropped their 12th straight game and are now 27-29, or 1/2 games back of the Sox in the American League Wild Card standings.

Next up: Whitlock on deck

The Red Sox will send right-hander Garrett Whitlock to the mound as they look to continue their winning ways on Tuesday night. The Angels, on the other hand, have yet to name a starter.

First pitch from Angel Stadium is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Michael Wacha: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)