Tag: alex cora

Former Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers explains why he left to take same job with Rangers; ‘It was a new challenge for me’

Back in November, hitting coach Tim Hyers left his post with the Red Sox to join the Texas Rangers in the same capacity. Considering the amount of success the Boston lineup enjoyed under Hyers the previous four seasons, it was deemed a surprising move.

With the Red Sox set to open a three-game weekend series against the Rangers in Arlington on Friday, Hyers will have the chance to reconnect with former colleagues on Alex Cora’s coaching staff who he still keeps in touch with now.

On Thursday, Hyers spoke with MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith from Globe Life Field about what specifically led him to leave the Red Sox for the Rangers. He emphasized that it was his decision alone and was not financially-motivated.

“It was a new challenge for me,” Hyers said. “Maybe they needed a new voice. Maybe. Maybe I needed a new scenery, a new environment to keep moving. I had all the confidence in the world with Pete [Fatse]. They’re going to be in great hands. So if there was a time for me to walk away, it was the time. And it was probably a little bit better for my family. My wife’s job moving back and forth here in Texas. So it’s probably a little easier on the family.”

Hyers’ wife, Kristin, works at at Georgia Transmission Corporation in Tucker, Ga., which is obviously closer to Arlington than it is Boston.

The Red Sox, Hyers explained “did everything” to bring him back and “were very generous in doing so.

“It was very open,” he said. “It was my call. And I’m the one who walked away.”

Before officially joining the Rangers’ coaching staff under Chris Woodward, Hyers interviewed with the Yankees, who also had an opening at hitting coach. He said that while he was flattered by having the opportunity to speak with the Yankees, he believed the Rangers were the better fit and opted to sign on there.

In Hyers’ final season as hitting coach in Boston in 2021, the Red Sox batted .261/.328/.449 (107 wRC+) as a team while averaging more than 5.1 runs per game. 2021 was also the second year in which Hyers had assistant hitting coach Pete Fatse working under him. The two had a strong relationship which led Hyers to believe Fatse was ready to take over for him beginning in 2022.

“If there was a time for a new voice and kind of moving forward, Pete was the guy,” said Hyers. “He had been there for two years. He had heard my language. He had heard if things were flowing. So if it was best for me and my family to walk and to do something else, they were in great hands.”

The Red Sox, as noted by Smith, hired Luis Ortiz and Ben Rosenthal to serve as assistant hitting coaches under Fatse.

“When Pete came around, it was like, man, I kind of found my brother in this game,” Hyers said. “We saw the swing and we saw a lot of how the offense should work, we saw it very similar. And obviously I’ve got a few more years ahead of him. I’m older. But that’s the way I felt. So when I say maybe a new voice, maybe that’s the time when, ‘Hey, he’s really good and maybe it’s best for me to go do something else.’”

Under Fatse, who is now a first-year hitting coach, the Red Sox offense has struggled mightily. They come into play Friday having scored 107 runs, the third-worst mark in the majors, while hitting a meager .229/.285/.345 (83 wRC+) as a team so far this season.

Despite those struggles, Hyers still feels as though the Sox are in good hands with Fatse as their hitting coach, noting that offense as a whole is down around the league this year.

“Pete is really smart,” Hyers said. “He’s a great hitting coach. I have all the confidence in the world in Pete. He made me a better hitting coach being a partner with him and co-worker. He’s really, really good. I’m sure him being the head guy, there’s things he’s going to have to learn and things you don’t see until you walk in those shoes. Adjustments to make. To me, it’s brand new every year. You have to maneuver how you want to help each hitter and how you want to help this team. And what’s the makeup of your team? When they go through slumps, how do you help them? Is it push or back off? What do you do?”

Hyers also cited the shortened spring training that came as a result of the lockout having an impact on new hitting coaches such as Fatse and even himself.

“It’s kind of like me here,” Hyers said. “You’re getting to know your players. You’re getting to know how they react to things.”

“Overall, hitting is down this year,” he added. “There’s a few clubs tearing it up. But for the most part, there’s a lot of clubs that are trying to find their footing here early in the season. I think pitching has put it to us offensively. No excuses, but I do feel that kind of the late start, maybe some of the hitters didn’t get their footing, their timing like they are usually accustomed to. And that could play a part in it.”

(Picture of Tim Hyers: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Trevor Story’s first home run of season goes for naught as Red Sox blow another lead and get walked off on by Braves in 5-3 loss

The Red Sox had to settle for a series split with the Braves on Wednesday night after getting walked off on in the ninth inning. Boston fell to Atlanta by a final score of 5-3 in what was their fifth walk-off loss of the season. Their record is now 11-20.

Matched up against Braves starter Ian Anderson out of the gate, the Sox got off to a quick start beginning in their half of the second inning. Following a one-out double off the bat of Alex Verdugo, Trevor Story came through with his highly-anticipated first home run of the season.

Story took a 1-1, 88 mph changeup that was down and in and proceeded to crush it 422 feet to dead center field. The second baseman’s first homer in a Red Sox uniform left his bat at 105.8 mph and give his team an early 2-0 lead.

An inning later, Rafael Devers kept the top of the third alive with a hard-hit double to right field. He immediately scored from second base on a J.D. Martinez RBI single that increased Boston’s advantage to 3-0.

Nathan Eovaldi, meanwhile, was in the midst of his seventh start of the season for the Sox. The right-hander wound up allowing three runs on six hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings of work.

After getting through the first two innings rather smoothly, Eovaldi ran into some trouble in the bottom of the third when he gave up his first hit of the night — a one-out single to Orlando Arcia. On his very next pitch, Eovaldi was taken 415 feet deep to left field by Travis Demeritte.

Demeritte’s two-run blast cut Atlanta’s deficit down to one run at 3-2. Dansby Swanson then drew a seven-pitch walk off Eovaldi, stole second base, and scored from second on a blistering, game-tying 106.5 mph RBI double from Georgia native Matt Olson.

Eovaldi did manage to strand Olson in scoring position, though, and then retired 10 of the next 12 batters he faced before yielding a one-out single to Arcia in the seventh, which is how is outing would come to a close. Finishing with a final pitch count of 98 (68 strikes), the 32-year-old hurler induced a total of 18 swings-and-misses while topping out at 99.1 mph with his vaunted four-seam fastball.

Shortly before Eovaldi’s night ended, a Red Sox lineup that had been held in check by Anderson since the third inning had a real chance to break out in the sixth. Martinez led off with a single and Verdugo put runners on first and second with a one-out walk. Following an Atlanta pitching change that saw old friend Collin McHugh take over for Anderson, Franchy Cordero loaded the bases for Kevin Plawecki by drawing a two-out walk.

Plawecki worked a 3-2 count against McHugh and was prepared to take the bases-loaded walk by taking an 89.3 mph cutter that was well below the strike zone. Rather than call ball four, however, home plate umpire Adam Beck rung Plawecki up. Plawecki spiked his helmet and was understandably furious, as was Red Sox manager Alex Cora. Both were ejected from the game and Christian Vazquez took over behind home plate.

Picking it back up with one out in the bottom of the seventh, acting manager Will Venable gave Eovaldi the hook in favor of Matt Strahm, who struck out both Demeritte and Dansby Swanson to end the seventh before recording the first out of the eighth as well. John Schreiber then took over for Strahm and got through the rest of the frame unscathed.

Ryan Brasier was responsible for sending this one into extras as he got the call for the ninth. He gave up a leadoff single to Ozzie Albies, got the first out of the inning, but then served up a game-winning, walk-off homer to Arcia.

Arcia’s two-run shot sent the Braves home happy with a 5-3 win. It sent the Red Sox back on the road with a sour taste in their mouths.

Next up: Off day with Rangers on deck

The Red Sox will enjoy their second off day of the week on Thursday before opening up a three-game weekend series against the Rangers in Arlington on Friday night.

Boston will send right-hander Nick Pivetta to the mound on Friday. Texas has yet to name a starter.

First pitch from Globe Life Field is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Alex Cora: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Josh Winckowski goes just 2 innings in latest start for Triple-A Worcester in case Red Sox need additional pitching in coming days

Red Sox pitching prospect Josh Winckowski went just two innings in his fifth start of the season for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday afternoon.

Taking on the Rochester Red Wings at Polar Park, the right-hander allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out a pair over two scoreless innings of work. 19 of the 32 pitches he went for strikes.

Given his rather low pitch count, it was somewhat surprising to see Taylor Cole take the mound in the third inning as opposed to Winckowski. However, several members of the media — including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo — that the plan all along was for Winckowski to pitch just two innings.

Shortly after the WooSox fell to the Red Wings by a final score of 3-2, manager Chad Tracy told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Katie Morrison) that Winckowski’s outing was shorter than usual just in case the Red Sox need to call up a pitcher in the coming days.

“Just potential stuff that could happen up top that they don’t know yet,” explained Tracy. “So we wanted to make sure between [Connor] Seabold, who threw yesterday, and Winc that there’s options available. I’ll leave it at that. I don’t know what’ll happen, but those things happen sometimes. And we’ll see where all that falls.”

Winckowski, who is on Boston’s 40-man roster, has now posted a 2.75 ERA and .181/.234/.264 slash line against to go along with 19 strikeouts to five walks over 19 2/3 innings of work for Worcester this season.

The 23-year-old is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 9 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks third among pitchers in the organization. The Red Sox, of course, acquired Winckowski from the Mets as part of the three-team trade that sent Andrew Benintendi to the Royals last February.

While Winckowski, a former 15th-round draft pick of the Blue Jays, has mostly been used as a starter throughout his professional career, the Florida-born righty does have past experience as a reliever. In the Arizona Fall League last year, for instance, he made six relief appearances for the Scottsdale Scorpions.

Pitching in shorter bursts allows Winckowski to add more velocity to his fastball that typically sits at 94-96 mph, and he put that on fill display on Wednesday.

“I tried to keep it the same,” Winckowski said when going over his performance. “I kind of came out a little bit hotter than normal, I guess you could say, obviously when you only have two it’s a little bit shorter, but relatively, it was all the same for me.”

The Red Sox, at present, have two starters and one reliever on the 10- and 15-day injured lists in Rich Hill (COVID-19), Michael Wacha (left intercostal irritation), and Josh Taylor (low back strain).

Following their series finale against the Braves in Atlanta on Wednesday night, the Sox will head to Texas for a three-game series with the Rangers that begins on Friday.

Per The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham, Nick Pivetta will get the start for Friday’s series opener. The hope is that Hill will start on Saturday or Sunday and whichever one he does not start will be a bullpen game that could fall to Seabold or Wincowski.

Wacha, on the other hand, is out until May 20 at the earliest since his stint on the injured list was backdated to May 5. Garrett Whitlock will make his next start against the Astros back in Boston on Monday so he is not available.

With that, Alex Cora and Co. will likely shake up their pitching staff this weekend since Hill will either be activated or Seabold/Winckowski will be recalled from Worcester.

Because of this, corresponding moves will need to be made in the not so distant future. Kutter Crawford, for instance, has not pitched since last Thursday and is a candidate to be optioned to Worcester. Hirokazu Sawamura is another reliever who has minor-league options, so there is some flexibility there.

All that being said, Seabold and Winckowski represent internal options for the Red Sox when they find themselves in need of reinforcements on Saturday and/or Sunday.

Seabold made his big-league debut against the White Sox last September. Winckowski would be getting called up for the first time if it were to happen.

(Picture of Josh Winckowski: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers’ early grand slam lifts Red Sox to 9-4 win over Braves to put an end to 5-game losing streak

The Red Sox rode a six-run second inning to a much-needed win over the Braves on Tuesday night. Boston defeated Atlanta by a final score of 9-4 to snap a five-game losing streak and improve to 11-19 on the season.

Matched up against Braves starter Kyle Wright to begin things on Tuesday, the Sox’ second-inning rally was ignited by a one-out double from Alex Verdugo. Trevor Story followed with a single of his own and Franchy Cordero drew a four-pitch walk to fill the bases for Christian Vazquez.

Vazquez kept the line moving with an RBI single to drive in Verdugo for Boston’s first run of the game. Story then came into score himself when Jackie Bradley Jr. drew a bases-loaded walk as the lineup flipped back over and Enrique Hernandez grounded into a force out at home plate.

Because Hernandez made it to first base safely, the bases remained loaded for Rafael Devers, who took the first pitch he saw from Wright — a 96 mph heater down the heart of the plate — and deposited it 432 feet to right-center field.

Devers’ fifth home run and first grand slam of the season had an exit velocity of over 111 mph. It also gave the Red Sox a commanding 6-0 lead in the early going.

On the other side of things, Garrett Whitlock made his fourth start of the year for Boston in his home state of Georgia. It was truly a grind for the right-hander, who allowed three earned runs on four hits and four walks to go along with five strikeouts over just three innings of work.

After getting through the first two innings unscathed, Whitlock gave up all three of his runs in the bottom half of the third. Fellow Georgia native Matt Olson led off with a double and advanced to third base on a wild pitch. A six-pitch walk of Austin Riley put runners on the corners for Marcell Ozuna, who drove in Olson on a sacrifice fly to right field.

The Braves were not done there, though, as Travis d’Arnaud cranked a 401-foot two-run homer to cut the Sox’ lead in half at 6-3 before Whitlock was able to retire the side in his third and final inning. The 25-year-old finished with a final pitch count of 82 (48 strikes) and induced a total of 12 swings-and-misses.

In relief of Whitlock, a clean-shaven Alex Cora first turned to Tyler Danish out of the Boston bullpen beginning in the fourth inning. Danish responded by hurling two scoreless frames to pave the way for Ryan Brasier, who kept Atlanta off the board in the sixth.

Hansel Robles, on the other hand, issued a leadoff walk to Ronald Acuna Jr. in the eighth and allowed Acuna Jr. to score when Ozuna grounded into a force out at second base. Robles faced five batters in the seventh, but only surrendered the one run to make it a 6-4 game going into the seventh-inning stretch.

John Schreiber made quick work of the Braves in the eighth before the Sox tacked on some important insurance runs in their half of the ninth. With old friend Tyler Thornburg on the mound for Atlanta, Devers drew a leadoff walk, J.D. Martinez singled to extend his hitting streak, and Xander Bogaerts singled to once again fill the bases for Verdugo.

Verdugo, in turn, walked on seven pitches to plate Devers. Story followed suit by drilling a 108.6 mph two-run single to left field that brought in both Martinez and Bogaerts to increase Boston’s lead to five runs.

Looking to close things out in the ninth, Schreiber slammed the door on the Braves to secure a 9-4 victory and notch the first save of his big-league career.

Some notes from this win:

The Red Sox drew a season-high seven walks on Tuesday. They also went 4-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

Franchy Cordero went 0-for-0 with three walks on Tuesday, marking his first career three-walk game.

Tyler Danish earned the winning decision to improve to 1-0 in his Red Sox career.

Next up: Eovaldi vs. Anderson

The Red Sox will go for the quick two-game sweep of the Braves when they send right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to the mound on Wednesday night. Atlanta will counter with fellow righty Ian Anderson.

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

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Red Sox manager Alex Cora shaves beard

Red Sox manager Alex Cora is a bearded man no more.

After sporting a salt-and-pepper beard to begin the season, Cora elected to shave his facial hair ahead of the Sox’ series opener against the Braves on Tuesday.

“Yesterday, I got up, took the family to the airport and then decided to shave,” a cleanshaven Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) from Truist Park in Atlanta.

Coming into play on Tuesday, the Red Sox find themselves sitting in last place in the American League East with a record of 10-19. The Boston offense has averaged less than 3.3 runs per game to begin the season.

Taking both of those factors into consideration, Cora decided it was about time to shave in hopes of turning a new page.

“I’ll tell you what,” Cora said. “If we win 10 in a row, it’s on me because I should have recognized that before.”

Of course, Cora also understands that the Sox improving on the offensive side of things involves more than him just losing his facial hair.

“Like I was telling someone today,” recalled Cora, “if our hitting depends on my beard, we’re in big, big trouble.”

From the time the Red Sox arrived at Truist Park earlier Tuesday afternoon, some players who walked past Cora’s office in the visitor’s clubhouse noticed the change while others did not.

““I was telling the guys, you know how we get in the habit of saying hi just to say hi to people?” Cora said. “And there was a lot of people that will walk by my office — I’ve got two doors, — they’ll walk by, ‘What’s up AC?’ And some of them just kept going so they didn’t pay attention. And others will be like, ‘What’s up AC?’ and then in a second it was like, ‘Oh, gosh.’ So whatever. It is what it is.”

(Picture of Alex Cora: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Michael Wacha on 15-day injured list, recall Tyler Danish from Triple-A Worcester

Prior to getting swept by the White Sox on Sunday, the Red Sox placed right-hander Michael Wacha on the 15-day injured list due to left intercostal irritation. In a corresponding move, fellow righty Tyler Danish was recalled from Triple-A Worcester.

Wacha had been slated to start Sunday’s series finale against Chicago at Fenway Park, but was scratched shortly before first pitch due to what Boston manager Alex Cora described as left side soreness.

At that time, Cora was hopeful that Wacha would be able to pitch in Texas next weekend since he underwent an MRI on Saturday that came back clean. Cora also told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) that the Red Sox were being cautious with the 30-year-old hurler since he has a prior history of oblique injuries.

Since his stint on the injured list was backdated to May 5, the soonest Wacha could return to the mound for the Red Sox is May 20. This means that he will not be available for next weekend’s series against the Rangers as Cora had originally hoped.

Through five starts for Boston this season, Wacha has posted a miniscule 1.38 ERA and 3.89 FIP to go along with 19 strikeouts to 11 walks over 26 innings of work. The 6-foot-6, 215 pound righty led the Sox in bWAR (1.4) coming into play on Sunday.

With Wacha sidelined, Tanner Houck started in his place in Sunday’s series finale and allowed three runs on four hits, no walks, one hit batsman, and two strikeouts across just 2 2/3 innings pitched. It seems likely that Houck will take Wacha’s spot in the starting rotation for the time being.

Danish, meanwhile, re-joins the Red Sox for the third time this season after previously being used as a COVID-related substitute on two separate occasions. The 27-year-old made his fifth relief appearance of the year on Sunday and has now produced a 3.18 ERA with seven strikeouts and two walks over 5 2/3 total innings at the big-league level.

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

Red Sox can’t avoid sweep, fall to White Sox, 3-2, for fifth straight loss

The Red Sox wrapped up a miserable homestand by getting swept by the White Sox at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon. Boston fell to Chicago by a final score of 3-2 to extend their losing streak to five consecutive games and drop to 10-19 on the season.

Tanner Houck, starting in place of the injured Michael Wacha, allowed three earned runs on four hits, no walks, and one hit batsman to go along with two strikeouts over just 2 2/3 innings of work.

After facing the minimum through his first two innings, Houck ran into some trouble in the top half of the third when he yielded a leadoff single to Reese McGuire. The right-hander then plunked Josh Harrison with a 94 mph sinker to put two runners on base, both of whom advanced an additional 90 feet on a Danny Mendick sacrifice bunt. Leury Garcia plated McGuire on a softly-hit single that didn’t even reach the infield dirt. Jose Abreu followed by drilling a two-run double down the left field line that put the White Sox up, 3-0.

Abreu would be the final batter Houck would face. The 25-year-old hurler needed 39 pitches — 25 of which were strikes — to record eight outs. Of those 39 pitches, he only managed to induce four swings-and-misses while raising his ERA on the season to 5.70.

In relief of Houck, Hirokazu Sawamura received the first call out of the bullpen from Red Sox manager Alex Cora, and he stranded the lone runner he inherited in the third. A 15-minute delay that saw first base umpire Marty Foster take over behind the plate for Ron Kulpa did not prevent Sawamura from pitching a scoreless frame in the fourth as well.

Tyler Danish, just called from Triple-A Worcester in place of Wacha, worked his way around a bases-loaded jam in the fifth before giving up a leadoff single to Yasmani Grandal in the sixth. Austin Davis then came on and continued to keep the White Sox off the scoreboard despite hitting a batter.

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup had been stifled by White Sox starter Dallas Keuchel through the first 5 1/2 innings of Sunday’s contest. Keuchel, who owned an 8.40 ERA coming into play Sunday, had managed to work his way around a significant amount of traffic on the basepaths up until the bottom of the sixth.

There, the Boston bats finally made the left-hander pay after Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts reached base via a pair of back-to-back one out singles. With runners on the corners and one out in the inning, J.D. Martinez drove in Devers on a productive groundout and Christian Vazquez did the same with Bogaerts on an RBI single to left field. The Red Sox now only trailed by one run at 3-2.

Boston relievers continued to impress from there, as Hansel Robles retired the side in the seventh, Jake Diekman punched out the side in the eighth, and Matt Strahm faced the minimum in the top of the ninth.

Down to their final three outs in the bottom of the ninth and now matched up against White Sox reliever Jose Ruiz, Martinez led off by drilling a double off the Green Monster before being pinch-ran for by Franchy Cordero, who represented the potential tying run.

Despite the encouraging start to the inning, Vazquez popped out to second base, Alex Verdugo struck out on a foul tip, and the pinch-hitting Kevin Plawecki flew out to center field to seal the 3-2 defeat.

Some notes from this loss:

The Red Sox went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base as a team. Trevor Story, meanwhile, went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and is now batting .194 with a .545 OPS on the season.

By losing by one run on Sunday, Boston fell to 3-7 in one-run games this season.

Next up: On to Atlanta

The Red Sox will look to take advantage of their first of two off days this week before opening up a quick two-game series against the Braves in Atlanta on Tuesday night.

Georgia native and right-hander Garrett Whitlock is slated to start the opener for Boston, while Atlanta will roll with fellow righty Kyle Wright.

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

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Rich Hill, Jason Varitek test positive for COVID-19

Red Sox left-hander Rich Hill and game planning coordinator/catching coach Jason Varitek have both tested positive for COVID-19, manager Alex Cora revealed before Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the White Sox at Fenway Park.

Hill was originally placed on the COVID-19 related injured list alongside Enrique Hernandez on Friday. Both players were exhibiting symptoms at that time but had yet to test positive for the virus.

Since then, Hernandez has been cleared to return to action. Hill, on the other hand, will need to register two negative tests or reach an appropriate CT (cycle threshold) value on-back-to-back days before he is eligible to return.

John Schreiber, who was called up in place of Hill on Friday, remains on Boston’s major-league roster. Garrett Whitlock, meanwhile, will take the veteran left-hander’s spot in the Sox’ starting rotation for Tuesday’s contest against the Braves in Atlanta.

As for Varitek, who tested positive a few days ago, Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) earlier Saturday that the former catcher was “feeling better.”

This should not come as a surprise, but both Hill and Varitek will remain away from the team until they are cleared to return.

(Picture of Rich Hill: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Hansel Robles blows save as Red Sox lose late lead and fall to White Sox, 3-1, in 10 innings to drop to 10-18 on season

The Red Sox lost their sixth consecutive series on Saturday following a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the White Sox in 10 innings at Fenway Park. By dropping their third straight game, Boston has fallen to 10-18 on the season as they remain in the basement of the American League East.

Nick Pivetta impressed for the Sox in his sixth start of the year. The right-hander kept the White Sox off the scoreboard while scattering five hits, no walks, and one hit batsman to go along with a season-high eight strikeouts over six innings of work.

After giving up a leadoff single to Tim Anderson to begin his day in the first, Pivetta stranded the dangerous shortstop on three separate occasions. He got through the first inning unscathed, retired the side in order in the second, left two runners on — including Anderson — in the third and fifth innings, then sat down three of the final four batters he faced in the sixth.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 91 (62 strikes), Pivetta turned to his four-seam fastball 58% of the time he was on the mound Saturday and induced seven swings-and-misses with the pitch while topping out at 94.3 mph with it. The 29-year-old hurler also lowered his ERA on the season to 6.08.

Shortly before his night ended, the Red Sox put Pivetta in a position to pick up the win by finally getting to White Sox starter Dylan Cease in their half of the fifth. Franchy Cordero reached base via a one-out single, advanced to second base on a Trevor Story walk, and scored from second on an RBI double off the bat of Rafael Devers.

Story moved up to third on the play, but could not score from there as Xander Bogaerts grounded out and J.D. Martinez struck out to kill any shot of an extended rally.

In relief of Pivetta, Ryan Brasier received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen for the seventh inning and worked his way around a two-out single and stolen base from Leury Garcia. John Schreiber recorded the first two outs of the eighth before allowing two straight White Sox to reach base on a single and fielding error committed by Story. Matt Strahm came on and got the final out of the inning.

Protecting a one-run lead heading into the ninth, Hansel Robles was called upon for the save. Instead of closing things out, though, Robles issued a leadoff walk to Jake Burger that was immediately followed by a line-drive double from Adam Engel. Garcia knocked in the tying run on a sacrifice fly as Robles was charged with his second blown save of the season.

Now trying to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Christian Vazquez created some one-out magic with a single and double that put the potential winning run at third base. Bobby Dalbec failed to come through as he fanned on four pitches. Story then swung at the first pitch he saw from Reynaldo Lopez and popped out to shallow right field to leave Bradley Jr. where he was standing.

With this one headed into extras, Matt Barnes was responsible for the top of the 10th with the automatic runner (A.J. Pollock) already at second base. Barnes was promptly greeted by Jose Abreu, who drove in Pollock by drilling a 107.7 mph RBI double to center field. Luis Robert followed with a hard-hit single of his own that plated Abreu and made it a 3-1 game in favor of the White Sox. Barnes through the rest of the 10th, but the damage had already been done.

Down to their final three outs and matched up against White Sox closer Liam Hendriks yet again, Devers, Bogaerts, and Martinez all grounded out to seal a 3-1 defeat for the Red Sox.

Frustrations boiling over

Red Sox manager Alex Cora was ejected for the first time this season in the third inning of Saturday’s loss. He was thrown out by home plate umpire Carlos Torres for arguing a called strike three against Story.

The Red Sox went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position on Saturday and left 10 runners on base as a team. On the other side of things, the Boston bullpen staff blew their ninth save in 14 opportunities so far this season.

All told, the Red Sox are now 0-6 in extra-inning games this season.

Next up: Keuchel vs. Wacha

The Red Sox will look to avoid the three-game sweep against the White Sox on Sunday morning. Boston will roll with right-hander Michael Wacha in the finale while Chicago will turn to left-hander Dallas Keuchel.

First pitch from Fenway Park on Sunday is scheduled for 11:35 a.m. eastern time on NBC and Peacock.

(Picture of Alex Cora: Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)

Nathan Eovaldi grinds through 5 innings, but Red Sox held to just 6 hits in 4-2 loss to White Sox

The Red Sox saw their losing streak grow to three consecutive games on Friday following a 3-1 to the White Sox at Fenway Park. Boston drops to 10-17 on the season and now find themselves squarely in the basement of the American League East.

Nathan Eovaldi, making his sixth start of the year, surrendered three earned runs on six hits and three walks to go along with four strikeouts over five innings of work. It was truly a grind for the right-hander, who saw all three runs scored off him come in the third inning.

After giving up back-to-back singles that put runners on the corners with no outs, Jose Abreu lifted a sacrifice fly off Eovaldi that brought in Tim Anderson from third base to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. The very next batter, Luis Robert, crushed a two-run home run 389 feet over the Green Monster to make it a 3-0 game.

Eovaldi escaped the third while evading any further damage, but had done so while seeing his pitch count rise to 72. He then worked his way around a leadoff single in the fourth before retiring six of the final seven White Sox hitters he faced through the middle of the fifth.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 101 (65 strikes), Eovaldi turned to his four-seam fastball 45% of the time he was on the mound Friday. The 32-year-old hurler induced four swings-and-misses with the pitch and hovered around 93 to 99 mph with the pitch. His ERA on the season now sits at 2.94.

To that point in the contest, a Red Sox lineup that featured Jarren Duran for the first time this year had been stymied by White Sox starter Vince Velasquez. In the bottom of the fifth, though, Alex Verdugo broke out of an 0-for-12 skid with a leadoff double and scored from second on an RBI double off the bat of Jackie Bradley Jr.

Bradley Jr.’s eight double of the season got the Sox on the board to cut the deficit to 3-1. A Kevin Plawecki groundout allowed Bradley Jr. to advance to third and Duran getting plunked by a pitch put runners on the corners for Trevor Story. Story, in turn, was rung up by first base umpire Carlos Torres on a questionable check swing call that nonetheless extinguished the threat.

In relief of Eovaldi, Austin Davis got the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The left-hander recorded the first two outs of the sixth before making way for the recently called-up John Schreiber, who ended things in the sixth and also sat down the side in 1-2-3 fashion in the seventh.

Ryan Brasier, on the other hand, was responsible for the eighth inning and immediately gave up a leadoff single to Adam Engel. Engel promptly stole second base, moved up to third on a lineout, and scored an important insurance run on a Reese McGuire sacrifice fly to give his side the 4-1 advantage.

To lead off the bottom of the eighth, Duran was able to put his elite speed on display by tripling on an 80.4 mph fly ball to right field that got past Adam Engel. The speedster then came into score on a Story RBI groundout that brought the Red Sox back to within two runs of the White Sox at 4-2.

Rafael Devers followed with a groundball single that brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Xander Bogaerts, who fanned on five pitches and thus left it up to J.D. Martinez. Previously 0-for-3 on the night, Martinez beat out an infield single to third base to keep the inning alive for Verdugo, who softly grounded out to Kendall Graveman.

Matt Barnes took the mound for the top of the ninth and managed to work his way around a leadoff walk of of A.J. Pollock when Bradley Jr. gunned down Barnes at home plate to complete a well-executed 9-1 double play. Barnes then struck out Robert on five pitches to hold the White Sox at four runs.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth and matched up against vaunted White Sox closer Liam Hendriks, Franchy Cordero came off the bench for the Red Sox in place of Bobby Dalbec and struck out looking. Shortly thereafter, Bradley Jr. fanned himself before Christian Vazquez, who was pinch-hitting for Plawecki, drew a walk to once again bring the tying run to the plate as the lineup flipped back over.

With a chance to come through in the clutch, Duran got ahead in the count at 2-0 but struck out swinging to seal another Red Sox defeat. Durant went 1-for-4 with one run scored and one strikeout in his 2022 debut.

As a team on Friday, Boston went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left a total of eight runners on base.

Next up: Cease vs. Pivetta

The Red Sox will send right-hander Nick Pivetta to the mound in the middle game of this three-game series on Saturday afternoon. The White Sox will counter with fellow righty Dylan Cease.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)