Tag: alex cora

Nick Pivetta settles in after shaky start as Red Sox top Blue Jays, 8-3, behind season-high 15 hits

The Red Sox once again rallied to earn a series victory over the Blue Jays on a rainy and chilly Wednesday night at Fenway Park. Behind a season-high 15 hits, Boston defeated Toronto by a final score of 8-3 to extend its winning streak to five and improve to 18-14 on the year.

Nick Pivetta, making his fourth start of the season for the Sox, allowed three runs on five hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts over six quality innings of work.

Because the wind was blowing in from center field on Wednesday, Pivetta was able to avoid any serious damage in the top of the first despite consistently giving up hard contact. The same cannot be said for the second inning, as Daulton Varsho led it off by taking the right-hander 399 feet deep to right field for his second home run in as many nights.

An inning later, Pivetta served up a towering 450-foot solo shot to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. that cleared the Green Monster and had an exit velocity of 110 mph. Guerrero Jr.’s sixth home run of the season gave the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead going into the fourth.

That is when the Red Sox finally got on the board. Rafael Devers singled on a 112.5 mph line drive that deflected off Jays starter Alek Manoah and then moved up to second on a throwing error. A wild pitch from Manoah allowed Devers to move up to third before Jarren Duran drove him in with an RBI double. Duran took third after Manoah unsuccessfully tried to pick him off at second base and scored on a game-tying RBI single from Triston Casas that knotted things up at two runs apiece.

In the fifth, Kevin Kiermaier led off with a double and advanced to third on a George Springer flyout. With Bo Bichette at the plate, Pivetta allowed the then-go-ahead run to cross the plate on a controversial balk that drew the ire of both the righty and Red Sox manager Alex Cora. Though Toronto had just re-taken the lead at the midway point, it did not take long for Boston to respond.

With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Masataka Yoshida reached base on a throwing error committed by Santiago Espinal. Justin Turner followed with a hard-hit double and Duran was hit by a pitch to fill the bases with two outs. For the second time in as many at-bats, Casas delivered with a game-tying single through the left side of the infield that pushed across Yoshida. Fellow rookie Enmanuel Valdez kept the line moving by lacing a grounder that ate up Guerrero Jr. at first base.

Both Turner and Duran came into score as a result of Guerrero Jr.’s blunder, which was initially ruled an error but was later changed to a go-ahead, two-run single for Valdez. Pivetta preserved the Sox’ newfound 5-3 lead by retiring the final three batters he faced in the top of the sixth.

Finishing with 94 pitches (62 strikes), Pivetta induced 14 total swings-and-misses — 11 of which came on his slider. The 30-year-old hurler also earned his second winning decision of the season while lowering his ERA just below five at 4.99

With Pivetta’s night done, the Sox tacked on some insurance as the Jays began to dip into their bullpen in the latter half of the sixth. Connor Wong ripped a leadoff double, moved up to third on a groundout, and scored his side’s sixth run on a 109.6 mph line drive from Yoshida that glanced off Anthony Bass and went for an RBI single.

Following a scoreless top of the seventh from Chris Martin, Yoshida struck again by plating Enrique Hernandez on hard-hit opposite-field double. Hernandez returned the favor an inning later with a run-scoring hit of his own to give Boston a commanding 8-3 advantage heading into the ninth.

Kutter Crawford, who had already put up a zero in the eighth inning, recorded the first out of the ninth but was then forced to come out of the game with a trainer due to tightness in his left hamstring. Ryan Brasier took over for Crawford and got the final two outs of the frame to seal the win.

Yoshida extends hitting streak

With his sixth-inning single, Masataka Yoshida extended his hitting streak to 13 games, which is currently the longest active streak in the majors. Following Wednesday’s 2-for-5 showing, the 29-year-old raised his batting average on the season to .303.

In addition to Yoshida, every other member of the Sox’ starting lineup recorded at least one hit on Wednesday night. Yoshida, Turner, Valdez, and Hernandez each had two hits while Casas led the way by going 3-for-5 with two clutch RBIs.

Next up: Gausman vs. Bello

The Red Sox will go for the sweep of the Blue Jays in the finale of this four-game series on Thursday night. After going 3-16 against Toronto last season, Boston already has the chance to surpass that win total.

Brayan Bello, who dealt with a blister in his last time out, will get the start for the Red Sox. The Jays will counter with fellow right-hander Kevin Gausman.

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

(Picture of Triston Casas: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Connor Wong powers Red Sox to 7-6 win over Blue Jays with first career multi-homer game

The Red Sox survived a six-run fifth inning from the Blue Jays and held on for their fourth straight win on Tuesday night. Powered by four home runs, including two from Connor Wong, Boston defeated Toronto by a final score of 7-6 at Fenway Park to improve to 17-14 on the season.

With left-hander Yusei Kikuchi starting for the Jays, the Sox opened the scoring in their half of the second inning. Following back-to-back groundouts from Enrique Hernandez and Masataka Yoshida, Christian Arroyo got his side on the board by crushing a 404-foot solo shot over the Green Monster for his first home run of the year.

An inning later, Alex Verdugo led off with his second double in as many at-bats and then scored from second on a one-out RBI single off the bat of Rob Refsnyder. In the third, Yoshida extended his hitting streak to 12 consecutive games by taking his countryman in Kikuchi 392 feet deep into Boston’s bullpen for his sixth homer of the season. The 103.1 mph blast put Boston up, 3-0, going into the fifth.

To that point in the contest, Red Sox starter Tanner Houck was cruising. The right-hander kicked off his sixth start of the year by tossing four straight scoreless frames. He than ran into some serious trouble in the top of the fifth. Back-to-back one-out singles from Danny Jansen and Kevin Kiermaier followed by a two-out walk from Bo Bichette filled the bases for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero Jr. came through by plating both Jansen and Kiermaier on a two-run single to left field to cut Toronto’s deficit to one. Bichette, who went from first to third on the play, then scored the tying run on a passed ball. The Blue Jays were not done there, though. After Matt Chapman singled to put runners on the corners, Daulton Varsho deposited a 406-foot three-run home run into the right field bleachers.

Just like that, the Blue Jays were in possession of a 6-3 lead. The Red Sox, however, wasted little time in responding to Toronto’s six-run rally. Verdugo was hit by a pitch and Justin Turner singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Refsnyder then drove in Verdugo on his second run-scoring hit of the night. Two batters later, Yoshida brought Boston back to within one run by pushing across Turner off new reliever Zach Pop.

Despite struggling in the fifth, Houck came back out for the sixth on account of the Red Sox having a short bullpen on Tuesday. He bounced back and kept the deficit at one by retiring the final three batters he faced. And so the 26-year-old wound up allowing six earned runs on six hits and three walks to go along with five strikeouts over six innings of work. Of the 96 pitches he threw, 57 went for strikes.

After Houck blanked the Jays in the top of the sixth, Wong led off the latter-half of the inning with his first homer of the night — a 368-foot laser off Pop that deflected off the top of the Monster and knotted things up at six runs apiece. Following two scoreless innings of relief from John Schreiber and lefty Richard Bleier, Wong was yet again in the spotlight.

Going up against Erik Swanson to lead off the bottom of the eighth, Wong took aim at the Green Monster once more. This time, he took a 2-1, 93.1 mph fastball down the heart of the plate and demolished it 353 feet into the first row of Monster seats. The towering blast gave the Red Sox a 7-6 edge heading into the ninth.

With closer Kenley Jansen and setup man Chris Martin not available, manager Alex Cora turned to Josh Winckowski, who had just pitched two innings on Monday. Winckowski responded to the call by working his way around a one-out single and inducing a game-ending double play. He earned the first save of his career as a result.

Wong stays hot, literally

In his first career multi-homer game, Connor Wong went a perfect 4-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. He may have finished a triple shy of the cycle, but his four hits left his bat at 113.6 mph, 105.4 mph, 98.2 mph, and 105.2 mph.

Next up: Manoah vs. Pivetta

The Red Sox will look to ensure a series victory over the Blue Jays with another win on Wednesday night. Nick Pivetta is slated to get the start for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Alek Manoah for Toronto.

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

(Picture of Connor Wong: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen dealing with tight back, will not be available to pitch on Sunday

Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen did not look quite like himself on Saturday, and it turns out there is a logical reason as to why.

Coming into play earlier in the afternoon, Jansen had yet to allow a run through his first eight relief appearances (7 2/3 innings pitched) of the season. The 35-year-old was also a perfect six-for-six in save opportunities.

In the ninth inning of Saturday’s contest against the Guardians at Fenway Park, though, Jansen was clearly laboring on the mound. With a 6-5 lead to protect, the veteran right-hander gave up back-to-back singles to Myles Straw and Steven Kwan out of the gate.

That put runners at first and second with no outs. Jansen then fanned Amed Rosario, but followed by surrendering a game-tying RBI single to Jose Ramirez that pulled Cleveland back even with Boston at six runs apiece.

Jansen, who was charged with his first blown save of the year, remained in the game and got through the rest of the inning on 29 pitches (22 strikes), but not before getting checked up on by Red Sox manager Alex Cora and head athletic trainer Brandon Henry.

The meeting on the mound was brief, as Jansen assured both Cora and Henry that he was fine. After retiring Josh Bell for the final out of the inning, though, Jansen grimaced and looked rather uncomfortable as he made his way back to the home dugout.

When speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) following the Sox’ 8-7 walk-off win over the Guardians on Saturday night, Cora revealed that Jansen had dealing with back tightness throughout the day.

“His back got tight,” Cora said. “Before the game, he was running and he felt it. But he was available. He said, ‘You need me, we’ll go.'”

According to Jansen himself, he first felt his back tighten up during pregame conditioning and felt it again as he ran in from the bullpen in the top of the ninth. Though Jansen was able to pitch through the pain, he did receive some medication and is hopeful that it will kick in within the next “couple of days.”

Given what transpired on Saturday, Jansen will not be available out of the bullpen for Sunday’s series finale against the Guardians. The hope is that he will be back in action on Monday, when the Red Sox open a three-game set against the Blue Jays. If not Monday, then perhaps Tuesday.

“Pitching with lower-back tightness sucks,” Jansen told NESN’s Jahmai Webster. “We’ll see in a couple of days. We’ll take two days — probably a day or two — and then we’ll see how it feels and we’ll get back out there.”

Jansen’s blown save on Saturday represents the first for any Red Sox reliever this season. The righty now owns a 1.04 ERA with 12 strikeouts to 12 walks in his first nine outings (8 2/3 innings) with Boston. He is three saves away from 400 for his major-league career.

(Picture of Kenley Jansen: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Alex Verdugo comes through with walk-off single as Red Sox overcome blown lead to defeat Guardians, 8-7, in extras

The Red Sox may have squandered a five-run lead against the Guardians on Saturday evening, but they still found a way to win in extras. Thanks to a walk-off single from Alex Verdugo, Boston defeated Cleveland in 10 innings by a final score of 8-7 at Fenway Park to get back to .500 at 14-14 on the season.

With Zach Plesac starting for the Guardians, the Sox drew first blood in their half of the first. After Verdugo ripped a leadoff double on the very first pitch of the game, Masataka Yoshida drew a four-pitch walk and Justin Turner struck out. That brought Rafael Devers to the plate with one out and runners at first and second.

Devers wasted little time in getting the Red Sox on the board, as he cranked a 411-foot three-run blast deep to right field for his American League-leading 10th home run of the season. The ball left Devers’ bat at a blistering 114.1 mph and gave Boston an early 3-0 lead.

The Guardians were able to get one of those runs back off Brayan Bello in the top of the second, though. Josh Bell led things off by taking Bello 405 feet over the Green Monster to cut into the deficit and make it a 3-1 game. Bello and Plesac exchanged zeroes in the third before the Sox struck again in the fourth.

Back-to-back one-out doubles from Raimel Tapia and Enmanuel Valdez extended Boston’s lead to 4-1. Christian Arroyo then plated Valdez with an RBI single back up the middle and Connor Wong followed with a base hit of his own to knock Plesac out of the game after just 3 1/3 innings.

Bello, meanwhile, pitched well in his third start of the season for Boston and his first since being recalled from Triple-A Worcester on Friday to take the injured Garrett Whitlock’s spot in the rotation. Over five solid innings of work on Saturday, the young right-hander allowed just the one earned run on five hits and two walks to go along with six strikeouts.

After giving up that solo shot to Bell in the second, Bello retired the next six hitters he faced before working out of a jam in the fourth. He did not issue his first walk until there were two outs in the top of the fifth. Due to a bloody fingernail on his right index finger, Bello received attention from a team trainer. He then walked his second straight batter to put runners at first and second, but he ended his outing by fielding a soft roller off the bat of Amed Rosario and making a strong throw to first base for the final out of the inning.

All told, Bello finished with 84 pitches (47 strikes). The 23-year-old hurler induced eight swings-and-misses while mixing in a 93-96 mph sinker, an 83-87 mph slider, an 86-89 mph changeup, and a 95-97 mph four-seam fastball. Though he did not factor into Saturday’s decision, Bello did lower his ERA on the season down to 6.57.

Following a scoreless inning of relief from Richard Bleier out of the bullpen, the Red Sox tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth. Arroyo and Wong led off with back-to-back singles off Guardians reliever Xzavion Curry. A Verdugo lineout allowed Arroyo to advance up to third. With one out and Yoshida at the plate, Wong took off for second base. Catcher Mike Zunino attempted to throw his counterpart out, but he instead made an errant throw that wound up in center field.

As a result of Zunino’s throwing error, Wong was credited with a stolen base while Arroyo scored from third to put Boston up, 6-1. Bleier came back out for the seventh but immediately served up a solo homer to Andres Gimenez that panged off the top of Pesky’s Pole. The left-hander was then replaced by Ryan Brasier, who recorded the first two outs of the inning before issuing a four-pitch walk to Jose Ramirez to load the bases.

That sequence of events forced Red Sox manager Alex Cora to dip into his bullpen again, and in came John Schreiber. With one out to get and the bases full, Schreiber surrendered a bases-clearing, three-run double to Josh Naylor. Myles Straw, Steven Kwan, and Ramirez all scored as Boston’s five-run lead was suddenly trimmed to one.

Schreiber was able to avoid any further damage in the seventh and Josh Winckowski followed with a 1-2-3 eighth inning, thus paving the way for Kenley Jansen, who had yet to allow a run through his first eight appearances of the year, to come on for the ninth.

In uncharacteristic fashion, Jansen gave up back-to-back singles to Straw and Kwan out of the gate. After punching out Rosario, the veteran closer yielded a game-tying RBI single to Ramirez that knotted things up at six runs apiece. Jansen got through the rest of the inning unscathed, but he was clearly not himself and was charged with his first blown save of the season as a result.

A scoreless bottom of the ninth from the Red Sox pushed this one into extras. Lefty reliever Brennan Bernardino recorded two quick outs before allowing the automatic runner at second base to score on a hard-hit RBI single from Zunino in the top of the 10th.

Now trailing 7-6, Christian Arroyo led off the bottom of the 10th with a game-tying RBI single off Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase that brought in Valdez from second. Arroyo then moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt from Wong and to third on a pitch that got past Zunino.

With the winning run just 90 feet away and the infield drawn in, Verdugo delivered by ripping a 88.9 mph single to left field. Arroyo came into score and Verdugo was credited with his second walk-off hit of the year and his fifth in a Red Sox uniform.

All nine members of Boston’s starting lineup registered at least one hit on Saturday. Arroyo and Wong led the way with three hits apiece while Verdugo, Devers, and Tapia each had two hits. On the flip side, Bernardino picked up the first winning decision of his big-league career.

Next up: Allen vs. Sale in rubber match

The Red Sox will go for a series win over the Guardians on Sunday afternoon. Chris Sale is slated to start for Boston while fellow southpaw Logan Allen is lined up to do the same for Cleveland.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. eastern time on NESN, though the forecast does not look particularly encouraging.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Garrett Whitlock on 15-day injured list with right elbow ulnar neuritis, recall Brayan Bello from Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have placed right-hander Garrett Whitlock on the 15-day injured list due to right elbow neuritis, the club announced prior to Friday’s series opener against the Guardians at Fenway Park. In a corresponding move, fellow righty Brayan Bello was recalled from Triple-A Worcester.

Whitlock was originally scheduled to start opposite Zach Plesac on Saturday, but that responsibility will now fall to Bello. The 26-year-old began the season on the injured list after getting a late start in spring training as he continued to recover from a right hip arthroscopy last September.

After making two minor-league rehab starts, Whitlock made his season debut for Boston on April 11 in Tampa Bay. He has since pitched to a 6.19 ERA and 5.98 FIP with 11 strikeouts to three walks over three starts spanning 16 innings of work in which opponents are batting .312 against him.

Whitlock told reporters (including The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier) on Friday that he felt something “akin to a numbness or tingling two side sessions ago, and had felt it sporadically when throwing pitches since.” More specifically, he felt it “a couple of times” during his last start against the Brewers this past Saturday.

Though Whitlock — who has yet to have an MRI — was unable to provide any sort of recovery timetable, he did say there were no concerns pertaining to Tommy John surgery, which he first underwent in July 2019 after tearing his right UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) while still a member of the Yankees organization.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora added further details, indicating that there is not too much concern about Whitlock and that the team is hopeful he will only miss two starts before returning to action. Of course, that all depends on how he responds to treatment in the coming days. Cora also said the Red Sox still view Whitlock as a starter as opposed to a reliever moving forward.

Because his stint on the injured list was backdated to April 25, Whitlock will not be eligible to be activated until Wednesday, May 10 at the earliest. The Red Sox have two off days (one before and one after their two-game series against the Braves) that week, so they could look to take advantage of that schedule flexibility as it pertains to their rotation when the time comes.

In the meantime, Bello will fill in for Whitlock and make his third start of the season on Saturday. Like his counterpart, Bello also began the year on the injured list after being slowed by right forearm tightness during spring training. He made just one rehab start for Worcester and made his season debut on April 17.

Bello has since posted a 9.82 ERA and 6.35 FIP with eight strikeouts to three walks in two starts (7 1/3 innings) against the Angels at home and the Brewers on the road. Though he showed signs of improvement in Milwaukee over the weekend, the 23-year-old was optioned on Monday as the Red Sox went from a six-man to a five-man starting rotation and added another lefty to the bullpen mix by calling up Brennan Bernardino from the WooSox.

It turns out that Bello’s stay in Worcester was shorter than expected since he is replacing an injured player on the roster. Regardless, the Dominican-born hurler will now rejoin a Red Sox rotation that includes Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Tanner Houck, and Nick Pivetta.

(Picture of Garrett Whitlock: John Fisher/Getty Images)

Jarren Duran belts grand slam, Corey Kluber delivers with strong start as Red Sox hold on for 8-6 win over Orioles

The Red Sox blew a four-run lead in a series-opening loss to the Orioles on Monday. They made sure not to repeat the same mistakes in the middle game of this three-game series on Tuesday night.

Powered by Jarren Duran’s first grand slam and Corey Kluber’s first quality start in a Red Sox uniform, Boston defeated Baltimore by a final score of 8-6 at Camden Yards to get back over .500 at 13-12 on the season.

With Kyle Bradish starting for the O’s, the Sox drew first blood in their half of the second inning. Triston Casas drew a one-out walk and went from first to third base on a Duran double. Christian Arroyo then opened the scoring by plating Casas with an opposite-field RBI single. McGuire followed with an opposite-field single of his own to push across Duran. Rafael Devers capped off the three-run frame by scoring Arroyo on a sacrifice fly.

Boston continued to add to its lead in the top of the third. Three consecutive singles from Masataka Yoshida, Enrique Hernandez, and Casas to lead off the inning filled the bases for Duran. Duran, in turn, promptly unloaded the bases by crushing a 2-2, 86.8 mph slider from Bradish 409 feet over the center field wall for his first career grand slam.

Duran’s slam, which left his bat at 107.8 mph, put the Red Sox up, 7-0, as Kluber was in the midst of a much-needed quality outing. The veteran right-hander came into the evening with an 8.50 ERA through his first four starts of the year, but he rebounded in a nice way on Tuesday.

Over six strong innings of work, Kluber allowed just one earned run on five hits and zero walks to go along with three strikeouts on the night. He tossed four scoreless innings out of the gate before serving up a two-out solo shot to Jorge Mateo in the bottom of the fifth.

After giving up that homer to Mateo, though, Kluber retired four of the final five batters he faced through the middle of the sixth. The 37-year-old finished with 80 pitches (55 strikes) and induced five swings-and-misses on his way to lowering his ERA to 6.75 and picking up his first winning decision of 2023.

Following a scoreless seventh inning from Josh Winckowski, the Red Sox got that run back when Duran scored on a McGuire groundout in the top of the eighth. A half-inning later, Winckowski put up another zero to bring Boston to within three outs of a blowout win.

Taking a commanding 8-1 lead going into the latter half of the ninth, Kaleb Ort came on and immediately gave up a leadoff home run to Gunnar Henderson. Ramon Urias and Terrin Vavra then reached on a pair of singles before Enmanuel Valdez committed a missed catch error that should have gone for the second out of the inning.

Instead, the bases were now loaded for Cedric Mullins, who made things even more interesting by depositing a 366-feet grand slam over the left field wall to cut the defecit to two runs at 8-6. That sequence of events forced Red Sox manager Alex Cora to turn to closer Kenley Jansen, who sat down the only two batters he faced to secure the win and notch the 39th save of his career.

All told, Tuesday’s victory took two hours and 44 minutes to complete. Yoshida stayed hot by going 2 for 4 with a walk and run scored. Duran, meanwhile finished a triple shy of the cycle, by going 3 for 4 with three runs and four RBIs.

Arroyo leaves with hamstring injury

Starting second baseman Christian Arroyo was removed from the game in the middle of the fifth inning due to precautionary reasons related to right hamstring tightness. He was replaced by Enmanuel Valdez, who was recalled from Triple-A Worcester earlier Tuesday afternoon and singled in his lone plate appearance.

Arroyo has been dealing with a nagging right hamstring in recent weeks, and so the Red Sox likely wanted to get the 27-year-old off his feet at a point in time where the game felt rather one-sided. He is considered day-to-day and could be back in the lineup on Wednesday.

Next up: Houck vs. Wells in rubber match

The Red Sox will go for their fourth straight series win in Wednesday’s finale against the Orioles. Tanner Houck, fresh off a career-high seven innings of work in his last time out, will get the start for Boston. Baltimore will counter with fellow righty Tyler Wells.

First pitch from Oriole Park at Camden Yards is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Yu Chang on 10-day injured list with left hamate fracture, recall Enmanuel Valdez from Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have placed infielder Yu Chang on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamate fracture, the club announced earlier Tuesday afternoon. In a corresponding move, infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez was recalled from Triple-A Worcester.

Chang suffered the fracture in the seventh inning of Monday’s 5-4 loss to the Orioles in Baltimore. After swinging and missing on a 1-1, 80.3 mph slider from reliever Bryan Baker, the 27-year-old could be seen wincing in pain, which prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora and assistant athletic trainer David Herrera to emerge from the visitor’s dugout.

After a brief conference in which his left hand was examined, Chang was removed from the game and replaced by Christian Arroyo, who struck out in his place. Arroyo then took over at second base while Enrique Hernandez slid over from second to shortstop for the final two innings of the contest.

Chang was later diagnosed with “left wrist pain” and underwent further testing in Baltimore on Tuesday. Cora and Co. were hopeful that Chang had avoided injuring his hamate bone (a hook-like structure that forms part of the wrist joint) but that is indeed what happened. He will now undergo surgery on Thursday and will be sidelined for approximately six weeks.

Signed to a one-year, $850,000 deal in February, Chang was brought in to serve as a reserve outfielder on account of his versatility. After Adam Duvall fractured his left wrist on April 9, though, Chang has seen his playing time at shortstop increase as a result of Hernandez logging more innings in center field. Coming into play on Tuesday, Chang had started five straight and 10 of the last 12 games at shortstop for Boston.

Listed at 6-foo-1 and 180 pounds, Chang has been worth three outs above average across 91 innings at shortstop, 18 innings at second base, and two innings at third base. That currently ranks in the 93rd percentile of all big-leaguers, per Baseball Savant.

On the other side of the ball, the right-handed hitting Chang has batted .136/.174/.341 with three home runs, eight RBIs, five runs scored, one stolen base, one walk, and 12 strikeouts in 17 games (47 plate appearances) so far this season. All three of those homers have come within the last 10 days.

Valdez, meanwhile, made his major-league debut at Fenway Park last Wednesday. The 24-year-old went 2-for-4 with a pair of opposite-field singles and a strikeout in a 10-4 loss to the Twins. He also committed a fielding error at second base and spent just one day on the active roster while Chang was out on paternity leave.

Acquired from the Astros alongside outfield prospect Wilyer Abreu in last Augusts’s Christian Vazquez trade, Valdez — a Dominican Republic native — is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 19 prospect in the Red Sox’ farm system. The left-handed hitter is not in Tuesday’s starting lineup.

(Picture of Yu Chang: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Yu Chang leaves game with left wrist injury

Red Sox infielder Yu Chang was forced to exit Monday’s 5-4 loss to the Orioles in the seventh inning with a left wrist injury.

With two outs in the top of the seventh, Chang swung and missed at a 1-1, 80.3 mph slider from Orioles reliever Bryan Baker. Upon completion of his swing, the 27-year-old was clearly wincing in pain, which prompted manager Alex Cora and assistant athletic trainer David Herrera to pay him a visit from the visitor’s dugout.

After a brief conference, Chang was removed from the game and was replaced by Christian Arroyo, who struck out in his place. Arroyo then took over defensively at second base while Enrique Hernandez slid over from second to shortstop for the final two innings.

Chang was later diagnosed with what the Red Sox described as “left wrist pain” and will undergo further testing in Baltimore on Tuesday to determine the severity of the injury. There is some preliminary concern that Chang may have injured his hamate bone, a hook-like structure that forms part of the wrist joint.

“He’s in pain. He’s going to get tested tomorrow,” Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) at Camden Yards. We’ll see where we’re at. Right now, it’s sore. That’s all we can say right now.”

According to Cotillo, who was in the clubhouse after the game, Chang could be seen expressing concern about the potential severity of his injury to a teammate. To that end, it seems likely that Chang will be placed on the injured list and an infielder will be called up from Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday.

Two prime candidates to fill in for Chang are prospects Enmanuel Valdez, who made his major-league debut last week while Chang was out on paternity leave, and the speedy David Hamilton, who currently owns a .997 OPS in his first 17 games with the WooSox this season. Both Valdez and Hamilton are already on Boston’s 40-man roster.

As noted by Cotillo, any serious injury to Chang would further shake up Boston’s middle infield depth since Trevor Story (elbow surgery) and Adalberto Mondesi (ACL rehab) are already on the 60-day injured list. Chang was brought in as a reserve infielder, but he has seen his playing time increase in recent weeks after Adam Duvall broke his left wrist and Hernandez started to log more innings in center field as a result.

Including Monday, Chang had started five straight and 10 of the last 12 games at shortstop for the Red Sox. The versatile 6-foot-1, 180-pounder has provided the club with some surehanded defense across the infield, but he has also showed some signs of life at the plate by making hard contact and homering three times in his last eight games.

(Picture of Yu Chang: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Chris Sale fails to record strikeout as Red Sox blow four-run lead and fall to Orioles, 5-4, in series opener

The Red Sox blew a four-run lead in a series-opening loss to the Orioles on Monday night. Boston fell to Baltimore by a final score of 5-4 at Camden Yards to drop back to .500 at 12-12 on the season.

Matched up against Orioles starter Dean Kremer out of the gate, the Sox opened the scoring in the top of the second inning. With two outs and nobody on, Triston Casas took Kremer 426 feet deep to right-center field for his third home run of the year.

An inning later, Connor Wong drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second base on a Yu Chang groundout, and scored from second on a one-out RBI single off the bat of Alex Verdugo. Rafael Devers then doubled Boston’s lead by crushing a 387-foot two-run home run onto Eutaw Street.

Devers’ American League-leading ninth homer of the season left his bat at a blistering 115 mph and put the Red Sox up, 4-0, going into the middle of the third. To that point in the contest, Chris Sale had faced the minimum through his first two innings of work before running into some legitimate trouble.

Cedric Mullins, who was at the plate when Ramon Urias recorded the final out of the second by getting thrown out by Wong on a failed stolen base attempt, led off the bottom of the third with a line-drive double. After Jorge Mateo lined out, Adam Frazier plated the speedy Mullins on an RBI single for the Orioles’ first run of the night.

Sale escaped any further damage in the third by getting Austin Hays to ground into an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play. But the O’s really got to the left-hander in their half of the fourth. Following back-to-back one-out hits from Ryan Mountcastle and Anthony Santander, Urias made up for his previous blunder by driving in both runners on a ground-rule double to cut the deficit to one. James McCann knotted things up at four runs apiece with another hard-hit single to right field.

In the fifth, Sale gave up a leadoff double to Jorge Mateo, who then scored the go-ahead run on a single from Hays. Sale yielded one more base hit before getting Mountcastle to ground into yet another inning-ending double play to end his night. The 34-year-old southpaw wound up allowing five earned runs on nine hits and one walk over five innings. He failed to strike out a single batter after punching out 11 in his last start.

Of the 83 pitches Sale threw on Monday, 52 went for strikes. He managed to induce just two swings-and-misses while being charged with the loss and seeing his ERA on the season inflate to 8.22.

To lead off the sixth inning, it appeared as though the Red Sox were ready to respond as Justin Turner reached on a line-drive single. A red-hot Masataka Yoshida followed with a single of his own, but Turner was thrown out at third base after unsuccessfully attempting to go from first to third. Yoshida moved into scoring position on the play, but he was stranded there after both Enrique Hernandez and Casas were retired.

Following a scoreless bottom of the sixth from Ryan Brasier, Wong drew a one-out walk off Baltimore reliever Bryan Baker, but he was thrown out at second in an otherwise quiet offensive inning for Boston. Newcomer Brennan Bernardino then took over out of the bullpen and scattered four hits across two shutout frames.

That sequence of events brought the Red Sox down to their final three outs in the top of the ninth. After Yoshida drew a leadoff walk, pinch-runner Raimel Tapia was able to move up to second base on a balk. Orioles reliever Yennier Cano then stranded the potential tying run at second by striking out both Hernandez and Casas before getting Jarren Duran to line out to end it.

All told, Monday’s loss took two hours and 29 minutes to complete. Yoshida accounted for three of Boston’s seven hits and reached base in all four of his plate appearances.

Chang leaves game with wrist injury

While batting with one out in the seventh inning, Yu Chang swung and missed on a 1-1, 83 mph slider from Bryan Baker and left the game with what the Red Sox later described as “left wrist pain.” Christian Arroyo took over for Chang mid-at-bat and struck out.

Fatse, Cora ejected

Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse was ejected by home plate umpire Junior Valentine in the top of the sixth inning for arguing balls and strikes. Manager Alex Cora was also ejected by third base umpire Quinn Wolcott at the end of the game, per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

Next up: Kluber vs. Bradish

The Red Sox will turn to Corey Kluber, who is in desperate need of a strong start, in the middle game of this three-game series on Tuesday. The Orioles will counter with fellow righty Kyle Bradish.

First pitch from Oriole Park at Camden Yards is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Chris Sale: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Red Sox option Brayan Bello to Triple-A Worcester, call up Brennan Bernardino

The Red Sox have optioned right-hander Brayan Bello to Triple-A Worcester, the club announced prior to Monday’s series opener against the Orioles in Baltimore.

To take Bello’s spot on the active roster, left-hander Brennan Bernardino was recalled from Worcester.

Despite being optioned, Bello is still with the Red Sox in Baltimore, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. The 23-year-old appears to be the odd man out for now as Boston makes the transition from a six-man to a five-man starting rotation moving forward.

Bello, who began the season on the injured list after being slowed by right forearm tightness in spring training, did not make his 2023 debut until last Monday. In his first two starts of the year for Boston, the Dominican-born hurler has posted a 9.82 ERA and 6.33 FIP with eight strikeouts to three walks in 7 1/3 innings of work. He allowed three runs on five hits, two walks, and three strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings against the Brewers on Sunday.

Because he has been sent down, Bello will need to spend the next 15 days in the minor-leagues unless he replaces an injured player or serves as the 27th man in a doubleheader. In the meantime, Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Tanner Houck, Nick Pivetta, and Garrett Whitlock will remain in Boston’s rotation.

Bernardino, meanwhile, was claimed off waivers from the Mariners on April 16 after fellow reliever Zack Kelly (right elbow inflammation) was transferred to the 60-day injured list. The 31-year-old southpaw has just two games of prior major-league experience, both of which came with Seattle last summer.

In those two outings, Bernardino yielded three runs (one earned) on three hits, two walks, and no strikeouts across 2 1/3 innings in which he threw 26 sinkers and 15 curveballs. The 6-foot-4, 180-pounder made one appearance for the WooSox on Friday and struck out two over two scoreless frames of relief against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

While he is up, Bernardino should provide the Red Sox with some much needed left-handed bullpen depth. With Joely Rodriguez (right oblique strain) still on the 15-day injured list, Richard Bleier had been the lone lefty reliever available to manager Alex Cora going back to Opening Day.

Bernardino will wear the No. 83 for the Red Sox, becoming just the third player in franchise history to do so and the first since Eduard Bazardo wore it in parts of two seasons (2021-2022) with the club.

(Picture of Brayan Bello: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)