Tag: alex cora

Christian Arroyo ties it and Alex Verdugo walks it off as Red Sox rally to defeat Blue Jays, 6-5

The Red Sox were trailing the Blue Jays for the majority of the night on Friday, yet still found a way to battle their way back from a 5-1 deficit for another comeback victory at Fenway Park.

For the second night in a row, Christian Arroyo came through in the clutch with a game-tying solo home run off Blue Jays reliever Carl Edwards Jr. to knot things up at five runs a piece.

In the ninth, Enrique Hernandez led things off against Jays closer Rafael Dolis by reaching first base on a throwing error committed by shortstop Bo Bichette, and then advanced to second — into scoring position — because of Toronto’s mistake.

The speedy Danny Santana pinch-ran for Hernandez as he represented the winning run, though he did not stick at second base for long.

That being the case because Alex Verdugo laced an RBI single off the Green Monster to score Santana and walk things off for the Sox in what would go down as a 6-5 win over the Blue Jays.

Verdugo’s first walk-off hit in a Red Sox uniform sealed Boston’s 23rd come-from-behind victory of the season, which is the most in the major-leagues.

With the win, the Sox improve to 39-25 (19-15 at home) on the year. They remain a game back of the Rays for first place in the American League East.

Richards gets off to rocky start, but settles in

Garrett Richards made his 13th start of the season for Boston to begin things on Friday.

The right-hander labored through his first two innings of work — and surrendered three runs as a result — but was able to pitch into the sixth before his day ended.

After throwing 64 pitches to record six outs while yielding a healthy amout of hard contact, Richards settled in nicely, stringing together three straight scoreless frames leading up to the sixth, at which point he gave up a one-out single to Marcus Semien, and that was that.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 101 (66 strikes) to eclipse the century mark for the first time this season, the 33-year-old hurler also allowed a season-high 11 hits. His next start should come against the Braves on Wednesday.

Sawamura serves up moonshot to Vlad Jr.

In relief of Richards, Hirokazu Sawamura got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen, and he allowed the lone runner he inherited to score by serving up a towering 443-foot two-run homer to the vaunted Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero Jr.’s blast gave the Blue Jays a 5-1 lead and officially closed the book on Richards’ night as the Sox starter wound up getting charged with four earned runs to raise his ERA on the season to 4.09. Sawamura was able to get out of the sixth.

Taylor bails out Workman

From there, Brandon Workman only managed to retire one of the three hitters he faced in the seventh, which led Red Sox manager Alex Cora to deploy Josh Taylor.

Taylor fanned the only two Blue Jays he faced (Cavan Biggio, Riley Adams), to strand a pair of runners in scoring position and extend his scoreless appearances streak to 17 consecutive games.

Whitlock closes it out

Garrett Whitlock took over in the eighth, maneuvered his way around a leadoff single in his first inning of work, and also stranded the potential go-ahead runs by leaving the bases loaded in a scoreless top half of the ninth. The right-hander would earn his second winning decision of the season.

Dalbec’s homer gets scoring started for Sox

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against another veteran right-hander in the form of Blue Jays starter Ross Stripling.

Bobby Dalbec kicked off the scoring for the Sox against Stripling by crushing his seventh home run of the season — a 441-foot solo shot to dead center field — to cut Toronto’s lead down to two runs at 3-1.

Three-run sixth with a side of wildness

Fast forward to the sixth, and the Red Sox knocked Stripling out of this contest when Hunter Renfroe drove in Alex Verdugo on a two-out RBI single to center field and Christian Vazquez followed with a single of his own.

Blue Jays reliever Tyler Chatwood did not fare much better, as he plunked Christian Arroyo to load the bases, walked in a run by issuing a free pass to Marwin Gonzalez, and threw a wild pitch that allowed Vazquez to score from third to trim the deficit to one run. 5-4.

Verdugo walks it off

With contributions from the likes of Garrett Whitlock and Christian Arroyo in the eighth and ninth innings, Alex Verdugo sent the Fenway faithful into a frenzy with a game-sealing walk-off single in the bottom half of the ninth.

It should be noted that Verdugo played a quality left field on Friday night as well.

Next up: Matz vs. Pivetta

Saturday’s starting pitching matchup between the Blue Jays and Red Sox will feature a pair of former National League East foes going at it.

Ex-Mets left-hander Steven Matz will be getting the start for Toronto, and he will be opposed by ex-Phillies right-hander Nick Pivetta getting the start for Boston.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

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

Red Sox injuries: Xander Bogaerts scratched from Friday’s lineup due to sore left knee

Xander Bogaerts was scratched from the Red Sox’ starting lineup against the Blue Jays on Friday night due to a sore left knee.

Bogaerts was originally slated to start at shortstop and bat cleanup at Fenway Park for the first of four against Toronto on Friday, but Red Sox manager Alex Cora changed things up about an hour and a half before first pitch.

When speaking with NESN’s Tom Caron pregame, Cora explained that Bogaerts’ left knee was a feeling “a little bit sore” after diving for an Alex Bregman base hit in the third inning of Thursday night’s 12-8 win over the Astros.

The 28-year-old was able to remain in for the rest of the contest and even went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two runs scored in Boston’s rollercoaster come-from-behind victory.

The hope now, per Cora, is that Bogaerts will only be out of action for two days before being cleared to return to the Sox lineup on Sunday.

On the 2021 campaign as a whole, the star shortstop comes into play Friday slashing an astute .324/.382/.547 to go along with 11 home runs and 38 RBI over 60 games played.

In Bogaerts’ place, the switch-hitting Marwin Gonzalez will start at shortstop and bat eighth in Friday night’s series opener. Rafael Devers moves up the cleanup spot.

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Hirokazu Sawamura dealing with right hip soreness; stint on injured list a possibility, Alex Cora says

Red Sox reliever Hirokazu Sawamura has been dealing with soreness in his right hip and will not be available to pitch out of the bullpen in Thursday’s series finale against the Astros, manager Alex Cora said.

Per Cora, Sawamura first experienced discomfort in his hip during his most recent outing on Monday in which he worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief in a a 5-3 win over the Marlins.

“There’s a few guys banged up, obviously,” Cora told reporters prior to Thursday’s contest at Fenway Park. “One of the guys that we’re paying attention to is Sawamura. He’s been sore from his last one, his right hip. So we got to see where he’s at. He’ll be down today.”

While the 33-year-old has been getting treatment on his sore hip this week, Cora did mention the possibility of a stint on the injured list for the right-hander if he is not ready to return to action in the coming days.

“We’ll see how he we feel about him in the upcoming days,” said Cora. “And if we have to make a move, maybe that’s the route we go.”

It turns out that the Red Sox did make a roster move to replenish their bullpen, though it did not involve Sawamura.

Boston recalled righty Brandon Brennan and optioned fellow right-hander Phillips Valdez to Triple-A Worcester on Thursday evening.

Under normal circumstances, Valdez would be required to spend at least 10 days with the WooSox, but as noted by OverTheMonster.com’s Matt Collins, “that restriction goes away if he replaces someone who hits the injured list.”

With all that being said, it’s still no sure thing Sawamura will end up on the injured list. That likely all depends on how the Japanese hurler respond to treatment.

“We’re not sure yet,” Cora said when asked if Sawamura is going to be placed on the IL. “We have to pay attention to his situation. He’s been down the last few, but he complained about it in the last outing. And he’s been getting treatment, but we have to know if he’s going to be available tonight, tomorrow, or when he’s going to be available, and we go from there.”

(Picture of Hirokazu Sawamura: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

Red Sox recall Brandon Brennan from Triple-A Worcester, option Phillips Valdez

Before wrapping up a three-game series against the Astros at Fenway Park on Thursday, the Red Sox recalled right-hander Brandon Brennan from Triple-A Worcester.

In a corresponding move, fellow righty Phillips Valdez was optioned down to the WooSox, the team announced Thursday evening.

The move to swap relievers comes at a time when the Red Sox bullpen has been heavily used as of late, and with Hirokazu Sawamuara dealing with right hip soreness, Boston opted to bring up a fresh arm in the form of Brennan.

Brennan, who turns 30 next month, was originally claimed off waivers by the Sox from the Mariners in early May, shortly after he was designated for assignment by Seattle.

While he was optioned to Worcester as soon as he was claimed by Boston, Brennan has gotten his 2021 season off to a solid start with the WooSox.

In eight appearances out of Worcester’s bullpen to this point, the 6-foot-4 righty has posted a 2.16 ERA and 3.65 xFIP to go along with 11 strikeouts and five walks over 8 1/3 innings of relief thus far.

Prior to joining the Red Sox organization this spring, Brennan spent parts of two big-league seasons with the Mariners in 2019 and 2020. He put up a 4.45 ERA, a 4.73 FIP, and a 54:29 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 49 total outings spanning 54 2/3 innings of work.

The California native operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a changeup, a sinker, a four-seam fastball, and a slider, per Baseball Savant. He is known for his ability to induce swinging strikes.

A former fourth-round draft pick of the White Sox in 2012, Brennan was selected by the Mariners in the major-league phase of the 2018 Rule 5 Draft, so he will join fellow Rule 5 draftee Garrett Whitlock in the Red Sox bullpen for the time being.

Valdez, meanwhile, was optioned to Triple-A Worcester after being used three times in the last four days.

On the 2021 season as a whole, the 29-year-old owns an ERA of 4.24 and FIP of 3.96 over 20 relief appearances (23 1/3 innings), though he has seen his numbers inflate as of late on account of the fact he has allowed at least one earned run in four of his last six outings.

(Picture of Phillips Valdez: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Alex Verdugo returns to Red Sox lineup for Thursday’s series finale against Astros

After missing the last two games due to back tightness, Alex Verdugo is back in the Red Sox’ lineup for Thursday night’s series finale against the Astros at Fenway Park.

Verdugo was held out of action the last two days on account of discomfort in his back that he first felt pop up on Sunday, but was able to play through on Monday.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora had been confident that the outfielder would be able to return on Thursday after getting two consecutive days of rest, and that is now the case.

Verdugo will start in left field and bat out of the two-hole behind center fielder Enrique Hernandez, who returns to the leadoff spot for the first time since June 2.

Coming into play Thursday, the 25-year-is old is slashing .292/.351/.469 with eight home runs, 11 doubles, one triple, 26 RBI, 36 runs scored, 18 walks, and 28 strikeouts over 56 games played this season.

Here is how the rest of the Red Sox (37-25) will be lining up behind Hernandez and Verdugo as they look to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Astros (35-26).

Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will be making his 12th start of the season for Boston, and he will be opposed by veteran right-hander Zack Greinke making his 14th start of the season for Houston.

First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Matt Barnes open to in-season contract extension talks: ‘I’m sure that’s something that my agent and I can discuss and see if anything comes of that’

Matt Barnes has long been interested in remaining with the Red Sox past the 2021 season, when he is set to hit free agency for the first time.

Originally selected by Boston in the first round of the 2011 amateur draft out of UCONN, Barnes has spent the first 11 years of his professional career and first eight years of his big-league career with the Sox after debuting for them in 2014.

As he prepared for his eighth season in the majors this past spring, the right-hander and his camp were approached by the Red Sox about signing a potential contract extension with the club. The two sides also discussed an extension last spring before the COVID-19 pandemic-induced shutdown in March.

While contract extension talks are typically reserved for spring training and tabled as soon as the regular season starts, Barnes would be all for continuing those conversations with Boston in the coming weeks.

“I would be open to it,” Barnes said prior to Wednesday’s game against the Astros. “But I can tell you firmly nothing has happened. We haven’t had any discussions since spring training. So if the Red Sox want to make an offer and they want to start those conversations… then I’m sure that’s something that my agent and I can discuss and see if anything comes of that.”

In conversing with the Red Sox throughout spring training, Barnes did say that the talks were more than just those of the preliminary variety. Put another way, dollar figures were involved.

“There were numbers exchanged,” he said. “It was definitely serious enough. It wasn’t just a one or two phone calls and, ‘Hey, we’re interested,’ ‘Hey we’re interested,’ and that was the end of it.”

Barnes, who turns 31 next Thursday, is putting together a career year at just the right time. Through 26 relief appearances this season, the Red Sox closer has posted a 2.73 ERA and 1.36 FIP to go along with 47 strikeouts to just seven walks over 26 1/3 innings of work thus far.

One reason as to why Barnes has been so effective in 2021 is simply because he is throwing more strikes and is punching out more batters and walking less as a result of doing so.

Among qualified big-league relievers, Barnes comes into play Wednesday ranked second in strikeout percentage (49.5%), 49th in walk percentage (7.4%), ninth in batting average against (.136), first in expected ERA (1.33), first in xFIP (1.50), and first in fWAR (1.5), per FanGraphs.

“One of the things that he has done is actually throw more strikes this year,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora in regards to Barnes’ success. “Stuff-wise, very similar. His fastball is actually playing in the strike zone. I do believe the biggest adjustment that he has made is actually throwing competitive pitches.

“There were a lot of pitches whenever he went out there [before this season],” added Cora. “Now he’s more efficient — there’s quick innings. The fact that he can bounce back from that is a testament to where he’s at physically. We’re very happy with the way he is performing.”

If Barnes continues to impress with the way he has been pitching out of Boston’s bullpen, the 6-foot-4 hurler will certainly be in line for a hefty payday.

Whether that payday comes courtesy of the Red Sox or another team has yet to be determined. But in the meantime, Barnes is all ears when it comes to contract talks.

“Listen, I’ve always been a firm believer that listening to information is always free,” he said. “Whether that’s in baseball or life. Listening is free. … But as of right now, nothing has happened.”

(Picture of Matt Barnes: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Alex Verdugo out of Red Sox lineup for second straight night due to back tightness; outfielder expected back for Thursday’s finale against Astros

As they look to even their three-game series with the Astros at Fenway Park on Wednesday, the Red Sox will be without Alex Verdugo for a second straight night.

Verdugo has been dealing with back tightness the last few days, per Red Sox manager Alex Cora. The hope is that the outfielder will be ready to return for Thursday’s contest against Houston.

“He’s a little banged up,” Cora said of Verdugo when speaking with reporters prior to Wednesday’s game. “His back — he was tight on Sunday. Played on Monday. We decided to give him yesterday off. I talked to him yesterday during the game, and he felt like one more game will benefit him.

“So we’ll give him one more day,” added Cora. “He should be ready for tomorrow.”

Verdugo dealt with tightness in his back in early May as well, but only missed one game because of it.

The 25-year-old is hitting a sturdy .292/.351/.469 to go along with eight home runs, 11 doubles, one triple, 26 RBI, 36 runs scored, 18 walks, and 28 strikeouts over 56 games played so far this season.

With Verdugo out of the lineup, J.D. Martinez gets the start in left field and bats third, Enrique Hernandez gets the start in center field and bats ninth, and Hunter Renfroe gets the start in right field and bats fifth.

Danny Santana will hit leadoff and start at first base against Astros’ right-handed starter Jake Odorizzi. Here is how the rest of the Red Sox will be lining up behind Santana.

Houston-area native Nathan Eovaldi will make his 13th start of the season for Boston. The veteran righty comes into play Wednesday sporting a 3.78 ERA and 2.40 FIP through 66 2/3 innings pitched on the year.

First pitch between the 34-26 Astros and 37-24 Red Sox on Wednesday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Martín Pérez gets rocked for 6 runs in shortest outing of season as Red Sox go down quietly to Astros, 7-1

Unlike his last time out, Martin Perez did not have his way with the Houston Astros in his 12th start of the season.

After tossing 7 2/3 scoreless innings in a win in Houston last week, Perez got rocked by the Astros lineup at Fenway Park on Tuesday night.

The Red Sox fell to the Astros by a final score of 7-1, which snapped their five-game winning streak. With the loss, Boston drops to 37-24 on the season and falls to 1 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East.

Martin Perez’s struggles

In just two innings of work, the veteran left-hander yielded a season-high six runs — all of which were earned — on six hits, three walks, and one hit batsman to go along with two strikeouts.

The first run Perez gave up was a rather cheap one, as he served up a first-inning solo homer to Carlos Correa that traveled 310 feet down the left field line and just snuck over the Green Monster to give the Astros an early lead.

The other five runs, however, were not. That being the case since Perez allowed the first four hitters he faced in the second to reach base on two doubles, a two-run single, and walk. He followed that ugly sequence by getting beat by Carlos Correa — who this time laced a run-scoring single — once again before issuing an intentional walk to Alex Bregman to load the bases and plunking Yordan Alvarez to walk in a run.

A Yuli Gurriel bases-loaded single added on the Astros’ rally to put Houston up 6-0, and Perez’s night came to a close as soon as he got the final two outs of the second in consecutive order.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 59 (33 strikes), the 30-year-old hurler did not induce a single swing-and-miss while only managing to retire six of the 16 Astros he faced.

Ultimately falling to 4-3 on the season in addition to raising his ERA from 3.09 to 3.88, Perez’s next start should come against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

Andriese and the bullpen shoulder the workload

With his starter only providing two innings, Red Sox manager Alex Cora had to turn to his bullpen earlier than he likely anticipated.

Matt Andriese, who had last worked on May 31, got that first call in relief of Martin Perez, and the right-hander was solid while providing three innings out of the bullpen.

The lone run the right-hander surrendered in his third relief appearance of three or more innings came on a booming 451-foot solo blast off the bat of Yordan Alvarez in Houston’s half of the fourth.

Brandon Workman took over for Andriese by tossing two scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh innings, while Phillips Valdez did the same in the eighth and ninth to hold the Astros at seven runs.

Sox bats held in check by Framber Valdez

While Martin Perez could not replicate his performance from last week, Astros starter Framber Valdez certainly did.

Fresh off an outing in which he hurled seven innings of one-run ball against the Red Sox at Minute Maid Park last Wednesday, Valdez was once again locked in over 7 1/3 more strong innings on Tuesday.

The Boston bats only managed to push across one run off the left-hander, and that one run came on a Hunter Renfroe RBI groundout in the fourth inning.

Sure, the fact that Martin Perez put his side in an early hole does not exactly help things, but the Sox finishing the day having gone 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position while leaving eight men on base as a team is not exactly encouraging, either.

Plawecki removed with jaw contusion

Kevin Plawecki originally started Tuesday’s contest behind home plate, but had to be removed in the fourth inning after taking a pitch that bounced in the dirt off his chin/jaw area. Christian Vazquez took over at catcher and went 1-for-3 with a strikeout.

Later diagnosed with a jaw contusion, Plawecki is considered day-to-day. He does not have a concussion, per Alex Cora.

Next up: Odorizzi vs. Eovaldi

The Red Sox will send right-hander and Houston-area native Nathan Eovaldi to the mound for the middle game of this three-game set on Wednesday night.

He will be opposed by fellow righty Jake Odorizzi, who will be making his sixth start of the year for the Astros.

First pitch Wednesday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Martin Perez: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

J.D. Martinez returns to Red Sox lineup, batting cleanup in series opener against Astros

After a three-day hiatus on account of a sore left wrist, J.D. Martinez is back in the Red Sox lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Astros at Fenway Park.

Martinez jammed his left wrist while awkwardly sliding into second base on a double in the third inning of Friday’s 5-2 win over the Yankees in the Bronx.

The slugger was able to remain in for the remainder of that game, but was scratched from Saturday night’s contest a few hours before first pitch due to the soreness he was experiencing.

X-rays on Martinez’s wrist did come back negative on Saturday, though Red Sox manager Alex Cora opted to give the designated hitter a few more days of rest ahead of what should be a competitive three-game set against Houston.

For his career, the 33-year-old is hitting just .238/.288/.408 with six home runs and 21 RBI in 39 games against the team he began his professional career with. He is however slashing a robust .384/.435/.625 with five homers and 25 RBI at Fenway Park this season.

Martinez will be batting out of the leadoff spot on Tuesday, with Christian Arroyo, Rafael Devers, and Xander Bogaerts making up the top third of Boston’s lineup. Here is how the rest of the Sox will line up as they go up against tough Astros left-hander Framber Valdez to begin things on Tuesday.

Fellow southpaw Martin Perez will be getting the start for Boston.

First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN. The Red Sox (37-23) will be going for their sixth straight win.

(Picture of J.D. Martinez: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Leadoff man Christian Arroyo lifts Red Sox to 5-3 win over Marlins

Given the circumstances — a grinding weekend in the Bronx, a light flight home after playing Sunday night, etc. — the Red Sox very well could have thrown in the towel on Monday (a day they originally had off) and looked ahead to this week’s series against the Houston Astros.

Instead, the Sox made up the finale of their series against the Marlins that got rained out on May 30 and came away with a 5-3 win over Miami to finish off the three-game sweep at Fenway Park.

It certainly was no easy task, but Boston improved to 37-23 on the season in the process of extending their winning streak to five consecutive games. They also moved to within a half game of the Rays, who were idle on Monday, for first place in the American League East.

Bogaerts’ early hustle pays off

Matched up against rookie right-hander Zach Thompson for the Marlins on Monday, Xander Bogaerts got the scoring started for the Sox by lacing a two-out single to left field in the bottom half of the first.

After advancing all the way to third on a Rafael Devers double, Bogaerts again put his speed on full display when he scored from third on a wild pitch that gave the Red Sox an immediate 1-0 lead.

Arroyo provides spark out of leadoff spot

Fast forward to the third inning, and Christian Arroyo got a productive day at the plate started while batting out of the leadoff spot by ripping a leadoff ground-rule double off Thompson and was driven in on an RBI double off the bat of Alex Verdugo moments later. 2-0 Boston.

In the fourth, the Sox took full advantage of Marlins reliever Zach Pop, with Kevin Plawecki and Enrique Hernandez collecting back-to-back one-out singles off the right-hander before Arroyo drove both runners in on a two-run base hit to the opposite field.

Verdugo followed by pulling yet another single to right field, which subsequently allowed Arroyo to score from second on account of a throwing error committed by Marlins outfielder Adam Duvall. That sequence put the Red Sox up by four runs at 5-1.

On the day, Arroyo went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored, two RBI, and a walk. He is now batting .301 this season.

Pivetta can’t get through five full innings

Nick Pivetta made his 12th start of the season for the Red Sox on Monday, and this outing was perhaps more of a grind than any other thus far.

That being the case because the right-hander was unable to make it until the end of the fifth inning, and instead saw his day come to an end when Alex Cora came to get him with one out still to get in the top of the fifth.

Over those 4 2/3 frames of work, Pivetta yielded two earned runs on seven hits and three walks to go along with six strikeouts on the evening.

The first of those two Miami runs came in the fourth, when Pivetta allowed a one-out RBI single to Jorge Alfaro, but escaped any further damage by inducing an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

The second of those Miami runs came an inning later, when Pivetta served up a towering, 427 foot solo shot to Starling Marte to cut the Sox’ lead down to three runs.

A two-out walk issued to Garrett Cooper in the fifth would be how Pivetta’s outing came to a close, one out short of being in line for the winning decision.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 92 (54 strikes), the 28-year-old hurler turned to his four-seam fastball 59% of the time he was on the mound Monday, inducing four swings-and-misses and topping out at 97.4 mph with the pitch.

Later hit with the no-decision while slightly elevating his ERA to 3.78 on the season, Pivetta’s next start should come against the Blue Jays on Saturday.

A busy day for the Red Sox bullpen

In relief of Pivetta, Garrett Whitlock got the first call out of a shorthanded Red Sox bullpen due to what transpired against the Yankees over the weekend.

Whitlock, in the shortest outing of his career to date, was summoned to retire Adam Duvall, which he did on two pitches to get out of the jam in the fifth.

From there, left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez punched out the first two hitters he faced in the sixth, but was unable to finish the inning and instead had to be lifted for Hirokazu Sawamura.

Sawamura loaded the bases on a four-pitch walk of Starling Marte and followed with an emphatic five-pitch strikeout of the dangerous Jesus Aguilar on a nasty 94 mph splitter to keep the Marlins at bay. The Japanese right-hander also worked a scoreless top half of the seventh.

Josh Taylor took over in the eighth, but he too made way for another reliever — Adam Ottavino — after getting the first two outs of the inning.

With Matt Barnes unavailable after being used in all three games in New York, Ottavino was tasked with closing this out.

The veteran righty obliged, but not before the Marlins made things interesting by plating a run and bringing the potential go-ahead run to the plate with two outs in the ninth.

Matched up against Jorge Alfaro, Ottavino got the Marlins backstop to ground out to third and notched his third save of the season as a result of preserving the 5-3 victory for his side.

Some notes from this win:

Christian Arroyo in five games this month:

.438 (7-for-16)/.471/.750 with one home run, two doubles, five RBI, four runs scored, one walk, and four strikeouts.

From Red Sox Notes:

Next up: First of three against Astros

The Red Sox will welcome the Marlins into town for the first of a three-game series that begins at Fenway Park on Tuesday night.

Left-hander Martin Perez will get the ball for Boston, while fellow southpaw Framber Valdez will do the same for Houston.

First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)