Tag: alex verdugo

Chris Sale reaches 97.8 mph, Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong both homer as Red Sox take series from Guardians with 7-1 win

The Red Sox closed out the month of April with a series-clinching win over the Guardians. On a drizzly Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park, Boston defeated Cleveland by a final score of 7-1 to improve to 15-14 on the season.

Starters Chris Sale and Logan Allen traded zeroes through the first four innings of Sunday’s series finale. The Sox then drew first blood in their half of the fifth, when Connor Wong led off with a groundball single.

Jarren Duran followed by blooping a ground-rule double down the left field line to put runners at second and third base. After Enmanuel Valdez struck out on five pitches, Alex Verdugo opened the scoring by plating both Wong and Duran on a a two-run single to left-center field off Allen to put Boston up, 2-0.

Cleveland got one of those runs back in the top of the sixth. After working his way out of a jam by striking out the side in the fifth inning, Sale gave up a leadoff double to Steven Kwan. Seven pitches later, Amed Rosario drove in Kwan with an opposite-field single to cut the deficit in half.

Rosario was able to advance to second on Verdugo’s errant throw home. He then moved up to third on a Jose Ramirez flyout, but Sale left him there by getting both Josh Bell and Oscar Gonzalez to ground out, thus limiting the damage to one run.

It did not take long for the Red Sox to respond. With reliever Nick Sandlin taking over for the Guardians, Christian Arroyo ripped a one-out single in the latter half of the sixth and Wong followed by crushing a 1-2, 91.8 mph fastball on the inner half of the plate 427 feet over the Green Monster for his first home run of the year.

Wong’s two-run blast left his bat at 111.8 mph. It also gave his side a 4-1 lead. Sale, meanwhile, came back out for the seventh and retired the final batter he faced by getting Andres Gimenez to line out to Duran — who made a nice sliding catch — in center field. Having already thrown 98 pitches (71 strikes) to that point in the contest, Sale was given the hook in favor of John Schreiber.

All told, Sale allowed just the one earned run on three hits, no walks, and one hit batsman to go along with five strikeouts over 6 1/3 strong innings of work. The 34-year-old hurler induced 11 swings-and-misses while averaging 94.1 mph and topping out at 97.8 mph with his four-seam fastball, a pitch he threw 59 times. He picked up his second winning decision of the season and lowered his ERA to 6.75.

After Schreiber ended things in the top half of the seventh, the Sox lineup got back to work on the other side of the stretch. Verdugo greeted new Guardians reliever Peyton Battenfield by lacing a 107.9 mph leadoff home run 373 feet down the right field line for his fourth big fly of the year. Following back-to-back two-out walks from Rafael Devers and Masataka Yoshida, Arroyo extended Boston’s lead with a two-run double off the rightmost part of the Green Monster.

Both Devers and Yoshida scored on the play to make it a 7-1 contest. Arroyo then made a fantastic leaping grab in the top of the eighth to help out Richard Bleier and rob Kwan of a base hit that had an expected batting average of .810. Bleier got through the rest of the eighth unscathed, paving the way for Brennan Bernardino to come in for the ninth and secure a 7-1 victory with another 1-2-3 inning.

Sunday’s win took two hours and 32 minutes to complete. Verdugo, Arroyo, and Wong accounted for six of Boston’s nine hits and all seven RBIs. Yoshida, Duran, Arroyo, and Valdez all doubled.

Next up: Kluber vs. Berrios in first of four against Jays

Coming off a 15-13 April, the Red Sox will open the month of May by welcoming the Blue Jays into town for the first of a four-game series on Monday night. In the first meeting of the year between the two division rivals, Corey Kluber will get the start for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Jose Berrios for Toronto.

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

(Picture of Chris Sale: Winslow Townson/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)

Alex Verdugo homers again as Red Sox open series against Brewers with 5-3 win

Playing at American Family Field for the first time since 2017, the Red Sox kicked off their road trip with a series-opening win over the Brewers. Boston defeated Milwaukee by a final score of 5-3 on Friday night to get back over .500 and improve to 11-10 on the season.

Matched up against Freddy Peralta out of the gate, the Sox drew first blood against the Brewers in their half of the third inning. Jarren Duran led off with a hard-hit single and advanced to second on a successful sacrifice bunt from Yu Chang. As the lineup flipped over, Alex Verdugo delivered with a 366-foot two-run home run down the right field line.

Verdugo’s third homer of the season — and second in as many days — had an exit velocity of 98.3 mph. It also gave his side an early 2-0 lead as Nick Pivetta was in the midst of his fourth start of the year for Boston.

After stranding one runner, who Reese McGuire helped pick off, in the first and putting up another zero in the second, Pivetta ran into some trouble in the bottom of the third. There, the right-hander gave up a one-out single to Owen Miller, who stole second base and came into score from second on a two-out RBI single off the bat of Christian Yelich.

Milwaukee then leapfrogged Boston in the fourth. With one out in the inning, Pivetta served up a game-tying solo shot to noted Red Sox nemesis Rowdy Tellez. William Contreras followed by making some more hard contact in the form of a line-drive double. Two batters later, Brice Turang provided the Brewers with their first lead of the night by plating Contreras on a groundball single through the right side of the infield.

Despite falling behind, 3-2, the Sox were able to respond in the top of the sixth. Enrique Hernandez and Triston Casas drew back-to-back two-out walks to knock Peralta out of the game. With left-handed reliever Hoby Milner set to take over for the Brewers, Red Sox manager Alex Cora dipped into his bench by having the right-handed hitting Rob Refsnyder pinch-hit for McGuire, a left-handed hitter

Refsnyder made the most of the opportunity, as he greeted Milner by lofting a game-tying single to right field. Hernandez came into score from second to knot things up at three runs apiece. Moments later, Duran broke the tie by driving in Casas on a 100.4 mph liner that could not be handled cleanly by Miller.

As a result, the Red Sox went up, 4-3, going into the latter half of the sixth. Pivetta then recorded the first two outs of the inning before issuing a four-pitch walk to Brian Anderson, which marked the end of his night. The 30-year-old hurler wound up allowing just the three earned runs on seven hits and one walk to go along with seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings of work. He finished with exactly 100 pitches (65 strikes) and induced 12 swings-and-misses before ultimately picking up his first winning decision of the year.

In relief of Pivetta, Josh Winckowcki received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen from Cora. The righty stranded the lone runner he inherited in the sixth by getting Turang to fly out to left fielder Masataka Yoshida. A half-inning later, Yoshida provided Boston with an important insurance run by pushing across Justin Turner on a 107.3 mph RBI double off Bryse Wilson.

Yoshida’s clutch two-base hit gave the Red Sox a 5-3 lead at stretch time. Winckowski picked up where he left off by tossing a 1-2-3 seventh inning. The Brewers threatened in the eighth when Tellez drew a two-out walk and Contreras followed with a single to put runners on the corners, but Winckowski did not falter. Instead, he fanned Anderson on a 95.1 mph fastball to escape the jam.

That paved the way for Kenley Jansen to enter in the ninth. The veteran closer made quick work of the Brewers, punching out two and getting Joey Wiemer to pop out into foul territory to notch his fifth save of the season and secure the 5-3 victory.

Next up: Whitlock vs. Miley

Winners of six of their last eight games, the Red Sox will look to take this series from the Brewers on Saturday night. Right-hander Garrett Whitlock is slated to take the mound for Boston while former Sox left-hander Wade Miley is expected to do the same for Milwaukee.

First pitch from American Family Field is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Tanner Houck has career day, Alex Verdugo and Yu Chang both homer as Red Sox take series from Twins with 11-5 win

The Red Sox scored first and never looked back in a series-clinching win over the Twins on Thursday afternoon. Boston defeated Minnesota by a final score of 11-5 at Fenway Park to get back to .500 at 10-10 on the season.

With Kenta Maeda starting for the Twins, the Sox drew first blood in their half of the first. On the third pitch he saw from his former Dodgers teammate, leadoff man Alex Verdugo drilled a 386-foot solo shot to right field for his third home run of the year and the first leadoff homer of his career. The ball left Verdugo’s bat at 101.2 mph and gave Boston an early 1-0 lead.

Two innings later, the Red Sox broke it open against Twins reliever Emilio Pagan, who took over for Maeda after Maeda left the game with a left ankle contusion. Verdugo reached base on a one-out single and immediately scored on an RBI double off the bat of Rafael Devers. Masataka Yoshida followed with a run-scoring hit of his own that scored Devers and snapped an 0-for-18 skid.

Back-to-back singles from Enrique Hernandez and Triston Casas loaded the bases for Connor Wong, who drove in two with a groundball single through the left side of the infield. Jarren Duran capped off the high-scoring frame by lacing a 395-foot two-run double to center field to plate both Casas and Wong and give his side a commanding 7-0 advantage.

The Twins got one of those runs back in the top of the fifth. To that point, Red Sox starter Tanner Houck had tossed four scoreless innings out of the gate. But the right-hander ran into a bit of trouble when he gave up back-to-back ground-out doubles to Willi Castro and Max Kepler to trim the deficit down to six runs.

Houck got through the rest of the inning unscathed and the Red Sox lineup responded in the latter half of the fifth. Hernandez led off with a single off Twins reliever Jorge Alcala and — following a Casas Walk — advanced to third on a Wong flyout. Duran then drove in Hernandez from third with a sacrifice fly to center field before Chang came through with a blistering two-run home run that cleared the Green Monster in 4.2 seconds.

Chang’s second homer of the season, which had an exit velocity of 109.7 mph, put Boston up, 10-1, going into the sixth. Houck continued on with yet another scoreless frame before running into more two-out trouble in the top of the seventh. With Jose Miranda already at first base following a leadoff single, Willi Castro clubbed a 413-foot two-run home run into the right field seats to make it a 10-3 game.

Despite the way his outing ended, it was still an impressive day on the mound for Houck. The 26-year-old hurler allowed just the three runs on six hits and one walk to go along with seven strikeouts over seven innings of work to set a new career high in that category. He finished with 96 pitches (63 strikes) and induced 16 swings-and-misses while improving to 3-0 and lowering his ERA on the season to 4.29.

In relief of Houck, Kaleb Ort struck out two in a scoreless top of the eighth. Boston then went up 11-3 over Minnesota in the latter half of the inning when Yoshida plated Christian Arroyo (who reached on a pinch-hit double) with his second RBI single of the afternoon.

Ryan Brasier grinded through a ninth inning in which he surrendered two runs on four hits and a walk. But he got out of a bases-loaded jam when Casas threw out Kepler at third base to end it, thus putting the finishing touches on an 11-5 victory.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Peralta in Milwaukee

On the heels of a 5-2 homestand, the Red Sox will now embark on a six-game road trip that begins in Milwaukee on Friday night. Nick Pivetta is slated to get the start for Boston in the series opener against the National League Central-leading Brewers opposite fellow right-hander Freddy Peralta.

First pitch from American Family Field is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN+. The other two games will begin at 7:10 p.m. and 2:10 p.m. eastern time, respectively.

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

Chris Sale strikes out 11, Alex Verdugo comes through with wonky walk-off single to seal comeback as Red Sox defeat Twins, 5-4, in extras

The Red Sox came back to walk off the Twins in wonky fashion on Tuesday night. Boston defeated Minnesota by a final score of 5-4 in 10 innings at Fenway Park to get back to .500 and improve to 9-9 on the season.

With Sonny Gray starting for the Twins, the Sox quickly drew first blood in their half of the first. Alex Verdugo led off with a line-drive double and then came into score the first run of the game on an RBI single from Rafael Devers.

Chris Sale, meanwhile, made his fourth start of the season for Boston. The veteran left-hander looked like his vintage self, as he allowed just one run on three hits, two walks, and two hit batsman to go along with 11 strikeouts over six strong innings of work.

After tossing four scoreless frames out of the gate, Sale ran into some trouble in the fifth. There, a walk, hit-by-pitch, and infield single filled the bases with no outs. Sale then struck out Donovan Solano, but Carlos Correa followed with a run-scoring sacrifice fly to pull the Twins back even with the Red Sox at 1-1.

Sale avoided any further damage and ended his night by stranding former battery mate Christian Vazquez in an otherwise clean sixth inning. The 34-year-old southpaw finished with 94 pitches (63 strikes), inducing 19 swings-and-misses and topping out at 96.1 mph with his four-seam fastball.

With Sale’s day done, Josh Winckowski received the first call out of the bullpen from Red Sox manager Alex Cora in the seventh. Right away, Winckowski was greeted by Max Kepler, who took a 1-0, 85 mph slider on the inner half of the plate and deposited it 385 feet into the visitor’s bullpen to give the Twins a 2-1 lead.

That is where the score would remain as Winckowski held Minnesota at two runs through the middle of the eighth. The latter half of the inning is where things started to get interesting.

Enrique Hernandez led off with a line-drive single off new Twins reliever Griffin Jax. After Triston Casas struck out for a fourth time, the pinch-hitting Reese McGuire reached base on a catcher’s interference. Hernandez was able to go from first to third on the play since the ball was technically live when McGuire grounded to third.

That bizarre sequence put runners on the corners with one out for Jarren Duran, who proceeded to hit a chopper to second baseman Nick Gordon. With his momentum carrying him in that direction, Gordon attempted to throw out Hernandez at home. Gordon’s throw, however, was mishandled by Vazquez at the plate, which allowed Hernandez to score the tying run.

Closers Kenley Jansen and Jhoan Duran exchanged 1-2-3 innings in the ninth, sending this one into extras. In the top of the 10th, John Schreiber plunked Solano and walked Correa to fill the bases with no outs. The Twins then pushed across two runs on a Byron Buxton sacrifice fly and Jose Miranda RBI groundout.

Trailing 4-2 going into the bottom of the 10th, Kutter Crawford (the pitcher) entered the game as the ghost runner at second base for the Red Sox. With a short bench due to Christian Arroyo’s hamstring injury, Cora was forced to use Crawford (who pitched 6 1/3 innings of relief on Monday) as a pinch-runner after making a double switch and burning his designated hitter earlier in the game.

Representing the tying run, Hernandez led off the 10th by striking out, but he reached first safely as a result of a wild pitch on strike three from Jovani Moran. Crawford advanced to the third on the play and Casas followed by drawing a six-pitch walk to fill the bases for McGuire.

McGuire came through with a game-tying, two-run single, plating both Crawford and Hernandez by roping a 188-foot base hit to left field. Duran then re-loaded the bases by ripping a groundball single back up the middle, but Rob Refsnyder followed by grounding into a 5-3 double play.

Down to their final out in the 10th, the game was fittingly in Verdugo’s hands. Verdugo delivered by lifting a 300-foot single down the right field line. Out of the box, Verdugo thought it was foul, but the ball barely landed in fair territory as it bounced off the portion of the right field wall in front of the Pesky Pole.

After a lengthy umpire review, it was determined that the ball did indeed land in fair territory. As a result, Verdugo was credited with the sixth walk-off RBI of his career and the Red Sox went home winners despite going 5-for-20 with runners in scoring position and leaving 13 runners on base as a team.

Next up: Ryan vs. Kluber

The Red Sox will look to secure a series victory over the Twins on Wednesday night. Corey Kluber will get the start for Boston while fellow right-hander Joe Ryan will do the same for Minnesota.

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

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

Kutter Crawford shines out of bullpen, but Red Sox come up just short in rain-filled 5-4 loss to Angels

On a chilly and rain-soaked Marathon Monday at Fenway Park, the Red Sox were unable to complete a four-game sweep of the Angels. Boston fell to Los Angeles by a final score of 5-4 to drop back to under .500 on the season at 8-9.

After first pitch of the annual Patriots’ Day contest was pushed back from 11:10 a.m. to 12:06 p.m., Brayan Bello made his first start of the season for the Sox. The young right-hander showed signs of rust in his 2023 debut, allowing five earned runs on eight hits, one walk, and one hit batsman to go along with five strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings of work.

Bello ran into trouble right away in the top of the first. After yielding a one-out single to Shohei Ohtani and plunking Taylor Ward to put runners at first and second, the righty served up a 355-foot three-run homer to Hunter Renfroe that cleared the Green Monster and gave the Angels an early 3-0 lead.

The Red Sox were able to get one of those runs back in the latter half of the first. Matched up against Ohtani on the mound, Raimel Tapia drew a leadoff walk before taking second and third on a pair of wild pitches. He then scored from third on an RBI groundout off the bat of Rob Refsnyder.

The Angels responded in the top of the second, though, as Bello gave up back-to-back singles to lead off the inning before yielding a run-scoring groundout to Renfroe to make it a 5-1 game. Bello came back out for the third and recorded the first outs. The skies then began to open up as a one hour and 25 minute rain delay commenced.

Since the delay lasted that long, Bello’s season debut was shorter than expected. The 23-year-old hurler finished with 72 pitches (48 strikes) and induced 10 swings-and-misses. He also averaged 95.4 and topped out at 96.9 mph with his sinker.

Once the tarpaulin was removed from the field for a second time, Kutter Crawford came on to pitch in relief of Bello. Crawford got the final out of the third and took over in an effort to preserve the rest of the Red Sox bullpen. Over 6 1/3 scoreless frames, the 27-year-old gave up just one hit and no walks while striking out five of the 21 batters he faced.

While Crawford was in the process of shutting down Angels hitters, the Red Sox struggled to get anything going offensively on the other side of the delay. In the bottom of the fourth, for instance, Rafael Devers led off with a double and Masataka Yoshida and Triston Casas filled the bases by drawing back-to-back one-out walks off lefty Tucker Davidson.

Davidson, however, did not give in. Instead, he got Enrique Hernandez to line out and Reese McGuire to fly out to escape the jam. An inning later, Jarren Duran reached base on a one-out double but was left at second after Tapia fanned and Devers grounded out to extinguish the threat.

After Crawford worked his way around a pair of throwing errors in the top of the sixth, Boston finally broke through in the bottom half of the inning. Refsnyder led off with a double and Casas ripped a one-out double off new Angels reliever Aaron Loup. Hernandez then plated Refsnyder on a sacrifice fly before McGuire drove in Casas by beating out an infield single on a feet-first slide into first base.

That sequence of events trimmed Los Angeles’ lead down to two runs at 5-3. In the seventh, Duran drew a leadoff walk off Matt Moore and immediately stole second base. Again, though, Duran was stranded in scoring position as Tapia, Devers, and Refsnyder were all retired.

Following two more scoreless innings from Crawford, the Red Sox were down to their final three outs and still trailing by two runs in the bottom of the ninth. With Carlos Estevez pitching for the Angels, Alex Verdugo came off the bench and led off with a pinch-hit single. A one-out walk from Tapia put runners at first and second for Devers, who scored Verdugo by lacing a 112.1 mph RBI single to right field.

Estevez then got Refsnyder to strike out and Yoshida to pop out to end the rally there. All told, the Red Sox went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base as a team in Monday’s 5-4 loss, which technically took five hours and 24 minutes to complete.

McGuire throws out base stealer

With one out and runners on the corners in the top of the sixth inning, Reese McGuire threw out Shohei Ohtani at second base for his first caught stealing in 16 attempts to begin the year.

Duran’s 2023 debut

While Brayan Bello’s 2023 debut did not go according to plan,the same cannot be said for Jarren Duran. Batting out of the nine-hole and starting in center field, the speedy left-handed hitter went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base.

Next up: Gray vs. Sale

The Red Sox will welcome the first-place, 10-6 Twins into town for the first of a three-game series on Tuesday night. Left-hander Chris Sale is slated to get the start for Boston opposite Minnesota right-hander Sonny Gray.

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

(Picture of Kutter Crawford: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

Garrett Whitlock, Justin Turner power Red Sox to 2-1 win over Angels

Behind a strong start from Garrett Whitlock and one swing of the bat from Justin Turner, the Red Sox won their third straight over the Angels on Sunday afternoon. Boston defeated Los Angeles by a final score of 2-1 at Fenway Park to get back to .500 at 8-8 on the season.

Whitlock, making his second start of the year for the Sox, put forth a superb effort. The right-hander allowed just one run on three hits and two walks to go along with five strikeouts over seven fast-paced innings of work.

That lone run came in the top of the second. After Anthony Rendon led off with a double and moved up to third, Whitlock surrendered an RBI single to Brandon Drury to give the Angels an early 1-0 lead. The inning ended shortly thereafter, as Connor Wong gunned down Drury at second base to retire the side.

Fast forward to the bottom of the third, and Alex Verdugo reached base on a one-out single off Angels starter Reid Detmers. Verdugo promptly stole second base to put a runner in scoring position for Turner, who delivered by crushing a 386-foot two-run shot over the Green Monster for his first home run in a Red Sox uniform.

Turner’s blast, which left his bat at 103.2 mph, put Boston up, 2-1. Whitlock then took over by retiring 11 of the final 12 batters he faced from the beginning of the fourth through the middle of the seventh, at which point his day came to a close.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 99 (61 strikes), Whitlock becomes the first Red Sox starter to pitch into the sixth (and seventh) inning of a game this season. The 26-year-old hurler also picked up his first winning decision of the year while lowering his ERA to 4.50.

With six more outs to get, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was put in a precarious position in regards to his bullpen. Because Kenley Jansen (who had pitched two straight days) and Chris Martin (who had just been placed on the injured list) were both unavailable, Cora turned to Kaleb Ort in the eighth.

Ort gave up a leadoff single to Gio Urshela and issued a one-out walk to Drury. After getting Logan O’Hoppe to fly out, Ort ended the inning by picking off the pinch-running Brett Phillips at second base. Ryan Brasier followed by striking out Mike Trout and getting Shohei Ohtani to fly out as part of a 1-2-3 ninth inning to end it.

Brasier’s first save of the season put the finishing touches on a a Red Sox win that took all of one hour and 57 minutes to complete.

Yoshida returns to lineup

After missing the last four games with light hamstring tightness, Masataka Yoshida returned to Boston’s lineup on Sunday. Dropped down to sixth in the order and serving as the Sox’ designated hitter, Yoshida went 0-for-2 with a strikeout. He was also hit by a pitch in the second inning.

Wong strikes again

By snuffing out Brandon Drury at second base to end the top of the second, Connor Wong has now thrown out four of six possible base stealers to begin the year.

Next up: Bello goes up against Ohtani in season debut

Brayan Bello will come off the injured list and make his season debut for the Red Sox in Monday’s series finale against fellow right-hander Shohei Ohtani and the Angels.

First pitch from Fenway Park on Marathon Monday is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Justin Turner: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adam Duvall powers Red Sox to 9-8 win over Orioles with dramatic walk-off home run

Thanks to some late-game heroics from Adam Duvall, the Red Sox pulled off a come-from-behind, walk-off win over the Orioles on Saturday. Boston defeated Baltimore by a final score of 9-8 at Fenway Park to improve to 1-1 on the young season.

As was the case on Opening Day, the Red Sox did not get much out of their starter. Chris Sale, making his first home start since the 2021 ALCS, got shelled for seven earned runs on seven hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with six strikeouts over just three innings of work.

The Orioles got to Sale right out of the gate. After striking out Ramon Urias for the first out of the game, the left-hander gave up a one-out single to Adley Rutschman and then served up a two-run home run to Ryan Mountcastle to open the scoring. Two batters later, Austin Hays extended Baltimore’s lead to three runs with a solo shot to center field.

Sale got through a scoreless second inning despite allowing the first two batters he faced to reach base. With two outs and runners at second and third, Sale got Rutschman to hit a soft groundball to the left side of the infield. Rafael Devers charged at the ball and prevented the runner at third from crossing the plate by making a bare-handed grab and a low throw that was picked by Triston Casas at first base.

Devers’ fine defensive play kept the Orioles at three runs. Duvall then got his productive day at the plate started by lacing a leadoff triple to begin things in the latter half of the second. With Casas at the plate, Duvall scored Boston’s first run on a wild pitch from Baltimore starter Dean Kremer.

Though the deficit was reduced to two, Sale’s struggles continued into the third. The lefty retired Mountcastle for the first out and then allowed the next three batters he faced to reach on two singles and a walk. With one out and the bases full, that runner at third (Anthony Santander) scored when Jorge Mateo grounded into a force out at second base. Mateo then stole second base to put runners at second and third for Cedric Mullins, who promptly crushed a three-run shot over the center field fence.

Sale got through the rest of the third unscathed, but his outing ended there. Finishing with a final pitch count of 74 (43 strikes), the 34-year-old hurler topped out at 97.2 mph with his four-seam fastball and induced 13 swings-and-misses altogether. Six of the seven hits he gave up had exit velocities that exceeded 103 mph.

With Sale’s day done and the Orioles now leading 7-1, the Red Sox responded by putting up a four-spot of their own in the bottom of the third. After Enrique Hernandez drew a leadoff walk, Alex Verdugo drilled a 419-foot two-run home run into the right field bleachers. Justin Turner then reached via a one-out double before Duvall came through with a two-run blast of his own to make it a 7-5 contest going into the fourth.

Zack Kelly received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora in the fifth and surrendered another run on an RBI double off the bat of Santander. Josh Winckowski and John Schreiber then combined for three scoreless frames of relief before the Boston bats struck again in the seventh.

There, Hernandez led off by taking Austin Voth 393 feet deep over the Green Monster for his first home run of the season. Devers then greeted new Orioles reliever Cionel Perez with a hard-hit double before coming into score on a ground-rule double from Duvall to cut the deficit to one at 8-7.

Following two more scoreless innings from Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen, the Red Sox were down to their final three outs and up against O’s closer Felix Bautista. It appeared as though they were going to go down quietly, as Devers struck out and Turner grounded out. Masataka Yoshida then lifted a lazily-hit fly ball to Ryan McKenna to left field for what should have been the third and final out. Bautista thought as much, but McKenna could not make a clean catch as the ball deflected off the heel of his glove.

That gave the Red Sox extra life, and Duvall made the most of the additional opportunity. After taking a 100 mph fastball for ball one, Duvall tore into another 99.7 mph heater from Bautista and barely cleared the Green Monster for his fifth career walk-off hit.

Duvall finished the day going 4-for-5 with a triple, a double, and his first two home runs of the season. The 34-year-old fell a single short of the cycle while driving in five runs and scoring three times out of the five-hole.

Other worthwhile observations:

Kenley Jansen made his Red Sox debut on Saturday. The veteran closer worked his way around a single and a walk in a scoreless ninth inning. He struck out two of the five batters he faced and picked up the winning decision.

The Red Sox allowed five more stolen bases on Saturday and have now allowed 10 through two games this year. The Orioles are the first team in major-league history to open a season by swiping five bags in each of its first two games, per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

According to OptaStats on Twitter, Adam Duvall is the first player in big-league history to come to the plate needing a single to complete the cycle and hit a walk-off home run instead.

Next up: Houck’s season debut

The Red Sox will go for their second straight win in the rubber match of this three-game series against the Orioles on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Tanner Houck will get the start for Boston while left-hander Cole Irvin will do the same for Baltimore.

Houck is coming off a miserable spring in which he posted a 9.74 ERA with 25 strikeouts to 12 walks over six starts (20 1/3 innings). Irvin, meanwhile, was acquired by the O’s in a January trade with the Athletics.

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

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

Red Sox’ Alex Verdugo, Jarren Duran team up, bring in mariachi band to perform as part of presentation on Mexico

Red Sox outfielders Alex Verdugo and Jarren Duran will soon be heading out to Arizona to play for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. To mark the occasion, manager Alex Cora instructed the pair to give a presentation on the country to the rest of their teammates on Monday.

As part of that presentation, a five-piece mariachi band performed inside the clubhouse and later on while players stretched and played catch on the field. They even played Verdugo’s walk-up song, “Volver, Volver” by Vicente Fernandez.

Verdugo, whose father Joe is from Mexico, took charge of the assignment. The 26-year-old put together an informational poster board that included facts about the country’s history, the origins of its flag, and some of its most accomplished baseball stars like Fernando Valenzuela and Vinny Castilla.

“It was on, I think Friday, when we got hit with it,” Verdugo told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) on Monday. “AC had a meeting and at the end of it, asked me and Duran to do a presentation on Mexico. I just got the ball rolling and obviously I knew I had to make a poster with some facts on it. But I think the big thing that kind of got everybody excited was having the mariachi band here.”

Verdugo was then asked how one goes about finding a mariachi band in southwest Florida?

“Google. You just Google them and we found them,” Verdugo said of the group, Mariachi Villa de Guadalupe. “They were out of Cape Coral. They were able to drive out here and help me out. It was great. They were great, honestly. I was a little nervous, obviously being in Fort Myers and I was like, ‘I hope they’re good,’ you know what I mean? But they were great and it came out really good.”

Verdugo said he began working on the poster following Sunday’s 7-6 Grapefruit League win over the Rays at JetBlue Park. While most veteran players will head home as soon as they are subbed out during spring games, Verdugo — who played the first five innings on Sunday — remained at the Fenway South complex well into the evening.

“I didn’t leave here until 6 p.m.,” said Verdugo. “I was taking advantage of the printers and everything that they have here. It was hard work, but it felt good and it was rewarding to kind of see the guys, the clubhouse, everybody, just really enjoy it. It was fun.”

Though he certainly does not lack confidence on the field, Verdugo did acknowledge that he felt some angst building up before and during the oral part of the presentation.

“Yeah, I felt so nervous. I don’t usually mind talking in front of the group if it’s all just jokes and fun. But as soon as I had to be a little bit serious, my heart was racing,” he said. “I was more nervous there than I was in the postseason or any type of baseball atmosphere.”

Verdugo, who was acquired from the Dodgers in the infamous Mookie Betts trade three years ago, is preparing for his fourth season with the Red Sox. Despite the fact that he is still two-plus months shy of turning 27, he is already the fourth-longest tenured player on the team behind only Chris Sale, Rafael Devers, and Ryan Brasier.

“Dugie, he’s been here since ’20,” Cora said. “He’s an important part of what we’re trying to accomplish and you see what he’s done physically and where he’s at.”

Duran, meanwhile, undertook a supporting role in the presentation before going 2-for-2 with a double and home run in Monday’s 4-1 win victory over the Twins to kick off the 2023 Chairman’s Cup. Like Verdugo, the 26-year-old Duran’s father, Octavio, hails from Mexico.

“We did our part. [Verdugo] did a lot of the research,” said Duran. “I just had a little acting skit going. I was doing some acting on the side.”

Regarding Duran and the presentation as a whole, Cora remarked: “Obviously Jarren is a kid that we appreciate and we expect a lot from him. And just for them to step up and be [out of their comfort zone] doing this [was good]. They did their research. And it was actually a great day for us in the clubhouse.”

Based on photos posted on the Red Sox’ social media accounts, it appears as though some of the more established veterans on the team, such as Kiké Hernández, Justin Turner, and Corey Kluber, enjoyed the show.

“That’s what it’s all about, right?” Cora said, via The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham. “I know [people] are questioning the clubhouse and leadership and what we’re doing there. We’re going to do stuff to get to where we’re supposed to.”

With Monday’s team-building exercise in the books as a rousing success, Cora indicated that one of the club’s other WBC participants could give a similar kind of presentation some time next week.

“We’ve got a few guys who are going to the tournament,” said Cora. “I’ll probably tell Kiké to do something to talk about Puerto Rico, so we’ll see.”

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