Tag: angels

Which prospect did Red Sox acquire from Angels for Vaughn Grissom?

The Red Sox parted ways with infielder Vaughn Grissom on Tuesday by sending him to the Angels in a minor trade.

In exchange for Grissom, Boston simultaneously opened a 40-man roster spot ahead of Wednesday’s Rule 5 Draft and acquired outfield prospect Isaiah Jackson from Los Angeles.

Jackson, 21, was originally taken by the Astros in the 18th round of the 2022 draft out of Cienega High School in Arizona. Rather than enter the professional ranks at that time, though, the Vail, Ariz. native elected to honor his commitment to Arizona State. He played three seasons with the Sun Devils and batted .310/.402/.630 with 11 doubles, two triples, 18 home runs, 68 RBIs, 51 runs scored, 14 stolen bases, 28 walks, and 43 strikeouts in 60 games (251 plate appearances) as a junior this past spring en route to earning All-Big 12 First Team honors.

Coming off a standout junior season, Jackson was ranked as Baseball America’s No. 179 prospect in the 2025 draft class. This time around, the left-handed hitter was selected by the Angels in the eighth round (229th overall) of July’s draft and signed for an over-slot $297,500. He made his professional debut with Los Angeles’ High-A affiliate in early August and appeared in 10 games for the Tri-City Dust Devils, going 7-for-32 (.219) with one double, one home run, four RBIs, six runs scored, four walks, and 13 strikeouts. Defensively, he made nine starts in center field and did not commit an error in 81 innings there.

Before Tuesday’s trade, Jackson was slated to enter 2026 as Baseball America’s No. 25 Angels prospect. The publication notes that the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder is “a well-built left-handed-hitting center fielder who is a plus defender despite only average speed,” adding that “he has the bat speed to have solid power with a swing geared especially toward pullside damage, but there are some questions about how well he will hit against more advanced pitching, especially against breaking balls.”

Jackson, who turns 22 in May, becomes the latest 2025 draftee to be added by the Red Sox via trade in recent weeks, joining the likes of Luke Heyman (acquired from the Mariners) and Adonys Guzman (acquired from the Pirates). Barring another move, he appears likely to start the 2026 campaign at High-A Greenville.

(Picture of Isaiah Jackson: Kate Woolson/Texas Rangers/Getty Images)

Red Sox to sign former Angels two-way prospect to minor-league deal

The Red Sox have signed free agent left-hander Erik Rivera to a minor-league contract, as was first reported by Hunter Noll of Beyond the Monster. Rivera himself appears to have confirmed the signing on his Instagram account.

Rivera is a former 2019 fourth-round draft pick of the Angels out of the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy. The 23-year-old Caguas native was taken 121st overall and forewent his commitment to Florida International by signing with Los Angeles for $597,500.

A two-way player coming out of high school, Rivera signed with the Angels as an outfielder and batted .208/.313/.264 with four doubles, nine RBIs, eight runs scored, nine walks, and 31 strikeouts over 21 games (83 plate appearances) in the 2019 rookie-level Arizona League. His first full professional season was wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and he emerged as a full-time pitcher beginning in 2021.

Rivera entered the 2021 season ranked by Baseball America as the No. 14 prospect in Los Angeles’ farm system. The lefty made his professional pitching debut at Low-A Inland Empire that May but then suffered a sprained UCL in his left elbow that ultimately required surgery. As a result, he missed the remainder of the 2021 campaign and all of 2022 before making his way back to the mound in August 2023. He closed out the year by forging a 4.09 ERA (5.90 FIP) with 16 strikeouts to 15 walks in seven total outings (11 innings) between the Arizona Complex League and High-A Tri-City.

Rivera returned to Tri-City for the start of the 2024 season and posted a 3.31 ERA (4.94 FIP) with 39 strikeouts to 20 walks over 10 appearances (eight starts) spanning 35 1/3 innings in which opposing hitters batted .213 against him. The southpaw was released by the Angels in late July and spent the remainder of the year in free agency. Most recently, he enjoyed a productive offseason back on his home island by pitching to a 1.04 ERA (0.86 WHIP) with 21 strikeouts to 10 walks in 16 relief appearances (17 1/3 innings) for the Leones de Ponce of the Puerto Rican Winter League.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, Rivera has been described as having a smooth and athletic delivery. In the past, he has reached 95 mph with his fastball which typically sits in the lower-90s. He has also featured an upper-70s curveball that resembled a slider and a lower-80s changeup with fade, per his July 2021 Baseball America scouting report.

Rivera, who turns 24 in April, should provide the Red Sox with additional pitching depth from the left side in the lower minors to open the 2025 season. It remains to be seen what affiliate he will break camp with later this spring, though Low-A Salem or High-A Greenville would appear to be the most likely destinations.

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

Former Red Sox prospect Niko Kavadas named Arizona Fall League’s Offensive Player of the Year

Over the weekend, Former Red Sox prospect Niko Kavadas was recognized as the 2024 Arizona Fall League Offensive Player of the Year.

Kavadas, one of four players dealt to the Angels for reliever Luis Garcia ahead of July’s trade deadline, stood out in his second AFL stint this fall. The left-handed hitting 26-year-old batted .329/.462/.700 with six doubles, one triple, six home runs, 18 RBIs, 17 runs scored, 17 walks, and 29 strikeouts in 20 games (91 plate appearances) for the Mesa Solar Sox.

Among qualified AFL hitters, Kavadas ranked second in extra-base hits (13), third in slugging percentage, OPS (1.162), isolated power (.371), and total bases (49), sixth in on-base percentage, eighth in walk rate (18.7 percent), and 13th in batting average, per MLB.com’s leaderboards. On the other side of the ball, the burly 6-foot-1, 235-pounder saw playing time at both corner outfield spots for the first time in his professional career while also making six starts at his primary position in first base.

Originally selected by the Red Sox in the 11th round of the 2021 draft out of Notre Dame, Kavadas quickly worked his way up the organizational ladder before arriving at Triple-A Worcester in July 2023. The slugger returned to the WooSox for the start of the 2024 season and produced a .281/.424/.551 line with 17 home runs and 63 RBIs in 83 games. He was then traded to the Angels with Matthew Lugo, Zeferjahn, and Yeferson Vargas in exchange for Garcia on July 30.

Less than three weeks after switching organizations for the first time, Kavadas was called up by the Angels for his big-league debut on August 16. He cranked a three-run home run for his first MLB hit in Toronto six days later and proceeded to slash .183/.283/.333 with two doubles, four homers, eight RBIs, 11 runs scored, one stolen base, 11 walks, and 41 strikeouts in 30 games (106 plate appearances) for Los Angeles down the stretch.

As noted by MLB.com’s Jim Callis, Kavadas showed his raw power (91.7 mph average exit velocity) and patience (10.4 percent walk rate, 17.7 percent chase rate) in his first taste of action with the Halos in 2024, but he will need to produce more consistently at the plate if he intends to stick in the majors. Adding to his defensive profile by playing the outfield could help in that regard as well.

“Being there and seeing it and getting a taste, you’re aware of what it was that got you out, you’re aware of what it was that you’ve had success on,” Kavadas, MLB Pipeline’s 29th-ranked Angels prospect, told Callis. “Just making sure that you continue to maintain your strengths and make your weaknesses a little less weak is what you can do. So for me, it’s increasing the swing rate, giving myself more opportunities each at-bat.

“I can’t continue to take strikes up there because the guys are too good, the stuff is too good, the command is too good,” he continued. “So I think being out here was good for me and just getting me more comfortable and swinging more often instead of looking for maybe a softball-size tunnel, just a 2-3 softball-sized tunnel. I’m always going to be disciplined and I’m always going to be a little more selective as a hitter. But I think just broadening how wide of a zone I’m willing to swing at is going to be good for me.”

(Picture of Niko Kavadas: Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

Which four prospects did Red Sox trade to Angels for Luis García?

The Red Sox closed out the 2024 trade deadline by dealing four more prospects to the Angels for veteran reliever Luis Garcia on Tuesday night.

In exchange for Garcia, who will be eligible for free agency at the end of the season, Boston sent a quartet of minor-leaguers in outfielder Matthew Lugo, first baseman Niko Kavadas, and right-handers Ryan Zeferjahn and Yeferson Vargas to Los Angeles, per a club announcement.

Lugo, 23, was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 23 prospect in Boston’s farm system. The right-handed hitter batted .250/.340/.452 with 10 doubles, five home runs, 19 RBIs, 21 runs scored, seven stolen bases, 12 walks, and 38 strikeouts in 35 games (141 plate appearances) for Triple-A Worcester this season after being promoted from Double-A Portland in early June.

A native of Puerto Rico, Lugo was selected by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder rose originally through the ranks as an infielder but has since transitioned to becoming a full-time outfielder. Between Portland and Worcester this season, he started 55 games in left field, 15 in right field, and one in center field.

Kavadas, 25, was taken by the Red Sox in the 11th round of the 2021 amateur draft out of Notre Dame. The left-handed hitting slugger had spent all of 2023 with Worcester, batting .281/.424/.551 with 20 doubles, 17 homers, 63 RBIs, 57 runs scored, 58 walks, and 112 strikeouts over 83 games (335 plate appearances). That includes a .300/.447/.595 slash line against right-handed pitching and a less favorable .233/.360/.438 slash line against lefties.

In addition to the rough platoon splits, Kavadas has struggled against breaking pitches and is limited in what he can do defensively. With the WooSox this season, for instance, the 6-foot-1, 235-pounder made 53 of his 81 starts at first base and the other 28 at DH. As such, he profiles as a potential three-true-outcomes bench bat at the next level.

Zeferjahn, 26, was selected in the third round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Kanas. The hard-throwing righty originally came up as a starter but has since moved to the bullpen. He allowed just two unearned runs with 22 strikeouts to three walks in his first seven relief appearances (13 2/3 innings) of the season for Portland before earning a promotion to Worcester in early May.

With the WooSox, however, Zeferjahn struggled to a 5.47 ERA (5.37 FIP) with 31 strikeouts to 17 walks over 19 outings (24 2/3 innings). The 6-foot-5, 209-pound hurler has sat between 96-98 mph and topped out at 100 mph with his fastball this season. He also features an 88-92 mph slider and 84-87 mph curveball, as noted in his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

Vargas, who turns 20 this weekend, signed with the Red Sox for $10,000 as an international free agent coming out of the Dominican Republic in December 2022. After making his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League last year, the San Pedro de Macoris native opened this season in the Florida Complex League. He forged a 3.13 ERA and 4.58 FIP with 29 strikeouts to 13 walks in 10 appearances (three starts) spanning 31 2/3 innings for Boston’s FCL affiliate before making the jump to Low-A Salem a few days ago.

In his full-season debut against the Carolina Mudcats last Friday, Vargas struck out five and walked two while allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits over four innings. The 6-foot, 177-pound righty threw 62 pitches (39 strikes) and elicited 10 swings-and-misses, per Baseball Savant. Earlier this month, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote that Vargas averaged 95-96 mph and touched 98 mph with his fastball during a June outing. He also mixed in an 81-84 mph curveball.

As is the case with Nick Yorke (who was traded to the Pirates for Quinn Priester) and Eddinson Paulino (one of three minor-leaguers dealt to the Blue Jays for Danny Jansen), Lugo, Kavadas, and Zeferjahn can all become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this winter if they are not added to their respective clubs’ 40-man rosters.

Vargas, on the other hand, joins the likes of Ovis Portes and Gilberto Batista as young pitching prospects Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and Co. traded away to address other areas of need. Portes was dealt to the Reds for reliever Lucas Sims while Batista was part of the package that went to the Blue Jays for Jansen.

(Picture of Luis Garcia: John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox held to 2 hits in 4-0 loss to Angels; Brayan Bello impresses again

After being held to one run on Monday, the Red Sox were shut out in yet another loss to the Angels on Tuesday night. Boston fell to Los Angeles by a final score of 4-0 at Angel Stadium to extend its losing streak to three and drop to 26-23 on the season.

In similar fashion to Monday’s series-opening defeat, a young right-hander shined on the mound for the Sox. Brayan Bello, making his seventh start of the year, allowed just two earned runs on six hits and zero walks to go along with six strikeouts over a career-high seven innings of work.

Both runs Bello surrendered came by way of the long ball. To lead off the bottom of the first, a red-hot Mickey Moniak crushed a 418-foot solo shot to deep center field to open the scoring for the Angels.

Though Bello gave up two more hits in the inning, he was able to settle down by retiring nine straight batters from the middle of the second through the end of the fourth. Matt Thaiss then led off the bottom half of the fifth with a 409-foot solo homer of his own to double Los Angeles’ lead to 2-0.

Bello once again rebounded by keeping the Angels off the scoreboard over the next two innings. He retired the side in order in the sixth and then stranded Gio Urshela at second base after yielding a two-out double in an otherwise clean bottom of the seventh.

Finishing with 98 pitches (67 strikes), Bello induced 12 swings-and-misses while averaging 96.1 mph with his four-seam fastball. The 24-year-old hurler was ultimately charged with the tough-luck loss, but he did lower his ERA on the season down to 4.08. That includes a 2.57 ERA in five starts since being recalled from Triple-A Worcester on April 28.

In relief of Bello, Joely Rodriguez received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora in the eighth. The left-hander immediately gave up a leadoff double to the pinch-hitting Taylor Ward and then served up a 393-foot two-run home run to Mike Trout that effectively put this one out of reach.

Heading into the ninth inning trailing by four, the Red Sox had gotten very little from their lineup to that point in the contest. Angels starter Griffin Canning, who came into play Tuesday sporting a 6.14 ERA in six outings, outdueled Bello by putting up zeroes over seven effective frames.

Canning scattered two hits and three walks. He only allowed one runner to advance into scoring position. That happened in the top of the second, when Triston Casas drew a two-out walk and Enmanuel Valdez followed with a single. Reese McGuire then struck out on a foul tip to extinguish the threat.

After veteran lefty Matt Moore replaced Canning in the top of the eighth, the pinch-hitting Rob Refsnyder drew a leadoff walk to bring the tying run to the plate with no outs. Refsnyder essentially switched places with Alex Verdugo, who grounded into a force out, before Masataka Yoshida grounded into an inning-ending, 4-6-3 double play. Jacob Webb then made quick work of Justin Turner, Rafael Devers, and Valdez in the ninth to end it.

Tuesday marks the third shutout loss of the season for the Red Sox and the second in their last three games. They have scored just one run in their last 32 innings dating back to the fourth inning of Saturday’s 4-2 win over the Padres in San Diego.

Next up: Paxton looks to help Sox avoid sweep

The Red Sox will look to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Angels in Wednesday night’s series finale. James Paxton is slated to make his third start of the season for Boston while Los Angeles will counter with fellow southpaw Tyler Anderson.

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

(Picture of Brayan Bello: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Tanner Houck strikes out 8 over 6 strong innings, but Red Sox muster just 4 hits in 2-1 loss to Angels

Despite Tanner Houck’s strong start, the Red Sox were held to just one run on four hits in a series-opening loss to the Angels on Monday night. Boston fell to Los Angeles by a final score of 2-1 at Angel Stadium to drop to 26-22 on the season.

Houck, making his ninth start of the year for the Sox, put together a solid outing in his bid to remain in the rotation. The right-hander allowed just one run on three hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with a season-high eight strikeouts over six innings of work.

The Halos got to Houck for that lone run in their half of the second. After drawing a one-out walk, Brandon Drury went from first to third base on a Matt Thaiss single. He then opened the scoring by coming in from third on an RBI groundout off the bat of Luis Rengifo.

Houck proceeded to load the bases by hitting a batter and giving up another single, but he escaped the jam by fanning Mike Trout on an 84 mph slider at the bottom of the zone. From the middle of the third inning through the end of the sixth, the righty retired eight of the last nine batters he faced.

In addition to striking out Trout and Shohei Ohtani a combined four times on Monday night, Houck induced 17 swings-and-misses on his 83 pitches (65 strikes). The 26-year-old hurler did not factor into the decision, but he did lower his ERA on the season to 4.99.

Shortly before Houck’s night to an end, the Red Sox got on the board in the top of the sixth. After being held in check by Angels starter Jaime Barria, Connor Wong led off the inning with a groundball double off veteran reliever Aaron Loup. Wong then moved up to third on an Alex Verdugo groundout and scored the then-tying run on a Masataka Yoshida RBI single.

With things knotted up at 1-1 going into the seventh, Kutter Crawford took over for Houck out of the Boston bullpen. Making his first appearance since being activated from the 15-day injured list on Friday, Crawford worked his way around a leadoff double in the seventh and came back out for the eighth.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, Mickey Moniak broke the tie by crushing a 401-foot leadoff home run to deep right field to put the Angels back up, 2-1, going into the ninth. Chase Silseth then closed it out by making quick work of Verdugo, Yoshida, and Justin Turner as Crawford was charged with the loss.

At a swift two hours and five minutes, Monday marked Boston’s second-quickest game of the season behind only a 2-1 win over this same Angels team that took one hour and 57 minutes to complete back on April 16.

Next up: Bello vs. Canning

The Red Sox will look to avoid a third straight loss in the middle game of this three-game set against the Angels on Tuesday night. Brayan Bello will get the start for Boston while fellow right-hander Griffin Canning will go for Los Angeles.

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

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Ronald Martinez/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)

Yu Chang ends hitless drought with homer, go-ahead single as Red Sox come back to defeat Angels, 9-7

The Red Sox overcame a pair of deficits to pick up their second consecutive win over the Angels on Saturday afternoon. Boston defeated Los Angeles by a final score of 9-7 at Fenway Park to improve to 7-8 on the season.

Nick Pivetta, making his third start of the year for the Sox, was not at his sharpest. The right-hander surrendered six earned runs on five hits, three walks, and one hit batsman to go along with four strikeouts over four-plus innings of work.

Four of those runs came on one swing of the bat in the top of the first. After loading the bases with a pair of two-out walks, Pivetta served up a 385-foot grand slam to Gio Urshela to put the Red Sox in an early 4-0 hole.

Boston quickly responded in the latter half of the first. With Tyler Anderson starting for Los Angeles, Rob Refsnyder reached base on a two-out double to deep center field that was just out of Mike Trout’s reach. That brought Rafael Devers to the plate for the first time, and he came through by clubbing a two-run shot over the Green Monster for his seventh home run of the season already.

Devers’ 410-foot blast cut the deficit in half at 4-2. Two innings later, Justin Turner made it a one-run game by scoring from third when Devers grounded into a 6-3 double play. In the fourth, the Red Sox were able to leapfrog the Angels in somewhat surprising fashion.

Connor Wong ignited the two-out rally by ripping a 100.2 mph double off the Monster. Yu Chang — who was 0-for-17 at the plate to begin the season coming into the fourth inning — followed by taking a 1-0, 88.9 mph fastball from Anderson and depositing it off the DraftKings sign in left field for his first home run in a Red Sox uniform.

Chang’s go-ahead, two-run shot put Boston up, 5-4. After Anderson put Alex Verdugo (single) and Turner (walk on base), Refsnyder added to the lead with an RBI single that drove in Verdugo from second to make it a 6-4 contest going into the fifth.

To that point, it appeared as though Pivetta had settled in by tossing three straight scoreless frames. But the righty ran into more trouble in the top of the fifth by giving up a leadoff double to the vaunted Trout. Shohei Ohtani moved Trout over to third with a single and Anthony Rendon plated him with a base hit of his own.

With his pitch count already at 99 (57 strikes), Pivetta was given the hook by manager Alex Cora in favor of Kaleb Ort out of the bullpen. Ort fanned Hunter Renfroe for the first out before giving up a softly-hit game-tying RBI single to Urshela. He escaped any further damage by retiring the next two batters he faced.

Richard Bleier took over for Ort in the sixth and immediately plunked the first batter he faced in Matt Thaiss. The lefty then got Taylor Ward to ground into a force out at second base. Ward, however, reached base safely and — after advancing to second on a wild pitch — came into score on a two-out RBI single from Ohtani.

The Angels took a 7-6 lead on Ohtani’s second hit of the day and that is where the score would remain after John Schreiber and Ryan Brasier each worked a scoreless inning of relief. The bottom of the eighth is where things got interesting.

Matched up against veteran reliever Ryan Tepera, Enrique Hernandez led off with a groundball single. The pinch-hitting Raimel Tapia then appeared to line out to left for what would have been the first out of the frame, but he was instead awarded first base after home plate umpire Cory Blaser ruled that Tapia’s bat made contact with the glove of Thaiss behind the plate.

Two batters later, catcher’s interference was called again while the pinch-hitting Reese McGuire was at the plate. That unique sequence of events filled the bases with one out for Chang, who delivered yet again with a go-ahead, two-run single through the left side of the infield. Both Hernandez and Tapia scored on the play. Refsnyder provided some added insurance later in the inning by drawing a bases-loaded walk.

Taking a two-run lead into the ninth, Kenley Jansen sealed the 9-7 victory for the Red Sox by recording his second save of the series and his fourth of the season overall.

Next up: Detmers vs. Whitlock

The Red Sox will look to take this four-game series from the Angels with another win on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Garrett Whitlock will get the start for Boston opposite left-hander Reid Detmers for Los Angeles.

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

(Picture of Yu Chang: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next up: On to Seattle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next up: Pivetta vs. Ohtani in series finale

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

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

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