Tag: Baseball

Red Sox play sloppy defense, go 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position in 3-1 loss to Cubs

Sloppy defense and a lack of scoring opportunities is what did the Red Sox in on Saturday night, as they dropped their second straight to the Cubs by a final score of 3-1 at Wrigley Field.

Cubs starter Alec Mills threw just seven pitches and faced two batters in the first inning before leaving the game with lower back pain. He was relieved by Mark Leiter Jr., who allowed just one run over 5 1/3 impressive innings on short notice.

That lone Red Sox run came in the sixth inning, when after Jackie Bradley Jr. doubled and Jarren Duran singled to put runners at the corners with no outs, Rafael Devers grounded into a run-scoring, 1-4-3 double play.

At that point, Boston was trailing Chicago by just one run at 2-1. Josh Winckowski, making his fifth start of the season for the Sox, had gotten tagged for two runs in the bottom of the second inning.

After retiring the side in order in the first, Winckowski gave up a leadoff single to Patrick Wisdom, who then took second base on a Devers throwing error. The very next batter, Nico Hoerner, attempted to move Wisdom over to third by laying a bunt. Winckowski fielded said bunt, but air-mailed his throw to first base, which allowed Wisdom to score the game’s first run. Hoerner moved up to second on Winckowski’s error and then scored on a sacrifice fly from Narciso Crook to make it a 2-o game.

Despite those shaky results early on, Winckowski ultimately settled into his outing. The right-hander allowed just the two runs (one earned) on six hits, one walk, and six strikeouts over six solid innings of work. Of the 94 pitches he threw, 63 went for strikes.

Dating back to June 15, Winckowski owns an ERA of 1.96 in his last four starts. On the season as a whole, the 24-year-old hurler has posted a 3.12 ERA.

In relief of Winckowski, Ryan Brasier received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora and he needed just 14 pitches to face the minimum in a scoreless bottom of the seventh.

Tanner Houck made his first appearance since last Sunday in the eighth and gave up a one-out single to Wilson Contreras. Contreras was pinch-ran for by Nelson Velazquez, who promptly stole second base, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored from third on an RBI single off the bat of Wisdom.

Taking a 3-1 lead into the ninth, the Cubs had already received a stellar effort out of their bullpen. Duran led off the top of the ninth with a double off veteran closer David Robertson. He then stole third base but was stranded there after Devers and J.D. Martinez struck out, Xander Bogaerts drew a walk, and Alex Verdugo lined out to center field to end the game with a final score of 3-1.

With the loss, the Red Sox have dropped four of their last five contests to fall to 43-35 on the season. They have already lost their last two series and are now at risk of getting swept for the first time since May 5-9 when they did so against the White Sox.

Next up: Seabold vs. Thompson

In order to avoid a second straight sweep, the Red Sox will activate and send rookie right-hander Connor Seabold to the mound in Sunday’s series finale. The Cubs will counter with fellow righty Keegan Thompson.

First pitch from Wrigley Field is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

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

Red Sox place Rich Hill on 15-day injured list due to left knee sprain, recall Phillips Valdez from Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have placed left-hander Rich Hill on the 15-day injured list due to a left knee sprain, the club announced prior to taking on the Cubs on Saturday. In a corresponding move, right-handed reliever Phillips Valdez has been recalled from Triple-A Worcester.

Hill made his 15th start of the season for the Sox at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon. The veteran southpaw was cruising through four scoreless innings before things took a turn for the worst in the bottom half of the fifth. After allowing two runs and two of the first four batters he faced in the frame to reach base, Hill issued a four-pitch walk to Cubs catcher Wilson Contreras.

On the very first pitch he threw to Contreras, Hill said he felt his left knee pop. He remained in the game, but quickly exited after filling the bases on that walk of Contreras, a single, and a hit batsman. The 42-year-old was later diagnosed with a left knee sprain that will now keep him sidelined for the next 15 days at the very least.

In his 15 starts for Boston this year, Hill has posted a 4.20 ERA with 58 strikeouts to 23 walks over 70 2/3 innings of work. The Milton, Mass. native becomes the latest Red Sox starter to hit the injured list, joining the likes of Garrett Whitlock (who will likely return as a reliever) and Nathan Eovaldi.

It remains to be seen who will take Hill’s spot in the Sox’ starting rotation while the lefty is out of action. When speaking with reporters (including WEEI’s Rob Bradford) on Saturday, manager Alex Cora indicated that a top prospect such as Brayan Bello — who started for Triple-A Worcester on Friday — could be in play.

“There’s a lot of guys in the mix for a lot of stuff here, now,” Cora said. “All of a sudden, there’s a lot of stuff health-wise that is going on. We’ve been talking about those guys the whole season. Let’s see what happens in the upcoming days.”

Valdez, meanwhile, joins the Red Sox for the fourth time this season and will provide the club with a fresh bullpen arm for Saturday’s bout with the Cubs. With Connor Seabold slated to start Sunday’s series finale, the Sox will have to make another move in order to add the rookie hurler to the active roster.

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

Red Sox blow 4-run lead, drop opener to Cubs, 6-5, as Rich Hill exits due to knee sprain

To kick off their first trip to Wrigley Field since 2012, the Red Sox blew a four-run lead and ultimately fell to the Cubs by a final score of 5-6 on Friday afternoon. Boston has now lost three of its last four games to drop to 43-34 on the season.

Four of the Sox’ first five runs came within the first two innings of Friday’s contest. Matched up against Cubs starter Adrian Sampson, Jarren Duran led the game off by crushing the very first pitch he saw 417 feet to dead center field for his first home run of the year.

An inning later, Trevor Story, Franchy Cordero, and Christian Vazquez all reached base with no outs to leave them loaded for Jackie Bradley Jr. Bradley Jr., in turn, laced a bases-clearing, three-run double to the right-center field gap to give his side an early 4-0 lead.

That put Rich Hill, who had already tossed a scoreless first inning, in a pretty encouraging position. Making his 15th start of the season for Boston, Hill got through four innings without giving up a run but ran into some trouble in the fifth.

The veteran left-hander issued a leadoff walk to P.J. Higgins that was immediately followed by a run-scoring triple off the bat of Nelson Velazquez. One batter later, Velazquez scored on an RBI groundout from Christopher Morel.

Hill then issued another free pass to Wilson Contreras, and it was during that plate appearance when he felt his left knee pop. Despite that feeling, Hill stayed in and pitched. But he proceeded to load the bases on a single and hit batsman. That prompted the Red Sox to have Hill leave the game due to what they later diagnosed as a left knee sprain.

Tyler Danish had already been warming up in the Boston bullpen, and so he was called upon to take over for the injured starter. Danish officially closed the book on Hill’s outing by walking in a run that cut Chicago’s deficit to 4-3. He then got Alfonso Rivas to fly out to avoid any further damage.

Hill’s final line (3 earned runs on three hits, four walks, one hit batsman, and three strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings) was not indicative of how well he pitched. It remains to be seen if the 42-year-old will require a trip to the injured list on account of his sprained knee.

While they saw their lead trimmed down to just one run, the Sox did respond in their half of the sixth. With two outs and the bases loaded, Duran ripped a single to center field that plated Story. Vazquez also attempted to score on the play but was instead gunned down at home by Rafael Ortega. And so the Red Sox had to settle for a 5-3 lead, which evidently did not last long.

That being the case because after quickly recording the first two outs of the bottom of the sixth, Hansel Robles walked Simmons and then served up a game-tying, two-run home run to Christopher Morel. Robles remained in the game and loaded the bases before getting the hook in favor of Jake Diekman.

Diekman proceeded to spike a wild pitch in the dirt that got past Vazquez and allowed Contreras to score from third to give the Cubs their first lead of the day at 6-5.

From that point forward, Hirokazu Sawamura pitched admirably out of the Boston ‘pen, but so did Scott Effross, Chris Martin, and David Robertson for Chicago.

Red Sox hitters reached base just one time over the final three innings of Friday’s loss. After Martin stranded Alex Verdugo by striking out the side in the eighth, Robertson slammed the door in the ninth and earned his 10th save of the season by doing so.

All told, the Sox lineup went a collective 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base as a team. The Sox bullpen, meanwhile, allowed six walks in just 3 1/3 innings of work.

Next up: Winckowski vs. Mills

As the Red Sox look to avoid their second straight series loss, they will turn to rookie right-hander Josh Winckowski to get the start on Saturday night. The Cubs will counter with fellow righty Alec Mills.

First pitch from Wrigley Field is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. eastern time on FOX.

(Picture of Rich Hill:  Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Chris Sale to make next rehab start for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday

Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale will make another rehab start for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday, manager Alex Cora said at Wrigley Field before Friday’s game against the Cubs.

The WooSox will be hosting the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at Polar Park that night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. eastern time.

Sale has made three rehab appearances thus far, with his latest coming for Double-A Portland on Thursday. The left-hander allowed just one run on four hits and no walks to go along with seven strikeouts over four innings of work in the Sea Dogs’ 15-4 win over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Hadlock Field.

Of the 52 pitches Sale threw, 36 went for strikes and 17 were of the swing-and-miss variety. With Elih Marrero doing the catching, he mixed in his two- and four-seam fastball, slider, and changeup while topping out at 96 mph with his heater.

Since beginning his rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League on June 25, Sale has been making his starts on four days of rest. The WooSox, however, are off on Tuesday so Sale will be making his next outing on an additional day of rest.

It remains to be seen if Sale will need one or two more rehab starts before he re-joins the Red Sox. The 33-year-old began the season on the 60-day injured list because of a stress fracture in his right rib cage that he suffered back in February. His throwing program was then slowed for a period of time in May due to a non-baseball health concern related to his family’s medical history.

The Red Sox would like to see Sale get stretched out to five innings before activating him from the injured list. If that happens in Worcester on Wednesday, the seven-time All-Star could be in line to make his 2022 debut when the Sox go up against the Rays in Tampa Bay on July 11.

(Picture of Chris Sale: Katie Morrison/MassLive)

Red Sox pitching prospect Thaddeus Ward makes first competitive start since undergoing Tommy John surgery

Red Sox pitching prospect Thaddeus Ward began a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League on Friday afternoon.

Getting the start for the Sox’ rookie-level affiliate as they went up against the FCL Twins in Fort Myers, Ward went two innings and did not give up a hit or walk while striking out three. The right-hander plunked the very first batter he faced and allowed that batter to reach third base with one out in the first inning.

He then stranded that runner on third before retiring the side in order in his second and final frame. Pitch counts are not made publicly available for these games, but we do know Ward retired six of the eight Twins he faced and was relieved by Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz.

Friday’s outing marked Ward’s first competitive action since he underwent Tommy John surgery last June. He opened the 2021 minor-league season with Double-A Portland but made just two starts for the Sea Dogs before being shut down with a forearm strain that ultimately required him to go under the knife.

Now 25 years old, Ward is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 20 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks ninth among pitchers in the organization. The Red Sox originally selected the Fort Myers native in the fifth round of the 2018 amateur draft out of the University of Central Florida.

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, Ward — before undergoing Tommy John surgery 13 months ago — was a five-pitch pitcher who worked with a 93-96 mph sinker, an 86-89 mph cutter, an 81-83 mph slider, an 87-89 mph changeup, and a 76-79 mph curveball.

While it remains to be seen how many rehab starts he will need to make before joining a full-season affiliate ( likely Portland) for the rest of the season, it is worth mentioning that Ward can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft later this year.

That is precisely why Ward could be a candidate to pitch in the Arizona Fall League, as it would give the Red Sox a chance to further evaluate the righty before determining if he is worthy of a 40-man roster spot.

(Picture of Thaddeus Ward: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Latest Baseball America mock draft has Red Sox selecting Arkansas’ Cayden Wallace with second-round pick

In his latest 2022 mock draft for Baseball America, Carlos Collazo has the Red Sox taking University of Arkansas infielder Cayden Wallace with their second-round pick at No. 41 overall.

The Red Sox were awarded with the 41st overall pick in this year’s draft after failing to sign University of Florida outfielder Jud Fabian last summer. It comes with an attached slot value of $1,905,500, which accounts for roughly 24% of Boston’s bonus pool.

As for the player himself, Wallace is currently regarded by Baseball America as the 54th-ranked prospect in this year’s draft class. The 20-year-old hits from the right side of the plate and just put the finishing touches on a sophomore season in which be batted .298/.387/.553 with 20 doubles, one triple, 16 home runs, 60 RBIs, 62 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, 38 walks and 56 strikeouts over 67 games (323 plate appearances) for the Razorbacks.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Wallace exclusively played third base this season. The Greenbrier, Ark. native does have past experience elsewhere, however, as he played left and right field as a freshman and for the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League last summer.

Per his Baseball America scouting report, Wallace “has one of the best infield arms in college baseball. He doesn’t need to set his feet to get something on his throws, which makes him a wiz at charging into bare-hand bunts. When he does set his feet, his throws seem rocket powered. He is comfortable leaving his feet, knowing he has the arm to pop up and make the play. In addition to having a plus-plus arm and above-average defense at third, Wallace is a heady baserunner” with average speed.

“Wallace has above-average bat speed and has shown he can catch up to velocity. He has an average bat with average power,” it continues. ” He likes to drop the bat head to pull the ball, but he also has shown he can drive the ball to right-center. He can be busted up and in on his hands.”

Wallace, who turns 21 in August, participated in last month’s MLB Draft Combine in San Diego If he consented to MLB’s pre-draft MRI program, he would have to receive a signing bonus offer of at least 75% of his slot value.

To put it another way, the Red Sox would have to offer Wallace at least $1,429,125 in signing bonus money if they were to take him in the second round as Baseball America forecasts. If they do not, Wallace would then become a free agent.

That being said, Arkansas is a school the Red Sox have liked drafting out of in recent years. Since 2014, Boston has selected five former Razorbacks in the amateur draft, including 2015 first-rounder Andrew Benintendi.

It remains to be seen if Wallace will make it to the second round of this year’s draft or will instead be taken in the first round like Benintendi. On that note, though, the 2022 MLB Draft will get underway in Los Angeles on July 17.

(Picture of Cayden Wallace: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Red Sox trade Silvino Bracho to Braves for cash considerations

The Red Sox have traded reliever Silvino Bracho to the Braves in exchange for cash considerations, the club announced Thursday night.

Bracho had just been designated for assignment after spending the last two days on Boston’s big-league roster. The right-hander was initially called up on Tuesday in place of Connor Seabold to provide the Sox with an extra reliever for the remainder of their series against the Blue Jays in Toronto.

He did not get into a game, however, and lost his spot on both the 26- and 40-man roster on Thursday when the Red Sox activated fellow righty Tanner Houck — who cannot travel to Canada on account of his unvaccinated status — from the restricted list ahead of their weekend series with the Cubs in Chicago.

The 29-year-old originally signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox back in March and began the 2022 season with Triple-A Worcester. He posted a 3.16 ERA and 2.58 FIP with 36 strikeouts to four walks over 18 appearances (1 start) spanning 31 1/3 innings of work for the WooSox before having his contract selected on Tuesday.

Bracho, who turns 30 in less than three weeks, now joins a new organization after only spending a few hours in DFA limbo. The native Venezuelan first signed with the Diamondbacks as an international free agent in August 2011 and broke in with Arizona four years later.

In his first four seasons with the D-backs, Bracho posted a 4.67 ERA across 91 relief appearances. He underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2019 and was limited to just one outing during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

Since he spent all of 2021 with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, Bracho has just one big-league appearance under his belt in the last three years. Because he is out of minor-league options, Bracho will have to stick with the Braves or will otherwise risk being designated for assignment again.

(Picture of Silvino Bracho: Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Chris Sale strikes out 7 in latest rehab start for Double-A Portland

Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale took his rehab assignment to Portland, Maine on Thursday night and pitched well in front of a sold-out crowd at Hadlock Field.

In his third rehab start of the month, Sale allowed just one run on four hits and zero walks to go along with seven strikeouts over four solid innings of work in Double-A Portland’s 15-4 win over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

After retiring six of the first seven batters he faced, Sale issued a leadoff single in the top of the third that was immediately followed by a run-scoring double off the bat of New Hampshire’s Chris Bec. He managed to strand Bec with the help of an inning-ending double play and then struck out the side in his fourth and final frame.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 52 (36 strikes), Sale induced 17 swings-and-misses while mixing in his fastball (both two- and four-seam), slider, and changeup with Elih Marrero doing the catching.

According to MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, who was on-hand in Portland, Sale sat between 91-96 mph with his heater and topped out at 96 mph with it on four separate occasions.

This was the third outing of Sale’s rehab assignment but his first at the upper levels of the minor-leagues. The 33-year-old southpaw previously made two starts in the rookie-level Florida Complex League on June 20 and June 25, respectively.

It is believed that Sale will need to make one more rehab start as he continues to work his way back from a stress fracture in his right rib cage that he suffered back in February. He began the season on the 60-day injured list because of it and then had his throwing program paused in May due to a non-baseball health concern related to his family’s medical history.

With the Sea Dogs on the road in Binghamton next week, it seems likely that Sale will make his next start for Triple-A Worcester as the WooSox will be hosting the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at Polar Park.

If he could get stretched out to five innings in his next minor-league outing, Sale could potentially be in line to join the Red Sox and come off the 60-day injured list before the All-Star break.

(Picture of Chris Sale: Elsa/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Rafael Devers named finalist to start at third base in MLB All-Star Game

Rafael Devers has been named a finalist to start at third base for the American League in next month’s All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium, Major League Baseball announced earlier Thursday afternoon.

Opposing Devers for the starting spot will be Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez. With Phase 1 fan voting voting on Thursday, it was revealed that Ramirez received 1,971,688 votes while Devers received 1,871,493 votes. When Phase 2 of head-to-head voting begins next Tuesday, each player will start back out with zero votes.

Fans will then have until July 8 to determine who between Devers and Ramirez will start for the American League in the 92nd Midsummer Classic on July 19. Devers got the starting nod in his first career All-Star appearance last year while Ramirez is a three-time All-Star and two-time All-Star starter himself.

As things stand now, Devers is the only member of the Red Sox who has a chance at starting in the All-Star Game since all other eligible players fell short in Phase 1 fan voting at their respective positions.

Xander Bogaerts, for instance, received 1,271,340 votes to finish third among American League shortstops behind Toronto’s Bo Bichette and the White Sox’ Tim Anderson.

J.D. Martinez, on the other hand, received 681,614 votes to finish fourth among American League designated hitters behind Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, and Toronto’s Danny Jansen.

If Bogaerts, Martinez, or any other Red Sox player is hoping to be named to the American League All-Star team, they will have to get in as a reserve through the player vote. Full All-Star rosters for both the American and National League will be unveiled on July 10.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Elsa/Getty Images)

Red Sox reinstate Tanner Houck and Jarren Duran from restricted list, designate Silvino Bracho for assignment

The Red Sox have reinstated right-hander Tanner Houck and outfielder Jarren Duran from the restricted list, the team announced Thursday afternoon. In order to make room for Houck and Duran on the 26- and 40-man rosters, infielder Yolmer Sanchez was returned to Triple-A Worcester while reliever Silvino Bracho was designated for assignment.

Houck and Duran were unable to travel with the Red Sox to Toronto for their series against the Blue Jays since they are both not vaccinated against COVID-19. They instead spent the last three days working out at Fenway Park before re-joining the team in Chicago for their upcoming bout with the Cubs.

Because of their unvaccinated status, Houck and Duran were placed on the restricted list on Monday and did not receive any pay or service time while they were on it. In their place, Sanchez and righty Connor Seabold were called up from Worcester.

Sanchez got the start at second base on Wednesday and went 0-for-1 with a sacrifice bunt and walk before being pinch-hit for by Bobby Dalbec in the ninth inning of a 6-5 win.

Seabold made his second career start in Monday’s series opener at Rogers Centre, allowing seven runs on nine hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings of work. The 26-year-old was optioned back down to the minors that night, but remains with the big-league club as a member of their taxi squad and is likely to start against the Cubs on Sunday.

In Seabold’s place, Bracho — who had been on Boston’s taxi squad — was activated on Tuesday to provide the Sox with an extra bullpen arm for their final two games against the Jays. The 29-year-old did not make an appearance despite spending two days on the major-league roster, however, and has now lost his spot on the 40-man.

Unlike Sanchez, who as a COVID-related substitute for Duran was able to be taken off the 40-man roster and returned to Worcester without being exposed to waivers, Bracho was expectedly designated for assignment since he was not directly filling in for a player on the restricted list.

By designating Bracho, the Red Sox created the opening they needed to add Houck back to both the 26-man and 40-man rosters. Boston will now have the next seven days to either trade, release, or waive Bracho, who has posted a 3.16 ERA and 2.58 FIP with 36 strikeouts to four walks in 18 appearances (1 start) spanning 31 1/3 innings of work for the WooSox this season.

That being said, the native Venezuelan has the ability to reject an outright assignment to Worcester if he goes unclaimed since he has accrued more than three years of big-league service time.

All told, the Red Sox’ big-league and 40-man roster is at full capacity heading into this weekend’s series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

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