Tag: Baseball

Red Sox show late life, but come up short in 3-2 loss to Blue Jays

The Red Sox lost more than just their manager to COVID-19 on Thursday. Hours after Alex Cora tested positive for the virus, Boston came up just short and fell to the Blue Jays by a final score of 3-2 at Fenway Park. With the win, Toronto takes the three-game series and drops the Sox to 6-7 on the season.

Tanner Houck, making his third start of the year, allowed two earned runs on three hits and one walk to go along with four strikeouts on the afternoon. The right-hander retired six of the first seven batters he faced before running into some trouble in the top of the third.

There, Houck issued a leadoff walk to Gosuke Katoh and one-out single to Raimel Tapia that put runners at first and second base for Bo Bichette, who drove in his side’s first run on an RBI single through the right side of the infield. After advancing to third on that base hit, Tapia himself scored on a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sacrifice fly.

Faced with an early 2-0 deficit, Houck was able to rebound as he stranded Bichette at second base before retiring the side in order in both the fourth and fifth innings to end his day on a positive note.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 71 (47 strikes), Houck turned to his four-seam fastball nearly half of the time he was on the mound Thursday. The 25-year-old hovered around 94-96 mph with the pitch and induced a game-high six swings-and-misses with it.

Houck’s next appearance will come out of the bullpen in St. Petersburg this Sunday, as he is ineligible to pitch in Toronto next week due to his unvaccinated status.

In relief of Houck, Ryan Brasier received the first call from acting manager Will Venable out of the Boston bullpen in the sixth inning. The righty yielded a one-out double to Guerrero Jr. and a two-out walk to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. He then got Matt Chapman to lift a 43-foot popup that was altered by the wind and fell in between Brasier, Christian Vazquez, and Travis Shaw, allowing Guerrero Jr. to score all the way from second.

Austin Davis came on for Brasier and recorded the final out of the sixth while also getting the first two outs of the seventh before issuing a two-out single to Tapia. Hirokazu Sawamura was then called upon to take over Davis, and he escaped any damage by getting Guerrero Jr. to fly out to center field.

Sawamura continued on in the eighth and put up another zero there, while Phillips Valdez did the same to hold the Jays to three runs on the day.

On the other side of things, a J.D. Martinez-less Red Sox lineup was once again held in check by a Blue Jays starter. Jose Berrios had the honor of doing so on Wednesday, and Kevin Gausman picked up where he left off on Thursday.

Facing off against a familiar foe in Gausman, the Sox were held to a pair of singles through four innings. In the fifth, Vazquez attempted to stretch a one-out single off the Green Monster into a double and was instead gunned down by Tapia for the final out of the frame.

Boston threatened again in the sixth when Christian Arroyo advanced to second base on a Trevor Story groundout, but was left stranded there after Devers grounded out to the catcher.

Gausman maneuvered his way around two more base hits in the seventh and made quick work of the bottom third of the Sox’ order in the eighth.

Down to their final three outs in the bottom of the ninth, Story led things off with a hard-hit single that at long last knocked Gausman out of the game. That proved to be the spark Boston needed.

With Jordan Romano now on the mound for Toronto, Devers drew a walk that moved Story into scoring position. Bogaerts scored the Sox’ first run by driving in Story on an RBI double down the left field line.

An Alex Verdugo groundout to the right side of the infield pushed across Devers and advanced Bogaerts — representing the tying run — up to third base. Dalbec then laced a 102.7 mph groundout that Bogaerts could do nothing with.

It was now all up to Jackie Bradley Jr., who got ahead in the count at 3-0 but ultimately grounded out to first base and lost a footrace to Guerrero Jr. for the third and final out.

Just like that, the rally was dead, and the Blue Jays just barely held on for a series-clinching, 3-2 victory.

Some notes from this loss:

The Red Sox went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position on Thursday and left four runners on base as a team. They scored a total of five runs in this series.

Phillips Valdez has yet to allow a run through his first six appearances and eight innings pitched of the 2022 season. He has struck out 10 of the 28 batters he has faced thus far.

In their first homestand of the year, the Red Sox went 3-4 and find themselves back under .500 once again.

Next up: On the road

The Red Sox will now embark upon a 10-game road trips that includes stops in St. Petersburg, Toronto, and Baltimore.

For Friday’s series opener against the Rays at Tropicana Field, it will be right-hander Michael Wacha getting the ball for Boston and fellow righty Corey Kluber doing the same for Tampa Bay.

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

(Picture of Christian Vazquez: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Red Sox manager Alex Cora tests positive for COVID-19

Red Sox manager Alex Cora has tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced during Thursday’s game against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park.

Cora, who is fully vaccinated and boosted against the virus, registered a positive test shortly before first pitch on Thursday and is not managing the team. He is currently experiencing mild symptoms and will not travel with the Red Sox to St. Petersburg for their upcoming series against the Rays that begins on Friday.

Earlier this week, Cora told reporters (including WEEI’s Rob Bradford) that he had been staying at a local hotel after one of his sons had contracted COVID-19.

In Cora’s place, bench coach Will Venable has taken over managing responsibilities for Boston. This will be Venable’s second time filling in for Cora. The 39-year-old did so last May while Cora was attending his daughter’s high school graduation in Puerto Rico.

Besides Cora, the Red Sox currently have two players on the COVID-19 related injured list in catcher Kevin Plawecki and infielder Jonathan Arauz. Christian Vazquez, who tested positive on Tuesday, returned to Boston’s lineup on Thursday after a two-day absence.

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

Latest mock draft has Red Sox taking University of Tennessee outfielder Drew Gilbert with top pick

In the latest version of their 2022 mock draft, Prospects Live has the Red Sox selecting University of Tennessee outfielder Drew Gilbert with their first-round pick at No. 24 overall.

Gilbert, 21, was originally selected by his hometown Twins in the 35th round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Stillwater Area High School, which is less than 30 miles east of Target Field. But the Minnesota native opted not to go pro at that time and instead took his talents to Knoxville, Tenn.

A former two-way player coming out of high school, Gilbert has since transitioned to become a full-time outfielder with the Volunteers. 30 games into his junior season, the left-handed hitter is batting a stout .370/.492/.663 with 12 doubles, three triples, three home runs, 36 RBIs, 30 runs scored, three stolen bases, 22 walks, and 15 strikeouts over 122 plate appearances.

Per his Prospects Live scouting report, “Gilbert gets extremely high marks for his competitive fire and is regarded as one of the more intense players in college baseball. He plays an above average centerfield with an average arm and plus run times. In total, we’re talking about a guy with a smattering of solid average tools, fantastic makeup, and bat speed that could translate into game power as he continues to get a feel for what he’s capable of.”

Coming into the 2022 season, Gilbert was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 149 draft-eligible prospect and by MLB Pipeline as the No. 82 draft-eligible prospect.

Listed at 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, Gilbert has served as the Vols’ primary centerfielder this year. Given his past experience as a pitcher, it is not surprising to see that Gilbert has been recognized for his arm strength as well as his ability to play all over the outfield.

On the basepaths, MLB Pipeline notes that Gilbert “has solid to plus speed and will steal and take extra bases. While he’s not a true burner, his quickness and instincts allow him to run down balls from gap to gap in center field.”

Gilbert, who turns 22 in September, has the chance to move quickly through whichever organization he joins this summer. As a reminder, Day 1 of the 2022 MLB Draft will take place in Los Angeles on July 17.

The Red Sox, for what it’s worth, have not used a first-round draft pick on an outfielder since 2015, when they took Andrew Benintendi out of another SEC school in the University of Arkansas.

(GIF of Drew Gilbert via University of Tennessee Athletics on GIPHY)

Red Sox injury updates: Alex Cora provides latest on J.D. Martinez and Trevor Story

The third inning of Wednesday night’s 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays at Fenway Park was one to forget for the Red Sox.

J.D. Martinez led off the bottom of the inning by lacing a 104.4 mph line-drive double down the left field line off Toronto starter Jose Berrios. It was Martinez’s second hit of the game already, but the veteran slugger could be seen grimacing as he made his way to second base.

That Martinez was in clear discomfort prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora and assistant training manager Masai Takahashi to pay him a visit from the home dugout. It did not take long for the three to decide it would be best for the 34-year-old to be removed from the contest.

And so Christian Arroyo pinch-ran for him while taking over designated hitter duties. Martinez, as it turns out, was later diagnosed with left adductor tightness.

“He’s a little bit sore,” Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith). “Nothing yet as far as (roster) moves. We should be day-to-day with him. He won’t play tomorrow and we’ll see where he’s at.”

Cora added that Martinez first brought up that he may have been experiencing tightness the other day, but it was nothing to be too concerned about.

“He does such a good job taking care of his body that when he’s a go, he’s a go,” Cora said of Martinez. “It just felt like as soon as he hit that ball, he felt it running. I think it was more about being smart about it. Just come out of the game, take care of it and hopefully it’s something that’s just a couple of days.”

Shortly after Arroyo replaced Martinez, Berrios had already recorded the first two outs of the third inning and was preparing to face Trevor Story for a second time. The Blue Jays right-hander fell behind in the count at 2-1, then unintentionally hit Story in the head with a 93 mph sinker.

Fortunately for Story and the Sox, the ball seemed to get more helmet than anything. After he got back on his feet, the 29-year-old was able to convince Cora and Boston’s training staff to let him stay in the game.

“He’s doing OK,” Cora said. “Pretty scary of course. But he went through all the concussion tests on the field. He was good to go. Right now they are checking on him. Hopefully tomorrow he doesn’t feel too bad and he can go.”

In a separate conversation with The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams, Story said he went through the concussion protocols and will be ready to play in Thursday’s series finale.

(Picture of Alex Cora and Trevor Story: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Nick Pivetta’s early-season struggles continue as Red Sox fall back to .500 in 6-1 loss to Blue Jays

On an emotional night in which they honored the late Jerry Remy at Fenway Park, the Red Sox fell to the Blue Jays by a final score of 6-1 on Wednesday. Boston drops back to 6-6 on the season and 3-3 at home.

Nick Pivetta, making his third start of the year for the Sox, was not particularly sharp. The right-hander surrendered five earned runs on seven hits, four walks, and four strikeouts over four innings of work.

The Jays overcame an early 1-0 deficit and got to Pivetta for all five runs in the top of the second inning. Raimel Tapia followed a Matt Chapman leadoff single by lifting a 404-foot two-run home run to right field. A pair of walks and a softly-hit single loaded the bases for George Springer, who plated an additional run on a sacrifice fly to center field. Bo Bichette capped off the rally by lacing a two-run single to left field that gave his side a commanding 5-1 lead.

If there were any silver linings, it’s that Pivetta was able to bounce back to some degree. After getting through the rest of the second unscathed, the Canadian-born hurler stranded one runner in a scoreless top of the third and stranded two more in a scoreless top of the fourth.

All told, Pivetta finished with a final pitch count of 95 (61 strikes) over his four innings. The 29-year-old relied primarily upon his four-seam fastball and knuckle curveball while hovering around 93.5 mph with the former and inducing just three swings-and-misses with the latter.

Through three starts this season, Pivetta has yielded 13 earned runs in 11 2/3 innings. That is good for an ERA of 10.03, which is certainly not what the Red Sox are looking for out of the righty.

In relief of Pivetta, Phillips Valdez received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Valdez retired five of the seven batters he faced before handing things over to Matt Barnes, who allowed one run to score in the seventh on a single and sacrifice fly in the seventh.

An inning later, Tyler Danish came on for his first appearance in a Red Sox uniform and his first overall appearance at the big-league level since 2018. The 27-year-old punched out the side in the top of the eighth and worked his way around a leadoff walk while striking out two more in a clean top of the ninth.

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios to begin things on Wednesday, and it appeared as though they were seeing their opponent well out of the gate.

J.D. Martinez followed a one-out double from Rafael Devers in the first inning by ripping a 105.7 mph RBI single to center field. Martinez advanced all the way to third on another single that left Alex Verdugo’s bat at 108.7 mph, but was stranded there.

After falling behind by four runs, Boston nearly staged a rally of their own in the second inning following back-to-back one-out hits from Jackie Bradley Jr. and Connor Wong. Despite having runners on the corners and two outs to work with, Enrique Hernandez and Devers both fell short against Berrios.

A scary moment arose in the bottom of the third. With two outs and a runner on second, Trevor Story was hit in the head by a 93 mph sinker from Berrios. The ball fortunately deflected off of Story’s helmet and the second baseman was able to remain in the game.

Story getting beaned came moments after Martinez led the inning off with a double but came up gimpy at second base. The 34-year-old slugger was pinch-ran for by Christian Arroyo and was later diagnosed with left adductor tightness. He is day-to-day.

Even with Arroyo and Story on base, Bobby Dalbec flew out to extinguish the threat in the third. In the fifth, Xander Bogaerts doubled with one out but was left stranded at third. In the sixth, Dalbec drew a leadoff walk and later advanced to second, but — like Bogaerts — was deserted there.

Arroyo and Bogaerts each singled off Blue Jays reliever with one out in the seventh and moved up an additional 90 feet on a Verdugo groundout. Alas, they too were unable to score from there and Bogaerts would turn out to be the last Red Sox hitter to reach base.

At the end of the day, Boston went a dismal 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base as a team.

Next up: Gausman vs. Houck in rubber match

The winner of this three-game series will be determined on Thursday afternoon. The Red Sox will be rolling with right-hander Tanner Houck and the Blue Jays will be turning to fellow righty Kevin Gausman.

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

(Picture of Nick Pivetta: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox reinstate Christian Vázquez from COVID-19 related injured list, option Ronaldo Hernández to Triple-A Worcester

Before Wednesday’s contest against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park, the Red Sox reinstated Christian Vazquez from the COVID-19 related injured list. In a corresponding roster move, fellow backstop Ronaldo Hernandez was optioned to Triple-A Worcester.

The Red Sox originally placed Vazquez on the COVID IL on Tuesday after he tested positive for the virus. Because the 31-year-old is vaccinated, though, he was able to return as soon as he cleared Major League Baseball’s protocols, which include registering two negative PCR tests and not showing signs of a fever.

Even with Vazquez back in the fold and active, Connor Wong is still slated to start behind the plate for Boston and catch right-hander Nick Pivetta on Tuesday night.

By reinstating Vazquez on Wednesday, the Sox now have just two players on the COVID-19 related injured list in catcher Kevin Plawecki and infielder Jonathan Arauz.

(Picture of Christian Vazquez: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Latest Baseball America mock draft has Red Sox selecting University of Florida ace Hunter Barco with top pick

Note: Barco underwent Tommy John surgery in early May.

In the first installment of their 2022 MLB Staff Draft, Baseball America has the Red Sox selecting University of Florida ace left-hander Hunter Barco with its first-round pick at No. 24 overall.

Baseball America writer Tom Lipari was the one who made the selection, and he noted that Barco is a “solid, pitchability lefty with a history of success in the SEC” who would be a “safe pick and quick mover through any system.”

Barco, 21, was originally selected by the Mets in the 24th round of the 2019 amateur draft out of The Bolles School — the same high school New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones attended.

The Jacksonville native did not sign with New York, however, and instead opted to honor his commitment to Florida. After his freshman season was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Barco earned All-SEC Newcomer honors in 2021.

Through nine starts with the Gators this season, Barco has posted a 2.50 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and .187 batting average against to go along with 69 strikeouts to 11 walks over 50 1/3 innings of work. He was forced to leave his last outing against Vanderbilt on April 15 after just two innings due to illness and is now questionable for his next start against Tennessee on Friday.

Barco, who does not turn 22 until December, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 23 draft-eligible prospect in this year’s class, ranking 14th among collegiate players and seventh among pitchers. MLB Pipeline, meanwhile, has Barco coming in at No. 53, which ranks 20th among hurlers who could be drafted in July.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Barco operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a low-90s fastball that tops out at 95 mph, a sweeping slider in the low-80s that can give off the appearance of a curveball, and a changeup that typically clocks in at the low-80s.

Per his Baseball America scouting report, “Barco throws from a low slot that adds deception and helps his stuff play up.” MLB Pipeline, on the other hand, notes that Barco “has done an excellent job of consistently finding the strike zone in college, though there’s improvement that can be made in terms of command within the zone with that funky delivery tough to repeat at times.”

While you have to go back to 2017 to find the last time the Red Sox used a first-round pick on a pitcher (Tanner Houck), the club certainly has not shied away from taking players out of Gainesville in recent years. Jud Fabian (who did not sign), Nathan Hickey, and Wil Dalton stick out there.

Barco could become the latest former Gator to join Boston’s organizational ranks, though plenty could — and likely will — change between now and Day 1 of the 2022 draft in Los Angeles on July 17.

(Picture of Hunter Barco: AP Photo/Gary McCullough)

Red Sox prospects Marvin Alcantara and Denis Reguillo identified as potential sleepers within team’s 2022 international signing class

Since the 2022 international signing period began in January, the Red Sox have signed 19 foreign-born free-agents, according to SoxProspects.com.

Boston’s 2022 signing class thus far is highlighted by the likes of shortstops Fraymi De Leon and Freili Encarnacion and catcher Johanfran Garcia, who happens to be the younger brother of Red Sox outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia.

While these three may be the early headliners, there are other young prospects worth keeping in mind as well. In his annual review of the Sox’ most-recent signing class, Baseball America’s Ben Badler identifies infielder Marvin Alcantara and right-hander Denis Reguillo as two possible sleepers to watch.

Alcantara, 17, was signed out of Venezuela by area scout Alex Requena back in January. The right-handed hitting shortstop did not receive much attention as an amateur and thus signed with Boston for a modest $30,000.

Still, despite the lack of eyes that were on him, Alcantara received a strong endorsement from Requena, who played a key role in making the signing happen, according to Red Sox assistant general manager Eddie Romero.

“Just pounding the table for him,” Romero said of Requena’s interest in Alcantara in a conversation with The Athletic’s Chad Jennings. “He’s one of these guys that the crosscheck group really didn’t get to see much, but he made it to signing day and our area scout was just like, ‘You need to sign this guy!’”

From the time he officially put pen to paper in January, Alcantara has made adding a muscle a priority over the last two months.

“Alcantara has started to add weight to his slender frame, standing out as a hit collector in games from the right side of the plate,” wrote Badler. “He’s a solid all-around player who could play at different spots around the infield, with his bat his calling card.”

Reguillo, on the other hand, was signed out of the Dominican Republic for just $10,000. There is not as much information available on the righty as there is on Alcantara, however.

“Reguillo was mostly in the mid-to-upper 80s as an amateur, but he has been adding weight to his slender frame since then and has the projection to be throwing in the low-to-mid 90s,” Badler wrote. “Adding more power behind his fastball would make him more intriguing, as he already has good feel for pitching and throws strikes from a good delivery with loose arm action.”

Both Alcantara and Reguillo are presumably raw and early on in their development. The Red Sox doled out a total of $40,000 for the two prospects, which accounts for less than one percent of their $5,179,700 bonus pool this year.

“The signing class isn’t made on January 15 (when the market opens),” Romero told Jennings. “The signing class is really made throughout the year when you have some more of these flexible signings. … We hammer the passed over and the (overlooked players) just as much as we do trying to make sure we’re on top of the premium, priority players in each class.”

On that note, both Alcantara and Reguillo are projected by SoxProspects.com to begin their professional careers in the Dominican Summer League. the 2022 DSL season is slated to begin sometime in July.

(Picture of JetBlue Park: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox pitching prospect Chih-Jung Liu strikes out 9 over 5 scoreless innings for High-A Greenville

Red Sox pitching prospect Chih-Jung Liu dazzled in his second start of the season for High-A Greenville on Tuesday night.

Matched up against the Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox affiliate), Liu scattered just two hits and one walk to go along with nine strikeouts over five scoreless innings of work at Fluor Field. The Drive went on to defeat the Dash, 5-4, courtesy of a walk-off home run from Stephen Scott.

Liu took a perfect game into the fourth inning before yielding a leadoff walk to Cuban sensation Oscar Colas that was followed by a one-out single off the bat of Bryan Ramos. The right-hander ultimately retired 14 of the 18 batters he faced while finishing with a final pitch count of 75.

Of those 75 pitches, 55 went for strikes. According to Chris Clegg of Fantrax, Liu sat at 94-95 mph with his fastball and topped out at 97 mph with the pitch while also mixing in a slider, curveball, and changeup. The majority of his swings-and-misses came on either the fastball or slider, per Clegg.

Through his first two starts of the year for the Drive, Liu has posted an ERA of 3.00, a WHIP of 1.00, and batting average against of .156 across nine total innings pitched. The 23-year-old has struck out 12 of the first 36 batters (33%) he has faced in 2022 and has walked four of them.

Liu, who turned 23 earlier this month, came into the 2022 campaign regarded by Baseball America as the No. 32 prospect in Boston’s farm system, ranking 13th among pitchers in the organization. The Red Sox originally signed the Taiwanese-born hurler as an international free agent coming out of Tainan City in October 2019.

With the 2020 minor-league season being wiped out as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Liu did not make his organizational debut until last July and only has 15 career starts as a professional under his belt.

So, even though he has been with the Red Sox for nearly two years, there is still a lot of intrigue when it comes to what Liu’s development as a pitcher could look like. He is currently listed at 6-foot and 182 pounds, so there could be room for additional growth physically. Whether he will pan out as a starter or reliever in the long-term has yet to be determined.

(GIF of Chih-Jung Liu via the Greenville Drive)

Connor Wong comes through with game-winning sacrifice fly as Red Sox hold on for 2-1 victory over Blue Jays

Three hits was all the Red Sox needed to take care of business against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Tuesday night. In their first home game under the lights, Boston squeaked out a 2-1 victory over Toronto to improve to 6-5 on the year.

It was a grind for Nathan Eovaldi, who made his third start of the season for the Sox on Tuesday. The veteran right-hander allowed just one run on seven hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings of work.

The lone run Eovaldi surrendered once again came by way of the home run ball. To lead off the top of the second, the righty served up a solo shot to Zack Collins that gave the Jays an early 1-0 lead. That is already the fifth homer Eovaldi has surrendered in 2022.

The Red Sox, however, did not take long to respond. While still matched up against Blue Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi, Enrique Hernandez reached base via a one-out double in the third and immediately came into score on a game-tying, RBI double off the bat of Trevor Story.

With things knotted up at one run apiece, Eovaldi maneuvered his way around a pair of hits in the fourth inning and retired two of the first three batters he faced in the fifth. With the potential go-ahead run at first and Collins due to hit for Toronto, Boston manager Alex Cora gave Eovaldi the hook in favor of Matt Strahm.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 95 (61 strikes), Eovaldi turned to his four-seam fastball 44% of the time he was on the mound on Tuesday. The 32-year-old hurler hovered around 96.4 mph with the pitch while also inducing a game-high four swings-and-misses with his curveball.

In relief of Eovaldi, Strahm stranded the lone runner he inherited by punching out Collins on four pitches. The lefty then sat down the side in order in the sixth before making way for Hansel Robles, who did the very same in the top of the seventh.

Following a Blue Jays pitching change that saw Yimi Garcia take over for David Phelps, Bobby Dalbec — representing the go-ahead run led off the bottom of the seventh by reaching first and advancing to second on a Bo Bichette throwing error. Jackie Bradley Jr., who was pinch-hitting for Arroyo, advanced Dalbec another 90 feet by grounding out to short.

With a crucial run just 90 feet away from scoring, Connor Wong stepped up to the plate for a third time. One day removed from being called up from Triple-A Worcester for the first time this season, Wong came through when it mattered most by driving in Dalbec on a 298-foot sacrifice fly to right field.

Wong’s first RBI of 2022 — and just the second of his big-league career — gave the Red Sox their first lead of the night at 2-1. Robles then picked up where he left off by notching the first two outs of the eighth on a pair of strikeouts. Jake Diekman got the final out of the inning.

Looking to secure a hard-fought win, Cora deployed Garrett Whitlock for the ninth inning. Working on two days rest, Whitlock needed all of 12 pitches to retire Alejandro Kirk, Raimel Tapia, and Santiago Espinal in order to close things out and pick up the save. The right-hander came up gimpy after going into a slide to get Tapia at first base for the second out, but appears to be fine.

Some notes from this win:

From The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey:

From the Red Sox’ J.P. Long:

The Red Sox won on Tuesday despite going 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and leaving five men on base as a team.

Four different Red Sox relievers (Strahm, Robles, Diekman, and Whitlock) combined to toss 4 1/3 scoreless, one-hit innings in Tuesday’s win. Here is what Cora had to say about using Whitlock in the ninth, via MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith:

Next up: Berrios vs. Pivetta

The Red Sox will go for their second consecutive victory over the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Wednesday night. Nick Pivetta is expected to get the ball for Boston, while fellow righty Jose Berrios is in line to do the same for Toronto.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network. The Sox will also honor the late Jerry Remy in a pre-game ceremony.

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