Tag: Baseball

Red Sox’ Kutter Crawford day-to-day after leaving Wednesday’s game with left hamstring tightness

UPDATE: Prior to Thursday’s series finale, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier) that Kutter Crawford is day-to-day with tightness in his left hamstring. The right-hander will avoid the injured list for now.

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Red Sox reliever Kutter Crawford left the ninth inning of Wednesday night’s 8-3 win over the Blue Jays with left hamstring tightness, the club announced.

Crawford entered Wednesday’s contest in the top of the eighth. The right-hander yielded a two-out single and walk before getting Daulton Varsho to ground out to escape the jam. He then came back out for the ninth and got leadoff man Alejandro Kirk to ground out to second base on the 12th pitch of a lengthy at-bat.

After retiring Kirk, it became clear that Crawford — who was pitching in cold and rainy conditions at Fenway Park — was in discomfort as he flexed and grabbed at his left hamstring. That prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora and head athletic trainer Brandon Henry to emerge from the home dugout and check up on him.

Following a brief conference on the mound, Crawford departed with Henry and was replaced by Ryan Brasier, who recorded the final two outs of the game. When speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) shortly thereafter, Cora indicated that the Red Sox would know more about Crawford’s condition on Thursday.

“We’ll know probably, tomorrow, what’s going on,” said Cora.

Crawford, 27, opened the 2023 season in Boston’s starting rotation but has since emerged as a valuable multi-inning reliever out of the bullpen alongside Josh Winckowski. After being called back up from Triple-A Worcester on April 13, the hard-throwing righty came into play Wednesday having posted a 1.17 ERA and 3.50 FIP with 12 strikeouts to zero walks over four relief appearances spanning 15 innings of work.

As noted by Cotillo, the Red Sox already have five pitchers on the injured list in Zack Kelly, Wyatt Mills, James Paxton, Joely Rodriguez, and Garrett Whitlock. All three of Paxton, Rodriguez, and Whitlock are on the verge of returning to action, though.

(Picture of Kutter Crawford and Brandon Henry: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

Nick Pivetta settles in after shaky start as Red Sox top Blue Jays, 8-3, behind season-high 15 hits

The Red Sox once again rallied to earn a series victory over the Blue Jays on a rainy and chilly Wednesday night at Fenway Park. Behind a season-high 15 hits, Boston defeated Toronto by a final score of 8-3 to extend its winning streak to five and improve to 18-14 on the year.

Nick Pivetta, making his fourth start of the season for the Sox, allowed three runs on five hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts over six quality innings of work.

Because the wind was blowing in from center field on Wednesday, Pivetta was able to avoid any serious damage in the top of the first despite consistently giving up hard contact. The same cannot be said for the second inning, as Daulton Varsho led it off by taking the right-hander 399 feet deep to right field for his second home run in as many nights.

An inning later, Pivetta served up a towering 450-foot solo shot to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. that cleared the Green Monster and had an exit velocity of 110 mph. Guerrero Jr.’s sixth home run of the season gave the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead going into the fourth.

That is when the Red Sox finally got on the board. Rafael Devers singled on a 112.5 mph line drive that deflected off Jays starter Alek Manoah and then moved up to second on a throwing error. A wild pitch from Manoah allowed Devers to move up to third before Jarren Duran drove him in with an RBI double. Duran took third after Manoah unsuccessfully tried to pick him off at second base and scored on a game-tying RBI single from Triston Casas that knotted things up at two runs apiece.

In the fifth, Kevin Kiermaier led off with a double and advanced to third on a George Springer flyout. With Bo Bichette at the plate, Pivetta allowed the then-go-ahead run to cross the plate on a controversial balk that drew the ire of both the righty and Red Sox manager Alex Cora. Though Toronto had just re-taken the lead at the midway point, it did not take long for Boston to respond.

With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Masataka Yoshida reached base on a throwing error committed by Santiago Espinal. Justin Turner followed with a hard-hit double and Duran was hit by a pitch to fill the bases with two outs. For the second time in as many at-bats, Casas delivered with a game-tying single through the left side of the infield that pushed across Yoshida. Fellow rookie Enmanuel Valdez kept the line moving by lacing a grounder that ate up Guerrero Jr. at first base.

Both Turner and Duran came into score as a result of Guerrero Jr.’s blunder, which was initially ruled an error but was later changed to a go-ahead, two-run single for Valdez. Pivetta preserved the Sox’ newfound 5-3 lead by retiring the final three batters he faced in the top of the sixth.

Finishing with 94 pitches (62 strikes), Pivetta induced 14 total swings-and-misses — 11 of which came on his slider. The 30-year-old hurler also earned his second winning decision of the season while lowering his ERA just below five at 4.99

With Pivetta’s night done, the Sox tacked on some insurance as the Jays began to dip into their bullpen in the latter half of the sixth. Connor Wong ripped a leadoff double, moved up to third on a groundout, and scored his side’s sixth run on a 109.6 mph line drive from Yoshida that glanced off Anthony Bass and went for an RBI single.

Following a scoreless top of the seventh from Chris Martin, Yoshida struck again by plating Enrique Hernandez on hard-hit opposite-field double. Hernandez returned the favor an inning later with a run-scoring hit of his own to give Boston a commanding 8-3 advantage heading into the ninth.

Kutter Crawford, who had already put up a zero in the eighth inning, recorded the first out of the ninth but was then forced to come out of the game with a trainer due to tightness in his left hamstring. Ryan Brasier took over for Crawford and got the final two outs of the frame to seal the win.

Yoshida extends hitting streak

With his sixth-inning single, Masataka Yoshida extended his hitting streak to 13 games, which is currently the longest active streak in the majors. Following Wednesday’s 2-for-5 showing, the 29-year-old raised his batting average on the season to .303.

In addition to Yoshida, every other member of the Sox’ starting lineup recorded at least one hit on Wednesday night. Yoshida, Turner, Valdez, and Hernandez each had two hits while Casas led the way by going 3-for-5 with two clutch RBIs.

Next up: Gausman vs. Bello

The Red Sox will go for the sweep of the Blue Jays in the finale of this four-game series on Thursday night. After going 3-16 against Toronto last season, Boston already has the chance to surpass that win total.

Brayan Bello, who dealt with a blister in his last time out, will get the start for the Red Sox. The Jays will counter with fellow right-hander Kevin Gausman.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

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

Red Sox’ Alex Verdugo regrets criticizing Alek Manoah in podcast interview

Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo made headlines last month for taking an unprompted shot at Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah. For the first time since that incident, the two are slated to face off against one another at Fenway Park on Wednesday night.

Verdugo, though, told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo on Tuesday that he is not more excited about facing Manoah as opposed to any other pitcher. He added that he regrets taking his feelings towards Manoah public.

“I think for me, it’s just another game,” Verdugo said. “I regret saying what I did, at least to the media, because it’s something I think I should have just, man-to-man, said it to him. I feel like at some point now, I would like to have a conversation with him. I’d like to talk to him. Just me and him. Kind of clear out some air, just be professional about it.

“Obviously, he’s one of those guys who’s a good pitcher and he carries a chip on his shoulder,” continued Verdugo. “We’re just going to see what happens. For me, it’s not going to be to go up there and try to get emotional with it.”

Back on April 4, Verdugo appeared on Audacy’s “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. In a one-on-one conversation with WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford, Verdugo — seemingly out of the blue — went on somewhat of a tirade about the way Manoah carries himself on the mound.

More specifically, Verdugo referenced a Manoah start at Fenway Park last July in which the righty stared down and exchanged words with Franchy Cordero and Bobby Dalbec after striking each of them out.

“I’ll say it right now, I think Alek Manoah goes about it the wrong way, 100 percent I think he does,” Verdugo told Bradford. “You can find videos of him, footage of him in Triple-A going like this to hitters. Last year, telling Franchy and Bobby like ‘go sit’ and [expletive] like that while looking right at them.”

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

It did not take long for Manoah to respond to Verdugo’s comments. He told Rob Langley of The Toronto Sun that same night: “Coming from him? I don’t give a (expletive). My job is to pitch and get guys out.”

Earlier this week, Manoah told The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams that he had never spoken with Verdugo and has never had a problem with him. Verdugo, for his part, said on Tuesday that while he wouldn’t take back his comments, he does wish he went about it in a different way.

“It’s not necessarily that I take back what I said because he’s good, man. When you’re good like that, you don’t need to do some of the other antics stuff that he does sometimes,” said Verdugo. “We’ve had some bad blood here and there. There are some times when I felt like it was a little bit too much and crossing the line.

“I talked to a lot of Blue Jays, a lot of guys in general who all say he’s a good teammate, a good guy,” Verdugo added. “Just when he’s on the field, he’s a different person with a different mindset out there. Part of me, I can respect that and I understand that’s what he might need to get amped up. At the same time, this game is hard, man. This game will humble you. There are a lot of things and I feel like if you go about it more the right way, you’re going to get more respect, not only from fans but from opposing players.”

Verdugo has had success against Manoah — who finished third in American League Cy Young voting last season — in the past. The 26-year-old has gone 7-for-16 (.438) with two doubles, one home run, and three RBIs in 17 career plate appearances against the Blue Jays ace. He has never been hit by a Manoah pitch and expects things to remain that way on Wednesday.

“I really don’t care about getting hit,” Verdugo said. “(Getting) hit is just extra on-base percentage. I don’t think it’s going to get to that. I don’t think we’re at that kind of beef. I still expect everybody to be professional and to go about it the right way, for him to try to make his pitches and get me out.”

Regardless of how Wednesday’s contest plays out, Verdugo is hopeful that he will be able to talk to Manoah at some point before the Blue Jays leave town for Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

“I’m not going in there being like, ‘Oh, man, we’ve got this beef going’ because at the end of the day, I want to have a one-on-one and I want to talk to him and just kind of clear the air on my side,” Verdugo said. “If he wants to accept it, then we accept it. If not, then we can continue doing what we are. I ain’t got nothing against him as a person. It’s just more some of the antics that I’ve seen against us that have rubbed me the wrong way.”

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Connor Wong powers Red Sox to 7-6 win over Blue Jays with first career multi-homer game

The Red Sox survived a six-run fifth inning from the Blue Jays and held on for their fourth straight win on Tuesday night. Powered by four home runs, including two from Connor Wong, Boston defeated Toronto by a final score of 7-6 at Fenway Park to improve to 17-14 on the season.

With left-hander Yusei Kikuchi starting for the Jays, the Sox opened the scoring in their half of the second inning. Following back-to-back groundouts from Enrique Hernandez and Masataka Yoshida, Christian Arroyo got his side on the board by crushing a 404-foot solo shot over the Green Monster for his first home run of the year.

An inning later, Alex Verdugo led off with his second double in as many at-bats and then scored from second on a one-out RBI single off the bat of Rob Refsnyder. In the third, Yoshida extended his hitting streak to 12 consecutive games by taking his countryman in Kikuchi 392 feet deep into Boston’s bullpen for his sixth homer of the season. The 103.1 mph blast put Boston up, 3-0, going into the fifth.

To that point in the contest, Red Sox starter Tanner Houck was cruising. The right-hander kicked off his sixth start of the year by tossing four straight scoreless frames. He than ran into some serious trouble in the top of the fifth. Back-to-back one-out singles from Danny Jansen and Kevin Kiermaier followed by a two-out walk from Bo Bichette filled the bases for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero Jr. came through by plating both Jansen and Kiermaier on a two-run single to left field to cut Toronto’s deficit to one. Bichette, who went from first to third on the play, then scored the tying run on a passed ball. The Blue Jays were not done there, though. After Matt Chapman singled to put runners on the corners, Daulton Varsho deposited a 406-foot three-run home run into the right field bleachers.

Just like that, the Blue Jays were in possession of a 6-3 lead. The Red Sox, however, wasted little time in responding to Toronto’s six-run rally. Verdugo was hit by a pitch and Justin Turner singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Refsnyder then drove in Verdugo on his second run-scoring hit of the night. Two batters later, Yoshida brought Boston back to within one run by pushing across Turner off new reliever Zach Pop.

Despite struggling in the fifth, Houck came back out for the sixth on account of the Red Sox having a short bullpen on Tuesday. He bounced back and kept the deficit at one by retiring the final three batters he faced. And so the 26-year-old wound up allowing six earned runs on six hits and three walks to go along with five strikeouts over six innings of work. Of the 96 pitches he threw, 57 went for strikes.

After Houck blanked the Jays in the top of the sixth, Wong led off the latter-half of the inning with his first homer of the night — a 368-foot laser off Pop that deflected off the top of the Monster and knotted things up at six runs apiece. Following two scoreless innings of relief from John Schreiber and lefty Richard Bleier, Wong was yet again in the spotlight.

Going up against Erik Swanson to lead off the bottom of the eighth, Wong took aim at the Green Monster once more. This time, he took a 2-1, 93.1 mph fastball down the heart of the plate and demolished it 353 feet into the first row of Monster seats. The towering blast gave the Red Sox a 7-6 edge heading into the ninth.

With closer Kenley Jansen and setup man Chris Martin not available, manager Alex Cora turned to Josh Winckowski, who had just pitched two innings on Monday. Winckowski responded to the call by working his way around a one-out single and inducing a game-ending double play. He earned the first save of his career as a result.

Wong stays hot, literally

In his first career multi-homer game, Connor Wong went a perfect 4-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. He may have finished a triple shy of the cycle, but his four hits left his bat at 113.6 mph, 105.4 mph, 98.2 mph, and 105.2 mph.

Next up: Manoah vs. Pivetta

The Red Sox will look to ensure a series victory over the Blue Jays with another win on Wednesday night. Nick Pivetta is slated to get the start for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Alek Manoah for Toronto.

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

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

Red Sox reliever Zack Kelly undergoes successful elbow surgery, could still return this season

Red Sox reliever Zack Kelly underwent a successful ulnar nerve transposition revision in his right elbow on Tuesday, the club announced. The procedure was performed by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas at The Andrews Institute in Birmingham, Ala.

While the Red Sox did not provide a timetable for Kelly’s return to action, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reports that Kelly could be back on the mound in September if he does not suffer any setbacks in his rehab.

Kelly injured his throwing elbow during his relief appearance against the Rays at Tropicana Field. Because the 28-year-old was visibly emotional as he walked off the mound that night, there was an initial fear that he sustained serious damage to the UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) in the elbow.

Had that been the case, Kelly likely would have required Tommy John surgery. Instead, his MRIs showed no damage in that area, but they did reveal that his ulnar nerve had become detached. As noted by Cotillo, that diagnosis was considered to be “a best-case scenario” at the time.

Kelly underwent an internal bracing procedure on his right elbow in lieu of Tommy John surgery in May 2020, so he has dealt with this sort of issue before. He was with the Angels at that time and would have missed the entirety of the 2020 minor-league season had it not been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kelly was released by Los Angeles shortly thereafter and joined the Red Sox organization as a minor-league free agent that December.

A former undrafted free agent out Division II Newberry College (S.C.), Kelly debuted for Boston at the age of 27 last August. The Virginia native posted a 3.95 ERA and 4.28 FIP with 11 strikeouts to four walks in 13 appearances (13 2/3 innings) to close out the 2022 campaign. He then leveraged that performance and a strong showing in spring training into making his first Opening Day roster this year.

Prior to injuring himself on April 12, Kelly had allowed just one run through his first five outings of the year. He was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list on April 16 so that the Red Sox could create a 40-man roster spot for left-handed reliever Brennan Bernardino.

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

Speedy Red Sox outfield prospect Corey Rosier off to strong start with Double-A Portland

Corey Rosier has gotten his first full season as a member of the Red Sox organization off to a promising start.

The 23-year-old outfield prospect is coming off a month of April in which he batted a stout .310/.344/.466 with four doubles, one triple, one home run, eight RBIs, nine runs scored, 10 stolen bases, three walks, and 14 strikeouts in his first 17 games (58 plate appearances) with Double-A Portland.

On the road against the Erie SeaWolves last week, the left-handed hitting Rosier registered two multi-hit games in five attempts and clubbed his first homer of the year for the Sea Dogs, who took the final five games of the six-game series to improve to improve to an Eastern League-leading 16-5 on the season.

Among 92 qualified Eastern League hitters coming into play on Tuesday, Rosier currently ranks seventh in batting average, 19th in slugging percentage, 23rd in OPS (.810), first in stolen bases, second in speed score (9.3), and 22nd in wRC+ (128), per FanGraphs.

While the offensive production is undoubtedly encouraging, Rosier has posted suboptimal strikeout and walk rates of 23 and 4.9 percent, respectively. Those two factors have hindered his ability to get on base on a more-frequent basis, which subsequently allows him to pose even more of a threat on the basepaths.

Defensively, Rosier has past experience at all three outfield spots but has seen all of his playing time to this point in the season come in the corners. The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder has logged 112 innings in right and 26 innings in left. He has only committed one error between the two positions, though he has yet to record an outfield assist.

The Red Sox acquired Rosier and minor-league infielder Max Ferguson from the Padres ahead of last year’s trade deadline. The deal also sent veteran first baseman Eric Hosmer to Boston and pitching prospect Jay Groome to San Diego. Rosier closed out the 2022 season with High-A Greenville and struggled to a .163/.272/.275 slash line in 23 games (92 plate appearances) with the Drive.

After a full winter and spring with the Red Sox, though, it appears that Rosier has begun to settle in and get more comfortable with his new surroundings. That is understandable given the fact that the Maryland native has already been traded twice since being selected by the Mariners in the 12th round of the 2021 amateur draft out of UNC Greensboro.

A little more than four months after signing with the Mariners for $125,000 that July, Rosier was traded to the Padres along with left-hander Ray Kerr in exchange for infielder Adam Frazier. The Friars then dealt him, Ferguson, and Hosmer to the Red Sox for Groome the following August.

While some young players may be slighted by having to change organizations multiple times early on into their careers, Rosier actually takes pride in it. He explained as much in an over-the-phone conversation with MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith last month.

“I think it’s definitely cool to know I’m sought after and people see me fitting into their system somewhere,” Rosier said. “So that’s cool to know I’ve been a part of two big-league trades. So that’s the way I try to view it. Coming over in the middle of the season last year, it was a big transition. … But I think going through spring training with the Sox, getting more acclimated with the staff, getting comfortable, I think that’s really played a part in the early success that I’ve had in a small sample size.”

At present, Rosier — who does not turn 24 until September — is not regarded by any major publication as one of the top prospects in Boston’s farm system. That could soon change if he carries over the success he enjoyed in April into the month of May.

(Picture of Corey Rosier: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.sm

Red Sox promote lefty relief prospect Nathan Landry to High-A Greenville

The Red Sox have promoted left-hander Nathan Landry from Low-A Salem to High-A Greenville, per the club’s minor-league transactions log.

Landry, who turns 24 later this week, did not allow a run in his first eight relief appearances of the season for Salem. He issued just three walks and recorded 11 strikeouts over 10 1/3 innings in which he held opposing hitters to a .171 batting average against.

Boston took Landry in the 15th round of last year’s amateur draft out of Missouri. The Quebec native signed with the club for $112,500 and was identified by Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo as the Red Sox’ best late-round pick. He made his professional debut in the rookie-level Florida Complex League over the summer.

“I think the keyword for me is opportunity, and I got that with a great organization with the Red Sox,” Landry told Andrew Parker of Beyond the Monster back in February. “The first baseball stadium I ever visited was Fenway Park. It was my last year of high school. You can feel the history once you get in there. I fell in love with the stadium once I walked in the place.”

Landry, who speaks both English and French, is not yet ranked by any major publication as one of the top pitching prospects in Boston’s farm system. That could soon change if he shows he can handle more advanced competition with Greenville moving forward.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, Landry throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of an 88-90 mph fastball that tops out in the low-90s, a slider, and a changeup, per his SoxProspects.com scouting report. He is well-regarded for his command of the strike zone and has already shown why.

Landry is now slated to join a Drive bullpen mix that includes fellow 2022 draftees Alex Hoppe (UNC Greensboro) and Jaret Godman (Oklahoma). Isaac Coffey, who was selected in the 10th round out of Oral Roberts, is currently in Greenville’s starting rotation.

(Picture of Nathan Landry: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Alex Verdugo continues to come through in the clutch, delivers with walk-off home run as Red Sox top Blue Jays, 6-5

The Red Sox squandered another late lead in Monday’s series opener against the Blue Jays, but it was not enough to hold them down. Thanks to some more late-game heroics from Alex Verdugo, Boston defeated Toronto by a final score of 6-5 at Fenway Park to improve to 16-14 on the season.

With Jose Berrios starting for the Jays, the Sox drew first blood in their half of the first inning. Verdugo led off with a hard-hit double and immediately scored from second on another two-base hit from Masataka Yoshida. Justin Turner followed by plating Yoshida on an opposite-field RBI single to give his side a 2-0 lead right out of the gate.

It did not take long for Toronto to respond, though. As Corey Kluber made his sixth start of the season for Boston, Danny Jansen and Kevin Kiermaier drew a pair of walks to put runners at first and second with two outs in the top of the second. Bo Bichette then got his productive night at the plate started by crushing a 312-foot three-run home run over the Green Monster to put the Blue Jays up, 3-2.

While it appeared as though Kluber was about to have another rough go of it, he was able to settle in a bit after getting through the first. The veteran right-hander allowed just the three earned runs on five hits and four walks to go along with seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings of work.

After putting up zeroes from the top of the third through the middle of the fifth, Kluber came back out for the sixth and recorded the first out of the inning before issuing a five-pitch walk to Jansen. Having already thrown a season-high 104 pitches (59 strikes) to that point in the contest, the 37-year-old was given the hook in favor of Brennan Bernardino.

Bernardino ended things in the top of the sixth by retiring the only two batters he faced. Moments later, Jarren Duran led off the bottom of the sixth by taking Berrios 434 feet to dead center for his second home run of the year. The ball left Duran’s bat at a blistering 109.1 mph and pulled Boston back even with Toronto at three runs apiece.

The stalemate did not last long, however. After Triston Casas drew a one-out walk off Berrios, Enmanuel Valdez followed by launching a go-ahead, two-run shot 427 feet into the center field bleachers for the first home run of his big-league career. Valdez’s 106 mph blast gave the Red Sox a 5-3 lead going into the seventh.

Chris Martin, making his first relief appearance since April 12 after being activated from the injured list on Sunday, took over for Bernardino and worked his way around a bases-loaded jam by getting the pinch-hitting Alejandro Kirk to ground out to himself for the final out of the inning.

Josh Winckowski came on for the eighth and got the first out by getting Jansen to ground out to Enrique Hernandez at short. Hernandez, who made a fantastic diving grab and throw from his knees in the left field grass to nab Jansen, them made two costly throwing errors.

Following a Cavan Biggio double, Hernandez fielded a grounder from Kiermaier but made a poor throw to Casas at first. Biggio scored as a result to cut Toronto’s deficit to one. Kiermaier moved up 90 feet on a Bichette single (his fifth hit of the night) to put runners at first and second for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero Jr. roped another grounder in the direction of Hernandez, who hustled over to second to get the force out but airmailed his throw to first in an attempt to finish off the double play. The ball sailed well over Casas’ head and landed in the Red Sox dugout. As a result, Kiermaier was able to score from second to tie the score at 5-5.

Winckowski, who was only charged with one of those two runs, got through the rest of the eighth unscathed and then retired the side in order in the top of the ninth. Jordan Romano took over for Nate Pearson out of the Blue Jays bullpen in the following half-inning, but he was not on the mound for long.

On the third pitch he saw from Romano to lead things off, Verdugo came through in the clutch yet again by lacing a 385-foot line-drive to right-center field that barely cleared the bullpen fence and lifted the Red Sox to a 6-5 walk-off victory.

Verdugo’s fifth home run was good for his third walk-off hit of the year and his second in Boston’s last three games. He finished the night going 2-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored. On the flip side, Winckowski was credited with the winning decision.

Next up: Kikuchi vs. Houck

Winners of three straight and now at two games over .500 for the first time this season, the Red Sox will look to take the first two games of this four-game set from the Blue Jays on Tuesday night. Right-hander Tanner Houck will get the start for Boston while left-hander Yusei Kikuchi is expected to do the same for Toronto.

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

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Picture of Chris Sale: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox option Kaleb Ort to Triple-A Worcester ahead of Chris Martin’s return from injured list

The Red Sox optioned reliever Kaleb Ort to Triple-A Worcester following Saturday night’s 8-7 win over the Guardians, according to The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams.

By optioning Ort, the Red Sox have cleared a roster spot for fellow reliever Chris Martin, who is expected to be activated from the 15-day injured list ahead of Sunday’s series finale against Cleveland.

Ort, 31, has posted a 7.30 ERA and 6.27 FIP with 12 strikeouts to six walks in 12 relief appearances spanning 12 1/3 innings of work out of the Boston bullpen so far this season. The right-hander last pitched against the Orioles on Tuesday, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits (two home runs) in just one-third of an inning.

When Ort entered that game in Baltimore, the Red Sox had an 8-1 lead over the O’s. By giving up five runs and only recording one out, Ort forced manager Alex Cora to bring in closer Kenley Jansen, who notched the save and secured an 8-6 win by retiring the only two batters he faced.

Though the Red Sox remain intrigued by Ort’s arsenal, particularly his upper-90s fastball, the righty has yet to find success on a consistent basis at the big-league level. He will now look to sort things out in Worcester, where he pitched to a 2.88 ERA in 39 appearances (40 2/3 innings) last year.

Martin, meanwhile, was placed on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation on April 16 (retroactive to April 13). The 36-year-old underwent an MRI after reporting arm discomfort, but the results revealed only inflammation as opposed to any sort of structural damage.

As such, Martin was never expected to be out of action for too long. After dealing with a stomach bug earlier this week, the veteran hurler made a rehab appearance for the WooSox at Polar Park on Friday night and allowed two unearned runs on two hits in one inning of work.

“I feel like I got what I needed [from the rehab outing] and today I feel good,” Martin told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier at Fenway Park earlier Saturday afternoon. “I’m starting to feel better. I’ve just got to keep with the process and keep working on the tedious things.”

Martin, who turns 37 in June, signed a two-year, $17.5 million with the Red Sox back in December. Prior to going on the injured list, he posted a 2.57 ERA and 5.06 FIP with two strikeouts and one walk through his first seven outings (seven innings) of the season.

(Picture of Kaleb Ort: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)