Tag: Baseball

Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen dealing with tight back, will not be available to pitch on Sunday

Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen did not look quite like himself on Saturday, and it turns out there is a logical reason as to why.

Coming into play earlier in the afternoon, Jansen had yet to allow a run through his first eight relief appearances (7 2/3 innings pitched) of the season. The 35-year-old was also a perfect six-for-six in save opportunities.

In the ninth inning of Saturday’s contest against the Guardians at Fenway Park, though, Jansen was clearly laboring on the mound. With a 6-5 lead to protect, the veteran right-hander gave up back-to-back singles to Myles Straw and Steven Kwan out of the gate.

That put runners at first and second with no outs. Jansen then fanned Amed Rosario, but followed by surrendering a game-tying RBI single to Jose Ramirez that pulled Cleveland back even with Boston at six runs apiece.

Jansen, who was charged with his first blown save of the year, remained in the game and got through the rest of the inning on 29 pitches (22 strikes), but not before getting checked up on by Red Sox manager Alex Cora and head athletic trainer Brandon Henry.

The meeting on the mound was brief, as Jansen assured both Cora and Henry that he was fine. After retiring Josh Bell for the final out of the inning, though, Jansen grimaced and looked rather uncomfortable as he made his way back to the home dugout.

When speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) following the Sox’ 8-7 walk-off win over the Guardians on Saturday night, Cora revealed that Jansen had dealing with back tightness throughout the day.

“His back got tight,” Cora said. “Before the game, he was running and he felt it. But he was available. He said, ‘You need me, we’ll go.'”

According to Jansen himself, he first felt his back tighten up during pregame conditioning and felt it again as he ran in from the bullpen in the top of the ninth. Though Jansen was able to pitch through the pain, he did receive some medication and is hopeful that it will kick in within the next “couple of days.”

Given what transpired on Saturday, Jansen will not be available out of the bullpen for Sunday’s series finale against the Guardians. The hope is that he will be back in action on Monday, when the Red Sox open a three-game set against the Blue Jays. If not Monday, then perhaps Tuesday.

“Pitching with lower-back tightness sucks,” Jansen told NESN’s Jahmai Webster. “We’ll see in a couple of days. We’ll take two days — probably a day or two — and then we’ll see how it feels and we’ll get back out there.”

Jansen’s blown save on Saturday represents the first for any Red Sox reliever this season. The righty now owns a 1.04 ERA with 12 strikeouts to 12 walks in his first nine outings (8 2/3 innings) with Boston. He is three saves away from 400 for his major-league career.

(Picture of Kenley Jansen: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Alex Verdugo comes through with walk-off single as Red Sox overcome blown lead to defeat Guardians, 8-7, in extras

The Red Sox may have squandered a five-run lead against the Guardians on Saturday evening, but they still found a way to win in extras. Thanks to a walk-off single from Alex Verdugo, Boston defeated Cleveland in 10 innings by a final score of 8-7 at Fenway Park to get back to .500 at 14-14 on the season.

With Zach Plesac starting for the Guardians, the Sox drew first blood in their half of the first. After Verdugo ripped a leadoff double on the very first pitch of the game, Masataka Yoshida drew a four-pitch walk and Justin Turner struck out. That brought Rafael Devers to the plate with one out and runners at first and second.

Devers wasted little time in getting the Red Sox on the board, as he cranked a 411-foot three-run blast deep to right field for his American League-leading 10th home run of the season. The ball left Devers’ bat at a blistering 114.1 mph and gave Boston an early 3-0 lead.

The Guardians were able to get one of those runs back off Brayan Bello in the top of the second, though. Josh Bell led things off by taking Bello 405 feet over the Green Monster to cut into the deficit and make it a 3-1 game. Bello and Plesac exchanged zeroes in the third before the Sox struck again in the fourth.

Back-to-back one-out doubles from Raimel Tapia and Enmanuel Valdez extended Boston’s lead to 4-1. Christian Arroyo then plated Valdez with an RBI single back up the middle and Connor Wong followed with a base hit of his own to knock Plesac out of the game after just 3 1/3 innings.

Bello, meanwhile, pitched well in his third start of the season for Boston and his first since being recalled from Triple-A Worcester on Friday to take the injured Garrett Whitlock’s spot in the rotation. Over five solid innings of work on Saturday, the young right-hander allowed just the one earned run on five hits and two walks to go along with six strikeouts.

After giving up that solo shot to Bell in the second, Bello retired the next six hitters he faced before working out of a jam in the fourth. He did not issue his first walk until there were two outs in the top of the fifth. Due to a bloody fingernail on his right index finger, Bello received attention from a team trainer. He then walked his second straight batter to put runners at first and second, but he ended his outing by fielding a soft roller off the bat of Amed Rosario and making a strong throw to first base for the final out of the inning.

All told, Bello finished with 84 pitches (47 strikes). The 23-year-old hurler induced eight swings-and-misses while mixing in a 93-96 mph sinker, an 83-87 mph slider, an 86-89 mph changeup, and a 95-97 mph four-seam fastball. Though he did not factor into Saturday’s decision, Bello did lower his ERA on the season down to 6.57.

Following a scoreless inning of relief from Richard Bleier out of the bullpen, the Red Sox tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth. Arroyo and Wong led off with back-to-back singles off Guardians reliever Xzavion Curry. A Verdugo lineout allowed Arroyo to advance up to third. With one out and Yoshida at the plate, Wong took off for second base. Catcher Mike Zunino attempted to throw his counterpart out, but he instead made an errant throw that wound up in center field.

As a result of Zunino’s throwing error, Wong was credited with a stolen base while Arroyo scored from third to put Boston up, 6-1. Bleier came back out for the seventh but immediately served up a solo homer to Andres Gimenez that panged off the top of Pesky’s Pole. The left-hander was then replaced by Ryan Brasier, who recorded the first two outs of the inning before issuing a four-pitch walk to Jose Ramirez to load the bases.

That sequence of events forced Red Sox manager Alex Cora to dip into his bullpen again, and in came John Schreiber. With one out to get and the bases full, Schreiber surrendered a bases-clearing, three-run double to Josh Naylor. Myles Straw, Steven Kwan, and Ramirez all scored as Boston’s five-run lead was suddenly trimmed to one.

Schreiber was able to avoid any further damage in the seventh and Josh Winckowski followed with a 1-2-3 eighth inning, thus paving the way for Kenley Jansen, who had yet to allow a run through his first eight appearances of the year, to come on for the ninth.

In uncharacteristic fashion, Jansen gave up back-to-back singles to Straw and Kwan out of the gate. After punching out Rosario, the veteran closer yielded a game-tying RBI single to Ramirez that knotted things up at six runs apiece. Jansen got through the rest of the inning unscathed, but he was clearly not himself and was charged with his first blown save of the season as a result.

A scoreless bottom of the ninth from the Red Sox pushed this one into extras. Lefty reliever Brennan Bernardino recorded two quick outs before allowing the automatic runner at second base to score on a hard-hit RBI single from Zunino in the top of the 10th.

Now trailing 7-6, Christian Arroyo led off the bottom of the 10th with a game-tying RBI single off Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase that brought in Valdez from second. Arroyo then moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt from Wong and to third on a pitch that got past Zunino.

With the winning run just 90 feet away and the infield drawn in, Verdugo delivered by ripping a 88.9 mph single to left field. Arroyo came into score and Verdugo was credited with his second walk-off hit of the year and his fifth in a Red Sox uniform.

All nine members of Boston’s starting lineup registered at least one hit on Saturday. Arroyo and Wong led the way with three hits apiece while Verdugo, Devers, and Tapia each had two hits. On the flip side, Bernardino picked up the first winning decision of his big-league career.

Next up: Allen vs. Sale in rubber match

The Red Sox will go for a series win over the Guardians on Sunday afternoon. Chris Sale is slated to start for Boston while fellow southpaw Logan Allen is lined up to do the same for Cleveland.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. eastern time on NESN, though the forecast does not look particularly encouraging.

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

Nick Pivetta has another rough start as Red Sox drop opener to Guardians, 5-2

The Red Sox found themselves in an early hole and could never recover against the Guardians on Friday night. Boston fell to Cleveland by a final score of 5-2 in the opener of this three-game series at Fenway Park to drop back below .500 on the season at 13-14.

Nick Pivetta was unable to find his rhythm in his fifth start of the season for the Sox. The right-hander allowed four earned runs on five hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with five strikeouts over five innings of work.

The Guardians got to Pivetta right away in their half of the first. Steven Kwan led off with a line-drive single and Jose Ramirez capped off a 12-pitch at-bat with a base hit of his own to put runners at the corners with one out. Josh Naylor then opened the scoring by driving in Kwan with a sacrifice fly to left field.

Ramirez advanced to second base on a wild pitch and then scored from second on an RBI double off the bat of Josh Bell to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead out of the gate. An inning later, Pivetta plunked Will Brennan with one out. Brennan then stole second and quickly scored on a Myles Straw RBI single to put the Guardians up, 3-0.

Boston got one of those runs back in the latter half of the second. With ace righty Shane Bieber starting for Cleveland, Triston Casas drew a one-out walk and Jarren Duran followed with a groundball double to put runners at second and third for Enrique Hernandez. Hernandez, in turn, cut into the deficit by plating Casas with a run-scoring single through the left side of the infield.

Hernandez’s base hit put runners on the corners for Reese McGuire, but the catcher grounded into an inning-ending, 4-6-3 double play to extinguish the threat. Pivetta then put up a zero in the third before running into more trouble in the fourth, when he served up a 346-foot solo shot over the Green Monster to Mike Zunino.

Zunino gave the Guardians a 4-1 lead with his towering blast. Pivetta, for his part, got through the rest of the inning unscathed and retired the final three batters he faced in a scoreless fifth. The 30-year-old hurler finished with exactly 100 pitches (73 strikes). He also induced a game-high 11 swings-and-misses, but was ultimately charged with the loss as his ERA on the season rose to 5.11.

With Pivetta’s night done, the Red Sox continued to try to chip away against Bieber. In the bottom of the fifth, Hernandez led off with a single and Enmanuel Valdez moved him up to third with a double. Alex Verdugo then brought in Hernandez with an RBI groundout, but Masataka Yoshida left Valdez at third base by grounding out to Bieber himself.

Fast forward to the seventh inning, Duran led off with yet another double off Bieber. But Hernandez popped out, McGuire struck out, and Valdez grounded out to leave Duran at second. In the eighth, Yoshida ripped a one-out double off reliever Trevor Stephan and Justin Turner followed with a single to put runners on the corners for Rafael Devers.

Following a mound visit from Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis, though, Stephan responded by fanning Devers on three straight strikes and getting Casas to ground out to squander yet another scoring opportunity for the Red Sox.

Still trailing 4-2 going into the ninth, Kutter Crawford had already tossed three scoreless innings of relief after taking over for Pivetta in the sixth. But with one out and the bases empty in the top half of the frame, Brennan took Crawford 351 deep to right field to make it a 5-2 contest in favor of Cleveland.

Guardians closer Enmanuel Clase came on for the last of the ninth and worked his way around a Duran leadoff ground-rule double by retiring Hernandez, McGuire, and Valdez to end it two hours and 25 minutes.

All told, the Red Sox went just 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position on Friday and left seven runners on base as a team. Duran (3-for-4) accounted for three of Boston’s eight hits. His three doubles left his bat at 108.7 mph, 97.1 mph, and 61 mph, respectively. He is now batting .436 (17-39) in his first 11 games this season.

Next up: Plesac vs. Bello

The Red Sox will look to put an end to this two-game skid with a win over the Guardians on Saturday afternoon. Brayan Bello will get the start for Boston in place of the injured Garrett Whitlock. Fellow right-hander Zach Plesac is lined up to do the same for Cleveland.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

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

Red Sox place Garrett Whitlock on 15-day injured list with right elbow ulnar neuritis, recall Brayan Bello from Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have placed right-hander Garrett Whitlock on the 15-day injured list due to right elbow neuritis, the club announced prior to Friday’s series opener against the Guardians at Fenway Park. In a corresponding move, fellow righty Brayan Bello was recalled from Triple-A Worcester.

Whitlock was originally scheduled to start opposite Zach Plesac on Saturday, but that responsibility will now fall to Bello. The 26-year-old began the season on the injured list after getting a late start in spring training as he continued to recover from a right hip arthroscopy last September.

After making two minor-league rehab starts, Whitlock made his season debut for Boston on April 11 in Tampa Bay. He has since pitched to a 6.19 ERA and 5.98 FIP with 11 strikeouts to three walks over three starts spanning 16 innings of work in which opponents are batting .312 against him.

Whitlock told reporters (including The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier) on Friday that he felt something “akin to a numbness or tingling two side sessions ago, and had felt it sporadically when throwing pitches since.” More specifically, he felt it “a couple of times” during his last start against the Brewers this past Saturday.

Though Whitlock — who has yet to have an MRI — was unable to provide any sort of recovery timetable, he did say there were no concerns pertaining to Tommy John surgery, which he first underwent in July 2019 after tearing his right UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) while still a member of the Yankees organization.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora added further details, indicating that there is not too much concern about Whitlock and that the team is hopeful he will only miss two starts before returning to action. Of course, that all depends on how he responds to treatment in the coming days. Cora also said the Red Sox still view Whitlock as a starter as opposed to a reliever moving forward.

Because his stint on the injured list was backdated to April 25, Whitlock will not be eligible to be activated until Wednesday, May 10 at the earliest. The Red Sox have two off days (one before and one after their two-game series against the Braves) that week, so they could look to take advantage of that schedule flexibility as it pertains to their rotation when the time comes.

In the meantime, Bello will fill in for Whitlock and make his third start of the season on Saturday. Like his counterpart, Bello also began the year on the injured list after being slowed by right forearm tightness during spring training. He made just one rehab start for Worcester and made his season debut on April 17.

Bello has since posted a 9.82 ERA and 6.35 FIP with eight strikeouts to three walks in two starts (7 1/3 innings) against the Angels at home and the Brewers on the road. Though he showed signs of improvement in Milwaukee over the weekend, the 23-year-old was optioned on Monday as the Red Sox went from a six-man to a five-man starting rotation and added another lefty to the bullpen mix by calling up Brennan Bernardino from the WooSox.

It turns out that Bello’s stay in Worcester was shorter than expected since he is replacing an injured player on the roster. Regardless, the Dominican-born hurler will now rejoin a Red Sox rotation that includes Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Tanner Houck, and Nick Pivetta.

(Picture of Garrett Whitlock: John Fisher/Getty Images)

Red Sox claim righty reliever Justin Garza off waivers from Angels

The Red Sox have claimed right-hander Justin Garza off waivers from the Angels and optioned him to Triple-A Worcester, the club announced earlier Friday afternoon. A corresponding move was not needed since Boston had an open spot on its 40-man roster.

Garza, 29, was designated for assignment by the Angels last week after not appearing in a game for Los Angeles to start the 2023 season. The righty instead began the year in Triple-A Salt Lake after being optioned there last month. In six relief appearances for the Bees, he posted a 4.32 ERA with five strikeouts to four walks over 8 1/3 innings of work.

A native of California, Garza was originally selected by the Guardians in the eighth round of the 2015 amateur draft out of Cal State Fullerton. He spent six years in Cleveland’s minor-league system before making his major-league debut in June 2021.

With the Guardians (then the Indians), Garza forged a 4.71 ERA and 5.30 FIP to go along with 29 strikeouts to 18 walks in 21 appearances (28 2/3 innings). He was outrighted off Cleveland’s 40-man roster that November and spent the entirety of the 2022 campaign with Triple-A Columbus before reaching free agency last winter.

Garza signed a split deal with the Angels in December, but his stay in Los Angeles proved to be a short one. He lost his spot on the Halos’ 40-man roster after veteran catcher Chad Wallach and fellow reliever Austin Warren had their contracts selected from Salt Lake last Friday.

Listed at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, Garza operates with a five-pitch mix that consists of a sinker, a cutter, a slider, a changeup, and a four-seam fastball, per Baseball Savant. For his career at the Triple-A level — which spans three seasons — Garza owns a lifetime 3.67 ERA with 86 strikeouts to 36 walks in 57 outings spanning 72 2/3 innings of relief.

With that, Garza should provide the Red Sox with some experienced bullpen depth in Worcester. He has three minor-league options remaining and is only on the hook for the major-league minimum.

By adding Garza via waivers, Boston’s 40-man roster is now at full capacity.

(Picture of Justin Garza: Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Yu Chang undergoes successful hand surgery

Red Sox infielder Yu Chang underwent a successful left hamate excision on Thursday, the club announced. The procedure was performed by Dr. Matthew Leibman at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Chang fractured his left hamate bone (a hook-like structure between the hand and the wrist) on a swing-and-miss in the seventh inning of Monday’s 5-4 loss to the Orioles in Baltimore. He was placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday and told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) shortly thereafter that he expected to be sidelined for approximately six weeks.

“I feel grateful to play shortstop every day,” Chang said through translator Patrick Chu. “I appreciate the team giving me the opportunity to play there every day, to prove myself. But now, the unfortunate thing happened.”

Chang, 27, signed a one-year, $850,000 deal with the Red Sox in February after appearing in 11 games for the club season. The Taiwan native did not report to spring training in Fort Myers until late March, however, as he was delayed by visa issues after playing for Chinese Taipei and earning Pool A MVP honors in the World Baseball Classic.

Despite the lack of time with the team in camp, Chang still made Boston’s Opening Day roster. The right-handed hitter was used sparingly off the bench out of the gate, but he was thrust into action after Adam Duvall fractured his left wrist on April 9 and Enrique Hernandez began playing more center field as a result.

Prior to Tuesday’s injury, Chang had started 10 of the Sox’ last 12 games at shortstop. And although he was slashing just .186/.174/.341 in 47 plate appearances to begin the year, the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder was providing some pop with his bat in the form of three home runs in his last eight games. He had also proven to be a quality defender at short, registering three defensive runs saved across 91 innings at the position.

With Chang set to miss the next several weeks, Red Sox manager Alex Cora will be changing up his middle infield mix yet again. According to Cotillo, Hernandez is expected move back to shortstop on a full-time basis while Christian Arroyo and rookie Enmanuel Valdez (who was called up in place of Chang) will split time at second base. Jarren Duran will also play more center field on account of Hernandez’s shift to short.

(Picture of Yu Chang: G Fiume/Getty Images)

Red Sox reliever Richard Bleier says Baltimore fans acted in a ‘completely inappropriate’ way on Tuesday night

Members of the Red Sox bullpen were targeted by fans during Tuesday night’s game against the Orioles at Camden Yards.

As was first reported by WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford, several Red Sox relievers were not happy with the security near the visitors’ bullpen. A few pitchers were sprayed by beer and one staff member was even spat on.

“More than a few called it the worst they had ever seen,” Bradford tweeted late Tuesday night.

Reliever Richard Bleier confirmed such behavior when speaking with The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams prior to Wednesday afternoon’s series finale in Baltimore.

“Completely inappropriate,” Bleier said. “I played here and that’s not the fan base I remember. It was something I’ve never seen before.”

Bleieir, who spent parts of four seasons with the Orioles from 2017-2020, told McWilliams that the two alleged incidents involved different people, both of whom ran off. While the lefty said there was not much security could do in that situation, the O’s announced on Wednesday that those two fans were later identified and ejected from the ballpark.

Because of the design and location of the Camden Yards bullpens in left-center field, fans are right on top of the players. As such, they can easily banter with and heckle them if they so choose. Evidently, two of the 14,343 spectators who were in attendance on Tuesday made the decision to take things too far.

“It’s unfortunate, for sure,” said Bleier. “Hopefully they’re doing things that prevent this from happening again. It’s definitely not acceptable. … I’ve been in some rough areas in terms of bullpens where we’re, like, right in the middle of it, and I’ve never had that happen before.”

(Picture of Richard Bleier: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

Tanner Houck allows 4 runs in 5 innings as Red Sox drop series finale to Orioles, 6-2

After splitting the first two games, the Red Sox came up short of a series win over the Orioles in Wednesday afternoon’s finale. Boston instead fell to Baltimore by a final score of 6-2 at Camden Yards to drop the series and drop back to .500 on the season at 13-13.

The Red Sox were previously unbeaten in games started by Tanner Houck. That is no longer the case. Houck, making his fifth start of the year for Boston, allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks to go along with two strikeouts over five innings of work.

Coming off a career-high seven innings in his last time out, Houck ran into some immediate trouble in the bottom of the first on Wednesday. After Cedric Mullins led off with a single, Adley Rutschman reached on a fielding error committed by rookie second baseman Enmanuel Valdez. Valdez’s third error of the season already put runners at the corners for Anthony Santander, who got the Orioles on the board first by plating Mullins on a sacrifice fly to center field.

It did not take long for the Red Sox to respond, though, as Mastataka Yoshida led off the second inning with a 412-foot solo shot off Orioles starter Tyler Wells. Yoshida’s fourth homer of the year pulled Boston back even with Baltimore at 1-1, but the Orioles began to pull away in their half of the fourth.

Houck gave up three consecutive singles to Adam Frazier, Ryan O’Hearn, and Ramon Urias. Frazier came into score on Urias’ base hit. Following a successful sacrifice bunt from Terrin Vavra, Mullins drove in O’Hearn with an RBI single that deflected off Valdez. Rutschman then brought in Urias from third with a sacrifice fly that put the O’s up, 4-1, going into the fifth.

Santander’s fly ball had an expected batting average of .650, but Yoshida made a fantastic diving catch in left field to rob Santander of a hit and prevent at least one additional run from scoring.

The fifth inning would prove to be Houck’s last. The 26-year-old right-hander finished with 86 pitches (59 strikes), but he only induced six swings-and-misses. He was also charged with his first losing decision of the season as his ERA rose to 4.50.

With Houck’s day done, Boston got back on the board in the sixth. Alex Verdugo laced a one-out double and scored his side’s second run a Justin Turner RBI single that knocked Wells out of the game. Baltimore, however, wasted no time in retaliating.

Richard Bleier, who took over for Houck in the bottom of the sixth, yielded back-to-back singles to the first two batters he faced. Mullins dropped down another bunt to move up both runners and Rutschman drew a walk to fill the bases for Santander, who drove in Urias from third on a sacrifice fly to give the Orioles a 5-2 lead.

The Sox had a golden opportunity to cut into that deficit in the seventh, as Enrique Hernandez and Jarren Duran each singled to put runners at first and second with no out. The Orioles then dipped into their bullpen, pulling Danny Coulombe for Yennier Cano. Cano responded to the challenge by fanning Christian Arroyo and retiring the pinch-hitting Reese McGuire to extinguish the threat.

From there, Brennan Bernardino put up a zero in the bottom of the seventh and John Schreiber yielded an RBI double to Urias in the eighth to put the Red Sox in a 6-2 hole. Down to their final three outs in the ninth, Hernandez and Triston Casas made things somewhat interesting by reaching base off Orioles closer Felix Bautista. But Bautista did not waver, as he sat down the next three batters he faced to send the Red Sox home losers after going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and leaving seven runners on base as a team.

With Wednesday’s loss, which took two hours and 27 minutes to complete, the Red Sox wrap up their six-game road trip having gone 3-3. They are now 3-3 against the Orioles and 3-7 against divisional opponents as a whole.

Next up: Off day on Thursday, then Bieber vs. Pivetta on Friday

The Red Sox will travel back to Boston and have Thursday off after playing 19 games in 19 days and going 10-9 in that stretch. They will then welcome the Guardians into town for a three-game weekend series at Fenway Park beginning on Friday.

Nick Pivetta will get the start for Boston in the series opener opposite fellow right-hander Shane Bieber for Cleveland.

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

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Jarren Duran belts grand slam, Corey Kluber delivers with strong start as Red Sox hold on for 8-6 win over Orioles

The Red Sox blew a four-run lead in a series-opening loss to the Orioles on Monday. They made sure not to repeat the same mistakes in the middle game of this three-game series on Tuesday night.

Powered by Jarren Duran’s first grand slam and Corey Kluber’s first quality start in a Red Sox uniform, Boston defeated Baltimore by a final score of 8-6 at Camden Yards to get back over .500 at 13-12 on the season.

With Kyle Bradish starting for the O’s, the Sox drew first blood in their half of the second inning. Triston Casas drew a one-out walk and went from first to third base on a Duran double. Christian Arroyo then opened the scoring by plating Casas with an opposite-field RBI single. McGuire followed with an opposite-field single of his own to push across Duran. Rafael Devers capped off the three-run frame by scoring Arroyo on a sacrifice fly.

Boston continued to add to its lead in the top of the third. Three consecutive singles from Masataka Yoshida, Enrique Hernandez, and Casas to lead off the inning filled the bases for Duran. Duran, in turn, promptly unloaded the bases by crushing a 2-2, 86.8 mph slider from Bradish 409 feet over the center field wall for his first career grand slam.

Duran’s slam, which left his bat at 107.8 mph, put the Red Sox up, 7-0, as Kluber was in the midst of a much-needed quality outing. The veteran right-hander came into the evening with an 8.50 ERA through his first four starts of the year, but he rebounded in a nice way on Tuesday.

Over six strong innings of work, Kluber allowed just one earned run on five hits and zero walks to go along with three strikeouts on the night. He tossed four scoreless innings out of the gate before serving up a two-out solo shot to Jorge Mateo in the bottom of the fifth.

After giving up that homer to Mateo, though, Kluber retired four of the final five batters he faced through the middle of the sixth. The 37-year-old finished with 80 pitches (55 strikes) and induced five swings-and-misses on his way to lowering his ERA to 6.75 and picking up his first winning decision of 2023.

Following a scoreless seventh inning from Josh Winckowski, the Red Sox got that run back when Duran scored on a McGuire groundout in the top of the eighth. A half-inning later, Winckowski put up another zero to bring Boston to within three outs of a blowout win.

Taking a commanding 8-1 lead going into the latter half of the ninth, Kaleb Ort came on and immediately gave up a leadoff home run to Gunnar Henderson. Ramon Urias and Terrin Vavra then reached on a pair of singles before Enmanuel Valdez committed a missed catch error that should have gone for the second out of the inning.

Instead, the bases were now loaded for Cedric Mullins, who made things even more interesting by depositing a 366-feet grand slam over the left field wall to cut the defecit to two runs at 8-6. That sequence of events forced Red Sox manager Alex Cora to turn to closer Kenley Jansen, who sat down the only two batters he faced to secure the win and notch the 39th save of his career.

All told, Tuesday’s victory took two hours and 44 minutes to complete. Yoshida stayed hot by going 2 for 4 with a walk and run scored. Duran, meanwhile finished a triple shy of the cycle, by going 3 for 4 with three runs and four RBIs.

Arroyo leaves with hamstring injury

Starting second baseman Christian Arroyo was removed from the game in the middle of the fifth inning due to precautionary reasons related to right hamstring tightness. He was replaced by Enmanuel Valdez, who was recalled from Triple-A Worcester earlier Tuesday afternoon and singled in his lone plate appearance.

Arroyo has been dealing with a nagging right hamstring in recent weeks, and so the Red Sox likely wanted to get the 27-year-old off his feet at a point in time where the game felt rather one-sided. He is considered day-to-day and could be back in the lineup on Wednesday.

Next up: Houck vs. Wells in rubber match

The Red Sox will go for their fourth straight series win in Wednesday’s finale against the Orioles. Tanner Houck, fresh off a career-high seven innings of work in his last time out, will get the start for Boston. Baltimore will counter with fellow righty Tyler Wells.

First pitch from Oriole Park at Camden Yards is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Yu Chang on 10-day injured list with left hamate fracture, recall Enmanuel Valdez from Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have placed infielder Yu Chang on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamate fracture, the club announced earlier Tuesday afternoon. In a corresponding move, infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez was recalled from Triple-A Worcester.

Chang suffered the fracture in the seventh inning of Monday’s 5-4 loss to the Orioles in Baltimore. After swinging and missing on a 1-1, 80.3 mph slider from reliever Bryan Baker, the 27-year-old could be seen wincing in pain, which prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora and assistant athletic trainer David Herrera to emerge from the visitor’s dugout.

After a brief conference in which his left hand was examined, Chang was removed from the game and replaced by Christian Arroyo, who struck out in his place. Arroyo then took over at second base while Enrique Hernandez slid over from second to shortstop for the final two innings of the contest.

Chang was later diagnosed with “left wrist pain” and underwent further testing in Baltimore on Tuesday. Cora and Co. were hopeful that Chang had avoided injuring his hamate bone (a hook-like structure that forms part of the wrist joint) but that is indeed what happened. He will now undergo surgery on Thursday and will be sidelined for approximately six weeks.

Signed to a one-year, $850,000 deal in February, Chang was brought in to serve as a reserve outfielder on account of his versatility. After Adam Duvall fractured his left wrist on April 9, though, Chang has seen his playing time at shortstop increase as a result of Hernandez logging more innings in center field. Coming into play on Tuesday, Chang had started five straight and 10 of the last 12 games at shortstop for Boston.

Listed at 6-foo-1 and 180 pounds, Chang has been worth three outs above average across 91 innings at shortstop, 18 innings at second base, and two innings at third base. That currently ranks in the 93rd percentile of all big-leaguers, per Baseball Savant.

On the other side of the ball, the right-handed hitting Chang has batted .136/.174/.341 with three home runs, eight RBIs, five runs scored, one stolen base, one walk, and 12 strikeouts in 17 games (47 plate appearances) so far this season. All three of those homers have come within the last 10 days.

Valdez, meanwhile, made his major-league debut at Fenway Park last Wednesday. The 24-year-old went 2-for-4 with a pair of opposite-field singles and a strikeout in a 10-4 loss to the Twins. He also committed a fielding error at second base and spent just one day on the active roster while Chang was out on paternity leave.

Acquired from the Astros alongside outfield prospect Wilyer Abreu in last Augusts’s Christian Vazquez trade, Valdez — a Dominican Republic native — is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 19 prospect in the Red Sox’ farm system. The left-handed hitter is not in Tuesday’s starting lineup.

(Picture of Yu Chang: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)