Tag: Baseball

Red Sox fall to Blue Jays, 2-0, for first loss of spring

The Red Sox suffered their first loss of the spring and were shut out by the Blue Jays on Friday afternoon. Boston fell to Toronto by a final score of 2-0 at JetBlue Park to drop to 9-1-3 in Grapefruit League play.

Corey Kluber, making his third start of the spring for the Sox, was tagged with the losing decision. The veteran right-hander allowed two earned runs on five hits and two walks to go along with three strikeouts over three-plus innings of work.

In both the first and second innings, Kluber allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base. Each time, however, he was able to escape the jam by striking out the side in the first and inducing three straight fly outs in the second.

The third inning was a different story. There, Kluber allowed the first two batters he faced (Orelvis Martinez and Zach Britton) to reach on a double and single, respectively. Rather than get out of the jam this time around, the righty instead surrendered a run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Wynton Bernard.

A similar situation arose in the fourth, as the Blue Jays doubled their lead when Cam Eden led off with a single and promptly scored all the way from first on a Rainer Nunez RBI double that split the gap in right-center field. Nunez proved to be the last Toronto hitter Kluber would face.

The 36-year-old hurler had already thrown 69 pitches to that point, and he was given the hook in favor of Cam Booser out of the Red Sox bullpen. Booser, in turn, prevented any further damage thanks to Caleb Hamilton picking off Nunez at third base. The minor-league left-hander then made way for Ryan Brasier, who made quick work of Toronto in the fifth.

In the sixth, Wyatt Mills was able to maneuver his way around a bases-loaded jam when Rob Refsnyder made a nice sliding, inning-ending catch down the left field line. Oddanier Mosqueda followed by hurling two more scoreless frames before Jake Faria stranded a pair of runners with the help of an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play in the top of the ninth.

To that point in the contest, four different Blue Jays pitchers had combined to hold the Red Sox lineup to just four hits (all singles) through eighth innings. Jimmy Robbins, who had given up a single and a walk in the bottom of the eighth, was also responsible for the latter half of the ninth inning.

Tyler McDonough, who had replaced Refsnyder in left field, reached base on a one-out single off the faux Green Monster. That brought Bobby Dalbec to the plate representing the tying run. Dalbec, however, lined out to second baseman Davis Schneider, who was able to get the ball back to first baseman Cullen Large in time to double up McDonough and thus end the game.

Following Friday’s loss, which took all of two hours and 24 minutes, Boston is now 11-1-3 in all competitions this spring.

Other worthwhile observations:

Raimel Tapia was one of five Red Sox hitters to record a hit on Friday. The 29-year-old went 1-for-2 with a stolen base and is now batting .421 (8-for-19) through seven Grapefruit League contests.

With a fourth-inning single, Adam Duvall broke out of an 0-for-11 slump to begin his Red Sox tenure. Following a 1-for-3 showing on Friday, the center fielder is now batting .071 (1-for-14) this spring.

In three appearances out of the bullpen this spring, Ryan Brasier has allowed one run on one hit, two walks, and three strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings of relief. That is good for an ERA of 2.45 and a WHIP of 0.82. The righty is also holding opposing hitters to an .083 (1-for-12) batting average against.

Next up: Sale Day

The Red Sox will remain in Fort Myers on Saturday and take on the Twins in Game 3 of the 2023 Chairman’s Cup. Left-hander Chris Sale is slated to make his second start of the spring for Boston while right-hander Tyler Mahle is scheduled to start for Minnesota.

With a two-games-to-none lead already in hand, the Red Sox can take home the Chairman’s Cup with another win on Saturday afternoon. First pitch from Hammond Stadium is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

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

How Rob Refsnyder turned his career around in first year with Red Sox

As spring training was drawing to a close in Fort Myers last year, Rob Refsnyder was informed that he would not be breaking camp with the Red Sox.

Refsynder, who signed a minor-league deal with Boston over the winter that included an invite to major-league camp, would instead be reporting to Triple-A Worcester for the start of the 2022 season. Before the big-league club headed to New York for their opening series against the Yankees, though, the 31-year-old journeyman approached Red Sox hitting coach Peter Fatse.

Due to the nature of a lockout-abbreviated camp, Fatse had not been able to spend much time working with Boston’s non-roster invitees in the batting cages of the Fenway South complex. With seemingly nothing to lose, Refsnyder went up to Fatse in hopes of working with him just once before joining the WooSox in Jacksonville.

“I was like you know what, Fatse, everyone speaks so highly of him,” Refsnyder recalled to The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey. “I didn’t get that much time with him, especially as a minor-league signing, so he was available and I went up to him and said, ‘Hey, I’d love to work with you before I leave.'”

That decision would prove to pay off for Refsnyder. On April 4, he and Fatse worked through a self-described “life-changing” hitting session.

Refsnyder, who to that point in his career had played in parts of six major-league seasons for the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays, Rangers, and Twins, had always had difficulties against right-handed pitching. Those struggles could be attributed to the fact that the right-handed hitter had trouble staying inside the ball due to his swing mechanics.

As outlined by McCaffrey, Refsynder had “been hyper-focused on his upper-half movements, but less so on his lower half, which forced him to open up too much on his swing. It was something he was aware of but always struggled to fix.”

During that April 4 hitting session, however, something clicked while Refsnyder was working with Fatse, which allowed him to unlock a new component of his swing.

“Fatse really dumbed it down for me,” Refsnyder said. “He really helped me understand how the lower half should work. It’s super simple stuff, but I was like, ‘Damn.’”

As part of the session, Refsnyder picked up on the notion that if he kept his back heel planted on the ground, his lower half would stay more stable throughout his swing. That, in part, would allow him to get the ball in the air more frequently as opposed to hitting soft singles.

“I would just jump out of my swing and the barrel would drop under plane, and then come up really fast and create top spin,” said Refsnyder. “I think I’ve always been able to control the strike zone OK but I couldn’t do anything with the ball. Fatse unlocked that for me.”

Fatse, for his part, has worked with countless Red Sox hitters since joining the organization as an assistant hitting coach in October 2021. When speaking with McCaffrey, though, the Western Mass. native was able to remember that particular day with Refsnyder rather quickly.

“It was honestly probably more talking than hitting,” Fatse said. “I basically put together almost like a four-part iMovie of the drills and said, ‘Boom, do this, this, this and go.’ Let that be your fallback whenever you feel you need something, go back to this. These things are your staples in terms of your routine.

“The thing that stands out about that time to me,” he added, “it was the physical element of the swing, but it was the mental, like, ‘You’re going to help us. We need you to be locked and loaded when it’s your time,’ and to his credit, if it helped him, great, but he was ready to go when it was his time. He set the league on fire in Triple-A.”

With a condensed, four-minute video of his session with Fatse saved on his phone as a helpful reference, Refsnyder made his WooSox debut on April 5. While coordinating with hitting coach Rich Gedman and assistant hitting coach Mike Montville, he set the International League on fire by hitting safely in 10 of his first 11 games. He was then called up by the Red Sox when the club was dealing with a COVID outbreak in late April.

Upon returning to Worcester, Refsnyder picked up where he left off. By early June, he was batting a stout .306/.429/.524 with 14 doubles, six home runs, 28 RBIs, and 31 runs scored in 42 games. Around that same time, injuries began to pile up for the Red Sox. And so Refsnyder had his contract selected from Triple-A on June 8.

From that point forward, Refsnyder did not return to Worcester and instead put together the best year of his big-league career. In the process of registering a career-high 177 plate appearances over 57 games, Refsnyder slashed .307/.384/.497 with 11 doubles, six home runs, 21 RBIs, 25 runs scored, one stolen base, 15 walks, and 46 strikeouts. He also hit .308 as a pinch-hitter and posted a respectable .792 OPS off right-handed pitching.

On the other side of the ball, Refsnyder saw playing time at all three outfield positions for the Red Sox last year. The 6-foot, 205-pounder started 16 games in right, 13 in center, and two in left while ranking in the 90th percentile of all big-leaguers in arm strength (averaged 91.3 mph on his throws), per Baseball Savant.

In November, the Red Sox avoided arbitration with Refsnyder by signing him to a $1.2 million deal for the 2023 season. It might not seem that noteworthy on the surface, but it actually marked the first time in Refsnyder’s career that he had agreed to a guaranteed contract.

“This offseason, my wife and I celebrated our first guaranteed contract,” Refsnyder said in a recent interview with Red Sox Productions. “I always got to a point where I was like, ‘I wonder what this is going to feel like? If it’s going to feel any different.’ It’s almost like even more of a driving factor. It’s like, ‘Wow, a team has put a little bit of confidence in you. You better work your [expletive] off. You better live up to it or do the best you can trying to.”

Refsnyder, who turns 32 later this month, figures to serve as a fourth outfielder who fares well against lefties for Boston this season behind the likes of Masataka Yoshida, Adam Duvall, and Alex Verdugo. He will surely be looking to build off the momentum he gained in 2022 by taking another step forward this year.

Looking back, though, Refsnyder is in a much better place than he was 11 months ago. After being informed that he would not make the Red Sox’ Opening Day roster, Refsnyder told McCaffrey that he was at a crossroads and was even contemplating retirement.

Now, thanks in part to a memorable session in the cages with his hitting coach last April, Refsnyder is on track to head north with the Red Sox this time around.

“That session with Fatse really changed my life, to be honest,” said Refsnyder. “I still have it on my phone and it’s my favorite video when I’m not going well to look up.”

(Picture of Rob Refsnyder: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Rafael Devers will not play first base for Dominican Republic in World Baseball Classic

The Red Sox do not want third baseman Rafael Devers playing out of position at the World Baseball Classic.

As was first reported by Enrique Rojas of ESPN, the Dominican Republic recently reached out to the Red Sox about using Devers at first base in the upcoming tournament.

With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. dropping out of the WBC due to a right knee injury and Juan Soto dealing with left calf tightness, the Dominican Republic had a plan to slide Devers over to first and slot Soto in at designated hitter in an effort to keep him off his feet.

Before that plan was put into place, though, the Red Sox dumped cold water on it. According to Rojas, manager Alex Cora reached out to his Dominican counterpart, Rodney Linares, on Wednesday to explain why Boston rejected the national team’s proposal. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was also involved in the conversation.

“We made a big investment with Raffy and for us in the organization, it doesn’t make sense for him to play first base,” Cora said (in Spanish). “Raffy called me to talk about it and he understands our position.”

The Red Sox, of course, signed Devers to a 10-year, $313.5 million contract extension back in January that runs through the 2033 season. In terms of number of years and total value, it is the largest contract the club has ever given out in its storied history.

Since first signing with Boston as an international free agent coming out the Dominican in August 2013, Devers has never played first base at any level professionally. The Red Sox do not want the 26-year-old learning a new position on the fly while he is away from the team.

“It’s something that doesn’t make sense to us,” Cora told reporters (including The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham) on Thursday. “I know [some Dominican players] got hurt, but there’s a reason the people who got hurt aren’t playing, right? We have to protect our guy and they understand that.”

Because Manny Machado is penciled in as the Dominican Republic’s starting third baseman, Devers could find himself starting games on the bench if Soto is the primary designated hitter.

“When you have good players, you have to make tough decisions. Raffy’s on board,” said Cora. “He’s just happy to be part of the team and ready to contribute whenever they put his name in the lineup. But it’s not going to be at first base.”

Devers, who is playing in his first WBC, came off the bench as a defensive replacement in Thursday’s exhibition game against the Twins in Fort Myers. The left-handed hitter went 0-for-1 with a groundout in the eighth inning of a 2-1 loss.

The Dominican Republic will open pool play against Venezuela at loanDepot Park in Miami on Saturday night. They will also take on Nicaragua, Israel, and Puerto Rico and will need to finish first or second in their group in order to advance to the quarterfinal.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Narciso Crook goes deep twice, leads power surge for Red Sox in 11-7 win over Yankees

The Red Sox went deep six times en route to a high-scoring win over the Yankees on Thursday afternoon. In the first of 15 meetings between the two rivals this year, Boston defeated New York by a final score of 11-7 at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

With Clarke Schmidt starting for the Yankees, the Red Sox jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in their half of the second inning. After Reese McGuire reached base via a one-out single, Narciso Crook got his side on the board first by crushing a 327-foot two-run home run down the right field line.

Nick Pivetta, who was making his second start of the spring for Boston, had already worked a scoreless first inning. But the right-hander ran into some trouble in the second after issuing a pair of walks to Josh Donaldson and Rafael Ortega. He then gave up a game-tying, two-run single to Jose Trevino.

Having already thrown 33 pitches in the second inning alone, Pivetta was pulled by Red Sox manager Alex Cora with two outs. Ryan Miller, who was acquired from the Yankees in the minor-league phase of December’s Rule 5 Draft, was called upon on to record the final out of the second. Pivetta’s day, however, was not yet over.

After Schmidt stranded one runner in the top of the third, Pivetta came back out for the bottom half of the inning. The 30-year-old hurler surrendered a leadoff single to Aaron Judge but ended his afternoon on a more positive note by fanning Anthony Rizzo on five pitches.

All told, Pivetta allowed two earned runs on three hits and three walks to go along with two strikeouts over two total innings of work. He finished with 57 pitches (34 strikes) and averaged 94.7 mph with his four-seam fastball while inducing four swings-and-misses.

Durbin Feltman took over Pivetta with one out in the third and stranded the lone runner he inherited by inducing a pair of groundouts. He was responsible for the fourth inning as well, but he gave up a one-out double to Oswald Peraza and allowed him to score the then-go-ahead run on two wild pitches while Trevino was at the plate.

Following a scoreless fifth inning from Zack Kelly, though, the Red Sox erupted for six runs in the top of the sixth. Facing off against old friend Tyler Danish, minor-league outfielder Tyler Dearden clubbed a 422-foot solo shot to right-center field to lead things off. After Ceddanne Rafaela reached base with one out, Daniel Palka delivered with a 375-foot homer of his own that put Boston up, 5-3.

Niko Goodrum and McGuire then reached on back-to-back singles before Crook came through with his second big fly of the day. This one left his bat at a blistering 105.3 mph and was deposited 424 feet over the left field wall. The sharply-hit three-run blast gave the Red Sox some breathing room in the form of an 8-3 lead.

Kelly remained in for the bottom of the sixth and retired the final three batters he faced. Eddinson Paulino, who pinch-ran for Enmanuel Valdez the inning prior, led off the seventh inning by launching a 389-foot home run off new Yankees reliever Demarcus Evans. Chase Shugart was next up out of the bullpen after Kelly and also faced the minimum while punching out top prospect Jasson Dominguez in the latter half of the seventh.

After Norwith Gudino put up another zero in the eighth, the Red Sox made sure to make their last at-bats count in the ninth. Christian Koss drew a leadoff walk off Randy Vazquez. Three batters later, Phillip Sikes capped off the scoring by drilling a 395-foot two-run homer that had an exit velocity of 105.7 mph to right field.

Taking a commanding 11-3 advantage into the bottom of the ninth, Gudino served up a pair of home runs (including a three-run shot to Dominguez), but he was ultimately able to hang on and secure an 11-7 victory for the Red Sox.

With the win, which took two hours and 47 minutes to complete, Boston improves to 9-0-3 in Grapefruit League play and 11-0-3 in all competitions this spring.

Other worthwhile observations:

Batting out of the nine-hole and starting in left field on Thursday, Dearden went 2-for-3 with his sixth-inning home run. The 24-year-old was originally selected by the Red Sox in the 29th round of the 2017 amateur draft.

McGuire and Crook went a combined 4-for-6 on Thursday with five RBIs and four runs scored between them.

Next up: Kluber starts against Blue Jays

The Red Sox will return to Fort Myers on Friday afternoon to host the Blue Jays at JetBlue Park. Veteran right-hander Corey Kluber will get the start for Boston opposite fellow righty Zach Thompson for Toronto.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Narciso Crook: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Joely Rodríguez strikes out side in spring debut as Red Sox best Team Puerto Rico, 9-3

The Red Sox changed things up at JetBlue Park on Wednesday night by hosting Team Puerto Rico in an exhibition game ahead of the World Baseball Classic. Playing under the lights and in front of a boisterous crowd of 8,715, Boston defeated Team Puerto Rico by a final score of 9-3.

Matched up against veteran starter Hector Santiago to begin things on Wednesday, the Sox drew first blood in their half of the first inning. After leading off with a single, moving up to second base on a passed ball, and advancing to third on a groundout, Greg Allen easily scored from third on a two-out RBI single off the bat of Raimel Tapia.

On the other side of things, Brandon Walter made his first start and third overall appearance of the spring for Boston. Going up against an opposing lineup that featured big-leaguers such as Francisco Lindor, Enrique Hernandez, Eddie Rosario, Javier Baez, and Christian Vazquez, the left-hander wound up allowing one earned run on one hit and three walks to go along with two strikeouts over 2 1/3 innings of work.

Walter got through the first and second innings without any trouble by retiring the first six batters he faced. Things began to unravel in the third, when he issued a one-out walk to Nelson Velazquez. Martin Maldonado followed by driving in Velazquez all the way from first on a hard-hit double off the faux Green Monster in left field.

The 26-year-old southpaw gave up two more walks to Lindor and Hernandez before getting the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora in favor of Robert Kwiatkowski. Kwiatkowski, in turn, escaped the bases-loaded jam by getting Rosario to ground into an inning-ending 6-3 double play.

Christian Koss, who started that twin killing, led off the bottom of the third with a groundball single off new reliever Dominic Hamel. The 25-year-old shortstop promptly moved up to second on an inadvertent pickoff attempt before taking third on a wild pitch. He then gave Boston a 2-1 lead by scoring from third on a Triston Casas groundout.

After Chris Martin and Kaleb Ort combined for two scoreless frames out of the Red Sox bullpen, Casas collected his second RBI of the night in the bottom of the fifth. Jorge Alfaro had led the inning off by drawing a walk off Duane Underwood Jr. He then moved up to second on a Koss single and to third on an Allen force out before Casas drove him in on a sacrifice fly to make it a 3-1 game.

Joely Rodriguez was responsible for the sixth inning. In what was his spring debut, the 31-year-old lefty struck out Baez, Vazquez, and M.J. Melendez in short order. Fellow offseason Wyatt Mills followed suit in the seventh by working his way around a leadoff double and punching out the side as well.

In the latter half of the seventh, the Red Sox lineup erupted for six runs. Enmanuel Valdez drew a leadoff walk off Emilio Pagan and then scored all the way from first on an RBI triple off the bat of the speedy David Hamilton. Marcus Wilson drew a walk himself and stole second base, which put runners at second and third for Daniel Palka, who plated both runners on a two-run double down the left field line.

Palka then came in to score from second on a Ceddanne Rafaela single that was misplayed by third baseman Emmanuel Rivera. Because of Rivera’s throwing error, Rafaela was able to move into scoring position. At that point, Team Puerto Rico had already run through all the pitchers they wanted to use. To accommodate the opposition, Cora had loaned opposing manager Yadier Molina some of his own pitchers in case they were needed.

So, in came minor-leaguer Jake Thompson to replace Pagan. Thompson, a former fourth-round draft pick out of Oregon State in 2017, immediately surrendered a double to Narciso Crook. The pinch-hitting Matthew Lugo followed by drawing a walk, which filled the bases with only one out in the inning.

Nick Sogard drove in Rafaela with a groundout before Valdez drove in Crook with a single moments later. That sequence of events gave the Red Sox a commanding 9-1 lead heading into the eighth. Team Puerto Rico was able to get one of those runs back, though, as Ryan Sherriff yielded a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to Melendez in the top half of the frame.

Another interesting thing took place in the bottom of the eighth. Lugo, who had already registered a plate appearance with the Red Sox, came on as a defensive replacement at third base for Team Puerto Rico. Lugo, who was born in Manati and is the nephew of former All-Star outfielder Carlos Beltran, did not see any balls hit his way while Jorge Lopez struck out the side.

Casey Cobb, meanwhile, took over for Sherriff in the ninth. He served up a leadoff homer to Velazquez before going up against Lugo, who he fanned on four pitches. He then retired Henry Ramos and Johneshwy Fargas to put the finishing touches on a 9-3 victory for Boston.

Jansen scratched:

Kenley Jansen was scheduled to pitch on Wednesday but was scratched from the Red Sox’ plans as a result of feeling under the weather. He will instead throw an inning on the back fields of the Fenway South Complex in Fort Myers on Thursday.

Other worthwhile observations:

To recap, Lugo played for both the Red Sox and Team Puerto Rico on Wednesday night. Between them, the 21-year-old went 0-for-1 with a walk and strikeout.

Koss, on the other hand, went 2-for-2 with a run scored. He also made a nice play in the hole at shortstop to throw out Rivera at first base for the final out of the fourth inning.

With no pitch clock or shift restrictions in place, Wednesday’s contest took two hours and 56 minutes to complete.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Schmidt

Though Wednesday’s win does not count towards their record, the Red Sox are still unbeaten this spring. They will resume Grapefruit League play by taking on the Yankees in Tampa on Thursday afternoon. Nick Pivetta is slated to take the mound for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Clarke Schmidt for New York.

First pitch from George M. Steinbrenner Field is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN360 and YES Network.

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

Former Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland announces retirement, joins team as guest instructor at spring training

Former Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland has officially announced his retirement from baseball, he told WEEI’s Rob Bradford on Tuesday.

“I’m retired,” Moreland said. “There you go. I’m done. I’m done playing. I’ve enjoyed the family life too much in the last year and a half. Being there for my kids. It got to the point where they were away from me during the season and in school. I wanted to be there for them, and be around the family more.”

Moreland, 37, spent parts of four seasons (2017-2020) with the Red Sox after originally signing with the club as a free agent in November 2016. Coming off a Gold Glove Award-winning campaign with Texas, Moreland quickly endeared himself to fans in Boston and earned the nickname “Mitchy Two Bags” thanks to his propensity for hitting doubles.

After a solid debut season with the Red Sox, Moreland was named an All-Star for the first time in his career in 2018. He then helped Boston win the World Series that October, most notably hitting a pinch-hit, three-run home run in the seventh inning of Game 4 against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. The Red Sox went on win that game by a final score of 9-6 and ultimately won the series in five games.

All told, Moreland batted .251/.332/.471 with 78 doubles, 64 home runs, 226 RBIs, and 321 runs scored in 386 games (1,449 plate appearances) with the Red Sox. The left-handed hitter was dealt to the Padres at the 2020 trade deadline for prospects Hudson Potts and Jeisson Rosario. He then spent the 2021 season with the Athletics, though he was limited to just 81 games in Oakland due to three separate stints on the injured list.

Moreland did not play at all in 2022 and had yet to sign with a team for the 2023 season, which made his retirement more of a formality than anything. That being said, the Mississippi State product hangs up his cleats after 12 big-league seasons in which he slashed .251/.318/.446 with 186 homers and 618 RBIs in 1,260 career games (4,536 plate appearances) between the Rangers, Red Sox, Padres, and Athletics.

Though his playing days may now be behind him, Moreland has been at Red Sox camp in Fort Myers this week serving as a guest instructor, joining other former players like David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, and Mike Lowell in doing so. The opportunity was presented to him by chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and manager Alex Cora.

“I had a couple conversations with AC, Chaim in the offseason. It’s kind of been in the works,” said Moreland. “They asked me if I would be interested in coming into camp for a few days, being around the guys, and just kind of take it in and see this side of it a little bit too. I thought it was a great opportunity. I obviously loved my time here, loved the group. It was great to see everybody. I jumped on the opportunity, and happy to be here.

“I knew I was going to like it,” he added. “I was excited about the opportunity to come down and just to be around the guys, see some of the familiar faces that I hadn’t seen in a while. Just catch up, really. So I’ve talked to a few of the guys, met some new people, and just trying to enjoy my time while I’m here.”

Moreland becomes the latest member of the 2018 Red Sox to retire, joining the likes of Pedroia, Rick Porcello, Brock Holt, Steve Pearce, Eduardo Nunez, Ian Kinsler, and David Price. Only three players from that historically dominant team (Chris Sale, Ryan Brasier, and Rafael Devers) are still with Boston. Moreland will have the chance to reconnect with each of them and make new connections while he is at camp.

“I’m here strictly to hang out with the guys, and if I can help someone along the way, and if anybody has any questions for me, I’d obviously be an open book for them,” he said. “Just catch up with old teammates and staff, and help any way I can.”

(Picture of Mitch Moreland: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Triston Casas and Christian Arroyo combine for 4 hits, Tanner Houck records 4 strikeouts as Red Sox top Braves, 10-2

An hour-long bus ride from Fort Myers to North Port could not prevent the Red Sox from rolling over the Braves on Tuesday night. Boston defeated Atlanta by a final score of 10-2 at CoolToday Park to improve to 8-0-3 in Grapefruit League play.

Tanner Houck, making his second start of the spring for the Red Sox, was able to bounce back from a shaky 2023 debut last Thursday. Although the right-hander gave up two runs on three hits and two walks, he also struck out four of the 13 batters he faced over three innings.

Both of the runs Houck gave up came on one swing of the bat in the third inning. After stranding one runner in the first and facing the minimum in the second, the 26-year-old issued a leadoff walk to Marcell Ozuna to begin the third. He followed that up by serving a booming two-run home run to Kevin Pillar, which gave the Braves an early 2-0 lead.

Houck walked another batter, but he managed to escape any further damage in what would prove to be his third and final frame of work. The righty finished his evening having thrown 41 pitches. He also committed two pitch clock violations.

Though the Red Sox found themselves trailing 2-0 heading into the fourth, they quickly got both of those runs back with some added insurance. After being held in check by Braves starter (and New Bedford native) Jared Shuster, Boston mounted a rally against veteran reliever Jesse Chaves. A leadoff walk from Rob Refsnyder and a groundball single from Triston Casas put runners on the corners for Christian Arroyo, who drove in his side’s first run on a sharply-hit single of his own.

Bobby Dalbec then nearly grounded into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play, but his groundball was misplayed by Braves shortstop Vaughn Grissom, which allowed all three of Casas, Arroyo, and Dalbec to reach base safely. Reese McGuire capitalized on that fielding error by plating Casas from third on a sacrifice fly to right field. Daniel Palka followed with a line-drive single off new reliever Victor Vodnik to drive in Arroyo. Dalbec scored the fourth and final run of the inning when Ceddanne Rafaela grounded into a force out at second and beat the throw at first.

In relief of Houck, Bryan Mata received the first call out of the Boston bullpen. Mata, the organization’s top pitching prospect, worked his way around a Sam Hilliard double in an otherwise clean fourth inning. The Red Sox then tacked on two more runs in their half of the fifth on back-to-back two-out RBI doubles from Casas and Arroyo. Mata, meanwhile, retired the side in order in the latter half of the fifth and capped off his outing by fanning Matt Olson.

The Red Sox and Braves proceeded to trade zeroes over the next two innings. John Schreiber walked the first two batters he faced in the sixth but got out of trouble by getting Michael Harris II to ground into a 5-4-3 double play and Grissom to fly out to right field. Schreiber recorded the first two outs of the seventh as well before making way for Matt Dermody, who punched out Forrest Wall to end the frame.

To lead off the eighth inning, Stephen Scott — who replaced McGuire at catcher in the middle of the seventh — came through by taking Brian Moran way deep to right field for his first home run of the spring. Dermody then struck out two more Braves in the bottom of the inning before the Red Sox put up a three-spot in the ninth.

With one out and one runner (Gilberto Jimenez) on, Atlanta reliever Danny Young plunked Ryan Fitzgerald and Eddinson Paulino in consecutive order. That loaded the bases for Nick Sogard, who promptly scored Jimenez and Fitzgerald on a two-run single to left field. Paulino, who advanced to third on the play, then scored his side’s 10th and final run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Scott.

Taking a commanding 10-2 lead into the last of the ninth, Dermody sat down the final three Braves hitters he faced in short order to secure yet another spring victory for the Red Sox. This one took two hours and 27 minutes to complete.

Other notable observations:

Out of the bullpen, Mata, Schreiber, and Dermody combined to strike out six of the 20 batters they faced while combining for six scoreless innings of relief.

Jimenez and David Hamilton, two of the fastest prospects in the organization, each stole a base and scored a run in Tuesday’s win.

Batting third and fourth in starting lineup, Casas and Arroyo went a combined 4-for-7 with three RBIs, three runs scored, and one walk (which belonged to Casas). Palka also went 2-for-3 while driving in a run out of the seven-hole.

Next up: Taking on Team Puerto Rico

The Red Sox will take on Team Puerto Rico in an exhibition contest on Wednesday night ahead of the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Left-handed pitching prospect Brandon Walter will get the start for Boston. It is not yet known who he will be going up against.

Regardless, first pitch from JetBlue Park is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

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

After being hit in face by pitch, Red Sox’ Justin Turner tweets: ‘I’m going to be back out on the field as soon as possible!’

After being hit in the face by a pitch in Monday’s Grapefruit League game against the Tigers, Red Sox infielder Justin Turner took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to provide an update on how he was doing.

“Thanks to everyone for all the messages and prayers!” Turner tweeted. “I’m feeling very fortunate to come out of yesterday with no breaks & all my chiclets in tact. The [Red Sox] medical staff and [Lee Health] have been absolutely amazing & I’m going to be back out on the field as soon as possible!”

In the first inning of Monday’s contest at JetBlue Park, Turner took the first pitch he saw from Tigers right-hander Matt Manning — a fastball — off the left side of his face. The 38-year-old immediately fell to the ground and was quickly tended to by Red Sox manager Alex Cora and head trainer Brandon Henry.

Though he was bleeding heavily, Turner was able to get back on his feet under his own power and walked off the field while Henry held a towel to his face. He was then transported via ambulance to a Fort Myers-area hospital, where he received 16 stitches, according to his wife, Kourtney Turner. Kourtney also relayed on Twitter that her husband had a lot of swelling, but he had no fractures and his scans came back clean.

Turner was discharged from the hospital on Monday night and is back at home resting. When speaking with reporters (including The Eagle-Tribune’s Mac Cerullo) on Tuesday afternoon, Cora confirmed that there were no fractures and revealed that chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom visited Turner earlier in the morning.

“We were lucky,” Cora said. “He’s in good spirits, actually Chaim visited him this morning. Obviously the big laceration and the stitches and all that, but besides that … like I said, we’re lucky.”

Cora added that Manning’s pitch hit Turner right next to his nose and right under his left eye. He could not provide a specific timetable for when Turner could return to action, but it sounds like the worst-case scenario has been avoided.

Turner, a veteran of 14 major-league seasons, joined the Red Sox as a free agent in January after a decorated tenure with the Dodgers. The two-time All-Star signed a one-year deal with Boston that guarantees him $15 million and includes a player option for 2024.

With J.D. Martinez leaving the Red Sox for the Dodgers in free agency earlier this winter, Turner is expected to take over as Boston’s primary designated hitter in 2023. As a right-handed hitter, Turner could also complement Triston Casas and Rafael Devers — who both hit from the left side of the plate — and first and third base, respectively.

Since Opening Day (March 30 against the Orioles) is just over three weeks away, Turner’s status will be something worth monitoring as spring training continues.

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

Red Sox’ Justin Turner taken to hospital after after being hit in face by pitch

UPDATE: Turner’s wife, Kourtney, tweets that her husband has been discharged from the hospital and is back at home resting. She adds that Turner received 16 stitches and while there is a lot of swelling, there are no fractures and all scans came back clean.

In the first inning of Monday’s 7-1 win over the Tigers at JetBlue Park, Red Sox infielder Justin Turner left the game after taking a pitch from Detroit starter Matt Manning off the face.

Turner, who was batting third and starting at first base, took the first pitch he saw from Manning off the left side of his face with no outs in the third. The 38-year-old immediately fell to the ground and was tended to by Red Sox manager Alex Cora and head athletic trainer Brandon Henry.

Although he was bleeding heavily, Turner never appeared to lose consciousness. He was able to get back on his feet and walk off the field while Henry held a towel to his face. Niko Kavadas then came on to pinch-run for Turner, who was taken by ambulance to a Fort Myers-area hospital for treatment shortly thereafter.

At approximately 3:19 p.m. eastern time, the Red Sox issued an update regarding Turner’s status. It read: “Justin Turner was taken to a local hospital after being hit in the face by a pitch. He is receiving treatment for soft tissue injuries and is being monitored for a concussion. He will undergo further testing, and we’ll update as we have more information. Justin is stable, alert and in good spirits given the circumstances.”

Following Monday’s Grapefruit League contest, Cora reiterated to reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) that Turner was alert and in good spirits. He then indicated that Manning’s pitch hit Turner somewhere between the nose and just above the mouth.

“Anything that is above the shoulders, it’s always scary,” Cora said. “So you hear [it], you go and you just react. There was a lot of blood there. So it was just like, ‘Let’s get everybody there and try to help him out.’ He was coherent.”

Manning, for his part, apologized for what happened when speaking with members of the Detroit media (including Chris McCosky of The Detroit News). The 25-year-old right-hander took responsibility and relayed that he did not intend to hit Turner.

“Just a complete accident. The ball got away from me,” Manning said. “I got a swing and miss on a ball up in the zone and tried to go back to it. It got away from me. I definitely want to apologize to him and let him know it wasn’t intentional.”

As of now, it is not yet clear how much time, if any, Turner will miss following Monday’s incident. the Red Sox signed the former Dodgers star to a a one-year deal back in January that comes with $15 million in guaranteed money and a player option for 2024.

Coming into camp this spring, Turner projected to be Boston’s starting designated hitter and a right-handed hitting option at first and third base to complement the left-handed hitting duo of Triston Casas and Rafael Devers.

Since Opening Day is just weeks away now, what transpired on Monday could throw a wrench into those plans. With that being said, it seems likely that more information pertaining to Turner’s health will be made available at some point before Tuesday night’s game against the Braves in North Port.

“Hopefully he’s OK and he can join us sooner rather than later,” said Cora.

(Picture of Justin Turner: Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Chris Sale hurls two scoreless innings in spring debut as Red Sox roll past Tigers in 7-1 win

Powered by a four-run first inning, the Red Sox continued their winning ways this spring by taking care of business against the Tigers on Monday. Boston defeated Detroit by a final score of 7-1 at JetBlue Park to remain unbeaten and improve to 7-0-3 in Grapefruit League play.

Despite the strong showing from the lineup out of the gate, Chris Sale was undoubtedly the headliner in Monday’s win. Making his first start of the spring and his first start of any kind since last July, the veteran left-hander scattered two hits and zero walks to go along with two strikeouts over two scoreless innings of work.

Sale began his day by giving up a leadoff single to Matt Vierling to begin things in the top of the first. He then got Riley Greene to ground into a force out at second base before getting Javier Baez to fly out to center field. Greene successfully stole second to put a runner in scoring position with two outs, but Sale stranded him there by fanning Eric Haase.

In the bottom of the first, the first three Red Sox hitters to face Tigers starter Matt Manning all reached to fill the bases with no outs. Adam Duvall then plated his side’s first run on a sacrifice fly to center and Raimel Tapia followed by lacing an RBI ground-rule double into the triangle. Jorge Alfaro capped off the four-run frame by scoring both Niko Kavadas and Tapia on a two-run single that was misplayed by Greene in right.

Taking a 4-0 lead into the second, Sale picked up where he left off by nonchalantly recording the first two outs of the inning. He then gave up a two-out single to Zach Short, but ended the frame himself by getting Nick Maton to ground out to him in front of the pitcher’s mound.

All told, 24 of the 31 pitches Sale threw on Monday went for strikes. The 33-year-old southpaw retired six of the eight batters he faced and reached 95-96 mph with his fastball, according to the JetBlue Park radar gun.

In relief of Sale, Ryan Brasier got the first call out of the Boston bullpen and worked his way around a one-out walk of Vierling in the top of the third. The Red Sox then added to their lead in the latter half of the inning when Tapia took Tigers reliever Brendan White deep to right field for his first home run of the spring.

After Brasier got the first two outs of the fourth, Taylor Broadway took over and tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings of his own through the middle of the fifth. Zack Kelly saw the shutout bid come to an end when he served up a leadoff homer to Greene in the sixth, but the Red Sox quickly responded by pushing across two more runs.

Niko Goodrum reached base on a two-out single off Mason Englert and promptly scored all the way from first on an RBI double off the bat of Kavadas. Fellow 2021 draftee Tyler McDonough followed that up by driving in Kavadas and simultaneously displaying his speed on a run-scoring triple off the center field wall.

That sequence of events gave the Red Sox a commanding 7-1 lead going into the seventh. Three different relievers kept the score that way as Jake Faria struck out two of the three Tigers he faced, Durbin Feltman maneuvered his way around a two-out walk, in an otherwise clean eighth inning, and Norwith Gudino stranded two runners by punching out the side in the ninth.

Turner’s scare:

Before the Red Sox mounted their four-run rally in the first inning, a scary moment arose while Justin Turner was at the plate for his first at-bat of the afternoon. On the first pitch he saw from Manning, Turner took a fastball to the face and fell down immediately with blood spewing from his mouth.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora and head athletic trainer Brandon Henry immediately tended to Turner, who was conscious and left the field under his own power while holding a towel to his face. The 38-year-old was transported to a local hospital in Fort Myers and was replaced at first base by Kavadas.

Other observations:

Alfaro and Tapia combined to go 5-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored in Monday’s contest, which took two hours and 31 minutes to complete. The two non-roster invitees are hitting .700 (7-for-10) and .412 (7-for-17) this spring, respectively.

Next up: Houck looks to rebound

The Red Sox will travel to North Port to take on the Braves at CoolToday Park on Tuesday evening. Right-hander Tanner Houck is slated to make his second start of the spring for Boston while left-hander Jared Shuster will take the mound for Atlanta.

First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

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