Tag: boston

Red Sox muster just 3 hits off Alek Manoah in 1-0 loss to Blue Jays

The Red Sox had an opportunity to salvage a series split against the Blue Jays but, much like their lineup, were unable to take advantage of it. Boston fell to Toronto by a final score of 1-0 at Rogers Centre to lose the four-game series and drop to 8-12 on the season.

Garrett Whitlock, making his second start and sixth overall appearance of the year for the Sox, was not as sharp as he was in his last time out but was still effective nonetheless. The right-hander allowed just one unearned run on four hits and two walks to go along with two strikeouts over three innings of work.

The lone run the Jays scored off Whitlock came as a result of a Christian Arroyo fielding error in the bottom of the third inning. Lourdes Gurriel reached base on Arroyo’s miscue, advanced to second base on a walk drawn by Raimel Tapia, and scored from second on a two-out RBI single off the bat of Alejandro Kirk.

Kirk’s run-scoring base hit gave Toronto an early 1-0 lead and was the precursor to Whitlock’s day ending once he recorded the final out of the third. Of the 61 pitches the 25-year-old hurler threw on Thursday, 41 went for strikes. He threw 37 sinkers, 17 sliders, and seven changeups.

In relief of Whitlock, Austin Davis received the first call from manager Alex Cora out of the Boston bullpen in the middle of the fourth. The left-hander notched the first two outs of the frame and issued one walk before making way for John Schreiber, who ended things in the fourth while also working his way around a two-out double in an otherwise clean fifth inning.

Ryan Brasier and Matt Barnes followed with a scoreless frame each in the sixth and seventh, while Hansel Robles sat down the side in order in the eighth.

To that point in the contest, a Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez-less Red Sox lineup had already squandered multiple scoring chances against Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah.

It took until the fifth inning for a Boston batter to get into scoring position when Arroyo reached base via a one-out single and immediately stole second. He was, however, stranded there after Bobby Dalbec and Travis Shaw both struck out swinging to extinguish the threat.

Fast forward to the seventh, and Enrique Hernandez led the inning off with his eighth double of the season. With Manoah seemingly on the ropes, Bradley Jr. advanced Hernandez to third on a softly-hit groundout, but neither Arroyo nor Dalbec could drive him in.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth with Jordan Romano on the mound for Toronto, Alex Verdugo grounded out to second, and Rafael Devers laced a 100.3 mph single back up the middle to put the tying run on base for Hernandez, who hit the ball hard himself but right into Gurriel’s glove in right field. Bradley Jr., on the other hand, struck out on four pitches to seal the 1-0 defeat for Boston.

All told, Red Sox hitters went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left five runners on base as a team en route to losing three out of four to the Blue Jays north of the border.

Next up: On to Baltimore

The Red Sox will now conclude their lengthy road trip with a three-game weekend series in Baltimore that begins on Friday night. Veteran left-hander Rich Hill will get the start for Boston in the opener and will be piggybacked by Tanner Houck. The Orioles have yet to announce who will be starting for them opposite Hill.

Regardless, first pitch from Camden Yards on Friday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Alek Manoah: Joshua Bessex/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox claim Jaylin Davis off waivers from Giants, option outfielder to Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have claimed outfielder Jaylin Davis off waivers from the San Francisco Giants, the club announced earlier Thursday afternoon. A corresponding move was not needed since Boston had an opening on their 40-man roster.

Davis, 27, was designated for assignment by San Francisco last week after the Giants acquired right-hander Cory Abbott from the Cubs. Boston has optioned him to Triple-A Worcester.

A former 24th-round draft choice of the Twins out of Appalachian State University in 2015, Davis was dealt to the Giants in the same trade that sent Sam Dyson to Minnesota at the 2019 trade deadline. The North Carolina native made his major-league debut for San Francisco that September and appeared in 26 big-league contests with the club from 2019 to 2021.

In that 26-game span, the right-handed hitting Davis has batted .159/.221/.270 with one double, two home runs, four RBIs, five runs scored, one stolen base, three walks, and 18 strikeouts over 68 total trips to the plate. He has also seen playing time at both corner outfield positions with 139 1/3 of his 147 1/3 career defensive innings coming in right.

After failing to make the Giants’ Opening Day roster out of spring training this year, Davis was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento, where he hit .295/.340/.500 (109 wRC+) to go along with three doubles, two homers, seven RBIs, 10 runs scored, three stolen bases, three walks, and 14 strikeouts over 10 games (47 plate appearances) with the River Cats.

Listed at 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, Davis, who turns 28 in July, should provide the Red Sox with some intriguing outfield depth in Worcester given the fact he has plus speed and power. It also helps that he has one minor-league option year remaining.

While Boston did not need to make a corresponding move to accommodate the addition of Davis on Thursday, they will need to make room on their 40-man roster on Friday when Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford are activated from the restricted list in Baltimore.

(Picture of Jaylin Davis: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Baseball America’s latest mock draft has Red Sox selecting prep outfielder Justin Crawford with top pick

In his latest 2022 mock draft for Baseball America, Carlos Collazo has the Red Sox selecting Bishop Gorman High School outfielder Justin Crawford with their top pick at No. 24 overall.

Crawford, Collazo writes is “a premium position player with professional bloodlines who has taken a step forward with his strength after the offseason. He’s an elite runner who should provide plenty of defensive value and he’s got a nice swing with power potential.”

The son of former Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford, Justin is regarded by Baseball America as the 29th-ranked draft-eligible prospect in this year’s class. He is set to graduate from the baseball powerhouse in Las Vegas that is Bishop Gorman High School, which has produced the likes of Joey Gallo as well as 2020 first-rounder Austin Wells.

Crawford, who turned 18 in January, is listed at 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds and has a projectable frame. In 30 games played for Bishop Gorman this spring, the left-handed hitter has batted .451/.529/.804 with 11 doubles, five triples, five home runs, 30 RBIs, 44 runs scored, 13 stolen bases, 15 walks, and five strikeouts over 121 plate appearances.

Per his Baseball America scouting report, Crawford is “a great runner now with long and fluid strides and has posted exceptional run times in the 60-yard dash. He’s at least a 70-grade runner and should be able to cover massive swaths of ground in center field.”

MLB Pipeline, which has Crawford as their No. 37 draft prospect, notes that the left-handed hitting outfielder “has very good bat-to-ball skills” and is willing to make adjustments. He also “has the chance to be a plus defender in center field when all is said and done.”

A native of Nevada himself, Crawford is currently committed to play college baseball for the esteemed Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. It may take quite the signing bonus to sway him away from his commitment even if he is taken in the first round of this summer’s draft, which begins on July 17.

In prior mock drafts, the Red Sox have been linked to high school infielders, a college catcher, a college outfielder, and a college pitcher. The last time Boston used a first-round pick on a natural prep outfielder was 2009, when they took Rey Fuentes out of Fernando Callejo High School in Puerto Rico.

(Picture of Justin Crawford via his Instagram)

Red Sox pitching prospect Jeremy Wu-Yelland undergoes Tommy John surgery

Red Sox pitching prospect Jeremy Wu-Yelland has undergone Tommy John surgery and will miss the entirety of the 2022 season as a result. The left-hander had the procedure done in Arlington, Texas on Wednesday.

Wu-Yelland, 22, came into the 2022 campaign ranked by Baseball America as the No. 31 prospect in Boston’s farm system, ranking 12th among pitchers in the organization. The Red Sox originally selected the Seattle-area native in the fourth round of the 2020 amateur draft out of the University of Hawaii.

In his first full professional season, Wu-Yelland posted a 4.03 ERA and 4.29 FIP to go along with 77 strikeouts to 36 walks over 20 starts (67 innings pitched) for Low-A Salem. He then earned a promotion to High-A Greenville last September and pitched to the tune of a 3.00 ERA and 4.99 FIP in three starts (9 innings of work) with the Drive.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Wu-Yelland operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a 92-96 mph fastball that can reach 97 mph, an 81-85 mph slider, and an 81-83 mph changeup, per his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

Wu-Yelland, who turns 23 in June, was slated to return to Greenville for the start of the 2022 season but was instead placed on the 7-day injured list earlier this month. Now that he has undergone Tommy John, the lefty will be sidelined for the next 12 to 15 months and should be able to return to the mound again at some point in 2023.

(Picture of Jeremy Wu-Yelland: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Xander Bogaerts leads the way with 4 hits as Red Sox snap skid with 7-1 win over Blue Jays

With Alex Cora back in the dugout, the Red Sox put an end to their four-game losing streak on Wednesday with a much-needed win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Boston defeated Toronto by a final score of 7-1 to snap their skid and improve to 8-11 on the season by doing so.

Matched up against Jays starter Ross Stripling to begin things on Wednesday, the Sox got right to work when Xander Bogaerts reached base via a two-out double in the top of the first inning. Rafael Devers followed with a sharply-hit double of his own that scored Bogaerts and made it a 1-0 game in favor of the visitors.

That sequence provided Michael Wacha with an early one-run cushion and he took advantage of it while making his fourth start of the year for the Sox. Over six quality innings of work, the veteran right-hander allowed just one run on four hits and two walks to go along with five strikeouts on the night.

The lone run the Blue Jays got off Wacha came in the third inning following a pair of back-to-back leadoff singles from Tyler Heineman and George Springer. Bo Bichette advanced Heineman to third on a fielder’s choice and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove the catcher in on a fielder’s choice that was nearly an inning-ending double play.

Instead, Wacha gave up the tying run at the time. But the righty rebounded by getting through the rest of the third unscathed, stranding a runner in scoring position in the fourth, and retiring each of the final six batters he faced from the fifth through the end of the sixth to end his outing on a high note.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 92 (57 strikes), Wacha ultimately improved to 2-0 while lowering his ERA on the season to 1.77. The 30-year-old hurler threw 42 four-seam fastballs, 26 changeups, 11 curveballs, nine cutters, and four sinkers. He induced eight swings and misses with his changeup and averaged 93.6 mph with his heater.

Shortly before his night came to a close, the Red Sox put Wacha in position to earn the win by pushing across two more runs in their half of the sixth. Greeting new Blue Jays reliever Trent Thornton, Bogaerts led of with a single, moved up to third on a Bogaerts single, and scored on an RBI single off the bat of J.D. Martinez. Devers, meanwhile, scored on an Enrique Hernandez sacrifice fly that gave Boston a 3-1 lead.

In relief of Wacha, Jake Diekman got the first call from Cora for the bottom of the seventh and sandwiched a six-pitch walk of Santiago Espinal in between the first two outs of the inning. Hirokazu Sawamura then came on to face George Springer, who ripped a single to center field to put runners on the corners. To his credit, Sawamura escaped the jam by fanning Bichette on a 96.5 mph four-seamer.

Moments after that happened, Martinez led off the top of the eighth with a blistering 106.2 mph double off Julian Merryweather. Hernandez laced a 105.2 mph double of his own to plate Martinez. A well-executed sacrifice bunt from Jackie Bradley Jr. allowed Hernandez to move up to third and Bobby Dalbec brought him in on a sacrifice fly to right field to put the Red Sox up 5-1.

John Schreiber took over for Sawamura in the bottom half of the eighth and impressed in his 2022 debut by sitting down the side in order on 14 pitches.

The ninth inning was all about insurance for the Sox. Bogaerts drove in Trevor Story with his fourth hit of the night and Rob Refsnyder, who was pinch-hitting for Martinez, drove in Alex Verdugo on his first. That made it a 7-1 game going into the bottom of the ninth for Tyler Danish.

Danish, in turn, wrapped things up with a 1-2-3 frame to lock down the commanding, six-run victory.

Some notes from this win:

From the Red Sox’ J.P. Long:

Next up: Whitlock vs. Manoah in series finale

The Red Sox will go for a series split with the Blue Jays on Thursday afternoon when they send right-hander Garrett Whitlock to the mound for his second career big-league start. Whitlock will be opposed by fellow second-year righty for Toronto.

First pitch from Rogers Centre is scheduled for 3:07 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Mark Blinch/Getty Images)

Latest MLB Pipeline mock draft has Red Sox selecting high school shortstop Jett Williams with top pick

In the first installment of their 2022 mock draft, MLB Pipeline has the Red Sox selecting Rockwall-Heath High School shortstop Jett Williams with its first-round pick at No. 24 overall.

The reasoning behind the selection from MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo is simple: “The Red Sox have taken a high school infielder the last three years they had a first-round pick, so we know they don’t shy away from that demographic.”

Mayo, of course, is referring to the fact that Boston has used its last three first-rounders on a trio of prep infielders in Marcelo Mayer (2021), Nick Yorke (2020), and Triston Casas (2018).

Williams, on the other hand, is currently regarded by MLB Pipeline as the No. 25 draft-eligible prospect in this year’s class, which ranks 16th among position players.

The 18-year-old hits from the right side of the plate, is in the midst of his senior season at Rockwall-Heath, and is committed to play college baseball at Mississippi State University. Last year, he batted .347/.514/.723 with five doubles, nine triples, five home runs, 37 RBIs, 40 runs scored, 29 walks, three strikeouts, and 15 stolen bases for the Hawks.

Listed at 5-foot-8 and 178 pounds, Williams may be undersized for his position. But according to his MLB Pipeline scouting report, the native Texan is “a favorite gut-feel guy for a lot of scouts” because of his “quick hands, feel for the barrel, and quality right-handed stroke.”

On the basepaths and on the field, Williams possesses “plus speed and knows how to use his quickness.” Defensively, he dealt with a shoulder injury last summer that affected him on the showcase circuit, though “some evaluators believe he has solid arm strength when healthy.”

With that, MLB Pipeline notes that Williams has “the hands and actions” that are required of a shortstop. And while some believe he has what it takes to stick at shortstop, there are others who think he is best suited for second base or center field.

Williams, who turns 19 in November, is the second draft-eligible high school infielder the Red Sox have been linked to in recent weeks. Baseball America had Boston taking fellow shortstop Cole Young with its top pick in a mock draft that was published earlier this month.

As a reminder, the 2022 MLB Draft will kick off in Los Angeles on July 17, which is a little more than 11 weeks away.

(Picture of Jett Williams via his Instagram)

Red Sox outfield prospect Tyler Esplin set to make Double-A debut for Portland Sea Dogs

Red Sox outfield prospect Tyler Esplin will make his Double-A debut for the Portland Sea Dogs on Wednesday night when they go up against the Somerset Patriots (Yankees affiliate) at TD Bank Ballpark in New Jersey.

Esplin, who will bat eighth and start in right field for Portland, was promoted from High-A Greenville on Tuesday after the Sea Dogs placed fellow outfielder Wil Dalton on the 7-day injured list.

In his first eight games of the 2022 season with Greenville, where he spent the entirety of the 2021 campaign, the left-handed hitting Esplin batted .323/.400/.581 (158 wRC+) with four doubles, two triples, seven runs scored, four walks, and 11 strikeouts over 35 trips to the plate.

Defensively, the 6-foot-3, 230 pounder has played all over the outfield with the Drive while logging 17 innings in left, nine innings in center, and 45 innings in right. He has committed one error and registered one outfield assist thus far.

Esplin, 22, was selected by the Red Sox in the seventh round of the 2017 amateur draft out of the esteemed IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Boston swayed the Illinois native away from his commitment to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte by signing him for $250,000.

Once regarded by Baseball America as a top-30 prospect within Boston’s farm system on two separate occasions (2018, 2020), Esplin — who turns 23 in July — is a lifetime .235/.316/.347 at four different minor-league levels since making his professional debut in July 2017. He has 12 career home runs and 16 career stolen bases under his belt.

(Picture of Tyler Esplin: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Alex Cora returns to Red Sox after missing last 6 games with COVID-19

Alex Cora has rejoined the Red Sox in Toronto and is expected to return to his post as manager for Wednesday’s contest against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, as was first reported by MLB.com’s Ian Browne.

Cora has missed each of Boston’s last six games after testing positive for COVID-19 shortly before the Sox’ series finale with the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on April 21.

The 46-year-old, who is fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, had already been staying in a hotel upon testing positive after one of his four-year-old twin boys contracted the virus two weeks ago and remained isolated there while experiencing mild symptoms.

In Cora’s place, bench coach Will Venable took over as Boston’s acting manager for the second time in as many seasons and led the club to a 1-5 record to drop the Red Sox to 7-11 on the season.

While losing five of their last six and four straight overall to American League East opponents, the Sox are averaging fewer than three runs per game and have been outscored 26-17 during this rough stretch.

With Cora back in the dugout, though, perhaps the Red Sox’ fortunes will change for the better. They have two more games remaining in Toronto before concluding this lengthy road trip with a three-game weekend series in Baltimore.

As Cora makes his return on Wednesday, it will be right-hander Michael Wacha getting the start for the Sox opposite fellow righty Ross Stripling for the Jays in the third game of this four-game series.. First pitch from Rogers Centre is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

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

Red Sox prospect Nick Northcut has hit 6 home runs in first 13 games for High-A Greenville

Alongside fellow Greenville Drive teammates Alex Binelas and Ceddanne Rafaela, Red Sox prospect Nick Northcut currently leads the South Atlantic League in home runs with six of them on the young season.

Northcut hit two solo homers as part of a 2-for-4 day at the plate in High-A Greenville’s 10-6 loss to the Hickory Crawdads (Rangers affiliate) at L.P. Frans Stadium on Tuesday night.

Nearly three weeks into the 2022 minor-league season, the right-handed hitter finds himself batting .264/.328/.642 with two doubles, those six homers, 12 RBIs, seven runs scored, three walks, and 17 strikeouts over 13 games spanning 58 plate appearances.

Among qualified hitters in the South Atlantic League, Northcut ranks fourth in slugging percentage, 15th in OPS (.969), second in isolated power (.377), and 17th in wRC+ (148), per FanGraphs. Power is clearly a big part of the 22-year-old’s game, though his 5.2% walk rate and 29.3% strikeout rate are not nearly as encouraging.

Defensively, Northcut has seen playing time at both corner infield positions for the Drive so far this year. The 6-foot-1, 205 pounder has logged 70 innings at first base and 44 innings at the hot corner while committing a total of two errors.

A native of Mason, Ohio, Northcut was a highly-touted prospect coming out of William Mason High School when the Red Sox selected him in the 11th round of the 2018 amateur draft. He was committed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt University, but signed with Boston for an over-slot deal of $565,000. Since then, he has clubbed 26 home runs in 210 professional games and his raw power is probably his top carrying tool.

Northcut, who turns 23 in June, is not regarded by any major publication as one of the top prospects in the Red Sox’ farm system. He can, however, become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time this winter and is certainly making an early case for a spot on Boston’s 40-man roster come late November.

(Picture of Nick Northcut: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox)

Red Sox pitching prospect Chris Murphy finishes month of April with 2.25 ERA in 4 starts for Double-A Portland

Red Sox pitching prospect Chris Murphy wrapped up his month of April with yet another impressive performance for Double-A Portland on Tuesday night.

Working against the Somerset Patriots (Yankees affiliate) at TD Bank Ballpark, Murphy scattered just two hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts over six scoreless innings of work. The left-hander retired each of the final nine batters he faced as 50 of the 81 pitches he threw went for strikes.

Through his first four starts of the season with the Sea Dogs, Murphy has posted a 2.25 ERA and 3.12 FIP with 24 strikeouts to seven walks across 20 innings pitched.

Among qualified pitchers in the Eastern League, Murphy ranks 15th in strikeout rate (30.8%), 24th in walk rate (9.0%), seventh in batting average against (.171), 12th in WHIP (0.95), 13th in ERA, and 14th in FIP, per FanGraphs.

Murphy, 23, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 12 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks sixth among pitchers in the organization. The Red Sox originally took the California-born southpaw in the sixth round of the 2019 amateur draft out of the University of San Diego.

Since being promoted from High-A Greenville to Portland last July, Murphy owns a 4.25 ERA and strikeout-to-walk ratio of 71:20 over 11 appearances (10 starts) spanning 53 total innings of work at the Double-A level.

Per his Baseball America scouting report, the 6-foot-1, 175 pound hurler operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a 92-94 mph fastball that can reach 96-97 mph, an above-average changeup, a curveball, and a changeup. He is also very open when it comes to pitch design and pitch tunneling.

Murphy, who turns 24 in June, is set to become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in his career this December. With that, it would not be surprising if the Red Sox elect to promote the lefty to Triple-A Worcester at some point this season to further evaluate and determine if he is worthy of a spot on the club’s 40-man roster come late November.

(Picture of Chris Murphy: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)