Tag: chris sale

Red Sox spring training: Chris Sale goes 5 innings, Rafael Devers homers in 7-2 loss to Twins

The Red Sox will not be taking home the Chairman’s Cup after being bested by the Twins in Sunday’s series finale. Boston fell to Minnesota by a final score of 7-2 at JetBlue Park to drop to 14-12-4 in Grapefruit League play.

Chris Sale, making his fourth and final start of the spring for the Red Sox, allowed two earned runs on five hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with five strikeouts over five solid innings of work.

Both of the runs Sale gave up came on one swing of the bat. After taking a shutout bid into the fourth inning, the veteran left-hander yielded a leadoff single to Kyle Farmer. Two batters later, he served up a two-run home run to Ryan Jeffers that barely cleared the fence in right-center field.

Sale evaded any further damage in the top of the fourth. In the bottom half, Cole Sands took over for Twins starter Sonny Gray, who struck out four over three scoreless, no-hit innings. Rafael Devers promptly greeted the new reliever by crushing a leadoff home run to right field. Devers’ first homer of the spring cut Boston’s deficit in half at 2-1.

Justin Turner followed by drawing a walk and moving up to third base on a one-out double from Adam Duvall. Triston Casas then took ball four himself to load the bases, but Christian Arroyo extinguished the threat by grounding into an inning-ending, 4-6-3 double play.

Still trailing by one going into the fifth, Sale put runners on the corners with only one out. But he got out of the jam thanks to Reese McGuire gunning down the pinch-running Ernie Yake at second base and Farmer lining out to Bobby Dalbec to end the inning. The 33-year-old southpaw finished with 79 pitches. He will make his next start against the Orioles at Fenway Park on April 1.

Shortly after Sale’s day had come to an end, the Red Sox got the lefty off the hook. With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Bobby Dalbec scored the then-tying-run on back-to-back singles from Devers and Turner. A two-out walk drawn by Masataka Yoshida then loaded the bases, but Duvall ended the rally by going down swinging against new Twins reliever Jose Bravo.

Though Boston had fought back to pull even with Minnesota at two runs apiece, that stalemate did not last too long. Kaleb Ort took over for Sale out of the Red Sox bullpen in the sixth and recorded two quick outs before running into some trouble. Ort issued a two-out walk to Michael A. Taylor and followed that up by surrendering a go-ahead, two-run home run to Willi Castro to give the Twins a 4-2 lead.

Richard Bleier had difficulty with the long ball himself as he served up a two-run shot to Hernan Perez with two outs in the seventh. In the eighth, John Schreiber gave up a one-out double to Mark Contreras, who scored from second on an RBI single off the bat of Andrew Betchold. Jordan DiValerio faced the minimum in the ninth by recording one strikeout, issuing one walk, and inducing another 4-6-3 twin killing.

Down to their final three outs, the Red Sox went down quietly in their half of the ninth. Jorge Alfaro popped out while Dalbec and Raimel Tapia both lined out against Connor Sadzeck to put the finishing touches on a 7-2 loss.

By defeating the Red Sox on Sunday, the Twins won the five-game series, 3-2. As such, they will be taking the 2023 Chairman’s Cup trophy back with them to their own complex in Fort Myers.

Other worthwhile observations:

After allowing two runs in the sixth inning of Sunday’s loss, Kaleb Ort now owns a 9.64 ERA (10 earned runs in 9 1/3 innings of relief) through eight appearances this spring. The hard-throwing righty is currently competing for the final spot in Boston’s Opening Day bullpen.

In his four starts this spring, Chris Sale pitched to a 4.80 ERA with 12 strikeouts to just three walks over 15 innings. Opponents hit .288 off him.

Enrique Hernandez was struck in the right wrist by a Sonny Gray pitch in the bottom of the third inning. He remained in the game for two more innings before being replaced at shortstop by Bobby Dalbec. According to the Red Sox, the decision to take Hernandez (who was later diagnosed with a right wrist contusion) out was purely precautionary, meaning he is not expected to miss any time.

Next up: Houck starts

The Red Sox will travel to North Port to take on the Braves in their penultimate game of the spring on Monday afternoon. Tanner Houck will be getting the start for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Jesse Chavez for Atlanta.

First pitch from CoolToday Park is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time. The game will be televised, but only on Bally Sports Southeast.

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

Red Sox spring training: Chris Sale struggles, Adam Duvall stays hot in 6-2 loss to Orioles

In a game that took a little over two hours to complete, the Red Sox fell to the Orioles by a final score of 6-2 at Ed Smith Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. With the loss, Boston drops to 12-9-4 in Grapefruit League play.

Chris Sale struggled in his third start of the spring for the Sox. After not giving up a single run in his first two outings, the veteran left-hander got shelled for six runs on nine hits and one walk to go along with two strikeouts over five innings of work.

The Orioles got to Sale right away in their half of the first thanks to a pair of solo shots from Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle. An inning later, Adam Frazier and Ryan O’Hearn both reached base with no outs before being driven in on an RBI double from Jorge Mateo and a two-run single from Kyle Stowers. Mountcastle scored Baltimore’s sixth and final run in the third when Frazier grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.

Despite these difficulties early on, Sale was at least able to end his day on a solid note by putting up a pair of zeroes in the fourth and fifth innings. The 33-year-old southpaw retired six of the last seven batters he faced to finish with a final pitch count of 70. He will make one more Grapefruit League start before taking on this same Orioles team at Fenway Park on April 1.

Offensively, Boston’s only two runs of the afternoon came in the middle and right after Sale’s outing came to a close. To lead off the fourth inning, Adam Duvall took Baltimore starter Adam Duvall deep to left field for his fourth ome run of the spring. Duvall struck again in the sixth, this time leading off with a hard-hit double off Irvin and then scoring on another double off the bat of Daniel Palka.

That sequence of events trimmed the Orioles’ lead down to four runs at 6-2. From that point, John Schreiber and Zack Kelly, who both pitched in Monday’s loss to the Pirates, combined for two scoreless frames out of the Red Sox bullpen. Oddanier Mosqueda, who is competing with Ryan Sherriff for a spot on Boston’s Opening Day roster, followed suit by stranding one runner in an otherwise clean eighth inning.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth, Jorge Alfaro laced a one-out double off O’s reliever Reed Garrett before minor-leaguers Miguel Ugueto and Eddinson Paulino each struck out to put the finishing touches on a 6-2 loss for the Red Sox.

Duvall stays hot

Following a 2-for-3 performance in which he scored his team’s only two runs on Tuesday, Adam Duvall is now batting .278/.386/.667 with four home runs and eight RBIs in 15 games (44 plate appearances) this spring.

In addition to Duvall, Daniel Palka and Niko Goodrum also enjoyed two-hit days at the plate. Goodrum, however, did not have the best of times defensively at shortstop.

Next up: Houck vs. Ryan

The Red Sox will return to Fort Myers on Wednesday to host the Twins in Game 4 of the 2023 Chairman’s Cup. Tanner Houck is slated to get the start for Boston while fellow right-hander Joe Ryan will do the same for Minnesota.

With a two-games-to-one lead already in hand, the Red Sox can take home the Chairman’s Cup with another win on Wednesday evening. First pitch from JetBlue Park is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Adam Duvall: Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Chris Sale fans 5 over 3 scoreless innings as Red Sox come up short in 4-3 loss to Twins

For the first time this spring, the Red Sox have lost back-to-back games. After coming up short against the Blue Jays on Friday, Boston fell to the Twins by a final score of 4-3 at Hammond Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Chris Sale pitched well for the Red Sox in his second start of the spring. The veteran left-hander allowed just one hit and no walks to go along with five strikeouts over three scoreless innings of work.

That lone hit came in the form of a two-out single from Donovan Solano in the bottom of the first inning. From there, Sale retired the next seven batters he faced through the end of the third, which is where his day would come to a close. The 33-year-old southpaw finished with a final pitch count of 32 (24 strikes) while topping out at 95.1 mph with his four-seam fastball. He also induced seven swings-and-misses, per Baseball Savant.

While Sale was in the midst of a strong effort on the mound, the Red Sox put up a three-spot off Twins starter Tyler Mahle in the top half of the second. Bobby Dalbec led off the inning by lacing a 109.5 mph double to right field. He then moved up to third base on a wild pitch before scoring on an RBI single off the bat of Reese McGuire.

McGuire was able to tag up to second on a Niko Goodrum flyout and then scored from there on a David Hamilton single. Hamilton, ever the speedster, proceeded to steal second base and take third on a throwing error committed by Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers. He remained at third before Adam Duvall plated him on a two-out bloop single that landed in the infield grass.

Taking a 3-0 lead into the fourth inning, Kenley Jansen got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen in relief of Sale. Jansen, making his first in-game appearance since last Saturday, struck out two of the three batters he faced in the fourth. He also came back out for the fifth and, after recording the first out, served up a 351-foot solo homer to Jeffers for Minnesota’s first run of the day.

Jansen was then relieved by minor-leaguer Brendan Cellucci, who issued a one-out walk to Max Kepler before allowing Kepler to score on a Michael A. Taylor RBI single. The left-handed Cellucci minimized the damage, though, as he got Andrew Bechtold to ground into an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play.

The Red Sox had an opportunity to build their lead back up in the top of the sixth after Hamilton, Greg Allen, and Adam Duvall all reached base. With two outs in the inning, however, Twins reliever Cole Sands was able to prevent the floodgates from opening by fanning the pinch-hitting Eddinson Paulino on four pitches.

The Twins capitalized on Boston’s inability to score in the following half-inning. Joely Rodriguez, the third lefty of the day for the Red Sox, yielded back-to-back doubles to Yoyner Fajardo and Jose Miranda to lead off the sixth. Miranda, who tied the game with his two-base hit, then scored what would prove to be the winning run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Kyle Farmer.

From that point forward, the Red Sox lineup was not able to do much offensively. After Rodriguez got the first out of the seventh and John Schreiber sat down all five batters he faced through the end of the eighth, Boston went down quietly against Blayne Enlow in the ninth to put the finishing touches on a 4-3 defeat.

With the loss, which took two hours and 22 minutes to complete, the Red Sox drop to 9-2-3 in Grapefruit League play and 11-2-3 in all competitions this spring. They will have to wait until March 22, when they next take on the Twins, for their next shot at taking home the 2023 Chairman’s Cup.

Other worthwhile observations:

Christian Arroyo went 2-for-3 with two singles on Saturday. The 27-year-old is now batting .360 (9-for-25) in nine games this spring.

Dalbec, McGuire, and Hamilton recorded multiple hits as well. Allen, who reached base twice by drawing two walks, and Hamilton combined for five stolen bases.

Next up: Split-squad action

The Red Sox will have a split squad on Sunday as they host the Yankees at JetBlue Park and travel to Sarasota to take on the Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium.

At home, Tanner Houck will get the start for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Yoendrys Gomez for New York. On the road, Kutter Crawford will take the mound for Boston while fellow righty Grayson Rodriguez, one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, will toe the rubber for Baltimore.

First pitch for each contest is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time. The game taking place at JetBlue Park will be broadcasted on NESN+.

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

David Hamilton’s two-run double propels Red Sox to 4-1 win over Marlins

Thanks to a four-run seventh inning against the Marlins on Sunday, the Red Sox remain unbeaten this spring. Boston improved to 6-0-3 in Grapefruit League play by defeating Miami by a final score of 4-1 at JetBlue Park.

Corey Kluber, making his second start of the spring for the Red Sox, scattered two hits and two walks to go along with four strikeouts over 2 2/3 scoreless innings of work. After facing the Marlins in his 2023 debut last Tuesday, the veteran right-hander kicked off his afternoon by punching out Luis Arraez, Jorge Soler, and Garrett Cooper in the top of the first. He then put runners on first and second base with only one out in the second, but escaped that jam by getting Joey Wendle to ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

In the third, Kluber retired Miami’s No. 8 hitter, Jacob Stallings, before Jon Berti reached base on a fielding error committed by shortstop Christian Koss. He then fanned Soler for the second out of the inning, but followed that up by issuing a free pass to Cooper. Having already thrown 52 pitches to that point in the contest, Kluber was given the hook in favor of fellow righty Chase Shugart, who stranded the two runners he inherited by striking Jazz Chisholm Jr. out.

Richard Bleier, who the Red Sox acquired from the Marlins in January, took over for Shugart in the fourth and put up a zero by retiring the only three batters he faced. Fellow offseason trade acquisition Wyatt Mills was responsible for the fifth inning. Mills plunked Stallings to lead off the inning. The seasoned backstop then went from first to third on an Arraez single before scoring on a two-out RBI base hit from Cooper that gave Miami a 1-0 lead halfway through.

Kutter Crawford was called upon in the sixth and neutralized the Marlins lineup by racking up three strikeouts over three perfect frames of relief. While he was in the middle of that, the Red Sox offense came to life in their half of the seventh.

There, Devin Smeltzer gave up two singles while also beaning Justin Turner to fill the bases. The Marlins reliever then retired Niko Goodrum and Ryan Fitzgerald for the first two outs, but Narciso Crook kept the inning alive by drawing a bases-loaded walk to drive in the tying run from third. Ronaldo Hernandez did the same on the other side of a Miami pitching change and David Hamilton followed by plating both Ceddanne Rafaela and Crook by lacing a two-run ground-rule double into the Red Sox bullpen in right field.

That sequence put Boston up, 4-1, heading into the eighth. After Crawford — who was later credited with the the winning decision — capped his day off with another 1-2-3 frame, Kaleb Ort worked his way around a single and a walk in the ninth to pick up the save and secure the come-from-behind victory for the Red Sox.

Other notable numbers:

Sunday’s contest took two hours and 32 minutes to complete. In addition to going 2-for-2 with two RBIs, Hamilton also stole his first base of the spring in the sixth inning. Rafalea, a speedster himself, went 2-for-2 with a run scored off the bench.

Abreu strains left hamstring:

After leading off the seventh inning with a line-drive single, outfielder Wilyer Abreu was forced to exit with what was later diagnosed as a left hamstring strain. The 23-year-old will “be out for a while,” per Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

Next up: Sale Day

The Red Sox will conclude their homestand in Fort Myers by taking on the Tigers on Monday afternoon. Left-hander Chris Sale is slated to make his highly-anticipated spring debut for Boston while right-hander Matt Manning is scheduled to start for Detroit.

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

(Picture of David Hamilton: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Chris Sale will not exercise opt-out clause in contract; left-hander is set to earn $55 million over next 2 seasons

Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale will not be opting out of the final two years and $55 million of the five-year, $145 million contract extension he signed in March 2019, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier on Tuesday.

Sale, who turns 34 in March, has been limited to just 11 starts and 48 1/3 innings pitched over the last three seasons due to a plethora of injuries. The veteran southpaw missed the entirety of the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his 31st birthday.

The procedure kept Sale sidelined for the next 17 months. He returned to the Sox’ rotation last August and posted a 3.16 ERA with 52 strikeouts to 12 walks across nine starts (42 2/3 innings of work) before pitching in both the American League Division and Championship Series’.

Boston was anticipating on having a fully-healthy Sale coming into the 2022 season. But the lefty sustained a right rib stress fracture while throwing a bullpen session at his alma mater (Florida Gulf Coast University) during the MLB lockout in February. His recovery from that was slowed down in May due to a non-baseball related medical condition.

After making four rehab starts, Sale again re-joined the Red Sox in early July. He tossed five scoreless innings in his season debut against the Rays on July 12, but then broke his left pinkie finger in the first inning of his start against the Yankees five days later. The fracture came as a result of a 106.7 mph line drive off the bat of Aaron Hicks at Yankee Stadium.

Though Sale was forced to undergo surgery to repair his broken finger, the Red Sox were optimistic that he would be to pitch again in 2022. That outlook changed in August, when it was revealed that Sale fractured his right wrist in a bicycling accident and would be out for the remainder of the year.

Despite this recent string of freak injuries, the Red Sox expect Sale to be ready to contribute once spring training begins in February. The 33-year-old hurler is slated to earn $27.5 million in each of the next two seasons now that he has opted in. His deal also includes a vesting option for 2025 if he finishes in the top 10 in American League Cy Young voting and is not on the injured list at the end of the 2024 campaign.

Originally acquired from the White Sox for four prospects (including Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech) in December 2016, Sale made a strong first impression in Boston by finishing second in AL Cy Young voting and ninth in AL MVP voting in 2017. The following October, Sale put the finishing touches on a dominant season by recording the final three outs of the World Series against the Dodgers.

Entering 2019, Sale was in the final year of the five-year, $32.5 million extension he had signed with the White Sox in March 2013. The Red Sox, under former president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, rewarded Sale by signing the seven-time All-Star to a more lucrative five-year extension.

Sale made 25 starts for Boston in 2019 and produced a career-worst 4.40 ERA in 147 1/3 innings before being shut down with left elbow inflammation in mid-August. The following spring, Sale tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow and ultimately underwent Tommy John surgery.

Since putting pen to paper a little more than three years ago, Sale has received $90 million from the Red Sox. Although the extension did not officially kick in until 2020, Sale has made just 36 starts and pitched to 4.09 ERA over 195 2/3 innings dating back to the start of the 2019 season.

While Sale’s outlook may be cloudy at the moment, the Red Sox remain optimistic that he can play a pivotal role in the club’s success come Opening Day.

(Picture of Chris Sale: Elsa/Getty Images)

Red Sox select Jeurys Familia from Triple-A Worcester, option Kaleb Ort; Chris Sale transferred to 60-day injured list

Before taking on the Yankees at Fenway Park on Saturday night, the Red Sox selected the contract of veteran reliever Jeurys Familia from Triple-A Worcester.

In order to make room for Familia on the 26-man roster, fellow reliever Kaleb Ort was optioned to Worcester following Friday night’s 3-2 win over New York. In order to make room for Familia on the 40-man roster, left-hander Chris Sale was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list, the club announced.

Familia, 32, signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox last Tuesday after being designated for assignment and subsequently released by the Phillies earlier this month. The Dominican-born right-hander had joined Philadelphia on a one-year pact back in March but struggled to the tune of a 6.09 ERA and 4.88 FIP with 33 strikeouts to 15 walks over 38 appearances spanning 34 innings of work.

In his lone outing with the WooSox in Moosic, Pa. this past Thursday, Familia struck out the side on 13 pitches (10 strikes) against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. He works with a sinker, a four-seamer, a slider, and a splitter.

A veteran of 11 big-league seasons, Familia initially broke in with the Mets in 2012 and emerged as New York’s closer in 2015. He recorded a league-leading 51 saves in 2016 while being named an All-Star for the first time and finishing 17th in National League MVP voting.

Between the Mets, Athletics, and Phillies, Familia owns a 3.46 ERA (3.53 FIP) across 532 2/3 total innings at the major-league level. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound hurler will wear the No. 31 with the Red Sox.

Ort, meanwhile, just wrapped up his second stint of the season with Boston. The 30-year-old has pitched to a 9.00 ERA — but a much more respectable 4.05 FIP — to go along with 13 strikeouts to seven walks over 12 appearances (15 innings) with the big-league club so far in 2022.

Sale, on the other hand, saw his 2022 season come to an end last weekend after undergoing surgery to repair a broken right wrist that came as a result of a bicycle accident. The 33-year-old southpaw was already on the 15-day injured list due to a left fifth finger fracture, so he will no longer occupy a spot on Boston’s 40-man roster.

Following Saturday’s series of moves, the Red Sox’ 26-man and 40-man rosters are both currently at full capacity.

(Picture of Jeurys Familia: Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Chris Sale on 15-day injured list, option Connor Wong to Triple-A Worcester; Brayan Bello, Yolmer Sánchez called up

Before opening a three-game weekend series against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Friday night, the Red Sox made a series of roster moves.

First off, left-hander Chris Sale was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left fifth finger fracture, retroactive to July 19. To take Sale’s place on the active roster, right-hander Brayan Bello was recalled from Triple-A Worcester.

Additionally, catcher Connor Wong was optioned to Worcester on Thursday. To take Wong’s place on the active roster, veteran infielder Yolmer Sanchez was selected to the 40-man roster from Worcester.

Sale, in the first inning of his second start of the season against the Yankees on Sunday, was struck in the hand by a 106.7 mph line drive off the bat of Aaron Hicks. The 33-year-old southpaw was immediately removed from the game and was later diagnosed with a broken left pinky. He underwent surgery — or an open reduction and internal fixation of a left fifth finger proximal phalanx fracture — in Wellesley, Mass. on Monday. The Red Sox are optimistic that he will pitch again this season.

Bello, meanwhile, is up with the Sox for the second time this season. The 23-year-old prospect made two starts against the Rays (one at home, one on the road) earlier this month and allowed a total of nine runs on 13 hits, six walks, and seven strikeouts over eight combined innings of work. He is expected to start Sunday’s series finale against Toronto.

On the position player side of things, Wong was optioned back down to Worcester so that the Red Sox could add another infielder (Sanchez) to their roster in place of the injured Trevor Story.

Wong took the place of Story on the major-league roster when the second baseman was placed on the 10-day injured list on Saturday. He appeared in two games during last weekend’s series in the Bronx and went 1-for-1 with a single.

Sanchez, meanwhile, made a brief cameo for Boston as a COVID-19 substitute back in June. Filling in for the then-unvaccinated Jarren Duran in Toronto on June 28, Sanchez went 0-for-1 with a walk and sacrifice bunt.

With the WooSox this season, the switch-hitting 30-year-old has batted .247/.378/.413 with 12 doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 33 RBIs, 43 runs scored, six stolen bases, 50 walks, and 67 strikeouts over 78 games (303 plate appearances) while seeing playing time at every infield position besides first base.

The Red Sox did not not need to create an opening on their 40-man roster for Sanchez since rookie right-hander Josh Winckowski is currently on the COVID-19 related injured list. Boston’s 40-man roster is now at full capacity.

(Picture of Yolmer Sanchez: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

Reeling Red Sox lose Trevor Story, Matt Strahm to injury in process of falling to Rays, 3-2; Chris Sale tosses 5 scoreless innings in season debut

Well, that was ugly.

Despite getting a strong start from Chris Sale and taking a two-run lead into the sixth inning, the Red Sox fell to the Rays by a final score of 3-2 at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night.

Sale, making his season debut, scattered just three hits and one walk to go along with five strikeouts over five scoreless frames. The veteran left-hander retired six of the first seven batters he faced before running into some trouble in the third, as he gave up a leadoff single to Yu Chang and one-out walk to Yandy Diaz. But he got out of that jam by sitting down Harold Ramirez and then punching out Christian Bethancourt.

Isaac Parades led off the bottom of the fourth with a hard-hit double and advanced to third on a Randy Arozarena groundout, but Sale stranded him there before ending his night with a 1-2-3 fifth inning. The 33-year-old southpaw threw 78 pitches (53 strikes) and induced a total of four swings-and-misses while averaging 95.1 mph with his four-seam fastball.

By the time he had recorded the final out of the fifth inning, Sale was in line for the win. That being the case because the Red Sox lineup had just gotten to Rays starter Corey Kluber for two runs in their half of the fifth.

After Alex Verdugo broke up Kluber’s no-hit bid with a one-out double, Trevor Story was hit in the right hand while swinging at a 3-1, 89 mph sinker that was ruled a foul ball. Story would have to leave the game and was later diagnosed with a right hand contusion. He was pinch-hit for by Jeter Downs, who moved Verdugo up to third base on a softly-hit single to left field.

Franchy Cordero then laid down a successful sacrifice bunt down the first base line that brought in Verdugo from third to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. Bobby Dalbec followed by plating Downs on an RBI triple to double his side’s advantage.

The sixth inning is where things began to spiral for Boston. Ryan Brasier took over for Sale out of the Red Sox bullpen and put runners at first and second in the process of recording the first two outs of the frame. Alex Cora then turned to Matt Strahm, who almost immediately gave up an RBI single to the pinch-hitting Francisco Mejia.

Mejia’s single put runners at first and second for Taylor Walls, who ripped a 98 mph comebacker off Strahm’s left wrist. Strahm lost his glove but attempted to get Walls out at first base to end the inning. He instead threw the ball away, which allowed Parades to score the game-tying run.

Cordero, meanwhile, retrieved Strahm’s errant toss and attempted to throw home to Christian Vazquez. That caught Vazquez off-guard, as he tried to block the ball with his chest protector before it rolled away, giving Mejia the opportunity to score from third to give Tampa Bay their first lead of the contest.

Both Strahm and Cordero were charged with throwing errors on the play, and Strahm had to be removed with what the team later diagnosed as a left wrist contusion. He was replaced by Kaleb Ort, who recorded the final out of the sixth.

Boston’s lack of fundamentals continued to haunt in the top of the seventh. Verdugo and Downs greeted new Rays reliever Jalen Beeks with back-to-back hits to put runners on the corners with no outs. But Verdugo, representing the tying run, was picked off by Mejia at third base for the first out of the inning. Beeks proceeded to escape the seventh unscathed before facing the minimum in a scoreless eighth.

With John Schreiber and Hirokazu Sawamura keeping the Rays off the scoreboard, the Red Sox found themselves still trailing by one run heading into their half of the ninth.

Matched up against left-handed reliever Brooks Raley, Downs drew a two-out walk but that was immediately negated when Cordero fanned on three pitches to end the game.

With the loss, the Red Sox fall to 47-41 on the season and 11-22 against divisional opponents. They are 4-8 in the month of July.

Next up: Winckowski vs. McClanahan

The Red Sox will send rookie right-hander Josh Winckowski to the mound on Wednesday as they look to avoid dropping another series an American League East rival. The Rays will counter with their ace in left-hander Shane McClanahan.

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

(Picture of Chris Sale: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Red Sox activate Chris Sale from 60-day injured list ahead of left-hander’s season debut, option Brayan Bello to Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have reinstated left-hander Chris Sale from the 60-day injured list. In order to make room for Sale on the major-league roster, right-hander Brayan Bello was optioned to Triple-A Worcester, the club announced Tuesday.

Sale will make his highly-anticipated 2022 debut against the Rays at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night. The 33-year-old southpaw missed the first three months of the season due to a right rib cage stress fracture he sustained while throwing live batting practice back in February. His recovery from that was slowed for a period of time in May because of a non-baseball medical issue.

After resuming his throwing program, Sale was sent out on a rehab assignment in late June. He made two starts in the Florida Complex League, one start for Double-A Portland, and one start for Triple-A Worcester.

In that outing for the WooSox against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at Polar Park last Wednesday, Sale allowed one run on three hits, five walks, and five strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings of work. He threw 72 pitches (42 strikes) during that stretch while mixing in a high-90s fastball, a mid-80s changeup, and a high-70s slider.

As Alex Cora and the Red Sox look to bounce back against the Rays on Tuesday, they are hoping to get about 85 pitches out of Sale, who will be working on an extra day of rest and is also in line to start Boston’s first-half finale in the Bronx on Sunday.

“I believe we can be more aggressive now compared to last year,” Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) on Monday. “Obviously, tomorrow, probably 85 pitches. But I think we’ll be more aggressive. The fact we’re thinking about pitching him Sunday tells you a lot.”

Sale, of course, missed all of 2020 and the first four months of 2021 while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. When the lefty returned to the mound last year, he was still building back up his arm strength.

This time around, however, the Red Sox seem optimistic that Sale will be able to fire on all cylinders since he is not working his way back from a major arm surgery. It also helps that the Lakeland, Fla. native will be pitching close to home.

Bello, meanwhile, returns to Worcester after making the first two starts of his big-league career against the same opponent in the Rays. Neither of those outings went particularly well, as the 23-year-old rookie surrendered nine earned runs on 13 hits, six walks, and seven strikeouts across eight combined innings.

Still, Bello showed at times why he is regarded by many as the most exciting pitching prospect the Red Sox have had in years. The Dominican-born righty will take what he learned from his first taste of the majors back to Worcester, where he owns a 2.81 ERA in nine appearances (eight starts) for the WooSox.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of growing, a lot of learning,” Cora said of Bello Monday night. “Tonight was a great learning experience for him. We were very pleased with the last two innings. He gave us a chance to win the game.”

By activating and Sale and optioning Bello, the Red Sox now have a full active and 40-man roster. Boston did not need to create a spot on its 40-man roster for Sale after placing backup catcher Kevin Plawecki on the COVID-19 related injured list on Monday.

Once Plawecki is ready to return, the Sox will need to take someone else off the 40-man roster since players on the COVID-related IL do not count against it.

(Picture of Chris Sale: Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)