Tag: christian arroyo

Red Sox injuries: Christian Arroyo (knee contusion) could rejoin team in Anaheim, Kevin Plawecki (hamstring strain) ‘feeling better,’ Alex Cora says

Red Sox infielder Christian Arroyo was sent out on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Thursday and went 0-for-1 with a strikeout in Game 2 of a rain-shortened doubleheader while starting at designated hitter against Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees affiliate) at Polar Park.

Arroyo was also slated to start at second base and bat out of the two-hole for the WooSox on Friday night, but that game wound up getting rained out due to wet conditions in the Worcester-area.

The 26-year-old has been held out of action since he sustained a right shin bone bruise after colliding with center fielder Enrique Hernandez in Kansas City on June 20.

Later placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right knee contusion on June 24, Arroyo’s stint on the IL was backdated to June 21, meaning he could have been activated as soon as Thursday.

With that being said, though, it would appear that the Red Sox would like Arroyo to get more at-bats before he is cleared to rejoin the big-league club. Just ask manager Alex Cora.

“He’ll be there tonight, most likely tomorrow,” Cora said of Arroyo prior to Friday’s contest against the Athletics in Oakland. “I think the weather over there is not great, I guess, right? We’ll make a decision tomorrow. But most likely, he’ll be there Monday with us if everything goes accordingly.”

The Red Sox are in Oakland for a three-game weekend series against the A’s that concludes Sunday afternoon. They will then travel south to take on the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim in another three-game set that begins on Monday and wraps up on Wednesday.

Kevin Plawecki, meanwhile, is with the Sox in the Bay Area and is traveling with the team despite currently being on the 10-day injured list like Arroyo.

The 30-year-old catcher was originally placed on the IL with a left hamstring strain on June 22, which came as a result of him chasing down an errant throw in that same series against the Royals Arroyo got hurt in.

Cora had said that Plawecki suffered a setback in his recovery earlier this week, but his outlook regarding the veteran backstop seemed more optimistic as of Friday afternoon.

“He’s feeling better. Not quite there yet,” said Cora. “I feel like having him here — if something happens and he feels OK, then we can plug him into the roster, right? With all the traveling and how far we are from the East Coast, it would become difficult. He feels like he’s making progress. He’s catching bullpens, he caught (Chris) Sale the other day. So, he’s getting closer.”

Unlike Arroyo, Boston does not feel as though Plawecki would require a rehab assignment since he only plays once every six or seven days and has not lost much in terms of his timing at the plate.

“We’ll play it by year,” Cora said. “We’ll see how the rest of the week goes and we’ll make decisions from there.”

While Arroyo and Plawecki have been sidelined with their respective injuries, the Red Sox have had infielder/outfielder Michael Chavis and catching prospect Connor Wong up in their place.

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox injuries: Bobby Dalbec (hamstring tightness) out of Wednesday’s lineup, Christian Arroyo (knee contusion) set for rehab assignment with WooSox, Tanner Houck sharp in latest start

Red Sox manager Alex Cora provided injury updates pertaining to Bobby Dalbec, Christian Arroyo, and Tanner Houck prior to Wednesday’s game against the Royals at Fenway Park.

Dalbec, who experienced right hamstring tightness that forced him to exit in the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s win over Kansas City, is out of Boston’s starting lineup for Wednesday’s contest.

“Bobby’s OK,” Cora said earlier Wednesday afternoon. “He’s still tight. He’s going to get treatment. I don’t know if we’re going to try to make him run today. But better than yesterday, but not 100%.”

While it certainly looks like Dalbec, who actually turned 26 on Tuesday, will avoid a trip to the injured list and should be considered day-to-day, Michael Chavis will start in his place at first base and bat ninth on Wednesday.

Arroyo slated to begin rehab assignment with WooSox

Christian Arroyo, meanwhile, has been on the 10-day injured list since June 24 (backdated to June 21) due to a right knee contusion that was originally diagnosed as a right shin bone bruise after he collided with Enrique Hernandez in Kansas City two weekends ago.

Because his stint on the IL was backdated to June 21, Arroyo is eligible to be activated on Thursday, July 1. That said, the Red Sox would like the 26-year-old infielder to get some at-bats in with Triple-A Worcester before that happens.

“Most likely he’ll go to Worcester and he’ll DH tomorrow,” Cora said of Arroyo. “He faced Chris [Sale] today. I think he had two at-bats against him. But there’s not too much going on the field today as far as batting practice and all that. But that was the plan last night. Probably after the game we’ll let you guys know, but that seems to be what he’s going to do.

Arroyo himself expects to head out to Polar Park on Thursday to DH for the WooSox before rejoining the big-league club for their upcoming West Coast road trip.

Houck feeling good after third start back for WooSox

Red Sox pitching prospect Tanner Houck woke up Wednesday morning with no ill effects from his latest start with the WooSox at Polar Park on Tuesday night, Cora said.

In his third start back off the injured list after missing more than a month with flexor muscle soreness, Houck allowed two earned runs on three hits, zero walks, and two hit batsmen to go along with four strikeouts over four innings of work.

It was the right-hander’s longest outing (67 pitches, 40 of which were strikes) since he returned to the mound on June 17.

“Everything went well,” Cora said when asked about Houck, who turned 25 on Tuesday. “I actually texted with [WooSox pitching coach Paul Abbott] this morning, he felt like [Houck] was really good. Command was good, the intent was good, very aggressive. Everything went well. Obviously, let’s see how he shows up today and if there’s any red flags. We don’t expect red flags, so it was a good one for him.”

As he continues to build up his arm strength, Houck could make his return to the Sox’ starting rotation out of the All-Star break if the club opts to add a sixth starter to the mix out of the gate in late July.

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Also, for what it’s worth, Cora did not provide an update on backup catcher Kevin Plawecki, who has been on the injured list with a left hamstring strain since June 22 but suffered an apparent minor setback on Monday.

(Picture of Bobby Dalbec: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Red Sox injuries: Christian Arroyo (knee contusion) likely to begin rehab assignment this week, Kevin Plawecki (hamstring strain) suffers minor setback, Alex Cora says

Prior to Tuesday’s game against the Royals at Fenway Park, Red Sox manager Alex Cora provided updates on a pair of key injured position players in Christian Arroyo and Kevin Plawecki.

Arroyo, who has been held out of action since June 20 and on the 10-day injured list with a right knee contusion since June 24, appears to be on the verge of starting a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester — who are at home through July 4 — before rejoining the Sox ahead of their West Coast road trip that begins later this week.

The 26-year-old second baseman sustained a right shin bone bruise last Sunday in Kansas City after colliding with center fielder Enrique Hernandez while going after a fly ball.

At the time, Arroyo was hitting .264/.324/.432 with nine doubles, four home runs, 17 runs scored, 19 RBI, one stolen base, five walks, and 38 strikeouts through his first 42 games of the season.

Because his stint on the IL was backdated to June 21, the soonest Arroyo could be activated would be this coming Thursday, July 1. That said, it seems as though the Sox would like the right-handed hitter to get some playing time in with the WooSox before he is back in the big-league lineup once again.

In terms of proximity to a return date, Arroyo is in better shape than Plawecki. That being the case because the Sox’ backup catcher suffered somewhat of a setback in regards to his hamstring injury while working out at Fenway on Monday.

Plawecki was placed on the 10-day injured list on June 22, two days after straining his left hamstring while chasing down an errant throw last weekend in Kansas City.

Like Arroyo, Plawecki’s stint on the IL was backdated to June 21, but it looks like the 30-year-old backstop will require more than the minimum 10 days.

“Yeah, Arroyo is going to run the bases,” Cora told reporters (including NESN.com’s Alexandra Francisco) earlier Tuesday afternoon. “Kevin, he didn’t feel great throughout the day yesterday. He is going to get treatment. It’s not a big setback, but it’s probably going to slow him down a little bit. If I can guess, it feels like Christian, he’ll be back when he has to, he’ll be OK.

“Probably will send him to Worcester to a rehab assignment to get a few at-bats, and then he should be ready to go for the West Coast trip,” added Cora. “And Kevin, now we have to wait a little bit, I’ll see how he feels today. Nothing major, but like I told him, I said, ‘This is not about this week or next week, this is about the whole season, and we need you, you know? So just make sure you’re patient enough and we’ll see where it takes us.’”

While Arroyo and Plawecki have been sidelined, the Red Sox have had infielder/outfielder Michael Chavis and catching prospect Connor Wong up in their place.

After wrapping up their four-game series with Kansas City on Thursday, Boston will set out to Oakland for the start of a two-city, six-game road trip against the Athletics and Angels that begins on Friday and concludes on Wednesday, June 7 in Anaheim.

(Picture of Kevin Plawecki: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

Red Sox injuries: Christian Arroyo (knee contusion), Kevin Plawecki (hamstring strain) ‘progressing well’ and could rejoin team ‘sooner rather than later,’ Alex Cora says

Christian Arroyo and Kevin Plawecki are both progressing well from their respective injuries and could be ready to return to the Red Sox within the coming days, manager Alex Cora said prior to Monday’s game against the Royals at Fenway Park.

Arroyo has been out of action since June 20, when he collided with center fielder Enrique Hernandez while going after a fly ball in the fifth inning of last Sunday’s loss to the Royals in Kansas City.

Later diagnosed with a right shin bone bruise, the infielder was placed on the 10-day injured list on June 24 with what the Red Sox called a right knee contusion.

Because Arroyo’s stint on the IL was backdated to June 21, the soonest the 26-year-old could be activated is this Thursday, July 1.

Plawecki, meanwhile, suffered a left hamstring strain in Kansas City last weekend while chasing after an errant throw from Hernandez.

The veteran catcher was placed on the 10-day injured list on June 22, though, like Arroyo, the move was made retroactive to June 21, meaning he could be activated as soon as Thursday.

While Arroyo and Plawecki have been on the shelf, they have been able to take part in baseball activities, as both were involved in Chris Sale’s live batting practice session at Fenway Park on Saturday.

Taking that into consideration, Cora is hopeful the Sox can get both players back potentially by the end of the week. Infielder/outfielder Michael Chavis and catching prospect Connor Wong have been up with the big-league club in the interim.

“They’re progressing well, both of them,” Cora said earlier Monday afternoon. “Kevin, as you guys saw, he caught Chris [Sale’s] live BP. Christian and Kevin, they should be hitting right now outside. So they’re moving well, they’re feeling better. So they seem like this is going to be something short and they should be with us sooner rather than later.”

The Red Sox will wrap up their seven-game homestand against the Royals on Thursday afternoon before departing for the west coast for the start of a two-city, six-game road trip on Friday. That may be something to keep in mind in regards to upcoming roster moves.

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Christian Arroyo on 10-day injured list, recall Michael Chavis from Triple-A Worcester

Before wrapping up a three-game series against the Rays in Tampa Bay on Thursday night, the Red Sox placed infielder Christian Arroyo on the 10-day injured list due to a right knee contusion.

In a corresponding move, infielder/outfielder Michael Chavis was recalled from Triple-A Worcester, the team announced earlier Thursday afternoon.

Chavis will bat leadoff for the Sox in Thursday’s series finale at Tropicana Field.

Arroyo’s stint on the injured list was backdated to June 21, so the earliest he could be activated is next Thursday, July 1.

The 26-year-old suffered a right shin bone bruise in the fifth inning of this past Sunday’s loss to the Royals in Kansas City after colliding with center fielder Enrique Hernandez.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora had been optimistic that Arroyo would be able to return to the lineup at some point this week, even saying on Wednesday that the team “still believe[s] it’s not an IL situation.”

Alas, that will not be the case, as Boston will be without Arroyo for at least the next seven days, if not longer.

In his first full season with the Sox, the right-handed hitting infielder is slashing a solid .264/.324/.432 with nine doubles, four home runs, 19 RBI, 17 runs scored, five walks, 38 strikeouts, and one stolen base over 41 games (138 plate appearances) while seeing the majority of his playing time come at second base.

Back in May, Arroyo sustained a left hand contusion after getting hit by a pitch that resulted in him missing a little more than three weeks of action while spending 16 days on the injured list.

That stint on the IL required a rehab assignment with the WooSox, so it should be interesting to see if this latest one will as well.

Chavis, meanwhile, is up with the Red Sox for the fourth time this season already.

The 25-year-old’s most-recent spell began on June 14, when right-hander Ryan Weber was designated for assignment, and ended on June 16, when righty reliever Yacksel Rios was added to the major-league roster.

In those three days with the Sox, Chavis did not see any playing time.

With Boston this season, the right-handed hitter has gone 9-for-33 (.273) at the plate with four doubles, one homer, two RBI, seven runs scored, zero walks, and 13 strikeouts over the course of 11 games.

With Worcester, he is hitting .263/.327/.474 to go along with two doubles, six home runs, 17 RBI, 19 runs scored, eight walks, 30 strikeouts, and one stolen base in 24 games, though he has been swinging a hotter bat (.979 OPS) in the month of June.

(Picture of Michael Chavis: Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox injuries: Christian Arroyo should avoid injured list, Tanner Houck allows 2 runs over 3 2/3 innings in latest start for WooSox

Infielder Christian Arroyo remains out of the Red Sox lineup for the middle game of their three-game series against the Rays at Tropicana Field on Wednesday night.

Arroyo suffered a bone bruise in his right shin in Sunday’s loss to the Royals after colliding with center fielder Enrique Hernandez in the fifth inning of that contest.

While the 26-year-old has been held out Boston’s lineup in the two games since sustaining the injury, he has been able to get treatment on his bruised shin and even participated in some running drills earlier Wednesday afternoon. The team appears optimistic that he can avoid a stint on the injured list.

“He’s doing better. Still sore,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said in regards to Arroyo’s status. “We’ll try to stay away from him today. We still believe it’s not an IL situation. Hopefully, he’s ready to play tomorrow — if not, by Friday. So, we’ll be patient with him.”

Boston concludes its three-game set against the Rays on Thursday before opening up a three-game weekend series against the Yankees back at Fenway Park on Friday.

With Arroyo being held out of action once more, Hernandez will get the start for the Sox at second base, while Danny Santana will bat leadoff and start in center field.

Tanner Houck’s tosses 3 2/3 innings in latest start for WooSox

Red Sox pitching prospect Tanner Houck made his second start for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday since returning from the injured list after being shut down for more than a month with flexor muscle soreness.

After dazzling with three scoreless, no-hit innings in his return to the mound at Polar Park last week, Houck had a tougher time of things when going up the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings (Nationals affiliate) at Frontier Field on Wednesday.

The right-hander served up a leadoff home run to the first man he faced in Luis Garcia, though he was able to settle down for a stretch by retiring nine of the next 10 hitters who came to the plate against him going into the fourth inning.

With one out in the bottom of the fourth, however, Houck yielded a hard-hit double to former White Sox outfielder Daniel Palka and saw his day come to a close after recording the second out of the frame.

The runner he left on wound up scoring later in the inning, and the WooSox would go on to fall to the Red Wings by a final score of 5-3 to snap a modest five-game winning streak.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 58 (38 strikes), Houck wound up surrendering two earned runs on three hits (one home run) and zero walks to go along with six strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings of work.

Assuming he wakes up feeling fine on Thursday, the soon-to-be 25-year-old hurler’s next start for the WooSox should come against the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Yankees affiliate) back at Polar Park on Monday.

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox injuries: Christian Arroyo (bone bruise), Kevin Plawecki (hamstring tightness) removed from Sunday’s series finale against Royals

The Red Sox received two potentially serious blows to their roster makeup in the process of falling to the Royals by a final score of 7-3 at Kauffmann Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

In the bottom of the fifth inning on a steamy day in Kansas City, Christian Arroyo needed to be removed from the game after colliding with center fielder Kiké Hernández while the two were going after a fly ball off the bat of Hunter Dozier that wound up going for a double.

In the process of trying to make an over-the-shoulder catch with his back towards the infield, the second baseman inadvertently bumped knees with Hernandez as he slid into the outfield grass.

As a result of the contact he made with Hernandez, Arroyo — who was in visible pain and seemingly could not put a ton of weight on his right knee — needed to be taken out and was replaced by Marwin Gonzalez at second base for the remainder of the contest.

Later diagnosed with a right shin bone bruise, X-rays on the 26-year-old’s knee did come back negative.

“Christian is sore,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith). “It’s right below the patellar. So he’ll be sore for a little bit. He had X-rays. Everything’s good. They moved his knee around. It seems like he’ll be OK. Obviously let’s see how it goes on the plane and when we get to Tampa.”

As noted by The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey, the Sox were planning on batting Arroyo leadoff for all three of their upcoming games against the Rays this week with left-handers on the mound for Tampa Bay, so this bone bruise certainly puts those plans in jeopardy.

Hernandez, meanwhile, was able to remain in the game after the fifth-inning collision, and he later described what happened on the play from his point of view.

“The collision happened after the ball dropped. I was coming in for the ball. He was still going back for the ball,” he said. “I wasn’t able to get out of the way because I was trying to keep up with the ball. We just happened to hit each other.”

Plawecki exits in fourth inning

Two innings before the collision that forced Arroyo out of this contest early, Hernandez was also somewhat involved in another Red Sox injury.

With one out and a runner at second base in the bottom half of the third, Hernandez fielded a line-drive single off the bat of Salvador Perez and attempted to gun down the runner — Whit Merrifield — at home.

Hernandez’s throw was errant, however, and it forced backup catcher Kevin Plawecki to leave his post and chase after the ball before it hit the backstop. He came up limping in the process of doing so.

Able to remain in the game for the remainder of the inning, Plawecki was ultimately pinch-hit for by Christian Vazquez in the top half of the fourth and was later ruled out with left hamstring tightness.

Based off what Cora told reporters (including The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham) during his postgame media availability, it seems as though the Sox are optimistic that Arroyo will avoid a stint on the injured list; though the same cannot be said for Plawecki.

“With Kevin, we’ll wait a little bit,” Cora said of the 30-year-old backstop. “He wanted to grind it out. We’ll know more [Monday]. I talked to [athletic trainer] Brandon [Henry] and he feels like with that one, we should wait to see where we’re at during the week.”

The Red Sox have Monday off as they prepare to open a three-game series against the Rays in St. Petersburg.

If Plawecki’s status is still uncertain after that, then it’s likely Boston would need to place him on the injured list and, in turn, call up another catcher.

Besides Vazquez and Plawecki, prospects Connor Wong and Ronaldo Hernandez are the only other catchers on the Sox’ 40-man roster and neither have any big-league experience.

Veterans with major-league experience such as Chris Herrmann and Jett Bandy, however, are currently playing for the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Worcester, so that would likely be the move.

That being said, neither Bandy nor Herrmann are currently on Boston’s 40-man roster, so a corresponding transaction would need to be made in order for one of the two to be added to the big-league roster.

(Picture of Alex Cora and Christian Arroyo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Christian Arroyo comes through with game-winning grand slam as Red Sox finish off sweep of Braves with 10-8 victory

The month of Christian Arroyo continued for the Red Sox in Atlanta on Wednesday night.

With his side trailing 7-6 with two outs and the bases loaded in the top half of the seventh, Arroyo came off the bench and delivered in the clutch.

On a 1-2, 89 mph cutter at the bottom of the zone from Braves reliever A.J. Minter, Arroyo crushed his first career grand slam — and the Red Sox’ first grand slam of the season — 467 feet to left field.

Arroyo’s fourth homer of the year, all of which have come within the last 12 games, put Boston back up 10-7 and propelled them to a 10-8 victory to finish off a quick two-game sweep of Atlanta.

The Sox had initially gotten out to a 2-0 lead over the Braves on a two-run single off the bat of Hunter Renfroe right away in the first inning.

Garrett Richards, Wednesday’s starter for Boston, gave back one of those runs on an Abraham Almonte sacrifice fly in the second, but contributed to his own cause two innings later by following a Bobby Dalbec RBI single with a run-scoring knock of his own.

Matched up against his counterpart in Braves starter Ian Anderson, Richards laced a hard-hit double to right-center field for his first career hit that gave Dalbec more than enough time to score from first and make it a 4-1 contest.

Despite helping himself out, the veteran right-hander ran into some trouble in the latter half of the fourth when he issued a leadoff triple to Dansby Swanson. That would set the stage for the Braves to plate two more runs and cut the deficit back down to one at 4-3.

Xander Bogaerts coldly greeted Braves rookie reliever Kyle Muller in the fifth with an RBI double that drove in J.D. Martinez from first, and he, too, scored on a run-scoring base hit from Rafael Devers. 6-3 Boston.

Again given a sizable cushion to work with, Richards watched that three-run lead dissipate in an instant when he served up a game-tying, three-run home run to Swanson, which would simultaneously mark the end of his outing after failing to record an out in the fifth inning.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 84 (54 strikes), the 33-year-old did not throw a single curveball on Wednesday and instead operated with just his four-seam fastball and slider. While he did raise his ERA on the season to 4.36, Richards’ next start should come against the Rays back at Fenway Park next Wednesday.

Hirokazu Sawamura got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen in relief of Richards, and he was able to preserve the 6-6 stalemate going into the sixth inning by retiring the first three hitters he faced.

The bottom of the sixth, however, was a different story for Sawamura, as he allowed the then-go-ahead run to score on a solo homer from Freeman, which put the Braves up 7-6.

Recently-acquired Yacksel Rios would have to come on for the Japanese hurler, and he wound up picking up his first winning decision with the Red Sox by getting Swanson to line out to limit any further damage.

From there, the Braves turned to veteran reliever Shane Greene, who yielded a leadoff double to Bogaerts, a walk to Devers, and a one-out walk to Christian Vazquez to fill the bases for the Sox’ Nos. 8 and 9 hitters.

Danny Santana was originally going to hit in that No. 9 spot, which led Atlanta to bring in left-hander A.J. Minter. Red Sox manager Alex Cora countered by swapping Santana for the right-handed hitting Arroyo, and that move paid dividends to say the least.

Arroyo’s slam gave Boston a 10-7 advantage going into the late stages. Brandon Workman and Darwinzon Hernandez combined to keep it that way by tossing a scoreless seventh inning, while Josh Taylor did the same in the eighth.

That paved the way for Adam Ottavino, not Matt Barnes, to come on for the save in the ninth.

Ottavino did allow one run to score to narrow the lead to two runs, but he benefitted from Ronald Acuna Jr. running into an out at third base on the very same play the run scored, and followed that by punching out Freeman on four pitches to preserve the 10-8 victory and notch his fourth save of the year.

With the victory, not only do the Red Sox extend their winning streak to three and improve to 42-27 on the season; they also move to a game back of the Rays for first place in the American League East.

Vazquez removed due to stomach issue

Catcher Christian Vazquez needed to be removed from Wednesday’s game in the seventh inning due to what the Red Sox called a stomach illness. He was replaced by Kevin Plawecki.

Next up: First off day in quite a while

The Red Sox will enjoy a much-deserved off day on Thursday after completing a run of 17 games in 17 days without a break. They went 10-7 in that stretch.

Following the off day, the Sox will open up a three-game weekend series against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on Friday night.

Right-hander Nick Pivetta is slated to get the ball for Boston in the opener, while fellow righty Jackson Kowar is lined up to do the same for Kansas City.

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Christian Arroyo ties it and Alex Verdugo walks it off as Red Sox rally to defeat Blue Jays, 6-5

The Red Sox were trailing the Blue Jays for the majority of the night on Friday, yet still found a way to battle their way back from a 5-1 deficit for another comeback victory at Fenway Park.

For the second night in a row, Christian Arroyo came through in the clutch with a game-tying solo home run off Blue Jays reliever Carl Edwards Jr. to knot things up at five runs a piece.

In the ninth, Enrique Hernandez led things off against Jays closer Rafael Dolis by reaching first base on a throwing error committed by shortstop Bo Bichette, and then advanced to second — into scoring position — because of Toronto’s mistake.

The speedy Danny Santana pinch-ran for Hernandez as he represented the winning run, though he did not stick at second base for long.

That being the case because Alex Verdugo laced an RBI single off the Green Monster to score Santana and walk things off for the Sox in what would go down as a 6-5 win over the Blue Jays.

Verdugo’s first walk-off hit in a Red Sox uniform sealed Boston’s 23rd come-from-behind victory of the season, which is the most in the major-leagues.

With the win, the Sox improve to 39-25 (19-15 at home) on the year. They remain a game back of the Rays for first place in the American League East.

Richards gets off to rocky start, but settles in

Garrett Richards made his 13th start of the season for Boston to begin things on Friday.

The right-hander labored through his first two innings of work — and surrendered three runs as a result — but was able to pitch into the sixth before his day ended.

After throwing 64 pitches to record six outs while yielding a healthy amout of hard contact, Richards settled in nicely, stringing together three straight scoreless frames leading up to the sixth, at which point he gave up a one-out single to Marcus Semien, and that was that.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 101 (66 strikes) to eclipse the century mark for the first time this season, the 33-year-old hurler also allowed a season-high 11 hits. His next start should come against the Braves on Wednesday.

Sawamura serves up moonshot to Vlad Jr.

In relief of Richards, Hirokazu Sawamura got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen, and he allowed the lone runner he inherited to score by serving up a towering 443-foot two-run homer to the vaunted Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero Jr.’s blast gave the Blue Jays a 5-1 lead and officially closed the book on Richards’ night as the Sox starter wound up getting charged with four earned runs to raise his ERA on the season to 4.09. Sawamura was able to get out of the sixth.

Taylor bails out Workman

From there, Brandon Workman only managed to retire one of the three hitters he faced in the seventh, which led Red Sox manager Alex Cora to deploy Josh Taylor.

Taylor fanned the only two Blue Jays he faced (Cavan Biggio, Riley Adams), to strand a pair of runners in scoring position and extend his scoreless appearances streak to 17 consecutive games.

Whitlock closes it out

Garrett Whitlock took over in the eighth, maneuvered his way around a leadoff single in his first inning of work, and also stranded the potential go-ahead runs by leaving the bases loaded in a scoreless top half of the ninth. The right-hander would earn his second winning decision of the season.

Dalbec’s homer gets scoring started for Sox

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against another veteran right-hander in the form of Blue Jays starter Ross Stripling.

Bobby Dalbec kicked off the scoring for the Sox against Stripling by crushing his seventh home run of the season — a 441-foot solo shot to dead center field — to cut Toronto’s lead down to two runs at 3-1.

Three-run sixth with a side of wildness

Fast forward to the sixth, and the Red Sox knocked Stripling out of this contest when Hunter Renfroe drove in Alex Verdugo on a two-out RBI single to center field and Christian Vazquez followed with a single of his own.

Blue Jays reliever Tyler Chatwood did not fare much better, as he plunked Christian Arroyo to load the bases, walked in a run by issuing a free pass to Marwin Gonzalez, and threw a wild pitch that allowed Vazquez to score from third to trim the deficit to one run. 5-4.

Verdugo walks it off

With contributions from the likes of Garrett Whitlock and Christian Arroyo in the eighth and ninth innings, Alex Verdugo sent the Fenway faithful into a frenzy with a game-sealing walk-off single in the bottom half of the ninth.

It should be noted that Verdugo played a quality left field on Friday night as well.

Next up: Matz vs. Pivetta

Saturday’s starting pitching matchup between the Blue Jays and Red Sox will feature a pair of former National League East foes going at it.

Ex-Mets left-hander Steven Matz will be getting the start for Toronto, and he will be opposed by ex-Phillies right-hander Nick Pivetta getting the start for Boston.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo and Christian Arroyo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Christian Arroyo, Red Sox outslug Astros in action-packed 12-8 victory to avoid sweep

When playing the same team seven times within a 10-day span, some wild things are bound to happen, as was the case between the Red Sox and Astros at Fenway Park on Thursday night.

Boston was able to come away with a hard-fought, action-packed 12-8 win over Houston to avoid a three-game sweep, but not before 25 hits and five lead changes were exchanged between both sides over the course of a contest that took nearly four hours to complete.

Rodriguez fails to get through five innings

Eduardo Rodriguez made his 12th start of the season for Boston on Thursday and had a relatively tough time of things against a team he has regularly struggled against.

Over just 4 2/3 innings of work, the left-hander surrendered six runs — all of which were earned — on six hits and three walks to go along with five strikeouts on the night.

The first of those six Astros runs came courtesy of a solo home run off the bat of Yuli Gurriel in the second inning. The next two came on a two-run double from Yordan Alvarez an inning later.

After settling into a bit of a groove and recording the first two outs of the top of the fifth, Rodriguez gave up a single to Alex Bregman and a six-pitch walk to Alvarez, which filled the bases for Houston and in turn marked the end of Rodriguez’s outing.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 106 (64 strikes), the 28-year-old hurler saw his ERA on the season inflate to 6.03 while taking home the no-decision. His next start should come against the Braves in Atlanta next Tuesday.

With his pitch count where it was at, Rodriguez got the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora in favor of Matt Andriese, who proceeded to walk in a run and serve up a bases-clearing, three-run double to Kyle Tucker to close the book on the starter’s night before getting out of the inning with his side now trailing 7-4.

Red Sox bullpen keeps Astros in check

From the sixth inning on, the Red Sox bullpen combined to allow just one more run to the Astros, with Jose Altuve taking Darwinzon Hernandez deep to left field to make it an 8-7 contest in the top half of the sixth.

Besides that, Adam Ottavino tossed a scoreless top of the seventh with the help of an unconventional, inning-ending 2-3-4 double play, Josh Taylor continued to impress with a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and Matt Barnes closed things out in the ninth to seal a 12-8 victory for the Sox.

Getting going against Greinke

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against a tough opponent in Astros right-hander Zack Greinke.

A string of three straight one-out singles in the bottom of the second got the scoring started for the Sox, with Christian Vazquez plating Rafael Devers from third for their first run of the night.

Enrique Hernandez followed by drawing a bases-loaded walk, while J.D. Martinez crushed a solo homer — his 13th of the year — and Vazquez knocked in another run on an RBI single in the third inning to put Boston ahead, 4-3.

Arroyo answers the call

After falling behind by three runs in the top half of the fifth, the Red Sox were able to respond right away by punishing Astros reliever Brandon Bielak in their half of the frame.

Rafael Devers and Christian Vazquez both reached base on a pair of singles, which brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Christian Arroyo with two outs in the inning.

Arroyo came through in the clutch, as he demolished a hanging slider from Bielak and sent it flying over the Green Monster for his second big fly of the season — and his second against the Astros.

The 437-foot three-run shot knotted thing back up at seven runs a piece heading into the later innings.

Six-run sixth seals it

While the Astros briefly retook an 8-7 lead to begin things in the sixth, the Sox wasted no time in taking that lead back in the bottom half of the inning.

Enrique Hernandez led off with a double, advanced to third on an Alex Verdugo groundout, and scored on a J.D. Martinez sacrifice fly that was dropped by Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker. 8-8.

A pair of walks drawn by Xander Bogaerts and Hunter Renfroe filled the bases for Christian Vazquez, who added on to a productive night at the plate by getting plunked by Astros reliever Enoli Parades to bring across yet another run.

Christian Arroyo followed suit by also getting beaned with a pitch to drive in Xander Bogaerts from third, and the Red Sox had a 10-8 lead just like that.

Following an Astros pitching change that saw Brooks Raley take over for Parades, Bobby Dalbec all but put this one to bed when he drilled a 106 mph double off the left field wall and scored both Renfroe and Vazquez in the process of doing so.

That bit of added insurance gave the Red Sox a commanding 12-8 lead, which would go on to be Thursday’s final score. Boston is now 38-25 on the season.

Next up: Bring on the Blue Jays

After halting a mini two-game losing streak, the Red Sox will welcome the 31-29 Blue Jays into town for a four-game weekend series that begins on Friday night and wraps around to next Monday.

Right-hander Garrett Richards will get the start for Boston in the series opener, and he will be opposed by fellow righty Ross Striping for Toronto.

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)