fenway park – Page 3 – Blogging the Red Sox

Garrett Whitlock, Justin Turner power Red Sox to 2-1 win over Angels

Behind a strong start from Garrett Whitlock and one swing of the bat from Justin Turner, the Red Sox won their third straight over the Angels on Sunday afternoon. Boston defeated Los Angeles by a final score of 2-1 at Fenway Park to get back to .500 at 8-8 on the season.

Whitlock, making his second start of the year for the Sox, put forth a superb effort. The right-hander allowed just one run on three hits and two walks to go along with five strikeouts over seven fast-paced innings of work.

That lone run came in the top of the second. After Anthony Rendon led off with a double and moved up to third, Whitlock surrendered an RBI single to Brandon Drury to give the Angels an early 1-0 lead. The inning ended shortly thereafter, as Connor Wong gunned down Drury at second base to retire the side.

Fast forward to the bottom of the third, and Alex Verdugo reached base on a one-out single off Angels starter Reid Detmers. Verdugo promptly stole second base to put a runner in scoring position for Turner, who delivered by crushing a 386-foot two-run shot over the Green Monster for his first home run in a Red Sox uniform.

Turner’s blast, which left his bat at 103.2 mph, put Boston up, 2-1. Whitlock then took over by retiring 11 of the final 12 batters he faced from the beginning of the fourth through the middle of the seventh, at which point his day came to a close.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 99 (61 strikes), Whitlock becomes the first Red Sox starter to pitch into the sixth (and seventh) inning of a game this season. The 26-year-old hurler also picked up his first winning decision of the year while lowering his ERA to 4.50.

With six more outs to get, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was put in a precarious position in regards to his bullpen. Because Kenley Jansen (who had pitched two straight days) and Chris Martin (who had just been placed on the injured list) were both unavailable, Cora turned to Kaleb Ort in the eighth.

Ort gave up a leadoff single to Gio Urshela and issued a one-out walk to Drury. After getting Logan O’Hoppe to fly out, Ort ended the inning by picking off the pinch-running Brett Phillips at second base. Ryan Brasier followed by striking out Mike Trout and getting Shohei Ohtani to fly out as part of a 1-2-3 ninth inning to end it.

Brasier’s first save of the season put the finishing touches on a a Red Sox win that took all of one hour and 57 minutes to complete.

Yoshida returns to lineup

After missing the last four games with light hamstring tightness, Masataka Yoshida returned to Boston’s lineup on Sunday. Dropped down to sixth in the order and serving as the Sox’ designated hitter, Yoshida went 0-for-2 with a strikeout. He was also hit by a pitch in the second inning.

Wong strikes again

By snuffing out Brandon Drury at second base to end the top of the second, Connor Wong has now thrown out four of six possible base stealers to begin the year.

Next up: Bello goes up against Ohtani in season debut

Brayan Bello will come off the injured list and make his season debut for the Red Sox in Monday’s series finale against fellow right-hander Shohei Ohtani and the Angels.

First pitch from Fenway Park on Marathon Monday is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Justin Turner: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Yu Chang ends hitless drought with homer, go-ahead single as Red Sox come back to defeat Angels, 9-7

The Red Sox overcame a pair of deficits to pick up their second consecutive win over the Angels on Saturday afternoon. Boston defeated Los Angeles by a final score of 9-7 at Fenway Park to improve to 7-8 on the season.

Nick Pivetta, making his third start of the year for the Sox, was not at his sharpest. The right-hander surrendered six earned runs on five hits, three walks, and one hit batsman to go along with four strikeouts over four-plus innings of work.

Four of those runs came on one swing of the bat in the top of the first. After loading the bases with a pair of two-out walks, Pivetta served up a 385-foot grand slam to Gio Urshela to put the Red Sox in an early 4-0 hole.

Boston quickly responded in the latter half of the first. With Tyler Anderson starting for Los Angeles, Rob Refsnyder reached base on a two-out double to deep center field that was just out of Mike Trout’s reach. That brought Rafael Devers to the plate for the first time, and he came through by clubbing a two-run shot over the Green Monster for his seventh home run of the season already.

Devers’ 410-foot blast cut the deficit in half at 4-2. Two innings later, Justin Turner made it a one-run game by scoring from third when Devers grounded into a 6-3 double play. In the fourth, the Red Sox were able to leapfrog the Angels in somewhat surprising fashion.

Connor Wong ignited the two-out rally by ripping a 100.2 mph double off the Monster. Yu Chang — who was 0-for-17 at the plate to begin the season coming into the fourth inning — followed by taking a 1-0, 88.9 mph fastball from Anderson and depositing it off the DraftKings sign in left field for his first home run in a Red Sox uniform.

Chang’s go-ahead, two-run shot put Boston up, 5-4. After Anderson put Alex Verdugo (single) and Turner (walk on base), Refsnyder added to the lead with an RBI single that drove in Verdugo from second to make it a 6-4 contest going into the fifth.

To that point, it appeared as though Pivetta had settled in by tossing three straight scoreless frames. But the righty ran into more trouble in the top of the fifth by giving up a leadoff double to the vaunted Trout. Shohei Ohtani moved Trout over to third with a single and Anthony Rendon plated him with a base hit of his own.

With his pitch count already at 99 (57 strikes), Pivetta was given the hook by manager Alex Cora in favor of Kaleb Ort out of the bullpen. Ort fanned Hunter Renfroe for the first out before giving up a softly-hit game-tying RBI single to Urshela. He escaped any further damage by retiring the next two batters he faced.

Richard Bleier took over for Ort in the sixth and immediately plunked the first batter he faced in Matt Thaiss. The lefty then got Taylor Ward to ground into a force out at second base. Ward, however, reached base safely and — after advancing to second on a wild pitch — came into score on a two-out RBI single from Ohtani.

The Angels took a 7-6 lead on Ohtani’s second hit of the day and that is where the score would remain after John Schreiber and Ryan Brasier each worked a scoreless inning of relief. The bottom of the eighth is where things got interesting.

Matched up against veteran reliever Ryan Tepera, Enrique Hernandez led off with a groundball single. The pinch-hitting Raimel Tapia then appeared to line out to left for what would have been the first out of the frame, but he was instead awarded first base after home plate umpire Cory Blaser ruled that Tapia’s bat made contact with the glove of Thaiss behind the plate.

Two batters later, catcher’s interference was called again while the pinch-hitting Reese McGuire was at the plate. That unique sequence of events filled the bases with one out for Chang, who delivered yet again with a go-ahead, two-run single through the left side of the infield. Both Hernandez and Tapia scored on the play. Refsnyder provided some added insurance later in the inning by drawing a bases-loaded walk.

Taking a two-run lead into the ninth, Kenley Jansen sealed the 9-7 victory for the Red Sox by recording his second save of the series and his fourth of the season overall.

Next up: Detmers vs. Whitlock

The Red Sox will look to take this four-game series from the Angels with another win on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Garrett Whitlock will get the start for Boston opposite left-hander Reid Detmers for Los Angeles.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Yu Chang: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers homers, Kenley Jansen records first save at Fenway Park as Red Sox snap skid with 5-3 win over Angels

Five hits is all the Red Sox needed to pick up a series-opening win over the Angels on Friday night. Donning the yellow City Connect uniforms for the first time in 2023, Boston defeated Los Angeles by a final score of 5-3 at Fenway Park to put an end to a four-game losing streak and improve to 6-8 on the season.

Tanner Houck, making his third start of the year, for the Sox, allowed two earned runs on four hits and four walks to go along with six strikeouts over just four innings of work.

Both of those Angels runs came right away in the top of the first. After putting Shohei Ohtani (walk) and Anthony Rendon (single) on base with two outs, Houck surrendered a two-run double to former teammate Hunter Renfroe that was inches away from clearing the Green Monster in left field.

Despite the early struggles that put the Angels up 2-0, Houck was at least able to settle in a bit, though he did deal with his fair share of traffic on the base paths. After Connor Wong threw out Luis Rengifo at second to end the second and Renfroe grounded into a force out to end the third, the right-hander stranded two more runners in the fourth by retiring the final three batters he faced.

Because he had already thrown 90 pitches (56 strikes) to that point, though, Houck was done after four, meaning a Red Sox starter has still yet to pitch into the sixth inning of a game this season. The 26-year-old hurler did not factor into Friday’s decision as his ERA on the year remained at 4.50.

With Houck’s day done, the Red Sox got on the board in their half of the fourth. Still opposed by Angels starter Patrick Sandoval, Rafael Devers led off by reaching on Rengifo fielding error. He then took second on a wild pitch before coming into score on opposite-field RBI double off the bat of Enrique Hernandez.

Three batters later, Wong prolonged the inning by drawing a two-out walk off Sandoval to put runners at first and second for Yu Chang. Chang, in turn, hit a groundball towards Rendon at third base. Rendon fielded the ball cleanly, but he made a poor throw that got past first baseman Jake Lamb. As a result of the throwing error, Hernandez scored from second to knot things up at two runs apiece.

Josh Winckowski received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora as he took over for Houck in the fifth. The righty began his outing by putting two runners on with one out before getting Renfroe to ground into an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play.

In the bottom of the fifth, Devers broke the tie by crushing a one-out solo shot to right field off Angels reliever Jimmy Herget. Devers’ sixth home run of the season already had an exit velocity of 106.6 mph and travelled 349 feet off his bat. It also gave the Red Sox their first lead of the night at 3-2.

An inning later, the Red Sox again took advantage of some sloppy defense from the Angels infield. With two outs and two runners (Chang and Wong) at second and third, Rendon committed yet another throwing error on a Rob Refsnyder groundball. Devers then drew a walk off lefty reliever Aaron Loup, which filled the bases for Hernandez.

Hernandez, however, did not need to do anything, as Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe could not corral a first-pitch changeup in the dirt, which allowed Chang to come in to score from third and give the Red Sox a 5-2 advantage heading into the seventh.

Los Angeles did get one of those runs back in the seventh, as Winckowski yielded an RBI groundout to Rendon after putting runners at second and third with one out. Still, it was a productive outing for Winckowski, who allowed just the one run over three innings of relief and was later credited with his first winning decision of the year.

From there, John Schreiber worked a scoreless eighth inning to pave the way for Kenley Jansen, who recorded his first career save at Fenway Park by striking out three of the four batters he faced.

The veteran closer made it a bit interesting by giving up a two-out single to Rendon, which brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Renfroe. But Jansen did not falter and instead responded by getting Renfroe to whiff on a nasty 87 mph slider to end it.

With the victory, the Red Sox pick up their first win in a night game this season while improving to 3-4 at home.

Next up: Anderson vs. Pivetta

The Red Sox will go for their second straight win over the Angels on Saturday (Jackie Robinson Day) afternoon. Right-hander Nick Pivetta will get the start for Boston while left-hander Tyler Anderson will do the same for Los Angeles.

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

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Masataka Yoshida remains out of Red Sox lineup, will be available off bench in series opener against Angels

Outfielder Masataka Yoshida will be available off the bench for the Red Sox in Friday night’s series opener against the Angels, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey) at Fenway Park.

Yoshida is out of Boston’s starting lineup for a third straight game after originally being scratched with right hamstring tightness before Wednesday’s contest against the Rays in St. Petersburg.

While the Red Sox were initially optimistic that Yoshida would be back in time for Friday’s date with the Angels, Cora now says the 29-year-old will return to the lineup for the second game of this four-game weekend series on Saturday afternoon.

Yoshida, who signed a five-year, $90 million contract with Boston over the winter after spending the first seven years of his professional career in Japan, has started in 10 of the Sox’ first 13 games this season. The left-handed hitter is currently batting .216/.356/.324 with one double, one home run, six RBIs, eight runs scored, two stolen bases, seven walks, and three strikeouts in 45 plate appearances.

With Yoshida out of the lineup yet again, Rob Refsnyder will start in left field and bat third. Enrique Hernandez will start in center and Alex Verdugo will start in right while Yu Chang — who is hitless in his first 13 at-bats of the season — will round out the lineup and start at shortstop.

Here is how the rest of the Red Sox will be lining up on Friday against Angels lefty Patrick Sandoval. Right-hander Tanner Houck will be making his third start of the year for Boston.

Verdugo RF
Turner DH
Refsnyder LF
Devers 3B
K. Hernández CF
Arroyo 2B
Casas 1B
Wong C
Chang SS

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time. The game will be broadcasted exclusively on Apple TV+ as part of the platform’s 2023 ‘Friday Night Baseball’ lineup.

(Picture of Masataka Yoshida: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

Red Sox get swept by Pirates after losing, 4-1, in series finale

The Red Sox were unable to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Pirates on Wednesday afternoon. In sloppy fashion, Boston dropped its third straight to Pittsburgh at Fenway Park to fall to 2-4 on the season.

Corey Kluber, making his second start of the year for the Sox, was able to bounce back from a poor 2023 debut on Opening Day. Despite dealing with chilly conditions yet again, the veteran right-hander held the Pirates to just one run on three hits and one walk to go along with two strikeouts over five solid innings of work.

After working his way around a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first, Kluber settled in nicely by retiring the side in order in both the second and third innings. The lone run he surrendered came in the fourth, when Carlos Santana led off by clubbing a 340-foot solo shot down the right field line to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

Again, though, Kluber did not falter. He sat down the next six batters he faced after giving up that homer to Santana to get through five one-run frames. Despite the fact that Kluber had only thrown 67 pitches (44 strikes) to that point, Red Sox manager Alex Cora made the somewhat surprising decision to pull the 36-year-old hurler in favor of John Schreiber in the sixth. That is where things began to unravel for Boston.

Schreiber yielded two quick hits to Bryan Reynolds and Andrew McCutchen to put runners at second and third with no outs. Ke’Bryan Hayes then played Reynolds from third on a bunt single to double Pittsburgh’s lead to 2-0. An inning later, Kaleb Ort entered the game and gave up a leadoff double to Jason Delay. Delay then advanced to third when first baseman Triston Casas attempted to make a heads-up play by unsuccessfully throwing him out on a grounder off the bat of Oneil Cruz.

With one out and runners on the corners, Reynolds drove in Delay with a sacrifice fly to left field. Masataka Yoshida attempted to gun down Delay at home plate, but made an errant throw that allowed Cruz to move up to third as well. Two batters later, Santana plated Cruz with an RBI double down the right field line to make it a 4-0 contest in favor of the Pirates.

Trailing by four runs going into the latter half of the seventh, the Red Sox were finally able to get to Pirates starter Mitch Keller. After being held to just one hit through the first six innings, Casas ripped a two-out double to bring Christian Arroyo at the plate. Arroyo then pushed across Casas on an RBI single through the middle of the infield to cut the deficit to three.

Arroyo stole second base and advanced to third on a Raimel Tapia single. Cora then dipped into his bench by having Reese McGuire pinch-hit for Connor Wong. McGuire, representing the potential tying run, very nearly flipped the game on its head by lofting a deep fly ball towards the Pesky Pole in right field. The moonshot was initially called a three-run home run, but was later ruled foul following a video review. McGuire then went down looking at a 96 mph fastball from Keller, who extinguished the threat with his 107th and final pitch.

Richard Bleier and Zack Kelly combined for two scoreless innings of relief heading into the bottom of the ninth. Justin Turner led off with a single, but that was immediately snuffed out when Yoshida grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. Casas then popped out on the first pitch he saw from Duane Underwood Jr. to end it.

All told, the Red Sox were held to just five hits in Wednesday’s loss, which took all of two hours and 32 minutes to complete. They also allowed two more stolen bases by way of a double steal in the ninth inning, meaning teams are now 14-for-14 on steal attempts against them through six games.

Next up: Sale starts first road game in Detroit

On the heels of a 2-4 homestand to begin the season, the Red Sox will now embark on a two-city, seven-game road trip that includes stops in Detroit and Tampa Bay.

The Red Sox will open a three-game series against the Tigers on Thursday afternoon. Left-hander Chris Sale will get the ball for Boston opposite right-hander Spencer Turnbull in Detroit’s home opener.

First pitch from Comerica Park is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network. The two sides are then off on Friday and will resume the series on Saturday.

(Picture of Triston Casas: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Masataka Yoshida homers as part of 5-run first inning, but Red Sox still fall to Pirates, 7-6

The Red Sox homered three times, but it was not enough to overcome another poor starting pitching performance in the first of three against the Pirates on Monday night. Boston fell to Pittsburgh by a final score of 7-6 at Fenway Park to drop to 2-2 on the young season.

Kutter Crawford, making his first start of the year after breaking camp as a member of the starting rotation, struggled in his 2023 debut. The right-hander surrendered seven earned runs on eight hits and two walks to go along with six strikeouts over just four innings of work.

Three of those seven runs came right away in the top of the first. Crawford allowed hits to two of the first four batters he faced, including a one-out pop-up single that should have been caught by Rafael Devers. He then gave up a two-out RBI single to Ke’Bryan Hayes. Canaan Smith-Njigba followed with a three-run double to extend the Pirates’ lead to 3-0 right out of the gate.

Despite falling behind early yet again, the Red Sox responded in their half of the first. Matched up against Pirates starter Johan Oviedo, Devers made up for his blunder by crushing a one-out, 424-foot solo shot to dead center for his first home run of the season. After Bryan Reynolds dropped a fly ball that allowed Justin Turner to reach base safely, Masataka Yoshida came through with the first home run of his big-league career: a 390-foot two-run blast over the Green Monster.

Yoshida’s first homer in a Red Sox uniform knotted things up at three runs apiece. That stalemate did not last long, though, as reigning American League Player of the Week Adam Duvall drew a one-out walk and Triston Casas looped a towering two-run shot to the left of Pesky’s Pole to put Boston up, 5-3.

Reynolds, like Devers, made up for his error in the field by mashing a solo home run off Crawford with two outs in the second. The Pirates then pulled back even with the Sox an inning later when Jack Suwinski scored Hayes on a two-out single. Crawford ran into more trouble in the fourth by serving up two more solo shots to Jason Delay and Reynolds, giving Pittsburgh a 7-5 lead.

In his four innings of work, Crawford threw 93 pitches (59 strikes). Though the 27-year-old hurler induced 15 swings-and-misses, he also gave up six hits that had exit velocities of 100 mph or more. With Crawford’s outing in the books, Red Sox starters now own a 12.91 ERA (22 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings) so far this year.

After breaking out for five runs in the first, the Boston lineup quited down for a bit. There were opportunities to score, but Connor Wong was stranded at third in the fourth and struck out with the bases loaded to end things in the fifth. On the heels of two scoreless frames of relief from Zack Kelly, though, the Sox were able to get something going in the latter half of the sixth.

There, Alex Verdugo led off with a single and moved up to second when Yoshida drew a six-pitch walk. Duvall then greeted new Pirates reliever Duane Underwood Jr. with a broken-bat RBI single that plated Verdugo and cut the deficit to one. Yoshida advanced into scoring position on the play, but he and Duvall were left on base when Casas fanned to end the inning.

Richard Bleier and Kaleb Ort combined for two more shutout innings out of the bullpen before Verdugo led off the bottom of the eighth with a single off Colin Holderman. Turner walked and Yoshida advanced both runners on a one-out groundout, but Duvall grounded out himself to extinguish the threat.

Down to their final three outs after Ryan Brasier worked a scoreless top of the ninth, the Red Sox were up against All-Star closer David Bednar. The pinch-hitting Raimel Tapia made things interesting by beating out a one-out infield single, but Bednar prevailed by fanning Enrique Hernandez and Rob Refsnyder to end it.

All told, the Red Sox went 2-for-9 (.222) with runners in scoring position on Monday and left 12 runners on base as a team.

Duvall’s dominance

Adam Duvall s the first player ever to reach base as many as 13 times (10 hits, two walks, one hit-by-pitch) in his first four games as a member of the Red Sox, according to director of baseball communications and media relations J.P. Long.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Contreras

The Red Sox will look to bounce back against the Pirates on Tuesday night. Nick Pivetta will make his season debut for Boston while Pittsburgh will counter with fellow right-hander Roansy Contreras.

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

(Picture of Masataka Yoshida: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Adam Duvall, Kiké Hernández stay hot as Red Sox take series from Orioles with 9-5 win

Despite nearly blowing a pair of three-run leads, the Red Sox held on for a series-clinching win over the Orioles on Sunday afternoon. Boston defeated Baltimore by a final score of 9-5 at Fenway Park to improve to 2-1 on the young season.

With lefty Cole Irvin starting for the O’s, the Sox got off to a quick start. The first three batters to greet Irvin all reached base to begin things in the bottom of the first inning. Masataka Yoshida then drove in his side’s first run by plating Rob Refsnyder from third on an RBI groundout.

Enrique Hernandez led off the bottom of the second by launching a 365-foot solo shot over the Green Monster for his second homer in as many days. An inning later, Adam Duvall stayed hot by ripping a two-out double before coming into score on a softly-hit RBI single off the bat of Alex Verdugo.

Verdugo gave the Red Sox an early 3-0 lead heading into the fourth. To that point, Tanner Houck had been cruising right along. Coming off a miserable spring training, the right-hander kicked off his first start of the regular season by retiring nine of the first 11 batters he faced. He then faced the minimum in the top of the fourth before running into some trouble in the fifth.

After giving up a one-out single to Austin Hays, Houck served up a two-run home run to Adam Frazier to get the Orioles on the board. Two batters later, Cedric Mullins took the righty 380 feet deep to right-center field to knot things up at three runs apiece.

Though it ended on a sour note, Houck was still the first Red Sox starter to pitch into the fifth inning and pick up a win this season. Over those five innings of work, the 26-year-old hurler allowed three runs on five hits, one walk, and five strikeouts. He induced 10 swings-and-misses and 45 of the 70 pitches he threw went for strikes.

With Houck’s day over, the Boston lineup got back to work in the latter half of the fifth. Rafael Devers and Justin Turner led off with back-to-back singles before Yoshida drove in Devers with a fly-ball single to center field. That broke the tie and knocked Irvin out of the game. Duvall then greeted new Baltimore reliever Bryan Baker by plating both Turner and Yoshida on a two-run single to left field.

That sequence of events put the Red Sox back up, 6-3, going into the sixth. Following a scoreless inning of relief from John Schreiber, left-hander Richard Bleier made his season debut in the seventh. Acquired from the Marlins for fellow reliever Matt Barnes in January, Bleier yielded a pair of one-out hits to Frazier and Urias, which put runners at second and third for Mullins.

Mullins responded by lacing a two-run single back up the middle to cut the lead to one. But the Red Sox responded in their half of the seventh as Yoshida singled and Duvall doubled off Keegan Akin. After Verdugo popped out, Triston Casas came off the bench and came through with a pinch-hit, 109 mph RBI single to drive in Yoshida. Hernandez followed with a run-scoring base hit of his own to push across Duvall.

Chris Martin stranded one runner in an otherwise clean top of the eighth before Verdugo drove in Yoshida with another RBI single in the bottom half, extending the lead to four runs at 9-5. Kaleb Ort then worked his way around a leadoff double in the ninth to slam the door on the Orioles and secure the series victory.

With Sunday’s win, the Red Sox have taken a series from an American League East opponent. It took them until August 14 to first accomplish that feat last season.

Other worthwhile observations:

The Red Sox are the third team in major-league history to score nine or more runs in three straight games to open a season, joining the 1976 Reds and 1978 Brewers.

Adam Duvall is the first player ever to record six extra-base hits in their first three games as a member of the Red Sox, according to director of baseball communications and media relations J.P. Long.

Next up: Red Sox welcome in the Pirates

The Red Sox will now welcome the Pirates into town for a three-game interleague series that starts on Monday night. Kutter Crawford is expected to get the ball for Boston in the opener while fellow right-hander Johan Oviedo is in line to do the same for Pittsburgh.

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

(Picture of Enrique Hernandez: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Adam Duvall powers Red Sox to 9-8 win over Orioles with dramatic walk-off home run

Thanks to some late-game heroics from Adam Duvall, the Red Sox pulled off a come-from-behind, walk-off win over the Orioles on Saturday. Boston defeated Baltimore by a final score of 9-8 at Fenway Park to improve to 1-1 on the young season.

As was the case on Opening Day, the Red Sox did not get much out of their starter. Chris Sale, making his first home start since the 2021 ALCS, got shelled for seven earned runs on seven hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with six strikeouts over just three innings of work.

The Orioles got to Sale right out of the gate. After striking out Ramon Urias for the first out of the game, the left-hander gave up a one-out single to Adley Rutschman and then served up a two-run home run to Ryan Mountcastle to open the scoring. Two batters later, Austin Hays extended Baltimore’s lead to three runs with a solo shot to center field.

Sale got through a scoreless second inning despite allowing the first two batters he faced to reach base. With two outs and runners at second and third, Sale got Rutschman to hit a soft groundball to the left side of the infield. Rafael Devers charged at the ball and prevented the runner at third from crossing the plate by making a bare-handed grab and a low throw that was picked by Triston Casas at first base.

Devers’ fine defensive play kept the Orioles at three runs. Duvall then got his productive day at the plate started by lacing a leadoff triple to begin things in the latter half of the second. With Casas at the plate, Duvall scored Boston’s first run on a wild pitch from Baltimore starter Dean Kremer.

Though the deficit was reduced to two, Sale’s struggles continued into the third. The lefty retired Mountcastle for the first out and then allowed the next three batters he faced to reach on two singles and a walk. With one out and the bases full, that runner at third (Anthony Santander) scored when Jorge Mateo grounded into a force out at second base. Mateo then stole second base to put runners at second and third for Cedric Mullins, who promptly crushed a three-run shot over the center field fence.

Sale got through the rest of the third unscathed, but his outing ended there. Finishing with a final pitch count of 74 (43 strikes), the 34-year-old hurler topped out at 97.2 mph with his four-seam fastball and induced 13 swings-and-misses altogether. Six of the seven hits he gave up had exit velocities that exceeded 103 mph.

With Sale’s day done and the Orioles now leading 7-1, the Red Sox responded by putting up a four-spot of their own in the bottom of the third. After Enrique Hernandez drew a leadoff walk, Alex Verdugo drilled a 419-foot two-run home run into the right field bleachers. Justin Turner then reached via a one-out double before Duvall came through with a two-run blast of his own to make it a 7-5 contest going into the fourth.

Zack Kelly received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora in the fifth and surrendered another run on an RBI double off the bat of Santander. Josh Winckowski and John Schreiber then combined for three scoreless frames of relief before the Boston bats struck again in the seventh.

There, Hernandez led off by taking Austin Voth 393 feet deep over the Green Monster for his first home run of the season. Devers then greeted new Orioles reliever Cionel Perez with a hard-hit double before coming into score on a ground-rule double from Duvall to cut the deficit to one at 8-7.

Following two more scoreless innings from Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen, the Red Sox were down to their final three outs and up against O’s closer Felix Bautista. It appeared as though they were going to go down quietly, as Devers struck out and Turner grounded out. Masataka Yoshida then lifted a lazily-hit fly ball to Ryan McKenna to left field for what should have been the third and final out. Bautista thought as much, but McKenna could not make a clean catch as the ball deflected off the heel of his glove.

That gave the Red Sox extra life, and Duvall made the most of the additional opportunity. After taking a 100 mph fastball for ball one, Duvall tore into another 99.7 mph heater from Bautista and barely cleared the Green Monster for his fifth career walk-off hit.

Duvall finished the day going 4-for-5 with a triple, a double, and his first two home runs of the season. The 34-year-old fell a single short of the cycle while driving in five runs and scoring three times out of the five-hole.

Other worthwhile observations:

Kenley Jansen made his Red Sox debut on Saturday. The veteran closer worked his way around a single and a walk in a scoreless ninth inning. He struck out two of the five batters he faced and picked up the winning decision.

The Red Sox allowed five more stolen bases on Saturday and have now allowed 10 through two games this year. The Orioles are the first team in major-league history to open a season by swiping five bags in each of its first two games, per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

According to OptaStats on Twitter, Adam Duvall is the first player in big-league history to come to the plate needing a single to complete the cycle and hit a walk-off home run instead.

Next up: Houck’s season debut

The Red Sox will go for their second straight win in the rubber match of this three-game series against the Orioles on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Tanner Houck will get the start for Boston while left-hander Cole Irvin will do the same for Baltimore.

Houck is coming off a miserable spring in which he posted a 9.74 ERA with 25 strikeouts to 12 walks over six starts (20 1/3 innings). Irvin, meanwhile, was acquired by the O’s in a January trade with the Athletics.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Adam Duvall: Maddlie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox make Masataka Yoshida signing official, designate Jeter Downs for assignment

The Red Sox have officially signed Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida to a five-year contract that runs through the 2027 season, the club announced on Thursday. In order to make room for Yoshida on the 40-man roster, infielder Jeter Downs was designated for assignment.

Yoshida, 29, agreed to a five-year, $90 million deal with the Red Sox last week — just hours after he was posted by the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball — and was introduced to the media at Fenway Park on Thursday afternoon. Boston also paid Orix a $15.375 million posting fee for Yoshida’s services, which takes the total value of the club’s investment to over $105 million.

According to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, Yoshida received a $13 million signing bonus from the Red Sox and will earn $15 million in 2023 before earning $18 million per year from 2024 through 2027. The deal does not contain any performance bonuses, team options, or opt-out clauses and is the second-largest contract Chaim Bloom has given out since taking over as Boston’s chief baseball officer in October 2019. Only the six-year, $140 million deal that Trevor Story signed back in March surpasses it.

A native of Fukui, Yoshida initially broke in with Orix in 2016 and spent the last seven seasons playing at Japan’s top level. In 2022, the left-handed hitter batted a stout .335/.447/.561 with 28 doubles, one triple, 21 home runs, 88 RBIs, 56 runs scored, four stolen bases, 80 walks, and just 41 strikeouts over 119 games (508 plate appearances). For his NPB career, he is a lifetime .327/.421/.539 hitter who hit 133 homers and collected 467 RBIs in 762 games with the Buffaloes.

Yoshida has drawn more walks than strikeouts in each of the last four seasons and is well-regarded for his plate discipline. With that kind of approach, he could profile best as Boston’s leadoff hitter or even as a middle-of-the-lineup option in 2023.

Defensively, Yoshida figures to see the majority of his playing time with the Red Sox come in left field. There are some question marks surrounding the 5-foot-8, 176-pounder’s range and arm strength, but he could always be an option to fill in at designated hitter when needed.

Yoshida, who turns 30 in July, will wear the No. 7 with the Red Sox. He becomes the first position player and the fourth overall free agent signing Boston has made this winter, joining the likes of relievers Joely Rodriguez, Chris Martin, and Kenley Jansen.

Downs, on the other hand, was one of three players — along with Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong — acquired from the Dodgers in the February 2020 trade that sent Mookie Betts and David Price to Los Angeles. The native Colombian came into the Red Sox organization as one of its top prospects but has since seen his stock fall significantly.

After the 2020 minor-league season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Downs began the 2021 campaign with Triple-A Worcester. The right-handed hitter batted just .191/272/.333 with 14 home runs and 39 RBIs in 99 games (405 plate appearances) with the WooSox, but showed signs of promise in the Arizona Fall League and was added to Boston’s 40-man roster last November.

Downs returned to Worcester this spring and slashed .197/.316/.412 with 16 home runs and 33 RBIs over 81 games (335 plate appearances). The 24-year-old made his major-league debut in June but managed to go just 6-for-39 (.154) at the plate with one double and one homer while striking out 21 times. He was sent down in late July and then suffered a season-ending left ankle sprain at Polar Park on August 18.

Despite the offensive struggles he has endured at both the Triple-A and big-league level, it is still somewhat surprising to see the Red Sox designate Downs for assignment. As noted by Cotillo, the 5-foot-11, 195-pounder is seen as a competent middle infielder who possesses both speed and power. While the rate at which he swings-and-misses is concerning, Downs does have two minor-league options remaining and could therefore appeal to other clubs.

The Red Sox, for their part, will have the next seven days to either trade, release, or waive Downs. If he clears waivers, Boston can outright him to Triple-A and keep him in the organization as a non-40-man roster player.

(Picture of Masataka Yoshida: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox keeping 7:10 p.m. as standard start time for Fenway Park night games in 2023

The Red Sox will keep 7:10 p.m. as their standard first pitch time for weekday home games at Fenway Park, according to The Eagle-Tribune’s Mac Cerullo.

A team spokesperson confirmed to Cerullo on Tuesday that the club’s default start times for the 2023 season will be 7:10 p.m. on weekdays, 4:10 p.m. on Saturdays, and 1:35 p.m. on Sundays, just as they were in 2021 and 2022.

There are still a number of games with start times to be determined, but the Red Sox are planning on trying out an earlier 6:10 p.m. start time for at least three midweek night games next season, per Cerullo. Those will happen against the Blue Jays on Thursday, May 4, against the Marlins on Thursday, June 29, and against the Rays on Wednesday, September 27. All three of those games will take place before the start of a road trip.

The Red Sox also plan on hosting two midweek, non-holiday games that will start at 1:35 p.m. The first will come against the Pirates on Wednesday, April 5, and the second will come against the Twins on Thursday, April 20. Both of those contests fall on getaway days as well.

As far as holiday games are concerned, Boston will be hosting the Angels on Patriots’ Day (April 17), the Cardinals on Mother’s Day (May 14), the Yankees on Father’s Day (June 18), and the Rangers on Independence Day (July 4).

The decision for the Red Sox to keep start times the same as they have been comes at a time when other clubs across Major League Baseball have elected to do the opposite. The Rays, for instance, experimented with a 6:40 p.m. start time for the majority of their home games at Tropicana Field this past season and will keep things the same in 2023.

Clubs have begun starting night games earlier in an effort to keep fans at the ballpark for entire games. Team president and CEO Sam Kennedy acknowledged last month that the Red Sox were looking into a similar change after averaging the second-highest time of game (3 hours and 11 minutes) in the American League.

“We’re looking at start times in the context of what’s best for our fans, what’s best for the baseball operation,” Kennedy told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) at the club’s end-of-season press conference. “We’ve had lots of discussions with players and (Alex Cora) and his staff and baseball operations. We are looking at potentially some different start times next year.”

Though they ultimately decided against moving up the start time of weekday night games in 2023, the Red Sox are optimistic that MLB’s new pace-of-play initiatives (such as the pitch clock) will enhance the in-game viewing experience for fans beginning next season.

With that being said, the Red Sox are scheduled to open the 2023 campaign against the Orioles on March 30 at Fenway Park.

(Picture of Fenway Park: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)