Tag: fenway park

Triston Casas homers again in first career 3-hit game as Red Sox snap skid with 13-9 win over Orioles

The Red Sox put an end to a six-game losing streak with a much-needed win over the Orioles on Tuesday night. Boston defeated Baltimore by a final score of 13-9 to improve to 73-81 on the season.

Michael Wacha, making his 22nd start of the year for the Sox, did not pitch particularly well. The veteran right-hander surrendered six runs on eight hits and zero walks to go along with three strikeouts over just 3 1/3 innings of work.

The Orioles drew first blood in their half of the first inning. After getting the first two outs rather easily, Wacha gave up a two-out double to Anthony Santander that was followed by an RBI triple off the bat of Ryan Mountcastle.

An inning later, the Sox responded on one swing of the bat from Triston Casas. Following a leadoff single from J.D. Martinez, Casas cranked a two-run shot off Orioles starter Kyle Bradish for his fifth home run of the season. It had an exit velocity of 110.5 mph, traveled 421 feet over the Green Monster, and gave Boston a 2-1 lead.

That newfound lead did not last long, though, as Wacha served up back-to-back homers to Adley Rutschman and the red-hot Santander in the top of the third. In the bottom half, the Red Sox pulled back even with the O’s when Bradish plunked Rob Refsnyder while the bases were loaded. Connor Wong also drew a bases-loaded walk off Bradish before Tommy Pham (two-run single), Xander Bogaerts (bases-loaded walk), and Alex Verdugo (sacrifice fly) drove in three more runs to cap off a six-run frame.

Wacha, however, was still not able to settle in. The righty came back out for the fourth and immediately surrendered a leadoff homer to Ramon Urias. Rougned Odor followed with another single and promptly scored all the way from first on an RBI triple from Austin Hays. After striking out Kyle Stowers, Wacha was pulled for Matt Strahm.

Strahm officially closed the book on Wacha’s night by allowing the runner he inherited to score on an RBI single from Cedric Mullins. The lefty also allowed the Orioles to tie things up at 8-8 by giving up another (two-run) blast to Santander.

Wacha, who finished with 70 pitches (45 strikes), did not factor into Tuesday’s decision. The 31-year-old hurler induced 10 swings and misses as his ERA on the season rose to 3.06. Strahm, meanwhile, earned the win by settling in with a scoreless fifth inning.

Before that happened, the Red Sox lineup erupted for five more runs in their half of the fourth. With no outs and the bases loaded, Wong reached on a fielding error to push across Casas from third. Pham was then hit by a Jake Reed pitch, which brought in Refsnyder. Rafael Devers greeted new Orioles reliever D.L. Hall by blooping a two-run single to right field. Bogaerts capped off the scoring by reaching on a fielder’s choice that allowed Pham to come in all the way from second and make it a 13-8 game in favor of Boston.

From there, the Red Sox bullpen was able to keep the Orioles bats in check. Strahm, as previously mentioned, kept the O’s off the board in the fifth before Zack Kelly retired the side in order in the sixth. In the seventh, John Schreiber gave up one run on two hits before Ryan Brasier worked his way around a leadoff single in an otherwise clean top of the eighth.

Matt Barnes made things interesting in the ninth by bringing the tying run to the plate with one out. But he rallied by getting Hays to ground into a game-ending, 6-4-3 double play to secure the 13-9 victory.

All told, the Red Sox tallied 13 runs on 11 hits, eight walks, and two hit batsman. Rafael Devers went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk, Martinez went 2-for-4 with a walk and run scored, and Casas put together the first three-hit game of his young career.

Next up: Hill vs. Kremer

The Red Sox will send veteran left-hander Rich Hill to the mound as they go for their second straight win on Wednesday night. The Orioles will counter with right-hander Dean Kremer.

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

(Picture of Triston Casas: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox give up 5 home runs in lopsided 14-8 loss to Orioles

On a rain-filled Monday night at Fenway Park, the Red Sox gave up five home runs in a lopsided loss to the Orioles. Boston fell to Baltimore by a final score of 14-8 to extend its losing streak to six and drop to 72-81 on the season.

Connor Seabold, making his fifth start of the year for the Sox, allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits, two walks, and two strikeouts over two rain-shortened innings of work.

After throwing a first-pitch strike to the very first batter he faced, Seabold promptly served up a leadoff home run to Cedric Mullins on a hanging slider. It only went downhill from there as the rookie right-hander surrendered four more in the second inning.

Rougned Odor led off with a ground-rule double and advanced to third on a Kyle Stowers single. Odor scored and Stowers went from first-to-third on a Jorge Mateo RBI double. Mullins plated two more on a sharply-hit triple over the head of Abraham Almonte in center field. The speedster then scored from third on a failed pickoff attempt from Reese McGuire that ended up in left field.

The Red Sox got two of those four runs back in their half of the second. Matched up against O’s starter Jordan Lyles, Martinez led off by cranking a solo shot 420 feet over the Green Monster for his 13th home run of the season. Triston Casas, Rob Refsnyder, and Almonte each reached base with one out to bring Enrique Hernandez to the plate. Hernandez delivered by ripping an RBI single to left field that brought in Casas and cut the Baltimore lead to three at 5-2.

The bases remained loaded for Rafael Devers, who grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play. The skies above Fenway then began to open up, prompting a rain delay that lasted exactly 100 minutes.

With that much time having passed, Seabold was done for the night and replaced by Tyler Danish when the game resumed at approximately 9:45 p.m. eastern time.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 54 (36 strikes), Seabold only managed to induce three swings-and-misses. The 26-year-old hurler was charged with his fourth losing decision of the season as his ERA rose to an unsightly 11.29.

Danish, meanwhile, yielded an RBI triple to Stowers in the third and kept the Orioles off the board in the fourth. The Red Sox made things interesting in the latter half of the frame after Baltimore had already swapped Lyles for Spenser Watkins.

With one out and the bases full, Hernandez scorched a two-run single down the left field line and advanced to second on. Devers then drove him in with a run-scoring single of his own to pull the Red Sox back to within one run at 6-5.

That is where the Orioles began to pull away. Danish issued a pair of walks and an infield single to begin things in the fifth. He was given the hook in favor of Zack Kelly, who gave up back-to-back run-scoring hits to Odor and Stowers to make it an 8-5 game. Kaleb Ort served up a pair of homers to Anthony Santander and Gunnar Henderson in the sixth, allowing the Orioles to re-establish a commanding 11-5 lead.

Frankin German got the first two outs of the seventh before issuing a walk and giving up the second home run of the night to Santander, who now has 31 on the year. Through three appearances to begin his career, German owns a 31.50 ERA.

In the bottom of the seventh, Martine and Casas each reached base before Rob Refsnyder took Logan Gillaspie 414 feet to dead center field for his sixth home run of the season. The 103.5 mph blast cut the deficit to five at 13-8.

But the Orioles tacked on another when Austin Hays took Eduard Bazardo deep in the eighth. Boston went down quietly from there as 14-8 would go on to be Monday’s final score.

All told, the Red Sox got multi-hit games from Hernandez, Devers, Refsnyder, and Almonte as they outhit the Orioles, 15-14. They also went 6-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base as a team.

Next up: Wacha vs. Bradish

The Red Sox will send right-hander Michael Wacha to the mound as they look to put an end to their six-game losing streak on Saturday. The Orioles will counter with fellow righty Kyle Bradish.

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

(Picture of Reese McGuire and Anthony Santander: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox injuries: Nathan Eovaldi aiming to pitch again this season; Trevor Story could return on Tuesday

Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi threw a four-inning simulated game at Fenway Park on Sunday morning. The right-hander faced the likes of Abraham Almonte, Tommy Pham, and Trevor Story while throwing approximately 65 pitches.

“It felt good,” Eovaldi told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) prior to Sunday’s 13-3 win over the Royals. “I was trying to use all my pitches. It’s a little tough to get going early in the morning. But I felt like I was finishing my pitches for the most part and I mixed them all up.”

Eovaldi, who last pitched for the Red Sox on August 12, has been on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation since Aug. 19. If the 32-year-old wakes up on Monday morning with no complications, he could be in line to make a rehab start for Triple-A Worcester at Polar Park later this week.

“He looked good,” manager Alex Cora said. “Now we’ll see how he feels tomorrow. He mixed everything up. A lot of splits and the slider and the curveball. The quality of the fastball was OK. So now it’s just a matter of how he reacts to it and what’s the next step. Obviously we’re running out of time as far as games and all that stuff. So we’ll see what’s next.”

As noted by MLB.com’s Ian Browne, Eovaldi would be on track to make two more starts with Boston before the end of the season if he rehabs with the WooSox on Friday. The veteran hurler has been limited to just 18 starts this year due to two lengthy stints on the injured list.

“I’d love to pitch in front of the home crowd again,” said Eovaldi, who is eligible for free agency this winter and has yet to discuss a contract extension with the Red Sox despite wanting to return to Boston.

Story, meanwhile, has been sidelined since last Sunday, when he banged his left heel on the first-base bag in the seventh inning of a 1-0 win over the Orioles in Baltimore.

Cora was initially optimistic that Story would be back for this weekend’s series against the Royals, but that did not happen as expected. Still, the 29-year-old second baseman took an important step forward on Sunday by facing off against Eovaldi as well as running the bases.

Depending on how he feels over the next two days, Story could return to the Red Sox lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Reds in Cincinnati.

“With Trevor, it’s about running right now,” Cora said. “He ran the bases today. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. I’ve been saying this for a few days: the goal is for him to play the next day. So we just have to be patient with it.”

(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi and Trevor Story: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Xander Bogaerts reaches career milestone as Red Sox rack up 20 hits in 13-3 win over Royals

The Red Sox secured a series victory over the Royals on Sunday afternoon. After getting shut out on Saturday, Boston broke out for 20 hits in a 13-3 win over Kansas City to close out the weekend at Fenway Park.

Matched up against Kris Bubic to kick off Sunday’s series finale, the Sox got off to a quick start offensively. On the heels of back-to-back singles from Tommy Pham and Rafael Devers to lead off the first inning, Xander Bogaerts followed by ripping a game-tying double off the Green Monster to knot the score at 1-1.

An inning later, Enrique Hernandez drew a leadoff walk and immediately advanced to second base on a line-drive single off the bat of Yu Chang. Both runners moved up an additional 90 feet on a successful sacrifice bunt laid down by Reese McGuire. Pham then plated Hernandez from third on a sacrifice fly to center field.

Boston began to pull away in the third on a pair of sacrifice flies from Rob Refsnyder and Christian Arroyo. Hernandez and Chang each drew two-out walks before McGuire scored Hernandez on a groundball single through the right side of the infield.

That sequence of events gave the Red Sox a 5-2 lead going into the fourth. To that point, Nick Pivetta had already allowed two runs — both of which came within the first two innings.

Pivetta, making his 30th start of the season for Boston, managed to keep the Royals off the board in the third and fourth before serving up a solo shot to the dangerous Salvador Perez with one out in the fifth. The right-hander ended his day by retiring two of the final three batters he faced.

So, over five innings of work in total, Pivetta surrendered three earned runs on seven hits and two walks to go along with seven strikeouts on 97 pitches (66 strikes). The 29-year-old was able to pick up his 10th win of the season, though his ERA did rise to 4.35.

Shortly after Pivetta had recorded the final out in the top of the fifth, the Red Sox lineup got back to work in the bottom half. Arroyo, McGuire, and Pham each reached to fill the bases with two outs for Devers. Devers, in turn, greeted new Royals reliever Anthony Misiewicz by swatting a two-run single to right field to make it a four-run game at 7-3.

With two outs in the sixth inning, Boston plated four additional runs on back-to-back-to-back-to-back RBI knocks from Hernandez, Chang, McGuire, and Pham. Pham and Devers drove in two more runs in the eighth to give the Red Sox a commanding 13-3 lead.

Out of the Boston bullpen, four relievers combined for four scoreless frames. Kaleb Ort walked and struck out two in the sixth, John Schreiber walked and struck out in the seventh, Matt Strahm struck out the side in the eighth, and Matt Barnes stranded one base runner in the ninth to put the finishing touches on a blowout win.

In terms of offensive production, Pham went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, two runs scored and a walk, Devers went 4-for-6 with three RBIs, Bogaerts went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored, J.D. Martinez went 2-for-4 with his 40th double of the season and two runs scored, Hernandez went 2-for-4 with an RBI, two walks, and four runs scored, Chang went 2-for-3 with an RBI, two walks, and one run scored, and McGuire went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

With his first-inning double, Bogaerts collected the 1,400th hit of his big-league career. The 29-year-old shortstop becomes just the fourth player in Red Sox history to reach 1,400 hits before turning 30, joining the likes of Carl Yastrzemski, Bobby Doerr, and Jim Rice.

Next up: On to Cincinnati

The Red Sox will enjoy an off-day on Monday as they prepare to travel to Cincinnati for a quick two-game series against the Reds. Rookie right-hander Brayan Bello is slated to start Tuesday’s opener opposite left-hander Nick Lodolo.

First pitch from Great American Ballpark is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox get shut out for second time this month in 9-0 loss to Royals

The Red Sox failed to score a run in their loss to the Royals on Saturday afternoon. Boston fell to Kansas City, 9-0, at Fenway Park to drop to 70-75 on the season.

Rich Hill, making his 23rd start of the year for the Sox, was tagged for nearly half of those runs. The veteran left-hander surrendered four earned runs on eight hits and zero walks to go along with four strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings of work.

The Royals got the scoring started in the top of the third. After reaching base on a one-out single, Nate Eaton stole second and scored from there on an RBI single off the bat of MJ Melendez. Malendez also advanced to second before scoring on another RBI single from Salvadar Perez that gave Kansas City an early 2-0 lead.

Boston had a chance to respond right away in the latter half of the frame. Matched up against Royals starter Brady Singer, the bottom third of the Sox lineup filled the bases without recording an out. Despite getting that far, though, Tommy Pham popped out to the catcher, Rafael Devers struck out looking, and J.D. Martinez popped out into foul territory.

Hill, meanwhile, ran into more trouble in the fifth. After Bobby Witt Jr. drove in Melendez with an RBI single, Witt Jr. scored all the way from first on a Vinnie Pasquantino double that right fielder Alex Verdugo lost in the sun.

Pasquantino was the final batter Hill faced. The 42-year-old southpaw finished with a final pitch count of 81 (58 strikes) and was charged with his seventh loss of the season as his ERA rose to 4.70. He was given the hook in favor of Ryan Brasier, who needed just three pitches to record the final out of the fifth.

The sixth inning marked the major-league debut of relief prospect Franklin German. The right-hander failed to retire any of the four batters he faced, as he loaded the bases with no outs before yielding an RBI single to Nate Eaton. Eduard Bazardo was called upon to extinguish the flames, but he allowed all three runners he inherited to score on a Melendez force out and singles from Witt Jr. and Pasquantino.

German was tagged for four runs on two hits and two walks. Bazardo, on the other hand, worked his way around a leadoff double in the seventh before handing things over to Tyler Danish, who served up a leadoff double to Melendez and a two-out RBI single to Pasquantino to make it a 9-0 game in favor of Kansas City.

Following a 1-2-3 top of the ninth from Danish, the Red Sox went down quietly in the bottom half to seal their fifth shutout loss of the season and their second in the last 10 days.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Bubic in rubber match

The Red Sox will look to secure a series victory over the Royals on Sunday afternoon. Righty Nick Pivetta will get the start for Boston opposite lefty Kris Bubic for Kansas City.

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

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox commit 3 costly errors in 5-3 loss to Yankees

The Red Sox committed three errors and were swept by the Yankees on Wednesday night. Boston fell to New York by a final score of 5-3 at Fenway Park to drop to 69-74 on the season and 20-42 against American League East opponents.

Brayan Bello, making his eighth start of the year for the Sox, was the victim of poor defense behind him. The rookie right-hander immersed himself into the rivalry by allowing three unearned runs on six hits and just one walk to go along with six strikeouts over five solid innings of work.

All three of those runs came in the top of the fifth. Bello fanned Jose Trevino to begin the inning, but Aaron Hicks followed by reaching on a fielding error committed by Xander Bogaerts. Hicks moved up to second base on an Aaron Judge single before Giancarlo Stanton struck out swinging.

With two outs and runners on first and second, Gleyber Torres ripped a line drive to Alex Verdugo in right field. Verdugo attempted to gun down Hicks at home plate, but instead made an inaccurate throw that got past cutoff man Christian Arroyo and rolled to catcher Connor Wong.

As Hicks crossed the plate, Wong tried to get Torres caught in a rundown between first and second base. He instead made a poor throw that Arroyo had no chance of getting to and wound up in right field.

While Judge had already scored, Torres was on his horse and scored on a head-first slide to complete a Little League three-run home run that gave the Yankees a 3-0 plate.

Bello got through the rest of the fifth unscathed, but the damage had already been done. The 23-year-old hurler finished with a final pitch count of 98 (59 strikes) and induced 14 swings-and-misses. He was the tough-luck loser on Wednesday, though he did lower his ERA on the season down to 5.10.

Shortly after Bello’s night came to an end, the Red Sox got one of those three runs back in their half of the fifth. Rob Refsnyder led off with a hard-hit single off Yankees starter Nestor Cortes. He then scored all the way from first on a two-out RBI double from Wong.

Trailing by two runs going into the sixth inning, Red Sox manager Alex Cora called upon Zack Kelly out of the Boston bullpen. Kelly issued a leadoff walk to Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who promptly stole second base and scored from second on an RBI double off the bat of Trevino.

Following shutdown innings from Kaleb Ort and Eduard Bazardo, the pinch-hitting Reese McGuire led off the bottom of the eighth with a groundball single off Jonathan Loaisiga. Tommy Pham followed with a single of his own to put runners at first and second for Verdugo.

Verdugo grounded into a force out at third base, but Bogaerts filled the bases by blooping a single to right field. Pham then scored from third on a Rafael Devers groundball that got through the legs of Yankees first baseman Marwin Gonzalez.

The bases were still loaded with one out for J.D. Martinez, who seemingly drove in Verdugo by beating out a 6-4-3 double play. New York challenged the ruling on the field, however, and it turns out Martinez’s left foot missed the first-bag completely. The call on the field was overturned, meaning the inning ended without Boston tacking on additional run.

Ryan Brasier allowed one unearned run in the ninth on an Abraham Almonte fielding error in center field. Almonte, who had pinch-hit for Refsnyder in the seventh, led off the bottom of the inning with a line-drive double. He moved up to third and then scored on an Enrique Hernandez groundout. McGuire struck out against Clay Holmes to end it.

All told, the Red Sox went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position on Wednesday and left six men on base as a team.

Next up: A weekend with the Royals

The Red Sox will have the day off on Thursday before welcoming the Royals into town for a three-game weekend series. Veteran right-hander Michael Wacha will get the start for Boston in Friday’s opener while fellow righty Jonathan Heasley will take the mound for Kansas City.

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

(Picture of Connor Wong: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Jeurys Familia’s struggles continue as Red Sox fall to Yankees, 7-6, in 10 innings; Triston Casas hits first homer at Fenway Park

The Red Sox hit three home runs on Tuesday night, but it was not enough to best the first-place Yankees . Boston fell to New York by a final score of 7-6 in 10 innings to drop to 69-73 on the season.

With Gerrit Cole on the mound for the Yankees, the Red Sox drew first blood in their half of the second inning. After Rafael Devers drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third base with two outs, Triston Casas made sure a prime run-scoring opportunity did not go by the wayside.

Casas, facing Cole for the first time in his young career, got ahead in the count at 2-0 before crushing a 97.8 mph fastball 411-feet over the Green Monster for his second home run of the season and his first at Fenway Park. It left his bat at 108.6 mph.

Nick Pivetta, making his 29th start of the year for Boston, was able to keep New York off the board through his first two innings before running into some trouble in the third. Isiah Kiner-Filefa led off with a single. Two batters later, Marwin Gonzalez clubbed a two-run homer of his own into the bleachers to tie things up at two runs apiece.

Aaron Judge followed Gonzalez’s game-tying home run by ripping a one-out single to center field. But he was quicky snuffed out at second base by Reese McGuire. Shortly after throwing out his 15th base stealer of the year, McGuire led off the bottom of the third by clobbering his first homer of the season and his first in a Red Sox uniform.

On a 1-1, 96 mph four-seamer on the inner half of the plate, McGuire laced a 103.3 mph drive 403 feet down the right field line and around Pesky’s Pole to give Boston a 3-2 lead.

That is where the score remained for a while, as Pivetta and Cole traded zeroes up until the sixth inning. Judge broke the scoreless spell up when he led off the top of the sixth by mashing a 383-foot solo shot on the very first pitch he saw to pull the Yankees back even with the Red Sox at 3-3.

Pivetta gave up a single to Giancarlo Stanton and a one-out walk to Josh Donaldson before getting the hook from manager Alex Cora in favor of Ryan Brasier. Brasier officially closed the book on Pivetta’s night by retiring the only two batters he faced.

So, over 5 1/3 innings of work, Pivetta surrendered three earned runs on six hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. The 29-year-old right-hander threw 93 pitches (60 strikes) and induced nine swings-and-misses. He did not factor into Tuesday’s decision, though his ERA did rise from 4.29 to 4.31.

After Brasier ended the top of the sixth, Cole came back out for the bottom half. With one out and the bases empty, Xander Bogaerts got in on the action by depositing a 332-foot solo blast around Pesky’s Pole on a first-pitch fastball down the heart of the plate. Bogaerts’ 14th big fly of the season had an exit velocity of 97.8 mph and put Boston up, 4-3, going into the seventh.

John Schreiber needed just 10 pitches to make quick work of New York. The same cannot be said for Garrett Whitlock, who served up a game-tying home run to Judge in the eighth. Judge’s second homer of the night and 57th of the season knotted things up at 4-4.

Jonathan Loaisiga, Matt Barnes, and Clay Holmes ensured the score remained that way as they each tossed scoreless frames, thus sending this one into extra innings.

In the 10th, with a runner already on second base, Jeurys Familia issued a leadoff walk to the pinch-hitting Aaron Hicks. He then got Gonzalez to ground into a 6-3 double play. After intentionally walking Judge, however, the righty yielded another free pass to Stanton, filling the bases with two outs for Gleyber Torres.

Torres came through in the clutch, as he cleared the gap in right-center field while emptying the bases on a 110 mph three-run double. That gave the Yankees their largest lead of the night at 7-4.

Down to their final three outs and now trailing by three runs, McGuire — the leadoff hitter — reached base after taking a 96 mph sinker from Holmes off his right foot. He was pinch-ran for by Connor Wong as Tommy Pham came to the plate representing the tying run.

Pham struck out for the fourth time. Yankees manager Aaron Boone then pulled Holmes for Wandy Peralta. Alex Verdugo won the lefty-on-lefty matchup by scoring Enrique Hernandez (the automatic runner) from second on a line-drive single to center field. Wong also went from first to third on the play.

Bogaerts failed to drive in Wong, but the rookie backstop scored on a wild pitch while Devers was at the plate. With Verdugo moving up to second, Devers had a chance to tie it on one swing of the bat. He instead struck out swinging on a 2-2, 89 mph slider that was well outside the strike zone.

Regardless, the Red Sox’ rally fell short, and they are now 7-10 in extra-inning games this season. With the loss, Boston dropped to 10 1/2 games back of the Rays for the third and final American League Wild Card spot.

Next up: Bello vs. Cortes in series finale

The Red Sox will look to bounce back against the Yankees as they go for a two-game series split on Wednesday night. Rookie right-hander Brayan Bello will get his first taste of this rivalry as he gets the start for Boston while left-hander Nestor Cortes will take the mound for New York.

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

(Picture of Jeurys Familia: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Trevor Story (sore left heel) not in Red Sox lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against Yankees; Christian Arroyo starting in his place

Red Sox second baseman Trevor Story is not in the starting lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Yankees at Fenway Park.

Story has been dealing with soreness in his left heel since Sunday, when he grounded into an inning-ending double play in the seventh inning of a 1-0 win over the Orioles in Baltimore.

Upon making contact with the first-base bag, Story came up gimpy and was removed from the game. He was replaced defensively by Christian Arroyo, who will be starting in his place at second base on Tuesday while batting sixth.

Story, who spent more than six weeks on the injured list earlier this summer because of a small hairline fracture near his right wrist, does not expect to be out too long this time around. The 29-year-old told reporters (including The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham) that he is day-to-day after banging his left heel. Red Sox manager Alex Cora also said he does not believe Story’s injury is serious and he should be by Wednesday or Friday at the latest.

Since returning from the 60-day injured list on August 27, Story has batted a stout .340/.389/.500 with five doubles, one home run, eight RBIs, four runs scored, three stolen bases, four walks, and 17 strikeouts over his last 13 games (54 plate appearances). He has also provided the Red Sox with superb defense at second base, a position he had never played at the major-league level prior to this year.

Arroyo, meanwhile, has been on a hot streak of his own at the plate. The right-handed hitting 27-year-old is slashing .342/.377/.488 with 10 doubles, one triple, two home runs, 17 RBIs, 15 runs scored, two stolen bases, seven walks, and 23 strikeouts across his last 32 games (131 plate appearances) dating back to July 30.

On the other side of the ball, Arroyo will be making his 26th start of the season at second base on Tuesday. In the process of logging 223 innings at his primary position this year, Arroyo has posted four Defensive Runs Saved and an Ultimate Zone Rating of 1.1., per FanGraphs.

Latest on Yu Chang

Speaking of infielders, the Red Sox claimed Yu Chang off waivers from the Rays on Monday. Chang is already on Boston’s 40-man roster, but the 27-year-old will need to be added to the major-league roster since he is out of minor-league options.

Because of this, the Red Sox will need to remove someone — whether it be by placing them on the injured list, optioning them, or designating them for assignment — from the 28-man roster in order to activate Chang.

MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reports that Chang is not expected to join the club on Tuesday, so they are not required to make a roster move yet. However, it will be something to monitor in the coming days.

(Picture of Christian Arroyo and Trevor Story: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Xander Bogaerts and Trevor Story lead the way as Red Sox finish off sweep of Rangers with 5-2 win; Triston Casas records first career hit in debut

The Red Sox completed their four-game sweep of the Rangers on Sunday afternoon. Boston defeated Texas by a final score of 5-2 at Fenway Park to extend its winning streak to five and improve to 67-68 on the season.

Josh Winckowski, starting in place of the injured Kutter Crawford, allowed two earned runs on three hits and three walks to go along with three strikeouts over four innings of work.

Both of those Rangers runs came right away in the top half of the first, as Winckowski began his day by issuing a four-pitch walk to Marcus Semien. The rookie right-hander then gave up a one-out single to Nathaniel Lowe, which put runners on the corners for Adolis Garcia, who ripped a run-scoring ground-rule double down the right field line. Jonah Heim followed by driving in Lowe with a groundout to give his side a 2-0 lead right out of the gate.

Despite that early deficit, the Red Sox lineup quickly responded in their half of the first. Matched up against Rangers righty Dane Dunning, Tommy Pham and Alex Verdugo both reached base on a pair of hard-hit singles before Xander Bogaerts came through with a ground-rule double of his own to cut Texas’ lead in half.

After Rafael Devers popped out into foul territory, Trevor Story took aim at the National Car Rental sign above the Green Monster for a 382-foot three-run blast. Story’s 16th home run of the season was accompanied by a bat flip and had an exit velocity of 101.9 mph. It also gave Boston its first lead of the day at 4-2.

An inning later, Connor Wong drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second base when Pham was hit by a pitch, and moved up to third on a Verdugo flyout. Bogaerts then drove him in with a sharply-hit opposite field single.

Winckowski, who had already retired the side in order in the top of the second, continued to settle into his outing by tossing two more scoreless innings. The 24-year-old hurler threw 82 pitches (47 strikes) and induced nine swings-and-misses while lowering his ERA on the season to 5.75.

In relief of Winckowski, Kaleb Ort received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Ort worked his way around a walk in the fifth and recorded the first two outs of the sixth before Wong threw out Leody Taveras at second base to end the inning.

Jeurys Familia and Matt Strahm each faced the minimum in the seventh and eighth, paving the way for John Schreiber to come on in the ninth. Schreiber, in turn, notched his second save in as many days by punching out two in a 1-2-3 inning. As a result, Ort was credited with the first winning decision of his big-league career.

Speaking of firsts, Triston Casas made his highly anticipated major-league debut on Sunday. The 22-year-old recorded his first career hit on an infield single in the fifth inning as part of a 1-for-4 day at the plate. He made solid contact on three separate occasions and provided stout defense at first base.

Story, meanwhile, provided some stellar defense of his own in the sixth inning. Playing in shallow right field as part of the shift, Story left his feet and made a fantastic leaping grab to rob Heim of a 107.7 mph line-drive single. On the other side of the ball, the 29-year-old finished a triple shy of the cycle and is now batting .464 (13-for-28) over his last seven games since returning from the injured list on August 27.

To the right of Story, Bogaerts went 3 for 4 with a double, two RBIs, and one run scored. He has now compiled eight straight multi-hit games to raise his batting average to an American League-leading .317.

Next up: On to St. Petersburg

Even on the heels of their first series sweep since late June, the Red Sox still trail the Blue Jays by 7 1/2 games for the third and final American League Wild Card spot. They will look to make up more ground in that race as they open a three-game series against the Rays in St. Petersburg on Monday.

Veteran right-hander Michael Wacha is slated to get the start for Boston in the series opener. Tampa Bay has yet to name a starter.

First pitch from Tropicana Field is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Trevor Story: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Brayan Bello tosses 6 scoreless innings to earn first major-league win as Red Sox defeat Rangers, 5-3

The Red Sox extended their winning streak to four straight on Saturday afternoon by taking their third straight from the Rangers. Boston held on for a 5-3 victory over Texas at Fenway Park to move within two games of .500 by improving to 66-68 on the season.

Brayan Bello got the start for the Sox and wound up putting together the best outing of his young career so far. The rookie right-hander scattered just three hits and one walk to go along with five strikeouts over six scoreless innings of work.

Boston provided Bello with an early lead, which certainly didn’t hurt. After Xander Bogaerts reached base with two outs in the bottom of the first, Rafael Devers drove him in with a 337-foot RBI double to left field off Rangers starter Dennis Santana.

Bello continued to roll by keeping Texas off the board through the middle of the fifth. In the bottom half of the frame, Enrique Hernandez and Alex Verdugo each drew a pair of walks off reliever Brock Burke. Burke then balked, allowing both runners to advance an additional 90 feet. With only one out and two runners in scoring position, Bogaerts ripped a chopper to the left side of the infield.

Hernandez took off as soon as contact was made. Rangers shortstop Corey Seager attempted to gun down his former teammate at home plate. But his throw was mishandled by catcher Meibrys Viloria, allowing Hernandez to score on a missed catching error. Verdugo also moved up to third on the play, then scored the second run of the inning when Devers beat out a potential inning-ending double play.

Taking a 3-0 lead into the sixth, Bello ended his day by retiring the final three batters he faced. The 23-year-old hurler threw 88 pitches (60 strikes) and induced nine swings-and-misses en route to picking up his first big-league win.

In relief of Bello, Red Sox manager Alex Cora first turned to Garrett Whitlock out of the bullpen. Whitlock responded by stranding one base runner in an otherwise clean top half of the seventh. A half-inning later, Boston yet again took advantage of sloppy defense from Texas.

Bogaerts reached via a one-out single off Koehi Arihara. Devers followed with a single of his own, but Bogaerts was able to go from first to third on an Adolis Garcia fielding error. He then scored from third on a J.D. Martinez grounder that was misplayed by third baseman Ezequiel Duran. Trevor Story promptly drove in Devers on an opposite field double, making it a 5-0 contest in favor of the Sox.

Whitlock came back out for the eighth and surrendered hits to three of the first four batters he faced, including a two-run home run from Marcus Semien and a solo blast off the bat of Nathaniel Lowe. Those two big swings cut Boston’s lead from five runs down to two.

Looking to protect that lead in the ninth, Matt Barnes loaded the bases while only managing to record the first out of the inning. That prompted Cora to pull Barnes in favor of John Schreiber, who fanned Semien on three pitches before getting Seager to ground out to end it. As a result, Schreiber notched his fifth save of the year.

Next up: Going for the sweep

The Red Sox will go for a four-game sweep over the Rangers on Sunday afternoon. Kutter Crawford was originally supposed to start the series finale for Boston, but has since been scratched due to a sore shoulder. Fellow righty Josh Winckowski, who is currently on the taxi squad, is a likely candidate to start in his place. For Texas, it will be right-hander Dane Dunning taking the mound.

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

(Picture of Brayan Bello: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)