Tag: fenway park

Brayan Bello’s early struggles continue as Red Sox get swept by Blue Jays, drop fifth straight in 8-4 loss

A bad weekend only got worse for the Red Sox on Sunday afternoon as they were swept by the Blue Jays. Boston fell to Toronto by a final score of 8-4, marking its fifth straight loss to drop back to .500 (48-48) for the first time since June 5.

Brayan Bello, making his third start of the season and first since July 11, allowed five earned runs on nine hits and two walks to go along with two strikeouts over four innings of work.

All five runs scored off the rookie right-hander came right away in the top of the first inning. George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. immediately put the pressure on with a leadoff single and double. Bo Bichette then drew a one-out walk to fill the bases. Bello struck out Teoscar Hernandez for the second out, but was unable to escape the jam as Cavan Biggio plated his side’s first two runs on a two-run single through the left side of the infield.

Another walk of Matt Chapman filled the bases with Raimel Tapia, who again came through in that spot by ripping a bases-clearing, three-run triple into the triangle to give Toronto a commanding 5-0 lead out of the gate.

Boston was at least able to counter by pushing across one run in the latter half of the first. Opposed by Blue Jays starter Ross Stripling, Jarren Duran laced a leadoff double, moved up to third base on an Alex Verdugo single, and scored on an RBI single off the bat of Xander Bogaerts. A Franchy Cordero groundout allowed Verdugo and Bogaerts to advance an additional 90 feet, but Bobby Dalbec was called out on strikes to kill any shot of extending the rally.

Fast forward to the fourth, Cordero led off with a softly-hit single off Stripling, stole second base with two outs, and then scored from second on a 261-foot RBI single from Yolmer Sanchez that cut Toronto’s advantage down to three runs at 5-2.

Bello, meanwhile, provided the Sox with four innings yet again despite dealing with a fair amount of traffic basepaths. By the time he got the final batter he faced in Bichette to ground into an inning-ending double play in the fourth, the 23-year-old’s pitch count had risen to 67 (41 strikes). His ERA on the season now sits at 10.50.

In relief of Bello, Hirokazu Sawamura received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Sawamura, in turn, issued a leadoff walk to Hernandez and a one-out out double to Chapman. Hernandez scored on an RBI single from Tapia while Chapman scored on a fielder’s choice. Tapia then advanced to third on a Jeter Downs fielding error and scored when Guerrero Jr. reached base on an infield single.

That sequence made it an 8-2 contest in favor of the Blue Jays. The Red Sox, again, got one of those runs back in their half of the fifth when Jarren Duran ripped a one-out triple off reliever Trevor Richards and scored on an RBI single off the bat of Verdugo.

An inning later, Jackie Bradley Jr. took Richards 404 feet deep over the Green Monster for his third home run of the season. From that point forward, however, Bradley Jr. accounted for Boston’s only other hit with a leadoff single off Adam Cimber in the bottom of the ninth that ultimately amounted to nothing.

After Sawamura surrendered three runs in the fifth, Garrett Whitlock, Austin Davis, Kaleb Ort, and Jake Diekman combined for four scoreless frames. But it was not enough in the end as 8-4 would go on to be Sunday’s final score at Fenway Park.

With the loss, the Red Sox are now 1-9 in their last 10 games, 5-15 in the month of July, and 12-29 against divisional opponents on the season. They currently trail the Mariners (51-45) for the third and final American League Wild Card spot.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Plesac

Looking to put this weekend behind them, the Red Sox will welcome the 48-46 Guardians into town for a four-game series that beings on Monday night. Nick Pivetta is slated to start the series opener for Boston while fellow right-hander Zach Plesac is in line to do the same for Cleveland.

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

(Picture of Brayan Bello: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Despite another solid start from Kutter Crawford, Red Sox drop another series to American League East opponent in 4-1 loss to Blue Jays

The Red Sox may not have gotten blown out by the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon, but they still lost. Boston fell to Toronto by a final score of 4-1 on Fenway Park to extend its losing streak to three and drop to 48-47 on the season.

The lone run the Sox scored came in their half of the second inning. Bobby Dalbec led off the frame by crushing a 391-foot solo shot off Jays starter Alek Manoah for his eighth home run of the season. It gave Boston an early 1-0 lead, and it even had a chance to add on some more as Jackie Bradley Jr. followed with a single and advanced all the way up to third base with just one out. But Jeter Downs struck out and Jarren Duran flew out to extinguish the threat.

Toronto took full advantage of that missed opportunity in its half of the third. With Kutter Crawford on the mound for Boston, Matt Chapman led off with a single and promptly scored all the way from first on a game-tying RBI single off the bat of former Red Sox prospect Santiago Espinal. Espinal then moved up to third on a Cavan Biggio double. Both runners scored on an RBI single from George Springer and a sacrifice fly from Alejandro Kirk.

Despite a rocky third inning, Crawford was able to settle in and put together another solid start. Over six strong innings of work, the right-hander allowed just those three earned runs on five hits and one walk to go along with four strikeouts on the afternoon. He retired eight of the final nine batters he faced from the fourth inning on and finished with a final pitch count of 77 (52 strikes). The 26-year-old’s ERA on the season now sits at 4.50.

In relief of Crawford, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was aggressive in how he used his bullpen. John Schreiber and Tanner Houck each worked their way around a walk in their respective shutout innings. Ryan Brasier, on the other hand, issued a leadoff single to Kirk in the ninth. Bradley Zimmer came on to pinch-run for Kirk, stole second base, moved up to third on a Bo Bichette groundout, and scored his side’s fourth run on a choppy RBI base hit from Teoscar Hernandez.

Trailing 4-1 going into their half of the ninth inning, the Red Sox had been held in check to that point by the Blue Jays pitching staff. After running into some trouble in the second, Manoah — like Crawford — found a groove and wound up scattering seven hits across six one-run frames.

In the bottom of the eighth, Toronto reliever Adam Cimber plunked two of the first three batters he faced to bring the then-go-ahead run to the plate with only one out. But Franchy Cordero punched out and Dalbec flew out against Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano to end the inning.

Down to their final three outs, Bradley Jr., Yolmer Sanchez, and the pinch-hitting Kevin Plawecki went down quietly against Romano to seal the 4-1 defeat.

All told, Boston went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base as a team. Cordero went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and is now 0-for-21 with 17 punchouts in his last seven games. Downs and Duran, meanwhile, combined to go 0-for-7 with five strikeouts.

Saturday’s loss guarantees that the Red Sox will not win their series against the Blue Jays this weekend, meaning they are now 0-11-1 in series against American League East opponents as well as 12-28 within the division.

Next up: Stripling vs. Bello in finale

The Red Sox will look to salvage their weekend with a win over the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon. Top pitching prospect Brayan Bello is expected to make his third start for Boston while Toronto will roll with a fellow right-hander in Ross Stripling.

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

(Picture of Kutter Crawford: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox get embarrassed by Blue Jays in lopsided 28-5 loss

The Red Sox were embarrassed by the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Friday night. In its first game back from the All-Star break, Boston fell to Toronto by a final score of 28-5 to drop to 48-46 on the season.

Nathan Eovaldi, making his 14th start of the year, surrendered nine earned runs on eight hits and two walks to go along with three strikeouts over just 2 2/3 innings of work.

After striking out the very first batter he faced, Eovaldi ran into early trouble when he gave up a one-out double to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who moved up to third base and then scored on an RBI groundout off the bat of Bo Bichette. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. led off the second inning with a single, which was followed by a 421-foot two-run home run from Matt Chapman.

Taking a 3-0 lead into the third, the Blue Jays proceeded to go off for seven runs. Eovaldi loaded the bases with one out before yielding a two-run single to Gurriel Jr. Former Red Sox prospect Santiago Espinal followed with a run-scoring single of his own before No. 9 hitter Danny Jansen drew a four-pitch walk to fill the bases yet again with two outs.

Eovaldi’s night wound end there as Toronto’s lineup flipped back over. The 32-year-old finished with a final pitch count of 63 (42 strikes) but was only able to induce seven total swings-and-misses. His ERA on the season now sits at 4.30.

In relief of Eovaldi, Austin Davis received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Raimel Tapia greeted the left-hander by lifting a 384-foot fly ball to center field that Jarren Duran lost in the twilight. As a result of Duran’s miscue, Tapia cleared the bases and crossed home plate himself for a rare inside-the-park grand slam.

That made it a 10-0 game in favor of Toronto. It tacked on four more runs in the fourth when Davis served up a solo shot to Tesocar Hernandez and a three-run blast to Jansen. Boston was able to get three of those runs back in its half of the fourth, as Christian Vazquez took Kevin Gausman deep before Jackie Bradley Jr. clubbed a two-run homer off the Blue Jays starter.

Things only got worse from there, however. Kaleb Ort recorded the first two outs of the fifth, and then the Jays went off for 11 runs. Eight of those were charged to Ort, including one in which Matt Chapman hit a 38-foot pop-up that fell between Ort, Kevin Plawecki, and Rafael Devers. Darwinzon Hernandez came on for Ort and gave up five runs of his own — four of which were earned.

In the bottom of the sixth, Vazquez went deep for a second time to cut the deficit down to 23 runs at 27-4. Rob Refsnyder tattooed a 405-foot solo shot off Blue Jays reliever Jeremy Beasley in the seventh for his fourth big fly of the year.

After Jake Diekman and Hirokazu Sawamura each tossed scoreless frames of relief in the seventh and eighth innings, Yolmer Sanchez — a position player — was called upon for the ninth.

Sanchez, making his second career relief appearance, allowed one run on three hits. He threw 15 pitches (10 strikes) ranging from 40.5 mph to 82.8 mph, per Baseball Savant.

All told, seven different Red Sox pitchers combined to give up 28 runs (27 earned) on 29 hits. The 28 runs are the most the Blue Jays have ever scored in a single game and the most the Red Sox have ever given up in a single game. The Sox’ run differential coming into play on Friday was plus-18. It is now minus-5.

In addition to falling to 48-46 on the season, Boston also falls to 12-27 against divisional opponents and 5-13 in the month of July.

Next up: Manoah vs. Crawford

The Red Sox will look to put an end to a three-game losing streak that dates back to last weekend and bounce back against the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon. Kutter Crawford is slated to get the start for Boston while fellow right-hander Alek Manoah is in line to do the same for Toronto.

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

(Picture of Green Monster scoreboard: Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)

Franchy Cordero, Christian Vázquez, and J.D. Martinez all homer as Red Sox beat Yankees, 11-6, to earn series split

The Red Sox wrapped up their weekend on a solid note by coming from behind for a second night in a row to ultimately beat and earn a series split the Yankees. After Alex Verdugo walked it off in 10 innings on Saturday, Boston rallied from multiple four-run deficits to defeat the Yankees by a final score of 11-6 at Fenway Park on Sunday.

Nick Pivetta, making his 18th start of the season, was unfortunately the primary reason why the Sox fell behind early on Sunday night. In just 3 1/3 innings of work, the right-hander got rocked for six runs on eight hits, and two walks, to go along with five strikeouts.

All six of those Yankees runs came within the first three innings. In the first, Pivetta served up a blistering two-run home run to Giancarlo Stanton. In the second, he gave up a pair of run-scoring hits to Jose Trevino and Isiah Kiner-Filefa. And in the third, he surrendered another two-run blast to Matt Carpenter.

Franchy Cordero had just crushed a two-run homer of his own in the bottom of the second off Yankees starter Jameson Taillon to briefly cut the Red Sox’ deficit in half, but Carpenter took things into his own hands to give New York a 6-2 lead.

Taillon, however, fell victim to the long ball again in the latter half of the third inning. With two outs and the bases empty, Christian Vazquez clobbered a 380-foot solo shot over the Green Monster to make it a three-run game at 6-3.

Pivetta, meanwhile, came back out for the fourth but gave up base hits to two of the final three batters he faced before getting the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora. The 29-year-old wound up throwing 90 pitches (59 strikes) in the process of raising his ERA on the season to 4.08.

Kaleb Ort took over for Pivetta with two outs to get in the fourth inning. Making his first-ever appearance at Fenway Park, Ort retired the dangerous duo of Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo before getting through a scoreless fifth with the help of an inning-ending 3-6-1 double play.

To lead off the bottom of the fifth, Jackie Bradley Jr. reached base on a line-drive single. He then moved up to second on a Bobby Dalbec groundout and to third on a Jarren Duran groundout before being driven in by Vazquez. Following a Yankees mound visit, J.D. Martinez proceeded to tie things up by clubbing another two-run homer 392 feet into the Red Sox bullpen in right field.

Martinez’s ninth big fly of the season — and his first at Fenway Park since June 14 — knotted things up at six runs apiece going into the sixth. There, former Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman loaded the bases with no outs. Boston was only able to get one run out of it, though, as the pinch-hitting Jeter Downs plated Trevor Story on fly ball that was dropped by D.J. LeMahieu to give the Red Sox their first lead of the night.

After Hirokazu Sawamura tossed a pair of scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh (and Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected for arguing balls and strikes), the Sox struck again in their half of the seventh when Martinez reached base on a Kiner-Filefa throwing error. Like Chapman, Miguel Castro proceeded to load the bases with no outs. Following another mound visit, Story cleared said bases on a 402-foot three-run double that nearly left the yard.

It may not have been a grand slam, but it still plated three. Story then scored from second when Cordero greeted new Yankees reliever Albert Abreu by dropping a sacrifice bunt. Abreu fielded the ball cleanly, but he made an errant throw to first base that deflected off Rizzo and allowed Story to score on a heads-up play.

Taking a commanding 11-6 advantage into the late innings, Matt Strahm stranded one runner in the eighth while Ryan Brasier faced the minimum in the ninth. Downs, for his part, had taken over at third base after pinch-hitting for Duran earlier in the contest. The rookie infielder made a superb barehanded play while charging towards the ball to rob Kiner-Filefa of a potential infield single with an absolute dart to first base . He then showed off his hops to start the game-ending 5-4-3 double play.

With the win, the Red Sox improve to 47-39 on the season and to 11-20 against divisional opponents. This is the first time in tries this year that the Sox have not lost a series to an American League East rival.

Next up: Happy flight to St. Petersburg

It will be a quick turnaround for the Red Sox as they will board a flight to St. Petersburg before opening a four-game series against the reeling Rays on Tuesday night.

In the series opener, rookie right-hander Brayan Bello will be making his second start for Boston while Tampa Bay will roll fellow righty Matt Wisler. First pitch from Tropicana Field is scheduled for 7: 10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

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

Rob Refsnyder leading off as Red Sox look to bounce back against Yankees in Connor Seabold’s first career start at Fenway Park

The Red Sox are rolling with a right-handed heavy lineup as they look to even their series against the Yankees on Friday night.

Yankees starter Nestor Cortes — a left-handed pitcher — comes into play Friday holding opposing left-handed hitters to a measly .116/.156/.186 slash line against through his first 15 starts of the season.

With that, the likes of Jackie Bradley Jr., Franchy Cordero, and Jarren Duran are all out of Boston’s starting lineup. In their place, Christian Arroyo will get the start in right field, Bobby Dalbec will start at first base, and Rob Refsnyder will start in center while serving as Alex Cora’s leadoff hitter.

Rafael Devers and Alex Verdugo are the only two left-handed hitters in Cora’s lineup. Devers will bat out of the two-hole while Verdugo will bat sixth, per usual. Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, and Christian Vazquez will make up the 3-4-5 portion of the batting order. Behind Verdugo will be Trevor Story, Arroyo, and Dalbec.

Of these nine hitters, Devers is the only one who has taken Cortes deep in the past, and he has done so on two separate occasions.

Vazquez, after getting the night off on Thursday, will be catching rookie right-hander Connor Seabold. The 26-year-old is slated to make his first-career start at Fenway Park after being recalled from Triple-A Worcester in place of the injured Michael Wacha earlier Friday afternoon.

Seabold is in line to become the third straight rookie to start a game for the Sox after Brayan Bello did so on Wednesday and Josh Winckowski did so on Thursday. In his first two starts of the season last week, Seabold allowed eight earned runs on 15 hits, three walks, and 11 strikeouts over 8 2/3 combined innings against the Blue Jays and Cubs.

If the Red Sox can defeat the Yankees on Friday, it will mark just their 10th win of the year against a divisional opponent. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Rob Refsnyder: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers’ 2-homer night goes for naught as Red Sox come up short in 6-5 loss to Yankees

The Red Sox’ struggles against the American League East continued on Thursday night as they suffered a series-opening loss to the Yankees at Fenway Park.

Boston fell to New York by a final score of 6-5 to drop to 9-19 against divisional opponents and 45-38 on the season overall.

Josh Winckowski, making his sixth start of the year for the Sox, immersed himself into the rivalry by allowing six earned runs on six hits, five walks, and two strikeouts over five innings of work.

The rookie right-hander retired six of the first eight batters he faced in the first two innings of Thursday’s contest. He then issued a leadoff walk to No. 9 hitter Joey Gallo to begin things in the third. After Gleyber Torres singled and Giancarlo Stanton drew a two-out walk to load the bases, Winckowski received a visit from pitching coach Dave Bush.

On the other side of that mound visit, Winckowski proceeded to serve up a 429-foot grand slam to Josh Donaldson. Moments after Donaldson crossed home plate, Winckowski gave up a first-pitch solo home run to Aaron Hicks, this giving the Yankees a commanding 5-0 lead.

The Sox were able to get two of those runs back in their half of the third. Matched up against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, Kevin Plawecki reached base via a one-out single. After Jarren Duran struck out, Rafael Devers got his productive night at the plate started by crushing a 434-foot, two-run blast to right field to make it a 5-2 game.

Winckowski, meanwhile, managed to work his way around two walks in the fourth before running into some more trouble in the fifth. A two-out double from Hicks put a runner at third for Jose Trevino, who hit a 53-foot pop fly to the right side of the infield. First baseman Franchy Cordero put himself in position to catch the ball to retire the side, but he instead misplayed it, which allowed Hicks to easily score his side’s sixth run. Winckowski then got the final out of the inning and ended his night there.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 98 (52 strikes), the 24-year-old induced just three swings-and-misses while relying heavily upon his sinker and slider. He was ultimately charged with his third loss of the season while his ERA rose to 4.35.

Shortly after Winckowski ended the top of the fifth, Devers got to Cole again in the bottom half. Following a leadoff double from Cordero and one-out walk from Plawecki, runners were at the corners with two outs for the soon-to-be two-time All-Star.

Having already seen him give up a homer to Devers, Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake paid Cole a visit on the mound to discuss how they would attack the dangerous left-handed hitter this time around. Whatever strategy they came up with did not work, though, as Devers promptly cranked a 425-foot three-run shot to dead center field.

Devers’ second big fly of the night — and 19th of the season — left his bat at 107. 4 mph. It also cut the Yankees’ lead down to one run at 6-5. Cole, however, did not buckle, as he got through the rest of the fifth before sitting down the final three batters he faced in order in the sixth.

The rest of the night belonged to New York’s vaunted bullpen. While Matt Strahm, John Schreiber, Ryan Brasier (with some defensive help from Trevor Story), and Austin Davis combined for four scoreless frames in relief of Winckowski, the three relievers the Yankees used were just as effective.

Wandy Peralta made quick work of the Sox in the seventh while Michael King stranded one runner in an otherwise quiet eighth inning. When they were down to their final three outs in the ninth, Story, Cordero, and Rob Refsnyder were all retired by Clay Holmes, who needed just 10 pitches to hand the Red Sox their seventh loss in their last 10 games.

Despite the loss, Devers went 2-for-5 with all five of Boston’s RBIs on Wednesday after sitting out the last two games with a sore back and right hamstring. He has now taken Cole deep on six different occasions in the 25 times he has faced off against him.

Next up: Seabold vs. Cortes

The Red Sox will call up right-hander Connor Seabold to start against the Yankees on Friday as Michael Wacha is expected to be placed on the 15-day injured list due to arm discomfort.

Seabold will become the third straight rookie to start a game for Boston. New York will counter with left-hander Nestor Cortes.

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

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Brayan Bello struggles in major-league debut as Red Sox drop series to Rays with 7-1 loss

A day that began with so much promise at Fenway Park ended in disappointment. Top pitching prospect Brayan Bello made his highly-anticipated major-league debut on Wednesday night, but the Red Sox still fell to the Rays by a final score of 7-1.

In his first career big-league start, Bello got tagged for four runs on six hits and three walks to go along with two strikeouts over four innings of work. The rookie right-hander got the first out of the first inning on two pitches, then gave up a scorching double to Yandy Diaz that was immediately followed by a run-scoring single off the bat of Wander Franco.

After navigating his way through the first with the help of an inning-ending double play that he started, Bello recorded his first punchout in a scoreless top of the second before running into more trouble in the third. With two outs and runners on the corners, Bello surrendered a two-run double double to Randy Arozarena, who later scored on an RBI double from Kevin Kiermaier.

That made it a 4-0 game in favor of Tampa Bay heading into the fourth, where Bello ended his night by retiring three of the final four batters he faced. Finishing with a final pitch count of 79 (45 strikes), the 23-year-old hurler was only able to induce six swings-and-misses as he was ultimately charged with the losing decision.

In relief of Bello, Jake Diekman received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The left-hander walked one and struck out two in a scoreless fifth inning before making way for Hirokazu Sawamura, who walked four of the eight Rays he faced while giving up an RBI double to Vidal Brujan and issuing a bases-loaded walk to Ji-Man Choi to give Tampa Bay a 6-0 advantage.

Austin Davis fanned a pair in the seventh while Tyler Danish worked a scoreless top of the eighth. To that point in the contest, a Rafael Devers-less Red Sox lineup had been completely held in check by the opposing pitching staff.

Rays tarter Corey Kluber allowed just three hits and struck out five over six scoreless frames. The Sox had a golden chance to get to the veteran hurler in their half of the second, when a Franchy Cordero ground-rule double put runners at second and third with two outs. But Christian Arroyo popped out to Francisco Mejia in foul territory to extinguish the threat.

In the third, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Christian Vazquez hit a pair of singles to put runners at first and second with only one out. J.D. Martinez then grounded into a force out while Xander Bogaerts fanned on five pitches to end the inning.

It was not until the seventh inning when the Red Sox recorded their fourth hit of the night on a one-out double from Trevor Story. Rays reliever Calvin Faucher prevented Story from advancing past second base, however, as he sat down Cordero and Arroyo to send things to the eighth.

Martinez accounted for Boston’s lone run in the eighth inning, as he drove in Jarren Duran on an RBI single to left field. Tampa Bay got that run back, though, as Arozarena crushed a solo shot off Danish in the ninth to make it a six-run game again.

Down to their final three outs in the bottom half of the ninth, Alex Verdugo, Story, and Cordero went down in order to drop the Red Sox to 45-37 on the season. They went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position on Wednesday and left six runners on base as a team.

Boston has now lost three consecutive series and is a measly 9-18 against divisional opponents this year.

Next up: Winckowski vs. Cole

The Red Sox will now welcome the first-place Yankees into town for the first time this season for a four-game weekend series that begins on Thursday night. In the opener, it will be rookie right-hander Josh Winckowski getting the ball for Boston and fellow righty Gerrit Cole doing the same for New York.

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

(Picture of Brayan Bello: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers out of Red Sox lineup for second straight night, but available to pinch-hit in Wednesday’s series finale against Rays

Rafael Devers is out of the Red Sox lineup for a second straight day due to lower back soreness and a sore right hamstring, manager Alex Cora said prior to Wednesday’s series finale against the Rays at Fenway Park.

Per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, Devers first went into Cora’s office following Monday’s win over Tampa Bay and asked to have Tuesday’s game off. While the 25-year-old third baseman will start Wednesday’s contest on the bench, he will be available to pinch-hit if needed, Cora said.

Devers has appeared in 78 of Boston’s first 81 games this season. The left-handed-hitting slugger comes into play Wednesday sporting a .327/.387/.579 slash line to go along with 17 home runs, 46 RBIs, and 57 runs scored across 78 games (347 plate appearances) so far this year.

In Devers’ place, Christian Arroyo will be making his second straight start at third base while batting eighth. Since returning from the COVID-19 related injured list on June 24, Arroyo has gone 8-for-18 (.444) with one double, one home run, three RBIs, and four runs scored over his last six games.

Jarren Duran will get the start in center field and lead off, Christian Vazquez will bat second and start at catcher, designated hitter J.D. Martinez is batting out of the three-hole, Xander Bogaerts, Alex Verdugo, and Trevor Story make up the middle third of the lineup, Franchy Cordero starts at first base, and Jackie Bradley Jr. rounds it out in right field.

Making his highly-anticipated major-league debut on Wednesday will be Brayan Bello, who is widely regarded as the top pitching prospect in Boston’s farm system. The 23-year-old rookie will be opposed by fellow right-hander Corey Kluber for Tampa Bay.

The Red Sox have a chance to earn their first series win of the season over an American League East opponent on Wednesday night. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Nick Pivetta gives up season-high 7 runs as Red Sox fall to Rays, 8-4

The Red Sox saw their mini two-game winning streak come to an end on a rainy Tuesday night with an 8-4 loss at the hands of the Rays at Fenway Park.

Nick Pivetta, making his 17th start of the season for Boston, struggled for the first time in a a while. Over 5 2/3 innings of work, the right-hander allowed a season-high seven earned runs on eight hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with just four strikeouts on the night.

Three of those seven runs came right away in the first inning, as Pivetta allowed the first three batters of the game to reach base before giving up a bases-clearing, three-run double to Kevin Kiermaier with one out. He escaped any further damage by getting Taylor Walls to line into an inning-ending double play.

Despite falling behind by three runs before taking their first at-bats, the Red Sox did not back down to the Rays. Matched up against old friend Jeffrey Springs, J.D. Martinez accounted for Boston’s first hit of the night on a two-out double in the bottom of the first. Moments later, Xander Bogaerts crushed a 413-foot two-run home run to dead centerfield off his former teammate to account for his side’s first two runs.

Bogaerts’ seventh home run of the season — and first in more than a month — left his bat at 103.9 mph and cut the Sox’ deficit down to one run at 3-2. In the bottom of the second, Trevor Story led things off by clubbing his 14th homer of the year — a 383-foot solo shot over the Green Monster that knotted the game up at 3-3.

Pivetta, meanwhile, was able to settle into his outing by stringing together four consecutive scoreless frames before running into more trouble in the sixth. There, he issued a leadoff walk to Wander Franco, who later scored on an RBI force out off the bat of Kiermaier that broke the 3-3 tie. After Randy Arozarena doubled to put runners at second and third, Walls drove in the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly and Rene Pinto plated another on an infield single that was aided by some quality baserunning from Arozarena.

Pinto would prove to be the final batter Pivetta would face as he was got the hook from Sox manager Alex Cora. Jake Diekman relieved Pivetta and officially closed the book on the righty’s night by allowing the runner he inherited to score before ending things in the sixth.

Of the 85 pitches Pivetta threw on Tuesday, 56 went for strikes and only five of those were swing-and-miss inducing. The 29-year-old hurler was also charged with his sixth loss of the season as his ERA now sits at 3.68.

Moments before Pivetta took the mound in the sixth, the Red Sox had a golden opportunity to take their first lead of the night in the fifth. With Ryan Thompson now in the game for Tampa Bay, Rob Refsnyder and Martinez led off with a single and double to put runners at second and third with no outs. But neither runner was able to advance as Bogaerts grounded out, Christian Vazquez popped out, and Trevor Story struck out.

Hansel Robles was next out of the Boston bullpen in the seventh. His recent struggles only persisted as he walked two and gave up one run on an Isaac Paredes RBI single.

In the latter half of the seventh, the Sox were able to get that run back when Jarren Duran led off with a double and eventually scored on a Bogaerts sacrifice fly to cut Tampa Bay’s lead down to four runs at 8-4.

Tyler Danish held the Rays at eight runs by tossing a pair of scoreless innings, meaning the Red Sox were still trailing by four going into their half of the ninth. Duran and Refsnyder led off with back-to-back singles off Jason Adam. Adam followed that sequence by fanning Martinez and Bogaerts. Vazquez was then struck by a changeup to load the bases for Story.

Story, representing the potential tying run, popped out to Franco to end the game and ensure that Boston would go just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position while leaving 11 runners on base as a team.

With the loss, the Red Sox wrap up the first half of the 2022 season with a record of 45-36. They also fall to 9-17 against the American League East this year.

Next up: Bello Day

In the rubber match of this three-game set on Wednesday, it will be Brayan Bello making his first career start for the Red Sox. The 23-year-old right-hander is regarded by Baseball America as the top pitching prospect in Boston’s farm system.

On the other side of things, the Rays will counter with a seasoned veteran in right-hander Corey Kluber. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Nick Pivetta: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Red Sox ‘hopeful’ that Michael Wacha (heavy arm) will be able to start against Yankees on Friday

The Red Sox are hopeful that Michael Wacha will be able to start against the Yankees on Friday night, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) prior to Tuesday’s contest with the Rays at Fenway Park.

Wacha was originally slated to make his 14th start of the season for Boston on Monday. But the veteran right-hander was instead scratched the night before due to what the team described as a “heavy arm.” Austin Davis started in his place.

On the heels of his latest outing against the Blue Jays in Toronto on June 28, Wacha first began complaining of “a heavy, tired feeling” in his throwing arm on Sunday. While that feeling resulted in him missing a start, it does not appear as though it will require a stint on the 15-day injured list.

The 31-year-old hurler previously spent 12 days on the injured list back in May due to left intercostal irritation. With the Red Sox this season, he has posted a 2.69 ERA and 3.97 FIP with 50 strikeouts to 22 walks over 70 1/3 innings of work.

If Wacha can indeed go on Friday, he would be opposed by left-hander Nestor Cortes Jr. of the Yankees in the second game of a four-game weekend series in Boston.

(Picture of Michael Wacha: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)