Tag: franchy cordero

Red Sox place Nathan Eovaldi, Eric Hosmer on injured list; Josh Winckowski, Franchy Cordero recalled from Triple-A Worcester

Before opening a three-game series against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Tuesday, the Red Sox placed right-hander Nathan Eovaldi on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation. They also placed first baseman Eric Hosmer on the 10-day injured list due to low back inflammation.

In a pair of corresponding moves, right-hander Josh Winckowski and first baseman Franchy Cordero were recalled from Triple-A Worcester, the club announced.

Eovaldi, who last pitched against the Yankees on August 12, has been scratched from his last two starts due to right trapezius muscle soreness. The 32-year-old hurler had been optimistic that he could avoid the injured list, but that is no longer the case.

This will be Eovaldi’s second stint on the injured list this season, as the righty was previously sidelined from June 12-July 10 with low back inflammation. When healthy, Eovaldi has posted a 4.15 ERA and 4.50 FIP with 96 strikeouts to 18 walks over 18 starts spanning 99 2/3 innings of work. That includes a 2.95 ERA in the month of August.

Hosmer, meanwhile, left Saturday’s game against the Orioles in the fifth inning due to a back issue and did not play in Sunday’s Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa. Since being acquired from the Padres on Aug. 2, the left-handed hitting 32-year-old has batted .225/.311/.300 with three doubles, four RBIs, six runs, four walks, and nine strikeouts in 12 games (45 plate appearances) with the Red Sox.

Eovaldi’s stint on the injured list was backdated to Aug. 19, so he will be eligible to return on Saturday, September 3, at the earliest. Hosmer’s stint on the injured list was backdated to Aug. 21, so he will be eligible to return to action one week from Wednesday at the earliest.

Winckowski will start in place of Eovaldi for Tuesday’s series opener against Toronto. The 24-year-old hurler was most-recently optioned to Worcester last Friday, but was eligible to be recalled within 15 days as long as he was replacing an injured player.

Since making his big-league debut on May 28, Winckowski has posted a 5.19 ERA and 5.21 FIP with 36 strikeouts to 21 walks over 12 starts (60 2/3 innings) for Boston. He had compiled a solid 3.71 ERA across a six-start stretch from June 15-July 13, but has struggled to a 6.46 ERA (6.71 FIP) since returning from a bout with COVID-19 on July 26.

Cordero, on the other hand, served as the Red Sox’ 27th man in Williamsport on Sunday and hit a game-tying, pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning. The 27-year-old was technically optioned back to Worcester after the game, but his latest stint with the WooSox proved to be short-lived.

Including Sunday’s performance, Cordero is now slashing .222/.300/.380 to go along with 17 doubles, one triple, five homers, 25 RBIs, 32 runs scored, four stolen bases, 24 walks, and 78 strikeouts over 73 games (245 plate appearances) with the Red Sox this season. He will be batting eighth and starting at first base for Boston on Tuesday.

(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Franchy Cordero’s late-game heroics go for naught as Red Sox fall to Orioles, 5-3, in Little League Classic

After splitting the first two games of this weekend series in Baltimore, the Red Sox and Orioles traveled to Williamsport, Pa. for the fifth annual Little League Classic. With both teams playing at Historic Bowman Field for the first time, Boston fell to Baltimore by a final score of 5-3 to drop to 60-62 on the season.

Nick Pivetta, who started the game for the Phillies in 2018, did so again for the Sox on Sunday. In what was his 25th start of the season, the right-hander allowed two earned runs on six hits, one walk, and one hit batsman to go along with nine strikeouts over 5 2/3 strong innings of work.

Both of those Baltimore runs came right away in the first inning, as Pivetta gave up singles to each of the three batters he faced. Anthony Santander drove in Cedric Mullins with his base hit before Ramon Urias pushed across Adley Rutschman on an RBI single back up the middle.

Despite that rocky start, Pivetta settled in nicely. The Red Sox also got one of those two runs back in their half of the second. Rafael Devers led off with a single against O’s starter Dean Kremer, eventually advanced to third base with two outs, and scored from third on a 100.6 mph single off the bat of Enrique Hernandez.

Pivetta, meanwhile, struck out the side in order in the second while in the process of retiring 12 of 15 hitters through the end of the fifth. In the sixth, the righty recorded his eighth and ninth punchouts of the night before issuing a two-out walk to Austin Hays, who would prove to be the final batter he faced.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 103 (67 strikes), Pivetta induced a game-high 17 swings-and-misses, nine of which came on his four-seam fastball. The 29-year-old hurler did not factor into Sunday’s decision, though he did lower his ERA on the season to 4.24.

Matt Strahm, who received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora, officially closed the book on Pivetta’s outing by getting through the rest of the sixth unscathed. The lefty also got the first out of the seventh before making way for Matt Barnes, who recorded the final two.

Still trailing 2-1 after being held in check by Kremer, the Sox received a boost from their bench to begin things in the eighth. With right-handed reliever Dillon Tate on the mound for Baltimore, Cora opted to have the left-handed hitting Franchy Cordero pinch-hit for Bobby Dalbec.

Cordero, serving as Boston’s 27th man for this contest, promptly made the most of his opportunity by clubbing a game-tying, 358 foot home run to left field. It left his bat at a blistering 104.9 mph to knot things up at two runs apiece. All five of Cordero’s homers this season have come on a Sunday.

While it felt as though the tides may have been turning in the Red Sox’ favor, that quickly changed in the latter half of the eighth. After issuing a one-out walk to Urias, Barnes was given the hook in favor of John Schreiber.

Schreiber, in turn, hit and walked the first two batters he faced to load the bases with still only one out in the inning. Schreiber then received a visit from pitching coach Dave Bush, but that ultimately did not pan out as Jorge Mateo proceeded to lace a bases-clearing, three-run double down the left field line.

Ryan McKenna, Hays, and Rougned Odor all scored on Mateo’s clutch hit, thus giving the Orioles a commanding 5-2 lead. Schreiber was charged with two of those three runs, meaning he has now given up at least one run in back-to-back relief appearances for the first time this year. Austin Davis registered the final two outs of the eighth.

Xander Bogaerts made things interesting in the ninth by crushing a leadoff home run off Orioles closer Felix Bautista. But Bautista held on by sitting down J.D. Martinez, Christian Arroyo, and Devers in order to secure a series-clinching win for Baltimore.

With the loss, the Red Sox snapped their streak for consecutive series wins at three. At 60-62, they now trail the Mariners by six games for the third and final American League Wild Card spot.

Next up: Back to Boston

The Red Sox will have Monday off as they travel back to Boston for a six-game homestand against the Blue Jays and Rays that begins on Tuesday.

Nathan Eovaldi was originally slated to start Tuesday’s series opener against Toronto but has since been scratched due to prolonged trap muscle soreness. It seems likely that rookie right-hander Josh Winckowski could start in his place, but that would require Eovaldi (or another player) to be placed on the injured list since Winckowski was just optioned to Triple-A Worcester on Friday.

Regardless of that, first pitch from Fenway Park on Tuesday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Franchy Cordero: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Franchy Cordero to serve as 27th man for Red Sox in Sunday’s MLB Little League Classic

Franchy Cordero will serve as the Red Sox’ 27th man for Sunday’s Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa., manager Alex Cora announced following Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Orioles in Baltimore.

Cordero was removed from Triple-A Worcester’s game against the Rochester Red Wings in the sixth inning at Polar Park on Saturday afternoon. Prior to being pulled, he had gone 0-for-2 with an RBI in the form of a sacrifice fly.

The Red Sox most-recently optioned Cordero to Worcester on August 2. Since then, the left-handed hitting 27-year-old has batted .370 (17-for-46) with two doubles, four home runs, 12 RBIs, 10 runs scored, three stolen bases, five walks, and 19 strikeouts in his last 12 games with the WooSox.

At the big-league level this season, Cordero has slashed .219/.298/.363 (85 wRC+) to go along with 17 doubles, one triple, four homers, 24 runs driven in, 31 runs scored, four stolen bases, 24 walks, and 78 strikeouts over 72 games (244 plate appearances).

Capable of playing first base and the outfield, Cordero could be needed for Sunday’s series finale against the Orioles since Eric Hosmer left Saturday’s game early due to back spasms.

Considering that he will be serving as the Sox’ 27th man, it seems likely that Cordero will be returned to Worcester once Sunday’s contest concludes.

(Picture of Franchy Cordero: Billie Weiss/Red Sox/Getty Images)

Franchy Cordero commits 3 errors as Red Sox blow late lead and fall to Guardians, 7-6, to drop below .500

For the first time since June 4, the Red Sox are under .500. Boston blew a late lead and ultimately fell to the Guardians by a final score of 7-6 on Wednesday night to drop to 49-50 on the season.

Nathan Eovaldi, making his second start since returning from the injured list on July 15, allowed five runs (three earned) on nine hits and zero walks to go along with one strikeout over six innings of work.

Three of those five Cleveland runs came in the top half of the second inning. Franmil Reyes led off with a ground-rule double and moved up to third base on an Owen Miller single. Following a mound visit from pitching coach Dave Bush, Eovaldi got Nolan Jones to chop a groundball in the direction of Franchy Cordero at first base.

Cordero, while running to his right, attempted to corral the ball with his glove but picked it off the ground barehanded. With his momentum carrying him in the opposite direction, he made an awkward throw to Eovaldi, who was covering the first-base bag. Said, throw, however, was nowhere near Eovaldi and instead rolled into the Red Sox dugout. So not only did Reyes score on the play, but Miller advanced to third while Jones reached base safely.

The Guardians took full advantage of Cordero’s fielding and throwing errors, as Austin Hedges plated Miller on an RBI groundout and Straw drove in Jones on a run-scoring double to give his side an early 3-0 advantage.

The Red Sox, matched up against right-hander Cal Quantrill, responded by scoring two runs of their own in the bottom of the second. After Cordero drew a two-out walk, Bobby Dalbec crushed a 410-foot two-run home run over the Green Monster to cut the deficit to one at 3-2.

Eovaldi, meanwhile ran into more trouble in the fourth, when Jones led off with a sharply-hit double and moved up to third on a successful sacrifice bunt laid down by Hedges. Straw fanned on four pitches for the second out, but Steven Kwan and Amed Rosario kept the inning alive by stringing together back-to-back run-scoring hits.

Once more, the Sox kept the pressure on by answering with two runs in the latter half of the fourth. Christian Vazquez reached on a one-out single and then scored all the way from first on an RBI double off the bat of Cordero that neither Kawan or Rosario could handle cleanly. As a result, Cordero advanced up to third base and easily scored on a Dalbec sacrifice fly.

At the very least, Eovaldi was able to settle down a bit from there. The 32-year-old right-hander retired eight of the final nine batters he faced leading into the middle of the sixth inning. Of the 95 pitches he wound up throwing, 67 went for strikes. His ERA on the season now sits at 4.32.

The Cordero-Dalbec combo struck again in the bottom of the sixth. Moments after the former reached base on a force out, the latter followed by clubbing his second home run of the night. Dalbec’s 10th homer of the season left his bat at 107.1 mph and traveled 397 feet to dead center field. It also gave the Red Sox their first lead of the contest at 6-5.

That newfound lead would not last long, though. After John Schreiber worked a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Eovaldi, the righty was called upon again to take the mound in the eighth. He begin the frame by giving up an infield single to Jones, but the Guardians rookie was able to take second base as well thanks to another Cordero throwing error.

Schreiber then surrendered a game-tying RBI double to Straw. An inning later, Tanner Houck served up a go-ahead solo homer to Josh Naylor that put Cleveland back up, 6-5.

Emmanuel Clase came on to close things out in the ninth for the second straight night and did just that by making quick work of Jackie Bradley Jr., Yolmer Sanchez, and Rob Refsnyder.

With the loss, Boston has now dropped seven of its last eight games to fall to a dismal 6-17 in the month of July. It is also 31-41 against teams with winning records and 13-16 in one-run games this season.

According to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, Cordero is the first Red Sox first baseman to commit three errors in a single game since Mo Vaughn did so in 1993.

Dalbec, on the other hand, has four hits in his last seven games. Three of those have left the yard.

Next up: Crawford vs. McKenzie

The Red Sox will look to settle for a four-game series split in Thursday’s finale with the Guardians. In a starting pitching matchup featuring a pair of right-handers who went to high school in Florida, Kutter Crawford will get the ball for Boston while Triston McKenzie will do the same for Cleveland.

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

(Picture of Franchy Cordero: Kathryn Riley/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)

Alex Verdugo comes through with 2 clutch hits to help Red Sox avoid getting swept by Blue Jays in 6-5 win

The Red Sox nearly blew another late lead against the Blue Jays on Wednesday night, but instead held on for a drama-filled, 6-5 win in 10 innings to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of their division rivals.

Nick Pivetta, making his 16th start of the season for Boston, allowed two runs on five hits, three walks, and one hit batsman to go along with five strikeouts over six-plus innings of work.

The Canadian-born right-hander ran into some early trouble when he issued a leadoff walk to Alejandro Kirk to begin things in the bottom of the second. Kirk moved up to second and later scored from there on an RBI single from former Red Sox prospect Santiago Espinal to give the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead.

The Sox quickly responded, however, as Franchy Cordero led off the third with a bunt single off Jays starter Alek Manoah. Cordero proceeded to steal second and advance to third on a throwing error before scoring his side’s first run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Rob Refsnyder.

Pivetta, meanwhile, kept Toronto off the board in the latter half of the third despite putting himself in a jam. The righty gave up a one-out single to Bo Bichette and plunked Kirk in the elbow with a 94 mph fastball. It was not intentional but the Blue Jays dugout, particularly Vladimir Guerrero Jr. still took exception.

After Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo left his dugout to chat with home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn, Guerrero Jr. took to the field as he was jawing back and forth with Pivetta. While there was no exchange of fists, both benches and bullpens cleared to momentarily delay the game.

Once the dust had settled from that skirmish, Pivetta walked the very next batter he faced to fill the bases. That prompted a mound visit from pitching coach Dave Bush, and it paid dividends as Pivetta fanned Raimel Tapia on four pitches to retire the side.

On the heels of a 1-2-3 fourth inning, Pivetta encountered more leadoff trouble in the fifth when he served up a go-ahead, 413-foot solo shot to George Springer.

Again, though, Toronto’s newfound lead did not last long. With two outs in the sixth, Xander Bogaerts reached base via an infield single. A red-hot Alex Verdugo followed by getting ahead in the count against Manoah at 2-0 and then crushing 95 mph heater 399 feet to right field to put Boston ahead for the first time.

Verdugo’s sixth home run of the season left his bat at 107 mph and gave the Sox a 3-2 lead. Pivetta took that lead into the seventh before issuing a leadoff walk to Cavan Biggio, who proved to be the final Blue Jay he would face.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 109 (72 strikes), Pivetta got eight of his 15 swings-and-misses with his four-seamer, a pitch he threw 56 times and topped out at 95.8 mph with. The 29-year-old did not factor into Wednesday’s decision, though he did lower his ERA on the season to 3.23.

In relief of Pivetta, John Schreiber got the first call out of the Boston bullpen and immediately negated the runner he inherited by getting Springer to ground into a force out at second base. Schreiber then stranded Springer by retiring Bichette and Guerrero Jr. back-to-back.

Still up 3-2 going into the eighth, the Red Sox next turned to Ryan Brasier, who surrendered back-to-back one-out doubles to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Tapia. Tapia drove in the pinch-running Bradley Zimmer with his two-base hit to knot things up at three runs apiece.

After Jordan Romano and Matt Strahm each traded zeroes in the ninth, Jackie Bradley Jr. took second base to begin the 10th inning. Matched up against veteran reliever David Phelps now, Refsnyder and Rafael Devers drew back-to-back walks to fill the bases with no outs for J.D. Martinez.

Martinez, in turn, took a 91 mph cutter off the back, which allowed Bradley Jr. to score from third and keep the bases loaded for Bogaerts, who proceeded to ground into a 3-2-3 double play off newly-inserted reliever Tim Mayza.

Faced with the possibility of only scoring one run in the 10th, Verdugo came through with what would prove to be some much-needed insurance as he ripped a two-run double that split the gap in left field and scored both Devers and Martinez easily.

Verdugo’s second clutch hit of the night gave the Red Sox a rather sizable 6-3 lead going into the bottom half of the 10th. Still without unvaccinated closer Tanner Houck, manager Alex Cora rode with Strahm for a second straight inning.

As was the case with Tyler Danish on Tuesday, that decision nearly proved to be a disastrous one for the Red Sox. After quickly getting the first two outs of the 10th, Strahm yielded three straight hits to Matt Chapman, Espinal, and Biggio.

Espinal and Biggio — who doubled — both drove in a run with their hits to cut the Sox’ lead down to one at 6-5. Biggio represented the possible tying run at second base.

Strahm was now tasked with facing a dangerous hitter in Springer. The lefty was likely gassed given his workload, but he held on by getting Springer to pop out to Trevor Story to end the game.

So, on a season-high 41 pitches (30 strikes), Strahm prevented the Red Sox from getting swept while earning his third winning decision of the year.

With the win, Boston improves to 43-33 on the season and leaves Toronto a half-game ahead of the Blue Jays in the American League Wild Card standings.

Next up: Heading to Wrigley

The Red Sox will enjoy an off day on Thursday as they arrive in Chicago ahead of a three-game weekend series against the Cubs. This will mark the Sox’ first trip to Wrigley Field in 10 years.

In Friday afternoon’s series opener, veteran left-hander Rich Hill will get the start for Boston. Chicago has yet to officially name a starter.

Regardless of that, first pitch from the Friendly Confines on Friday is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

Franchy Cordero and Jarren Duran combine for 5 hits, Josh Winckowski puts together 6 2/3 solid innings as Red Sox top Tigers, 5-2

The Red Sox kicked off the final leg of their homestand with a series-opening win over the Tigers on Monday night. Boston defeated Detroit by a final score of 5-2 to improve to 37-31 on the season and 14-4 in the month of June.

In a pitching matchup that featured two rookie right-handers going at it, it was Josh Winckowski who prevailed over Alex Faedo.

Winckowski, making his third start of the year for the Sox, received some early scoring from his lineup and rode that to a second consecutive strong outing. The young righty allowed just two runs on seven hits and one walk to go along with two strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings of work.

The aforementioned early scoring came courtesy of J.D. Martinez right away in the first inning. After Jarren Duran drew a leadoff walk and stole second base, the former Tigers slugger drove in the speedster on an RBI single to give the Red Sox their first lead of the night.

Winckowski, meanwhile, issued a one-out walk to Riley Greene in the top of the second. That came back to bite him after Greene advanced to third on a Jeimer Candelario single and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Spencer Torkelson.

With things now tied up at 1-1, the Boston bats quickly got that run back in the bottom of the third on back-to-back doubles from Duran and Rafael Devers to lead off the inning. In the fourth, Trevor Story led off by reaching on a fielding error and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Christian Vazquez. In the fifth, Franchy Cordero capped off a three-hit night by plating Alex Verdugo and Story on a two-run single to center field.

Leading by four runs now, Winckowski consistently made quick work of Detroit’s lineup before running into some trouble in the seventh. There, Torkelson reached base via a two-out single and scored all the way from first on an RBI double from Jonathan Schoop that cut Boston’s lead down to three runs at 5-2.

Schoop would be the last batter Winckowski would face as he was lifted in favor of Jake Diekman. Of the 92 pitches Winckowski threw on Monday, 59 went for strikes. The 23-year-old induced five of his seven swings-and-misses with his slider and topped out at 95.5 mph with his sinker, a pitch he threw 36 times.

In relief of Winckowski, Diekman received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora and ended things in the seventh with some defensive help from Verdugo. Matt Strahm got the first two outs of the eighth before making way for John Schreiber, who worked his way around a Javy Baez double to keep the Tigers at two runs.

Taking a 5-2 lead into the ninth, Tanner Houck recorded his fifth save in as many opportunities while working on consecutive days for the first time in his major-league career.

All told, four different Red Sox relievers (Diekman, Strahm, Schreiber, and Houck) combined for 2 1/3 scoreless frames. Offensively, Cordero and Duran accounted for five of Boston’s nine hits. Neither Cordero, Duran, or Schreiber were on the club’s Opening Day roster back in April.

Next up: Hill vs. Brieske

The Red Sox will go for yet another series win over the Tigers on Tuesday night. Veteran left-hander will start for Boston while right-hander Beau Brieske will do the same for Detroit.

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

(Picture of Franchy Cordero: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

Christian Arroyo scratched from Red Sox lineup due to illness; Franchy Cordero starting in his place

Christian Arroyo was originally batting ninth and starting in right field for the Red Sox in their series opener against the Athletics at Fenway Park on Tuesday night.

But shortly before first pitch, it was Franchy Cordero who ran out to take Arroyo’s spot in the field and in Boston’s lineup. In the bottom of the first inning, it was revealed that Arroyo was a late scratch because of illness, the team announced.

Following Tuesday’s 6-1 win over the Athletics, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier) that Arroyo felt ill before the game and is currently going through COVID-19 protocols.

Coming into play on Tuesday, Arroyo was batting .187/.227/.319 with three doubles, three home runs, 10 RBIs, 10 runs scored, three stolen bases, three walks, and 17 strikeouts over 34 games (98 plate appearances) this season.

The versatile 27-year-old has also made appearances at first base, second base, third base, shortstop, and right field. More information regarding his status will likely become available on Wednesday.

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

Franchy Cordero batting leadoff for Red Sox in series finale against Reds

For the first time this season, Franchy Cordero will bat leadoff for the Red Sox as they go up against the Cincinnati Reds at Fenway Park on Wednesday night.

Boston has scored just one run over its last two games, both losses, so it would appear as though manager Alex Cora is shaking things up by having Cordero lead the charge offensively.

In addition to serving as the Sox’ leadoff hitter, Cordero will also start in right field on Wednesday. Since re-joining the big-league club in late April, the left-handed hitter has picked things up at the plate as of late. He is slashing a stout .314/.342/.600 with two doubles, one triple, two home runs, nine RBIs, eight runs scored, two walks, and 10 strikeouts over his last 12 games (38 plate appearances) dating back to May 20.

Cordero and the rest of Boston’s lineup will be opposed by rookie right-hander Hunter Greene to close out this quick two-game interleague series. Greene, the second overall pick in the 2017 draft, has posted a 5.89 ERA and 6.70 FIP with 56 strikeouts to 24 walks over nine starts (44 1/3 innings) since debuting for Cincinnati on April 10. He has also given up a league-leading 15 home runs.

Against right-handed pitching this season, Cordero is batting .246/.317/.406 with one homer and 10 RBIs. For his career, the 27-year-old owns a lifetime 1.126 OPS across 36 plate appearances when hitting first. He has not started a game as a leadoff hitter since he was a member of the Padres in 2018.

Regardless, the Red Sox find themselves in need of an offensive spark before they head out to the west coast for one of their longest road trips of the season. Cordero will look to provide that spark ahead of Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, Alex Verdugo, Trevor Story, Christian Vazquez, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Bobby Dalbec.

On the other side of things, right-hander Garrett Whitlock will make his eighth start of the season for Boston opposite Greene. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Franchy Cordero: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Red Sox go deep 5 times en route to 12-2 blowout win over Orioles; Bobby Dalbec, Franchy Cordero among those who homered

The Red Sox hit five home runs en route to a convincing 12-2 victory over the Orioles on Sunday afternoon. Bobby Dalbec, Franchy Cordero, Rafael Devers, Christian Arroyo, and Enrique Hernandez all went deep as Boston improved to 23-25 on the season at Fenway Park.

Matched up against Orioles left-hander Bruce Zimmermann out of the gate, the Sox kicked off the scoring in their half of the second inning. Christian Vazquez reached base via a one-out double and Dalbec followed by crushing his second homer in as many days. After Arroyo recorded the second out, Cordero proceeded to crank a 448-foot solo shot to dead center field to give his side an early 3-0 lead.

An inning later, Devers joined in on the action with a leadoff home run that was deposited 434 feet into the right field bleachers. In the fourth, Arroyo and Hernandez contributed to the cause with their third and fourth home runs of the season, respectively.

To that point in the contest, Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta had yet to allow a run through his first four innings. In what was his 10th start of the year for Boston, the right-hander wound up yielding just one run on five hits, three walks, and five strikeouts over six solid innings of work.

That lone Baltimore run off of Pivetta came in the top of the fifth, when Cedric Mullins hit a two-out double and Trey Mancini drove him in on an RBI single to right field that was nearly caught by a sliding Arroyo.

Boston got that run right back, however, as Vazquez scored Xander Bogaerts all the way from first on an RBI double that was laced down the right field line.

Pivetta, meanwhile, ended his day by retiring three of the final four batters he faced in the sixth. The 29-year-old hurler finished with a final pitch count of 106 (64 strikes) while lowering his ERA on the season down to 3.95.

In relief of Pivetta, Tanner Houck got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The hard-throwing righty needed just 14 pitches (11 strikes) to face the minimum over two scoreless frames with the help of two double plays.

The bottom of the eighth was all about insurance for the Sox. Cordero capped off his productive day at the plate with a two-run double, J.D. Martinez drew a bases-loaded walk, and Bogaerts delivered with a two-run double of his own off Marcos Diplan.

Those five runs put Boston up, 12-1, going into the ninth. Phillips Valdez gave one of those runs back but otherwise slammed the door on the Orioles to secure a 12-2 win.

Next up: Hill vs. Wells in series finale

The Red Sox will look to earn their fifth straight series victory in Monday’s finale against the Orioles. Boston will give the ball to veteran left-hander Rich Hill while Baltimore will roll with right-hander Tyler Wells.

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

(Picture of Franchy Cordero: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)