Tag: grapefruit league

Red Sox OF Wilyer Abreu hits first homer of spring: ‘The at-bats have been really, really good’

On an otherwise quiet afternoon for the Red Sox offensively, Wilyer Abreu provided some thump in Wednesday’s 7-1 loss to the Twins at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla.

Coming into Grapefruit League play on Wednesday, Abreu had gone just 2-for-17 (.118) with a triple, one RBI, one run scored, five walks, and seven strikeouts through his first eight games of the spring. After tripling in Tuesday’s win over the Rays, the 24-year-old outfielder carried over that momentum as he made the short trek over from the Fenway South complex.

Starting in right field and batting fifth for Boston, Abreu got the visitors on the board first by homering off Minnesota starter Joe Ryan with one out in the top of the second second. Ryan, who had just fanned Triston Casas on six pitches, got ahead in the count against Abreu at 0-2 before offering up an 88.6 mph splitter at the bottom of the strike zone.

Abreu, in turn, drilled the pitch to deep right-center field for his first homer of the spring. The ball, according to Baseball Savant, left Abreu’s bat at a blistering 106 mph and had a launch angle of 26 degrees. Though Statcast was unable to determine how far the ball has hit, it likely traveled close to 420 feet before landing in the seats.

Despite taking an early lead, the Red Sox lineup was held in check by Twins pitching the rest of the way and ultimately fell to 8-5-1 in Grapefruit League action. Abreu — who struck out looking in the fourth and grounded into a force out in the sixth to finish the day 1-for-3 — was replaced defensively by Mark Contreras in right field to start the latter half of the sixth inning.

Following Wednesday’s contest, Abreu is now batting .150/.320/.400 with the one triple, the one homer, two runs driven in, two runs scored, five walks, and eight strikeouts in nine games (25 plate appearances) so far this spring. All nine of his starts have come in right field, where he has yet to commit an error over 41 defensive innings.

“He’s been putting together good at-bats,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Abreu when speaking with reporters (including The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams). “Results aside, the at-bats have been really, really good. We’ve just got to stay with the process. He’s been swinging at the right ones and putting good swings on it.”

Abreu, who is attending his second spring training with the Red Sox, is looking to crack his first Opening Day roster after debuting for Boston late last season. The left-handed hitter was called up on August 22 and made his big-league debut against the Astros — the team that originally signed him as an international free agent coming out of Venezuela in July 2017 and traded him away a little more than five years later — at Minute Maid Park in Houston that same night.

From that point forward, Abreu batted an impressive .316/.388/.474 with six doubles, two home runs, 14 RBIs, 10 runs scored, three stolen bases, nine walks, and 23 strikeouts in 28 games (85 plate appearances) to kick off his major-league career. Among American League rookies who made at least 80 trips to the plate in 2023, Abreu ranked first in batting average, third in on-base percentage, ninth in slugging percentage, fourth in OPS (.862), fourth in hard-hit rate (49.1 percent), and fifth in wRC+ (135), per FanGraphs.

On the other side of the ball, Abreu saw playing time at all three outfield spots with Boston down the stretch last year. The 5-foot-10, 215-pounder logged 76 innings in left, 85 1/3 innings in center, and 7 1/3 innings in right. Altogether, he posted two defensive runs saved and ranked in the 97th percentile of all big-leaguers in average arm strength (94.7 mph), according to Baseball Savant.

With Alex Verdugo out of the picture after being dealt to the Yankees in December, Abreu appears to be the leading candidate to take over as the Red Sox’ primary right fielder in 2024. Cora himself acknowledged as much in a recent conversation with MLB.com’s Ian Browne.

“He’s a good player who has a chance to be the starting right fielder of the Red Sox,” said Cora. “He controls the strike zone. He plays good defense. He has a cannon. He can run the bases. Let’s see what happens. There’s a lot of decisions we have to make. The reason we have tough decisions is that we have good, dynamic players.”

Abreu, who does not turn 25 until June, comes into the 2024 season ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 6 prospect in Boston’s farm system. That is up 12 spots from where he was last year. Baseball America also has him tabbed as the No. 6 prospect in the organization while SoxProspects.com currently ranks him eighth.

Because he is still considered a prospect, Abreu has yet to graduate from his rookie status. As such, he could be one of several rookies to make the Sox’ Opening Day roster later this month, joining the likes of Ceddanne Rafaela and Justin Slaten, among others.

Like he told Browne, though, Abreu will not be taking anything for granted these next few weeks. He will instead be doing everything in his power to ensure that he is on the flight to Seattle ahead of the Red Sox’ Opening Day matchup against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park on March 28.

“Although there’s a good opportunity for me to stay on the team, I don’t take it for granted, and I’ll work as hard as I can to prove that I can be on this team,” he said. “I don’t want to leave anyone with a doubt that I can be a major-league player.”

(Picture of Wilyer Abreu: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox prospect Cutter Coffey homers in first at-bat of spring

Infield prospect Cutter Coffey proved to be the difference maker in the Red Sox’ split-squad win over the Nationals at JetBlue Park on Saturday afternoon.

Called up by the big-league club for the first time this spring, Coffey was inserted into the Grapefruit League contest as a defensive replacement for starting third baseman Rafael Devers in the top of the sixth. A half-inning later, he stepped up to the plate for the first time with two outs and one runner on base following a Tyler Heineman single.

Matched up against Nationals reliever Cole Henry, who was added to Washington’s 40-man roster last November, Coffey worked a 1-0 count before taking the right-hander way deep over the faux Green Monster in left field for a towering go-ahead, two-run home run.

Coffey’s blast lifted the Sox from a 2-1 deficit to a 3-2 lead. Fellow minor-league infielder added some insurance with a solo homer of his own an inning later as Boston went on to defeat Washington by a final score of 4-2 to remain unbeaten at home this spring.

Coffey, who finished the day 1-for-2 after flying out in the eighth inning, is looking to bounce back this year after a relatively underwhelming first full season in pro ball. The 19-year-old was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 23 prospect in Boston’s farm system at this time last spring but has since dropped from the outlet’s top 30 list completely.

Originally selected by the Red Sox with the 41st overall pick in the 2022 amateur draft out of Liberty High School in Bakersfield, Coffey forwent his commitment to the University of Texas by signing with Boston for $1.85 million that July. The California native then made his professional debut in the rookie-level Florida Complex League, where he went 4-for-32 (.125) with seven walks and 11 strikeouts in a brief 11-game sample.

After playing his way onto a full-season roster last spring, Coffey broke camp with Low-A Salem to kick off the 2023 campaign. In 81 games for Boston’s Carolina League affiliate, the right-handed hitter batted .226/.341/.348 with 14 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 30 RBIs, a team-high 51 runs scored, 18 stolen bases, 45 walks, and 79 strikeouts over 349 plate appearances.

Though a .689 OPS may be far from eye-popping, Coffey’s under-the-hood numbers with Salem were more encouraging. Among 44 qualified hitters in the Carolina League last year, for instance, Coffey produced the highest line-drive rate (29.4 percent) and 1oth-lowest swinging-strike rate (8.9 percent). He also ranked 11th in walk rate (12.9 percent), 17th in on-base percentage and isolated power (.122), 15th in speed score (6.6), and 19th in wRC+ (102), per FanGraphs.

In light of that production, Coffey received a promotion to High-A Greenville in early August. Unlike Roman Anthony, who made the jump from Salem about two months prior, Coffey’s production at Greenville did not catch up to his underlying metrics. Instead, Coffey closed out the 2023 season by slashing just .136/.253/.167 with two doubles, five RBIs, eight runs scored, one stolen base, 11 walks, and 21 strikeouts in 18 games (79 plate appearances) with the Drive.

Altogether, Coffey hit .210/.325/.315 (88 wRC+) with 16 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 35 runs driven in, 59 runs scored, 19 stolen bases, 56 walks, and exactly 100 strikeouts over 99 total games (428 plate appearances) between Salem and Greenville last year. Defensively, the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder saw playing time at every infield position besides first base with both the Red Sox and Drive. He committed a total of 20 errors in 281 chances between second base (where he logged 69 innings), third base (326 1/3 innings), and shortstop (379 1/3 innings), which translates to a .929 fielding percentage.

Coffey, who does not turn 20 until May, profiles best as a third baseman moving forward given his arm strength (he pitched in high school). Though he has soft hands and adequate body control, there are questions regarding his range as he continues to add size to his frame.

Barring a surprise in the weeks leading up to Opening Day, Coffey is expected to return to Greenville for the start of the 2024 minor-league season. There, he should have the chance to get back on track and maybe even work his way up to Double-A Portland before the year is over.

(Picture of Cutter Coffey: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Masataka Yoshida, Triston Casas, and Connor Wong all homer as Red Sox fall to Braves, 7-5, in spring finale

In their final game of the spring, the Red Sox came up short against the Braves on Tuesday afternoon. Boston fell to Atlanta by a final score of 7-5 at JetBlue Park.

Kutter Crawford, making his fourth start and fifth overall appearance of the spring, allowed five earned runs on seven hits and two walks to go along with five strikeouts over four innings of work.

The Braves got to Crawford right away in the top of the first, as the right-hander allowed three of the first four batters he faced to reach base on two singles and a walk. With one out and the bases loaded, Michael Harris II drove in Atlanta’s first run by grounding into a force out at second base. Crawford managed to escape any further damage by getting Ozzie Albies to ground out to short.

Despite falling behind early, the Red Sox wasted no time in getting on the board themselves in the latter half of the first. Matched up against veteran starter Charlie Morton to begin things on Tuesday, Rafael Devers ripped a one-out double to center field. Two batters later, Masataka Yoshida torched a two-run shot over the center field wall for his first home run of the spring and his first in a Red Sox uniform.

Triston Casas followed Yoshida’s lead the next inning, as he led off the bottom of the second by taking Morton deep to dead-center for his fourth homer of the spring. The solo blast put Boston up, 3-1, going into the third.

Crawford, who retired the side in order in the second, ran into more trouble by giving up back-to-back hits to Ronald Acuna Jr. and Matt Olson to lead off the inning. He then recorded the first two outs of the frame on a pair of strikeouts, but was unable to get out of the jam as he yielded a game-tying, two-run single to Harris II. Albies followed by plating Harris II on an RBI double to give Atlanta a 4-3 lead.

In the fourth, Crawford served up a one-out solo homer to Orlando Arcia before walking Arcia and retiring both Olson and Austin Riley to end his day on a more positive note. The 26-year-old hurler finished with 73 pitches and a 4.15 ERA in 17 1/3 innings pitched this spring. His first start of the regular season will come against the Pirates at Fenway Park next Monday.

Richard Bleier received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen in the fifth inning. The left-hander got two quick outs before walking Ehire Adrianza and giving up a single to Sean Murphy. He then gave up an RBI single to the pinch-hitting Ethan Workinger that scored Adrianza, but left fielder Jarren Duran managed to gun down Workinger, who tried to stretch his single into a double, at second base to end the inning.

The Red Sox got that run back in the bottom of the fifth to keep the deficit at two. Raimel Tapia led off with a hard-hit double off Braves reliever Jared Shuster and advanced to third on a balk. Yu Chang then drove Tapia in from third with an RBI single to left field.

John Schreiber put together his most impressive outing of the spring by striking out the side in the sixth inning. But Kaleb Ort’s struggles continued in the seventh, as the righty allowed the first two hitters he faced to reach on a double and walk before surrendering a one-out RBI double to Adrianza, which gave Atlanta a 7-4 lead.

After Luis De La Rosa induced a 4-6-3 double play to get out of the top of the eighth unscathed, Connor Wong led off the bottom half by crushing a long home run to deep right-center field off new reliever Jake McSteen. Wong’s first big fly of the spring trimmed Boston’s deficit down from three runs to two at 7-5.

That is where the score would remain, though, as Theo Denlinger put up a zero in the top half of the ninth and the Red Sox went down quietly in the bottom half to put the finishing touches on a 7-5 loss.

With the loss, the Red Sox finish the spring with a 14-14-4 record in Grapefruit League play and a 16-14-4 record in all competitions. Spring training is officially over in Fort Myers.

Next up: Opening Day at Fenway

The Red Sox will head north and enjoy an off day on Wednesday before taking on the Orioles in the first of a three-game series on Opening Day. Corey Kluber is slated to get the ball for Boston while fellow right-hander Kyle Gibson will do the same for Baltimore.

First pitch from Fenway Park on Thursday afternoon is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Masataka Yoshida: Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Jordan DiValerio on pitching in relief of Chris Sale in Grapefruit League debut: ‘It’s definitely a big deal’

In the ninth inning of Sunday’s 7-2 loss to the Twins at JetBlue Park, Red Sox minor-league pitcher Jordan DiValerio appeared in a Grapefruit League game for the first time in his professional career.

DiValerio struck out the first batter he faced in Kala’i Rosario and then issued a walk to Dalton Kelly. But the right-hander escaped any further damage and held the Twins scoreless by getting Ernie Yake to ground into an inning-ending, 4-6-3 double play.

“I didn’t know I was going in until the phone rang and they said, ‘DiValerio, you got it.’ I was like, ‘Alright, here we go,'” DiValerio told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. “In the locker room, after, was when it hit me. It was a big moment, but you have to play it off as it is just another game.”

Beyond the fact that he got to pitch in a major-league spring training game for the first time, DiValerio also worked in relief of Red Sox starter Chris Sale, who helped recruit him to the organization a little less than three years ago.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020 college baseball season to come to a screeching halt that March, DiValerio was in the midst of his senior season at St. Joseph’s University. The Philadelphia-area native had posted a 2.38 ERA in his first four starts (22 2/3 innings) for the Hawks that spring, but his chances of getting drafted became slim once the 2020 amateur draft was reduced to just five rounds.

As such, DiValerio became an undrafted free agent that June. Because the signing bonus for these players was capped at $20,000, there was not much teams could do to separate themselves in the recruiting process. DiValerio experienced that firsthand, but the Red Sox found a way to stand out by getting Sale involved.

“It was honestly incredible,” DiValerio said in regards to his over-the-phone conversation with Sale. “Just knowing they would have their ace, their No. 1 guy, give me a call, it just meant so much. It showed me they cared and wanted me here.

“I was in my apartment, got a call and they were like, ‘Hey, just letting you know, Chris Sale is going to call you soon,'” DiValerio recalled. “I was like, ‘OK, whatever.’ I thought they were joking around. Then I get this random phone call, pick up and he was like, ‘Hey, Jordan, it’s Chris.’ I was like, ‘Alright.’

“I just talked to him a little bit and he told me how much of a family the Red Sox were,” he continued. “Everybody fits in. It doesn’t matter if you’re a minor-leaguer or a big-leaguer. That’s exactly how I felt going into the dugout [on Sunday]. Everybody was saying, ‘Good job’ and giving me high-fives. Guys I have never talked to before said, ‘Good job!'”

By the time DiValerio got into Sunday’s game, Sale had already pitched five innings, fulfilled his media obligations, and headed home. Still, to share the same box score with Sale was “definitely a big deal” for DiValerio, who has yet to bring up the aforementioned phone call in the few instances he has bumped into the lefty at the Fenway South complex.

“We met a couple of times, but I haven’t brought up the phone call,” DiValerio said with a laugh. “I feel like it’s weird.”

DiValerio, 25, spent the majority of the 2022 season with High-A Greenville, posting a 5.32 ERA — but much more respectable 4.38 xFIP — with 67 strikeouts to 15 walks over 29 relief appearances (67 2/3 innings) for the Drive. Of the 74 pitchers in the South Atlantic League who accrued 60 or more innings last year, DiValerio ranked fifth in walks per nine innings (2.00), fifth in walk rate (5.0 percent), and 11th in swinging-strike rate (15.6 percent), per FanGraphs.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, DiValerio throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of an 89-91 mph that tops out at 94 mph, a 77-79 mph curveball, a 78-80 mph changeup/splitter, and an 82-84 mph slider, according to his SoxProspects.com scouting report.

DiValerio, who does not turn 26 until October, is projected by SoxProspects.com to return to Greenville for the start of the 2023 minor-league season. With that being said, it is certainly possible DiValerio earns a promotion to Double-A Portland at some point this year if he continues to make strides with the Drive.

(Picture of Jordan DiValerio: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Tanner Houck ends spring on sour note as Red Sox muster just 4 hits in 6-1 loss to Braves

The Red Sox were held to just four hits by the Braves in their penultimate game of the spring on Monday afternoon. Boston fell to Atlanta by a final score of 6-1 at CoolToday Park to drop to 14-13-4 in Grapefruit League play.

Tanner Houck once again struggled in his sixth and final start of the spring for the Sox. The right-hander surrendered six earned runs on five hits and two walks to go along with four strikeouts over just three innings of work.

The Braves first got to Houck in their half of the second. After Michael Harris reached base via a one-out triple, Ozzie Albies drew a walk and stole second. With runners at second and third now, Houck promptly served up a towering three-run blast to give Atlanta an early 3-0 lead.

Houck ran into more trouble in the third by walking leadoff man Ronald Acuna Jr. He then gave up a two-run home run to Matt Olson, who has now taken the righty deep three times this spring. After getting Austin Riley to ground out, Houck yielded a solo shot to another former Oakland Athletic in Sean Murphy.

Having already reached 60 pitches, Houck did not come back out for the fourth. Instead, the 26-year-old hurler finishes his spring with a 9.74 ERA, a 25:12 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and a .325 batting average against over 20 1/3 innings. Despite those struggles, Houck is still lined up to make his first start of the regular season against the Orioles at Fenway Park on Sunday.

In relief of Houck, Kenley Jansen received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Making his first appearance since leaving Friday’s game against Atlanta with lightheadedness, the veteran closer worked into and out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth by getting Olson to ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

Chris Martin took over for Jansen in the fifth and retired three of the four batters he faced. The Red Sox then picked up their first hit of the day in the sixth inning when Yu Chang — who was making his Grapefruit League debut — ripped a two-out double off Braves reliever Joe Jimenez. But Chang was stranded at second as Alex Verdugo grounded out to end the inning.

After Josh Winckowski tossed two more scoreless frames of relief, the Sox finally got on the board in their half of the eighth. There, Niko Goodrum led off with a double, Chang reached on a fielding error, and Rob Refsnyder reached on a two-out infield single. With the bases loaded, Niko Kavadas was hit by a Luis De Avila pitch, which allowed Goodrum to score from third and make it a 6-1 game.

That is where the score would remain, though, as Oddanier Mosqueda struck out two in a 1-2-3 eighth inning and the Red Sox went down quietly in the ninth. All told, Monday’s contest took two hours and 25 minutes to complete.

Verdugo’s assist

After getting taken deep by Eddie Rosario in the second inning, Tanner Houck gave up a line-drive hit to Sam Hilliard. Right fielder Alex Verdugo fielded the ball cleanly and made an accurate throw back to the infield in time to get Hilliard — who tried to extend his single into a double — out at second.

Next up: Crawford gets the ball in Grapefruit League finale

The Red Sox will return to Fort Myers to host the Braves in their final game of the spring on Tuesday afternoon. Kutter Crawford will take the mound for Boston while fellow righty Charlie Morton is slated to do the same for Atlanta.

First pitch from JetBlue Park is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Kiké Hernández leaves game with right wrist contusion but is not expected to miss any time

Red Sox shortstop Enrique Hernandez was removed from Sunday’s Grapefruit League game against the Twins after getting hit in the wrist by a pitch.

In the bottom of the third inning, Hernandez began to swing his bat and was hit on the right wrist by a pitch from Twins starter Sonny Gray. The 31-year-old took his base after being checked out by Red Sox manager Alex Cora and a member of the team’s training staff. He then played the field for one more inning before being replaced by Bobby Dalbec in the top of the fifth.

Shortly thereafter, Hernandez was officially diagnosed with a “right wrist contusion.” When speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) following Boston’s 7-2 loss to Minnesota at JetBlue Park, Cora indicated that Hernandez was taken out for precautionary reasons and is likely to be back in the starting lineup on Monday.

“He’s OK,” Cora said. “Got hit, got a little ding there but he should be OK.”

Hernandez is expected to play a key role for the Red Sox this season after Trevor Story underwent right elbow surgery in January. They will also be without offseason acquisition Adalberto Mondesi (ACL recovery) to begin the year, so outside of Bobby Dalbec and Yu Chang, Boston is particularly thin when it comes to middle infield depth.

With Sunday’s contest in the books, the Red Sox have just two exhibition games remaining (both against the Braves). They will then fly to Boston ahead of their Opening Day matchup against the Orioles at Fenway Park this coming Thursday.

(Picture of Enrique Hernandez: Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Red Sox spring training: Chris Sale goes 5 innings, Rafael Devers homers in 7-2 loss to Twins

The Red Sox will not be taking home the Chairman’s Cup after being bested by the Twins in Sunday’s series finale. Boston fell to Minnesota by a final score of 7-2 at JetBlue Park to drop to 14-12-4 in Grapefruit League play.

Chris Sale, making his fourth and final start of the spring for the Red Sox, allowed two earned runs on five hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with five strikeouts over five solid innings of work.

Both of the runs Sale gave up came on one swing of the bat. After taking a shutout bid into the fourth inning, the veteran left-hander yielded a leadoff single to Kyle Farmer. Two batters later, he served up a two-run home run to Ryan Jeffers that barely cleared the fence in right-center field.

Sale evaded any further damage in the top of the fourth. In the bottom half, Cole Sands took over for Twins starter Sonny Gray, who struck out four over three scoreless, no-hit innings. Rafael Devers promptly greeted the new reliever by crushing a leadoff home run to right field. Devers’ first homer of the spring cut Boston’s deficit in half at 2-1.

Justin Turner followed by drawing a walk and moving up to third base on a one-out double from Adam Duvall. Triston Casas then took ball four himself to load the bases, but Christian Arroyo extinguished the threat by grounding into an inning-ending, 4-6-3 double play.

Still trailing by one going into the fifth, Sale put runners on the corners with only one out. But he got out of the jam thanks to Reese McGuire gunning down the pinch-running Ernie Yake at second base and Farmer lining out to Bobby Dalbec to end the inning. The 33-year-old southpaw finished with 79 pitches. He will make his next start against the Orioles at Fenway Park on April 1.

Shortly after Sale’s day had come to an end, the Red Sox got the lefty off the hook. With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Bobby Dalbec scored the then-tying-run on back-to-back singles from Devers and Turner. A two-out walk drawn by Masataka Yoshida then loaded the bases, but Duvall ended the rally by going down swinging against new Twins reliever Jose Bravo.

Though Boston had fought back to pull even with Minnesota at two runs apiece, that stalemate did not last too long. Kaleb Ort took over for Sale out of the Red Sox bullpen in the sixth and recorded two quick outs before running into some trouble. Ort issued a two-out walk to Michael A. Taylor and followed that up by surrendering a go-ahead, two-run home run to Willi Castro to give the Twins a 4-2 lead.

Richard Bleier had difficulty with the long ball himself as he served up a two-run shot to Hernan Perez with two outs in the seventh. In the eighth, John Schreiber gave up a one-out double to Mark Contreras, who scored from second on an RBI single off the bat of Andrew Betchold. Jordan DiValerio faced the minimum in the ninth by recording one strikeout, issuing one walk, and inducing another 4-6-3 twin killing.

Down to their final three outs, the Red Sox went down quietly in their half of the ninth. Jorge Alfaro popped out while Dalbec and Raimel Tapia both lined out against Connor Sadzeck to put the finishing touches on a 7-2 loss.

By defeating the Red Sox on Sunday, the Twins won the five-game series, 3-2. As such, they will be taking the 2023 Chairman’s Cup trophy back with them to their own complex in Fort Myers.

Other worthwhile observations:

After allowing two runs in the sixth inning of Sunday’s loss, Kaleb Ort now owns a 9.64 ERA (10 earned runs in 9 1/3 innings of relief) through eight appearances this spring. The hard-throwing righty is currently competing for the final spot in Boston’s Opening Day bullpen.

In his four starts this spring, Chris Sale pitched to a 4.80 ERA with 12 strikeouts to just three walks over 15 innings. Opponents hit .288 off him.

Enrique Hernandez was struck in the right wrist by a Sonny Gray pitch in the bottom of the third inning. He remained in the game for two more innings before being replaced at shortstop by Bobby Dalbec. According to the Red Sox, the decision to take Hernandez (who was later diagnosed with a right wrist contusion) out was purely precautionary, meaning he is not expected to miss any time.

Next up: Houck starts

The Red Sox will travel to North Port to take on the Braves in their penultimate game of the spring on Monday afternoon. Tanner Houck will be getting the start for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Jesse Chavez for Atlanta.

First pitch from CoolToday Park is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time. The game will be televised, but only on Bally Sports Southeast.

(Picture of Chris Sale: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen on the mend after leaving Friday’s game with dizziness

After leaving Friday’s Grapefruit League game against the Braves with lightheadedness, Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen appears to be doing better.

Jansen left in the ninth inning of Friday night’s 9-8 win over Atlanta at JetBlue Park after feeling dizzy on the mound. The right-hander told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) that the feeling was unlike anything he had ever experienced while pitching before.

“I’m a little bit better,” Jansen said Saturday. “I still, a little bit, feel something. I was just out of it. It’s not smart to keep pitching in spring training games when you’re kind of blacking out, out there, a little bit.”

Jansen was back at the Fenway South complex in Fort Myers on Saturday morning, but the Red Sox sent him back home to rest shortly thereafter. According to Cotillo, the 35-year-old “complained of dizziness and nausea and wondered aloud if he had contracted a virus.”

In a separate conversation, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was optimistic that Jansen would be able to return to camp later Saturday afternoon and make his scheduled appearance in Sunday’s home game against the Twins.

“He doesn’t feel great today so we sent him home,” said Cora. “Hopefully, he can come back around 1:30 (p.m.) and do his workouts. We still have him for tomorrow. Let’s see how he feels.”

When asked about the possible cause of Jansen’s ailment, Cora said: “Maybe something he ate. I gave him some rice and beans after the game last night, some pork chops. He probably didn’t feel good about that.”

Before departing on Friday, Jansen had already given up a then-game-tying, two-run home run to minor-league catcher to Adam Zebrowski. He surrendered three runs altogether and now owns a 7.71 ERA in five appearances (4 2/3 innings pitched) this spring.

The Red Sox signed Jansen to a two-year, $32 million contract in December. The three-time All-Star was brought in to anchor a bullpen that was among the worst in the American League last season.

Over the course of establishing himself as one of the top closers in baseball, though, Jansen has dealt with heart issues throughout his career. In 2011, he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat, which has caused him to miss time in the past. He has also undergone two cardiac ablation procedures (in 2012 and 2018) to combat the issue.

Despite Friday’s scare, the Red Sox and Jansen are both confident that this latest incident was not related to the righty’s heart. As such, Jansen — as of now — is expected to be ready for Opening Day on March 30.

“There’s no concerns about the other stuff that happened in the past,” Cora said.

(Picture of Kenley Jansen: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Corey Kluber tosses 4 innings in final tune-up before Opening Day as Red Sox fall to Rays, 4-2

The Red Sox were held to just four hits in a loss to the Rays on Saturday afternoon. Boston fell to Tampa Bay by a final score of 4-2 at Tropicana Field to drop to 14-11-4 in Grapefruit League play.

More important than the offensive numbers was Corey Kluber making his final start of the spring for the Sox. The veteran right-hander allowed three earned runs on four hits and two walks to go along with one strikeout over four innings of work.

The Rays got to Kluber right away in the top of the first, with Tristan Gray belting a one-out solo shot 379 feet down the right field line to give Tampa Bay an early 1-0 lead.

Three innings later, the Red Sox responded with a big fly of their own. After Ceddanne Rafaela led off the top of the fourth with an infield single, Enmanuel Valdez followed by crushing a 396-foot two-run home run to right field off Rays starter Yonny Chirinos. Valdez’s second homer of the spring had an exit velocity of 101.1 mph and put Boston up, 2-1.

Kluber had settled down to that point but ran into more trouble in the latter half of the fourth. There, he allowed two of the first four batters he faced to reach base, which put runners at second and third with two outs for Taylor Walls. Walls, in turn, came through with a two-run double that landed in front of right fielder Wilyer Abreu and scored both Harold Ramirez and Christian Bethancourt.

With the Rays retaking the lead at 3-2, Kluber stranded Walls at second base by getting the final batter he would face in Jose Siri to line out to left field. All told, the 36-year-old hurler finished with a final pitch count of 62 (38 strikes). He induced nine total swings-and-misses and averaged 85.6 mph with his cutter (his most-frequently used pitch), per Baseball Savant.

Kluber finishes the spring having posted a 3.24 ERA with 15 strikeouts to seven walks over five starts (16 2/3 innings). The two-time Cy Young Award winner will next take the mound when the Red Sox host the Orioles on Opening Day (March 30) at Fenway Park.

In relief of Kluber, Zack Kelly received the first call out of the Boston bullpen in the middle of the fifth. The righty fanned a pair over two scoreless frames before making way for Durbin Feltman, who issued a leadoff walk to Siri to begin things in the seventh.

The quick-footed Siri put his speed on full display by stealing second base and moving up to third on a wild pitch while Feltman was busy recording the first two outs of the inning. With runners on the corners and the pinch-hitting Daniel Robertson at the plate, Feltman was caught napping as Siri took off for home and scored rather easily thanks to a poor throw back to the plate.

Siri’s successful steal of home extended the Rays’ lead to two runs at 4-2. After Feltman worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning, the Red Sox were suddenly down to their final three outs. With Pete Fairbanks on the mound for Tampa Bay, Stephen Scott, Ryan Fitzgerald, and Narciso Crook all went down quietly to end it.

Other worthwhile observations:

Top prospect Marcelo Mayer replaced David Hamilton at shortstop in the sixth inning. The 20-year-old made his only trip to the plate in the eighth and ripped a single off old friend Heath Hembree before stealing his first base of the spring.

Niko Kavadas, another prospect who made the trip to St. Petersburg, accounted for Boston’s only double in the top of the fifth inning. Enmanuel Valdez was the only other member of the starting lineup to register an extra-base hit in Saturday’s contest, which took all of two hours and six minutes to complete.

Next up: Chairman’s Cup finale

The Red Sox will wrap up the final weekend of the Grapefruit League campaign by hosting the Twins in Fort Myers on Sunday afternoon. Since the two sides split the first four games of the series, Sunday’s bout will determine who takes home the 2023 Chairman’s Cup.

Boston will be sending left-hander Chris Sale to the hill while Minnesota will roll with right-hander Sonny Gray. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Corey Kluber: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen leaves game due to lightheadedness

Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen was taken out of Friday’s Grapefruit League game against the Braves at JetBlue Park earlier than expected, but it was not due to injury.

Instead, Jansen felt lightheaded on the mound, according to manager Alex Cora. The right-hander had come out for the ninth inning of Friday’s contest in search of his first save of the spring.

With a 7-5 lead to protect, Jansen gave up a one-out single to Hoy Park, which brought the tying run to the plate in the form of catcher Adam Zebrowski. Zebrowski, who has yet to play past High-A, promptly crushed a game-tying two-run home run to knot things up at seven runs apiece.

Jansen then walked the next batter he faced in Joe Dunand before receiving a visit from Cora and assistant athletic trainer Masai Takahashi. After a brief conversation on the mound, Jansen exited the field with Takahashi and the two made their way towards the Red Sox clubhouse.

After Triston Casas belted a two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to lift Boston to a 9-8 win over Atlanta, Cora spoke with reporters. He did not seem too concerned about Jansen’s status, per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

“They’re checking on him,” Cora said, “but he should be fine.”

Considering the fact that Opening Day is less than a week away, Jansen’s early exit on Friday was likely a scary site for the Red Sox. That being the case because Boston is already expected to open the 2023 season with five pitchers — starters Brayan Bello, James Paxton, and Garrett Whitlock as well as relievers Wyatt Mills and Joely Rodriguez — on the injured list.

As noted by Cotillo, it does not appear as though Jansen will be joining them at the moment. But what happened on Friday night is certainly noteworthy since the 35-year-old has dealt with heart issues throughout his career. Last summer, for instance, he spent more than two weeks on the injured list due to an irregular heartbeat. He has had two cardiac ablation procedures (2012 and 2018) to combat that issue.

Jansen, who signed a two-year, $32 million contract with the Red Sox in December, was brought in to serve as Boston’s closer. Following Friday’s outing, the three-time All-Star now owns a 7.71 ERA (four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings) in five spring appearances.

(Picture of Kenley Jansen: Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)