Tag: john schreiber

Who is newest Red Sox pitching prospect David Sandlin?

The Red Sox added to their breadth of pitching prospects on Saturday by acquiring right-hander David Sandlin from the Royals in exchange for veteran reliever John Schreiber.

Sandlin, who turns 23 next week, was originally selected by the Royals in the 11th round of the 2022 amateur draft out of Oklahoma. The former Sooner was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 242 prospect in his class and received a $397,500 signing bonus from Kansas City.

After officially putting pen to paper, Sandlin made his professional debut in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League that August. The righty got the start against ACL Diamondbacks Red on a balmy Monday evening in Surprise and gave up just one hit and no walks with three strikeouts over two scoreless innings of work.

That would prove to be Sandlin’s lone outing with a Royals affiliate in 2022, which is understandable since he had just tossed 66 2/3 innings while helping Oklahoma make it to the College World Series earlier in the spring. Despite the lack of experience, though, the Sooner State native enjoyed a relatively productive first full season of pro ball in 2023.

Sandlin spent most of last year with Low-A Columbia, posting a 3.38 ERA and 3.45 FIP with 79 strikeouts to 13 walks in 12 starts (58 2/3 innings) for the Fireflies. He faced Boston’s Carolina League affiliate, the Salem Red Sox, two times during that stretch and went a season-high seven innings without giving up a run against them on June 9.

Shortly thereafter, Sandlin earned a promotion to High-A Quad Cities. Unfortunately, he made just two starts for the River Bandits — allowing a total of four earned runs with eight strikeouts to five walks over eight innings — before hitting the injured list in early July. That is where he would spend the rest of the season, as he was ultimately shut down due to an oblique strain.

All told, Sandlin went 4-2 with a 3.51 ERA (3.68 FIP) and 87 strikeouts to 18 walks in 14 starts (66 2/3 innings) between Columbia and Quad Cities last season. Among those in the Royals organization who also eclipsed the 60-inning threshold in 2023, Sandlin ranked fifth in strikeouts per nine innings (11.74), seventh in walks per nine innings (2.43), first in strikeout rate (32.1 percent), seventh in walk rate (6.6 percent), eighth in WHIP (1.21), fifth in swinging-strike rate (14.5 percent), eighth in ERA, 11th in FIP, and first in xFIP (2.86), per FanGraphs.

On the heels of that solid showing, Sandlin had been regarded by Baseball America as the No. 20 prospect in Kansas City’s farm system heading into 2024. He was also identified as a potential sleeper candidate “who could take a jump forward” this year.

Standing at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Sandlin operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a mid-90s fastball that touches 97 mph, a mid-80s slider with horizontal break and high spin rate, a low-80s curveball with bite, and a changeup that breaks like a splitter, according to his Baseball America scouting report.

When speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith and MLB.com’s Ian Browne) at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers on Saturday, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow indicated that Sandlin’s velocity has increased significantly since entering the pro ranks, as he previously pitched in the low-90s while in college but has since been able to reach 98-99 mph with his heater.

“He has a good breaking ball and a change that we see room to optimize,” Breslow explained. “So it was a combination of kind of raw stuff, projection and a chance to maybe tweak the usage a little bit and improve performance.”

In light of any possible injury concerns, Breslow said that Sandlin is now “fully ramped up” for spring training and will report to minor-league camp at the Fenway South complex in the coming days. If all goes well, he will likely start the 2024 campaign with High-A Greenville.

(Picture of David Sandlin: Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Red Sox roster moves: John Schreiber placed on injured list, Brennan Bernardino optioned; Justin Garza, Ryan Sherriff called up from Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox placed right-handed reliever John Schreiber on the 15-day injured list with a right teres major strain and optioned left-handed reliever Brennan Bernardino to Triple-A Worcester prior to Tuesday’s contest against the Mariners at Fenway Park, the club announced.

In a pair of corresponding moves, righty reliever Justin Garza was recalled from Worcester and lefty reliever Ryan Sherriff — who was not previously on the 40-man roster — had his contract selected. The Red Sox had an opening there after designating Ryan Brasier for assignment on Monday.

Schreiber felt tightness in his right lat (the latissimus dorsi muscle, on his side) after delivering a pitch to Julio Rodriguez in the seventh inning of Monday night’s 10-1 loss to the Mariners. The 29-year-old was seen flexing his throwing arm on the mound and was immediately removed from the game after a visit from manager Alex Cora and head athletic trainer Brandon Henry.

The hope is that Schreiber’s injured list stint will last the minimum 15 days, which would put him in line to return to action at the end of the month. Schreiber told reporters (including The Boston Herald’s Mac Cerullo) that he had an MRI done, but it remains to be seen if Tuesday’s diagnosis will alter his recovery timeline at all.

Bernardino, meanwhile, allowed one run on three hits over 1 1/3 innings of relief in Monday’s loss to Seattle. The 31-year-old was seen hugging and shaking hands with teammates after the game, indicating that he had indeed been sent down.

Claimed off waivers from the Mariners on April 16, Bernardino forged a 3.65 ERA and 4.77 FIP with 10 strikeouts to three walks across 11 appearances (12 1/3 innings) in his first stint with Boston. He appeared in one game for the WooSox prior to getting called up for the first time on April 24.

As for the two new additions to the bullpen, Garza — in similar fashion to Bernardino — was claimed off waivers from the Angels on April 28 and was immediately optioned to Worcester. In four relief appearances for the WooSox, the 29-year-old posted a 3.38 ERA and 3.47 FIP with eight strikeouts to just one walk over 5 1/3 innings of work.

A former eighth-round draft selection of the Guardians out of Cal State Fullerton in 2015, Garza broke in with Cleveland in June 2021 and pitched to a 4.71 ERA (5.30 FIP) with 29 strikeouts to 18 walks in 21 outings (28 2/3 innings). The California native became a free agent for the first time last November. The Red Sox had interest in bringing him in, but he instead signed a split contract with his hometown Angels in December.

Listed at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, Garza operates with a five-pitch mix that consists of a mid-90s sinker, a mid-80s changeup, a high-80s cutter, a mid-80s slider, and a mid-90s four-seam fastball. He will wear the No. 63 with the Red Sox.

Sherriff, on the other hand, signed a minor-league contract with Boston back in January. The soon-to-be 33-year-old southpaw has appeared in 15 games for Worcester this season and has put up a 3.00 ERA (2.94 FIP) with 16 strikeouts to eight walks over 15 innings in which he has held opposing hitters to a .211 batting average against.

Like Garza, Sherriff last got into a game at the big-league level in 2021, when he produced a 5.52 ERA (3.65 FIP) with 16 strikeouts to nine walks in 16 relief appearances (14 2/3 innings) for Tampa Bay. For his major-league career, which dates back to 2017, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound hurler owns a lifetime 3.65 ERA in 44 outings (44 1/3 innings) between the Cardinals and Rays.

Sherriff, who will wear the No. 71 with the Red Sox, throws from a three-quarters arm slot and works primarily with a low-80s slider and low-90s sinker. He joins Joely Rodriguez and Richard Bleier as lefties available to Cora out of the Boston bullpen.

Following Tuesday’s series of transactions, the Red Sox’ 40-man roster is back at full capacity. More moves will be coming soon, however, as Kutter Crawford — who has been sidelined by a left hamstring strain since May 4 — is expected to come off the injured list in San Diego on Friday.

(Picture of Ryan Sherriff: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox likely to place John Schreiber on injured list with right lat tightness

Red Sox reliever John Schreiber is likely going to be placed on the injured list after leaving Monday night’s 10-1 loss to the Mariners at Fenway Park with right lat tightness, according to manager Alex Cora.

Schreiber came on in the seventh inning and struck out the first batter he faced in Ty France. The right-hander then delivered a 2-1, 93.3 mph sinker to Julio Rodriguez and could immediately be seen flexing his throwing arm on the mound.

That prompted Cora and head athletic trainer Brandon Henry to emerge from the Red Sox dugout. After a lengthy conference on the mound, Schreiber left the field with Henry and was replaced by lefty Richard Bleier.

When speaking with reporters following Monday’s blowout loss, Schreiber indicated to reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) that he had been dealing with discomfort in the area of his lat (the latissimus dorsi muscle) on his right side over the last few days and reaggravated it on his final pitch to Rodriguez.

“It has been tight a little bit this past week,” explained Schreiber. “I was throwing some bullpens, it was coming out good. It felt like something I could get through… Tonight, it was coming out really good, I thought. That last pitch, maybe a little bit too much extension there, and it tightened up.”

Including Monday’s outing, Schreiber now owns a 2.12 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with 21 strikeouts to eight walks in 18 relief appearances (17 innings) for Boston this season. Though the Red Sox are optimistic that the 29-year-old’s stint on the injured list will only last the minimum 15 days, the structure of the bullpen will change in his absence.

As noted by Cotillo, this will be Schreiber’s first injured list stint as a major-leaguer. The righty is slated to undergo further testing on Tuesday and that will likely provide a more concrete timeline for his recovery.

“I’m frustrated, obviously, that I’m not going to be able to compete for, I don’t know how long,” Schreiber said. “We’re going to evaluate tomorrow. Hopefully, some really good results. We’ll see what happens.”

Schreiber is not the only reliever the Red Sox will be replacing on Tuesday. Left-hander Brennan Bernardino was also optioned to Triple-A Worcester after allowing one run over 1 1/3 innings of relief on Monday night.

It is not yet known who will be taking the place of Schreiber and Bernardino on the big-league roster. Potential candidates include Justin Garza and Kaleb Ort, who are both on the 40-man roster, as well as Jake Faria, Oddanier Mosqueda, Andrew Politi, and Ryan Sheriff, who are not on the 40-man roster.

With that being said, the Red Sox have an opening on their 40-man roster after designating Ryan Brasier for assignment on Monday. It is also worth mentioning that Kutter Crawford — who has been sidelined by a left hamstring strain since May 4 — is expected to come off the injured list on Friday.

(Picture of John Schreiber and Brandon Henry: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

Tanner Houck sputters after strong start as Red Sox drop fourth straight in 10-1 loss to Mariners

Coming off an ugly weekend, the Red Sox were unable to reverse their fortunes in a series-opening loss to the Mariners on Monday night. Boston fell to Seattle by a final score of 10-1 for its fourth straight loss and the sixth in its last seven games as the club dropped to 22-20 on the season.

Tanner Houck, making his eighth start of the year for the Sox, was impressive out of the gate. The right-hander retired the first 12 batters he faced and took a perfect game bid into the fourth inning before giving up a two-out double to Julio Rodriguez. Though he stranded Rodriguez at second to get through four scoreless frames, Houck ran into some serious trouble in the fifth.

After surrendering a leadoff single to Eugenio Suarez, Houck served up a 438-foot two-run shot to Cal Raleigh to put Boston in a 2-0 hole. An inning later, Ty France led off with a line-drive double down the right field and moved up to third on an Alex Verdugo throwing error. Rodriguez then drew a five-pitch walk to put runners on the corners with no outs.

While he had thrown just 75 pitches (50 strikes) to that point in the contest, Houck was given the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora in favor of lefty Brennan Bernardino. Bernardino, in turn, allowed both inherited runners to score on a a Jarred Kelenic RBI groundout and Raleigh’s second two-run homer of the night.

That sequence of events gave the Mariners a 5-0 lead and closed the book on Houck, who was charged with four of those five runs. The 28-year-old gave up five hits and one walk to go along with five strikeouts over five-plus innings of work. He was hit with the losing decision as his ERA on the season rose to 5.48.

Trailing by five runs going into the bottom of the sixth, the Red Sox lineup finally got to Mariners starter George Kirby. Jarren Duran led off with a line-drive double and Rafael Devers drove him in with a two-base hit of his own to cut the deficit to four. They had a chance to pull even closer in the seventh, but Alex Verdugo lined out with the bases loaded for the final out of the inning.

Seattle then began to break this one open in the top of the eighth. With Richard Bleier in the game for Boston, Suarez crushed a two-run home run and A.J. Pollock and France each drove in runs to give the Mariners a commanding 9-1 advantage.

In the ninth, Pablo Reyes took over on the mound after spending the previous eight innings manning shortstop. Making the second relief appearance of his big-league career, Reyes featured a pitch mix that consisted of 13 eephus curveballs that sat between 34-47 mph and eight fastballs that hovered between 61-75 mph. He allowed one run on two hits and two walks.

Reyes followed that performance by singling with one out in the latter half of the ninth, but his hit was quickly nullified as Enmanuel Valdez grounded into a game-ending double play.

Schreiber exits with lat injury

Reliever John Schreiber entered with one out in the seventh and struck out the first batter he faced in France. The righty then threw a 2-1, 93.3 mph sinker to Rodriguez and began flexing his throwing arm after the fact. That prompted Cora and head athletic trainer Brandon Henry to quickly emerge from the Red Sox dugout.

After a lengthy conference on the mound, Schreiber was taken out of the game and replaced by Bleier. The team later said that Schreiber left with “right lat tightness.” Cora then told reporters that the 29-year-old will likely land on the injured list because of it.

Raleigh makes history with power display

With his two home runs on Monday, Raleigh made some history. The switch-hitter homered from the left side of the plate in in the fifth inning and from the right side in the sixth. In doing so, he became the first catcher ever to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in a game in Fenway Park’s 112-year history, according to the Mariners’ Alex Mayer.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Castillo

The Red Sox will look to put an end to this four-game losing streak as they send Nick Pivetta to the mound on Tuesday night. The Mariners will counter with fellow righty Luis Castillo.

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

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

Red Sox spring training: Chris Sale struggles, Adam Duvall stays hot in 6-2 loss to Orioles

In a game that took a little over two hours to complete, the Red Sox fell to the Orioles by a final score of 6-2 at Ed Smith Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. With the loss, Boston drops to 12-9-4 in Grapefruit League play.

Chris Sale struggled in his third start of the spring for the Sox. After not giving up a single run in his first two outings, the veteran left-hander got shelled for six runs on nine hits and one walk to go along with two strikeouts over five innings of work.

The Orioles got to Sale right away in their half of the first thanks to a pair of solo shots from Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle. An inning later, Adam Frazier and Ryan O’Hearn both reached base with no outs before being driven in on an RBI double from Jorge Mateo and a two-run single from Kyle Stowers. Mountcastle scored Baltimore’s sixth and final run in the third when Frazier grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.

Despite these difficulties early on, Sale was at least able to end his day on a solid note by putting up a pair of zeroes in the fourth and fifth innings. The 33-year-old southpaw retired six of the last seven batters he faced to finish with a final pitch count of 70. He will make one more Grapefruit League start before taking on this same Orioles team at Fenway Park on April 1.

Offensively, Boston’s only two runs of the afternoon came in the middle and right after Sale’s outing came to a close. To lead off the fourth inning, Adam Duvall took Baltimore starter Adam Duvall deep to left field for his fourth ome run of the spring. Duvall struck again in the sixth, this time leading off with a hard-hit double off Irvin and then scoring on another double off the bat of Daniel Palka.

That sequence of events trimmed the Orioles’ lead down to four runs at 6-2. From that point, John Schreiber and Zack Kelly, who both pitched in Monday’s loss to the Pirates, combined for two scoreless frames out of the Red Sox bullpen. Oddanier Mosqueda, who is competing with Ryan Sherriff for a spot on Boston’s Opening Day roster, followed suit by stranding one runner in an otherwise clean eighth inning.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth, Jorge Alfaro laced a one-out double off O’s reliever Reed Garrett before minor-leaguers Miguel Ugueto and Eddinson Paulino each struck out to put the finishing touches on a 6-2 loss for the Red Sox.

Duvall stays hot

Following a 2-for-3 performance in which he scored his team’s only two runs on Tuesday, Adam Duvall is now batting .278/.386/.667 with four home runs and eight RBIs in 15 games (44 plate appearances) this spring.

In addition to Duvall, Daniel Palka and Niko Goodrum also enjoyed two-hit days at the plate. Goodrum, however, did not have the best of times defensively at shortstop.

Next up: Houck vs. Ryan

The Red Sox will return to Fort Myers on Wednesday to host the Twins in Game 4 of the 2023 Chairman’s Cup. Tanner Houck is slated to get the start for Boston while fellow right-hander Joe Ryan will do the same for Minnesota.

With a two-games-to-one lead already in hand, the Red Sox can take home the Chairman’s Cup with another win on Wednesday evening. First pitch from JetBlue Park is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Adam Duvall: Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Rich Hill strikes out 7 over 5 scoreless innings as Red Sox take series from Orioles with 1-0 win

After breaking out for a season-high 17 runs on a season-high 21 hits on Saturday, the Red Sox needed just one run on four hits to secure a 1-0 series-clinching victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards on Sunday.

A 72-minute rain delay did not affect Rich Hill, who made his 22nd start of the year for Boston and scattered two hits, three walks, and one hit batsman to go along with seven strikeouts over five scoreless innings of work.

Hill retired the first five batters he faced before giving up a two-out single to Austin Hays in the bottom of the second. The veteran left-hander then worked his way around having runners on the corners with two outs in the third by getting Ryan Mountcastle to fly out to left field.

After stranding another base runner in the fourth, Hill plunked Rougned Odor and walked Robinson Chirinos to begin the fifth. But he did not falter as he got Ryan McKenna to pop out into foul territory before fanning Anthony Santander and Mountcastle back-to-back to end his day on a positive note.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 77 (45 strikes), Hill ultimately picked up his seventh winning decision of the season while lowering his ERA to 4.56. The 42-year-old hurler has now allowed two or fewer runs to score in three of his last five starts.

It may have helped that the Red Sox had jumped out to an early 1-0 lead before Hill even took the mound on Sunday. Matched up against Baltimore right-hander Kyle Bradish, Tommy Pham led off the game with a line-drive single. He then stole second base, moved up to third on an Alex Verdugo groundout, and scored on a 348-foot sacrifice fly of Xander Bogaerts.

That one run turned out to be all Boston needed, as it recorded just one hit from the second and eighth innings before Verdugo and Bogaerts each singled in the ninth.

While the Sox lineup was unable to provide any sort of insurance, the bullpen held it down in relief of Hill. John Schreiber yielded just one single in a scoreless sixth inning, Matt Strahm put a runner at second with no outs before retiring the next three Orioles he faced in the seventh, Garrett Whitlock worked his way around a two-out walk in an otherwise clean eighth, and Matt Barnes struck out two while retiring the side in order in the ninth.

Barnes notched his fifth save of the season as the Red Sox improved to 7-8 against the O’s and to 69-72 on the 2022 campaign as a whole. With only 21 regular season games remaining, they still trail the Blue Jays by 10 games for the third and final American League Wild Card spot.

Story day-to-day with left heel pain

Trevor Story left the game in the middle of the seventh inning after grounding into a 6-4-3 double play. He was later diagnosed with left heel pain and is considered day-to-day. Christian Arroyo took over for Story at second base and drew a walk in his only plate appearance.

Next up: Back to Boston

The Red Sox will an enjoy an off day on Monday before opening a quick two game series against the Yankees at Fenway Park on Tuesday. Right-hander Nick Pivetta is slated to start the opener for Boston. New York has yet to name a starter.

Regardless, first pitch on Tuesday night is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and TBS.

(Picture of Rich Hill: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Brayan Bello runs out of gas in fifth inning as Red Sox drop opener to Twins, 4-2

The Red Sox opened a three-game series against the Twins on Monday by losing their second straight game. Boston fell to Minnesota by a final score of 4-2 at Target Field to drop to 62-67 on the season.

Matched up against Dylan Bunday to begin things on Monday, the Sox got on the board first in their half of the third inning. Tommy Pham reached base via a one-out single and promptly scored all the way from first on an Alex Verdugo RBI double that traveled 341 feet to left field.

Verdugo moved up to third on a Xander Bogaerts single and had the chance to tag up when Rafael Devers lined out to Max Kepler in right field. But he remained at third base and was stranded there after J.D. Martinez struck out swinging.

An inning later, Trevor Story drew a leadoff walk off Bundy and quickly went from first to third on a Franchy Cordero single that had an exit velocity of 112.7 mph. Cordero, like Story, moved up to third on another one-out double from Reese McGuire. But Pham grounded out Verdugo punched out, meaning the Sox would have to settle for one run yet again.

That would prove to be costly for Brayan Bello, who was making his fifth start and seventh overall appearance of the season for Boston. The rookie right-hander pitched well out of the gate, tossing three consecutive scoreless frames before running into some trouble in the latter half of the fourth.

Bello put himself in a tough spot when he allowed each of the first three batters he faced in the inning to reach base. He then gave up a sacrifice fly to Jake Cave, but managed to limit the damage in the fourth to just the one run despite throwing 29 pitches.

The same cannot be said about the fifth inning. After the Sox left runners on the corners in the top half, Bello issued back-to-back walks to begin the bottom half. That prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora to give Bello the hook in favor of Matt Strahm.

Strahm, in turn, got Kepler to ground out to McGuire before yielding a bases-filling walk to Jose Miranda and striking out the pinch-hitting Kyle Garlick on six pitches. With the right-handed hitting Gio Urshela due to hit next for Minnesota, Cora swapped Strahm for John Schreiber.

Urshela won the righty-on-righty battle, as he connected on a 3-2, 83.1 mph slider from Schreiber and roped a bases-clearing, three-run double to the right field corner. That gave the Twins their first lead of the night at 4-2 and that is where the score would stay.

Bello was charged with three of those runs while Strahm was tagged for one. For Bello, the 23-year-old wound up allowing three earned runs on five hits, three walks, and two strikeouts over four-plus innings of work. He threw 84 pitches (51 strikes) in the process of raising his ERA on the season to 7.27. The Red Sox have yet to win a game he has pitched in.

Following that disastrous fifth inning, the Twins bullpen took over by limiting Red Sox hitters to one hit — a single — over the final 4 1/3 frames of Monday’s loss.

On the flip side, the two relievers Boston called up to take the place of Austin Davis and Hirokazu Sawamura pitched relatively well. Zack Kelly and Kaleb Ort have grown accustomed to following one another out of the bullpen in Worcester. On Monday, they got to experience that for the first time at the major-league level.

Kelly, making his big-league debut, needed just 18 pitches (10 strikes) to face the minimum in a scoreless sixth inning. The 27-year-old struck out the first two batters he faced before giving up a two-out single to Luis Arraez. But that was quicky negated after Arraez was gunned down at second base by McGuire.

Ort, meanwhile, scattered two walks and two strikeouts over two scoreless innings of work to keep the deficit at two runs. It proved to be for naught, though, as Twins closer Jorge Lopez made quick work of the Sox in the ninth to end it.

All told, the Red Sox went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base as a team. At 62-67, they now sit eight games back of the Blue Jays for the third and final American League Wild Card spot.

Next up: Crawford vs. Archer

The Red Sox will look to bounce back against the Twins on Tuesday night. Kutter Crawford is expected to start for Boston while fellow right-hander Chris Archer is slated to do the same for Minnesota.

First pitch from Target Field is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Brayan Bello: David Berding/Getty Images)

Rich Hill dominates with 11 strikeouts over 7 scoreless innings as Red Sox take series from Rays with 5-1 victory

The Red Sox secured a series victory over the Rays on Saturday afternoon. Boston defeated Tampa Bay by a final score of 5-1 at Fenway Park to improve to 62-65 on the season.

Rich Hill, making his 19th start of the year for the Sox, was just as masterful as he was quick. The veteran left-hander scattered just three hits and one walk to go along with a season-high 11 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings of work.

After taking a perfect game into the third inning, Hill gave up a leadoff infield single to Yu Chang. He proceeded to strand Chang at first base by striking out the side on 16 pitches. The lefty yielded another base hit to Randy Arozarena in the fourth. Arozarena advanced into scoring position with two outs by stealing second base, but Hill stranded him there by retiring Isaac Paredes.

From there, Hill sat down nine of the final 11 Rays hitters he faced. He ended his outing with an emphatic three-pitch strikeout of Chang. Finishing with a final pitch count of 95 (71 strikes), the 42-year-old southpaw induced 12 total swings-and-misses. He also picked up his sixth win of the season while lowering his ERA to 4.32.

By the time Hill recorded the final out of the seventh, the Red Sox were already in possession of a 5-0 lead. Four of those runs came right away in the bottom of the first inning, when they sent all nine hitters to the plate against Rays starter (and old friend) Jeffrey Springs.

Tommy Pham set the tone with a leadoff single that left his bat at 103.8 mph. Alex Verdugo followed with a hard-hit double that put runners at second and third for J.D. Martinez. Martinez came through with a two-run single off the Green Monster to get Boston on the board first.

Springs then recorded the first two outs of the inning, but ran into more trouble when Trevor Story reached base on an infield single. After Enrique Hernandez drew a walk to load the bases, Bobby Dalbec delivered with another two-run single to center field.

Fast forward all the way to the fourth inning, and Hernandez got the best of Springs again by cranking a 366-foot leadoff home run over the Green Monster to make it a 5-0 game. Hernandez’s sixth homer of the season left his bat at 104 mph.

As was the case on Friday night, things once again got interesting for Boston in the eighth inning. Jeurys Familia took over for Hill and recorded the first two outs of the frame on 11 pitches. He then gave up three straight hits, including an RBI single from Randy Arozarena.

That sequence of events prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora go back to the bullpen to call upon John Schreiber. Schreiber in turn, got the final out of the eighth and worked his way around a one-out walk in the ninth to lock up the win and notch his fifth save of the year.

With the win, the Red Sox now trail the Blue Jays by seven games for the third and final American League Wild Card spot.

Next up: Pivetta goes for sweep

The Red Sox will look to complete a three-game weekend sweep of the Rays on Sunday afternoon. Boston will turn to right-hander Nick Pivetta while Tampa Bay will go with fellow righty Corey Kluber.

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

(Picture of Rich Hill: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox squander plethora of scoring opportunities, fall to Blue Jays, 6-5, in 10 innings

The Red Sox were unable to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Blue Jays on Thursday night. Boston fell to Toronto by a final score of 6-5 in 10 innings at Fenway Park to drop to 60-65 on the season.

Kutter Crawford, making his 11th start of the year for the Sox, allowed four earned runs on 10 hits and two walks to go along with five strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings of work.

Two of those four runs came right away in the first inning. After giving up a one-out single to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a two-out walk to Teoscar Hernandez, Crawford surrendered a scalding, 104.7 mph two-run double to Bo Bichette that gave the Jays an early 2-0 lead.

The Red Sox responded with two runs of their own in their half of the second. With Kevin Gausman on the mound for Toronto, Xander Bogaerts and Christian Arroyo led off with back-to-back singles. After Arroyo stole second base and Rob Refsnyder struck out, Reese McGuire got his productive night at the plate started with an RBI single that scored Bogaerts. Bobby Dalbec followed with a single of his own to drive in Arroyo and knot things up at two runs apiece.

In the third, Tommy Pham led off with a single and immediately went from first to home on a 106.7 mph RBI double off the bat of Rafael Devers. That gave the Red Sox their first lead of the night at 3-2, though it did not last long.

Crawford got the first two outs of the fourth inning with the help of a double play. The rookie right-hander then loaded the bases on two singles and a walk, which brought Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to the plate in a prime spot. Guerrero Jr. proceeded to lift a pop fly into foul territory that could have ended the inning. But Dalbec, the first baseman, failed to make the tough catch, which further prolonged the inning.

Guerrero Jr. took full advantage of Dalbec’s blunder, as the young slugger promptly roped a two-run single to right field to put the Blue Jays back up by a run at 4-3. Again, the Sox responded in the latter half of the fourth. Following a pair of singles from Refsnyder and McGuire that put runners on the corners with no outs, Dalbec drove in Refsnyder on a game-tying sacrifice fly.

Crawford came back out for the fifth and recorded the first two outs of the inning via strikeout. He then gave up a two-out double to Matt Chapman, which prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora to hand things over to his bullpen. Crawford finished with a final pitch count of 85 (53 strikes). The 26-year-old hurler induced 11 swings-and-misses while averaging 94.6 mph with his four-seam fastball. His ERA on the season now sits at 5.30.

Matt Strahm was first used in relief of Crawford and officially closed the book on the righty’s night by punching out Raimel Tapia. The lefty then came back out for the sixth and served up a 388-foot solo shot to Danny Jansen that travelled over the Green Monster and put the Blue Jays back up, 5-4.

The Red Sox responded in their half of the sixth. After reaching base and taking second on a two-out throwing error, Dalbec moved up to third on a wild pitch from Blue Jays reliever Trevor Richards. Jarren Duran then plated him from third on an RBI double over the head of Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in left field.

Duran, however, was stranded at second base, which proved to be the ongoing theme for Boston on Thursday. After Jeurys Familia, who recorded the final two outs of the sixth, struck out the side in the top of the seventh, the Sox had two runners in scoring position with two outs in the bottom half. Franchy Cordero was deployed to pinch-hit for Refsnyder, but he fell victim to Anthony Bass to extinguish the threat and keep things knotted up at 5-5.

Following a scoreless top half of the eighth from Hirokazu Sawamura, McGuire led off the bottom half with his first career triple, which was misplayed by Hernandez in right field. Enrique Hernandez, who came on to run for McGuire, was then stranded at third base, as Adam Cimber punched out Dalbec and Pham and Tim Mayza got Devers got Devers to ground out to first.

More frustration arose in the ninth. After getting another scoreless frame from Matt Barnes, J.D. Martinez led the inning off with a hard-hit single off Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano. Alex Verdugo took over for Martinez and went from first to third on a sharply-hit double from Bogaerts.

With no outs and runners at second and third, the Red Sox were just one hit away from winning this. Toronto elected to intentionally walk Arroyo, which filled the bases for Cordero. Romero, like Bass, fanned Cordero, bringing Hernandez to the plate for the first time. Hernandez proceeded to ground into a back-breaking inning-ending 5-3 double play, sending this one into extras.

John Schreiber allowed the automatic runner at second base — in this case, Cavan Biggio — to advance to third on a Jansen groundout. He then got Springer to hit a soft groundball in the direction of Bogaerts. Bogaerts fielded the ball cleanly, but made an off-balance throw to Kevin Plawecki at home plate.

Biggio beat Plawecki’s tag to give the Blue Jays a 6-5 lead. Romano then picked up where he left off by retiring Dalbec, Duran, and Plawecki, in the bottom half of the 10th to send the Red Sox home losers. All told, they went 3-for-20 with runners in scoring position while leaving 12 runners on base as a team.

With the loss, Boston has extended its losing streak to four straight. It is now 3-13 against Toronto this season and 16-35 against divisional opponents.

Next up: Wacha vs. Chargois

Speaking of divisional opponents, the Red Sox will now welcome the Rays into town for a three-game weekend series. Veteran right-hander Michael Wacha is slated to start for Boston while fellow righty J.T. Chargois is expected to serve as an opener for Tampa Bay.

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

(Picture of Kevin Plawecki: Kathryn Riley/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)