Tag: Kiké Hernández

Costly errors come back to bite Red Sox in rain-soaked 4-3 loss to Rockies

The Red Sox opened a three-game series against the Rockies in disappointing fashion on Monday night. Boston fell to Colorado by a final score of 4-3 in a rain-filled 10 innings at Fenway Park to drop below .500 on the season at 33-34.

With old friend Connor Seabold starting for the Rockies, the Red Sox had a golden opportunity to strike first in the first inning. Jarren Duran, Alex Verdugo, and Justin Turner led off the bottom half of the frame with three consecutive singles to fill the bases with no outs.

Though it already appeared as if they had Seabold on the ropes, the Red Sox got nothing out of it. Rafael Devers grounded into a 1-2-3 double play chasing a first-pitch changeup and tapping a comebacker back to Seabold, who then fanned Adam Duvall on five pitches to escape the jam unscathed.

Seabold continued to put up zeroes from there, as did his counterpart in James Paxton. Making his sixth start of the season for the Sox, Paxton allowed just one unearned run on four hits and one walk to go along with eight strikeouts over six-plus strong innings of work.

After giving up a leadoff double to the very first batter he faced in Jurickson Profar, Paxton settled into a nice groove. The veteran left-hander stranded Profar at third base and then retired seven straight Rockies before yielding a one-out double to Ryan McMahon in the top of the fourth.

With two outs in the inning, it seemed like Paxton was going to strand another runner in scoring position when he got Randal Grichuk to hit a routine grounder to shortstop Enrique Hernandez. Hernandez, however, bounced his throw to first and the ball got past Triston Casas, which allowed McMahon to score all the way from second to put the Rockies up, 1-0.

For Hernandez, it was his major-league-leading 14th error of the season, with 12 of those coming on throws. Paxton proved to be unaffected by the sloppy play, however, as that was the only run he surrendered in yet another impressive performance.

Finishing with 98 pitches (70 strikes), Paxton induced 16 swings-and-misses while mixing in a 94-98 mph four-seam fastball as well as a curveball, cutter, and changeup. The 34-year-old southpaw did not factor into Monday’s decision, though he did lower his ERA on the season to 3.09.

With Paxton’s night done, the Boston bats finally got to Seabold in the latter half of the sixth. After drawing a one-out walk, Verdugo came in to score all the way from first on a hard-hit, RBI double off the bat of Turner to knot the score at 1-1. Despite having a runner in scoring position with only one out in the inning, both Devers (strikeout) and Duvall (groundout) were retired to extinguish the threat.

Following a scoreless top of the seventh from Josh Winckowski, Christian Arroyo quickly untied the contest by taking lefty reliever Brent Suter 376 feet over the Green Monster for his second home run of the season. The Red Sox took a 2-1 lead on Arroyo’s solo shot, but the Rockies responded in the eighth by tagging Winckowski for a crucial run when Profar ripped a one-out double and — after a two-out walk — scored from second on a game-tying single from Elias Diaz.

The two sides were deadlocked at 2-2 going into the bottom of the eighth. Turner drew a two-out walk off Pierce Johnson to put the go-ahead run on base for Devers, who promptly laced a 105.8 mph line drive that appeared to be headed towards the Red Sox bullpen. But Rockies right fielder Nolan Jones made a sensational leaping catch against the fence to rob Devers of a potential two-run homer.

According to Baseball Savant, Devers’ blast had an expected batting average of .870 and would have been a home run in seven of 30 MLB ballparks, including Fenway Park had Jones not robbed him. Alas, that is what happened and the score remained tied heading into the ninth. Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless top half, and Daniel Bard — making his first-ever appearance at Fenway as a visiting pitcher — followed suit in the bottom half to send this one into extras.

Nick Pivetta came on for the 10th and recorded two quick outs before intentionally walking McMahaon to put runners at first and second. He then unintentionally walked Diaz to fill the bases and issued a five-pitch free pass to Grichuk, allowing the automatic runner (Mike Moustakas) to score.

That sequence of events prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora to pull Pivetta in favor of lefty Joe Jacques, who was making his big-league debut. Jacques, in turn, induced what had the makings to be an inning-ending groundout to Jones. But Casas could not field the ball cleanly and was late with his throw to first. As a result, Jones reached base safely while McMahon scored an important insurance run on Casas’ fielding error.

At that point, the skies above Fenway began to open and an 89-minute rain delay commenced. On the other side of the lengthy break, the Red Sox got one of those runs back when Connor Wong scored on a Rob Refsnyder groundout. That was as close as they would get, though, as Verdugo grounded into a game-ending, 5-6-3 double play.

Next up: Crawford vs. Anderson

The Red Sox will look to even the series against the Rockies on Tuesday night. Kutter Crawford is slated to get the start for Boston while Colorado will counter with fellow righty Chase Anderson.

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

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

Kiké Hernández comes through with game-winning RBI single as Red Sox take series from Yankees with 3-2 victory in extras

The Red Sox ended their first series of the season against the Yankees the same way they started it: with a 3-2 win. In need of a victory to avoid dropping a fourth straight series, Boston scratched and clawed its way to a hard-fought, one-run triumph over New York on Sunday night to get back to .500 at 33-33 on the season.

With over 46,000 on hand at Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox drew first blood against Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt in the second inning. To lead off the top half of the frame, Justin Turner took Schmidt 373 feet to right-center field for his eighth home run of the year.

Despite falling behind by a run early on, it did not take the Yankees long to respond. Brayan Bello, making his 10th start of the season for the Sox, worked a 1-2-3 first inning but ran into some trouble in the bottom of the second by issuing a leadoff walk to Josh Donaldson and a two-out ground-rule double to Billy McKinney.

Jose Trevino came to the plate with two outs and runners at second and third. Bello got Trevino to hit what looked to be a routine grounder up the middle, but the ball actually deflected off the second-base bag, eluding an awaiting Enrique Hernandez and rolling all the way to shallow center field. As a result, both Donaldson and McKinney scored to give New York its first lead of the night at 2-1.

A half-inning later, more weirdness occurred on the base paths. After reaching base via a one-out single, Jarren Duran was prepared to take off for second when Alex Verdugo ripped a groundball to the right side of the infield. Incidentally, the ball struck Duran on his way to second base and he was ruled out as a result.

Bello, meanwhile, settled in after a somewhat rocky second inning. The right-hander retired 14 of the final 17 final batters he faced and wound up allowing just the two runs on three hits and two walks to go along with three strikeouts over seven strong innings of work.

Finishing with 98 pitches (63 strikes), Bello induced seven swings-and-misses while averaging 93.8 mph and topping out at 96.7 mph with his four-seam fastball. The 24-year-old did not factor into Sunday’s decision, but he did lower his ERA on the season to 3.78.

With Bello’s night done, the Red Sox lineup went back to work in the top of the eighth. Opposed by Yankees reliever Michael King, Hernandez led off with a single to left field and immediately advanced to second after second baseman Gleyber Torres got careless and let the throw back to the infield get by him.

Hernandez took advantage of the error by moving up into scoring position and Reese McGuire followed by drawing a five-pitch walk. Pablo Reyes then laid down a nicely-placed sacrifice bunt to advance both runners an additional 90 feet and set the stage for Duran, who knotted things up at 2-2 by plating Hernandez from third on an RBI groundout to the right side.

Following scoreless innings out of the bullpen from Nick Pivetta and Kenley Jansen, the Red Sox found themselves in extras for the first time since April 29. To lead off the top of the 10th, Triston Casas advanced the pinch-running Adam Duvall up to third base on a hard-hit groundout off Ron Marinaccio.

With the possible go-ahead run just 90 feet away and the Yankees infield playing in, Hernandez delivered by lacing a 103.3 mph single past an outstretched Anthony Volpe at shortstop. Duvall easily scored from third to put the Sox back up, 3-2, going into the bottom of the 10th.

Having already used Jansen, Red Sox manager Alex Cora tasked Chris Martin with getting the three most important outs of the night. Martin, in turn, allowed the potential tying run to move up to third on a fly out before punching out both Trevino and Volpe to notch his first save of 2023.

Next up: Back home to host the Rockies

On the heels of a 3-3 road trip, the Red Sox will return home and welcome the Colorado Rockies into town for the start of six-game homestand at Fenway Park.

In Monday night’s series opener, veteran left-hander James Paxton will get the start for Boston while Colorado will counter by sending former Red Sox farmhand Connor Seabold to the hill against his old team.

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

(Picture of Enrique Hernandez: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers homers off Gerrit Cole for seventh time as Red Sox hold on to take opener from Yankees, 3-2

In their first of 13 meetings this season, the Red Sox made a statement against the Yankees in front of a sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium on Friday night. Behind a strong start from Garrett Whitlock and home runs from Rafael Devers and Enrique Hernandez, Boston held on for a 3-2 win over New York to get back to .500 at 32-32 on the year.

Going up against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, the Sox drew first blood in the top of the fourth inning. After being held in check through the first three frames, Devers ripped a one-out ground-rule double over the right-center field wall. Adam Duvall fanned for the second time in as may trips to the plate, but Triston Casas came through by plating Devers on a hard-hit RBI single.

Two innings later, Devers struck again. In familiar fashion, the slugging third baseman took a first-pitch changeup at the bottom of the zone from Cole and deposited it 405 feet into the visitors’ bullpen to put Boston up, 2-0. The towering, 106.2 mph solo shot was Devers’ 14th big fly of the season and the seventh of his career off Cole.

Whitlock, meanwhile, was in the midst of his sixth start of the year for the Red Sox. Facing the Yankees for the first time in his career as a starter, the right-hander allowed just two runs (one earned) on seven hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings of work.

After maneuvering his way around some traffic through the first five innings, Whitlock served up a 448-foot leadoff homer to Josh Donaldson to begin things in the sixth. Though the Yankees trimmed the deficit in half of Donaldson’s solo blast, the Red Sox wasted little time in getting that run back in the seventh.

Having already chased Cole out of the game, the Sox got to reliever Albert Abreu. Connor Wong struck out for the first out of the inning, but Hernandez cranked a solo shot down the left field line for his sixth homer of the year. The 391-foot blast left Hernandez’s bat at 104.3 mph and gave Boston a 3-1 advantage.

Whitlock came back out for the latter half of the seventh and issued a leadoff single to Isiah Kiner-Falefa on a groundball that was mishandled by second baseman Christian Arroyo. Kiner-Falefa, who was thrown out by Wong on a steal attempt in the second inning, promptly stole second base and advanced to third as Wong’s off-target pickoff attempt skipped into center field.

Kiner-Falefa took advantage of more sloppy play from the Red Sox moments later, this time scoring from third when Whitlock spiked ball four to the pinch-hitting Gleyber Torres into the dirt. Whitlock was then given the hook for Nick Pivetta, who stranded the lone runner he inherited by inducing two quick outs to preserve Boston’s one-run lead.

Finishing with 88 pitches (63 strikes), Whitlock induced 10 of his 18 swings-and-misses with his sweeper, a pitch he threw 26 times. The 26-year-old also averaged 94 mph and topped out at 96.3 mph with his sinker, a pitch he threw 43 times. He ultimately picked up the winning decision while lowering his ERA on the season down to 4.78.

Pivetta was only needed to record the final two outs of the seventh. Chris Martin continued that trend out of the bullpen by making quick work of the Yankees in the eighth to pave the way for closer Kenley Jansen in the ninth.

Jansen retired Jake Bauers and Kiner-Falefa on five pitches for the first two outs of the inning. Back-to-back singles from Billy McKinney and Torres made things interesting, but Jansen rallied and notched his 14th save of the year by getting Anthony Volpe to pop out to end it in a swift two hours and 28 minutes.

Duvall returns from injured list

After missing the last 54 games with a fractured left wrist, Adam Duvall returned to the Red Sox lineup on Friday. Batting fifth and starting in center field, the 34-year-old slugger went 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts.

Next up: Houck vs. German

The Red Sox will look to take their first series of the season from the Yankees on Saturday night. Tanner Houck will get the start for Boston while New York will counter with fellow right-hander Domingo German.

First pitch from Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. eastern time on FOX.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Elsa/Getty Images)

Kiké Hernández, Connor Wong both homer as Red Sox avoid sweep with 8-2 win over Reds; Chris Sale leaves game with shoulder soreness

Behind a six-run eighth inning, the Red Sox avoided a sweep at the hands of the Reds on Thursday night. Boston salvaged the series and put an end to a three-game losing streak by defeating Cincinnati by a final score of 8-2 at Fenway Park to improve to 29-27 on the season.

Chris Sale, making his 11th start of the year for the Sox, came out firing out of the gate. Facing the Reds for the first time in his career, the veteran left-hander struck out six of the first eight batters he faced over two scoreless innings before running into some trouble in the top of the third.

With one out and the bases empty, Sale surrendered back-to-back doubles to Curt Casali and Kevin Newman, allowing the Reds to open the scoring. Though he managed to strand Newman in the third, Sale once again gave up back-to-back doubles to Spencer Steer and Tyler Stephenson to lead off the fourth.

That sequence of events put runners at second and third for Stuart Fairchild, who flew out to Alex Verdugo in right field. Steer attempted to tag up from third on the play, but he was instead gunned down by Verdugo, who made an accurate throw to home and picked up his fourth outfield assist of the season after the Reds unsuccessfully challenged the call on the field.

With two outs and Nick Senzel at the plate, Sale fell behind in the count at 3-1, which prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora and assistant athletic trainer Masai Takahashi to pay him a visit on the mound. The lefty talked his way into staying in the game, but he then walked Senzel on six pitches and was removed from the contest after being visited by Cora and Takahashi yet again.

Sale, who was later diagnosed with left shoulder soreness, will undergo an MRI on Friday to determine just how severe the issue is. The 34-year-old left the mound on Thursday having allowed one earned run on five hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings of work. He threw 59 pitches (40 strikes) and did not factor into the decision.

Justin Garza took over for Sale out of the Boston bullpen and recorded the final out in the top of the fourth. The Red Sox lineup then got to Reds starter Hunter Greene in the bottom half of the frame after the talented righty had fanned seven of the first 10 Boston hitters he faced.

Rafael Devers led things off by lofting a 348-foot fly ball that center fielder Jose Barrero lost in the lights. Devers, who was credited with a double after moving up to second, then came into the score the tying run on a groundball RBI single off the bat of Justin Turner.

Following three scoreless innings of relief from Garza, Josh Winckowski, and Nick Pivetta, the Red Sox broke the 1-1 tie in the bottom of the seventh. With new reliever Ian Gibaut in the game for the Reds, Enrique Hernandez crushed a go-ahead, 411-foot solo shot over the Green Monster for his fifth home run of the year.

Hernandez’s 103.5 mph blast gave Boston its first lead of the night at 2-1, but Cincinnati wasted no time in retaliating. Chris Martin, who did not yield a single run in eight May appearances, got the call for the eighth inning and immediately lost the lead by serving up a leadoff double to Newman and a game-tying single to Matt McLain.

Martin avoided any further damage by inducing a 5-4-3 double play and a flyout, paving the way for the Red Sox to get back to work in the latter half of the eighth. After Verdugo drew a leadoff walk off Reds righty Kevin Herget, Devers immediately drove him in by lacing a 106.5 mph go-ahead RBI double into the triangle.

Following a Turner single, the Reds elected to intentionally walk Jarren Duran. Herget then balked with the bases loaded to put the Sox up, 4-2. Hernandez tacked on two more with a two-run single through the right side of the infield before Connor Wong broke it open by depositing a 401-foot two-run homer into the first row of Monster seats.

Wong’s sixth big fly of the season gave the Red Sox a commanding 8-2 lead going into the final frame. Kenley Jansen then slammed the door on the Reds in a non-save opportunity by working his way around a two-out walk in an otherwise clean top of the ninth.

Next up: Rays in for four

After picking up their first home win against a National League Central opponent this season, the Red Sox will next welcome the division rival Rays into town for a four-game weekend series beginning Friday night. The set includes a scheduled day-night doubleheader on Saturday.

In Friday’s series opener, Garrett Whitlock will get the start for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Tyler Glasnow for Tampa Bay. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Connor Wong and Enrique Hernandez: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Alex Verdugo continues to come through in the clutch, delivers with walk-off home run as Red Sox top Blue Jays, 6-5

The Red Sox squandered another late lead in Monday’s series opener against the Blue Jays, but it was not enough to hold them down. Thanks to some more late-game heroics from Alex Verdugo, Boston defeated Toronto by a final score of 6-5 at Fenway Park to improve to 16-14 on the season.

With Jose Berrios starting for the Jays, the Sox drew first blood in their half of the first inning. Verdugo led off with a hard-hit double and immediately scored from second on another two-base hit from Masataka Yoshida. Justin Turner followed by plating Yoshida on an opposite-field RBI single to give his side a 2-0 lead right out of the gate.

It did not take long for Toronto to respond, though. As Corey Kluber made his sixth start of the season for Boston, Danny Jansen and Kevin Kiermaier drew a pair of walks to put runners at first and second with two outs in the top of the second. Bo Bichette then got his productive night at the plate started by crushing a 312-foot three-run home run over the Green Monster to put the Blue Jays up, 3-2.

While it appeared as though Kluber was about to have another rough go of it, he was able to settle in a bit after getting through the first. The veteran right-hander allowed just the three earned runs on five hits and four walks to go along with seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings of work.

After putting up zeroes from the top of the third through the middle of the fifth, Kluber came back out for the sixth and recorded the first out of the inning before issuing a five-pitch walk to Jansen. Having already thrown a season-high 104 pitches (59 strikes) to that point in the contest, the 37-year-old was given the hook in favor of Brennan Bernardino.

Bernardino ended things in the top of the sixth by retiring the only two batters he faced. Moments later, Jarren Duran led off the bottom of the sixth by taking Berrios 434 feet to dead center for his second home run of the year. The ball left Duran’s bat at a blistering 109.1 mph and pulled Boston back even with Toronto at three runs apiece.

The stalemate did not last long, however. After Triston Casas drew a one-out walk off Berrios, Enmanuel Valdez followed by launching a go-ahead, two-run shot 427 feet into the center field bleachers for the first home run of his big-league career. Valdez’s 106 mph blast gave the Red Sox a 5-3 lead going into the seventh.

Chris Martin, making his first relief appearance since April 12 after being activated from the injured list on Sunday, took over for Bernardino and worked his way around a bases-loaded jam by getting the pinch-hitting Alejandro Kirk to ground out to himself for the final out of the inning.

Josh Winckowski came on for the eighth and got the first out by getting Jansen to ground out to Enrique Hernandez at short. Hernandez, who made a fantastic diving grab and throw from his knees in the left field grass to nab Jansen, them made two costly throwing errors.

Following a Cavan Biggio double, Hernandez fielded a grounder from Kiermaier but made a poor throw to Casas at first. Biggio scored as a result to cut Toronto’s deficit to one. Kiermaier moved up 90 feet on a Bichette single (his fifth hit of the night) to put runners at first and second for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero Jr. roped another grounder in the direction of Hernandez, who hustled over to second to get the force out but airmailed his throw to first in an attempt to finish off the double play. The ball sailed well over Casas’ head and landed in the Red Sox dugout. As a result, Kiermaier was able to score from second to tie the score at 5-5.

Winckowski, who was only charged with one of those two runs, got through the rest of the eighth unscathed and then retired the side in order in the top of the ninth. Jordan Romano took over for Nate Pearson out of the Blue Jays bullpen in the following half-inning, but he was not on the mound for long.

On the third pitch he saw from Romano to lead things off, Verdugo came through in the clutch yet again by lacing a 385-foot line-drive to right-center field that barely cleared the bullpen fence and lifted the Red Sox to a 6-5 walk-off victory.

Verdugo’s fifth home run was good for his third walk-off hit of the year and his second in Boston’s last three games. He finished the night going 2-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored. On the flip side, Winckowski was credited with the winning decision.

Next up: Kikuchi vs. Houck

Winners of three straight and now at two games over .500 for the first time this season, the Red Sox will look to take the first two games of this four-game set from the Blue Jays on Tuesday night. Right-hander Tanner Houck will get the start for Boston while left-hander Yusei Kikuchi is expected to do the same for Toronto.

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

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

Corey Kluber’s struggles continue as Red Sox fall to Twins, 10-4; Enmanuel Valdez records 2 hits in debut

The Red Sox fell behind early and could not recover against the Twins on Wednesday night. Boston fell to Minnesota by a final score of 10-4 at Fenway Park to drop back to under .500 on the season at 9-10.

Corey Kluber, making his fourth start of the year for the Sox, was unable to reverse his early-season struggles. Instead, the veteran right-hander got shelled for seven runs (all earned) on six hits, two walks, and two hit batsman to go along with four strikeouts over five innings of work.

The Twins got to Kluber right away in the top of the first. After Max Kepler drew a leadoff walk and Byron Buxton ripped a one-out double, Trevor Larnach drove in the first run of the game by plating Kepler on an RBI groundout. Moments later, Edouard Julien gave Minnesota a 3-0 lead out of the gate by clubbing a 418-foot two-run home run into the right field bleachers.

Kluber managed to get through a scoreless second inning but ran into more trouble in the third. After walking Larnach and plunking Julien to put runners at first and second with one out, the righty gave up an RBI single to Jose Miranda. Joey Gallo followed by unloading on a hanging, 2-2 curveball and sending it 417 feet to deep right field.

Gallo’s three-run blast put the Twins up, 7-0, heading into the bottom of the third. The Red Sox then got one of those runs back when Raimel Tapia scored Triston Casas from third base on an RBI groundout off opposing starter Joe Ryan.

Kluber, for his part, retired the side in order in the fourth and stranded two runners in a scoreless fifth inning. Still, it was a discouraging outing for the 36-year-old, who finished with 103 pitches (65 strikes) and is now 0-4 with an ERA of 8.50 to begin his tenure in Boston.

With Kluber’s day over, the Red Sox lineup struck again in the latter half of the fifth. Jarren Duran led off with a hustle double, moved up to third on an Enmanuel Valdez single, and then scored his side’s second run as Alex Verdugo grounded into a 3-6-1 double play.

Trailing 7-2 going into the sixth, Ryan Brasier received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Brasier sandwiched a Max Kepler double in between the first two outs of the inning before issuing a six-pitch walk to Buxton. He then served up a 423-foot three-run home run to Larnach that gave the Twins a commanding 10-2 advantage.

Enrique Hernandez took Ryan 371 feet over the Green Monster with two outs in the bottom sixth for his third home run of the season and the 100th of his career. After Richard Bleier and Kaleb Ort combined for three scoreless innings of relief, the Red Sox made things somewhat interesting in the ninth.

Hernandez, Reese McGuire, and Casas all reached to fill the bases with no outs. Duran then plated Hernandez from third with a sacrifice fly to make it a 10-4 game. But Twins reliever Brent Headrick got Valdez to line out and Verdugo to fly out to kill any chances of a comeback.

All told, the Red Sox went just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base as a team in Wednesday’s 10-4 loss, which took two hours and 37 minutes to complete.

Valdez has two hits, fielding error in debut

Second baseman Enmanuel Valdez made his major-league debut on Wednesday night after getting called up from Triple-A Worcester earlier in the afternoon. The 24-year-old began his day by singling to the opposite field in each of his first two plate appearances. He then struck out swinging in the seventh and lined out in the ninth to finish 2-for-4 with two left on base.

Defensively, Valdez committed the game’s only error. With two outs and one runner on in the top of the fifth, Valdez could not come up with a 201-foot flyball off the bat of Joey Gallo that landed between him and Alex Verdugo in the right field glass. He was charged with a fielding error as a result.

Hernandez’s 100th career home run

By taking Joe Ryan deep into the Monster seats in the sixth inning of Wednesday’s loss, Enrique Hernandez notched the 100th home run of his big-league career. The solo shot left his bat at 101.4 mph and travelled 371 feet at a launch angle of 30 degrees.

Next up: Maeda vs. Houck to close out homestand

The Red Sox will once again look to secure a series victory over the Twins on Thursday afternoon before embarking on a two-city, six-game road trip. Tanner Houck is slated to start for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Kenta Maeda.

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

(Picture of Corey Kluber: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Adam Duvall, Kiké Hernández stay hot as Red Sox take series from Orioles with 9-5 win

Despite nearly blowing a pair of three-run leads, the Red Sox held on for a series-clinching win over the Orioles on Sunday afternoon. Boston defeated Baltimore by a final score of 9-5 at Fenway Park to improve to 2-1 on the young season.

With lefty Cole Irvin starting for the O’s, the Sox got off to a quick start. The first three batters to greet Irvin all reached base to begin things in the bottom of the first inning. Masataka Yoshida then drove in his side’s first run by plating Rob Refsnyder from third on an RBI groundout.

Enrique Hernandez led off the bottom of the second by launching a 365-foot solo shot over the Green Monster for his second homer in as many days. An inning later, Adam Duvall stayed hot by ripping a two-out double before coming into score on a softly-hit RBI single off the bat of Alex Verdugo.

Verdugo gave the Red Sox an early 3-0 lead heading into the fourth. To that point, Tanner Houck had been cruising right along. Coming off a miserable spring training, the right-hander kicked off his first start of the regular season by retiring nine of the first 11 batters he faced. He then faced the minimum in the top of the fourth before running into some trouble in the fifth.

After giving up a one-out single to Austin Hays, Houck served up a two-run home run to Adam Frazier to get the Orioles on the board. Two batters later, Cedric Mullins took the righty 380 feet deep to right-center field to knot things up at three runs apiece.

Though it ended on a sour note, Houck was still the first Red Sox starter to pitch into the fifth inning and pick up a win this season. Over those five innings of work, the 26-year-old hurler allowed three runs on five hits, one walk, and five strikeouts. He induced 10 swings-and-misses and 45 of the 70 pitches he threw went for strikes.

With Houck’s day over, the Boston lineup got back to work in the latter half of the fifth. Rafael Devers and Justin Turner led off with back-to-back singles before Yoshida drove in Devers with a fly-ball single to center field. That broke the tie and knocked Irvin out of the game. Duvall then greeted new Baltimore reliever Bryan Baker by plating both Turner and Yoshida on a two-run single to left field.

That sequence of events put the Red Sox back up, 6-3, going into the sixth. Following a scoreless inning of relief from John Schreiber, left-hander Richard Bleier made his season debut in the seventh. Acquired from the Marlins for fellow reliever Matt Barnes in January, Bleier yielded a pair of one-out hits to Frazier and Urias, which put runners at second and third for Mullins.

Mullins responded by lacing a two-run single back up the middle to cut the lead to one. But the Red Sox responded in their half of the seventh as Yoshida singled and Duvall doubled off Keegan Akin. After Verdugo popped out, Triston Casas came off the bench and came through with a pinch-hit, 109 mph RBI single to drive in Yoshida. Hernandez followed with a run-scoring base hit of his own to push across Duvall.

Chris Martin stranded one runner in an otherwise clean top of the eighth before Verdugo drove in Yoshida with another RBI single in the bottom half, extending the lead to four runs at 9-5. Kaleb Ort then worked his way around a leadoff double in the ninth to slam the door on the Orioles and secure the series victory.

With Sunday’s win, the Red Sox have taken a series from an American League East opponent. It took them until August 14 to first accomplish that feat last season.

Other worthwhile observations:

The Red Sox are the third team in major-league history to score nine or more runs in three straight games to open a season, joining the 1976 Reds and 1978 Brewers.

Adam Duvall is the first player ever to record six extra-base hits in their first three games as a member of the Red Sox, according to director of baseball communications and media relations J.P. Long.

Next up: Red Sox welcome in the Pirates

The Red Sox will now welcome the Pirates into town for a three-game interleague series that starts on Monday night. Kutter Crawford is expected to get the ball for Boston in the opener while fellow right-hander Johan Oviedo is in line to do the same for Pittsburgh.

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

(Picture of Enrique Hernandez: 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)

Masataka Yoshida tries Puerto Rican food, Christian Vázquez reunites with former Red Sox teammates at Alex Cora’s Super Bowl watch party

Red Sox manager Alex Cora hosted a Super Bowl watch party at his home in Fort Myers on Sunday night.

Third base coach Carlos Febles, outfielder Masataka Yoshida, infielders Enrique Hernandez and Trevor Story, and former Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez were all on hand to watch the Kansas City Chiefs come from behind and defeat the Philadelphia Eagles by a final score of 38-35.

Vazquez, who was traded to the Astros last summer, signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Twins back in December. Minnesota, like Boston, calls Fort Myers its spring training home, so the veteran backstop did not have to travel far to reunite with some of his former teammates.

“There was a lot of giving him a hard time because [Cora] told us to show up at 4 p.m. and he told him to show up at 5,” Hernandez said of Vazquez when speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) at JetBlue Park on Monday. “He was like, ‘Well, he told me to show up at 5.’ I was like, ‘Well, you’re on another team now. We were talking about the signs and stuff and you can’t know the signs now.’”

While Hernandez and Vazquez are no longer teammates on the Red Sox, the two will represent Puerto Rico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic next month. Boston is scheduled to host Team Puerto Rico in an exhibition contest leading up to the tournament on March 8.

“He’s been going to their facility for a couple weeks now,” added Hernandez. “So it was just asking him who’s there already and what’s different from there and here. There’s not much he can say yet because camp hasn’t started but it was just good seeing him. We kept in touch in the offseason. But seeing each other in person is just good.”

Yoshida, who was an early arrival at Red Sox camp last week, was introduced to two new things on Sunday night: American football and Puerto Rican cuisine. Cora’s party was catered by chef Herminio Ithier of HIT Food & Beverage Entertainment.

“A lot of questions to Masa asking if he knew what a touchdown was and all that,” said Hernandez. “It was also his first time eating Puerto Rican food. So it was good. It was good having him there and having him form part of the group and it was also good seeing [Vazquez] again.”

Yoshida came over from Japan and signed a five-year, $90 million contract with the Red Sox in December after spending the last seven seasons with the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball. The 29-year-old had a tougher time adjusting to the intricacies of football as opposed to unfamiliar food.

“I think food is a universal language,” Hernandez explained. “Everybody eats it the same way. Football is a little more complicated. A lot of rules when it comes to football. Not a lot of rules when it comes to eating.”

Like Hernandez, Yoshida will leave the Red Sox in the coming weeks to train with Team Japan ahead of the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

(Picture of Masataka Yoshida: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox waste scoring chances, muster just 6 hits in 1-0 shutout loss to Rays

The Red Sox were unable to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Rays on Wednesday night. Boston fell to Tampa Bay a final score of 1-0 at Tropicana Field to drop to 67-71 on the season.

Nick Pivetta was anything but crisp in his 28th start of the year for the Sox. While showing no ill effects from the left calf contusion he sustained in his last time out, the right-hander grinded through five innings in which he allowed one run on two hits, three walks, and three strikeouts.

After taking a no-hit bid into the fifth inning, Pivetta surrendered a leadoff double to Francisco Mejia. Mejia then advanced to third on a Ji-Man Choi groundout before Taylor Walls drove him in on a softly-hit infield single.

That would prove to be all the scoring the Rays would need. Pivetta, who threw 101 pitches (54 strikes), faced 20 batters on Wednesday; 12 of them worked the count full. The 29-year-old hurler was charged with his 11th loss of the season, though he did lower his ERA to 4.29.

In relief of Pivetta, John Schreiber, Matt Strahm, and Zack Kelly combined for three scoreless frames out of the bullpen to give the Red Sox one last chance going into the top half of the ninth.

To that point in the contest, a Boston lineup that did not feature Xander Bogaerts or Rafael Devers had already blown its fair share of scoring opportunities.

Enrique Hernandez, for instance, began the game with a leadoff double off Rays starter Jeffrey Springs. He was stranded at second base. Three innings later, Trevor Story reached base via a one-out single off Yonny Chirinos. He moved up to second after J.D. Martinez drew a six-pitch walk but was stranded there after Christian Arroyo and Rob Refsnyder both punched out.

In the fifth, back-to-back singles from Hernandez and Tommy Pham put runners at first and second with two outs for Alex Verdugo, who grounded out to shortstop. Arroyo reached scoring position with a two-out double in the sixth, but Refsnyder followed by striking out for a second time.

Boston’s best chance undoubtedly came in the eighth inning, when Pham singled and Verdugo drew a four-pitch walk to lead things off against Jason Adam. Pham moved up to third base when Story grounded into a fielder’s choice. Story then stole second base, putting the potential tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position.

With only one out in the inning, Adam battled back by getting Martinez to fly out and Arroyo to ground out to extinguish the threat. Pete Fairbanks then fanned two and worked his way around a Triston Casas walk in the ninth to seal a 1-0 defeat for the Red Sox.

All told, Boston went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position on Wednesday and left 10 men on base as a team. Hernandez and Pham accounted for four of their side’s six hits. Story and Arroyo were responsible for the other two.

Wednesday’s loss marks the first time the Red Sox have been shut out since May 30, when the Orioles blanked them, 10-0 at Fenway Park. So they went 87 straight games without getting shut out, which had been the longest active streak in Major League baseball.

The Red Sox are now 4-12 against the Rays and 18-39 against divisional opponents this season. They lost their final nine games at Tropicana Field after first beating Tampa Bay on their own turf on April 22.

Next up: On to Baltimore

The Red Sox will have an off day on Thursday as they travel to Baltimore ahead of a three-game weekend series against the Orioles. Rookie right-hander Brayan Bello is slated to start Friday’s series opener for Boston while fellow righty Austin Voth is lined up to do the same for Baltimore.

First pitch from Camden Yards on Friday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Tommy Pham: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)