Tag: kutter crawford

Red Sox overpowered, swept by Rays as 7-run inning leads to 9-3 loss

Despite all the struggles they endured this week, the Red Sox had a chance to secure a winning road trip with a victory over the Rays on Thursday. Boston instead fell to Tampa Bay by a final score of 9-3 and were swept in four games as a result.

With the loss, their 13th straight at Tropicana Field, the Red Sox drop to 5-8 on the season. The unbeaten Rays, meanwhile, improve to a perfect 13-0, matching the 1982 Braves and 1987 Brewers for the best start to a season in major-league history.

Thursday’s series finale actually started in positive fashion for Boston. With old friend Jeffrey Springs starting for Tampa Bay, Rob Refsnyder gave the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead in the first inning by taking the lefty 409 feet deep to left field for his first home run of the year.

The Rays quickly responded, though, as Yandy Diaz crushed a leadoff home run off Red Sox starter Corey Kluber to begin things in the bottom of the first. Kluber would settle in, however, and Boston got back on the board in the top of the fourth.

After Springs was forced to exit with ulnar neuritis, Justin Turner greeted new Rays reliever Garrett Cleavinger by ripping a leadoff double to left field. Turner stole third base and then came into score on an Enrique Hernandez force out to put the Red Sox up 2-1. An inning later, Turner struck again, this time plating Christian Arroyo on an RBI single to make it a 3-1 game heading into the bottom of the fifth.

That is where things began to unravel for Boston. Kluber, who retired each of the last nine batters he had faced, yielded a leadoff double to Harold Ramirez. After issuing a one-out walk to Josh Lowe to put runners on the corners, Kluber gave up an RBI single to Francisco Mejia to cut the lead to one run at 3-2.

With two outs, Red Sox manager Alex Cora opted to pull Kluber for left-hander Richard Bleier. Bleier, in turn, allowed the then-game-tying run to cross the plate on an RBI single from Brandon Lowe that was just out of the reach of Arroyo. Randy Arozarena then gave the Rays their first lead of the afternoon with a groundball single of his own.

After plunking Wander Franco to fill the bases, the pinch-hitting Manuel Margot laid down a perfectly-executed bunt off Bleier to push across Lowe. Ramirez then broke it open with a bases-clearing, three-run double down the left field line to cap off a seven-run fifth inning and give the Rays a commanding 8-3 edge.

Kluber was charged with three of those seven runs. All together, the veteran right-hander surrendered four earned runs on four hits and one walk to go along with seven strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings of work. He was hit with the losing decision and is now 0-3 with a 6.92 ERA through three starts.

Bleier, on the other hand, was charged with the other four runs that crossed the plate in the fifth. Kutter Crawford, who was just recalled from Triple-A Worcester, took over the lefty and served up a solo homer to Brandon Lowe in the seventh. Besides that one blemish, the righty was effective in his three frames of relief.

Offensively, the Red Sox did not have a response for the Rays bullpen after the fifth inning. They went 1-2-3 against Kevin Kelly in the sixth, stranded a runner at scoring position in a hitless seventh inning, and then went down quietly against Braden Bristo in the eighth and ninth. In total, Boston had just four hits as a team while going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

Casas’ 14-pitch walk

With one out and one runner on in the fourth inning, Triston Casas fouled off seven consecutive pitches in the process of working a 14-pitch walk off Rays reliever Garrett Cleavinger. Upon taking ball four, Casas flipped his bat and let out an emphatic yell towards the Red Sox dugout.

According to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, the last at-bat by a Red Sox hitter that lasted longer than 14 pitches came on April 25, 2012, when Adrian Gonzalez had a 15-pitch groundout against Liam Hendriks, who was then starting for the Twins.

Next up: Sandoval vs. Houck in first of four against Angels

On the heels of a 3-4 road trip, the Red Sox will head home and open a four-game weekend series against the Angels on Friday night. Right-hander Tanner Houck is slated to get the ball for Boston in the opener while left-hander Patrick Sandoval is expected to do the same for Los Angeles.

First pitch from Fenway Park on Friday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time. The game will be broadcasted exclusively on Apple TV+.

(Picture of Corey Kluber: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Zack Kelly on injured list, recall Kutter Crawford from Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have placed reliever Zack Kelly on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation, the club announced prior to Thursday’s series finale against the Rays. In a corresponding move, fellow right-hander Kutter Crawford was recalled from Triple-A Worcester.

Kelly was visibly upset after injuring his right elbow in the fifth inning of Wednesday night’s 9-7 loss to Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field. The 28-year-old will undergo an MRI in Boston on Friday to determine the severity of the injury, but the fear is that it is serious.

Crawford, meanwhile, rejoins the Red Sox just two days after being optioned to make room on the roster for Garrett Whitlock. The 27-year-old made two starts to begin the season was sent down so that he could remain stretched out as a starter in Worcester, but he is back as a reliever for the time being.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, Crawford last pitched against the Tigers on Sunday and is on three days rest, meaning he could be available out of the bullpen if the Red Sox need on Thursday. Crawford was a logical choice to take Kelly’s place since he is the only healthy pitcher on Boston’s 40-man roster with big-league experience.

It remains to be seen how the Red Sox plan on using Crawford moving forward. He could, in theory, remain in the bullpen in be utilized in a similar fashion to Josh Winckowski, who has thrived in multi-inning stints to this point in the season. The more likely option, though, is that Crawford will be sent back down to Worcester in the coming days so that he can start and so that Boston can add a more traditional reliever to its bullpen mix.

Doing that, of course, would require the Red Sox to clear a 40-man roster spot, but they could accomplish that by transferring Kelly to the 60-day injured list if his injury is severe enough. Potential options to come up from the WooSox include righties Jake Faria and Andrew Politi and lefties Ryan Sherriff and Oddanier Mosqueda.

(Picture of Kutter Crawford: Duane Burleson/Getty Images)

Red Sox option Kutter Crawford to Triple-A Worcester to make room on roster for Garrett Whitlock

The Red Sox optioned right-hander Kutter Crawford to Triple-A Worcester following Monday night’s 1-0 loss to the Rays, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

By optioning Crawford, the Red Sox have created an open roster spot for fellow righty Garrett Whitlock, who will come off the injured list and make his season debut against the undefeated Rays at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night.

Whitlock will start opposite All-Star lefty Shane McClanahan in the second game of this four-game series (first pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET). The 26-year-old began the season on the injured list after getting a late start in spring training as a result of undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right hip last September.

In two rehab starts with Worcester (on March 31) and Double-A Portland (on April 6), Whitlock allowed two earned runs on seven hits, two walks, and 14 strikeouts over 10 innings of work. He threw 75 pitches (50 strikes) in his first outing and 81 pitches (56 strikes) in his last time out.

Crawford, meanwhile, made Boston’s Opening Day rotation out of spring training to help fill the gaps left behind by Whitlock and Brayan Bello. In two starts already, the 27-year-old has posted an ERA of 8.00 (eight earned runs in nine innings) to go along with 12 strikeouts to just two walks.

Though he got roughed up by the Pirates in his 2023 debut last Monday, Crawford bounced back against the Tigers this past Sunday by scattering five hits and recording six strikeouts across five one-run innings to lead Boston to a 4-1 win over Detroit.

As noted by Cotillo, the Red Sox could have optioned or designated a reliever in order to keep Crawford up with the big-league club by moving him to the bullpen. It instead appears as though Boston would prefer that Crawford continues to work as a starter in Worcester so that he remains stretched out in the event that he is needed at some point down the line.

With Whitlock’s activation, the Red Sox have just two starters remaining on the 15-day injured list in righty Brayan Bello (right elbow inflammation) and lefty James Paxton (right hamstring strain). Bello is slated to begin a rehab assignment and start for the WooSox in their series opener against the Columbus Clippers at Polar Park on Monday night. Paxton, who started for the WooSox in Buffalo over the weekend, is not far behind, either.

(Picture of Kutter Crawford: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

Triston Casas, Kutter Crawford lead the way as Red Sox finish off sweep of Tigers with 4-1 win

The Red Sox finished off a three-game sweep of the Tigers on Easter Sunday. Boston defeated Detroit by a final score of 4-1 to remain unbeaten on the road and improve to 5-4 on the season.

Kutter Crawford, making his second start of the year for the Sox, pitched well after getting roughed up in his 2023 debut last Monday. This time around, the right-hander allowed just one earned run on five hits and zero walks to go along with six strikeouts over five strong innings of work.

The one run Crawford allowed came right away in the bottom of the first. With two outs and runners on first and second base, Crawford gave up an RBI single to Spencer Torkelson to give the Tigers an early 1-0 lead. The Red Sox, however, wasted no time in responding.

Matched up against Detroit starter Matthew Boyd, Enrique Hernandez drew a one-out walk in the top of the second and promptly scored all the way from first on a line-drive RBI double off the bat of Triston Casas that had an exit velocity of 105.8 mph. Casas’ productive day at the plate was only just beginning.

Crawford, meanwhile, settled in by retiring the side in order in the latter half of the second, stranding one runner in the third, and striking out two in a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth. Boston took its first lead of the afternoon in the following half-inning, as Connor Wong led off with a 106.9 mph double off Boyd and then came into score on a softly-hit single from Rob Refsnyder.

Taking a newfound 2-1 edge into the bottom of the fifth, Crawford ended his day by putting up another zero. The 27-year-old hurler finished with an economical final pitch count of 65 (44 strikes). He induced nine swings-and-misses en route to picking up his first winning decision of the year.

In relief of Crawford, John Schreiber received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Schreiber, who grew up just outside of Detroit, made quick work of the Tigers in the sixth. Justin Turner then tacked on another run to Boston’s lead by plating Refsnyder on a sacrifice fly off Alex Lange in the top of the seventh.

Following two more scoreless frames of relief from Josh Winckowski and Chris Martin, Casas led things off in the top of the ninth by taking new Tigers reliever Chasen Shreve 401 feet deep to right-center field for his second home run of the season and his first-ever off a left-handed pitcher. The ball left Casas’ bat at 107.4 mph and put the Red Sox up 4-1, heading into the bottom of the ninth.

There, Kenley Jansen made things interesting by loading the bases with one out. But the veteran closer did not falter and got out of the jam to record his second save in as many tries.

Duvall injures left wrist

With no outs in the ninth inning, center fielder Adam Duvall attempted to make a sliding catch on a fly ball off the bat of Spencer Torkelson. He instead landed awkwardly on his left wrist and was immediately taken out of the game.

Duvall was undergoing x-rays when Alex Cora was speaking with reporters afterwards, but no other updates were provided. It is a notable injury since Duvall underwent season-ending surgery on that same left wrist last July.

Next up: Looking to hand the Rays their first loss

The Red Sox will head south to St. Petersburg to take on the unbeaten (9-0) Rays for the first time this season. In the opener of this four-game series, right-hander Nick Pivetta will get the ball for Boston while left-hander (and old friend) Jalen Beeks will take the mound for Tampa Bay.

First pitch from Tropicana Field on Monday night is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Rafael Devers and Triston Casas: Duane Burleson/Getty Images)

Masataka Yoshida homers as part of 5-run first inning, but Red Sox still fall to Pirates, 7-6

The Red Sox homered three times, but it was not enough to overcome another poor starting pitching performance in the first of three against the Pirates on Monday night. Boston fell to Pittsburgh by a final score of 7-6 at Fenway Park to drop to 2-2 on the young season.

Kutter Crawford, making his first start of the year after breaking camp as a member of the starting rotation, struggled in his 2023 debut. The right-hander surrendered seven earned runs on eight hits and two walks to go along with six strikeouts over just four innings of work.

Three of those seven runs came right away in the top of the first. Crawford allowed hits to two of the first four batters he faced, including a one-out pop-up single that should have been caught by Rafael Devers. He then gave up a two-out RBI single to Ke’Bryan Hayes. Canaan Smith-Njigba followed with a three-run double to extend the Pirates’ lead to 3-0 right out of the gate.

Despite falling behind early yet again, the Red Sox responded in their half of the first. Matched up against Pirates starter Johan Oviedo, Devers made up for his blunder by crushing a one-out, 424-foot solo shot to dead center for his first home run of the season. After Bryan Reynolds dropped a fly ball that allowed Justin Turner to reach base safely, Masataka Yoshida came through with the first home run of his big-league career: a 390-foot two-run blast over the Green Monster.

Yoshida’s first homer in a Red Sox uniform knotted things up at three runs apiece. That stalemate did not last long, though, as reigning American League Player of the Week Adam Duvall drew a one-out walk and Triston Casas looped a towering two-run shot to the left of Pesky’s Pole to put Boston up, 5-3.

Reynolds, like Devers, made up for his error in the field by mashing a solo home run off Crawford with two outs in the second. The Pirates then pulled back even with the Sox an inning later when Jack Suwinski scored Hayes on a two-out single. Crawford ran into more trouble in the fourth by serving up two more solo shots to Jason Delay and Reynolds, giving Pittsburgh a 7-5 lead.

In his four innings of work, Crawford threw 93 pitches (59 strikes). Though the 27-year-old hurler induced 15 swings-and-misses, he also gave up six hits that had exit velocities of 100 mph or more. With Crawford’s outing in the books, Red Sox starters now own a 12.91 ERA (22 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings) so far this year.

After breaking out for five runs in the first, the Boston lineup quited down for a bit. There were opportunities to score, but Connor Wong was stranded at third in the fourth and struck out with the bases loaded to end things in the fifth. On the heels of two scoreless frames of relief from Zack Kelly, though, the Sox were able to get something going in the latter half of the sixth.

There, Alex Verdugo led off with a single and moved up to second when Yoshida drew a six-pitch walk. Duvall then greeted new Pirates reliever Duane Underwood Jr. with a broken-bat RBI single that plated Verdugo and cut the deficit to one. Yoshida advanced into scoring position on the play, but he and Duvall were left on base when Casas fanned to end the inning.

Richard Bleier and Kaleb Ort combined for two more shutout innings out of the bullpen before Verdugo led off the bottom of the eighth with a single off Colin Holderman. Turner walked and Yoshida advanced both runners on a one-out groundout, but Duvall grounded out himself to extinguish the threat.

Down to their final three outs after Ryan Brasier worked a scoreless top of the ninth, the Red Sox were up against All-Star closer David Bednar. The pinch-hitting Raimel Tapia made things interesting by beating out a one-out infield single, but Bednar prevailed by fanning Enrique Hernandez and Rob Refsnyder to end it.

All told, the Red Sox went 2-for-9 (.222) with runners in scoring position on Monday and left 12 runners on base as a team.

Duvall’s dominance

Adam Duvall s the first player ever to reach base as many as 13 times (10 hits, two walks, one hit-by-pitch) in his first four games as a member of the Red Sox, according to director of baseball communications and media relations J.P. Long.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Contreras

The Red Sox will look to bounce back against the Pirates on Tuesday night. Nick Pivetta will make his season debut for Boston while Pittsburgh will counter with fellow right-hander Roansy Contreras.

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

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

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)

Kutter Crawford, Josh Winckowski impress in respective starts as Red Sox top Orioles, fall to Rays in split-squad doubleheader

As part of a split-squad doubleheader on Saturday, the Red Sox beat the Orioles at home and lost to the Rays on the road. In Fort Myers, Boston defeated Baltimore by a final score of 9-6. Up the road in St. Petersburg, Boston fell to Tampa Bay by a final score of 3-1.

At JetBlue Park, Kutter Crawford made his third start and fourth overall appearance of the spring for the Red Sox. The right-hander pitched well, scattering just three hits and two walks to go along with five strikeouts over 4 2/3 scoreless innings of work.

Crawford dealt with traffic on the basepaths in every inning except the fourth. But he managed to avoid any serious damage and retired six of the last seven hitters he faced to finish with a final pitch count of 83. With two outs in the fifth, the 26-year-old righty was given the hook in favor of left-hander Oddanier Mosqueda, who walked the first two batters he faced to load the bases before punching out Ryan Mountcastle on a foul tip.

At the midway point, the Red Sox had already jumped out to a 5-0 lead over the Orioles. All five of those runs came off Baltimore starter Grayson Rodriguez, who is considered to be one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball.

Boston first got to Rodriguez in the bottom half of the third. After Rafael Devers reached base via a one-out double, Adam Duvall followed by crushing a two-run home run over the faux Green Monster for his third homer of the spring. An inning later, Bobby Dalbec drew a leadoff walk off Rodriguez and was able to move up to third with two outs before scoring on a wild pitch.

Greg Allen, who was at the plate when Dalbec scored, drew a walk himself and wasted no time in showing off his speed by scoring all the way from first on an RBI double off the bat of Christian Arroyo. Following an Orioles pitching change that saw old friend Eduard Bazardo replace Rodriguez, Devers greeted his former teammate by ripping an RBI single to right field that brought in Arroyo to make it a 5-0 contest in favor of the Red Sox.

The Red Sox and Orioles then exchanged zeroes for the next three innings. After Crawford and Mosqueda got through the fifth, Chris Martin retired the side in order in the sixth before Richard Bleier faced the minimum by inducing an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play in the seventh.

Picking things up in the eighth, the Sox saw their combined shutout bid come to an end when Heston Kjerstad drove in Jordan Westburg with an RBI groundout off Joely Rodriguez. Rodriguez gave up a single to the next batter he faced in Maverick Handley before being removed from the game with a right side injury. The veteran lefty was replaced by minor-leaguer Jake Thompson, who issued a leadoff walk to Colton Cowser and then surrendered three consecutive run-scoring hits to Shayne Fontana, Franchy Cordero, and Mark Kolozsvary.

Just like that, Boston’s commanding five-run lead had been cut down to just one. The Red Sox, however, wasted little time in getting all four of those runs back in the latter half of the eighth. After Niko Goodrum reached on a fielding error, Jorge Alfaro came through by demolishing a two-run home run off Orioles reliever Austin Voth.

Nick Decker and Nick Sogard followed suit by hitting back-to-back singles. With two outs in the eighth, the speedy Tyler McDonough delivered the finishing blow in the form of a two-run triple into the triangle in deep center field. Both Decker and Sogard scored on the play, giving the Red Sox a 9-4 advantage heading into the final frame.

Though he made things interesting by yielding two runs on three hits, John Schreiber was ultimately able to slam the door on the Orioles in the ninth to wrap up a high-scoring victory for Boston.

At Tropicana Field, Josh Winckowski made his second start and third overall appearance of the spring for the visiting Red Sox. Like Crawford, the right-hander pitched well by allowing two unearned runs on just one hit and one walk to go along with three strikeouts over five innings of work.

Both runs scored off Winckowski came in the bottom of the second. There, the righty got the first two outs of the inning before Jose Siri reached base on a fielding error committed by third baseman Matthew Lugo. Siri, ever the speedster, promptly stole second base and was prepared to swipe third as well. Caleb Hamilton attempted to pick Siri off at third base, but his throw wound up in left field, which allowed Siri to easily score the first run of the game.

Winckowski then issued his one and only walk to Rene Pinto before serving up an RBI double to Ben Gamel, thus giving the Rays an early 2-0 lead. Despite that adversity, though, Winckowski settled in nicely and retired the last 10 batters he faced in order. The 24-year-old needed 62 pitches (41 strikes) to get through five one-run frames.

Boston’s lone run off Tampa Bay on Saturday came in somewhat surprising fashion. With one out in the bottom of the third, Red Sox outfield prospect Gilberto Jimenez belted a 367-foot solo shot off Rays All-Star lefty Shane McClanahan for his first home run of the spring.

Outside of that one big fly, though, a Red Sox lineup that mainly featured prospects minor-leaguers was limited to just five hits off McClanahan and the rest of the Rays pitching staff.

Out of the Red Sox bullpen, Zack Kelly and Kaleb Ort combined for two scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh before Chase Shugart ran into some trouble in the eighth. There, Shugart gave up back-to-back singles to Ronny Simon (who stole second base) and Kyle Manzardo (who drove in Simon from second). He then got the first out of the inning before getting Niko Hulsizer to fly out to right for the second out.

Manzardo, who had moved up to third, attempted to tag up and score, but he was instead gunned down at home plate by 20-year-old right fielder Jhostynxon Garcia. With that run off the board, the Red Sox still found themselves trailing by two going into the ninth.

Blaze Jordan brought the tying run to the plate by reaching base on an infield single. But Max Ferguson struck out swinging on three straight cutters from Rays reliever Kevin Kelly to put the finishing touches on a 3-1 defeat.

With a win over the Orioles and a loss to the Rays, the Red Sox are now 11-7-4 in Grapefruit League play with 10 more exhibition games remaining before Opening Day on March 30.

Next up: Pivetta takes on former team

The Red Sox will travel to Clearwater to take on the reigning National League champion Phillies on Sunday afternoon. Former Phillies hurler Nick Pivetta will get the start for Boston while fellow righty Luis Ortiz will do the same for Philadelphia.

First pitch from BayCare Ballpark is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN+.

(Picture of Kutter Crawford: Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Adam Duvall hits first homer of spring as Red Sox draw with Yankees, fall to Orioles in split-squad doubleheader

As part of a split-squad doubleheader on Sunday, the Red Sox drew with the Yankees at home and lost to the Orioles on the road. In Fort Myers, Boston tied with New York, 3-3. Up the road in Sarasota, Boston fell to Baltimore by a final score of 6-4.

At JetBlue Park, Tanner Houck made his third start of the spring for the Red Sox. The right-hander surrendered two earned runs on four hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with four strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings of work.

Both of those Yankees runs came in the top half of the fourth. There, after getting through the first three innings unscathed, Houck allowed the first two batters he faced (Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Billy McKinney) to reach base on a HBP and walk. He then gave up an RBI single to Andres Chaparro and a run-scoring sacrifice fly to Jake Bauers to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

Having thrown 75 pitches already, Houck was given the hook in favor of fellow righty Chase Shugart, who promptly got Rodolfo Duran to ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play. The Red Sox lineup responded by playing two runs of their own in the latter half of the fourth.

After doing very little against Yankees starter Yoendrys Gomez, Reese McGuire mounted the mini-rally by drawing a one-out walk off new reliever Jimmy Cordero. He then scored all the way from first base when the speedy Greg Allen roped a hard-hit triple to the triangle in center field. Two batters later, Allen was able to knot things up at two runs apiece by scoring on a passed ball.

That stalemate did not last long, however, as Chris Martin took over for Shugart out of the Boston bullpen and immediately served up a leadoff home run to Anthony Volpe in the fifth. Again, though, Boston quickly responded. In similar fashion to Volpe, Adam Duvall led off the bottom of the fifth by crushing a solo shot over the faux Green Monster in left field.

Duvall’s first homer of the spring — and first in a Red Sox uniform — pulled Boston back even with New York at 3-3. That is where the score would remain, as the two sides exchanged zeroes over the next four inning. Zack Kelly stranded a pair of base runners in the sixth before Bryan Mata before Bryan Mata followed with three scoreless frames of relief.

With a chance to walk it off in the ninth, top prospect Marcelo Mayer laced a leadoff double to center field to get things started against Demarcus Evans. Mayer, however, failed to advance from there, as Evans retired Karson Simas, Niko Kavadas, and the pinch-hitting Ahbram Liendo to keep the 3-3 tie intact.

At Ed Smith Stadium, Kutter Crawford made his second start and third overall appearance of the spring for the visiting Red Sox. The right-hander allowed three earned runs on five hits, one walk, and four strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings of work.

The Orioles first got to Crawford in their half of the second. There, Ramon Urias drew a leadoff walk, went from first to third base on a Nomar Mazara one-out single, and scored the first run of the day on a line-drive RBI single off the bat of Jorge Mateo. Crawford was able to retire the side in order in the next inning, though, and the Red Sox responded by putting up a four-spot in the fourth.

Matched up against one of baseball’s top pitching prospects in Grayson Rodriguez, Ceddanne Rafaela led off the fourth with a groundball single. He then stole second base while Daniel Palka was in the process of drawing a walk. That put runners at first and second with no outs for Niko Goodrum, who plated Rafaela with a then-game-tying infield single.

Rodriguez issued another walk to Caleb Hamilton to fill the bases for Narciso Crook, in turn, ended Rodriguez’s outing by singling in a run (Palka) of his own. David Hamilton then drew a bases-loaded walk off new Orioles reliever Morgan McSweeney before Nick Sogard drove in (Caleb) Hamilton on a groundout for the fourth and final run of the frame.

Despite having a brand-new three-run lead to work with, Crawford was not able to get through the bottom of the fourth. He instead gave up a one-out single to Austin Hays and a two-out RBI double to Mateo, who proved to be the final batter he would face.

Ryan Miller came on with one out still to get in the fourth, but the righty filled the bases on a walk and HBP before serving up a go-ahead grand slam to catcher Adley Rutschman. Rutschman’s slam put Baltimore up, 6-4, heading into the fifth.

From there, Kaleb Ort worked his way around a walk in a scoreless fifth inning while Matt Dermody continued his impressive spring by fanning three across three perfect innings of relief. The Red Sox lineup, however, was unable to get anything else going offensively as 6-4 would go on to be Sunday’s final score.

With a tie against the Yankees and a loss to the Orioles, the Red Sox are now 9-3-4 in Grapefruit League play with 16 more games remaining on the schedule before Opening Day.

Next up: Murphy vs. Manoah

The Red Sox will travel to Dunedin to take on another division rival in the Blue Jays on Monday afternoon. Left-hander Chris Murphy is slated to get the ball for Boston while All-Star right-hander Alek Manoah is lined up to do the same for Toronto.

First pitch from TD Ballpark is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN 360.

(Picture of Adam Duvall: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

David Hamilton’s two-run double propels Red Sox to 4-1 win over Marlins

Thanks to a four-run seventh inning against the Marlins on Sunday, the Red Sox remain unbeaten this spring. Boston improved to 6-0-3 in Grapefruit League play by defeating Miami by a final score of 4-1 at JetBlue Park.

Corey Kluber, making his second start of the spring for the Red Sox, scattered two hits and two walks to go along with four strikeouts over 2 2/3 scoreless innings of work. After facing the Marlins in his 2023 debut last Tuesday, the veteran right-hander kicked off his afternoon by punching out Luis Arraez, Jorge Soler, and Garrett Cooper in the top of the first. He then put runners on first and second base with only one out in the second, but escaped that jam by getting Joey Wendle to ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

In the third, Kluber retired Miami’s No. 8 hitter, Jacob Stallings, before Jon Berti reached base on a fielding error committed by shortstop Christian Koss. He then fanned Soler for the second out of the inning, but followed that up by issuing a free pass to Cooper. Having already thrown 52 pitches to that point in the contest, Kluber was given the hook in favor of fellow righty Chase Shugart, who stranded the two runners he inherited by striking Jazz Chisholm Jr. out.

Richard Bleier, who the Red Sox acquired from the Marlins in January, took over for Shugart in the fourth and put up a zero by retiring the only three batters he faced. Fellow offseason trade acquisition Wyatt Mills was responsible for the fifth inning. Mills plunked Stallings to lead off the inning. The seasoned backstop then went from first to third on an Arraez single before scoring on a two-out RBI base hit from Cooper that gave Miami a 1-0 lead halfway through.

Kutter Crawford was called upon in the sixth and neutralized the Marlins lineup by racking up three strikeouts over three perfect frames of relief. While he was in the middle of that, the Red Sox offense came to life in their half of the seventh.

There, Devin Smeltzer gave up two singles while also beaning Justin Turner to fill the bases. The Marlins reliever then retired Niko Goodrum and Ryan Fitzgerald for the first two outs, but Narciso Crook kept the inning alive by drawing a bases-loaded walk to drive in the tying run from third. Ronaldo Hernandez did the same on the other side of a Miami pitching change and David Hamilton followed by plating both Ceddanne Rafaela and Crook by lacing a two-run ground-rule double into the Red Sox bullpen in right field.

That sequence put Boston up, 4-1, heading into the eighth. After Crawford — who was later credited with the the winning decision — capped his day off with another 1-2-3 frame, Kaleb Ort worked his way around a single and a walk in the ninth to pick up the save and secure the come-from-behind victory for the Red Sox.

Other notable numbers:

Sunday’s contest took two hours and 32 minutes to complete. In addition to going 2-for-2 with two RBIs, Hamilton also stole his first base of the spring in the sixth inning. Rafalea, a speedster himself, went 2-for-2 with a run scored off the bench.

Abreu strains left hamstring:

After leading off the seventh inning with a line-drive single, outfielder Wilyer Abreu was forced to exit with what was later diagnosed as a left hamstring strain. The 23-year-old will “be out for a while,” per Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

Next up: Sale Day

The Red Sox will conclude their homestand in Fort Myers by taking on the Tigers on Monday afternoon. Left-hander Chris Sale is slated to make his highly-anticipated spring debut for Boston while right-hander Matt Manning is scheduled to start for Detroit.

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

(Picture of David Hamilton: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Jarren Duran homers, Kutter Crawford tosses two scoreless innings as Red Sox top Twins, 4-1, in first meeting of spring

The Red Sox improved to 2-0-1 in Grapefruit League on Monday afternoon by taking down the Twins in Game 1 of the 2023 Chairman’s Cup. Boston defeated Minnesota by a final score of 4-1 at JetBlue Park.

Kutter Crawford, making his first start of the spring, provided the Sox with two scoreless innings out of the gate. The right-hander gave up two hits and no walks to go along with a pair of strikeouts in the process of retiring six of the eight batters he faced.

Both of those hits came in the top of the second. But Crawford escaped any further damage by getting Austin Martin to ground out to Enrique Hernandez deep in the hole at shortstop. Hernandez, in turn, made an impressive crossbody throw to Justin Turner over at first base to record the out.

In relief of Crawford, fellow righty Durbin Feltman received the first call out of the Boston bullpen. Feltman faced the minimum in the third despite giving up a one-out single to Max Kepler. Kepler attempted to steal second base while Ryan Jeffers was at the plate, but he was instead gunned down by Reese McGuire as part of an inning-ending strike ’em out, throw ’em out double play.

After Chase Shugart and Taylor Broadway each put up zeroes in their respective innings of work, the Red Sox got on the board in their half of the fifth. Jarren Duran, who had already doubled in the third inning, led things off by clubbing his first home run of the spring over the faux Green Monster in left field.

The Twins, however, quickly got that run back in the following inning. After putting runners on the corners with one out in the sixth, minor-league Rule 5 pickup Joe Jacques allowed Kyle Farmer to score from third on an RBI groundout off the bat of Trevor Larnach to pull Minnesota back even with Boston at 1-1.

That stalemate did not last long, though. With one out in the bottom of the sixth, the pinch-hitting Bobby Dalbec laced a hard-hit double to left field off Simeon-Woods Richardson. Enmanuel Valdez and Caleb Hamilton followed by taking ball four to fill the bases for Ceddanne Rafaela, who — in the place of Duran — plated Dalbec with a seeing-eye single through the left side of the infield. Greg Allen then provided some insurance by driving in Valdez with a sacrifice fly to make it a 3-1 game in favor of the Sox.

Left-handers Cam Booser and Brendan Cellucci each kept the Twins off the board in the top half of the seventh and eighth innings. In the latter half of the eighth, Hamilton reached base via a one-out double. He then scored all the way from second when Rafaela lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center field. Minnesota showed very little urgency in getting the ball back to the infield, which allowed Hamilton to accomplish the rare feat.

Taking a newfound 4-1 lead into the ninth, Jake Thompson closed things out for Boston to record his first save of the spring and secure a three-run victory. All told, Monday’s contest took a swift two hours and 24 hours to complete.

Other notable numbers:

Duran, who went 2-for-2 with two extra-base hits, is now batting .330/.378/.592 with five homers and 11 RBIs in 54 career Grapefruit League games dating back to 2019.

Alex Verdugo also recorded two hits on Monday. The left-handed hitter has kicked off his spring by going 4-for-5 (.800) in his first two Grapefruit League games of the year.

Next up: Kluber makes his 2023 debut

The Red Sox will hit the road and head to the east coast of Florida for their next two games. They will be taking on the Marlins in Jupiter on Tuesday evening. Veteran right-hander Corey Kluber is slated to make his first start for Boston opposite Miami left-hander Trevor Rogers.

First pitch from Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. eastern time on NESN+ and MLB Network.

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)