Tag: new york

David Price Steps Up, Limits Yankees to Two Runs as Red Sox Halt Losing Streak and Avoid Sweep with 8-5 Series Finale Win in New York

After coming up empty-handed in their first four tries, the Red Sox have finally taken a game from the New York Yankees with an 8-5 win over their division rivals Sunday night to avoid the three-game sweep and a double-digit game deficit in the American League East standings.

That much was made possible by David Price, who made his 10th start of the season for Boston to cap off the weekend.

Known for his career struggles inside Yankee Stadium, the left-hander put a halt to that narrative for the time being by twirling 6 1/3 solid innings Sunday, limiting the Yankees to just two runs on six hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts of the night.

Both of those New York runs came around to score in the fourth, where after taking a perfect game that far into it, Price buckled a bit by serving up a one-out solo home run to Luke Voit to break up the no-no, and then proceeded to allow the next three hitters he faced to reach base as well to fill the bases with two outs still to get.

So, after a terrific start to his outing, it looked as though things were going to take a turn for the worst for Price, but the southpaw responded well, yielding only one more run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Gio Urshela before getting out of the jam with a failed attempt of stealing home on behalf of Aaron Hicks. Heads up play by Sam Travis there.

From the middle of the fifth on, Price relatively cruised through the fifth and sixth innings before more trouble arose in the seventh.

There, a pair of singles to two of the first three hitters he faced in that frame would ultimately see Price’s night come to an end.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 99 (65 strikes), the 33-year-old hurler turned to his cutter 36% of the time he was on the mound Sunday, inducing five swings and misses with the pitch. He also topped out at 92.5 MPH with his four-seam fastball, a pitch he threw 17 times with Christian Vazquez behind the plate.

Later picking up his third winning decision while his ERA on the season remained at 2.83, Price will look for win number four in his next time out, which will come against his old club in the Tampa Bay Rays sometime next weekend.

In relief of Price, Heath Hembree took over in the seventh with inherited runners on first and second and one out in the inning.

Making his 27th appearance of the year already, Hembree needed all but five pitches to fan Austin Romine, but needed double that in an intense matchup against Brett Gardner.

Fortunately for Boston though, Hembree ultimately won the battle, as he got the Yankees veteran to sharply ground out to Michael Chavis at first, who made a great diving play to prevent a hit that would have seen at least one run cross the board.

In the eighth, Matt Barnes worked in less than favorable conditions with thrashing downpours and lightning making its way through the Bronx. It had to have been a quick moving cell though, because there was no real indication that this contest was going to go into a delay besides the effort what went into making field playable.

Still, it was clear to see that Barnes was frustrated having to pitch in such miserable conditions, even more so since he filled the bases on the first three hitters faced in the inning and balked in a run as well.

But, after allowing two more runs to cross the plate on an RBI groundout from Aaron Hicks and sacrifice fly from Gleyber Torres, Barnes did escape the eighth without giving anything else up by striking out Gio Urshela on three straight strikes.

And in the ninth, with an 8-5 lead to protect, Brandon Workman came on to close the door on the Yankees, and he did just that by working his way around a leadoff single and sitting down the last three hitters he faced to notch his second save of the season.

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against another veteran left-hander in CC Sabathia for the Yankees, making his first start since being activated from the 10-day injured list that same day.

After being held to just seven total runs in their first four meetings against New York, JD Martinez got the scoring started for Boston right away in this one by launching a two-out, 387 foot solo shot to left field to put his team on the board first with his 12th home run of the season.

An inning later, back-to-back one-out singles from Christian Vazquez and Michael Chavis put runners on the corners for Eduardo Nunez, who took full advantage by swinging at the first pitch he saw from Sabathia and grounding an RBI single through the right side of the infield to make it a 2-0 game early.

In the fourth, Xander Bogaerts led things off the same way he did in the fourth inning on Saturday, that being, demolishing a solo home run to left field. This one, good for his 12th of the season. 3-0 Boston.

Fast forward all the way to the seventh, after the Yankees had trimmed their deficit down to one run and Luis Cessa had taken over for Sabathia, it was the bottom of the Red Sox lineup getting things done once again, with Nunez plating Michael Chavis all the way from first while also advancing to third on another one-out RBI single to go along with a fielding error committed by Clint Frazier in right field.

Four pitches later, in came Brock Holt pinch-hitting for Sam Travis out of the nine-hole and the 2018 ALDS hero delivered with a run-scoring base knock that probably would have been a pop out had DJ LeMahieu not been playing in with a runner at third in a tight game. But, baseball’s baseball, and Holt came away with his fourth RBI of the season to give his team a three-run advantage.

Still in the seventh, with two outs now, Andrew Benintendi came through in a big spot, scoring Holt from first on an RBI single just out of the reach of a sprawling Frazier in right field. 6-2.

And in the eighth, a Xander Bogaerts leadoff double would translate into Boston’s seventh run coming around to score on an RBI single off the bat of Rafael Devers, who would wind up being the last batter Cessa faced.

In came reliever David Hale with his team trailing by five runs, and he would see that deficit inflate up to six thanks to Michael Chavis’ first career triple that drove in Devers from second to make it an 8-2 contest.

The Yankees did make things interesting by adding three runs of their own in their half of the eighth, but not enough in an 8-5 victory for the Red Sox.

—

Some notes from this win:

The Red Sox entered Sunday having scored seven runs against the Yankees all season. They scored eight runs in their only win against them thus far.

Since his return from the injured list on May 27th, Brock Holt is 6-for-his-last-18 with one double and three RBI.

In his last 15 games, Xander Bogaerts is slashing .406/.441/.750 with five home runs and 13 RBI.

The next time the Red Sox take on the Yankees will be later this month in London, England.

—

Next up for the Red Sox, it’s an off day on Monday before a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals kicks off at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday.

For the opener of that three-game set, it will be left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez getting the ball for Boston, while right-hander Glenn Sparkman does the same for Kansas City.

Last working on May 26th, Rodriguez’s latest turn through the rotation was skipped due to that rainout on Friday.

In one prior start at Kauffman Stadium, the 26-year-old allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings in a winning effort way back on June 19th, 2015.

Sparkman, meanwhile has given up 10 earned runs in just 2.2 career innings against the Red Sox. That’s good for an ERA of 33.75.

First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 8:15 PM EDT on NESN.

 

 

 

 

Rick Porcello Can’t Make It Through Five Innings as Red Sox Drop Fourth Straight, Fall Back to .500 in 5-3 Loss to Yankees

After wrapping up their May with a series-opening 4-1 loss to the New York Yankees Friday night, the Red Sox opened up their June in similar fashion Saturday, falling to the Bronx Bombers by a final of 5-3 to mark their fourth consecutive defeat and fall back to 29-29 on the season.

Making his 12th start of the season for Boston was Rick Porcello, who came into the new month fresh off a win in his last time out against the Cleveland Indians last Monday, which just so happens to be the last time the Red Sox won a game.

Pitching into only the fifth inning this time around, the right-hander yielded five runs, all of which were earned, on nine hits and one walk to go along with five strikeouts on the night.

The first three of those five New York runs came around to score in the second, an inning in which Porcello struggled mightily, to be frank.

In total, the Yankees sent eight men to bat in their half of the second, with five of the first six reaching and Gio Urshela and Brett Gardner driving in a combined three runs on a pair of RBI singles to put their team ahead by two runs early.

From there, Porcello settled in by retiring the next nine hitters he faced in order and it looked as though he was on his way to a quality outing heading into the fifth.

There, Luke Voit put an end to Porcello’s impressive run by reaching base on a one-out single to center.

A one-pitch groundout from Aaron Hicks put the New Jersey native just one out away from escaping another potential jam, but slugging Yankees backstop Gary Sanchez ceased any hope of that happening by working his way back from an 0-2 hole and demolishing a 2-2 slider 403 feet to center field.

That two-run shot, Sanchez’s 18th of the season, put New York up 5-3.

Porcello’s night would come to a close shortly after serving up that bomb, as he allowed the next and last two hitters he faced in the fifth in Gleyber Torres and Kendrys Morales to reach base and give the Yankees another opportunity to tack on some more runs.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 94 (65 strikes), the 30-year-old hurler turned to his slider more than 34% of the time he was on the mound Saturday, inducing two swings and misses with the pitch. He also topped out at 92.5 MPH with his four-seam fastball, a pitch he threw 23 times and got four swings and misses on with Sandy Leon behind the plate.

Dropping to 4-5 while his ERA on the season inflated up to 4.76, Saturday marked the first time since April 13th that Porcello was unable to provide the Red Sox with at least five innings pitched. He’ll look for improved results in his next time out, which should come against the Tampa Bay Rays sometime next weekend.

In relief of Porcello, the Red Sox bullpen put together another solid performance, and it started with Marcus Walden working his way around the mess he inherited and a HBP of Clint Frazier to keep the Yankees off the scoreboard with the bases loaded in the fifth.

Walden also added on to what was a bounceback effort after a rough outing in his last time out against the Indians by twirling a scoreless sixth.

From the middle of the seventh inning on, Brandon Workman and Matt Barnes both contributed with a scoreless frame a piece to keep their team within the two runs they trailed by. And although it didn’t make all that much a difference in the end, the Red Sox bullpen has yet to give up a single run in this series.

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against Yankees right-hander and American League wins leader Domingo German, who entered Saturday with nine winning decisions on the season to this point.

Facing off against Boston for just the third time in his career, German was vulnerable, and it was Xander Bogaerts who exposed that first with a leadoff single in the second.

One Brock Holt single and two additional batters later, Sandy Leon got his team on the board first by ripping a two-out RBI single to right-center field, plating Bogaerts from second and giving the Red Sox the early one-run advantage.

Fast forward to the fourth, and it was Bogaerts leading things off with a bang yet again, this time mashing his 11th home run of the season off the Yankees right-hander to pull his team back to within one run.

That one-run deficit would not last too long though, as Leon, like Bogaerts, came through once more with a one-out RBI single to drive in Holt from second and knot this one up at three runs each.

German would be chased from this contest in the inning, which you would think to be a positive development for the Red Sox. Instead, the Yankees bullpen proved how much of a beast they are by holding the Boston bats in check over the final 5 1/3 Saturday.

Oh, they had their chances, like in the fifth, with JD Martinez and Xander Bogaerts at second and third with one out in the inning. Nothing against Chad Green.

Or how about the sixth against Tommy Kahnle and then Adam Ottavino? Betts and Leon at first and second with one out. Nothing again.

In the eighth, the Sox had the tying run at the plate after Eduardo Nunez drew a one-out, pinch-hit walk off left-hander Zack Britton. In comes Christian Vazquez, pinch-hitting himself for Sandy Leon following his first three-hit game of 2019, and he grounds into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

And in the ninth, facing off against vaunted closer Aroldis Chapman, both Betts and Andrew Benintendi reached base to leadoff the inning, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in the form of JD Martinez, the ideal hitter for the job.

Instead of reaching base himself or at least advancing the runners though,  Martinez grounded into another 4-6-3 double play to snuff Benintendi out at second and leave Betts alone at third.

Down to their final out and still representing the tying run, Rafael Devers hacked at the first pitch he saw from Chapman, perhaps thinking fastball, but instead got an 86 MPH slider towards the outer half of the plate, one in which the young infielder grounded to Luke Voit at first, and this contest came to a close with a final score of 5-3. Another frustrating night.

Some notes from this loss:

Rafael Devers’ 11-game hitting streak has come to an end.

Michael Chavis is 1-for-his-last-15 with one RBI and one walk.

The Red Sox’ 1-4 hitters went 3-for-19 with two walks and six strikeouts Saturday.

The Red Sox went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position Saturday and left a total of 10 men on base.

Xander Bogaerts has multiple hits in four of his last five games.

The Red Sox are 0-4 against the New York Yankees this season.

—

Losers of four in a row now, the Sox now sit 9.5 games behind the Yankees in the American League East standings on just the second day of June.

Again, if they have any plans on contending for the division this season, now would be the time, but that’s not how things are looking at the moment. I don’t know what it is, but it just feels like this team is missing something.

Looking to avoid the sweep on Sunday, it will be David Price getting the ball for Boston under the lights at Yankee Stadium, a venue that has given the left-hander plenty of issues over his illustrious career.

In his latest start after dealing with flu-like symptoms in Houston, Price fanned six and scattered three hits over six quality innings against the Indians this past Tuesday.

Opposite Price will be another veteran southpaw in CC Sabathia for New York, making his first start since May 22nd after spending time on the injured list with right knee inflammation.

Currently sitting at 3-1 with a 3.48 ERA on the season, Sabathia owns a lifetime 4.14 ERA over 42 career starts against the Red Sox.

First pitch Sunday is scheduled for 7:05 PM EDT on ESPN. Red Sox looking to avoid a double-digit game deficit in the division.

 

 

 

Chris Sale Allows Four Runs over Six Innings, Gets No Run Support as #RedSox Fall to Yankees to Extend Losing Streak to Three

After their initial series opener was rained out on Thursday, the Red Sox opened up a now three-game weekend series against the New York Yankees in disappointing fashion Friday night, as they fell to 0-3 on the season against their division rivals in another frustrating 4-1 loss in the Bronx.

Making his 12th start of the season and second at Yankee Stadium for Boston was Chris Sale, who gave up four earned runs in five innings of work against New York back on April 16th.

This time around, more than six weeks later, the left-hander had a similar experience, as he yielded another four earned runs on seven hits and just one walk to go along with 10 strikeouts over six so-so innings.

From the jump, it seemed as though Sale was locked in with three consecutive punchouts on 13 pitches in the first and another quick 13 pitch scoreless inning in the second. But, that good fortune all changed beginning in the third.

Allowing four of the seven hitters he faced in the frame to reach base, the initial blow came on a one-out double from DJ LeMahieu to plate Gio Urshela from second to tie this game at one and also advance Brett Gardner to third.

A four-pitch strikeout of Luke Voit gave Sale the chance to escape the third with just the one run given up, and that looked even more possible when he had Aaron Hicks down 0-2 on the first two pitches of his his at-bat.

Instead of getting out of the jam though, the Florida native folded a bit with three straight out of the strike zone, and then left a hanging 82 MPH slider out on the outer-middle part of the plate, one in which Hicks took full advantage of by driving in both runners on a two-run single through the infield to left.

Fast forward to the fifth, and it was LeMahieu who got to Sale yet again, as the ex-Rockies infielder belted his sixth home run of the year off the Red Sox lefty, a solo shot to right-center that put his team up 4-1.

Capping off his night by sitting down the last four hitters he faced through the conclusion of the sixth, Sale finished with a final pitch count of 108, 72 of which went for strikes.

Out of those 108, the 30-year-old turned to his slider more than 46% of the time he was on the mound Friday, inducing 11 swings and misses with the pitch. He also topped out at a modest 97.4 MPH with his four-seam fastball, a pitch he threw 30 times with Sandy Leon behind the plate.

Falling to an unsightly 1-7 while his ERA jumped back up to 4.35 on the season, Sale will look to get back on track in his next time out, which should come next Thursday against the Kansas City Royals.

In relief of Sale, Ryan Brasier bounced back from a rough Tuesday night against the Cleveland Indians with a two-strikeout, scoreless seventh inning, while rookie Josh Taylor fanned one and stranded one in a shutout eighth to keep it a three-run game.

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against a familiar foe in veteran left-hander JA Happ for the Yankees, who entered Friday with a 5.61 ERA in five starts since the beginning of May.

Despite those recently poor numbers though, Happ held the opposition in check, as he limited the Sox bats to one lone run over the first five innings Friday night.

That lone run came courtesy of the red-hot Rafael Devers, whose solo blast to leadoff the second extended his hitting streak to 11 games and also put Boston on the board first. Devers’ eighth of the year.

Other than that, there wasn’t much to talk about up until Happ’s final frame of work in the top half of the fifth.

With two outs, Eduardo Nunez at second following a leadoff single, Mookie Betts at first following an intentional walk, and Andrew Benintendi at the plate in a then two-run game, the Red Sox saw their best run scoring chance of the night go by the wayside as Nunez was picked off by Gary Sanchez at second after trying to over-extend his lead.

An embarrassing and frustration decision to say the least would be how Boston’s fifth inning came to a close, and they did not advance a runner past first for the remainder of the night in what would turn out to be a 4-1 defeat.

Some notes from this loss:

Steve Pearce, who initially started at first and batted fourth, departed from this contest in the second inning after only one at-bat due to back spasms. He was ruled day-to-day and replaced by Michael Chavis.

Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, JD Martinez, and Xander Bogaerts, the top four in Boston’s lineup, went a combined 1-for-13 with three walks, three strikeouts, and three left on base Friday.

Rafael Devers in May: .351/.380/.640 with eight home runs and 24 RBI. Should be a serious contender for American League Player of the Month.

With another two hits on Friday, Jackie Bradley Jr. now has a total of seven base knocks over his last four games. His OPS is up to .612.

Chris Sale finishes his May with 66 strikeouts in 38.1 total innings pitched. That’s good for a K/9 of 15.6.

—

The Red Sox finish May losers of their last three and are now 8.5 games off the pace for first place in the American League East.

With two more games remaining in their series against the Yankees, now would be the time to make up some ground if you’re serious about contention this season.

For the middle game in the Bronx, it will be a pitching matchup featuring a pair of right-handers, with Rick Porcello getting the ball for Boston and Domingo German doing the same for New York.

In his last five starts, Porcello, a native of New Jersey, is 2-1 with a 3.34 ERA and .218 batting average against over 32.1 innings pitched. The Red Sox are 4-1 in those games.

In seven career starts at Yankee Stadium, Porcello owns a lifetime 5.56 ERA over seven starts and 43.2 innings of work.

Opposite Porcello, German, a 26-year-old hurler out of the Dominican Republic, has been a huge boost to the Yankees pitching staff with ace Luis Severino currently on the injured list.

Through 11 games (10 starts this season), German currently leads all of baseball with nine wins to go along with a 3.43 ERA over a span of 60.1 total innings pitched.

In his career against the Red Sox, German has posted a 2.08 ERA in a very small sample of two games (one start) and 4.1 innings pitched.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 7:15 PM EDT on FOX. Red Sox looking to get back on track. for real this time.

 

 

#RedSox Place Hector Velazquez on 10-Day Injured List, Select No. 12 Prospect Mike Shawaryn from Triple-A Pawtucket

Prior to their game against the New York Yankees Thursday night, the Red Sox placed right-hander Hector Velazquez on the 10-day injured list due to a lower back strain.

In a corresponding move, the Sox also added right-hander Mike Shawaryn to their 40-man roster and recalled him from Triple-A Pawtucket. The club made the move official earlier Thursday.

Last working in Wednesday night’s loss to the Indians in an outing where he gave up four earned runs over two innings of relief, Velazquez has provided Boston with depth in both the rotation and bullpen this season.

Through 18 appearances, seven of which have been starts, the 30-year-old has posted a 5.97 ERA and 1.44 WHIP while striking out 32 batters over 34.2 total innings pitched in 2019.

Since there was no real indication that Velazquez was dealing with any back discomfort following Wednesday’s loss, there’s a real chance that this is just another move made by the Red Sox to get another fresh arm up with the big league club.

That fresh arm, of course, would be Mike Shawaryn.

Ranked as Boston’s No. 12 prospect per MLB.com, Shawaryn opened the 2019 season with Triple-A Pawtucket, where he currently owns an ERA of 4.72 over 10 International League Starts. This will be his first major league stint.

Selected by the Red Sox in the fifth round of the 2016 amateur draft out of the University of Maryland, the 24-year-old New Jersey native has risen up to become the third-highest ranked right-handed pitcher in the club’s farm system.

According to SoxProspects.com, Shawaryn features a 91-93 MPH fastball that can top out at 95 MPH, a 84-87 MPH slider, and a 85-87 MPH changeup.

If he does make his big league debut during this upcoming series against the Yankees, Shawaryn will become the fifth such Red Sox to do so in 2019 behind Darwinzon Hernandez, Travis Lakins, Josh Taylor, and Michael Chavis.

JD Martinez Returns to Lineup as #RedSox Get Blown out by Yankees in Tampa

The Red Sox fell to 6-13-1 in Grapefruit League on Friday afternoon following a 14-1 shellacking at the hands of the New York Yankees in Tampa.

As indicated by that final score, this was not and ideal day for Red Sox pitching.

Making his fourth appearance (third start of the spring), Hector Velazquez kicked things off by allowing four runs, only one of which was earned, on three hits and one walk to go along with one strikeout in less than two full innings of work.

After loading the bases by allowing the first three hitters he faced to reach base in the second, the right-hander managed to only surrender two Yankees runs, with DJ LeMahieu reaching on a fielding error to score Miguel Andujar and Gary Sanchez scoring from third on a Brett Gardner sacrifice fly, before Alex Cora made the first call to the bullpen.

With Adam Lau now on the mound and runners at the corners, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge greeted the 2015 37th-round pick by blasting his fifth home run of the spring over the center field wall.

That homer put the Red Sox in an early five-run hole, which turned out to be one they never recovered from. Lau did strike out the next and final hitter he faced in Giancarlo Stanton, though.

From the middle of the third on, Jenrry Mejia, Bobby Poyner, Jordan Weems, Erasmo Ramirez, and Ryan Weber combined to give up nine runs (six earned) on 10 hits, two walks, three strikeouts, and surprisingly no other home runs.

Mejia put together the best performance of any Red Sox reliever on Friday, as he retired the side in order with one punch out in a scoreless third inning.

Poyner, meanwhile, was hit the hardest, as the left-hander could only sit down one of the seven hitters he faced in what would turn out to be another five-run frame for the Yankees.

Through six outings this spring, Poyner owns an ERA of 8.22 and a WHIP of 1.57 over seven total innings. Not favorable numbers for someone looking to make Boston’s Opening Day roster like he did last season.

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against Yankees right-hander Domingo German, who figures to have a shot at cracking New York’s starting rotation with ace Luis Severino out all of April.

German, 26, shut out the Boston bats in four impressive frames of work, allowing just three total baserunners while fanning six in the process.

In fact, it wasn’t until the sixth inning when the Red Sox finally get on the board.

Facing off against new Yankee reliever Adam Ottavino, three consecutive no out hits from Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers, and JD Martinez would plate the club’s first and only run of the afternoon on a GIDP off the bat of Sam Travis.

So, no RBI awarded there and the Red Sox would go on to drop this one by a final score of 14-1. They have not won a Grapefruit League contest since March 5th.

Some notes from this loss:

As stated above, JD Martinez was back in the Red Sox lineup on Friday after dealing with back tightness earlier in the week.

According to @RedSoxStats: In 13.2 innings this spring, Brian Johnson and Hector Velazquez have combined to give up 28 hits and 18 earned runs.

—

Next up for the Red Sox, they’ll head back to Fort Myers to play host to the Atlanta Braves at JetBlue Park on Saturday.

Right-hander Kyle Wright, who is ranked as the second best pitching prospect in the Braves’ system according to MLB Pipeline, is slated to start for Atlanta.

And for the Red Sox, it will be Chris Sale making his 2019 Grapefruit League debut. The left-hander tossed three innings in a minor league game this past Monday, meaning he will be coming off a regular five days of rest. Should be exciting to see.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 1:05 ET. NESN has it covered.

Eduardo Rodriguez Impresses in Four Innings as #RedSox Fall to Mets for Fourth Straight Loss

The Red Sox fell to a not so nice 6-9 in Grapefruit League play on Saturday afternoon following a blowout 10-2 loss at the hands of the New York Mets at JetBlue Park, marking their fourth straight defeat.

Eduardo Rodriguez got the start in this one and was impressive yet again, as the left-hander worked the first four frames and held New York to just one run on three hits and one walk to go along with a trio of strikeouts. He faced 15 hitters.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that he would like to see Rodriguez be more aggressive following his previous start this past Monday.

When asked about the Venezuela native’s outing on Saturday, Cora seemed encouraged with what he saw.

In relief of Rodriguez, Matt Barnes, Tyler Thornburg, Josh Taylor, and Domingo Tapia surrendered nine runs on 12 hits, one walk, and four strikeouts over the final five innings.

For Barnes, Saturday’s outing marked the right-hander’s 2019 spring debut. He allowed hits to four of the first five hitters he faced , which in turn resulted in three New York runs coming around to score in the fifth.

Thornburg, meanwhile, served up a monster solo home run to Mets first baseman Pete Alonso to lead off the sixth before allowing an additional two runs as well.

Through four appearances and four innings pitched this spring, the former Brewer owns a gargantuan 15.75 ERA and 3.00 WHIP.

When asked about Thronburg’s underwhelming performances so far in 2019, Cora implied that it’s now “go-time,” for the right-hander.

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was held in check by Mets starter Zack Wheeler, as the 28-year-old hurler allowed just one hit and no walks while fanning three over four shutout innings of work.

As a matter of fact, the only inning Boston could put across any runs came in the first inning without Wheeler on the mound for New York in the bottom half of the fifth.

Blake Swihart got the scoring started with a two out RBI single off Kyle Dowdy to plate Sam Travis from second, and Andrew Benintendi drove in Swihart on another RBI single that also happened to end the inning with Christian Vazquez getting thrown out at home.

 

That made it a 4-2 game at the time, but the Mets would go on to score six unanswered, as the final score in this one was 10-2 in favor of New York.

Some notes from this loss:

Blake Swihart went 1/2 on Saturday with that RBI single. He started at catcher and played the first five innings.

Speaking of catchers, Christian Vazquez, who DH’d, went 2/3 on Saturday with a double and a strikeout.

Rafael Devers went 1/3 with a triple. He has yet to hit a three-bagger in a regular season game.

—

Next up for the Red Sox, they’ll look to put a stop to their four-game skid on the road against the Tampa Bay Ray in Port Charlotte on Sunday.

Right-hander Rick Porcello is set to make his first start of 2019 in this one, while fellow righty Casey Sadler will make the start for Tampa Bay.

First pitch at Charlotte Sports Park on Sunday is scheduled for 1:05 PM EDT. NESN will have it covered.

 

Gorkys Hernandez Mashes Homer, Makes Diving Catch in #RedSox Victory over Mets

The Red Sox improved to 5-5 in Grapefruit League play on Monday following a 9-3 win over a split New York Mets squad for their second consecutive victory.

Eduardo Rodriguez made the start for Boston in this one at First Data Field in Port St. Lucie, his second of the spring.

The left-hander looked solid against New York’s lineup this afternoon as he retired six of the nine hitters he faced while scattering three hits and striking out a pair over two scoreless innings en route to the eventual winning decision.

Through two outings this spring, the 25-year-old hurler has given up two earned runs in four total innings of work while also fanning five.

In relief of Rodriguez, Brandon Workman, Mike Shawaryn, Adam Lau, Denyi Reyes, Matthew Gorst, and Brian Ellington combined to surrender three runs on 10 hits, three walks, one HBP, and eight punch outs over the final seven frames on Monday.

Shawaryn was fairly impressive himself, as he was responsible for five of those strikeouts while shutting out New York in more than two innings of relief. He also walked one and hit another with a pitch.

On a side note, Tim Tebow was featured in the Mets’ starting lineup for the first time ever against the Red Sox.

The former Heisman Trophy winner went 2/3 with a pair of singles, his first two base knocks of the spring.

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against Mets left-hander Steven Matz, who struck out 152 batters with New York in 2018.

The southpaw did not have much going his way on Monday though, as Boston’s bats got to him for four runs on five hits before being chased in the top half of the third.

As it turns out, all four of those runs off of Matz came in the second inning, as Chad De Le Guerra got the scoring started with a one out RBI single to score Sam Travis and advance Tony Renda to third.

Immediately following that, Gorkys Hernandez had his first signature spring moment, as the former Giants outfielder belted a three-run home run to deep left field for his first of 2019.

Fast forward to the fifth, and Travis and Renda struck again, this time driving in a pair of runs on an RBI single and RBI groundout respectively off of Justin Wilson.

An inning later, the Red Sox tacked on another two runs to pad their lead, with Juan Centeno and 2018 seventh round draft selection Jarren Duran picking up a run driven in each.

Finally, in the ninth, a Bobby Dalbec leadoff double would later result in Boston’s final run of the afternoon crossing the plate on a two out RBI single off the bat of Danny Mars.

That run-scoring knock put the Red Sox up 9-3, which would go on to be the final score of this contest.

Some notes from this win:

Rafael Devers, batting second, went 2/3 on Monday. JD Martinez, batting right after Devers, finished the day 0/3 with a strikeout.

In addition to his first home run of the spring, Gorkys Hernandez flashed the leather a bit as well to rob Amed Rosario in the first inning.

Tate Matheny also robbed Michael Conforto of a hit.

—

Next up for the Red Sox, they head to the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches to take on the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.

As it was the last time these two clubs matched up, it will be Hector Velazquez vs. Max Scherzer for your starting pitching matchup.

First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 1:05 PM ET. This one will not be on NESN, but if you have MLB.TV, MASN is the way to go.

Top Prospect Michael Chavis Homers as #RedSox Open up Grapefruit League Play with 8-5 Win over Yankees

The Red Sox opened up Grapefruit League play with an 8-5 win over the New York Yankees on Saturday afternoon.

Non-roster invitee Josh Smith got the starting nod for Boston in this contest. The 31-year-old right-hander surrendered three earned runs on six hits, including a solo home run off the bat of Gleyber Torres, in less than two innings of work.

Trevor Kelley came in relief for Smith and retired the lone batter he faced to escape the top half of the second.

From there, Marcus Walden, 15th-ranked prospect Travis Lakins, and former Mariners hurler Erasmo Ramirez combined for five frames of scoreless work heading into the middle of seventh.

New York tacked on an additional pair of runs off of Kyle Hart in the eighth, but former 2015 37th round selection Adam Lau was able to record the needed out to end the inning and preserve Boston’s slim one-run lead at the time.

Brian Ellington, who the Red Sox signed to a minor league deal at the beginning of the month, worked his way around two walks in the ninth to preserve the save and the win.

On the other side of things, Tzu-Wei Lin got the scoring started for the Red Sox with a one out RBI single in the second that plated Bryce Brentz from first and cut the Yankees deficit to two.

An inning later, three straight one out hits, capped off by a Rafael Devers RBI single in his first start of the spring, saw Boston pull to within one run.

Following a Rusney Castillo strikeout and a pitching change that saw veteran right-hander Drew Hutchinson take over for starter Nestor Cortes, the Red Sox bats picked up right where they left off.

Another RBI single, this one coming off the bat of Bryce Brentz, allowed Sandy Leon to score from second and knot this contest at three runs a piece.

That stalemate did not last long though, as top Red Sox prospect Michael Chavis unloaded on a 3-2 pitch from Hutchinson and blasted an opposite field three-run shot to put the Red Sox ahead 6-3.

Chavis, 23, slashed .298/.381/.538 with nine home runs and 27 RBI in 46 games between Low A Lowell, Double A Portland, and Triple A Pawtucket. He was handed an 80-game suspension for violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program last April.

Fast forward to the bottom half of the eighth, and non-roster invitee Juan Centeno provided some much-needed insurance with a one out two-run single off of Yankees reliever Joe Harvey.

That saw Boston’s advantage inflate from 6-5 to 8-5, which would go on to be the final score in this Grapefruit League opener.

Next up for the Red Sox is a Sunday afternoon contest against the Minnesota Twins. It will be the club’s first chance to see new first-year Twins manager Rocco Baldelli in person.

Baldelli, 37, is a native of Woonsocket, RI. and spent the 2009 season with Boston. He had been on Kevin Cash’s staff with the Tampa Bay Rays for the last four years.

First pitch on Sunday is scheduled for 1:05 PM ET.

RHP Ryan Weber is expected to start for the Red Sox.

 

Manny Machado and San Diego Padres Reportedly Agree to 10-Year, $300 Million Contract

The San Diego Padres have reportedly agreed to a record-breaking 10-year, $300 million contract with free agent infielder Manny Machado. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first with the report of the signing while MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand was the first with the figures.

Additionally, per Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown, Machado’s new contract with San Diego comes with an opt-out after the fifth year. Exactly halfway through what looks to be a historic deal for baseball.

Machado, who will turn 27 in July, slashed .297/.367/.538 with 37 home runs and a career-high 107 RBI in 162 games between the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers this past season.

A client of Dan Lozano of MVP Sports Group, the Miami-area resident is set to earn an AAV of approximately $30 million per season before taxes and what not.

Although teams in a better position to compete now such as the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies appeared to show some level of interest in Machado, the third baseman turned shortstop ultimately decided to remain out on the west coast and in the National League West as well.

This news comes days after Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts told media that he would not mind staying with Boston for the forseeable future, as his contract is set to expire following the 2019 season. But, given the circumstances of what has reportedly gone down Tuesday, the likelihood of the two sides coming to an extension now probably shrinks. Remember, Bogaerts is represented by super agent Scott Boras.

Since the start of the 2015 season, Machado and Bogaerts have been the second and third most valuable shortstops in all of baseball according to FanGraphs, with Machado worth a total of 21.7 fWAR and Bogaerts worth 17.4 fWAR over the last four seasons.

It’s a significant difference, but one would have to expect that Bogaerts will be demanding a contract with an AAV north of $20 million now that Machado’s deal is set.

Retaining the native of Aruba will be no simple task for the Red Sox front office and that’s probably why the two sides are engaged in extension talks as we speak, possibly.

If Bogaerts is willing to take a more team-friendly deal now, great. If not, well, that’s tough to say.

#RedSox Agree to Minor League Deal with Once Banned from Baseball RHP Jenrry Mejia.

The Boston Red Sox have reached an agreement on a minor league contract with former New York Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia. Fancred’s Jon Heyman was first with the report.

Mejia, 29, has not appeared in a big league game since 2015 and has quite the chequered past.

Once an important member of the Mets pitching staff, the Dominican Republic native has since fallen off the map following three violation of Major League Baseball’s performance-enhancing drug policy, which subsequently led to a since-lifted lifetime ban from baseball in 2016.

Before that, Mejia posted a 3.68 ERA over 113 appearances (18 starts) and 183.1 innings pitched with New York from 2010 to 2015. He also recorded 28 saves as the team’s closer in 2014.

Reinstated by commissioner Rob Manfred this past August with eligibility to play in 2019, Mejia was ultimately released by the Mets on November 20th after appearing in two minor league rehab games in the Dominican Summer League.

With his new deal with the Red Sox, the right-hander did not receive an invite to major league spring training, but he will earn $625,000 if he cracks Boston’s 25-man roster at any point this season.

This move comes just days after president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski suggested on ESPN’s Buster Olney’s podcast that the club would be pursuing, “more big league roster invites and see if they could make the club. ”

The addition of Mejia certainly comes with a fair amount of risk. I mean, we are talking about the only player to be banned for life because of multiple PED offenses. But at the same time, it’s a minor league contract. The Red Sox do not have a lot invested in this particular pitcher. If either side feels as if things are not working out, there won’t be too many complications in working out a feasible solution.

Regardless of what happens there, it should be interesting to watch, read, and listen to what sort of reputation Mejia builds once spring training starts in Fort Myers in just a few weeks.

Image result for jenrry mejia gif