Tag: rafael devers

Red Sox infielders Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers named Silver Slugger Award finalists

Red Sox infielders Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers have been named finalists for 2022 Silver Slugger Awards, Louisville Slugger and Major League Baseball announced on Thursday.

Bogaerts is a finalist at shortstop along with Toronto’s Bo Bichette, Minnesota’s Carlos Correa, and Texas’ Corey Seager. He has already won the award on four separate occasions (2015, 2016, 2019, 2021).

Devers is a finalist at third base along with Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez, Houston’s Alex Bregman, and Toronto’s Matt Chapman. He won the award for the first time last year. And so Devers and Bogaerts will be looking to go back-to-back at their respective positions.

Already a finalist for a Gold Glove Award, Bogaerts finished third in the American League batting title race this season. The right-handed hitter batted a stout .307/.377/.456 with 38 doubles, 15 home runs, 73 RBIs, 84 runs scored, eight stolen bases, 57 walks, and 118 strikeouts over 150 games and 631 plate appearances.

Between the three other shortstops he will be competing with, Bogaerts ranked first in batting average, first in on-base percentage, third in slugging percentage, second in OPS (.833), first in wOBA (.363), and second in wRC+ (134), per FanGraphs.

Devers, meanwhile, is already a finalist for the Hank Aaron Award. The left-handed hitter slashed .295/.358/.521 with 42 doubles, one triple, 27 home runs, 88 RBIs, 84 runs scored, three stolen bases, 50 walks, and 114 strikeouts across 141 games (614 plate appearances) for the Red Sox this season.

In terms of how he stacked up against the three other third base finalists, Devers ranked first in batting average, second in on-base percentage, first in slugging percentage, first in OPS (.879), first in wOBA (.373), and first in wRC+ (141), according to FanGraphs.

The group of outfield finalists from the National League includes three former Red Sox in the Brewers’ Hunter Renfroe, the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, and the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber.

Silver Slugger Awards have been handed out since 1980 to recognize the best offensive players at each position in each league. Voting is conducted by major-league managers and coaches, though they cannot vote for players on their own teams.

This year’s Silver Slugger Award winners will be revealed on Thursday, November 10 during an hour-long special on MLB Network that begins at 6 p.m. eastern time.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Advertisement

Red Sox’ Rafael Devers named finalist for Hank Aaron Award

Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers has been named a finalist for the 2022 Hank Aaron Award, Major League Baseball announced on Monday.

Since 1999, the Hank Aaron Award has been presented to the player voted as the most outstanding regular-season offensive performer from each league. There are 16 finalists in total.

From the American League, Devers will be joined on ballots by the likes of Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez, Houston’s Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez, Los Angeles’ Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, New York’s Aaron Judge, and Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez.

National League nominees include Atlanta’s Austin Riley, Los Angeles’ Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, New York’s Pete Alonso, Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber, St. Louis’ Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, and San Diego’s Manny Machado.

The winners from each league will be determined by a combination of fan votes and the votes from a panel made up of Hall of Famers like Ken Griffey Jr., Chipper Jones, Pedro Martínez, John Smoltz, Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Eddie Murray and Robin Yount.

Voting began on Monday and runs through October 24. Fans can vote for who they believe should receive the award from each league by heading over to MLB.com/aaron.

Devers will be looking to become the fifth Red Sox player to win the Hank Aaron Award since its inception 23 years ago. Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz went back-to-back in 2004 and 2005. Kevin Youkilis took home the award in 2008 before Ortiz did so again in 2016. J.D. Martinez won it after becoming the first player to collect two Silver Slugger Awards in the same season in 2018.

In 141 games for the Red Sox this season, Devers batted .295/.358/.521 with 42 doubles, one triple, 27 home runs, 88 RBIs, 84 runs scored, three stolen bases, 50 walks, and 114 strikeouts over 614 plate appearances. The left-handed hitter earned his second straight All-Star selection, but he was hampered by a right hamstring injury during the second half that resulted in his production taking a dip.

Still, among qualified American League hitters, Devers ranked fourth in doubles, tied for third in extra-base hits (70), fourth in slugging percentage, fourth in OPS (.879), seventh in isolated power (.225), and eighth in wRC+ (140), per FanGraphs.

Devers, who turns 25 next week, can become eligible for free agency after the 2023 season. He is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to earn $16.9 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

J.D. Martinez homers twice as Red Sox finish off sweep of Rays to close out 2022 season

The Red Sox closed out the 2022 season on Wednesday night by completing a three-game sweep of the Rays. Boston defeated Tampa Bay, 6-3, at Fenway Park to finish the year with a 78-84 record.

With left-hander Josh Fleming starting for the Rays, the Sox drew first blood right away in their half of the first inning. After Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts hit back-to-back one-out singles, Alex Verdugo grounded into a force out at second base.

That put runners at the corners with two outs for J.D. Martinez, who worked a full count before depositing a hanging sinker from Fleming 389 feet into the Red Sox bullpen for a three-run homer that gave his side an early 3-0 lead.

The Rays responded in their half of the third. After giving up a one-out single to Randy Arozarena, Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta served up a two-run home run to Ji-Man Choi that traveled 348 feet over the Green Monster and trimmed Boston’s deficit down to one run at 3-2.

Pivetta, making his 33rd and final start of the season for Boston, lasted just four innings due to a high pitch count of 103 (69 strikes). The right-hander yielded two runs on four hits and three walks to go along with five strikeouts on the night. He finishes the year with an ERA of 4.56 over 179 2/3 innings.

To break it down even further, Pivetta posted a 6.61 ERA in 16 starts against divisional opponents and a 2.95 ERA in 17 starts against all other teams. The 29-year-old hurler did not factor into the decision on Wednesday.

Shortly after Pivetta’s night had ended, Martinez got to Fleming again. This time around, the veteran slugger clubbed a 406-foot solo shot off the lefty that cleared the Green Monster in 4.9 seconds for his second big fly of the game and his 16th of the season.

Taking a 4-2 lead into the fifth, Eduard Bazardo received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Bazardo worked his way around a leadoff walk and one-out double before handing things over to Matt Strahm, who faced the minimum in the sixth.

Ryan Brasier, meanwhile, recorded the first two outs of the seventh before yielding a 333-foot home run to Vidal Brujan that barely cleared the right field fence. It appeared as though Verdugo had come up with a tremendous over-the-shoulder catch on the other side of the wall, but he failed to come up with the ball cleanly as it wound up landing in the Red Sox bullpen.

Although the Rays again made it a one-run game, John Schreiber kept them off the board in the top of the eighth. The Sox then tacked on some important insurance runs in the bottom half when Triston Casas drew a bases-loaded walk off Jimmy Yacabonis and Christian Arroyo followed by ripping an RBI single to right field that brought in Yu Chang from third.

Now with a three-run lead in hand, Matt Barnes entered in the ninth and worked a 1-2-3 inning to secure the win and notch his eighth and final save of 2022.

Bogaerts, Martinez receive curtain calls

As Brasier warmed up before the start of the seventh inning, Chang came on to take over for Bogaerts at shortstop. Bogaerts, who is expected to opt out of his contract and become a free-agent this winter, received a standing ovation from the Fenway crowd. He tipped his cap to them as he left the field and was first greeted in front of the Red Sox dugout by Devers, who gave him a hug.

An inning later, Martinez — a pending free-agent himself — was pulled after he stepped up to the plate for what would have been his last at-bat of the season. He, too, received a standing ovation from the crowd and he raised his fist in response as Bogaerts greeted him. Connor Wong pinch-hit for Martinez.

In what might have been their final game as Red Sox teammates, Bogaerts and Martinez each went 2-for-3. Arroyo also enjoyed a multi-hit performance. On the other side of things, Bazardo earned the first win of his big-league career.

The final numbers

As previously mentioned, the Red Sox finish the 2022 campaign with a record of 78-84, good for last place in the American League East. Against divisional opponents specifically, Boston went 26-50. They went 43-38 at home and 35-46 on the road.

(Picture of J.D. Martinez: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers collects 3 hits, drives in winning run as Red Sox battle back for 4-3 win over Rays

The Red Sox battled back to earn a series-opening win over the Rays on Monday night. Boston defeated Tampa Bay by a final score of 4-3 to put an end to a three-game losing streak and improve to 76-84 on the season.

Pending free-agent Rich Hill ended his season on a strong note. Making his 26th and final start of the year for the Sox, the veteran left-hander allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts over six quality innings of work.

All three of those Rays runs came by way of the long ball. After recording the first two outs of the first, Hill served up a solo shot to Wander Franco to get Tampa Bay on the board first. He proceeded to retire eight of the next nine batters he faced.

With two outs in the fourth, Hill got Harold Ramirez to hit a groundball in the direction of Rafael Devers at third base. Devers fielded the ball cleanly, but he made a poor throw to first base that forced Triston Casas off the bag. Ramirez reached safely as a result and former Boston farmhand Manuel Margot followed by cranking a two-run blast over the Green Monster off a first-pitch cutter from Hill.

Margot’s fourth homer of the season gave the Rays a 3-0 lead through four innings. Hill, for his part, settled back into a groove by sitting down seven of the last eight hitters he faced. The 42-year-old southpaw finished with 80 pitches (60 strikes) and induced 12 swings-and-misses. Though he did not factor into the decision, Hill brought his final ERA on the season down to 4.27.

Moments after Hill ended things in the top of the sixth, the Red Sox lineup finally got going in the bottom half of the inning. After being held in check by Rays starter Tyler Glasnow, Devers led off the sixth with a hard-hit double off Kevin Herget. Devers moved up to third base on a one-out single from Alex Verdugo. Both runners then scored when Christian Arroyo roped a two-run double down the left field line to cut the deficit to one.

Representing the possible tying run, Arroyo advanced to third on a Casas groundout and scored on an RBI double from Hernandez. The bats got back to work after John Schreiber took over for Hill out of the bullpen and faced the minimum in the top of the seventh.

To lead off the bottom half of the inning, Reese McGuire laced a ground-rule double down the right field line. McGuire moved up an additional 90 feet on a Tommy Pham groundout. Devers then came through with a sacrifice fly that was hit deep enough to left field to plate McGuire and give the Red Sox their first lead of the night at 4-3.

From there, Ryan Brasier made quick work of the Rays in the eighth before Matt Barnes avoided disaster in the ninth. After yielding a one-out triple to Franco, Barnes got Ramirez to hit a grounder towards Devers. Franco took off from third in an attempt to score the tying run, but he was instead caught in a rundown and tagged out by Yu Chang, who had come on as a defensive replacement.

Ramirez was able to advance to scoring position on the play, but Barnes got Margot to ground out to second to end it. Barnes was credited with his seventh save of the season while Schreiber picked up the win.

Offensively, Devers led the way by going 3-for-4 with his 42nd double of the year. Hernandez also went 2-for-4 with an RBI. As a team, the Red Sox went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base.

Next up: Eovaldi vs. Springs

The Red Sox will look to secure a series victory on Tuesday by sending right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to the mound for the final time this season. The Rays will counter with an old friend in left-hander Jeffrey Springs.

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

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox muster just 5 hits in second straight shutout loss to Blue Jays

The Red Sox were shut out by the Blue Jays for the second straight day on Saturday afternoon. Boston fell to Toronto by a final score of 10-0 at Rogers Centre to drop to 75-83 on the season and 23-49 against divisional opponents.

Brayan Bello wrapped up his rookie season by making his 11th start of the year for the Sox. The right-hander allowed four earned runs on 10 hits and two walks to go along with four strikeouts over four innings of work.

The Blue Jays first got to Bello for two runs in their half of the second inning. Teoscar Hernandez and Raimel Tapia led off with back-to-back singles before Bello allowed both runners to advance an additional 90 feet on a wild pitch. Danny Jansen then drove in Hernandez on a softly-hit single to left field. Tapia, who moved up to third base on the play, promptly scored on another wild pitch from Bello.

Jansen struck again in the bottom of the third. With two outs and two runners on, Bello yielded a two-run double to the Blue Jays catcher that brought in both Hernandez and Tapia to make it a 4-0 ballgame in favor of Toronto.

Bello ended his day by escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fourth. The 23-year-old hurler finished with a final pitch count of 87 (52 strikes) and induced eight swings-and-misses. He was charged with his eighth loss of the season as his ERA rose to 4.71.

In relief of Bello, fellow rookie Zack Kelly received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The righty served up a pair of solo homers to Hernandez and Jansen before giving up a run-scoring ground-rule double to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with two outs in the fifth.

From there, Josh Winckowski — who was just called up from Triple-A Worcester — made the first relief appearance of his big-league career. The 24-year-old got through the sixth and seventh innings unscathed before running into some trouble in the eighth.

Gabriel Moreno and Matt Chapman led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Hernandez then plated Moreno on an RBI double to right field. Tapia followed with a run-scoring hit of his own before Jansen fittingly drove in his side’s 10th and final run on a sacrifice fly to right.

The trio of Hernandez, Tapia, and Jansen combined to go 9-for-15 with eight RBIs and seven runs scored for the Blue Jays. The Red Sox, meanwhile, were held to just five hits — all singles — as a team while going 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and leaving six runners on base.

Rafael Devers accounted for two of the four hits the Sox got off Jays starter Ross Stripling, who wound up fanning three across six scoreless frames on Saturday. Four different Toronto relievers preserved the shutout effort by combining for three innings of one-hit ball.

All in all, the Red Sox were outhit, 21-5, in Saturday’s defeat to the Blue Jays. They have been outscored, 19-0, in the first two games of this series and are now 3-15 against Toronto this season with one game between the two teams remaining.

Next up: Wacha vs. Gausman

The Red Sox will wrap up their season series against the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon. Michael Wacha will get the start for Boston while fellow righty Kevin Gausman will do the same for Toronto.

First pitch from Rogers Centre is scheduled for 1:37 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Cole Burston/Getty Images)

Red Sox give up 5 home runs in lopsided 14-8 loss to Orioles

On a rain-filled Monday night at Fenway Park, the Red Sox gave up five home runs in a lopsided loss to the Orioles. Boston fell to Baltimore by a final score of 14-8 to extend its losing streak to six and drop to 72-81 on the season.

Connor Seabold, making his fifth start of the year for the Sox, allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits, two walks, and two strikeouts over two rain-shortened innings of work.

After throwing a first-pitch strike to the very first batter he faced, Seabold promptly served up a leadoff home run to Cedric Mullins on a hanging slider. It only went downhill from there as the rookie right-hander surrendered four more in the second inning.

Rougned Odor led off with a ground-rule double and advanced to third on a Kyle Stowers single. Odor scored and Stowers went from first-to-third on a Jorge Mateo RBI double. Mullins plated two more on a sharply-hit triple over the head of Abraham Almonte in center field. The speedster then scored from third on a failed pickoff attempt from Reese McGuire that ended up in left field.

The Red Sox got two of those four runs back in their half of the second. Matched up against O’s starter Jordan Lyles, Martinez led off by cranking a solo shot 420 feet over the Green Monster for his 13th home run of the season. Triston Casas, Rob Refsnyder, and Almonte each reached base with one out to bring Enrique Hernandez to the plate. Hernandez delivered by ripping an RBI single to left field that brought in Casas and cut the Baltimore lead to three at 5-2.

The bases remained loaded for Rafael Devers, who grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play. The skies above Fenway then began to open up, prompting a rain delay that lasted exactly 100 minutes.

With that much time having passed, Seabold was done for the night and replaced by Tyler Danish when the game resumed at approximately 9:45 p.m. eastern time.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 54 (36 strikes), Seabold only managed to induce three swings-and-misses. The 26-year-old hurler was charged with his fourth losing decision of the season as his ERA rose to an unsightly 11.29.

Danish, meanwhile, yielded an RBI triple to Stowers in the third and kept the Orioles off the board in the fourth. The Red Sox made things interesting in the latter half of the frame after Baltimore had already swapped Lyles for Spenser Watkins.

With one out and the bases full, Hernandez scorched a two-run single down the left field line and advanced to second on. Devers then drove him in with a run-scoring single of his own to pull the Red Sox back to within one run at 6-5.

That is where the Orioles began to pull away. Danish issued a pair of walks and an infield single to begin things in the fifth. He was given the hook in favor of Zack Kelly, who gave up back-to-back run-scoring hits to Odor and Stowers to make it an 8-5 game. Kaleb Ort served up a pair of homers to Anthony Santander and Gunnar Henderson in the sixth, allowing the Orioles to re-establish a commanding 11-5 lead.

Frankin German got the first two outs of the seventh before issuing a walk and giving up the second home run of the night to Santander, who now has 31 on the year. Through three appearances to begin his career, German owns a 31.50 ERA.

In the bottom of the seventh, Martine and Casas each reached base before Rob Refsnyder took Logan Gillaspie 414 feet to dead center field for his sixth home run of the season. The 103.5 mph blast cut the deficit to five at 13-8.

But the Orioles tacked on another when Austin Hays took Eduard Bazardo deep in the eighth. Boston went down quietly from there as 14-8 would go on to be Monday’s final score.

All told, the Red Sox got multi-hit games from Hernandez, Devers, Refsnyder, and Almonte as they outhit the Orioles, 15-14. They also went 6-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base as a team.

Next up: Wacha vs. Bradish

The Red Sox will send right-hander Michael Wacha to the mound as they look to put an end to their six-game losing streak on Saturday. The Orioles will counter with fellow righty Kyle Bradish.

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

(Picture of Reese McGuire and Anthony Santander: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Xander Bogaerts reaches career milestone as Red Sox rack up 20 hits in 13-3 win over Royals

The Red Sox secured a series victory over the Royals on Sunday afternoon. After getting shut out on Saturday, Boston broke out for 20 hits in a 13-3 win over Kansas City to close out the weekend at Fenway Park.

Matched up against Kris Bubic to kick off Sunday’s series finale, the Sox got off to a quick start offensively. On the heels of back-to-back singles from Tommy Pham and Rafael Devers to lead off the first inning, Xander Bogaerts followed by ripping a game-tying double off the Green Monster to knot the score at 1-1.

An inning later, Enrique Hernandez drew a leadoff walk and immediately advanced to second base on a line-drive single off the bat of Yu Chang. Both runners moved up an additional 90 feet on a successful sacrifice bunt laid down by Reese McGuire. Pham then plated Hernandez from third on a sacrifice fly to center field.

Boston began to pull away in the third on a pair of sacrifice flies from Rob Refsnyder and Christian Arroyo. Hernandez and Chang each drew two-out walks before McGuire scored Hernandez on a groundball single through the right side of the infield.

That sequence of events gave the Red Sox a 5-2 lead going into the fourth. To that point, Nick Pivetta had already allowed two runs — both of which came within the first two innings.

Pivetta, making his 30th start of the season for Boston, managed to keep the Royals off the board in the third and fourth before serving up a solo shot to the dangerous Salvador Perez with one out in the fifth. The right-hander ended his day by retiring two of the final three batters he faced.

So, over five innings of work in total, Pivetta surrendered three earned runs on seven hits and two walks to go along with seven strikeouts on 97 pitches (66 strikes). The 29-year-old was able to pick up his 10th win of the season, though his ERA did rise to 4.35.

Shortly after Pivetta had recorded the final out in the top of the fifth, the Red Sox lineup got back to work in the bottom half. Arroyo, McGuire, and Pham each reached to fill the bases with two outs for Devers. Devers, in turn, greeted new Royals reliever Anthony Misiewicz by swatting a two-run single to right field to make it a four-run game at 7-3.

With two outs in the sixth inning, Boston plated four additional runs on back-to-back-to-back-to-back RBI knocks from Hernandez, Chang, McGuire, and Pham. Pham and Devers drove in two more runs in the eighth to give the Red Sox a commanding 13-3 lead.

Out of the Boston bullpen, four relievers combined for four scoreless frames. Kaleb Ort walked and struck out two in the sixth, John Schreiber walked and struck out in the seventh, Matt Strahm struck out the side in the eighth, and Matt Barnes stranded one base runner in the ninth to put the finishing touches on a blowout win.

In terms of offensive production, Pham went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, two runs scored and a walk, Devers went 4-for-6 with three RBIs, Bogaerts went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored, J.D. Martinez went 2-for-4 with his 40th double of the season and two runs scored, Hernandez went 2-for-4 with an RBI, two walks, and four runs scored, Chang went 2-for-3 with an RBI, two walks, and one run scored, and McGuire went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

With his first-inning double, Bogaerts collected the 1,400th hit of his big-league career. The 29-year-old shortstop becomes just the fourth player in Red Sox history to reach 1,400 hits before turning 30, joining the likes of Carl Yastrzemski, Bobby Doerr, and Jim Rice.

Next up: On to Cincinnati

The Red Sox will enjoy an off-day on Monday as they prepare to travel to Cincinnati for a quick two-game series against the Reds. Rookie right-hander Brayan Bello is slated to start Tuesday’s opener opposite left-hander Nick Lodolo.

First pitch from Great American Ballpark is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox get shut out for second time this month in 9-0 loss to Royals

The Red Sox failed to score a run in their loss to the Royals on Saturday afternoon. Boston fell to Kansas City, 9-0, at Fenway Park to drop to 70-75 on the season.

Rich Hill, making his 23rd start of the year for the Sox, was tagged for nearly half of those runs. The veteran left-hander surrendered four earned runs on eight hits and zero walks to go along with four strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings of work.

The Royals got the scoring started in the top of the third. After reaching base on a one-out single, Nate Eaton stole second and scored from there on an RBI single off the bat of MJ Melendez. Malendez also advanced to second before scoring on another RBI single from Salvadar Perez that gave Kansas City an early 2-0 lead.

Boston had a chance to respond right away in the latter half of the frame. Matched up against Royals starter Brady Singer, the bottom third of the Sox lineup filled the bases without recording an out. Despite getting that far, though, Tommy Pham popped out to the catcher, Rafael Devers struck out looking, and J.D. Martinez popped out into foul territory.

Hill, meanwhile, ran into more trouble in the fifth. After Bobby Witt Jr. drove in Melendez with an RBI single, Witt Jr. scored all the way from first on a Vinnie Pasquantino double that right fielder Alex Verdugo lost in the sun.

Pasquantino was the final batter Hill faced. The 42-year-old southpaw finished with a final pitch count of 81 (58 strikes) and was charged with his seventh loss of the season as his ERA rose to 4.70. He was given the hook in favor of Ryan Brasier, who needed just three pitches to record the final out of the fifth.

The sixth inning marked the major-league debut of relief prospect Franklin German. The right-hander failed to retire any of the four batters he faced, as he loaded the bases with no outs before yielding an RBI single to Nate Eaton. Eduard Bazardo was called upon to extinguish the flames, but he allowed all three runners he inherited to score on a Melendez force out and singles from Witt Jr. and Pasquantino.

German was tagged for four runs on two hits and two walks. Bazardo, on the other hand, worked his way around a leadoff double in the seventh before handing things over to Tyler Danish, who served up a leadoff double to Melendez and a two-out RBI single to Pasquantino to make it a 9-0 game in favor of Kansas City.

Following a 1-2-3 top of the ninth from Danish, the Red Sox went down quietly in the bottom half to seal their fifth shutout loss of the season and their second in the last 10 days.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Bubic in rubber match

The Red Sox will look to secure a series victory over the Royals on Sunday afternoon. Righty Nick Pivetta will get the start for Boston opposite lefty Kris Bubic for Kansas City.

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

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

Jeurys Familia’s struggles continue as Red Sox fall to Yankees, 7-6, in 10 innings; Triston Casas hits first homer at Fenway Park

The Red Sox hit three home runs on Tuesday night, but it was not enough to best the first-place Yankees . Boston fell to New York by a final score of 7-6 in 10 innings to drop to 69-73 on the season.

With Gerrit Cole on the mound for the Yankees, the Red Sox drew first blood in their half of the second inning. After Rafael Devers drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third base with two outs, Triston Casas made sure a prime run-scoring opportunity did not go by the wayside.

Casas, facing Cole for the first time in his young career, got ahead in the count at 2-0 before crushing a 97.8 mph fastball 411-feet over the Green Monster for his second home run of the season and his first at Fenway Park. It left his bat at 108.6 mph.

Nick Pivetta, making his 29th start of the year for Boston, was able to keep New York off the board through his first two innings before running into some trouble in the third. Isiah Kiner-Filefa led off with a single. Two batters later, Marwin Gonzalez clubbed a two-run homer of his own into the bleachers to tie things up at two runs apiece.

Aaron Judge followed Gonzalez’s game-tying home run by ripping a one-out single to center field. But he was quicky snuffed out at second base by Reese McGuire. Shortly after throwing out his 15th base stealer of the year, McGuire led off the bottom of the third by clobbering his first homer of the season and his first in a Red Sox uniform.

On a 1-1, 96 mph four-seamer on the inner half of the plate, McGuire laced a 103.3 mph drive 403 feet down the right field line and around Pesky’s Pole to give Boston a 3-2 lead.

That is where the score remained for a while, as Pivetta and Cole traded zeroes up until the sixth inning. Judge broke the scoreless spell up when he led off the top of the sixth by mashing a 383-foot solo shot on the very first pitch he saw to pull the Yankees back even with the Red Sox at 3-3.

Pivetta gave up a single to Giancarlo Stanton and a one-out walk to Josh Donaldson before getting the hook from manager Alex Cora in favor of Ryan Brasier. Brasier officially closed the book on Pivetta’s night by retiring the only two batters he faced.

So, over 5 1/3 innings of work, Pivetta surrendered three earned runs on six hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. The 29-year-old right-hander threw 93 pitches (60 strikes) and induced nine swings-and-misses. He did not factor into Tuesday’s decision, though his ERA did rise from 4.29 to 4.31.

After Brasier ended the top of the sixth, Cole came back out for the bottom half. With one out and the bases empty, Xander Bogaerts got in on the action by depositing a 332-foot solo blast around Pesky’s Pole on a first-pitch fastball down the heart of the plate. Bogaerts’ 14th big fly of the season had an exit velocity of 97.8 mph and put Boston up, 4-3, going into the seventh.

John Schreiber needed just 10 pitches to make quick work of New York. The same cannot be said for Garrett Whitlock, who served up a game-tying home run to Judge in the eighth. Judge’s second homer of the night and 57th of the season knotted things up at 4-4.

Jonathan Loaisiga, Matt Barnes, and Clay Holmes ensured the score remained that way as they each tossed scoreless frames, thus sending this one into extra innings.

In the 10th, with a runner already on second base, Jeurys Familia issued a leadoff walk to the pinch-hitting Aaron Hicks. He then got Gonzalez to ground into a 6-3 double play. After intentionally walking Judge, however, the righty yielded another free pass to Stanton, filling the bases with two outs for Gleyber Torres.

Torres came through in the clutch, as he cleared the gap in right-center field while emptying the bases on a 110 mph three-run double. That gave the Yankees their largest lead of the night at 7-4.

Down to their final three outs and now trailing by three runs, McGuire — the leadoff hitter — reached base after taking a 96 mph sinker from Holmes off his right foot. He was pinch-ran for by Connor Wong as Tommy Pham came to the plate representing the tying run.

Pham struck out for the fourth time. Yankees manager Aaron Boone then pulled Holmes for Wandy Peralta. Alex Verdugo won the lefty-on-lefty matchup by scoring Enrique Hernandez (the automatic runner) from second on a line-drive single to center field. Wong also went from first to third on the play.

Bogaerts failed to drive in Wong, but the rookie backstop scored on a wild pitch while Devers was at the plate. With Verdugo moving up to second, Devers had a chance to tie it on one swing of the bat. He instead struck out swinging on a 2-2, 89 mph slider that was well outside the strike zone.

Regardless, the Red Sox’ rally fell short, and they are now 7-10 in extra-inning games this season. With the loss, Boston dropped to 10 1/2 games back of the Rays for the third and final American League Wild Card spot.

Next up: Bello vs. Cortes in series finale

The Red Sox will look to bounce back against the Yankees as they go for a two-game series split on Wednesday night. Rookie right-hander Brayan Bello will get his first taste of this rivalry as he gets the start for Boston while left-hander Nestor Cortes will take the mound for New York.

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

(Picture of Jeurys Familia: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers crushes grand slam as Red Sox rack up season-high 21 hits in 17-4 romping of Orioles

The Red Sox put an end to their four-game losing streak on Saturday with a commanding win over the Orioles. Boston defeated Baltimore by a final score of 17-4 to even the three-game series and improve to 68-72 on the season.

With Jordan Lyles on the mound for the O’s, the Sox did not waste any time in jumping out to an early lead. After Tommy Pham drew a leadoff walk, Alex Verdugo singled, and Xander Bogaerts was plunked by a pitch, the bases were loaded with no outs in the first inning for Rafael Devers.

Devers, who had not homered in his last 21 games, got ahead in the count at 2-0 and promptly cranked a 425-foot grand slam into the Red Sox bullpen in deep left-center field. The 26th home run of the season for Devers had an exit velocity of 104.6 mph and put Boston up, 4-0.

Michael Wacha, making his 19th start of the season for the Sox, already had a four-run lead to work with when he took the mound for the first time on Saturday. The veteran right-hander put together yet another quality outing, allowing three earned runs on six hits and zero walks to go along with five strikeouts over six innings.

The first of those three runs came in the bottom of the third, when Wacha served up a solo shot to Cedric Mullins. The Red Sox lineup, however, responded by putting up another four-spot in their half of the fourth.

After Enrique Hernandez and Kevin Plawecki traded places on back-to-back one-out doubles, Verdugo plated Plawecki on a line-drive single to right field. Verdugo moved up to second base on a Bogaerts single and then scored from there when Devers greeted new Orioles reliever Keegan Akin by ripping a run-scoring base hit to left-center field. Trevor Story capped the four-run inning off with another RBI single that drove in Bogaerts left his bat at 99.6 mph.

An inning later, J.D. Martinez led off with a softly-hit double and was immediately driven in when Christian Arroyo clubbed a two-run homer 396 feet over the left field wall for his sixth big fly of the year.

Wacha, meanwhile, ran into some more trouble in the bottom of the fifth. After Gunnar Henderson reached on a leadoff single and moved up to third on a Ramon Urias double, Wacha yielded a sacrifice fly to Jorge Mateo that scored Henderson. Urias, who advanced to third on the play, came into score on an RBI single from Mullins.

Though he was charged with both of those runs, Wacha stranded Mullins by punching out Adley Rutschman before retiring three of the final four batters he faced in the sixth. The 31-year-old hurler wound up throwing 82 pitches (60 strikes) while inducing a total of swings-and-misses. He picked up his 11th winning decision of the season and lowered his ERA to 2.69.

Following a scoreless seventh inning from Ryan Brasier, Boston tacked on additional run off Baltimore reliever Yennier Cano in the top of the eighth. Abraham Almonte led off with a single, marking his first hit in a Red Sox uniform. Almonte went from first to third on a two-out single from Devers and then came into score on a 100.7 mph base hit from Story.

Taking a sizable 11-3 lead into the latter half of the eighth, Matt Strahm took over for Brasier. The left-hander got the first two outs of the inning and was well on his way to getting his third, but Story misplayed a 197-foot flyball off the bat of the pinch-hitting Ryan McKenna and was charged with a fielding error. McKenna was able to take second as a result, and then scored from second on a Ryan Mountcastle RBI single.

In the top of the ninth, Almonte provided some late scoring with an RBI single that pushed across Hernandez from second base. Connor Wong, who came off the bench to pinch-hit for Devers, followed with an infield single that brought in Plawecki and kept the bases loaded for Story, who drew a four-pitch walk to plate Almonte.

That prompted an Orioles pitching change, as McKenna — the right fielder — took over for Cano. Martinez, Arroyo, and Hernandez kept the line moving by driving in three more runs before Plawecki grounded out to mercifully end the inning. Eduard Bazardo closed it out with a scoreless bottom of the ninth to secure a one-sided 17-4 victory.

All told, the Red Sox went 11-for-17 with runners in scoring position on Saturday while racking up a season-high 17 runs on a season-high 21 hits. Almonte, Verdugo, Story, Martinez, Arroyo, and Plawecki each had two hits. Devers went 3-for-5 with five RBIs and Hernandez went 4-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Pham exits with left shin contusion

Tommy Pham exited Saturday’s game in the middle of the fourth inning because of a left knee shin contusion he sustained in the top of the first. He went 0-for-1 with a walk and run scored prior to getting pulled and is considered day-to-day. In his place, Abraham Almonte went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Next up: Hill vs. Bradish in rubber match

The Red Sox will look to close out a series win over the Orioles on Sunday afternoon. Veteran left-hander Rich Hill will start the finale for Boston while right-hander Kyle Bradish will do the same for Baltimore.

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

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)