Tag: red sox

Red Sox muster just 2 hits in sleepy 8-1 loss to Rays

With the chance to take a crucial series from the team that is ahead of them in the American League East standings, the Red Sox fell flat on their face in Thursday’s finale against the Rays at Fenway Park.

After going off for a season-high 20 runs on Wednesday, Boston fell quietly to Tampa Bay by a final score of 8-1 on Thursday, marking yet another series loss and their 11th defeat in their last 14 games.

Tanner Houck, making his sixth start of the year for the Sox after being recalled from Triple-A Worcester earlier in the day, got off to a strong start but sputtered towards the end of his outing.

Over five-plus innings of work, the right-hander surrendered four runs — three of which were earned — on six hits and zero walks to go along with eight strikeouts on the afternoon.

Making his first-ever start against the Rays, Houck retired six of the first seven hitters he faced out of the gate.

A leadoff single to Kevin Kiermaier to begin things in the third, however, changed things, as Kiermaier took off for second base on a strikeout of Mike Zunino and also advanced to third base on a throwing error committed by Kevin Plawecki behind the plate.

That miscue proved to be somewhat costly for the Sox, as Brandon Lowe proceeded to bring in Kiermaier from third on a sacrifice fly for the first run of the day.

Still, Houck bounced back with a scoreless top half of the fourth and was rewarded for that in the bottom half of the frame, as the Red Sox lineup finally put something together.

There, matched up against Rays opener Drew Rasmussen, Enrique Hernandez led off the inning by drawing a six-pitch walk. Neither Jarren Duran nor Xander Bogaerts were able to advance Hernandez into scoring position, but Rafael Devers came through with a two-out RBI double to score the runner all the way from first to even things up at one run apiece.

J.D. Martinez had the opportunity to perhaps drive in Devers with a run-scoring hit of his own, but instead grounded out weakly to third base to end the inning.

Houck, meanwhile, put together another solid effort in the fifth by punching out the side, though his luck ran out in the sixth. That being the case because the Rays lineup was about to flip over a third time, and the young righty has typically struggled when facing off against opposing hitters a third time.

That much proved to be true in the sixth inning on Thursday, as Houck issued a leadoff walk to Brandon Lowe before serving up a back-breaking two-run home run to Wander Franco moments later.

Franco’s homer, which had to be reviewed because of where it deflected off the Green Monster, gave the Rays a 3-1 lead and was followed by a hard-hit double from Nelson Cruz, which subsequently marked the end of the line for Houck as he got the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 89 (61 strikes), the 25-year-old hurler was ultimately hit with his third losing decision of the year while also seeing his ERA on the season rise to 2.93.

In relief of Houck, left-hander Josh Taylor got the first call out of the Boston bullpen, and he recorded the first two outs of the sixth before intentionally walking Yandy Diaz to pave the way for Hansel Robles to come into the game.

Robles, making his Fenway Park debut, walked the pinch-hitting Manuel Margot on five pitches to fill the bases, then balked in a run that allowed Cruz to score from third, making it a 4-1 contest.

Robles, who officially closed the book on Houck’s outing by allowing that inherited runner to score, was able to get out of the sixth without giving anything else up, but the damage had already been done.

From there, Robles and Austin Davis combined to toss a scoreless seventh inning, though Davis yielded a leadoff triple to Joey Wendle — that was followed by an intentional walk of Diaz — to begin things in the eighth.

Yacksel Rios was dispatched with the idea of limiting any damage and holding the Rays at four runs, but he instead gave up a sacrifice fly to Margot before putting another runner on and surrendering a three-run blast to Zunino.

Zunino’s 23rd homer of the year put the Rays up 8-1, which would go on to be Thursday’s final score after Rios kept Tampa Bay off the board in the top half of the ninth and the Boston bats went down quietly in their halves of the eighth and ninth inning.

All that being said, five different Rays pitchers were able to hold the Red Sox to just one run on two hits and three walks, all of which were drawn by Hernandez. Boston also went 0-for-1 with runners in scoring position while leaving three runners on base as a team.

With the loss, the Red Sox fall to 66-51 on the season and drop back down to five games back of the Rays for first place in the American League East.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Watkins to kick off the weekend

The reeling Red Sox will next welcome the Orioles into town for a three-game weekend series at Fenway Park that begins on Friday night.

Right-hander Nick Pivetta is slated to get the ball for Boston in the opener, while fellow righty Spencer Watkins is expected to do the same for Baltimore.

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Red Sox recall Tanner Houck from Triple-A Worcester, send down Phillips Valdez

Before wrapping up their three-game series against the Rays at Fenway Park on Thursday evening, the Red Sox recalled right-hander Tanner Houck from Triple-A Worcester.

In a corresponding move, fellow righty Phillips Valdez was optioned to Triple-A Worcester to make room for Houck on the major-league roster, the club announced earlier Thursday afternoon.

Houck, up with the big-league club for a fifth time this season, will get the start for Boston in Thursday’s rubber match against Tampa Bay, as Sox manager Alex Core previously said.

Through seven appearances — five of which were starts — with the Red Sox this year, the 25-year-old has posted a 2.45 ERA and 1.70 FIP to go along with 36 strikeouts and seven walks over 25 2/3 total innings of work.

Most recently, Houck yielded just one earned run in 3 2/3 innings pitched in Game 2 of this past Saturday’s doubleheader against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Thursday’s outing will mark Houck’s first career start against the Rays, as he has only faced them on one previous occasion as a reliever back on April 6.

Valdez, meanwhile, was unsurprisingly optioned to the WooSox in order to accommodate the addition of Houck to the major-league roster.

Coming into play on Wednesday, the 29-year-old hurler owned a respectable 3.82 ERA through his first 24 relief appearances (33 innings pitched) of the season with Boston.

Wednesday, however, was a different story for Valdez, as he got shelled for seven runs — all of which were earned — on five hits and two walks in the ninth inning of the Sox’ 20-8 victory over the Rays.

That performance inflated to the Dominican-born righty’s ERA on the year to 5.56, and he will presumably look to sort some things out while back down in Worcester.

In his previous stint with the WooSox, which lasted from June 10 through July 23, Valdez put up a 3.38 ERA and 3.28 xFIP over 11 outings spanning 10 2/3 innings pitched.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox break out for season-highs in runs and hits in 20-8 thrashing of Rays; Nathan Eovaldi allows just 1 run over 7 strong innings

After falling victim to some mild heartbreak recently, the Red Sox let out their frustrations in a 20-8 romping of the Rays at Fenway Park on Wednesday night.

Matched up against Rays starter Josh Fleming to begin things on Wednesday, the top third of the Sox lineup set the tone right out of the gate, with Enrique Hernandez, Hunter Renfroe, and Xander Bogaerts each doubling off the left-hander to give their side an early 2-0 lead.

J.D. Martinez followed suit and got his exceptional night at the plate started with an RBI single that brought in Bogaerts and made it a 3-0 contest after just one inning.

In the second, it was the bottom and top of the Boston lineup that got the job done against Fleming, as Bobby Dalbec drew a one-out walk, advanced up to third on a two-out double from Hernandez, and both runners scored on another two-run double off the bat of Renfroe. 5-0.

Despite going down relatively quietly in the third, the Boston bats matched that five-run total in their half of the fourth inning alone. Hernandez led off with a single, moved up to single on a walk drawn by Renfroe, and crossed the plate on a Rafael Devers run-scoring single.

Fleming proceeded to intentionally walk Martinez to fill the bases with one out, but followed that up by unintentionally walking Kevin Plawecki to bring in yet another run. Marwin Gonzalez and Dalbec each lifted softly-hit singles to shallow right field to push across three additional runs, thus giving the Sox a commanding 10-0 lead.

An inning later, with reliever Dietrich Enns in for the Rays, the Red Sox padded that lead even further on an RBI single from Martinez that was followed by a three-run triple off the bat of Dalbec, making it a 14-0 contest.

With that sizable of a cushion to work with, Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi was easily able to find a groove in what was his 23rd start of the season.

Over seven dominating innings of work against his former team, Eovaldi allowed just one earned run while scattering just three hits and one walk to go along with 10 strikeouts to tie a season-high in that category.

After retiring 16 of the first 18 batters he faced Wednesday, the lone run the veteran right-hander surrendered came when he served up a solo home run to Brandon Lowe with one out in the top of the sixth.

That cut the Sox’ deficit down to 13 runs at 14-1, but Eovaldi was able to recover nicely by sitting down five of the final six Rays hitters he faced going into the middle of the seventh — the point in which his evening came to a masterful close.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 97 (69 strikes), the 31-year-old hurler ultimately earned his 10th winning decision of the year while lowering his ERA down to 3.92.

In relief of Eovaldi, Yacksel Rios got the first call out of the Sox bullpen and retired the side in order in the eighth.

From there, the Boston offense took advantage of the fact that the Rays had a position player — catcher Francisco Mejia — pitching for them in the bottom half of the inning.

After Dalbec was plunked by a 40 mph curveball, Jarren Duran put runners on the corners with a single of his own.

Renfroe plated Dalbec with yet another RBI base hit, and Bogaerts brought in both Renfroe and Duran on a three-run blast (his 17th home run of the season) that left his bat at 105.5 mph and traveled 428 feet to center field.

That made it an 18-1 game, but the Sox were not done there, as the pinch-hitting Connor Wong collected an RBI of his own on his first career big-league triple and scored his side’s 20th and final run on a base knock from Gonzalez.

Despite being in possession of a 20-1 lead going into the ninth and final frame, Red Sox reliever Phillips Valdez made things somewhat interesting by getting rocked for seven runs on five hits in what was a low-leverage spot.

Still, even after serving up a pair of RBI singles to Wander Franco and Joey Wendle, a grand slam to Brett Phillips, and a solo home run to Mike Zunino, Valdez was ultimately able to hold on and secure a 20-8 victory for his side.

With the win, the Red Sox snap a two-game skid to improve to 66-50 on the season while also moving four games back of the Rays for first place in the American League East.

Some notes from this victory:

From MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo:

From Red Sox Notes:

Next up: Houck vs. Rasmussen

The Red Sox will recall right-hander Tanner Houck from Triple-A Worcester and have him start the rubber match of this three-game series against the Rays on Thursday afternoon, manager Alex Cora said. A corresponding move will need to be made in order to add Houck to the major-league roster.

The Rays, meanwhile, will go with righty Drew Rasmussen in what looks to be a bullpen day for manager Kevin Cash’s club.

First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Christian Vázquez on bereavement list, recall Connor Wong from Triple-A Worcester

Before taking on the Rays at Fenway Park on Wednesday night, the Red Sox placed catcher Christian Vazquez on the bereavement list.

In a corresponding move, fellow catcher Connor Wong was recalled from Triple-A Worcester to take Vazquez’s place on the major-league roster, the club announced.

Per MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, “it’s unclear how much time Vázquez will miss” on account of the fact that “the announcement was made approximately an hour before Wednesday’s game.”

Vazquez was not in Boston’s starting lineup for Wednesday’s contest against the Rays, as Kevin Plawecki will catch right-hander Nathan Eovaldi and bat out of the six-hole.

Plawecki has been hot at the plate as of late. The 30-year-old backstop is slashing a sizzling .448/.500/.552 over his last 10 games (eight starts) and 32 plate appearances dating back to July 24.

Wong, meanwhile, is back up with the Red Sox for a fourth time this season after previously being used as a COVID fill-in over the weekend in Toronto.

Across his three prior stints with the big-league club, the 25-year-old rookie has gone 3-for-12 at the plate (.250) with one double, two runs scored, one walk, and seven strikeouts over five games, three of which were starts.

(Picture of Christian Vazquez: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Alex Cora on Kyle Schwarber as slugger nears return from injury: ‘Don’t bet against him’

After an encouraging workout at Fenway Park on Wednesday, first baseman/outfielder Kyle Schwarber appears to be on the verge of beginning a rehab assignment, according to Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

Schwarber, who the Sox acquired from the Nationals in exchange for pitching prospect Aldo Ramirez in late July, has been on the injured list because of a right hamstring strain since July 3.

This past weekend in Toronto, the 28-year-old slugger suffered a minor setback in his recovery on account of some left groin tightness, but it was one that did not throw off his timetable by that much, if at all.

Because of that, Schwarber could very well start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Thursday. Per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, he is eve expected to be in the WooSox’ starting lineup for their matchup against the Syracuse Mets at Polar Park.

That being said, it is unclear at the moment how long Schwarber’s rehab assignment with the WooSox will last. As noted by Cotillo, the left-handed power hitter has been held out of action since July 2 and is also learning to play first base — a relatively new position for him — on the fly.

“If it’s up to him, he’ll probably say hi to the guys and come back and perform,” Cora told reporters Wednesday (including Cotillo). “I think we’ve done everything possible to get him to a spot that, offensively, he feels right. Indoor, outdoor, with everything. Velocity, spin, everything.”

At the time he sustained that right hamstring strain last month, Schwarber was in the midst of a career year for the Nationals and was named to his first career All-Star team as a result.

Over 72 games with Washington, the 6-foot, 229 pounder slashed .253/.340/.570 to go along with nine doubles, 25 home runs, 53 RBI, and 42 runs scored across 303 trips to the plate, primarily as a left fielder.

In the month of June alone, Schwarber went on an absolute tear in regards to hitting the ball out of the ballpark, as he clubbed 16 of his 25 homers — 12 of which came in a 10-game span from June 19 through June 29.

On top of the production he can provide from the left side of the plate, Schwarber is no stranger to adversity, either.

Going back to the 2016 season, the former Cubs fan favorite tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee in early April, but returned just in time for that October’s World Series, where he posted a .971 OPS en route to Chicago’s historic triumph over the Cleveland Indians in seven games.

This feat is something Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has alluded to in the time since Boston acquired Schwarber, and it’s also something Cora pointed to on Wednesday.

“You guys saw what happened when they won the World Series (in 2016),” Cora said. “How quick he came back and how good he was when he did what he did when the Cubs won the World Series. Don’t bet against him. He feels great, he moves well and we’ll go from there.”

(Picture of Kyle Schwarber: Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

Red Sox move struggling Garrett Richards to bullpen with Chris Sale’s return on the horizon

The Red Sox have removed right-hander Garrett Richards from their starting rotation and have moved him to the bullpen, manager Alex Cora announced Wednesday.

Richards, who would have in been line to start on Saturday, will be available out of the bullpen in Tuesday night’s contest against the Rays at Fenway Park.

Saturday’s game against the Orioles, of course, will be started by none other than ace left-hander Chris Sale, who will be making his 2021 debut for the Sox.

In his latest start against the Blue Jays in Toronto this past Sunday, the veteran right-hander surrendered four runs — three of which were earned — on six hits and one walk to go along with two strikeouts over five innings of work, bringing his ERA on the season up to 5.22 over 22 starts (110 1/3 innings pitched).

Richards, 33, originally signed a one-year, $10 million deal with Boston in February after spending the previous two seasons with the Padres. He got lit up for six runs over just two innings in his Red Sox debut in early April, but settled in nicely for a spell after that.

From April 10 through June 11 — a stretch of more than two months, the Oklahoma native put up a respectable 3.42 ERA with 59 strikeouts and 32 walks across 12 starts spanning 68 1/3 innings of work.

Things took a turn for the worst for Richards in mid-June, however, and it came right around the same time Major League Baseball began enforcing stricter policies in regards to pitchers using foreign substances (“sticky stuff”) to enhance their grip on the baseball.

Including an outing against the Braves on June 16 in which he allowed six runs (four earned) in just four innings, Richards has posted an unsightly 7.55 ERA and 1.056 OPS against over his last seven starts and 31 innings pitched, with that start against the Blue Jays over the weekend being the latest instance of his prolonged summer struggles.

Because of these struggles, the Red Sox obviously felt it was time to make a change and opted to move a member of their Opening Day starting rotation to the bullpen for a second time in less than a week as Richards joins the likes of left-hander Martin Perez, whose spot has essentially been handed over to Tanner Houck.

Like Perez, though, Richards does have major-league experience working as a reliever, and Cora believes both hurlers can benefit from the move to the ‘pen while also serving key roles for Boston’s pitching staff moving forward.

Prior to joining the Red Sox over the winter, Richards — who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds — made 59 total relief appearances over the course of 10 big-league seasons with the Angels and Padres.

Most recently, the former Oklahoma Sooner was used out of the bullpen by San Diego for the home stretch of the truncated 2020 campaign, as it was his first “full” season back since undergoing Tommy John surgery in July 2018 while he was still with the Angels.

In four appearances out of the Padres’ ‘pen last September, Richards pitched to the tune of a 1.80 ERA while holding opposing batters to a .167/.211/.389 slash line against over five total innings of work.

While it’s no sure thing Richards will find success as he transitions to a relief role with the Red Sox on account of the difficulties he has already endured this season, one would have to assume that his fastball and curveball, both of which possess elite spin rates, will play better out of the bullpen than they did the starting rotation. We will have to wait and see on that.

(Picture of Garrett Richards: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

Despite solid start from Eduardo Rodriguez and home runs from Rafael Devers and Hunter Renfroe, Red Sox blow late lead against Rays in disheartening 8-4 defeat

Lately, it seems as though the Red Sox have struggled to get out of their own way, and that was once again the case at Fenway Park on Tuesday night.

Opening up a pivotal three-game series against the American League East-leading Rays, the reeling Sox failed to make a statement and fell to their division rivals in yet another soul-crushing 8-4 defeat.

Eduardo Rodriguez, making his 22nd start of the season for Boston, provided his side with what they needed out of the gate by putting together a solid outing on the mound.

Over 5 1/3 quality innings of work, the left-hander surrendered just two earned runs on four hits and one walk to go along with eight strikeouts — marking the fourth time in his last five starts in which he struck out at least eight batters.

After Rafael Devers lifted the Sox to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning by crushing his 28th home run of the year — a 390-foot solo shot that left his bat at 114 mph — to right field off Rays starter Luis Patino, Rodriguez followed suit by serving up a solo homer of his own to Brandon Lowe in the top half of the third.

That knotted things up at one run apiece, but the Boston bats struck again in their half of the fourth when Xander Bogaerts led things off with a single and later moved up to second on a two-out walk drawn by Kevin Plawecki.

Making Patino pay for issuing a walk with two outs, Hunter Renfroe punished a 2-2, 96 mph heater down the heart of the plate by depositing it 420 feet to dead center field for a towering three-run home run.

Renfroe’s 19th big fly of the season gave Rodriguez a 4-1 lead to work with, and he put together a scoreless fifth inning before running into a bit of trouble in the sixth.

There, a leadoff double ultimately did Rodriguez in, as he then issued a one-out walk to Nelson Cruz and an RBI single to rookie sensation Wander Franco, which in turn put runners at first and second and subsequently marked the end of the road for the southpaw as he got the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 82 (60 strikes), the 28-year-old did not factor into Tuesday’s decision, though he did lower his ERA on the season to 5.24.

In relief of Rodriguez, Hirokazu Sawamura got the first call out of the Boston bullpen, and he escaped the top of sixth inning by sitting down the only two hitters he faced in consecutive order.

From there, Garrett Whitlock took over in the seventh, brought the potential go-ahead run to the plate by giving up back-to-back one-out hits, and then served up a game-tying two-run double to the pinch-hitting Ji-Man Choi.

Tampa Bay pulled themselves even with Boston at that moment, but the Sox nearly countered in their half of the seventh when matched up against right-handed reliever Andrew Kittredge.

With two outs in the frame, Jarren Duran put his speed on full display by reaching first base on an infield single and going from first to third on another single off the bat of Bogaerts. But Devers flew out to center field for the final out of the inning, thus stranding the potential go-ahead run in scoring position.

In the eighth, the combined efforts of Whitlock and lefty Josh Taylor were enough to keep the Rays off the scoreboard despite them loading the bases.

Again, the Red Sox offense showed some semblance of life in their half of the inning when Kevin Plawecki reached base via a one-out single. But both Renfroe and Christian Vazquez went down swinging against Kittredge to keep this one tied at 4-4 going into the ninth.

Red Sox closer Matt Barnes, despite being used three times in two days over the weekend in Toronto, was called upon for the ninth and was tasked with keeping that 4-4 stalemate intact.

Instead, Barnes’ August struggles continued, as he loaded the bases with two outs before yielding a bases-clearing, three-run single to Francisco Mejia that was aided by a Renfroe fielding error.

Regardless, the Sox went down 7-4 on that sequence, and fell behind by one more when Martin Perez allowed one of the runners he inherited from Barnes to score on another RBI single.

That put the Sox in an 8-4 hole, and Franchy Cordero, Enrique Hernandez went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to mark Boston’s 10th defeat in its last 12 games.

With the loss, the Red Sox fall to 65-50 on the season and now sit five games behind the Rays for first place in the American League East.

Next up: Eovaldi vs. Fleming

The Red Sox will send right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to the hill in the middle game of this three-game set on Wednesday as they look to right the ship.

The Rays will counter with left-hander Josh Fleming.

First pitch Wednesday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Matt Barnes: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Red Sox sign left-handed reliever Alex Claudio to minor-league deal

The Red Sox have signed left-handed reliever Alex Claudio to a minor-league contract and have assigned him to Triple-A Worcester, per SoxProspects.com.

Claudio, 29, was released by the Angels on July 30 — five days after being designated for assignment by the club.

In 41 relief appearances for Los Angeles this season, the veteran southpaw struggled to the tune of a 5.51 ERA and 5.10 FIP to go along with 30 strikeouts and 15 walks over 32 2/3 total innings of work.

A former 27th-round draft pick of the Rangers out of Isabel Flores High School (Puerto Rico), Claudio inked a one-year, $1.125 million deal with the Angels last December after spending the 2019 and 2020 campaigns with the Brewers and being non-tendered by Milwaukee over the winter.

Per Baseball Savant, Claudio — a native of San Juan — operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a sinker, slider, changeup, and four-seam fastball.

While he endured his fair share of difficulties with the Halos in 2021, Claudio has proven to fairly effective in the past, especially when going up against fellow left-handed hitters.

Across four seasons between the Rangers and Brewers from 2017 through 2020, the 6-foot-3, 190 pound hurler posted a respectable 3.65 ERA over 239 total appearances (two starts) and 232 innings while holding left-handed bats to a .205/.255/.313 slash line against during that stretch.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, the Red Sox have looked to bolster their left-handed bullpen depth behind Josh Taylor as of late with Darwinzon Hernandez currently sidelined because of a right oblique strain he sustained in late July.

In addition to signing Claudio to a minors pact, Boston acquired left-handed reliever Austin Davis from the Pirates on July 30 and moved Martin Perez to the bullpen last week.

By bringing in Claudio, the Red Sox have now signed a pair of Puerto Rican hurlers to minor-league deals within the last week, as former Reds righty Jose De Leon joined the organization on Thursday.

Both Claudio and De Leon have been assigned to the WooSox, for what it’s worth.

(Picture of Alex Claudio: John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox minor-league coordinators Andy Fox, Darren Fenster filling in on Alex Cora’s coaching staff while Will Venable, Tom Goodwin quarantine in Canada

With bench coach Will Venable and first base coach Tom Goodwin currently quarantining in Toronto, the Red Sox have added Andy Fox and Darren Fenster to their major-league coaching staff, manager Alex Cora said Tuesday.

Venable tested positive for COVID-19 this past Saturday, during the first game of the Sox’ doubleheader against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Despite being vaccinated against the virus, Venable has been placed into a mandatory 14-day quarantine on account of the rules put into effect by the Canadian government.

Goodwin, meanwhile, has also been forced to quarantine since he was identified as a close contact of Venable, though he could return to the club sooner since he has yet to test positive for COVID.

“They’re doing OK,” Cora said of the two coaches ahead of Tuesday night’s game against the Rays at Fenway Park. “It’s not easy. I texted with them today. They’re doing OK. The organization has done an amazing job taking care of their diet plans. Both of them, they’re really good about their nutrition.

“But, all kidding aside, it’s uncomfortable, but it’s where we’re at,” added Cora. “Those two are relentless, they’re working with us, they’re doing their homework, they’re sending in information, and on top of everything that’s going on here, hopefully we can get them back soon here with us.”

In place of Goodwin and Venable, Cora will rely on two minor-league coordinators in Fox and Fenster — both of whom have been with the organization in some capacity since 2011 and 2012, respectively — for the time being.

Fox, 50, has served as Boston’s minor-league infield coordinator since 2011 and as assistant field coordinator since 2019. He also has experience as a minor-league manager and hitting coach as well as a major-league first base and infield coach for the Florida Marlins from 2007 through 2019.

“A person that I really respect and really like,” Cora said of Fox. “He can help [third base coach] Carlos [Febles] while [quality control coach] Ramon [Vazquez] is doing other stuff within the day.”

Fenster, 42, has served as the Sox’ minor-league outfield and baserunning coordinator since 2019 after previously managing the Portland Sea Dogs in 2018 and Greenville Drive from 2014 through 2017.

This summer, Fenster served as Team USA’s third base coach under manager Mike Scioscia and helped the United States baseball team (including Red Sox minor-leaguers Jack Lopez and Triston Casas) win a silver medal in Tokyo.

“I don’t know if the coaches get the medal, but hopefully he did,” Cora joked. “He can bring it here and we can see it.”

While Fox and Fenster will temporarily fill the void left behind by Venable and Goodwin, Cora will still turn to the coaches who have been on his staff throughout the season — such as Vazquez and game planning coordinator Jason Varitek.

“Like I always said, Will is the bench coach but Jason helps me out a lot, too — and Ramon,” said Cora. “Between Ramon and Jason, and Andy running the dugout, they’re going to be trying to get people ready, the lineup card, [mound] visits, and the replay phone.”

When asked if the Red Sox would be able to pull any strings in order to get Venable and Goodwin back to the states sooner than anticipated, Cora could only respond by saying it’s out of the club’s control.

“I think that’s out of our hands, to be honest with you,” he said. “That’s more about the government stuff.”

(Picture of Ernie Young, Darren Fenster, and Mike Scioscia: Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)

Red Sox pitching prospect Brandon Walter owns 0.53 ERA in last 3 starts for High-A Greenville

Of the four Red Sox pitching prospects who started for their respective affiliates on Sunday, Brandon Walter is undoubtedly the least-known of the bunch.

Going off SoxProspects.com’s most-recent top 60 rankings, Walter (No. 41) ranks ranks behind the likes of Triple-A Worcester’s Kutter Crawford (No. 27), Double-A Portland’s Brayan Bello (No. 7), and Low-A Salem’s Bradley Blalock (No. 36).

Still, of those four hurlers, Walter put together the most impressive outing in High-A Greenville’s 2-1 victory over the Rome Braves at Fluor Field on Sunday afternoon.

In what was his sixth start of the year for the Drive, the left-hander kept the Braves off the scoreboard while scattering just one hit and two walks to go along with five strikeouts over five dominating innings of work.

Walter, who turns 25 next month, opened the 2021 season with Salem and posted a miniscule 1.45 ERA over 13 appearances (two starts) spanning 31 innings of work, resulting in a promotion to Greenville in early July.

Making his Drive debut on July 6, Walter got off to a shaky start, allowing a total of 12 earned runs to cross the plate over his first three outings and 12 innings pitched with the affiliate. That’s good for an ERA of 9.00.

On July 28, however, Walter seemingly turned a corner, as he struck out a career-high 12 batters while surrendering just two unearned runs on one hit, one walk, and one hit batsman over the course of six strong frames against the Hickory Crawdads.

Since then, the 6-foot-2, 200 pound southpaw really has not looked back and has emerged as one of the sharpest starters in the High-A East as a result.

That being the case because, going back to July 28, Walter has pitched to the tune of a dazzling 0.53 ERA and 1.67 FIP while striking out more than 39% of the batters he has faced over his last three starts (17 innings).

On the 2021 campaign as a whole, the Delaware native has produced a 4.03 ERA, a 3.62 FIP, and 2.09 xFIP to go along with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 46:6 in his six starts and 29 innings of work put in with Greenville.

Among the top hurlers in the High-A East who have pitched at least 29 innings so far this season, Walter ranks fifth in strikeouts per nine innings (14.28), 16th in walks per nine innings (1.86), eighth in strikeout percentage (37.7%), 15th in walk percentage (4.9%), 29th in WHIP (1.10), 30th in FIP, and first in xFIP, per FanGraphs.

The Red Sox originally selected Walter in the 26th round of the 2019 amateur draft out of the University of Delaware. In his time with the Blue Hens, the southpaw was forced to miss the majority of the 2017 season and the entirety of the 2018 season on account of undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Per his SoxProspects.com scouting report, Walter lowered his arm slot during the COVID-19 shutdown last year, which in turn added more velocity and life to his two-seam fastball. He also works with a mid-80s changeup and a slider that has “major-league potential.”

On top of that, the 24-year-old recently drew a comparison to Rays lefty Ryan Yarbrough from FanGraphs‘ Eric Longenhagen earlier this month as well.

“Walter had a huge velo bump from 2019-21, climbing from the upper-80s into the mid-90s,” Longenhagen wrote last week. “He’s also lowered his release a little bit, and works largely off a two-seamer (he can occasionally climb the ladder, living off angle) and changeup, as well as a tertiary slider that has more lateral movement now than it did in 2019 (probably due to the release change). He has an atypical delivery for a starter but definitely has a backend starter’s repertoire and command. In many ways, he’s similar to Ryan Yarbrough. I have Walter projected in a multi-inning relief role.”

Given how well he has performed in Greenville as of late, one has to wonder if Walter could be on the fast track to yet another promotion to Portland in the not so distant future — especially if the Red Sox project him to be more of a multi-inning reliever as Longenhagen suggests.

Regardless of that, though, Walter is lined up to make his next start for the Drive sometime next weekend during their series against the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Rays affiliate) in Southern Kentucky.

(Picture of Brandon Walter: Bryan Green)