Tag: tanner houck

Tanner Houck fires 6 strong innings, but Red Sox go down quietly in 3-1 loss to Yankees

The Red Sox received a strong outing from Tanner Houck, but were held to just one run and dropped the middle game of their three-game set against the Yankees as a result. Boston fell to New York by a final score of 3-1 at Yankee Stadium to drop back to under .500 at 32-33 on the season.

Houck pitched well in his 12th start of the year for the Sox. The right-hander allowed two earned runs on three hits, one walk, and one hit batsman to go along with six strikeouts over six innings of work.

After retiring the first nine batters he faced, though, Houck surrendered a leadoff home run to Gleyber Torres, who laced a first-pitch sinker 359 feet into the right field seats to open the scoring for the Yankees.

It took until the sixth inning for the Red Sox to respond. After leaving six runners on base through the first five frames, Rafael Devers led off the top of the sixth by taking Yankees starter Domingo German 417 feet deep to right-center field for his 15th home run of the season and his second in as many nights.

Devers’ 108.4 mph blast tied the score at 1-1. Adam Duvall followed with a single — his first hit since returning from the injured list on Friday — and stolen base, but he, too, was stranded in scoring position as Triston Casas and Christian Arroyo both struck out while Reese McGuire flew out to extinguish the threat.

Houck came back out for the latter half of the sixth and induced two quick outs before serving up a go-ahead solo shot to Willie Calhoun on a 1-2, 88.7 mph splitter at the bottom of the zone. Calhoun’s homer barely cleared the right-field fence, but it travelled far enough to put the Yankees back up, 2-1, heading into the seventh.

Finishing with 93 pitches (56 strikes), Houck induced 14 swings-and-misses while mixing in his slider, sinker, splitter, four-seamer, and cutter. Despite lowering his ERA on the season down to 5.23 on Saturday, the 26-year-old hurler was charged with the losing decision.

With Houck’s night done, Brennan Bernardino received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Bernardino gave up a leadoff single to Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who moved up to second base on a groundout. Josh Winckowski was then brought in to face Kyle Higashioka with two outs in the inning.

On the first pitch he saw from Winckowski, Higashioka ripped a sharp groundball up the middle. Arroyo, the second baseman, attempted to field the ball by diving for it, but it instead nicked off his glove and rolled away. As a result, Kiner-Falefa was able to score all the way from second since Arroyo’s throw back towards home plate did not have much behind it.

That sequence of events provided New York with some valuable insurance in the form of a 3-1 lead. Duvall led off the eighth by getting plunked by Tommy Kahnle, but he failed to move past first.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth, Alex Verdugo laced a one-out single off Yankees closer Clay Holmes to bring the tying run to the plate. Masataka Yoshida then punched out before Justin Turner grounded out to end it in two hours and 29 minutes.

All told, the Red Sox went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position on Saturday and left 11 runners on base as a team. They have won two of their last eight games and are averaging 2.38 runs per game over that stretch.

Devers passes Williams

Devers’ sixth-inning homer was the 21st of his career against the Yankees. With it, the 26-year-old slugger broke a tie with Ted Williams for the most against New York by a Red Sox player before turning 27.

Next up: Bello gets ball in rubber match

As the Red Sox look to avoid falling two games under .500 for the first time since April 14, they will send Brayan Bello to the mound in Sunday night’s series finale. The Yankees will counter with fellow right-hander Clarke Schmidt.

First pitch from Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on ESPN.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Tanner Houck strikes out 8 over 6 strong innings, but Red Sox muster just 4 hits in 2-1 loss to Angels

Despite Tanner Houck’s strong start, the Red Sox were held to just one run on four hits in a series-opening loss to the Angels on Monday night. Boston fell to Los Angeles by a final score of 2-1 at Angel Stadium to drop to 26-22 on the season.

Houck, making his ninth start of the year for the Sox, put together a solid outing in his bid to remain in the rotation. The right-hander allowed just one run on three hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with a season-high eight strikeouts over six innings of work.

The Halos got to Houck for that lone run in their half of the second. After drawing a one-out walk, Brandon Drury went from first to third base on a Matt Thaiss single. He then opened the scoring by coming in from third on an RBI groundout off the bat of Luis Rengifo.

Houck proceeded to load the bases by hitting a batter and giving up another single, but he escaped the jam by fanning Mike Trout on an 84 mph slider at the bottom of the zone. From the middle of the third inning through the end of the sixth, the righty retired eight of the last nine batters he faced.

In addition to striking out Trout and Shohei Ohtani a combined four times on Monday night, Houck induced 17 swings-and-misses on his 83 pitches (65 strikes). The 26-year-old hurler did not factor into the decision, but he did lower his ERA on the season to 4.99.

Shortly before Houck’s night to an end, the Red Sox got on the board in the top of the sixth. After being held in check by Angels starter Jaime Barria, Connor Wong led off the inning with a groundball double off veteran reliever Aaron Loup. Wong then moved up to third on an Alex Verdugo groundout and scored the then-tying run on a Masataka Yoshida RBI single.

With things knotted up at 1-1 going into the seventh, Kutter Crawford took over for Houck out of the Boston bullpen. Making his first appearance since being activated from the 15-day injured list on Friday, Crawford worked his way around a leadoff double in the seventh and came back out for the eighth.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, Mickey Moniak broke the tie by crushing a 401-foot leadoff home run to deep right field to put the Angels back up, 2-1, going into the ninth. Chase Silseth then closed it out by making quick work of Verdugo, Yoshida, and Justin Turner as Crawford was charged with the loss.

At a swift two hours and five minutes, Monday marked Boston’s second-quickest game of the season behind only a 2-1 win over this same Angels team that took one hour and 57 minutes to complete back on April 16.

Next up: Bello vs. Canning

The Red Sox will look to avoid a third straight loss in the middle game of this three-game set against the Angels on Tuesday night. Brayan Bello will get the start for Boston while fellow right-hander Griffin Canning will go for Los Angeles.

First pitch from Angel Stadium is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Tanner Houck sputters after strong start as Red Sox drop fourth straight in 10-1 loss to Mariners

Coming off an ugly weekend, the Red Sox were unable to reverse their fortunes in a series-opening loss to the Mariners on Monday night. Boston fell to Seattle by a final score of 10-1 for its fourth straight loss and the sixth in its last seven games as the club dropped to 22-20 on the season.

Tanner Houck, making his eighth start of the year for the Sox, was impressive out of the gate. The right-hander retired the first 12 batters he faced and took a perfect game bid into the fourth inning before giving up a two-out double to Julio Rodriguez. Though he stranded Rodriguez at second to get through four scoreless frames, Houck ran into some serious trouble in the fifth.

After surrendering a leadoff single to Eugenio Suarez, Houck served up a 438-foot two-run shot to Cal Raleigh to put Boston in a 2-0 hole. An inning later, Ty France led off with a line-drive double down the right field and moved up to third on an Alex Verdugo throwing error. Rodriguez then drew a five-pitch walk to put runners on the corners with no outs.

While he had thrown just 75 pitches (50 strikes) to that point in the contest, Houck was given the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora in favor of lefty Brennan Bernardino. Bernardino, in turn, allowed both inherited runners to score on a a Jarred Kelenic RBI groundout and Raleigh’s second two-run homer of the night.

That sequence of events gave the Mariners a 5-0 lead and closed the book on Houck, who was charged with four of those five runs. The 28-year-old gave up five hits and one walk to go along with five strikeouts over five-plus innings of work. He was hit with the losing decision as his ERA on the season rose to 5.48.

Trailing by five runs going into the bottom of the sixth, the Red Sox lineup finally got to Mariners starter George Kirby. Jarren Duran led off with a line-drive double and Rafael Devers drove him in with a two-base hit of his own to cut the deficit to four. They had a chance to pull even closer in the seventh, but Alex Verdugo lined out with the bases loaded for the final out of the inning.

Seattle then began to break this one open in the top of the eighth. With Richard Bleier in the game for Boston, Suarez crushed a two-run home run and A.J. Pollock and France each drove in runs to give the Mariners a commanding 9-1 advantage.

In the ninth, Pablo Reyes took over on the mound after spending the previous eight innings manning shortstop. Making the second relief appearance of his big-league career, Reyes featured a pitch mix that consisted of 13 eephus curveballs that sat between 34-47 mph and eight fastballs that hovered between 61-75 mph. He allowed one run on two hits and two walks.

Reyes followed that performance by singling with one out in the latter half of the ninth, but his hit was quickly nullified as Enmanuel Valdez grounded into a game-ending double play.

Schreiber exits with lat injury

Reliever John Schreiber entered with one out in the seventh and struck out the first batter he faced in France. The righty then threw a 2-1, 93.3 mph sinker to Rodriguez and began flexing his throwing arm after the fact. That prompted Cora and head athletic trainer Brandon Henry to quickly emerge from the Red Sox dugout.

After a lengthy conference on the mound, Schreiber was taken out of the game and replaced by Bleier. The team later said that Schreiber left with “right lat tightness.” Cora then told reporters that the 29-year-old will likely land on the injured list because of it.

Raleigh makes history with power display

With his two home runs on Monday, Raleigh made some history. The switch-hitter homered from the left side of the plate in in the fifth inning and from the right side in the sixth. In doing so, he became the first catcher ever to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in a game in Fenway Park’s 112-year history, according to the Mariners’ Alex Mayer.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Castillo

The Red Sox will look to put an end to this four-game losing streak as they send Nick Pivetta to the mound on Tuesday night. The Mariners will counter with fellow righty Luis Castillo.

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

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox held to just 5 hits, see eight-game winning streak come to an end in 6-1 loss to Phillies

The Red Sox saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of the Phillies on Sunday afternoon. Boston fell to Philadelphia by a final score of 6-1 in the series finale at Citizens Bank Park to drop back to 21-15 on the season.

Tanner Houck, making his seventh start of the year for the Sox, allowed three earned runs on five hits and one walk to go along with four strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings of work.

After facing the minimum through three scoreless frames out of the gate, Houck ran into some trouble in the fourth. The right-hander gave up back-to-back singles to Bryson Stott and Trea Turner to lead off the inning. He then issued a five-pitch walk to Bryce Harper, which filled the bases for Nick Castellanos.

Castellanos, in turn, opened the scoring by grounding into an RBI force out at third base. Had Rafael Devers fielded the grounder cleanly, he could have gone for the force out at home and possibly start a 5-2-3 double play. Devers instead bobbled the ball, which forced him to make a diving tag on Turner for the only out he could get.

Stott scored from third as a result of Devers’ bobble. Kyle Schwarber then doubled the Phillies’ early lead by plating Harper on a run-scoring single through the right side of the infield.

Despite falling behind first, the Red Sox quickly got one of those runs back in the top of the fifth. After Phillies starter Taijuan Walker retired Devers and Jarren Duran for the first two outs of the inning, Triston Casas cut the deficit in half by crushing a 416-foot solo shot into the trees in deep center field.

Casas’ fourth home run of the season left his bat at 106.4 mph and brought Boston back to within one run of Philadelphia at 2-1. Houck then made quick work of the Phillies’ 8-9-1 hitters in the bottom of the fifth and came back out for the sixth.

After giving up a one-out single to Harper, Houck got Castellanos to ground out for the second out of the inning. With Schwarber due to hit next for the Phillies, Red Sox manager Alex Cora made the somewhat surprising decision to bring in lefty reliever Richard Bleier.

Schwarber came out on top in the left-on-left matchup. The former Red Sox slugger took Bleier 434 feet deep to right field on a 1-0, 88.3 mph sinker down the heart of the plate for his eighth home run of the year. The towering two-run blast put the Phillies up, 4-1, and officially closed the book on Houck’s afternoon.

Finishing with a final pitch count of just 74 (50 strikes), Houck was charged with the tough luck loss. The 26-year-old did, however, induce a game-high 12 swings-and-misses while lowering his ERA on the season to 5.26.

Now trailing 4-1, the Red Sox got a scoreless seventh inning out of Ryan Brasier. The Phillies then put this game out of reach by pushing across two runs on a J.T. Realmuto two-run single off recent trade acquisition Zack Littell.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth, former Red Sox left-hander Matt Strahm put the finishing touches on his first save in a Phillies uniform by retiring Alex Verdugo, Masataka Yoshida, and Raimel Tapia in short order.

The one run the Red Sox pushed across on Sunday is the fewest they have scored in a game since April 10, when they were shut out by the Rays at Tropicana Field. Boston had just five hits and zero walks as a team, though Yoshida (2-for-4) was able to extend his hitting streak to 16 games with a first-inning single.

Wong throws out two more base stealers

Despite going hitless at the plate on Sunday, Connor Wong did throw out two more would-be base stealers. The 26-year-old gunned down his counterpart in J.T. Realmuto at second base for the final out of the second inning. He then threw out Edmundo Sosa at second for the final out of the seventh. Wong has now thrown out eight of 16 potential base stealers to begin the year.

Next up: On to Atlanta

With their eight-game winning streak behind them, the Red Sox will have an off day in Atlanta on Monday. They will then open a quick two-game series against the Braves on Tuesday night. Nick Pivetta is slated to get the start for Boston in the series opener opposite fellow right-hander Charlie Morton.

First pitch from Truist Park on Tuesday is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. eastern time on NESN and TBS.

(Picture of Raimel Tapia: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Connor Wong powers Red Sox to 7-6 win over Blue Jays with first career multi-homer game

The Red Sox survived a six-run fifth inning from the Blue Jays and held on for their fourth straight win on Tuesday night. Powered by four home runs, including two from Connor Wong, Boston defeated Toronto by a final score of 7-6 at Fenway Park to improve to 17-14 on the season.

With left-hander Yusei Kikuchi starting for the Jays, the Sox opened the scoring in their half of the second inning. Following back-to-back groundouts from Enrique Hernandez and Masataka Yoshida, Christian Arroyo got his side on the board by crushing a 404-foot solo shot over the Green Monster for his first home run of the year.

An inning later, Alex Verdugo led off with his second double in as many at-bats and then scored from second on a one-out RBI single off the bat of Rob Refsnyder. In the third, Yoshida extended his hitting streak to 12 consecutive games by taking his countryman in Kikuchi 392 feet deep into Boston’s bullpen for his sixth homer of the season. The 103.1 mph blast put Boston up, 3-0, going into the fifth.

To that point in the contest, Red Sox starter Tanner Houck was cruising. The right-hander kicked off his sixth start of the year by tossing four straight scoreless frames. He than ran into some serious trouble in the top of the fifth. Back-to-back one-out singles from Danny Jansen and Kevin Kiermaier followed by a two-out walk from Bo Bichette filled the bases for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero Jr. came through by plating both Jansen and Kiermaier on a two-run single to left field to cut Toronto’s deficit to one. Bichette, who went from first to third on the play, then scored the tying run on a passed ball. The Blue Jays were not done there, though. After Matt Chapman singled to put runners on the corners, Daulton Varsho deposited a 406-foot three-run home run into the right field bleachers.

Just like that, the Blue Jays were in possession of a 6-3 lead. The Red Sox, however, wasted little time in responding to Toronto’s six-run rally. Verdugo was hit by a pitch and Justin Turner singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Refsnyder then drove in Verdugo on his second run-scoring hit of the night. Two batters later, Yoshida brought Boston back to within one run by pushing across Turner off new reliever Zach Pop.

Despite struggling in the fifth, Houck came back out for the sixth on account of the Red Sox having a short bullpen on Tuesday. He bounced back and kept the deficit at one by retiring the final three batters he faced. And so the 26-year-old wound up allowing six earned runs on six hits and three walks to go along with five strikeouts over six innings of work. Of the 96 pitches he threw, 57 went for strikes.

After Houck blanked the Jays in the top of the sixth, Wong led off the latter-half of the inning with his first homer of the night — a 368-foot laser off Pop that deflected off the top of the Monster and knotted things up at six runs apiece. Following two scoreless innings of relief from John Schreiber and lefty Richard Bleier, Wong was yet again in the spotlight.

Going up against Erik Swanson to lead off the bottom of the eighth, Wong took aim at the Green Monster once more. This time, he took a 2-1, 93.1 mph fastball down the heart of the plate and demolished it 353 feet into the first row of Monster seats. The towering blast gave the Red Sox a 7-6 edge heading into the ninth.

With closer Kenley Jansen and setup man Chris Martin not available, manager Alex Cora turned to Josh Winckowski, who had just pitched two innings on Monday. Winckowski responded to the call by working his way around a one-out single and inducing a game-ending double play. He earned the first save of his career as a result.

Wong stays hot, literally

In his first career multi-homer game, Connor Wong went a perfect 4-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. He may have finished a triple shy of the cycle, but his four hits left his bat at 113.6 mph, 105.4 mph, 98.2 mph, and 105.2 mph.

Next up: Manoah vs. Pivetta

The Red Sox will look to ensure a series victory over the Blue Jays with another win on Wednesday night. Nick Pivetta is slated to get the start for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Alek Manoah for Toronto.

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

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

Tanner Houck allows 4 runs in 5 innings as Red Sox drop series finale to Orioles, 6-2

After splitting the first two games, the Red Sox came up short of a series win over the Orioles in Wednesday afternoon’s finale. Boston instead fell to Baltimore by a final score of 6-2 at Camden Yards to drop the series and drop back to .500 on the season at 13-13.

The Red Sox were previously unbeaten in games started by Tanner Houck. That is no longer the case. Houck, making his fifth start of the year for Boston, allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks to go along with two strikeouts over five innings of work.

Coming off a career-high seven innings in his last time out, Houck ran into some immediate trouble in the bottom of the first on Wednesday. After Cedric Mullins led off with a single, Adley Rutschman reached on a fielding error committed by rookie second baseman Enmanuel Valdez. Valdez’s third error of the season already put runners at the corners for Anthony Santander, who got the Orioles on the board first by plating Mullins on a sacrifice fly to center field.

It did not take long for the Red Sox to respond, though, as Mastataka Yoshida led off the second inning with a 412-foot solo shot off Orioles starter Tyler Wells. Yoshida’s fourth homer of the year pulled Boston back even with Baltimore at 1-1, but the Orioles began to pull away in their half of the fourth.

Houck gave up three consecutive singles to Adam Frazier, Ryan O’Hearn, and Ramon Urias. Frazier came into score on Urias’ base hit. Following a successful sacrifice bunt from Terrin Vavra, Mullins drove in O’Hearn with an RBI single that deflected off Valdez. Rutschman then brought in Urias from third with a sacrifice fly that put the O’s up, 4-1, going into the fifth.

Santander’s fly ball had an expected batting average of .650, but Yoshida made a fantastic diving catch in left field to rob Santander of a hit and prevent at least one additional run from scoring.

The fifth inning would prove to be Houck’s last. The 26-year-old right-hander finished with 86 pitches (59 strikes), but he only induced six swings-and-misses. He was also charged with his first losing decision of the season as his ERA rose to 4.50.

With Houck’s day done, Boston got back on the board in the sixth. Alex Verdugo laced a one-out double and scored his side’s second run a Justin Turner RBI single that knocked Wells out of the game. Baltimore, however, wasted no time in retaliating.

Richard Bleier, who took over for Houck in the bottom of the sixth, yielded back-to-back singles to the first two batters he faced. Mullins dropped down another bunt to move up both runners and Rutschman drew a walk to fill the bases for Santander, who drove in Urias from third on a sacrifice fly to give the Orioles a 5-2 lead.

The Sox had a golden opportunity to cut into that deficit in the seventh, as Enrique Hernandez and Jarren Duran each singled to put runners at first and second with no out. The Orioles then dipped into their bullpen, pulling Danny Coulombe for Yennier Cano. Cano responded to the challenge by fanning Christian Arroyo and retiring the pinch-hitting Reese McGuire to extinguish the threat.

From there, Brennan Bernardino put up a zero in the bottom of the seventh and John Schreiber yielded an RBI double to Urias in the eighth to put the Red Sox in a 6-2 hole. Down to their final three outs in the ninth, Hernandez and Triston Casas made things somewhat interesting by reaching base off Orioles closer Felix Bautista. But Bautista did not waver, as he sat down the next three batters he faced to send the Red Sox home losers after going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and leaving seven runners on base as a team.

With Wednesday’s loss, which took two hours and 27 minutes to complete, the Red Sox wrap up their six-game road trip having gone 3-3. They are now 3-3 against the Orioles and 3-7 against divisional opponents as a whole.

Next up: Off day on Thursday, then Bieber vs. Pivetta on Friday

The Red Sox will travel back to Boston and have Thursday off after playing 19 games in 19 days and going 10-9 in that stretch. They will then welcome the Guardians into town for a three-game weekend series at Fenway Park beginning on Friday.

Nick Pivetta will get the start for Boston in the series opener opposite fellow right-hander Shane Bieber for Cleveland.

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

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Tanner Houck has career day, Alex Verdugo and Yu Chang both homer as Red Sox take series from Twins with 11-5 win

The Red Sox scored first and never looked back in a series-clinching win over the Twins on Thursday afternoon. Boston defeated Minnesota by a final score of 11-5 at Fenway Park to get back to .500 at 10-10 on the season.

With Kenta Maeda starting for the Twins, the Sox drew first blood in their half of the first. On the third pitch he saw from his former Dodgers teammate, leadoff man Alex Verdugo drilled a 386-foot solo shot to right field for his third home run of the year and the first leadoff homer of his career. The ball left Verdugo’s bat at 101.2 mph and gave Boston an early 1-0 lead.

Two innings later, the Red Sox broke it open against Twins reliever Emilio Pagan, who took over for Maeda after Maeda left the game with a left ankle contusion. Verdugo reached base on a one-out single and immediately scored on an RBI double off the bat of Rafael Devers. Masataka Yoshida followed with a run-scoring hit of his own that scored Devers and snapped an 0-for-18 skid.

Back-to-back singles from Enrique Hernandez and Triston Casas loaded the bases for Connor Wong, who drove in two with a groundball single through the left side of the infield. Jarren Duran capped off the high-scoring frame by lacing a 395-foot two-run double to center field to plate both Casas and Wong and give his side a commanding 7-0 advantage.

The Twins got one of those runs back in the top of the fifth. To that point, Red Sox starter Tanner Houck had tossed four scoreless innings out of the gate. But the right-hander ran into a bit of trouble when he gave up back-to-back ground-out doubles to Willi Castro and Max Kepler to trim the deficit down to six runs.

Houck got through the rest of the inning unscathed and the Red Sox lineup responded in the latter half of the fifth. Hernandez led off with a single off Twins reliever Jorge Alcala and — following a Casas Walk — advanced to third on a Wong flyout. Duran then drove in Hernandez from third with a sacrifice fly to center field before Chang came through with a blistering two-run home run that cleared the Green Monster in 4.2 seconds.

Chang’s second homer of the season, which had an exit velocity of 109.7 mph, put Boston up, 10-1, going into the sixth. Houck continued on with yet another scoreless frame before running into more two-out trouble in the top of the seventh. With Jose Miranda already at first base following a leadoff single, Willi Castro clubbed a 413-foot two-run home run into the right field seats to make it a 10-3 game.

Despite the way his outing ended, it was still an impressive day on the mound for Houck. The 26-year-old hurler allowed just the three runs on six hits and one walk to go along with seven strikeouts over seven innings of work to set a new career high in that category. He finished with 96 pitches (63 strikes) and induced 16 swings-and-misses while improving to 3-0 and lowering his ERA on the season to 4.29.

In relief of Houck, Kaleb Ort struck out two in a scoreless top of the eighth. Boston then went up 11-3 over Minnesota in the latter half of the inning when Yoshida plated Christian Arroyo (who reached on a pinch-hit double) with his second RBI single of the afternoon.

Ryan Brasier grinded through a ninth inning in which he surrendered two runs on four hits and a walk. But he got out of a bases-loaded jam when Casas threw out Kepler at third base to end it, thus putting the finishing touches on an 11-5 victory.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Peralta in Milwaukee

On the heels of a 5-2 homestand, the Red Sox will now embark on a six-game road trip that begins in Milwaukee on Friday night. Nick Pivetta is slated to get the start for Boston in the series opener against the National League Central-leading Brewers opposite fellow right-hander Freddy Peralta.

First pitch from American Family Field is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN+. The other two games will begin at 7:10 p.m. and 2:10 p.m. eastern time, respectively.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers homers, Kenley Jansen records first save at Fenway Park as Red Sox snap skid with 5-3 win over Angels

Five hits is all the Red Sox needed to pick up a series-opening win over the Angels on Friday night. Donning the yellow City Connect uniforms for the first time in 2023, Boston defeated Los Angeles by a final score of 5-3 at Fenway Park to put an end to a four-game losing streak and improve to 6-8 on the season.

Tanner Houck, making his third start of the year, for the Sox, allowed two earned runs on four hits and four walks to go along with six strikeouts over just four innings of work.

Both of those Angels runs came right away in the top of the first. After putting Shohei Ohtani (walk) and Anthony Rendon (single) on base with two outs, Houck surrendered a two-run double to former teammate Hunter Renfroe that was inches away from clearing the Green Monster in left field.

Despite the early struggles that put the Angels up 2-0, Houck was at least able to settle in a bit, though he did deal with his fair share of traffic on the base paths. After Connor Wong threw out Luis Rengifo at second to end the second and Renfroe grounded into a force out to end the third, the right-hander stranded two more runners in the fourth by retiring the final three batters he faced.

Because he had already thrown 90 pitches (56 strikes) to that point, though, Houck was done after four, meaning a Red Sox starter has still yet to pitch into the sixth inning of a game this season. The 26-year-old hurler did not factor into Friday’s decision as his ERA on the year remained at 4.50.

With Houck’s day done, the Red Sox got on the board in their half of the fourth. Still opposed by Angels starter Patrick Sandoval, Rafael Devers led off by reaching on Rengifo fielding error. He then took second on a wild pitch before coming into score on opposite-field RBI double off the bat of Enrique Hernandez.

Three batters later, Wong prolonged the inning by drawing a two-out walk off Sandoval to put runners at first and second for Yu Chang. Chang, in turn, hit a groundball towards Rendon at third base. Rendon fielded the ball cleanly, but he made a poor throw that got past first baseman Jake Lamb. As a result of the throwing error, Hernandez scored from second to knot things up at two runs apiece.

Josh Winckowski received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora as he took over for Houck in the fifth. The righty began his outing by putting two runners on with one out before getting Renfroe to ground into an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play.

In the bottom of the fifth, Devers broke the tie by crushing a one-out solo shot to right field off Angels reliever Jimmy Herget. Devers’ sixth home run of the season already had an exit velocity of 106.6 mph and travelled 349 feet off his bat. It also gave the Red Sox their first lead of the night at 3-2.

An inning later, the Red Sox again took advantage of some sloppy defense from the Angels infield. With two outs and two runners (Chang and Wong) at second and third, Rendon committed yet another throwing error on a Rob Refsnyder groundball. Devers then drew a walk off lefty reliever Aaron Loup, which filled the bases for Hernandez.

Hernandez, however, did not need to do anything, as Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe could not corral a first-pitch changeup in the dirt, which allowed Chang to come in to score from third and give the Red Sox a 5-2 advantage heading into the seventh.

Los Angeles did get one of those runs back in the seventh, as Winckowski yielded an RBI groundout to Rendon after putting runners at second and third with one out. Still, it was a productive outing for Winckowski, who allowed just the one run over three innings of relief and was later credited with his first winning decision of the year.

From there, John Schreiber worked a scoreless eighth inning to pave the way for Kenley Jansen, who recorded his first career save at Fenway Park by striking out three of the four batters he faced.

The veteran closer made it a bit interesting by giving up a two-out single to Rendon, which brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Renfroe. But Jansen did not falter and instead responded by getting Renfroe to whiff on a nasty 87 mph slider to end it.

With the victory, the Red Sox pick up their first win in a night game this season while improving to 3-4 at home.

Next up: Anderson vs. Pivetta

The Red Sox will go for their second straight win over the Angels on Saturday (Jackie Robinson Day) afternoon. Right-hander Nick Pivetta will get the start for Boston while left-hander Tyler Anderson will do the same for Los Angeles.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

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

Rafael Devers crushes grand slam, solo homer as Red Sox rout Tigers, 14-5

The Red Sox got back to .500 with a series-clinching win over the Tigers on Saturday afternoon. Boston blew out Detroit by a final score of 14-5 at Comerica Park to improve to 4-4 on the season.

Matched up against Tigers starter Joey Wentz out of the gate, the Sox broke out for six runs in their half of the second inning. After loading the bases with two outs, Wentz issued back-to-back bases-loaded walks to the final two batters he would face in Connor Wong and Rob Refsnyder. Wentz was then given the hook in favor of right-hander Garrett Hill.

With a 2-0 lead already in hand, Rafael Devers greeted the new Tigers reliever by crushing a 356-foot opposite-field grand slam. The ball barely cleared the left-field fence as it left Devers’ bat at 102 mph and extended Boston’s lead to 6-0.

An inning later, the Red Sox again took advantage of ball four when Masataka Yoshida drew a leadoff walk off Hill. A red-hot Adam Duvall followed by unloading on a hanging sinker and depositing it 423 feet into the left field seats for his fourth home run of the season already. The two-run blast had an exit velocity of 109.8 mph and put Boston up, 8-0.

That is where the score would remain through 3 1/2 innings. Up until that point in the contest, Red Sox starter Tanner Houck had retired 8 of the first 10 batters he had faced. But the right-hander began to run into some trouble in the latter half of the fourth.

There, Houck yielded a leadoff walk to Riley Greene and a one-out single to Kerry Greene to put runners on the corners. Nick Maton then put the Tigers on the board with an RBI double to right field that plated Greene. Spencer Torkelson followed by driving in Carpenter on a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to six runs at 8-2.

Houck, for his part, got through the rest of the fourth unscathed and then sat down the side in order in the fifth to end his afternoon on a strong note. The 26-year-old hurler wound up allowing just the two earned runs on three hits and two walks to go along with four strikeouts over five full innings of work. He threw 74 pitches (45 strikes), induced eight swings-and-misses, and was ultimately credited with the winning decision — his second in as many tries.

With Houck’s day done, Zack Kelly got the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Kelly, in turn, stranded two base runners in the sixth and tossed a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh. In between Kelly’s first and second frame of relief, Devers went deep for a second time off Tyler Alexander to make it a 9-2 game in the top of the seventh. Devers’ second big fly of the day and fourth of the season had an exit velocity of 110.3 mph and travelled 395 feet over the right field wall.

In the eighth, Alex Verdugo, Wong, and Refsnyder, tacked on three more runs to the Sox’ advantage with a trio of RBI singles. Following another scoreless inning of relief from Michigan native Kaleb Ort, Raimel Tapia hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run off Tigers second baseman Zack McKinstry in the top of the ninth.

Tapia’s first homer in a Red Sox uniform gave his side a commanding 14-2 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. Ryan Brasier surrendered three runs (two earned) on two hits, one walk, and an Enrique Hernandez throwing error before recording the third and final out to secure a 14-5 victory.

Duvall’s dominance continues

With two more RBIs on Saturday, Adam Duvall now has 14 through his first seven games of the season. Those 14 RBIs are the most ever by a player in their first seven games as a member of the Red Sox.

Duvall’s 10 extra-base hits are the most through seven game with Boston, surpassing Jose Offerman’s mark of nine in 1999.

Devers records first multi-homer game of season

By hitting two home runs on Saturday, Rafael Devers registered the 13th multi-homer game of his career. He now moves into a two-way tie with Vern Stephens for the 12th most multi-homer games in Red Sox history.

Next up: Crawford starts as Sox go for sweep

The Red Sox will go for a three-game sweep over the Tigers in Sunday’s series finale. Right-hander Kutter Crawford will take the mound for Boston while veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd will get the ball for Detroit.

First pitch from Comerica Park is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other worthwhile observations:

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

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

Next up: Red Sox welcome in the Pirates

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

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

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