Tag: xander bogaerts

Bobby Dalbec set to make first career start at shortstop for Red Sox

As the Red Sox look to bounce back against the Blue Jays on Wednesday night, Bobby Dalbec will be making his first-ever start at shortstop.

With Xander Bogaerts out of the lineup due to back spasms and Enrique Hernandez starting at second base in place of a banged-up Christian Arroyo, Dalbec will serve as Hernandez’s double play partner.

While Dalbec has never started a game at shortstop in the major-leagues, he did play four innings at the position last season without committing an error. The 27-year-old also logged three innings at short as a minor-leaguer in 2018, though he never saw time at the position during his three seasons at the University of Arizona.

Dalbec will become the fourth different player the Red Sox have started at shortstop this season, joining the likes of Bogarts, Arroyo, Hernandez, and Jonathan Arauz. The right-handed hitter, who will bat seventh on Wednesday, is currently slashing .206/.279/.364 with 11 home runs, 32 RBIs, and 35 runs scored in 105 games (319 plate appearances) for Boston this year.

With Dalbec handling things at shortstop, Rafael Devers will start at third base and Franchy Cordero will start at first base. Alex Verdugo, Jarren Duran, and leadoff man Rob Refsnyder make up the starting outfield from left to right. Tommy Pham, like Bogaerts, is not available because of back spasms.

Brayan Bello, who was just activated from the injured list after missing the last three weeks with a left groin strain, is making his fourth start and sixth overall appearance of the season. Reese McGuire will be catching the rookie right-hander.

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

(Picture of Bobby Dalbec: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox squander late scoring chances in 3-2 loss to Yankees; Andrew Benintendi shines on both side of the ball against former team

The Red Sox came up short of another walk-off win over the Yankees at Fenway Park on Saturday night. Boston fell to New York by a final score of 3-2 to drop to 56-59 on the season.

Matched up against newly-acquired Yankees starter Frankie Montas, the Sox drew first blood in the bottom of the fourth inning. Alex Verdugo and Christian Arroyo both drew walks while Eric Hosmer singled to load the bases with one out. Jarren Duran then took a 91 mph cutter off his knee to drive in Verdugo before Reese McGuire plated Hosmer on a sacrifice fly to center field.

Kutter Crawford, meanwhile, was in the midst of making his ninth start of the season for Boston. The rookie right-hander faced the minimum through his first three innings of work. He issued a walk to Anthony Rizzo and a single to Josh Donaldson in the fourth, which put runners at the corners with two outs for Gleyber Torres.

Torres proceeded to rip a 341-foot laser in the direction of Verdugo in right field. Verdugo initially took a step inward, but corrected himself in time to make a fantastic catch on the run to strand Rizzo and Donaldson and end the inning there.

The Yankees finally got to Crawford in the fifth, however. After issuing a leadoff walk to old friend Andrew Benintendi, the righty served up a game-tying, two-run home run to Isiah Kiner-Falefa. It was a 372-foot blast over the Green Monster that was good for Kiner-Falefa’s first long ball of the season.

While that did prove to be costly, Crawford did end his night on a solid note by retiring five of the final six hitters he faced through the middle of the sixth. The 26-year-old hurler wound up surrendering the two runs on two hits, four walks, and five strikeouts over six innings. Fifty-nine of the 94 pitches he threw went for strikes and his ERA on the season now sits at 4.18.

In relief of Crawford, Hirokazu Sawamure received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Sawamura struck out two in a scoreless top of the seventh. In the latter half of the frame, the Red Sox lineup now found themselves opposed by Yankees reliever Lou Trivino.

Xander Bogaerts ripped a two-out double to left field, which prompted Yankees manager Aaron Boone to turn to Aroldis Chapman with the left-handed hitting Verdugo due to hit next for the Sox. Chapman plunked Verdugo to bring J.D. Martinez to the plate in a prime run-scoring spot. But the bat was taken out of Martinez’s hands when Chapman caught Bogaerts trying to steal third base and picked him off to extinguish the threat.

John Schreiber took over for Sawamura and put up another zero in the eighth. In the ninth, he gave up a one-out double to Beintendi that was immediately followed by a Jose Trevino infield single to put runners on the corners.

Following a mound visit from pitching coach Dave Bush, Schreiber was tasked with facing Kiner-Falefa, who came through for the Yankees yet again by dropping a perfectly-executed squeeze bunt that scored Benintendi from third to make it a 3-2 game.

Down to their final three outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Sox showed some signs of life against Scott Effross. McGuire and Pham each singled with one out to put runners at first and second for the meat of the order. But Rafael Devers grounded into a force out at second base and Bogaerts popped out to first base to end it.

All told, the Red Sox went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base as a team. Devers, Bogaerts, and Martinez went a combined 1-for-14 with two strikeouts. Pitching-wise, Schreiber was charged with his second loss of the year.

Next up: Wacha returns for rubber match

The Red Sox will activate right-hander Michael Wacha from the 15-day injured list to start Sunday’s series finale against the Yankees. Wacha has been sidelined with right shoulder inflammation since early July. Fellow righty Jameson Taillon will start for New York.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:08 p.m. eastern time on ESPN.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Eric Hosmer comes through with game-winning RBI double as Red Sox end losing streak with 4-3 victory over Orioles

The Red Sox have done it. They have won a series against another American League East team.

Yes, it may have only been one game, but Thursday’s contest against the Orioles at Fenway Park counted as a series, according to The Elias Sports Bureau. Boston therefore clinched its first series win of the season against a divisional opponent with a 4-3 victory over Baltimore.

Matched up against Dean Kremer to begin things on Thursday, the Sox got off to a quick start. Right out of the gate, Xander Bogaerts and Alex Verdugo went back-to-back on a pair of two-out doubles in the first inning. The two traded places to give their side an early 1-0 lead.

Two innings later, Jarren Duran led the bottom of the third off with a hard-hit single and promptly scored all the way from first base when Tommy Pham ripped an RBI double down the left field line. Pham moved up to third on a Rafael Devers sacrifice fly and scored from third on a Bogaerts sacrifice fly to make it a 3-0 game in favor of Boston.

To that point in the contest, Josh Winckowski had been cruising right along. Making his 11th start of the season for the Sox, the rookie right-hander took his shutout bid into the sixth inning before running into some trouble.

After giving up a leadoff single to Cedric Mullins and issuing a five-pitch walk to Adley Rutschman, Winckowski recorded the first two outs of the inning. He then served up a two-run triple to Terrin Vavra, who proceeded to score from third base on an infield single off the bat of Austin Hays.

Winckowski attempted to field the 62.3 mph grounder, but struggled to get the ball out of his glove before making a late underhanded toss to first baseman Eric Hosmer. Hays was initially called out by first base umpire Mark Carlson, but the Orioles challenged the call on the field and it was overturned.

Hays proved to be the last batter Winckowski would face. The 24-year-old hurler wound up allowing three runs on six hits, two walks, and two strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings of work. He threw 93 pitches (63 strikes) and raised his ERA on the season to 4.69.

Austin Davis came on to record the final out of the sixth and did just that to keep the 3-3 stalemate intact going into the bottom half of the inning. Kremer got the first two outs rather quickly before issuing a seven-pitch walk to J.D. Martinez. He was then pulled in favor of Nick Vespi.

Hosmer greeted the new O’s reliever by driving in Martinez all the way from first on a 394-foot RBI double to deep center field. Hosmer’s second hit of the night allowed the Red Sox to jump back out to a 4-3 advantage.

From there, Matt Barnes struck out two and stranded one in the seventh before John Schreiber closed things out by recording the final six outs of the game to notch his fourth save of the year.

With the win, the Red Sox improved to 55-58 on the season. They currently trail the Rays by 4 1/2 games for the third and final American League Wild Card spot.

Also of note, Bogaerts’ first-inning double was the 300th two-base hit of his career. He became the 11th player in Red Sox history to hit 300 doubles with the team, but only the second to do so before turning 30. Carl Yastrzemski first accomplished the feat in 1969.

Next up: Eovaldi vs. German

The Red Sox will now welcome the first-place Yankees into town for a three-game weekend series that begins Friday night. Nathan Eovaldi will get the start in the opener for Boston while fellow eight-hander Domingo German will do the same for New York.

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

(Picture of Eric Hosmer: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Xander Bogaerts delivers with go-ahead 3-run home run as Red Sox hold on for 4-2 win over Guardians to salvage series split

The Red Sox salvaged a series split with the Guardians at Fenway Park on Thursday night. Boston defeated Cleveland by a final score of 4-2 to improve to an even 50-50 on the season.

Kutter Crawford, making his sixth start of the season for the Sox, was solid yet again. The rookie right-hander allowed just one earned run on three hits and zero walks to go along with two strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings of work.

The lone run Crawford gave up came in the top half of the fourth. With one out in the inning, Jose Ramirez belted a 413-foot solo shot down the right field line that managed to stay to the left of Pesky’s Pole and in fair territory. The play was reviewed, but the call was upheld and the Guardians had themselves a 1-0 lead.

Besides that one blip, though, Crawford rebounded by retiring seven of the final nine batters he faced. He was pulled with two outs in the fifth inning as the left-handed hitting Josh Naylor was due to hit next for Cleveland.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 69 (49 strikes), Crawford induced a total of eight swings-and-misses while topping out at 95.7 mph with his four-seam fastball, a pitch he threw 23 times. Although the 26-year-old did not factor into Thursday’s decision, he did lower his ERA on the season to 4.15.

In relief of Crawford, Jake Diekman received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The veteran left-hander did what he was called upon to do by getting Naylor to ground out to end the inning.

To that point in the contest, the Red Sox lineup had been completely held in check by Guardians starter Triston McKenzie, who did not give up his first hit until the fourth and took a shutout bid into the sixth.

After Jarren Duran switched places with Jeter Downs while recording the first out of the inning, Alex Verdugo moved the speedster up to second base with a line-drive single. Xander Bogaerts followed by taking a hanging 0-2 slider from McKenzie and crushing it 412 feet over the Green Monster for a go-ahead three-run blast.

Bogaerts’ eighth home run of the season left his bat at 105 mph. It also gave the Red Sox their first lead of the night at 3-1. Bobby Dalbec provided some insurance in the seventh by plating Franchy Cordero on a 103 mph RBI single to left field.

Following a scoreless seventh inning from Diekman in which he struck out two of the three Guardians he faced, Garrett Whitlock came on with the hopes of recording a six-out save.

Whitlock, working on two days of rest, yielded one run on one hit and one walk in the eighth. As the rain began to fall harder in the ninth, the righty maneuvered his way around a Naylor double to slam the door on the Guardians and pick up his third save of the year.

Next up: Bring on the Brewers

Exactly 100 games into the 2022 season, the Red Sox are a .500 team. They will next welcome the Milwaukee Brewers into town for a three-game weekend series at Fenway Park. The Brewers last visited Fenway in April 2014.

In Friday’s series opener, it will be rookie right-hander Brayan Bello getting the ball for Boston and fellow righty Brandon Woodruff doing the same for Milwaukee.

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

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

Stagnant Red Sox fall into last place in American League East following 8-3 loss to Guardians

Even with new Hall of Famer David Ortiz in the house, the Red Sox lost to the Guardians at Fenway Park on Tuesday night. Boston fell to Cleveland by a final score of 8-3 to drop back down to 49-49 on the season.

In Baltimore, the Orioles defeated the Rays, 5-3, to improve to 49-48, meaning the Red Sox now sit alone in the basement of the American League East for the first time in over two months.

Josh Winckowski returned to the mound on Tuesday after missing the last two weeks on the COVID-19 related injured list. Making his eighth start of the season for Boston, the rookie right-hander allowed five earned runs on six hits, one walk, and one hit batsman to go along with one strikeout over just three innings of work.

Command seemed to be an issue for Winckowski, as only 47 of the 73 pitches he threw went for strikes. Cleveland got to him right away in the first inning, with Jose Ramirez drawing a two-out walk and scoring from second base on an RBI single from Owen Miller.

An inning later, Winckowski grooved a 1-0, 92 mph sinker to Austin Hedges, who deposited it 387 feet over the Green Monster to give the Guardians a 2-0 lead. Nolan Jones broke it open with two outs in the third by crushing a 408-foot, three-run blast off Winckowski to make it a 5-0 game.

The Red Sox were at the very least able to get two of those runs back in their half of the third. Jaylin Davis led things off with a 284-foot double off Guardians opener Bryan Shaw. Rob Refsnyder was hit by a pitch and Alex Verdugo grounded into a force out to put runners at the corners with one out for Xander Bogaerts, who promptly ripped a 106.9 mph RBI single to score Davis and get his side on the board.

Following a Cleveland pitching change, newly-inserted reliever Nick Sandlin plunked the very first batter he faced in J.D. Martinez to fill the bases for Christian Vazquez, who kept the line moving with another run-scoring single. With only one out and the bases still full, Kevin Plawecki lined out to Jones in right field. Bogaerts attempted to tag up from third on the play, but was instead gunned down at home by Jones for the third and final out of the inning. Boston challenged the call on the field, but it was upheld and the rally was over.

At that point in the contest, Red Sox manager Alex Cora elected to go to his bullpen, pulling Winckowski in favor of Austin Davis. Winckowski, who was ultimately took the loss, now owns an ERA of 5.18 this season. Davis, on the other hand, loaded the bases with one out in the fourth before getting Josh Naylor to hit a 66.9 mph groundball in the direction of Yolmer Sanchez at second base.

With his momentum carrying him towards left field, Sanchez attempted to make a behind-the-back toss to Bogaerts, who was covering the second-base bag. Sanchez’s toss, however, was inaccurate and was nowhere near Bogaerts, which allowed two more Guardians runs to cross the plate as Sanchez was charged with a throwing error.

Davis managed to escape the fourth inning without giving anything else up, but the damage had already been done with the Guardians in possession of a 7-2 lead.

While Hirokazu Sawamura and Jake Diekman combined for three scoreless frames of relief of the bullpen, the Red Sox lineup was held hitless from the bottom of the third inning up until the bottom of the seventh, when Rob Refsnyder reached base via a two-out single.

After Tanner Houck, who was making his first appearance since Saturday, surrendered one run in the top of the eighth, Plawecki plated Bogaerts on an RBI double off the Green Monster in the latter half of the inning.

Kaleb Ort retired the side in order in the top of the ninth. In the bottom half, All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase did the very same to end the ballgame.

By losing on Tuesday, the Red Sox are now 6-1 in their yellow City Connect uniforms. Overall, they have dropped eight of their last 10 and their run differential now sits at negative-15 on the year.

Next up: Quantrill vs. Eovaldi

The Red Sox will look to bounce back on Wednesday night by sending right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to the mound for his 15th start of the season. The Guardians will counter with fellow righty Cal Quantrill.

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

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Red Sox at the All-Star Game: Rafael Devers draws a walk in American League’s ninth straight win

The American League defeated the National League by a final score of 3-2 in the 92nd MLB All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night, marking their ninth straight Midsummer Classic victory.

Yankees left fielder Giancarlo Stanton was named the game’s Most Valuable Player after crushing a game-tying, two-run home run in the top of the third inning that was immediately followed by a solo shot off the bat of Twins center fielder Byron Buxton. Stanton’s blast had an exit velocity of 11.7 mph and traveled 457 feet to left field while Buxton’s had an exit velocity of 107.7 mph and traveled 425 feet to left field as well.

Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin took the loss, as the first time All-Star was the one who gave up all three of those runs. Astros righty Framber Valdez, also a first-time All-Star, earned the winning decision by tossing a scoreless third inning.

As far as those who represented the Red Sox were concerned, it was a quiet night for the trio of Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez. Devers, the AL’s starting third baseman, drew a seven-pitch walk off National League starter Clayton Kershaw in his lone trip to the plate.

Bogaerts entered the game as a defensive replacement for the White Sox’ Tim Anderson in the fourth inning. He went 0-for-1 with a strikeout at the hands of Diamondbacks reliever Joe Mantiply before being lifted for the Rangers’ Corey Seager in the middle of the seventh.

Martinez, meanwhile, pinch-hit for former teammate Miguel Cabrera in the top half of the seventh. Unlike Bogaerts and Devers, Martinez received two at-bats, though he, too, failed to record a hit.

So, between the three of them, the Sox’ contingent combined to go 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk. Let’s check in on how some of their former teammates did.

Mookie Betts, starting in center field for the National League, went 1-for-1 with a first-inning RBI single off American League starter Shane McClanahan. Kyle Schwarber, representing the Phillies as a reserve, went 0-for-2 with a strikeout. The same can be said for Andrew Benintendi, who was representing the Royals as a first-time All-Star. Martin Perez, also a first-time All-Star, tossed a 1-2-3 fifth inning for the AL.

Santiago Espinal, who Boston traded to Toronto for Steve Pearce in July 2018, went 0-for-1 with a walk in his first All-Star experience as a member of the Blue Jays.

All told, the American and National League lineups combined for just five runs on 13 hits. Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase picked up the save by striking out the side on 10 pitches in the bottom of the ninth, thus securing win for the junior circuit.

With this installment of the All-Star Game in the books, the likes of Bogaerts, Devers, Martinez will head back to Boston from Los Angeles before the second half of the regular season begins.

The Red Sox open the second half with a three-game weekend series against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park. They will then host the Guardians and Brewers to conclude a 10-game homestand that will take them right into August.

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

Red Sox struggle to get anything going against Shane McClanahan, drop third straight to Rays in 4-1 loss

It was another demoralizing loss for the Red Sox at the hands of the Rays on Wednesday night. Boston dropped its third straight to Tampa Bay by a final score of 4-1 at Tropicana Field to fall to 47-42 on the season.

Josh Winckowski, making his seventh start of the season, pitched well in his home state of Florida. The rookie right-hander held the Rays to three runs on four hits and two walks to go along with five strikeouts over six quality innings of work.

After taking a no-hitter into the third inning, Winckowski ran into some trouble when he issued a leadoff walk to Josh Lowe. That was followed by a line-drive single from Francisco Mejia, which put runners at first and second with no outs.

Winckowski got Yandy Diaz to ground into a force out at second base, but he then gave up back-to-back run-scoring hits to Ji-Man Choi and Harold Ramirez to put the Red Sox in an early 2-0 hole.

An inning later, Winckowski served up a 391-foot solo shot to the light-hitting Taylor Walls with one out in the fourth inning. He was at least able to settle in after that by retiring the final eight batters he faced through the end of the sixth.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 92 (62 strikes), Winckowski induced a total of seven swings-and-misses while mixing in his sinker, slider, four-seamer, changeup, and cutter. The 24-year-old hurler topped out at 94.3 mph with his heater. He was also the tough-luck loser as his ERA on the season now sits at 4.38.

By the time the final out of the sixth inning had been recorded, the Red Sox lineup had been almost entirely held in check by Rays ace Shane McClanahan. The tough left-hander did not give up his first hit of the night until the fourth inning, when Rafael Devers reached base via a one-out double that left his bat at 107.9 mph.

Devers, who has been dealing with a sore back and hamstring, attempted to take off from third when one of McClanahan’s pitches to J.D. Martinez got way from Rays catcher Francisco Mejia. But Mejia was able to gather himself and corral the ball in time to gun down Devers at third base. Martinez then struck out to end the inning.

Back-to-back singles from Xander Bogaerts and Alex Verdugo to lead off the fifth put runners at the corners with no outs for Christian Vazquez, who promptly grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. Bogaerts was able to score on the twin killing, but McClanahan managed to escape the inning while avoiding any serious damage.

Fast forward to the seventh, Bogaerts greeted new Rays reliever Jason Adam by ripping a two-out double to right field and stealing third base. But Verdugo grounded out to first to extinguish the threat.

In the latter half of the seventh, with Jake Diekman in the game for Winckowski, fundamental issues continued to plague Boston. With two outs and one runner on, Diaz laced a groundball single to right field that should have put runners at first and third. Instead, right fielder Rob Refsnyder was indecisive with where he wanted to throw the ball, which allowed the base runner (Lowe) to score all the way from first uncontested.

That unfortunate sequence of events made it a 4-1 game in favor of Tampa Bay. After Phillips Valdez stranded one runner in the eighth, the Red Sox found themselves down to their final three outs in the ninth.

Refsnyder reached on a one-out single, but Colin Poche left him there by retiring Devers and Martinez to wrap up another defeat within the division for Boston. With the loss, the Red Sox are now 4-9 in the month of July and 11-23 against American League East opponents.

Next up: Crawford vs. Rasmussen

As they look to avoid a four-game sweep, the Red Sox are expected to turn to right-hander Kutter Crawford in Thursday’s series finale. The Rays will counter with fellow righty Drew Rasmussen.

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

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

J.D. Martinez joins Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts in representing Red Sox at All-Star Game

Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez is headed to the 2022 MLB All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium, Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday. The veteran slugger will replace the injured Yordan Alvarez of the Astros on the American League roster.

Now a five-time All-Star, Martinez originally finished behind the likes of Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani and Alvarez in both fan and player voting for the starting and reserve designated hitter spots. But Alvarez was placed on the 10-day injured list because of right hand inflammation on Sunday, making him ineligible to compete in the 92nd Midsummer Classic.

Because Martinez was the next designated hitter in line on the player ballot, he will join teammates Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts in representing the Red Sox in Los Angeles next Tuesday. In addition to Martinez taking over for Alvarez, the Giants’ Carlos Rodon and the Marlins’ Garrett Cooper were named replacements in the National League for the Brewers’ Josh Hader and the Phillies’ Bryce Harper, respectively.

Martinez, who turns 35 next month, has made the American League All-Star team in four of his five seasons (2018-2019, 2021-2022) with Boston. There was no All-Star Game in 2020 due to the nature of the COVID-shortened season.

In 76 games this season, Martinez is batting .313/.380/.500 with 29 doubles, nine home runs, 38 RBIs, 50 runs scored, 30 walks, and 78 strikeouts across 337 trips to the plate.

As is the case with Bogaerts, Martinez can become a free-agent at the end of the year. So this very well may be the final time he represents the Red Sox in an All-Star Game.

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

Xander Bogaerts named All-Star reserve, joining Rafael Devers in representing Red Sox

Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts has been selected as a reserve for the American League All-Star team, Major League Baseball announced on Sunday.

Bogaerts will be heading to his fourth All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium on July 19. He will be joined in Los Angeles by teammate Rafael Devers, who was named the starting third baseman for the American League for the second consecutive year on Friday.

Following a 2-for-4 showing in Sunday night’s 11-6 win over the Yankees, Bogaerts is now batting .311/.389/.449 on the season with 21 doubles, seven home runs, 35 RBIs, 50 runs scored, three stolen bases, 35 walks, and 70 strikeouts over 82 games and 350 plate appearances.

Among American League shortstops, the right-handed hitting 29-year-old ranks first in doubles, fourth in RBIs, first in runs scored, first in walks drawn, first in batting average, first in on-base percentage, third in slugging percentage, and first in OPS (.838).

Despite those impressive numbers, Bogaerts finished behind the White Sox’ Tim Anderson (who will be starting at shortstop for the AL) and the Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette in fan voting. He was selected as a reserve through player voting.

Barring any changes in the coming days, Bogaerts and Devers will be the only two players in the 92nd Midsummer Classic. The two started at shortstop and third base for the American League in last year’s exhibition at Coors Field.

Besides Bogaerts and Devers, catcher Christian Vazquez, designated hitter J.D. Martinez, starter Nick Pivetta, and reliever John Schreiber were among those on the team who garnered at least some All-Star consideration.

In Bogaerts’ case in particular, this could very well be the last time he represents the Red Sox in the All-Star Game. The native Aruban can — and most likely will — opt out of the final three years of the six-year, $120 million extension he signed with Boston in April 2019 in favor of becoming a free agent.

Former members of the Red Sox who will be joining Bogaerts and Devers in Los Angeles next week include first-time All-Stars Andrew Benintendi and Martin Perez, two-time All-Star Kyle Schwarber, and six-time All-Star Mookie Betts.

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

Nick Pivetta gives up season-high 7 runs as Red Sox fall to Rays, 8-4

The Red Sox saw their mini two-game winning streak come to an end on a rainy Tuesday night with an 8-4 loss at the hands of the Rays at Fenway Park.

Nick Pivetta, making his 17th start of the season for Boston, struggled for the first time in a a while. Over 5 2/3 innings of work, the right-hander allowed a season-high seven earned runs on eight hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with just four strikeouts on the night.

Three of those seven runs came right away in the first inning, as Pivetta allowed the first three batters of the game to reach base before giving up a bases-clearing, three-run double to Kevin Kiermaier with one out. He escaped any further damage by getting Taylor Walls to line into an inning-ending double play.

Despite falling behind by three runs before taking their first at-bats, the Red Sox did not back down to the Rays. Matched up against old friend Jeffrey Springs, J.D. Martinez accounted for Boston’s first hit of the night on a two-out double in the bottom of the first. Moments later, Xander Bogaerts crushed a 413-foot two-run home run to dead centerfield off his former teammate to account for his side’s first two runs.

Bogaerts’ seventh home run of the season — and first in more than a month — left his bat at 103.9 mph and cut the Sox’ deficit down to one run at 3-2. In the bottom of the second, Trevor Story led things off by clubbing his 14th homer of the year — a 383-foot solo shot over the Green Monster that knotted the game up at 3-3.

Pivetta, meanwhile, was able to settle into his outing by stringing together four consecutive scoreless frames before running into more trouble in the sixth. There, he issued a leadoff walk to Wander Franco, who later scored on an RBI force out off the bat of Kiermaier that broke the 3-3 tie. After Randy Arozarena doubled to put runners at second and third, Walls drove in the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly and Rene Pinto plated another on an infield single that was aided by some quality baserunning from Arozarena.

Pinto would prove to be the final batter Pivetta would face as he was got the hook from Sox manager Alex Cora. Jake Diekman relieved Pivetta and officially closed the book on the righty’s night by allowing the runner he inherited to score before ending things in the sixth.

Of the 85 pitches Pivetta threw on Tuesday, 56 went for strikes and only five of those were swing-and-miss inducing. The 29-year-old hurler was also charged with his sixth loss of the season as his ERA now sits at 3.68.

Moments before Pivetta took the mound in the sixth, the Red Sox had a golden opportunity to take their first lead of the night in the fifth. With Ryan Thompson now in the game for Tampa Bay, Rob Refsnyder and Martinez led off with a single and double to put runners at second and third with no outs. But neither runner was able to advance as Bogaerts grounded out, Christian Vazquez popped out, and Trevor Story struck out.

Hansel Robles was next out of the Boston bullpen in the seventh. His recent struggles only persisted as he walked two and gave up one run on an Isaac Paredes RBI single.

In the latter half of the seventh, the Sox were able to get that run back when Jarren Duran led off with a double and eventually scored on a Bogaerts sacrifice fly to cut Tampa Bay’s lead down to four runs at 8-4.

Tyler Danish held the Rays at eight runs by tossing a pair of scoreless innings, meaning the Red Sox were still trailing by four going into their half of the ninth. Duran and Refsnyder led off with back-to-back singles off Jason Adam. Adam followed that sequence by fanning Martinez and Bogaerts. Vazquez was then struck by a changeup to load the bases for Story.

Story, representing the potential tying run, popped out to Franco to end the game and ensure that Boston would go just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position while leaving 11 runners on base as a team.

With the loss, the Red Sox wrap up the first half of the 2022 season with a record of 45-36. They also fall to 9-17 against the American League East this year.

Next up: Bello Day

In the rubber match of this three-game set on Wednesday, it will be Brayan Bello making his first career start for the Red Sox. The 23-year-old right-hander is regarded by Baseball America as the top pitching prospect in Boston’s farm system.

On the other side of things, the Rays will counter with a seasoned veteran in right-hander Corey Kluber. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Nick Pivetta: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)