Red Sox @ Halos Game Thread/ 6th- 9th June 2022

Boston Red Sox’s Michael Wacha ‘went for the punch-out’ vs. Shohei Ohtani and threw his fastest pitch (96.6 mph) of 2022
Published: Jun. 07, 2022, 2:02 a.m.

By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Michael Wacha threw his fastest pitch of the 2022 season to strike out superstar Shohei Ohtani to end the sixth inning with a runner at second base.

Wacha tossed a complete game 3-hit shutout, leading the Red Sox 1-0 over Los Angeles here at Angel Stadium on Monday.

The righty reached back for 96.6 mph against Ohtani who foul tipped the pitch for strike three. Wacha threw the pitch above the strike zone.

“Obviously Ohtani is one of the greats in this game right now,” Wacha said. “I had a guy in scoring position and just gotta try to strand that runner out there as best as I can and went for the punch-out and was able to get a swing-and-miss. He didn’t miss (many) other pitches tonight. Hit the ball pretty hard but that was a big strikeout there in the sixth.”

Ohtani stroked a single with a 93.7 mph exit velocity against Wacha in the first inning. Wacha retired Ohtani on an 86.3 mph lineout in the fourth inning and a 92 mph groundout to second base to end the game.

“Any time he steps in the box, you’re on full awareness out there on the mound,” Wacha said. “You’ve got to make really, really quality pitches to him.”

Wacha entered his start averaging 93 mph with his four-seam fastball and 93 mph with his two-seamer this season, per Baseball Savant.

His 44 four-seam fastballs here Monday averaged 93.7 mph and his 10 sinkers averaged 93.4 mph, according to Baseball Savant. He recorded five swings-and-misses with the four-seamer, four with his changeup, two with his cutter and one with his curveball.

The final two pitches to Ohtani in the sixth inning were both up and out of the strike zone. Ohtani whiffed at both. They were Wacha’s two fastest pitches of the season, 96.4 mph and 96.6 mph.

“Was pitching around him a little bit,” Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez said. “Don’t let him beat us in that situation. Wacha had that fastball raising up and was trying to get some swing-and-miss up in the zone. So we got it.”

Wacha's shutout keeps Boston on a roll
2:53 AM ADT
Ian Browne

Ian Browne
@ianmbrowne



ANAHEIM – At one point, Michael Wacha was a great early-season story for the Red Sox.

Now? The veteran righty looks primed to be a story that can extend past the spring and deep into the summer.

Wacha (4-1, 1.99 ERA) had a brilliant performance on Monday night at Angel Stadium, firing the second shutout and complete game of his career, lifting Boston above .500 for the first time since April 19 with a tense, 1-0 victory in the opener of a four-game series.

The Red Sox are the only team in MLB to have three complete games this season. In fact, no other team has more than one.


Wacha made a point of seeking out Nick Pivetta and Nathan Eovaldi -- the authors of Boston’s other CGs this season -- in the victory line.

“I told them going through the high-five line, ‘I was just trying to be like you guys,’” said Wacha.

It was the first 1-0, complete-game shutout for a Boston pitcher since Curt Schilling on June 7, 2007, at Oakland. It was the first shutout for a Sox pitcher since Chris Sale accomplished the feat against the Royals on June 5, 2019.


It isn’t hard to find the moment to highlight from Wacha’s 105-pitch, three-hit gem.

Look no further than the bottom of the sixth. With the dangerous Shohei Ohtani at the plate with two outs, Wacha reached back for the two hardest pitches (96.4 mph, 96.6 mph) he’s thrown all season to strike out the dangerous lefty slugger.


By the way, those two pitches were only strikes because Ohtani swung at them. Perhaps that's the result of the Angels pressing a bit as they're mired in a 12-game losing streak.

“We were pitching around him a little bit, don’t let him beat us in that situation,” said Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez. “You know Wacha has that fastball rising up and was trying to get some swing and miss up in the zone and we got it.”

Ohtani had one more chance at Wacha and that was with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

That time, Ohtani offered at a first-pitch changeup that was slightly out of the zone on the outer half. Ohtani grounded out to second baseman Trevor Story to end a satisfying triumph for the Red Sox, who have won five in a row and 14 of their last 19.

This is a far cry from the Boston squad that was nine games under .500 as recently as May 11.

“We know who we are,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “We have a good baseball team. We’ve just got to keep getting better.”


Perhaps it is no coincidence that the Red Sox are 13-5 since Pivetta’s two-hitter against the Astros on May 18. Eovaldi fired the first complete game of his career on May 28.

It is no secret that the current weakness of Boston is the bullpen.

Of late, Cora has made it a point to give his starters a longer leash when it makes sense.

“I know we get criticized sometimes with our pitching program early on in the season, taking care of pitchers and taking them out early,” said Cora. “Like we tell them, the reason we do that is to ... be ready when it really matters.”

Though not given much attention when the Red Sox signed Wacha to a one-year, $7 million contract last Nov. 27, it has paid big dividends already.

For the 30-year-old Wacha is looking more like the young stud he once was in St. Louis rather than the guy who was mediocre from 2019-’21.

“He’s done it before,” said Cora. “Like I always said, he comes from an organization that, they love that stuff. [Adam] Wainwright is still pitching. He learned from them and when he gets the ball, he wants to go as deep as possible. We know that. There’s certain days it’s only six. Tonight it was nine.”


And Wacha loved every minute of going nine for the first time since July 18, 2017, against the Mets.

“Most definitely,” said Wacha. “I mean, you’ve got to have confidence in this game to get it done. I feel like with what my pitches are doing right now and how it’s playing against certain hitters, if we can get early outs and get the strikeout whenever we need it, things like this can happen.”

Second nature: Trevor Story has taken to his new position
By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated June 6, 2022, 8:30 p.m.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — You can see Trevor Story’s athleticism paying off at second base.

The former All-Star shortstop has made his transition to the other side of the bag look maybe not easy, but his elite play around the bag is paying off for the Red Sox. After years of not having a stabilizing figure at the position due to Dustin Pedroia’s knee injury, the Sox have found their fixture at the position.

That was to be expected. Story is too good of a player not to be elite at a position that doesn’t require the responsibility of a shortstop. If a shortstop mishandles a grounder, the chances of converting it to an out at first are slim to none.


“Playing short has helped me a lot at second base,” Story said before Monday’s 1-0 win against the Angels. “Playing the shift over there, too, has helped me be more comfortable, more quick.


“I really kind of treat it the same as short. I just try to be more athletic and let my body, let my athleticism take over and not try to be so, so perfect.”


To put it into simple terms, the shift allows Story to be free and cover more ground, just like he’s playing second. Often, the Sox will shift Story to short right field, giving him much of the room to run around, ranging to his left or right.

Entering Monday’s play, Story was tied for third in defensive runs saved among second basemen with five. The main component he’s had to work on are the throws.

“It’s a lot more side arm from second base,” Story said. “It’s just a shorter throw, but yeah, it’s something that’s kind of coming second nature to me. I’m not trying to overthink or try to do it one certain way. The longer throws I get over the top a little bit more, but the shorter ones, you’re a little more side arm.”


Houck treating everything the same

It’s unclear what Tanner Houck’s role will be moving forward. Manager Alex Cora said he will use him when they need to, be it a multi-inning role, a closer role, or even a setup man.

Houck said he is available for whatever, understanding that whatever role they have him in, he can produce.

“It’s literally the same thing,” Houck said. “I think everyone here would argue whether you’re out there in the first or the ninth, you still got to go out there and give your team the best chance to win.”

Houck did, though, reference a slight nuance to being a starter and turning over a lineup.

“You talk about what you did the first time through the lineup, then you talk about going through the second and third time through the lineup,” he said. “Each time, they learn more about you, so it’s about showing them something they either haven’t seen or try and just make the best pitch you can in that instance.”

Last month, Houck changed the grip of his sweeping slider to one Austin Davis showed him. He felt as if he needed to tweak something, and now uses both slider grips interchangeably depending how he feels.

“Just whichever one’s feeling good that day,” Houck said. “The data that we’ve looked at is pretty similar on both of them, so it’s not about which one is better.”

New dad Jackie Bradley Jr. back

The Red Sox reinstated Jackie Bradley Jr. from the paternity list Monday afternoon, and he started in center field. Bradley missed the series with the Athletics after the birth of his daughter, Elle. For the series, the Sox recalled Jarren Duran, who had three singles in two games and who was optioned back to Triple A Worcester on Monday . . . Josh Taylor (back) threw a bullpen Sunday, and will throw another Tuesday. After that he could face live hitters . . . Chris Sale (rib cage fracture) is still scheduled to throw a bullpen Tuesday. After that, he will also throw to live hitters sometime this week . . . James Paxton (Tommy John) is out to 150 feet with his throwing work, but still not throwing off a mound.

Red Sox @ Halos
7th June 2022
930pm @ Angels Stadium

Whitlock 2-1/3.02

Detmers 2-2/4.20


Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels
Tuesday, June 7, 2022 at 9:38pm EDT
Written by David Delano

The Los Angeles Angels (27-28) will host the Boston Red Sox (27-27) on Tuesday, in the second matchup of a four game series. This preview was written before the completion of Monday's series opener.

Although these clubs have similar records, they are trending in opposite direction. The Angels entered this series on a 11-game losing streak, whereas Boston has won four straight, and 13 of their last 18 ball games. The Angels took two out of three games from the Red Sox in Fenway Park from May 3-5 this season.

Red Sox surging
After getting off to a slow start, the Boston Red Sox have caught fire. On Sunday, the Red Sox completed a three-game sweep of the Oakland A's, winning 5-2. Boston is third with a .259 batting average and fifth averaging 4.8 per game on the season. Those numbers have risen to where there are as the Red Sox offense has flourished over the last 11 games, ranking second with 6.4 runs scored per game and a .294 batting average. Boston has eight players with at least 20 RBI this season, led by Trevor Story with 40 RBI. J.D Martinez leads the team with a .353 batting average, and Rafael Devers leads the club with 12 home runs and is second with a .341 batting average and 31 RBI.

Second-year pitcher Garrett Whitlock (2-1, 3.02 ERA, 1 SV) will make his 13 appearances and ninth start of the season on Tuesday. On May 4, Whitlock allowed two earned runs in five innings against the Angels. He is 1-1 with a 2.20 ERA in five road games.

Angels can't get a break
The Los Angeles Angels have not had a winning series since 2015, and have not made the post season since 2014. With three time MLB Mike Trout, and reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani on the roster, the Angels came into this season with a over/under win total set at 84.5. After jumping off to a 24-13 start, the wheels are being to come off, as the Angels have dropped 15 of their last 18 games, including an 11th straight loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday. The Angeles led the Phillies 6-2 heading into the bottom of the eight inning, and 7-6 heading into the bottom of the ninth, but could not hold on.

The Angels potent offense has cooled down, ranking 27th with 3.2 runs scored over the last 11 games, and 26th with eight home runs hit during that time span. Mike Trout (.274 AVG, 13 HR, 28 RBI), numbers for the season are impressive, but during the losing streak he is batting .095 (4 for 42) with one home run and two RBI. Shohei Ohtani (.242 AVG, 11 HR, 32 RBI) has also struggled over the last 11 games, batting .171 (6 for 35) with two home runs and six RBI.

Reid Detmers (2-2, 4.50 ERA) a 22-year old southpaw will start for the Angels on Tuesday. He faced the Red Sox for the first time in his career on May 4, and allowed three earned runs on 4 2/3 innings. at Fenway Park. Detmers will be facing the Red Six at Angel Stadium this time where he is 2-2 with a 3.10 ERA in five starts. The highlight if Detmers' season was a complete game no-hitter thrown at home against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 10, in a 12-0 Angels win.