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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 19, 2022 2:24:38 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK Matt Barnes trying to find the silver lining in his situation on the injured list By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated June 18, 2022, 7:48 p.m.
It has been nearly three weeks since Matt Barnes last pitched for the Red Sox and it will be at least that and probably more before he does again.
After a series of poor performances, Barnes was placed on the injured list on May 31 with what the team said was inflammation in his right shoulder.
Barnes has used the time since to work on strengthening his shoulder, fixing his mechanics and mentally re-setting after posting a 7.94 earned run average and 1.71 WHIP in 20 appearances with only 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
“I’m trying to take advantage of everything while I can,” Barnes said Saturday, before the Sox absorbed an 11-2 shellacking vs. the Cardinals at Fenway Park. “It’s a combination of everything.”
Barnes has not gotten back on the mound but has played catch out to 105 feet for five throws. As he throws, he is cognizant of his mechanics and staying balanced.
In his first extended comments since going on the injured list, Barnes said the injury is similar to one he had in 2014.
“I came back then and was fine. We’ll be OK again,” he said. “Playing catch, it has felt fine. I’ll be back and able to contribute to this team.”
After making the All-Star team last season, Barnes took a downturn in August that was exacerbated by a bout with COVID-19 that kept him out 17 days.
The problems persisted into this season.
“There are certain points throughout your career where things happen that are very unfortunate. Nobody wants to be on the injured list,” said Barnes, who turned 32 on Friday. “But sometimes there’s opportunities to find silver linings in situations.
“This is an opportunity to come back stronger than I was before, work on some mechanical issues that were obviously present and take a small mental break and not have to worry about competing for a short amount of time before coming back ready to rock.”
Barnes felt good about his fastball this season. But his curveball was “so sloppy” that opposing hitters knew he couldn’t consistently throw it for a strike and sat on his fastball.
“Once I make that adjustment, I’ll be fine,” he said.
Barnes said he needs to be “over my back side” in his delivery. That means standing tall, keeping his weight back and driving the ball. He’s working with strength coaches to exaggerate certain movements.
Barnes, one of the team’s longest-tenured players, said his struggles have been hard to take.
“I was horrible,” he said. “It’s over and done. I can’t change that. The only thing I do is do my best to come back better and do what I can to help us win games.”
Barnes is scheduled to return to Florida on Monday to continue working at the team’s facility in Fort Myers. Sox add reliever
The Red Sox purchased righthanded reliever James Norwood from the Phillies. He will be added to the roster on Sunday to replace Kutter Crawford, who was optioned to Triple A Worcester after Saturday night’s 11-2 loss against the Cardinals.
The 28-year-old, who was designated for assignment on Monday, appeared in 20 games this season. He allowed 16 earned runs on 17 hits over 17 innings but struck out 22 and averaged 96.9 miles per hour with his fastball.
Norwood has 48 games of major league experience with the Cubs, Padres, and Phillies.
“Good fastball, good split, good slider. The numbers don’t represent that but one of those intriguing arms,” manager Alex Cora said. “We’ll see what happens but glad that we got him.”
Norwood has not pitched since last Sunday. Greatest show in town
Chris Sale’s first minor league rehabilitation game is set for 7 p.m. on Monday in Port Charlotte, Fla., against Tampa Bay in a Florida Complex League Game.
Sale is scheduled for two innings then would start every five days after that, adding an inning each time until he is ready to return to the majors.
The Rays are expected to have star shortstop Wander Franco in the game. He is coming back from a strained quad. Taking the tour
Adam Wainwright, who pitched 6⅓ innings for the Cardinals on Friday night, came up to the press box Saturday afternoon to look at some of the vintage photographs on display.
Wainwright also strolled around the pavilion level, sat in the red Ted Williams seat and took a look at the park from the Monster Seats.
The 40-year-old righthander had been taking what he calls an “Old Man Walk” around visiting ballparks on the day after he pitches. Taylor takes a step
Lefty reliever Josh Taylor, out all season with a lower back strain, threw two innings in a simulated game. Taylor wasn’t pleased with the quality of his pitches but held up physically, which was the goal . . . Kiké Hernández batted against Taylor as he comes back from a strained hip flexor. He’s getting closer to a minor league assignment . . . Garrett Whitlock got back on the mound for a 20-pitch bullpen session. The righthander also is out with a hip issue . . . Christian Arroyo, who has been on the COVID-19 injured list since Wednesday, is feeling a little better but “not great” according to Cora . . . The Sox had a pre-game ceremony to honor Albert Pujols, who is retiring after the season. David Ortiz presented Pujols with a No. 5 from the Green Monster. Former Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha also was on the field along with Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 19, 2022 2:27:50 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 6h Three homers for the Cardinals and all were rockets. 5-2 now as O'Neill connects off Robles.
1,232 feet of homers.
That's it for Robles, who has faced five hitters and put four of them on.
Sawamura inherits the bases loaded with one out and the top of order up.
Sawamura is going to wear this. Nobody up in the bullpen as the Cards take BP.
10-2 and they have sent 11 batters to the plate this inning.
The inning has finally ended, as has the patience of many Red Sox fans as they flee for the exits.
6 runs in the 6th gave the Cardinals a 10-2 lead.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 19, 2022 2:31:55 GMT -5
Red Sox bullpen melts down in ugly sixth in blowout loss to Cardinals Sox allow six runs in inning en route to 11-2 loss
By Steve Hewitt | stephen.hewitt@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald PUBLISHED: June 18, 2022 at 10:45 p.m. | UPDATED: June 18, 2022 at 11:39 p.m.
On Friday, as the Red Sox won the series opener with the Cardinals, manager Alex Cora boasted about how far his club has come and how good they are.
On Saturday, it was the NL Central-leading Cardinals’ turn.
In their loss on Friday, the Cardinals nearly stormed back from five runs down in the ninth. A night later, they carried that momentum and left no doubt. A two-run game turned into a laugher in the sixth inning, in which the Red Sox bullpen melted down and gave up six runs en route to a 11-2 blowout loss at Fenway Park.
Nick Pivetta is on the mound Sunday as the Red Sox try to salvage a series victory. They haven’t lost a series since losing three out of five to the Orioles in late May.
The Red Sox trailed just 4-2 heading into the sixth before the disastrous inning began. Hansel Robles struggled against the bottom of the Cardinals’ order and served up an impossible situation for Hirokazu Sawamura, who entered with the bases loaded and couldn’t escape it. By the time the 30-plus-minute inning was over, 12 Cardinals had batted, six runs were scored and the game was out of reach.
While much of the bullpen’s problems this season have focused on the ninth inning, the Red Sox are also failing to find consistency in the middle innings, as Cora acknowledged.
“We need some guys to step up,” Cora said. “(Ryan) Brasier has done an amazing job since he got back. Hansel, on and off. We gotta get him to be more aggressive in the zone. …
“There’s going to be games like that when it’s 4-2 and we need a few shutdown innings. With our offense, we have a chance to come back, but we have to do a better job in the middle of the game.”
The sixth inning actually started with a strikeout, as Robles got Nolan Gorman swinging.
But then the wheels fell off – and quickly. A night after the Red Sox’ bullpen gave up four runs in the ninth and nearly coughed up the game, the struggles continued with Robles, whose fastball was 2 mph slower than his season average, down from 96 to 94.
Robles’ first pitch to Tyler O’Neill was crushed to center for a home run. Then, the struggling reliever issued a four-pitch walk to Dylan Carlson, prompting a mound visit from Cora and the trainer.
“He’s fine,” Cora said. “He kept moving his arm. I don’t know if you guys noticed it, but anyway, obviously he was coming from injury 10 days ago or five days ago. Just to make sure everything was fine, and he said yeah.”
A few minutes later, Robles stayed in the game. But it didn’t get better for him. Harrison Bader singled and No. 9 hitter Andrew Knizner walked before Cora pulled him with the bases loaded for Hirokazu Sawamura.
But with the top of the Cardinals lineup up, they were ready to feast off the Red Sox’ mistakes. Tommy Edman hit a two-run single to break it open before a mistake from Bobby Dalbec continued the bleeding. Brendan Donovan hit a sharp grounder to first, but Dalbec dropped the ball on a potential double play and Donovan beat Dalbec to first safely. That brought up St. Louis’ two best hitters, who took advantage as Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run single and Nolan Arenado added an RBI single to make it an eight-run game.
Sawamura walked O’Neill with two outs – as the Cardinals batted around in the inning – to load the bases but the Red Sox avoided further embarrassment as he struck out Carlson to end a half-inning that lasted more than 30 minutes.
“We didn’t throw enough strikes in that inning,” Cora said. “We loaded the bases and brought in Sawa to try to get a groundball, and it didn’t happen. Just a tough inning right there.”
The Red Sox fell behind as Kutter Crawford – who pitched five shutout innings against the Mariners on Sunday – couldn’t find similar success in his second spot start. Arenado blasted a two-run homer off him in the first inning and Gorman added a solo shot to lead off the fourth as the Sox fell behind, 4-1. Crawford lasted just four innings on 85 pitches.
Cora said Crawford will be optioned to Worcester after Saturday’s start as the Red Sox will bring in newly acquired pitcher James Norwood.
The Red Sox couldn’t do much against Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson despite drawing five walks against him in five innings. Their best chance came in the fourth, when the bottom of the order – Dalbec, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Kevin Plawecki – took three consecutive walks, the last of which walked in a run to make it 4-2. But with the bases loaded, Jarren Duran wasted the chance by grounding out to third.
The Red Sox had five hits, none of them for extra bases. It just wasn’t their night.
“We were one swing away from changing the whole thing, right?” Cora said of the fourth-inning opportunity. “We worked the counts. That’s what he does, get groundballs. We hit the ball on the ground a lot. All the walks, we were right there. One swing away from changing the whole thing, but it just didn’t happen.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 19, 2022 2:33:25 GMT -5
Christopher Smith @smittyonmlb · 5h FOX picked a good game. It's 9:52, an eight-run difference and the end is nowhere in sight.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 19, 2022 2:42:14 GMT -5
Cardinals @ Red Sox Sunday, 19th June 2022 1:30pm @ Fenway
Pallante 2-1/1.46
Pivetta 6-5/3.50
Red Sox turn to Nick Pivetta to take series from Cardinals FLM
Nick Pivetta looks to continue his winning ways on Sunday afternoon when the host Boston Red Sox play the rubber match of their three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Pivetta (6-5, 3.50 ERA) improved to 6-1 with a 1.83 ERA in his last eight starts after allowing one run on three hits in eight innings of a 6-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old right-hander has paid dividends this season after Boston acquired him and prospect Connor Seabold from the Philadelphia Phillies in 2020 in exchange for pitchers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree.
"I don't know if it's change of scenery or if it's just (Pivetta) growing up," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, per the Boston Herald. "Maybe he'd be pitching this way in Philly right now. Sometimes you have to be patient. The organization pulled the trigger. They saw potential, right? At that point the Phillies needed some relievers and it happened. This guy is really good. He keeps learning and understanding that he has to work. ...
"He tries to be perfect, he keeps working on his mechanics, his release points, his slider, so to get a pitcher like this it was a good one. It was a good trade."
Pivetta also has provided length in his starts, including at least seven innings in four of his last seven starts.
"I think it's really important," Pivetta said. "It's what I've really worked on my whole career to kind of get to."
Pivetta owns a 1-1 record with a 4.63 ERA in four career starts versus St. Louis, although Nolan Arenado (3-for-5, RBI) has enjoyed success in a small sample size versus the hurler.
Arenado has belted a homer in back-to-back games to begin this series. He launched a two-run homer in the first inning on Saturday night, and the Cardinals scored six runs in the sixth inning to cruise to an 11-2 romp over the Red Sox.
Another Nolan also went deep on Saturday. Nolan Gorman joined Tyler O'Neill in clubbing a solo homer as St. Louis sent Boston to its fourth loss in its last 16 games.
"He took it as a challenge as far as that we were losing defense by bringing him up here," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of Gorman, per the St. Louis-Post Dispatch. "He's developing his skill set at second (base)."
Tommy Edman is batting a robust 22-for-71 (.310) with 16 runs during this month for the Cardinals, who turn to rookie right-hander Andre Pallante (2-1, 1.46 ERA) on Sunday afternoon.
Pallante, 23, sustained his first loss on Wednesday after allowing two runs on as many hits in 2 1/3 innings in a 6-4 setback to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pallante will be making his 21st career appearance and first versus Boston on Sunday. He would be wise to tread carefully around Xander Bogaerts, who is riding an 11-game hitting streak.
The Red Sox, however, mustered just five hits on Saturday -- all singles.
--Field Level Media
Cardinals at Red Sox Sunday, at 1:35 PM EST Cloudy According to Forecast.io, it's expected to be 57° F with a 3% chance of rain and 12 MPH wind blowing left to right in Boston at 1:35 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com Forecast.io
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Post by Kimmi on Jun 19, 2022 6:43:36 GMT -5
It's fairly cool down here as well. Sunny but cool here, but will take it.
Jays lose. It was a cool 87 degrees here yesterday, with a fair breeze. A high of right around 80 degrees today. It had been in the upper 90s.
If I'm going to be doing anything involving being in the water outdoors, I want it to be 90 degrees. Otherwise, not so much.
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Post by Kimmi on Jun 19, 2022 6:45:13 GMT -5
Jays fans up here who were loud as heck the first month are really quiet now. The Jays have been a little disappointing, IMO.
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Post by Kimmi on Jun 19, 2022 6:48:37 GMT -5
Ugly game for the Sox. Not much else to say about that.
Let's take the series today and all will be good.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 19, 2022 10:10:20 GMT -5
Ugly game for the Sox. Not much else to say about that.
Let's take the series today and all will be good. Robles should of been DFA'd a month ago
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 19, 2022 10:18:04 GMT -5
Game 67: Cardinals at Red Sox lineups and notesBy Amin Touri Globe Staff,Updated June 19, 2022, 34 minutes ago Despite an 11-2 shellacking at the hands of the Cardinals on Saturday night, the Red Sox can still take the weekend series with a win on Sunday afternoon. Nick Pivetta, looking like a new man since mid-May, will take the ball for the rubber match. The righthander is coming off another strong start, having allowed one run on three hits in eight innings of work to beat Oakland on Tuesday. Related: Alex Speier: For members of the Red Sox, this will be a special Father’s Day After spending all of April and May coming out of the bullpen, rookie Andre Pallante has moved into a starter role for St. Louis and will be on the mound Sunday. Pallante only allowed one run over 9 ⅓ innings across the first two starts of his career. The Red Sox will celebrate Juneteenth in a pregame ceremony on Sunday, which will include Springfield native and recording artist Michelle Brooks-Thompson singing Lift Every Voice and Sing, a song that celebrates freedom and African-American heritage. The award-winning singer will also perform the national anthem before the game. Lineups CARDINALS (38-29): Edman SS, Donovan 2B, Goldschmidt 1B, Arenado 3B, O’Neill LF, Carlson RF, Pujols DH, Bader CF, Herrera C Pitching: RHP Andre Pallante (2-1, 1.46 ERA) RED SOX (35-31): Refsnyder RF, Devers 3B, Martinez DH, Bogaerts SS, Verdugo LF, Story 2B, Vázquez C, Bradley CF, Dalbec 1B ADVERTISING Pitching: RHP Nick Pivetta (6-5, 3.50 ERA) Time: 1:35 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Cardinals vs. Pivetta: Arenado 3-5, Bader 0-5, Goldschmidt 3-6 Red Sox vs. Pallante: Has not faced any Boston batters Stat of the day: The Red Sox allowed 11 runs on Saturday, as many as they’d surrendered in the previous five games combined. Notes: Pivetta is 6-1 with a 1.83 ERA over his last eight starts. Pivetta also has provided length in his starts, working at least seven innings in four of his last seven outings. The righthander has a 1-1 record with a 4.63 ERA in four career starts against St. Louis ... Nolan Arenado has belted a homer in back-to-back games to begin this series ... Xander Bogaerts extended his hitting streak to 11 games ... The Sox had just five hits — all singles — on Saturday, breaking a four-game streak of 10-plus hits for the club. Song of the Day: Toronto - Your Daddy Don't Knowwww.youtube.com/watch?v=vr4YjXQNYgI
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Jun 19, 2022 10:20:51 GMT -5
Jays fans up here who were loud as heck the first month are really quiet now. This stuff flips around all the time, which is why I try not to get too high when we're winning. TO was 18-17. Then they went 18-7. The they lost 4 out of 5. This happens to everyone.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 19, 2022 12:28:56 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 1h Albert Pujols has 21 baseballs and seven jerseys in his locker to sign.
When superstars retire, they usually sign for players or coaches on the other team on the final day of a series.
David Ortiz always had a stack of requests in 2016. Same with Jeter in '14.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 19, 2022 12:37:22 GMT -5
Red Sox
Boston Red Sox roster will change Monday as position player must be added and pitcher subtracted; Jeter Downs? Connor Wong? Updated: Jun. 19, 2022, 1:34 p.m. | Published: Jun. 19, 2022, 1:30 p.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox and other MLB teams will be limited to 13 pitchers on their active 26-man rosters starting Monday.
Sunday is the final day teams can carry more than 13 pitchers. The Red Sox have 14 pitchers and 12 position players on their active roster right now.
So they will need to subtract a pitcher and add another position player.
Who might the Red Sox promote?
It’s likely they will add a player from Triple-A Worcester who already is on the 40-man roster because the added player likely will spend only a few games with Boston as Kiké Hernández and Christian Arroyo should return soon.
Hernández, who is on the IL with a right hip flexor strain, could appear in a minor league rehab game Tuesday, then be activated Wednesday or Thursday if all goes well. Arroyo (COVID IL) also should return at some point this week.
So whoever is added will be here for a brief time, then replaced with Hernández or Arroyo.
Shortstop/second baseman Jeter Downs and catchers Connor Wong and Ronaldo Hernández are the only three position players at Worcester who are on the 40-man roster.
Wong and Downs are more likely candidates than Hernández.
Wong is able to play the infield as well as catch. So his versatility and prior experience in the majors this year and last year make him an obvious candidate.
Wong is slashing .261/.333/.376/.709 with three homers and nine doubles in 40 games at Worcester this year. He also has appeared in two games for Boston, going 1-for-6 with an RBI sac fly.
The 23-year-old Downs, the top prospect Boston acquired in the Mookie Betts trade, is batting only .178 with a .298 on-base percentage, .395 slugging percentage, .693 OPS, 11 homers, five doubles and one triple in 52 games for the WooSox this season. He has struck out 31.2% of the time.
Downs has never played in the big leagues. He also obviously isn’t ready. But his 40-man roster status makes him a candidate for a brief stint.
“It all depends now obviously with Christian’s situation and Kiké,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We’re very right-handed in a sense. But we’re versatile, which is important. We’ll see where they are at first and then we’ll make decisions accordingly. With Christian, I think he was still feeling not great but better. The values are not there yet. If he misses a few more days, then he’ll probably have to go and have a few at-bats to get his legs under him. But that’s something we’ve been talking about for a few days.”
Arroyo needs two negative tests or his CT (cycle threshold) values need to be at a certain number back-to-back days before returning.
Cora said Hernández swung the bat well against Josh Taylor during a live batting practice Saturday.
“He sprinted around the bases, he shagged good in BP,” Cora said. “A little bit sore but we don’t know if it’s actually the injury or just the workload. So he’ll hit today during the game and then we’ll see how he feels. Obviously tomorrow he’ll do more out there. And if he has to play on Tuesday in Worcester or wherever, he’ll do that. But we’ll know more tomorrow after the whole workout.”
Both Wong and Downs are right-handed hitters. Ryan Fitzgerald (left-handed hitter), Yolmer Sánchez (switch-hitter), Jaylin Davis (right-handed hitter) and Christin Stewart (left-handed hitter) are a few options if the Red Sox decide to go with someone who is not on the 40-man roster as of right now.
Sánchez, Davis and Stewart all have major league experience.
Cora obviously would prefer to keep the extra pitcher.
“It is what it is and teams have to make adjustments,” Cora said. “That’s where multi-inning (relievers) come into play. We feel like we’ve got a few guys that can help us in that end. We need guys to step up, too. The starters have done a good job the last few weeks or month going deep into the games. We need that. The early hook now, we’re going to have to wait. So captain hook needs to relax a little bit and let ‘em be.”
Reliever James Norwood — who Boston acquired in a minor trade with the Phillies on Saturday — was activated today. He is probably the top candidate to be sent down. He’s out of minor league options and so he would need to clear waivers to remain with the organization.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 19, 2022 14:57:24 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 6m 1.77 ERA for Pivetta in his last 9 starts.
There he is again. Refsnyder with a big two-out single to make it 3-1.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Jun 19, 2022 18:05:11 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 6m 1.77 ERA for Pivetta in his last 9 starts.
There he is again. Refsnyder with a big two-out single to make it 3-1. I'm not sure what happens when Kike returns, but based on his performance, the dude is certainly going to get some interest next year.
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