Rays @ Red Sox Game Thread/ 4th-6th July 2022

Injuries & Moves: Bogaerts iffy for Monday (left thigh)
July 3rd, 2022


Keep track of the Red Sox’s recent transactions and injury updates throughout the season.
LATEST NEWS

July 3: Xander Bogaerts day-to-day with left thigh laceration
In a scary play which could have been a lot worse, Bogaerts got spiked on the left leg, just above his knee, on a stolen-base attempt by Willson Contreras. Bogaerts, who hardly ever exits a game with an injury, had to come off with a laceration in his left thigh that required seven stitches. Given that the Red Sox have a day game on Monday against the Rays, it seems iffy he will be in the lineup. However, manager Alex Cora didn't rule it out.

"It has some numbing [agent] on it now. Right now, I don’t feel anything," said Bogaerts. "I could probably play right now but I don’t know how it feels with the stitches and stuff like that tomorrow. Right now, I feel nothing at all." -- Ian Browne

July 3: Michael Wacha (heavy arm) scratched from Monday start
Righty Wacha, who is having a strong season (6-1, 2.69 ERA) complained of a "heavy arm" on Sunday, which prompted the Red Sox to scratch him from his start on Monday against the Rays. Lefty reliever Austin Davis will make the start, meaning it will be a bullpen game for the Red Sox. There's a chance Wacha will simply slide back a couple of days rather than missing his turn entirely. Righty Kutter Crawford was scratched from his Sunday start at Triple-A, meaning he could be called up as early as Monday to provide some innings for manager Alex Cora. -- Ian Browne

INJURY UPDATES
10-day and 15-day IL

RHP Garrett Whitlock (right hip inflammation)
Expected return: July
Whitlock, who threw three bullpen sessions within the last week, will throw another one at Fenway Park on Tuesday. Whitlock could be getting close to a Minor League rehab assignment. Whitlock will move back to the bullpen when he returns. -- Ian Browne (Last updated: July 3)

RHP Nathan Eovaldi (low back inflammation)
Expected return: July
Eovaldi threw a 35-pitch bullpen session at Fenway Park on July 2, following a 28-pitch bullpen June 29, marking the first two times he had worked off the mound since his last start for the Red Sox on June 8. Next up for Eovaldi will be an up-and-down bullpen -- meaning two innings and roughly 45 pitches -- on July 5 at Fenway. Eovaldi is getting close to going on what could be a brief Minor League rehab assignment. -- Ian Browne (Last updated: July 3)

LHP James Paxton (Tommy John surgery)
Expected return: August
Paxton's latest bullpen session took place on July 2, when he threw 32 pitches. All signs continue to point to the lefty returning to the Red Sox at some point in August.

"He was really good," Cora said of Paxton's session on July 2. "I know, slowly but surely, he's getting to throwing changeups and a good fastball. He’s feeling good about where he’s at.” -- Ian Browne (Last updated: July 3)

Xander Bogaerts needs 7 stitches after being spiked, but Boston Red Sox star avoids serious injury: ‘I was lucky’
Updated: Jul. 03, 2022, 8:18 p.m. | Published: Jul. 03, 2022, 8:17 p.m.
Boston Red Sox v Chicago Cubs


By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com

CHICAGO -- Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts required seven stitches but appears to have avoided serious injury after he was spiked by Cubs catcher Willson Contreras in the sixth inning of Sunday’s game.

Contreras, who was attempting to steal second, caught Bogaerts’ left thigh, right above the knee, with his cleat as the shortstop tagged him out. Bogaerts left the game and went to the clubhouse, where he received the stitches.

“He’s doing OK,” said manager Alex Cora. “Seven actually, right above the left knee. Right by the thigh. He’s day-to-day. We’ll see how it goes, how he feels during the flight and tomorrow.”

It’s unclear if Bogaerts will play Monday’s game against the Rays. The Red Sox could choose to proceed with caution because it’s a 1:35 p.m. game and a quick turnaround after Sunday’s 4-hour, 25-minute affair. But Bogaerts won’t need to go on the injured list and should be back within a matter of days.

Bogaerts said the laceration wasn’t too painful.

“I feel good,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it hurts. It just didn’t look right. Obviously, it was like a little hole in there. I just had to get it right.”

Bogaerts, who watched as former teammate Dustin Pedroia’s career was virtually ended by being spiked in the knee by Manny Machado, was thankful Contreras caught him in the thigh.

“He probably could have avoided it. But I am the wrong one there, being in that lane,” Bogaerts said. “And him coming feet-first didn’t help, either. I didn’t block it intentionally, it’s just I don’t want to reach for a low ball.

“I was lucky it wasn’t my knee because that wouldn’t have been good at all,” Bogaerts added.

No rest for the weary as Red Sox prepare for 17-game stretch against American League East
By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated July 3, 2022, 7:26 p.m.

CHICAGO — There will be no day off for the Red Sox on Monday after an eventful nine-game road trip that ended Sunday with a 4-2 victory in 11 innings against the Chicago Cubs.

Independence Day calls for a day game at Fenway Park against the Tampa Bay Rays. It will be the first of 17 in a row against American League East teams, a stretch that will be telling.

For now there is relief. After two dismal losses against the Cubs, the Sox scored two runs in the 11th on a two-out throwing error by pitcher Rowan Wick.

Jake Diekman managed to get the final three outs to end the longest game of the season, a tedious 4 hours and 25 minutes.



It wasn’t easy, of course. Diekman issued a one-out walk before striking out Christopher Morel and Narciso Crook to end it.

After a 20-6 June that got them back in contention for a playoff spot, the Sox could use another jolt as the season nears its midway point.

That seems more likely to come from within than via the trade market, at least for now.

The roster the Sox have now will be changing significantly over the next two weeks. Four of the eight players on the injured list are close to coming back.

Here’s a look at what to expect:

Rotation changes: Chris Sale is scheduled to pitch for Triple A Worcester on Wednesday. That would be his fourth and presumably final minor league rehabilitation start. How much more fine-tuning could be needed after that? It’s time for Sale to pitch in games that matter.

Nate Eovaldi, who hasn’t pitched since June 8 because of a back injury, is scheduled for a two-inning simulated game on Tuesday, so he should be back soon. His minor league stint may be only a game or two.


A rotation of Sale, Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, and Michael Wacha with either Connor Seabold or Josh Winckowski would be solid.

That assumes, perhaps too optimistically, that the “tired arm” causing Wacha to miss his start on Monday is not a more serious matter.

James Paxton should be an option at some point in August, as could Rich Hill depending on the severity of the knee injury that has him on the injured list.

Lineup changes: Kiké Hernández, who last played on June 7, should return soon from a hip flexor strain. He will need a few minor league games and those are expected to come later this week.

Hernández had a .613 OPS before his injury. The Sox hope the time off will lead to better performance at the plate.

But at what position? The Sox have been pleased with how Jarren Duran has played in center field. I asked Alex Cora how Hernández will fit in once he returns.

“We’ll see,” he said. “We have to wait and see. We have the whole week to play and obviously things happen.”

Notice he did not say that Hernández would go right back to center field.

Hernández has played well defensively in center. But, like the Dodgers once did, the Sox may decide his best role is as a super-utility player.

The other option would be right field. Jackie Bradley Jr. has been excellent defensively but the Sox can’t carry his .572 OPS in the lineup much longer.


Hernández has played parts of 75 games in right field in his career, although none in his two seasons with the Sox. But he’s got the speed and savvy to handle the position.

It seems evident the Sox want to keep Duran in center and continue to utilize his speed in the lineup.

“Jarren, he’s been amazing for us,” Cora said. “He’s playing good defense, running the bases, and putting good at-bats. We’re very pleased.”

Bullpen changes: Garrett Whitlock will be in the bullpen once he comes off the injured list, which should be this week. That should go a long way in improving the late-inning options.

More help is needed than that, but Whitlock’s presence is a good start. His ability to go multiple innings will make it much easier for Cora to manage the late innings with a lead.

Once Sale comes back, the Sox could drop Winckowski or Seabold into the bullpen. The other option would be a return to Triple A to stay on turn in case rotation help is needed.

Mastrodonato: Red Sox to be tested with 14 straight games vs. Rays, Yankees
Sox about to learn just how good they are

By Jason Mastrodonato | jason.mastrodonato@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald
July 4, 2022 at 5:32 a.m.

We all remember what happened last July.

The Red Sox entered the month three games up in the American League East, then exited the month having fallen out of first place without adding any immediate help at the trade deadline.

Chaim Bloom and Co. were ready to shoulder the blame until late arrival Kyle Schwarber put the team on his back in mid-August and the Sox narrowly snuck into the postseason.

This July should be even more strenuous.

The Red Sox will get a challenging welcome back to Fenway Park for Independence Day on Monday, when the Tampa Bay Rays come up for a four-game series that’ll set up an entire month of stiff competition.

The Rays are coming off three straight wins in which they scored 24 runs against the Blue Jays, this after enduring an extended slump at the plate that lasted nearly all of June. The Sox are up just one game on the Rays in the division and a half-game ahead of the Jays.

But this series isn’t the last of it. Beginning Monday, each of the Sox’ next 27 games come against teams with a winning record. Their next 14 games are exclusively against the Rays and Yankees, first at home, then in Tampa and New York, respectively.

That brings them into the All-Star break, which they’ll come out of with three games against the Jays, four against Cleveland, three against Milwaukee and three against Houston.

It’s a gauntlet, and it’s why the Sox’ remaining schedule is considered the most difficult in baseball, according to the website Tankathon, which measures strength of schedule based on the average winning percentage of remaining opponents. The .546 winning percentage of the teams the Sox will play the rest of the year is far and away the most difficult; the Rockies are second with a .531 opponents winning percentage.

And don’t be fooled from the Sox’ big June in which they looked like a juggernaut in the American League. They went 20-6 in the month. But when playing against teams that look like playoff contenders (the Cardinals, Guardians and Blue Jays), the Sox went 5-4. They’re 15-16 against teams with winning records this year.

The best thing that’ll happen to them this week is they’ll skip Rays ace Shane McClanahan, who has a 1.74 ERA and looks poised to start the All-Star Game for the A.L. He pitched Saturday against the Jays and shouldn’t pitch again until Thursday, when the Rays leave town.

It should be an evenly-matched series, with the Rays holding the edge in the pitching department and the Red Sox looking like the premier offensive team.

This Sox team isn’t at full strength.

Michael Wacha has a “heavy arm” according to manager Alex Cora, so Austin Davis will start Monday’s series opener. The red-hot Nick Pivetta gets Tuesday’s game, but the Sox haven’t yet announced a starter for Wednesday. Could it be Brayan Bello, the highly-anticipated prospect who has a 2.81 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 51-1/3 innings with Triple-A Worcester since his promotion?

Cora didn’t rule it out when talking to reporters in Chicago on Sunday.

Things will look different when Chris Sale and Nathan Eovaldi are back in the rotation and Garrett Whitlock is back in the bullpen, where he’ll be going when he recovers from hip inflammation that’s kept him out the last month.

It was weird to see the Sox take Whitlock out of the pen earlier this season, and it’s even weirder that, after talking about how important it was that he develop as a starting pitcher for the future, now they’re sending him back to the ‘pen once again.

Roping around young pitchers between the rotation and bullpen is rarely a recipe for success, at least not in Boston, where Daniel Bard, Brandon Workman and Matt Barnes have experienced various amounts of success and failures after similarly having their roles changed multiple times early in their careers.

But there’s little doubt it’s what the team needs most right now. Once they have Whitlock in a bullpen that also includes Tanner Houck and the unstoppable force that is John Schreiber, Cora will finally have some options.

As iffy as the pen has been lately, it worked seven strong innings on Sunday to lead the Sox to a 4-2 win over the Cubs in 11 innings.

There are bigger questions on this team currently.

Xander Bogaerts needed seven stitches on his thigh after getting spiked on a play at second base Sunday, and one would think he’ll need a little rest before he’s ready to play again.

J.D. Martinez and Trevor Story are stuck in bad slumps that are likely to cause Martinez to be left off the All-Star Game roster and Story’s OPS to fall back beneath .700.

Neither of this are long-term concerns, but concerns nonetheless.

At some point in the next month, the Sox will have to decide whether they’re comfortable with some combination of Bobby Dalbec/Franchy Cordero and/or Triston Casas at first base, or if they need to address the position at the trade deadline.

Same goes with the outfield. Is Jarren Duran the answer or will Kiké Hernandez regain his starting job when he returns from a hip flexor strain?

There’s a lot to look for in the next month. And with the Sox playing only winning teams, it’ll be a good test as they look to prove to the front office just how much they’re worth investing in before the Aug. 2 trade deadline.

Game 80: Rays at Red Sox lineups and pregame notes for a 4th of July matinee at Fenway Park
By Matt Pepin Globe Staff,Updated July 4, 2022, 1 hour ago

The Red Sox benefitted from a costly error by Cubs pitcher Rowan Wick in the 11th inning to salvage one victory on Sunday in their three-game weekend series at the Chicago Cubs.

On Monday, the Red Sox open a seven-game homestand vs. the Rays. The next two weeks look very similar for the Red Sox, with a series against the Rays to start each week and a series against the Yankees to end the week. The only real difference is this week it is three games against the Rays and four against the Yankees, while next week is four vs. Tampa and three vs. New York. Then comes the break for the All-Star Game.


Lefthander Austin Davis will be the Red Sox’ starter for a bullpen game on Sunday. He’ll be opposed by lefty Jalen Beeks, who was drafted by the Red Sox in the 12th round in 2014 and traded in 2018 in the deal that brought Nate Eovaldi to Boston.

Here’s a preview.
Lineups

RAYS (43-36):


1. Yandy Diaz (R) 3B
2. Wander Franco (S) SS
3. Ji-Man Choi (L) 1B
4. Harold Ramirez (R) DH
5. Isaac Paredes (R) 2B
6. Josh Lowe (L) RF
7. Randy Arozarena (R) LF
8. Francisco Mejia (S) C
9. Brett Phillips (L) CF


Pitching: LHP Jalen Beeks (1-1, 2.70 ERA)

RED SOX (44-35):


1. Jarren Duran (L) CF
2. Rafael Devers (L) 3B
3. J.D. Martinez (R) DH
4. Christian Vazquez (R) C
5. Alex Verdugo (L) LF
6. Trevor Story (R) 2B
7. Franchy Cordero (L) RF
8. Christian Arroyo (R) SS
9. Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B


Pitching: LHP Austin Davis (1-1, 2.45 ERA)

Time: 1:35 p.m.

TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7

Rays vs. Davis: Ji-Man Choi 0-2, Yandy Díaz 1-1, Kevin Kiermaier 0-1, Josh Lowe 0-2, Francisco Mejía 1-1, Brett Phillips 0-1, Harold Ramírez 0-3, Taylor Walls 0-1

Red Sox vs. Beeks: Xander Bogaerts 1-4, Jackie Bradley Jr. 0-9, Rafael Devers 1-6, J.D. Martinez 3-7, Kevin Plawecki 0-4, Alex Verdugo 1-3, Christian Vázquez 0-2

Stat of the day: The Red Sox lead MLB in doubles with 184. They have 23 more than second-place Toronto.

Notes: The Red Sox begin a 14-game stretch against only American League East rivals on Monday ... Tampa Bay enters Monday a game behind the Red Sox for first place in the wild-card standings ... The Red Sox and Rays have played just three times in 2022, splitting a pair of one-run games before the Rays earned the series victory on April 24 ... Michael Wacha was scheduled to start for Boston, but manager Alex Cora said following Sunday’s extra-innings win over the Chicago Cubs that Wacha would not not play. “[Wacha has] a heavy arm, kind of like tired,” Cora said ... Tampa Bay has scored 24 runs on 41 hits in winning its past three games, including Sunday’s 7-3 win over Toronto that included a six-run fifth inning.

Song of the Day: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band- "Born in the USA".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPhWR4d3FJQ