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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 17:59:58 GMT -5
This will drive the JBJ haters crazy and good cuz Duran is not all that. Hell I would feel better with Wally in the OF
Jarren Duran moved to right field with Jackie Bradley Jr. in center as Boston Red Sox look to avoid sweep Thursday Published: Jul. 14, 2022, 6:32 p.m.
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- For the first time since June 4, Jarren Duran is playing in right field for the Red Sox on Thursday night.
Boston moved Duran to right and put Jackie Bradley Jr. in center for its series finale against the Rays at Tropicana Field. All season, it has been Duran in center with Bradley manning right field. But with an eye on defense, manager Alex Cora decided to make the switch as the Red Sox look to avoid being swept in a four-game series. Enter your email address here to receive the Fenway Rundown email newsletter in your inbox every Wednesday.
“I think here, it’s very spacious and Jackie’s one of the best defenders in the big leagues,” Cora said. “He showed it yesterday. Put the kid (Duran) in right field. He should be good. One thing about him, he has been really good to his right so far since he got called up. I’m not saying he’s struggled to his left but he has been better to his right.”
Cora said the Red Sox would do the same thing in New York, where they’ll start a three-game series Friday night. Bradley is a far superior defender to Duran, who has mostly played in center throughout his minor league career.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 14, 2022 18:03:31 GMT -5
I hope the MLB network shows the NESN feed my luck it will be the TB feed or the LAD/ STL game
stuck with Rays feed
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 15, 2022 2:08:13 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox lose, 5-4, as Rays score 5 runs in 7th inning, finish off four-game sweep; Rafael Devers homers Updated: Jul. 14, 2022, 10:47 p.m. | Published: Jul. 14, 2022, 9:55 p.m.
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- For Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford, the first six innings Thursday night were a breeze. Crawford didn’t allow a run, gave up just three hits and struck out six batters.
Then came the seventh, when things spiraled out of control quickly. Crawford allowed back-to-back-to-back hits to start the inning, then once John Schreiber came in, Tampa Bay’s offense exploded to turn a 3-0 deficit into a 5-3 lead.
The Red Sox lost, 5-4, as the Rays carried their five-run seventh to finish off a four-game sweep at Tropicana Field. Crawford’s valiant effort -- plus a Rafael Devers home run -- were not enough as the Sox fell to 47-43.
Devers kicked off the scoring in the fourth with a leadoff solo shot -- his 20th homer of the season -- off Rays starter Drew Rasmussen. Jarren Duran made it 2-0 when he scored on a wild pitch in the sixth, then Xander Bogaerts gave Boston a 3-0 advantage with an RBI double to center. Crawford had retired 10 in a row entering the seventh before things came undone.
Jonathan Aranda hit a ground-rule double, then Christian Bethancourt singled to put runners on the corners for Josh Lowe. Lowe doubled in Tampa Bay’s first run, chasing Crawford from the game. Schreiber entered and promptly allowed a seeing-eye, two-run single to Taylor Walls that tied the game. Three batters later, Yandy Díaz chopped a two-run single over an infield that was playing in and put the Rays up, 5-3.
Boston got within a run in the ninth when Bogaerts singled off old friend Jalen Beeks and Verdugo doubled high off the left-field wall to score him. But the Sox’ rally fell short as Beeks got pinch-hitter Christian Vázquez to pop out, then after walking Kevin Plawecki, struck out Bobby Dalbec and got Jeter Downs to ground out to end the game.
The Red Sox have lost eight of 10 games and are 4-10 in July. Boston fell to 2-8 against the Rays this season. Enter your email address here to receive the Fenway Rundown email newsletter in your inbox every Wednesday.
Yankees up next
The Red Sox will end the first half of the season with a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. Here are the pitching probables:
Friday, 7:05 p.m. ET -- RHP Nathan Eovaldi (4-2, 3.16 ERA) vs. LHP Jordan Montgomery (3-2, 3.19 ERA)
Saturday, 7:15 p.m. ET -- RHP Nick Pivetta (8-6, 4.08 ERA) vs. RHP Jameson Taillon (9-2, 4.01 ERA)
Sunday, 1:35 p.m. ET -- LHP Chris Sale (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Gerrit Cole (8-2, 3.05 ERA)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 15, 2022 2:09:34 GMT -5
Why did Boston Red Sox leave Kutter Crawford in for 7th inning Thursday? Alex Cora explains Updated: Jul. 14, 2022, 11:13 p.m. | Published: Jul. 14, 2022, 11:13 p.m.
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Entering Thursday’s game, the Red Sox likely would have been absolutely thrilled to get six shutout innings out of rookie Kutter Crawford. But they ended up asking even more out of the right-hander.
Crawford held the Rays to three hits in six scoreless frames as the Red Sox built a 3-0 lead. He had retired 10 in a row and thrown 82 pitches with the middle of Tampa Bay’s lineup due up in the seventh. Considering he had never gone 5 ⅓ innings or thrown more than 88 pitches in a major league outing so far this year, it seemed likely his night was done. But Cora decided to be aggressive and leave Crawford in to face Jonathan Aranda, Christian Bethancourt and Josh Lowe. Enter your email address here to receive the Fenway Rundown email newsletter in your inbox every Wednesday.
“Obviously, where we were bullpen-wise, we were a little bit limited and he was throwing the ball well,” Cora said after the game. “We rolled the dice with him. It was kind of like Kutter, (John) Schreiber, Tanner (Houck).”
Cora’s plan didn’t work out. Aranda led off with a ground-rule double, then Bethancourt singled to put runners on the corners. Lowe singled -- the third straight hit off Crawford -- to make it 3-1 before Cora turned to the bullpen. John Schreiber entered to face Taylor Walls.
“I didn’t execute pitches,” Crawford said.
By that point, the momentum was on the Rays’ side. And even Schreiber, who hadn’t allowed a run since May, fell victim to it. Walls hit a two-run single to tie the game; three batters later, Yandy Díaz hit a two-run single to give the Rays the lead in a game they would go on to win, 5-4.
“They just put the ball in play... They just put good at-bats, moved the ball around and they ended up scoring five,” Cora said.
Cora’s claim that the Red Sox were short in the bullpen was likely based on the fact Matt Strahm (injured wrist) and Jake Diekman (34 pitches Wednesday) were unavailable. But he still had a stable of available options for the seventh, including Schreiber, Austin Davis (last pitched Monday), Ryan Brasier (last pitched Tuesday) and Hirokazu Sawamura (last pitched Tuesday). Crawford said he wasn’t surprised by Cora’s decision to keep him in for the seventh. Cora said it was an easy call.
“He was throwing the ball well,” Cora said. “It just happened fast. Knowing where we’re going tomorrow, we were thinking of being aggressive with Schreiber and Tanner. But we didn’t get to Tanner.”
The Red Sox face a tough test this weekend with three games in the Bronx and Cora might have to rely on his bullpen for a heavy load with Nate Eovaldi and Chris Sale, who are both fresh off the injured list, scheduled to pitch. But the pending return of multi-inning relief weapon Garrett Whitlock will make things easier.
Pitching in front of friends and family at Tropicana Field, the native Floridian Crawford generally pitched very well. He now has a 2.20 ERA in his last three appearances (4 earned runs in 16.1 innings).
“I felt pretty good mechanically, physically. Had the curveball working,” he said. “I fell behind a few at-bats but I was able to get back into it. I didn’t give up any free passes. I’m happy with that.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 15, 2022 2:42:26 GMT -5
Red Sox remain unbowed: 'We'll be OK' One rough inning proves costly against Rays, but Cora praises 'better effort' from club 1:30 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
ST. PETERSBURG -- The Red Sox had already lost this four-game series to the Rays before they showed up at Tropicana Field on Thursday. But a getaway win on the way to New York could have been a nice momentum-shifter heading into the final series before the All-Star break.
Instead, yet another crushing loss found a team that is 5-12 since June 27.
This time, with nine outs to go and up by three runs, the Red Sox were upended by the Rays’ five-run seventh and lost, 5-4.
Swept out of The Trop in a four-game series for the first time since the Rays’ inception in 1998, the Red Sox had a late-night flight looming and an upcoming series against the 62-27 Yankees.
Happy flight? Doubtful. But it was no time for Boston to feel sorry for itself, either.
“We’ll be OK,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “We played some good baseball today, we put up good at-bats, we battled. I know we lost, but compared to yesterday and the last few days, tonight was a better effort. We played some clean baseball, we made pitches; obviously one bad inning, but overall it was a better effort than yesterday.”
That one inning just happened to be very bad. So what happened?
Cora ‘rolled dice’ with Crawford Righty Kutter Crawford, making another spot start for a rotation that is finally about to get healthy, was simply marvelous over the first six innings.
The rookie had a three-hit shutout after six, allowing three hits and no walks to go with six strikeouts.
Given that this was Crawford’s first six-inning stint of the season, it wouldn’t have been surprising if Cora had lifted him at that point.
Then again, Crawford had retired 10 in a row leading into that seventh, so it was hardly outrageous for Cora to stay with him.
“Where we were bullpen-wise, we were a little limited and he was throwing the ball well, so we rolled the dice with him,” Cora said.
Here’s what happened after the roll of the dice. Jonathan Aranda belted a ground-rule double. Christian Bethancourt followed with a single up the middle. And Josh Lowe came through with an RBI double to make it 3-1. Crawford’s night was over.
“The two-strike curveball to Aranda, I didn’t get it down, I was trying to bounce it,” said Crawford. “Bethancourt, tried going up and in to him and didn’t quite get it there, and he got enough of it to get up the middle. I thought I made a decent pitch to [Lowe] right there, but he was able to get enough to hook it down the line. Just some mislocated pitches.”
Schreiber finally has a letdown Even as Crawford walked off the mound with runners on second and third and nobody out, the Red Sox hardly seemed in dire straits. They were up by two runs and had their hottest relief pitcher coming on in hopes of getting Crawford off the hook.
John Schreiber walked onto the mound with a 0.60 ERA. The side-winding righty hadn’t allowed a run in 19 straight outings, holding the opposition to a .107 average and a .336 OPS.
That streak came to a crashing halt. Taylor Walls hit Schreiber’s fourth pitch, an 0-2, 95.7 mph fastball, for a game-tying two-run single to left.
Then, there was a bad break. Schreiber slipped on the mound and hit Luke Raley with a pitch.
“Just a huge hole in the landing spot, just rolled my ankle over there a little bit. Unlucky,” Schreiber said.
After Brett Phillips laid down a sacrifice bunt, Schreiber yielded a two-run single to Yandy Díaz, who had six RBIs in the series.
“Díaz, just a high hop with the infield in; that’s baseball,” Schreiber said. “Everything felt good, but I can’t be perfect. Obviously we wanted to get this one tonight, but Kutter threw the ball really, really well, and we put up a few runs to put us in the lead there. Just forget about it, go about it tomorrow.”
Shake it off, get healthy At 47-43, the Red Sox are getting healthier. Chris Sale returned on Tuesday. Nathan Eovaldi and Garrett Whitlock are expected to be activated Friday. Trevor Story could be back from a right hand injury on Saturday.
As tough as things have been of late, the Sox are tied with the Blue Jays for the third American League Wild Card spot and 2 1/2 games behind the Rays for the top spot.
“Just keep grinding,” Crawford said. “We’re pretty banged up right now. We’ve just got to grind and keep battling, and things will start going our way.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 15, 2022 2:45:22 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 6h Groundhog Day played out in the 7th inning tonight.
The #RedSox are six outs from suffering a four-game sweep at Tampa Bay.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 15, 2022 2:46:44 GMT -5
Jon Wallach @kengriffeyrules · 5h There are no positives from that “we almost tied it” rally. None.
This team, with about a dozen spare parts on its roster, playing in a building made out of Legos, in front on no fans, embarrassed you this week.
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 5h Worse -- this is who the Red Sox now aspire to be at an organizational level.
This mishmash of a roster making no real money but still somehow contending for a playoff spot is what they want.
This franchise that has won exactly nothing in October is the goal.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 15, 2022 2:56:10 GMT -5
Jon Couture @joncouture · 5h Four games in July shouldn't change perspective on a season, but these four are one hell of a yeesh. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 15, 2022 3:06:33 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 6h Schreiber had not allowed a run since May 27. That inning ended a streak of 17.1 shutout innings over 19 appearances.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 15, 2022 3:11:27 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 6h The Red Sox have been swept in series of 4+ games 8 times since 2000, most recently when they were swept twice in four-game series (once each by the Rays and Yankees) in 2020.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 15, 2022 3:16:19 GMT -5
Lou Merloni @loumerloni · 7h You can’t blame them for giving him the 7th. You have Schreiber and Houck and that’s it. I would love to see the reaction if he pulled him and gave the 7th to Sawamura.
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