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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 25, 2022 2:27:04 GMT -5
Guardians @ Red Sox Monday 25th July 2022 7pm @ Fenway Park
Pleasac 2-7/4.02
Pivetta 8-7/4.50
Cleveland Guardians vs.Boston Red Sox Monday, July 25, 2022 at 7:10pm EDT Written by Mason Folz
This Monday the (48-45) Cleveland Guardians and the (48-47) Boston Red Sox will play game one of their four-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 7:10 PM EST inside Fenway Park. This is also the second series between these two teams this regular season, as the Red Sox swept the Guardians in their first three-game series.
The Cleveland Guardians are coming into this one after a tough series against the Chicago White Sox. They won the first two games, but struggle in the second half of the series. They lost by one in game three, as the Guardians must be better in the field and on the mound if they want to avoid another tough loss.
The Boston Red Sox are entering this one after a miserable series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Boston lost the first two games of that series, as they gave up 28 runs in game one. They have to be better on the mound if they want to avoid another embarrassing loss like that one.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Guardians Are on a Roll The Cleveland Guardians have looked solid over the past few weeks, as they are currently (7-3) in their last 10 games. They are slowly crawling back into the playoff picture and doing their best to stay hot. They are only 1.5 games back from the Twins for first place in the AL Central. They will need to continue their strong play if they want to keep climbing up the standings. At the plate, they are scoring 4.45 runs per game and hitting .251 as a team. This is the 15th most runs scored per game and the ninth highest overall team batting average. They have also shown that they can score multiple ways in these games. They can string together hits or they can use their power to clear the bases. Cleveland is averaging .80 home runs per game. The Guardians have also been very aggressive on the base paths, as they have already taken 55 bases this season. This is the 12th most in the MLB and I wouldn't be surprised if they attempted for a few more in this one.
In the field, the Guardians still have some work to do. They are currently allowing 4.33 runs per game and they have the 24th highest overall team fielding percentage. They have struggled in the field, as they have tended to kick the ball around inside the infield. They have already committed 56 fielding errors, which is the 20th most in the league. They can't continue to make these mistakes and still expect to win these games.
According to MLB.com, the Guardians will be starting Zach Plesac on the mound. He has had his struggles this season, as he is currently (2-7) with a 4.02 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. In his last start, he wasn't able to pitch deep into the game, as he allowed six hits and two earned runs to the Tigers in 3.2 innings pitched. They had his number early and he just couldn't find a groove. He is also (1-5) on the road this season, as he hasn't performed well in opposing teams' ballparks.
The Red Sox are Ice Cold The Boston Red Sox have not started the second half of this season how they would have liked, as they are (2-8) in their last 10 and struggling on the mound and in the field. They surrendered 28 runs to the Blue Jays in their previous series. Boston is now in fourth place in the AL East and 16.5 games behind the Yankees for first place. At the plate, they are scoring 4.67 runs per game and hitting .256 as a team. This is the fourth highest overall team batting average and the ninth most runs per game. Unfortunately, they have been extremely cold at the plate since their series started with the Blue Jays. They have performed better against RHP, though. They will have a solid matchup with Plesac in this one. The Red Sox have shown that they have some home run power littered throughout their lineup, as well. They are averaging 1.06 bombs per game, which is the 17th highest average in the league. They have multiple players that could go yard at any given at-bat. I also expect the Red Sox to stay fairly conservative once they have reached base safely. They have only stolen 36 bases this season, which is the 24th most in the MLB. They allow their bats to move their base runners into scoring position.
In the field, the Red Sox have a ton of work to do. They are surrendering runs left and right, as they weren't able to stop the Blue Jays in their previous series. The Red Sox are currently allowing 4.72 runs per game and they have the 24th highest overall fielding percentage. They will make mistakes in the field and allow the Guardians to have second and third opportunities to score. Boston has committed 52 fielding errors, as well. This is the 17th most errors recorded this season, as the Red Sox will need to bounce back from their poor series against the Blue Jays. They can't expect to win these games if they continue to gift their opponents runs and free bases.
According to MLB.com, the Red Sox will start Nick Pivetta on the mound. He has been solid this season, as he is (8-7) with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has been litten up in his last three starts, though. He is (1-2) and gave up 20 combined earned runs. The Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays got to him easily, as the Guardians will attempt to do the same in this one. He has had trouble performing in front of his fans, as well. He is currently (4-3) with a 4.59 ERA.
Guardians at Red Sox Monday, at 7:10 PM EST Rainy According to Forecast.io, it's expected to be 77° F with a 27% chance of rain and 10 MPH wind blowing out in Boston at 7:10 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com Forecast.io
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 25, 2022 2:30:02 GMT -5
Guardians @ Red Sox Probables
Tuesday..7pm..MCCarty 0-0/9.00 vs Winckowski 3-4/4.38
Wednesday...7pm...Quantrill 7-5/3.75 vs Eovaldi 4-3/4.38
Thursday....7pm....McKenzie 7-6/3.11 vs Crawford 2-3/4.50
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 25, 2022 2:31:41 GMT -5
‘We’re back to where we were in April,’ laments Alex Cora after Red Sox swept by Blue Jays By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated July 24, 2022, 5:12 p.m.
This isn’t what Rafael Devers wanted. Especially when his Red Sox are struggling the way they are.
He became the 14th player on their injured list Saturday due to right hamstring inflammation, meaning he could only watch their last two losses to the Blue Jays, including Sunday’s 8-4 defeat, the finish of a three-game sweep. He can’t do anything about it right now.
He can’t stop the bleeding, the five-game skid. He can’t help improve on the 12-29 record against American League East opponents, or the nine losses in 10 games that have dropped the Red Sox back to .500 at 48-48.
“I feel bad,” he said before Sunday’s game. “I feel like I want to be out there and I can’t. I’m not able.”
The Sox committed three errors Sunday, tying a season high. They have looked out of sorts defensively, no more than in the fifth inning.
The Sox were already down, 5-2, Toronto scoring five against Brayan Bello in the first. He did follow it with three scoreless frames, and manager Alex Cora went to Hirokazu Sawamura, Bello departing having allowed nine hits and two walks..
Sawamura allowed runs on an RBI single and fielder’s choice to make it 7-2, but got George Springer to ground what could have been an inning-ender to third. Jeter Downs booted it, putting runners on second and third for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Guerrero hit a slow grounder to first, which Bobby Dalbec fielded on the grass halfway to the mound. He flipped to Sawamura, who lost sight of the bag and stumbled reaching in vain to tag it. It was ruled a single, and made it 8-2.
Downs is a natural second baseman playing third in the absence of Devers, who tried to play through soreness in his hamstring until he couldn’t anymore. The loss of the American League leader in hits (113) felt like a gut punch even beyond the team’s other injuries, which include Trevor Story at second — Yolmer Sánchez was called up Friday and played in all three games, including pitching on Friday — at J.D. Martinez at designated hitter.
“We have taken a step back defensively the last 14 days,” Cora said after the game. “We were really good defensively. Yeah, we have moving parts. But slow the game down, catch the ball, throw to the right base. Don’t panic out there. It seems like right now the game speeds up at one point in the game and it looks horrible.”
The Sox did tally nine hits. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit his third homer of the season and second of the series, a solo shot in the sixth inning off reliever Trevor Richards. Jarren Duran regrouped after a tough weekend, going 2 for 4 with a double, a triple, and two runs scored.
Yet without Devers, the Sox were missing their knockout punch, and at a critical juncture. Devers is hopeful he can return as soon as possible.
“I want to come back here and be 100 percent ready to go and help my team win,” Devers said. “I can’t wait for those 10 days to be up.”
They are up on Aug. 2, the same day as the trade deadline. Devers could be welcomed back to a team whose mission is a lot different than the one envisioned heading into spring training.
“You can talk about the trade deadline or whatever. We’re playing bad baseball. We’re back to where we were in April,” Cora said. “The brand of baseball we have been playing is awful.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 25, 2022 2:33:04 GMT -5
Cora laments team's play after Jays sweep Red Sox: 'It's really bad' Michael Bradburn 2h ago
Following another dismal showing against the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora expressed his displeasure with his team's current play.
"The brand of baseball we're playing is awful," Cora said, according to Christopher Smith of MassLive.
"We're not catching the ball. We're not putting (together) good at-bats. We're not throwing strikes. It's bad. It's really bad right now. But we're talented. And we can turn it around quick. And it starts tomorrow."
Fresh out of the All-Star break, the Red Sox were outscored 40-10 by the Blue Jays in a three-game sweep. The trio of losses saw the club plummet to .500 with a minus-12 run differential, the worst in the AL East. After being as high as second place in the division as recently as July 11, Boston now finds itself in fourth, a half game up on the Baltimore Orioles.
The Red Sox open a four-game set against the Cleveland Guardians at Fenway Park on Monday.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 25, 2022 2:36:07 GMT -5
Christopher Smith @smittyonmlb · 10h Boston Red Sox lose their fifth straight, have been outscored 67-13 during stretch
Red Sox's Alex Cora: The brand of baseball we’re playing is awful. We’re not catching the ball. We’re not putting good at-bats. We’re not throwing strikes. It’s bad. It’s really bad right now. But we’re talented. And we can turn it around quick. And it starts tomorrow"
More from Red Sox's Alex Cora: "I think defensively we have taken a step back the last 14 days. We were really good defensively early on. We’ve got moving parts (roster turnover because of injuries) but you’ve got to slow it down." Cont ..."Catch the ball. Throw to the right base. Don’t panic out there. It seems like right now the game speeds up at one point of the game and it looks horrible.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 25, 2022 2:37:39 GMT -5
Red Sox looking to 'turn it around' after costly defensive miscues July 24th, 2022 Betelhem Ashame
Betelhem Ashame @betelhem_ashame
BOSTON -- Jeter Downs had set his feet a few steps behind third base and was awaiting a routine grounder that he could relay to second for a double play when the ball took an awkward bounce off the bag and caromed toward the wall in foul territory. For a few moments, he didn’t seem to have any idea what had happened to it.
Four batters and two outs later, Cavan Biggio hit a ball up the middle that Downs stopped short of, allowing it to roll into left field, where Franchy Cordero flubbed the pickup. Two batters after that, new menace Raimel Tapia cleared the bases with a triple to the warning track in right-center field.
Before they knew it, the Red Sox were down by five runs in the first inning, having allowed all nine Blue Jays hitters a chance in the batter’s box. It was that kind of day for Boston, with fielders gift-wrapping runs to a Toronto team that proved all weekend it didn’t need any help scoring.
With every mistake came a loud chorus of boos from the 34,404 fans in attendance at Fenway Park, who watched the Red Sox (48-48) unravel in an 8-4 loss on Sunday afternoon, their fifth in a row (which is tied for their longest skid of the season). Their first series out of the All-Star break went nowhere near as intended, as they were swept by the Blue Jays (53-43) at home for the first time since June 2015.
“The brand of baseball we’re playing is awful,” said manager Alex Cora. “We’re not catching the ball, we’re not putting [together] good at-bats, we’re not throwing strikes -- it’s bad. It’s really bad right now. But we’re talented and, you know, we can turn it around quick.”
The Red Sox committed a season-high-tying three errors, which made matters tougher on starter Brayan Bello, their top pitching prospect per MLB Pipeline. In his third big league outing, he was charged with five earned runs over four innings.
That didn’t change after the bullpen took over in the fifth, as Downs hit Matt Chapman in the back on a fielder’s choice throw to home plate and then right-hander Hirokazu Sawamura missed the first-base bag while receiving a relay toss on an infield single, allowing the Blue Jays’ final three runs.
While the Red Sox had players suiting up out of position -- including Downs (primarily a shortstop) and Cordero (a first baseman) -- due to the rash of injuries that have befallen the roster, Cora would not let that be an excuse.
“Yeah, we’ve got moving parts, but you’ve got to slow it down,” he said. “Catch the ball. Throw to the right base. Don’t panic out there. It seems like right now the game speeds up at one point, and it looks horrible.”
Amid those defensive miscues, shortstop Xander Bogaerts was cleaning up messes left and right, showing off his excellent glove. But with rumors swirling around his future ahead of the Aug. 2 Trade Deadline, it’s unclear how much longer he might be anchoring the infield -- and the team -- in Boston. Get the latest from the Red Sox
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The Red Sox have another big series coming up on Monday against the Guardians, who hold a one-game advantage over them in the chase for an American League Wild Card spot. While Boston swept a three-game set in Cleveland in late June, that capped a stretch in which the club posted an MLB-best 19-4 record from the start of the month.
The Red Sox have been an entirely different team since then, going 6-17 in their last 23 games. Against Toronto, they dropped to an 0-11-1 record in series against the AL East and were swept for the second time in two weeks, following a four-game undoing against the Rays from July 11-14 in St. Petersburg.
After Saturday’s 4-1 loss, Bogaerts downplayed the struggles the Red Sox have had within their division.
“It’s tough to lose against the AL East, but in the end, you’re just trying to get to the playoffs,” he said. “I know a lot of people make a big deal about it, but if you can get into the Wild Card as the last seed, I mean, you still have a chance. … What’s all at stake in the postseason, it’s completely different.
“Do you want to beat the division? Yeah. But you just want to get in. I mean, we’re beating the other teams.”
At this rate, the Red Sox are going to have to.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 25, 2022 2:41:33 GMT -5
The only thing positive this week will be Tuesday night for Ortiz night at Fenway
Fully expect "Bloom" ball to continue and not win a game in this series, heck maybe the whole week.
If it ain't clamped down Chaim, sell it eh?
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 25, 2022 2:43:13 GMT -5
Injuries & Moves: J.D. (back) out for third day July 24th, 2022
Keep track of the Red Sox’s recent transactions and injury updates throughout the season. LATEST NEWS
July 24: DH J.D. Martinez (back spasms) scratched from Friday’s lineup, out again Sunday Martinez, who had been slotted into the No. 3 spot in the order Friday, was scratched about an hour before first pitch of the series opener against the Blue Jays due to back spasms, per the Red Sox. He did not play Saturday and was once again ruled out of Sunday’s finale while receiving treatment for the issue. The 34-year-old hasn’t had any game action since the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday, when he was the designated hitter for the final three innings.
“He’ll probably hit during the game and see how it goes,” said manager Alex Cora. “The hope is for him to play tomorrow.”
INF/OF Christian Arroyo (left groin strain) Expected return: Week of July 25 Arroyo, who has bounced around the infield and outfield this season, was injured in the July 8 game against the Yankees. Manager Alex Cora said the hope was for him to DH on a rehab assignment on July 24, but the club decided to delay those plans. “Hopefully early in the week, he can go. And [we’ll] try to get him back at the end of the week,” the skipper said. (Last updated: July 24)
2B Trevor Story (right hand contusion) Expected return: Week of July 25 Story injured the hand on July 12 when he was hit by a pitch from Rays right-hander Corey Kluber. The Red Sox initially believed the injury would not require an IL stint but opted to play it safe. Story has been playing defense and throwing, and he began swinging a bat again on July 24.
“So we’ll see how he reacts during the day,” said manager Alex Cora, “and hopefully at some point this week, he’ll be OK.” (Last updated: July 24)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 25, 2022 2:54:24 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK Matt Barnes, rehabbing in Worcester, battling frustration as he works his way back By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated July 24, 2022, 7:33 p.m.
It was just more than a year ago that Matt Barnes was an All-Star. He was a sure-bet, lockdown closer, finishing the first half of the year with 19 saves, a 2.61 ERA, and 63 strikeouts in 38 innings. It was just more than a year ago that he signed his two-year, $18.75 million contract extension, with a club option for a third.
It was just more than a year ago that his descent from those highs began, too. He’s gone as low as he could go. Back to the Florida Coast League after going on the injured list with shoulder inflammation at the end of May.
He has pitched as bad as he could pitch — a 6.48 ERA after that All-Star Game last season, and a 7.94 ERA in 20 appearances this year. Barnes, who is on the 60-day IL and began a rehab stint at Triple A Worcester on Friday, hasn’t pitched for the Sox since May 30. He spent most of that time at the team’s spring training facility in Fort Myers, Fla., watching his team surge in June, but fall in July.
“It’s been long and I kind of didn’t anticipate it being this long, but it’s kind of the way [expletive] happens sometimes,” said Barnes, who was at Fenway Saturday preparing for an outing Sunday — he allowed two runs on a pair of singles, a hit batter, and a walk in 23 pitches at Polar Park. “It’s certainly been frustrating at points, but just trying to take the opportunity to work on some stuff. Get healthy.”
Barnes worked two-thirds of an inning Friday at Worcester without allowing a run.
For Barnes, being away from the team hurt. Being such a contributor, then sitting with your failures, sometimes alone, made it tough. But Barnes didn’t sit for long. He couldn’t. His reality was what it was. He had to keep a positive perspective, and keep it about the work.
“You’ve got a bunch of [young guys] down there,” Barnes said. “We’re playing games down there every day. So, I tried to make it a point of showing up with a good attitude. Making sure that I got my work in, and I kind of did it in a professional, big-league manner because those guys are watching. I try not to be selfish or kind of drag my situation into what those guys are doing.”
Barnes is around 94-95 miles per hour on his four-seam fastball, according to manager Alex Cora. His velocity was a concern coming into spring training, hanging around 92-93 m.p.h. It ticked up as the year began, but the results were the same.
The Sox hoped a reset would help. So, the 2021 All-Star had to go back to the beginning.
“Truthfully, it was harder in the beginning,” Barnes said. “I mean, it took some work, but I think a lot of people kind of discount it and look at just the physical product. But when you take into consideration the mental side of what was halfway through last season to the end of last season to now, you get kicked back down to the bottom of the mountain, and then feel like, ‘Man, how did this happen?’ ”
The Red Sox were swept by the Blue Jays, ending with Sunday’s 8-4 loss, as Barnes threw his fraught inning in Worcester. It was a result neither wanted, but just as Barnes is about a year removed from the All-Star Game, the Red Sox are nine months removed from the American League Championship Series.
Both are trying to recapture what they have lost.
Story gets in the cage
Trevor Story (bruised right hand) took swings in the batting cage both before and during the 8-4 loss to Toronto, the first time since before the All-Star break the second baseman’s done that. “I feel much better and just rehabbing around the clock. The whole time trying to get better,” he said before the game. “Definitely moving in the right direction. Once I can get [the hand] going and let it rip without crazy soreness, then that will be good. I just have been playing around with the bat just because it’s hard for me to stay away from it” . . . J.D. Martinez missed a third straight game with back spasms. The Sox had hoped he might be ready to play Sunday, but will instead target Monday’s series opener against Cleveland. “He’s getting treatment and all that,” Cora said. “Feeling better” . . . Nick Pivetta, who was pushed back a day, will start Monday against the Guardians. There’s a strong chance Josh Winckowski will be activated off the COVID-IL to start Tuesday, followed by Nate Eovaldi on Wednesday and most likely Kutter Crawford on Thursday. The Guardians plan to throw Zach Plesac, a to-be-determined pitcher Tuesday, Cal Quantrill, and Triston McKenzie . . . Rich Hill (left knee sprain) threw another bullpen Sunday . . . The Sox played part of David Ortiz’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony on the video board during Sunday’s game, then additional clips following it.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 25, 2022 3:00:45 GMT -5
Jon Couture @joncouture · 9h Hey @nuggetpalooza (and anyone else who cares):
#RedSox starting pitchers are winless in team's last 23 games. That is the longest streak for the franchise since at least 1995, and I suspect it's longest in franchise history.
Last run that long in a single year was 17 in 2020.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 25, 2022 6:23:59 GMT -5
Red Sox turn to Nick Pivetta vs. Guardians in effort to end slide FLM
Red Sox turn to Nick Pivetta vs. Guardians in effort to end slide
The reeling Boston Red Sox will at least be free from American League East competition on Monday night when they open a four-game series against the visiting Cleveland Guardians.
In dropping a three-game home series to the Toronto Blue Jays that included an 8-4 loss on Sunday, the Red Sox fell to 12-29 within their division. They are 0-11-1 in 12 series against AL East rivals this season.
The series against Toronto started Friday with an embarrassing 28-5 loss.
"We just have to play better," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "It doesn't matter, the trade deadline (Aug. 2), whatever. We're playing .500 baseball. We're back to neutral. We're back to where we were April 8. The brand of baseball we're playing is awful. We're not catching the ball, we're not putting good at-bats, we're not throwing strikes. It's bad. It's really bad right now."
The Guardians, second to the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central, lost 6-3 to the host Chicago White Sox on Sunday to settle for a split of the four-game series.
"We played really well in this series other than (Sunday) and had a chance to at least take three out of four," said Guardians right-hander Shane Bieber, who took the loss Sunday. "But tough starts will put the team in a tough position."
Boston swept a three-game series at Cleveland from June 24-26.
On Monday, Boston will start right-hander Nick Pivetta (8-7, 4.50 ERA) on Monday, while right-hander Zach Plesac (2-7, 4.02) will go for Cleveland.
Pivetta is 1-0, 2.57 ERA in one career start against Cleveland that came June 24 when he pitched seven innings.
Plesac is 1-0, 4.11 ERA in three career starts against Boston.
The Red Sox have lost five games in a row and 13 of their past 16.
"I think defensively, we have taken a step back the last 14 days," Cora said. "We were really good defensively early on. Yeah, we have moving parts, but you have to slow it down. Catch the ball, throw to the right base, don't panic out there. It seems like right now the game speeds up at one point in the game and it looks horrible.
"We're talented and we can turn it around quick. It starts (Monday). We have to show up and play good baseball. It starts with Nick (Pivetta) on the mound, good at-bats, running the bases well, play good defense."
It also would help to have some injured players return. Third baseman Rafael Devers (hamstring) joined a long injured list on Saturday, and designated hitter J.D. Martinez (back) did not play against Toronto.
Despite losing two in a row, the Guardians are 6-4 in their past 10 games.
Guardians shortstop Amed Rosario was 2-for-5 with a double on Sunday to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. He is batting .444 (20-for-45) with six doubles, one triple, eight RBIs, two walks and eight runs during the stretch. He also has nine multi-hit games.
Outfielder Steven Kwan went 2-for-4 with a home run Sunday and has hit safely in 13 of his past 15 games, going 24-for-65 (.369) with six doubles, one home run, seven RBIs and 13 runs.
Guardians designated hitter Josh Naylor was 3-for-5 Sunday and has reached base safely in six of his past seven games, going 9-for-26 (.346) with one double, two homers, eight RBIs and four runs.
--Field Level Media
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 25, 2022 6:28:30 GMT -5
Cleveland Guardians, Boston Red Sox series preview, pitching matchups
Updated: Jul. 25, 2022, 7:04 a.m.|Published: Jul. 25, 2022, 6:02 a.m.
By
Joe Noga, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Here is a preview of the four-game series between the Guardians and Red Sox.
Where: Fenway Park, Monday through Thursday.
TV/radio: Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM 1100 AM, WMMS 100.7 FM and the Guardians Radio Network will carry the series.
Pitching matchups: RHP Zach Plesac (2-7, 4.02) vs. RHP Nick Pivetta (8-7, 4.50) at 7:10 p.m. on Monday; TBD vs. TBD at 7:10 p.m. on Tuesday; RHP Cal Quantrill (7-5, 3.75) vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi (4-3, 4.30) at 7:10 p.m. on Wednesday; RHP Triston McKenzie (7-5, 3.11) vs. RHP Kutter Crawford (2-3, 4.50) at 7:10 p.m. on Thursday.
Series: Boston swept a three-game series June 24-26 at Progressive Field. Cleveland leads all-time 1,048 wins to 995.
Team updates:
Guardians — Jose Ramirez is a career .263 hitter against the Red Sox with four home runs and 15 RBI in 38 games. Franmil Reyes is a lifetime .400 hitter against the Red Sox with five home runs and 10 RBI. Plesac is 1-0 with a 4.11 ERA in three career starts against Boston. McKenzie has never started against the Sox.
Red Sox — Boston enters the series 1-9 in their last 10 games and 3-13 over the last 16. The Red Sox are 2-7 in their last nine home games, averaging 4.7 runs at home, third-best in the AL behind the Yankees and Blue Jays. They are 19-5 when scoring at least five runs in a game at Fenway. Boston leads the majors in doubles and extra-base hits and rank third in runs and total bases.
Injuries:
Guardians — RHP Aaron Civale (right wrist), OF Oscar Gonzalez (ribs), LHP Anthony Gose (left triceps), RHP Cody Morris (right shoulder) and RHP Carlos Vargas (right elbow) are on the injured list.
Red Sox — LHP James Paxton (elbow surgery), LHP Josh Taylor (back strain), RHP Matt Barnes (right shoulder), OF Kike Hernandez (right hip flexor), LHP Rich Hill (left knee), RHP Tyler Danish (right forearm), RHP Michael Wacha (right shoulder), RHP Connor Seabold (right forearm), INF Christian Arroyo (left groin), LHP Matt Strahm (left wrist), INF Trevor Story (right hand), LHP Chris Sale (finger fracture, 3B Rafael Devers (right hamstring) are on injured list.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 25, 2022 9:48:07 GMT -5
Are we looking at Xander Bogaerts' last week at Fenway Park?
By Rob Bradford WEEI 93.7 an hour ago
Xander Bogaerts will never forget that first time he walked into Fenway Park. Aug. 23, 2009.
"It was so loud," he told WEEI.com.
For the then-16-year-old who had just traveled from Bangor, Maine - where he and his brother completed their Senior League World Series run - the whole scene was awe-inspiring. Signing a contract with his new organization and then stepping into Fenway, where the first thing he saw was Derek Jeter hit the very first pitch of the game for a home run off Sox stater Josh Beckett.
"We liked it so much we asked my mother if we could stay another day," remembered Bogaerts.
It turned out he stuck around he home of the Red Sox for quite a long while. Thirteen years, to be exact. Now, Bogaerts is facing the prospect of leaving once again, staring at the prospect of no longer calling Fenway his home park.
With the trade deadline eight days away, and the shortstop possessing the opportunity to become a free agent at season's end, the place he fell in love with during that Red Sox vs. Yankees Sunday night game could be soon put in his rearview mirror.
So, is he making a point of soaking in what could be his days as a home player at Fenway?
"So far it hasn’t kicked in like that yet. Maybe it’s just me trying to be in the moment and not have distractions," he said. "When you get closer to the wire, closer to the finish line maybe that will start creeping a little bit more. Right now we have so much going on it’s hard to think of that."
But, the problem is that we don't know where that finish line exactly exists. Aug. 2? The end of the season? We just have no idea.
"That’s a good point," Bogaerts admitted, acknowledging "the wire" seems to be a fluid thing.
"One day at a time and hopefully the wire … We’ll get to the end of the year and see what happens. Everyone knows I want to be here but you don’t know how that’s going to play out," said Bogaerts, who has played a combined 623 regular season and postseason games at Fenway. "But I haven’t had that thought yet. Not yet. I did I would have told you, but I haven’t yet.
The way our season has been it’s really hard for me to think of that in the midst of everything we have going on right now as a team. It’s kind of hard."
For Bogaerts. For everybody involved. Welcome to the week before the 2022 trade deadline.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 25, 2022 10:30:02 GMT -5
Jomboy @jomboy_ Red Sox in July
5 Wins - 15 Losses -72 Run Differential
and if you put the ball in play against them the odds are you're going to have a good time
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 25, 2022 10:34:18 GMT -5
Given ample chances to inspire belief, these Red Sox either couldn’t or didn’t
By Jon Couture July 25, 2022 | 11:02 AM
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On Sunday afternoon, NESN named David Ortiz its Star of the Game. A 46-year-old man who spent nearly all of its three and a half hours in a suit, 200 miles to the west, and who only appeared at Fenway Park during the 8-4 loss as the team showed snippets of his Hall of Fame induction speech on the video board.
A more succinct summary of the on-field weekend you will not find. And, for that matter, probably the right call.
Ortiz was, shockingly, clutch in Cooperstown. His overarching message was a beautiful one about belief. In yourself, and in the power of belief in others.
“When you believe in someone, you can change their world. You can change their future,” Ortiz said.
It would be lovely to dovetail that with these Red Sox, still just three games out of a playoff position, still with two-plus months to get themselves into the October derby where anything can happen. Did they not flounder last July and August only to turn into something special?
Sorry. I can’t. At least not today, after as dispiriting a weekend as I can remember. That may not just be due to my advancing age, a week of breathing soup air, and most of my thoughts involving my lawn’s newfound Desert of Maine impression.
On Friday, the Red Sox allowed 27 runs in six innings, then a 28th to break a franchise futility record that had stood since sports pages were illustrated by cartoonists. On Saturday, Rafael Devers — their saving grace, and the one guy they can sign to forgive all the rest — became the 14th man on their injured list before they were punked by Alek Manoah.
On Sunday, they trailed by five in a half-inning and made three errors, which doesn’t even include Jeter Downs hitting a runner with a throw and Hirokazu Sawamura losing first base attempting a cover play.
“Yeah, we have moving parts, but slow the game down, catch the ball, throw to the right base,” Alex Cora matter-of-factly told reporters about his Red Sox. “The brand of baseball we have been playing is awful.”
Increasingly, this is blowing back on Chaim Bloom, even among those who understand that 14 players is more than half a major-league roster. And it’s a number that doesn’t even include J.D. Martinez, who’s missed three games with back spasms. Or, for that matter, Triston Casas at Triple A, who just returned this weekend after missing 10 weeks and has left the first-base situation in Boston to necrose.
Brayan Bello may be great one day, but he’s not ready for the majors. He’s nevertheless gotten three starts during a record 23-game run in which the patchwork Red Sox rotation hasn’t earned a single victory. (The Sox are 6-17 since Rich Hill’s win in Cleveland on June 26, with a 6.83 team ERA.) Jarren Duran isn’t either, his repeated insistence that we just don’t understand that center field is hard undercut by the fact we’ve been watching him play it for a month
Bloom doesn’t need cover to operate, but he certainly has it after the last two weeks. Getting whatever possible for Martinez and Nate Eovaldi? Who could blame him right now?
“At the end of the day, this is what we have and this is what we are,” Cora told reporters Sunday.
The blame pie is an endless buffet, and just about everyone not named Devers gets a piece. Xander Bogaerts, his .313 average and .831 OPS sparkling among MLB shortstops, has seven RBIs and six extra-base hits his last 30 games. He has just 38 RBIs for the season despite batting with more runners on base (269) than all but two other AL players — Alex Verdugo, who has 49 despite an ugly .679 OPS, is first.
Does that mean trade him before he opts out of his remaining three years and $60 million? I can’t help but see a nightmare scenario where the Red Sox let Bogaerts go, can’t find common ground with Devers — the Matt Olson baseline for contract talks just screams, “Maybe he’s stupid enough to take this” — and end up with neither.
All bets are off then.
But all bets are off for the next nine days as well. Castigating these Red Sox for crumbling on themselves when the moment came calling doesn’t feel entirely fair, because they are without an entire rotation of starters, half a bullpen — hey, a Matt Barnes sighting! — Devers, Trevor Story, and more.
But they are what they are, in Cora’s words. And if that translates them to chips in the pursuit of the next great Red Sox team, well, they certainly didn’t inspire enough belief that they were worth much more than that.
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