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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 17, 2022 3:37:53 GMT -5
What Kiké Hernández’s return means for Jarren Duran -- and how Alex Cora will construct Boston Red Sox lineup
Updated: Aug. 16, 2022, 7:36 p.m.|Published: Aug. 16, 2022, 7:30 p.m.
By
Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
Kiké Hernández finally rejoined the Red Sox on Tuesday night after missing 60 games with a flexor strain in his right hip. And though Hernández struggled offensively before hitting the injured list in mid-June, his return is an important one.
Hernández hit just .209 with four homers, 24 RBIs and a .613 OPS in 51 games over the first two months of the season but it seems he was battling hip problems the entire time. His return will add another above-average bat to Boston’s lineup and vastly improve the club’s defense after two months of Jarren Duran struggling in center field.
Manager Alex Cora thinks Hernández’s return is a big deal.
“We missed him. We miss all these guys that have been hurt. With him, being versatile is huge,” Cora said. “Obviously, offensively, he was on and off. It wasn’t a great start. But just the quality of the at-bat, the preparation and all of that stuff you guys don’t see, it rubs off in a positive way to the team. It was missed.
“He’s a good influence and obviously, what he does out there on the field,” Cora continued. “Good baserunner, good defender, good baseball instincts. When you have guys like that, the team is always better.”
Hernández’s return will impact various other areas of the roster, too.
What does it mean for Jarren Duran?
Duran’s bumpy two-month stretch as the starting center fielder is over. But his time in the majors is not. The Red Sox opted to keep Duran in the big leagues even with Hernández and Refsnyder back, deciding to cut outfielder Jaylin Davis and infielder Yolmer Sánchez instead.
That decision wasn’t a no-brainer. There’s a case to be made that sending Duran back to Triple-A, where he could play every day and continue to improve, would have made the most sense. But the Red Sox, according to sources, decided that it’s important to have their 26 best healthy players on the roster down the stretch and think Duran is one of them (over depth pieces like Davis or Sánchez).
Duran will be the fourth outfielder with Tommy Pham starting in left, Alex Verdugo playing right field and Hernández getting a seeing the lion’s share of starts in center field. Hernández is also able to play some infield and will get some starts at second base (in place of Christian Arroyo with Trevor Story still hurt) and shortstop (like on Tuesday night with Xander Bogaerts sidelined). On those days, Duran is a candidate to play center.
“The good thing with Kiké is that we can move him around and get him at-bats,” Cora said. “Maximize his talent. He’ll play a lot of center field, we know that. But at the same time, we can move him and help people out and get Jarren at-bats, too.
“There’s a chance (Hernández) will play second one night,” Cora said. “We can do that, and he’ll need his rest, too. Just coming out of the IL like that, it’s not easy. Obviously, more versatile in a sense, adding him.”
Duran will no longer play every day but will remain on the roster as a depth option who can start occasionally against righties and serve as a pinch-running threat off the bat.
What about the leadoff spot?
Hernández hit leadoff for the first couple weeks of the season before ceding the role to Story for a couple weeks then regaining it in mid-May. Duran was the main leadoff man (with Refsnyder making some cameos) before Pham was acquired at the trade deadline. Pham has led off for the last eight games and has done admirably, hitting .264 with three homers, five doubles and a .819 OPS in 12 total games for Boston. In total, eight different players have led off this season with Duran (38 games), Hernández (37), Story (15) and Refsnyder (12) leading the pack.
Pham is likely to remain hitting first, Cora said over the weekend. That means Hernández is likely to hit in the middle or bottom of the order and move down when Story returns. Hernández is batting seventh Tuesday night.
“I do believe Tommy has done an outstanding job there so there’s a good chance he’ll stay there,” Cora said.
Hernández’s return will give the team a bat with some power potential near the bottom of the lineup.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 17, 2022 3:46:57 GMT -5
.P. Long @soxnotes · Follow Red Sox starters have a 2.39 ERA in their last 6 games. They've allowed 0 runs in their last 15.0 innings.
Pivetta – 6.0 IP, 3 R Winckowski – 5.2 IP, 3 R Eovaldi – 6.0 IP, 2 R Crawford – 6.0 IP, 2 R Wacha – 7.0 IP, 0 R Pivetta – 7.0 IP, 0 R 10:08 PM · Aug 16, 2022
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 17, 2022 3:48:07 GMT -5
Injuries & Moves: Hernández, Refsnyder activated August 16th, 2022
Keep track of the Red Sox’s recent transactions and injury updates throughout the season. LATEST NEWS
Aug. 16: OF Kiké Hernández activated from 60-day IL; Yolmer Sánchez designated for assignment Hernández was activated from the 60-day injured list on Tuesday after being sidelined since June 8 with a strained right hip flexor. Hernández also revealed he had an internal hematoma in his abdominal, which was drained in mid-June. Hernández started at shortstop and batted seventh in the series opener against the Pirates. Manager Alex Cora said he will use Hernández at both middle infield positions and center field.
Sánchez was designated for assignment Tuesday to clear space on the 26- and 40-man rosters for the reinstatement of Hernández. Sánchez hit just .108 in 14 games for the Red Sox this season.
Aug. 16: OF Rob Refsnyder activated from 10-day IL Refsnyder was activated from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday after sitting out since July 30 with a sprained right knee. He will continue to get most of his at-bats against left-handed pitching.
Aug. 16: RHP Tanner Houck sees spine specialist Houck was examined by a spine specialist on Monday and found to have an issue with a disc in his lower back. Houck will undergo treatment the rest of this week, and then have a follow-up appointment next week.
Aug. 16: SS Xander Bogaerts out of lineup Bogaerts was not in Tuesday's starting lineup against the Pirates after he fouled a ball of his left shin over the weekend in a series against the Yankees. Manager Alex Cora is hopeful Bogaerts can play Wednesday
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 17, 2022 3:52:23 GMT -5
Back from a ‘traumatizing’ injury, Kiké Hernández hopes to be the catalyst for a Red Sox stretch run By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated August 16, 2022, 8:21 p.m.
PITTSBURGH – Kiké Hernández looked puzzled as he looked down at an unfamiliar piece of equipment prior to Tuesday’s game against the Pirates.
In his first game since June 7, Hernández was reinserted into the Red Sox lineup at shortstop, a position where he hadn’t made a start this year. It was an assignment that Hernández hadn’t anticipated before manager Alex Cora approached him on Monday night – after deciding that Xander Bogaerts needed an extra day off after slamming a foul ball off the bottom of his shin against the Yankees over the weekend.
“I asked Kiké [on Monday], ‘Where do you want to play tomorrow, second or short?’” relayed Cora. “He said, ‘What?!’”
Hernández hadn’t even brought an infielder’s glove on the trip, and had to borrow one from teammate Trevor Story, resulting in the eyebrow-raised examination of his leather as he prepared for the game. Yet the surprise was a welcome one, given that it came with the chance – after an absence for 60 games over 69 days – to return to the Red Sox lineup. He went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts, but drove in a run with a sacrifice fly as part of a four-run first inning to kickstart a 5-3 Sox win.
“That was the first time I missed that much time in my career and I kind of felt like I stopped being part of the team,” said Hernández. “There wasn’t anything I could do to help the team. So, very frustrating. I felt like I lost a full season. But I’m glad to be healthy. Glad to be back, for sure.”
It was an outcome that Hernández did not take for granted, having thought on more than one occasion during his time on the injured list that he would not return in 2022.
So just how did an injured list stint for a hip flexor strain come to jeopardize his season? It was far more severe than such a simple description might suggest.
“The whole time I was on the IL. with [what was described as] a hip thing, but it wasn’t a hip thing that kept me out this long,” said Hernández. “It was a core injury.”
The 30-year-old said that he’d been dealing with unfamiliar hip flexor discomfort last season, but considered it a normal baseball injury. But it recurred this spring, and flared up at times over the first two months of the season – and became worse.
By June, he experienced crushing pain any time he had to run. He started to fear a chronic illness such as Crohn’s disease.
“Every time I ran, I wanted to crawl into a little ball in centerfield and just have somebody come pick me up and take me the dugout,” said Hernández.
He missed a game against the Angels on June 6 with an abdominal injury, then tried to come back on June 7.
“I was thinking that I could keep playing and nothing will get worse – I’ve been dealing with this pain for a long time and I can keep going,” said Hernández. “And I ended up suffering another injury.”
An MRI revealed not only a strain of the psoas muscle in his abdomen – which connects from the lower spine through the pelvis to the thigh – but a sizable hematoma within the muscle.
“There was a ball of blood about the size of a baseball sitting up there,” said Hernández.
That diagnosis immediately offered Hernández a cause to a season-long riddle about his offensive mechanics – why his swing (producing a .209/.273/.340 line) had been so broken, and why it had been so hard to fix.
Still, addressing the injury proved “one of the most traumatizing experiences I’ve ever been through,” said Hernández. The hematoma had to be drained with a lengthy needle inserted through Hernández’s back. He said that he passed out at least twice during the procedure.
“After we got done, the doctor told me they usually put people under for this,” said Hernández. “I told the doctor that usually they tell people that before the procedure.”
Recovery proved difficult. He attempted a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester in early July but had to shut it down after one game when pain reoccurred.
At the All-Star break – a month after his injury – Hernández got a PRP injection to accelerate the healing process. Finally, that put him on a path to pain-free swinging, and ultimately, after a four-game rehab stint, a return to the Sox lineup on Tuesday. For the first time since landing on the injured list – and perhaps even the first time this year – he looks healthy.
“Just watching him swing now, maybe he was feeling this before [going on the IL],” said Cora. “You can see his swings [look different] now. … He’s going to make a difference.”
That, certainly, is Hernández’s hope. He and the rest of the Red Sox understand their current plight – two games under .500, last place in the AL East, and five games back in a chase for the last of three wild-card spots.
And yet in the team’s growing return to health – with players like Michael Wacha, Hernández, and Rob Refsnyder (activated on Tuesday) now once again on the roster and Trevor Story getting closer to a return, there is suddenly a sense of lineup and roster depth that had been absent for much of the past two months.
In that development, the team sees optimism that has rarely been evident through the summer.
“I’ve played in seven straight Octobers. I’m not planning on not playing in this one,” said Hernández. “I’m here to help the boys get to October.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 17, 2022 3:54:53 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK Trevor Story gets in the swing of rehab with some batting practice By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated August 16, 2022, 10:45 p.m.
PITTSBURGH — Trevor Story’s return to the Red Sox is picking up speed. The second baseman is traveling with the team on its road trip and hopes to hit on the field by the end of the week.
He took controlled swings in an indoor batting cage before and after Tuesday night’s 5-3 victory against the Pirates at PNC Park.
Story was initially diagnosed with a deep bruise after he was hit while swinging at a pitch thrown by Corey Kluber of the Rays on July 12. A subsequent exam showed he had a hairline fracture in his wrist.
“It took a lot longer than we first thought,” Story said. “But I’m getting close.”
Because of the lengthy layoff, Story will need a few minor league games to get his timing back. He has been taking ground balls and running the bases in the last week. A return to hitting came last because of the impact it has on his hand.
Story has been hitting off a tee or at balls tossed to him. As he progresses, he plans to take swings off a high-velocity pitching machine.
“A lot of it will be getting my eyes used to seeing pitches again,” Story said. “But once I get going, I should be able to make a lot of progress in a short time.”
Story is confident he can return to the team by the end of the month.
“He’s going to be part of this at one point,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Keep improving, keep doing your progression. Whenever he’s ready he’s ready.” Houck in limbo
Tanner Houck, who has been successful as the closer, was diagnosed with a disk issue after being examined by a back specialist. He remains in Boston getting treatment.
Whether Houck pitches again this season will be determined by how well that treatment works.
“From there, we’ll make a decision about what we’re going to do,” Cora said. “It’s not positive; it’s not negative. It’s in-between right now. This week is going to be huge for him for this season.”
Houck is 5-4 with a 3.15 ERA in 32 games, four of them starts. He has a 2.33 ERA since becoming the closer June 10 and has converted eight of nine save chances. Phone flub
Pirates infielder Rodolfo Castro was fined and suspended for one game by MLB for having his cellphone during a game Aug 9.
It was not difficult to prove as the phone came flying out Castro’s pocket as he slid into third base and was shown on television. Castro nonetheless appealed and started at third base Tuesday.
Players are prohibited from using devices with Wi-Fi during games. Castro claimed it was an honest mistake.
The Pirates made a roster move before the game, putting third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes on the injured list with a back sprain and recalling infielder Kevin Padlo from Triple A Indianapolis.
Padlo, 26, made his Pirates debut, starting at third base and batting fifth. He had 20 games of major league experience with the Rays, Mariners, and Giants before the Pirates claimed him off waivers Aug. 7. Captain’s a comic
Game-planning coach Jason Varitek took his family to Canobie Lake Park in New Hampshire on Monday. They spotted a man wearing a Varitek T-shirt and decided to have a little fun.
In a video shared on social media by his wife, Catherine, Varitek walked over and asked the fellow how he was enjoying the pizza he was eating.
Then somebody commented on his T-shirt and asked if he was a fan of the former Red Sox catcher.
“Yeah, always,” the man said. “Sometimes you still see him at the games.”
Varitek then introduced himself and the man hugged him.
“You got me,” he said. Bogaerts gets a day off
Xander Bogaerts, who fouled a ball off his lower left leg over the weekend, was given a day off. Kiké Hernández started at shortstop after being activated off the injured list. The Sox also activated outfielder Rob Refsynder, who had been on the injured list since July 30 with a right knee sprain . . . Infielder Yolmer Sánchez, who was 4 for 37 (.108) in 14 games, was designated for assignment . . . Lefthanded reliever Matt Strahm pitched a perfect inning for Triple A Worcester against Rochester. He struck out one and threw nine of 14 pitches for strikes. Strahm, out since July 13 with a bruised left wrist, could be activated this week . . . Rookie righthander Brayan Bello, who pitched 3⅔ innings Sunday in a rehab start for Double A Portland, is back with the team but remains on the injured list because of a left groin strain. A decision will be made this week as to his next step . . . The Sox are starting Rich Hill on Wednesday and plan to have Josh Winckowski pitch multiple innings in relief behind him. “If they can go eight between the two of them, that would be great,” Cora said . . . Kutter Crawford, Michael Wacha, and Nick Pivetta will be the starters for the Orioles series that starts Friday at Camden Yards.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 17, 2022 3:57:11 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 7h This is the stuff that drives managers nuts.
Up 5-0 in the 8th inning and lefty Austin Davis walks .227-hiiting Tucupita Marcano, a lefty.
Now all of a sudden the tying run is on deck and Schreiber has to pitch.
They were 5 outs away from a shutout and now you burn Schreiber. Affects the next 2-3 games.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 17, 2022 3:57:37 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 7h Matt Strahm pitched a perfect inning for Worcester against Rochester. The LHP struck out one and threw nine of 14 pitches for strikes. Strahm, out since July 13 with a bruised left wrist, could be activated this week.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 17, 2022 3:59:30 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 7h Schreiber against lefties since July 14: 10-for-32, .313/.343/.625 with an 11.4 percent strikeout rate (35 PAs, 4 Ks).
This is Barnes' first appearance in the ninth inning of a save opportunity since he closed out a 6-5 win over the Mariners on May 21.
Matt Barnes with an "Ich bin nicht zum spaß hier" 10-pitch save. Red Sox win, 5-3. They've allowed 11 runs in their last 5 games, winning four of them.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 17, 2022 4:11:13 GMT -5
Lou Merloni @loumerloni · 7h Davis didn’t do his job. Up 5-0 and dudes walking guys.
Before everyone loses their minds, Whitlock CANNOT throw every other night. He’s still coming back from a hip. If they’re going to get back into this, they need someone other than Whit and Schreiber to get guys out.
Sox need Barnes, Brasier and Sawamura. Barnes looked good last 3 times out.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 17, 2022 4:13:16 GMT -5
Chris Cotillo @chriscotillo · 9h Red Sox had to weigh sending Duran down to AAA for regular playing time or keeping him on the roster as a bench guy. They decided Duran is part of their best 26 as of now, so kept him.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 17, 2022 4:20:18 GMT -5
Red Sox @ Pirates Wednesday, 17th August 2022 7pm @ PNC Park
Hill 4-5/4.75
Contreras 3-2/3.78
Back in majors, Pirates' Roansy Contreras aims to slow Red Sox FLM
The Boston Red Sox are getting healthy at the right time as their late-season chase for an American League playoff spot continues.
The Red Sox, who have won back-to-back games and four of their past five, will look to keep the good times rolling in the middle contest of a three-game series against the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.
In Boston's 5-3 win on Tuesday, Enrique Hernandez returned after missing 60 games with a right hip flexor strain. He recorded an RBI during Boston's four-run first inning.
"The good thing with (Hernandez is) we can ... maximize his talent," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "He'll play a lot of center field, we know that. But at the same time, we can move him."
Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes has not allowed a run in five of six outings since returning from right shoulder inflammation on Aug. 4. On Tuesday, Barnes logged his first save since May 21, securing the win after Nick Pivetta threw seven shutout innings.
"I'm happy that I could just contribute to this win," Barnes said. "It's always good to start the first game of a road trip and a series with a win."
Hernandez played shortstop as Xander Bogaerts got the night off after fouling a ball off his foot over the weekend against the Yankees. The injury is not expected to be serious.
"We're getting healthy, we're getting there," Cora said. "We have to win as many as possible. We have a chance to win the series (on Wednesday)."
Boston left-hander Rich Hill (4-5, 4.75 ERA) is slated to start on Wednesday, his third outing since returning from a sprained left knee. He has allowed a total of eight runs over seven innings in his past two appearances.
On Aug. 9 against the Atlanta Braves, the southpaw gave up four runs on seven hits in four innings.
Hill hasn't faced the Pirates since April 28, 2019. His last start at Pittsburgh came with the Dodgers on August 23, 2017, a 1-0 defeat in which he worked nine-plus innings and struck out 10. In 11 career starts vs. the Pirates, Hill is 4-2 with a 3.12 ERA.
Rookie Josh Winckowski is expected to follow Hill to the mound for Boston on Wednesday for his first relief outing after 11 starts.
Winckowski has worked at least five innings in nine of his 11 appearances. The first five innings of his 5 2/3-inning outing Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles were scoreless, but he wound up yielding three runs.
On Tuesday, the Pirates recalled Roansy Contreras and first baseman Kevin Padlo from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Contreras (3-2, 3.78 ERA) will start on Wednesday, returning to the majors for the first time since July 7 after the Pirates expressed a desire to manage his workload. He has thrown a total of 84 1/3 innings between the majors and minors this season.
"(Contreras) has pretty much checked all the boxes at this point," general manager Ben Cherington said in a recent Pittsburgh radio interview. "A big part of sending him down was to incorporate some recovery time for Contreras in the middle of his first full major league season."
Manager Derek Shelton expects Contreras to be somewhat limited in his outing as he looks to help the Pirates snap a five-game skid.
"We'll still monitor where he's at because I think he's thrown four innings and five innings in his last two starts," Shelton said. "We're gonna monitor him and our starters the rest of the way because we are gonna get to the point where innings are gonna become an issue."
Padlo, 26, started at first base on Tuesday in his Pirates debut and went 0-for-3. He played briefly for both the San Francisco Giants and the Seattle Mariners earlier this season.
--Field Level Media
Red Sox at Pirates Wednesday, at 7:05 PM EST Partly Cloudy According to Forecast.io, it's expected to be 75° F with a 5% chance of rain and 3 MPH wind blowing left to right in Pittsburgh at 7:05 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com Forecast.io
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 17, 2022 10:05:35 GMT -5
Game 118: Red Sox at Pirates lineups and notesBy Andrew Mahoney Globe Staff,Updated August 17, 2022, 1 hour ago After holding on for a 5-3 win over the Pirates Tuesday, the Red Sox have won four of their last five games and are now four games out of a playoff spot. The two teams will be back at it Wednesday in Pittsburgh as the Sox look to get back to .500. Rich Hill will get the start, with the plan to have Josh Winckowski pitch multiple innings in relief. Here is a preview. Lineups RED SOX (58-59): 1. Tommy Pham (R) LF 2. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 3. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 4. Alex Verdugo (L) RF 5. J.D. Martinez (R) DH 6. Eric Hosmer (L) 1B 7. Christian Arroyo (R) 2B 8. Reese McGuire (L) C 9. Enrique Hernandez (R) CF Pitching: LHP Rich Hill (4-5, 4.75 ERA) PIRATES (45-71): 1. Kevin Newman (R) SS 2. Bryan Reynolds (S) CF 3. Michael Chavis (R) 1B 4. Ben Gamel (L) RF 5. Kevin Padlo (R) 3B 6. Rodolfo Castro (S) 2B 7. Greg Allen (S) LF 8. Bligh Madris (L) DH 9. Jason Delay (R) C Pitching: RHP Roansy Contreras (3-2, 3.78 ERA) Time: 7:05 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Red Sox vs. Contreras: Eric Hosmer 0-2, Tommy Pham 1-3 Pirates vs. Hill: Has not faced any Pittsburgh batters Stat of the day: Reliever Matt Barnes has not allowed a run in five of his six outings since returning from right shoulder inflammation on Aug. 4. Notes: In 11 career starts vs. the Pirates, Hill is 4-2 with a 3.12 ERA. His last start at Pittsburgh came with the Dodgers in 2017. It’s his third outing since returning from a sprained left knee. He has allowed a total of eight runs over seven innings in his past two appearances. … The Pirates have been managing Contreras’s workload. He has thrown a total of 84 ⅓ innings between the majors and minors this season. This is his first start in the majors since July 7. Song of the Day- The Beatles - Rainwww.youtube.com/watch?v=cK5G8fPmWeA
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 17, 2022 15:41:39 GMT -5
ete Abraham @peteabe 12m Alex Cora says there’s a “good chance” Matt Strahm joins the team here in Pittsburgh tomorrow. They’re working though a roster move.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 17, 2022 15:42:40 GMT -5
n Browne @ianmbrowne 5m RT @alexspeier: More than 2 dozen members of the Red Sox - players, coaches, support staff - went to the Clemente Museum today. Alex Cora was among them,
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Aug 17, 2022 21:21:48 GMT -5
Good start by Hill. With the way he's been pitching, I'm betting that Cora would've been happy with three innings.
Good BP again. Unfortunate to see Familia, but the only way to have winning streaks is to occasionally win games without your key BP pieces.
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