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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 19, 2022 16:48:34 GMT -5
Red Sox @ Reds Tuesday, September 21 630pm @ Great, but mostly empty Great American Ball Park
Bello 1-6/ 5.10
Lodolo 4-6/ 3.81
21rst...TBA vs Anderson 1-3/ 6.43
Xander Bogaerts eyes AL batting title as Red Sox visit Reds FLM
Xander Bogaerts' future with the Boston Red Sox may be uncertain, but he certainly has goals to achieve as his team plays out the string of an underachieving season.
Bogaerts has his sights on his first career batting title and he'll continue his pursuit of the milestone when the Red Sox open a two-game set against the host Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.
Bogaerts entered Monday's play with a .316 average, which was tied for second in the American League with Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees. Luis Arraez of the Minnesota Twins has a league-best .317 average.
Bogaerts said the batting title race will keep him focused down the stretch of a lackluster season for Boston (71-75).
"I'm not going to sit here and lie to you," Bogaerts told reporters. "If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. But I'm aware of it.
"A couple of weeks back, I wasn't really in the conversation, but I'm that guy since I put myself in it. It's something that's in reach. I feel like I just try to get more locked in and I'm going to try to go for it. That's how I've always been."
Bogaerts, who turns 30 on Oct. 1, has three seasons remaining on a six-year, $120 million contract but can opt out after the season. Negotiations between Scott Boras and the Red Sox haven't yet produced a new deal.
The four-time All-Star has 14 homers and 68 RBIs in 137 games this season, his ninth full season with Boston. And he is currently on a hot streak that has seen him bat .418 (33-for-79) with four homers, seven doubles and 18 RBIs over his past 20 games.
"Just all around, the last few weeks have been impressive," Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters of Bogaerts. "Driving the ball, taking what they give him, being more selective in certain counts. Obviously we love the fact that he plays every day. The way he goes about it. I always said, he's the most consistent person in this organization. It's fun to watch."
Cincinnati (58-89) is also winding down a poor season. The Reds' 3-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday was just their second in the past 11 games.
Cincinnati is taking a look at outfielder Stuart Fairchild, whose homer on Sunday was his fifth in 46 at-bats with the club. He went 2-for-4 in the win.
Fairchild, 26, spent time with the Seattle Mariners (0-for-3) and San Francisco Giants (0-for-8) earlier this season but is batting .283 in his 24-game cameo with the Reds.
"We know he can play. We know he can hit," Reds manager David Bell said of Fairchild. "The back-to-back starts with the lefties helped, and he came out (Sunday) and contributed in a big way."
Cincinnati rookie left-hander Nick Lodolo (4-6, 3.81 ERA) will be on the mound Tuesday after striking out a career-best 11 without a walk in each of his past two starts.
Lodolo, 24, beat the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 9 when he gave up two runs and five hits over eight innings. He lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates last Wednesday when he allowed three runs and six hits over 6 1/3 innings.
Lodolo has fanned 31 in 20 1/3 innings over his last three outings.
Rookie right-hander Brayan Bello (1-6, 5.10) will take the mound for Boston.
Bello's lone win came when he blanked the Texas Rangers on three hits over six innings on Sept. 3.
The 23-year-old lost his last two starts. He gave up three runs and three hits over 5 1/3 innings against the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 9, and he yielded three unearned runs and six hits over five innings against the New York Yankees last Wednesday.
--Field Level Media
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 19, 2022 16:53:35 GMT -5
Alex is drinking the kool aid Bello is a SP cuz he is cost controlled Bloom ball 101
Why Red Sox rookie Brayan Bello could end up in the 2023 rotation By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated September 19, 2022, 1 hour ago
As Eric Hosmer watched a Mariners game while eating in the Red Sox clubhouse last week, he did a double-take while watching Seattle star Luis Castillo carve up the Padres over six shutout innings. In Castillo’s repertoire — a high-90s sinker that sawed off righties, along with a nasty changeup and slider — Hosmer was struck by the similarities to Red Sox teammate Brayan Bello.
That’s high praise for a pitcher who is 1-6 with a 5.10 ERA entering Tuesday’s start against the Reds. Castillo, after all, is a two-time All-Star with a 2.68 ERA this year. Yet what Bello has shown in his brief time in the big leagues has made a believer of veteran teammates.
“You see guys come up and you’re like, ‘Man, this guy’s got good stuff. If he can learn how to pitch, he can be really good,’ ” said Hosmer. “But you can tell [Bello] already knows what he wants to do with his plan. You can tell it’s all about him executing his pitches, and he’ll be really effective. And I think he’s going to continue to get better and better.”
The optimism surrounding Bello is widely shared throughout the organization, a glimmer of hope in an uncomfortable stagger towards the 2022 finish line. Bello’s repertoire dazzles. He features a high-90s sinker that harbors similarities to Castillo and Yankees closer Clay Holmes; a nasty, swing-and-miss changeup; and a slider that flashes potential as a solid third pitch. Yet members of the Red Sox are encouraged not just by Bello’s stuff, but by his intellect.
Bello, after all, is ahead of schedule. The Sox thought a late-season callup from Triple A Worcester might be a possibility, but with Nate Eovaldi, Rich Hill, Michael Wacha, Garrett Whitlock, and Chris Sale all on the injured list in early July, that timetable was accelerated.
“It was by necessity,” said pitching coach Dave Bush.
Bello, after just 11 Triple-A starts, got thrown into the deep end and initially struggled to tread water. He allowed 16 runs in 16⅓ innings across his first four outings, a struggle that reflected some elements beyond his control (bad luck on ground balls) and some that weren’t (a 13.3 percent walk rate).
He responded not by retreating within himself, but instead by engaging teammates and staff members to identify ways to improve.
“Of course I have to make adjustments,” Bello said through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. “You can’t imagine how many things I’ve learned here.”
As part of that process, Bello expressed particular appreciation for Nate Eovaldi, who reached the big leagues at age 21 and has been eager to share insight with the young pitcher.
“I definitely look up to him. I really admire him and I try to copy every good thing that I can. I try to watch every outing, every bullpen, and try to copy the good habits that he has,” said Bello. “And of course the way that he attacks batters is something that I really like, too.”
Eovaldi reciprocated the pupil’s enthusiasm.
“Once I started talking to him, it’s like he’s right over your shoulder, always watching and trying to learn to be better,” said Eovaldi. “You can tell he’s got that hunger, and he really wants to learn. We all see the competitiveness in him and that fiery energy he brings out there. You just want to try to make sure that he can learn as much as he can from an early stage because it took me five years [to learn how to be a big league starter]. If it only takes him one, that’s a huge advantage for him.”
Examples of the lessons being absorbed are numerous. Eovaldi encouraged Bello to be more aggressive attacking the strike zone; he’s gone from throwing 59.0 percent strikes in July to 63.1 percent in August and September.
As part of that effort, Bush suggested Bello might benefit from shifting from the third- to the first-base side of the rubber — a common position for pitchers with his sinker movement. That would give pitches with tremendous arm-side run a better chance of either landing in the strike zone or looking like strikes.
Bello immediately tried pitching from there in his next bullpen session, then he took the change into the game. Since he returned from the injured list in late August, Bello’s release point has been roughly six inches towards the first base side compared to where it was in July, with excellent results.
In July, Bello’s slider was promising, but inconsistent. He proved open to altering his grip and wrist position in an effort to improve it. With most of his pitches having east-to-west movement, Bush and Bello discussed the potential value of adding a curveball for a north-to-south offering. Bello spun a few in the bullpen, continued his conversations about curveball grips with teammates such as Rich Hill in the dugout in subsequent days, and threw two in his last start.
In the same start, Bello altered his delivery to employ a quick pitch. When he did so, Eovaldi and Bush turned to each other, curious if Bello had discussed employing the tactic with the other.
Neither had. The rookie had deduced the value of disrupting hitters’ timing with a change in the pace of his delivery by watching Eovaldi, Hill, Nestor Cortes of the Yankees, and others.
For Bello, ideas are quickly translated into action.
“With all these things, none of them are a big piece in their own right, but you add them all together and they make a more complete guy,” said Bush. “I think that’s the stuff that shows in his adjustment and development to the big leagues.”
The product of those adjustments has been impressive. In five starts since his Aug. 24 return, Bello has a 2.84 ERA with a 25.2 percent strikeout rate and 9.3 percent walk rate. He still has yet to allow a homer, the first Red Sox rookie since 1978 to make eight straight starts to begin his career without giving one up, and his 57.8 percent groundball rate is the fourth highest among pitchers who have made at least five starts this year.
The performance may be altering his timetable for a more permanent spot in the Red Sox rotation. The way in which Bello used his initial struggles as a platform for improvement — along with an arsenal that is clearly that of a big league starter —make an increasingly compelling case that he can open next season in Boston.
“There’s definitely a path where he’s gonna be a good big league starter for us for a long time,” said Bush. “What that means for next year I don’t know, because I don’t know who else we’re gonna have. I don’t know who’s coming back, who we’re gonna sign, but he’s certainly put himself in a spot to compete for a rotation position next year.”
For Bello, that potential opportunity represents a significant achievement. Not just for what it says about his present abilities, but for what it would mean to his continued pursuit of improvement.
“I think I’m a big league pitcher,” said Bello, “[but] I’m still growing up. I’m still improving every day.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 20, 2022 3:34:05 GMT -5
Red Sox at Reds Tuesday, at 6:40 PM EST Clear According to Forecast.io, it's expected to be 82° F with a 0% chance of precipitation and 3 MPH wind blowing in in Cincinnati at 6:40 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com Forecast.io[/font]
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 20, 2022 3:44:12 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK With Triston Casas seemingly the future at first, what do the Red Sox do with Eric Hosmer? By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated September 19, 2022, 8:20 p.m.
Eric Hosmer’s short tenure with the Red Sox has not gone according to plan.
For much of the year, the Red Sox roster had a huge hole at first base with Bobby Dalbec and Franchy Cordero splitting time. When the Red Sox acquired Hosmer at the trade deadline from the Padres, it was seen as an upgrade. Although Hosmer didn’t quite live up to expectations during his time with San Diego, he was still a proven veteran and a World Series champion, and certainly an improvement over the Sox’ options at first. Additionally, the Sox were only on the hook for $700,000 (the league minimum) with the Padres taking on the rest of his salary.
Yet Hosmer played in just 12 games before hitting the injured list with a bad back. He’s said to be progressing and could partake in baseball activities beginning Tuesday.
“Hopefully we can get some swings to start the progression and hopefully come back at some point and help contribute,” Hosmer said Sunday.
Hosmer’s injury and the reality that the team won’t make the postseason prematurely brought, perhaps, one of the Sox’ biggest questions to the surface: With Triston Casas clearly a huge piece of the franchise’s future, do the Red Sox trade Hosmer this offseason?
Some might see that as a no-brainer. Hosmer’s tab for any other team would also be just the minimum. With three years left on his deal, the Red Sox could leverage that bargain and shop Hosmer to a team that might need some veteran presence and a lefty bat.
But it’s not quite that simple. If the Sox traded Hosmer, that would mean they would be all-in on the 22-year-old rookie.
The Red Sox should wait that one out.
Twelve games into Casas’ rookie campaign, he’s hitting just .088. He has just three hits — including two homers, one off Yankees ace Gerrit Cole — in 34 at-bats while also posting a 30 percent strikeout rate.
Certainly, Casas has proven himself to be a selective hitter, chasing pitches outside the zone just 15.6 percent of the time, per Statcast. He’s already drawn six walks. But his zone contact percentage — though sample size must also be taken into account — is at 80 percent, a few ticks below league average.
While Casas might be able to take pitches outside the zone effectively, he still needs to prove that he can do damage inside the zone.
The Sox believe Casas will make that adjustment, that the hits will begin to come as long as he sticks to his approach. In fact, manager Alex Cora has praised his rookie first baseman’s approach, adding that he wants him to “keep doing what he’s doing.”
But with the Red Sox bound for their second last place finish in three years under chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, trading Hosmer so abruptly could backfire.
The Sox had high hopes for Jarren Duran as an everyday center fielder, but he’s now back at Triple A Worcester. They had high hopes for Dalbec, too, but he’s also back with the WooSo .
If that proves anything, it’s that development is not linear. And with the Sox desperately needing to make a playoff run next season, trading Hosmer and keeping Casas might not be the wisest decision.
As the season comes to a close, Hosmer knows, if he returns, that he would be behind Casas.
“I think I can help this team a lot,” Hosmer said. “I think obviously Triston is going to get the majority of the at-bats and play first. He’s a big part of this organization, and I think he’s gonna be a big part of our success. He’s got to be the one getting the majority of bats over there. And that’s understandable. I think there’s a lot more roles and there’s a lot to a roster that can help a team win.”
That’s this year, though. Moving forward without Hosmer next season could put the Sox’ first base situation back at square one. Scheduled programming
Brayan Bello will start on Tuesday. Wednesday’s starter is still to be determined. The Reds are 58-89, sporting a minus-124 run differential. They will have Nick Lodolo start on Tuesday followed by Chase Anderson Wednesday ... For the Sox’ four-game set against the Yankees in New York, Michael Wacha will start the series opener Thursday, followed by Rich Hill, Nick Pivetta, and Bello … Casas will play winter ball in the Dominican Republic.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 20, 2022 13:21:10 GMT -5
The Look Ahead: It’s Getting Chili Soon, But Let’s Beat The Reds First
The Sox head to Cinci for two. By Dean Roussel Sep 20, 2022, 1:00pm EDT 0 Comments / 0 New
The date is August 10, 2004. The greatest baseball video game the world has ever known (yes, even better than its successor) was enjoying its heyday, Facebook was anticipating its one millionth (with an m, not a b) user, Tom from MySpace was working full days, Tom Brady was years away from finding his first grey hair, and the number one song on the Billboard charts was Juvenile’s Slow Motion. In Boston, Red Sox fans everywhere were mourning the loss of Nomar Garciaparra (no, he didn’t die, he just went to Wrigley Field). And speaking of World Series droughts, Fenway Faithful were all but writing a conclusion on the team’s 86th season without a World Series title, despite being tied for the Wild Card spot with the Rangers and holding one of the best run differentials in the league. There was just no way they were catching the Yankees, who boasted a 9.5 game lead in the division and who had just broken their hearts last October.
Now obviously, we all know what happened next. It’s a story for the ages. Everyone who claims to be a Red Sox fan knows where they were when that season ended (there was a lunar eclipse that night, by the way). But as nice as it is to look back on 2004 (Dodgeball came out that year!) this story is not about the Red Sox. See, the Cincinnati Reds had a twenty-five-year-old slugger on their roster named Adam Dunn. In 2004, Dunn happened to be enjoying a sizable increase in his home run numbers, as well as his batting average. The Reds’ stadium, the Great American Ballpark, sat on the Ohio River, a body of water which legally dictates Ohio’s border with Kentucky. On that fateful August 10th night, Dunn crushed a meatball off of the Dodger’s Jose Lima for a no-doubter that exited the ballpark still traveling at an incline. In fact, the ball bounced down Mehring Way before finally coming to a stop. Dunn’s 35th home run was said to have traveled 535 feet, and bounced another 200 feet clear into the Ohio River, which means, for all intents and purposes, that Adam Dunn hit a home run into another state. The baseball world was in a frenzy following that hit, and in the absence of accurate measuring devices that wouldn’t come around for another decade, disputes on how far said dinger actually traveled still exist today. The fact remains: hitting a ball from Ohio into Kentucky, or to any state other than the state the ball was hit from, is a feat that no other Major Leaguer can ever claim to have done, and likely a feat that will never be replicated.
Despite this ball deciding it wanted a trip out of the ballfield for a cup of Skyline Chili, the rest of the Reds’ season was unremarkable; they finished fourth in their division. This circumstance in the standings is a similar fate the Reds find themselves in today. The Reds are a team who had the decency to sell their assets at the deadline, all while enjoying what may remain of the career of Joey Votto, who’s been with them for sixteen years. Like the Red Sox, the team has been riddled with injuries, having just one player who’s played more than 100 games in a Reds uniform this season (!) and ended up parting ways with a few weapons, having dealt Luis Castillo to Seattle and given us Tommy Pham in exchange for minor league infielder Nick Northcut. Like us, they have some exciting young players that have gotten involved, such as Jonathan India and Nick Senzel, and, a couple years before we gambled on Trevor Story, they took a gamble on their second baseman, Mike Moustaskas, after a huge power year in Milwaukee, a bid that has not quite worked out in their favor yet.
As far as pitching goes, the Red Sox may have their work cut out for them Tuesday night, as Brayan Bello, who has looked decidedly sharper of late, takes on Cincinnati’s Nick Lodolo, a poised 6’6” beanstalk of a pitcher who’s finding his footing, showing he can go deep in games, and enjoying 113 strikeouts and a sub-4 ERA in his rookie year. The good news is that the Reds haven’t put more than 5 runs on the board in a win in almost two weeks (they did score 6 in a 7-6 loss last Sunday.) And further, several members of the Reds’ bullpen have uh… concerning… stats on the year (sound familiar?).
Wednesday night may be a bit easier. This is because Chase Anderson, a struggling (1-3, 6.47 ERA) Tampa Bay bullpen arm that has bounced back and forth from the minors this season (and a guy who somehow alluded Chaim on the wire), is listed as the starting pitcher on Wednesday, which may give the Sox some flexibility on what they do with their lineup. While the long leash of creativity has regrettably proven to be a thorn in the Sox side this season, I’d like to remind everyone that the team is not making the playoffs, so I’m one to embrace innovation, unless, of course, it ends up with someone getting hurt or ending up on the blooper reel, which, admittedly, has happened a few times with this team.
As stated in my last series preview, this iteration of the Boston Red Sox is not good, and even though they won the series against the Royals, it was not a series win that gave anyone the warm fuzzies. Even considering the blowout Sunday, the bats mustered a total of two runs in the first two games of the series. (Which, while we’re at it, I’ve once again fallen victim to the ‘attend the only game the team loses all weekend’ curse.) This is because Kansas City is not a good baseball team, and due to many different factors, in 2022, neither are we. But the good news is, neither is Cincinnati.
The next two games are the last games in 2022 that will not not directly influence the fate of literally every other team in our division, which may be a good thing or a bad thing, depending how you look at it. This series in Cincinnati – land of chili, King’s Island theme park, and everyone’s beloved fallen gorilla (may Harambe rest in peace) – is only two games. Blink, and you might miss it. But if you do blink, you may also miss Rafael Devers smack a ball off of this faulty Reds pitching staff into the Ohio River that actually flows upstream all the way into Pennsylvania. Eat your heart out, Adam Dunn! Wait, the probability of that happening is actually less likely than this team winning the World Series this year? Well, a guy can dream, can’t he?
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 20, 2022 13:33:16 GMT -5
Game 147: Red Sox at Reds lineups and notesBy Andrew Mahoney Globe Staff,Updated September 20, 2022, 2 hours ago After a day off, the Red Sox are in Cincinnati for a two-game series with the Reds. They will then continue on the road for a four-games series in New York with the Yankees beginning Thursday, The Red Sox capped their recent homestand by taking two out of three against the Royals and sit four games below .500 in last place in the American League East. It’s been a disappointing season as well for Cincinnati, which is 31 games below .500 Brayan Bello gets the start in the series opener Tuesday. Lineups RED SOX (71-75): 1. Tommy Pham (R) LF 2. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 3. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 4. J.D. Martinez (R) DH 5. Alex Verdugo (L) RF 6. Rob Refsnyder (R) CF 7. Enrique Hernandez (R) 2B 8. Yu Chang (R) 1B 9. Connor Wong (R) C Pitching: RHP Brayan Bello (1-6, 5.10 ERA) REDS (58-89): 1. TJ Friedl (L) LF 2. Jonathan India (R) 2B 3. Kyle Farmer (R) 3B 4. Jake Fraley (L) DH 5. Donovan Solano (R) 1B 6. Aristides Aquino (R) RF 7. Nick Senzel (R) CF 8. Jose Barrero (R) SS 9. Austin Romine (R) C Pitching: LHP Nick Lodolo (4-6, 3.81 ERA) Time: 6:40 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Red Sox vs. Lodolo: Yu Chang 0-3 Reds vs. Bello: Has not faced any Cincinnati batters Stat of the day: J.D. Martinez has recorded 40 doubles for the second consecutive season (42 in 2021). Notes: Xander Bogaerts enters Tuesday’s play with a .316 average, tied for second in the American League with Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees. Luis Arraez of the Minnesota Twins has a league-best .317 average. … The Red Sox are 7-5 in their last 12 series. … In five starts since his Aug. 24 return, Bello has a 2.84 ERA with a 25.2 percent strikeout rate and 9.3 percent walk rate. … Lodolo has struck out 31 in 20⅓ innings over his last three outings. Song of the Day: Van Halen - Everybody Wants Somewww.youtube.com/watch?v=4bZmGtaqP68
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 20, 2022 15:00:30 GMT -5
Chris Cotillo @chriscotillo · 38m Attention Red Sox fans: Brock Holt will join NESN's studio crew as a guest analyst for pregame and postgame shows tonight and tomorrow.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 20, 2022 15:02:47 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 58m Story last played on Sept. 11. “Just a day or two” has turned into a longer absence.
Connor Seabold is with the Sox.
Whitlock shut down. Getting surgery next week.
Expectation is he will be ready for spring training.
No roster move as of yet.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 20, 2022 16:43:58 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 1h Garrett Whitlock is being shut down. He’s going to have arthroscopic surgery on his right hip. Cora said in recent days, he’d been laboring too much to pitch a single inning. They made this decision to ensure he’s at full health in 2023, whether as starter or reliever.
Connor Seabold is up and will start tomorrow. Kutter Crawford has been shut down for the year but will remain around the team.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 20, 2022 17:30:04 GMT -5
Red Sox should at least be comfy playing in this barn dress like a seat night in Fenway since late spring
and Reds feed tonight might turn the TV up
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 20, 2022 18:12:03 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 26m 6:40 p.m. start time here in Cincinnati. I suspect a lot of Red Sox fans would welcome that at Fenway.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 20, 2022 18:25:55 GMT -5
Bello wastes so many pitches trying to make hitters miss loads up the bases in the 2nd with this shit what in the hell is Dave Bush doing this season as pitching coach?
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 20, 2022 18:31:51 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 4m Brayan Bello loaded the bases with no outs. Then: strikeout (slider), strikeout (changeup), groundout (sinker). No runs. In positions with no margin for error he showed comfort using his full mix, and obviously wasn't fazed.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 20, 2022 18:35:11 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 10s J.D. Martinez with his first triple of 2022 -- crushed one off the fence in CF. Senzel crashed into the fence trying to get to it and crumpled to the ground. (He's being examined by a trainer but is standing.)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 20, 2022 18:37:20 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 2m No inside the park HR for Martinez. Thought he might have had it.
But 1-0 Sox.
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