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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 1, 2023 17:29:44 GMT -5
kiki swings his hardest over the monster 8-6 orioles 7th
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 1, 2023 17:37:59 GMT -5
Heart of the order is fighting Duvall has his first experience with Pesky's Pole ends up a 2B 8-7 Orioles crowd has woke up
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 1, 2023 17:44:57 GMT -5
Martin with a shut down inning nasty off speed stuff
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 1, 2023 17:47:49 GMT -5
Tapia hiting for Arroyo to start the 8th and lines out
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 1, 2023 18:07:00 GMT -5
Jansen is out here in the top of the 9th little shaky Orioles have 10 steals in 2 games
and he gets thru that with a k
heart of the order coming up
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 1, 2023 18:16:16 GMT -5
OMG Yoshida with a 2 out pop up to LF and he drops it up comes Duvall.
AND A DUVALL HOMER
INSANE
RED SOX WIN 9-8
Unreal
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 1, 2023 19:04:14 GMT -5
battling back Dugo with a blast to CF Duvall with a 2 run jack over the monstah
7-5 Birds 3rd Verdugo looks better than last year, maybe a bit slimmed down. A bit like with Vazquez, it makes it easier to turn on an inside FB.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 1, 2023 19:06:00 GMT -5
Kelly comes into the game and as expected he allows a run
good thing Bloom wanted to work on the pen
8-5 O's
4th Unlike Ort, I get the feeling that Kelly can get some guys out. But with 14 IPs to his name, he needs experience.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 1, 2023 19:07:59 GMT -5
kiki swings his hardest over the monster 8-6 orioles 7th We need Kiki. He was weak/injured in 2022, and weak in ST.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 1, 2023 19:13:01 GMT -5
OMG Yoshida with a 2 out pop up to LF and he drops it up comes Duvall.
AND A DUVALL HOMER
INSANE
RED SOX WIN 9-8
Unreal It's hard to know what to make of this team. One run in 6 innings from the BP, albeit with only a 5/2 K/W is a little closer to what was expected. 12 runs from Kluber/Sale in 6.1 IPs is shocking.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 2, 2023 3:59:46 GMT -5
Second chance, second homer: Duvall walks off Orioles Boston's new outfielder goes 4-for-5, capitalizes after error in Red Sox's first win of '23 12:23 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
BOSTON -- Adam Duvall couldn’t believe the similarities as he again stepped into the batter’s box, once again his team’s last hope at the end of a topsy-turvy day following a gift by the Orioles.
Fortunately for Duvall and the Red Sox, Saturday had a much better ending than Opening Day on Thursday.
As Duvall’s 106.7 mph rocket seared through the air and cleared the top of the Green Monster by inches, the new LED lights flickered at Fenway Park in celebration of a 9-8, walk-off win.
“Off the bat, more when it hit, I wasn’t sure if it was a homer or not,” Duvall said of his two-run laser. “And then I saw them stop going for it. I saw the lights start to flicker. So I mean, I was hoping that it was going to stand as a homer. But I felt like I was still kind of running it out because I really wasn't sure.”
The mob scene of red jerseys at home plate awaiting Duvall -- plus the confirmation on a replay review -- made him sure. It was the second homer of the day for Boston’s new center fielder, part of a 4-for-5, five-RBI day in which he had the rarity of falling a single shy of the cycle.
And it was made possible by Orioles left fielder Ryan McKenna, who ranged over for a routine fly ball by Masataka Yoshida that would have ended the game. Insead, it clanged off McKenna's glove.
On Opening Day, Yoshida hit what would have been a double-play ball to end the game, only for Orioles shortstop Jorge Mateo’s throw to first sail wildly.
That brought Duvall up to the plate, and he struck out on three pitches by Félix Bautista to end a 10-9 loss.
Duvall had emphatic redemption two days later, clubbing Bautista’s 1-0, 99.7 mph heater for paydirt.
“It was a very similar situation to how everything played out [on Thursday], it was kind of eerie,” said Duvall. “And with the error and then getting a chance to end the game there, it was very strange walking up to the plate like, ‘Man, this just happened literally two days ago.’ So just a little different outcome this time.”
Nobody was more thankful for that than Chris Sale. Heading into Saturday, the seven-time All-Star was the clear storyline -- this being his first start at Fenway since Game 5 of the 2021 American League Championship Series.
Sale was rocked for seven hits (including three homers) and seven runs while lasting just three innings. It wasn’t the comeback he had in mind after making just two starts in 2022 due to three freak injuries.
But his teammates lifted his spirits.
“That’s big time,” said Sale. “I left them completely out to dry tonight. I was as embarrassed as I’ve ever been on a baseball field. Bullpen couldn't have come in and done a better job. Hell, I was out there throwing batting practice. For them to get through the rest of that game with just one more run, it was amazing.”
The new-look lineup, which slimmed a 10-4 deficit on Thursday to just a run, again kept coming. Down 7-1 on Saturday, they scored four in the third, two in the seventh and then the two on Duvall’s parting shot in the ninth.
The main reason the Red Sox signed Duvall is for his right-handed power, which should play with Fenway’s dimensions. Just ask winning pitcher Kenley Jansen, who wiggled out of traffic in the top of the ninth to keep his team within striking distance in his Boston debut.
“I’m telling you, when he’s on, he’s on,” Jansen said. “You’re going to see this for a little bit. So you have to ride that moment. That Green Monster, he’s going to wear that out.”
The 20-degree launch angle on Duvall’s smash made it tough to clear the Monster, but it just made it over.
“He crushed that ball,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Without the wall that ball is at the hotel [behind the ballpark].”
Meanwhile, McKenna’s error helped pave the way for a most dramatic first win of the season for the Red Sox.
“I ran to it pretty hard, it was up in the sky, and I guess I just didn’t follow all the way through with it,” McKenna said. “Hit the butt of my glove and just fell out. It was unfortunate timing.”
The Red Sox turned it into sweet fortune.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 2, 2023 4:01:16 GMT -5
Injuries & Moves: Whitlock closing in on return to Red Sox April 1st, 2023
LATEST NEWS
April 1: RHP Garrett Whitlock to start Opening Day for Sea Dogs Whitlock is getting a lot of practice with Opening Days in his ramp-up to returning to the Red Sox. The righty gave up six hits and one run while pitching the opener for Triple-A Worcester on March 31. Next up, he takes the ball in the opener for Double-A Portland on April 6. The next step after that should be an activation by the Red Sox. Whitlock is first eligible to come off the injured list on April 11. The Sox brought Whitlock along at a slower pace than the other starters in Spring Training because he was coming off right hip surgery.
"Most likely, that will be his last [rehab start]," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora.
RHP Garrett Whitlock (recovery from right hip surgery) Expected return: April 11, or thereabouts The righty has passed every step in his return from right hip surgery and will pitch Opening Day for Double-A Portland on April 6. Five days later, Whitlock is eligible to be activated from the injured list. This means he could well take his first turn for the Red Sox around April 11, when the club is in St. Petersburg for a four-game series against the Rays. (Last updated: April 1)
RHP Brayan Bello (right elbow inflammation) Expected return: Mid April Boston's promising righty, who experienced forearm tightness the first week of camp, is opening the season on a Minor League rehab assignment. Bello said that he is planning to take the ball for Triple-A Worcester in a game at Buffalo on April 5. Bello will likely make one more start after that before he is activated by the Red Sox. (Last updated: April 1)
LHP James Paxton (right hamstring strain) Expected return: Late April or May Paxton is expected to start his Minor League rehab assignment on April 4 for Double-A Portland in a game at Buffalo. The lefty threw two innings in a Minor League Spring Training game on March 29 as he continues to make steady progress from the hamstring strain he suffered in a Grapefruit League start on March 3. Paxton will likely need a minimum of three starts on his rehab assignment before he pitches for the Sox. (Last updated: April 1)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 2, 2023 4:03:02 GMT -5
Red Sox’s Adam Duvall after walkoff homer: ‘It was very strange walking up to the plate’
Updated: Apr. 01, 2023, 9:10 p.m.|Published: Apr. 01, 2023, 9:05 p.m.
By
Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — Red Sox center fielder Adam Duvall was a single shy of the cycle Saturday.
“I’ll take the W,” he said, smiling.
Duvall’s two-run walkoff homer, his second two-run blast of the game, was much sweeter than hitting for the cycle. The 106.7 mph liner just cleared the Green Monster and gave the Red Sox a 9-8 comeback win over the Orioles at Fenway Park.
It had a 20 degree launch angle and hit the shelf between the wall and the Monster seats.
“It was more when it hit (the shelf), I wasn’t sure if it was a homer or not,” Duvall said. “And then I saw them stop going for it. I saw the lights start to flicker. So I was hoping it was gonna stand as a homer. But I feel like I was still kind of running it out because I really wasn’t sure.”
It was a bit of a Déjà vu scenario for Duvall who made the final out Thursday after an error extended the game.
An error also extended Saturday’s game. Masataka Yoshida hit a 240-foot fly ball to left field with two outs in the ninth and the O’s ahead 8-7. But left fielder Ryan McKenna dropped the ball, bringing Duvall to the plate.
“It feels good, especially after the first night,” Duvall said. “It was a very similar situation how everything played out. It’s kind of eerie with the error and then getting a chance to end the game there. So it was very strange walking up to the plate like, ‘Man, this just happened literally two days ago.’ So just a little different outcome this time.”
Duvall homered on a 99.7 mph fastball from closer Félix Bautista. He had struck out swinging against Bautista on Thursday.
“I feel like I kind of let the situation get the best of me the first night and just tried to stick to my plan and what I wanted to do,” he said. “I got a pitch I can handle.”
Duvall went 4-for-5 with three runs and five RBIs. The right-handed hitter’s pull-side power was certainly on display with two homers to left. But he also went the other way with a ground-rule double to right field.
“I thought I was going to get my first Pesky’s Pole home run down the right field line,” Duvall said. “That (pull-side) is a strong part of my game. So to be able to execute that is big. It’s big for me as a hitter. Just having an approach and sticking with it and believing in it and trusting it.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 2, 2023 4:06:09 GMT -5
Red Sox’s Chris Sale ‘as embarrassed as he’s ever been on a baseball field’ after poor 2023 debut
Updated: Apr. 01, 2023, 10:12 p.m.|Published: Apr. 01, 2023, 10:05 p.m.
By
Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
BOSTON -- For Chris Sale, the fact the Red Sox walked off with a memorable, dramatic victory Saturday afternoon was the silver lining of a brutal personal start to the season. The lefty didn’t mince words after allowing seven runs (including three home runs) in three innings against the Orioles.
“I left them completely out to dry tonight,” Sale said. “That is about as embarrassed as I’ve ever been on a baseball field.”
Expectations were high for Sale after a spring training during which he pitched well and, more importantly, remained healthy. For the first time since 2019, he entered the regular season a full-go and was pleased with how he was commanding all of his pitches. Unfortunately for Sale, his 2023 debut was similar to his start on Opening Day four years ago, when he also allowed seven earned runs in three innings in Seattle. That year, he did not have a regular spring training because the club built up its starters carefully during camp after a World Series run. This time, there’s no excuse
“That one was definitely different,” Sale said. “There was a lot of stuff going on. This one, I don’t have any excuse for. I had a normal spring training. Can’t blame it on that. I’m not hurt. Nothing coming into it. I just sucked today. Sometimes you go out and try hard and do good. Sometimes you go out and try hard and suck. That was just unfortunately what happened today.”
Sale’s day started with a strikeout of Ramón Urías before things took a turn. He walked Adley Rutschman, then Ryan Mountcastle took launch with a 107 mph missile to left field. Two batters later, Austin Hays made it 3-0 with a homer of his own. Baltimore plated four more runs in the third, with three coming on Cedric Mullins’ first homer of the season.
Sale’s velocity wasn’t an issue (his fastball averaged 94.2 mph and maxed out at 97.2 mph) but command was. He threw just 43 of his 74 pitches for strikes. He didn’t think he was tipping pitches but was still looking forward to reviewing the video of his start.
“I’ve got to go back and look,” Sale said. “It just seemed like everything I threw up there, they were waiting for it. Not too many bad swings. Got some strikeouts and stuff like that. They did damage when they needed to.”
Somehow, Sale’s poor outing did not contribute to a Red Sox loss. Boston rallied from a six-run deficit behind a monster day from Adam Duvall, who secured a 9-8 victory with a two-run walk-off home run in the ninth. Sale was not in the dugout for Duvall’s blast but joked that it came off the bat so loudly he could have “heard it from Connecticut.”
“Fortunately and unfortunately, the story’s not about me today... We all played good except for one guy,” Sale said.
Though Saturday’s victory was an important one for a team that suffered a demoralizing defeat on Opening Day and needs to get off to a good start, Sale’s alarming performance was perhaps the biggest story. The Red Sox did not pursue a high-end starter in free agency or trades in large part because they believed Sale could once again be a top option after missing most of the last three seasons due to injury. In his first home start since the 2021 postseason, that was not the case. “Sometimes, you just suck,” Sale said. “That’s unfortunate. I’ve waited a while to pitch here at Fenway and to go out there and do that was embarrassing. Luckily for myself, we’re the Boston Red Sox. Everybody in that clubhouse takes a lot of pride in what they do. Our bullpen was unbelievable and then for our offense to come back, that’s a deep hole to dig yourself out of. And they did it.
Manager Alex Cora is hopeful Sale’s struggles will end after one outing. The lefty will be back in action when the Sox hit the road for the first time this season Thursday afternoon in Detroit.
“I’ve been saying all along that we’re not going to depend on the big guy (Sale) to carry us the whole time,” Cora said. “He just has to do his part. Today, obviously, it was a tough one. But as a team, we’re going to keep grinding, keep going and keep fighting until the end. Hopefully, it doesn’t have to take all this effort to get more W’s.
“It’s one of those days. We’ve got to get better,” Cora said. “I think the changeup was okay when he used it. Just go back and watch and get him ready for Detroit on Thursday. Stuff was OK. Location wasn’t great. We’re going to take a look at it and see if we can do better.”Red Sox’s Chris Sale ‘as embarrassed as he’s ever been on a baseball field’ after poor 2023 debut
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 2, 2023 4:11:45 GMT -5
Chris Sale wasn’t happy with short outing in his long-awaited return to Fenway, but does the fact he came out firing offer hope for the future? By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated April 1, 2023, 7:40 p.m.
Electricity — literal and metaphorical — shot through Fenway Park, a surge inspired by a walkoff homer from Adam Duvall that capped an improbable Red Sox comeback from a six-run deficit to produce a 9-8 win.
Long after the game’s conclusion, members of the Red Sox remained charged by the unlikely events that led to a win and the shared sense of accomplishment by the many, many contributors to that unlikely outcome. Yet for one player on the team, the final score could not erase a sense of failure.
Chris Sale took the mound at Fenway on Saturday for the first time in almost 18 months. The lefthander had been giddy in the weeks leading up to the outing, elated by his first healthy, normal spring training in at least five years. That outlook was shared by Sale’s team.
“It feels damn good to have Chris Sale back on the mound,” manager Alex Cora said before the game.
But the Orioles proved unsentimental about the pitcher’s homecoming. Baltimore erupted for seven runs over three innings against the 34-year-old, one of the worst outings of Sale’s career.
Sale heaped praise on both the offense and the bullpen that prevented the game from getting out of hand. But the lefthander offered a withering self-assessment.
“Hell, I was out there throwing batting practice,” said Sale. “I left them completely out to dry tonight. I was as embarrassed as I’ve ever been on a baseball field.”
While Sale came out firing in the first at 95 miles per hour to strike out leadoff hitter Ramón Urías, the Orioles — ever adept at anagrams — quickly turned that “Wow” into an “Oww.” Sale allowed a one-out single to budding superstar Adley Rutschman before a hanging slider got belted by Ryan Mountcastle for a two-run homer to left-center.
While Sale bounced back with a strikeout, he grooved a first-pitch fastball to Austin Hays, who smashed a solo homer to center, leaving the Sox in a first-inning, 3-0 hole.
Sale worked around a pair of baserunners in a scoreless second, but again lacked both luck and precision in the third. A pair of one-out infield singles put the lefthander in a bad spot, and a misfired full-count fastball to lefty Gunnar Henderson put him in a worse one. Sale got another infield dribbler — this one, a run-scoring fielder’s choice by Jorge Mateo — and could have escaped with a 4-1 deficit.
But with two outs and a 1-2 count, Sale turned not to his slider — usually the source of sorrow for lefties — but instead to his fastball against the lefthanded Cedric Mullins. The pitch was center-cut, and Mullins sent a rocket into the center-field bleachers for a three-run homer that put Baltimore ahead, 7-1, marking just the fourth time in Sale’s career he’d given up a homer to a lefty with two strikes.
There’s no hiding from the line: seven runs on seven hits and two walks in three innings, along with six strikeouts. The contest marked the 12th time in Sale’s career that he allowed at least seven runs, and the fourth time he’d done so in three innings or fewer — the previous one coming in his Opening Day egg in 2019. It was the 10th time in Sale’s career he allowed at least three homers.
He wasn’t particularly interested in the particulars. He wasn’t sure if he’d been tipping pitches, hadn’t assessed whether his undoing had been stuff or location, didn’t place too much on the idea that he’d been exposed without a reliable slider.
“Sometimes you just suck,” said Sale. “It’s unfortunate. I waited a while to pitch here at Fenway. To go out there and do that was embarrassing.”
Still, there were small hints of promise. Sale showed premium velocity, topping out at 97 m.p.h., and getting swings-and-misses when he could locate his fastball at the top of the zone. He also featured his best changeup in years, getting five swings-and-misses on the pitch, and his sinker mostly produced weak contact.
His stuff was fine. His ability to execute was not.
“His stuff is electric right now,” said catcher Reese McGuire. “For the first outing, it wasn’t exactly how we drew up, but a lot of really good things came from that and I’m really excited to keep going forward.”
Will he do that? While his command and control were off the mark on Saturday, those elements have been hallmarks of his career.
Still, there are no guarantees with a 34-year-old who is coming back after missing as much time as Sale has. Sale has joked that after three years of barely pitching, his arm is just 31 years old even if he is 34. But he is not picking up where he left off prior to his 2020 Tommy John surgery or, for that matter, when he was last one of the game’s most dominant pitchers in 2018.
And so, the Red Sox remain in the initial stages of a journey into the great pitching unknown — both with Sale and their staff as a whole. The team’s offense looks potentially explosive. The ability to defy forecasts of mediocrity relies on the pitching staff to surpass expectations.
On that front, the team’s start has been rough. In two games, the Sox have allowed 18 runs to the Orioles — with back-to-back season-opening yields of eight-plus runs for the first time since 2011.
That beginning is hardly predictive of what will happen, but the Sox clearly need more than what they’ve gotten — and they’ll need Sale to prove that Saturday represented an initial speed bump on the road back to excellence. Sale did not shy from that notion, even as he finally permitted himself one source of contentment.
“Heading back to the drawing board,” said Sale. “We all played good except for one guy. Obviously I’ve got a lot of work to do but, as a whole, taking this game was big-time.”
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