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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 4, 2023 4:26:35 GMT -5
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne · 7h No late-inning comeback this time for the Red Sox, who put up a five-spot in the first inning and scored just once for the rest of the night. Starting pitching again a big problem. Nick Pivetta will try to reverse the trend tomorrow night.
“I think Kiké has to be aggressive too on that one. We’ve got to make the play. The ball’s in the air. We have to catch the ball. It was playing differently. It’s different. It’s windy. It’s a little different out there.” -- Cora on a big misplay, early season wind elements.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 4, 2023 4:27:56 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 9h The home run lights big time stink
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 4, 2023 4:28:54 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 8h Bello and Whitlock need to come back. Hopefully Paxton gives innings. That will clear out the riffraff in the pen and give you better starters, long, and middle men.
If the pitching doesn't come around, it might be time to clear out the pitching and game planning coaches.
There are teams that the pitching program feels like a machine and does anyone get the feeling that that is going on here the last handful of years?
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 4, 2023 4:31:58 GMT -5
Red Sox pitching again can’t keep the ball in the yard, bats can’t make up the difference in a loss to the Pirates By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated April 3, 2023, 10:12 p.m.
The Sox couldn’t pry out a win Monday night at Fenway Park.
With one out in the ninth and the Sox trailing by a run, Raimel Tapia reached on an infield single. But Kiké Hernández and pinch hitter Rob Refsnyder struck out in back-to-back at-bats, cementing a 7-6 loss.
The offense couldn’t save the pitching. Not this time.
Red Sox starters haven’t had much success the first time through the rotation. Even though they escaped with a series win against the Orioles over the weekend, Sox starters allowed 15 runs (all earned) in 11 ⅓ innings, spiking the rotation’s ERA to 11.91 in three games.
Monday’s series opener against the lowly Pirates wasn’t any different.
Kutter Crawford lasted just four innings, giving up seven earned runs on eight hits together with three homers.
The offense, as it had in the previous three contests, kept the team in the game. After the Pirates put up three runs in the first, the Red Sox responded with a three-homer inning. Rafael Devers hit his first of the year, clobbering a middle-middle fastball from starter Johan Oviedo. Later in the inning, Masataka Yoshida pummeled a two-run shot at the top of the zone for his first big league homer. Triston Casas added a two-run shot, putting the Sox ahead, 5-3.
But in the second Bryan Reynolds uncorked a solo shot, then Jack Suwinski tied the game in the third on an RBI single. Pittsburgh took a 7-5 lead in the fourth when both Jason Delay and Reynolds launched solo shots, Reynolds notching his second homer of the game.
The three homers allowed by Crawford all came when he was behind in the count. Sox starters have now allowed 10 homers, the most in baseball through their first four contests.
Reliever Zack Kelly took over for Crawford in the fifth, registering two scoreless innings.
Adam Duvall brought the Red Sox closer with an RBI single in the sixth.
The Red Sox had a chance in the eighth after Alex Verdugo reached base on a single to left followed by a Justin Turner one-out walk. Yoshida grounded out to first, advancing runners to second and third. The Sox had their hottest hitter at the plate in Duvall, but he grounded out to shortstop, ending the threat.
After putting up a five-spot in the first, the Sox scored just one run over the remaining eight innings.
“We did a good job coming back, right?” manager Alex Cora said. “We just didn’t stop the opposition. We didn’t do that. The ball was flying and we just didn’t make pitches. Reynolds put two good swings on the ball, doing what he usually does, and at one point, we’ve got to pitch better.”
Reynolds recorded his fourth career multi-homer game, finishing the night 3 for 5. Crawford added that Reynolds does an excellent job of covering the zone, and the righthander felt he wasn’t aggressive enough in his attack against the Pirates outfielder, flashing his four-seam fastball just twice in three at-bats.
“I pitched him pretty similarly all three at-bats,” Crawford said. “I don’t think I use my fastball enough against him. So I kind of got a little predictable. And I just didn’t execute pitches when I needed to. You combine [predictability] and not executing pitches and you can see what happened.”
Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta will take his turn on the hill Tuesday before the rotation turns back over to Corey Kluber for the series finale Wednesday. The Sox bats have been electric, exhibiting a lineup that has remained a tough out with the capability of coming through in key moments.
But they couldn’t save the Sox’ starting pitching woes. Not this time.
“If I do my part tonight,” Crawford said, “we win that game easily.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 4, 2023 4:43:25 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK The Red Sox thought Adam Duvall’s pull-side approach would work at Fenway, and early returns are excellent By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated April 3, 2023, 8:24 p.m.
Adam Duvall won American League Player of the Week after hitting .571 (8 for 14 with eight RBIs and two homers.) Both of those home runs traveled to left field and that’s no surprise.
The Sox were high on Duvall’s skill set working well at Fenway, mainly his power to the pull-side. When Duvall pulls the ball, he was a .398 hitter coming into Monday’s contest with the Pirates, slugging .852. Of Duvall’s 165 homers, 106 of them have come to the pull-side.
“It’s always been my strength to pull the ball,” Duvall said recently. “So it’s not something that I shy away from. I think there’s a lot of people who don’t want to necessarily talk about pulling the ball because it can create some holes or different things. But for me, that’s kind of always been my swing. That’s always been my strength.”
Duvall is a streaky hitter, which in part has to do with his pull-side approach. Still, he knows who he is as a hitter. He tried the standard approach of thinking up the middle to right field, but noticed his barrel dragged through the zone, resulting in weak fly balls the other way.
“It just didn’t really work out,” he said.
But when he thinks pull, his swing is more engaged and connected to the rest of his body.
“As a hitter you can never lose your strength,” he said. “Because then you’re kind of searching for who you are. I just embrace it.” Yoshida goes yard
Masataka Yoshida hit his first homer of his big league career in the 7-6 loss to the Pirates, scalding a 96 mile-per-hour pitch at the top of the zone. The two-run shot came in the first inning on a 1-0 pitch, leaving his bat at 105 m.p.h, landing in the Green Monster seats.
“All my teammates were so excited for me,” Yoshida said through interpreter Keiichiro Yakabayshi. “I was happy.” Leading off
During spring training, the Red Sox said the leadoff spot would be based on matchups. It’s a spot in the order where manager Alex Cora preferred structure, but one they believed they could mix and match. Yet just three games into the season, the team will move forward with Alex Verdugo as the mainstay at leadoff.
“Yeah, until it doesn’t work,” Cora joked. “I talked to him in spring training and for where we are right now with everybody, he’s the guy.”
Verdugo has gotten off to an encouraging start, batting .421/.450/.684 with a homer in four games. He went 3 for 5 Monday, his third multi-hit game so far this year.
Prior to the season, the Sox challenged Verdugo to take that next leap as a player. Verdugo responded by entering camp in better shape, vowing that he would have a bounce-back year.
“He looks good,” Cora said. “He’s moving well, putting the ball in play. We challenged him to be the leadoff guy. We challenged him in the offseason. We challenged him during spring training and now you’re the leadoff guy of this group.”
As for Cora’s structure, he now has that, too, after the team spent much of the last four years tinkering at that spot. It helps that Rafael Devers likes Verdugo hitting in front of him, too. On the mend
James Paxton (hamstring) and Brayan Bello (forearm) traveled back to Fort Myers where they will pitch in an extended spring training game. Paxton will pitch Tuesday followed by Bello on Wednesday. Garrett Whitlock (hip) will pitch on Opening Day for Double A Portland and could join the big league club after that outing, though that’s still to be determined … Monday’s NCAA men’s basketball championship game was a showdown of Sox coach alma maters: hitting coach Pete Fatse played three seasons at UConn (2007-09) and assistant hitting coach Ben Rosenthal played two seasons at San Diego State (2000-01).
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 4, 2023 4:47:21 GMT -5
Pirates @ Red Sox Tuesday, 4th April 2023 7pm @ Fenway Park
Contreas vs Pivetta
Adam Duvall-led Red Sox hope to even series with Pirates FLM
Few players are off to a better start at the plate this season than Boston center fielder Adam Duvall, who will try to help the Red Sox pull even in their series with the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.
Duvall, 34, was named the American League Player of the Week on Monday after he collected eight hits and eight RBIs during Boston's season-opening, three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles. He became the first Red Sox player to have six extra-base hits -- three doubles, a triple and two home runs -- in his first three games with the team.
Duvall remained hot on Monday when he had two hits and walked twice in Boston's 7-6 loss to Pittsburgh during the opener of a three-game series.
"We all knew that he was going to love Fenway Park," Boston shortstop Enrique Hernandez said. "He was going to love the Green Monster being that close. He drives in runs, and when he hits the ball, he hits it really hard."
Duvall had a chance to give the Red Sox the lead in the eighth inning on Monday, but he grounded out to shortstop with runners on second and third to end the inning. The Red Sox stranded 12 runners in the game.
It was a breakout night on offense for the Pirates, who were coming off back-to-back road losses to the Cincinnati Reds in which they were limited to three total runs.
Center fielder Bryan Reynolds highlighted the offensive effort on Monday by hitting two home runs. It was the fourth multi-homer game of his career, and one of those came last August vs. the Red Sox.
Boston has allowed 30 runs in its four games yet is 2-2.
"They swung the bats well," Boston manager Alex Cora said of the Pirates. "The ball was flying. We just didn't make pitches. Reynolds put some good swings ... did what he usually does. We have to pitch better."
The Pirates are scheduled to start Roansy Contreras on Tuesday. Contreras was shuffled between Pittsburgh and Triple-A Indianapolis last season, when he finished 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA at the major league level.
Contreras will be opposed by 30-year-old Nick Pivetta, who made 33 starts last season and led the Red Sox staff in innings pitched (179 2/3). He finished the season with a 10-12 record and a 4.56 ERA.
The Pirates have been forced to rework their rotation after moving JT Brubaker from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list Sunday because of elbow discomfort.
"It changes the calculus of the rotation in that we planned on (Brubaker) being in it," Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said. "Now, we're finding out that it's going to be a lengthier time, so that adjusts it right now."
The Pirates put Brubaker on the 15-day injured list on Opening Day. He was slowed by elbow issues in 2019, when he managed just six appearances in the minor leagues.
Monday began a stretch of nine straight games for the Pirates against American League teams. After facing Boston, Pittsburgh will have its first homestand, three games against the Chicago White Sox and three against the Houston Astros.
--Field Level Media
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 4, 2023 13:35:30 GMT -5
Red Sox’s Alex Cora wonders why ‘ball is flying’ at Fenway: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this’
Published: Apr. 04, 2023, 12:54 p.m.
By
Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
BOSTON -- Four games into the 2023 season, Fenway Park has been so much of a home run hitter’s paradise that some members of the Red Sox are wondering what’s going on.
So far, hitters have combined for 18 homers in four games at Fenway, with the Orioles and Pirates slugging 10 and the Red Sox hitting eight of their own. It’s a small sample size, but the average of 4.5 home runs per game this season greatly outpaces last year’s average (2.26 homers per game) and Fenway’s homer total leads all of baseball so far. After Pittsburgh and Boston combined to hit six home runs in the first four innings of Monday’s game, Sox manager Alex Cora admitted he has been wondering about the difference.
“This is different, man,” Cora said after a 7-6 Red Sox loss. “I’ve never seen anything like this so early in the season. The ball is flying here.”
Wind patterns likely have something to do with the difference. In 2022, Red Sox coaches and hitters noticed that the ball was no longer flying to right-center field like it had in recent years — an observation that was evidenced by a downturn in some players’ home run totals (including J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts). On Monday, the wind appeared to play a role on a few plays early in the game. Third baseman Rafael Devers misplayed a pop fly that fell in and led to Pittsburgh runs in the first inning; Triston Casas’ first home run of the season took a unique path from foul territory into the right field stands.
“It was playing differently,” Cora said. “The ball that Casas hit was way foul and landed fair. That ball came back in fair territory. It’s different. It’s windy. It’s a little bit windy out there.”
Throughout baseball in recent years, there have been doubts about the consistency of the baseballs being used in games. Though no one with the Red Sox has questioned the baseballs publicly yet this year, starters Rich Hill and Nick Pivetta went on the record with their concerns in 2022. A larger sample size of home run totals at every ballpark is necessary before making a judgment on the balls being used this year. Still, Cora isn’t the only one questioning what’s happening at Fenway.
“The balls are flying a lot in this ballpark last year,” Devers said (through interpreter Carlos Villoria Benítez). “That’s something we didn’t see last year at all. I don’t know what’s going on. But you can see the difference between last year and this year.”
Of course, Red Sox pitching is to blame for the issues with home runs as well. Boston’s first four starters (Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford) have combined to allow all 10 of the home runs hit by opponents. Only Houck was able to pitch into the fifth inning in his season debut.
Crawford, who was rocked for seven runs in four innings Monday night, did not make excuses.
“We’re all probably getting that first bad one out of the way,” he said. “As a staff, we’re going to be accountable and continue to be better.
“When I leave pitches over the heart of the plate, this is the big leagues and guys are going to put barrels on them,” he added. “There’s a lot of wind going on out there but that’s not a reason for me to say those balls shouldn’t have been home runs. I didn’t make pitches and they put a good swing on them and the ball went out.”
The Red Sox have two more home games against the Pirates before hitting the road for the first time this year as a trip to Detroit and St. Petersburg begins Thursday. Cora is hopeful his staff’s issues with the long ball will stop soon.
“We need to stop the opposition and we didn’t do that,” he said Monday night. “They swung the bats well, the ball was flying. We just didn’t make pitches.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 4, 2023 13:37:21 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 1h Red Sox starting pitchers have been punished by the Orioles and Pirates on pitches they have left over the heart of the plate
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 4, 2023 13:46:45 GMT -5
Game 5: Pirates at Red Sox lineups and notesBy Andrew Mahoney Globe Staff,Updated April 4, 2023, 10:37 a.m. The Red Sox bats could not bail out another subpar pitching performance in Monday night’s 7-6 loss to the Pirates. Not that the offense fell silent — they still belted 10 hits — but after scoring five runs in the first inning, the Sox stranded 12 runners on the night to drop the series opener. The Pirates connected for three home runs off starter Kutter Crawford after managing just two in their first three games of the season. Crawford was knocked around for seven runs on eight hits in just four innings. Through the first four games, Sox starters have allowed 22 runs in 15 ⅓ innings. They hope Nick Pivetta can reverse that trend when he makes his 2023 debut Tuesday night. Here is a preview. Lineups PIRATES (2-2): 1. Oneil Cruz (L) SS 2. Bryan Reynolds (S) CF 3. Andrew McCutchen (R) RF 4. Carlos Santana (S) 1B 5. Ji-Man Choi (L) DH 6. Ke'Bryan Hayes (R) 3B 7. Canaan Smith-Njigba (L) LF 8. Ji Hwan Bae (L) 2B 9. Tyler Heineman (S) C Pitching: RHP Roansy Contreras (5-5, 3.79 ERA in 2022) RED SOX (2-2): 1. Alex Verdugo (L) RF 2. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 3. Justin Turner (R) DH 4. Masataka Yoshida (L) LF 5. Adam Duvall (R) CF 6. Triston Casas (L) 1B 7. Enrique Hernandez (R) SS 8. Reese McGuire (L) C 9. Yu Chang (R) 2B Pitching: RHP Nick Pivetta (10-12, 4.56 ERA in 2022) Time: 7:10 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Pirates vs. Pivetta: Rodolfo Castro 0-2, Ji Man Choi 2-7, Oneil Cruz 0-3, Jason Delay 0-2, Austin Hedges 3-12, Andrew McCutchen 2-9, Bryan Reynolds 0-3, Carlos Santana 2-3 Red Sox vs. Contreras: Christian Arroyo 1-3, Rafael Devers 0-2, Adam Duvall 0-2, Kiké Hernández 1-3, Reese McGuire 1-3, Raimel Tapia 0-3, Alex Verdugo 2-2 Stat of the day: The Sox scored five runs in the first inning Monday night, including three home runs. It was the first time they had three homers in the same inning since July 19, 2019, when they belted three in the first inning at Toronto. Notes: Pivetta made 33 starts last season and led the Red Sox staff in innings pitched (179 ⅔). … The bullpen combined for 5 scoreless innings with one hit, one walk, and four strikeouts. Sox relievers did not allow a hit or walk to their final nine batters faced. … The Sox have scored at least six runs in each of their first four games in a season for the fifth time in club history, and first since 2016. The other seasons were 1950, 1985, and 1995. … They have had at least 10 hits in each of their first four games for the seventh time, having also turned the trick in 1902, 1950, 1977, 1985, 1999, and 2016. ... Adam Duvall is the third player in club history to record at least 9 RBI over the Sox’ first four games, joining Ted Williams (9 in 1942), and Bobby Doerr (10 in 1941). … Bryan Reynolds had a pair of home runs for the Pirates for his fourth multi-home run game. He has homered in each of his last three games against the Sox (8-for-13, five home runs, eight RBI), including two in each of his last two games. Song of the Day: AC/DC- Jailbreakwww.youtube.com/watch?v=g8xScxmekQk
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 4, 2023 15:08:36 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 32m Pirates moves: C Austin Hedges placed on the seven-day concussion IL. C Tyler Heineman called up. RHP Edwin Uceta was DFA’d.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 4, 2023 15:09:09 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 37m Christain Arroyo, who’s off to a slow start, is out for early BP. Justin Turner is, too, and has been offering a few ideas.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 4, 2023 16:38:20 GMT -5
Chris Cotillo @chriscotillo · 1h Updates from Cora:
* Paxton threw 3 innings today. Good velo. Will stay in Ft Myers this week. Not sure on next step. * Joely Rodriguez and Wyatt Mills started playing catch. Building up. * Weird schedule this week will require rest for starters. Kiké, Duvall off tomorrow.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 4, 2023 16:40:02 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 1h Alex Cora remains amazed at how the ball is flying at Fenway, and remained befuddled as to the cause - though he did note it’s been atypically warm and the wind has been howling in all different directions.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 4, 2023 18:44:03 GMT -5
So, the Red Sox grab a early 1-0 lead in the 1rst Pivetta serves a 2 run dinger
2-1 Pitt
also pregame.....Most use by bullpen so far this season
Red Sox are 6th in the league at just over 20ip.....
leads to more of the Gas Can Gang later this season
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 4, 2023 18:49:15 GMT -5
Reynolds goes deep again 3-1 Pitt in the 3rd
good to hear boos seeing it is Dress Like a Seat Night again
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