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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2023 4:08:32 GMT -5
Red Sox lose to Pirates, 4-1, as homers, Reese McGuire passed ball prove costly
Published: Apr. 04, 2023, 9:46 p.m.
By
Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
BOSTON -- The home run problems for the Red Sox rotation continued Tuesday night. This time, however, a Boston offense what has been potent all season couldn’t do enough to match its opponent.
Sox starter Nick Pivetta gave up two homers as Boston fell, 4-1, to the Pirates at Fenway Park. Though Pivetta pitched well (he allowed just one earned run in five innings), a Reese McGuire passed ball in the second inning proved consequential as the Red Sox fell back below .500 at 2-3.
For the third straight game, the Red Sox scored in the first inning, this time breaking a scoreless tie when Alex Verdugo and Justin Turner both singled and Masataka Yoshida drove in Verdugo with an RBI groundout. Pivetta then got two quick outs to open the second inning before his third strike to Canaan Smith-Njigba got away from McGuire, extending the inning. Three pitches later, Ji-Hwan Bae made the Red Sox pay, lining a two-run homer that barely cleared the Monster.
Bryan Reynolds, who homered twice in the series opener, made it a 3-0 game with a leadoff homer in the third. Pirates starter Roansy Contreras settled down after the first, retiring 14 of 15 at one point before being lifted in the sixth. He allowed just three hits in 5 ⅔ innings.
Pittsburgh tacked on an insurance run in the seventh when Reynolds drove in Tyler Heineman with an RBI single. The Pirates had just five hits but made the most of their chances; the Red Sox had only three (McGuire had two doubles which were Boston’s only hits after the first inning).
The loss was Boston’s quickest game of the young season. It lasted just two hours and 36 minutes.
Issues with steals continue
The Pirates were 2-for-2 on steal opportunities Tuesday, with Oneil Cruz nabbing second base in the first inning and Heineman stealing second in the seventh before coming around to score. The showing continued a scary trend for the Red Sox, who have been run all over so far this season.
Through five games, opponents are 12-for-12 on steal attempts against the Red Sox, with all 12 coming against McGuire in his three starts. Teams are clearly taking advantage of the new rules (pitch clock and pickoff limitations) against McGuire and Red Sox pitchers. McGuire was 16-for-48 (33%) nabbing would-be base stealers last season and 5-for-12 (42%) in his two months with the Red Sox. Enter your email address here to receive the Fenway Rundown email newsletter in your inbox every Wednesday.
Kluber looks to rebound in finale
Right-hander Corey Kluber (0-1, 13.50 ERA) will try to help the Red Sox avoid a sweep in Wednesday’s series finale after a rough Opening Day showing (five earned runs in 3⅓ innings). Righty Mitch Keller (0-0, 7.71 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Pirates.
First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m. ET. After the game, the Red Sox will travel to Detroit, where they’ll play a rare second straight afternoon game Thursday.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2023 4:10:00 GMT -5
Red Sox’s Reese McGuire takes ‘complete ownership’ for game-changing passed ball
Published: Apr. 04, 2023, 11:07 p.m.
By
Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta dotted the corner down-and-in with a 78.8 mph curveball on a 3-2 count with two outs in the second inning Tuesday.
Pirates’ Canaan Smith-Njigba swung and missed but catcher Reese McGuire couldn’t catch it. The passed ball allowed Smith-Njigba to reach first and extend the inning.
Ji Hwan Bae, the next hitter, connected on Pivetta’s 94.8 mph four-seam fastball and sent it 359 feet to left field for a go-ahead homer.
The Pirates won 4-1 over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
“We attacked that whole at-bat (vs. Smith-Njigba),” McGuire said. “Worked to a good curveball count there, 3-2. Being aggressive down in the zone and he made a really good pitch. And it was just nasty enough to get right underneath my glove. I felt like I was in a good position to get ready to lift it up into the zone. For whatever reason, it just kind of clipped off the end of my glove and I didn’t quite get down to it.
“So yeah, complete ownership of that,” McGuire added. “And it always sucks. The next batter leaves the yard and you feel like that inning should have been over. But credit to him (Pivetta) for not showing me up and coming back right in there and giving us some solid innings to get through five.”
Pivetta pitched well, allowing three runs (but just one earned run), three hits and three walks while striking out six in 5 innings. But Bae’s homer in the second inning and Bryan Reynolds’ solo homer in the third inning was the difference.
“The one takeaway I think I can get from it is that in that moment I probably should have slowed the game down and taken a mound visit,” McGuire said. “I feel like that would have helped myself but also in the situation, just kind of not let that momentum go right into the next pitch. ... So if I could go back, I’d go out to the mound and just kind of slow the game down and get back on page. It’s a good learning point. But it sucks that it had to be that way.”
McGuire also allowed two more stolen bases Tuesday. Opponents have gone 12-for-12 in steals vs. McGuire this season.
It’s a strange stat after he threw out 5-of-12 base stealers (42% percent) for Boston last year. He threw out 33% (16-for-48) overall in 2022 with the Red Sox and White Sox. He threw out 38% (15-for-39) in 2020-21 combined.
There’s obviously more factors involved than the catcher. Boston relief pitchers aren’t moving fast enough to the plate. But McGuire said he needs to be better.
“Shoot, I take pride in throwing guys out,” McGuire said. “So I feel like I need to do a better job of just putting a little bit better, accurate throw. But I look forward to the next opportunity these guys run because the arm’s starting to feel better, honestly. The weather is getting a little bit warmer. So I feel like the first series was obviously cold and it was a little tough to get a grip on the ball. But I think moving forward, we’ve already done a good job of making adjustments on the mound with our time to the plate. And we’ve been really happy with how that’s been.”
The Pirates added on in the seventh inning thanks to Tyler Heineman’s stolen base with two outs. Reynolds followed with an RBI single, making it 4-1.
“Teams are going to look to add on. So that’s another thing,” McGuire said. “When a team has a lead like that, they’re kind of running wild sometimes because they have the lead and they’re just trying to (be aggressive). But it’s a moment for us to slow the game down again. And I look forward to making better throws to second.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2023 4:13:36 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 9h #RedSox starters this season:
18.1 IP 28 H 23 ER 12 HR
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2023 4:22:01 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 7h Devers has crushed 4 balls for an 0-4 night. Sox hitters haven't hit anything close to a home run, but have had brutal luck on well hit balls all night.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2023 4:23:03 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 8h Opponents are 12-for-12 in SB attempts against the Red Sox.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2023 4:26:44 GMT -5
The same problems keep haunting the Red Sox in another loss to red-hot Bryan Reynolds and the Pirates By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated April 4, 2023, 9:49 p.m.
It is too early in the season for cracks to split across the picture of the 2023 Red Sox, but it is not too soon to see the potential makings of fault lines.
On Tuesday night against the Pirates, the team continued some disconcerting early patterns. Red Sox pitchers once again proved vulnerable to the long ball, once again proved incapable of shutting down an opponent’s running game, and once again struggled to close out innings.
Those elements, coupled with the first game this season in which the Sox offense was subdued, coalesced into a 4-1 home loss to the Pirates. The defeat clinched the Sox’ first series defeat of the year.
“We just have to be better,” manager Alex Cora said. f
Though the Pirates took command of the game early, it was the Red Sox who took the contest’s initial advantage by jumping on the board in the bottom of the first. Alex Verdugo led off the game by ripping a single to right off Roansy Contreras and advanced to third when Justin Turner perfectly executed a hit-and-run with a single through the right side. Masataka Yoshida drove in Verdugo with an infield chopper for a 1-0 lead.
Yet instead of running with the lead, the Red Sox tripped over their own feet. While starter Nick Pivetta blistered through what could have been a 1-2-3 inning punctuated by a strikeout of Canaan Smith-Njigba on a curveball, catcher Reese McGuire failed to secure the pitch, allowing Smith-Njigba to reach on a passed ball.
With the inning extended, Ji Hwan Bae immediately made the Red Sox pay for the miscue. The lefthander jumped on a 95-mile-per-hour fastball for an opposite-field homer over the Monster. The two-run roundtripper — the first of Bae’s career — put the Pirates ahead, 2-1.
“[Pivetta] made a made a really good pitch. It was just nasty enough to get right underneath my glove,” said McGuire. “Complete ownership of that. It always sucks — the next batter leaves the yard, and you feel like that inning should have been over.”
Pittsburgh soon added to its margin. Slugger Bryan Reynolds continued to torment the Red Sox, leading off the third by crushing a curveball into the Boston bullpen for a solo homer, Reynolds’s third in two games this series and fourth of the season. The contest marked the fourth straight game dating to last year in which Reynolds went deep against the Red Sox, tying Andrés Galarraga for the longest homer streak ever against the Sox in interleague play.
Pivetta otherwise proved excellent over five innings in which he allowed just three hits with three walks while striking out six.
“Got some good swings and misses when I needed to and weak contact,” Pivetta assessed. “A couple of home runs ended up killing me, but that’s about it.”
But the Sox offense, which had produced 33 runs in the season’s first four games, was stifled by Contreras.
Once Contreras navigated the first inning, he encountered little difficulty over the remainder of his outing. The righthander spun slider after slider while permitting just three hits (one after the first inning) over 5 2/3 innings in which he was charged with one run.
A two-out walk in the sixth inning followed by an Oneil Cruz throwing error on a Yoshida grounder finally gave the Sox a legitimate threat and ended Contreras’s night. But with runners on the corners and two outs, reliever Dauri Moreta came in and spun six straight sliders to Adam Duvall, the last of which produced a check-swing for a strikeout.
After the Sox failed to capitalize on their opportunity, the Pirates soon conjured an insurance run against reliever Josh Winckowski. Tyler Heineman reached on a single and, with two outs, swiped second — the 12th straight successful steal against the Sox to open the year. With a runner in scoring position, Reynolds continued to run circles around the Sox, fighting off a tough sinker for a single up the middle to plate Heineman and give Pittsburgh a 4-1 cushion.
“He definitely swings the bat well against us,” said McGuire. “He’s a tough out right now.”
The Pirates never looked back. The Red Sox, meanwhile, continued to show the same vulnerabilities that have been evident throughout the early season, permitting two homers, two steals, and three two-out runs.
Through five games, the Sox have allowed 12 homers, third most in team history through the first quintet of games; 12 steals in as many attempts, most in team history through five contests and the most by any MLB team since 1987; and 17 runs with two outs, second most in the big leagues this year.
The Red Sox will now try to salvage the series finale in a Wednesday matinee against the Pirates, looking to Corey Kluber to jumpstart the improvement of a rotation that has an MLB-worst 10.18 ERA.
“There’s no secret, right? We have to pitch better,” said Cora.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2023 4:29:02 GMT -5
After one disheartening turn through starting rotation, it’s clear the Red Sox’ arms need reinforcements By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated April 4, 2023, 11:16 p.m.
The first time through the rotation has come to an end for the Red Sox.
Does there have to be another?
From a statistical standpoint, Nick Pivetta had the best start of the season on Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He allowed one earned run on three hits over five innings with three walks and six strikeouts.
But he did not actually pitch well in a 4-1 loss.
“It was OK,” said manager Alex Cora, summing it up well.
Canaan Smith-Njigba struck out swinging at a curveball with two outs in the second inning but reached on a passed ball by Reese McGuire.
Ideally a pitcher would pick his catcher up in that situation. But Pivetta left a fastball over the plate that 23-year-old rookie Ji Hwan Bae drove the other way over the wall in left for his first major league home run.
Bae had only 20 home runs over 1,610 previous at-bats with the Pirates, in the minors, in the Arizona Fall League, and with a team in the Australian winter league. A slugger he is not.
“You don’t expect that,” Cora said.
Pivetta didn’t fault McGuire for the passed ball.
“You still have to go out and compete and make pitches,” he said. “It was 1-1 count and it was a fastball away. Good swing on a good pitch.”
In the third inning, Pivetta threw a first-pitch curveball to Bryan Reynolds that he crushed into the Red Sox bullpen. It was Reynolds’ third home in two nights at Fenway.
“He was looking for it,” Cora said.
Reynolds eased up on the Sox with a two-out double in the fifth inning. Pivetta then walked Andrew McCutchen on five pitches before leaving a fastball over the middle of the plate to Carlos Santana.
Santana hit the ball hard but it stayed down and was caught on the warning track in right field. The Sox caught a break there.
Sox starters have worked only 20⅓ innings over five games and allowed 23 earned runs on 29 hits, 12 of them home runs and another four going for doubles.
Corey Kluber, who was clubbed on Opening Day by the Orioles, starts the series finale on Wednesday afternoon. Then Chris Sale starts in Detroit on Thursday afternoon.
The Sox need a lot better from their starters the second time around.
“Everybody knows it,” Cora said. “There’s no secret, right? We have to pitch better.”
Pivetta doesn’t seem concerned.
“I think we’re always committed,” he said. “The first time, just kind of getting our feet under us, figuring out the season. I think guys will move forward continuing with our game plan and continuing to compete as a rotation and continuing to go deep in baseball games.”
Either way, the rotation will be changing soon. Garrett Whitlock has his second rehab start scheduled for Thursday with Double A Portland. He could return as soon as Tuesday against Tampa Bay.
Brayan Bello also is getting closer, perhaps five days behind Whitlock.
That duo is undeniably talented. But Bello was 2-7 with a 4.82 earned run average over 11 starts as a rookie last season and Whitlock is coming off hip surgery after making only nine starts last season.
The righthander’s last full season as a starter was in 2018 when he was a Yankees prospect.
James Paxton also is building up innings and should be back at some point. The lefthander is a wild card considering he has made only six starts since 2019 because of injuries.
His last appearance in the majors was on April 6, 2021.
Qualifiers aside, the Sox need them soon and they need to be sharp. It’s not their 2-3 record that’s a problem. It’s that the starters will wear out the bullpen if this keeps up and the lineup will start to feel like it needs to score six or seven runs a night to have a chance.
This was the concern coming into the season, that the Sox had a rotation with too many question marks. Five games in, concern has become reality.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2023 4:31:53 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK Why are the Red Sox (and their opponents) launching so many homers to start the season? By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated April 4, 2023, 8:01 p.m.
What on earth is going on at Fenway Park?
Early-season series in Boston typically prove exercises in misery for hitters as cold temperatures and hostile winds turn barreled balls into flyouts. Not so to start the 2023 season. Through the first four games of the season, the Sox and their opponents had combined for 63 runs and 18 homers.
“[The balls are] just flying. I have no idea [why],” Sox manager Alex Cora said prior to Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Pirates. “The ball is flying.”
Could it be unusual wind patterns? (Capricious winds have certainly flummoxed fielders in the early days of the season, resulting in multiple misplayed pop-ups.) Warmer-than-usual April temperatures? A change to the the ball?
Such possibilities are intriguing, yet there might be a far more conventional and less conspiratorial explanation for the early offensive eruptions: Both Red Sox pitchers and their opponents have been grooving pitches.
“Before I look at any other factors, let’s check off the parts that we can control. We can’t control the weather, we can’t control the ball,” said pitching coach Dave Bush. “Are we making our pitches? That’s where I default to. Did the pitch go where we wanted it to? There’s less likely to be damage if we get the pitch where we want it to. If it’s in the middle of the plate, it tends to get hit harder. Sometimes it’s not any more complicated than that.”
On that front, the Red Sox have been the worst team in baseball. Entering Tuesday, 9.7 percent of their pitches — nearly one out of every 10 — had been located in the heart of the strike zone, the highest (worst) percentage of any staff in the big leagues. Opponents were hitting .455 and slugging 1.091 with four homers on those offerings.
Meanwhile, the Sox lineup has been able to feast on a pair of teams that haven’t done much better commanding their pitches. The Pirates entered Tuesday’s game having thrown 8.1 percent of their pitches in the middle-middle nitro zone (fourth highest in MLB), while the Orioles were throwing middle-middle pitches 7.8 percent of the time (sixth).
It’s not entirely shocking to see teams struggling to command after leaving spring training and heading north. Pitchers typically take some time to gain feel for the ball as they go to colder climates. But the Red Sox recognize there’s no grace period at the start of the season.
“I don’t know if there’s a great way to practice going from 90 degrees and humid in Florida to 40 degrees and not humid up here,” said Bush. “But it’s one of the things we have to be able to prepare for.” Showing some muscle
When Masataka Yoshida returned to the dugout following his first big league homer on Monday, his teammates conferred upon him a pair of inflatable dumbbells to pump in celebration of the feat. The blowup toys were merchandise sold by Yoshida’s former team, the Orix Buffaloes, and procured by Sox officials on a scouting trip to Japan in anticipation of a recruiting Zoom that never happened.
Cora said that other members of the team plan on celebrating homers with the dumbbells.
“I don’t know if that’s going to be the rest of the week or the rest of the month or the rest of the season, but at least for now, that’s what they’re doing,” said Cora.
Casas looking for groove
First baseman Triston Casas was 2 for 11 with six strikeouts and two walks in his first 14 plate appearances of the season entering Tuesday, and felt he was expanding the zone more than he had in his big league debut. What difference does he see in how pitchers are approaching him?
“Last year if they saw that I wasn’t hitting a pitch or wasn’t on it, they kept going there,” said Casas. “[This year] they’re definitely not repeating multiple pitches in a row. They’re going to different spots, different locations.”
He was encouraged by his first homer of the season on Monday, a 350-foot moonshot down the right-field line and just inside the Pesky Pole. Related: Abraham: After one disheartening turn through starting rotation, it’s clear the Red Sox’ arms need reinforcements
“Just with how off-balance the swing was, I was happy to see that I could hit it that hard and have it stay true and down the line,” said Casas. Paxton building
Rehabbing lefthander James Paxton, who opened the year on the injured list because of a hamstring injury, pitched three innings in an extended spring training game in Fort Myers while topping out at 94-95 miles per hour. Cora characterized the veteran, who has pitched 21 ⅔ innings since the start of 2020, as “a little bit off mechanically, but getting closer.”
Righthander Brayan Bello (elbow inflammation in spring) is scheduled to throw five innings in Fort Myers on Wednesday, and righthander Garrett Whitlock (returning from hip surgery) is slated to throw five innings with Double A Portland on Thursday. Bush said that the Sox haven’t decided what they’ll do with that trio when all three return from the injured list.
“Things can change fast,” said Bush. “We had all kinds of plans in spring training and then there were injuries and we made adjustments. We’re not too far ahead of ourselves, just making sure they get through the rehab starts and then when they’re ready to come back, we’ll make the decisions then.”
Lefthander Joely Rodriguez, who suffered a Grade 2 right oblique strain on March 18, has started playing catch. Righthander Wyatt Mills, who has been sidelined since March 13 with a flexor muscle strain, has also started to throw. There’s no timetable for either to pitch.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2023 4:36:02 GMT -5
Pirates @ Red Spx Wednesday, 5th April 2023 1:30pm @ Fenway
Keller 0-0/7.71
vs
Kluber 0-1/ 13.50
Red Sox turn to Corey Kluber in finale vs. Pirates FLM
Of all the things that have plagued the Boston Red Sox so far this season, perhaps allowing home runs is at the top of the list.
The visiting Pittsburgh Pirates have hit five home runs in the first two games of their series against the Red Sox, and they will look to complete a three-game sweep on Wednesday afternoon.
Boston pitchers have served up 12 home runs in five games this season. Only the Arizona Diamondbacks have allowed more (13).
Ji Hwan Bae hit a two-run home run and Bryan Reynolds added a solo shot in Pittsburgh's 4-1 triumph on Tuesday. Reynolds hit two of Pittsburgh's three home runs in a 7-6 victory on Monday.
"The opposite-field home run (by Bae) ... pitch down and away, and it goes out," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "I don't mind the breaking ball to Reynolds, but he was looking for it and he put a good swing on it."
Bae, a second-year player, swatted the first home run of his major league career.
"I always tend to lose my stuff, so I'm just going to send it back to Korea," Bae, speaking through a translator, said of the souvenir ball.
Reynolds has collected three hits in each of Pittsburgh's two victories against Boston. He is seeking a contract extension from the Pirates, but so far the sides have been unable to complete a deal.
The contract situation hasn't seemed to bother Reynolds' on-field performance. The 28-year-old outfielder is hitting .429 with four home runs through five games.
"I don't think Bryan lets anything affect him once he gets between the lines," Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. "That's something that I know I personally really appreciate about him, that regardless of what is happening externally he is always the same guy."
Boston scored 33 runs in its first four games but was limited to four hits on Tuesday.
"(Monday) they changed the script and started throwing more breaking balls against us," Cora said. "(Tuesday) they did the same thing. Just make adjustments and keep putting up good at-bats and we'll be OK."
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber is scheduled to make his second start of the season for Boston on Wednesday. Kluber (0-1, 13.50 ERA) surrendered five runs on six hits and walked four in 3 1/3 innings as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Red Sox 10-9 in the season opener on Thursday.
Boston landed Kluber in January after it lost veteran pitchers Nathan Eovaldi (Texas Rangers) and Rich Hill (Pirates) in free agency. Kluber signed a one-year deal with Tampa Bay last season, and he made 31 starts for the Rays while going 10-10 with a 4.34 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.
Mitch Keller (0-0, 7.71) is scheduled to start the series finale for Pittsburgh. He got a no-decision in the Pirates' opener after allowing four runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings against the host Cincinnati Reds. He struck out eight and walked four.
Keller has faced the Red Sox just once previously; he gave up five runs (four earned) in two innings during a loss on Aug. 16, 2022. Kluber is 0-1 with a 4.82 ERA in two career starts vs. the Pirates.
--Field Level Media
Pirates at Red Sox Wednesday, at 1:35 PM EST Cloudy According to Forecast.io, it's expected to be 41° F with a 2,200% chance of None and 15 MPH wind blowing in in Boston at 1:35 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com Forecast.io Cloudy skies and cool temperatures are expected for Wednesday afternoon's interleague matchup at Fenway Park. Moderate winds blowing in from right-center field will reduce home run chances considerably to that side of the diamond.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2023 10:04:14 GMT -5
Game 6: Pirates at Red Sox lineups and pregame notesBy Katie McInerney Globe Staff,Updated April 5, 2023, 52 minutes ago The Red Sox got on the board first, but couldn’t hold the lead against the Pirates on Tuesday. They lost, 4-1, clinching their first series defeat of the season. The Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds hit another home run, his third in two games against the Sox. But they’re back at it for a getaway day matinee on Wednesday, with an early first pitch at Fenway Park. Corey Kluber, who lost the season opener last week, is on the mound for the Red Sox. Boston heads to Detroit after today’s game for a three-game series before heading on to Tampa and the first divisional matchup of the year. Lineups PIRATES (3-2): 1. Oneil Cruz (L) SS 2. Bryan Reynolds (S) LF 3. Andrew McCutchen (R) DH 4. Carlos Santana (S) 1B 5. Ke'Bryan Hayes (R) 3B 6. Jack Suwinski (L) RF 7. Rodolfo Castro (S) 2B 8. Ji Hwan Bae (L) CF 9. Jason Delay (R) C Pitching: RHP Mitch Keller (0-0, 7.71 ERA) RED SOX (2-3): 1. Alex Verdugo (L) RF 2. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 3. Justin Turner (R) DH 4. Masataka Yoshida (L) LF 5. Triston Casas (L) 1B 6. Christian Arroyo (R) 2B 7. Raimel Tapia (L) CF 8. Yu Chang (R) SS 9. Connor Wong (R) C Pitching: RHP Corey Kluber (0-1, 13.50 ERA) Time: 1:35 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Pirates vs. Kluber: Ji Man Choi 1-8, Oneil Cruz 1-3, Bryan Reynolds 1-3, Jack Suwinski 0-2 Red Sox vs. Keller: Christian Arroyo 1-2, Rafael Devers 0-1, Adam Duvall 0-1, Kiké Hernández 0-0, Reese McGuire 0-1, Raimel Tapia 0-3, Justin Turner 1-3, Alex Verdugo 1-2 Stat of the day: Only one team has allowed more than the 12 homers the Red Sox pitching staff has allowed. The Diamondbacks lead the league with 13. Notes: Ji Hwan Bae’s two-run homer on Tuesday was his first in the majors. “I always tend to lose my stuff, so I’m just going to send it back to Korea,” Bae, speaking through a translator, said of the souvenir ball. ... Bryan Reynolds, who has four homers in five games, is looking for a contract extension with the Pirates. ... After scoring 33 runs in their first four games, the Red Sox got just four hits on Tuesday. ... The Pirates are pitching Mitch Keller, who has faced the Red Sox just once. On Aug. 16, 2022, he gave up five runs in two innings in a loss. ... Kluber is 0-1 with a 4.82 ERA in two career starts vs. Pittsburgh. Song of the Day: Stone Temple Pilots- Plushwww.youtube.com/watch?v=V5UOC0C0x8Q
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2023 13:05:14 GMT -5
Have the Pitt feed today fantastic
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2023 13:07:26 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 2h #RedSox staying on turn in Detroit: Sale, Houk and Crawford.
Travel fun:
12:15 p.m. announcement: “There’s nothing to be concerned about. We’ll be boarding shortly.”
12:17 p.m.: “Just got a call from the tower. Detroit has a ground stop because of weather. We hope to board in an hour.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2023 13:14:43 GMT -5
Alex Cora says ‘good chance’ Garrett Whitlock makes season debut next week PUBLISHED: April 5, 2023 at 1:04 p.m. | UPDATED: April 5, 2023 at 1:04 p.m.
Barring any setbacks, Garrett Whitlock will rejoin the Red Sox and make his season debut early next week.
“There’s a good chance,” Alex Cora said.
Whitlock began the season on the injured list after a careful, measured spring training. He underwent season-ended hip surgery last September, so the Red Sox didn’t want to rush his preseason program. His first rehab start was Triple-A Worcester’s Opening Day last Friday, and he’s scheduled to start Double-A Portland’s season opener on Thursday.
The current plan is to move the 26-year-old right-hander to the starting rotation full-time. Since his hip surgery, he says he feels the best he’s felt since high school. Hopefully, that will translate to good results on the mound; his team needs that. Despite scoring 34 runs in their first five games (third-most in MLB), the Red Sox are 2-3 to start the season, in large part due to the rotation’s inability to limit runs, creating large deficits early in the contests.
A Rule 5 steal from the New York Yankees, Whitlock debuted with the Red Sox on April 4, 2021 and had a superb first season in the majors. Working exclusively out of the bullpen, he made 46 appearances, finished 11 games, and earned a pair of saves. Across 73 1/3 regular-season innings, he posted a 1.96 ERA, struck out 81 batters (27.2%), and issued 17 walks. He was better than league average at inducing weak contact, and only gave up six home runs all year.
He also made five postseason appearances that year, and held the formidable Yankees, Rays, and Astros lineups to two solo home runs and four hits.
As impressive as his rookie season was, Whitlock came up in the Yankees organization as a starter, and the Red Sox began transitioning him back into a rotation role in mid-April of last year.
Between April 23-June 7, the righty worked exclusively as a starter. He made nine starts, and posted a 4.15 ERA before going on the injured list with right hip inflammation, then returned to the bullpen after being activated.
By the end of his season, Whitlock had worked almost identical innings in the two roles, but with vastly different results. Over 39 innings as a starter, he allowed 18 earned runs, struck out 38 batters, and hitters slashed .261/.305/.418 against him. In 39 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, he gave up 12 earned runs, struck out 44, and held lineups to .179/.211/.336.
Whitlock is a key piece of the team’s present and future, as evidenced by the four-year, $18.75 million extension the Red Sox gave him barely a year after his debut, so it’s likely he’ll still be handled carefully when he rejoins the team.
Even so, his return to the roster can’t come soon enough.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2023 13:22:21 GMT -5
Carlos Santana leaned into that hanger and blasted it 1-0 Pitt in the 4th
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2023 13:50:15 GMT -5
Schrieber has the 6th...?
Oh man, Yoshida misplays that hit by Reynolds he cruised into 2b McCuthen, infield single....
why in hell did Cora take out Kluber
Klubers line 5.0ip/ 3/1/1/1bb/2k/67-44
Hayes reaches on a bunt, and was safe as Schreiber was not covering first
boos start
ugly baseball
2-0 Pitt
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