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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 1, 2023 2:22:24 GMT -5
Blue Jays @ Red Sox Monday May 1rst 2023 7pm @ Fenway
Berrios 2-3/ 4.71 vs
Kluber 1-4/ 6.75
Red Sox look to reverse fortunes vs. Jays as series opens FLM With a third consecutive home series win under their belts, the Boston Red Sox turn their attention to the challenge of an American League East opponent.
The Toronto Blue Jays, who had won six straight games prior to Sunday, visit Boston to start a four-game series on Monday night.
"They're good at what they do," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of the Blue Jays. "They've been doing it the last two years. We've got to be ready."
Toronto won 16 of the 19 head-to-head meetings last season, including the last nine. Included was a 28-5 walloping on July 22.
The Boston offense has scored 15 runs over the past two games -- including Sunday's 7-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians -- after combining for four in the two before that.
On Sunday, Connor Wong and Alex Verdugo both homered and had two hits, while Jarren Duran added his ninth double in 13 games since making his season debut on April 17.
"I mean, it gives you confidence that you don't have to try to do too much at the plate, and you can keep it simple and good things will happen," said Wong, who has reached base in nine of his last 19 plate appearances.
After Chris Sale allowed just one run on three hits in 6 1/3 innings on Sunday, Boston is 5-0 when its starting pitcher completes six frames.
Corey Kluber (1-4, 6.75 ERA) will look to continue that trend in Monday's start after allowing just one run on five hits in six innings on Tuesday at Baltimore.
Kluber had lost seven consecutive decisions going back to last Sept. 10 prior to his last start. He has a 2-5 record and 5.07 ERA in 11 career starts against Toronto, and he has lost his last five.
"This guy, been there, done that," Cora said of Kluber after his last start. "He's been hit around, made adjustments. Good one for him."
Despite leading 8-5 after seven innings in Toronto, the Blue Jays lost 10-8 to Seattle in 10 innings on Sunday before making their first trip to Boston this season.
"Just one of those days," Chris Bassitt said after giving up four runs in five innings. "The guys have been playing pretty well, (but) yeah, things happen. It's baseball. I wish everything could go perfect, but it's a beautiful game."
Jose Berrios (2-3, 4.71) will start on Monday after a sparkling seven-inning start on Tuesday against the White Sox. He struck out nine while allowing four hits, one walk and no runs.
Berrios has surrendered just three runs over his last three starts after giving up eight and four earned runs, respectively, in his first two outings.
Berrios did not allow more than two runs in any of his three starts against the Red Sox last season, each spanning at least six innings.
"He's a competent dude right now, and he just executed," Toronto manager John Schneider said of Berrios. "I think the work he put in (during) the offseason really put him in a good state of mind coming into spring training, and it was only a matter of time before he got back on track."
Toronto third baseman Matt Chapman leads the AL in batting average (.384) and both leagues in extra-base hits at 20. He went 3-for-5 with two doubles on Sunday.
Bo Bichette also hit his sixth homer of the season and has 10 multi-hit games.
Despite Sunday's loss, Toronto outscored the Chicago White Sox and Mariners 32-14 during its six-game homestand.
--Field Level Media
Blue Jays at Red Sox
Monday, at 7:10 PM EST
Clear It's expected to be 57° F with a 1% chance of precipitation and 14 MPH wind blowing out in Boston at 7:10 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 1, 2023 2:25:51 GMT -5
Rest of Series Match Ups
Tuesday May 2nd/ 7pm/ Kikuchi 4-0/ 3.00 vs Houck 3-1/ 4.50
Wednesday May 3rd/ 7pm Manoah 1-1/ 4.88 vs Pivetta 1-2/ 5.11
Thursday May 4th/ 76pm/ Gaussman 2-2/ 2.33 vs Bello 0-1/ 6.57
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 1, 2023 7:44:22 GMT -5
Blue Jays brash starter Alek Manoah ready to embrace the fury of Fenway Park
Rob Longley
Alek Manoah is well aware of what might be coming his way from the not-so-friendly confines of Fenway Park this week.
And the Blue Jays starter’s personality is such that he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I pitch with passion and I love competing,” Manoah said in an interview on Sunday before the Jays departed for a nine-game road trip, starting with Monday’s opener at famed Fenway against the Red Sox. “When you are a competitor like that, a lot of teams like to come at you with their best. They lock it in that day or they’re extra aggressive that day. They play harder and that’s what I love.
“I want everybody’s best.”
With brashness to match his imposing build, Manoah often gets just that from his opposition. His mound presence invites it and some recent struggles aside, his rapid success in the big leagues requires it.
Manoah may see the latest group of angry men with bats in their hands when he faces the Red Sox on Wednesday in his next scheduled start. With that assignment comes potential aftermath to the verbal dustup with Boston’s Alex Verdugo earlier in the season.
On a Boston podcast in early April, Verdugo suggested that Manoah “crosses the line” in celebrating big moments and disrespecting opponents.
Manoah’s eye roll response when we asked him about it then: “Coming from (Verdugo?) I don’t give a (bleep.) My job is to pitch and get guys out.”
Manoah’s preferred approach to opponents who challenge him verbally or otherwise — such as Verdugo and New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole — is to draw strength from the friction. And as you might expect, Manoah has a ready response to the “shut up and pitch crowd.
“I love to compete and I know that because I’m a big guy, I’m an imposing figure and some guys just want to come at me harder,” Manoah said. “Through the minor leagues, playing in triple-A I was one of the youngest guys there. I always saw it as a situation where I can’t let these older guys step all over me.
“I’m obviously still one of the younger guys in this league and I will be for a while. I’m just trying to go out there and help this team win as many games as possible and be a presence on the mound.”
That presence is apparent from the moment he steps on the field. And since he broke into the big leagues in 2021, Manoah has never been shy about letting an opposing dugout and anyone in it know how he feels. That said don’t confuse brashness with boorish goon behaviour.
“If anyone wants to say it’s disrespectful, that’s their problem,” Manoah said. “What matters to me the most is that the guys on my side have no problem with it. They know I’m giving it my all every time out there to help this team win and achieve our goals.
“Anybody on the other side, it doesn’t matter.”
Though it might not seem like it to some opponents, Manoah cherishes the opportunity to pitch at venues such as Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium.
“Playing in New York, playing at Fenway at historic ballparks, even if it wasn’t a division game I would always look forward to going there,” Manoah said.
“At Fenway, I think just the history in that place. That same pitcher’s mound, so many greats have pitched on that same mound. There’s so much history and tradition … it’s super awesome. There’s just a different feel when you step on the field there.
“Days I’m not pitching, I’m definitely enjoying everything about it. And days I am pitching I’m just super grateful that I get to share a mound that a lot of the greats have pitched on.”
Manoah is well aware that there is a strong possibility for a back and forth with fans this week during the Jays four-game series against their AL East rivals. The visitor’s bullpen is on extremely close quarters with the fans, a constituency not shy about sharing their opinions with salty repartee. With the Verdugo spat fresh in their minds, it will come up.
“It’s pretty rowdy, especially in the bullpen,” Manoah said, a wide grin spreading across his face. “It gets pretty fun.”
So what does he expect from those Fenway fanatics on the Jays first of two trips to Boston’s Back Bay this spring?
“We’ll see,” Manoah said. “We’re going to go win some ball games. I love to pitch and I love to compete and this team is playing with a lot of confidence right now.
“It’s just a really good fan base and a really good atmosphere. It’s even more exciting that the games mean that much more because they are division games.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 1, 2023 9:18:03 GMT -5
The Blue Jays are presenting a golden opportunity for the Red Sox
By Rob Bradford WEEI 93.7 an hour ago
The about-face the Tampa Bay Rays executed on June 5, 2008 has been well-documented. Players. Managers. Fans. They all haven't hesitated in looking back at that brouhaha involving Coco Crisp and then-Rays pitcher James Shields as the moment Tampa Bay put on its American League East big-boy pants.
Joe Maddon's team suddenly offered the impression that it could actually hang with the division's big boys, a reality that was punctuated a few months later with a trip to the World Series.
Now, is it the Red Sox' turn to mark their territory?
Nobody is suggesting that a bench-clearing brawl needs to be part of the equation when the Sox attempt to execute a similar about-face, this go-round against the Blue Jays.
Sure, there is some obvious spiciness between the teams, highlighted with Alex Verdugo's recent comments regarding his disdain for Alek Manoah's approach on the 'Baseball Isn't Boring' podcast. The Red Sox' outfielder relayed, "I’ll say it right now, I think Alek Manoah goes about it the wrong way. 100 percent I think he does. You can find videos, footage of him in Triple-A going like this (gesturing) to hitters, last year, telling [Red Sox players], ‘Go sit,’ s—t like that, and looking right at them. So it’s s—t like that just pisses me off. It’s not the way it should be played. ... It should be played like you’re celebrating it with your team, you’re not f—ing disrespecting another player who is — at the end of the day we’re just trying to compete, that’s it." (For what it's worth, Manoah is slated to pitch against the Red Sox Wednesday.)
When looking to define dominance, it certainly doesn't hurt when you are able to get the better of an opposition who you have a recent history of animosity towards. Just ask the Blue Jays.
While the teams found themselves with a few back-and-forth verbal exchanges over the past couple of seasons, it was Toronto's absolute obliteration of the Red Sox in 2022 that stood out the most.
There were 19 meetings, with the Blue Jays winning 16 of them. Basically, this one team buried the Red Sox' hopes of making September meaningful.
But because of the dynamic, these Red Sox are being presented a gift.
This is a Red Sox team seemingly on the verge of finding its way back into the conversation as a contending team, creeping up over .500 (15-14) with the series win over the Guardians. It is finding its way. And now the biggest step of all can be executed thanks to the presence of Toronto for the next four games at Fenway Park.
Even though the Blue Jays are coming off a Sunday loss to Seattle, you aren't going to find many more talented and feel-good-about-themselves clubs than Toronto. It is coming to down carrying an 18-10 mark, having won eight of its last 11.
If not for Shohei Ohtani, the Jays would probably be carrying a couple key contenders for both American League MVP (Matt Chapman) and Cy Young (Kevin Gausman). Chapman leads all of the A.L. in OPS (1.152) while hitting .384 with five home runs, while Gausman has a 2.33 ERA, striking out 54 and walking just six.
Oh, and there is also Whit Merrifield (.320 batting average), Bo Bichette (.863 OPS, 6 homers), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.885 OPS, 5 HR) and more than a few others to contend with. And, just for good measure, it sure seems like Toronto made a pretty shrewd move in dealing outfielder Teoscar Hernandez for yet another lock down reliever in Erik Swanson (.093 BA against in 14 appearances).
It was true before the season started, and it remains a very real reality: The Red Sox need to find a way to get the better of this Blue Jays team in order to start completing this conversation shift.
Now, they get their chance.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 1, 2023 13:10:16 GMT -5
Spare us the rushes to judgment on the Red Sox, in both directions Haven't these Red Sox proven to be exactly the team they appeared to be before the season started?
By Jon Couture May 1, 2023 | 12:32 PM
COMMENTARY
Frankly, I’m amazed you’re here.
I’m grateful for every read, every day, but this morning? Fat-fingered or not, I’m in awe. Sunday night’s Bruins ouster is one of those losses that drains the blood from the very idea of fandom. A real “I’m never drinking again” moment.
We will return, of course. Same as we did after all the others so burned in your subconscious, you were thinking about them before even Florida’s last-minute equalizer. Never mind what came later.
We needn’t list them. We certainly aren’t going to rank them. The world has enough evil.
Three epic regular seasons: The 2007 Patriots, the 2021 Revolution — yes, there are five major US sports at this address — and the 2023 Bruins. All the best in their league’s history, all title-less because of the vagaries of small samples (Giannis got that right, at least) and the ratcheting pressure of postseason.
I guess knowing the 2001 Seattle Mariners and 2015-16 Golden State Warriors didn’t win either beats the alternative. As does that unprecedented two decades of success amid the disappointments. Remember that? Everyone outside New England does, and they think we’re being real drama queens about this.
Nuts to them. Celtics-Sixers starts tonight. No greater time to get hurt again than the present, right?
This is all a long way of your narrator getting it out of his system, but also to remind Sunday’s sports-TV smorgasbord began (with apologies to that great Liverpool-Tottenham match) with an uplifting Chris Sale performance at Fenway Park.
“There’s going to be good ones, there’s going to be tough ones,” manager Alex Cora told reporters after one of the former — three hits, one run, and zero walks, Sale pitching into the seventh for the first time since his Tommy John surgery.
“But as long as he’s healthy we’re going to get him at one point.”
Hope can drive a man insane — as can the past week watching Charlie McAvoy, and I promise I’ll stop now. Cora doesn’t feel wrong, though. Consistency, not ceiling, was always going to be these Red Sox’ downfall. Advertisement:
The 5-8 start has given way to 10 wins in 16 games after taking two of three from Cleveland. Alex Verdugo’s hitting .308, an All-Star caliber first month. Masataka Yoshida is on a .410/.455/.718 tear during a 10-game hitting streak. Jarren Duran’s hitting accident doubles every day.
Even the starting pitchers are in danger of getting the staff ERA out of “baseball’s worst other than the Athletics” range. (Sale dropped it to 6.05.)
The Red Sox are a game better than .500 for the first time since last Aug. 2. (The trade deadline, coincidentally.) Which, in Rob Manfred’s Major League Baseball, of course means they’re in playoff position.
Now, understand I view today as a sort of spring Festivus in New England. In that vein, can we please stop treating every series as a referendum on the Red Sox offseason teambuilding?
This is in no way exclusive to Tom Caron, who is by all accounts a wonderful man, a college hockey guy, and who I want on the scene any time a cat is running amok. But he is among those who’ve been taking victory laps over the people who declared the season over at 2-4 or 5-8, and who will do so at least six more times before Gloucester starts greasing up its St. Peter’s Fiesta pole.
Those people should be sequestered in a room with their circles of papers and the door closed.
Right next to the room containing anyone who has typed the phrase “Chaim haters” in a social media app sometime during these first 29 games.
Am I taking crazy pills, or have these Red Sox proven to be exactly the team they appeared to be? They’re on an 84-win pace, in the heart of the wild-card discussion despite pitching like its, well, April weather in Boston.
Most days they’ve hit, but some they haven’t. Some days they’ve pitched, but most they haven’t. The bullpen’s cleaned up a lot of messes, some of them not made by the departed Kaleb Ort and the here-forever Ryan Brasier, but cracked on Saturday before Verdugo bailed them out.
Triston Casas has started slow, getting both Saturday and Sunday off to “see the game from a different angle” in Cora’s words, which can be necessary when you’re 50 games into the majors. Duran, while he’s not going to hit .396, shows the danger in premature declarations.
We know seasons are long stories that turn on countless short moments. Good grief, do we know that today.
Cleveland, as we pointed out Friday, was sub-.500 in July and playing baseball in October. Philadelphia lost 13 of 20 to finish last season, then made the World Series. Washington was 19-31 in 2019 and won a championship. Stop pretending we need to make these days and nights as anything more than data points in a very long line.
And if I may air another grievance . . .
You want to know why there are teams out there who perhaps don’t spend with the freedom they once did? Who reset their luxury taxes and preach thriftiness rather than go all out? Because that’s the baseball structure Bud Selig and Manfred built. The structure on which American sports sit.
Embrace the mediocre. Convince everyone that everyone has a shot. You’ll sell more suites and ponchos and nacho helmets.
The Bruins, for their unchallenged dominance across six months, had a 23-percent shot to win the Stanley Cup according to The Athletic’s predictions.
Easily the best in hockey. Two times more than all but the Avalanche, who had their own crummy Sunday night. And still worse than one in four, owing to needing four wins in four best-of-sevens.
At least one of Mets owner Steve Cohen and Padres owner Peter Seidler are going to look at all that money they spent this year and not even have a National League pennant to dab their tears with. It’s a cruel business. It’s a heck of a thing to give possession of your heart.
Enjoy the journey when you can. Heck knows it can end ugly when you least expect it.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 1, 2023 13:11:50 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 1h This is a different #RedSox team, a lot of new players.
Nevertheless, Sox were 3-16 vs. Toronto last season and outscored by 70 runs.
Jays have won 9 straight against the Sox and 8 straight at Fenway.
Toronto in town for a four-game series that will be telling.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 1, 2023 13:12:30 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 1h #RedSox career HRs:
14. Tony C, Fisk 162 16. Bogaerts 156 17. George Scott 154 18. Devers, Reggie Smith 149
Pretty good company for Raffy.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 1, 2023 13:19:06 GMT -5
Game 30: Blue Jays at Red Sox lineups and notesBy Andrew Mahoney Globe Staff,Updated May 1, 2023, 2 hours ago After taking two of three against Cleveland, the Red Sox will continue their homestand with a four-game series against the Blue Jays. In their dismal 2022 season, the Sox went 3-16 against the Blue Jays. This is the first meeting between the teams in 2023. Toronto has the third best record in the American League at 18-10, but that is only good enough for third in the division as well, trailing the Rays and Orioles. Here are the standings. The Blue Jays had won six in a row before Sunday’s 10-8 loss to the Mariners in 10 innings. Lineups BLUE JAYS (18-10): 1. George Springer (R) RF 2. Bo Bichette (R) SS 3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) DH 4. Matt Chapman (R) 3B 5. Daulton Varsho (L) LF 6. Whit Merrifield (R) 2B 7. Brandon Belt (L) 1B 8. Danny Jansen (R) C 9. Kevin Kiermaier (L) CF Pitching: RHP José Berríos (2-3, 4.71 ERA) RED SOX (15-14): 1. Alex Verdugo (L) RF 2. Masataka Yoshida (L) LF 3. Justin Turner (R) DH 4. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 5. Jarren Duran (L) CF 6. Enrique Hernandez (R) SS 7. Triston Casas (L) 1B 8. Enmanuel Valdez (L) 2B 9. Reese McGuire (L) C Pitching: RHP Corey Kluber (1-4, 6.75 ERA) Time: 7:10 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Blue Jays vs. Kluber: Bo Bichette 5-11, Cavan Biggio 2-4, Matt Chapman 5-5, Santiago Espinal 0-4, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 5-9, Danny Jansen 0-2, Kevin Kiermaier 3-11, Alejandro Kirk 2-5, Whit Merrifield 9-35, George Springer 8-21 Red Sox vs. Berríos: Christian Arroyo 1-6, Rafael Devers 4-23, Jarren Duran 1-2, Kiké Hernández 1-13, Reese McGuire 1-4, Rob Refsnyder 0-3, Raimel Tapia 0-3, Justin Turner 0-2, Alex Verdugo 6-14, Connor Wong 1-3 Stat of the day: Alex Verdugo is batting .367 with runners in scoring position and has 11 RBI in his last 12 games. Notes: Kluber has a 2-5 record and 5.07 ERA in 11 career starts against Toronto, and has lost his last five. In his most recent start, he allowed just one run on five hits in six innings on Tuesday at Baltimore. … The Sox are 5-0 when their starters go at least six innings. … Berríos did not allow more than two runs in any of his three starts against the Red Sox last season, going at least six innings in each. … The Red Sox scored 15 runs over the past two games after combining for 4 runs in the previous two. … Toronto third baseman Matt Chapman leads the AL in batting average (.384) and both leagues in extra-base hits at 20. Song of the Day: The Pursuit of Happiness "I'm An Adult Nowwww.youtube.com/watch?v=pFxivmjW34o
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 1, 2023 16:47:20 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 1h Cora says Kenley Jansen is doing better. “He’s available,” Cora says with a wink.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 1, 2023 18:59:30 GMT -5
The Blue Jays are presenting a golden opportunity for the Red Sox By Rob Bradford WEEI 93.7 an hour ago. Uhh, no. TO has won 6-7 and have a .643 record. I don't see this as a golden opportunity.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 1, 2023 19:02:58 GMT -5
Spare us the rushes to judgment on the Red Sox, in both directions Haven't these Red Sox proven to be exactly the team they appeared to be before the season started?By Jon Couture May 1, 2023 | 12:32 PM COMMENTARY Frankly, I’m amazed you’re here. I’m grateful for every read, every day, but this morning? Fat-fingered or not, I’m in awe. Sunday night’s Bruins ouster is one of those losses that drains the blood from the very idea of fandom. A real “I’m never drinking again” moment. We will return, of course. Same as we did after all the others so burned in your subconscious, you were thinking about them before even Florida’s last-minute equalizer. Never mind what came later. We needn’t list them. We certainly aren’t going to rank them. The world has enough evil. Three epic regular seasons: The 2007 Patriots, the 2021 Revolution — yes, there are five major US sports at this address — and the 2023 Bruins. All the best in their league’s history, all title-less because of the vagaries of small samples (Giannis got that right, at least) and the ratcheting pressure of postseason. I guess knowing the 2001 Seattle Mariners and 2015-16 Golden State Warriors didn’t win either beats the alternative. As does that unprecedented two decades of success amid the disappointments. Remember that? Everyone outside New England does, and they think we’re being real drama queens about this. Nuts to them. Celtics-Sixers starts tonight. No greater time to get hurt again than the present, right? This is all a long way of your narrator getting it out of his system, but also to remind Sunday’s sports-TV smorgasbord began (with apologies to that great Liverpool-Tottenham match) with an uplifting Chris Sale performance at Fenway Park. “There’s going to be good ones, there’s going to be tough ones,” manager Alex Cora told reporters after one of the former — three hits, one run, and zero walks, Sale pitching into the seventh for the first time since his Tommy John surgery. “But as long as he’s healthy we’re going to get him at one point.” Hope can drive a man insane — as can the past week watching Charlie McAvoy, and I promise I’ll stop now. Cora doesn’t feel wrong, though. Consistency, not ceiling, was always going to be these Red Sox’ downfall. Advertisement: The 5-8 start has given way to 10 wins in 16 games after taking two of three from Cleveland. Alex Verdugo’s hitting .308, an All-Star caliber first month. Masataka Yoshida is on a .410/.455/.718 tear during a 10-game hitting streak. Jarren Duran’s hitting accident doubles every day. Even the starting pitchers are in danger of getting the staff ERA out of “baseball’s worst other than the Athletics” range. (Sale dropped it to 6.05.) The Red Sox are a game better than .500 for the first time since last Aug. 2. (The trade deadline, coincidentally.) Which, in Rob Manfred’s Major League Baseball, of course means they’re in playoff position. Now, understand I view today as a sort of spring Festivus in New England. In that vein, can we please stop treating every series as a referendum on the Red Sox offseason teambuilding? This is in no way exclusive to Tom Caron, who is by all accounts a wonderful man, a college hockey guy, and who I want on the scene any time a cat is running amok. But he is among those who’ve been taking victory laps over the people who declared the season over at 2-4 or 5-8, and who will do so at least six more times before Gloucester starts greasing up its St. Peter’s Fiesta pole. Those people should be sequestered in a room with their circles of papers and the door closed. Right next to the room containing anyone who has typed the phrase “Chaim haters” in a social media app sometime during these first 29 games. Am I taking crazy pills, or have these Red Sox proven to be exactly the team they appeared to be? They’re on an 84-win pace, in the heart of the wild-card discussion despite pitching like its, well, April weather in Boston. Most days they’ve hit, but some they haven’t. Some days they’ve pitched, but most they haven’t. The bullpen’s cleaned up a lot of messes, some of them not made by the departed Kaleb Ort and the here-forever Ryan Brasier, but cracked on Saturday before Verdugo bailed them out. Triston Casas has started slow, getting both Saturday and Sunday off to “see the game from a different angle” in Cora’s words, which can be necessary when you’re 50 games into the majors. Duran, while he’s not going to hit .396, shows the danger in premature declarations. We know seasons are long stories that turn on countless short moments. Good grief, do we know that today. Cleveland, as we pointed out Friday, was sub-.500 in July and playing baseball in October. Philadelphia lost 13 of 20 to finish last season, then made the World Series. Washington was 19-31 in 2019 and won a championship. Stop pretending we need to make these days and nights as anything more than data points in a very long line. And if I may air another grievance . . . You want to know why there are teams out there who perhaps don’t spend with the freedom they once did? Who reset their luxury taxes and preach thriftiness rather than go all out? Because that’s the baseball structure Bud Selig and Manfred built. The structure on which American sports sit. Embrace the mediocre. Convince everyone that everyone has a shot. You’ll sell more suites and ponchos and nacho helmets. The Bruins, for their unchallenged dominance across six months, had a 23-percent shot to win the Stanley Cup according to The Athletic’s predictions. Easily the best in hockey. Two times more than all but the Avalanche, who had their own crummy Sunday night. And still worse than one in four, owing to needing four wins in four best-of-sevens. At least one of Mets owner Steve Cohen and Padres owner Peter Seidler are going to look at all that money they spent this year and not even have a National League pennant to dab their tears with. It’s a cruel business. It’s a heck of a thing to give possession of your heart. Enjoy the journey when you can. Heck knows it can end ugly when you least expect it. I've been saying this for a while. I predicted 86.5 wins based what I saw. Their Py W/L is 86.6. For all the Shanks of the screaming how awful we are, they are wrong. We should be on the fringes of playoff contention. IMHO.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 1, 2023 19:06:15 GMT -5
Kluber walks KK to get to the top of the order. Bichette punishes him, appropriately. You have to throw the ball down the middle of the plate against a guy like KK, rather than walk him and face Bichette, Vlad and Chapman.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 2, 2023 4:19:13 GMT -5
Mr. Walk-off! Verdugo homers for third game-ending hit of the season 1:39 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
BOSTON -- A few minutes before it actually happened, Alex Verdugo had a sort of vision that he was going to barrel up the baseball and end Monday night’s game at Fenway Park with a leadoff homer to open the bottom of the ninth inning.
Then again, given Verdugo’s habitual clutch heroics this season, perhaps it’s not that surprising that he expected to come through again.
Verdugo has turned into Mr. Walk-off for Boston. And this time, he went the distance, belting a game-ending homer to lead the Red Sox to a thrilling 6-5 victory over the Blue Jays.
It was Verdugo’s third walk-off hit of the four the Red Sox (16-14) have had this season, but this was his first to clear the fence.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Verdugo joined the Braves’ Andruw Jones (1999) and the Giants’ Bobby Bonds ('73) as the only three players since 1920 to have three walk-off hits in the first 30 games of a team’s season.
Now, back to that vision Verdugo had. He said it started as he stood in right field in the top of the ninth inning.
“I knew I was going to hit in the ninth and I was like, ‘I want to end this,’” said Verdugo. “But, you know, that was all in the outfield, when I'm out there just talking to myself. Then I got up to the plate and told myself I just needed to take that first pitch to just get into that at-bat. I could have gotten in there and automatically swung and rolled over to first [base]. So I was like, ‘Man, I want to see what his heater looks like -- how it's coming out of his hand.’
“And I’m glad that I did.”
The pitch that Verdugo took for strike one was almost directly down the middle. The next pitch, an 0-1 slider, was way outside. Then Verdugo mauled 93.8 mph fastball that was as middle-middle as it gets from Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano, sending it into Boston’s bullpen and setting off a big celebration at home plate.
Why does Verdugo, who now has eight career walk-off hits, keep coming through in these situations?
“I live for it,” he said. “I live for that moment. I'm blessed with that opportunity to do it. You don't go up there thinking about failure. You go up there and think, ‘I have a chance to help the team win a ballgame.’ And I thrive for that moment.”
Adding to the satisfaction of the night is that the Red Sox opened their 14-game season slate against the Blue Jays with a win. Boston went 3-16 against Toronto last season, and the Blue Jays had a ridiculous run differential of plus-70 (125-55) in those 19 games.
“Obviously, it feels good to win this one,” Verdugo said. “Last year, they had our number. I think it's one of those things, man, we want to play competitive games against these guys. Last year, there were a lot of blowouts, a lot of uncompetitive games.
“So for us, it's just that constant grind. I think our hitters are doing a good job from leadoff to the nine-hole, putting good at-bats on people. I think we're in a [much] better space than we were last year.”
For a while, it looked like the biggest home run of the night would be the one from Enmanuel Valdez, a two-run bullet to center in the bottom of the sixth that snapped a 3-3 tie. It was the first career homer for Valdez, Boston’s No. 17 prospect, and he didn’t low-key it.
His wide smile didn’t go away for minutes. And as Valdez toured the bases, he pumped his arms with pure joy.
“Loved it,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora of the hit and the joy. “Just enjoy it. I mean, it’s a bomb. Your first one and what it means, it was fun to watch him run the bases.”
But there were some more twists and turns. Kiké Hernández made two throwing errors from shortstop in the top of the eighth, helping the Blue Jays to a pair of runs that tied the game.
It stayed tied until Verdugo got his latest chance to put his team in the winner’s circle.
“He’s on fire,” said Valdez. “I hope he stays hot the whole year. I hope he keeps hitting and keeps winning us games the whole year.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 2, 2023 4:21:00 GMT -5
Injuries & Moves: Red Sox plotting Paxton's next step May 1st, 2023
LATEST NEWS
May 1: Red Sox huddling on LHP James Paxton's next step A day after Paxton turned in a strong Minor League rehab outing (5 1/3 scoreless innings, one walk and eight strikeouts) for Triple-A Worcester, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said the club was in the process of figuring out his next step. Paxton could be on the verge of being activated by the end of the week. However, there is also the possibility he could make one more Minor League rehab outing. The club hasn't specified what role Paxton will have when he returns, though Paxton said he can "contribute best" as a starter.
"Felt good," Paxton said of Sunday's outing. "Still making little tweaks, and made some adjustments last week that really helped with the game yesterday. Still a few more tweaks to make on the breaking stuff, but the fastball felt really good, so [I'm] making good steps forward."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 2, 2023 4:23:21 GMT -5
Alex Verdugo belts walkoff home run, Red Sox beat Blue Jays
Published: May. 01, 2023, 10:01 p.m.
By
Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — Alex Verdugo did it again.
He crushed a 385-foot home run into the Red Sox bullpen to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning. Boston won 6-5 over the Blue Jays here at Fenway Park.
Verdugo has three walkoff hits this season. He also had a walkoff hit vs. the Twins on April 18 and against the Guardians on April 29.
He has five homers.
Jarren Duran tied it 3-3 with a 434-foot homer to center field in the fifth inning against Blue Jays right-handed starter José Berríos. It left his bat at 109.1 mph.
Three batters after Duran homered, rookie Enmanuel Valdez crushed a two-run homer to center field off Berríos. It was his first major league home run and went 427 feet with a 106 mph exit velocity.
He looked toward the plate and punched the air as he rounded first base and headed toward second base.
Hernández makes 2 big errors
Kiké Hernández made a diving stop to his right on Danny Jansen’s ground ball to begin the eighth, then threw a one-hopper to first base to record the out. It was a terrific defensive play.
But Hernández then made two throwing errors in the same frame. His throw to first base on Kevin Kiermaier’s grounder scored Cavan Biggio who had doubled.
Hernández then had a chance to turn a double play on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s grounder. He fielded it, stepped on the second base bag for the inning’s second out but then sailed a throw to first base way over Triston Casas’ head. That allowed Kiermaier to score. Corey Kluber strikes out 7
Red Sox starter Corey Kluber allowed three hits (including a three-run homer to Bo Bichette) and three walks in his first two innings. But then he retired 10 of 12 hitters he faced before allowing a one-out walk to Danny Jansen in the sixth.
Kluber pitched 5 ⅓ innings, allowing three runs, five hits and four walks while striking out seven.
Red Sox take early lead
Alex Verdugo and Masataka Yoshida both doubled to lead off the bottom of the first inning, putting the Red Sox ahead 1-0. Justin Turner’s RBI single made it 2-0.
The Blue Jays responded in the top of the second inning against Kluber. They took a 3-2 lead on Bo Bichette’s 396-foot three-run homer to left-center field.
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