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Post by Kimmi on Sept 3, 2020 16:56:30 GMT -5
Ben Nicholson-Smith @bnicholsonsmith · 1h #BlueJays begin their five-game series vs. Boston with playoff odds of 79.2%
After Boston, Jays play Yankees 10 times in 18 days. Then a three-game series vs. Orioles. And that's the season. Wow. The Jays pretty much control their own destiny.
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Post by Kimmi on Sept 3, 2020 16:58:17 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 6m At this point you have to wonder why the #RedSox would push Nathan Eovaldi pitch again this season. There are 23 games left after tonight. They've made no real attempt to fill the rotation from the start.
Summon what you can from the alternate site and cobble together 27 outs. Unless they are wanting to trade him this offseason and want to showcase him. Otherwise, shut him down.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 3, 2020 16:59:41 GMT -5
Ben Nicholson-Smith @bnicholsonsmith · 1h #BlueJays begin their five-game series vs. Boston with playoff odds of 79.2%
After Boston, Jays play Yankees 10 times in 18 days. Then a three-game series vs. Orioles. And that's the season. Wow. The Jays pretty much control their own destiny. would rather them win the east other than Rays/ Yankees
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Post by Kimmi on Sept 3, 2020 17:00:58 GMT -5
Wow. The Jays pretty much control their own destiny. would rather them win the east other than Rays/ Yankees Most definitely. At least keep the Yankees out.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 3, 2020 17:01:59 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 6m At this point you have to wonder why the #RedSox would push Nathan Eovaldi pitch again this season. There are 23 games left after tonight. They've made no real attempt to fill the rotation from the start.
Summon what you can from the alternate site and cobble together 27 outs. Unless they are wanting to trade him this offseason and want to showcase him. Otherwise, shut him down. Not gonna get much for him,
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 3, 2020 17:25:19 GMT -5
Eovaldi won’t pitch this weekend, Red Sox unsure who will
By Eric Rueb Journal Staff Writer @ericrueb Posted at 5:36 PM
Don’t expect to see Nathan Eovaldi anytime soon.
The Boston Red Sox starter has been down with a calf strain and hasn’t pitched since Aug. 20 against Baltimore. There was hope he’d be available for the series against Toronto, but manager Ron Roenicke said the right-hander won’t pitch in the series.
In his most recent bullpen sessions, according to Roenicke, Eovaldi still felt a little bit of pain in the calf so he’s been pushed back again.
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“We don’t want him to go out there and pitch when he’s not 100 percent ready,” Roenicke said. “If he feels this again, it could cost him – especially if it sets him back to where he was a couple weeks ago – it could cost him the rest of the season and we don’t want that to happen.”
Shelving Eovaldi for the remainder of the season wouldn’t cost the Red Sox much in terms of the standings, but Roenicke seems intent on getting his ace on the mound again before things wrap up.
“He’ll throw another bullpen Sunday and we’ll see how that goes,” Roenicke said. “Maybe Tuesday he may throw another bullpen and if he comes out of that, then I think we’re ready to feel better about putting him into the game and that this won’t flare up again.”
With Eovaldi out, Roenicke was unsure how the rotation would line up for the weekend. He said Zac Godley would start Game 1 of Friday’s doubleheader, followed by Chris Mazza.
“We’ll see how [Thursday] goes, we’ll see how [Friday] goes and then make a decision on the next couple after that,” Roenicke said.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 3, 2020 18:11:02 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 30m Another "starter" is lost for the #RedSox as RHP Colten Brewer goes on the IL with a strained middle finger. RHP Marcus Walden was recalled.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2020 2:41:17 GMT -5
bullpen last night again
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2020 3:12:20 GMT -5
Rob Longley @longleysunsport · 4h How about this Teoscar Hernandez stat: Has 10 HR and 25 RBI in 25 career games at Fenway Park, ranking T-1st in HR as a visitor from 2016-20 (also Edwin Encarnación). #Bluejays
"When you get thrown out by that far, it's a bad decision." - Charlie Montoyo on Vlad Guerrero's latest base-running mayhem.
There isn't one person around the #Bluejays who are making excuses for the brain cramps but it's worth noting that the team hasn't had a day off since Aug. 13 - three weeks ago. They didn't arrive to Boston hotel until 4 a.m. They are grinding right now.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2020 3:13:46 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 6h Dalbec just became the 7th position player ever with 4 straight multi-strikeout games to open his career.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2020 3:15:11 GMT -5
OverTheMonster @overthemonster · 6h lmao this team is ridiculous. A balk and a wild pitch and now we're all tied up.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2020 3:17:50 GMT -5
Red Sox 2, Blue Jays 6: A great start wasted
It’s going to be a long weekend. By Matt_Collins@MattRyCollins Sep 3, 2020, 11:37pm EDT
The Red Sox and Blue Jays played their first of five games over a four-day stretch, so of course it went to extras. Boston was actually in control of this one for most of it with Martín Pérez tossing a gem for the first six innings. In fact, he didn’t allow a hit over those six frames. He lost the no-hitter in the seventh, and that’s when things started to unravel. After the offense only gave him two runs of support to work with, the bullpen came on and gave up a run in each of the seventh and eighth innings, the offense continued to prove ineffective against Blue Jays pitching. The only silver lining is this was not exactly a marathon loss, as Phillips Valdez gave up a three-run homer to Teoscar Hernandez in the tenth, and that was the difference. The Red Sox are now 12-26.
With the Red Sox and Blue Jays playing five games in the next four days and the Red Sox pitching staff being what it is in that they have exactly one (1) pitcher who can confidently go more than four innings in an outing, they needed a long outing out of Martín Pérez, who is that aforementioned starter. Even with the two games tomorrow each being seven innings, they needed some length in this one. Pérez, to his credit, has been largely and surprisingly effective this year, though there had to be a little concern coming into this game since the southpaw was coming off his worst start of the season.
As it turned out, Pérez brought his A-game and then some to Fenway Park on Thursday. He started off the game with a scoreless first in which he allowed a two-out walk and then nothing else. Then, he was perfect in the second and the third with a strikeout in each of those frames, putting him at just 39 pitches through three innings.
The fourth was his toughest inning to that point in the game when he allowed his second walk of the game, also with two outs. Pérez then induced a pop up into shallow right field from Lourdes Gurriel, but with the infield shifted to the left side of the infield things got a little dicey. Michael Chavis, playing second base in this one, did get under it, but it bounced off the glove for an error. That should have put runners on the corners, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. inexplicably made a break for home and was cut down easily to end the inning. After Pérez got through a perfect fifth inning, people started noticing the ol’ goose egg in the hits column on the scoreboard.
Pérez’s first five innings weren’t just big in the context of the rest of the series, either. Going up against Taijuan Walker, who was just acquired at the trade deadline, the Red Sox offense wasn’t exactly lighting up the scoreboard and providing a big cushion for their starter. They went down in order in the first, and then they recorded a couple of quick outs to start the second. Fortunately, Jackie Bradley Jr. came up with two outs, and he’s been heating up at the plate. Walker tried to finish Bradley off with a 2-2 cutter, but he caught too much of the plate and Bradley sent it into the bullpen for a solo homer, giving the Red Sox a 1-0 cushion.
That was all they’d get in the early parts of the game, though. They did get a runner into scoring position after the Bradley homer thanks to a Chavis single and stolen base, but Bobby Dalbec left him there with a strikeout. They’d also waste a pair of singles to start off the fourth in part thanks to an inning-ending double play from Bradley.
So, Pérez was still throwing his no-hitter heading into the sixth and was also trying to help his team keep the narrow 1-0 edge. The southpaw struck out the first batter he saw, but then issued his third walk of the night to put a runner on with just one out. Pérez made the pitch he needed, though, getting a ground ball to start an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play to keep the no-hitter in tact through six.
The Red Sox now were looking for a little bit of insurance for their starter, and Alex Verdugo started the bottom of the sixth with a single. After J.D. Martinez kept the inning alive with a two-out single, Christian Vázquez drew a walk to load the bases and end the night for Walker. Anthony Kay came on to face Bradley, and the latter drew a huge walk, bringing home the Red Sox second run.
So, now Pérez had a two-run lead heading into the seventh. Unfortunately, the no-hitter wasn’t going to last even one more out. Teoscar Hernandez led off the inning for the Blue Jays and he smacked a base hit on a liner into left field. Now, the focus was on simply holding onto the lead. Guerrero popped out after that for the first out, but then Gurriel smacked the second hit of the night off Pérez, and suddenly there were two men on with just one out. That left things up to Joe Panik, and he came through with the Jays’s third single of the inning, this one bringing Hernandez home and bringing Toronto to within one.
It also ended the night for Pérez, who was fantastic in this game but did leave two inherited runners on for Austin Brice. To counter that move, Rowdy Tellez came on to pinch hit looking to continue his terror on Red Sox pitching. Instead, Brice hit him in the elbow with a pitch to load up the bases for old friend Travis Shaw. Brice would win this battle, getting Shaw with a high fastball to leave ‘em loaded and keep the Red Sox up by one.
After the Red Sox left two on in the bottom of the seventh, Brice came back out for the eighth. He started the inning off by giving up a double to Cavan Biggio, putting the tying run in scoring position, and then walking Randal Grichuk. That was all Brice would get as Ryan Brasier came into a tough situation with two on and nobody out in a one-run game.
Brasier did not get off to the start he wanted. He went to make a pickoff attempt at second base but didn’t complete his spin around, instead stepping towards third. That is what we call a balk, putting the runners on second and third. Then, his first pitch went through the legs of Christian Vázquez, and just like that we were all tied up in just a comically 2020 Red Sox kind of way. To Brasier’s credit, he did get out of the inning after that without any more runs despite having the man on third with nobody out, partially thanks to Xander Bogaerts making a really nifty play at short to end the inning.
Now, the Red Sox were looking for more offense in the bottom of the eighth, and Martinez got things started the right way with a big double out to left-center field. That would be followed by a strikeout and a grounder, though, leaving Martinez as the go-ahead runner on third base with two outs for Chavis. He had a long at bat, but it ended with a pop out and Martinez’s double was wasted.
With the score still tied in the ninth, the Red Sox turned to Matt Barnes. He started off the inning with a strikeout, but then put the go ahead run on with a base hit. That’s all Toronto would get, though, as he finished things off with two more strikeouts to give his offense a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the inning.
Bobby Dalbec got things started with a four-pitch walk, and then had Tzu-Wei Lin come on and run for him. The Red Sox would get a couple of outs after that, but then Devers drew a walk, bringing Bogaerts to the plate with the winning run in scoring position. Bogaerts couldn’t end it, instead flying one out to right field and we headed to extras.
The tenth would belong to Phillips Valdez, and of course the inning started with a runner at second base. Valdez then issued a walk before Randal Grichuk hit a ball to Chavis, who was now at first base. It wasn’t a sure double play ball, but they should have at least gotten the out at second. Instead, Chavis booted the grounder and could only get the out at first, leaving two in scoring position with one out for Teoscar Hernandez. It wouldn’t matter where the batters were standing, though, as Hernandez hit one out to right field that snuck into the Red Sox bullpen. Just like that, it was a 5-2 lead for the Jays. Toronto would add another one on a towering homer from Gurriel, too, to extend the lead to four.
So, now the Red Sox offense had some major work to do in the bottom of the tenth. They did get a walk in the inning, but that was all and that was the game. The 6-2 loss dropped their record on the year to 12-26.
The Red Sox now get set for their first doubleheader of the year on Friday. Remember, each of these games are only seven innings long. The first one starts at 4:10 PM ET, with Zack Godley taking on Tanner Roark.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2020 3:21:36 GMT -5
After Pérez flirts with no-no, Sox fall in 10th
By Ian Browne @ianmbrowne 12:57 AM EDT
BOSTON -- Martín Pérez has emerged as the last man standing in the Red Sox’s tattered starting rotation.
Chris Sale? Out for the season due to Tommy John surgery. Eduardo Rodriguez? He also won’t throw a pitch in 2020 due to myocarditis. Nathan Eovaldi? Currently on the injured list with a right calf injury that has been slow to recover.
Pérez, originally signed to be Boston’s No. 5 starter, has been the one pitcher who has taken his turn every time through the rotation -- though this time, it was a day late due to a blister.
For a while Thursday, it appeared Pérez could be on the verge of a career night. Though the veteran left-hander lost a no-hit bid to lead off the seventh inning, he gave the Red Sox the comfort of a strong start (one run allowed on three hits and three walks in 6 2/3 innings with five strikeouts), albeit on a night Boston lost to Toronto, 6-2, in 10 innings.
• Box score
“I mean, I was focused, man,” Pérez said. “I didn’t really think I was throwing a no-hitter. I was just going pitch by pitch, one hitter at a time. That was a great performance for me tonight.”
When Pérez left with two outs in the seventh, the Red Sox held a 2-1 lead. Austin Brice and Ryan Brasier allowed the Blue Jays to tie it in the eighth, as Cavan Biggio scored the tying run on a Brasier wild pitch. And Phillips Valdez, one of the biggest bright spots for Boston this season, gave up a go-ahead three-run homer to Teoscar Hernández with one out in the 10th and a solo home run to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. two batters later.
It was frustrating for the Red Sox to waste such a strong pitching performance.
“Outstanding,” Boston manager Ron Roenicke said of Pérez. “To have them hitless for that long was a great job, and he commanded the ball really well -- fastballs on both sides of the plate, changeup was outstanding and the breaking ball was good. That little cutter he throws, he pitched great. Just a shame we didn’t get him a win.”
Meanwhile, Pérez showed no ill effects from his blister, as he was sharp from the outset. This marked the sixth time in eight starts that he’s given up three or fewer runs.
Until Eovaldi comes back, the other four spots in the Red Sox's rotation will continue to consist of openers, because they don’t have anyone established enough to pitch deep into games. It is a tough way to win, which explains in large part why Boston is 12-26 with 22 games remaining in the regular season.
But give Pérez credit for being the rare steady hand.
“But I don’t think that way,” Pérez said. “The situation and what happened with the starters here, we’ll have Eovaldi, he’s going to be back soon. If I’m the only one right now, I’m just going to go out there and fight for my team and give my best.”
Against the Blue Jays, Pérez was clearly at his best. His changeup was particularly effective, generating nine of the 12 swing-and-misses he induced on the night.
“I was always on top of the ball, especially with my changeup,” Pérez said. “I was able to have extension, which you really need with that pitch. I tell myself that I need to throw that pitch from my eyes. That’s what happened tonight.”
Pérez will likely take his next turn on Tuesday at Philadelphia. Until then, the Red Sox will do their best to make it through with bullpen games.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on [myself], on my back,” Pérez said. “I’m just trying to come here, do my job, do my routine and be ready every fifth day. It’s not time to [be like], ‘OK, we’re done.’ We just need to finish strong. We’re not playing the way we’re supposed to play, but we just control what we can control.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2020 3:39:40 GMT -5
Teoscar Hernandez, Blue Jays blast Sox in 10th By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated September 4, 2020, 12:24 a.m.
There is no refuge from the struggles of the Red Sox pitching staff.
On a night when the team enjoyed its best performance of the season, with starter Martín Pérez carrying a no-hitter and 2-0 lead into the seventh inning, the Red Sox nonetheless managed to suffer a 6-2 loss in 10 innings to the Blue Jays.
“He pitched great. … It’s just a shame we couldn’t get him a win,” manager Ron Roenicke said of Pérez. “It’s tough to lose these.”
Even so, as they prepare for an offseason in which they must reinforce their pitching staff, Pérez continued to offer his team a glimmer of hope. At the start of the offseason, as they searched for a fifth starter, the Red Sox signed Pérez to a one-year, $6 million deal with a team option for the 2021 season.
While his track record was largely undistinguished — a career 53-56 record and 4.72 ERA, along with a 10-7 mark and 5.12 ERA last year with the Twins — the Sox believed Pérez possessed underlying traits that suggested a better pitcher than those surface statistics. For the most part, Pérez has borne out that view in his first year with the Red Sox — doing so in particularly impressive fashion on Thursday night.
The 29-year-old dominated with a mix of cutters and changeups, the latter pitch proving particularly devastating in eliciting nine swings-and-misses.
“I didn’t even know I was throwing a no-hitter,” said Pérez. “We went out from [the sixth] inning and I looked at the scoreboard and said, ‘Oh my God, I don’t have any hits [allowed] yet.’ … I didn’t really think [about] throwing a no-hitter. I was just going pitch-by-pitch, one hitter at a time.”
His bid for a no-hitter ended in the seventh when scorching Blue Jays slugger Teoscar Hernández rocketed a curveball off the Wall for a single.
Two more singles and a run later, Pérez departed after 6 ⅔ innings with the Red Sox leading, 2-1. The outing — in which the lefty walked three and struck out five — lowered his ERA to 4.07.
The Sox bullpen blew the lead one inning later when Ryan Brasier inherited runners on first and second with no outs. Brasier immediately gifted Toronto a run with a balk and a wild pitch that tied the score, 2-2.
That deadlock remained in place until the 10th inning. With a runner placed on second to start the frame, Sox reliever Phillips Valdez issued a walk before Hernández blasted an opposite-field, three-run homer to right — tying him for the MLB lead with 13 homers. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. followed with a solo blast to left.
Both Red Sox runs were driven in by Jackie Bradley Jr., the first with a solo homer — his fourth of the year, all in his last 11 games — and the second with a bases-loaded walk in the sixth that ended Toronto starter Taijuan Walker’s night.
The loss was the fourth in a row for the Sox, who dropped to 12-26.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2020 3:42:38 GMT -5
Red Sox notebook For Bobby Dalbec, hits a matter of timing on striking fastballs By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated September 3, 2020, 7:26 p.m.
Bobby Dalbec emerged as one of the top Red Sox prospects based on his considerable power potential, but with concerns about his strikeout rate. In his first fourbig league games, both traits have been evident.
In his debut, the righthanded-hitting Dalbec drilled an opposite-field homer to right — a display of unusual all-fields strength. But he struck out twice in that contest, four times in the next, and then after a day off, twice more on both Wednesday and Thursday.
Dalbec – who went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk against the Blue Jays on Thursday – thus became the seventh position player ever and the first in Red Sox history to strike out at least twice in each of his first three career games. He’s the third player ever with 10 strikeouts in his first four games. Before Thursday’s game, Sox manager Ron Roenicke sought out the 25-year-old in hopes of helping him to avoid dwelling on – and in the process, perhaps becoming more vulnerable to – strikeouts.
“You strike out a couple times, you start pressing, you think about it, and it makes it worse,” said Roenicke. “He’s usually really patient, usually doesn’t chase out of the zone too much, and he’s doing that. So we’ve got to get him back in the zone and back to that positive mind-set and knowing if they make a mistake I’m going to hit it hard and then just don’t worry about the results. If you strike out a couple times don’t go up there the next time and think about and worry about striking out.”
To Roenicke, Dalbec seemed late on fastballs to this point, the continuation of a pattern he’d seen in spring training. Dalbec’s vulnerability on breaking balls and off-speed pitches starts from there.
“Any time you’re trying to catch up with a fastball, you’re going to be late on the fastballs and then you’re going to chase the breaking balls in the dirt,” said Roenicke. “That’s what happens to a lot of hitters. It’s just trying to get away from that point. Be on time for the fastball, start your hands on your load in time to get a fastball and then you’ll be OK with the offspeed.”
Grullón catches on
The Red Sox picked up intriguing catcher Deivy Grullón on waivers from the Phillies on Thursday, landing a player with unusual offensive potential at a premium position. As a 23-year-old in 2019, Grullón hit .283/.354/.496 with 21 homers in the Triple-A International League. It was his second straight minor league season with 21 homers.
Now 24, the Sox view Grullón — whom Baseball America recently ranked as the No. 20 prospect in the Phillies organization — as a player with the potential to emerge as a bat-first catcher. Though he has work to do behind the plate, the Sox see enough defensive potential to see a future as at least a backup catcher. If he can make some small adjustments to his offensive approach (he struck out in 29.1 percent of plate appearances in Triple-A last year), he has a chance to be an unusually impactful hitter at a position that usually yields little offense.
Grullón was optioned by the Red Sox to their Alternate Site in Pawtucket. Terrific memory
Ron Roenicke’s first big league homer came in 1982 against Tom Seaver, the Hall of Fame pitcher who died on Monday. Roenicke, who was 25 at the time, recalled that Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda insisted on having Seaver sign the ball.
“[Seaver] wrote on it, ‘To Ron, why me? Tom Seaver,’” Roenicke recalled . . .
Zack Godley will start for the Red Sox in the first game of Friday’s doubleheader with Chris Mazza getting the start in the night game. The Red Sox are still determining their starters on Saturday and Sunday.
Though eligible to come off the injured list, Nate Eovaldi (calf strain) won’t be a consideration. The righthander threw a bullpen session on Thursday for the first time since he landed on the injured list last Saturday, but continued to feel some discomfort in his injured right calf. He’s unlikely to pitch again until at least late next week.
“The reason we keep pushing him back is because we don’t want him to go out there and pitch when he’s not 100 percent ready,” said Roenicke. “If it sets him back to where he was a couple weeks ago, it could cost him the rest of the season. We don’t want that to happen.” . . . Righthander Colten Brewer (0-3, 5.61 in 25 ⅔ innings) landed on the injured list (retroactive to Tuesday) with what the Sox called a strained right middle finger. In his place, the team recalled righthander Marcus Walden (12 runs with 7 strikeouts and 8 walks in 9 big league innings this year) from Pawtucket . . . Though no longer in Boston, Mitch Moreland was recognized by Major League Baseball as the Red Sox nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes extraordinary on- and off-field contributions. The award, presented annually during the World Series, honors Clemente’s remarkable humanitarian and philanthropic legacy.
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