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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 13, 2023 2:51:35 GMT -5
Red Sox lose after Rafael Devers robbed of go-ahead homer at rainy Fenway
Updated: Jun. 13, 2023, 12:41 a.m.|Published: Jun. 12, 2023, 11:48 p.m.
By
Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
BOSTON — In the eighth inning Monday night, it looked like Rafael Devers had given the Red Sox a late lead. Devers smoked a 105.8 mph line drive to deep right field and looked to have a go-ahead homer.
But Rockies right fielder Nolan Jones reached back, robbed the homer and preserved a 2-2 tie. Two innings, an 89-minute rain delay and some sloppy play later, Colorado handed Boston a 4-3 loss in the series opener of a three-game series between the clubs at Fenway Park as the Red Sox fell below .500 at 33-34.
After getting two quick outs in the top of the 10th, Sox reliever Nick Pivetta issued an intentional walk to Ryan McMahon, then loaded the bases by (unintentionally) walking Elias Díaz. Pivetta then issued his third straight walk to Randal Grichuk, allowing the automatic runner to score. Making his major league debut, rookie lefty Joe Jacques entered and looked to have the Red Sox out of the inning when Jones chopped a pitch to first base, but Triston Casas couldn’t make the play and McMahon scored on the fielding error. After a one-hour, 29-minute delay, the Sox got a run back when automatic runner Connor Wong scored on a Rob Refsnyder groundout but were unable to tie things up. Alex Verdugo grounded into a 5-6-3 double play to end the game.
Boston’s sloppy play late handed the Rockies a decision in what started as an unlikely pitcher’s duel between James Paxton and Connor Seabold, who returned to Fenway Park months after the Red Sox traded him to the Rockies in a minor deal. Paxton struck out eight batters while allowing a single unearned run in 6+ innings; Seabold allowed one run on six hits and struck out six batters in six frames.
After the Red Sox squandered a bases-loaded, no-out opportunity in the first when Devers tapped into a double play and Adam Duvall struck out, yet another Kiké Hernández throwing error (his league-leading 14th of the season) opened the scoring in the fourth. With McMahon on second and two outs, Hernández skipped a would-be inning-ending throw to first base and it got away from Casas, allowing the run to score. Boston made it 1-1 in the sixth, when Justin Turner’s RBI double plated Alex Verdugo.
Facing lefty Brent Suter in the bottom of the seventh, Christian Arroyo briefly gave the Red Sox a lead with a towering solo homer to left field. But the Rockies battled back to tag Josh Winckowski for the tying run a half-inning later, with Jurickson Profar doubling then scoring on an Díaz RBI single.
Per Statcast, Devers’ shot, which came with an .870 expected batting average, would have been a home run in seven of 30 MLB ballparks... including Fenway Park, had Jones not robbed it.
The loss, which dropped the Red Sox below .500 at 33-34, was Boston’s first defeat in extra innings this season (previously 3-0). The Sox fell to 26-2 when leading after seven innings this season; they have now scored three or fewer runs in each of their last six games.
Paxton’s hot stretch continues
Paxton continued his emergence as the most consistent members of Boston’s rotation, posting his third quality start in his last five outings. In six starts so far this season, the veteran lefty has a 3.09 ERA. He has struck out 44 batters in 32 innings and has held hitters to a .221 average.
Paxton has a 1.50 ERA in 18 innings over his last three starts and has struck out at least eight batters in all of those outings.
Bard makes long-awaited Fenway return
Rockies reliever Daniel Bard, who has enjoyed a late-career renaissance in Colorado, made his first appearance at Fenway Park since April 27, 2013, his last outing with the Red Sox. Bard entered with a 0.96 ERA in his first 18 appearances of 2023 and pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit and issuing a walk. He got the win in his return to Boston.
Crawford has middle game Tuesday
Righty Kutter Crawford (1-3, 3.68 ERA), who recently joined the rotation in the wake of Chris Sale’s shoulder injury, will get the start Tuesday night in the second game of the series. The Rockies will counter with righty Chase Anderson (0-0, 2.25 ERA).
First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. ET.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 13, 2023 2:52:57 GMT -5
Red Sox’s Rafael Devers’ tough night includes ‘one of best swings’ of 2023
Updated: Jun. 13, 2023, 1:22 a.m.|Published: Jun. 13, 2023, 1:20 a.m.
By
Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
BOSTON — With the Red Sox offense continuing to sputter, star third baseman Rafael Devers was at the center of Boston’s two best chances to score Monday night against the Rockies. Both quietly and loudly, those chances ended in frustration.
In the first inning, Devers came to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs after the first three Sox batters singled off old friend Connor Seabold, only to tap a grounder back to the mound for a deflating double play. Seven innings later, with the score tied, 2-2, Devers crushed a Pierce Johnson pitch to deep right field only to have right fielder Nolan Jones rob a potential go-ahead homer.
Devers’ first swing of the night resulted in a 64.4 mph tapper and his last swing turned into an 105.8 mph missile that landed in Jones’ glove. Both ended in outs. How frustrating was Devers night? Uncharacteristically, he declined to talk to reporters after the game when approached by multiple Red Sox spokespeople.
Left to speak for his best player, Red Sox manager Alex Cora didn’t take issue with Devers’ decision to chase a first-pitch Seabold changeup in the first inning despite the Red Sox squandering a prime scoring chance. Adam Duvall followed Devers’ one-pitch at-bat with an inning-ending strikeout.
“The other day he was overly aggressive with (Gerrit) Cole and he hit it out of the ballpark to left field,” Cora said. “That’s the beauty of Raffy, right? It was a changeup down in the zone. It happens.
“It’s a pitch that sometimes he hunts and hit in the zone,” Cora said. “It looks bad because he hit a ground ball to the pitcher but the other day when he swung at the changeup and hit it out of the ballpark, everybody was praising him.”
Devers flew out to right field in the fourth inning and struck out in the sixth before stepping to the plate with a runner on first base and two outs in the eighth. He smoked a high 0-1 Johnson fastball 384 feet to right field for what looked, at first glance, to be a go-ahead two-run shot. But Jones timed his jump and pulled the ball back, preserving a 2-2 tie.
Devers’ expected batting average on his flyout was .870. According to Statcast, the shot would have been a home run in seven of 30 ballparks... including Fenway Park, if Jones had not been there to catch it.
“That was one of his best swings of the season, too...,” Cora said. “He was on time on that one. It was a really good swing. Just a line drive. The kid had a good jump, he was playing deep and he made the catch.”
Jones’ catch seemed to flip the momentum to the side of the Rockies, who took advantage of three walks in the top of the 10th inning to score two runs and held onto a 4-3 win.
“We knew the right fielder was playing pretty deep,” said first baseman Triston Casas. “They were in a no-doubles position not trying to allow that run to score. We all thought off the bat it was definitely a home run but when he pulled it back, I don’t think anybody was surprised. We all knew they were playing really deep and trying to avoid giving up that run.
“It was definitely deflating but we had to come back in that next inning and shut it down,” Casas said.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 13, 2023 2:54:30 GMT -5
Chris Cotillo
@chriscotillo
·
5h
Pivetta walks in a run and his night is over as boos (and rain) rain down.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 13, 2023 2:55:28 GMT -5
Chris Cotillo
@chriscotillo
·
7h
A Kiké Hernández throwing error leads to the first run of the game.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 13, 2023 2:56:53 GMT -5
Jon Couture
@joncouture
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7h
That's not a great throw, but a better first baseman than Triston Casas handles that. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 13, 2023 2:58:06 GMT -5
Jon Couture
@joncouture
·
7h
One multi-run inning in #RedSox last 87 trips to the plate.
One.
The only way that could have been any worse for the #RedSox is if everyone had to sing Sweet Caroline immediately after it
A rain-delay reminder: The Rockies entered Monday as the worst team in the National League. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 13, 2023 3:01:49 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats
@redsoxstats
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6h
In April, Winckowski struck out 16 of 75 batters faced, 21.3%.
12 of 82 since, 14.6%, including 1 of 8 tonight.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 13, 2023 3:06:37 GMT -5
Alex Speier
@alexspeier
·
4h
Cora: “Not a good game. We made two errors. … It’s frustrating, you know?”
Cora said Paxton’s stuff right now is better than what he saw in 2017.
Cora: “Just got to keep grinding. We’re going to score runs.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 13, 2023 3:21:13 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK
A decade after his downfall began, Daniel Bard marvels at being back, and still pitching, at Fenway Park with the Rockies
By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated June 12, 2023, 8:22 p.m.
During his retirement as a professional pitcher in 2018 and 2019, Daniel Bard sometimes suggested to his wife, Adair, the couple one day take their young children on a trip to Boston.
“I always talked to my wife about, ‘We need to get the kids to Boston some day when they’ll appreciate it, get them out to a game and just say this is where your dad used to play,’ ” said Bard. “We were talking about that moment this morning. We got them to a game, and I get to play.”
Bard, a dominant reliever for the Red Sox from 2009-11, threw a scoreless bottom of the ninth Monday that earned him the victorious decision in Colorado’s 4-3, 10-inning triumph. It was part of a remarkable “full-circle” moment, returning to Fenway Park for the first time since 2013. That was the season when Bard’s loss of control proved so extreme, he ended up being sent to the minors and then designated for assignment.
Bard’s departure from the Red Sox served as a prelude to years of struggle in the minors and, ultimately, his retirement after the 2017 campaign. But after working two years as a mental skills instructor for the Diamondbacks, Bard gave pitching another shot, and surprised both himself and the baseball world with a restored ability to throw strikes with dominant stuff.
And so, Bard — who suffered another loss of control this spring in the World Baseball Classic, but has worked back from it to forge a 0.96 ERA with the Rockies in 18 games — is in the fourth season of his second life as a big leaguer. Monday, he made his return to Boston not as a retiree contemplating a past professional life, but instead as an active player.
As soon as the schedule came out, the Bards recognized the remarkable opportunity to bring their three young children (ages 7, 5, and 3) to Fenway. Daniel Bard relished the return to the setting where he’d pitched in 100 games — 99 regular season, and two postseason innings in 2009 — as a Red Sox.
He thought wistfully of the time he spent with teammates, including Jonathan Papelbon and Billy Wagner, when the team’s relievers forged an identity as pirates who would use everything in the bullpen to create a percussion band.
“I don’t know if anybody remembers that except for the guys. That was cool. We had an identity down there. It was a really close, tight-knit group. That was a special thing to be a part of,” said Bard. “I would have never thought in a million years I was gonna play again, let alone play in the big leagues, pitch in this ballpark again.
“I think it’s kind of a full-circle moment for me, coming here, even though it’s in a different uniform,” he added. “It’s still the same ballpark, doing the same job.”
News not all good
While Trevor Story was at Fenway Park for the first time since April, throwing at 120 feet from shortstop to first as he continues his progression, another injured shortstop has been slowed in his return.
Yu Chang, who had been rehabbing with Triple A Worcester last week, has not played since Thursday due to ongoing discomfort in his left wrist related to April hamate surgery. He’s been pulled back from his rehab assignment, with the Sox hoping that he can start one anew next week.
“Just working through it,” said Sox manager Alex Cora.
Related: Rockies won’t sell Trevor Story short as former Colorado star rehabs from elbow surgery
Masataka Yoshida, who was 0-for-11 during the weekend series in New York, was out of Monday’s starting lineup. Cora said Yoshida was exhibiting some of the tells cited by Orix Buffaloes staffers during an offseason Zoom that point to a fatigued state. Ground balls on certain pitches, for instance.
“He’s played a lot. I think it’s a good day for him [to sit],” said Cora. (Yoshida had started every game since he sat in the night game of a doubleheader on May 16.) “We’ll play him [Tuesday], see how he feels, and maybe we’ll give him Wednesday [off] to take advantage of [Thursday’s off-day] to reset him and be ready for the weekend [against the Yankees].”
With Yoshida out, Jarren Duran made his third career big-league start in left field, and his second of the 2023 season.
“It’s just another position to get to know and get to play. I’m used to running around and calling people off as much as I can in center field, and then in left, I have to make sure that I’m not overrunning my territory and into [Adam Duvall in center],” said Duran. “But I’m pretty sure he’ll tell me to get out of his way.”
Pitching patter
John Schreiber, on the injured list since May 16, is throwing at 75 feet and feels significantly better than before he was sidelined by a teres major strain . . . Lefthander Chris Murphy, after making his big league debut in Cleveland last week, will continue to work out of the Worcester bullpen for now. Murphy, who struggled as a starter in Triple A this year, is expected to work in one- to three-inning stints.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 13, 2023 3:25:16 GMT -5
Rockies @ Red Sox
Tuesday, June 13th 2023
7pm @ Fenway
Anderson 0-0/ 2.67
Crawford 1-3/ 3.68
Red Sox hope young arms keep developing vs. Rockies
FLM
The Boston Red Sox received strong outings from three of their young starting pitchers against the New York Yankees over the weekend, and they will look for that trend to continue when they send 27-year-old Kutter Crawford to the mound on Tuesday for the second game of a three-game series against the visiting Colorado Rockies.
Colorado took the rain-delayed series opener 4-3 in 10 innings on Monday.
Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Brayan Bello limited the Yankees to six runs (five earned) in 19 1/3 innings to help the Red Sox win two of their three games against New York. Whitlock, the oldest of the three, turned 27 Sunday. All three pitchers went at least six innings against the Yankees and allowed no more than two runs.
"To come here with those three kids and pitch the way they did, hopefully we can build off of this," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said following Boston's 3-2 victory over New York on Sunday night. "That was really good by Whit, by Tanner and by Bello. That was impressive.
"Obviously we need to pitch to get back (into contention). The offense is going to be OK. It's just a matter of time to get good at-bats and get people healthy."
The growth of Boston's young starters took on added importance after the Red Sox moved veteran left-hander Chris Sale to the 60-day injured list on Friday. Sale sustained a stress reaction in his left shoulder blade while pitching against the Cincinnati Reds on June 1.
Crawford (1-3, 3.68 ERA) took Sale's spot in the rotation on Wednesday, when he threw three-plus innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits in a 5-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. Tuesday's game will be the first time Crawford has pitched against Colorado during his career.
Right-hander Chase Anderson (0-0, 2.25 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Rockies. Colorado claimed Anderson off waivers after Tampa Bay designated him for assignment on May 10.
Anderson has made six career appearances (five starts) against Boston and is 1-0 with a 6.35 ERA. He will be facing a Red Sox team that has failed to put more than three runs in nine of its past 10 games. Boston has a 3-7 record in that span.
The Red Sox made two errors in the Monday night loss, each of which allowed the Rockies to score a run.
"Not a good game, we made two errors and the (10th-inning, bases-loaded) walk," Cora said. "Frustrating. We don't make plays and they score runs."
Colorado will be seeking its third straight victory. The Rockies ended a six-game losing streak by beating the San Diego Padres 5-4 on Sunday, then scored the tying run in the eighth inning on Monday against the Red Sox before prevailing in the 10th.
Rockies reliever Daniel Bard earned the win in his first game back at Boston since he pitched for the Red Sox from 2009-13.
"There were a lot more good memories than negative, so that's where my mind is at -- just enjoying it," Bard said, according to MLB.com.
Tuesday's contest will be the second game of a 10-game road trip for the Rockies. Boston opened a six-game homestand on Monday.
--Field Level Media
Rockies
at
Red Sox
Tuesday, at 7:10 PM EST
Partly Cloudy
It's expected to be 68° F with a 22% chance of rain and 7 MPH wind blowing in in Boston at 7:10 PM EST.
Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 13, 2023 8:40:29 GMT -5
This was not how it was supposed to work for Boston sports fans
By Rob Bradford
WEEI 93.7
2 hours ago
What it's like to hit a 472-foot home run; Daniel Bard's return
This could have been an exciting time in the Boston sports world. The Celtics could be taking on the Nuggets in the NBA Finals on the same day Denver's baseball team came to town for a meeting with the red-hot Red Sox.
Unfortunately for New England sports fans, the only part of that equation that came to fruition was that the Rockies were in attendance for Monday night's game at Fenway Park.
No, things are not panning out how we envisioned them a month ago.
On the night the Nuggets celebrated winning their first NBA championship - over the Heat, not the Celtics - the Rockies capped off Denver sports fans' night-to-remember with a 10-inning, 4-3 win over the Red Sox.
As good as it was for those Mile High fanatics, it was equally as bad for all of those weathering a one hour, 29 minute rain delay in the 10th inning at Fenway Park. By the time the fans filtered out of Fenway, the brightest light of sports optimism seemed like free agent receiver DeAndre Hopkins simply taking a meeting with the Patriots.
That's where we're at.
The June MLB Power Rankings nobody expected
While the Red Sox are far from out of postseason consideration - sitting 4 1/2 games from the third Wild Card spot at 33-34 - they are seemingly far from grabbing the hearts and minds of Boston sports fans. That's in large part because of the missed opportunity to grab all those Celts and Bruins followers when those teams' seasons fell off their respective cliffs.
The Sox are 12-20 since the early May eight-game win streak and 7-14 in their last 21 games. And beside the inability to possess sustained success, it's the presentation that isn't helping matters, either.
Case in point: Monday night's loss.
More poor defense, this time resulting in runs thanks to errors by Kiké Hernandez and Triston Casas. Continued offensive ugliness, this time coming against a familiar face in Colorado starter - and former Red Sox - Connor Seabold.
Since that May 21 jumping off point, the Red Sox have carried a .676 OPS. But one of the more striking stats during that stretch has been that there has been just one home run with runners in scoring position over those 21 games.
All of this might have been moot if Denver's most recent sports icon, Nolan Jones (who hit a 472-foot walk-off homer the day before) didn't reach up and grab what would have likely been Rafael Devers' eighth-inning, game-winning homer. But Jones did catch the 384-foot blast (which would have been out of seven ballparks, including Fenway), and we are left with another day of looking for the clouds to part.
It must be nice to live in Denver right now.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 13, 2023 13:22:59 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats
@redsoxstats
·
2h
This is the third straight season in which the Red Sox offense has had a disastrous 10-game stretch of scoring 25 or fewer runs.
Aug 7, 2021 (2-8)
May 8, 2022 (2-8)
June 12, 2023 (3-7)
10-game rolling average of runs scored this year
You figure the Red Sox need to get to 88 wins to be in the wild card mix, that means they need to go 55-40 over the final 95 games. Since May 1, 2019, they have only played over that pace 9% of the time, mostly in June and July 2021.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 13, 2023 13:28:57 GMT -5
Game 68: Rockies at Red Sox lineups and notesBy Emma Healy Globe Staff,Updated June 13, 2023, 10:34 a.m. Strong outings from three young starting pitchers earned a series win for the Red Sox against the New York Yankees over the weekend, and they will look to continue that trend when 27-year-old Kutter Crawford takes the mound on Tuesday for the second game of a three-game series against the visiting Colorado Rockies. Colorado took the rain-delayed series opener 4-3 in 10 innings on Monday. Crawford most recently threw three-plus innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits in a 5-2 loss to the Guardians on Wednesday. Righthander Chase Anderson is scheduled to start for the Rockies, who claimed him off waivers after he was designated for assignment by Tampa Bay on May 10. Anderson has made six career appearances (five starts) against the Red Sox and is 1-0 with a 6.35 ERA. Tuesday also marks the Red Sox annual Pride Night celebration, supporting members of Boston’s LGBTQ+ community at Fenway Park. The Red Sox have hosted similar celebrations yearly since 2013. ROCKIES (28-40): 1. Jurickson Profar (S) DH 2. Ezequiel Tovar (R) SS 3. Ryan McMahon (L) 3B 4. Elias Diaz (R) C 5. Nolan Jones (L) RF 6. Randal Grichuk (R) LF 7. Mike Moustakas (L) 1B 8. Harold Castro (L) 2B 9. Brenton Doyle (R) CF Pitching: RHP Chase Anderson (0-0, 2.25 ERA) RED SOX (33-34): 1. Alex Verdugo (L) RF 2. Masataka Yoshida (L) LF 3. Justin Turner (R) 1B 4. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 5. Adam Duvall (R) CF 6. Triston Casas (L) DH 7. Christian Arroyo (R) 2B 8. Reese McGuire (L) C 9. Pablo Reyes (R) SS Pitching: RHP Kutter Crawford (1-3, 3.68 ERA) Time: 7:10 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Rockies vs. Crawford: Harold Castro 0-0, Nolan Jones 0-2 Red Sox vs. Anderson: Triston Casas 0-2, Rafael Devers 3-10, Adam Duvall 2-9, Kiké Hernández 0-8, Reese McGuire 0-2, Rob Refsnyder 1-2, Pablo Reyes 1-6, Justin Turner 2-3, Alex Verdugo 3-10 Stat of the day: The Red Sox have scored three or fewer runs in each of their last six games and are 4-24 when scoring fewer than four runs. Notes: The Red Sox made two errors in the Monday night loss, each of which allowed the Rockies to score a run. … The Rockies ended a six-game losing streak by beating the San Diego Padres 5-4 on Sunday, then scored the tying run in the eighth inning on Monday against the Red Sox before prevailing in the 10th. ... It was the first loss in extra innings this season for the Red Sox, who are 26-2 when leading after seven innings. ... Tuesday’s contest will be the second game of a 10-game road trip for the Rockies. The Sox opened a six-game homestand on Monday. Song of the Day: Talking Heads - And She Was www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl3B_FTDKD0
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 13, 2023 16:42:49 GMT -5
Chris Cotillo
@chriscotillo
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45m
Red Sox are moving Kiké Hernández off the starting shortstop role. He’ll be more of a utility guy moving forward. Justin Turner will play more 1B over Casas.
Clear priority on defense. Cora said they don’t see Reyes as everyday player but he’ll get more shots at SS. Chang eventually too. They want to avoid Arroyo at SS.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 13, 2023 16:44:30 GMT -5
Julian McWilliams
@byjulianmack
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45m
Kiké Hernández is no longer the everyday shortstop. Pablo Reyes will fill that role likely until Chang is ready. Hernández will shift to second/center when needed. Also, Adalberto Mondesi (knee) has been shut down from all baseball activity for now.
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