|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 15, 2023 13:13:40 GMT -5
Yankees @ Red Sox Friday, 16th June 2023 7pm @ Fenway
German 4-3/ 3.49
Houck 3-6/ 5.23
Friday, June 16, 2023 at 7:10pm EDT Written by Bosun Akinpelu
The Boston Red Sox (34-35) will be going for their second consecutive win when they face the New York Yankees (39-30) in the first game of their three-game series on Friday night.
Domingo German, 4-3, 3.49 ERA, will get the start for the Yankees. The Red Sox will counter with Tanner Houck, 3-6, 5.23 ERA.
New York is 7-3 in its last 10 games against Boston. Boston leads the season series 2-1.
Yankees Going For Fourth Win In Seven Games The Yankees didn’t make up any ground in the AL East this week after splitting their last six games. They will try to get back on track with a win over the Red Sox, which will give them their fourth win in their last seven games.
New York is averaging 4.55 runs per game. Their .232 batting average is 25th in the league. Their .300 on base percentage is 28th, while their .416 slugging percentage is 13th.
Anthony Rizzo leads the Yankees with a .266 batting average, while Aaron Judge leads the team with 19 home runs and 40 RBI.
New York’s pitching has been good, with the team giving up 3.93 runs per game. Opponents have a .232 batting average against the Yankees, which is 25th in the league. Their .300 on base percentage is 28th, while their .416 slugging percentage is 13th.
In his last start, German gave up six hits and one run in six innings, leading to a 3-1 win over Boston. They will need a similar effort from him if they want to get the win.
Red Sox Going For Third Win In Five Games The Red Sox snapped their two-game losing streak with a win over the Rockies in their last game. They will try to keep the momentum going with a win over the Yankees, which will give them their third win in their last five games.
Boston is averaging 4.90 runs per game. Their .259 batting average is eighth in the league. Their .331 on base percentage is fifth, while their .424 slugging percentage is eighth.
Masataka Yoshida leads Boston with a .297 batting average, while Rafael Devers leads the team with 17 home runs and 56 RBI.
Boston’s pitching hasn’t been good, with the team giving up 4.88 runs per game. Opponents have a .252 batting average against the Red Sox, which is 20th in the league. Their 4.54 ERA is 22nd, while their 1.31 WHIP is 18th.
In his last start, Houck gave up three hits and two runs in six innings, leading to a 3-1 loss to the Yankees. They will need a better effort from him if they want to win this game.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 15, 2023 13:14:36 GMT -5
Friday: Yankees at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m., YES/MLB Network. RHP Domingo Germán (4-3, 3.49) vs. RHP Tanner Houck (3-6, 5.23)
Saturday: Yankees at Red Sox, 7:15 p.m., FOX. RHP Clarke Schmidt (2-6, 4.70) vs. RHP Brayan Bello (3-4, 3.78)
Sunday: Yankees at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m., ESPN. RHP Luis Severino (0-1, 6.48) vs. LHP James Paxton (2-1, 3.09)
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 15, 2023 13:17:29 GMT -5
The Red Sox are confident they can flip the switch. Three games against the Yankees will help decide that. By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated June 15, 2023, 2:44 a.m.
“Nonstop” by Drake was playing loudly in the Red Sox clubhouse as midnight approached on Wednesday night after a 6-3 victory against the Colorado Rockies.
“Look, I just flipped a switch,” started the first verse.
“Give me my respect, give me my respect,” it continued later.
Maybe it was a coincidence that song popped up when it did. Or perhaps there was a creative DJ in the room trying to manufacture some good feelings.
At this point, whatever works because not much else has so far this season.
At 34-35, the Sox remain in last place, a whopping 14 games behind Tampa Bay. There’s little evidence the “awesome” future chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom predicted in January is anywhere close to reality.
But manager Alex Cora rejected the idea that avoiding a three-game sweep by the Rockies offered the team any sort of mental break with a day off on Thursday and the Yankees coming to Fenway Park for the first time this season on Friday.
“We didn’t play bad against [Colorado]. Two extra-inning games and that’s part of it,” Cora said. “If you look at the last five or six games here at home, they’ve been close. Obviously, we want to play better but [one win] really doesn’t matter.”
Cora is right in the sense that the Sox need to go on a sustained run. But there was at least evidence of a pulse on Wednesday.
Down 2-1 through six innings, the Sox sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs in the seventh to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the team with the worst run differential in the National League.
The Sox hadn’t scored five runs in an inning since June 3. Pablo Reyes tied the game with a sacrifice fly. Rob Refsnyder then gave the Sox the lead on a line drive that was mis-played by right fielder Nolan Jones but scored a triple.
Cora was more focused on Garrett Whitlock putting together a second consecutive quality start as he allowed two runs over six innings.
Sox starters have a 3.55 ERA in the last month. That hasn’t shown up in the standings, but it will over time if they can maintain it.
“The one thing about all this stuff is we’re pitching. That’s the cool thing about it,” Cora said. “Early in the season, we didn’t pitch and we were hitting. But obviously over 162 [games], if you pitch you’re going to have a chance.”
The offensive outburst came on a night when Cora gave both Masataka Yoshida and Rafael Devers the game off with the day off coming up.
That’s been standard practice for a few years, an easy way to give key players a two-day break.
Frustrating as it can be for fans to see Devers on the bench a day after he hit two home runs, the Sox believe the long-term benefits are important.
But it was the second time in three games that Yoshida was out of the lineup. He is hitting .225 with a .595 OPS this month.
Yoshida is 3 for 25 in his last seven games without an extra-base hit and there’s concern he’s wearing down. Given his importance to the lineup, the hope is an extended break will help.
Refsnyder started in left field and reached base three times, lining out in his other at-bat. That raised his OPS to .821.
Drake was turned down when Refsnyder took questions. He saw the victory as being a confidence builder.
“It helps. Maybe we gained some ground,” Refsnyder said. “Against the Yankees, it’ll be a great crowd. We’ve got to keep it rolling and, honestly, we’ve got to win the series.
“We needed the win … Good vibes going into the weekend.”
Verdugo, who was benched last week for lackadaisical play, remains a believer.
“You can’t overlook our record, right?” he said. “But if you go and look at our games, we’re a very talented group. We have guys that can do everything, from pitchers to hitters to defensive guys. We’re just all trying to fire at the same time, get on the right page and have a nice little streak.
“For us it’s staying positive.”
Did it flip the switch? Three games against the Yankees will help determine that.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 16, 2023 5:59:03 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK Jarren Duran is clearly an impact player for the Red Sox, but how do they get him into the lineup? By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated June 15, 2023, 8:02 p.m.
Jarren Duran looks comfortable in his role as a late-game weapon for the Red Sox.
He stung a single up the middle in the eighth inning Wednesday and scored a run, after entering the game in the seventh against the Rockies. He went 0 for 1 with a walk and two steals on Tuesday after coming into the game as a pinch runner in the eighth.
It’s clear that Duran could have an impact in that role, but is that what’s best for him? Duran is the best athlete (by a mile) on a team that doesn’t have many. It’s an element of the game that the Red Sox have lacked for some time, and when Duran is a part of the mix he ignites the club. He has consistently turned singles into doubles. He already has 17 this season in just 189 plate appearances. Alex Verdugo leads the team with 21 doubles — Duran is second, but Verdugo has 289 plate appearances. Duran has scored at least one run 13 times this year. In those games, the Red Sox are 11-2.
Duran needs to be an everyday player, even if you shift him to left field and have Kiké Hernández in center.
But the Sox have a problem: They have too many of the same kind of bat-first guys who can impact a lineup, forcing them into putting inept, or inexperienced, players at certain positions.
Masataka Yoshida is minus-6 in defensive runs saved with 331 innings in left field. That’s tough to do. The scouting report on Yoshida being a hitter, and only a hitter, are correct. He should likely be the DH.
Adam Duvall, meanwhile, isn’t a center fielder. He’s shown himself to be tentative at the wall, dating to spring training. If he plays the field, it should be in left, at least at Fenway. Duvall needs to be in the lineup. His power threat is too important, even though it comes in streaks. Since coming off the injured list, for example, Duvall is 2 for 18 with eight strikeouts.
You can’t put him at DH. That role is taken.
So, where does that leave Duran?
Time will tell. Right now, he’s just a Ferrari in the parking lot. Mixing it up
Perhaps Garrett Whitlock is a starter. In his last two starts, the righthander has a 2.03 ERA in 13⅓ innings. The difference? The Red Sox wanted Whitlock to throw his changeup slower in an effort to create more separation between that and his fastball.
Since returning from the IL May 27, Whitlock has a 52.8 strike percentage (league average is 46.5 percent) and 14.9 swinging strike percentage (league average is 12.1 percent).
“It’s the mix of pitches,” manager Alex Cora said. “I think that slider is a good one, and the changeup is a lot different than last year, towards the end and into early this season. It’s closer to what it was in 2021. It’s a swing-and-miss pitch. He can use it against lefties and righties.” Yankees up next
The Red Sox open a three-game series against the Yankees Friday at Fenway. The pitching matchups are: Domingo German vs. Tanner Houck Friday night; Clarke Schmidt vs. Brayan Bello Saturday night; and Luis Severino vs. James Paxton Sunday night. The Yankees are 5-6 in June. Their offense continues to struggle without Aaron Judge, with a .196 batting average in their last nine games. Severino, who was on the injured list for the first month and a half because of a shoulder strain, yielded just two runs in his first two starts. In his three most recent outings, however, Severino has allowed 17 runs (16 earned) for a 10.54 ERA in 13⅔ innings. Opponents have tagged Severino for 22 hits, 7 homers, a .349 batting average, and a 1.131 OPS in that span. The Yankees were 5-4 at Fenway last year.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 16, 2023 6:03:28 GMT -5
Red Sox ready to host rival Yankees for first time in 2023 FLM
Halfway through June, the New York Yankees are set for their first trip to Boston this season.
The historic rivals and American League East division mates will begin a three-game series Friday night at Fenway Park. It is also their second meeting in as many weekends after the Red Sox took two of three in New York.
Boston came from behind to salvage Wednesday's series finale against Colorado after dropping the previous two games in 10 innings. Even though the Red Sox are just 4-8 in their past 12 games, there have been positive signs of late.
"We didn't play badly against (Colorado). Two extra-inning games, and that's part of it," Boston manager Alex Cora said. "If you look at the last five or six games here at home, they've been close. Obviously, we want to play better but (one win) really doesn't matter."
Red Sox starting pitchers have allowed two earned runs or fewer in 19 of the past 26 games. Garrett Whitlock pitched seven innings of two-run ball Wednesday, and now Tanner Houck (3-6, 5.23 ERA) will try to put forth a similar effort in his sixth career start against the Yankees.
Houck is 2-2 with a 2.41 ERA in 33 2/3 innings over 10 appearances (five starts) in his career against the Yankees.
Houck has pitched at least five innings in 10 of his 12 starts this season. Last Saturday, New York managed only two solo home runs and three total hits off Houck in six complete frames.
"It's continuing to develop," Houck said of his ability to navigate a lineup several times in order to go deeper in games. "Continuing to work, continuing to make the right adjustments after something like that happens and bringing it back in."
The Yankees, who are 5-7 in their past 12, travel to Boston after splitting a pair of one-run Subway Series contests against the Mets.
Manager Aaron Boone knows his club will be ready for another fun series in Boston, especially with the division in such a competitive state this season. The Red Sox remain last in the standings despite being just one game under .500.
"I've gotten to experience it quite a bit now as a player and as a manager. You feel fortunate to be a part of such a historic sports rivalry," Boone said. "The AL East is always good, but it's really good now. We're playing in the SEC right now. We've developed really strong rivalries with every team, but the Red Sox are right in that mix."
Friday will mark the Fenway debut of Anthony Volpe, the Yankees' No. 1 prospect entering this season who is set to play in his 70th career MLB game.
Playing the Red Sox is a lifetime thrill for the New York City-born shortstop.
"When I would hit with my dad in the cage and stuff, we would always pretend it was Yankees versus Red Sox," Volpe told Newsday last week. "We would have different scenarios like that. As a Yankee fan, and as a Yankee now, a player, it's what you want to be a part of."
Domingo German (4-3, 3.49) will toe the rubber first for New York this weekend after pitching six innings of one-run ball Saturday in what was the Yankees' lone win of the last Boston series. It was his first victory against the Red Sox since Aug. 3, 2019; in 13 games (11 starts) against the Red Sox, German is 3-2 with a 3.64 ERA.
German has worked at least six frames in his past three outings while allowing two or fewer runs in six of his last seven.
--Field Level Media
Yankees at Red Sox Friday, at 7:10 PM EST Partly Cloudy It's expected to be 77° F with a 18% chance of precipitation and 9 MPH wind blowing out in Boston at 7:10 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 16, 2023 11:49:10 GMT -5
Yankees’ weekend visit is about rivalry, but also these Red Sox’ identity These sorts of weekends are the ones that get the conversation flowing.
By Jon Couture June 16, 2023 | 10:44 AM
Facebook Twitter Email
Email
COMMENTARY
When Red Sox manager Alex Cora yanked Kiké Hernández from the starting shortstop slot earlier in the week, he offered the sort of disorganized quote befitting a team still trying to prove itself something more than mediocre.
“You get X amount of opportunities to play the position. You have to make adjustments,” Cora told reporters. “Is it late [to make a move]? I don’t know. Maybe, maybe not. We’ve just got to move on.”
Seconds later, Cora moved on to say “at the same time, the game will dictate what we do. Don’t be surprised if he’s there in the ninth inning playing short.”
It’s somehow both boilerplate and damning. We’re a year removed from innings of Christian Vázquez playing second base and Connor Wong playing third, lest you forget baseball seasons are weird things with weird occasional needs.
But it says something of the state of things in Boston when the demotion of a player with more throwing errors (12) than four entire teams needs to be interrupted by an admission that, yeah, he’ll probably be back there soon.
Need is the state of your Red Sox at the moment, in that modern sports limbo of being within arm’s reach of a playoff spot more mathematically than practically. Tampa made last year’s playoffs as an 86-win team. The Red Sox, at one below .500, need to close 52-41 to get there.
That’s a 91-win pace beginning with Friday’s weekend visit from the Yankees. That’s asking a lot from a bunch that, while it has a clear case to be the best last-place team in the sport, is a rousing 1-5 actually playing those other last-place teams — at home, no less — after the Sox snuck that finale with the Rockies on Wednesday.
And that’s if 86 is enough in 2023, as opposed to 88 or 90.
Again, baseball’s weird. The A’s beat the Rays twice. The A’s got $380 million from Nevada despite treating the Indians’ construction in Major League as a how-to guide. Heck, it’s so weird, the A’s aren’t even the A’s at the moment given Kansas City lost nine straight and fell behind them in the standings.
But we can safely pencil the Rays into October, and assume the AL Central will be a one-bid division. That leaves four playoff spots for eight teams — Boston, New York, Orioles, and Blue Jays, Rangers, Astros, Angels, and Mariners.
The Rangers and Orioles have built strong resumes. The Astros and Yankees have the pedigree to always feel one win from a torrid month. And yet all eight could end up with 80-something wins. That means all eight are a good couple series from talking themselves into something.
Enter a series like this weekend’s at Fenway Park. Enter quotes like those offered in the gloaming of Wednesday, when a five-run seventh was Boston’s only real outburst in three games against the worst pitching staff in the National League.
“We’re pitching. That’s the cool thing about it,” Cora told reporters. “Early in the season, we didn’t pitch and we were hitting. But obviously over 162 [games], if you pitch you’re going to have a chance.”
“It’s frustrating to see us be so inconsistent,” Sox architect Chaim Bloom told MLB.com. “I do think it’s going to come back. A lot of these games where we haven’t scored runs, we’ve had plenty of traffic. Usually when you do that, you’re gonna find a way to get your share of runs on the board.”
These Yankees are beatable. Just ask the people who watch them every day.
Anthony Rizzo, a key catalyst last season to the point he got a $40 million contract extension in November, is 2 for 37 since a collision with Fernando Tatis Jr. cost him three games. The infield production across the board has been dreadful, and a team alarmingly mum on when it might get Aaron Judge back has shown little ability to cope with his absence.
With a payroll of $280 million, the 2023 Yankees have been Judge (who’s out indefinitely), Gerrit Cole (who started Wednesday’s loss to the Mets), baseball’s best bullpen, and little else. The Red Sox don’t have a Judge, and their aces are merely building foundations, but they’ve locked down games they’ve gotten to their bullpen and sport a lineup perpetually capable of getting hot.
With New York’s relief corps being leaned on heavy by Aaron Boone? Against a team that still grinds down starting pitchers like few others in the league? The Sox won two of three in the Bronx despite a complete absence of momentum and clutch hitting.
Even if they were to sweep New York this weekend, the standings and numbers wouldn’t look much better.
But they’d sure feel a lot better.
When we’re coming off a year where Bloom tried to be both buyer and seller at the trade deadline — a somewhat logical call in the moment that fell apart almost immediately?
Well, the Astros just lost Yordan Alvarez for a month. The Sox have hung right with Baltimore head-to-head. They’re 4-0 against Toronto, and the Rangers haven’t proved anything yet, and . . .
You can talk yourself into almost anything in modern baseball. These sorts of weekends are the ones that get the conversation flowing.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 16, 2023 13:26:42 GMT -5
Game 70: Red Sox set to host the Yankees for the first time this seasonBy Greg McKenna Globe Correspondent,Updated June 16, 2023, 11:03 a.m. The Red Sox will finally welcome the New York Yankees to Fenway Park for the first time this season, beginning a three-game set on Friday. They grabbed two of three from the Yankees in the Bronx last weekend in a low-scoring series. All three games were decided by two runs or less. The Red Sox had an off-day Thursday, their only break in a stretch of 23 games in 23 days. They prevailed 6-3 over the Rockies Wednesday to prevent a three-game sweep and snap a five-game losing streak at Fenway Park. Tanner Houck gets the start for the opener. He allowed just two runs on three hits in six innings against the Yankees last Saturday but still picked up the loss. Houck is 2-2 with a 2.41 ERA in 33 ⅔ innings vs. the Yankees over his career. The Yankees are 5-7 in their past 12 games, having split a pair of one-run Subway Series contests against the Mets this week. Domingo Germán will again start opposite Houck after pitching six innings of one-run ball in the Yankees’ lone win of last week’s series with the Sox. YANKEES (39-30): 1. Jake Bauers (L) RF 2. Giancarlo Stanton (R) DH 3. Gleyber Torres (R) 2B 4. Anthony Rizzo (L) 1B 5. Josh Donaldson (R) 3B 6. Willie Calhoun (L) LF 7. Billy McKinney (L) CF 8. Kyle Higashioka (R) C 9. Anthony Volpe (R) SS Pitching: RHP Domingo Germán (4-3, 3.49 ERA) RED SOX (34-35): 1. Alex Verdugo (L) RF 2. Justin Turner (R) DH 3. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 4. Adam Duvall (R) CF 5. Masataka Yoshida (L) LF 6. Christian Arroyo (R) 2B 7. Triston Casas (L) 1B 8. Connor Wong (R) C 9. Pablo Reyes (R) SS Pitching: RHP Tanner Houck (3-6, 5.23 ERA) Time: 7:10 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Yankees vs. Houck: Jake Bauers 0-2, Willie Calhoun 1-3, Josh Donaldson 1-10, Kyle Higashioka 0-1, Isiah Kiner-Falefa 1-4, DJ LeMahieu 0-11, Billy McKinney 1-2, Anthony Rizzo 0-2, Giancarlo Stanton 2-10, Gleyber Torres 2-13, Jose Trevino 1-3, Anthony Volpe 0-2 Red Sox vs. Germán: Christian Arroyo 3-6, Triston Casas 1-4, Rafael Devers 4-25, Jarren Duran 0-4, Adam Duvall 1-3, Kiké Hernández 0-11, Reese McGuire 4-9, Rob Refsnyder 0-1, Justin Turner 3-6, Alex Verdugo 5-15, Masataka Yoshida 0-2 Stat of the day: Red Sox starting pitchers have allowed two earned runs or fewer in 19 of the past 26 games. They have a 3.55 ERA in that span. Notes: The Red Sox are 18-18 at Fenway Park this season. They’re 5-11 in their last 16 games at home. ... The Sox have scored 12 runs in their last two home games after scoring just eight runs total in their previous four games at Fenway. … Rob Refsnyder hit the second triple of his career Wednesday, which plated two runs. He’s reached base multiple times in 11 of his last 13 starts. ... Alex Verdugo had two RBI hits on Wednesday, tying a season-long six-game hitting streak. He’s batted .346 (9 for 26) in that span. ... Since returning from a broken left wrist, Adam Duvall is 2 for 18 with eight strikeouts. ... The Yankees offense is still without Aaron Judge (right big toe), batting .196 in nine games without him. ... Friday could be the Fenway debut for Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe. The 22-year-old has struggled at the plate in his first season in the majors, hitting just .192. Song of the Day: David Bowie - Blue Jean www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZnryZ5rDbs
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 16, 2023 14:42:11 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 33m Joely Rodriguez throwing a sim game (inning, really) at Fenway.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 16, 2023 16:43:32 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 58m Yoshida is 1 for 16 in his last five games and .225/.309/.286 this month.
He was off Wednesday, played Tuesday (0x4) and limited to one pinch-hit AB on Monday. Sox hope the time off helps him re-set physically after being worn down.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 16, 2023 18:03:32 GMT -5
Gonna be rainy for the next 2 days so this may be the only game we see this week-end
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 16, 2023 18:21:39 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 33s And again, opposing teams come prepared to take advantage of the Red Sox defense as Torres goes first to third on a groundout to second.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 16, 2023 18:50:00 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 48s Sox peppering the wall and Turner now goes over it. 4-1.
Turner now a triple and single away from the cycle. Piece of cake.
|
|
|
Post by scrappyunderdog on Jun 16, 2023 20:16:24 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK Jarren Duran is clearly an impact player for the Red Sox, but how do they get him into the lineup?By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated June 15, 2023, 8:02 p.m. I continue to hope that I am wrong, but I continue not to see anything in Duran. After May 1st, Duran has one HR in 119 ABs, with a 40/11 K/W. Extrapolate that to 600 ABs, and it is 5 HRs and 200 strikeouts.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 16, 2023 20:42:40 GMT -5
Well the Red Sox have laid the lumber down 14-4 Red Sox in the 7th German had nothing
the only thing concerning is Houck
took a comebacker to the face, they are calling it a cheek contusion for now
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 16, 2023 21:15:11 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 10m Red Sox (35-35) beat the Yankees, 15-5. They are 3-1 against the Yankees this season.
|
|