Marlins @ Red Sox Game Thread/ 27th- 29th June 2023

Self-inflicted damage via defensive miscues sinks Sox vs. Fish
3:29 AM ADT
Molly Burkhardt

Molly Burkhardt
@mollyburkhardt

BOSTON -- Ahead of the series opener against the Marlins, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom discussed the makeup of this year's club. They have solid pitching and a decent, albeit streaky, offense. But on defense?

“Defensively is where we need to tighten up the most, that’s no secret,” Bloom told MLB.com. “Just need to watch us play for a little to see that.”

Though the official scorer didn’t charge them with any errors, the Red Sox had several defensive miscues in their 10-1 loss to Miami on Tuesday night at Fenway Park. The defeat snapped a streak of 10 straight wins over the Marlins at home dating back to 2009, their longest such streak against a National League team.

“We've got to keep talking to them,” manager Alex Cora said. “We talked about it today and we did it again, and we’ll talk about it tomorrow. That’s the only way we can do it. We can take all the infield [practice] in the world and take ground balls like we’ve been doing since Spring Training -- there’s nothing new.

“We’ve been doing this from the get-go. But decisions in the game, we've got to be smarter. And it’s on us to keep talking and keep preaching and keep showing them. And hopefully we can start making better decisions out there.”

The first mistake came in the top of the second on a bouncing ground ball hit by Joey Wendle to shortstop David Hamilton. The 25-year-old infielder, ranked as Boston’s No. 26 prospect per MLB Pipeline, made a sliding stop and fired the ball to first baseman Triston Casas, who had to lay out to make an attempt at a play. Wendle went 4-for-4 on the night, with his four hits having expected batting averages of .110, .150, .170 and .350.

The next inning, Jean Segura reached first after grounding into a fielder's choice. Second baseman Kiké Hernández fielded the ball, firing to Hamilton for the out at second before Hamilton lobbed a high throw to Casas. In the fourth, Wendle singled when his liner caught the glove of Casas and skipped toward the outfield grass. Wendle came around to score two batters later. Casas again had to lay out in the sixth, when Rafael Devers fielded a 67.7 mph ball hit by Bryan De La Cruz. Devers made an off-the-mark throw to first, resulting in a single for De La Cruz.

“It’s tough to kind of put a stop to things when they are rolling,” Casas said. “But it’s not for a lack of effort -- it’s not for a lack of concentration. Like I keep saying: All our uniforms are dirty, we’re out there going hard. Sometimes the ball -- it’s hard to grip out of the glove and it’s hard to throw across the diamond. Balls spin different ways. That’s the game, it’s just about who can be the cleanest fundamentally.”

Entering Tuesday, the Red Sox ranked last in the Majors with -23 outs above average. The next-closest team? The Twins with -17 OAA. Per FanGraphs, Boston’s -12.3 defensive value is sixth worst, with Miami’s -18.1 mark ranking the worst.

The Sox have committed the second-most errors in the Majors with 53, behind just the Giants (58). Hernández leads the team with 14 errors, surpassing his previous career high as an infielder of five in a season. Devers (eight errors) has the second most on the team, followed by Enmanuel Valdez and Connor Wong, who have each made six.
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“You’re not going to make every single play, but we need to make routine plays routine,” Bloom said, “and just make sure we are backing up our pitchers with the support that they’ve deserved for a while now.”

Three of Boston’s four defensive misplays came with starter Garrett Whitlock on the mound. After giving up four runs over seven innings in his previous outing against Minnesota, Whitlock was tagged for six runs on 11 hits (including two homers) over 4 2/3 innings. The right-hander didn’t issue a walk and he matched a season high with seven strikeouts.

“When we play good defense, we win games,” Cora said. “When we give the opposition an extra 90 [feet], we don’t make plays, we don’t turn double plays, we put ourselves in a bad spot. Our pitchers, for how good they are, they’re not a swing-and-miss staff, and we have to make plays. And we have to make sure we limit the damage, and we didn’t do it today.”

RED SOX NOTEBOOK
Jarren Duran has the conviction, so now he’s going to keep stealing
By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated June 27, 2023, 11:26 p.m.

Jarren Duran was always fast, but his speed didn’t quite translate to the big leagues in parts of his first two seasons.

In his first two seasons, he had a total of nine steals. This year, however, Duran has already swiped 14 bases in 15 chances. The change is a product of hard work, studying pitchers, and conviction alongside first base coach Kyle Hudson.

“Huddy been on it, dude. We’ve been picking pitchers apart,” Duran said Tuesday before the first game of a three-game set against the visiting Marlins. “We’re picking up on all their cues, what mistakes they make, and taking advantage of it. I know that there’s some guys that are able to just get on and take off. I’d like to do that, but I want to be a better base runner.”

You don’t necessarily have to be the fastest runner to have a knack for stealing bases. It’s all about timing, rhythm, and jumps. Knowing the opponent, as Duran mentioned, is the biggest key. Jackie Bradley Jr., for instance, wasn’t a burner. Nor were Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi — at least not to the level of Duran. Yet the three combined for 68 stolen bases during the 2018 season.

“That group in ‘18, they were really good about that,” said manager Alex Cora. “You gave them something and they took off.”

It’s studying and conviction that makes a base stealer a base stealer. But even if Duran had the studying piece down. The conviction wasn’t necessarily there in the past.

“I bet it was hard last year,” Cora said “Then when you get on base [it’s like], ‘What if I get thrown out?’ But he’s getting on base now at a higher rate. The mere presence at first and the opposition knowing that he’s been running puts pressure on them.”


“If the pitcher has a tendency that you can pick out, then you can take off a couple of seconds earlier, which gives you a head start,” said Duran.
In defense of a star

If there’s anyone Cora believes should be an All-Star, it’s Alex Verdugo.

The right fielder entered Tuesday’s game second in the majors and first in the American League with nine defensive runs saved at his position.

Verdugo had two doubles in three at-bats in the Sox’ 10-1 loss, raising his average to .307 and his OPS to .856. Verdugo, who started the day third in the majors in doubles, now has 26.

“If you look around and you look at WAR and everything and the defensive impact, it’s Alex,” Cora said. “He’s been one of the best defenders in right field.”

The Red Sox reinstated Verdugo from the bereavement list ahead of Tuesday’s series opener. Bobby Dalbec was optioned to Triple A Worcester.
Facial surgery for Houck

Tanner Houck had successful surgery Tuesday for a facial fracture suffered June 16 against the Yankees at Fenway. Kyle Higashioka hit a line drive off Houck’s face, causing the righthander to drop to his knees. The 26-year-old pitcher, nevertheless, walked off under his own power.

A statement by the team Tuesday night said Houck “underwent a successful open reduction and internal fixation of a right orbito-zygomatico-maxillary complex (OZMC) fracture. The procedure was performed by Dr. Branko Bojovic at Mass General Hospital.”

A timeline on Houck’s return is still to be determined. Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt underwent a similar procedure in 2021 while with the A’s and returned in five weeks.

Paxton good to go

James Paxton (right knee soreness) is on track to make his Friday start. Paxton left Saturday’s contest against the White Sox after just four innings, surrendering a run. He will throw a bullpen session Wednesday. “It’s not anything really serious,” said Paxton. “It’s just something that we need to pay attention to and deal with properly and hopefully they caught it at a point where we can deal with it quickly and move on.” . . . Masataka Yoshida was out Tuesday after being hit with a pitch in the right forearm Sunday. . . John Schreiber (shoulder/lat) and Richard Bleier (shoulder inflammation) both threw bullpen sessions.
Buchholz on the mound

Former Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz threw out the first pitch Tuesday. It was Buchholz first time at Fenway as a retired player. Former Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes, who is now with the Marlins, did not make the trip. Barnes is on the injured list with a hip impingement.

Red Sox’s Alex Cora reveals pitching plans for Wednesday’s game

Published: Jun. 28, 2023, 10:55 a.m.

By

Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com

BOSTON — The Red Sox still haven’t announced a starter for Wednesday’s game against the Marlins, but right-hander Kaleb Ort is likely to be the opener against the Marlins, manager Alex Cora said.

The Red Sox will have a bullpen game against Miami in an effort to give their four regular starters (Brayan Bello, James Paxton, Kutter Crawford and Garrett Whitlock) an extra day of rest after the club had Monday off between series against the White Sox and Marlins. Bello would have been available on regular rest Wednesday after pitching Friday night in Chicago but the team decided to give him an extra day as the first half winds down. As a result, the Red Sox will use an opener for the third time in a 12-game span. Ort started Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Yankees on June 18 and Justin Garza opened Thursday in Minneapolis before Brandon Walter made his major league debut in a 6 ⅔ inning relief appearance.

Garza threw 39 pitches over two innings in Tuesday’s 10-1 loss, meaning Ort, who has a 5.79 ERA in 17 appearances (1 start), will likely get the nod.

“Most likely, it will be Kaleb,” Cora said. “He’ll open and we’ll go from there.”

Ort will pitch one or two innings before Cora turns to his bullpen. Three multi-inning options (Chris Murphy, Nick Pivetta and Josh Winckowski) are well-rested and ready to go. Murphy and Winckowski each last pitched Saturday, throwing 31 pitches each. Pivetta threw six pitches in that game. Ort threw Sunday, recording two outs on 10 pitches.


“We’ve got Wink, we’ve got Nick, we’ve got Murph. We’re in a good spot in that aspect,” Cora said.

Bello will start the series finale against the Marlins on Thursday before the Red Sox head to Toronto for the weekend. Paxton, Crawford and Whitlock are in line to pitch at Rogers Centre. Bello would be in line to pitch at Fenway Park on the Fourth of July when the Red Sox return home to begin a series wit Texas.