Rangers @ Red Sox Game Thread/ 4th -6th July 2023

Alex Cora gives candid take on Red Sox playoff hopes: 'We’ve got to start picking it up'

By Logan Mullen, Audacy
WEEI 93.7
3 hours ago

The 2023 Boston Red Sox have done a great job of playing either really well or really poorly for about a week, only to do the exact opposite the following week.

Alex Cora knows that trend is going to need to change if they want to make the playoffs.

Boston has been a .500 team pretty much the entire season. They’ll go on runs where they’ll dip a ways above or below equilibrium, but they always seem to land right back around that .500 mark.

They sit at 43-43 entering Wednesday’s games. They dropped the opener to Texas on Tuesday after sweeping the Blue Jays over the weekend. Prior to beating Toronto, the Red Sox had gotten swept by the Marlins and dropped two of three to the White Sox.

Because they always seem to rebound after things head south, the Red Sox do remain in striking distance of a playoff spot. Their 13-game deficit to Tampa makes winning the division all but impossible, but they sit just five games out of a wild card spot.

A trip to the playoffs in 2023 is conceivable, but some trends are going to have to change.

“Yeah (the playoffs are still in reach), but we’ve got to start picking it up,” Cora said Wednesday in his weekly appearance on Gresh & Fauria. “Obviously, everybody looks at the wild card and more teams making it to the playoffs, but at one point you’ve got to start making a move. If you sit at .500, it’s going to be hard, right? I think right now we’re four, five games back from the last wild card spot. Is it a lot? No. Is it attainable? Of course, yes. But I think we have to be more consistent.

“Maintaining the winning streaks, going into that run of winning 15 out of 20, I think every team in the big leagues, they have that. At one point, you’ll win seven, you’re going to win eight, but we have to be more consistent with that. So far, we haven’t.”

Five games back of the wild card isn’t insurmountable, but it is a tall task. The Orioles, Astros and Yankees hold the three wild card spots. Toronto (2 games back) and Los Angeles (4) are ahead of Boston in the wild card standings, while Seattle (5) and Cleveland (5.5) are right at or just about even.

It’s one thing for the Red Sox to get hot, which they need to do no matter what happens around them, but they also need quite a few teams to flame out. To Cora's point, that's not impossible, but it means his team needs to kick it into gear sooner than later.

Red Sox likely will activate shortstop from injured list Thursday or Friday

Published: Jul. 05, 2023, 5:03 p.m.

By

Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com

BOSTON — The Red Sox likely will activate Yu Chang on Thursday or Friday.

Chang has missed 62 games after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured left hamate bone. He will be Boston’s starting shortstop when he returns, manager Alex Cora said.



He went 2-for-5 while playing nine innings at shortstop for Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday after he went 1-for-4 with a walk while playing nine innings at shortstop for Double-A Portland on Monday.

He has appeared in four games on this rehab assignment, starting one at DH and three at shortstop.

“We’ll see how he feels today and then we’ll make a decision,” Cora said before Boston’s game against the Rangers on Wednesday. “He played nine yesterday. Swung the bat well, not sore. So we’ve just gotta wait, get together as a group and see what’s next.”
Other Red Sox rehabbers

~ Left-handed reliever Richard Bleier, who the Red Sox placed on the 15-day injured list May 22 because of left shoulder inflammation, will pitch in a rehab game for Worcester on Wednesday. He threw a scoreless inning Sunday for Portland.

~ Infielder Pablo Reyes (abdominal strain) also is scheduled to play in another rehab game for Worcester on Wednesday. He went 2-for-4 with a homer as the DH for the WooSox on Tuesday.

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~ Left-handed reliever Joely Rodriguez might make one more rehab assignment.

“We’ll see how it goes in the upcoming days,” Cora said. “If we have to make a move, we feel he’s ready, probably. He will benefit from one more (rehab game). But it all depends how we end up today or tomorrow and then we’ll decide what we do.”

Boston placed Rodriguez (left shoulder inflammation) on the 15-day injured list June 4 (retroactive to June 1)

Bello gives Sox much-needed innings in gritty outing
24-year-old righty gives up two runs over seven frames en route to win over AL West leaders
1:48 AM ADT
Ian Browne

Ian Browne
@ianmbrowne

BOSTON -- For Brayan Bello, Wednesday night wasn’t about flirting with a no-hitter like he did last time out, albeit in a losing effort.

This was about guile and grit, and Bello making every pitch he needed to on a night nothing seemed to come easy.

As he got ready to throw his 107th and final pitch, the blossoming righty was in a precarious spot, behind in the count 3-1 to a dangerous hitter in Marcus Semien, who represented the tying run.

Bello fired a changeup on the lower, inner half of the plate and Semien harmlessly flied out to left to end the top of the seventh inning with the Red Sox en route to a 4-2 victory over the American League West-leading Texas Rangers.

“Those two guys at the top of their lineup, [Semien and Corey Seager], they're so hard to maneuver, they’re so hard to pitch to. And for him to be able to do that, he’s been getting more [of a leash] than others because I do believe his stuff is good,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “And he'll keep it in the ballpark. [Adolis] García put a great swing on a pitch and hit it out of the ballpark to right field. Usually, late in the game, the ball is staying in the ballpark, which is very important.”

For the fifth straight start, Bello pitched into the seventh inning. For the 11th time this season, he allowed two earned runs or less.

With starters Chris Sale, Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock all on the injured list, the quality innings being provided by Bello are invaluable.

It is impressive that Bello, at the age of 24, has instilled such faith in his manager.

“I feel grateful for him to give me that confidence,” said Bello. “In the seventh when they hit that double, I looked into the dugout and looked to him saying, ‘Hey, I don’t want you to take me out of the game,’ and I appreciate the confidence [he had in] letting me finish that inning.”

When Bello faced five batters in the first and five more in the second, Cora wasn’t banking on another seven-inning performance. Through three innings, Bello was at 53 pitches.

“They hit some balls hard today, it seemed like [Fenway] played big today,” said Cora. “But at one point [in the third], he had 50 pitches and I was like, ‘Well, we’re going five today.’ And then he goes seven. He used the cutter, slider and changeup and was able to use his sinker. Like I said, his stuff wasn't great, command wasn't great, but to do that against that lineup, that's impressive.”

Bello’s ability to read and react is impressive for someone who is in his first full season in the Major Leagues.

“Of course, that’s one of the best things that I have this year because you go into a game with a plan, but it doesn’t always work that way, and you have to be able to adjust on the fly,” said Bello. “And that’s been something I’ve been able to do this year, and I’m glad that things are working out that way.”

Shutting down an elite lineup like the one that Texas boasts was another impressive element of Bello’s latest sparkling performance.

Bello led with his top two pitches, throwing 36 sinkers and 33 changeups. He rounded out his assortment with 17 sliders, 16 four-seamers and five cutters.

Pitch ability is already a strength -- one that Bello’s teammates have noticed.

“I think the first couple outings, he had missed the first part of the season, and then coming back a little amped up, [he was off],” said Justin Turner, who had a pair of RBI singles in support of Bello on Wednesday. “Just to see him kind of hone it in and start pitching, not trying to just ‘stuff it’ out there has been key. His last six, seven starts have been outstanding.”

Unsurprisingly, Bello is becoming a fan favorite at Fenway. As he walked off the mound at the end of the seventh, the crowd gave him a loud ovation.

“Of course you feed off that energy and being able to pitch here is an amazing experience,” said Bello. “And to be able to give them a good show so they can watch a good baseball game, that’s something I really appreciate and enjoy. And I always say that the Boston fans are the best fans in baseball, and I’m happy that I’m throwing for them.”

Red Sox win: Brayan Bello’s ERA drops to 3.04, Justin Turner drives in two

Updated: Jul. 05, 2023, 11:04 p.m.|Published: Jul. 05, 2023, 9:33 p.m.

By

Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com

BOSTON — Justin Turner obviously enjoys hitting against Rangers starter Jon Gray.

Turner delivered two RBI singles against the righty Wednesday to help the Red Sox win 4-2 over Texas at Fenway Park.

Turner improved to 15-for-42 (.357) with two homers, three doubles and eight RBIs in his career vs. Gray. The two faced each other plenty of times in the NL West when Gray pitched for the Rockies from 2015-21 and Turner starred for the Dodgers.

The Rangers and Red Sox will play the rubber game of their three-game series at 7:10 p.m. Thursday.


The Red Sox took a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

Red hot Jarren Duran — who entered 7-for-8 with six extra-base hits in his previous two games — led off the bottom of the first inning with an opposite-field single. He stole second base and scored on Turner’s RBI single to center field. Duran is 16-for-17 in stolen base attempts.

Adam Duvall’s RBI single scored Turner to make it 2-0.

Turner made it 3-0 in the fifth inning with an RBI single to left field.

The Rangers cut it to 3-2 in the top of the sixth inning when Adolis Garcia crushed a 383-foot, 107.2 mph two-run homer to right-center field.

Boston scored an unearned run against Gray in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 4-2 lead.


Brayan Bello earns wins

Red Sox 24-year-old starter Brayan Bello improved to 6-5 with a 3.04 ERA in 14 starts. He pitched 7 innings, allowing two runs, eight hits and no walks while striking out three.

The Red Sox needed him to pitch deep into his start after using six pitchers in their bullpen game Tuesday..

Bello has pitched seven innings in a start five times this season. He has gone six or more innings eight times.

RED SOX NOTEBOOK
Was Red Sox right fielder Alex Verdugo an All-Star Game snub? He believes so.
By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated July 5, 2023, 8:03 p.m.

Alex Verdugo has been one of the best outfielders in the big leagues this season.

Heading into Wednesday’s 4-2 win over the Rangers, Verdugo ranked third in the American League, and fourth in the majors, in defensive runs saved with 11. His 26 doubles ranked second in the AL and he’s slashing .291/.358/.457 with an .815 OPS and six homers in what has been a breakout season for the Sox right fielder.

Yet Verdugo wasn’t named an All-Star and the likelihood of him earning a trip to Seattle next week has grown slimmer after the Mariners’ Julio Rodriguez and Astros’ Kyle Tucker were named as outfield replacements Thursday.


Does Verdugo feel snubbed?

“Yeah,” he said ahead of Tuesday’s game. “I mean, but it’s not even just in my regards. I just feel like it’s a fan popularity contest. And, like, the person who went in shouldn’t be there.”


Tucker is having a stellar year, batting .293/.368/.482 with an .850 OPS and 13 homers before Wednesday. Rodriguez, meanwhile, a fan-favorite whose city is hosting the All-Star festivities, was batting just .248/.310/.414 with a .724 OPS and 13 homers.

Did Verdugo care to elaborate on who he thought shouldn’t have made it?

“That’s for me to know.”

Still, in a season during which Verdugo has been the Sox’ most consistent player, there is frustration in not getting the All-Star nod, but the outfielder said he doesn’t let it get to him.

“I just want to play ball,” Verdugo said. “I want to play ball and help the team win and some people are more active in certain things that get them more attention. But I want to play ball and be recognized for what I do on the field.”

Duran’s hot bat sticks

Triston Casas wasn’t in the lineup despite a righthander, Jon Gray, on the hill for the Rangers. The move to sit Casas and play Turner at first was due in large part to the play of Jarren Duran, who came into Wednesday 7 for 8 in his last two games, with a whopping five doubles and a triple. He opened Wednesday’s game with a single, stole second, and scored on Justin Turner’s single.

“We have to find a way to play Jarren,” manager Alex Cora said. “[Turner] is swinging the bat well. Jarren is swinging the bat well. This is something that is going to happen to somebody during the week. Jarren’s been our best offensive player the last week.”

The Sox will do their best to amplify their offense, Cora added, occasionally utilizing Turner at second base. It’s an idea that is still germinating, with Cora noting that he’s not yet comfortable putting Turner at second. The concern, however, seems more so from a game plan standpoint than a lack of experience at the position for Turner.

“I just want to make sure he doesn’t play first one day and the next day he plays second,” Cora said.

Story time

There’s a chance Trevor Story (elbow) could go on a rehab assignment after the All-Star break.

“Probably,” Cora said. “I don’t want to put a timetable on it. It’s been good so far. No obstacles. No red flags. You never know what can happen in the upcoming days leading up to whenever we decide, but so far it’s trending in the right direction and fast.”


Story recently took infield reps at shortstop, making throws that left Red Sox brass and Cora encouraged with his progress.

“He looks great,” said Cora. “He looks really good. The carry on the ball is a lot different than last year. You can tell. The offensive part of it, he’ll be fine. He’s in a good spot right now. Obviously, there’s a process. There’s a lot of stuff that we have to make sure is OK. But as far as the throwing and obviously the physical part of it, he’s fine.”

Mills undergoes Tommy John

The Red Sox announced righthander Wyatt Mills underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday. The Sox acquired Mills from the Royals in a trade this winter, sending minor league righthander Jacob Wallace to Kansas City ... Yu Chang (hamate bone) is back in Boston following his rehab stint. There’s a strong chance the Red Sox activate him either Thursday or for the team’s series opener against the Athletics on Friday … Joely Rodriguez (oblique) is also in Boston. Cora thinks Rodriguez is ready to be activated and it will happen in the upcoming days ... Pablo Reyes (oblique) went 1 for 3 with a homer and two RBIs for Triple A Worcester. Richard Bleier (shoulder) worked a scoreless frame for the WooSox.

For ravaged rotation, Brayan Bello assumes the role of young ace | McAdam

Updated: Jul. 06, 2023, 6:31 a.m.|Published: Jul. 06, 2023, 6:30 a.m.

By

Sean McAdam | sean.mcadam@masslive.com

BOSTON - At 24 years and not quite two months, Brayan Bello is something of a throwback.

Though he can gun his fastball to 95-96 mph, he doesn’t pile up swings and misses, and thus, is hardly typical of today’s starting pitchers who pile up strikeouts at a numbing pace.

In an era when teams celebrate when a starter manages to get into the fifth inning, Bello regularly goes far deeper into games.


And while other young starters typically suffer from less-than linear development, Bello has been remarkably reliable in his first full season. Over his last dozen starts, he’s yielded more than two earned runs exactly once.

Bello is, in other words, everything most young pitchers are not: adaptable, durable and consistent.

More than that, he’s everything the Red Sox currently need. While the team desperately assembles pitching plans out of a jigsaw puzzle with several key pieces missing, Bello merely takes the ball every five days or so and lugs the club deep into the late innings.

In Wednesday’s 4-2 victory over the Texas Rangers, Bello’s seven innings were even more impressive than usual. Thanks to some misplays in the infield and some grinding at-bats on the part of the Rangers, Bello was forced to throw 43 pitches in the first two innings.

Given the Red Sox’ need to cobble together two of every five turns through the rotation with a tag-team of relievers, that was less than optimal. The way Bello was laboring early, it appeared as though the Red Sox would be fortunate to get five inning from him.

Bello, though, had other ideas. Since late last season, when he returned more fully-formed after another stint at Triple A, Bello has shown the ability to make adjustments on the fly. Knowing his team was hoping to limit the number of innings it got from relievers, Bello made some changes to his repertoire, with the goal of becoming more efficient with his pitch count.

“He gathers information,” offered a grateful Alex Cora. “He understands, him and (pitching coach Dave Bush and game plan coordinator Jason Varitek), they do a good job in between innings to go over what’s going on. Going into the battle, you have an idea what you want to do. But then the opposition, they react differently - sometimes more aggressive than others, sometimes more patient.

“But little by little, he gathers information and he goes out there and he applies it. He’s not afraid. We tell him, ‘Hey, you’re doing this, you’re doing that....be more aggressive with this pitch,’ and he goes and executes.”

In Cora’s estimation, this was not Grade-A Bello. The command was spotty at times, and his stuff wasn’t its usual self. It didn’t matter. Like a veteran with a decade of experience to draw upon, Bello used some grit and guile to power through 21 outs.

Bello was decidedly more aggressive after the second, dictating the at-bats against the Rangers and forcing them to swing early in the count. In the moment, it was a masterful transformation: after averaging almost 22 pitches over each of the first two innings, he faced the minimum number of hitters over the next three innings, needing just 34 pitches for the next nine outs.

“When he’s good,” said teammate Justin Turner, “he’s getting early contact and getting those at-bats finished in three pitches. Thats’s what allows him to get deep into games.”

The game marked the fifth straight start in which Bello pitched into the seventh and allowed two runs or fewer. For context, the last Red Sox pitcher to put a string like that together before turning 25 was Roger Clemens.

His teammates aren’t the only ones who are appreciative. Increasingly, Bello’s starts are becoming Events at Fenway, with the crowd buzzing in anticipation. After he weathered the first two shaky innings, the crowd of 31.568 seemed to carry him forward, showering him with applause that seemed to build with each inning completed.

By the seventh, when his 107th and final pitch of the night resulted in a soft lineout to left by the dangerous Marcus Semien, Fenway offered him a rapturous bit of gratitude that was temporarily paused for his sticky-stuff exit exam from the umpires, then resumed for the final steps to the dugout.

“Of course you feed off that energy,” said Bello through a translator. “Being able to pitch here is an amazing experience and to be able to give them a good show, that’s something I really enjoy.”

Increasingly, the feeling is mutual.

Entertainment value aside, his manager was grateful that he could limit his bullpen exposure to just six outs.

“That’s a really good lineup,” concluded Cora of the Rangers. “They lead the American League in runs, I believe. They slug and they have some good hitters. But he did an amazing job.