|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 21, 2023 4:33:00 GMT -5
Turner's two clutch hits help Red Sox to 2nd sweep of Yanks in '23 First baseman collects four RBIs with three-run homer, RBI double in finale August 20th, 2023 Bill Ladson
Bill Ladson @ladsonbill24
NEW YORK -- The ninth inning of Sunday’s game between the Red Sox and Yankees was intense. It had a real playoff feel to it. When it was over, it was Boston that came out on top in a 6-5 victory to sweep the three-game series.
First baseman Justin Turner proved to be the difference. He finished with four RBIs and drove in the game-winner in the top of the ninth off closer Clay Holmes. With runners on first and third, one out and the score tied at 5, Turner doubled down the right-field line to score Pablo Reyes.
“I try to keep it simple and not try to do too much -- get something I can get in the outfield to make sure to get one run in. Sometimes, good things happen. I feel good. I like being in those situations,” Turner said.
Turner had another heroic moment earlier in the game. With two outs in the seventh inning and a runner on second base, manager Aaron Boone intentionally walked Rafael Devers to get to Turner. One can understand Boone’s logic: Devers is a Yankee killer, with 23 career homers against New York, including a solo blast in the first. But the plan backfired. Turner broke a 2-2 tie by hitting a three-run homer off reliever Michael King.
“I would have walked [Devers], too,” Turner said. “Any time someone intentionally walks in front of you, obviously, it feels a little bit better when you make a big swing right after that.”
But Boston reliever John Schreiber quickly gave up the lead by allowing a three-run bomb to Anthony Volpe in the bottom half of the frame.
Turner produced on Sunday despite playing with a bone bruise on his right heel. In fact, manager Alex Cora said Turner will not play Monday against the Astros as long as Triston Casas, who missed the past two games with a tooth infection, can play.
“I’m tired. I’m looking forward to getting on that plane and off my feet a little bit -- regroup and get after it tomorrow,” Turner said.
The Yankees would not go quietly in the bottom of the ninth inning against Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen. After Greg Allen doubled and DJ LeMahieu was hit by a pitch, Aaron Judge came to the plate and struck out on three pitches. Gleyber Torres followed and also struck out, before Ben Rortvedt flied out to center fielder Adam Duvall to end the game.
“Just take one pitch at a time and give it a try,” Jansen said. “That’s what I did -- slow it down pitch by pitch, and slowly but surely got out of the inning.”
After the game, the Red Sox celebrated with a beer shower for bench coach Ramón Vázquez, who took over the game in the sixth inning after Cora was ejected for arguing balls and strikes.
Cora, who watched the rest of the game in Boston’s locker room, talked about the play at the plate in the bottom of the eighth in which the Yankees thought Isiah Kiner-Falefa scored the go-ahead run on a single by Volpe.
But the call was overturned after Boston challenged and Kiner-Falefa was called out. The Yankees then challenged that catcher Connor Wong blocked Kiner-Falefa’s path to home plate, but the call stood.
“From the get-go, I thought he was out,” Cora said. “[Home-plate umpire] Junior [Valentine] waited and waited to look at the baseball and then he called him safe.”
But the victory belonged to Vázquez.
“That was our bench coach’s first win. Definitely, a beer shower. I called [Cora] to give the speech,” Jansen said. “We just try to have fun, man. We're trying to chase the Wild Card and go to the postseason. We have to stay loose and have fun.”
Boston has taken eight out of nine from the Bronx Bombers this season, with a four-game series remaining in September. Get the latest from the Red Sox
Have the latest news, ticket information, and more from the Red Sox and MLB delivered right to your inbox.
"I think everybody in the AL East is tough this year,” Kiner-Falefa said. "They've just got the better of us. I feel like they're swinging the bats well, they've got a good game plan. They're just better than us right now."
Cora said the Red Sox are a good group of guys to work with, and it started in Spring Training. Entering the four-game series against the Astros on Monday, the Red Sox are three games behind the Mariners for the third and final Wild Card spot in the American League.
“It should be fun for the next month and a half,” Cora said. “We are playing good baseball. We are getting healthier, which is the most important thing. Let’s see where it takes us.”
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 21, 2023 4:45:38 GMT -5
Red Sox win, sweep Yankees behind Justin Turner’s late heroics in Bronx
Updated: Aug. 20, 2023, 5:55 p.m.|Published: Aug. 20, 2023, 4:49 p.m.
By
Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
NEW YORK — Justin Turner’s lingering heel injury hasn’t stopped him from continuing to deliver in big spots for the Red Sox.
Turner hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh inning and a game-winning RBI double in the ninth Sunday as the Red Sox finished off a three-game sweep of the Yankees with a dramatic 6-5 win in the back-and-forth series finale in the Bronx. Boston improved to 8-1 against its rivals this season and 66-58 overall. The Red Sox will travel to Houston having won four of the first six games on its season-long road trip and eight of their last 11 games. Unlike two easy wins Friday and Saturday, Sunday’s took some guts from the Red Sox — and felt like one of their biggest victories of the season.
Turner, thrust into emergency first base duty with Triston Casas (tooth infection) unavailable for the second straight day, came up clutch twice for the Red Sox. Facing Michael King with the game tied, 2-2, in the seventh, he launched his 20th homer (a three-run shot) of the season to make it a 5-2 game. After the Yankees came back and tied it on an Anthony Volpe three-run shot, Turner laced an opposite-field double to right field to tag Clay Holmes for the go-ahead run in the ninth. Closer Kenley Jansen then battled back to shut the door on the Yankees, escaping in the bottom of the inning after giving up a leadoff double to Greg Allen that nearly left the yard.
In between Turner’s heroics came a close call that almost handed the lead to the Yankees. Isiah Kiner-Falefa aggressively raced around from second base to attempt to score on an Volpe single when Rob Refsnyder slipped in left field. Through cutoff man Trevor Story, Refsnyder threw Kiner-Falefa out at the plate as Connor Wong blocked the runner and got the tag down. Kiner-Falefa was originally ruled safe but the call was overturned after a lengthy replay review; it was also ruled Wong didn’t block the plate.
The ball was flying out on a beautiful day in the Bronx as the teams combined for five homers. Rafael Devers started the barrage with a solo shot off Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt in the first, good for his 29th of the season. Kyle Higashioka answered with a solo shot off Nick Pivetta in the third. After the Red Sox took a 2-1 lead when Devers scored on an Anthony Volpe throwing error in the sixth, Gleyber Torres tied things up by taking Pivetta deep in the bottom of the inning.
The Red Sox — momentarily — took a sizable lead in the seventh. After Reese McGuire and Devers (intentional) walked, Turner stepped to the plate with two outs and crushed a three-run shot off King to put Boston up, 5-2. That advantage didn’t last long, though. John Schreiber entered for Boston and allowed a leadoff single to Harrison Bader, then walked Billy McKinney before Volpe drew the Yankees back even again with an opposite-field three-run homer.
The bottom of the ninth didn’t come without drama. Jansen allowed a leadoff double to Allen that glanced off the top of the right field wall, then hit D.J. LeMahieu with a pitch. Jansen then came back to strike out Aaron Judge and Torres before getting Ben Rortvedt to fly out to center to end the game.
Pivetta was again strong as the bulk reliever behind opener Josh Winckowski, as he struck out eight Yankees and allowed two runs (three hits) over five innings. Devers (3-for-4, 3 R, HR, RBI) was a triple short of the cycle and is now hitting .556 (10-for-18) with three homers and six RBIs over his last four games.
Duran leaves game
Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran left the game with a left toe contusion in the bottom of the eighth inning and was replaced by Refsnyder. He’s considered day-to-day.
Cora ejected
In the sixth inning, Sox manager Alex Cora was ejected for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Junior Valentine, whose zone was questionable all day. Cora took exception to a called third strike on Story, who broke an 0-for-18 funk with a single late in the win.
It was Cora’s third ejection of the season. He was also thrown out April 24 in Baltimore and June 5 at home against the Rays.
Big series in Houston next
The Red Sox will fly to Houston on Sunday night ahead of a big four-game series against the Astros. Here’s the schedule (as well as pitching probables):
Monday, 8:10 p.m. ET — LHP James Paxton (7-3, 3.34 ERA) vs. RHP Cristian Javier (8-2, 4.49 ERA)
Tuesday, 8:10 p.m. ET — RHP Tanner Houck (3-6, 5.05 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (8-6, 3.36 ERA)
Wednesday, 8:10 p.m. ET — LHP Chris Sale (5-3, 4.50 ERA) vs. RHP José Urquidy (2-3, 5.21 ERA)
Thursday, 2:10 p.m. ET — RHP Brayan Bello (9-7, 3.70 ERA) vs. RHP J.P. France (9-4, 2.75 ERA)
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 21, 2023 4:47:42 GMT -5
Fiery Red Sox’s Alex Cora on ejection: ‘Every (expletive) pitch counts’
Published: Aug. 20, 2023, 7:27 p.m.
By
Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
NEW YORK — Red Sox manager Alex Cora was ejected for arguing balls and strikes Sunday — and was arguably even more fired up after the team’s dramatic 6-5 win over the Yankees.
Cora was tossed by home plate umpire Junior Valentine for taking exception to a called third strike Trevor Story took with the bases loaded to end the sixth inning. It was the manager’s third ejection of 2023. Cora said he started questioning Valentine’s zone when the umpire called Adam Duvall out looking in the fourth inning. Things boiled over in the sixth.
“We’re grinding here,” Cora said. “We know what’s going on. For us, every (expletive) pitch counts. We’re not gonna give up. We’re gonna keep playing. If I get fined, I get fined. But we didn’t agree with the (expletive) strike zone today.”
Cora watched the last three innings of Boston’s win from the cafeteria in the visitor’s clubhouse at Yankee Stadium. From there, he took issue with Valentine handled perhaps the most crucial play of the game. With the game tied, 5-5, in the bottom of the eighth, Anthony Volpe hit a single to left field with Isiah Kiner-Falefa on second base. After Rob Refsnyder slipped trying to field the ball in the outfield, Kiner-Falefa bolted for home and tried to beat Connor Wong’s tag on a relay from shortstop Trevor Story. Kiner-Falefa was originally ruled safe but the play was overturned and ruled as the third out of the inning.
Cora said that from his vantage point, watching on TV, he thought Kiner-Falefa was out from the jump. The manager thought Valentine’s handling of the play only led to more confusion.
“I was wondering why Junior was waiting,” Cora said. He waited, waited, waited to look at the baseball and then he calls him safe. I was like, ‘What is he doing?’ There’s a lot of stuff I didn’t agree with Junior today besides the strike zone. That play, why wait? Either he’s safe from the get-go or if you’re waiting to see if he still has the baseball, he’s out. We knew he was out.
“Good hands, good athlete. Good hands by Trevor, too. Probably, last year, that doesn’t happen. It was kinda weird. I was watching the game like, ‘Go to second’ and then like, ‘Oh, no, go to the plate’ because he slipped. Great reaction by Ref, great reaction by Trevor and great play by Wonger.”
An MLB replay supervisor said that after reviewing all relevant angles, he determined that Wong tagged Kiner-Falefa before he touched home plate, leading to the call being overturned on Boston’s challenge. The Yankees then challenged to see if Wong was blocking the plate and the official ruled that the catcher moved in reaction to the trajectory of the hop and the throw, therefore avoiding any violation. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he couldn’t tell in real time whether Kiner-Falefa was out or safe.
“We weren’t really sure in there what it was gonna be,” Boone said. “I haven’t looked at it fully. I’m sure they have evidence that he got him before he got to the plate. There’s always plays in games. You’ve gotta keep moving.”
Cora gave a brief postgame speech to his speech in a raucous Red Sox clubhouse after the win.
“I hate getting thrown out,” he said. “I hate it. To watch the game from inside and delay and all that stuff, I don’t get paid for that.”
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 21, 2023 4:56:32 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 11h This is the t-shirt Alex Cora had on after the game.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 21, 2023 5:02:05 GMT -5
Jarren Duran departs Yankees finale with toe injury By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated August 20, 2023, 4:47 p.m.
Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran left Sunday’s series finale at Yankee Stadium with an injury.
Duran grounded out to third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the top of the eighth inning, and came up hobbled. Duran limped off the field and was followed by a member of the Sox staff once he reached the dugout.
It was soon after reported that Duran had suffered a toe contusion. He was 1 for 3 on the day with a single and a walk. He was replaced by Rob Refsnyder in left field.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 21, 2023 5:03:48 GMT -5
We finally were treated to a classic Red Sox-Yankees thriller By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated August 20, 2023, 7:17 p.m.
NEW YORK — The Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, a snoozer much of this season, lived up to its reputation Sunday.
An eventful game included two huge hits by the oldest player on the field, a dramatic save, and the winning manager watching from the clubhouse after being ejected.
Once it ended, the bench coach got a beer shower.
The Red Sox won, of course, because that is what they do against the Yankees this season. This time it was 6-5 to cap a three-game sweep.
“I don’t know how we won that game but I’m glad we did,” said reliever Chris Martin, who allowed the go-ahead run in the eighth inning before a replay review took it away from the Yankees.
It was that kind of day.
The Sox led, 5-2, before Yankees rookie Anthony Volpe woke the crowd with a three-run homer in the seventh off John Schreiber.
Volpe singled again in the eighth inning with Isiah Kiner-Falefa on first and two outs.
Kiner-Falefa was running on the pitch and went to third. Third base coach Luis Rojas waved him to the plate when left fielder Rob Refsnyder slipped while fielding the ball.
In a rarity for Sox outfielders this season, Refsnyder hit the cutoff man and Trevor Story made an accurate throw to the plate. Connor Wong got the tag down.
Umpire Junior Valentine, who had a rough day, called the runner safe. The decision was reversed after a lengthy review.
“From the get-go I thought he was out,” said Alex Cora, who was watching from the clubhouse after being ejected by Valentine in the sixth inning for arguing balls and strikes.
“He waited, waited, waited to look at the baseball then called him safe. We knew he was out.”
The Red Sox took the lead in the ninth inning on a single by 38-year-old Justin Turner, who had five hits and six RBIs in the series. His three-run homer in the top of the seventh inning had put the Sox up 5-2.
Turner is hitting .372 with runners in scoring position this season.
“I probably should feel like there’s runners in scoring position in every at-bat,” he said.
All-Star closer Kenley Jansen, who has not blown a save since May 13, allowed a leadoff double to Greg Allen, the ball striking the wall in right field only a few inches shy of the top of the fence.
Jansen then hit DJ LeMahieu with a pitch to bring Aaron Judge to the plate with two runners on.
Jansen got a foul tip on a cutter. Judge then swung and missed at a slider. Then he took a sinker for a called third strike.
It was a borderline strike, but then so were several called on the Sox by Valentine
It was only the ninth sinker Jansen has thrown to a righthanded hitter this season. But he felt it was time to throw something other than his signature cutter.
“It’s just experience, man. I can be stubborn and that hurts me,” Jansen said. “I can throw a cutter in any situation. But you learn from mistakes.”
Jansen struck out Gleyber Torres and got Ben Rortvedt on a fly ball to center.
The only downside of the day for the Sox was that the two teams ahead of them in the American League wild card race — Seattle and Toronto — also won. That left the Sox three games out of a playoff spot with 38 to play.
The sweep, satisfying as it was, resulted in only a half-game gain. Now the Sox have 10 games in a row against the Astros and Dodgers starting Monday in Houston.
Cora was 12 seconds into his postgame press conference when someone started knocking loudly on his office door.
It was Jansen.
“Time out,” he said. “AC, come on.”
Cora was needed in the clubhouse, where the players wanted to celebrate bench coach Ramón Vázquez having won his first major league game.
Vázquez managed the final 3½ innings after Cora was ejected.
It was Nick Pivetta’s idea.
“I didn’t know what they wanted at first,” Vázquez said. “But that was fun. It’s fun when you can beat the Yankees. It was a great game to be a part of.”
Cora returned to his office with a few drops of beer dotting the front of his gray T-shirt. The shirt had an image of the Underdog cartoon character.
Back on Aug. 1, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom defended his not making a significant addition at the trade deadline by saying the Sox were underdogs based on the playoff odds at the time.
The Sox are 10-8 since. That’s not exactly making a charge, but it’s not fading away, either.
Now Underdog T-shirts are a thing in the clubhouse and the Sox are about to have their full roster back with Tanner Houck scheduled to come off the injured list to face the Astros on Tuesday.
“It’s a good team,” Cora said. “We know where we’re at. It should be fun the next month and a half. We’re playing good baseball. We’re getting healthier, that’s the most important thing. Let’s see where it takes us.”
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 21, 2023 13:36:29 GMT -5
Kenley Jansen, Red Sox partied Sunday like it wasn’t any old win in the Bronx
Updated: Aug. 21, 2023, 2:12 p.m.|Published: Aug. 21, 2023, 2:11 p.m.
By
Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
NEW YORK — Kenley Jansen slammed the door shut on the Yankees in one of the Red Sox’ biggest wins of the season Sunday afternoon. Minutes later, he nearly banged down the door to the manager’s office.
As Alex Cora began answering questions from reporters postgame Sunday, there was a loud knock on the closed door to his office inside the visitor’s clubhouse. Then, a few seconds of silence, and another loud knock. By that point, Jansen had clearly had enough. He barged in and told Cora he was needed in the clubhouse for a brief speech and beer shower. The manager obliged.
The brief celebration was for bench coach Ramón Vázquez, who took over after Cora was ejected in the sixth inning and got his first win as a major league manager. But the moment also signified something greater for the Red Sox. The group was particularly fired up after sweeping the Yankees in a clubhouse that was as boisterous as it has been all year. The Red Sox didn’t hide their level of excitement.
“It’s a good group,” Cora said. “It started in spring training, we’ve been talking about it. We know where we’re at. It should be fun the next month and a half. We’re playing good baseball. We’re getting healthier, which is the most important thing. Let’s see where it takes us.”
The Red Sox entered their weekend series in the Bronx teetering on falling out of the playoff race after failing to capitalize on a long stretch of bad opponents. They went just 6-4 against a trio of below-.500 teams (Kansas City, Detroit and Washington) and perhaps most disappointingly, lost two of three to the Nationals to start their road trip. The feeling Sunday night was much better for the Sox, who rattled off three straight wins against their rivals and improved to 8-1 against them this season. Boston’s playoff odds increased from 9.8% to 16%, according to FanGraphs.
Sunday’s game was a dramatic back-and-forth affair that included clutch homers, a controversial call at home plate, Cora’s ejection and Justin Turner once again putting the Red Sox on his back with late heroics. The margin of error between a good series (two blowout wins followed by a tough loss) and a great one (a sweep) was miniscule. Jansen, perhaps more than any other Red Sox player Sunday, walked that fine line.
After Turner hit a go-ahead RBI double to break a 5-5 tie in the top of the ninth, Jansen entered with a one-run lead and very nearly gave it up when Greg Allen hit a double off the top of the wall in right field to lead off the bottom of the inning. Jansen hit D.J. LeMahieu with a pitch before striking out Aaron Judge on three pitches, punching out Gleyber Torres on four pitches and getting Ben Rortvedt to lazily fly out to center field to end the game.
The sequence against Judge, who homered twice in the series, was particularly impressive as Jansen, a cutter specialist, kept the reigning American League MVP off balance with a cutter, slider and sinker. With everyone in the ballpark assuming Jansen was going to try to get Judge with a cutter-heavy repertoire, the veteran switched things up.
“It’s just experience, man,” Jansen said. “I think experience takes over. You can’t be stubborn. I know I can throw my cutter in any situation. I feel like I can throw my cutter only out there. But me being out there for so long now, you learn from mistakes. Put your ego aside. Control yourself. You can use your secondary pitches and it worked well for me today.
“You’ve just got to have a messed up mentality for it. What’s the worst that can happen? You’re already one foot from losing the game there. So just take it one pitch at a time and slow it down.”
Cora was impressed.
“Best sequence I’ve seen from him, against Judge,” Cora said. “Cutter, slider, sinker. He’s a complete pitcher. We always talk about the cutter but he did an amazing job.”
So far, the 2023 Red Sox have been defined by both their mediocrity and inconsistency. For every step forward, there has always been at least one — and many times, two — steps back. Cora’s group hasn’t often turned “good” into “great” like they did Sunday. Making things even more sweet was that the win was Boston’s seventh in a row against the Yankees, who they have beaten eight of nine times this season.
“The guys did an outstanding job,” Cora said. “Put good at-bats and kept grinding and it was a big one.”
It was fitting that Turner, who first hit a go-ahead three-run homer off Michael King in the seventh, and Jansen, who has converted 20 save chances in a row, were integral to Sunday’s win. Both longtime Dodgers have emerged as extremely well-liked leaders in Boston’s clubhouse and have fit in seamlessly after spending nearly their entire careers on the opposite coast. Turner’s leadership was evident over the weekend when he was thrust into defensive duty despite barely being able to walk because of a painful bone bruise in his left heel. Jansen’s was a little more overt as the ring-leader of the postgame party.
The feeling in the clubhouse was that it wasn’t just another win for the Red Sox.
“Down the stretch, if we want to get to where we want to be, they’re not all gonna be easy,” Turner said. “We’re not gonna be able to jump out to six or seven run leads like we did the first two games.”
Winners of eight of their last 11, the Red Sox enter a big-four game series in Houston with their season on the line. Boston is three games behind the Mariners for the third and final spot in the American League wild card race, though suddenly, there are two spots for four teams. Houston, Seattle, Toronto and Boston are all within 3 ½ games of each other. The Red Sox will have plenty of chances to close that gap as they face the Astros seven times in the next 10 days.
Jansen’s hope was that Sunday’s win would serve as a springboard toward more victories.
“It feels great,” he said. “There’s not many games left. We’re going to face good teams now. We’ve got to show we’re capable to make a run and make the playoffs. Now, it’s time to go.
“We’re trying to cut down and chase the wild card, trying to get into the postseason. We’ve just got to stay loose and keep having fun.”
|
|