|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 3, 2023 11:33:56 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 21m Brennan Bernardino will be activated off the IL today. Sox have not announced the counter move yet ... Rotation for TB will be Bello, Crawford and TBA with Pivetta likely as a starter or bulk guy. Sounds like Paxton will be pushed back. And it's a scorcher in KC. 85 already and headed for 95. In his pre-game, Cora mentioned his faith in the offense and that Justin Turner is now among the league leaders in OPS. He's not alone:
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 3, 2023 11:34:18 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 10m Brennan Bernardino is activated and Garrett Whitlock is on the bereavement list.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 3, 2023 13:33:35 GMT -5
This was the loudest the crowd has been down there this week-end and I also tip my hat to all of the pro sports teams that do this,
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 26m A 100-year-old WWII veteran named John Martin threw out the first pitch at Kauffman Stadium. He was in the Battle of the Bulge. Not too many of those heroes left. Pretty great he was able to make it to the game.
|
|
|
Post by scrappyunderdog on Sept 3, 2023 22:09:24 GMT -5
I've been out of commission for a while. It's been a rough couple of weeks between my mom being in the hospital for 4 days and a stomach bug pretty much knocking me and my family members out. It's all good now. I see that our beloved Red Sox have completely fallen apart while I was away. It's time for that 25-2 run. You inspire the RS. Without your presence, they fell apart. Too bad about your mom, I hope she feels better.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2023 3:58:02 GMT -5
Sale dominates, Yoshida’s three run homer lifts Red Sox over Royals 7-3 AP
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Masataka Yoshida hit a three-run homer and Adam Duvall had a solo shot to back Chris Sale as the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 7-3 on Sunday.
Sale (6-3) didn’t allow a run over five innings, gave up two hits and struck out five while walking two. It was the first time he hasn’t allowed a run in a start since July 12 of last season.
“They are a good team and they are very patient and I felt like I was throwing a lot of pitches they were fouling off,” Sale said. “It's good to take this last one heading into Tampa.”
The Red Sox have won two straight after losing five in a row and six of seven. They are 5 1/2 games behind Texas for the final AL wild card.
Yoshida’s three-run homer went 415 feet to right field, scoring Justin Turner and Triston Casas in the fourth inning. It was his 14th homer on the year. Duvall added a home run in the sixth inning for his 19th of the season and gave Boston a 4-0 lead.
“He has been feeling better the last few days has been grinding through some things but his swing is getting back. He took some good cuts and he let it fly,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “Those are good signs.”
Boston added two runs in the seventh including an RBI from Turner which came off of Austin Cox. Rafael Devers hit an RBI double in the ninth.
Salvador Perez hit an RBI single scoring Bobby Witt Jr. in the sixth and Dairon Blanco hit a two run single in the ninth off of Kenley Jansen.
“I thought we worked some good at-bats and deep counts but we just couldn’t break through,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “He (Sale) located when he had to…we just weren’t able to string a throng together against him.”
Taylor Clarke opened the game and pitched a scoreless inning before Zack Greinke (1-14) went 3 2/3 innings allowing three runs on five hits.
“He was a little under the weather today and didn’t have his full stamina, but he was still one pitch away from putting up another zero in the fourth,” Quatraro said.
It’s been over a month since the Royals have won a series and have lost eight of their last nine games.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Alex Verdugo left the game in the middle of the bottom of the sixth inning due to left hamstring tightness. ... The Red Sox reinstated LHP Brennan Bernardino from the COVID-19 Related Injured List. The club also placed RHP Garrett Whitlock on the Bereavement List.
UP NEXT
Boston will travel to Tampa Bay with Brayan Bello (10-8, 3.57) taking the mound on Monday. Kansas City sends Cole Ragans (5-4, 3.27) to the hill on Monday as they host the White Sox.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2023 4:22:35 GMT -5
Sale 'empties the tank' to help Red Sox to series win Lefty goes five scoreless; Yoshida, Duvall homer in finale vs. Kansas City September 3rd, 2023 Jackson Stone
Jackson Stone @jackson_Stoneee
KANSAS CITY -- Alex Cora gave Chris Sale an ultimatum.
Boston’s manager walked to the mound with the intention to take out Sale with two outs in the fifth inning. Sale disagreed, so Cora gave the veteran lefty an opportunity to finish his outing, but with one clear message: “Throw strikes.”
Sale responded with his second-fastest pitch of the day before ramping up the radar gun even more with a Sunday-best 96.8 mph fastball. The heater was 1.5 mph faster than any other pitch he threw, and he got out of the inning with a slider to help the Red Sox earn a 7-3 series-clinching win over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Sale’s average velocity was down two to three mph on all three pitches during a nearly 100 degree day in Kansas City, but he gave it all he had to Maikel Garcia to earn his first victory since May 16.
“Getting through that [fifth inning] was going to be big for me and [Cora] gave me words of encouragement, to say the least,” Sale said.
“ … If I’m going to tell him I’m going to do something for him, you got to do it. I just kind of emptied the tank there at that point.”
When Cora went to the mound, Sale was sitting at 97 pitches. It was the most pitches he had thrown in a game since May 20, and a six-pitch walk to Dairon Blanco brought the top of the order back up. But it didn’t matter. Sale wanted to finish what he had started.
“He begged for one [more batter],” Cora said. “As soon as he put his glove over his mouth he was like, ‘Just give me this one.’ He’s done it before. Sometimes we agree and sometimes we don’t. He knows, we talk about it before the outing.
“I was in between, seeing where we were at, and he convinced me.”
It ended up being the right decision, and Sale got Garcia to ground out to cap five scoreless frames. Sale’s start against the Royals was the first time he didn’t allow a run this season and it was the first time in 22 starts (James Paxton, Aug. 10) that a Boston starter tossed a scoreless outing.
After six straight games without a starter going five innings, Boston has gotten back-to-back five-inning starts from Tanner Houck and Sale.
“We needed that. We can’t keep going 4 2/3 [innings],” Cora said. “It was a big one. I feel comfortable with where [Sale] is at physically. I know velocity was down the whole day and he grinded. It seems like the last game in Kansas City the last few years is a tough one, weather-wise, energy-wise, so I’m glad we got the ‘W’ and [Sale] was good for us.” Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.
Sale matched his longest start since his return from the IL and generated 16 whiffs on 45 swings. He allowed just two hits, both on the changeup, but 17 foul balls and 63 pitches through the first three innings limited his outing.
“You want to get deeper into games, so hopefully next time it’s 100 pitches over seven or eight innings,” Sale said. “ … I felt like there was a lot of 2-2, 3-2 counts. A lot of foul balls ... but nice to come out on top. [Masataka Yoshida] came out and set the tone with a three-run homer.”
Yoshida, who entered batting just .253 in the second half, clobbered his first dinger since Aug. 18 with a 415-foot liner in the fourth. He also hit an opposite-field single in the second in what the Red Sox hope is the start of a turnaround that will only bolster their high-powered offense. 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.
“[Yoshida] has been feeling better the last few days,” Cora said. “He’s been grinding on a few things, but I think little by little his swing is getting back. He took some good cuts in his third at-bat. He let it fly. So those are good signs.”
Despite the series win, the Red Sox remained 5 1/2 games back of the final American League Wild Card spot. If Boston is going to play in October, the team will need strong starting pitching. If Sale can continue to show he still has a few tricks up his sleeve, he may just spark a struggling rotation.
“We prepared ourselves for a different play. I think he changed his plan today,” Royals catcher Salvador Perez said. “Chris Sale is one of the best left-handers in the league. … I don’t think he usually throws that many offspeed.
“I don’t think we realized. Maybe he saw something, maybe they saw something, and he had a pretty good day today.”
|
|
|
Post by Kimmi on Sept 4, 2023 8:46:22 GMT -5
You inspire the RS. Without your presence, they fell apart. Too bad about your mom, I hope she feels better. Well, since I've been back, the Sox are 2-0. LOL Let's see how much I can inspire them against the Rays, who have owned us over the past 5 years. We are 1-7 against them this year and 26-49 against them since 2019. My mom is doing much better, thanks. She's more or less back to her normal routine.
|
|