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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 24, 2023 5:28:50 GMT -5
Sox @ Sox Sunday, 24th September 1:30pm @ Fenway
Clevinger 8-8/ 3.42
Crawford 6-7/ 4.19
Looking to avoid 100 losses, White Sox seek rare series win FLM
The Chicago White Sox can win a series for the first time since early August when they face the Red Sox on Sunday in Boston for the rubber match of a three-game series.
Boston opened the series with a 3-2 victory on Friday night, but a ninth-inning home run from Luis Robert Jr. delivered Chicago a 1-0 win in the rain on Saturday. It was Robert's 38th home run of the season, 27 of which were solo homers.
Robert's blast was hit just inside the right field foul pole at Fenway Park, which is 302 feet from home plate. It landed in the first row of seats and was measured at 311 feet.
"It was hilarious because he's got (38) home runs and all that, and then he hits one 311," said Chicago right-hander Dylan Cease, who struck out 11 in seven scoreless innings on Saturday. "Baseball is funny like that sometimes."
Chicago manager Pedro Grifol said postgame of Fenway Park, "It's gotten us a few times, but today it helped us. This is a really nice place to play, and it's got so many different things going on in the ballpark that it's really cool. And that's one of them today. Today, it helped us."
The White Sox (59-96) last won a series when they took two out of three from the New York Yankees from Aug. 7-9. They are 0-10-2 in series since then. Chicago will have to win at least four of its seven remaining games to avoid a 100-loss season.
Boston (76-79) is 2-7 in its last nine games, but following the latest loss, manager Alex Cora said he still likes the fight he is seeing in his team, especially the emotion starting pitcher Nick Pivetta showed on the mound Saturday. Pivetta tossed seven scoreless innings and held the White Sox to three hits.
"A hundred percent," Cora said. "Go ahead, man. That's what it's all about. We owe it to the people, right? You gotta keep playing hard and we don't mind (the emotion).
"I'm excited about him because I think finally he's put it together."
Right-hander Mike Clevinger (8-8, 3.42 ERA) is scheduled to be Chicago's starting pitcher on Sunday. Clevinger is 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA in four career starts (17 innings) against the Red Sox.
Clevinger pitched the third complete game of his career when Chicago beat the Washington Nationals 6-1 on Monday. He had a shutout until Dominic Smith hit a home run with two outs in the ninth inning.
He will be opposed by right-hander Kutter Crawford (6-7, 4.19 ERA). Crawford lost the only time he has faced the White Sox, on June 25 in Chicago. He allowed four runs on five hits in six innings when Chicago beat Boston 4-1. He struck out four and walked one. Two of the five hits he gave up were home runs by Robert.
Crawford allowed two runs on four hits in six innings during Boston's 4-2 victory at Texas on Monday, though he got a no-decision. He fanned seven without issuing a walk.
--Field Level Media
White Sox at Red Sox Sunday, at 1:35 PM EST Possibility Of A Delay Or Rainout It's expected to be 62° F with a 25% chance of precipitation and 13 MPH wind blowing in in Boston at 1:35 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com
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Post by Kimmi on Sept 24, 2023 7:45:50 GMT -5
Robert hits 311-foot homer in 9th to snap scoreless tie and give White Sox 1-0 win over Red SoxAP BOSTON (AP) There's no other ballpark in the majors where Luis Robert Jr.'s 311-foot line drive would have been a home run. Playing in a cold rain, with the wind blowing in at a steady 10 mph, Cease and Boston starter Nick Pivetta matched scoreless innings before both departed after seven. Aaron Bummer (5-5) pitched the eighth for Chicago, walking the first two batters before retiring the heart of the Boston order to escape. Even though the Red Sox are out of it, this was still a tough loss. I would have preferred Robert Jr.'s HR to have been a 450 ft bomb. That's baseball for you. On a bright note, Pivetta looked really good. Unfortunately, Cease, who hadn't pitched that well this season, looked just as good, if not better.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 24, 2023 9:10:06 GMT -5
Ceddanne Rafaela (R) CF Rafael Devers (L) 3B Justin Turner (R) 1B Masataka Yoshida (L) DH Adam Duvall (R) RF Wilyer Abreu (L) LF Pablo Reyes (R) SS Enmanuel Valdez (L) 2B Connor Wong (R) C
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 24, 2023 12:59:01 GMT -5
Red Sox announce roster moves 11:19 AM ADT
BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox today announced the following roster moves:
Reinstated right-handed pitcher Zack Kelly from the 60-Day Injured List.
Optioned right-handed pitcher Nick Robertson to Triple-A Worcester following yesterday’s game against the Chicago White Sox.
Designated right-handed pitcher Kyle Barraclough for assignment.
Kelly, 28, last pitched in a Major League game on April 12 at Tampa Bay. The right-hander was placed on the Injured List on April 13 with right elbow inflammation and made seven rehab appearances with Single-A Salem (two), High-A Greenville (one), Double-A Portland (one), and Worcester (three). Signed by Boston as a minor league free agent on December 21, 2020, the Virginia native has allowed three runs in 7.1 innings across six outings with the Red Sox this season and owns a 3.95 ERA (9 ER/21.0 IP) in 19 career Major League games.
Robertson, 25, has allowed eight runs in 11.0 innings over eight games with the Red Sox since he was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 25. The right-hander also made nine appearances with the Dodgers this season, his Major League debut, posting a 6.10 ERA (7 ER/10.1 IP) with 13 strikeouts. Selected by the Dodgers in the seventh round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft, the Virginia native has recorded a 3.16 ERA (15 ER/42.2 IP) and .205 opponent batting average (33-for-161) with 58 strikeouts in 42 Triple-A games for Oklahoma City and Worcester.
Barraclough, 33, has pitched in three games for the Red Sox this season, allowing 11 runs in 7.2 innings. The right-hander is also 8-1 with a 3.65 ERA (30 ER/74.0 IP) in 14 games (13 starts) with Worcester. Signed by Boston in June, the California native owns a 3.86 ERA (121 ER/282.0 IP) in 291 career Major League games with the Miami Marlins (2015-18), Washington Nationals (2019), San Francisco Giants (2019), Minnesota Twins (2021), Los Angeles Angels (2022), and Red Sox (2023).
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 25, 2023 3:48:20 GMT -5
Clevinger pitches 6 strong innings; Chicago beats Boston 3-2 to win 1st series since early August AP
BOSTON (AP) Mike Clevinger pitched six solid innings, Elvis Andrus had a two-run double and the Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 in a rain-shortened game on Sunday, ending a string of 12 straight series losses.
Trying to avoid their second 100-loss season in five years and the fifth in club history, the White Sox took two of three from the Red Sox and captured their first series since August 7-9 when they went 2-1 against the Yankees.
“Not fun,” said Clevinger of pitching in rainy, cool conditions. “Not very conducive to playing baseball. We got through it.”
Adam Duvall and Wilyer Abreu each hit a solo homer for the Red Sox, who are on pace to finish in the AL East basement for the third time in four years.
The umpires called for the tarp after the sixth and it was called after an hour, 43--minute delay.
“That's always nice,” Clevinger said, smiling, when informed he was credited with a complete game.
It was the fourth of his career and his second straight after he went nine innings beating the Washington Nationals in his last start.
Chicago outfielder Luis Robert Jr. left with a sore right knee after stealing his 20th base. He has 38 homers and 36 doubles, becoming the first White Sox player with 35 homers, 35 doubles and 20 steals.
Clevinger (9-8) gave up two runs and five hits without striking out or walking a batter.
Playing with rain falling most of the time for the second straight day, the White Sox scored twice with just one hit against Kutter Crawford (6-8) to take a 2-1 edge in the fifth.
Crawford walked a pair before Andrus’ liner to center just got under the glove of centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela’s full-length dive.
“For the first three or four innings I was in total control,” Crawford said. “That fifth inning happened and it all started with the leadoff walk and then the two-out walk. Those are things I can't let happen.”
Gavin Sheets’ sacrifice fly made it 3-1 in the sixth.
“It was weird conditions," Sheets said. “One of those things you grind through. Our pitching carried us.”
Abreu’s drive went into the seats in deep right for his second career homer in the second. Duvall’s completely left Fenway Park over the Green Monster in the sixth.
SERIES STUFF
The Red Sox have lost a season-high six straight series.
It was Chicago’s first road series win since August 4-6, at Cleveland. The White Sox won the season series against Boston, 4-2.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: Placed right-hander Jesse Scholtens on the 15-day injured list with a strained left calf. They recalled right-hander Declan Cronin to take his spot.
Red Sox: Reinstated right-hander Zack Kelly from the 60-day injured list. He was out since April 13 with right elbow inflammation. Right-hander Nick Robertson was optioned to Triple-A to make room.
UP NEXT
White Sox: Have an off day Monday because their scheduled game against Arizona was moved to Thursday so the Diamondbacks could play a makeup game in New York against the Yankees. RHP José Ureña (0-6, 7.27 ERA) is set to start the first of a three-game series vs. Arizona on Tuesday.
Red Sox: RHP Tanner Houck (5-9, 4.92) is slated to start the first of a two-game series against Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 25, 2023 3:58:09 GMT -5
Crawford has learning experience in latest campaign for '24 rotation Right-hander walks three, gives up three runs and K's seven in rain-shortened loss September 24th, 2023 Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
BOSTON -- The most damaging hit that Kutter Crawford gave up on a soggy Sunday afternoon against the White Sox was self-inflicted, and turned what could have been a win into a 3-2 loss at Fenway that was called due to rain after six innings.
Chalk it up as a good learning experience for a 27-year-old who is completing his first full season in the Major Leagues, most of it as a starting pitcher.
The issue isn’t the two-out, two-run double by Elvis Andrus on a slider that caught too much plate and turned a 1-0 lead for the Red Sox into a 2-1 deficit in the fifth inning.
What haunted Crawford is the fact that the two runners who scored on the hit both walked earlier in the inning.
The first was a leadoff walk to Gavin Sheets on a 3-2 curveball in the dirt. The second was a two-out walk to No. 9 hitter Korey Lee, who was down in the count 0-2 and then took the next four pitches for balls.
“The walks put him in a bad spot,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “I actually talked to him about it. The Sheets at-bat, on 3-2, he threw a fastball and he fouled it off. Then he went with a breaking ball and ended up walking him. Like, you should be attacking that guy. If he hits it out of the ballpark, it’s a tie game.”
Crawford took full accountability for the mistakes, and vowed to learn from them.
“It all started with a leadoff walk, and then a two-out walk, and those are things that I can’t let happen,” Crawford said. “I’ve got to attack the strike zone in those situations, and it came back to bite me.”
Which walk annoyed Crawford more?
“Probably the No. 9 hitter,” Crawford said. “The two-out walk. The leadoff walk, that’s kind of a cardinal sin as a pitcher, but that two-out walk in that situation, I’ve got to go right after him and get him out. I can’t let him get by on a free pass.”
So what happened on that at-bat with Lee?
“Just tried to kind of spin him away,” Crawford said. “He made a good adjustment and started taking those pitches away, and I took two chances out there. After those two chances, I should have gotten back in the zone.” Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.
Overall, it has been a positive season for Crawford, who is 6-8 with a 4.23 ERA in 30 games (22 starts).
Crawford has one start left, and he would like to give the Red Sox reason to think he should start next season in the rotation.
But that is yet to be determined. After all, Boston is still in search of a new leader in the front office, and that person will certainly have a big say in how the rotation will line up in 2024 and beyond.
Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck are in the same boat as Crawford. Cora’s inclination is that all three will at least prepare this offseason as if they will be starters next season for the purpose of building up endurance, etc.
“I think it applies to all [three] of them,” Cora said. “I mean, you can always adjust to the other role. Right now, we don't know. That's the reality of where we’re at. We know the players, we know what [we want to] do.
“We’re going through the whole process as normal as possible. We’ll have our meetings. We talk about the season and the offseason plans and what you need to do. And then at one point, somebody's going to take over, and if we have to make adjustments, we will. If not, we just continue.”
Crawford appreciated that message that Cora delivered.
“Obviously I don’t try to get too far ahead of myself, but I feel like I should have an opportunity as a starter. So hearing him say those words makes me want to work harder and focus on making those adjustments in the offseason and really hitting the gym hard,” Crawford said.
The righty certainly sounds as if he has a plan this winter.
“Definitely maintain the diet. The nutrition stuff, that stuff isn’t going to change,” Crawford said. “For me, my big focus probably is going to be a lot of my lower half, trying to get my lower half as strong as possible. That way I can pitch deeper in games without my lower half getting tired.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 25, 2023 4:02:32 GMT -5
Whitlock and Houck should train the off season as being in the bullpen frame of mind
nothing changes if nothing changes
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 25, 2023 4:07:28 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 12h Red Sox medical department working in the meteorological department today.
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne · 12h The expectation is that today's game at Fenway Park will continue. Time not given yet. Rain is expected to pass "shortly".
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 25, 2023 4:21:46 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK Adam Duvall doesn’t know where he’ll be next season, but for now he’s a key cog in Red Sox outfield By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated September 24, 2023, 7:07 p.m.
Adam Duvall parked his 21st homer of the season in Sunday’s 3-2, six-inning loss to the White Sox at Fenway Park.
When healthy, Duvall has proved to be a key part of the Red Sox lineup, batting .249/.308/.538 with an .846 OPS.
A fractured wrist sustained in April while the team was in Detroit sidelined Duvall until June.
Still, the numbers are intriguing. Duvall’s production is on par with what he’s done in his career: slug.
Duvall is a free agent again at the end of the year. He doesn’t want to look too far ahead, but a return to Boston is something he would certainly entertain.
“I don’t know where they stand,” Duvall said after the loss. “I haven’t heard anything. I don’t know if they even want me to come back. But I mean, we’ll see once we get into the offseason and the chips start to fall.”
The Red Sox have a logjam in the outfield. Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela will have a legitimate shot at making the Opening Day roster next season. Jarren Duran put together a really good year and has stamped himself as a vital piece for future. Alex Verdugo has one year of control left. Masataka Yoshida is under contract for another four years.
But if Duvall does, indeed, re-sign with the Red Sox, at least one of the aforementioned names will have to depart, with Verdugo at the top of the list.
Manager Alex Cora has made it clear he doesn’t want to be in the developmental business at the big-league level. Duvall, who will be in his age 35 season next year, is a proven veteran. Moreover, his ability to slug provides a significant boost to an outfield that hasn’t done much of it the past two seasons. Beyond Duvall’s 21 homers — keep in mind, he’s done that in 87 games — Yoshida’s 15 homers rank second among outfielders, and he has played in 135 games.
“I want to finish strong,” said Duvall, noting that his injury soured his year. “I always want to be the best player I can be. What is that? I don’t know. And I don’t know if I’ll ever, internally, be able to say that because you always want to do better. I mean, overall it’s been a productive season.” Zack Kelly activated
The Red Sox reinstated righthander Zack Kelly from the 60-day injured list Sunday. Kelly hasn’t pitched since April 12, leaving a contest against the Rays with right elbow inflammation and ultimately undergoing ulnar nerve transposition revision surgery in May. Kelly, who has had elbow issues in the past, including Tommy John surgery, feared that his season was over.
That Kelly will finish the season on the mound is certainly a positive sign.
“Good for him, man,” said Cora. “He’s a good pitcher, first of all. We didn’t talk much during the season but he was going to be kind of a multiple-inning guy for us. He has good stuff. It was just tough with the injury, but he worked his butt off throughout and he’s here. So, good for him.”
Kelly has a 3.68 ERA in 7⅓ innings. The key for Kelly will be to get as many reps as possible before the season’s end.
“We just want him to go out there and compete,” Cora added. “I think that’s the most important thing. Obviously, command and all that stuff will come with repetitions, and we’ll find pockets for him to go to go there and do it.”
To make room for Kelly, righthander Nick Robertston was optioned to Triple A Worcester and pitcher Kyle Barraclough was designated for assignment. Justin Turner spiraling
Justin Turner has played through a bone bruise in his heel for much of the last two months. He has still managed to put up put up quality numbers, hitting .276/.346/.459 on the year with an .805 OPS. But in September, Turner’s numbers are .208/.279/.286 with a .587 OPS. Yet there’s a lesson in this, Cora acknowledged. One that centers around players remaining available and showing up for their teammates.
“It’s very important, with all the young kids that we have here, to be willing to post,” Cora said. “That’s huge and hopefully those lessons translate in the future for us. You got Rafaela, you got Abreu, you got [Triston] Casas, [Connor] Wong, so this is part of the learning process.
“I wish that wasn’t the case. in the learning process but in the winning business and getting ready to play in October, but this is our reality. And there’s a lot of stuff that is going on in the clubhouse that is really good for the group. Hopefully we can be better because of that.”
Turner was 0 for 3 Sunday.
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