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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 8, 2024 18:45:51 GMT -5
Cora wanted 5 innings out of Pivetta tonight
good luck with that
Pivetta is shaky, 2 singles later
Ozuna cranks a 3 run blast to RF
3-0 Braves in the first[/b]
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 8, 2024 18:47:15 GMT -5
Arcia homers
4-0
and that is enough for me
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 9, 2024 2:52:18 GMT -5
Ozuna homers twice, Sale shuts down former team as Braves beat Red Sox 5-0
AP
ATLANTA (AP) Marcell Ozuna kept up his torrid start with two more homers and Chris Sale pitched six innings against his former team, leading the Atlanta Braves to a 5-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox and a sweep of their two-game interleague series Wednesday night.
Ozuna hit a three-run shot in the first inning and added a solo drive in the third off Nick Pivetta, who was roughed up in his first start since coming off the injured list.
The slugger known as “Big Bear” passed Shohei Ohtani for the MLB lead with his 11th and 12th homers, and he also tops the big leagues with 38 RBIs. He drove one to the warning track in his final at-bat and heard chants of “MVP! MVP!” from the crowd at Truist Park.
Ozuna shrugged off the adulation, which is a far cry from a year ago when he was struggling badly and his time in Atlanta appeared to be winding down.
“Even if you do great, you have to be on the same level," he said. "Don't get comfortable.”
Sale (5-1) pitched for the Red Sox from 2018-23 - a tenure that began with a World Series championship but was largely marred by injuries before he was traded to Atlanta this past winter.
It was strange facing his former team, but he quickly settled in.
“I respect those guys. I love those guys,” Sale said. “But we're here to win.”
The left-hander sure seems to have regained the form that made him one of baseball’s most dominant starters. He fanned 10 for the 82nd double-digit strikeout game of his career and got a big lift from left fielder Jarred Kelenic, who leaped above the yellow line at the 385-foot mark to snatch away a potential homer by Garrett Cooper.
“I went into the offseason on a mission,” Sale said, “I got after it. I knew I had to do it this year."
Speaking of comebacks, look how far Ozuna has come. On this date a year ago, he was hitting .146 and seemed on the verge of being released by the Braves. He rebounded to post 40 homers with 100 RBIs, and he's on pace for even loftier numbers this year.
Orlando Arcia also went deep for the Braves. Dylan Lee and Ray Kerr followed Sale to complete the seven-hit shutout.
Pivetta (1-2) made his first appearance since April 3 after being sidelined with a right elbow strain.
He appeared to get through the first with no trouble when Austin Riley hit into what was ruled an inning-ending double play. But the call was overturned when the replay showed Riley getting his foot to the bag just ahead of the relay throw.
Matt Olson reached on a dribbler that went for an infield hit, and Ozuna followed with a 372-foot shot that barely cleared the right-field wall. Three pitches later, Arcia made it back-to-back homers with another opposite-field shot to right.
Instead of getting out of the inning unscathed, Pivetta found himself in a 4-0 hole - a rare slip-up by a Boston rotation that has been stellar this season. He lasted four innings, giving up seven hits and all five Atlanta runs.
“Austin beating that ball out is a huge play,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “That gives us four runs, which is pretty much the difference in the game.”
TRAINER'S ROOM
Red Sox: In addition to Pivetta returning, the Red Sox activated Romy Gonzalez from the 10-day injured list and started him at first base. He had been out since April 11 with a left wrist strain.
Braves: C Sean Murphy has been hitting in the cage as he moves toward a return to the lineup. Murphy hasn't played since the March 29 season opener, when he strained his left oblique swinging at a pitch.
UP NEXT
Both teams are off Thursday. The Red Sox return home to open a three-game series Friday against Washington, with RHP Tanner Houck (3-3, 1.99 ERA) set to face Nationals LHP Patrick Corbin (0-3, 6.45 ERA). RHP Charlie Morton (2-0, 3.50 ERA) takes the mound for the Braves on Friday to begin a weekend set at New York. The Mets will go with LHP Jose Quintana (1-3, 5.20 ERA).
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 9, 2024 2:56:56 GMT -5
After impressive start with Braves, Sale reflects on time with Sox
Lefty tosses six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts
2:05 AM ADT
Ian Browne
Ian Browne
@ianmbrowne
0:03
1:31
ATLANTA – No matter what uniform Chris Sale wears, the following is indisputable: When his fastball is powerful and his slider is in full dive mode, he is dominant.
Pitching for his new team (the Braves) while facing his most recent former team (the Red Sox), Sale had his two best weapons working in sync.
The Braves rode their lanky and healthy lefty to a 5-0 victory over the Red Sox on Wednesday to sweep this two-game series at Truist Park.
Facing the Red Sox for the first time since he was a member of the White Sox in 2016, Sale (5-1, 2.95 ERA) was vintage.
In his best start as a Brave, Sale fired six shutout innings in which he scattered six hits while walking one and striking out a season-high 10, generating 20 whiffs from the 49 swings Boston took against him.
“It’s always weird facing your old team,” said Sale. “I’ve obviously only done it once before with Chicago. It was a little bit different this go-around.”
In Boston, Sale rode a wave of dominance for two seasons, capped by a World Series title in ‘18. But over his final five years with the Red Sox, injuries became the prevalent theme. All the highs and lows made Wednesday’s reunion much more layered than the one he had against the White Sox in ‘17.
“Yeah, we won a championship together,” said Sale. “I watched Rafael Devers make his Major League debut and turn into a $300 million superstar. I was watching Kutter Crawford at FGCU. That guy is like a little brother to me. Even Nick Pivetta, he lived in Southwest Florida and we had an entire offseason together. The list goes on and on. I could sit here and talk about [Red Sox manager Alex Cora] for the next three hours. It is different.”
Going about his business with his family over New Year’s weekend, Sale was somewhat stunned when Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told him he had a deal worked out to trade him to the Braves for Vaughn Grissom.
After weighing all of the pros and cons, Sale decided to waive his no-trade rights and end his seven-year run in Boston, joining a top championship contender in the process.
So far, the decision has looked spot on for Sale and the Braves.
The Red Sox are building around a young core and Grissom, a second baseman, is part of that.
Sale emphasized that there were no hard feelings when the deal was completed, and no extra motivation on Wednesday to stick it to his old team for trading him.
“No,” said Sale. “Again, that was about as clean a break as you could possibly have from one team to another. If there’s anything I want to do, I owe it to Atlanta to be the best that I can be. I went into this offseason on a mission and it was the first offseason I’ve had in a while where I wasn’t having to deal with something. I got after it.”
The 35-year-old was able to compartmentalize for six innings, but had no problem being reflective after the game.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again until I run out of breath. I love those guys,” Sale said. “I always will. The memories I made with them were good and bad. On the flip side of that, this is a competitive game and we have a job to do.”
The competitive fire is what endeared Sale to his teammates, his manager and the city of Boston.
Last year, when Sale posted every fifth day after rushing back from a stress reaction in his shoulder, he gained a new level of respect from a group of young pitchers who are coming into their own this season.
“He tried everything to be out there,” said Cora. “Last year, he led by example, which is very important for this group. I bet a lot of those guys learned [from Sale] how to become a big leaguer, how to post every five days regardless of how you feel physically.”
For Sale to have no physical limitations thus far this season is something the Red Sox can appreciate, even on a night he bested them.
“It was exciting. I was really happy to see him out there,” said Pivetta, who took the loss in his return from the injured list. “I was mostly focused on what I had to do tonight. I had to face that lineup and what I had to do to kind of put my team in the best position to win. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do that.”
Instead, it was Sale’s night.
“I just want to keep riding this wave for as long as I can,” Sale said.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 9, 2024 3:00:03 GMT -5
Pete Abraham
@peteabe
Pivetta had faced the Braves seven times since joining the Sox, counting tonight.
27.1 IP, 25 ER.
Sox 1x20 with runners in scoring position in this series
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 9, 2024 3:10:44 GMT -5
‘I love those guys,’ Chris Sale said of the Red Sox. All feelings aside, then he went out and dominated them.
By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated May 8, 2024, 10:10 p.m.
ATLANTA — Chris Sale gave a little tug on his cap and nodded to Connor Wong when his former catcher came to the plate in the first inning on Wednesday night.
Wong nodded back, fell behind in the count then grounded a fastball into center field that he turned into a double.
Sale walked Tyler O’Neill and was in a bit of trouble.
But business is business and Sale took care of his, stuffing the Red Sox over six innings in a game his Atlanta Braves went on to win, 5-0.
Sale allowed six hits and struck out 10 with one walk in his first game against the Sox since 2016.
He was dominant, throwing 69 of 103 pitches for strikes and retiring the final six hitters he faced, four on strikeouts.
The Red Sox were overmatched.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it 1,000 times until I run out of breath: I love those guys. I always will,” Sale said. “The memories I’ve made with them, good and bad, make that relationship as solid as it is.
“But this is a competitive game and we have a job to do.”
Sale acknowledged that seeing Alex Cora in the opposing dugout and facing a team with “Boston” across the front of their jerseys stirred up his emotions.
“We won a championship together,” Sale said. “I watched Rafael Devers make his major league debut and turn into a $300 million superstar … I can talk about AC for the next three hours. It’s just different.”
The Red Sox acquired Sale from the White Sox before the 2017 season. But he was ready to leave Chicago, his relationship with the team’s front office having soured.
This time, when the Sox sent him to the Braves for second baseman Vaughn Grissom in December, there was no acrimony. But it still made sense.
Sale is 35 and is a win-now player. The Braves are built to win a World Series and they acquired Sale to start the second or third game of a playoff series and do for them what he did for the Sox in 2018.
How the deal looks in a few years from now is what matters to the Sox. Grissom is 23, a promising hitter and is under team control through 2029. He could turn into a low-cost building block for a contending team.
“It was as clean a break as you can possibly have,” Sale said.
Sale’s new teammates seemed to understand what the game meant to the lefty.
Marcell Ozuna homered twice off Nick Pivetta, driving in four runs, and third baseman Austin Riley made a series of slick plays to help make sure the Sox didn’t score.
Left fielder Jarred Kelenic helped out with a leaping catch at the wall in the sixth inning to take an extra-base hit away from Garrett Cooper. Sale met Kelenic on the warning track in front of the dugout when the inning ended and hugged him.
Sale is 5-1 with a 2.95 earned run average through seven starts. Grissom was 0 for 4 and is now 2 for 17. Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, who was at Truist Park, has had better days.
Grissom had a chance to endear himself to Sox fans in the first inning when he came to the plate with runners on second and third and two outs
Sale struck him out on four pitches, Grissom flailing at a slider to end the inning.
It was like that all game. Every time Sale needed an out, he threw that wipeout slider. It also helps that he’s playing on a good defensive team at this stage of his career, something that wasn’t the case in Boston the last few years.
As good as Sale looks now, the Braves are taking a chance. He was on the injured list four times in the last three seasons and missed roughly 65 starts.
Manager Brian Snitker and pitching coach Rick Kranitz have been careful to give Sale extra rest. Their goal is to have him ready for October, not to be grinding through games in September.
The Braves come to Fenway Park June 4-5. That’s too far out to know if Sale will pitch. But whatever his duties are for that series, he’s sure to get a big ovation at some point.
In Boston, he’ll always be a champion. He has that same opportunity in Atlanta.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 9, 2024 3:12:45 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK
Masataka Yoshida meets with another hand specialist but Red Sox won’t have more information until Thursday
By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated May 8, 2024, 8:05 p.m.
ATLANTA — Masataka Yoshida and the Red Sox are still gathering information on his sprained left hand, even after he met with another specialist Wednesday. Yoshida, who was placed on the injured list last week, was not with the club for their recent series against the Twins. However, the designated hitter traveled to Atlanta from Boston to meet with the specialist and had a locker at Truist Park.
“I still have pain,” Yoshida said through a team translator prior to the Sox’ series finale against the Braves. “It’s definitely frustrating knowing that I’m going into spring training I was doing everything I could do to get myself ready.”
Yoshida was on the field during warm-ups, however, his activity was limited to running the bases. The Sox will have more information when they return to Boston Thursday.
“We will compare the information that we have here with our doctors and then go from there,” manager Alex Cora said. “There’s nothing else. We just have to wait and see. His hand was bigger a week ago. It’s getting better but we’re just waiting.”
Yoshida added that the injury didn’t occur on one specific swing, but rather over time.
Gonzalez to first
The Red Sox reinstated Romy Gonzalez (left wrist) from the injured list and designated Zack Short for assignment. Gonzalez was in the lineup, playing first base, a position he had not played before.
“Romy has versatility,” said Cora. “He can play the outfield. I think, offensively, he was swinging the bat well before he got hurt. He was swinging the bat well [during his rehab assignment]. We knew that at one point he was going to contribute this year. He’s just a good player, good defender, good athlete.”
The Sox hope Gonzalez can add some length to their lineup from the seventh spot in the order. Nos. 7-9 in the order were batting just .209 coming into Wednesday, which ranked 22nd in baseball.
Cleaning up
Expect to see Rafael Devers hit in the four-hole for the foreseeable future. Devers typically hits second but the Red Sox wanted to separate leadoff hitter Jarren Duran and Devers with righthanded hitters in between. Connor Wong hit second and Tyler O’Neill hit third with lefthander Chris Sale on the mound.
“Against righties, I’m probably going to hit [Wilyer] Abreu second and Raffy is going to hit fourth the whole time,” added Cora. “I talked to them and I think that’s what I’m leaning toward.”
If the opponent brings in a lefty late in the game, Cora said he will have the option of deploying Rob Refsnyder, whom the club uses mainly against lefthanders.
Wong had just three at-bats in the No. 2 spot.
“He’s been swinging the bat well,” said Cora.
Cora also stated that moving Abreu down in the lineup was his attempt at minimizing his left-on-left matchups against Sale.
Bello progressing
Brayan Bello (shoulder) came out of his outing for Double A Portland without incident. “He got hit hard,” said Cora with a smile. “The velocity was good. No issues health wise. He went through his progression. Everything was good today. He’ll go to Fenway Thursday and will go over his throwing program and all that stuff. If everything goes well I believe he will be a part of this group this weekend.” Cora added that he wants Bello to start in Sunday’s series finale against the Nationals … Refsnyder (hamstring) was out of the lineup Wednesday. Refsnyder said he’s OK and does not need a stint on the IL. Cora said that the team is trying its best to take advantage of Thursday’s off day, and is optimistic Refsnyder will be available this weekend when the Sox face a couple of lefties.
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Post by Kimmi on May 9, 2024 15:18:54 GMT -5
Chris Cotillo
@chriscotillo
Cora on the Red Sox gameplan against Chris Sale:
"Let’s take a look at the Orioles last year and hopefully, we can copy them." Ha. Wishful thinking. As soon as the Sox fell behind 0-3 in the first inning, I felt like that was game over. Not a good feeling to have. Going 1-14 with RISP 2 nights ago has a lot to do with cluster luck, however, the strikeouts and the inability to move a runner up 90 feet remain big problems with this offense. You can almost sense a strikeout is coming in a key offensive situation. Not a fun road trip. Hopefully, we can get it together on the home stand. |
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Post by Kimmi on May 9, 2024 15:21:09 GMT -5
Cora wanted 5 innings out of Pivetta tonight
good luck with that
Pivetta is shaky, 2 singles later
Ozuna cranks a 3 run blast to RF
3-0 Braves in the first[/b] He was so close to being out of that inning on a double play call that was overturned.  The runner was safe, for sure, but as the saying goes, this is a game of inches. |
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The runner was safe, for sure, but as the saying goes, this is a game of inches.