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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 22, 2024 19:13:56 GMT -5
Devers clanged one to the 2b Abreau running the contact play was on DOA
Cash got the call from his Analytic department telling him to make another pitching change
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 22, 2024 19:16:41 GMT -5
Refsynder takes a hanging FB oppo for a single another run
4-3 Red Sox
Same thing for Smith
5-3 Red Sox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 22, 2024 19:23:47 GMT -5
Bello gets thru the 5th on 6 pitches
since the Rays scored their runs, he started improving his command.
Not much stuff up in the zone.....
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 22, 2024 19:24:44 GMT -5
Grissom at least got HBP this game
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 22, 2024 19:26:54 GMT -5
Rafale gets on via an error and Duran gets in on the fun and oppo 2B
6-3 Red Sox in the 6th
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 22, 2024 19:29:03 GMT -5
Abreau just knocked the shit out of that was pumped going around the bases
8-3 Red Sox
6th
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 22, 2024 19:36:13 GMT -5
Bello walks the lead of batter in the 6th as his pitches are rising...
and the Rays crew are saying the Rays over the last few years are 29- 9 vs Boston.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 22, 2024 19:41:49 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier Bello gets Caballero looking at a 97 mph sinker on the outer edge (or, more accurately, probably a bit beyond it). He gave the Sox six innings -- an outcome that seemed unlikely when he threw more balls than strikes through the first two innings. 9:39 PM · May 22, 2024 · 378 Views
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 22, 2024 19:44:57 GMT -5
Bello showed some guts today he toughed up when he had to He has to get the ball down
6ip/ 4/3/3/4BB/6k/ 94-56
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 22, 2024 20:29:05 GMT -5
Kelly hangs up a breaking ball to Diaz and he put it in the LF seats
8-5
9th
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 22, 2024 20:32:25 GMT -5
Sox win 8-5
off day tomorrow
week-end vs the Brew Crew
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2024 4:47:32 GMT -5
Abreu and Wong both drive in 2 runs, Red Sox beat Rays 8-5 to complete a three-game sweep AP
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Wilyer Abreu and Connor Wong both drove in two runs, Brayan Bello overcome a tough second to go six innings and the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-5 on Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep.
Boston swept the Rays on the road for the first time since April 19-21, 2019. The Red Sox had lost 15 of their previous 16 games at Tampa Bay entering the series.
“It’s very important to come here and sweep this team,” Abreu said through a translator. “Even more when we haven’t done it in a long time. That will give us extra confidence.”
Boston star Rafael Devers had his 11-game hitting streak end after going 0 for 4. His team record of homering in six consecutive games was stopped on Tuesday night.
José Caballero drove in a pair with a single during a three-run second for the Rays, who have lost a season-high four straight and dropped under .500 at 25-26. Yandy Díaz hit a ninth-inning solo homer.
Bello (5-2) gave up three runs and four hits. The right-hander struck out six and walked four.
“I think he found the changeup,” Boston manager Alex Cora said about Bello's recovery.
Rob Refsnyder had a tiebreaking RBI single off reliever Kevin Kelly during a five-run fifth as the Red Sox took a 5-3 lead.
Ceddanne Rafaela ended Ryan Pepoit's night with an RBI single in the fifth. Richard Lovelady (0-2) entered and allow Wong's two-run single before Refsynder and Dominic Smith had consecutive run-scoring hits off Kelly.
Abreu connected on a two-run homer in a three-run sixth against Kelly to make it 8-3.
“We did a lot of good things,” Cora said. “We put the ball in play. The value of putting the ball in play, it was huge.”
Pepiot, making his first start since being hit on the lower left leg by an 107.5 mph liner by the New York Mets' Starling Marte on May 5, allowed three runs, two hits, four walks and hit a batter in four-plus innings.
“Overall just didn't execute pitches,” Pepiot said. “Just one of those days.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: RHP Garrett Whitlock (right elbow ligament) will see Dr. Jeff Dugas on May 29 in Birmingham, Alabama to determine if he needs surgery. … 1B Garrett Cooper was a late scratch due to right shoulder discomfort.
Rays: CF Josh Lowe departed in the second inning with right side strain and will have a MRI. He started the season on the injured list with a right oblique strain. … RHP Drew Rasmussen (right elbow internal brace surgery) had his first bullpen session.
UP NEXT
Red Sox: RHP Kutter Crawford (2-2, 2.17 ERA) will face Milwaukee RHP Brice Wilson (2-1, 2.79 ERA) on Friday night,
Rays: LHP Tyler Alexander (2-2, 5.17 ERA), who took a perfect game into the eighth inning last Friday at Toronto, starts Friday night against Kansas City RHP Seth Lugo (7-1, 1.79 ERA).
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2024 4:59:31 GMT -5
Tide turned: Sox cap 1st sweep at Trop since April 2019 1:16 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
0:10
1:13
ST. PETERSBURG -- After watching his team put together a couple of crisp wins to open this three-game series at Tropicana Field, Red Sox manager Alex Cora challenged his team to “get greedy and finish the road trip the right way.”
For a while on Wednesday night, it was all going the wrong way. Brayan Bello labored through a three-run second inning and the bats produced just one hit in the first four innings.
And after that, everything changed. Greed came to life in the form of a barrage of timely hits in a five-run fifth inning and an in-game rebound by Bello, enabling the Sox to sweep the Rays with an 8-5 victory that capped the three-game series.
“Sweep, sweep, sweep,” said one Red Sox player as he ran into the clubhouse clapping his hands following the game.
A sweep is sweet for any team over the course of a baseball season. But doing so at Tropicana Field, where the Red Sox had gone 2-15 over the previous two seasons, truly meant something.
It was the first time Boston had swept a series at Tropicana Field since April 19-21, 2019.
“It's very important to come here and sweep this team,” said right fielder Wilyer Abreu. “Even more when we haven't done it in a long time and that keeps us extra confident to go home and win some games.”
The Red Sox will get an off-day on Thursday after playing the previous 13 days. The Brewers visit Fenway on Friday night for the start of a three-game series.
But before getting home, Boston went about making sure it was a happy flight.
Part of being greedy is adding on after a big inning. And the Sox did just that in a three-run sixth that was highlighted by an RBI double from Jarren Duran and a two-run rocket of a homer to center by Abreu.
In that game-turning fifth, Abreu somewhat surprisingly got the chance to hit against Rays lefty Richard Lovelady. Numerous times this season, Cora has pinch-hit for the rookie left-handed hitter against lefties in the mid-to-late innings.
On a 3-2 pitch, Abreu did Cora’s favorite thing -- putting the ball in play. The infield chop was good enough to load the bases and set up one of the team’s hottest hitters in Connor Wong for a two-run single that tied the game.
“It was one of those moments in the game,” Cora said. “Probably with the bases loaded, we [pinch-]hit for [Abreu] in that spot. It’s 3-1, [Rays]. Probably, they only have one lefty available today, so we decided to just be patient. We talked about it, and we’re like, ‘You know what? Let him hit.’ He put together a good at-bat and put the ball in play.”
An inning later, Abreu hammered his two-run shot to right-center, not far from the ray tank, belting it at an exit velocity of 107.1 mph and a “He crushed that ball,” Cora said. “He’s a good player and fun to watch.”
Bello (5-2, 4.04 ERA) made the work of the offense stand up, throwing zeros in his final four innings.
What changed? He found his changeup, a pitch that abandoned him during a loss in the first game of this road trip in St. Louis and for the first two innings on Wednesday.
“I was able to get my changeup back and also have a very good feeling for my slider and sinker,” Bello said. “Starting at that point, I was having a good feeling for all of those three pitches.”
For Boston, it was impressive to not only win more games these past three days at Tropicana Field than it had in two seasons, but also to finish with a 4-2 road trip after losing the first two games of the journey in St. Louis.
Cora said numerous times during this series that his young team is much more athletic than in past years, and better equipped to withstand the challenges that Tropicana Field can pose for visiting teams.
“They’ve been better than us,” Cora said. “That's the bottom line. They played better than us [in recent years]. We’ve had some weird games here, walk offs, bunts with the bases loaded, a lot of craziness. It’s cool to come here and win but we expect to pitch with them. We’re different than in the past and I’m just glad we won the series.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2024 5:05:29 GMT -5
‘It’s very important.’ Red Sox exorcise Trop demons with first sweep in 5+ years
Published: May. 22, 2024, 10:58 p.m.
By
Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jarren Duran had a clear message for the teammates waiting for him in the clubhouse Wednesday night as he ran through the tunnel from the playing field.
“Sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep!” Duran bellowed.
After a convincing 8-5 win over the Rays to finish off a three-game sweep at Tropicana Field, the significance of winning three in a row was not lost on the Red Sox. The last time Boston brought out the brooms under the big top in St. Pete, the games included Michael Chavis’ major league debut and solid starts from Rick Porcello and David Price. Ryan Brasier secured saves in all three games. Brayan Bello, who started Wednesday’s finale, was a 19-year-old who would go on to post a 5.43 ERA in 25 games at Single-A.
At the Trop, the Red Sox haven’t played as well as they did this week in a while. They entered the series having lost 15 of 16 games — and 22 of 27 — at the venue. Tampa Bay had won two-thirds of the matchups between the team in the last six seasons, going 56-28.
“It feels very good to be able to sweep the series and to win here,” said Bello, through interpreter Carlos Villoria Benítez. “Obviously, last year was a very bad year for us against them and they went to our place and won three games. For us to come here and win was very important.”
The Red Sox outscored the Rays, 18-7, over the course of the series, getting strong starts from Tanner Houck, Cooper Criswell and Bello in the process. They trailed 2-0 on Tuesday and 3-0 on Wednesday and won both games, marking their first two victories in games they trailed by multiple runs.
Down 3-0 in the fifth inning of the finale after Tampa Bay tagged Bello for three runs in the second, the Red Sox used a patient, humble approach to bat around and plate five runs. Five players singled and seven reached base. Ceddanne Rafaela (RBI single), Connor Wong (2-run single), Rob Refsnyder (RBI single) and Dominic Smith (RBI single) all got in on the fun.
The Red Sox were 6-for-12 with runners in scoring position, continuing an encouraging turnaround in that department that dates back to the beginning of the current four-game winning streak, which came Sunday in St. Louis.
“In this business, everybody wants to hit the ball out of the ballpark. In certain moments, you’ve got to put the ball in play and we did,” said manager Alex Cora. “The value of putting the ball in play was huge today and we’re gonna keep preaching that. I know some people probably hate that, but I’m the manager and I’m asking that from my players.”
Refsnyder’s 76.8 mph opposite-field bloop that put the Sox up for good was an example of exactly what the club was looking to do against relievers Richard Lovelady and Kevin Kelly.
“You never know if it’s gonna come against the Rays. They have such a dominant bullpen and they have for a long time,” Refsnyder said. “Just trying to piece together some good at-bats and the young guys did a great job. It’s nice coming back against a really, really long team.
The Red Sox hit just five homers over the three game of the series but used an athletic, fast approach to beat the Rays at their own game. That was especially evident Tuesday when they stole four bases (including home) in a dramatic eighth inning and again Wednesday in the fifth.
“They changed the rules for this type of baseball,” Cora said. “It’s not that we’re gonna run crazy out there but you need athletic guys to win it and to be competitive at this level. Why? Because not all the time you’re going to hit. You’re not going to hit the ball out of the ballpark all the time. But you can do the other stuff. You can play defense every day. And speed is not going to slump.”
The win also represented a bit of revenge for Bello, who entered his outing with a 6.92 ERA in five career starts (26 innings) against the Rays. He didn’t have his command early and allowed the first four hitters of the second to reach (and three to score). But he settled in with improved feel of his changeup and allowed just three baserunners in his final four innings.
Bello walked four, but still was credited a quality start, having allowed three runs in six innings.
“Since I was called up, this team has given me a little bit of trouble,” Bello said. “But luckily in the last two, I’ve been able to pitch well against them.”
Three straight wins against the Rays represented progress toward one of Cora’s goals for the 2024 Red Sox. In addition to wanting his club to play better at home — where they’re 10-13 entering a stretch where they’ll play 15 of 22 games at Fenway — the manager wanted Boston to show improvement against divisional opponents after going a combined 50-78 (.391) in that department over the last two seasons. So far in 2024, they’re 4-6, but chances will loom soon. The Sox will face the Orioles for three games at Camden Yards next week and will play nine divisional games in June.
Wednesday’s win finished off a 4-2 road trip following a home series in which the Sox lost three of four to the Rays.
“We played well against them last week. We just didn’t win the games,” Cora said. “Two extra-inning games. We did a lot of good things throughout the road trip, but we put the ball in play. It started in St. Louis.”
The Red Sox won’t return to Tropicana Field until Sept. 17, when they begin their penultimate road series of the season. They can only hope to play as well as they did this week.
“The Rays have been such a good team for such a long time so it’s nice to win some games here,” Refsnyder said. “It was a really good series.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2024 5:13:57 GMT -5
.Red Sox are up to speed now, and their athletic approach was evident in a sweep of the Rays By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated May 22, 2024, 11:27 p.m.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — And so, there was a palpable sense of levity and satisfaction in the visitors’ clubhouse Wednesday night after the Red Sox punctuated a three-game sweep over the Rays with an 8-5 victory at the Trop. The exuberance was not just a product of a sweep, but of the way in which they’d done so.
“This is how it should be,” Sox manager Alex Cora said after watching his dirt-covered team extend rallies with three two-strike hits and fly around the bases for a third straight game. “I think early on [in the season], that wasn’t us — hitting homers and striking out. We’re in between. We will hit the ball out of the ballpark with certain guys, but the other guys will take their walks, they’ll get their singles, and they’ll put pressure on the opposition.”
For years, Cora lamented the fact that his team wasn’t keeping pace with the style of play increasingly characterizing a number of teams around the league. Teams such as the Dodgers, Astros, Padres, and yes, the Rays sometimes looked like they had 10 men on defense and spent every at-bat with the bases loaded.
By comparison, the Red Sox often looked like they were moving in slow motion — especially at Tropicana Field. The Rays would run wild on the bases while the Sox seemed flat-footed. Balls hit into the Trop’s cavernous outfield gaps by the Rays would roll for what felt like days. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay featured elite defenders who seemingly got to every ball hit in the air, reducing the Red Sox to a homer-reliant offensive team.
For three games, at least, the Red Sox flipped that script, an effort spearheaded by the team’s outfielders.
“The dynamic was kind of like a fast-break offense,” said catcher Reese McGuire.
Jarren Duran was a blur defensively and on the bases — most notably with his steal of home Tuesday — while delivering lightning strikes at the plate, collecting one extra-base hit in each contest.
Ceddanne Rafaela seemingly dove everywhere except into the tank of cownose stingrays beyond the fence in right-center, playing a key role in the Sox’ game-winning five-run outburst in the fifth inning by smashing an RBI single to the track in left-center and then outrunning a throw from left and diving across the plate to score the game-tying run from second base on a single.
And in right field, Wilyer Abreu shut down the Rays’ aggressiveness on the bases from the time he made a game-shifting throw to cut down Yandy Díaz at second when he tried to turn a hit down the line into a double in the first game of the series. From that point forward, it seemed that Rays runners anchored themselves to bases for safety anytime Abreu — who later blasted a two-run homer to right — fielded a ball.
“They create a lot of havoc on the bases and it makes my job a lot easier. I just kind of put the ball in play and let those guys run,” said Rob Refsnyder. “[There are] a lot of dynamic athletes in our lineup . . . I know the front office really focused on that and it’s really cool to see.”
On one hand, the Red Sox are still extremely young and their lineup — particularly players such as Rafaela, David Hamilton, and Vaughn Grissom — will take some unavoidable lumps while working through inexperience. During that time, however, the team can limit the depths of its slumps by controlling its strikeout rate, using speed to leave opponents on the defensive even when the team isn’t slugging, and relying on pitching and defensive range to stifle opposing lineups.
“This is the environment we’re playing in. They’re changed the rules for this type of baseball,” said Cora. “It’s not that we’re going to run crazy out there, but you need athletic guys to win and to be competitive at this level. You have to be very athletic. Why? Because it’s not all the time you’re going to hit. You’re not going to hit the ball out of the ballpark all the time.
“But you can do the other stuff,” he added. “You can play defense every day. Speed is not going to slump. You get to first, you can steal second, you can score from second with a bloop single. And we’ve got a bunch of athletes. I’m happy with that.”
On Wednesday night, while enjoying the novelty of three straight victories at Tropicana Field, nearly everyone with the Red Sox seemed happy with the dynamic. Was it an instance of the Red Sox out-Raysing the Rays?
“No. That’s a bad pun,” chided Liam Hendriks.
But it was a good style of play — and one that the Sox hope to replicate (and appropriately name) moving forward within the division.
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