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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 6:47:25 GMT -5
Ryan M. Spaeder @theaceofspaeder ·
#RedSox Rafael Devers is batting .295/.344/.558 with 124 R, 198 H, 54 2B, 3 3B, 39 HR, & 131 RBI over his last 162 games played.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 6:50:57 GMT -5
How a surefire Red Sox' win turned into a demoralizing loss Current Time 0:14 / Duration 2:05
By Rob Bradford an hour ago
By the time the sixth inning rolled around Thursday night, this wasn't really about if but rather when.
Nick Pivetta was strutting his way through the Mariners' lineup, having faced the minimum number of batters without giving up a single hit. Meanwhile, the two runs put up by his Red Sox appeared to be plenty (as the 84 percent win probability in the sixth suggested).
Even after back-to-walk two-out walks, Pivetta's stuff and confidence surely seemed good enough to close out Seattle's Ty France after running the count to 2-2.
Suddenly, everything to a hard turn the right way for the Red Sox.
France's liner into left field sailed over the head of Franchy Cordero, who was inexplicably playing a Manny Ramirez-esque depth in the outfield, allowing for a tie game heading into the late innings.
The next thing you knew, Seattle was putting up four 10th-inning runs on the way to a 7-3 victory over the hosts. It was a Mariners win that came despite the visitors managing just three hits, but seven painful walks.
“How many walks did we have? It doesn't matter [how many hits]. Two hits, three hits, if you walk seven guys, you're putting yourself in a bad situation,” Cora said. “It's not about getting hits, it's about getting on base. That's the name of the game and we walked seven guys.”
As obviously impactful as Pivetta's free passes were, the inability of relievers Adam Ottavino and Darwinzon Hernandez to throw strikes provided the true dagger for Cora and Co. Each had two, with Ottavino surrendering the game-tying run (without giving up a hit) in the eighth, and Hernandez imploding to surrender the four extra-inning runs.
Before the game, Cora suggested the high walk total for the Red Sox' pitching staff was somewhat misleading, with his pitchers doing a much better job of pounding the strike zone than in the previous couple of seasons. But a glance at the numbers Friday morning -- showing the Sox' pitchers totaling the fourth-most free passes in all of baseball -- was hard to ignore.
"We've been saying that all along, that somebody has to step up," said Cora when asked about missing some proven set-up men in the bullpen, such as the injured Ryan Brasier. "Bottom line is, we had a lead going into the eighth and we ended up losing the game. We feel like we have capable guys, but people have to step up and do the job."
Then there was the ball hit over Cordero's head.
"He was playing where he was supposed to," Cora said of Cordero. "From the dugout, you can't tell. I'll take a look at it, but he gave the effort. I think it's not about the routes or the way he was playing, I think for how good we pitched today, we didn't pitch well. We walked too many guys, there was a lot of traffic at the end, and we weren't able to put them away."
The good news was Pivetta.
Using a mid-90's fastball, effective slider and out-of-nowhere curveball, the righty -- who looks like an absolute steal for Chaim Bloom -- cruised for much of the night, giving up just the one hit over six innings.
"This guy, he has worked hard on his craft," Cora said of Pivetta, who is 4-0 with a 2.93 ERA and a .206 batting average against since joining the Red Sox. "The season ended last year, he went down there to Fort Myers to keep working, getting better. You see the stuff, he's a lot better than last year, velocity-wise, a tremendous slider. Has put himself in this position. We're very happy with him."
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, the Pivetta positive vibes could only last so long. The 2021 optimism has had to be put on pause.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 6:53:27 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox allow 7 runs on just 3 hits in loss: ‘For how good we pitched today, we didn’t pitch well. We walked too many guys,” Alex Cora says Updated 6:32 AM; Today 5:31 AM
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
The Red Sox gave up only three hits Thursday. But the Mariners beat them 7-3 at Fenway Park in 10 innings.
Seven runs on three hits? How did that happen?
“For how good we pitched today, we didn’t pitch well. We walked too many guys,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “There was a lot of traffic at the end. We weren’t able to put them away.”
Red Sox pitchers gave up seven walks, including four walks to the Nos. 7-9 spots in the Mariners’ batting order. No. 9 hitter J.P. Crawford walked twice and scored both times.
“I know they’re not trying to walk him but when you walk the ninth hitter, you put yourself in a bad spot,” Cora said. “Lack of execution.”
Four of the walks resulted in runs.
The ESPN Stats and Info account on Twitter noted the Mariners are the “first team to score at least 7 runs on 3 or fewer hits since 1994, when the A’s scored 8 runs on 2 hits in a win over the Blue Jays.”
The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reported via Twitter, “Tonight marks the 8th time in history that a team has scored 7+ runs on 3 or fewer hits.”
“Two hits, three hits. If you walk seven guys, you’re putting yourself in a bad position,” Cora said. “It’s not about getting hits. It’s about getting on base. That’s the name of the game. And we walked seven guys.”
Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta brought a no-hitter into the sixth. He recorded two quick outs, but he then walked two batters, including Crawford. That resulted in two runs and the Mariners tied it 2-2 on their first hit.
Adam Ottavino walked the first two hitters of the eighth inning with a 3-2 lead. He walked No. 7 hitter Luis Torrens and then José Marmolejos who was pinch hitting in the eight spot. Sam Haggerty, who pinch ran for Torrens, scored the game-tying run without the Mariners recording a hit in the inning.
Crawford bunted back to the mound and Ottavino threw to third to get the lead runner. But his errant throw past Rafael Devers tied it 3-3.
Darwinzon Hernandez walked Crawford with two outs in the 10th, then Mitch Haniger bashed a three-run homer.
“Forget the home run. It was the walk that actually put him in a bad spot,” Cora said.
Haniger homered on an 0-2 fastball.
“The fastball was supposed to be up,” Cora said. “If he gets it there, probably he gets it popped up or a swing and miss. He leaves it down. ... You have to execute. The stuff is there. We love the stuff but we have to execute. That’s the bottom line.”
Cora named Matt Barnes, Ottavino and Hernandez as his top high-leverage relievers with the lead in the seventh inning and beyond. But Ottavino has six walks in 6 ⅔ innings (8.1 BB/9). Hernandez has allowed eight walks in 7 innings (10.3 BB/9).
It’s clear the Red Sox are short one late-inning arm.
“We’ve been saying that all along,” Cora said. “But somebody has to step up. Bottom line is we had the lead going into the eighth and we ended up losing the game. We feel we’re capable. We’ve got capable guys. But people have to step up and do the job.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 6:54:24 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox notebook: Darwinzon Hernandez, Adam Ottavino have combined for 14 walks in 13.2 IP; offense has left 18 men on base in past 2 losses Updated 6:24 AM; Today 6:15 AM
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — The Red Sox are just 3-for-24 with runners in scoring position the past two games, both losses. They have left 18 men on base.
The Red Sox went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base in a 7-3 loss to the Mariners in 10 innings Thursday.
“We had our chances,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We struck out a lot today. We struck out a lot in certain situations the last two days; man at second and third and less than two outs. And we (had) been doing a good job with that. When we put the ball in play, good things happen. So we’ll get back to the drawing board and get back to doing that.”
The Red Sox struck out 11 times Thursday. The struck out 10 times Wednesday.
Bullpen short one arm?
The Red Sox bullpen is fifth in the majors in ERA (3.18), but it’s clear it is short one late-inning piece without Ryan Brasier (calf injury).
“We’ve been saying that all along,” Cora said. “But somebody has to step up. Bottom line is we had the lead going into the eighth and we ended up losing the game. We feel we’re capable. We’ve got capable guys. But people have to step up and do the job.”
Cora named Matt Barnes, Adam Ottavino and Darwinzon Hernandez as his top high-leverage relievers with the lead in the seventh inning and beyond. But Ottavino has six walks in 6 ⅔ innings (8.1 BB/9). Hernandez has allowed eight walks in 7 innings (10.3 BB/9).
Hernandez’s K% down
Darwinzon Hernandez has averaged 95.0 mph with his fastball this season, per Baseball Savant. He has thrown the pitch 70.2%. But he isn’t getting as many swings-and-misses as he did in 2019 when he had about the same fastball velo (95.5 mph).
Hernandez has seven strikeouts in seven innings (9.0 strikeouts per nine innings). His strikeout rate is down from 16.9 per nine innings in 2019 (57 strikeouts, 30 ⅓ innings).
He’s not putting away hitters like he did the past two years. The opposition is batting .280 against him compared to .161 last year and .231 in 2019.
Hernandez allowed a three-run homer on an 0-2 fastball to Mitch Haniger in the 10th inning Thursday.
“The fastball was supposed to be up,” Cora said. “If he gets it there, probably he gets it popped up or a swing and miss. He leaves it down. ... You have to execute. The stuff is there. We love the stuff but we have to execute. That’s the bottom line.”
Taylor ‘avoiding the strike zone’
Josh Taylor also is struggling with command.
He has allowed eight earned runs, 15 hits and five walks in 6 ⅔ innings (6.8 BB/9) for a 10.80 ERA and 3.00 WHIP. He entered Wednesday against the Blue Jays with the Red Sox down 4-3 in the ninth. He struck out Cavan Biggio to begin the inning. But he then allowed an infield single to Bo Bichette and walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He gave up back-to-back RBI singles as Toronto extended the lead to 6-3.
“We’ve got to avoid that (the walk),” Cora said. “He needs to get big outs. Can’t go to Darwinzon (Hernandez) in that situation down one (run), trying to chase wins. If we’re going to chase a win, JT has to do the job. And so far, he hasn’t done it. Velocity’s there. The slider is OK. I do believe he’s avoiding the strike zone. When you do that, then it’s bases loaded, one out. Advantage to the hitter. Get ahead and bury the guys. That’s what you’ve got to do and he hasn’t done that so far.”
Kiké Hernández hitting better vs. righties
Kiké Hernández, a right-handed hitter, actually has hit better against right-handed pitchers this year. He’s slashing .273/.310/.491/.801 in 55 at-bats against righties and and .192/.214/.346/.560 in 26 at-bats vs. lefties.
“Everybody thought his numbers against righties were going to be down and he was going to be really good against lefties,” Cora said. “It’s been the other way around.”
Cora said Hernández is hitting the ball hard but he hasn’t controlled the strike zone ahead in the count.
“He gets to the 3-1, 2-0 counts and he gets big,” Cora said.
Home run prevention
Mitch Haniger’s 10th inning homer was only the 12th homer that Red Sox pitchers have allowed this season.
The Red Sox have allowed the second fewest homers in the majors behind only the Mets (9). No other team has allowed fewer than 16.
“One thing we’ve been doing an outstanding job is keeping the ball in the ballpark,” Cora said pregame. “You have guys with great stuff. Just keep being aggressive and avoid traffic.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 6:55:39 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox’s Nick Pivetta has 2.93 ERA in six starts since Chaim Bloom traded for him; ‘It’s not about us necessarily. It’s about the fan base’ Updated 7:44 AM; Today 7:30 AM
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — Nick Pivetta brought a no-hitter into the sixth inning Thursday, but he wasn’t thinking about it.
“No, not at all,” Pivetta said. “Just focus on getting outs, keeping my team in the best position to win the baseball game. At the time, we had a two-run lead.”
The Red Sox ended up losing 7-3 to the Mariners at Fenway Park. But Pivetta tossed 6 strong innings. He allowed two runs, one hit and three walks while striking out four.
Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom acquired Pivetta and pitching prospect Connor Seabold last August from the Phillies for Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree. Bloom saw untapped potential from Pivetta. Despite his mid-90s velocity and elite spin on his curveball, the righty posted a 5.50 ERA in 92 outings (71 starts) for Philadelphia from 2017-20.
“We thought the pieces were there to add up to a good major league starting pitcher,” Bloom said recently. “And it was worth giving him the opportunity to prove he could do that.”
It’s beginning to look like Bloom has a keen eye for talent. The 28-year-old Pivetta has a 2.93 ERA in six starts for Boston since being traded here. He is 2-0 with a 3.48 ERA in four starts this season. Meanwhile, Connor Seabold is throwing with increased velocity at the alternate training site in Worcester.
Pivetta pitches with a lot of intensity.
“Yeah, he does,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said when asked if he thinks Pivetta pitches with an edge. “The season ended last year, he went down there to Fort Myers to keep working. He’s getting better. You see the stuff. He’s a lot better than last year. Velocity-wise, the command of his slider. He’s put himself in this position and we’re very happy with him.”
The righty threw 45 four-seam fastballs, averaging 93.9 mph and topping out at 96.1 mph, per Baseball Savant. He mixed in 27 sliders and 14 knuckle-curves.
“He was outstanding. Good fastball. Good command of his secondary pitches,” Cora said. “If he can throw his fastball for strikes, he can go deep into games. And he did that tonight.”
Fastball command has been the one issue. Pivetta has allowed 14 walks in 20 ⅔ innings (6.1 BB/9) in four starts this season and 19 walks in 30 ⅔ innings (5.6 BB/9) in his six starts since the Red Sox acquired him last August.
Fastball command wasn’t an issue Thursday until he walked J.P. Crawford and Mitch Haniger with two outs in the sixth. Six of those eight pitches he threw outside the strike zone were four-seam fastballs.
Ty France then drove a two-run, game-tying double off Pivetta that went over the head of left fielder Franchy Cordero who was playing shallow.
Pivetta said he mislocated a slider to France, leaving it middle-up.
“It was a mistake on my part giving up that hit, double,” he said. “That really hurts and that’s something we’ve got to work for next time: locating those pitches when we’re in that count. Obviously the two walks before that were really disappointing. So I hold myself accountable for that.”
Pivetta was asked about pitching with an edge.
“It’s really exciting playing for the Boston Red Sox,” Pivetta said. “It’s really exciting hearing the fans. It’s really exciting just being back in baseball. And I think that’s really important at the end of the day. We had a bit of a runaround last year. And being able to compete and go out, play baseball, be there for the people, be there for the city, just in general, it’s just a lot of fun. You put a little bit more on top of it because there are people that are getting away from a lot of things that are a lot harder going on. Maybe this is their way to get away from everything. So you want to go out there, you want to put on a really good performance for those people. You want to go out there and compete and give it your all every single time. It’s not about us necessarily. It’s about everybody else. It’s about the fan base. I think that’s most important is going out, showing up, doing the best we possibly can every single night to compete and win baseball games.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 8:36:09 GMT -5
Tom Caron @tomcaron 16m Woke up this morning thinking how great it is that so many of us were fired up over the last night's loss. No better indication that this team is relevant again. After last season, anger over one loss feels like normalcy. That said, a win tonight would be better. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 9:43:08 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 25m Here's how the bullpen has been deployed so far based on leverage index. 2+ is coming in to a high leverage situation, 1 is average, 0.8 or below are low leverage. Shutdowns and meltdowns are based on win probability added.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 11:22:45 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 36m Seattle starter Justin Dunn, a BC product, had "Team Frate Train" embossed on his glove for his first MLB start at Fenway Park last night.
Great tribute to the late Pete Frates.
Dunn was playing at BC when Pete was the team operations director.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 11:25:12 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 1h Devers has mishit a few balls, but nearly all the rest of his contact has been sweet spot and hard. Absolute machine with the bat right now. His quality of contact ranks 4th in MLB behind Buxton, Trout and Harper.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 11:26:43 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 1h Dalbec's contact ranks 6th in MLB. He's not popping anything up and besides a few grounders he's hitting everything well, with some bad home run luck. This is even a few ticks better than his 2020 debut. Continuing this type of contact would make his strikeouts insignificant.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 11:28:30 GMT -5
Red Sox and Mariners both off to surprising starts Bill Koch The Providence Journal
An early scan of the American League standings reveals some rather unexpected developments.
The Red Sox and Mariners are two of baseball’s surprises as they enter a four-game series at Fenway Park this weekend. Boston is tied with the Athletics for the best record in the A.L. at 12-7. Seattle is even in the loss column with Oakland and sits a half-game back.
The Yankees? Twins? Astros? All in last place. New York and Minnesota have staggered out to the same .353 winning percentage through their first 17 games, posting identically miserable 6-11 records.
“We see what’s going on,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We see where we’re at. We see what we can do.”
The Red Sox have posted a plus-27 run differential to date, which is tops in the league. Boston is a perfect 12-0 when leading at any point in a game and ranks first in the A.L. in batting average, hits and runs batted in. The lineup has posted an .878 OPS since an opening three-game sweep at the hands of the Orioles.
“Playing well out of the gate minus the first three days has been awesome to watch and to be a part of,” Red Sox reliever Adam Ottavino said. “You start to have a good feeling around here when you’re playing good baseball, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Mitch Haniger and Ty France are the only Mariners with a current OPS north of .900, but their bullpen has been particularly tough early. None of Seattle’s top five relievers has an ERA above 2.89, and right-hander Kendall Graveman has allowed just one hit in 7⅔ innings. Outfielder Taylor Trammell and infielder J.P. Crawford have been two of the top defenders in the A.L. to this point.
Seattle made quite the impression on Cora in 2019. The Mariners welcomed the Red Sox for Opening Day at T-Mobile Park and took three of four games from the defending World Series champions. Only a late home run by Mitch Moreland allowed Boston to salvage a victory.
“We went over there and they sent a bad taste to us in ‘19,” Cora said. “We didn’t play well.” Taylor's troubles
Josh Taylor continues to scuffle in the Red Sox bullpen.
The latest example happened Wednesday against the Blue Jays. Taylor allowed a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning. What could have been a manageable deficit turned into a 6-3 loss, as Toronto added on a pair for insurance.
One of the key at-bats in the inning occurred when Taylor walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is known to be a free swinger. That set up RBI singles by Alejandro Kirk and Randal Grichuk, base hits that ultimately finished Boston.
“I do believe he’s avoiding the strike zone,” Cora said. “When you do that, then it’s bases loaded, one out. Advantage to the hitters.
“Get ahead and bury the guys. That’s what you’ve got to do. He hasn’t done that so far.”
Taylor entered riding four straight scoreless appearances, but he allowed an inherited runner to cross the plate in a defeat against the White Sox on Sunday. His ERA now stands at 10.80 and he’s allowed 15 hits in just 6⅔ innings.
The Red Sox seem fairly set in terms of their bullpen hierarchy at this point. Matt Barnes, Ottavino and Darwinzon Hernandez have earned high-leverage chances while Garrett Whitlock is being kept generally on a starter’s five-day program to throw multiple innings. Taylor falls in with the group who will be summoned with Boston trailing on a given night.
“We can’t go to Darwinzon in that situation down one trying to chase wins,” Cora said. “If we’re going to chase a win, [Taylor] has to do the job. And so far, he hasn’t done it.” Homecoming for Dunn
Seattle right-hander Justin Dunn returns this weekend to a place he used to call home.
Thursday’s starter for the Mariners was a standout at Boston College before being selected 19th overall in the 2016 draft. He helped lead the Eagles to the Super Regionals of the NCAA Tournament that season, as they fell one victory shy of advancing to the College World Series.
Dunn made 10 starts with the Mariners in 2020, pitching to a 4.34 ERA. He was part of the prospect return in a December 2018 trade between Seattle and the Mets, as the Mariners also received outfielder Jarred Kelenic and three veterans. New York took on the final five years of Robinson Cano’scontract and added closer Edwin Diaz.
Boston College's innings leader that season was a Rhode Island native and fellow big leaguer. Michael King worked in 17 games for the Eagles and went 8-4 with a 3.29 ERA. King has turned in a pair of scoreless appearances in long relief for the Yankees this season, allowing just three hits over nine innings.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @billkoch25
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 11:30:00 GMT -5
Lou Merloni @loumerloni · 46m I’d be willing to bet that Alex has no problem with him last night in the field. #1 both balls were absolute rockets #2 they have positioned their LF’s extremely aggressive in and over in the LFC gap. He was exactly where Alex wanted him. He just couldn’t get to those rockets
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 13:23:32 GMT -5
Christopher Smith @smittyonmlb · 1h Marwin is a nice player but he’s playing too much. Dalbec needs to be in there every day
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 13:24:26 GMT -5
Christopher Smith @smittyonmlb · 50m Garrett Whitlock: 25 at-bats in low-leverage situations 4 at-bats in medium-leverage situations 1 at-bat in a high-leverage situation Cora says someone needs to step up with the Red Sox bullpen being down a high-leverage arm. Maybe they should give Whitlock the opportunity (cont)
I understand the reason they might be unwilling. He's young, never pitched above Double-A until this year and is coming off Tommy John surgery. So need to control his innings. They also might like him more in that multi-inning middle relief role. Still, he's an option
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 13:26:01 GMT -5
Christopher Smith @smittyonmlb · 11m Red Sox' J.D. Martinez said he likes Christian Arroyo's swing. "I think he can really impact this team."
J.D. Martinez said he was happy to be a DH on Thursday in that cold weather. "Thank God I am one. I felt bad for those guys (in the field)."
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