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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 13:27:58 GMT -5
Lou Merloni @loumerloni · 1h Benny became a liability in LF. Franchy is a better LF’r IMO. He’s made some really nice plays out there so far this year. He misplayed 1 ball in LF corner this week but it takes time to get used to that wall. Offensively? We’ll see
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 13:47:08 GMT -5
Game 21: Mariners at Red Sox lineups and notesBy Katie McInerney Globe Staff,Updated April 23, 2021, 1 hour ago The Red Sox return to Fenway Park on Friday after their first extra-innings loss of the season on Thursday night against the Mariners. Nick Pivetta was pitching a no-hitter into the sixth, but a four-run burst by Seattle in the 10th sent the Red Sox to a 7-3 loss. The Red Sox were 10-0 when entering the sixth with a lead. Now, they’re 10-1. The four-game series continues tonight: Here’s what you need to know: Lineups MARINERS (12-7): 1. Mitch Haniger (R) RF 2. Ty France (R) DH 3. Kyle Seager (L) 3B 4. Kyle Lewis (R) CF 5. Evan White (R) 1B 6. Tom Murphy (R) C 7. Dylan Moore (R) 2B 8. Sam Haggerty (S) LF 9. J.P. Crawford (L) SS Pitching: LHP Yusei Kikuchi (0-0, 4.74 ERA) RED SOX (12-8): 1. Enrique Hernandez (R) CF 2. Alex Verdugo (L) LF 3. J.D. Martinez (R) DH 4. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 5. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 6. Christian Vazquez (R) C 7. Christian Arroyo (R) 2B 8. Hunter Renfroe (R) RF 9. Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B Pitching: LHP Martín Pérez (0-1, 5.93 ERA) Time: 7:10 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Mariners vs. Pérez: J.P. Crawford 1-3, Mitch Haniger 7-21, Dylan Moore 0-2, Tom Murphy 0-6, Kyle Seager 18-55. Red Sox vs. Kikuchi: Xander Bogaerts 1-3, Rafael Devers 0-2, Marwin Gonzalez 1-3, Kiké Hernández 1-2, J.D. Martinez 1-3, Kevin Plawecki 0-2, Hunter Renfroe 1-2, Christian Vázquez 0-2. Stat of the day: Pérez has faced the Mariners more than any other opponent in his career, with 121 innings pitched. He’s got a 3.42 ERA in 23 appearances vs. Seattle. Notes: The Mariners are tied with Oakland for the best record in the AL at 12-7. ... Kikuchi has faced the Sox just once — in his second career start, in 2019. He allowed three runs. ... The Sox are 3-5 since their 9-2 start. ... Boston’s three stolen bases Thursday night (two by Alex Verdugo, one by Rafael Devers) was its most in a game since they stole six against the Yankees last September. ... Devers and J.D Martinez are the first Sox teammates to hit at least six homers through 20 games since David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez in 2005. Song of the Day: The Pretenders- "Middle of the Road"www.youtube.com/watch?v=hONtmFgh3IQ
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 15:09:49 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 22m Alex Cora would like to see these extra-inning rules:
10th inning starts with a runner on second.
11th inning starts with runners on first and second.
12th inning starts with bases loaded.
There also would be an out when the 12th inning starts if you have any memes to fit that.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 15:12:03 GMT -5
Christopher Smith @smittyonmlb · 40m No update on Ryan Brasier. Still hasn't thrown.
Martín Pérez pitches today for the Red Sox against the Mariners who have struggled vs. lefties. But ... Kyle Seager is 18-for-55 (.327) with four homers and one double against Pérez while Mitch Haniger has gone 7-for-21 (.333) with two doubles against him.
Red Sox's Bobby Dalbec has hit well his past nine games, going 11-for-28 (.393) with a .433 on-base percentage, .607 slugging percentage, four doubles, one triple, one run and three RBIs.
Red Sox' Christian Arroyo is 16-for-44 (.364) with a .404 on-base percentage, .523 slugging percentage, .927 OPS, seven doubles, three RBIs and six runs in 14 games.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2021 15:16:06 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 43m Ryan Brasier hasn't resumed baseball activities. Alex Cora doesn't expect him back soon. #RedSox
Cora -- 'We were a good team that Monday after we lost three in a row. We were a good team that Friday after we won nine in a row.'
'Nothing has changed.' #RedSox
Cora on how he addressed the need to limit walks and errors -- 'They know. They know.'
'We address that the next day. We talk about it.' #RedSox
Cora on the running game -- 'We don't have burners. We don't have 30-steal guys. But we have good base runners.' #RedSox
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 23, 2021 19:43:57 GMT -5
My wish is that the analytics team positions him on the bench for a whilePete Abraham @peteabe · 5h Cora said Cordero was positioned where he was supposed to be on France's double.
"That was the recommendation."
Said he doesn't second guess because the positioning has been good much of the season. I'm not sure if I read it , or pieced it together, but there are a couple of things that need to be considered- 1-As good as Arroyo has been playing, and his peripherals are weaker than his actuals, but right now, he is a better hitter than Cordero. Even assuming the reversion, and assuming they are equal offensively, the defensive alignment of Arroyo (2B), Verdugo (LF), and Kike (CF) seems much better than Kike (2B), Cordero (LF) and Verdugo (CF). I think they have to consider that as alignment #1, and amend it only when you see a good matchup for Cordero. 2-We had the experiment with Kike as lead-off. It hasn't worked. If this was a case of it having worked in the past, I'd be fine with giving it time. But his OBP is an awful .279. The league average for lead-off is .330. And Kike has only a .724 OPS. I like our 2-6 lineup a lot, and I am okay with our 7-9, but we are weak at #1.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 23, 2021 19:52:11 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.” They're hopping on the Pivetta bandwagon too soon. He leads the league in walks, and has been more lucky than good. I think it was a fine trade, and I think Pivetta can make a good #4/5. But he needs a much lower walk rate.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 23, 2021 19:55:18 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 He took a bad route, but no one was getting that double. They've been living large on positioning, but it is not going to work every time. That said, I still don't like Cordero in LF, even if it wasn't his fault.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 23, 2021 19:59:37 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. Verdugo over the past three season (615 ABs) batting .299/.351/.481/.832 and with GG-level defense.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 23, 2021 20:03:36 GMT -5
I am becoming increasingly more comfortable with Sawamura.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 23, 2021 20:36:43 GMT -5
It's impossible to watch the Verdugo play too often. It was a flawless play. Barehanded one-hop off the wall, spin and nail the guy at 3rd. The difference between him Cordero in LF is night and day.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 24, 2021 2:39:46 GMT -5
Bogaerts' sweet stop 'better than a homer' Shortstop does it all with nifty play to end Seattle rally, deep drive over Monster1:40 AM ADT Ian Browne Ian Browne @ianmbrowne Bogaerts' diving stop starts DP Apr 23, 2021 BOSTON -- The excellence that Xander Bogaerts provides the Red Sox on a yearly basis is so consistent that it can sometimes be taken for granted. The veteran shortstop reminded everyone how indispensable he is at the outset of Friday’s 6-5 victory over the Mariners. With lefty Martín Pérez on the ropes, having already allowed one run, and runners at the corners with one out, Evan White stung one up the middle that seemed to have “RBI single” written all over it. But Bogaerts lunged for it and flipped to second baseman Christian Arroyo to start an impressive 6-4-3 double play. “Defense is important,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “That was a great play by Bogey, a great turn by Christian.” Known for his bat more than for his glove, Bogaerts habitually makes plays when his team needs him to. In the bottom of the first, Bogaerts flexed with his bat instead of his glove, belting a mammoth two-run homer that soared over everything in left field to put the Red Sox ahead. Though home runs are nice, it was the big play on defense that had Bogaerts beaming, even hours later. Bogaerts demonstrated his smarts by sizing up the first-inning play before it happened. “That was nice,” Bogaerts said. “That was better than a homer. I know his pitch count was running up. He was battling throughout that first inning. I saw he was going to throw a fastball away so I kind of cheated up the middle, and he hit it perfectly where I was.” That was typical Bogaerts to make such a subtle adjustment that led to what was likely the biggest play of the game. When Bogaerts came to the plate with two outs in the first, he again sized up the moment and seized it, ripping an inside slider from Yusei Kikuchi that looked like it was in no hurry to land. “I mean I was looking for a cutter in. I know he likes his cutter. For some reason he hung that [slider] a little bit,” said Bogaerts. “I saw it a little too long.” Bogaerts used his quick hands to stay inside the ball and keep the drive fair. “I don’t know how he gets to them sometimes,” said Cora. “We talk about swings and getting on the plane and hitting the ball in the air. Well, he hits the ball in the air in a different way. It seems more like an old-school swing. Chop wood and get on top of the ball, but he’s such a strong guy, and he can get to whatever. There’s no limits when he can get up there, and I think there’s no limits also when he’s looking at something inside. That was a great game by him today.”
It was the continuation of a recent power surge in which Bogaerts hit his third homer in the last four games after not going deep in the first 17 games of the season.
“Just wait until it gets hot,” said Bogaerts. “I’ve seen a lot of guys this year hit balls that would’ve been homers, and they come back to the dugout pretty mad. I’ve been here a long time. So I know when it’s cold, you don’t have to try to hit homers. Just get your hits. Because you’ll be coming back to the dugout pretty much disappointed.”
It was a three-RBI night for the star shortstop, who is having a tremendous start to the season that has perhaps been overshadowed by the exploits of J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers. Bogaerts is tied with teammate Martinez for the MLB lead with 28 hits and is hitting .378.
That is usually how it is for Bogaerts, who sort of blends into the background even though he is a front man that puts up numbers and provides stability year after year.
If the highlight reels focus more on his monster shot on Friday, Bogaerts will go to sleep thinking about his dive and quick flip to Arroyo.
“I actually would love that defensive play instead of that homer. It saved a run,” Bogaerts said. “They could’ve easily got a rally going and got a couple more, and it kind of stopped that. That was very nice. Very big.”
Very big is an apt way to describe what kind of role the 28-year-old veteran leader plays for the Red Sox. But perhaps that doesn’t even do it justice.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 24, 2021 2:58:18 GMT -5
Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez homer as Red Sox survive late scare, squeak past Mariners By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated April 23, 2021, 10:40 p.m.
The Red Sox squeezed out a 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners Friday evening in what became a tight contest for the Sox in the final inning.
Closer Matt Barnes took on the ninth inning, allowing two to reach base. With one out in the frame, Barnes surrendered a three-run homer to Kyle Seager, cutting the Sox’ advantage to just one run. Barnes managed to get out of it, however, following a Kyle Lewis flyout and an Evan White lineout.
The Sox, meanwhile, collected 11 hits in the contest. And after a forgettable start by Martín Perez, the Sox relievers, led by Garrett Whitlock, helped to steer the Sox toward their 13th win of the year.
“That was a grind,” manager Alex Cora said. “We’ll take it. And we’re not going to complain about wins. But we had to grind that one out.”
Observations from the game:
▪ Xander Bogaerts started the week without a homer, but he has since homered in three of his last four contests. With the Red Sox down, 1-0, in the bottom of the first, Bogaerts tagged Mariners starter Yusei Kikuchi for a two-run homer. J.D. Martinez homered, too — his was a solo shot in the third that made it out just inside the Pesky Pole. Yet the home runs didn’t dictate the game entirely.
“It seems more like old school swing,” Cora said of Bogaerts. “Chop wood and get on top of the ball. But he’s such a strong guy he can get to whatever there’s no limits what he can get to.”
Both Martinez and Bogaerts helped to establish that in the fifth, just as they did the long ball earlier on. Bobby Dalbec led off the bottom of the fifth with a single, bringing Kiké Hernández to the plate, who negotiated a walk. Alex Verdugo then singled to bring up Martinez. The designated hitter grounded into a double play, but it was enough to get Dalbec in from third. Bogaerts’ single on a 3-2 fastball brought in another, forcing the Mariners to go to their bullpen, bringing a sour ending to Kikuchi’s outing.
▪ Cora and pitching coach Dave Bush don’t want Pérez to nibble around the plate. They have preached to Pérez that he’s at his best when he goes after hitters. At times, Pérez is known to get a bit gun shy, electing to work the corners instead of pounding the strike zone. That approach often doesn’t work in Pérez’s favor because he doesn’t have the command to go with it.
In his Friday evening start against the Seattle Mariners, Pérez nibbled and then some, which led to just 3 ⅔ innings — Pérez went just 3 ⅔ in his last start, too — and 83 pitches. It caused Cora to sing the same tune afterward.
“When he attacks his stuff is good,” Cora repeated.”He’s a veteran, right. And he’s been that way for a while. But I do believe with his stuff, he can live in the strike zone and induce people to weak contact. So we’ll keep preaching it.”
From the outset, Pérez couldn’t find the zone, working himself into deep counts. He went to 3-2 on both Mitch Haniger and Seager in the first and both resulted in doubles (Seager’s delivered the opening run). Haniger initially looked as if he would be out at second, but Christian Arroyo dropped the relay throw at second from Alex Verdugo in left, allowing Haniger to slide in safely.
That helped lead to a long inning, something that has become a norm for Pérez. In his first two outings, Perez had three innings where he threw at least 20 pitches.
In this contest against the Mariners, three of the four innings Pérez started resulted in a 20-pitch frame. Pérez allowed four hits but also walked four and struck out three.
“I need to get everything back and go out there and and give more than five innings,” said Pérez, who noted that he didn’t have a feel for his fastball and is still searching for his changeup. “So, I have a couple of things on my mind I want to work out this week.” Defense played a significant role
The Sox made two defensive plays that played a significant role in the outcome of this game: Xander Bogaerts’s diving stop up the middle in the first inning which started an inning-ending double play and Alex Verdugo’s assist in the fifth to nab Seager at third.
The Red Sox were up against runners at the corners in the first with White at the plate. The sharp grounder up the middle forced Bogaerts to make a quick decision and once he gathered the ball, he made the instinctual decision to flip the ball from his glove rather than transferring it to his hand.
In the fifth, White was involved in the play again. He belted a sharp liner to Verdugo in left which then ricocheted off the Green Monster. Instead of going glove-hand, Verdugo barehanded the ball and delivered a strike to Devers at third, who tagged out an overzealous Seager attempting to go first to third.
“We like the way he’s playing,” said Cora of Verdugo, who was also 3 for 5 Friday with two runs scored. “And the fact that he can play all over the place and be really good, that’s a plus for us.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 24, 2021 3:00:16 GMT -5
Why Franchy Cordero was not really out of position on a key Mariners hit Thursday By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated April 23, 2021, 5:00 p.m.
A pivotal moment in Thursday night’s Red Sox-Mariners game came with a giant question: Why on earth was Franchy Cordero playing so shallow against Seattle designated hitter Ty France on what proved to be the game-tying two-run double to left-center — the first hit allowed by Nick Pivetta — with two outs in the sixth inning?
According to MLB.com’s Statcast data, Cordero was 252 feet from home plate. That’s … really shallow. And that opened the door for France’s liner — with a projected distance of 287 feet — to sail just over the left fielder’s glove as two runs scored.
On average this year, Cordero has been positioned 296 feet from home plate. Overall, Red Sox left fielders have stood 292 feet from home with Pivetta on the mound. (That distance barely changes in two-strike counts, with left fielders at 291 feet.)
On Thursday, with Fenway Park’s fabled Wall squeezing the field, Cordero played on average 281 feet from home against Seattle’s righthanded hitters. So why was he nearly 30 feet shallower against France?
First, it’s worth noting that it wasn’t an accident. In France’s first-inning plate appearance, according to MLB.com’s Mike Petriello, Cordero was 248 feet from home on what proved to be a fly out to center. The Sox clearly wanted him to play shallow in left against France.
This year, the Sox have faced 55 righthanded hitters. Their average positioning against France on Thursday — 264 feet from home — was the shallowest they’ve positioned their left fielders against any righthanded hitter. (The deepest they were positioned Thursday was against Kyle Lewis, against whom Cordero lined up 302 feet from the plate.)
Again, why?
Since the start of 2020, France on average has hit the ball 270 feet in the air when hitting anything other than a grounder (fly ball, popup, or line drive). But that number includes four homers — each over 400 feet — against righties. For the sake of positioning, those are less relevant than balls in play.
Going into Thursday, France had put 20 non-ground balls in play to left field since the start of 2020. Of those, four would have been to Fenway’s warning track or off the Wall. Another handful were doinked to shallow left, where either an infielder gets them or Cordero has no shot.
Most of them — the ones on which positioning was most likely to affect whether it was a hit or out — were between 229 and 273 feet. The midpoint of that range? About 251 feet. The Sox presumably positioned Cordero where they thought he had the best chance to make a play on the highest percentage of balls in play.
France’s liner, however, entered a gray area beyond that plotted coverage.
On the spray chart (produced from MLB.com’s amazing Statcast tools), the blue dot in left-center represents the double France hit off Pivetta — a spot that is just beyond the range of any other ball he’d pulled in the air since the start of 2020.
In theory, the Sox could have had Cordero playing deeper. If so, perhaps he would have had a better shot at getting to the ball. But they sacrificed an outlier scenario — one inconsistent with France’s spray charts — to put Cordero in a position to cover the largest range where France typically does hit the ball.
The Red Sox played the odds. Sometimes you lose when you take such a strategy, as the Red Sox did. . But to manager Alex Cora, that outcome — in which France defeated Franchy — didn’t mean that the strategy should be altered.
“We’ve been really good about positioning,” said Cora. “I’m not going to second-guess that one.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 24, 2021 3:02:02 GMT -5
Red Sox Notebook Tanner Houck’s tinkering continues with Red Sox rotation questions looming By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated April 23, 2021, 8:18 p.m.
Tanner Houck knows he had an underwhelming start Friday afternoon at the team’s alternate site in Worcester. Houck tossed six innings, struck out six and allowed just two runs. But Houck also struggled with command, walking five in that span.
“I definitely did struggle, and I am not going to beat myself up over it,” Houck said. “But it’s part of it. I was feeling some different things with my delivery than I have when I was at my best. It’s about having a conversation with [Worcester pitching coach Paul Abbott] and I’m kind of going back tomorrow to the grind tomorrow and just pushing it.”
The 6-foot-5-inch Houck has had trouble repeating his delivery and finding his release point in the past, which is the case for a lot of pitchers of Houck’s stature. Everything has to be in synch for it all to work.
“Everyone’s going to have those days where you don’t necessarily feel that great,” Houck said. “And it might not be one of those days where your body necessarily feels bad but maybe it’s just your release point or the way that you grip the ball.”
Houck is one step away from a permanent spot in the big leagues. He’s already got the stamp from some peers and teammates. Recently it was reliever Adam Ottavino, who said Houck’s slider reminds him of his own — but Houck throws his harder, meaning it’ll play more.
“He’s nasty,” said Ottavino, who also noted that he believes Houck can remain a starter.
Houck took heed of Ottavino’s words, having conversations with the righthanded reliever on sculpting pitches, Ottavino’s speciality. Yet Houck’s stuff, while electric, hasn’t played enough to earn him a permanent spot in the rotation. At the start of spring training, pitching coach Dave Bush noted that Houck must prove he has a third pitch in his repertoire to go along with his sinker and changeup. So, Houck’s worked on a splitter, utilizing it more at the team’s alternate site where the stakes aren’t as high. Within that, though, Houck said he finds a balance between tinkering with that pitch during outings and still keeping the mindful approach of competition, understanding that the big league team might need him at any point.
“The splitter is still my third best pitch,” Houck said. “And in those [high stake] situations, I know what I’m going to go to [sinker or slider]. I know I’m going to go to my bread and butter. It’s just kind of reading the game, understanding the games, trusting the guy behind the desk to put down the right fingers at the right time.”
The Red Sox have some questions surrounding their rotation and it’s fair to ask if Garrett Richards can remain a starter or shift to the bullpen. In 16⅔ innings, Richards has a 6.48 ERA, walking 13 batters in that span. The Red Sox will likely continue to give Richards every chance to prove he can remain a starter. If not, though, that could clear space for Houck. Nevertheless, Houck said he tries not to focus on when his time might come.
“I know for me if I focus on stuff I can’t control, that’s not good for me mentally,” Houck said. That’s how you go down a wrong path.” Martinez backing Dalbec
J.D. Martinez believes Bobby Dalbec is a special talent. After going 1 for 3 in Friday night’s 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners, Dalbec is hitting .407 in his last nine games (28 plate appearances) and .269 overall. Dalbec struggled out of the gate, batting .120 in his first 28 plate appearances, and is still without a homer.
“He came on the scene last year and hit a lot of homers,” Martinez said. “He’s a great talent but I don’t think it’s fair to put that kind of expectation and pressure on him just yet. He’s got to get settled and he’s got to adjust to the league.”
Martinez would knows a bit about settling in. It’s been well-documented that after Martinez was released by the Houston Astros in 2014, he had to revamp his swing.
“You can’t prepare for Major League Baseball, there’s nothing like it,” Martinez said. “I don’t care what they say. You’re going to see glimpses of it in the minors. But in the big leagues, you’re seeing day in and day out the best pitchers in the world. And everybody’s unique. And everyone’s got, you know, nowadays, just really amazing stuff. So I think he’s going to be fine. I think he’s made some good adjustments.” Brasier still sidelined
Ryan Brasier (left calf strain) still isn’t partaking in any baseball activity, manager Alex Cora said . . . In Nate Eovaldi’s last eight starts dating back to last season, he has a 2.01 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP, allowing no homers and six walks . . . The Red Sox honored University of Kentucky basketball player and Dorchester native Terrence Clarke with a photo of him on the Fenway jumbotron, sporting a Red Sox uniform. Clarke, a former five-star recruit who attended Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, died in a car accident Thursday in Los Angeles. The freshman guard recently declared for the NBA Draft.
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