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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 27, 2021 16:25:22 GMT -5
Pete Abraham
@peteabe
·
46m
A Red Sox pitcher hasn't batted since Rick Porcello on Sept. 15, 2019 at Philadelphia.
Last Sox pitcher with a hit: David Price RBI single at Arizona April 6, 2019.
Nick Pivetta career: 9 for 109 with a double and one RBI.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 27, 2021 16:26:09 GMT -5
Pete Abraham
@peteabe
·
50m
Sox have what amounts to a two-man bench. Verdugo and Plawecki with Arroyo as a pinch runner and defensive replacement. Probably not as a hitter for a few days.
Asked Cora if he'd consider using a pitcher as a pinch hitter or pinch runner.
He said, in essence, no.
And Cordero. Forgot he wasn't in the lineup.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 27, 2021 19:17:02 GMT -5
The opposite field HR by Dalbec is what will keep him the league.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 27, 2021 20:04:29 GMT -5
Just saw the replay of one of the Vlad HRs. The ball just changed area codes.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 27, 2021 20:24:32 GMT -5
Huge start by Richards. What he needs now is to follow up with something similar, kind of for muscle memory purposes.
Oh, and we need to hold on and win.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 27, 2021 21:54:27 GMT -5
It doesn't get much better than this. We really needed the win since I don't relish the thought of facing DeGrom tomorrow. We got a 13/0 K/W from 3 guys I wanted a performance from. Dalbec finally went deep. Based on his HR/FB this year, he should have had 3 HRs already. Maybe this opens the flood gates.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 28, 2021 2:21:56 GMT -5
Pete Abraham
@peteabe
·
7h
Bobby Dalbec downtown.
1-1.
Dalbec got under that ball a little and it still went 390.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 28, 2021 2:23:32 GMT -5
Pete Abraham
@peteabe
·
6h
That's 10 strikeouts for Richards. First time he's hit double digits since April 21, 2018 when he had 11 for the Angels vs. the Giants in Anaheim.
Heck of a start for Garrett Richards.
7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K, 1 HR, 93/70.
#RedSox 2, #Mets 1, final.
Sox now 15-9, 7-1 on the road.
Sox pitchers retired the final 10 Mets in a row.
WP—Richards (1-2).
LP–Peterson (1-3).
Sv—Barnes (5).
T—A very crisp 2:38.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 28, 2021 2:24:33 GMT -5
Pete Abraham
@peteabe
·
5h
Solid win for the Sox particularly facing deGrom tomorrow.
They have won 15 of 21.
Jonny Miller: "What did Richards have going for him tonight?"
Alex Cora: "Besides everything?"
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 28, 2021 3:10:02 GMT -5
Quick study: Richards dominates Mets in win
1:23 AM ADT
Molly Burkhardt
Molly Burkhardt
@mollyburkhardt
Garrett Richards had a lot to prove coming into Tuesday’s series opener vs. the Mets. After laboring through his last start vs. Toronto, the right-hander showed up to Citi Field a new pitcher.
In a 2-1 victory against the Mets, Richards appeared to be in total control of his entire arsenal, with a noticeable change in his delivery.
Ahead of the opener, manager Alex Cora mentioned that Richards had been working with pitching coach Dave Bush in between starts, making various mechanical adjustments.
“Me and Bushy over the last few days have really been working on simplifying my delivery to help me put myself in a better position to throw the baseball,” Richards said. “Before I was working a little bit side to side, which was throwing off my release point and causing me to kind of add extra effort in some places in my delivery that were throwing me off. So we kind of came up with something that would be simple for me to be able to repeat.”
Judging by Tuesday’s performance -- it appears the adjustments paid off.
Working through seven innings, the righty struck out 10 and walked none. His only blemish was a second-inning homer to Jeff McNeil, who he later got swinging on a 1-2 fastball to end the fourth.
"He's got nasty stuff,” McNeil said. “He pitched incredible today. They're tough to hit when they're on. … He's got plus stuff. He's got a four-seam fastball that cuts a lot. It's basically a cutter. It's tough. And his slider-curveball combination, they're plus pitches. His curveball is great and he was using it well, and was able to use that fastball up in the zone late. We kind of thought he was a guy who threw a lot of offspeed with two strikes, and he was throwing that fastball up. It made it tough to get to, and made uncomfortable at-bats for us."
The shift in Richards’ effectiveness was evident from the start, opening the game with a 1-2-3 inning that ended with a Pete Alonso strikeout. After needing 92 pitches to get through 4 2/3 vs. the Blue Jays, Richards threw 93 (70 for strikes) in Tuesday’s seven-inning effort.
“This is the guy we envision,” Cora said. “You know stuff wise, he’s one of the best in the league. And if he can repeat his delivery, stay under control, we know that he can do this every five days. He can be really good, give us a quality start and give us a chance to win. So we’ll build up from this one, get him ready for the next one and keep working on the things that he needs to work to keep getting better.”
Prior to Tuesday’s win, Cora noted that among the adjustments Richards was making, his slider was in need of attention. Hours later, Richards threw his slider for 20 pitches, generating 12 swings and six whiffs.
“I haven’t really had a feel for my slider since the season started until tonight,” Richards said. “And so, with the work that we’ve done in my delivery, it’s allowed me to get both my breaking pitches and my fastball back in the zone. And that’s kind of always what it’s ever been, just me being in the zone. I’m not necessarily a guy who spots the ball, but I am in the zone, my stuff is kind of moving all over the place.”
Coming off a 2020 season in which Boston’s staff posted the second-worst ERA (5.58) in the American League, its rotation was one of the club’s biggest question marks entering ‘21. Add in the loss of Chris Sale -- who is in Florida continuing his progression from Tommy John surgery -- and the effectiveness of the rotation was even more in doubt.
Fast forward nearly a month into this season, the Red Sox are sitting near the top of the AL with a 3.81 ERA (fifth-best).
“We like our pitching staff,” Cora said. “And one of the things we’ve been talking about, we’ve been walking a lot of people. But the last two games, with Eddie [Rodriguez] and Garrett, we attacked the strike zone, we got a lot of swing and misses and there was not a lot of traffic out there.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 28, 2021 3:11:34 GMT -5
Fastballs, fast tempo keying Barnes' success
April 27th, 2021
Molly Burkhardt
Molly Burkhardt
@mollyburkhardt
As a veteran of Boston’s bullpen having made his debut in 2014, Matt Barnes took on a new responsibility this season as the closer.
So far, so good.
After winning the role in Spring Training, the righty has been a reliable arm for the Red Sox, with a 3.00 ERA in 11 appearances (12 innings), going 4-for-4 in save opportunities entering Tuesday’s series opener vs. the Mets.
His approach in 2021? Working with a quick tempo and attacking the strike zone.
“We’ve been able to put together a really good game plan,” Barnes said. “I’ve said it before this year, we looked at some of the analytical stuff on attacking the strike zone and working quick and forcing guys to kind of make some decisions at the plate. And I’ve taken that wholeheartedly and really tried to use that to my advantage.”
In 2019, Barnes was turning to his curveball more than his fastball for the first time since joining the Red Sox, throwing the curve 656 times compared to the four-seamer 607 times. Barnes said he had a misconception about fastballs, that they were “straight and true and never moved,” which led the right-hander to lean on his curve.
“So when I accepted that and got off of this historical idea that a four-seamer is just completely true and straight, then I was able to understand how and why it played in the zone just as good as my curveball. Which has allowed me to attack the zone more with the fastball and subsequently allows me to get worse swings on both of those pitches out of the zone.”
After 11 appearances, his manager likes the changes he’s seen in his closer.
“He’s been good, he’s been really good,” manager Alex Cora said. “Good fastball, good breaking ball, throwing a lot of strikes. … You know he’s attacking from pitch one. He’s in total control of the situation on the mound and we’re very happy with the way he’s going about it.”
Facing deGrom
On Wednesday, Nick Pivetta and the Red Sox will face off against Jacob deGrom. The Mets’ ace has pitched to a remarkable 0.31 ERA in four starts this season, striking out 15 batters while throwing a shutout in his last outing vs. the Nationals.
“Well, hopefully we get the lead and they pinch-hit for him,” Cora said. “Although he’s hitting .500 or whatever. But yeah, we’ll be limited, but this is the roster that we have and obviously we’re good with the roster that we have for obvious reasons. As a group, we’ll make decisions based on what we can do and obviously what we cannot do. But it’s two games, you know, get the lead and that will solve all the problems.”
Injury updates
Alex Verdugo was once again out of the starting lineup ahead of Tuesday’s series opener vs. the Mets. After experiencing left hamstring tightness in Saturday’s loss to the Mariners, Verdugo was a late scratch from Sunday’s series finale. Although Verdugo wasn’t starting, Cora said the outfielder is “good to go.”
Christian Arroyo was also out of the lineup, after getting hit by a pitch on his left hand on Sunday.
“A little bit banged up, he’s sore,” Cora said. “You know, he’s available, but obviously you know it has to be in kind of like a ‘perfect situation.’ He can come pinch-run, play defense. Swinging the bat, we’ll see how he feels during the day, but we’d rather stay away from him.”
Cora said the team expects Arroyo to be OK by the time the Red Sox open a four-game series vs. the Rangers in Arlington on Thursday.
(More) Fans at Fenway
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced on Tuesday that starting May 10, indoor and outdoor large venues can operate at 25 percent capacity, up from 12 percent. The updated guidelines will allow Fenway Park to welcome around 9,400 fans, starting with their series opener against the A’s on May 11.
Since the start of the season, the Red Sox have hosted between 4,500-4,700 fans per home game, and will play three more at Fenway (vs. the Tigers) before the capacity increases.
“I think we have such an advantage at home with our fans because of how great they are and how hard they make it to play there for visiting teams,” Barnes said. “I’m super excited to get to 25 percent. … I mean that’s incredible, especially coming from nothing last year. I mean 10,000, it’s going to feel like a packed stadium.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 28, 2021 3:13:05 GMT -5
April 27: Red Sox 2, Mets 1 -- Comeback kids
After falling behind on Jeff McNeil's second-inning homer, the Red Sox tied the game with a Bobby Dalbec solo shot and took the lead for good on Rafael Devers' RBI single. With the win, Boston earned its Major-League-leading 12th come-from-behind victory. The Mariners have the second-most with seven. The Red Sox moved to 9-8 when their opponent scores first, and are 15-1 when holding the lead at any point.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 28, 2021 3:19:58 GMT -5
Francisco Lindor hears it from Mets fans in 2-1 loss to Red Sox, but Jacob deGrom on deck Wednesday
Updated Apr 27, 2021; Posted Apr 27, 2021
By The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Garrett Richards finally found the strike zone and punched out 10, Bobby Dalbec hit his first homer of the season and the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Mets 2-1 Tuesday night.
Richards (1-2) allowed a run and seven hits over seven innings, issuing no free passes one start after walking six. The right-hander trimmed his ERA from 6.48 to 4.94.
Boston improved to an AL East-leading 15-9, including a major league-most 12 comeback victories.
Jeff McNeil put New York up 1-0 with a homer in the second, but Dalbec tied it with a shot to right-center leading off the third. Rafael Devers put Boston ahead with an RBI single in the sixth, scoring Kiké Hernández after his leadoff double.
Matt Barnes fanned Pete Alonso and J.D. Davis during a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save. Alonso struck out four times.
Barnes quick-pitched Alonso for strike two, apparently upsetting the slugger. Alonso stared down Boston’s closer after fouling off the pitch, then failed to check his swing on a breaking ball for strike three.
David Peterson (1-3) permitted two runs in six innings for the Mets. The left-hander induced 12 groundouts and struck out three while giving up four hits and two walks.
Richards had walked 13 batters over 16 2/3 innings to begin his first season with Boston, but mechanical tweaks had him pounding the zone Tuesday. He ditched his full windup and took some movement out of his typically noisy delivery, and that helped him throw 70 of his 93 pitches for strikes, including 19 swings and misses.
The 32-year-old — who has tantalized between repeated injury woes throughout his career — posted double-digit strikeouts for the first time since setting a career high with 11 on April 21, 2018, with the Angels.
Primarily a fastball-slider pitcher, Richards mixed in 20 looping curveballs. The Mets took eight of them for strikes and whiffed on two more.
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New York started hitting the ball hard the second time through the order, but Boston limited the damage. Richards stranded two in the fourth, James McCann and Kevin Pillar were thrown out on the bases in the fifth and Richard stranded two more in the sixth.
Brandon Nimmo, the NL leader in on-base percentage at .477, was out of the starting lineup for New York a day after getting an injection for an impingement in his right hip. He pinch hit in the seventh and struck out.
DIRTY WORK
Alonso turned in a defensive highlight at first base in the fifth, flopping toward the line to grab Dalbec’s sharp grounder before getting to his feet and diving to tag the bag with his glove.
Two-time Gold Glove winner Francisco Lindor got the Mets out of the seventh by snaring Marwin González’s liner and sprawling onto second base to double up Hunter Renfroe.
BOO WHO?
Lindor was booed after grounding out in the eighth inning. He’s hitting .212 since signing a $341 million, 10-year deal on the eve of opening day.
“It’s our fan base being passionate, as they are,” Rojas said. “Wanting us to perform better, to win games. I’m sure it’s not the last time we’ll hear a reaction from our fans.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: CF Alex Verdugo and INF Christian Arroyo were both held out of the lineup but available off the bench. Verdugo had a hamstring cramp Saturday and sat out Sunday. Arroyo was hit by a pitch Sunday on his left hand. Verdugo entered as a defensive replacement in the ninth.
Mets: LHP Stephen Tarpley was optioned to the alternate site and INF José Peraza was recalled. ... The club has arranged for players, coaches and other Tier 1 personnel to receive their second coronavirus vaccine after Wednesday’s game, taking advantage of a day off Thursday to deal with any side effects. The team will remain short of the 85% vaccination rate required by Major League Baseball to begin easing certain safety protocols. ... The Mets and Yankees may increase capacity from 20% to 33% starting May 19, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.
UP NEXT
Mets ace Jacob deGrom (2-1, 0.31 ERA) faces Boston RHP Nick Pivetta (2-0, 3.48) to complete the two-game series. The right-handed deGrom struck out a career-high 15 without a walk in a two-hit shutout against Washington last time out.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 28, 2021 3:28:54 GMT -5
Bill Burt
@burttalkssports
· 6h
LOL
Garrett Richards for Mayor of Boston.
Welcome to Boston.
Jon Couture
@joncouture
·
6h
“You’re not going to give up on a player on April 25. If not, you made the wrong choice with our roster. So we’ll keep pushing." -- Alex Cora (on Franchy Cordero, but the same applies here)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 28, 2021 3:31:44 GMT -5
Julian McWilliams
@byjulianmack
·
7h
man... Cordero was nowhere near any of those pitches.
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