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Post by Kimmi on Apr 28, 2021 16:25:28 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 6h As the game ended, Mets fans and Sox fans were united in a chant of "Yankees suck." It's one thing you gotta love about the Mets.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 28, 2021 20:48:39 GMT -5
1-0, sweep the Mets in NY, doesn't get much better than that.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 29, 2021 1:17:41 GMT -5
pivetta 5ip/1/0/0/3bb/7k/93-55
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 4h First 1-0 shutout for the #RedSox since 4-7-19 -- a bullpen game at Arizona (Velazquez, Workman, Walden, Barnes, Brasier).
Welcome to Jacob deGrom's nightmare. Mets position players should be sued for nonsupport.
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 4h #RedSox 1, #Mets 0, final.
Sox are 16-9 and have won three straight.
WP—Pivetta (3-0). LP—deGrom (2-2). Sv—Barnes (6). A—8,051.
Red Sox struck out 15 times and won a nine-inning for the first time since Aug. 29, 2015 when they beat the Mets 3-1 at Citi Field when striking out 16 times.
Yep, deGrom started that game, too.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 29, 2021 1:42:45 GMT -5
Pivetta vs. deGrom? Sox righty earns the win 1:20 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
Did Nick Pivetta outduel the great Jacob deGrom? Kind of? Sort of? Not really.
But the gritty Red Sox righty did go toe-to-toe with the Mets’ emerging legend in leading his team to a tense and thrilling 1-0 victory at Citi Field on Wednesday night.
It was another night where it just felt like there is something special about these 2021 Red Sox, who were picked by most prognosticators to finish fourth in the American League East and currently lead the division with a 16-9 mark, which is tied with the Dodgers for the most wins in the Majors.
They took both games in Citi Field, following Tuesday’s 2-1 win with another nailbiter.
“We have our own inside joke about power rankings, and all that stuff,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “We treat it like college baseball. I told Xander [Bogaerts] before the game, we beat this guy, we might be No. 1 in the nation in the upcoming days. It's just silly stuff, but they know. They know where they're at, they know what they're doing, they knew who we were facing and it's a tough challenge.”
This latest challenge was one that nobody backed down from -- especially Pivetta (3-0, 2.81 ERA). This, even as deGrom was coming off perhaps the most brilliant start of his career, a complete-game two-hitter against the Nationals in which he walked none and struck out 15.
“The way that I go into it is I have to mentally put myself in that [place] that I'm as good as deGrom and I'm going to be deGrom,” Pivetta said. “That's just what you have to do. He's an incredible pitcher, don't get me wrong, I love watching him pitch. I think he's incredible. But I can't let him being up here, let me get down here. I have to go up and meet him right there and believe in myself.”
Somehow, Pivetta (five innings, one hit, no runs, seven strikeouts) even adopted that mindset during a pivotal at-bat against deGrom.
A career .081 hitter, Pivetta hadn’t taken an at-bat in a Major League game since Sept. 28, 2019. So there he was in the top of the third, hitting six straight foul balls before finally whiffing on the 10th pitch of the at-bat. That was the longest at-bat of his 122 plate appearances, and it just happened to occur against the man most people regard as the best pitcher in the world.
If not for Pivetta’s extended at-bat, deGrom might well have come back out for a seventh inning instead of being done after six.
“To be honest with you, I hadn’t seen a pitch thrown at me in a while,” Pivetta said. “I was just trying to compete against him, do the best I could, trying to wear down his pitches as much as I could. Luckily it worked out in my favor. You know, just trying to compete right there. I know that I'm probably not going to get a hit there. It's deGrom.”
“But if I can foul off a couple pitches, make him throw a couple balls here and there, and just wear down his pitch count, that's probably the biggest thing for me in that start. Just wearing him down and then trying to do the best I can with the job I have.”
Pivetta’s job, of course, was to pitch, and he did a fine job of that, making the 1-0 lead his team staked him to stand up.
The Red Sox scratched out the run they needed with one out in the second, when Christian Vázquez laced an RBI double to the gap in right-center to score Bogaerts, who led off the frame with a double to left.
Pivetta pitched in the National League for long enough to have a pretty good idea that deGrom wouldn’t give up a run for the rest of the night. That made him focus even more on his task, which left little to no margin for error.
“deGrom is an incredible pitcher. It's always a lot of fun facing guys like him. I don’t think there’s a guy like him,” Pivetta said. “You’ve got to keep the ballgame close. You’ve got to compete with him. You got to stay in the same rhythm as him the whole entire game.”
When Pivetta departed, the Red Sox had him covered with brilliant relief, including two more sparkling innings by standout Rule 5 pick Garrett Whitlock.
Marwin Gonzalez made a sparkling play with his glove in the eighth, leaping at full extension to snare a line drive off the bat of Francisco Lindor.
At that point, the Red Sox smelled victory.
"Nick has been throwing the ball well. He’s done an outstanding job,” said Cora. “He gave us five quality innings and the bullpen did the rest. That was fun. The two games were fun. That’s what baseball is all about, good pitching, good defense. The atmosphere was amazing and I’m just happy we got the ‘W' today, we win the series, and now we move on.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 29, 2021 1:44:12 GMT -5
April 28: Red Sox 1, Mets 0 -- Winning the nailbiters For all the talk about their offense, the 16-9 Sox are finding ways to win when they don't put up big numbers. In the 5-3 win over the Mariners, the Sox had five hits, followed by another five in a 2-1 win over the Mets on Tuesday and four hits in the 1-0 thriller over the Mets on Wednesday.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 29, 2021 2:41:11 GMT -5
Nick Pivetta, Red Sox bullpen outduel ace Jacob deGrom and Mets for 1-0 victory By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated April 28, 2021, 9:36 p.m.
NEW YORK — The Red Sox knew what they were up against in Jacob deGrom.
They knew the track record that comes with a two-time Cy Young Award winner. They were aware of the recent success, which included a nine-inning, 15 strikeout performance without allowing a run against the Nationals.
Control the strike zone and put the ball in play. That would be the Red Sox’ approach. And when it mattered most on Wednesday night, the Sox did just that, beating the Mets, 1-0, to secure a two-game sweep.
Xander Bogaerts registered the Sox’ first hit off deGrom, roping a double off the base of the left-field wall in the second inning. The next hitter, Rafael Devers, grounded out sharply to second base, but it was still enough to move Bogaerts to third.
Facing any great pitcher, an opportunity to score can be a rare occurrence. That is especially true against deGrom. In his four previous starts, he surrendered just one earned run in 29 innings while striking out 50.
That made Christian Vázquez’s at-bat, which came after Devers’s ground out, even more important. Vázquez had been struggling at the plate, becoming long with his swing, resulting in too many fly balls. That certainly wouldn’t work against deGrom.
Vázquez fell behind in the count, fouling off two four-seamers: one on the inner third, followed by a second on the outer third. Both pitches were up in the zone, prompting Vázquez to look for the same pitch and location on deGrom’s 0-and-2 pitch. Vázquez guessed right, shortening his swing on a 100-mile-per-hour high heater that he laced to right-center, driving home what proved to be the only run of the game.
“That was huge, 0-2 count, fastball up in the zone, and he was able to stay with it,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “That was a good swing. We put together some good swings in that inning.”
For six innings, deGrom was dominant, striking out nine and walking just one. He allowed three hits, all of which were doubles. Yet the Red Sox made deGrom work and weren’t totally thrown off by his four-seamer, fouling off that pitch 17 times out of the 54 he threw.
Nick Pivetta had a 10-pitch at-bat against deGrom in the third inning. Despite it ending in a strikeout, it was the longest at-bat a hitter has had against deGrom this season.
“That’s like a hit for us,” Vázquez said. “A very good at-bat.”
Once deGrom came to the plate in the bottom half of that inning, he joked with Vázquez that he was going to do the same to Pivetta. DeGrom struck out, which was one of Pivetta’s seven.
Despite deGrom’s dominance, Pivetta won the evening, tossing five innings and yielding just one hit. Pivetta, who pitches with an edge, said he prepared for this start as if he was deGrom’s equal.
“The way that I go into it is I have to mentally put myself in that I’m as good as deGrom,” he said. “I’m going to beat deGrom. That’s just what you have to do. He’s an incredible pitcher, don’t get me wrong. I love watching him pitch. I think he’s incredible.”
In Pivetta’s last two starts (12 innings), he’s allowed just two hits and two earned runs. He still hasn’t lost in a Sox uniform. Dating to last year, he’s 5-0, and he improved to 3-0 this season with a 2.81 ERA.
Garrett Whitlock relieved Pivetta and pitched the sixth and seventh innings. Adam Ottavino worked the eighth, and Matt Barnes had a 1-2-3 ninth for the second night in a row, this one for his sixth save of the season. Related: The Red Sox’ Rafael Devers has a well-earned reputation as a clutch player
The Red Sox struck out 15 times Wednesday. The last time they fanned 15-plus times and won a nine-inning game was on Aug. 29, 2015, when they struck out 16 times. The team? The Mets. The location? Citi Field. The starter? Jacob deGrom.Timely hitting won again Wednesday.
“We put the ball in play,” Cora said. “For how much we’ve been striking out lately, we fought for all of them today, and it’s a testament to our offense. We feel we’re a good offensive team, and we hit good pitching.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 29, 2021 2:54:48 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 8h Just think about some of the spots for Devers in his young career.
- Game 5, 2018 #ALCS -- winning RBI - Game 1, 2018 World Series -- winning RBI - Game 4, 2018 World Series -- go-ahead RBI
No wonder why Alex Cora doesn't feel like any moment is too big for him. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 29, 2021 2:58:19 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 6h Alex Cora -- 'Nick has been throwing the ball well. He did an outstanding job. He gave us five quality innings and the bullpen did the rest.'
'That was fun.' #RedSox
Cora -- 'It feels great to win these two games like that. There's something about close games and well-pitched games.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 29, 2021 2:59:42 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 6h Cora -- 'We have our inside joke about power rankings and all that stuff. We treat it like college baseball.'
'They know where they're at. They know who we're facing.' #RedSox
Cora -- 'I went to college. I know how it works. I don't know how we jumped from 20 in the nation to 4.'
'We just feel that we're a good baseball team.'
'We have to keep going.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 29, 2021 3:01:22 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 6h Cora on the 10-pitch at-bat by Pivetta -- 'If you're in a National League park, you have to do your job. He helped himself.' #RedSox
Cora on his trust in Whitlock -- 'He earned it. This guy has been a strike-throwing machine. He has great stuff.'
'When you can throw strikes with that stuff it's easy to trust him.' #RedSox
Cora on the Vazquez double -- 'That was huge -- 0-2 count, fastball up in the zone, and he was able to stay with it. That was a good swing. We put some good swings in that inning.' #RedSox
Cora said holding deGrom to just six innings 'was a moral victory for us.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 29, 2021 3:02:50 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 6h Pivetta -- 'I'm comfortable here and I'm really happy here.'
'I'm grateful for the Boston #RedSox believing in me and being able to show what I'm worth and what I can do for a team.
Pivetta -- 'The guys behind me make me believe in myself. The guys on the bench make me believe in myself. Christian Vazquez makes me believe in myself.' #RedSox
Nick Pivetta -- 'deGrom is an incredible pitcher. It's always a lot of fun facing a guy like him -- I don't think there's a guy like him.'
'You've got to keep the game close.'
'Once you get a lead you've got to keep it there.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 29, 2021 3:03:29 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 6h Replying to @billkoch25 Pivetta -- 'I haven't seen a pitch thrown at me in a while. I was just trying to compete against him.'
'I know that I'm probably not going to get a hit there. It's deGrom.'
'Just wearing him down and trying to do the best I can with the job I had.' #RedSox
Pivetta -- 'I'm comfortable here and I'm really happy here.'
'I'm grateful for the Boston #RedSox believing in me and being able to show what I'm worth and what I can do for a team.'
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 29, 2021 3:05:14 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 5h Christian Vazquez -- 'We're pitching good. Nine zeroes. We're doing a great job and executing everything.'
'All the pitchers are working. Defense is there for us.' #RedSox
Vazquez -- 'It's the same language we were talking in 2018.' #RedSox
Vazquez on plate umpire Jerry Layne, who left in the 3rd after being hit by a foul tip -- 'If I didn't hold him he was on the ground. He was falling down.'
'He told me, 'I'm dizzy, man.''
'It was scary.' #RedSox
Vazquez -- 'It's tough to beat that guy. He's a Cy Young pitcher. It's important to score first and get that run first.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 29, 2021 3:12:09 GMT -5
Red Sox
Boston Red Sox’s Nick Pivetta battles Jacob deGrom in 10-pitch at-bat: ‘That probably changed the complexion of the game’ Updated 12:33 AM; Today 12:27 AM
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
NEW YORK -- Nick Pivetta will probably remember Wednesday’s win over the Mets for his five shutout innings, but his third-inning at-bat against Mets ace Jacob deGrom was pretty memorable as well.
Pivetta, who entered Wednesday with a career 9-for-109 (.083) line as a hitter, led off the third inning by battling deGrom for 10 pitches before eventually striking out. It was the longest plate appearance by any hitter against deGrom in five starts this year and was especially unlikely considering Pivetta’s last plate appearance was on Sept. 28, 2019.
deGrom exited the game after throwing 93 pitches in six innings, so it’s possible Pivetta’s at-bat kept him from going out for a seventh inning. The unlikeliest of battles was a highlight for the Red Sox in their 1-0 win at Citi Field.
“I haven’t seen a pitch thrown at me in a while,” Pivetta said. “I was just trying to compete against him, do the best I could, trying to wear down his pitches as much as I could. Luckily, it worked out in my favor. Just trying to compete right there. I’m probably not going to get a hit there. It’s deGrom. But if I can foul off a couple pitches, make him throw a couple balls here and there and just wear down the pitch count, that’s probably the biggest thing for me in that start.”
Pivetta got ahead of deGrom with a 2-1 count before fouling off six consecutive pitches. On the 10th pitch, deGrom got Pivetta with a low slider.
“I don’t ever want to strike out but he made a really good pitch and he got me,” Pivetta said.
When deGrom stepped to the plate in the bottom of the third, he joked with Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez that he planned to battle Pivetta in the same way. He wasn’t that far off, as he saw six pitches before striking out.
Because the universal designated hitter rule is expected to come back in 2022, this might be the last season in which big-league pitchers hit. The Pivetta vs. deGrom battle might go down as one of the most impressive at-bats by any Red Sox batter this season.
“That’s what it’s all about,” said manager Alex Cora. “It’s a team sport and everybody has to do their part. If you’re hitting in a National League park, you have to do your job. He helped himself. That was a great at-bat.
“We kept saying, ‘Just foul off five more. Five more pitches,’” Cora added. “I know he wanted to get a hit, but that at-bat probably changed the complexion of the game.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 29, 2021 3:18:39 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox notebook: Christian Vázquez gets game-winning hit, Marwin Gonzalez has web gem in win; Rafael Devers ‘just a happy guy’ Updated 1:31 AM; Today 1:27 AM
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
NEW YORK -- Entering Wednesday, Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez was 7-for-49 (.143) with zero extra-base hits in his last 13 games. After starting off scorching hot, Vázquez entered into a prolonged slump and even went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts Tuesday.
Before the game, manager Alex Cora said that when Vázquez is going well offensively, he hits the ball to the opposite field. Facing Mets ace Jacob deGrom with a runner on third base in the second inning of Wednesday’s game, Vázquez did just that, lacing an RBI double into the right-field gap that would prove to be the difference in a 1-0 win.
“That was huge,” Cora said. “0-2 count, fastball up in the zone and he was able to stay with it. That was a good swing.”
The Red Sox had only four hits in the victory, and Vázquez’s was the most important. The catcher said he was looking for a high fastball and drove one when deGrom obliged.
“I think that’s a big double for us, a big run,” Vázquez said. “We score first. It’s tough to beat that guy. It’s tough. A Cy Young pitcher. It’s important to score first and get that run first.”
The clutch hit might be a sign Vázquez is about to break out of his slump.
“He has a tendency of getting big. He starts hitting too many fly balls and he starts getting long,” Cora said. “The good hitter is the one that stays short to the ball and drives the ball to right-center.”
Gonzalez has web gem in 8th
With Adam Ottavino on the mound and the Red Sox clinging to a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning, Marwin Gonzalez made one of Boston’s best defensive plays of the young season. Francisco Lindor ripped an Ottavino fastball toward right field but Gonzalez made an incredible leaping catch to rob him of a hit.
“When he can get that height like that and make that play, that’s huge for the guys,” said Sox starter Nick Pivetta. “It’s huge for the momentum and it makes us feel that much better. So hats off to him. It was an incredible play and he’s an incredible player.”
The ball came off Lindor’s bat with an exit velocity of 95.9 mph.
Whitlock shines in big role
Reliever Garrett Whitlock continued the impressive start to his career, tossing two scoreless innings in relief of Pivetta. Pitching the sixth and seventh, Whitlock allowed two baserunners -- on a single and a walk -- while striking out four Mets.
The fact Cora was willing to go to Whitlock for two innings in a 1-0 game showed the confidence the club has in the Rule 5 righty.
“He earned it,” Cora said. “This guy, he’s a strike-throwing machine with great stuff. Great composure. We’ve been talking about this kid from the get-go.
“When you can throw strikes with that stuff, it’s easy to trust him,” Cora added. “He can get lefties and righties out. It was a perfect situation for him.”
Whitlock has now started his big-league career with 13 ⅓ scoreless innings and has recorded 18 strikeouts.
Devers ‘a happy guy’
Over the weekend, the Red Sox released a video of third baseman Rafael Devers talking with hitting coach Tim Hyers behind the batting cage at Fenway Park. In it, Devers had a simple message.
“They pay me good, I play baseball and I hit homers,” Devers said.
Cora said the clip was a good encapsulation of what Devers brings on a daily basis.
“He’s just happy. He’s a happy guy,” Cora said. “He’s happy, he makes a lot of money and he hits home runs. How can you go against that? The way Timmy presented it to you guys and the fan base, that’s who he is. Yeah, he gets upset, but he enjoys playing the game. The moments are not big for him. They’re not. It’s more because he trusts himself, he trusts the ability and at the same time, he’s so relaxed he’s able to produce in (clutch) situations.”
Arroyo will return in Texas
Second baseman Christian Arroyo (left hand) was out of the lineup for the second straight game but was available off the bench, Cora said. Arroyo is expected to start at least one game during the upcoming series against the Rangers.
Rangers up next
After sweeping the Mets, the Red Sox will finish their road trip with a four-game series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Here are the pitching probables for Boston’s series with the Rangers:
Thursday, 8:05 p.m. -- LHP Martín Pérez (0-1, 5.71 ERA) vs. RHP Kyle Gibson (2-0, 2.30 ERA)
Friday, 8:05 p.m. -- RHP Nathan Eovaldi (3-2, 3.77 ERA) vs. RHP Kohei Arihara (2-2, 4.03 ERA)
Saturday, 7:05 p.m. -- LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (4-0, 3.52 ERA) vs. RHP Jordan Lyles (1-2, 6.75 ERA)
Sunday, 2:35 p.m. -- RHP Garrett Richards (1-2, 4.94 ERA) vs. RHP Mike Foltynewicz (1-3, 4.61 ERA)
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