California Angels @ Red Sox Game Thread/14th-16th May 2021

Boston Red Sox notebook: J.D. Martinez makes sliding catch, Hunter Renfroe hits fourth homer this month, slugging .615 in May
Updated 12:30 AM; Today 12:15 AM

By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com and Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com

BOSTON — Red Sox manager Alex Cora mentioned before Friday’s game that DH J.D. Martinez enjoys playing the outfield.

“J.D., for some reason, when he plays the outfield, he feels more looser,” Cora said.

Martinez made his seventh outfield start this season Friday. It also marked his second start in left field in the past two days.

The 33-year-old slugger made a sliding/diving catch to record the first out of the second inning on Jared Walsh’s 231-foot bloop to left. The Red Sox won 4-3 over the Angels at Fenway Park.

“I know he’s primarily a DH, but he cares about what he does on the field when he has the opportunity to play left field,” Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta said. “He goes out there and he wants to win baseball games. ... He works hard every day. He’s an incredible athlete. He’s a great hitter.”

Renfroe blasts fourth homer this month

Hunter Renfroe put the Red Sox ahead 2-0 in the second inning with a 430-foot, 108.6-mph two-run homer to center field. He connected on a 94 mph four-seam fastball from Angels starter Griffin Canning.

Renfroe is 17-for-52 (.327) with a .615 slugging percentage, four homers, three doubles, 11 RBIs and 10 runs in 13 games during May.

“He’s putting the ball in play,” Cora said. “He’s going the other way. He’s not pulling too many pitches. When we went to Arlington (to play the Rangers), he hit that big home run to the pull side and then after that, he’s been staying on pitches up the middle the other way. He’s been playing a lot against righties, putting good at-bats.”

Renfroe has taken on a full-time role in right field since since Kiké Hernández went down late last week. He has delivered, playing strong defense while showing a stark improvement at the plate.

“We’re very pleased with the way his at-bats are going,” Cora said. “We’ll be versatile, we’ll take care of people. That’s the beauty of our roster. Here, you don’t have to play 155 games to be part of the equation. You’ve got Marwin (Gonzalez), Enrique (Hernández) and Alex (Verdugo) and you can move them around, so that’s a plus for us. We’ll give him off days like everybody else, but you’re going to see him a lot in right field.”

Pivetta issues no walks

Nick Pivetta entered his start Friday averaging 5.4 walks per nine innings. But he didn’t walk anyone in 6-plus innings against the Angels.

He allowed two runs and four hits while striking out seven.

The righty threw 50 four-seam fastballs, averaging 95.3 mph and topping out at 97.4 mph, per Baseball Savant. He mixed in 22 sliders, 19 curveballs and one changeup.

“Commanded the strike zone really well tonight,” Pivetta said. “Didn’t give up any walks, which is a really huge plus. And just attacked the hitters.”

Dalbec’s splits

Bobby Dalbec homered Friday against left-handed reliever Tony Watson.

He has crushed lefties this year, going 14-for-38 (.368) with three home runs against them. He has not fared as well vs. righties (8-for-69, .116 average).

Dalbec hit righties well (.903 OPS) after making his debut last summer but has not been able to solve them so far this year. Earlier this week, Cora started Michael Chavis over him on back-to-back nights against righty starters Chris Bassitt and James Kaprielian.

“I do believe that he can hit righties,” Cora said. “It’s just a matter of getting there on time and putting good swings.”

In Dalbec’s final minor league season in 2019, he had a better OPS against lefties than righties (.910 to .785). But in both 2017 and 2018, he hit right-handers better. He said Friday that he approaches all pitchers the same way.

“To me, it’s the same puzzle,” Dalbec said. “I’ve never really felt like righties have given me a lot of trouble. Obviously, the splits would say differently this year. It’s always part of the same puzzle for me in my head.”

Dalbec said he believes vision, timing and where righties are pitching him are contributing to the struggles and that he’s not getting to some pitches that he has in the past. He’s working hard before games to get back on track.

“I watch my video but I try not to nitpick too much because I’ll get into that mode where it’s a paralysis by analysis kind of thing,” he said. “It will hurt me sometimes. I try to keep up with my video and make sure I’m getting to certain checkpoints that I know I need to.”

Arroyo behind Hernández on comeback trail

Second baseman Christian Arroyo (left hand contusion) might not be ready to be activated off the injured list after the minimum 10 days are up Wednesday, Cora said. Arroyo participated in soft toss drills Friday. He is expected to take batting practice Saturday. The club has not yet mapped out a schedule for him to participate in rehab games at Triple-A Worcester.

“He did soft toss only,” Cora said. “It’s part of the progression. He was okay yesterday. They felt like today should be soft toss only. Tomorrow, if everything goes well, he’ll hit BP and then we’ll go from there.”

Kiké Hernández (right hamstring strain) is slated to play in Worcester on Saturday and Sunday and is expected to be activated Tuesday before Boston’s game against the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla.

Cora praises Trout

The weekend series against the Angels will give Red Sox fans a rare chance to see superstar Mike Trout play at Fenway Park. Cora is excited to see Trout play again but wouldn’t go as far as to say he thinks he’s the best ever.

“He’s a complete player,” Cora said. “I hate to compare him with other players. I saw Barry Bonds, I saw Alex Rodriguez, I saw Manny (Ramirez) hitting from the right side, (Albert) Pujols early in his career. But this kid, he’s that good. It’s just amazing, the plate discipline. When the stuff is this good and he has been able to control the strike zone, barrel pitches in the strike zone and be very disciplined outside of it, it’s amazing. He is that good offensively. He is that good.”

Entering Friday, Trout was hitting .355 with eight homers in 32 games. His 1.150 OPS -- if he keeps it up -- would be the best of his storied career.

“I know he works hard on his defense,” Cora said. “He wants to be better. He wants to get better jumps, he wants to be more accurate with his throws. He keeps working to be better. I’ll take that ‘better’ right now. I’d take that… I’d take that package. But the fact he’s willing to put the work to get better is amazing. Everything I hear from people who worked with him and are working with him right now, he gets it and he wants to win, too, which is very important.”

Dalbec, who has never played against Trout before, was hoping to meet him.

“It’s Mike Trout,” Dalbec said, pausing. “He’s Mike Trout. It’s pretty cool.”

Rotation will stay in line

Despite the Red Sox having three off days in an 11-day span starting Monday, they plan to keep their rotation in order. Cora had previously expressed a desire to separate Nathan Eovaldi and Eduardo Rodriguez -- who have been pitching on back-to-back days -- but doesn’t think that’s necessary now that Garrett Richards, Nick Pivetta and Martín Pérez are going deeper into games.

“We’re in good shape. The other guys are throwing the ball, they’re going deep into games, too,” Cora said. “That was the only reason. We felt like the other guys were just going five, but now they’ve found their groove and they’re going actually deeper than the other guys. Maybe we have to split the other guys so we can reset our bullpen. All joking aside, we’re in a good spot right now. I think those two guys, they need their days, too. We’ll keep it as it is right now.”

Halos @ Red Sox
Saturday, 15th May 2021
4pm @ Fenway

Bundy 0-4/ 5.03

Is winless in his 7 starts this season. Was removed in the 4th inning in his last game after being destroyed by the Dodgers. Has pitched into the 6th inning or more in five of his starts.

Perez 0-2/ 4.01

Has posted a 2.02 ERA in his last 3 starts. Has started 10 games at Fenway as a member of the Red Sox and is still searching for his first win there.

Winless pitchers meet as Angels, Red Sox continue series
According to STATS


The Boston Red Sox will host the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park, with infielder Michael Chavis looking to get a start for the fifth game in a row.

Chavis spent the entire first month of the season at the Red Sox alternative training site, except for getting into one game as a pinch runner on April 10. But he was called up May 7 to replace Enrique Hernandez, who was placed on the injured list.

Chavis is trying to make the most of his opportunity, getting starts at both first base and second base. In Friday's 4-3 win over the Angels, Chavis went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts, and in six games total, he is hitting just .227.

Chavis, who is listed as 5-foot-10, 210 pounds, has slimmed down somewhat from last season and acknowledges it has made a difference for the better. On Thursday against Oakland, he stretched a hit into a double thanks to feeling lighter on his feet.

"I'd say it helps a lot in regards to the performance, obviously it helps because I'm definitely faster, able to be a little more athletic," he said. "But for the mentality, I'm also a little bit more willing to take those riskier plays and know that I have a good shot of making it. And that's potentially one of those plays I'm not sure if I take or one of those risks I'm not sure I take in 2020."

Left-hander Martin Perez (0-2, 4.01 ERA) will make his eighth start of the season for Boston, still looking for his first victory. It's not that he hasn't pitched well enough to win -- he has allowed two earned runs or fewer in five of his seven starts, including the last four.

But the Red Sox are averaging just 3.4 runs per game in his starts.

Like Perez, Angels starter Dylan Bundy (0-4, 5.03 ERA) is looking for his first win of the season after seven starts. Bundy also has pitched well enough to win, lasting at least six innings in five of his starts.

Third baseman Anthony Rendon returned to the Angels lineup on Friday and went 1 for 4 with a run scored and two strikeouts, and the club is certainly happy to have the 2019 All-Star on the field after two stints on the injured list.

Both of his injuries were of the freak variety -- a strained groin sustained in cold, rainy weather in Dunedin, Fla., after a rain delay and 10 p.m. start, and a foul ball off his knee.

"It's more frustrating when it's something that's not your fault," Rendon said. "Like, if I pulled a hamstring because I didn't take care of my body or I wasn't in the weight room or I wasn't stretching, that would be my fault. But the first time I had an IL stint, we started the game at 10 o'clock at night and it was wet and cold. We were just trying to stay warm and loose. That was frustrating. And then I smoked a ball off my knee."

--Field Level Media


Angels
at
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Saturday, at 4:10 PM EST
Partly Cloudy
According to Forecast.io, it's expected to be 70° F with a 1% chance of rain and 7 MPH wind blowing right to left in Boston at 4:10 PM EST.
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