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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 20, 2021 20:28:27 GMT -5
It should be a game of bullpens at this point. Nice recovery by Matz. Pivetta wasn't sharp, but got done in by a couple of Baltimore chops.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 20, 2021 22:14:21 GMT -5
Outstanding victory. Nice production from the bottom of the lineup. Sloppy defense, but we'd been doing okay for a while now. We got lucky again on the sequencing. In the first two innings, Pivetta allowed one walk, one single, and four doubles. They did get three runs, but it could've been worse. Jut a nice professional HR by JD to take the lead in the 9th. I think the pitch had him fooled a bit, but it looked like he slowed down his swing and took it the other way. And I love opposite field HRs.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 3:04:57 GMT -5
J.D.'s milestone HR (250) in 9th wins it 3:27 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
If you are down by a run and down to your last out, you might as well have your best hitter at the plate.
It came down to that for the Red Sox on Thursday night at TD Park in Dunedin, Fla., and J.D. Martinez did not disappoint.
Instead, he delivered his team perhaps its most thrilling win yet of 2021, and that is saying something in what has been a memorable first few weeks of the season for the American League East-leading Red Sox.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, Martinez unloaded on an 0-1 slider from Rafael Dolis for a go-ahead, two-run homer that led the Red Sox to a hugely-satisfying 8-7 victory over the Blue Jays.
The way the normally low-key Martinez clutched his fist as he ran around the bases showed how satisfying.
“It was just a big at-bat,” said Martinez. “Big situation against that team, a team we’re going to be battling with all year. To kind of steal one like that is big for us. They’re on our heels in the standings. I know it’s early, but any time we play them, these are the games you kind of gain those gaps on. So, it was a big one.”
The homer was No. 250 in Martinez’s career, and No. 226 since the Houston Astros released him seven years ago.
“It’s a blessing,” said Martinez. “Would never have imagined that I would have hit 250 homers. If you had told me that 10 years ago, my career kind of took a roller coaster early on, but God guided me and he got me to here. I give thanks to him.”
With the win, the Red Sox once again managed to hold on to sole possession of first place in the division, extending their stay alone at the top to 41 days. A loss would have ended that run.
“What an amazing win, what a great game,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “What a big league W.”
This was a game the Sox led 5-2 after a thrilling surge of offense in the top of the second, when, with two outs and nobody on base, they came up with seven consecutive hits.
But with starting pitcher Nick Pivetta having a rare off-night and the defense (three costly errors) melting down in the fifth and sixth, Boston was down, 7-5, entering that final frame.
Bobby Dalbec, who had the big blast (a three-run homer) in the second-inning surge, started the game-tying rally when he singled. Michael Chavis, who made one of those errors by dropping a throw at second base, made up for it with a key single that put two on with none out.
“It was a battle the whole game,” said Martinez. “Chavis and Dalbec did a really good job of getting on base and just starting that whole situation in the ninth.”
When Alex Verdugo hit a fielder’s choice grounder that trimmed the deficit to a run for the second out, it was all up to Martinez.
“Obviously, my job is to hit and to drive in runs,” Martinez said. “Those situations, the team’s depending on me to go up there and put a good at-bat together and hit the ball hard. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. All I can control is my preparation and doing all the work and getting ready for that at-bat, really. The rest is up for chance, really.”
This was the ultimate chance for Martinez to erase the bitter taste of his previous at-bat, when he struck out looking on a low-and-outside pitch that he thought was out of the strike zone.
“He just works so hard at his craft, even on nights when quote-unquote he struggles, he's one at-bat away from changing the game,” said Cora. “He was very upset with the strikeout the last [at-bat]. He thought the pitch was outside, and at the end it was a perfect pitch. After that, he went to the cage and kept working and got a pitch up in the zone, close to him, and he put a great swing.”
After the star slugger took a slider from Dolis for strike one, he mauled the next slider at an exit velocity of 104.4 mph and a projected distance of 402 feet into the jet stream in right-center to put his team ahead for good with the milestone dinger.
For the 27-18 Red Sox, it was sure to be a happy flight to Philadelphia.
“It’s a huge team win. It’s massive,” said Pivetta. “Guys staying in ABs starting off that ninth inning. It’s incredible what these guys can do, but it’s what we’ve been doing. It’s what we’re capable of. It’s what’s going to keep happening.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 3:32:01 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 6h Xander Bogaerts is playing one hell of a shortstop tonight.
No. 250 sure came at the right time for JD Martinez.
#RedSox 8, #BlueJays 7, final.
Sox now 27-18 and have won five of seven.
All 8 runs came with two outs. They took 2 of 3 from the Jays.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 3:35:49 GMT -5
J.D. Martinez’s last-ups blast highlights rally of the Red Sox season, beating Jays By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated May 20, 2021, 11:03 p.m.
DUNEDIN, Fla. — J.D. Martinez was perhaps another choice word or two from being ejected in the seventh inning, when he argued with umpire Mark Wegner following a called third strike on a close pitch.
Martinez, who rarely bickers with the umps, returned to the dugout hoping he would get another chance.
It came in the ninth inning with the game on the line, and he belted a two-out, two-run homer to lift the Red Sox to an 8-7 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Martinez didn’t miss his pitch, sending a hanging slider from Rafael Dolis deep into the Florida night. It was his 12th home run of the season and the 250th of his career.
“I was just trying to go up there and hit it hard,” Martinez said. “It was a big win.”
Martinez, who was released by the Astros in 2014, said he never imagined he’d hit 250 homers.
The first-place Sox (27-18) took two of three from the Blue Jays and have won five of seven overall. It was their 17th comeback victory.
Matt Barnes closed the Jays out for his 10th save in 11 chances. He struck out three, working around a two-out walk with an overpowering fastball as the Sox-centric crowd of 1,562 celebrated.
“What an amazing win. What a great game. What a big-league ‘W,’” manager Alex Cora said.
Dolis inherited a 7-5 lead. Bobby Dalbec and Michael Chavis started the inning with singles. Barnes immediately started throwing in the bullpen, knowing the game could change quickly in the small, wind-blown spring training ballpark where the Jays have been playing their home games.
A wild pitch moved them up and Dalbec scored when Alex Verdugo grounded to first base for the second out. Martinez took a low slider for a strike, then hammered the next to right center.
“Even on nights when he quote unquote struggles, he’s one at-bat away from changing the game,” Cora said.
It was the first Red Sox go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of a road game since Sept. 2, 2018, when Brandon Phillips hit his only home run with the club to beat the Atlanta Braves.
All eight runs by the Sox scored with two outs. Toronto pitchers had retired 10 in a row before the ninth.
Trailing 2-0, the Sox made two quick outs in the top of the second inning. Christian Vázquez was nearly the third, but he fouled off a two-strike pitch before dropping a single into right field. It was the first of seven consecutive hits, as the Sox scored five runs against Steven Matz.
After Vázquez singled, Hunter Renfroe singled to center. Dalbec then launched a curveball to right field that got caught in the wind, but hit the foul pole for a home run.
Chavis kept the inning going with a double to the gap in right. Kiké Hernández singled into left field, the ball deflecting off the glove of shortstop Marcus Semien just enough for Chavis to score. Singles by Verdugo and Martinez drove in Hernández.
Four of the seven hits in the inning came with two strikes.
But the Sox did not score again off Matz, who went six innings and threw only 45 more pitches. And Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta, who has been strong all season, could not hold the 5-2 lead.
Up 5-3, Pivetta walked Semien to start the fifth inning. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled with one out, chopping a single into right field against a shift as Semien took third.
Teoscar Hernández followed with a slowly hit ball to third base that popped out of Rafael Devers’ glove for an error and Semien scored. Cavan Biggio then grounded a single to center to drive in Guerrero with the tying run.
With Pivetta at 95 pitches, the Sox tried Hirokazu Sawamura in the sixth inning. He had not pitched in eight days, and it showed.
Danny Jansen ripped a low fastball to the gap in right. Renfroe misplayed the ball and Jansen ended up on third. Jonathan Davis followed with a single to left to give the Jays the lead.
With two outs and runners on first and second, Hernández hit a sharp grounder up the middle that Bogaerts dove to stop and flipped to second. But Chavis dropped the ball for another error, and it proved costly when Randal Grichuk singled to drive in Davis. That gave the Jays a 7-5 lead.
The Sox weren’t sharp on the mound or defensively. But they overcame it.
“It was a huge team win. It was massive,” Pivetta said.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 3:52:41 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 ·
First time working since May 11 for Hirokazu Sawamura. Warmed in the bullpen last night. Hasn't quite nailed down a role yet. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 3:54:07 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 5h
Cora -- 'What an amazing win. What a great game. What a big-league W.' #RedSox
Cora -- 'That's what we do, man. We show up, we play and we move on.' #RedSox
Cora -- '(Barnes is) our closer. He's been doing a great job. He made some great pitches.' #RedSox
Cora -- 'I actually thought we were in good shape with first and second (in the 9th). Where they were in the bullpen and where we were in the bullpen, I didn't mind tying the game.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 3:56:25 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 5h Nick Pivetta -- 'It's a huge team win. It's massive. Guys staying in ABs, starting off that 9th inning -- it's incredible what these guys can do.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 3:57:50 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 5h Replying to @billkoch25 Barnes on his velocity tonight -- 'I've had a few days off.'
'Been working on staying through the ball a bit the last couple days.' #RedSox
Barnes -- 'I'm going to stay to my strengths. I'm going to continue to pound the zone and come after guys.' #RedSox
Barnes -- 'That's a good win as a team.' #RedSox
Barnes on the Martinez home run -- 'It's not surprising at all. He's an incredibly hard out.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 3:58:39 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 5h Context on this -- Barnes has recorded 103 outs on fastballs since the start of 2020. Only one was harder than the 98.2-mph pitch he threw to strike out Jansen. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 4:00:55 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 5h Martinez -- 'It was just a big at-bat. Big situation against that team. It's a team we're going to be battling against all year.' #RedSox
Martinez on coming through for the team -- 'It's my job -- to hit and to drive in runs. Those situations, the team is depending on me to go up there and put a good at-bat together.' #RedSox
Martinez -- 'I was just trying to go up there and hit it hard, really.' #RedSox
Martinez -- 'It was a big win. It was a battle the whole game.' #RedSox
Martinez on 250 career home runs -- 'It's a blessing from God. I would never imagine I'd hit 250 home runs if you told me that 10 years ago.' #RedSox
J.D. Martinez hit his 200th home run 2 years, 12 days ago. His father, Julio, was in Baltimore to watch his son's milestone. Bad timing in Dunedin to see Martinez reach No. 250.
'I wish. It was during the week. They’ve got to work.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 4:07:39 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 8h Just an insane rally for the Red Sox. Two outs, none on, then... seven straight hits, four of them (including the first 3) in two-strike counts. They hadn't had more than four two-out hits in any single inning this year prior to the second inning against Matz.
Barnes faces 4 batters - none puts a ball in play. 3 Ks, 1 BB. He threw harder than he has all year, topping out at 98.7 mph - a reflection of 3 days of rest. Might've been too strong, hence some command issues, but ... shows overpowering stuff after his first blown save of 2021.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 4:15:56 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox notebook: Michael Chavis ‘kept his head up,’ delivered big hit in ninth after error; David Ortiz tweets, ‘That’s how we do it’ Updated 2:14 AM; Today 1:00 AM
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
Michael Chavis’ sixth-inning error led to a Blue Jays run, but he made up for it with a big hit during Boston’s ninth-inning rally.
The Red Sox scored three runs in the ninth inning to post an 8-7 comeback victory over the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla. on Thursday. J.D. Martinez’s two-run home run to center field capped off the rally.
Chavis connected on an 0-2 slider from Blue Jays right-handed reliever Rafael Dolis who was trying for his fourth save. Chavis sent it for a single to center field after Bobby Dalbec singled to lead off the inning.
“I’m glad he kept his head up today and kept grinding,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said about Chavis. “It wasn’t an easy game for him. But the fact that he had a big at-bat at the end, that’s what we ask from them. We ask that from Michael to J.D. to Xander (Bogaerts) to (Rafael) Devers. Just keep playing the game. And today, he did that and he came up with a big hit at the end.”
Chavis’ error came with two outs in the sixth.
Teoscar Hernandez ripped a 104.9 mph grounder that Xander Bogaerts fielded diving to his left. Bogaerts flipped to Chavis at second base.
But Chavis dropped what should have been a force-out to end the inning. Instead, it loaded the bases for Randal Grichuk who stroked an RBI single to put Toronto ahead 7-5.
“It’s a huge team win,” Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta said. “It’s massive.”
David Ortiz pumped
Red Sox legend David Ortiz was pumped.
Ortiz simply tweeted “@jdmartinez28″ after the DH blasted the go-ahead homer.
Ortiz then tweeted, “Thats how we do it @redsox” after Matt Barnes converted his 10th save.
Barnes’ velocity
Matt Barnes struck out the side in the ninth inning and pitched around a walk. He featured his best fastball velocity this season.
Barnes threw seven fastballs, topping out at 98.7 mph and averaging 98.1 mph, per Baseball Savant. His average fastball velocity this season is 95.8 mph.
It was the first time Barnes had pitched since Sunday when he allowed a two-run homer to Shohei Ohtani for his first blown save this season.
“I had a few days off,” Barnes said. “I wasn’t happy with the pitch I threw Ohtani the other day. I feel like I kind of pulled it middle-in and kind of cut it off a little bit. So been working on staying through the ball a little bit the last couple of days. And just tried to transition that into the game and be aggressive through the zone. I don’t know if there’s anything in particular to attribute maybe any uptick in velocity. Just a few days off, pretty fresh and felt good.”
Pivetta pitched better than his line
Nick Pivetta pitched 5 innings, allowing five runs (four earned), seven hits and two walks while striking out eight.
The Jays scored twice against him on weak contact in the fifth inning.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 94.0 mph single was the hardest hit ball that inning. No other ball put in play had more than a 65.2 mph exit velocity.
Cavan Biggio’s single to tie the game had only a 59.0 mph exit velocity and beat the shift.
The Blue Jays also scored on Teoscar Hernandez’s 65.2 mph grounder to third that Rafael Devers bobbled for an error.
“I felt really good,” Pivetta said. “I had a really good curveball going. I had command of my slider. I felt like fastball command was actually pretty good tonight. As a whole, I felt really good.”
Bogaerts with two strikes
Xander Bogaerts entered Thursday 12-for-40 (.300) after getting behind 0-2 in the count and 15-for-48 (.313) after falling behind 1-2 in the count. He also entered slashing .287/.343/.479/.822 with five homers in 102 plate appearances with two strikes this season.
“I feel comfortable with two strikes most times than not knowing that I can lay off that slider that I had a lot of problems with early in my career,” Bogaerts said.
ERod 0-for-20
Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez is 0-for-20 with 10 strikeouts as a hitter in his career. He will receive another chance to collect his first hit Sunday in an NL park, Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park.
“I’d be really happy if he gets one but I’d also be really surprised,” Bogaerts said.
Bogaerts estimated Rodriguez, who homered a couple times in batting practice this week, has a 1% chance of connecting for a hit.
“Just because he has pop,” Bogaerts said. “Listen, man. If he swings at the right time, the right moment on the right pitch, he can hit it far. I can give him that. He can hit it far. But he needs a lot of things to go in his favor for him to hit it.”
Pitching matchups in Philly
The Red Sox and Phillies open a three-game series in Philadelphia on Friday.
Friday: LHP Martín Pérez (1-2, 3.40) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (3-3, 3.64), 7:05 p.m.
Saturday: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (4-2, 4.20) vs. RHP Chase Anderson (2-4, 6.96), 7:15 p.m.
Sunday: Eduardo Rodriguez (5-2, 4.70) vs. Zack Wheeler (3-2, 2.52), 1:05 p.m.
Red Sox vs. Yankees time change
Boston and New York’s June 6 game at Yankee Stadium has been moved to Sunday Night Baseball. The game initially was scheduled for the afternoon, but it will start at 7:08 p.m. on ESPN.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 4:16:47 GMT -5
J.D. Martinez’s 250th homer in ‘rollercoaster’ career allows Boston Red Sox to ‘steal one’ against Blue Jays Updated 2:08 AM; Today 2:05 AM
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
J.D. Martinez’s 250th career homer turned a one-run deficit with two outs in the ninth inning into an 8-7 Red Sox come-from-behind victory over the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla. on Thursday.
“It’s a blessing from God,” Martinez said. “I would never have imagined I’d hit 250 home runs if you would have told me that 10 years ago. My career’s kind of taken a rollercoaster, early on. But God guided me and he got me to here. And I give thanks to him.”
The DH connected on an 89 mph slider from Blue Jays right-handed reliever Rafael Dolis who was trying for his fourth save. He crushed it 402 feet to center for a two-run blast.
He showed some emotion as he rounded the bases.
“It was just a big at-bat,” Martinez said. “Big situation against that team. It’s a team we’re going to be battling with all year. So to kind of steal one like that is big for us. They’re on our heels in the standings. I know it’s early but any time we play them, these are the games you kind of gain those gaps on. So it was a big win.”
Martinez had struck out in his previous at-bat in the seventh inning.
“He works so hard at his craft,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Even in nights that he quote-unquote struggles, he’s one at-bat away from changing the game. He was very upset with the strikeout. ... He thought the pitch was outside. At the end, it was a perfect pitch. But then after that, he went to the cage and he kept working. And he got a pitch up in the zone close to him and he put a great swing.”
Martinez did have a rollercoaster career early on.
The Astros released him during spring training 2014. But he overcame adversity even before that.
It all started June 9, 2009, when the Astros drafted him in the 20th round (611th overall) out of Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He signed two days later and was the sixth outfielder on his rookie ball team, as he told MassLive.com in 2018.
What was his plan against Dolis?
“It’s top secret,” Martinez joked. “Trying to get all my tricks? What’s wrong with you? I was just trying to get a good pitch to hit, honestly. He’s a guy who throws the ball hard kind of everywhere. I’m just trying to get a good pitch to hit.”
Bobby Dalbec and Michael Chavis led off the ninth inning with singles.
“It was a big win,” Martinez said. “It was a battle the whole game. Chavis and Dalbec did a really good job of getting on base, starting that whole situation in the ninth.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 4:20:34 GMT -5
Red Sox Notes @soxnotes · 8h After his 3-run HR in the 2nd inning, Bobby Dalbec leads the Red Sox with 16 RBI in May. He has 4 HR in his last 11 games.
Since acquiring Nick Pivetta, the Red Sox are 10-1 in his starts. This is only the second time in franchise history the Sox have won at least 10 of a pitcher’s first 11 starts with the club. (In 1938, they went 10-1 in Joe Heving’s first 11 starts.)
(h/t @eliassports )
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