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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 22, 2021 16:03:34 GMT -5
As always limited pre game news on the weekend anyway, I do not like Cordero in the line up at all but hell, they win spite of it so keep it rolling suspect that his time and Chavis is short to stay anyway.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 22, 2021 18:15:47 GMT -5
1. Enrique Hernandez (R) 2B 2. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 3. J.D. Martinez (R) RF 4. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 5. Danny Santana (S) CF 6. Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B 7. Franchy Cordero (L) LF 8. Kevin Plawecki (R) C 9. Nathan Eovaldi (R) P
That's a strange lineup with Verdugo out and no DH. A couple of days ago, Dalbec/Cordero were batting 8th/9th, and Santana was in the minors.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 22, 2021 18:19:47 GMT -5
As always limited pre game news on the weekend anyway, I do not like Cordero in the line up at all but hell, they win spite of it so keep it rolling suspect that his time and Chavis is short to stay anyway. Both need a season in AAA, but Cordero is not quite the automatic out he was earlier this year. Chavis, however, is still rocking a 12/0 K/W in 31 ABs.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 22, 2021 18:23:18 GMT -5
Ouch. When I read about Spencer's promotion, I though he was starting on Sunday and pushing Wheeler back one day. Oh well..............
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 22, 2021 20:57:11 GMT -5
It feels like Cora went into this game just waiting to bring in Taylor against Herrera & Maton. Nice move.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 22, 2021 22:30:57 GMT -5
Another nice performance. Great outing by Ottavino, but a good all around job by the BP, with a 9/2 K/w in 3.2 IPs, with one ER from Valdez. It feels like Cora set up our lefties nicely against the Philly lefties.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2021 3:19:14 GMT -5
Hernandez's clutch K's help Sox win in Philly 1:51 AM ADT Ian Browne
Darwinzon Hernandez's coming of age moment just might have happened in a thrilling bottom of the seventh inning on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Boston’s talented yet inconsistent lefty reliever came on to quite a spot in this one. The Phillies had the bases loaded and one out, with Bryce Harper coming up and the Red Sox clinging to a two-run lead.
If there has been a frequent criticism of Hernandez, it’s that he sometimes nibbles, loses command and doesn’t trust his electric stuff as much as he should. At a time the Red Sox needed it most, Hernandez struck out Harper on three straight fastballs.
Without question, it was the key sequence in Boston’s 4-3 victory over the Phillies.
“I went out there with the mindset that I just had to go out there and attack the hitters,” said Hernandez. “It’s something that we always try to do when we’re in the game, just attack, attack, attack and I was able to do that and get the job done.”
After the key strikeout of Harper, Hernandez hit Rhys Hoskins with a first-pitch heater to force in a run and trim the lead to one.
This was a situation that could have unnerved Hernandez, especially when his 1-2 fastball to Brad Miller looked like a clear strike, but was called a ball. Two pitches later, Hernandez fanned Miller on a fastball, pumped his fist with elation and headed back to the dugout -- his team still in possession of the lead.
“You know, it was a big moment. A big spot,” Hernandez said. “Obviously after I hit the previous batter I had the bases loaded and it’s just a lot of emotions flowing through. When I was able to get that out, it was an exciting moment.”
After losing the first game of this six-game road trip, Boston won the next four and will try to finish strong in Sunday afternoon’s finale.
While the Red Sox are 29-18 and have led the American League East for 42 consecutive days, the most concerning area of their club has been the bridge to closer Matt Barnes, which has too often been wobbly.
For one night, those worries were put to rest.
In his 10-pitch sequence to get those two pivotal outs in the seventh, Hernandez threw nine fastballs.
Adam Ottavino took over in the eighth and was just as impressive as Hernandez, striking out the side on 15 pitches to put the game into the trusty right hand of Barnes, who did the rest.
“Very aggressive,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Ottavino. “There was something, you could see the body language on the mound, he made some great pitches on [Odúbel] Herrera. He mentioned the other day he’s close. I think the stuff is a lot better than last year, we know that. It’s just a matter of executing pitches and he did tonight.”
Nobody has executed as consistently for the Red Sox when it matters the most as Barnes. And when the Phillies had the potential tying and winning runs on base with just one out, he got Harper on a groundout and then struck out Hoskins in a four-pitch at-bat in which he threw all curveballs.
“He’s been awesome,” said right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, who got the win. “Just watching him grow and develop, even from ‘18 when I got over here, he’s attacking the zone a lot more. His mechanics are a lot cleaner, I feel. It’s an uncomfortable at-bat for them. That’s what you want, especially when he’s out there closing games for us.”
Eovaldi the hitter helps his cause For someone who entered his first at-bat on Saturday night with a career on-base percentage of .115, Eovaldi did a commendable job of earning his way on base with an eight-pitch walk that jump-started a two-run Boston rally to break a scoreless tie in the top of the third.
“It was actually a great at-bat,” said Cora. “I always joke around with them about 3-2 counts at the big league level right now. If you are a bad hitter and have no chance, it should be an auto take because it’s 50-50 -- 50 percent it’s a ball, 50 percent it’s a strike. If you swing, the odds of you getting on base go way down.”
Eovaldi also showed good baserunning instincts, advancing to second on a wild pitch and scoring on a one-out double by Rafael Devers.
“I was kind of in between with that fly ball to right. Wasn’t sure if I should tag up or get out there. Looked like he wasn’t going to get to it, so I started taking off. I was able to score and put one on the board,” Eovaldi said.
The righty turned in a solid performance on the mound, giving up five hits and two runs over 5 1/3 innings. The only down note was that his impressive streak of going 68 1/3 innings without giving up a homer finally ended when Hoskins took him deep in the sixth.
“It’s unfortunate, but like you said, it’s not going to last forever. Go out there and keep competing,” said Eovaldi.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2021 3:20:57 GMT -5
Notes: Devers on All-Star path?; Sale throws May 22nd, 2021 Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
At the age of 24, Rafael Devers is somehow playing in his fifth season for the Red Sox.
While he’s hit at a high level since the day he arrived, Devers has taken his game up a notch in terms of the consistent excellence he is displaying so far this season.
At this point, he looks poised to become an All-Star for the first time in his career.
“Yeah, obviously if they select me, it's great but if they don't, then you know, that's, that's fine, too,” Devers said through an interpreter. “I’m just out there trying to be the best version of myself and trying to win ballgames. You know, obviously, if I do get that invite, it's a great accomplishment, but not something that I'm really focused on.”
In typical Devers fashion, he'll let his bat make his All-Star campaign speech.
Entering action on Saturday, Devers was tied for the lead among Major League third basemen in homers (12) while leading the Majors at his position in RBIs (37) and extra-base hits (25). His .588 slugging percentage and .945 OPS trailed only the Cubs' Kris Bryant for tops at the third-base position. He was tied for second at his position in runs and hits.
The only two players in the Majors who started the day with more than the 22 barrels by Devers?
Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr.
Devers has these stellar numbers despite going way out of the strike zone at times and getting himself out.
“Offensively, he is who he is and we like him the way he swings the bat,” said manager Alex Cora. “Sometimes he’s out of control, but we’ll take Raffy the way he goes about his at-bats.”
After struggling on defense earlier in the season, Devers has also cleaned that up and has been playing a solid hot corner.
“Defensively, I know people sometimes take defensive runs saved seriously and sometimes they don’t,” said Cora. “But he’s a +1 right now and if you look at the guys around him that are +1, there are some really interesting names and good defenders right there with Rafael Devers, so we’re very proud of him.”
Sale/Brasier updates For the Red Sox, it has to be tantalizing to think about how their successful season so far could be enhanced if Chris Sale can make it back at some point in July or beyond.
The ace continues to progress in his rehab from Tommy John surgery.
“Actually, Chris was on the mound this morning,” said Cora. “Him and [Ryan] Brasier. Brasier threw a bullpen. Chris threw a flat ground and got off the mound again so we got the report. ... Everything seemed fine, he was able to repeat his delivery."
The next key step for Sale will be when he starts facing live hitters.
As for Brasier, who hasn’t pitched this season due to a left calf strain, his progress bears watching because of the issues the Red Sox have had with setup relief.
“He’s not that far off,” said Cora. “But I think the next step will be live BP probably. Do that a few times and from there we’ll decide what we’re going to do.
Verdugo will rest in Philly A day after tweaking his left hamstring and leaving the game after three at-bats, outfielder Alex Verdugo was not in the lineup for the Red Sox on Saturday. It’s likely he won’t play Sunday either.
The Red Sox are off on Monday, so the goal is to get Verdugo back in the lineup for Tuesday’s home game against the Braves.
“We’ll stay away from him [Saturday],” said Cora. “In case of emergency we’ll use him. As you know we have an extra position player, but most likely we’ll stay away from him over the weekend and get him ready for next week.”
Marwin getting beat by heat Marwin Gonzalez has given the Red Sox a lift with his defensive versatility, but he’s struggled to contribute with his bat (.199 average, .572 OPS). The reason is that he’s getting beaten on fastballs.
“One thing that he’s been fighting is catching up with the fastball,” Cora said. “He has a game plan. But it feels like … I don’t want to say he’s afraid, but he’s conscious that he’s not catching up with it. So he doesn’t want to buy into what he’s thinking or what he’s seeing, you know what I mean?"
The addition of Danny Santana will give Cora the opportunity to pick his spots a little more with Gonzalez.
“This is the toughest stretch for him with the strikeouts. It’s been tough. One thing for sure, he’s such an asset in every other aspect of the game that we’ll play him. Most likely he’ll play second tomorrow. He understands where we’re at right now. It’s not that we’re going to unplug him, but we’re going to help him out to get some matchups that favor him. But he’ll get out of it.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2021 3:32:04 GMT -5
Bullpen saves Nate Eovaldi, Red Sox By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated May 23, 2021, 2 hours ago
Manager Alex Cora knows Darwinzon Hernandez can sometimes get wrapped up in an outing. But Cora doesn’t try to shut off the reliever from his emotions. The Sox manager, instead, wants Hernandez to channel them in a useful direction.
So, with the bases loaded Saturday in the seventh, after Phillips Valdez hit the Phillies’ Jean Segura to load the bases, Hernandez’s emotions were put to the test.
Cora called on his reliever with just one out in the frame to protect a 4-2 Sox lead. Hernandez struck out Bryce Harper on three pitches, but hit Rhys Hoskins, narrowing the Sox lead by just a run.
The next batter, Brad Miller, who already had two hits, struck out on a 95 mile-per-hour heater above the zone. It helped fasten what ended in a 4-3 Sox win.
Hernandez roared with elation.
“It was a big moment,” Hernandez said afterward. “Big spot, obviously, you know, after I hit the previous batter and having the bases loaded. It just was a lot of emotions flowing through. So when I was able to get that out, it was an exciting moment.”
The Red Sox’ fate fell on the club’s bullpen and it responded. Adam Ottavino worked a scoreless eighth, and Matt Barnes notched a save in the ninth. The Sox relievers pitched 3⅔ innings and collected nine strikeouts in the win.
“It didn’t look easy, but they were amazing,” Cora said. “The pitching staff did an amazing job.”
When Nate Eovaldi, who got the start Saturday, plunked Angels’ Anthony Rendon to begin the second inning of his previous appearance, it was the beginning of what ultimately ended in a forgettable start for the righthander. Eovaldi threw 38 pitches in that bottom frame, and even though he limited the hard contact, the Angels tagged Eovaldi for four runs and a 4-0 deficit.
In the second inning Saturday night, Eovaldi walked the leadoff hitter, Odubel Herrera. But he responded in this outing by retiring the next three hitters he saw to end the inning.
“The first two innings of tonight I was kind of battling mechanics, and then I was able to figure it out in that second inning,” Eovaldi said. “I was able to get out of it. And that’s always big.”
In some sense, Saturday’s outing resembled how he looked in his first two starts of the season. Despite registering 99 on the gun, Eovaldi effectively worked in his five-pitch mix. He switched up his pace in his delivery which kept the Phillies off balance.
“I think it just adds another thing in there that they have to worry about,” said Eovaldi regarding switching up the timing in his delivery. “Especially when you got certain guys who have the high leg kick or the toe tap and they’re trying to time you up.”
There was finesse that powered his game, not necessarily velocity. It wasn’t until the fourth inning that a Herrera sac fly, following a Miller triple, scored the Phillies’ first run, shrinking the Sox’ lead, 2-1.
The Red Sox established their offense and scored their first two runs of the contest in the third. Rafael Devers’s double dropped beneath the glove of the outstretched Bryce Harper, allowing Eovaldi, who negotiated a walk off starter Spencer Howard, to cross home. Then Xander Bogaerts’s sacrifice fly added on that second run.
That wouldn’t be the end of Bogaerts, who jumped on reliever Sam Coonrod for his 10th homer of this season. Danny Santana followed Devers and hit his second home run in as many days. Prior to Saturday, Eovaldi held the longest active streak (63 innings) without allowing a homer. Yet that was snapped in the sixth when Hoskins belted a solo homer to left. Miller followed Hoskins with a sharp liner for a single, ending Eovaldi’s night at 5⅓ innings.
The Sox are now 29-18 and still have a one-game lead over the Rays in the American League East. They will have a chance at a sweep Sunday, an opportunity spearheaded by Hernandez and the Sox bullpen.
“I just went with the mind-set that I just have to go out there and attack the hitters,” Hernandez said. “That’s something we always try to do.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2021 3:36:27 GMT -5
Red Sox Notebook Rafael Devers’s gift of pitch recognition has led to the best start of his career By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated May 22, 2021, 7:35 p.m.
In the top of the seventh inning Friday, one of Rafael Devers’s many gifts at the plate made its way to the surface. The Red Sox were leading the contest, 6-3, vs. the Phillies but Devers’s two-run homer off Phillies reliever Connor Brogdon extended the Sox’ lead in their eventual 11-3 win.
The home run was Devers’s 12th of the year, which again tied with J.D. Martinez for the most homers on the Red Sox. The way Devers got to that 12t home run, however, tells a better story on just how gifted he is at the plate.
On a 3-2 pitch, Brogdon attempted to pull the string on Devers with a changeup. Initially, it looked as if Brogdon achieved that. Devers’s body was out in front on the pitch, yet his hands remained back just enough for him to park Brogdon’s offering in the right field seats.
Devers entered Saturday’s contest off to the best start of his career. He was hitting .281/.357/.588 with a .945 OPS and 37 RBIs. Within that, though, is Devers’s gift of recognizing spin, break, offspeed pitches, adjusting on the fly even when it looks like he’s fooled and still producing serious damage.
“He sells out for the fastball, and he’s able to keep his ground,” manager Alex Cora said before the game. “He seems like he’s out in front, but the bat head stays back. There are guys that can do different things with their body. I always said that Mookie [Betts] and Francisco [Lindor] they’re so flexible and explosive that they’re able to gain ground and stay back and then from there, just explode and hit the ball hard. Raffy is very similar.”
As of Saturday, Devers was hitting .364 on breaking pitches and .444 on offspeed pitches. This comes despite an approach that relies on aggressiveness, that can flirt with pitches outside the zone. Despite that, Devers still feasts.
“I’ve always been able to see the way the ball breaks and things like that,” said Devers, who was 1 for 5 Saturday with an RBI during the Red Sox won, 4-3. “It just sometimes comes down to being able to hit them. Sometimes we can hit them. Sometimes we can’t hit them. But it’s all about just making adjustments, whether it’s breaking pitches, whether it’s fastballs, you just have to make the adjustments that are needed to be able to just make adjustments to do damage on these pitches.”
To the point on fastballs, Devers has struggled against that pitch, hitting just .191 on the heater with a 37.9 whiff percentage before Saturday’s game. Nevertheless, Devers still has found ways to thrive, beginning with the offspeed and breaking pitches.
“We would love him to just swing at strikes,” said Cora, noting that Devers can sometimes have an overzealous approach. “But at the same time, we understand that this is who he is, and he can do damage with pitches up and out of the strike zone and especially with offspeed pitches.” Marwin Gonzalez struggling against fastball
Marwin Gonzalez has flashed an above-average glove on defense, particularly at second base. But the 32-year-old veteran has struggled mightily at the plate, batting .199 in 154 plate appearances to go along with just one homer in that span. He’s in the midst of an 0-for-15 skid, too.
“The one that he’s fighting is actually catching up with the fastball,” Cora said. “He has a game plan. But it feels like he’s conscious that he’s not catching up with it. So he doesn’t want to buy into what he’s thinking or what he’s seeing.”
Gonzalez, who played in 39 of the Red Sox’ 46 contests was supposed to get an off-day, but ended up pinch hitting in the eighth for Kevin Plawecki on Saturday and snapped his hitless streak with a single to right.
“It’s been tough,” Cora said. “But one thing for sure, he’s such an asset in every other aspect of the game.” Chris Sale returns to mound
Chris Sale threw a flat ground and got on the mound again Saturday ... Ryan Brasier (calf strain) threw a bullpen ... Red Sox pitching prospect Eduard Bazardo (lat strain) will be out for a while, per Cora. The Sox manager said he will have more information on the extent of the injury Sunday ... Alex Verdugo (left hamstring tightness) will likely sit the rest of this series ... Cora and the Sox want to take advantage of the upcoming off-day Monday by giving Verdugo three straight days of rest ... Jarren Duran was 5 for 5 for the WooSox Saturday with two singles a double and two homers. He’s now hitting .299 in 17 games and his seven homers are tied for the most home runs in Triple-A East.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2021 3:42:00 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 8h Nate Eovaldi the first Red Sox pitcher to score a run since 8-23-2019 at San Diego when Eduardo Rodriguez reached on an error and scored on a Martinez homer.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2021 3:42:47 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 7h Two games for Danny Santana, two home runs.
4-1 Sox as he goes back-to-back with Xander Bogaerts.
Xander Bogaerts didn't hit his first home until April 20. Eduardo Rodriguez predicted that day he'd finish with 35, which Bogaerts quickly shot down.
Now he has 10 with the season 29 percent over. 35 is in play. He had 33 in 2019.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2021 3:44:23 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 5h
Sox (29-18) have won four straight and 7 of 8.
Phillies (22-24) have lost four in a row.
9 Ks in 3 2/3 innings for Sox relievers tonight
#RedSox are 15-6 on the road and have won seven of nine.
Danny Santana starts again tomorrow. Two homers in two games.
"We'll throw him out there somewhere," Alex Cora said.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2021 3:47:22 GMT -5
Red Sox Notebook: Errors piling up for Rafael Devers, but Alex Cora ‘proud of him’ for overall contributions Cora” ‘Proud of him’ for overall contributions
By Jason Mastrodonato | jason.mastrodonato@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald PUBLISHED: May 22, 2021 at 7:17 p.m. | UPDATED: May 22, 2021 at 7:44 p.m.
Defense hasn’t been the Red Sox’ strong suit early on this season.
They entered Saturday with 32 errors, second-most in the majors, while their third baseman, Rafael Devers, has made seven of them, tied for fifth-most among all big leaguers.
“There’s going to be moments where obviously I’ve made some errors here and there, but I never let it get to me,” Devers said before Saturday night’s game in Philadelphia. “The following day or the following moment, I just try to put it in the back of my mind and continue to get better. But I feel I feel good out there and my confidence has never wavered.”
Early in Devers’ career, manager Alex Cora compared him to Adrian Beltre, who made 20-plus errors in three of his first four seasons, but later in his career won five Gold Glove Awards at third base.
But Devers has consistently ranked near the top of the league in errors in all five seasons thus far. He made a key error on Thursday against the Blue Jays that nearly cost the Red Sox the game before J.D. Martinez bailed him out with a go-ahead homer with two outs in the ninth.
“I think it’s fine,” Devers said. “Obviously there are plays that I could have made but I didn’t make them. I just turned the page and tried to get better, and that’s something that I take pride in is my defense. And I’m doing the best that I can and I know that the results will show.”
Cora said “we’re very proud of him” for the way he’s played defense this year. The manager pointed to the defensive runs-saved metric. Devers has saved one run above average, according to FanGraphs. Baseball executives advise not to pay attention to advanced defensive metrics until at least midway through the season.
Still, Devers has been a monster at the plate. April has typically been his worst month, but Devers started hot and hasn’t cooled off.
He’s tied with Martinez for the team lead with 12 home runs and has been an RBI machine with 37 of them, tied for second in the AL, while hitting fifth behind Xander Bogaerts.
“Probably his best start in professional baseball,” Cora said. “In the minor leagues he struggled the first part of the season and finished great. He always finishes.
“He did an outstanding job in the offseason, physically. I think last year wasn’t fair for him. Going into spring training I heard and saw he was in great shape, then he went to the Dominican Republic and for how tough things were in the United States (with the pandemic), it was tougher down there. He didn’t have the facilities to take care of himself. Actually we spoke a few times during the shutdown and he was afraid of just leaving the house. He’s just a kid. We were all afraid. For him not to be able to do the things he normally does to prepare for a season it’s not an excuse, but it’s a reality.” Gonzalez struggling
With a .199 average and .572 OPS, Marwin Gonzalez could find himself on the bench more often in the coming days.
Kiké Hernandez made his return from the injured list and Danny Santana made a sizzling debut on Friday night. Hernandez was at second and Santana in center for Saturday’s affair.
“One thing that (Gonzalez) has been fighting is catching up with the fastball,” Cora said. “He has a game plan. But he’s conscious that he’s not catching up with it. … So, this is the toughest stretch for him with the strikeouts. It’s been tough. One thing for sure, he’s such an asset in every other aspect of the game that we’ll play him. Most likely he’ll play second tomorrow.” Ups and downs
Franchy Cordero got a rare start on Saturday. He had made just two appearances in the previous nine days. Cora said “it’s hard” to find ways to get the struggling outfielder into the game.
Meanwhile, in Triple-A Worcester, center field prospect Jarren Duran was 5-for-5 with two homers Saturday in a 7-4 win over Buffalo. He has seven homers in 17 games.
Alex Verdugo is likely to miss the remainder of the series with a sore hamstring. Cora is hoping he’ll be back on Tuesday.
Chris Sale threw off the mound Saturday as he continues his progression from Tommy John surgery. Ryan Brasier also threw a bullpen session, but remains far away from a rehab assignment.
Depth reliever Eduard Bazardo “is going to be shut down for a while,” Cora said. The extent of his arm injury is currently unknown.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2021 3:51:30 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 6h Everyone yelling for Valdez in important spots, gets one, instant major meltdown.
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