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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 1, 2021 15:17:31 GMT -5
KC plates a run and some of the FOM who must be there are booing up 15-1 soon to be 51 wins and folks are booing jesus
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 1, 2021 15:21:26 GMT -5
Red Sox win 15-1 and off we go.......
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Jul 1, 2021 22:27:51 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 7h That's quite the catch, Enrique. Goodness gracious. #RedSox
Josh Taylor, if he's done after the 8th, just wrapped up his 24th straight scoreless appearance.
Only Koji Uehara (27) and Daniel Bard (25) have more in #RedSox history. Certainly would seem an unlikely trio. Yup, pretty sure I didn't have this one in my pre-season picks.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 2, 2021 1:36:05 GMT -5
Homestand sweep as 'fun' as it gets for Sox July 1st, 2021 Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
BOSTON -- On the one-week anniversary of manager Alex Cora uttering after a tough loss at Tropicana Field that it was “going to be a fun summer in Boston,” the Red Sox continued to make their manager look like a prophet.
The Red Sox followed the skipper’s confident statement by sweeping a seven-game homestand, capped by Thursday afternoon’s 15-1 blowout of the Royals.
“It started with a tribute to No. 15 [Dustin Pedroia], right? And we scored 15 in the last game of the homestand,” said Cora. “That night was special. That night brought energy to the place. I don't know if that has to do with the way we played, but I think it was a good way to start it and today was a great way to end it.”
The Sox looked a little wobbly a week ago after losing two out of three in Kansas City and another two out of three at Tampa Bay to fall to 44-31, a half-game behind the Rays in the American League East.
Then they came home and thrilled the masses by sweeping the Yankees before following that up with a four-game Royal flush to put Cora’s club 20 games above .500 (51-31) for the first time since 2018.
Prior to Fenway being at full capacity, the Red Sox were 15-13 at home this season. Since it opened to full capacity, Boston is 12-4 at friendly Fenway.
“They're making a difference,” Cora said of the fans. “Early on, it was difficult. I mentioned to you guys when we were in Texas [in front of a full crowd], and [when] we came here to play Detroit, it felt like we were flat.
“It's not that we were flat, it's just that the atmosphere was different. This past weekend [against the Yankees] was amazing. Even now, the last few nights. Yesterday, the last few innings [after a rain delay], the handful of people that were here were loud.”
And Boston’s bats were just as loud as the crowd on Thursday. This was the club’s highest scoring output of the season, and the 17 hits tied a season high.
In addition, the Sox got a dominant pitching performance by Nathan Eovaldi (seven scoreless innings, five hits, no walks, six strikeouts) and rang in July by making summer seem as fun as Cora promised. Boston leads the Rays by 3 1/2 games in the AL East.
“We’ve been playing well all around, good baseball,” said Eovaldi. “The starting pitchers have been throwing the ball well, the relievers have been coming in and slamming the door, and then the defense has been great. And our offense -- you can’t say enough about how great they are.”
Kiké Hernández got the party started with his third leadoff homer in five days. It isn’t as if he’s Kyle Schwarber or anything, but Hernández is now giving Cora the spark the team hoped for when he was originally installed into the leadoff spot.
Even the slumping Danny Santana (.151 average coming into the game) got into the act, ripping a three-run homer as part of a five-RBI day and getting some luck on a 43.7-mph RBI single that traveled just 108 feet before plopping in front of Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jerry Remy laughed to viewers on NESN. “When you’re hot, you’re hot, right?”
The Red Sox are as hot as the Boston heatwave earlier this week -- the one that mercifully ended on Thursday.
Rafael Devers, who has been scorching nearly all season, unloaded for his 20th homer of the year, which soared in such no-doubt fashion that Royals right fielder Jorge Soler didn't move a muscle as the baseball flew over him like an ascending airplane. The three-run shot in the sixth came off of Devers’ bat at 110.2 mph and traveled a Statcast-projected 426 feet. Devers also had five RBIs.
“Offensively, when you see him taking his walks, great things are going to happen,” said Cora of his star third baseman. “He’s controlling the zone and he’s in a great groove. Now he’s what, 20 [homers] and [69 RBIs]? Like I’ve been saying all along, usually he struggles the first part of the season and then he gets hot with the weather. Let’s see where it takes him.”
The Red Sox will ride their wave of momentum to the West Coast for a three-game series that starts Friday in Oakland and will continue in Anaheim for three more at the start of next week.
“I know on the West Coast, we’ve got a lot of fans over there, and hopefully they show up too and they help us,” said Cora. “Now we’ve got another challenge. People are going to say, ‘Well, Oakland, they’ve been tough on [us] since 2018.' We’re gonna keep getting challenges.
“We’ve got to keep proving ourselves, and that’s not going to stop. I have confidence in the group. I believe in our coaches, and we have a good group. We have a good baseball team.”
And a fun summer ahead.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 2, 2021 2:16:44 GMT -5
Red Sox complete perfect 7-0 homestand with a 15-1 Royal beating By Julian Benbow Globe Staff,Updated July 1, 2021, 4:21 p.m.
The 1-0, wild-pitch loss a week ago to the Tampa Bay Rays that was supposed to be a gut punch for the Red Sox was never tough to swallow for manager Alex Cora.
The loss appeared to magnify the half-game lead the Rays held over the Sox in the division into an ocean’s distance between the teams. But Cora had the perspective that comes with living through the peaks and valleys along the way to the World Series.
So, after wrapping up a spotless 7-0 homestand with a 15-1 beating of the Royals Thursday afternoon, Cora could look back and grin at the difference a week made as the Sox prepare for a six-game West Coast trip with the best record in the American League.
“I don’t think there’s devastating losses,” Cora said. “I don’t believe in that. Devastating, that’s when you lose the fourth game of the World Series. That’s devastating. But besides that, it’s wins and losses. We just keep getting better, keep pushing.”
Cora looked back at the tribute to Dustin Pedroia at the start of the homestand as an emotional springboard for the Sox’ second-longest winning streak of the season.
“Started with a tribute to No. 15, right?” Cora said. “And we scored 15.”
The Sox wrapped up their ninth series sweep of the season (fifth at home). The run total was a season high, along with the 14-run margin of victory. Their 17 hits matched a season high.
The Sox are a season-high 20 games above .500 heading into series against the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels. Related: Rafael Devers (5 RBIs) continues to drive the Red Sox offense
“It’s a good feeling to go out there and sweep the homestand,” Cora said. “We’re in a good place right now and now we’ve got another challenge, right? People are going to say, ‘Well, Oakland, they’re tough on them since 2018.’ We’ve got to keep getting challenges ... because we’re going to keep proving ourselves, and that’s not going to stop.”
Knocking on the door to his first All-Star appearance, Rafael Devers went 3 for 5 with his 20th homer of the season and matched a season high with five RBIs. Danny Santana went 3 for 5 with a homer and five RBIs.
J.D. Martinez (2 for 4) and Kiké Hernández (1 for 3) delivered solo homers, giving the Sox their eighth four-homer game of the season, including three on this homestand.
“I do believe we’re controlling the strike zone a lot better,” Cora said. “There’s not too many swings and misses, especially up in the zone. We’re doing some great things offensively and hopefully that’s going to continue when we get to Oakland.”
Nate Eovaldi gave the Sox seven scoreless innings, striking out six and giving up just five hits with no walks.
“The goal is always to go out there and try to go seven to nine innings,” Eovaldi said. “So any time I can be able to do that and give the bullpen a day, it’s huge.”
In six career appearances (four starts) against the Royals, Eovaldi is 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA.
“He pitched well against the Yankees [last Saturday], he pitched well today,” Cora said. “He’s mixing up his pitches, recognizing what they’re trying to do. I think he threw more off-speed pitches in this one than in the last two, and that’s what he does.”
With 51 wins in the first 82 games, Cora was asked early Thursday to consider the thought of the Sox reaching 100. As nice as it may be to fantasize about, Cora kept the focus narrow.
“I hope we win 100,” Cora said. “Our goal is to win the division. Sometimes we win the division with 93 wins, sometimes with 100. Others with 108. We’ll show up every day and see where you take us. We’re not getting caught up in the whole thing.
“But I think, as a team, we’re focusing on winning series or having positive weeks, and when we struggle, trying to play .500, avoid the big losing streak ... and if we keep doing that, and stay the course it should be a fun summer in Boston.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 2, 2021 2:20:03 GMT -5
Rafael Devers (five RBIs) continues to drive Red Sox’ offense By Kris Rhim Globe Correspondent,Updated July 1, 2021, 7:37 p.m.
On the day the All-Star starters were set to be announced, Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers again made his case.
Devers dominated in the 15-1 win over the Royals on Thursday afternoon at Fenway, finishing 3 for 5 with a homer, three runs, and five RBIs.
After Wednesday night’s game, which ended after midnight and featured rain, lightning, and nearly 2½ hours of delays, it would have been understandable if Devers had been a bit off his game.
Instead, he had a memorable afternoon. It was Devers’s fourth career game with five-plus RBIs, becoming the fifth Red Sox player to do so before turning 25. Devers has 21 RBIs in the last 17 games, and it was his third game with three hits in his past five.
Devers became the first Sox player with five-plus RBIs and three-plus hits, including a home run, in a game since Mookie Betts in 2019. Danny Santana joined the club shortly after Devers, going 3 for 5 with a three-run home run and five RBIs.
Devers’s most impressive hit of the afternoon came in the sixth inning. With two runners on base and the Sox leading, 9-0, Devers crushed a curveball 426 feet to right field for his 20th home run of the season. His five RBIs gave him the major league lead with 69, passing Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Devers already had singled in the fifth inning, driving home Alex Verdugo and J.D. Martinez to push the lead to 7-0.
His third hit came in the eighth inning when he hit a slider into right field for a single. Two batters later, Devers was crossing home plate for one of his three runs after Marwin Gonzalez singled to right.
While his play offensively has been turning heads, manager Alex Cora has lauded Devers’s defense. He pointed to a double play that Devers started Wednesday night in the rain.
In spring training, Cora said he had a conversation with Devers. The purpose was to help him understand the “business” of baseball. Cora felt Devers was being overlooked when people mentioned the great young players in the game, such as Guerrero, Fernando Tatis Jr., Ronald Acuńa Jr., Bo Bichette, and Cavan Biggio.
“People forget about the fact that he’s 24,” Cora said of Devers. “He led the big leagues in extra-base hits two years ago.”
This year, Devers is second in extra-base hits behind Shohei Ohtani and yesterday was on the verge of his All-Star selection. Cora is happy that Devers is gaining respect through the game.
“For him to get recognized, I know it means the world for him. It means the world to the organization, and hopefully that’s the case,” Cora said.
Cora said Devers has been playing “amazing” all season.
“He’s in a great groove,” Cora said. “He usually struggles the first part of the season. Then he gets hot with the weather. Let’s see where it takes him.”
Devers and the Red Sox offense have dominated this season, and performed particularly well in June. In their last 15 games, the Sox have scored fewer than four runs only once, and fewer than six only four times.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 2, 2021 2:53:10 GMT -5
Red Sox Notebook: Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers named American League All-Star starters Devers earns first career selection; Bogaerts’ third
By Steve Hewitt | stephen.hewitt@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald July 1, 2021 at 9:46 p.m.
When the American League lines up for the All-Star Game soon in Denver, the left side of their infield will look pretty familiar.
Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts and third baseman Rafael Devers were voted as starters for the All-Star Game on July 13, as announced by Major League Baseball on Thursday night. Both Bogaerts and Devers were runaway leaders at their positions during the first phase of All-Star voting, and it continued during the second phase this week.
For Bogaerts, it will mark his third All-Star appearance, and second as a starter (2016). It will be Devers’ first career All-Star Game. Both are more than deserving and neither was really ever a doubt for their nods after producing big first halves offensively.
Bogaerts has supplanted himself as arguably the best shortstop in baseball. The numbers speak for themselves, as the 28-year-old leads all shortstops in batting average (.329) and doubles (25) while topping AL shortstops in hits, extra-base hits, slugging, OPS, total bases and FanGraphs WAR.
“I think for Xander to be a starter, that means the world,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “He’s one of the best, if not the best shortstop in the big leagues. The way he goes about his business is amazing. I’ve been saying all along, he’s the most consistent person in this organization. He’s amazing. Day in and day out, he shows up, he works and he goes out there and performs.”
Devers broke out with a monster 2019 season, but this year the 24-year-old has finally overcome the slow starts that have plagued him in his young career. With five more RBI in Thursday’s win over the Royals, the third baseman has a major league-leading 69 RBI to go along with 20 homers. He leads all third basemen in home runs, RBI, hits, extra-base hits, slugging, OPS and total bases, and has also improved significantly on defense.
Devers has emerged as one of the game’s young superstars, but to this point, isn’t a household name like some others. Cora is thrilled that he’s receiving his well-deserved recognition.
“We had a conversation early in the season, actually in spring training,” Cora said. “It was him understanding what was going on in the business and how this guy, people … just looking around and everybody’s talking about all these young kids, right? (Fernando) Tatis, (Ronald) Acuna, Vladdy (Guerrero), (Cavan) Biggio, (Bo) Bichette, and people forget about the fact that he’s 24 and he led the big leagues in extra-base hits two years ago and he’s doing what he’s doing now.
“For him to be recognized, I know it means the world for him. I know it means the world for the organization.”
Bogaerts and Devers’ selections for the All-Star Game come as no surprise to their teammates, either.
“I think they feed off each other a lot,” Nathan Eovaldi said. “They’re always hanging around each other and giving each other a hard time but keeping each other on their toes. We’re having expectations of how we think guys should play and they live up to it every day. It’s great having them over there defensively, offensively. It’s a great thing for them to be able to make the All-Star Game.”
Bogaerts earned 42% of the vote in Phase 2, while Devers earned 61% in a landslide. They’re the first shortstop/third baseman combo to start the All-Star Game in Red Sox history.
The other Red Sox finalists, J.D. Martinez and Alex Verdugo, fell short of a starting nod. Martinez got 20% of the vote at designated hitter, behind Shohei Ohtani at 63%. Verdugo earned just 8% in the outfield vote. The rest of the All-Star rosters will be announced on July 4.
More of the same
Eovaldi continued his terrific first half with seven shutout innings in Thursday’s win, which allowed a tired bullpen to reset for the start of the West Coast road trip.
Eovaldi continued to have a good rapport with catcher Connor Wong. The rookie has now caught Eovaldi’s last two starts, which have been two of his best this season. Eovaldi has thrown 14 2/3 innings to Wong in the two starts while allowing just one run and no walks while striking out 12.
“There’s a sense of calmness back there,” Cora said of Wong. “There’s no panic. He’s into the scouting report. He knows where you have to go in certain situations and he doesn’t panic. You feel good about it.”
Eovaldi has been good this season with any catcher, though. With Thursday’s performance, he improved to 9-4 with a 3.41 ERA this season, which includes a 5-2 mark with a 2.27 ERA over his last eight starts.
Odds & ends
Bobby Dalbec, who left Tuesday’s game with hamstring tightness, likely won’t play in Friday’s series-opener against the A’s. Cora said the goal is for the first baseman to return on Saturday. … Backup catcher Kevin Plawecki, still on the injured list with a hamstring strain, will join the Red Sox on their West Coast trip and will continue to rehab with them there. …
Kiké Hernandez began the first inning Thursday with another leadoff homer, his third in his last five games. … Bogaerts went 1-for-4 with a double and was hit by a pitch as he continued a 26-game on-base streak.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 2, 2021 2:55:36 GMT -5
Alex Cora: Boston Red Sox’s 7-0 homestand ‘started with a tribute to No. 15 (Dustin Pedroia) and we scored 15 in the last game’ Updated Jul 01, 2021; Posted Jul 01, 2021
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — The Red Sox began their homestand last Friday with a pregame ceremony for retired second baseman Dustin Pedroia.
Boston finished it here Thursday by crushing the Royals 15-1.
The Red Sox won all seven games at Fenway Park, outscoring the Yankees and Royals 52-21.
“It started with a tribute to No. 15 and we scored 15 in the last game of the homestand,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.
“That night (celebrating Pedroia) was special,” Cora added. “That night brought energy to this place. I know we’ve been having fun on Fridays here. Packed house. It’s loud and it’s fun. But just watching him (Pedroia) out there and seeing the videos and all that — I don’t know if it had to do with the way we played, but I think it was a good way to start it. And today was a great way (to end it).”
The Red Sox needed this type of dominant homestand after struggling here at Fenway Park since the start of 2019.
Boston went 49-63 here in 2019-20 combined.
The Red Sox also had played better on the road to begin this season. They entered this homestand three games over .500 at Fenway Park compared to 10 games over .500 on the road.
“We needed this place to be a home field advantage,” Cora said.
The Red Sox have gone 17-8 here since Fenway Park returned to 100% capacity May 11.
“They’re making a difference,” Cora said about having the fans back. “Early on was difficult.”
Cora said it felt flat when the Red Sox returned to Fenway on May 4 (then at 12% capacity) to play the Tigers after four games in front of 100% capacity crowds at Globe Life Field in Texas.
“It’s not that we were flat. It’s just the atmosphere was different,” Cora said.
Boston improved to 51-31 overall. They lead the AL East standings by 3 ½ games over the second-place Tampa Bay Rays.
The Red Sox fly to the West Coast this evening to begin a six-game road trip in Oakland and Anaheim.
“I hope they (the fans) are enjoying this team,” Cora said. “I hope the fans are enjoying the way we’re playing the game. It’s a good start for the second half.”
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Post by Kimmi on Jul 2, 2021 8:01:26 GMT -5
Great series. Last night's game will help our run differential. LOL
Kudos to Eovaldi. I read that he is now tied for 4th in fWAR for pitchers at 3.2. If he stays healthy, well, well, worth his contract.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 2, 2021 8:02:53 GMT -5
Great series. Last night's game will help our run differential. LOL
Kudos to Eovaldi. I read that he is now tied for 4th in fWAR for pitchers at 3.2. If he stays healthy, well, well, worth his contract. His actions in the World Series made that contract worth it.
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Post by Kimmi on Jul 2, 2021 8:07:05 GMT -5
Great series. Last night's game will help our run differential. LOL
Kudos to Eovaldi. I read that he is now tied for 4th in fWAR for pitchers at 3.2. If he stays healthy, well, well, worth his contract. His actions in the World Series made that contract worth it. Agreed. I have no problem with his contract, but there has been a lot of criticism over that contract by a lot of people.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 2, 2021 8:08:07 GMT -5
His actions in the World Series made that contract worth it. Agreed. I have no problem with his contract, but there has been a lot of criticism over that contract by a lot of people.
Those folks need another cup of coffee
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Jul 2, 2021 8:49:45 GMT -5
Agreed. I have no problem with his contract, but there has been a lot of criticism over that contract by a lot of people.
Those folks need another cup of coffeeI thought it was one year too long, and the price too high. I was thinking $39M/3, not $64M/4. In some ways, this is a lot like the Darvish contract. Darvish's first year was a disaster, and he was a disaster halfway thru his second year. Now it's considered a steal. Verlander the same. He had such a bad contract that Detroit had to pay off 1/3 of his remaining salary just to get rid of him.
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