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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 4, 2021 2:50:10 GMT -5
Julian McWilliams @byjulianmack · 4h The Red Sox seemingly gifted the A’s a win in this one. Down Barnes. Down Whitlock. Facing Workman. Dumb play by Santana.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 4, 2021 2:51:23 GMT -5
Jon Couture @joncouture · 6h Is Danny Santana actively trying to get taken off the roster? What a goofball move. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 4, 2021 2:55:00 GMT -5
Red Sox stumble in 12th inning of marathon 7-6 loss to the Oakland A’s By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated July 4, 2021, 2 hours ago
The Red Sox found themselves in the midst of another extra-inning contest against the Oakland Athletics on Saturday night. The night before, the Sox had escaped RingCentral Coliseum with a 3-2 win behind the heroics of Kiké Hernández, who drove in the go-ahead run and cut down the game-tying run at home plate.
The Red Sox, however, were not as fortunate in their 12-inning marathon Saturday night.
After taking a 6-4 lead in the top of the 12th on RBI singles by Marwin Gonzalez and Hernández, the Sox stumbled at the finish when the A’s rallied to score three runs.
Seth Brown delivered an RBI single and Jed Lowrie belted a game-tying RBI double to left. Tony Kemp delivered the decisive blow with a walkoff sacrifice fly to center off Matt Andriese.
“If you guys want, we can go through every play,” said Sox manager Alex Cora afterward. “It was just a crazy game. That’s it. And they ended up winning.”
The setback snapped Boston’s eight-game winning streak and kept the Red Sox (52-32) in control of a 4½-game lead over the Tampa Rays in the American League East.
“When you go out there and you’re not having success, it’s a daily grind,” said Andriese, who now has a 5.70 ERA. “I’m going out there every day trying to be confident and get outs.” Entering with a two-run lead, Matt Andriese faced just four batters on Saturday. The only one he retired was on a sacrifice fly that won the game for Oakland.
The Red Sox not only squandered a 4-2 lead in the eighth, but also a yeoman’s effort by starter Garrett Richards (five innings, five hits, two runs), when the A’s rallied to tie it, 4-4, in the eighth.
Richards found himself in familiar territory to start Saturday. Leading up to his 17th start of the season, Richards had allowed 20 earned runs in his last four starts, a total of 21⅔ innings pitched. He’s been open about the adjustments he’s struggled to make in the aftermath of Major League Baseball’s crackdown on pitchers and their usage of foreign substances to improve their grip.
After he allowed five runs on three home runs in his first two innings Monday, there was similar feeling of dread when Richards walked leadoff batter Kemp and then hit Elvis Andrus.
But Richards navigated his way out of that first-inning jam to go five innings, allowing just two runs on five hits. He should have picked up first win since May 19 at Toronto but wound up with a no-decision after the A’s rallied in the eighth to tie it, 4-4.
“‘I’m figuring out some stuff along the way,” Richards said. Trying not to overthrow is kind of like the key right now. I’m just trying to put my body in the correct position to throw pitches, trying to throw a lot of strikes and get ahead of guys.”
The A’s jumped on the board in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead on Brown’s RBI triple. Yet the Red Sox capitalized on a couple of gift-wrapped runs by the error-prone A’s.
Kemp misplayed Xander Bogaerts’s groundball to second and was charged with a fielding error. Then Rafael Devers scalded a ball off A’s starter Cole Irvin toward Kemp that he couldn’t handle.
With runners on first and second, A’s catcher Sean Murphy attempted to nab Devers at first base on a back pick, but watched his throw bounce past first baseman Matt Olson, allowing Bogaerts to score the tying run all the way from second base.
The Sox took a 2-1 lead when Hunter Renfroe lofted a sacrifice fly to center field, enabling Devers to score.
J.D. Martinez, who made his 16th start of the season in left field for the Sox, hit an RBI single to left-center that allowed Boston to expand its lead to 3-1 in the fifth inning.
Richards went out to start the sixth, but gave up a single by Matt Chapman and an RBI double to Frank Schwindel, and manager Alex Cora decided Richards was done, summoning Hirokazu Sawamura from the bullpen.
After the A’s closed the gap to 3-2, Hernández gave the Sox a two-run buffer when he belted his 10th homer of the season off Irvin to straightaway center with two outs in the seventh.
The A’s rallied for a pair of runs to tie it, 4-4, on Brown’s RBI double Yacksiel Rios in the eighth, which prompted Darwinzon Hernandez to be summoned from the pen. He hardly fared any better when he allowed the A’s to tie it on a Kemp walk and an RBI single by Andrus.
Oakland seemed to falter in the 12th when Gonazlez stepped to the plate with one out and men on the corners and ripped an RBI single to left off J.B. Wendelken, scoring Devers from third with the go-ahead run.
Hernández hit a single to center that scored Christian Vázquez to make it 6-4.
Despite the bedlam that took place during this contest, the Red Sox have a chance at a series win Sunday before traveling to Southern California to face the Angels as the club crawls to the All-Star break. Heading into this game, the Sox bullpen threw 115⅓ innings and was responsible for six-plus innings Saturday
“We’re going to keep grinding and keep looking for guys to get people out,” Cora said.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 4, 2021 2:57:29 GMT -5
Red Sox notebook Rest will be a factor when Red Sox reshuffle rotation after All-Star break By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated July 3, 2021, 8:19 p.m.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora reiterated ahead of Saturday’s 7-6 loss in 12 innings to the Oakland A’s that the Sox will reshuffle its pitching rotation after the All-Star break.
The plan is to give starters a bit of a breather. The Sox will embark on a 17-game stretch in as many days, all against divisional opponents, with games against the Yankees and Blue Jays in back-to-back series, including an eight-game homestand July 22-29, before finishing the month with a three-game series against the Rays.
Cora said the way in which the team has managed the starters up until this point will certainly help how they go about it following the All-Star break.
“We monitor everything,” Cora said. “From pitches to effort to the quality of the pitches, and then we decide what’s next. There are certain starts that I know are probably going to be 85 pitches or five innings just because we play a 162-game season.”
Nick Pivetta, for instance, is already at 85⅓ innings pitched this season after spending much of last year in the Phillies bullpen. While Eduardo Rodriguez tossed 203⅓ innings in 2019, he missed all of last year due to COVID-19 followed by myocarditis. Rodriguez is at 84⅔ innings this season.
“We’ll reshuffle the rotation coming out of the All-Star game and hopefully that’s going to help them in July, August, September. And you know, hopefully in October,” Cora said. Liu on the move
Chih-Jung Liu, a 22-year-old righthander signed out of Taiwan for $750,000 in 2019, was promoted to Single A Salem on Friday after making his professional debut in the Florida Complex League on Thursday.
He threw in the bullpen for Salem on Saturday and is expected to slot into the rotation on Tuesday.
Liu didn’t appear in any games last season because of the pandemic. A pitcher and shortstop in Taiwan, Liu agreed to focus on pitching after signing with the Sox.
Devers loses ground
Rafael Devers left Oakland Coliseum Friday night with 70 RBIs. He arrived Saturday with 68. A two-run double he was credited with at Tampa Bay on June 22 was changed to an error on Yandy Diaz . . . Oakland called up lefthanded reliever Sam Moll from Triple A Las Vegas and optioned righthander Domingo Acevedo. Righthander Jordan Weems was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Moll. Weems was taken in the third round of the 2011 draft as a catcher by the Red Sox. He became a pitcher in 2016, signed with the Athletics in 2019 and pitched well last season before struggling this year . . . Kevin Plawecki (hamstring) is still progressing and ran a bit Saturday. Connor Seabold threw a live batting practice last week . . . J.D. Martinez returned to the lineup after taking Friday night off and made his 15th start of the season in left field for Alex Verdugo, who was penciled in as the designated hitter . . . A’s first baseman and former Red Sox Mitch Moreland was scheduled to start Saturday but left the game with a non-baseball related issue, said A’s manager Bob Melvin, who didn’t expand further, but said Moreland won’t be available Sunday either.
Peter Abraham of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 4, 2021 3:03:39 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 8h Fantastic play to the glove side by Rafael Devers, and the throw across was a seed.
No more slander about moving him to 1B/DH. Leave him right where he is. #RedSox
Garrett Richards, perhaps, with a start he can build from. This has been much better. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 4, 2021 3:04:46 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 4h Alex Cora has discussed Tanner Houck being versatile in recent weeks -- translation, a possible bullpen role.
He can't be worse than Matt Andriese. That change has to come. #RedSox
There's a reason why teams have A relievers and B relievers.
But those A relievers can't make 80 appearances and be effective in October. The #RedSox need more.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 4, 2021 3:07:34 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 6h That's 25 consecutive scoreless appearances for Josh Taylor. Tied Daniel Bard (2011) for the second-longest in team history.
Koji Uehara (2013) has the record with 27.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 4, 2021 3:08:35 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 4h "A crazy game. That's it. They ended up winning," Alex Cora said
Chris Cotillo @chriscotillo · 4h Whitlock is on a strict plan, went 2 innings yesterday
Barnes had pitched 4 of the last 5 games
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 4, 2021 3:14:40 GMT -5
Red Sox bullpen blows a pair of two-run leads in 7-6 loss to A’s, winning streak snapped at eight Sox appear to be one reliever short
By Jason Mastrodonato | jason.mastrodonato@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald PUBLISHED: July 3, 2021 at 11:46 p.m. | UPDATED: July 4, 2021 at 12:40 a.m.
If Chaim Bloom needed another reason to try to get another quality arm before the July 31 trade deadline, Alex Cora gave him one on Saturday night.
Trying to protect a two-run lead in the eighth inning, Cora called on Yacksel Rios, who has a career 6.15 ERA and was recently acquired from the Mariners in exchange for cash.
Rios coughed up two runs and blew the Red Sox’ lead.
They failed to score in the top of the 10th and the 11th, then Matt Andriese blew another two-run lead in the 12th as the Sox fell to the Oakland A’s, 7-6.
Asked afterward if he’s one reliever short in the bullpen, Cora said, “I don’t know, I think it all depends… We tried Yacksel there with the fastball and the lane that he had, and it didn’t work out. We’ll keep working. Obviously we know that (Ryan) Brasier is not here and he’s been missed the whole season. I think overall the guys have been throwing the ball well. We’re going to keep grinding and looking for guys to get people out and I think we’re OK where we’re at.”
The loss ended the Sox’ winning streak at eight and will make Sunday’s game the rubber match in a key series against a team that looks like it should contend in the American League.
The Sox bullpen has been remarkable for most of the year, with Matt Barnes and Adam Ottavino looking strong in the final two innings, and Josh Taylor, Hirokazu Sawamura and Garrett Whitlock combining to offer surprising dominance in the middle innings.
Barnes needed the night off and Ottavino was being saved for the ninth, so the skipper went to Rios, who allowed one run on an RBI double from Brown, then watched from the dugout as Darwinzon Hernandez allowed Brown to score on a single by Elvis Andrus to tie the game, 4-4.
In the ninth, the Sox tried to rally when Marwin Gonzalez drew a one-out walk, but he was thrown out trying to steal second base.
The Red Sox messed up again in the 10th, when Danny Santana made a bizarre decision to attempt to steal third base with one out and Alex Verdugo at the plate. Santana was thrown out, then Verdugo struck out to end the frame without a run.
Chaos ensued in the bottom of the 10th, when Brandon Workman was called on intentionally walked Seth Brown, then allowed a leadoff single to Jed Lowrie to load the bases with nobody out. And somehow, the Red Sox escaped.
Tony Kemp tried a drag bunt but popped out straight to the pitcher. Then Elvis Andrus smoked a line drive to left field, where Martinez caught the ball and threw a perfect strike home to nail Sean Murphy at the plate and end the inning.
It was the Sox’ second game-saving throw in as many nights, and their 26th outfield assist, seven more than any other team.
They again issued an intentional walk to start the bottom of the 11th, as Cora’s strategy in extra innings on the road has clearly been to set up the double play ball. But Workman handled the inning easily and the A’s once again couldn’t score.
In the 12th, Gonzalez and Kiké Hernandez hit a pair of RBI singles to give the Sox the runs they needed, but Andriese blew the game in the bottom of the frame.
“It’s tough,” said Andriese, who has a 5.70 ERA. “When you go out there and you’re not having success, it’s a daily grind. But I’m going out there trying to be confident and trying to get outs.”
That Cora didn’t have a better option than Rios, a fringe reliever who just got let go from a mediocre team, with a two-run lead in the eighth inning should remind Bloom that this team needs another pitcher.
Without Barnes and Whitlock available, “just where we were with usage and all that, I think we had chances to close it out with 27 outs and we just didn’t do it,” Cora said. “It was a crazy game.”
Tanner Houck should be recalled from Triple-A Worcester soon, and Chris Sale’s return is maybe a month away as he prepares for a rehab assignment sometime in the next week or two. But the Sox clearly could use some help. They’ve been lucky to avoid injuries to any of their key pitchers, but they’re one sore elbow away from being quite thin on quality arms.
Other notes:
1. The Sox received some terrific defense in this one, and Martinez’s throw was the highlight.
“J.D. is a good outfielder,” Cora said. “He’s a big guy moving out there. He takes pride in his defense. He loves playing the outfield of course. He doesn’t do that often but he prepares on a daily basis. He puts the work, plays catch, he long tosses and he’s in with the situations. That was a great throw.”
Rafael Devers made a beautiful, fully-stretched diving stop to his left and threw out a runner from his knees early in the game.
Hernandez made another great play, this time at second base as he leaped to snag a line drive and doubled off a runner at first.
The only sloppiness came from Santana in center field, where he took a questionable route to a hard-hit liner by Seth Brown in the second inning and his leap fell just short. Brown notched a triple and drove in one run on the play.
2. Cora didn’t appreciate the base running mistakes, but took blame for one of them.
“The Marwin one it was my fault,” Cora said. “I wanted to put on something else with (Carlos Febles, the third base coach) and I used the wrong spot. I’m guilty for that one. it was actually another play.
“With Danny, we give him keys and talk about situations. We talk about it afterward, he asked me, I’m like, ‘well in a regular game in a regular spot, it’s OK if you steal and everybody is high-fiving you, but obviously with the rules, knowing they’re going to have man on second and no outs, it’s a chance we don’t want to take.'”
3. Hernandez hit another home run, taking A’s starter Cole Irvin deep to left-center for a solo shot in the seventh inning.
It was Hernandez’s fourth homer in seven games since Cora moved him back to the leadoff spot. He’s now got 10 homers on the season, five each against lefties and righties.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 4, 2021 3:16:05 GMT -5
Red Sox RHP Garrett Richards strong against A’s, despite spin rate decrease
By Jason Mastrodonato | jason.mastrodonato@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald July 4, 2021 at 12:46 a.m.
The Red Sox finally got a decent start out of Garrett Richards.
For at least one night, Richards seemed to forget about MLB’s new rules banning foreign substances and became a pitcher again.
He threw 10 curveballs, a pitch he temporarily abandoned due to the lack of feel, and relied on location and power as he kept the Oakland A’s to just two runs on five hits over five-plus innings in the Sox’ 7-6 extra-innings loss on Saturday night.
“He was really good, really good,” manager Alex Cora said. “They were more aggressive than usual against him but I think his mix was really good. We were trying to get a few outs in the sixth at least because we knew where we were bullpen wise. They swung at the first pitch and then they score one but Sawamura came in and did a good job but I think overall like we said, his stuff is still good. I don’t know what velocity he had today because they didn’t show it at the stadium today, but he got some swing and misses, he got some mis-hit balls, he threw strikes, so that’s the guy we’re looking for. He finished the last one very strong and today, he competed and did an amazing job.”
Richards once again saw a big drop in his spin rate, with the spin rate on his curveball dropping 405 revolutions per minute, a 14% decrease from his yearly average.
And yet it was still his best start since June 1.
The Sox will hope it can give him some much-needed confidence after he had been getting torched in his previous five starts (8.31 ERA).
“Just trying to fine-tune this stuff and just trying to make strides,” Richards said. “Trying to be as good as I can be. The guys played a great game tonight. I know we didn’t win but we played a great game tonight. Christian Vazquez called a great game behind the plate. It always makes my job easier when you’re gelling with somebody like that.
“I’m figuring out some stuff along the way. Trying not to overthrow is the key right now. I’m just trying to put my body in the correct position to throw pitches. Trying to throw a lot of strikes, trying to get ahead of guys, trying to get guys to either roll it over, pop it up or swing through it. That’s my mindset right now.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 4, 2021 3:25:45 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox injuries: Christian Arroyo set to rejoin club Monday in Anaheim; Connor Seabold throws live BP, closer to return Updated Jul 03, 2021; Posted Jul 03, 2021
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Before Saturday’s game in Oakland, Red Sox manager Alex Cora provided injury updates on a quartet of injured players:
Arroyo likely to join team in Anaheim
Second baseman Christian Arroyo (right knee contusion) was in the WooSox’ lineup Saturday afternoon for his third rehab game at Triple-A. The expectation is that Arroyo will rejoin the Red Sox for Monday’s series opener in Anaheim.
“He’s supposed to play today, weather-permitting,” Cora said. “If everything goes well, most likely, he’ll travel to Anaheim tomorrow night and join us on Monday.”
When Arroyo is activated, Michael Chavis will most likely be optioned back to the WooSox to make room on the roster. Arroyo has been out since June 20 after injuring his knee in a collision with Kiké Hernández in Kansas City.
Plawecki progressing in Oakland
Catcher Kevin Plawecki (left hamstring strain) is with the team in Oakland and continues to progress toward a return. Because Plawecki plays sparingly in his backup role, Cora doesn’t believe he will necessarily need a rehab assignment before being activated.
Plawecki, who has been on the IL since June 22 (backdated to June 21), could start playing again by the end of the club’s west-coast trip, which concludes Wednesday. Connor Wong would likely be sent back to Worcester to make room.
“Kevin is still running and doing everything baseball-wise here,” Cora said.
Seabold getting closer
Pitching prospect Connor Seabold (right elbow inflammation) threw a live batting practice session last week, Cora said. Seabold is nearing the point where he will rejoin the WooSox and serve as a top depth option for the Red Sox at Triple-A.
Seabold has been shut down since early May. The Red Sox never feared that his injury was a serious one but have taken him along cautiously.
“He threw a live BP this past week. I want to say on Wednesday,” Cora said. “I’ll give you more about him tomorrow but yeah, he has progressed and he’s up to that already.”
Brasier still playing catch
Reliever Ryan Brasier (left calf strain, concussion) is still just playing catch after being cleared to restart his throwing program last weekend. Brasier was close to a rehab assignment for his strained left calf when he was struck in the head with a line drive during a simulated game on June 4.
Brasier is still a ways away from being assigned to an affiliate for a rehab stint.
“Just playing catch. That’s it,” Cora said.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 4, 2021 3:27:01 GMT -5
Matt Andriese gives up 3 runs in Boston Red Sox loss, now has 7.99 ERA since May 1: ‘We’re not going to give up on him,’ Alex Cora says Updated 3:43 AM; Today 3:43 AM
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
OAKLAND, Calif. -- For Red Sox reliever Matt Andriese, a brutal 12th inning in Saturday’s loss to the Athletics served as a continuation of more than two months of struggles.
Andriese entered with Boston leading, 6-4, before allowing two singles, a double and a sacrifice fly as Oakland walked off with a 7-6 win. In the course of just 13 pitches, the Red Sox went from comfortably leading to heading to the showers with a loss.
Andriese, who posted a 1.42 ERA in 12 ⅔ April innings, has had a hard time recording clean outings since the beginning of May. Since May 1, the veteran swingman owns a 7.99 ERA (21 runs in 23 ⅔ innings) while blowing two saves.
“It’s tough,” Andriese said. “When you go out there and you’re not having success, it’s a daily grind, but I’m going out there every day trying to be confident and trying to get outs.”
When the Red Sox signed Andriese to a one-year deal in December, they did so knowing the former Ray would be able to pitch in any role necessary. The consistency of the starting rotation forced Andriese into a long relief role, and in recent weeks he has pitched sparingly -- and usually in low leverage situations.
Since the end of May, Andriese has waited more than a week between outings on three occasions, most recently from June 23 to July 1 before tossing two innings in the Sox’ 15-1 blowout win over the Royals on Thursday. With the Sox out of healthy relievers entering the 12th inning, he was called upon on two days rest in a save situation.
“I know where I am on the depth chart in terms of going multiple innings and everything like that,” Andriese said. “It’s my job, at that point, to stay sharp. That’s just what I’ve been doing the last few years so I’ve kind of gotten used to it, but it’s definitely a transition when you need to have seven or eight days off.”
Considering the overall success of Boston’s bullpen and the emergence of options like Garrett Whitlock and Josh Taylor, Andriese’s prolonged struggles have not hurt the club much before Saturday. In April, Andriese showed that he could be a key piece of Boston’s bullpen, even in high-leverage situations. Manager Alex Cora believes that’s still possible.
“We need him,” Cora said. “We need this guy. He’s very important to what we’re trying to accomplish. He’s a guy that can give us multiple innings in certain situations. We felt like his fastball is still actually playing, it’s just the off-speed stuff. I don’t know if it’s usage or teams are preparing for us when he comes in. We just have to figure it out. We’re not going to give up on him.”
With Whitlock and Matt Barnes both unavailable Saturday, Cora needed to get creative with his bullpen usage. In an attempt to save Adam Ottavino for a save situation in the ninth inning, Cora inserted righty Yacksel Ríos for the eighth, only to watch the A’s score twice to tie the game. In the 10th and 11th, the Sox went with Brandon Workman, another low-leverage arm.
“It’s where we were with usage and all that,” Cora said. “We had chances to close it out with 27 outs but we just didn’t do it.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 4, 2021 3:29:23 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 5h Workman surviving that appearance is the stunner of the season, his stuff is so bad
Arroyo is flying to California tomorrow, hopefully a couple pitchers are coming with him.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 4, 2021 3:49:38 GMT -5
Red Sox @ A's Sunday, 4th of July 4pm @ Oakland Coliseum
Pivetta 6-3/4.33
Pivetta was tagged for six runs on nine hits and two walks over 4 1/3 innings Tuesday but escaped with a no-decision in the Red Sox' 7-6 win over the Royals. After tossing 6 2/3 no-hit innings in his last outing, Pivetta allowed a season-high nine base knocks in this one and couldn't get through five frames. Given his past issues with the long ball, a home run correction for Pivetta seemed like it was coming, and sure enough, it's arrived. After serving up just five homers in his first 12 starts this season, he's given up eight over his last four outings. Pivetta is still missing bats, as he struck out five and induced 13 swinging strikes among his 89 pitches Tuesday.
Kaprielian 4-2/3.06
Kaprielian allowed three runs over six innings on Tuesday in a loss to the Rangers. The 27-year-old righty has allowed three earned runs or fewer, while also completing five frames, in eight of his nine starts this season. He's compiled an impressive 3.06 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 52/19 K/BB ratio across 50 innings (nine starts) this season.
Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics Sunday, July 4, 2021 at 2:10pm EDT Written by Eric P.
The Boston Red Sox takes on the Oakland Athletics in the finale of their weekend three-game series on Sunday afternoon from the Oakland Coliseum. Heading into the weekend, the two teams had met three times already this season, with the Athletics taking two of three games in May. Before the series two months ago, the two teams hadn't met since 2019 when they met seven times, with the Red Sox taking the season series with four wins. Both teams are drastically different than they were in 2019, and with both teams also looking like contenders in the American League, the Red Sox will be looking to continue to prove themselves and grab some wins to build up confidence towards a fall run.
Red Sox Among Baseball's Elite Boston has been one of the best teams in not just the American League, but in all of baseball over the last few weeks. They've taken control of the AL East, now sitting 4.5 games ahead of the Rays, and also have the best record in all of baseball by two games. They've gone 8-2 in their last ten games and a big reason for their success this season is their offense. Boston ranks third in baseball in both batting average and hits per game and is third in runs per game. It's helped Boston that the injury bug has seemed to miss the Red Sox clubhouse so far, as Christian Arroyo and Bobby Dalbec are the two biggest names out for the weekend, but even both are questionable and could make an appearance on Sunday.
Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts both received good news during the week, as both were named AL All-Star starters. Bogaerts leads the team with a .324 batting average, .388 OBP, and 95 hits. Devers on the other hand has improved his power numbers, leading the team with 20 home runs and 70 RBI, the latter of which is tops in baseball. As if those two weren't dangerous enough, J.D. Martinez isn't far behind, hitting .305 and adding 17 home runs himself. Over the last week, the offense has been even more impressive, with Hunter Renfroe and Enrique Hernandez each added three home runs, and nearly the entire lineup hitting above .300, with Devers leading the way at .458. If the Red Sox hit as they have over the last week, Oakland will have a difficult time keeping up on Sunday.
According to MLB.com, Nick Pivetta will get the start on Sunday in the series finale. Pivetta has a 6-3 record with a 4.43 ERA on the season but the righty hasn't won a start since May 26th, losing three times in the month of June and going along with three no-decisions. Two starts ago was a gem though against the Rays, allowing no hits and no runs in 6.2 innings of work, but his last start against the Royals left quite a bit to be desired this weekend. In that start, he went only 4.1 innings, allowing six runs on nine hits, and will need a much more complete performance to find his first win in over a month.
Athletics Aim To Keep Pace With Houston The Athletics won the AL West last year but after sitting in first place for the first few months of the season, they've now watched as Houston climb over them and move to 2.5 games ahead. Oakland, with only a plus-29 run differential, the lowest of the teams currently in the AL Playoff picture, has gone 4-6 in their last ten games and is looking for a win in Sunday's finale to get the ship going back down the right path. Oakland's offense will have a tough time keeping up in a shootout with Boston, so they'll be looking for their pitching to dominate and build off being a top ten staff in baseball. For position players, the Athletics will only be without Mark Canha and Stephen Pscotty, which should at least give them some consistency in the order heading into Sunday.
Matt Olson has had a strong start to the season, leading the team in four of five major offensive categories, with Mark Canha leading in OBP (.375). Olson's .284 average, 20 home runs, 53 RBI, and 80 hits, are tops on the team and the Athletics will need every bit of that production to take down one of baseball's best offenses. Over the last week, Jed Lowrie and Matt Chapman both have two home runs, but the offense has really struggled overall. Nearly half the lineup is hitting .200 or below over that time frame. Mitch Moreland has led the way over the last week, hitting .364 and he'll be relied on in a big way to keep it going on Sunday against his former team.
James Kaprielian will get the start for the Athletics and put his 4-2 record and impressive 3.06 ERA on the line, according to MLB.com. The 2015 first-rounder out of UCLA has already made one start against Boston this year, getting his first career win in his May 12th start. In that game at Fenway Park, he went five innings, allowing only four hits and one run, and will look to channel that confidence and impressive performance on Sunday. In the last month, he's yet to allow more than three runs and has gone at least five innings in each start. If he can keep the Red Sox around three or four runs, he'll give his team a chance at home.
Red Sox at A's Sunday, at 4:07 PM EST Clear According to Forecast.io, it's expected to be 66° F with a 0% chance of precipitation and 9 MPH wind blowing out in Oakland at 4:07 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com Forecast.io
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 4, 2021 7:42:49 GMT -5
This was a reminder the Red Sox could use a little more helpBy Rob Bradford 2 hours ago The Red Sox are in first-place by 4 1/2 games. Before losing to the A's Saturday night, 7-6, in 12 innings they had won eight straight. Alex Cora's team is one of three which has won as many as 52 games. Things aren't all that bad. But ... Before we start talking about running away with the American League East, there are little reminders that some holes in the boat need to be plugged before setting sail for the postseason. That's exactly what this loss to Oakland offered. Let's start with the obvious, the last few spots in what has been a very reliable bullpen. This was what did in the Red Sox this time, with Yacksel Rios and Darwinzon Hernandez first serving as the weak links, allowing the A's to tie things up with two runs in the eighth inning. And then there was Matt Andriese, the pitcher who was teaming with Garrett Whitlock in April to serve as a valuable one-two, long-relief punch. Lately, there the punches haven't been kind, with the righty allowing a 7.99 ERA, .385 opponents' batting average and 1.098 opponents' OPS since May 1. This time around, the extra-inning scenario he had once shown great acumen for in April proved disastrous, with Oakland scoring three runs to snap the Red Sox' win streak. t.co/PazsB2yU5i pic.twitter.com/cAUuGkBVu4 — Oakland A's (@athletics) July 4, 2021 "Yeah, we’ve been on a roll," Andriese said. "I know where I am at on the depth chart in terms of throwing multiple innings, everything like that. It’s my job at that point to stay sharp. That’s what I’ve been doing the last few years so I’ve kind of gotten used to it. It’s definitely a transition when you have seven or eight days off." "We need him, we need this guy, he’s very important to what we’re trying to accomplish," Cora said of Andriese. "This is a guy who can give us multiple innings in certain situations. We felt his fastball is still actually playing it’s just the offspeed stuff, i dont know if its usage or teams preparing for us when he comes in, but we just have to figure out. We’re not going to give up on him, this guy is very important to us." The point is that while the foundation of this bullpen is clearly solid, and the last guys on the list have had their moments, this team could really use a bit more in this department. Perhaps that's Ryan Brasier, who is still coming back from that 104 mph liner to the head. Or maybe, just maybe, Chaim Bloom goes the route Dave Dombrowski did when scooping up the likes of Brad Zieger, Addison Reed and Nathan Eovaldi. Listening to Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom on the Greg Hill Show Thursday, it sure seems like he would prefer to go a similar route as the postseason push supplied by his predecessor. “It wouldn’t be my preference (to be inactive) because you always want to make deals because it means you found something to improve your organization,” said Bloom. “Trades are one way to do that." He added, "Obviously it takes two to tango, and it has to make sense. That’s certainly a possibility we don’t end up doing anything, but if that happens, it will be because we had just as much conversation as if we were to make 10 different deals, we just didn’t find anything that we thought fit." Then there is the Danny Santana spot on the roster. While Marwin Gonzalez has countered his offensive inadequacies with the occasional big hit, really good defense at multiple positions and impressive baseball instincts, Santana ... well ... he simply hasn't done much of anything. Starting in centerfield Saturday night, Santana continued to make head-scratching movements on the baseball field. At one point he ran all the way into left field to almost Kelly Leak J.D. Martinez, who was easily camped under a fly ball. And then came the attempted steal of third, ending the 10th inning for the Red Sox. "With Danny, we give him keys and talk about situations," Cora said. "We talk about it afterward, he asked me, I’m like well in a regular game in a regular spot, it’s OK if you steal and everybody is high-fiving you but obviously with the rules knowing they’re going to have man on second and no outs, it’s a chance we don’t want to take." He is hitting .179 with a .559 OPS while not exactly solving the left-handed-hitting-complement-to-Bobby Dalbec-at-first base problem. Without a whole lot of logical solutions for this spot via a trade, perhaps we are looking at the logical pathway for a Franchy Cordero reunion, or, dare we say, Jarren Duran's integration into the major leagues. It was just one game, but one that reminded us there are still a few problems. "It was a crazy game," Cora noted. "If you guys want we can go through every play, it’s just a crazy game, that’s it and they ended up winning."
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