Red Sox @ Angels Game Thread/5th - 7th July 2021

Eovaldi scuffles as Sox fall to Ohtani, Angels
Game-changing robbery of Bogaerts' would-be HR looms large
3:34 AM ADT
Ian Browne

Ian Browne
@ianmbrowne



ANAHEIM -- It was Shoehei Ohtani’s night. It has been Ohtani’s season. But Xander Bogaerts came close to stealing the show from MLB’s two-way sensation on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium in the Red Sox's 5-3 loss to the Angels.

In the top of the sixth, after J.D. Martinez had just put a small dent in Ohtani’s dominance with an RBI single that slimmed Boston’s deficit to 3-2, up stepped Bogaerts. He connected on Ohtani's 0-1 cutter, sending it to deep right-center.

Back went center fielder Juan Lagares, who timed his leap just right and turned the 380-foot drive by Bogaerts into an inning-ending out instead of a go-ahead, two-run homer.

“Yeah, Lagares, he changed the game with that play,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “That ball, if that’s a home run, it's 4-3, us. He’s a good center fielder. That play by Lagares changed the game right there. We get the lead and obviously it’s a different ballgame.”


It goes without saying that you aren’t going to get many second chances against Ohtani, and the Red Sox didn’t. The righty carved up Boston, allowing five hits and two runs over seven innings while walking none and striking out four.

That stat line would not have looked so impressive without Lagares.

"I simply told him nice play,” said Ohtani. “There wasn't much more to say. That was a huge play. I think that play pretty much made the outcome of the game."

Nathan Eovaldi, fresh off being named an All-Star for the first time in his 10-year career, knew that he’d have to pitch like one to have a chance against Ohtani.

After Martinez gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead with a sac fly in the first inning, Eovaldi put his team in a quick 3-1 hole in the bottom of the frame.

Naturally, it was Ohtani who got the party started with a tone-setting RBI double.


“I kind of left the splitter middle,” said Eovaldi. “I wanted it a little more away and then he was able to hit it hard.”

Max Stassi then delivered the key blow of the inning, bashing a two-run homer to left-center.

"We went after [Eovaldi],” said Angels manager Joe Maddon. “We didn't sit back. He's the kind of guy if you could hit all righties against him, you would. His cutter-slider beats up lefties pretty nicely. So I thought the right-handed part of our lineup did a really nice job."

The Angels added on with two more in the sixth, nickel-and-diming Eovaldi and reliever Brandon Workman with some soft contact.

For Eovaldi, it was the final start of a first half in which he went 9-5 with a 3.66 ERA across 18 starts.

The next time he pitches should be next Tuesday at Coors Field at the Midsummer Classic, a well-deserved honor for a veteran who has persevered through major injuries in his career.

Cora joked that the flame-throwing Eovaldi will probably throw 103 mph in his first All-Star Game.

“I’m going to try to dial it back. I don’t want to do too much, I want to be able to be ready for the Yankees after [the All-Star break],” said Eovaldi. “But I think with all of the adrenaline and facing all of the other All-Stars there, it’s going to be tough for me to dial it back. I’m going to try to do my best though.”

Of course, the man the entire baseball world will be watching at the All-Star Game is the guy Eovaldi lost to on Tuesday.

“It’s amazing what he’s doing,” said Cora of Ohtani's skills. “Unreal, to do it at this level. We talk about the preparation and what he has to do to post every six days or whatever, and then to be the DH and do the things that he does, it’s amazing. It’s great.”

RED SOX NOTEBOOK
Eduardo Rodriguez will get first start out of All-Star break as Red Sox reset rotation
By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated July 6, 2021, 7:35 p.m.


ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Red Sox had their rotation coming out of the All-Star break set up. But once Nate Eovaldi made the All-Star team — and will be pitching in the game — it changed.

Now the Sox will use Eduardo Rodriguez, Martín Pérez, Eovaldi and Nick Pivetta for the series against the Yankees in New York that starts July 15.

They initially planned to have Eovaldi start the first game of the Yankees series. But manager Alex Cora spoke to American League manager Kevin Cash, and it was decided Eovaldi will pitch an inning in the All-Star Game.

Cora also said Tuesday that Triple-A righthander Tanner Houck could work into the rotation at some point to give the other starters an extra day off. But when that will be hasn’t been determined.


A shift for Sale

Chris Sale pitched two simulated innings Monday in Fort Myers and is scheduled to repeat that Saturday, again at Fenway South.

From there he would “probably” start a minor league rehabilitation assignment, according to Cora.

“He’s excited,” Cora said. “He felt great. So stay the course.”

It hasn’t been determined where Sale will make his first minor league start.

Vázquez gets a break

Christian Vázquez was out of the lineup Tuesday night for the Red Sox against the Angels and that was news.

The catcher has started 68 of the 87 games the Sox have played this season — all but two behind the plate. Through Monday, Vázquez had caught 592⅔ innings, the most in the majors.

Vázquez is on pace to start 124 games as a catcher. The last Red Sox player to do that was Jason Varitek, who started 127 games in 2005.

The last catcher in the majors to start at least 124 games was Yadier Molina of the Cardinals with 142 in 2016.

It’s no coincidence that Varitek is now a Red Sox coach who works closely with Vázquez. Or that Molina is one of the catchers Vázquez emulated as a high school player in Puerto Rico.



“I want to be durable and be there for the pitchers,” Vázquez said. “That’s the biggest thing for the team. You want to be there every day.”

Vázquez has been credited with seven defensive runs saved, second in the majors for catchers. His 1.0 defensive WAR leads all catchers.

“Christian Vázquez, what he’s done . . . to post in every game. What an amazing job,” Cora said Monday night after a 5-4 victory against the Los Angeles Angels. “I haven’t talked enough about him.”

Vázquez’s career high for starts was 103 in 2019. He said in spring training that his goal was to catch at least 120 games.
Rodriguez’s renewal

Rodriguez, who is scheduled to start the series finale Wednesday afternoon, has allowed five earned runs over 18 innings in his last three starts. That has dropped his earned run average from 6.21 to 5.42. It’s not where Rodriguez wants to be, but he’s making progress.

“The puzzle is completed,” Cora said.

Cora said Rodriguez has improved his changeup, cutter and four-seam fastball over the last two weeks.

“Confidence comes into play, too,” Cora said. “People like to see results. For him to be able to get swings and misses and not walking people and being to maneuver big-league lineups twice — he didn’t do that too much for a month and half — it’s a good feeling. He feels like he has everything going.”

Good riddance

In a minor trade, the Blue Jays sent first baseman Rowdy Tellez to the Brewers for righthanders Trevor Richards and Bowden Francis. But it was good news for the Sox. Tellez has hit .340 with a 1.184 OPS, 12 home runs and 25 RBIs in 32 career games against the Red Sox.

“He was a pain. He was really good against us,” Cora said.
Defensive whiz

J.D. Martinez won MLB’s “Play of the Week” award for his play in the 10th inning of Saturday’s game at Oakland. With the bases loaded and one out, Martinez caught a line drive off the bat of Elvis Andrus and fired to the plate to throw out Sean Murphy. The Sox ultimately lost the game, 7-6, in 12 innings . . . Marwin Gonzalez, who left Monday’s game with a tight hamstring, is unlikely to play until the weekend . . . The Angels placed third baseman Anthony Rendon on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring. It’s his third time on the IL this season. Infielder Jack Mayfield was recalled from Triple A . . . Former Sox righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka announced he would retire after this season. The 40-year-old returned to Japan in 2015 but has not pitched since 2019 because of injuries. Matsuzaka was 50-37 with a 4.52 ERA for the Sox from 2007-12. He was 33-15, 3.72 in his first two seasons but made only 55 starts combined the following four seasons.

Boston Red Sox notebook: Rotation reshuffle imminent, Chaim Bloom shares thoughts on Jarren Duran; Danny Santana’s injury may force roster move Wednesday
Updated 4:05 AM; Today 4:01 AM

By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- With the All-Star break approaching, the Red Sox are about to reshuffle their rotation.

After Eduardo Rodriguez starts Wednesday’s series finale in Anaheim and Garrett Richards pitches Friday night against the Phillies, the Sox plan to flip-flop Martín Pérez and Nick Pivetta so that Pérez will pitch Saturday and Pivetta will close the first half against his former team Sunday afternoon. Because Nathan Eovaldi made the All-Star team and will pitch in the exhibition next Tuesday night, the Sox decided to push him back a couple days in New York next weekend.

Rodriguez will take the series opener against the Yankees on Thursday and be followed by Pérez, Eovaldi and Pivetta. The switches will allow Eovaldi to pitch four days after his All-Star appearance. Manager Alex Cora joked that Eovaldi -- a first-time All-Star -- is going to throw 103 mph in Denver.

“I’m going to try to dial it back,” Eovaldi responded. “I don’t want to do too much. I want to be ready for the Yankees after that but I think with all the adrenaline and facing the other All-Stars there, it’s going to be tough to dial it back.”

The Red Sox also plan on using Tanner Houck soon after the break, though his exact role isn’t yet known. Houck could make a spot start or two by the end of July after working his way back from flexor muscle tightness.

“He feels good. Everything went well in the last one,” Cora said. “As you guys know, he’s going to be part of this at one point. How soon, we don’t know yet but he’s important for us and he will contribute.”

Santana’s injury may leave Sox short

Utility man Danny Santana departed Tuesday’s loss after coming up limping while running out a ground ball in the seventh inning. Cora said Santana is dealing with a left quad injury and may need to be placed on the injured list.

“Hopefully, he slowed down enough that it wasn’t that bad. Obviously, he’s getting treatment,” Cora said. “He’ll come back tomorrow and see how he feels. With him, obviously, speed is part of his game, and moving in the outfield and all of that stuff. We’ve got to be very careful. He has past history with that. We’ll see where he’s at tomorrow and we’ll decide what we do.”

Santana’s absence might leave the Red Sox short on position players considering Marwin Gonzalez (right hamstring tightness) will be unavailable Wednesday and they can’t call anyone up before Wednesday’s game. The quick turnaround and distance between Worcester and southern California make a move nearly impossible.

One solution may be activating catcher Kevin Plawecki from the IL, Cora said. Plawecki has been out since June 20 with a hamstring injury but could be available to play Wednesday; the club could make a roster move before the game.

“There’s not too many bodies around here and I don’t think they’re going to make it on time if we have to bring somebody from outside,” Cora said.

If Plawecki is activated, the club would likely send Connor Wong back to the WooSox on Friday and call up another position player like Michael Chavis or Franchy Cordero to take Santana’s spot.

Eovaldi struggles in first half finale

Eovaldi didn’t have his best outing of his first half, allowing five runs on nine hits in 5 ⅔ innings while falling to 9-5 on the year. He struck out nine batters but was the victim of bad luck as the Halos had multiple softly hit balls fall for hits.

“That’s what they did today,” Cora said. “They did the same thing to him early in the season. Going the other way, putting the ball in play. He struck out nine with all that. The stuff was really good. It seemed like he found his groove in the middle of the game.”

“I had a lot of strikeouts tonight but a lot of soft contact as well,” Eovaldi said. “It was one of those nights I had to battle a lot and unfortunately, we didn’t come out on top.”

Eovaldi closed the first half with a 3.66 ERA in 18 outings.

“I felt good overall,” he said. “I felt like I had good command of all my pitches. My curveball felt a little off today, like getting it for the first pitch strike. When I needed to bury them with it, I felt good with that.”

Bloom sheds light on Duran

Appearing on NBC Sports Boston on Tuesday, Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was asked about the timeline for promoting top outfield prospect Jarren Duran. Here’s his full answer:

“I think it’s a combination of things. I’m not going to sit here and tell you we can pinpoint exactly when somebody is ready. I do think there’s a little bit of art, a little bit of feel to this, and also a lot of things we can track. The one thing that’s pretty clear is that he’s a heck of a lot closer than he was when the season started. I think it has been a steady upward trajectory for him in Worcester in terms of his comfort in the outfield, his jumps and his ability to read the ball off the bat, and all that adds up to making plays. We know he has the speed and the athleticism to make pretty much any play out there.