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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 10, 2021 3:46:42 GMT -5
Red Sox Notes @soxnotes · 5h The Red Sox have won their last 9 home games, their longest streak at Fenway Park since July 2011. It is the longest home winning streak by an AL team this season, the 2nd-longest by any team (the Padres won 12 straight home games from 5/5-6/4).
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 10, 2021 3:48:37 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox Notebook: Kiké Hernandez sets tone with another lead-off home run, Chris Sale to throw Saturday in Florida Updated 3:07 AM; Today 12:27 AM
By Matt Vautour | mvautour@masslive.com
BOSTON — Kiké Hernández is moving toward rarified leadoff air in the Red Sox record book.
Hernández hit his fifth leadoff home run this season tying him for third-most in a single season in franchise history with Dwight Evans (1985). Mookie Betts is next on the ladder with six in 2016, while Nomar Garciaparra’s team record of seven in 1997 isn’t far off.
Friday’s homer erased an early 1-0 deficit and set the tone for the team’s offensive outburst in Boston’s 11-5 win.
“Instant offense. That’s what we’re looking for, for him to hunt fastballs and do damage,” Alex Cora said. “He’s in a good place. He’s controlling the strike zone and putting good swings on the ball.”
Hernández has got some work to do before he starts cracking Major League Baseball’s best single-season lists. Six players have hit at least 10, while nine more are tied for seventh with nine. Alfonso Soriano owns the top two slots on that list with 13 for the 2003 Yankees and 12 for the 2007 Cubs.
The home run was the 11th leadoff long ball of Hernádez’s career. He needs 23 more to crack the top 10 on MLB’s career list and 70 more to catch Rickey Henderson, who tops the chart with 81.
CHRIS SALE TO THROW SATURDAY — Rehabbing ace Chris Sale will take another step toward a return from Tommy John surgery Saturday in Fort Myers, Florida. He’ll throw two innings of a simulated game.
“Sale is pitching tomorrow. He’ll go up and down two innings,” Cora said. “We’ll wait until Sunday. If we get good news and he feels great, then we’ll make decisions about what he’s going to do next week.”
Sale could make his first rehab start, likely in Worcester, toward the end of the week.
FLOURISHING AT FENWAY— The Red Sox home winning streak cracked 10 games Friday, their longest since 2011.
“For us to get to where we want to go, we had to make this place a home-field advantage again,” Cora said. “We didn’t do it in 2019 and we won 84 games. Last year was a struggle. We have to play good here and we’ve been doing that.”
SUNDAY NIGHT SHOWDOWN — The Aug. 1 game between the Red Sox and Rays, which caps a series that could be critical in the division race, has been moved to Sunday Night Baseball at 7 p.m.
POSITION PLAYER PITCHING — The Phillies’ most effective reliever Friday was Ronald Torreyes, who is normally a reserve infielder. With Philadelphia down six, he took the mound and retired Christian Arroyo, Christian Vázquez and Bobby Dalbec on five pitches using a “fastball” that never cracked 65 miles per hour.
BIG BROTHERS AND LITTLE BROTHERS BASHING — While the Boston Red Sox were hanging 11 on the Phillies, the Triple-A Red Sox were posting double digits on Philadelphia’s junior varsity as Worcester beat the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, 10-3, Friday.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 10, 2021 3:50:43 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 9h In the first inning as the Red Sox leadoff hitter Kiké is batting .321/ .358/.630
He's now an above league average hitter overall.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 10, 2021 3:51:26 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 6h There were articles about how Andriese was the unsung hero of April for the Red Sox. What an absolutely wild spiral since. Starting May 1st: 24.2 IP, 25 R, 23 ER, with runs allowed in 12 of 17 games. Getting to be about that time.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 10, 2021 4:05:15 GMT -5
Phillies @ Red Sox Saturday, 10th July 4pm @ Fenway
Moore 0-1/ 5.60
Moore gave up two runs over four innings while not factoring in the decision on Monday against the Cubs. When the starters in this game -- Moore and Zach Davies -- left, the score was 2-2. From that point on, it was Phillies 11, Cubs 1. Moore wasn't as good as his five scoreless frames against the Mets last Friday, but it was a decent enough outing; one that should allow him to make a few more starts.
Perez 7-4/3.89
Pérez allowed just two runs -- one earned -- in 5 2/3 innings of work to pick up a win Monday against the Angels. Pérez was unfortunate to give up an unearned run, but also was fortunate that he only allowed two on the day. He gave up eight hits in the contest, and he issued a walk and struck out three. He was able to wiggle out of jams, however, and Pérez has his seventh win on the season with a not-horrible 3.89 ERA to pair with it.
Martin Perez, Red Sox look to keep surging vs. Phillies
The Boston Red Sox will try to keep their offense rolling when they oppose the visiting Philadelphia Phillies in the second game of a three-game set on Saturday afternoon.
The Red Sox overpowered the Phillies 11-5 in the series opener Friday, launching three home runs and pounding out 14 hits. Despite dropping two in a row and three of five entering the game, the Red Sox managed to claim their 11th victory in the past 14 games.
"For teams to make it to the next level, you've gotta win at home, you've got to play good against the division. So far, we've been doing that," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora, whose team has won nine straight at home.
Philadelphia had been riding high after outscoring the Cubs 39-21 while winning three of four in Chicago earlier this week. The Phillies had won five of their past seven games overall, but they fell to 1-3 against the Red Sox this season.
"It's one game," Phillies manager Joe Girardi said after the loss. "We had a stinker (on Friday). I always talk about momentum starts with your pitcher the next day, so we need Matt Moore to go out and throw a good game for us."
A pair of veteran left-handers will take the mound Saturday as Moore (0-1, 5.60 ERA) opposes Boston's Martin Perez (7-4, 3.89).
Perez has been a stabilizing presence on the mound for the Red Sox this season, allowing two or fewer earned runs in 11 of his past 14 starts.
Boston has won each of Perez's past four starts. Perez has pitched to a 1.86 ERA during that stretch, allowing just four earned runs over 19 1/3 innings.
He led the Red Sox to a 5-4 win in his latest start, against the host Los Angeles Angels on Monday, tossing 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball. He was charged with two runs (one earned) and gave up eight hits and one walk while striking out three.
In five prior appearances, including four starts, against the Phillies, Perez is 2-0 with a 4.10 ERA. Didi Gregorius is 4-for-11 with three home runs and four RBIs lifetime against Perez.
Moore will be making his sixth start this season and third in a row for the Phillies. Previously he made consecutive appearances out of the bullpen before spending a month in the injured list due to a back ailment.
The former All-Star is pitching for his fourth team in his past four seasons and has struggled to carve out a defined role. Moore is 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA as a starter this season, 0-0 with a 3.68 ERA in relief.
Moore lasted only four innings in his Monday start against the Chicago Cubs, but he held the hosts to two runs on five hits while walking two and striking out four in a game Philadelphia won 13-3.
A longtime member of the Tampa Bay Rays, Moore has seen plenty of the Red Sox over the years. Moore has gone 4-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) opposite Boston in his career.
--Field Level Media
Phillies at Red Sox Saturday, at 4:10 PM EST Partly Cloudy According to Forecast.io, it's expected to be 71° F with a 2% chance of rain and 6 MPH wind blowing in in Boston at 4:10 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com Forecast.io
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 10, 2021 6:55:53 GMT -5
Red Sox P Garrett Richards has rediscovered his confidence and how to pitch after giving up grip agents | Matt Vautour Updated 7:51 AM; Today 7:51 AM
By Matt Vautour | mvautour@masslive.com
BOSTON — Sitting at the table for his postgame video conference with the Boston media after the Red Sox 11-5 win over the Phillies, Garrett Richards looked at ease.
He’d just earned a victory and had pitched effectively for the second straight start. Richards can go into the All-Star break feeling good about himself.
That stood in stark contrast to where he was two weeks ago. After Major League Baseball announced its ban on foreign substances that helped pitchers grip or spin the ball, Richards gave up his mixture of sunscreen and rosin and barely looked like a big league pitcher. He bottomed out when he couldn’t make it out of the second inning against Tampa on June 23.
In 1.2 innings he gave up five runs on three hits, including two home runs and five walks. He’d lost control of his curveball and his command in general. The 33-year-old looked angry and concerned.
“It has changed pretty much everything for me,” Richards said. “I feel like I need to be a different pitcher than I have been the last 9½ years.”
Whether he’d admit it or not, he sounded like a guy worried about the continued viability of his career.
He wasn’t much better in his next start against Kansas City.
But he had a breakthrough, Saturday in Oakland. He allowed two runs on five hits and three walks in five innings against an A’s team that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. He left in a position to earn a win in that game before the bullpen struggled in extra innings.
It had to help his confidence in himself and his teammates’ confidence in him.
But that game happened on the West Coast with a 9:40 p.m. start, conflicting with sleep for many older fans and fun for many younger ones. If Richards could do the same thing back at Fenway in front of the same fans who’ve been none-to-sympathetic to his complaints about Major League Baseball’s midseason rule change, he could start to put a rough chapter behind him. At the same time, if he had a bad night, he’d have been back at square one.
Richards’ performance fell somewhere in between. He wasn’t as good as he was in Oakland. But he wasn’t as bad as he was against Tampa or Kansas City. He was plenty good enough to be a backend starter on a team with an offense that can bash their way past a pitcher’s struggles.
He started the game giving up a leadoff triple followed by a ringing double. But he got the next three batters to escape the top of the first down just 1-0. He gave up two more runs in the second, but then settled down for three straight scoreless innings.
He allowed seven hits and walk in five innings. He threw 57 of his 85 pitches and earned his first win since May.
“Hopefully for him, it was something to keep building off of,” Alex Cora said. “The way he’s acting, the way he’s talking, there’s more confidence there. I’m just glad for him he finished the first half of the season strong.”
Richards is more confident. He’s throwing an improving changeup that he didn’t use before the rule change and his control has largely returned.
“Sequence. Grip. Hand position. I’m starting to figure some really good things out,” he said. “The last five starts or so have been a figuring out period for me while still trying to stay aggressive and still give us a chance to win.”
With the benefit of a little hindsight, Richards still thinks baseball was wrong to make the change during the year.
“It was just kind of frustrating that I had to do it midseason. That was my only beef with the whole thing. I’m not mad that they took away our sticky substance. I knew I’d be able to adapt,” he said. I just thought it was unfortunate that I had to do it midseason when we’re playing meaningful games. If you told me in the offseason to figure it out and be ready for it, it would have been a different story.”
The start of Richard’s turnaround couldn’t come too soon. The trade deadline is coming. Chris Sale is close to a return. Tanner Houck is looming. Richards didn’t have a lot of room for error to keep his spot in the rotation. But after back-to-back solid outings, Richards felt comfortable where he was and where he was going.
“I would like to think I’ve been in the league this long and I’m not here because I used rosin and sunscreen. I’m here because I’m a good pitcher,” he said. “A lot of good has come out of this. I’ve learned a lot over the past few weeks as far as my stuff and how to throw a baseball. Things are trending in the right direction.”
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Post by Kimmi on Jul 10, 2021 8:00:11 GMT -5
There goes my dream of Santana leavingRed Sox optioned C Connor Wong to Triple-A Worcester.Wong went 3-for-11 at the plate in his first stint in the majors. The Red Sox haven't announced a corresponding move, but it will presumably be Kevin Plawecki (hamstring) returning from the injured list. Jul 9, 2021, 8:47 AM ET Wong did a very respectable job for his first stint in the majors. I'm guessing the Sox want him playing regularly to work on his development. He needs to be in AAA to do that.
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Post by Kimmi on Jul 10, 2021 8:10:14 GMT -5
After a one-run loss, a question: What makes these Red Sox so good in close games?Boston is 17-9 (.654) in one-run games.However, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal noted when he sniffed around some underlying Red Sox stats, banked wins are banked no matter how they got there. And we’ve heard the confidence blasting from these Red Sox with every close game they pull out. They’ve earned that, up and down the lineup card. Belief is a hard thing to quantify, but after a year where it lacked in just about every way, it can’t be overstated. And it can’t be dismissed. As I've said many times, the outcome of 1 or 2 run games is largely, largely due to randomness, not skill. In that area, the Red Sox have been on the lucky side.
At the same time, until someone can prove to me otherwise, I do believe in the unquantifiable things like confidence, belief, and grit. How much those things are helping the Red Sox in close games is hard to say (probably not much), but they can't hurt. It's nice to know that when the Red Sox get down in a game, they are not going to roll over and quit.
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Post by Kimmi on Jul 10, 2021 8:12:54 GMT -5
It is considering the Yankees are a complete fraud. Chris Cotillo @chriscotillo · 23m Kiké Hernández not pleased that the Red Sox are playing the Yankees in the only game on the schedule for Thursday:
"I guess 28 teams need four days off and two teams don't, so whatever."
For the record, this is kind of dumb/strange... Sox at Yankees on Thursday night is the only MLB game of that day. If I'm not mistaken, MLB always has one or two games being played on that Thursday, with the rest of the teams returning Friday.
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Post by Kimmi on Jul 10, 2021 8:19:52 GMT -5
11-3 lead, and Andriese walks the first batter. You need a FB down the middle. We picked up Rios and Workman for nothing, and both of them have passed Andriese. Good recovery by Richards. This looked like it might be a bad game after 3 runs in the first two innings, but Richards did just enough to survive. I like that. Sometimes you have to rely on the offense to bail you out, but you have to be able to keep a lid on the other team. Important, imo, that we were able to close out the game, using 4 RPs, but none of our key guys. That makes them available to bail out the starter on Saturday and/or Sunday. It was nice to finally play a game where we had a pretty comfortable lead.
It seems that Richards' last few starts has been like this. He looks really rough in the first 1 or 2 innings, then settles in rather nicely. Keep the team in the game. Our offense is good enough to usually come through.
Phillies bullpen is terrible. If the game is close getting into the bullpens, I like our chances.
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Post by Kimmi on Jul 10, 2021 8:22:22 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier
The 11-pitch at-bat resulting in a double by Martinez was 1) his longest at-bat since 6/29/2017 and 2) tied for the longest at-bat ending in an extra-base hit in his career. I always appreciate these long at bats, whether they result in getting on base or not. Make the opposing pitcher work a little bit.
Our team averages 3.88 pitches/PA, below the league average of 3.93. Of our regular starters, Xander and Verdugo are the only ones above league average.
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Post by Kimmi on Jul 10, 2021 8:30:38 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 9h In the first inning as the Red Sox leadoff hitter Kiké is batting .321/ .358/.630
He's now an above league average hitter overall. Perhaps Cora's confidence in him is paying off. I was never really on board with Kike leading off, but I do trust Cora. If Kike can continue hitting like he has since returning to lead off, then hats off to both Cora and Kike.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Jul 10, 2021 9:58:20 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK Kiké Hernández settles into unexpected everyday role in center field for Red SoxBy Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated July 9, 2021, 8:00 p.m. When Kiké Hernández signed with the Red Sox before spring training, he not only had his eyes set on being an everyday player, but also a starting second baseman. Hernández was mainly used as a matchup guy off the bench with the Dodgers, bouncing around from position to position. But Alex Cora and the Sox believed there was room for an everyday role for Hernández, who remained one of the most sure-handed infielders in the league. Now 89 games into the 2021 season, Hernández has, indeed, been an everyday player, starting in 69 of the 73 games in which he’s played. But 58 of them have come in center field, a position where Hernández has thrived this season. “He’s been great,” Cora said Friday before his team’s series opener with the Phillies. “Obviously there’s an adjustment — especially here at Fenway. We expected him to play center but I do believe him not playing second has more to do with the other guys, actually. You know what Christian [Arroyo] has done, obviously Marwin [Gonzalez] defensively, he can help us. All of a sudden we fell into this rotation and he was playing center and it just felt good for us.”. So much of our success this season revolves around this. By claiming Arroyo, and giving him a chance, this allowed Kike to move to CF and allowed Verdugo to stay in LF, and of course, Renfroe in RF. That's a great alignment. All three have an OPS between .756 & .780 (OPS+ of 102-110) and are GG candidates, and cost, in total, maybe $10M. And kudos to both Bloom & Cora for recognizing that the best alignment is not necessarily the alignment they had envisioned.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Jul 10, 2021 10:08:04 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier
The 11-pitch at-bat resulting in a double by Martinez was 1) his longest at-bat since 6/29/2017 and 2) tied for the longest at-bat ending in an extra-base hit in his career. I always appreciate these long at bats, whether they result in getting on base or not. Make the opposing pitcher work a little bit.
Our team averages 3.88 pitches/PA, below the league average of 3.93. Of our regular starters, Xander and Verdugo are the only ones above league average.That is our one weakness at the moment. We are 11th in walks while the NYY are 1st, and TB 2nd. I think that's baked in when you give a job to guys like Renfroe & Dalbec, power-first guys, but even guys like Kike & Arroyo do not take a lot of walks.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 10, 2021 13:13:04 GMT -5
Game 90: Phillies at Red Sox lineups and pregame notesBy Amin Touri Globe Staff,Updated July 10, 2021, 11:00 a.m. In the penultimate game before the All-Star break, Martín Pérez will take the ball for the Red Sox in hopes of continuing the club’s hot finish to the first half. Pérez is on the bump for his last start before the break, having shaken off a difficult start to June to return to his early-season form - the lefthander is 3-0 with a 1.86 ERA in his last four starts. The Sox took the first game of the series with Philadelphia on Friday, courtesy of a J.D. Martinez-led hit parade at Fenway Park. The Phillies will counter with Matt Moore, a southpaw that has returned to the rotation after spending all of May in the bullpen and June rehabbing from a back issue. Moore has posted a 5.60 ERA this season, with a 4.50 career mark against Boston, largely during his five-year tenure with Tampa Bay. Advertisement Lineups PHILLIES (42-44):1. Jean Segura (R) 2B 2. J.T. Realmuto (R) DH 3. Bryce Harper (L) RF 4. Andrew McCutchen (R) LF 5. Rhys Hoskins (R) 1B 6. Alec Bohm (R) 3B 7. Luke Williams (R) CF 8. Ronald Torreyes (R) SS 9. Andrew Knapp (S) C Pitching: LHP Matt Moore (0-1, 5.60 ERA) RED SOX (55-34): 1. Enrique Hernandez (R) CF 2. Alex Verdugo (L) LF 3. J.D. Martinez (R) DH 4. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 5. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 6. Hunter Renfroe (R) RF 7. Christian Arroyo (R) 2B 8. Christian Vazquez (R) C 9. Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B Pitching: LHP Martín Pérez (7-4, 3.89 ERA) Time: 4:10 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Phillies vs. Pérez: Alec Bohm 4-5, Didi Gregorius 4-11, Bryce Harper 1-8, Odúbel Herrera 1-7, Rhys Hoskins 0-4, Travis Jankowski 0-1, Andrew Knapp 1-7, Andrew McCutchen 6-15, Brad Miller 4-13, J.T. Realmuto 1-8, Jean Segura 7-25, Ronald Torreyes 0-4 Red Sox vs. Moore: Xander Bogaerts 6-12, Marwin Gonzalez 1-11, Kiké Hernández 1-19, J.D. Martinez 2-5, Christian Vázquez 1-2 Stat of the day: The Red Sox have been equally strong at and away from Fenway, posting nearly identical records: 28-17 at home, 17-17 on the road. Notes: Despite dropping two in a row and three of five entering the game, the Red Sox managed to claim their 11th victory in the past 14 games on Friday ... The Phillies had won five of their past seven games overall, but they fell to 1-3 against the Red Sox this season ... Boston has won each of Perez’s past four starts, the lefthander allowing just four earned runs over 19 1/3 innings. Perez has been a stabilizing presence on the mound, allowing two or fewer earned runs in 11 of his past 14 starts ... Moore is 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA as a starter this season, 0-0 with a 3.68 ERA in relief. Song of the Day: Kajagoogoo - Too Shy www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkpG4XApJ28
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