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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 23, 2021 3:45:24 GMT -5
Yankees @ Red Sox Friday, 23rd July 2021 7pm @ Fenway
Cole 10-4/2.63
Gerrit Cole began his second half with a dominant performance in a victory against the Red Sox, striking out 11 over six innings of one-run baseball. Cole allowed just five hits and two walks in the ballgame. After finishing the first half by throwing 129 pitches in a shutout against the Astros, Cole showed no signs of fatigue in this one. He fired 63 of his 96 pitches for strikes, generating 16 swings and misses (eight on his fastball) and posting a monster CSW of 40 percent. He boasts a tremendous 2.63 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 158/24 K/BB ratio over 119 frames on the season.
E-rod 7-5/5.18
Eduardo Rodriguez fired 5 2/3 scoreless innings on Friday in a win over the Yankees. Rodriguez kicked off the second half by delivering one of his strongest performances of the entire 2021 campaign. He matched a season-high with eight strikeouts and scattered two hits and a pair of walks over five-plus frames. The 28-year-old left-hander has compiled a lackluster 5.19 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 112/23 K/BB ratio across 95 1/3 innings (18 starts). However, his underlying metrics, most notably a sparkling 3.51 FIP, suggest that he's been extremely unlucky from a run prevention standpoint.
Yankees look to shake off ugly defeat vs. Red Sox According to STATS
The Boston Red Sox look to build off a bizarre series-opening victory as they take on the visiting New York Yankees in the second contest of a four-game set Friday night.
The Red Sox came back from two runs down with two outs in the ninth to force extra innings Thursday. After falling behind 4-3 in the top of the 10th, Boston took advantage of four wild pitches by New York reliever Brooks Kriske on its way to completing a 5-4 victory on Hunter Renfroe's sacrifice fly.
"Tough win, but plenty of good baseball," Boston manager Alex Cora said. "It was a good battle, and we ended up winning."
The victory was Boston's third straight. The Yankees, meanwhile, had a four-game winning streak come to an end. New York dropped to 2-8 against Boston this season.
"Another gut punch," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "It certainly stings on a long night here and looking like you're going to get out of here with the first game of the series, but we've also got to get over this. We've got a big weekend ahead of us."
With the loss, third-place New York dropped eight games back of first-place Boston in the American League East standings.
Ace right-hander Gerrit Cole (10-4, 2.63 ERA) looks to right the ship for the Yankees on Friday night. Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (7-5, 5.19) will take the mound for the Red Sox.
Thursday's game also featured a 55-minute rain delay among its many oddities. New York never trailed in the contest until the winning run crossed home, with Chad Green and Kriske each blowing opportunities to nail down the save.
"It's a tough situation for him to be in," Boone said when asked about Kriske's wild performance. "I don't necessarily think the moment was the issue."
Following the game, the Yankees optioned Kriske to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Enrique Hernandez had what Cora termed the biggest hit of his Red Sox career with his game-tying, two-run double off Green in the ninth. The Boston leadoff man has eight RBIs in his past three games and 14 in 16 games this month.
The Red Sox have come from behind in 30 of their AL-leading 59 wins.
Rodriguez takes the mound Friday after holding the Yankees scoreless over 5 2/3 innings in a win on July 16. He struck out eight and walked two in the contest. The southpaw hasn't been scored on in two of his past three outings after producing a 6.23 ERA over five starts in June.
Rodriguez is 8-6 with a 3.68 ERA in 21 career games (19 starts) vs. New York.
Cole dominated Boston on Saturday, punching out 11 and allowing just one run over six innings in a win. The performance followed a 12-strikeout, complete-game shutout he hurled against the Houston Astros seven days prior.
Cole is 4-2 with a 3.56 ERA in eight lifetime starts against the Red Sox.
Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu walked twice Thursday to extend his on-base streak to 32 games -- tops in the majors this season.
--Field Level Media
Yankees at Red Sox Friday, at 7:10 PM EST Partly Cloudy According to Forecast.io, it's expected to be 72° F with a 6% chance of rain and 3 MPH wind blowing left to right in Boston at 7:10 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com Forecast.io
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 23, 2021 6:38:55 GMT -5
The Red Sox beat the Yankees, but the real story was Tanner Houck
By Rob Bradford 2 hours ago
Red Sox fans, spin the wheel of glee.
Your team beat the Yankees (again), this time needing 10 innings and a walk-off sacrifice fly from Hunter Renfroe to seal a 5-4 win in the wee hours of Thursday night.
That would now be a Major League-best 30 come-from-behind wins, with the Red Sox now carrying an 8-2 record against the New Yorkers. It also put Alex Cora's team at 14-6 since what has become a raucous Fenway Park went to full capacity.
There were Alex Verdugo's three hits. The Red Sox ability to capitalize on Brooks Kriske's four wild pitches in the fateful 10th. And, of course, Kiké Hernandez's clutch, two-out, two-run double in the ninth to force those extra innings.
But these days, it's all about the big picture of what is now the final 65 games of the regular season. It's why Tampa Bay's third straight win wasn't its biggest story. That would have belonged to the Rays acquisition of slugger Nelson Cruz.
It's also the reason for the need to focus on Tanner Houck.
At at time the contending teams are jockeying for position in regard to finding home-stretch difference-makers, the Red Sox have seemingly uncovered a pretty important one. That would be Houck.
While a rain delay limited the outing by the rookie righty to 4 2/3 innings, what we saw over the course of those 87 pitches was enough. Eight of Houck's 14 outs came via the strikeout, including six of his first nine.
Since his return to the big leagues, this is a guy who has pitched 7 2/3 innings, giving up just one run while fanning 11. And as a major-leaguer, Houck's ERA stands at 1.54 ERA, striking out 44 over 35 innings.
This hasn't been just getting by. This has been downright semi-dominance.
“In terms of how I felt, I felt pretty good going into the game," Houck said. "Early on in the bullpen, I kind of questioned my fastball command a little bit. But I knew right away the slider was feeling right on point. Part of it. You’re not going to wake up every day and feel your best with everything, so went out there and competed with what I had, and I’m pretty happy with it. In terms of the rain delay, it’s part of it. Can’t control Mother Nature by any means. Wish I could have finished the inning, but I knew the team had to do what they had to do. They felt that they had to take me out at that time, and I agree with them. It was a decently lengthed rain delay, and glad to hand the ball off to the guys in the pen. They’re a superb team out there, and I knew they could get the job done."
There is the mid-90's fastball. The slider that has resulted in just two-hits all season. And now a split-finger pitch he dabbles in here and there to keep left-handed hitters honest.
The Rays might have gotten their big bat. But this arm the Red Sox have landed with is a pretty good counter.
"Outstanding," Cora said of Houck. "Just the rain delay killed us right there. We had to go to J.T. (Josh Taylor) early, but good stuff, he made some good pitches. Even when he was behind in the count, the 2-0 slider to Gardner that he swung and missed and I think the ball hit him, I guess, he made some good hitters look bad. The stuff, the fastball up, the sinker, the slider were on point. He threw a few splitters. He was good. He was good."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 23, 2021 6:41:24 GMT -5
Mastrodonato: Tanner Houck proves he deserves to stay in Red Sox rotation
By Jason Mastrodonato | jason.mastrodonato@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald July 23, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.
Dennis Eckersley’s voice is always glowing on the NESN broadcasts, but every once in a while a pitcher’s performance will elevate the color man to an even brighter level.
Tanner Houck did that on Thursday night, as he dominated the Yankees in the Red Sox’ 5-4 win in 10 innings.
of
Eck couldn’t stop yelling about Houck’s slider, a pitch that has become so nasty Kiké Hernandez compared it to Chris Sale’s, but from the right-hand side.
“Well, his stuff is incredible,” Hernandez said. “He’s got three plus pitches, but the thing that has impressed me the most is that it looks identical to Chris Sale but from the right-hand side. His mechanics. I did not enjoy facing Chris Sale, and I hit lefties well. That cannot be a fun at-bat against a right-handed hitter.”
On the NESN broadcast, Eckersley and Jerry Remy agreed.
On the field, Houck made it look easy.
“Even when he was behind in the count, the 2-0 slider to Brett Gardner that he swung and missed and I think the ball hit him, I guess – he made some good hitters look bad,” manager Alex Cora said. “The stuff, the fastball up, the sinker, the slider were on point. He threw a few splitters. He was good.”
Adjusting his slider from 82 to 85 mph with varying levels of break, Houck manipulated the Yankees’ lineup over 4-2/3 innings, allowing just two hits, two walks and striking out eight.
The Yanks swung 11 times, whiffing seven of them against Houck’s signature pitch.
“Early on in the bullpen, I kind of questioned my fastball command a little bit,” Houck said. “But I knew right away the slider was feeling right on point.”
Houck has thrown 207 pitches in the big leagues this year; 55% of them (113) have been sliders. There isn’t a qualified starter in the big leagues who has thrown a slider more than 47% of the time (Clayton Kershaw).
Asked if that pitch has gotten even better than last year, Houck said, “It’s definitely developed in a better way. I feel a lot more consistent with it in terms of executing, being able to go backdoor with it as well as back-footing it to lefties. So, in that way, I would say that I do feel it’s better than last year only because I’m able to do more things with it.”
It remains remarkable that Houck has spent the majority of the season in the minor leagues. He began the season in the majors but was sent back after making a dominant start against the Orioles in the opening series and appearing once out of the bullpen. Two weeks later, he was back again for a spot start, allowed three runs in 4-1/3 innings and was sent back down again.
The next three months, Houck was in Triple-A Worcester. He eventually endured a flexor strain and missed some time, then went back to work for the WooSox until finally, last week, the Sox recalled him.
The knock on Houck was that he only threw two pitches, a slider and a fastball (a two-seam and a four-seam). But the way he manipulates his slider, it’s given him several different looks. He’s also added a splitter.
And the point is moot given how many other starters in the big leagues have dominated using predominantly two pitches (Lance Lynn, Jacob deGrom, Robbie Ray, Zack Wheeler, among others).
Houck has now thrown 35 innings in the big leagues. He’s struck out 44 while walking just 13. And he has a 1.54 ERA.
“Just gotta show up every day, honestly,” Houck said. “It’s kind of cliché to say, but just showing up every day, putting in the work, putting in the effort, asking questions. All the little things add up over time.
“That’s what I’ve sat there and tried to focus on doing, and I definitely think it’s helped out in the long run.”
With a six-man rotation going forward, it appears Houck could be a mainstay until the Sox have to make a decision when Sale is ready to return.
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Post by Kimmi on Jul 23, 2021 8:28:20 GMT -5
New York Yankees reliever Brooks Kriske throws 4 wild pitches in 10th; Boston Red Sox rally to win3:32 AM ADT Thank you for that gift, Mr. Kriske.
Another tough loss for the Yankees.
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Post by Kimmi on Jul 23, 2021 8:34:53 GMT -5
Jon Couture @joncouture · 5h Gutsy send, but it worked. And Verdugo's slide was pitch perfect. #RedSox
The line between gutsy and stupid is ... somewhere between those two things. #RedSox That's what I always say. If it works, it makes everybody look good. If Verdugo had been thrown out, then it would have been criticized as a bad send considering how shallow that fly ball was.
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Post by Kimmi on Jul 23, 2021 8:43:43 GMT -5
The Red Sox beat the Yankees, but the real story was Tanner Houck "Outstanding," Cora said of Houck. "Just the rain delay killed us right there. We had to go to J.T. (Josh Taylor) early, but good stuff, he made some good pitches. Even when he was behind in the count, the 2-0 slider to Gardner that he swung and missed and I think the ball hit him, I guess, he made some good hitters look bad. The stuff, the fastball up, the sinker, the slider were on point. He threw a few splitters. He was good. He was good." Absolutely, the outing by Houck should not go unmentioned. It was huge, IMO.
This outing bodes well for the Sox pitching staff going down the stretch, whether Houck remains in the rotation or is used out of the pen.
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Post by Kimmi on Jul 23, 2021 8:44:58 GMT -5
Memo to our offense:
Score some runs tonight! Lots of them!
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 23, 2021 8:58:23 GMT -5
OverTheMonster @overthemonster · 54m Thinking about how the Red Sox tied the game last night before even registering an official plate appearance in the inning, and won it with the inning's only ball in play being a fly out to right field
I was never really as down on the extra inning rules as other people. I didn't like them, but I didn't *despise* them as strongly as everyone else. But last night was a joke. Both sides benefited/were hurt by the rules and I'm glad they won, but the rules are trash.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 23, 2021 9:01:17 GMT -5
Dennis Eckersley described last night's Red Sox win perfectly Current Time 0:11 /
By Alex Reimer 34 minutes ago
It was a throwback from another era — Rafael Devers starting the inning at second notwithstanding. The Red Sox rallied to beat the Yankees 5-4 at Fenway Park Thursday night, thanks to a plethora of wild pitches and a sacrifice fly.
There was no talk of exit velocity, launch angle or spin rate. In other words, it was some good old fashioned baseball.
And Dennis Eckersley was here for it.
When Yankees reliever Brooks Kriske uncorked his fourth wild pitch of the frame — a fastball that sailed over the head of catcher Rob Brantly — Eckersley couldn’t contain his excitement: “Isn’t this great?!,” he said excitedly. “This is baseball when baseball was baseball.”
Damn right. One batter later, Hunter Renfroe went first-pitch swinging and lofted a fly ball to right field. It was more than enough to scoot Bogaerts home, and give Boston its eighth win over the Yankees this season.
The Red Sox are 14-6 in front of a full Fenway Park. Once again, they are feeding off the raucous Fenway Faithful.
The atmosphere may have played a role in Kriske’s horrendous performance. The young right-hander tied a dubious MLB record with four wild pitches in the same inning.
Beautifully, Eckersley used the word “pathetic” 15 times in the 10th inning when referencing Kriske, according to our pal John Tomase.
Mocking pitchers for not finding the plate instead of calculating whether a second baseman should’ve been shifted 10 more feet to the left. That’s baseball indeed.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 23, 2021 9:03:29 GMT -5
Red Sox Notes @soxnotes · 1h Each of Kiké Hernández’s last 10 hits has gone for extra bases (4 HR, 6 doubles).
In the expansion era (1961-present), no other Red Sox player has had a streak of 10 straight hits going for extra bases, all from the leadoff spot.
(h/t @eliassports )
Most recent Red Sox who had 10 consecutive hits go for extra bases:
Kiké Hernández (10, 2021) Jackie Bradley Jr. (11, 2015) David Ortiz (10, 2014) J.D. Drew (11, 2008) David Ortiz (12, 2003) Manny Ramirez (10, 2001)
(h/t @eliassports
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 23, 2021 11:12:43 GMT -5
Yankees-Red Sox weather report: More rain delays possible Friday at Fenway Park (7/23/21) Updated 11:40 AM; Today 11:38 AM
By Mike Rosenstein | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
For second time in as many days, Mother Nature could play a role in this weekend’s four-game series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Thursday’s game featured a 55-minute rain delay in the fifth inning, setting the scene for the Red Sox’s wild comeback, a 5-4 win in 10 innings.
Here’s what the National Weather Service has in store for Boston on Friday:
Today
Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 78. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight
Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8pm. Patchy fog after 5am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 61. East wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 23, 2021 11:22:31 GMT -5
Red Sox Notes @soxnotes · 1h The Red Sox…
…own the AL’s best record (59-38).
…are 25-12 (.676) vs. AL East teams.
…are 18-10 (.643) in 1-run games.
…are 30-20 (.600) vs. teams with a winning record.
…are 29-19 (.604) at home & 30-19 (.612) on the road.
…have been swept only once (Apr. 2-4).
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 23, 2021 13:10:24 GMT -5
Mad Dog telling us that the Yankees this year have lost 4 games that they have had the lead in the 9th inning this season.
Yeah, I smirked too.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 23, 2021 13:40:05 GMT -5
Game 98: Yankees at Red Sox lineups and pregame notesBy Andrew Mahoney Globe Staff,Updated July 23, 2021, 10:02 a.m. Coming off of a thrilling 5-4 win over the Yankees in 10 innings Thursday night the Red Sox will be back at it on Friday against their AL East rivals Both pitchers in Friday night’s matchup fared well against the opposition last week, with Eduardo Rodriguez holding the Yankees scoreless over 5 ⅔ innings in a 4-0 win on July 16. Gerrit Cole struck out 11 and allowed just one run in six innings to give the Yankees a 3-1 win on Saturday. Lineups YANKEES (50-45): 1. DJ LeMahieu (R) 3B 2. Giancarlo Stanton (R) DH 3. Rougned Odor (L) 2B 4. Gary Sanchez (R) C 5. Gleyber Torres (R) SS 6. Brett Gardner (L) CF 7. Chris Gittens (R) 1B 8. Ryan LaMarre (R) LF 9. Greg Allen (S) RF Pitching: RHP Gerrit Cole (10-4, 2.63 ERA) RED SOX (59-38):1. Enrique Hernandez (R) 2B 2. Jarren Duran (L) CF 3. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 4. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 5. J.D. Martinez (R) DH 6. Alex Verdugo (L) LF 7. Hunter Renfroe (R) RF 8. Christian Vazquez (R) C 9. Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B Pitching: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (7-5, 5.19 ERA) Time: 7:10 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Yankees vs. Rodriguez: Greg Allen 0-3, Brett Gardner 7-33, Chris Gittens 0-3, Ryan LaMarre 0-1, DJ LeMahieu 6-19, Rougned Odor 3-8, Giancarlo Stanton 1-13, Gary Sánchez 3-16, Gleyber Torres 7-21 Red Sox vs. Cole: Xander Bogaerts 4-19, Michael Chavis 0-2, Bobby Dalbec 0-2, Rafael Devers 2-13, Jarren Duran 1-2, Kiké Hernández 3-8, J.D. Martinez 5-20, Kevin Plawecki 1-3, Hunter Renfroe 2-16, Alex Verdugo 3-9, Christian Vázquez 5-13 Stat of the day: The Red Sox have a league-best 30 come-from-behind wins.Notes: Rodriguez is 8-6 with a 3.68 ERA in 21 career games (19 starts) vs. New York … Reliever Josh Taylor has not allowed a run in 28 of his last 29 appearances for the Red Sox. He has 38 strikeouts over his last 33 appearances (27.2 innings pitched) … Cole is 4-2 with a 3.56 ERA in eight starts against the Red Sox … LeMahieu’s on-base streak of 32 games is the longest in the majors this season … The Yankees have had seven walk-off losses this season, and are 4-7 in extra-inning games. Song of the Day: Aerosmith - Sweet Emotionwww.youtube.com/watch?v=82cJgPXU-ik
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 23, 2021 14:33:55 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 11m Courtesy of @mike_petriello , Jarren Duran topped out at 29.4 feet per second scoring from first on the Kiké Hernández 2B last night. His top speed since callup was 29.7 feet/sec on a groundout. He has yet to crack the @slangsonsports 30 ft/sec ‘ELITE’ barrier, but awfully close.
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