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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 6, 2021 3:05:45 GMT -5
Red Sox @ Blue Jays Friday, August 6th 2021 7pm @ Rogers Centre
Eovaldi 9-6/3.71
Eovaldi struck out six but allowed six runs -- five earned -- on Saturday over 5 1/3 innings to take the loss versus the Rays. Eovaldi was handed a 3-0 lead before heading to the mound on Saturday but allowed a two-run blast to Ji-Man Choi before allowing a second two-run shot to Francisco Mejia later in the fourth. The 31-year-old has been very consistent for most of the season, but these micro blowups have happened from time to time.
Manoah 3-1/2.47
Making his return from the injured list, Alek Manoah tossed seven innings of two-hit, shutout ball in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Royals. Manoah missed a touch over three weeks with a back issue, but had no issues getting up to speed in his Saturday return. Ryan O'Hearn and Hunter Dozier were the only Royals to even manage hits versus the 23-year-old rookie, and both of those knocks were singles. Manoah ended his afternoon having struck out four against one walk. Manoah is now is the proud owner of a 2.47 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 56/16 K/BB ratio across 47 1/3 innings (nine starts).
Surging Blue Jays host struggling Red Sox
The struggling Boston Red Sox will find themselves in a difficult place to stop a tailspin when they visit the surging Toronto Blue Jays for a four-game series that starts Friday night.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora was blunt about his team's poor play Thursday after an 8-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers, dropping Boston to 1-5 on its road trip.
"It wasn't a good effort today," Cora said. "Where we're at right now, we've got to get better, and that's the bottom line."
The Red Sox have lost seven of their past nine as they prepare to face the AL East rival Blue Jays, who are 6-1 in their first homestand at Rogers Centre since Sept. 29, 2019.
The Blue Jays defeated the Cleveland Indians 3-0 Thursday to take the four-game series 3-1.
"For us to pull this off, we have to play better baseball overall," Cora said. "It looks like right now we're a step slower. We're not moving well. I know we're in August, right? It's a grind. We have a good opportunity to play in October and we put ourselves in this situation. People can doubt us, or they can feel like this team can do it. But bottom line, we have to show up every day and play better."
Boston will start right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (9-6, 3.71 ERA) against Toronto's rookie right-hander Alek Manoah (3-1, 2.47).
The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday.
Manoah will be facing the Red Sox for the second time this season. He did not factor in the decision on June 14 when he allowed one run and four hits in six innings in a 2-1 loss in Boston.
Eovaldi was the Red Sox starter in that game and also did not factor in the decision after allowing three hits in 6 2/3 scoreless innings. In eight career appearances (seven starts) against the Blue Jays, Eovaldi is 1-1 with a 3.63 ERA.
During the first seven games of their homestand, Blue Jays starters have combined for a 1.25 ERA over 43 1/3 innings.
The Red Sox are second in the AL East with the Blue Jays five games behind them in fourth.
"Now you start to look at the standings a little more," said Blue Jays second baseman Marcus Semien, who was 1-for-4 with a double on Thursday. "I know we're not in September yet and we don't want to look at the standings every day, but we do know that we can gain ground if we get a win playing the team that you are chasing."
The Blue Jays are eight games above .500 (57-49) for the first time since they finished the 2016 season at 89-73.
"I've been saying all along that I believe we can make a run," said shortstop Bo Bichette, who had a two-run homer and an RBI single on Thursday. "Nothing changes. Try to win every game every day."
"We have good players also," Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers said Thursday. "They'll obviously be up for the challenge. We respect what the Blue Jays have, but we just keep doing the same thing as far as preparing and trying to zone in on our game-planning and pitch selection. Trying to grind out at-bats and keep the line moving and not chase results."
--Field Level Media
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 6, 2021 3:07:41 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 15h Pitching matchups for the #RedSox - #BlueJays series that starts tomorrow:
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 6, 2021 3:14:03 GMT -5
Blue Jays have won 6 of their last 7 since getting back in their old home max capacity of 15,000 fans allowed and they are loud, roof to be open as much as possible....
Red Sox better get their heads of their asses or these 4 games are gonna be the continuing of the spiral down ward
since the All Star Break the SP roto is 4-8/ 5.50
The offense is has scored 18 runs in the last 7 games and are 6 x 52 (.115) with RISP the last 7 games.
Bad base running, sloppy gloves in the field.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 6, 2021 3:36:53 GMT -5
Red Sox manager Alex Cora stops mincing words after his team’s latest loss By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated August 5, 2021, 6:31 p.m.
DETROIT — Alex Cora has been around the Red Sox long enough as a player and now manager to understand how it works in Boston.
When times are tough and the dogs start howling, a manager’s job is to maintain the proper perspective and prod the beast of negativity back into its cage.
It was something one of his mentors, Terry Francona, had a flair for. Cora, who also spent four years working for ESPN, understands the power of his words.
For a week now, Cora has been deflecting the notion that the Sox are in a slump, pointing out that it’s a long season and dips are to be expected.
This is the same team that marched into first place, he said a few days ago. Cora was spinning like Nancy Kerrigan after some particularly bad games, but he gamely stayed on message.
That ended Thursday after a dispiriting 8-1 loss against the Detroit Tigers.
“I can put it plain and simple for everybody. I don’t think you guys have to ask many questions today,” Cora said. “We didn’t pitch; we didn’t play good defense; we didn’t hit.
“It wasn’t a good effort today. Where we’re at right now, we’ve got to get better, and that’s the bottom line.”
Cora didn’t stop there.
“For us to pull this off, we have to play better baseball overall,” he said. “It looks like right now we’re a step slower. We’re not moving well.
“I know we’re in August, right? It’s a grind. We have a good opportunity to play in October and we put ourselves in this situation. People can doubt us, or they can feel like this team can do it. But bottom line, we have to show up every day and play better.”
The Sox are 1-5 on their road trip down the standings and have dropped seven of nine overall. They lost two of three against the Tigers and now have four games over three days against the Blue Jays.
That Cora had little choice but to pull starter Martín Pérez in the second inning left him plenty of time to stew about the state of his team.
The Tigers scored five runs and struck out 31 times in the first two games of the series. But they had a home run, a double, and a triple in their first six plate appearances against Pérez.
Pérez pitched for the cycle — two singles, a double, a triple, and a homer — before he was taken out.
Pérez was 7-4 with a 3.89 ERA in his first 17 starts, the Sox winning 11 of those games. He is 0-4 with an 8.53 ERA over five games since, with the Sox winning once.
Like the Sox as a group, you wonder if Pérez’s first three months of the season were an illusion.
History suggests that’s the truth, at least for him. Pérez has a 5.06 ERA since 2017. This is who he is.
That the Sox emerged from the trade deadline with both Pérez and Garrett Richards still in their rotation feels more and more like a defining moment. Related: It won’t get any easier for the slumping Red Sox in Toronto
Red Sox starters are 4-8 with a 5.50 ERA in 19 games since the All-Star Game. Thursday was the 11th time in that stretch when the starter didn’t complete five innings.
The Sox should get Chris Sale back next week after a two-year absence. How effective he will be after such a long layoff is impossible to say.
Rookie Tanner Houck, who has seven major league starts on his résumé, is scheduled to start the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Presumably he’s a good candidate to remain in the rotation.
The lineup hasn’t been much help, either. The Sox have scored 18 runs in the last seven games while going 7 of 57 with runners in scoring position.
As Cora said, the Sox are breaking down in all aspects of the game. Accountability, too.
It is customary throughout baseball for the starting pitcher to be made available to reporters after the game, and Pérez fulfilled that obligation.
Others were requested, but Pérez was the only player the Sox made available. With clubhouses still closed to the media, it’s easy to leave it to the manager.
How Rafael Devers feels is easy to decipher. He came up in the seventh inning with two runners and two outs and tapped a ground ball to second base.
He jogged to first base, walking the final few steps before taking his helmet off.
Devers appeared ready to fire it into the dirt but turned and dropped it gently on the ground while shaking his head.
It’s a scene that has become common.
“We have to figure this out,” Cora.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 6, 2021 3:39:13 GMT -5
Red Sox notebook It won’t get any easier for the slumping Red Sox in Toronto By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated August 5, 2021, 7:23 p.m.
This is what a playoff race is about. This is the bed the Red Sox made, according to manager Alex Cora.
The Red Sox have dropped seven of their last nine games, including Thursday afternoon’s 8-1 loss to the Tigers in Detroit. The offense scuffled. Martín Pérez did, too. And as the Sox look ahead to this weekend’s four games in three days against the Blue Jays in Toronto, it won’t get any easier.
The Red Sox will face a collection of quality starters at Rogers Centre. Toronto’s scheduled pitchers for the series are as follows: Alek Manoah, Robbie Ray, newly acquired José Berrios, and Hyun Jin Ryu.
“We have good players also,” Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers said after Thursday’s loss. “They’ll obviously be up for the challenge. We respect what the Blue Jays have, but we just keep doing the same thing as far as preparing and trying to zone in on our game-planning and pitch selection. Trying to grind out at-bats and keep the line moving and not chase results.”
Since being able to return to Rogers Centre after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in Canada, the Blue Jays are 6-1. Prior to Thursday, they had hit .263 with 10 homers and an .819 OPS in that span.
The Sox, meanwhile, have struggled offensively, but Hyers believes his hitters can turn the page.
“We’ve just got to get the confidence back,” he said, “and keep preparing.” DeShields acquired
The Red Sox acquired outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. from the Texas Rangers in exchange for cash, according to major league sources, and DeShields was assigned to Triple A Worcester.
DeShields, 28, who has not played in the majors this season, was hitting .263 for Triple A Round Rock. He’s a career .246 hitter in the majors over six seasons with Texas and Cleveland.
The righthanded-hitting DeShields is a burner on the bases, giving the Sox some much-needed speed while further deepening their system. He stole 24 bases for Texas in 2019.
DeShields also adds outfield depth to a farm system that lost Jarren Duran to the big league squad, and Marcus Wilson, who was recently claimed off waivers by the Mariners. Brasier update
Reliever Ryan Brasier threw a live batting practice Wednesday in Worcester, and all signs point to him rejoining the Red Sox soon.
“It seems like it’s trending in the right direction, which is great,” Cora said before Thursday’s game.
Cora received a glowing report from WooSox pitching coach Paul Abbott, who was present for Brasier’s session. After Brasier was struck by a comebacker in June, Cora noted that a key part of the righthander’s rehab would be the mental aspect, not just the physical. There were questions surrounding how Brasier would respond to hitters in the batter’s box. Would he finish his pitches? Would he bail out?
According to Abbott, Brasier did indeed finish his pitches, and he did not have the protection of an L screen.
“Abbott was very excited about the fact that there were some swings, and there was no hesitation,” Cora said. “We know what happened with him. So that was one of the hurdles. We were a little bit worried about it and there was no hesitation, which is good.”
Brasier will throw another live batting practice session before the Red Sox make a decision on activating him.
Mayer makes debut
First-round draft pick Marcelo Mayer (No. 4 overall) made his Florida Complex League debut, walking three times and grounding out in four plate appearances.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 6, 2021 3:47:46 GMT -5
After taking three of four from Cleveland, it's time for Blue Jays to make statement against Red Sox Author of the article: Rob Longley Publishing date: Aug 05, 2021 • 5 hours ago • 4 minute read
On a Blue Jays team stacked with potential but still with much left to do, the first of what could be many big series down the stretch has arrived.
After a 3-0 win over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night at the Rogers Centre, the Red Sox are due to arrive for a four-game weekend set beginning on Friday.
It may not be a series that decides the Jays’ fate, but it will be a telling tale of where the team fits in the early stages of what is starting to project as a compelling stretch drive.
Can the revamped Jays rotation hold up against a division rival well above them — although a margin that is rapidly narrowing — in the standings?
Can the bullpen get through a clutch series without wobbling and become a consistent strength rather than a question mark?
And can the electric offence produce against a Red Sox team that won’t have as vocal support as it did as the visiting team in Buffalo and will be living under a modified quarantine in Toronto?
Players will never place too much emphasis on a series in August, but now settled at home and poised to make its biggest winning run of the season to date, you can bet players are well aware of the looming significance.
“Of course,” Jays second baseman Marcus Semien said when asked about the conclusion of the first home stand here in almost two years. “Now you start to look at the standings a little more. I know we’re not in September yet and we don’t want to look at the standings every day, but we do know that we can gain ground if we get a win playing the team that you are chasing.”
Manager Charlie Montoyo and his staff certainly are treating the series with the respect it brings, manipulating the rotation to have their four best ready for the Red Sox. Alek Manoah will get it started on Friday followed by Robbie Ray and newcomer Jose Berrios for Saturday’s split doubleheader, leaving Hyun-Jin Ryu to finish things up on Sunday.
“Obviously we know who we’re playing. We’re fully aware of that,” said Thursday’s starter Ross Stripling, who threw six shutout innings at the Indians. “But it’s business as usual and understanding we’re back at the Rogers Centre. We love playing here and we have a huge advantage.
“Let’s keep that going and don’t worry about who is in the other dugout.”
Adding to the emphasis on the weekend’s series is the fact that the Jays are catching up to their division rival, a task helped by taking three of four from visiting Cleveland.
The Red Sox, meanwhile, have faltered of late, losing seven of their past 10, including an 8-1 drubbing to the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.
That slide has ceded the AL East lead to to the Rays and has brought both the Jays and Yankees into shouting distance of Boston, which is now just five games up on the Jays.
The trick for the Jays will be to turn what has been a decent run since returning to Toronto into a sustained one.
There’s no denying the Jays are heating up, however. Winners of eight of their past 10, they’ve improved their record to 57-49. Getting to eight games above .500 has been a long time in the making, a place they haven’t been since ending the 2016 season at 89-73.
Still, the Jays are well aware that to get into the post-season, it will take more than a seven-game hot streak. So is there a lengthy streak coming?
“I’ve been saying all along that I believe we can make a run,” said shortstop Bo Bichette, who drove in all three runs on Thursday, a pair of them on his 20th homer of the season. “Nothing changes. Try to win every game every day.”
During the first seven games of the homestand, Toronto starters have combined for a 1.25 ERA.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 6, 2021 3:51:09 GMT -5
Alex Cora is understandably not happy with his team
By Rob Bradford
Take your pick of things from the Red Sox' 8-1 loss to the Tigers Thursday afternoon that might have irked Alex Cora.
The starting pitching was terrible, with Martin Perez managing just four outs before getting the hook.
The outfield defense was fraught with miscommunication and poor execution, at one point resulting in a dugout meeting involving outfield coach Tom Goodwin and the trio of Alex Verdugo, Kiké Hernandez and Hunter Renfroe.
The offense continued to be lifeless, failing time and time again to come through went it counted (going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position).
The Red Sox are 1-5 on their current road trip, having lost six of their last seven. And now? They head for a four-game set in Toronto for a revitalized Blue Jays team that are just three games in back of the Sox in the loss column.
So when the postgame media session came around, Cora wasn't about to mince words.
The first question: Can you talk about taking out Perez?
The answer? All that was missing was a stool in the middle of the clubhouse with the team gathered around.
"I can put it plain and simple for everybody, I don’t think you guys have to ask too many questions today," he said. "We didn’t pitch, we didn’t play good defense, we didn’t hit. It wasn’t a good effort today. Where we’re at right now, we have to get better. That’s the bottom line. In Martin’s case, there was some soft contact, there was some hard contact, but there was a lot of traffic at that point. We felt like Phillips (Valdez) was going to do the job and he did the job. We kept it in check for four innings, five innings and then (Hansel) Robles. Offensively, we didn’t do much. I think with men in scoring position we struggled again. For us to pull this off, we have to play better baseball overall.
"It looks like right now, we’re a step slower, we’re not moving well and I know we’re in August and it’s a grind, but we have an opportunity to play in October. We put ourselves in this situation. People can doubt us or they can feel like this team can do it, but bottom line, we have to show up every day and play better. We’ve been working so hard to get to this point. I’m not saying this is acceptable because we’re going to go through stretches like this, but when you look slow and it’s not you’re into it, but you have to better at the end. Obviously, that’s a good team and they’re playing good baseball, but I think at the end, we have a good baseball team and we know we can do it. We have to turn the page from this series, we have to turn the page from Tampa and we have to go to Toronto and face a good team and a tough series. It’s a four game series and we have to play better if we want to pull this off."
Question No. 2: The effort?
“I’m not asking the effort … I just feel like we’re getting punched and right now, it’s tough. It’s tough," Cora said. "That’s the bottom line. I’m not saying we’re not trying. Probably we’re trying harder and that’s why it’s not happening. it’s just a matter of we’re not playing good baseball right now.”
Question No. 3: How tough will it be to turn it around?
“It all depends on us," Cora noted. "We’ve done it before, we’ve played good baseball for a long, long time. We know we have a good baseball team, but like I said, we just have to play better. We have to keep working, we have to help these guys out from this slump and it’s up to us, the coaches, everybody involved to get us going. That’s the bottom line.”
Question No. 4: Is rotation setting you back?
“It has happened before, but it’s just a matter of we want to pitch better, we want to play better defense and we want to play better offensively," he said. "Right now, I think in all aspects of the game, we’re struggling. Like I said, we have to turn the page. They beat us two out of three, we got swept in Tampa. Tomorrow, go to Toronto and start playing better baseball. We’ll leave it at that.”
Question No. 5: Do you have to make changes in the rotation?
“I mean, tomorrow’s going to be Nate. We’ll go from there," Cora added.
Question No. 6: Team meeting?
“We always do, we always do," Cora said. "We’ll leave it at that.”
Question No. 7: How about those problems with runners in scoring position and two outs?
“We’ve been bad the whole season," he said. "If you look at the numbers, it’s been hard, especially against lefties. I looked at it this morning and it’s like 48 at-bats, 50 at-bats in that situation and we’ve struck out more than half of the at-bats. We’ve been preaching, we’ve been talking about it and then at the end, we have to do it on the field. Maybe we’re trying too hard, maybe we have the wrong approach, maybe we’re giving them the wrong information. We have to figure it out. This is a good offensive team. This is a team that it gets energy from the offense, we know that. I think in baseball, when you score runs you get energy and we have to take advantage of those situations. 3-0 game, you score one here, one there, and one later on and its a tie game. We just need to get better.”
They sure do, and their manager knows it.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 6, 2021 3:57:22 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox notebook: Ryan Brasier progressing toward season debut, is Martín Pérez’s rotation spot in jeopardy? Updated 12:48 AM; Today 12:48 AM
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
DETROIT -- Thursday’s blowout loss to the Tigers further exploited a vital flaw in the Red Sox’ offensive attack. Boston was 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position in its 8-1 defeat, failing to capitalize on most of the opportunities it had against Detroit’s pitchers throughout the day.
Entering Thursday, the Sox ranked dead last in the majors in average with a runner on third base and less than two outs with a .236 mark. Considering that situation is one manager Alex Cora and the team’s hitting coaches have emphasized since spring training, it’s a clear source of frustration for the staff.
“We’ve been bad the whole season,” Cora said. “If you look at the numbers, it has been hard. Especially against lefties. I looked at it this morning and it’s like 48 at-bats or 50 at-bats in that situation and we have struck out more than half those at-bats. We’ve been preaching, we’ve been talking about it. But then at the end, we have to do it on the field. Maybe we’re trying too hard, maybe we have the wrong approach or maybe we’re giving them the wrong information. We have to figure it out. This is a good offensive team. This is a team that gets energy from the offense.”
As of Thursday morning, the Red Sox had scored the fifth most runs in the majors, though it’s clear they have let some chances go to waste recently. They have just seven hits in their last 57 at-bats with runners in scoring position over their last seven games.
“We’ve just got to get the confidence back and keep preparing like we have before,” said hitting coach Tim Hyers. “I know there’s some things that we’ve got to keep working on, some bad habits we have. We just have to keep trying to tackle them.”
Pérez’s struggles continue
Martín Pérez’s time in the rotation may be running short. The veteran lefty recorded just four outs Thursday afternoon, allowing three runs on five hits before Alex Cora came out for the early hook.
Pérez had a 2.22 ERA in an eight-start stretch from April 23 to June 3, only to follow it up with 6.69 mark in his next 10 starts. Since June 1, he has recorded six or fewer outs on three occasions; he has recorded an out in the fifth inning just once since July 6.
On Thursday, fastball command was the issue.
“In Martín’s case, there was some soft contact and there was some hard contact but there was a lot of traffic at that point,” Cora said, explaining his decision to pull Pérez after he gave up two singles and hit a batter to load the bases in the second. “We felt like Phillips (Valdez) was going to do the job and he did the job.”
Cora has managed Pérez’s outings aggressively all season, and his handling of the lefty has played a large role in the Sox going 12-10 in his first 22 outings. But now, with Chris Sale returning soon and Tanner Houck looking like a long-term rotation option, it might be time for a chance.
“Tomorrow is going to be Nate (Eovaldi),” Cora said. “We’ll go from there.”
Brasier’s progress encouraging
Reliever Ryan Brasier, who is working out with the WooSox, threw a live batting practice session Wednesday. The outing -- Brasier’s first against hitters since being hit in the head with a comebacker on June 4 -- marked an important step.
WooSox pitching coach Paul Abbott raved to Cora about how Brasier looked.
“(Abbott) was very excited, the fact that there were some swings and there was no hesitation,” Cora said. “We know what happened with him, so that was one of the hurdles, or obstacles, that we were a little bit worried about. There was no hesitation, which is good.”
According to Cora, Brasier will throw one more live BP session before going on a minor-league rehab assignment. That would be the last step before joining the Red Sox for Brasier, who fractured a finger during offseason workouts and strained his left calf at the end of spring training before his latest setback in June.
“What seemed like he was going to be part of this, late, late this season, it seems like it’s trending in the right direction, which is great,” Cora said.
Canada -- and its protocols -- await
On Thursday night, the Red Sox flew from Detroit to Toronto for their first series in Canada since Sept. 2019. Their upcoming series against the Blue Jays -- just the third in Toronto since it opened back up to the Blue Jays last Friday -- will come with more stringent COVID-19 protocols than the Sox have been facing in the United States.
Cora is hopeful his players will be careful and obey local ordinances, which are stricter than those found stateside.
“If you break protocols, it’s like $1 million you get fined or something like that,” Cora said. “Hopefully, the players understand that. We’ve got a doubleheader on (Saturday), we get in at a decent hour today. Day game on Sunday. We’ll probably do it the same way we did early in the season, like spending most of the time in the hotel. We’ll talk about it. There’s a few things we have to do before we get to the border. It’s just a business trip. It’s not that we’re going to go up there and hang out.”
Duran impressing with work ethic
Outfielder Jarren Duran hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire at the plate so far, going just 9-for-51 (.176) with 21 strikeouts in his first 53 plate appearances in the majors. Despite the lack of results, Cora has enjoyed having Duran on the roster since he was called up after the All-Star break.
“As far as work ethic and all that, he’s amazing,” Cora said. “He’s very structured. He understands what it takes to post everyday. He’s not playing every day, but he prepares himself. We’re very excited because of that. Other guys can actually learn from him, for him being such a young kid.”
Considering Duran had posted a .926 OPS in 219 plate appearances with the WooSox to start the year, the slow offensive start is a disappointment. Still, Cora believes the 24-year-old has made positive contributions in his first 17 games.
“On the field, he has been good defensively and has done a good job with that,” Cora said. “Obviously, we talk about the swings and misses but I think there’s always an adjustment period.
“You see the power, you see the speed,” Cora added. “Obviously, we keep talking to him about in certain situations, we have to make contact. Like everybody here on this team. So far, it has been solid. We like what we see and we know he’s going to contribute.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 6, 2021 4:03:04 GMT -5
Chris Cotillo @chriscotillo · 4h If I'm running the Red Sox, I make two moves sooner rather than later:
1) Bobby Dalbec goes down to Worcester to figure things out. That is eminently possible.
2) Go with a Sale-Eovaldi-Rodriguez-Pivetta-Houck rotation. Richards and Pérez to the bullpen.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 6, 2021 7:04:10 GMT -5
Tony Massarotti @tonymassarotti · 1h AL East standings on July 5:
BOS 54-32 ---- TBR 49-36 -4.5 TOR 43-49 -9.0 NYY 42-41 -10.5
AL East standings thru Aug. 5
TBR 65-44 ---- BOS 64-46 -1.5 NYY 59-49 -5.5 TOR 57-49 -6.5
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 6, 2021 7:07:35 GMT -5
Mastrodonato: Alex Cora’s brutal honesty is refreshing, but Red Sox offense needs to make more contact Sox score just seven runs in three games in Detroit
By Jason Mastrodonato | jason.mastrodonato@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald August 6, 2021 at 5:35 a.m.
The bad news is the Red Sox stink right now.
The good news is Alex Cora knows it, is being honest about it and is addressing it.
“I can put it plain and simple for everybody, I don’t think you guys have to ask too many questions today: We didn’t pitch, we didn’t play good defense, we didn’t hit,” Cora said after the Sox lost to the Tigers, 8-1, to drop the series on Thursday afternoon. “It wasn’t a good effort today. Where we’re at right now, we have to get better. That’s the bottom line.”
For all the bad baseball the Red Sox have played over the last decade, rarely has it accompanied an honest assessment by the manager.
The 2019 Red Sox were a mediocre team that underperformed after a World Series title the year before, but Cora largely stood by that team, defending their effort and offering almost exclusively positive assessments of his players right down to the final game.
But in 2018? Cora was honest and often blunt about the way the team needed to improve, even as the Sox went on to win 108 games and cruised to a World Series title.
Former Sox manager John Farrell was adept at making positive comments after awful performances. Even as David Price continued to underperform, Farrell would often say he had “great stuff” after getting shelled.
We’ve seen too many mediocre baseball teams skirt by with managers who said everything was fine. And nothing changes.
At the very least, the Sox have a manager who understands what’s happening.
As the Red Sox were laughed out of Detroit while scoring just seven runs in three games against a team that typically allows twice as many, Cora offered the most brutally honest assessment of his team since he took over as manager the first time in 2018.
“It looks like right now, we’re a step slower, we’re not moving well and I know we’re in August and it’s a grind, but we have an opportunity to play in October,” he said. “We put ourselves in this situation. People can doubt us or they can feel like this team can do it, but bottom line, we have to show up every day and play better.”
The starting rotation isn’t doing the job.
Martin Perez allowed three runs in 1 1/3 innings before he was pulled. He has a 7.13 ERA over his last 11 starts.
Nick Pivetta has a 5.43 ERA over his last 13 starts.
Garrett Richards has a 7.36 ERA over his last nine starts.
Chris Sale is coming, but not until at least next week, and Cora wouldn’t commit to his starting rotation beyond saying Nathan Eovaldi will pitch on Friday.
But as poor as the rotation has been, it’s the Red Sox’ offense that drives this train. All of a sudden the Sox look like a team of slow-pitch softball players trying to uppercut everything out of the park.
Since the All-Star break, the Sox rank 29th in MLB while making contact just 73% of the time. It isn’t far from their season rate of 75%, which also ranks in the bottom third.
“We’ve been preaching, we’ve been talking about it and then at the end, we have to do it on the field,” Cora said. “Maybe we’re trying too hard, maybe we have the wrong approach, maybe we’re giving them the wrong information. We have to figure it out. This is a good offensive team. This is a team that gets energy from the offense.”
The Sox have to look under the hood and wonder why the three players they drafted, developed and promoted to the big leagues this year — Bobby Dalbec, Michael Chavis and Jarren Duran — have three of the lowest contact rates in baseball.
Chavis, who makes contact just 61% of the time, was traded last week for reliever Austin Davis, who hasn’t looked sharp since coming over from the Pirates.
Duran is revealing an all-or-nothing approach that worked well in Triple-A, but has left him with a 67% contact rate and a .176 average through his first 17 big-league games.
And Dalbec continues to look like a fish out of water with a 62% contact rate and a plate approach that could be described as a game of Guess Who?
That the Sox continue to give Dalbec at-bats is a question without a clear answer. Perhaps if they had developed some contact hitters in the minors, they’d have other options. One of them, Triston Casas, has carried Team USA to the gold medal game against Japan in the Summer Olympics.
The coaching staff is trying. Cora and hitting coach Tim Hyers have made it abundantly clear what they want to see: more contact.
“It starts with our pitch selection,” Hyers said. “We’re a team that’s aggressive. We swing the bats. And I think recently it’s caught up to us a little bit, expanding the zone and chase percentages are up.”
The Sox can’t scream it any louder. Now it’s on the players to react, adapt and save the season before it’s too late.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 6, 2021 7:11:48 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 1h In this 2 wins and 7 losses stretch the Red Sox have had 85 plate appearances with runners in scoring position and have gone 9 for 75 with 7 singles and 27 strikeouts, .120/.200/.173 (.373 OPS).
1-14, 1-11, 1-9, 1-9, 1-9, 1-7, 0-6, 2-5, 1-5
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 6, 2021 7:29:00 GMT -5
Sportsnet Stats @snstats ·
#WeAreBlueJays starting rotation owns the lowest ERA in the AL since the All-Star break at 2.66
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Aug 6, 2021 7:54:49 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 15h Pitching matchups for the #RedSox - #BlueJays series that starts tomorrow: If we ever need a statement game from Eovaldi, it'll be tonight. Going into Detroit, I could easily have seen us losing 2 or 3 games. The Tigers are for real and are playing well. Same thing here. TO is for real and playing well. If the RS lose the first game, it could be a sweep.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 6, 2021 9:14:46 GMT -5
Here is a chance for the Red Sox to prove they were right all along Current Time 0:01 / Duration 1:26 By Rob Bradford 35 minutes ago
Sometime last month, Xander Bogaerts admitted what we all could figure out: The Red Sox' internal rallying cry was one that went something like this: "Nobody believes in us but us."
We've seen it before. The Patriots made a living out of it, circling the one prognosticator among 20 who picked against them.
In the Red Sox case, perhaps there was some truth to the narrative considering their over-under for wins heading into the year was right around 80. But, really, that conversation outside the clubhouse came and went a while ago.
Every once in a while we would still get that "you guys don't believe in us" vibe coming from Red Sox players even in the shadow of a sea of power rankings that would suggest otherwise. Whether they wanted to admit it or not, people were believing.
They had become the masters of making all of us change our minds when it came to criticism, to the point that even the Red Sox' recent downturn was handled with an optimistic tone.
This, however, seems different.
The Red Sox could still lose all four games to the Blue Jays and still be in the thick of things, carrying the luxury of the returns of Chris Sale and Kyle Schwarber. But that's not really the point.
This is the ultimate chance for the Red Sox to prove what they have been saying all along - they are a World Series contender.
We know it. Their manager knows it.
"We put ourselves in this situation," said Red Sox skipper Alex Cora after his team's loss to the Tigers Thursday afternoon. "People can doubt us or they can feel like this team can do it, but bottom line, we have to show up every day and play better. We’ve been working so hard to get to this point. I’m not saying this is acceptable because we’re going to go through stretches like this, but when you look slow and it’s not you’re into it, but you have to better at the end."
As much as the rubber can meet the road on Aug. 6, that is the case here.
The Red Sox were built a certain way, one which actually seemed to fit just fine for the majority of this season. Lean on the foundational players -- Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi, Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts -- while basking in the emergence of untapped talents such as Garrett Richards, Martin Perez, Nick Pivetta, Alex Verdugo, Kiké Hernandez and Hunter Renfroe. And along the way get spark-plug contributions from high-end talents such as Bobby Dalbec and Franchy Cordero.
Pick through that blueprint now and you will find the root of some of the Red Sox' current problems.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays equation is what we thought it would be heading into this four-gamer at Rogers Centre ... scary. They invested. They developed. And now they have added. They are 2 1/2 games out of a Wild Card spot and just three in back of the Red Sox in the loss column, while possessing the American League's deepest starting rotation.
The Red Sox and their fans can view what awaits this team as a "woe is me" kind of scenario. Or they can look at it as the best opportunity of the season.
This is the Red Sox' chance to prove they were right all along.
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