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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 12, 2021 3:22:57 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 5h Cora confirms Tanner Houck will start Thursday's series finale against the Rays. #RedSox
Houck being named Thursday's starter will force a #RedSox roster move prior to first pitch. That's TBD.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 12, 2021 3:23:57 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 5h Replying to @billkoch25 Alex Cora -- 'We needed it. We put ourselves in a situation to win the series tomorrow against them.' #RedSox
Cora -- 'Take a look at everything that is going on. This whole thing with men in scoring position, it had to change. It had to come back to normal.'
'I'm not saying we're going to hit .400, but we're not going to hit .180.' #RedSox
Cora on Eovaldi -- 'We've been pitching better for a while now. We did a great job on Saturday.'
'We're going to keep getting better.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 12, 2021 3:27:30 GMT -5
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne · 7h Rays have "essentially" a bullpen game tomorrow, according to my teammate @adamdberry , which is why Cash is just letting Fleming wear this right now.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 12, 2021 3:28:16 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 6h Valdez allows a grand slam. 20-7 and he's still in there. This feels like they'll let him wear it and demote him tomorrow for Houck.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 12, 2021 3:32:11 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 9h For the first time this month, Kiké Hernández led off the first inning for the Red Sox with a hit -- in this case, a double. Hunter Renfroe immediately follows with a run-scoring double to give the Sox the lead.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 12, 2021 3:32:57 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 6h Nate Eovaldi is on the mound in the 7th inning -- the first time a Red Sox starter has thrown a pitch in the 7th inning since July 24 (17 games).
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 12, 2021 3:33:47 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 6h J.D. Martinez has reached base 6 times, most by a Red Sox since Dustin Pedroia in 2010 (the 3HR game against the Rockies).
The Red Sox have scored 19+ runs for the 30th time in franchise history, and first since 2019.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 12, 2021 3:34:31 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 6h With the acknowledgement that Valdez was torched in mop-up duty, Red Sox relievers now have allowed 29 runs in their last 23 innings.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 12, 2021 3:36:40 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 5h Cora: ‘Right now we’re in a wild card spot. But that’s not what we’re shooting for. We’re shooting for the division.’
Cora: ‘We feel very confident where we’re at pitching-wise.’ Thinks the Sox have been pitching better and will continue to improve with Sale/Houck in rotation.
Cora makes it official: Houck is starting tomorrow.
Cora: ‘What was going on for three weeks, that’s not who we are.’ Says team’s situational offensive struggles were inevitably going to experience a reversal.
Eovaldi: ‘Tonight, everything clicked’
Bogaerts on whether a game like this can reset the team: ‘It can. … A lot of guys are getting their groove back.’
Bogaerts on Houck/Sale: ‘Help is on the way!’
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 12, 2021 3:38:04 GMT -5
Red Sox Notes @soxnotes · 8h Kiké Hernández, Hunter Renfroe, and Xander Bogaerts each hit a double in the first inning.
Tonight marks the only time in the expansion era (1961-present) the Red Sox have begun a game with 3 consecutive doubles in their first 3 plate appearances.
(h/t @eliassports )
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 12, 2021 3:42:20 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox believe 20-run outburst could end skid, propel them forward: ‘A night a lot of us were looking forward to,’ Xander Bogaerts says Updated 3:21 AM; Today 3:21 AM
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
BOSTON -- The Red Sox let out weeks worth of offensive frustrations Wednesday night against the Rays, and they hope their 20-run outburst is a sign of good things to come.
Boston set season highs in runs (20), hits (19) and walks (9) and tied season highs in both triples (2) and extra-base hits (10) in a 20-8 drubbing of Tampa Bay that was even more of a blowout than the final score would indicate. From the first inning, when Kiké Hernández, Hunter Renfroe and Xander Bogaerts became the first trio of Red Sox since at least 1961 to lead off a game with three doubles in a row, it was clear Boston’s offense had awoken from a prolonged slumber.
Six Red Sox hitters had multi-hit games, and three players (Bobby Dalbec, Renfroe and Bogaerts) had at least four RBIs. After a brutal strech in which he Sox had won just two of their last 12 games -- and suffered four crushing losses in the last five days -- the beatdown was much needed.
“Definitely a night a lot of us were looking forward to,” said Bogaerts. “The offense exploding. Pitchers threw a good game... As far as the offense, it was nice to see everyone pitch in.”
The Sox had a 5-0 run after two innings, then plated five in the fourth and four in the fifth to go up 14-0. A six-run eighth inning against Rays catcher-turned-temporary-pitcher Francisco Mejia gave Boston a 20-1 lead before Tampa Bay plated seven runs off Phillips Valdez in the ninth.
The Sox were 12-for-24 with men in scoring position.
“What was going on for three weeks or whatever, that’s not who we are,” said manager Alex Cora. “We know that. We’re going to get better. One hit in three weeks with a man at third and less than two outs, that’s not the norm. We’re going to get more hits in those situations.”
Tuesday’s loss -- an 8-4 defeat suffered after the Sox took an early 4-1 lead -- was perhaps the most crushing of all the recent losses, as bullpen stars Garrett Whitlock and Matt Barnes combined to squander a solid Eduardo Rodriguez start by allowing six runs on six hits in 2 ⅓ combined innings. On Wednesday, with righty Nathan Eovaldi tossing his best outing of the second half -- a one-run, three-hit, 10-strikeout performance over seven innings -- the Red Sox made sure not to waste it.
“If this is the start of something better, I hope so,” Cora said. “We take it day-by-day. We’ve just got to cancel the noise and keep playing baseball. We know where we’re at. Right now, we’ve got a wild-card spot but that’s not what we’re shooting for. We’re shooting for the division. For that, we have to play better and I do believe we’ve been playing better the last few days.”
Bogaerts, who was 2-for-4 with Boston’s only homer and four RBIs, believes an offensive outburst like the one the Sox experienced Wednesday can get a ream rolling in a hurry.
“It can,” the shortstop said. “We know how we’ve been grinding so far offensively these last couple of weeks. I think these last few games, we’ve been kind of turning it. A lot of the guys who were not playing as well are starting to get their groove back, get their swing back.”
The Red Sox will have a chance to climb within three games of the Rays in the American League East in Thursday’s rubber game before welcoming the last-place Orioles to town for three games over the weekend. The club recognizes the opportunity in front of it.
“I think coming here, home at Fenway, it was good for us with the schedule how it has been, after that long road trip, to come back home,” Bogaerts said. “We grinded a lot on the road, and we came back home to where we normally play our best. Tomorrow, we’ve got to go out there, win the series and take advantage of playing home field.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 12, 2021 3:44:45 GMT -5
Tanner Houck to start for Boston Red Sox on Thursday in series finale vs. Rays Updated Aug 11, 2021; Posted Aug 11, 2021
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — Tanner Houck will be recalled from Triple-A Worcester to start for the Boston Red Sox on Thursday in the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Rays and Red Sox will play at 4:10 p.m. at Fenway Park.
Houck has a 2.45 ERA (25 ⅔ innings, seven earned runs), 1.69 FIP and 1.13 WHIP in seven outings (five starts) this season. The 25-year-old righty has a 1.69 ERA in 10 career outings (eight starts).
Houck and Chris Sale will take Garrett Richards’ and Martín Pérez’s spots in the starting rotation. Boston demoted Pérez to the bullpen Friday. The Red Sox announced Richards’ demotion to the bullpen Wednesday.
“They (Richards and Pérez) see themselves as starters but at the same time, understanding where we’re at and the people that are coming here to contribute,” manager Alex Cora said Wednesday. “It starts with Chris and everybody knows that Tanner is part of the rotation.”
Boston demoted Richards to the bullpen after he went 6-7 with a 5.22 ERA, 5.15 FIP and 1.65 WHIP in 22 starts this season. The opposition is batting .300 against him.
“His stuff we do believe is going to be a little bit better velocity-wise,” Cora said. “And where we’re at right now, we can use them (Richards and Pérez) as multiple-inning guys, in high leverage situations and in close games where we’re down. I do believe he threw the ball well in Toronto. Stuff-wise was really good. The slider. The breaking ball was good. He just got beat by probably the best hitter in the big leagues on a breaking ball out of the zone. ... We’ll see how it goes. We’ve got a lot of games to play. And there’s stuff that can happen and adjustments we might make throughout this few weeks.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 12, 2021 3:46:13 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 9h In the last 10 losses the Red Sox have blown games where they had win expectancies of 76%, 69%, 76%, 67%, 94%, and 91%. In those six games the bullpen has allowed 21 earned runs in 16.2 IP.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 12, 2021 4:06:00 GMT -5
Rays @ Red Sox Thursday 12th August 2021 4pm @ Fenway
Rasmussen 1-1/4.15 (Opener/Bullpen game)
Houck 0-2/2.45
It's now official. Houck will be recalled from Triple-A Worcester to take the ball on Thursday afternoon in a pivotal matchup against the division-rival Rays. The 25-year-old righty has been phenomenal, recording a pristine 2.45 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 36/7 K/BB ratio across 25 2/3 innings (seven appearances, five starts) at the major-league level this season.
Tanner Houck, Red Sox attempt to take series vs. Rays
Tanner Houck looks to lock up a permanent spot in the rotation and pitch the host Boston Red Sox to a series victory against the American League East rival Tampa Bay Rays in the finale of a three-game series on Thursday afternoon.
Houck (0-2, 2.45 ERA) will be recalled from Triple-A Worcester to make his sixth start of the season. Boston manager Alex Cora recently demoted veterans Martin Perez and Garrett Richards to the bullpen, giving Houck a chance to prove his mettle.
"Where we're at right now, we can use them (all) as multiple-inning guys in high-leverage situations, or in close games that we're down," Cora said Wednesday. "We've got a lot of games to play, and there's stuff that can happen and adjustments that we might make."
Boston's bats came to life in a 20-8 rout of Tampa Bay on Wednesday after dropping the series opener 8-4 on Tuesday. Bobby Dalbec drove in five runs, and Xander Bogaerts had a three-run homer and four RBIs as the Red Sox pounded out a season-high 19 hits while also notching a season high for runs.
"Look, Boston's a very good hitting team. They're gonna jump on pitches they can handle, and generally if they're in the zone and in those kind of sweet spots, they've got a bunch of guys with a track record that can hit the ball really hard," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "They just really didn't let us up."
Trailing 20-1 entering the ninth, the Rays showed life with seven runs in the final inning -- including Brett Phillips' third career grand slam and a solo homer by Mike Zunino. Brandon Lowe also hit a solo blast for his team-leading 26th homer.
Houck has faced the Rays only once in his short career, giving up a run on one hit and striking out two over one inning in a 6-5 win on April 6.
In five prior starts and seven appearances overall, Houck has exclusively faced AL East opponents this season. Houck has not allowed an earned run in four innings as a reliever this season, but is pitching to a 2.91 ERA with 31 strikeouts over 21 2/3 innings as a starter.
Tampa Bay right-hander Drew Rasmussen will also be looking to prove himself to be rotation-worthy.
Rasmussen (1-1, 4.15 ERA) is set to make just his third start of the season after pitching 25 games out of the bullpen.
He has struggled in a starting role this year, pitching to a 5.40 ERA while allowing three runs in five innings. Rasmussen has fared much better as a reliever, posting a 3.97 ERA with 45 strikeouts over 34 innings.
This will be Rasmussen's first start since July 24 at Cleveland when he allowed a run on one hit -- a home run -- while striking out three over three innings in an eventual 8-2 win for Tampa Bay.
Rasmussen has faced the Red Sox twice in relief this season, posting a 3.38 ERA against them with three strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings. Most recently, Rasmussen allowed a run on two hits with two walks and a strikeout in 2 1/3 innings of a 3-2 win against Boston on Aug. 1.
--Field Level Media
Rays at Red Sox Thursday, at 4:10 PM EST Partly Cloudy According to Forecast.io, it's expected to be 91° F with a 0% chance of precipitation and 9 MPH wind blowing out in Boston at 4:10 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com Forecast.io
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 12, 2021 6:48:56 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox believe 20-run outburst could end skid, propel them forward: ‘A night a lot of us were looking forward to,’ Xander Bogaerts says Updated 3:21 AM; Today 3:21 AM
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
BOSTON -- The Red Sox let out weeks worth of offensive frustrations Wednesday night against the Rays, and they hope their 20-run outburst is a sign of good things to come.
Boston set season highs in runs (20), hits (19) and walks (9) and tied season highs in both triples (2) and extra-base hits (10) in a 20-8 drubbing of Tampa Bay that was even more of a blowout than the final score would indicate. From the first inning, when Kiké Hernández, Hunter Renfroe and Xander Bogaerts became the first trio of Red Sox since at least 1961 to lead off a game with three doubles in a row, it was clear Boston’s offense had awoken from a prolonged slumber.
Six Red Sox hitters had multi-hit games, and three players (Bobby Dalbec, Renfroe and Bogaerts) had at least four RBIs. After a brutal strech in which he Sox had won just two of their last 12 games -- and suffered four crushing losses in the last five days -- the beatdown was much needed.
“Definitely a night a lot of us were looking forward to,” said Bogaerts. “The offense exploding. Pitchers threw a good game... As far as the offense, it was nice to see everyone pitch in.”
The Sox had a 5-0 run after two innings, then plated five in the fourth and four in the fifth to go up 14-0. A six-run eighth inning against Rays catcher-turned-temporary-pitcher Francisco Mejia gave Boston a 20-1 lead before Tampa Bay plated seven runs off Phillips Valdez in the ninth.
The Sox were 12-for-24 with men in scoring position.
“What was going on for three weeks or whatever, that’s not who we are,” said manager Alex Cora. “We know that. We’re going to get better. One hit in three weeks with a man at third and less than two outs, that’s not the norm. We’re going to get more hits in those situations.”
Tuesday’s loss -- an 8-4 defeat suffered after the Sox took an early 4-1 lead -- was perhaps the most crushing of all the recent losses, as bullpen stars Garrett Whitlock and Matt Barnes combined to squander a solid Eduardo Rodriguez start by allowing six runs on six hits in 2 ⅓ combined innings. On Wednesday, with righty Nathan Eovaldi tossing his best outing of the second half -- a one-run, three-hit, 10-strikeout performance over seven innings -- the Red Sox made sure not to waste it.
“If this is the start of something better, I hope so,” Cora said. “We take it day-by-day. We’ve just got to cancel the noise and keep playing baseball. We know where we’re at. Right now, we’ve got a wild-card spot but that’s not what we’re shooting for. We’re shooting for the division. For that, we have to play better and I do believe we’ve been playing better the last few days.”
Bogaerts, who was 2-for-4 with Boston’s only homer and four RBIs, believes an offensive outburst like the one the Sox experienced Wednesday can get a ream rolling in a hurry.
“It can,” the shortstop said. “We know how we’ve been grinding so far offensively these last couple of weeks. I think these last few games, we’ve been kind of turning it. A lot of the guys who were not playing as well are starting to get their groove back, get their swing back.”
The Red Sox will have a chance to climb within three games of the Rays in the American League East in Thursday’s rubber game before welcoming the last-place Orioles to town for three games over the weekend. The club recognizes the opportunity in front of it.
“I think coming here, home at Fenway, it was good for us with the schedule how it has been, after that long road trip, to come back home,” Bogaerts said. “We grinded a lot on the road, and we came back home to where we normally play our best. Tomorrow, we’ve got to go out there, win the series and take advantage of playing home field.”
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