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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 14, 2021 3:21:22 GMT -5
Orioles @ Red Sox Saturday, 14th August 2021 4pm @ Fenway
Lopez 3-13/5.75
Jorge López surrendered two runs over six innings on Sunday in a no-decision against the Rays. López served up only four hits, including a solo homer to Austin Meadows in the fourth inning, and managed to complete six frames on exactly 100 pitches (65 strikes). He notched five strikeouts and only issued two walks. The 28-year-old righty has compiled an uninspiring 5.75 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 99/50 K/BB ratio across 108 innings (23 starts) this season.
Chris Sale (Debut)
Sale will debut on Saturday versus the Orioles and then grab a bit of extra rest before his next outing as he emerges from a lengthy recovery for Tommy John surgery. These first two matchups are obviously quite favorable for the 32-year-old left-hander, who registered a stellar 1.35 ERA and 35/5 K/BB ratio across 20 minor league rehab innings.
Boston ace Chris Sale to pitch first MLB game in two years According to STATS
Reinforcements continue to make their way to the Boston Red Sox, with ace Chris Sale set to take the mound for his first start in two years against the visiting Baltimore Orioles on Saturday.
Sale last pitched in a major league game on Aug. 13, 2019, before he sustained an elbow injury that would eventually lead to his undergoing Tommy John surgery during the spring of 2020. After sitting out all of the pandemic-shortened campaign, the left-hander makes his highly anticipated return to a Red Sox team looking to get back on track following a 4-12 stretch.
Boston received a boost Friday when Kyle Schwarber made his team debut as part of an 8-1 victory over Baltimore to kick off the three-game series. Schwarber, sidelined by a hamstring injury since the Red Sox acquired him from the Washington Nationals ahead of the July trade deadline, finished with two runs scored on two walks.
Sale's return figures to receive even greater billing after All-Star showings in his first two seasons with the club. Manager Alex Cora has said he will take a cautious approach with his star arm even though he punched out 35 over 20 dominant innings during his minor league rehab assignment.
"This is not only for the present," said Cora. "He's a huge part of the future."
The Orioles will send right-hander Jorge Lopez (3-12, 5.75 ERA) to the mound as they look to snap a nine-game losing streak.
Despite Friday's win, Boston remains five games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East. In the victory, Bobby Dalbec homered and drove in three runs as part of a 3-for-4 performance that increased his RBI count to eight in his last two games.
"Today was his best game overall," said Cora of Dalbec, who has struggled with contact over multiple stretches this season. ". . . Hopefully this is the beginning of something great."
Little has been going great for Baltimore of late outside outfielder Cedric Mullins, who extended his hitting streak to a career-long 20 games with a first-inning single as part of the series opener.
The Orioles' losing streak is their second-longest of the season after 14 straight defeats in May.
"Anytime you run into a little bit of a skid it's tough, but we have a good group of veterans who keep the emotions in check and keep the guys on the right path, always looking forward," said rookie starter Spenser Watkins after taking the loss in Game 1.
Sale has dominated Baltimore throughout his career, going 8-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 20 games (14 starts) against the club. He's struck out 133 in 91 innings during that span.
Lopez, coming off back-to-back quality starts, will face Boston for the third time this year after mixed results in his first two appearances. He was rocked for seven runs over four innings in April before holding the Red Sox to one run in 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision back in May.
Lifetime, Lopez is 0-1 with an 8.62 ERA in four outings (two starts) versus the club.
--Field Level Media
Orioles at Red Sox Saturday, at 4:10 PM EST Rainy According to Forecast.io, it's expected to be 81° F with a 41% chance of rain and 8 MPH wind blowing left to right in Boston at 4:10 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com Forecast.io
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 14, 2021 6:25:53 GMT -5
Buster Olney @buster_ESPN 48m RT @buccigross: Chris Sale will make his first start today since August 13, 2019. Sale tried to recover with a platelet-rich plasma injection and other nonsurgical rehabilitation methods, but ultimately he didn’t undergo Tommy John surgery until March 30, 2020, which was his 31st birthday.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 14, 2021 7:16:18 GMT -5
Red Sox Will Ease Chris Sale Back Slowly After Season Debut; ‘It’s April For Him’
'We'll take care of him early on'
by Alexandra Francisco
Chris Sale returns to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. Finally.
His season debut has been highly anticipated after missing more than a season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and the lefty couldn’t be inserted back into the picture at a better time.
But amid a slump, losing ground in the American League East by the day, the Red Sox won’t be rolling Sale out to the hill and expect him to save the season as if he were in mid-season form.
They’ll be taking things much slower than that, whether Sale likes it or not.
“I mean it’s April for him,” manager Alex Cora told reporters Friday, one day ahead of Sale’s first start of the season. “We’ll take care of him early on. That’s why it’s the extra days, and he’s gonna get to the point that you know he’s gonna pick up regular days and then it’s a full go, but if we want to put into context what we do, it’s April for him.”
Boston has been conservative with Sale’s workload to this point, easing him back in hopes he can contribute at a high level during a postseason run.
“With Chris, obviously, I do believe the contract has to do a lot with it, you know?” Cora admitted. “This is not only for the present, but he’s huge part of the future so it’s two different situations. And two different situations that we feel like they’re gonna contribute this year to help us win the division and get into October.”
That being said, no pressure.
The rehab starts were promising, but no matter what happens to Sale’s stat line Saturday, the Red Sox aren’t expecting him to give a peak performance.
If he does, wonderful. But realistically, given all it took for him to get back, Sale’s team is just happy to finally have him back.
“I think Nate (Eovaldi) put in perfect words a few days ago,” Cora said. “He can go out there in throw six scoreless innings and no hits and strikeout 10 and we’ll be happy. Or he can go out there and give up 10 in the first inning and we’ll be happy. I think tomorrow is about him coming back. The stuff and all that, that we can talk about later on. The only expectation that I have tomorrow is to have that guy on the mound. I know how much he worked to get back to this place. I know how disappointed he was in August of 2019.
“Of course we want to win, of course we want him to dominate, but it’s more than that. It’s about this kid, putting in the work, going out there and then performing at the big league level. Then after that we can talk about his stuff.”
Fortunately for Sale, his first outing will be against the struggling Baltimore Orioles. Hopefully the Red Sox can get him some run support to take the burden off a bit.
First pitch between Boston and Baltimore is at 4:10 p.m. ET.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 14, 2021 7:17:02 GMT -5
Red Sox did a good job of setting stage for Chris Sale's big day Current Time 0:40 / Duration 17:49
By Rob Bradord 18 minutes ago
It might have seemed like an innocuous Friday night win against one of the worst teams in baseball. But it was so much more.
It was the opening act for one of this season's biggest days.
The Red Sox used their 8-1 win over the Orioles - and all that went with it - as the perfect gateway for Chris Sale Day. And, as it turned out, there wasn't a better collection of hype men than what Alex Cora and Co. presented at Fenway Park.
There would have been a giddiness in the air regardless of what happened against the Orioles. When the two-year and one-day wait for Sale's return to a major league mound finally comes to an end, that was always going to be something. But thanks to some tweaks here, some tweaks there and a bunch of on-field optimism, the pitcher's return feels like even more of a path toward better times.
The introduction of Kyle Schwarber to the lineup. (He had two walks and two runs while batting sixth.) The willingness to start making tough but necessary roster decisions. (Marwin Gonzalez was designated for assignment.) Nick Pivetta's continued emergence. (This time he went six innings, giving up just one run.) Garrett Richards showing he still be part of the solution. (The righty closed things out with three shutout innings.) Jarren Duran showing flashes of the player so many were banking on. (The rookie managed two hits and a pair of RBIs.)
And then there was Bobby Dalbec.
The hard-working first baseman who has struggled all season to find the kind of consistent major-league production the Red Sox were frankly banking on, is now showing signs that Sale's return might be complete with a rejuvenated first base position. Against the Orioles, Dalbec managed three hits, including a solo home run.
Dalbec is now 9-for-18 with three (yes, three) walks in his last seven games, having hit safely in 11 of his last 12 appearances. He has suddenly represented the kind of optimism the Red Sox have desperately been trying to track down.
All of it makes Saturday feel like more than a one-and-done reason to turn our attention to Fenway.
You could feel between the lines, and in Red Sox words.
"Chris works his tail off every single day. He’s worked really hard these last two years or so. It’s going to be really big for him, too. I think he’s as excited as we are," Pivetta said. "We’re excited to see him go out and compete, do what he does, do what he loves. I think it’s really going to be a lot of fun tomorrow. I know that there’s going to be a lot of fans out there cheering for him. I know his family is going to be there. We’re all going to be there for him. It’s going to be really exciting to see what he’s got, and just see him have fun throwing a baseball."
“It should be run. It should be fun," Cora noted of Sale's return. "It’s been two years and one day since he has pitched at the big league level. Like I said, obviously we want good results. Obviously, we want to win games. But this is more about the individual and the fact that his family is going to be here. It’s going to be a packed house hopefully tomorrow. The K-Man will probably be out there. It should be great. Looking forward for that, and hopefully, it will give us that boost that we’re looking for. Today was cool, but tomorrow, I’m really excited to see this.”
He isn't alone.
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Post by Kimmi on Aug 14, 2021 8:47:27 GMT -5
The odd thing is that some of our recent losses were because Taylor, Whitlock, and Barnes did not pitch well. They have been our strengths for most of the season. Likely burned out Cora leans on those guys cuz the SP rarely go over 6IP and Cora sure as heck does not trust the others. Having Richards and Perez in the bullpen should help with the work load. Richards pitching the last 3 innings of last night's game was huge for the pen.
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Post by Kimmi on Aug 14, 2021 8:52:43 GMT -5
The RS are #9 in the AL in terms in IPs. In terms of IPs/GS, the RS are 5th in the AL. The RS rotation has an average of 5.11 IPs Per start. The NYY are #4 with 5.17. The days of starters regularly pitching 7 innings or more are gone. It's hard to even qualify for a quality start anymore.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 14, 2021 9:08:51 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 41m Chris Sale made 29 starts between first hurting his arm in July 2018 and getting shut down in August 2019, something obviously wasn’t right: 159 IP, 6 wins, 4.35 ERA. But he still put up a 3.30 FIP, 1.08 WHIP, 236 K, and 38 BB. What a freak. Welcome back.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 14, 2021 9:22:51 GMT -5
we could be in a rain delay to start this game 21 % chance of rain at 4pm but that % subsides to 5% by 7pm.... place should be buzzing for Sale.... pretty pumped up to see him pitch
Saturday afternoon's AL East matchup at Fenway Park will feature a chance of showers and thunderstorms. A delay is possible, but a postponement is unlikely. Light winds blowing out to right field will improve home run chances slightly.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 14, 2021 9:33:16 GMT -5
Game 119: Chris Sale makes first start since 2019; Orioles at Red Sox lineups and notesBy Amin Touri Globe Staff,Updated August 14, 2021, 28 minutes ago The Red Sox host the Orioles on Saturday, and all eyes will be on the mound: Chris Sale is back. Boston’s ace will make his first start since August 2019 - exactly two years and one day later - wrapping up a lengthy rehab from Tommy John surgery and making his long-awaited return at just the right time. Related: With Kyle Schwarber and Chris Sale, Red Sox arrive at time for transformation The struggling Sox got things clicking offensively again on Friday, routing the Orioles, 8-1, to open a weekend series at Fenway. Sale will face Baltimore righthander Jorge López, who has had mixed results against the Sox this season. López allowed only a single earned run in 5 2/3 innings against Boston on May 10, but was chased after four innings and seven earned runs back on April 11. Lineups ORIOLES (38-76): 1. Austin Hays (R) RF 2. Trey Mancini (R) 1B 3. Pedro Severino (R) DH 4. Anthony Santander (S) LF 5. Ryan McKenna (R) CF 6. Maikel Franco (R) 3B 7. Jorge Mateo (R) 2B 8. Richie Martin (R) SS 9. Austin Wynns (R) C Pitching: RHP Jorge López (3-12, 5.75 ERA) RED SOX (67-51): 1. Enrique Hernandez (R) 2B 2. Alex Verdugo (L) LF 3. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 4. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 5. J.D. Martinez (R) DH 6. Hunter Renfroe (R) RF 7. Jarren Duran (L) CF 8. Christian Vazquez (R) C 9. Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B Pitching: LHP Chris Sale (-, 0.00 ERA) Time: 4:10 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Orioles vs. Sale: Franco 1-5, Hays 0-3, Mancini 10-25, Martin 0-5, Mullins 0-3, Santander 1-4, Severino 1-6, Wynns 0-3 Red Sox vs. López: Bogaerts 2-7, Cordero 1-4, Dalbec 0-4, Devers 2-4, Hernández 2-3, Martinez 4-9, Plawecki 1-3, Renfroe 1-3, Schwarber 2-3, Verdugo 3-7 Stat of the day: With 33 stolen bases and a 65 percent success rate, the Red Sox are third-worst in baseball in both categories. Notes: Despite Friday’s win, Boston remains five games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East after a 4-12 stretch ... The Orioles have lost nine in a row, their second-longest losing streak of the season after 14 straight defeats in May ... Cedric Mullins has been the lone bright spot for Baltimore, extending his hitting streak to a career-long 20 games with a first-inning single as part of the series opener ... Sale has dominated the Orioles in his career, with an 8-2 record and a 2.57 ERA with 13.2 strikeouts per 9 innings in 20 career appearances against Baltimore. Song of the Day: Orleans "Still the One"www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdfW_2frXnE
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Aug 14, 2021 11:07:50 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 5h Cora said Red Sox were happy to get three innings from Richards - both resting the rest of the bullpen and keeping Richards stretched out.
Cora on Schwarber: ‘He didn’t swing the bat in two at-bats and he scored two runs… That’s what we’re looking for. It’s a different approach.’ .’ I checked this morning. We are 9th in the league in walks. That's the worst we've been since 2012. Nice to see some walks. Especially thinking he might be anxious to take some cuts.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Aug 14, 2021 11:08:58 GMT -5
Chris Cotillo @chriscotillo · 5h Cora on Bobby Dalbec:
"Hopefully, this is the beginning of something great. We believed in him in spring training. We’ve been very patient, obviously, with the ups and downs. That was a great game today." I can guarantee you he tested my patience as much as any player ever has.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 14, 2021 12:52:02 GMT -5
Red Sox Activate Chris Sale
By Darragh McDonald | August 14, 2021 at 12:33pm CDT
The Red Sox have reinstated Chris Sale from the 60-day injured list, the team has announced. A spot on the 40-man roster was opened by Marwin Gonzalez being designated for assignment yesterday. Additionally, Christian Vazquez was reinstated from the bereavement list. To make room for Sale and Vazquez, Yacksel Rios and Connor Wong have been optioned to Triple-A.
This officially ends the star lefty’s journey of over two years away from big league mounds, having last pitched August 13th of 2019. At that time, he was shut down with elbow inflammation and eventually underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2020.
Prior to this absence, he had been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball for almost a decade. For the eight seasons from 2012 to 2019, he pitched 1,535 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.05 with 1,896 strikeouts. The 42.8 fWAR he accumulated during that time was third among all pitchers in baseball, behind only Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw.
If Sale is even half as good as that elite level, he’ll provide a huge boost to a Red Sox rotation that has been floundering of late. Martin Perez and Garrett Richards have been moved to the bullpen because of their recent struggles, leaving the club with a three-man rotation of Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta and Eduardo Rodriguez. (Tanner Houck was recalled to start on Thursday but then optioned to Triple-A the next day.) The club has gone on a cold streak of late, surrendering the AL East lead to the Rays, but still holding onto the second AL Wild Card spot, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 14, 2021 12:57:37 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 1m Trey Mancini is 10x25 with 3 XBHs vs. Chris Sale.
The rest of the players in Baltimore's lineup today are 3x26 with 1 XBH vs. Sale and have struck out 15 times.
Chris Sale last pitched for the #RedSox on Aug. 13, 2019.
The only position players in the lineup that day who are in the lineup today are Bogaerts, Devers, Martinez and Vazquez.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 14, 2021 13:03:52 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 2h As Chris Sale gets ready for his first start, a couple thoughts on what to expect based on 3 looks (one at Fenway in live BP, two in Worcester):
1) He’s healthy and his delivery looked great. In a few instances where he lost command for a few pitches, he adjusted reasonably quickly (often by subtracting a bit of Velo) to get back to his spots
2) He’s not coming back trying to be who he was in ‘18 - max velocity, all out, swing/miss on every pitch. He views 2015-17 as a ‘sweet spot’ to which he’s aspiring
3) The approach seemed to reflect that. He was relaxed in his delivery, and talked after each of the last two starts about emphasizing command over velocity.
4) Perhaps as a result, his fastball wasn’t the same overwhelming weapon it was in ‘17-‘18. I counted just a few swings/misses on the fastball in his last two starts. Triple-A hitters could foul it off and drive up his pitch count (hence 89 pitches in 4.2IP last Saturday)
5) BUT, a) he had more velo in the tank (in his last start, his highest readings - 95-96 - happened in his final innings) and b) when he had a live BP at Fenway, his fastball had late, explosive life.
6) So, it’s possible that his fastball and stuff have another gear that could come into play with the adrenaline of a big crowd at Fenway. If that happens, it’ll be interesting to see how it impacts command and (if more swings/misses) efficiency
7) The slider and changeup were both excellent. No surprise, most of his swings/misses came on the slider. If there were minor leaguers who could hit it…they probably shouldn’t be minor leaguers.
8) There’s a lot going on in a pitcher’s first start back, putting a fascinating wild card in play. That’s why members of the Sox say success is just getting on the mound today, whether he gets shelled or dominates. Today is a starting point, not necessarily who he’ll be in ‘21.
9) That said, this is obviously a huge deal for Sale. We’ve had a couple conversations in which he used the word ‘appreciate’ a million times. He’s missed this badly - part of why he loved every stop of his rehab assignment so much
10) Or, put another way, Sale views it thusly: ‘I was built for this. This is what I’ve been supposed to do.’ Today is a day 732 days in the making.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 14, 2021 13:07:27 GMT -5
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne · 9m Just a maintenance day for Schwarber today. The plan is he will start Sunday, and at least one of the games in Tuesday's doubleheader if not both.
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