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Post by Kimmi on Aug 25, 2021 9:51:02 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 2m Matt Barnes: "I picked a bad time to start sucking. But it's about winning ballgames ... But I'm going to keep grinding."
Says he expects the Sox to be in the postseason. One thing about Barnes is that he doesn't make excuses. He owns his bad performances.
And I expect the Sox to be in the postseason as well.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 25, 2021 13:24:41 GMT -5
Game 128: Twins at Red Sox lineups and pregame notesBy Andrew Mahoney Globe Staff,Updated August 25, 2021, 10:14 a.m. After holding on for an 11-9 win Tuesday night, the Red Sox will be back at it Wednesday night against the struggling Twins for the second of three games. Minnesota has lost four straight and five of its last six. The Sox will go with Nick Pivetta on the mound, while the Twins will counter with rookie Bailey Ober. Lineups TWINS (54-71): 1. Max Kepler (L) RF 2. Jorge Polanco (S) 2B 3. Josh Donaldson (R) DH 4. Luis Arraez (L) 3B 5. Miguel Sano (R) 1B 6. Nick Gordon (L) CF 7. Ryan Jeffers (R) C 8. Jake Cave (L) LF 9. Andrelton Simmons (R) SS Pitching: RHP Bailey Ober (1-2, 4.38 ERA) RED SOX (72-55): 1. Enrique Hernandez (R) 2B 2. Kyle Schwarber (L) DH 3. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 4. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 5. J.D. Martinez (R) LF 6. Alex Verdugo (L) CF 7. Hunter Renfroe (R) RF 8. Travis Shaw (L) 1B 9. Christian Vazquez (R) C Pitching: RHP Nick Pivetta (9-6, 4.43 ERA) Time: 7:10 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Twins vs. Pivetta: Jake Cave 1-2, Josh Donaldson 4-12, Max Kepler 1-3, Jorge Polanco 3-3. Red Sox vs. Ober: Has not faced any Boston batters. Stat of the day: The Twins allowed five runs in the fifth inning and have now been outscored 109-62 in the fifth inning this season. They have not allowed more than 78 runs in any other inning. Notes: Hunter Renfroe’s 10 homers lead the majors in August and represent a new single-month career high. … Travis Shaw has homered in each of his last two games for the Sox. … Alex Verdugo has posted three hits in each of the last two games. … Pivetta allowed four runs over 1⅔ innings against the Yankees, his most recent outing. … Ober held Cleveland to three runs (two earned) over six innings in a loss his last time out. He hasn’t won since July 5, a span of seven starts. Song of the Day: RATT - Round And Round www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u8teXR8VE4
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 25, 2021 14:11:27 GMT -5
Chris Cotillo @chriscotillo · 1m Missed this last week but the Red Sox released Matt Hall and Kevin McCarthy.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 25, 2021 16:34:48 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 56m Cora on Barnes -- 'I don't want to say he's not the closer. He is the closer.'
'We've got to get him right. That's the most important thing.' #RedSox
Cora on Kyle Schwarber possibly playing first base on Thursday -- 'He's eager. That's the goal right now.' #RedSox
Cora -- 'We've got some capable guys out there.'
Mentions Robles, Whitlock and Richards as possible late-inning relievers who are interesting to the coaching staff. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 25, 2021 16:35:46 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 56m Cora said White Sox closer Liam Hendriks was tipping pitches against the Yankees -- his wife picked up on it off the game broadcast. #RedSox are watching video to see if Barnes is doing something similar.
Cora on Bobby Dalbec at first base -- 'He keeps working on it. But honestly, it's something we've got to keep working. We've got to try to get him better.'
'There were a few plays where his reaction is not as good as when he's playing third base.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 25, 2021 16:37:04 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 1h Cora on Hunter Renfroe -- 'He started going the other way and then big things started happening. We knew he had the power.'
On his strikeout rate -- 'It's really not out of control, right? And now he's controlling the zone. He's walking.'
'He brings it every day.' #RedSox
Cora on the bullpen -- 'Two strikes, two outs, men in scoring position, the last three innings of the game -- the numbers are not where we want them. We've got to put people away.' #RedSox
Cora said Matt Barnes will not be available tonight.
'Obviously the results are not there. This happens to a lot of people -- a lot of closers around the league.'
'But at the end of the day, we don't really care about that. It happens. We've got to correct it.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 25, 2021 16:38:09 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 59m Cora declined to say whether Barnes would make his next appearance as a closer. He said the team needs to "get him right" before identifying his role. Barnes won't pitch today after back-to-back appearances on Monday/Tuesday.
Cora on Dalbec at 1B this year: ‘It’s been a struggle. He’s been inconsistent….I thought the transition would be a lot better than what we’ve seen.’ Sox hope Schwarber will make his debut at 1B on Thursday.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Aug 25, 2021 20:02:36 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 12m Verdugo thought he got one off of Ober, stayed in the box to admire it, watched it clang high off the Wall, tried to kick into gear to consider a double but slammed on the brakes and was nonetheless thrown out retreating to first. Not good. ============================================= This is something that has annoyed me for 50+ years. I'm not a big fan of styling and bat flips, etc., but if you hit one like Sano just launched, I won't get upset if you want to watch it sail off into the night.
But it is absolutely inexcusable to run a double into an out. Everyone in BB hits the odd 340 foot HR. There is no reason to celebrate. That reminds me of the Raiders defense. Don't celebrate unless you've done something exceptional.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Aug 25, 2021 20:32:10 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier Kyle Schwarber is 2-for-3 tonight with a pair of singles. He's hitting .400 with a .529 OBP since joining the Red Sox. ====================================== What do you know! One of the RS writers noticed that Schwarber is playing pretty good. In another week, one of them will notice that Shaw has 2 HRs in 9 ABs. And the week after that, maybe one of them will notice that Rizzo is carrying a .691 OPS with the NYY (albeit with some good peripherals).
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 25, 2021 20:39:28 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 53m Hard to say what's worse, Vazquez forgetting how many outs there are or Verdugo admiring a ball that didn't go out then getting thrown out going back to first.
22-24 since July 1 and playing like that?
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 25, 2021 20:43:23 GMT -5
That ball Sano hit into orbit back in the 3rd just went over my house for the 2nd time
more uninspired play alot of that since the dead line and I am done with these guys and the homers in the NESN booth tonight
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 26, 2021 1:34:57 GMT -5
Robles in extras
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 26, 2021 1:48:50 GMT -5
Schwarber's HR not enough as Sox fall in 10 The game-tying two-run blast was his first home run with Boston 2:33 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
BOSTON -- Elation, then deflation.
That’s just how things are going for the Red Sox right now.
Kyle Schwarber’s clutch, game-tying homer with no outs in the bottom of the ninth was not enough, as Hansel Robles served up a two-run homer to Josh Donaldson to open the 10th and got belted around for five runs in the frame as the Twins came away with a 9-6 victory on Wednesday night at Fenway Park.
From the moment Schwarber connected for his first Red Sox homer to when he ran around the bases and got back to the dugout, Fenway was electric.
“That was definitely a really cool moment,” said Schwarber. “Fenway was rocking. I was, in the moment, very excited, and kind of took it in rounding the bases, and was looking at the fans and everything like that. This is a great place to be.”
Almost unfathomably, things unraveled right after that.
With runners at the corners and one out after the Schwarber homer, the Red Sox just needed Alex Verdugo to hit a sacrifice fly, or maybe a well-placed ground ball, and the game would have been over and a walk-off pile would have ensued.
Instead, Verdugo struck out on three pitches against Twins closer Alex Colomé, who had struggled mightily to that point in the inning. Hunter Renfroe followed with a popout.
Verdugo swung through three cutters, the second of which wasn’t close to being a strike.
“Yeah, it came down to one of the things we’ve been preaching from the get-go, right? Put the ball in play with a man at third and less than two outs,” said manager Alex Cora. “We didn’t do that. Dugie has been swinging the bat well. Just, that situation, he chased two out of three pitches.”
No chasing was required for the Twins against Robles. They took the momentum right back when Donaldson clocked the second pitch of the 10th by Robles -- a 97.3-mph heater -- over Boston’s bullpen in right-center.
“It’s a crazy game,” said Schwarber. “This game, you can be at your highest high and then the next thing you know, it can put you right back down. But the beauty of this is we get to come out tomorrow. We get the opportunity to win the series. I think that’s the focus, that we’ve got to put this behind us.”
If the Red Sox could have pushed that winning run home in the ninth, the story of the night would have been Schwarber, who belted his 26th homer of 2021 a projected distance of 437 feet.
Instead, the focal point of the loss was a night full of missed opportunities by Boston’s offense and costly mistakes on the bases in the early innings.
The Sox left 12 runners on base. Some key cogs aren’t firing like they should be. J.D. Martinez is hitless in his last 15 at-bats. In his last 11 games, he has a .593 OPS. Xander Bogaerts is 1 for his last 14. Rafael Devers is getting pitched around, has only four hits in his last 30 at-bats and has been sitting on 29 homers since Aug. 14.
The hitting woes could have been overcome if only Boston had done a better job of running the bases in this one.
In the bottom of the third, Christian Vázquez thought there was only one out and had to be held at third on Schwarber’s soft single. If not for that mistake, he would have easily scored.
An inning later, Verdugo thought he hit the ball well enough to get it over the Green Monster, so he didn’t run out of the box. It would have been an easy double. Instead, Verdugo strayed too far off first after he realized his mistake and was thrown out as he retreated back to the base.
“It’s an area we’ve been bad,” said Cora. “We forgot the outs, we didn’t run out of the box. It’s probably a different game early on [if not for that]. Obviously they don’t want to do that, but like I’ve been saying, sometimes we’re not doing enough, pushing-wise, because it keeps happening.
“Yeah, it’s on them. It’s on us. As a group, we’re not doing a good job with that. Those things you can control -- know the outs, run out of the box. It’s one of those that we need to do, and at this stage, it’s tough to watch. We talk about it, but it keeps happening. As a staff, we’ve got to keep pushing, keep pushing. We can’t give up.”
Though the Red Sox are 17-20 since the All-Star break and a season-high 7 1/2 games behind the Rays in the American League East, they can still get to October if they can play cleaner baseball.
The Red Sox trail the Yankees by three games for the first Wild Card spot but lead the A’s by 1 1/2 games for the second berth. The A’s and Yankees start a four-game series in Oakland on Thursday, meaning the Red Sox will have a chance to gain ground on one of those teams all four days.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 26, 2021 1:50:31 GMT -5
Notes: Barnes' role; Schwarber at first August 25th, 2021 Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
BOSTON -- The one thing Red Sox manager Alex Cora knew for certain about Wednesday was that struggling closer Matt Barnes wasn’t going to pitch. The righty needed a down day, both mentally and physically, after pitching the previous two days and not being able to get out of the ninth inning.
It sounds like once Barnes does get back out there, it will at least temporarily not be for save situations.
“We’ll see how the games go, right? We’ll use him accordingly,” said Cora. “I don’t want to say, ‘He’s not the closer,’ or, ‘He is the closer,’ ‘He’s a setup guy.’ We’ve got to get him right. That’s the most important thing.”
Cora hoped to use Wednesday’s down day as an opportunity to reassess the situation and figure out the best way to get Barnes performing up to his capabilities.
It bears watching how Barnes is used when he next pitches.
“There’s different ways of doing that. Lower-leverage situations, kind of like a big lead late in the game. I think that’s the goal now,” said Cora. “We’ve got to figure some stuff today as far as his mechanics or whatever we find today, and then we go from there.
“He’s down today, so it really doesn’t matter about we’re going to use him late in games or as a closer. Like I said, we’ve got to dig in first, get him right and then we’ll make decisions.”
In the meantime, Cora has other options he can go to in the ninth. Garrett Whitlock and Hansel Robles replaced Barnes in relief on Monday and Tuesday, and the Red Sox won both games.
“We’ve got some capable guys there. We saw what Hansel did yesterday. Obviously Whit can get outs late in games,” said Cora. “There are other guys who are intriguing -- Garrett [Richards]. We’ll attack today and then make decisions after that.”
Who’s on first?
The Red Sox might at last get Kyle Schwarber his first Major League start at first base on Thursday.
Schwarber has been working out at the position in recent weeks, and he might be just about ready.
“I’ve got to talk to [trainer] Brad [Pearson] about it,” said Cora. “Kyle, he’s eager, so most likely, that’s the goal right now. We’ll talk about it, see where we are physically and make a decision. I would love for him to play first base tomorrow.”
Increasing the importance for Schwarber to play first base is that rookie Bobby Dalbec hasn’t been consistent on offense or defense this season.
“It's been a struggle,” Cora said. “He's been inconsistent. ... Even from his days in college, he was a good defensive player at third base. I thought the transition was going to be a lot better than we have seen.
“We've been working hard with him. Sometimes the angle, obviously, is different. You go from one side to the other, but he's had plenty of repetitions. He's been in that position for a while. He keeps working on it, but honestly, it's something we've got to keep working, we've got to try to get him better, because it's been up and down throughout the season.”
Move-in day
Thousands of freshmen are moving into colleges in the Boston area this week, and one of them is Camilla Cora, who moved into Boston College on Wednesday.
Cora was thrilled to take part in his daughter’s huge day, and even adjusted his pregame schedule so he wouldn’t miss it.
“Moving day for my daughter in college,” Cora said, beaming as he started his pregame Zoom with the media. “Go, Eagles!”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 26, 2021 1:58:22 GMT -5
Jon Couture @joncouture · 4h "It's hard to believe that happened to Robles," said no one who actually watched last night. #RedSox
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