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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 3:44:51 GMT -5
Red Sox Nation Stats
@rsnstats
·
5h
#RedSox Nick Pivetta on tonight's outing: "I wouldn't say pleased. I think I hold myself to a higher standard than that…I grinded, yes, but I need to limit my walks at the end of the day."
#RedSox Pivetta on pitching with the COVID outbreak: "Once you get out on that field everything else is kind of white noise and you focus on the task at hand…Hopefully, everyone comes out well and they can re-join us as soon as possible."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 3:45:38 GMT -5
Red Sox Nation Stats
@rsnstats
·
5h
Another rough night at the ballpark, fans. And it doesn't get easier.
The COVID outbreaks are unfortunate and hopefully not serious, but it's not as though these #RedSox were tearing things up even before this lineup was decimated by the outbreak. Lots of holes, even more now.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 3:52:54 GMT -5
Red Sox @ Rays
31rst August 2021
7pm @ The Trop
TBD
Yarbrough 7-4/4.57
Red Sox look to end Rays' 8-game win streak
According to STATS
The Tampa Bay Rays systematically defeated Boston in their series opener Monday night, and getting a little help in the bullpen gave them a boost in their important set with the Red Sox.
The two American League East clubs will meet again Tuesday in the second meeting of the four-game series in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Rays improved to 43-18 against the AL East with the 6-1 victory on Monday, limiting the Red Sox to six hits, one a solo homer by Bobby Dalbec.
They also took advantage of opposing wildness by drawing seven walks and keeping an inning alive with a wild pitch on a strikeout. The Rays also were better defensively, ending the contest with a nifty double play to record their eighth straight win.
Tampa Bay improved to 30-11 since the All-Star break and is 35 games over .500 for the first time ever. The club is also on pace for 103 wins, which would eclipse the franchise record of 97 set in 2008.
While holding a slim 3-1 lead in the sixth inning Monday, the Rays replaced eventual winning pitcher Luis Patino with J.P. Feyereisen, who just came off the injured list after recovering from a biceps/shoulder injury.
Feyereisen responded with 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Then fellow right-hander Pete Fairbanks -- also recently off the IL (shoulder inflammation) -- took the mound for the first time since July 28.
The fireballing Fairbanks struck out the side -- the heart of Boston's order -- in the eighth, whiffing Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts. The third strikes were all were on fastballs of at least 97 mph.
"It's good to have both of them back," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "They bring really good pitching to our bullpen. We've got a lot of good pitching down there, but these guys -- you know, Pete's special, J.P.'s special -- when they're right they can do some great things."
Cash will send out Ryan Yarbrough (7-4, 4.57 ERA) on Tuesday. The left-hander threw a season-low 55 pitches his latest start, on Wednesday in Philadelphia. He yielded two runs on five hits in four-plus innings.
Holding an 0-1 mark against Boston this season in three outings (two starts), Yarbrough is 3-3 with a 6.99 ERA in 14 appearances -- seven starts and seven relief appearances -- vs. the Red Sox in his career.
While Boston didn't announce a starter for the series' second contest, manager Alex Cora will do what he can to put together a lineup to get back on the winning track after dropping two straight.
In addition to the Rays, COVID-19 has proven to be a recent obstacle for the Red Sox to overcome as well.
Relievers Matt Barnes and Martin Perez tested positive on Monday, joining position players Christian Arroyo and Enrique Hernandez. Reliever Josh Taylor is also sidelined for coming in close contact with those who have the virus.
"It's something that we don't control," Cora said. "We're fighting an invisible enemy and it just happened that (Enrique) tested positive. So they'll be out for obviously an extended period of time."
Right-handed relievers Raynel Espinal and Phillips Valdez, both 29, joined the team in Cleveland.
Espinal -- a former New York Yankees prospect -- made his major league debut by allowing two runs on two hits and a walk over two innings. He yielded Wander Franco's two-run single in the eighth as the Rays rookie moved his on-base streak to 30 games.
Dalbec remained hot with the long ball. He is 6-for-13 (.462) with four homers, a double and nine RBIs in his past four games.
--Field Level Media
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 6:32:04 GMT -5
Mastrodonato: Alex Cora, Red Sox look tired after COVID-19 outbreak
By Jason Mastrodonato | jason.mastrodonato@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald
August 31, 2021 at 5:35 a.m.
Trying to catch the Yankees to host the American League Wild Card Game at Fenway Park is enough of a challenge.
Trying to fend off the Oakland A’s just to have a Wild Card spot at all remains a feasible task, albeit one that’s yet to be accomplished.
But the Red Sox are now dealing with an even bigger challenge as a COVID-19 outbreak is taking players and coaches, one by one.
Manager Alex Cora was about as down in the dumps and exhausted as he’s been after the Sox’ 6-1 loss to the Rays on Monday.
“Josh Taylor is a close contact,” he said, reading off names who were going to have to quarantine after closer Matt Barnes and reliever Martin Perez tested positive before the game. “We found out in the middle of the game. JT has to be in quarantine. And Matty is feeling OK. He’s feeling OK. Tom Goodwin is a close contact. Ramon Vazquez tested positive. That’s where we’re at right now.”
Vazquez has been a friend of Cora’s for a long time. This is all just a few weeks after Cora’s bench coach, Will Venable, was stuck in Canada for 10 days after testing positive for COVID-19 in Toronto.
Kiké Hernandez tested positive last week. Christian Arroyo was a close contact. Both are still out.
“I’m just tired, to be honest with you,” Cora said. “To be thinking about it the whole time and have to deal with this before a game and during the game and all that. Honestly, that’s how I feel right now. The season part, all that stuff, that’s the easy part for me. To have to deal with everything that has to do with this, it’s not easy, it’s not easy.”
While hospitals across the country are filling up with the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, the Red Sox are dealing with a much less severe, but still distressing situation.
“That’s why I always said last year, what (former manager Ron Roenicke) did was amazing,” Cora said. “To deal with everything they had to go through and the way he did it, it was great. I respect that guy and respect everybody that is involved in this. On a personal level, it’s a challenging one.
“I’ll be OK. I’ve got a good group of guys. I work with a great organization. I’ve got my family that supports me and, you know, if I feel down, I know somebody will text me or call me and pick me up.”
There’s no question the Sox looked flat on Monday. Adding a COVID-19 outbreak to the list isn’t something they needed.
“But right now, like I told the coaches, this is not the time to quit,” Cora said. “This is not the time to feel sorry about us. We’ve got to keep pushing these guys to be great like we’ve done the whole season. Is it a challenge? Of course it’s a challenge. It’s not easy. A lot of teams have gone through it, it’s just kind of like the timing of it, right? So it’s been tougher. But we’ll be OK. We’ll show up tomorrow, I always say, ‘when, where, and we’ll be there.’ We’ll play with energy and try to win the ballgame and that’s what we do.”
There was no energy Monday.
There were too many wasted at-bats. Rafael Devers booted the easiest groundball he’ll see all year in a key spot in the sixth inning to keep the bases loaded. It was another forgettable game by a Sox team that has played too many of them in the last couple months.
“Nobody is going to stop the tournament because we have X amount of cases and X amount of guys in close contact,” Cora said. “They’re not going to stop this. We went through that early in the season but not now. They’re not going to do that. We just have to keep finding ways to keep competing and going out there and trying to win ballgames. That’s what we have to do as a group.
“Tomorrow is another day and we have to prepare the same as we did today. Keep going and going. We still have a good team. We’re in position to make the playoffs. We know there will be guys coming back. I don’t know when but they will come back. The way I see it, keep grinding, keep going. It’s a lot tougher today than yesterday. Yesterday was tougher than the day before. Hopefully tomorrow we’re OK. Hopefully. That’s what I pray for. For this to be the end of it and then it’s all about baseball, making plays, putting the ball in play, pitching, all that stuff. This part is not comfortable, it’s not easy. But like I said on Feb. 10, it was one of my biggest fears and it still is.”
he Sox look like a team that is finding ways to win against bad teams, struggling to win against good ones and is running out of gas with 29 games remaining.
In the locker room, the approach is to focus on the game and ignore the rest. But it can’t be easy to ignore a global pandemic that’s now impacting the roster.
“It’s all going to come down to adversity,” said starter Nick Pivetta. “There’s no room to really let that affect us in any way. We just have to go out and play baseball. That’s what it comes down to. Once you get out on that field, everything else is kind of white noise and you focus on the task at hand.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 7:20:50 GMT -5
It's time for Alex Cora, Red Sox to take a deep breath
Current Time 0:29
/
Duration 1:25
By Rob Bradford
a minute ago
Turning the page can be a challenge, especially when the instinct is to throw out the entire book, altogether.
That, however, isn't an option for Alex Cora and Co. There is still a playoff hunt to be had, three more games this week at Tropicana Field, and a regular season that still includes 29 more games.
The Red Sox' challenge is to put Monday night's 6-1 loss to the Rays -- along with all the COVID news that smacked them in the face before, during and after -- in the rearview and somehow understand things could be worse.
As tough as it is to see right now, there still might some chapters worth writing for the 2021 Red Sox.
“We still have a good team. We’re in position to make the playoffs,” Cora said dropping to nine games in back of the Rays. “We know there will be guys coming back. I don’t know when, but they will come back. The way I see it: keep grinding, keep going.”
The manager added, "I’m just tired, to be honest with you, to be thinking about it the whole time and have to deal with this before a game and during the game and all that. Honestly, that’s how I feel right now. The season part, all that stuff, that’s the easy part for me. To have to deal with everything that has to do with this, it’s not easy. I love to prepare for a game the easy way. Look at video, talk to hitters and pitchers and all that."
The good news is that the Vinoy Hotel in St. Petersburg, Fla. has long been known to possess the best beds in the American League. The bad news is that Cora woke up looking at roster and coaching staff that has been turned inside-out.
Before the game, it was news that pitchers Matt Barnes and Martin Perez were the latest Red Sox to be diagnosed with contracting COVID, joining Kiké Hernandez and Christian Arroyo. During the loss, in approximately the fifth inning, it was learned reliever Josh Taylor and first base coach Tom Goodwin been deemed close contact. And to top of the day, coach Ramon Vazquez also tested positive for the virus.
Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
Not great.
The Rays kept rolling out their electric arms and positive vibes all the way to ninth win over the Red Sox in the teams' last 10 meetings. Bobby Dalbec did hit a solo home run ... so there was that.
The narrative that lingered throughout the first few days of August, suggesting that the Red Sox needed to just hang on for a couple of weeks until the likes of Chris Sale, Kyle Schwarber, Ryan Brasier and Arroyo could come in and save the day, has been rebooted.
Just hang on. That is the rallying cry.
The Yankees have suddenly started losing again, dropping their third straight to put the Red Sox just two back of that top Wild Card spot. There s still a two-game cushion over the A's for the postseason's final position.
The Red Sox' starting rotation has settled into a pretty good spot, while Dalbec has offered some end-of-the-order optimism. Brasier is finally back with the team. And, who knows, maybe rookie Raynel Espinal offers a lightning-in-the-bottle kind of outing to chip away at the negative narrative.
"It is what it is. It’s part of life," Cora said. "I’ve been saying it all along. It’s not easy. But it’s not only happening here, it’s happening all over the world. That’s the way I see it. I’m just glad the people who tested positive feel OK. they’re going to be OK. On the professional side of it, we just have to keep grinding. Nobody is going to stop the tournament because we have X amount of cases and X amount of guys in close contact. They’re not going to stop this. We went through that early in the season but not now. They’re not going to do that. We just have to keep finding ways to keep competing and going out there and trying to win ballgames. That’s what we have to do as a group. Tomorrow is another day and we have to prepare the same as we did today. Keep going and going."
Did we mention they are sleeping in the best beds in the American League? Deep breaths ...
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 8:57:07 GMT -5
meanwhile O'Brien was in the other seat
blowing smoke up the ass of the Red Sox
christ, u think Eck would be used to this gas can garbage by now
Dennis Eckersley rode a rollercoaster of emotions during Hansel Robles' rollercoaster inning
Current Time 0:43
/
Duration 1:25
By Alex Reimer
36 minutes ago
It took Hansel Robles 17 minutes to throw 23 pitches and escape from a bases loaded jam in a rollercoaster sixth inning for the Red Sox in their ho-hum loss to the Rays Monday.
Dennis Eckersley’s rollercoaster of emotions in the NESN booth matched the performance.
Robles has been an enigma since the Red Sox acquired him last month, alternating between roles as a human arsonist and heart attack stopper. His outings over the last 10 days encapsulate the dichotomy: a clean ninth-inning one day and five-run implosion the next; surrendering a key run to the Indians in their comeback effort and then getting out of torturous inning without allowing an earned run.
With Matt Barnes temporarily on the shelf due to Covid-19 protocols — along with seemingly the rest of the team — Robles’ role in the bullpen should become even bigger.
Buckle up your seatbelt.
Robles’ start to the sixth Monday was strange. Instead of featuring his upper-90s fastball, he relied on an array of breaking balls that seldom crossed the plate. He threw an 0-2 changeup to Mike Zunino before walking him and sent Brandon Lowe to first on four straight pitches — not featuring a single fastball. The sequence propelled Alex Cora to start warming Raynel Espinal, and Eckerlsey to sound the verbal alarm bell.
“It’s kind of alarming — for a guy who can bring it,” he said incredulously.
After Kevin Kiermaier scored on an error from Rafael Devers, Robles found himself in another full count, this time with Wander Franco at the plate. Once again, Robles was missing with changeups.
“[These are] some of the strangest sequences,” Eckersley said. “I don’t know why he wants to throw so many off speed pitches.”
Finally, Robles retired Franco on a fly out. “Three-and-two just to stay in shape,” Eckersley added.
It seemingly took Robles several minutes to throw his first offering to the next batter, Austin Meadows.
“There’s no hurry. He’s never in a hurry,” Eckersley said in an annoyed tone.
Then Robles’ fortunes changed: He fanned Meadows on a 97 mph heater and struck out Yandy Diaz on a slider.
"Boy Robles, he goes to a different drummer, doesn't he?," Eckersley said. "He does his own thing. That cat is out there."
Indeed. Welcome to the Hansel Robles show. August was quite the opening act, and now we’ll see what September brings. The possibilities are cringeworthy and exciting.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 8:59:43 GMT -5
Chad Finn
@globechadfinn
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30m
Who starts for the Sox tonight? Bret Saberhagen? Ramon Martinez? Steve Ontiveros?
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 13:15:36 GMT -5
Game 134: Red Sox at Rays lineups and pregame notesBy Andrew Mahoney Globe Staff,Updated August 31, 2021, 2 hours ago It just gets worse for the Red Sox. Before they even took the field for Monday night’s game with the first-place Rays, they learned that Martín Pérez and Matt Barnes went on the COVID-19 injured list following positive tests. They then went out and lost, 6-1 to fall nine games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East. As of Tuesday morning, the Sox had not named a starter for tonight’s game. Lineups
RED SOX (75-58):1. Hunter Renfroe (R) RF 2. Kyle Schwarber (L) LF 3. J.D. Martinez (R) DH 4. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 5. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 6. Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B 7. Alex Verdugo (L) CF 8. Christian Vazquez (R) C 9. Jonathan Arauz (S) 2B Pitching: TBA RAYS (83-48): Pitching: LHP Ryan Yarbrough (7-4, 4.57 ERA) Time: 7:10 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Red Sox vs. Yarbrough: Jonathan Araúz 1-6, Xander Bogaerts 11-27, Bobby Dalbec 2-6, Rafael Devers 5-18, J.D. Martinez 12-21, Kevin Plawecki 1-3, Travis Shaw 0-4, Alex Verdugo 3-7, Christian Vázquez 9-23 Stat of the day: The Sox are 20-22 since the All-Star break. They are 12-18 since July 29, after starting the season 63-40 (.612). Notes: Dalbec is 6-for-13 (.462) with four homers, a double, and nine RBIs in his past four games … The Red Sox have homered in each of their last eight games (19 home runs total), matching their longest streak of the season from April 4-13 … Yarbrough has faced the Red Sox three times this season, including two starts, going 0-1. For his career, he is 3-3 with a 6.99 ERA in 14 appearances — seven starts and seven relief appearances — against the Sox. Song of the Day: Roy Orbison - "It's Over"www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9JArvEJ64M
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 18:01:45 GMT -5
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 18:04:34 GMT -5
Pete Abraham
@peteabe
·
3h
Peacock is the starter, Sox say.
Peacock hasn't started a game in the majors since June 27, 2019
Sox are hoping for 4 innings for Peacock and would happily take 3.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 18:04:48 GMT -5
Pete Abraham
@peteabe
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2h
As far as I can tell, the Red Sox have these relievers active for tonight:
Davis
Ottavino
Richards
Robles
Valdez
Whitlock
Robles has pitched the last two games. Presumably they'd rather not use him.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 18:06:23 GMT -5
Bill Koch
@billkoch25
·
2h
Cora on possible future COVID issues -- 'I'm concerned. I am.' #RedSox
Cora said the #RedSox are targeting 12 outs from Peacock. He's on three days rest.
Cora said 'there's a good chance' Ryan Brasier will be activated by Wednesday at the latest.
'You never know -- he may be active tonight.'
Danny Santana likely to play a last rehab game tonight. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 18:07:00 GMT -5
Bill Koch
@billkoch25
·
2h
Cora on dealing with #COVID/roster changes -- 'You guys saw me after the game yesterday. That was very simple.'
'You try to put it as positive as possible. It's not easy.'
'Whenever you see Brad's number or Chaim's number, they're not calling to say hi.'
Cora -- 'We have to fight. We have to grind. There's no quit. We still have the lead in the wild card.'
'When you have a chance to play in October, it should be fun.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 18:07:57 GMT -5
Bill Koch
@billkoch25
·
2h
Cora said he spoke to Hernandez this afternoon. He's quarantined in Cleveland and feeling better.
Hernandez was wearing his full uniform and sunglasses in his hotel room. #RedSox
Cora on the possibility of starting Connor Seabold tonight -- 'His situation, he pitched Friday if I'm not mistaken. We talked about it. Short rest -- it doesn't make any sense.' #RedSox
Cora on his pitching usage while being short of relievers -- 'I think we've got to pick and choose. Certain games, we can be very aggressive. Other ones, we have to be patient.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2021 18:08:12 GMT -5
Bill Koch
@billkoch25
·
2h
Cora on any friction between vaccinated/unvaccinated players -- 'I'm not going to get into details with this. I'm not as frustrated with the situation knowing everything else about it. I've been saying all along it's their choice, and you have to respect that.' #RedSox
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