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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2021 3:19:26 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 5h Cora says Duran tested positive. He’ll be out ‘for a while.’
Cora on Brasier: ‘Great. Glad that he’s back. He will help us.’
Cora on bullpen usage: ‘We’re going to be aggressive when we have a chance to win. … We’re going to get big outs from a lot of people.’
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2021 3:20:09 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 5h Eovaldi says he felt like he was behind in counts and ‘had to battle.’ He says ‘it means a lot’ to get to second highest innings total of career.
Eovaldi on navigating COVID outbreak: ‘We’re piecing it together and making it work.’ Praises contributions of Araúz and López, as well as versatility of others (ex: Devers at 2B) in getting through the roster depletion.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2021 3:22:03 GMT -5
Kyle Schwarber, Hunter Renfroe come up clutch to lift Red Sox over Indians Five-run seventh seals 8-5 win
By Steve Hewitt | stephen.hewitt@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald PUBLISHED: September 3, 2021 at 10:56 p.m. | UPDATED: September 3, 2021 at 11:43 p.m.
Depleted as they may be as their COVID-19 outbreak continues, the Red Sox still have their heavy hitters healthy. And when they needed them on Friday night, they were there for them again.
With the game suddenly tied late, the Red Sox didn’t panic, and two of Chaim Bloom’s best acquisitions this year continued to deliver. Kyle Schwarber hit a tie-breaking two-run double, and Hunter Renfroe’s three-run blast helped seal it as the Red Sox continued their winning ways and opened their six-game homestand with an 8-4 win over the Cleveland Indians.
The win pushed the Red Sox (78-59) three games clear of the Oakland A’s, who fell in a walk-off loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, for the second wild-card spot.
Schwarber may have not exactly filled a need, and he may have not been available right away after the Red Sox acquired him at the trade deadline while he was hurt with a hamstring injury, but he has more than made up for lost time.
But there he was yet again on Friday. After already hitting a leadoff homer in the first to put the Sox up, he came up in the seventh in another big spot. Nathan Eovaldi had thrown six strong innings before allowing a relatively stunning game-tying homer in the seventh. But the Red Sox responded right away in the seventh, when pinch-hitting Travis Shaw drew a walk and Jonathan Arauz, who earlier belted a solo homer, hit an opposite-field double to put runners on second and third.
That brought up Schwarber, who came up clutch again. Facing an 0-2 count, he smoked a 97-mph fastball to the gap in right-center, easily scoring both runners for a go-ahead two-run double.
“This is what we expected,” manager Alex Cora said. “He was hurt but we knew he was going to impact the lineup whenever he was ready. He puts good at-bats after good at-bats. Fit right in in the clubhouse, helping other guys throughout their process. He’s been amazing for us.”
Schwarber has been a machine since joining the Red Sox, with stunning numbers given the circumstances he was in last month. He ultimately missed six weeks with the hamstring injury and didn’t get a chance to go on a rehab assignment because the one he was scheduled for got rained out.
The next day, on Aug. 13, he debuted with the Red Sox and he’s been producing in seemingly every game since, maybe even surpassing expectations. He’s posted a slash line of .344/.468/.609 with a 1.078 OPS, five doubles, four homers and 15 walks in 18 games with the Red Sox. He’s been everything they asked for and more, allowing lineup flexibility with his ability to lead off and set up the rest of the order, which is even more important given the situation they’re in right now.
“He’s just such a good hitter,” Cora said. “He’ll go the other way, he’ll spoil pitches, he walks. On a horrible night he’s 0-for-3 with a walk. That’s important.”
The Red Sox weren’t through in the seventh, even after Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez followed up with back-to-back strikeouts. After Alex Verdugo was intentionally walked, Renfroe came up with two on and two out. The right fielder battled against Indians reliever Trevor Stephan, fouling off four consecutive pitches before finally finding the pitch he wanted on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, a slider he belted to left for a three-run shot. Renfroe flipped his bat before rounding the bases.
“I was hoping for a mistake and he finally threw me one,” Renfroe said.
It was the Red Sox’ fourth home run of the game after they had three solo shots to open up a 3-1 lead, marking the 13th time this season they’ve hit four in a game. They’re now 13-0 in those games.
Ryan Brasier made his first appearance of the season with a five-run lead in the eighth. But after inducing two quick outs, he allowed a single, walk and single before being pulled for Garrett Whitlock, who finished off the inning. But the rookie had to work through trouble in the ninth
Eovaldi had mostly avoided damage on hard contact throughout the night — perhaps with a cool fall-like September night not allowing balls to carry — and entered the seventh with just one run given up on a solo blast from Jose Ramirez in the fourth. But things turned quickly on him in the seventh.
The Red Sox’ 3-1 lead evaporated in the span of three pitches from Eovaldi, who gave up a one-out single to Bobby Bradley. Two pitches later, Austin Hedges, one of Cleveland’s worst hitters, turned on Eovaldi’s high 97-mph fastball and sent it to the Monster seats for the game-tying two-run homer.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2021 3:23:12 GMT -5
Lou Merloni @loumerloni · 6h The fact that Whitlock needed needed to come in this game is awful. He shouldn’t have had to pitch. He’ll lock this down but they should have been able to save him for tomorrow. Now he’s down.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2021 3:24:16 GMT -5
Red Sox Notes @soxnotes · 5h The Red Sox have won each of their last 3 games and are 8-4 in their last 12. Last 7 games started by Eovaldi, Sale, or Rodriguez: W (7.0 IP, 0 ER) W (5.1 IP, 2 ER) W (7.0 IP, 3 ER) W (5.1 IP, 2 ER) W (6.0 IP, 2 ER) W (6.0 IP, 0 ER) W (6.1 IP, 3 ER)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2021 3:26:00 GMT -5
Red Sox notebook: Alex Cora moving away from a traditional closer; Boston gains a game on Oakland Updated: 11:53 p.m. | Published: 11:52 p.m.
By Matt Vautour | mvautour@masslive.com
BOSTON — With saves in his last three appearances, Adam Ottavino looked like he had taken over the Red Sox closer role from Matt Barnes.
But in the seventh inning Friday after the Indians had tied the game and were threatening to pull ahead, Alex Cora summoned Ottavino. The Northeastern product struck out back-to-back hitters to keep the game tied.
The Red Sox scored five times in the bottom of the inning and Ottavino earned the victory. Cora said that approach is likely to continue.
“We’re going to be aggressive when we have a chance to win,” Cora said. “We felt that was a good spot for Adam, knowing that we had (Garrett Whitlock) later in the game. ... We’ll use the guys the right way. We’re going to get big outs from a lot of people.”
Unless Barnes suddenly rights himself, Boston may not use a closer the rest of the way. The Red Sox have won three straight games with three different pitchers earning saves. After Ottavino Wednesday, Whitlock earned a save with three innings of scoreless work Thursday. Whitlock picked up his second of the season Friday.
SCOREBOARD WATCHING — Moments after Whitlock struck out Amed Rosario to end the game, the Red Sox got more good news when Marcus Semien hit a walk-off home run to complete the Blue Jays’ come back from down 8-2 to an 11-10 win over the A’s, allowing Boston to pick up a game on Oakland in the Wild Card race. The Red Sox (78-59) are now three games ahead of the A’s (74-61).
The Yankees (78-56) escaped to beat the Orioles, 4-3 in extra innings.
DEVERS AT SECOND — With Jack Lopez and Travis Shaw out of the game, Jonathan Arauz already playing shortstop and a handful of middle infielders on the COVID-19 IL, Cora had few options to play second base in the eighth and ninth innings.
So Rafael Devers made his 2021 debut there as Danny Santana moved to first and Bobby Dalbec to third.
Devers fielded all three balls hit to him cleanly — two ground outs and an infield single that he had to go a long way to his right on.
LEADOFF HOME RUNS — Kyle Schwarber opened the bottom of the first inning with his eighth leadoff home run of the season and his first with the Red Sox. He has 13 in his career.
Kiké Hernandez, who is currently on COVID-19 IR has five leadoff home runs in 2021 for Boston.
LOPEZ GETS FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE HIT — The summer of 2021 is now officially the summer that Jack Lopez got both a silver medal for Team USA in the Olympics and his first Major League hit. Called up as a COVID replacement earlier this week, he roped a double to right-center in the second inning.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2021 3:27:32 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 6h When Renfroe signed and Bloom said he would be more than a platoon guy I was pretty skeptical, but damn what a good call. Crushing lefties and above average against RHP with 16 2B and 17 HR against them now. Great stuff.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2021 3:41:53 GMT -5
Indians @ Red Sox Saturday, 4th September 4pm @ Fenway
Morgan 2-6/5.98
Eli Morgan surrendered two runs over three innings on Sunday in a no-decision against the Red Sox. Morgan coughed up solo homers to Rafael Devers and Bobby Dalbec before being pulled after just three innings. He struck out three batters and only issued one walk. The 25-year-old righty has been solid recently, pairing a respectable strikeout rate with pinpoint control. If he can solve the home run issues that have plagued him, he'll be a viable mixed-league contributor moving forward.
Houck 0-3/3.63
Tanner Houck yielded three runs over 5 1/3 innings on Sunday in a no-decision against Cleveland. Houck wasn't at his best from a command standpoint, issuing a season-high four walks and only managing three strikeouts. Yet, he limited Cleveland to just one hit, a solo homer by José Ramírez in the sixth inning, before departing in line for the win. The 25-year-old righty has been phenomenal, allowing three earned runs or fewer in each of his nine starts, recording a 3.63 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 55/12 K/BB ratio across 44 2/3 innings (11 appearances, nine starts) at the major-league level this season.
Red Sox hand ball to Tanner Houck to keep pressure on Indians According to STATS
The Boston Red Sox will try to keep their power surge going when they host the Cleveland Indians for the second of a three-game series on Saturday afternoon.
Boston (78-59) blasted four home runs in a series-opening 8-5 win over Cleveland (67-65). Hunter Renfroe hit a three-run blast and Kyle Schwarber, Kevin Plawecki and Jonathan Arauz each had solo blasts to propel the Red Sox to a third straight win.
The Red Sox were again bitten by the COVID bug ahead of Friday's series opener as rookie outfielder Jarren Duran was placed on the COVID-related injured list.
Boston has had nine players and two coaches test positive for COVID-19 dating back to last Friday's series opener in Cleveland. Despite their COVID woes, the Red Sox moved three games ahead of the Oakland A's for the second American League wild-card spot.
"Our lineup's unbelievable. Even with the guys that are out now with COVID, we've got other guys stepping up," Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi said after tossing 6 1/3 innings of three-run ball in the win. "They're all having quality at-bats up there."
The Indians put on a power show of their own as Austin Hedges had a tying two-run blast in the seventh inning and Jose Ramirez clubbed a solo shot and finished with two RBIs in the loss. The loss dropped Cleveland to 8 1/2 games behind Boston in the wild-card race.
"That's a big hit by Hedgy there. It's too bad we can't finish it off, but I thought we showed good resilience," Indians pitcher Cal Quantrill said after allowing five runs over six innings. We put up quality at-bats all the way through."
Indians right-hander Eli Morgan (2-6, 5.98 ERA) opposes Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck (0-3, 3.63 ERA) in Saturday's game.
Houck appeared to be well on his way to picking up his first win of the season last Sunday at Cleveland. The second-year hurler allowed three runs on just one hit with four walks and three strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
Houck departed with the Red Sox leading 4-3, but had not allowed a run through 5 1/3 innings before Ramirez took him deep for a solo blast in the sixth. Houck plunked the next two batters before being replaced by Josh Taylor, who allowed both runners to score later in the inning.
Boston led 5-3 after 6 1/2 innings before Cleveland rallied and scored three in the eighth to capture a 7-5 comeback win.
Despite pitching well for the Red Sox this season, Houck is winless in eight consecutive starts and last earned a victory on Sept. 26, 2020 at Atlanta.
Morgan also turned in an effective, but short start opposite Houck in last Sunday's matchup. The rookie threw three innings of two-run, two-hit ball while walking one and striking out three.
Morgan was bitten by the home run ball twice against Boston, serving up a first-inning solo homer to Rafael Devers and a second-inning solo shot to Bobby Dalbec.
It was a bounce-back effort for Morgan, who had allowed four runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings in a 7-3 loss against Texas in his prior start on Aug. 24.
--Field Level Media
Indians at Red Sox Saturday, at 4:10 PM EST Clear According to Forecast.io, it's expected to be 76° F with a 0% chance of precipitation and 5 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 Sept 4, 2021 6:33:30 GMT -5
Chris Sale explains why Boston Red Sox’s Tanner Houck has better slider than him; ‘His is a true, hard power pitch’ Updated: 6:46 a.m. | Published: 6:46 a.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — Chris Sale and mental skills coordinator Rey Fuentes were chatting and Fuentes pointed out how Tanner Houck has a similar breaking ball to Sale’s.
“No, no, no, no. My breaking ball is similar to his,’” Sale told Fuentes.
Sale thinks Houck has a better slider than he does.
“I don’t know what the spin and axis and all the other numbers are, but I know it’s a true power pitch,” Sale said. “He throws it 6-8 mph harder than mine. Mine is more of a curveball from a lower arm slot. His is a true, hard power pitch.”
Houck will pitch Saturday at Fenway Park against the Cleveland Indians. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against Cleveland last Sunday but the bullpen struggled and Boston lost 7-5.
The righty enters today with a 3.63 ERA, 2.71 FIP, 1.21 WHIP and 55 strikeouts in 11 outings (nine starts). He has averaged 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings compared to 2.4 walks (44 ⅔ innings).
Houck has done nothing but impress Sale both on and off the field.
Houck’s slider has averaged 84.1 mph this season, according to Baseball Savant. Sale’s slider has averaged 78.5 mph this year. It averaged 79 mph in 2019 and 79.7 mph in 2018.
Opponents are 10-for-51 (.196 batting average) with a .151 expected batting average, .255 slugging percentage and .194 expected slugging percentage against Houck’s slider. They have just three extra-base hits (all doubles) against it.
Sale said Houck “has a special way of pitching” and “an unbelievable ability to sink the ball.”
“I can’t sink the ball to save my life,” Sale said. “I’ve got ride on my fastball. I’ve got a good enough changeup and a good slider. The thing that he has is he’s got the ride fastball that I do but he’s got a sinker that looks like a splitter.”
Sale lauded Houck’s ability to manipulate the ball both ways when throwing it.
“It’s not common,” Sale said.
Houck and Sale also share similar deliveries.
Rob Friedman, better known on Twitter as PitchingNinja, last year posted a video comparing Houck’s delivery to Sale’s. For a better look, Friedman reversed Houck to show what his delivery would look like left-handed. See the video here.
Houck was struggling with his delivery during spring training but had an “aha moment” when he watched Sale throw one day. Houck had stopped to watch Sale on the agility field before pitching in a spring training game.
Sale also is impressed with Houck’s maturity in handling his back-and-forth to Worcester situation. The Red Sox have optioned Houck to Triple-A Worcester six times during the regular season.
“He could not have handled it any better,” Sale said. “He showed up, threw the ball with everything he had.”
Sale said every time the Red Sox optioned Houck, he entered the manager’s office and said, “I completely understand. You let me know when you need me again.”
“He was really professional about that,” Sale said. “And that’s not something you easily grasp. You know what I mean? Like, ‘Oh shit, I threw good today. Why can’t I stay? I’ve got a good arm. I should be here.’ And that’s almost as impressive.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2021 6:34:42 GMT -5
Ryan Brasier finally back on the mound for the Red Sox after year of injury, heartache Published: 7:00 a.m.
By Matt Vautour | mvautour@masslive.com
BOSTON — In a year when he lost his father and was hit in the head with a line drive, Ryan Brasier finally hit a high point.
The Red Sox reliever returned to a big-league mound for the first time in 2021, in Friday’s 8-5 win over Cleveland.
With a five-run lead, Alex Cora summoned him to pitch the eighth inning. Brasier got the first two batters he faced, but he allowed a weak ground ball single, a walk and a bloop single that drove in a run. Rather than pushing his luck with the rusty pitcher, Cora lifted Brasier for Garrett Whitlock.
While he wasn’t happy with his pitching line — two hits, a run and a walk in 0.2 innings, Brasier was glad to have one.
“It felt good to be back on a big-league mound after almost a full year,” Brasier said. “Super-excited. I felt good. Obviously, the results weren’t what I wanted from my first one back. A couple of bad-luck hits, but we have one of the best relievers in baseball ready to take the ball in Whit.”
Cora liked his pitcher’s stuff.
“That was great. ... Glad that he’s back. It was a very emotional day, a very emotional night. He will help us,” Cora said. “He was throwing 95 with a good slider. He had some weak contact there with the ground ball and the bloop single. Now he can breathe. We’ll use him in the right situations.”
Brasier said he felt mentally prepared to step into a pennant race despite the long absence.
“The only thing for me is getting out and trying to help the team win,” he said.
Brasier, who was hit in the head with a line drive pitching in a simulated game in Fort Myers on June 4, didn’t begin throwing again until the end of the month.
That followed an offseason when he broke his finger and lost his father. He suffered a bad calf sprain in spring training. He spent the first two months of the regular season rehabbing at Fenway South and was nearing a rehab assignment with the WooSox when he was hit in the head.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2021 9:08:54 GMT -5
Top 3 reasons why optimism has returned to the Red Sox
By Rob Bradford an hour ago
It's strange to suggest just hours after news came down that Jarren Duran - the player so many was going to serve as the final piece to the Red Sox' 2021 puzzle - had contracted COVID-19 that optimism had finally returned to 4 Jersey St.
But that's exactly what has happened.
While the Red Sox are still missing Xander Bogaerts, Matt Barnes, Martin Perez, Josh Taylor, Hirokazu Sawamura, Christian Arroyo, Kiké Hernandez and Yairo Munoz (all due to COVID), they have rediscovered something of great value: Hope.
After the Sox' 8-5 win over the Indians Friday night at Fenway Park, that's how it felt.
The fact of the matter is that the Red Sox have now gone 8-4 in their last 12 games, building their Wild Card lead over Oakland to three games while sitting 1 1/2 games in back of the No. 1 Wild Card spot owned by the Yankees.
The uneasiness of August seems to have been put in the rearview mirror for the time being, which, considering the roster maneuvering this club has had to execute is somewhat amazing.
In the last week, the 28-man roster has seen Brad Peacock, Jonathan Arauz, Jack Lopez, John Schreiber, Stephen Gonsalves, and Raynel Espinal all play pivotal roles. Not exactly how they drew it up.
So, how has this happened? Let's do some power-ranking ...
1. Kyle Schwarber
This has been proven to be one of the best Red Sox trade deadline pickups in recent memory, rivaling the likes of Jason Bay (9 HRs, .897 OPS in 49 games for the 2008 team) and Steve Pearce (2018 World Seres MVP).
In 18 games with the Red Sox, Schwarber is batting .344 with a 1.078 OPS (22-for-64, 14 R, 5 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 15 BB). He also has four homers in his last 10 games.
"This is what we expected," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora after watching Schwarber come away with a first-inning, leadoff homer and a two-run, go-ahead double in the seventh.
"Obviously, like I said, our guy he was hurt but we knew he was going to impact the lineup whenever he was ready and he puts good at-bats after good at-bats. Fit right in in the clubhouse, helping other guys throughout their process and he’s been amazing for us."
2. Starting pitching
Friday night, it was Nathan Eovaldi. The righty allowed one run through six innings before giving up a two-run homer in the seventh.
He has a 2.35 ERA (8 ER/30.2 IP) over his last five starts, recording 39 strikeouts to just four walks. In 18 starts beginning May 22, Eovaldi has a 3.38 ERA. But it's not just him.
Beginning Aug. 10, Chris Sale, Eovaldi, and Eduardo Rodriguez have combined to go 7-2 with a 2.70 ERA, walking just 16 BB while striking out 88 in a total of 14 starts. And thanks to the trio, the team now already has three starts of six innings or more this month, which is just three away from its total in July and August, respectively.
Add in Tanner Houck and the Nick Pivetta the Sox have gotten more times than not and that can be the foundation of these last few weeks.
3. A brand new bullpen
They lost their closer. The two guys who were supposed to be their late-inning left-handed solutions (Taylor, Darwinzon Hernandez) are out. Another fairly reliable high-leverage option (Sawamura) is quarantined. The two relievers picked up at the trade deadline (Hansel Robles, Austin Davis) have shown flashes, but not enough to count them as big-game no-doubters.
Yet, here they are. Feeling a bit better about things with each passing day.
The emergence of Garrett Richards as a reliable bullpen arm has been undoubtedly the most significant shift. Then there is the reintegration of Ryan Brasier, whose stuff in his first game back Friday looked promising.
"Glad that he’s back, obviously. I bet it was a very emotional day, emotional night, and he will help us," Cora said of Brasier. "You saw his stuff, throwing 95 (mph), big slider, some weak contact there, the ground ball with two outs then bloop single. But very happy for Brais and now he can breathe and we’ll use him in the right situations."
Then there is Adam Ottavino, whose stuff continues to play up as the season progresses. He hasn't allowed a run since Aug. 15, going 3-for-3 in save opportunities during that eight-game stretch. It's also a period which opposing hitters have managed just a .167 batting average against him.
But the far and away most important element in this entire relief-pitching equation is Garrett Whitlock.
Simply put, he has become one of the best relievers in baseball. And when you have starters who can actually leave you with just nine outs to get, that goes a long way.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Sept 4, 2021 9:19:29 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 6h When Renfroe signed and Bloom said he would be more than a platoon guy I was pretty skeptical, but damn what a good call. Crushing lefties and above average against RHP with 16 2B and 17 HR against them now. Great stuff. I never thought that was an issue. he has a career .726 OPS v righties. That's probably close to league average. With a good glove, there is no need to platoon.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2021 9:31:16 GMT -5
Game 138: Indians at Red Sox lineups and pregame notesBy Amin Touri Globe Staff,Updated September 4, 2021, 42 minutes ago Riding a three-game win streak after topping the Indians on Friday night, the Red Sox will look to keep the momentum rolling against Cleveland at Fenway Park on Saturday afternoon. It’s a re-run of last Sunday’s matchup in Cleveland, as Tanner Houck has the ball for an all-rookie pitching matchup. Houck was solid six days ago, throwing 5 ⅓ innings - only his second foray into the sixth this season - and allowing three earned runs. Houck will again line up across from Indians righthander Eli Morgan, who only went three innings last weekend and allowed two earned runs in a 7-5 Cleveland win. Rookie Jarren Duran was pulled from the lineup Friday after a positive COVID test, making him the ninth player sidelined by health and safety protocols. Lineups INDIANS (67-65): 1. Daniel Johnson (L) RF 2. Amed Rosario (R) SS 3. Jose Ramirez (S) DH 4. Bobby Bradley (L) 1B 5. Harold Ramirez (R) LF 6. Bradley Zimmer (L) CF 7. Yu Chang (R) 3B 8. Ryan Lavarnway (R) C 9. Andres Gimenez (L) 2B Pitching: RHP Eli Morgan (2-6, 5.98 ERA) RED SOX (78-59): 1. Kyle Schwarber (L) DH 2. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 3. J.D. Martinez (R) LF 4. Alex Verdugo (L) CF 5. Hunter Renfroe (R) RF 6. Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B 7. Christian Vazquez (R) C 8. Jack Lopez (R) 2B 9. Jonathan Arauz (S) SS Pitching: RHP Tanner Houck (0-3, 3.63 ERA) Time: 4:10 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Indians vs. Houck: Bradley 0-2, Giménez 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Ramírez 1-2, Reyes 0-1, ARosario 0-3, Straw 0-2, Zimmer 0-2 Red Sox vs. Morgan: Araúz 0-1, Dalbec 1-1, Devers 1-2, Martinez 0-1, Plawecki 0-1, Schwarber 0-2, Verdugo 0-0 Stat of the day: Deadline acquisition Kyle Schwarber is hitting .344/.468/.609 with four homers in 18 games with the Sox. Notes: Boston has had nine players and two coaches test positive for COVID-19 dating back to last Friday’s series opener in Cleveland, with Duran joining Kiké Hérnandez, Martín Perez, Christian Arroyo, Xander Bogaerts, Matt Barnes, Yairo Muñoz, Hirokazu Sawamura, and Josh Taylor on the COVID-19 IL ... Despite some solid pitching performances, Houck is winless in eight consecutive starts and last earned a victory on Sept. 26, 2020 at Atlanta ... The Red Sox enter Saturday 1 ½ games behind the Yankees and eight behind the Rays, but lead the Athletics by three games for the second wild card spot. Song of the Day: Lemonheads - Mrs Robinsonwww.youtube.com/watch?v=zvMFm5nKeUc
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2021 12:52:54 GMT -5
Red Sox Add Taylor Motter, Option Connor Wong
By TC Zencka | September 4, 2021 at 12:09pm CDT
The Red Sox have added Taylor Motter to the active roster, optioning Connor Wong to Triple-A, per the team. Motter was only recently claimed off waivers from the Rockies.
Motter played in 13 games with the Rockies, slashing .150/.227/.150 in 22 plate appearances. The 31-year-old utility man can play all over the diamond, which will be particularly helpful for a Boston team with nine players on the COVID-related injured list. In his career, Motter has bounced around, suiting up for the Rays, Mariners, Twins, and Rockies, as well as a short stint in the KBO.
Wong, 25, has appeared in just six games, but he’s had success in the early going. Wong has four hits in 14 plate appearances, including a double, triple, and a walk. He has also struck out seven times, however.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 4, 2021 13:01:31 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 50m Cora says a) no new players testing positive for COVID; b) no timetables on returns, but he expects Kiké Hernández back before long; and c) Hernández, Barnes, Sawamura are all feeling better.
Cora on Jack López getting his first hit yesterday: ‘I felt like it was one of my kids, to be honest with you.’ Cora’s known López since he was a teenager.
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