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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2022 16:40:35 GMT -5
Barnes should never be used with the game on the line. Seems like once he got the extension he mailed it in.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 15, 2022 16:50:28 GMT -5
Sox lose 8-4 the effort was below that
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 16, 2022 2:44:47 GMT -5
Red Sox 4, Twins 8: Too little too late in the home opener
Nick Pivetta struggled and it felt over right when it started. By Matt_Collins@MattRyCollins Apr 15, 2022, 5:49pm EDT 18 Comments
Early Friday afternoon was a celebration at Fenway, the home opener celebrating a team that made a surprise run to the ALCS last season, and on Jackie Robinson Day to boot. The Red Sox brought back Mo Vaughn with his son throwing out the first pitch before they took on the Twins, and the vibes were good. That quickly changed. Nick Pivetta had nothing in this game, getting through only two innings with Alex Cora looking to keep the game within reach for his offense. To the bullpen’s credit, they did a fine job at that, allowing just two runs over the final seven innings. The Red Sox offense did show some signs of life late in the game, but it proved too little too late, with Minnesota taking the first game in this four-game set.
More robust game notes below.
It didn’t take too long after the celebrations of the home opener for things to start taking a downward turn for the home town team at Fenway, with Nick Pivetta just not looking sharp from the jump in this game. The Red Sox need him to take another step forward after pitching solidly in the rotation all year in 2021, but after an up and down 2022 debut the righty struggled with command throughout his short outing here on Friday. His velocity was down, the breaking stuff wasn’t as crisp as we’re used to, and he was either missing the zone with non-competitive pitches out of the zone or crush-able pitches in the zone.
In fairness to the Red Sox starter, though, it wasn’t really his fault to start the game as he induced a pop up from Byron Buxton to lead off the game, but everyone in the area lost the ball in the sun and it fell in shallow left field for what went into the box score as a double. However, it was bad news for the Twins as Buxton, one of the most exciting players in the game when healthy, went down with an injury heading into second base and immediately removed himself from the game. Nick Gordon would come in and run for him, and quickly came around to score on a Luis Arraez single to give Minnesota the 1-0 lead just two batters into the game.
After Carlo Correa grounded into a double play after that, it looked like Pivetta might have just gotten bit by some bad luck that resulted in a run, but he’d settle in from there. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Instead, he had an ugly four-pitch walk after the double play, and then moving into the second started getting beat by some hard contact. Most notably, Miguel Sanó, who entered this game having started the season on an 0-19 skid, got a curveball at the bottom of the zone that just didn’t break as much as Pivetta was looking for and sent it into the Monster seats for a two-run shot, and Minnesota had the 3-0 lead. The Twins added on a single and a double to give them four runs off Pivetta, whose day was over after just two innings of work. Given that this game was the first of 17 straight for the Red Sox, it was not great news for the bullpen.
It was Phillips Valdez getting the call for Boston after Pivetta’s early exit, and to his credit the righty had a good outing to give the offense at least a chance to come back in this game. Valdez did hit a batter in his first inning of work and walked someone in his second, but otherwise was perfect for two frames, keeping the Twins off the board and striking out four in the process, showing off a nasty change up.
The bad news is on the other side, the Red Sox were having trouble with the young Joe Ryan, who Minnesota got from the Rays in the Nelson Cruz trade. Ryan has a delivery that makes his stuff, particularly the fastball, play up more than you’d think by looking at the radar gun, and Boston’s bats never looked comfortable. Ryan needed only eight pitches — all strikes — to get through a perfect first, but the Red Sox had one good swing in the second. That was from Alex Verdugo, who got a fastball center cut and he smashed it out over the bullpens in right field to give Boston their first run of the day and cutting the Twins lead down to three.
That didn’t spark a rally, though. Through three innings, that was the only non-out against Ryan, a streak that was broken to kick off the fourth when Rafael Devers reached on an infield single. He’d get over to third, too, with just one out after a J.D. Martinez single, but Verdugo squandered any chance at a rally with an inning-ending double play.
Minnesota would then extend their lead a bit in the fifth with Hirokazu Sawamura coming into the game for Boston, with the righty walking the leadoff man and then getting a pair in scoring position after a ground rule double, still with nobody out. He’d bounce back with a strikeout, but Gary Sánchez (now in Minnesota after a post-lockout trade with the Yankees) knocked in both runners with a base hit to make it a 6-1 game.
The Red Sox now had their work cut out for them at the plate, but they mounted what appeared to be an encouraging rally situation in the bottom of the fifth when Trevor Story snagged his first Fenway hit with a single, and then a couple batters later Jackie Bradley Jr. reached on a bunt hit against the shift. But with two on and one out, Boston only managed a lazy fly ball and a pop up, leaving both runners stranded and keeping the deficit at five.
After Ryan Brasier and Austin Davis tossed a scoreless inning each, the Red Sox offense made things interesting in the bottom of the eighth. Jackie Bradley Jr. started the inning off with a double, and a couple batters later he’d come around to score on an Enrique Hernández double. That brought Rafael Devers to the plate, and he did what he does. This time, it was a ball that wasn’t even really close to the zone, way down and in, and he somehow got enough to put it into the right field seats to somehow make it just a two-run game.
Unfortunately, that was as close as Boston would get. Minnesota would escape the inning after the homer, and Matt Barnes struggled in the ninth. He gave up two more runs, and after a scoreless bottom half the Red Sox dropped their home opener 8-4.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 16, 2022 3:03:10 GMT -5
Sox's early deficit spoils Fenway celebration April 15th, 2022 Ian Browne
Ian Browne
BOSTON -- The weather was about as perfect (game-time temperature of 65 degrees, sparkling sun) as it gets for a home opener at this time of year in Boston.
The ceremonies ranged from powerful to poignant, particularly when Mo Vaughn’s 9-year-old son Lee went from the stretch and fired the ceremonial first pitch on Jackie Robinson Day for a high strike.
Then the game started and things unraveled for starting pitcher Nick Pivetta as the Red Sox lost, 8-4, to the Twins on Friday at Fenway Park. Stymied for six innings by Twins starter Joe Ryan, the Sox stormed back on the strength of a two-run homer by Rafael Devers for a three-run bottom of the eighth to slim the deficit to 6-4.
Unlike in 1998, when Vaughn turned a mostly forgettable home opener into an epic with one swing -- a walk-off grand slam on another Good Friday -- there was no such magic finale this time.
Instead, there was analysis of why it went so wrong, so quickly for Pivetta.
“He struggled with his command a little bit,” said Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush. “Went through stages the first couple of innings where he landed some breaking balls for strikes and then couldn’t and found himself behind in the count.
“Tough way to pitch for anybody. One of the things that makes Nick really good is when he lands curveballs for strikes and his fastball plays up. He just didn’t have the command for it today.”
Of the 14 benders Pivetta threw, only six were strikes. And of those six, the Twins swung through only one.
For just the second time in his 35 starts as a member of the Red Sox (including the postseason), Pivetta recorded fewer than seven outs.
With Pivetta’s fastball topping out at 94 mph –- which was nearly 1 mph slower than his average heater last season -- manager Alex Cora gave him the hook after two innings.
“It was disappointing. I just wanted to continue to go out there, but I didn’t really deserve that,” Pivetta admitted. “I just wasn’t in my legs. Didn’t have that consistency with the velocity. I just didn’t feel great. It was disappointing, but I’m going to keep moving forward from here.”
The righty gave up five hits and four runs while walking two and striking out two. Of his 54 pitches, Pivetta generated just five swings and misses.
“I just didn’t have much of a rhythm or much timing today. Getting behind a lot of guys, just not a lot of competitive pitches, just trying to find my timing within my mechanics, and just kind of spraying fastballs,” said Pivetta, who will face the heavy-hitting Blue Jays in five days.
It was bothersome to the ultra-competitive Pivetta to have such a tough day amid the spectacle of the home opener, which always comes with a big build-up in the baseball-crazed city of Boston.
“It’s really disappointing on my part. I want to go out there and I want to pitch really, really well every single time,” said Pivetta. “Not only for my teammates, but for the fans as well and for the city of Boston. It was disappointing, but this is where it stops, and I’ll just continue to move forward and have a really good game next time against Toronto.”
With Chris Sale and James Paxton both out until at least June with injuries, the Red Sox are depending on Pivetta to be the No. 2 starter for these first two months.
Perhaps it was with the big picture in mind that Cora didn’t let the day snowball too much for Pivetta, giving him a quick hook with the game still at the manageable score of 4-1. Managers and pitching coaches throughout the game are forced to be mindful of the fact pitchers didn’t get their normal build-up during this shortened Spring Training.
“That’s part of the thought process,” said Cora. “I looked up and saw the stuff, and he’ll be the first to tell you the stuff wasn’t there. Obviously, we want him to go deep in the game.” Alex Cora on the 8-4 loss
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Though the result was disappointing for Pivetta and the Red Sox, they were able to keep in perspective that the home opener only comes once a year.
“It was good. It was great,” Cora said of the festivities. “What we expected, right? Too bad we didn't play better. But this is what it’s all about. Home opener at Fenway, packed house, beautiful day.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 16, 2022 3:04:05 GMT -5
LHP Chris Sale (Stress fracture, right rib cage) Expected return: June, at earliest There has been some forward progress in recent days with Sale. Prior to the April 15 home opener, the lanky lefty was in right field at Fenway Park playing catch. Sale estimates it is the fifth time he has played catch in the last week or so after not being permitted to do any throwing for roughly six weeks in the immediate aftermath of the injury.
“We’re in a good spot, obviously,” said Sale. “The worst part of it is time. The build back up is going to take a little bit of time, just because I’ve got to get some innings and get my arm stretched out. We’re on the right path.”
Sale isn’t sure when he will be cleared to throw off a mound but he was thrilled to make it to Boston after training solitude in for the past 10 days.
“It’s fun, talking trash, catching up with everybody, having some fun and we’re at Fenway Park,” Sale said. “Beautiful day out there. I love being around these guys. They help me.” -- Ian Browne (Last updated: April 15)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 16, 2022 3:18:39 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK No ‘X’ on dotted line, and no comment from Xander Bogaerts on report of contract offer By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated April 15, 2022, 7:18 p.m.
Xander Bogaerts, who has the ability to opt out of his six-year, $120 million deal following the 2022 season, declined to comment on the New York Post report that the Red Sox offered to add one year and $30 million to the remaining three years and $60 million of his deal.
“You’ve got to talk to my agent about that one. I don’t want to get into it,” Bogaerts said Friday at Fenway, where the Red Sox dropped their home opener to the Twins, 8-4. “I won’t comment on that.”
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom likewise declined to comment about the specifics of the Sox’ offer to their All-Star shortstop.
“My own view is that we shouldn’t get into that type of stuff. It’s just not our place,” Bloom said. “I’m not going to confirm, deny, refute, or any of that.”
He did, however, make clear the extent of the Sox’ commitment to Bogaerts in 2022. The Sox signed free agent Trevor Story to a six-year, $140 million contract, a deal made possible by Story’s willingness to move from shortstop to second base. Asked if he would have considered signing a shortstop who would not have moved in deference to Bogaerts — in a free-agent class that included Carlos Correa and Corey Seager — Bloom was direct.
“The simplest way to put this is that Xander is our shortstop and we weren’t going to change that this winter for anybody,” Bloom said.
Bogaerts went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts Friday — his second three-strikeout game this season (he had six in all of 2021). Manager Alex Cora downplayed the possibility that the Opening Day hamstring injury has contributed to a 2-for-18 stretch with eight strikeouts for Bogaerts.
“Right now, he’s off balance, chasing pitches,” Cora said. “You go through stretches like this during the season. It just happens that it’s early in the season and it’s magnified.”
A Fenway reunion for Bradley
Jackie Bradley Jr. played in an empty Fenway Park in 2020, then signed a two-year deal with the Brewers that offseason. But following a trade back to the Red Sox last December, Bradley made his first return to Fenway in a year and a half, this time with fans in the stands. He received perhaps the largest ovation of anyone before the game, a fact that was not lost on him.
“It was special. I’m thankful for all of the cheers. It’s good to be back,” said Bradley, who went 2 for 3 with a bunt single (his first since 2020) and a double. Still trying to get Arroyo right
While Christian Arroyo has endured some defensive struggles in right field as he continues to learn a new position, Cora said the team won’t consider moving him to the smaller expanse of left field at Fenway for two reasons. First, the team views Alex Verdugo’s ability to handle left field as a considerable asset. Secondly, the Sox remain mindful that both Hanley Ramirez (2015, shoulder) and Blake Swihart (2016, ankle) suffered significant injuries while converting from the infield (or, in Swihart’s case, catching) to left field at Fenway . . . Garrett Whitlock, who threw 39 pitches over four scoreless innings Tuesday, most likely will remain unavailable until Sunday, when Michael Wacha is scheduled to start. However, the team prefers to maintain the pairing of Whitlock and Rich Hill, who is scheduled to start on Patriots’ Day . . . Byron Buxton suffered a right knee injury on the first play of the game. When the Red Sox misplayed his pop-up to shallow left, Buxton slid awkwardly into second. He immediately slammed his hand on the ground and headed into the dugout even before the Twins trainer met him at second. The Twins announced that Buxton left the contest with right knee soreness. The team was hopeful that he avoided major injury but was awaiting results of an MRI.
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Peter Abraham of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 16, 2022 3:24:47 GMT -5
Fenway was perfect for home opener — until the game started — and Red Sox’ loss to Twins was a checklist of concerns By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated April 15, 2022, 8:15 p.m.
For the first time since 2019, the day they got their latest World Series rings, the Red Sox hosted a full-capacity home opener at Fenway Park on Friday afternoon.
A sellout crowd of 36,266 saw a sun-splashed pregame ceremony that included a video tribute to the late Jerry Remy and an appearance by Hit Dog Mo Vaughn to help commemorate Jackie Robinson Day.
The old ballpark looked perfect — every blade of grass as green as a pool table.
“There’s nobody in baseball that can sell baseball the way we do,” Sox manager Alex Cora said. “This is a special place. It’s beautiful.”
The flaws didn’t emerge until the game started. An 8-4 loss against the Minnesota Twins played out like a checklist of concerns.
Nick Pivetta, miscast as a No. 2 starter, lasted only two innings. He allowed four runs on five hits and two walks, pitching so poorly that Cora decided he’d rather use the bullpen for seven innings even though his team doesn’t have a scheduled day off until May 2.
It’s far too early to make any judgments about Pivetta or any other pitcher. But he has allowed eight runs in his first 7⅔ innings and hasn’t looked comfortable going back to spring training.
The Sox see Pivetta making 30 starts this season, with the next one coming against Toronto in five days.
The bullpen kept the Sox in the game until Matt Barnes entered for the ninth inning and allowed two runs. His velocity was better than his first two outings but this time his command vanished as the righthander walked two and hit another.
Barnes has a 9.22 earned run average and 2.20 WHIP in 19 appearances dating to last season. Where he fits in the bullpen at this point isn’t certain less than a year after he made the All-Star team.
The Sox struck out 13 times against three Twins pitchers and didn’t draw a walk. Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, and Trevor Story were 2 for 12 with nine strikeouts.
Bogaerts was 3 for 5 against the Yankees on Opening Day. He is 2 for 18 in six games since with eight strikeouts. Cora said the hamstring strain Bogaerts suffered six days ago in New York isn’t the issue.
“Right now he’s off-balance, chasing pitches,” Cora said. “One of those that you go through stretches like this during the season. It just happens it’s early in the season and it’s magnified.”
Outside of Alex Verdugo’s solo home run in the second inning and an impressive two-run blast to right field by Rafael Devers in the eighth, the Sox weren’t much of a threat at the plate.
Rookie righthander Joe Ryan needed only 82 pitches to get through six innings. The Sox were overmatched by his slider and fastball as Ryan was relentlessly efficient throwing strikes.
“It’s not that we were just chasing pitches,” Cora said.
Outside of Verdugo’s home run, only two Sox batters advanced beyond first base against Ryan.
Now let’s get to the defense. The game started with a popup to left field that dropped in because Verdugo didn’t take charge of it coming in. That led to a run. Kiké Hernández had a ball pop out of his glove in the eighth inning after he tracked down a long drive to center field.
All this against the Twins team that was outscored, 14-2, by the Dodgers in two games at Target Field before coming to Fenway.
“Overall it wasn’t great,” Cora said.
There were a few positives in the day. Chris Sale was at Fenway and played catch. He’s building up his arm after missing all of spring training recovering from a fractured rib.
James Paxton, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery, threw 25 pitches and is on a path that could have him ready in June.
In time, the Sox will have a better rotation than they do now. The bullpen should improve, too. There’s no reason to fret about the lineup because Bogaerts, Martinez, and Story will hit.
Devers is hitting .367 with a 1.054 OPS and seven RBIs in seven games. That’s not a short sample, that’s who he is.
Devers was one of the few Sox players still in the clubhouse when the media came in after the game. This was a game better quickly forgotten.
“Too bad we didn’t play better,” Cora said. “This is what it’s all about. Home opener at Fenway, packed house, beautiful day. Now [Saturday] we have to get ready to even the series.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 16, 2022 3:28:20 GMT -5
As far as home openers go, this one left a lot to be desired By Chad Finn Globe Staff,Updated April 15, 2022, 8:39 p.m.
Good thing the outcome of the home opener doesn’t always turn out to be a barometer for how the Red Sox season will play out.
If that were the case, the only conclusion to take away from the Red Sox’ 8-4 loss to the Twins in Fenway Park’s 2022 premiere is that we’re in for one dull ache of a season.
Friday afternoon’s festivities were wonderful — except for the main event, the ballgame. The sky was sunny, the air comfortable crisp, and Fenway’s renovations — including a bar and deck area above the bleachers in right field — fit in with the familiar aesthetic. The ol’ place looked gorgeous.
The pomp and circumstance of the pregame ceremony hit a respectfully somber note when popular former second baseman and broadcaster Jerry Remy, who died from cancer at 68 in late October, was honored as part of a tribute to past Red Sox who died since we were last here. Remy is being honored with a patch on the uniforms this season, and he’ll never be far from fans’ hearts and minds.
Jackie Robinson, who broke the Major League Baseball color barrier 75 years ago Friday, was honored leaguewide with a day in his name. Mo Vaughn, the last Red Sox player to wear Robinson’s universally retired No. 42, was on hand, with his 9-year-old son Lee throwing out the first pitch.
Vaughn, still possessing charisma in abundance, stood as a reminder of how a thrilling win on Opening Day can make a fan feel awfully good about what’s to come. His walkoff grand slam against the Mariners on Opening Day at Fenway in 1998 rallied the Red Sox from a 7-2 ninth-inning deficit. Twenty-four years later, Vaughn’s slam remains the ultimate reminder that surrender is never allowed on Opening Day.
This is where we should note that the 2004 Red Sox lost their Fenway debut to the Blue Jays, 10-5, with the bullpen giving up six runs over the final two innings. Ellis Burks hit cleanup, while David Ortiz hit sixth. They dropped to 2-3. There was a long way to go. Late October, as you might recall, went better than early April.
The home opener is one game among 162, not an indicator of certainty in either direction. But it would have been satisfying, and maybe a little reassuring given that the Red Sox went 3-3 on their season-opening road trip and looked every bit the part of a .500 team, to have one or two yeah-I’d-like-to-see-thats checked off the wish list.
How about a big Fenway debut for star free agent pickup Trevor Story? He did pick up his first hit at his new baseball home, a singleto centerin the fifth. And he flashed shortstop range at his new position, second base, in making a lunging catch of a Max Kepler liner in the first.
But Story also struck out three times while batting from the No. 6 spot, including the second-to-last out of the game. He’ll put plenty of dents in — and baseballs over — the Green Monster before the season is through, but the wall had no reason to fear him Friday.
What about a huge game for Xander Bogaerts? Based on the rousing cheers during player introductions, fans seemed to be fully in the classy shortstop’s corner in the wake of the news that the Red Sox essentially offered him a one-year, $30 million extension on his current below-market contract, the shortstop version of the insulting lowball offer made to Jon Lester eight years ago. But it wasn’t Bogaerts’s day, either. He went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. “He’s off-balance, chasing pitches,’’ said manager Alex Cora.
If part of the front office’s reasoning for not offering Bogaerts an extension commensurate in years and salary with his fellow high-end shortstops is a belief that he is going to have to change positions in the near future, they got at least one example for their evidence pile. With the infield in, runners on second and third, and one out in the fifth, Gary Sánchez grounded a two-run single to the left of a diving Bogaerts, giving the Twins a 6-1 lead. It wasn’t an easy play, but one a shortstop with hopes of having impressive Defensive Runs Saved stats has to make.
Red Sox fans did get to witness a couple of impressive pitching performances, but they came from Twins starter Joe Ryan (6 innings, 5 hits, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts, and a solo home run to Alex Verdugo), and the middlemen out of the Red Sox bullpen after starter Nick Pivetta required 54 pitches to get through two innings, spotting the Twins a 4-0 lead before he was yanked.
The Red Sox received a combined four hitless innings from Phillips Valdez, Ryan Brasier, and Austin Davis, but Hirokazu Sawamura gave up two runs on the Sánchez single in the fifth, and Matt Barnes, still fighting himself, coughed up two more in the ninth. We may be used to the parade of relievers and the way staffs are manipulated these days, but it turns the game into a drag (this one took 3 hours, 33 minutes). It would help if Pivetta, the alleged No. 2 starter at the moment, could be something more than an edgier Matt Clement.
The Red Sox bats did show some life in the eighth. Jackie Bradley Jr. and Kiké Hernández roped to cut the deficit to 6-2, and a Rafael Devers two-run homer — now there’s something fans came to see — made it 6-4. But the rally sputtered, and after the Twins tacked on two against Barnes, the Sox went quietly in the ninth.
Every home opener is special, but this was a reminder that not all will be long remembered.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 16, 2022 3:37:50 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 10h Cora on Bogaerts: “He’s off-balance, chasing pitches.” Cora says Bogaerts isn’t injured and thinks that he’s moving well at short. “But offensively, he’s searching.”
Cora on 8-4 loss: “We didn’t pitch well. … (Pivetta’s) stuff wasn’t there.”
Pivetta: “I just didn’t have much of a rhythm or much timing today.” He says he “wasn’t in his legs,” resulting in diminished velocity. Calls the outing “really disappointing on my part.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 16, 2022 3:40:15 GMT -5
Mastrodonato: Red Sox starting pitching failing to set the tone, and the offense isn’t helping Sox averaging 4.1 innings per start
By Jason Mastrodonato | jason.mastrodonato@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald PUBLISHED: April 15, 2022 at 8:16 p.m. | UPDATED: April 15, 2022 at 8:42 p.m.
As the Red Sox took the field at Fenway Park for their first home opener at full capacity since 2019, they looked like a team that’s still trying to find its way one week into the new season.
They need a tone-setter.
Instead, No. 2 starter Nick Pivetta struggled to touch the mid-90s with his fastball and was yanked after just two innings as the Sox never recovered in a 8-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
They fell to 3-4 on the year. The four-run loss was their biggest loss of the young season.
“It’s really disappointing on my part,” Pivetta said. “I want to go out there and I want to pitch really, really well every single time, not only for my teammates, but for the fans as well and for the city of Boston. It was disappointing but this is where it stops here.”
The old adage in baseball is that the starting pitcher sets the tone. Nathan Eovaldi has done that in both of his starts, but otherwise it’s hard to set the tone when the starters aren’t getting out of the fifth inning and the offense is still trying to find its footing.
Pivetta had nothing working for him on Friday afternoon.
“I look up and saw the stuff and he’ll be the first to tell you the stuff wasn’t there,” manager Alex Cora said. “Obviously we want him to go deep in the game. He wants to go deep in the game but I do believe where we were with the bullpen we had plenty of guys who could come in and keep it right there.”
His fastball velocity was down a bit from Opening Day, when it averaged 93 mph, down from 95 mph last year. His curveball wasn’t spinning the way it usually does; he generated just one whiff on 14 tries. That pitch generated 26% whiffs last year.
“I just wasn’t in my legs,” Pivetta said. “Didn’t have that consistency with the velocity. Just didn’t feel great.”
It was a struggle for him from start to finish, though his defense gave him no help.
The first batter Pivetta faced, Byron Buxton, lifted a lazy fly ball to shallow left that got lost in the sun and dropped to the ground without a single defender anywhere close to it. Buxton departed with a knee injury, but the Twins scored the runner and added three more in the second inning.
Needing 54 pitches to get through two innings, Pivetta’s day was done.
With rosters expanded to 28 guys until May 2, the Sox can afford to pull their starter early without paying much of a price. But when the rules change in a few weeks, they’ll have less wiggle room.
Friday began a stretch of 17 games in 17 days. The bullpen will be tested. They already are; the starters are averaging less than 4 1/3 innings per start, slightly below league average. That’s down from an average of five innings per start last year.
It’s to be expected after the short spring, and it’s far from the team’s biggest flaw, but it’s made every game feel like a grind through the season’s first week.
Cora said he expected this, but noted, “we’ve got to be smart, that’s part of the thought process.”
The Sox haven’t had an easy win, nor a clear defeat. Cora often talks about how the season is a grind, but it’s going to feel even longer if his team can’t set the tone with their starter on the mound.
There was a lot of hope for Pivetta after his incredible postseason last year and a strong spring in which he came out firing from his first start. He’ll still have another 30 or so starts to make an impression. He’s undoubtedly searching right now.
“I just didn’t have much of a rhythm or much timing today,” Pivetta said.
On the two days a week Garrett Whitlock is available, the Sox look great. On the other five days, Cora is forced to piece it together with four-inning starts and a handful of relievers who have no defined roles.
The defense wasn’t working on Friday, either. The Sox dropped two fly balls in the sun, the first-inning mistake and then another as Kiké Hernandez backpedaled himself into an error on a long fly in the triangle in the eighth.
Rafael Devers squeezed some emotion out of the crowd when he hit a towering home run that barely cleared the right-field fence to cut the Twins’ lead to two in the eighth inning, but Matt Barnes quickly gave those two runs back in the ninth.
“The good thing is we know Pivetta is a worker and he’s going to grind his butt off the next couple of days, come back and give everything he has,” outfielder Alex Verdugo said.
Fenway sounded more like a half-full stadium on a rainy day in May than it did a jam-packed stadium full of 36,266 people for the first full-capacity home opener in three years.
Don’t blame the fans; the team looked tired.
The Sox are searching right now. Somebody needs to set the tone.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 16, 2022 3:42:06 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox’s Alex Verdugo on ball that dropped in to begin game: ‘I’m gonna take full responsibility’ Updated: Apr. 15, 2022, 6:53 p.m. | Published: Apr. 15, 2022, 6:51 p.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — Things didn’t go the Red Sox’s way Friday from the very first batter of the game.
Twins leadoff hitter Byron Buxton hit a 195-foot fly ball to shallow left field that dropped in. Buxton took second base. Nick Gordon, who pinch ran for Buxton (knee), scored when No. 2 hitter Luis Arraez singled him home.
The Red Sox lost 8-4 here to Minnesota on Opening Day at Fenway Park.
“Honestly, ball was hit, I thought Bogey (Xander Bogaerts) had it,” Verdugo said. “He had his hand up. Obviously he was shading the sun. And I just thought he was under it. In my head, I kind of had that conversation with myself. I was like, ‘I should probably go get this ball.’ But knowing Bogey and how much range he has, too, I was like, ‘I think he has it.’ Sure enough, at the last minute he looks back at me and I’m looking, ‘Oh, no.’ And the ball drops. I’m gonna take full responsibility on that. That’s on me. As an outfielder, it’s a way easier play to come in on the ball than an infielder to go back. That’s just me. I need to be able to take charge. Just call ‘em off.”
The Red Sox fell behind 4-0 as the Twins scored one run in the first inning and three runs in second inning.
Verdugo’s solo homer in the second cut it to 4-1. Verdugo connected on a first-pitch 93.6 mph fastball right down the center of the plate from Joe Ryan.
“We know that guy likes to get ahead in the count and his fastball plays good when it’s up in the zone,” Verdugo said. “So I got one belt high and just wasn’t going to let it go by.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 16, 2022 3:43:17 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox’s Xander Bogaerts 2-for-18 with 8 strikeouts past 5 games; ‘He’s off balance, chasing pitches’ Published: Apr. 15, 2022, 7:18 p.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — The Red Sox scored three runs in the eighth inning to cut the Twins’ lead to 6-4 here on Opening Day at Fenway.
Jackie Bradley Jr. and Kiké Hernández doubled. Rafael Devers homered to right field.
Xander Bogaerts then stepped to the plate with one out, trying to keep the pressure on Twins reliever Jhoan Duran. But the star shortstop struck out swinging. J.D. Martinez followed with a strikeout of his own to end the rally.
Bogaerts and Martinez were a combined 1-for-8 with six strikeouts in Boston’s 8-4 loss to the Twins.
Bogaerts went 3-for-5 with a double on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium last Friday. But he has gone 2-for-18 with eight strikeouts and two walks since then.
“Right now, he’s off balance, chasing pitches,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “It’s one of those, you go through stretches like this during the season and it just happens it’s early in the season and it’s magnified.”
Bogaerts left the opener at Yankee Stadium last Friday during the 10th inning because of hamstring tightness. But Cora said the hamstring is fine and not causing him to move slowly,.
“I think he’s moving well at short,” Cora said. “Defensively, he’s moving well. Actually, I was having that conversation with Foxy (major league field coordinator Andy Fox). And he’s like, ‘You know what? He’s moving well at short.’ But offensively right now, he’s searching.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 16, 2022 3:44:19 GMT -5
Why’s Nick Pivetta’s velocity down? Boston Red Sox starter’s ‘mechanics are off’ Published: Apr. 15, 2022, 7:49 p.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — Nick Pivetta’s velocity is down in two starts this season. It might have to do with him having trouble with his mechanics here early in the season.
Pivetta lasted just 2 innings Friday. He allowed four runs, all earned, five hits and two walks while striking out two. The Red Sox lost their home opener 8-4 to the Minnesota Twins.
“He’ll be the first one to tell you his stuff wasn’t there,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.
Cora said Pivetta’s mechanics have been off since his second start of spring training. Cora said the the righty specifically mentioned his balance felt off after his third Grapefruit League outing against Pittsburgh (March 29).
“Today he felt the same way,” Cora said. “So we’ve got to keep working.”
Pivetta’s four-seam fastball averaged 94.8 mph in 2021. The righty threw 24 four-seam fastballs here Friday, averaging 92.5 mph and topping out at 94.0 mph, per Baseball Savant. He thew 38 four-seamers in his first outing vs. the Yankees, averaging 93 mph and topping out at 94.4 mph.
“His mechanics are off, his timing is off,” Cora said. “So he’s not able to get his extension and that’s what makes him a really good pitcher with a good fastball. It’s been off for a little bit. I thought the one in New York he had better stuff than here.”
Pivetta agreed mechanics are affecting velocity.
“For me right now, that’s what it kind of feels like,” Pivetta said. “I wasn’t just really in my legs. Didn’t have that consistency with the velocity. Just didn’t feel great. It was disappointing. But just gotta keep moving forward from here.”
He allowed a homer to Miguel Sanó in the second inning. He has given up three homers in 7 ⅔ innings over his two starts so far. He allowed five homers in 15 ⅔ innings during spring training.
“It’s really disappointing on my part,” Pivetta said. “I want to go out there, I want to pitch really, really well every single time not only for my teammates but for the fans as well, for the city of Boston. So it was disappointing but this is where it stops here. Just continue to move forward and go have a really good game next time against Toronto.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 16, 2022 3:45:59 GMT -5
Red (Sox) Bull @redsoxbullitt · 12h .@loumerloni eerily quiet on your side today. Does this team kinda maybe stink?
Lou Merloni @loumerloni · 8h I was at the game. It wasn’t pretty.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 16, 2022 3:51:27 GMT -5
Twins @ Red Sox 16th April 2022 4pm @ Fenway
Gray 0-0/ 3.86
Houck 0-0/8.10
Twins' Sonny Gray aims for better outing vs. Red Sox FLM
The Minnesota Twins will look to climb back to .500 and win their second straight when Sonny Gray takes the mound on Saturday in the second game of four against the Red Sox in Boston.
Gray, who took a no-decision after allowing two runs on four hits and striking out four in 4 2/3 innings on April 9 against the Seattle Mariners, will look to build upon Joe Ryan's outstanding start on Friday in the Twins' 8-4 win.
Ryan struck out seven over six innings of one-run, five-hit ball. It was the second longest of his seven career starts.
"It was six solid, and he pitched himself out of a little something when he needed to," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "He was excellent. ... It jumpstarts you and keeps you going."
A first-year Twin, Gray has struggled in his career against Boston, carrying a 1-6 record and a 6.64 ERA in 42 career innings into his 10th appearance and ninth start.
He hasn't faced the Red Sox since a scoreless, two-inning relief appearance in 2018, when he pitched for the New York Yankees. However, Gray allowed six runs in each of his two other 2018 appearances against Boston, both starts.
The Friday game got off to an inauspicious start for the Twins when center fielder Byron Buxton exited due to right knee soreness after sliding into second base on a leadoff double.
Buxton, who dealt with hip and hand injuries last season, yelled in pain before immediately walking off the field. He was replaced by Nick Gordon, who scored in each of the first two innings.
Buxton went for an MRI exam, but his status wasn't updated Friday night.
Rafael Devers cut Boston's deficit to 6-4 with a two-run homer in the eighth inning, but the Twins responded by scoring twice in the top of the ninth.
"Those runs are enormous with the swings you get in this ballpark," Baldelli said. "It's noticeable here late in games, the Red Sox get stuff going and the (fans) get going with them. Our guys had some good at-bats late in the game."
Boston will hope for a strong season debut from Saturday starter Tanner Houck after Nick Pivetta was pulled after just two innings on Friday.
Two-hit days from Devers -- who is on a 12-game hit streak, the longest of his career -- and Jackie Bradley Jr. weren't enough for the Red Sox, who have lost the opening game in their first three series.
"(Pivetta's) stuff wasn't there," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "We felt like we were rested enough to get our (bullpen) innings in and stay in the game, and we did. When we got close, we walked too many people and they put the ball in play."
Houck took a no-decision in his start at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, allowing six hits and three runs while striking out three over 3 1/3 innings.
Houck's only career appearance against Minnesota came on Aug. 24, 2021. He struck out six and allowed three runs on eight hits over the first 4 2/3 frames of an eventual 11-9 win.
Houck's role is even greater with seven-time All-Star southpaw Chris Sale recovering from a right rib stress fracture.
Sale remained at the team's spring training complex in Fort Myers, Fla., as the regular season began last week, but he rejoined the team for the opening homestand and threw on flat ground early Friday.
"Now I'm at the part where I get to have some fun," Sale said. "We're in a good spot. The worst part of it is time. The build back up is going to take a little bit of time just because I've got to get some innings and get my arm stretched out. We're on the right path."
--Field Level Media
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