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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 6, 2022 1:29:16 GMT -5
Pale Hose @ Red Sox Friday, 6th May 2022 7pm @ Fenway
Velasquez 1-2/4.58
Eovaldi 0-0/2.51
Red Sox aim to cure home blues against White Sox FLM
The Boston Red Sox hope to change their recent trends against a new opponent as they open a three-game series against the visiting Chicago White Sox on Friday night.
The Red Sox send Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 2.51 ERA) to the mound as they look to bounce back from losing a third consecutive home series to begin the season.
Thursday's 8-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels was Boston's second straight and ninth in 12 games. The Sox were shut out for the second time this season, a day after losing a 10-5, 10-inning game in which the Angels were down to their final strike.
"We have to keep swinging at strikes and do damage in the zone. We've got to get better," manager Alex Cora said. "... We have to put a complete game together, and we haven't done that in a while."
Shohei Ohtani's 11 strikeouts in seven innings were the most by a starting pitcher against Boston this season.
Outfielder Enrique Hernandez was out Wednesday due to sickness, which the team hopes is not COVID-related.
"He's feeling better, but nothing (is known yet) as far as testing," Cora said.
Eovaldi struck out eight across seven scoreless frames Saturday at Baltimore. He retired 17 of the first 18 batters he faced in his 28th career scoreless start of at least six innings.
Despite struggling to find the win column, Boston's starting pitchers have allowed two or fewer runs in 13 of the last 14 games.
"The only way we're going to get back to where we need to be is even taking it at a smaller step than one game at a time -- one pitch at a time, one swing at a time -- and be able to make things small," said lefty Rich Hill, who threw five shutout innings on Thursday.
Eovaldi is 2-1 with a 5.63 ERA in four career appearances (three starts) against the White Sox, including a 10-strikeout performance over 6 1/3 innings in a win on April 19, 2021.
The White Sox had Thursday off one day after beating the rival Chicago Cubs, 4-3, for their third straight win. Gavin Sheets and AJ Pollock had the game-tying and winning hits with two outs.
They will head to Boston without outfielder Andrew Vaughn, who was placed on the 10-day injured list (bruised right hand) on Thursday. Vaughn was originally scheduled to play on Wednesday, but the injury still ached when he attempted to swing.
"It's an area where it's not about being tough enough to handle it, it just alters everything you do," White Sox manager Tony La Russa said.
Infielder Danny Mendick, who played collegiately at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte.
"We faced a lot of adversity (including an early two-run deficit) and now we have guys banged up," White Sox relief pitcher Matt Foster said on Wednesday. "But we have other guys who step up and fill those roles and just do their job, and we come through it."
Lucas Giolito struck out 10 in 5 2/3 innings, and now Vince Velasquez (1-2, 4.58) will look to build upon that performance.
Velasquez earned his first win for Chicago in a Saturday start against the Angels, allowing four hits with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 scoreless innings. Notably he did not walk a batter and has allowed just one free pass over his last two starts, covering nine innings.
The righty will be making his sixth career appearance and fifth start against Boston. He has a 8.47 ERA in 17 innings against the Red Sox after being tagged for eight runs in 2 1/3 frames last July 9 at Fenway while pitching for Philadelphia.
--Field Level Media
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 6, 2022 1:31:04 GMT -5
Rest of Series SP Probables
Saturday..4pm...TBA vs Pivetta 0-0/7.84
Sunday...11:30am....TBA vs Wacha 0-0/1.39
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 6, 2022 1:38:52 GMT -5
How to watch White Sox vs. Red Sox FREE on Apple TV+ tonightMay 4th, 2022 Friday night’s game between the White Sox and Red Sox -- which features Chicago right-hander Vince Velasquez squaring off with Boston fireballer Nathan Eovaldi -- will air exclusively on Apple TV+. It will not be available on your local cable provider or MLB.TV. But don’t worry, the game can be watched for free here. All you need is an Apple ID. A breakdown on how to watch the game is below. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET/6:10 p.m. CT. Watch Rays-Mariners at 9:40 p.m. ET/6:40 p.m. PT For more information about how to access "Friday Night Baseball" on Apple TV+, visit the Apple Knowledge Base. How to Watch: No subscription is needed to watch "Friday Night Baseball" on Apple TV+. To access “Friday Night Baseball” games on Apple TV+, just follow these steps: Launch the Apple TV app and select the game directly from there, OR From the MLB.TV app, tap on Apple TV+ Game to be redirected to the Apple TV app (where available), OR Visit tv.apple.com/ and log in with or create an Apple ID. Frequently Asked Questions: Do I need to have an Apple account to watch the free games? Yes. You need to have an Apple ID. Your Apple ID is the account you use across all your Apple devices, including your iPhone. Learn how to create a new Apple ID here. How do I sign in to watch the free games on Apple TV+? Log in with your Apple ID. Learn how to watch Friday Night Baseball here. Do I need to enter payment information to watch the free games? No. Payment information is not required to watch. On what devices can I watch the games? See all the ways to watch Apple TV+ here. In which countries can I watch these games? Games on Apple TV+ will be available in the following locations in addition to the United States: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Korea and Mexico. Notable Features: Design: If you use other Apple products, many of the Apple TV+ broadcast elements -- such as the starting lineup graphics -- will look familiar and consistent. The clean and simple design aesthetic features the company’s classic “SF Pro” typeface. Cameras: The broadcasts make use of a “Megalodon” camera, which produces extremely high-resolution shots, with a shallow depth of field. That creates a sharp focus on the subject of the shot -- a cinematic look that adds to the drama of the moment. Integrated stats: If you’re a fan of baseball and numbers, “Friday Night Baseball” has introduced a new feature that will keep you entertained all game long. The integrated stats function -- displayed unobtrusively in the bottom right of the screen -- presents continually refreshed probability figures on a pitch-by-pitch basis. The metric in question rotates and constantly takes into account the specific game situation. For example, what is the probability of the batter producing an RBI when facing a 2-1 pitch with runners on first and second and one out? Tune tracker: Walk-up music is a way for hitters to show their taste and connect with fans, and “Friday Night Baseball” is kicking that experience up a notch for viewers at home. When a home-team batter comes to the plate for the first time in the game, an Apple Music pop-up in the lower right will identify his walk-up song. Fresh perspectives: The Apple TV+ broadcasts are placing an emphasis on having a new and diverse group of voices calling the games. One crew features Melanie Newman (play-by-play), Hannah Keyser (analyst) and Brooke Fletcher (reporter), along with former MLB outfielder Chris Young (analyst). The other crew consists of Stephen Nelson (play-by-play) and another former outfielder, Hunter Pence (analyst), alongside Katie Nolan (analyst) and Heidi Watney (reporter).
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 6, 2022 2:08:28 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 10h Fair to think it'll take at least 90 wins to be in the mix for a wild card in the AL this season.
That would mean the Sox have to go 80-56 (.588) the rest of the way.
It's a long season and lots and can and will happen. But right now that's hard to imagine.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 6, 2022 2:10:44 GMT -5
It's a results business for the Red Sox, and business is not good
By Rob Bradford WEEI 93.7 9 hours ago
But. If. Maybe. Almost. And the worst of them all ... It's still early.
They have all been weaved into the narrative when it comes to these 2022 Red Sox, or, more specifically, these 10-16 2022 Red Sox. A hit here. A pitch there. Things would be different.
The latest crutch came in the form of a player Rich Hill aptly described as someone "we haven’t seen in 100 years and we may never see it again for another 100 years," Shohei Ohtani.
Sure, the Red Sox didn't score once again in losing to the Angels, 8-0, Thursday afternoon at Fenway Park. But they were going up against the best athlete in the game, who - in the tradition of Dennis Eckersley - legitimately seems to pump in 100 mph just to stay in shape.
Ohtani dominated the Red Sox hitters, striking out 11 while not allowing a run over seven innings. And, just for good measure, he struck out the first Sox hitters - Trevor Story, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez - a total of 10 times. (Story accounted for four of the punch-outs, eliciting his first round of Fenway boos.)
Sure. Ohtani is really good. So are the Angels. But you know what? We were supposed to be saying the same thing about the Red Sox. Instead we're staring at a team that has lost five straight series and has lost 11 of its last 15 games.
“I think that’s one thing where it doesn’t matter what you could say, hey at least it’s early in the season but the fact is the only way we’re going to get back to where we need to be is taking it at a smaller step than one game at a time, is one pitch at a time, one swing at a time and being able to make things small, and not so big," said Hill, who did his part by allowing just one hit over five innings.
"The fact is, whether it’s a starting pitcher putting a lot of pressure on themselves to go out there and put up zeroes for seven innings, eight or nine innings, even thinking about that for the game, that mindset has to become one pitch at a time, and that’s the process part of it. Now these are the conversations we’ll have during batting practice, in the cage, around the cage during BP, and what I see is the side of it, teams can go one of two ways. Kind of gravitate towards each other, or start to move away, and we really need to continue to keep pulling for each other, as everybody is in the locker room. We can look at the road trip that we had, a few games here or there and it could have been a completely different road trip. But the fact is, it wasn’t, and we are where we are and we have to dig ourselves out of this.”
The questions about this team's mindset kept coming after the loss, with the answers not able to put any sort of dent in New England's newfound panic.
“It’s not ideal at all. I think we’re all aware of it," said J.D. Martinez. "We’re just not playing well. When we pitch, we don’t hit. When we hit, we don’t pitch. It’s a bad combo.”
"It’s hard because if you look at it, you can start looking at this game, that play, we’re just not cashing in so it really doesn’t matter," Alex Cora added. "I can walk you through the series with this pitch or that play, but in the end, you have to put a complete game together and we haven’t been able to do that in a while."
"I mean, it’s a long season," explained Tanner Houck, who gave up seven runs in his 2 1/3 innings, following up Hill. "This team is very dangerous. Don’t sleep on it. It just takes one day, one game, one at-bat to turn things around for everyone. I still love this team. I love everyone here. I know it’s hard right now but things will get better."
Making the scenario even more maddening for Cora's club is the fact that the one piece of the puzzle - the starting pitching - so many doubted entering the season has gone above and beyond.
After Hill's outing the Sox starters have allowed two or fewer runs in 13 of 14 games, including 10 runs in their last 12 games.
That's good. Everything else? Not so much.
Three out of the four May games, the Red Sox relievers have allowed six or more runs, going 5-for-12 in save opportunities for the season. The offense has scored more than five runs just three times, totaling three or fewer in 13 games.
For whatever reason, little of it is adding up. The numbers bear it out, and so do the visuals.
Business has to get better ... and fast.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 6, 2022 2:17:54 GMT -5
Cora understands Fenway booing Story: 'That's part of the equation' Michael Bradburn 5h ago
Boston Red Sox fans were unhappy with yet another poor showing from recently recruited shortstop Trevor Story.
As Story retreated to the home dugout after striking out for the fourth time against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday, the Fenway Park faithful let the boos rain down.
Manager Alex Cora was understanding of both sides, defending Story's professionalism but also maintaining that Red Sox fans hold their players to a certain standard.
"Expectations here are what they are," Cora said, according to Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. "What the fans expect are the same things he expects. That's part of the equation."
Cora continued: "He's working hard. Very structured, always competing, working at it. Working at second base. Since Day 1, the work ethic, the way he goes about it, it hasn't changed."
Story himself was unavailable to reporters after donning the golden sombrero.
The 29-year-old's four-strikeout game - all against reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani, who racked up 11 Ks in the dominant outing - is an exclamation point on a rough start to his Red Sox tenure. The two-time All-Star is now hitting .210/.293/.296 with seven doubles, eight walks, and 29 strikeouts over 21 games.
Following the lockout and after spring training had begun, the Red Sox and Story agreed to a six-year, $140-million contract that would put the natural shortstop at second base while Xander Bogaerts plays out what might be the final year of his contract. Bogaerts, who is signed through 2025 with a 2026 vesting option, is able and reportedly likely to opt out at the end of this season.
Story has been hitting leadoff for the Red Sox for the past 13 consecutive games. Moving forward, Cora entertained making some changes to the lineup with the Chicago White Sox as their next opponent.
"We'll see," Cora said. "We have to be ready. (The White Sox) have some good pitching, too, so we'll do what we have to do to try to win a game."
Story is a two-time Silver Slugger and spent the previous six years with the Colorado Rockies, where he hit .272/.340/.523 with 158 homers and 100 steals in 745 games while providing above-average defense at shortstop. He was coming off a down season last year, during which he posted a league-average 100 wRC+.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 6, 2022 6:00:42 GMT -5
Wonder if the Front Office and Analytic department are gonna take out the calculators, charts and computer programs take a look at the "piggy back" pitching plan then run it over to the PR department to slap some more lipstick on that pig and keep doing nothing.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 6, 2022 6:03:16 GMT -5
Trevor Story not even being available to the press yesterday was a pretty gutless but par for the course for this team. guess he was getting some tailoring done on his Golden Sombero.
Tonight fans get to hear the boos in on their Apple devices.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 6, 2022 9:57:47 GMT -5
Jarren Duran to join Boston Red Sox active roster Friday (report) Updated: May. 06, 2022, 8:35 a.m. | Published: May. 06, 2022, 8:30 a.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
The Boston Red Sox will promote center field prospect Jarren Duran and place him on the active roster Friday, The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reported.
The corresponding move is not yet known. But center fielder Kiké Hernández did not start Thursday’s game because he was sick. Manager Alex Cora, who said he is hoping it is non-virus related, was unable to provide an update on Hernández after Thursday’s game.
The 25-year-old Duran is batting .397 with a .478 on-base percentage, .638 slugging percentage, 1.116 OPS, two homers, two triples, four doubles, 11 RBIs, 15 runs, nine walks and 13 strikeouts in 15 games for Triple-A Worcester. He’s 7-for-8 in steal attempts.
Duran struggled mightily as a rookie last year with a .215/.241/.336/.578 line and 35.7% strikeout percentage in 112 plate appearances. But he has looked like a different type of offensive player so far at Worcester this year. He seems more focused on hitting line drives and using his speed rather than home-run power.
“That’s something we talk about in spring training and he didn’t hit too many fly balls,” Cora said Sunday. “I think last year and the year before when was in Pawtucket (at the alternate training site), I think he took the whole drive-the-ball (approach) to the next level. He hit a lot of fly balls. And from what I hear in Worcester early on, the ball to right field carries a lot.
“A lot of line drives; he’s tried to bunt a few times,” Cora added about Duran’s approach this season. “His best tool is actually his speed. So to be able to hit line drives and run the bases, that is something we like. We still want him to hit the ball hard. But if he keeps it off the air, that’s better for him.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 6, 2022 10:07:40 GMT -5
Nathan Eovaldi is avoiding walks more than ever
Limiting walks has been a hallmark of Nathan Eovaldi’s last few campaigns, but he’s been even better at it this year. By Phil Neuffer@philneuffer May 6, 2022, 9:01am EDT
Imagine something you don’t like. Going to the dentist, stubbing your toe, stepping on a Lego, eating vegetables. Whatever your proverbial poison, just imagine it. Now imagine that you could get really good at avoiding said thing. That’s right, your teeth clean themselves, your toes are impervious to plastic and you figure out how to get all plant-based nutrients from fruits alone.
If you were a pitcher in MLB, it would stand to reason that you might consider allowing free passes to be a potential answer to the exercise above. Walks let hitters get on base and pitchers definitely don’t like letting that happen. Nathan Eovaldi is a pitcher for the Red Sox, and while we can’t say allowing walks is his greatest pet peeve, we can safely assume he’s at least not a big fan of free passes. Luckily for Eovaldi, he is very good at avoiding them and doing so can only yield positive results, unlike those of you hiding from the dentist or skipping out on leafy greens.
Eovaldi has been good at limiting his walk numbers for a while now. He has a career walk rate of 6.8% and other than a pretty rough 2019 and his first season (2011), he’s always kept that mark at least below nine percent. However, aside from that 2019 season, since 2018, he’s been on an entirely different level. During that 2018 campaign, he set a career-low for a 162-game season with a 4.4 percent walk rate. In the shortened 2020 season, he bested that 2018 number with a 3.5 percent walk rate, which would have ranked fourth in MLB among qualified starters if he had logged enough innings.
Last year, across a more regular 182 1⁄3 innings (he threw 48 1⁄3 in the shortened 2020 campaign), Eovaldi’s walk rate rose, but to just 4.6 percent, a number that led all qualified starters in baseball. That might seem like the high-water mark (or low-water mark, technically speaking, I suppose), but in his first five starts of 2022, the 32-year-old right-hander is walking batters at an even more incredible pace, with a microscopic 2.6 percent walk rate.
Now, that is somehow “only” in the 93rd percentile in MLB and has him ranked sixth among qualified pitchers prior to games on Thursday, but something tells me a few of the guys currently ahead of him may stumble. For example, as good as Kevin Gausman has become, a zero percent walk rate seems unlikely to hold. But the point here is that Eovaldi is one of the elite avoiders of walks in baseball, and he’s seemingly only getting better.
His walk avoidance has been particularly strong during his last two starts, which have shown that Eovaldi more than deserves his ace status on the Red Sox’s rotation and in MLB overall. He didn’t issue a single walk across 14 combined innings while striking out 13 total batters in those starts against Toronto and Baltimore, while also allowing only two earned runs. Of course, he only walked a single batter in each of his first three starts, so it’s not like his walk rate was embarrassing before those last two outings.
As he’s been keeping the walks to a minimum, Eovaldi has also upped his strikeout work, a lethal development for anyone facing him. His strikeout rate sits at 28.1 percent right now, which would be a career-best if it holds and has helped fuel a massive 25.4 percent gap between his strikeout rate and his walk rate. If you’re wondering, that’s the eight-best gap between the two metrics among qualified starters.
With his strikeouts rising and his walks continuing to plummet, Eovaldi has gotten off to a pretty strong start to the season despite less home run luck than he had a year ago. In 2021, he allowed 0.74 home runs per nine innings and wasn’t even tagged for one until May 22. In fact, Eovaldi’s dark horse Cy Young candidacy a year ago was built primarily on his low rates of home runs and walks allowed. Unfortunately, batters have squared up the ball a bit better against him this year, with Eovaldi already the victim of seven home runs, which is nearly half as many as he allowed all of last season (15). Eovaldi’s control has also helped him mask some less-than-stellar batted ball numbers, with his average exit velocity allowed, hard hit rate allowed and barrel rate allowed all in the 25th percentile or worse in MLB. Those numbers are what are dragging down some of his expected metrics, particularly his pretty mediocre xwOBA (.328), although his xFIP is nearly in line with his sterling ERA (2.60 and 2.51, respectively).
While researching for this piece, I noticed that as Eovaldi has continued his quest to walk as few batters as possible over the last few years, he’s also started to lean more and more on his curveball. He’s throwing it 23 percent of the time this year, which is up from 18.8 percent last year, which was up from 17 percent the year before and 17.5 percent the year before that. Prior to those seasons, Eovaldi never threw his curve more than 10 percent of the time; now it’s one of his favorite pitches. In fact, other than his blazing fastball (still averaging 97 miles per hour on that one), Eovaldi’s most thrown pitch has been his curve the last two seasons. He has good reason to trust the pitch. Just this year, it is the second-most valuable hook in baseball behind Corbin Burnes’ own curveball. Whether there is any connection between Eovaldi’s shrinking walk rates and the increased curve usage is unclear (and probably a bit coincidental), but it’s still worth noting.
Eovaldi will be making his sixth start of the season tonight against the Chicago White Sox. Although we can’t expect him to put up another seven innings of shutout baseball like he did in his last start, it seems awfully likely that whatever happens won’t include a ton of walks from the Red Sox’s ace.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 6, 2022 10:12:12 GMT -5
Struggling Red Sox to give red-hot Jarren Duran another shot in the majors By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated May 6, 2022, 45 minutes ago
A scorching Red Sox prospect is about to get another big league opportunity. According to major league sources, Jarren Duran is traveling to Boston on Friday to join the Red Sox.
Duran’s promotion comes as a result of Red Sox centerfielder Kiké Hernández becoming sick. Initial COVID-19 testing for Hernández on Thursday was negative, but according to a major league source, he continues to exhibit COVID-like symptoms that are grounds for caution given a recent series of infections of Red Sox personnel, including manager Alex Cora, catchers Christian Vázquez and Kevin Plawecki, and infielder Jonathan Araúz. Hernández is expected to remain away from the team until he is both fully recovered from his illness and until the Sox are certain he is not positive for COVID.
Duran made his big league debut after the All-Star break last season but struggled with the Red Sox, hitting .215/.241/.336 with a 35.7 percent strikeout rate – a performance that resulted in his being optioned back to Triple-A in late-August. Though he made a brief return to the big leagues when the Sox were shorthanded due to a COVID outbreak, he did not play in the big leagues in the final month of the regular season.
This year, Duran has been dominating for Triple-A Worcester, hitting .397/.478/.638 with two homers, including one on Thursday, eight extra-base hits, and seven steals in 15 games for the WooSox. There has been no residue of his struggles in 2021.
“He’s a man possessed right now. He’s trying to prove the doubters wrong. That’s his competitive nature. It’s wonderful,” Worcester hitting coach Rich Gedman said this week. “I think what happened is he was embarrassed last time he made it to the big leagues, and he wants to make sure that never happens again. And if he goes up he’s not coming back. That’s how I think he sees it. And I hope he’s right.”
The 25-year-old has redefined himself several times – moving from the infield to the outfield, evolving from a high-average/low-power hitter to a slugger with swing-and-miss issues in his professional career.
This season, Duran has shown the most balanced approach of his career. In the early stages of Worcester’s season, Duran has used his elite speed in the batter’s box (he recently bunted for a hit) and on the bases while also turning on pitches he can drive. Related: Trevor Story hears the boos as slow Red Sox start hits new low against Shohei Ohtani
He’s made mechanical adjustments in his pre-pitch setup, identifying a hand position – slightly below the letters – as the pitcher begins his delivery that permits him to begin his swing with a rhythmic movement but without creating so much movement that it renders him vulnerable to swings and misses, especially at the top of the strike zone.
“Everything about him has undergone such transformative change over the last few years and by and large that’s really put him on the map to have a great chance to have a lengthy career,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said recently. “But it’s a lot more change than most guys experience. And so it shouldn’t be a surprise that even an athlete as gifted as he is is going through some adjustments, trying to find exactly the right way to take all of that change, to take the engine that he’s built and really harness it consistently.”
Still, even with Duran’s excellence in Worcester and the struggles of the big league team, the Sox had seemed comfortable with the idea of a more extended run for him in Triple-A.
“The hard part is when your major league club is not playing exactly what the way you’d want them to, we have a couple guys [Duran and Triston Casas] who are doing well, the urge is to bring them up faster,” said Gedman. “But unless somebody gets hurt where they get forced to go up because they’re the next best guy in line, more importantly, the longer they can stay here to keep developing and get better and gain confidence, the easier it’s going to be to transition to the higher level.”
Duran has 350 career plate appearances in Triple-A over the last two years. He’s hitting .400 with a 1.192 OPS against righties and .393 with a .931 OPS against lefties. While it might have been possible for Duran to benefit from more of a foundation in Triple-A – specifically, going through additional series against familiar opponents, allowing for adaptation to game plans of other teams – it’s nearly impossible to imagine a scenario in which Duran could be more locked in prior to a callup.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 6, 2022 10:15:12 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 3h Obviously a crucial moment with this call up for Duran, he’s only been *really hot* for five games, if this doesn’t go well it hard to see him holding value going forward. Cards on the table.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 6, 2022 12:24:57 GMT -5
Red Sox vs. White Sox Series Preview
A battle of the Sox. By Matt_Collins@MattRyCollins May 6, 2022, 1:19pm EDT
South Side Sox The opponent in one sentence
The White Sox entered the season as the overwhelming favorite in the American League Central, but their start has been a bit rocky, especially at the plate. Record
11-13 Trend
While the season has not gone the White Sox way thus far, they are starting to turn things around over the last week or so, including a little two-game sweep this week against their crosstown rival Cubs. Overall, they’ve won four of their last five, though they haven’t scored more than four runs in any of those wins. (Ironically, they scored five in the loss.) Odds
Red Sox -130 to win the series Pitching Matchups
5/6: Nathan Eovaldi vs. Vince Velasquez, 7:10 PM ET (Apple TV+ exclusive)
As the Red Sox look to break their five-series losing streak, they will be able to turn to their ace Nathan Eovaldi for the opener. While the righty’s peripherals are still a little out of whack due to some home run issues at the start of the year, there’s little reason to worry about him on a start-to-start basis. He’s pitched to a 2.51 ERA on the young season, striking out what would be a career-high 28 percent of opponents while limiting walks at an even better rate than he has in recent years. He’s coming off his best start of the year, striking out eight without issuing a walk across seven scoreless innings, and he’ll look to pick up where he left off here on Friday night.
Over on the other side, the Red Sox face a guy who could potentially get them going if they don’t do his job for him. Velasquez was once a very intriguing prospect in the Astros and Phillies systems, but he’s never quite been able to harness to stuff to be an effective starter. Now in his age-30 season, he’s in his first season with the White Sox and things have gone just about as expected. The righty strikes out more than a batter per inning and has some nasty stuff, but his command is all over the place, which results in both walks and hard contact. Overall he’s pitched to a 4.58 ERA over four starts with a 4.34 FIP. That said, he’s also coming off a strong outing, having shut out the Angels over 5 2⁄3 innings with six strikeouts and no walks. The Red Sox have to be patient here and not expand the zone. Velasquez will has a big arsenal, with a pair of fastballs that sit in the 92-94 range along with a curveball, slider, and changeup.
5/7: Nick Pivetta vs. TBD, 4:10 PM ET
For the most part, the Red Sox rotation has been pretty impressive this season, especially the last few turns with Garrett Whitlock joining the group. The one weak link, though, has largely been Pivetta. The righty has an ugly 7.84 ERA over five starts, with a FIP of 5.47 that is significantly better, but still quite bad. The big problem has been walks, as he’s issued free passes to over 13 percent of his opponents while his strikeout rate has also fallen to a roughly league-average rate. If you’re looking for a positive, while he did allow three runs over 4 1⁄3 innings his last time out, he also didn’t issue a walk. It’s a step in the right direction, but Pivetta really needs legitimate strong showing here to gain some momentum. He’ll, I’ll take a clean five-inning start, an innings threshold he has not reached since his first start of the year.
Beyond Velasquez, the White Sox have not announced their pitching plans for the rest of the series just yet. It seems the decision comes down to whether or not they want to skip Dallas Keuchel for this turn through the rotation. This would be the day he’s lined up to start, but the veteran lefty has been struggling mightily with an ERA of 8.40 and more walks than strikeouts. Coming off a day off on Thursday, they can skip Keuchel and go with Dylan Cease on full rest if they so choose. Cease has been awesome this season, with a 2.48 ERA and 1.99 FIP buoyed in large part by a 34 percent strikeout rate. His last time out he one-hit the Angels over seven scoreless innings, striking out 11 without issuing a walk. The Red Sox should see him either way this weekend. It’s just a matter of if it’ll be Saturday or Sunday.
5/8: Michael Wacha vs. TBD, 11:35 AM ET (NBC, Peacock)
Eovaldi is still clearly the team’s ace, and Whitlock is the pitcher in whom I have the second most amount of confidence as a starter (should he stay in that role, of course), but it’s been Wacha who has performed as the tam’s best starter thus far. The righty has surpassed all expectations early on, pitching to a 1.38 ERA over his first five starts of the season. Now, his peripherals continue to tell a different story, as his strikeout and walk numbers are mediocre and his home run suppression isn’t really in line with his recent career (though the baseball probably has a good amount to do with that). That said, watching him pitch it’s not hard to see where the lack of hard contact is coming from. His changeup in particular has been a legitimate weapon. Regression will come at some point, but hopefully not all at once.
As mentioned, the pitching plans here for Sunday are still not clear. Cease, who we just discussed above, would be the guy if they stay on line. If they decide to skip over Keuchel, however, we could get a look at former Red Sox prospect Michael Kopech, who was part of the package that went to Chicago in the Chris Sale deal. Finally healthy, Kopech is not throwing a ton of innings with 23 over five starts, but he’s been effective in his limited role. So far this season he’s got a 1.17 ERA, striking out exactly a batter per inning. That said, his control is a little bit worse than we’re used to seeing from him, and he’s yet to allow a home run, which seems unsustainable.
Old Friends
Yoán Moncada was the other major piece to go back in that aforementioned Sale trade. He hasn’t quite turned into the perennial All-Star and MVP candidate that it looked like he may be when he first signed with the Red Sox, but he’s a very solid regular for the White Sox and should be for years to come.
Michael Kopech, as mentioned above, was part of the Sale trade. His potential is still sky-high, but health has kept him from getting his career off the ground. Now in his age-26 season, he’s only got 106 2⁄3 innings under his belt, mostly out of the bullpen where he spent most of 2021.
Joe Kelly was a potential Red Sox target this past winter but ended up in Chicago instead. Currently, though, he’s on the injured list and has yet to throw a pitch this season. Notable Position Players
Luis Robert is the most talented player on this White Sox team and has the looks of a guy who can be a future MVP candidate, and in fact he played to that level last season when healthy. He’s not going to draw a ton of walks, but he makes loud contact and is a great athlete on the bases and in the field.
José Abreu was the AL MVP in the shortened 2020 season and is the prototypical run producer for the middle of a contending lineup. The power hasn’t quite been there yet this season, but his approach is still sound and the hard contact will presumably come.
Tim Anderson is a fun player to watch if you like action. He doesn’t walk, but also doesn’t strike out, and hits a ton of line drives before using his speed to make things happen on the bases. He’s been their best player so far this season.
Yasmani Grandal is a fun player to watch if you like the modern three true outcomes baseball. He strikes out a lot, but makes up for it with power and walks and also is one of the game’s best pitch framers. He’s off to a rough start, though, with a 58 wRC+.
AJ Pollock was apparently a Red Sox target for a time this winter but ended up being traded to the White Sox. He’s only played in 12 games this year, but it’s been a brutal start with a 27 wRC+. Bullpen Snapshot
Liam Hendriks is one of the best and most consistent relievers in baseball, and his 3.97 ERA and 3.45 FIP to start this season qualifies as a very slow start for him.
Kendall Graveman was another bullpen addition for the White Sox this winter and he’s off to a stellar start with both his ERA and FIP under 2.00.
Aaron Bummer is the top lefty in this bullpen, and while he can miss bats at an elite rate he also loses the zone a lot and can be beaten with proper patience. Injuries
Moncada is dealing with an oblique issue and has been rehabbing, but he’s expected to come back on Monday, right after this series.
Kelly, meanwhile, is also likely to just miss this series, working his way back from a biceps injury with his expected return next week, possibly also on Monday.
Lance Lynn underwent knee surgery in April, but he’s progressed well and could be back this month.
Eloy Jiménez underwent surgery for his hamstring last week, and he’s going to be out of this lineup until at least late June.
Andrew Vaughn was hit by a pitch early in the week and was placed on the injured list, keeping him out of this series.
Garrett Crochet underwent Tommy John right around the start of the season, which will keep him out all season.
Yermín Mercedes fractured a bone in his hand, and while his timeline has him returning relatively soon, it’s not expected to be this weekend.
Jonathan Stiever is on the 60-day injured list with a lat injury, with an unclear timeline for his return. Weather Forecast
It’s not going to be a particularly warm weekend at Fenway, but the Red Sox shouldn’t have trouble getting any of these three games in against Chicago.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 6, 2022 12:28:47 GMT -5
Game 27: White Sox at Red Sox lineups and notesBy Andrew Mahoney Globe Staff,Updated May 6, 2022, 9:54 a.m. The Shohei Ohtani show has left town, mercifully. The Red Sox dropped to six games below .500 after the Angels’ two-way sensation dominated on the mound in an 8-0 win Thursday afternoon. The Sox will look to move on this weekend when they host the White Sox for a three-game series. It will be a new experience for viewers for Friday night’s opener, which will be streamed on Apple TV+. Nate Eovaldi will be on the mound, facing a White sox team that has won three in a row. Here is a preview. Lineups WHITE SOX (11-13): 1. Tim Anderson (R) SS 2. AJ Pollock (R) RF 3. Jose Abreu (R) 1B 4. Luis Robert (R) CF 5. Yasmani Grandal (S) DH 6. Gavin Sheets (L) LF 7. Jake Burger (R) 3B 8. Reese McGuire (L) C 9. Leury Garcia (S) 2B Pitching: RHP Vince Velasquez (1-2, 4.58 ERA) RED SOX (10-16): 1. Jarren Duran (L) CF 2. Trevor Story (R) 2B 3. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 4. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 5. J.D. Martinez (R) DH 6. Alex Verdugo (L) LF 7. Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B 8. Jackie Bradley Jr. (L) RF 9. Kevin Plawecki (R) C Pitching: RHP Nate Eovaldi (1-0, 2.51 ERA) Time: 7:10 p.m. TV, radio: Apple TV+, WEEI-FM 93.7 White Sox vs. Eovaldi: José Abreu 1-6, Tim Anderson 3-6, Adam Engel 0-1, Leury García 1-3, Yasmani Grandal 2-8, Reese McGuire 1-6, AJ Pollock 1-2, Luis Robert 1-3 Red Sox vs. Velasquez: Christian Arroyo 0-2, Xander Bogaerts 3-9, Jackie Bradley Jr. 3-3, Bobby Dalbec 1-3, Rafael Devers 2-5, Kiké Hernández 1-3, J.D. Martinez 2-7, Kevin Plawecki 0-2, Trevor Story 5-17, Alex Verdugo 0-4, Christian Vázquez 1-3 Stat of the day: The Red Sox have lost five straight series, and are 1-6-1 in series play this season, including 0-2-1 at home. Notes: Eovaldi is 2-1 with a 5.63 ERA in four career appearances (three starts) against the White Sox. In his last start, he struck out eight in seven shutout innings Saturday at Baltimore. He retired 17 of the first 18 batters he faced in his 28th career scoreless start of at least six innings. … Velasquez is making his sixth career appearance and fifth start against Boston. He has a 8.47 ERA in 17 innings against the Red Sox after being tagged for eight runs in 2 ⅓ innings last July 9 at Fenway while pitching for Philadelphia Song of the Day- U2- Gonewww.youtube.com/watch?v=rULFfnO-0_E
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 6, 2022 14:24:43 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 2h The #WhiteSox - #RedSox game tonight is on Apple TV+ for free.
The game is not on NESN.
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