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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 17, 2022 13:17:56 GMT -5
Game 36: Astros at Red Sox lineups and notesBy Andrew Mahoney Globe Staff,Updated May 17, 2022, 9:38 a.m. In a game that featured a 98-minute rain delay in the sixth inning, the Red Sox overcame not only a pair of blown one-run leads but also a seventh-inning deficit to claim a 6-3 victory over Houston Monday night. With the victory, the Sox were able to move out of last place in the American League East, a half-game ahead of the Orioles. The series with the Astros continues Tuesday night, with Nate Eovaldi on the mound for the Sox. Despite allowing three runs or fewer in all seven starts, the righthander is looking for his first win since April 13. Here is a preview. Lineups ASTROS (23-13): 1. Jose Altuve (R) 2B 2. Michael Brantley (L) DH 3. Alex Bregman (R) 3B 4. Yordan Alvarez (L) LF 5. Yuli Gurriel (R) 1B 6. Kyle Tucker (L) RF 7. Jeremy Pena (R) SS 8. Jose Siri (R) CF 9. Martin Maldonado (R) C Pitching: RHP José Urquidy (2-1, 4.40 ERA) RED SOX (14-21): 1. Enrique Hernandez (R) CF 2. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 3. J.D. Martinez (R) DH 4. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 5. Alex Verdugo (L) LF 6. Trevor Story (R) 2B 7. Franchy Cordero (L) 1B 8. Kevin Plawecki (R) C 9. Jackie Bradley Jr. (L) RF Pitching: RHP Nate Eovaldi (1-1, 3.15 ERA) Time: 7:10 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, TBS, WEEI-FM 93.7 Astros vs. Eovaldi: Jose Altuve 6-19, Yordan Alvarez 2-2, Michael Brantley 2-10, Alex Bregman 3-6, Mauricio Dubón 0-2, Aledmys Díaz 0-1, Yuli Gurriel 1-6, Martín Maldonado 2-4, Kyle Tucker 1-3 Red Sox vs. Urquidy: Xander Bogaerts 0-3, Rafael Devers 0-2, Kiké Hernández 0-3, J.D. Martinez 0-2, Trevor Story 1-5, Alex Verdugo 1-3, Christian Vázquez 1-2 Stat of the day: The Red Sox have scored 37 runs over the last six games (6.2 runs per game) after scoring just 18 runs in their previous eight games (2.3 runs per game). Notes: Eovaldi is 1-2 with a 3.93 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 36 ⅔ innings over six career regular-season starts against the Astros. He is 2-2 with a 5.09 ERA in five career postseason outings (three starts) vs. Houston. Four of his five starts since then have been no-decisions, including his outing at Atlanta on Wednesday during which he struck out six Braves over 6 ⅓ innings of three-run ball. … .J.D. Martinez is the first Red Sox player to reach base safely in each of his first 28 games in a season since Carl Yastrzemski in 1978 (33 games). … Urquidy faced the Red Sox just once, striking out nine in six innings of three-hit, one-run ball, to get the win on May 31. Song of the Day: The Smithereens- A Girl Like Youwww.youtube.com/watch?v=5LwjD8z2mOg
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 17, 2022 15:08:15 GMT -5
Alex Speier Other updates: Chris Sale is playing catch again and Josh Taylor has started throwing. Paxton is still getting treatment and not throwing.
Dan Shaughnessy @dan_Shaughnessy 13m Let me guess: Sale on pace to come back in early July- right after next Toronto trip.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 17, 2022 16:37:28 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 57m Cora says Red Sox feel like they’re very close to the pitching staff structure they want with Whitlock starting and Houck in the bullpen. They have no plans to consider Whitlock for a different role in the immediate future.
Cora also said the Sox have no plans to use Houck as a ‘traditional closer.’ They want him to occupy the multi-innings role that Whitlock had been in before moving to the rotation.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 1:53:30 GMT -5
Red Sox 4, Astros 13: That’s a yikes
Nathan Eovaldi gives up five homers in the second. By Matt_Collins@MattRyCollins May 17, 2022, 10:26pm EDT 12 Comments
Nathan Eovaldi has had better nights. He’s had some big home run problems all year that he needs to sort out, but even with that in mind this was ridiculous. After Boston took an early lead, Eovaldi just totally fell apart in the second. He was leaving pitches over the plate all inning long, and the result was a record five homers hit against him in the inning. Throw in a grand slam for Houston in the fourth, and this was a runaway loss for the Red Sox on Tuesday night.
More robust game notes below.
It is hard to believe looking at the final score, but things actually went really well for the Red Sox early on in Wednesday’s game at Fenway, starting with Nathan Eovaldi getting the job done. For the second time this season he got through the first inning on only five pitches, looking like he was ready to cruise through the night against a good Astros lineup. That, of course, would change. But before that changed, Boston also took an early thanks to Rafael Devers. He’s been the team’s best player this season and he showed why here, absolutely demolishing a fastball left over the plate by Astros starter José Urquidy. Devers sent it for a 435-foot ride out to center field, and the Red Sox had a 1-0 lead.
That was the end of the good vibes from this game as Eovaldi came back out and had a historic second inning. Unfortunately, it was not the kind of history he was looking to make. The Red Sox ace has had some major home run problems all season, and they reared their ugly head in a big way in this second inning. It started with Yordan Alvarez, who led off the inning with a solo homer out to left field. Then, after Franchy Cordero let a runner on with an error on which he just didn’t catch a perfectly fine throw from Devers, Kyle Tucker smoked one out to right field for a two-run homer, putting Houston up 3-1.
They were only getting started. Jeremy Peña, who has had a very impressive rookie season replacing Carlos Correa, came up after Tucker and put one up and into the Monster Seats for a solo homer, the third dinger of the inning for Houston. Eovaldi finally got his first out of the inning after that, but Martín Maldonado reached on a bloop single before José Altuve smoked a double. With two in scoring position, it was Michael Brantley’s turn. The veteran isn’t typically thought of as a big power hitter, but he played that role here, putting one into the right field seats for a three-run shot. Yuli Gurriel gave Houston one more long ball for the inning, making it five in the second.
Eovaldi, who became the third pitcher ever to allow that many homers in a single inning, was lifted after that and has to just put this one behind him. He just left way too many pitches right down the heart of the plate, and Houston is the kind of team that is not going to miss those mistakes. It wasn’t just one pitch, either, as Alex Speier notes that the homers spread through his arsenal. And so he left with a 9-1 deficit and the game feeling over just two innings in, an amazing thing after cruising through a five-pitch first.
The Red Sox did show some fight to get back in the game in the third when J.D. Martinez blasted one over everything in left field for a two-run homer, cutting the deficit down to six. But that was as good as it was going to get for Red Sox fans in the game. Tyler Danish, who came in to finish the second for Eovaldi, was still in for the fourth and the game just got away if it wasn’t already there. Houston loaded the bases on a pair of singles and an error, this charged to Devers, bringing Tucker back to the plate. He hit his second homer of the game, this one a grand slam to make it a 10-run lead for Houston, and that was basically that.
After Danish, who got through that fourth inning but was done after those 2 1⁄3 innings, Hirokazu Sawamura got the call and gave Boston a much-needed clean fifth, striking out a pair in the process. Ryan Brasier then had the sixth and looked much better than the last time we saw him, allowing a single but nothing else in a scoreless inning of work. For the seventh, Alex Cora turned to Matt Barnes, who did give up a single but still only faced three batters thanks to an inning-ending double play. In the eighth, Jake Diekman worked around a double and a walk for a scoreless inning before Austin Davis came on for a scoreless ninth to finish out what actually ended up being a pretty solid showing for the bullpen.
As for the offense, they did add one more run in the fifth on an RBI double from Franchy Cordero, but clearly that was not close to enough. They’d drop this one 13-4.
The Red Sox look to put this one behind them on Wednesday in a rubber match against Houston. Nick Pivetta will get the ball for Boston while Luis Garcia starts for the Astros. First pitch is at 6:10 PM ET.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 2:31:50 GMT -5
5 HRs allowed in 1 inning: 'Disbelief' for Eovaldi 2:16 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
BOSTON -- For the last three seasons, Nathan Eovaldi has led the Red Sox’s rotation with his reliability and vast array of plus pitches.
And that’s what made Tuesday night’s historic mishap in the 13-4 loss to the Astros at Fenway Park so stunning.
When Eovaldi hardly even broke a sweat retiring the Astros in a five-pitch first inning, it was easy to believe he was on his way to the type of performance the Red Sox have become accustomed to.
Instead, Eovaldi endured an evening of infamy, becoming just the third pitcher in MLB history to allow five homers in an inning.
“It’s frustrating,” said Eovaldi. “I don’t know how to describe it. It’s the first time I’ve had to deal with it. It’s extremely frustrating.”
The madness took place in the top of the second inning, when the Astros looked like they were taking batting practice.
No Boston pitcher had ever allowed four homers in an inning before, let alone five.
So what happened?
For starters, this was the continuation of the one trend that has been troubling Eovaldi this season. He has been way more homer-prone than at any other juncture of his time with the Red Sox, which started in July of 2018.
Fact 1: Eovaldi gave up 15 homers in 182 1/3 innings last season. Fact 2: Eovaldi has given up 14 homers in 41 2/3 innings this season.
The gopher balls didn’t hurt Eovaldi much until Tuesday. In his first seven starts of the season, he gave up three runs or fewer each time out and never more than two homers in one start.
“I just feel like the times I’ve been hit hard are the home runs,” Eovaldi said. “I feel like I’ve been able to do a good job when I get runners on base, preventing them from scoring as long as it’s not a home run.”
Eovaldi has given up a lot of hard contact on misfires in the upper portion of the strike zone this season.
But on Tuesday, it was more of a generalized location issue. And the heavy-hitting Astros are not the team to have those issues against.
It was Yordan Alvarez who got the power party started by smashing a 97.7 mph heater in the middle, outer-quadrant of the plate.
Kyle Tucker was given a gift -- a 96 mph fastball that was middle-middle, and he destroyed it.
This wasn’t just a fastball issue though. Jeremy Peña’s homer was on a 92.7 mph cutter that was also across the heart of the plate and just slightly elevated.
Michael Brantley also feasted on a 92.4 mph cutter that was belt-high and on the outer portion of the zone.
“I wasn’t locating my pitches very well, and I stayed fast with the pitch mix,” Eovaldi said. “The fastball, cutter, splitter -- they’re all low 90s, mid 90s -- and slider was not very good, and the curveball, I didn’t throw as many for strikes. I have to do a better job of mixing my pitches and attacking them differently.”
Yuli Gurriel finished the quintet of homers by unloading on a 79.8 mph curve that was at the bottom of the zone, but right across the middle. At that point, Red Sox manager Alex Cora lifted his ace after 39 pitches.
“It’s a little bit of disbelief,” Eovaldi said. “You come in with a game plan and a plan of attack -- how you’re going to come after them -- and you kind of have a backup plan in case. If neither one of them work, and they’re just attacking everything, it’s kind of a helpless feeling out there.”
Given the degree to which the Astros walloped Eovaldi, could tipping pitches have been a factor?
“Any time something like this happens, you tend to think that,” said Eovaldi. “I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet. It’s one of the things, we’ll definitely go back to look to make sure we’re not tipping or something like that.”
While the natural tendency is to dig deep for answers, perhaps it was just a wild outlier. The Astros, having faced Eovaldi in the 2018 and ’21 postseasons, know full well how tough he usually is to hit.
“[Eovaldi's] an outstanding pitcher. He probably got some balls in the heart of the plate where he didn't want to,” said Astros manager Dusty Baker. “He was throwing hard, but you know, it was our day today. There is no explanation. I mean, sometimes, you hit the great [pitchers] good and sometimes, you know, the so-so [pitchers] you don't hit them. There's not an explanation for everything. In batting practice, you can't hit that many home runs.”
Kevin Plawecki, Eovaldi’s regular catcher the past couple of seasons, had a simple explanation.
“It shows he's human, right? We all haven't seen it,” Plawecki said. “I know he's frustrated. They didn't miss anything. It seemed like just, baseball happened.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 2:32:56 GMT -5
Injuries & Moves: Wacha's return imminent May 17th, 2022
Keep track of the Red Sox’s recent transactions and injury updates throughout the season. LATEST NEWS
May 17: RHP Michael Wacha tuning up for return Wacha, who was Boston’s best starting pitcher this season before suffering an intercostal injury, fired two innings and threw 35 pitches in a simulated game on May 16. The hope is that Wacha will reclaim his spot in the rotation on May 20, the first day he is eligible to be activated from the 15-day injured list. Manager Alex Cora said that Wacha's final test will be on May 18, when he is slated to throw a short bullpen session.
All signs have been encouraging.
“Yeah, [Wacha] feels good today. He’s going to throw a short bullpen tomorrow, and then we’ll decide if he’s ready for the weekend," Cora said. “It feels [like he will be ready]. I think yesterday was good. He came in today feeling good. Now one more step -- it’s a short one, too -- so then we’ll decide what we do.” -- Ian Browne
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 2:33:18 GMT -5
Jon Couture @joncouture · 7h Nice of the #RedSox to get themselves out of the way before the Celtics start.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 2:35:05 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 7h Nathan Eovaldi tonight: - Five pitches in the 1st - Five homers allowed in the 2nd - Five outs recorded
The Red Sox are on the wrong end of a 9-1 hammering in the 2nd.
Red Sox are 14-22.
Nathan Eovaldi (five home runs allowed in the 2nd) made the wrong kind of history. Per @slangsonsports , just the eighth half-inning in #MLB history where a team has hit that many.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 2:41:30 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK Garrett Whitlock can officially start to call himself a member of the Red Sox rotation By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated May 17, 2022, 9:25 p.m.
On Tuesday afternoon, roughly 18 hours removed from the conclusion of a solid five-inning, two-run start against the Astros, Garrett Whitlock diligently sprinted up and down the stairs of Fenway Park’s grandstand. That effort represented the start of his five-day between-starts routine — something with which the righthander will become increasingly familiar.
Manager Alex Cora suggested that Monday’s outing against the Astros ― one in which Whitlock worked into the sixth inning — “is going to be the norm” for Whitlock moving forward.
“We feel very confident where we’re at right now with him,” said Cora. Related: Astros trot off with win over Sox by blasting five homers off Nate Eovaldi
Whitlock has made five starts, logging 20 innings with a 3.15 ERA, 26 strikeouts, and 8 walks in the role. Cora said he can now be treated like a starter.
With that plan, it’s now clear: Whitlock’s role is not a matter of conversation for the time being. Tanner Houck will remain in the bullpen and pitch in a multi-innings role, as Cora dismissed the idea of having Houck in a traditional closer’s role.
“[Houck] can do what Garrett did last year,” said Cora. “We feel comfortable with [Whitlock] in this role and we have four other starters. Tanner can do the job he did last year [as a multi-innings reliever] in September.”
The rotation has been a Red Sox strength. The team’s starters entered Tuesday with a 3.30 ERA, seventh best in MLB, albeit with a relatively modest workload (roughly 4⅔ innings per game). In adding Whitlock to Nate Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Rich Hill, and Michael Wacha, Cora sees the potential to anchor the team’s staff.
Though the bullpen entered Tuesday with a major league-leading 10 blown saves and 12 relief losses along with a 4.21 ERA, Cora believes the team is close to having the pitching staff structure that can be the basis of success. The Sox manager feels that the ability of Houck, Matt Strahm, and John Schreiber to contribute multiple innings and handle both righties and lefties can give the team a path to improvement. Hansel Robles is likewise viewed as a late-innings option
“We believe that this is going to work,” said Cora. “I do believe we’re very close to have the structure that we want and then from there, we roll.” Wacha getting close
Wacha (left intercostal soreness) felt fine the day after throwing two simulated innings against teammates. He’ll throw a short bullpen session Wednesday, after which the Red Sox will decide whether he can be activated from the 15-day injured list to start against the Mariners in a four-game weekend series. Odorizzi placed on 15-day IL
The Astros placed righthander Jake Odorizzi on the 15-day injured list, one day after he was taken off the field on a cart after the fifth inning after suffering what Houston described as “lower left leg discomfort.” Odorizzi underwent an MRI on Tuesday. “I was pleased with what I saw,” said Astros manager Dusty Baker. “I was surprised it wasn’t swollen or black and blue. Hopefully that’s a good sign.” . . . Top Red Sox pitching prospect Brayan Bello, who dominated in Double A this year, will make his debut for Triple A Worcester on Wednesday . . . WooSox lefthander Darwinzon Hernandez was placed on the seven-day injured list with an MCL strain in his left knee . . . Triston Casas, the second-ranked prospect in the Red Sox system, rolled his ankle in Worcester’s game Tuesday night and was removed for precautionary reasons . . . Righthander Carlos Martínez, who was signed to a minor league deal by the Red Sox this month, was released after making two starts in which he allowed 10 runs in 4⅓ innings for the WooSox . . . Wednesday’s game between the Red Sox and Astros will start at 6:10 p.m.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 2:44:24 GMT -5
Nathan Eovaldi on wrong side of Boston Red Sox history, giving up 5 homers in second inning after 5-pitch first inning Updated: May. 17, 2022, 8:34 p.m. | Published: May. 17, 2022, 8:22 p.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — Nathan Eovaldi allowed five home runs to the Astros in the second inning Tuesday after throwing just five pitches in the first inning.
The five homers went a combined 1,970 feet in distance and turned a 1-0 Red Sox lead into a 9-1 deficit.
It marked the first time a team has connected for five home runs in an inning since Sept. 17, 2020, when the Yankees hit five against Toronto.
Eovaldi also is the first Red Sox pitcher ever to give up as many as four home runs in an inning, a stat Ian Browne received from MLB.com’s stats and research department.
In all, Eovaldi allowed eight hits (five homers, one double, two singles) while recording only two outs in the second inning. This disaster came after a superb first inning in which he retired Jose Altuve (groundout), Michael Brantley (lineout) and Alex Bregman (pop-out) on five pitches.
Yordan Alvarez stroked a 360-foot solo homer to lead off the second.
Kyle Tucker belted a 413-foot two-run home run that made it 3-1 Astros.
Jeremy Peña went back-to-back with Tucker. His home run went 411 feet and made it 4-1.
Brantley’s 405-foot three-run homer made it 7-1.
Yuli Gurriel, who reached on an error earlier in the inning, capped it off with a 381-foot two-run blast that made it 9-1.
Alvarez and Tucker both connected on four-seam fastballs. Peña and Brantley connected on cutters. Guerriel hit a curveball.
Tyler Danish replaced Eovaldi with two outs in the second inning.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 2:45:41 GMT -5
What happened? Boston Red Sox’s Nathan Eovaldi becomes third pitcher in MLB history to allow 5 homers in one inning Published: May. 17, 2022, 11:57 p.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — “Every ball they hit, they were hitting it hard and they were flying out.”
That’s how Nathan Eovaldi described the second inning when he became just the third pitcher in Major League Baseball history to allow five home runs in one inning. The Red Sox lost 13-4 to the Astros here at Fenway Park on Tuesday.
He is the first Red Sox pitcher to allow four or more homers in an inning.
Eovaldi surrendered home runs to Yordan Alvarez (360 feet), Kyle Tucker (413 feet), Jeremy Peña (411 feet), Michael Brantley (405 feet) and Yuli Gurriel (381 feet). He recorded just two outs during the Astros’ nine-run second inning.
“It’s frustrating,” Eovaldi said. “I don’t know how to describe it. It’s the first time I’ve had to deal with it. It’s extremely frustrating.”
The five home runs combined for an estimated 1,970 feet. As Eovaldi said, Astros hitters jumped on his pitches early in counts.
“You come in with a plan of attack of how you’re gonna come after them and you kind of have a backup plan in case and neither one of them worked,” Eovaldi said. “They were just attacking everything. It’s kind of a helpless feeling out there.”
So what happened? Was he simply not locating his pitches? Was he maybe tipping his pitches? Both?
All eight hits in the second came on strikes most of which were middle of the plate. The pitch chart shows he missed locations on everything.
“They did an outstanding job hitting mistakes,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.
Cora said he doesn’t think Eovaldi was tipping his pitches. He said the Astros had a great game-plan to be aggressive in the zone.
“He’s a striker thrower. He’s very aggressive in the zone,” Cora said. “And they have the game-plan and they got good pitches to hit. I think that’s the bottom line. ... They were very aggressive. Like I said last year, when they get going it’s that fast-break offense. They attack early and they hit the ball in the air.”
Eovaldi said he’s unsure if he might have been tipping.
“Any time something like this happens, you tend to think that,” Eovaldi said. “I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet. It’s one of the things, we’ll definitely go back and look to make sure we’re not tipping or something like that. But again, I wasn’t locating my pitches very well and I stayed fast with the pitch mix.”
Eovaldi’s awful second inning came after he needed just five pitches to retire the Astros in order during the first inning.
“Every time I feel like I’ve faced the Astros, they come out of the gate swinging and try to jump on the fastball,” Eovaldi said. “I was able to locate in the first. A quick first inning. And then I tried to do the same thing in the second inning and they didn’t miss. Body-wise I feel really good. Mechanically, I felt good. It’s just again, I’ve gotta come out of the gate locked on my location a little bit better.”
Eovaldi has allowed 14 homers in 41 ⅔ innings (3.0 homers per nine innings) this season. He gave up just 15 home runs in 182 ⅓ innings (0.7 homers per nine innings) last year.
“Home runs keep getting me,” he said.
He gave some potential reasons for the increase.
“There’s been times where they’re jumping on the fastballs and I feel like I’ve been giving up a few more home runs this year on the cutter,” he said. “I feel like it hasn’t been as sharp as it has in the past. .... I feel like I maybe getting myself in trouble with the slider where I’m just kind of throwing it for strikes and I don’t. And I kind of put myself in a predictable count. It’s one of the things that I’ll have to go back and look at. I think I just need to start using the splitter a little bit more, too. Get them off the the heater and be able to expand with it.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 2:47:15 GMT -5
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne · 7h In 2021, Nathan Eovaldi gave up 15 homers in 182 1/3 innings. This season, he has given up 14 homers in 42 innings.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 2:48:07 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 6h Per @baseball_ref Nate Eovaldi is the third pitcher in history to allow 5+ HR without a BB or K.
Casey Daigle (Az) did vs. StL in 2004 and took a loss.
Sloppy Thurston (Br. Dodgers) also did in 1932 and was the winner vs. the Giants.
His line: 9 12 6 5 0 0 6 HR in an 18-9 win.
Sox are 14-22, 5-10 at Fenway Park.
Sox are 103-105 at home since the start of the 2019 season.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 3:01:40 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 8h UPDATE: It is indeed tied for the record for most homers in one inning. The last team to homer 5 times in an inning was the Yankees (9/17/20 vs the Blue Jays).
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 3:02:22 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 5h Eovaldi said the Sox would certainly look to see if he’s tipping pitches, but the fact that he’s been giving up homers on all 5 pitch types suggests the issue is more likely just command
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