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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2022 4:16:47 GMT -5
Rafael Devers, Franchy Cordero key Red Sox’ comeback victory over Mariners Sox win fourth in a row, third consecutive series
By Steve Hewitt | stephen.hewitt@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald PUBLISHED: May 21, 2022 at 7:13 p.m. | UPDATED: May 21, 2022 at 8:52 p.m.
Two weeks ago, the Red Sox probably wouldn’t have won a game like the one played on Saturday at Fenway Park.
But these Sox are starting to get their swagger back.
The Red Sox continued their scorching offensive stretch with another come-from-behind victory. Down 5-0 in the third, Boston’s bats came alive again – fueled by two home runs from Rafael Devers, capped by Franchy Cordero’s triple and Christian Vazquez’s go-ahead hit in the eighth – as they stormed back for a 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners, their fourth in a row and clinching their third consecutive series victory.
“I think you can kind of tell the energy shifting,” Matt Barnes said. “Guys are just having fun playing.”
That wasn’t the case at this time two weeks ago.
Garrett Whitlock had the worst start of his career as he gave up 10 hits and put the Red Sox in a 5-0 hole in the third inning. Then, the Red Sox’ offense was so inept, that deficit would have been insurmountable. Now, no hole is too big to overcome.
“We’re getting that feeling back,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “It’s getting to that point now and like I said, that’s the fun part of this team.”
They were feeling it in the bullpen, too. The Red Sox took a one-run lead into the ninth, and with so many arms down, Cora had no choice but to use Barnes, who’s been hard to trust in that spot as he continues to find himself again.
Two weeks ago, that might have resulted in disaster. But on Saturday, Barnes pulled it together – with assists from Jackie Bradley Jr. and Kiké Hernandez on a pair of impressive defensive plays to cap his second save of the season.
“This one today felt really good and definitely looking to build on that,” a very encouraged Barnes said.
Barnes’ save capped six shutout innings from the bullpen. And though the two balls put in play on Barnes were smoked – coming off the bats at 98.1 mph and 105.3 mph, respectively – he and the Red Sox will take it as a big confidence booster going forward.
“He has to get people out at one point,” Cora said. “You got to trust him. At one point, he’s got to get people out at this level and help us win games. He grinded there and he got us three outs.”
It wouldn’t have been possible without Devers, who put the lineup on his back to ignite the comeback. His solo homer in the third got things started before he keyed the Red Sox’ four-run, game-tying rally in the fifth. After Hernandez hit a leadoff double off the center field wall, Devers followed with a two-run shot over the Monster – his ninth homer of the season – to make it a two-run game.
Five Red Sox batters recorded hits off of Mariners starter Chris Flexen and then Sergio Romo, capped by Bobby Dalbec’s bloop RBI single that made it a one-run game. One batter later, Trevor Story hit a game-tying sacrifice fly – his 13th RBI of the week.
“We never give up at any point in the game,” Devers said.
The game was still tied with one out in the eighth when Cordero produced one of the biggest hits of his Red Sox career, smoking a pitch off the center-field wall that got a favorable bounce as it rolled away from two Seattle outfielders. Cordero took full advantage, motoring around the bases and sliding into third with a triple.
One batter later, Vazquez drove in the go-ahead run with a wall-ball single high off the Monster that easily scored Cordero, ultimately the game-winning run.
“It was huge for us,” Devers said. “We know the type of hitter Franchy is.”
Added Cora: “It’s getting there. We’re feeling good about ourselves.”
Another series win will only help. Once one of the worst offenses in the league, the Red Sox are scoring more than six runs per game since the start of the series in Atlanta, a stretch in which they’ve produced an 8-3 record. They always knew the offense would wake up, and everything is finally coming together how they envisioned.
“I know the team we have and we’re confident we can come from behind at any score, any time,” Devers said. “I know the type of lineup we have, the bats, the arms in the bullpen and the arms in the starting rotation. I feel really confident in this team and we’re just getting started.”
They have a chance to sweep a series for the first time this season with Nathan Eovaldi on the mound Sunday afternoon.
“We always knew that we had a really good team,” Barnes said. “We believed it, we knew it. Obviously we scuffled there for the first 30 games or however many we played, the first handful. But we always knew. … This is what we’re accustomed to. This is what we expect to do.”
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 23, 2022 8:54:27 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK Nate Eovaldi stands and delivers for Red Sox in helping secure sweep of MarinersBy Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated May 22, 2022, 9:47 p.m. The Mariners came into the day hitting .265 while slugging .468 with 33 homers against the fastball. Against offspeed, however, the Mariners hit a pedestrian .167 with a .224 slugging and one homer. So, it made sense for Eovaldi to rely upon his splitter as much as he did, tossing it 28 times and drawing 12 whiffs, while ringing up six of his 11 punchouts with the pay-off pitch. “When they’re aggressive, it looks like a heater,” Eovaldi said afterward. “So the splitters come in and keeps them off balance. They either take it or they swing through it. Especially going through the first time through the lineup, I used it a lot more. “Usually, I tend to do it the second time through. I used it more the first time through, so they haven’t seen the fastball yet. It’s like a changeup and then the fastball coming in, it’s hard for them to square it up. Then I’m ahead in the count, 0-2, I can go back to it or go to one of my other off-speed pitches.” Eovaldi took note how the Mariners were swinging against Garrett Whitlock Saturday. He saw they were aggressive against Whitlock on the first pitch or early in the count. It led to Whitlock getting shellacked for five runs (all earned) in just three innings of work (10 hits). So, heading into Sunday’s series finale, Eovaldi knew he would have to utilize his off-speed or breaking pitches on the first pitch to keep the Mariners’ aggressive lineup off balance. This is a fine article by McWilliams. IMO, this is what good writers should be looking at. I know what happened yesterday and last week. I know why our record is what it is. I know who is hot and who is cold. But this sort of stuff is not the type of stuff that is evident when you watch a game.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2022 9:40:51 GMT -5
Red Sox climbing out of early hole with much-needed streak The Red Sox still have a lot of work to do, with the Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays ahead of them in the division.
By NOAH TRISTER, Associated Press May 23, 2022 | 7:57 AM
The Boston Red Sox needed a winning streak like this.
Their slow start was exacerbated by the fact that the first-place Yankees were threatening to pull away in the AL East, but the Red Sox have now won five in a row after sweeping Seattle. Trevor Story has five homers in the last four games, including a grand slam over the Green Monster on Friday that was caught by former Boston outfielder Jonny Gomes, who was at the game.
The Red Sox are still three games under .500 and 10 games behind division-leading New York, but Boston is only three games out of a wild card, and the team’s run differential is in positive territory. Advertisement:
Story’s surge is a welcome sight for the Red Sox. Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez are all hitting well over .300, but Boston hasn’t gotten many contributions from the rest of its lineup. The pitching staff has its share of question marks as well, although Nick Pivetta started this winning streak by throwing a two-hitter against Houston.
The Red Sox still have a lot of work to do, with the Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays ahead of them in the division. New York was swept in a doubleheader by the White Sox on Sunday, but the Yankees had won 22 of 26 prior to that.
Like Boston, the White Sox were scuffling earlier this season, but they went on a six-game winning streak earlier this month. Chicago is now within four games of Minnesota in the AL Central.
The Red Sox and White Sox play a three-game series in Chicago starting Tuesday night.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2022 10:22:28 GMT -5
9 takeaways from the Red Sox’ four-game series sweep of the Mariners The Red Sox went 6-1 on their homestand, capping it off with a walk-off win on Sunday.
By Conor Roche
The Red Sox had to win games in four different ways in order to complete their series sweep of the Mariners.
The one thing that was consistent for much of the weekend was Trevor Story. After a poor first month at the plate with the Red Sox, Story has performed much better in May, having a big breakout party this weekend. The second baseman went 6-for-15 at the plate with five of his hits being home runs.
Story began the series with a historic three home run game on Thursday, driving in seven runs in the Red Sox’ 12-6 win. He hit a grand slam that was ultimately the difference in the Red Sox’ 7-3 win on Friday.
After a hitless day on Saturday, Story found his power again on Sunday. After the Mariners tied the game 2-2 in the top half of the sixth, Story gave the Red Sox the lead again in the bottom half of the inning when he belted a solo shot over the Green Monster — where he hit four of his five home runs over the weekend.
Story’s turnaround is indicative of the Red Sox’ overall turnaround at the plate in recent weeks. Boston has scored 79 runs over the last 13 games (6.1 per game), hitting 19 homers in that stretch after hitting just 16 in their first 29 games.
“I think offensively, we’re really good,” Cora said of his team’s turnaround. “We knew it coming into the season. Guys are putting up really good at-bats. The determination is great.”
Story had a chance to add to his heroics on Sunday. With the bases loaded and the score tied 4-4 in the 10th, Story just needed a hit or a sacrifice fly to give Boston the win. His fly ball to right wasn’t hit deep enough, though as Mariners’ right fielder Taylor Trammel caught the ball in shallow right.
Luckily for Story and the Sox, they had other players who stepped up in the clutch this weekend.
2. Franchy Cordero somehow became the Red Sox’ clutch hitter over the weekend. After Story popped out to right, Cordero hit his first homer of the season — a walk-off grand slam — to give the Red Sox an 8-4 win. Not only was it Cordero’s first home run of the season, but it was also Boston’s first walk-off win of the year after being on the opposite end of walk-off wins five times already.
Cordero’s hit on Sunday followed up his clutch hit on Saturday, when he hit a triple in the eighth inning with the game tied, 5-5. Cordero scored on the next at-bat, giving the Red Sox a 6-5 lead, which they held onto to win Saturday’s game after coming back from a 5-0 hole. Cordero is now 3-for-9 in late and close game at-bats this season.
3. Boston received contributions from other unlikely suspects at the plate over the weekend, too. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a three-run home run in his lone at-bat in Friday’s game. The homer extended the Red Sox’ lead to 7-3 in the eighth inning, giving them some solid insurance in the ninth. He also hit a pair of doubles in Sunday’s game, with the second one coming with the game tied in the ninth inning. The Red Sox didn’t take advantage of the opportunity, but Bradley did present one at least.
Christian Vazquez was the other unlikely suspect. The Red Sox’ catcher drove in Cordero for the winning run on Saturday, hitting a long single off the Monster. He pinched-hit for Kevin Plawecki in the 10th inning of Sunday’s game, hitting an opposite-field single to begin the inning. Vazquez went 5-for-12 at the plate over the weekend, lifting his batting average on the season from .225 to .250.
4. Nathan Eovaldi was as sharp as anyone could’ve asked for following his disastrous nine-run start against the Astros on Tuesday. The Red Sox’ starter gave up two runs on four hits, a walk, and a career-high 11 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings on 101 pitches, tying a season-high. The only two runs Eovaldi gave up on Sunday came in the sixth inning when lefty Adam Frazier hit a home run that went just 321 feet along Pesky’s Pole in right field.
The Mariners only had three at-bats with runners in scoring position against Eovaldi on Sunday, who retired the side in order in three of the innings he pitched.
5. The lone pitching problem the Red Sox dealt with on Sunday came from their last two pitchers. Hansel Robles entered the game in the ninth inning with Boston up, 3-2. After getting the first two Mariners hitters out, Robles gave up a home run to Eugenio Suarez, who drilled Robles’s changeup over the middle of the plate well over the Monster. Cora has turned to Robles for save situations in the ninth inning three times in May. Robles has blown the save in two of those opportunities.
Jake Diekman was tabbed for the third straight game on Sunday, entering for Robles in the 10th. He didn’t give up an earned for his 11th straight outing, but he did allow two hits, with one of them scoring the ghost runner from second. He fell into a 3-0 hole against J.P. Crawford and if he threw another ball, it would’ve loaded the bases up. But Diekman threw three straight strikes to end the inning instead.
6. While Robles blew a save on Sunday, the Red Sox had an encouraging outing from their closer in Saturday’s game. Matt Barnes, who was Boston’s closer for much of 2021 until his late-season struggles, retired all three Mariners hitters he faced on Saturday to earn his second save of the season.
Cora said his big reason for turning to Barnes in that situation was the lack of available bullpen arms. Barnes was just happy to get the chance and was satisfied that his fastball was consistently traveling at 95-96 mph speeds, which was typically how fast it was last season.
“Like I’ve told you guys the last few weeks, I think we’ve made some really good strides and we’ve put in a ton of work behind the scenes to get back to what is normal, and really felt like I was making a lot of good strides,” Barnes said. “So to be able to go out there, the offense really stepped up today, coming up big in the bottom of the eighth, Vazky with the base knock to drive in the run, then to have the opportunity to be put in that position. And then obviously to be able to get it done and win a series against a good ball club over there, so that one felt really good.”
Barnes’s performance on Saturday was just the final strong outing from several Red Sox relievers on the day. Boston’s bullpen didn’t allow a single run over six innings pitched and it allowed just five runs (four earned) over the weekend.
7. Garrett Whitlock’s struggles as a starter reached a low earlier in Saturday’s game. He gave up four runs in Saturday’s first inning and allowed five total on the day on 10 hits, no walks, and three strikeouts over three innings pitched. He also only got Mariners hitters to whiff at five of the 71 pitches he threw.
“Yeah, I sucked,” Whitlock simply said of his start.
In six starts, Whitlock’s allowed 12 earned runs on 24 hits, eight walks, and 29 strikeouts over 23 innings, giving him a 4.70 ERA as a starter.
8. J.D. Martinez was a late scratch for Sunday’s game, but it doesn’t appear that his injury is serious.
“He’s doing OK” Cora said. “Just a tight back so give him today [off], give him tomorrow [off], and let’s see where he’s at on Tuesday.”
9. Sunday’s win extended the Red Sox’ winning streak to a season-best five games. It also gave them their first series sweep of the year and they closed out their seven-game homestand with a 6-1 record.
Two weeks ago, the team looked dead in the water after getting swept at home over Mother’s Day weekend by the White Sox, falling to 10-19 on the year after that series. They improved to 18-22 on the season and while they were 11.5 games back of the AL East-leading Yankees entering Sunday, they’re only three games back of the Blue Jays for the final wild-card spot. As Memorial Day nears, the Red Sox are starting to look alive and well.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2022 15:02:26 GMT -5
jcmccaffrey Jen McCaffrey @jcmccaffrey 20m Trevor Story named AL Player of the Week after going 9-for-25 (.360) with six homers, 14 RBIs and 10 runs scored last week. He also had five walks, two stolen bases and a 1.120 slugging percentage over seven games.
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