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Boston Faces KC After Impressive Work vs A’s

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox look to go into the All-Star break on a high note as they begin a three-game home series against the Kansas City Royals on Friday.

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A 7-0 win over Oakland on Thursday moved the Red Sox back to 10 games above the .500 mark, was their eighth win in their last 10 games, and secured their third straight series victory.

Connor Wong, Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida all socked home runs to highlight the team’s 10-hit attack — and 13th three-homer game of the season — while All-Star righty Tanner Houck threw six shutout, two-hit innings to post his eighth win.

Manager Alex Cora’s club will look to continue their winning ways for one more series before next week’s All-Star Game festivities in Arlington, Texas.

“I think what we need to do is to keep winning,” Cora said. “Obviously there’s a lot of conversation about a lot of stuff, but the main goal here is to keep winning and we’ve done a pretty good job the last month and a half accomplishing that, and we’re going to continue.”

Winning will be especially crucial this weekend against a Kansas City team that sits just a game back of the third and final wild-card spot in the American League postseason race. That spot is currently occupied by the Red Sox.

Yoshida has been on a 14-game tear to help Boston’s surge, hitting .346 with a .928 OPS and 12 RBIs in that span. He was 3-for-4 with four RBIs on Thursday.

“Great teammates, great supporting staff, everybody in the clubhouse working together for the win,” Yoshida said through an interpreter. “I’m really glad to be a part of that. … I knew from the beginning that we had something going on with this team.”

Boston has not announced a starting pitcher for Friday.

All-Star left-hander Cole Ragans (5-6, 3.28 ERA) is due to make the series-opening start for Kansas City, pitching for his first win since June 24 at Miami. He is one of three Royals arms who ranked in the top 15 in American League ERAs as of Wednesday.

The 26-year-old has matched his season high of seven innings pitched last Friday at Colorado, striking out eight and allowing just two runs on five hits in a no-decision.

Ragans will look to keep the Royals hot after they swept a Wednesday doubleheader in St. Louis, giving them a three-game win streak entering this weekend.

Eight players registered at least one RBI between the two games Wednesday. Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez and MJ Melendez drove in at least one in each game, with Perez homering in each contest. Especially key was the outfield, which combined for six runs scored and six RBIs in the sweep.

“It is outfield production, but there are nine guys in the lineup,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We don’t care what position they play, but right now, those guys are producing.”

When Ragans’ start in Boston is over, he will turn his attention to an All-Star Game in the stadium where he made his MLB debut for the Rangers in 2022.

“It’s cool that I have a lot of memories on that mound — my first Opening Day, my first big league start, my first big league win,” Ragans said of Globe Life Field. “It’s pretty cool. Of all places for my first (All-Star Game) to be, it just happens to be back (where) I stepped on a big league mound for the first time. It’s full circle.”

Prior to Wednesday’s sweep, Kansas City had been 5-14 in its last 19 road games.

A’s Even the Series vs Sox

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Red Sox: Big Games in July

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Oakland Athletics take aim at their second straight win and look to claim a series win versus the host Boston Red Sox in the rubber match of their three-game set tonight.

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Oakland, which is 5-3 in its last eight games, snapped a two-game skid Wednesday with a 5-2 win over Boston. Lawrence Butler ripped a two-run double, Max Schuemann also had two hits and left-hander JP Sears pitched scoreless ball over the first five innings.

Butler has recorded multiple RBIs in consecutive games for the first time in his career.

“It builds confidence, for sure,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “Those two balls he hit (on Wednesday) were missiles, and a huge momentum swing in the game.”

The A’s had lost their previous four games against the Red Sox and last four at Fenway Park.

Looking to make the streak a positive one, Oakland’s Luis Medina (2-3, 4.37 ERA) is set to make his eighth start since being reinstated from the 60-day injured list in early June.

The Oakland Athletics take aim at their second straight win and look to claim a series win versus the host Boston Red Sox in the rubber match of their three-game set on Thursday.

Oakland, which is 5-3 in its last eight games, snapped a two-game skid Wednesday with a 5-2 win over Boston. Lawrence Butler ripped a two-run double, Max Schuemann also had two hits and left-hander JP Sears pitched scoreless ball over the first five innings.

Medina posted his second win on Saturday against another American League East foe in Baltimore, dealing five innings of one-run ball in an eventual 19-8 victory. It marked his third outing in the last four allowing just a single run, despite working through a bases-loaded jam in the third inning.

“Good thing that (catcher Shea Langeliers) and I got on the same plan together,” Medina said through interpreter Ramon Hernandez. “I was executing the pitches to get out of that inning, especially with a team like that.”

The right-hander won his only career start against the Red Sox, throwing 5 2/3 shutout innings on July 18, 2023.

The Red Sox have gone 2-2 in their last four games after a five-game win streak. Rob Refsnyder homered and Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran each had multiple hits on Wednesday.

Refsnyder’s long ball in the sixth inning snapped a personal 0-for-12 streak. Wednesday marked the fifth straight game with a homer for a Boston batter.

Overall, though, it wasn’t enough.

“We didn’t do much,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We’ve just got to keep working. … You’ve just got to stay the course.”

Cora’s club is still 7-2 in its last nine games overall.

After allowing 11 runs (eight earned) to San Diego and the New York Yankees over his last two starts, Red Sox righty Tanner Houck (7-6, 2.68) will look to duplicate his first career start against Oakland from earlier this season.

On April 1, Houck struck out 10 Athletics across six innings of shutout, three-hit baseball.

Houck will join fellow homegrown players Rafael Devers (who will sit out to rest an ailing shoulder) and Duran at Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game, but first he must move past lasting just 3 1/3 innings in a no-decision last Friday at Yankee Stadium.

However, the overall body of work for Houck — allowing two earned runs or fewer in 13 of his 18 starts — has put him in the conversation as one of baseball’s best.

“Lot of days of hard work, a lot of hours of having great conversations with people,” Houck said. “It all boils down to having an incredible coaching staff and teammates that stand by you every day and want you to get better and push you to get better. I’m … just trying to soak it all in.”

–Field Level Media

Hot Fenway, Hot Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox will look to keep swinging hot bats when they continue a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics tonight.

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In a 12-9 win Tuesday in the series opener, Boston finished with 13 hits and scored 11 runs over the first two innings. The 12-run outburst was punctuated by back-to-back home runs by Wilyer Abreu and Dominic Smith in an eight-run second inning.

Boston has won seven of its last eight games.

“We talked about being greedy a few weeks ago. We saw a window, but I think the window is getting bigger. It’s actually a door, and we can actually accomplish this,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We’re gonna keep looking up there and keep playing good baseball, and let’s see where it takes us.”

It was a busy day up and down the Red Sox lineup, supporting a career-high 11-strikeout effort from Brayan Bello.

Ceddanne Rafaela tripled during a multiple-hit night, extending his rookie-leading RBI total to 51.

“I don’t see any reasons to feel pressured at all,” Rafaela said last weekend.

Red Sox right-hander Nick Pivetta (4-5, 4.06 ERA) will look to continue his career success against Oakland on Wednesday.

After throwing five shutout innings in a 1-0 April 3 win at Oakland, Pivetta is 6-0 with a 0.71 ERA over six appearances (four starts) in the head-to-head series. He has struck out 44 in 38 career innings.

Pivetta is coming off a masterful outing last Thursday at Miami, striking out 10 over seven innings of one-hit ball. He did not factor into the decision in a 6-5 win in 12 innings by Boston.

The Independence Day start was Pivetta’s second double-digit strikeout performance of the season and curbed a stretch of back-to-back games in which he failed to work five innings.

Cora said that “pounding the strike zone” was the key to that start for Pivetta, who lost a no-hit bid two outs into his final frame.

The Athletics had won four of five to begin July before taking their second straight loss in the series opener. Oakland, however, recorded a 13-hit effort on Tuesday that included three-run homers by Lawrence Butler and Zack Gelof.

Butler has homered three times in his last seven games after starting the season with just two home runs before that span.

“He got to the point where the focus wasn’t just on hitting the ball where it’s pitched, more of just trying to do damage,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said last week. “That’s what we’re working on. He is a complete hitter, using the other side of the field like he did in spring training. You see the results, and that’s the potential.”

Drawing the Wednesday start for Oakland is left-hander JP Sears (5-7, 4.74 ERA), who is coming off dealing five shutout innings in a 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday. It marked his first win since May 25 and gives him a career-high-tying five victories this season.

“It’s contagious; you just want to do what the guy did before you,” Sears said of his last effort, which helped Oakland sweep the Angels.

Sears did not record a decision in his lone career encounter against the Red Sox. He allowed one run on two hits in five innings on July 9, 2023.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox, Devers Take it to the Yankees

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BRONX (New York) – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Rafael Devers hit a tiebreaking home run with one out in the seventh inning and went deep again in the ninth as the surging Boston Red Sox recorded a 3-0 victory over the host New York Yankees on Sunday night.

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Boston won for the sixth time in seven games and improved to 16-6 in its past 22 games. The Red Sox also beat the Yankees for the 12th time in the past 17 head-to-head meetings and sent New York to its 15th loss in 20 games overall.

Devers added to his resume against the Yankees when he belted a 2-2 fastball from New York starter Luis Gil (9-5) into the left-center-field seats to put Boston up 1-0 in the seventh. Devers was named to the American League All-Star team along with outfielder Jarren Duran and right-hander Tanner Houck earlier Sunday.

Devers connected again in the ninth, hammering an 0-1 fastball from Michael Tonkin into the New York bullpen.

Devers hit three homers in the series. He has 16 career home runs at Yankee Stadium and has smacked 28 overall against the Yankees.

It was the second multi-homer game of the season for Devers, and the 18th of his career.

Boston starter Kutter Crawford (5-7) allowed four hits in seven innings while throwing 54 of his 68 pitches for strikes. Crawford struck out four, walked none and frequently got ahead of New York hitters.

Gil, a rookie, allowed one run on four hits in 6 2/3 innings and lost his fourth straight start. He struck out nine and did not issue a walk for the first time in his career.

New York was unable to win consecutive games for the first time since winning four straight from June 9-12. The Yankees also were blanked for the sixth time this season.

New York’s Ben Rice struck out twice and went 0-for-4 after becoming the first rookie in team history to hit three homers in a game during Saturday’s 14-4 victory.

Rookie Ceddanne Rafaela also went deep for the Red Sox, smacking a solo shot in the eighth.

Reliever Justin Slaten stranded a runner in the home half of the eighth when Devers made a bare-handed play on a slow grounder by DJ LeMahieu to end the inning. Kenley Jansen pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 18th save of the year.

–Field Level Media

Rookie Rice Packs Punch v. Sox

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BRONX (New York) – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The New York Yankees were hoping for improved production from the leadoff spot when rookie Ben Rice was moved up on Thursday.

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A three-homer game probably wasn’t anticipated, but after Rice accomplished that feat on Saturday, the Yankees are in position to win their first series in over three weeks and hope to get rolling again when they face the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night in the Yankees’ final home game before the All-Star break.

After Rice homered three times in New York’s 14-4 rout on Saturday, New York is seeking consecutive victories for the first time since winning the first three games of a four-game series at Kansas City on June 10-13.

“Hopefully, it’s something that is a jump-start (for) us because it’s obviously not easy for us right now,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

Rice was moved up to the leadoff spot to replace a struggling Anthony Volpe when the Yankees took an 8-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday. He hit his first career homer in that game and drove in seven runs on Saturday.

Rice was 1-for-9 in his first two games at the top of New York’s order before helping the Yankees win Saturday for just the fifth time in their past 19 games. He hit a leadoff homer, capped a seven-run fifth inning with a three-run homer, and added another three-run homer in the seventh to become the first Yankee rookie with three homers in one game.

Red Sox Face Yankees in Big Series

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BRONX, (New York) – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Three weeks ago, the New York Yankees rolled into Boston as the best team in baseball, cruised to an easy win and became the first club with 50 wins this year.

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Since then, the Yankees have fallen into a deep slump and have lost their lead in the American League East. But they hope to return to their previous form when they host the Red Sox in the opener of a three-game series tonight.

The Yankees were 50-22 and held a 3 1/2-game lead on the Baltimore Orioles atop the AL East after beating the Red Sox 8-1 in a June 14 contest highlighted by Alex Verdugo’s return to Boston.

New York was outscored 17-7 in the last two games of the series, and those contests started their current 4-13 slide.

Heading into 12 straight games against division opponents bridging the All-Star break, the Yankees are coming off getting swept at home by the Cincinnati Reds. The Yankees never led in the three-game series, dropping the finale 8-4 on Thursday.

New York finished with seven hits, three from Verdugo. Juan Soto hit a two-run homer, and Austin Wells and rookie Ben Rice hit solo homers.

“Just not really clicking the way we were to start the season, just not going our way,” Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said. “It’s baseball. It’s a long season. You’re going to have a tough spell here and there.”

The Red Sox were a .500 team following the opener of the last series against the Yankees but are 12-4 since.

Boston has scored 87 runs (5.4 per game) in that span. The Red Sox extended their winning streak to four games when Tyler O’Neill capped a three-hit showing by getting a clutch double in the 12th inning of a 6-5 win over the host Miami Marlins on Thursday.

“It was a grinder but a good one,” manager Alex Cora said after the Red Sox survived going 4-for-18 with runners in scoring position. “It’s not that we played sloppy; they just played hard, too. I’m just glad we ended up winning the game, and we have to be ready for (Friday).”

Rafael Devers drove in two runs without getting a hit and is batting .378 (14-for-37) over his past 10 games. He also has 19 of his 51 RBIs in the past 16 games and is one hit shy of 1,000 for his career.

Nestor Cortes (4-7, 3.51 ERA) will start the series opener for the Yankees. The left-hander is 4-3 with a 1.84 ERA in nine home starts this season, 0-4 with a 5.63 ERA in his nine road starts.

Cortes is coming off his second set of consecutive losses this season. He allowed three runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings on Saturday in Toronto. He last pitched at home on June 23 against the Atlanta Braves, when he permitted three runs in seven innings.

Cortes has not faced the Red Sox this year. He is 2-0 with a 5.59 ERA in 10 career appearances (four starts) against them.

Tanner Houck (7-6, 2.67 ERA) will get the ball for Boston on Friday. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 5.94 ERA in his past three outings after earning four consecutive wins. Houck was shelled for eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings during an 11-1 loss to the visiting San Diego Padres on Saturday.

Houck, who is set for his first outing against the Yankees this year, is 3-2 with a 2.06 ERA in 12 career appearances (seven starts) vs. New York.

–Field Level Media

Masataka Yoshida Heating Up In Miami

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MIAMI – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Three weeks since returning from injury, Boston Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida is starting to get back into a groove.

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Yoshida is 5-for-9 with three RBIs through the first two games of Boston’s series against the Miami Marlins. On Wednesday, his groundout drove in the eventual winning run in a 7-2 victory.

Boston eyes the sweep in the finale today, on a 4th of July soiree.

“Overall, I’ve been able to see the ball well and identify (location) and swing at pitches I can hit,” Yoshida said via a translator. “Obviously take one game at a time. I want to be part of a team that keeps winning. It’s all about keeping it simple. If it’s an outside pitch, go the opposite way, just stay with it. That’s the approach.”

The 30-year-old is 11-for-25 since June 24, which has boosted his OPS from .617 to .691. Though he’s hit only seven home runs since the 2023 All-Star break, the Red Sox are pleased with the progress.

“We like the hitter; we like the at-bat,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “I think people get caught up in the (slugging percentage) and not hitting the ball in the air. But this guy is a quote-unquote professional hitter, right? We know that he can hit. I think he’s getting his rhythm back and that’s very important.”

Boston has received quality starts in the first two games of the series and will be hoping for more when righty Nick Pivetta (4-5, 4.52 ERA) takes to the mound Thursday. Pivetta is 2-5 with a 5.23 ERA in 13 career appearances (nine starts) against the Marlins.

The Marlins, meanwhile, will be looking to snap a three-game slide in which they’ve been outscored 22-11. They’ve allowed 434 runs, third most in the majors. Only the Colorado Rockies (506) and Chicago White Sox (438) have given up more.

Jesus Sanchez has been Miami’s most effective hitter through the two games, going 4-for-8 while driving in two of the team’s five runs.

After turning to the bullpen only twice in the series opener, the Marlins used five relievers on Wednesday after starter Trevor Rogers went only three innings. Despite a short effort, manager Skip Schumaker wasn’t putting the loss on Rogers.

“I actually thought it was maybe his best stuff of the year,” Schumaker said. “Unfortunately, the line definitely doesn’t show that. But there’s a lot to like about what’s been going on with Trevor the last few weeks.”

Miami will turn to righty Kyle Tyler (0-1, 3.38 ERA) as they try to salvage the series finale. With an injury-depleted rotation, Tyler, who will be facing the Red Sox for the first time in his career, moved into a starting role late last month. He’s tossed 146 pitches over 8 2/3 innings in two outings as a starter, allowing three runs on seven hits, walking five and striking out six.

Tyler knows he needs to tighten up on the mound.

“Just being more efficient, limiting the long at-bats,” he said last weekend. “If I can limit that, it’ll give me a much better opportunity to go deeper.”

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Bring The Heat in Miami

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MIAMI – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox’s bats are bringing the heat.

The Red Sox are 12-5 since June 12, and they have at least seven runs in nine of those wins. The latest instance came in an 8-3 victory against the host Miami Marlins on Tuesday, and Boston will look to keep it going in the middle contest of the three-game set this evening.

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Every Boston batter connected for at least one hit in Tuesday’s win. The Red Sox got a three-run homer from Ceddanne Rafaela in the fourth inning and a solo shot from Jarren Duran in the eighth.

Duran’s homer was his 10th of the season and fifth in the past 10 games. With that and a stolen base in the game, he became the first American League player ever with 10 home runs, 10 triples, 20 stolen bases and 100 hits before the All-Star break.

“He’s a very dangerous hitter right now,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.

That applies to several of Duran’s teammates, too. While Connor Wong went only 1-for-5 in the series opener Tuesday, the lone hit brought in a run and extended the catcher’s hitting streak to a career-high 16 games. It is the longest active streak in the majors.

Masataka Yoshida went 3-for-5 with an RBI and has hit safely in five of his past six games.

Rafaela is batting .354 with an .859 on-base-plus-slugging percentage over his past 21 games. It’s a welcome turnaround after he was hitting .202 with a .597 OPS through June 5, and he credits the coaching staff for getting him on track.

“They’re my guys and they’re helping me out,” he told NESN. “They’re telling me what they’re seeing, and I trust them.”

After a solid outing from Kutter Crawford in the opening contest, the Red Sox will turn to Brayan Bello (7-5, 5.55 ERA) on Wednesday. The 25-year-old right-hander has faced Miami once in his career, when he allowed one run on two hits with five strikeouts and one walk in seven innings on June 29, 2023.

Unlike the Red Sox, offense has been much harder to come by for the Marlins, who have 296 runs, the second-lowest total in the majors, this season.

Struggles at the plate factored into Miami designating veteran Tim Anderson for assignment and calling up rookie shortstop Xavier Edwards from Triple-A Jacksonville ahead of Tuesday’s game. Anderson, the Marlins’ only major league free agent acquisition in the offseason, hit .214 with a .226 slugging percentage in 65 games this year.

Edwards, meanwhile, was batting .330 and slugging .450 in the minors this year. In 30 games at the major league level a year ago, he hit .295.

He got the start on Tuesday and went 1-for-4 with a run, giving him a .231 big-league average (3-for-13) in four games this year.

“Get on base, set the table whatever spot I’m in the lineup, a lot of contact, stealing bases and playing solid defense,” he said of his game plan. “Just making the plays. I think I bring in some energy. I don’t speak a whole lot, but I think through my play, I can bring some energy to the team. Hopefully that’ll start something.”

Trevor Rogers (1-8, 4.87 ERA) will be on the mound as Miami aims to level the series. The 26-year-old left-hander has gone at least six innings in each of his past three starts and in four of his past five. He is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in two career starts against the Red Sox.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Cash Out as Tatum Cashes In

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics and All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum are finalizing a five-year supermax extension worth $314 million, which would be the largest deal in NBA history, according to multiple media reports on Monday.

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The deal comes after Tatum helped guide the Celtics to the NBA title this summer, the 18th in franchise history. The report also coincides with the announcement the franchise will be placed up for sale in the near future.

Tatum, 26, averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game in 74 regular-season starts before adding 25.0 points, 9.7 boards and 6.3 assists per game in Boston’s 19-game romp through the playoffs.

Tatum was an All-NBA first-team selection for the third straight year and has been named to five All-Star Games. He has spent his entire seven-year NBA career in Boston and has career averages of 23.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest over 513 games.

The Celtics also locked up starting guard Derrick White to a $126 million contract extension earlier Monday.

–Field Level Media

The Boston Celtics | For Sale

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report with Team News Release) – Investors with deep pockets willing to purchase a champion can line up for bidding on the 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics.

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The franchise is available for purchase, according to a team issued news release.  The imminent sale comes on the heels of a record 18th NBA title secured last month, as the league’s most storied franchise defeated the Dallas Mavericks in a five-game NBA Finals.

No purchase price was reported. Earlier this year, Forbes estimated the franchise’s value at $4.7 billion.

The potential sale comes at a time when the Celtics could approach a record payroll — and payroll tax to the NBA — with All-Star and MVP candidate Jayson Tatum discussing a contract that would make him the league’s highest-paid player.

Boston Basketball Partners was formed in 2002 and it completed the purchase of the Celtics on New Year’s Eve of that year from previous owner Paul Gaston for $360 million. Reports at the time indicated the actual sale price was $310 million since $50 million of debt was not assumed by the new ownership group.