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Devers Hits – Baseball and Breslow

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Before he went way off script to question the Red Sox organization and team General Manager Craig Breslow, current designated hitter Rafael Devers had two hits, including a home run, and the Boston Red Sox used four pitchers to earn a 5-0 victory over the visiting Texas Rangers on Thursday.

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Devers made it a five-run lead when he hit a solo home run against reliever Jacob Latz in the seventh inning. It was his sixth home run of the season. Devers also had an RBI single in the fifth.

“In spring training, they talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove, that I wasn’t going to play any other position but DH, so right now, I just feel like it’s not an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position,” said Devers to reporters through an interpreter (Spanish-English).

“I don’t feel that they stayed true to their word,” he said. “They told me that I was going to be playing this position, DH, and now they’re going back on that. So I just don’t think they stayed true to their word,” said Devers. “They’ve told me I’m a little hard-headed. [But] they already asked me to change once, and this time, I don’t think I can be as flexible.”

Back to the ballgame, Ceddanne Rafaela also had two hits for the Red Sox, who had six total hits, while winning consecutive games for the first time this month.

Boston starter Brayan Bello pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings but struggled with his control. He held Texas to four hits and struck out one with five walks.

Justin Slaten (1-3) took over for Bello in the fifth inning and did not allow a run over 1 1/3 hitless innings. Garrett Whitlock pitched the seventh and Liam Hendriks was on the mound for the final two innings, recording two strikeouts.

No. 9 hitter Tucker Barnhart had three hits for Texas, which was limited to five singles in the loss. Wyatt Langford and Josh Smith also had hits for the Rangers.

Texas received 5 1/3 innings from starting pitcher Jack Leiter (2-2), who allowed three runs on three hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

The Red Sox scored two runs in the second, one in the fifth, one in the sixth and one in the seventh.

Trevor Story handed Boston a 1-0 lead when he scored on a Leiter wild pitch in the first inning. The Red Sox doubled their lead later in the inning on a Jarren Duran groundout that allowed Carlos Narvaez to score.

It remained 2-0 until the fifth, when Rafaela scored on a Devers single to center. A Narvaez single drove in Story to make it 4-0 in the sixth before Devers’ home run in the seventh.

–Field Level Media

Twins Narrowly Defeat Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Minnesota’s Byron Buxton homered and Twin Cities’ DH Ryan Jeffers added two hits and two RBIs to help the visiting Twins defeat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 on Sunday. Buxton hit his seventh home run of the season on the game’s first pitch, and Jeffers had a two-run single with two outs in the seventh that erased a 3-1 deficit.

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It remained 3-3 until Harrison Bader doubled against Justin Slaten (0-3) in the eighth inning. Carlos Correa scored on the play to give the Twins a 4-3 lead. Trevor Larnach followed with a single that drove in Bader to make it 5-3.

Boston’s Wilyer Abreu collected three hits, including a solo home run in the eighth inning that cut Minnesota’s lead to 5-4, but Jhoan Duran pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve the one-run lead and earn his fourth save.

Louis Varland got the win (2-3) for pitching one inning of scoreless relief. The victory gave Minnesota two wins in the three-game series.

Boston starter Garrett Crochet exited the mound after five innings (89 pitches). He gave up a run on four hits, walked two and struck out six.

Minnesota’s Chris Paddack also pitched the first five innings. He allowed three runs on five hits, walked two and recorded two strikeouts.

Carlos Narvaez gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second when his single drove in Abreu and Romy Gonzalez, both of whom singled earlier in the inning.

The Red Sox extended their lead to 3-1 in the third. Alex Bregman led off the inning with a walk, moved to third on Abreu’s single and scored on Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly.

The Twins tied the game in the seventh against reliever Garrett Whitlock. Jeffers’ two-run single drove in Bader and Christian Vazquez.

Correa had two hits in the victory. Boston received two hits from Ceddanne Rafaela.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Rally vs Twins

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Rafael Devers hit a key two-run single in the seventh inning as the Boston Red Sox rallied for five late runs to beat the visiting Minnesota Twins 6-1 in the opener of a three-game series Friday night.

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Boston’s Alex Bregman (2-for-4) and Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers hit solo homers in the early innings and the game remained a 1-1 stalemate until Devers (3-for-5) knocked the deciding hit past the dive of Twins second baseman Edouard Julien in the hole.

Also for the Red Sox, David Hamilton went 3-for-4, driving in a run and scoring two more after his final two at-bats.

Justin Wilson (1-0) earned the win in relief of starter Brayan Bello, who struck out five and allowed one run and four hits in 6 2/3 innings. Greg Weissert and Liam Hendriks preserved the score with scoreless innings thereafter.

Boston first baseman Triston Casas was stretchered off the field with an apparent serious leg injury after an awkward landing on the first base bag in the second inning. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said afterward that Cases sustained a “significant knee injury” and was at the hospital.

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With Louie Varland (1-3) relieving Minnesota starter Joe Ryan following six innings of four-hit ball with one run allowed and eight strikeouts, Connor Wong and Hamilton knocked back-to-back singles to start Boston’s seventh. After Ceddanne Rafaela’s sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, Devers delivered the key hit.

Boston added on with three runs on five hits in the eighth. Trevor Story snuck a leadoff single up the middle and stole second before scoring on Romy Gonzalez’s double off the right-field wall.

Gonzalez followed with a theft of third and scored on Hamilton’s Green Monster-banging double. Jarren Duran knocked another RBI hit through the right side two batters later.

Bregman staked the Red Sox to a 1-0 lead when he socked a two-out homer out to center in the first, but the game quickly settled into a pitching duel from there, as Ryan did not allow another hit until the fifth.

Minnesota’s lone breakthrough against Bello was a Jeffers line-drive homer to lead off the third. The Boston righty induced a double play off the bat of Brooks Lee to erase a Byron Buxton single in the first and — similarly to his counterpart — allowed just one other hit besides the homer before the sixth.

The pitching duel continued well into the middle innings, with Boston squandering a two-on chance in the sixth. Devers hit a leadoff single before reaching third on Story’s two-out knock, but Ryan struck out Gonzalez to end the threat.

Crochet to Dish in Toronto

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TORONTO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet aims to improve on his last start when he faces the host Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series.

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The left-hander allowed four runs, five hits and a career-high five walks in five innings on Thursday in a 4-3 home loss to the Seattle Mariners.

Crochet took responsibility for the loss after the Mariners touched him for two runs in each of the first two innings.

“The game was the first two innings that I pitched,” he said. “That was really what lost us the game.”

The Blue Jays can look forward to Crochet reverting to a power pitcher from the beginning on Tuesday. He was trying to be a little too fine in the early innings against the Mariners.

“It became something where I was trying to pitch instead of just throwing,” he said after the start. “Once I started getting back to my roots and just being a power pitcher later in the game, the walks were still there, but I was at least able to get guys out.”

This will be the second time this season that Crochet (2-2, 1.95 ERA) will face the Blue Jays. He took his first loss of the season against them at Fenway Park on April 8 when he allowed four runs (one earned), five hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings. In four career outings (two starts) against Toronto, he is 2-1 with a 0.66 ERA in 13 2/3 innings.

He is expected to be opposed by right-hander Bowden Francis (2-3, 3.58) on Tuesday. Francis has not faced the Red Sox this season, but he has had success against them. He is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings over in five career games (two starts) against Boston.

The Red Sox are coming off a 13-3 road victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday. Kristian Campbell was 2-for-2 with four runs, a double, three walks, two RBIs and a stolen base in what manager Alex Cora described as “all-around probably one of his best, if not the best, game of the season.”

Campbell helped Boston take two of three from Cleveland.

The Blue Jays are returning from a 1-5 road trip after being swept 11-2 and 5-1 in a doubleheader by the New York Yankees on Sunday.

Toronto won the opener of the series 4-2 on Friday followed by a postponement on Saturday.

The Blue Jays’ lack of hitting with runners in scoring position was again a problem, going 2-for-17 over the doubleheader. They scored seven runs over the three games at New York. Before that, they totaled two runs and nine hits when they were swept in a three-game series against the Houston Astros.

Manager John Schneider knows what the Blue Jays must do better when they open their six-game homestand.

“Better at-bats with guys on base and taking advantage of mistakes,” Schneider said. “Things that we talk about all the time. … We know that we have the guys in there that can do it.”

Blue Jays center fielder Daulton Varsho is expected to return soon from his minor league rehabilitation assignment. He started the season on the injured list after offseason right rotator cuff surgery.

Toronto recalled outfielder Jonatan Clase to be their 27th player for the doubleheader on Sunday and he was returned to return to Triple-A Buffalo later the same day.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox & Guardians: Let’s Play Two?

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CLEVELAND – Following a successful series against the leaders of the American League East, the Cleveland Guardians will take aim at the other storied franchise in that division. After rain postponed their series opener on Friday, the Guardians and visiting Boston Red Sox will play a split doubleheader today.

Cleveland extended its winning streak to five games by winning the first two contests of its series against the New York Yankees before falling 5-1 on Wednesday.

“Obviously, we want to win every single day,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.

Cleveland is 11-4 after losing six of its first nine games of the season. The Guardians have won seven of the last nine meetings against the Red Sox.

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However, Boston’s scheduled Game 1 starter, right-hander Tanner Houck (0-2, 7.66 ERA), is 1-2 with a 2.37 ERA in nine career appearances (four starts) versus Cleveland.

Guardians star Jose Ramirez is 14-for-30 with five homers and 11 RBIs in his last seven home games against Boston. He is 2-for-13 against Houck, but one of those hits left the park.

After being roughed up for 12 runs (11 earned) and 10 hits over 2 1/3 innings at Tampa Bay on April 14, Houck yielded only a two-run homer in the first inning, two other hits with two walks and seven strikeouts over six frames of Boston’s 8-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.

“Slowly just working your way through it and showing up each and every day with a good attitude, chipping away at it, is kind of the recipe for success,” Houck said.

The veteran will try to help Boston get back on track from dropping the final two contests of a three-game home set versus Seattle. Alex Bregman homered with two RBIs and had half of the team’s four hits in Thursday’s 4-3 loss.

Bregman is 7-for-14 with five RBIs in the last four games. He is batting .320 this season.

“He’s in a good spot. A great start,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.

In the nightcap on Saturday, the Red Sox will turn to Walker Buehler (3-1, 4.23 ERA), who allowed nine runs and 14 hits — including three homers — over 9 1/3 innings while splitting his first two starts as a member of the Red Sox. But he’s 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA in three starts since that rough opening.

The right-hander gave up three walks for a second straight start Monday against the Chicago White Sox on Patriots’ Day, but he permitted only four hits and a run while striking out nine in a season-high seven innings of a 4-2 victory.

Buehler has never faced the Guardians, who will start Ben Lively (1-2, 3.86 ERA) in Game 1. The right-hander yielded four hits and a walk through 5 1/3 innings of last Saturday’s 3-0 victory at Pittsburgh.

“That was Ben at his best,” Vogt said.

Lively usually has been at his best versus Boston, going 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in four career starts.

Boston star Rafael Devers is 0-for-15 over the last five games overall and 0-for-5 with two strikeouts versus Lively.

Touted prospect Doug Nikhazy is slated to make his major league debut while starting Game 2 for Cleveland. A second-round pick in 2021, the left-hander was 1-0 with a 3.44 ERA and fanned 22 in four 2025 starts for Triple-A Columbus.

 

Red Sox Head to Cleveland

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CLEVELAND – (Staff and Wire Service Report0 – Following a successful series against the leaders of the American League East, the Cleveland Guardians take aim at the other storied franchise in that division.

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Yet to lose a series at home, the Guardians open a three-game set Friday night against the visiting Boston Red Sox, who look to avoid their third straight defeat.

Despite losing 5-1 to the first-place New York Yankees on Wednesday, Cleveland took two of three in the home set, and sit 7-2 at home.

“Obviously, we want to win every single day,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.

Cleveland had won five straight prior to Wednesday, and is 11-4 after losing six of its first nine contests. The Guardians have won seven of their last nine against the Red Sox.

However, scheduled Boston starter Tanner Houck (0-2, 7.66 ERA) has a 1.78 ERA while going 1-1 in four career starts versus Cleveland. The right-hander allowed two runs and eight hits over 15 innings of his two starts against the Guardians in 2024. Overall, Houck is 1-2 with a 2.37 ERA in nine appearances, four starts, against Cleveland.

Cleveland’s Steven Kwan, batting .364 in the last 13 games, is 2-for-7 with a pair of walks versus Hauck. Fellow Guardians star Jose Ramirez, 14-for-30 with five homers and 11 RBIs in his last seven home games versus Boston, is only 2-for-13 all-time against Houck, but one of those hits left the park.

Entering this contest, Houck looks to post back-to-back strong starts for the first time in 2025. After being roughed up for 12 runs — 11 earned — and 10 hits over 2 1/3 innings at Tampa Bay on April 14, Houck yielded only a first-inning, two-run homer to Matt Thaiss, two other hits with two walks and struck out seven over six innings of Boston’s 8-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.

“I’ve been scuffling, even in spring training, with delivery stuff and just getting back on track, (but) slowly just working your way through it and showing up each and every day with a good attitude, chipping away at it, is kind of the recipe for success,” Houck said.

The veteran will try to help Boston get back on track after it dropped the final two of a three-game home set versus Seattle after winning six of seven. Alex Bregman homered, drove in a pair and produced half of the Red Sox’s four hits in Thursday’s 4-3 loss to the Mariners.

Bregman is 7-for-14 with five RBIs in the last four games, and batting .320 on the season.

Mariners Score Early, Sinks Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Seattle Mariners scored twice in the first two innings and held on to post their second straight win, beating the host Boston Red Sox 4-3 on Thursday afternoon.

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Mitch Garver socked a two-RBI double while Leo Rivas and J.P. Crawford had two hits apiece for the Mariners, supporting a six-inning effort from starter Bryan Woo (3-1). The right-hander struck out eight while allowing just two runs, three hits and one walk.

Alex Bregman went 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs for Boston, which managed just one hit off four Seattle relievers and struck out a total of 12 times. Andres Munoz recorded his ninth save, working around a two-out walk to Triston Casas to strike out two in the ninth.

Boston ace Garrett Crochet (2-2) struck out nine over five innings but was charged with four runs on five hits and issued a career-high five walks. The left-hander threw 110 pitches.

The Mariners scored in the first inning for the fourth straight game as Garver knocked a two-out, two-run double to deep center that Boston’s Kristian Campbell misplayed off the Green Monster.

Bregman got the home team’s offense going with a solo homer out to left-center, making it a 2-1 game after the bottom of the first frame.

Seattle continued to threaten against Crochet in the second, loading the bases on a walk to Rivas sandwiched between hits by Ben Williamson and Crawford — the trio that combined for seven hits in an 8-5 Wednesday win. The next two batters brought home runs, as Dylan Moore hit a sacrifice fly and Julio Rodriguez registered an RBI groundout.

The Red Sox got a run closer when Jarren Duran hit a one-out double and scored on Bregman’s line-drive single into the left-field corner in the third. Woo then struck out two in a 1-2-3 fourth and did not allow a hit across his final three innings.

Crochet did not allow a run after the second, but he labored while stranding multiple runners in the fourth and fifth. Boston relievers Greg Weissert and Liam Hendriks worked around traffic in their innings, with Hendriks striking out Crawford to escape the seventh frame when he walked three — two after inducing a double play — and allowed a hit to Rivas.

After Bregman’s second RBI, the Red Sox were hitless until Carlos Narvaez led off the eighth with a solo homer out past the right-field foul pole — the first run allowed by Mariners reliever Gabe Speier all season.

Trent Thornton followed Speier with two outs, and second baseman Rivas tracked down a Bregman pop fly in shallow center to end the inning.

–Field Level Media

Crochet to the Rescue

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox will turn the ball over to the ace of 2025, starter Garrett Crochet, with another series victory on the line when they meet the visiting Seattle Mariners this afternoon.

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Crochet (2-1, 1.13 ERA) has performed like the top-of-the-line pitcher that Boston envisioned, allowing a total of two earned runs in his past four starts and just two extra-base hits all season.

“When you have guys like that, I’ve been saying all along, they stop losing streaks and they continue the winning streaks,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “That’s what he did (on Saturday).”

In that contest, Crochet pitched the first six innings of a 4-3, 10-inning win for the host Red Sox against his former team, the Chicago White Sox. He struck out seven. It was Boston’s fourth straight win at the time.

Despite his impressive stats, the 25-year-old southpaw has not been fully comfortable.

“It feels good, but I feel like I’m getting away with murder. It’s only a matter of time before I get caught,” Crochet said. “I feel like the way that I’m throwing the ball isn’t up to my (standard). It’s only a matter of time before I get burned, and I’d like to avoid that. This is not the standard that I hold myself to. I expect to have my best stuff every time out.”

Crochet’s two previous career starts against Seattle both came last season, and he went 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA. On June 13, he struck out a career-high 13 but came away with a no-decision. Counting two relief appearances earlier in his career against the Mariners, Crochet is 0-1 with a 3.97 ERA in 11 1/3 innings vs. Seattle.

Crochet looks to get the Red Sox back on the track following an 8-5 loss on Wednesday. Triston Casas hit a three-run home run for the second straight game, but Boston was held to seven hits and committed two more errors, giving the Red Sox a majors-worst 27 for the season.

The Mariners have gone 10-4 since a 3-7 start to the season, including bouncing back from an 8-3 loss in the series opener on Tuesday to force a rubber game. They have yet to lose consecutive games since the rough start.

Seattle’s bottom third of the batting order, Ben Williamson, Leo Rivas and J.P. Crawford, torched Boston for seven hits and five RBIs. Crawford belted a three-run homer that put the Mariners ahead 4-0 in the fourth inning.

Crawford is 9-for-24 over his last six games, with nine of his 10 RBIs for the season coming in that span.

“At-bats up and down the lineup were excellent,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.

Wilson will give the ball Thursday to Bryan Woo (2-1, 3.12 ERA). The right-hander has put together seven solid innings in back-to-back starts, but he took the loss to the host Toronto Blue Jays on Friday.

Woo, who has not faced Boston previously, gave up seven hits and three runs to the Blue Jays. His best outing of the season came on April 12, when he allowed a run on six hits and struck out seven Texas Rangers in Seattle.

“It seems like both times he’s been able to get through seven is a time when we really needed him to do that, and that’s a huge lift for your bullpen when he’s able to do that,” Wilson said. “He just has that ability with that fastball. He can get some quick innings from contact.”

Woo will also look to follow up a strong Wednesday outing from Emerson Hancock, who struck out seven in six innings of two-run ball.

Bottom of Mariners’ Line-Up Sinks Sox

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BOSTON – Ben Williamson, Leo Rivas and J.P. Crawford combined for seven of the team’s 13 hits while forming the bottom third of the lineup, leading the visiting Seattle Mariners past the Boston Red Sox 8-5 on Wednesday night.

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The No. 9-hitting Crawford delivered the biggest blow with a three-run home run in the fourth inning. Seattle extended its lead with two more runs in both the sixth and seventh, then withstood a late comeback attempt from the home team.

Williamson was 3-for-5 with an RBI and run scored, while Rivas scored twice on a 2-for-3 night.

Seattle’s Emerson Hancock (1-1) struck out seven while allowing two runs on five hits across six innings.

Triston Casas belted a three-run homer in the eighth to make things interesting for Boston. Jarren Duran and Alex Bregman each had multiple hits for the Red Sox, who had won six of seven.

The Mariners tagged Boston’s Sean Newcomb (0-3) for a two-out run in the first as Mitch Garver scored Julio Rodriguez on a single up the middle. Newcomb escaped trouble an inning later, working around a no-outs jam that saw the bottom third of Seattle’s order load the bases on back-to-back singles and a walk. The southpaw got Dylan Moore to line into a double play before striking out Rodriguez to end the threat.

After Newcomb struck out the side to strand a runner in the third, the visitors extended their lead on Crawford’s three-run homer to right-center in the fourth. Like in the second, Williamson and Rivas set the table with knocks.

The Red Sox scored single runs in the fourth and fifth. The first one came on Romy Gonzalez’s two-out, opposite-field single that scored Trevor Story, and Rafael Devers drove in the other run with an RBI groundout.

Three of the first four Mariners singled off Josh Winckowski in the seventh, with Williamson and Crawford each driving in runs.

After the Casas homer took the game to the final margin, Andres Munoz pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his eighth save.

Newcomb struck out eight in five innings.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Rollin’ at the Fens

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox are finally rolling, and they hope their first baseman might be trending in that direction, too.

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Boston will be seeking its seventh victory in eight games Wednesday in the middle contest of a three-game series against the visiting Seattle Mariners.

Triston Casas hit a three-run homer to highlight Boston’s 8-3 victory on Tuesday in the series opener. The 25-year-old first baseman entered the game hitting .158 with a .229 on-base percentage, a .237 slugging percentage, one home run and four RBIs in 21 games.

Casas delivered the home run in the seventh inning against reliever Trent Thornton, extending the Red Sox’s lead to 7-3.

“I hit the first (pitch) foul, and that typically means bad luck after that,” Casas said. “I was able to get another pitch a little more in my zone and elevate it to a part of the field that I wanted to. It was a good swing. I’m gonna look to try and carry that into (Wednesday).”

Seattle, which is seeking its fifth straight series victory, went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position during the loss.

Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock (0-1, 12.71 ERA) is scheduled to make his third start of the season on Wednesday. It will be his first career appearance against the Red Sox.

Hancock was sent to Triple-A Tacoma one day after he failed to make it out of the first inning during his March 31 start against the Detroit Tigers. He was recalled on Thursday, and his start that day against the Cincinnati Reds was encouraging. Hancock gave up a two-run home run in the first inning, but didn’t allow a run after that and struck out four in his five-inning outing.

“It was just a really good bounce-back for him,” Seattle pitching coach Pete Woodworth said, according to MLB.com. “The Detroit start was tough because he threw the ball well and they hit — the first three guys hit — and then they got really lucky and, unfortunately, it happened very quick and he threw a bunch of pitches, so we had to move on. And then we had to make a (roster) move to provide coverage for the next series.”

Sean Newcomb (0-2, 3.63 ERA) is listed as Boston’s probable starter. The left-hander is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two career appearances against the Mariners, both of which were in relief.

The home run Casas hit on Tuesday allowed Boston to keep the back end of its bullpen fresh entering the Wednesday matchup. Left-hander Aroldis Chapman has a team-high four saves, but righty Justin Slaten has retired the last 21 batters he has faced. Slaten picked up his third save by pitching a scoreless ninth inning during Boston’s 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Monday.

Slaten’s 4.00 ERA is a bit misleading since he allowed four runs without recording an out in Baltimore on March 31. In his other nine outings this year, he has allowed no runs, one hit and no walks.

“He’s healthy,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “That’s the most important thing. Last year, he was a little bit banged up and he wasn’t honest with us. He wanted to keep grinding. We paid the price.

“Just keep him fresh. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish. Usage-wise, it’s been solid with him, but also a lot of off days. If we continue to do that, those guys (Slaten and Chapman) are going to be pitching at 98-100 (mph), and that’s bad news for the opposition.”

–Field Level Media