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Red Sox Pound Padres

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SAN DIEGO – (Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida belted two-run homers and Walker Buehler tossed six scoreless innings as the visiting Red Sox stopped the San Diego Padres 10-2 on Friday night.

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Buehler (7-6) allowed four hits and two walks while striking out four in arguably his best outing of the year. The former Los Angeles Dodger improved his career mark against San Diego to 7-1 with a 1.67 ERA in 13 starts.

Nick Pivetta (11-4) took his first home loss of the year, permitting five hits and five runs in six innings while walking three and fanning three.

It was the eighth win in nine games for Boston, which scored double-digit runs for an major-league-high 18th time this year. The Red Sox got started with four runs in the fourth, thanks to a lapse in control by Pivetta.

After Alex Bregman led off with a single, the Red Sox’s first hit, Pivetta walked Jarren Duran and Trevor Story. Yoshida’s sacrifice fly cashed in Bregman, and a throwing error by Pivetta on a pickoff attempt at first scored Duran. Abreu capped the inning with his 21st homer, a two-run shot over the wall in right-center.

Bregman’s groundout to third in the fifth inning scored Connor Wong for a 5-0 advantage. Wong broke the game open in the eighth by lining a bases-clearing double into the left field corner off reliever Sean Reynolds after three straight walks filled the sacks.

The Padres avoided a shutout with two runs in the bottom of the eighth against reliever Chris Murphy via an RBI fielder’s-choice grounder from Ramon Laureano and Jake Cronenworth’s run-scoring single.

Yoshida capped the scoring in the ninth by lining his second homer of the year to right with Story aboard after a leadoff walk. Boston’s patient hitters worked eight walks, five issued by Reynolds.

oshida, Wong and Roman Anthony each collected two of the Red Sox’s 10 hits. Cronenworth and Luis Arraez bagged two hits apiece for San Diego.

The Padres stranded 12 runners and managed only one hit in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Take On New Look Padres

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SAN DIEGO – (Wire Service Report) – Newcomers have already made a significant impact for San Diego, and they’ll aim to continue that trend as the Padres open a three-game home series against the Boston Red Sox.

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Ramon Laureano has hit like a sledgehammer in his first week with the Padres, while Freddy Fermin has given them more offense from the catching position than they’ve had most of the year.

Mason Miller has made his presence felt on an already-deep San Diego bullpen, and Nestor Cortes gave them a decent start on Wednesday night.

Then Ryan O’Hearn, who came over with Laureano from Baltimore a week ago, made his first significant contribution to his new team with a ninth-inning homer that tied Wednesday night’s game in Arizona. The Padres added another run in the ninth to pull out a 3-2 win.

Prior to drilling his first homer off a left-handed pitcher this year, O’Hearn had just a single to show for his first 12 at-bats with San Diego. The American League’s starting designated hitter in the All-Star Game last month needed something good to happen.

“Just got to keep going, keep getting comfortable, keep grinding out at-bats and hopefully continue to contribute,” O’Hearn said. “To do something finally felt good.”

The Padres come into the series with nine wins in 11 games and have crawled within two games of the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.

They have also jumped over the New York Mets for the second wild-card spot and have drawn within 2 1/2 games of the Chicago Cubs for the first wild card, which opens the postseason at home.

San Diego will try to keep the momentum going behind Nick Pivetta (11-3, 2.73 ERA). He last pitched on Aug. 1, allowing just one hit and one run in seven innings of a 4-1 win over St. Louis. Pivetta, who walked none and fanned five that night, has permitted just one run in 13 innings in two previous starts against Boston, where he pitched the last 4 1/2 seasons.

The Red Sox will counter with Walker Buehler (6-6, 5.74 ERA), who was no-decisioned on Saturday in his team’s 7-3 victory over Houston. Buehler gave up nine hits and three runs in 4 1/3 innings, walking three and whiffing none — the first time this season he failed to record a strikeout. He’s 6-1 with a 1.80 ERA in 12 career starts against the Padres.

Boston manager Alex Cora said Buehler is better than he’s pitched this year. The former Dodger mainstay has permitted at least three earned runs in nine of his last 11 outings.

“This guy is too important for us,” Cora said. “He knows he’s better than this and we know he’s better than this.”

Buehler’s uneven performance has been one of the few problems lately for the Red Sox, who won seven straight games prior to Wednesday night’s 7-3 home loss to Kansas City.

Boston trails Toronto by four games in the American League East and owns the top wild-card spot by one game over Seattle.

The Red Sox’s trade of Rafael Devers to San Francisco in June, which was widely criticized by national media, has turned out to be addition by subtraction. Boston is 27-16 since the deal and is scoring more runs than it did with Devers while playing better defense.

San Diego won two of three games in last year’s series at Fenway Park.

–Field Level Media

Roman Pockets “A Whole Lotta Lira”

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – When in Rome, spend on the Romans. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony and the Sox organization are finalizing an eight-year, $130 million contract extension, according to multiple media accounts all reporting on Wednesday.

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The deal is pending a physical, includes a club option and will keep Anthony in Boston through the 2034 season. Anthony was nursing a sore back in the past two days, but not a serious injury.

Anthony, 21, created a buzz before he suited up with the Red Sox by launching a 497-foot grand slam for Triple-A Worcester on June 7. Called up to Boston two days after that blast, Anthony is batting .283 with two homers, 15 doubles and 19 RBIs in 46 games with the Red Sox. He has hit safely in each of his last eight games, however he has been idle since Sunday due to the back tightness issue.

Anthony was selected by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft.

–Field Level Media

Big Innings Fuel Red Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) The Boston Red Sox will attempt to extend their winning streak to seven games when they face the visiting Kansas City Royals on Tuesday.

Boston opened the three-game series with an 8-5 victory on Monday. The Red Sox scored five runs in the first inning after scoring six times in the fourth of a 6-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday.

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“We’re not chasing as much, we’re not striking out,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “We’re putting the ball in play. We’re running the bases extremely well, too. … We’ve been really good the past three weeks baserunning-wise, and that puts pressure on the opposition.”

Boston particularly has been tough at home. The Monday victory gave the Red Sox 13 wins in their past 14 games at Fenway Park.

“When we’re rolling, this place is another weapon for us, so it’s just been awesome to see the fans get behind us and help us with this push,” said Boston’s Jarren Duran, who hit a three-run homer in the first inning off Royals starter Bailey Falter.

“I think we just have to keep our heads down and keep working, because I feel like that’s what we’ve been doing all year and it’s showing.”

After Kansas City scored four runs in the eighth to make it an 8-5 game, Nick Loftin ran through his coach’s third base stop sign and was thrown out at the plate for the final out of the inning. Had Loftin stayed at third, the Royals would have had the bases loaded with Vinnie Pasquantino at the plate. Pasquantino homered earlier in the frame.

“I talked to him in the dugout,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said of Loftin. “You gotta understand the game situation at that point. He’s trying to be aggressive. He probably got a little carried away knowing there were two outs.

“Normally you would take chances with two outs, but when you’re down by three and you’re getting the go-ahead run to the plate right there, you gotta stay at third. It’s a mental mistake and he won’t make that again.”

Boston won’t have outfielder Roman Anthony in the lineup on Tuesday. Anthony was a late scratch Monday due to back tightness, and Cora said he planned to rest the rookie on Tuesday.

“Everything felt normal all day and I felt something as I was stretching on the line,” Anthony said. “Just figured we’d be cautious with it and was super uncomfortable. I relayed that quickly, and we decided we were going to shut it down.

“I’ll get with the training staff and figure that out, but I’m already definitely trending in the right direction and feeling better than it was earlier.”

The Red Sox appear to be in a good position to build on their winning streak since left-hander Garrett Crochet (12-4, 2.23 ERA) — Boston’s ace — is scheduled to start on Tuesday.

Crochet is 1-1 with a 1.62 ERA in eight career appearances (two starts) against the Royals. He won at Kansas City on May 10 after throwing seven innings of one-run ball and striking out nine.

Rookie right-hander Ryan Bergert (1-0, 2.78) is scheduled to make his Royals debut. Bergert, who was acquired from the San Diego Padres just before the trade deadline last week, will be making his first career appearance against Boston.

Bergert made 11 appearances (seven starts) for the Padres this season, and he recorded 34 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

 

Sox Ready for Royal Treatment

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox will have plenty of momentum and a rested bullpen when they open their three-game series against the visiting Kansas City Royals tonight at Fenway Park.

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Boston completed a three-game sweep by beating the visiting Houston Astros 6-1 on Sunday, running its winning streak to five games. The Red Sox have registered seven victories in their past eight games overall.

“I feel like we’re kind of figuring out our identity a little bit,” Red Sox outfielder Rob Refsnyder said. “Guys are settling into their roles. The trade deadline has passed and it’s go time.”

Center fielder/second baseman Ceddanne Rafaela added: “Our mindset is not only on the Yankees, it’s just playing good baseball and trying to win the division.”

Boston has won its past five home games. The Red Sox are 12-1 in their last 13 home contests, and they own a 37-21 record at Fenway Park this season, the third-highest home win total in the majors.

“We’re much better than the last two years,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “We’re healthier. … We have a complete team. Guys are playing with an edge now. You can tell. Like I said, this place (Fenway Park) — it’s fun. It’s fun again.

“We just have to continue. Kansas City is playing good baseball. We have to show up (Monday) and try to win a game.”

Red Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito pitched a season-high eight innings and limited Houston to one run on three hits during the Sunday win.

“Between him and (Brayan) Bello, they’re doing an outstanding job,” Cora said. “So we have capable guys who can go out there and compete. … We trust our guys. All of them — Bello, Gio and obviously (Garrett) Crochet has been amazing the last two months.”

Bello (7-5, 3.19 ERA) is Boston’s scheduled starter for Monday. He is 1-0 with a 3.57 ERA in 17 2/3 innings over three career games (all starts) against the Royals.

Left-hander Bailey Falter (7-5, 3.73 ERA) is expected to make his Kansas City debut as the Monday starter. Falter, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates before the Thursday trade deadline, is 1-1 with a 7.94 ERA in two games (one start) in his career against Boston. He has seven strikeouts and one walk in 5 2/3 innings against the Red Sox.

Kansas City also acquired rookie right-hander Ryan Bergert from the San Diego Padres on Thursday. He is tentatively scheduled to start Tuesday in Boston.

“(The) message to those guys is, ‘Look, your job is to help us … give us the best chance to win,’” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “‘Go out there and compete your butt off for as much as you can.’”

Like Boston, Kansas City has been playing winning baseball lately. The Royals came from behind to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 in 10 innings on Sunday. Kansas City trailed 2-1 before tying the game in the eighth and then scoring five runs in the 10th.

The victory gave Kansas City two wins in the three-game series at Toronto. The Royals have won four of their past five games and each of their past four series.

The Royals will not have Steven Cruz available in the near future. The right-handed reliever, who left the Saturday game against the Blue Jays after feeling discomfort in his right shoulder, was placed on the 15-day injured list before the Sunday contest. Cruz has a 3.61 ERA in 42 1/3 innings (43 games) this season.

–Field Level Media

Giolito Leads Sox to Sweep

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – The kids are running the bases after Boston’s 6-1 victory and series sweep of the Houston Astros today. They might as well, as the base paths are clear and clean. Aside from Carlos Correa‘s home run in the 4th inning, the ‘Stros only had three base runners and not one reached third base against Boston’s starter Lucas Giolito.

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Giolito (8-2) had his most successful and deepest outing of 2025, going eight innings and allowing only the three hits and one walk. He struck out four Houston batters as he threw a 103 pitches (67 strikes). Since June 10th, he’s won seven games and dropped only one (at Chicago Cubs, July 18). Giolito’s eight innings were the deepest he’s gone in a game since August 9th of the 2021 season.

And, get this?

The Red Sox gave him a full blast-off of run support, all coming in a six run fourth inning when Houston starter and club ace Framber Valdez simply imploded. The six-run rally started with a Roman Anthony double to left center field, then Valdez walked Romy Gonzalez. From there, Valdez committed a balk, threw a wild pitch, threw a pitch that caused Houston catcher Yanier Diaz to be charged with a passed ball and allowed Boston’s Trevor Story, Ceddanne Rafaela and Abraham Toro to hit consecutive singles before Valdez made an error on a soft grounder up the middle.

The fourth inning saw all the scoring in the game, starting as a 1-0 lead for the Astros but finishing with a 6-1 lead for the Sox.

Valdez had his own 10-game win streak broken, dating back to May 7. During that 10-game span, Valdez posted a 1.84 ERA, struck out 104 batters and kept his opponents to a .202 batting average.

Over in the home dugout, Boston is now 11 games over the .500 mark (62-51), as they’ve won seven of their last eight games, including five in a row (two vs. Minnesota; three vs. Houston). Today, August 3, 2025 marks the first time Boston is 11 games over .500 since June 26, 2022.

The reason? Boston pitchers have allowed only six earned runs over the last four games for a 1.46 ERA.

Houston has lost the three straight games vs Boston, but have dropped eight of their last 10 games.

Red Sox on a Home Run Roll

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BOSTON – Boston’s Romy Gonzalez, Trevor Story and Abraham Toro each homered to propel the hometown Red Sox to a 7-3 victory over the visiting Houston Astros on Saturday.

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Gonzalez hit a solo home run in the first inning, Story gave the Red Sox a 4-2 lead when he hit a two-run homer in the third and Toro extended the lead to 6-2 with a two-run home run in the fourth. All three home runs came against Houston starter Colton Gordon.

Gonzalez, Story, Ceddanne Rafaela and Rob Refsnyder each had two hits for the Red Sox, who had 10 hits in the win. Victor Caratini collected four of Houston’s 14 hits.

Reliever Justin Wilson (3-1) earned the win for recording the final two outs in the fifth. Boston starter Walker Buehler wasn’t sharp. He gave up three runs on nine hits and walked three with no strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

Gordon (4-4) gave up six runs on seven hits in four innings. He struck out six and walked one.

Boston won the first two games in the three-game series, and extended its winning streak to four games.

Shortstop Jeremy Pena was not in Houston’s lineup after cramping up in the 10th inning of Boston’s 2-1 victory on Friday. Pena came off the 10-day injured list (ribs) earlier Friday. Carlos Correa, reacquired from the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, played shortstop after agreeing to move to third as part of the trade.

Walker’s home run handed the Astros a 2-0 lead in the first, but the home runs by Gonzalez, Story and Toro helped Boston take a four-run lead. Houston made it 6-3 when Yainer Diaz drove in Carlos Correa with a single in the fifth, but Story’s RBI double in the seventh scored Refsnyder and pushed Boston’s lead to four.

Jordan Hicks struck out Correa with the bases loaded for the final out of the eighth inning.

–Field Level Media

Extra Beginnings

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston rookie Roman Anthony’s single in the bottom of the 10th inning drove in Wilyer Abreu with the game-winning run as the Red Sox extended their winning streak to three games by beating the visiting Houston Astros, 2-1, on Friday night.

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Abreu starting the inning at second base as the automatic runner and moved to third on a fielder’s choice before Anthony singled against Bennett Sousa (5-1).

Christian Walker hit his 14th home run of the season for Houston. Walker’s home run came against Boston starter Cooper Criswell with two outs in the second inning.

After Walker’s home run put Houston up 1-0, Boston tied the game, 1-1, when Trevor Story scored from third on a sacrifice fly by Abreu in the seventh.

Criswell made his first start of the season for the Red Sox and limited Houston to one run on seven hits in seven innings. He entered Friday’s game with a 5.06 ERA in six relief appearances with Boston this year, and is 4-2 with a 3.32 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) with Triple-A Worcester.

Greg Weissert (4-3) pitched a scoreless 10th to earn the win.

Houston starter Hunter Brown also allowed one run in seven innings. He gave up four hits, struck out six and walked one.

Houston shortstop Jeremy Pena collected three hits – all singles – after being activated from the 10-day injured list (ribs) Friday. He was in the lineup for the first time since June 27.

Pena was joined on the left side of the infield by former Houston All-Star Carlos Correa, who was acquired in a trade with Minnesota on Thursday and played third base. Correa was 0-for-4 in his first game back with the Astros, who drafted him first overall in the 2012 MLB Draft.

Jesus Sanchez added two hits for Houston. Sanchez was one of three players the Astros landed at Thursday’s trade deadline.

The Red Sox received two hits from both Anthony and Alex Bregman, who was playing against his former team for the first time since signing with Boston in the offseason.

-Field Level Media

Red Sox Clash with Astros

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Astros will kick off a nine-game road trip when they face the Boston Red Sox on Friday, and few American League hitters are coming off a better month than Houston’s Jose Altuve.

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Altuve collected four hits, including a three-run home run, to help Houston defeat Washington 9-1 on Wednesday. He hit .363 (33 for 91) during July with seven doubles, five homers and 21 RBIs in 24 games.

“Basically, I’m getting good pitches to hit,” Altuve said. “Early in the season, I was swinging at pretty much everything. I didn’t really focus on the pitch I can handle and I think that was what was different this last month.”

The Astros were held to eight runs during a five-game losing streak that ended Tuesday. They responded by putting up 16 runs over their last two outings.

“We were going through a stretch there where things were not going our way, but our guys are going to push and we figured out a way to score runs,” Houston manager Joe Espada said. “The quality of at-bats were there back-to-back days.”

Houston made a big splash Thursday when it acquired infielder Carlos Correa from Minnesota. Correa played his first seven MLB seasons in Houston before he signed with the Twins as a free agent.

“We were waiting for a shortstop to come in (with the Twins) and now that I get to play third base, it will be great for me at this stage of my career,” Correa told MLB.com.

The Astros also landed infielder Ramon Urias in a trade with Baltimore on Wednesday and acquired outfielder Jesus Sanchez in a deal with Miami on Thursday.

The Red Sox added two pitchers before the trade deadline. Boston acquired right-hander Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, one day after it picked up left-handed pitcher Steven Matz in a deal with St. Louis.

Although his numbers aren’t as good as Altuve’s, Boston’s Jarren Duran is coming off a productive month at the plate as well. He batted .317 with five home runs, three triples, nine doubles and 21 RBIs in 23 games in July.

Duran homered and had three hits during Boston’s 13-1 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday. Duran, who has three homers in his last eight games, had five extra-base hits in the three-game series against the Twins.

“Excellent,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “He’s been good the whole month. You look at his numbers, the walks, driving the ball, playing good defense in center and left field, running the bases. He’s one of the most dynamic players in the big leagues and I’m glad he’s playing for us.”

Right-hander Hunter Brown (9-5, 2.54 ERA) is listed as Houston’s probable pitcher for Friday’s game. Brown allowed two runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings during his only career appearance against the Red Sox, which came in August 2024.

The Astros went 12-13 in July — their first losing month of the season — but are hoping All-Star shortstop Jeremy Pena (ribs) returns from the injured list in time to play Friday.

Friday’s game will be the first time third baseman Alex Bregman has faced his former team since he signed with the Red Sox in the offseason. Bregman, who was given Wednesday off, helped the Astros win the World Series in 2017 and 2022.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox: Meet the Matz

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox beefed up their pitching staff Wednesday night by acquiring left-hander Steven Matz from the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals acquired minor league infielder Blaze Jordan in exchange for Matz, a 34-year-old veteran who has experience both as a starter and a reliever.

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In 2025, Matz has made 30 of his 32 appearances out of the bullpen, and he has posted a 5-2 record with a 3.44 ERA across 55 innings.

Matz was selected in the second round of the 2009 draft by the Mets and spent the first six seasons of his major league career in New York. After one season with the Toronto Blue Jays, Matz signed with the Cardinals ahead of the 2022 season and has played the past four seasons in St. Louis. In 225 career games (172 starts), Matz owns a 60-62 mark with a 4.24 ERA.

Jordan, 22, was a third-round pick of the Red Sox in 2020. He batted .304/.377/.495 with 12 homers and 62 RBIs in 88 games with Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester this season.

–Field Level Media