Digital Sports Desk

Online Destination for the Best in Boston Sports

Red Sox

Schwellenbach vs Red Sox at 1:35pm

by

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Atlanta right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach will make his second major league start this afternoon when the Braves face the Boston Red Sox for the back half of a two-game series.

Embed from Getty Images

Schwellenbach (0-1, 5.40 ERA) was promoted from Double-A Mississippi to make his major league debut on May 29 against the Washington Nationals. He allowed three runs on five hits in five innings, struck out five and walked one in a 7-2 loss. Sixty of his 88 pitches were strikes.

“I thought his stuff was real good,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said postgame. “He handled himself really well. The composure, slowing the game down. I thought he was very impressive.”

Travis d’Arnaud might catch Schwellenbach for the second outing in a row as Sean Murphy left Atlanta’s 8-3 victory on Tuesday with a right elbow injury after being hit by a pitch in the ninth inning. X-rays were negative, and Murphy believes he will avoid going on the injury list.

“Just a big, gross lump,” Murphy said. “It looks worse than it is. (The swelling) will go down quick, so I’m not worried about it.”

The Braves received home runs from Ozzie Albies and Orlando Arcia during the victory at Boston. Albies hit a three-run shot against Boston starter Kutter Crawford that gave Atlanta a 6-3 lead in the sixth inning.

“Just got to make better pitches,” Crawford said. “Just kind of going through a rut right now, but we’re just going to keep fighting.”

Atlanta starter Max Fried struck out a career-high 13 batters in seven innings on Tuesday. The Red Sox fanned 14 times in the defeat.

“He’s one of the best,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Fried. “He does that every five days.”

In his past three starts, Fried has 28 strikeouts in 24 innings. He walked two and allowed three earned runs in that span.

“I feel like I had a really good feel of the slider, and my curveball was probably the best it has been all year,” Fried said.

Now the Red Sox will face Schwellenbach, whom the Braves selected in the second round of the 2021 draft out of the University of Nebraska. Schwellenbach, 24, won the John Olerud Award as the best two-way player in college baseball. The Braves drafted him as a pitcher, but he had Tommy John surgery before his first professional appearance.

Nick Pivetta (2-4, 4.08) is scheduled to start for Boston. The right-hander took a 5-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Thursday. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings while striking out nine, including eight in a row at one point to tie the franchise record.

Pivetta also took the loss when the Braves beat the Red Sox 5-0 on May 8. It was his first appearance since April 3, after which he went on the injured list with a right elbow strain. He gave up five runs on seven hits in four innings at Atlanta.

Pivetta is 7-5 with a 5.30 ERA in 20 career appearances (16 starts) vs. the Braves.

The Red Sox are 0-3 against the Braves this season.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Face Tough Series vs ATL

by

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Atlanta Braves will attempt to jump-start their slumping offense when they visit the Boston Red Sox for the opener of a two-game series tonight. The Braves averaged 3.4 runs per game in May, which was fewer than every major league team except the White Sox and Reds. Atlanta scored nine runs in a 11-9 loss to Oakland on Saturday, but was held to seven hits in a 3-1 victory over the A’s on Sunday.

Embed from Getty Images

“I look through individually and see a lot of positives, quite honestly, with some guys offensively, which is what we’ve been trying to do,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We haven’t been playing bad baseball — we’ve been playing good baseball — we just haven’t hit. I see light at the end of the tunnel with a bunch of those guys.

“I see a lot of really good things out of the offense, and the good thing is these guys have been struggling offensively and they’ve just been playing the heck out of defense. … From my seat the hitting thing is going to come. I can’t go in there and blow anything up because we’re not playing bad baseball. We’re playing good baseball, we’re just not hitting.”

Atlanta will be facing a Boston team trying to create some positive energy. The Red Sox lost two out of three games against Milwaukee and two out of three against Baltimore before splitting four games against Detroit in a series that ended Sunday. Boston had a 3-0 lead in Sunday’s game, but ended up losing 8-4 in 10 innings.

Boston manager Alex Cora said although his team was in position to win the series against Detroit, he was not frustrated with Sunday’s loss.

“Not really,” he said. “We know where we’re at. We were playing five rookies today. We got to be realistic. We’re playing good baseball, that’s the thing. We had a chance to win three out of four. It didn’t happen, but for some reason with this group we don’t get frustrated. Just keep teaching them the game and help them to be better.

“We got a tough one coming up with the Braves. Hopefully we win it and then go to Chicago (White Sox) and have a good weekend over there. It’ll be good for us this week to gain some momentum.”

Boston’s Rafael Devers went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, a triple and a game-tying home run in the eighth inning during Sunday’s loss. Devers enters Tuesday’s game batting .283 with 11 home runs, 29 RBIs and a .924 OPS.

“He keeps getting better and he understands who he is, not only on this team but in the industry,” Cora said. “He’s one of the best players in the league.”

Left-hander Max Fried (5-2, 2.97 ERA) is Atlanta’s probable starter for Tuesday’s game. Fried pitched eight innings in a 2-0 victory over Washington last Tuesday. He allowed seven hits, struck out six and walked one.

Fried is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in his only career start against Boston. He gave up two runs on five hits in five innings, struck out five and walked two.

Right-hander Kutter Crawford (2-4, 3.29) is scheduled to start for Boston. Crawford did not factor in the decision in his only career appearance against Atlanta. On May 7, he surrendered two runs on five hits in six innings, struck out six and walked two in a 4-2 loss at Atlanta.

–Field Level Media

Tigers Get Four in 10th to Win

by

BOSTON – Detroit’s Wenceel Perez had three hits and scored twice while Javier Baez drove in two key insurance runs for the Tigers, who rattled off a four-run 10th inning to finish off a come-from-behind, 8-4 win over the Boston Red Sox on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park.

Embed from Getty Images

Baez hit a two-run single that highlighted the go-ahead inning against Boston reliever Cam Booser (0-2), helping Detroit salvage a four-game series split.

Riley Greene, Matt Vierling and Carson Kelly all had two hits apiece as part of Detroit’s 14-hit effort. Andrew Chafin (1-1) recorded the last four outs to earn the win.

After Detroit climbed out of a 3-0 deficit with four straight runs between the fifth and seventh innings, Boston’s Rafael Devers hit a game-tying solo shot off Alex Faedo in the eighth, clearing the Green Monster in left-center field.

In the ninth, after a Rob Refsnyder two-out single through the right side and back-to-back walks issued by two Detroit relievers, Connor Wong’s deep fly ball was caught in right to force extras.

Mark Canha’s infield single started the Tigers’ go-ahead rally in the 10th. Ibanez’s pinch-hit double inside the third base line made it 5-4 before Baez stroked a two-run, two-out single to left and Kelly doubled off the Monster to add insurance.

Devers and Jarren Duran were both 2-for-4 for Boston.

Boston struck first as Enmanuel Valdez knocked a two-out RBI single into center. Wilyer Abreu’s one-out double sparked the rally.

The Red Sox built a 3-0 lead with single runs in each of the early innings.

In the second, back-to-back singles by David Hamilton and Jarren Duran allowed Boston to double its lead. Duran ripped a liner back past Tigers starter Casey Mize (four innings, five hits, two earned runs) on the mound to make it 2-0.

A leadoff walk to Dominic Smith and a Devers triple deep into the right field corner added the third Red Sox run in the third.

Boston starter Brayan Bello allowed just two hits across the first four innings and finished 6 1/3, but Detroit got on the board in a three-hit fifth which began with an Urshela double to center and Akil Baddoo single through the right-side hole. Urshela scored the first run on a wild pitch.

Urshela hit a sacrifice fly that helped get the Tigers within 3-2 in the sixth.

After back-to-back singles with one out in the seventh ended Bello’s day, Detroit flipped the score for the first time at 4-3 on Perez’s double and a Canha groundout. Bello was charged with four runs on eight hits, with three walks and five strikeouts.

One of Boston’s ninth-inning walks was drawn by Springfield, Mass., native Jamie Westbrook, who was making his MLB debut after spending more than a decade in the minor leagues.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox and Bello Go for Series Win

by

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox aim for their third straight win when they cap a four-game series against the visiting Detroit Tigers this afternoon. After Ceddanne Rafaela recorded his first career two-homer game on Friday, Enmanuel Valdez — who was just recalled from Triple-A Worcester — turned the trick in a 3-for-4 day. He also doubled, scored three runs and drove in three ini Saturday’s 6-3 win.

Embed from Getty Images

The Red Sox overcame a first-inning deficit with a 10-hit attack and moved back above the .500 mark for the season. Valdez set the tone in a much-needed situation, especially with Vaughn Grissom going down with a hamstring strain Saturday and landing on the injured list.

“He’s a good player. He puts up good at-bats,” Cora said of Valdez. “Like I said when we sent him down, he didn’t do anything wrong. … When you look at the numbers, he’s hitting .180, but it doesn’t feel that way. He manages the at-bat just like (Wilyer Abreu). … Overall, a good (game).”

Brayan Bello (6-2, 4.18 ERA) looks to continue his winning run on the mound for the Red Sox. He earned his second straight win and fifth in six starts on Tuesday in Baltimore, striking out seven across five innings. He allowed three runs in the first inning and none thereafter.

“I like to come out with an aggressive mindset as opposed to being relaxed,” Bello said after that start. “I feel like when I come in relaxed, things don’t go the way that I want them to.”

However, Bello has not pitched at Fenway Park since May 12, when he held the Washington Nationals to two runs on four hits in five innings. His last three starts have been away from home.

The 25-year-old right-hander has made just one previous start against Detroit, and it didn’t go well. He took the loss last Aug. 12 after allowing four runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Following Saturday’s defeat, the Tigers have lost three of their last four games since a four-game win streak and have dropped six of their last seven on the road.

However, Gio Urshela’s two-run home run in the ninth inning extended Detroit’s streak of consecutive games with a homer to eight.

“We did get a few good swings. Matt Vierling swung the bat very well,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said, noting Vierling’s two doubles. “But not enough in this park when you’ve got to create offense.”

Tigers righty Casey Mize (1-3, 4.71) is winless in six starts since beating the Twins in Minnesota on April 21. On May 26 against Toronto, he gave up three runs in 4 1/3 innings for a no-decision in a 14-11 Detroit win. He allowed eight hits and two walks.

Five days earlier, Mize was whacked for nine hits and six runs in just 1 2/3 innings at Kansas City.

Mize is 0-1 with a 4.09 career ERA in two starts covering 11 innings against Boston. Both starts came in 2021. He missed most of 2022 and all of 2023 following Tommy John and back surgeries.

On Saturday, Hinch also offered an update on outfielder Kerry Carpenter’s lumbar spine stress fracture. However, there is no update on his return.

“There’s a lot of unknowns still in terms of timetable, which is why we don’t put one on it,” Hinch said. “We’re going to kind of go week-by-week with him and continue to check in on what the best next step is for him.”

–Field Level Media

Red Sox: Rafaela Powers Sox to Win

by

BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox will look to get the upper hand in a four-game series against the visiting Detroit Tigers this afternoon. Ceddanne Rafaela homered twice in his first career multi-homer game while leading the Red Sox to a 7-3 win Friday night that evened the series at 1-1. Boston recorded 12 hits and snapped a two-game skid.

Rafaela, a 23-year-old rookie who had gone back-to-back games without a hit after a four-game hitting streak, drove in five runs.

“We just (have) to make sure (Rafaela) understands that it takes time to adjust,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “It’s not about instant results.”

Amid the rookie ups and downs, which included a 2-for-12 slump entering Friday, Rafaela has led all major league rookies and the Red Sox with 33 RBIs this season.

“It’s difficult for me to get frustrated. I don’t get frustrated that (easily),” he said.

On Friday, David Hamilton went 3-for-4 while Dominic Smith and Connor Wong each finished 2-for-3 for Boston.

Red Sox right-hander Cooper Criswell (2-2, 3.96 ERA) will start on Saturday. In his last start, he allowed seven runs in four innings in Boston’s 11-3 to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.

Criswell will make his first career start against Detroit.

The Red Sox had won five of Criswell’s first six starts but now have lost two of the past three.

On Friday, Detroit took a 1-0 lead in the first but recorded just five hits after that inning. Riley Greene went 2-for-4 with a double, while Colt Keith hit a two-run home run in the eighth.

Designated hitter Mark Canha was scratched from Friday’s lineup with hip soreness.

Spencer Torkelson, who was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts on Thursday, has slumped of late. He is hitless in eight of his past nine games.

“I appreciate his consistency in caring about the team win first and his performance second, even though I know it’s eating him up to not be a more central part of our offense,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.

Tigers right-hander Reese Olson (1-5, 1.92 ERA) will start on Saturday. He has received some tough luck this season but finally earned his first win of the year last Saturday over the Toronto Blue Jays. He gave up just one unearned run on three hits in 6 1/3 innings in Detroit’s 2-1 victory.

“I just try to do my job every time I go out there,” Olson said.

Entering his first career start against Boston, Olson has allowed 12 earned runs in 10 starts this season, six of which he allowed April 8 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“He’s going to make you beat him,” Hinch said. “He’s not going to concede with any pitch.”

–Field Level Media

 

Rafaela Homers Twice in 7-3 Victory

by

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Ceddanne Rafaela recorded his first career multi-homer game and drove in five as the host Boston Red Sox pulled away from the Detroit Tigers for a 7-3 win on Friday.

Embed from Getty Images

David Hamilton went 3-for-4 while Dominic Smith and Connor Wong each had two hits as the Red Sox finished with 12 hits.

Boston starter Tanner Houck (5-5) gave up one run on three hits with six strikeouts and two walks in seven innings. He lowered his ERA to 1.85.

Riley Greene went 2-for-4 with a double, and Colt Keith hit a two-run home run for the Tigers.

Detroit jumped out to a first-inning lead. Greene lined a one-out single to center, stole second and scored on Gio Urshela’s single to right.

Houck quickly settled in after that, retiring six straight batters and working around Greene’s two-out double in the third.

The Red Sox broke through against Detroit’s Kenta Maeda (2-2) in the fourth. Rafael Devers started the rally with a leadoff double to center before scoring the tying run on Smith’s double into the left field corner. Rafaela hit a three-run homer to left later in the inning to give Boston a 4-1 lead.

In the fifth, Rob Refsnyder increased the lead to 5-1 on his two-out double that plated Wong, who reached on a double.

Rafaela’s second homer of the game — and seventh of the season — pushed the lead to 7-1. David Hamilton reached on a one-out infield single, stole second and came around to score on Rafaela’s blast to left-center.

Keith hit a two-run shot in the eighth inning off Boston reliever Greg Weissert to trim Detroit’s deficit to 7-3.

Maeda allowed eight hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Avoid Sweep by Brewers

by

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jarren Duran delivered a tiebreaking RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning to help the Red Sox avoid a three-game sweep by beating the visiting Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 on Sunday.

Embed from Getty Images

After Ceddanne Rafaela led off the inning with a double, Duran singled against reliever Elvis Peguero (4-2) on the next pitch.

Kenley Jansen pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his ninth save of the season. Justin Slaten (3-2) got the win by striking out the side in the eighth.

The victory came after Milwaukee prevailed 7-2 on Friday and 6-3 Saturday. It improved Boston’s record to 9-0 on Sundays.

After the top of the seventh, Red Sox reliever Chris Martin and Brewers first base coach Quintin Berry got into a heated discussion, causing the benches and bullpen to spill out onto the field near first base. No punches were thrown and no ejections occurred.

Wilyer Abreu collected three of Boston’s nine hits and scored a run. Rafaela went 2-for-3.

Gary Sanchez had a single and a double and was the only Milwaukee player with more than one hit. The Brewers struck out nine times.

Boston received a strong start from Tanner Houck, who limited the Brewers to one run on seven hits in six innings. Houck recorded seven strikeouts and walked one.

Milwaukee starting pitcher Tobias Myers allowed a run on six hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out four and didn’t walk a batter.

The Red Sox opened the scoring in the fourth. Abreu led off with a triple and scored when Rafael Devers hit a sacrifice fly to right field.

Milwaukee tied the game at 1 in the fifth when Oliver Dunn singled, stole second and scored on a William Contreras single to center.

Boston outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who left Saturday’s game with a sore knee, did not play Sunday.

It was the finale of a nine-game road trip for Milwaukee, which went 4-5.

–Field Level Media

Brewers’ Five Run 3rd Inning Downs Sox

by

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Milwaukee Brewers benefitted from a solo home run from second baseman Brice Turang and scored five runs in the third inning en route to a 6-3 road victory Saturday in Boston over the Red Sox.

Embed from Getty Images

Turang’s homer, his third of the season, came against Zack Kelly and increased Milwaukee’s lead to 6-2 in the eighth.

The five-run third featured two doubles, three singles and a walk.

After Christian Yelich doubled and Willy Adames drew a walk, the Brewers received RBI singles from Jake Bauers, Gary Sanchez and Sal Frelick to build a 3-0 lead. Joey Ortiz followed with a two-run double that drove in Bauers and Frelick to increase the lead to 5-0.

Six consecutive batters reached base with two outs.

All five runs were scored against Boston starting pitcher Nick Pivetta (2-3), who exited the mound with one out in the fourth. He gave up seven hits, struck out three and walked three.

The Brewers used Jared Koenig as an opener for the second straight game. He threw 15 pitches Saturday after throwing 12 pitches during Milwaukee’s 7-2 victory on Friday night.

Colin Rea (4-2) replaced Koenig on the mound with one out in the second. Rea limited Boston to two runs on three hits in 5 2/3 innings. Trevor Megill struck out David Hamilton with two runners on base to end the game and earn his eighth save.

Bauers, Frelick and Ortiz each collected two hits for the Brewers, who outhit Boston 11-5.

The Red Sox didn’t get a hit until Rafael Devers led off the seventh with a double against Rea. Devers scored on Wilyer Abreu’s one-out double to trim Milwaukee’s lead to 5-1, and then Ceddanne Rafaela’s two-out single drove in Abreu to make it 5-2.

After Turang’s homer pushed Milwaukee’s lead to 6-2, Rafaela drove in Devers with a two-out single in the ninth to complete the scoring.

Devers had two of Boston’s five hits. Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran entered Saturday’s contest with a nine-game hitting streak, but that ended after he went 0 for 4.

Boston’s Tyler O’Neill left Saturday’s game with right knee soreness.

-Field Level Media

Red Sox Sweep Tampa Bay

by

ST. PETERSBURG – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Wilyer Abreu and Connor Wong each drove in a pair of runs as the Red Sox completed a three-game sweep of the host Tampa Bay Rays with an 8-5 win on Wednesday.

Embed from Getty Images

Rob Refsnyder’s leadoff single was the lone Boston hit through four innings against Tampa Bay starter Ryan Pepiot, but a five-run, five-hit fifth inning against three pitchers flipped the script of the game for good.

Abreu hit a two-run home run in the big inning. Refsnyder matched him with a 2-for-4 performance. Ceddanne Rafaela crossed the plate twice.

Brayan Bello (5-2) struck out six across six innings of four-hit, three-run ball to earn the win for the Red Sox, who secured their first road sweep of the Rays since April 2019.

Tampa Bay’s Jose Caballero and Richie Palacios each had two hits and scored a run.

Caballero and Yandy Diaz each drove in two.

A walk and a hit batter set the table for Rafaela’s ground-ball single to left to put the Red Sox on the board in the fifth and end the day of Pepiot, who was charged with three runs on two hits and four walks over the first four-plus innings.

Pepiot’s ledger grew with Richard Lovelady (0-2) on in relief after Wilyer Abreu singled and Connor Wong knocked a two-run base hit to left that tied the game.

Red Sox Pick Up the Pieces

by

ST PETERBURG – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – After clinching their first series win at Tropicana Field since July 2019, the Boston Red Sox will aim for a sweep of their three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday evening in Florida.  The Red Sox picked up Tuesday’s series-clinching victory in exciting fashion, scoring three runs over the final two innings to record a 5-2 win.

Embed from Getty Images

Jarren Duran was one of Boston’s stars, hitting a game-tying solo home run in the sixth inning before stealing home in the eighth to deliver a crucial insurance run. He now has hit safely in seven straight games.

“He can run. He can hit it out of the ballpark. He’s a good defender. And I’m glad he’s our leadoff guy,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.

The series also has featured some history for third baseman Rafael Devers, who set a Red Sox record by homering in six consecutive games before going 1-for-3 on Tuesday.

Right-hander Brayan Bello (4-2, 3.96 ERA) will take the mound for Boston on Wednesday after he just missed facing Tampa Bay in last week’s series at Fenway Park, having his three-game win streak snapped in a Friday outing at St. Louis. The Cardinals tagged him for five runs on seven hits, three of which were home runs.

Before his last start, Bello had worked at least five innings and issued two or walks or less in six consecutive outings dating to last season.

“The team did everything possible to score runs,” Bello said of his most recent start, a 10-6 loss to the Cardinals. “They gave me some run support, but I wasn’t able to make the adjustment tonight, and it was a bad outing for me.”

Bello is 1-3 with a 6.92 ERA in five career starts vs. Tampa Bay.

The Rays will look to avoid a season-high fourth straight loss and a sweep on Wednesday, though Isaac Paredes enjoyed a 3-for-4 night with a double and two RBI on Tuesday.

Paredes has a team-high 18 multi-hit games and has reached base in 19 of his last 20 overall.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s just part of his continued development in being a really good major league hitter,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said last week. “I think (the recent run is) a credit to just him being selective at the plate, getting pitches that he can handle and not swinging at pitches that he can’t.”

Cash’s club will need more from the third baseman, as it has scored just four runs over the last three games.

Tampa Bay right-hander Ryan Pepiot (3-2, 3.68 ERA) will be activated off the 15-day injured list to make his first career start against Boston on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old left his May 5 start against the New York Mets with a lower left leg contusion after being hit by a line drive. He allowed three runs in two innings before the injury.

Pepiot threw three simulated innings last Friday in Toronto, touching 95 miles per hour.

“It was what, 15 days? So, basically, just like missing two starts kind of, so there (weren’t) really a lot of factors into (making a rehab start),” Pepiot said. “It was a lot of just based on when I did touch the mound and how it felt and how it responded.”

Pepiot earned his most recent win on April 29 at Milwaukee, tossing six shutout, two-hit innings with seven strikeouts.

–Field Level Media