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Red Sox Put One in the “W” Column

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BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox took the middle game of a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners, 9-4, scoring runs in bunches at Fenway since an 11-run barrage against the Toronto Blue Jays on May the Fourth. Tuesday night, the Sox scored four runs to take a 4-0 lead in the first and then followed with a three-run fifth. Both scoring binges were the result of homers, triples, doubles and base hits – the “club cycle” that’s not a qualifier for free furniture.

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The rubber game of this three game set will be played Wednesday night at 7:10, giving Sox fans one hour and twenty minutes of baseball before they tune-in to see the hometown Celtics play host to the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Finals.

For Boston, SP Nick Pivetta went 5.1 innings and allowed four earned runs on six hits. He walked four and struck-out six Seattle batters. Pivetta allowed one home run as he threw 98 pitches with 58 strikes before giving way to RP Ryan Sherriff, the newly recalled lefty from Triple A Worcester.
Pivetta squandered the 4-0 lead but saw some run support after he headed to the showers. Ultimately, he was credited with the win and is now (3-3) on the 2023 season.
In the home half of the fifth inning, Alex Verdugo led-off with a 2B to left field and Masatka Yoshida followed with an RBI ground rule double that hopped over the low fence in fight field and Verdugo scored the go-ahead run, making it 5-4 Boston. After being moved over to third by a long fly ball to right by Justin Turner, a Luis Castillo wild pitch allowed Yoshida to score standing up. Sox CF Jarren Duran followed with a solo home run, a 4`7-foot blast to right center field to give Boston a 7-4 lead heading into the sixth inning.
Trailing 4-0, Seattle battled its way back to a tie game, 4-4 in the fourth, when Eugenio Suarez singled to left, C Cal Raleigh walked before RF Teoscar Hernandez tripled to center field. Red Sox centerfielder, Darren Duran, attempted to make a diving catch in short center, but missed and the ball rolled all the way back to the 420 mark in Fenways quirky center field. The triple scored both Suarez and Raleigh to make it, 4-3. Seconds later, Seattle DH Taylor Trammell cracked a two-run homer to right field, tying the game at the end of four innings.
The Red Sox started the game with an offensive outbreak. Boston RF Alex Verdugo beat out a bobbled ground ball to Seattle 2B Kolten Wong to lead-off the first inning. Masatake Yoshida crushed a bullet to center field which bounced off the outfield wall and rolled back towards the infield, allowing the Sox left fielder to show off his speed and dive into 3B as the throw trickled in from an errant cut-off. DH Justin Turner, batting in the third position then knocked in Yoshida with a towering 389-foot home run over Fenway’s Green Monster left field wall. With the Red Sox taking the three-run lead, 1B Triston Casas hit a 373-foot drive to clear the short right field and spot the Sox a 4-0 lead at the end of one.
Seattle’s Luis Castillo took the loss after pitching 5.0 innings and allowing seven runs (five earned) on six hits and two walks. Castillo is now 2-2 on the season.
GAME NOTES:  The Red Sox have now won 9 of their last 11 games against Seattle. … After going 16-6 in a 22 game stretch (4/14 to 5/6), the Red Sox are now 2-6 over their last eight games. … Boston leads the Majors in two-base hits, now tallying 96. Verdugo and Yoshida carding doubles tonight. … Fenway Park fans were treated to one of the better renditions of the USA national anthem when nearby Suffolk University and its Performing Arts division brought it home in the pregame ceremonies…. It’s been a little over a month since Red Sox OF Adam Duvall broke his wrist (left distal radius fracture on 4/10). Duvall did not undergo surgery but will require at least six weeks of rehabilitation once the bone is set and healed. In the meantime, Duvall is running and throwing to stay in shape. It will take time before he can swing a bat and he was off to a very strong start, batting .454 with 15 hits, 14 RBI in his first eight games of the season, before suffering the broken wrist.

Red Sox on Four-Game Losing Streak

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report from Field Level Media) – The Seattle Mariners will look to keep the hits coming for a second straight night when they continue a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park tonight.

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Seattle has won 10 of its last 14 games after dominating Monday’s series opener, racking up 15 hits in a 10-1 victory.

“We are riding the coattails of our pitching,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said before George Kirby logged a quality start to begin the series. “And we should.”

After Kirby tossed 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball, Seattle leads the major leagues with a 3.24 ERA. The Mariners have prevented opponents from scoring more than one run in nine games this season.

The difference on Monday, however, was the Mariners’ season-high hit total. Cal Raleigh went 3-for-5 with four RBIs while becoming the first catcher to ever homer from both sides of the plate in a game at Fenway.

“I can’t believe (Jason) Varitek never did it,” Raleigh, who has strong family ties to Vermont, told Root Sports in a postgame interview. “That’s pretty cool.”

Eugenio Suarez also went deep for Seattle.

On Tuesday, the Mariners will give the ball to Luis Castillo (2-1, 2.70 ERA).

Castillo, who did not allow a run in three of his first four starts this year, is looking to bounce back after taking his first loss on Wednesday against Texas. He fanned nine Rangers but allowed three runs on eight hits through five innings during a 4-3 setback.

Castillo’s only career start against Boston was a great one, as he surrendered just one hit and struck out 10 in six shutout innings during a 2-1 victory on May 31, 2022.

The Red Sox are riding a four-game losing streak and have dropped six of their past seven since an eight-game winning streak.

Boston has been outscored 19-2 in the past two games, including a 9-1 setback against St. Louis. The Red Sox also lost leads in the first two games of the three-game set against the visiting Cardinals.

A positive sign could be Rafael Devers regaining his footing at the plate. The star third baseman is on a five-game hitting streak and logged Boston’s lone RBI on Monday with a double.

Boston right-hander Nick Pivetta (2-3, 6.23 ERA), who is scheduled to start on Tuesday, has failed to complete five innings in only two of his first seven starts. However, one of those outings came in his latest appearance, on May 9 at Atlanta, where he allowed seven runs on eight hits in four innings.

Despite the recent struggles, Pivetta fully expects to remain as a regular in the rotation, which could experience some alterations in the coming week.

“I’ve started for this team my whole entire career,” Pivetta said. “I’m going to continue to do that. By the end of the year, I’m going to continue to do that, then next year and the year on out.”

Boston manager Alex Cora isn’t ready just yet to discuss changes to the starting staff.

“You have 26 (roster slots) and have to make tough decisions at the end of the day,” Cora said. “But as far as conversations, we don’t have to do that right now.”

Pivetta has made only one career start against Seattle, when he held the Mariners to two runs on one hit over six innings in a no-decision on April 22, 2021.

–Field Level Media

St. Louis Hammers Red Sox for Sweep

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) St. Louis’ Paul DeJong, Andrew Knizner and Nolan Arenado each homered as the visiting St. Louis Cardinals beat the Boston Red Sox 9-1 on Sunday night to complete a three-game sweep.

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DeJong hit a solo home run before Knizner and Arenado each added two-run homers. Arenado homered in each game of the series.

St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas (2-1) pitched six strong innings to earn the win. He limited Boston to a run on four hits. Genesis Cabrera, Jordan Hicks and Chris Stratton each tossed a scoreless inning of relief.

Boston’s Corey Kluber (2-5) surrendered four runs on seven hits in five innings. He struck out five and walked three.

Lars Nootbaar had three hits (two doubles, single) for the Cardinals, who have won six of their last seven games. Arenado, Knizner, Paul Goldschmidt and Alec Burleson each added two hits for St. Louis. Arenado also drove in four runs.

The Cardinals beat the Red Sox 8-6 on Friday night, and 4-3 on Saturday.

The Red Sox received two hits from Rafael Devers, who drove in Boston’s only run.

Boston Blows Another Game, Save

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report with Field Level Media) – Boston closer Kenley Jansen allowed three runs in the ninth inning for the second consecutive game as the visiting St. Louis Cardinals came from behind to beat the Red Sox 4-3 Saturday.

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Jansen walked three (one intentionally) and committed three pitch-clock violations in the ninth.

Willson Contreras tied the game by scoring from third when Alec Burleson grounded into a fielder’s choice, and the Cardinals took a 4-3 lead on a throwing error by Enrique Hernandez as he was attempting to complete a double play. The error allowed Nolan Gorman to score.

Gorman’s double earlier in the inning drove in Paul Goldschmidt to cut Boston’s lead to 3-2.

Jansen (1-2) also allowed three runs in the ninth inning of Friday night’s 8-6 loss to St. Louis.

Boston wasted a strong start by Chris Sale, who recorded nine strikeouts in eight innings. Sale limited the Cardinals to a run on three hits and walked one.

Rob Refsnyder had three hits and two RBIs for Boston.

Nolan Arenado hit a solo home run for St. Louis. It was his second homer in as many days, and his fifth home run in his last seven games at Fenway Park.

Andre Pallante (2-0) earned the win for tossing a scoreless eighth inning, and Giovanny Gallegos pitched a scoreless ninth to record his third save.

St. Louis starting pitcher Steven Matz went 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on eight hits. He struck out four and walked one.

Boston opened the scoring when Justin Turner doubled and scored on a two-out single by Rafael Devers in the bottom of the first.

Boston’s lead grew to 3-0 after Refsnyder’s two-out double drove in Pablo Reyes and Alex Verdugo in the third. Nolan Arenado’s fifth home run sliced Boston’s lead to 3-1 in the seventh.

The Red Sox acquired Reyes in a trade with the Oakland A’s on Friday. He didn’t play for the A’s this season but has appeared in 157 major league games with Pittsburgh and Milwaukee.

Reyes, 29, started at second base Saturday and had two hits. To make room for Reyes, the Red Sox optioned Bobby Dalbec to Triple-A Worcester.

Sox are Sweeper, Not Sweepee

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – A month ago, the Boston Red Sox were being swept in a three-games series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The three losses at Fenway Park dropped the Sox record to 2-4 and they plummeted from second to last place in the American League East.

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This week, Boston won four consecutive games against a talented Toronto Blue Jays team to sweep their series and improve their record to 19-14 and are five games over the .500 mark and they are 7-3 in series play, including 5-1 at home. Boston owns the AL’s longest active winning streak and are tied with the LA Dodgers for the longest win-streak in the majors.

It is far better to be the sweeper of a series, rather than the sweepee.

Boston’s Masataka Yoshida went 3-for-5 with a first-inning home run, three RBIs and three runs while Rafael Devers also went deep to help the Boston Red Sox complete the sweep of the visiting Blue Jays with an 11-5 win Thursday evening (6:10pm start).

Boston led 6-0 and 8-1 through two and four innings, respectively, en route to its sixth straight win.

The Red Sox put up a series-high 16 hits — delivering one more hit in each successive game of their series after 13 hits Monday. Justin Turner, Devers and Jarren Duran added three apiece as the Nos. 2 through 5 spots in Boston’s lineup went a combined 12-for-20 with nine RBIs.

Devers had four RBIs, including hitting his 150th career homer and American League-leading 11th this season to highlight the team’s three-run eighth. Raimel Tapia and Yoshida each scored three runs.

Winning pitcher Brayan Bello (1-1) struck out five and walked one while allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits over five innings.

Toronto SS Bo Bichette, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (double, home run, two RBIs) and OF Daulton Varsho had two hits apiece for Toronto.

The Red Sox teed off on Toronto starter Kevin Gausman (2-3), who was charged with eight runs on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings. The right-hander had pitched seven scoreless innings in his each of his previous two outings with 24 strikeouts in 14 innings.

Yoshida opened the scoring with a one-out solo shot into the center-field bullpen in the first.

Boston blew the game open with a five-run, six-hit second inning that moved Gausman over the 60-pitch mark. Catcher Reese McGuire’s one-out RBI single started the barrage to make it 2-0. After Tapia reached on a run-scoring fielder’s choice, he stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Yoshida’s sharp single to right. A Turner single moved Yoshida to third and Devers scored both on a double that was inches shy of clearing the fence in deep right.

In the fourth, the visitors got on the board on a Guerrero homer to center, but Boston made it 8-1 after Yoshida and Duran each hit RBI singles with Gausman exiting in between.

Toronto cut its deficit to 8-4 in the fifth. Bichette grounded a hit to right before Guerrero’s ground-rule double over Tapia’s head plated another run. Varsho capped the three-batter scoring span with a sacrifice fly to left.

In the eighth, an RBI single by Turner preceded the Devers bomb to right.

The Jays got a run back on George Springer’s one-out single in the final frame.

Toronto reliever Zach Pop exited with two outs in the eighth due to an apparent leg injury.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Strike Data Protection Deal

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BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – HYCU, Inc., a Boston-based data protection service company, struck a multi-year partnership with the Boston Red Sox. The new partnership will leverage the power of the award-winning HYCU Protégé platform to modernize, scale, and simplify the Red Sox club-owned proprietary data and its overall protection strategy.

Echoing Major League Baseball’s efforts to protect the integrity of data, the challenge for the Red Sox became apparent as each MLB club needed to protect their back-end infrastructure environments such as corporate, enterprise, and fan-facing systems that are unique to the sport.

The Red Sox turned to HYCU to modernize their back-end infrastructure. In doing so, the team adopted the solutions tailored to fit their specific needs.

“The business of baseball is very complex,” said Brian Shield, Red Sox SVP and CTO. “The need to modernize our digital strategy and cloud capabilities was a top priority for our IT team. As our data protection needs continue to grow, we needed a more effective way to protect our data and HYCU has allowed us to do that.”

“Partnering with the Boston Red Sox and their IT department to help modernize their infrastructure for not only today but well into the future, is what any Boston-based company dreams about,” said Simon Taylor, CEO and Founder, HYCU. “HYCU solutions are designed to help companies seamlessly manage, protect, optimize, and recover all their data, no matter where it resides and on what platform. We are thrilled to work with The Red Sox and count them as a key relationship in our growing customer base.”

Red Sox Can Take Series vs. Blue Jays

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Red Sox had a season series to forget against the Blue Jays in 2022, but Boston came out swinging in back-to-back games vs. visiting Toronto to begin the week. After losing 16 of the 19 games between the teams last season, Boston has banged out double-digit hits twice and shown resolve to pick up a pair of one-run wins.

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Boston will chase a fifth straight win and aim to clinch the four-game series when the American League East foes meet tonight.

“Last year, they had our number,” Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo said. “It’s one of those things, man, we want to play competitive games against these guys. Last year there were a lot of blowouts, a lot of uncompetitive games.”

Verdugo hit a walk-off home run on Monday in a 6-5 Boston win, and catcher Connor Wong was the hero on Tuesday. His 4-for-4 effort included two long balls, the second of which came in the eighth inning to decide a 7-6 ballgame.

The Red Sox, who have come from behind in 12 of their 17 wins, tied a season high with four home runs on Tuesday. Christian Arroyo and Masataka Yoshida also went deep.

The contributions of Wong and others have brought a new dynamic to the lineup.

“He’s been (hitting like) the best catcher in the league,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Defensively, obviously, he’s doing what he’s doing. It’s cool to see all these kids coming in here and getting a chance to play and contributing to this.”

Nick Pivetta (1-2, 5.11 ERA) will get the start for Boston on Wednesday. The right-hander has pitched at least five innings and recorded at least five strikeouts in four of his first five starts.

Pivetta is looking to bounce back from a Friday loss to the Cleveland Guardians in which he allowed four runs on five hits but struck out five in five innings. His lone win came a week earlier in Milwaukee.

“I feel like I’ve been competitive, making small increases as I go forward, staying healthy, which I’m happy about,” Pivetta said. “I feel like I’m close to … taking a step in the right direction.”

Pivetta is 1-4 with a 5.83 ERA in 11 career starts against Toronto.

The Blue Jays have scored at least five runs in seven of their past nine games, but they have allowed six or more in three straight, all losses.

A six-run fifth inning, including a three-run homer by Daulton Varsho, was not enough for Toronto on Tuesday.

Bo Bichette, who was 7-for-11 with two homers and six RBIs in his previous two games, went 0-for-2 with two walks and a run on Tuesday.

“Competing is when he’s taking his skill set along with a really good approach to what the pitchers are doing to him,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.

Bichette leads the major leagues with 43 hits.

Alek Manoah (1-1, 4.88), Toronto’s scheduled Wednesday starter, has not been victorious since April 5 in Kansas City, though he allowed just two runs total over his past two starts. He struck out seven in five innings of two-run ball during a no-decision against the Seattle Mariners on Friday.

Manoah has been outstanding in six career starts against the Red Sox, going 4-0 with a 1.46 ERA and 33 strikeouts over 37 innings.

“I pitch with passion and I love competing,” Manoah said prior to the series. “When you are a competitor like that, a lot of teams like to come at you with their best. They lock it in that day or they’re extra aggressive that day. They play harder, and that’s what I love.”

Three of Manoah’s four victories over Boston came last season, including a Sept. 30 start in which he allowed just two hits in six shutout innings.

– Field Level Media

Red Sox Make Roster Moves

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BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official Team Announcements) – The Boston Red Sox placed right-handed pitcher Garrett Whitlock on the 15-Day Injured List (retroactive to April 25) due to right elbow ulnar neuritis. To fill Whitlock’s spot on the active Major League roster, the club recalled right-handed pitcher Brayan Bello from Triple-A Worcester. Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom made the announcement on the transactions.

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Whitlock, 26, last started on Saturday in Milwaukee, allowing five runs in 4.0 innings. The right-hander is 1-2 with a 6.19 ERA (11 ER/16.0 IP) in three Major League starts this season. Selected by Boston in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, he is 13-8 with a 3.06 ERA (57 ER/167.2 IP) in 80 career appearances (12 starts) with the Red Sox (2021-23).

Bello, 23, was optioned to Worcester on Monday. The right-hander last pitched on Sunday in Milwaukee, allowing three runs over 4.2 innings in Boston’s 12-5 win. The Dominican native owns a 5.29 ERA (38 ER/64.2 IP) in 15 career Major League outings (13 starts) with the Red Sox (2022-23).

In addition, infielder Yu Chang yesterday underwent a successful left hamate excision. The procedure was performed by Dr. Matthew Leibman at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Typical return from the surgery is a relatively quick six weeks.

Lastly, the Sox claimed right-handed pitcher Justin Garza off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels and optioned him to Triple-A Worcester.

Garza, 29, has pitched in 21 Major League games, all with Cleveland in 2021 when he posted a 4.71 ERA (15 ER/28.2 IP) with 29 strikeouts. This season, he has made six appearances with Triple-A Salt Lake, allowing four runs on six hits in 8.1 innings (4.32 ERA). Selected by Cleveland in the eighth round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Cal State Fullerton, the right-hander has pitched in 137 minor league games (50 starts), going 18-27 with 14 saves, a 4.65 ERA (193 ER/373.1 IP), and 367 strikeouts.

Sox Drop 2-of-3 to Orioles

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BALTIMORE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Baltimore’s starting pitcher Tyler Wells spotted the Orioles with a strong pitching performance in a 6-2 victory against the visiting Boston Red Sox in the rubber game of a three-game series Wednesday afternoon.

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Ramon Urias went 4-for-4, scored three runs and had one RBI and Anthony Santander had a pair of sacrifice flies as the Orioles won for the eighth time in their last nine games and 10th in their past 12 outings. They completed a 5-1 homestand.

Wells (1-1) worked 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Masataka Yoshida homered for the Red Sox. Starting pitcher Tanner Houck (3-1) took the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) and seven hits in five innings.

MLB: Tellez Tags Red Sox

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MILWAUKEE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Milwaukee slugger Rowdy Tellez hit a two-run homer, and the Brewers’ bullpen preserved Milwaukee’s victory over visiting Boston.

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Rafael Devers pulled Boston to within 5-4 in the sixth with his eighth homer of the season, a 416-foot, two-run shot to right off Joel Payamps. Peter Strzelecki and Hoby Milner kept the Red Sox off the board until the ninth, when Devin Williams worked around a one-out single to pick of his third save of the year.

Brewers starter Wade Miley (3-1) allowed two runs on four hits in five innings, striking out three and walking one. Boston starter Garrett Whitlock (1-2) was tagged for all five runs on eight hits in four innings and took the loss.