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Story, Refsnyder HR for the Sweep

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BALTIMORE – (Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Trevor Story and Rob Refsnyder homered, and Romy’s Gonzalez’s tiebreaking single in the eighth inning lifted the Boston Red Sox to a 3-2 victory against the host Baltimore Orioles to complete a four-game series sweep Thursday afternoon.

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Roman Anthony had two hits for the Red Sox, who went 7-1 on an eight-game road trip vs. American League East Division rivals. Refsnyder, who rejoined the roster from the IL earlier in the day, homered for the first time in more than a month and ended up with two hits.

Jordan Hicks (2-7) was the winning pitcher with a shutout inning in relief of Garrett Crochet. Steven Matz picked up his second save despite surrendering a double to Dylan Carlson to lead off the ninth.

Alex Jackson homered for the Orioles, who stranded nine runners on base and finished a 1-7 homestand. Jackson Holliday, Emmanuel Rivera and Jeremiah Jackson all had two hits.

Baltimore starter Cade Povich gave up two runs on seven hits in five innings. Shawn Dubin, claimed off waivers from the Astros, threw a shutout top of the ninth in his debut with the Orioles.

Crochet worked six innings, allowing two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.

Three games in the series were decided by one run.

It was also the third time in the series that the Red Sox had a first-inning solo home run. Story homered for the second time this week and for the 22nd time this season.

Alex Jackson hit his fourth homer of the year in the third inning to tie the score.

Refsnyder, who had been out since Aug. 13 because of an oblique strain, regained the lead for Boston in the fourth with his seventh homer. Jeremiah Jackson tied it for Baltimore in the fifth on a double to left that scored Alex Jackson.

With two outs in the eighth, Gonzalez hit a full-count curveball to left to score Anthony from second.

The Red Sox were without first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who went on the paternity list Thursday just 10 days after signing with Boston following his release from the Washington Nationals.

–Field Level Media

Crochet Throws for Sox Sweep

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BALTIMORE – (Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox, seeking a positive finishing act on what has been a rewarding road trip, will go for a four-game series sweep of the Baltimore Orioles today.

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“It’s a different group,” Boston manager Alex Cora said of his team. “We’re winning, which is important, too.”

The Red Sox defeated the Orioles 3-2 on Wednesday night courtesy of Ceddanne Rafaela’s two-run homer in the ninth inning. It was Boston’s second one-run victory in the series.

Boston is 6-1 on the road trip, which began against the New York Yankees. After losing the finale of that series, the Red Sox won the next three nights in Baltimore.

“Let’s take care of business here,” Cora said, “and I truly believe this weekend at home (against the Pittsburgh Pirates) is going to be fun.”

Much of the good times have come with outfielder Roman Anthony providing key production. The top prospect in pro baseball this spring, he has made good use of his promotion to the major leagues. This week, he has led off two games with home runs.

“The one thing lately, he has opened it up a little bit more as a person,” Cora said. “He’s a cool kid.”

The Orioles have lost six of their past seven games. They are still making player transactions in attempts to have the right combinations available despite their last-place standing in the American League East. They brought back infielder Emmanuel Rivera on Wednesday while designating Vimael Machin for assignment.

“I think Emmanuel Rivera is a guy who’s excelled defensively in the big leagues at third base,” Baltimore interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “I think just trying to get a little more stability at the position for us, knowing that the other corner spot we have a young infielder learning there as well.”

Rivera came off the bench as a defensive replacement on Wednesday and grounded out in his lone at-bat.

Baltimore also promoted Roansy Contreras from Triple-A Norfolk, and he threw 4 1/3 shutout innings Wednesday night. Yaramil Hiraldo was optioned to Norfolk.

After Contreras exited, the Orioles went back to Keegan Akin for his third appearance in four games, and the left-hander gave up the winning home run.

“We felt very comfortable with it,” Mansolino said. “Just didn’t work out.”

The pitching matchup for the finale will involve a pair of left-handers.

Boston’s Garrett Crochet (14-5, 2.38 ERA) continues his bid to be in line for postseason honors. He has allowed one run in each of his past two outings, both covering seven innings. He matched his season-high strikeout total with 11 on Saturday against the Yankees.

Crochet’s first victory of the season came via eight shutout innings at Baltimore on April 2. The 26-year-old is 1-1 with a 1.13 ERA in four career games (two starts) vs. the Orioles.

Cade Povich (2-7, 5.13) goes to the mound for the Orioles, who have lost all four of the games he has pitched this month. On Friday against the visiting Houston Astros, he got the defeat after permitting six runs (four earned) in 4 2/3 innings.

Povich, who lost to Boston twice last season as a rookie, has allowed four runs in 9 1/3 total innings over two no-decisions against the Red Sox this year.

–Field Level Media

 

Slaughterhouse Nine in Da Bronx

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BRONX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – After another win over the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox were unclear about why they are dominating their longest rival.

The Red Sox hope to field more inquiries about getting another victory over the Yankees on Sunday night when the American League East foes conclude a four-game set in New York.

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The Red Sox will seek a series sweep.

Boston is 8-1 in the season series, and after starting with a 9-6 loss on June 6, the Red Sox have outscored the Yankees 48-22. Three of Boston’s major-league-leading 20 games with at least 10 runs have come against the Yankees, including Saturday’s 12-1 rout.

Trevor Story had three of Boston’s 17 hits with a two-run double and a solo homer in the opening five innings Saturday. Story got his third hit during a seven-run ninth inning and is batting .351 (13-for-37) with two homers and 11 RBIs in the season series.

Carlos Narvaez had three hits, including a two-run homer, as Boston scored its most runs against the Yankees in New York since a 13-9 victory on Sept. 7, 2013. Narvaez is hitting .284 (78-for-275) in its past eight games against the Yankees.

“Just playing good baseball,” Story said. “I don’t know if there’s a certain thing you can pinpoint. Obviously tensions are high, the rivalry and all that, but we’re just playing good baseball I think at the right time.”

Boston’s eight-game winning streak over the Yankees is the longest since from Sept. 20, 2020, to July 16, 2021. The Red Sox last won nine straight over the Yankees Sept. 28, 2008, to June 11, 2009.

The Yankees are trying to avoid getting swept in a four-game series by the Red Sox for the first time since Aug. 2-5, 2018, in Fenway Park.

“We’re definitely angry, especially against your rivals,” New York captain Aaron Judge said Saturday. “We don’t like the showing we’ve had here at home. We just got to step up. That’s it. Everybody in this room has got to play a little bit better, pick up a notch and go out there and take care of business tomorrow.”

Giancarlo Stanton homered, but the Yankees struck out 13 times, and their bottom four hitters of Trent Grisham, Anthony Volpe, Jose Caballero and Austin Wells were a combined 0-for-13.

[Read more…] about Slaughterhouse Nine in Da Bronx

Gem-o-lito

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BALTIMORE – (Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Lucas Giolito pitched eight shutout innings to upstage the return of a Baltimore Orioles pitcher as the visiting Red Sox won 5-0 on Tuesday night.

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Trevor Story and David Hamilton both homered off Kyle Bradish, who pitched in the big leagues for the first time in more than a year.

The Red Sox won for the fifth time in six games, including the second night in a row in this series. Hamilton finished with three runs batted in.

Giolito (9-2) held the Orioles to four hits while striking out eight and issuing his only walk with two outs in the eighth to Jackson Holliday. Giolito’s outing ended with him needing 11 pitches to strike out Jeremiah Jackson. He finished with 104 pitches.

Justin Wilson pitched the ninth to complete the shutout despite allowing two singles.

Bradish (0-1), who had Tommy John surgery in June 2024, struck out 10 batters without a walk in six innings. Two of the four hits he allowed were solo home runs.

Bradish retired 11 of the first 13 batters he faced, with the home runs the exceptions.

The Orioles have dropped five of six games in the homestand, which has two games remaining vs. the Red Sox. Baltimore won both games in a two-game set last week at Boston.

Roman Anthony, Hamilton and Story each had two hits for Boston. Baltimore’s Alex Jackson also contributed two hits.

Story led off the second with his 21st home run of the season, marking his 200th career long ball. The third inning began with Hamilton’s fourth homer.

An RBI fielder’s choice grounder from Carlos Narvaez in the eighth pushed the score to 3-0. Yaramil Hiraldo was charged with that run.

Hiraldo also was responsible for Boston’s two ninth-inning runs when Hamilton doubled off Yennier Cano.

–Field Level Media

Sox Find Way to Beat Yankees

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BRONX, NY – (Wire Service Report) – Even when they struggle to produce the big hit, the Boston Red Sox are finding ways to beat the Yankees. Their latest win was due in large part to three players who had a combined zero hits in their early-season success vs. New York.

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The Red Sox will attempt to grab the first American League wild-card position and earn a seventh straight win over the Yankees when the rivals continue a four-game series Friday night in New York.

Boston leads the season series 6-1 after losing seven of the 13 meetings last season. The Red Sox moved within a half-game of the Yankees for the top AL wild-card position on Thursday when they opened the series with a 6-3 victory.

Boston went 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position but got big nights from rookie Roman Anthony, newcomer Nathaniel Lowe and Alex Bregman, who was on the injured list in June during the clubs’ two series in June.

Anthony, who debuted June 9, hit a two-run homer in the ninth and drove in three runs in his Yankee Stadium debut. He produced two of Boston’s hits with runners in scoring position. Anthony is hitting .373 (19-for-51) in that area and has three homers in his past nine games after hitting two in the first 50 games of his career.

“It’s probably what I imagined, and maybe even a little more,” Anthony said of playing in New York. “But it’s exciting. For me, I love playing in that atmosphere. I love getting booed, I love everything about it, so it’s fun.”

Lowe, who joined the Red Sox on Monday, drove in two runs with a sacrifice fly and tiebreaking double. He has reached four times in 11 plate appearances for Boston.

Bregman had three hits and a walk, and he is hitting .337 (28-for-83) over his past 23 games.

After tying their season high with five straight wins, the Yankees played one of their sloppiest games in weeks, committing four errors. Paul Goldschmidt and Luis Gil made fielding miscues while Ben Rice and Jazz Chisholm Jr. made errant throws.

The Yankees but issued nine walks on Thursday, their second-highest total of the season. Rice homered and Goldschmidt and Chisholm hit RBI singles, but New York stranded 10. The Yankees have scored only seven runs in their past four games against Boston.

“Just not a real clean game for us,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone, whose team is still 9-4 in the past 13 games. “Obviously a lot of free bases there.”

Max Fried (13-5, 3.26 ERA), who is 2-3 with a 7.20 ERA in his past six outings, will start for the Yankees on Friday. On Saturday in St. Louis, he earned the win despite allowing a season-high seven runs on eight hits in five-plus innings during a 12-8 victory.

“I think stuff-wise, he’s very close to who he’s been all year and who he’s been when he’s been at his very best,” Boone said Thursday afternoon. “So I do feel like it’s something that hopefully can click because he’s probably been searching for a little bit out there and fighting himself a little bit out there.”

Fried is 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA in three career starts against the Red Sox. He took the loss June 15 at Boston when he allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings.

Boston’s Friday starter, Brayan Bello (9-6, 3.23 ERA), will attempt to reach double-digit victories for the third straight season. The right-hander last pitched on Saturday, when he allowed two runs on four hits over 6 1/3 innings to beat the Miami Marlins.

Bello opposed Fried on June 15 and threw seven scoreless innings and surrendered only three hits in seven innings during a 2-0 win. He is 4-3 with a 2.21 ERA in nine career starts against the Yankees.

–Field Level Media

Sox Squander Then Get Swept

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – Samuel Basallo hit a go-ahead groundout in the 11th inning as the visiting Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 to sweep a two-game series on Tuesday night.

The Orioles earned their sixth win in seven games despite being out-hit 8-6. Baltimore’s Ryan Mountcastle and Colton Cowser had a hit and an RBI.

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Seven Baltimore pitchers held Boston hitless in 13 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Yennier Cano (2-6) tossed a scoreless 10th inning, and Corbin Martin who posted his second save, stranding Nate Eaton on third base in the 11th. Eaton did not try to score on Roman Anthony’s potential sacrifice fly to center for the second out, and Alex Bregman popped out to end the game.

In his first Red Sox start, Nathaniel Lowe hit a game-tying, two-run home run to right in the ninth to force extra innings. However, it was one of three straight frames in which the Red Sox loaded the bases without scoring.

With Boston down 3-1 in the eighth, Connor Wong and Anthony hit back-to-back singles and Bregman walked to fill the bases. Orioles reliever Rico Garcia then entered and struck out the next three batters — Jarren Duran, Trevor Story and Masataka Yoshida — to get out of the jam unscathed.

An inning later, after Lowe’s homer, Boston drew three consecutive walks with two outs, but Yaramil Hiraldo got Story to ground into an inning-ending fielder’s choice.

In the 10th, Cano induced an inning-ending double play from Abraham Toro.

Anthony, Wong and Romy Gonzalez all had two hits for Boston, which has lost three in a row. Garrett Whitlock (5-3) yielded an unearned run in the 11th.

The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in unique fashion in the third. After hitting a leadoff single and advancing on an error and Anthony’s fielder’s-choice grounder, Wong baited Orioles starter Tomoyuki Sugano into a balk by breaking down the third base line toward home plate.

Boston’s Walker Buehler labored through the first four innings, working around six combined baserunners to hold Baltimore scoreless.

In the fifth, Jackson Holliday’s Green Monster-banging double and a Luis Vazquez walk ended the Boston starter’s day. Justin Wilson recorded the first out in relief, but consecutive RBI hits by Mountcastle and Cowser made it 2-1. A wild pitch by Greg Weissert allowed Mountcastle to score a third run.

Buehler wound up charged with two runs in four-plus innings. Sugano permitted just an unearned run in five innings.

–Field Level Media

O’s, Sugano Prove to be Tough for Sox

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – In the first series between the Orioles and Red Sox since late May, Baltimore will look to sweep a two-game set in Boston on Tuesday night.

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After Trevor Rogers pitched seven innings of one-run ball in a series-opening 6-3 win on Monday, the Orioles will hand the ball to 35-year-old rookie Tomoyuki Sugano, who is set to face Boston for the first time in his career.

Sugano (10-5, 4.13 ERA) has not lost since July 2. The right-hander allowed just one run in each of his past two starts, the most recent being a Thursday outing against the Seattle Mariners, when he exited after 5 1/3 innings due to a 2-hour, 18-minute rain delay.

“Throwing strikes, good velocity, good split, good command,” Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said.

Sugano is the 10th Japanese-born pitcher to win 10 games during his rookie season in the U.S. major leagues.

The Orioles have turned things around following a 3-8 skid, earning five wins in their past six games. Pitching has been a key for Baltimore even longer than that, as the club’s 3.89 ERA is the American League’s fourth-best since the All-Star break. Before the break, the Orioles’ 4.92 ERA ranked next-to-last in the league.

In the series opener, the Orioles supported Rogers and two relievers by producing 12 hits. Gunnar Henderson recorded a triple, a homer, two RBIs and three runs to help lead the way.

The 24-year-old shortstop, who is 24-for-46 with runners in scoring position since the start of June, is being counted on more than ever after the likes of Cedric Mullins and Ryan O’Hearn were traded at the deadline.

“It’s hard to just go out there and play good baseball after some of your longtime teammates leave, but … we’re really starting to put it together,” Henderson said. “You try to lean on guys, but we don’t really have that long-tenured veteran. We’re just kind of leaning on each other.”

Meanwhile, the Boston lineup got a pre-series boost with the arrival of first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who was signed on Monday after being released by the Washington Nationals.

The left-handed batter was not in the starting lineup against Rogers, a lefty, but he drew a ninth-inning walk as a pinch hitter and scored a run. In that frame, the Red Sox produced four of their six hits for the night and two of their three runs, but they still ended up with their second straight loss.

“Getting plugged into a lineup that’s having great success and being part of making a great postseason push is what it’s all about,” Lowe said.

Boston manager Alex Cora said he expects to platoon the 30-year-old newcomer with switch-hitting Abraham Toro.

“He’s excited to be here,” Cora said of Lowe. “We’ll use him against righties, certain lefties, pinch-hit him late and use him to maximize the roster.”

Boston’s scheduled Tuesday starting pitcher, Walker Buehler (7-7, 5.43 ERA), has had a mixed bag of recent outings. The right-hander served up two homers and four runs in his six-inning outing on Wednesday in a 4-1 loss to Houston after shutting out the San Diego Padres across six frames five days earlier.

“Tough one,” Buehler said of the contest at Houston. “There was a lot of 92 (mph) in there and kinda moving the ball around, but pitching a little bit and making a lot of pitches when I felt like I needed to — and you kinda lose it there in the sixth at the end.”

Buehler is 1-1 with a 2.16 ERA in three career starts against Baltimore, including a May 25 loss in which he gave up two runs on four hits in five innings.

–Field Level Media

Shutdown Street

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – Trevor Rogers pitched shutout ball for his first 6 1/3 innings and Gunnar Henderson ripped a pair of RBI extra-base hits to help the visiting Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox 6-1 in the opener of a two-game series on Monday night.

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Rogers (6-2) struck out seven and allowed just one run on four hits across seven innings. The righty never worked with more than one baserunner aboard until his final frame.

The Orioles banged out 12 hits, including three from Ryan Mountcastle. Henderson was 2-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored, while rookies Samuel Basallo, Jeremiah Jackson and Dylan Beavers each had multiple hits as well.

Trevor Story (2-for-4) and Jarren Duran (double, three RBI) led the Red Sox, who have taken back-to-back home losses for the first time since June.

After Rogers and Boston counterpart Dustin May (7-9) pitched two scoreless innings apiece, the Orioles broke the deadlock with single runs in back-to-back frames. Henderson’s solo shot to center field made it a 1-0 game with two outs in the third.

Basallo’s leadoff double opened a stretch of three straight Baltimore hits to extend the lead in the fourth. The rookie backstop came across after Jackson and Beavers recorded back-to-back singles thereafter, with the latter being lined to center to double the score.

May took the tough-luck loss despite finishing his six-inning quality start with back-to-back scoreless frames, striking out five through six innings. However, the visitors made it a 4-0 game with two quick runs off Boston reliever Jovani Moran in the seventh.

After Jackson Holliday drew a leadoff walk, Henderson laced an RBI triple into the right-field corner two batters later. Ryan Mountcastle then came up and drove home the fourth Baltimore run on a single up the middle.

The four-run cushion was more than enough for Rogers, who did not allow more than one baserunner until the Red Sox cracked the scoreboard in the seventh. Alex Bregman’s leadoff walk and a Trevor Story one-out double preceded Duran’s first RBI.

In the ninth, Basallo’s line-drive, two-run single to center plated Luis Vazquez (leadoff double) and Henderson to provide insurance for Baltimore, though Duran hit a two-out, two-run double off the left-field wall to bring the home team its lone run.

Orioles third baseman Jordan Westburg took an awkward stumble coming around second base in the first inning and exited the game with what the team later described as right ankle discomfort. Vazquez replaced him.

–Field Level Media

Something’s Fishy at Fenway

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – There’s something fishy at Fenway and it’s not the old story about a ballpark under sea level, three rainy days and fish floating upstream and into the outfield drains and the visitor’s dugout. (It really happened, according to former Boston Globe baseball writer, Peter Gammons).

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Today’s fish story really happened, too.

The Boston Red Sox were winning 3-1, after scoring an Arbella in the 7th inning when corner infielder Abraham Toro hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Wilyer Abreu from third base after Abreu and Romy Gonzalez hit consecutive singles.

After pitching seven innings of one run, three hit baseball, Sox starter Garrett Crochet gave way to reliever Garrett Whitlock in the 8th. It was one too many Garretts for the day, as the latter gave up a pair of singles and hit a batter to allow the Florida Marlins … aka, the fish … to swim upstream and make it 3-2, Boston.

Boston Manager Alex Cora was navigating around the fact his club gave up late innings runs just yesterday and the Sox skipper was forced to play closer Aroldis Chapman to secure a 7-5 victory. Cora had to improvise or risk burning his elite closer out before the home stretch for contenders comes in September.

Cora tapped reliever Greg Weissert for the top of the 9th and – TIE GAME – as Marlins CF Dane Myers blasted a solo home run 385 feet to right center, prompting Cora to change gears and pitchers after Miami first baseman Eric Wagaman singled to put the go-ahead run on base.

Lefty Steven Matz entered the game mid-inning and pinch hitter Jacob Marsee laced a 394-foot, two-run homer to provide the Marlins with a 5-3, come-from-behind victory – at the cost of a shakey bullpen, sans Chapman.

Boston had two runners on with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but backstop Carlos Narvaez flied out to right against Miami reliever Anthony Bender to end the game.

Tyler Phillips (2-1) collected the win for pitching a scoreless eighth. Bender picked up his fourth save.

Despite the loss, Boston is 16-3 in their last 19 home games and 57-2 when leading after eight innings, but they’ve dropped six of their last 10 games, since August 6. That was following a seven-game winning streak.

Crochet, the Boston ace, is 13-5 on the season and lost the chance for his 14th victory.

C’Ya Next Year Marcelo

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – Boston Red Sox versatile rookie infielder Marcelo Mayer will undergo surgery on his right wrist that will end his season, manager Alex Cora announced Sunday. Per Cora, Mayer will be sidelined three months following the surgery but is expected to be ready for spring training.

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“I’m really sad about what’s going on,” Mayer told reporters. “I want to play. I want to help the team win. But that’s just the hand I’m dealt with right now.”

Mayer sustained the injury after swinging — and missing — at a pitch by Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Jesus Luzardo in Boston’s 9-8 victory in 11 innings on July 23. Mayer was placed on the 10-day injured list two days later, and his body did not respond favorably to a cortisone injection in his wrist in early August.

Mayer, 22, previously dealt with this type of injury in 2022 while in the minors.

He made his major league debut against the Baltimore Orioles on May 24 and cracked his first home run at Yankee Stadium on June 6.

Mayer, who played both third and second base in the field, batted .228 with four homers and 10 RBIs in 44 games. He was selected by the Red Sox with the fourth overall pick of the 2021 MLB Draft out of high school in Chula Vista, California.