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Mariners Score Early, Sinks Sox

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

–Field Level Media

Crochet to the Rescue

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bottom of Mariners’ Line-Up Sinks Sox

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Newcomb struck out eight in five innings.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Rollin’ at the Fens

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Were Early to Work

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Walker Buehler allowed one run and struck out nine in seven innings to help the Boston Red Sox defeat the visiting Chicago White Sox 4-2 on Monday in a late-morning start on Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts.

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Buehler (3-1) allowed four hits, walked three and threw 100 pitches (63 strikes). Two of the four hits Buehler allowed came in the first inning, when he gave up his only run. Justin Slaten pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his third save.

Rob Refsnyder hit a home run for Boston, his first. Trevor Story had three hits for the Red Sox, while Kristian Campbell added two hits, including a two-run single.

The White Sox received a solo home run from Andrew Benintendi, who collected two of the team’s five hits. A Brooks Baldwin double in the second inning was Chicago’s only other extra-base hit.

Boston won three of the four games in series, while the loss dropped Chicago’s road record to 1-9.

White Sox starter Jonathan Cannon (0-3) surrendered four runs on six hits in six innings with four walks and four strikeouts.

Nick Maton led off the game with a single, moved to third on an Andrew Benintendi single and scored to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead on Edgar Quero’s groundout.

After Refsnyder’s solo home run tied the game in the second, the Red Sox took a 4-1 lead by scoring three times in the third. Jarren Duran doubled and scored on Trevor Story’s single to make it 2-1 before Campbell delivered a bases-loaded single that extended Boston’s lead to 4-1.

Benintendi, who began his MLB career with the Red Sox, capped the scoring when he homered against Aroldis Chapman in the eighth. It was his fourth homer of the year and just the sixth the left-handed Chapman has allowed to a left-handed hitter in his career.

Red Sox Wrap-Up Series This AM

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox will aim for a four-game series win against the Chicago White Sox when they host their traditional Patriots’ Day game on Monday morning.

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Boston won 10-3 and 4-3 in the first two games of the set, the latter coming in 10 innings. But the club wants to bounce back from an 8-4 loss Sunday in which it was shut out over the final seven frames — and got three of its runs on Wilyer Abreu’s first-inning homer — while allowing six over the final three.

“It’s baseball, that’s the way I see it,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “They’re got good arms, just like everybody else, and you’ve got to play 27 outs.”

Boston has been on the wrong end of three of Chicago’s five wins this season.

Similarly, it has been an uneven start to the Red Sox career of Walker Buehler (2-1, 5.23 ERA), but he enters Monday following back-to-back solid outings, including a win at Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

In that outing, Buehler held the Rays to two runs on three hits across the first five innings of a 7-4 victory.

Sunday marks Buehler’s first career start against the White Sox, and the Boston newcomer knows that he has plenty of offensive firepower supporting him despite being held to just six hits on Sunday.

“I think we have five, six, seven guys that can have a day like (Alex Bregman) did (in my last start) and win us a game,” Buehler said. “That’s kind of what you’re looking for — that depth. Not depth in terms of, like, ‘Oh, they could get a hit today,’ but depth of guys that can take over a game.”

Rookie second baseman Kristian Campbell has quickly become a key part of that attack, going 2-for-4 with his fifth double. He’s reached base in 20 out of 21 games.

Chicago will be looking to start new streaks on Monday, having snapped a six-game skid and an 0-8 start on the road Sunday in the come-from-behind victory.

Andrew Vaughn had the biggest hit on Sunday, going 2-for-5 with a two-run homer in the eighth inning.

“These guys have been working so hard,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “We talked about it, the game — sometimes it doesn’t reward you and you have to just keep going. And that’s the mindset these guys have. That’s something everyone in the building is embracing, and it’s nice for it to pay off (on Sunday).”

After Massachusetts natives Shane Smith and Sean Burke took the ball in the two weekend games for Chicago, Jonathan Cannon (0-2, 4.42) will get a fifth crack at his first win of the season Monday. It will be the first start against Boston of his young career, though he threw three scoreless innings of relief in a win over the Red Sox last year.

The 24-year-old took a no-decision Wednesday despite striking out four and allowing just three hits over 4 1/3 shutout innings against the Athletics.

“He did a good job attacking the zone,” Venable said of Cannon in his last start. “He was able to put guys away and end at-bats. The little trouble he got into, he was able to work through.”

It was Cannon’s second scoreless start this season. Sandwiched in between, though, were two losses in which he allowed nine combined runs.

Just over a year ago, Cannon made his MLB debut. There has been plenty for Cannon to learn in the time since.

“The learning curve in (the majors) has been great,” Cannon said. “It’s been a lot at once … but just trying to take the blows and get better every outing.”

–Field Level Media

 

White Sox Roll Over Red Sox, 8-4

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BOSTON – The Chicago White Sox have now won a road game in 2025. In their ninth road game of the season, the White Sox managed an 8-4 win over the Red Sox in the third of a four game series. Boston won the first two games of the set and the teams will meet once again on Monday with the traditional 11:10am start on Patriots’ Day, as the Boston Marathon winds its way past Fenway Park.

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During Saturday’s game, it took 4 1/2 innings for a runner to advance to third base. Today, it was quite the opposite.

Chicago jumped out to a 2-0 lead when catcher Matt Thaiss hit his first home run of 2025, knocking in Luis Robert Jr. who had been given a free pass by Red Sox starter Tanner Houck in the at-bat immediately before Thaiss’ blast.

In the bottom of the first, Boston struck right back, largely at the hands of Chicago’s poor fielding. Both DH Rafael Devers and third baseman Alex Bregman reached base on errors before right fielder Wilyer Abreu belted a ball 387 feet to right field to make the score 3-2, Boston.

The White Sox struck back in the seventh inning, scoring three runs after Red Sox reliever Zack Kelly allowed a lead-off single to Chicago second baseman Lenyn Sosa, then hit two batters (Joshua Palacios and Miguel Vargas). Sosa scored on a sacrifice by pinch hitter Brooks Baldwin and the two hit batsman scored when pinch hitter Edgar Quero singled and the score turned to 5-4, Chicago.

The White Sox added two more runs in the eighth inning when Luis Robert Jr. singled and first baseman Andrew Vaughn homered off Boston’s recently reactivated reliever Liam Hendriks. That made the score 7-4, Chicago, and a crowd of 32,632 fans at Fenway Park turned quiet on a gorgeous 60-degree Easter Sunday afternoon.

Chicago added an insurance run in the top half of the ninth as a combination of singles, an error on Sox third baseman Alex Bregman, a stolen base, an intentional walk, and a hit batter forced in Baldwin to make the final score 8-4, Chicago.

Bregman’s error marked the 24th error committed by the Red Sox which are the most in baseball. The Red Sox have booted at least one play in 11 of 23 games, and are 4-7 in those games..

Slow, but Home Cooking for Red Sox

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Saturday’s Boston Red Sox vs Chicago White Sox was the kind of baseball game when absolutely nothing happened for the first four and a half innings. Nothin’ but a few scattered hits, three hit Red Sox batters, and six strike-outs by a sharp and effective Boston starter Garrett Crochet.

Although they left four batters on base in the first two innings, the Red Sox didn’t muster a base hit until rookie 2B Christian Campbell rocketed a single to left field in the bottom of the fourth.

Still nothing, until the home half of the fifth when No. 9 hitter Cedanne Rafaela doubled and left fielder Jarren Duran followed with a base hit to left which advanced Rafaela to third base with none out.

Red Sox slugger and designated hitter Rafael Devers cracked a 389-foot drive over the Green Monster to score Rafaela and Duran to give Boston a 3-0 lead. The home run perked-up the Fenway Park sellout crowd of 36,559 on an 83-degree Easter weekend day.

Devers chased White Sox starter Shane Smith who pitched 4.2 innings, and allowed three runs on four hits and the three hit batters. He threw 73 pitches (45 strikes) during his afternoon outing.

Crochet had a strong quality start but no decision. He threw six innings of scoreless baseball, allowing four hits on two walks and seven punch-outs. But the 3-0 lead he left the game with, vanished in the top of the seventh inning.

Boston reliever Greg Weissert walked pinch hitter Joshua Palacios who advanced to third a batter later when Boston’s Trevor Story mishandled a tag at second base. Chicago’s lead-off hitter Chase Meidroth singled, then Luis Robert Jr. parked a home run, some 375-feet to left. The homer tied the game, 3-3, and wiped a possible win off of Crochet’s pitching record.

After enduring such a costly error and allowing the game to go into extra innings, Boston first baseman Triston Casas hit a bases-loaded single off the Green Monster to drive in the winning run with one out in the 10th inning on Saturday, lifting the Boston Red Sox to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

 

A Whiter Shade of Pale Sox

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox welcomed the Chicago White Sox to Fenway Park just as Boston’s newly acquired third baseman Alex Bregman and his wife Reagan were welcoming their second son into this world, their first child born as a member of Red Sox nation.

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From April 11 to 13 this year, the Red Sox dropped two of three games to the lowly pale sox when Boston opened the season with an 8-9 record, hardly impressive. Starting this four-game, Easter weekend and Patriots’ Day set, the home team is an even 10-10, stuck in third place in the American League East.

Chicago is already dead last in the American League Central and their 4-14 record has those two home victories, showing for half of their win total for the young season. The White Sox have yet to win a road game in 2025.

Friday night at Fenway Park continued that trend in front of 35,620 fans.

Boston wasted no time in setting a 3-0 lead as DH Rafael Devers doubled on a ground rule bounce in center field, Bregman walked and Sox shortstop Trevor Story rapped a first pitch change-up from Chicago SP Martin Perez and sent it 427 feet to deep center field to clear the bases.

Boston added a run in the third inning when Story singled up the middle and right fielder Rob Refsnyder banked one off the left-center friend Green Monster for a double, scoring Story. Refsnyder’s blast fell about five feet short on the 37-foot, two inch wall.

Former Red Sox outfielder, Andrew Benintendi, now playing left field for the White Sox, put his club on the scoreboard with a towering home run over the famed Pesky Pole in right field to make it 4-1 in the fourth inning.

Chicago’s Penn Murfee relieved Perez in the bottom of the fourth, sending the starter to the showers after 3 IP, five hits, four earned runs, with two base on balls and no strike-outs. Perez threw 52 pitches over the short stint with 34 as strikes. He allowed the Story HR. The club later announced Perez left the game early because of left forearm soreness.

Boston went to quick work on Murfee as catcher Carlos Narvaez doubled to lead off the home fourth and Sox centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela took a 78 mph sweeper 406 feet and over the Green Monster in left field. The home run made it 6-1 Red Sox.

Benintendi singled in the sixth inning and scored on a ground out to cut the lead to four runs, 6-2, and reliever Tyler Gilbert entered the game to face Boston in the bottom of the inning.

For Boston, starter Hunter Dobbins pitched 6 innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs.  He walked none and struck out six Chicago batters as he tossed 79 pitches (55 strikes). Dobbins earned the victory and is (2-0) on the season.

In Boston’s half of the seventh inning, Story hit another home run on a 0-1 count, clocking a 365 foot bullet to the left field Green Monster seats to mark his 20th career multi-homer game. Story last had multi-HRs when he hit three off the Seattle Mariners on May 19, 2022.

Boston brought in reliever Josh Winckowski in the eighth inning, leading 9-2, and he held Chicago scoreless.

In the Red Sox end of the eighth, Narvaez hit his first career home run, a healthy 353 foot solo blast into the left field Monster seats. It made the score 10-2, Boston.

Winckowski gave up a run in the ninth inning to close out the score at 10-3, and Boston took the first game of the four game series.

Perez took the loss and is now (1-1) for the White Sox.

The two teams will meet again for a 4:10pm Saturday afternoon start.

 

 

 

Bregman Back with a Baby Boy

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report from Official News Release) – The Boston Red Sox activated third baseman Alex Bregman off the paternity list Friday, while right-hander Michael Fulmer was designated for assignment.

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In other moves, the Red Sox recalled right-hander Hunter Dobbins, while infielder/outfielder Nick Sogard was optioned. Dobbins starts Friday night vs the Chicago White Sox.

Bregman, 31, last played Tuesday when he went 5-for-5 with a pair of home runs and four RBIs in Boston’s 7-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. In his first 19 games with the club since signing as a free agent in the offseason, he was batting .321 with four home runs and 16 RBIs.

He and his wife, Reagan, welcomed their second son this week.

Fulmer, 32, made his Red Sox debut Monday and gave up three runs in 2 2/3 innings. A former starter for the Detroit Tigers, he is 37-50 with a 3.96 ERA in 263 appearances (90 starts) over eight career seasons.

He won the 2016 American League Rookie of the Year with the Tigers.