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Rookie Rice Packs Punch v. Sox

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BRONX (New York) – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The New York Yankees were hoping for improved production from the leadoff spot when rookie Ben Rice was moved up on Thursday.

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A three-homer game probably wasn’t anticipated, but after Rice accomplished that feat on Saturday, the Yankees are in position to win their first series in over three weeks and hope to get rolling again when they face the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night in the Yankees’ final home game before the All-Star break.

After Rice homered three times in New York’s 14-4 rout on Saturday, New York is seeking consecutive victories for the first time since winning the first three games of a four-game series at Kansas City on June 10-13.

“Hopefully, it’s something that is a jump-start (for) us because it’s obviously not easy for us right now,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

Rice was moved up to the leadoff spot to replace a struggling Anthony Volpe when the Yankees took an 8-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday. He hit his first career homer in that game and drove in seven runs on Saturday.

Rice was 1-for-9 in his first two games at the top of New York’s order before helping the Yankees win Saturday for just the fifth time in their past 19 games. He hit a leadoff homer, capped a seven-run fifth inning with a three-run homer, and added another three-run homer in the seventh to become the first Yankee rookie with three homers in one game.

Gerrit Cole vs Red Sox Matinee

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BRONX (New York) – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Gerrit Cole’s first two outings after a lengthy rehab from an elbow injury featured some uncharacteristic struggles.

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His third outing was a step in the right direction and the struggling Yankees are hoping to witness continued progress from their ace when Cole faces the visiting Boston Red Sox on Saturday afternoon.

Cole (1-1, 6.23 ERA) will pitch after the Yankees fell to 4-14 in their past 18 games with their 5-3 loss on Friday. The Yankees were one strike away from winning but saw their losing streak reach four when Masataka Yoshida hit a tying homer off Clay Holmes and rookie Ceddanne Rafaela hit a tiebreaking homer to open the 10th off Tommy Kahnle.

“It’s a difficult time,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after New York’s fifth straight home loss. “You got to dig down and it’s a quick turnaround tomorrow, get ready to play and find out what we’re made of.”

After three rehab starts from the injury sustained in spring training, Cole returned and pitched four-plus innings, throwing 62 pitches, in a no-decision against the Baltimore Orioles on June 19. He followed that by throwing 72 pitches against the New York Mets on June 25 when he allowed six runs and seven hits, including four homers, with no strikeouts in four innings of a 9-7 loss.

On Sunday, Cole was back to being himself when he allowed one run on three hits in five innings during an 8-1 win at Toronto. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner also saw his pitch count bumped up to 90.

“I thought it was a good blend of stuff and command,” Cole said. “I pitched pretty smart for the most part, so it was a good day. There was a pretty conscious effort to hone in the command a little bit, making sure we’re giving ourselves a chance over the plate. That’s part of the buildup process.”

Cole is 7-5 with a 4.68 ERA in 17 career starts against the Red Sox. Since joining the Yankees as a free agent after the 2019 season, the right-hander is 5-4 with a 5.16 ERA in 12 starts and has particularly struggled against Rafael Devers, who is 12-for-38 (.316) with seven homers and 17 RBIs in their previous matchups.

The Red Sox are 13-4 and on a five-game winning streak after the comeback. Boston also is 11-4 in the past 15 meetings with the Yankees and 10-1 in its past 11 road games.

“It’s always special to come here and win games,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “We know where we’re at in the standings. Like I said last week, let’s not settle. Let’s keep pushing and see where it takes us.”

Josh Winckowski (2-1, 2.80) will make his 20th career start and the Red Sox are hoping it goes as well as last weekend. He allowed four hits and threw 58 pitches in five innings of a 4-1 win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday.

Winckowski is 0-2 with a 6.52 ERA in five career appearances (two starts) against the Yankees.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Face Yankees in Big Series

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BRONX, (New York) – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Three weeks ago, the New York Yankees rolled into Boston as the best team in baseball, cruised to an easy win and became the first club with 50 wins this year.

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Since then, the Yankees have fallen into a deep slump and have lost their lead in the American League East. But they hope to return to their previous form when they host the Red Sox in the opener of a three-game series tonight.

The Yankees were 50-22 and held a 3 1/2-game lead on the Baltimore Orioles atop the AL East after beating the Red Sox 8-1 in a June 14 contest highlighted by Alex Verdugo’s return to Boston.

New York was outscored 17-7 in the last two games of the series, and those contests started their current 4-13 slide.

Heading into 12 straight games against division opponents bridging the All-Star break, the Yankees are coming off getting swept at home by the Cincinnati Reds. The Yankees never led in the three-game series, dropping the finale 8-4 on Thursday.

New York finished with seven hits, three from Verdugo. Juan Soto hit a two-run homer, and Austin Wells and rookie Ben Rice hit solo homers.

“Just not really clicking the way we were to start the season, just not going our way,” Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said. “It’s baseball. It’s a long season. You’re going to have a tough spell here and there.”

The Red Sox were a .500 team following the opener of the last series against the Yankees but are 12-4 since.

Boston has scored 87 runs (5.4 per game) in that span. The Red Sox extended their winning streak to four games when Tyler O’Neill capped a three-hit showing by getting a clutch double in the 12th inning of a 6-5 win over the host Miami Marlins on Thursday.

“It was a grinder but a good one,” manager Alex Cora said after the Red Sox survived going 4-for-18 with runners in scoring position. “It’s not that we played sloppy; they just played hard, too. I’m just glad we ended up winning the game, and we have to be ready for (Friday).”

Rafael Devers drove in two runs without getting a hit and is batting .378 (14-for-37) over his past 10 games. He also has 19 of his 51 RBIs in the past 16 games and is one hit shy of 1,000 for his career.

Nestor Cortes (4-7, 3.51 ERA) will start the series opener for the Yankees. The left-hander is 4-3 with a 1.84 ERA in nine home starts this season, 0-4 with a 5.63 ERA in his nine road starts.

Cortes is coming off his second set of consecutive losses this season. He allowed three runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings on Saturday in Toronto. He last pitched at home on June 23 against the Atlanta Braves, when he permitted three runs in seven innings.

Cortes has not faced the Red Sox this year. He is 2-0 with a 5.59 ERA in 10 career appearances (four starts) against them.

Tanner Houck (7-6, 2.67 ERA) will get the ball for Boston on Friday. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 5.94 ERA in his past three outings after earning four consecutive wins. Houck was shelled for eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings during an 11-1 loss to the visiting San Diego Padres on Saturday.

Houck, who is set for his first outing against the Yankees this year, is 3-2 with a 2.06 ERA in 12 career appearances (seven starts) vs. New York.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Salvage Series Finale

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Rafael Devers collected two hits, including a two-run home run, to help the Red Sox avoid a three-game sweep by beating the visiting San Diego Padres 4-1 Sunday.

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Devers hit his 18th home run of the season in the bottom of the first against Matt Waldron. Wilyer Abreu, who reached on a walk, also scored on the home run. The two-run homer gave Devers 600 career RBIs.

Devers has hit four home runs in his last five games. Abreu and Masataka Yoshida also had two hits for the Red Sox.

Jarren Duran added a solo home run for the Red Sox, who ended a three-game losing streak. It was his ninth home run of the season.

San Diego scored in the seventh on back-to-back doubles by Jackson Merrill and Ha-Seong Kim. Merrill had three hits in the loss, which ended San Diego’s five-game winning streak.

Josh Winckowski (2-1) earned the win for tossing five scoreless innings in his second appearance since being recalled from Triple-A. Winckowski allowed four hits, struck out one and didn’t walk a batter.

Waldron (5-7) gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out three.

Boston was outscored 20-3 in the first two games of the series. San Diego prevailed 9-2 Friday night and 11-1 Saturday. The Padres entered Sunday’s game with a 9-1 record in their last 10 games and had outscored their opponents by 29 runs during that stretch.

After Devers gave Boston a 2-0 advantage, the Red Sox extended their lead to 3-0 in the third. Abreu singled, took third on a Devers single and scored on a passed ball.

Duran’s home run stretched the lead to 4-0 in the fifth, before the Padres got on the scoreboard in the seventh.

–Field Level Media

Surging Padres Rock Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The visiting San Diego Padres will attempt to extend their winning streak to six games Sunday afternoon when they wrap up a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox. San Diego outscored Boston 20-3 in the first two games of the series. The Padres won 9-2 Friday night and 11-1 Saturday.

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The Padres hit six home runs in their two victories against the Red Sox. Jackson Merrill has homered in each game, and Manny Machado homered twice in Saturday’s win. San Diego is 9-1 in its last 10 games, with 20 home runs.

The 16 hits the Padres collected in Saturday’s win were the most the Red Sox have given up in a game this season. The victory pushed the Padres five games over the .500 mark (46-41) for the first time this season.

“We’re just looking for continual improvement,” San Diego manager Mike Shildt said. “You get continual improvement, then you get all areas firing together and you get guys working together, communicating together and clearly playing together. A lot of quality at-bats. Manny and some other guys put some big swings on the baseball.

“When you have confidence in your whole roster and guys in the lineup, you don’t feel like you have to carry the proverbial mantle. It’s just a matter of taking your good at-bat, knowing the guy behind you is going to take a good at-bat, and you’re going to do it over and over again.”

The Padres scored nine runs in the fifth inning Friday night, and struck for six runs in the fifth inning Saturday.

Right-hander Matt Waldron (5-6, 3.43 ERA) is San Diego’s scheduled starting pitcher Sunday. Waldron, a knuckleballer, has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last nine starts. He has a 1.95 ERA during that stretch.

Sunday will be Waldron’s first career appearance against the Red Sox. Kyle Higashioka typically catches when Waldron is on the mound.

“The knuckleball is definitely an outlier pitch, because even if you know it’s coming, there’s no guarantee that you’re going to get one that’s good to hit,” Higashioka told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It’s dancing out there like crazy. So regardless of whether you’re looking for it or not, if he throws the good one, it’s very unlikely that somebody’s going to really square it up.”

The Red Sox will go with right-hander Josh Winckowski (1-1, 3.26 ERA) on Sunday. Winckowski has a 1.69 ERA in three starts this season and a 4.12 ERA in 10 relief appearances. He pitched the final three innings to earn the save in a 6-1 victory over San Diego last season. That is his only appearance against the Padres.

The Red Sox have lost their last three games.

“It’s a good lineup, and they’re swinging the bats really, really well — putting up big numbers,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Hitting the ball out of the ballpark. That’s something they’ve been doing the last 10, 15 days. Hopefully tomorrow with (Winckowski), we can hold them down and we can get going offensively.”

Red Sox catcher Connor Wong carries a 15-game hitting streak into Sunday’s matchup.

–Field Level Media

 

Red Sox Drop Opener to Padres

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox will have right-hander Tanner Houck on the mound today when they attempt to end the visiting San Diego Padres’ four-game winning streak.

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Houck (7-5, 2.18 ERA) began the season battling to win the fifth spot in Boston’s rotation but has quickly become the team’s ace. He leads the American League in ERA and has 101 strikeouts and 18 walks in 103 1/3 innings this season.

Houck credited much of his 2024 success to Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey, who suggested he overhaul his split-finger fastball.

“He came over and kind of gave me a few different grip ideas before camp,” Houck said on a recent NESN game telecast. “I took it and kind of ran with it. I feel incredibly comfortable with that pitch now. It’s something that I’ve known for years I’ve needed to develop and get better with, but ultimately I feel like that’s kind of been my biggest weapon this year that’s taken the most steps forward.”

Houck has pitched at least 5 2/3 innings in each of his 16 starts. Saturday — his 28th birthday — will be the first time he faces the Padres in his career.

Right-hander Michael King (5-5, 3.75 ERA) is San Diego’s scheduled starter. King, who was with the New York Yankees the previous five seasons, is 2-4 with a 5.20 ERA in 12 career appearances (two starts) against the Red Sox. He is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in five outings (one start) in Boston.

The Padres opened the three-game series with a 9-2 victory on Friday. San Diego did all of its scoring in the fifth inning, which included a two-run home run from Kyle Higashioka and a three-run home run from Jackson Merrill, who grew up rooting for the Red Sox.

“I don’t usually like to talk about something I do,” Merrill said. “I like talking about the wins and stuff. But that was probably the dopest moment of my baseball career.

“A nine-run inning. You can’t ask for anything better than that.”

Higashioka has three home runs in his past two games and eight home runs in June.

The victory was the eighth in nine games for the Padres, moving them four games above .500 for the first time this season.

X-rays were negative on Padres starting pitcher Randy Vasquez, who took a line drive off his right forearm in the fifth inning.

“A little bit of swelling right now, but hopefully I’ll be able to be out there for my next start,” Vasquez said.

The Red Sox have lost two straight for the first time since dropping the middle two games of a four-game series against the White Sox on June 7-8.

“We have a good baseball team that can do a lot of good things,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “There’s other stuff that we have to get better (at), but at the same time very pleased with the way we went about our business in the first part of the season and the way some guys progressed.

“We’re going to keep working hard to make them better, and we’re going to keep playing good baseball. I truly believe there’s going to be meaningful games here in September.”

–Field Level Media

Jays Outscore Sox with Long Balls

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had two doubles and four RBIs while George Springer homered to help the visiting Blue Jays past the Boston Red Sox 9-4 on Tuesday. The Blue Jays scored all nine of their runs over the third and fourth innings, highlighted by an initial seven-run scoring frame that erased an early 2-0 Red Sox lead.

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Blue Jays centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier also posted a three-hit game, scoring two runs and driving in another for Toronto. The support was more than enough for starter Kevin Gausman (6-6), whose six innings of work included five strikeouts and helped Toronto snap a seven-game skid.

Rafael Devers (2-for-4) and Tyler O’Neill each homered for the Red Sox, who were held to five hits while losing for just the second time in the past 10 games.

Brayan Bello (7-5) was roughed up for seven runs on five hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings. Josh Winckowski covered all but two outs the rest of the way, striking out a career-high eight over six innings of relief.

After a 1-2-3 start against Gausman, the Red Sox struck for a pair of quick runs in the second. Devers opened the scoring with a towering homer out to deep right center, his 16th homer of the season. O’Neill dropped a ball into shallow right over a lunging Guerrero’s glove at first base to continue the inning. Masataka Yoshida then lined a double to right and added to Boston’s lead at 2-0.

The Blue Jays wasted little time tying the game and more, tagging Bello for a seven-run inning in just a span of eight batters. Kiermaier knocked an RBI single off the glove of Enmanuel Valdez at second, and right fielder Wilyer Abreu’s relay throw sailed and led to the second run. After back-to-back walks, Guerrero crushed a go-ahead, two-run double into the centerfield triangle before a Turner grounder and two-run Springer homer into the Red Sox bullpen to bring Toronto in full command at 7-2. It was Springer’s sixth homer of the season.

The Toronto lead ballooned to 9-2 against the bullpen on Guerrero’s two-run double that bounced into the left-field corner and a subsequent throwing error. Devers’ fan-interfered double to center set up another RBI opportunity for Boston in the sixth, and O’Neill crushed a two-run homer out to deep right, his 16th homer of the season.

–Field Level Media

Sox On, Walk Off

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Reports) – A night after an exhilarating walk-off victory in the series opener, the Boston Red Sox will look for their fourth consecutive win when they oppose the visiting Toronto Blue Jays tonight.

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Jarren Duran (3-for-5) hit a single on Monday to score Ceddanne Rafaela with the game-winning run for the Red Sox, who trailed 6-2 after seven innings but came back for their eighth win in nine games.

Three of Boston’s wins in that stretch came during a series sweep at Toronto early last week.

Rafael Devers (3-for-4 on Monday) and David Hamilton each homered and Romy Gonzalez hit a game-tying, pinch-hit, two-run single to help the Red Sox prevail with the NBA champion Boston Celtics in attendance.

“It was just amazing,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve never really been a part of something like this, and hopefully we can just keep this thing rolling.”

Duran has hit safely in a career-high 14 consecutive games.

The Tuesday pitching matchup is a rematch from the finale at Toronto last week. Red Sox right-hander Brayan Bello (7-4, 4.83 ERA) will oppose Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman (5-6, 4.24).

Bello pitched six innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts in Boston’s 7-3 win on Wednesday.

“When you’ve got 97-98 (mph) with movement, a good changeup and a good slider, we want our guys to keep pounding the strike zone and he did,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said after Bello’s latest outing. “(The starting pitchers) worked hard (last) week just controlling the counts and pounding the strike zone, and he executed the plan.”

Blue Jays Visit Fenway to Face Hot Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox look to get the best of an American League East rival for the second straight week, beginning another three-game series against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, who will head to Fenway Park for the first time this season tonight.

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It has been a winning stretch for Boston, which took series from the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees on their last homestand before going 5-1 on a trip through Toronto and Cincinnati.

The Red Sox are 9-2 over their past 11 games after heading home following a 7-4 win over the Reds on Sunday, moving them into the third American League wild-card position.

Boston manager Alex Cora sees a talented team from top to bottom that is “playing with joy.”

“We went from a roster that we had some question marks early on in the season and now it feels like it’s one of the best rosters position-player-wise that we’ve had in a while,” Cora said. “From one to 13, we’re not afraid to play them. We’re in a good spot right now.”

Jarren Duran finished a highlight-filled series with a 3-for-5 performance Sunday to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. He also stole his 20th base.

“He works so hard and he now understands what he needs to do to play every day, to keep his energy the way he should,” Cora said.

Of course, starting pitching has also been a major strength. Tanner Houck (7-5, 2.14 ERA) is slated to pitch on Monday.

Houck allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and struck out five in 5 2/3 innings Tuesday at Toronto. The right-hander had a streak of five straight outings of at least six innings snapped, but the Red Sox were eventual 4-3 winners en route to the series sweep.

Houck, who is 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA in six career outings (five starts) against Toronto, has still not allowed more than three earned runs in 12 straight starts dating to April 12.

“I’ve always known I can do better,” Houck said recently. “I’ve always known that I had the ability to do it and it was just kind of putting it together.”

The Blue Jays are trending in the opposite direction, having lost six straight and fallen to seven games under .500 after being swept in Cleveland.

On top of the extended skid, Orelvis Martinez — the organization’s star prospect who recorded his first major league hit Friday — received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.

Home Runs Propel Sox Over Reds

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CINCINNATI – (Wire Service Report by Field Level Media) – Boston’s Connor Wong and Rob Refsnyder each hit a two-run home run to propel the visiting Red Sox to a 7-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.

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Wong (No. 7 of the season) homered in the fourth inning, and Refsnyder (No. 3) belted his home run in the sixth. Jarren Duran had three hits and two RBIs for the Red Sox, who took two of three games in the series and have won seven of their last eight.

Wong extended his hitting streak to 13 games.

Cincinnati starting pitcher Nick Lodolo (8-3) had won his five most recent starts, but exited the mound with two outs in the fifth. Lodolo allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits. He walked four and struck out three over 77 pitches.

Cincinnati manager David Bell was ejected in the fourth inning for arguing balls and strikes. It was the 30th time he has been ejected during his managerial career, which ties him with Sparky Anderson for most ejections by a manager in Reds’ history.

Greg Weissert (3-1), one of eight pitchers Boston used in the game, picked up the win for tossing one scoreless inning. Kenley Jansen recorded his 15th save.

The Red Sox scored four times in the fourth. After Wong’s homer opened the scoring, Boston took a 3-0 lead when Ceddanne Rafaela hit into a fielder’s choice and Romy Gonzalez scored on Jonathan India’s throwing error from second base. Rafaela made it 4-0 by scoring on Duran’s RBI double.

The Reds got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth. Elly De La Cruz doubled and scored on Jeimer Candelario’s single to left.

Duran’s RBI single drove in David Hamilton to stretch Boston’s lead to 5-1 in the sixth before Refsnyder homered two pitches later.

Cincinnati kept things interesting by scoring three runs in its half of the sixth, which included an RBI double by Tyler Stephenson and RBI singles from Santiago Espinal and Stuart Fairchild.

De La Cruz, India and Fairchild each had two hits in the loss.

–Field Level Media