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Sox: On Again After Off Again

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KANSAS CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Masataka Yoshida homered and drove in three runs as the Boston Red Sox rallied past the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Tuesday evening.

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Yoshida, who had four hits in Monday’s 9-5 win for Boston, hit a solo homer in the third inning on Tuesday — his sixth blast of the season. He then singled in two runs to cap a three-run sixth inning.

Opening the sixth, Dominic Smith doubled and was later ruled out trying to score on Seth Lugo’s wild pitch, but the call was overturned after the Red Sox challenged it, breaking the 3-3 tie.

After Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the first, Boston answered quickly, taking advantage of second baseman Michael Massey’s first error of the season. David Hamilton’s RBI double and Ceddanne Rafaela’s run-scoring grounder gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead.

Kansas City tied the game with two out in the fifth on Massey’s 10th homer and Vinnie Pasquantino’s RBI double. After a walk to Salvador Perez, Boston starter Brayan Bello was pulled in favor of Brennan Bernardino (4-3), who the final out got and picked up the win with his only pitch of the game.

In 4 2/3 innings, Bello allowed three runs on five hits and three walks. He struck out six.

MJ Melendez’s two-run double in the eighth cut the Royals’ deficit to one, but closer Kenley Jansen struck the final batter of that inning and two of three he faced in the ninth to earn his 21st save.

Boston has won six of eight games and three straight series.

The Red Sox won four of five games against the Royals this year and 27 of 38 since the start of 2018.

Lugo (13-6) pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing six runs — four earned — on six hits and four walks. He struck out four. He has lost four of his last six starts.

Pasquantino had three of Kansas City’s eight hits with two RBIs, and he leads the Royals with 82 RBIs.

The Royals have lost six of their last seven home games.

–Field Level Media

Sox Facing Royals in Key Series

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KANSAS CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – As the visiting Boston Red Sox prepare for the middle game of a pivotal three-game series against the Kansas City Royals, they expect to soon receive a bullpen boost with the return of right-handers Chris Martin and Justin Slaten.

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On the injured list since July 4, Martin may return during the series with the Royals.

“He’s on his way here,” Boston manager Alex Cora said on Monday. “He’s staying at home one more night. We’ll know more (Tuesday) night. If he’s ready, he’ll be activated Wednesday.”

Slaten, dealing with right elbow inflammation like Martin, has been sidelined since July 8.

“(He was) playing catch (Monday), up to 120 (feet),” Cora said, “so, that’s a good sign. When you get up to there, the bullpen is right around the corner.”

The Red Sox recently received surprising news about Trevor Story, who has missed all but eight games due to left shoulder dislocation and was thought to be lost for the year.

Instead, the shortstop has made significant progress and could return this season.

“I never thought we were going to get to this point,” Cora said. “I’m excited. Obviously, not a hundred percent that it’s going to happen, but the fact that he is doing everything possible to make it happen is great.”

Story is travelling with the club and swinging a bat.

“He’s hitting underhand tosses, front tosses this past weekend,” Cora said. “That’s close to BP. He’s moving well. His swing looks great.”

After winning the series opener 9-5 on Monday, Boston will send right-hander Brayan Bello (10-5, 5.13 ERA) to the mound on Tuesday as they look for their third straight series victory.

In two career starts against the Royals, Bello is 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA. He collected a win on July 14 vs. Kansas City despite surrendering homers to Salvador Perez and Adam Frazier. He threw 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits.

In three starts since, Bello has been consistent, throwing at least five innings while allowing three or fewer runs each time.

The Royals will counter with right-hander Seth Lugo (13-5, 2.57 ERA). He has made four career appearances — one start — against the Red Sox, going 0-2 with a 7.56 ERA. The lone start was a loss on July 13, when he allowed five runs on 10 hits, including a home run by Rafael Devers, in five innings.

Lugo beat the Detroit Tigers in his latest start, allowing a run on four hits in eight innings on Thursday.

“A lot of soft contact, a lot of pitch efficiency,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “It looked like he had everything working. He got soft contact on changeups, some swing-and-miss on the breaking ball, had the two-seamer going. All in all, he was in command the whole night.”

While Bobby Witt Jr. has earned most of the Royals’ offensive headlines, teammate Vinnie Pasquantino has also contributed as Kansas City has homered in 11 straight games, tied for the fourth-longest streak in club history.

In the Monday loss, Pasquantino extended his hitting streak to nine games with his 16th homer. He has five long balls in his past six games.

“Vinnie’s a run producer,” Quatraro said. “He’s had some good games for us, especially lately.”

In 35 games since June 24, Pasquantino is hitting .329 with nine homers and 34 RBIs. His 51 home-game RBIs lead the majors.

–Field Level Media

 

Texas Ends Losing Streak vs Red Sox

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ARLINGTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Texas’ sluggers Jonah Heim and Leody Taveras hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning to help the Rangers end a three-game losing streak by beating the Boston Red Sox 7-4 on Saturday in Texas.

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Heim hit a three-run homer against Boston starter Tanner Houck that tied the game at 3. Taveras followed with a solo home run against Houck to put Texas in front, 4-3.

Josh Smith had three hits for Texas, which had 13 hits in the game.

Boston’s Rob Refsnyder had two solo home runs, an RBI double and a single during a four-hit game. Refsnyder hit his sixth home run of the season in the first inning, and then collected home run No. 7 in the fourth. It was the first multi-homer game of his career.

Jose Leclerc (5-4) earned the win for tossing two-third of an inning of scoreless relief. Leclerc struck out Ceddanne Rafaela with the bases loaded to end the fourth.

Texas closer Kirby Yates recorded four outs to earn his 20th save. Yates entered the game with runners on first and second with two outs in the eighth. He struck out Jarren Duran with the bases loaded to end the inning.

Houck (8-8) allowed six runs on eight hits in five innings. He struck out seven and walked two.

Boston’s Rafael Devers extended his hitting streak to 10 games when he doubled in the fourth. Connor Wong followed with an RBI single that extended Boston’s lead to 3-0.

After scoring four runs in their half of the fourth on the home runs by Heim (No. 10) and Taveras (No. 9), the Rangers took a 7-3 lead by adding three runs in the sixth. Ezequiel Duran, Taveras and Smith each had an RBI single in the inning.

The Red Sox sliced their deficit to 7-4 when Refsnyder’s double in the seventh drove in Rafaela, who opened the inning with a single.

Boston outfielder Tyler O’Neill did not play Saturday. Boston manager Alex Cora said O’Neill is dealing with an illness and may not be available Sunday either.

–Field Level Media

Sox Can Hit Struggling Texas Relievers

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ARLINGTON –  (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Texas Rangers, riding a three-game losing streak, will hope to slow the Boston Red Sox’s offense on Saturday night in Texas. Boston opened the three-game series with an 11-6 victory on Friday. Texas has been outscored 29-8 during its skid.

The Red Sox hit three home runs in the Friday win, which raised their road record to 31-22. Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela each hit a two-run blast, and Rafael Devers added a solo shot in the ninth. Devers enters the Saturday contest on a nine-game hitting streak in which he is batting .528 (19-for-36).

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“They’re a good hitting ballclub,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “They’re one of the top offensive teams in baseball. It was a tough night for the pitchers all night, really. … You have to keep battling. That’s all you can do.”

The Rangers have lost six of their past seven games, with the pitching staff compiling a 7.98 ERA in that stretch.

Connor Wong had four of Boston’s 16 hits in the series opener. The Red Sox have at least 10 hits in 12 of their past 15 games.

“Offensively it was an outstanding night,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “We got the first one out of the way, which is important. I talked to the staff about it, this whole Fridays and not winning games … it put us in a bad spot going into the weekend. You win that one and then you have two chances to win the series, and we are in the business of winning series. Hopefully we can do it (Saturday).”

The Rangers had not announced a starting pitcher for the Saturday contest.

“We’re going to talk about it, where we’re at,” Bochy said following Friday’s loss. “I think we’re fine, but we will huddle up here soon and talk about the game plan (Saturday) and the next couple days. … If we have to bring somebody up, we’ll do that.”

Boston will go with right-hander Tanner Houck (8-7, 2.79 ERA). Houck had a 2.18 ERA through his first 16 starts this season, when he recorded 101 strikeouts and walked 18 in 103 1/3 innings, but he hasn’t been nearly as effective since then. He has a 5.26 ERA in his past five outings, logging 15 strikeouts and 15 walks over 25 2/3 innings.

“I think just timing issues and delivery just feels a little out of whack as of late, over the past month, but ultimately that’s the way that a full 162 games is going to play out,” Houck said. “You’re not always going to feel your best. You’re not always going to have everything clicking, and it’s about getting back to those days that you feel that and just keep showing up. Don’t really (need) to reinvent the wheel.”

Houck is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against Texas. He has allowed three runs on four hits in seven innings against the Rangers.

Texas received two solo home runs from Cory Seager in the Friday loss. Marcus Semien added a two-run homer for the Rangers, who also got a solo homer from Leody Taveras. Still, it wasn’t enough to keep pace with Boston’s offense.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Score Early, Add to Lead in Rout of Texas Rangers

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ARLINGTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela each hit a two-run home run to lead the Boston Red Sox to an 11-6 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday in Texas.

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Red Sox veteran 3B Rafael Devers added a solo home run and catcher Connor Wong collected four singles for the Red Sox. Boston second baseman Nick Sogard added a two-run single in his major league debut.

Corey Seager of Texas hit two solo home runs among his three hits and had three RBIs and three runs for the Rangers. Marcus Semien added a two-run blast and Leody Taveras a solo shot. All four homers came against Boston starter Kutter Crawford, who has allowed 12 in his last three starts.

Crawford (7-8) earned the win despite giving up five runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one.

Texas has lost six of its last seven games and also saw its five-game home winning streak come to an end.

Texas starter Jose Urena (3-6) surrendered seven runs on eight hits in four innings. Urena made his first start since June 5, when he held Detroit to one run in 6 2/3 innings.

After Seager’s first home run gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the first, Abreu’s two-run homer in the second put Boston in front 2-1. Taveras and Seager went deep in the third inning for a 3-2 lead.

Boston scored four runs in the fourth to go ahead 6-3. Wong and Abreu hit RBI singles for the first two runs, and Sogard added a two-run single.

The Red Sox added a run in the fifth. Duran led off with a triple and scored on Masataka Yoshida’s sacrifice fly.

Rafaela’s home run pushed the lead to 9-3 in the top of the sixth, but Semien answered with his two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning.

Seager drove in Carson Kelly with a sacrifice fly in the seventh to make it 9-6. Boston padded the lead when Devers homered and Dominic Smith doubled home Wong in the ninth inning.

–Field Level Media

Moore in the 5th, Downs Red Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Seattle’s Dylan Moore hit a three-run double during a five-run fifth inning that led the visiting Mariners defeat the Boston Red Sox 10-6 on Tuesday. Seattle sent 11 batters to the plate in the fifth, which included three hits, two errors, two walks and a hit batter. Moore’s two-out double gave the Mariners a 7-3 lead.

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Jorge Polanco delivered his 10th homer this season and finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored for Seattle.

Rafael Devers hit his 24th home run for Boston, a three-run shot in the third inning. Devers had three hits and four RBIs in the loss. Masataka Yoshida had two hits and extended his hitting streak to seven games when he singled in the first inning.

Luis Castillo (9-10) tossed six innings to earn the win. He allowed three runs on six hits, walked one and struck out four.

James Paxton (8-3) went 4 1/3 innings and allowed six runs (three earned) on six hits. He walked one and fanned five in his first start with the Red Sox since he was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Sox Beef Up Bullpen at Deadline

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox added some much-needed bullpen help by acquiring right-hander Lucas Sims from the Cincinnati Reds, then adding another right-hander, Luis Garcia, from the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline.

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The Red Sox sent minor league right-hander Ovis Portes to the Reds in exchange for Sims and sent four minor league players to the Angels in exchange for Garcia: infielder/outfielder Matthew Lugo, first baseman Niko Kavadas and right-handed pitchers Ryan Zeferjahn and Yeferson Vargas.

Garcia, 37, was 5-1 with a 3.71 ERA in 45 relief appearances in his first season with the Angels after signing a one-year, $4.25 million deal in December. He is 26-28 with a 4.02 ERA in 530 career appearances (four starts) in 12 seasons for five teams.

Lugo, 23, was Boston’s No. 17 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, drafted in the second round in 2019. The nephew of nine-time All-Star Carlos Beltran, Lugo was batting .285 with 16 home runs and 54 RBIs in 78 games in Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester this season.

Kavadas, 25, hit .281 with 17 home runs and 63 RBIs in 83 games this season at Worcester.

Zeferjahn, 26, was 1-3 with a 3.52 ERA in 25 games (one start) with Portland and Worcester this year.

Vargas, a 19-year-old from the Dominican Republic, was 4-2 with a 3.03 ERA in 11 games (4 starts) with the Red Sox farm teams in the Florida Complex League and Single-A Salem.

Sims, 30, went 1-4 with a 3.57 ERA and one save in 43 appearances out of the Cincinnati bullpen this season. The right-hander struck out 40 batters and walked 20 in 35⅓ innings.

Sims owns a career record of 22-17 with a 4.41 ERA and 12 saves in 230 games (14 starts) with the Atlanta Braves (2017-18) and Reds.

Portes, 19, was in his second season with the Boston organization. He went 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA and two saves in 11 games (five starts) between Class-A Salem and the Florida Complex League.

The Red Sox designated left-hander Brandon Walter, 27, for assignment to make room for Sims on the 40-man roster.

Yankees Come Back at Fenway

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New York catcher Austin Wells hit a sacrifice fly and his shortstop, Gleyber Torres, added a two-run double in the 10th inning to finish the Yankees’ 11-8 come-from-behind win over the host Boston Red Sox on Saturday night at Fenway Park

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Tyler O’Neill (3-for-4, four RBIs) hit go-ahead homers in the fifth and seventh innings for the Red Sox, but New York scored single runs in the eighth and ninth to tie the game.

Aaron Judge went 4-for-4 with a double, homer, three RBIs and three runs to lead New York’s 16-hit attack in making Sunday’s game the rubber match of their three-game series.

Judge hit an RBI double in the eighth, though Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran started a relay that cut down Juan Soto, the potential tying run, at the plate.

In the ninth, Massachusetts native Ben Rice doubled with one out, and Trent Grisham’s two-out double drove in pinch runner Jahmai Jones against Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen, who blew a save for the third time this season.

In the 10th, Torres crushed his double off the center field wall off Chase Anderson (0-2).

New York’s Clay Holmes (2-4) threw two scoreless innings for the win.

Aaron Judge went 4-for-4 with a double, homer, three RBIs and three runs to lead New York’s 16-hit attack in making Sunday’s game the rubber match of their three-game series.

Judge hit an RBI double in the eighth, though Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran started a relay that cut down Juan Soto, the potential tying run, at the plate.

In the ninth, Massachusetts native Ben Rice doubled with one out, and Trent Grisham’s two-out double drove in pinch runner Jahmai Jones against Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen, who blew a save for the third time this season.

In the 10th, Torres crushed his double off the center field wall off Chase Anderson (0-2).

New York’s Clay Holmes (2-4) threw two scoreless innings for the win.

Red Sox Rally Past Yanks, 9-7

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida’s two-run single up the middle highlighted a three-run eighth inning that helped Boston earn a 9-7, series-opening victory over the visiting New York Yankees on Friday night at Fenway.

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The Red Sox rallied after back-to-back home runs by Aaron Judge and Austin Wells in the seventh gave the Yankees a 7-4 lead in the seventh inning. Judge bashed a go-ahead, three-run shot to deep center.

Starting the comeback in the bottom of the seventh, Ceddanne Rafaela crushed a two-run homer to deep left that scored Yoshida.

In the eighth, Boston put two on against reliever Luke Weaver (4-2) before Wilyer Abreu greeted reliever Clay Holmes with a game-tying single. That set up Yoshida for the game-deciding hit.

Rob Refsnyder finished with three hits, two runs and an RBI for the Red Sox, who have won two of three following a four-game skid.

Bailey Horn (1-1) earned his first major league win, and Kenley Jansen worked around two hits and struck out two in the ninth for his 20th save.

Wells and Gleyber Torres had three hits apiece for New York, which has lost three straight and five of the past six.

Tyler O’Neill’s sacrifice fly staked Boston to a 1-0 lead. Consecutive one-out singles by Refsnyder and Connor Wong and a walk to Rafael Devers loaded the bases before the RBI opportunity.

The visitors were not down for long, as Anthony Volpe crushed a two-out solo homer to straightaway center field to bring the Yankees even in the second.

A pair of one-out hits by Wong and Devers helped the Red Sox jump back in front in the third. After Wong doubled inside third base, Devers’ knock to left made it a 2-1 game.

It was more of the same for Boston in the fourth. Romy Gonzalez began the inning with an infield single before Jarren Duran’s knock moved him to third, while a second consecutive two-out hit by Refsnyder rolled to the left field wall for an RBI double.

The Yankees quickly responded with a two-run fifth to tie the game, getting an RBI double from Trent Grisham and a sacrifice fly from Alex Verdugo.

The hosts continued to put the pressure on in the bottom of the fifth, scoring a go-ahead run on Yoshida’s sacrifice fly following a walk to Devers and O’Neill’s double through the left side.

Boston reliever Zack Kelly was greeted rudely during the visitors’ four-run seventh, allowing the back-to-back homers.

–Field Level Media

Dodgers Defeat Sox (Again)

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LOS ANGELES – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – LA’s Enrique Hernandez had game-tying hits in the ninth and 10th innings, Dodgers catcher Will Smith hit a game-ending RBI single in the 11th and Los Angeles turned multiple rallies into a 7-6 victory Saturday against the visiting Boston Red Sox.

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It marked the second consecutive Dodgers victory over the Sox after the season resumed post All-Star break.

Hernandez tied the game in the ninth with a home run against former Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen and added a two-out RBI single in the Los Angeles’ two-run 10th inning after Boston’s Tyler O’Neill hit a two-run homer in the top of the 10th.

Smith’s game-winning hit off Greg Weissert (2-2) came with the bases loaded. Right-hander Blake Treinen (3-2) earned the win with a scoreless 11th inning.

Gavin Lux had a home run and a double as the Dodgers pulled off consecutive comeback victories over the Red Sox after they lost six of seven games before the All-Star break.

O’Neill hit a pair of home runs for the Red Sox, including a two-run shot in the seventh inning for a 4-3 lead.

Jarren Duran hit a two-run double for the Red Sox and has delivered multiple hits in four consecutive games wrapped around a home run and MVP Award in Tuesday’s All-Star Game.

Jansen’s blown save was his first since April 16. Boston starter Brayan Bello gave up three runs over six innings with seven strikeouts.

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Lux’s home run to right field, his fourth of the season. Duran’s two-run double in the fifth inning gave Boston a 2-1 advantage.

The Dodgers went on top 3-2 in the sixth inning on an RBI single from Teoscar Hernandez and a sacrifice fly from Andy Pages.

Duran walked with one out in the seventh and O’Neill hit the first pitch for a 4-3 advantage. Enrique Hernandez’s home run off Jansen, to tie the game 4-4, was his sixth of the season.

O’Neill’s homer in the 10th off right-hander Evan Phillips was his 18th of the season.

–Field Level Media