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St. Louis Hammers Red Sox for Sweep

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Boston Blows Another Game, Save

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rob Refsnyder had three hits and two RBIs for Boston.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sox are Sweeper, Not Sweepee

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

–Field Level Media

Sox Drop 2-of-3 to Orioles

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

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

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

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

MLB: Tellez Tags Red Sox

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

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

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

Red Sox Walk to Victory Over Brewers

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MILWAUKEE – (Staff and Wire Service Report from Field Level Media) – Boston outfielder Alex Verdugo hit a two-run homer and starter Nick Pivetta pitched effectively into the sixth inning to pace the visiting Red Sox to a 5-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night in the opener of the three-game series.

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Pivetta (1-1) allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven with one walk. Josh Winckowski followed with 2 1/3 scoreless innings, fanning four, and Kenley Jansen finished with a perfect ninth, including two more strikeouts, for his fifth save.

Brewers starter Freddy Peralta (2-2) allowed four runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out five with two costly walks.

Boston converted those walks into two runs in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. Peralta was within a strike of finishing a 1-2-3 inning before walking Enrique Hernandez and Triston Casas. The Brew Crew’s Hoby Milner relieved and pinch-hitter Rob Refsnyder punched the tying-RBI single to right, sending Casas to third. Jarren Duran then lined an RBI single off the glove of third baseman Owen Miller, who knocked the drive down, but had no play.

The Red Sox made it 5-3 in the seventh when Justin Turner walked with two outs and Masataka Yoshida doubled to left center.

Milwaukee had gone up 3-2 with two runs in the fourth. Rowdy Tellez tied the game with his sixth homer, a one-out line drive to right. William Contreras followed with a double and scored on Brice Turang’s single to right, sliding around the tag attempt at home.

Verdugo staked the Red Sox to a 2-0 lead in the third with his third homer. Duran singled to open the inning and advanced on a sacrifice. Verdugo then jerked a 2-1 pitch 366 feet down the right-field line.

Miller hustled up a run in the bottom half to make it 2-1. Miller singled with one out, stole second, and came home on Christian Yelich’s single to left.

–Field Level Media

Twins, Gallo Take Down Red Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Minnesota’s Joey Gallo made an immediate impact when he returned to the Minnesota lineup Wednesday night, and the Twins hope he will continue to swing a hot bat when they wrap up a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox this afternoon.

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Gallo came off the injured list Wednesday and went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run during Minnesota’s 10-4 victory over Boston later that night. His long ball came against Corey Kluber and handed the Twins a 7-0 lead in the third inning. It was his team-high fourth home run of the season.

Gallo, a 29-year-old outfielder/first baseman, missed Minnesota’s previous 10 games due to a right intercostal strain, an injury he sustained in an April 7 game against the Houston Astros. He was hitting .278 with three home runs and seven RBIs in seven games with the Twins before he was injured.

“He’ll be at first base a lot for us going forward,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He feels good, significantly better than when he left us. It’s good to have his type of at-bats back in there. Someone that can do some damage and someone that can have a good, deep at-bat.”

Minnesota signed Gallo to a one-year deal after he split the 2022 season between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. He hit 19 home runs last year but batted .160 and had a 39.8 percent strikeout rate.

“He’s been one of the guys that’s been hurt the most by the way that the game has progressed over the last five or 10 years (with defensive shifts),” Baldelli said. “His numbers, and a few of these left-handed hitters’ numbers, look less than where they simply would have at any other time in the history of baseball.”

The Red Sox will be looking for more offense from the top of their order on Thursday after the first four batters in their lineup — Alex Verdugo, Ramiel Tapia, Justin Turner and Rafael Devers — went 0-for-16 in the Wednesday loss. Boston hitters were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

Second baseman Enmanuel Valdez was one bright spot in the Boston lineup on Wednesday. Although he was shaky in the field, Valdez collected two hits in his major league debut.

“Like we said, this guy can hit,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “He can hit … the ball hard. Even his last at-bat he stayed with the pitch and went the other way under control. Interesting night on the other side (defensively).”

Valdez was originally charged with two errors, but one was changed to a hit.

Right-hander Kenta Maeda (0-2, 4.09 ERA) is scheduled to start on the mound for Minnesota on Thursday. The Red Sox will counter with right-hander Tanner Houck (2-0, 4.50 ERA).

Maeda exited his first start of the season due to arm fatigue, and then allowed eight hits and four runs in six innings during latest outing, on April 10 against the Chicago White Sox. Maeda skipped his next turn in the rotation and will enter the Thursday game with extra rest.

He is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in two career starts against the Red Sox.

Houck won his first two starts of the year, then gave up two runs on four hits in four innings against the Los Angeles Angels during a no-decision on Friday.

Houck has a 1-0 record with a 2.61 ERA two career starts vs. the Twins. In his most recent meeting with Minnesota, he threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings en route to a victory on April 16, 2022.

–Field Level Media

Atlantic League to Test More MLB Rules

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Major League Baseball will use its partnership with the Atlantic League to test a trio of rules, including two new ones, in order to assess their viability.

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The Atlantic League will be the first to use new rules target toward pinch runners, pitchers and designated hitters when the collection of 10 independent teams starts their regular seasons on April 28.

A “designated pinch runner” rule will allow one player who is not in the starting lineup to pinch run multiple times in a game. That runner and the player leaving the field for the pinch runner can return to the game.

A “single disengagement per at-bat” rule will permit the pitcher to disengage from the pitching rubber just once per at-bat instead of the new MLB rule that allows two disengagements per AB.

The Atlantic League also will continue to experiment with a “double hook DH” rule that allows teams to use the DH for an entire game as long as the starting pitcher completes five innings. Otherwise, the team will lose its DH for the remainder of the game.

The league, which has teams in Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky, has been experimenting with rules changes, per MLB’s request, since 2019.

Among the rules tested in the past were infield shift restrictions and larger bases, both of which were put into use at the MLB level this season.

Other rules tested in the league during recent seasons and not implemented at the MLB level included an automated tracking system to call balls and strikes, moving the pitching rubber back one foot from home plate, and an option to “steal” first base if the catcher failed to handle a pitched ball at any point in the count.

–Field Level Media

Sox Adjust 40-Man Roster

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BOSTON – (Staff report from official news release) – The Boston Red Sox made the following roster moves on Sunday, April 16:

  • Placed right-handed pitcher Chris Martin on the 15-Day Injured List (retroactive to April 13) with right shoulder inflammation.
  • Selected right-handed pitcher Jake Faria from Triple-A Worcester. He will wear number 32.
  • Transferred right-handed pitcher Wyatt Mills to the 60-Day Injured List.
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Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom made the moves..

Martin, 36, last pitched Wednesday in Tampa Bay, allowing one run in the eighth inning. The right-hander has allowed two runs in 7.0 innings pitched across seven outings with the Red Sox this season, his first games with the club. He was signed by Boston as a free agent on December 8, 2022.

Faria, 29, has made three relief appearances with Triple-A Worcester this season, allowing six runs over five innings, with six walks and five strikeouts. The right-hander owns a 4.70 ERA (106 ER/203.0 IP) in 72 career Major League appearances (29 starts) with the Tampa Bay Rays (2017-19), Milwaukee Brewers (2019), and Arizona Diamondbacks (2021). He was signed by the Red Sox as a minor league free agent on February 3, 2023.

Mills, 28, began the season on the 15-Day Injured List with right elbow inflammation. The right-hander made five Grapefruit League appearances with the Red Sox during 2023 Spring Training, posting a 7.50 ERA (5 ER/6.0 IP) with 10 strikeouts. He was acquired from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Jacob Wallace on December 16, 2022.

Red Sox Take Advantage of LA Angels

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Reports) – Boston shortstop Yu Chang went 2-for-4 with a home run and the game-winning single as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Los Angeles Angeles for the second consecutive game. Both Boston wins were the result of unforced mental and physical fielding errors by the Angels.

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After Enrique Hernandez hit a leadoff single and two catcher’s interference calls loaded the bases to begin the eighth inning, Chang flipped the score Boston’s way with a two-run knock through the left side. Angels reliever Ryan Tepera (1-1) walked Rob Refsnyder to force in an insurance run as Boston earned its second straight win to begin the four-game series.

Refsnyder and Rafael Devers, who homered in the first inning, had two RBIs apiece. Ryan Brasier (1-0) earned the win after a scoreless eighth inning. Kenley Jansen recorded his second save in as many days. Gio Urshela hit a first-inning grand slam and had five RBIs to lead the Angels. Mike Trout was 3-for-4 with two doubles, including the 300th of his career.