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Sports Biz: Mets Pop-Up

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Guest Column, by JAMES GUMINA

This past weekend, I attended the Strat-O-Matic event at the Mets House in New York to cover one of the final events at the Mets’ Union Square pop-up shop. The event, taking place in a city dominated by Fanatics Fest, was a wonderful reminder that sports are all about communities.

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Fanatics Fest, and events like it, are driven by impressions, revenue, and spectacle, whereas the Strat-O-Matic event at the New York Mets store was purely a celebration of the game and its fans. I was there for about an hour and a half and did not have a single item pushed on me. I played Strat-O-Matic for the first time in years against a longtime fan and player (He very generously reminded me of the rules).

Our game took a backseat to our conversation about his experiences playing the game, and his love for it over the years. He told me all about the 12-person Strat-O-Matic league he has played in for the past 30 years, complete with full seasons and championship rings (which did not look dissimilar to the NFL rings that I saw at Fanatics Fest).

I happily watched him give Hal Richman, the founder of Strat-O-Matic, an honorary championship ring and tell him about the impact the game had on his life. I heard another avid player talk about his father introducing him to the game back in the 1960s and how he has been hooked ever since, so much so that he owns every single MLB set that has been released by the company.

While the setup was not fancy—a few folding tables in the back of the store, game boxes for people to take and use, and some pizza—it did not deter new and old fans of the game from swapping stories and playing head to head versus one another.

I got to meet both Hal and his son, who is the current CEO of Strat-O-Matic, and it immediately became clear to me that this type of event was perfectly in line with the SOM ethos. It is a game all about a shared love of sports and for well over 60 years has been bringing people together in communities just like this one, from local Strat-O-Matic clubs, to leagues, to friendly living room games.

In addition to the game and event, the venue was also an interesting branding initiative by the New York Mets.

The pop-up, which closed June 25th, was one of the regularly scheduled NYM special events, like player meet-and-greets and book signings, as well as regular merchandise sales. The space offered exclusive perks and benefits for fans, as well as interactive exhibitions like an augmented reality swing analysis station that many of the Strat-O-Matic players took advantage of.

While always designed to be a temporary “pop-up,” I really admired the space and thought that it was a great community-oriented brand activation that allowed for events like the Strat-O-Matic day for fans of all ages.

The Mets have been doing a lot right in the marketing department recently, and I think this was no exception.

Sox Win One for Alex

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – If you blink, you might miss Jarren Duran making his impact on a game. A night after sparking a 3-1, series-opening victory with extra-base hits in each of the first two innings, the left fielder will look to help the Boston Red Sox post an interleague series victory over the visiting New York Mets on Tuesday night.

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Duran’s first-inning leadoff double and a second-inning RBI triple — his sixth triple of the season and 20th since the start of 2024, both figures tied for the major league lead — extended his hitting streak to six games and helped set the Boston offense in motion as he so often does.

“When he starts having games like that, we win a lot of ballgames,” said Red Sox bench coach Ramon Vazquez, who served as interim manager while Alex Cora attended his daughter’s Boston College graduation. “It’s a game-changer for us. It was good to see him go out there being aggressive today.”

Though it has not been officially announced, Boston’s rotation is expected to get a boost with Walker Buehler (4-1, 4.28 ERA) returning from the 15-day injured list to make the Tuesday start. He hasn’t pitched for the Red Sox since April 26 due to bursitis in his right (pitching) shoulder.

Buehler, who tuned up during a three-inning simulated game on Thursday, won his last three starts before the injury and allowed three runs or fewer in four straight.

“It was fine from the moment they took the needle out (after administering an anti-inflammatory shot,” Buehler said before the Red Sox faced the Atlanta Braves on Saturday. “I don’t think if it was late in the year that we would necessarily have done the exact same things. But (it’s) just too early in the year to kind of try and push it.”

Buehler is 1-1 with a 5.00 ERA in five career starts against the Mets, with the most recent coming in 2022.

Buehler will be looking to reverse a recent trend. Over the past five games, Boston’s relievers have allowed just six runs in 19 2/3 innings (2.75 ERA) compared to starters’ 21 runs in 25 innings (7.56 ERA) over the past five games.

Following a Subway Series weekend against the rival New York Yankees, the Mets took their fourth loss in a five-game span on Monday, with Kodai Senga allowing more than two earned runs for the first time in nine starts this season.

A 1-for-8 showing with runners in scoring position did in the Mets.

“We’re gonna have ups and downs,” Mets outfielder Juan Soto said. “We just have to keep our chin up and keep moving forward. It’s a game of failure. Sometimes you’re gonna fail and you just gotta keep moving forward. It doesn’t matter what.”

The top six batters in the New York order had just two combined hits: one from both Soto and Pete Alonso, both off the Green Monster in left field. Soto didn’t run out his fly ball, forcing him to settle for a single, while Alonso was caught trying to stretch his hit into a double.

“If those guys go, we’re gonna go,” said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, who added that he was unhappy about Soto’s lack of hustle.

New York’s scheduled Tuesday starter, Clay Holmes (5-2, 3.14 ERA), is no stranger to facing Boston after closing games for the Yankees over the past three seasons. Holmes is 4-1 with four saves and a 3.54 ERA in 20 career appearances against the Red Sox, but Tuesday will be his first start vs. the Red Sox.

Holmes had earned three consecutive victories before a six-inning Wednesday start in which he allowed four runs on seven hits — including two home runs — against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was his first defeat since his March 27 season debut against the Houston Astros.

–Field Level Media

Slumping Sox Face NY Mets

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Alex Cora won’t manage the Red Sox tonight when they open a three-game series against the visiting New York Mets. Cora will take the night off so he can attend his daughter Camila’s graduation from Boston College. Bench coach Ramon Vazquez will serve as the team’s manager.

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“It’s going to be a very special day, one that I’m not going to miss,” Cora said. “And I will 100 percent miss the game for that. And I’ll do that any given day because it’s going to be a special day for us.”

Boston will enter the series with losses in five of their last six games. The Red Sox have lost 11 of their last 17.

“We’ve got to finish innings, we’ve got to finish at-bats, we’ve got to get better,” Cora said following Sunday’s 10-4 loss to Atlanta. “Does it feel like we’re way off? No, but it’s another loss in the column.”

The Mets have the lowest team ERA in the majors (2.86), and are scheduled to start right-hander Kodai Senga (4-2, 1.02 ERA) Monday. Senga didn’t factor in the decision in his only career appearance against the Red Sox. He allowed three runs (two earned) in 3 1/3 innings in that start, a 5-4 New York road victory on July 21, 2023.

Rookie Hunter Dobbins (2-1, 3.90) is scheduled to start on the mound for the Red Sox. The right-hander has never pitched against the Mets.

New York hasn’t scored more than three runs in any of its last five games and has been limited to nine runs during that five-game stretch. The Mets were held to three hits in Sunday night’s 8-2 loss to the Yankees.

The Mets also made two infield errors in Sunday’s loss, the second of which was a throwing error by Pete Alonso that allowed the Yankees to take a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning. Third baseman Mark Vientos also made an error in the first.

“On and off,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said when asked about his team’s infield defense. “I feel like we’ve gone through stretches where we’ve been pretty sharp, but there’s also been a few games where we’re not finishing plays or, you know, we’re not completing them. And even some of the routine plays. We saw today in the first inning. We can’t make a play there leading off an inning and, before we know it, we’re down two.

“This is something that we gotta get better and we will because we got good defenders there,” Mendoza added.

Rookie Kristian Campbell was not in Boston’s lineup Sunday. After a hot start, Campbell is 4-for-51 with one home run in his last 12 games. He’s played second base and the outfield this season but recently began working out at first base.

“It feels like sometimes he’s in between the breaking ball and the fastball,” Cora said. “Just a kid that went off the first month of the season and people are gonna start making adjustments. So now it’s our time to make the adjustment. And for some people, especially as the young kid, like he’s gonna take longer than others, but I truly believe that the quality of the at-bat is still there.”

–Field Level Media

Baseball Winter Meetings Update

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DALLAS – Super agent Scott Boras negotiated another record-breaking contract as one of his star clients, Juan Soto, reached an agreement with the New York Mets on a 15-year, $765 million deal.

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Boras declined to comment Wednesday on the historic deal involving Soto, who is undergoing his physical before it becomes official. However, Boras did talk about the Mets in general, commending their aggressive pursuit of building a championship-caliber organization after their run to the National League Championship Series last season.

“I think it’s pretty evident that the Mets have decided that they’re going to pursue winning and winning for a long time,” Boras said. “They’ve made it very clear to us that they’re not limited to signing one great player but multiple great players. They’re going to be, I think, a very steady and heavy commitment to acquiring the best talent.”

That was among the many notable comments made by Boras as he held court with reporters on Day 3 of the winter meetings at the Hilton Anatole.

Beyond Soto, Boras’ list of free agents this offseason includes infielders Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman, right-hander Corbin Burnes and left-hander Sean Manaea.

“A lot of market locomotion regarding Pete,” Boras said. “The Polar Bear Express is rolling.”

Boras added that Alonso is open to listening to a lot of teams.

“Certainly his experiences with the Mets were extraordinary, both for them and him,” Boras said.

Boras also shared his thoughts on his other clients.

“We’ve had numerous meetings with teams and owners. We all know what comes after AB, that is the ‘C’ in champions. In Bregman’s case, that is ‘C’ squared,” Boras said. “All of these teams realize what a leader he is, what a champion he is and plus his skill level to boot. So, he’s had a remarkable career to date and is very much in demand.”

On Burnes: “For pitching, for Corbin Burnes, it’s kind of like Elvis. He’s got that ‘Burnes-ing Love’ for a No. 1 starter. You are really feeling it today, and very early this morning for me, I might add.”

On Manaea: “There is a new Sean rising. It’s something that teams have recognized. The demand is really something that I think is going to happen soon.”

Hamilton to Baseball Hall

Cleveland Guardians longtime radio announcer Tom Hamilton was selected as the 2025 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Hamilton started calling games for the Guardians in 1990.

–Drew Davison, Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | 9/15/2024

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Today is September 15th, 2024. You can grab a full deck of playing cards and deal one card per day to bring you to Election Day on November 5th, 2024. Meanwhile, we’re seven days away from Autumn, possibly the best and certainly the most beautiful season of the year in New England. We’re 16 days away from the first MLB Postseason Wild Card game, to be held October 1, 2024. The final Red Sox regular season game at Fenway Park will be held two days before that, on September 29th, 2024. The seasons of the sun, they are a’ changing.

Let’s take a good, long look at September 15ths of the past. It’s been a pretty amazing date on the calendar.

In 608, Saint Boniface IV began his reign as Pope. The 4th? Doesn’t this make you want to meet the other three guys?

In 1683, Germantown, Pennsylvania was founded by 13 immigrant families. Like Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote, “Immigrants, they get the job done.”

In 1789, the US Department of Foreign Affairs was renamed Department of State.

In 1851, Saint Joseph’s University was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That would eventually bring us all the great Mike Bantom.

In 1857, Timothy Alder of NY patented the typesetting machine. Good man he was.

In 1902, Chicago Cubs infielders Tinker, Evers, & Chance turned their first double play together in a 6-3 win over Cincinnati. But, get this, on September 19, 2024, I’ll be able to see Chicago’s Wrigley Field, first known to the world as a Federal League ballfield – Weeghman Park. The Cubs host the Washington Nationals in seven days. The game will take place in the “friendly confines.” The Cubs played their first home game at Wrigley on April 20, 1916, defeating the Cincinnati Reds, 7–6, in 11 innings. Only Fenway Park (1912), here in Boston, is older than Wrigley.

On September 15, 1921, WBZ-AM, here in Boston, began its radio transmission.

In 1946, the Dodgers beat Cubs, 2-0, in a shortened five innings when the game was called because of gnats.

In 1960, Maurice “Rocket” Richard announced his retirement from the Montreal Canadiens. He finished his career with 544 goals, an NHL record at the time. He played 18 seasons in the NHL and was the first 50 goal scorer.

A year later, in 1961, the 61st US Golf Amateur Championship saw Jack Nicklaus win at the age of 21. I’m pretty sure he turned pro and had a pretty nice run.

In 1963, the Alou brothers – Felipe, Matty, & Jesús – appeared in the San Francisco Giants outfield for an inning in a 13-5 win over Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field/

In 1966, then US President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to an August 1 sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a letter to the United States Congress, urging the enactment of gun control legislation. The August 1 attack was known as the University of Texas Tower shooting where 15 people were killed and 31 others were injured before police shot the mass murderer, a 25-year old Marine. Forty-one years later, the Virginia Tech shootings took place, killing 32 and injuring another 17 people. That mass murder came seven Presidents after LBJ and nothing’s been done since.

In 1969, Steve Carlton was pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals when he struck-out 19 New York Mets but lost the game, 4-3, when the Metsies tagged him for two runs in the 8th inning when Ron Swoboda hit his second of two (two-run) homers. In the little-known facts department, the day before Swoboda’s two HR game, Mets broadcaster – the great Ralph Kiner – took Swoboda aside for some instructional batting practice. Tug McGraw earned the victory in relief of Gary Gentry. The Mets had rallied in September to take the divisional lead only five days before. It was the first year of division play in MLB. The Mets would go on to take the NL East by eight games over the Cubs. Then, they swept the Atlanta Braves in three games in the NL Championship Series, and defeated the Baltimore Orioles in five games in the World Series with Jerry Koosman gaining the two most important victories in franchise history, including a complete game in the ‘69 World Series finale. That team will forever be known as the “Miracle Mets.”

In 1974, Market Square Arena – home of the Indiana Pacers until 1999 – opened its doors in downtown Indianapolis.

In 1978, before 63,352 at the New Orleans SuperDome, the greatest – Muhammad Ali defeated Leon Spinks in 15 rounds. Spinks had upset Ali in February of ‘78 with a split decision.

In 1982, the first edition of USA Today was printed by satellite and distributed all over the United States. Editorial Note: Earlier that year, newspaperman Henry Freeman visited my office at the NBA to explain what they had in mind and asked for help with the NBA team PRs sending extra information and quickly sending full final boxscores which ran in the sports section, increasing NBA coverage exponentially over the short Associated Press boxscores.

In 1985, at The Belfry … Europe defeated the United Staes in the Ryder Cup 16½-11½, marking the first US loss since 1957. Sam Torrance clinched the win for Europe by beating Andy North, 1 up.

Sadly, on September 15, 2004 Johnny Ramone, the lead guitarist for the Queens, NY band passed away from prostate cancer. He was only 59. The Ramones were inducted to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and earned a Lifetime GRAMMY Award.

We can wish Long Island’s Marcus Iavaroni a happy 68th birthday today. Better known as Marc, the starting power forward for the ‘83 NBA champion Philadelphia 76ers, he hails from Plainview Kennedy H.S. in New York (Mid-Island) and attended Virginia before being drafted by the New York Knicks in the third round of the 1978 NBA Draft (55th overall). (Little known fact, the Knicks drafted two champion power forwards and watched them win as members of other teams. Iavaroni, you know. The other? Kurt Rambis of the Los Angeles Lakers. Almost a mirror image, the Knicks grabbed Rambis out of Santa Clara with the third round pick of the 1980 NBA Draft (58th overall).

There’s another 17 NBA players and two ABA players who were born on September 15, and the late Buddy Jeannette is the only Hall of Famer of the bunch. Jeannette was born in 1917 and attended Washington & Jefferson College. He was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994. Jeannette passed away March 11, 1998 at the age of 80.

And, aside from Marc Iavaroni, there are dozens of famous folks who were born on September 15, including Prince Harry, actor Tommy Lee Jones, US President William Howard Taft and explorer Marco Polo, if you can find him.

HERE NUNN, THE NOTES: That’s no typo. Here Now, former NBA referee and one time Director of Officiating Ronnie Nunn is being inducted to the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame, a newly reorganized entity that will undertake the huge responsibility of paying tribute to the City game. … Nunn played ball at Brooklyn Tech and went on to play college basketball at George Washington University in DC. He played pro basketball in Mexico for two seasons but returned to New York to find his first calling as a special ed teacher and as an assistant coach at Pace University and also his high school alma mater.

Nunn began his officiating career in 1984 when he worked in the Continental Basketball Association and the Pro-Am summer league. Nunn went on to work 1,134 NBA regular-season, 73 NBA Playoff and four NBA Finals games, while enjoying an assignment at the 1996 NBA All-Star Game.

After retiring from active duty as an official, Nunn served as the NBA’s Director of Officials for five years, including his work on “You Make the Call” for NBA Entertainment.

The 2024 NYC Basketball Hall of Fame festivities will be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday, September 19. Nine others will join Nunn for the honors.

TIDBITS AND GOLDEN NUGGETS: A follow-up to the terrible story of NHL star Johnny Gaudreau: The driver of the vehicle which struck and killed Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road has been charged with two counts of death by automobile. The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of Woodstown, New Jersey, had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said. … At a hearing held September 13, a judge ordered that Higgins be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving. Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said.

The Boston Red Sox are 22-31 since the MLB All-Star break and 5-4 over their last nine games, a pace that just won’t get it done in the AL Wild Card race. They’re 4.0 games back from Minnesota in the AL Wild Card standings but have Detroit and Seattle in between them and the Twins.

SMALL FRYE: Remember the ill-fated Frye Festival of 2017? Well, the George Mason college basketball team contracted with The VII Group of Georgia for a trip to play games against top competition in Nassau (Bahamas) and has cancelled the trip completely as VII Group allegedly hasn’t fulfilled obligations. George Mason placed $160,000 with the VII Group to plan a four-night basketball camp and exhibition games between August 8-12, 2024. Apparently, the FBI is now looking into the case, according to SPORTICO.

RIP No. 7: New York Mets fan favorite, Ed Kranepool, passed away this week after fighting a lengthy illness. While Tom Seaver, Rusty Staub, Buddy Harrelson, Jerry Koosman, Tommie Agee, Ron Swoboda, Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Mike Piazza and Pete Alonso might be the all-time headliners of Mets favorites, it was Kranepool who first held that honor in the 1960s.

 

Red Sox Take Series vs NY Mets

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Sunday Night Baseball: It Wasn’t Pretty

BOSTON – If there’s a Hall of Fame for Fundamentally Sound Major League Baseball games, the Sunday Night game between the Mets and Red Sox might qualify for the worst of the worst.

Sox 3B Rafael Devers homered and Adam Duvall collected two hits, two RBIs and scored a run to help the Boston Red Sox defeat the visiting New York Mets 6-1 on Sunday night in the final game of a three-game series.

Devers capped the scoring by hitting a solo home run — his 24th homer of the season — in the seventh inning.

Connor Wong had three hits for Boston, which had 15 hits in the game. Devers, Triston Casas, Jarren Duran and Enrique Hernandez also had two-hit games for Boston. Masataka Yoshida (0 for 5) was the only player in Boston’s batting order who didn’t collect at least one hit.

Brandon Nimmo collected two of New York’s six hits.

Boston’s Chris Murphy (1-0) allowed one run in 3 2/3 innings of relief to earn the win. The left-hander, one of seven pitchers Sox Manager Alex Cora used in the game, gave up three hits, struck out three and walked two.

New York’s Carlos Carrasco (3-4) allowed five runs on 10 hits in 2 1/3 innings (58 pitches). He failed to complete five innings for the fifth time in his last seven starts.

The teams split the first two games in the series. New York won the opener 5-4, but Boston won the second matchup 8-6.

Duvall’s single in the first inning scored Justin Turner to give Boston a 1-0 lead.

The Red Sox collected seven consecutive hits in the third, when they scored four runs to extend their lead to 5-0. The inning included an RBI double by Duvall that scored Turner, an RBI single by Casas that scored Duvall, and an RBI single by Yu Chang that scored Casas. Wong added the fourth run when he scored on Drew Smith’s wild pitch.

The Mets scored in the sixth on a Francisco Lindor single that drove in Danny Mendick, who reached on a walk.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Master Long Ball vs, Mets

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BOSTON – Red Sox 1B Triston Casas hit two home runs as Boston ended a three-game losing streak by beating the visiting New York Mets 8-6 on Saturday night. Casas hit a solo shot in the second inning, and a two-run home run that broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth. It was the first multi-homer game in Casas’ major league career.

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Boston also received solo home runs from Jarren Duran and Yu Chang and a two-run homer from Justin Turner. Duran’s homer came in the first inning, Chang went deep in the fifth and Turner hit his home run in the seventh.

Four of the five home runs came against Mets starter Max Scherzer (8-4), who gave up five runs on six hits in six innings. Scherzer struck out seven and walked two.

Boston starter James Paxton (6-2) limited the Mets to three runs (two earned) on three hits in six innings. He recorded seven strikeouts and one walk.

Boston built a 2-0 lead on home runs from Duran and Casas, but the Mets went in front by scoring three runs in the fourth. Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso scored on Jeff McNeil’s two-out single, and McNeil came around to score on the play when catcher Jorge Alfaro threw the ball into center field attempting to throw him out at second.

Chang’s home run tied the game in the fifth before Casas put Boston in front, 5-3, by hitting his 14th home run of the season.

Boston took an 8-3 lead in the seventh. Masataka Yoshida’s RBI single drove in Duran before Turner hit his two-run homer.

The Mets, who beat the Red Sox 5-4 earlier Saturday in the conclusion of Friday’s suspended game, scored three times in the ninth. Alonso tripled and scored on a Francisco Alvarez single, Mark Vientos drove in Alvarez with a single and Brett Baty’s single scored Vientos to make it 8-6.

Kenley Jansen recorded the final out to earn his 21st save.

–Field Level Media

Bello Starts-Off Sox Second Half

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CHICAGO – (Staff and Wire Service Report)Taking advantage of a starting pitching staff ravaged by injuries, Boston Red Sox right-hander Brayan Bello is quickly starting to establish himself as an ace.

Bello has been rolling since late April and will look to continue dominating opposing lineups when the Red Sox open a three-game series against the host Chicago Cubs on Friday night to begin the second half of the season.

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After seeing left-hander Chris Sale hit the 60-day injured list due to a stress reaction in his shoulder blade, the Red Sox suddenly found themselves in more danger when right-handers Garrett Whitlock (elbow) and Tanner Houck (facial fracture) both landed on the 15-day IL.

But Bello (6-5, 3.04 ERA) has come to the rescue.

Over his last 12 starts, the 24-year-old has gone 6-4 with a 2.35 ERA. In addition to allowing no more than three earned runs in each of those 12 outings, Bello has worked at least five innings on 11 occasions during that stretch.

In his most recent start, Bello held the Texas Rangers’ high-octane offense at bay on July 5, surrendering two runs on eight hits in seven innings. He didn’t issue a walk while striking out three.

“The sinker is my best pitch and it always gets me out of trouble, and (July 5) was no exception,” Bello said through a translator. “(July 5) was a really good day for me, everything was working well, the changeup and sinker, and I was glad to be able to get quick outs after those first couple innings.”

Bello has never faced the Cubs.

Right-hander Kyle Hendricks (3-3, 3.04) will oppose Bello and try to bounce back from a rough outing against the New York Yankees on Sunday.

Hendricks was tagged for four runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings, but he escaped with a no-decision after Chicago scored six unanswered runs en route to a 7-4 win.

“That’s a really nice team win, something I think we needed going into the break,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “These guys have fought really hard. The way we’ve come back here lately has been really impressive.”

Chicago has won four of its last six games after going 1-7 over its previous eight. The Cubs have received a boost from right fielder Seiya Suzuki, who is 9-for-22 (.409) with a home run, two RBIs and three runs in his last six games.

Suzuki would be the hottest hitter heading into Friday’s matchup had it not been for Japanese countryman and Boston left fielder Masataka Yoshida, who is on a historic run.

Yoshida has logged seven consecutive multi-hit games, becoming the first rookie in Red Sox franchise history to accomplish the feat since Johnny Pesky did so in 1942. He is batting .517 (15-for-29) with two homers, five RBIs and seven runs during his streak.

If Hendricks wants to contain Yoshida and the rest of Boston’s lineup, he will need to replicate his only previous performance against the Red Sox. On April 30, 2017, Hendricks limited Boston to two runs on three hits across six innings while walking three and striking out six.

The Red Sox and Cubs last met in July 2022, when Chicago took two games of a three-game set at home. Prior to that, the clubs hadn’t faced each other since 2017.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Take Two from Mets

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FLUSHING – Boston Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta out-pitched Mets Cy Young Award winner and MVP candidate Jacob deGrom Wednesday night, when the Boston pitching staff combined for a two-hit shut-out and earned the win as the visiting Red Sox edged the New York Mets, 1-0.

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Sox Backstop Christian Vazquez had an RBI double in the second inning for the Red Sox, who swept the two-game interleague series against the National League New Yorkers.

Three runs in two games were enough for the Boston Red Sox to defeat the Mets often-anemic offense but the Red Sox will need to generate more offense when they continue their short six-game road trip, visiting Arlington, Texas and the Texas Rangers Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series.

Left-hander Martin Perez (0-1, 5.71 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound for the Red Sox against right-hander Kyle Gibson (2-0, 2.30).

The Sox two wins over the Mets improved Boston’s surprising record to an AL East-leading, 16-9. The Sox started the season 0-3, but have now won three straight and four of their last five games. Boston next 11 games against a combination of Texas (10-15, .400), Detroit (8-16, .333) and Baltimore (10-14, .417) will be a key indicator for the rest of their 2021 season.

Boston, AL East last place finishers a season ago, recorded a disappointing (24-36, .400) record and finished 16 games back of Tampa Bay in the COVID-19 shortened 60-game 2020 season.