Showing posts with label boston red sox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boston red sox. Show all posts


As Cold Front Chills Fenway Park, Red Sox's Bats Go Ice-Cold

The 2025 Red Sox are eager for the chance to compete in cold October conditions over the next few months.

However, temperatures below 40 degrees are quite another matter, particularly during the first few weeks of the new baseball season.

Following Tuesday's 6-1 defeat against the Blue Jays, which had a first pitch temperature of 35 degrees—the third coldest ever recorded for a Red Sox home game— according to Baseball Reference — The rematch against Toronto on Wednesday was welcomed… with temperatures at 46 degrees for the first pitch.

And in keeping with the dismal weather plaguing the Commonwealth at present, the The Red Sox's previously powerful batting lineup at Fenway Park is now entirely covered with ice.

Yeah, there's no excuse," Alex Bregman stated regarding the weather following Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat against Toronto in 11 innings. "Both teams had to play under those conditions. We need to improve. And it begins with me. I need to step up my game.

After scoring 44 runs over a four-game span from April 3-6, the Red Sox have now scored four total runs over their first three games against the Blue Jays on their homestand — unsurprisingly dropping all three matchups as a result.

Although Toronto’s starting pitcher Kevin Gausman delivered an outstanding performance (8 innings, 4 hits, 10 strikeouts), the Red Sox failed to create many opportunities for extended plate appearances or making solid contact with the ball.

Boston’s four hits marked the fewest they’ve collected in a game since getting one-hit by the Rays on Sept. 19, 2024 — with the team now batting just 2-for-29 (0.68) with runners in scoring position over this three-game slide.

"A significant number of strikeouts," remarked an honest Alex Cora when discussing Boston’s batting strategy, noting that they struck out 14 times during Wednesday’s defeat.

Whenever Boston failed to capitalize on strike opportunities, their batters struggled against Gausman and the Blue Jays' pitchers. Gausman and relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman from Toronto needed just five pitches apiece to navigate through the seventh and ninth innings smoothly.

I believe some of these players—you don't want to let them reach two strikes since they have some really effective off-speed pitches," Bregman commented about Toronto’s pitchers. "Therefore, occasionally you might attempt to be proactive with your swings. Clearly, it didn’t pan out tonight, but we'll devise a fresh strategy for tomorrow and take another shot at them.

“I believe they've thrown some effective pitches against us, but clearly we haven't matched that with our own high-quality plate appearances,” he said additionally. “So, let’s focus on tomorrow and aim to change that.”

Boston’s subdued performance at bat thwarted a promising beginning from Tanner Houck, who held Toronto to merely five hits and one run across 6.2 innings. Following the concession of three hits and that solitary run in the opening frame, he didn’t grant another hit until after 15 consecutive batters had been dealt with.

I mean, I have complete faith in them," Houck stated regarding Boston's bats coming alive. "I am aware that they put in tremendous effort and always appear ready. They invest their entire being into it, which is everything I could hope for from them. I understand that situations can change rapidly.

Over the past several seasons, the Blue Jays have had great success playing at Fenway Park—securing victory in seven out of their last nine games there.

Triston Casas — batting just .163 on the year — is looking forward to more matchups against the Blue Jays moving forward, starting with Thursday’s matchup between Walker Buehler and Chris Bassitt.

It's great that we'll get many opportunities to face them since we required these batting practices," Casas stated. "We had to experience failure as it will help us make the necessary adjustments, perform better when we step up next time.

The post As a cold front strikes Fenway Park, the Red Sox's bats are turning icy. appeared first on Diwida | .



Red Sox silenced by Gausman in 11-inning loss to Blue Jays

Despite numerous opportunities, the Red Sox were unable to secure the crucial hits they required.

Following an impressive eight-inning performance from Toronto’s starting pitcher Kevin Gausman, which left the Boston Red Sox struggling, they managed to extend the game into extra innings. However, they were unable to prevent the Blue Jays from pulling ahead, ultimately suffering a 2-1 defeat in the eleventh inning.

Bo Bichette scored the lead-run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th against Josh Winckowski, and the Red Sox meekly ended their inning, leaving the equalizing run stranded at second.

The Red Sox had an 0-for-11 performance when they had runners in scoring positions, which included going 0-for-6 during extra innings. They have now dropped three consecutive games and find themselves beneath the .500 mark again.

"We need to improve," stated Red Sox manager Alex Cora after the match.

In the opening frame, both squads had chances to make their mark. The Blue Jays consecutively hit three singles off Tanner Houck, filling up the bases with just one retiree needed. However, they could only muster one score via a Will Wagner RBI groundout. On the flip side, the Red Sox saw Jarren Duran start things off with a single. He then swiped second base and advanced further to third due to an error, quickly positioning himself for a potential tally.

However, when Alex Bregman hit one deep into the furthest reaches of the Green Monster, Blue Jays center fielder Nathan Lukes managed to leap magnificently and made an astounding grab, preventing Bregman from advancing further and confining the Red Sox to just a sacrificial fly which evened the score at 1-1.

Following that, scoring opportunities became scarce.

Houck delivered his finest performance this season, successfully getting 15 out of 17 Toronto Blue Jays hitters between the first and sixth innings. Anytime a batter reached base during that period, they quickly ended their at-bat by grounding into double plays.

In the fourth inning, Andres Gimenez went for a walk but incorrectly interpreted a follow-up line from Will Wagner, resulting in an effortless double play. Later, when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got a single in the sixth, Anthony Santander hit a sharp liners right into the mitt of first baseman Triston Casas. This left Guerrero Jr. unable to do anything as Casas merely needed to take one step towards the base to finish off the double play.

Houck started struggling with his pitch count in the seventh, giving up a single and walking a batter to open the frame, yet he recovered by inducing a double play from Alejandro Kirk. Justin Wilson then entered the game and ended the inning with a groundout, leaving the potential tying runner stranded at third base.

Houck concluded his performance allowing one run across 6.2 innings, giving up five hits, issuing two walks, and recording two strikeouts. He delivered a total of 90 pitches, out of which 55 were strikes.

At the same time, Gausman thoroughly outperformed the frigid Red Sox lineup.

For a long time, Gausman has been a source of frustration for Boston. After Duran’s opening hit in the first inning, he retired 23 out of 26 hitters until the conclusion of the eighth frame. The lone exception among Red Sox players able to challenge him effectively was Rafael Devers, who managed back-to-back doubles yet failed to score either time. In the eighth, Kristian Campbell got a base knock, but Gausman responded with a pop-out followed by turning one into a double play, thus ending his performance impressively.

Gausman concluded the game with 10 strikeouts, marking his 26th career appearance where he recorded at least 10 strikeouts, including three against Boston. Over eight innings, he gave up just one unearned run on four hits without issuing any walks. Gausman was efficient, as 68 out of his 93 pitches were strikes.

Justin Slaten delivered a flawless eighth inning, followed by Aroldis Chapman who managed to navigate through a leadoff single by Guerrero (who had three hits out of four). In an impressive moment, he struck out Santander with a 102-mph fastball that left him swinging. However, the Red Sox were subdued in the bottom of the ninth, managing just seven swings against Blue Jays' relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman, which led them into extra innings without scoring.

One out of five innings saw the Red Sox being retired with only 10 or fewer pitches, an occurrence mentioned by multiple players as partly due to their efforts not to find themselves in two-strike counts against Gausman and the rest of the Blue Jays' pitching staff.

Some of these players become quite dangerous when they reach two strikes due to their ability to strike out opponents effectively," Bregman explained. "So occasionally, one might attempt to take control early in the match." He added, "Clearly, our strategy did not pay off this evening; however, we will devise a fresh approach for tomorrow and tackle them anew.

When you find yourself trailing in the count as a batter, it exposes you to various additional pitch types, yet it can also lead to an overzealous approach," Casas stated. "Our focus has been on making contact with the ball because that’s how we generate runs and secure victories. Therefore, taking control early and subsequently broadening our options has proven effective for them, particularly today with Gausman who excelled at this using his fastball.

Greg Weissert pitched a scoreless 10th inning, yet even with Casas advancing the extra-innings phantom runner to third at the start of the tenth frame, the Red Sox were unable to bring him across as the winning run. Trevor Story and Campbell both swung out to eliminate the danger, and subsequently finding themselves trailing in the 11th, David Hamilton, Rob Refsnyder, and Jarren Duran consecutively grounded out to conclude the match.

Giolito steps onto the mound for Worcester Sox

In his most recent rehabilitation appearance with the Worcester Red Sox on Wednesday evening, Lucas Giolito conceded one run off three hits and three walks, along with recording three strikeouts, spanning across 3.1 innings. Of the total 64 pitches he delivered, 34 were strikes. The sole run was attributed to him giving up two doubles in the initial inning.

Unless there are any complications, Giolito is anticipated to have another rehabilitation outing early next week.

Martinez’s family affected

Pedro Martinez, a legendary figure from the Red Sox, mentioned on Tuesday evening that several relatives of his were reportedly inside the Jet Set nightclub which caved in early this week in the Dominican Republic and have not yet been found. The incident led to at least 124 fatalities due to the collapse of the structure's ceiling. Among those who lost their lives were ex-big league players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco, along with Nelsy Cruz, who served as the governor of the Dominican Republic’s Monte Cristi province and was also the sibling of major-league baseball player Nelson Cruz.