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Price Pounded By Yankees

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There don’t appear to be any cutesy, glib comments from David Price after he was shelled by the Yankees on Sunday. No mocking, passive-aggressive jabs at the media after he allowed a career-high five home runs in yet another abbreviated outing.

Sunday’s was a big test for Price and the results were failure, plain and simple: nine hits, including the five dingers, with three strikeouts over a little more than three innings of work. No Sox pitcher this season has allowed as many home runs within the first three innings of a game as David Price (9).

By the time Manager Alex Cora finally brought out the hook, the Red Sox were already down 0-8. When the dust settled, the 11-1 loss was Boston’s largest margin of defeat against New York since a 13-3 loss on August 4, 2015, also at Yankee Stadium.

When it comes to Yankees, Price is wrong

Price is now 2-6 with an 8.43 ERA in nine starts against the Yankees since signing a $217 million contract with Boston before the 2016 season. He’s 0-5 with a 10.44 ERA in his last five starts in the Bronx. He has allowed 10 home runs in his last three starts at Yankee Stadium.

Clearly his Achilles Heel, the Yankees are now responsible for nine of Price’s 19 career games with at least six earned run allowed as well as for three of his five career-high outings with eight earned runs.

Long, Close Games? Not This Time

This was not the weekend series most fans expected. Surely, the top two teams in baseball, already 3-3 against each other in 2018, would be deadlocked in close games defined by razor-thin margins, right? Instead, all three games were blowouts that showcased each club’s pitching strengths and weaknesses.

In Friday’s opener, played in just 2 hours and 41 minutes, the Sox were stymied by CC Sabathia for an 8-1 loss. On Saturday, Chris Sale returned the favor with an absolutely dominant outing that resulted in an 11-0 shutout win for the Sox. It was the longest game of the three, clocking in at just over three and a quarter hours.

But Sunday’s win for New York did more than just spotlight Luis Severino‘s remarkable strengths (he’s now 13-2 with a 1.98 ERA this season), it made clear just how terrible Price’s outing was. The Sox were simply never in the game, never had a chance to mount a comeback.

Entering Sunday’s action, Price had allowed three or fewer earned runs in his last nine starts. He mocked the press after his last game, joking when asked about the upcoming trip to New York that he might not be able to make it.

But on Monday morning Red Sox Nation faces the unavoidable reality that in two starts against his club’s closest competitor this season, David Price is 0-2 with a 24.92 ERA.

A few other notes about this series:

  • Last night, the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks became the 21st major leaguer since 1908 with a club-high three home runs against Boston (two off Price and one coming against Red Sox reliever Hector Velázquez). It was a career-high for Hicks who never before had more than two home runs in a game.
  • Among the 21 players with 3 home runs in a game vs Boston is new Sox minor leaguer Adam Lind (2009). Three players have done it twice to the Red Sox: Frank Thomas (1996 and 2007), Joe Carter (1986 and 1987), and Pinky Higgins (1935 and 1940).
  • Price is now the sixth Boston starter since 1960 with multiple outings of 3.1 or fewer IP against the Yankees in the same season. The most recent was was Clay Buchholz in 2015. It happened to Derek Lowe twice in two different seasons (1998 and 2004).
  • Price set the club record on Sunday for most home runs allowed over 3.1 or fewer IP. Previous high was 4 HR, most recently by Steven Wright last April 12 (4 HR over 1.1 IP). The club record for most HR allowed by a starter since 1908 is 6 by Tim Wakefield on August 8, 2004 facing the Tigers.
  • Yankees rookie Kyle Higashioka, in search of his first major league hit last night, was one of the batter who took Price deep. Higashioka is the first Yankee to homer against the Red Sox for his first major league hit since Andy Phillips on September 26, 2004 at Fenway.
  • The Red Sox are now 6-14 for their last 20 games at Yankee Stadium and have lost straight series there.

Sox Win In Fenway Opener

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The scheduling gods gave the Red Sox some gifts to start the 2018 campaign. The club didn’t even have to travel far from the spring headquarters to start the new season with three games at Tampa and two at Miami before heading back to chilly Boston for yet another set with the Rays. These games are opportunities to rack up some early wins against two rebuilding clubs and, save for a tough loss on Opening Day, the Red Sox responded with six good wins—wins that count just as same as the ones against tough opponents late in the season.

You can argue, justifiably perhaps, that it shouldn’t have been this hard to put away the Rays and the Marlins. Except for a solid 7-3 win over Miami on Monday, four of the remaining six wins have been hard fought, one-run victories. That includes, of course, Opening Day at Fenway, in which Boston was held scoreless until Xander Bogaerts tied the game with a two-out double in the bottom of the ninth inning. That’s when the momentum shifted, though it would take three more frames to finish things off right.

In the end it was Hanley Ramírez who powered a walk-off win that gave Boston a second straight extra-inning victory. The Sox have, in fact, won nine consecutive extra-inning games. The walk-off was the eighth such win at a Fenway home opener, the first since Mo Vaughn‘s grand slam against the Mariners on April 10, 1998.

For Ramírez, who says he feels healthy and may be doubly motivated by a contract incentive, it was his second straight game with a game-winning hit in the 12th inning or later.

Particularly at the start of the season, the schedule makers leave plenty of room for weather-related make-up games. Thanks to that, the Red Sox have an oddball Friday off (their first such Friday rest since 2012), take on the Rays for two more this weekend, then enjoy a Monday off before the Yankees come to town. For most, that series against New York will be the first real test of the season.

Fenway Faithful Rewarded With A WIn

On Thursday David Price struck out five and allowed three hits but held the Rays scoreless through 7.0 innings. It was his second straight scoreless start to the begin the season. Price is the first Sox pitcher to hold an opponent scoreless in his first two starts of a season since Derek Lowe in 2002. Since returning from the DL late last year and including the 2017 postseason, Price has not allowed a run in his last 29.1 IP.

After the game Price acknowledged the fans who cheered him as he left the mound after the seventh inning. “I didn’t want to tip my cap,” Price explained, “because that would take me out of the game.” Price said he didn’t know at the time if Manager Alex Cora would send him back out for another inning. “If I’d been sure of it I definitely would have tipped my cap.”

Overall, Red Sox starting pitching has been outstanding, with an 0.86 ERA through the first seven games. Boston starters have allowed zero or one runs in each of those first seven games thereby extending a major league record streak of consecutive such starts to begin any season.

Carson Smith, first out the pen today, allowed the Rays only runs on a home run by Matt Duffy. For Smith, it was just the third home run he’s allowed over 94 career appearances (89.1 IP). Hector Velázquez and Craig Kimbrel came in for one frame apiece, but it was youngster Bobby Poyner, who once again impressed with two strong innings. Poyner was rewarded with his first major league win.

On the field, Red Sox fielding has been superb with no errors committed to date. That matches the 2013 club’s longest errorless-games streak to begin a season since 1913.

But when it comes to offensive production, the Red Sox aren’t firing on all cylinders just yet. Though Jackie Bradley came through with an important leadoff double in the bottom of the 12th, he likewise grounded out in the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded. Bradley is slashing .136 AVG/.240 OBP/.227 SLG to open the year, Andrew Benintendi is at just .174/.367/.174 and fans have yet to see flashes of power from new slugger J.D. Martinez.

Until the offense shows up consistently, the fate of the Sox will rest squarely on its pitchers.

Thursday’s home opener improved the Red Sox to 6-1 on the young season.


Rafael Devers Debuts Tuesday

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The Red Sox ended the speculation this weekend, saying that Rafael Devers will make his big-league debut with the club when they take on the Mariners Tuesday.

Devers will join Xander Bogaerts  as the only Sox position players since 1980 to make their major league debuts before turning 21.

Sox President of Baseball Operations, Dave Dombrowski, presumably wheeling and dealing with the trade deadline just days away, told reporters after Sunday’s game that “we think that [Devers] gives us as good a chance as anyone we’ve had a chance to acquire, for third base.”

Dombrowski notes that other potential trades had high price tags that don’t necessarily promise much more production than what Devers can provide. “The requests for some of the guys that would be minimally better for us have been very large,” Dombrowski said.

Getting to Know Rafael Devers

Devers, the Red Sox 2016 Minor League Defensive Player of the Year, hails from Sanchez, Dominican Republic and lives in Invivienda, DR during the off-season. He won’t turn 21 until October 24. He’s slashed .311 AVG/.377 OBP/.578 SLG in 86 minor league games this season, all but nine of them at Double-A Portland. In nine games at Triple-A Pawtucket Devers was 14-for-35 (.400) with two home runs.

In comparison to one-time Sox top-prospect Yoan Moncada, Double-A manager Carlos Febles told the Boston Globe‘s Alex Speier, Devers has advanced skills. “Moncada was basically one-dimensional,” Febles says. “He had the ability to hit the ball the other way, but had a tough time recognizing pitches, especially the changeup. He couldn’t recognize the changeup. Devers is the other way around.”

The Sox signed Devers as an international free agent on August 9, 2013. He made his professional debut the next year batting 84-for-261 (.322) with 17 doubles, five triples, seven home runs, 57 RBI, 35 walks, and a .404 OBP in 70 games between the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League Red Sox and Gulf Coast League Red Sox.

Devers spent the 2015 season with Single-A Greenville, where he was named a South Atlantic League mid-season All-Star. Devers finished the season with second-most doubles (38) and total bases (208), and third-most extra-base hits (50) in the league. He spent the entirety of last season at High-A Salem, leading the club in games (128), runs scored (64), and home runs (11), and ranking third in the Carolina League for at-bats (503), fourth for hits (142), and fifth for total bases (223). His monthly batting average topped .300 in June (.313), July (.357), and August (.328).

The 6-foot, 234-pound lefty infielder entered the 2017 season ranked by Baseball America as the club’s No. 2 prospect, as well as having the best infield arm in the organization. He was ranked the No. 18 prospect in all of baseball.

This past spring Devers was 3-for-22 (.136) with an RBI, two walks and three strikeouts in the Grapefruit League. He was included along with Brian Johnson and Henry Owens in the club’s first round of cuts in mid-March.

Behind the Scenes in the Price, Eckersley Feud

Red Sox Nation was abuzz Monday morning with the Boston Globe‘s damning, behind-the-scenes look at last month’s blow-up between David Price and Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, who was traveling with the team as part of the NESN broadcast crew.

According to Dan Shaughnessy’s sources, Price laid in wait during boarding of the team plane, about midway down the aisle, to verbally confront Eckersley when he entered the cabin about what Price felt were derogatory on-air comments about Eduardo Rodriguez. The article paints a thin-skinned, nasty portrait of Price but also, I think, of Dombrowksi and Manager John Farrell, both of whom were on the same flight.

Red Sox offense has undoubtedly suffered since David Ortiz‘ retirement, but you can’t help wondering if club house leadership left with Ortiz, too.

Unscientific though it may be, sentiment around Red Sox Nation seemed to be running against Price and for Eck. For his part, though, outspoken former Sox ace Curt Schilling tweeted doubts, saying of Shaughnessy, “no one ANYWHERE on this team would ‘confide’ in this clown.”


Some Good, Some Bad in Red Sox Eventful Weekend

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It was an eventful weekend at Fenway Park, wasn’t it?

On Friday came the news that Pablo Sandoval was designated for assignment and that his Red Sox career was effectively over. The Panda’s time on the disabled list was nearing its end and so the time had come for Sox management to decide whether to hold ’em or fold ’em. Justifiably, they ended the game.

In all, Sandoval played 161 games with the Sox (2015-17), slashing .237 AVG/.286 OBP/.360 SLG in that time compared to a .294/.346/.465 line over seven seasons (869 games) with the Giants. Red Sox baseball president Dave Dombrowski credited ownership for the willingness to write off the $49 million remaining on Sandoval’s guaranteed contract, which runs through 2019.

Over the weekend CBS Sports reported that Panda could reunite with the Giants, though a reporter closer to the scene throws some cold water on the prospect of that actually happening. If Pablo wants to be reunited with San Francisco, Andrew Baggarly wrote, he’ll follow through with a five-step program that seems somewhat arduous for a man of Sandoval’s significant financial means. Why would he bother?

Sox and Yankees Split Four

The Red Sox had to be satisfied with a weekend split in a four-game set that really, truly should have yielded three wins for Boston. Enough about the games has been credibly documented elsewhere (and here, here, and here), but there a couple points worth special mention.

  • Jackie Bradley, Jr. makes it look so easy, doesn’t he? Sunday’s night’s catch, which robbed Yankees phenom Aaron Judge of a two-run home run, was undoubtedly “one of the best catches ever made at Fenway Park.” Statcast reported Judge’s flyout to have left the bat at 107.5 MPH with a hit probability of 91 percent.
  • Even those with concerns about David Price had to impressed with his performance Sunday night. Over eight strong innings he allowed no runs, no walks, and struck out eight while allowing seven hits. With Craig Kimbrel‘s close, the Sox handed the Yankees their very first shutout loss of the season.
  • So there’s this: Despite losing two of the four games, Red Sox pitchers in those losses held a hard-hitting Yankees team to four and three runs on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. In return Boston’s offense mustered just one total run for both of those games. The Sox pitching staff owns a 3.72 ERA this season, the best in the American League and 3rd-best in the majors. Boston relievers’ ERA is 3.04, also 3rd best in baseball.
  • Friday’s Red Sox win with a walk-off walk was historical, so too was the next night’s loss. Besides Saturday, the only Fenway game where the Red Sox were held to one or fewer runs longer was a 17-inning, 0-0 tie on July 14, 1916 agains the St. Louis Browns.
  • How good was it to see Brock Holt back in action? Until Sunday afternoon he hadn’t been in a game since April 20, down with the effects of a concussion and vertigo. “Emotionally, physically, it was something that, obviously, I would rather not have to go through. It’s going to make me stronger,” Holt told the Worcester Telegram. “I’m glad to be back.” Can’t imagine a single denizen of Red Sox Nation that doesn’t hope the best for Holt.
  • What a sight at Fenway Park on the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. The Red Sox really know how to orchestrate these kind of meaningful events. The morning’s 8th Annual Run to Home Base was followed by an on-field tribute to over 800 veterans. Proceeds from the run benefits Home Base, a Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital program to help service members when they complete their military service.
  • We’ll likely see Tzu-Wei Lin again but the Sox sent him back to Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday to make room on the roster for the return of pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez. Lin was 14-for-50 (.280) with two triples and eight walks in his first stint with the big club (19 games).

Red Sox now face the moribund Toronto Blue Jays (7-13 for their last 20) for four games at Fenway before heading out for the last west coast trip of the regular season.


Red Sox Win Series vs Astros

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The Red Sox played a highly entertaining game Sunday night, taking a big lead and then squandering it, before ultimately securing a win over a tough team. In the end, Boston beat the Astros 6-5 to win the series 2-games-to-1.

With the Yankees tailspin (six straight losses), the Red Sox are now tied for first in the American League East.

Fans who have been understandably concerned that the Sox haven’t lived up to their potential so far this season can take some comfort from this series against the best team in baseball.

David Price allowed eight hits but just three runs Sunday, though it took him 107 pitches to get through a little more than 5.0 IP. It was enough, however, for him to earn the win. Up 5-2 after the Sox scored four runs in the top of the sixth, Manager John Farrell apparently thought it safe for Price to return to the mound, but Price promptly coughed up a towering, 454-foot solo home run to Jake Marisnick.

Heath Hembree entered the game and immediately allowed another towering shot, this one measured at 406-feet, to George Springer. It was the sixth time this season The Mighty Houstons have gone back-to-back. Hembree got through the inning without further damage and then the cavalcade of Boston relievers (Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes, Robby Scott) went to work, wriggling in and out of trouble but getting to the ninth with a one-run lead for Craig Kimbel to protect.

Kimbrel earned his 20th save of the season, though the game ended when Christian Vazquez accurately gunned down Derek Fisher attempting an oddball, two-out steal with home run hitter Springer at the plate.

Boston’s bullpen has kept the Sox undefeated this season (28-0) when the team leads after seven innings.

Bogaerts Powers Up

Red Sox offense was rejuvenated Sunday by the Xander Bogaerts, who escaped an 0-for-14 slump with a home run in the first inning and another in the sixth. It was his first career multi-home run game. A seventh inning single drove in two more Boston runs for a four-RBI night.

After striking out twice earlier in the game, Boston got timely hitting from Jackie Bradley, who drove in two with a two-out double that plated Hanley Ramirez and Andrew Benintendi. Bradley now has 12 two-out RBI this season. Only Mookie Betts (13) and Benintendi (16) have more.

The win came despite 14 Astros hits, including two each for Springer, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Brian McCann, and Yuli Gurriel. It was the ninth time this season that Houston has had multiple hits from five or more players.

The Sox now head to Kansas City to take on the Royals for three games before the return trip to Fenway.