BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox won last night’s series opener at CWS, 3-1, after losing their previous 2 games. The Sox are 7-2 in their last 9 games and 12-10 in 22 games during June. At 40-37 (.519), the Red Sox entered today with MLB’s 16th-best record…They’re 1.5 games back from the AL’s 2nd Wild Card position.
HEATING UP: The Red Sox are 9-5 (.643) in their last 14 games, beginning 6/9, the AL’s best winning percentage in that span. The Sox are outscoring opponents 73-48 in those games. Over that span, Boston owns MLB’s 2nd-lowest ERA (2.83, 40 ER/127.1 IP; SEA-2.82)…Starters are 6-2 with a 3.09 ERA (26 ER/75.2 IP), while relievers are 5-for-5 in save opportunities with a 2.18 ERA (14 ER/51.2 IP).
SERIES BUSINESS: With a win today or tomorrow, the Red Sox would improve to 14-9-2 in series play, including 3-1-1 in their last 5 series (beginning 6/9). The Red Sox are 10-2-1 in series when they win Game 1. The Sox have alternated series results on the road (W, L, W, L, W, T, W, L, W, L, W, T): 3-0 at DET, 0-4 at TB,
2-1 at MIL, 1-2 at BAL, 2-1 at PHI, 1-1 at ATL, 2-1 at SD, 0-3 at LAA, 2-1 at ARI, 1-2 at CLE, 2-1 at NYY, 2-2 at MIN.
PAIR OF SOX: The Red Sox are 6-8 against the white Sox since the start of 2021, but 20-15 against them from 2017-23. The Red Sox have won 7 of their last 10 series at Guaranteed Rate Field, beginning in 2012 (7-2-1)… Since the start of 2019, BOS has outscored CWS 83-39 at the venue. The White Sox will visit Fenway Park for a 3-game series from 9/22-24.
CENTRAL TIME: The Red Sox are 11-6 against AL Central teams this season, after going 18-15 in 2022. They’re 3-1-1 in series against AL Central opponents (3-0 at DET, 2-1 vs. MIN, 2-1 vs. CLE, 1-2 at CLE, 2-2 at MIN). Boston’s record would lead the AL Central by 1.0 game.
ON THE MEND: Joely Rodriguez is on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester…He has made 2 appearances for the WooSox, allowing 2 runs in 1.1 innings (5 H, BB, 3 SO). He tossed 0.2 innings last night vs. Lehigh Valley (3 H, R, SO, BB, 2 SO, 22 pitches).
WELCOME TO THE SHOW: Three of the Red Sox’ top 20 prospects, according to Baseball America, have made their Major League debut during June: LHP Brandon Walter (No. 7), LHP Chris Murphy (No. 14), and INF David Hamilton (No. 17). Walter made his debut Thursday at MIN, tossing 6.2 innings of relief (6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 SO)…He became the 1st Red Sox pitcher to toss more than 6.0 innings of relief in their MLB debut since Clem Hausmann on 4/28/1944 vs. the Philadelphia Athletics (8.0 IP).
Hamilton debuted on Wednesday at MIN, pinchrunning in the 8th inning and stealing 2nd base, then scoring the game-tying run…He was the 1st Red Sox player to make their MLB debut as a pinch-runner and steal a base since Trot Nixon on 9/21/1996 at NYY. Murphy has tossed 6.0 scoreless innings over his first 2 career games, making relief appearances on 6/7 at CLE (3.1 IP) and 6/18 vs. NYY-G1 (2.2 IP)…He’s the 1st Red Sox pitcher to toss 6.0 scoreless innings of relief over their
first 2 career games since Steve Crawford in 1980 (6.2 IP).
PITCHING IN: Last night was the Red Sox’ 8th game with a season-low 1 run allowed (previous: 6/18 vs. NYY-G2). The Sox held CWS to 0-for-7 with runners in scoring
position last night…Since 5/16, Boston has held opponents to a .207 AVG with RISP (60-for-290), the 3rdlowest mark in MLB over that span (CWS-.163, SF-.203).
RED SOX PITCHING SINCE 5/16 (35 GAMES)
Stat AL Rank MLB Rank
3.52 ERA (121 ER/309.1 IP) 2nd 5th
0.99 HR/9.0 IP (34 HR) 1st 5th
.232 AVG (272-for-1,173) 3rd 5th
1.19 WHIP (272 H, 97 BB) 4th 7th
START ME UP: Beginning 5/17, Red Sox starting pitchers rank 6th in MLB with a 3.52 ERA (67 ER/171.1 IP)…They’ve allowed 2 runs or fewer in 10 of their last 14 games. The Red Sox used an opener on 6/22 at MIN and 6/18 vs. NYY-G1…In their other 12 games since 6/9, Sox starters have tossed at least 6.0 innings 9 times (7.0 IP 4 times). The Sox are 18-7 when their starter tosses 6.0+ innings and 7-3 when they toss 7.0+.
SLUGGING SOX: The Red Sox have scored 63 runs in their last 10 games, compared to 25 runs in their previous 10. The Sox have been held to 7 hits over their last 2 games after recording 8+ hits in a season-high-tying 9 consecutive games from 6/12-21. Rafael Devers’ go-ahead 2-run HR last night is the Sox’ only XBH in their last 2 games…They collected 39 XBH in their previous 8 games (26 2B, 4 3B, 9 HR). With 2 outs over their last 8 games, the Sox are batting .352 (32-for-103) with a .422 OBP, 32 RBI, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 5 HR, and 9 BB.
RED SOX OFFENSE BY DATE
Dates Record AVG OPS Runs/G
3/30-5/6 21-14 .273 .800 5.9
5/7-6/12 12-20 .243 .702 3.7
6/13-pres. 7-3 .277 .806 6.3
RISPY BUSINESS: The Red Sox are batting .342 (26-for-76) with runners in scoring position over their last 8 games, after hitting .165 (18-for-109) with RISP in their previous 12. Overall with RISP, Boston ranks 2nd in MLB in strikeout rate (18.8%), 3rd in OBP (.367), 4th in AVG (.285), 5th in OPS (.815), and 7th in SLG (.448). With 2 outs and RISP, The Sox lead MLB in OBP (.385) while ranking 3rd in AVG (.286) and OPS (.858).
RUNNIN’ RED SOX: The Red Sox rank 3rd in the AL and 7th in MLB in SB% (82.1%, 46-for-56)…In 2022, they ranked 22nd in MLB with a 72.2 SB%. 15 players have stolen a base for the Red Sox this season, matching their total from 2022 and tying CIN for 3rd most in MLB (MIA-16, PIT-16).
TOUGH TEST: After this weekend’s 3-game series at CWS, the Red Sox’ next 3 series are against teams that entered today with a record of .500 or better (vs. MIA, at TOR, vs. TEX). Following the Sox’ 3-game series vs. TEX from 7/4-6, 7 of their 11 series from 7/7-8/17 are against teams that entered today with a record below .500. The Red Sox have played 55 games against teams that entered today with a record of .500 or better, 4th most in MLB (OAK-60, NYY-59, TOR-57). The Sox are 30-25 (.545) in those games, the 3rd-best record in the AL and 5th best in MLB…Their 30 wins are tied with NYY for most in MLB.
NO TIME TO REST: Tomorrow concludes the Red Sox’ stretch of 23 games in 23 days from 6/3-25 (11-10 so far). After last Saturday’s game vs. NYY was postponed and made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday, the Sox are now playing 9 games in 8 days from 6/18-25.
TODAY’S STARTER: 65 JAMES PAXTON – LHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 3-1 3.29 7 7 38.1 14 5 11 51 1.07 .210
CAREER 60-34 3.58 144 144 793.0 315 86 242 882 1.21 .238
Retired 11 of the first 14 batters he faced before allowing a 3-run HR in the 5th inning Monday at MIN (6.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, BB, 7 SO, HR). Is 2-0 with a 3.28 ERA (9 ER/24.2 IP) in 5 career starts vs. CWS. Has a 2.22 ERA in 24.1 IP over his last 4 starts (7 R/6 ER, 17 H, 5 BB, 32 SO). Has allowed 1 HR in his last 4 starts (24.1 IP), after giving up 4 HR in his first 4 (19.0 IP). Has pitched 5.0+ innings and allowed 3 runs or fewer in 6 of his 7 starts. Has struck out at least 5 batters in each of his 7 starts (51 total SO), including at least 7 in each of his last 4 starts (32 SO). 28 of his 56 strikeouts this season has come with the 4-seam fastball (21-for-84, 11 XBH).
CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:
WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox have lost four of their last five games and nine of 12 as they continue a six-game, seven-day homestand this afternoon against Boston.
RHP Lance Lynn is scheduled to start for the White Sox, who are in fourth place in the American League Central, 7.0 games off the pace set by division-leading Minnesota.
The Sox are 1-3 on the homestand, losing two of three games to Texas before dropping a 3-1 decision last night despite recording 17 strikeouts.
Following tomorrow’s game, the White Sox return to the west coast for a seven-game trip to Los Angeles-AL (6/26-29) and Oakland (6/30-7/1) before ending the first half with a six-game homestand vs. Toronto (7/4-6) and St. Louis (7/7-9).
The Sox went 2-4 trip on their last trip to Los Angeles-NL (1-2) and Seattle (1-2) from 6/13-18 and 1-2 on their last homestand vs. Miami from 6/9-11.
TODAY’S STORYLINES
Lance Lynn, who tied the franchise record with 16 strikeouts in his last start on 6/18 at Seattle, is 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA (10 ER/44.0 IP) in eight career regular-season games (seven starts) against Boston.
The White Sox rank second in MLB with a 3.29 ERA (121 ER/330.2 IP) in 37 games since 5/13 … the rotation ranks second in MLB during that span with a 3.38 ERA (75 ER/200.0 IP).
The Sox rank fourth in MLB in June with a 3.21 ERA (61 ER/171.0 IP) but are 29th with a .212 (136-642) average and 3.21 runs per game (61 runs) … all 19 of their games in June have been decided by four runs or less.
The White Sox are 7-64 (.109) with no extra-base hits with RISP over the last eight games and 2-29 (.069) in the last four.
Andrew Benintendi is hitting .370/.393/.519 (10-27) with four doubles over his last six games.
LAST NIGHT’S RECAP
White Sox pitchers walked one batter and struck out 17, but a pair of errors led to two unearned runs in a 3-1 loss to Boston.
Lucas Giolito suffered the loss despite allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts over 6.0 IP … Giolito struck out 10-plus batters for the 15th time in his career (first in 2023), tied with Dylan Cease and Juan Pizarro for third-most in franchise history, and lowered his ERA over his last four starts to 1.50 (4 ER/24.0 IP).
Gregory Santos, Reynaldo López and Keynan Middleton combined to throw 3.0 scoreless IP with seven strikeouts.
Eloy Jiménez went 3-4 with a double, and Andrew Benintendi hit a pair of doubles for the Sox, who outhit Boston, 8-4, but went 0-7 with RISP and left eight runners on base.
Tim Anderson, celebrating his 30th birthday, made his first professional appearance at second base, going 0-3 with a RBI.
The Sox fell to 0-6 this season when striking out 15-plus batters and suffered the first loss in franchise history when allowing four hits or less with 17-plus strikeouts.
WHITE SOX VS. BOSTON RED SOX
Boston leads the season series, 1-0.
Chicago won the 2022 series, 4-2, sweeping a three-game set at Fenway Park from 5/6-8 before losing two of three at home from 5/24-26 … the Red Sox scored five runs in three games at Fenway Park and 33 runs in three games in Chicago.
The Sox have won five of the last seven series since 2015 but are 23-26 during that span.
Andrew Benintendi batted .273/.353/.435 (502-2,104) with 119 doubles, 51 home runs, 260 RBI and 279 runs scored in 485 games with the Red Sox after being selected in the first round (7th overall) of the 2015 draft … Benintendi was a member of Boston’s 2018 World Series championship team.
KNOCKING THEIR (RED) SOX OFF
Some notable White Sox career numbers against Boston.
Tim Anderson: .306/.333/.470 (41-134) in 33 games.
Clint Frazier: .309/.382/.485 (21-68) with three home runs and 13 RBI in 21 games.
Luis Robert Jr.: .356/.383/.533 (16-45) with five doubles, one home run and nine RBI in 11 games.
Andrew Vaughn: .364/.417/.636 (8-22) with three doubles, one home run and five RBI in six games.
LOOKING FOR AN EDGE VS. THE EAST
The White Sox are 4-13 against American League East teams this season, going 2-6 at home and 2-7 on the road … they have been outscored, 107-59.
The Sox have won three of their last five games after losing 10 of their first 11.
By comparison, the White Sox combined to go 34-31 vs. the AL East in 2021-22.
STARTING PITCHER – #33 LANCE LYNN RHP
YNN AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his 16th start of the season, seventh at home and first against the Boston Red Sox.
Has gone 0-3 with an 8.57 ERA (20 ER/21.0 IP), 1.67 WHIP and .295 (26-88) opponents average over his last four starts.
Has surrendered 18 home runs this season, tied for third-most in the majors … has allowed a homer in 11 of his 15 starts, including in four of his six starts at home.
Owns an 11.40 ERA (19 ER/15.0 IP) and .357 (25-70) opponents average in the first inning … his 11.40 ERA is the highest mark in baseball his season while his 19 runs allowed are tied for the highest and his .357 opponents average is the second-highest.
Ranks among MLB active pitchers in HR/9.0 IP (6th, 0.95), SO/9.0 IP (7th, 9.14), opponents average (9th, .243), wins (9th, 127), starts (9th, 300), opponents SLG (10th, .385), IP (10th, 1,789.2), strikeouts (10th, 1,817), opponents OPS (11th, .698), ERA (12th, 3.66), WHIP (12th, 1.27) and opponents OBP (13th, .312).
Pitched for Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic … went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA (3 ER/9.0 IP), .188 (6-32) opp. average and eight strikeouts in two starts.
Signed a two-year contract extension with a club option with the White Sox on 7/17/21 … the Sox hold an $18-million option for 2024 with a $1-million buyout.
Is a two-time All-Star (2012 and 2021) … has finished fifth in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2019, sixth in 2020 and third in 2021 … was a member of the 2011
World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals.
LAST START
Suffered the loss on 6/18 at Seattle despite recording his fifth quality start of the season … allowed three runs on four hits with two walks and a career-high 16 strikeouts over a season-high tying 7.0 IP (second time) … the 16 strikeouts tied a White Sox single-game franchise record (also Jack Harshman on 7/25/1954 at Boston).
Marked his 300th career start, becoming the ninth active pitcher in the majors to reach that mark.
Departed the game in the eight with no outs, a runner on first and the White Sox trailing, 2-1 … threw a season-high 114 pitches (71 strikes).
Owned a 59.3 first-strike percentage and 26.3 swinging-strike percentage (33 swing and misses) vs. 27 batters … threw 36 cutters (88.1 mph avg; 90.7 mph max), 26
four-seam fastballs (92.9 avg; 94.1 max), 20 sinkers (91.8 avg; 90.5 max), 13 sliders (82.8 avg; 84.5 max), 11 changeups (84.5 avg; 85.8 max) and eight curveballs (80.5 avg; 82.3 max).
