BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox snapped a 3-game losing streak last night…They are 3-3 in their last 6 games after losing 7 of their 9 games from 5/21-31. At 31-30 (.508), the Sox rank 5th in the AL East and are 4.5 games back from the AL’s 3rd Wild Card spot. Boston has been at or above .500 since 4/29 (14-14).
SERIES BUSINESS: The Red Sox have lost each of their last 2 series (1-2 vs. CIN, 1-3 vs. TB)…It is the 1st time they’ve lost back-to-back series this season. With a win tonight or tomorrow, the Sox would improve to 12-7-1 in series play, including 8-4-0 in series against AL opponents. The Sox have alternated series results on the road (W, L, W, L, W, T, W, L, W): 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. The Sox are 8-1-0 in series when they win Game 1.
SOX & GUARDIANS: The Red Sox won their 3rd consecutive game vs. CLE last night…The Sox won a 3-game series vs. CLE at Fenway Park from 4/28-30 (2-1). The Red Sox are 12-5 vs. CLE since the beginning of 2021, including 6-1 at Progressive Field. The Sox have won 8 of their last 9 games at Progressive Field, beginning on 8/13/19. Alex Cora is 1 of 7 current MLB managers to have played for Terry Francona during his 8-year stint as manager of the Red Sox from 2004-11: Alex Cora (2005-08), Rocco Baldelli (2009), Kevin Cash (2010), Gabe Kapler (2003-06), Mark Kotsay (2008-09), Dave Roberts (2004), and David Ross (2008).
CENTRAL TIME: The Red Sox are 8-2 against AL Central teams this season, after going 18-15 in 2022. The Sox are outscoring AL Central opponents this season by a score of 66-45. They are 3-0-0 in series against AL Central opponents (3-0 at DET, 2-1 vs. MIN, and 2-1 vs. CLE). The Sox have won 4 consecutive series against AL Central opponents, beginning on 9/16/22 vs. KC.
GETTING BUSY: After Friday’s game was postponed and made up on Monday, the Red Sox are now in a span of 13 games in 12 days, from 6/3-14 (2-3 so far). The Sox are in a span of 26 games in 27 days, from 5/30-6/25, including 23 games in 23 days from 6/3-25. 3 of the Sox’ 5 series (10 of 16 games) from 6/3-18 are against AL East opponents (1-3 vs. TB, 3 games at NYY, 3 games vs. NYY)…Just 1 of their 9 series from 4/28-6/1 was within the division (5/1-4 vs. TOR).
COMEBACK KIDS: Last night, the Red Sox trailed 2-0 through 5 innings and 2-1 through 7 innings before scoring 4 runs in the 8th and going on to win, 5-4. They have trailed in each of their last 4 wins. The Red Sox have 18 come-from-behind wins this season, tied for 2nd most in MLB (BAL-20).
CLOSE SHAVES: 7 of the Red Sox’ last 10 games have been decided by 3 runs or fewer, including 4 one-run games and 2 two-run games. Last night, the Sox won only their 2nd one-run game since 5/3 (also 5/27 at ARI, 2-1 win). Boston’s 10 losses by 1 run are tied for 4th most in the AL behind CLE (17), SEA (12), and MIN (11).
UPS AND DOWNS: The Red Sox have been held to 2 runs or fewer in 10 of their last 21 games, compared to just 8 of their first 40 games. The Sox recorded 10 hits last night, snapping a season-long streak of 3 straight games with 6 hits or fewer. The Sox have a .236 AVG/.313 OBP in their last 17 games, after entering that span with a .272 AVG/.342 OBP.
RED SOX OFFENSE
Dates Record AVG OPS Runs/Game
3/30-4/13 5-8 .235 .731 5.5
4/14-5/6 16-6 .295 .840 6.2
5/7-pres. 10-16 .246 .712 4.0
SLUGGING SOX: The Red Sox lead MLB in doubles (139) and rank top 5 in runs (4th, 311), AVG (5th, .262), OBP (3rd, .334), OPS (5th, .763), and XBH (4th, 211). The Sox rank 3rd in the AL and 6th in MLB in SO% (20.8). The Sox rank among league leaders in pitches per PA (7th, 3.96) and swinging strike percentage (4th, 17.0%).
FOUR SCORE AND…: The Red Sox are 29-10 when they score 4 or more runs, compared to 2-20 when they don’t. The Sox’ 39 games with 4+ runs scored are tied for 3rd most in the AL behind TB (46) and TEX (43). They have scored 4+ runs in 5 of their last 8 games, after doing so in just 1 of their previous 7 games.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Red Sox players age 27 or younger have combined to hit 40 of the team’s 66 HR (Devers-13, Casas-6, Wong-6, Verdugo-5, Valdez-4, Duran-3, Chang-3). Their 40 HR rank 5th in MLB behind CWS (49), HOU (47), TB (45), and KC (42). Pitchers age 27 or younger have started 28 of Boston’s 61 games (Houck-11, Bello-9, Whitlock-5, Crawford-3).
RUNNIN’ RED SOX: The Red Sox rank 4th in the AL and 7th in MLB in SB% (82.5%, 33-for-40). The Sox ranked 22nd in MLB with a 72.2 SB% in 2022.
34% of the Red Sox’ baserunners have scored, tied for the 5th-highest percentage in MLB.
TOUGH TEST: The Red Sox have played 42 games against teams with a current winning percentage of .500 or better, 5th most in MLB (OAK-48, TOR-44, STL-44, NYY-43). The Red Sox are 20-22 (.476) against teams that currently have a .500 winning percentage or better. 7 of the Sox’ 10 series from 6/2-7/6 are against opponents who are currently above .500 (vs. TB, at NYY, vs. NYY, at MIN, vs. MIA, at TOR, vs. TEX).
ON THE MEND: Yu Chang began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester last night vs. Rochester, starting as the DH (0-for-4). Adam Duvall has played in 6 games on a rehab assignment with Worcester, making 5 starts in CF and 1 as the DH…In his last 4 games with the WooSox, Duvall is 4-for-14 with 2 HR, a double, 3 RBI, and 4 BB.
TONIGHT’S STARTER: 50 KUTTER CRAWFORD – RHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 1-2 3.48 11 3 33.2 13 6 6 33 0.95 .203
CAREER 4-9 5.18 33 16 113.0 65 19 37 112 1.32 .256
Will start in back-to-back appearances for the first time since 4/3 vs. PIT and 4/9 at DET. Started Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader vs. TB (3.0 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 SO). In 8 relief appearances, has a 1.66 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, and .143 opponent AVG (21.2 IP, 4 ER, 11 H), compared to a .75 ERA (9 ER/12.0 IP) in 3 games as a starter. Opponents are 3 for their last 24 against him (.125)…Overall, opponents are batting .203 against him (26-for-128). Among the 170 pitchers with at least 30.0 IP, ranks 10th in WHIP (0.95), 11th in walk rate (4.5%), and T-11th in SO/BB ratio (5.50). In 5 road games (1 start), has a 1.88 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, and .189 opponent AVG (14.1 IP, 3 R, 10 H, 1 BB, 16 SO).
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
GUARDS FALL SHORT IN HOMESTAND OPENER
Coming off back-to-back wins in Minnesota that capped a 4-3 road trip, the Guardians opened a 6-game homestand with a 5-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night at Progressive Field… club has dropped 4 of last 6 at home (12-16 overall).
Cleveland jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the 1st inning, as a lead-off single from STEVEN KWAN paved the way for a pair of 2-out RBI-doubles by JOSH NAYLOR and JOSH BELL… those would turn out to be the only tallies allowed by southpaw James Paxton across his 7.0 frames (7.0IP, 6H, 2R-ER, 2BB, 9SO, 106 pitches)…SHANE BIEBER (5.2IP, 5H, 1R-ER, BB, 2SO, 95 pitches) surrendered his lone tally in the 6th before exiting with a 2-1 lead, as Masataka Yoshida led off the inning with a double and later scored on a 2-out double by Enrique Hernandez…the Red Sox blew the contest open with a 4-run rally in the 8th, as ENYEL DE LOS SANTOS started the inning by allowing a double, walk and single ahead of a game-tying bases-loaded walk…NICK SANDLIN then relieved De Los Santos and Boston capitalized on a pair of RBI-singles by Rob Refsnyder and Pablo Reyes, followed by Alex Verdugo’s sac fly to take a 5-2 advantage…Cleveland tightened the margin by answering with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 8th, which came on a pinch-hit RBI-single from AMED ROSARIO and RBI-double by WILL BRENNAN, but Kenley Jansen retired the side in order in the 9th for his 13th save.
Cleveland (27-33) sits in 2nd place in AL Central standings, 3.5 games behind 1st-place Minnesota (31-30) & one half-game ahead of 3rd-place Detroit (26-33)…despite winning 5 of last 9, Guardians have dropped 27 of last 45 overall since starting the year 9-6…club is 0-1 to begin a 6-game homestand against Boston & Houston (3 games each).
THE GUARDIAC KIDS
The Guardians lead MLB with 29 one-run games out of their first 60 games this season, owning a 12-17 record in such contests… their 17 one-run losses are T5th-most in MLB history through 60 games, last done by the 1985 San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies…the Guards 12 one-run victories rank T2nd in MLB this year behind Miami (16), and are the club’s most one-run wins through 60 games since 2011 (12-8, .600)…Cleveland’s 29 one-run contests are tied for most in club history through the first 60 games of a season, the most since 1918 (15-14)…the Guardians are the first MLB team with 29 one-run contests in their first 60 games since the 1993 Kansas City Royals (20-9, .690)…the 29 one-run contests are T8th-most in MLB history within the first 60 games of a season.
MOST G BY ONE-RUN THRU 60G SINCE 1989
TEAM YEAR COUNT RECORD
Los Angeles-NL 1994 31 16-15 (.516)
Cleveland 2023 29 12-17 (.414)
Kansas City 1993 29 20-9 (.690)
Houston 1989 29 19-10 (.655)
The Guards also lead MLB this season with 41 games decided by 2-or-fewer runs, holding a 20-21 record…Cleveland’s 41 contests decided by 2-or-fewer runs are tied for most in club history through the first 60 games of a season, also done in 1944 (20-21)…the 41 games decided by 2-or-fewer runs are T5th-most in MLB history with Pittsburgh (1984), Baltimore (1957), Cleveland (1944), the Boston Braves (1943) and the Washington Senators (1905).
MOST G BY 2-OR-FEWER RUNS THRU 60G SINCE 1971
TEAM YEAR COUNT RECORD
Houston 1971 43 18-25 (.419)
Seattle 2015 42 19-23 (.452)
Cleveland 2023 41 20-21 (.488)
Pittsburgh 1984 41 12-29 (.293)
HOT IN CLEVELAND
Since May 29, WILL BRENNAN (14-for-25) is on a 7-game hit streak, raising his average this season from .222 to .268…he leads all MLB hitters (min. 10AB) with a .560 batting average since May 29, ahead of current MLB batting average leader Luis Arraez (.548) and Houston’s Yainer Diaz (.533)…he also leads all MLB hitters (min. 10AB) with a .593 on-base percentage, ahead of Minnesota’s Alex Kiriloff (.586) and Arraez (.559)…his 14 hits during the span are T2nd in MLB with Texas’ Adolis Garcia and trails Arraez (17)… his 1.433 OPS during the span ranks 3rd in MLB, trailing New York AL’s Aaron Judge (1.514) and Diaz (1.666)…he also ranks T6th with 4 doubles, T7th with 21 total bases and 9th with a .840 SLG since May 29…Brennan is the first Cleveland hitter to have 14+ hits and a .560-or-higher batting average within a 7-game span since
JOSÉ RAMÍREZ (19 hits, .576 average) from June 15-20, 2017.
Since May 30, JOSH NAYLOR’s 10 RBI ranks T3rd in MLB with Miami’s Luis Arraez and San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr., and trails only Texas’ Jonah Heim (12) in the AL…his .560 OBP ranks 3rd, his 1.424 OPS ranks T3rd and his .500 average (11-for-22) ranks T4th amongst MLB hitters since May 30…with a go-ahead RBI in yesterday’s game, he now has an MLB-leading 16 go-ahead RBI in 2023, two ahead of Ramírez…his 21 RBI in the 7th-inning-orlater this year ranks T2nd in MLB with New York-NL’s Pete Alonso, behind St. Louis’ Nolan Gorman (22)…since April 29, he is T1st in MLB with 30 RBI, along with Los Angeles NL’s Freddie Freeman.
TITO TERRIFIC
From 2004-11, Guardians manager Terry Francona served as manager for the Red Sox…in 8 seasons with Boston, Francona won two World Series (2004, 2007) and one AL East title (2007), while tallying a 744-552 (.574) overall record…amid his 11th season in Cleveland, Francona has made one World Series appearance (2016) and has won four AL Central titles (2016-18, 2022), while tallying an 872-704 (.553) overall record…the 64-year-old leader has a 27-36 record against Boston since taking over the helm for Cleveland in 2013.
With one more win, Tito (1,901-1,619) will pass Gene Mauch (1,901-2,037) for 14th-most wins in MLB history…among active managers, he ranks 3rd, behind TEX’s Bruce Bochy (2,043-2,049) and HOU’s Dusty Baker (2,129-1,815).
RAMÍREZ RE-WRITING RECORD BOOKS » JOSÉ RAMÍREZ enters today needing one extra-base hit to pass Ken Keltner (538) for 5th-most extra-base hits in Cleveland history…since 2018, Ramírez leads all MLB hitters with 349 extra-base hits…he is also two doubles away from passing Keltner (306) for 6th-most doubles in club history…he has 198 career home runs as a Clevelander, and is 3 homers away from passing Travis Hafner (200) for 9th-most in franchise history…he is 2 go-ahead RBI away from passing Carlos Santana (172) for 9th-most go-ahead RBI by a Cleveland hitter
TONIGHT’S STARTER – 61 TANNER BIBEE RHP
BIBEE AT HOME
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 0-0 2.74 4 4 23.0 17 7 7 5 26
Career 0-0 2.74 4 4 23.0 17 7 7 5 26
BIBEE’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 1-1 3.20 7 7 39.1 34 14 14 10 40
Career 1-1 3.20 7 7 39.1 34 14 14 10 40
TONIGHT’S START
The 24-year old right-hander is making his eighth career start, fifth at Progressive Field, in the second matchup of this 3-game set with the Boston Red Sox…making his first career start against Boston and second against the AL East…allowed 2 runs (earned) over 5.1 innings on May 2 at New York-AL.
Has pitched 5.0+ innings with 3-or-fewer earned runs allowed in 6 of his first 7 career starts…seeking his first win since his Major League debut on April 26 vs. Colorado.
Bibee was originally selected by Cleveland in the 5th Round (156th overall) of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Cal State Fullerton… entered the 2023 season as Cleveland’s #5 prospect according to MLB.com…he is starting on extended 5 days’ rest; is 0-1 with a 3.18 ERA (8ER/22.2IP) in 4 starts on 5 days’ rest.
LAST TIME OUT
He took the hill in a 7-6 defeat on June 1 at Target Field against the Minnesota Twins…he did not factor into the decision for the fourth start in a row after allowing 3R/ER on 6 hits over 5.0 innings with 6 strikeouts and one walk…retired 9 of his first 10 batters faced before walking Alex Kiriloff to open up the third frame… Kiriloff advanced to second after Byron Buxton was hit by a pitch… Kiriloff scored following an RBI-single from Max Kepler…the Twins scored twice more in the 5th frame after a solo home run from Michael A. Taylor opened up the inning and an RBI-single from Kiriloff, scoring Christian Vasquez later in the frame…Bibee has allowed 4-or-more runs just once this season, his start against Detroit on May 8, which resulted in his only loss of the season.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Bibee is holding hitters to a .138 (8-for-58) average with 20 of his 40 strikeouts coming the first time through an opposing team’s lineup…his 8 hits allowed the first time through a lineup are 2nd among MLB starting pitchers (min. 55 BF), behind Tampa Bay’s Yonny Chirinos…opposing clubs are hitting .263 (15-for-57) when facing the rookie a second time and .367 (11-for-30) the third time through the order.
Among MLB starters in the first 2 innings of games (min. 14.0IP), he is 1st in WHIP (0.57), 1st in opposing average (0.89) and 2nd in ERA (0.64, 1ER/14.0IP)…Bibee is the only pitcher to allow 7-orfewer hits and one-or-fewer run in the first two innings this season (min. 12.0IP).
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
Among qualified rookie starting pitchers he ranks 2nd in ERA (3.20) behind LOGAN ALLEN (2.76), 2nd in WHIP (1.12), 3rd in SO/BB (4.00) and 5th in opposing batting average (.234).
On May 27, Bibee became the first Cleveland pitcher and 4th MLB pitcher in history to record multiple outings of 6.0+IP, 7+ strikeouts and 2-or-fewer-hits within the first 6 starts of a career, also done by Eric Gagné (1999), Freddy Peralta (2018) and Jordan Yamamoto (2019)…on April 26, after striking out 5 straight in the 2nd and 3rd innings, he became the first Cleveland pitcher since at least 1920 to strike out 5 straight hitters in their MLB debut… Bibee became the 2nd Cleveland pitcher with an 8+ strikeout, zero walk debut, last done by Floyd Weaver (W, 5.0IP, 3H, 1R/ER, 0BB, 8SO) on September 30, 1962 vs. Los Angeles-AL in G2 of a doubleheader.
PITCH TO YOUR STRENGTHS
Bibee’s secondary pitches have been successful through his first seven starts…opposing batters are hitting .195 (8-for-41) with 15 strikeouts in at-bats ending with the slider and .148 (4-for-27) with 12 strikeouts against his changeup…he’s throwing his slider 29% of the time and his changeup 15% of the time…his slider’s 11.4 inches of break are 5.7 inches better than average.
