BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox have won each of their last 6 games, the longest active winning streak in the AL. The current winning streak is the Sox’ 2nd longest of the season (longest: 8 games from 4/29-5/6). At 39-35 (.527), BOS entered today with a share of MLB’s 13th-best record, tied the NL Central-leading Reds.
RED HOT SOX: The Red Sox are 8-3 in their last 11 games, the highest winning percentage in the AL during that span. The Sox are outscoring opponents 66-36 in those games. Over that span, which began 6/9, Boston owns MLB’s lowest ERA (2.58, 29 ER/101.0 IP)…Starters are 5-1 with a 2.66 ERA (18 ER/61.0 IP), while relievers are 4-for-4 in save opportunities with a 2.48 ERA (11 ER/40.0 IP).
SERIES BUSINESS: With a win tonight or tomorrow, the Red Sox would improve to 14-9-1 in series play (7-4-1 on the road). They have won 2 of their last 3 series (both wins against NYY), after losing each of their previous 3. This weekend’s sweep vs. NYY was the Sox’ 3rd sweep of the season (also 4/6-9 at DET and 5/1-4 vs. TOR). The Red Sox are 10-2-0 in series when they win Game 1.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Red Sox are 4-1 in their last 5 road games…They’re looking to win back-to-back road series for the 1st time this season. The Sox have alternated series results on the road (W, L, W, L, W, T, W, L, 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, 1-2 at CLE, 2-1 at NYY. 10 of the Sox’ 13 games from 6/19-7/2 will be on the road.
SOX & TWINS: Boston is 4-1 vs. MIN this season, winning the season series for the 5th time in the last 7 seasons that they’ve played the Twins (5-1-1 from 2016-23, DNP in 2020). The Sox are 9-4 in their last 13 games at Target Field…They are 4-2-0 in their last 6 series at the venue, dating back to the start of 2016.
CENTRAL TIME: The Red Sox are 10-4 against AL Central teams this season, after going 18-15 in 2022. They are 3-1-0 in series against AL Central opponents (3-0 at DET, 2-1 vs. MIN, 2-1 vs. CLE, 1-2 at CLE). Boston’s record would lead the AL Central by 3.0 games.
TOUGH TEST: Boston is set to play consecutive series against teams with a sub-.500 record: MIN (36-38) and CWS (32-43). The Red Sox have played 45 games against teams that entered today with a record of .500 or better, tied with NYY for 3rd most in MLB (OAK-52, TOR-47). The Sox are 24-21 (.533) in those games, the 3rd-best record in the AL and 5th best in MLB.
NO TIME TO REST: The Red Sox are currently in a stretch of 23 games in 23 days from 6/3-25 (10-8 so far). After Saturday’s game was postponed and made up yesterday, the Sox are now playing 9 games in 8 days from 6/18-25.
SLUGGING SOX: The Red Sox have scored 6+ runs in 6 of their last 7 games…They scored 4+ runs in each of those 7 games (56 runs), compared to 1 of their previous 10 (25 runs). The Sox recorded 5 XBH last night (2 2B, 3 HR) and have 35 XBH in their last 7 games (24 2B, 3 2B, 8 HR). Last night was the Sox’ 8th game with 3+ HR, 1st since 5/16 vs. SEA…They’re 7-1 when they hit 3 or more HR. Over their last 5 games, they’ve scored 31 of their 44 runs with 2 outs, batting .412 (28-for-68) with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 4 HR, and 6 BB.
RISPY BUSINESS: Boston is batting .390 (23-for-59) with runners in scoring position over the last 5 games, after hitting 165 (18-for-109) with RISP in the previous 12 games. Overall with RISP, Boston ranks 2nd in MLB in strikeout rate (18.7%) and OBP (.368), 3rd in AVG (.288), 5th in OPS (.820), and 6th in SLG (.452). With 2 outs and RISP, The Sox led MLB in OBP (.387) and rank 2nd in AVG (.290) and OPS (.866).
PITCHING IN: The Red Sox have allowed 3 ER or fewer in 9 of their last 11 games and 18 of their last 32 games. Red Sox relievers tossed 14.1 consecutive scoreless
innings (7 H, 5 BB, 16 SO) from the 9th inning Friday vs. NYY through the 7th inning last night.
START ME UP: Beginning 5/17, Red Sox starting pitchers lead MLB with a 3.39 ERA (59 ER/156.2 IP)…They allowed 2 ER or fewer in 23 of those 31 games, including 9 of their last 11. Sox starters have 7 quality starts in their last 11 games. The Sox are 17-6 (.739) when their starting pitcher throws 6.0+ innings, including 7-2 when they toss 7.0+.
TONIGHT’S STARTER: 22 GARRETT WHITLOCK – RHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 4-2 4.38 7 7 39.0 19 6 7 33 1.23 .277
CAREER 16-8 3.07 84 16 190.2 65 22 39 196 1.10 .237
The Red Sox have won each of his last 4 starts and are 10-3 in his last 13. Allowed 2 runs over 6.0+ innings in each of his last 2 starts (13.1 IP, 3 ER). Has allowed 3 HR in his last 6 starts (34.0 IP), including 1 in his last 3 (18.0 IP). Has walked only 7 of his 158 batters faced (4.4%)…Ranks in MLB’s 96th percentile in BB%, as well as in the 96th percentile in chase rate. Among Red Sox pitchers in the Live Ball Era (min. 150.0 IP), ranks 15th in ERA (3.07) and 5th in SO/BB ratio (5.03) behind only Koji Uehara (7.86), Chris Sale (6.25), Pedro Martinez (5.45), and Curt Schilling (5.31). Has made 4 career relief appearances against the Twins (0 starts): 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 11 SO, 2 BB.
MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: Have gone 3-5 through eight games on their 10-game homestand, going 2-0 vs. Milwaukee, 1-3 vs. Detroit and 0-2 vs. Boston…tonight, Minnesota will continue the homestand with the third of four against the Red Sox through tomorrow afternoon…after the finale tomorrow, the Twins will travel to Detroit to begin a nine-game, 10-day roadtrip with three games against the Tigers (June 23-25), three games against the Braves (June 26-28) and three games against the Orioles (June 30-July 2)…the Twins have gone 21-19 at home and 15-19 on the road.
The Twins are on game nine of a 16 games in 16 days stretch, their next off-day being in Baltimore on June 29…the Twins have 17 games in 19 days leading up to the All-Star Break (July 10-13).
The Twins are looking to avoid falling to a low-water mark of three games under .500 tonight, which would be their lowest since finishing the 2022 season 78-84.
TWINS DROP ANOTHER: The Twins lost to the Red Sox last night at Target Field by a score of 10-4, losing their third-straight game and their fifth in their last six chances…Bailey Ober (4-4) was the starter and loser, allowing three runs on eight hits in 6.0 innings pitched, with no walks and four strikeouts…the offense recorded 11 hits and scored all four runs in the eighth and ninth innings…Ryan Jeffers and Royce Lewis each had three hits, while Byron Buxton had two…Buxton (11), Lewis (3) and Max Kepler (8) each homered.
TWINS AND SOX: The Twins and Red Sox are playing the sixth of seven games in 2023…the Twins are 1-4 against Boston this season, going 1-2 at Fenway Park from April 18-20 and 0-2 this week.
Carlos Correa is hitting .306 (57-for-186) with eight doubles, 10 home runs, 27 RBI, 36 runs scored, 33 walks, a .409 on-base percentage, a .511 slugging percentage and a .920 OPS in 50 career regular season games against the Red Sox.
Max Kepler has reached base in 11 of his last 22 plate appearances vs. the Red Sox, recording seven hits, drawing two walks and being hit by two pitches…he also has three doubles and two home runs in that span.
SHADES OF GRAY: Below are Sonny Gray’s ranks among AL starters in a few notable categories:
ERA ER (50.0 IP) SLG HR (50.0 IP) FIP WAR
McClanahan – 2.12 Rodriguez – 16 Gray – .311 Gray – 1 Gray – 2.52 Valdez – 3.3
Valdez – 2.27 Ober – 20 Valdez – .318 B. Miller – 4 Valdez – 2.68 Gausman – 3.0
Gray – 2.37 Gray – 20 Ohtani – .322 M. Gonzalez – 5 Gausman – 2.70 Eovaldi – 2.8
Cole – 2.64 McClanahan – 21 Ryan – .330 Sandoval – 5 Ryan – 2.92 Gray – 2.6
Castillo – 2.73 B. Miller – 21 Cole – .331 6 tied – 6 Eovaldi – 3.08 Ryan – 2.5
STARTING STRONG: Twins starters have averaged 5.6 innings-per-outing, up from 4.8 in 2022…below are the starting staff’s rankings in a few categories among other all MLB teams:
INNINGS ERA BAA BB/9.0 FIP WHIP K’s OPS
HOU – 423.0 TB – 3.22 TB – .223 SEA – 2.03 TB – 3.51 SEA – 1.13 CWS – 439 TB – .647
TEX – 414.1 HOU – 3.43 MIN – .234 MIN – 2.37 MIN – 3.57 MIN – 1.15 MIN – 436 MIN – .675
MIN – 414.0 TEX – 3.50 LAD – .237 SF – 2.51 SEA – 3.61 TB – 1.15 TOR – 411 SEA – .675
TOR – 411.1 MIN – 3.76 TEX – .238 PHI – 2.59 PHI – 3.80 TEX – 1.18 HOU – 408 PHI – .691
CWS – 406.0 CHC – 3.81 SEA – .239 LAD – 2.61 MIA – 3.83 LAD – 1.19 MIA – 406 CHC – .692
32 FOR 32: Carlos Correa has recorded an OPS of .927 (.340 OBP / .587 SLG) in his last 12 games, including three doubles, one triple, three home runs and 10 RBI…since May 10, he has raised his batting average 34 points, from .185 to .219 in 32 games…below are his first 32 games and last 32 games (since May 10) by comparison:
AVG H 2B HR RBI BB K OBP SLG OPS GW RBI
FIRST 32 .185 23 5 5 15 13 30 .261 .363 .624 1
LAST 32 .254 30 10 4 19 16 37 .343 .458 .801 4
EXTRA STRENGTH: 222 of the Twins’ 573 hits have gone for extra bases, equaling 38.7% of their hits, the third-highest percentage in the AL:
XBH HITS XBH%
Tampa Bay……………………………………….268 ……………………………….671 …………………………….. 40.0%
Boston……………………………………………..261 ……………………………….672 …………………………….. 38.8%
Minnesota………………………………………..222 ……………………………….573 …………………………….. 38.7%
New York…………………………………………..214 ……………………………….557 …………………………….. 38.4%
Texas……………………………………………….265 ……………………………….698 …………………………….. 38.0%
ROYCE MAKING NOISE: Royce Lewis has reached base safely in five-straight games…in 17 games for the Twins this season, he is hitting .311 (19-for-61) with one double, three home runs, 11 RBI, seven runs scored and an .809 OPS…he’s also hitting .464 (13-for-28) with a .500 OBP and 1.071 OPS in his last nine games
RUNNING MEN: Twins have stolen 35 bases in 41 attempts this season, for a 85.4 success rate, best in the AL and second best in base- ball, trailing New York-NL (89.7%)…since May 15, they have successfully stolen a club-record 25 consecutive bases, their last caught stealing being Ryan Jeffers on May 13 vs. Chicago-NL (Barnhart/Wesneski).
LAND OF 10,000 RAKES: The Twins have homered 94 times this season, fifth most in the AL and tied for eighth most in baseball…Twins are 28-23 when they homer at least once in a game, 20-7 when they homer at least twice and 9-2 when homering at least thrice.
Last night, Byron Buxton tied Joey Gallo for team lead with his 11th home run this season.
JHO KNOWS: Jhoan Duran has posted a 0.54 ERA (16.2 IP, 1 ER) in his last 14 games…the one earned run came on a Randy Arozarena walk-off homer on June 7 at Tampa Bay…in his last 11 games, he has pitched more than 1.0 inning five times.
Duran has an average pitch velocity of 96.9 mph, the highest in baseball among pitchers with a minimum of 300 pitches thrown…he has averaged 98.1 mph since May 24, reaching 102-plus 47 times since that date, 103-plus 25 times and 104-plus five times.
STARTING PITCHER – SONNY GRAY #54
2023: 4-1, 2.37 ERA CAREER: 94-78, 3.50 ERA
Owns the lowest FIP (2.52) among all qualified American League pitchers…also ranks third in ERA (2.37) and fourth in WAR (2.6).
Making his 262nd career appearance and 253rd career start…also his 15th start/appearance this season.
Acquired by the Twins on March 13, 2022 in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, along with right-handed pitcher Francis Peguero, in exchange for right-handed pitcher Chase Petty
LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor into the decision in his last start on June 15 vs. Detroit at Target Field… pitched a season-low-tying 4.0 innings and allowed two runs on three hits, with a season-high-tying four walks and three strikeouts in an 8-4 Twins’ defeat…marked his shortest start since also throwing 4.0 innings on May 17 at Los Angeles-NL…issued four walks for the first time since his first start of the year on April 1 at Kansas City, which was also the last time he walked more batters than he struck out (4 BB, 1 K)…yielded an RBI single to outfielder Matt Vierling in the second inning…escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam with just one run allowed in the fourth inning, as shortstop Javier Báez scored on a double play groundout by designated hitter Miguel Cabrera…relieved in the fifth inning by Jovani Moran who allowed three runs on three hits (a two-run triple by Javier Báez and an RBI groundout by Eric Haase)…Jorge López entered in the eighth inning, went back on the mound for the ninth and allowed three runs on two-consecutive RBI doubles to Spencer Torkelson and Zack Short.
Gray has not earned a win in his last eight starts, last earning a victory on April 30 vs. Kansas City; the eight-start streak without a win is the fifth longest of his career and the longest since a nine-start stretch from September 6, 2021 to May 13, 2022.
TWO STARTS AGO: Did not factor into the decision in his last start on June 9 at Toronto, opposite Yusei Kikuchi…pitched 5.0 innings and allowed one run on five hits, with two walks and five strikeouts in the 10-inning 3-2 Twins victory…tossed a season-low 76 pitches…retired nine of the first 11 batters he faced…yielded his only run in the fifth inning via an RBI single to shortstop Bo Bichette…relieved in the sixth inning by Jovani Moran who was replaced by Brock Stewart after allowing a single to Santiago Espinal…Stewart allowed an RBI double to outfielder George Springer to tie the game…Griffin Jax (1.0 IP) and Jhoan Duran (2.0 IP) combined to pitch 3.0 scoreless innings to close the game…the Twins took the lead in the 10th inning with a sacrifice fly by Michael A. Taylor.
AGAINST BOSTON: Gray is facing the Red Sox for the 12th time in his career, going 1-7, 6.29 ERA (48.2 IP, 34 ER) with 16 walks and 45 strikeouts in his 11 previous appearances (10 starts)…last faced Boston on April 18 at Fenway Park; did not factor into the decision in the 10-inning, 5-4 Twins defeat after pitching 5.0 innings and allowing one run on seven hits, issuing two walks and striking out seven…his lone blemish was an RBI single to centerfield by Rafael Devers in the first inning… retired nine of the last ten batters he faced…relieved by Jorge López in the sixth inning, who combined with Caleb Thielbar to pitch 2.0 scoreless innings…Griffin Jax entered in the eighth and permitted one run on a fielder’s choice by Jarren Duran…Jhoan Duran pitched a scoreless ninth inning…the Twins took the lead in the top of the 10th inning with a sacrifice fly by Byron Buxton and an RBI groundout by Jose Miranda…Jovani Moran entered in the bottom of the 10th inning and allowed a game-tying, two-run single to Reese McGuire and a walkoff RBI single to Alex Verdugo.
Has not earned a win against the Red Sox since May 18, 2017, when he led the Oakland A’s to an 8-3 win (6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R/ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 8 K)…currently owns a five-game losing streak against Boston, dating back to August 20, 2017; has a 7.27 ERA (26.0 IP, 21 ER) with 10 walks and 23 strikeouts in the seven-game span.
In two starts against the Red Sox as a Twin, Gray is 0-1, 4.05 ERA (6.2 IP, 3 ER) with three walks and eight strikeouts.
Owns the second-highest ERA against the Red Sox since 2014 (min. 45.0 IP), trailing Ryan Yarborough (7.68).
BULLSEYE: Gray is making his ninth home start of the season tonight; is 3-1, 1.96 ERA (46.0 IP, 10 ER) with 13 walks and 53 strikeouts in his eight prior home outings…is 7-3, 2.38 ERA (113.2 IP, 30 ER) with 38 walks and 131 strikeouts in 21 home starts since becoming a Twin…has the lowest ERA through a pitcher’s first 21 home games in Twins’ history (since 1961, min. 100.0 IP)
Currently holds the second-lowest home ERA in baseball this season (min. 45.0 IP), trailing Arizona’s Zac Gallen (1.00).
Owns the third-lowest home ERA in the American League since 2022 (min. 100.0 IP), trailing Los Angles-AL’s Shohei Ohtani (2.10) and Houston’s Cristian Javier (2.26).
THE ARSENAL: Gray is currently using a six-pitch mix, per Baseball Savant…his fastball has surpassed his curveball as his most used pitch at 21.2 percent…all three strikeouts recorded in his last start on June 15 came from a sweeper…primarily uses his curveball (172 pitches) and changeup (79 pitches) against lefties and his cutter (176 pitches), sinker (207 pitches) and sweeper (182 pitches) against righties…here’s a look at his repertoire so far:
PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (# OF PITCHES, VS. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
4-Seam Fastball (92.6)…………..21.2% (266 pitches, 94/172)…………… .328 (22-for-67), 5 2B, 3 K
Curveball (79.1)…………………….20.5% (258 pitches, 88/170)…. .273 (15-for-55), 4 2B, 1 HR, 15 K
Sinker (92.5) …………………………18.6% (233 pitches, 207/26)…. .217 (10-for-46), 2 2B, 1 3B, 19 K
Cutter (87.5) …………………………17.6% (221 pitches, 176/45)…………….. .231 (9-for-39), 3 2B, 7 K
Sweeper (83.6)………………………15.7% (197 pitches, 182/15)…………… .143 (9-for-63), 2 2B, 33 K
Changeup (87.3)……………………….6.4% (81 pitches, 2/79)………………… .125 (2-for-16), 1 2B, 2 K
Owns the third-lowest opponent batting average against a sweeper among American League pitchers (min. 40 PA) and ranks 13th against curveballs…also owns the third-lowest opponent batting average against a changeup in the AL (min. 1250 pitches).
His 33 strikeouts on his sweeper are the third highest in the majors, behind LAA’s Shohei Ohtani (53) and COL’s Justin Lawrence (35).
SPIN CLASS: Currently, Gray’s fastball has a 2537 spin rate, placing him in the 97th percentile and ranking 17th highest in all of baseball, according to Baseball Savant…marks the highest fastball spin rate of his career…has the highest fastball spin rate on the Twins staff.
