BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox have lost back-to-back games…They’re 2-3 in their last 5 games, after a 4-1 stretch. Despite their 7-11 record since 7/29, the Sox own the AL’s 4th-best record since 6/14 (30-23) behind only SEA (33-22), BAL (32-23), and HOU (32-23). They’re 23-16 since 6/30, the 7th-best mark in MLB. At 63-58 (.521), Boston owns MLB’s 12th-best record.
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: Boston lost yesterday’s series finale at Washington, 10-7, dropping the 3-game series. It was the Sox’ 41st game with 5+ runs and 10+ hits, tied with TB for 4th most in MLB (TEX-52, ATL-49, BAL-42). Yesterday was Boston’s 1st loss with 5+ runs and 10+ hits since 5/30 vs. CIN, snapping a streak of 19 consecutive wins when doing so.
7TH INNING STRETCH: The Sox scored 6 runs on 4 hits (2 HR) and 2 walks in the 7th inning yesterday at WSH. With 2 outs in the frame, Luis Urías (2-for-3) hit his 1st career grand slam to cut the Nats’ lead to 9-5. Rafael Devers (1-for-5) hit a 2-run HR to make it a 9-7 game…At 453 ft., it was the 3rd longest HR of his career (458 ft.-6/6/19 at BAL, 457 ft.-8/14/21 vs. BAL).
THE BIG INNING: The 7th inning yesterday marked the 9th time this season the Red Sox scored at least 6 runs in an inning, tied with BAL and TEX for 2nd most in MLB (TEX-10). It was their 1st time scoring as many as 6 runs in an inning since 7/6 vs. TEX (7th inning). Boston has scored 5+ runs in 18 innings this season, trailing only TEX (23) and LAD (21) for most in MLB.
SERIES BUSINESS: The Red Sox lost their 3-game series at WSH from Tuesday-Thursday, after winning each of their previous 2 series (3-1 vs. KC, 2-1 vs. DET). The Sox are 21-16-2 in series play, 1 win shy of tying their win total from 2022 (22-24-6)…They are 8-9-2 in road series, compared to 13-7-0 at home. Boston is 2-4 over its last 6 series since 7/28, after going 6-1 in the previous 7 series from 6/30-7/26. BACK TO THE GRIND: Boston is currently on a season-long 10-game road trip (1-2 at WSH, NYY-3, HOU-4). The Red Sox are in a stretch of 32 games in 34 days, from 7/28-8/30…Monday was their only scheduled day off in a 27-day span from 8/4-30.
Tuesday began a stretch of 16 consecutive days with a game from 8/15-30, their 2nd-longest stretch of the season (19 games, 4/8-26).
IT’S GO TIME: The Red Sox are 6-4 so far in a stretch of 13 consecutive games against teams with a sub-.500 record (3-1 vs. KC, 2-1 vs. DET, 1-2 at WSH, 3 at NYY).
They are 33-32 against teams with a current record of .500-or-better, and 30-26 against teams below .500. AT THE HELM: Alex Cora managed his 767th game for the Red Sox on Tuesday, passing Jimy Williams for 7th most all time. Cora is 7 wins away from passing John Farrell for 6th in all-time wins as Boston’s manager. The only person to manage as many Red Sox games as Cora (769) and post a better winning percentage than his .552 mark (425-344) is Terry Francona (.574).
SOX & YANKEES: The Red Sox have won 5 of their 6 games vs. NYY this season…The clubs will play a 3-game series this weekend and a 4-game set at Fenway Park from 9/11-14. The Sox swept the Yankees in a 3-game series at Fenway Park from 6/16-18, including a doubleheader on 6/18. Boston also won a 3-game series at Yankee Stadium from 6/9-11 (2-1)…All 3 games were decided by 1 or 2 runs. Dating back to 8/12/22, 13 of the 15 games between BOS and NYY have been decided by 3 runs or fewer.
EASTERN STANDARD: Boston is 16-14 vs. the AL East this season, going 5-4-0 in series play within the division. They played just 2 games vs. AL East teams in July, but will play 6 in August (3 vs. TOR, 3 vs. NYY) and 19 in September (7 vs. BAL, 5 vs. TB, 4 vs. NYY, 3 vs. TOR). 22 of the Red Sox’ 41 remaining games are against AL East opponents (9 at home, 13 on the road).
SLUGGING SOX: The Red Sox rank 2nd in MLB in doubles (260)…They rank 2nd in the AL in AVG (.261) and XBH (412), and 4th in OBP (.327), SLG (.431) and OPS (.758).
In their last 39 games since 6/30, Boston ranks 2nd in the AL in AVG (.267) and SLG (.456). The Sox have homered in 14 of their 15 August games (19 total HR)…They’ve hit 7 HR in their last 4 games.
RED SOX OFFENSE BY DATE
Dates Record AVG OPS Runs/G
3/30-5/6 21-14 .273 .800 5.9
5/7-6/13 12-21 .243 .704 3.8
6/14-7/27 22-12 .281 .803 5.4
7/28-pres. 8-11 .236 .689 3.6
HIGH FIVE: The Sox are an MLB-best 50-8 (.862) when scoring 5+ runs…They’ve scored at least 5 runs in 3 of their last 4 games, after doing so in just 3 of their pervious 15. Since 6/14, they’ve won 23 of their last 25 games when scoring 5+ runs.
LATE SURGE: Boston has scored 250 runs in innings 6-9, 4th most in the AL behind TEX (266), HOU (261), and TB (254)…They lead the AL and rank 2nd in MLB in hits during those innings (455; MIA-477).
LOCK IT DOWN: The Red Sox own MLB’s best record when leading after 6 innings (49-3, .942)…In 2022, they ranked 18th in MLB when leading after 6 (63-10, .863). Boston leads MLB in save % (78.3; 36-for-46).
THE CLOSING ACT: Since 7/1, Kenley Jansen is tied for the MLB lead with 12 saves…Overall, he ranks T-4th in the AL and T-6th in MLB with 28. Jansen has converted each of his last 19 save opportunities since 5/20, tied for the longest active streak of successful save chances (TOR’s Jordan Romano). The last Red Sox pitcher to convert 20 or more consecutive SVO was Craig Kimbrel in 2018 (23 from 5/10-7/23). Additionally, Jansen has converted each of his last 19 save opportunities on the road, beginning 9/24/22.
MARTY PARTY: Since 6/9, Chris Martin has allowed only 1 run over his last 25 outings (22.2 IP)…He leads MLB with a 0.40 ERA in that span (min. 20.0 IP). Overall, his 1.34 ERA (6 ER/40.1 IP) is 4th best in MLB (min. 30.0 IP)…His 0.42 home ERA (1 ER/21.1 IP) trails only Josh Hader for the MLB lead (0.40 ERA) (min. 20.0 IP).
RUNNIN’ RED SOX: The Sox rank 7th in the AL in both steals and stolen base % (80.0, 84-for-105)…They have been successful in each of their last 5 stolen base attempts since 8/11. 18 players have stolen a base for Boston this season, most in the AL and tied with PIT for most in MLB.
TONIGHT’S STARTER: 66 BRAYAN BELLO – RHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 8-7 3.81 20 20 113.1 48 17 30 96 1.26 .257
CAREER 10-15 4.11 33 31 170.2 78 18 57 151 1.44 .278
BOS is 13-7 in his starts…Leads the Sox in starts (20) and innings (113.1). Has posted a 5.67 ERA in 6 starts since the All-Star break (21 ER/33.1 IP). In his previous 12 starts before the All-Star break (4/29-7/5), posted a 2.35 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and .219 opponent AVG (72.2 IP, 19 ER, 60 H, 19 BB, 62 SO).
Earned the win in his last start vs. NYY after allowing 1 run over 7.0 IP on 6/18/23-G2. Owns a 2.08 ERA (3 ER/13.0 IP) in 2 career starts at Yankee Stadium. Has issued 2 or fewer walks in 18 of his 20 starts this season and 1 or fewer in 10 starts. Has tossed 6.0+ innings in 10 of his last 12 starts, including 3 of his last 4. Owns a 3.39 ERA (29 ER/77.0 IP) in 13 starts following a team loss this season
NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:
AT A GLANCE: The Yankees begin a six-game homestand tonight with the first game of a three-game set vs. Boston… will also play three games against Washington next week (Tues.-Thurs.)…went 2-7 on their recent road trip after going 1-2 at Chicago-AL, 1-2 at Miami and 0-3 at Atlanta.
Have lost a season-high five straight games…marks their longest losing streak since 8/2-7/22 (also 5G)…their last longer losing streak was a seven-game streak from 9/4- 10/21.
WHERE WE LEFT OFF: The Yankees were shut out for their second straight game on Wednesday as they fell to the Braves, 2-0, at Truist Park…RHP Randy Vásquez (3.1IP, 2H, 2ER, 3BB, 3K, 1HR) started and took the loss…1B DJ LeMahieu (1-for-4) led off the game with a single to extend his season-high hitting streak to nine games…DH Aaron Judge (1-for-4) extended his on-base streak to 10 games… 2B Gleyber Torres (1-for-4) and SS Anthony Volpe (1-for-3) were the only other Yankees to collect hits…RHP Michael King (3.2IP, 1H, 1BB, 3K) tossed 3.2 scoreless innings of relief and stranded two inherited runners…RHP Keynan Middleton (1.0IP, 2K) tossed a perfect eighth inning.
BLANK SPACE: The Yankees were shut out for their second straight game and for the seventh time this season on Wednesday (also 4/29 at Texas, 5/17 at Toronto, 5/31 at Seattle, 7/7 vs. Chicago-NL, 7/28 at Baltimore and Tuesday at Atlanta)…have been shut out in back-to-back games for just the second time in the last seven seasons since 2017 (also 2G from 8/14-15/22).
LEMACHINE: INF DJ LeMahieu owns a season-high nine-game hitting streak (since 8/1)…is batting .355/.429/.419 (11- for-31) with 1R, 2 doubles, 1RBI and 4BB in that span…marks his longest hitting streak since a 12-game streak from 4/12-26/22.
Has reached base multiple times in five of his last seven games (since 8/4) and 11 of his last 17 games (since 7/21)…owns a .435 OBP over that span.
Is batting .311/.404/.411 (28-for-90) with 7R, 6 doubles, 1HR, 2RBI and 14BB in his last 26 games (since 7/6), hitting safely in 22 of those games.
Has reached base in 26 of his last 28 games (since 7/4)… his .404 OBP in that span is the eighth-highest in the AL (min. 100PA)…has also reached base in 33 of his last 37 games (since 6/23).
Has 12BB in his last 15 games (since 7/23) and 13BB in his last 17 games (since 7/21)…has 21BB in his last 35 games (since 6/27) after recording just 17BB in his first 64 games of the season from 3/30-6/25.
GLEYBER DAY: INF Gleyber Torres is batting .333/.415/.509 (19-for-57) with 8R, 4 doubles, 2HR, 5RBI, 7BB, 1HP and 4SB in 15 games during the month of August…has hit safely in 12 of those games and reached base in 13 of those contests.
Has hit safely in 28 of his last 34 games (since 7/6), hitting .311 (42-for-135) with 18R, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 5HR, 13RBI, 10BB, 1HP, 3SF and 5SB in that span.
Has hit .357/.438/.690 (15-for-42) with 5R, 5 doubles, 3HR, 10RBI, 6BB and 3SB in his last 12 games vs. the Red Sox (since 9/13/22).
Has batted .455/.500/.636 (5-for-11) with 2 doubles and 1BB in his career off Boston’s RHP Brayan Bello.
GLOVE STORY: According to Sports Info Solutions, INF Anthony Volpe’s 12 defensive runs saved this season are third-most among Major League shortstops, trailing only Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco (15DRS) and Chicago-NL’s Dansby Swanson (13DRS)…has made just three errors in his last 63 games that he has appeared defensively (since 5/31) after making seven errors in his first 56 games (3/30-5/30).
DARTH BADER: OF Harrison Bader has hit .381/.440/.524 (8-for-21) with 3R, 1 double, 1 triple, 3RBI, 3BB and 2SB in seven career games vs. the Red Sox.
WALK IT OUT: Yankees batters rank third in the Majors with 127BB since the All-Star break, trailing only Los Angeles-NL (130) and Houston (129).
KING OF THE HILL: RHP Michael King stranded two inherited runners and allowed just one hit over 3.2 scoreless innings of relief on Wednesday…his 12 relief appearances of at least 2.0 scoreless innings this season are the most in in the Majors.
Has recorded at least five outs in 21 of his 40 outings this season (20 in relief, 1 start)…his 20 such relief appearances are tied for the second-most in the Majors among relievers (tied for most in the AL).
HOME SWEET HOME: The Yankees return home tonight to begin a six-game homestand…have won or split three of their last four series in the Bronx and six of their last eight series at home (since 6/20).
Yankees batters have hit 97HR in 63 home games this season, the fourth-most home runs by any team at home this year…trail only Atlanta (118HR), Texas (110HR) and Los Angeles-NL (99HR).
PEN PALS: Yankees relievers combined to toss 4.2 scoreless innings of relief on Wednesday at Atlanta…have not allowed a run in their last 8.2 innings (since 8/15)…
own a Major League-best 3.19 ERA (463.1IP, 164ER) and .215 opponents’ BA this season…also rank second in the Majors in HR/9.0IP (0.84) and third in WHIP (1.21).
WHAT A RELIEF: RHP Jonathan Loáisiga has retired all 10BF since returning from the injured list on 8/7. FAN-TASTIC: The Yankees have averaged 41,516 fans per home gate this season, the highest home average attendance in the American League and the second-highest in the Majors, trailing only Los Angeles-NL (47,944).
Gates at Yankee Stadium will open two hours prior to the scheduled start of all three games vs. the Red Sox this weekend.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP JHONY BRITO (4-5, 4.76 ERA)
RHP Jhony Brito will make his 16th appearance (13th start) of the season tonight vs. Boston…the 25-year old will pitch on extended five days’ rest due to Thursday’s team off day…was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on 8/11…is in his fifth stint with the club (3/30-4/2, 4/8-5/20, 6/21-27, 7/31-8/6, 8/11-present)…last pitched on Saturday at Miami, allowing just 1ER over 5.0 innings of relief (3H, 6K, 1HP)…was just the fifth pitcher in Yankees history to allow 4H-or-fewer in five of his first eight career starts, joining Bill Burbach (five such starts in 1969), Dave Righetti (five such starts from 1979-81), Sam Militello (five such starts in 1992) and Luis Gil (five such starts in 2021)…became the first pitcher in franchise history to allow 3H-or-fewer in four of his first five career starts…became the first pitcher in Yankees history to throw at least 5.0IP, allow 3H-or-fewer and allow 1R-or-fewer in each of his first two career Major League starts…made his first career Opening Day roster this year…over parts of six minor league seasons in the Yankees organization (2016-17, ’19, ’21-23), has gone 28-23 with two saves and a 3.86 ERA (429.0IP, 415H, 219R/184ER, 97BB, 377K, 36HR) in 93 career appearances (77 starts)…was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on 11/9/15.
LAST TIME OUT: Last pitched on Saturday at Miami, allowing just 1ER over 5.0 innings of relief (3H, 6K, 1HP)…marked his third career relief appearance (also 8/6 vs. Houston and 5/15 at Toronto).
His only run allowed came from an RBI single by Joey Wendle in the fourth inning.
Marked his fifth outing of at least 5.0IP with 1ER-or-fewer allowed this season.
His 6K matched his career high (also 6K on 5/20 at Cincinnati and 4/2 vs. San Francisco).
DOWN ON THE FARM: In seven starts with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this year, has gone 2-2 with a 5.45 ERA (36.1IP, 22ER) and 33K…has allowed 3ER-orfewer in five of his seven starts.
VS. BOSTON/AL EAST: Will make his first career appearance vs. Boston tonight…is 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA (18.1IP, 11ER) and 10K in four appearances (three starts) vs. AL East opponents this season (4/8 at Baltimore, 5/5 at Tampa Bay, 5/15 at Toronto, 7/31 vs. Tampa Bay)…has allowed 1ER-or-fewer in one of his three starts vs. the division.
HOME SWEET HOME: Is 2-2 with a 5.26 ERA (25.2IP, 15ER) and 21K in seven career appearances (six career starts) at home.
Has allowed 2ER-or-fewer in five of those seven outings.
The Yankees are 4-2 in his six starts at Yankee Stadium this season.
2023: Is 4-5 with a 4.76 ERA (62.1IP, 33ER) and 47K in 15 appearances (12 starts) this season…is in his fifth stint with the club (3/30-4/2, 4/8-5/20, 6/21-27,
7/31-8/6, 8/11-present)…has tossed at least 5.0IP and allowed 2ER-or-fewer in seven of his 15 appearances, including 1ER-or-fewer in five of those games… has recorded two scoreless starts this year.
As a starter, is 3-5 with 5.54 ERA (50.1IP, 31ER) in 12 starts.
Has made three relief appearances this season, going 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA (12.0IP, 2ER) in those games.
Became just the third pitcher in Yankees history to allow 4H-or-fewer in five of his first six career starts, joining Dave Righetti (five such starts from 1979-81) and Luis Gil (five such starts in 2021).
Became the first pitcher in franchise history to allow 3H-or-fewer in four of their first five career starts.
Became just the third pitcher in Yankees history to allow 1R-or-fewer in three of his first four career starts, joining Chase Whitley (three such starts in 2014) and Luis Gil (three such starts in 2021)…marked his third start this season with 3H allowed-or-fewer…became just the second Yankees pitcher in franchise history to allow 3H-or-fewer in three of their first four career starts (Luis Gil, three such starts in 2021).
Became the first pitcher in Yankees history to throw at least 5.0IP, allow 3H-or-fewer and allow 1R-or-fewer in each of his first two career Major League starts (also 5.0IP, 2H, 0R in his Major League debut on 4/2 vs. San Francisco).
Became just the seventh pitcher in Yankees history to toss at least 5.0IP and allow 1R-or-fewer in each of his first two career appearances, joining Cliff Markle (first five appearances from 1915-16), Luis Gil (first two in 2021), Orlando Hernández (first two in 1998), Rich Beck (first two in 1965), Jack Quinn (first two in 1909) and Slow Joe Doyle (first two in 1906)…is just the sixth to do so as a starter (Markle made his first career appearance as a reliever).
Became the 15th pitcher in franchise history to win each of his first two career starts and the first since Orlando Hernández in 1998.
