Boston Red Sox get ‘hugely important' win on ‘tough day'
SEATTLE — The Red Sox clubhouse Monday could easily have been sullen after chief baseball officer Craig Breslow traded Rafael Devers, one of the game's top hitters, to the Giants on Sunday evening.
But it was the opposite.
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'Everyone seemed loose and having fun before the game,' starting pitcher Lucas Giolito said. 'So when it came time to compete, we competed.'
The Red Sox won 2-0 over the Mariners here at T-Mobile Park behind Giolito's 10 strikeouts in 6 scoreless innings.
Boston traded Devers right after winning its fifth straight game and completing a three-game series sweep of the Yankees.
'I think that was hugely important for us to continue the positive vibes, continue to have high energy,' Giolito said. 'I could tell today. I had a feeling we were gonna be in a good position to win just because despite everything that happened, we were able to come together and maintain a very positive attitude.'
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Red Sox players seemed unfazed over the trade. Veterans Walker Buehler and Garrett Crochet both said Breslow didn't owe them an explanation on why he dealt Devers.
'Quite frankly, what they're doing is what's best for the team and we have to respect that,' Crochet said. 'I think as players, it's on us to just continue to do our job.'
Red Sox players talked about continuing to win to put the front office in a position to be trade deadline buyers. Nobody felt like the Red Sox were waving the white flag by trading the All-Star slugger.
Breslow later said on a Zoom call with reporters that the trade was 'in no way signifying a waving of the white flag on 2025.'
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'Let's make sure when the trade deadline rolls around we're in a good spot and we can be buyers and just continue to improve this team and be ready to go down the stretch,' Crochet said.
The Red Sox have won nine of their past 11 games. If the season ended today, they would be the third AL Wild Card team.
BETTING: The Red Sox are +170 on DraftKings to make the postseason. Our complete list of Massachusetts sportsbook promos will help you find a sportsbook to use.
'There was a lot of energy today, and for the group, it's a tough day, man,' manager Alex Cora said. 'Raffy, he's Raffy. And he's not with us anymore and we got a job to do. We gotta continue. And today was a good day for us."
Giolito added, 'Winning solves everything. No matter what's going on in the outside, no matter what people feel or what's going on — if we win baseball games, we put ourselves in a good position to continue to win more and more — that'll take care of it."
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Cora said veterans like Giolito, Buehler, Rob Refsnyder and Trevor Story helped the team keep the energy after what was a unique day Sunday. Devers was removed from the team charter flight right before the Red Sox took off for their cross-country flight after Sunday's win over the Yankees at home.
'I think we got a bunch of veterans here that have been there, done that, right?' Cora said. 'They've been through stuff like this before. Obviously not stopping the plane and getting people off the plane. But they talked, they showed up. You saw them early stretching out there. We got a bunch of kids, too. And I think that helps. But I think as a group, we had goals before the season. And there were gonna be injuries and moves and stuff. But we gotta continue. And this is a good stretch for us and we gotta keep playing good baseball.'
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How it's not like the Devers deal: Trading Devers stripped the Red Sox of their only true run-producer; when Ramirez was shipped out, the Sox still had David Ortiz on hand and Bay incoming. How it turned out: Mixed. The Sox reached the ALCS, but lost in seven games to Tampa. Would Ramirez have made the difference and helped them win a third World Series in the span of five years? Perhaps. After 2008, the Red Sox didn't win another postseason series until they won it all again in 2013. But before that, Ramirez began to age quickly and was popped for PED use twice. Advertisement 3) Mookie Betts (and David Price) to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2020. The shock value: Minimal. There had been rumors all winter, and reports of other interested teams (San Diego was one). But again, the timing was curious — days after the start of spring training, with the start of the season just weeks away. The reaction: In a word: outrage. 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