Latest news with #ALWildCard
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
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. Advertisement '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.' Advertisement 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.' Advertisement '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." Advertisement 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.' More Red Sox coverage Read the original article on MassLive.
Fox Sports
4 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Rafael Devers Says He'll Play 'Wherever' The Giants Want Him To Play
One of the greatest points of tension that spelled the end of Rafael Devers' tenure in Boston was his refusal to play first base for the Red Sox. But, after being traded to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday, it seems Devers has had a change of heart, and is willing to fill a need for his new team that he was unwilling to for his previous organization. "I'm here to play wherever they want me to play," Devers said when speaking to the media ahead of his Giants' debut. On Tuesday, Devers will bat third and play designated hitter, but he will reportedly take ground balls to "get comfortable" at 1B. This is significant for the Giants as Devers' former and usual position in the field — third base — is manned by five-time Gold Glove winner Matt Chapman. If Devers can play first base for the Giants, that would also allow them to keep Wilmer Flores in the lineup at DH, where he's had a bounce-back season in 2025, slashing .256/.324/.409 with 11 home runs and 51 runs batted in. Similar to the Giants, the Red Sox couldn't play Devers at third base because of another defensive savant being ahead of him. But the situations are a little different. Prior to 2025, Devers had played 3B for eight seasons, but when the Red Sox acquired Alex Bregman this offseason, they explicitly told Devers they didn't want him to play anywhere other than DH. However, on May 2, Boston's starting first-baseman, Tristan Casas, suffered a season-ending patellar tendon injury. With no clear replacement for Casas, the Red Sox were in a tough spot. Devers didn't help the situation. While he technically was abiding by what the team told him and sticking to the only position they wanted him at, it also seemed as if he was getting back at them for replacing him at third base. "They put me in this situation," Devers said back in May. "They told me they didn't want me to play any other positions… Now, they should do their jobs, essentially, and hit the market and look for another player. I'm not sure why they want me to be an in-between." [Related: The Red Sox Botched the Rafael Devers Saga Every Step of the Way] Three weeks later, after Bregman sustained a quad injury, Devers remained at DH. With Devers unwilling to play in the field, the Red Sox turned to career-utility players Abraham Toro and Romy Gonzalez, as well as calling up prospect Marcelo Mayer to fill their holes at first and third base. Despite the tension, Devers was hitting .272/.401/.504 with 15 HRs and 58 RBIs, while the Red Sox closed the gap in the AL Wild Card race and even swept the New York Yankees last weekend. However, an inflection point came Sunday when Devers was finally traded to San Francisco. A fresh start for both sides, a change. It seems that's what Devers wanted all along, because he's perfectly happy now to play whatever position his new team wants him to fill, and it may be the same one he wouldn't play for his former team when they desperately needed him to. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Sox Make Major Roster Move After Trading Rafael Devers to Giants
Red Sox Make Major Roster Move After Trading Rafael Devers to Giants originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Boston Red Sox have been one of the hottest teams in baseball over the past week—winning five straight games, seven of their last eight, and capping it off with a sweep of the New York Yankees on Sunday. Advertisement Now sitting above .500 for the first time in over a month, the team made a stunning move by trading three-time All-Star and longest-tenured Red Sox, Rafael Devers, to the San Francisco Giants. In return, Boston received pitchers Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison, along with minor league prospects James Tibbs III and Jose Bello. Roughly an hour after MLB insiders broke the news, the Red Sox and Giants made the deal official. Shortly after, Boston made a somewhat surprising roster decision by optioning Harrison—who had made eight appearances and four starts for the Giants this season—to Triple-A Worcester. They also designated left-handed pitcher Zach Penrod for assignment. Penrod has made seven appearances for the Red Sox this season, posting a 2.25 ERA across 4.0 innings pitched. Advertisement After Sunday's victory, Boston is now 37-36 overall and sits fourth in the AL East. However, they remain just 6.5 games out of first place in the division and only half a game out of an AL Wild Card spot. That makes the decision to trade Devers all the more surprising, given he's been one of their best bats this season. Former Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers (11)Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Fans quickly reacted to the Red Sox's roster moves following the unpopular decision to trade Rafael Devers. "This may be the worst trade of all time," a fan said. Another fan posted, "This might actually be worse than the Mookie trade & I didn't think that was possible." Advertisement Someone else added, "Entire front office needs to be fired tomorrow." One more fan commented, "So you [explicit] optioned the only asset you got back." Related: Red Sox's Final Rafael Devers Post Goes Viral After Shocking Trade to Giants This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 16, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Royals make crucial Cole Ragans roster move
The post Royals make crucial Cole Ragans roster move appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Kansas City Royals (32-20) are firmly in the American League Wild Card picture after two-plus months of baseball, and they have their stout pitching staff to thank for it. Despite scoring 16 runs in its previous two games versus the St. Louis Cardinals, KC's lineup has lumbered through the first third of the campaign. If the ballclub is going to survive a crowded AL Central, that must change. Until it does, however, manager Matt Quatraro will need as many competent arms as possible. Advertisement One returned on Thursday night. The Royals activated All-Star Cole Ragans from the injured list, per Anne Rogers. He is starting the second game of a double-header versus the Cardinals — Kansas City lost the first one in extra innings, 6-5. The organization is designating righty Thomas Hatch for assignment in order to accommodate Ragans' return. The left-handed starting pitcher, who finished fourth in 2024 AL Cy Young voting after posting a 3.14 ERA and 223 strikeouts, has not pitched since suffering a groin strain in his May 16 start against the Cards. Before landing on the IL, Ragans was already enduring adversity. He owns a 2-3 record with a 4.53 ERA through 45 2/3 innings of work. There is reason to believe that those numbers are due to improve, however. Ragans has 72 strikeouts, which translates to a fantastic 37.7 strikeout percentage. There is obviously more to pitching beyond generating swings and misses, but if healthy, he has the ability to perplex batters. It might take a little time to take shake off the rust, though, as evidenced by the four runs and seven hits he surrendered in his rehab start for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. Unfortunately, the Royals do not have the luxury of exercising considerable patience, hence why they called up top prospect Jac Caglianone after less than a year in the minor leagues. KC is counting on Cole Ragans to set the tone in what could be a nice series victory in St. Louis. For his sake, hopefully the 27-year-old's outing goes better than the last time he faced this team. Advertisement Ragans has surrendered one run after two innings at time of print. Related: Royals' star rookie joins Fernando Valenzuela on exclusive list Related: Royals' Jac Caglianone's dad has proud moment before prospect's MLB debut
CBS News
13-06-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Weekend Red Sox-Yankees series brings plenty of intriguing storylines to Fenway Park
After taking two of three from the Yankees in the Bronx last weekend, the Boston Red Sox will look to win another series against their biggest rival at Fenway Park this weekend. The rivalry certainly isn't what it used to be, but this weekend's three-game set in Boston will bring in a number of interesting plots for both sides. The Red Sox followed up their series win in the Bronx by taking two of three against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway. Those four wins, along with the excitement from top prospect Roman Anthony being promoted to the big leagues, have given Boston a little bit of life after a mediocre-at-best start to the season. Yet the Red Sox still trail New York by 9.5 games in the American League East. While the Red Sox took two of three from the Rays, the Yankees picked up another game on them in the standings with a three-game sweep of the Royals in Kansas City. That big chasm between the two teams in the standings takes a little bit of the luster off the rivalry, which really hasn't had much vitriol since Joe Kelly channeled his inner Tyler Durden and started a Fight Club at Fenway way back in 2018. The two teams met in the AL Wild Card round in the 2021 postseason, which Boston won 6-2 at Fenway Park, but for the most part, Red Sox-Yankees has been just another series over the last four years. The rivalry isn't dead, it just needs a bit of a wake-up. Another heated postseason showdown would do wonders to bring it back, but for now, we'll have to settle for an important series in June. Taking two of three from the Yanks last weekend gave the Red Sox a spark, and we'll see if there is a little more oomph to the matchup this weekend. It will have no shortage of storylines thanks to the pitchers the Yankees will send to the mound, and how that will affect Alex Cora's lineup cards each night. Red Sox-Yankees Pitching Matchups Friday, 7:10 pm: Garrett Crochet (6-4, 2.35 ERA) vs. Ryan Yarbrough (3-1, 4.17 ERA) We've got a rematch of last Saturday night in the Bronx, when Crochet got the win despite allowing five earned over his six innings. The Boston ace bounced back well after surrendering a three-run homer to Austin Wells in the second inning, as he struck our nine and got the W thanks in large part to his team scoring five runs in the third against Yarbrough. The Red Sox tagged the New York lefty for eight runs in his four innings, including a three-run double by Trevor Story and a two-run homer by Romy Gonzalez. Crochet has a 2.38 ERA in his six starts at Fenway this season, but has yet to win a game on his new home diamond. Saturday, 7:15 pm: Hunter Dobbins (3-1, 4.20 ERA) vs. Carlos Rodon (8-4, 2.87) Another rematch from last weekend, Dobbins will look to snag his second straight win against a team he really, really dislikes. The rookie gave up three runs over his five innings -- a two-run blast by Aaron Judge and a solo shot by DJ LeMahieu -- but got the win because the Boston bats got to Rodon. Rodon, another southpaw, is having a stellar season, but the Red Sox scored five runs over his five innings, and did so on just three hits. But two of those hits went into the stands -- a two-run homer by Kristian Campbell and a three-run blast by Carlos Narvaez -- and Rodon also issued three walks. Sunday, 1:35 pm: Brayan Bello (2-1, 3.96 ERA) vs. Max Fried (9-1, 1.84 ERA) After failing to pitch five innings in five straight starts, Bello has gone six-plus for Boston in each of his last two times on the mound. He allowed four runs (three earned) over his 6.1 innings against the Rays on Monday, after he allowed three over six against the Angels his previous time out. Boston lost both games in extra innings. Bello is 3-3 with a 2.54 ERA and 1.217 WHIP in eight career starts against the Yankees. Judge is just 2-for-14 against him with four strikeouts. Cody Bellinger has had success against him though, hitting a pair of homers against Bello in three career at-bats. The Red Sox avoided Fried last weekend, but won't have that luxury this time around. New York's big free-agent acquisition has been lights out in pinstripes. His lone hiccup this season came two weeks ago when he allowed six runs in five innings against the L.A. Dodgers. Take that start out of the mix, and Fried's ERA drops to 1.30 for the season. The big trend this weekend is that all three of New York's starters are lefties. That might mean Red Sox fans won't see Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer, according to Cora. Will Anthony, Mayer play against Yankees lefties? Red Sox fans are absolutely gaga over Roman Anthony's promotion to the Majors, and fellow rookie Marcelo Mayer is starting to heat up at the plate. But how much of both will we see this weekend? The day after Anthony made his MLB debut, Cora threw some cold water on it all and said Anthony and Mayer will likely take a seat against left-handed pitchers. That's kind of a big deal given who the Yankees are throwing at Boston this season. "The lefties here are real lefties," Cora said of the southpaws in the big leagues. "There's stuff here, especially the guys in the bullpen. I truly believe that if you've got stuff, you're gonna be here. You're not gonna be in Triple-A or Double-A. So what they see here is different. "The kids, they understand. They know. I had a conversation with Marcelo in New York and today I talked to Roman about a lot of stuff, including pinch-hitting. They're all-in to win. We will keep doing that," added Cora. This is not a new approach by Cora, who has done this in the past with guys like Rafael Devers, Triston Casas, and just last year with Wilyer Abreu. And with Rob Refsnyder a lefty killer throughout his career and Romy Gonzalez (who has slashed .313/.375/.520 against lefties with Boston) at his disposal, there is a smidgen of justification for Cora's thinking. However, Anthony feasted on lefties in the minors, batting .335 against them over the last two seasons in the minors. He had a .955 OPS against left-handed pitching in Worcester this season, compared to a .879 OPS against righties. Anthony has just one at-bat against a lefty in the Majors, and Refsnyder pinch-hit for him in the 11th inning of Monday's loss to the Rays. Only seven of Mayer's 44 at-bats in the bigs has come against southpaws, and he has just one hit and three strikeouts and no walks in those plate appearances. While developing their youngsters should be the focus, Cora is in win-now mode and looking to protect his rookies. But there's no way Cora can sit them for three straight games after both played a hand in Red Sox wins this week. It would be a huge disservice for both. This is a big series for Boston and a great chance for the young players to get some on-the-job training. Whether they struggle or succeed, both rookies should get an opportunity to show what they can do against some talented southpaws this weekend. Hunter Dobbins vs. The Yankees In one of the strangest entries into the Boston-New York rivalry, Dobbins said last weekend he would rather retire than play for the Yankees. He said his father was drafted twice by the Yankees before being traded to the Diamondbacks, and his family doesn't like the organization other than former pitcher Andy Pettitte, who was friendly with the Dobbins clan. But the New York Post did some digging and found zero history of a Lance Dobbins being drafted or traded by the Yankees. Andy Pettitte said he had no idea who Dobbins is. The Diamondbacks also have no records of the elder Dobbins being part of the franchise. When asked about the matter Wednesday, Dobbins shrugged it off and said he doesn't "fact check" his pop. Perhaps his dad did a little exaggerating when regaling his son with tales of his "pro" career, leading to one of the weirdest chapters of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. Dobbins heard it from New York fans last weekend but pitched well in enemy territory. We'll see if he can notch another win against his least-favorite MLB team on Saturday. Carlos Narvaez vs. his old team While Anthony, Mayer, and Campbell are seen as the Big 3 of prospects for Boston, rookie catcher Carlos Narvaez is a big reason the Red Sox are flirting with .500 and not completely in the tank. The icing on the cake is Boston got him from New York for just a minor league pitcher last December. Narvaez was just 2-for-10 against his former team last weekend, but he hit a go-ahead three-run homer in Boston's five-homer win in the Bronx last Sunday. He also drew four walks and scored four runs over the three games, along with his usual stellar defense and framing behind the plate. One way or another, Narvaez is going to play a big role in this series against his former squad. The big boppers in both lineups Have you seen Aaron Judge's numbers this year? They are absurdly ridiculous. He's slashing .392/.488/.776 with 25 homers and 59 RBI as he flirts with the AL Triple Crown. He was 6-for-13 against Boston last weekend with two homers, a double, and five RBI. He may be wearing the enemy's uniform, but appreciate every at-bat by this absolute beast of a ballplayer. The Red Sox are enjoying a bit of a power surge themselves. Since Ceddanne Rafaela walked them off against the Angels with a 308-foot homer last Wednesday, Boston has mashed 13 home runs over its last six games, and each of them went considerably further than Rafaela's game-winner. Rafael Devers and Trevor Story have both homered twice in that stretch, while Mayer leads all Boston batters with three jacks. (Maybe Cora should play him this weekend.) Boston beat the Yankees with five bombs last Sunday night, and then used four solo shots to beat the Rays on Wednesday. Both of Devers' homers were against the Yankees, but he didn't swing the hottest bat against New York. That honor goes to Abraham Toro, who was 7-for-13 with three doubles and a home run last weekend. Gonzalez was 4-for-10 at the plate against New York, while Story was 5-for-13 with a double, a homer, and six RBI. And while Campbell has been in a prolonged slump, he was 4-for-8 with a homer and four RBI against New York last weekend. The rivalry may not be what it once was, but this weekend's Red Sox-Yankees series should still provide plenty of excitement at Fenway Park.
