Latest news with #DavidHamilton
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
With Kristian Campbell sent down, who will Red Sox play at second base?
SAN FRANCISCO — Kristian Campbell has started 54 of the Red Sox' first 76 games at second base this season. Now that he's been demoted to Worcester, how will the Red Sox replace him? With a heavy dose of David Hamilton, at least for now. Advertisement Manager Alex Cora said Friday that Hamilton, who has made 21 starts at second so far (and is at that spot Friday) will be the primary starter for the time being. The main reason? Defense. 'We're playing in a stadium that is tough to score runs,' Cora said at Oracle Park. 'We're gonna maximize the defense. Hammy has been great at second base. We need him to get going offensively and he will. He'll play the majority of times.' The Red Sox have had four players — Campbell (471 ⅔ innings), Hamilton (198 ⅔), Romy Gonzalez (9) and Ceddanne Rafaela (1) — play second base at times this season. Gonzalez, who has mostly played first, logged 130 ⅓ innings there last year. Abraham Toro, who has played the corners, has over 1,000 innings at second in the majors in his career. So Cora has his options in addition to Hamilton, who is hitting just .172 with two homers and 27 strikeouts in 99 plate appearances this year. The main other option at present, though, is someone who has never played second in the majors: Marcelo Mayer. The rookie has admirably taken over at third base (while also filling in at shortstop for three innings) but could see time at second, where he played 10 games (84 innings) in Worcester this year. Advertisement 'Probably,' Cora said when asked about Mayer mixing in at second. 'There's certain days we might play Toro at third, Romy at first and Marcelo at second. That's something we've talked about.' From the sounds of it, Mayer could start against lefties with the switch-hitting Toro playing third on those days. He is probably a better option in those spots than Hamilton, who has a career .531 OPS against lefties in the majors. With Campbell out of the mix, it's possible that Mayer moves to second base on a full-time basis once Alex Bregman returns from his quad injury and reclaims third base. Bregman continues to receive positive reports on his recovery and could target a return around July 1 if things get fast-tracked. 'He's getting closer but nothing as far as ready to play,' Cora said. 'He's in his running progression. You have two versions: if you talk to him, he'll tell you he's ready to go. Ask the trainers and they say we're in a good spot right now and getting better. I'm with the trainers.' More Red Sox coverage Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Sox, scrambling to find offense, find it from some unlikely sources
SAN FRANCISCO — As the Red Sox step tentatively into the post-Devers Era, they remain, as their managed conceded Friday pre-game, a team still in search of their true identity. Who are they, now that they are without their most formidable run producer? How do they proceed with a lineup that, for now at least, lacks a linchpin to draw the attention of the opposing pitching staff? Advertisement For one night, at least, the Red Sox seemed determined to shoulder the load together. In their 7-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants, they got five hits from the final two hitters in their order and overall, hits from all but three of the nine members of their starting lineup. The 11-hit attack didn't qualify as some offensive fireworks, — they hit just one homer — but for a team that had failed to score more than four runs in any one of their eight previous games, it was more than sufficient. It didn't begin well, as starter Hunter Dobbins, who ordinarily displays good control, issued four walks in the first two innings, handing the Giants an early 3-0 lead. But after that, something clicked for the Red Sox. Starting with the third inning, they scored runs in each of the next five innings. San Francisco, on the other hand, didn't score after the fifth inning. Advertisement A one-out double from Ceddanne Rafaela and a two-run homer from David Hamilton began the Red Sox' comeback. 'We put up good at-bats,' said a satisfied Alex Cora. 'And after (the two runs), that gave us life. Then after that, we just putting good at-bats after good at-bats. We ran the bases well and we were relentless. 'We kept the momentum going. We needed all of them.' It was fitting, in a way, that Rafaela kickstarted things. For one thing, he was probably the player on the current roster closest to Devers, whom he referred to postgame as his 'big brother.' Since May 27, he's hitting .333 with four doubles, five homers and nine RBI, as he attempts to balance his natural aggressiveness with a more sustainable plan of attack. Advertisement 'We had a conversation in Milwaukee,' said Cora of Rafaela, 'about certain things that he could do better. His damage is to the pull side, and obviously, at home, hitting the ball to right-center as a righty, doesn't play. But he started pulling the ball in Milwaukee and he's been outstanding. 'We know he chases, we know he swings, but I think compared to last year, at least in our numbers, we feel very comfortable with where he's at.' Hamilton, meanwhile, is now the default choice at second base following the optioning of Kristian Campbell to Triple A Worcester. He's known for his defense and baserunning, but the Sox would like to get more offensive production from him - especially now that he's going to playing every day — and believe it's there. 'The more at-bats you can, the more time you have to make the little adjustments,' said Hamilton. 'I feel like I've been slowly getting there over the course of the year. But I felt really good tonight and hopefully I can keep that going.' Advertisement There may some help coming in the not-too-distant future. Alex Bregman continues to make progress with his quad strain and Masataka Yoshida is inching toward the start of a rehab assignment. Surely, adding two veteran bats to the middle of the lineup would mark an upgrade. Their return, whenever it takes place, won't be a panacea. After all, five of those low-scoring wins came with Devers in the lineup, so it's not as though their offensive shortcomings were just recently uncovered. It would help, too, if the bullpen could continue to pitch at its current level. When Dobbins recorded only 12 outs, Cora had to use six different relievers for the final 15 outs. Other than some occasional control issues, the sextet of relievers did their jobs flawlessly, allowing just three hits in five shutout frames. Advertisement That extended the bullpen's shutout streak to 17.2 innings, the second-longest active streak in the majors. Cora has frequently said in recent weeks that if the Red Sox pitch well enough, they'll be fine and that's undoubtedly true. But on a night in which their starter faltered, in addition to the bullpen stepping up, it was a relief to get some offense from across the lineup. More Red Sox coverage Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Sox, scrambling to find offense, find it from some unlikely sources
SAN FRANCISCO — As the Red Sox step tentatively into the post-Devers Era, they remain, as their managed conceded Friday pre-game, a team still in search of their true identity. Who are they, now that they are without their most formidable run producer? How do they proceed with a lineup that, for now at least, lacks a linchpin to draw the attention of the opposing pitching staff? Advertisement For one night, at least, the Red Sox seemed determined to shoulder the load together. In their 7-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants, they got five hits from the final two hitters in their order and overall, hits from all but three of the nine members of their starting lineup. The 11-hit attack didn't qualify as some offensive fireworks, — they hit just one homer — but for a team that had failed to score more than four runs in any one of their eight previous games, it was more than sufficient. It didn't begin well, as starter Hunter Dobbins, who ordinarily displays good control, issued four walks in the first two innings, handing the Giants an early 3-0 lead. But after that, something clicked for the Red Sox. Starting with the third inning, they scored runs in each of the next five innings. San Francisco, on the other hand, didn't score after the fifth inning. Advertisement A one-out double from Ceddanne Rafaela and a two-run homer from David Hamilton began the Red Sox' comeback. 'We put up good at-bats,' said a satisfied Alex Cora. 'And after (the two runs), that gave us life. Then after that, we just putting good at-bats after good at-bats. We ran the bases well and we were relentless. 'We kept the momentum going. We needed all of them.' It was fitting, in a way, that Rafaela kickstarted things. For one thing, he was probably the player on the current roster closest to Devers, whom he referred to postgame as his 'big brother.' Since May 27, he's hitting .333 with four doubles, five homers and nine RBI, as he attempts to balance his natural aggressiveness with a more sustainable plan of attack. Advertisement 'We had a conversation in Milwaukee,' said Cora of Rafaela, 'about certain things that he could do better. His damage is to the pull side, and obviously, at home, hitting the ball to right-center as a righty, doesn't play. But he started pulling the ball in Milwaukee and he's been outstanding. 'We know he chases, we know he swings, but I think compared to last year, at least in our numbers, we feel very comfortable with where he's at.' Hamilton, meanwhile, is now the default choice at second base following the optioning of Kristian Campbell to Triple A Worcester. He's known for his defense and baserunning, but the Sox would like to get more offensive production from him - especially now that he's going to playing every day — and believe it's there. 'The more at-bats you can, the more time you have to make the little adjustments,' said Hamilton. 'I feel like I've been slowly getting there over the course of the year. But I felt really good tonight and hopefully I can keep that going.' Advertisement There may some help coming in the not-too-distant future. Alex Bregman continues to make progress with his quad strain and Masataka Yoshida is inching toward the start of a rehab assignment. Surely, adding two veteran bats to the middle of the lineup would mark an upgrade. Their return, whenever it takes place, won't be a panacea. After all, five of those low-scoring wins came with Devers in the lineup, so it's not as though their offensive shortcomings were just recently uncovered. It would help, too, if the bullpen could continue to pitch at its current level. When Dobbins recorded only 12 outs, Cora had to use six different relievers for the final 15 outs. Other than some occasional control issues, the sextet of relievers did their jobs flawlessly, allowing just three hits in five shutout frames. Advertisement That extended the bullpen's shutout streak to 17.2 innings, the second-longest active streak in the majors. Cora has frequently said in recent weeks that if the Red Sox pitch well enough, they'll be fine and that's undoubtedly true. But on a night in which their starter faltered, in addition to the bullpen stepping up, it was a relief to get some offense from across the lineup. More Red Sox coverage Read the original article on MassLive.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Red Sox rally to take reunion with Giants' Rafael Devers
June 21 - Ceddanne Rafaela and David Hamilton combined for five hits, three runs and four RBIs out of the bottom two spots in the batting order and the Boston Red Sox spoiled Rafael Devers' reunion with a 7-5 road victory over the San Francisco Giants on Friday. Meeting just five days after completing a blockbuster trade with Devers at the heart, the Red Sox rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win for the eighth time in their last nine games. While Boston improved to 3-1 since the deal, the Giants lost for the third time in four games, with Devers going 0-for-5 in the opener of a three-game series. Hamilton had a two-run homer in the third inning to cut into the 3-0 deficit. Rafaela delivered a game-tying single in the fourth and a solo shot in the sixth that gave the visitors the lead for good at 6-5. Boston scored in every inning from the third through the seventh. The homers were Rafaela's seventh and Hamilton's third. Rafaela, batting eighth, finished 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, while Hamilton, slotted ninth, went 2-for-4 with one run and two RBIs. Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu each had two hits for the Red Sox, who out-hit the Giants 11-7. Boston's Brennan Bernardino (3-2), who took over for starter Hunter Dobbins with no outs in the fifth and completed the inning, was credited with the win. Bernardino joined with Zack Kelly, Justin Wilson, Greg Weissert, Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman for five scoreless innings of relief. Chapman struck out two of three men he faced in the ninth -- including Devers -- for his 14th save. Dobbins was charged with all five Giants runs, four earned, in his four-plus innings. He walked five and struck out one. Boston pitchers walked eight batters. The Giants left eight stranded. Sean Hjelle (1-1), who served up Rafaela's homer, took the loss in relief of Hayden Birdsong, who allowed five runs (four earned) and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. Birdsong walked one and struck out four. Heliot Ramos and Casey Schmitt had two hits apiece, Patrick Bailey walked three times and Willy Adames reached base three times and scored twice for the Giants. San Francisco twice scored runs on bases-loaded, no-out, double-play grounders. --Field Level Media
The Courier
13-06-2025
- Business
- The Courier
Dundee and Angus College plans for £265m campus backed by city business leaders
Business leaders have urged the Scottish Government to press on with plans for Dundee and Angus College's multi-million-pound Wellgate campus. Members of the Dundee Business and Economic Forum, including games entrepreneur David Hamilton and Thorntons boss Lesley Larg, have written to First Minister John Swinney to give the ambitious city centre proposals their full backing. They said the project was a 'golden opportunity' to invest in the city's future, in a time of constant political and economic pressure. The Courier revealed the college was plotting a takeover of Dundee's Wellgate Centre as part of an unprecedented £265 million transformation last year. And earlier this week it was forecast building a new state-of-the-art further education centre in the heart of the city could bring in £1 billion for the local economy. Business figureheads including David Hamilton, CAM Ventures' Campbell Archibald, Westport Properties' Adam Hutcheson and Blackadders' Emma Gray also co-signed the brief, among others. The letter said: 'It is not merely an investment in educational infrastructure, it is an essential investment in reversing negative trends, developing the future workforce, igniting economic vitality and ensuring the long-term social regeneration of Dundee, Angus and Scotland.' Fife entrepreneur David credits his start in the games industry coming about after attending D&A College after leaving school. He said: 'I think this goes to show how vital this project is for the city and Arbroath. 'Dundee and Angus College is crucial for the region and the campus vision is a no-brainer. 'It would kick start a regeneration in the centre of both and, as a former student, I'm particularly delighted to be able to support the College and its bold ambition.' Chris Martin, who led Dundee app firm Waracle until last year, added: 'The plans are perfectly placed to breathe much needed economic life into Dundee and Arbroath. 'The economic impact assessment report demonstrates the level of value both communities could expect from it and I'm delighted to support the vision.' Dundee and Angus College is looking to move from the Kingsway Campus in Dundee to a new facility at the Wellgate. Dundee city centre would also be transformed, with a green thoroughfare created to connect the Murraygate with the Hilltown. There are also plans to move the Arbroath campus into the town centre. The third part of the 10-year transformation is the potential expansion of the Gardyne campus. It would include construction, engineering and science in a new purpose-built STEM facility. Simon Hewitt, Dundee and Angus College principal, said: 'It is fantastic to get the support of the business community for our vision. 'They are the ones who are working as hard as they can to generate prosperity and wealth across our region and it is good to know that our vision will help them achieve that. 'Both the Scottish and the UK governments have also been very supportive but now is the time to get going and bring this vision to reality as soon as we possibly can.'
