The Red Sox are doing right by America’s Most Beloved Ballpark this year.
They’re 10-3 over their last 13 games (12-7 overall) at Fenway Park, and 5-1 in home series (7-3 overall).
In a pleasant departure from last year, they’ve been able to dispatch the division. They beat the Baltimore Orioles in the first series of the season, and have already won three of four games against the Toronto Blue Jays this week; in 2022, they didn’t have two series wins against division rivals until August.
This is Boston’s first series win against Toronto since July 2021, and their first home series victory against them since August 2020. In 2022, they only won three of 19 games against the Blue Jays, a total they’ve already matched in this first series.
What’s changed?
“I wish I knew,” Alex Cora said ahead of Thursday’s series finale. “They just dominated us (last year.) They hit the ball hard the whole time.”
Having a healthier roster and significantly more effective bullpen certainly helps.
“Tanner (Houck) pitched only five innings against them (in 2022), and he’s probably the best matchup against that lineup. Obviously, Kutter (Crawford) wasn’t part of it,” the manager explained.
The Blue Jays “just demolished” the Red Sox after the All-Star break, Cora said, and killed their momentum. “It seemed like we never had an answer.”
They’ve answered back this week, though. The Red Sox have at least 13 hits in each game, and haven’t allowed the Blue Jays to collect more than nine. Through the first three games, they’ve outscored their guests 21-14.
All that’s left to do is go for the sweep, but they’ll have to find a way to win without Alex Verdugo.
The outfielder is having a stellar season, hitting .315 with a .897 OPS, five home runs, and 18 RBI. He’s reached base at least twice in each of his last five games, and already has multiple walk-offs.
Speaking of Kutter, he left Wednesday night’s game with a left hamstring ailment, and Alex Cora says he’s “tight.”
Crawford began the season in the rotation, but moved to the bullpen after two starts, and has been dominant in the long-relief role. Over five appearances totaling 16 ⅔ innings, he’s held opponents to two earned runs on eight hits, 12 strikeouts, and one walk.
“We’ll take it day by day and see if we can avoid the IL. There’s a good chance he doesn’t have to go, but obviously, he’ll be down for a few days.”
Kenley Jansen, who sat out for the last few games after back spasms, is available for the series finale.
Joely Rodríguez is set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Thursday. He’ll throw one inning in the first game of their doubleheader.
The 31-year-old left-hander, who was Boston’s first free-agent pitching addition of the offseason, has been on the injured list on March 30 (retroactive to March 27) with a right oblique strain.
After getting off to a bumpy start and carefully navigating a hamstring issue, Masataka Yoshida has been unstoppable.
Over his first 13 games in the majors (he was already an Olympic gold medalist and superstar in Japan’s Nippon League), he hit .167/.310/.250 with eight hits (two for extra bases), eight runs, six RBI, eight walks, and five strikeouts.
In 13 games since, he’s slashed .431/.474/.765 with at least one hit in each contest. In Wednesday night’s victory, the “rookie” went 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI in Wednesday night’s victory. This extended his hitting streak, which already led the majors, and he’s 22-for-51 with four home runs, five doubles, 15 RBI over that span.
“He’s hitting the ball all over the place,” Cora said.
During the offseason, the Red Sox drew criticism and scorn for giving Yoshida a five-year, $90 million contract, the richest ever for a Japanese position player. “We thought he was worth less than half of what they paid,” one rival team executive told ESPN‘s Kiley McDaniel. 10 sources all told McDaniel that it was an overpay “by a hefty margin.”
Five weeks into the season, he looks like an absolute bargain.
Chris Martin took over for starter Nick Pivetta on Wednesday night, and pitched a perfect seventh inning with two strikeouts. It was his first 1-2-3 inning and first no-hit appearance since April 1, and the first time he struck out multiple batters in a game this season.
What’s changed since his stint on the 15-day injured list?
“He used his repertoire differently,” Cora said on Thursday afternoon. “He threw a lot of strikes, and the tempo was great.”
As is the case for many pitchers around the league, Martin has been adjusting to the new pitch clock. In 2022, he had a 22.9 pitch tempo (measuring time between pitch releases) with the bases empty, and 25.4 with runners on.
“For some of these guys, the clock, you know, it’s a challenge,” Cora said. “In the beginning, it was a challenge for him in spring training, but I think finally, he found a way of kind of like, slowing down the game.”
His bases-empty 16.7 and runners-on 18.8 pitch tempos are promising.
According to the Red Sox manager, Martin also “wasn’t too pleased” with his pitch mix before. “The cutter wasn’t playing the way he wanted,” Cora explained.
Even so, over nine appearances (an inning apiece) this season, the veteran righty has allowed just two runs (both earned) on 10 hits, walked two, and struck out five.
Shane Drohan is the Eastern League Pitcher of the Month for April. The 24-year-old southpaw, who’s currently the No. 29 prospect in the Red Sox system, posted a 0.78 ERA across his four starts for Double-A Portland. He allowed just two runs on 13 hits and four walks, and struck out 26 batters in 23 innings.
Marcelo Mayer is heating up. The Red Sox No. 1 overall prospect had a 4-hit game with two doubles, a home run, and three RBI for High-A Greenville on Wednesday night.