Red Sox's Garrett Whitlock: Shut down from throwing
Rotowire
Whitlock (oblique) reported soreness in his left elbow following his rehab start at Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports.
Whitlock performed well during his outing Wednesday, throwing 4.2 scoreless innings while striking out five batters, but his elbow may cause his return to the Red Sox to be postponed. The 27-year-old righty will be examined by team doctors in Boston on Monday, at which point more information on his status will be available.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Gets break Friday
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Rafaela is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Cardinals.
Rafaela will get a break as Boston kicks off their series against the Cardinals. The second-year major leaguer opened the campaign as the Red Sox's primary center fielder but has mostly played shortstop over the past month. The lineup absence marks his first time on the bench since April 11.
Devers went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored during Thursday's 7-5 loss to the Rays.
Devers took righty Zack Littell yard for a solo homer in the second inning, marking the third baseman's second straight game with a long ball. All six of Devers' homers this season have come off right-handers, and he boasts a .302/.394/.593 slash line against opposite-handed pitching.
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Red Sox's Jarren Duran: Notches three extra-base hits
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Duran went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a solo home run and an additional run scored during Thursday's 7-5 loss to the Rays.
Duran provided plenty of pop from the leadoff position Thursday, swatting his second homer of 2024 and generating two doubles for a second straight game. The contest was Duran's fourth game with at least three hits this season. The center fielder finished the four-game series against Tampa Bay 6-for-15 (.400) with three runs scored and five extra-base hits.
Jansen (1-1) took the loss Thursday against Tampa Bay, allowing two runs on two hits and one walk with two strikeouts over one inning.
Jansen took over in the top of the ninth with the game tied but fell to his first loss of the campaign. After striking out Josh Lowe to start off the inning, Jansen yielded a walk, two singles and a sacrifice fly to consecutive batters as the Rays took a 7-5 advantage and the eventual win. The outing raised the 36-year-old's ERA from 2.45 to 3.45. In 15.2 innings of work, Jansen owns a 21:10 K:BB and has yet to allow a home run.
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Red Sox's Cooper Criswell: Shaky against Rays
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Criswell didn't factor into the decision Thursday against Tampa Bay, allowing five runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks across 3.2 innings. He struck out three.
Criswell set season worst run and earned run totals Thursday and gave up a home run for a third straight start. The long ball came in the third inning off the bat of Josh Lowe and plated Jose Siri. Despite Thursday's hiccup, Criswell owns a 2.76 ERA and a 28:7 K:BB through 29.1 innings, an impressive showing for his first extended stretch as a starter. Although he's been a solid fill-in option for the Sox, Criswell will likely be the odd man out once Garrett Whitlock (oblique) returns from the IL -- which could happen in the near future.
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Red Sox's Connor Wong: Idle Thursday
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Wong isn't in the Red Sox's lineup for Thursday's game against Tampa Bay, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
Wong will take a seat for Thursday's series finale after going 3-for-11 with an RBI through the first three games against the Rays. Reese McGuire will start instead behind the plate and bat seventh.
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Red Sox's Tyler O'Neill: Gets Thursday off
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O'Neill isn't in the Red Sox's lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
O'Neill will get a chance to regroup Thursday after striking out seven times across his last two games. Rob Refsnyder will take his place in left field and bat third.
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Red Sox's Kyle Teel: Using whole field at Double-A
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Teel has a .262/.367/.408 slash line with three home runs, one steal and a 27.5 percent strikeout rate in 27 games for Double-A Portland.
He has been 26 percent better than the average Eastern League hitter, and it's worth noting that the park factors in Portland and the Eastern League in general favor pitchers over hitters. Teel's 21.7 percent hard-hit rate is subpar, and he's hitting more balls to the opposite field (40 percent) than to the pull side (38.6 percent), so Teel remains a hit-over-power prospect.
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Red Sox's Wilyer Abreu: Goes deep in loss
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Abreu went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Rays.
Abreu gave Boston a 2-1 lead with his solo blast in the fourth inning. The homer was the fourth for Abreu, who has settled into the strong-side platoon role after a shaky start to the season. He's currently slashing .305/.391/.547 against right-handers.
Devers went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Wednesday in a loss to the Rays.
Devers' sixth-inning solo shot brought Boston to within a run, but it ended up being the final tally for either team. The long ball extended the third baseman's on-base streak to nine contests, and he's hitting .270 with two homers, five RBI and five runs over that stretch. On a less positive note, Devers has struck out at least once in 12 straight games, and his 24.1 percent strikeout rate is on pace to be his worst mark since the abbreviated 2020 campaign.
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Red Sox's Tanner Houck: Fans seven but takes loss
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Houck (3-5) took the loss against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks while striking out seven batters over 5.2 innings.
Houck made it through three scoreless frames before giving up an unearned run in the fourth. The right-hander had a 2-1 lead when he exited with two outs and two runners on base in the sixth, but Greg Weissert gave up consecutive hits in relief to saddle Houck with two more runs (only one of which was earned) along with the loss. Despite the defeat, Houck gave Boston a solid chunk of innings again -- he's completed at least 5.2 frames in each of his nine outings this season. He's pitched much better than his 3-5 record suggests with a 2.17 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 57:11 K:BB through 58 innings.
Red Sox's Vaughn Grissom: Getting day off Wednesday
Rotowire
Grissom is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the Rays.
Grissom had started each of the previous eight contests and nine of 10 games since returning from the injured list, but he'll begin Wednesday's game on the bench as the Red Sox square off against Taj Bradley and the Rays. The 23-year-old has gotten off to a slow start, going just 5-for-37 with a 7:0 K:BB. David Hamilton will draw a start at second base Wednesday.
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Red Sox's Garrett Whitlock: Exceptional in rehab start
Rotowire
Whitlock (oblique) struck out five and allowed two hits and one walk over 4.2 scoreless innings Wednesday in his rehab start with Triple-A Worcester.
Whitlock pumped in 40 of his 61 pitches for strikes and induced 12 swings and misses, looking as strong as ever while pitching in a game for the first time since April 16. Even though he didn't get fully stretched out for a traditional starter's workload Wednesday, Whitlock could return from the 15-day injured list to make his next appearance out of the Red Sox rotation. If the Red Sox decide he won't require an additional rehab appearance, Whitlock would likely start with the big club either Monday or Tuesday at Tampa Bay.
