All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 11-5 win over the Cubs, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Masataka Yoshida's scorching July restarts: Masataka Yoshida dropped from second in the lineup to begin the second half to fifth with Adam Duvall back in the lineup as part of Alex Cora's everlasting shuffling. He hit 0-4, including into a double play, as part of Saturday's loss after matching Ted Williams with an eight-game multi hit streak where he batted .500 to begin July. That cooldown continued to begin Sunday, grounding out on the second pitch of the second inning, then striking out on three pitches against Cubs starter Justin Steele.
Carrying a 1-0 lead through four innings, Sox starter Kutter Crawford needed some run support and got one on a Rob Refsnyder RBI single in the fifth. The bottom of the order loaded the bases for Rafael Devers and Duvall to go down, positioning Yoshida up with a 2-0 count before he rocked a fastball at 110 miles per hour on a straight line drive into the right field netting for his second career grand slam.
He later launched a 3-2 fastball low and inside over Mike Tauchman's head in center field to score Justin Turner and Devers in the seventh inning, and land his third triple of the season. Yoshida scored on the ensuing Michael Rucker wild pitch, pushing Boston ahead 9-0 and in position to cruise to a win.
Kutter Crawford provides a clutch start: James Paxton's letdown on Saturday forced a Sox team already scrapping together pitching with openers and an assortment of relievers to utilize the bullpen for five innings. Kutter Crawford, used in nearly every role this year, ate six stellar, one-hit innings despite walking four and hitting a batter early, preserving the bullpen for the Oakland series.
Crawford struck out nine hitters and improved his ERA to 3.74, working around two baserunners in the first, walking another in the second and receiving a pair of double plays from Christian Arroyo and Yu Chang through the first three innings. He retired eight straight Cubs and striking out two in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings by mixing his fastball, cutter and slider. Joe Jacques worked a clean seventh inning before Jake Faria, called up from Triple-A Worcester this morning, allowed three runs in a sloppy eighth inning and two more in the ninth while struggling to throw strikes.
THREE UP
Kutter Crawford: Now 4-4 with an ERA below 4.00, scoring wins in three of his last five starts with at least 5.0 innings pitched in four of them. Alongside James Paxton, Bryan Bello and Tanner Houck, the Red Sox feature a much better starting rotation than they did one year ago, and one starting to develop some level of reliability. Houck hasn't pitched since June 16 and the other nights feature completely unpredictable performances from an assortment of spot starters and relievers. Crawford did also put five on base through walks and a hit by pitch, tossing only 56 of 89 pitches for strikes. The Sox needed to stay close through four innings, and Crawford allowed them to do so with competitive pitching and improved fielding behind him. It's easy to imagine Paxton's Saturday going better with some routine plays made behind him, but more on that in a moment.
Rafael Devers: Launched three home runs against Chicago over the weekend, including taking a low-and-away slider from Steele, an N.L. all-star who entered the afternoon 9-2 with a 2.56 ERA, into the net in left field on Sunday. Only special hitters can do what Devers did swinging against a pitch in that spot, and he remains one of the best tough pitch hitters I've seen. That 1-0 cushion undoubtedly helped Crawford operate comfortably, before Devers hit a leadoff double in the fourth inning and almost scored on an ensuing single to left by Jorge Alfaro (2-5) with two on and one out. Third base coach Carlos Febles made a bad call looking back on it, Ian Happ able to skip a throw in comfortably for Yan Gomes to tag Devers at the plate.
"He's becoming a leader," Alex Cora said in Chicago. "This is a guy we committed to, and we're very proud of him."
Devers worked a 3-2 count an inning later with the bases loaded, just swinging over a Steele fastball with a violent hack that would've left the yard two hitters before Yoshida's decisive swing. He hopped around in frustration after the strikeout, knowing he just missed the ball. Devers later scored on Yoshida's bases-clearing triple and is now hitting .395 in 43 at-bats this month with four home runs and five doubles.
Masataka Yoshida: The Yoshida experience keeps getting better. He's now hitting .465 in 43 at-bats since June 30 with three home runs, 11 RBI, two doubles and a triple. His average improved to .317 for the season with an .883 OPS. The power emerging in Year 1, even coming on unconventional ways like his line drive slice that left the yard for the grand slam became the most encouraging Sox development of the first half. Five years, $90 million. That's probably the best move of the Chaim Bloom era, and he's one of the few reasons to tune into this team every night.
TWO DOWN
Jake Faria: Another reliever probably bound to walk in the door, then quickly out again. It's hard to keep track of how many pitchers the Red Sox have briefly utilized in relief roles then sent packing through the IL or DFA. Faria's debut arguably became the worst of any this afternoon, entering in the eighth inning with an 11-0 lead, walking two Cubs in nine pitches, then loading the bases with a 3-2 walk. He walked in a run, gave up a single and a sacrifice fly to give Chicago three runs, then allowed two more in the ninth by yielding a pair of singles, a passed ball and a triple, only tossing 31-of-65 for strikes.
Kiké Hernández: Fell to .218 with a pinch-hit out in the ninth inning in his second game coming off the bench since the all-star break. His Saturday appearance at shortstop resulted in another costly error that aided a blowout loss after Cora defended his inconsistent play at the position this year. His center field defense remains elite, but Jarren Duran and Duvall's bats in the lineup continue to prove more reliable. Hernández sitting on a Duran off day can't come as a positive sign with Pablo Reyes' call-up from a rehab assignment looming this week, and a pair of double plays turned by Yu Chang and Christian Arroyo helped Crawford manage base runners in the early innings. The end of Hernández' Red Sox tenure could be near.
NOTABLE
Triston Casas joined Duran on the bench for an off day, then appeared in relief for Justin Turner and blasted a two-run homer, his third of the series, on the second pitch he saw...Casas is hitting 7-17 (.412) over his last five games with three homers, two doubles and only two strikeouts and a walk, getting more aggressive after his propensity to take pitches defined his first half...Boston selected Faria to the MLB roster from Triple-A Worcester and designated RHP Taylor Scott for assignment this morning...Scott had allowed 3 H and 2 ER in 1.0 IP on Saturday and posted a 4.91 in four relief appearances for Boston...
LHP Richard Bleier (shoulder), will return during this week's Oakland series, Cora said, after retiring all three batters he saw in Worcester in his third rehab appearance after last pitching in May...Pablo Reyes (abdomen) played nine innings at shortstop for AA-Portland in his seventh rehab appearance, hitting three home runs across different positions, including second base and center field...John Schreiber (shoulder) will pitch back-to-back outings with Worcester before returning in either the Mets or Braves series. He threw a pair of scoreless rehab outings earlier this month.
UP NEXT
7/17 at OAK, 9:40 p.m., SP TBD, NESN
