BSJ Game Report: Red Sox 7, Royals 3 - Alex Verdugo injured as Chris Sale stretches five innings

All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 7-3 win over the Royals, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Chris Sale stronger over five shutout innings: Sale completed five shutout innings across 100 pitches after a fiery moment in the fifth, when Alex Cora walked to the mound as Sale beat himself up over a far outside slider that walked Dairon Blanco. Sale fought to stay in and did, firing three more pitches, reaching 97 miles per hour high-and-in and forcing Maikel Garcia to ground out. He allowed two hits and two walks, striking out five in Sale's first shutout of the season, his last coming in July 2022, and his first win since May 26. His command wavered, he said, allowing 11 runs over 18.2 IP in August (5.30 ERA). Mauricio Llovera, John Schreiber, Brennan Bernardino and Kenley Jansen closed the win allowing three runs over four innings.

"Actually, I was gonna take him out and he said give me one more," Alex Cora said. "I was very straightforward, 'throw strikes.' You saw 94-95 and the slider. We needed that. We can't keep going 4.2 IP ... I feel comfortable with where he's at physically. I know velocity was down the whole day and he grinded. It seems like the last game in Kansas City the last few days is a tough one weather-wise and energy-wise. I'm glad that we got the W and (Sale) was good for us." 

Alex Verdugo exits in the sixth inning: Verdugo (left hamstring tightness) injured his leg throwing an RBI single by Salvador Perez back into the infield in the sixth inning. Alex Cora and Boston's trainers went out to right field to check him, with the high temperature rising to 95 degrees midday in Kansas City, before removing him from the game for Wilyer Abreu. Verdugo finished 0-3 and Rob Refsnyder took his place in the order for the seventh inning (1-1, R). He entered Sunday hitting .309 since August began with seven doubles and six home runs. Verdugo nearly hit for the cycle on Saturday, added a home run late on Friday and has hit .333 since taking over the leadoff spot on Aug. 18. 

"He's ok, day-to-day. We'll probably stay away from him tomorrow," Cora said. "We'll see how he feels. He was in-between that ball, and when he stopped, he felt it. Hopefully there's nothing major there." 

THREE UP

Chris Sale: Threw 64% of his pitches for strikes and put balls in play to record outs, his slider drawing a flyout, groundout and strikeout in the first inning before his fastball put out two Royals in a 1-2-3 second. Sale downed six Kansas City hitters in a row midway through his start, striking out Witt Jr. on a 3-2 slider that grazed the zone with a runner in scoring position. Control issues might've occurred due to increased slider use against a team that hit .178 against left-handed sliders coming in, and looks to attack fastballs early in counts. Perez struck out against his slider in the dirt in the fourth, then Nick Loftin and Samad Taylor missed one low and high. Sale battled some long at-bats, but this marked his best start since May.  

"The slider was good," Cora said. "He was able to land it and then expand. The changeup was ok, and whenever he needed velo, he got it. He was at 90-91 (mph), and then he'll hit 94-95 for swings-and-misses. That's a veteran outing, you don't feel great, but we need you out there, he needs to give us enough to get to the next level and he did." 

Masataka Yoshida: Hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning after a 2-11 start through the first three, following Justin Turner's walk and Triston Casas' double by taking Zack Greinke's changeup over 400 feet to center with his classic line drive stroke. Yoshida surprised himself, sprinting and stopping at third on the hit that gave Sale a comfortable lead after two shutout innings. He recorded a single in the second inning too, before exiting the game in favor of Ceddanne Rafaela, who replaced Yoshida for the second straight game as a defensive replacement. They might become a tandem for the rest of the schedule, giving Yoshida some rest with games in hand and the Sox a stronger defensive option in the outfield late in tight games. 

"Off-speed in the zone and hit a line drive to right," Cora said. "He's been feeling better the last few days, he's been grinding through a few things, but I think little by little, his swing is getting back." 

Adam Duvall: Kept his power surge going with a 416-foot bomb to left field on Austin Cox' fastball, leading off the sixth inning after watching three straight changeups go by for balls. Duvall finished 1-4, but has now hit .408 with eight home runs over his last 13 games as one of the major's hottest bats. Duvall won the last AL Player of the Week award and remains the outfield power-hitting mainstay after his everyday status fell into question in July. He'll enter free agency with plenty of prospects to build on his $7-million salary from this season.

"I had taken some pitches the way I wanted to. It was go, go, stop," Duvall. "Then, I got to 3-0 and felt pretty comfortable looking for something that I wanted to win. I'm glad I got my swing off. I didn't watch it land, it started to hook there at the end a little bit. I was just hoping it'd stay fair. I'm glad I was in go mode. It feels really good. I always want to be available. I want to show up, I want to prepare for the game, I want to play the game the right way and I want to have the manager be able to pencil me in." 

THREE DOWN 

Connor Wong: Hit a double and scored in the seventh inning to increase Boston's lead to 5-1, but all three Royals who attempted steals against him reached second then scored as runners improved to 20-for-21 against Wong since August began. He entered the afternoon second in runners caught stealing above average, but his caught stealing percentage sat at 25%. Runners seem aware and aggressive in trying to sneak into scoring position. 

Mauricio Llovera: Relieved Sale in the sixth inning and immediately allowed two hits and a run to give the Royals a chance down 4-1. Llovera appeared capable of moving into a larger role after allowing no runs over his last 8.2 IP with eight strikeouts and two walks, mostly in late relief in games already decided. Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez both hit his sinker after a nine-pitch at-bat to begin the inning, and Witt Jr.'s steal put him in position to score. He placed the sinker well to record the final two outs after the run scored, but middle relief remains an uncertain spot for this bullpen after shaky recent outings by Nick Pivetta and Josh Wincowski there. Brennan Bernardino, back from 10 days off on the COVID-19 list, should help in that spot. 

Kenley Jansen: Understandably rusty after four days off without the Red Sox building close, late leads since the Dodgers series. Jansen entered with a 7-1 lead in the ninth and gave up a double and single on back-to-back pitches with one out. Drew Waters stole second against him, then scored alongside Nick Loftin when Dairon Blanco hit his 1-1 cutter to center field. Jansen last allowed multiple runs on June 3, and had pitched six straight scoreless outings prior to Sunday. His stumble doesn't come as a major concern, but his 29-for-32 save percentage became one of the more unassailable things about this team and becomes worth watching entering the Tampa series. 

NOTABLE

With his 433rd win, Alex Cora passed John Farrell for 5th place on the Red Sox’ all-time managerial wins list...The only people to manage 500+ Red Sox games and post a better winning percentage than Cora’s mark are Don Zimmer (.575) and Terry Francona (.574). 

"I think it's the people that are around me," Cora said. "The organization, the players, the fan bases and the coaches. I still remember the first phone call I got from Dave when I was in Houston ... it started with Ron (Roenicke). Ron was amazing to me, veteran presence to help me to be better ... different players, different coaches, different personnel ... this is them. I was a bad hitter, a good defender, never pitched, so all these (wins) are them." 

UP NEXT

Monday at Rays at 4:10 p.m., RHP Aaron Civale (7-3, 2.64 ERA) vs. RHP Bryan Bello (10-8, 3.57 ERA)