On the heels of mostly disappearing during last weekend’s series versus San Diego, the Red Sox were anything but M.I.A. during a three-game sweep of the Marlins in Miami.
Boston capped an impressive series with a hard-fought 6-5 victory in 12 innings on the Fourth of July, stretching its winning streak to four games — and making it five victories in their last six completed series.
The fireworks in Thursday’s game came primarily from Jarren Duran, who gunned down Jesus Sanchez trying to score from second with the game tied at 2 in the ninth to force extras.
JARREN. DURAN. pic.twitter.com/982t10N2sT
— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 4, 2024
“Obviously, Jarren with the throw changed the game,” Alex Cora said. “We grinded with them and we never stop playing, so that’s the cool part of it.”
After trading a pair of runs in the 11th, the Sox ultimately capitalized in the 12th with David Hamilton plating the go-ahead run and Tyler O’Neill driving an RBI double for some insurance.
Greg Weissert shut the door in the bottom of the 12th after allowing the ghost runner to score on a sacrifice fly, locking down his first save of his career.
"A grinder, but a good one,” Cora summarized.
Before things got tight late, the Sox led 2-0 after a pair of Rafael Devers RBI groundouts in the first and sixth. That 2-0 lead at the time felt like a 12-0 advantage thanks to the pitching of Nick Pivetta, who was brilliant in tossing seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball with 10 strikeouts.
Nick Pivetta's 10th K pic.twitter.com/nI7qdo6Udo
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 4, 2024
Pivetta hadn’t been terrible, but hadn’t exactly been at his best over his four previous starts — allowing 15 earned runs over 23 1/3 innings, including a season-high tying five last time out against the Padres.
After logging fewer than 4 1/3 innings in three of those starts, Pivetta snapped back into form by matching his season high for innings pitched.
“I just attacked the strike zone today,” Pivetta said. “I think (what’s) more important today is we pulled off a win as a team, and I think that was really good.”
After scoring a total of four runs in three games against the Friars, the Sox pounded out 21 runs on 33 hits in Miami. That was supplemented by quality pitching, with none of Boston’s three starters in the series allowing more than one earned run while each tossing at least six.
Boston entered the day a half-game back of Kansas City for the final AL wild card, a spot they claimed back with the win in the finale with the Royals set to play Thursday night.
Nevertheless, the Sox are right in the thick of things and on track for a smooth landing headed into the All-Star break…
Bello bounces back — and Kutter, too
Pivetta isn’t the only pitcher who snapped back into form this week against the Marlins.
Facing his biggest start of the season, or at least the one with the most scrutiny, Brayan Bello answered the bell with 6 2/3 frames of one-run ball with seven strikeouts after having his scheduled start against the Padres delayed due to his recent struggles.
"He's one of our best ones,” Cora said postgame. “We got to get him going and (Wednesday’s start) was a good one."
A key to Bello’s bounce back was limiting the walks. He only issued one free pass after walking at least two batters in each of his seven prior starts.
Brayan Bello, Nasty 98mph Sinker. 😨 pic.twitter.com/uGPeL3EmXJ
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 4, 2024
"It feels good to be able to have a successful start and also (after) all the work we did in between starts with (Andrew) Bailey paid off,” Bello said through a team interpreter.
The bounce back was encouraging for Bello, who some — myself included — had opined needed a more significant reset in the form of a demotion to Triple-A. But if Cora and Bailey were able to get him back into rhythm on the fly, that would go a long way toward shoring up Boston’s rotation.
I wouldn’t expect Bello to suddenly start pitching like an ace, but if his contributions to this year’s version of the Red Sox equal that of a No. 4 or 5 starter, it’s something you can live with for the time being…
Meanwhile, Kutter Crawford was similarly excellent in the series opener, allowing just one run on three hits with seven punch outs over six innings in an 8-3 victory.
It marked a notable improvement after he had been giving up nearly four runs per game across his prior six starts. Crawford has now won two of his last three starts after dropping five straight decisions.
Bronx bound
Start spreadin’ the news… the Red Sox are Bronx bound today.
Boston’s three-game tune-up in Miami couldn’t have gone any better, and now it’s game on for the first series of the year in New York between baseball’s biggest rivals.
The Yanks will be out for revenge, while the Sox are seeking to prove their three-game series victory against them three weeks ago was no fluke.
The storyline to watch in the series opener will be how Tanner Houck (7-6, 2.67 ERA) bounces back after imploding last Saturday versus San Diego with a career-high-tying seven earned allowed in just 4 1/3 innings.
Houck didn’t face the Yankees in their trip to Boston a few weeks ago, but he’s pitched very well against the Yanks in his career. Over 12 appearances and seven starts, Houck is 3-2 with a 2.06 ERA and 40 punchouts — his most against any opponent.
Saturday’s game will feature Josh Winckowski (2-1, 2.80 ERA) looking to build on a commendable start in last Sunday’s finale with San Diego, holding the Padres scoreless on just four hits and no walks in five innings.
It will be Winckowski’s best chance yet to prove his worth as a starter as he makes consecutive starts at the big league level for the first time since April 27-May 2. Unfortunately, he’ll have to contend with Yankees ace Gerrit Cole pitching opposite him…
Sunday features an intriguing matchup with Crawford (4-7, 3.47 ERA) taking on hot shot Yanks rookie Luis Gil (9-4, 3.41 ERA).
It figures to be a fun series, but isn’t it always whenever these two teams meet?
The Sox are deficiently catching New York at a favorable time riding a three-game skid and with losses in 13 of its last 18 games.
Taking two of three in the Bronx would put Boston at 49-40, just five games shy of a 55-win New York team in the win column.
Didn’t think that would be possible at this point in the season, did ya?
Well, neither did the rest of us…
Gethin Coolbaugh is a columnist for Boston Sports Journal. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on X/Twitter.