MLB Notebook: Red Sox offense on fire in D.C., Walker Buehler takes ‘step forward,’ memorable moments on July 4th, and a look around the league

The Red Sox will look to complete a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals on Sunday. Boston’s bats have been putting on a fireworks show, scoring 21 runs in the last two games. It was the 14th time this season that the Sox have scored 10 or more runs in a game. It was the third time they’ve scored 10 runs or more in back-to-back games this year.

Boston hung 11 runs on the scoreboard on July 4th in the series opener with Washington. Twelve of the Red Sox’ 16 hits came in the first five innings of the game. Everyone in the starting lineup reached base at least once on Friday. Eight Red Sox hitters had a hit, with six of them—Jarren Duran, Roman Anthony, Abraham Toro, Carlos Narváez, Trevor Story, and Marcelo Mayer—all having multiple hits.

The Red Sox scored 10 runs on Saturday afternoon, with Anthony continuing to have a strong week offensively, collecting two singles, including an RBI hit in the third inning. Ceddanne Rafaela hit a two-run blast, his 10th homer of the season, and had an RBI double. He’s been a bright spot from the No. 9 spot in the Sox’ lineup. Rafaela has a three-game hitting streak and is batting .306 with a .927 in his last 34 games.

“We’ve been swinging the bat well since we got home,” Alex Cora told reporters postgame. “I know a lot of people were panicking on the road trip, but that’s part of 162, and the guys have done an amazing job preparing to go to battle, and they’re executing today.”

Romy Gonzalez has mashed left-handed pitching, hitting .379 with a 1.136 in 27 games. He recorded three hits (3-for-5, two doubles, and two RBI) in the win on Saturday, his ninth career game with three hits or more and fourth this season. Rob Refsnyder had an RBI double in the first inning.

“What they do is amazing,” Cora said.

WALKER BUEHLER TAKES ‘STEP FORWARD’

Boston gave Walker Buehler a 9-0 lead to work with early on in his start on Saturday afternoon. The struggling righty entered the game with a 6.45 ERA, having thrown four innings or less in four out of his last five starts.

He opened the game with a scoreless first inning, working out of a jam thanks in part to a great running grab from Duran in left field. In the third inning, Nationals shortstop C.J. Abrams singled and reached third on a play where both Toro and Gonzalez committed errors. Buehler was able to force an inning-ending double play.

Washington loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, but Buehler was able to limit the damage, drawing an RBI fielder’s choice for the second out, and a flyout kept it a 9-2 game.

Buehler posted a scoreless fifth and came back out for the sixth before he allowed a leadoff triple by Nathaniel Lowe and an RBI single off the bat of Josh Bell, which ended his afternoon. Buehler was ultimately charged with three runs over five-plus innings on eight hits, no walks, and two strikeouts.

“It’s a step forward,” Buehler said.

“He was good,” Cora said of Buehler. “He threw the ball well; obviously that’s an offense where the put the ball into play, and in the sixth it looked like he ran out of gas, but overall it was a good one.”

Buehler wasn’t dominant, but he looked better on the mound against the Nationals.

“I keep saying I’m closer, I’m closer, I’m closer,” Buehler said. “And today I think there was genuinely some difference that gave me [confidence]. Confidence is a big thing in this game. The way I was moving and able to get through the first and feel like I knew what the ball was going to do is huge.”

GIOLITO’S TURNAROUND

Lucas Giolito continues to look impressive. Over his four starts in the month of June, the righty allowed just two earned runs (0.72 ERA). In his final outing of the month, he turned out a seven-inning gem, lowering his ERA under 4.

On Friday, he went back-to-back, starting and going seven innings. He went 7 2/3 innings, his longest outing in over four years, throwing no more than 17 pitches in a frame.

“I like going deep into the game. It’s important for us to do that and alleviate the bullpen a little bit,” Giolito said. Even so, he then told reporters, “I’m like, tired as hell after that.”

Giolito’s impressive start on Friday came at the expense of the team that drafted him out of high school in 2012, and he debuted with them in 2016.

“It’s so long ago,” Giolito said when asked if there was anything sentimental about the occasion. “I was definitely excited to come back, because it’s been so long, and I checked off another team… There’s two more left before I face every team in the major leagues, but I’m not facing any of the same guys. It’s a different team now.”

Over five starts since that June 4, Giolito owns a 0.83 ERA, with 31 strikeouts over 32 2/3 innings. His ERA sits at 3.66, and he has been the second most consistent starter in the Red Sox’ rotation behind Garrett Crochet.

“Staying consistent—that’s been my goal pretty much my whole career,” the righty said. “Too much lack of consistency, and so it’s good to be in that spot, and I just want to keep it going.”

MEMORABLE BASEBALL MOMENTS ON JULY 4TH

It’s funny how a piece of rubber or cork that’s wrapped in yarn and covered in white cowhide with 108 stitches can captivate fans over the course of the summer. America’s pastime has had some memorable moments on America’s birthday. Here’s a look back at some memorable moments on July 4th.

The Iron Horse of baseball, Lou Gehrig, known for his 2,130 consecutive-game streak, made one of the most memorable speeches in all of sports on July 4th, 1939.

The longtime Yankees’ first baseman uttered the famous words at a home plate ceremony for Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day: “For the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

Gehrig had been forced to retire as a player two weeks earlier due to his being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease that today bears his name.

On July 4th, 1983, Yankees lefty Dave Righetti threw a no-hitter against the Red Sox at the original Yankee Stadium. He struck out Wade Boggs to end the game and complete the no-hitter. Boggs entered the game hitting over .350 and was one of the toughest strikeouts in the game, only whiffing 5.3 percent of the time. On a 2-2 count, Righetti threw a breaking ball that Boggs swung at, ending the game.

Nolan Ryan struck out his 3,000th batter on July 4th, striking out Cesar Geronimo as a member of the Astros in 1980. Ryan is the all-time strikeout king with 5,714. Four years later, Phil Niekro struck out the Rangers' Larry Parrish for his 3,000th, en route to a 5-0 victory for the Yankees. Niekro is the only knuckleballer to have reached 3,000 Ks.

On July 4th, 1977, Fred Lynn and George Scott hit two homers each, while Butch Hobson, Bernie Carbo, Jim Rice, and Carl Yastrzemski hit one apiece, as the Red Sox blasted eight homers, defeating the Blue Jays, 9-6, at Fenway Park.

The Chicago Cubs are 124-100-3 all-time on Independence Day. 

INTEGRITY OF THE GAME

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave through the end of the All-Star break as a result of an MLB investigation.

The league is investigating Ortiz for a pair of suspicious pitches thrown in games this season that drew a swell of unusual betting activity, according to ESPN.

The league flagged the first pitch in the second inning of a June 15 game against the Mariners. A betting-integrity firm identified unusual betting action as the result of the pitch thrown by Ortiz. The righty threw a slider far outside of the zone; it led to a walk and a five-run inning.

The second pitch came in the top of the third inning on June 27 against the Cardinals. There was unusual betting activity on the pitch to be a ball or a hit-by-pitch, and Ortiz spiked a slider considerably outside of the strike zone, leading to a home run and a three-run inning.

MLB said in a statement it would not comment further until the conclusion of the investigation.

“The Guardians have been notified by Major League Baseball that Luis Ortiz has been placed on leave per an agreement with the Players Association due to an ongoing league investigation,” the Guardians released in a statement. “The Guardians are not permitted to comment further at this time and will respect the league’s confidential investigative process.”

Baseball has dealt with numerous betting-related issues since sports betting became prevalent in the United States. Last year, Shohei Ohtani was under scrutiny in a betting scandal after it was learned his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, had stolen $17 million from the three-time MVP and used it to bet with illegal bookies. Last month, Mizuhara to a 57-month sentence in federal prison for fraud.

MLB banned Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for life in 2024 after he was placing bets on his team. The league suspended four other players for betting on baseball, which included former Red Sox pitching prospect Jay Groome. MLB umpire Pat Hoberg was fired earlier this year after it was learned that he shared sports betting accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games.

Earlier this year, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred reinstated baseball’s all-time hit leader, Pete Rose, and other deceased players, including members of the 1919 White Sox team that threw the World Series.

Cleveland acquired Ortiz this season from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-team trade with the Blue Jays. Ortiz had a breakout season with the Pirates in 2024 and had a 4.36 ERA in 16 starts for the Guardians this season.

YANKEES MID-SEASON SWOON

The Yankees are rapidly losing ground in the American League East. After spending the better part of the season in first place, New York is tied for second place with the Tampa Bay Rays, three games behind the Toronto Blue Jays.

When the Yankees attempt to regain their position at the top of the division, their rotation will be lacking a key starter.

Right-handed starter Clarke Schmidt is likely to undergo Tommy John surgery, Aaron Boone announced to reporters on Saturday. Schmidt will miss the end of the season and likely be sidelined for the entire 2026 campaign as he rehabs from surgery.

"It's tough, Clarke's been really good for us," Yankees starter Carlos Rodón said to reporters. "He's such a great pitcher.... It's just tough to have another arm go down, but we just roll with the punches and got to keep going."

Schmidt is the second Yankees starter to go under the knife, ace and reigning Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery in the spring.

The blow to the Yankees' rotation comes as the club has lost five in a row and 15 of their last 21 games.

New York should get a shot in the arm to their pitching staff when reigning Rookie of the Year Luis Gil, who has been out all season with a lat injury, should begin a rehab assignment and is expected back with the team by the end of the month.

THE BASEBALL WORLD MOURNS

Former Red Sox reliever Bobby Jenks died on Friday, in Sintra, Portugal, where he was being treated for adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer. He was 44.

Jenks was a two-time All-Star and World Series champion with the Chicago White Sox. During the White Sox' 2005 postseason, Jenks converted four saves in six appearances. He was an All-Star in each of the next two seasons while saving 41 games in 2006 and 40 in 2007. The righty retired 41 consecutive batters in 2007, matching a record for a reliever.

Jenks saved 173 games for the White Sox from 2005-2010 before ending his career with the Red Sox. He made 19 appearances in 2011 for Boston, posting a 6.32 ERA. For his career, he was 16-20 with a 3.53 ERA and 351 strikeouts in 348 appearances, all in relief.

BOBBY BONILLA DAY

Every year when the calendar turns to July 1, it means that former big leaguer Bobby Bonilla will collect a check for $1,193,248.20 from the New York Mets. He will collect a check from the Mets through 2035.

In 2000, the Mets agreed to buy out the remaining $5.9 million of Bonilla’s contract. Instead of paying the slugger the full amount at that time, he and the Mets agreed to annual payments of nearly $1.2 million for 25 years, starting in 2011, at a negotiated 8% interest.  

At the time, Mets ownership was invested in a Bernie Madoff account that promised double-digit returns, and the club expected to make a significant profit in the Madoff account. That didn’t work out, and the rest is history: Madoff and the Mets are on the hook for this ridiculous contract with Bonilla.

The Red Sox are paying former slugger Manny Ramirez $24.2 million through 2026 in deferred payments. He received $2.04 million on July 1 from the Sox.

In 2034, Shohei Ohtani will receive payments on his deferred contract from the Dodgers that will run through 2043.

AROUND THE HORN

- Rumors have been swirling that the Braves could entertain trading outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. The Braves reportedly have no interest in trading Acuña, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Acuña is on a team-friendly deal earning $17 million a year through 2026 with $17 million club options for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.

- As the Red Sox continue to play better baseball, they’re still trying to establish whether they’ll be buyers or sellers as MLB’s trade deadline rapidly approaches. Boston is in need of offense and "could be a nice fit" for Guardians first baseman Carlos Santana, according to Nightengale.

- The Giants exercised the 2026 $4 million option on manager Bob Melvin’s contract. San Francisco has been sputtering since they acquired Rafael Devers in the Father’s Day blockbuster trade with the Red Sox. They’re just 6-12 since the Devers ’swap; meanwhile, Boston is 8-9.

- Aaron Judge avoided serious injury on Saturday after he was hit under his right eye in the fourth inning. As the Yankees were jogging off the field, a ball sailed through the air, which he didn’t see coming, hitting him in the face.

- Dodgers Clayton Kershaw became the 20th member of the 3000-strikeout club.

- Blue Jays George Springer has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters, crushing his 16th homer on Saturday, in Toronto’s 4-3 win over the Angels. He has hit five homers in his last five games and knocked in 21 RBI in his last 11 games.

- Nationals superstar James Wood will join the field for the Home Run Derby. He announced he was joining the derby and went 5-for-5 on July 4th. He has hit 22 homers this season.

- Dodgers’ Max Muncy suffered a deep bone bruise on his knee, which will sideline him for about six weeks. He was hitting .308 with 12 homers and 48 RBI in his last 46 games.