3 HRS AGO - Twice! | Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports The Sox catcher goes deep twice in a decisive victory. The Red Sox beat the piss out of the Guardians on Wednesday night behind Cooper Criswell and Connor Wong, bringing their season series to 4-2 on a breezy night by Lake Erie. The top of the first started fortuitously, with the red-hot Wilyer Abreu driving in Rafael Devers to put the Sox on the board: Wilyer Abreu now has an RBI in each of his last six games and has 3+ hits in three of his last five gamesHe was batting just .176 a week ago, now he’s up to .316#DirtyWaterpic.twitter.com/JrqZtVFlca— RotoBaller MLB (@RotoBallerMLB) April 24, 2024 That’s what we’re talking about. Also what were talking about: Criswell retired the side without giving up a run in the first. In the bottom of the second, Wong homered for the second straight Wednesday to make it 2-0: Connor Wong - Boston Red Sox (4) pic.twitter.com/9TsVopJ4E8— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) April 24, 2024 That was also Collapse

14 HRS AGO - Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images Triston Casas fractures a rib with no timetable to return. The bad news was coming eventually. At no point since Triston Casas abruptly left Saturday’s game against the Pirates had we heard anything remotely hopeful. There was no mention of precautionary measures, no “we’ll give him a few days to see how he feels,” no wishful talk of him grinding it out if it were the postseason. This was a bad one. Yesterday we were put out of our misery: an MRI revealed that Triston Casas fractured a rib while taking a swing during his first at-bat in Pittsburgh. There is no timetable for his return, and anyone who has ever had a rib injury knows how annoyingly painful they can be and how long they can linger. There is no resting your rib cage, and even the tiniest movements can hurt— god help him if he suffers from spring allergies. On an analytical level, this is a major blow to an already underperforming aspect of the team. Despite hitting plenty Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images Guardians out-guard Red Sox, win series opener. Around the fourth or fifth inning of tonight’s game, I started to feel as if I had already seen this game play out. I didn’t have to think back very far, because the game I had in mind played out just last week. On one side, Tanner Houck was pitching for the Red Sox, working quickly, and mowing down Guardians’ hitters, while Ben Lively did his best to match him. In the first meeting, the Red Sox were able to drive in early runs via a balk and a home run. Today, Wilyer Abreu came through a bit later with a solo home run of his own. Unfortunately, that’s where the similarities stopped. Houck ran into trouble in the seventh, surrendering back-to-back hits and a walk without recording an out before exiting the game. Brennan Bernardino couldn’t strand the runners, the Guardians took the lead and never looked back. It’s unfair to expect Tanner Houck to repeat his performance from last week, but Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images But the man himself has retired Happy Tuesday. Josh Winckowski is in the rotation - for now. Lucas Giolito is interested in pitching in 2024. He’s, uh, definitely not a doctor though. So...yeah. The Red Sox are 13-10 in third place in the AL East. They’re 2.5 games out of first place. They’re holding a share of a Wild Card spot. Sure it’s April but given this season looked like it could be a march to last place from game 1 a little success is welcome. The team is in Ohio for a series with the Cleveland Guardians. Tanner Houck is on the mound tonight with a little early 6:10 PM ET start. Remembering 2004 The Sox haven’t played a game since the last update so they’re record hasn’t changed. But on April 23rd 2004 Derek Lowe out-dueled José Contreras as the Sox beat the Yankees 11-2. Kevin Millar, Bill Mueller, Mark Bellhorn, and Manny Ramirez all homered in the game. Johnny Damon, Pokey Reese, and Ellis Burks stole bases. Talk about what you Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images But things aren’t looking good for Triston Casas. We still don’t have a meaningful update on Triston Casas’s rib injury, but we do have vibes — and the vibes are not good. Casas reports that he is in significant pain, and there’s concern that the injury could be related to cartilage, leading to a lengthy stay on the IL. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive) But reinforcements are coming. Both Rafael Devers and Tyler O’Neill are expected to return for tomorrow’s game against the Cleveland Guardians, and Rafael Devers even pushed to get back into the lineup for yesterday’s finally against the Pirates. (Julian McWilliams, Boston Globe) And don’t forget about Vaughn Grissom. The infielder is close to returning and has made a very positive impression during his rehab stint in Worcester. (Katie Morrison-O’Day, MassLive) Of course, neither Devers nor O”Neill plays first base (even if there has long been speculation that Devers could end up there one day). For Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images These buccos were swashbuckled by some tattered laundry! Looking at the lineup before today’s game, it’s hard not to scratch your head and wonder “how in the heck is THIS team going to win?” No Triston Casas, no Tyler O’Neill, no Rafael Devers, no Trevor Story, no Vaughn Grissom (yet). And somehow, the Red Sox have taken two of three in this series at the meeting of Three Rivers. Can this Sox squad claim the third or will the Pirates get to wave their black flags in victory? Key Moments T4: Wasted Ducks On the Pond Already up 2-1 in the 4th inning, Rob Refsnyder had a chance to blow the game wide open with a multi-RBI hit. Jaren Triolo says not now! With Josh Winckowski on a short leash and the pen awaiting, it certainly makes one nervous to utilize those arms with a slim lead. B4: An Error Recovered In the bottom of the inning, we almost saw those fears realized. Ceddanne Rafaela overthrows Pablo Reyes at first on a routine grounder by Collapse

4 DAYS AGO - Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images Boston is back over .500 (2022-2024 near daily statement) and as of this writing the Tampa Bay Rays are beating the New York Yankees in the 10th inning. A Yankees loss and Red Sox win would put them just 2.5 games back in the AL East. It’s a tough division as usual but no one is out of it yet. Kutter Crawrford is coming off another good start: 5.2 innings, 6 Ks, zero walks. The Sox of course went on to lose that game but he did his part. Rolling in with a 0.42 ERA and (more reasonable) 2.22 FIP he’s showing he can be a starter in the big leagues. Rafael Devers is out again. Ceddanne Rafaela is back at shortstop to bring a more sure hand to the infield. Masa is DHing as usual. The Pittsburgh Pirates send Mitch Keller today against the Sox. Don’t let his 4.50 ERA fool you — he’s had a few rough starts to get the season going but his last 13 innings he’s allowed 4 runs, struck out 13, and walked just 3. If Kutter is on, the Collapse

5 DAYS AGO - Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images This dude’s got quite the story. Who is he and where did he come from? He’s Cam Booser, and he’s your new favorite player. Really. Booser, at 31-years-old, is on the cusp of finally making his Major League debut. His road to get here has not been easy, and not in the sense that no tenure in the minors is easy. Booser comes to us out of Fife, Washington. I’m not an expert on the greater Seattle area (that would be Maura). But from what I can tell, Fife appears to be little more than an overgrown logistics and distribution center for the port of Tacoma that just happens to have a city council attached to it. Seriously, just look at this place: Booser played baseball for Fife High School (Go, Trojans! Beat White River!) but the word “played” is doing a lot of work here. Booser suffered two serious injuries in high school, breaking his femur while playing football as a sophomore, and then his vertebrae while Collapse

6 DAYS AGO - Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images The Red Sox lose yet another game. A gloomy day at Fenway to end the homestand! Could the Red Sox pull a rabbit out of the hat or would they hop on a plane to the Steel City steeled by their own sorrows? Key Moments T2: Pickoff! Given an early lead, what a slick pickoff move from Brennan Bernardino, appearing as an opener. T3: A Comedy of Errors The Sox lead the Majors with 20 errors. This isn’t fun! They also wouldn’t hold a lead for the rest of the game. B6: First off, let’s admire the wheels on Jarren Duran to wheel into third with a two-run triple. But why the chicken? Bawk bawk! The Guardians have gone balk balk! The second straight game the Guardians balk in a run for the Red Sox. Three Studs Brennan Bernardino Well done as the opener to set the tone of the game. A pickoff, no hits, two K’s, it almost fooled us that the pitching could survive the game. Jarren Duran A lead-off walk, an RBI triple, scoring on a balk, he had a Collapse