Red Sox sweep Rays
Red Sox complete three-game sweep with 9-2 win over Rays.
BOSTON— Christian Vázquez homered, Xander Bogaerts had three hits and J.D. Martinez went for extra bases for the seventh game in a row on Wednesday to help the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-2 and complete a three-game sweep.
Nathan Eovaldi (1-1) allowed one run, three hits and three walks over seven innings with seven strikeouts. The Red Sox, swept by lowly Baltimore in their opening series over the weekend, beat the defending AL champion Rays in three straight by a combined 26-9.
Coming into the series, the Rays had won eight straight at Fenway Park and 13 of 14.
“On Sunday, going home it was a tough one,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora, whose team now heads to Baltimore. “Hopping on this plane, it’s going
muted.
Is this just who the Big Fella is and is going to be? A great talent who just can’t stay healthy enough? The Yankees already have one of those in $325 million DHGiancarlo Stanton, whose history unfortunately suggests will be next to pull or strain something.
The Yankees have to hope the answer is no on Judge, who turns 29 on April 26 and is two years away from free agency.
Francisco Lindor got $341 million before he hit the open market and before he played a single game for the Mets. Can you imagine what Judge — the current face of the Yankees and one of the faces of MLB — would get as a free agent if he can play up to his prodigious talent?
But Judge hasn’t played a full season since his AL Rookie of the Year campaign in 2017, when he also finished second in the MVP voting. His sides appear to be particularly vulnerable, although manager Aaron Boone
said he didn’t think this injury is related to the oblique issues that have shelved Judge in the last few seasons.
Boone characterized the latest Judge injury as “just the general wear and tear of the first several days.”
The season is one week old.
“[Tuesday] during the game, kind of in his side, and then after the game, [he] was sore,” Boone said when asked what was ailing Judge. “So just with the off day [Thursday], just something trying to stay ahead of.”
Boone didn’t have or share a lot of details. He said he believed the soreness was on Judge’s left side (the YES camera showed him working on his right). Boone said he didn’t expect Judge to need any medical tests, but didn’t rule it out.
On Tuesday, Judge went 3-for-5 with a 432-foot, three-run home run to the left-centerfield bleachers. He hit his first home run of the season on Monday, a short-porch special to right. In the first five games, he hit .364 with a 1.028 OPS.
But there have been
warning signs pointing to Judge’s apparent fragility, or at least that he has been dealing with something since running into the side wall to make a catch on Opening Day (and wrestling with a fan who tried to take the ball out of his glove).
Boone said that play “maybe . . . could have led to something, but I don’t think so.” He also said the soreness could be related to the number of swings Judge has been taking during his pregame work.
Judge has been running the bases gingerly (he didn’t score from first on a two-out double in the fourth on Tuesday). An inning earlier, he declined to dive or slide when going after a ground rule double that hit the foul line near the side wall.
After the game, when there was no word that he was dealing with an injury, Judge was asked about not diving or sliding. He correctly noted the side wall would have made such a move risky.
“On that one, I usually try to stay on my feet,” he said.
It didn’t help him stay on the field, though.