SEPTEMBER 8 • BOSTONHERALD.COM
BOSTON RED SOX 81-81 · 3RD IN AL EAST
81-81 · 3RD IN AL EAST
Red Sox allow five runs in ninth in backbreaking loss to moribund White Sox Zack Kelly allowed five runs in the top of the ninth as the Red Sox suffered a backbreaking loss to the woeful Chicago White Sox.
Connor Wong's solo home run (13) | 09/08/2024 Connor Wong supplies the first run of the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the 2nd inning
SEPTEMBER 8 • MLB.COM
Red Sox Designate Former Top Prospect For Assignment The Boston Red Sox, facing a roster crunch as they desperately try to remain relevant in the American League wild card race, have DFA’d a fo...
SEPTEMBER 8 • SACBEE.COM
Red Sox Designate Former Top Prospect For Assignment The Boston Red Sox, facing a roster crunch as they desperately try to remain relevant in the American League wild card race, have DFA’d a fo...
SEPTEMBER 8 • STAR-TELEGRAM.COM
Red Sox lineup: Ceddanne Rafaela out of lineup, rookie RHP to debut on mound The Red Sox have a chance to sweep the Chicago White Sox Sunday. Richard Fitts will make his major league debut, starting for the home team.
SEPTEMBER 8 • MASSLIVE.COM
Ceddanne Rafaela - Sitting Sunday Rafaela is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Impact Rafaela will begin Sunday's contest in the dugout after going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Saturday's 7-5 win over the White Sox. Emmanuel Valdez will start at second base and bat ninth against White Sox right-hander Chris Flexen.
SEPTEMBER 8 • ROTOWIRE
Richard Fitts - Promoted for MLB debut The Red Sox selected Fitts' contract from Triple-A Worcester, and he's scheduled to start Sunday against the White Sox, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Impact The 24-year-old was acquired from the Yankees in the Alex Verdugo trade over the winter and is now making his MLB debut. Fitts has a 4.17 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 111:37 K:BB across 116.2 innings this season, and he couldn't ask for a softer introduction to the big leagues while going up against the 32-111 White Sox.
SEPTEMBER 8 • ROTOWIRE
Chase Shugart - Optioned to Triple-A The Red Sox optioned Shugart to Triple-A Worcester on Sunday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.
Impact Shugart was recalled by the Red Sox on Sept. 1, and in his last outing Saturday against the White Sox, he gave up a three-run home run to Andrew Benitendi in the top of the seventh inning. In Triple-A this season, Shugart has a 4.55 ERA and 1.35 WHIP across 65.1 innings. The move makes room for right-hander Richard Fitts, who will start Sunday in his major-league debut against the White Sox.
SEPTEMBER 8 • ROTOWIRE
Bobby Dalbec - DFA'd by Boston The Red Sox designated Dalbec for assignment Sunday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.
Impact Dalbec has been with Triple-A Worcester since June 22. Since then, he has slashed .260/.345/.475 with 11 home runs, 43 RBI and a 36.9 percent strikeout rate across 249 plate appearances with Worcester. Dalbec has hit 47 home runs for the Red Sox over the past four seasons, and if he elects to move on from the organization, he should get interest from teams looking for a lefty-hitting first baseman.
SEPTEMBER 8 • ROTOWIRE
Rafael Devers - Breaking out of slump Devers went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks and a run scored in Saturday's 7-5 win over the White Sox.
Impact Devers, who hit out of the second spot in the order behind Jarren Duran for a third consecutive game, doubled and scored a run as part of Boston's four-run first inning. That was a response to the White Sox taking a 2-0 lead in the top half of the frame. "We hit the ball hard," Red Sox manager Alex Cora told Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic following the game. "The two lefties (Duran and Devers), we're going to run with that from now on, it doesn't matter, I just feel comfortable with them." Devers had slumped (1-for-24) since a three-game absence due to discomfort in his shoulders, but he's gone 3-for-6 with two walks over the last two games after going hitless out of the two-hole Thursday.
SEPTEMBER 8 • ROTOWIRE
Trying to stay in wild-card race, Red Sox look for sweep of White Sox After being swept by the New York Mets in their most recent series, the Boston Red Sox will look to break out the brooms as they finish a th...
SEPTEMBER 8 • NEWSOBSERVER.COM
Ceddanne Rafaela - Starts in center field Rafaela started in center field and went 0-for-4 in Saturday's 7-5 win over the White Sox.
Impact The return of shortstop Trevor Story was initially expected to move Rafaela to second base, but Red Sox manager Alex Cora put him in the outfield. Rafaela is fighting it right now and is 5-for-40 (.125) over the last 12 games.
SEPTEMBER 8 • ROTOWIRE
Tanner Houck - Next start pushed to Friday Houck isn't expected to make his next start until Friday against the Yankees in New York after manager Alex Cora said Saturday that the right-hander will be pushed to the back of t...
Impact The Red Sox want to build in some more rest for Houck in advance of his next start while the 28-year-old has largely struggled since the All-Star break. In his nine outings in the second half, Houck has turned in four quality starts while pitching to a 4.78 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 38:21 K:BB over 52.2 innings. In order to facilitate the extended break for Houck, the Red Sox will call up a pitcher from the minors to start Sunday's series finale versus the White Sox, while rotation members Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Nick Pivetta and Cooper Criswell all appear set to make their next turns before Houck takes the hill again.
SEPTEMBER 8 • ROTOWIRE
Some Things I Think I Think: On whether Red Sox made good on preseason goal Random thoughts about (mostly) sports topics.
SEPTEMBER 8 • MASSLIVE.COM
White Sox look to avoid series sweep against the Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox will aim to sweep a three-game series with a victory against the Chicago White SoxSEPTEMBER 8 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Romy González - Wreaks havoc on basepaths Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with a double, one RBI, three stolen bases and two runs scored in Saturday's 7-5 win over the White Sox.
Impact Gonzalez had not logged a steal since July 26, making him an unlikely candidate to swipe three bags in a game. Even with his show of speed Saturday, he's at 10 steals this season. The utility man has added a formidable .285/.333/.437 slash line with four home runs, 23 RBI, 19 runs scored and 10 doubles over 174 plate appearances. He hasn't been strictly limited to a short-side platoon role, but the return of Trevor Story (shoulder) may make it tougher for Gonzalez to pick up at-bats versus righties.
SEPTEMBER 8 • ROTOWIRE
Cooper Criswell induces inning-ending double play | 09/07/2024 Cooper Criswell caps off five strong innings with an inning-ending double play
SEPTEMBER 8 • MLB.COM
Romy Gonzalez's RBI double | 09/07/2024 Romy Gonzalez hits an opposite-field RBI double in the 3rd to extend the Red Sox lead to 5-2
SEPTEMBER 8 • MLB.COM
Kenley Jansen closes out the Red Sox victory | 09/07/2024 Kenley Jansen pitches a scoreless 9th to earn the save and secure the Red Sox 7-5 win against the White Sox
SEPTEMBER 8 • MLB.COM
Trevor Story fields ground ball in first game off IL | 09/07/2024 Trevor Story records the first out of the game on a ground ball in his first game off the injured list
SEPTEMBER 8 • MLB.COM
White Sox vs. Red Sox Highlights | 09/07/2024 Andrew Benintendi and the White Sox take on Tyler O'Neill and the Red Sox on September 7, 2024
SEPTEMBER 8 • MLB.COM
Alex Cora on Trevor Story's return and the win | 09/07/2024 Alex Cora on Trevor Story's return and Boston's 7-5 win over the White Sox
SEPTEMBER 8 • MLB.COM
Tyler O'Neill - Lifts two homers in win O'Neill went 3-for-4 with two home runs, three RBI and three total runs scored in Saturday's 7-5 win over the Red Sox.
Impact O'Neill hit a two-run homer in the first inning and added a solo shot in the fifth for his sixth multi-homer game of the year. He had been slumping at the plate, going 15 contests without a multi-hit effort entering Saturday, a span in which he hit just .143 (7-for-49), albeit with three homers. The outfielder is up to a .258/.350/.531 slash line with 27 long balls, 53 RBI, 67 runs scored and four stolen bases through 97 games this season.
SEPTEMBER 8 • ROTOWIRE
Trevor Story - Grabs RBI in return Story (shoulder) went 1-for-4 with an RBI in Saturday's 7-5 win over the White Sox.
Impact Story supplied an RBI single in the third inning to give the Red Sox a 6-2 lead in his first big-league game after missing five months due to a dislocated shoulder. Assuming he doesn't have any additional injuries, Story should be Boston's primary shortstop over the final three weeks of the campaign. He's batting .229 with no home runs, five RBI, one stolen base, one run scored and three doubles through nine games this year.
SEPTEMBER 8 • ROTOWIRE
Kenley Jansen - Sharp for 26th save Jansen (lat) struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 7-5 win over the White Sox.
Impact Jansen was dealing with a lat injury that made him unavailable to pitch Friday, two days after a four-run meltdown versus the Mets. He wasn't heavily tested in Saturday's contest, throwing seven pitches (six strikes) to retire the side for his 26th save in 30 chances this season. Jansen is at a 3.62 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 58:18 K:BB through 49.2 innings, though he had allowed seven runs over 4.2 innings across his previous six appearances before his clean outing Saturday.
SEPTEMBER 8 • ROTOWIRE
