That was enough to send them to another loss.
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“I took a step for a groundball, heard a pop and didn’t really think it was anything serious”, Kimbrel said in the dugout about 75 minutes before Boston’s game against Tampa Bay. You get a little bit of a change in direction, and this is what happens.
“Basically the whole team, minus a few people are, probably going to use it as a whole new start to the season”, he said. He is now a starter and has pitched well since signing with the Red Sox in 2012 but projects as a reliever in the long run. Curt Casali is 6-for-11 with three homers and five RBIs against Price, who is 1-3 with a 6.52 ERA in five starts against Tampa Bay.
Ortiz’s homer and an RBI single by Aaron Hill put Boston back in front 4-2.
The Orioles might be leading the AL East, but just like their rivals for the top spot, it’s been a combination of bullpen and hitting.
Koji Uehara worked the ninth for his fourth save, second in two days. Matt Barnes came out for the 8th and had himself a nice 1-2-3 inning. His teammates offered better support right away by grabbing a 3-0 lead in the first. But the Rays were able to manufacture two runs on RBIs by Brad Miller and Longoria in their half of the fifth to tie it up again.
The Red Sox announced at 1:42 a.m. eastern Saturday that they had acquired Arizona closer Brad Ziegler in a trade for prospects Luis Alejandro Basabe and Jose Almonte. He injured his knee and will have to undergo surgery to fix it. Kimbrel will be set to miss anywhere between 3-6 weeks of baseball, according to the Boston Herald. The 41-year-old spent three years as Boston’s closer before moving into a setup role this season. She turned 100 on Thursday. The Rays fell behind in the first inning.
Rays: CF Kevin Kiermaier (fractured left hand) worked out pregame.
These three small trades may not be at the level of acquiring a stud starting pitcher, but they do solve much bigger problems; some that are prevented completely with foresight.
“Everything that we did early, he was fine”, Red Sox’ manager John Farrell told ESPN about Kimbrel’s knee acting up.
“Koji’s our closer”, said Farrell.
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Red Sox: 1B Hanley Ramirez was out for his second straight with a sore left shin. He leaves ranked #1 in franchise history for appearances, #5 for saves, and that’s also the lowest ERA of an Arizona pitcher with more than 50 innings thrown. He’s looking to rebound from a rough start Tuesday when he gave up a season-high seven runs. In this follow up to my previous article, I will explore some of the options that the Red Sox could be targeting as improvements to a rotation that enters the All-star break with two holes. The lefty lost to his former team on June 29, giving up four runs in 6 1/3 innings.
