Red Sox on Apple TV: Masataka Yoshida bats cleanup, Rafael Devers hitless in last 10 at-bats, Tanner Houck scratched, Fitts starts
The Red Sox will look to rebound following a 2-1 extra-innings loss to the Yankees on Thursday night. Boston scratched starter Tanner Houck, he was initially expected to start but has been dealing with right shoulder fatigue since his last start. The Sox had reshuffled their rotation to give Houck some extra rest; the righty threw on the bullpen on Thursday and said he felt good.
Houck was 0-4 with a 4.78 ERA over his last nine starts since the All-Star break. This will be his 10th career start against the Yankees; Houck is 3-3 with a 2.38 ERA with 43 strikeouts over 53 innings.
Richard Fitts will start in place of Houck and make his second career appearance. He made his big league debut on Sunday against the last place Chicago White Sox. Fitts tossed 5 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs, both unearned on six hits, while striking out two batters.
Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers, and Romy Gonzalez combined to go 0-for-12 with five strikeouts on Wednesday night. Overall, the team produced just four hits and went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring.
Devers is hitless in his last 10 at-bats but hitting .268 (7-for-26) over the last seven games; this dates back to Sept. 6. Duran has also been quiet at the plate, going 0-for-8 and only hitting .191 over 11 games in the month of September.
Despite Devers’ and his team’s struggles, he is remaining optimistic as they try and do the impossible at this point and make the postseason.
"You have to stay positive," Devers told reporters through a Spanish translator. "You can come tomorrow and win and then win the next two games, and you're still right back there again in the fight. You have to keep playing, stay positive, and anything can happen."
Masataka Yoshida will bat in the cleanup spot and be the designated hitter. Yoshida wrapped up an impressive month of August slashing .326/.381/.516 with four home runs, six doubles, and 15 RBI.
Former Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo will bat ninth for the Yankees. In 12 career games versus the Sox, Verdugo has batted .333/.340/.588 (17-for-51) with nine runs, four doubles, three homers, nine RBI, and one walk.
The Sox are 4 1/2 games behind the Twins for the final wild-card spot in the American League; they’re tied with the Mariners and one game behind the Tigers with 15 games left on the schedule.
Red Sox & MiLB news and notes
Liam Hendriks met with reporters at Yankee Stadium on Friday afternoon, and the righty is holding out hope he will pitch this season. He said the potential of him pitching this year is dependent on the club staying in the race. Hendriks is expected to receive a cortisone shot on Monday, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com.
The Australian righty had imaging done on his elbow on Thursday with the results sent to a doctor in Texas.
"He had the MRI, nothing structural," said Alex Cora. "They sent it to the doctor in Texas, the guy that performed the surgery, so he's taking a look at it, and he's gonna let us know, but it seems like probably we're gonna shut him down.”
WooSox infielder/catcher Mickey Gasper is back in their starting lineup following missing a few games this week. He tweaked his back while packing up his things following being optioned to the WooSox.
Key stats and Red Sox lineup
Red Sox vs. Schmidt: Wilyer Abreu 1-2, Triston Casas 1-5, Rafael Devers 6-12, Jarren Duran 2-5, Romy González 1-2, Danny Jansen 0-2, Ceddanne Rafaela 1-3, Rob Refsnyder 0-1, Trevor Story 0-2, Connor Wong 0-2, Masataka Yoshida 0-10
Clarke Schmidt will make his second start for the Yankees since returning off the injured list after he missed 86 games with a strained right lat. Schmidt will be making his ninth career appearance (fifth start) versus the Red Sox. In eight career games (four starts) against the Sox, he is 0-1 with a 4.23 ERA (27.2IP, 13ER) and 23K.
Yankees vs. Houck: Oswaldo Cabrera 0-1, Jazz Chisholm Jr. 0-5, Trent Grisham 0-0, Aaron Judge 4-13, Anthony Rizzo 0-4, Juan Soto 0-5, Giancarlo Stanton 2-12, Gleyber Torres 7-21, Jose Trevino 1-3, Alex Verdugo 1-5, Anthony Volpe 1-8, Austin Wells 2-8
Red Sox (74-73) lineup at Yankees (85-62):
Jarren Duran CF
Rafael Devers 3B
Tyler O’Neill LF
Masataka Yoshida DH
Connor Wong C
Wilyer Abreu RF
Triston Casas 1B
Trevor Story SS
Ceddanne Rafaela 2B
SP: RHP Tanner Houck (8-10, 3.24 ERA)
The first pitch is at 7:05 p.m. and can be seen on Apple TV+, and it can be heard on WEEI 93.7 FM.
