Houck (6-10) earned the win Sunday, allowing one hit and three walks over six scoreless innings against Baltimore. He struck out six.
On the final day of the regular season, Houck delivered one of his better outings of the campaign, blanking the Orioles through six innings after allowing nine runs (eight earned) over his previous two starts (seven innings). The 27-year-old Houck will finish an up-and-down year with a 5.01 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 99 strikeouts through 21 starts (106 innings). While the Red Sox could upgrade their starting pitching before the 2024 season, Houck seems to have the inside track to a spot in the rotation on Opening Day.
Rafaela is not in Sunday's lineup against the Orioles.
The young defensive wizard wasn't in Saturday's lineup but still entered the game early enough to get two at-bats, going 0-for-2 with a strikeout. Rafaela is very aggressive at the plate, but if he can do enough offensively to stick in the majors for most or all of next season, he has the tools to provide double-digit homers and steals while moving between center field and shortstop.
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Red Sox's Kutter Crawford: Gets no support in loss
Rotowire
Crawford did not factor into the decision Saturday, allowing one hit over six scoreless innings against the Orioles. He struck out seven.
Crawford dominated the Orioles, allowing just one baserunner across six scoreless frames. The outing capped off a career year for Crawford, who set a new best in ERA (4.04) and collected a 135:36 K:BB across 31 appearances (129.1 innings).
Wong will be on the bench Saturday against Baltimore, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Wong hits the bench after starting three games in a row behind the plate. Near the end of his first season as a big-league regular, the 27-year-old owns a .237/.290/.390 slash line. Reese McGuire will get the nod behind the plate.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Sitting Saturday
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Rafaela will be on the bench for Saturday's game against Baltimore, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Rafaela has gotten his chance to impress down the stretch, appearing in 26 games since his call-up in late August. The results haven't been great, particularly in the plate discipline department, as he's struck out 30.6 percent of the time to go with a 4.7 percent walk rate. He's hit .253/.294/.405 (good for an 83 wRC+) with a pair of homers and a pair of steals. Adam Duvall will be Saturday's center fielder.
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Red Sox's Bobby Dalbec: Strikeouts piling up
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Dalbec went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in Friday's 3-0 win over Baltimore.
Dalbec continues to fill a spot in the lineup at first base with Triston Casas (shoulder) done for the season. Dalbec hit safely in the first five games after being called up from Triple-A Worcester, but he's gone the other the way since. The corner infielder is 1-for-16 with 10 strikeouts over his last five contests.
Whitlock picked up the save in Friday's 3-0 victory over the Orioles. He allowed one hit and no walks while striking out three over two scoreless innings.
Whitlock notched his first save of 2023 and the ninth of his career. The 27-year-old righty has been solid in relief this month with a 2.89 ERA, 0.86 ERA and 10:2 K:BB over 9.1 September innings. The 33-pitch effort likely ends a tough season for Whitlock in which he's thrown 71.2 innings with a 5.15 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 72:13 K:BB.
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Red Sox's Trevor Story: Records homer and steal
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Story went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a steal in Friday's victory over the Orioles.
Story opened the scoring Friday night with a 413-foot shot off John Means in the fifth inning. The Boston shortstop later swiped his 10th base of the season, notching double-digit steals for the sixth consecutive year. Despite the nice start to the weekend, Story has had a tough year, slashing .200/.250/.320 in 41 games.
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Red Sox's Nick Pivetta: Brilliant in 10th win
Rotowire
Pivetta (10-9) earned the win Friday, allowing two hits and one walk over seven scoreless innings against the Orioles. He struck out 10.
Pivetta ended his season on a high note, notching his fourth double-digit strikeout performance of the year. The 30-year-old righty was fantastic throughout September with a 2.43 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 43:5 K:BB in 33.1 innings. Pivetta ends the year with career lows in ERA (4.04) and WHIP (1.12) with 183:50 K:BB over 142.2 innings.
Manager Alex Cora announced Friday that Jansen will not pitch again this season, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.
Jansen was activated off the COVID-19 injured list last weekend, but he hasn't made an appearance since Sept. 12 and the Red Sox don't have a reason to push him out there in their final two regular-season games. The veteran closer is due a $16 million salary from Boston in 2024.
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Red Sox's Enmanuel Valdez: Sitting against lefty
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Valdez is not in the lineup Friday against the Orioles.
Pablo Reyes will play second base and bat seventh versus the O's and left-hander John Means. Valdez has gone 1-for-12 with five strikeouts against lefties this season.
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Red Sox's Wilyer Abreu: Takes seat versus lefty
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Abreu is absent from the lineup Friday at Baltimore.
Rob Refsnyder, Ceddanne Rafaela and Adam Duvall will start across the outfield for the Red Sox as they take on left-hander John Means. Abreu has drawn only seven plate appearances versus lefties since being promoted to Boston in August.
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Red Sox's Masataka Yoshida: Absent from lineup
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Yoshida is not in the lineup for Friday's contest in Baltimore.
This is the third time in a row Yoshida won't be in the lineup against a left-hander. Rob Refsnyder will patrol left field and Justin Turner will be the team's designated hitter.
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Red Sox's Alex Verdugo: Taking seat against southpaw
Rotowire
Verdugo is absent from the lineup for Friday's game in Baltimore.
The left-handed hitting Verdugo will begin the contest on the bench as the Orioles send lefty John Means to the hill. Adam Duvall will cover right field for Boston.
