BOSTON — Mike Yastrzemski had a visit from his grandfather, Carl, and then homered into the Red Sox bullpen like the Hall of Fame outfielder so often did in his heyday, and the San Francisco Giants beat Boston 3-1 on Thursday.

Carl Yastrzemski visited his grandson in the visitor’s clubhouse before the game, but did not stay to see Mike come up in the third inning of a scoreless, hitless game and line a 1-1 pitch from Josh Winckowski over the short wall in right field. Although there were plenty of Giants fans in the crowd for the team’s first trip to Boston in five years, even the Red Sox fans stood and cheered for the opponent with the familiar last name.

The elder Yastrzemski hit 237 of his 452 career homers at Fenway Park during a 23-year career as the Red Sox left fielder. Mike now has two of his 90 career homers in six interleague games at the ballpark.

Ryan Walker (3-2) pitched a perfect sixth inning to help the Giants avoid the sweep and snap Boston’s four-game winning streak. Camilo Doval pitched the ninth for his sixth save.

“Six hits. Scratched three runs out of it today, but there’s still more out there,” said Giants Manager Bob Melvin, whose team had just 15 hits in the three-game series. “But when you win a game you don’t really concern yourselves with that. It’s when we’re losing games and not get many hits and not scoring many runs. Did enough today.”

The Red Sox tied it in the bottom half when Tyler O’Neill doubled off the Green Monster and Rafael Devers came around from first base to score. But San Francisco went ahead in the seventh on three straight singles that chased Zack Kelly (0-1), and then made it 3-1 on Nick Ahmed’s sacrifice fly.

The Red Sox loaded the bases in the first on two walks and a hit batter, but Giants starter Kyle Harrison got Garrett Cooper to fly out to end the inning. Harrison allowed one run and three hits in five innings, striking out seven and walking five.

Giants center fielder Jung Hoo Lee lost Ceddanne Rafaela’s high fly ball in the sun in the fourth inning, allowing it to fall in for a double. But Harrison got Bobby Dalbec on a grounder to second. In the fourth, Lee came in to make a diving catch of Jarren Duran’s sinking liner, saving a run in a 1-1 game.

“I’ve never played outfield in the big leagues, so I’m not one to speak on it. But at that time, in that situation, I needed to get that last guy out,” Harrison said. “I didn’t make the best pitch, and Jung Hoo picked me up in the outfield. I was fired up.”

BOBBY DALBEC’S latest opportunity to stick in the majors with the Red Sox is reportedly over.

Dalbec has been optioned back to Triple-A Worcester, according to reports, clearing a roster spot for the expected activation of second baseman Vaughn Grissom before Friday’s series opener in Minnesota. The move has not been made official by the Sox.

The move comes as no surprise considering the new makeup of the Red Sox infield mix. After initially signaling that Dalbec would be the everyday first baseman in the wake of Triston Casas tearing cartilage in his rib cage, the Red Sox added two veteran first baseman – Garrett Cooper and Dominic Smith – who are expected to platoon at the position. Newcomer Zack Short, who debuted as the second baseman Thursday, can fill the role of backing up Rafael Devers third base and has more versatility than Dalbec due to his ability to play both middle infield spots.

Beginning Friday, the Red Sox are expected to have a starting infield of Smith or Cooper at first base, Grissom at second, Ceddanne Rafaela at shortstop and Devers at third with Short serving as a backup utility option and Romy Gonzalez likely entering the mix when he returns from the injured list. Second baseman Enmanuel Valdez, who started 26 games at the position to begin the year, was sent down earlier Thursday.

Dalbec provided steady defense for the Red Sox in the corners but has provided little offensively this season. Including a 0 for 3 (with a walk and two strikeouts) performance Thursday, he has hit just .132 (7 for 53) with 28 strikeouts, four walks and four RBI in 22 big league games.

Dalbec is in his last year where he can be optioned to the minors. He was already sent down once, on April 8, before returning to the majors four days later. He has appeared in 316 games for the Red Sox over the last five seasons.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Crawford goes 7 innings, Wong has 3 hits as Red Sox beat Giants, 6-2

Next »

Twins extend winning streak to 11 games with 5-2 victory over Red Sox