Connect with us

Boston, MA

Young Red Sox starters have shown they can handle a full season’s grind

Published

on

Young Red Sox starters have shown they can handle a full season’s grind


For the last few years one of the biggest questions surrounding Boston’s young starting pitchers was whether or not they could survive a full 162-game season. Guys like Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello had shown they could compete against big league hitters, but could they maintain their stuff deep into August and September?

The answer, it turns out, is a resounding yes.

This weekend Houck, Crawford and Bello wrap up successful seasons in which each will exceed 30 starts for the first time in their careers. Houck and Crawford will both approach 180 innings, and while an early-season injury will prevent Bello from nearing that mark, he has also made every start since mid-May and gotten better as the season’s gone along.

Even if the season ultimately fell short of expectations, the trio’s emergence as legitimate rotation anchors has massive implications for the club’s future.

Advertisement

“We felt like they were capable of it,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “They worked hard in the offseason to get to this point physically. Bello, you see the evolution of the body. Kutter put some weight. And Tanner, he’s Tanner. He’s very consistent in everything he does on the field, in the weight room and in the training room.”

Crawford, who is scheduled to make his 33rd and final start on Saturday, comes into the weekend with a 4.17 ERA over 179.1 innings. Barring a change of plan, he will become just the fifth Red Sox pitcher in the last decade to make 33 starts in a season, and probably also the third to top 180 innings since 2019.

Reaching those totals is particularly gratifying for Crawford after he spent his first two full MLB seasons bouncing back and forth between the rotation, bullpen and injured list. He said his goal was to make at least 30 starts and throw 162 innings, but while he’s happy to have accomplished that, there’s still more work to be done.

“I feel good about my ability to stay healthy and make the starts and post every five days, but there are also other stuff that needs to be worked on,” Crawford said. “I’m not satisfied with where my velo is at, I’m obviously not satisfied with how many homers I’ve given up this year. I haven’t given up necessarily as many hits, but when I have gotten hit it’s been hit hard.”

Pitching coach Andrew Bailey, who praised Crawford’s progress and work ethic, offered a similar assessment of what it’ll take to reach the next level.

Advertisement

“Obviously the long balls hurt him,” Bailey said. “So finding ways to stay off barrels, whether that’s increasing velo, honing in on some of the more intricacies of the shapes, specifically the splitter.”

With nothing to play for and having battled shoulder fatigue over the past few weeks, Houck won’t make his final scheduled start on Sunday, wrapping up a breakout year in which the 28-year-old earned his first career All-Star nod and established himself as a front-of-the-rotation guy. Houck finishes with a 3.12 ERA over 178.2 innings in 30 starts, all by far the best totals of his career.

And even Bello, who got off to a rocky start, finished the year on a high note. The 25-year-old missed three weeks with lat tightness in April and May and boasted a 5.32 ERA heading into the All-Star break, but from July 20 onwards he recorded a 3.47 ERA over 72.2 innings, a stretch that included one of the best outings of his career, an eight-shutout-inning gem against the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 28.

“l learned a lot this year,” Bello said via translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. “I was able to finish strong, I gave everything my last few outings so to be able to start pretty much every outing since May was a huge accomplishment for me.”

With the core of the starting rotation now firmly in place, the Red Sox should be much better positioned to supplement the group with additional up-and-coming arms along with new external additions this coming winter. But even if the Red Sox are happy with the steps their young pitchers have taken, the hope is this is just the start of their journey, not the ultimate destination.

Advertisement

“For me moving forward it sets the bar for these guys,” Bailey said. “On what we expect and continuing to drive performance.”



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Boston, MA

Mass. Gov. Healey seizes Steward-run hospital in Boston in bid to keep its doors open

Published

on

Mass. Gov. Healey seizes Steward-run hospital in Boston in bid to keep its doors open


The Healey administration said Friday that it had seized a Boston hospital most recently operated by bankrupt Steward Health Care.

The Democratic governor’s office said it used eminent domain to seize St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in the city’s Brighton neighborhood, a move that will allow it to take control of the property and transfer the hospital’s operations to Boston Medical Center.

  • Read More: St. Elizabeth’s landlords fight state takeover of Steward-owned hospital

As part of the legal process to take the hospital, Healey’s office argued that a potential shutdown for St. Elizabeth’s would create a public health emergency.

That’s because of the large number of patients the hospital now serves, and the knock-on effects to medical services across the region, the administration said.

The firms that controlled the hospital’s real estate had fought the takeover, rejecting what they say is the state’s low-ball offer for the property, State House News Service reported last month.

Advertisement

On Friday, Healey said that while one of the firms, Apollo Global Management “continues to put its greed ahead of the health and wellbeing of the people of Massachusetts, we are taking action to make sure St. Elizabeth’s remains open.”

“By transferring operations to Boston Medical Center, we will protect access to care for tens of thousands of patients and save thousands of jobs,” Healey said in the statement.

Healey’s office had previously announced that it had found new operators for five of Dallas-based Steward’s seven hospitals in Massachusetts.

Lawrence General Hospital will become the new operator for both campuses of Holy Family in Haverhill and Methuen, Lifespan will assume operations of Morton and Saint Anne’s, and Boston Medical Center will take over Good Samaritan.

These transfers of ownership are expected to go into effect on Oct. 1, Healey’s office said.

Advertisement

Two Steward-run hospitals, Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, and Carney Hospital in Dorchester, closed in August after Steward said it failed to find “qualified” bidders for the property.

Earlier this week, Healey’s office said it had convened a pair of working groups aimed at addressing the impact of those shutdowns.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate approved a resolution intended to hold Steward’s CEO, Ralph de la Torre, in criminal contempt for failing to testify before a Senate panel.

The Senate approved the measure by unanimous consent.

Members of a Senate committee looking into the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care adopted the resolution last week after de la Torre refused to attend a committee hearing despite being issued a subpoena.

Advertisement

The resolution was sent to the full Senate for consideration, The Associated Press reported.



Source link

Continue Reading

Boston, MA

This Boston restaurant made the New York Times best restaurant list. What to order

Published

on

This Boston restaurant made the New York Times best restaurant list. What to order


play

The New York Times just released their fourth annual restaurant list, and one spot in Boston made the cut.

This list compiles 50 of the best dining locations across the country, which the Times calls their “50 favorite places” to eat in America for the year. Out of the 50, four are in New England, with one each in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Advertisement

While Dorchester’s Comfort Kitchen was the only Massachusetts restaurant to make the list last year, Somaek in downtown Boston is representing the state on this year’s list.

Somaek features traditional Korean dishes in a comfortable, intimate setting away from the business of Downtown Crossing. Chef Jamie Bissonnette says he fell in love with Korean cuisine while cooking with his mother-in-law Soon Han, to whom he gives full credit for the menu.

“We are thrilled to raise a glass to our team and celebrate being named among the @nytimes Restaurants List highlighting their 50 favorite places in America right now,” the restaurant posted on Instagram after being named to the list.

The restaurant is only one aspect of the three businesses currently owned by Bissonnette’s restaurant group. Located right next door is Temple Records, a music lounge and bar that takes inspiration from Japanese listening bars, and downstairs is a sushi counter and speakeasy.

Advertisement

What to eat at Somaek

When it comes to the robust menu, writer Julia Moskin recommends classic dishes in The New York Times story such as chilled pork belly, seared beef and stir-fried squid with rice cakes.

Moskin also calls the Banchan menu “a master class,” recommending shareable sides like chive-garlic salad, radish kimchi and pickled perilla leaf.

How to visit Somaek

Somaek is open from 5-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 5-10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The restaurant is closed on Sundays.

You can find Somaek at 11 Temple Pl. in Boston. Discounted parking is available for customers in the Lafayette Garage at 1 Lafayette Pl.

Craft burgers, ‘not dogs’ and more: New Choo-Chew dining car on a roll in Somerset

Advertisement

What other New England restaurants made the list?

Want to visit some of the other winners? Here are the three other restaurants in New England that made the New York Times’ top 50:





Source link

Continue Reading

Boston, MA

Local businesses see boost thanks to Boston’s Open Streets program

Published

on

Local businesses see boost thanks to Boston’s Open Streets program


EAST BOSTON – Boston’s “Open Streets” program offers residents a chance to experience different neighborhoods and to see streets as public spaces and local businesses are benefiting.

Influx of customers

At the core, La Hacienda is a small, family-owned restaurant in the heart of East Boston. They made their Open Streets debut when the city-run program made a stop in the neighborhood on Sept. 15 – shutting down Meridian Street to traffic and making it pedestrian-only for the day.

“I put a little pupusas stand out there. I had the ladies making some fresh pupusas right there for the people walking by to check out,” owner Aldo Callejas said. “I was expecting, hopefully, to get to $500.”

That $500 goal quickly exceeded $2,000 in a matter of hours.

Advertisement

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she expanded the program this year to showcase what makes each neighborhood unique. Open Streets made stops in Dorchester, Roxbury, Hyde Park and Jamaica Plain.

“As it’s become more of a tradition, it moves around the city in different months and we see an entire showing of thousands of people come out,” the mayor said.

Supporting local businesses

The small business saw a big impact after that weekend.

“I’ve been seeing a new influx of customers. A lot of people saw it as an opportunity to check out the rest of the neighborhood instead of just the waterfront,” Callejas said.

At La Hacienda on Thursday, Red Sox pitcher Brennan Bernardino was spotted at the bar having lunch.

Advertisement

“First day I came here, it was a Sunday, and there was a mariachi band playing, I came in here with my family. Great food, good vibes,” the player said.

It’s the boost that Callejas needed after dealing with the impacts of the Sumner Tunnel closures all summer.

“A pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed that a lot of people from outside the city were able to come in, experience the restaurant,” he said.

The last stop of the season is Allston-Brighton on Sunday, Oct. 20 – giving people an excuse to head outside and shop small.

“Boston is full of small businesses,” Bernardino said. “It’s what makes it unique.”

Advertisement



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending