O'Neill is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
The 29-year-old started the previous five contests but will head to the bench for Sunday's series finale after going 0-for-8 with five strikeouts through the first two games versus San Diego. Jarren Duran will shift to left field while Emmanuel Valdez takes O'Neill's spot in the lineup.
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Red Sox's Connor Wong: Getting afternoon off
Rotowire
Wong is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
Wong will get the afternoon off after he started behind the plate both of the past two days, going 2-for-8 with an RBI between those contests. Reese McGuire will draw the start at catcher in the series finale.
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Red Sox's Jarren Duran: Homers in loss
Rotowire
Duran went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Saturday's 11-1 loss to the Padres.
Duran launched his eighth home run in 82 games, tying the career high he set last season over 102 games. He's finishing off what may be the best month of his career; he's batting .365/.417/.615 with five home runs and 15 RBI in June.
Houck (7-6) took the loss Saturday, coughing up eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits -- including three home runs -- and a walk over 4.1 innings as the Red Sox were routed 11-1 by the Padres. He struck out six.
Manny Machado took him deep twice, while Jackson Merrill also chipped in a long ball. Houck had served up only two homers all season coming into Saturday, and even with this performance, the right-hander sports a 2.67 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 105:19 K:BB through 107.2 innings on the season. He'll try to keep the ball in the park in his next start, but that could be easier said than done as he faces the Yankees on the road next weekend.
The Red Sox claimed Speas off waivers from the Astros on Saturday and optioned him to Triple-A Worcester, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
Speas was DFA'd by the Astros last week, and although he'll remain in Triple-A with his new organization, he'll claim a spot on the 40-man roster. The 26-year-old righty has accumulated a gaudy 10.38 ERA and 2.26 WHIP through 21.2 total innings in the minors while spending time with three different organizations. Barring significant improvement, a return to the majors is unlikely.
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Red Sox's Liam Hendriks: Throws 20 pitches in bullpen Friday
Rotowire
Hendriks (elbow) threw a second bullpen session Friday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
All 20 of Hendriks' pitches Friday were fastballs, and the right-hander noted Saturday that three more bullpen sessions are planned next week. The 35-year-old is working his way back from Tommy John surgery last August, and he is aiming to return to the majors before the end of the regular season. In his last full season in 2022 as a member of the White Sox, Hendriks registered a 2.81 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 85:16 K:BB across 57.2 innings.
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Red Sox's Bryan Mata: Slated for rehab start Tuesday
Rotowire
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Saturday that Mata (shoulder) felt good after his rehab start Thursday, and the right-hander will start again for Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.
In his first rehab outing for Worcester on Thursday, Mata allowed two runs on two hits and one walk while striking out two over 2.2 frames. He opened the season on the injured list with a right hamstring strain, and he's been dealing with lat and shoulder soreness since May. Mata is out of minor-league options, and the 25-year-old right-hander is expected to work as a reliever out of Boston's bullpen once his rehab program is complete.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Three hits Friday
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Rafaela started at shortstop and went 3-for-4 with a double in Friday's 9-2 loss to San Diego.
Rafaela is having a productive June, but he entered the game on a 1-for-18 run. The multi-hit effort was his eighth of the month, and the infielder/outfielder is batting .417 (20-for-48) over the last 13 games. This was his third start at shortstop in as many appearances, as manager Alex Cora adjusts to get his hottest bats in the lineup; Jarren Duran slotted in as the center field while David Hamilton manned second base Friday.
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Red Sox's Connor Wong: Returns to action
Rotowire
Wong started at catcher and went 1-for-4 with an RBI in Friday's 9-2 loss to the Padres.
Wong made his first start since coming off the paternity list Thursday and extended a hit streak to 14 games (18-for-52, .346). Three months into the season and Wong is maintaining a .328 average, nearly 100 points higher than his career average entering 2024 (.232). Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse credits Wong being more direct with his swing path which has led to more zone contact, per Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe. The catcher's zone-contact percentage is up from 76.2 last season to 83.2 in 2024. He's also chasing less this season.
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Red Sox's David Hamilton: Sitting Saturday
Rotowire
Hamilton is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against San Diego, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
Hamilton went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts in Friday's 9-2 loss to the Padres, and he'll begin Saturday's contest in the dugout. Ceddanne Rafaela will start at shortstop and bat ninth against San Diego right-hander Michael King.
Red Sox's Rafael Devers: Homers in third straight game
Rotowire
Devers went 1-for-2 with a walk and a solo home run in Friday's 9-2 loss to the Padres.
The third baseman took Wandy Peralta deep in the sixth inning for Boston's final run of the night. Devers has homered in three straight games, and over the last 14 he's batting .321 (17-for-53) with four long balls, 11 RBI and 13 runs.
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Red Sox's Nick Pivetta: Stunned by San Diego
Rotowire
Pivetta (4-5) took the loss Friday, coughing up five runs on seven hits and a walk over four-plus innings in a 9-2 loss to the Padres. He struck out four.
The right-hander was cruising through four innings, but San Diego erupted for all nine of its runs in the fifth before Boston's pitching staff was able to secure an out. Pivetta served up a two-run homer to Kyle Higashioka to begin that offensive outburst. He's now been taken deep five times over his last three starts, stumbling to a 6.46 ERA and 1.63 WHIP over that stretch despite a 13:3 K:BB in 15.1 innings. Pivetta will try to keep the ball in the park in his next outing, which is scheduled to come on the road next week in Miami.
Red Sox's Kutter Crawford: Next start set for Tuesday
Rotowire
Crawford's next start will come Tuesday in Miami after his last outing was suspended by rain, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.
Crawford threw only 23 pitches over 1.1 scoreless innings Wednesday against the Blue Jays before inclement weather forced an early end to his night. That game will be resumed Aug. 26 as part of a split doubleheader. Despite the righty's limited workload in that outing, the Red Sox have elected to give Crawford a full five days of rest before his next start. As a result he tentatively lines up for two starts next week, as a date with the Yankees looms next weekend.
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Red Sox's Enmanuel Valdez: On bench Friday
Rotowire
Valdez is out of the lineup for Friday's game against San Diego, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
Despite the Red Sox facing a right-hander in Randy Vasquez, Valdez will take a seat, yielding to David Hamilton at second base while Ceddanne Rafaela fills in at shortstop. Valdez is slashing .212/.267/.404 with six home runs in 162 plate appearances this season.
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Red Sox's Yoeilin Cespedes: Day-to-day with sore hand
Rotowire
Cespedes is day-to-day with left hand soreness and is expected to make his debut for Single-A Salem next week, Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com reports.
This explains why Cespedes has not played since getting promoted to Single-A on Tuesday. He slashed .319/.400/.615 with five home runs and an 18.1 percent strikeout rate in 25 games in the Florida Complex League.
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Red Sox's Bailey Horn: Joining Boston bullpen
Rotowire
The Red Sox recalled Horn from Triple-A Worcester on Friday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
Horn was acquired via trade from the White Sox back in April and has posted a 1.69 ERA and 19:9 K:BB over 16 frames during his time at Worcester. The left-handed reliever will be making his major-league debut when he gets into a game.
