Latest news with #GregWeissert
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Sox reliever with ‘robust arsenal' comes up ‘huge' again late in game
SEATTLE — Righty Greg Weissert has taken over as the Red Sox' setup man/backup closer with Justin Slaten (right shoulder inflammation) sidelined. Weissert has six holds and three saves in 11 outings since Boston placed Slaten on the IL June 1 (retroactive to May 29). Advertisement He did it again Wednesday, earning a save in the Red Sox' 3-1 victory over the Mariners here at T-Mobile Park. 'He's been huge,' Garrett Crochet said. 'Even before the injury (to Slaten), he was starting to creep into those leverage spots. But then he was just kind of thrust into (the) eighth inning, sometimes closing games obviously this past week. He's got great stuff. Great work ethic. Really knows what he wants to do and has got a good feel for pitching.' Closer Aroldis Chapman pitched the eighth against Seattle's No. 1-3 hitters. Manager Alex Cora decided that was a more high-leverage pocket. Weissert received the ninth. 'It's definitely a little different. It's awesome though,' Weissert said about his increased role. 'That's why we want to be here. I don't really care when I throw as long as we're winning the games and I'm doing my job. I try not to think about the situation any different. It is a little bit different, but yeah, just try to keep the same plan of attack and get ahead and just try to get outta there as fast as possible.' Advertisement Weissert has increased his four-seam fastball usage this season. He's throwing it 35.3% of the time, up from 21.4% last year. It was a very effective pitch in 2024. Opponents batted .194 with a .187 expected batting average, .313 slugging percentage and .290 expected slugging percentage against it. The pitch has been even more dominant with his increased use of it this year. Opponents were batting .137 with a .155 expected batting average, .216 slugging percentage and .286 expected slugging percentage against it entering Wednesday. He recorded a groundout to second base and a 6-3 double play on his four-seamer Wednesday. Advertisement 'I looked at the numbers a little bit and there was not much slug on it, so I figured let's try to throw it more,' Weissert said. 'And I did it in spring training, just testing it out and it was going well. It's hard for the hitters to cover two different movements at the same speed. They (the four-seam fastball and sinker) kind of protect each other. ... Having it has allowed me to get a little more swing and miss and a little more weak contact.' Pitching coach Andrew Bailey highlighted a few reasons why Weissert's four-seam fastball is so effective. 'Obviously the release angle, vertical approach angle of that pitch,' Bailey said. 'His ability to locate it kind of top of the zone vs. lefties. He's really got two fastballs that really set him up well.' Weissert has a five-pitch mix. Advertisement 'He's got a really robust arsenal for a guy that's a one-inning guy,' Bailey said. 'We talk about that a lot. He's got a handful of pitches — three different breaking balls, a changeup in there as well. So he can do a lot of things. 'He's got a lot of talent, spin talent and then obviously from a unique slot,' Bailey added. 'But he's been able to pound the zone. He's been really effective. The confidence is off the charts this year. I think he feels a little bit more settled in. He's been able to go out there and be consistent with his job.' More Red Sox coverage Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Sox reactions: Boston back to .500 after Hunter Dobbins dominates Yankees
BOSTON — Instant reactions as the Red Sox (36-36) climb back to .500 with their sixth win in seven tries (and fourth straight), hanging on to beat the Yankees, 4-3, behind a solid Hunter Dobbins performance and an escape by closer-for-the-day Greg Weissert in the ninth: 1) Dobbins, who made headlines all week, said his only focus was on beating the Yankees when the lights came on Saturday. He did just that, tossing six shutout innings and allowing just two hits. Dobbins struck out five and walked a single batter. Advertisement Before the game, Alex Cora hinted the Red Sox would manage Dobbins aggressively because of his struggles the third time through the order (hitters entered with a .974 OPS in that line). Cora followed through by lifting Dobbins after 82 pitches and going to Luis Guerrero with a four-run lead in the seventh. Dobbins improved to 4-1 with the win. 2) It's fair to say the Red Sox are officially rolling at this point. With three straight series wins, four victories in five games against the first-place Yankees and six wins in seven games, they're back to .500 at 36-36. It's one step toward contention, but an important one. Boston hasn't been at .500 since May 24, when they were 27-27. 3) It was Weissert, and not Aroldis Chapman, who was called upon for the save with a two-run lead in the ninth. Chapman had been used five times in the last seven days, so he was unavailable. Things got dicey. Paul Goldschmidt doubled, then scored thanks to back-to-back groundouts to second base. Then, with two outs, Jasson Domínguez doubled the other way, putting the tying run in scoring position. Austin Wells gave a Weissert pitch a ride, but Ceddanne Rafaela caught it on the warning track to end the game. Advertisement 4) As Trevor Story goes, so do the Red Sox. Story had two doubles in the win (including an RBI two-bagger), continuing a hot start to June. He's hitting .319 (15-for-47) with four doubles, two homers, 12 RBIs and an .892 OPS this month. 5) Cora is going to play Rob Refsnyder and Romy Gonzalez against left-handed pitchers, no matter what, and they showed why. Refsnyder led off the first inning with the double, scored, then added a single in the third. Gonzalez had an RBI double in the fifth. Against southpaws, the pair of right-handed hitters seems to contribute every time. 6) Marcelo Mayer's defense continues to shine. He made back-to-back stellar plays behind Dobbins in the righty's final inning of work in the sixth, ranging behind the third base bag to backhand an Aaron Judge grounder before coming in and throwing Ben Rice out on an inning-ending chopper. 7) On a night when the Red Sox didn't have any rallies and instead scored a single run in four different innings, small things made a difference. One that stood out? Kristian Campbell showing an immense amount of hustle to score from first base on Gonzalez's opposite-field double in the fifth. Campbell is athletic but only ranks in the 49th percentile in the league when it comes to sprint speed. He upped it a level in that spot. Advertisement 8) For the second straight night, the Red Sox benefited from horrendous Yankees baserunning in a big spot. Saturday's culprit was Domínguez, who wandered off second base with two outs in the seventh inning and was promptly picked off by Carlos Narváez. It appears Domínguez thought Justin Wilson's second strike to Trent Grisham was an inning-ending third strike. It was not. 9) Campbell, who has ranked as one of the worst defensive second basemen in the game this year, committed an error to open the game. It's no coincidence Cora keeps lifting him for David Hamilton late in games lately. That happened after just six innings in this one. 10) The Sox have now gotten five consecutive starts of at least six innings to start their homestand, which is no small thing. Dobbins' night was also unique in some ways. The last time a Red Sox rookie went 6+ scoreless innings with two or fewer hits allowed was Clay Buchholz when he threw his no-hitter in 2007. Coincidentally, Buchholz was in the house Saturday. The last Red Sox rookie to accomplish the feat was Dana Kiecker, who went seven shutout innings and allowed two hits in 1990. 11) The Red Sox will face a tough task in Sunday's series finale when they take on Yankees ace Max Fried (9-1, 1.84) for the first time this year. Righty Brayan Bello (2-1, 3.96 ERA) will start for Boston. It's, for once, not a primetime Sunday game between the rivals. First pitch is at 1:35 p.m. ET and the game's on NESN. More Red Sox coverage Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Why Red Sox turned to Greg Weissert (and not Aroldis Chapman) for save Saturday vs. Yankees
BOSTON — With the Red Sox leading, 4-2, entering the top of the ninth inning Saturday, the bullpen doors swung open and the closer ran onto the field. Except that closer wasn't Aroldis Chapman, the usual suspect. It was Greg Weissert, on for a chance at his third career save with Paul Goldschmidt, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe due up. Advertisement It wasn't that manager Alex Cora liked the right-handed Weissert over the left-handed Chapman in that spot. Cora acknowledged after the game that Chapman, who had pitched five times in the last seven days, was unavailable no matter the situation. 'Chappy was down,' Cora said. Chapman pitched the final two games in New York over the weekend, saving both games, then went for a third straight day in the 10th inning of Monday's loss to the Rays. He didn't pitch Tuesday (Weissert got the save in that one) but closed out Wednesday's win, then threw 14 pitches Friday. That was likely his limit entering Saturday. Weissert, who has emerged as Cora's preferred setup option alongside Garrett Whitlock with Justin Slaten sidelined, didn't get the save without some drama. Goldschmidt led off with a Green Monster double, then scored on back-to-back ground balls to second base that allowed him to take third, then home. Things got really dicey when Jasson Domínguez hit an opposite-field two-bagger that put the tying run on second base. But Weissert got Austin Wells to fly out to the center field warning track on a ball that left the bat at 106.1 mph and traveled 365 feet. Advertisement 'Goldschmidt hit a fly ball to left. It hit the wall,' Cora said. 'Domínguez hit a flare and then Wells crushed that one, but not tonight. The conditions were tough out there and the ball stayed in the ballpark.' Weissert entered the night with a 1.69 ERA (4 earned runs in 21 ⅓ innings) and 20 strikeouts in 23 appearances since April 22. The Goldschmidt run was only the third he has allowed in 15 appearances since May 16. 'With Slaten down, he has done an amazing job,' Cora said. " More Red Sox coverage Read the original article on MassLive.
Washington Post
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Hunter Dobbins beats Yankees for second time this week as Red Sox top rival New York, 4-3
BOSTON — Hunter Dobbins pitched six shutout innings to beat the Yankees for the second time in a week, and the Boston Red Sox won their fourth straight game on Saturday night, 4-3 over New York. A week after saying he'd rather retire than pitch for the Yankees because his father was drafted by New York twice before being traded — and then having to defend his dad's story midweek — Dobbins (4-1) struck out five and gave up two singles. Dobbins earned the victory against the Yankees last Sunday , too, when he worked five innings and allowed three runs, two on a first-inning, two-run homer by Aaron Judge. Judge went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts on Saturday, dropping his major league leading average from .390 to .384. Greg Weissert got the final three outs for his second save despite giving up a run. Austin Wells flew out to the track in center with two runners on. Carlos Rodón (8-5), who entered 7-1 with a 1.90 ERA in his previous 10 starts, gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits in five-plus innings. Boston grabbed a 1-0 lead on Anthony Volpe's throwing error in the first that allowed Rob Refsnyder to score on Carlos Narváez's infield hit. Trevor Story had an RBI double in the fourth and Romy Gonzalez added one in the fifth. Jasson Domínguez and Wells had consecutive RBI singles in the seventh for the Yankees. The Yankees were down by two runs and had two runners on with Judge looming on deck in the seventh when Red Sox catcher Narváez, who had a walk-off hit in the series opener against his former team, picked Domínguez off second to end the inning. Boston has won four of five against the Yankees this season. Yankees LHP Max Fried (9-1, 1.84 ERA) is slated to face Red Sox RHP Brayan Bello (2-1, 3.96) in the series finale on Sunday. ___ AP MLB:
CBS News
15-06-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Hunter Dobbins beats Yankees for second time this week as Red Sox top rival New York, 4-3
By KEN POWTAK Associated Press Hunter Dobbins pitched six shutout innings to beat the Yankees for the second time in a week, and the Boston Red Sox won their fourth straight game on Saturday night, 4-3 over New York. A week after saying he'd rather retire than pitch for the Yankees because his father was drafted by New York twice before being traded - and then having to defend his dad's story midweek - Dobbins (4-1) struck out five and gave up two singles. Dobbins earned the victory against the Yankees last Sunday, too, when he worked five innings and allowed three runs, two on a first-inning, two-run homer by Aaron Judge. Judge went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts on Saturday, dropping his major league-leading average from .390 to .384. Greg Weissert got the final three outs for his second save despite giving up a run. Austin Wells flew out to the track in center with two runners on. Carlos Rodón (8-5), who entered 7-1 with a 1.90 ERA in his previous 10 starts, gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits in five-plus innings. Boston grabbed a 1-0 lead on Anthony Volpe's throwing error in the first that allowed Rob Refsnyder to score on Carlos Narváez's infield hit. Trevor Story had an RBI double in the fourth and Romy Gonzalez added one in the fifth. Jasson Domínguez and Wells had consecutive RBI singles in the seventh for the Yankees. Key moment The Yankees were down by two runs and had two runners on with Judge looming on deck in the seventh when Red Sox catcher Narváez, who had a walk-off hit in the series opener against his former team, picked Domínguez off second to end the inning. Key stat Boston has won four of five against the Yankees this season. Up next Yankees LHP Max Fried (9-1, 1.84 ERA) is slated to face Red Sox RHP Brayan Bello (2-1, 3.96) in the series finale on Sunday.
