The Boston Red Sox picked up a much-needed win last night as they now own the tiebreaker over the Kansas City Royals, the same team they currently trail by a half-game in the wild-card race. The Red Sox took two of three from the Royals back before the All-Star break and now have taken the first two games of this series and will look to complete the sweep tonight. The Red Sox are 4-1 in August now, after coming out of the All-Star break winning three of their first ten. Since then, they have been winners of six of their last eight, the offense has been a big reason why since July 29th they have hitting .325 which is first in baseball, have a .377 OBP which is second, and a .574 slug which is also second, a 158 wRC+ which is second, and 60 runs scored which is first in that stretch. The one thing holding the Red Sox down has been their pitching not just the starters but the bullpen as well which they went out and acquired Lucas Sims from the Cincinnati Reds and Luis Garcia from the Los Angeles Angels to give them some depth, now they are also getting healthy in the bullpen as Liam Hendriks is facing live batters as he gets set to return but today ahead of tonight’s game they have activated Chris Martin from the 15-day injured list as he was dealing with an elbow injury. Martin threw a 35-pitch bullpen session on Saturday, and he felt good which gave him a chance to skip a rehab assignment. The Red Sox in a corresponding move have optioned Cam Booser to Triple-A. The Red Sox also placed Tyler O’Neill on the injured list and recalled Enmanuel Valdez
Red Sox Roster Moves By The Numbers
RHP – Chris Martin
Martin is in his second season with the Red Sox. In 2023 he appeared in 55 games going 4-1 with three saves, a 1.05 ERA, a 2.44 FIP, a 1.03 WHIP, a 1.4 BB/9, and an 8.1 K/9 in 51.1 innings. This season in 26 games he is 2-1 with a 3.42 ERA, a 3.40 FIP, a 1.03 WHIP, a 0.7 BB/9, and a 9.9 K/9 in 26.1 innings. Martin is a key piece to the backend of the Red Sox bullpen, through his nine-year career he’s made 350 appearances going 15-18 with 12 saves, a 3.37 ERA, a 3.02 FIP, a 1.12 WHIP, a 1.2 BB/9, and a 9.2 K/9 in 328.2 innings.
LHP – Cam Booser
Booser this season has appeared in 38 games going 2-2 with a 2.77 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, a 2.3 BB/9, and an 8.8 K/9 in 39 innings. In Worcester he’s appeared in nine games also going 2-2 with a 7.00 ERA, a 1.44 WHIP, a 1.0 BB/9, and an 18.0 K/9 in nine innings.
OF – Tyler O’Neill
O’Neill this season has played in 80 games hitting .268 with a .900 OPS; he has 16 doubles, 22 home runs, 45 RBI, 59 runs scored, three stolen bases, and 4 walks.
INF – Enmanuel Valdez
Valdez has played in 56 games this season with the Red Sox hitting .226 with a .684 OPS; he has 11 doubles, six home runs, 26 RBI, 20 runs scored, one stolen base, and 14 walks. In Worcester he’s played in 40 games hitting .239 with a .803 OPS; he had seven doubles, nine home runs, 21 RBI, 22 runs scored, three stolen bases, and 23 walks.
