The Boston Red Sox faced the Detroit Tigers this afternoon at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, FL. They had Richard Fitts on the mound facing Casey Mize for Detroit. Fitts this spring is 1-0 in four appearances with two of those coming as starts entering today. He has a 0.84 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, and 13 strikeouts in 10.2 innings. Mize made his fifth appearance with four of those coming as starts. He is 1-0- with a 0.00 ERA, a 0.79 WHIP, and 14 strikeouts in 11.1 innings. Fitts is a strong candidate to make the starting rotation to start the 2025 season with Kutter Crawford, Lucas Giolito, and Brayan Bello starting on the injured list. The Red Sox teased a potential Opening Day lineup in today’s game which consisted of:
LF – Jarren Duran
DH – Rafael Devers
3B – Alex Bregman
1B – Triston Casas
SS – Trevor Story
RF – Wilyer Abreu
C – Connor Wong
2B – Marcelo Mayer
CF – Ceddanne Rafaela
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Red Sox vs. Tigers
Scoring
The Red Sox scored quickly. Jarren Duran hit a leadoff home run. It was his first of the spring. The Tigers did get to Fitts in the second inning. Javier Baez led off the inning with a double. Jake Rogers then doubled him home. Ryan Kreidler would ground out and move Rogers to third which led to him scoring on a Gleybar Torres double. The Red Sox tied it up in the bottom of the second. After two quick outs, Connor Wong singled to left field. One of the Red Sox’s top prospects, Marcelo Mayer, tripled to bring Wong home and tie it at 2-2.
The Tigers took the lead back in the top of the fifth with a solo home run by Riley Greene his second of the spring. The Red Sox tied the game back up in the bottom of the seventh inning. Ceddanne Rafaela led off the inning with a single. Then, Duran followed it up with another single. Rafaela moved to third. Another part of the Red Sox big three, Roman Anthony, pinch-hit for Rafael Devers. He drove Rafaela home with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-3.
The Red Sox took the leader a few batters later. Alex Bregman drew a walk. Triston Casas singled home Duran to make it 4-3 Red Sox. The Red Sox got two more runs in the bottom of the eighth. Carlos Narvarez hit a one-out double then Mayer walked, both moved up on a wild pitch. Ceddanne Rafaela then drove both home on a single to make it 6-3. The Tigers made it 6-4 in the top of the ninth on an Andrew Navigato single that brought home Zach McKinstry.
Pitching
Fitts went 4+ innings giving up three runs on six hits; he walked two and struck out one. In his three starts this spring he is 1-0 with a 3.37 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and nine strikeouts. The Red Sox handed the ball over to Michael Fulmer. Fulmer gave up one hit and struck out one in the fifth. On the other side for Detroit, Mize went 4.2 innings giving up two runs on four hits; he walked two and struck out four. Mize after today’s start is 1-0 in four starts with a 1.38 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, and 13 strikeouts in 13 innings. Fulmer came in and pitched two shutout innings. He gave up one hit. He didn’t issue a walk and struck out three.
Justin Wilson came on after Fulmer. He pitched one inning and gave up no runs on one hit. He didn’t issue a walk or record a strikeout. Aroldis Chapman got the eighth and he went struck out the side. Liam Hendriks got the ninth. He allowed a run on two hits. He didn’t issue a walk or record a strikeout. Hendriks got his first save of the spring.
Storylines
Kristian Campbell is the favorite to make the team as the starting second baseman. This was reported recently. Marcelo Mayer is making a statement that he should be the second baseman. Before today’s game Alex Cora said everybody has a shot at taking that job. Mayer this spring is hitting .355 with two triples, a home run, ten RBI, and six runs scored. There were also rumors coming into this game. The bullpen battle was heating up with Aroldis Chapman likely to be the closer. As we inch closer to Opening Day, he pitched the eighth and Liam Hendriks got the ninth. Cora has some tough decisions to make at the back end.
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Next Up:
The Red Sox will face the Minnesota Twins tomorrow at 6:05 PM EST. They will have Sean Newcomb making his fourth start of the spring and his fifth appearance. He is 1-0 with a 0.93 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, and ten strikeouts in 9.2 innings. In his four starts, he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA, a 0.65 WHIP, and nine strikeouts in 7.2 innings. Chris Paddack will oppose him for the Twins.
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