Red Sox pitcher Kutter Crawford was placed on the injured list a left hamstring strain. MIchael Dwyer/Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — The Red Sox placed righty Kutter Crawford on the 15-day IL because of a left hamstring strain. The stint is retroactive to May 4.
Boston recalled righty Kaleb Ort from Triple-A Worcester.
Crawford was pitching well with a 3.51 ERA in 25 ⅔ innings.
Ort, who had been optioned to Worcester this past Sunday, has a 7.30 ERA (12 ⅓ innings, 10 earned runs) and 1.78 WHIP in 12 relief outings this season. Opponents are batting .308 against him.
“A lot of it is command,” Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush said about Ort on Sunday. “Being able to put the ball where he wants to. We do like the stuff. We still like it. The fastball quality’s there. The slider shape is good. At times, the changeup has been a really effective pitch for him. But the command has been off. Pitching behind in the count and putting too many guys on base.
“The message we sent to him is to get down and work on his delivery so he can throw the ball where he wants to,” Bush added. “Because we do like the stuff. The stuff is still big. He’s still a power guy. But he has to command the ball where he wants to and throw more strikes. That was the directive when he went down and there’s some things to work on in Worcester to get back to being the guy we know he can be.”
IT TURNS OUT the reports of Masataka Yoshida’s early demise were greatly exaggerated.
Through the first 13 games of his major league career, Yoshida struggled mightily, hitting just .167 with two extra-base hits. A small sample size led some to wonder if the Red Sox had overpaid the outfielder, who signed a five-year, $90 million deal in December. Since then, however, Yoshida has flipped the narrative in dramatic fashion.
In his last 14 games, Yoshida has been on an otherworldly pace, hitting .446 (25-for-56) with five homers and 18 RBI. His 14-game hitting streak is the longest active streak in the majors. On Thursday night, he punctuated a successful homestand with another great performance, going 3 for 5 with a homer, three RBI and three runs. He has only swung and missed four times in his last 10 games.
“He’s a really, really good hitter,” said teammate Justin Turner. “He’s an accomplished hitter. He knows how to study and prepare. When you mix talent and preparation, you’re going to get a lot of good results. It’s fun to be on deck behind him watching him hit the ball and back-spin balls all over the place. Just a really, really good situational hitter.”
When the Red Sox signed Yoshida, they knew there would be an adjustment period as he made the transition from Japan to the United States. Making things more difficult was a busy spring during which Yoshida traveled back and forth between Japan and the U.S. while representing his country in the World Baseball Classic. Manager Alex Cora believes that playing in the tournament made Yoshida’s transition a little bit more difficult in the beginning. The Red Sox have tried to give him rest so far this season; Yoshida has had five days off and has been the designated hitter on eight occasions.
“His schedule is a lot different now than it was in Japan,” Cora said. “In Japan, it was six games and an off day. The traveling is not this traveling. It’s always in the same time zone. So we have to take care of him. I do believe DHing him helps. Being able to reset with the (hamstring) stuff, it helped him. From Fort Myers to Japan, Japan to Miami and coming here, we pushed him a little bit and the schedule didn’t help him as far as rest.
“He’s in a much better place,” Cora said. “He has his routine.”
Mechanical adjustments have also helped Yoshida in recent weeks. The hitting group led by Pete Fatse and assistants Luis Ortiz and Ben Rosenthal, worked tirelessly in mid-April to see if there was anything that could be done to stop Yoshida from rolling over high fastballs. Ortiz, in particular, believed Yoshida should open his stance a bit and see the ball with both eyes. Needless to say, that strategy has paid off.
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