I tried to keep my head down, tried to understand who I was as a player, and continue to improve,” said Weiss before the game. It’s been a lot of ugly years and some grindy situations. He was released that year, and bounced between minor league systems and indy ball for much of the next four before getting called up by the Angels last September. He pitched in one big-league game for the Reds in 2018, but didn’t record an out against four hitters - an ERA of infinity. The righthander represents an interesting study in perseverance. Weiss, 31, was claimed off waivers from the Angels in late August and was hit hard in his debut, giving up back-to-back solo home runs in the sixth inning. The bullpen carousel continued, with righthander Zack Weiss getting called up and lefthander Brandon Walter getting optioned. “He’s made some adjustments, not chasing that much, especially the breaking balls off the plate. “ a lot better than what we saw in spring training,” said Cora. Those 17 resulted in eight hits, seven strikeouts, no walks, and just two outs on balls in play.

Though Rafaela has just 17 plate appearances, Cora praised the 22-year-old for his offensive progress since a swing-at-everything spring training. But at one point, he’ll start at second.” “I don’t want him to get hit on the double play and then something bad happens. “I think everybody’s comfortable with ,” said Cora. He made one appearance there in 2022 and eight in 2021, with most of his playing time focused on center and short. Still, Cora vowed that Rafaela will play - including at second base, a position that Rafaela played for the first time this year on Wednesday and Friday. Against Orioles righty Jack Flaherty, that meant an all-lefthanded outfield of Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida, and Alex Verdugo. So, the Sox aren’t ready to prioritize developing players over what they see as the best lineup on a given day. Related : Ceddanne Rafaela largely watching from the bench despite Red Sox being big fans of the prospect

Good pitching repertoire