Red Sox Notes: James Paxton’s Assessment Of ‘Awesome Night’ Vs. Guardians

The Boston Red Sox bounced back from a three-game losing streak off the back of an elite performance on the mound from James Paxton against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night.

Paxton, who’s made just 10 starts in the past four seasons, put forth his most resilient and gutsy effort since debuting with the Red Sox this season. The left-hander provided seven innings, allowing just two earned runs off six hits and two walks while striking out nine Cleveland hitters in a no-decision in Boston’s 5-4 victory over the Guardians at Progressive Field.

“It’s great that I’m able to go seven tonight,” Paxton told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “It’s not really something that’s on my mind. You know, I’m out there every night trying to do the same thing — trying to go as far as I can.”

The work was cut out for Paxton from the very get-go.

In the first inning, the Guardians attacked quickly and pushed across two runs — their only rally against Paxton — but weren’t able to scrap anything else beyond that until the eighth inning when Boston went to its bullpen.

“That was big. To be able to go up there and keep them at two and give us a chance to come back which we did, which was great and it was an awesome night for the team,” Paxton explained, per NESN. “I feel like I keep on progressing, figure some things out each time out and keep on dialing some things in and I feel like I’m getting better and better.”

The Red Sox offense took time to come around, rallying in the eighth inning, however, had it not been for Paxton setting the tone, Boston could’ve easily fallen back to the loss column for a fourth straight time. Especially considering the fact that Cleveland didn’t give in easily and brought Boston’s lead down to one in the eighth inning.

“Stuff-wise, good, command was great. Was able to use his fastball up in the zone whenever he wanted to. Was able to expand down in the zone and he was under control,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters, per NESN. “… They weren’t expecting seven, but we were able to extend his outing and he gave us a chance to win.”

Red Sox Wrap: James Paxton Impressive In Win Over Guardians

Jun 6, 2023

Here are more notes from Tuesday’s Red Sox-Guardians game:

— Paxton reached seven innings for the first time since Sept. 3 in 2019 when he was a member of the New York Yankees. Paxton has gone at least five innings for four of six outings this season with the Red Sox.

— Rob Refsnyder finished 1-for-2 with a crucial RBI, pinch-hitting for Jarren Duran. Refsnyder extended his hitting streak to eight games and is batting .429 with three doubles and six RBIs through the stretch.

“Like we said a few days ago, we’re happy that he’s gonna be here more than this year,” Cora said, per NESN. “He’s a professional and he knows his role. He’s a great player.”

— Kiké Hernández, who went 1-for-4 at the dish, delivered an RBI single in the sixth inning which snapped a scoreless streak of eight innings from the Red Sox. Hernández was responsible for supplying the Red Sox with two pivotal runs.

— Masataka Yoshida led the offense in base hits, going 3-for-5 with a double. Yoshida now sits second in the American League — behind Toronto Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette (26) — for the most multi-hit games this season (24).

— The Red Sox and Guardians will continue their three-game series on Wednesday night. First pitch from Progressive Field is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, along with an hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.