PHILADELPHIA — With hometown favorites Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper both participating in Monday’s Home Run Derby, the Philadelphia faithful booed the other six participants loudly as they were introduced and later stepped to the plate. In character, Red Sox slugger Willson Contreras embraced the villain role before ultimately bowing out Schwarber in the semifinals.

The fiery Contreras repeatedly put his hand to his ear to ask the crowd to boo him louder, egging them on both during introductions and in the semis, which Schwarber won, 9-8. In his first Derby experience, Boston’s first baseman made sure he had fun.

“That’s what they do here. It’s nothing new,” Contreras said. “They’ve been booing me for 10 years, so I had fun with it.

“I like when I get booed,” he added. “It inspires me a little bit.”

Though St. Louis’ Jordan Walker won the event with a dramatic comeback to beat Schwarber in the final round, it was Schwarber — in the head-to-head 15-pitch semifinal round — who knocked out Contreras, his ex-Cubs teammate. Schwarber went first and hit nine homers and Contreras was at eight blasts with one swing to go. He popped out to shallow center field and the crowd went crazy as Schwarber advanced.

True to form, Contreras was also hit by a pitch in the semifinal round by bench coach José Flores, who was throwing to him. The league included magenta-colored baseballs in the contest when the hitters were down to one swing, allowing the hitter to continue if they homered in that scenario. Those baseballs were slippery and one got away from Flores, who couldn’t help but chuckle on the mound.

“It was funny,” Contreras said. “The reaction of the crowd was that they laughed. It was all about the show.”

Contreras, the first Red Sox player to participate in the contest in 15 years, set the high-water mark with a strong showing in the first round. As the first competitor to hit in the eight-man field, he hit 13 homers on 20 swings and finished the round tied with Walker for the lead. The top four competitors (Contreras, Walker, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero and Schwarber) advanced under the new rules, which were introduced for this year’s contest and included untimed rounds. The absence of a clock allowed drama to build throughout the event, especially as Walker chased down Schwarber in his home ballpark at the end.

• BETTING: The Red Sox are +152 to qualify for the playoffs this year on FanDuel. Our comprehensive FanDuel Sportsbook review makes it easy to figure out how to use their app. Also, be sure to check out our MLB betting guide if you’re interested in learning more about how to bet on baseball.

“The new format and the way of the Home Run Derby makes it fun, and it’s way better than before,” Contreras said.

In the first round, Contreras hit the left-field wall with his first swing and took a couple swings to find his footing before getting hot, knocking out seven of his first 10. With Flores throwing to him, Contreras cooled down a little bit in the second half. He pulled all 13 of his first-round home runs, hitting eight more than 450 feet. His longest was his eighth blast, which went 490 feet with a 115 mph exit velocity. One of Contreras’ goals was to hit the left-field scoreboard but that was just out of reach.

In the semis, Contreras pulled six homers and hit two to center. His longest of that round was 461 feet. In total, Contreras hit 1.76 miles of homers.

Contreras’ Derby bat — depicting the Mario character Bowser, which inspired his nickname this season — was taken by a Baseball Hall of Fame official after the event. Contreras said he wants to do the Derby again in the future after enjoying the experience so much Monday. He wanted to win it but was happy to be knocked out by a friend in Schwarber, with whom Contreras won a World Series title in Chicago in 2016.

“We’re good friends. I love Schwarber,” Contreras said. “He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had.”

Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

NEW YORK — The Red Sox will unplug the struggling Jarren Duran from the outfield — but not the lineup — as they finish the unofficial first half of their season at Citi Field on Sunday.

With left-hander Zach Thornton pitching for the Mets, the Red Sox will start Nate Eaton in left field and have Duran serve as the designated hitter for the seventh time this season. Saturday hero Andruw Monasterio is the shortstop with Romy Gonzalez back in the lineup at first base. Connor Wong is doing the catching.

Interim manager Chad Tracy opted to go with Duran at DH over Masataka Yoshida, who homered in Saturday’s 4-0 win. Duran has hit just .217 with a .606 OPS against lefties this year, which is actually better than his .186 average against right-handers. So far in July, Duran is hitting just .167 with a double and a homer in eight games.

On the mound, lefty Payton Tolle will get his 15th start of the season, but Tracy hinted that the Red Sox plan to give him a shorter outing than usual with righty Brayan Bello, who was recalled earlier in the day, serving as a potential piggyback option. It’s clear Boston is hopeful that it can get Tolle some extra rest as the All-Star break approaches.

The Red Sox have won a season-high eight games in a row to start their nine-game road trip, which concludes Sunday. They enter the day winners of 16 of their last 21 games and are now just a half-game out of a wild card spot in the American League. After Sunday’s matinee, they will have four days off for the All-Star break before resuming play with a doubleheader against the Rays on Friday at Fenway.

First pitch is at 1:40 p.m. ET.

BOSTON RED SOX (45-48) vs. NEW YORK METS (40-56) · CITI FIELD · FLUSHING, NY · GAME 94

FIRST PITCH: 1:40 p.m. ET

TV CHANNEL: NESN

RADIO: WEEI 93.7 FM

PITCHING PROBABLES: LHP Payton Tolle (5-6, 3.14 ERA) vs. LHP Zach Thornton (0-1, 4.35 ERA)

RED SOX LINEUP:

1. Anthony Seigler 2B
2. Ceddanne Rafaela CF
3. Wilyer Abreu RF
4. Romy Gonzalez 1B
5. Caleb Durbin 3B
6. Andruw Monasterio SS
7. Jarren Duran DH
8. Nate Eaton LF
9. Connor Wong C

METS LINEUP:

1. A.J. Ewing CF
2. Juan Soto DH
3. Francisco Lindor SS
4. Eric Wagaman 1B
5. Carson Benge RF
6. Tyrone Taylor LF
7. Luis Torrens C
8. Brett Baty 3B
9. Zack Short 2B

Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

NEW YORK — Just over five weeks since he was demoted to Triple-A Worcester after a brutal two-month start to the season, Brayan Bello is re-joining the Red Sox on Sunday — for at least one day in a different role.

Bello was called up to join the bullpen as a long relief option for the series (and first half) finale against the Mets, sources confirmed. Bello will take the spot of veteran lefty Danny Coulombe, who was designated for assignment after Saturday’s win.

As the Red Sox look to win their ninth game in a row, they’ll have rookie lefty Payton Tolle on the mound to start. But after using five different pitchers to cobble together a bullpen game in a 4-0 win Saturday, they need a long man who can cover innings if the need arises.

Bello, who hasn’t pitched at Triple-A since July 1, will fill a multi-inning role behind Tolle, who appears likely to have a shorter start than usual Sunday. Interim manager Chad Tracy hinted that Tolle — who has thrown a combined 95 ⅓ between Triple-A and the majors so far this season — will be limited as the Red Sox look to monitor his workload in his final start before the All-Star break.

Bello — who declined to speak to reporters pregame — could piggyback Tolle.

“The big thing is... over the last handful of days, how short we are bullpen-wise,” Tracy said. “(It’s) to make sure we have that amount of bullets down there and have coverage to get through the game. We’ll see. It depends on, is there gonna be a bridge needed? Is there going to be coverage at the back end (of the bullpen) or an extra-inning game? We’ll see how it plays out.”

Bello, who has made 97 starts for the Red Sox over the past four seasons and was the club’s No. 2 starter during their 2025 postseason run, had his bizarre start to this season bottom out on June 4 when he was shelled for eight runs against the Orioles at Fenway Park. After that game, he was demoted to the WooSox, where he has logged a 4.34 ERA and recorded 22 strikeouts in 18 ⅔ innings over four starts. In Worcester, he has worked with pitching coach Dan DeLucia to refine his pitch mix in hopes of being promoted again.

“His work ethic has been great,” said Tracy. “He’s done everything they’ve asked. He’s put in a lot of work taking down the starts he’s supposed to take down. He comes out the next day and he’s ready to get to work in between starts.”

That opportunity has now come, albeit in surprising fashion. Needing a starter Saturday, the Red Sox opted to promote lefty Eduardo Rivera for his first-ever start and were rewarded as Rivera pitched 3 ⅔ shutout innings. Bello had his scheduled Worcester start pushed back a day as a potential contingency plan for Sunday. Bello is also a candidate to start for the Red Sox on Friday when they have a doubleheader scheduled against the Rays to open the second half of the season. The Red Sox will need to consider various depth options with lefties Ranger Suarez and Connelly Early recently hitting the injured list.

Bello had a 6.34 ERA in 61 big league innings before being demoted. He logged a 10.35 ERA in 10 starts while pitching much better (0.71 ERA in 25 ⅓ innings) in four games following an opener. Most of Bello’s struggles came in the first inning, in which he allowed 15 runs and 19 hits in eight frames.

Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The 2026 MLB Draft is underway and the Boston Red Sox have three picks on Day 1.

Boston has 19 picks this year, including No. 20 in the first round and No. 67 overall. The Red Sox acquired the 67th pick, which is a Competitive Balance Round B selection, from the Brewers on Feb. 9 in a six-player trade. In that deal, Boston acquired Caleb Durbin, Anthony Seigler and Andruw Monasterio for Kyle Harrison, David Hamilton and Shane Drohan.

Boston does not have a second-round pick or a fourth-round pick. The Sox forfeited those two selections when they signed qualified free agent Ranger Suarez to a five-year, $130 million contract in January.

MassLive will be tracking all of the Red Sox’ picks on July 11 and 12:

DAY 1 PICKS: SATURDAY, JULY 11

ROUND 1 (No. 20 overall): Jake Schaffner, SS, University of North Carolina

COMPETITIVE BALANCE ROUND B (No. 67): Owen Hull, OF, University of North Carolina

ROUND 3 (No. 96): Jace Mataczynski, SS, Hudson High, Wisconsin

DAY 2 PICKS: SUNDAY, JULY 12

ROUND 5 (No. 156): Lucas Davenport, RHP, Baylor University

ROUND 6 (No. 185): Brett Lanman, LHP, Abilene Christian University

ROUND 7 (No. 214): Kide Adetuyi, LHP, Florida Atlantic University

ROUND 8 (No. 244): Josh Volmerding, LHP, California Polytechnic State University

ROUND 9 (No. 274): Martin Shelar, OF, Marist School in Georgia

ROUND 10 (No. 304): Kaleb LaFavor, RHP, Bishop Heelan High in Iowa

ROUND 11 (No. 334): Wills Maginnis, SS, Georgia State

ROUND 12 (No. 364): Jacob Webster, SS, Oak Hills High in California

ROUND 13 (No. 394): Mason Lei, RHP, University of Illinois-Chicago

ROUND 14 (No. 424): Jase Evangelista, RHP, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

ROUND 15 (No. 454): Chase Frey, LHP, Grand Canyon University

ROUND 16 (No. 484): Colton Coates, SS, Louisiana Tech

ROUND 17 (No. 514): Alex Kranzler, RHP, Vanderbilt

ROUND 18 (No. 544): Ethan Offing, OF, Dutch Fork High in South Carolina

ROUND 19 (No. 574):

ROUND 20 (No. 604):

Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here.