2022 Boston Red Sox season
The 2022 Boston Red Sox season is the ongoing 122nd season in Boston Red Sox franchise history, and their 111th season at Fenway Park. The team is led by Alex Cora, in the second season of his second stint as the team's manager. The team's regular season was originally scheduled to open on March 31, with a home game against the Tampa Bay Rays, and conclude on October 2, with an away game against the Toronto Blue Jays. On December 2, 2021, Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred announced a lockout of players, following  expiration of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). On March 10, 2022, MLB and the MLBPA agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement, thus ending the lockout. Opening Day was then scheduled for April 7 as an away game against the New York Yankees, but it was postponed to April 8 because of inclement weather. Boston's season is now scheduled to end with a home game on October 5 against Tampa Bay. Although MLB previously announced that several series would be cancelled due to the lockout, the  new CBA provides for a 162-game season, with originally canceled games to be made up via doubleheaders. Offseason. Lockout. The expiration of the league's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Major League Baseball Players Association occurred on December 1, 2021, with no new agreement in place. As a result, the team owners voted unanimously to lockout the players, stopping all free agency and trades. The parties came to an agreement on a new CBA on March 10, 2022. Rule changes. Pursuant to the new CBA, several new rules were instituted for the 2022 season: Additional changes were approved  in late March: Spring training. The team's Grapefruit League schedule was originally scheduled to run from February 26 through March 29. The actual start of spring training was impacted by the lockout, as practices did not begin until March 13, with games spanning March 17 to April 5. The Red Sox compiled a spring training record of , scoring 91 runs while allowing 87. Regular season. The team's schedule was constructed by MLB as follows: Total: games Opening Day lineup. The team opened the season with a 6–5 loss in 11 innings to the New York Yankees at Yankee  Stadium on April 8. April. April 8–April 10, at New York Yankees Rain caused Boston's first game to be postponed from April 7 to April 8. Nathan Eovaldi started the opener, as he had done the prior two seasons, lasting five innings while allowing three runs on five hits and striking out seven batters. The Red Sox scored three runs in the top of the first inning, and the Yankees responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning, and later tied the game with a run in the bottom of the fourth. With the score tied  at 4–4 after nine innings, the teams each scored a single run in the 10th inning, and New York won the game with a run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Kutter Crawford took the loss; Rafael Devers homered. New York won the second game of the series, 4–2. Boston starter Nick Pivetta took the loss after allowing four runs on four hits in innings; Alex Verdugo homered. The Red Sox won the third and final game of the series, 4–3, although they were out-hit by the Yankees, 11–5. Starter Tanner Houck went innings, allowing three runs on  three hits. Crawford, the second of five relievers, got the win; Jake Diekman pitched the ninth inning and got the save. Bobby Dalbec homered. April 11–April 13, at Detroit Tigers The Red Sox lost the opener of a three-game series in Detroit, 3–1. Tied 1–1 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, reliever Ryan Brasier allowed a two-run home run to Javier Báez. Austin Davis, who had allowed a single to the prior batter, took the loss. Starter Michael Wacha allowed one run on two hits in innings in his Red Sox debut. Boston's lone run  came on a J. D. Martinez homer in the fifth inning. Boston won the second game of the series, 5–3. Starter Rich Hill allowed all three Tiger runs in innings on five hits. Rafael Devers went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and scored two runs. Reliever Garrett Whitlock pitched the sixth through ninth innings without allowing a hit and earned the win. Boston won the final game of the series, 9–7. After a six-run fourth inning, the Red Sox had a 6–1 lead, then led 9–2 after the top of the seventh before Detroit scored five late runs. Starter  Nathan Eovaldi went five innings, allowing two runs on four hits, and earned the win. Hansel Robles recorded the final four outs to earn the save. Kiké Hernández homered. April 15–April 18, vs. Minnesota Twins Boston's home opener, the first contest of a four-game series against Minnesota, was held on Jackie Robinson Day. The Twins jumped out to an early 4–1 lead after two innings, extended to 6–1 after the fifth, en route to an 8–4 win over the Red Sox. Starter Nick Pivetta allowed four runs on five hits in two innings, taking the loss. Alex  Verdugo and Rafael Devers homered. The Red Sox recorded their first shutout win of the season, 4–0, in the series' second game. Starter Tanner Houck went innings while allowing just two hits and earned the win. Verdugo and Xander Bogaerts both hit two-run homers. Boston won the third game of the series, 8–1, with six runs coming in the eighth inning. Starter Michael Wacha held the Twins to a single hit in five innings, but left with the game scoreless and received a no decision. Reliever Matt Strahm got the win. Bogaerts went 3-for-4 with an RBI and  two runs scored. The final game of the series was held the same day as the 2022 Boston Marathon. Minnesota split the series with an 8–3 win, giving Boston starter Rich Hill the loss. Bogaerts had three hits and Christian Vázquez homered. April 19–April 21, vs. Toronto Blue Jays In the opener of a three-game home series, the Red Sox defeated the Blue Jays, 2–1, despite being outhit, 8–3. Starter Nathan Eovaldi went innings and had a no decision. Hansel Robles got the win in relief, and Garrett Whitlock earned a save. Prior to the second game of  the series, the team honored former player and longtime broadcaster Jerry Remy, who died in October 2021. Boston took an early 1–0 lead in the game, but Toronto scored five runs in the second inning, en route to a 6–1 win. Starter Nick Pivetta took the loss, falling to 0–3 on the season. In the third game of the series, the Red Sox rallied for two runs in the ninth inning, but fell to the Blue Jays, 3–2. Starter Tanner Houck took the loss. Xander Bogaerts had three hits and an RBI. April 22–April 24, at Tampa Bay Rays  Boston won the opener of a three-game series in Tampa Bay, 4–3. Matt Barnes earned his first save of the season by recording the final out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning. Starter Michael Wacha held the Rays to two runs on three hits in five innings and earned the win. Xander Bogaerts went 3-for-4 and scored twice; Rafael Devers hit his third home run of the season. Boston was unable to get a hit in the first nine innings of the series' second game, but neither team was able to score, sending  it to extra innings. Boston scored twice in the top of the tenth inning, with Bobby Dalbec driving in one run with a triple. In the bottom of the tenth, Taylor Walls of the Rays reached base on a two-out error by Trevor Story, with Story's throw eluding first baseman Dalbec. Kevin Kiermaier then hit a walk-off home run off of Hansel Robles to give Tampa Bay a 3–2 win. In the final game of the series, the Red Sox took an early 2–0 lead, but the Rays scored five unanswered runs for a 5–2 win. Starter  Rich Hill held the Rays scoreless through four innings. In the bottom of the fifth, reliever Phillips Valdéz loaded the bases via two hit batsmen and a walk; all three runners subsequently scored, and Valdéz took the loss. April 25–April 28, at Toronto Blue Jays Prior to the series in Toronto, the team placed pitchers Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck on the COVID restricted list, in consideration of Canadian vaccination requirements. Their roster spots were filled by Tyler Danish and John Schreiber. Boston lost the first game of the four-game series, 6–2. Trailing 2–0 entering the eighth inning , the Red Sox tied the game, 2–2. In the bottom of the inning, the Blue Jay put two runners on base off of Matt Strahm; fellow reliever Tyler Danish allowed another baserunner, then surrendered a grand slam to Bo Bichette. In the second game of the series, Boston trailed entering the eighth inning, 2–1, then scored four runs to take a 5–2 lead. With that same score in the bottom of the ninth, Toronto scored three runs off of Jake Diekman via two doubles and a home run, sending the game into extra innings. After the Red Sox were unable  to score in the top of the tenth, the Blue Jays pushed across a run in the bottom of the inning for a 6–5 win. Starter Nick Pivetta went innings and had a no decision; Matt Barnes took the loss. The Red Sox broke their four-game losing streak with a 7–1 win in the third game of the series. Manager Alex Cora returned to the team after missing the prior six games due to COVID. Starter Michael Wacha limited Toronto to one run on four hits in six innings and earned the win. Xander Bogaerts was 4-for-4 with  an RBI and two runs scored. Toronto won the final game of the series, 1–0. The only run of the game came in the bottom of the second inning, following a fielding error by Christian Arroyo. Offensively, the Red Sox were limited to four hits. Starter Garrett Whitlock took the loss. April 29–April 30, at Baltimore Orioles Boston opened a three-game series in Baltimore with a 3–1 win. Starter Rich Hill allowed no runs on one hit in four innings. He was relieved by Tanner Houck, who allowed no runs on two hits in three innings and earned  the win. Matt Strahm recorded a save and Christian Arroyo homered. The Orioles won the second game of the series, 2–1, in 10 innings. Boston scored in the top of the first inning, and maintained a 1–0 lead until Baltimore tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. In extra innings, the Red Sox were unable to score in the top of the 10th, and the Orioles scored the winning run in the bottom of the inning aided by a throwing error by reliever Hirokazu Sawamura, who took the loss. Starter Nathan Eovaldi held the Orioles to no runs  on three hits in seven innings while striking out eight batters. The Red Sox ended April with a record of 9–13, in fourth place in the American League East, games behind the division-leading Yankees. May. The Red Sox entered May in fourth place in the American League East with a record of 9–13, having just split the first two games of a three-game series in Baltimore. May 1, at Baltimore Orioles (cont'd) The Orioles won the final game of the series, 9–5, in a game that included a two-hour rain delay. After four scoreless innings, the Red  Sox scored once in the top of the fifth, but then gave up nine total runs in the Orioles' next two half-innings. J. D. Martinez hit a grand slam in the ninth inning, but Boston was unable to rally further. Starter Nick Pivetta took the loss and fell to 0–4 on the season. Backup catcher Kevin Plawecki pitched the eighth inning for Boston. May 3–May 5, vs. Los Angeles Angels Season standings. Red Sox team leaders. "Updated through game of May 1." Game log. On March 10, 2022, it was announced that Opening Day would be April 7 , with early-season games originally canceled by the lockout being made up during the season; the end of the regular season was moved from October 2 to October 5. On April 6, it was announced that Boston's first game, scheduled for Yankee Stadium, had been postponed to April 8 due to forecasted inclement weather in New York City. Current roster. Transactions. Notable transactions of/for players on the 40-man roster during the 2021 regular season: Farm system. Minor-league managerial staffs were announced in early February 2022. In March, Major League Baseball announced that Minor League Baseball would  resume its use of historical league names, which were in use prior to the reorganization of Minor League Baseball for the 2021 season. Thus, regional league names used during 2021 (such as High-A East) were discontinued after only a single season. Additionally, the classification level known as Low-A during 2021 was reset to Single-A.