Red Sox right-hander Liam Hendriks said he and his wife received death threats following Boston’s recent home loss to the New York Mets.

“Just as an FYI: Threats against me and my wife’s life are horrible and cruel. You need help,” the reliever wrote Thursday on Instagram. “Leaving comments and telling me to commit suicide and how you wish I died from cancer is disgusting and vile.”

Hendriks, who previously battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma, allowed three straight singles in relief of starter Garrett Crochet in the sixth inning of Boston’s 5-1 loss to New York on Wednesday. He permitted three runs in two-thirds of an inning to take the loss.

“Maybe you should step back and reevaluate your life’s purpose before hiding behind a screen and attacking players and their families,” Hendriks posted. “Whether you do it from your fake accounts or are dumb enough to do it from your real account.

“I think I speak for all players who have had to deal with this in their career when I say enough is enough.”

His comments come on the heels of Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran recently revealing that a fan near the dugout in Cleveland said something “inappropriate” after he flied out during a game against the Guardians. That fan was ejected from the game.

That comment came days removed Duran opening up about his 2022 attempted suicide and depression in an eight-part Netflix docuseries, “The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox.”

Hendriks, 36, is 0-1 with a 5.56 ERA in 11 relief appearances this season.

A three-time All-Star and American League Comeback Player of the Year in 2023, Hendriks owns a 33-35 record with 116 saves and a 3.85 ERA in 487 career appearances (44 starts) with the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals, then-Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox and Red Sox.

–Field Level Media

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said his team is in the midst of a “perfect storm” of how things can go wrong all at once.

Mired in a nine-game losing streak, the Athletics have a tough task to halt their slide on Friday night when they open a three-game series against the National League-leading Philadelphia Phillies in West Sacramento, Calif.

The Phillies recorded their seventh consecutive victory with a 2-0 decision over the woeful Colorado Rockies in Denver on Thursday afternoon.

In a bid to keep the good times going, Philadelphia will send ace right-hander Zack Wheeler (5-1, 2.67 ERA) to the mound on Friday night.

Wheeler is 2-1 with a 6.67 ERA against the Athletics. His last start against them came on June 18, 2023, when he scattered six hits over six scoreless innings to pick up the win.

“We’ve brought some different guys up to try them in non-leverage roles, and we haven’t been able to hold games,” Kotsay said after the Athletics’ 10-5 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday. “That’s kind of the story over the last two weeks and maybe longer.

“Is there a quick fix? I would love to tell you there is. We’re going to keep working. That’s all we can do. Fix those issues by cleaning up our execution and allowing guys to go through this and get better.”

Things initially looked good for the Athletics, who led 5-2 after six innings on Thursday. Starter Luis Severino allowed two runs on seven hits, did not walk a batter and struck out five.

Reliever Grant Holman struggled in the seventh inning, however. He loaded the bases and allowed Taylor Ward’s grand slam as well as a solo homer to Logan O’Hoppe.

“You get to that point in the game where you’re going to try to use (closer) Mason Miller for two innings, but we just couldn’t get there,” Kotsay said.

Brent Rooker hit a two-run homer and a double during his 3-for-4 performance for the Athletics.

Their starter on Friday has yet to be announced.

On Thursday, starter Ranger Suarez allowed six hits in 6 2/3 scoreless innings for Philadelphia, with three walks and six strikeouts.

“I felt good,” Suarez said through a team interpreter, per The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Especially in this environment, in this type of stadium, where your pitches may not do the same that they usually do movement-wise, but the cutter was working well.”

Suarez left with two runners aboard in the bottom of the seventh before Orion Kerkering induced Hunter Goodman to pop out to end the inning. Matt Strahm worked the eighth, and Jordan Romano pitched the ninth for his sixth save of the season.

In his last nine appearances, Romano has allowed three hits and struck out 13 over nine scoreless innings.

“The day we don’t necessarily score many runs, we really pitched well and played good defense,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “It was very satisfying.”

Bryce Harper is 14-for-28 with four doubles, a home run and nine RBIs during the team’s seven-game winning streak. He had an RBI double on Thursday, and Max Kepler added another for Philadelphia.

“They work at it every day,” Thomson said. “We’ve made some adjustments, and I think they’ll continue to do it. … A couple of timely hits with Kepler and Harp. So Harp looks good at the plate right now.”

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Angels will host the Miami Marlins on Friday night in Anaheim, Calif., riding a seven-game winning streak, their longest since the end of the 2022 season.

The offense has been the primary factor in the Angels’ recent success. The team averaged 6.8 runs per game during the just-concluded 10-game road trip, in which the Angels went 8-2.

Taylor Ward and Logan O’Hoppe have provided the lion’s share of the power, each going deep in Thursday’s 10-5 win over the Athletics. The two are tied for the team lead with 14 homers this season.

First baseman Nolan Schanuel leads the club with 45 hits and a .372 on-base percentage but has just three homers, which has resulted in a slight change to his approach at the plate.

“The first year to last year, I was looking at what pitch I can get a hit on,” Schanuel said. “It wasn’t, ‘What pitch can I do damage with?’ And that’s kind of where my mentality has changed from last year to this year.”

Schanuel said about three weeks ago that Angels hitting coach Johnny Washington and coaches Tim Laker and Jayson Nix came to him and suggested an adjustment.

“In the past, I was more of a location guy,” Schanuel said. “If it was a certain location, didn’t matter the pitch, I was gonna go.”

Now, Schanuel not only is focusing on location, but also the type of pitch.

“I’m hunting mistakes, honestly,” he said.

Los Angeles left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (0-4, 3.50 ERA) will look for his first victory when he makes his 11th start this season on Friday. He’s coming off his fourth straight no-decision after allowing one run and three hits in 5 2/3 innings in his team’s 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

Kikuchi has made one career start against Miami, resulting in a no-decision despite posting six scoreless innings in 2023.

Right-hander Sandy Alcantara (2-6, 7.99 ERA) will make his 10th start of the season for Miami having lost six consecutive decisions.

Alcantara has made one career start against the Angels, getting a victory after scattering two hits over eight scoreless innings in 2022.

The Marlins have three catchers on the active roster, including rookies Liam Hicks and Agustin Ramirez, who have joined Nick Fortes, the club’s Opening Day starter.

Fortes got off to a hot start this season at the plate, hitting .300 with an .833 OPS in seven games, before an oblique strain landed him on the injured list on April 10. When he returned on May 4, he found himself splitting playing time with the rookies.

As a result, he said, he began putting pressure on himself to perform when he did get opportunities. He’s hitting .130 with a .428 OPS in 10 games since his return.

“It’s not easy, and I’ve definitely fallen victim to that quite a bit,” Fortes said. “It’s self-inflicted, but just continuing to just tell myself that I’m good no matter what happens. … So, it’s just about just taking my hands off the wheel and just trusting whatever happens, happens.”

–Field Level Media

Coors Field has not been a safe haven for the Colorado Rockies, and it isn’t going to get any easier this weekend.

Colorado was swept by the Philadelphia Phillies in a four-game home series and now will face another first-place team — the American League East-leading New York Yankees — in a three-game series starting Friday night in Denver.

New York will send right-hander Clarke Schmidt (1-1, 4.41 ERA) to the mound while the Rockies have yet to name a starter. Rookie right-hander Chase Dollander initially was scheduled to start but was placed on the 15-day injured list with right forearm tightness.

Schmidt, who missed his first start of the season with right rotator cuff tendinitis, has tossed at least six innings in each of his last three starts. He won his lone start against Colorado, allowing two runs on three hits in six innings at Coors Field on July 15, 2023.

The Yankees come to Denver on a four-game winning streak and have won 11 of their last 14 games overall, including 1-0 over Texas on Thursday. Aaron Judge is flirting with a .400 batting average (.396), but New York has other players providing offense.

One is 22-year-old Jasson Dominguez, who hit a walk-off homer in Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Rangers. He’s hitting .236 with six home runs and 22 RBIs in 41 games this season, and his poise has impressed manager Aaron Boone.

“He’s just not affected by great results or a struggling day. It just kind of puts a smile on his face, goes to work and likes playing the game with his teammates,” Boone said. “He’s real easy and fun to be around. He’s got a good outlook on things. But you’re really starting to see just how good a talent (he is). You see the speed. You see the power.”

The Rockies are trying to break out of a season-long slump that has them on pace for an unwanted place in history. Colorado is 8-42, the worst start to a season in the modern era.

Colorado’s 2-0 loss to Philadelphia on Thursday marked the seventh time this season the team has been shut out. The Rockies are 5-20 at home and were outscored 27-12 in the four games against the Phillies.

The Rockies, who have lost five games in a row overall, changed managers 10 games ago, but the move hasn’t altered their fortunes. They are 1-9 under interim manager Warren Schaeffer, who is positive and realistic about the team’s standing.

“We are in a very unique situation at the moment. And for me, opportunity abounds in the situation we’re in,” Schaeffer said. “And if we don’t look at it like that, shame on us. We could take this moment that we’re in right now and look back three years from now and say, ‘Boy, we used that the right way to move forward.’

“But if we’re going to commiserate and wallow in it, that’s no way for a man to act, and that’s no way for a group of players, and just a group of people, to act if you want to move forward.”

–Field Level Media

The series opener against the host Houston Astros on Thursday resulted in a loss for the Mariners as a team, but the Seattle rotation took a step forward.

Mariners right-hander George Kirby made his season debut in a 9-2 defeat against the Astros.

Seattle will try to level the four-game series on Friday.

Kirby missed the opening 48 games with right shoulder inflammation but showed flashes of his stellar form on Thursday despite allowing five runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked one.

His comeback bolsters a strong but injury-hampered rotation, with Seattle getting additional good news about right-handed starters Bryce Miller and Logan Gilbert.

Miller (right elbow inflammation) and Gilbert (right elbow flexor strain) were placed on the injured list in mid-May and late April, respectively. Both are expected to throw on Friday in Houston.

“They’re going to be able to throw early in a simulated kind of situation (Thursday) and looking forward to getting those guys some work (Friday) as well,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Our guys are getting closer and closer to being healthy, and (Thursday) was that first step with George.”

Right-hander Emerson Hancock (1-2, 6.21 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Mariners on Friday. He allowed one run on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings against the San Diego Padres on Saturday but did not factor into the decision of a 4-1 victory.

Hancock is 1-0 with a 2.91 ERA in four road starts this year. Seattle won each of those games.

Hancock has faced the Astros once previously in his career. He tossed two-plus scoreless innings and allowed two hits and recorded two strikeouts in a no-decision on Aug. 20, 2023.

Rookie right-hander Ryan Gusto (3-2, 4.65) is the scheduled starter for the Astros. It will mark his sixth start and 12th appearance on the season, with Gusto posting a 2-2 record and 6.33 ERA as a starter and a 1-0 mark with a 0.93 ERA out of the bullpen.

In his most recent start, on May 12 against the Kansas City Royals, Gusto allowed seven runs on seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts over 2 1/3 innings in a 7-5 home loss. On Saturday, he worked a scoreless inning of relief against the Texas Rangers, issuing two walks in the Astros’ 5-1 defeat.

Gusto worked a scoreless inning against the Mariners on April 8, issuing one walk and earning a victory in relief, the first of his career. Saturday will mark his first start against Seattle.

The Astros put Ronel Blanco on the 15-day injured list on Thursday and announced that the right-handed starter would seek a second opinion on his inflamed pitching elbow.

Blanco joins right-handers Hayden Wesneski (pending Tommy John surgery) and Spencer Arrighetti (broken right thumb) on the IL, further depleting an already short-handed rotation.

“Around the league, it’s a head scratcher,” Astros manager Joe Espada said of pitcher injuries. “It’s happening not only here but throughout the league.

“I’m sure that we’re always looking for ways to keep our guys healthy. All organizations are doing the same, but this is part of the game. We have to work through this and fight through this. This is a team that has shown resiliency for many, many years. We are prepared to put ourselves in a position where we can continue to move forward. That’s our challenge right now.”

–Field Level Media

A pair of teams looking for jolts from their offenses will square off in Chicago on Friday when the White Sox host the Texas Rangers in the opener of a three-game series.

Chicago has dropped six of its past seven games, including a 6-5 setback against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday. The White Sox’s five runs in the loss can be considered an offensive explosion from a club that had mustered just 11 total runs over the previous six games.

A bright spot for Chicago — which ranks last in the American League in batting average (.216), on-base percentage (.286) and slugging percentage (.332) — has been rookie shortstop Chase Meidroth. The 23-year-old leadoff man is riding a nine-game hitting streak and is batting .301 on the season.

“He’s had really good swings. He’s on time,” White Sox manager Will Venable said of Meidroth. “Obviously he continues to select good pitches to swing at, and he’s putting them forward with authority. So just a really nice job of continuing to learn this league, learn himself and perform at a high level.”

Chicago’s Sean Burke (2-5, 4.69 ERA) will make his 10th start (11th appearance) of the season on Friday. Burke surrendered six runs, five earned, on seven hits in his 4 2/3 inning-stint against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday, taking a 7-3 loss. Making the 13th start and 15 appearance of his major league career, Burke will be facing the Rangers for the first time.

Texas continues its six-game road trip on Friday, aiming to snap a four-game losing streak. The Rangers were swept this week by the New York Yankees, plating just five runs across the three games, including a 1-0 loss on Thursday afternoon.

“You’ve got to deal with these little streaks you go through,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “We’ve gone through a few of them now this year. … It’ll get turned around. You’ve got to keep the guys going and they’re trying, trust me. You’ve got no choice, so you’ve got to keep pushing.”

One major change in the Rangers’ lineup on Thursday was the removal of Adolis Garcia from the cleanup spot. Garcia, who’s batting .215 with 49 strikeouts in 50 games, was moved down in the order to seventh and went 0-for-3 with a whiff in the loss.

Garcia is 2-for-21 (.095) with no RBIs in his past six games.

“It’s just an attempt to relax him,” Bochy said. “Hopefully this gets him going again. He had been on a nice little run, but he’s in a bit of a funk right now.”

Keeping the Rangers afloat has been a pitching staff that boasts a 3.26 ERA — third best in the majors.

Tyler Mahle (5-1, 1.47 ERA) will look to extend his dazzling start to the season in the series opener on Friday.

The 30-year-old right-hander is tied for the third-lowest ERA in the majors, and he enters his 11th start of the season riding consecutive victories. Mahle allowed just one run across six innings in a 5-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday.

Mahle is 1-1 with a 5.87 ERA in two career starts against the White Sox.

–Field Level Media

Ronald Acuna Jr. will return from knee surgery that has kept him out for nearly a year when the Atlanta Braves open a three-game series against the visiting San Diego Padres on Friday.

“It’ll be good, he feels ready and that’s great,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “It’ll be great to get him back in the lineup.”

Acuna tore the his left knee anterior cruciate ligament on May 26, 2024, and underwent surgery less than two weeks later.

In six minor league rehab games this year, one in Class-A and five in Triple-A, Acuna batted .400 (6-for-15) with two home runs and two doubles. Acuna was the 2023 National League MVP after hitting .337 with 41 homers, 106 RBIs and 73 stolen bases. He led the league in steals, hits (217), on-base percentage (.416) and OPS (1.012).

The Padres have lost six in a row and are coming off a three-game sweep at Toronto. The Braves were just swept in a rain-shortened two-game series in Washington.

This is the second meeting of the season between the teams. Host San Diego swept Atlanta in a four-game set to open the season, sending the Braves spiraling to an 0-7 start. The Padres began 7-0.

The Friday pitching matchup features Atlanta left-hander Chris Sale (2-3, 3.62 ERA) and San Diego right-hander Nick Pivetta (5-2, 2.86).

Sale will have the benefit of six days of rest. The last time he worked on more than four days of rest, he fired 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds on May 6.

Sale has resembled his 2024 Cy Young Award-winning form over his past six appearances, going 2-1 with a 2.02 ERA while striking out 48 and walking 11 over 35 2/3 innings. In his most recent outing on May 16, Sale worked seven innings, allowed one run and struck out eight against the Boston Red Sox, his former team.

“I saw from the first inning, you could tell there was a little something special,” Snitker said.

Sale has dominated the Padres in his career, going 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA in five starts. He faced San Diego in the season opener and did not get a decision after permitting three runs in five innings. He fanned seven.

Pivetta bounced back from his worst outing of the season (six runs in four-plus innings against the Colorado Rockies) to fire six strong innings versus the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. He allowed only two hits and one walk while striking out seven.

Pivetta has made 22 appearances and 18 starts against the Braves, going 9-5 with a 4.61 ERA. He pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed only one hit while beating Atlanta 5-0 on March 30.

The Padres have been mired in a hitting slump. They have scored only nine runs during their losing streak, with most of those coming in a 7-6, 11-inning loss on Thursday. The Blue Jays shut them out in the first two games of the series.

The exception has been Luis Arraez. He was 2-for-5 in the finale at Toronto, giving him a nine-game hitting streak and raising his average to .304. It was his 15th multi-hit game of the year.

“I haven’t changed anything,” Arraez said. “I’ve kept myself mentally strong, which is important, and I’m coming here to play ball and enjoy it. This is a difficult game, but like I always say, it’s not impossible. We’re working every day to get better, and that’s what I’m doing these days.”

–Field Level Media