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Post by scrappyunderdog on Aug 18, 2022 21:03:31 GMT -5
We'd have probably lost anyway, but it was nice of Eckersley to kick the Pirates while they were down.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 19, 2022 3:04:23 GMT -5
Reynolds 2 HRs; Brubaker, Pirates top Bosox, end 6-game skid AP
PITTSBURGH (AP) Bryan Reynolds hit two home runs, JT Brubaker pitched seven shutout innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates snapped a six-game losing streak, beating the Boston Red Sox 8-2 Thursday night.
The Pirates avoided a three-game sweep and sent Boston back to one game under .500 at 59-60. The Red Sox are five games behind Toronto for the third and final AL wild-card spot.
''We're not going to win every game,'' Boston manager Alex Cora said. ''It's going to happen. We're disappointed. We hate losing, but we took two out of three. Now, we have Baltimore, we've got Tampa and Toronto, right? Now, you've got to win series. To gain ground, these other teams, they're ahead of us.''
Reynolds hit a pair of two-run homers. He connected in the first, and his drive in the fifth was the 3,000th home run at PNC Park since it opened in 2001.
''I didn't know about it, but it's pretty crazy just to be a little part of that history,'' Reynolds said. ''They come in bunches. I guess we're in a bunch right now. Got some good pitches and, luckily, didn't miss them.''
Reynolds and Kevin Newman each had three hits and scored three times.
Brubaker (3-10) allowed two hits, walked none and struck out seven. He gave up a leadoff single in the second to Alex Verdugo, who was caught stealing, and single to Xander Bogaerts with one out in the seventh.
The right-hander was removed on 84 pitches, partially because of a blister that began to form in the sixth inning. It isn't expected to keep Brubaker from making his next start.
''Just the idea of coming out, attacking the zone,'' Brubaker said on his focus. ''Quick first inning and just kept rolling with the momentum and tempo that I was having on the mound. ... It's really just pace and it's momentum, just with your body, how your body is rolling out there on the mound. It's a lot easier when you get it from pitch one to continue it throughout the game.''
Reynolds put Pittsburgh ahead 2-0 in the first with a drive off Josh Winckowski (5-6) over the wall in right field. After Newman singled in the fifth, Reynolds hit his team-leading 20th home run for a 6-0 lead.
It was the third multi-homer game of Reynolds' major league career and second this season. He has four home runs in his past four games.
''It was pretty good swings today,'' Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. ''The first one, he got really well. Then the second one on the 3-0 pitch. It's a big lift when that happens.''
Winckowski gave up each of Reynolds' home runs and a double that Ben Gamel sent over a leaping Tommy Pham in left field, scoring Newman and Reynolds with two outs in the third. He got through five innings, allowing six runs on seven hits.
''I definitely walked the tightrope with most guys, I feel like,'' Winckowski said. ''My miss rate, or whatever it is, is definitely lower. So, guys put the ball in play on me and that amplifies hits and other things. When home runs do happen, it tends to be not solo home runs. So, it's definitely something I'm working on.''
Pham got Boston on the board with an infield single off Zach Thompson in the eighth before Bobby Dalbec scored on a sacrifice fly, cutting the deficit to 8-2. Manny Banuelos struck out Verdugo on a 3-2 curveball with the bases loaded to end the inning.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Red Sox: LHP James Paxton left two batters into his first rehab start in the Florida Gulf Coast League on Thursday. Paxton signed with Boston in December after having Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery in April 2021.
Pirates: C Tyler Heineman had an RBI single in the sixth, extending Pittsburgh's lead to 8-0, in his first game since being reinstated from the 10-day injured list on Wednesday. He had been out with right groin discomfort since Aug. 3.
UP NEXT
Red Sox: RHP Kutter Crawford (3-4, 4.18 ERA) will start Friday to begin a three-game series at Baltimore. He has allowed two runs or fewer in three of his past four starts.
Pirates: RHP Bryse Wilson (2-7, 5.93) will take the mound Friday for the first of a three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds. He has allowed more than three earned runs once in seven starts since giving up seven in back-to-back outings on May 22 and June 14.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 19, 2022 4:00:53 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 8h Josh Winckowski threw this pitch to Bryan Reynolds on 3-0 (4). What do you think happened?
Franchy Cordero gets most of the abuse when it comes to the Andrew Benintendi trade, but Winckowski has done plenty of his own damage to the #RedSox playoff hopes in 2022.
Josh Winckowski has a 6.75 ERA over his last 34 2/3 IP. Doesn't miss enough bats. Slider is the only pitch where opponents have a sub-.300 average.
Not good enough.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 19, 2022 4:05:07 GMT -5
The Red Sox can’t afford another lackluster effort like this loss to the Pirates By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated August 18, 2022, 11:40 p.m.
PITTSBURGH — Like any other team, the Red Sox have suffered some lopsided losses during Alex Cora’s tenure as manager. But rarely have there been days when it looked like the Sox weren’t interested.
That made Thursday night’s 8-2 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates a conspicuous outlier, especially with what’s at stake.
A team trying to stay on the periphery of the playoff race didn’t show up. They fell behind, 2-0, in the first inning then played like zombies the rest of the night.
“It’s going to happen, right? But we’re better than this,” Cora said.
Are they? The Sox are 59-60 and in last place in the American League East. They’re seventh in the race for three wild card playoff spots.
They should be better, yes. But after 119 games, nearly 75 percent of the season, this is who they are until they prove otherwise.
Starting with Baltimore on Friday night at Camden Yards, the next 12 games are against teams the Sox trail in the wild card race. They need to win eight of those games, not six.
“Now you’ve got to win series,” Cora said.
It’s unreasonable to expect a sweep on the road, even against a bad team like the Pirates. But Pittsburgh was 45-72 and had lost seven in a row. They’re preparing for next season.
Their starter, JT Brubaker, had lost 23 games since the start of last season, the fourth-most in the majors. The job was to complete a three-game sweep, gain some ground and move on to Baltimore having won six of seven.
But Brubaker threw seven shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out seven without a walk.
The Sox finished with five hits, all singles, and struck out 10 times.
“We didn’t make adjustments; we didn’t put pressure on him,” Cora said. “From pitch one he was on the attack and we kept swinging. We expanded the zone on him.”
The Sox were unable to advance a runner to second base until the seventh inning and that was because of an error. By then they were down, 8-0.
The Sox are fourth in the American League in runs per game and first in doubles. When they’re successful, it’s by building rallies and running the bases aggressively.
When they’re not, they don’t have the power to deliver a big punch and get back in the game quickly.
Rafael Devers leads the Sox with 25 homers. Trevor Story, who hasn’t played since July 12, is second with 15. Bobby Dalbec, now a bench player, is third with 11.
Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez have hit nine each. That’s why the Sox are 3-44 when they trail after six innings. They won 12 such games last season.
“We have to find ways to score runs,” Cora said.
Rookie Josh Winckowski, who has filled a rotation spot competently since late May, allowed six runs over five innings.
Bryan Reynolds, Pittsburgh’s best hitter, belted a two-run homer in the first inning, hammering a cutter that floated to the top of the strike zone.
Reynolds did the same against Rich Hill on Wednesday. Hill then retired 12 in a row and the Sox quickly got back in the game.
This time Winckowski allowed a two-run opposite-field double by Ben Gamel in the third inning and another two-run shot by Reynolds in the fifth. That was on a sinker that stayed over the plate like it was on a tee.
Winckowski has allowed 17 earned runs on 31 hits [six of them home runs] over 23⅔ innings in his last five starts. He has hit a wall. Winckowski stumbled Thursday night against the Pirates.
Winckowski didn’t make any excuses.
“The team overall is headed in a great direction. I think that makes tonight all the more frustrating for me,” he said. “We’ve been on a good roll and I feel like I kind of knocked us off the rails a little bit with my own performance.”
The Sox were on a decent roll at least. Thursday was a step back. They can’t afford too many more.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 19, 2022 4:11:20 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 7h Avast ye mateys, ‘‘twas a bad loss.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 19, 2022 4:13:06 GMT -5
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 19, 2022 4:13:45 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 5h The Red Sox offense is 19th in HRs. They didn’t hit any in 3 games in Pitts. “This is who we are.” To win, they need plate discipline to sustain rallies. They lacked it Thursday, resulting in a blowout loss. JDM: “The offense is underperforming”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 19, 2022 4:18:30 GMT -5
Red Sox fail to complete sweep with forgettable loss to lowly Pirates, lose ground in wild card standings Offense goes silent in 8-2 loss
By Steve Hewitt | stephen.hewitt@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald PUBLISHED: August 18, 2022 at 9:50 p.m. | UPDATED: August 18, 2022 at 11:34 p.m.
Just when it looked like the Red Sox were primed to go on a run, they took a step back.
Though they did already win the series, the Red Sox failed to complete a sweep and notch another much-needed win against one of the worst teams in baseball. Josh Winckowski was torched for six runs — including two home runs by Bryan Reynolds — and the Red Sox’ offense went inexplicably silent in an 8-2 loss to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates.
It may have been just one of 162, but given where the Red Sox are, this was a missed chance.
Thirty-four of their remaining 43 games are against teams contending for a playoff spot, including the next 12 against the Orioles, Blue Jays, Rays and Twins — all teams they’re chasing for a wild card spot. While all those games will give them plenty of opportunities to make up ground themselves, they can make it easier on themselves by taking care of inferior opponents.
Instead, they dropped five games back of the Blue Jays and Rays — who both won Thursday — in the wild card standings. And after winning five of their previous six games, they lost some momentum heading into this difficult stretch as they dropped back below .500 with a 59-60 record.
“We’re not going to win every game either,” manager Alex Cora told reporters in Pittsburgh. “It’s going to happen. It’s disappointing, we hate losing, but we took two out of three. Now we got Baltimore, we got Tampa and Toronto. Now you got to win series. Now, to gain ground to other teams that are ahead of us.
“We did a good job here. Obviously today wasn’t great, but you see the positives. Two out of three. Now we have to get ready for Baltimore. You win that series, you win the next one, you win the next one, you’re in a good place.”
After erupting for eight runs on Wednesday — their first time doing so since July 10 — the lineup went invisible against Pirates starter JT Brubaker, who entered Thursday with a 4.45 ERA and 2-10 record in 22 starts. He left with his best start of the season, as he tossed seven shutout innings. The Red Sox recorded just two hits against Brubaker, who had seven strikeouts.
The Red Sox had just four baserunners against Brubaker — Alex Verdugo and Xander Bogaerts hit singles, Bogaerts was hit by a pitch (and needed medical attention before staying in the game) and Jarren Duran reached on an error. They didn’t put a runner into scoring position until the seventh, when Bogaerts singled and Verdugo took second on a double play attempt that went wrong as Oneil Cruz’s throw went sailing into the dugout.
A night after they drew seven walks, the Red Sox had just two and did not get their first until the eighth, when Brubaker departed and the Red Sox rallied to plate two runs. Verdugo had an opportunity with two outs and the bases loaded, but struck out against Manny Banuelos.
“We didn’t make adjustments. We didn’t put pressure on him,” Cora said of Brubaker. “From pitch one, he was on the attack and we kept swinging. Obviously we expanded the zone with him and he pitched seven innings.
“It’s going to happen. We’re better than this.”
By then, the Red Sox were down 8-0 and well out of it.
Winckowski, filling in for Nathan Eovaldi (who was scratched due to shoulder soreness), had one of the worst starts of his rookie season. Reynolds, as he did Wednesday, hit a two-run homer in the first and the Pirates never looked back.
Winckowski, who has one of the worst whiff rates in baseball, again couldn’t miss bats. Couple that with getting into less-than-ideal counts, and the results weren’t surprising. Ben Gamel hit a two-run double in the third on a full count before Reynolds blasted his second homer of the game in the fifth on a 3-0 count.
“Regardless of who it is, when you put yourself in that spot, you’re not going to usually get good results,” Winckowski told reporters.
Winckowski’s poor start broke up a week-long stretch of good pitching from Red Sox starters, who had produced a 2.53 ERA in their previous seven starts. The rookie couldn’t help but feel responsible for breaking the team’s momentum.
“The team overall is heading in a great direction,” Winckowski said. “I think that makes tonight a little bit more frustrating for me. Obviously we’ve been on a roll and I feel like I kind of knocked us off the rails a little bit with my own performance.”
As disappointing as Thursday went, the Red Sox know they have to turn the page quickly. They know this next stretch against AL East teams will dictate their playoff hopes.
“It’s time to go,” Cora said.
Added J.D. Martinez: “It’s huge. … We have our work cut out for us. We have Trevor (Story) back coming up so that’ll be a plus. See what happens.”
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