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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 3:50:08 GMT -5
Red Sox-Rays Game 1 FAQ (Thu., 8 ET, FS1)
3:09 AM ADT
Ian Browne
Ian Browne
@ianmbrowne
Adam Berry
Adam Berry
@adamdberry
ST. PETERSBURG – For a few months this year, the Red Sox and Rays went back and forth atop the American League East. Boston claimed the division’s top spot from early April to May 23, then Tampa Bay led for nearly a month. The Red Sox regained first place and held on from late June until July 30. Then the Rays pulled off a three-game sweep at Tropicana Field and pulled away over the season’s final two months. In the end, the vaunted AL East belonged to Tampa Bay’s 100-win club.
The Red Sox earned the right to face the defending AL champions again by beating the rival Yankees, 6-2, in Tuesday’s AL Wild Card Game. The Rays and Red Sox were the two best teams in baseball’s best division, a powerhouse featuring four 90-win clubs, and they produced a handful of thrilling games during the regular season. Now, Tampa Bay and Boston will meet in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Thursday night at Tropicana Field.
The AL East rivals were two of the league’s top scoring clubs, and while Tampa Bay certainly has the run prevention edge, Boston -- a club assembled by chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, a former Rays executive -- showed it can pitch and play defense just fine Tuesday night at Fenway Park.
The Rays won the season series, 11-8, and are the favorites as the AL’s top-seeded team. But their 19 contests were close this season, even though Tampa Bay won 11 of the last 15. The Rays outscored the Sox by only two runs overall in the season series, and six of their games were decided by just one run. If that’s not a recipe for October excitement, what is?
When is the game and how can I watch it?
The game will air on FS1 at 8:07 p.m. ET on Thursday. It is also available to stream on MLB.TV with authentication.
What might the starting lineups look like?
Red Sox: Though there’s a chance J.D. Martinez will recover enough from his sprained left ankle to start in Game 1, it is safer to assume for now that he won’t. Kyle Schwarber led off in the Wild Card Game against righty Gerrit Cole, but Red Sox manager Alex Cora likes the Kiké Hernández-Hunter Renfroe combo at the top of the order against lefties. Kevin Plawecki has performed better against lefties this season than Christian Vázquez, which is why he will likely get the nod behind the plate.
Kiké Hernández, CF
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Rafael Devers, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Kyle Schwarber, DH
Bobby Dalbec, 1B
Kevin Plawecki, C
Alex Verdugo, LF
Christian Arroyo, 2B
Rays: Here’s one thing that’s important to remember about the Rays, who this year had the highest-scoring lineup in franchise history: They don’t have bench players. They just have hitters who aren’t starting on a given day. Manager Kevin Cash will utilize his entire roster during this series, just as he did while running out 158 different lineups during the regular season. There are some constants, but their lineup will change significantly based on whether the Red Sox start a right-hander or a lefty and how they use their bullpen. For now, here’s a projected lineup if Boston sends out southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez.
Randy Arozarena, LF
Wander Franco , SS
Nelson Cruz, DH
Yandy Díaz, 3B
Brandon Lowe, 2B
Jordan Luplow, 1B
Manuel Margot, RF
Mike Zunino, C
Kevin Kiermaier, CF
Who are the starting pitchers?
Red Sox: Cora did not immediately commit to a Game 1 starter after winning the Wild Card Game. But their top option appears to be either left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (13-8, 4.74 ERA) or righty Nick Pivetta (9-8, 4.53 ERA). Rodriguez was 1-1 with a 4.71 ERA against the Rays this season, while Pivetta was 1-2 despite his 2.95 ERA in four outings against Tampa Bay. Rodriguez had a 3.19 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 31 innings over his last seven appearances down the stretch, including polar-opposite consecutive starts against the Rays at the start of September: six scoreless innings in a win at Tropicana Field on Sept. 2, then six runs in 3 2/3 innings in a loss at Fenway Park on Sept. 7. Pivetta gave up seven runs in 9 2/3 innings over his last two starts against the Rays, both in August.
Rays: Left-hander Shane McClanahan (10-6, 3.43 ERA) will take the mound for Game 1 a little more than a year after he became the first pitcher in MLB history to debut in the postseason. The 24-year-old rookie was excellent for the final few months of the season, posting a 3.01 ERA with 99 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .249/.303/.361 line in 17 starts from June 15 on. He faced the Red Sox three times in August and September, allowing five runs while striking out 18 over 16 innings -- and four of those runs came in one outing. He made one of his best starts in prime time against Boston at Tropicana Field, as he held the Sox to one run over six innings in a nationally televised Sunday night game on Aug. 1.
How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Red Sox: Cora has been mixing and matching with his bullpen since Matt Barnes was bumped out of the closer’s spot in August. So, if you’re trying to predict who could run in from the bullpen for the ninth inning, don’t bother. It could be just about anyone, including Garrett Whitlock -- the team’s best reliever all season -- who finished off the Wild Card Game. Having lefty-dominating southpaw Josh Taylor back should help, and Tanner Houck showed his power arm by striking out two in a perfect seventh inning Tuesday night. Ryan Brasier, Adam Ottavino and Garrett Richards are other right-handed options, while Austin Davis is another lefty possibility. Cora has a history of using starters as relievers in October, so that’s always on the table as well.
Rays: We’re talking about Tampa Bay here, so it’s anybody’s guess. Expect to see right-handers Andrew Kittredge, Collin McHugh and Pete Fairbanks in the highest-leverage spots, no matter when they come about during the game. McHugh’s a good option to pitch multiple innings, if McClanahan doesn’t pitch deep into the game. Kittredge could be asked to get them out of jams or enter in a key spot. Fairbanks will face a run of tough hitters with his high-octane stuff. But truthfully, one strength of the Rays’ bullpen is that anybody can pitch at any time. That might even include likely Game 3 starter Drew Rasmussen, who will be available out of the bullpen in Games 1 and 2.
Are there any relievers who are unavailable?
Red Sox: With a day off Wednesday, the group should be in good shape heading into Thursday’s opener. The Red Sox did not have to extend any of their bullpen arms in the AL Wild Card Game, using Brasier, Houck, Hansel Robles and Whitlock for no more than three outs or 15 pitches.
Rays: Nope. The Rays have been able to rest since Sunday’s series finale at Yankee Stadium, and clinching early allowed them to avoid overtaxing anyone’s arm even before that. It’s a safe bet that, aside from Game 2 starter Shane Baz, anyone who’s on the roster is good to go in Game 1.
Any injuries of note?
Red Sox: The status of Martinez will be a big storyline heading into the start of the series. Rosters are due at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday. Even if Martinez isn’t ready to go by then, the Red Sox could carry him on the roster and hope his ankle improves as the series goes on. Aside from Martinez, the Red Sox are a healthy bunch entering this series.
Rays: First, consider all the pitchers unavailable because they’re on the Rays’ 60-day injured list: Chris Archer, Jalen Beeks, Yonny Chirinos, Oliver Drake, Tyler Glasnow, Tommy Hunter, DJ Johnson, Colin Poche, Chaz Roe, Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Thompson. Additionally, lefty reliever Adam Conley won’t be available in the ALDS, as he’s sidelined following a positive COVID-19 test. Reliever Nick Anderson, who didn’t debut until mid-September, ended the regular season on the 10-day IL due to a back issue but faced hitters Tuesday afternoon at Tropicana Field.
Who is hot and who is not?
Red Sox: Rafael Devers, Boston’s top hitter, got hot again during the final weekend of the season and still got on base twice, with two walks, despite going hitless in the Wild Card Game. That bodes well for the Red Sox, because Devers can carry them when he’s on top of his game. Xander Bogaerts looked like he was on the opposite side of the ledger, going 5-for-32 with nothing but singles to end the regular season, but perhaps he’s turned an important corner after taking Gerrit Cole deep Tuesday night. Kyle Schwarber also homered off Cole, and Alex Verdugo had a pair of big hits to help the Sox advance to the ALDS. Schwarber has a reputation of being a big-time performer in October. In 25 postseason games, he has a line of .290/.410/.609 with seven homers and 12 RBIs.
Rays: McClanahan’s in a good place, having put together a 1.50 ERA in his final four outings. Lowe had a 1.001 OPS, eight homers and 21 RBIs in September/October. Kiermaier finished strong and had a better second half offensively than his overall numbers might indicate. Zunino and Cruz each hit six homers in September/October, and Franco had a .924 OPS with more walks (five) than strikeouts (three) in 16 games. On the flip side would be Ji-Man Choi (.617 OPS in September/October), Brett Phillips (4-for-34) and Joey Wendle (.230, 25 strikeouts).
Anything else fans might want to know?
• Should the game go to extra innings, there will not be an automatic runner at second base to start each half-inning. Each frame will start with a clean slate, and that is in effect for each round of the postseason.
• Each team must submit a 26-man roster by 10 a.m. ET on Thursday. That roster is good for this series only. Whichever team advances can reset its roster for the Championship Series, which will begin Oct. 15 against the winner of the White Sox-Astros ALDS.
• These two teams have some postseason history. In 2008, the worst-to-first Rays beat the Red Sox in a seven-game AL Championship Series to advance to the franchise’s first World Series. Five years later, Boston’s 2013 World Series championship run began with a 3-1 series victory over Tampa Bay in the ALDS.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 3:52:27 GMT -5
Rays ready for another run at ultimate goal
12:27 AM ADT
Adam Berry
Adam Berry
@adamdberry
ST. PETERSBURG -- So far, the Rays have accomplished every goal they set for themselves back in Spring Training.
They’ve returned to the postseason for the third straight year. They won the American League East for a second consecutive season. They clinched home-field advantage through the AL playoffs. They won 100 games, which became a more realistic achievement in their eyes as they entered the final month of the season, to become the most successful regular-season team in Tampa Bay history.
But they have one more goal, their ultimate objective and another franchise first: winning the World Series.
“This is a magnificent team,” outfielder Randy Arozarena said Sunday through interpreter Manny Navarro. “We went out there and came out to be the best team in the American League, and now our goal is to go out there and win the World Series.”
The Rays fell just short in last year’s Fall Classic, losing to the Dodgers in six games. It was a step further than their previous trip to the World Series, as the 2008 AL champions only won once. And it continued the club’s steady progression from 90-game winners in 2018 to a first-round fall in ’19 to AL champions a year ago.
Now, the only remaining goal for the Rays is to take the final step. Championships have become the expectations in the Tampa Bay area lately, thanks to the Stanley Cup-winning Lightning and Super Bowl-winning Buccaneers. What will it take for the Rays to join them this year?
How do they advance out of the ALDS against the Red Sox?
A lot like they advanced through the best regular season in both franchise history and the AL.
The Rays have shown they can win games in a variety of ways, no matter the opponent, and that versatility should serve them well in the postseason.
In a short series with built-in off-days, manager Kevin Cash can be as aggressive as he wants to be with his pitching staff. That’ll bode well for a young rotation featuring Shane McClanahan, Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen, as well as their deep and dynamic bullpen. Tampa Bay does not adhere to traditional methods of bullpen usage, so Cash could very well turn to a top relief arm like Andrew Kittredge or Collin McHugh early on, then figure it out based on matchups and leverage as the game unfolds.
The Rays’ defense is also a strength, especially in the outfield. At any given point, they can put together an alignment with three true center fielders: Kevin Kiermaier, Brett Phillips and Manuel Margot. Their infield is seemingly always well-positioned to get outs on balls in play, and they have a strong veteran behind the plate in Mike Zunino. As long as the pitching staff isn’t plagued by home runs or beating itself with walks, they have to like their chances to win the run-prevention game.
The real separator for this year’s Tampa Bay team is the lineup. The Rays had the highest-scoring offense in franchise history by a significant margin, a group that can beat opponents in several facets. They have plenty of power; Brandon Lowe, Zunino, Austin Meadows and Arozarena all reached 20 home runs, and six others hit at least 10. They work tough at-bats and get on base, with no better examples than Yandy Díaz, Ji-Man Choi and, of course, rookie phenom Wander Franco. And they’ve shown a remarkable ability to score late in games, getting the best of opponents’ bullpens from the seventh inning on.
They should also benefit from having home-field advantage. Despite their well-documented low attendance, Tropicana Field can get as loud and rowdy as anywhere else in the playoffs; if you need proof, look back at their home games against the Astros in the 2019 ALDS. But the greater benefit in that regard might be on the mound, as they posted a 2.93 ERA as a team at The Trop, about a run and a half better than their road ERA.
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What does the blueprint for a championship run look like?
A lot like last year, but with a better finish.
The Rays need their starters to be competitive, keeping games close. They need their relievers to do what they did all season. They need to play their brand of reliable and often spectacular defense. Most of all, they need their lineup to maintain its regular-season momentum.
Just think how the 2020 World Series might have unfolded differently, for instance, if the Rays’ lineup had offered more than a heaping helping of Arozarena, some big hits from Kiermaier, one flash of hope from Lowe and an incredibly timely Game 4 knock by Phillips.
This group is capable of more. Lowe will be the first to admit a hot streak can end at a moment’s notice, but it’s hard not to see a better postseason ahead for him. Meadows is healthy, unlike last season, and he’s shown a knack for clutch hits. Zunino is going to rack up his fair share of strikeouts, but he’s committed to an approach that helped him hit 33 homers during the regular season. Kiermaier found a plan that clicked into place in the second half, too.
And Arozarena? Well, we’ve seen what he can do when he’s hot.
The biggest difference-makers, though, might be the club’s youngest and oldest players: the 20-year-old Franco and the 41-year-old Nelson Cruz. Together, they can carry the Rays’ lineup.
Would anyone be surprised if Franco steals the October spotlight the way Arozarena did last year? The switch-hitting shortstop reached the Majors with impossibly high expectations and, after a few up-and-down weeks, met them. He’ll occupy an important spot in the top third of the Rays’ lineup.
Cruz has been here before, and his postseason track record -- including a .288/.360/.659 slash line, 17 homers and 37 RBIs in 46 career games -- speaks for itself. He’s accomplished so much in his 17-year career, and now, he has another shot to play for the championship that eluded him a decade ago with Texas.
What is one reason for concern?
Trying to find a 100-win team’s flaws feels like nitpicking. As much as anything, it feels like setting yourself up for failure after this season. The Rays faced their share of adversity, much of it caused by significant injuries to their pitching staff, yet they always seemed to find an answer.
That could very well turn out to be the case here, too. The most commonly cited knock on the Rays heading into the playoffs will likely be that their starting pitching is untested, unproven and inexperienced.
It’s a valid point. There is no Charlie Morton on this staff, no horse with a big-game reputation. McClanahan and Baz are rookies, Rasmussen only became a big league starter in August, and their other options didn’t exactly dominate the last six months.
But there is a ton of talent. McClanahan has a four-pitch mix and elite velocity from the left side, and inexperience hardly seems like an issue considering he made his Major League debut on the playoff stage last year. Rasmussen has been automatic for five innings and a handful of hits every time out, and he’s as cool as they come on the mound. Combine the two and you get Baz, who has all the front-line stuff in the world along with a remarkable sense of poise for his age -- “a Charlie heartbeat,” as pitching coach Kyle Snyder said.
“I'll still take talent over experience,” Snyder said.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 3:54:15 GMT -5
McClanahan up to task of Game 1 ALDS start
12:43 AM ADT
Adam Berry
Adam Berry
@adamdberry
ST. PETERSBURG -- This time a year ago, Shane McClanahan will admit, he was nervous.
The left-hander had never pitched in the Majors. He’d barely pitched above Class-A ball. He was about 2 1/2 years removed from pitching for the University of South Florida. Yet, the Rays put him on their postseason rosters throughout October and sent him to the mound for his big league debut in Game 1 of the 2020 American League Division Series against the Yankees. He recorded one out in the ninth inning of a 9-3 loss.
That appearance made McClanahan the first pitcher to ever debut in the postseason. His first taste of The Show came in the playoffs against the Yankees, Astros and Dodgers. So … yeah, of course he was nervous.
“Last year? Absolutely,” McClanahan said last week during an interview with MLB.com. “I think if anyone told you they weren’t nervous making their debut in the playoffs, they’d be lying to you.”
McClanahan has come a long way in the year since. He’s a more complete and confident pitcher. After his postseason experience and first full season in the Majors, he’s also a more proven pitcher. And now, rather than coming in for a mop-up outing, McClanahan will start for the Rays in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Red Sox on Thursday night at Tropicana Field.
“He's a great player. He's a great teammate. He's got great talent,” Rays shortstop Wander Franco said through interpreter Manny Navarro. “I'm looking forward to seeing him so that he can show everyone what he can do.”
What McClanahan can do now is significantly different than what he did during his 4 1/3 innings last October. Asked how he’s changed since his 2020 debut as a reliever, McClanahan started slowly, and then he broke into a grin as he spoke: “Well, I added pretty much two new pitches. I changed my motion. I throw a lot more strikes. And I'm a starter now. So not really much, to be honest with you.”
One might assume McClanahan went home at the end of last year’s playoffs thrilled with where his career had taken him. He was a successful Minor League pitcher who’d pitched on the game’s biggest stage to begin his career -- but he wasn’t satisfied. He was motivated.
McClanahan wanted to show he’s better than the way he got “hit around” in the 2020 postseason, allowing eight hits and two homers to the 24 batters he faced. He wanted to prove scouting reports that pegged him as a two-pitch pitcher who didn’t throw enough strikes, thus bound to wind up in the bullpen, wrong. He wanted to be a different pitcher when he showed up for Spring Training this year.
“There's always stuff you can do to get better, no matter what. And I wanted to try to take that next step of who I was as a player,” McClanahan said. “I think the second you get content with anything, it's game over. Like Clayton Kershaw, probably one of the best pitchers to ever step foot in this world, won the Cy Young and the very next year debuts a brand new slider. It just shows, no matter what you do, don't be complacent. Always try to look for that next thing you can do to get better.”
It started with his pitch mix. Previously reliant on a fastball and slurve, McClanahan set out to add a cutter to his arsenal. He told Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder he was going to test it out during an offseason bullpen session at “The Lab” inside Tropicana Field. After his first pitch, Snyder said, “Hey, throw that again.” Then, after the next one, “Hey, how are you holding that?”
It wasn’t a cutter. It was a slider, a pitch he’s used 34.7 percent of the time this season. The slider has produced a .198 opponents’ average and a .299 slugging percentage, to go along with a 39.9 percent whiff rate. He’s used that alongside a fastball that averages 96.4 mph (and topped out at 100.5 mph), a refined curveball (.202 average against, 41.9 percent whiff rate) and a changeup (44.8 percent whiff rate) that rounds out his arsenal.
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Not every team can claim a young, left-handed starter who throws this hard with a four-pitch mix.
“Well, it's rare. We had one here for a couple seasons -- he won a Cy Young -- in Blake [Snell],” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Not comparing the two … but any pitcher with a four-pitch mix that is willing to throw it over the plate has the ability to consistently do that. You're setting yourself up with a chance to be really successful.”
McClanahan has been, emerging as the Rays’ most consistent starter since ace Tyler Glasnow suffered a season-ending injury on June 14. The next day, McClanahan began a 17-start stretch during which he posted a 3.01 ERA with 99 strikeouts and 25 walks in 89 2/3 innings. He allowed more than three runs just once during that stretch while holding opponents to one or no runs in nine of those outings.
“It's just confidence in his ability,” Snyder said. “At the end of the day, he's as good of a left-hander as there is out there.”
McClanahan has shown poise beyond his years and experience, too. On July 31, the day before he faced the Red Sox on Sunday Night Baseball, reporters poked and prodded to see if McClanahan was any more amped up to face a division rival on national TV. He wasn’t, so eventually, he laughed and quietly reminded the media members gathered near the Rays’ dugout, “I pitched in the World Series.”
Nervous? Not anymore.
“I think the playoffs definitely helped me,” McClanahan said. “When you debut in literally the most pressure-filled situation in the realm of baseball, it's almost like a sense of relief when it's a regular-season game.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 3:55:30 GMT -5
Rays' ALDS roster may have few surprises
12:25 AM ADT
Adam Berry
Adam Berry
@adamdberry
ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays used 61 players this season, including 38 pitchers. They utilize their depth as well as any club in the Majors, and the sheer number of pitchers they had available helped them survive the transition from last year’s 60-game season back to a 162-game campaign.
Now, as they prepare to begin the American League Division Series on Thursday against the Red Sox at Tropicana Field, they’ll have to pick their best 26-man roster.
Anything’s possible with the Rays, who surprisingly had left-hander Shane McClanahan make his Major League debut out of the bullpen last October. But they don’t seem to have many particularly convoluted roster competitions as this postseason begins.
“I really don’t think there’s going to be a lot of decisions,” manager Kevin Cash said Sunday. “We’re going to have our conversations, but I don’t anticipate anything out of the ordinary.”
The Rays’ position-player group has been mostly stable, aside from the occasional injury, since the acquisition of veteran designated hitter Nelson Cruz. Their postseason rotation began to come into focus in the final days of the season. Their bullpen is perhaps the biggest question mark.
“Every opponent is a little different, which could shape our decision a different way,” Cash said. “You want to be as prepared as possible, but we’ll be watching those games just as much as the fans are.”
Here’s a look at three things to monitor as the Rays put together their roster in the coming days.
What about the starters?
The Rays might add an arm to their rotation if they advance through the postseason, but in the ALDS, it seems like they’ll rely on three primary starters: McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen and Shane Baz, in some order.
They’ve already tipped their hand a bit in some cases by trying out righty Luis Patiño and lefty Josh Fleming in the bullpen. Those two are likely ticketed for relief roles, with Patiño firing high-octane fastballs for multiple innings and Fleming brought in either to get ground balls or handle left-handed hitters.
But what about starters Michael Wacha and Ryan Yarbrough? After ditching his cutter, Wacha mostly pitched well down the stretch. He had a 2.88 ERA with 36 strikeouts and seven walks in his last seven outings. He’s playoff-tested, and he can provide another length option if a starter gets knocked out early or if multiple innings are needed late in a game. Yarbrough has had an up-and-down season, but he has a knack for inducing weak contact, and he allowed only 11 hits, one walk and a .586 opponents’ OPS in 16 2/3 innings over his final three outings.
Those two provided valuable innings during the regular season, helping to keep the Rays’ younger arms fresh. Maybe one of them will get a start in the ALDS. Maybe they can lock down a role out of the bullpen. We’ll soon find out.
Rounding out the bullpen
Let’s assume Patiño and Fleming are in after acing their aforementioned relief auditions in the season’s final weeks. The Rays’ top three high-leverage arms have been right-hander Andrew Kittredge, hard-throwing righty Pete Fairbanks and multi-inning option Collin McHugh.
Righties J.P. Feyereisen has been asked to pitch in big spots and get out of jams, and slider specialist Matt Wisler seems like a safe bet as long as his recently injured right middle finger holds up. David Robertson, who pitched two innings in Houston last week, and JT Chargois, who has a 1.90 ERA in 25 outings with the Rays despite some recent walk issues, have also pitched in high-leverage roles this season.
Let’s assume they carry 13 pitchers, including three starters and all of the above relievers. That would leave one spot available on the staff. What are their options?
Perhaps Nick Anderson, their top high-leverage option last year, assuming he’s deemed to be in good shape after sitting out until mid-September then finishing the regular season on the 10-day IL due to a back injury. Dietrich Enns is another left-hander who can work in short stints or handle multiple innings. Right-hander Louis Head, who has excelled in an up-and-down season split between the Majors and Triple-A Durham, could help out at some point. Or perhaps that spot is best filled by one of the veteran starters, Wacha or Yarbrough.
Position-player possibilities
This seems pretty easy, on the surface.
Mike Zunino and Francisco Mejía are the catchers. The infielders are Ji-Man Choi, Brandon Lowe, Wander Franco, Joey Wendle and Yandy Díaz. The outfielders are Randy Arozarena, Kevin Kiermaier, Austin Meadows, Manuel Margot and Brett Phillips. The DH is Cruz. That’s 13 players, half the roster.
The toughest two omissions are slick-fielding infielder Taylor Walls, a potentially valuable defensive replacement at second base, shortstop or third, and right-handed bat Jordan Luplow, who was sent to Triple-A the last week of the season to get regular at-bats and more work at first base. It’s hard to see them jumping past any of the more established position players, but one -- most likely Luplow, as a matchup-oriented bat -- could claim a spot if the Rays opt to carry only 12 pitchers in the ALDS.
There are only three other position players on the Rays’ 40-man roster: versatile infielder Mike Brosseau, who hasn’t been able to match his previous production at the plate this season; outfielder Josh Lowe, who played two games in his brief debut last month; and speedy infielder/outfielder Vidal Bruján, who thrived in Durham but got into only 10 games in the big leagues.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 4:21:13 GMT -5
MLB playoffs: See the Red Sox-Rays ALDS schedule
By Katie McInerney Globe Staff,Updated October 5, 2021, 11:49 p.m.
The Red Sox beat the Yankees to advance to the American League Division Series, where they’ll face the AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays.
Here’s the schedule for the best-of-five series:
2021 ALDS schedule
Game 1: Red Sox at Rays, Thursday, Oct. 7, 8:07 p.m. (FS1)
Game 2: Red Sox at Rays, Friday, Oct. 8, 7:02 p.m. (FS1)
Game 3: Rays at Red Sox, Sunday, Oct. 10, 4:07 p.m. (Fox, FS1, MLB Network, TBS)
Game 4 (if necessary): Rays at Red Sox, Monday, Oct. 11, TBA (Fox, FS1, MLB Network, TBS)
Game 5 (if necessary): Red Sox at Rays, Wednesday, Oct. 13, TBA (FS1)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 4:44:41 GMT -5
Mastrodonato: With Alex Cora’s magic touch, playoff Red Sox look better than they have all year
By Jason Mastrodonato | jason.mastrodonato@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald
October 6, 2021 at 5:35 a.m.
The Red Sox have arrived.
Finally, after two-plus months of mediocre baseball, the Red Sox showed up to play their best game of the season at the most important time on Tuesday as they steamrolled the New York Yankees, 6-2, to become one of the final four teams remaining in the American League.
These aren’t the Red Sox of August and September, who played just good enough to limp into the postseason as one of the two Wild Card teams.
And these aren’t the Red Sox of April through July, the team that surprised us all by winning close games, winning come-from-behind games and winning extra-inning games as they sat in first place for most of the first half.
Tuesday night, the Red Sox showed up to a Fenway Park crowd that hasn’t been this raucous and energetic in years. And they played like a team that hadn’t been that focused and confident in years.
“Doesn’t matter who is playing, who is not playing,” Cora said. “If we show up, we are going to play. And regardless of the result we are going to be happy with the way we go about our business. Sometimes it looks horrible. But 93 times a year it hasn’t looked horrible, so we’re going to keep rolling.”
This was a route.
Nathan Eovaldi looked like a man on a mission from the very first pitch. He sliced through the Yankees’ top of the order in the first inning on just 11 pitches, throwing nine strikes. His fastball touched 100 mph and sat at 98-99, easily the highest average velocity of the season.
He was amped up, but he wasn’t wild. He was as sharp as he’s ever been. And while he couldn’t grip his breaking ball the last time he played the Yankees, when he allowed seven runs, he had everything working with a five-pitch mix of magic that turned a high-powered Yankees offense into dust.
“We learned a lot last week,” Cora said of Eovaldi’s poor outing in his previous start.
Gerrit Cole wasn’t great, and it was clear from the beginning that Cora’s newly-shaped lineup had his number.
Cora thought by putting Kyle Schwarber first and Rafael Devers third, the Yankees would pitch to Schwarber but work around Devers. He was right, as Cole wanted nothing to do with Devers with nobody on base and two outs in the first.
Cole walked Devers, then made one mistake to Xander Bogaerts, leaving a changeup over the middle of the plate that Bogaerts hammered 400-plus feet over the center-field wall.
For a player who hadn’t been feeling good about his swing for “longer than a couple weeks,” Bogaerts might’ve been the MVP of this game with a two-run homer in the first and a beautifully-executed throw to home plate to nail Aaron Judge in the sixth, when the Yankees were trying to claw back.
“Talk about big plays by a big player tonight in Xander,” Schwarber said. “Big homer, and Kiké Hernandez with the great relay to him, to be able to keep that — if I could label play of the game, that would be play of the game for me, where Xander holes him down at the plate and keeps it from a 3-1 game instead of a 3-2 game.”
Working with a lead, Eovaldi only grew stronger.
He carved his way through the Yankees lineup while the Fenway crowd seemed to get more excited and confident with every out as he struck out eight and allowed just one run on four hits.
While another manager might’ve ticked off the entire New England region by taking Eovaldi out of the game after just 71 pitches, Cora pulled the trigger without a worry.
“When I went to the mound, he gave me this look, like, ‘what are you doing?’ Cora said. “But it’s just such a tough game to manage.”
Eovaldi looked stunned, as did the entire ballpark.
“It’s definitely frustrating but obviously I understand the situation and everything,” he said. “Third time through the lineup, it’s tough. Batter seeing you for the third time, they have a better understanding of what you’re going to do and a better idea of how you’re going to attack them.
“I get it. Obviously in that situation, I didn’t want to come out.”
Cole and Eovaldi were statistically the two most valuable starting pitchers in the league this year. Yet they combined to throw just 121 pitches in this game. For context, there have been 147 pitchers to throw at least that many pitches on their own in a playoff game. The last was Justin Verlander, who threw 123 pitches in a complete game effort to lead the Astros over the Yankees in the 2017 ALCS.
But Cora managed his bullpen flawlessly, using Ryan Brasier for Stanton in the sixth, Tanner Houck for a perfect inning in the seventh, Hansel Robles for another perfect inning in the eighth and rookie Rule 5 pick Garrett Whitlock, who began his career with the Yankees, to close the game out in the ninth.
In normal times, the Red Sox’ bullpen doesn’t stack up. It’s a puzzle on a nightly basis. There are no clear roles and there’s no closer.
In the playoffs, Cora gets the best out of the arms he has.
And low and behold, the Red Sox made some plays with their gloves on Tuesday.
The relay throw was the play of the game, and they managed to go nine innings without a single defensive mistake.
“We played defense,” Cora said. “When we play defense, we’re good.”
Even without J.D. Martinez, who is a question mark for the Rays series with a sprained left ankle, the Red Sox offense out-classed the Yankees’ bullpen and added three runs late on two of their best arms, Luis Severino and Jonathan Loaisiga.
If the Red Sox in the first half looked like a mediocre team that was good at winning, and in the second half they looked like a mediocre team that wasn’t, Tuesday’s game was something altogether different.
They pitched. They hit. The played defense. The manager pulled the right strings and the atmosphere at Fenway Park was electric.
The Red Sox looked like a complete baseball team.
“It can get you on a roll,” Bogaerts said. “If we played badly, we would have been going home, but we played good in a very pressured situation, a situation that was very important. We couldn’t make mistakes. Now we go to Tampa and feel like we could play pretty free.”
They’ll be the underdogs, but if they play like they did on Tuesday night, the defending A.L. champion Rays will have their hands full.
“We’ve just got to be ready to face a great baseball team,” Cora said. “Probably coming into the season, everybody talked about them being the best team in the big leagues. And we have a huge challenge. But we’re ready for it.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 4:49:50 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox to face Rays in ALDS; best-of-5 series starts Thursday night at Tropicana Field
Updated: 2:36 a.m. | Published: 11:25 p.m.
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
BOSTON -- The Red Sox are headed to St. Petersburg, Florida.
After beating the Yankees, 6-2, in Tuesday’s American League Wild Card Game, the Sox will face the Rays in the American League Division Series. The best-of-five matchup -- and first postseason meeting between the division rivals since 2013 -- begins Thursday night at Tropicana Field.
The Rays won the American League East, finishing 100-62 (and eight games better than the second-place Red Sox). Tampa Bay had the best record in the American League (and the third-best record in baseball).
The Sox and Rays have faced off in the postseason twice before. In 2008, Tampa Bay beat Boston in the ALCS in seven games. In 2013, the Sox returned the favor, beating the Rays in four games in the ALDS en route to the club’s third of four World Series championships since 2000.
ALDS SCHEDULE:
Game 1 -- Thursday, Oct. 7, 8:07 p.m. -- Red Sox @ Rays -- TBA vs. LHP Shane McClanahan -- FS1
Game 2 -- Friday, Oct. 8, 7:02 p.m. -- Red Sox @ Rays -- TBA vs. RHP Shane Baz -- FS1
Game 3 -- Sunday, Oct. 10, 4:07 p.m. -- Rays @ Red Sox -- TBA vs. TBA -- MLB Network
Game 4 (if necessary) -- Monday, Oct. 11, TBA -- Rays @ Red Sox -- TBA vs. TBA -- FS1 or MLB Network
Game 5 (if necessary) -- Wednesday, Oct. 13, TBA -- Red Sox @ Rays -- FS1
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 13:12:43 GMT -5
Nick Pivetta can be this year’s unexpected rover
He’s well suited for the job.
By Matt_Collins@MattRyCollins Oct 6, 2021, 1:30pm EDT
The Red Sox bullpen has been coming through recently in some big spots, but I think I’m in the majority position when I say I’m still quite scared when they are brought in to finish off a close game. I think it’s a natural thing for a fan base to be nervous about their bullpen, and really it’s basically a universal part of baseball fandom in the same way people only complain about their favorite team’s third base coach, but it certainly feels valid here. Even with strong performances recently, all of the big relievers in this bullpen have the ability to just lose their command at any point, perhaps save for Garrett Whitlock.
Of course, this is also not a new thing for good Red Sox teams. The 2018 team was probably the best Red Sox team many of us will ever see, and their bullpen felt like a train wreck at times. The thing we learned about that season, and the thing that I would expect to continue to see for however long the Red Sox keep this run going, is what Alex Cora has termed the rover position. This concept of starting pitchers going into the bullpen on their days off during the postseason is certainly not one that Cora and the Red Sox made up, but they took a step towards perfecting it on the backs of Nathan Eovaldi, Rick Porcello, Chris Sale and David Price that season.
I would expect to see a similar kind of strategy this year, even if there are seemingly more relievers that Cora trusts with this group as compared to 2018. Even if he does have trust in someone like Hansel Robles, I still think he has more trust in his starters, and he’ll use them when needed. And to talk about specific names, it’s Nick Pivetta who I can see stepping up and, in the event of a long run this month, becoming the kind of folk hero that steps up in all of these different roles.
Pivetta is obviously not the best pitcher on this staff, but with Eovaldi having pitched on Tuesday and Sale on Sunday, neither of the big guns will be on full rest for Thursday’s series opener against the Rays. I don’t have a great sense for what Cora is planning to do in terms of a starting pitcher for that game, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Pivetta got the first start, especially given his ability to miss bats and the Rays’ propensity for strikeouts. And then I wouldn’t be surprised to get back to Fenway for Game Three and (potentially) Game Four with Pivetta as an option out of the bullpen in that aforementioned rover role. I could also see him work entirely out of the bullpen for this series and then transition to a rover role if they make it to the ALCS and beyond.
He really does seem like the kind of pitcher who can thrive in this back-and-forth role. We’ve seen what he can do as a starter this year, which is just about anything. He certainly is no sure thing to be good, and we’ve seen plenty of blow ups. But we’ve also seen big starts against good teams, and when his stuff is playing at its best there’s not a lineup in the league that he can’t successfully navigate.
And then, if and when he gets into a relief role and shorter stints, his pitching style really plays up. Before the season started I felt like Pivetta would eventually settle into a relief role, and while I certainly believe he’s earned a chance to keep starting long-term with his performance this year, I still also believe he can work wonders in that shorter stint type role. He has been able to get by mostly fine this year without a changeup, but a pitcher with his mid-90s fastball and his breaking balls can really do wonders in one or two innings at a time.
We all know the stakes ratchet up this time of year and each inning comes with extra mounting pressure, and Cora is going to turn to his best pitchers in those moments regardless of their nominal roles. It was probably the number one reason the Red Sox were able to roll through a historically difficult playoff road in 2018, and I’d be shocked if Cora didn’t go back to that well this year too. I don’t think any starting pitcher will be off the table if their arm feels okay, but Pivetta specifically seems like the guy whose pitching style will best translate into what we’ve already seen as a crucial role for this team at this time of year.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 13:14:12 GMT -5
How to watch Red Sox vs. Rays ALDS: Live stream, TV schedule, tickets for 2021 MLB Playoffs
Updated: 11:42 a.m. | Published: 11:42 a.m.
By Nick O'Malley | nomalley@masslive.com
The Boston Red Sox are set to take on the Tampa Bay Rays in an American League Divisional Series matchup this week as Boston continues to keep its postseason hopes alive. After surviving Tuesday night’s Wild Card Game against the New York Yankees, the Red Sox now head into the 2021 ALDS against the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays, with the series set to start down in Tropicana Field. Will the Red Sox make a splash in the MLB playoffs or will they run into a red-hot Rays team that dominated during the regular season? We’ll find out when the series opens up Thursday night.
How to watch Red Sox vs. Rays ALDS (2021 MLB Playoffs)
What TV channel will the games be on? - The ALDS will air mostly on TV via FOX Sports 1, save for Game 3, which will be on MLB Network.
Live steam options: FOX Sports | Sling | fuboTV - Viewers who have cable can use login credentials from their TV provider to watch via FOX Sports or the FOX Sports app. Fans who don’t have cable can also watch the game with a la carte streaming options such as Sling or fuboTV, which has a free seven-day trial.
Where to buy tickets: Fans can score tickets for all the games at Tropicana Field and Fenway Park are available from ticket providers such as StubHub, ticketmaster and SeatGeek.
Red Sox vs. Rays: Full ALDS TV schedule
Game 1: Oct. 7 | Time: 8 p.m. | TV: FOX Sports 1 | Tickets: StubHub | Live stream: fuboTV (free trial)
Game 2: Oct. 8 | Time: 7 p.m. | TV: FOX Sports 1 | Tickets: StubHub | Live stream: fuboTV (free trial)
Game 3: Oct. 10 | Time: 4 p.m. | TV: MLB Network | Tickets: StubHub | Live stream: fuboTV (free trial)
Game 4 (if necessary): Oct. 10 | Time TBD | TV: FOX Sports 1 l Tickets: StubHub | Live stream: fuboTV (free trial)
Game 5 (if necessary): Oct. 13 | Time TBD | TV: FOX Sports 1 l Tickets: StubHub | Live stream: fuboTV (free trial)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 13:37:59 GMT -5
Xander Bogaerts, once again in the middle of everything, showed up when it matters to captain Red Sox to ALDS
By Tara Sullivan Globe Columnist,Updated October 6, 2021, 1 hour ago
There were more than enough late-season moments of ineptitude that made where the Red Sox find themselves today seem an impossible dream. Among their biggest problems was the ill-timed slump of Xander Bogaerts, whose final nine regular-season games (in which the Sox went 4-5) included a meager five hits, none for extra bases.
Bogaerts knew it. After his team was swept at the hands of the lowly Orioles and was clinging to its playoff life last week, he admitted how deeply he knew it.
“I know a lot of it I take responsibility for because, I mean, coming down a stretch like this it’s a bad time to be playing bad baseball,” he said. “But sometimes it happens. It happens to the best of them.”
And then, he added something that carries extra resonance today: “But you can’t keep a good guy down for too long.”
Tuesday night at Fenway, the best of the Red Sox good guys got up off the mat in a most dramatic way, standing firmly in the center of everything that went right in the one-game wild card survival pool. If starting pitcher Nate Eovaldi was the workhorse on the mound to lift the Red Sox to their 6-2 win over the Yankees, Bogaerts was his counterpart in the box and on the field.
A two-run home run in the bottom of the first.
A perfect relay throw in the top of the sixth.
A sprint from first to home in the bottom of the sixth.
Translation?
A welcome cushion with an early lead and all the breathing room Eovaldi would need.
A crushing blow to the best Yankee threat of the night, cutting down a barreling Aaron Judge at home plate.
An all-out effort around the bases to negate the one meager run the Yanks had just scored on Anthony Rizzo’s solo homer, pushing the lead back to three runs.
“Talk about big plays by a big player tonight in Xander. Big homer, and Kiké [Hernández] with the great relay to him,“ as Kyle Schwarber, author of his own Red Sox home run later in the game, put it. “If I could label play of the game, that would be play of the game for me, where Xander holes him down at the plate and keeps it from a 3-1 game instead of a 3-2 game.”
When it was all over, and Bogaerts was practically dancing his way off the field, it was obvious yet again how much he means to this team. As the Red Sox head to Tampa to face the division-winning Rays in the AL Division Series, they do so behind their de facto captain.
Bogaerts, 28 and the longest-tenured player on the roster, has moved seamlessly into the space vacated by the likes of Mookie Betts and David Price, the veteran voices who helped this team win it all back in 2018. That he never lost faith in his skills speaks to the respect he has for himself. That his teammates never lost faith in him speaks to the respect he has earned from them.
“This game can kick you in the butt sometimes, where you can be going really good and then you show up the next day and you don’t know what this thing is in your hands. It’s a crazy game,” said Schwarber. “But to see the work that guy puts in on a daily basis, to be able to put himself in a great position tonight . . . it means a lot to us as a team.
“And he is the guy who has been here through multiple championships, and to see him step up tonight and do it, it is phenomenal. You can’t say enough good things about Bogaerts. You can’t say enough good things about what he brings to our ballclub.”
Related: Xander Bogaerts, in his usual middle of everything, captains Red Sox toward Tampa
Like putting team over self. Consider the defensive play he made in the sixth, when the Yankees were finally showing some signs of life. With Rizzo’s home run already cutting the deficit to 3-1, a one-out single by Judge and the ensuing Green Monster shot by Giancarlo Stanton should have set the Yankees up for a long rally. Instead, between third-base coach Phil Nevin’s bad decision to send Judge, and Bogaerts’ perfect scoop, turn, and throw to Kevin Plawecki — did you see how perfectly the ball was placed for the tag, just off the plate and slightly up the third base line? — the rally was over.
No one loved it more than Bogaerts.
“That was better than a homer for me personally,” he said. “If that run scores, it’s 3-2. Stanton is at second base, the whole momentum is on their side. The dugout is getting pumped up. As Judge was out at home, I saw Stanton was pretty mad. He probably wanted a homer there but also an RBI, and he didn’t get that. And he probably felt like he didn’t do much because that run didn’t score.
“I feel like that was one of the biggest moments in the game regardless of all the homers and all the walks. That changed momentum big time.”
Indeed it did, because Bogaerts changed the momentum of his own game, too. He couldn’t have timed it better.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 16:50:38 GMT -5
Pete Abraham
@peteabe
·
41m
Eduardo Rodriguez is the Game 1 starter. Chris Sale has Game 2. JD Martinez doing better. Will test his ankle today.
The Rays are opening up the upper deck at the Trop. Must be a big game.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 7, 2021 2:13:06 GMT -5
Red Sox Outright Jose Iglesias, Yairo Munoz
By Darragh McDonald | October 6, 2021 at 9:37pm CDT
The Red Sox have outrighted infielders Jose Iglesias and Yairo Munoz, according to a team announcement. This now leaves their 40-man roster at 39, giving them the opportunity to potentially make an addition before tomorrow’s ALDS kick-off. (Munoz had been on the COVID-19 related injured list since September 1st and thus wasn’t taking up a roster spot.)
Subtracting Iglesias from the roster isn’t terribly surprising, since he is unable to play for the club again this season anyhow on account of being signed after the August 31st deadline. Players joining an organization after that date are ineligible for postseason play with their new club. Iglesias was released by the Angels September 3rd and signed with the Red Sox September 6th. He is also heading into free agency after the postseason, making it a formality to cut him loose a bit early.
The club could now potentially add a player from their minor league system to the 40-man roster for postseason eligibility. Players in the organization but not on the 40-man roster before September 1 can still participate in the playoffs via a petition to the Commissioner’s Office, a fairly common maneuver throughout the league.
Another roster question hanging over the club is whether or not J.D. Martinez will be on it. The slugger hurt his ankle recently and was left off the roster for the Wild Card game. As noted by Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Martinez took the field today and “tested his ankle at low intensity.” When Martinez was asked if he would play tomorrow, he gave the noncommittal answer, “You’ll find out.” Of course, any player that the Red Sox could potentially call up would pale in comparison to a healthy Martinez, who had yet another excellent season at the plate, hitting .286/.349/.518, for a wRC+ of 128.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 7, 2021 2:32:23 GMT -5
Red Sox-Rays position-by-position analysis
October 6th, 2021
Anthony Castrovince
Anthony Castrovince
@castrovince
When the Boston Red Sox embarked upon an organizational pivot just one year after winning the World Series, where did they go to find their new front-office operator?
They went to the Tampa Bay Rays, of course.
Like other pilferers past, the Red Sox knew the value of the Tampa Bay brainpower and summoned Chaim Bloom, a one-time Rays intern who had elevated to senior vice president, to be their chief baseball officer. And now, with Bloom’s Bostonians having dispatched the bitter rival Yankees in the American League Wild Card Game, a fascinating AL Division Series dynamic is upon us.
It begins Thursday night at Tropicana Field.
The Red Sox still have many of the seeds and sources of their 2018 World Series title, but with Bloom’s imprint -- in a tenure that began with the Mookie Betts trade -- rounding out the roster. And the Rays still operate as they did when Bloom was aboard, relentlessly refining the roster with emotionless efficiency and superior scouting and development.
We know how these clubs stacked up in the regular season, with the low-budget Rays running away from the big, bad Red Sox and Yankees to win their second consecutive AL East title. But how will they stack up in October?
Let’s analyze a best-of-five series that is bursting into … Bloom.
Catcher
Boston’s Christian Vázquez had a disappointing offensive year, with a .258/.308/.352 slash. He did, however, turn it up a notch in the final month (.284/.310/.433), and his five defensive runs saved tied for fourth among catchers with at least 900 innings this season. He’s backed by Kevin Plawecki, a trusted veteran.
But the Rays’ Mike Zunino has had the better year. Zunino’s seven defensive runs saved ranked fourth among MLB catchers with at least 800 innings this season, and he’s coming off the best offensive season of his career (.860 OPS, 33 homers). His backup, Francisco Mejía, also had an above-average offensive year.
Advantage: Rays
First base
In the last couple months, the Rays primarily rotated between the left-handed Ji-Man Choi (.229/.348/.411 slash) and right-handed Deadline acquisition Jordan Luplow (.246/.319/.477) here. The right-handed Yandy Díaz (.256/.353/.387 slash) had a healthy dose of starts here prior to Luplow’s arrival. However it shakes out, the Rays have a mish-mash of guys who can produce at an above-average rate.
Boston, though, has more boom. Bobby Dalbec came alive in the second half with a .269/.344/.611 slash and 15 homers. Kyle Schwarber, who hit a 435-foot “Schwarbomb” in the Wild Card Game, could see starts here, as well, depending on the status of J.D. Martinez’s sprained ankle and the outfield arrangement. Dalbec did not grade out well as a defender at first this year (minus-7 outs above average), but he improved over the course of the year. It’s a tough call, but we’ll take the more powerful pair.
Advantage: Red Sox
Second base
Brandon Lowe remains an all-too-unheralded gem who can be plugged in just about anywhere in the order (primarily at leadoff). He tied for third among MLB second basemen in FanGraphs’ WAR (5.2) and was also third in OPS (.863). He struggled initially in last year’s postseason, only to rise up with three home runs in the World Series.
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With late-season starter José Iglesias unavailable for the postseason, the Red Sox went with a rusty Christian Arroyo (just 11 plate appearances since July 18) at second in the Wild Card Game (he went 0-for-3). Enrique Hernández also sees time here when he doesn’t start in center field.
Advantage: Rays
Shortstop
Wander Franco is the future. And the present. The 20-year-old got on base in 43 consecutive games -- a stretch in which he had more hits (55) than swinging strikes (48). He was not promoted until late June yet was still worth 2.5 fWAR, with a .288/.347/.463 slash. It will be exciting to see what he can deliver on the big stage.
But we’ve got to side with the establishment for now. Xander Bogaerts slumped at season’s end, only to hit the tone-setting, two-run homer off Gerrit Cole in the first inning of the Wild Card Game, followed by an impeccable relay throw to nab Aaron Judge at the plate and preserve what was then a two-run lead. For the year, he had a 295/.370/.493 slash and 23 home runs. He’s simply one of the best shortstops in baseball and still maintains an edge on the heralded rookie.
Advantage: Red Sox
Third base
The aforementioned Díaz and Joey Wendle have mostly handled the hot corner for the Rays. Díaz has strong numbers against lefties (.288/.367/.445 slash), while Wendle, who was an All-Star this year, is above average against righties (.287/.332/.457).
No need for a platoon in Boston. The 24-year-old Rafael Devers is one of the game’s bright lights, with an .890 OPS that ranked third among qualified third basemen in the Majors this season. He had 38 homers and 37 doubles.
Advantage: Red Sox
Left field
Austin Meadows and Randy Arozarena split up the starts pretty evenly here for the Rays. Nothing with this team is ironclad, but Meadows will probably be the primary guy in left and Arozarena the primary guy in right, so that’s how we’ll approach this exercise. With a .234/.315/.458 slash, 27 homers and 29 doubles, Meadows didn’t quite replicate his monster 2019 season, but he did improve substantially from a difficult 2020.
As for the Red Sox, again, much depends on Martinez’s status. But when the club is at full strength, Schwarber primarily starts here. The other option is Alex Verdugo, who has really locked in at the plate the last two games (5-for-9, five RBIs). That could be a big boost for Boston if it carries into the ALDS. For the season, Verdugo was just a bit better than league average at the plate (.289/.351/.426).
Advantage: Red Sox
Center field
At 31, Kevin Kiermaier remains one of the most reliable center-field gloves in the game. His 10 outs above average tied for fifth-most at the position in 2021. And his just-north-of-league-average output (.259/.328/.388 slash) was his best offensive season in four years. (He’s also skilled at picking up things dropped on the ground, should that be a need at any point.) Manuel Margot’s .753 OPS against lefties and good defense make him a strong platoon partner here.
Enrique Hernández can start here for the Red Sox when he’s not at second base, and he’s an asset with seven outs above average in center field and a .250/.337/.449 slash. But the Sox take on a defensive downgrade if or when Hernández slides to second and Verdugo starts here. So we’ll give the edge to Kiermaier and Co.
Advantage: Rays
Right field
Again, we’ll consider this Arozarena’s primary domain, though you’ll also see him in left, and you could also see Margot. But focusing primarily on Arozarena, he put himself in good position in the AL Rookie of the Year race. Though nowhere near as incendiary as his 2020 postseason, his regular season -- .815 OPS, 20 homers, 32 doubles, three triples, 20 steals -- made it clear he was no flash in the pan. He can hit to all fields and has blazing speed.
Former Rays outfielder Hunter Renfroe turned things around after a tough 2020 season in Tampa Bay, delivering an .816 OPS, 31 home runs and 33 doubles after signing a one-year pact for Boston. But as we saw last fall, Arozarena is the guy more likely to take over a series.
Advantage: Rays
Designated hitter
Nelson Cruz looked like a perfect pickup for the Rays at the Trade Deadline, and he has an extensive and excellent postseason history, with a 1.019 OPS, 17 homers and 12 doubles in 189 plate appearances. But the 41-year-old Cruz’s performance since the deal has not been up to his usual standard (.725 OPS in 55 games), so the Rays would love to see him rise to the October occasion.
As of this writing, it’s anybody’s guess if Martinez will be back for the ALDS round after injuring his ankle by, of all things, tripping over second base on his way to the outfield last weekend. If not, Schwarber can slot in as the DH. Martinez is an elite hitter, but, given the iffiness involved with Martinez, the fact that we’re primarily considering Schwarber a left fielder and Cruz’s postseason track record, let’s go with the ageless wonder.
Advantage: Rays
Starting pitching
This is a matchup of upside vs. experience.
The Rays won 100 games this season, and you’d be hard-pressed to find 10 casual baseball fans who can name a single member of their October rotation. It’s a credit to Tampa Bay’s depth and developmental system – and likely Games 1 through 3 starters Shane McClanahan (115 ERA+ in 25 starts), Shane Baz (200 ERA+ in three starts) and Drew Rasmussen (162 ERA+ in 20 appearances) -- that the departures of Blake Snell and Charlie Morton and the loss of ace Tyler Glasnow to injury didn’t disrupt the Rays one bit. But because those three starters have a combined 38 starts in the big leagues between them (yes, the fewest of any trio used in the first three games in a postseason series in history), it will be fascinating to see how they handle this stage. As usual with the Rays, the hooks will be quick.
The Red Sox come into this with a more conventional outlook. They’ve got a bona fide ace in Chris Sale, who has a 3.16 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings since his return from Tommy John surgery. They have the excellent Nathan Eovaldi, who was nails in the Wild Card Game on the heels of a regular season in which his 2.79 fielding independent pitching (FIP) mark was the best in the AL. They’ve got 28-year-old Eduardo Rodriguez, who has a 3.26 ERA since the start of August. Their other options are Nick Pivetta and young Tanner Houck, who stepped up big for them this year.
Sale and Eovaldi are the difference-makers in this decision.
Advantage: Red Sox
Relief pitching
The Rays’ bullpen looks a lot different than last year at this time, and yet it’s still a strength. Andrew Kittredge (1.88 ERA in 71 2/3 innings), Pete Fairbanks (3.59 ERA in 42 2/3 innings) and multi-inning weapon Collin McHugh (1.55 ERA in 64 innings) are Kevin Cash’s most trusted high-leverage options. In-season trade acquisition J.P. Feyereisen and young (and temporarily converted) starter Luis Patiño are among the intriguing options, as well. The Rays’ 3.24 relief ERA was the AL’s best.
Alex Cora has his work cut out for him in this series, because Boston’s bullpen was really stretched down the stretch, due to the second-half collapse of Matt Barnes and Adam Ottavino. Cora had to get creative in using starters as relievers in the 2018 run, and he did it again to get here by using Pivetta, Houck and Rodriguez as relievers in the last two games. The recent return of Garrett Whitlock and some strong recent work from Hansel Robles and Ryan Brasier help calm things down, but there’s no denying that the Rays are in a better spot, relief-wise.
Advantage: Rays
Prediction
The only accurate prediction one can offer is that watching Kevin Cash and Cora, two of the most prepared and adept skippers in the sport, match wits for up to five games is going to be a lot of fun. But the Rays have built something special here, with a deep and flexible lineup and a deep and flexible pitching staff. Though this writer’s George Costanza-aided “opposite” selection was Red Sox in four, that’s only because it was the opposite of my real selection -- Rays in four.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 7, 2021 2:33:31 GMT -5
Red Sox make fitting return to Trop for ALDS
October 6th, 2021
Ian Browne
Ian Browne
@ianmbrowne
0:08
1:47
ST. PETERSBURG -- With the Red Sox returning to Tropicana Field for Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Thursday for the first time since early September, the stakes are higher -- but the stress level is lower.
When Boston was here from Aug. 30-Sept. 2, things were a mess.
A COVID-19 outbreak took several key players from the club at once, and manager Alex Cora was trying to piece together his roster and lineup on an hour-to-hour basis.
It’s hard to forget that moment when Xander Bogaerts walked off the field in the third inning of the Aug. 31 game at the Trop after his COVID-19 test came back positive, and the dispirited Red Sox giving up six runs in the bottom of the inning without their leader.
“Yeah, I mean, a month ago we didn't even know who was going to play for us, and throughout the series, you know, they took players out of the roster because of where we were [with COVID-19],” said Cora. “This is a lot different than a month ago. Way, way different.”
The Red Sox were not only losing players, but they were losing games, including the first two of that four-game series at Tropicana Field.
Without Bogaerts, Kiké Hernandez, Christian Arroyo, Matt Barnes, Hiroakazu Sawamura, Josh Taylor and others, Boston was in danger of losing its footing in the AL Wild Card race. But something big happened. The Red Sox found a way to scratch out wins in the final two games of that pivotal road series against the Rays.
Chris Sale set the tone in a 3-2 win in the third game, and Eduardo Rodriguez, who was named the ALDS Game 1 starter, was magnificent in the 4-0 victory in the finale that gave the Sox a key split of the series.
Those two consecutive wins were accomplished with a double-play combination few could have ever predicted -- second baseman Jack López (a Minor League veteran) and shortstop Jonathan Araúz (2020 Rule 5 Draft selection).
“You know, the first two games, although we lost, those kids that came up, they reset our bullpen,” said Cora. “It was pretty taxed after the series at home, and going to Cleveland. And then, you know, we played some kids that nobody expected us to play, and they played good defense up the middle, and we beat them the last two games.”
After a 12-16 August, the Sox went 17-11 over their final 28 games despite the COVID-19 issues that stretched into the middle of September before at last subsiding.
When the Red Sox got their roster back together for the final stretch, Cora and his players frequently mentioned finding a way to win those final two games on the road against the Rays as a key to the season.
“We've been able to just overcome challenges whenever there's an injury or anything that we have to deal with,” said star third baseman Rafael Devers. “It was always a next-man-up approach, and guys were hustling. And whenever someone had to step in for somebody else, they handled their role the way that they were supposed to, and that's just how we were able to just maintain our unity as a team and overcome all the obstacles that we had this season, and that's why we're here today.”
Though the Red Sox once led the Rays by 4 1/2 games in the AL East, they ended up finishing eight games out. Despite that, Boston comes into this series with confidence it can play with Tampa Bay. The Rays won 11 of the 19 head-to-head encounters between the squads, but the aggregate score of all the games was just 106-104 in favor of Tampa Bay.
“So I know they won the season series, but if you look at the games, you know, there was a 1-0 game with a wild pitch in the ninth inning,” said Cora. “There was a sun ball at Fenway when we were up 7-1 [and lost]. I know they're really good. They have a great team. And coming into the season, a lot of people thought that they were the best team in the big leagues, but we feel we have a good team, and we're here. We'll show up. We'll play and see where it takes us.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 7, 2021 2:36:22 GMT -5
E-Rod on Game 1 start: 'It's just special'
October 6th, 2021
Ian Browne
Ian Browne
@ianmbrowne
ST. PETERSBURG – In what is a bit of a feel-good story for the Red Sox, lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, who didn’t throw a single pitch in 2020 due to contracting COVID-19 and myocarditis, will take the ball for Boston in Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Rays on Thursday night at Tropicana Field.
“It means a lot because of everything that I went through last year and I have the opportunity to throw the first inning in the ALDS,” said Rodriguez. “It feels really good. It's just special. I feel like it's really special for me to have the opportunity to start a game like that.”
Though it was a spotty season for Rodriguez (13-8, 4.74 ERA), he was able to make 32 appearances (31 starts) and pitched some of his best baseball down the stretch. Perhaps Rodriguez’s best start of the season was at Tropicana Field on Sept. 2, when he fired six shutout innings.
Manager Alex Cora decided between Rodriguez or Nick Pivetta to start Game 1. What led to Cora giving the ball to Rodriguez?
“He has been throwing the ball well. We think it's a good matchup,” Cora said. “Obviously with them, you have to mix and match. They're going to look for an advantage and all that. We'll have Nick in the bullpen tomorrow, and we'll do what we do.”
Though Cora hasn’t named a starter for Game 2 on Friday just yet, ace Chris Sale is likely to take the ball. That start would come five days after Sale had a disappointing Game No. 162 in Washington, recording just seven outs. Sale has made nine starts since returning from Tommy John surgery, going 5-1 with a 3.16 ERA.
Nathan Eovaldi, who was masterful against the Yankees in the Wild Card Game (5 1/3 innings, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K’s), is all but certain to start Game 3 in Boston on Sunday.
No closer for Red Sox
Cora hasn’t used a set closer since Aug. 24, when he pulled a struggling Matt Barnes from that role. And with his team getting ready to start the Division Series, Cora isn’t going to change that philosophy now.
Rookie Rule 5 pick Garrett Whitlock, who has been Boston’s best reliever all season, pitched the ninth inning of the Wild Card Game. But Cora said not to read anything into that.
“We will keep mixing and matching and we'll try to maximize our roster. Yesterday, we used Hansel [Robles] in a situation [before the ninth] that we knew he had a chance to face lefties. He did a good job,” said Cora. “Whit came in there with some matchups that we felt that were good. Tanner [Houck], the same thing. We'll keep mixing and matching, and we'll use our starters [in relief] too in this series. We will. So, you know, let's see where the games take us, and we go from there. “
World Series-winning teammates face off in ALDS
While managing against each other is nothing new for Cora and Rays skipper Kevin Cash, there will be increased stakes when they are in opposing dugouts in the postseason for the first time.
Cash and Cora were teammates with the Red Sox on the 2007 World Series-winning team and on the ’08 squad that came one win from getting back to the Fall Classic, only to lose Game 7 at Tropicana Field.
“He was a great teammate,” Cash said of Cora. “It was special to be a part of that group. Obviously, there was a superstar-caliber team in '07 and '08. Came up a little short here against the Rays. Wouldn't mind seeing that happen again at this point.
“But as far as Alex is concerned, you know, just very informed, very intelligent, baseball intelligent, people-smart. There was a group of us with Alex, Mike Lowell, Sean Casey, and I tried to just be a sponge and learn as much as possible from umpteen years of knowledge, and we can all appreciate how their careers have taken on. Some are doing media, and some are managing. Alex has done a really good job.”
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