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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 8, 2021 2:57:25 GMT -5
Red Sox-Rays ALDS Game 2 FAQ (7 ET, FS1) 3:51 AM ADT Adam Berry
Adam Berry @adamdberry Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays’ youth was served in Game 1 of the American League Division Series at Tropicana Field on Thursday night. Rookies Randy Arozarena, Wander Franco and Shane McClanahan all took center stage in Tampa Bay’s 5-0 victory over Boston. All season, the Rays have bet on their talent and youth over age and experience.
To take a 2-0 lead in the ALDS, the Rays will need another budding star -- Shane Baz, the club's No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline -- to shine on the mound. Looking to pull even in the series, the Red Sox will counter with an experienced, proven postseason starter: Chris Sale. The veteran lefty is set to take the mound for Boston and square off against Tampa Bay rookie Baz in Game 2 on Friday night at Tropicana Field.
“We're good,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said after his team's Game 1 loss. “We’ve got Chris, and he is ready to go. The bullpen is rested, so we should be OK.”
When is the game and how can I watch it? The game will air on FS1 at 7 p.m. ET on Friday. It is also available to stream on MLB.TV with authentication.
What might the starting lineups look like? Red Sox: It would be a big development if the Sox can add J.D. Martinez’s big bat back to the lineup. The star slugger sprained his left ankle in Sunday's regular-season finale, forcing him to miss Tuesday night's AL Wild Card Game. He also was out of the lineup for Game 1 of this series. Installing Kyle Schwarber at leadoff against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in the Wild Card Game was a new look for Cora, one he could go back to for this matchup. Boston has been a better team against righties than lefties all season, but this is its first look at Baz.
Kyle Schwarber, 1B Enrique Hernández, CF Rafael Devers, 3B Xander Bogaerts, SS J.D. Martinez, DH Alex Verdugo, LF Hunter Renfroe, RF Christian Vázquez, C Christian Arroyo, 2B
Rays: With Sale starting for the Red Sox, expect the Rays to again lean on their right-handed bats in Game 2. Arozarena figures to return to the top of the lineup, followed by Franco. While it’s possible manager Kevin Cash could slot Brandon Lowe back into the No. 3 spot to guard against a right-handed arm carrying multiple innings, which wound up playing out in Game 1, Tampa Bay is more likely to stack its righties if it thinks Sale will pitch (or attempt to pitch) deep into the game.
Randy Arozarena, RF Wander Franco, SS Nelson Cruz, DH Yandy Díaz, 3B Brandon Lowe, 2B Jordan Luplow, 1B Manuel Margot, LF Mike Zunino, C Kevin Kiermaier, CF
Who are the starting pitchers? Red Sox: Sale (5-1, 3.16 ERA) has been waiting to get back on the bump since his early hook (only seven outs recorded) in the final game of the regular season against the Nationals. Sale is grateful that his team climbed out of an early 5-1 deficit that day and gave him another chance to pitch this season, and he will be looking to pay them back for that comeback with a dominant effort. Sale, who grew up in Lakeland, Fla., loves pitching at Tropicana Field, where he has a 2.09 ERA in 12 career appearances. Sale has made nine starts in his return from Tommy John surgery, pitching at least five innings in seven of those outings.
Rays: Baz (2-0, 2.03 ERA) will take the mound in Game 2 after making only three Major League starts at the end of the regular season. The 22-year-old will match Matt Moore, who started Game 1 of Tampa Bay's ALDS against Texas in 2011, for the fewest regular-season appearances before his first playoff start in postseason history. Baz has shown impressive poise and remarkable stuff, striking out 18 while walking only three in 13 1/3 innings. This will be his first time facing the Red Sox.
How will the bullpens line up after the starter? Red Sox: If the Red Sox have a silver lining from their Game 1 loss, it’s this: The bullpen is perfectly positioned to get big outs behind Sale in Game 2. Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock, the relievers with the most powerful stuff in Cora’s bullpen, are rested and ready. So, too, are Hansel Robles and Ryan Brasier, who have been on hot streaks.
Rays: Cash's bullpen should be in good shape after McClanahan handled five innings in Game 1. The Rays only had to use three relievers: JT Chargois and David Robertson for one inning each and J.P. Feyereisen for two frames. That means they managed to avoid using their top three high-leverage arms -- Andrew Kittredge, Collin McHugh and Pete Fairbanks -- as well as lefty Josh Fleming, righty slider specialist Matt Wisler and multi-inning weapons like Luis Patiño and Michael Wacha. Combine that with the fact that Saturday is a scheduled off-day, and Cash can be as aggressive as he wants to be behind Baz.
Are there any relievers who are unavailable? Red Sox: Only Nick Pivetta, who provided his team with a big service, tossing 4 1/3 innings on 73 pitches (41 strikes) in Game 1 to save the rest of the bullpen.
Rays: Cash would probably like to stay away from Feyereisen, who threw 31 pitches (23 strikes) in two innings in Game 1, but everyone should be good to go.
Any injuries of note? Red Sox: Boston hopes to get star slugger Martinez (sprained left ankle) back in the lineup for Game 2. Devers appears to be dealing with some sort of nagging right arm injury and had it bandaged up for Game 1, but Cora said it’s nothing beyond normal wear and tear.
Rays: Tampa Bay has a bunch of pitchers on the 60-day injured list, but no injury issues on the postseason roster. The Rays are confident that Wisler, who dealt with a right middle finger injury down the stretch, is good to go.
Who is hot and who is not? Red Sox: Schwarber continues to provide big at-bats for Boston. After going deep in the AL Wild Card Game, he went 2-for-4 in ALDS Game 1. In 26 career postseason games, Schwarber is slashing .301/.414/.603 with seven homers and 12 RBIs. … After hitting a big homer in the AL Wild Card Game, Bogaerts had two more hits in ALDS Game 1. ... Hernández hasn’t been the same player since returning from the COVID-19 injured list that he was during his red-hot two months before that. Thursday marked the one-month anniversary of his return to the lineup, and Hernández is slashing .208/.291/.354 since then.
Rays: It’s October, so Arozarena is hot. He walked twice, homered and stole home in ALDS Game 1, as he simply seems to take his play to another level in the postseason. ... Franco also got off to a good start, rapping a pair of doubles in his postseason debut. ... The Rays had to be encouraged to see Cruz -- who hadn’t performed up to his standard with Tampa Bay -- go deep in Game 1. ... The Rays might not need left-handed bats on Friday, but two of them -- Ji-Man Choi (.628 OPS in September) and Joey Wendle (.718 OPS) -- didn’t exactly soar through September.
Anything else fans might want to know? • The Red Sox and Rays are 6-6 when facing off in postseason games. Tampa Bay won the 2008 AL Championship Series in seven games. Boston won the ’13 ALDS in four games. This series represents the rubber match.
• Game 1 was the Rays’ third shutout in postseason history, joining the 2013 AL Wild Card Game at Cleveland and Game 1 of the '11 ALDS at Texas.
• In the regular season and postseason combined, the Rays have scored 6.09 runs per game (268 runs in 44 games) when both Franco and Cruz are in the lineup.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 8, 2021 2:59:15 GMT -5
Jon Couture @joncouture · 7h Modern baseball's got a lot of things going for it. The quick hook with starters ain't one of them.*
* -- Yes, E-Rod earned that hook, but you know this is about more than one starter on one night.
I don't know the solution. I just dislike this aspect of the modern game.
I really should have thrown the "he's gonna steal home" tweet up. All the signs were there.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 8, 2021 3:09:43 GMT -5
Red Sox lose ALDS Game 1, 5-0, as Randy Arozarena, Rays steal the show By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated October 7, 2021, 11:15 p.m.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — There are no secrets when the Red Sox play the Tampa Bay Rays. Counting spring training, there were 27 games between the teams before Game 1 of the Division Series on Thursday night.
“We know how they play,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said earlier this week. “We’ll be ready.”
Instead, it was a smackdown. The Rays were the faster, smarter, and more aggressive team and beat the Sox, 5-0, before a crowd of 27,419 at Tropicana Field.
Randy Arozarena walked twice, homered, and stole home as the defending American League champions checked off every box on their game plan, knocking Eduardo Rodriguez out of the game in the second inning then pulling away.
Four pitchers held the Sox to nine hits, all singles, and allowed one runner as far as third base. The perfectly positioned Tampa Bay infielders converted 11ground-ball outs as the Sox left seven runners on base.
Game 2 is Friday at 7:02 p.m. The Red Sox will start Chris Sale against rookie Shane Baz.
Sale, who grew up in nearby Lakeland, has a 2.09 earned run average in 12 career games here. The Sox will need him to be sharp or risk the best-of-five series getting away from them.
“We’ve got Chris, and he is ready to go … we should be OK,” Cora said.
Rodriguez walked the first batter he faced, Arozarena, on five pitches. It was 1-0 three pitches later when Wander Franco drilled a changeup into center field for an RBI double.
Kiké Hernández bobbled the ball, which allowed Arozarena to score, but no error was charged. With two outs and Arozarena on third, Yandy Diaz grounded slowly up the third base line and beat the throw from Rafael Devers to make it 2-0. Related: Rays’ Randy Arozarena produced one of the most dazzling games in postseason history
When Rodriguez walked Manuel Margot on five pitches to start the second inning, Cora got Garrett Richards up in the bullpen.
Rodriguez retired the next two batters, but Richards came in to face the righthanded-hitting Arozarena and retired him on a ground out.
“It’s not that we mapped it out that way, but we felt that with that lineup and the way they are, that was a moment that we had to stop it right there,” Cora said.
Rodriguez is the 10th Red Sox starting pitcher to get fewer than six outs in a postseason game. The august list includes Smoky Joe Wood in the 1912 World Series and Roger Clemens in his famed meltdown against Oakland in Game 4 of the 1990 ALCS.
Rodriguez has appeared in nine postseason games and allowed 11 earned runs over 12⅔ innings. The lefthander will be a free agent after the season, making Thursday’s game possibly his final one for the Red Sox.
“I didn’t have my command. That’s everything. This is the playoffs, man, you’ve got to be out there and do your job. If you can’t, you’re coming out of the game the way I did today,” Rodriguez said. Related: After a season of soft landings, Chris Sale gets the ball in Game 2 of the ALDS and the Red Sox really need him
Nick Pivetta replaced Richards for the third inning and got two outs before Nelson Cruz sent a towering fly ball to center field. As Hernández set up to try to make a catch on the warning track, the ball hit the outermost catwalk hanging from the roof.
Under the miniature golf-like rules at the Trop, that’s a home run.
The lead grew to 4-0 in the fifth on Arozarena’s rocket to left field. It was his 11th home run in 21 postseason games for the Rays.
As Red Sox pitchers labored, Rays rookie lefthander Shane McClanahan went five scoreless innings. He allowed five singles without a walk and struck out three.
The Red Sox made good contact against McClanahan with 11 batted balls with an exit velocity of at least 92 miles per hour. But only three were hits as the Rays had the field blanketed.
“It did feel pretty fitting today. When we think we’re right, that’s how we win,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
Bobby Dalbec’s night was typical of the frustration.
His hard-hit ground ball in the second inning was turned into a double play. With two on in the fourth, he lined a ball into the glove of Diaz at third base. He later sent a fly ball to deep right field that was caught.
“We had traffic out there, and we just didn’t cash in,” Cora said.
It didn’t help that J.D. Martinez missed his second straight game because of a sprained left ankle. He was available to pinch hit but went unused.
The Rays took a 5-0 lead in the seventh as Arozarena showed off more of his skills.
He drew a two-out walk off Pivetta and went to third on Franco’s second double. With an inattentive Josh Taylor on the mound, Arozarena stole home, easily beating the throw.
“I noticed that the pitcher wasn’t really watching for me or covering for me, and I saw the third baseman was pretty far away in respect to where I was at,” Arozarena said.
Pivetta saved the Red Sox bullpen by throwing 73 pitches over 4⅔ innings. He allowed three runs.
“I tried to keep us in the baseball game and just tried to go as deep as I possibly could,” he said.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 8, 2021 3:12:25 GMT -5
Chris Sale hoping to change up things for Red Sox in Game 2 of ALDS By Michael Silverman Globe Staff,Updated October 7, 2021, 9:04 p.m.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Even though he’s so good at it, Chris Sale hopes to be done with self-flagellation this season.
The secret to him rediscovering his No. 1-caliber ace mojo in his Tommy John-abbreviated return season may come down to him regaining consistency with his change-up, the third pitch he needs to accompany his fastball and slider.
That pitch has been getting hit, harder than the others, over his nine starts this season. And while 100 percent compliance with his previous elite level of production is perhaps to be asking for too much for any pitcher coming off that type of surgery, Sale expects more from himself.
And on the eve of his start in Game 2 of the Division Series against the Rays, Sale dropped a few hints that he is on the verge of becoming someone special again.
“I think the biggest flaw in that is the consistency,” said Sale. “You know, I worked a lot this week, I was able to work a lot this week on my mechanics and getting a better arm action and just feeling more comfortable on the mound.”
Sale looked truly uncomfortable Sunday in the regular-season finale in Washington. His teammates salvaged the woeful 2⅓-inning start and 2-0 hole he left them in —the first run he gave up was a homer on a change-up — to rally for a 7-5 victory that clinched the top AL wild card spot.
“I did absolutely nothing to help our team win, I actually put us in a horrendous spot in that game,” said Sale. “Our guys could have talent that one of two ways, you know, and gotten down [about] me going there doing what I was supposed to do and the plan not unfolding.”
Even though Sale posted a very respectable 3.16 ERA and 1.34 WHIP over his nine starts this season, he was at maybe three-quarters peak form.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora is nothing if not an optimist when it comes to his players, and he looks at Sale’s season in a positive light, one that also bodes well for his Game 2 start.
“I mean, not too many guys can come out of Tommy John surgery and you throw him in the middle of a pennant race and do the things that he has done, he has given us a chance to win,” said Cora. “I think he has been solid. We talk about the change-up. I don’t think the change-up is where he wants to, but he felt like this week he made a few adjustments that might play tomorrow, and I think the slider will be there tomorrow and he is going to give us a chance to win the game.”
Sale basically said “you betcha” when it came to being one of the starters Cora will call upon to pitch in relief, but Cora hinted that making that move is not high on the manager’s to-do list.
If anything, he’s lined up to start a Game 5.
“With him we’re going to be very careful as far as if he’s going to be in the bullpen or not for obvious reasons, right?” said Cora. “But if it’s up to him, he probably would be out there. He will be in the bullpen today but these guys are important for the present and obviously for the future of the organization.”
Sale’s future with the Red Sox organization extends through the 2024 season, when Sale will be 35 years old and the Red Sox might have discovered, or even developed, by then their own young starter to step into the No. 1 pitcher slot.
Shane Baz, the Game 2 starter for Tampa Bay, may be the latest ace in the making for the Rays.
Just 22 years old, Baz has made exactly three big-league starts, all coming at the end of the Rays’ season after Baz rocketed through the Rays’ system, Double- and Triple-A. He struck out 113 batters with just 13 walks over 78-⅔ innings with a 2.06 ERA.
He did not deviate much at all from those numbers over his three big-league starts: 18 strikeouts, three walks over 13-⅓ innings with a 2.03 ERA.
Rays manager Kevin Cash appreciated the rarity of placing so much trust in a pitcher this young and inexperienced.
“Tell me about it,” said Cash. “He showed us enough in his three outings that we felt good about it . . . Very confident that he is fully equipped to go out there and pitch well against a very good Red Sox lineup.”
Baz has not faced the Red Sox lineup before, and before Thursday night’s first pitch, he had not even attended a postseason game. Related: MLB playoffs: See the Red Sox-Rays ALDS schedule
Baz thought his new look against the Red Sox “can be good — like, it can be bad also but I think it’s cool just to face new guys.”
Everything will be new for both Baz and the Red Sox hitters Friday night.
The only thing new Sale’s looking for is one of his three pitches.
If he finds it, the same old Sale is exactly who the Red Sox are looking for.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 8, 2021 3:14:48 GMT -5
Rays’ Randy Arozarena produced one of the most dazzling games in postseason history By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated October 8, 2021, 12:54 a.m.
The Red Sox beat the Yankees in the wild card, but it may be too tall an order to ask them to beat the second postseason coming of Ruth, Gehrig, and DiMaggio.
In a vacuum, the Rays’ 5-0 wipeout of the Red Sox in Game 1 of the American League Division Series Thursday seemed thorough enough. The deep Rays pitching staff — somehow dominant yet again, even though nine of the 13 pitchers on the team’s postseason had never pitched for Tampa Bay prior to this season — remained in total command through nine innings.
But perhaps more ominous was the Rays’ jaw-dropping display of game-changing postseason performers. Randy Arozarena and Nelson Cruz burnished their historic credentials while phenom Wander Franco introduced himself in stunning fashion, highlighting the difficulty posed by the reigning AL pennant winner.
Arozarena produced one of the most dazzling games in postseason history. The Rays leadoff hitter — who set a record by blasting 10 homers last year in the 2020 playoffs — added to his October legend by going 1 for 2 with a solo homer off Nick Pivetta, two walks, and three runs scored — the last one on a stunning steal of home against Red Sox reliever Josh Taylor in the seventh inning. Get 108 StitchesGet everything baseball from the Globe's Red Sox reporters every Monday-Friday during baseball season, and weekly in the off season.
“The home run certainly felt [like last October],” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “The steal of home, that was one of the cooler things I’ve seen on a baseball field. Special player. He certainly gets up for the moment. He’s proven that day-in, day-out, and certainly come postseason time . . . I’d never seen anything like [what he did in the playoffs] in 2020, and hopefully I’ll be saying that here in 2021.”
The 26-year-old became the first player in history to hit a homer and steal home in the same playoff contest. His game-changing contributions expanded beyond those two moments, however, as Arozarena set the tone following a walk by Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez to lead off the bottom of the first inning.
When Red Sox wrecking ball Wander Franco lined a pitch to left-center, Arozarena flew around the bases, forcing a bobble by center fielder Kiké Hernández that permitted the leadoff hitter to score. His track speed left the Red Sox on their heels just two batters into the game. He was far from done.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Arozarena laid off a 2-and-2 slider from Nick Pivetta that ran just off the plate. His patience earned him a full-count fastball, which he clobbered into the left-field seats for a solo homer that put Tampa Bay ahead, 4-0.
At that point, the Sox’ likelihood of a comeback seemed remote. Arozarena eradicated any remaining uncertainty in the bottom of the seventh. He negotiated a two-out walk against Taylor and advanced to third when Franco again doubled.
With the count at 1 and 2 and two outs, Taylor was focused on the hitter, Brandon Lowe. Because Lowe is lefthanded, third baseman Rafael Devers was well off the bag for a pull hitter. Devers’s positioning allowed Arozarena to take a huge lead, and he timed Taylor — who, as a lefthander, had his back to third base — perfectly and exploded for the plate.
Taylor tried to step off and throw home, but Arozarena emerged from a cloud of dust having crossed the plate with the first playoff steal of home since Javier Báez in 2016. Arozarena was delighted at a thunderous reception from the fans when he headed to left field for the top of the eighth.
“I go out there because I’m trying to give them a show, and I know they want to see something,” he said through a translator. “That’s what the game is for.”
In 26 career playoff games, Arozarena has a .361/.442/.819 line. That .819 slugging percentage in the highest in playoff history by a player with at least 90 postseason at-bats. He’s followed in that category by Babe Ruth (.744) and Lou Gehrig (.731).
“This game is all about history,” said Cash. “Any time you’re putting your name in those categories like Randy has done, I’ve never seen anything like it in 2020, and hopefully I’ll say that here at the end of 2021.”
Of course, Cruz — who homered off a catwalk against Pivetta, his 18th career playoff homer — likewise has etched his own place in October lore. He has a .667 career slugging mark, behind his teammate, Ruth, and Gehrig for fourth place in postseason history.
Meanwhile, Franco may be the most talented of the bunch. He’s a five-tool prodigy who tied a major league record by reaching base in 43 straight games at age 20 this year. On Thursday, he became the first player ever at age 20 or younger to collect multiple extra-base hits in his playoff debut.
“I’ve been seeing Wander do stupid stuff since [Rookie Ball],” said Rays starter Shane McClanahan. “We could tell then he was special, and he just keeps doing it, and it’s so impressive to watch. Same thing with Randy, too. You know, it’s really fun to go to the field every single day and be, like, ‘I wonder how many home runs Randy is going to hit today.’”
Fun for the Rays — and daunting for any team trying to slow them. The Red Sox — who have lost the last five best-of-five ALDS series in which they dropped Game 1 — got a glimpse of the very tall October order they now face.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 8, 2021 3:17:16 GMT -5
After a season of soft landings, Chris Sale gets the ball in Game 2 of the ALDS and the Red Sox really need him By Dan Shaughnessy Globe Columnist,Updated October 7, 2021, 11:16 p.m.
There’ll be nowhere for Chris Sale to hide at the circus tent/Tropicana Dome Friday night. No more soft landings for Boston’s $30 million per year ace.
The Red Sox were spanked by the aggressive 100-win Rays, 5-0, in Game 1 of their ALDS series in St. Petersburg, Fla., Thursday. Losing the first game of a best-of-five brings extra pressure and Sale will be carrying that weight to the hill in Game 2.
Perfect. Boston has its big-moment guy for a virtual must-win game.
The Sox made things as easy as possible for Sale when he came back from Tommy John surgery in mid-August. While a COVID surge depleted the Sox clubhouse, Boston’s most famous anti-vaxer started nine games — six of them against last-place teams, including three vs. the Orioles, who were trying to lose. Feasting on a diet of Tomato Cans, Sale compiled a 5-1 record with a 3.16 ERA. Get 108 StitchesGet everything baseball from the Globe's Red Sox reporters every Monday-Friday during baseball season, and weekly in the off season.
He made only two starts against non-losers, both against the Rays. He was winless in those two games, giving up a whopping 16 hits and three walks in 9⅔ innings. That’s 19 baserunners in 9⅔ innings in his only games against a winning team.
Sunday in Washington Sale let the Sox down in dramatic fashion. In a game the Red Sox had to win, against the last-place Nationals, Sale was pulled in the third inning, leaving his team in a 2-0 hole. He gave up four hits and three walks, while getting only seven outs (all strikeouts). The Nats were all over his changeup. Sale’s teammates bailed him out with a comeback victory.
Ever a stand-up guy, Sale admitted, “I did nothing to help our team win. I actually put us in a horrendous spot in that game.’’
He says he’s been working on his changeup and has figured something out.
“I worked a lot this week,’’ Sale said Thursday. “I was able to work on my mechanics and getting a better arm action and just feeling more comfortable on the mound.’’
Alex Cora is happy to have Sale for Game 2 after Boston’s Game 1 defeat.
“He made a few adjustments that might play tomorrow,’’ said the manager. “I think the slider will be there tomorrow and he is going to give us a chance to win the game.’’
This week marks Boston’s first appearance in the postseason since Sale came out of the bullpen and mowed down the Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth inning of the fifth and deciding game of the 2018 World Series in Los Angeles. The Sox did not qualify for the playoffs in 2019 or 2020, but returned to big-time October ball with a scintillating, 6-2, wild-card win over the Yankees Tuesday at Fenway.
It is what Boston fans have come to expect in this century. Thursday’s Game 1 at the Trop was Boston’s 135th postseason game since 1986. Since Sox Cy Young/MVP Roger Clemens started the first game of the ‘86 ALCS at Fenway, the Sox have played postseason games in Anaheim, New York, Oakland, Cleveland, St. Louis, Chicago, Denver, St. Petersburg, Detroit, Houston, and Los Angeles. Some of the ballparks changed names over the years, as the Sox played October ball at the Big A, Shea Stadium, the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum, Yankee Stadiums I and II, the Jake in Cleveland, Busch Stadium in St. Louis, U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Coors Field in Denver, Comerica Park in Detroit, Minute Maid Park in Houston, Dodger Stadium, Fenway Park, and (gulp) . . . Tropicana Field — a joke of a major league ballpark.
By any measure, it’s a lot of postseason baseball for one franchise. Much of it is owed to an era of expanded playoffs, but the larger point is that Boston’s baseball team has been competitive for a long, long time and we’ve been blessed with a lot of October baseball. Ask folks in Seattle. They haven’t seen the Mariners in a postseason game in 20 years.
Eduardo Rodriguez, Boston’s Game 1 starter, lasted only 1⅔ innings Thursday, and Cora was forced to use starter Nick Pivetta for 4⅔ innings. Now Boston turns its eyes to Sale.
The Sox’ backs are against the wall for Game 2, but they believe the Chris Sale of old can dig them out of this hole and bring them back to Fenway, 1-1, with Nate Eovaldi scheduled to start Game 3 at Fenway Sunday afternoon at 4.
This should be great theatre. Sale is back in a big game. And the Red Sox need him more than ever.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 8, 2021 3:18:06 GMT -5
Julian McWilliams @byjulianmack · 5h Red Sox: no extra-base hits, no walks. That's likely not going to win you a ball game.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 8, 2021 3:19:15 GMT -5
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne · 5h When Devers is at his best, he stays in the strike zone. He went way out of the strike zone there on the biggest at-bat of the game for the Red Sox, and went down swinging.
Nothing went right for the Red Sox in Game 1 o the ALDS. They lose, 5-0. Not often you get nine hits and don't score. Weird night all around. Sale goes for the split tomorrow night.
Kiké Hernández hasn't been nearly the same player since he came back from COVID as he was for the two months before that. Over the last month, he is slashing .208/.291/.354 with three homers and nine RBIs.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 8, 2021 3:21:03 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 5h Randy Arozarena steals home. Bold. Exciting. And embarrassing for the #RedSox.
Rafael Devers was well off the bag in the shift and Josh Taylor had his back turned as a left-handed pitcher.
Rafael Devers strikes out swinging and Hunter Refroe pops up. The #RedSox strand the bases loaded in the 8th.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 8, 2021 3:21:36 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 3h #RedSox-Rays takeaways from Game 1 of the #ALDS: - Eduardo Rodriguez was underwhelming - Shane McClanahan challenged at will - Tropicana Field is.....something - It's up to Chris Sale now
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 8, 2021 3:22:55 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 9h #RedSox GM Brian O'Halloran cleared up misconception. There is no "taxi squad." Teams can have nine players around regardless of eligibility.
Sox have Arauz, Barnes, Bazardo, Duran, D. Hernandez, Iglesias, Maddon, Sawamura, and Wong.
(Maddon is a AA catcher/bullpen catcher).
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 8, 2021 3:26:18 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 4h Alex Cora on Rafael Devers: "After 162 games that happen, you get treatment and you grind, you know? Not everybody is 100% right now, and he is posting. Like I said a few days ago, he was dropping the bat the same way, and nobody said anything."
Lou Merloni @loumerloni · 4h He’s hurt
Lou Merloni @loumerloni · 4h ARod thinks having Devers and Martinez hurt “could be a good thing for the Sox”. Seriously, someone tell him to stay home please.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 8, 2021 3:27:45 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 7h Rodriguez has an 8.49 ERA in 11 2/3 career postseason innings -- 17th highest all-time by a pitcher with 10+ postseason innings. Random fact that I didn't know: Doyle Alexander, the big game pitcher for whom the Tigers traded Smoltz, was 0-5 with an 8.38 ERA in 6 playoff starts.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 8, 2021 3:29:12 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 5h Lou noted that Devers looked like his right arm was hurt. Devers had a monster swing against Cole in the first inning of the WC game and looked like he winced. He then settled to work a walk. It seemed like he adjusted the AB to be more patient but ... maybe discomfort?
The Red Sox lose to the Rays, 5-0, in Game 1. Since 2004, their success in the ALDS has matched whatever happened in G1: Win four ALDS's in which they won Game 1, lost the five in which they lost Game 1. The last to buck the trend: 2003 ALDS vs Oakland (fell, 2-0, then won, 3-2).
Alex Cora on Rafael Devers: "After 162 games that happen, you get treatment and you grind, you know? Not everybody is 100% right now, and he is posting. Like I said a few days ago, he was dropping the bat the same way, and nobody said anything."
Arozarena, Franco, McClanahan, Baz ... all rookies, with only Arozarena having as much as one year of service time. Lowe is 27 and under team control through 2026. The Rays are 3 years into a postseason window that has a very good chance to remain open for most of the decade.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 8, 2021 3:31:04 GMT -5
SportsMLBBoston Red Sox Is Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers playing hurt? ‘Not everybody is 100% right now’
By Steve Hewitt | stephen.hewitt@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald October 8, 2021 at 12:31 a.m.
What’s going on with Rafael Devers?
The Red Sox third baseman appeared to be playing through pain during Thursday’s 5-0 loss to the Rays in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. On several swings throughout the night, most noticeably in his final at-bat, Devers looked to be experiencing discomfort in his right wrist and forearm.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Devers suffered an arm injury in Tuesday’s Wild Card victory over the Yankees, though it’s unclear what may have caused it. On Thursday, Devers either fouled off or whiffed on eight fastballs, and there was some noticeable grimacing and favoring of his right arm after some of the swings. But Red Sox manager Alex Cora dismissed any injury concerns after the game, saying everyone is hurt to some degree at this point of the season.
“A few days ago everybody said he (was) setting up the pitcher whenever he drops the bat,” Cora said. “Today because he didn’t get a hit, he is hurt.
“You know, I mean, after 162 things that happen and you get treatment, and you grind, you know? Not everybody is 100% right now, and he is posting. Like I said a few days ago, you know, he was dropping the bat the same way, and nobody said anything. Actually, I heard that he was setting out pitchers with that.”
It’s certainly something to keep an eye on as the Red Sox head into a critical Game 2 on Friday night.
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