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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 9, 2021 3:28:03 GMT -5
Lou Merloni @loumerloni · 5h I don’t why Barnes is on this roster. I know Darwinson can be wild often but he can also be unhittable. Sawamura? Barnes is just done this year. He can still pitch but it shouldn’t be until next year.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 9, 2021 3:28:46 GMT -5
Lou Merloni @loumerloni · 4h 1-1, Game 3 at Fenway with Eovaldi on the mound. Rasmussen making his 1st Post Season start. If it’s anything like it was on Tuesday, he may have a tough time dealing with you. Let him hear you
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 9, 2021 3:29:06 GMT -5
Rob Bradford @bradfo · 5h David Ortiz said he talked to Rafael Devers today about dealing with his injury, telling him to try and do less and not be so violent with his swing. It worked.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 9, 2021 3:29:30 GMT -5
Jason Mastrodonato @jmastrodonato · 5h “What happened was Tanner Houck,” Kevin Cash says when asked what happened to the Rays offense after the first inning
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 9, 2021 3:31:47 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 5h The Red Sox would tell anyone that would listen in spring training that they were a good team. They were right; they are good, not great, not bad. What they failed to mention is they have a bunch of fight and a big ol pair.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 9, 2021 3:33:14 GMT -5
Red Sox’s Tanner Houck rescues Chris Sale, continues recent dominance: 10 things we learned from Boston’s Game 2 victory Updated: 12:09 a.m. | Published: 11:02 p.m.
By Matt Vautour | mvautour@masslive.com
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When Tanner Houck entered Game 2 of the ALDS to start the second inning, the Red Sox were down 5-2 and reeling from another Chris Sale blow up while the Tropicana Field was already feeling celebratory.
But the rookie right-hander rescued Sale. Houck allowed one run in five innings, giving the Red Sox offense time to hack away at the Tampa Bay lead and eventually pull away, 14-6.
Houck made a little history in the process. He got the last batter he faced against the Orioles on Sept. 28. He retired all 15 Nationals hitters in five perfect innings on Oct. 2 to keep Boston in position to clinch the Wild Card the next day. He worked one perfect inning in Tuesday’s Wild Card Game against the Yankees, giving him 19 straight retired batters coming into the ALDS. He set down the first 11 batters he faced Friday before Wander Franco stopped his streak at 30 — three more than a perfect game — with a single in the fifth.
Houck earned the victory with five innings of work. He allowed two hits, including a home run, and no walks. He struck out five.
Chris Sale needs more than four days between starts — If the Red Sox manage to continue in the postseason, they should consider manipulating Sale’s appearances to give him more than four days of rest.
At this point in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, Sale has struggled when taking a normal turn. This has to be something that was considered because throughout his series of rehab starts in the minors and his regular-season starts, they often game him an extra day or two.
He responded by pitching well in those games.
On four days rest, his ERA is 10.50. Opponents are hitting .400 against him. That includes Friday’s implosion where he gave five runs on four hits in one inning. Opponents are hitting .219 on five or more days rest and his ERA is 2.84.
Red Sox have a new single-game postseason home run record — Rafael Devers’ home run in the eighth inning gave Boston five in the game, a franchise record.
Boston’s fast start disappeared fast — The Red Sox scored twice in the first inning, but it felt like a missed opportunity for more. Hunter Renfroe, who had a postseason grand slam for the Rays last year couldn’t get one against them. With one out and the bases loaded he bounced into a 6-4-3 double play. The Rays answered with five in the bottom of the first.
Alex Cora has some decisions to make about his Game 4 starter — Forced to use Nick Pivetta and Houck, his fourth and fifth starters respectively, in long stints of relief in Games 1 and 2, Cora will have a decision to make on who to start in Game 4 on Monday at Fenway Park.
He could go with Eduardo Rodriguez or Pivetta on three days rest. Rodriguez threw 41 pitches and Pivetta threw 73 on Thursday. Martín Pérez, who was a starter earlier in the season, would be an option.
Cora will likely need several innings out of the bullpen no matter who takes the ball first.
Three postseason games, three different uniforms — The Red Sox wore their blue jerseys with gray pants, the same selection they went with to close out the Dodgers in Game 5 of the 2018 World Series, the last time Sale pitched in the postseason.
It was their third different jersey top in as many games, a trend that might continue. They could wear home whites on Sunday, and their yellow and blues on Monday in honor of the Boston Marathon.
Kevin Kiermaier remains elite defensively - There used to be a debate over who was the better defensive center fielder in the American League East - Jackie Bradley or Kevin Kiermaier. With Bradley in the National League, Kiermaier is the undisputed No. 1 and showed why in the third inning when Rafael Devers launched the ball deep to center field.
Whatever was paid for the ad “ST. PETE CLEARWATER America’s Best Beaches” was worth it Friday. Sprinting to his right from right-center, Kiermaier leaped and caught the ball while crashing into the part of the fence that that advertisement covers. The play will earn him and it quite a bit of time on highlight shows.
Alex Verdugo is thriving in the postseason — While Kiermaier had the defensive gem of the night, Verdugo wasn’t far behind. The Red Sox left fielder sprinted into the left field corner and reached deep into the stands to pull back a foul ball for the first out of the sixth inning.
That was a garnish on top of an already outstanding offensive night. He had his first career postseason home run in the game and now has five RBIs in the playoffs.
Kiké Hernandez has a career night — On Thursday, Hernandez became just the 49th player in history to play in 60 or more career postseason games. On Friday he had just his fourth multi-hit game in the playoffs and his first with more than one extra-base hit. He was 5-for-6 with three doubles, a single, and a solo home run. He drove in three runs and scored three times.
Red Sox fans help fill in Tropicana Field — Game 2 still wasn’t a sellout, but with an attendance of 37,616 it was much closer to full (42,735) than Game 1 (27,419).
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 9, 2021 3:34:18 GMT -5
Alex Cora pumped up Boston Red Sox players in dugout after early deficit; ‘We’ve got a whole game. Eight more innings,’ he told them Updated: 2:02 a.m. | Published: 1:59 a.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Ace Chris Sale allowed a 387-foot grand slam in the first inning to Rays’ Jordan Luplow that put the Red Sox behind 5-2.
But manager Alex Cora then rallied the team in the dugout before the second inning.
“It was definitely a little deflating at first,” Alex Verdugo said. “But I just remember going into the dugout and AC is coming up and down the dugout just (saying), ‘It’s all right. We’ve got a whole game. Eight more innings. Keep going.’ I felt like that really set the tone. And the hitters, they just didn’t stop. They were relentless.”
The Red Sox came back to beat the Rays 14-6 in Game 2 of the ALDS on Friday. Boston evened the five-game series, 1-1. Game 2 is Sunday at 4:07 p.m.
Cora said he viewed the early deficit simply as a 3-0 game.
“We’ve been behind 3-0 plenty of times,” Cora said. “We put a good inning in the first one. I mean, we hit the ball hard yesterday. So offensively we’re getting to who we are. And it was just a 3-0 game in the second inning. That’s the way we saw it. Obviously we had to make adjustments and Tanner (Houck) came in and did an outstanding job. But offensively it was like, ‘Hey, don’t panic. We put two (runs) in the first, and we’ve still got eight innings.’ And they did an amazing job the whole night.”
Tanner Houck allowed just one run, two hits and no walks while striking out five in 5 innings of relief after he replaced Sale.
Boston stroked 20 hits. Kiké Hernández recorded five hits. J.D. Martinez stroked four hits. Verdugo, Xander Bogaerts and Christian Vázquez each had three hits. Hunter Renfroe and Rafael Devers both had one.
“You have a manager that he does his job in every category, whether it’s how he is scouting and how he is game-planning to how he is talking to players individually and getting those guys going,” Verdugo said. “So for me, AC has been a big manager. Just a lot of help. You can see since he has come back that the guys, they love playing for him. ... It’s just a smart IQ man. It makes playing this game a lot of fun.”
Hernández said the mood in the dugout was upbeat after Boston fell behind 5-2.
“I think we led baseball in comeback wins this year and we did it all through the season, and why not do it now?” Hernández said. “We’re here. It wasn’t win or go home. But for us that was kind of the mentality because going down in the series 2-0 against that team is a very uphill battle. For us it was kind of win or go home.”
Boston posted an MLB-best 47 come-from-behind victories during the regular season.
“Going up 2-0 the top of the first with Chris on the mound and them scoring five (runs) is not what you had envisioned,” Hernández said. “But team sports are all about picking each other up, and that’s what we did as an offense. And what this guy (Houck) did was unbelievable. He kept us in the game and gave us a chance to come back. We started one run at a time and started scoring and scoring and scoring until we were able to tie it. And then he kept them right there and we took the lead and took off.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 9, 2021 3:35:23 GMT -5
Kiké Hernández ties MLB postseason record with 5 hits in big Boston Red Sox win: ‘You can’t have much of a better night than that’ Updated: 2:19 a.m. | Published: 2:19 a.m.
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Kiké Hernández lived up to his reputation as a prime postseason performer Friday night... and then some.
Hernández was 5-for-6 with a homer and three doubles in the Red Sox’ 14-6 win over the Rays in Game 2 of the ALDS. In the process, he made some history.
Hernández became just the 10th major-leaguer ever with five hits (the MLB record) in a postseason game and the first Red Sox player ever with four extra-base hits in a playoff game. Only one other player (Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS against Boston) has ever had five hits and four extra-base hits in a single postseason game.
Considering Hernández hit .213 with a .665 OPS in the final 22 games of the regular season and was 1-for-7 in Boston’s first two playoff games, the veteran had been waiting on a performance like Friday’s for a while.
“Yesterday he actually expanded throughout the game and today he made a conscious effort to be on time and hunt pitches in the zone,” said manager Alex Cora. “One of the things when he runs into trouble is when he is ahead in the count, he expands... and today he did a great job being on time, staying short to the ball. This is a place that if you hit fly balls, they’re going to get it, but it seems like the line drives, they just keep going, and he was amazing.”
Hernández started his night with a double in the first inning before he grounded out in the second. In the fifth, with Boston down, 5-3, he launched a solo shot off Collin McHugh to make it a one-run game. An inning later, he doubled again, then in the eighth, did it for a third time. His two-run single in the ninth inning put the Sox up 14-6 and gave him three RBIs to pair with his three runs.
Hernández said he spent the time between Games 1 and 2 analyzing video and trying to fix his swing on the fly.
“Watching what I did last night and then going back when I was doing well and seeing what was different and, you know, showing up today and the determination that we’re either fixing it or we’re fixing it,” he said. “We talked to the hitting coaches and we came up with a plan of work in the cage and translated it to BP, and I felt a little bit better, and I had an okay game.”
Hernández was one of five Sox players with three or more hits, joining J.D. Martinez (4), Xander Bogaerts (3), Alex Verdugo (3) and Christian Vázquez (3). The Sox had 20 hits in total, setting a new franchise record for most hits in a postseason road game.
“We didn’t have a good night last night, and with our lineup, it’s just kind of a matter of time,” Hernández said.
On a night when multiple contributors had big games as the Sox evened the best-of-five series, Hernández referred to Tanner Houck’s performance (the righty allowed one run and two hits in five innings as the Sox came back) as “unbelievable.” The rookie righty took some time to praise Hernández, too.
“You can’t have much of a better night than that,” Houck said
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 9, 2021 3:36:29 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox’s Tanner Houck: ‘I live for those moments where you’re in a different stadium, people yelling at you’ Updated: 2:54 a.m. | Published: 2:44 a.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — What happened to the Rays offense after scoring five runs in the first inning?
“What happened I think was Tanner Houck,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He was really tough.”
Houck replaced ace Chris Sale who went just one inning and gave up five runs on four hits, including a grand slam.
Houck dominated. He allowed only one run, two hits and no walks while striking out five in 5 innings. The Red Sox won 14-6 over the Rays here at Tropicana Field.
“He had all of his stuff working,” Cash said. “He looked like he had a great breaking ball. Just kept us off balance, but he was tough. We had seen him, I think, one other time early and he was good that time as well. But he came in and did a tremendous job for them.”
Houck looked calm and composed.
“I definitely had little butterflies at first, but once I got out there, threw my warmup pitches, I felt like I was pretty comfortable,” Houck said. “I live for those moments where you’re in a different stadium, people yelling at you, all that stuff. I love that environment. And I love going out there and competing with my brothers.”
Houck threw 25 sliders (four swings-and-misses), 22 four-seam fastballs (three swings-and-misses), nine sinkers (five swings-and-misses) and five splitters.
“I would definitely say my nerves were a little bit more today than my (MLB) debut and during the Wild Card Game,” Houck said. “I remember growing up as a kid and just dreaming about pitching in games like these and just pitching in moments like that. So having that moment become real, it was definitely a real moment where I was, like, all right, let me take a step back, let me soak this in, but then let’s get to work.”
Houck threw 5 perfect innings against the Nationals last Saturday. He then threw a perfect inning in the Wild Card Game on Tuesday. His first 3 innings here Friday were perfect. So he recorded 30 straight outs over four outings.
He became only the fifth Red Sox pitcher since 1961 to retire 27 straight or more in a single season (postseason included). Koji Uehara (2013), Mike Timlin (2001), Hideo Nomo (2001) and Pedro Martinez (1999) are the other four.
“I had no idea, to be honest,” he said about the 27 straight outs. “I was more just focused in on getting outs and just putting the team in the best place to win.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 9, 2021 3:39:29 GMT -5
Red Sox Nation Stats @rsnstats · 5h #RedSox Manager Alex Cora credits BOS medical staff with getting J.D. Martinez in a place to be able to play in tonight's game: "It's been non-stop. All the credit goes to him."
#RedSox Manager Alex Cora: "We hit the ball hard yesterday. Offensively, we're getting to who we are. It was just a 3-0 game in the 2nd inning, that's the way we saw it…don't panic. We put 2 in the first and still had 8 innings."
#RedSox Manager Alex Cora says command was the issue for Chris Sale tonight: "We count on this guy…We'll get him right, we'll get him right.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 9, 2021 3:39:49 GMT -5
Red Sox Nation Stats @rsnstats · 5h #Rays Manager Kevin Cash: "Look, the #RedSox, we knew coming in, they have a very talented offense. They just put together a lot of at-bats, quality at-bats…just kind of put it to us tonight."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 9, 2021 7:17:31 GMT -5
How the Red Sox made their most important comeback of the season Current Time 0:12 / Duration 0:14 By Rob Bradford an hour ago
The Red Sox have 48 come-from-behind wins this season, the best in the majors. The most important one? Not even close. Friday night in St. Petersburg.
And it all started with a few choice words from their manager.
After scoring answering the Game 2 bell with two runs in the top of the first inning, starter Chris Sale experienced the worst outing of his career, giving up five before exiting. So, with the popcorn popping in the Tampa Bay dugout, the Sox stared at a three-run deficit heading into the top of the second inning.
That's when buttons were pushed ... all the right ones.
"Obviously, we felt like we did a good job in the top of the first, you know, put two on, and just kind of get that momentum real quick, and, you know, just -- you got to give it credit to the Rays," said Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo after his team's 14-6 win over Tampa Bay. "In the bottom of the first they put good at-bats on Chris Sale, and, you know, worked him, and ended up getting a grand slam and going up by three.
"So it was definitely a little deflating at first, but I just remember going into the dugout and AC (Cora) is coming up and down the dugout just, 'It's all right, we got a whole game, eight more innings. You know, keep going.' I felt like that really set the tone.
"And the hitters, they just didn't stop. They were relentless with battling pitches, you know, making a pitcher just get them over the plate, and we used the whole field today."
Words were one thing, actions were another. That's where Tanner Houck came in.
The righty delivered complete dominance for five innings while allowing the Red Sox to catch up and then go ahead thanks to pivotal homers from Kiké Hernandez and J.D. Martinez.
In a game that saw the Red Sox crank out 20 hits and five home runs, a relief pitcher was undeniably the team's most potent weapon.
"What happened I think was Tanner Houck, he was really tough," said Rays manager Kevin Cash. "I mean, looked like he had -- I know he had all of his stuff working. He looked like he had a great breaking ball. Just kept us off balance, but he was tough. We had seen him, I think, one other time early and was good that time as well, but he came in and did a tremendous job for them."
“What (Houck) did was unbelievable,” said Kiké Hernandez, whose four extra-base hits set a Red Sox postseason record. “He kept us in the game and gave us a chance to come back."
Once again, the results were a combination of built-in resiliency and advantageous decision-making (as Cora half-kiddingly pointed out when going back to Saturday's decision to save Houck despite the pitcher tossing a perfect game in Washington).
"Great decision taking him in the perfect game, right, so we can use him later? He has been amazing," Cora said. "He has been amazing. The fastball, the slider, the split, he doesn't panic. We've been using him a lot, and we have to be careful with that, but today was the perfect day for him to go out there and help us to win a ballgame.
"He is the same guy regardless if they're hitting the ball all over the place or he is getting people out. He just -- he stays in the moment. He doesn't get ahead of himself or he mopes around when he gets hit. He just wants to keep going and get people out, and what he did -- what he has done this week has been amazing. And now, obviously, he is going to be down for a few days, but today that was huge for us. It was huge.
"And, you know, he has grown. He is getting better and better and better. Everybody talks about third time through the order, everybody talks about facing lefties and that's a good lineup over there, and they had some good left-handed hitters, and he did an amazing job."
It's the kind of formula that makes such comebacks work. Fortunately for the Red Sox, all the elements appeared just in time to save the season.
"For me, postseason is amazing because, you know, it takes away your individual stats," Verdugo noted. "It takes away any of that stuff where, you know, it's just we're out here competing. We're out here next man up. We're trying to give -- I'm trying to put the guy behind me in the best position to get the job done.
"Postseason has just been like the ideal baseball. It brings me back to when I was a kid and we just wanted to win, win, win, and it didn't matter about nothing. This has been a lot of fun."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 9, 2021 7:22:06 GMT -5
Alex Verdugo embracing Red Sox expectations, postseason pressure, ‘I live for the big moments. I want those moments’ | Matt Vautour Published: 7:00 a.m.
By Matt Vautour | mvautour@masslive.com
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Just hours before the Red Sox were about to play a must-win ALDS game with Tampa Bay Friday, Alex Verdugo spent his pregame media session pondering whether he could make it as a two-way player by 2023 if he worked on his pitching.
To anyone unfamiliar with the Alex Verdugo Experience, that must have seemed strange. Moments earlier Christian Vázquez sat in the same seat, laser-focused on the task ahead.
But Verdugo was having fun. Smiling and laughing is his game face.
On the field, he turned his enthusiasm into the latest in a growing number of strong October performances. In the Red Sox’s 14-6 win, he was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, two RBIs and made the defensive play of the game for Boston, who evened the best-of-five series at 1-1.
With the Red Sox up 8-5 in the bottom of the sixth, Nelson Cruz hit a tailing foul ball into the left-field corner. From where Verdugo was positioned, he had to sprint a long way toward the sidewall just before the foul pole. He planted his right foot and leaned as far as he could over the fence to pull the ball back in.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to hit a fan or reach into a fan, but it just happened to be perfect,” he said.
While it’s his first postseason, Verdugo hasn’t shown any hesitation. He’s raced toward the challenge with the same reckless excitement he pursued Cruz’s foul ball with.
“Not nervous at all. I live for this. It’s still baseball,” Verdugo said after Friday’s win. “There’s a lot that goes with it, but for me I just play my game. Baseball is baseball, and let’s not make it more complicated than that. … I’m confident in my abilities and the way I play, and I live for the big moments. I want those moments.”
Those moments have found him this postseason. Verdugo had three hits and two RBIs in the final regular-season game that was essentially a playoff game because of its implications. His two-run double with two outs in the seventh tied that game after the Red Sox had fallen behind the Nationals, 5-1.
Two days later, he had two hits and three RBIs in the Wild Card Game win over the Yankees and delivered again Friday as the Red Sox regained momentum.
“He is a good hitter, and towards the end of the season he got locked in,” Alex Cora said. “I think in Washington he had that big game on the last day, and it has carried over.”
His big game meant another invitation to the postgame press conference. This time the topic, in addition to the game and his success, was his jewelry. Verdugo loves necklaces the way Cam Newton loves hats. A No. 99 dangles from a chain around his neck when he plays. But after the game Friday, he wore a different custom-made personalized piece.
The square necklace at the end of a white gold chain has a Red Sox “B” on a bed of what looks like mini diamonds between the words “Bendición” (Spanish for blessing) above and “Verdugo” below. On the back is SpongeBob Squarepants. Alex Verdugo necklace
Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo's necklace features a Red Sox logo and Sponge Bob Squarepants. (Photo by Matt Vautour)
“It’s just like my little tribute to Boston, man. I love this team. I love this city. It feels like since I got traded here, it’s just kind of taken me in and I just, I love to play here,” he cracking a wide smile inside his red beard. “I love the way the fans are. I love where it can get tough, obviously. You don’t perform, they get on you, but I love that. I love that fight, man. I love that, like, ‘hey, man, what have you doing for us now?’ ... I got SpongeBob on the back, too, to cheer it up, keep going. but, yeah, man, I like jewelry, and I love Boston.”
And he loves the playoffs.
“Postseason has just been like the ideal baseball,” he said. “It brings me back to when I was a kid and we just wanted to win, win, win, and it didn’t matter about nothing. This has been a lot of fun.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 9, 2021 7:24:38 GMT -5
Mazz: Three big takeaways – one bad, two good – on a night when the Red Sox hit back Tony Massarotti Tony Massarotti 38 minutes ago
One thing about the postseason – and in any sport: either literally or metaphorically speaking, you’re going to get hit. And in Game 1 on Thursday night, the Tampa Bay Rays punched the Red Sox in the face.
Last night, the Red Sox hit back.
For the record, let the record show that the Red Sox first absorbed another one squarely on the kisser, a grand slam by the anonymous Jordan Luplow in a five-run first inning that again had the Sox on their heels under the titled roof of Tropicana Field. Still, that came only after the Sox came out swinging and had grabbed a 2-0 lead on a night when Chris Sale clearly didn’t have it, raising serious questions about both the state of Sale and Red Sox starters as this series moves forward.
First, about the struggles of Chris Sale …
Let’s start here: Sale really hasn’t been the same since he came back, which is to be expected. Pitchers coming off Tommy John surgery can typically take the mound after about 18 months but aren’t fully recovered until about two years out from the procedure. If Sale still looks the same next spring, there will be more cause for concern.
That said, there has been a clear pattern here for anyone who has cared to notice. Sale’s last two starts have come on the standard four days of rest and gotten worse: a combined 3.1 innings, eight hits, seven runs, four walks and a grand slam. This season, on four days of rest, he has a 7.50 ERA while opponents have batted a whopping .400 against him. With more than four days, he has a 2.84 ERA while opponents have hit .219.
If Sale starts in Game 5, it would be on four days of rest. If the Red Sox can get through this series, the Sox can more effectively manage Sale’s schedule and he could start two games in the American League Championship Series – both on extra rest. Second, regarding the perfection of Tanner Houck …
With his five innings last weekend against Washington, one inning against New York in the wildcard game and through his first three innings last night, Tanner Houck pitched the equivalent of a perfect game: 27 up, 27 down, 15 strikeouts. So why don’t the Sox start him again? Good question. But consider the following:
Against Sale last night, the Rays went with a lineup heavy on right-handed hitters, whom Houck dominates. (To this point in his career, switch-hitting Tampa phenom Wander Franco also has been better from the right side, vs. LHP.) Houck’s arrival immediately meant the removal of Jordan Luplow and the insertion of the left-handed-hitting Ji-Man Choi, who homered against Houck in the sixth. Regardless, right-handed batters last night went 0-for-9 with four strikeouts against Houck. Continuing to using Houck out of the bullpen allows Cora to match up earlier and, at the very least, forces Rays manager Kevin Cash to potentially burn his bench earlier in the game.
“We’re in a good spot. We’ve got some guys that could go multiple innings. It’s not perfect,” Cora said of his pitching situation. “I mean, the plan was for Chris and for Eddie to go deep in the game (in Games 1 and 2) and then mix-and-match, but what Nick did yesterday and Tanner did today, we expect that from them. You know, we know we can actually pitch with (Tampa). We can get people out too.” Third, as for the offensive approach …
Aggressiveness can go a long way in the playoffs. After Kyle Schwarber opened the game with a four-pitch walk against rookie Shane Baz, Enrique Hernandez took a strike, then swung at the next four pitches. Xander Bogaerts came to the plate with one out and runners at second and third following a Hernandez double, then did something he rarely does: swing at the first pitch. The result was an RBI single that gave the Sox an immediate 1-0 lead.
Obviously, Tampa subsequently hit the Sox with a haymaker in the bottom of the first. But the Sox kept swinging. Hernandez swung at the first pitch in the fifth and hit a game-tying homer. With two on, Alex Verdugo swung at the first pitch and drilled a liner to right. You get the idea. Even after the Rays posted a five-run first, the Sox didn’t wilt.
“Them scoring five is not what you had envisioned, but team sports are all about picking each other up,” said Hernandez. “And that’s what we did as an offense.”
The ending result?
Don’t look now, but we may actually have a series.
You can hear Tony Massarotti weekdays from 2-6 p.m. EST on the Felger & Massarotti program. Follow him on Twitter @tonymassarotti.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 9, 2021 9:09:35 GMT -5
Scattered Thoughts after a Game Two win
The offense stole the show, but Tanner Houck let them do it. By Matt_Collins@MattRyCollins Oct 9, 2021, 9:01am EDT
After dropping Game One and really just being beaten in all phases by the Rays (despite out-hitting them), the Red Sox were able to bounce back for Game Two and even up this series. Here are some scattered thoughts on the 14-6 victory.
We’ve talked about it all year. The theme for this team all year has been resilience. There was a time where the theme was a lack thereof, as the team just couldn’t get out of their own way in August and let losses pile up, but for the most part it’s been the very active presence of resilience. They bounced back in a huge way in this game, and not just from Game One. It was deflating to have the Rays score five in the bottom of the first to answer back Boston’s two-run top half. But they put it past them and were able to come back for the win. It was only a three-run game, but it’s hard to overstate how impossible this result felt at that time. It’s cliche, but you really can’t count this team out. As it says in the subhead up there, the offense was the story, but that’s only because Tanner Houck let that happen. He came in right after the deflation in a 5-2 game, and he kept the Rays at five for long enough in order for the Red Sox to add on an eventually tie things up and take the lead. He ended up going five very strong innings in the game. We’re going to talk about him a bit later so I want to save my bullets here, but he really is incredible. Before Wander Franco singled in the fifth, Houck had retired the last 30 batters he faced. This outing from him isn’t quite at the level of the Pedro outing against Cleveland or Nathan Eovaldi’s from the World Series in 2018, but it’s also not that far off. It won’t feel like it because the offense ultimately made it a blowout, but it was that important.
So, yeah. The offense. Before we get into some of the individual performances, the team as a whole had a huge game. It wasn’t all about the long ball because they did have 20 hits, but the home runs helped. I know people tend to talk about the postseason being a place where you have to move runners station to station and not lean on the long ball, but that’s not really true. It’s especially not true against a team like the Rays, whose defense positions itself so well that singles are hard to come by, and they also have one of the lowest walk rates in baseball. The point being, it’s hard to string together a rally against them, so your best bet is to hit it the one place they can’t position their defense. The Red Sox offense had two big injury concerns heading into this game in Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez. Both of them had good games, especially the latter. Martinez had missed both the Wildcard Game and Game One of this series after hurting his ankle in the regular season finale, but he got it done in this one. His three-run homer was the biggest play for the game for the Red Sox by WPA and was one of four hits of his on the day. Devers, meanwhile, has a hand injury that apparently hurts when he whiffs, but not when he doesn’t. He had one hit, but it was a homer late to really put an exclamation point on the game. He also drew a couple of walks. The star of the day at the plate was Kiké Hernández, who really needed a game like this. The center fielder was hitting second in this game, and the spot suited him as he had a whopping five hits, three of which were doubles and another was a solo homer. He had a .672 OPS over his last eight games of the season and had just one hit between his first two postseason games, so there was a mild slump going on. He’s not someone to worry about on this stage, though, as he has plenty of experience. This was his 61st postseason game in his career. We know it can be big for Hernández to have that kind of big game because we saw something similar with Xander Bogaerts in the Wildcard Game, and he’s been swinging well in the two games since. He had three games in this one including the first of the team’s five homers. His homer was followed by Alex Verdugo, who’s having a huge start to this series. We’ve talked about his ability to perform on the biggest of stages, and he’s certainly showing up in these playoffs so far. Going back to that resilience point for a second, the first four homers were each hit with two strikes. Being tough to get out with two strikes has been a trait for this club all year, and it showed up in a big way on Friday.
It’s hard to overstate how wild it is that this team managed a split while getting a combined 2 2⁄3 innings from their starters. The bullpen deserves credit for both games, but especially tonight. Houck, Ryan Brasier, Hansel Robles, and Matt Barnes combined to allow just one run in eight innings. This was nearly an entirely positive game, but we obviously have to talk about Chris Sale. He just doesn’t have it right now. Coming off Tommy John, I certainly don’t think it’s time to write him off short-term, but I’m not sure I see the path to him being reliable as a starter the rest of the way. He doesn’t have a changeup right now, and while prime Chris Sale could make that work, his fastball and slider aren’t yet at the level to make up for the lack of the offspeed. I don’t think he can make another start, though I’m also not sure they can avoid it. I also think we need to talk about Kyle Schwarber at first base. I might consider sitting Hunter Renfroe on Sunday and putting Schwarber in left with Bobby Dalbec at first. There were a couple of ground balls early that were not gimme plays, but it’s clear Schwarber has no lateral range. It’s a tough spot for Cora, but I can see these hot shots starting to catch up to them more noticeably. At Fenway, he can at least be hidden more easily in left. All in all, the Red Sox have to feel good about where they stand in this series. They have home field advantage now, and they have Nathan Eovaldi going on Sunday. What a turnaround.
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