Tag: blue jays

Full 2018 #RedSox Season Preview: Expectations and Predictions

It’s the day before the start of the 2018 Major League Baseball regular season. For the first time I can remember, all 30 clubs (except the Reds and Nationals) will be playing on Opening Day to start the season. The Boston Red Sox kick their season off in Tampa Bay to square off against the new-look Rays at 4:00 PM on Thursday.

This campaign looks to be a promising one for the Red Sox, and expectations are high as ever with the team owning the highest payroll in baseball at more than $234 million. With that in mind, losing in the ALDS this season really isn’t an option, no matter how many games they win in the regular season. I mean, John Farrell won 93 games each in the past two seasons, that clearly doesn’t guarantee anything. Now, with new manager Alex Cora at the helm, things are looking more optimistic. Although this will be Cora’s first go around managing a big league club, the native of Puerto Rico has three things going for him. One, he was the bench coach for the 2017 World Series Champion Houston Astros. Two, he has managerial experience in winter ball. And three, he spent more than three seasons with the Red Sox as a player from 2005-2008. The Red Sox needed a change from John Farrell and Alex Cora was the best managerial candidate available, so that’s a positive start.

Lest we forget that Cora is inheriting a team that has won the AL East two years in a row now. A team that won 93 games in 2017, yet it felt like they underachieved throughout the season. If he can rejuvenate this team the way I think he can, we may be looking at 95+ wins this year. I’ll get to that later, for now, let’s move on to the pitching.

The Rotation:

The rotation is going to look a bit different to start the year, as Drew Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez are slated to miss time on the disabled list. When fully healthy though, a rotation of Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello, Drew Pomeranz, and Eduardo Rodriguez can compete with any team for one of the best rotations in baseball.

Sale is coming off a year where he struck out 300+ batters and finished second in AL Cy Young Voting. Both of those results sound good, but if you watched Sale at all last season, you know he left something to be desired at the tail end of 2017. His starts may be less entertaining, but if the lefty can leave more in the tank for September and October, the starts that really matter, it would all be worth it.

As for David Price, health is key. He missed a good portion of the 2017 season, thus explaining why he only appeared in 16 games. Off the field issues were affluent as well for Price. The Dennis Eckersley “Yuck” confrontation was ugly, and that didn’t help Price in terms of what fans think of him. In my opinion, what would be best for Price would be to put your head down, avoid the distractions, and pitch your ass off. The only way he can get fans on his side now is by performing, especially in the postseason. And if he does all that, he has the option to get out of his current contract at the end of the season. It’s hard to imagine a free agent entering his age 33 season could make more than $31 million per season, but we’ll have to wait and see how this season plays out for him first.

Rick Porcello, Drew Pomeranz, and Eduardo Rodriguez all have two things in common; Upside and inconsistency. Porcello followed up his 2016 Cy Young Award winning campaign by putting together a stinker of a season. If you look at Porcello’s WHIP each year he’s been with the Red Sox, you’ll notice that it starts at 1.36, goes down to 1.01 the season he won Cy Young, then inflates back up to 1.4 last season. Does that mean the 29-year-old New Jersey native is due for another Cy Young caliber season? I doubt it. With Sale and Price on the staff, Porcello does not need to shoulder that kind of work load. He needs to be a solid No. 3 starter. That’s it.

This thing is going to be longer than I expected. Okay, next up we got Drew Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez. Both have had health and consistency issues in the past and both will miss the start of the season. Surprisingly, Pomeranz exceeded expectations last year and had stretches where he looked like a top ten pitcher in the American League. He may not go deep into too many of his starts, but if he can give this team five to six innings of quality stuff on a consistent enough basis, he will be a valuable part of the rotation. As for Rodriguez, there’s not as much pressure on him as there he used to be. The combination of missing time and acquiring guys like David Price and Chris Sale have made more Rodriguez more expandable. He’s no longer a vital lefty, the Red Sox have three of those that are all arguably better than he is. I don’t mean to put ERod down, because when he’s on he is on, but I just don’t want to set my expectations too high. I would be happy if he were able to make 20-25 starts this year.

The Bullpen:

For the sake of this blog, I’m going to include Brian Johnson and Hector Velazquez in this section because that’s where I think they will be spending their time once Pomeranz and Rodriguez return from the disabled list.

The Red Sox bullpen was one of the best in the majors last year, can’t take that away from them. They finished with the second best bullpen ERA in the league, trailing only the Cleveland Indians. Craig Kimbrel is coming off one of the best seasons a Red Sox closer has ever had. Carson Smith is here for his first full season with the Red Sox since he was acquired two offseasons ago. Tyler Thornburg is alive, I think. Two of the biggest surprises of Red Sox spring training have to be Marcus Walden and Bobby Poyner making the Opening Day roster. I honestly don’t know much about them other than they performed well this month to earn those spots. All and all, I expect this unit to be just as good as they were last season. They might not be as good as the Indians bullpen, but maintaining the success they found last year would be more than enough.

The Lineup:

With the Opening Day lineup officially looking like this…

  1. Mookie Betts, RF
  2. Andrew Benintendi, LF
  3. Hanley Ramirez, 1B
  4. JD Martinez, DH
  5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
  6. Rafael Devers, 3B
  7. Eduardo Nunez, 2B
  8. Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
  9. Christian Vazquez, C

…It’s hard not to get excited for what this season could bring. The addition of JD Martinez gives the Red Sox the power threat they so very much missed last season. The success this lineup has mostly depends on if some players can bounce back from their 2017 seasons. Mookie Betts was the only everyday player to post an OPS higher than .800. Compare that to the 2016 the Red Sox lineup had and it just doesn’t make sense. If losing David Ortiz affected the team that much hopefully Martinez will revitalize them.

The top five here have a ton of potential. Betts, Benintendi, Ramirez, Martinez, and Devers. We could easily be looking at 20+ home runs for each of these guys. That may be what this lineup needs most of all, some power. Last season, the Red Sox ranked 27th in team home runs. I am hoping that the addition of Martinez as well new philosophies while at the plate will lead to a surge in those power numbers in 2018.

The Depth:

Depending on what your view is, you could make the case that the Red Sox have an above average bench and minor league depth at some positions. To start the season, it’s looking like Mitch Moreland, Sandy Leon, Blake Swihart, and Brock Holt will be coming off the bench. In Pawtucket, Tzu-Wei Lin and Sam Travis have already shown what they can do with a small sample size in the big leagues. Credit to Travis for putting together yet another solid spring training, but it’s going to be a challenge to find him any at bats with the big league club. Lin is more of an interesting case. He made the jump from Double A Portland to Boston without much notice. In his 25 games with the Red Sox, he hit .268 while playing three positions.

In terms of pitchers in the minor leagues, there really is nothing to boast about, at least not yet. Brandon Workman, Robby Scott, and maybe Roenis Elias are the only pitchers who have the most realistic chance to pitch with the Red Sox this season, and that’s mostly because all three have before. As for the others, Jalen Beeks was named the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year over the winter, and he looks to be the ace of the pitching staff in Pawtucket right now. He posted a 5.06 ERA in two starts this spring, so he may need more time to develop with the PawSox before getting a chance to start a Major League game.

Two of the biggest names to watch in the Red Sox farm system are both pitchers and both will not pitch for the Red Sox this season. Those two would be none other than Jason Groome and Tanner Houck, the last two first round selections the Red Sox have made in the last two amateur drafts. Groome’s short professional career has already been riddled with injuries, but spent his offseason training with Chris Sale. Houck spent all of the 2017 season with the Lowell Spinners, where he appeared in ten games as a starter and posted a solid 3.63 ERA and .239 BAA. They may not have been on the bubble for a roster spot this season, but I expect next spring to be very different.

The Injured:

Marco Hernandez, Dustin Pedroia, Drew Pomeranz, Eduardo Rodriguez, Tyler Thornburg, and Steven Wright. Those are all the players who will begin the season on the disabled list. For Pedroia, this will be the veteran’s first missed Opening Day since 2007, when he wasn’t on the team yet. As long as Pedroia is with the team, I’m fine. He will be traveling with the team for the start of the season, and should be making his return sometime in May, barring any setbacks.

Going into the season missing three pitchers who started for the team last year is certainly unsettling. Chris Sale, David Price, and Rick Porcello will have to carry a heavier burden on their shoulders for the time being. When everyone gets back though, I would expect Steven Wright to be the one sent to the bullpen.

My Predictions:

Here are my predictions for this year’s Red Sox team:

Record: 95-67 (1st in AL East)

Team leader in Home Runs: JD Martinez (38)

Team leader in RBIs: JD Martinez (112)

Team leader in Hits: Mookie Betts (189)

Team leader in Wins: Chris Sale (17)

Team leader in Strikeouts: Chris Sale (245)

Craig Kimbrel Saves: 32

Player most likely to win MVP: Mookie Betts

Player most likely to win Cy Young: Chris Sale

Alright, that will do it for me. Opening Day is tomorrow, get PUMPED!

 

 

JD Martinez is Reportedly ‘Fed Up’ with the #RedSox.

Per Ken Rosenthal, free agent outfielder JD Martinez ‘has become “fed up” with the lack of flexibility on Boston’s part and may prefer playing elsewhere.’ This all came out last night, and it is not a good look on Martinez’s part. Whatever sense of entitlement he’s earned in his playing career, the 30 year-old is using all of it this offseason. Since free agency started, there were rumors that Martinez was looking for a seven-year offer worth around $200 million dollars in total. Last time I checked, the only offer Martinez has available to him right now is a five-year, $125 million dollar offer from the Red Sox.

Right before the World Series ended in November, Martinez left his old agency, RMG Baseball, for super-agent Scott Boras. If you were to look at the top free agents in baseball who have yet to sign with a club, you will notice that a majority of them are indeed Boras clients. The man is known for getting the largest and longest contracts for his clients and he is really putting that to the test this winter.

From the perspective of Dave Dombrowski and the Red Sox, I do not take this as bad news. If there are no favorable offers on the table for Martinez now, why would that change as Spring Training begins? I’m not an insider, but I can’t imagine a team who plans on contending in 2018 would sign Martinez to a huge deal in March if they could have done so in January or February. Realistically, the Red Sox have been the most persistent team pursuing Martinez. There have been rumors about the Giants or Blue Jays trying to lure him, but those rumors carry less weight than the Red Sox ones do.

Evaluating the market for Martinez is not even that much of a challenge. There are not many teams out there willing to sign a 30 year-old outfielder with one of the worst gloves in baseball to a deal worth more than $200 million dollars. The fact that there’s still an offer on the table worth more than $120 million dollars is crazy. Why does it matter if there’s an extra two years on it or not? Just take it and show you are worth that deal.

Martinez may be fed up with the Red Sox, but Red Sox fans are beginning to get fed up with him.

RECAP: Home runs from Ramirez, Bogaerts and Moreland lift #RedSox to 10-7 win over Blue Jays in season series finale.

The Red Sox silenced a lot of doubters last night. Coming into this one losing the previous two, people were wondering if the Yankees could catch up in the division race. Well, with this win, the Red Sox magic number is down to two with four games left so I’d say that’s off the table. For the third night in a row, the starting pitching was far from what was expected. Maybe not with Rick Porcello, but I was definitely expecting more out of Drew Pomeranz and Chris Sale this week. Porcello looked like he has for most of this season, getting hit hard and serving up some home runs. With the two he gave up last night, Porcello tied Tim Wakefield for most home runs given up in a season with 38. In the five and two-thirds innings he pitched, the Blue Jays got him for five runs on seven hits and two walks while also striking out eight times. Similar to Sale, the K’s were there for Porcello, but the results were not. Before the Red Sox had even taken their first at bats they were already trailing by three runs. Jose Bautista took the righty deep in the first, while Darwin Barney did so in the fourth inning. That may have been the last time Jose Bautista plays at Fenway Park, and if it is, what a way to go out at a place he loved over his career.

After that home run to Barney, Porcello was solid, retiring five of the next seven batters he faced until being lifted for David Price with two outs in the sixth. Making his third appearance out of the bullpen, Price was dominant, striking out three of the four batters he faced. I hate to say it, but I really like this version of David Price. I think that he just doesn’t give a dang about what fans think about him anymore. Like they said on the latest episode of the Section 10 Podcast, he’s gone full heel and I kind of love him.

Addison Reed bounced back with a scoreless eighth, and Brandon Workman ended the game, but not before allowing a two-run home run to Teoscar Hernandez. Not having to face Hernandez along with Josh Donaldson is a relief, as the two combined to hit SIX home runs over the past three games. Also, that’s the third straight game the Red Sox bullpen has allowed runs to score. Like I’ve been saying, I’m not too concerned but it’s something to pay attention to.

Offensively, the bats did something they usually do not do, and that’s doing damage against Marco Estrada. Hanley Ramirez got the scoring started in the first, driving in Andrew Benintendi from first on an RBI double. Three more runs crossed the plate in the second thanks to Jackie Bradley Jr., Xander Bogaerts, and Dustin Pedroia. The third inning is where the game got away from the Blue Jays. Hanley led off the inning with a 451 foot bomb onto Lansdowne Street, and that was followed by three of the next four reached, including a Rajai Davis RBI single.

Xander Bogaerts decided to try and one-up Hanley by mashing his tenth home run of the season, another one that landed in the Monster seats.

Speaking of Bogaerts, the shortstop has now reached base in six straight games, and eight of the past nine games. This season has definitely been a disappointment, I’m sure Xander will tell you that himself, but he has the chance to end it on a positive note if he can play the way he has recently and bring that into the postseason.

Last not but least, we had Mitchy Four Bags blasting his 21st home run of the season in the seventh inning. Can’t find any video, but it was a good one.

Eduardo Rodriguez welcomes the Houston Astros into town later on tonight, and I am PUMPED. The Red Sox have the third seed all but locked up, that’s fine. What’s not fine is how the Astros and Indians are only separated by one game in the overall standings, that’s not fine. The last thing I want is to face the Indians in the ALDS, I want nothing to do with that team until a potential ALCS, let them stomp on the Yankees or Twins, please.

92nd win of the season, I’ll leave you all with this:

RECAP: Chris Sale, #RedSox bullpen surrender nine runs as division lead shrinks.

Remember that great road trip the Red Sox just had in Tampa Bay, Baltimore and Cincinnati? The one where they won 8 out of 9 and 6 in a row? Well, they have looked like a different team since returning to Fenway Park on Monday. Drew Pomeranz looked bad in the first game and the ace was not much better last night. Chris Sale got the start in this one, and I really hope this was his last start of the regular season. The strikeouts were there, but so were the home runs. Yup, the Blue Jays took Sale deep FOUR times. The lefty simply did not have it going on as he usually does against Toronto. He pitched five full innings, allowing eight hits, five runs, two walks, and eight strikeouts. Josh Donaldson greeted him with a solo shot in the first, then hit another one in the third. Dude is just unreal back in his MVP form. He’s going to be 32 by Opening Day next season, but there are not too many third baseman that can do what Donaldson can. He wasn’t the only player to go deep twice though, as outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, former Astros prospect, hit his sixth and seventh home runs of the season as well. Sandwiched in between those two was Kendrys Morales’ two-run blast in the fifth. Like I said, four of those belong to Sale, but the bullpen gave up runs for the second night in a row. Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless sixth while Joe Kelly and Heath Hembree surrendered four runs in a combined two innings of work. Hector Velazquez made his first appearance in three weeks and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, but the game was already out of reach. With all the talk about how great this bullpen is, we’ve seen Addison Reed and Joe Kelly, arguably the two most important guys not named Craig Kimbrel, give up runs in consecutive nights.

On the other side of things, the Red Sox offense did not fare well against Blue Jays veteran JA Happ. One run and four hits is all they could get off of the lefty and they also whiffed nine times. Chris Young tied the game in the first with an RBI double, but that’s all the bats could do until the eighth inning. Having just gone down by eight runs, it looked like this one was out of reach. Sandy Leon led the inning off with his seventh home run of the year, and that was followed by a Rajai Davis RBI double. Next man up, Hanley Ramirez, shrunk the deficit to five runs with his two-out RBI single, but the lineup could do no more.

Having lost the first two games of the series, this will mark the first time since September 3rd that the Red Sox have failed to win a series. With each team having five games remaining, the Yankees trail the Red Sox in the division by three games. In order to give the division away, the Red Sox would have to lose four of their next five games while the Yankees win all five. If both teams finish with the same record, a play-in game will be hosted by the Yankees to determine who faces the Astros in the ALDS and who faces Minnesota in the Wild Card game. If the Red Sox do blow this three game lead, and Chris Sale had to pitch in the Wild Card game, that is a very bad scenario. Yeah, the one game thing is exciting, but it would be very hard to watch if my team was in it. One mistake and the season is over. I know the ALDS has a tendency to go quick, but at least you have multiple chances.

Anyway…Rick Porcello gets the ball tonight against Marco Estrada, hopefully the Red Sox can salvage something from this series with a win tonight.

91 down, 3 to go. 

RECAP: Drew Pomeranz allows five runs; #RedSox fall short of comeback in 6-4 loss.

Coming off an amazing road trip, the Red Sox got the final homestand of the regular season off to a below average start. The Blue Jays made their last stop at Fenway this season, and they currently have one of the hottest hitters in the game in The Bringer of Rain, Josh Donaldson. Donaldson made his presence felt early, taking last night’s starter, Drew Pomeranz, deep in the first inning. Since the All-Star break, Donaldson has now hit 21 home runs, making it 31 total in only 109 games this season. Don’t get it twisted, I like Rafael Devers at third, but I would have LOVED Donaldson at third a few years ago, one of my favorite players in baseball.

Back to Pomeranz, he was clearly not at the top of his game last night. Failing to record an out in the third inning, the lefty allowed five runs on seven hits to go along with three walks and three strikeouts. I bet John Farrell would have stuck with him longer earlier in the season, but I agree with pulling him so soon in this game. The bullpen was doing a great job in relief of Pomeranz up until the ninth. Austin Maddox, Blaine Boyer, and Carson Smith were all solid, combining to pitch six shutout innings, scattering only three hits and two walks. As this was happening, the Red Sox bats were attempting to stage a comeback. They came almost all the way back to make it a one run game going into the ninth, but Addison Reed gave that away. Ryan Goins took the righty deep, giving the Blue Jays the two-run lead. Not a great look giving up a run the same day the bullpen wins Bullpen of the Week, but I’m not too worried.

On the other side of things, Brett Anderson did a good job in limiting what the Red Sox could have done off of him. Mookie Betts got the scoring started in the first with an RBI ground out, scoring Xander Bogaerts from first. That RBI marks 100 on the year for Mookie, the second year in a row he has accomplished that feat. Hanley Ramirez did the same later in the inning, scoring Eduardo Nunez from third on another RBI ground out. Taking the lead going into the second looked good, but that was the only time they would have the lead. Betts would drive in another run in the fifth, but would not remain in the game after injuring his left wrist. It’s nothing serious, and taking him out was only precautionary. The same can be said about Eduardo Nunez, who reinjured his knee on a swing in the third. Not great when two of the most impactful players on the team have to leave, hopefully they’ll at least be ready for Houston. Andrew Benintendi, who did not start the game, gave the Red Sox some hope in the eighth with his 20th long ball of the season, but the offense could not do anything against Roberto Osuna in the ninth.

With the Yankees beating the Royals, the Red Sox magic number to clinch the division stays at three. Chris Sale gets the start tonight, though, and he’s coming off a start where he recorded his 300th strikeout of the season.

91 down, 4 to go. 

RECAP: Doug Fister strikes out nine as #RedSox take series from Jays with 6-1 win.

First off, I was very wrong about the weather for this game. Here I was thinking this one would get postponed, and they go out and play the whole thing with no interruption. Anyway, Doug Fister made his eleventh start with the Red Sox last night, and he continued his streak of dominance. For the fourth straight time, Fister pitched at least seven innings without allowing more than two runs. He scattered four hits and three walks last night while only allowing one earned run. What was most surprising from this performance was the nine strikeouts, a season high for the righty. That’s pretty uncharacteristic for him, since he is more of a ground ball pitcher, so you know he really had his curveball working. The first inning made it seem like bad things were to come, but Fister settled down and held the Blue Jays to nothing over the next six innings. In releif of Fister, the bullpen built off their great night/morning in Game 2 and tossed two more scoreless inning. Yup, Joe Kelly and Matt Barnes were both perfect in the inning they each pitched in.

I think I’ve said this before, but the evolution of Doug Fister has been something to behold. When he got here in June, his expectations were low as he was expected to be a depth guy at the end of the rotation and the bullpen. But, because of David Price’s health issues, Fister has become a mainstay in the rotation, and he has proven that he belongs there in October. He’s gone from someone who might have gotten DFA’d a few months ago to someone who should start the second game in a best-of-five series next month.

On the other side of things, the Red Sox actually did not look lifeless with a bat in their hands last night. Joe Biagini is not a quality starter, and that showed in his performance on Wednesday. After going into the bottom half of the first trailing by one, Andrew Benintendi tied it up by driving in Eduardo Nunez on a RBI ground out. They blew this one open in the fourth by scoring four times. Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, and Jackie Bradley Jr. all had RBIs in the inning, highlighted by JBJ’s 15th home run of the season, scoring Sandy Leon in the process.

JBJ wouldn’t stop there though, as the Center Fielder continued his great series by driving in the last run of the game in the sixth, driving in Rafael Devers on a fielding error. That gave the Red Sox their sixth run and secured their 79th win of the season.

With the Patriots playing tonight, it works out that the Red Sox do not play today. Drew Pomeranz is on the mound Friday as the Tampa Bay Rays come into town for the last time this season.

Also, sup Yankees?

79 down, 11 to go. 

RECAP: It took more than six hours, but the #RedSox ended their slump with a 3-2 win over the Jays.

I’ll be honest, I did not stay up to watch how this game ended. I had a class at 8:00 this morning so I shut my TV off after the final out of the twelfth inning. What I saw before that was not great. Eduardo Rodriguez was good, but the offense did nothing for him, against a starting pitcher with an ERA north of 5. In the six innings he pitched, the lefty scattered two runs on six hits while walking one and striking out eight. The only real costly mistake ERod made came in the sixth, when Kendrys Morales took him deep and gave the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead. The pitch count was high, so he was done after six. In the 20 games he has started this season, none of them have been for more than six innings, which is a shame because he has been good in a solid amount of those starts. In relief of ERod, the bullpen did a great job in holding the Blue Jays to nothing. In a combined 13 innings of work, we saw Joe Kelly, Addison Reed, Craig Kimbrel, Brandon Workman, Austin Maddox, Heath Hembree, Robby Scott, Blaine Boyer, Fernando Abad, CARSON SMITH, and Hector Velazquez all record at least one out and hold the Jays to zero runs. In his first appearance with Boston since July 18th, which was another marathon game against the Blue Jays, Velazquez racked up his third win of the season. Like I said, I was asleep so I din;t see this or Carson Smith make his 2017 debut. I seriously doubt there will be a game today with the rain that’s coming in so I guess I’ll have to wait and see when Smith will make his next appearance. All and all, a great performance from the pitching staff against a team that’s had a down year offensively, but still has the capability to score runs in bunches.

Offensively, the Red Sox looked lifeless for the duration of this game. Marco Estrada, who had an ERA of 5.23 going into this one, looked like the 2015 version of himself with the way he pitched last night. He held the Red Sox to nothing in the seven innings he pitched, and it wasn’t until the ninth when the Red Sox scored. With Roberto Osuna pitching, an Andrew Benintendi leadoff walk and a Mookie Betts double put runners on second and third with no outs. Hanley Ramirez drove in Benintendi on a ground out to third, and Mitch Moreland drove in Betts on a groundout to second. That run tied the game, and the score stayed that way for another ten innings. In the 19th, another double from Betts led to a Hanley Ramirez walk-off single, giving the Red Sox the W. It certainly wasn’t pretty, but I think most Red Sox fans will take it given the way the team has been playing lately.

The rain should postpone the game tonight, but if they are to play, Doug Fister would make the start against Joe Biagini. The Yankees lost late last night to the Orioles, so the Red Sox lead in the division grows to 3.5 games.

78 down, 12 to go. 

RECAP: #RedSox surrender four home runs, drop third straight in 10-4 defeat against Blue Jays.

After losing three out of four to the second-place Yankees, the Red Sox got their three game series against the last-place Blue Jays off to a disappointing start. Rick Porcello was bad again, even though he looked great against this same team less than a week ago. While not even making it through six complete innings, Porcello surrendered SEVEN earned runs on ten hits and a walk to go along with three strikeouts. The long ball is what really hurt the righty though, as the Jays took him deep three times, and those accounted for six of the seven runs. Right from the start, the Red Sox were down by three runs, which has happened a lot lately. Porcello was better after the first, only allowing one run over the next four innings, but then the sixth inning happened. After recording the first out, the next three batters all reached base, with the third, Raffy Lopez, taking Porcello deep and making it a 7-2 game. John Farrell would come to get Porcello after that, but the bullpen didn’t do much to stop the bleeding. I say bullpen, but it was really only Matt Barnes since Brandon Workman, Austin Maddox, and Fernando Abad all pitched well in their 2.2 combined innings of work. When Barnes entered the game in the ninth, the Red Sox were not dead yet, only trailing by three runs. Unfortunately, Barnes let that lead inflate, all after getting the first two outs on strikeouts. Four straight hits, including a home run, allowed the Jays to score three more runs and that pretty much put the final nail in the coffin. Roenis Elias, who has not pitched in the Majors since last August, had to come in the game, and he put an end to the top half of a long inning. Going back to Porcello, he has looked awful in his last two starts at Fenway Park, both against division rivals. He got blown out by the Orioles two weekends ago, and the Jays pretty much did the same against him last night. Somehow, I still have some level of confidence in him, despite the bad season. Hopefully, he can make up for this start with a good one against the Rays next weekend.

Offensively, the Red Sox had a solid amount of opportunities to score more than four runs, but could not capitalize. JA Happ was not great for the Blue Jays, but he definitely limited the damage in the 5.2 innings he pitched last night. Before they even came to the plate for their first AB’s, they were already losing 3-0. Eduardo Nunez made it a one run game in the second, but that was the closest the deficit ever got. Nunez really carried the offense last night, driving in the first three runs they scored, which kept them in the game up until the ninth. Mitch Moreland drove in the fourth run in the seventh, on a fielder’s choice, and that was that. Leaving runners in scoring position is a persisting problem for this team, and a solution may be hard to find. Bryce Brentz, who has around 30 homers with the PawSox this season could be a possibility, but it doesn’t look like he’ll make his way on the 40-man roster this month. Throughout the Red Sox lineup, there is no real threat for opposing pitchers to be afraid of, like I said, there’s no real solution for this season.

Marco Estrada, who has pitched below his standards this season, gets the start against ERod tonight, so hopefully the Red Sox bats can do a lot of damage off of him. For now, the Yankees have moved to within 2.5 games of the division lead, which is a concern based on how each team has been performing lately.

77 down, ? to go. (Probably won’t get to 95.)

RECAP: Porcello, Ramirez, and Moreland cap off sweep of Jays as #RedSox win 7-1.

Hey, remember that series over the weekend between the Red Sox and the Orioles with those weird-looking uniforms that had nicknames on them? Yeah, me neither. Honestly, it looked like the Red Sox could have gone into a full collapse, that’s what some fans were actually thinking over the weekend. Luckily, that is now how things transpired in Toronto, instead, the Red Sox won three games against a last place team that they should beat. Pomeranz was okay on Monday, Sale was great on Tuesday, and Porcello was pretty good on Wednesday. Last night, the righty surrendered only one run, a solo home run, while scattering six hits and two walks in 6.2 innings pitched. He also struck out seven Jays and he easily could have allowed more runs to score. In the fourth, after loading the bases with only one out, Porcello proceeded to get the next two batters out, getting out of the jam without giving up anything. It looked like Porcello was going to pitch seven full innings, but he couldn’t finish it off after getting the first two outs. This made way for Robby Scott to come on and finish the inning. With both Addison Reed and Craig Kimbrel unavailable, Joe Kelly would be responsible for finishing the game, and that’s exactly what he did with two perfect innings. By finishing a below average on a positive note like this, perhaps Porcello is now set up to go off during this final stretch, considering he will only make five or six more starts.

Offensively, JA Happ was having his way with the Red Sox lineup early on. It wasn’t until the fifth when he gave up a run, which just so happened to be Hanley Ramirez’s 21st home run of the season, his second in his past two games. That tied the game, and the Red Sox did not look back. The onslaught started in the seventh, when in a pinch-hit AB, Mitch Moreland untied the game on one swing, driving in himself along with Hanley Ramirez with his 18th home run of the season.

The Blue Jays bullpen, simply put, is not good. Every Jays starter the past three days have been pretty good, and the bullpen is given away each game. That was the case last night, and the Red Sox put the pedal to the floor in the eighth, scoring a total of four times. Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts each had RBI doubles in the inning, and I think I witnessed the worst double steal that has ever worked out.

Mitch Moreland capped off the scoring in this one with an RBI single, proving he is one of the best pinch hitters in baseball, and statistically, he has been since 2014. On a contending team, that’s awesome to have. I was also thinking about how the Red Sox might have too many good players once everyone is healthy. The infield will be crowded with Pedroia returning, the outfield with Bradley coming back soon, and Hanley Ramirez might be in the midst of a tear similar to the one we saw at the end of last season. Those are good problems to have though, and I like what I’m seeing now going into a not huge, but still important series in the Bronx. The Yankees lost twice today, so the Red Sox gained a game and a half off of them, totaling 5.5 games.

ERod gets the start against CC Sabathia later on tonight, and it looks like Chris Sale will be pitching on Sunday night against Luis Severino, should be a good four-game series.

Also, see you next year, Toronto, thanks for the eight wins.

Image result for mitch moreland gif

76 down, 19 to go. 

RECAP: Chris Sale records 17th game with at least 10 K’s as #RedSox shutout Jays 3-0.

Last time we saw Chris Sale take the mound, the Cleveland Indians gave him a ton of trouble in his shortest and worst start of the season. On Tuesday, Sale looked to bounce back against a team he has owned this year, and that is exactly what he did. In the seven plus innings the lefty pitched, the Blue Jays reached base a total of three times, and two of those were in the eighth. As the title reads, Sale struck out eleven Blue Jays, and one of those were pretty historic. With one out in the bottom of the second, Kevin Pillar struck out looking on three pitches, giving Sale 1,500 career punch outs. He passes Kerry Wood for the quickest number of innings to reach that milestone with only 1,290 needed.

Oddly enough, Sale has yet to face the Jays at Fenway, but in the three starts he’s made at the Rogers Centre, he has been outstanding. Racking up 22 innings in three starts, Sale did not allow a single run on eleven total hits and 35(!) strikeouts. With the work the bullpen has had to do recently, Sale came out to start the eighth, but could not record an out after facing two batters. This made way for Addison Reed, and he got out of the inning damage free despite giving up a single. With a three run lead going into the bottom half of the ninth, Craig Kimbrel came in the day after allowing two earned runs, but he bounced back from that with a 1-2-3 inning, collecting his 31st save of the season. Reed and Kimbrel have both been used in three straight games, so don’t expect to see them anytime tonight.

Offensively, the Red Sox saw Brett Anderson, a good follow on Twitter, make the start for the Blue Jays. Anderson couldn’t even make it through the sixth inning, but he was far from bad. They could have scored in the top of the first, but Jose Bautista threw out Eduardo Nunez at home plate to end the inning. Nunez would redeem himself later though, driving in Rajai Davis from second on an RBI double in the sixth, scoring the only run the Red Sox needed. In the seventh, Hanley Ramirez launched his team-leading twentieth home run of the season, so at least he has that going for him. That made it 2-0, and Andrew Benintendi tacked on another in the eighth, driving in Rajai Davis on an RBI single, his 72nd of the season. Like I said, the Red Sox only needed one run, but it was nice to see guys like Hanley, Davis, and Benintendi get involved as well.

Two wins in a row after a four-game losing streak, and Rick Porcello will look to complete the sweep later tonight.

Also, he’s been here for like a week but welcome to the Red Sox, Rajai Davis…

75 down, 20 to go.