Tag: blue jays

RECAP: Drew Pomeranz, Christian Vazquez help #RedSox end losing streak with 6-5 win in Toronto.

Going into Monday night, the Red Sox had not won a game since Drew Pomeranz made his last start in Cleveland. The lefty made his regularly scheduled start last night against Marcus Stroman, and neither were too spectacular. With the way things started, it looked like the Red Sox were going to be in trouble, already being down 2-0 going into the second inning. Luckily, Pomeranz settled down after that, despite having some control issues. He tied his season-high in walks with five, but he still limited the Blue Jays to one run on five hits while striking out five over the next five innings. The pitcher who goes by “Big Smooth” is going to go into September putting together terrific numbers in the month of August, going 4-0 with a 2.28 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP in 27.2 innings pitched. Addison Reed entered the game with a very fresh 6-5 lead in the bottom of the seventh, and he retired the Blue Jays in order. Brandon Workman did the same in the eighth, and that made way for Craig Kimbrel in the ninth. He did walk the first guy he saw, which did lead to a two-run home run, but he was still able to record his 30th save of the season, marking his seventh straight season with at least 30.

Offensively, the Red Sox struggled to do much off of Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman. A throwing error by Blue Jays catcher Raffy Lopez allowed Hanley Ramirez to score from third in the second inning, cutting the deficit in half. Next inning, Eduardo Nunez took Stroman deep for his eleventh home run of the season, which tied the game at that point. Later on in the sixth, Kevin Pillar made one of the best catches you’ll see in Toronto.

And all Mookie can do is laugh…

Once Marcus Stroman was lifted, the Blue Jays bullpen really opened the floodgates. A Hanley Ramirez leadoff single in the seventh  led to the second clutchest Christian Vazquez home run of the season.

The Red Sox were down by one run going into the inning, so that two-run shot, Vazquez’s fourth, gave them a 4-3 lead, and they never looked back. A Mitch Moreland RBI single later in the inning scored Nunez from third, and a Xander Bogaerts walk with the bases loaded scored Andrew Benintendi from third. So, Stroman allowed one earned run in the six innings he pitched, while the Jays bullpen allowed four runs in the three innings he pitched.

Losing streak is over and Chris Sale is on the mound later today to start a WINNING streak. Last time he pitched up north, he disgraced the Blue Jays on Canada Day. In fact, in the two starts he has made at the Rogers Centre in 2017, he has yet to allow a single run in a Red Sox uniform.

74 down, 21 to go. 

RECAP: Drew Pomeranz tosses quality start; Mookie Betts drives in EIGHT runs as #RedSox sweep Jays with 15-1 win.

For the first time since 2011, the Boston Red Sox have swept the Toronto Blue Jays. Drew Pomeranz has become a reliable guy in the rotation, which seemed unlikely two months ago. The southpaw has gone at least 6 innings in three of his last four starts, as he has lowered his ERA from 4,48 to 3.64 over that span. In the six innings he pitched on Sunday, Pomeranz consistently got out of any jam he was in, allowing seven total base runners. The only run he gave up came in the second, when Justin Smoak scored on a sac fly. So, when the only run you allow doesn’t even come on a hit, that’s a pretty solid outing. Since he had already thrown more than 100 pitched by the time he ended the sixth, Fernando Abad came on in relief. Abad notched his first save of the season, pitching three no-hit scoreless innings. Ever since Pomeranz got chewed out by Manager John, he arguably has been the second best starter behind Sale. He’ll make his next start on Friday in Tampa against a surprisingly kinda good Rays team.

Mookie Betts, Mookie Betts, Mookie Betts. That’s who sticks out most after today’s blowout. The now 2x All-Star reached recorded four hits, including two home runs. With all those hits and dingers, Betts drove in a total of eight runs. That’s more runs than the Blue Jays scored this entire series (6). Despite Mookie’s day at the plate, the Red Sox still scored 9 more runs. Every starter except Christian Vazquez got on base two or more times. Hanley Ramirez stayed hot by extending his hitting streak to seven, as the DH blasted his twelfth home run of the season in the seventh, a two-run shot. That homer was part of a very long seventh inning, as eight runners crossed the plate which gave the Red Sox a 15-1 lead. A few surprises today were the days Tzu-Wei Lin and Deven Marrero had. Marrero wasn’t even supposed to start but Xander Bogaerts got scratched from the lineup late. Lin and Marrero went a combined 6-10 with 2 RBIs and 5 Runs Scored. Since he was called up last week, Lin has already hit more triples (2) than Pablo Sandoval has in his three years with the club (1). The 23 year-old also already has a positive WAR with the Red Sox, while Sandoval’s is currently sitting below zero while a member of the team. Jackie Bradley Jr. continues to hit well, raising his BA to .284 with a three hit performance Sunday. Overall, hell of a day for these bats. 17 runs on 21 hits is insane stuff, that seventh inning alone was great. They pretty much put the final nail in the coffin for the 2017 Blue Jays, which is reassuring.

Four wins in a row, the Yankees keep losing, twelve games over .500, undefeated in the second half of the season, things are looking up!

Also, sup?

47 down, ? to go.

RECAP: Chris Sale owns the city of Toronto; #RedSox guarantee series win with 7-1 victory.

Remember back in April, when the Red Sox made their first trip to Toronto and Chris Sale threw eight shutout innings? Well, it looks like Toronto has a Chris Sale problem, because Sale has yet to give up a single run north of the border this season. On Saturday, Sale pitched seven innings, allowed seven Blue Jays to reach base, and struck out eleven, yet another double-digit strikeout game. If you look at his numbers when he has pitched in Toronto this season, then you’ll see that he has struck out 24 over 15 IP, a resounding 14.4 K/9. There is no doubt that he is the ace, the guy who would get the ball for an important playoff game, not the guy who is getting paid $31 million dollars per year and can’t handle the media here. When Sale left after the seventh, there was really no pressure on the bullpen since they had a comfortable lead to work with. Blaine Boyer pitched a scoreless eighth, and Robby Scott gave up a solo home run while finishing things up in the ninth.

Offensively, scoring seven runs in back-to-back games looks pretty good. Hanley Ramirez, Chris Young, Sandy Leon, and Deven Marrero all had multi-hit games. Jackie Bradley Jr. drove in the first runs of the game, scoring Mookie Betts and Hanley on an RBI double in the first. Dustin Pedroia drove in another pair of runs in the second on another double, scoring Deven Marrero and Mookie Betts this time around. In the fifth, Mookie Betts scored again on a Xander Bogaerts sac fly. Bogaerts would also drive in the last runs of the game in the ninth, scoring Sandy Leon and Deven Marrero on an RBI single. Looking at the box score, it’s funny to see how Mookie Betts scored three runs without recording a single hit, which does not happen often. It looks like Hanley Ramirez has awoken from his first half slumber. On June 21st, Hanley was batting .239, after today’s game, it’s all the way up to .252. He hit 22 home runs after the All-Star break last season, and it looks like something similar to that could happen this season.

Three wins in a row, season-best eleven games over .500, could end the first half of the season on a hot streak. Drew Pomeranz makes the start for the finale tomorrow, then it’s on to Arlington to face the Rangers.

46 down, ? to go. 

RECAP: Doug Fister has another nice start as #RedSox take game one from Jays 7-4 in extras.

After a quality start last Sunday, Doug Fister made his first road start for the Red Sox, and he put together another solid outing. The Blue Jays scored all their runs off of Fister in the first, but Fister settled in after that. The 33 year-old only allowed two hits total after the first, finishing with a line of 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, and 5 K’s. He didn’t qualify for a quality start since he didn’t pitch six innings, but I’d be dumb to criticize that kind of start from a back-end of the rotation guy. The bullpen pretty much held the Jays in check over the last six innings after Fister departed, as the only real blip was Troy Tulowitzki’s solo home run off of Heath Hembree in the sixth, which tied the game at that point. Other than that though, Matt Barnes looked great with his two shutout innings, Blaine Boyer arguably had his best relief appearance in a Red Sox uniform with his two shutout innings, and Craig Kimbrel did what Craig Kimbrel does by recording his 23rd save of the season by pitching a scoreless frame in the eleventh. Like I said, Hembree made a bad pitch to Tulo, but the bullpen kept the Red Sox in the game, which eventually led to an offensive burst in the eleventh.

Despite the win, the Red Sox bats left a lot to be desired when it came to scoring opportunities. They left a total of 41 runners on base, including 11 alone from Mitch Moreland, who had himself an awful night at the plate. The first runs of the game were scored by Deven Marrero and Mookie Betts, who scored on a Dustin Pedroia double, making it a one run game. The Red Sox would take the lead briefly in the sixth, when Deven Marrero drove in the tying run on a RBI single and Andrew Benintendi scored the go-ahead run with an RBI double. The bats would go silent until the top of the eleventh, until Xander Bogaerts came up clutch with a key RBI single that scored Hanley Ramirez from third and gave the Red Sox the lead. Deven Marrero would continue on the good day he had at the plate by driving in key insurance runs on another RBI single, and that was all Craig Kimbrel needed to shut the lights off on the Blue Jays.

Good way to start the road trip, obviously. Chris Sale is on the mound today, John Farrell will not be managing today, Red Sox should win their third straight game today.

Ten games over .500 for the first time this season, also.

45 down, ? to go. 

RECAP: Chris Sale records 13 K’s; #RedSox rally late to beat Jays 4-1.

I love Chris Sale. I loved him in Chicago and I love him now. I know that I kind of did this on Saturday when Sale made his last start and I’m gonna do it again. He’s just so good. Eight shutout innings while getting 13 strikeouts, what more can you ask for? And he did this while scattering four hits and only giving up one walk. Chris Sale is a machine. With 102 pitches through eight innings, you’d expect to see Sale come out for the ninth, but did he? Nope. Instead, John Farrell decided to go with closer Craig Kimbrel, who has been on a nice hot streak. The Red Sox scored in the ninth, so I’m not gonna harp on this move too much. I mean, the ninth inning is Kimbrel’s inning. He didn’t pitch on Wednesday so it makes sense to insert him into that situation. Instead of closing out the game, Kimbrel showed flashes of his old(?) self by giving up a solo home run to Blue Jays DH Kendrys Morales. I believe that’s the first time Kimbrel and Morales have ever faced each other in a game, so, credit to Morales for coming up big in a clutch situation. Luckily for Kimbrel, Mookie Betts and the Red Sox would answer back (more on that later) in the tenth, which allowed Kimbrel to pick up the victory by getting the Jays 1-2-3 with 3 strikeouts in the bottom of the tenth. Hopefully, his first blown save of the season won’t do anything to effect Kimbrel’s confidence going forward.

It appears that the Red Sox offense is not in favor of scoring runs for Chris Sale. Once again, they gave him absolutely nothing in terms of run support. It’s certainly frustrating that this pattern is staying persistent. In his four starts, the Red Sox have scored a combined three runs when Sale is the pitcher of record. Before Thursday, the Red Sox ranked 16th in the Majors in terms of runs scored, with 65 runs through 15 games. The team also ranks dead last in home runs with a total of 7 on the year. I can understand the lack of power, but this lineup needs to step up. Sooner or later, the luck will run out and they’ll start losing more close games. I remember reading something about how the 2016 Texas Rangers finished with the best record in the American League, but only had a run differential of +8. Look at the Rangers now, currently with the second worst record in the American League. I don’t think anyone wants the Red Sox to turn into that team. After Thursday’s game, the run differential for the Red Sox sits at +3, besides the Blue Jays, that’s the worst run differntial in the division. If the offense continues to struggle into the summer, I wouldn’t be shocked if Dave Dombrowski makes a move for an expiring contract who is having a good year at the plate. It’s too early to give names, but it’s something I’ll be paying attention to.

Anyway, after taking the lead in the top of the ninth on a Xander Bogaerts single that scored Mitch Moreland (league leading 11th double), the top of the lineup got the job done in the tenth. It started when Sandy Leon walked with 1 out. After swapping Leon for Marco Hernandez at first, Brock Holt got a single that moved Hernandez to second. Dustin Pedroia popped out to third baseman Chris Coghlan to make the second out, then Andrew Benintendi walked, which loaded the bases. This led to Mookie Betts, and oh boy, did he come through. On a 2-0 count, Betts smoked one down the third baseline that nearly landed in foul territory. Mookie’s double cleared the bases, scoring Hernandez, Holt, and Benintendi. Overall, this was a great series for Mookie. Getting his first home run on Tuesday, then delivering in the clutch on Thursday has to have him feeling great.

10 down, 84 to go. 

RECAP: #RedSox bats go silent in Toronto in 3-0 loss.

After his worst start since 2015, Rick Porcello was looking for a bounce back performance on Wednesday. Once again, the Red Sox were down early, as the Blue Jays scored three times in the second. Porcello can’t be blamed for those runs, all three runs he gave up were unearned. Errors from Pablo Sandoval and Mitch Moreland along with RBI hits from Darwin Barney and Ezequiel Carrera led to the Jays scoring those runs. Porcello would settle down after the second, finishing his outing with five shutout innings. Porcello gave up six hits, one walk, and five strikeouts while surrendering three unearned runs in seven innings pitched. It certainly wasn’t an outstanding start, but getting a quality start after giving up eight earned runs to the Tampa Bay Rays is pretty good. The only other pitcher to appear for the Red Sox in this game was actually Eduardo Rodriguez, who just came off the paternity list. A 1-2-3 inning is good to see as Rodriguez prepares for his next start on Sunday in Baltimore.

The Red Sox offense could not get anything going on Wednesday. Pablo frickin Sandoval was the only player in the lineup that got more than one hit. Sadly, Mookie Betts struck out for the first time in the regular season since last September, going 129 Plate Appearances in between strikeouts. The Red Sox also failed to record an extra base hit tonight, which would not be surprising to me if that was the first time this happened all season. Catcher Sandy Leon has cooled off, going 0 for 3 tonight watching his batting average dip to .243 on the season. It will be interesting to see how the catching situation continues if Leon continues to struggle at the plate. With Christian Vazquez still hitting .563, John Farrell may look to give him more opportunities at the plate.

9 down, 85 to go. 

RECAP: Red Sox survive late threat to defeat Blue Jays in series opener.

With Eduardo Rodriguez going on paternity leave for the birth of his first son, 26-year-old lefty Brian Johnson was called up from Pawtucket to make the start today, his first Major League start in nearly two years. Johnson did not get off to a good start, allowing the Blue Jays to score twice in the first. The once prized pitching prospect really never found his rhythm on Tuesday, as the Jays scored off him in the third and once again in the fifth. However, Johnson was able to record his first victory as a Major League pitcher. It’s  been an interesting journey for Johnson, especially in the last year. He spent a lot of time on the disabled list last year with anxiety issues and during one of his starts in Pawtucket this season he was struck in the head with a ball. After winning Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2014, Johnson was able to make his Major League debut with the Red Sox against the Houston Astros in July of 2015. That’s really the last many Red Sox fans have seen of him. After a rough Spring Training in 2017, Johnson started the season with the PawSox yet again. It appears that Johnson won’t be a mainstay in this Red Sox rotation with the eventual return of Eduardo Rodriguez. We’ll have to see how healthy this rotation will stay as I am sure that Johnson or even Kyle Kendrick will be used for spot starts throughout the season.

The Red Sox bullpen did what they had to do until the bottom of the ninth, that’s when things got ugly fast. Heath Hembree came in to relieve Johnson in the sixth and did not allow a run through two innings. Fernando Abad gave up a hit while getting two outs in the eight and Matt Barnes got the last out. With closer Craig Kimbrel being unavailable for today’s game, Barnes would stay out for the ninth. In a 8-4 game, Barnes failed to finish off the Blue Jays. Allowing Russell Martin to score on a Steve Pearce single before giving up a two run home run to pinch-hitter Ezequiel Carrera which made it a 8-7 game. Luckily, Barnes was able to get Devon Travis out on a line drive to Xander Bogaerts. After a strong start to 2017, Barnes had his first hiccup of the season. Hopefully, he can keep those limited with the vital role he has in the bullpen.

We’re a little more than two weeks into the season, and Mookie Betts finally hit his first home run of the season. Mookie’s first bomb of the season did not disappoint as he launched an absolute shot into left field off Blue Jays reliever Joe Smith. Hanley Ramirez almost hit his first home run of the season, unfortunately, it hit the top off the right field wall, but it was an important hit since it drove in Mookie Betts. Mitch Moreland continues to hit the ball at a torrid pace, recording his league leading tenth double of the season. After starting the season 0 for 12 and looking like a flop, Moreland has been tearing the cover off the ball, hitting better than .400 since then. Third baseman Pablo Sandoval arguably had his best game of the season thus far, collecting three hits, including one from the right side of the plate, which is something that rarely happens. Last note on the offense, batters 1-3, Bogaerts, Benintendi, and Betts went a combined 7 for 15 with 3 RBIs and all recording multiple hits. Also, the funniest moment of the game had to be when Hanley made Mitch Moreland wave at the camera in the Red Sox dugout…

9 down, 85 to go.