Tag: cardinals

RECAP: #RedSox turn triple play, pour it on in 10-4 win over Cardinals.

In their first visit to Fenway Park since Game 6 of the 2013 World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals, who entered Tuesday winning eight of their last nine, opened up a two-game series against the Red Sox. Starting for St. Louis was Mike Leake, and he was matched up against Rick Porcello. Neither starter was great, but Porcello ended up pitching significantly better than Leake. In the seven innings he pitched, Porcello scattered eight hits and two walks, surrendering three earned runs while also striking out six. The Red Sox righty had great defense playing behind him on Tuesday night, including a triple play that was turned in the fourth.

Every run the Cardinals got off of Porcello came in the sixth inning, and half their hits off of Porcello came in the sixth as well. Luckily, the seventh inning was much better and that’s how the defending Cy Young Award winner would end his day. In his 25 starts this season, only twice has Porcello failed to pitch at least six innings. Joe Kelly would be inserted into the game in the eighth, in a much different situation than last Friday in New York. Kelly completed the inning, but not before giving up one run on two hits while striking out one. To secure the win, Robby Scott pitched a scoreless ninth.

Offensively, it looked like the Red Sox were going to struggle to score off of Mike Leake. Rafael Devers drove in the first run of the game in the first, scoring Andrew Benintendi on an RBI single. After that though, they left the bases loaded and didn’t score again until the fifth. This time, the scoring started when Leake loaded the bases again. With Hanley Ramirez up, Leake served up a hard double off the Monster, allowing both Eduardo Nunez and Mookie Betts to score. An intentional walk of Devers reloaded the bases, which led to Xander Bogaerts driving in Benintendi from third and keeping the bases loaded. A Mitch Moreland RBI single booted Leake out of the game, making way for Matt Bowman. That change didn;t affect the Red Sox though, as three consecutive hits led to three more runs, giving them a total of eight in the inning and a 9-0 lead. Another run would cross the plate in the sixth with a bases-loaded walk of Jackie Bradley Jr., and that was more than was needed for the win. Everyone who started this game recorded at least one base hit. The 5-7 hitters, Devers, Bogaerts, and Moreland went a combined 7 for 13 with 3 RBIs. The three hits out of Xander Bogaerts were good to see since the shortstop has been in a bit of a slump since the middle of last month. Eduardo Nunez also impressed with yet another multi-hit game at Fenway Park. It looked like a precaution, but Andrew Benintendi was removed from the game after he got hit by a pitch in the fourth.

Eduardo Rodriguez gets the start against Lance Lynn tonight, as the Red Sox go for the mini sweep.

68 down, 27 to go. 

 

RECAP: Chris Young and #RedSox bullpen comes through in 13 inning victory.

This team might be on the come up. I know it’s only been two games, but the Red Sox have done it all right over that span. On Tuesday, they had maybe their most complete victory of the season, and on Wednesday, they came all the way back from a 4 run lead. Rick Porcello made the start last night, and he got off to a rough start. In the first, Dexter Fowler led things off with a solo home run. In the second, Porcello’s worst inning, the Cardinals managed to cross the plate three times on four hits. Luckily for the Red Sox, Porcello settled down, pitching four shutout innings while scattering four hits. Like the title says, the Red Sox bullpen was borderline incredible on Wednesday night. Robbie Ross, Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly, Robby Scott, Craig Kimbrel, Heath Hembree, Fernando Abad, and Ben Taylor combined for a final line of 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, and 6 K’s. This performance by the bullpen was great to see, while also being a key part to this victory. Rick Porcello could have pitched longer, as he only threw 87 pitches through the first six innings, but with his spot in the lineup coming late in the game in the seventh, John Farrell swapped him with Hanley Ramirez, which resulted in nothing.

The Red Sox offense was stagnant the first six innings. The Cardinals starter, Mike Leake, did a great job on Wednesday night. The first runs of the game for the Red Sox did not come until the seventh, when Jackie Bradley hit his second home run over the past two days, driving in himself along with Mitch Moreland. In the eighth, they tacked on two more runs. With Dustin Pedroia on first, Xander Bogaerts tripled to right, scoring Pedroia. Andrew Benintendi would come up next, despite going another game without getting a hit, Benintendi still found a way to contribute, driving in the tying run on a sacrifice fly. Probably time to move Benintendi down in the order, for what it’s worth. The Red Sox would not score again until the thirteenth, when Chris Young singled to left, scoring Mitch Moreland, giving the Red Sox the lead and ultimately the win.

Besides the first two innings, the Red Sox played another solid game to sweep the Cardinals in St. Louis. With Hector Velazquez making his first start for the Red Sox today in Oakland, it will be interesting to see how short his leash is.

21 down, 73 to go. 

RECAP: Betts and Bradley go yard as #RedSox begin road trip with 6-3 win.

After a quick weekend series at Fenway against the Rays, the Red Sox hit the road again, starting the road trip against their second opponent from the NL Central in two weeks, that being the St. Louis Cardinals. The game could not have started any better for the Red Sox, with Mookie Betts leading off things in the first with a solo home run, his seventh of the season. With that leadoff homer, Mookie ties Jacoby Ellsbury for most leadoff home runs (10) as a member of the Red Sox. Ever since he got moved up to the leadoff spot last week, Mookie has been killing it at the plate. Over the past seven games, Betts has hit four of his seven home runs, while also being awarded AL Player of the Week. Besides the home run, Mookie also made a great defensive play, throwing out Matt Carpenter at second in the fifth. Jackie Bradley is also getting hot at the right time, collecting two hits, including his third home run of the season.

Eduardo Rodriguez was able to pick up his fifth straight quality start on Tuesday. ERod got off to a good start, pitching the first two innings without allowing a hit. The third inning would be quite different, though. After hitting the pitcher, Lance Lynn, Rodriguez would end up allowing three hits and three runs before getting out of the inning. Other than that, Rodriguez had a great start, finishing up with three shutout innings. The bullpen shut things down after that, Robby Scott, Heath Hembree, and Craig Kimbrel combined to go three innings while only giving up one hit.

This was maybe one of the most complete wins of the season. Sure, they were aided by the Cardinals defensive blunders, and they did only get six hits. But, it really did feel like a solid win, a good start to the six game trip for sure. Also, shout out to Xander Bogaerts for stealing second in the eighth on a very sneaky slide.


Via r/Baseball

20 down, 74 to go.