Tag: sunday

RECAP: Benintendi, Ramirez, Betts help #RedSox avoid sweep; beat Orioles 6-2.

( I’m writing this after the Bruins just lost. So, sorry if that has any effect on this recap.)

The Red Sox were looking to avoid the sweep on Sunday heading into their off day on Monday. Eduardo Rodriguez took the mound, making his first start since coming back from paternity leave. Rodriguez put on a solid performance, not giving up a hit until the fifth inning. Overall, the Venezuelan-born southpaw went seven innings, allowing only the one hit, while walking five and recording seven strikeouts. This performance out of Rodriguez was nice to see, especially after Steven Wright’s disaster of a start Saturday night. The Red Sox bullpen did an okay job in relieving Rodriguez, allowing two runs in 3 innings pitched. The biggest controversy of the game came from reliever Matt Barnes.

In the bottom of the eighth, Manny Machado came to the plate and, not surprisingly, was thrown at by Barnes. Again, I did not find this surprising at all. Going for the head is a bit much, but if Barnes just hit him in the back, it really wouldn’t be that eye-opening. As Barnes and John Farrell were being ejected, the cameras picked up an interesting exchange between Manny Machado and Dustin Pedroia, who was in the Red Sox dugout. Basically, Pedroia said that hitting Machado was not his idea and if it was, it would have happened sooner. We’ll get Pedroia’s postgame comments later.

Back to the game, the top of the Red Sox lineup put on a show on Sunday. Batters 1-2-3, Bogaerts, Benintendi, and Betts all recorded multiple hits, going a combined 9 for 12 at the plate with one home run and four RBIs. Rookie left fielder Andrew Benintendi had himself a day, becoming the youngest Red Sox player to collect five hits since The Sultan of Swat, Babe Ruth. With his performance, Benintendi’s batting average now sits at .347, currently the 12th best in all of baseball. With 11 RBIs on the season, Benintendi is on pace to collect 99 total by the end of the season. Now, that probably won’t happen, but it’s something I like to look at. The biggest highlight of the game came in the top of the first when Mookie Betts and Hanley Ramirez hit back to back home runs to make it a 4-0 game right away.

Now, let’s talk about Dustin Pedroia’s comments postgame. Here’s what he had to say:
“That’s not how you do that, man,” Pedroia said. “I’m sorry to (Machado) and his team. If you’re going to protect guys, you do it right away. He knows that. We both know that. It’s definitely a mishandled situation. There was zero intention of him trying to hurt me. He just made a bad slide. He did hurt me. It’s baseball, man. I’m not mad at him. I love Manny Machado. I love playing against him. I love watching him. If I slid into third base and got Manny’s knee, I know I’m going to get drilled. That’s baseball. I get drilled, and I go to first base. That’s it.”

I honestly think this came off as unusual. This whole series has been weird. From the way he has looked in the dugout, it would appear that Pedroia has been uncomfortable with what has been going on. We’ll have to wait until next Monday when the Orioles come to Fenway to see how this rivalry plays out.

11 down, 83 to go. 

RECAP: #RedSox use late rally to take game three from Rays; win 7-5.

The Red Sox improved their record to 7-5 on Sunday by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 7-5. Drew Pomeranz got the start for the Sox today, looking for his second consecutive victory at Fenway Park. Pomeranz did not start the first inning off well, allowing three runs, two of which came on a Brad Miller triple, while the other run came ona Christian Vasquez passed ball. Overall, it was a wonky outing for Pomeranz, as 10 of the 13 outs he recorded came on strikeouts. Two home runs courtesy of Corey Dickerson and Tim Beckham didn’t help. The Red Sox were able to tie the game in the fourth, but after giving up that home run to Beckham, Pomeranz’s day was done. The bullpen did their job today, pitching 4.2 innings of shutout baseball, including Craig Kimbrel recording his fifth save of the season. After a promising start to 2017, Pomeranz suffered a setback. I don’t want to get worried though, since he did get ten strikeouts. He’ll look to bounce back in his next start against the Baltimore Orioles.

The Red Sox offense showed up today in a big way, recording 17 hits while six different players recorded multiple hits. Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts, and Christian Vazquez accounted for 9 of the 17 Red Sox hits. Pablo Sandoval hit his third home run on the season and collected his 9th RBI. Despite batting a disappointing .143 (6 for 42) Sandoval actually leads the team in home runs and RBIs as of Sunday. Mitch Moreland got yet another double today and he leads the league with 9 on the year. Christian Vazquez continues to be a surprise with the bat this season, raising his BA to .667 on the season. A big scare came in the seventh inning when Hanley Ramirez came up limping after reaching second on a Mitch Moreland RBI single. Hanley was diagnosed with a cramp in his left hamstring, and he nor John Farrell expect it to keep him out of the lineup for tomorrow’s series finale. I am actually going to the game tomorrow and I am looking forward to what the Patriots Day/Marathon Monday experience at Fenway Park is like.

7 down, 87 to go.          

RECAP: Red Sox pick up first road victory of season.

The Red Sox defeated the Detroit Tigers 7-5 on Sunday. Rick Porcello made the start against his old team while Daniel Norris took the mound for the Tigers. Porcello never really found any rhythm during his 6+ innings, as he gave up a total of 11 hits while also striking out 8. Norris was solid for the Tigers today, as he gave up three runs in 6.1 innings while giving up seven hits, three walks, and only striking out 2.

Matt Barnes looked really good out of the bullpen today, pitching two shutout innings in relief of Porcello. The closer, Craig Kimbrel, continues to struggle in games he pitches where he has a lead larger than one run. He was able to pick up the save, but not before giving up two walks, a hit, and a run. The Red Sox were lucky the Tigers bullpen was so awful today. Bruce Rondon came into pitch the 8th inning and he failed to record an out while giving up three earned runs. Kyle Ryan came in after Rondon, and he gave up another run before finishing the inning. This was the rally the Red Sox needed since it gave them the lead. A similar situation occurred on Friday when the Red Sox scored 5 runs in the eighth to take the lead, but the bullpen blew it. Today though, the bullpen only gave up one run, from Kimbrel, in a combined three innings of work.

Back to the Red Sox offense, the biggest surprise of the day was Marco Hernandez, who recorded three hits in four plate appearances batting out of the nine-hole. Another positive is how well Sandy Leon has been swinging the bat to start off the season. Today, he went two for four with a double and two RBI’s. That puts his batting average at .438 after appearing in five games. It was nice to see Mookie Betts return to the lineup today, and it looks like Xander and Hanley will be returning shortly. Also, Jackie Bradley Jr. was held out of the lineup today, which was concerning, but from what they were saying, it still doesn’t sound like anything serious.

3 down, 91 to go.