Tag: toronto

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. 

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.