Pick ‘Em! Sox Pull Even In Series With Gomes Blast

Kolten Wong was leaning just a tad too far to the right, intentions unknown, when Koji Uehara threw over to Mike Napoli at first. The throw was low – which is perfect for any pick-off attempt – and was dug out by Napoli, and the sliding Wong was toast at first base as Koji and Company celebrated a game four victory on the unlikeliest of plays. To make matters worse, the St. Louis Cardinals had Carlos Beltran at the plate, arguably this generations most feared postseason hitter who was representing the tying run. Wong was caught, however, and the Red Sox came away with the 4-2 victory.

As had been the story since the American League Championship Series, the Boston Red Sox were looking anemic at the plate against a young power pitcher in Lance Lynn. The game was knotted at one-all with Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz on base in the sixth. With two out, Jonny Gomes picked the perfect moment for his first hit of the World Series, as he crushed a 2-2 offering over the left field fence for the game-winning home run. Gomes had been 0-9 leading up to the at-bat, and was only inserted into the lineup at the last minute when Shane Victorino had to be pulled from the lineup due to back stiffness.

“During batting practice, when I met with Shane today, he said, ‘Yeah, put me in there. I’ll find a way to get ready to start the game,’ ” Farrell said. “As we went through the other work, it became obvious he wasn’t capable. And you know what? It turns out that his replacement is the difference in this one tonight.”

Much was made going into the game about the health of Clay Buchholz, whose velocity was noticeably lacking as he hovered at 88-90 MPH all night – picking his spots carefully against a very dangerous Cardinals lineup. Buchholz was off, but the Cardinals missed a lot of pitches up in the zone and the right-hander benefited from that. He would only pitch four innings, but he allowed just an unearned run as he gave the Sox was essentially amounted to an outstanding long-relief performance.

The Cardinals took the lead in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, second baseman Matt Carpenter singled to center that Jacoby Ellsbury bobbled, allowing Carpenter to reach scoring position as the ball trickled away from Ellsbury. Carlos Beltran singled Carpenter home two pitches later as Busch Stadium roared to life. It would be all St. Louis could muster against Clay, however, and the only lead they would know.

The Sox got on the board in the fifth – but like the Cards, they too would be frustrated by their inability to get more across the plate. Lynn had been gassing the Sox up until then, facing the minimum through four shutout innings. David Ortiz led off the fifth with a double, and Lynn proceeded to walk Gomes and Xander Bogaerts to load the bases with nobody out. Scuffling shortstop Stephen Drew came through with a sac fly as Ortiz barely beat the throw home by Matt Holliday to knot the score at 1-1. It would be all the Sox could muster as catcher David Ross struck out, and Mike Carp (pinch hitting for Buchholz) grounded out to end the threat.

Felix Doubront gave John Farrell 2 2/3 innings of solid relief to pitch the Sox into the seventh inning with the lead. After surrendering a two-out double to pinch-hitter Shane Robinson, Farrell called on struggling lefty Craig Breslow. His tough series continued, however as he allowed an RBI single to second baseman Matt Carpenter to score the inherited runner. He was finally lifted after walking Carlos Beltran on four pitches – finishing with a line of 0IP, 1H, 1BB.

The trio of Junichi Tazawa, John Lackey, and Koji Uehara made things interesting – as they were faced with the tying runner on base or at the plate in each of the final three innings. Tazawa cleaned up Breslow’s mess by throwing just two pitches and inducing Matt Holliday to ground out to end the seventh inning. Lackey – pitching on his side day – allowed a baserunner in the eighth after an errant throw by Bogaerts, and a wild pitch to get Yadier Molina to third. A Jon Jay infield pop-out and a ground out by David Freese ended the threat, however.

Lost in the game was the inability for injured Allen Craig to leg out a sure-thing double in the ninth inning. Craig has been limited in his NL stadium to pinch-hitting duty as he nurses a foot injury suffered in September. When Craig scalded a Uehara 1-1 offering to right and over Daniel Nava’s head, it looked like an easy two-bagger, but the hobbled star was limited to a long single as he was clearly in a lot of pain.

Kolten Wong pinch-ran for Craig, and the rest is history, quite literally as it was the first World Series game (or postseason game as far as any records show) to be decided on a pick-off throw. Sunday’s wacky ending came on the heels of Game three, which was the first Series game to be decided on an interference call, as Will Middlebrooks’ dive to come up with a Jarrod Saltalamacchia errant throw seemed (at least to the men in blue) to impede Craig’s path to home plate.

Mike Napoli celebrates over a dejected Kolten Wong after the latter was caught off first to end game four of the Series.

Game six will be Monday night, and the final home game for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013. The aces will battle again, with Jon Lester looking for his second victory after besting Adam Wainwright in game one. With the crazy endings of late, look for this one to end on a balk. Or a hidden ball trick. We’re far into this thing now to let it end on a traditional strikeout. Yawn.

“What’s going on inside here is pretty special, magical,” Gomes said following yet another heart-pounding game.

Inside the Game

-Jacoby Ellsbury committed just three errors in 134 games during the season, but committed his second in as many nights in the World Series – his latest costing Clay Buchholz an unearned run.

-David Ortiz went 3-3, and is now batting a paltry .727 (8-11) in the series.

-Before Gomes’ game-winning (and perhaps series-saving) home run, David Ortiz gathered his teammates around for a spirited looking pep-talk to spark his team. So what did he say to liven up the Sox bats? “I think we’re gonna leave that one in-house,” said hero Gomes.

-The game four win ensured the Red Sox will return home to decide the World Series. It will be the first World Series clinching opportunity at Fenway Park since October 22, 1975 in game seven against the Cincinnati Reds – a game the Sox led 3-0 going into the sixth inning, but ultimately lost 4-3.

Jay Coorey – Senior MLB Contributor – Title Town Sports

Lester, Bullpen Grind Out Win; Now One Win From World Series

Well they’re not going to make it easy, that’s for sure. The Boston Red Sox used timely hitting by Mike Napoli and another outstanding effort by the bullpen to nip the Detroit Tigers 4-3, and take a 3-2 series lead.

“Me personally, I was just trying to get something up in the zone and see pitches like I always do,” said Napoli about his home run, “and I was able to get something up.”

Mike Napoli started the scoring for the Red Sox when he scorched a 3-1 offering by Anibal Sanchez over the centerfield wall and into the hedges to kick off what would be a three-run inning for Boston. The homer started a nice night for Napoli, who collected three hits and scored two of Boston’s four runs, falling a triple shy of the cycle (though with Napoli, you would have better odds of the Jacksonville Jaguars beating the Denver Broncos than him legging out a three-bagger).

Mike Napoli got a pitch up, and delivered it 450 feet to center for his second homer of the ALCS. Napoli is hitting .375 in the series with two crucial home runs.

Unable to do anything against Sanchez in game one, in which the former Sox farmhand no-hit the Sox through six brilliant innings, the Sox were finally able to make good contact on Thursday. Sanchez finished allowing nine hits and four runs (three earned).

Sox starter Jon Lester wasn’t sharp, but kept the Tigers at bay with 5  1/3 while allowing just two runs, but had to labor around seven hits and three walks. Lester made a tremendous play in the bottom of the fifth. Following a leadoff single by Autin Jackson, Jose Iglesias pushed a bunt to the right side, sending Jackson to second. Lester ran the ball down, but bobbled with it as the speedy Iglesias pushed towards second. Lester was able to scoop the ball in his glove, and shovel the ball to Mike Napoli, to just get the out at first.

After a Torii Hunter foul-out, Miguel Cabrera was able to drive in Jackson with a two-out single. Prince Fielder was unable to contribute, and ended the inning on an easy grounder to Dustin Pedroia.

Sanchez was rattled in the third similarly to Jake Peavy in game four the previous night. Following the homer, Jonny Gomes reached on a Miguel Cabrera error. Two batters later, rookie Xander Bogaerts – making his first postseason start – doubled to put two in scoring position with one out. Catcher David Ross drove Gomes in with a double, but Bogaerts confusing baserunning only allowed him to reach third, though he came home two pitches later on a Jacoby Ellsbury infield single.

The Red Sox picked up their fourth and final run in the third. Mike Napoli led off with a ground-rule double, and made it to third on Jonny Gomes’ ground-out. With Stephen Drew at the plate, Sanchez uncorked a wild-pitch that allowed Napoli to score, before inducing Drew to ground out.

Detroit picked away again in the sixth to make it a 4-2 game. Following a leadoff walk to Victor Martinez and a single by second baseman Omar Infante wrapped around a strikeout of Jhonny Peralta, Jon Lester was lifted in favor of Junichi Tazawa. Catcher Brayan Pena was able to drive Martinez home with a single, but Jackson grounded into a rally-killing double play to end the inning.

Tazawa came back for the seventh and surrendered back-to-back singles to Jose Iglesias and Torii Hunter to put runners at the corners with nobody out. Tazawa was again able to best MVP Miguel Cabrera as he grounded into a double play; though the run scored to make it a 4-3 nail-biter, it was a trade any team would have taken. Fielder followed with the inning-ending grounder off Craig Breslow.

Koji Uehara came on with one out in the eighth and was brilliant in recording a taxing five-out save. In all, the Sox bullpen retired the final eight batters of the game.

The Red Sox return home with a 3-2 series advantage, and two shots at Fenway to clinch the American League pennant for the first time since 2007. Clay Buchholz, who was rocked in his game two start, will look to rebound against Max Scherzer, whose brilliant game two (7 IP, 2H, 0R, 2BB, 13K) was wasted on the Sox amazing comeback.

Inside the Game

-Always a rally-killer, the Detroit Tigers have grounded into eight double-plays during the ALCS – a large factor in why they are out-hitting and out-pitching Boston, and yet trail 3-2.

-The Red Sox struck out fewer than 10 times for the first time since game three of the American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

-Xander Bogaerts became the youngest Red Sox player to start a postseason game. The previous holder of that distinction was one George Herman Ruth, who was the starting pitcher in game two of the 1916 World Series.

-Stephen Drew was 0-4 with two strikeouts, and is now just 1-17 with 8 Ks in the series against Detroit.

-Tigers catcher Alex Avila left the game after the second after a collision at home plate against counterpart David Ross. Ross tried to come home on a Shane Victorino grounder. Avila held onto the ball, but appeared shaken following the play. He is a game time decision for game six.

Jay Coorey – Senior MLB Contributor – Title Town Sports

 

 

Red Sox ALCS Bound, Beat Rays 3-1

Give Rays manager Joe Maddon plenty of credit, he was a plumber trying to fix a leak on a sinking ship, and he used every tool he had in his arsenal to try to patch it up – and it almost worked. Quite literally, Maddon went to the hill eight times to use nine pitchers to try and tie the Division Series and send it back to Boston for a decisive game five, but in the end, the ship sank and the Boston Red Sox took game four, 3-1, and are heading to their first American League Championship Series since losing to Maddon’s Ray’s in 2008.

“It’s great, but we’ve still got one more to get where we want to be,” Shane Victorino said after the victory. “We’re going to get a few days off to rest and see what happens in the other division series, and we’ll go from there.”

Tampa Bay scored first in a tightly contested chess match between managers Maddon and John Farrell, getting to Red Sox starter Jake Peavy in the sixth inning for a 1-0 lead. Peavy ended up going 5 2/3 of outstanding baseball in keeping the Rays silent, and more importantly keeping the Sox within striking distance to later capture the lead. Peavy allowed just five hits without allowing a walk and striking out three.

Heading into the sixth, Peavy was on cruise control, having allowed just three hits, while his defense helped him by turning a pair of double-plays. Yunel Escobar led off the sixth with a ringing double that nearly left the park, and moved to third on a Jose Lobaton grounder. David DeJesus singled Escobar home for the 1-0 lead as the Trop was rocking. Peavy retired Wil Myers before Farrell gave him the hook in favor of Craig Breslow, a move that immediately paid dividends as Breslow struck out Sox killer James Loney on three pitches.

With one out in the seventh and Rays lefty Jake McGee on the mound, Farrell pinch-hit Xander Bogaerts for Stephen Drew – apparently going back on his decision from the night before to leave the struggling Drew in in the same situation. Bogaerts showed poise beyond his years and worked a 1-2 count into a walk. After Will Middlebrooks struck out on eight pitches, Maddon again wore a path to the mound to call on right-hander Joel Peralta to face Jacoby Ellsbury, who singled Bogaerts to third.

After some initial reluctance to use Bogaerts in crucial situations, Farrell’s sudden trust of the 21 year-old paid off as he ended up walking twice and scoring both times, showing the kind of plate discipline of a 10-year veteran.

“Well, I reserve the right to change my mind,” Farrell said of his change of heart. “And given some of the struggles that Stephen has had, you know, we had talked about this leading into the series, and I felt like at the moment as tough as left‑handers have been on Stephen, I felt like we had to try something different. And for a young guy that’s been sitting for quite a while, obviously, [Bogaerts] showed tremendous poise and almost ice in his veins.”

Still clinging to a 1-0 lead, the wheels fell off for the Rays and the speed on the bases clearly got in Peralta’s head; with Ellsbury taking off for second, Peralta uncorked a wild pitch that brought home Bogaerts. Shane Victorino followed with a slow grounder to short, and beat the throw from Escobar to first as Ellsbury came in to give Boston its first lead of the night, 2-1.

The Sox bullpen defied the experts who claimed it as the Sox Achilles Heel by twirling 3 1/3 one-hit innings in a brilliant outing. Breslow mowed down the heart of the Rays order in the seventh, striking out the side (all swinging strikes), including leadoff batter, and Rays top slugger, Evan Longoria.

Koji Uehara got the final four outs, following 1/3 inning by Junichi Tazawa, striking out Longoria swinging to end the game, and the series as catcher David Ross threw his arms around him in celebration. Uehara showed the short-term memory needed to be a closer in a tense playoff atmosphere, showing some dominant stuff just one night after surrendering a walk-off homer to Jose Lobaton that landed in the Rays tank in right-center.

How sweet it is: The Red Sox head to the ALCS for the first time in five years!

“They didn’t make any mistakes. You could see their grit,” Maddon said. “They’ve got a bunch of gamers over there. … On the other side, I think our guys were equally as tough. We have had a hard time hitting their pitching staff.”

The game started in rather ominous fashion after the Sox continued to squander opportunities as they did in game three. Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson retired the side in order in the first before surrendering walks to David Ortiz and Mike Napoli to lead off the second, prompting Maddon to kick up some bullpen action. After a Daniel Nava single loaded the bases, Joe showed he meant business by hoisting Hellickson in favor of 18-year veteran Jamey Wright. Wright swung much needed momentum to the Rays as he struck out Jarrod Saltalamacchia looking. Stephen Drew then hit a ball as hard as one can, but the liner was snared by James Loney at first, then committed a very heads up play when he saw he could not beat Nava back to the bag without anyone covering, deciding instead to throw to second to double off Napoli and end the threat.

“The way it was working at the beginning there, I could see it was just not going to work and we had to do something differently,” Maddon said of his quick hook of starter Hellickson.

The game was very pitcher-friendly as just one extra-base hit was accumulated – the double by Yunel Escobar – and a total of 20 strikeouts were racked up. In impressive fashion, Sox pitchers tossed 9 frames, and 122 pitches, without walking anybody, this against a Rays lineup that walked more times than anybody in the AL.

The Red Sox tacked on insurance in the ninth against closer Fernando Rodney to push the lead to 3-1. Bogaerts led off with his second walk, and later moved to second on a wild-pitch. Jacoby Ellsbury walked, and Shane Victorino was hit by a pitch (his fourth of the series and second of the game) to load the bases for Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia was able to produce a sac fly to bring in Bogaerts with the insurance run, although the Red Sox were unable to inflict any more damage.

The Boston Red Sox will await the winner of the Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers winner-take-all game five at Oakland on Thursday. The winner will then fly to Boston to face the Sox at Fenway Park in game one of the ALCS.

Inside The Game

-Dustin Pedroia hit just .235 in the ALDS, but was able to produce productive outs in notching five RBI (tops on the Red Sox)

-Jacoby Ellsbury continued to pad his resume in the face of free-agency, going 1-4 with his fourth stolen base in the four game series.

-Including his postseason, Shane Victorino has now been hit 22 times this season, including 18 times since the All-Star Break. As painful as it’s been, it has proven to be a valuable on-base tactic for the Flyin’ Hawaiian

-In 11 innings, the Sox bullpen walked just two batters to go with 12 strikeouts!

Jay Coorey – MLB Senior Contributor – Title Town Sports

Red Sox Acquire Matt Thornton

The Red Sox have made a trade. They pulled the trigger and acquired Matt Thornton from the Chicago White Sox for outfield prospect Brandon Jacobs. According to Jon Heyman, along with Thornton, the White Sox will be sending a six-figure payment to the Red Sox. It appears that the Red Sox will be on the hook for the majority of Thornton’s remaining $3.5 million salary. Here is how the two players look on paper:

Matt Thornton a 6’6″ 36-year-old is 32-41 with a 3.53 ERA in 586 games in the major leagues. This year however he is 0-3 with a 3.86 ERA in 40 innings. In those 40 innings he has 21 innings and walked 10.

Brandon Jacobs a  6’1″ 22-year-old was hitting .246/.334/.667 between Salem and Portland this season. Baseball America had Jacobs as the 13th best prospect in the system heading into this season.

Thornton was a good pick up for the Red Sox. With Andrew Miller likely out for the season the Red Sox needed another left-handed pitcher in the pen. Craig Breslow was the only left-handed option. With only sending Jacobs to the White Sox, it keeps the Red Sox flexible going forward to make another trade or two if they want or need to. Thornton will bolster what has been a very busy and at times over-worked bullpen.

UPDATE 11:50 7/12/13

The White Sox will send $750,000  to Boston along with Thornton

Tyler Moore- MLB Contributor- Title Town Sports Network

No More Miller Time in Boston

Andrew Miller left the game Saturday night with an unknown foot injury. He was sent back to Boston to meet with a foot specialist. After the visit, the news came out that the injury to his foot will require surgery. The recovery time is expected to be longer than the remainder of the season, and so he is expected to miss the remainder of the year. This hurts the Red Sox bullpen as Miller had become one of John Farrell’s most reliable relievers. Miller had a record of 1-2 with a 2.64 ERA. He had 48 strikeouts and 17 walks in 30 innings pitched with the Red Sox this year.

The loss of Miller is a big blow to the Red Sox bullpen at a time when they need him most. Franklin Morales is also on the DL with no certain time-table for return leaving Craig Breslow as the solo left-handed pitcher in the Red Sox bullpen for the time being. Ben Cherrington spoke out today on the replacement for Miller, hinting that he would like to keep the replacement internal if possible. Internally, current minor leaguers Ryan Rowland-Smith (1.03 ERA) and Drake Britton (3.51 ERA as a starter) lead the possibilities. Externally, all eyes seem to be looking at Chicago White Sox left-handed pitcher Matt Thornton who is definitely available via trade. Thornton 3.04 ERA this season, is quite effective against left handed batters (2.51 ERA), but has been struggling against right handers (3.65 ERA). In the next few weeks, as the deadline approaches the bullpen situation should become a lot clearer.

Tyler Moore- MLB Contributor- Title Town Sports

Walk-Off Error Caps Sox Series Win Over Blue Jays

A back and forth game came to a halt in the ninth inning as Shane Victorino’s grounder ate up Blue Jays first baseman Josh Thole to score Jonathan Diaz, and give the Red Sox an exciting 5-4 win at Fenway.  The Sox win gave them three of four over the hot Blue Jays, and reaffirm their momentum in the AL East – a momentum that had been slipping away with recent road slides in Baltimore and Detroit.

“I think a lot of people doubted this team, the capabilities that we had,” Victorino said following the dramatic victory. “We’ve got that target on our back because we’re in first place. But you know what? We’re up for the challenge.”

Ryan Dempster failed in his bid for his seventh straight quality start, but was able to get out of most jams as he labored through 5 1/3 innings while allowing seven hits and three walks, but allowed just two runs to keep the Red Sox in the game.

The offense staked Dempster to an early three run cushion thanks to three runs in the second inning. Blue Jays veteran Mark Buerhle was off early, as he allowed the first three batters to reach in the inning after back-to-back singles by Mike Napoli and Daniel Nava and an RBI ground-rule double by Ryan Lavarnway. Two batters later, rookie third baseman Brandon Snyder lined a double into the left-field gap that scored Nava and Lavranway for the 3-0 advantage.

A consistent three innings for Dempster came to an end in a laborious fourth inning as he needed 32 pitches to complete the inning. The Jays got an RBI single by Colby Rasmus and a run scoring groundout by Maicer Izturis to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Jonny Gomes came up big in the fifth with two outs when he smashed a wall-ball double to bring in Jacoby Ellsbury with Boston’s fourth run.

Toronto’s best chance to take command of the game was in the sixth when they were able to load the bases with nobody out. Dempster was then able to induce a pop-out to short to J.P. Arencibia, and was then relieved by Craig Breslow. The Sox lefty was then able to copy that feat as Izturis likewise popped to short, and struck out pinch-hitter Emilio Bonifacio to impressively smolder the rally.

The Jays got to the Sox bullpen for a second straight night as Jose Reyes slugged his first homer since his return from the DL (and second overall) in the seventh off Breslow to pull the Jays within one. In the ninth, Koji Uehara blew his first save of the year when he allowed a one-out home run to Jose Bautista to knot the score at four, and set up the drama in the home half.

With one out, Snyder and Ellsbury reached on a single and walk, respectively, that brought up Victorino. On an 0-1 pitch, Victorino chopped a grounder to the right side that Thole – playing just his second game at first in over 300 career Major League games – looked to have a play on.  Thole, however, allowed the ball to eat him up as pinch-runner Diaz raced home with the winning run, as Victorino got mobbed by teammates.

Shane Victorino’s jersey hangs in tattered strips as he is congratulated by manager John Farrell following the walk-off error.

Sox manager John Farrell was happy with the effort, but quick to ground any people saving money for their World Series tickets. “We’ve been consistent,” Farrell said. “I think it speaks of overall depth of the team. It’s certainly not a milestone by any means. We’ve got a long way to go.”

The Red Sox have Monday off before the San Diego Padres come to Boston to begin a three-game set on Tuesday.  John Lackey will tote his ace-stuff to the hill for the Sox, as he looks to climb over .500 for the first time this season.

Inside The Game

-The Red Sox are now 50-34, and eight games ahead of last seasons 42-42 start. The Sox have won 50 games by the end of June for just the fourth time in club history, the last time achieving the feat in 2008.

-Despite hitting .218 on the year, Jonny Gomes continues to come through with runners in scoring position as heis 10-29 (.349).  The numbers only go up with two outs – 6-15 (.400)

-After a franchise record-tying 11 game winning streak, the Blue Jays have now lost five of seven to end June to fall back to 8 1/2 games behind Boston.

Jay Coorey – Senior MLB Contributor – Title Town Sports

 

Random Red Sox and MLB Musings (6/16/13)

Red Sox Stats and Observations

At the Plate

Mike Carp has become possibly the best off season addition for the Red Sox on a price to performance ratio. Carp is hitting .320/.372/.680 with 8HRs and 25 RBI’s in 41 games this season. More impressively he is hitting .412 with 5 HRs over his last 10 games. To think that his salary is a little over 500,000 and they acquired him for cash makes Ben Cherrington look like a very smart man at the moment.

Will Middlebrooks is in a funk, and by funk I mean dirty sock in your gym locker funk. Middlebrooks is hitting .198/.232/.391 to make that number feel even worse, in the 4 games since his return from the DL he only has 3 hits while striking out 5 times and only walking once in those games. The Red Sox were going to keep him in Pawtucket until he got into a groove. He smacked a few home runs in the first few games in Pawtucket and it seems as if the Sox jumped the gun a bit and assumed he was good to go. The sophomore slump happens to the best of players, the goal is to work past it. Numbers are indicating he is deepening in the slump not working out of it and may need to be fixed by optioning him back down for a longer period of time.

On the Mound

The Red Sox rotation has been getting roughed up a bit over the last few weeks. Clay Buchholz looks like a man who is destined for the DL, although that decision has not yet been made. Alfredo Aceves has made a few brilliant spot starts for the Sox in Buchholz absence. In his two spot starts he is 2-0 only allowing 2 runs on 11 hits and striking out 11.

The bullpen has been working well even under a period of overuse and stress. With two extra innings games in the last week the Red Sox have had the Pawtucket-Boston bus working overtime. Alfredo Aceves, Alex Wilson, Jose De La Torre, and Rubby De La Rosa have all been called up, used as a bullpen bandage for a night and sent right back down for the next man in line. Pedro Beato is the latest member of Pawtucket to get called up.

Craig Breslow is the most under rated pitcher in the bullpen currently. Over his last 5 games he has pitched 4 innings allowing only 2 hits and has an ERA of 0.00 over that short span.

In the Field

Dustin Pedroia ended his 97 game errorless streak on Saturday, June 15th. One game shy of the record by a Red Sox second baseman. The last time he made an error before that was in August of 2012.

On Saturday, June 15th, Jarrod Saltalamacchia became the first Red Sox catcher this season to throw out two players attempting to steal a base in the same game. His numbers at throwing base runners out this year have been rather abysmal, so this had to serve as an uplifting day for him.

On the Mend

Clayton Mortensen is on the DL with a groin/hip issue. John Farrell said it is an injury that has been nagging Mortensen since spring training. Both parties are hoping that a few weeks off is all he will need to heal.

Mike Napoli missed a few games this week and is now back in Boston to be checked out and to rest. He has been dealing with the bug that is going through the Sox clubhouse as well as some grogginess and dizziness that seems to be a related issue.

Down on the Farm

Photo Credit, Boston Herald

Xander Bogaerts was promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket this week. He was hitting .311/.407/.502 in Portland before his promotion. He got his first Triple-A hit in his first game and his first home run of his Triple-A career in the second game he played. He has excelled at every level so far and looks to be ready to do the same with Triple-A. Don’t blink or you just might miss him being called up to Boston, although that seems to still be a bit down the road.

Brandon Workman also got promoted to Pawtucket this week. He was 5-1 with a 3.43 ERA with 74 strikeouts and 17 walks in 11 starts in Portland this season. Workman has shown quite a bit of improvement over the last year and was rewarded for it.

For the Rest of the MLB

The Oakland Athletics took it to the New York Yankees this past week sweeping them in a three game series. They topped off the sweep with a win in a 18 inning marathon game on Thursday June 13th.

The Seattle Mariners signed 41-year old veteran catcher Henry Blanco to a deal this week. To make room for him they designated former Red Sox, Rays, and Indians catcher Kelly Shoppach for assignment. Shoppach was hitting .196/.293/.346 at the time.

MLB has suspended Ian Kennedy for 10 games for his part in the Dodgers-Diamondbacks brawl last week. Kennedy threw at the head of both Puig and Greinke and probably should have been suspended longer for intent to injure another player.

Tyler Moore-MLB Contributor-Title Town Sports

 

Ellsbury Runs Over Phils, Sox Win 9-2

It was the Jacoby Ellsbury show on Thursday night in Philadelphia, as the Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-2, and earned a split against their NL rivals. In the victory, Ellsbury set yet another team record in the stolen base department, swiping five bags off of Philadelphia, breaking a record he had shared with former Sox second baseman and current NESN color analyst Jerry Remy.

The Red Sox got to Phillies starter John Pettibone for four runs in the first inning to provide spot-starter Franklin Morales with some early support. Ellsbury led off with a single and actually did not steal a base, as Daniel Nava singled after him to get Ells to third with nobody out.  Dustin Pedroia brought the centerfielder home with an RBI ground-out, followed by a walk to David Ortiz (playing his first game in the field at first base this season). Mike Carp then notched a base hit to right to score Nava to make it 2-0 Red Sox. One out later, catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled to left field to bring around Ortiz and Carp, as Boston scorched Philadelphia for a 4-0 lead before the Phillies took an at-bat.

Morales looked to have a bit of rust in the Phillies half of the first, as Delmon Young launched a two-run home run, which has been the Phillies primary weapon against Boston this week.  Red Sox killer Domonic Brown then dumped a single to right, his first hit against the Sox that stayed within the fences.  Fortunately for Morales, Saltalamacchia got a rare caught stealing when he gunned down Brown trying to impersonate Ellsbury.

Ellsbury set up his first steal of the night with a second inning walk, later swiping second base off Pettibone and catcher Erik Kratz. He was stranded there, however, as David Ortiz could not come through with Ellsbury and Pedroia on; flying out to end the inning for Boston. Ellsbury would add another steal in the fourth swiping second base.  Again, he was stranded on back-to-back fly outs by Nava and Pedroia.

Philadelphia was retired in order by Morales in the second and third innings, but they came back to threaten in the fourth. Jimmy Rollins led off with a walk, and one out later, Brown added his second hit of the night.  On four pitches, first baseman Kevin Frandsen walked to load the bases as Morales seemed to hit a wall.  Coming up next was Kratz, who, like Brown, has looked like a Hank Aaron against Boston this week, and the Phillies looked poise to tie the game, and perhaps more.  The Red Sox defense, however, came through with a huge double play when Kratz grounded a one-hopper to Stephen Drew.  Drew fed Pedroia, who made a fantastic off-balance return throw to first to get Kratz by a step to help Morales out of the jam.  The score held at 4-2 for the Red Sox.

Asked of his first game back, Morales said, “I got the lead and knew I had to make my pitches. I felt great today.”

Morales made his season debut count, going five solid innings, and didn’t allow a run after the first.

In the sixth, the Sox tacked on another run when Jonny Gomes pinch-hit for Morales and slugged his third home run of the year off Phillies reliever Jeremy Horst.  The shot could have been a two-run drive, had it not been for Jose Iglesias trying to stretch a bloop hit into right field into a double – Iglesias was out easily at second on the throw in from Delmon Young. After the homer, which may have been admired slightly by Gomes, Horst plucked Ellsbury in the back, and both benches were immediately warned by home plate umpire Bill Miller.  Ells got even the way he does, swiping second and third base with ease to up his total to four on the evening, and taking over the AL lead with 20. Yet again, he was stranded in scoring position as Pedroia lined out to end the inning with Boston up 5-2.

David Ortiz provided another run in the seventh with a solo home run of his own to make it 6-2, putting the game out of reach for Philadelphia. Craig Breslow, Clayton Mortensen and Junichi Tazawa provided three innings of one-hit ball in relief of Morales to halt any chance the Phillies thought they had in a rally.

Ellsbury, now tied for the club record with four steals in a game (Ellsbury, August 9, 2010 vs NY Yankees, and Jerry Remy June 14, 1980 vs Angels), singled again in the eighth, his third hit of the game to go along with a walk and hit-by-pitch.  He was clearly in the head of Phillies reliever Michael Stutes, who made several throws over to first before finally delivering a ball to Daniel Nava as Ellsbury predictably took off for second, breaking the club record as Kratz’s throw sailed into centerfield, allowing Ellsbury to advance to third. The Sox failed to score a run in the inning, but it was still a great moment for Ellsbury, who is shooting up the list of most stolen bases in a Red Sox uniform.

“Single-handedly, he changed the game,” Boston manager John Farrell said. “When you have that kind of base-stealing threat, it’s a huge asset.”

Boston grabbed three more in the ninth inning to pad and already large lead.  The Red Sox collected four hits in the inning off of Chad Durbin, scoring runs on an RBI ground out by Drew, and back-to-back doubles by Saltalamacchia and Iglesias.  Salty’s double almost cleared the yard, as it struck the top of the right field fence as Salty was in his home run trot, but the umpire quickly called the ball in-play as the ball bounced back onto the field. Ellsbury came up with a chance to get on base again, but grounded to second to end the inning.

Andrew Bailey came on for the ninth despite the game well in hand.  Bailey hadn’t worked since Sunday against the Cleveland Indians, but he made quick work of Philadelphia striking out two batters around a Frandsen double.  The Red Sox picked up a game on the Yankees as the Yanks were swept by the cross-town rival Mets, and Boston heads into the weekend with a big series in New York to try and pick up ground. Jon Lester will go for his seventh win in New York Friday night against Yankees ace CC Sabathia.

Inside the Game

– While Ellsbury had a fantastic night, 3-4 1BB 1HBP, and 5 stolen bases, he didn’t score a run in any of the instances he stole a base, coming around to score in the first without the aid of a swipe.

-Jose Iglesias went 2-5, and now has six multi-hit games in just 13 games played this season

-Jackie Bradley JR. collected a hit in his only at-bat, and came around to score.  It was Bradley’s first hit since April 5th at Toronto, breaking an 0-18 stretch

-Franklin Morales got his first win at the Major League level since last August 5th.

Jay Coorey – Senior MLB Contributor – Title Town Sports

Cliff Lee Too Much For Sox, Phils Get Split, 3-1

Cliff Lee and the Philadelphia Phillies were too much to handle Tuesday night, as the Sox dropped the second of their brief two game set at Fenway, 3-1.  Ryan Dempster was able to rebound after three straight awful outings, but it wasn’t enough as Philadelphia’s tough lefty went eight innings surrendering just four singles and one run.  Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save in his old home park as an opposing player.

The first inning went as the last few have for Dempster, as he surrendered a one out home run to veteran third baseman Michael Young.  For Young, a once power-hitting force as a member of the Texas Rangers lineup, it was just his second home run of 2013.  Dempster would get Jimmy Rollins to line out and Ryan Howard to strike out on a 3-2 swinging strike to end the visitor’s half of the first with Philadelphia leading 1-0.

In the bottom of the first, it looked as though Boston had a fighting chance when Jacoby Ellsbury singled to lead off the inning.  After Jonny Gomes flied out to right, Ellsbury took off for his 16th stolen base of the season.  With Dustin Pedroia at the plate, Lee’s next pitch was dumped into right field for an RBI single. With the game tied, Lee would turn on dominant mode and remind the 33,643 fans why he’s one of the most reliable pitchers in the game.

The Red Sox bats went silent as Lee set down the next 11 batters he faced.  The Sox didn’t gather another baserunner until Daniel Nava singled to lead off the fifth inning, but was stranded after a David Ross sac bunt, a Stephen Drew pop-up, and Jose Iglesias strikeout. For all of Lee’s brilliance, it was difficult to see that Dempster was holding his own in a much-needed solid performance.

Dempster ended up getting through seven innings, allowing just two earned runs on six hits and three walks.  The game was actually holding steady at a 1-1 tie into the top of the seventh.  John Mayberry Jr. reached on a single to start the inning and was moved up to second.  Phillies catcher Erik Kratz knocked Mayberry in with the eventual game-winner on a single up the middle. After a scoreless eighth inning by reliever Craig Breslow, the Phillies got more insurance in the ninth when Dominick Brown met Junichi Tazawa with a home run to right on the first pitch of the inning. Tazawa struggled in the inning, but was able to escape further damage with s strikeout to Young after a seven pitch at-bat.

With Lee at just 95 pitches through eight dominant frames and the Phils up 3-1, manager Charlie Manuel did what any manager would do – bring in Jonathan Papelbon to get a save in his return to Boston. While Lee certainly could have finished the game, Manuel couldn’t resist seeing the moment Pap made his way out of the Fenway bullpen for the first time as a visitor.

“Kind of wanted to see it, if you want to know the truth,” Manuel said after the game. “Pap likes drama. Might as well like it with him.”

Papelbon did what he has done his entire career, and set down the Sox in order on 16 pitches.  He struck out Gomes to lead off the inning, and induced two ground-outs by Pedroia and David Ortiz to end the game.  As Papi was thrown out, Papelbon raised his fist in victory.

“I loved it,” Papelbon said of his return. “I would say it was more fun than strange. It’s a little like playing against your brother in the backyard. For me, those guys are some of my best friends in this world.”

Boston and Philadelphia split the two games at Fenway and head to Philadelphia next to finish the four-game home-and-home series on Wednesday.  The Phillies will send righty Kyle Kendrick to the mound to face the red-hot John Lackey as Lack looks to push his record to .500.  The New York Yankees lost in a blown-save by Mariano Rivera against the New York Mets, so the Red Sox maintain their one game lead in the AL East.

Inside the Game

-Cliff Lee (6-2, 2.34 ERA)pitched his fifth straight game going at least seven innings and allowing two earned runs or fewer

-Before the game, there was a very moving first-pitch ceremony with Boston Marathon bombing victim Jeff Bauman and the man who saved his life, Carlos Arredondo.  Both men threw strikes as Fenway gave a standing ovation.

Jeff Bauman, accompanied by Carlos Arredondo, heads to the mound for an emotional first-pitch ceremony.

-Cliff Lee retired 22 of the last 23 batters he faced, and threw 19 first-pitch strikes to 28 batters faced

-Ryan Dempster (2-6, 4.45 ERA) went seven innings for the first time since May 7th vs. Minnesota. He has not won a decision since May 2nd at Toronto

Jay Coorey – MLB Contributor – Title Town Sports

Sox Offense Pulls Away, Sox Win 12-5

David Ortiz powered the Red Sox Saturday night, slugging two home runs, as the Red Sox used five late, unanswered runs to put away the Minnesota Twins, 12-5.  Boston had a 7-2 lead before the Twins got to starter Ryan Dempster in the fifth for three runs, but the Sox bullpen shut down the Twins for 4 2/3 as the Sox pulled away in the end.

David Ortiz had a bit of a slump earlier in the month, but that’s a distant memory as he connected on three hits and six RBI in this one.  With two on and one out in the first, Papi connected on a towering shot to right field that staked the Sox to an early 3-0 lead.  Minnesota SS and Red Sox killer Pedro Florimon singled home a Twins run in the second to cut it to 3-1.  He would drive in another later in the game that ultimately upped his season totals against Boston (.300, both home runs on the season, and seven of his 15 RBI).

Ortiz singled home a run in the third, and the Sox tallied three more in the fifth.  Dustin Pedroia doubled home a run and was brought in later on a Daniel Nava sac fly.  Mike Napoli, who had walked and moved to second on a Will Middlebrooks single, scored with two outs on a Ryan Lavarnway base hit to left field.  The Sox could have gotten more out of the inning, but Middlebrooks tried to take an extra base on the single, and was thrown out when the throw from left field was cut off and thrown to third.

Dempster was pitching a bit erratically all game long, but was given the benefit of a big lead which made his inconsistencies go unnoticed until the Twins big fifth inning.  Catcher Ryan Doumit had doubled to lead off the inning and moved over to third on an Oswaldo Arcia ground-out.  Doumit scored on a ground-out by Trevor Plouffe a batter later, a sacrifice Boston gladly would have taken now that the bases were empty with two outs.  Unfortunately, Dempster lost his command and walked Aaron Hicks on a 3-2 pitch, who proceeded to steal second and score on a Florimon single.

Dempster had to convince manager John Farrell to stay in the game for one more batter, and to secure a potential win if he could get to five innings pitched.  Twins 2B Jamey Carroll went down 0-2 – mixed in with a Florimon stolen base – but Dempster could not close out the at-bat, and Carroll made him pay with an RBI single.  Clayton Mortensen had been warming up, and Farrell ended Dempster’s night on Carroll’s single, which had cut Boston’s lead to 7-5; as close as Minnesota would get to tying the game, as the bullpen pitched another great game for Boston.

“I just couldn’t get consistency with any of my pitches,” Dempster said. “I kept missing away with it. I really didn’t have any of my pitches tonight.”

If Ortiz’s bat was the offensive catalyst for Boston, then Pedroia’s glove was certainly the defensive equivalent in the game.  Clinging to a two run lead, the Twins had loaded the bases with one out against Craig Breslow when Aaron Hicks stepped up.  Hicks proceeded to lift a high pop-up into the no-man land between right-fielder Nava, first baseman Mike Napoli, and Pedroia.  With his back to the ball, Pedroia made a phenomenal over the shoulder catch, and quickly spun and fired to home plate.  Lavarnway received the ball and waited for counterpart Doumit, who was tagging and barreling down on him.  A hard collision ensued, but Lavarnway held on for the final out, and a turning point in the game.

Ryan Doumit is out at home after tagging from third. The play proved to be a turning point.

Boston immediately grabbed four runs and an 11-5 lead in the seventh when Ortiz and Nava each connected on two-run home runs that each landed in the same place in right center field.  Ryan Lavarnway grabbed a sac-fly in the ninth that put an already insurmountable lead even higher, and accounted for the final lead of 12-5.  Boston’s contingent of Mortensen, Breslow, and Alex Wilson held the Twins to four singles and two walks in a shut-down performance.

Papi’s former manager Ron Gardenhire spoke of Ortiz after the game.  “The one guy we say don’t let beat us is David Ortiz,” Gardenhire said. “They’ve got a lot of really good hitters over there, but we told them to stay away from this guy, don’t give in to him. And he keeps sending souvenirs.”

The Red Sox, looking to avenge losing three of four to the Twins earlier this month, go for the sweep of Minnesota when John Lackey will take the hill Sunday afternoon, as he looks to halt a personal three-game losing streak.  Boston came on the road trip struggling, dropping the first game of the swing against Tampa Bay, which had made it nine of 11 games on the losing end.  The Sox have now won four in a row, and are just a game back of the NY Yankees.

Inside the Game

– Ryan Dempster needed a staggering 127 pitches to make it just 4 2/3 innings.

– Ortiz is now 6-8 (and hitting .472 over the last seven days) against the Twins this series with seven RBI

– Stephen Drew and Shane Victorino sat out, each with nagging back injuries

– Red Sox bullpen has compiled a 0.53 ERA on the current road trip, stabilizing what had been a very shaky area in the early going this month.

– In an interesting twist, the official scorer gave the victory to lefty Craig Breslow, even though Clayton Mortensen had finished the fifth inning, and was by usual scoring the pitcher of record.  The decision is at the discretion of the scorer, who gave it to the more effective Breslow.

Bruins Shut Out The Lightning 3-0

November 11, 2013 By Rachel Murphy Leave a Comment