You know that thing that people do on the Internet sometimes where they make a list of what things are good and what things are bad instead of having the journalistic integrity to actually write properly? WELL HERE’S ANOTHER ONE.
Good: Justin Masterson pitched seven innings and gave up three earned runs (that’s a quality start!), becoming the 4th Red Sox starter to go at least 7 innings deep. Buchholz, Porcello, and Kelly have each done it once as well. Our poor bullpen.
Bad: He’d only thrown 90 pitches when Farrell elected to replace him with Matt Barnes in the 8th inning, showing a couple things: 1. Masterson was working very quickly, more because his pitches weren’t missing bats than any particular dominance on his part and 2. A little bit of a lack of confidence by Farrell in letting Masterson’s pitch count get up into the triple digits (he hasn’t made it past 95 pitches yet in 2015).
Bad: Before yesterday’s game, Shane Victorino was put on the 15-day Disabled List with the same hamstring strain that plagued him throughout 2014.
Good: Matt Barnes was called up from Pawtucket and pitched two solid (okay, the 8th was a little dicey) innings. Okay, that’s not that good, but for Sox fans itching to see Rusney Castillo in action, Victorino to the DL can only be good news, especially with Daniel Nava and Allen Craig both struggling. Though Castillo has been hurt himself, only playing three games in Pawtucket (last seen on April 11th), he’s supposed to be back soon, and who knows? He could be up in the majors soon depending on Victorino’s duration of absence.
Bad: Through 18 games, Mookie Betts is batting .203, has an on-base percentage of .291, and has a .319 slugging percentage. Through 18 games in 2014, Jackie Bradley Jr. was contributing .220/.329/.280. I’m not sure what I’m saying here, and the advanced stats say that Mookie’s stuff is gonna get better (he currently has a .218 batting average on balls in play)…but still.
Bad: Okay, time to get to the actual baseball game that happened yesterday. Masterson giving up back-to-back doubles to start the game, giving the Orioles a 2-0 lead going into the 2nd inning = bad.
Good: Could Mike Napoli have finally got used to dreaming again? He went 3-4 yesterday, including a two-run home run off the right field foul pole to knock in Hanley Ramirez (4 pitch leadoff walk) six pitches into the 2nd inning to tie the game at 2.
Bad: Masterson allowed runners to get to third in both the 2nd and 3rd innings.
Good: He got out of both jams, including a two-out, men on 2nd and 3rd strikeout (looking) of Travis Snider to get out of the third.
Good: Allen Craig actually came through on the offensive side, sending one through the left side with Hanley Ramirez on second, which might’ve scored a run in different circumstances…
Bad: …but it didn’t. Hanley looks very slow, doesn’t he? If he was waved around, I have to say it looks like a bad decision by 3rd base coach Brian Butterfield. Not even close. Then again, I can’t actually see if Butterfield waved him in, and Hanley’s been known to ignore Butterfield.
Ramirez said he made up his mind to try to score when he reached second base.
“I saw how deep [Kiermaier] was playing,” he said. “I anticipate everything. They were playing way back, and that’s when I decided to go.”
Bad: An absolute meatball, a breaking ball left at the top of the zone that Masterson served up to Jimmy Paredes for a solo shot to take the lead in the 6th.
Good: After a leadoff walk and two consecutive miscues by the Orioles that ended up being labeled as “infield singles,” the Red Sox had the bases loaded with 1 out in the top of the 9th, down by one. Pablo, on a 1-2 count, grounded a pretty easy double play ball to Manny Machado, who stepped on third and promptly threw it away at first, allowing Dustin Pedroia to score and tie the game.
Bad: Brock Holt is now the only Red Sox player batting over .300. He is also the only one over .400.
Good: Xander Bogaerts, the closest to batting .300, hit a lead-taking home run in the top of the 10th on a fastball down the heart of the plate on Brad Brach’s first pitch of the night.
Koji time, right?
Bad: Yes, but no. Koji came in in the bottom of the 10th and gave up this leadoff “triple” to Adam Jones on what should’ve been either a conservative single or a play that Allen Craig should’ve been able to make on the dive. But instead, he offers up one of the worst executed dives I’ve seen in a good while. Jones would score on a sacrifice fly by Davis, the next batter.
Bad: This. Koji, you gotta stop doing this.
Conceivably the worst meatball of the night in a game full of them.