“Just pee like this and you won’t be able to like any Instagram photos at the same time.” (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
Ah, a good old-fashioned wire to wire win.
A lot of good things happened in this game, which is something that I haven’t said very often in 2015. I’m going to savor this moment and list most of those good things so I don’t forget them.
The Red Sox put up a five spot in the second inning.
- Xander got it started with a two-strike opposite field single. Then Sandoval doubled, then Napoli singled, driving in both runners. Then De Aza walked, then Blake Swihart doubled, driving in both runners. After a Brock Holt ground out moved Swihart to third, Mookie Betts capped the rally with another good piece of two-strike hitting, sending a line drive single to right field to score Swihart.
After the big inning the Red Sox were able to add two more runs over the course of the game to make sure that the lead stayed comfortable.
- In the fifth, Hanley exited the yard to left center on a ball that looked and sounded like it went off the end of his bat.
- Hanley singled home Brock Holt in the seventh.
Mookie had four hits in the game. We got to see plenty of that patented Mookie happy scowl.
The batting averages of the Red Sox hitters are starting to look respectable again.
Holt – .311
Betts – .267
Ramirez – .269
Bogaerts – .285
Sandoval – .274
Not the ’27 Yankees but definitely a step in the right direction. The Sox are averaging better than 12 hits a game in their last five contests.
Don took a selfie with Selena Gomez.
Hanging with Selena Gomez in KC! #Dontourage pic.twitter.com/q7Za2Wk8VS
— Don Orsillo (@DonOrsillo) June 19, 2015
I really like that Xander, Brock Holt, and Napoli all consistently rock the high red socks.
Eduardo Rodriguez had a great bounce back performance after his nightmare last outing against Toronto. That game wasn’t nearly as bad as his stat line, since his fielders were victimized by the sun on more than one occasion, but this one is much prettier.
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rodríguez (W, 3-1) | 6.1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3.13 |
Eddie mixed his pitches much more effectively, and wasn’t afraid to go to his slider, something that was an issue in his last start.
I am again cautiously optimistic about this team. I hope they don’t lose 7 in a row now, which is what happened after the sweep of Oakland (the last time I was optimistic). Three out of four against Atlanta and Kansas City is a more impressive feat so maybe that means something. We’ll find out soon enough.