Xander Bogaerts: Such the Man #XforASG (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Cliché alert: Xander Bogaerts “strengthened his case” to be the AL’s selection in the Final Vote ballots for the All-Star Game. #XforASG. He was once again big with runners in scoring position. He was once again big with two outs. He was once again big late in a game. And he was once again big with two outs and runners in scoring position late in a game.
Don’t believe me? Just look at these clutch stats:
Hitting with ducks on the pond on was the Achilles Heel of this team early on and The X has produced all year long in that situation (.379 on the year before last night UPDATE: now .388).
Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the 7th, Xander came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. On the 8th pitch of a tough at-bat, he lined a 99 MPH fastball through the right side. The runners were off with the pitch, and all three would cross home safely, giving the Red Sox a 4-3 lead. They would win by that same score.
Wade Miley started and was strong, submitting a quality start and racking up a season-high 9 strikeouts.
| Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miley | 6.2 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 4.50 |
A nice bounce back start from Wade after the seven-hit, seven-walk debacle last week.
After not pitching for 5 straight games and sparking rumors that he may be hurt, Tazawa has picked up right where he left off, making back-to-back shutout appearances. Last night he went one and a third, picking up the win in the process.
Notes:
-I wish Mookie would go back to “team high socks”. With Pedroia out and Napoli not playing, we need everyone on board that we can get. Xander is still going strong.
–Travis Shaw was recalled from AAA and collected his first Major League hit, plus a couple more.
-The Yankees and Orioles both lost. The Red Sox are only 5 games out in the division.
-Tune in tonight to see if the Sox can finally capture that elusive 4th straight win.