Napoli Cracks the Mendoza Line

Posted on May 25, 2015 in Game Recap

Napoli, so hot right now. Napoli. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Mike Napoli continues to provide the offense and the pitching continues to be solid (excepting that ugly Porcello start the other night). The Sox came away with the victory and the series yesterday afternoon, responding with two wins in a row after a 1-4 skid.

Wade Miley started the game with 4.2 perfect innings, but no strikeouts. He lost the perfect game and no-hitter in quick succession, giving up a walk and a single with two outs in the 5th, but got out of the inning by hustling over to first to cover for a ground ball hit to Napoli.

After notching his first strikeout of the night to start the sixth, he gave up a single and a Mike Trout double hit hard down the left field line to score Erick Aybar and make it 3-1, Red Sox.

Boston had gotten its runs two ways:

1. A home run by Napoli. This one was to dead center and still about ten rows deep. The decision to move Xander Bogaerts up in the batting order is paying dividends so far, as he went 4-4 and would get knocked in by Napoli twice in this game. Napoli, by the way, is now above the Mendoza line for the first time this year. Three cheers for small victories!

2. Boston manufactured a run in the bottom of the 5th, just before Trout hit his RBI double. Brock Holt hit a ground-rule double into the triangle in center field. Sandy León laid down a sacrifice bunt to move him to third (León’s gotta be one of the league leaders in sacrifice bunts at this point…never mind, he only has three. Huh.) and Pedroia hit a sacrifice fly to Trout in center to score Holt.

The Angels wouldn’t score again, with only one baserunner after Trout’s double. This came in the 8th inning on a ball hit sharply and directly at Brock Holt playing the hot corner, catching him on his glove wrist and deflecting into left field. He needed a minute or two to compose himself, but came back strong to turn two on the next batter, Aybar, and end the inning. A returning Pablo Sandoval did pinch hit for him in the bottom half of the 8th, though, so it’s something to keep an eye on.

The Angels had escaped from a similar predicament in the 6th inning. With two outs, Bogaerts hit a double down the left field line, and Hector Santiago intentionally walked Napoli. Is it possible he was lost in thought about his hitting resurgence, and how it earned him his first intentional walk of 2015, over at first base? Whatever was going through his head, he was staring straight out at second base and let Albert Pujols sneak behind him. Santiago was able to pick him off pretty easily with a neat overhead pinpoint throw.

The Sox added some insurance in the bottom of the 8th with a near-home run/actual double by Napoli that brought in both Hanley and Xander, both of whom had singled. Sandoval then got a single batting from the lefty side against a lefty (!) to bring in Napoli, and thus the scoring would end.

Koji came in for the 9th for his second consecutive scoreless non-save situation appearance. And that’s all she wrote.

Red Sox Win 8-3

Posted on May 24, 2015 in Game Recap
I done good. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

I done good. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Man that title felt good to type. Red Sox won a game by healthy amount of runs while backing yet another solid pitching performance. I will be following the time-honored tradition that Lefty established yesterday and keep this holiday weekend post short, but I felt obligated to post something for you, our loyal reader (hi Dad!).

The highlight of this game was Mike Napoli, who *knock on wood* seems to be coming around. He was 2 for 3 with 2 long balls, a walk, and 3 RBIs. His first homer almost hit a fan’s “Hit it Here!” bullseye in the Monster seats, and his second homerun still may not have landed. Seriously. It came on a dirty 3-1 breaking ball and Napoli went straight biblical on that thing.

“Begone ye unclean pitch! Out unto Landsdowne Street, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth!”

On the other side of the ball, Steven Wright again got the start in place of an “injured” Justin Masterson. He got off to a rocky start, giving up two runs in the top of the first. I immediately started making more Groundhog Day metaphors in my head and wishing that Henry Owens or Eduardo Rodriguez had gotten the nod in Masterson’s place. But after surrendering the two runs, Wright would settle in, setting down 18 of the next 19 batters he faced.

Farrell again had a quick hook, pulling the knuckler after putting a man on with one out in the seventh, having thrown only 75 pitches. He now has the lowest ERA amongst Red Sox starters. His final line:

Pitchers IP  H  R ER BB SO HR ERA
Wright (W, 2-1) 6.1 4 2 2 1 2 0 3.68

I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but Tim Wakefield only really figured out his knuckler around his age 30 season (Wright is currently 30).

While it was great to score eight and finally get some timely hitting, this game story wouldn’t be complete without mentioning that the Sox were aided by some shoddy defense by Angels’ right fielder Kole Calhoun, who after dropping a fly ball in right seemed rattled by the jeers of the Fenway Faithful, and had a mental lapse later in the game allowing another run to score.

Other Highlights and Notes:

–Pedroia made another sparkling play in the field. I will continue this crusade to not let his defense be taken for granted until the day I die (or stop blogging, whichever comes first).

-Speaking of not taking things for granted, I went to this game from a buddy from high school who lives out in LA now. It was his first time at Fenway, and he called it “the best stadium in sports”, even though he’s a Yankees fan. I know it’s cliché but there really is a magic to Fenway that just isn’t matched by any other sports venue that I’ve been to (and I’ve been to a lot). Another thing us Sox fans should be grateful for.

–Bogaerts got moved up in the lineup and rewarded his manager’s decision with a really nice piece of hitting, delivering a bases-loaded single with two strikes and two outs in a two-run game in the bottom of the 7th.

–Mookie made a great catch that I couldn’t see because I was sitting in the centerfield bleachers. He also had an RBI single and showed off his lightning-quick hands, tagging an inside pitch. He entered the game for Victorino, who started but had to be lifted in the bottom of the third.

 

I’m on a Boat and the Red Sox Are Drowning

Posted on May 23, 2015 in Game Recap

Here’s the deal. I’m on a boat for a bachelor party. The Sox got slaughtered last night. I’m writing this on my phone, so it’s just not gonna be super high quality. You don’t really want a long post on a 7 run loss, do you? Good.

I’ll say a few things to appease the masses though, don’t worry. Here are some thoughts from a man who watched the condensed game on MLB.com:

Rick Porcello cruised through the first three innings and was actually staked to a lead, thanks to a second inning Mike Napoli solo home run. But after a leadoff tying home run by Albert Pujols to tie it up in the 4th inning, things got a little hairy. It took two singles, a walk, and another run before the inning was over.

By the time the 5th rolled around, and Rick was once more staked to a one-run lead, he’d completely lost the plot. Two walks to start things off. A single that scored both runners with a little help from Bogaerts. A ground out.  A single and a double that each scored a run, and that was the end of his night. I know some people think he’s pretty good, but I just don’t see it. I’ll be surprised if he ever lives up to that contract.

Matt Barnes then came in and gave up two home runs to really put the icing on the cake. Rusney Castillo didn’t help much by dropping an easy fly out right out of his glove. It was one of those glorious moments when you see a professional athlete screw up something that you could legitimately do 10 out of 10 times. But other than making me feel good about my chances to make the MLB, it was an ugly night for the call-up, as he also dropped a sliding catch that he absolutely could have made on the right field foul line.

The Sox finally made a serious threat in the 7th, but neither Ortiz nor Nava did anything with the bases loaded and no outs and 1 out, respectively, and that was pretty much all she wrote.

Xander had a pretty tough day in the field. Hanley left a little while after getting hit by a pitch. Mike Trout had the greatest slide probably in baseball history. Brock Holt hit a bases loaded double, but the third guy to come around, Napoli, was thrown out. That’s all I got, people. I’ll update this with some videos and pictures someday.

 

 

Has Anyone Seen the Offense? … Then Put Your Little Hand in Mine

Posted on May 22, 2015 in Game Recap
Sox down early. Where have I seen this before? (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Sox down early. Where have I seen this before? (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Well folks, it’s officially February 2nd in Boston. Another Red Sox starter that had been scuffling earlier in the season put up a quality start, while the offense went 0-6 with runners in scoring position. They were just 4 for 25 with RISP in the series and three of those hits came in Tuesday’s win. The starters have seven quality starts, a K/BB ratio of 42/12, and an ERA of 2.00 in their last eight games, while the offense has scored two runs or fewer in seven of their last nine games. The Sox dropped this one 3-1 and the series to the Rangers.

Pitchers IP  H  R ER BB SO HR ERA
Buchholz (L, 2-5) 7.1 5 3 2 2 4 1 4.58

After Wednesday’s one-run performance, all the team wanted to do last night was get off to a good start. But alas, since it’s Groundhog Day, the Red Sox found themselves down in the early innings. It’s like seeing Ned Ryerson first thing in the morning.

It doesn’t mean you’re going to have a terrible day, but it sure as heck-fire makes it harder to have a good one. Similarly, going down 2-0 isn’t “game over” by any stretch, but it makes the offense’s job a lot tougher, especially when they’re already pressing due to lack of production. This team is 7-19 when the opposition scores first.

Texas’s first two runs came on a botched double play attempt. Pedey fielded a grounder to his left, wheeled and threw to Bogaerts covering the bag at second. The throw pulled Xander only slightly towards centerfield, but he dropped the ball and in doing so failed to heed every coach’s favorite cliché advice following a botched double play: make sure of one.

Obviously it’s not fair to place any of the blame on the pitching staff for this game or any of the past eight games, but hey! Wait! I’ve got a new complaint. Maybe if the starters gave up their 2-3 runs in, say, the 4th and 6th, the offense would have three relatively low-pressure innings to get something going. Wow, thanks Righty, forever in debt to your priceless advice!

There weren’t really many highlights in this one. The Sox’ lone run came on an Ortiz groundout (watching that clip is worth it just to hear Don giggle. I dare you to not crack a smile). Bogaerts was 2-2 with a walk. Pedey doubled. But the rest of the squad couldn’t solve Wandy Rodriguez, who gave up only 4 hits in 6.2 innings. The Red Sox have the worst batting average in the majors against left-handers so far this season.

Phil: Do you ever have déjà vu, Mrs. Lancaster?
Mrs. Lancaster: I don’t think so, but I could check with the kitchen.

At some point soon this season, this Red Sox team is going to have to decide what kind of day they want to have. They can try the same thing over and over again expecting different results (Einstein’s definition of insanity) and end up letting Punxsutawney Phil drive the truck:
punxsutawney phil drives truck
or they can figure out how to get the offense going at the same time as the pitching staff, help everyone in the town, live a perfect day, and make Rita fall in love. (Ok, the metaphor kind of came off the rails towards the end there).

Notes:

-Pedroia made a great play in the field.

-Farrell hinted at roster changes in his post-game presser, but I don’t see any obvious moves to make. Calling up Castillo would be great – he’s been raking – but the guy he’d presumably replace (Victorino) has been the Red Sox’ best hitter since returning from injury. Though Shane was scratched last night due to an unrelated calf injury, so that didn’t do the club any good.

–Buchholz’s last 3 starts: 2.53 ERA 18/5 K/BB ratio. Maybe we should throw him in the lineup and see if he can hit.

-Here’s hoping today is tomorrow.