G153: Red Sox at Rays, 7 PM

Red Sox - 
Rays    - 

Rick Porcello / Charlie Morton

Betts, DH
Vázquez, C
Devers, 3B
Bogaerts, SS
Benintendi, LF
Holt, RF
Moreland, 1B
Bradley, CF
M. Hernández, 2B

As the always-entertaining Jayson Stark would say ... Baseball!

Have you checked your major-league WHIP leaders lately? We'll save you the trouble. They look like this:

Justin Verlander: 0.789
Gerrit Cole:      0.908
Zack Greinke:     0.998

So … notice anything those three guys have in common? Right you are. They all pitch for the same team – those noted ace collectors, the Houston Astros. And how many teams have ever finished a season with three qualifying starting pitchers with a sub-1.00 WHIP? That would be none – in modern history, anyway. (Quibblers alert: The 1884 St. Louis Maroons, of the old United Association, actually had four with a WHIP under 1.00. But big deal. They got to pitch from 50 feet away from the plate back then!) ...

It's Sept. 20, and the Detroit Tigers have won 21 games at Comerica Park all season. The other four teams in their division have won 20 in Comerica, and they just get to stop by a few times a year! (You know how many times the Tigers have won at home on back-to-back days this season? That would be exactly two! One was April 6 and 7, in the second and third home games of the season. The other was Aug. 8 and 9. You know how many times they've done that against teams not known as "the Royals?" That would be zero!) ...

[I]f the Tigers don't win at least two of their final seven home games (against the White Sox and Twins) they're going to finish with the worst record at home of any team since the 162-game schedule became a thing nearly six decades ago:

TEAM          W-L    PCT
1962 Mets    22-58  .275
2019 Tigers  21-54  .280
2013 Tigers  23-58  .284 ...

It was awesome enough that Cavan (Son of Craig) Biggio went cycling Tuesday – and allowed the Biggios to join the Wards (Gary and Daryle) as the only father-son cyclists in history. ... [Cavan] came to the plate with two outs in the ninth in the same position as about a billion other players in history – a triple away from the cycle. But then … he actually hit that triple! ...

Only one other time in the past 129 cycles (dating back 35 years) has any player finished off his cycle that way – via a triple with two outs in the ninth. The guy who hit the other one: Eric Byrnes, on June 29, 2003. (Quibblers alert! If you're one of those sticklers who thinks we should look at two-out triples in the ninth inning or later, then we could add Rondell White (13th-inning triple, on June 11, 1995) to this little club.) ...

Ever heard of a playoff team that went a month without a save – in August and September? Meet the Nationals, who just found a way to perform that astonishing trick. Didn't have a save between Aug. 16 and Sept. 17 – and were still in position to host the wild-card game when they came out the other end of it. ...

That comes to 28 consecutive games without a save. And how many playoff teams in the division play era have ever done that this late in a season? That would be zero, according to STATS. How many have done it at any point in any season? Just two, if you don't count the 1981 strike-year split season (2000 Cardinals: 28 games (July 13-August 11) and 2015 Blue Jays: 34 games (May 5-June 10)). ...

From Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats): "Yu Darvish has 24 strikeouts over his last 9 innings pitched." So who's the last starting pitcher to strike out 24 hitters in nine innings? That would be nobody, obviously. And STATS combed through 45 years' worth of play-by-play data back to 1974 and found that no relief pitcher had done it, either. Closest call: 23, by Josh Hader (last September) and (Kirby Yates, in April-May of this year). Amazing. ...

[T]ake a look at the Yankees' totals for the season (so far):

Home Runs – 292
Doubles   – 277

Yep, leave it to the Yankees to make doubles obsolete. If they keep this up, they would be only the fourth team since 1900 to have this many more homers than doubles!

TEAM           HR   2B
1961 Yankees  240  194
1956 Reds     221  201
1962 Tigers   209  191 ...

A hat tip to NBC Sports Chicago's Chris Kamka for chronicling this unbelievable feat from Cody Bellinger this year: He has hit 45 home runs… Off 45 different pitchers!

So who else has ever done that? No one has ever done that. Of course! And only Albert Pujols (in 2015) has ever even hit as many as 40, off all different pitchers. ...

[A]ll of this happened, in actual life, over the past eight days:

TWO RUNS ON A STRIKEOUT? It's challenging enough to reach base on a strikeout, let alone score two runs. But the Dodgers pulled that off Sept. 12 in Baltimore, thanks to the largesse of Orioles starter Dylan Bunday, who never did get around to covering home in the midst of a two-run strikeout/passed-ball fiasco. Seeing is believing!

SCORING FROM FIRST BASE ON A WALK? Kids, don't try this at home, either. But it happens. Bryan Reynolds drew a walk at Wrigley last Friday. Then the Cubs took turns throwing the baseball all over Chicago. Willson Contreras started it, by trying to throw out Kevin Newman "stealing" second – on ball four. And the next thing they all knew, Newman had scored from first on a walk. Whaaaaat? Take a look at this Bad News Bears outtake!

HOW NOT TO APPEAL? Maybe the Pirates felt guilty about that Kevin Newman run, because on Sunday, they returned that favor, with a play I’ve never seen – the old wild throw while just trying to appeal a stinking call at third base! ...

SOUTH SIDE STORY – How about this for innovative ways to lose, from your Chicago White Sox over the past week: Get 20 hits Tuesday … four of them leave the park … still lose to the Twins, 9-8. According to Chris Kamka, they were undefeated (14-0) in 20-hit, four-homer games in franchise history before that … because of course they were!

Same game: Homer in the top of the 11th inning … then homer in the top of the 12th inning … and still lose! How hard is that to do? So hard, reports Doug Kern, that no team had hit a home run in the top of two different extra innings and found a way not to win in over 30 years – since the Padres did that in the 11th and 13th innings in Montreal, on May 24, 1988. ...

And before we go, here's one final outrageous tidbit about the Giants' visit to Fenway Park this week. If you had a tough time recalling their last win at Fenway before that 15-inning extravaganza Tuesday, maybe that's because… There's almost nobody in America who was alive to see the last one!

The Elias Sports Bureau told us it was the Giants' first win at Fenway since June 3, 1915, back when the Giants played in New York, the Braves were the team they played in Fenway, Woodrow Wilson was president and Babe Ruth was a rookie pitcher with two career home runs. ...

Is it possible the Giants were the first big-league team ever to go 104 years between wins at any ballpark ever built? And that answer is: Yessir! The previous record was held by the Cubs, which sounds about right. They once went a mere 93 years without winning at Fenway – between Game 5 of the 1918 World Series (Hippo Vaughn shutout) and May 21, 2011 (Sean Marshall win in relief of Carlos Zambrano). Didn't you need to know that? Of course you did!

G152: Red Sox 5, Giants 4

Giants  - 100 000 021 - 4  6  2
Red Sox - 230 000 00x - 5 10  2

Eduardo Rodriguez (6-2-1-2-10, 107) was sharp yet again, allowing only an unearned run. Rodriguez has allowed five earned runs in his last seven starts (45 innings, 1.00 ERA).

Xander Bogaerts drove in three runs and Rafael Devers knocked in two as the Red Sox held on by their fingernails to beat the Giants on Thursday afternoon. Brandon Workman loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth, but "saved" the game after walking in a run.

Each of the top four hitters in the Boston lineup had two hits. Andrew Benintendi and Christian Vázquez each scored twice.

The Red Sox took charge when the first four batters in the first inning reached base against Madison Bumgarner (5-9-5-2-7, 102). Benintendi doubled to right-center, Vázquez walked, and Dvers and Bogaerts each hit a run-scoring single.

(It was Benintendi's 40th double of the season, giving the Red Sox four players with 40+ doubles for the first time in team history (Mookie Betts, Benintendi, Bogaerts, Devers).)

In the second, the Red Sox changed things around, making two outs before hitting four straight singles. Benintendi and Vázquez set the table. Devers knocked in one run and Boagerts brought in two more.

I love those kinds of innings, but not when the opposition does it, as the Giants did in the eighth. Marcus Walden got two outs, then walked Mauricio Dubon, and gave up a single to Mike Yastrzemski and a double (and two runs) to Kevin Pillar. Matt Barnes relieved Walden and walked Evan Longoria. Buster Posey got an infield single, loading the bases, before Barnes struck out Stephen Vogt.

Workman nearly imploded in the ninth. Brandon Belt hit the first pitch and reached on an infield error. Christhian Adames singled to right and Chris Shaw walked. ... Time for a mound visit! ... Brandon Crawford (cbf) struck out looking. Yastrzemski (csfb) struck out swinging. Pillar (bsbb) walked, and Belt scored. Workman then struck out Longoria (cbbcbs).

If you give a shit about pitchers and wins, EdRo has 18.

The Red Sox are 24-8 in Rodriguez's starts this year. Houston's Gerrit Cole is the only other pitcher to start as many as 24 team wins (the Astros are 24-7 in Cole's starts).

Madison Bumgarner / Eduardo Rodriguez

Benintendi, LF
Vázquez, C
Devers, 3B
Bogaerts, DH
Holt, 1B
G. Hernández, RF
Bradley, CF
Owings, SS
M. Hernández, 2B

Bats in September: .213/.290/.357.

Record: 6-9. Runs scored: 55. Runs allowed: 72.

Elimination # for Wild Card Race: 1.

G151: Giants 11, Red Sox 3

Giants  - 301 000 025 - 11 15  0
Red Sox - 000 001 101 -  3  6  1

Rafael Devers broke up Jeff Samardzija's no-hit bid with two outs in the sixth inning by hitting his 30th home run of the season, a line drive to right. It was the hardest hit ball of the game, by either team, with an exit velocity of 111.1 mph.

(Devers's groundout to third in the fourth inning was the second-hardest hit ball of the night (110.5).)

Devers and Xander Bogaerts are the first teammates in major league history with 30+ homers and 50+ doubles each in the same season (Devers 30/50; Bogaerts 31/50).

Devers is the 11th player in major league history with 30+ home runs, 100+ RBI, and 100+ runs scored in a single season before turning 23. He's one of only three major league players ever with 50+ doubles in a season at age 22 or younger.

Devers leads the American League with 84 extra-base hits; Ted Williams holds the Red Sox record for a player before turning 23 (86 in 1939).

Devers's 30 homers are the most by a Red Sox player at age 22 or younger since Tony Conigliaro hit 32 in 1965. ... He is also one of only four Red Sox players with 100+ RBI before turning 23 (Ted Williams (3 times), Bobby Doerr, Jim Rice).

Among Red Sox third basemen all-time, Devers holds the record for most extra-base hits in a season (83), is tied with Butch Hobson (1977) in home runs, and is one double away from tying Wade Boggs, who had 51 in 1989.

Oh – the game. It was as good as over in the top of the first. Jhoulys Chacín (2.2-5-4-2-6, 72) gave up a walk and a double to begin the night. He got two outs, but then Stephen Vogt hit a three-run dong. ... Samardzija was pulled after giving up a hit to start the seventh (6-2-1-4-2, 99). ... Jackie Bradley hit his 20th home run in the ninth (the original call of a triple was overturned).

Jeff Samardzija / Jhoulys Chacín

Benintendi, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Devers, 3B
Vázquez, DH
Holt, RF
Moreland, 1B
Bradley, CF
M. Hernández, 2B
León, C

David Price will not pitch again this season.

Alex Cora called Tuesday's 15-inning loss "our season in six hours".

Close games, we didn't hit with men in scoring position, we didn't pitch well in the beginning but then we pitched well. We played good defense but then we didn't. ... [E]xtra-inning games, using the bullpen knowing we have a bullpen day maybe tomorrow, it's been like that the whole season.

Two major league records were tied last night: 13 pitchers used by the Giants and 24 pitchers used by both teams.

David Ortiz Talks About His Recovery From Shooting In June

David Ortiz made his first public appearance since being shot in June about 10 days ago, at Fenway Park, throwing out the first pitch before a Red Sox/Yankees game. He has also spoken about his recovery and his future with Bob Hohler of the Globe and Ian Browne of mlb.com.

Ortiz talked about the day he was shot:

I had a wonderful day that day with my kids. ... [At night] I decided to go with a friend of mine. This one place – it's a very nice place, a lot of big-time people go – I sit down and have a drink ... I was there for an hour and a half, two hours. Hanging out, having conversation with people. This place wasn't a club. This place was like, on a patio, that kind of type of place where you go have lunch, have a drink, go have conversation. That was a little confusing for people here ... thinking that it was a club. It wasn't a club. ... I go there ... when I'm back home, only on Sunday, and never heard of a problem.

Ortiz says when he was shot, everyone around him scattered, and he was alone on the floor. "Then this angel comes out of nowhere" – a man named Eliezer Salvador – and he put Ortiz in the back seat of his car and drove like a maniac to a private clinic Ortiz was familiar with. "He kept talking to me to make sure I stayed awake." Ortiz knew he had been shot, but "I didn't want to look at it, to be honest." In the morning, after the initial surgery, the Red Sox arranged to bring Ortiz to Massachusetts General Hospital. He remembers nothing of the trip.

I was still doped up from the medication. ... I remember telling my Dad, "Dad, cover my feet. I'm feeling a little cold." And then I passed out. The next time I woke up was when I got to Mass General. I don't even know when they took me out of the airplane once I got here. All I know is I opened my eyes once I got out of the ambulance going into Mass General and then, boom, pass out again.

In Boston, Ortiz underwent a second surgery. Three weeks later, he suffered a severe bacterial infection and need additional surgery. "It was very dangerous. I got to the point that I started losing hope." According to the Globe:

In his bleakest days after the surgery, Ortiz fought desperation, even in his sleep. Over seven weeks, he could swallow nothing but melted ice chips – except for a small cup of Jell-O and some fruit that he threw up. ...

"I had nightmares all the time about being in the desert, looking for water," he said. ...

Ortiz drew a measure of hope when the medical team would tell him he would survive. But he began to prepare for the possibility that he would be permanently debilitated ...

"I felt that if I didn't die, then I would never be the same again," he said. "I went through hell with that."

On July 22, almost seven weeks after the shooting, Ortiz was able to keep down food for the first time: a cup of soup. He soon returned to his home outside Boston. Ortiz has hired former Boston Police Department commissioner Ed Davis to work with police in the Dominican Republic to find out why he was targeted.

There were so many rumors out there. But like I told them, the Dominican is a country that social media informs you somehow, some way, because there is no consequence. There are people that ... come out there with some things that aren't true, just because they want to get followed or get some likes. There are a lot of rumors, a lot of bad things came out, but none of them were related to what really happened to me.

Again, from the Globe:

First, the authorities announced that an unspecified person with an undisclosed motive had placed a $7,800 bounty on Ortiz's head. Six suspects were arrested, and Ortiz said he knew none of them or why anyone would want to harm him. ...

Nearly three weeks later came another announcement. Eight more suspects had been arrested – Ortiz said he knew none of those, either – and police concluded that the actual intended target had been his friend, Fernandez, who sat near him that night.

The bounty on Fernandez was closer to $30,000, authorities said, and his cousin, an alleged drug dealer, had wanted him killed because he allegedly had spoken to police about him more than eight years earlier. ...

Now, there are questions about whether Cesar Peralta, a Dominican drug kingpin known as "The Abuser," or his cartel may have been involved in the shooting, which to Ortiz also defies logic.

While little of the conflicting available information makes sense, Ortiz can joke about the incident. Noting the reported $7,800 bounty on his head, Ortiz said: "You gotta pay a lot more than that to get me killed. I ain't that cheap."

Big Papi hopes to be in Los Angeles next month to work as an analyst for Fox Sports during the postseason.

I was always very accessible, but I think I'm going to cut down on that a little now. One lesson I've learned is that you can't be naive. There are a lot of things going on now that you have to be aware of. I need to pay attention and be more careful.

G150: Giants 7, Red Sox 6 (15)

Giants  - 103 100 000 000 101 - 7 14  0
Red Sox - 010 013 000 000 100 - 6 14  1

Juan Centeno had drawn a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the thirteenth to tie the game at 6-6. Two innings later, he had a chance to tie things again (at 7-7) or, possibly, win the game. Boston had runners on first and second with one out and Centeno's flair to shallow center was sinking roughly where Rafael Devers's single had fallen a few minutes earlier. But this time, Kevin Pillar was able to dart in and make a diving, rolling catch. Brock Holt hit a line drive, but it was right at second baseman Mauricio Dubon for the third out.

The Red Sox erased three of the Giants' leads (1-0, 5-1, 6-5), but their luck eventually ran out. San Francisco used 13 pitchers, tying a major league record set by the Rockies in a 16-inning win over the Dodgers on September 15, 2015. In the thirteenth, the Giants had four pitchers pitch to four consecutive Red Sox batters.

Mike Yastrzemski homered off Nathan Eovaldi (4-7-5-3-6, 86) in the fourth inning, giving the Giants a 5-1 lead. Jackie Bradley led off the fifth with his 19th homer. In the sixth, Sam Travis pinch-hit for J.D. Martinez (who left with left groin tightness) and tripled to right. Travis was hit in the head by the throw to the bag and was replaced by Gorkys Hernández. Mitch Moreland and Christian Vázquez followed with back-to-back doubles with one out, cutting the Giants' lead to 5-4. Vazquez stole third as Bradley struck out and scored on a passed ball by Stephen Vogt.

The Red Sox wasted an opportunity in the seventh, when Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers both singled and were bunted to second and third, and old friend [sic] Fernando Abad came in from the SF bullpen. Holt was called out on strikes and Moreland grounded to short. Moreland then had a chance to win the game in the ninth, after G. Hernández singled and took second on a wild pitch and Holt was intentionally walked. But all Moreland could manage was a dribber in front of the plate and he was out catcher-to-first.

Matt Barnes walked two in the tenth, but stranded the runners, thanks to Marco Hernández's diving stop on Donovan Solano's grounder. Both teams hit into a double play in the twelfth. Pillar singled to start the thirteenth against Andrew Cashner. Brandon Crawford doubled to left, scoring the run, but he was also thrown out at third, 7-6-2-5. With one out in the bottom of the inning, M. Hernández singled off Sam Selman. Andrew Benintendi fouled off two pitches, then took four balls. Burch Smith came in and got ahead of Bogaerts 0-2, but X singled to right-center. Bases loaded.

Wandy Peralta was the next Giants pitcher and he struck out Devers. Giants (over)manager Bruce Bochy replaced Peralta with Kyle Barraclough (because why have all those pitchers put uniforms on if they aren't going to play?), and Centeno pinch-hit for G. Hernández. The first pitch was close, but a ball. The next two were in the dirt. After a gimme strike, ball four was wide. And the game was tied 6-6. On a 2-2 count, Holt swung at ball 3 and grounded harmlessly to third.

M-Yaz hit a ground-rule double to right to open the fourteenth against Brian Johnson. Brandon Belt flied to left and Even Longoria was walked intentionally. Vogt struck out and Trevor Kelley got Pillar on a ground ball to the mound. Sandy León singled with one out, but nothing happened.

Donovan Solano doubled to right in the fifteenth (also a ground-rule hit). Kelley wild-pitched him to third and he scored on Alex Dickerson's long fly to center. Dubon reached on Bogaerts's throwing error (Moreland could not scoop his low, half-assed throw) but M-Yaz popped out to third.

Dereck Rodríguez was in his second inning of work in the home half of the fifteenth. Benintendi grounded to third, but Bogaerts walked and Devers blooped a single to center. However, as mentioned, Centeno flied/popped to short center (ignore Gameday's misleading "lines out to...") and Holt smacked a 2-0 pitch right at Dubon.

Logan Webb / Nathan Eovaldi

Benintendi, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Devers, 3B
Martinez, DH
Holt, RF
Moreland, 1B
Vázquez, C
Bradley, CF
M. Hernández, 2B

Mookie Betts says an MRI shows inflammation in his left foot, but he hopes to play again this season. The Red Sox have 13 games remaining on the schedule.

The Giants' lineup features Mike Yastrzemski leading off and playing left field. Yastrzemski has started 40 games each in left and right (and one in center). Mike Yaz is 29, having been born one day after his grandfather Carl turned 51.

Dongtown: Six teams have set new single-season franchise home run records this year: Astros, Dodgers, Twins, Yankees, Padres, Cubs.

Michael Silverman (longtime Red Sox reporter for the Herald and the co-author of Pedro) is now at the Globe, where he will write about "the intersection of sports with business, politics, entertainment, technology and a few other spots".

1980: Umpire Bill Haller Tosses Orioles Manager Earl Weaver ("You Gonna Be In The Hall Of Fame For Fucking Up World Series?")

Today In 1980: Baltimore #Orioles manager Earl Weaver launches into a legendary tirade against umpire Bill Haller at Memorial Stadium! #MLB #History pic.twitter.com/wABIyhJkgj

— Baseball by BSmile (@BSmile) September 17, 2019

September 17, 1980. Memorial Stadium, Baltimore. Tigers batting in the top of the first. Rick Peters grounds out pitcher-to-first and Alan Trammell singles to right. With Al Cowens at the plate, first base umpire Bill Haller calls a balk on Orioles starter Mike Flanagan. Orioles manager Earl Weaver does not agree.

Weaver's tirade may or may not be legendary, but Haller wins the argument. (Here's a longer, clearer version, with Eddie Murray talking to Haller before Weaver arrives.)

Weaver: That's bullshit!

Haller: ... behind the rubber.

Weaver: Ah, bullshit!

Haller: Bullshit yourself.

Weaver: ... you're here - you're here, and this crew is here, just to fuck us.

Haller: BOOM! [Haller actually provides a sound effect when he tosses Weaver! Amazing!]

Weaver: Good. That's great!

Haller: Ahhh, you ... shit.

Weaver: And you stink. ... you couldn't wait to get me out of here.

Haller: Ah, Earl. You run yourself, Earl. You run yourself.

Weaver: Get your finger ...

Haller: You hit me?

Weaver: Yeah, cause you put your finger on me.

Haller: I'm glad you did. I'm glad you hit me.

Weaver: That's right. ... You're here for one goddamn specific reason.

Haller: What's that, Earl?

Weaver: To fuck us!

Haller: Ah, you're full of shit. Fuck you.

Weaver: ... this crew for years and goddamn years and years. And don't you ever put your finger on me again.

Haller: You hit me, Earl.

Weaver: You put your finger on me.

Haller: That's okay.

Weaver: You're goddamn right. If you touch me again ...

Haller: Ah, you ain't gonna knock nobody on their ass.

Weaver: You do it again, and I'll knock you right in your nose.

Haller: I didn't touch you.

Weaver: You pushed your finger ...

Haller: I did not! Now you're lying.

Weaver: ... goddamn ...

Haller: You're lying!

Weaver: No, you are.

Haller: You are lying.

Weaver: You're a big liar if you ...

Haller: You are a liar, Earl.

Weaver: You are!

Haller: A liar!

Weaver: You are!

Haller walks away. Weaver follows him.

Weaver: I'll tell you something. You're here for one reason, to fuck us good.

Haller: Wrong.

Weaver: That's the only reason.

Haller: You are wrong, Earl.

Weaver: And you'll have your chance tomorrow. You got it as quick as you could ...

Haller: Awwwww ... what's wrong with you?

Weaver: You ain't no good.

Haller: No, you aren't, either. You aren't, either.

Weaver: You ain't no good.

Haller: You're no fucking good, either.

Weaver: You stink. Your ass'll never have our games again.

Haller: I hope ... what do I care?

Weaver: Yeah!

Haller: What do I care?

Weaver: Yeah! What do ... what are you doing here now?

Haller: Well, why don't you call the league office and ask them?

Weaver: Yeah! I will!

Haller: Good.

Weaver: Don't think I won't.

Haller: Good.

Weaver: And the quicker you get ... don't walk away ...

Haller: And the quicker you get out, it'll be better, too.

Weaver: Yeah! Yeah!

Haller: That's right!

Weaver: You ain't going nowhere.

Haller: You aren't either.

Haller walks away again, and again Weaver follows.

Weaver: You watch, about five, ten fucking years from now, who's in the Hall of Fame.

Haller: Oh, you're gonna be in the Hall of Fame?

Weaver: You know it!

Haller: Why?

Weaver: You know it!

Haller: For fucking up World Series? You gonna be in the Hall of Fame for fucking up World Series?

Weaver: I've won more than I've lost, you know.

Haller: Oh, no, you haven't, Earl.

Weaver: Games*! Count games, fucker! ... You don't even know nothing about baseball!

Haller: You better get going, Earl.

Weaver: Oh, I better get going.

Haller: Better get going.

Weaver: What in the hell are you gonna do about it?

*: Weaver's teams lost three of the four World Series in which they played (including the season before this one), but were 15-13 in games. The Orioles lost in 1969 (1-4), won in 1970 (4-1), and lost in 1971 (3-4) and 1979 (3-4). Weaver's Orioles also lost in the ALCS in 1973 (2-3) and 1974 (1-3).

Linescore Fun: Cubs Score 47 Runs In Three-Game Sweep, D-Backs Win With One Baserunner, And The Seven Home Teams That Have Scored Five Runs In An Extra Inning

The Cubs scored 47 runs in a three-game sweep of the Pirates: 17-8, 14-1, 16-6. That set a modern-era franchise record for a three-game series. Back on July 23-25, 1894, the Colts (as they were then called) 48 runs against the Pirates (!): 6-14, 18-11, 24-6. (Yes, they lost the first game.)

Pirates - 400 030 010 -  8 13  0
Cubs    - 505 070 00x - 17 16  3
  
Pirates - 000 100 000 -  1  8  0
Cubs    - 041 233 10x - 14 14  0
  
Pirates - 005 100 000 -  6 14  1
Cubs    - 305 221 21x - 16 19  1

The Cubs scored in 13 of their final 15 innings of the series. (Also, the Pirates led in two of the three games, though, admittedly, not for very long in both cases.) The Cubs also set a new team record with 14 home runs in a three-game series (previous mark: 12, in 1998).

The 2019 Cubs became the fifth team since 1900 to score at least 14 runs in three consecutive games:

1901 Pirates

September 5 at Giants (G1): 15-1
September 5 at Giants (G2): 15-7
September 6 at Giants (G1): 15-2

These three games were in the middle of Pittsburgh's six-game sweep of the Giants (three doubleheaders in three days): 12-6, 10-3, 15-1, 15-7, 15-2, 13-4.

1928 Pirates

August 2 at Phillies: 18-4
August 3 at Phillies: 14-6
August 4 at Phillies (G1): 14-8

The Pirates also won Game 2 on August 4: 11-4.

1930 Cubs

June 1 vs Pirates: 16-4
June 3 at Boston: 15-2
June 4 at Boston: 18-10

Before the win on June 1, the Cubs had walked off in their last two games, beating the Cardinals 9-8 in 10 innings and then 6-5. After these three games, they beat Boston again, 10-7 on June 5 and then headed to Brooklyn, winning 13-0 on June 6.

1993 Tigers

August 10 vs Orioles: 15-1
August 11 vs Orioles: 15-5
August 12 vs Orioles: 17-11

In the first month of 1993, the Tigers scored 20 runs twice within four games (April 13 and 17) and scored 12+ runs in three straight games, beating the Twins 12-4, 17-1, and 16-5 (April 23-25).

On September 14, the Diamondbacks beat the Reds 1-0, despite putting only one man on base. Nick Ahmed led off the third with a triple (a chopper over the third baseman that rolled semi-slowly down the left field line) and scored on the next pitch, Jarrod Dyson's sac fly.

According to Elias Sports, it was the first time in the modern era (since 1900) that a team won in nine or more innings despite having only one baserunner. The Reds could not score despite three hits, two walks, and one Arizona error.

Reds         - 000 000 000 - 0  3  0
Diamondbacks - 001 000 00x - 1  1  1

Last week, when the Astros beat the Mariners 21-1 (Sunday the 8th) and Athletics 15-0 (Monday the 9th), it was the first time a major league team had won two consecutive games, each by 15+ runs, since June 17-18, 1953, when the Red Sox routed the Tigers 17-1 and 23-3.

In the later game, the Red Sox set a major league record by scoring 17 runs in one inning. Before these two games, the Red Sox had scored only five runs in their last four games, and had been shutout twice.

Tigers  - 000 000 001 -  1  5  2
Red Sox - 220 710 05x - 17 20  2
  
Tigers  - 000 201   0 00 -  3  7  5
Red Sox - 030 002 (17)1x - 23 27  0

B7: Red Sox ahead 5-3, Steve Gromek pitching:

Sammy White singles to center.
Gene Stephens singles to right, White to third.
Stephens steals second.
Tom Umphlett singles to left, White scores, Stephens scores (7-3).
Johnny Lipon strikes out.
George Kell doubles to left, Umphlett to third.
Billy Goodman walked intentionally.
Jim Piersall singles to center, Umphlett scores, Kell scores, Goodman to third (9-3).
Dick Gernert homers, Goodman scores, Piersall scores, Gernert scores (12-3).
Ellis Kinder singles to right.
White walks, Kinder to second.
Dick Weik replaces Gromek.
Wild pitch, Kinder to third, White to second.
Stephens doubles to center, Kinder scores, White scores (14-3).
Umphlett walks.
Lipon singles to left, Stephens scores, Umphlett to second (15-3).
Kell flies out to left.
Goodman singles to right-center, Umphlett scores, Lipon to second (16-3).
Earl Harrist replaces Weik.
Ted Lepcio pinch-runs for Goodman.
Al Zarilla pinch-hits for Piersall.
Zarilla walks, Lipon to third, Lepcio to second.
Gernert walks, Lipon scores, Lepcio to third, Zarilla to second (17-3).
Kinder singles to center, Lepcio scores, Zarilla scores, Gernert to third (19-3).
White singles to center, Gernert scores, Kinder to second (20-3).
Stephens singles to right, Kinder scores, White to third (21-3).
Umphlett singles to left, White scores, Stephens to second (22-3).
Lipon walks, Stephens to third, Umphlett to second.
Kell flies out to left.
17 runs, 14 hits, 6 walks, 3 runners left on base.

The Red Sox went 15-for-27 with runners in so-called "scoring position" in that game! Also, in the next inning, the first three Red Sox (Lepico, Zarilla, Gernert) singled. This game also featured a blown save by Boston reliever Ellis Kinder, who allowed the Tigers to tie the game 3-3 in the sixth. Kinder pitched the final four innings and got the 'win'.

Jere brought last night's Tigers/Orioles linescore to my attention: "The rarest of extra innings, that 4-run difference. But even rarer when it's 5-1, not 4-0. Can't remember the last time I saw that."

Orioles - 000 000 030 001 - 4 10  0
Tigers  - 001 010 001 005 - 8 13  1

After checking B-Ref's Play Index, I reported: "A home team has won in extra innings by four runs 87 times since 1908. I'll bet more a few are not simply a '4'."

I looked at those 87 linescores today. Three of the games were by a 4-0 score. Two went 10 innings and one went 12 innings (that was the Red Sox beating Cleveland on April 11, 1962; Yaz led off the B12 with a triple; after two intentional walks, Carroll Hardy belted a grand slam.)

Here are the seven extra-inning games that ended with a 1/5. There has never been an extra inning other than 0/4 or 1/5 (at least as far back as 1908 ... so who knows?).

July 28, 1951

Cleveland    - 000 000 110 000 001 1 - 4 11  0
Red Sox      - 200 000 000 000 001 5 - 8 16  2

June 2, 1952

White Sox    - 000 010 000 1 - 2  8  0
Red Sox      - 000 000 100 5 - 6  9  1

May 4, 1961

Dodgers      - 000 210 101 1 -  6  9  2
Milwaukee    - 010 000 121 5 - 10 13  2

June 15, 1985

Cleveland    - 100 001 000 000 1 - 3 10  2
Angels       - 000 001 001 000 5 - 7 13  2

April 18, 1987

Mets         - 013 100 002 1 -  8 11  1
Cardinals    - 000 501 001 5 - 12 14  0

May 9, 2000

Dodgers      - 302 010 000 001 -  7 15  0
Diamondbacks - 210 000 210 005 - 11 15  0

May 13, 2009

Tigers       - 000 212 400 000 1 - 10 14  1
Twins        - 201 103 020 000 5 - 14 17  0

G149: Red Sox 6, Phillies 3

Red Sox  - 104 001 000 - 6  6  0
Phillies - 010 011 000 - 3  7  1

Christian Vázquez hit two home runs, including the first grand slam of his career, and drove in five runs. It was also the catcher's first multi-home run game.

Rick Porcello (5-5-2-1-6, 76) showed a strong curveball, getting six swings and misses after having no more than one swinging strike in any of his last three starts.

Boston got on the board immediately as Andrew Benintendi began the game with a single off Jason Vargas (3-3-5-1-6, 71). Xander Bogaerts grounded back to the mound and Vargas's throwing error put Red Sox at second and third. Then Vargas hit Rafael Devers. Bases loaded, no one out. Scoring only one run was a squander of sorts, as J.D. Martinez hit a sacrifice fly and the next two batters were quietly retired.

After striking out the side in the second (and watching Rhys Hoskins tie the game with a solo dong off Porcello), Vargas faltered again in the third. Benintendi was hit by a pitch, Bogaerts singled to left, and Martinez walked with one out. Moreland struck out, but Vázquez sent a 2-1 knuckle curve just over the fence in left.

First career grand slam for Christian Vázquez! pic.twitter.com/TdIbuwsMqn

— Red Sox (@RedSox) September 15, 2019

Bryce Harper and Phillies manager Gabe Kapler were both ejected by plate umpire Gabe Morales for pointing out Morales's incompetence in ringing up Harper on a 1-2 pitch well inside and out of the strike zone.

Vázquez homered to left in the sixth, his 21st of the season. SN had the chance to do more damage in the eighth when he batted with JDM on second and Moreland on first, but he lined out to left.

Rick Porcello / Jason Vargas

Benintendi, CF
Bogaerts, SS
Devers, 3B
Martinez, RF
Moreland, 1B
Vázquez, C
Travis, LF
Owings, 2B
Porcello, P

Chris Owings, 2019:  .095/.174/.143, .317 OPS
R. Porcello, career: .186/.186/.233, .419 OPS

G148: Red Sox 2, Phillies 1

Red Sox  - 000 000 101 - 2  6  0
Phillies - 000 000 100 - 1  5  0

Eduardo Rodriguez struck out 12 Phillies (6.2-4-1-1-12, 105) as the Red Sox squeezed out a 2-1 win on Saturday night.

Rodriguez battled Aaron Nola (7-4-1-3-9, 103) through six scoreless innings. He allowed a two-out single in the second and a two-out double in the fourth. Nola retired the first 10 Boston batters before Xander Bogaerts singled to right in the fourth.

Gorkys Hernández led off the sixth with a single to right and Rodriguez bunted him to second. But Marco Hernández lined out to right and Bogaerts struck out swinging.

Both teams scored a run in the seventh. Rafael Devers walked and went to second on J.D. Martinez's single. Mitgh Moreland fanned, but Christian Vázquez doubled Devers home for a 1-0 lead. Jackie Bradley walked to load the bases, but Gorkys Hernández grounded to third and JDM was forced at the plate. Then Rodriguez struck out.

After the stretch, Bryce Harper singled before Rodriguez rallied, striking out both Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery. Then things went sideways. Cesar Hernández singled to center, Adam Haseley was hit by a pitch, and Rodriguez walked Maikel Franco to force in a run (not one of the four balls was close). Josh Taylor came out of the pen and struck out pinch-hitter Phil Gosselin, stranding three baserunners.

In the bottom of the eighth, Matt Barnes gave up a leadoff single to Jean Segura, who promptly stole second. J.T. Realmuto grounded out to shortstop and Segura had to stay put. Harper was walked intentionally and Barnes wriggled out of trouble, getting flyouts to right and center.

Moreland started the ninth with a single off Hector Neris; Chris Owings pinch-ran. Vázquez singled, putting men at first and third. Bradley lined out to shortstop, but pinch-hitter Brock Holt walked on four pitches, loading the bases. Andrew Benintendi batted for Barnes and lifted Neris's first pitch to left for a sac fly, as Owings scored.

Brandon Workman walked the leadoff man in the bottom of the ninth (Cesar Hernández), but the Phillies could not advance him from first. Haseley was called out on strikes, Jay Bruce flied to right, and Logan Morrison went down swinging.

Eduardo Rodriguez / Aaron Nola

Betts, RF M. Hernández, 2B
Devers, 3B Bogaerts, SS
Bogaerts, SS Devers, 3B
Martinez, LF RF
Moreland, 1B
Vázquez, C
Bradley, CF
G. Hernández, 2B LF
Rodriguez, P

Peter Abraham, Globe: "Betts has a sore left foot. ... Betts will get checked out by a doctor but the belief is it's not something serious."

Top 10, Most Runs Scored, Season, Red Sox

150 - Ted Williams, 1949
142 - Ted Williams, 1946
141 - Ted Williams, 1942
139 - Jimmie Foxx, 1938 
136 - Tris Speaker, 1912
135 - Ted Williams, 1941
134 - Ted Williams, 1940
131 - Mookie Betts, 2019
131 - Dom DiMaggio, 1950
131 - Ted Williams, 1939

Betts is also tied for 13th place, with 129 (2018).

G147: Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 4

Red Sox   - 021 100 201 - 7 12  0
Blue Jays - 000 020 011 - 4  7  3

Xander Bogaerts collected his 50th double of the season in the top of the third inning on Thursday.

With Rafael Devers also having hit 50 doubles, it's the first time in Red Sox history two teammates have had 50+ doubles in the same season. And the 2019 Red Sox are only the third team since 1947 to have two or more players with 50+ doubles (1996 Mariners, 2000 Rockies).

Bogaerts is also only the second player in Red Sox history with a 30/50 season (David Ortiz, 2007) and only the second shortstop in history (Alex Rodriguez, 1996).

No major league team has ever had two players with 30+ home runs and 50+ doubles in a season. Bogaerts has 31 home runs and 50 doubles and Devers has 29 home runs and 50 doubles. The Red Sox have 15 more games for Raffy to go deep one more time.

No major league team has ever had four players with 75+ extra-base hits. The Red Sox could be the first: Devers (83), Bogaerts (81), Mookie Betts (73), J.D. Martinez (70). Devers and X rank 1st and 2nd in the majors.

Betts went 3-for-5 against the Blue Jays, stealing his 15th base of the year and scoring two runs. Bogaerts and Brock Holt each had two hits, with Martinez chipping in with a double and drawing Boston's only two walks of the night.

Marco Hernández's two-run double in the second got the Red Sox on the board against Clay Buchholz (4-7-4-1-4, 80). Back-to-back "Baltimore dongs" by XB and JDM made it 3-0 and Juan Centeno singled home Jackie Bradley to give Boston a 4-0 lead.

The Red Sox currently have a 20-man pitching staff, so using nine pitchers, as Alex Cora did tonight, was no big deal. Only one of the nine threw more than 23 pitches: starter Jhoulys Chacin (2.2-2-0-2-3, 48). After Chacin, Darwinzon Hernández, Josh Taylor, Brian Johnson, Ryan Brasier, Andrew Cashner, Marcus Walden, Matt Barnes, and Brandon Workman all toed the slab, as some people still say.

Jhoulys Chacin / Clay Buchholz

Betts, RF
Holt, 3B
Bogaerts, SS
Martinez, DH
Benintendi, LF
Moreland, 1B
Bradley, CF
M. Hernández, 2B
Centeno, C

Since being traded after the 2016 season, Clay Buchholz has pitched in only 26 major league games, two with the Phillies (2017), 16 with the Diamondbacks (2018), and eight with the Blue Jays (2019). (He also started three games in the Royals minor league system in 2018.)

Buchholz was successful in Arizona, with a 2.01 ERA, including a 0.89 ERA in his last seven games (40.1 innings). He has made three starts for Toronto since coming off the injured list (right shoulder inflammation) in late August. Buchholz, who turned 35 about one month ago, has never pitched against Boston. Manager Alex Cora was the Red Sox's shortstop when Laptop made his major league debut on August 17, 2007.

The Red Sox (76-70) need at least six wins in their final 16 games to finish above .500. They have lost their last five games and seven of their last nine. At this point last season, they were 100-46.

The Red Sox managed only two singles last night, so their streak of consecutive games with an extra-base hit ended at 159, the fourth-longest streak since 1900. The 2004-05 Red Sox hold the major league record (164 games).

The Red Sox have hit .186 in their last seven games, and have scored 0 or 1 run in four of the seven games (1, 6, 1, 5, 0, 3, 0).

Mookie Betts has 28 home runs. Two more dongs will make Betts the sixth player ever with 30+ homers, 40+ doubles, and 5+ triples in as many as three seasons (2016, 2018). The other five players are in the Hall of Fame: Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, Hank Greenberg, Chuck Klein, Rogers Hornsby.

Betts leads both leagues with 129 runs scored. No Red Sox player has scored 130 runs in a season in the last 68 years (since 1950). Betts could become the only Red Sox player other than Ted Williams to score 140+ runs in a season. He is on pace for 143.