Rockies - 000 240 101 - 8 12 0 Red Sox - 200 000 000 - 2 6 1Tonight was a tale of two games. The first game - the fun game - lasted three innings. David Ortiz hit a two-run homer and Clay Buchholz retired all nine Colorado batters he faced, on only 29 pitches.
Then the fourth inning began, and everything went to shit. Charlie Blackmon stroked an opposite-field single to left. Two outs later, Carlos Gonzalez nailed a low curveball over the fence in right-center - and the game was tied at 2-2. Gerardo Parra singled to open the fifth and Trevor Story homered into the Monster seats. Daniel Descalso then chopped a single over the mound and Dustin Garneau followed with a home run to left. Boos rained down on Buchholz and the Red Sox.
1st time through lineup: 0 baserunners (9 outs)Buchholz (5-7-6-0-2, 82) has now allowed 10 home runs with men on base this season, by far the most in the majors. His ERA has ballooned to 6.35 and with Eduardo Rodriguez possibly returning to the rotation next week, Clay's spot in the rotation is in jeopardy.
2nd time through lineup: 3 singles, 3 home runs, 6 runs (3 outs)
After the opening frame, the Red Sox could do little with Jon Gray (7.1-5-2-3-6, 95). Ortiz led off the fourth with a double (#606, tying him with Paul Waner for 11th all-time), but was stranded at third. Christian Vazquez singled to start the fifth and went to third on Dustin Pedroia's single, but Pedroia tried for a double and was easily thrown out. That killed the momentum of that potential rally.
Jackie Bradley - moved to the leadoff spot tonight as Mookie Betts had the night off - had two good swings in his first three at-bats, flying to the warning track in right-center in the first inning and the warning track in dead center in the fifth. But he was 0-for-4 as the bottom of the ninth began - with his 29-game hitting streak seemingly over. However, with two outs, Chris Young doubled to left and Blake Swihart walked. Betts pinch-hit for Vazquez and Bradley came out on deck. It was not to be, though, as Betts squibbed an 0-1 pitch to first and Mark Reynolds made the easy play to the bag, ending the game and Bradley's streak.
Back in the first inning, Xander Bogaerts had extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a single. He was on base when Ortiz clubbed his 12th homer of the year.
Bradley, CFBuchholz (5.92 ERA in nine starts) takes the hill as the Red Sox go for the three-game sweep of the Rockies.
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Shaw, 3B
Young, RF
Swihart, LF
Vazquez, C
Boston leads the AL East by two games. ... Boston has scored 6+ runs and 11+ hits in 12 of their last 14 home games.
It's fun looking at the various offensive categories in the American League:
Batting Average: Bradley #1, Bogaerts #2, Ortiz #5Who would have thought that at the end of May, Ortiz and Jackie Bradley would be 1-2 in OPS - that they would be, in fact, the only two American League hitters over 1.000?
On-base Percentage: Ortiz #1, Bradley #2, Bogaerts #4
Slugging Percentage: Ortiz #1, Bradley #2
OPS: Ortiz #1, Bradley #2
Runs Scored: Betts #1, Bogaerts #5, Pedroia #7
Hits: Bogaerts #1, Betts #4, Bradley #6
Total Bases: Ortiz #3, Betts #5, Bradley #6, Bogaerts #9
Doubles: Ortiz #1, Bogaerts/Shaw #4, Bradley #10
Triples: Bradley #1, Betts #4, Shaw #8
Home Runs: Ortiz #6
Extra-Base Hits: Ortiz #1, Shaw/Bradley #5, Betts #7
Times On Base: Bogaerts #2, Ortiz #6
Runs Batted In: Ortiz #1, Betts #3, Bradley #4, Shaw #8
Runs Created: Ortiz #1, Bradley #3, Bogaerts #6
1 comment:
Last night, the Rangers nearly had "no zeroes in the box score". That's where every player has at least 1 AB, R, H and RBI. Prince Fielder did not get a hit. Jerk.
BREF has a list of the "no zeroes" games. ... (In my definition, there can be no substitutions. All 9 guys have to play the whole game. It feels wrong to say that all starters met the criteria, while a sub has a line of 1-0-0-0, for example. Since he is in the box score, too.)
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