G59: Giants 2, Red Sox 1

Red Sox - 000 100 000 - 1  5  0
Giants  - 000 100 01x - 2  3  1

Mac Williamson began the night hitting .167/.211/.222. He became the hero of the game when he hit David Price's first pitch of the eighth inning over the left field wall for his first major league home run.

Williamson then also nearly became the goat. Hanley Ramirez began the top of the ninth by hitting a high fly ball to left. The wind blew the ball towards left center and Williamson, calling for it all the way, had it hit off the side of his glove for a two-base error. The Red Sox had the potential tying run at second with none out.

Home plate umpire Tim Timmons took the bat out of Jackie Bradley's hands, calling strikes on two outside pitches, including strike three. David Ortiz was announced as a pinch-hitter for Chris Young, and the Giants called on Javier Lopez. Ortiz fell behind 0-2, then refused to bite at a few low outside pitches before working a walk. Travis Shaw whiffed for the second out. Marco Hernandez, facing Hunter Strickland, grounded the first pitch to shortstop. Rusney Castillo (running for Ortiz) was forced, and the game was over.

Price (8-3-2-2-7, 107) allowed only three hits in his complete game, but two of them left the yard. They were the only Giants runners he allowed past first base.

Mookie Betts singled to start the game and stole second with one out. But Boston could not get him in as Xander Bogaerts popped to short and Hanley Ramirez grounded back to the pitcher. Betts singled and stole second again in the third, but was again left on base (along with Dustin Pedroia at first).

Young hit his fifth homer of the season with two outs in the fourth off Madison Bumgarner (6-4-1-1-5, 101), but the Giants answered in the bottom half, as Brandon Belt crushed a pitch into the bay beyond right field.

David Price / Madison Bumgarner

Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Young, LF
Rutledge, 3B
Vazquez, C
Price, P

Nicholas Frazier, WEEI:

Despite the 7-2 record, Price, a former Cy Young winner, has been somewhat underperforming this season, as shown by his 4.88 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. He is, however, third in the American League in strikeouts (84).

Strikeouts are nice, but come on. "Somewhat underperforming"? He's 36th in the AL in ERA and 23rd in WHIP. He's definitely underperforming! However, looking at his last five starts, Price does have a 2.52 ERA.

Meanwhile, MadBum has a season ERA of 1.91 and an 0.73 mark over in his last five starts. And he's slugging .375 (Hanley Ramirez is at .390, by the way) with a 53 OPS+ (Christian Vazquez: 57).