October 8, 2016

Pedroia, On First Two Games: "We Lost Who We Are"


In the history of the ALDS, five of the 28 teams who have trailed 0-2 have come back to win the series, including the Red Sox in 1999 and 2003. Boston is the only team in history to come back from 0-2 more than once.

During this ALDS against Cleveland, the Red Sox have been utterly lost. The bats have gone cold, most of the young stars have been useless at the plate, the starting pitching has been poor (and homer-prone), players have been tentative on the bases, and the fielding has not been sharp.

Dustin Pedroia:
I think, coming into this series, we had a lot of guys the last couple of games feeling it out, everybody, me included. I think we lost who we are -- we're the Boston Red Sox. We need to go out there and play the game. We should dictate the tempo of the game and how everything should be played. The last couple of days, they did that and we didn't. We have to get to our workout [Saturday] and play pitch by pitch the next game and that's all we can do right now.
Told by a reporter after Friday's Game 2 loss that he looked "angry," Ortiz said, "Should I be happy? We're getting our asses beat. Nothing to celebrate."

While David Price has two postseason wins as a reliever, he's 0-8 with a 5.74 ERA in nine postseason starts. Price has allowed five runs in three of his last four playoff starts (and four of his last six).
                                IP  H  R  ER  BB  K  DEC  SCORE
2010 ALDS with TBR vs TEX G1   6.2  9  5   4   0  8   L   Rangers 5, Rays 1
2010 ALDS with TBR vs TEX G5   6.0  8  3   3   0  6   L   Rangers 5, Rays 1
2011 ALDS with TBR vs TEX G3   6.2  7  3   3   1  3   L   Rangers 4, Rays 3
2013 ALDS with TBR vs BOS G2   7.0  9  7   7   2  5   L   Red Sox 7, Rays 4
2014 ALDS with DET vs BAL G3   8.0  5  2   2   2  6   L   Orioles 2, Tigers 1
2015 ALDS with TOR vs TEX G1   7.0  5  5   5   2  5   L   Rangers 5, Blue Jays 3
2015 ALCS with TOR vs KCR G2   6.2  5  5   5   0  8   L   Royals 6, Blue Jays 3
2015 ALCS with TOR vs KCR G7   6.2  5  3   3   1  8  ND   Royals 4, Blue Jays 3
2016 ALDS with BOS vs CLE G2   3.1  6  5   5   2  3   L   Cleveland 6, Red Sox 0
TOTALS                        58.0 59 38  37  10 52  0-8, 5.74
Price: "I know my number's going to get called again to pitch a game in 2016, and I'll be ready. I want it, for sure, and I know these guys will give it to me."

What Price said after his Game 2 loss sounded very similar to what he said when he signed a seven-year deal with Boston last year:
Price, December 4, 2015: "I was just saving all my postseason wins for the Red Sox. I know those tides are going to change. ... I know good things are going to happen to me in October. That just hasn't been the case so far. I know I can throw the ball as well in October as I do in the regular season. That time is coming for me, and hopefully it’s in 2016."

Price, October 7, 2016: "I know good things are coming to me in October. ... I haven't had good results yet. They're coming. They're coming."
Impatient Red Sox fans are still waiting.

Mookie Betts: "It feels like we need to just get something going. Somebody is going to have to do it. We don't know who. We'll let the roll come and from there go forward."

In the two losses, the Red Sox are batting .200 (13-for-65) with 22 strikeouts. The Red Sox had no extra-base hits in Game 2, for only the eighth time in 164 games.

Dustin Pedroia (1-for-8, four strikeouts)
Xander Bogaerts (1-for-8, four strikeouts)
Mookie Betts (1-for-6, two strikeouts)
Jackie Bradley (0-for-6, five strikeouts)
David Ortiz (1-for-8)

Those five players are a combined 4-for-36, .111. Only Brock Holt (4-for-8) has hit with any consistency, although Hanley Ramirez and Andrew Benintendi each have two hits. That qualifies as "hot" with this team right now.

Cleveland relievers Andrew Miller and Cody Allen, who so effectively shut down the Red Sox in Game 1, are rested. Terry Francona can lift Game 3 starter Josh Tomlin at the first sign of trouble.

Clay Buchholz made five starts in September, and allowed two runs or fewer in four of them. Last three starts: 19 innings, 3 runs, 1.42. He needs to pitch as well as he has all season on Sunday.

3 comments:

tim said...

Just win tomorrow. Worry about the rest later.

tim said...

Couple ALDS comebacks recently, obviously 2004, and of course 2007 down 3-1 to CLE as well...

allan said...

In both 1999 and 2003, the Red Sox came from down 0-2 in a best-of-5.

It's been done. It can be done.