July 31, 2016

G103: Red Sox 5, Angels 3

Red Sox - 000 000 005 - 5  9  1
Angels  - 000 030 000 - 3 11  1
Top of the 9th:
Huston Street pitching for the Angels.
Jackie Bradley walked.
Aaron Hill singled to center, Bradley to second.
Ryan Hanigan struck out swinging.
Brock Holt struck out swinging.
Mookie Betts singled to right center, Bradley scored, Hill to third.
Dustin Pedroia homered to center, Hill, Betts and Pedroia scored.
Xander Bogaerts homered to left center, Bogaerts scored.
Jose Alvarez relieved Street.
David Ortiz flied out to left.
Betts took the first two pitches for strikes in his ninth-inning at-bat, so Boston was one strike away from a three-run defeat when they rallied!

Brad Ziegler allowed a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth, but got a game-ending double play on the next batter.

The Red Sox have won only three of their last 10 games, but they are a mere 1.5 games behind the Orioles. (They would play in the Wild Card game if the season ended today.)

Maybe today's victory can kick off a long hot streak. On to Seattle!
Steven Wright / Tyler Skaggs
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Hanigan, C
Brentz, LF

July 30, 2016

G102: Angels 5, Red Sox 2

Red Sox - 200 000 000 - 2  6  0
Angels  - 102 101 00x - 5  8  0
The Red Sox wasted several good scoring opportunities, leaving 11 men on base and going only 1-for-10 with RATS.

Mookie Betts began the game with a home run. ... The Red Sox actually had more walks (7) than hits (6).
Drew Pomeranz / Hector Santiago
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Bradley, CF
Ramirez, DH
Hill, 3B
Shaw, 1B
Brentz, LF
Leon, C
Last night's win was great, but you know what? ... It's not enough. The Red Sox shall kick ass in the second game of what will be later hailed simply as The Streak.

Also: The Blue Jays beat the Orioles 9-1 this afternoon and moved into first place. Baltimore is 0.5 GB. Boston remains 1.5 GB.

Schadenfreude 195 (A Continuing Series)


Kevin Kernan, Post:
Reality is tough to swallow, but once again, on Friday night at Tropicana Field, the Yankees showed this is not their year. Ivan Nova needed to come up with a big pitching performance and fell flat on his face in an ugly 5-1 loss to the lowly Rays, a team that came into the evening 22 games under .500.

The loss dropped the Yankees to 52-50. Yes, there is mediocrity in baseball, but this most mediocre of teams is not a true contender. ...

If Hal Steinbrenner still needs to be convinced his Yankees need to make the most of the trade deadline in this crazy seller’s market, he is living in a fantasy world. ...

Believe what your eyes are telling you.

The Yankees love their numbers, so believe in this number, too. Once again this season, the Yankees are losing the run differential war. They have surrendered 441 runs and have scored only 413.

That's a losing number. With that kind of differential, they are lucky to be two games over .500.

July 29, 2016

G101: Red Sox 6, Angels 2

Red Sox - 002 101 200 - 6  7  0
Angels  - 020 000 000 - 2  5  0
Palindromic linescore for the win!

Rick Porcello (9-5-2-0-3, 107) pitched a complete game. Xander Bogaerts doubled and homered, scored twice, and drove in three runs. Dustin Pedroia also scored twice.
Rick Porcello / Tim Lincecum
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Hanigan, C
Holt, LF
You know what? ... Yeah, that's right. The winning streak starts now!

July 28, 2016

#KillTheWin. Seriously.

White Sox reliever David Robertson entered last Sunday's game against the Tigers in the top of the ninth inning. Chicago led 4-1 - and had a 97% chance of winning.

Robertson's not-as-planned inning went: HR, K, 4-3, HR, HR, 6-3. (The second and third home runs were by pinch-hitters.) And the game was tied 4-4. However, the White Sox scored a run in the bottom of the ninth, so Robertson was credited with the win.

Robertson became the first pitcher in the last 100 years to give up three home runs in an inning (or a partial inning) and still wind up with the victory.

G100: Angels 2, Red Sox 1

Red Sox - 001 000 000 - 1  8  1
Angels  - 000 000 002 - 2 10  0
This one - with two Angels runs scoring on Hanley Ramirez's throwing error on a possible game-ending (and Boston-game-winning) double play grounder - sounded like a real punch in the gut.

David Price (8-7-0-1-6, 109) threw eight shutout innings before Brad Ziegler took over in the ninth. The Angels loaded the bases with one out. Daniel Nava grounded a ball to Ramirez at first. His throw home sailed over the catcher's head and the tying and winning runs scored easily.

Eight of the nine Red Sox batters had a single (Jackie Bradley was hitless). David Ortiz also walked twice.
David Price / Jered Weaver
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
Holt, LF
First game of a four-game series against the Angels, who are last in the AL West.

Boston remains 2.5 GB the Orioles, in third place.

John Farrell indicated that David Ortiz may not play tonight.

July 27, 2016

G99: Tigers 4, Red Sox 3

Tigers  - 002 001 001 - 4 11  1
Red Sox - 100 000 110 - 3  7  0
Miguel Cabrera's ninth-inning home run off Brad Ziegler hit off the top of the short fence in front of the Red Sox bullpen. Mookie Betts was right there at the wall, but he must have completely lost the ball in the bright afternoon sun, because he did not attempt to catch it. The Tigers held on for the win and a three-game sweep of the Red Sox. Boston finished the homestand with a 4-5 record. The loss was especially frustrating because the Red Sox had rallied from two runs down to tie the game with single runs in the seventh and eighth innings.

Dustin Pedroia gave Boston a quick 1-0 lead by hitting his 11th home run. Eduardo Rodriguez (5.1-9-3-3-6, 101) gave up two runs in the fourth, both of them coming on Victor Martinez's bases loaded single. (V-Mart finished the day 4-for-4, with four singles and a walk.) The outcome of that inning could have been much worse for the Red Sox as Rodriguez received five or six gift calls (i.e., blown calls on balls out of the zone that were called strikes) from home plate umpire CB Bucknor. Despite the gifts for Boston, I still demand robots!

Xander Bogaerts led off the seventh with a home run. In the eighth, Travis Shaw singled, was bunted to second by Sandy Leon, and advanced to third on Brock Holt's groundout to second. Mookie Betts then lined a triple into the triangle. Center fielder Tyler Collins dove for the ball and did not get it. He was quickly to his feet, though, and while it looked like Betts might try for an inside-the-park home run, he held at third. Pedroia struck out to end the inning.

In the ninth, Bogaerts was called out on a pitch that was well out of the strike zone. (Robots!) So instead of Bogaerts batting with a 2-2 count, he was sent back to the dugout by Bucknor, one of the absolute worst umps in the business and someone who blew well over a dozen calls today. David Ortiz flied to left and Jackie Bradley flied to right. And that was that.
Michael Fulmer / Eduardo Rodriguez
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Shaw, 1B
Leon, C
Holt, LF
The third-place Red Sox (2.5 GB) play an afternoon game before heading out west for an 11-game road trip (Angels, Mariners, Dodgers).

July 26, 2016

G98: Tigers 9, Red Sox 8

Tigers  - 220 040 100 - 9 13  1
Red Sox - 003 203 000 - 8  9  0
After overcoming deficits of 0-4 and 5-8, the Red Sox dropped yet another frustrating game when reliever Robbie Ross walked Detroit's #9 hitter (who had a pathetic .195 on-base percentage) with the bases loaded in the seventh inning. David Ortiz came to the plate as the potential winning run in the bottom of the ninth, but he grounded into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.

Steven Wright (4.2-9-8-3-2, 84) allowed a two-run homer to Miguel Cabrera in the first inning and surrendered two more runs in the second. Boston closed the gap in the third. Mookie Betts doubled and Xander Bogaerts was grazed with a pitch. Ortiz then lined a two-out, full-count pitch over the fence in right-center for a three-run homer.

The Red Sox took a 5-4 lead in the fourth. Jackie Bradley walked and Travis Shaw singled. Bradley took third on Sandy Leon's fly to center and scored on Brock Holt grounder. Betts then smoked his second double, this one sailing over the head of Justin Upton in left to bring home Shaw. Betts now has 43 multi-hit games, the most of any player in either league.

After other poor starts from Wright in hot/humid weather, manager John Farrell had assured fans that he would keep a closer eye on Wright and his sweat/perspiration issues and concurrent control problems. So much for that promise. Farrell allowed Wright to face seven batters in the fifth inning (he walked the first two, then allowed two singles) and allow four runs. By the time the eagle-eyed Farrell emerged from the dugout, the Tigers led 8-5.

But the Boston bats got Wright and Farrell (somewhat) off the hook when they tied the game in the sixth. Bradley opened the inning with his 16th home run of the season. With one out, Leon was hit by a pitch and Brock Holt was safe when Ian Kinsler committed an error, trying to flip the ball to second for a force out. After a pitching change, Betts walked to load the bases. Dustin Pedroia singled in one run and Bogaerts beat out a fielder's choice to make it 8-8.

Ross relieved Wright and completed the fifth and allowed a single in the sixth. He recorded the first two outs in the seventh before hitting Upton. Mike Aviles singled and Saltalamacchia walked, loading the bases. Then Ross walked the weak-hitting Tyler Collins to bring in Detroit's ninth run.

The Red Sox went in order in the seventh and eighth innings. Bogaerts singled off Francisco Rodriguez with one out in the ninth, setting the stage for some possible heroics for Big Papi. And while the game did end with Ortiz's at-bat, it was a routine double play.
Mike Pelfrey / Steven Wright
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Shaw, 3B
Hanigan, C
Holt, LF
Wright's 2.67 ERA is the best in the American League, though his ERA+ is just behind Cleveland's Danny Salazar. Wright's 1.148 WHIP is eighth in the AL and he has allowed the fifth-fewest hits per nine innings.

On the batting side, David Ortiz is third in average, third in on-base, first in slugging, first in OPS, first in doubles, first in extra-base hits, third in total bases, second in RBI, and fifth in home runs. (I wonder what is the best a player has done in MVP voting in his final season.)

July 25, 2016

G97: Tigers 4, Red Sox 2

Tigers  - 000 002 110 - 4  8  0
Red Sox - 010 000 010 - 2 10  0
Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the eighth, the Red Sox loaded the bases off Tigers reliever Justin Wilson with no one out, as David Ortiz singled off the Wall, Hanley Ramirez singled to left, and Jackie Bradley singled to center. Things looked promising. But then Bryce Brentz pinch-hit for Travis Shaw and struck out swinging. Sandy Leon's single to center brought in one run, but Brock Holt struck out looking and - after Francisco Rodriguez took over on the hill - Mookie Betts hit into a fielder's choice.

Boston left 11 men on base in this frustrating loss, including a total of seven men in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. The Red Sox went quietly in the ninth, as Dustin Pedroia fanned, lunging at an outside pitch, Xander Bogaerts popped to short to end a nine-pitch at-bat, and Ortiz grounded back to the mound.

The Red Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead with two outs in the second as Bradley singled and scored on Travis Shaw's double into the right field corner. Drew Pomeranz (6-4-2-2-7, 99) pitched very well, allowing only two baserunners through the first five innings. Nick Castellanos doubled to begin the second inning, but Pomeranz left him there as he recorded two strikeouts and a foul pop to Leon. Miguel Cabrera led off the fourth with a single, but was erased in a double play.

Andrew Romine singled to center to open the Tigers sixth. With one out, Jose Iglesias lined a two-run homer down the left field line - and Boston's lead was history.

Joe Kelly pitched the seventh. He gave up a leadoff triple to Justin Upton, who later scored on James McCann's one-out single. Most of the eight pitches Kelly threw to McCann were 100+, which velocity I'm sure made Dave O'Brien, NESN's radar gun worshipper, giddy. However, what O'Brien seemingly doesn't understand (after watching decades of baseball) is that major league hitters can hit pitches that are 100+ - and McCann's single over the drawn-in Red Sox infield gave Detroit a 3-1 lead. The Tigers tacked on another run against Clay Buchholz in the eighth.

The Orioles beat the Rockies, so Boston dropped 2.5 GB.
Justin Verlander / Drew Pomeranz
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
Holt, LF
Hanley Ramirez was named AL Player of the Week after batting .333 (7-for-21) with six runs scored, five home runs and 12 RBIs over six games.

July 24, 2016

G96: Red Sox 8, Twins 7

Twins   - 020 100 220 - 7  9  1
Red Sox - 003 050 00x - 8 10  1
Hanley Ramirez and Travis Shaw each belted three-run homers as the Red Sox managed a split of the four-game series with Minnesota.

After Matt Barnes (who loaded the bases with none out in the eighth) and Junich Tazawa (who allowed two if those runners to score) helped Minnesota cut the Red Sox's lead down to one run, Brad Ziegler pitched a clean ninth, with two strikeouts, to close out the win.

Ramirez went deep in the third (his fifth home run in the last five games) and Shaw hit his shot in the fifth. ... Xander Bogaerts had three hits and scored twice. ... Dustin Pedroia singled, hit a solo homer, and scored twice.
Tommy Milone / Rick Porcello
Holt, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ramirez, DH
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Shaw, 1B
Brentz, LF
Hanigan, C

July 23, 2016

G95: Twins 11, Red Sox 9

Twins   - 130 001 510 - 11 19  1
Red Sox - 150 101 100 -  9 15  1

Ricky Nolasco / David Price
Holt, LF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Leon, C
Martinez, RF

Balk!

July 22, 2016

G94: Twins 2, Red Sox 1

Twins   - 010 001 000 - 2 10  1
Red Sox - 100 000 000 - 1  4  1
The Red Sox had the bases loaded with no one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. They trailed by only one run and had David Ortiz at the plate, facing Brandon Kintzler.

However, there were no walkoff heroics from Big Papi tonight. He grounded into a 4-2-3 double play, which cut down the runner coming in from third. With men at second and third, Hanley Ramirez lined out to right to end the game.

For the second game in a row, Mookie Betts led off the first inning with a home run (though he waited until the second pitch to hit this one). It was his 20th dong of the season. ... Betts left the game in the fifth inning with a sore right knee.

Eduardo Rodriguez: 5.1-6-2-1-8, 95.
Kyle Gibson / Eduardo Rodriguez
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
Holt, LF

Commissioner Rob Manfred "In Favor" Of Limiting Use Of Relief Pitchers

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday that he would be "in favor" of restricting the number of relief pitchers a team could use in an inning or in a game.
You know the problem with relief pitchers is that they're so good. I've got nothing against relief pitchers but they do two things to the game: The pitching changes themselves slow the game down, and our relief pitchers have become so dominate at the back end that they actually rob action out of the end of the game, the last few innings of the game. So relief pitchers is a topic that is under active consideration. We're talking about that a lot internally.
This is quite honestly the absolute dumbest idea I have heard in a long time. Is this actually being considered in MLB's offices? Is Manfred trying to drive long-time fans away from the game? (More shockingly, will Manfred actually make people wistful about Bud Selig?)

But if Manfred is serious, I've got a few other ways to not "slow the game down":
1. Limit the number of pitches that a team can throw in a game. Too many pitches = long games. Can't have that. ... Ding! Sorry, Astros, you just threw pitch 150. The game is over!

2. Batters can see no more than five pitches in any plate appearance. Depending on whether there are more balls or strikes after pitch #5, the batter will be awarded a walk or be called out on strikes.

3. Slower pitches obviously slow the game down, so pitchers will be allowed to throw no more than six off-speed pitches per inning. (Steven Wright will be banned from MLB.)

4. Keep commercial breaks the same length (local games 2:25; national games 2:45; postseason: 3:00+).

July 21, 2016

G93: Red Sox 13, Twins 2

Twins   - 000 020 000 -  2  5  1
Red Sox - 303 010 24x - 13 17  1
Mookie Betts drilled the Twins' first pitch of the game for a home run - and the Red Sox never looked back. The first four batters in the Boston batting order went 14-for-19, with 10 runs scored and nine RBI.

Dustin Pedroia went 5-for-5 - the fifth five-hit game of his career - and three other hitters collected three hits: Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and David Ortiz. Ortiz drove in four runs (two coming on an eighth-inning home run) and Jackie Bradley drove in three. Betts, Pedroia, and Bogaerts each scored three runs.

Steven Wright (8-4-2-1-9, 108) retired the first 13 batters and allowed only one earned run.

Tyler Duffey / Steven Wright
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Shaw, 3B
Hanigan, C
Holt, LF
The top three teams in the AL East are separated by only one game: Boston is in first, followed by the Orioles (0.5 GB) and Blue Jays (1.0 GB). ... Balrtimore plays the Yankees this afternoon. ... Toronto has the day off.

(Update: The Orioles beat the Yankees 4-1 and moved into a first-place tie with the Red Sox.)

Brian Johnson And Anxiety: "My Goals Became My Expectations"

Alex Speier of the Boston Globe has an in-depth story on Red Sox minor-league pitcher Brian Johnson's struggle with anxiety. As Speier notes in an intro to the story:
There was a time when it would have been unfathomable for a player to inform his organization that he was struggling with a mental health issue, and likewise when it would have been almost unfathomable for the organization and player to make the treatment for a mental health issue public. [The Red Sox's response to Johnson's request for treatment] offered a suggestion of how far the sports community and society at large has come on the subject of mental health.
Brian Johnson:
My goals became my expectations. I felt like I had a microscope put on myself. If I didn't throw perfect, I was [angry]. If I gave up one run, I was [angry]. Nothing was good enough. ...

I never felt like I was living in the moment. I was always looking two to three steps ahead. I was waking up in cold sweats. I just never felt like myself. I had bags under my eyes. I was short-tempered. I love my parents to death, but they would reach out, I'd call them, my dad would ask how pitching was going, and I had a short fuse. Last thing you want to do is fight with your loved ones. It was becoming arguments because I didn't want to talk about baseball and how do you tell anybody what you're going through when you feel like baseball is the only thing you know? ...

I just felt like I was always putting on an act. I always felt tight in my shoulders. I always felt like I was putting on a show. Finally, I remember talking to [Pat Light], and he said, "All baseball aside dude, you're my best friend and you need to get right. You need to make sure you're good." It was tough. I was nervous to tell my agent, I was nervous to tell my mom and dad. ... [But] I just finally hit a breaking point where I said I can't live my life unhappy not just on the field but off the field. I wanted . . . I needed help.

July 20, 2016

G92: Red Sox 11, Giants 7

Giants  - 000 520 000 -  7 15  0
Red Sox - 035 002 10x - 11 16  0
The Boston Red Sox are back in first place!

Hanley Ramirez hit three home runs and drove in six runs. His third homer came off Albert Suarez, who had drilled Ramirez in his previous at-bat, prompting some glares toward the mound from the Boston first baseman. In the sixth, Ramirez stepped in and took a big cut at Suarez's first pitch, ripping a vicious line drive over the Wall, boosting the Red Sox's lead from 8-7 to 10-7.

Drew Pomeranz pitched three scoreless innings and was staked to an eight-run lead. But the Giants took him apart in the fourth: walk, single, home run, single, home run, single, single. His line: 3-8-5-2-4, 80.

Matt Barnes came into the top of the sixth inning with the bases loaded and Boston ahead 8-7. He escaped the jam with a 3U-2 double play (a great play started by Ramirez which survived a challenge by the Giants) and a foul pop to first. Barnes stranded runners at first and second in the seventh. Barnes ended up pitching three innings, allowing only two hits. (Brad Ziegler pitched the ninth.)

John Farrell called Barnes's sixth inning Houdini act the best relief performance of the year.
Given that he comes in in a bases loaded situation and going into tonight's game, the plan was for him to pitch the eighth. I didn't think he would pitch the sixth, seventh and eighth. He held his stuff throughout. He's done a great job with inherited runners and shutting down threats. That three innings or work, given the high stress of the first inning that he pitched, an outstanding effort on his part.
Mookie Betts had three hits, including two doubles. ... Sandy "the Beast" Leon tripled and homered. ... The Orioles (losers of their last four games) were shutout by the Yankees, 5-0.
Matt Cain / Drew Pomeranz
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
Holt, LF
Koji Uehara has been placed on the disabled list with a right pectoral strain and Noe Ramirez has been called up from Pawtucket. I guess Brad Ziegler is the closer now.

July 19, 2016

G91: Red Sox 4, Giants 0

Giants  - 000 000 000 - 0  5  1
Red Sox - 001 300 00x - 4  4  0
Brock Holt's solo home run put the Red Sox on the board and David Ortiz's three-run bomb extended that lead.

Rick Porcello (6.1-4-0-2-3, 108) had men on base in each of his first five innings, but allowed only one Giants runner to get to second. That came in the first inning when the first two batters singled. Porcello then struck out the next three: Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, and Brandon Crawford.

Porcello allowed a leadoff single to Jarrett Parker in the second, but Parker was doubled off first when Conor Gillaspie flied to Jackie Bradley in center, 8-4-3.

Jake Peavy (6-3-4-1-6, 96) retired the first eight Boston hitters, but Holt - on "Pet Brock" giveaway night at Fenway - lined a home run to right-center. In the next inning, Dustin Pedroia walked and Xander Bogaerts singled to left. Ortiz then crushed Peavy's first pitch 442 feet to right-center (that distance according to NESN, 452 feet according to ESPN) to give the Red Sox a four-run lead.

Koji Uehara retired the first batter in the ninth and threw ball one to Posey, but had to leave the game with a possible shoulder or chest injury. Tommy Layne finished the game.

The Orioles lost to the Yankees 7-1, so Boston is now only 0.5 GB.
Jake Peavy / Rick Porcello

The Red Sox have 72 games remaining in the season - 40 road games (including two trips to the west coast), 32 home games - and only five days off.

July 17, 2016

MLB To Managers: Pointing Out And Complaining About Umpires' Blown Ball/Strike Calls Is "Highly Inappropriate"

ESPN (Associated Press):
Major League Baseball is telling managers to cool it on arguing balls and strikes, and warning them not to rely on replay to bolster their beefs.

MLB executive Joe Torre sent a memo Friday to managers, general managers and assistant general managers that said: "This highly inappropriate conduct is detrimental to the game and must stop immediately." ...

[Torre] said skippers are increasingly relying on technology from the clubhouse or video room to argue from the dugout. Every pitch and play is monitored by teams in case they want to challenge for a replay review. ...

"Although disagreements over ball and strike calls are natural, the prevalence of manager ejections simply cannot continue," Torre wrote. "This conduct not only delays the game, but it also has the propensity to undermine the integrity of the umpires on the field."
I can barely believe this article is real. So Torre is saying that MLB's official position is that home plate umpires can continue blowing calls - which most certainly undermines the integrity of the game and often affects who wins and loses (sometimes because they are mad at a player; see, Kulpa, Ron) - but managers should shut up and let these incompetent arbiters continue to do their terrible jobs in peace. (And note that Torre implies that a delay in the game is worse than making the correct call. So as long as the game finishes in under 2:40, the number of blown calls is irrelevant.)

Because pointing out how deficit some umpires are in strike zone judgment would be "detrimental" to the game. However, it's not detrimental to have umpires re-interpret the rule book if they are upset at a player's attitude or decide that a batter has not had enough service time in the majors or judge that the pitcher has somehow "earned" the right to have pitches out of the zone called strikes. (Everyone simply accepts that each umpire has a "personal strike zone". Think about that. Do you see how insane that is?)

And so umpires like Kole Calhoun will continue to make calls like this one:
Pitch #3 is officially not a strike. But don't complain about it. We must preserve the integrity of the umpire.

G90: Yankees, 3, Red Sox 1

Red Sox - 100 000 000 - 1  3  1
Yankees - 000 300 00x - 3 11  1 
I guess the Yankees have turned their season around lol.

Dustin Pedroia homered to left in the first inning - and that was pretty much the extent of Boston's firepower. The Red Sox collected two more hits and three walks. They had only three runners on base after the second inning.
1st - Pedroia homered with 1 out.
2nd - Travis Shaw walked with 2 outs. Sandy Leon singled with 2 outs.
5th - Brock Holt doubled with 2 outs.
8th - Bryce Brentz walked with 1 out.
9th - David Ortiz walked with 1 out.
Boston had the middle of the lineup up in the ninth against Aroldis Chapman. Ortiz drew his walk after Xander Bogaerts had lined to right. Hanley Ramirez grounded into a game-ending double play.

Price: 5.2-11-3-1-1, 106.
David Price/ Masahiro Tanaka
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
Holt, LF
The Red Sox have won six consecutive games and Yankees manager Joe Girardi says tonight's game a must-win for his team, now 9.5 GB in the AL East:
It's got to turn around [Sunday]. This is probably as important a game that we've had in July in a long time.... No, I'm not discouraged.

Schadenfreude 194 (A Continuing Series)

Friday: Red Sox 5, Yankees 3

Post



Start the losing clock: Yankees' tragic number to become sellers
Girardi's dreary Pineda admission: We have no other choice
Yankees' make-or-break stretch starts off terribly

Daily News


Yankees baffled by Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright in 5-3 loss

ESPN

Wallace Matthews:
Michael Pineda has now followed his two best performances of the season with two of his worst, allowing five runs on five hits, three of them monstrous home runs, to the Boston Red Sox Friday night at Yankee Stadium. Pineda, who was awful through April and May, had strung together a pair of six inning, one run gems against the Twins and Rangers before getting bombed by the White Sox before the All-Star break. He was worse tonight -- he has now allowed 18 HRs in 18 starts -- and his 5.56 ERA is the highest of any qualifying AL starter.

Saturday: Red Sox 5, Yankees 2

Post
Yankees looking dangerously ugly as selling comes into focus
George King describes the MFY as "an old team awaiting walkers with a starting pitching staff that is drowning in oxygen. ... All of the Yankees warts were on display Saturday ..."

Daily News


Sandy Leon's homer helps Red Sox hand Yankees second straight loss to open second half
"Two games into their crucial 10-game home stand to open the second half, the Yankees are already going down the wrong path, a road to late-summer irrelevance ... Joe Girardi expressed optimism before the game that Sabathia would be able to return to his early-season form, but the southpaw has now given up at least five runs in each of his last five starts."

Red Sox fans taking over Stadium is clearest signal yet to Yankees brass
"Yet [the crowd] wasn't all that noticeable until backup catcher Sandy Leon took CC Sabathia deep for a three-run home run ... That's when the place erupted with cheers, making it clear there were thousands and thousands of Sox fans here. Even during this ho-hum season for the Yankees, the sound was stunning; I can't remember noticing such a Red Sox fan presence at the Stadium — certainly not since the Yankees started winning again back in the 1990s."

ESPN

Wallace Matthews:
In his five starts since [June 16], however, Sabathia has been truly horrendous: 25 earned runs allowed in 28-1/3 innings, 39 hits surrendered including 5 HRs and a 7.94 ERA over that stretch. Today, he allowed 5 runs (4 earned) in five-plus innings to the Boston Red Sox, punctuated by a three-run blast by the Red Sox backup catcher Sandy Leon.


July 16, 2016

G89: Red Sox 5, Yankees 2

Red Sox - 001 103 000 - 5 10  0
Yankees - 001 000 010 - 2  5  2
Sandy Leon drove in four runs, snapping a 1-1 tie with a run-scoring single in the fourth inning and belting a three-run home run in in the sixth. His 2-for-4 raised his batting average to .458.

Eduardo Rodriguez threw seven strong innings (7-4-1-2-1, 97) before Matt Barnes and Koji Uehara finished up. ... Jackie Bradley had three hits and scored two runs. ... Mookie Betts had two hits.
Eduardo Rodriguez / CC Sabathia
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Brentz, LF
Leon, C

First Box Score Published 163 Years Ago Today

John Thorn, Our Game:
[On July 5, 1853] the Knickerbockers competed again, the Knickerbockers achieving victory of 21 to 12. The first tabular box score in baseball was compiled during the game. It was published July 16, 1853 in the New York Clipper. It follows, just as it appeared, without notation as to positions, and without errors, hits, assists, etc., which were not counted until a later period. [Note that the brothers “Faucet” are in fact Van Cott; “Miebuhr” is Niebuhr; and “Parison” is Parisen.]

July 15, 2016

G88: Red Sox 5, Yankees 3

Red Sox - 001 022 000 - 5  8  0
Yankees - 000 003 000 - 3  4  0
The Red Sox hit three home runs:
Ryan Hanigan - solo shot in the third (#1)
Travis Shaw - 2-run bomb in the fifth (#10)
Xander Bogaerts - 2-run dong in the sixth (#11)
Steven Wright (6-3-3-1-4, 77) retired the first 14 Yankees before allowing a baserunner. The trio of Brad Ziegler, Robbie Ross, and Koji Uehara allowed only one baserunner over the final three innings.

Every Red Sox batter had one hit, except for Jackie Bradley (though he did draw a walk and score on Shaw's homer).

Boston remained 2 GB the Orioles, who beat Tampa Bay 4-3. The Yankees dropped to 8.5 GB.
Steven Wright / Michael Pineda
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Shaw, 3B
Holt, LF
Hanigan, C
The rest of this series:
Saturday: Eduardo Rodriguez / CC Sabathia, 4 PM
Sunday: David Price / Masahiro Tanaka, 8 PM
After they dismantle the Yankees, the Red Sox play a nine-game homestand against the Giants, Twins, and Tigers. Then it's off to the west coast as July turns to August.

The Red Sox have acquired Drew Pomeranz, a 27-year-old left-hander, from the Padres. In 17 starts this season, Pomeranz has a 2.47 ERA and a 1.059 WHIP. Boston gave up Anderson Espinoza, an 18-year-old pitcher ranked as Baseball America's 15th-best prospect. Dave Dombrowski discusses the deal.

Roster Stuff: Junichi Tazawa was placed on the disabled list with a right shoulder impingement. The Red Sox called up William Cuevas from Pawtucket.

Alex Speier, 108 Stitches:
What [David] Ortiz continues to do is not merely impressive but outlandish. He is hitting .332, behind only Jose Altuve (.341) in the American League, while topping the league in on-base percentage (.426) and lapping the field in slugging percentage (.682 in a year where no one else in the AL is above .600). He leads the majors in OPS (1.107) and OPS+ (184 — 84 percent better than a league average mark, or nearly twice the production of an average player).

He now has 22 homers and is on pace for 41, which would be his highest total since his 54-homer campaign in 2006. He is on pace for 106 extra-base hits; no player has reached triple digits in extra-base hits since 2001. He is on pace for 63 doubles; no player has had as many as 60 since 1936.

As hitters age, their declining bat speed is supposed to render them more vulnerable to strikeouts, with a corresponding decrease in walk rates. Ortiz has more walks (48) than strikeouts (43), and he's striking out in a career-low 12.5 percent of plate appearances. By several measures, he is amidst what has been the best season of his career.
SABR member Cyril Morong shared the following:
All those doubles have helped him get to 57 extra base hits (34 2Bs, 1 3B, 22 HRs). The record for most XB hits in a season by a guy 40 years old or older is 62, by Dave Winfield in 1992 at age 40. Ortiz has a chance to greatly eclipse that mark. He is having one of the best 40+ seasons ever. His 182 OPS+ is higher than the 158 of Willie Mays in 1971, which is the current high for guys aged 40+ with 400+ PAs.
Paul Hembekides, ESPN:
No player in history has led the majors in slugging percentage or OPS in his final season (minimum 400 plate appearances), according to Elias Sports Bureau research. Ortiz is on pace to do both.

Ortiz is on pace to become the first player in major league history with 40 home runs and 60 doubles in one season. He is on pace for 63 doubles; no player has hit 60 doubles in a season since 1936 (Joe Medwick and Charlie Gehringer).

Ortiz leads the majors in extra-base hits (57), the oldest player to do so at the break, according to Elias Sports Bureau research. No player has led the majors in extra-base hits in his final season.

He is on pace for 106 extra-base hits. The only players in MLB history with more in one season are Babe Ruth (1921), Lou Gehrig (1927), Chuck Klein (1930) and Barry Bonds (2001).

July 13, 2016

Dave O'Brien Announcer Bingo!

Five years ago, I introduced the Don Orsillo Catch Phrase Bingo card.

Now, as we prepare for the second half of the 2016 season, we have Dave O'Brien Announcer Bingo!


July 11, 2016

Review: Incredible Baseball Stats: The Coolest, Strangest Stats And Facts In Baseball History, By Kevin Reavy And Ryan Spaeder

From the never-dull and often-amazing Twitter feed of the Ace of MLB Stats comes Incredible Baseball Stats: The Coolest, Strangest Stats And Facts In Baseball History, a new book by Kevin Reavy and Ryan Spaeder. (I received a copy of the book from Sports Publishing.)

I have posted tweets from AoMLBS in the past, including one post listing some still-hard-to-fathom achievements of Babe Ruth. I have also had issues with Spaeder possibly cherry-picking data to make a specific statistical point. Regardless, I am a big fan and as someone who is also intensely curious about various odd statistical achievements, I'm likely the ideal reader for this book.

And Incredible Baseball Stats is a tremendous amount of fun. You will, as promised in the introduction, discover astounding facts and see many players in a new, improved statistical light. The wonderment that Reavy and Spaeder have about the glorious game of baseball shines through. There are seemingly as many ways to look at the game, to study and appreciate it as there are fans. In this case, "We scoured the records for untold tales, and looked at familiar ones from new statistical contexts." This book is probably not meant to be read linearly from cover to cover, but it is fantastic to dip into randomly.

Incredible Baseball Stats is arranged by team. Reavy and Spaeder offer a brief history for each franchise, then provide a few subsections with stats on the team's greatest players, moments, or achievements, and end with a collection of their favourite statoids.

In the recap of the Red Sox's history, we learn that in 1918, Babe Ruth struck out 170 batters and did not allow a home run, which remains a team pitching record. We get a section on newer stars Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, and David Ortiz, and longer entries on Cy Young, Ted Williams, and Wade Boggs.
Ted Williams's on-base percentage during the worst 162-game stretch of his career was .404. Many Hall of Famers - Cal Ripken Jr., Ernie Banks, Yogi Berra, and Jim Rice among them - never had even one season with an OBP as high as .404.

Wage Boggs had two seasons with Boston in which he collected 150+ singles, 50+ extra-base hits, and 100+ walks. No other player in baseball history has achieved those totals even once.

In 2004, Curt Schilling went to an 0-2 count on 240 batters without surrendering a single walk.

Pedro Martinez's ERA in 2000 was 1.74. If he had been charged with a run every time he walked or hit a batter that year, he would still have led the American League. Even if his ERA had been doubled, he still would have been #1 in the AL.
Some of the book's other cool statoids:
Nolan Ryan pitched more no-hitters (seven) than no-walkers (four).

14.7% of Lou Gehrig's 102 career stolen bases were steals of home.

In 2001, Alex Rodriguez had 200+ hits, 50+ home runs, and 15+ stolen bases, the first player to post those numbers since Babe Ruth (1921).

Barry Bonds had 102 games in which he hit a home run and stole a base (38 with the Pirates and 64 with the Giants), a major league record.

Over a six-year stretch, from 1943-49, Stan Musial batted .350, averaging 211 hits and 44 doubles per season. Hall of Famer Willie Mays never had a single season with either a batting average, hits total, or doubles total that high.
I suppose that either this kind of baseball information interests you or it doesn't. If it does, treat yourself to Incredible Baseball Stats. And follow the Twitter feed.

July 10, 2016

G87: Red Sox 4, Rays 0

Rays    - 000 000 000 - 0  4  0
Red Sox - 310 000 00x - 4  8  0
David Price sent the Red Sox into the All-Star Break with a superb performance (8-4-0-1-10, 113). It was the first start this season in which Price did not allow a run and his seventh start (out of 19) with 10+ strikeouts.

David Ortiz hit a two-run homer in the first inning (#22). ... Mookie Betts went 3-for-4, scored Boston's first run on Xander Bogaerts's sac fly, and drove in a run. ... Sandy Leon went 2-for-3 and is batting .455. ... Brad Ziegler made his Red Sox debut in the ninth, retiring the Rays in order (with two strikeouts) on only eight pitches.

Since being annihilated by the Angels 21-2 last Saturday, the Red Sox have won six of seven games. ... Boston's next game is Friday night at Yankee Stadium III. Eduardo Rodriguez will be on the mound.
             W   L    GB  RUNDIFF
Orioles     51  36   ---    + 41
Red Sox     49  38   2.0    + 66
Blue Jays   51  40   2.0    + 75
Yankees     44  44   7.5    - 34
Rays        34  54  17.5    - 74
Jake Odorizzi / David Price
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Shaw, 1B
Brentz, LF
Leon, C
The Red Sox and Blue Jays are tied for second place, 2 GB the Orioles.

July 9, 2016

G86: Red Sox 4, Rays 1

Rays    - 100 000 000 - 1  7  1
Red Sox - 000 220 00x - 4  8  1
Rick Porcello (7-6-1-0-5, 94) pitched seven strong innings, Xander Bogaerts belted a two-run homer in the fourth, and Dustin Pedroia added a two-run single in the fifth.

Porcello gave up a home run to his second batter of the afternoon, but Bogaerts erased Tampa's early lead with none out in the fourth, after Pedroia had walked.

In the fifth, Sandy Leon singled. He went to third and Mookie Betts reached second on an error by center fielder Steven Souza. Pedroia then brought both runners home with a single. Bogaerts walked and it looked like Boston was poised for a big inning. But the next three hitters - David Ortiz, Jackie Bradley, and Aaron Hill - were retired by Matt Moore (6-7-4-3-4, 107).

Matt Barnes pitched a perfect eighth and Koji Uehara allowed only a leadoff single in the ninth.

Matt Moore / Rick Porcello
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Shaw, 1B
Brentz, LF
Leon, C
The Red Sox traded for reliever Brad Ziegler, sending two minor leaguers to the Diamondbacks. Blake Swihart was moved to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster for Ziegler.

Craig Kimbrel went for an MRI on his left knee (Update: He will have surgery and be out for 3-6 weeks; link in comments).

Junichi Tazawa, who has not pitched since Sunday, is dealing with right shoulder discomfort.

July 8, 2016

G85: Red Sox 6, Rays 5

Rays    - 011 020 001 - 5 10  0
Red Sox - 200 201 01x - 6 11  0 
Bryce Brentz snapped a 4-4 tie with a single in the sixth inning that scored Hanley Ramirez. Brentz had come into the game two innings earlier when Brock Holt sprained his left ankle sliding into second base.

Newcomer Aaron Hill had two hits and drove in two runs. ... David Ortiz hit his 21st home run of the year in the fourth inning. ... The Red Sox stole four bases (Mookie Betts 2, Holt, Ramirez). ... Koji Uehara allowed a two-out home run to Evan Longoria in the ninth inning, but then got the final out.

AL East: The Orioles lost, so the Blue Jays are 1 GB and the Red Sox are 2 GB.

Chris Archer / Sean O'Sullivan
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Holt, LF
Hill, 3B
Leon, C
The Red Sox traded for infielder Aaron Hill. According to Dave Dombrowski,
We've been looking for a right-handed hitting infielder for really awhile. We've been a little vulnerable to left-handed pitching. We felt it would strengthen us. Of course, he's played almost every day. Has the abilities to play every day. We look at him more to complement the players that we have.

Oral History: The Beginning Of The Legend Of David Ortiz

Howard Bryant, ESPN:
AFTER THE 2002 season, the Red Sox had a list of nine -- count 'em, nine -- candidates for time at first base and designated hitter. As former Red Sox beat writer Jeff Horrigan says, "The expectations were really, really low. That was clear just by the number of people they threw at the position." But Boston's new GM, Theo Epstein, and president/CEO Larry Lucchino -- with an assist from one of the greatest pitchers in team history -- saw a glimmer of something in a washout from the Twins named David Ortiz. This is the story of the months between November 2002 and May 2003, when a player nobody wanted, just one of nine, became a legend a city couldn't do without.
Ortiz:
I was never really Theo's guy. There were other guys he was paying more money to. If I had been his first choice, I really think I would have been playing since day one. ... So yeah, I sat and I sat, and I kept my mouth shut because you gotta keep it professional, you know?
Epstein:
David and I had a few quick conversations early in the year in which I encouraged him to be patient, told him that we believed in him, expressed some empathy for his situation and reassured him that things would work themselves out. He was frustrated early but handled himself really well, not wanting to make an issue in the clubhouse or drag his teammates down.
Ortiz:
Finally, I just said f--- it. I went to Grady. I went to Theo. They were asking me why I was mad, and I said, "I'm not mad, but I'm better than every f---ing guy you're running out there ahead of me." So I called [my agent] Fern. I told him, "If you're not here tomorrow, you're fired." He said, "What's wrong?" I said, "I'm better. Play me or I want out of here. Play me and I'll show you what's up."

July 6, 2016

G84: Red Sox 11, Rangers 6

Rangers - 010 002 300 -  6 10  3
Red Sox - 252 200 00x - 11 10  1

Martin Perez / Steven Wright
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Brentz, LF
Shaw, 3B
Hanigan, C

July 5, 2016

NESN: Dave O'Brien Says The Darndest (Inaccurate) Things

During the ninth inning of Tuesday's 7-2 loss to the Rangers, NESN's Dave O'Brien said:
Nothing good ever happens from a leadoff walk.
What prompted that bit of commentary was the fact that Craig Kimbrel had walked the first Rangers batter in the top of the ninth and Texas had quickly scored four runs.

Of course, had O'Brien looked down at his scorecard, he would have seen that only four innings earlier, in the bottom of the fifth, the Red Sox's leadoff man had walked. Three groundouts later, Hanley Ramirez was stranded at third base and a "0" went up on the scoreboard for Boston.

In November 2010, I asked the question: "Do Leadoff Walks Lead To More Runs?" (I also wanted to know if leadoff walks score more frequently than, say, a leadoff single or reaching first on an error. Because O'Brien's insistence on the evil of leadoff walks (it wasn't the first time this season he has said something similar), I'm re-posting the information.
Tim McCarver, during a playoff game in 2002:
The one thing I would tell a young pitcher is never walk the leadoff man. He always scores; he always scores.
David Smith, the man who started and runs Retrosheet, thought he would check that out (though, obviously, a leadoff batter who walks does not always score). Smith looked at 29 years (1974-2002) worth of data: 61,365 games, 1,101,019 half-innings, more than 4.5 million plate appearances.
     Reached   Scored  Frequency
BB    82,637   33,002    39.9%
1B   183,468   72,841    39.7%
2B    48,364   30,961    64.0%
3B     6,573    5,753    87.5%
HR    27,205   27,205   100.0%
HBP    6,217    2,543    40.9%
E     12,105    5,298    43.8%
A leadoff batter who walks does not score at a significantly higher rate (statistically speaking) than a leadoff hitter who singles.

In August 2006, McCarver said:
There is nothing that opens up big innings any more than a leadoff walk. Leadoff home runs don't do it.* Leadoff singles, maybe. But a leadoff walk. It changes the mindset of a pitcher. Since he walked the first hitter, now all of a sudden he wants to find the fatter part of the plate with the succeeding hitters. And that could make for a big inning.
* - Sorry, Tim.
     Leadoff    0R       1R      2R      3R     4R      5R    6+R
1B   183,468  104,074  35,868  22,726  11,329  5,375  2,415  1,681
BB    82,637   46,794  15,837  10,481   5,167  2,503  1,100    755
The percentages for that chart:
     Leadoff    0R    1R    2R    3R   4R   5R  6+R
1B   183,468   56.7  19.6  12.4  6.1  2.9  1.3  0.9
BB    82,637   56.6  19.2  12.7  6.2  3.0  1.3  0.9
Whether a leadoff batter singles or walks has no correlation with how many runs his team will eventually score in that inning.

Smith, from The Baseball Research Journal 35 (2006):
[A]necdotal observations and gut feelings are just that and have no inherent credibility, no matter what the source. Since we can now check these opinions with evidence, and McCarver definitely has at his disposal the talents of people who can do such checking, then we should expect him and other announcers to get it right.
It is not only McCarver. In May 2008, Blue Jays announcer Rance Mulliniks estimated that a leadoff walk comes around to score 60-65% of the time. But why estimate when the facts are available with a little bit of effort (even as little as asking an assistant to do some research)?

More recently, plen had a similar post at Fangraphs in September. Looking at the data from 1952-2009:
      Leadoff   Scored   Frequency
1B    325,455  122,662     37.69%
BB    150,570   57,189     37.98%
HBP    11,865    4,600     38.77%
E      19,260    7,270     37.74%
Again, leadoff singles and leadoff walks come around to score at the exact same rate, statistically speaking.

G83: Rangers 7, Red Sox 2

Rangers - 200 001 004 - 7 11  0
Red Sox - 010 100 000 - 2 11  0
Tuesday night was a LOB-otomy for the Red Sox. Boston left 14 men on base and batted 2-for-16 with runners on second and/or third. They should never have been trailing by a run when Craig Kimbrel allowed the Rangers to blow the game wide open in the top of the ninth. Kimbrel faced four men: walk, single, single, home run. And that was that.

The last time David Price faced Texas, back on June 24, he lasted only 2.1 innings. This game looked like it would be similar as Shin-Soo Choo clubbed Price's first pitch to dead center for a home run. Then two singles and a walk loaded the bases for Texas with none out. Price came back to get three outs, but the Rangers added a sac fly to lead 2-0.

Jackie Bradley led off the bottom of the second with a bomb to center and Xander Bogaerts drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth, tying the game at 2-2.

With one out in the sixth, Elvis Andrus singled and scored on Rougned Odor's double off the Wall. Price's line: 8-8-3-1-10, 109.

Boston left at least one runner in "scoring postion" in each of the first seven innings:
1st: 1st and 3rd
2nd: 1st and 3rd
3rd: 2nd
4th: 1st, 2nd and 3rd
5th: 3rd
6th: 2nd
7th: 1st and 2nd
8th: 1st
9th: 3rd
Hanley Ramirez reached base four times on a single, two walks, and a HBP. ... Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia each had two singles and a walk. ... Travis Shaw doubled and singled.
A.J. Griffin / David Price
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Holt, LF
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
The Orioles dropped their fifth consecutive game last night, so the Red Sox (45-37) are only 2 GB.

Elias reports that Sandy Leon is the first Red Sox player to start a season with 20 hits in his first 40 at-bats since David Ortiz in 2013. Before Ortiz, Rudy Pemberton did it back in September 1996.

July 4, 2016

G82: Red Sox 12, Rangers 5

Rangers - 400 000 010 -  5 16  0
Red Sox - 104 012 13x - 12 21  2  
The Red Sox banged out a season-high 21 hits, as everyone in the lineup hit safely and scored at least one run; seven of the nine batters also drove in a run.

Sandy Leon had four hits, including three doubles; he is now batting a cool .500 (20-for-40). Xander Bogaerts, Dustin Pedroia, and Travis Shaw each had three hits. Shaw, Pedroia, Brock Holt, and Mookie Betts all hit home runs, while David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez each had two doubles.

Rick Porcello (6-12-4-0-3, 103) had a rough first inning, but blanked the Rangers after that.

Only two zeroes in the box score!
              AB   R   H  RBI
Betts, RF      5   1   2   2
Pedroia, 2B    6   1   3   2
Bogaerts, SS   6   2   3   0
Ortiz, DH      5   1   2   1
Ramírez, 1B    3   2   2   1
Bradley, CF    4   1   1   2
Holt, LF       5   1   1   2
Shaw, 3B       5   2   3   2
León, C        5   1   4   0
Nick Martinez / Rick Porcello
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Holt, LF
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
The Red Sox are now only 3 GB the Orioles (who have lost four in a row). The Blue Jays are right on their heels, at 3.5 GB.

G82: Rangers at Red Sox, 1:30 PM

Rangers - 400 000 0
Red Sox - 104 012 1    
Nick Martinez / Rick Porcello
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Holt, LF
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
The Red Sox are now only 3 GB the Orioles (who have lost four in a row). The Blue Jays are right on their heels, at 3.5 GB.

July 3, 2016

G81: Red Sox 10, Angels 5

Angels  - 000 003 200 -  5 10  1
Red Sox - 000 070 30x - 10 16  0
Red Sox 5th Inning
Shoemaker pitching.
Hernández flied out to left.
Betts singled to right.
Pedroia grounded into fielder's choice, Betts out at second, shortstop to second
Bogaerts walked, Pedroia to second.
Ortiz hit a ground-rule double to deep center, Pedroia scored, Bogaerts to third.
Ramírez doubled to deep right, Bogaerts and Ortiz scored.
Bradley singled to right, Ramírez scored, Bradley advanced to second on the throw.
Álvarez relieved Shoemaker.
Holt walked.
León doubled to deep center, Bradley and Holt scored.
Hernández singled to left, León scored, Hernández to second on error by left fielder Marte.
Ramírez relieved Álvarez.
Betts flied out to center.
Six of the nine Red Sox batters had at least two hits (Hanley Ramirez had three). ... Sandy Leon drove in three runs and he, Jackie Bradley, and Brock Holt each scored twice. ... David Ortiz walked twice and doubled. ... Sean O'Sullivan (5-4-2-3-2, 76).

Matt Shoemaker / Sean O'Sullivan
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Holt, LF
Leon, C
Hernandez, 3B

July 2, 2016

G80: Angels 21, Red Sox 2

Angels  - 210 150 1110 - 21 22  1
Red Sox - 000 010  100 -  2  8  4
If that linescore looks a little wonky, it's because of the Angels' 11-run seventh inning.

Clay Buchholz was bad (4.1-7-6-1-1, 67) but the bullpen was far worse. Robbie Ross and Pat Light each allowed six runs; please note that Ross faced only seven batters. Infielder Ryan LaMarre pitched the ninth inning, allowing two hits and no runs.

C.J. Cron and Carlos Pérez are the first pair of teammates with at least five hits and five RBI in the same game since 1936. Cron went 6-for-6, with a double, two home runs, five runs scored, and five RBI. Pérez was 5-for-6, with two doubles, a home run, two runs scored, and six RBI. Albert Pujols doubled and homered and drove in five runs.

According to Baseball Reference's Play Index, Cron's box score line of 6-5-6-5 has never been done before (at least as far back as 1913).

For the Red Sox, Mookie Betts had two doubles and a home run. ... Hanley Ramirez singled, doubled, and walked.

The last time the Red Sox allowed at least 20 runs? August 31, 2012, at Oakland (20-2).

The last time the Red Sox allowed at least 20 runs at home? August 21, 2009, a 20-11 loss to the MFY.
Hector Santiago / Clay Buchholz
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Brentz, LF
Shaw, 3B
Vazquez, C
About last night:

John Farrell:
[O]bviously fan interference came into play. Whether or not they challenged if that ball was going to stay in fair territory or not, you might say we caught a break right there.
David Ortiz:
That was huge. We played with 26 players tonight.
Mookie Betts:
We were joking, we're going to have to take him out to dinner because I think that ball was going to come back in play. I think obviously Trout would have scored on that ball. Tough situation there, but fortunately, he has pretty good hand-eye coordination.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia said the call was "brutal" and absolutely wrong".

Video!

I think the ball would have come back onto the field and been in play, also. The Red Sox caught a game-saving break - and with any luck, they can parlay the good feeling into a nice winning streak.

MLB - With Nearly $10 Billion In Profit This Year - Cries Poverty, Wants To Make It Illegal For Minor Leaguers To Be Paid A Living Wage

Evil Congressmen Want To Make Living Wage For Minor Leaguers Illegal
Patrick Redford, Deadspin, June 29, 2016
Minor league baseball players don’t make much money. Since 1976, MLB salaries have risen 2,500 percent while minor league salaries have only gone up 70 percent. Players in low-A ball start at $1,100 a month, while AAA players earn $2,150 per month. Monthly wages slowly increase the longer a player sticks around, but they’re only paid out during the season, and players on the road receive a per diem of $25—less than half of what umpires get. Over a five-month season, only tenured AAA players make enough to clear the federal poverty line. And now, a new bill from the House of Representatives wants to limit their earning power even further.

Cheri Bustos of Illinois and Brett Guthrie of Kentucky introduced the “Save America’s Pastime Act” late last week. The bipartisan legislation—Bustos is a Democrat, Guthrie a Republican—proposes to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and create a specific exemption for minor league baseball players (who are not unionized) so that they are explicitly not guaranteed the minimum wage, and thus not allowed overtime pay. ...

The bill alleges that MiLB players need their wages locked in at poverty level and that if players start getting paid at least as much as fast food workers, grassroots minor league baseball is at risk:
If the law is not clarified, the costs to support local teams would likely increase dramatically and usher in significant cuts across the league, threatening the primary pathway to the Majors and putting teams at risk.
This is bullshit. Major league owners pay the salaries of their farm teams. MiLB teams don’t need attendance revenue to pay their players, the money comes from the top. ...

MLB is essentially selling the myth that there’s nothing more heartwarming than a cleat stomping on a human face, and politicians of both parties are here to back them. Set this bill on fire.
Also:

Here's Why The Save America's Pastime Act Is A River Of Molten Sewage
The Save America's Pastime Act is an odious piece of legislation, but you don't have to focus on the laughably low salaries to hate it.
Grant Brisbee, SB Nation, June 30, 2016

BtBS Roundtable: Why Won't MLB Pay Its Minor Leaguers?
The "Save America's Pastime Act" would ensure that minor league players continue to earn less than minimum wage. BtBS writers explain the numerous problems with the proposed legislation.
Ryan Romano, Henry Druschel, Jen Mac Ramos, and Nicolas Stellini, SB Nation, July 1, 2016

The 7,500 Apprentices
Kate Morrison, Baseball Prospectus, July 1, 2016

July 1, 2016

G79: Red Sox 5, Angels 4

Angels  - 000 004 000 - 4 12  0
Red Sox - 100 130 00x - 5 16  0
After a 95-minute rain delay, the Angels had plenty of chances to tie the game (or take the lead) over the final three innings, but came up empty, leaving two men on base in each inning. The game ended in Boston's favour with opposing runners at second and third.

The Red Sox scored their first first-inning run since June 11 on Mookie Betts's double and two groundouts. (Betts finished the night 3-for-5.)

Brock Holt, who threw out C.J. Cron at second base in the fourth when he tried to stretch a one-out single, began the bottom half with a double of his own, off the Wall. Travis Shaw ripped a double past first base, and Holt scored. Boston then had some bad baserunning adventures. First, Shaw was picked off second base by Jhoulys Chacin (4.2-12-5-2-4, 97). Then Betts was tagged out in a brief rundown after he singled to right with two outs; Marco Hernandez went first to third on Betts's hit and perhaps Betts thought the throw from the outfield would go through, but Andrelton Simmons cut it off and ran over and tagged Betts.

The Red Sox scored three times in the fifth after making two outs. David Ortiz (3-for-4) lined a home run down the right field line. (It was Ortiz's 522nd career regular-season rally-killer, 19th all-time. It was also his 2,000th hit in a Boston uniform.) Jackie Bradley singled and Holt's second double of the night brought him home. After Shaw was walked intentionally, Christian Vazquez singled in Holt, giving Boston a 5-0 lead.

Steven Wright (5-8-4-3-3, 93) had trouble throwing his pitches in the rain in the top of the sixth. Albert Pujols doubled and when Jefry Marte was hit by a pitch and Daniel Nava walked, the bases were loaded. Cron then crushed a 3-2 fastball into the Monster Seats for a grand slam, cutting Boston's lead to one run. Matt Barnes came in and retired the next three batters. At that point, the tarp came out for a 1:35 rain delay.

Manager John Farrell went to Junich Tazawa for the top of the seventh. Taz allowed a single and a walk, but fanned Daniel Nava to end the frame. Koji Uehara allowed a one-out triple to Johnny Giavotella in the eighth (the ball hit off Holt's glove in left-center), but then fielded a squeeze bunt from the next batter and nailed the runner at the plate. With two on, Uehara struck out Kole Calhoun.

Craig Kimbrel faced the Angels' 2-3-4 hitters in the ninth. He got ahead of Mike Trout 0-2, but then threw four straight balls and walked him. Albert Pujols flied out to Bradley on the warning track in center field. Marte popped out to Pedroia. Nava drilled a ground-rule double to right, the ball bouncing off the top of the short wall and into the stands - and keeping Trout at third. The Angels challenged the call, claiming fan interference, but the call stood. Cron, swinging at the first pitch, grounded out to third.

Jhoulys Chacin / Steven Wright
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Bradley, CF
Holt, LF
Shaw, 1B
Vazquez, C
Hernandez, 3B