G16-G22: Red Sox Win Four, Then Lose Three

While I was away on Vancouver Island, the Red Sox played seven games.

G16 - Tuesday, April 17: Red Sox 10, Angels 1

Red Sox - 125 100 010 - 10 15  1
Angels  - 001 000 000 -  1  4  0

Mookie Betts hit three home runs (and walks twice). Shohei Ohtani lasted only two innings, throwing 66 pitches. Jackie Bradley (3-for-5), Brock Holt, and Rafael Devers also hit homers. David Price pitched five innings (5-3-1-4-6, 96), with Brian Johnson going three and Marcus Walden one.

G17 - Wednesday, April 18: Red Sox 9, Angels 0

Red Sox - 105 000 102 - 9 14  0
Angels  - 000 000 000 - 0  6  1

Devers hit a grand slam. Mitch Moreland also drove in four runs. J.D. Martinez went 4-for-5 and scored three times. Rick Porcello: 6-6-0-0-6, 101.

G18 - Thursday, April 19: Red Sox 8, Angels 2

Red Sox - 100 202 012 - 8 14  1
Angels  - 010 010 000 - 2  4  1

Betts led off the game with a home run and the Red Sox rolled to a sweep. Andrew Benintendi drove in three and Martinez and Devers each had three hits. Eduardo Rodriguez: 6-3-2-3-5, 104.

G19 - Friday, April 20: Red Sox 7, Athletics 3

Red Sox   - 030 004 000 - 7 11  0
Athletics - 300 000 000 - 3 10  0

Drew Pomeranz made his first start of the season (3.2-5-3-2-7, 87). Bradley's three-run homer tied the game and Moreland's grand slam extended the Red Sox's winning streak to eight games and raised the team's record to 17-2. Boston is the seventh team since 1900 to win at least 17 of its first 19 games, joining the 1987 Brewers (17-2), 1984 Tigers (17-2), 1981 Athletics (17-2), 1955 Dodgers (17-2), 1918 Giants (18-1), and 1911 Tigers (17-2).

Since losing on Opening Day, the Red Sox have gone 17-1, the first time the team has gone 17-1 over any 18-game stretch since 1988. The Red Sox's +70 run differential is the 2nd-best for any team through 19 games since 1920, trailing only the 2003 Yankees (+74). Boston is also the second team ever to hit five or more grand slams before May 1 (1996 Expos, 6).

G20 - Saturday, April 21: Athletics 3, Red Sox 0

Red Sox   - 000 000 000 - 0  0  0
Athletics - 101 010 00x - 3  7  1

Sean Manaea (9-0-0-2-10, 108) pitched the first no-hitter against the Red Sox in 25 years, besting Chris Sale (7-6-3-1-10, 109).

G21 - Sunday, April 22: Athletics 4, Red Sox 1

Red Sox   - 000 000 100 - 1  6  0
Athletics - 100 000 03x - 4  9  1

David Price (7.2-9-4-1-6, 96) gave up a three-run dong to Khris Davis, who also had an RBI-single in the first inning.

G22 - Tuesday, April 24: Blue Jays 4, Red Sox 3 (10)

Red Sox   - 000 001 002 0 - 3  9  0
Blue Jays - 030 000 000 1 - 4  5  0

Holt's two-run single with two outs in the ninth tied the game, but Curtis Granderson (who had three of Toronto's five hits) homered off Craig Kimbrel in the tenth. Porcello: 7-3-3-3-9, 103.
AL East

Red Sox    17    5    ---
Blue Jays  14    8    3.0
Yankees    13    9    4.0
Rays        8   13    8.5
Orioles     7   17   11.5

Other things happened:

Brandon Belt Has A 21-Pitch At-Bat

Brandon Belt of the Giants saw 21 pitches in his first plate appearance last Sunday. Facing Angels' Jaime Barria in the first inning, Belt batted for roughly 13 minutes, fouling off 11 consecutive pitches.

fbsffbffbtftffffftffftffx - Flied out to RF

Baseball has not always obsessively kept track of any and all possible data, so this was the longest at-bat since at least 1988:

21 pitches: Brandon Belt (Giants) vs Jaime Barria (Angels), April 22, 2018. Flied out to RF.
20 pitches: Ricky Gutierrez (Astros) vs Bartolo Colon (Cleveland), June 26, 1998. Struck out swinging.
19 pitches: Kevin Bass (Astros) vs Steve Bedrosian (Phillies), July 23, 1988. Flied out to LF.
18 pitches: Brian Downing (Angels) vs Ken Patterson (White Sox), September 1, 1990. Lined out to 2B.
18 pitches: Bip Roberts (Royals) vs Felipe Lira (Tigers), May 18, 1997. Grounded out to 2B.
18 pitches: Alex Cora (Dodgers) vs Matt Clement (Cubs), May 12, 2004. Hit home run.
18 pitches: Adam Kennedy (Angels) vs Luis Vizcaino (Brewers), June 10, 2004. Walked.
18 pitches: Marcus Semien (Athletics) vs Doug Fister (Astros), June 3, 2016. Grounded out to 3B.

Belt, after the game:

When I'm in the field I hate it when a batter keeps fouling pitches off. I'm like "Dude, just put it in play. It's not that hard. Let's go." So I basically had to apologize to everybody after that.

It Turns Out A Woman Can Announce A Baseball Game!

Jenny Cavnar deserves congratulations for doing the play-by-play of the Rockies TV broadcast last Monday, but in 2018, this should not be news.

So it's been a quarter-century since a woman called a baseball game on TV - and you can count the number of times in history it has happened on one hand? That is pathetic - there is no other word for it. It's also yet another sad commentary on the dismal state of baseball broadcasting. There are 60 men calling major league baseball games for English-language television and radio outlets and if you believe that those five dozen guys are the most qualified announcers on the planet, well, then, you also probably think that no woman could possibly be better than even the worst major league umpire.

Also: the Rockies took no shit on Twitter from various sexist trolls.

Yankees Misspell Didi Gregorius' Name In Bat Day Advertisement

Mike Mazzeo, Daily News:

It's not like he hasn't been the starting shortstop since 2015 or anything.

And: