Brian Cashman Suspected Robinson Cano Used PEDs As A Yankee

Whaddaya know ... Robbie Cano!

Mike Mazzeo, Daily News:

Brian Cashman says he didn't have any knowledge that Robinson Cano was doping during his days as a Yankee.

But the GM did seem to suggest that he had his suspicions.

"I would have no knowledge, and if I did have knowledge I would be compelled to tell baseball about it or I'd risk a million dollar or more fine. ... [P]art of Major League Baseball's initiatives is if I have any knowledge of anybody past or present I'm obligated to convey that knowledge to Major League Baseball, and I take that seriously. And so knowledge is one thing, suspicion is another."

Later when asked to clarify what he meant by "suspicion," Cashman walked back his stance a bit, saying he was speaking in generalities.

"I never suggested I had suspicions of Cano," he said. ...

Adding to the suspicion is Cano's two best Bronx buddies, Alex Rodriguez and Melky Cabrera, who both served doping suspensions.

Cano was banned for using Furosemide, a diuretic that is often used to mask PED use.

Joel Sherman, Post:

[T]he Yankees offered many explanations for why they never went all-out to retain Robinson Cano as a free agent following 2013 ...

But one reason — the one not broadcast — was that Melky Cabrera and Alex Rodriguez already had been suspended for their association with illegal performance-enhancing drugs. And those were Cano's best friends on the Yankees. And while no one can be found guilty by association, the Yanks were apprehensive enough about the tightness of that group to wonder if Cano would ever be the next domino to fall.

He now is. ...

Cano said [Furosemide] was given to him by a licensed doctor in his native Dominican Republic for "a medical ailment" that he does not specify. ...

Cano never disputed taking the substance or that the substance is banned, only why it was in his body, and neither the Independent Program Administrator nor MLB believed his story.

John Harper, Daily News:

Fair or not, it always felt like merely a matter of time before Robinson Cano wound up getting busted for PED use — and likely costing himself future election to the Hall of Fame.

His close friend, Melky Cabrera, and his mentor, Alex Rodriguez, each served suspensions in years past for PED use, and the name of a spokeswoman for his charity foundation, Sonia Cruz, showed up on infamous list of Biogenesis Clinic clients list back in 2013.

None of that meant Cano should have been judged guilty by association, but it was hard not to think those connections were relevant. ...

There was always some thought the Yankees had such concerns as well ... GM Brian Cashman all but confirmed those concerns ... before the Yankees-Nationals game in Washington, D.C. ...

Cano actually failed the test in spring training ...

So when his 80-game suspension was announced it was no surprise that Cano was ready with a dog-ate-my-homework story about how this was the fault of some unknown doctor in the Dominican Republic who prescribed furosemide as medication for an unknown ailment.

As if a player making huge money wouldn't consult with his team's medical people and/or his high-powered agents about using furosemide, which is ... listed as a PED in MLB's joint drug agreement.

Please, Robbie, we know too much by now.

G42: Athletics 5, Red Sox 3

Athletics - 210 000 020 - 5  9  1
Red Sox   - 000 110 001 - 3 10  1

When tonight's game wasn't frustrating, it was annoying. First, the game began at 8:52, after a rain delay of 102 minutes. Oakland jumped ahead 3-0 and for the rest of the game, the Red Sox either did nothing or not enough. In the bottom of the ninth, Boston had the potential tying run at the plate three times. One run scored on a groundout, which didn't even qualify as a major league tease.

Once the game finally began - even though it was still raining - Eduardo Rodriguez (5-6-3-0-4, 98) threw three pitches and Oakland had men at first and second. Rodriguez got two outs, but Mike Chapman lined a ball to right. Mookie Betts appeared to be playing too shallow and as he went back and tried making a leaping bare-handed grab, the ball sailed over his glove for a two-run triple.

Stephen Piscotty homered on an 0-2 pitch in the second and the Red Sox trailed by three runs. (It was the third home run the Red Sox have allowed this year on an 0-2 pitch.)

Before that dong, however, the Red Sox ran into yet another bone-headed out on the bases. Andrew Benintendi and J.D. Martinez had singled in the bottom of the first and Xander Bogaerts, batting with two outs, grounded a ball to third. Benintendi had run to third on contact and even though Oakland third baseman Chapman had not thrown the ball to first, Benintendi rounded the bag. He was promptly caught in a rundown and easily tagged out, 5-2-6, ending the inning.

Benintendi has stolen seven bases in seven attempts this year, so he clearly has some speed, but his baserunning instincts must be the worst of anyone on the team. Also, what the fuck was our third base coach Carlos Febles doing while this potential rally fizzled out to nothing? Maybe he was sending a text or something.

Mitch Moreland doubled to start the second and stayed anchored to the bag while the next three batters were retired. Martinez reached on an infield error in the fourth. He went to third on Bogaerts's single and scored on Moreland's fielder's choice.

Benintnedi homered with two outs in the fifth, cutting Oakland's lead to one run. Hanley Ramirez followed with a single, but Martinez flied to right. Moreland doubled again in the sixth, this time with one out, but he was stranded there yet again. Benintendi doubled against Lou Trivino with two down in the seventh, but Ramirez popped to first.

Oakland scored two runs against Steven Wright in the eighth. With one out, Khris Davis and Chapman singled. Bobby Poyner came in and gave up a two-run double to Mark Canha.

In the ninth, facing Blake Treinen, Devers struck out but reached first on a wild pitch. Brock Holt pinch-hit for Christian Vazquez and doubled to left-center. Betts grounded to third and Devers scored. Benintendi flied to left. Ramirez got ahead in the count 3-1 and it seemed like he might walk and bring Martinez to the plate as the potential winning run. But that did not happen. Ramirez fouled off one pitch and then grounded out to shortstop.

The Yankees/Nationals game was suspended in the middle of the sixth with the score 3-3. The Red Sox are now 1 GB in the East.

Daniel Mengden / Eduardo Rodriguez

Betts, RF
Benintendi, CF
Ramirez, DH
Martinez, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Moreland, 1B
Nunez, 2B
Devers, 3B
Vazquez, C

Carson Smith was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right shoulder subluxation. Lefty Bobby Poyner has been recalled from Pawtucket. Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic tweeted that Smith injured himself "after coming out of the game in [Boston] yesterday when he threw his glove in anger in the dugout". President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said Smith's injury was potentially significant and surgery could be necessary.

Robinson Cano of the Mariners has been suspended 80 games (effective immediately, without pay) after testing positive for Furosemide, in violation of MLB's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. ... I wish this had happened when he was with New York.

Since the mound was moved in 1893 to its current distance from home plate, here are the only three pitchers with multiple games of 11+ strikeouts within the first six games of their careers:

Karl Spooner (1954)    15 in first start and 12 in second start (only two games of 1954)
Kerry Wood (1998)      20 in fifth start and 13 in sixth start
Shohei Ohtani (2018)   12 in second start and 11 in sixth start

Best Way To Increase Pace Of Game? Enforce Rules That Already Exist.

Travis Sawchik, FanGraphs, May 11, 2018:

To really address pace, you need something new, like a pitch clock or the better enforcement of rule Rule 6.02 (c), which states "if the batter refuses to take his position in the batter's box during his time at bat, the umpire shall call a strike on the batter."

For this author, it is the batters strolling outside the box to take their practice cuts and readjust equipment — seemingly out of ritual rather than necessity — that has played a larger role in the slowing down between pitches than the pitchers holding the ball.

For example, back in 2014 as a newspaperman, I placed a stopwatch on every batter who stepped out of the box with both feet during a Pirates-Cardinals game at PNC Park. What I found is that it was indeed the batters — not so much the pitchers — who are playing a significant role in slowing down the action. (my emphasis)

What happened 190 times that evening was a batter left the batter's box after a pitch.

The Tribune-Review used a stopwatch on every batter that game. After the beginning of an at-bat, each time a batter left the batter's box with both feet, the clock began. When the batter returned to the box, the clock stopped. Pirates and Cardinals hitters spent a combined 39 minutes, 51 seconds outside the batter's box. The average stroll outside the box took 12.58 seconds.

In 2015, baseball elected to better enforce the rule and attached fines to batters who fled the box when no foul ball, swing-and-miss, or ball in the dirt occurred. Guess what happened. Behavior changed! ...

Fines were eliminated in the middle of the 2015 season, and by 2016 everyone was back to their sluggish ways. ...

The only way to ensure a quicker game is to enforce the rules as is, or to remove all doubt by putting a clock on the only major professional North American team sport without one.

Some comments:

kenai kings
The batters continued 'stepping out' is the most obvious and I believe easiest area to address. Why the umpires seem unwilling to enforce the rule is beyond me.

Deadheadbrewer
I've always been curious as to whether batters are hurting their chances by stepping out. If they froze in the position where they just saw the release point, tunnel, and spin, wouldn't they want to hold everything right there, so as to better recognize the next pitch? To me, moving every part of your body and taking a big long look around the stadium might be detrimental to honing in on the next pitch.

david k
I was watching the Yankees/A's game on Sunday, and the A's pitcher and catcher were having a lot of trouble working out the signs, particularly with a runner on second. They went through the signs several times, and a couple of times, the batter got annoyed and stepped out and called time. Maybe if they had a mound visit, they could have actually worked this out FASTER, but they didn't want to waste a mound visit, so this long exchange ensued.

Luy
To me, MLB seems more interested in conveying that they are trying to fix pace than they are interested in fixing pace. ... [T]his year they added the 6 mound visits (not counting pitching changes) rule ... But...were many teams going to the mound more than 6 times a game not including pitching changes?

Pedroia Feels Great After Playing Five Innings With Pawtucket

Dustin Pedroia played five innings for Pawtucket last night, going 1-for-3 and fielding his only chance at second base. He had cartilage restoration surgery on his left knee last October.

It went good. I'm pretty happy about it. ... I hit three balls on the barrel, so I'm happy with that. Obviously, I've got to get some more at-bats to lock in, but everything went great. ... After I got out there in the first inning, I didn't think about my knee one time, so that's when you know you're good. ... I can definitely drive the ball, rotate and put something behind it. That's why I'm excited about getting some at-bats [in a real game].

Pedroia batted third and flied to right in the first. He led off the fourth with a single and later scored and grounded out to second in the fifth.

After playing tonight, Pedroia will take a couple of days off. He has said he hopes he can return to the Red Sox on May 25, a week from this Friday.

G41: Athletics 6, Red Sox 5

Athletics - 001 301 010 - 6 11  2
Red Sox   - 002 010 110 - 5  9  0

After the Athletics grabbed the lead from the Red Sox in the fourth, every time Boston scored a run and crept a little closer, Oakland answered with a run of its own. And so the Red Sox fell out of first place and are now 0.5 GB the Yankees.

Rick Porcello (6-9-5-0-5, 108) had allowed only two home runs in his first eight starts (51.2 innings). He allowed two more tonight, including a solo shot by Matt Joyce, which put the A's on the board in the third after stranding men at first and third in the second.

Boston scored twice in its half. After two outs, Mookie Betts singled. On Sean Manaea's (6-8-4-1-4, 80) first pitch to Andrew Benintendi, Betts stole second. Manaea's second pitch to Benintendi was wild and Betts went to third. Benintendi reached on an infield single down the third base line (and Betts scored) and went to second on third baseman Matt Chapman's throwing error. Hanley Ramirez singled to right and Boston had a 2-1 lead.

Porcello then had a very rough fourth inning. With one out, Matt Olson and Chapman both singled. Porcello got the second out, but Jonathan Lucroy doubled home two runs. Dustin Fowler tripled and Lucroy's run gave Oakland a 4-2 lead.

In the fifth, Sandy Leon singled and went to third on Betts's double. After Benintendi flied to right, Ramirez grounded to shortstop - and Betts was caught off second base. Leon scored as Betts was put out in a 6-4-5-6 rundown. A's 4-3. (It was the Red Sox's 21st unforced out on the basepaths this year. Manager Alex Cora: "Bad decision by Mookie. Very surprising, but he's human.")

Olson got that run back for the A's when he opened the sixth with a home run. A's 5-3.

Rafael Devers led off the seventh by hitting a home run into the Monster Seats. A's 5-4.

Khris Davis donged off Carson Smith in the eighth. A's 6-4.

J.D. Martinez drove Yusmeiro Petit's first pitch of the eighth out of the park to right. A's 6-5.

Petit went to a 2-2 count on Xander Bogaerts before getting three outs on four pitches, two grounders to short and a fly to right. Blake Treinen retired the Red Sox in order in the ninth. Devers grounded to the mound, Mitch Moreland hit for Leon and flied to left, and Betts grounded to short.

Sean Manaea / Rick Porcello

Betts, RF
Benintendi, CF
Ramirez, 1B
Martinez, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Nunez, 2B
Swihart, DH
Devers, 3B
Leon, C

The Red Sox are home for three games against Oakland and three games against Baltimore.

Boston will play 19 of its next 26 games at home. They lead the majors in runs per game (6.80), average (.291), slugging (.485), and OPS (.840) at home. They have an 11-4 record at Fenway Park. Only the Twins have played fewer home games so far this year (14).

The Red Sox have scored five or more runs 25 times this season, more than any other team, and are 20-5 in those games.

Sean Manaea pitched a no-hitter the last time he faced the Red Sox, in Oakland on April 21.

Also: Steven Wright was activated, with Hector Velazquez going on the 10-day disabled list with a low back strain.

The MFY are off today. They begin a series against the Nationals in Washington tomorrow.

G40: Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 3

Red Sox   - 201 010 010 - 5  8  0
Blue Jays - 000 030 000 - 3 10  0

J.D. Martinez hit a two-run, opposite-field home run in the first inning and the Red Sox spent a fairly relaxing afternoon in the sun (the roof was open). Andrew Benintendi scored twice and started a 7-6-2 play that cut down a Blue Jays runner at the plate to end the seventh inning.

Drew Pomeranz (4-5-3-5-6, 103) did not pitch well, throwing only 57 strikes. Excluding the leadoff man in each of the five innings he worked, Pomeranz worked to only two (of 17) hitters with no one on base. The Blue Jays stranded six men in the first four innings.

Joe Biagini began the game by getting Mookie Betts looking at strike three, but Benintendi lined a single to left and Martinez homered to right.

Jackie Bradley walked to start the third. He was running on the pitch that Betts slapped into right field, so Boston had men at first and third. Benintendi popped to left and Biagini walked Martinez and Mitch Moreland, forcing in a run. He escaped further damage when Xander Bogaerts grounded into a double play.

Pomeranz threw 27 pitches in the first inning, giving up a double to Josh Donaldson and walking Justin Smoak. Russell Martin singled and Kendrys Morales walked in the second, but Pomeranz struck out Anthony Alford and Richard Urena (both looking) and got Teoscar Hernandez on a fly to right. Pomeranz walked Smoak with one out in the third. He was ready to throw his first pitch to Yangervis Solarte, but he stopped midway through his motion and a balk was called. But Solarte struck out looking and Kevin Pillar flied to left. Morales walked in the fourth and took second on a wild pitch. but Pomeranz left him there, as Alford struck out and Urena flied to right (where Betts made a sensational catch).

The Boston lefty was not as fortunate in the fifth. Both Hernandez and Donaldson singled and they scored on Smoak's double to left. When Pomeranz walked Solarte in a nine-pitch battle, manager Alex Cora went to the bullpen. Hector Velazquez struck out Pillar (eight pitches) and gave up a single to Martin that scored Smoak and cut the Red Sox's lead to 4-3. That threat was aborted when Morales hit the first pitch back to Velazquez, who started a 1-6-3 double play.

Velazquez allowed a one-out hit in the sixth, but got a popup and a strikeout. Solarte singled off Matt Barnes in the seventh and tried to score (with two outs) when Martin lined a double down the left field line. Benintendi got the ball to Bogaerts, who fired home, where Christian Vazquez tagged Solarte out. Heath Hembree allowed a leadoff single in the eighth, but got a fielder's choice and two strikeouts. Joe Kelly needed only four pitches in the ninth inning; the game was over before any possible stress could emerge. Donaldson took a ball and grounded out first-to-pitcher. The next two batters were retired on the first pitch, Smoak on a fly to center and Solarte on a routine grounder to Brock Holt at second.

From the Game Notes: The Red Sox are the only team batting over .200 with two strikes (.211). They also lead all teams in on-base percentage and slugging percentage with two strikes (.335 and .615). ... Since last August 26, Martinez leads all MLB hitters in average (.356, 94-for-264), home runs (28), RBI (69), slugging (.754), and OPS (1.157). ... Martinez is the first Red Sox batter to have 10+ home runs and 50+ hits in the first 40 games of a season since Manny Ramirez did it in 2001.

Is Hanley Ramirez the emergency catcher?

Never change, @HanleyRamirez. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/L8BCUolA4r

— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 13, 2018

Drew Pomeranz / Joe Biagini

Betts, RF
Benintendi, LF
Martinez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Devers, 3B
Holt, 2B
Vazquez, C
Bradley, CF

On Friday night, Chris Sale pitched nine innings and struck out 15 batters - and did not get a decision as the Red Sox lost in 11 innings. As the broadcasters say, despite pitching a gem, Sale "had nothing to show for it" ... right, except for what was recorded in every single one of his non-W/L statistics!

Sale was the third starter in a 10-day period (May 2-11) to have 15+ strikeouts and a no-decision. The other two were James Paxton of the Mariners (16K in 7 innings on May 2) and Max Scherzer of the Nationals (15K in 6.1 innings on May 6).

Who were the last pitchers to go at least nine innings and have 15+ strikeouts along with an ND? Mark Prior (9-3-1-1-16 on September 30, 2004) and Randy Johnson (9-3-1-0-20 on May 8, 2001).

Looking for instances back to 1970 at Baseball Reference's Play Index, I learned it happened to Nolan Ryan four times. The first was against the Red Sox on June 14, 1974, a game the Angels won in 15 innings. Ryan pitched the first 13 innings and allowed 8 hits and 3 runs, walking 10 and striking out 19.

Ryan pitched to 58 batters, which means there were four Boston batters that faced him seven times! Tom Tango's Basic Pitch Count Estimator says Ryan threw approximately 249 pitches that night. Also: Luis Tiant pitched a complete game for Boston: 14.1-11-4-4-5!

Remy Questions How Close A Baserunner Was To Second Base. NESN Shows Two Replays From A Different Part Of The Field. Remy Gives Up.

In Saturday's game post, Steve asked me:

Did you see that awful zoomed replay of Mookie's infield hit in the 7th? Jerry was talking about how he was surprised the shortstop didn't go to second to get Vaz. They went to two different angles and, in both of them, you couldn't even see Vaz going into second because both cameramen zoomed so close on the fielder.

I had not seen the replays, so I went back and looked. ... It's laughable. It isn't really a case of super-zooming like NESN usually does, where you can count the stitches on the ball, but have absolutely no idea what the batter is doing as he swings the bat. In this case, NESN showed two replays of a different part of the field, along with a player who had no connection to what Jerry Remy was discussing.

With Mookie Betts on first, Christian Vazquez hit a grounder into the hole. Blue Jays shortstop Gio Urshela ranged to his right, came up like he might make a jump-throw, but held onto the baseball.

Here's Remy:

That's a little surprising there. I thought he had a chance at second base to get Vazquez. We know he had no chance at first base, but let's see [replay starts] - if he makes a jump throw to second - does he have a chance to get a force out there? He didn't think so, but Vazquez was just kind of walking into second base.

Remy:

Let's take a look from a different angle [second replay starts, from high home camera].

Remy:

We'll see if I'm correct or incorrect! I am ...

Remy:

... still don't know.

And that was the end of that.

When the Red Sox challenged the "out" call at third, Remy and Dave O'Brien moved on.

Wikipedia states that NESN "has provided coverage of the Boston Red Sox's Major League Baseball games since the network's initial spring training game broadcast upon its March 21, 1984 launch."

This is NESN's 35th season showing Red Sox games. And it still can't do the basics: show every pitch, show close plays on the bases, show attempted pickoff throws to first base, show informative replays, competently follow fly balls to the outfield ...

G39: Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 2

Red Sox   - 003 001 001 - 5 12  1
Blue Jays - 000 101 000 - 2  7  1

The top three batters in the Red Sox's order - Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, and Hanley Ramirez - did serious damage today: seven hits (including three doubles and one home run), four runs scored, and four RBI. David Price (5.1-5-2-3-6, 93) looked much more like the guy we saw at the beginning of the year, though he did work with a lot of runners on base.

Boston grabbed the lead in the third when Betts doubled to left with one out and scored on Benintendi's ground-rule double, which bounced over the fence in left-center. Ramirez followed with a hit that sailed over the same fence in the air, his sixth home run of the season.

Price struck out the side in the second and fanned Luke Maile to start the third. Gio Urshela and Teoscar Hernandez both singled, but Price wiggled off the hook when Josh Donaldson smoked a line drive at Xander Bogaerts, who tossed to Eduardo Nunez, doubling Urshela off second base.

Price walked two in the fourth and Anthony Alford knocked in Kevin Pillar with a two-out single to center. Price ended the inning by fanning Maile (again). Hernandez doubled with one out in the fifth and went to third with two outs and was stranded when Yangervis Solarte popped to shortstop.

Keegan Matheson reported that Price's "cutter velocity remained consistent and his two-seamer velocity of 93.3 mph was above his season average. ... [H]e set a season high by forcing 11 swinging strikes. ... Increased curveball usage gave Price a different look on Saturday, too. He entered play throwing that pitch just two percent of the time, but he turned to it 10 times against the Blue Jays."

The Red Sox led 4-1 in the sixth when Bogaerts doubled and scored on Rafael Devers's single. That bit of insurance was welcome because Justin Smoak homered off Price in the sixth.

The Blue Jays did not mount any threat against the bullpen. Carson Smith relieved Price with one out in the sixth. Devers committed a two-base error with two down, but Smith struck out Maile (that's three!).

Hector Velazquez gave up a single to pinch-hitter Richard Urena to start the seventh but was walking back to the visitors' dugout only two pitches later. Hernandez grounded into a 6-4-3 double play and Donaldson grounded out first-to-pitcher. Pillar singled with two outs in the eighth after Joe Kelly struck out the first two batters. Pillar stole second, but Russell Martin whiffed.

Boston tacked on a run in the ninth when Betts doubled and scored in Benintendi's single.

Craig Kimbrel pitched an interesting ninth. He threw three pitches to Curtis Grandson, all knuckle-curves at 85-86: two called strikes and a tapper back to the mound. Then he started Maile off with two more knuckle-curves (both at 84) for a 1-1 count. Finally he threw his fastball ... and Maile swung and missed at two in a row (97, 97) for his fourth strikeout of the game (he had no fair balls on nine swings today). Kimbrel went fastball 96, knuckle-curve 87, fastball 97 to Urena and racked up another strikeout (called, swinging, swinging).

More than a few jaws dropped in the top of the seventh when Christian Vazquez attempted to steal third base with no outs. He and Betts had both singled and lefty Aaron Loup was facing Benintendi. Vazquez took off on an 1-0 count. It was Vazquez's first attempt to steal this year and only his second try since last August.

With a left-handed batter at the plate, Maile had a clear field of vision and the play was close, but Vazquez was tagged when he came off the bag after his slide. Betts snuck into second on the play. Benintendi struck out and Seunghwan Oh got Ramirez to pop to short.

In the SoSH game thread, no one was happy:

I came back in the room and was shocked to see Vas running. Of course he's out. He hasn't been on base in a month. Out of practice.

This is a stupid team.

Cora has to speak to that after the game. If he called it, he needs to own it. If he didn't, he needs to call Vazquez out bc that is inexcusably moronic

This team's collective base running IQ is two above plant life.

Lefty hitter up with 0 out, slowest runner on the team on 2nd base, and middle of the order up. Sure, let's try the double steal. Moronic.

And from DennyDoyle'sBoil:

It was one of the most stupid things I've ever seen this team do. It is so fucking inexcusable given the score, lineup, runner at second, batter at the plate, that I have ever seen.

I fucking made a joke about making an out on the bases [Only 2-3 minutes before the play, DDB posted: "No runners tagged on the bases today yet. Can we get the counter to 1?"] because it's a miracle when he gets on base and is a candidate to make an out at the plate from second base. If a fucking moronic baseball couch potato like me is smart enough to know he can't run or slide, then people actually paid to know what the fuck they are doing have no fucking excuse.

It is fucking shocking. It is horrible. It is unbearably awful baseball.

Pandemonium67 offered another, more optimistic, possibility:

You guys are underestimating Cora. He knew the double steal was such a dumb idea that the Jays would be totally unprepared. The problem was the Jays' catcher is so dumb he didn't know a DS attempt was a dumb idea. That fact is now in stored Cora's mental computer.

The Athletics blew a 5-1 lead and lost to the Yankees 7-6 in 11 innings. (Aroldis Chapman walked the first three batters in the ninth, but Oakland could not score.) ... Boston and New York, both 27-12, remained tied atop the East.

David Price / Marco Estrada

Betts, RF
Benintendi, LF
Ramirez, 1B
Martinez, DH
Bogaerts, SS
Devers, 3B
Nunez, 2B
Bradley, CF
Vazquez, C

G38: Blue Jays 5, Red Sox 3 (12)

Red Sox   - 100 200 000 000 - 3  6  1
Blue Jays - 110 000 100 001 - 5  8  2

Chris Sale (9-6-3-0-15, 116) tied a career-high with 15 strikeouts, fanning six in a row in the third and fourth innings (all swinging). From the second to the ninth, Sale retired 19 of 20 batters. The lone blemish was Luke Maile, who hit his first home run of the season and tied the game in the bottom of the seventh. Facing another lefty, Brian Johnson, in the bottom of the twelfth, Maile (3-for-4, 4 RBI) hit another dong, to deep right-center, giving the Blue Jays a 5-3 win.

After Boston reclaimed its lead in the fourth inning, their bats went AWOL. They managed only one hit over the final eight innings. At one point, the Red Sox sent 28 consecutive batters to the plate without getting a hit.

There was a flurry of activity in the early innings. Mookie Betts walked against Aaron Sanchez (5-5-3-3-4, 96) to start the game and scored on J.D. Martinez's groundout. It took Toronto only four pitches to tie the game against Sale. Teoscar Hernandez hit a first-pitch double and scored on Josh Donaldson's single.

The Blue Jays took the lead in the second. Kendrys Morales hit a ground-rule double into the right-field corner. he went to third on a fly to right and scored on Maile's infield hit, a roller near the first base line. Sale fielded it and threw wildly to first for an error.

Xander Bogaerts tied the game at 2-2 with a homer leading off the fourth. After Mitch Moreland singled, two fielder's choice left Boston with Brock Holt on first and two outs. Sandy Leon struck out, but the ball eluded Maile. When he finally found it, he threw it well over the first baseman's head. Holt scored on the error.

After Sale committed his throwing error, it seemed as though he said to himself "Enough is enough" and pushed his game into Pedro-mode. He retired the side in the third on three grounders and only seven pitches. He struck out seven of the next eight batters. After Maile's homer in the seventh, Sale fanned four of the next five Jays. (Sale has 27 strikeouts in his last two starts, his highest two-game total with the Red Sox.)

Sale was at 104 pitches after eight innings, but he came out for the bottom of the ninth. With one down, Kevin Pillar hit a rope to the wall in right-center. Andrew Benintendi fired the ball to Brock Holt, who threw to third as Pillar tried for a triple. Holt's throw was offline, to the plate side of the bag, but Eduardo Nunez grabbed the ball and whipped his glove across his body and tagged out Pillar. Toronto asked for a review and the call was upheld.

It looked as though the Blue Jays would win the game in the tenth. Sale had faced 33 batters and walked no one. Matt Barnes began the tenth and walked the first two batters. (Actually, he struck out the second batter (Maile! (that guy was fucking everywhere tonight), but home plate umpire Ed Hickox blew the call.)

Dalton Pompey pinch-hit and tried to bunt. He fouled his first attempt, swung and missed at a high fastball, and then bunted foul again for a strikeout. Hernandez fell behind 1-2 and Barnes threw two balls before Hernandez flied to right. Barnes's first pitch to Donaldson was right down the heart of the plate - and he fouled it off. Two balls and a check swing brought the count to 2-2. Barnes again threw a pitch close to the middle of the plate and Donaldson again fouled it off. Barnes's next pitch was in the exact same spot, at 98, and Donaldson swung and missed.

Pillar singled with two outs in the eleventh against Carson Smith. He then stole second, but Morales fanned to end the inning.

Johnson walked Curtis Granderson on four pitches to begin the twelfth. Maile stepped in. Johnson's first pitch to the Toronto catcher was air-mailed over the wall.

The Blue Jays bullpen: 7 shutout innings, 1 hit, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts.

The Yankees lost to Oakland 10-5, so the Red Sox also missed a chance to take sole possession of first place.

Chris Sale / Aaron Sanchez

Betts, RF
Benintendi, CF
Ramirez, DH
Martinez, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Moreland, 1B
Nunez, 3B
Holt, 2B
Leon, C

Yankees vs. Red Sox: Whose Core Is Better?
Jim Duquette, MLB.com:

With the Red Sox having started this season 17-2, and the Yankees in the midst of their own impressive stretch − winning 17 of 19 − both American League East rivals are undoubtedly among the top teams in the Majors. ...

[W]hich club has the better core group of players? ... For this exercise, I will compare each team's top five "homegrown" players − defined as those who made their Major League debut with their current organization. ...

Betts vs. Judge ... Winner: Betts

Bogaerts vs. Sanchez ... Winner: Sanchez

Bradley vs. Severino ... Winner: Severino

Benintendi vs. Torres ... Winner: Benintendi

Devers vs. Andujar ... Winner: Devers ...

Boston's current group is more established at the Major League level, so I give them the nod for the next one to two years.

I am not clear on why Duquette offered these specific comparisons. Why not Bradley vs Andujar or Betts vs. Severino?

Video Games Are Very Unlikely To Have Caused Price's CTS

David Price does not believe playing video games caused the numbness in his left hand that was recently diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome. Several physical therapists agree.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by irritation to the median nerve in the wrist area. Steve Vitale, a physical therapist at Professional Physical Therapy, told WEEI's Alex Reimer:

The position you would have to be in when holding an Xbox or Playstation controller is not the prolonged extension of your wrist you would need –– you see it more with an elevated keyboard. I don't see it often with video game play. ... We tend to see more thumb tendon issues [with video game players].

(Of course, learned opinions from experts in the field did not stop at least one columnist from speculating that video games were the likely cause. Guess who? Hint: He has curly hair.)

Dave O'Brien and Jerry Remy discussed this issue on NESN last night. It was immediately clear they knew nothing about video games and very little about carpal tunnel syndrome. If they were planning on talking about this topic on the air, shouldn't they have acquired some knowledge of the subject beforehand? They appeared ignorant about CTS and sounded like clueless old men trying to explain the new-fangled contraptions kids today are using.

Hearing that neither broadcaster knew about the popular video game Fortnite was surprising since Jen McCaffrey, one of the Red Sox beat writers, published an article on Monday, May 7, about how many Red Sox players are obsessed with the game.

So why didn't O'Brien and Remy know about McCaffrey's article? It had been online for four days. Isn't keeping up with the Red Sox (and coverage of the team) part of their job?

G37: Red Sox 5, Yankees 4

Red Sox - 102 010 010 - 5 10  0
Yankees - 000 000 400 - 4  5  0

J.D. Martinez's home run leading off the eighth inning against the Red Sox's favourite Yankees reliever, Dellin Betances, just barely got over the right field wall. It was the difference as Boston moved back into a tie for first place. New York had knotted the game in the previous half-inning, though they did very little to earn it.

Eduardo Rodriguez (5-1-0-3-8, 93) had pinpoint control of his fastball. He struck out the final two batters in the second, then struck out the side in the third. He did not allow a hit until one out in the the fourth, when two walks and a single loaded the bases. He got Tyler Austin looking at strike three and Miguel Andujar on a fly to Mookie Betts at the warning track in right-center. Then, after a 55-minute rain delay, Rodriguez returned and struck out the first two batters in the fifth.

CC Sabathia (4-9-4-0-5, 80) had no luck in fooling the Red Sox. Betts stroked a ground-rule double to right to start the game and scored on Hanley Ramirez's groundout. CC allowed two singles in the second. Betts led off the third with a single and Andrew Benintendi hustled his way to a right-field double. Ramirez reached on an infield single, scoring Betts. Martinez hit into a fielder's choice and a third run scored. Ramirez donged to left-center in the fifth, about two minutes before the tarp was pulled out.

Heath Hembree took over in the seventh and retired Austin on a fly to right. Andujar and Gleyber Torres singled and Hembree walked pinch-hitter Neil Walker on four pitches. Joe Kelly came in and walked Brett Gardner on four pitches, forcing in a run. Aaron Judge singled home Torres and Didi Gregorius's fielder's choice grounder scored Walker. Kelly then wild-pitched Gardner home with the tying run. (The entire inning was one huge gift from the bullpen.)

Kelly also pitched the eighth and he walked Sanchez on five pitches. Austin flied out to left and Andujar struck out. Torres singled, but Kelly struck out Walker looking. In the ninth, Craig Kimbrel struck out Gardner, got Judge to fly to center, and retired Gregorius on a grounder back to the mound.

During the rain delay, the Globe posted on the top of its website that the game was a 4-0 final.

When Xander Bogaerts was rung up on a questionable pitch in the top of the fifth, NESN's Jerry Remy said: "After a rain delay, that pitch is probably going to be called a strike". That was an extremely damning thing to say about an umpire - in this case, Stu Scheurwater - suggesting that he would deliberately call pitches incorrectly because he wanted to go home as quickly as possible.

In the top of the seventh, one of Betances's pitches was at 100 mph. Dave O'Brien said that the Yankees have two guys who throw over 100 because Aroldis Chapman "can get it up to 103-plus".

In 2010, Chapman, then a rookie, threw a pitch clocked at 105.1. In a game in April 2011, the stadium gun had one Chapman fastball at 106. However, the pitchF/X reading was only 102.4. In his major league career (regular season, postseason, and All-Star games), Chapman has thrown 8,205 pitches. And it looks like exactly one of them has been reliably clocked above 103. ... 1 out of 8,205.

NESN's replay zooms seemed even worse than usual tonight. Here is the entire TV screen showing Judge about to swing at one of Kimbrel's pitches:

Eduardo Rodriguez / CC Sabathia

Betts, CF
Benintendi, LF
Ramirez, DH
Martinez, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Moreland, 1B
Nunez, 2B
Devers, 3B
Vazquez, C

I don't usually advocate rampant bunting. Tonight, however, I do.

While Watching NESN: Do Not Trust Anything Dave O'Brien Says

NESN's Dave O'Brien, as Mookie Betts led off Wednesday night's game against the Yankees (top of the first inning):

The Red Sox remain one of the top 5 toughest teams to strike out in the American league, but lately a lot of 10 or more strikeout games.

Some facts:

1. While the Red Sox struck out 14 times last night, it was their only game in more than a week with 10+ strikeouts (six games).

2. There was a stretch last month (April 21-28) in which the Red Sox struck out 10+ times in six of seven games (and had nine whiffs in the other game).

3. In the two weeks since April 28 (i.e., "lately"), Boston batters have had seven or fewer strikeouts in seven of their last nine games.

The Red Sox's batters' game logs for the entire season are below.

My advice: Do not trust anything Dave O'Brien says.

G36: Yankees 9, Red Sox 6

Red Sox - 020 011 200 - 6 12  1
Yankees - 103 010 04x - 9 12  0

When Craig Kimbrel came into the game, the Red Sox led 6-5. When Kimbrel walked off the field, the Yankees were up 9-6. So, of course, the loss went to ... Matt Barnes.

Kimbrel was brought into Wednesday night's game with one out the bottom of the eighth, after Barnes had allowed a double and a walk. New York trailed by one run, but had men at first and third. Kimbrel fell behind Brett Gardner 3-0, but battled back to a full count before Gardner drilled the seventh pitch of the at-bat to deep left-center. The Red Sox outfielders were playing shallow and Mookie Betts chased the ball to the wall. Two runs scored on the triple and the Yankees had retaken the lead, 7-6. Aaron Judge crushed a two-run homer. Kimbrel struck out Didi Gregorius and Giancarlo Stanton, but those outs came just a little too late.

When Kimbrel jogged in from the pen, I knew that if his appearance did not go well, someone would suggest that Kimbrel cannot pitch in the eighth inning. (Because the baseballs are different or the mound is 100 feet from the plate or the strike zone is shaped like a pickle or the non-batting team can have only three guys in the field. It's just soooo different, a closer can't deal with it. Baseball players may be creatures of habit, but any pitcher who cannot adjust to a change in his routine gets weeded out of the game several levels below the majors. Those guys, they get sent home quickly and we never know their names.)

And, sure enough, right before Kimbrel fanned Stanton to end the inning, NESN's Jerry Remy added inanity to insult:

Remy: You know, Dave, the question has to come up, about Kimbrel. Is he basically so used to just being a ninth-inning, clean guy, coming in in the ninth inning to pin down a save? They've tried a few times to bring him into the eighth inning, it hasn't gone very well. You know, is he the type of guy that is so used to being just a ninth-inning guy that that's what he's gotta be?

Dave O'Brien: It's a great question. I think, a very fair question.

In 2017, Kimbrel pitched in the eighth inning six times. He faced 11 batters. He allowed one single, one walk, and retired nine (seven by strikeout). Last year, with the bases empty, opponents batted .171 against Kimbrel. With men on, they hit .084. With RATS, it was .063. I'd say it has gone very well, but those are the facts and Remy actually played the game, so maybe I'm off base.

The Red Sox trailed 4-2 (their two runs coming on a Mitch Moreland dong), but rallied in the middle innings to grab a 6-5 lead. Andrew Benintendi (whose latest haircut has a Kid 'n Play vibe) homered in the fifth. Xander Bogaerts (3-for-5) doubled and scored on Eduardo Nunez's sac fly in the sixth. And with two outs and nothing going on in the seventh, Benintendi walked and (as O'Brien and Remy were (for unknown reasons) praising Yankees reliever Chad Green for the consistent velocity of his fastballs ("he really comes after the hitters")) Hanley Ramirez pulverized one of those fastballs, turning it into powder and airmailing the particles into the second deck in left, wiping out New York's lead.

But that good feeling did not last very long.

Boston is out of first place for the first time since March 30, the second day of the season.

Headline of the Day: "Aaron Boone Is Proving He Can Navigate Yankees Through Adversity" ... These assholes have won 17 of their last 18 games. What adversity?

Rick Porcello / Masahiro Tanaka

Betts, CF
Benintendi, LF
Ramirez, DH
Martinez, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Moreland, 1B
Nunez, 2B
Devers, 3B
Leon, C

Porcello was moved up a day in the rotation after David Price experienced continued numbness in his left hand and returned to Boston for tests. The condition first occurred on April 11 when he lasted only one inning on a cold evening against the Yankees.

Manager Alex Cora:

[E]verybody thought ... it was just something that happened that night. ... [W]e talked about it and we felt it wasn't going to happen again. It came up on Sunday [in a bullpen session] ... He was tested [in April], but now it's something else. We'll see how it goes.

Before April 11, Price had begun the season with 14 shutout innings. Since then, he has an 8.22 ERA in five starts.

The Red Sox and Yankees are both 25-10, which are the best records in baseball. The Yankees are on a 16-1 run. It's the franchise's best 17-game stretch since June 3-18, 1953. (Those Yankees went 23-2 from May 27 to the first game of a June 21 doubleheader ... and then lost nine in a row)

Matthew Kory, writing in The Athletic, wonders why Cora did not use a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning last night. After Rafael Devers made the first out, Eduardo Nunez was up and he is:

the definition of a free swinger. He offers at 51 percent of the pitches he sees, six percentage points above league average. He also swings at pitches outside the strike zone 40 percent of the time whereas the league average is 29 percent. Over his career Nunez has been better against right handed pitchers despite having the platoon advantage against lefties. ...

[This season, Mitch] Moreland has been hitting everyone. ... Against lefties he's hitting a Mike Trout-ian .333/.400/.556 in 2018. It's just 20 plate appearances ... but the point [is] Moreland has been swinging the bat very well against all comers. ...

With Nunez up, the perpetually struggling and left-handed Jackie Bradley on deck, and Vazquez following him, it would make sense to save whatever pinch hitters are available for Bradley or Vazquez and allow Nunez to bat. Cora did nothing and Nunez struck out. ...

Mired in a season-long slump, Bradley ... was hitting .178 and slugging .271. As bad as that is, he's even worse against left handers. He's hitting .088 with a .114 on-base percentage and striking out in 37 percent of his plate appearances against southpaws. ... This is a situation that screamed for a pinch hitter. ...

On the first pitch Chapman nicked him in the shoulder sending him to first. It was about the best possible outcome for the Red Sox. Bradley got on base and wasn't injured. ...

Next up came Vazquez, who has also been struggling, hitting .193 with a .253 on-base percentage. If you don't hit for Bradley with Moreland it's because you're going to hit for Vazquez with Moreland. ... Moreland is a good hitter on a hot streak and Vazquez is a bad hitter on a cold streak. Bradley will be going full speed on anything with two outs. A batter with power could score Bradley from first on a double. Moreland has power. Vazquez does not. ...

On deck awaited one of the best hitters in baseball in Mookie Betts. ... Cora did nothing. Vazquez grounded weakly to second base and the game ended.

Jay Jaffe (FanGraphs):

Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in Major League Baseball history, North America is fully accounted for on the no-hit front within a single season. The United States of America checked in with its first no-hitter of 2018 on April 18, when the A's Sean Manaea held the Red Sox hitless in Oakland. Mexico got on the board for the first time last Friday, May 2, when the Dodgers' Walker Buehler and three relievers no-hit the Padres during the Mexico Series opener in Monterrey. And on Tuesday night, Canada completed the sweep when the Mariners' James Paxton no-hit the Blue Jays in Toronto.

Paxton is the first Canadian-born pitcher to throw a no-hitter in a Canadian ballpark.

On the other side of pitching performances, Baltimore's Dylan Bundy had a very short (a mere 12 minutes) and extremely bad outing against the Royals. He faced seven batters: Single. Home Run. Home Run. Home Run. Walk. Walk. Home Run. 7 batters, 7 runs. Bundy is the first pitcher in history to allow four home runs and not record an out. Of his 28 pitches, only two were called (2) or swinging (0) strikes. Kansas City scored 10 times in the top of the first and won 15-7. Camden Chat offered some helpful illustrations of what went on.

All five teams in the AL Central are under .500.

Disagreeing With Jerry Remy: If An Umpire Is Consistently Wrong, That Is Not A Good Thing

Home plate umpire Gary Cedarstrom did not call Tuesday's Red Sox/Yankees game in accordance with the major league baseball rule book - which, as I understand it, is the main criteria of his job.

He regularly called pitches that were outside of the strike zone "strikes". I noted six of them, all against the Red Sox.

2nd Inning, Rafael Devers, Pitch #1:

3rd Inning, Andrew Benintendi, Pitch #2:

5th Inning, Benintendi, Pitch #1:

6th Inning, J.D. Martinez, Pitch #2:

7th Inning, Jackie Bradley, Pitch #3:

7th Inning, Benintendi, Pitch #4:

All of Cedarstrom's calls against left-handed batters:

(Note: The red boxes on the left - outside of the strike zone - are strike calls awarded to Yankee pitchers against Red Sox batters.)

In the seventh inning, after the blown call on the 1-1 pitch to Bradley, I heard NESN's Jerry Remy say this:

I'll tell you what. At least Cedarstrom has been consistent out there tonight.

I find this extremely strange. Remy (and countless others) believe being wrong is okay for an umpire as long as he is always wrong.

I disagree. I think if an umpire is always wrong, it means he is a terrible umpire.

G35: Yankees 3, Red Sox 2

Red Sox - 000 010 100 - 2  8  1
Yankees - 010 100 10x - 3  6  1

The Yankees won for the 16th time in their last 17 games and moved into a tie with the Red Sox for first place in the AL East. Both teams are 25-10. After Boston tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the seventh, New York pushed across the go-ahead run on Aaron Judge's one-out single.

Drew Pomeranz gave up two solo home runs to Giancarlo Stanton, but otherwise tamed the torrid Yankee bats, allowing only four hits in six innings. After Stanton's line drive to left cleared the fence in the second, Pomeranz walked Gary Sanchez and fell behind Aaron Hicks 2-0. He then called out the team trainer because of what looked like a bloody fingernail on his left index finger. After a few minutes and two practice pitches, Pom said he was good to go.

He threw ball 3 to Hicks very high and outside. NESN:

Jerry Remy: "I don't think this is going to last very long."

Dave O'Brien: "Doesn't feel like it."

Remy: "Nope."

He threw a called strike and ball 4 to Hicks. Then he retired the next six batters, including four by swinging strikeout. After walking Hicks, Pomeranz stayed in the game and faced 18 more batters. Only four reached - and only one runner advanced past second base. ... Nice call, Jerry and Dave!!

You might have thought beforehand that the pitching match-up was heavily in New York's favour, but look at the final lines:

Pomeranz  6-4-2-2- 6,               24 batters, 107 pitches
Severino  6-6-2-0-11, 1 wild pitch, 25 batters, 109 pitches

Dave O'Brien referred to Severino's outing as "brutally tough" for the Red Sox. But Pomeranz allowed the same number of hits/walks as Severino. The two men pitched the same number of innings and they each allowed two runs. Their batters faced and pitches thrown were nearly identical. Strikeouts are nice, but if you are judging a pitcher's outing, how many runs he allowed (and how many baserunners the opposition had) are more important. Needless to say, O'Brien did not character the Yankees' hitters experience with Pomeranz as being "brutally tough".

Boston made a little bit of noise against the Ace of All Aces in the early innings. Eduardo Nunez doubled with two outs in the second. Christian Vazquez singled to right to led off the third, but was thrown out trying for a double. (The ball was hit into the corner and I'm mystified as to why Vazquez was not standing on second base when Judge's throw came in.) J.D. Martinez doubled with one out in the fourth, but was stranded.

O'Brien referred to JDM's hit as a "slide-in double", cleverly (at least in his own mind) contrasting it with a "stand-up double". He's used the phrase before and he remains the only person in human history who has ever used it. Fans, players, coaches, umpires, writers, other broadcasters, peanut vendors, parking attendants, scoreboard operators, general managers, team presidents, grounds crew, sports radio hosts, sports radio callers -- none of them have EVER uttered the phrase "slide-in double", unless they were specifically mocking O'Brien. ... I am now waiting for O'Brien to witness Mookie Betts make a routine grab in right field and refer to it as "a ball-in-glove catch". Or to describe a long ball as an "outside-the-park home run".

Nunez struck out to open the fifth, but reached on a wild pitch. Severino fanned both Jackie Bradley and Vazquez, but Betts and Andrew Benintendi both blooped singles to left-center and Nunez scored. With runners at second and third, Hanley Ramirez grounded out to second.

Nunez led off the seventh and he finished his 10-pitch at-bat with an infield hit to shortstop. Reliever David Robertson took over and struck out JBJ and got Vazquez to fly to center. Nunez stole second with Betts at the plate and Mookie lined a 2-2 pitch to left. Brett Gardner tried making a sliding stop to his right, but the ball got by him and rolled to the wall. Nunez scored on Betts's triple. Benintendi ended the inning by striking out.

Neil Walker, a pinch-hitter, doubled off Heath Hembree with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Gleyber Torres walked. Hembree balked with a 2-2 count on Gardner and the runners moved up. Hembree then walked Gardner to load the bases. ... And Joe Kelly came in, to what sounded like fewer boos than I would have expected. Judge hit a hard grounder into left. Walker scored and Torres tried to score, but Benintendi threw him out at the plate. Didi Gregorius chopped back to the mound and Kelly took his time, jogging towards first and letting Gregorius get almost to the bag before throwing him out.

Ramirez singled to start the eighth, but after Martinez lined to center, Xander Bogaerts grounded into a double play. In the bottom half, Stanton walked, stole second, and went to third on a wild pitch (also against Kelly). With one out Hicks grounded to first. Ramirez set himself and threw home. Stanton did not slide and he was tagged out by Vazquez.

The Red Sox faced Aroldis Chapman in the ninth. Rafael Devers grounded back to the mound. Nunez struck out, taking a weak wave at a 102-mph pitch that was outside. Bradley had struck out in his three previous trips and I was anticipating a gruesome ending to the game. But Chapman hit JBJ with his first pitch, so it was up to Vazquez. He took a strike, two balls, and a second strike. He fouled a fifth pitch off before grounding to second.

Drew Pomeranz / Luis Severino

Betts, RF
Benintendi, LF
Ramirez, 1B
Martinez, DH
Bogaerts, SS
Devers, 3B
Nunez, 2B
Bradley, CF
Vazquez, C

This is the first time since June 2, 2002 that the Red Sox (25-9) and Yankees (24-10) will meet when they hold the two best records in baseball.

Since April 2, both teams are 22-8 (which is a 119-win pace). This could be an epic summer.

           W   L   RS/G   RA/G   HOME   ROAD   1-RUN    RA    RA   EXPWL
Red Sox   25   9    5.6    3.7   11-4   14-5    10-3   192   125   23-11
Yankees   24  10    5.8    4.0   14-5   10-5     6-2   197   135   23-11

If there was ever an ideal moment for Drew Pomeranz to step forward and establish himself as a productive member of the 2018 rotation, it is tonight.

In three starts, Pomeranz has a 6.14 ERA. He showed signs of dominance towards the end of his last game, on May 2 against the Royals, in which he battled through some early rough patches to give the Red Sox six innings (three runs allowed).

Severino has a 2.11 ERA in seven starts. In his last outing, at Houston, he pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out 10. The only blemish on his season came against the Red Sox on April 10, when he allowed five runs in five innings. (Absent that start, his ERA is 1.29.)

Joe Kelly wants to be booed - loudly - at Yankee Stadium. (He will definitely get his wish.)

It will probably be loud and I like loud. ... I like a lot of noises. It gets my blood going. ... I think [a heated Red Sox/Yankees rivalry is] better for the game. ... I think it's awesome. ... Hopefully we'll be fighting throughout the whole season, metaphorically.

Yankees Are Beating Everyone But Still Looking Up At The Red Sox
Tyler Kepner, New York Times, May 7, 2018

The best teams are the greediest. They enjoy the meal, but won't savor it until they grab the last slice of cake off your plate. As the Boston Red Sox arrive for a three-game clash starting Tuesday, the Yankees have been on a merciless tear.

They played 18 games in 18 days, in three time zones, and won all five series. They staged ninth-inning comebacks to finish three of them, all against playoff teams from last season. ...

The only cause for concern is that, while the Yankees have a better record than 28 teams, they trail the Red Sox. The Yankees are 18-3 since the teams last tangled at Fenway Park, but still looking up in the standings.

The Red Sox are 25-9, and they seem like themselves again. Remember last season, when they won the American League East but finished last in the league in home runs? Now they lead the majors in slugging percentage. Mookie Betts bruised his right shoulder on Sunday, but that should not slow his Willie Mays impersonation: a .355 average with 13 homers. Boston's five-year, $110 million investment in J.D. Martinez (.349, 8 homers) looks like a steal. ...

Now the Yankees face the only team that has done it better this season, the one rival who always matters most.

This Is The Yankees' Chance To Blow Past The Red Sox
By George A. King III, New York Post, May 7, 2018

It's early.

That is the biggest lie in baseball, yet you hear it throughout the game as if all 162 games don't carry the same weight.

And when it comes to Red Sox-Yankees series, it's never too early for the hatred between the blood rivals to boil. Was it too early for the dugouts and bullpens to clear on April 11, when Joe Kelly drilled Tyler Austin in Fenway Park? Since it happened close to the middle of the first month, did the Red Sox taking two of three mean less? Did the Red Sox's 17-2 start and 7½-game lead over the Yankees on April 21 not count because of the date? ...

"The Red Sox are a great team, we know that," Yankees GM Brian Cashman said from his office on Monday ... "[T]hey are the defending AL East champs. ... [N]ow we are knocking on the door."

More like pounding with a sledgehammer and chain saw. During the 16-game stretch, the Yankees' pitchers have posted a 2.06 ERA, and the lineup is averaging 6.13 runs.

ESPN's Week 5 Power Rankings:

1. New York Yankees
Record: 24-10
Week 4 ranking: 4

The Yankees' top rookie and MLB preseason No. 5 prospect according to ESPN's Keith Law, Gleyber Torres, has arrived and produced immediately, delivering the walk-off win with a home run Sunday. The rookie is hitting .327 and launched his first career home run on Friday. He compiled back-to-back three-RBI games earlier last week and has helped the Yankees to a 14-1 record when he is in the lineup. The future is looking bright for the young prospect.

2. Boston Red Sox
Record: 25-9
Week 4 ranking: 1

Mookie Betts muscled his way to the top of the leaderboard this week, crushing five home runs, including his Red Sox-record fourth career three-home run game. His 8.5 at-bats per home run is well ahead of his career pace entering this year (26.7), so the Red Sox hope his bruised shoulder will heal quickly. Unfortunately, after two scoreless outings against Tampa to open the year, David Price has struggled to maintain form. After a poor outing against Texas on May 3, his ERA in his last five starts is up to 8.22.

After these three games, the two teams will not meet until June 29. The remaining series are:

June 29-30-July 1 at New York
August 2-3-4-5 at Boston
September 18-19-20 at New York
September 28-29-30 at Boston (the last three games of the regular season)

Also: Some words from Nick Cafardo (my emphasis):

Luis Severino is the ace of all aces, averaging more than 97 miles per hour with his fastball and just dominating on the mound as the Yankees' No. 1 starter.

Cafardo wrote that, not for his personal Yankees blog, but for the Boston Globe.

SoSHer The Grey Eagle:

Severino has 27 career major league wins. I guess it doesn't take long to be The Ace Of All Aces. He only needs 485 more wins to pass Cy Young. When the casual fan thinks of The Ace Of All Aces, you know he thinks of Severino, with ... his glittering postseason record of 1-1 with a 5.63 ERA.

G34: Red Sox 6, Rangers 1

Red Sox - 101 003 100 - 6 10  1
Rangers - 000 000 100 - 1  5  0

The way the top of the sixth unfolded is my favourite kind of Red Sox inning. Two outs and no one on base. The other team assumes they'll be back in their dugout in a minute or two, but the Red Sox start getting guys on base and end up scoring some runs.

Boston was up 2-0 when Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers both struck out against Doug Fister (6.1-9-6-2-5, 103). Then, Eduardo Nunez singled to left, Jackie Bradley was hit with a 1-2 pitch, and  Sandy Leon, who started the day slugging .111 (slugging! .111!) cranked a 2-0 pitch to deep right-center. The Red Sox now led by five.

Chris Sale (7-4-1-1-12, 103) struck out the side in the first, looking like the dominating ace of last season, then escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second by catching a line drive off Carlos Perez's bat that was headed straight for his coconut. After that, the Rangers did not put up much of a fight. Sale gave up a home run to Ryan Rua leading off the seventh.

Mookie Betts left the game in the middle of the second. He singled to start the afternoon and ran to second when Andrew Benintendi grounded to first. Texas first baseman Ronald Guzman recorded the out at first and threw to second base. The ball hit Betts in the back and it seemed like he might have jammed his right wrist when he slid. But reports after the game were that he had suffered a right shoulder contusion. There is apparently nothing wrong with his wrist.

Betts ended up scoring on Mitch Moreland's double. Boston added a run in the third when J.D. Martinez doubled and scored on Bogaerts's single to left. Martinez hit a solo dong in the seventh.

News Flash: Phil Cuzzi is not a good umpire. He had successive calls at first base challenged and overturned today. The calls came within a span of three batters. Cuzzi called Jurickson Profar safe at first when a high throw from Devers in the bottom of the third pulled Moreland off the bag, but replays showed that Moreland got his foot back in time for the third out. Then, with one out in the top of the fourth, Cuzzi ruled Jackie Bradley safe on a similar play. The throw pulled Guzman off the bag, but replays showed that he had been able to slap a tag on Bradley's left shoulder.

MFY Watch: Through seven innings, the Yankees and Cleveland had combined for no runs and one hit. Cleveland ended the Yankees' no-hit bid with four runs in the top of the eighth, but New York answered with three in the bottom half. In the bottom of the ninth, Cody Allen shit the bed yet again. He gave up back-to-back doubles that tied the game at 4-4 and Gleyber Torres hit a three-run homer off Dan Otero. New York has won 15 of its last 16 games.

Cleveland - 000 000 040 - 4  4  1
MFY       - 000 000 034 - 7  6  0

Torres (21 years, 144 days) is the youngest player in Yankees history to hit a walk-off home run. Mickey Mantle was 41 days older when he did it against the Red Sox on April 23, 1953.

Chris Sale / Doug Fister

Betts, RF
Benintendi, LF
Martinez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Devers, 3B
Nunez, 2B
Bradley, CF
Leon, C

The Yankees host Cleveland at 1 PM. Both New York and Boston have tomorrow off before beginning a three-game series in the Bronx on Tuesday night.

On April 10-12, the Red Sox took two out of three from the Yankees at Fenway Park: 14-1, 7-10, 6-3.

AL East

             Current      Thru April 20   Since April 21
              W    L          W    L         W    L
Red Sox      24    9         17    2         7    7
Yankees      23   10          9    9        14    1
Blue Jays    18   16         13    6         5   10
Rays         15   16          6   13         9    3
Orioles       8   25          6   14         2   11

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina underwent emergency surgery Saturday evening after being hit in his groin area by a foul ball ...

In the ninth inning of Saturday's game against the Chicago Cubs, Kris Bryant nicked a 102-mph fastball from Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks that drilled Molina in his groin area. The Cardinals catcher doubled over, and it took several minutes for him to regain his breath. He was unable to walk at first.

Deadspin: "Yadier Molina Undergoes Surgery After Taking Fastball To The Dick And Balls"

G33: Red Sox 6, Rangers 5

Red Sox - 000 012 201 - 6  9  0
Rangers - 010 031 000 - 5  6  2

Joe Kelly's assignment was simple: get the toughest two outs of the night while stranding all three enemy baserunners. The game was tied 5-5, after the Red Sox had fought back from being down by three, and the Rangers had loaded the bases with only one out.

Kelly's first batter was Joey Gallo, who had homered twice off Eduardo Rodriguez. On a 2-2 count, Kelly got Gallo to chase a 98-mph fastball up and out of the zone for the second out.

Kelly got ahead of Jurickson Profar 1-2, threw ball 2, then Profar fouled off two pitches and looked at ball 3. The eighth pitch of the battle was in the dirt and would have brought home the go-ahead run if Profar could have ignored it. He could not, hacking at it and fouling it away. He spoiled two more pitches before Kelly got him looking on the 11th pitch of the at-bat.

Both Kelly and Christian Vazquez reacted to the pitch well before umpire Adrian Johnson called it strike 3:

When you know, you know. pic.twitter.com/COTTpGLRKL

— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 6, 2018

In the top of the ninth, Andrew Benintendi tripled to right-center with one out, his third hit of the night. He scored on Hanley Ramirez's sac fly. Craig Kimbrel came in and got a foul pop-up and two strikeouts. It was Kimbrel's 300th career save and he reached that milestone "faster" than any other reliever, in only 330 opportunities.

Boston (24-9) maintained its one-game lead over the Yankees, who beat Cleveland 5-2 for their fifth straight victory and 14th win in 15 games. It's the first time a Yankees team has had a 14-1 stretch since June 24-July 12, 1998.

With the game tied 1-1, Rodriguez (6-4-5-2-10, 107) struck out the first two men in the fifth, but allowed a single and a walk to the bottom two spots in the Texas order. After a mound visit, Rodriguez faced Delino DeShields and the Rangers' leadoff man hit the first pitch to deep left. The ball came down and bounced off the top of the left field wall for a three-run homer.

In the sixth, Mitch Moreland cracked a two-run dong to bring the Red Sox to within one run, 4-3. Gallo hit his second homer in the bottom half, but the Red Sox tied the game at 5-5 in the seventh. With one out, Mookie Betts walked. Benintendi doubled on a bloop into short left field, near the line. Profar went out and got the ball, stumbled slightly, and looked at Benintendi going into second. Betts, at third, sensed Profar was dozing and sprinted home. Mookie was right, of course, and Profar's throw was late as Betts slid in safely head first. Benintendi went to third on Hanley Ramirez's grounder to the pitcher and scored on J.D. Martinez's single to center.

Heath Hembree struck out the side in the sixth, but dug himself a hole in the seventh. DeShields singled and Shin-Soo Choo doubled and the Rangers were making a serious threat, with men at second and third and no outs. The Red Sox brought the infield in and held the runners as Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded out to shortstop. Nomar Mazara was intentionally walked and Kelly came in and established himself as the night's hero.

Eduardo Rodriguez / Cole Hamels

Betts, RF
Benintendi, CF
Ramirez, DH
Martinez, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Moreland, 1B
Nunez, 2B
Devers, 3B
Vazquez, C

Markus Lynn Betts

                           Games Played   Plate App.   Games w/3 HR
Mookie Betts                    534          2,422          4
Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth      2,503         24,564          3
(As of May 3, 2018; regular-season games only)

Mookie now holds the record for fewest games played to reach four three-HR games (534). The previous record was 701, by Johnny Mize.

Mookie has hit 11 home runs in his last 14 games. He is the only Red Sox player in history to homer 11 times in a span of 14 or fewer games.

Mookie: 25 of his 38 hits are for extra bases, including 13 of his last 15, and each of his last 6.

Mookie leads the majors in home runs (13), extra-base hits (25), runs scored (34), average (.365), slugging (.856) and OPS (1.298).

Mookie is the fastest Red Sox hitter to reach 25 extra-base hits since (at least) 1908.

Mookie tied Fred Lynn (1979) for the most home runs in the Red Sox's first 32 games of a season.

Mookie's 89 total bases are the most by a Red Sox hitter through 32 games since Jim Rice had 96 in 1978. (Rice set the team record with 406 total bases that season.)

Mookie's 34 runs scored through 32 team games are the most by any Red Sox hitter since Johnny Pesky in 1946 (35).

Mookie has 13 home runs, 13 walks, 13 strikeouts.

Mookie has five home runs and zero strikeouts in his last 12 plate appearances.

Date Mookie Hit His 13th Home Run: 2016 (June 1), 2017 (June 29), 2018 (May 4)

Mookie's 29 runs scored in April set an American League record for that month. The only hitters with as many runs in April since 1900 are Bryce Harper (32 in 2017) and Larry Walker (29 in 1997). (Note: Many seasons did not begin until early or even mid-April.)

Mookie has played in 28 of 32 games this year. That percentage (87.5%) works out to 141.75 games in the regular season. If my math is correct, Mookie is currently on pace to hit 66 home runs (actually 65.8).

Markus Lynn Betts has a clean shirt, new shoes, silk suit, and blue tie. He don't need a reason why. Look at his gold watch and diamond ring. He ain't missin' not a single thing. He knows they come running just as fast as they can, because every girl is crazy about a sharp-dressed man.

Also: The Red Sox are the top team in average and OPS with two strikes (.209/.623) and they have three of MLB's top six two-strike batting averages: Xander Bogaerts (1st, .368), Brock Holt (tied for 2nd, .346) and Mookie (6th, .327).

And God is a Bruins fan:

.@45PedroMartinez is having a good time. pic.twitter.com/hCUovEJH3w

— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) May 2, 2018