Eduardo Rodriguez was chased after recording only 10 outs (3.1-6-5-3-4, 78) and the Red Sox hitters failed to deliver twice in the clutch, leaving seven men on base in the first four innings.
Trailing 5-1 in the fourth, the Red Sox loaded the bases after two were out. Christian Vazquez walked, Jackie Bradley singled to center, and Mookie Betts walked. Andrew Benintendi - representing the possible tying run - drove the ball towards the left field wall, but Jake Marisnick ran over from center and made a superb catch along the wall on the run.
Xander Bogaerts (3-for-5) homered in the fifth. He had also knocked in Boston's first run with a single to left that scored Betts. The Red Sox went in order in the sixth and seventh, and Mitch Moreland's double was wasted in the eighth.
Facing Roberto Osuna in the ninth, Blake Swihart singled to left. With one out, Betts walked. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch before Benintendi's groundball single into left scored Swihart and sent Betts to third.
With visions of a walkoff dong dancing in their heads, the Faithful roared for J.D. Martinez. He fouled off two fastballs before swinging at a low changeup. He grounded it to shortstop Carlos Correa, who started a 6-4-3 double play that ended the game, and left JDM with his first 0-for-5 collar of the season.
Charlie Morton / Eduardo Rodriguez
Betts, RF
Benintendi, LF
Martinez, DH
Bogaerts, SS
Moreland, 1B
Kinsler, 2B
Devers, 3B
Vázquez, C
Bradley, CF
The Red Sox's magic numbers: Clinch a playoff spot: 3. Clinch the AL East: 13.
Matt Barnes has inflammation in his left hip and will not pitch until further notice. He had an MRI on Thursday. Manager Alex Cora:
[W]henever he's ready he'll be ready. ... As far as throwing ... we'll talk about it [on Saturday] and map it out and hopefully it's sooner rather than later, that he'll be back in a few days.
In his last 11 games, Barnes has allowed 10 runs and four homers in 10.1 innings.
More than anything, [Friday's] game revealed the importance of [David] Price to the Red Sox winning it all. The Astros exposed the leaky middle relief of the Boston bullpen ...
While the postseason trend is more innings from the bullpen and fewer from the starters, the Red Sox may have to go deeper with their starters than other teams if the bullpen doesn't start locking down more zeroes.
At the start of August, the Red Sox bullpen had a 3.34 ERA, sixth best in the majors. Since the beginning of August, it's 4.11, 18th in the majors. And since Aug. 24, it's 5.22, 24th in the majors.
Attention! This is WEEI's gloom-and-doom train, making daily stops through the first week of October. All aboard!
The Red Sox are 97-45 with 20 games remaining. The 1912 team holds the franchise's win record: 105-47-2.
9-11: Minimum record needed to set a new franchise record for wins
9-3: Minimum record needed in next 12 games to set a new franchise record for wins in 154 games
Tony Kemp, pinch-hitting with two outs in the seventh inning, lined Ryan Brasier's full-count pitch into the left field corner for a two-run double, giving the Astros a 3-2 lead. Boston immediately tied it up, but Houston opened the eighth with three consecutive singles off Joe Kelly. All three runners eventually scored: on a sac fly, a wild pitch, and a single.
The Red Sox tried again the home half of the eighth, as Ian Kinsler and Eduardo Nunez singled with one out, but the rally came to naught as Rafael Devers, pinch-hitting for Christian Vazquez, struck out and Jackie Bradley grounded back to the pitcher.
David Price (6.1-2-2-2-10, 101) pitched a great game, allowing a walk in the first and a single in the second before setting down the defending World Champs in order in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, striking out five and allowing only three balls out of the infield.
Unfortunately, Alex Bregman doubled to lead off the seventh and after striking out Carlos Correra, Price walked Tyler White. Brasier came in and Yuli Gurriel tagged his first pitch off the wall in left-center for a double. The Red Sox believed Gurriel was tagged out at second, but they lost that challenge. After Josh Reddick fouled to the catcher, Kemp doubled to left.
Boston had scored in the first on singles from Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi and a sac fly to right from J.D. Martinez. Xander Bogaerts kicked off the fourth with his 20th home run of the year. The Red Sox loaded the bases in the fifth off Gerrit Cole (6-5-2-2-8, 97) but could not pad their lead. Sandy Leon struck out, but a wild pitch put him on first. Bradley struck out, Betts singled, Benintendi lined to left, and Martinez walked. Bogaerts batted with two outs, but he swung and missed at an 1-2 pitch.
After Houston took its 3-2 lead, the Red Sox tied it when Bradley walked (and went to second on Collin McHugh's wild pitch) and Ryan Pressly walked Betts. Benintendi grounded to first and Houston got a force at second. Martinez lined a single to left, scoring JBJ. Shortstop Correa dove to his left, but came up empty. With runners at first and third, Bogaerts ended this rally, too, flying to center.
Roberto Osuna retired the top of the order in the ninth. Betts flied to center, Benintendi lined to left, and Martinez grounded to third.
Also: The Orioles lost their 100th game of the season in style, being hammered by the Rays 14-2. ... The Tigers TV announcers - Mario Impemba and Rod Allen - have been suspended for the remainder of the season after getting into an actual fight in the booth before Tuesday's game. The Athletic described the pair's off-air relationship as "contentious" and reported "simmering tension" between the two for a while.
Gerrit Cole / David Price
Betts, RF
Benintendi, LF
Martinez, DH
Bogaerts, SS
Moreland, 1B
Kinsler, 2B
Núñez, 3B
León, C
Bradley, CF
News: Dustin Pedroia had additional surgery at the end of July and will not be back this season. ... Chris Sale will start on Tuesday but for only two innings and no more than 40 pitches.
David Price was pulled from his last start (August 29) after three innings when a line drive hit him on the left wrist. ... He has a 1.62 ERA over his last seven starts.
Brandon Phillips's two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning on Wednesday erased Atlanta's 8-7 lead and put the Red Sox up 9-8. His hit increased the probability of a Red Sox win by 74%, according to Baseball Reference - from 8% to 82%. That's the third-highest Win Probability Added of the season (.886). Only David Bote of the Cubs (.901 on August 12) and Josh Bell of the Pirates (.895 on July 15) have had bigger hits.
A commenter at Over The Monster noted: "Phillips scored the 1st run, the tying run (7th), and the go-ahead run (9th)". ... Someone else reported: "Phillips became the first player in team history to hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth inning or later in his debut with the team." ... I'm thinking the guy will probably get a nice round of applause at some point in this series.
The Red Sox are 97-44 with 21 games remaining. The 1912 team holds the franchise's win record: 105-47-2.
9-12: Minimum record needed to set a new franchise record for wins
9-4: Minimum record needed in next 13 games to set a new franchise record for wins in 154 games
Eight Red Sox Seasons With 97+ Wins
1912: 105-47-2 (World Series Champions)
1915: 101-50-4 (World Series Champions)
1946: 104-50-2 (Won AL Pennant)
1977: 97-64 (2nd in AL East, 2.5 GB)
1978: 99-64 (2nd in AL East, 1.0 GB)
2004: 98-64 (World Series Champions)
2013: 97-65 (World Series Champions)
2018: 97-44 ?
The best thing you can say about the Yankees' trip to Northern California is that it could have gone even worse. It couldn't have concluded in worse fashion, however, with this disastrous, alarm-sounding, 8-2 loss to the A's on Wednesday night at Oakland Coliseum, during which their titular ace and their formerly stud catcher competed arduously, early, for the goat's horns.
Is there any less desirable sensation for a baseball team than slogging in September? The Yankees have now lost two and tied one of their last three series, posting a 4-6 record at a juncture they hoped to soar.
[Aaron Boone:] "I think we're doing some things well ..."
[T]he Yankees (87-53) head to Seattle holding a respectable 3.5-game lead, four in the loss column, over the A's (84-57). Yet little doubt exists over which of these clubs stands as the rising stock and which the falling entity, and it would surprise no one if the gap shrunk rather than grew as we proceed. ...
Luis Severino and his battery mate Gary Sanchez ... turned the bottom of the first inning into the worst pairing since Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone in "The Specialist." Have you ever seen anything like the two-wild-pitches, two-passed-balls, two-doubles, two-singles dumpster fire that the Yankees endured? Severino and Sanchez looked more out of sync than AOL and Time Warner as the A's leapt to a 4-0 lead. ...
The confusion between the two begged forward-looking questions: Is Severino ... with his 2.2-inning, six-run outing, still the man you want starting that wild-card game? And should Sanchez, his defense looking as bad as ever and his bat overall tepid, remain the Yankees' No. 1 catcher? ...
Eventually, be it this month or next, the Yankees will perform live without a net. Are you eagerly anticipating that scenario or dreading it?
I guess we know who should not be starting a potential American League wild card game against the A's, or maybe we found out who should not be catching it.
Yankees ace Luis Severino, who has struggled in the second half of the season, was chased early Wednesday night — with a lot of help from his catcher Gary Sanchez. ...
Severino got the nod last season when the Yankees' hosted the Twins for the AL wild card game — and got just one out in the first inning before he was yanked. Wednesday night was his shortest start of the season and the shortest regular-season start since May 14, 2017 against the Astros.
He allowed six runs, five earned, on six hits. ...
Severino had some a lot of help imploding.
Sanchez had two passed balls. Severino was charged with two wild pitches, one that allowed a run to score, in an ugly first inning. ...
In a July 24th game in Tampa, Sanchez's passed ball allowed a run to score and Severino was steamed. Back in the dugout, Severino confronted his catcher. The discussion, caught on cameras broadcasting the game, got heated. The next day, Sanchez was put back on the disabled list after just three games with the same groin injury he suffered on June 24. ...
[Sanchez] has 13 passed balls on the season, tied for the most in the major leagues with Martin Maldonado. The Astros' catcher has 13 in 102 games this season, Sanchez has the same in 59 games. ...
Yankees pitchers have thrown 37 wild pitches with Sanchez behind the plate. ...
Sanchez finished last season with 16 passed balls and Yankees' pitchers were charged with 53 wild pitches when he was behind the plate. ...
Over his last 11 starts, Severino has allowed 42 earned runs in 55.1 innings pitched for a 6.83 ERA.
September 5, 2018
Yankees at Athletics / Luis Severino pitching (B1)
Ramon Laureano doubles to LF
Matt Chapman grounds out SS-1B
Laureano to 3B on Gary Sanchez passed ball
Jed Lowrie singles to RF, Laureano scores (1-0)
Khris Davis doubles to RF, Lowrie to 3B
Lowrie scores, Davis to 3B on Severino wild pitch (2-0)
Matt Olson doubles to LF, Davis scores (3-0)
Olson to 3B on Gary Sanchez passed ball
Olson scores on Severino wild pitch (4-0)
Stephen Piscotty strikes out swinging
Marcus Semien grounds out SS-1B
[4 runs, 4 hits, 2 wild pitches, 2 passed balls, 41 pitches]
Gary Sanchez being accountable and saying he should have blocked the two passed balls and two wild pitches ... doesn't change the fact that he had as bad an inning as a major league catcher can experience ...
The communication between Severino and Sanchez, who got into a heated discussion earlier this year in Tropicana Field's dugout, wasn't the only problem for the Yankees.
Through six innings, Mike Fiers blanked them and allowed two hits after stranding three runners by getting Luke Voit on a bases-loaded grounder in the first. ...
[The Yankees] have lost six of 10 [and] dropped 9.5 games back of the AL East-leading Red Sox.
Red Sox - 010 000 062 - 9 11 0
Atlanta - 200 050 010 - 8 10 2
0-487.
That was the record of major league teams this season when trailing by six or more runs entering the eighth inning.
The past tense is important because the Red Sox's win on Wednesday afternoon improved that record to 1-487.
Boston actually came from behind twice. They scored six times in the eighth inning to tie the game 7-7 and after Atlanta took an 8-7 lead in the bottom half, Brandon Phillips - in his first game of 2018 - crushed a two-run homer with two outs to give the Red Sox their only lead of the day.
You could sense it. They went to the bullpen and Christian gets a hit and Lin gets a hit and then when Jackie got a hit it was like, "OK, it's on." ... They could have folded and said you know what ... it's been a productive road trip ... Whatever, let's go home, enjoy the off day and get Houston on Friday, but it was no sense of that. Everybody was pulling for each other ... we were all in. Here we go ... I think honestly that was the most fun I had all season just watching the last few innings.
That is quite a claim, considering the Red Sox have more than a few magical once-in-a-season games this summer.
Steve Pearce: "It was like, "Uh-oh, we're starting to do it." Then, boom, the hits started to happen, we scored on the error ... We all felt the momentum starting to shift. ... Then we started delivering."
Phillips said, two nights ago: "I love playing this game. ... Just let me keep doing my thing and get a ring."
Less than 24 hours later, he was this season's latest hero: "[I'm] happy that the Red Sox gave me an opportunity to do this. ... That was amazing. ... Especially for me to do it in Atlanta in front of my family and friends. That was pretty awesome."
Yes, it was. And if you were watching the Atlanta feed, it was extra-awesome. Even though Chip Caray and Joe Simpson constantly and shamelessly rooted for the home team, they had nice things to say about the Red Sox in the early innings, but when Atlanta increased its lead from 2-1 to 7-1, the Red Sox became an afterthought ... until the eighth inning.
That's when Dan Winkler gave up four hits to the first four batters on only 10 pitches. There was a nice rhythm to his economical outing: foul, Christian Vazquez single, foul, Tzu-Wei Lin single, called strike, Jackie Bradley single, called strike, ball, ball, Blake Swihart two-run double.
When Jonny Venters took over, play-by-play man Caray reminded Atlanta fans that while there was two opposing runners on base, "they still have a four-run lead". When Andrew Benintendi swung and missed Venters's first pitch, Caray exclaimed, "There's a good start!"
Benintendi swung and missed again before lining an opposite-field single for another run. Steve Pearce pinch-hit for Mitch Moreland and sent a screaming liner to deep left that Ronald Acuna somehow caught with a desperate leap. But that became a sacrifice fly when another run came across - and it was 7-5.
Phillips - who had walked and showed some impressive hustle when he scored in the second - hit a hard grounder to third. The Atlanta announcers were pretty much calling a completed double play when the ball bounced off Johan Camargo's chest and dropped in front of him. Camargo grabbed the ball and threw it wildly past first base. The runners advanced to second and third. Brad Brach was the newest pitcher to try and "stem the tides". Pinch-hitter Ian Kinsler singled to left and two runs scored with Phillips beating the throw to the plate. 7-7!
Eduardo Nunez, another pinch-hitter, flied to center for the second out, but Vazquez singled to right-center, with Kinsler sprinting to third. When Xander Bogaerts was announced as a pinch-hitter, Atlanta manager Brian Snitker brought in his fourth reliever of the inning, A.J. Minter, and made four other defensive changes. Once everyone was set, Minter fell behind Bogaerts 2-0. Caray was silent for 17 seconds before saying of Minter: "Let's see him break Bogaerts's bat here and get this inning over."
Bogaerts walked on five pitches, loading the bases for Mookie Betts, Boston's fifth pinch-hitter of the inning. Minter started Betts off with two balls, as well, before getting a gift strike call and then sneaking a pitch onto the outside black for a 2-2 count. Betts fouled off two pitches before Minter painted the outside edge for strike three.
The Red Sox had six new players take the field in the bottom of the eighth, including pitcher Brandon Workman. He retired the first two batters before facing Freddie Freeman.
Strike one called, outside corner. [Joe Simpson: "Uhh. Okay. ... Not really." Caray: "No." (The pitch was indeed outside.)] Give him that one, don't give him another one. Red Sox shift for Freddie. ... Swing and a HIGH FLY BALL! DEEP RIGHT FIELD! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? FREEMAN HOMERS! ... What do they say? It's not how you start, but how you finish. Freddie Freeman with his first homer from a team other than the Marlins since July 1st. And Atlanta has taken the lead, 8-7.
Caray's use of the "it's how you finish" line was odd, since Atlanta began the first inning with a home run, a triple and two singles. They led 2-0 after the first and 7-1 after five. That saying - when it is used correctly - means that even though a team starts out poorly, it does not matter if at the end of the game, they are ahead in the scoring. In his excessive exuberance, Caray committed two errors with his comment: Atlanta had started off fantastically - and the game was not finished
But Caray did not care. He was not done waxing poetic about this incredibly rare event - a go-ahead home run. After a strike and a ball to the next batter, he proclaimed:
409 glorious feet for Freddie Freeman. And when the Braves were on the precipice of disaster in the top of the eighth inning, they bent, didn't break, Minter got that last out, and Freeman, with two outs, hits a huge home run to give Atlanta the lead.
If you knew nothing about baseball and heard Caray carrying on like this, you might have thought that home runs were an extremely rare event. And that Freeman's shot cured cancer and 16 other diseases and would be the catalyst to world peace.
Minter returned for the top of the ninth. Caray said the Red Sox "had to spend a ton of energy to get this game tied. Don't give them any more hope. Get that first guy." Atlanta "looked like they were rolling, and then Boston put together a six-run, seven-hit eighth inning" before Freeman hit "an incredible two-out homer".
Swihart popped up to short right. Caray: "Little pop, long run Ozzie, Lane Adams is out there, Ozzie MAKES THE CATCH! WHAT A CATCH by Albies, who came out of nowhere!" ... Out of nowhere? He was the first person you mentioned when the ball was hit. Joe Simpson chimes in and calls Albies "fearless" for making the catch.
Benintendi fell behind 0-2 and singled - just as he had done in the previous inning. Simpson calls him a "good hitter" with a voice devoid of emotion. With Pearce at the plate, Caray made his desires clear: "Let's see if A.J. can get Pearce to hit the ball on the ground and end. this. game." Pearce did not hit into a game-ending double play, however; he struck out looking.
Atlanta was one out from victory. "Phillips is the man that stands in the way of a Braves win." Minter made a toss to first and threw a 95-mph fastball almost over the heart over the plate, a little lower and a tad inside from the heart of the plate. It was his 28th pitch of the game, which tied his career high for a game.
Phillips took a huge gargantuan swing and sent the ball 432 feet to deep left-center. Ronald Acuna was a statue in left field, barely moving as the ball sailed far over his head. Caray says Phillips "almost hit that one to his front porch in Stone Mountain".
A bit later, Simpson says "back in the big leagues, first game, storybook stuff for him" in a voice that sounded like it was two minutes away from suicide. As Laura quipped to me, they announcers acted like the game was completely over in the fifth inning, now it's the ninth and they're praying it's not over quite yet.
Craig Kimbrel came out for the bottom of the ninth. Dansby Swanson swung and missed three pitches and walked back to the bench. Albies popped a 1-1 pitch to Betts in center. Tyler Flowers worked a full-count walk and pitcher Touki Toussaint pinch-ran. Kimbrel also went to a full count on Lane Adams (bsbfb) before fanning him on a 98-mph fastball.
Caray: Swing and a miss and the Boston Red Sox steal one from the Braves, late. They score eight runs in their final two innings and stun Atlanta, which led 7-1. 9-8 is the final score. A very happy homecoming for Stone Mountain's Brandon Phillips. So Boston sweeps the Braves, they take five out of six head-to-head against Atlanta.
Simpson: A lot of good things to talk about, it's just it didn't finish up the way it was supposed to.
Caray: So Boston steals one from Atlanta 9-8. We join you again tomorrow night ...
Both announcers were allergic to the idea that maybe, just maybe, their team lost to a better team. It was impossible to get pissed off at them. Their homerism was so over-the-top, it was (unintentionally) hilarious - especially since I knew that the Red Sox would win the game.
In the end, Caray may have been thinking that maybe it wasn't really about how you finish.
In Oakland, The Ace of Aces gave up six runs in 2.2 innings and the Yankees lost to the Athletics 8-2.
Hector Velazquez / Mike Foltynewicz
Bradley, CF
Swihart, RF
Benintendi, LF
Moreland, 1B
Phillips, 2B
Devers, 3B
Holt, SS
Vazquez, C
Velazquez, P
The Red Sox finish up the regular season's penultimate road trip with an early game at Soulless Corporation Institution Field.
Now playing for the Red Sox, Number Zero, Brandon Phillips:
Number 4 is retired here, No. 7, one of my teammates has that. I was going to pay him for it but then I was like "Uh, they're playing good baseball, let me leave it alone." And then I was going to have No. 44 because it was two 4's, and I was like "Uh one of my teammates has that number, too." So I said, "They're playing good baseball so I'll leave that alone." So I just asked myself what is the weirdest number you have up there? And he was like, "Let me look," and he said "Zero," and I said "Get me that." I'm happy with zero. ... [I]t would be nice to have some bling-bling on my finger too so, that's basically it.
The Red Sox are 96-44 with 22 games remaining. The 1912 team holds the franchise's win record: 105-47-2.
10-12: Minimum record needed to set a new franchise record for wins
10-4: Minimum record needed in next 14 games to set a new franchise record for wins in 154 games
If You Don't Hate The Government You're Not Paying Attention
Imagine a store that makes its customers miserable. This interior is ugly and uncomfortable. At best the staff is indifferent and slow; at worst rude and incompetent. You pay sky-high prices for inferior goods. Often you pay full price yet leave the place empty-handed.
You don't have to be a marketing expert to guess what would happen to such an establishment. It would go out of business. It wouldn't be all that surprising if a mob of ripped-off consumers burned the place down.
A Simple Solution To The Phillies' And Baseball's Attendance Problems
"I have this incredible product. It's fun, exciting, and you can spend hours everyday enjoying it. Better yet, it's changing with the times and you really have to see how cool it is now!"
Or:
"Well, this product used to be great, but now it's boring. The people producing it have disregarded all that is tried and true about the world. Basically, everything is wrong with it now!"
If those were the two pitches for the product, which one — especially if you heard it day in, day out from almost everyone who talks about the product — would be more likely to convince you to spend your money? ...
The senior members of the group that is baseball writers, tweeters, commentators, broadcasters, and executives jump at any opportunity they can to criticize the game. It's too slow. The stars are too distant. Too many strikeouts. Pitchers are too good. Hitters hit too many home runs and not enough singles. Batters are just looking for walks. The shift ruins the game. Young players don't respect the game. Blah blah blah.
It's all as tiresome to read and listen to as it is lazy to write and say. ...
[I]t seems that most people who talk and think about baseball for a living hate the game ... When that's the impression being given to listeners, viewers, and readers, is it any wonder that no one is showing up at the ballpark? Complaints about attendance in this environment are the equivalent of saying "here's my awful product that is going to frustrate the hell out of you, why aren't you buying it?" ...
[T]here is always a legitimate role for criticism and suggestions for improvement ... [but] baseball's professional chattering class ... are working very hard to drive fans away.
Red Sox - 000 032 000 - 5 8 1
Atlanta - 010 000 000 - 1 4 0
Steve Pearce reached base four times (three singles and a walk) and had three RBI: the go-ahead run that snapped a 1-1 tie in the fifth and two insurance runs in the sixth.
Rick Porcello (5-2-1-1-5, 100) threw 32 pitches in the second inning and 25 in the third, which led to his early exit.
In addition to their eight hits, the Red Sox also drew nine walks.
Atlanta led 1-0 when Kirk Suzuki homered with two outs in the bottom of the second. (But all that meant was the Red Sox would snag their 42nd come-from-behind victory.) Two batters later, Porcello hit Dansby Swanson in the back of the helmet with a 2-2 pitch. Swanson got up quickly and was walking around, but after the trainer and manager talked with him, he left the game.
The Red Sox loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth, with two walks sandwiched around Xander Bogaerts's double. But Sean Newcomb did not allow a run, as Eduardo Nunez popped to short, Jackie Bradley struck out looking, and Sandy Leon flied to center.
Newcomb (4.1-4-3-5-2, 78) was not so fortunate in the fifth. Porcello lined the first pitch of the inning into right for a single! The Red Sox will not play any more games in NL parks until the World Series, so Porcello's .429 batting average (3-for-7) is safe.
Mookie Betts walked, Ian Kinsler popped to right, and J.D. Martinez lined a single off the third baseman's glove, loading the bases. Newcomb walked Bogaerts on five pitches to force in the tying run. Shane Carle came in from the pen and Pearce smacked his 2-1 pitch into left to give the Red Sox a 2-1 lead. Nunez's groundout to third scored JDM with the third run.
In the sixth, Atlanta reliever Luke Jackson walked pinch-hitter Rafael Devers. Betts grounded to third, but because Devers was running on the pitch, he advanced to second. Kinsler singled him to third. With two outs, Bogaerts walked (again, on five pitches) to load the bases. Pearce came through once more, with a hard single grounded into left for two runs.
Atlanta made a slight bit of noise* with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Suzuki doubled and Steven Wright walked Ozzie Albies. Wright stranded both runners by striking out Charlie Culberson, who had replaced Swanson. And that was about it. Joe Kelly issued a one-out walk in the seventh, but got a strikeout and a groundout. Nick Markakis singled to begin the eighth, but Ryan Brasier started a 1-6-3 double play before ending the frame with a strikeout. Heath Hembree struck out two of his three batters in the ninth.
*: Speaking of noise, the PA system spewed near-constant sound effects through many of the half-innings in which Atlanta batted. There was the organ that accompanies the Racist Chop, of course, but there were also "Charge!" trumpets, direct orders to clap your hands, more than a few "Day-O"s, and a lot of tuneless thuds meant to encourage more clapping. Rock N Roll may not be noise pollution, but that shit certainly is.
Two follow-up notes to last night's posts: The official scorer's ruling on Eduardo Nunez's double was changed to a single and an error on left fielder Ronald Acuna, who allowed Nunez to tgo to second when he slipped and fell.
After hearing NESN's Dave O'Brien refer to Nick Markakis's arm in right field as "a hose", I had asked if anyone had ever heard that term before. Before tonight's game, I looked through the Statcast highlights on my Apple TV device. One was of Kevin Kiermaier's 100.6-mph throw to nail a runner at the plate. I clicked on it. It was a play from last Saturday's Rays/Cleveland game. The announcer's call:
The 1-1 to Brantley. Cracked into center and in front of Kiermaier. Gomes being waved in, Kiermaier's throw coming home. Strong as a missile - and Gomnes is out standing at home plate. What a hose by Kiermaier in center field to end the second.
What?!? I thought I was hearing things. Perhaps "hose" is a now-common term and I had simply been fortunate enough to not hear it until last night. ... It should be added to an updated OB Bingo Card.
Rick Porcello / Sean Newcomb
Betts, RF
Kinsler, 2B
Martinez, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Pearce, 1B
Nunez, 3B
Bradley, CF
Leon, C
Porcello, P
Update: Last night was the sixth time since 1908 the Red Sox used eight or more pitchers in a nine-inning game. All six games have occurred since 1999. ... Brandon Phillips is the first Red Sox player to wear #0.
Porcello has allowed 10 runs in his last three starts. He has a 6.43 ERA over his last five games, and that includes his excellent outing (one run in seven innings) against Philadelphia.
Matthew Kory takes a closer look at the Red Sox's 18-9 record in August.
It's safe to say at this point that Sox fans should start saving up some sick days for use in October. ...
David Price ... was the only Red Sox starter in August who threw more than five innings and had an ERA under 5.00. Price's ERA? 2.10. ... Price had his best month by far, striking out 27.7 percent of hitters while walking only 4.2 percent. ... Price looked like the guy Boston thought it was signing three years ago ...
Mookie Betts ... had another incredible, fantastic, amazing month. Ho hum. Another month with a .400 on base percentage? Yup. [yawns] Another month with a .600 slugging percentage? Sure, whatever. Another month where he walks at least as much as he strikes out? What? Sorry, I stopped listening. Betts also hit .353 and he now leads all baseball players in WAR. ... There isn't a better player in baseball, folks. ...
Mitch Moreland: ... He's been playing through knee pain, which may have been exacerbated when he slid into the small cement wall by the photographer's pen in search of a foul ball. ... [H]e started 18 games in August, hitting a less-than-robust .205/.259/.397. ...
Sandy Leon: Pitchers swear by Leon's defense. ... The problem comes when Leon picks up a bat. In August Leon hit .125/.222/.232. That's simply not major league quality.
The Red Sox are 95-44 with 23 games remaining. The 1912 team holds the franchise's win record: 105-47-2.
11-12: Minimum record needed to set a new franchise record for wins
11-4: Minimum record needed in next 15 games to set a new franchise record for wins in 154 games
AL Wild Card: MFY/Athletics, 10 PM. The Yankees lead the Athletics by 3.5 and the Mariners by 9.0.
As Mookie Betts stepped into the batter's box at the beginning of Monday's game in Atlanta, NESN's Steve Lyons remarked that Atlanta starter Touki Toussaint usually "pitches in the 93 mph range". A "range" is usually more than one speed. Less than five minutes later, Dave O'Brien informed us that J.D. Martinez had hit five home runs in his last four games against Atlanta. That means he's going deep for sure today, right? ... I expected that it would be a great day for NESN Nonsense™.
I was not disappointed. ... Well, I was disheartened to know that O'Brien and Lyons were being forced on Red Sox fans who deserve far better, but I heard more idiocy than I expected. (And as you probably can guess, I expected a lot.) In roughly chronological order:
B2: Ozzie Albies hits a low line drive to Mitch Moreland at first. O'Brien: "That will be ... scooped up there at first base - or did he catch it cleanly? I think he caught it clean. Eventually, the first base umpire [Jansen] Visconti ruled on it. And so Albies is out." O'Brien says "eventually" in a lame attempt to cover his own mistake. The umpire had started making the 'out' sign before O'Brien said anything about the play. When O'Brien paused after "That will be ...", Visconti's fist had been in the air for at least two seconds. And if OB thought Moreland "caught it clean", why did he initially say Moreland "scooped up" the ball?
B3: Ronald Acuna leads off. O'Brien: "Acuna Jr., struck out to begin the ball game." ... It looks like I missed the announcement that baseball games now begin in the bottom of the first inning.
B4: Brandon Workman walks Dansby Swanson, loading the bases with one out. O'Brien: "And many in the crowd doing the Tomahawk Chop again. It goes back to the 1991 season here, when the Braves really started to turn things around. They went from worst to first, went to the World Series, almost won it. Seven games against Minnesota, that was a great World Series. John Smoltz against Jack Morris in Game 7."
With all of the controversy in recent years surrounding Chief Wahoo and the announcement that Cleveland will eliminate the offensive logo from their uniforms after this season, I was surprised that O'Brien would call attention to the Chop without also saying many people believe it is racist. (Because it is.) Note: O'Brien was the play-by-play man for Atlanta's games in 1990 and 1991.
T7: Lyons: "The Red Sox are falling into a pattern where they do most of their damage all in one inning. Today, they scored their three runs in the fifth. We noted that in Chicago, they had a couple big seventh innings. Alex Cora would just as soon have them score a lot more in other innings as well."
0824 - 2 in 3rd, 1 in 5th
0825 - 1 in 2nd
0826 - 1 in 6th
0828 - 1 in 2nd, 2 in 3rd, 1 in 6th, 3 in 8th, 1 in 9th
0829 - 1 in 2nd, 1 in 3rd, 1 in 6th, 11 in 7th0830 - 4 in 7th, 5 in 9th
0831 - 1 in 8th
0901 - 2 in 5th, 3 in 7th, 1 in 8th
0902 - 0
0903 - 3 in 5th, 2 in 8th, 3 in 9th
Of those 10 games, the Red Sox scored "most" (or a majority) of their runs in only three of them. I will admit that scoring one run means "all" of your runs came in that inning, but I don't think even Lyons would describe one run over nine innings as "damage". He mentions the seventh inning, but in one of those two games, the Red Sox actually scored more runs in the ninth.
T7: O'Brien: "Mookie has played 26 interleague games. His last 26, he's hit nine home runs." ... Actually Betts has played 79 interleague games (75 starts), but O'Brien did quickly correct himself. But this bit of information is utterly meaningless. A pace of nine homers in 26 games would be 56 for a 162-game season, but there is nothing specific about NL teams that makes it easier for Betts to go deep.
And if he did well against an NL West team, what relevancy does that have to what he might do against an NL East team like Atlanta? His nine home runs were hit against the Brewers (2), Phillies (2), Marlins (2), Cardinals (1), Nationals (1), and Atlanta (1). The Atlanta dong came against Matt Wisler, who now plays for the Reds.
T8: J.D. Martinez singles with one out. O'Brien: "Xander Bogaerts now, 0-for-3. Last 20 games, Xander batting .321. And the Red Sox trying to go back-to-back in the hit column here. Not many in the game, the Sox have seven, Atlanta seven."
Is going back-to-back in hits a thing? Whatever. Is 14 hits in seven innings "not many"? On Monday, a majority of the other games - 9 out of 14 - had 14 or fewer hits in nine innings.
T8: Kinsler drives in two runs with a single to right. Lyons: "This inning should have been over a while ago, but then the Red Sox will rub your noses in it if you don't put them away. ... And they are a great two-out opportunity team, because they are not an all-or-nothing team. They're not a let's-go-for-launch-angle-hit-the-ball-out-of-the-ball-park. They'll take their singles, they'll take their walks, they'll get on on an error, just like they did."
This is astounding. J.D. Martinez is one of the game's biggest and most outspoken proponents of optimizing his launch angle. And with good reason, since it saved his career and turned him into the productive hitter he has become. There were numerous stories about him in the spring. It was common knowledge that JDM was preaching to both Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts. And what has happened? JDM and Mookie are both serious MVP candidates and Bogaerts is having the best season of his career.
How is it possible Lyons is unaware of this? Or does he disapprove of this new information and so refuses to acknowledge the Red Sox's devotion to it? Imagine a Red Sox announcer, in 2003-2004, when Boston and Yankees took tons of pitches and wore down opposing pitchers, coming along and praising those teams for their first-pitch hacking approach. You would wonder if that person had ever watched a game. I don't know if Lyons is willfully ignorant of everything that is directly in front of him, but he sure acts like it.
T8, final batter: Lyons: "I'm not even sure that -- Swanson had to jump so high to get to the ball, Moreland might have been safe anyway."
B8, first batter: Lyons: "I think maybe if Swanson caught that ball, he would have come down on the bag for the out." O'Brien: "I think a good throw clearly gets him." Lyons: "Oh, no question!"
No question, Steve? You expressed the direct opposite opinion not three minutes ago.
B8: Lyons says Acuna homered in five consecutive games earlier this year. O'Brien: "Yeah, leadoff home runs!" ... In those five games, Acuna hit six home runs and all of them were hit in Atlanta, so Acuna actually "led off" no games with a home run. In fact, in the first game of the streak, Atlanta trailed 1-0 when he came to bat. And his home run in his second game came with two outs in the bottom of the second inning.
T9: Mookie lines out to Nick Markakis in right. (O'Brien at first thought the ball fell in safely, but even on the live feed, you could tell it was caught cleanly.) "Markakis has always been a very good defensive outfielder. Good arm. Not necessarily a hose out there, but very accurate." ... Have you ever heard of an outfielder's arm described as a "hose"?
Finally, take a look at these:
B2: Toussaint bats with an 0-2 count. O'Brien: "Eovaldi looking for that third strikeout today."
B4: Albies bats with an 1-2 count. O'Brien: "Eovaldi looking for that K again." (One pitch later, Lyons: "Looking for a punchout".)
B4: Swanson bats with a 1-2 count. O'Brien: "And the 1-2, as he looks for the K."
B6: Swanson bats with a 1-2 count. O'Brien: "And Kelly looking for the K."
B8: Swanson bats with an 0-2 count. O'Brien: "He's 0-2 here, on Swanson, trying to put him away. Two pitches later, NESN graphic: "In his last 4 outings, Barnes has thrown 37 fastballs and gotten 1 swing-and-miss." O'Brien: "Like a swing and a miss right here, 1-2."
B8: Acuna bats with a 2-2 count. O'Brien: "Looking for the whiff."
B9: Camargo bats with a 2-2 count. O'Brien: "Kimbrel looking for the punchout of Camargo."
I'll bet if you asked the Red Sox pitchers, they would prefer any kind of an out on the next pitch rather than however many it might take for a strikeout. O'Brien often says, when the Red Sox are at Fenway Park, that the fans are cheering for a strikeout. I doubt it. More than likely, they are cheering for an out.
On the day after umpire Joe West confiscated an index card from Phillies reliever Austin Davis, Major League Baseball officials stated that pitchers are allowed to use note cards on the field, as long as doing so does not delay the game.
Phillies manager Gabe Kapler:
I think it's great that our pitchers are able to have their game plans on them. I think it takes a lot of mental focus, takes a lot of bandwidth to get out the best hitters in baseball, and when you can just take a little of that off your mind and put it on a card, I think that's helpful for pitchers and good for baseball.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon:
I didn't understand why it wasn't permissible. As long as [the card] is not attached to some kind of device that can alter or doctor the ball, it's no big deal. ... Who cares? If you're looking to accelerate the game, having information in the back pocket of a pitcher might help accelerate, eliminate a trip.
Davis:
This is something I create. We have our meeting where we go over the hitters. I take that information and put it on a card so I don't have to try and memorize it ... [I can] just take a glance and go.
Maddon added:
The part I would be concerned with is you take the observation power of the player out of it also to the point where they become so reliant and spoon fed as opposed to understanding what they're seeing in front of them. I believe in information, I believe in possibly being reminded but I still like the idea of players looking in the dugout. I like that connection between on the field and the dugout and your coach.
Red Sox - 000 030 023 - 8 10 0
Atlanta - 000 001 100 - 2 8 1
The Red Sox were held hitless for four innings, before banging out five hits in the fifth, including three consecutive doubles. Ian Kinsler hit a key two-out, two-run double in the eighth and (after a BBI to load the bases) Xander Bogaerts smoked a double to center in the ninth for two extra insurance runs.
After Nathan Eovaldi (3.1-2-0-4-4, 86) threw 39 pitches in the first inning, and 71 through three innings, it was clear he would not go very deep into this game. Alex Cora used seven relievers. (Atlanta put only three of Eovaldi's first 63 pitches into play, and none of his first 38.)
Touki Toussaint (4.2-4-3-2-6, 64) breezed through the first four innings, showing off a nice curveball, but with one out in the fifth, Eduardo Nunez doubled to left. Ronald Acuna got to the ball, but he slipped and fell on his ass. Nunez had slowed around first, but when he saw there was no throw coming into the infield, he darted into second.
I assumed that it would be a single and an error (and was utterly convinced of it when NESN's Steve Lyons said it was probably a double), but Nunez got credit for two bags. It made no sense, because fielders do get charged with errors even if they do not touch the ball. Perhaps the official scorer thought "He did not mean to fall down". Well, sure, but other players didn't mean to allow the ball to roll between their legs or throw the ball 15 feet over the first baseman's head.
Kinsler doubled to the base of the wall in right-center and Christian Vazquez lined a double down the left field line. That was good for two runs and Mookie Betts's single to right made it 3-0.
Eovaldi walked three men in the first inning, which was more free passes than he had given up in any of his previous 17 starts this year. Atlanta also left the bases loaded in the fourth. Eovaldi walked Johan Camargo and Kurt Suzuki singled to left. Ozzie Albies flied to right and Camargo went to third. Brandon Workman took over and he walked Dansby Swanson. Toussaint grounded to first and Mitch Moreland got the force at the plate. Acuna ended the inning with a popup to second.
Steven Wright pitched the fifth. He hit his first batter, got two force plays at second, and gave up a bloop single to right before recording the third out. Albies homered off Joe Kelly (and his moustache) in the sixth.
Ryan Brasier allowed a rare run in the seventh. Ender Inciarte singled and, after a fly out, so did Nick Markakis and Camargo. Suzkui's sac fly made it 3-2. Heath Hembree struck out Albies to end the inning.
With their lead down to one run, the Red Sox pounced on Jesse Biddle. J.D. Martinez singled with one out and Moreland walked with two down. Nunez grounded to first and it looked like Freddie Freeman had an easy force opportunity at second for the final out. But his soft toss was extremely high. Swanson leapt and was able to bat it forward, likely saving a run. The bases were loaded and Kinsler lined a 1-1 pitch to right to make it 5-2. (At home, I wondered out loud if Kinsler was looking "biddle-biddle" on that pitch, but I won't make that weak joke here.)
The Red Sox's propensity for late-inning fun carried over into the ninth. Bryse Wilson walked pinch-hitter Brock Holt. Betts lined to right, with Markakis coming and making a tumbling catch. Andrew Benintendi doubled to right-center and Holt stopped at third. JDM was BBId. (I know it cannot be true, but it seems like intentionally walking the bases loaded usually backfires. Laura is convinced it never works, even though she has seen it work plenty of times. I know how she feels.)
Bogaerts waved awkwardly at a low, outside 0-1 pitch and fouled the 0-2 off. Then he looked great, hitting a rope towards left-center. Inicarte sprinted to his right but the ball sailed past his glove and rolled to the wall. Two runs scored. That BBI worked so well, Atlanta tried it again. Moreland was franked (his third walk of the afternoon) and Nunez lined the ball to pretty much the same spot as Bogaerts had done. This time, Inciarte made the catch, but Martinez scored Boston's eighth run.
Atlanta was 1-for-12 with RATS and left 13 runners on base. ... Eovaldi struck out the first batter he faced (Acuna) with a 100.9-mph fastball, the fastest pitch he has thrown this year. ... I think Ender Inciarte should give up the outfield and become Atlanta's closer.
The Athletics beat the Yankees 6-3. New York managed only one hit after the second inning. Oakland is only 3.5 GB the MFY in the Wild card race.
Nathan Eovaldi / Touki Toussaint
Nathan Eovaldi is back on the mound after only two days of rest, but he worked only two innings on Friday before a rain delay ended his evening. Dany Gilbert Kiti Toussaint is making his second major league appearance.
The Red Sox are 94-44 with 24 games remaining. The 1912 team holds the franchise's win record: 105-47-2.
12-12: Minimum record needed to set a new franchise record for wins
12-4: Minimum record needed to set a new franchise record for wins in 154 games
Boston's chances to win the series were shot down in flames almost immediately after the umpires said "Play Ball". The White Sox showed plenty of ruff stuff - each starter had at least one hit - and seven players scored a run and seven players (but not the same seven) had at least one RBI. The White Sox fired their guns, scoring in each of the first four innings. Tim Anderson and Daniel Palka hit big jacks as Chicago won in a landslide.
Boston kept a stiff upper lip during Sunday's hard times, but were ultimately caught with their pants down and managed only five singles: two from Xander Bogaerts, two from J.D. Martinez, and one from Blake Swihart. Martinez, Mitch Moreland, and Brock Holt each had a walk. Holt was also hit by a pitch.
Betts, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Moreland, 1B
Martinez, LF
Nunez, 3B
Kinsler, 2B
Holt, DH
Swihart, C
Bradley, CF
With Rafael Devers on a rehab assignment with Pawtucket, Alex Cora was asked how Devers and Eduardo Nunez would split playing time at third base:
Eduardo is swinging the bat well. He's more direct to the ball. ... The luxury we have is we can play him at second, too. We can DH him when J.D. plays in the outfield. ... One thing for sure, Raffy needs to play better. We knew that. The whole season offensively he's been up and down. Defensively he's made his errors. He needs to be better and that's the bottom line. We need to win ball games and whoever is playing best is going to play. [Will there be a platoon?] Maybe, yeah. Maybe not. We'll see how it goes.
The Red Sox are 94-43 with 25 games remaining. The 1912 team holds the franchise's win record: 105-47-2.
12-13: Minimum record needed to set a new franchise record for wins
12-5: Minimum record needed to set a new franchise record for wins in 154 games
MFY Watch: Tigers/Yankees, 1 PM. ... It would take a lot for the Yankees - who lead the Athletics by 5.5 games and the Mariners by 10 games - to miss the Wild Card Game. But it's not impossible, so keep the faith!
Updated: The wording of the official rule and my comments.
We have seen outfielders refer to index cards in the field, reminding them where to play certain hitters. When Phillies reliever Austin Davis looked at a similar card last night, third base umpire Joe West quickly took it away from him.
(7) Have on his person, or in his possession, any foreign substance.
Rule 6.02(c)(7) Comment: The pitcher may not attach anything to either hand, any finger or either wrist (e.g., Band-Aid, tape, Super Glue, bracelet, etc.). The umpire shall determine if such attachment is indeed a foreign substance for the purpose of Rule 6.02(c)(7), but in no case may the pitcher be allowed to pitch with such attachment to his hand, finger or wrist.
Davis's note card was not "attached" to his hand or wrist and he never pitched with the paper "substance" attached to his hand or wrist. It was in his pocket. Does that mean that a pitcher cannot have anything in his pocket when he is on the field? Is a piece of chewing gum or a lucky quarter against the rules?
This strikes me as a bit silly. Are umpires going to now inspect every pitcher's pockets before he is allowed to enter a game? If a catcher or an infielder or an outfielder can look at note cards between batters, why not a pitcher? If MLB is going to limit catcher and coach visits to the mound, they should allow note cards. (Also, the umpires have seen non-pitchers with cards for a long time. Why do they not have an official ruling as to whether pitchers can also have them?)
Until the office tells me, I can't let the pitcher do it. I can't let him do it. ... I said, "You can have it back after the game, but you can't have it now." I didn't want to throw him out. I know it's foreign, but he's not trying to cheat.
Davis:
This is something I create. We have our meeting where we go over the hitters. I take that information and put it on a card so I don't have to try and memorize it, and use my mental energy to get ready for the game. ... Our analytics department works really, really hard to come up with this stuff for us, and I want to use it ... And if I have an answer to get a guy out, I want to know what that is.
[I]t wasn't pine tar, it wasn't an emery board, it wasn't whatever. In the long run, maybe they'll let him [have the card]. Right now, my hands are tied until they say yes or no. ... I told him we don't allow him to carry anything on their glove, person or clothing ...
Phillies manager Gabe Kapler:
Obviously we're using it for a scouting report and our outfielders use them, some of our infielders use them ... Austin Davis is pulling the card out of his pocket on the mound using it as a reference how to attack the hitters. I think it's actually a really good thing for baseball. I don't really quite understand this one. I mean, it's not like he's trying to hide anything. ... Our catchers have them on their wrists. It doesn't make sense to me ...
Cubs manager Joe Maddon:
I'm sure we'll get a ruling on this in the very near future. As long as you cannot alter the baseball -- I don't know if you rub it 35 times quickly, you might get a sheen on the ball -- but that's a first. That's an absolute first.
I've spent enough time talking about the players. It's time to talk about the man who people really came to see.
[1 tweet]
That's right - I'm talking about your hero and mine: umpire Joe West! In the top of the eighth, everyone's favorite ump made his presence known by confiscating a strategy card from pitcher Austin Davis. Nobody could figure out why West took offense to the card, but rest assured, the fans - most of whom paid their money knowing he'd be the umpire - were thrilled.
[3 tweets]
Bravo, Joe! Every time I think you can't surprise me any more, you go and pull this trick.
My only hope is that Aaron Nola doesn't do anything to overshadow West tomorrow. The players have to know their role, and understand just who it is the fans are coming to see. If Nola wants to pitch well, that's fine. But he needs to do so quietly and inauspiciously, and no matter what, do NOT consult a strategy card!
Red Sox - 000 020 310 - 6 9 0
White Sox - 000 001 000 - 1 5 2
Eduardo Rodriguez struck out 10 of his first 12 batters (5.2-3-1-1-12, 90). The White Sox hit only one fair ball in the first four innings and they did not have a runner on base until the fifth, at which point the Red Sox had all the runs they would need. Rodriguez extended his scoreless innings streak to 24 before allowing an infield hit and a double in the sixth inning.
The Red Sox hit three home runs: Eduardo Nunez leading off the fifth (it hit off the top of the wall in left-center and was originally called a double, until the Red Sox challenged the call); Jackie Bradley with two outs in the fifth (he belted the first pitch to right-center; in his previous at-bat, he hit a first-pitch triple to center); and Ian Kinsler with one out in the eighth (on a 3-0 count).
Rodriguez worked quickly. striking out the side in the first, fanning two in each of the second and third, and whiffing the top three hitters in Chicago's order (again) in the fourth. A leadoff single in the fifth was quickly wiped away by a double play. Rodriguez then issued a walk, but got another strikeout to end the inning. When Nicky Delmonico doubled in Adam Engel in the sixth, it cut Boston's lead to 2-1. Ryan Brasier came in and quickly got Avisail Garcia on strikes (csfs).
Christian Vazquez walked to start the seventh against Carlos Rodon (6.1-6-5-2-4, 109). Bradley flied to left, but Mookie Betts doubled to left-center. Andrew Benintendi tapped back to the mound and Rodon's soft lob to first sailed over Matt Davidson's up-stretched glove. Vazquez scored and the Red Sox had runners at second and third. Steve Pearce singled to left for one run and - after Rodon was replaced by Ryan Burr - J.D. Martinez's hard single into center made it 5-1.
Brasier allowed two singles in the seventh and the White Sox had runners at second and third with one out. Brasier needed just eight pitches to strike out both Omar Narvaez and Carlos Sanchez. Matt Barnes struck out two in the eighth and Joe Kelly capped a clean ninth, and the game, by fanning Yoan Moncada.
In addition to two errors, Chicago center fielder Adam Engel made an ill-advised dive for Bradley's liner in the third. Engel was moving towards right-center, but he had zero chance of touching the ball. After his useless dive, he had to get up and chase after the ball as Bradley easily took three bases. Unfortunately, there were two outs and Betts followed with a lineout to left.
Rodriguez's career high is 13 strikeouts, which he did in only 5-1 innings against the Rays on September 25, 2016. ... Red Sox pitchers finished today's game with 18 strikeouts, which tied a season-high (July 11, August 12) for a nine-inning game. They had 19 strikeouts in 12 innings against the Blue Jays on May 11.
The Red Sox have now hit 28 triples this season, after hitting only 19 last year. ... In the nine seasons since 2009, they have hit 30+ triples only twice: 35 in 2011 and 33 in 2015. ... The franchise record was set back in 1903: 113 triples! It's not very surprising that the top nine years all occurred before 1914.
The Yankees managed only two hits, but beat the Tigers 2-1. ... The Red Sox's Magic Number is 19.
Eduardo Rodriguez / Carlos Rodon
Betts, RF
Benintendi, LF
Pearce, 1B
Martinez, DH
Bogaerts, SS
Nunez, 3B
Kinsler, 2B
Vazquez, C
Bradley, CF
When Eduardo Rodriguez went on the disabled list in mid-July, he had a scoreless inning streak of 19 innings (including his three starts in July).
Nathan Eovaldi pitched only two innings last night (35 pitches) before a lengthy rain delay. Eovaldi will start on Monday afternoon in Atlanta, in place of David Price, who was struck in the left wrist by a line drive on Wednesday.
The Red Sox are 93-43 with 26 games remaining. The 1912 Red Sox hold the franchise record with 105 wins in a season (105-47-2).
13-13: Minimum record needed to set a new franchise record for wins
13-5: Minimum record needed to set a new franchise record for wins in 154 games
Boston Sports Info has provided a chart showing how hot the Yankees need to get to catch the Red Sox. The MFY have a .630 winning percentage right now, so their task is clearly impossible, unless the Red Sox suddenly turn into the Orioles for the next four weeks:
In a matter of minutes [on Thursday night] -- maybe five, maybe 10 -- the complexion of the American League East race took a dramatic turn. At Yankee Stadium, the Yankees were on the verge of closing out a 7-5 win over the Tigers. Meanwhile in Chicago, the White Sox held a comfortable 4-0 lead over the Red Sox in the seventh inning. It appeared Boston's 7.5-game lead would shrink to 6.5, close enough to make Red Sox fans sweat.
In New York, Victor Martinez tied the game off Dellin Betances with a two-run homer that probably wouldn't have been gone out in any other right field in the majors ...
Then the unthinkable happened. Betances gave up another home run to the next batter, Niko Goodrum ... It was the first time Betances had allowed two home runs in one game, let alone to consecutive batters. Yankees fans showered the stadium with boos, shocked at the turn of events ...
At about the same, Mookie Betts slammed a two-run homer to cap a four-run Red Sox rally and tie the game in Chicago ... The Red Sox then blew the game open with five runs in the ninth ...
The Boston lead is back to a comfortable 8.5 games. ...
[T]his race is over. The Red Sox will win the East. The Yankees might still win 100 games ... and then have to win one game to keep their season alive.
This Post headline is utter horseshit. If getting ejected truly "fired up" a team and made them play better, don't you think more managers, especially those with teams in must-win situations, would do it all the time? Is there a reason why we don't see a manager go nuts 10-15 times in every postseason? Yes. There is a reason. Because it's utter horseshit.
Dellin Betances blew a game in the ninth inning Thursday night, yielding as many runs (three) as he had over his previous 39 outings dating to mid-May.
But the Yankees were blowing this game all night by continuing to play in a way both uninspiring and unacceptable. They flubbed in the field and on the bases and ultimately on the scoreboard, losing 8-7 to the woeful Tigers.
The Yankees are letting any long-shot chance of catching the Red Sox or comfortably holding the top wild-card spot drip away by playing down to opponents. A team with heavyweight-title dreams is faltering against lightweights. ...
J.A. Happ made his worst start in six as a Yankee. But the coconspirators ... were five poor plays by the infield over the first five innings ...
Second baseman Neil Walker twice could not turn grounders by speedy Niko Goodrum into outs. After the second one, Ronny Rodriguez hit a two-run homer. A lunging Luke Voit could not handle a Nicholas Castellanos grounder that went for an infield single. Victor Martinez followed with a two-run homer. Add in an error by shortstop Gleyber Torres and a botched rundown by Miguel Andujar and, well, there was not going to be any Tinker to Evers to Chance poetry written about this infield. ...
For the second straight game, the Yankees ran into an out on the bases with Giancarlo Stanton either up ... or on deck ... They fell to a Tigers team that had lost five straight and managed 10 runs total in those games. ...
For a team still on pace to better 100 wins, the Yankees have lost their way. They are failing to capitalize on a weak part of their schedule because they are imitating those poor clubs.
This is a style that will make their last month miserable and guarantee their October play is brief. They are lost.
In celebration of that centennial, ESPN posted nine of its favourite TSW stats:
2. Williams owns the record for career on-base percentage at .482. No active player has posted an OBP that high in any season. Joey Votto, the active leader in OBP (.428), could reach base successfully in each of his next 650 plate appearances and still not reach Williams' mark. ...
7. Williams recorded five seasons with 100 more walks than strikeouts; all other players in the live ball era (since 1920) have combined for four such seasons. For his career, he walked 1,308 more times than he struck out, the largest gap of its kind.
Ryan Spaeder shared a bunch of mind-bending and mind-blowing facts at The Ace of Spaeder:
Ted Williams had 521 home runs and 525 doubles during his career. If all of his home runs and doubles were outs, he would still have a lifetime on-base percentage that is .00087 higher than Henry Aaron had in his career.
Ted Williams would have to be unfrozen, return to baseball, and fail to reach base in 2,000 straight plate appearances for his career on-base percentage to dip below .400.
Barry Bonds would have to return to baseball and reach base safely in 910 consecutive plate appearances to pass Ted Williams in career on-base percentage.
Joe DiMaggio had a .463 on-base percentage during his record 56-game hit-streak in 1941. Ted Williams had a .482 on-base percentage during his entire career.
Rickey Henderson had a career .401 on-base percentage.
Joe DiMaggio had a career .398 on-base percentage.
Rod Carew had a career .393 on-base percentage.
Ted Williams had a .404 on-base percentage over the WORST 162-game stretch of his career.
BA: Ted Williams - .344
OBP: Ted Williams - .482
SLG: Ted Williams - .634
OPS: Ted Williams - 1.116
OPS+: Ted Williams - 190
wOBA: Ted Williams - .493
wRC+: Ted Williams - 188
With rosters expanding on September 1, the Red Sox have called up five players: infielder Tzu-Wei Lin, first baseman Sam Travis, and pitchers William Cuevas, Bobby Poyner, and Robby Scott.
The Red Sox will also activate Eduardo Rodriguez, Steven Wright, and Christian Vazquez from the disabled list. Rodriguez is expected to start on Saturday.
No major league game that was 0-0 or 1-0 through seven innings has ever ended with such a large margin of victory. ... It was also the highest-scoring shutout in Nationals history (since 2005).
The Nationals' run in the sixth inning snapped a streak of 32 scoreless innings (the longest drought of any team this season).
