G149: Red Sox 5, Yankees 4

Yankees - 101 200 000 - 4 11  1
Red Sox - 000 031 10x - 5 10  0

Hanley Ramirez completed his utter destruction of New York's pitching staff by blasting two more home runs on Sunday night.

Ramirez drove in four of Boston's five runs, as the Red Sox swept a four-game series from their longtime rivals, Boston's first sweep of the Yankees in a series of four or more games in 26 years (June 4-7, 1990).

Hammerin' Hanley went 9-for-16 (.563) in the series, with four home runs and nine RBI. Since August 11, Ramirez has driven in 44 runs, the most of any player in MLB.

The Yankees are now eight games out in the East and four games out of the wild-card race with 13 games left on the schedule, which means only one thing: YED is fast approaching.

The Yankees blew leads in three of the four games:

Thursday: Yankees lead 5-1 in 8th inning, lose 7-5
Friday: Yankees never lead, lose 7-4
Saturday: Yankees lead 5-2 in 5th inning, lose 6-5
Sunday: Yankees lead 4-0 in 5th inning, lost 5-4

Down by four runs in the fifth, Bryan Holaday got the Red Sox started with a double to center. After Dustin Pedroia flied out to left, Xander Bogaerts walked. Mookie Betts lined back to CC Sabathia and on the pitcher's throwing error, the runners moved up to second and third. Ramírez then cranked a homer to left, cutting New York's lead to 4-3.

Sabathia allowed three straight hits - Travis Shaw, Aaron Hill, and Jackie Bradley - to start the sixth and Boston tied the game. Ramirez, facing Tyler Clippard in the seventh, homered to snap the 4-4 tie in the seventh.

The Yankees had one hit in each of the last three innings, but could not advance any runner past first base. Koji Uehara closed the door on New York in the ninth.

Also: Mookie Betts made two diving catches, including one in the ninth inning.

CC Sabathia / Drew Pomeranz

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Betts, RF
Ramirez, DH
Young, LF
Shaw, 1B
Hill, 3B
Bradley, CF
Holaday, C

John Farrell, on giving David Ortiz the night off (only a few days after saying Ortiz would likely start every game for the rest of the regular season):

When I talked with David after Friday night's game, in large part because of the number of times he was on base and the extent to which he ran, with a quick turnaround on Saturday, we talked about the upcoming two days — yesterday and today. With the late-night arrival, likely four right-handed starters in Baltimore, felt like this was the day to give him down.

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 12 with 14 games to play. ... In the East, this afternoon: Rays/Orioles and Blue Jays/Angels.

BOS --- 
TOR 3.0
BAL 3.0
MFY 7.0

Schadenfreude 199 (A Continuing Series)

Kevin Kernan, Post:

That sound you heard coming from Fenway Park on Saturday was the sound of shovels of dirt being tossed on top of the Yankees' casket. ...

For the second time in three games, the Yankees could not hold a 5-2 lead, as Joe Girardi's nightmare continued with another terrible loss. The 6-5 defeat gave the Red Sox the first three games of the series and exposed key Yankees flaws.

Boston can make it a clean four-game sweep Sunday night, a full-fledged Yankees massacre.

The Red Sox have beaten the Yankees in every way, and Saturday it was a wild pitch by Adam Warren in the seventh inning that allowed the eventual winning run to score as Mookie Betts raced across the plate. ...

The Yankees have lost four straight and six of seven. ...

The Yankees have 14 games remaining. They are seven games back of the Red Sox in the AL East, buried in fourth place. In the wild card, the Yankees have five teams ahead of them and were 4.5 back of the second spot with the others playing Saturday night. ...

The Red Sox are playing with the kind of confidence that enables a team to be in first place in September. The Yankees make critical mistakes and continue to play sloppy baseball.

It's all too much to overcome.

Mark Feinsand, Daily News:

The past seven weeks have been quite a ride for the Yankees, but that journey appears to be coming to an end following another crushing loss at the hands of the first-place Red Sox.

The Yankees held a three-run lead against David Price in the fifth before the Red Sox stormed back for four runs, slapping the Yankees with a 6-5 loss, their third straight and sixth in the past seven games.

Dan Martin, Post:

The Yankees arrived at Fenway Park on Thursday with a chance to catch the Red Sox atop the AL East.

At this point, the best they can hope for is to survive after blowing another lead in a 6-5 loss on Saturday.

They dropped their fourth straight game, blowing another three-run lead in the process. They also have lost six of seven since their seven-game winning streak ended. ...

"A lot's changed in 48 hours, really," Brett Gardner said. "Thursday, we're an out away from being a game back in the wild card and three games in the division. Now, we're seven games [back] in the division and I don't even know in the wild card. We put ourselves in a bad position." ...

"I don't think anybody here thinks we're completely out of it now," [Adam] Warren said.

Anthony McCarron, Daily News:

For the Yankees, it's all over but the platitudes.

At least that's how it felt Saturday afternoon after a team desperate for wins blew a three-run lead at Fenway and fell to the Red Sox, 6-5. Their old rivals have purpled the Yanks' wild-card hopes and, even in this unusual pinstriped season, those hopes seem un-revivable.

The truth is, regardless of how exciting the young players might be, maybe this club just isn't good enough to make the playoffs right now. ...

When they needed victories the most, the Yanks have stumbled. They have lost four in a row, their longest losing streak in more than six weeks. They've dropped six of their last seven games. They've lost two consecutive series for the first time since early July. There are only 14 games remaining, including the series finale Sunday night. ...

Joe Girardi was defiant after the game when asked if it's difficult to keep the faith when things have slid so much.

"No," Girardi said. ... "You have to go play better; that's all," he said. "That's the bottom line. We've shown that we can do that, but we have to go do it."

Yankee platitudes are alive, if not their playoff dreams.

G148: Red Sox 6, Yankees 5

Yankees - 003 200 000 - 5  9  0
Red Sox - 002 020 20x - 6 10  0

Xander Bogaerts (3-for-4) drove in three runs with two doubles and a home run and scored three runs. It was Mookie Betts who drove in Bogaerts as the tying run in the seventh inning with one of his two hits. Then Betts scored the go-ahead run three batters later on a wild pitch by Yankees reliever Adam Warren.

The Red Sox's third straight win over the Yankees dropped the New Yorkers a whopping seven games out of first place, and further darkened their barely-illuminated postseason hopes.

Hanley Ramirez also had three hits and Jackie Bradley reached base three times, on a single and two walks.

David Price (6-9-5-0-7, 113) had two rough innings in which he put his teammates in 3-0 and 5-2 holes. Austin Romine singled to start the Yankees' third and scored one out later on Brett Gardner's triple. Price retired Jacoby Ellsbury for the second out and had a 2-2 count on Gary Sanchez before the rookie DH homered to deep left.

Boston immediately closed the gap to 3-2 on doubles by Andrew Benintendi and Bogaerts, a passed ball and a run-scoring groundout from David Ortiz. But New York extended their lead in their next at-bat. One-out singles by Didi Gregorius and Chase Headley set the table for Romine, who doubled off the Wall to make it 5-2.

Jackie Bradley walked to start the home half of the fifth. Benintendi and Dustin Pedroia both popped up, but Bogaerts turned on an inside pitch and drove it over the Wall for a two-run homer. That ended Bryan Mitchell's afternoon (4.1-5-4-1-3, 74).

In the sixth, Hanley Ramirez doubled off Luis Severino. With one out, Sandy Leon bunted Ramirez to third. Severino then walked Bradley and Benintendi on full counts to load the bases. Severino also had a full count on Pedroia, but managed to strike him out looking. Pedroia barked at the call, but it was a correct one.

Bogaerts started the seventh by lifting a fly ball out near the end of the bullpens by the triangle. Ellsbury ran over and attempted a sliding catch, but he missed the ball and banged into the padded sidewall, and Bogaerts had a double. Lefty Tommy Layne came in and got Ortiz to fly to center; Bogaerts advanced to third.

Joe Girardi called on Warren and also brought in his infield. Betts promptly chopped a 1-1 pitch that bounced high over Gregorius's head at shortstop and went into left field for a game-tying single. Ramirez followed with a hot shot past Headley's dive at third for another single. Travis Shaw grounded out to first, but also moved the runners to second and third, with two outs. Then Romine could not handle Warren's 1-1 pitch to Sandy Leon. The ball bounced in front of the plate and caromed up the first base line in foul territory. Betts scored easily - giving Boston a 6-5 lead - and Ramirez raced to third and rounded the bag. When Romine grabbed the baseball and turned his back on the plate, thinking the play was over, Ramirez took off for home. Romine finally got wind of what was happening and he sprinted to the plate. It was close, but Ramirez was tagged out.

Matt Barnes, who had come in to strike out Sanchez to end the seventh, began the eighth by getting two groundouts. Then he walked Gregorius and John Farrell called on Craig Kimbrel for a four-out save. Kimbrel struck out Headley to end the eighth and then he struck out the side - Romine, Mason Williams, and Gardner - in the ninth. No fuss, no muss.

Bryan Mitchell / David Price

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
Bradley, CF
Benintendi, LF

Hanley Ramirez: "Now is the time for everybody to get in the boat."

Price has a 2.44 ERA over his last 10 starts and 2.16 over his last seven. Price trails only Chris Sale for the most starts of at least eight innings this season (Sale 13, Price 10). Price's total is the most by a Red Sox pitcher since Pedro Martinez had 11 in 2002.

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 14 with 15 games to play. ... In the East: Rays/Orioles and Blue Jays/Angels.

BOS --- 
BAL 2.0
TOR 2.0
MFY 6.0

Schadenfreude 198 (A Continuing Series)

Kevin Kernan, Post:

Forget about the AL East. Forget about the wild card.

The Yankees' season essentially ended Thursday night with that devastating 7-5 loss, yet another tortured Fenway night as Dellin Betances surrendered a walk-off, three-run home run to Hanley Ramirez to deep center.

Ramirez added icing to that cake with another home run to center Friday night in Boston's 7-4 wipeout of manager Joe Girardi's club.

Playoffs? Forget that — the Yankees are six back of Boston in the division and are four back in the wild card with 15 games to go.

Dan Martin, Post:

Midnight seems to be approaching quickly for the underdog Yankees.

After their most devastating loss of the season Thursday night, the Yankees promised to come off the mat and respond against the Red Sox.

Instead, they lost their third in a row — and for the fifth time in six games — thanks to a 7-4 defeat to the Red Sox on Friday night at Fenway Park.

It dropped them six back of Boston in the AL East race, and they still trail three teams to get the second wild card.

All the math — coupled with the lack of a response to Thursday night's crusher — indicates the Yankees' unlikely entry into the playoff race could be coming to an end. ...

Mark Feinsand, Daily News:

It's not often that a first-place team gets the chance to play the spoiler role, but that's precisely what the Red Sox are doing this weekend.

Boston handed the Yankees a 7-4 loss Friday night, moving one day closer to an American League East title while putting another dent in the Bombers' postseason hopes.

After his two-out, three-run walk-off home run lifted the Red Sox to a dramatic win Thursday night, Hanley Ramirez helped thrash the Yankees again, homering and driving in two runs.

Jackie Bradley Jr. also went deep for Boston, which has all but ended the Yankees' hopes of a division title the past two days. The Yankees now trail their rivals by six games with 15 to play, and while the wild card still technically remains within reach, that deficit is beginning to look larger than ever.

Anthony McCarron, Daily News:

Halfway to a very different kind of Boston Massacre, we have clarity on several issues swirling around the Yankees: They’re not nearly as good as the Red Sox and their rotation beyond Masahiro Tanaka is suspect enough to loom as the potential undoing of their wild-card hopes. ...

The Red Sox lead baseball with 819 runs; the Yankees are 22nd with 615. Boston has 540 extra-base hits and the Yanks have 409.

G147: Red Sox 7, Yankees 4

Yankees - 000 020 002 - 4  9  0
Red Sox - 200 102 20x - 7 12  0

Clay Buchholz's pitching line might look all right - 6-7-2-2-2, 93 - but he was on the high-wire all night. He dealt with Yankee baserunners in every inning and the game threatened to go out of control numerous times. But Buchholz prevailed, notching a "quality start".

Hanley Ramirez hit another home run - a solo shot in the fourth - and Sandy Leon contributed a bloop ground-rule double in the sixth and Jackie Bradley homered in the seventh. The eventual five-run cushion was necessary, as Fernando Abad lived up to his last name, pitching horribly and forcing Craig Kimbrel to secure the last two outs.

Boston might have put the game out of reach in the first inning if not for a couple of outs on the base paths. Dustin Pedroia hit a rope off the Wall and was thrown out trying for a double. Xander Bogaerts was plunked on the ass with a pitch. David Ortiz lined a run-scoring hit to left-center and he also - for reasons only he can know - tried for a double. Papi was thrown out easily, as Bogaerts motored to third. Betts reached on an infield hit (and wisely held at first). Betts stole second (he was initially called out, but the call was correctly overturned on replay) and scored on Ramirez's single.

As soon as Ramirez gave Boston a 3-0 lead with his dong, Buchholz gave two runs back. He had been helped by double plays in both the first and third inning, both off the bat of Gary Sanchez. Buchholz also wriggled out of a 2nd-and-3rd-none-out jam in the second, by getting a pop-up to shallow center and a fly to right. Buchholz's luck ran out in the fifth. He gave up first-pitch singles to the 8th and 9th hitters (Mark Teixeira and Mason Williams), then got two outs, but Sanchez tagged a double off the Wall for two runs.

Boston widened its lead in the sixth. Facing James Pazos, Ortiz doubled off the centerfield wall. That was Pazos's only batter as Jonathan Holder came in. Betts followed with a sharp grounder to right and Ortiz took third. Ramirez walked, loading the bases with none out. Travis Shaw lofted a sacrifice fly to center, but Chris Young struck out. Sandy Leon then hit a pop fly that landed just fair near the left field line and hopped into the stands for a ground-rule double. Chasen Shreve came in to face Jackie Bradley. His 2-2 pitch got away from Sanchez and Ramirez dashed for home, but he was out catcher-to-pitcher.

Bradley must have gotten a good read on Shreve because he led off the seventh by blasting his first offering for a home run. Kirby Yates was the next reliever out of New York's pen and he promptly loaded the bases with none out (Pedroia singled, Bogaerts doubled, and Ortiz was intentionally walked). Betts grounded into a double play, scoring one run. Ramirez flied to center.

Meanwhile, the Yankees stranded a man at second in the sixth and a runner at third in the seventh. In the ninth, facing Abad, Teixeira worked an 11-pitch walk with one out. Billy Butler then cracked a pinch-hit, two-run homer, cutting Boston's lead to 7-4. After Abad hit Brett Gardner, manager John Farrell called on Kimbrel. Jacoby Ellsbury struck out swinging and Sanchez struck out looking - and the water was dirty.

The loss dropped the Yankees six games behind the Red Sox in the East. ... The Orioles beat the Rays and stayed 2 GB.

Luis Cessa / Clay Buchholz

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Shaw, 3B
Young, LF
Leon, C
Bradley, CF

Two notes from Elias:

Hanley Ramirez is the fourth player in Red Sox history to hit a walkoff homer against the Yankees that turned a deficit into a win. Joe Cronin hit one off Johnny Broaca in the first game of a doubleheader in 1935, Sammy White off Allie Reynolds in 1953 and Bill Mueller off Mariano Rivera in 2004.

The Red Sox trailed the Yankees, 5-2, with two outs in the ninth inning before erupting for five runs and the win. It's only the second time in team history that Red Sox beat the Yankees in a game they trailed by three or more runs with two outs in the ninth inning. The other such game came on June 2, 1908.

Quotes Of The (Last) Night: Hanley Ramirez, on his objective in last at-bat: "I was trying to go to the moon." ... Bang, zoom!

And: John Sterling: "It is, by FAR, the worst loss of the year, by FAR. ... The Yankees will never forget this loss. I know I'll never forget this loss."

It’s not over ‘til @HanleyRamirez says it’s over. #RedSox pic.twitter.com/wYmgzwOk2t

— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) September 16, 2016

The Red Sox now have three wins this season when trailing by three or more runs with two outs in the ninth inning. The other 29 MLB teams have six such games, combined.

Here is an interesting list:

Most Home Runs, Ages 27 To 40

1. Barry Bonds      566
2. Babe Ruth        552
3. Hank Aaron       514
4. Rafael Palmeiro  496
5. David Ortiz      479
6. Sammy Sosa       478
7. Jim Thome        471
8. Willie Mays      459
9. Mark McGwire     427
10. Mike Schmidt    417

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 15 with 16 games to play. ... In the East: Rays/Orioles and Blue Jays/Angels.

BOS --- 
BAL 2.0
TOR 2.0
MFY 5.0

Schadenfreude 197 (A Continuing Series)

Dan Martin, Post:

Maybe next year.

The Yankees suffered their worst loss of the season as Dellin Betances blew his second straight game, thanks to a walk-off homer by Hanley Ramirez in the bottom of the ninth as the Red Sox stormed back for a stunning 7-5 win at Fenway Park to start the Yankees' 11-game road trip.

Mark Feinsand, Daily News:

Joe Girardi wanted to stay away from Dellin Betances Thursday night. He should have gone with his gut.

Betances suffered his second loss in as many days, blowing a three-run lead in spectacular fashion as Hanley Ramirez hit a three-run walk-off home run to cap a five-run Red Sox ninth inning, handing the Yankees a stunning 7-5 loss at Fenway Park. ...

After coming within one out of pulling within three games of the first-place Red Sox, the Yankees now stand five games back in the American League East, all but ending their hopes of a division title. ...

"This one hurts," Girardi said. "We've got to bounce back. We were in a pretty good position going into the ninth inning and weren't able to close the deal."

Anthony McCarron, Daily News:

Betances did not start the inning and he should have, even with a three-run Yankee lead. For whatever reason, cleaning up a mess in progress is not Betances' forte, so putting him in at that point was a mistake. Girardi said he wanted to stay away from Betances if he could — the closer had thrown a total of 36 pitches in appearances over the previous two days already — and he was hoping to get through the ninth via matchups.

But the manager should've used his best reliever to try to lock down the last three outs of a winnable game, especially after the dynamite performance Masahiro Tanaka had provided. And, for that matter, Girardi should've used his best starter for another inning, considering that Tanaka had thrown only 93 pitches while working seven innings and allowing just one run. ...

Again, as Girardi noted, everyone is tired at this point of a season. But using guys in winnable games makes sense — heck, Betances is now most likely unavailable for Friday after throwing 21 pitches in the loss, so trying to limit his workload Thursday didn’t work. And the Yanks still lost. ...

Girardi was more succinct when asked if he had thought of using Tanaka for another inning: "No. He was tired."

Kevin Kernan, Post:

The Red Sox have a way of bringing the Yankees back to reality.

Such was the case Thursday night. ...

This is a young team learning the hardest of lessons. This was the kind of loss that ends dreams. ...

There was a touch of October in the air to make this loss even worse for the Yankees. ...

In all, five runs scored in the bottom of the ninth. A three-run lead was lost and probably a season, too. ...

The overachieving Yankees' spirits were crushed by the Red Sox as Ramirez and David Ortiz (who blasted his 34th home run of the season and 537th of his career to move ahead of Mickey Mantle) did the damage. ...

The loss was a crusher. Instead of being three back of the first-place Red Sox with visions of a repeat of the '78 Boston Massacre, the Yankees are five back in the division and three games back in the wild card.

They are running out of time and the young players are learning hard lessons.

The Red Sox have weapons. The three-run home run gave Ramirez 100 RBIs on the season, the third Red Sox player to hit triple-digits in RBIs this season. ...

Consider that Castro leads the Yankees with 69 RBIs. ...

[I]n the end, there is not the same kind of talent on this team as on the Red Sox.

That's the cold, hard truth. That's Red Sox reality.

John Sterling: "It is, by FAR, the worst loss of the year, by FAR. ... The Yankees will never forget this loss. I know I'll never forget this loss."

It’s not over ‘til @HanleyRamirez says it’s over. #RedSox pic.twitter.com/wYmgzwOk2t

— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) September 16, 2016

The Red Sox now have three wins this season when trailing by three or more runs with two outs in the ninth inning. The other 29 MLB teams have six such games, combined.

G146: Red Sox 7, Yankees 5

Yankees - 202 100 000 - 5 14  0
Red Sox - 001 000 015 - 7  9  0

After being kept quiet for seven innings by Masahiro Tanaka (7-4-1-3-0, 93), the Red Sox's bats finally awoke from their days-long slumber in the eighth inning. David Ortiz homered to center for one run. Then Boston pulled off the comeback of the season, getting three straight run-scoring hits off Yankees closer Dellin Betances in the bottom of the ninth, capped off by Hanley Ramirez's three-run bomb into the center field bleachers.

Ortiz's home run was #537 and moved him past Mickey Mantle and into 17th place all-time.

Up 5-2, Yankees manager Joe Girardi stayed away from Betances at first, even though it was a save situation (he had blown Wednesday's game against the Dodgers), calling on lefty Tommy Layne to begin the bottom of the ninth. Layne easily struck out pinch-hitter Aaron Hill on three pitches. Chris Young pinch-hit for Andrew Benintendi and Girardi brought in Blake Parker. Parker's 1-1 pitch glanced off the top of Young's helmet for a HBP. Was this a spark? Finally, Girardi signaled for his closer, who had blown four of 15 save chances this year.

Betances could not find the strike zone and walked Dustin Pedroia on five pitches. On Betances's first offering to Xander Bogaerts, FY and Young advanced to second and third. Bogaerts tapped an 0-2 pitch to the third-base side of the infield and Young was (for some bizarre reason) halfway down the line and was quickly tagged out in a 1-2-5 rundown. Two outs, runners at first and second.

Ortiz, up as the potential tying run, got ahead 3-1 and lined a single to center, scoring Pedroia - and making Young's blunder seem even worse. Now it was Mookie Betts's turn as the potential tying run. Betts grounded a 1-1 pitch into left field, past the dive of shortstop Didi Gregorius. Bogaerts scored, making the score 5-4. Betances's first pitch to Ramirez went for a passed ball and Boston had runners at second and third. Even a single could win the game, but Ramirez was not settling for a measly single. With the count in his favour, 3-1, Ramirez crushed a pitch about 10-12 rows up in dead center field. HOME RUN!

It was a stunning, amazing, hard-to-believe ending on a night when nothing seemed to be going right for the Red Sox. Eduardo Rodriguez (2.1-8-4-0-0, 58) faced 16 batters and nine of them reached base. Rodriguez's last six ineffective pitches were: double, RBI-single, ball, double, ball, RBI-single.

Heath Hembree allowed a run in the fourth, putting New York up by four, but the pen held the Yankees from there. Though not without some hiccups. Junichi Tazawa allowed a leadoff double in the fifth, but then struck out the next three batters. Robby Scott pitched three innings - as it turned out, the most of any Sox pitcher - and ran into trouble in the eighth. The Yankees put runners on first and second with one out. Brett Gardner flied to center and Xander Bogaerts, after fielding Jacoby Ellsbury's infield single, threw out Chase Headley at the plate.

Joe Kelly had a rough top of the ninth. Gary Sanchez and Starlin Castro began the inning with singles and after Brian McCann struck out, Kelly walked Gregorius to load the bases. But Kelly rebounded, striking out Headley on a full-count pitch and then throwing up his glove in self-defense and snaring Mason Williams's line drive right back at him.

Then the Red Sox went to work in what became a magical bottom of the ninth.

Masahiro Tanaka / Eduardo Rodriguez

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
Bradley, CF
Benintendi, LF

Mark Feinsand, Daily News: "It's hard to believe, but it's been nine years since the Yankees and Red Sox faced off in a September game with meaningful postseason implications for both teams. That ends Thursday."

The Red Sox and Yankees begin a four-game series tonight. They also will play a three-game set in New York on September 27-29.

ESPN: "Ripe For A Renaissance: Is The Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry About To Get Great Again?" Beat writers Andrew Marchand and Scott Lauber discuss the question.

A good showing by Boston could effectively wreck New York's slim chances at the AL East title. The Yankees are two games out of the wild card race.

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 17 with 17 games to play. ... In the East: Rays/Orioles and Blue Jays/Angels.

BOS --- 
BAL 1.0
TOR 2.0
MFY 4.0

Jayson Stark: Is David Ortiz Having The Greatest Farewell Season Of All Time?

Jayson Stark asks: "Is David Ortiz Having The Greatest Farewell Season Of All Time?"

I'm not trying to tl;dr this article, but Yes. Yes, he is.

Nearly 19,000 men have played baseball in the major leagues. I've decided that their careers all had one thing in common: Not one of them had a final season as spectacular as the grand finale currently being crafted by a man named David Americo Ortiz Arias.

Which means it's time to begin actively debating a question I don't ask lightly: Is this the greatest "retirement season" in baseball history -- or even sports history? It just might be. ...

Here's my all-time ranking of baseball's top five finales. You'll see what I mean:

1. David Ortiz, 2016
2. Ted Williams, 1960
3. Sandy Koufax, 1966
4. Barry Bonds, 2007
5. Shoeless Joe Jackson, 1920 ...

Highest OPS in final season (min. 350 PA):

Player        Year  Age    OPS   PA
Ted Williams  1960   41  1.096  390
Barry Bonds   2007   42  1.045  477
Joe Jackson   1920   32  1.033  649
David Ortiz   2016   40  1.020  557 [updated through 9/14]

• No player in history has led the major leagues in slugging or OPS in his final season (min. 400 PA). With less than three weeks to go, Ortiz leads in both.

• No player has ever led the entire sport in extra-base hits in his final season, either. Ortiz ranks first in that department, too (tied with Brian Dozier).

• No one since 1920 has even hit 40 doubles in his final season. Ortiz is on pace to hit 50.

• Only one player in history (Dave Kingman) has ever hit 30 home runs or more in his final season. Ortiz is on pace to hit 37. (Editor's note: Kingman hit 35 homers in 1986, but did it in a season in which he contributed so little else that his slash line was an ugly .210/.255/.431/.686. Ortiz is at .314/.400/.619/1.020 [updated thru 9/14].)

• If Big Papi keeps mashing at his current rate and finishes with those 37 homers and 50 doubles, he would be the 12th player in history to reach both of those plateaus in a season. He's 40. All of the other 11 did it before they even turned 30.

• Add up all those extra-base hits and you'll find a man who is on pace to finish with 88 of them. Since 1921, know what the current "record" is for a player in his final season? Would you believe 62, by Kirby Puckett?

• And we haven't even gotten into all the stuff Ortiz has done at age 40 that no 40-year-old had ever done. But let's just hit you with this: No one else in history had ever had a 30-homer, 100-RBI season at age 40 or older. Ortiz reached those milestones back on Aug. 24 -- with nearly six weeks to go in the season.

G145: Orioles 1, Red Sox 0

Orioles - 010 000 000 - 1  5  1
Red Sox - 000 000 000 - 0  4  0

Mark Trumbo's solo home run (#42) in the second inning was the only run of the night.

The win moved the Orioles only one game behind the Red Sox.

Porcello: 8-4-1-0-6, 112. ... Gausman: 8-4-0-1-6, 120.

Kevin Gausman / Rick Porcello

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Shaw, 3B
Young, LF
Leon, C
Bradley, CF

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 17. ... In the East: Dodgers/Yankees and Rays/Blue Jays.

BOS --- 
TOR 2.0
BAL 2.0
MFY 4.0

G144: Orioles 6, Red Sox 3

Orioles - 050 000 001 - 6  9  1
Red Sox - 020 010 000 - 3  9  0

Drew Pomeranz threw 45 pitches in a seemingly endless second inning that saw him surrender three hits, two walks, and two home runs, a three-run shot to J.J. Hardy and a two-run blast to Nolan Reimold. After Pomeranz gave up a single to start the third, manager John Farrell yanked him. His line: 2-4-5-2-3, 63.

Boston came right back in the bottom of the inning, as Travis Shaw doubled with one out, Chris Young walked, and Jackie Bradley singled. Dylan Bundy (5.1-6-3-4-4, 95) then walked Ryan Hanigan to force in a run and walked Dustin Pedroia to bring home a second run. The Red Sox then promptly squandered their chances to close the gap as Xander Bogaerts struck out and David Ortiz grounded to first.

Bogaerts led off the fifth with a solo home run, but the Red Sox would get no closer. After the X-rated dong, Ortiz reached second on a single and an error, but the next three batters could not advance him. Boston wasted Young's leadoff walk in the sixth and Pedroia's leadoff single in the seventh. Sandy Leon stranded runners at first and second in the eighth. Zach Britton set the Red Sox down in order in the ninth.

The Rays beat the Blue Jays, so Boston's lead over both Baltimore and Toronto is two games.

Dylan Bundy / Drew Pomeranz

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Shaw, 3B
Young, LF
Bradley, CF
Hanigan, C

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 18. ... In the East: Dodgers/Yankees and Rays/Blue Jays.

BOS --- 
TOR 2.0
BAL 3.0
MFY 5.0

When Will Major League Baseball See A Kaepernickian Protest?

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones said that major league baseball has not yet seen any pre-game protests against the playing of the national anthem because "baseball is a white man's sport".

Jones: "We already have two strikes against us already, so you might as well not kick yourself out of the game. In football, you can't kick them out. You need those players. In baseball, they don't need us."

It's a dubious explanation, as it implies that white people are not interested in justice for everyone. And it also implies that any player who protests would be released by his team and then shunned by the other 29 teams. I find that very hard to believe. (Also, the way MLB calculates how many African-American players are on major league rosters is extremely problematic. It does not count, for example, someone like David Ortiz, because he was not born in the U.S. (though he very clearly is a dark-skinned man).)

It would be a little trickier for a baseball player to protest the anthem. A visiting player could remain in the clubhouse or sit on the bench during the anthem, but the home team takes the field and those players stand at their respective positions during the anthem. A baseball player would either have to leave his position empty and stay in the dugout until after the anthem or perhaps he could kneel, as various football players have done.

Jones - who was honored last week with the Roberto Clemente award for his community involvement and philanthropy - had some insightful comments about the NFL protests, which began with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick on August 26.

Jones:

He believes in what he believes in, and as a man of faith, as an American who has rights, who am I to say he's wrong? Kaepernick is not disrespecting the military. ... What he's doing is showing that he doesn't like the social injustice that the flag represents. Look, I know a lot of people who don't even know the words to the national anthem. You know how many times I see people stand up for the national anthem and not pay attention. They stand because they're told to stand. ...

[T]here's somebody on the 49ers' team that commits an act like that [Bruce Miller was arrested last week and charged with aggravated assault, elder abuse, threats and battery against 70-year-old man and his 29-year-old son, and was released by the 49ers], and nobody's talking about that. But they talk about Kaepernick doing something that he believes in, as his right as an American citizen. People need to talk more about that guy than Kaepernick. He's not receiving the ridicule and public torture that Kaepernick is facing. Is Kaepernick hurting me? No. Is he hurting random people out there? No. I support his decision. At the end of the day, if you don't respect his freedoms, then why the hell are we Americans? It's supposed to be the Land of the Free, right? ...

I've seen Kaepernick called the N-word just because he's being sensitive to what has happened to African-Americans in this country. It's crazy how when people of color speak up, we're always ridiculed. But when people that are not of color speak up, it's their right. The First Amendment says we have freedom of expression. We're supposed to be so free, so free. But any time anybody of color speaks up in the United States, for some odd reason, they always get the raw end of the deal. ...

The outside world doesn't really respect athletes unless they talk about what they want them to talk about. Society doesn't think we deserve the right to have an opinion on social issues. We make a lot of money, so we just have to talk baseball, talk football. But most athletes, especially if you're tenured in your sport, you're educated on life, and on more things than most people on the outside. But because Donald Trump is a billionaire, he can say whatever he wants, because he's older and has more money? And when Kaepernick does something, or says something, he's ridiculed. Why is that?

On Monday night, before the Orioles began a three-game series in Boston, Jones added:

Society doesn't mind us helping out the 'hood and inner cities. But they have a problem when we speak about the hood and inner cities. I don't understand it. ...

There's going to be backlash, of course there is, because people don't like the truth.

White Sox Become 8th AL Team To Score In Every Inning Of Home Win

The Red Sox scored in the first seven innings of Monday's win over Baltimore before being blanked in the eighth, but the White Sox scored in all eight innings of their home victory over Cleveland.

It is the eighth time in American League history that team has scored in all eight innings in which it batted.

No American League team has scored in all nine innings of a game.

Cleveland - 030 000 010 -  4  8  2
White Sox - 111 211 22x - 11 16  2

G143: Red Sox 12, Orioles 2

Orioles - 010 100 000 -  2  2  1
Red Sox - 511 111 20x - 12 16  1

Baltimore starter Wade Miley had thrown only four pitches, and the Red Sox had the bases loaded. After 11 pitches, Boston led 4-0. And from there, the Red Sox waltzed to an easy victory, coming one inning short of tying the American League record by scoring in all eight innings of a home victory. (No AL team has ever scored in all nine innings of a game. The Orioles retired the side in order in the eighth.)

David Price (8-2-2-0-9, 99) turned in a commanding performance, facing only three batters over the minimum and allowing only two hits, solo home runs by Chris Davis and Manny Machado. (The Orioles batted with a runner on base only two times all night.) Price has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 20 of his last 24 starts and he reached the 200-inning mark in the team's 143rd game, the earliest in a season since Curt Schilling in 2004. Junichi Tazawa mopped up in Aisle 9, issuing a walk but getting a game-ending double play.

The first inning was a load of fun. Dustin Pedroia smacked Miley's first pitch for a single to left. Xander Bogaerts grounded an 0-1 pitch to Machado at third. The ball hit off his glove and he booted it into foul territory. It was ruled a single. Then David Ortiz hit a first-pitch fly to the warning track in left-center. Steve Pearce was at the base of the wall and the ball went in and out of his glove and he juggled and dropped it. That was also ruled a single. (If those two hits were not errors, then there is no longer any such thing as an error. And please note that NESN will, of course, continue using fielding percentage to determine how well as team's "defense" is.)

Mookie Betts got ahead 3-1 and smoked a line drive that sailed over Pearce's head in left for a two-run double. Hanley Ramirez blooped a single to left that scored Ortiz and when Pearce casually tossed the ball to shortstop J.J. Hardy rather than firing it into the infield, Betts took off from third and also scored. Sandy Leon added a sac fly later in the inning.

With one out in the second, Pedroia singled to left. That hit gave FY 22 hits in his last 31 at-bats at home, which works out to an unbelievable .710 batting average! Bogaerts singled and Ortiz walked and that was the end of Miley's night (1.1-8-6-1-0, 41), the shortest start of his career. After getting an out at the plate, reliever Vance Worley walked Ramirez to force in a run to make it 6-1.

Chris Young doubled and scored on Jackie Bradley's sacrifice fly in the third. Young finished the night 4-for-4, with a single, two doubles, a home run, and three runs scored.

Ramirez homered in the fourth, Young homered in the fifth, and Ortiz went deep in the sixth. Aaron Hill singled to open the seventh, went to third on Young's two-bagger and scored on Sandy Leon's single. Young later scored on Bogaerts's groundout. Yoan Moncada pinch-hit for Ortiz in the eighth and struck out. Moncada has fanned in his last nine plate appearances, one shy of the major league record for non-pitchers.

The Blue Jays beat the Rays 3-2 to stay two games out of first. The Orioles are three games back and the Yankees, having lost 8-2 to the Dodgers are five games out.

Wade Miley / David Price

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Hill, 3B
Young, LF
Leon, C
Bradley, CF

The Red Sox begin a seven-game homestand tonight: three games against the Orioles and four against the Yankees.

Miley has a 7.15 ERA over his last seven starts. ... Price's last seven starts: 2.49 ERA.

Boston's magic number for winning the AL East is 19.

Also: Dodgers/Yankees and Rays/Blue Jays.

BOS --- 
TOR 2.0
BAL 2.0
MFY 4.0

AL MVP Candidates: The Case For . . .

Last week, Fangraphs looked at the most likely candidates for American League Most Valuable Player:

These posts are designed to make an affirmative argument for their subject and are not intended to serve as comprehensive looks at every candidate on their own. The authors tasked with writing these posts may not even believe their subject actually deserves to win, but they were brave enough to make the case anyway. The goal of these posts is to lay out the potential reasons for voters to consider a variety of candidates and to allow the readers to decide which argument is most persuasive.

The Case for Jose Altuve for AL MVP
The Case for Mookie Betts for AL MVP
The Case for Mike Trout for AL MVP
The Case for Manny Machado for AL MVP
The Case for Josh Donaldson for AL MVP

Paul Swydan:

Mookie Betts is one of the best players in the American League. Mike Trout is better, but no one cares — his team is terrible. Of the players on good teams, Betts stands out the most — and whether that should make a difference, it will make a difference. He does everything well, he is always doing something exciting, and when his team needed him the most, he was there. In other words, he’s everything an MVP should be — a five-tool, electric, awesome player on a playoff-contending team. What else could you possibly want?

G142: Red Sox 11, Blue Jays 8

Red Sox   - 130 213 100 - 11 11  2
Blue Jays - 105 200 000 -  8  8  1

Toronto led 8-7 with one out in the top of the sixth, but the Red Sox had two runners on base. Blue Jays reliever Joaquin Benoit was summoned to keep his team in the lead. David Ortiz had other plans. Big Papi swung at missed at Benoit's first pitch, then launched a three-run home run to right (thus likely adding to Benoit's Ortizian nightmares). The shot gave Boston a 10-8 advantage - and the bullpen held on the rest of the way.

Ortiz: "I thought I was getting a different menu, but he just threw me a hittable [pitch]. It wasn't that bad -- it was right at the bottom of the strike zone ... We're going, we're moving, we got that mojo back. We had a good road trip. Second half has been pretty much away every game. We're in a good position right now; we're looking pretty well right now. Our pitching has been outstanding. Today was a little crazy, but the bullpen stepped up and did a good job. We're in good shape."

It was Ortiz's 535th career homer, putting the Big Man 18th on the all-time list. Mickey Mantle, with 536, is at #17. ... Ortiz leads all opposing players in doubles, home runs, extra-base hits, and RBI against the Blue Jays. He's hit 61 home runs against Toronto (with three games still to play), with 41 of them coming on the road (the most dongs he's hit in any visiting park).

After both teams scored in the first, Jackie Bradley belted a three-run dong in the second. Toronto came right back (and then some) against Clay Buchholz (3-4-6-4-3, 63), with Troy Tulowitzki's grand slam being the big blow in the third.

Matt Barnes stranded two runners in the seventh and Koji Uehara got a big double play off the bat of Josh Donaldson to escape the eighth unscathed. Since returning from the disabled list, Uehara has retired eight of 10 batters, including five by strikeout. (And Donaldson is in a deep slump: 0-for-11 in the series and 0-for-23 over his last seven games.)

In the bottom of the ninth, Craig Kimbrel walked Edwin Encarnacion (who had hit two home runs earlier). Jose Bautista struck out swinging. Russell Martin doubled to right, sending Encarnacion to third, but the Red Sox challenged the call and it was overturned and ruled a foul ball. Kimbrel wild-pitched Edwin to second, but got Martin looking at strike three. Tulowitzki (stepping in having been on base in all four plate appearances; 3-for-3 with a walk) lined the first pitch to Mookie Betts in right - and the water was dirty!

Hanley Ramirez's home run to dead center in the fifth was measured at 467 feet. It was his seventh homer in his last 14 games. ... Both teams used nine pitchers.

Next: A seven-game homestand, with three against Baltimore and four against the Yankees.

The current state of the AL East:

BOS ---
TOR 2.0
BAL 2.0
MFY 4.0

Clay Buchholz / Aaron Sanchez

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Shaw, 3B
Holt, LF
Leon, C
Bradley, CF

Buchholz's last four starts: 2.31 ERA.

The East is getting very cozy (maybe a little too cozy):

BOS ---
TOR 1.0
BAL 2.0
MFY 3.0

G141: Blue Jays 3, Red Sox 2

Red Sox   - 000 001 100 - 2  4  1
Blue Jays - 021 000 00x - 3  6  1

Melvin Upton - who had a horrific game in left field for the Blue Jays last night - made some amends with his bat on Saturday afternoon, hitting a two-run homer in the second inning. Jose Bautista's single in the third made it 3-0 and Toronto held on to edge the Red Sox and cut Boston's AL East lead back down to one game.

Trailing 3-0, the Red Sox got a run in the sixth on Dustin Pedroia's 13th home run of the season. After Hanley Ramirez and Aaron Hill opened the seventh with singles, Jackie Bradley's sacrifice fly brought in another run.

In the eighth, David Ortiz reached safely on an infield error with two outs. Yoan Moncada pinch-ran. Mookie Betts popped to second.

Robert Osuna walked Ramirez on a full count to start the top of the ninth. Brock Holt (pinch-hitting for Hill) forced Ramirez at second. With the tying run at first and one out, Chris Young swung at the first pitch, fouling out to the catcher. Bradley struck out on three pitches to end the game.

Eduardo Rodriguez: 6-4-3-2-5, 100.

Eduardo Rodriguez / J.A. Happ

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Hill, 3B
Young, LF
Bradley, CF
Hanigan, C

BOS ---
TOR 2.0
BAL 3.0
MFY 4.0

G140: Red Sox 13, Blue Jays 3

Red Sox   - 112 100 602 - 13 18  1
Blue Jays - 002 000 010 -  3  9  2

The Red Sox had this one in the bag from the very beginning and the Rogers Centre rout gave Boston a two-game lead in the East.

Rick Porcello (7-6-2-1-7, 114) was The Man yet again, stumbling only in the third, but then allowing only one Blue Jays runner past first base over the next four innings.

Dustin Pedroia (3-for-4) knocked in four runs and Hanley Ramirez drove in three on a seventh-inning home run that hit off the top of the wall in right-center. ... Jackie Bradley scored three times. ... Every Boston starter got at least one hit and every starter scored a run except for Sandy Leon.

And in my last two times seeing David Ortiz bat in person, he legged out a double to right-center and lined a single to center.

Rick Porcello / Marco Estrada

Baseball Tonight, Twitter:

The gap between 1st place (Red Sox) and 4th (Yankees) in the AL East is smaller than the gap between 1st and 2nd in every other division.

BOS ---
TOR 1.0
BAL 2.0
MFY 4.0

The Red Sox have 23 games left to play, all against division rivals and 20 of them against teams competing for the same playoff spots:

7 against the Orioles
7 against the Yankees
6 against the Blue Jays
3 against the Rays

The Blue Jays have lost six of their last eight games. ... In the East: Orioles/Tigers and Rays/Yankees.

I'll be at Skydome tonight, for my one in-person Red Sox game of the season.

The AL East/Wild Card Race: Nine Teams Vying For Three Spots

This article was written before the Red Sox took a one-game lead in the AL East on Wednesday night.

Grant Brisbee, SB Nation:

You want parity? According to Major League Baseball, the standings at the start of Tuesday featured as much parity as we've had since 1995, with 18 teams within at least five games of a postseason berth. ... [I]t's time to look at all of the teams still within spitting distance of the wild card in ... the American League. ...

Boston Red Sox

Games back of second wild card

Leading the second wild card by one game, and they're tied for both the AL East and the first wild card with 24 games left.

Odds of reaching the postseason

84.3 percent.

Should they be here?

With this lineup? They should be running away with the division, or at least in a battle for the top spot in the East with a comfortable wild card safety net.

Why aren't they running away with their division?

I can't figure it out, really. They're scoring five-and-a-half runs per game, whereas no other team in the AL is over five. They're also second in the AL in adjusted ERA, with Rick Porcello having a tremendous bounce-back season, Steven Wright being one of baseball's best surprises and David Price rounding into form. After some early shakiness, Drew Pomeranz is showing signs of lasting success (2.76 ERA in his last seven starts).

The best explanation? A shaky bullpen that's hurting them in one-run games, and they're five wins behind their expected record. It's always a cop-out to ascribe everything to bad luck, but, well, this team should be better, and that's certainly one way to explain it.

Prognosis

They have one game left against the San Diego Padres and three games left against the Tampa Bay Rays. Other than that, they have 20 games against the Blue Jays, Yankees and Orioles. That's stunning. And even if they might be the best team on this list (assuming Wright can come back this year), they're in an ultra-precarious spot.

The Tigers have 10 games left against the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves, after all. And 10 of the Astros' final 13 games are against the Oakland A's or Los Angeles Angels. I wouldn't bet against the roster of the Red Sox, but the schedule is making me gasp.

G139: Red Sox 7, Padres 2

Red Sox - 020 300 011 - 7  9  0
Padres  - 101 000 000 - 2  7  1

Travis Shaw made the most of his start at third base in place of Yoan Moncada by hitting a two-run home run in the second and a run-scoring single in the third.

David Price (7-6-2-0-8, 98) went seven solid innings as the Red Sox took sole possession of first place.

Dustin Pedroia hit a two-run double in the fourth. Hanley Ramirez homered in the eighth and Brock Holt hit a pinch-hit homer in the ninth.

David Price / Jarred Cosart

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Leon, C
Bradley, CF
Young, LF
Shaw, 3B
Price, P

In the East: Blue Jays/Yankees and Orioles/Rays.

BOS ---
TOR ---
BAL 1.0
MFY 4.5

G138: Red Sox 5, Padres 1

Red Sox - 000 320 000 - 5 10  0
Padres  - 000 100 000 - 1  9  0

Once again, the Red Sox are tied with Toronto for first place.

Buchholz: 6.2-8-1-0-6, 87. ... Jackie Bradley homered and walked twice. ... Chris Young doubled and homered. ... Yoan Moncada struck out four times, giving him seven strikeouts in his last seven at-bats.

Clay Buchholz / Paul Clemens

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Leon, C
Bradley, CF
Young, LF
Moncada, 3B
Buchholz, P

In the East: Blue Jays/Yankees and Orioles/Rays.

TOR ---
BOS 1.0
BAL 2.0
MFY 5.5

G137: Padres 2, Red Sox 1

Red Sox - 000 000 010 - 1  7  0
Padres  - 000 200 00x - 2  6  0

An apparently blown call by home plate umpire Tony Randazzo negated what should have been the Red Sox's game-tying run in the eighth inning. Instead, Boston lost, and remained one game behind the Blue Jays in the East.

Once San Diego starter Edwin Jackson (7-4-0-2-11, 103) left the game, the Red Sox's bats woke up against lefty Brad Hand. Pinch-hitter Chris Young (celebrating his 33rd birthday) smacked Hand's first pitch to deep left for a home run. Aaron Hill, another pinch-hitter, hit a drive to deep right-center. Right fielder Oswaldo Arcia leapt for it at the warning track; the ball hit off his glove and Arcia fell in the dirt. Dustin Pedroia grounded to short and Hill - the potential tying run - went to third.

Sandy Leon pinch-hit for Brock Holt. Leon had hacking on his mind and swung and missed a 2-2 pitch that was well inside and skipped past the catcher. Leon reached first without a throw and Hill scored, tying the game at 2-2. However, Randazzo ruled that the pitch had hit Leon's back foot and because he had swung, it was strike three - and Hill had to return to third.

I was watching the Padres' TV feed and their replay very clearly showed the ball hitting the ground before it glanced off Leon's foot. They showed the replay only once, but I believe Leon should have been awarded first base on the wild pitch and Hill should have scored. John Farrell wanted to challenge the call, but he had no challenges remaining. With Hill back on third, Xander Bogaerts struck out looking to end the inning. (After the game, John Farrell explained why he used Leon instead of David Ortiz in that situation.)

The Red Sox threatened again in the ninth against Padres closer Brandon Maurer. After Mookie Betts's fly ball was caught at the edge of the warning track in left, Hanley Ramirez reached first on a check-swing infield single that shortstop Luis Sardinas threw late and wildly to first. It was Ramirez's third hit of the afternoon. Jackie Bradley, whose double play had killed a potential seventh-inning rally, struck out. David Ortiz pinch-hit for Yoan Mocada, who had whiffed three times. Big Papi took a ball, hit a couple of high foul pops, then flied to center.

Drew Pomeranz's (5.2-6-2-2-5, 105) big problem was getting an inning's final out after retiring the first two batters. With two outs in the second, he issued a walk to Alex Dickerson and allowed a single to Adam Rosales. He escaped that jam, but could not escape in the fourth. Once again, he got the first two outs, then Dickerson singled and Rosales homered to left. In the sixth, he retired the first two batters, then gave up a double to Dickerson. This time, Heath Hembree came in and retired Rosales.

Boston had a chance to score in the fourth when, with one out, Holt singled and Bogaerts walked. But Betts flied to left and Ramirez struck out. In the seventh, Betts walked and Ramirez singled. Then Bradley grounded into a double play and Moncada fanned.

Drew Pomeranz / Edwin Jackson

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Moncada, 3B
Holaday, C
Pomeranz, P

In the East: Blue Jays/Yankees and Orioles/Rays.

TOR ---
BOS 1.0
BAL 3.0
MFY 6.5

G136: Athletics 1, Red Sox 0

Red Sox   - 000 000 000 - 0  6  2
Athletics - 000 000 001 - 1  2  1

Eduardo Rodriguez (8-1-0-2-5, 110) was a mere four outs away from a no-hitter when he allowed an infield single.

With two outs in the eighth, Marcus Semien ground the ball back to the mound. It hit off Rodriguez's foot or lower leg and the lefty could not find the ball right away. He recovered and made a quick throw to first and the runner was called out. The Athletics wisely challenged the call - and it was correctly overturned, with Semien getting credit for a single.

Oakland had four baserunners before the hit: a two-out walk in the first, an infield error in the second, a two-out walk in the fifth, and a HBP in the sixth.

Craig Kimbrel came out for the bottom of the ninth - and needed only six pitches to lose the game and ruin the afternoon. He walked Danny Valencia (bbcbb). Khris Davis cracked Kimbrel's first pitch to left for a double. It one-hopped the wall and Brock Holt bobbled the carom for an error. Xander Bogaerts's relay to the plate was late, as Valencia came all the way around for the winning run. (In other news, it looks like Koji Uehara will be activated on Monday in San Diego.)

Holt: "I was trying to get it in quick and it kicked off the wall a little bit harder than I thought it was going to. Spinning around, I just kind of rushed it. Obviously I should've caught that ball cleanly and got it in."

Kimbrel: "I was ready. Just all over the place with Valencia, leadoff walk, fastball in [to Davis]. Guess I didn't get in far enough ... Save, non-save at this point it doesn't matter, winning ballgames is what matters ..."

Yoan Moncada and Dustin Pedroia each had two hits. ... David Ortiz walked twice.

Eduardo Rodriguez / Kendall Graveman

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Leon, C
Holt, LF
Moncada, 3B
Bradley, CF

Elias:

The Red Sox' offense had another big night at the expense of the A's, as Boston won, 11-2 at Oakland. It was the fifth game this season between these two teams; the Red Sox won the first four by scores of 14-7, 13-5, 13-3, and 16-2. The Red Sox are the first team in American League history to score more than 10 runs in five consecutive games versus one opponent. The last major-league team to do that was the Brooklyn Dodgers against Pittsburgh in 1950.

The Dodgers' streak - June 23-25, July 22-23 - actually included a loss: 15-3, 21-12, 11-16, 12-3, 11-6.

BOS ---
TOR ---
BAL 2.0
MFY 6.5

G135: Red Sox 11, Athletics 2

Red Sox   - 207 000 011 - 11 17  0
Athletics - 000 001 100 -  2  5  2

Yoan Moncada collected the first two hits and the first RBI of his major league career as the Red Sox routed the A's yet again - and moved into a tie for first place in the East. Moncada doubled in a run in the third and singled in the ninth.

Mookie Betts drove in two runs, giving him 100 for the season. He is only the second player in Red Sox history to hit 30+ home runs and drive in 100+ runs before turning 24 years old. Ted Williams is the other player and he did it twice: 1939 and 1941.

Betts also joined David Ortiz as the second set of Red Sox teammates to hit 30 homers, 40 doubles and drive in 100 runs in a single season. Ortiz and Manny Ramirez did it in 2004.

Rick Porcello (7-4-2-0-2, 101) retired the first 16 Oakland batters, not allowing a baserunner until the sixth inning.

Rick Porcello / Daniel Mengden

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Leon, C
Young, LF
Moncada, 3B
Bradley, CF

Elias:

The Red Sox unloaded the heavy artillery on the Athletics yet again, pounding the East Bay team into submission, 16-2, on Friday night. That marks the fourth time in their last four games against the Athletics that the Red Sox have scored at least a dozen runs; in early May, the Sox swept the A's in a three-game series at Fenway Park by the scores of 14-7, 13-5 and 13-3.

We know what you're wondering. And, yes, it's happened before that a team had scored at least 12 runs in each of four consecutive games against a particular opponent. The last time? In 1901, believe it or not, on the day that President William McKinley was shot. The New York Giants hosted Honus Wagner's Pirates and got whipped in consecutive doubleheaders on September 5 and 6 by the scores of 15-1, 15-7, 15-2 and 13-4. (By the way, the Pirates had also beaten the Giants in a twin-bill on September 4, by the scores of 12-6 and 10-3!) ...

Friday night's game represented the most runs that the Red Sox have ever scored in a game in Oakland. The last time that they scored 16 runs on the road against the Athletics - on Aug. 26, 1957 - the A's were playing in Kansas City and the Boston lineup included Frank Malzone (who homered twice), Jim Piersall (homered once) and Ted Williams (two hits).

TOR ---
BOS 1.0
BAL 3.0
MFY 6.5

To Mookie Betts (And Others): The Right To Protest Has Nothing To Do With The Military

Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts is wrong when he connects Colin Kaepernick's decision to not stand for his country's national anthem with the military. Betts spoke with WEEI's John Tomase about his own connection to "The Star-Spangled Banner", which has been the US's national anthem since 1931:

I'm always going to stand because I have that connection. For me, it's different. ... My dad fought [in Vietnam] for this country. We may be in a completely different spot if we don't have those people to go out and protect us. So I'll always make sure [to stand]. ... It's been more than my dad that has fought. It's been a lot of family members and whatnot that have gone and fought. I have to pay my respects to them and all the families with loved ones they have lost, for protecting our country. ... Two minutes, three minutes. Pay your respects for those three minutes and say thank you for your service.

As far as the United States of America being "in a completely different spot" if men like his father didn't fight in places like Vietnam, I would ask Betts when was the last time American values or the oft-stated American "way of life" was so seriously threatened with elimination by an outside enemy that the country's military was called upon to turn back that invading (and possibly conquering) force? ... The only example I can think of, mentioned below, happened more than 200 years ago.

As The Nation's Dave Zirin reminds us, the military has absolutely nothing to do with citizens possessing the right to protest.

And now we have arrived at a frightening point where an act of dissent which has nothing to do with the military is labeled disrespectful to men and women in uniform. The message is that Kaepernick only has this "freedom" to protect because of the protections accorded us by our military. This is such a disturbing - and a very post-9/11 - concept.

The military doesn't give us the right to protest. The Constitution does that. Two hundred years of struggle for civil liberties does that.

If we accept the notion that we are allowed to raise our voices, or take a knee in dissent, only by the good graces of the military, then we are also implicitly saying that the military has the right to take that ability away.

And that's the thing about the right to dissent: you use it or you lose it.

So again, for the cheap seats: Colin Kaepernick is trying to raise awareness about police violence. If you believe he only has the right to do that because of the US military, you are arguing that dissent is only possible if the people with the guns approve.

Also worth reading:

Colin Kaepernick Is Righter Than You Know: The National Anthem Is a Celebration of Slavery
Jon Schwarz, The Intercept, August 28, 2016

"The Star-Spangled Banner," Americans hazily remember, was written by Francis Scott Key about the Battle of Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the War of 1812. But we don't ever talk about how the War of 1812 was a war of aggression that began with an attempt by the U.S. to grab Canada from the British Empire.

However, we'd wildly overestimated the strength of the U.S. military. By the time of the Battle of Fort McHenry in 1814, the British had counterattacked and overrun Washington, D.C., setting fire to the White House.

And one of the key tactics behind the British military's success was its active recruitment of American slaves. ...

[W]hen Key penned "No refuge could save the hireling and slave / From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave," he was taking great satisfaction in the death of slaves who'd freed themselves. His perspective may have been affected by the fact he owned several slaves himself.

I Have Never Stood Up for the National Anthem—and Never Will
Sonali Kolhatkar, TruthDig, August 31, 2016

No country is worth pledging blind allegiance to. Patriotism, nationalism, anthems, flags and syrupy words about "love of country" or soldiers "fighting for freedom" are constructs aimed at fostering unquestioning obedience from people lucky enough to be deemed citizens. They are meant to quash debate and discussion and enable mobs to righteously proclaim treason by anyone who dares to dissent. ...

Perhaps bowing in deference to a flag or anthem fulfills some deep, primal need in humans to identify as a tribe that's bigger and better and stronger than other tribes. Perhaps it satisfies a compulsion much like organized religion does—to find one's place in a big, dangerous world that often makes no sense. Regardless, like religion, nationalism ought to be optional, a personal choice. ...

[M]any Americans don't understand that we live in a democracy where embracing the symbols of nationalism and accepting institutional abuses of power are not mandatory. ...

Nationalism and blind patriotism can bring out the worst in all of us. No country is above criticism, because no country has ever gotten everything right. Most are built on legacies of mass oppression, genocide, slavery, colonialism, corruption, misogyny and racism.

By Sitting Down Kaepernick Challenges Americans to Reflect on What They Really Stand For
Peter Bloom, Common Dreams, August 30, 2016

In belting out "O say can you see" Americans are allowed to unthinkingly celebrate the USA. They can forget for a moment the illegal invasions of foreign countries that have left millions dead. They can turn the mind away from the black citizens being killed by police with seemingly almost total legal immunity. They can close their eyes to the fact that they are now an oligarchy ruled by corporate elites and their bipartisan political supporters instead of a vibrant democracy governed for, by and of the people.

There is a also a deeper forgetting at play. It is to overlook the country's history of systematic racism starting with slavery. It is to be given a few minutes pause to close one's eyes to its tradition of classism at home and economic exploitation abroad. It is a stirring moment of collective amnesia to an America's past that from the beginning has continually betrayed its avowed commitment to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for many of its citizens as well as those it has oppressed around the world.

Indeed, the national anthem now represents America at its most cultish. It is a living relic of a legacy that treats patriotism as if it were a religion. Thus in declining to stand for it, Kaepernick is publicly challenging the nation's blind faith. ...

Not surprisingly Kaepernick's protest continues to ignite a public firestorm. There are predictable charges of being "anti-American" that brim with fascist overtones even as it purports to be defending democracy and freedom.

America Needs to Listen to What Colin Kaepernick Is Actually Trying to Say
Dave Zirin, The Nation, August 30, 2016

It is inspiring to see an athlete who cares more about the world than their own ambitions. And it is stunning that so many people are saying that an NFL player this thoughtful and selfless is somehow a "bad" role model, in a league so rife with scandal from the owner's box to the locker room.

It is also pathetic that so many in the sports media, who a few months ago were praising the legacy of Muhammad Ali, are coming down so ferociously on Colin Kaepernick. As if sports and politics can mix only in the past tense, and racism is something that can only be discussed as a historical question. People can choose to agree or disagree with Kaepernick's analysis or arguments, but they should deal with the reality of the facts he's risking his career to bring into light.

Colin Kaepernick Pledges $1 Million to Social Justice Groups as More Players Sit
Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams, September 2, 2016

When Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem ahead of the 49ers' Thursday night preseason finale against the San Diego Chargers, he was joined by his teammate Eric Reid—while further up the coast, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane also sat down in solidarity as the anthem played ahead of a game against the Oakland Raiders. ...

Kaepernick on Thursday pledged to donate $1 million of his salary to community organizations focused on social justice causes.

"I've been very blessed to be in this position and make the kind of money I do, and I have to help these people. I have to help these communities," he said. "It's not right that they're not put in the position to succeed, or given the opportunities to succeed."

G134: Red Sox 16, Athletics 2

Red Sox   - 101 046 031 - 16 17  0
Athletics - 000 200 000 -  2  6  2

Travis Shaw (3-for-6) led the way by driving in five runs on two doubles and a home run. It was the fourth time this year that Shaw has had a five-RBI game.

Yoan Moncada made his major league debut at third base in the seventh inning. He walked and scored in the eighth and struck out swinging in ninth.

Hanley Ramirez and David Ortiz each drove in three runs. ... Xander Bogaerts scored three runs. ... David Price (7-4-2-3-7, 101) has a 2.06 ERA over his last five starts.

David Price / Andrew Triggs

Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Shaw, 3B
Holt, LF
Leon, C
Bradley, CF

The Red Sox begin a nine-game, three-city, two-country road trip tonight. The trip includes three games each against the Athletics, Padres and the AL East-leading Blue Jays. Both Oakland and San Diego are in last place in their respective divisions and it is therefore essential that Boston kick their collective asses in those six games.

In addition to calling up Yoan Moncada, the Red Sox have added infielder Deven Marrero and pitchers Joe Kelly and Robby Scott. Scott is a 27-year-old lefty who has been in the system for six seasons. With Pawtucket this year, Scott has a 2.54 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 78 innings.

Also: TOR/TBR and MFY/BAL.

TOR ---
BOS 2.0
BAL 4.0
MFY 6.5

Alex Speier's 108 Stitches newsletter ends with a veritable Moncadapalooza.

It's Yoan Moncada Time!

The Red Sox's youth movement continues! The team has called up top prospect Yoan Moncada and the 21-year-old third baseman will join the team for their series against the Oakland A's on Friday night.

Moncada has an .935 OPS in 44 games with Portland (AA). His combined stats (Salem (A) and Portland): .298 batting average with 31 doubles, six triples, 15 homers, 45 stolen bases, a .411 on-base percentage and a .928 OPS in 400 at-bats. (He's not only Boston's top prospect, but has been at or near the top of the list for all MLB prospects.)

WEEI's Rob Bradford explains what you should know about the promotion: "As Red Sox manager John Farrell stated Wednesday morning, one could draw a 'direct comparison' to what Moncada might do for the 2016 season and the boost given to the '07 club by Jacoby Ellsbury and Xander Bogaerts' impact in '13."

Moncada signed last year as a second baseman but was moved to third base earlier this year. The Red Sox have received very little production from their third basemen this year: .248/.312/.393, with an OPS of .704, which is 14th in the American League (Cleveland is a hair worse, at .703), and those numbers are even worse recently: .225/.284/.326 since June 5. In particular, Travis Shaw has been dismal: .167/.250/.292 in 26 games in August.

Portland manager Carlos Febles told ESPN that Moncada is the most talented all-around player he has been around at the AA level since Carlos Beltran. (Febles and Beltran were teammates in the Royals organization.)

If a guy was 1.3 [seconds to the plate], Beltran would not go. Moncada's the other way around. He says, '1.3? I'm going.' Moncada's more aggressive than Beltran. But I think if you watch Beltran hit and Moncada hit, they both kind of have the same setup at the plate. It's a very, very similar kind of guy. Carlos was fast, great arm, power. The guy could do it all, and he just kept getting better and better and better every year. You see Moncada with the same kind of tools that Beltran had. He's a guy that can go to the big leagues and hit 20 homers like Carlos did at the beginning of his career and steal more bags than Carlos. I mean, why not think about that?

Lego Papi

Forget the black cowboy hat and the fish from Seattle and the framed photographs, THIS is the best gift given during David Ortiz's retirement tour: