You all sucked.
-This was a back and forth back and forth affair, with at least one team scoring in 7 of the 9 innings
-Boston was always playing from behind in this one, tying the game 3 different times. However, they could never pull ahead, and the pitching couldn't keep the Jays down long enough to give the offense a chance to take control of the game with their bats.
Wanted: for the murder of Red Sox pitching
-As good as Joe Kelly was in his first start off the DL, thats how bad he was this time out. He gave up 9 hits, walked 3, and allowed 5 runs while not making it out of the 5th. The one positive? 8 strikeouts, which indicates that he did have swing-and-miss stuff. With better location, he will be more successful. Im not too worried about him moving forward.
-The Sox offense mounted a nice rally against the Jays bullpen, scoring 2 in the 7th and 1 more in the 8th to tie the game. It was particularly nice to see Christian Vazquez knock a 2-run single, as the catcher spot is the one position the Sox have not gotten good offensive production from to this point
-Xander Bogaerts was 1-4 in this one, extending his hitting streak to 20 games. While JBJ's streak got all the attention, the Xman has quietly been leading the AL in batting average over the first two months of the year
Game 2: Red Sox 9, Blue Jays 10
-Based solely on the final score, this game looks like a back and forth slugfest, but it seemed like another solid Sox victory for most of the game. They were up 8-4 going into the bottom of the 8th.
-Rick Porcello really battled in this one, going 6.2 innings and allowing 4 runs on 7 hits with 5 Ks. While he did give up a crooked number in the 3rd, allowing 3 Jays to cross the plate, he also fought to keep the Sox in the game. With the bases loaded and nobody out, he got Michael Saunders to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, squashing what could have been a really big inning. Take notes Clay Buccholz, that's how you fight to keep a start alive.
-Bogaerts continues to be on fire; 3-5 with a homer and 3 runs scored, plus a key stolen base in the 5th that allowed him to score on Pedroia's double. The Xman extended his streak to 21 games.
-Big Papi swung and missed at a slider which hit him in his back foot; embarrassing, but also painful. He stayed in the game, but the last thing we need is more wear and tear on the big man's feet, which are the weakest part of his body and, according to John Farrell, the part of him that is breaking down most and causing him to retire
-Travis Shaw went deep in the 6th, launching a high changeup into the right field bleachers. When a pitcher makes a mistake like that, good hitters make them pay
-Now the bullpen stuff. Sigh. Going into the bottom of the 8th, the Sox had an 8-4 lead and looked to be cruising to victory. However, Toronto got their first two men on in the inning, and to Farrell's credit he didn't wait around to go to his best relievers. Unfortunately, it didn't work out.
-Junichi Tazawa has been excellent for the Sox for a few years now, but he was awful in this one. He gave up a 2 hits and a wild pitch to allow 3 runs to score, while only getting one out before giving way to Craig Kimbrel with the tying run on third.
-Kimbrel is one of the elite closers in baseball, but he is much better when he starts his own inning as opposed to stranding inherited runners. He got a big strikeout for the second out, but then gave up a two out single to Jose Bautista that tied the game.
-David Ortiz did his best David Ortiz impression in the 9th, putting the team on his back by blasting a middle-in fastball to the moon to recapture the lead. The guy is locked in, and loves playing in Rogers Centre; his 40 career home runs there are the most for any visiting player.
-I can make inherited runners excuses for Kimbrel in the 8th, but he got a second chance to hold the lead in the 9th and couldn't do it. Russell Martin drilled a 2 strike, 2 out double to tie the game.
-Christian Vazquez is an awesome defensive catcher, but he was horrible in this one. He airmailed two throws to second base, including one in the 9th. Then, with Martin at 2nd as the winning run, Christian couldn't hold on to a slider from Kimbrel, which allowed Martin to advance to third. That would be critical, because...
-Devin Travis rapped a sharp grounder down the third base line. Travis Shaw actually made a very nice play to snag it, plant his feet quickly and throw all the way across the diamond. However, the throw was low and Hanley Ramirez couldn't handle it, allowing the winning run to score. HanRam has exceeded all expectations at first base, but his inexperience there reared its ugly head at the worst possible time. Bad defense and bad bullpen pitching cost the Sox a divisional game they definitely should have won. Fuck.
Game 3: Red Sox 5, Toronto 3 (11 innings)
-David Price was purchased this season to be an Ace, the pitcher who breaks up losing streaks by shutting down whoever he is facing. After 3 straight losses, he is exactly the guy who the Sox wanted on the hill, and he delivered 6.1 innings of 2 run ball.
-Price made one big mistake, and Jose Bautista made him pay with a 2-run homer in the 5th
-Boston got 3 runs in the 6th on 2 hits, 2 walks and a hit batter, but could have had even more. They had the bases loaded with one out, but Josh Rutledge struck out and Christian Vazquez flied to right to end the innings. Wrong part of the lineup to have in that situation, but I'd like to see Rutledge at least make a productive out for an RBI
-Rutledge also failed to deliver in the 10th inning, when he came up with men at second and third and two outs. While Josh has been a surprise contributor, hitting over .300 as a utility infielder, this game won't be part of his highlights; he was 0-4 with 6 men left on base.
-Once again, the bullpen couldn't hold the lead. Heath Hembree has been very good out of the pen this season, but he blew this game in the 8th with one bad pitch. Ryan Hannigan called for a fastball away, but Hembree missed badly and left it right down the middle. Edwin Encarnacion hit an absolute laser into the upper deck to tie the game at 3.
-When John Farrell announced that Clay Buccholz was moving to the bullpen, I thought that meant we weren't going to see much of him anymore. Apparently, I was wrong. Farrell brought him in for the 10th, entrusting the game to the guy who can't stop giving up home runs. I was less than thrilled with this choice, but Buccholz did hold down the fort for his single inning
-Dustin Pedroia got the big hit of the night, an RBI double in the 11th. The Sox added one more on a groundout, and Uehara got the save. Dustin is one of the leaders of this team, and he got it done in the clutch.
So Boston is 3-3 in their last two series, 30-20 overall, heading to Baltimore for a huge 4 game series with first place on the line. Let's go bird hunting.
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