Yesterday, I wrote that David Price had to start pitching like an ace NOW. Well, he did, throwing 8 shutout innings and striking out 6 in Anaheim last night. He had everything going, and was hitting his spots all night long with pinpoint control. That was the pitcher we paid for.
Unfortunately, 8 shutout wasn't enough to get the win. The offense put up just 1 run against Jered Weaver's 83 MPH heater, and Brad Ziegler couldn't get it done in the 9th. The Angels loaded the bases with 1 out, and ex-Red Sox outfielder Daniel Nava grounded softly to Hanley Ramirez at first. Ramirez airmailed the throw home, allowing two runs to score and ending the game. Some thoughts in no particular order:
-It really hurt to lose this one, given how well Price pitched
-This is the kind of fielding disaster we expected from Hanley all season long. To his credit, he has been WAY above expectations defensively; this is the first time I can think of that his defense has cost the Sox a game (this season anyway)
-The injuries to the Sox bullpen are killing them. First Carson Smith, then Craig Kimbrel, then Koji Uehara, leaving a submariner as our closer and few options for setup guys. Ziegler has been mostly good since Dombrowski traded for him, but he's definitely not my first option to be closing a game like that
-There have been way too many instances of failed execution recently. Whether it's failing to score with bases loaded nobody out, failing to throw strikes with a big lead, or fucking up simple defensive plays, the team just isn't getting it done in key spots.
-These are games you have to win if you want to contend for a championship, and the Sox aren't. They have all the pieces to win the division, but it's going to be a dogfight with Baltimore and Toronto down to the wire, and simply having a great offense isn't going to be enough. Gotta win the close ones.
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