Last night, Eduardo Rodriguez had a no-hitter going with 2 outs in the 8th inning. He lost his bid on a replay review that overturned an out call at first base, which you can see from the picture above was the correct decision. It was disappointing, because I really thought I was watching history, but not damaging. When the Sox lost the game 1-0 on a walk off error? That was unacceptable.
Brock Holt misplayed a ball off the wall in left field which allowed the winning run to score. It was a bad play, no doubt. It was also his second career error in left field, and it was a physical mistake (which I can accept) not a mental one (which I cannot). I can't blame this loss on Holt, but it is completely flabbergasting that the Sox have now lost FOUR games on walk off errors this season. It would be bad to lose four walkoffs in a season in any fashion, forget about losing on errors. Unbelievable.
On the plus side, this was a major statement game from Eduardo Rodriguez. The 23-year-old lefty had massive expectations coming into the season, which he started by getting hurt. Then he got LIT UP in his first five starts, to the tune of an 8.59 ERA. He was sent down to the minors, and it seemed like all potential was lost. He made a strong comeback in July and August, and then had a no-hitter through 5 innings at Baltimore before he had to leave with a hamstring injury. He scratched himself from his next start at the last possible moment, and then got knocked around for 5 runs in 5 innings by the Royals. Maybe this 8 scoreless outing is just another blip in E-Rod's up and down season, but I'm going to choose to believe it is a sign of things to come. Since the All-Star break, Rodriguez has a 2.71 ERA, with only one bad outing. The biggest knock on him recently is his inability to pitch deep into games, but last night shows that he has the potential to solve that issue quickly. I think he should be the Sox 3rd starter in a playoff rotation, behind Price and Porcello.
In the end, it really is just one game. The Sox won 2 of 3 in Oakland, outscoring the A's 27-5 in the process. But that's exactly it; 27-5 looks like a sweep. It should be a sweep. But the Sox time and time again find ways to get worse results than their numbers indicate. This team has the best offense in baseball, above average defense and decent pitching, yet they are only a borderline playoff team. It's maddening, and the only guy I can blame is John Farrell. Not so much last night, because I'm pretty sure you can't win without scoring any runs, but this season in general he has been bad. Bad use of the bullpen, bad in-game moves, bad press conferences, just bad. And honestly, more than anything specific, there's the big picture. The Sox have 4 of the top 10 AL batting averages (Pedrioa, Betts, Ortiz, Bogaerts), 4 All-Star regulars, a super-high priced ace, an all-star closer, etc. etc. Yet, they are fighting for a playoff spot. This team is certainly flawed (bullpen, back of the rotation) but plain and simple the manager's job is to get the most out of the talent on his roster, and I can't help but feel that Farrell hasn't done that this season.
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