August 24, 2016

Giving the Rays a Devil of a Time




I'm not gonna lie to ya. Watching games from Tropicana Field is brutal, and many of the locals seem to share that notion as they stay away on a regular basis. The ones that have ventured to this abomination of a baseball stadium haven't had much to cheer about the past two games unless they are Red Sox fans of course. There appeared to be a groundswell of Sawx fans on hand last night in the  2-1`victory that saw Clay Buchholz circa 2013. His performance warranted as loud an ovation as I've ever heard in a visiting ballpark, and I was quite happy to join them from a much more pleasing locale - my couch.

Clay is trying to buck the bullpen, and he has been looking good. Since replacing Steven Wright in the rotation he has delivered a sparkling 16.2 IP/ 5 ER/ 2.70 ERA in three starts. A divide still exists on the validity of these numbers as many, like yours truly, are waiting for the other shoe to drop. Whispers of sticking Drew Pomeranz in the bullpen have erupted which I think would be foolish. Pomeranz has also been surging in August with his outings becoming increasingly longer, and he has a longer track record of success in 2016. Still, Clay has proven to be a valuable asset as backing for the rotation with no answers available on the farm (see Henry Owens).

 So who said Boston couldn't win close games? On this 7-2 road trip, the Red Sox have enjoyed 4 victories by narrow margins:in 3-2, 3-2, 2-1, and 5-3. Much of this can be attributed to the fabulous pitching they have been getting. The starting rotation has logged a 2.69 ERA for August, and closer Craig Kimbrel has been brilliant going 5 for 5 in save opportunities and limiting the opposition  to a parched .071  BA. The eighth inning remains a sticking point, though, as Matt Barnes can't seem to get his head out of his ass. Kimbrel had to come on in the eighth in Saturday's 3-2 win in Detroit, and Barnes allowed 2 runs on 3 hits in the opening game of the Tampa series. Barnes now owns a 6.34 ERA in the second half of the season.

The fact that Farrell left Price in the eight in Monday's 6-2 win at over 100 pitches told you all you needed to know on how confident he was in that eighth inning situation. Price had lowered his ERA to the lowest point it had been since his Opening Day start, and  he is hitting stride. In his past 6 starts he has a tidy 2.36 ERA. Andrew Benintendi saved the day in said inning with an incredible catch in left, robbing Steve Souza  Jr. of a 2 run homer to keep the score sheet clean for Price. Boston was able to tack on 3 in the ninth thanks in part by a two run homer by Xander Bogaerts. So when you look at Barnes unsettling effort, that game could have easily gotten away from Boston. Bogaerts dinger was his 15th which is the most by a Boston shortstop since Nomah clubbed 28 back in 2003.

While on the subject of great defense, Mookie Betts showed that he has more to offer than a lightning quick bat. In the bottom of the eighth Kevin Kiemaier's rocket down the right field line found its way to Betts in foul ground. Kiemaier foolishly attempted to take third and was gunned down by Betts. In a 2-1 game late, he was already in scoring position, but we'll take stupid baseball. Tampa manager Kevin Cash also had me shaking my head on  Logan Morrison bunt attempted with a runner on first in the fourth. Morrison had previously owned Buchholz, and to make matters worse, Leon picked the runner off first as he strayed on the attempt. In effect, Tampa's idiocy allowed Boston's defense to shine.

Boston has also become a very solid road team with a record of 33-27. The only other AL team better than five games over .500 on the road is the Blue Jays. With 22 games remaining away from Fenway, Boston needs to continue these winning ways

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