Why is it that we spend so much time focusing on the Red Sox' (49-31 overall, 25-17 home) weaknesses rather than the fact they continue to find ways to overcome them? I'm guilty of it myself but at the moment, it all seems a bit silly since thanks to Boston's 7-6 victory against hapless Kansas City (33-45 overall, 15-26 away) tonight at steaming hot Fenway Park, the Sox currently own the best record in the American League. That's right, Houston (48-32) has dropped its last three games in a row while Boston has won five straight games and gone 7-3 in their last 10 to suddenly be tied with the Dodgers for the second best record in baseball, trailing only the Giants (50-29). It is time to stop doubting them and get aboard the growing bandwagon for one of the most exciting teams in MLB this season.
We can debate whether this is sustainable in the long run but the last time that I checked it isn't October yet and since the Sox haven't made the playoffs in a few years, let's relax and enjoy a quality regular season shall we? If I didn't know any better, I would say that Boston is toying with Kansas City because for the second night in a row, they fell behind (instead of four runs, it was three different instances) only to rally each time and eventually hang on for another one-run win. The Red Sox' starting pitchers are a major issue but they are able to mostly survive their mediocrity by the fact that the offense is so relentless and the bullpen is becoming a major strength of this club (who knew?). The Royals are one of the worst hitting teams in the AL but you wouldn't know it by the way that they crushed Nick Pivetta (4.1 IP, 6 ER, 9 hits, 5 Ks, 2 BBs, 3 HRs allowed). Luckily for the home team, they were up against the immortal Brad Keller (5 IP, 6 ER, 10 hits, 0 Ks, 5 BBs) who is a glorified pitching machine come to life.
You might not know the name but Kansas City's second baseman Whit Merrifield is one of the best hitters in MLB. He led off tonight's game with a home run that wrapped around Pesky's Pole for his eighth blast of the season. Boston responded immediately in their first at bats as designated hitter J.D. Martinez drove in second baseman Kike Hernandez (2-for-4) with an RBI single. The Sox took the lead as the next hitter-shortstop Xander Bogaerts-beat out an infield single which allowed left fielder Alex Verdugo (2 runs scored, 2 walks) to score and make it 2-1. KC's center fielder Michael Taylor (3-for-3, walk, stolen base) knocked in left fielder Hunter Dozier with an RBI single in the second inning which knotted things at two. Right fielder Hunter Renfroe helped Boston regain the lead at 3-2 in the third inning with a sacrifice fly that plated Martinez. Taylor answered with a two-run shot to right field in the fourth inning that scored Dozier and gave the Royals a 4-3 advantage. Boston added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth as Hernandez drove in center fielder Danny Santana with an RBI single and Martinez's sacrifice fly allowed first baseman Bobby Dalbec (2-for-3) to come home with a 5-4 lead.
KC DH Ryan O'Hearn ended Pivetta's subpar outing with a two-run blast to center field in the fifth inning which handed the Royals their final lead (6-5) of the contest. Martinez put the capper on his four RBI performance with a two-run double in the sixth inning that scored Verdugo and Michael Chavis who pinch ran for Dalbec. As bad as Pivetta was, the Red Sox' bullpen was superb: four guys followed Pivetta and they all went at least one inning but none of them allowed a single run. Yacksel Rios (2-0) started the procession with 1.2 scoreless innings, Darwinzon Hernandez pitched a scoreless seventh inning and Northeastern's Adam Ottavino threw a scoreless eighth inning before ace closer UConn's Matt Barnes struck out the side in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to record his 18th save (2nd of the series).
Mercifully, this latest heatwave in New England is supposed to end tomorrow but it promises to remain a sauna at Fenway as Martin Perez (5-4) goes up against Mike Minor (6-5) beginning at 7:10 pm on NESN. The Royals have lost seven straight games to drop into last-place in the AL Central so they no doubt are losing any hope by the day that they can make anything of this season. Obviously a win is all that matters but it would be nice to see the Red Sox not have only nailbiters against Kansas City this week. Tampa Bay (47-33) lost 4-3 to Washington (39-38) tonight as well so Boston is now two games ahead of them for first-place in the AL East. Tomorrow's game is the 81st of the regular season (aka the halfway point) for the Sox meaning another victory would put them right on pace for 100 wins. Coming into this campaign, who could have believed they would be this good right away in manager Alex Cora's return from purgatory?
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