Sox Live To See Another Day While The Yanks Are Done After Losing 6-2 In The AL Wild Card Game

 

    Last night was the first time that the Red Sox had ever appeared in the winner-take-all AL Wild Card game and it didn't disappoint as they dispatched the Yankees 6-2 at Fenway Park. With the win, the Red Sox advance to the best-of-five ALDS vs. another AL East foe-Tampa Bay-starting tomorrow night (8:07, FS1). Boston's starter Nathan Eovaldi (5.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 hits, 8 Ks, 0 BBs) easily outdueled New York's ace Gerrit Cole (2+ IP, 3 ER, 4 hits, 3 Ks, 2 BBs). The Yankees' bullpen was supposed to be one of their biggest advantages but it didn't matter since Cole put them in such a hole, haha apparently that's what $324 million buys you these days in MLB.   

Neither offense did much: Boston had seven hits while New York managed only six. The difference was that the Red Sox made their hits really count. Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run bomb to straight away center field in the first and DH Kyle Schwarber cranked a solo blast to right field in the third inning. Left fielder Alex Verdugo was also a star for the home team with an RBI double in the sixth and a two-run single in the seventh inning. All that New York's top heavy lineup could provide was a solo shot by first baseman Anthony Rizzo that cut it to 3-1 in the sixth inning while DH Giancarlo Stanton (3-for-4) hit a meaningless solo shot in the ninth inning when the Yanks were trailing 6-1.  

    Ironically for a team that was so shaky defensively all season, the play of the game came from a sweet relay throw from Boston's center fielder Kike Hernandez to Bogaerts to catcher Kevin Plawecki. Stanton just missed a homer (the ball hit a few feet under the lip of the Green Monster) and New York's bozo third base coach Phil Nevin sent right fielder Aaron Judge home with one out. That stupid decision did not turn out well for the visitors as Kike quickly threw the ball to Bogaerts who pegged a perfect strike to Plawecki who got the tag down on a sliding Judge. It was an awesome sequence that saved Red Sox reliever Ryan Brasier who escaped the inning by having left fielder Joey Gallo pop out. 

    Boston rookie Tanner Houck pitched a dominant seventh inning with two strikeouts in a clean frame and Hansel Robles followed with a 1-2-3 eighth inning including a strikeout. The other prized Red Sox rookie pitcher Garrett Whitlock allowed that Stanton homer in the ninth but that was it. By surviving the Wild Card game, I believe Boston is playing with house money from here on out. Tampa won the division and 100 games this season, which following their World Series appearance last year proves that they are not a fluke. They are the best team in the American League and one of the top clubs in baseball so they will be favored but anything can happen in the playoffs, particularly in a short series. Game 2 is on Friday night (7:02, FS1) at the Trop while Game 3 is on Sunday afternoon (4:07, MLB Network) back here. If necessary,  Game 4 would be on Marathon Monday in Boston while a do-or-die Game 5 would be on Wednesday in Tampa Bay. Get excited everybody, the Red Sox are in the mix for the World Series this October!

I Can't Believe That I'm Saying This But Did We Count Out the Red Sox Too Soon?

Let's be honest: it would take one hell of a turnaround for the Red Sox to push for a Wild Card spot let alone compete in the upside down AL East. Still, the last few days have been a revelation in terms of showing us that maybe there is a reason to tune in and hope for the improbable for the rest of 2014.

Boston (42-51 overall, 19-25 away) won their third straight game as they opened the final series before the All-Star break with an 8-3 win at Houston's (39-55 overall, 20-27 home) Minute Maid Park. The Red Sox had 12 hits and led 8-1 in the sixth inning en route to a very rare laugher (in a good way). They are within eight games of the second Wild Card spot and 9.5 behind first-place Baltimore.

Pitching in his home state, John Lackey (10-6) became the first Red Sox pitcher to reach double digit wins this season. His usual pinpoint control was off (3 strikeouts/5 walks) but he still lasted six innings and only allowed two earned runs on four hits.

For once, Boston built an early lead and proceeded to increase it over the next few innings just like a good team. Brock Holt (2 for 4, double, 2 runs, walk) had an RBI triple in the third and Dustin Pedroia followed with an RBI double for the 2-0 advantage. Rookie catcher Christian Vazquez had quite a memorable night: recording his first MLB hit, extra base hit and RBI. He added an RBI double in the fourth as the Red Sox went up 3-0 on the hapless Astros.

Enrique Hernandez's RBI single cut it to 3-1 in the fourth but Scott Feldman (4-6) couldn't keep it even that close as he was charged with seven earned runs on 11 hits in 5.1 innings. Vazquez notched a two-run double in the sixth and David Ortiz greeted lefty Darin Downs with a bases clearing double that put this in the win column for the Red Sox.

Chris Carter went over .200 and boosted his stats with a pair of garbage time solo homers in the sixth and eighth (his 18th and 19th of the season). Houston finished 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 men on base. Daniel Nava and Jackie Bradley Jr. each collected two singles and scored a run in the victory.

Assuming that he's not traded before first pitch (4:10, NESN)-a very real possibility-Jake Peavy (1-7) will take the mound tomorrow vs. Brett Oberholtzer (2-7). As you can tell by their records, this is unlikely to be a pitcher's duel but rather a battle of bullpens and a long game so stock up on some adult beverages to get through it comfortably.

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So I Guess The Season Is Truly Over For The 2011 Boston Red Sox, Good Riddance!

No matter how long any of us live, I guarantee that we'll never see a final day of an MLB regular season like the one we just witnessed tonight.

With both Wild Card spots up for grabs and four games going on simultaneously, it was baseball porn for a sport that desperately needs more moments like that. At the end of it all, the Tampa Bay Rays and St. Louis Cardinals-two teams that came back from historical deficits-captured the Wild Cards while the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox likewise suffered catastrophic collapses.

Baltimore (69-93) had a walk-off win at Camden Yards, 4-3 on Robert Andino's single which mercifully ended Boston's season. Moments later at the Trop, Evan Longoria hit a walk-off homer in the 12th for an 8-7 Rays win over the Yankees, ensuring that there would be no one-game playoff on Thursday vs. the Red Sox.

Good lord, where to begin with this train wreck of a month that was capped off by tonight? The Yankees led the Rays 7-0 at one point while the Red Sox were ahead 3-2 on the Orioles before a rain delay of one hour and 25 minutes during the seventh inning.

Bottom line, the two teams that most deserved to make the playoffs made it. New York will host Detroit and Texas hosts Tampa Bay beginning on Friday. In the NL, Philly hosts St. Louis and Arizona travels to Milwaukee on Saturday.

This was a game that the Red Sox (90-72) shouldn't have lost but given the way September unfolded-tying the worst Sept. mark in franchise history-the end result was entirely predictable for anybody that was paying attention.

Jon Lester wasn't great but he gave them a decent enough start on three days rest. He went six innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts.

In possibly his final game with the Red Sox, closer Jonathan Papelbon (4-1) blew the save in crazy fashion. He was down to the last strike with the bases empty before Chris Davis doubled, Nolan Reimold tied it with a ground-rule double and then Andino hit a sinking liner which most people not named Carl Crawford might have had a chance on. Don't ask me how a guy who won a Gold Glove last season could become this much of a liability in one year.

Alfredo Aceves had pitched a scoreless 1-2-3 seventh (his fourth consecutive day of work) while ultra-shaky setup guy Daniel Bard had a clean eighth to get it to best closer in franchise history.

To blame Papelbon is short-sighted and dumb. This was a teamwide failure on so many levels; it should have never gotten to this point. As GM Theo Epstein pointed out after the game, if they had only won two more games (9 instead of 7 out of 27) in September, they'd be in the playoffs.

Firing Terry Francona is probably the most likely option since who would ever take on Crawford, John Lackey, etc. at this point? However, while Francona's approach of not calling out players didn't help, ultimately it's the players that get the job done or not. Rumors of Theo going to the Cubs make sense and I wouldn't blame him for wanting a new challenge at this point in his career. Winning World Series championships in 2004 and 2007 changed everything for the Red Sox, the team and the fanbase just doesn't have the same passion and I don't that they ever will again.

The only positional players that showed up tonight for Boston were Dustin Pedroia (3 hits) and Marco Scutaro (2 hits). Pedroia had an RBI single in the 3rd (1-0) and solo homer in the fifth (3-2 Red Sox; 21st of the season). Scutaro scored on a balk in the fourth (2-2) and the pair also combined on a sick double play to get out of trouble in the sixth.

As every Red Sox fan thought during the slide, if only we had a couple more guys with the heart and desire of Pedroia. His energy and enthusiasm for the game can only go so far though. He's a winner and hopefully he plays for Boston his entire career.

Scutaro is a free agent and he figures to move on from here but he is also guilt-free as him and Jacoby Ellsbury (who should be AL MVP) basically tried to will this team offensively in September when every other bat flat-lined and any form of pitching was a disaster.

J.J. Hardy got the O's on the board with a two-run shot in the third which put Baltimore ahead 2-1.

Starter Alfredo Simon was pulled after 4.1 innings (3 earned runs, 6 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts) but Troy Patton (2.1 innings), Willie Eyre (1 out), Pedro Strop (1 inning) and Jim Johnson (6-5; 1 inning) combined to close the door on Boston's ill-fated season.

This loss should serve as a painful reminder to both the team and fans that getting to the playoffs and winning a World Series isn't a birthright by any means (in case we forgot). The Red Sox haven't won a playoff game since 2008 and this marks the second straight season that they've missed the playoffs (something they hadn't done in consecutive years since 2001). Hell, they only had one more win this season than last year's joke of a campaign. And please don't start with the injury excuse, in baseball everyone has a ton of injuries after the grueling 162-game regular season.

Let's remember that winning the offseason like the Miami Heat in the NBA or Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL doesn't mean anything. The results are all that matters and right now, this team has dissolved into one that lacks character and substance. We can only hope that this bitter end gets things turned back into a winning direction moving forward.

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