On The Last Day Of The Regular Season, Sox Clinch A Spot In The AL Wild Card Game Vs. NYY

 

    In a season full of crazy highs and lows, it was only fitting that it came down to the final game of the regular season for the Red Sox (92-70 overall, 43-38 away) to ultimately determine their playoff fate. If they had lost to the lowly Nationals (65-97 overall, 35-46 home), they would have been forced to play a tiebreaker game #163 against the Blue Jays (91-71) on Monday. Thankfully, it did not have to come down to that scary scenario as Boston rallied for a thrilling 7-5 victory at Nationals Park to both sweep Washington and set up a doozy of an AL Wild Card game on Tuesday night (8:08, ESPN) at Fenway Park vs. the Yankees (92-70). It will be the first time that the Red Sox have ever played in the Wild Card game so who better to face than their biggest rival? In a sport that is always desperate for attention and ratings, MLB couldn't have asked for a sexier matchup than that.

    Star third baseman Rafael Devers (4-for-5 w/2 HRs, 4 RBIs & 3 runs) was incredible for the visitors while Chris Sale only went 2.1 IP (recording all of his outs via strikeouts) but six relievers helped the Sox get to the finish line. In fact, if you throw out Garrett Richards (3 ER in 1 IP), the other five guys (Hirokazu Sawamura, Martin Perez, Garrett Whitlock, Eduardo Rodriguez and Nick Pivetta) combined for 5.2 scoreless innings and only one hit allowed with five strikeouts. Boston did not make it easy on themselves as they trailed 2-0 in the fourth inning before Devers crushed a solo home run to center (his 37th of the season). The Nats added three more runs in the fifth inning including a two-run double by catcher Alex Avila in his final MLB game that made it 5-1 in favor of the home team. 

    The Sox eventually decided to get to work in the sixth inning as they cut it to 5-2 on an infield single by catcher Christian Vazquez that scored pinch hitter Jose Iglesias (playing in his last game of the season since he was acquired after Sept. 1). Boston tied it with three runs in the seventh on an RBI single by Devers that plated first baseman and former Nationals great Kyle Schwarber and a clutch two-run double by left fielder Alex Verdugo (3-for-5). Raffy saved his last heroics of the day for the ninth inning as he smashed a two-run bomb to left center that scored Schwarber once again. Needless to say, that was a huge swing (sorry for the lame baseball pun) for the Sox who went from having to play a must-win game tomorrow against the very dangerous Jays to hosting a must-win in two days vs. the Yankees.  

    Red Sox manager Alex Cora had to be creative in the last few innings with his bullpen: Whitlock pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning with two strikeouts, Rodriguez (13-8) added a scoreless eighth inning with a strikeout to earn the win and Pivetta closed it out with a 1-2-3 ninth inning with a strikeout for his first save of the season/as a member of the Red Sox. New York also would have faced Toronto if they had lost this afternoon but they beat Tampa Bay (100-62) 1-0 on a walk-off single by their star right fielder Aaron Judge. This will be the fourth time that the Yanks have appeared in the winner-take-all Wild Card game and they are 2-1 previously in them. With Nathan Eovaldi (11-9, 3.75 ERA) opposing Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (16-8), it has all the makings of a classic new chapter to one of the great rivalries in sports. The winners will advance to the ALDS vs. the Rays, what an amazing season for the AL East (minus the 52-110 Orioles!). 

Boston Snapped Season-High Five-Game Losing Streak With A Much-Needed 4-1 Win In Detroit

 

    Since they failed to do much (besides obtaining an injured Kyle Schwarber) at the trade deadline last Friday, it had been a rough few days for your Red Sox (64-45 overall, 31-23 away). They got swept by the Rays (65-44 overall) last weekend, they dropped to second-place in the AL East behind Tampa and they were generally falling apart as they lost a season-high five games in a row. Thankfully, that all changed-at least for a night-as Eduardo Rodriguez (8-6; 5 IP, 0 ER, 2 hits, 10 Ks, 4 BBs) pitched five shutout innings this evening and Boston bounced back from last night's 4-2 loss to the Tigers (52-58 overall, 31-25 home) with a 4-1 victory tonight at Comerica Park. The starting pitching for the Sox has predictably crumbled lately so it was a boost to get a good outing for a change coupled with three home runs from the similarly struggling Boston bats. 

    Detroit has been playing much better lately but come on, this is a rebuilding club with future Hall of Famer slugger Miguel Cabrera and a bunch of guys that only the most hardcore baseball fans (raises hand) has ever heard of. One of the Tigers' top young pitching prospects Casey Mize (6-6) got the start and like E-Rod, he only lasted five innings but he gave up four earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and a walk. The Red Sox never trailed as DH J.D. Martinez hit a solo homer to right field in the second inning-his 21st of the season. Boston got the rest of its offense in the fifth inning as ace leadoff hitter and second baseman Kike Hernandez crushed a two-run bomb to left field-his 15th of the season-and that was followed by an opposite field (to left) homer by rookie center fielder Jarren Duran (his 2nd of the season).

    Stop me if you've heard this before but Rodriguez threw way too many pitches in five innings (99) so he gave way to Hirokzu Sawamura in the sixth who worked around a single and a walk to strike out two and get a scoreless frame. The Tigers only managed five hits in the entire game and they struck out a combined 18 times so their lone highlight was a solo homer by former Orioles great and second baseman Jonathan Schoop to left field (his 18th of the season) in the seventh inning off Josh Taylor. Boston's superb set-up man and closer combo were back in business as Northeastern's Adam Ottavino recorded the last out in the seventh and a scoreless eighth inning with two strikeouts while UConn's Matt Barnes recorded a 1-2-3 ninth inning on 11 pitches with two strikeouts for his 24th save of the season. We all got a scare before yesterday's contest as Barnes tested positive for Covid-19 (despite supposedly being fully vaccinated) but it all turned out to be a false positive and he came off the Covid-19 IL this afternoon after just one day on it. 

    As I'm sure you already know by now, tomorrow afternoon's (1:10, NESN) series finale is also the final meeting of the 2021 regular season between the Red Sox and Tigers. Boston is 3-2 against Detroit so that outcome will decide if the Sox take the season series 4-2 or it ends in a lame 3-3 tie. Sox lefty Martin Perez (7-7) will oppose Tigers lefty Tarik Skubal (6-10) in a game that despite being a getaway day for the Sox may take awhile since both of those guys stink. Boston has plenty of motivation since they only trail Tampa Bay by one game while the Red Sox will head out for an important four-game trip to Toronto (56-49) this weekend, marking the first time they've been to Canada since the 2019 season. It is a short flight from Detroit to Toronto but a win on Thursday would certainly make for an even more enjoyable ride North of the border.

With Five Yanks Placed On Covid-19 IL, Sox Blanked Them 4-0 To Improve To 7-0 Vs. NY In '21

 

    The Yankees (46-44 overall, 23-23 home) were already a disaster this season and now they are suffering a Covid-19 outbreak (still?) that caused last night's Red Sox (56-36 overall, 28-17 away)-Yanks game to be postponed. Tonight (along with the rest of MLB), the series and second half began with New York putting five players-left-handed pitchers Nestor Cortes and Wandy Peralta, along with outfielder Aaron Judge, catcher Kyle Higashioka and infielder Gio Urshela-on the Covid-19 injured list. Not surprisingly, with a lineup that was better suited for a Spring Training game in mid-March, the Yanks did not stand much of a chance as Boston shut them out 4-0 this evening at Yankee Stadium. By recording their first shutout in the Bronx in a little over three years, the Sox extended their perfect start (7-0) against their bitter rivals in 2021.   

    The teams combined for eight hits so it was not exactly an offensive explosion but Boston at least made theirs count with a two-run homer and a solo shot. Red Sox starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (7-5) wasn't his sharpest (40 of his 97 pitches were balls) but it was plenty good enough against such a weak starting nine. In 5.2 innings, E-Rod allowed just two hits with eight strikeouts and two walks. It only took two Sox relievers to complete the job from there: Hirokazu Sawamura induced a ground out (on three pitches) from Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez to end the sixth inning and strand a runner at second base. Tanner Houck has spent most of the season with the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox (lucky him!) but he was recalled to Boston yesterday and he closed it out with three scoreless innings including three strikeouts for his first career MLB save. 

    Boston got all the runs they needed in the second inning as shortstop Xander Bogaerts scored on a ground out by right fielder Hunter Renfroe and second baseman Christian Arroyo crushed a two-run bomb to right center (his sixth of the season) that scored third baseman Rafael Devers. Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez added an insurance run with a solo homer to right in the eighth inning that made it 4-0 on his 19th home run of the season. Yankees starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery (3-5) was decent enough (6 IP, 3 ER, 3 hits, 4 Ks, 2 BBs) but he basically would have had to no-hit the Red Sox to steal a win for his overmatched club in the series opener. 

    With the victory, Boston held serve for a 1.5 game lead over second-place Tampa Bay (54-37) in the AL East while New York dropped to fourth-place behind Toronto (46-42). Even though the Yanks are a complete mess, they still undeservedly get the primetime spotlight the next two nights: Nathan Eovaldi (9-5) faces fellow All-Star Gerrit Cole (9-4) tomorrow (7:15, Fox) and Martin Perez (7-5) takes on Jameson Taillon (4-4) on Sunday (7:08, ESPN). There is no chance that the Yanks will make some miraculous comeback and push the Red Sox and Rays for the AL East crown this fall. Hell, I'd be shocked if they sniffed the neighborhood of the Wild Card spots. New York is hopeless but that is not our problem so we can only laugh at their misery as Boston continues to bury them in 2021. PS one of Boston's top prospects-outfielder Jarren Duran-was called up as well and since he's a lefty hitter, I bet that he makes his MLB debut vs. Cole. 

Sox Slugged (4 HRs) Their Way To Fourth Straight Win & They Are Tied With Astros For Best AL Mark

 

    I am already growing weary of bashing Red Sox pitcher Garrett Richards (5.2 IP, 5 ER, 11 hits, 3 Ks, 3 HRs) in his first season with Boston. Don't get me wrong, he deserves all the criticism that he's getting from every angle but how many ways can you say the same thing over and over again? The guy is a human puddle without his now illegal sticky substances. Despite his general ineptitude at his job, the Sox (48-31 overall, 24-17 home) won in spite of him. This evening they rallied from an early 5-1 deficit to beat the spiraling Royals (33-44 overall, 15-25 away) 6-5 at scorching Fenway Park in the series opener. I guess that he should be saluted for going that long after allowing all five runs in the first two innings but I'm not a Little League coach or his parent so I'm not here to pat him on his goofy head. He should not be in Boston's starting rotation anymore, they are playing with fire thinking that he'll turn it around anytime soon at the MLB level. 

    Anywho, the Red Sox hit four home runs led by right fielder Hunter Renfroe who had a pair of mammoth blasts. Unlike Richards, Renfroe was a great free agent signing by Boston's GM Chiam Bloom. Their fourth straight victory combined with Houston's (48-31) shocking 9-7 loss to lowly Baltimore (25-54) meant that Boston settles into a tie with the Astros for the best record in the AL. Furthermore, the Giants (50-27) are the only team in baseball with a better record than them. The Royals won two out of three against Boston a few weeks back in Kansas City but the Sox are catching them at a good time since they have now dropped five games in a row. First baseman Carlos Santana hit a three-run homer in the first inning (his 13th of the season) to right field for an early 3-0 KC lead. For the second game in a row, center fielder Kike Hernandez (2-for-3, BB) led off with a home run (his 8th of the season) in the bottom of the first that went over the Green Monster. Center fielder Michael Taylor (his 6th, to right center) and second baseman Whit Merrifield (his 7th, to center; 3-for-5, 2 runs) each hit solo shots in the second for that 5-1 advantage. 

    It was basically Home Run Derby a few weeks early as the Royals starter/opener (since he was working his way back from an injury) Danny Duffy also allowed three bombs in only 3.1 innings of work. First baseman Bobby Dalbec (2-for-4, 2 runs) started the comeback with a solo blast (his 10th of the season) of his own, over the Monster in the bottom of the second inning. Renfroe cut it to 5-4 Royals with a two-run laser (his 10th of the season) to center field that scored shortstop Xander Bogaerts as well. Michael Chavis tied it at five later in that frame with an RBI single that plated Dalbec. The last run of the contest obviously came from one last roundtripper as Renfroe smoked a solo homer over the Monster in the sixth inning. 

    Kansas City's offense-like the rest of their sorry club-is not good but regardless, Boston's bullpen was still excellent: they went 3.1 innings and only allowed one total hit. Hirokazu Sawamura (4-0)-another gem from Bloom-got four outs including a strikeout to kick things off. Josh Taylor pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning for his tenth hold of the season followed by closer Matt Barnes who recorded a 1-2-3 ninth inning on 13 pitches for his 17th save of the season. Tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) promises to be just as gross in terms of weather at the ballpark but Nick Pivetta (6-3) vs. Brad Keller (6-8) is a very winnable matchup for the Red Sox. These won't be the sexiest games of the season but it's a great time for Boston to pile up the wins while they take advantage of a bad team that is going nowhere fast.

Eight Days Later, The Red Sox Finish Their Sweep Of The Lowly Marlins For Their Fifth Straight Win

 

    I don't know about you but nothing gets me fired up quite like a Monday afternoon makeup game between the Red Sox (37-23 overall, 17-13 home) and the Marlins (25-34 overall, 13-22 away) at Fenway Park in the middle of a rare early June heatwave. While you were coming home from work (is that still a thing?), eating dinner or getting ready for Game 5 of Bruins-Islanders, Boston and Miami had to complete their three-game series that saw the finale cancelled last Sunday afternoon because it poured. Not surprisingly, it was not the most exciting or interesting game of the season but at least the Sox still put in enough effort to come away with a 5-3 victory. With the win, Boston pulled within a half game behind first-place Tampa Bay (38-23) in the AL East and their fifth straight victory officially makes them the hottest team in MLB. 

        The final score was not that high in terms of total runs scored but you wouldn't have guessed that since each club had to use six pitchers (come on!) apiece just to get through nine innings. Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta (4.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 hits, 6 Ks, 3 BBs) did not have his best stuff in what looked like a great spot to pick up an easy win. Of course, it also helped that Boston was staked to a 2-0 lead in the second inning and it was 5-1 Red Sox by the fifth inning. Garrett Whitlock was the first reliever summoned from Boston's bullpen and he got the final out in the fifth inning on two pitches. Darwinzon Hernandez recorded two outs (both via strikeouts) and Boston's newest weapon-Hirokazu Sawamura (2-0) earned his second win of the season after notching four outs including striking out two. Sox manager Alex Cora pieced together the final two innings by having Josh Taylor get two outs before Northeastern's Adam Ottavino hung on to nail down the last four outs for his third save of the season. Closer Matt Barnes was mercifully unavailable after he pitched in high leverage situations for all three games against the Yankees over the weekend. 

    Shortstop Xander Bogaerts scored on a wild pitch in the first inning to give the home team a 1-0 lead. Left fielder Alex Verdugo (2-for-4) added an RBI double in the third inning that scored second baseman Christian Arroyo (2-for-3, 2 runs, 2 RBIs, 2B, BB) to make it 2-0 Red Sox. Miami got on the board in the fourth when catcher Jorge Alfaro drove in right fielder Adam Duvall (2-for-5, 2B) with an RBI single. Arroyo answered with a two-run single in the home half of the frame that scored catcher Kevin Plawecki and center fielder Enrique Hernandez. Arroyo later came around on a fielding error by Duvall. Marlins center fielder Starling Marte (3-for-4) crushed a solo homer (his 4th of the season) to center in the fifth that cut it to 5-2 Sox. Miami's third baseman Isan Diaz knocked in left fielder Corey Dickerson with an RBI double in the ninth. Ottavino appeared in his third game in a row and had to throw 23 pitches so I'm pretty sure that he won't be available for Boston's series-opener vs. Houston (33-26 overall, 13-13 away).

    The Astros just took three of four from the Red Sox last week at Minute Maid Park so they'll be trying to continue that roll as two of the best teams in baseball face each other three more times this week at Fenway. Martin Perez (4-2) gets the ball tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) in the series opener against Framber Valdez (1-0); they both pitched gems last week against these same clubs. On Wednesday night (7:10, NESN) Nathan Eovaldi (7-2) takes on Jake Odorizzi (0-3) who the Sox shelled in his last outing. Finally, Eduardo Rodriguez (5-4) opposes Zack Greinke (6-2) on Thursday night (7:10, NESN). Houston is in a similar position to Boston in the AL West as they trail first-place Oakland (35-26) by only one game and who really expects that to last for much longer? The heatwave should be here for a few more days as these contenders meet yet again for what should be a better series than the mostly one-sided affair in Texas.

Red Sox Take Round One With The Yankees, 5-2 At Yankee Stadium As Eovaldi Shuts Them Down

 

    The Red Sox (34-23 overall, 18-10 away) didn't win a single game last season at Yankee Stadium in their wretched 2020, therefore tonight's 5-2 series-opening victory was Boston's first in the Bronx since 2019. The starting pitcher for the Sox-Nathan Eovaldi (7-2)-went six solid innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on eight hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. Boston's win put them 3.5 games ahead of New York for second-place in the AL East while Texas' (23-36) surprising 5-4 victory over the Rays (36-23) this evening left Tampa Bay only one game up on the Red Sox. Tampa is finally showing some signs of slowing down a bit (6-4 in their last 10 games) after being the hottest team in MLB for awhile.

    As good as Eovaldi's outing was, the two relievers that followed him out of the Sox' bullpen were even better. Hirokazu Sawamura got his first taste of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry and he must have loved it as he went two scoreless innings and struck out five without allowing a hit. Around the same time that UConn baseball opened its 2021 NCAA Tournament journey with a 6-1 win vs. Michigan, Huskies alum Matt Barnes did his now customary thing by striking out the side in a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 13th save of the season. Sawamura threw 29 pitches therefore I doubt that he'd be available on Saturday but Barnes only had 17 pitches so I think that he could be ready in the right spot for tomorrow's game if he is needed. 

    BC's Michael King (0-3) got the start for the Yanks and while he went 5.1 innings which is more than they could have expected, he made one fatal mistake: Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers crushed a three-run bomb to the upper deck in right field in the first inning (his team-leading 15th HR of the season) that scored left fielder Alex Verdugo and shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2 singles, 2 runs). Boston opened up a 5-0 lead when first baseman Marwin Gonzalez (2 doubles) tacked on two more runs with a two-run double in the sixth down the left field line that scored right fielder Hunter Renfroe and Bogaerts. Both of New York's runs came in the home half of the sixth inning as right fielder Aaron Judge hit a Yankee Stadium special-an opposite field homer to right that just got over the fence. Luckily his team-leading 14th home run of the season was a solo shot so no big deal. The other Yankees run came when Gonzalez made two errors on the same play which is pretty hard for a big leaguer to do. 

    Tomorrow's game (7:15, FOX) starts at exactly the same time as Game 4 of Bruins-Islanders so I think I know what you'll be checking in on during commercials and intermissions from the hockey game or you can be a cool guy like me and have one of them on your laptop while the other is on your TV at the same time. As bad as the Yankees' offense has been this season, it could be a slugfest since Boston's former ace Eduardo Rodriguez (5-4, 5.64 ERA) takes on New York's Jameson Taillon (1-4, 5.10 ERA). Rodriguez has been a mess lately and arguably the Red Sox' worst starter in 2021 (as crazy as that sounds) while Taillon is a journeyman bum. This could serve as a good spot for Eddie to start to return to form or he could continue to struggle and give us more reasons to worry about him. Only time will tell as Boston tries to clinch the series already.

Not Even A Little Minnesota Snowstorm In Mid-April Can Cool Down The Red Sox At The Moment

 

    Yes, we are only 10 games into the usual absurd 162 game regular season in MLB but how wrong were we about the Red Sox (7-3 overall, 4-0 away)? After having their series opener at Target Field delayed by a day, they fell behind 2-0 in the first inning this afternoon to the Twins (5-5 overall, 1-3 home) then proceeded to grind out a 4-2 victory. Boston has now won seven games in a row after getting swept in their opening series against Baltimore (5-6) which feels like years ago at this point. They are in first-place in the AL East and have the second-best record in MLB, trailing only the Dodgers (9-2)-the defending World Series champions. 

    So how are they doing this? It's certainly not behind a dominant pitching staff, rather they are getting timely hits up and down their lineup while their unheralded bullpen has been lights out. Minnesota loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first but Boston's No. 5 starter Martin Perez (5 IP, 2 ER, 4 hits, 2 Ks, 3 BBs) managed to wiggle out of that major jam by only allowing a sacrifice fly and a ground out that each scored a run. It took a little while for the Red Sox offense to get going today but can you blame them when the temperatures were in the low 30s? Right fielder Hunter Renfroe hit a solo homer to dead center in the fifth, his first for Boston and what a bomb it turned out to be. Imagine how far that would have gone on a warm summer day at Fenway Park vs. through swirling winds and snow flakes in Minneapolis. The Red Sox tied it later in the inning as rookie first baseman Bobby Dalbec hit an opposite field double to right that scored second baseman Christian Arroyo (2 for 3, 2B, 2 runs) with the tying run. 

          Dalbec and Arroyo teamed up to do the same exact thing in the eighth inning which gave Boston the lead for good at 3-2. Third baseman Rafael Devers is red hot since his solo homer in the ninth inning (his 5th HR of the season) gave him home runs in four straight games. Boston's bullpen was nothing short of brilliant against the Twins as four guys combined to pitch four scoreless innings and they only allowed one total hit with two walks. The first and last guys were the most impressive as rookie Hirokazu Sawamura pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning with one strikeout. Northeastern's Adam Ottavino walked one but had a scoreless seventh inning to earn his first win as a Red Sox. Lefty Darwinzon Hernandez was the only shaky one since he allowed a walk and a single but he survived to record a scoreless eighth inning. Closer Matt Barnes got his first save opportunity of the young season and he was just as dominant as the other four times that he's gotten the ball in 2021: he had a clean ninth inning on 14 pitches with one strikeout for his first save of the year. 

    Due to yesterday's postponement, tomorrow will be a doubleheader with Minnesota. It's always hard to get a sweep in a doubleheader but Boston will have their two best starting pitchers going: Game 1 (2:10, NESN) is Nathan Eovaldi (1-1) vs. Kenta Maeda (1-0) while Game 2 (which starts 30 minutes after Game 1 ends, NESN) features Eduardo Rodriguez (1-0) against Twins ace Jose Berrios (2-0). Let's hope for a little better weather forecast since baseball is not meant to be played in freezing conditions (unless it's October) and snow squalls. Haha regardless, nothing can slow down the Red Sox who continue to be the hottest team in Major League Baseball.