The Red Sox Found A Way To Beat Jacob deGrom & Sweep The Mini Two Game Series With The Mets

 

    It was only two games but it's tough to picture the Red Sox (16-9 overall, 8-1 away) having a much better stay in New York City than they did yesterday and today against the Mets (9-10 overall, 6-4 home) at Citi Field. After last night's 2-1 victory for Boston, they topped that with a 1-0 shutout tonight that featured the unlikely storyline of Nick Pivetta (3-0) getting the better of Jacob deGrom (2-2) aka the best pitcher in the world. The Red Sox only had four total hits-third baseman Rafael Devers was 2-for-3 with a double-but that was twice as many as the Mets who had no answers for Pivetta or three Boston relievers. With their third straight win, Boston swept the series (with two more meetings set for Sept. 21 & 22 at Fenway Park) and remained three games ahead of second-place Tampa Bay (13-12) in the AL East. 

    Don't be fooled by his .500 record, deGrom (6 IP, 1 ER, 3 hits, 9 Ks, 1 BB) is off to an unreal start and his crappy team for years has rarely given him any decent run support. Pivetta (5 IP, 1 hit, 7 Ks, 3 BBs) has been one of the most pleasant surprises of 2021 for the Red Sox. He took on the challenge of opposing deGrom and even though he lasted one less inning, he was somehow a little better than him. The only run of the entire game was in the second inning as shortstop Xander Bogaerts doubled and two batters later, catcher Christian Vazquez took a 100 mph deGrom fastball that was a tad high and drove it to right center which allowed Bogey to score. 

        Boston manager Alex Cora's secret weapon out of the bullpen-righty reliever Garrett Whitlock (2 IP, 1 hit, 4 Ks, 1 BB)-is not going to be sneaking up on anyone for much longer. After him, Northeastern's Adam Ottavino pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning with one strikeout (and a great leaping catch by second baseman Marwin Gonzalez) for the hold. Finally, can we talk about how Matt Barnes has suddenly morphed into one of the best closers in MLB? It took him two more pitches (12) than last night but Barnes once again pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning and this time he struck out the side as well for his sixth save of the season. 

    Boston's road trip ends with a four-game series at Texas (10-15 overall, 4-8 home) that begins tomorrow night (8:05, NESN) with Martin Perez (0-1) facing Kyle Gibson (2-0). On Friday (8:05, NESN), it'll be Nathan Eovaldi (3-2) vs. Japanese rookie righty Kohei Arihara (2-2). The teams ring in May Day on Saturday night (7:05, NESN) with Eduardo Rodriguez (4-0) taking on Jordan Lyles (2-2). Finally, it ends on Sunday afternoon (2:35, NESN) as Garrett Richards (1-2) opposes Mike Foltynewicz (1-3). The Rangers haven't been good in years and this campaign looks no different as they are already five games behind first-place Oakland (15-10) in the AL West and squarely in last-place. It's tough to expect another sweep on the road, especially in such a long series so I'll say that the Red Sox should win three out of four in Arlington, TX this weekend. 

While You Watched The B's & C's, Garrett Richards Tossed A Gem & The Red Sox Beat The Mets 2-1

 

    With the team off to such an unexpectedly positive start to the 2021 season, there really haven't been too many players to truly despise so far on the Red Sox (15-9 overall, 7-1 away). However, starting pitcher Garrett Richards (1-2) definitely got off to a rocky beginning to his stay in Boston but all of that was forgotten for at least one night as helped the Sox beat the Mets (9-9 overall, 6-3 home) 2-1 tonight at Citi Field. The veteran righty had two disastrous outings sandwiched around two decent performances but nobody could have expected what he did tonight in 93 pitches: 7 innings, one earned run, seven hits, 10 strikeouts and no walks. Haha who the hell was that guy? 

    New York's lefty starter-something called David Peterson (6 IP, 2 ER, 4 hits, 3 Ks, 2 BBs)-was pretty good too but Boston's offense squeezed just enough out of their five hits to get the win. Richards' only mistake was a hanger that Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil hit to the second deck in right field for a solo home run (his 2nd of the season) in the second inning. The Red Sox answered in the next inning as rookie first baseman Bobby Dalbec finally connected on his first longball of the season to tie it at one. In the sixth inning, center fielder Kike Hernandez doubled and came around to score on a bloop RBI single from third baseman Rafael Devers. 

    You figure that any start by Richards is going to be a bullpen game but not this time as it only took two Boston relievers to finish the job for him. Matt Andriese pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning with a strikeout to get his second hold of the season which paved the way for lights out closer Matt Barnes who pitched a clean ninth inning (1-2-3 with two strikeouts) for his fifth save of the season. This is only a two-game series and winning the opener was very important for the Sox since tomorrow night (6:40, NESN), New York's ace Jacob deGrom (2-1, 0.31 ERA, 50 Ks, 0.55 WHIP) gets the ball against Nick Pivetta (2-0). deGrom has won two Cy Young awards (in 2018 and 2019) and at the moment, he is pitching as well as he ever has in MLB which is crazy to think. In other words, if you like baseball, you'll have to tune in to see him do his thing tomorrow (since let's be serious, you never watch the Mets otherwise).

Andrew Benintendi Goes To Kansas City In A 3-Way Trade But Does Anybody Notice Or Care?

 

        Not that we needed further proof of baseball's complete irrelevance both locally and nationally these days but tonight, one of Boston's best players was traded a week before Spring Training begins in Fort Myers and barely anyone seemed to realize it. There were rumors for months that the Red Sox were shopping outfielder Andrew Benintendi and they finally came to fruition as chief baseball officer (that will never sound less ridiculous) Chaim Bloom flipped him and an unspecified amount of cash to the Royals for outfielder Franchy Cordero and two players to be named later. Additionally, Boston gets a minor league right-handed pitcher (Josh Winckowski) and a player to be named later from the Mets. 

    I'm not heartbroken to see Benny go but I just wish that the Red Sox started acting like a big market team again instead of Tampa Bay North. They have the money and the resources to attract whomever they want, so it's frustrating when they sell off their assets both big and small for a bunch of lottery tickets (which is what minor leaguers might as well be). Plus, this was a guy that is still only 26 years old and due for a bounce back after a down year in 2019 followed by basically a non-existent 2020-he was awful in 14 games before the Sox shut him down to save face in their pointless Covid-19 campaign.

    He was also one of their biggest prospects in years as Benintendi was chosen No. 7 overall in the 2015 draft, he reached the majors in two years (finishing as the runner-up for AL Rookie of the Year in 2017) and was a key part (.290 batting average, 16 HRs and 87 RBIs) of their World Series champion squad in 2018. With a resume like that, coupled with a sweet swing and natural ability in the outfield, you can see why he probably got overrated a little too soon. It'll be interesting to see if his career gets back untracked in Kansas City where there is no pressure and once again, the team is in the gutter. 

    I couldn't care less about these guys that the Red Sox received since I've never heard of either of them before. There are so many levels in professional baseball and therefore it's so hard to make it to MLB that it is a complete waste of time to talk about any of them before they are on the verge of getting called up to the highest level. Baseball already has way too many problems with the game itself and I worry that it'll be another lost season for the Red Sox in 2021. I used to love the sport and this team but they have each made it very hard in recent years to have anything besides a passing interest in it anymore. Please change my mind Red Sox but I'm not holding my breath for robot Bloom and his legion of dorks to make this dead product more exciting. 

In His 1st Year on the Ballot, Pedro Martinez (91.1%) Cruises Into Baseball's Hall of Fame

I am fairly certain that I will never see a Red Sox pitcher as dominant as Pedro Martinez was in his prime. Therefore, today became the perfect time to reminisce about Martinez's incredible career in Boston (1998-2004) since he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame along with Randy Johnson, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio.

One of the great things about Pedro is that he has so much personality and he was so lights out for long stretches that while we all remember particular special moments (17 Ks/one-hitter vs. Yankees, 1999 All-Star Game, coming out of the bullpen to beat Cleveland in playoffs, winning 2004 World Series) we can each cherish specific starts or less heralded occasions that were still so memorable to each of us.

Fresh off his Cy Young award with the Montreal Expos in 1997, Martinez was part of a blockbuster trade to Boston for Carl Pavano and Tony Armas. Haha what year do you think that those guys will be elected to Cooperstown? He was a smash success immediately with the Red Sox (which was never easy to do especially back then before they had broken their absurd World Series drought). After going to two All-Star Games with Montreal, he made four as a Red Sox and picked up back-to-back Cy Youngs in 1999 and 2000. If baseball writers hadn't been so stubborn and backwards thinking (crazy, I know), he would have won AL MVP in 1999 as well but he finished second to Ivan Rodriguez.

Pitching in the height of the steroid era, Pedro put together some of the most unbelievable seasons that have ever occurred in modern times. 1999's numbers don't even seem real: 23-4, 2.07 ERA, 0.923 WHIP and 313 strikeouts in 213.1 innings. 2002 was his other 20-win season (20-4) and he never suffered more than nine losses in a campaign for Boston. His 1.74 ERA in 2000 is insane and probably my favorite stat out of his million impressive marks. The career line: 219-100 with 2.93 ERA, 1.054 WHIP and 3154 strikeouts.

Not surprisingly for such a small guy (5-foot-11, 170 pounds) with many innings on his fragile body, he started to break down while he was with the Red Sox in the last few years. Other than his freakishly long fingers and extra greasy hair that he really let grow out at the end, there was nothing about him that made you think "genetic freak," that is before he unleashed a fastball in the upper 90s or made your knees bend with a sick curveball. Still, the team managed to give him enough breaks to last for the postseason which he reached four times with Boston. He was 6-2 in the playoffs as a Red Sox and how fitting that his last game for the team was Game 4 of the 2004 World Series in St. Louis where Boston broke their 86-year "curse" by sweeping the Cardinals.

After that, he signed as a free agent with the Mets and played there for four injury-plagued seasons then finished his career in 2009 with the Phillies who ironically enough lost to the Yankees in the World Series. Few probably remember that his MLB career actually began with two years in LA as a Dodger (where his older brother Ramon also pitched) before four years in Montreal where he became a star. Still, I'm sure there is no doubt that he'll wear a Red Sox hat in the Hall of Fame and when he makes what's sure to be an incredible speech, he has to talk mostly about his experience in Boston.

To those that are too young to know or who didn't feel it first-hand, attending a game that Pedro pitched really was like going to a favorite band's concert or a great party. You never knew what was going to happen but you were pretty sure that it was going to be memorable and possibly historic. Add that to the urgency of a team and fan base that was so desperate for a World Series crown and you can understand why there won't be another Pedro in my lifetime. Still, I feel so lucky to have grown up with this icon on my favorite baseball team and cherish all the memories that he brought at a very formidable time in my life. PS, somebody book me a hotel room on July 25 (the night before) in Cooperstown, I need to be there for that speech!

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