With Bogaerts Gone To San Diego, What Is Even The Point Of Rooting For The Red Sox Anymore?

 

    What started out as a decent day for the Red Sox after they finally made a few moves in free agency-signing All-Star closer Kenley Jansen to a two-year, $32 million contract and Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million contact-ended in the worst possible way with the late breaking news that franchise shortstop Xander Bogaerts had signed an 11-year deal worth $280 million with the Padres. The fact that the heart and soul of their club is now gone just a few years after they traded away another cornerstone-Mookie Betts-for pennies on the dollar, makes you wonder what exactly Chaim Bloom does for the Red Sox besides transforming them into the Boston Rays? Additionally with Boston's only other star Rafael Devers entering free agency after the 2023 season is there any doubt that he will eventually be moved for a bunch of middling prospects? 

    Very few players in any professional sports these days get to only play for one team but Bogaerts (and Betts for that matter) should have been in that rarified class. He was a two-time World Series champion, an All-Star, a leader on and off the field and a steady professional that always remained accountable even while Bloom and Red Sox ownership continually let him down as they recently stumbled to their fifth (!!!) last-place finish in the past 11 seasons. The last time that I checked, there is no salary cap in MLB (which is preposterous) but that is why big market teams like the Red Sox, Yankees (who just re-signed Aaron Judge to a nine-year deal worth a whopping $360 million dollar contract on Tuesday), Dodgers, Cubs and Phillies should inherently have a huge advantage over the small market teams like Tampa, the Pirates, the Brewers, the A's, etc.

    Bloom was supposedly brought in to firm up Boston's terrible farm system and yet they have produced very few high end prospects since he has been here. Furthermore, what is the point of drafting and developing your own players when like Betts and Bogaerts, they ultimately will be traded away or even worse, leave because you were not even in the same area code in terms of what type of legitimate offer you would give to your homegrown superstar? Listen, we all have the same gripes about the Red Sox and Fenway Park experience these days: the tickets are way too expensive, the product on the field stinks and the ballpark is a pain to get to let alone sit comfortably in on a hot summer night. 

    Fenway is such a tourist trap that it seems immune to not cranking out money no matter how bad the Red Sox might be. Still, that seems to be the only hope to make owner John Henry and his other negligent bozo billionaires to pay attention: stop going to the games, stop buying merchandise and stop watching the games on TV (well that has already happened but that's another story for another day). I have said for years that I love baseball but the sport makes it really hard on fans what with their way too long regular season, tedious games and terrible marketing of the overall product. Likewise, I have no idea how the Red Sox think that treating their team like the Rays is going to make anyone that actually cares about it want to pay any attention ever again. There will always be tough decisions to make in sports but the Red Sox have become completely tonedeaf to what really matters; building a consistent winner with likable players like Bogaerts and Betts should not be that difficult when you have endless resources in every way possible. It is one thing to get pantsed by the Dodgers in a lopsided trade but now they are getting pushed aside by the likes of the Padres. What a joke, thanks for everything Xander-you deserved way better than this pathetic exit from Boston.  

On The Eve Of The MLB Trade Deadline, The Red Sox Flipped Christian Vazquez To The Astros

 

    With the Red Sox (52-52 overall, 26-25 road) firmly going nowhere this season, they finally started to make some notable moves with the MLB Trade Deadline now less than 24 hours away (Tuesday night at 6 pm EST). Ironically, they opened a three-game series tonight in Houston (67-37 overall, 33-16 home) and actually beat the Astros 3-2 but the move that the Red Sox made right before the game was particularly memorable since it involved catcher Christian Vazquez going to Houston. The homegrown catcher who is having a career-year offensively, was dealt for a pair of minor leaguers: infielder Enmanuel Valdez and outfielder Wilyer Abreu. I will not pretend to know anything about either of those guys but apparently, they are both supposed to be pretty good (at the Triple A and Double A levels respectively). 

    He nearly made his first All-Star team this season as the 31-year-old Vazquez is batting .282/.327/.432 with eight home runs and 42 RBIs. Heading into free agency this winter, he was an obvious asset to use since catcher is one of Houston's only weaknesses as they seek another World Series title. It's a good move personally for him since he will get to go for his second championship and cash in after he helped Boston win the 2018 World Series. The scary part for the Red Sox is that they have absolutely no other decent catcher at the Major League level (haha Kevin Plawecki is the definition of a terrible backup catcher at best in MLB) or in chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom's beloved farm system. The role of catcher has become pretty irrelevant at least offensively as evidenced by the fact that Vazquez is one of the better hitting catchers in the game these days. He was known much more for his defensive prowess when he made his Red Sox debut in 2014 but as the years have gone on, his bat has gotten way better (in 2019 he topped out with 23 HRs and 72 RBIs). 

    In the other two much less important moves of the day, Boston acquired outfielder Tommy Pham from the Reds for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Also, they traded their crappy lefty reliever Jake Diekman to the White Sox for a backup catcher who stinks named Reece McGuire. Rumors have swirled for weeks with Boston's season going down the drain that starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (who pitched really well tonight) and designated hitter J.D. Martinez are the other biggest names that could be moved before the deadline now that (thankfully) third baseman Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts are both said to be off the table. The addition of a third Wild Card team in the playoffs makes some people want to believe that the Red Sox are still in it since they are only three games out of that last spot but if you've watched this team at all in 2022, there is a reason (or rather many) that they are in last place in the AL East.

    Nobody needs a better deadline than Bloom since the shine has quickly come off of him in what has all the makings of a lost season. From what we can tell (since we rarely see that robot or hear from him), he still thinks that he works for the Tampa Bay Rays and operates on a shoestring budget with a media and fan base that is non-existent and therefore does not care. Baseball in general and the Red Sox certainly are not what they used to be in terms of relevance both nationally and locally but this is one of the few markets where it does still matter. With their basically unlimited payroll, Boston should never be this average (if you're being nice) or fatally flawed. It is wonderful that he has built their minor league clubs up (apparently) but so far, many of his top prospects have performed like far from gamechangers when they have finally reached the Red Sox. The Dodgers have also proven lately that you can be a World Series contender every year while still fielding a great farm system as well. Losing Vazquez stings and he is another guy (much like Kyle Schwarber with the Phillies and Hunter Renfroe with the Brewers this season) who will immediately do well on another better team than Boston. The clock is ticking on Bloom, he has to turn things around soon or else they will need to go in another direction ASAP before things get damaged any further.

The Red Sox Finally Spent Some Money Once Again & Signed A Legit Free Agent In Trevor Story

 

    Between the Patriots and Red Sox, it had been a very frustrating few weeks for fans as neither club had done much of anything to improve their team in free agency or via trades while many other teams loaded up and spent tons of money to improve their rosters. Thankfully that all changed today-at least for the Sox-as they reportedly signed shortstop Trevor Story to a six-year, $140 million deal. In terms of both length and the amount of money, it's by far the most that chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has given out since he came to Boston. It would also be the team's most years and money since they signed David Price. It always comes back to the Rays doesn't it whenever you mention Bloom? For a guy that I'm pretty sure should be reminded every day that he works for a big market club in the Red Sox and not the penny-pinching Rays, this was a welcome change from his usual habits of signing nobodies, injured and/or washed up guys because that best fits some goofy analytic models on his computer. 

    The obvious question with Story's signing is what happens with Xander Bogaerts? Both players have been exclusively shortstops in MLB so obviously one of them will have to try a new position (second base) starting now. It sounds like the newcomer will be the one to move over to his left in the infield which sounds scary except Story has been a Gold Glove finalist so unlike say Kyle Schwarber last season who had never played first base (and frankly shouldn't be allowed to play any position in the field), this transition figures to be much smoother. Boston's lineup was already pretty strong but the addition of a two-time All-Star and two-time slugger in the prime of his career (he's 29 years old) means that it will be even deeper and more powerful. 

    The only other major issue in my mind with this move is seeing how Story does outside of the Little League park that is known as Coors Field since he has only ever played for the Rockies in MLB. As you would expect, his numbers at home were much better than on the road: 95 HRs, 279 RBIs, .303 BA, .369 OBP & .603 SLG vs. 63 HRs, 171 RBIs, .241 BA, .310 OBP & .442 SLG. Then again, Fenway Park has always been known as a hitter's park as well particularly for right-handed guys with some pop in their bat. With that said, he should continue to be a star here because he's played on mostly crappy teams in Colorado (he's only appeared in five career playoff games) and for the Sox, he won't need to carry nearly as much of the load on a daily basis.

    Story has good size (6-foot-2, 213 pounds) and surprising speed with 100 career stolen bases. In six major league seasons, he has put together what I would count as two excellent campaigns-his All-Star years in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, he hit .291/.348/.567 (tied career-high) with a career-best 37 HRs, 108 RBIs and 27 stolen bases (career-high) in 157 games. He played in 12 fewer games the following season but still managed to record some stellar statistics: .294 (career-high)/.363 (career-high)/.554 with 35 HRs, 85 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. 

    With Boston coming off a playoff run to the ALCS last fall and not to mention his huge paychecks, much will be expected of Story from day one. We won't know how he will be in a tough market like this until he goes through the inevitable prolonged slump. Let's hope that he is not similar to Price in that way in terms of a fragile ego and that he can power through any struggles that he might have getting acclimated to a new league, team and city. Overall, today was a great day for the Red Sox and easily the best that they have made us felt since last season ended. With Opening Day coming up soon on April 7, Bloom's next task has to be to find some more starting pitching, that appears to be their biggest hole at this juncture.

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!

After Going 1-9 Against The Yankees Last Season, The Sox Have Started 5-0 Vs. New York In 2021

 

    They won the series opener 5-3 against the Yankees (40-36 overall, 19-18 away) last night at a sold out Fenway Park and then the Red Sox (46-31 overall, 22-17 home) kept the good vibes going tonight with a 4-2 victory. With those two wins, they improved to 5-0 against New York this season (their best start since 2009's 9-0 record against their biggest rival) with a chance to pick up their second sweep vs. them in 2021 as the series ends tomorrow afternoon (1:10, NESN). Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi (7.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 hits, 6 Ks, 0 BBs) threw his second gem of the year against one of his former clubs as Boston's de-facto No. 1 pitcher improved to 8-4. 

    Yanks starter Jordan Montgomery (6 IP, 3 ER, 8 hits, 5 Ks, 2 BBs) was decent enough, the issue as usual for his mediocre (by their very high standards) club is that they really struggle to score runs if they are not hitting (mostly solo) home runs. Conversely, Boston's offense is good enough that they can find other ways to score rather than always relying on the long ball in every single game to win. It looked like this would be a relatively easy victory for the home team as the Red Sox scored twice in the second inning, they added a run in the third and took a 4-0 lead in the seventh. New York finally got on the board in the eighth inning but former Yankees great Adam Ottavino got first baseman Luke Voit to ground out with the bases loaded to end a massive threat in that frame.  

    With Matt Barnes unavailable this evening, Ottavino was the closer and he needed 33 pitches to record his fifth save of the season but somehow he did it. After allowing a run in the ninth, he struck out Yankees star Aaron Judge with runners on first and second base to end the game as the fans that were at Fenway went wild. Boston had opened the scoring with center fielder Kike Hernandez's sacrifice fly that scored shortstop Xander Bogaerts (3-for-3 w/2B). Third baseman Rafael Devers did an amazing thing on the base paths later in that inning-something which you never say about him-when he scored on a foul out by first base. Bogey scored in the third inning on right fielder Hunter Renfroe's (3-for-4) infield single and a Bogaerts sacrifice fly plated second baseman Michael Chavis in the seventh inning. Both of New York's runs were produced by second baseman DJ LeMahieu (4-for-5): he hit a solo homer to right in the eighth (his seventh of the season) and he drove in pinch hitter Rougned Odor with an RBI single in the ninth.

    It is bizarre to see a Red Sox-Yankees Sunday game take place in the afternoon but oh well, it will be refreshing not to have a four-hour marathon on Sunday Night Baseball. Tomorrow, we get Eduardo Rodriguez (5-4) vs. New York's ace Gerrit Cole (8-3) in the start of yet another heatwave. Eddie has been a mess for nearly two straight months, going eight consecutive starts without recording a win. Cole's numbers have noticeably dropped since MLB cracked down on sticky substances (hmmm!) but he is still a good pitcher so I'd be shocked to see him get outdueled by this terrible version of Rodriguez. Then again, Boston has owned New York in the early going this season so perhaps something goofy will happen and they will improve to 6-0 against them in 2021. As it stands right now, the Sox are 5.5 games ahead of the Yanks and only half a game behind the first-place Rays (47-31) in the AL East therefore every contest truly matters.

The Red Sox Blew A 5-2 Lead To The Rays But Recovered In Time To Win 9-5 In 11 Innings

 

    Even the unanimous top prospect in baseball-Wander Franco-couldn't turn things around for the free-falling Rays (43-31 overall, 19-15 home) in his explosive MLB debut tonight at Tropicana Field. The 20-year-old third baseman (he is the first guy born in 2001 to appear in a Major League game!) went 2-for-4 with a three-run bomb, a double and a walk with two runs scored but Boston (44-29 overall, 24-12 away) outlasted Tampa Bay 9-5 in 11 innings. The Sox led 5-2 early in the series opener of a pivotal three-game set and they eventually improved to a perfect 4-0 vs. second-place Tampa who now trail Boston by a game and a half in the AL East. Oh and the Rays have lost seven games in a row, is that bad?

    Things started off on a shaky note for the Red Sox as star shortstop Xander Bogaerts' (3-for-5 with 2 runs) throwing error in the first inning allowed the Rays to take a cheap 2-0 lead. Boston's starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (6 IP, 5 R, 3 ER, 7 hits, 7 Ks, 1 BB) entered winless in his last seven starts so the fact that he made it through six innings was a minor miracle. Of course, he was the one who served up Franco's first career home run, that found its way over the left field wall and tied it at five in the fifth inning. The Sox did much of their damage in the third inning as they scored five runs to take a 5-2 lead. DH J.D. Martinez's two-run double scored left fielder Alex Verdugo and center fielder Danny Santana which tied it at two. Third baseman Rafael Devers (2 doubles, run, 3 RBIs) knocked in Martinez with a sacrifice fly before former Rays great Hunter Renfroe (2-for-5, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) crushed a two-run homer to left center (his 9th of the season) that plated Bogey. 

    The bullpens took control from there until things got weird in the extra innings. For Boston, Josh Taylor (2 strikeouts), Northeastern's Adam Ottavino and UConn's Matt Barnes each pitched a scoreless inning. Hirokazu Sawamura got two outs then Darwinzon Hernandez (2-2) recorded the last four outs for the Red Sox. Tampa is still doing that silly opener thing so their first pitcher Andrew Kittredge recorded two outs in the first inning before he was pulled after 16 pitches. Fun! No wonder this game took four hours and 21 minutes. For Tampa Bay, Collin McHugh pitched three hitless innings, Matt Wisler had a clean frame and J.P. Feyereisen added two scoreless innings before Peter Fairbanks (1-3) cracked as he allowed four runs (3 earned) in two laborious innings (37 pitches) of work. 

    The middle game of the series is tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) and it pits Garrett Richards (4-4) vs. former Red Sox great Rich Hill (5-2). Tampa Bay is due to start winning again sometime soon but ideally, it won't be in the next couple days as they host the Sox. Boston has a nice opportunity here to take advantage of the Rays who are stuck in a rare terrible stretch of play. I still think that these will be the top two clubs in the AL East this season when it's all said and done so the Red Sox might as well pile up the wins against Tampa while they can. Haha keep in mind that including tomorrow, these two teams meet 15 more times this season.

The Red Sox Won Another Softball Game 10-8 Against The Braves To Sweep The Two-Game Set

 

    Who said that baseball is way too boring and the sport is in major trouble when a mid-June regular season game takes four hours and 10 minutes? Haha OK maybe don't answer those. While you were probably watching something else or at least flipping back and forth, the Red Sox (42-27 overall, 22-10 away) were winning by identical 10-8 scores last night and this evening against the underachieving Braves (30-35 overall, 17-19 home) at Truist Park. They swept the two-game series and have won their last three games in a row while the Rays (43-26) have dropped their last two games, leaving Boston only one game back of Tampa Bay for first-place in the AL East.

    This is obviously not sustainable in the sense that the Red Sox' starting pitchers have to be at least a little better while their offense is good but they won't be able to carry them for almost 100 more games in the regular season. For the second straight night, Boston had a comfortable early lead that wasn't nearly enough for their crappy starter-in this case Garrett Richards (4 IP, 6 runs, 4 ER, 7 hits, 3 Ks, 1 BB). Check Atlanta's record, the three-time defending NL East champs are currently struggling: they are tied with Washington for third-place in MLB's worst division with only one team (the Mets) above .500. Luckily for the Sox, Braves rookie pitcher Ian Anderson (4 IP, 4 runs, 4 ER, 7 hits, 5 Ks, 1 BB) wasn't much better. If you're wondering why this game took so long, each team used six relievers apiece and there were a combined 26 hits. Oy vey.

    Trailing for the first time all game (7-6 in the 7th inning), pinch hitter Christian Arroyo crushed a grand slam (his 4th HR of the season went 467 feet!) to left to put Boston ahead 10-6. Closer Matt Barnes wasn't available so Northeastern's Adam Ottavino got to fill in for him and he allowed an RBI double to Atlanta's superstar right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (3-for-5, 2 doubles) in the ninth but he settled down to record his fourth save of the season. The Red Sox bats got going early as right fielder Hunter Renfroe (2-for-5, double, run) hit a two-run single in the first that scored DH J.D. Martinez (2-for-5 w/2B, 2 runs) and center fielder Alex Verdugo. Atlanta got a sacrifice fly in the third inning that cut it to 2-1 before Boston scored twice in the fourth inning on first baseman Bobby Dalbec's RBI single that scored Renfroe and Richards surprised everyone by smacking an RBI double (his first career MLB hit) to the right field gap that plated Dalbec. 

    The Braves got two runs in the home half of the fourth on a ground out and an infield single to trim the Red Sox lead to 4-3. Atlanta's awful bullpen was exposed in both of these losses as Boston scored twice more in the fifth when shortstop Xander Bogaerts (3 doubles, 2 runs) hit a double and Martinez scored on an error then third baseman Rafael Devers followed with an RBI single that scored his buddy. The Braves got serious at that point as shortstop Dansby Swanson (2 hits, 2 runs) tied it with a three-run homer (his 11th HR of the season) off Richards in the fifth. First baseman Freddie Freeman (3B, 2 runs, 2 BBs) gave them that brief 7-6 lead with a solo shot in the sixth (his 16th HR of the season). 

    Yacksel Rios (WHO!?) picked up the win even though he only faced one batter: he got Swanson to line out to him with runners on first and second and two outs in the sixth. For that brief appearance, the guy making his Red Sox debut after being acquired earlier this week from Seattle for cash considerations earned his first win for Boston. Sox lefty reliever Josh Taylor notched his ninth hold of the season by recording a scoreless eighth inning with two strikeouts. Did you ever think that you'd live long enough to say truthfully that Taylor is one of Boston's best and most valuable relievers on a playoff contending club? 

    The last off day for the Red Sox was on May 27 so needless to say, they are long overdue for the one that they get tomorrow. After that short rest, they are in Kansas City (30-37) for three games this weekend. The Royals got off to a unexpectedly solid start to the season but they predictably have fallen apart like you read about, going 1-9 in their last 10 games and they have dropped their last six games. Sadly, we won't get to see former Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi in action since he just went on the IL with a rib injury. The opposite of his terrible team, he was off to a brutal start in 2021 but he had been on fire lately before he got hurt. You need to get out more if you have heard of any of the pitchers that are starting for the Royals in this series: Nick Pivetta (6-2) faces rookie Jackson Kowar (0-2) on Friday night in the opener (8:10, NESN), Martin Perez (4-4) takes on Kris Bubic (1-2) on Saturday afternoon (4:10, NESN) and Nathan Eovaldi (7-3) gets Brad Keller (6-6) for the series finale on Sunday afternoon (2:10, NESN). If there was ever a series for the Sox mostly terrible starting pitchers to regain some confidence (well at least for a little bit), this has to be that time.

After 6-5 Win In 10 Innings, Red Sox Earned Their First Series Sweep At Yankee Stadium Since 2011

 

    This weekend's three-game set in the Bronx served as a classic baseball snapshot of two teams headed in different directions. The Red Sox (36-23 overall, 20-10 away) put an exclamation point on a great few days at Yankee Stadium as they escaped with a 6-5 victory in 10 innings this evening. Down 3-1 in the seventh inning and allowing the tying run in the bottom of the ninth did not deter Boston as they kept grinding until they came away with their third win in a row against the fading Yankees (31-29 overall, 17-16 home) who have lost four straight games and they are 2-8 in their last 10 games which has dropped them into fourth-place in the AL East. For Boston, this exorcised some recent demons in NY as they picked up their first sweep at Yankee Stadium since 2011 and they ended their ugly streak of 12 series losses in a row there. 

    NY's starting pitcher Domingo German gave them their best outing of the series as he allowed a solo homer to left fielder Alex Verdugo (his 8th of the season) in the first inning but then he settled down to go 5.2 innings, allowing just that one earned run on three hits with three strikeouts and two walks. The Red Sox' starting pitcher Garrett Richards (5 IP, 3 ER, 8 hits, 6 Ks, 2 BBs) was not very good but Boston's bullpen (5 other guys) were able to outlast New York's (4 guys). Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez had a two-run double in the first that scored DH Aaron Judge (2 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks) and shortstop Gleyber Torres (2 hits). Judge's ground out in the fourth inning plated another run for the home team and extended their lead to 3-1. 

    Second baseman Marwin Gonzalez tied it for the Red Sox with a two-run home run (his 2nd of the season) in the seventh inning that scored right fielder Hunter Renfroe. Boston took back the lead in the following inning as pinch hitter Christian Arroyo scored on Bogaerts' sacrifice fly. Each Red Sox reliever went one inning: Darwinzon Hernandez (2 BBs) had the sixth, former Yankee and Brooklyn native Adam Ottavino (1 BB) pitched the seventh, Josh Taylor struck out two in a scoreless eighth which set closer Matt Barnes up with a 4-3 lead in the ninth. He was working for the third game in a row and that probably played a major factor since he was not lights out as usual. Torres drove in Judge with a clutch RBI double to tie it up at 4-4. 

    I've said earlier this season that Bogaerts is the best shortstop in MLB but I'll extend that praise even further by calling him one of the top all-around players in baseball. He came through with another huge play: a two-run single in the 10th inning that scored catcher Christian Arroyo and first baseman Bobby Dalbec with the tying and go-ahead runs. Barnes threw 23 pitches in the ninth inning so who the hell did Boston's manager Alex Cora use in the 10th inning to wrap up the sweep? It was Phillips Valdez who allowed a run on an infield single but he also got a key double play and survived to record his first career save in MLB. 

    Boston returns home in second-place in the AL East-one game behind first-place Tampa Bay (38-23)-with an eight-game homestand about to begin. Before they can play three games with Houston (33-26) and a four-game series against Toronto (30-27), the Red Sox have a makeup date with Miami (25-33) tomorrow night (5:10, NESN). The Marlins are also 2-8 in their last 10 games so Boston hopes to keep them on their recent tailspin as Nick Pivetta (6-1) faces Pablo Lopez (1-3). After a series in Pittsburgh (23-35), Miami has to come here for one more game so hopefully their interest level isn't too high vs. an interleague opponent as they try to avoid a three-game sweep in their last meeting of the season with the Sox (haha assuming that Boston-Miami World Series ain't happening in 2021). Ideally, Boston doesn't get caught looking ahead to its more difficult opponents that they will see later this week.  

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.

Martin Perez Throws A Gem To Help The Red Sox Avoid A Four-Game Sweep In Houston & Win 5-1

 

    After losing their first three games of the series in Houston (31-25 overall, 20-13 home) and scoring a grand total of four runs in said defeats, the Red Sox (33-23 overall, 17-10 away) were in desperate need of a win this afternoon at Minute Maid Park. Boston's fifth starter Martin Perez (4-2)-who has been sneaky good all season-picked a great time to have his best outing in two years with the Sox. He went 7.2 scoreless innings (his longest outing since May 2, 2019), striking out four and walking only one as Boston won 5-1. Considering that this week-long road trip continues this weekend in New York with their first series against the Yankees (31-26 overall), this was one of the more meaningful victories so far in 2021 for the Red Sox. 

    Astros starter Jake Odorizzi (3 IP, 3 ER, 2 Ks, 3 BBs) wasn't nearly as economical with his pitches as Perez was, Boston's starter only needed 82 pitches to come four outs away from a complete game while the former Ray and Twin labored through 76 pitches in less than half as many innings of work. All of the Red Sox' offense came from two swings of the bat: second baseman Christian Arroyo hit a three-run home run to left field in the second inning that just reached the seats. Third baseman Rafael Devers (2B, two BBs) and right fielder Hunter Renfroe (1B, BB) scored on Arroyo's first homer of the season/as a Red Sox. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts was in his first extended slump of this campaign (0-for-24) at the plate but hopefully he broke out of it with a two-run double in the seventh inning that plated DH J.D. Martinez (two 2Bs) and left fielder Alex Verdugo (two BBs, 1B). 

    Red Sox manager Alex Cora got ejected earlier in the game for dumping on home plate umpire Lance Barrett's terrible strike zone. I mention this only because bench coach Will Venable was in charge when the time came to either pull Perez or let him try to get out of his first jam of the day (runners on 1st and 2nd). Venable took the cautious approach and lifted Perez in favor of Northeastern's Adam Ottavino who got Houston star Alex Bregman to fly out to center to end the threat. Brandon Workman is back with the Red Sox and he made his first appearance of the season in the ninth. Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel (3-for-4) hit a solo home run to left (his 8th of the season) but it only meant that the Sox would not get a shutout, oh well. 

    While the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry isn't what it used to be, it is still one of the best in MLB, especially when they haven't met for the first two months of the regular season. Just like the old days, it will get the primetime TV slots: Nathan Eovaldi (6-2) goes for the Sox tomorrow night (7:05, NESN) vs. TBA; on Saturday night (7:15, FOX), it will be the struggling Eduardo Rodriguez (5-4) against Jameson Taillon (1-4); for Sunday Night Baseball (7:08, ESPN) Garrett Richards (4-4) takes on Domingo German (4-3). Boston enters the three-game set with a 2.5-game lead on New York with a game in hand. After today's 9-2 loss to the first-place Rays (36-22 overall and 2 games ahead of the Sox), the Yanks are 3-7 in their last 10 games while the Red Sox are 5-5 in their last 10. Boston also lucked out that NY's ace Gerrit Cole (6-3) pitched this afternoon so they won't being seeing him in action this weekend. Two out of three wins in the Bronx is what I'm realistically wishing for and I think that is an attainable goal for the Red Sox.

Until Further Notice, There Will Be No Angels In The Outfield This Season For That Wretched Team

 

    After seeing last year's disaster of a season, I think that Red Sox (25-16 overall, 13-11 home) fans are experts on what an awful baseball team looks like (along with Boston's other last-place finishers from recent years). The Angels (16-22 overall, 8-13 away) appear to be that type of lifeless bunch as they got destroyed 9-0 this afternoon at Fenway Park on a beautiful day that felt like summer. Boston's starting pitcher Martin Perez (6 IP, 3 hits, 5 Ks, 4 BBs) threw six shutout innings to pick up his first win of the season (1-2) then three relievers followed him with scoreless outings. Former Orioles stiff Dylan "Don't Call Me Bud" Bundy (0-5) got rocked for seven earned runs in just four-plus innings of work if you can call it that. 

    The Red Sox had three times as many hits as the Angels (12-4) and Los Angeles did not record a single extra base hit while Boston had five doubles and three home runs on the day. Is that good? Center fielder Alex Verdugo (2-for-4 w/2 runs) celebrated his 25th birthday (damn I am old) with a solo homer (his 5th HR of the season) in the first inning that gave the Sox an early 1-0 lead. For the second game in a row, the last two hitters in Boston's lineup came through as first baseman Bobby Dalbec (2 doubles, 2 runs) had a two-run double in the fourth inning, followed by an RBI double by left fielder Franchy Cordero. PS you know that your team is rolling when that bum is doing positive things. 

    The best shortstop in MLB-Xander Bogaerts (double, 2 runs)-put it out of reach for LA with a three-run bomb over the Green Monster (and the Monster seats!) in the fifth inning. It was his ninth home run of the season and he continues to lead MLB in hits along with many other offensive categories for his position. Cordero notched another RBI double in the sixth inning and third baseman Rafael Devers (2 runs, walk) provided the last run with a solo blast to the bleachers in right field in the seventh inning-his 10th homer of the season (tied for the team lead with J.D. Martinez). The unlikely trio of Phillips Valdez (strikeout), Darwinzon Hernandez (strikeout) and Austin Brice (strikeout) each pitched an inning of scoreless relief to wrap the second shutout of the year for the Red Sox.

    Boston goes for the three-game sweep tomorrow afternoon (1:10, NESN) as Nathan Eovaldi (4-2) faces Jose Quintana (0-3, 9.00 ERA) who is off to a nightmare start to 2021. The Red Sox have won their last three games in a row and Monday is an off-day so another beating of the Angels would be the perfect ending to this recent stretch of strong play against an overmatched opponent. The Yankees (22-17), Blue Jays (21-17) and Rays (22-19) are all playing pretty well at the moment too so even though Boston has the best record in baseball, they only lead their AL East rivals by two games, two and a half games and three games respectively. The early returns show that their division is the best in the American League and maybe even MLB depending on how you view the top heavy NL West (home of the Giants, Padres and Dodgers).

The Red Sox Snapped Their Three-Game Losing Streak And Avoided A Sweep Against The A's

 

    After losing the first two games of the series with the A's (23-16 overall, 10-5 away) at Fenway Park, tonight the Red Sox (23-16 overall, 11-11 home) needed a win to salvage something from one of the toughest opponents (either them or the White Sox, take your pick) that they have seen so far early in the 2021 season. With their easy 8-1 triumph, the Sox were able to maintain a one-and-a-half game lead over Toronto (20-16) and remain two games ahead of New York (20-17) for first-place in the AL East. Boston's starting pitcher Garrett Richards (3-2) delivered the goods with six shutout innings of work: he allowed five hits, struck out four and walked three in 91 pitches. 

    It was not competitive for very long as the home team scored three runs in the first inning and three more in the second inning to take a commanding 6-0 lead. Oakland's starting pitcher Sean Manaea (2 innings, 10 hits, 7 earned runs, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk) got completely shelled as you can tell from his pathetic numbers. The Red Sox had 13 hits, led by shortstop Xander Bogaerts (3-for-3 w/HR, 2B, 3 RBIs, BB) and left fielder J.D. Martinez (3-for-4 w/run & RBI). Batting leadoff second baseman Michael Chavis added two doubles, first baseman Bobby Dalbec was 2-for-4 w/2-run HR and right fielder Hunter Renfroe was 2-for-4 with a run. Martinez got the party started early for Boston with an RBI single that scored Chavis in the first inning then Bogaerts followed with a two-run homer (his 8th of the season) over the Green Monster. Dalbec crushed a two-run homer (his 3rd of the season) to dead center in the second inning that scored Renfroe and Xander later notched an RBI double in the frame that plated shortstop Jonathan Arauz.   

     Boston made it 7-0 in the third inning as a run came home on a double play then Chavis scored in the sixth inning after an infield single by Martinez and a throwing error by third baseman Matt Chapman. Oakland was held to eight hits in the entire game and their lone run came in the eighth inning on a ground out. Red Sox manager Alex Cora must have been thrilled that he only needed to use one reliever as Garrett Whitlock covered the last three innings (3 hits, 1 ER, 2 Ks, 1 BB) all by himself and was credited with one of those goofy saves that MLB hands out in long relief blowout victories like that. What a silly rule.

    The other California team in the AL visits Fenway this weekend as the Angels (16-20 overall, 8-11 away) are here for three games. After a decent start to the season, LA is back where they have mostly resided for years: the basement of the AL West. Mike Trout is an all-time great player but in baseball, it takes more than one transcendent outfielder to get anywhere. The Angels are 3-7 in their last 10 games coming into this series. Sadly, we won't get to see Shohei Ohtani pitch against the Red Sox this time around after he started on Tuesday. Nick Pivetta (5-0) faces Griffin Canning (3-2) tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) followed by Martin Perez (0-2) vs. former Oriole Dylan Bundy (0-4) on Saturday afternoon (4:10, NESN) then concluding with Nathan Eovaldi (4-2) opposing Jose Quintana (0-3) on Sunday afternoon (1:10, NESN). I'm hoping that the Sox take at least two out of three against that crappy club. 

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. 

Rodriguez (3-0) Is Starting To Look Like An Ace Again As Sox Beat Ryu (1-2) & Jays 4-2 Last Night

 

    It's easy to forget sometimes because so much has happened since then, but we are only two seasons removed from an outstanding 19-6 campaign by Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez. Yes, he gets hurt all the time and he missed all of 2020 with a scary heart condition (not to mention a bout with Covid-19) but so far in 2021, Eddie is showing signs that he has found that No. 1 starter form again. Last night in the mini-series opener at Fenway Park vs. Toronto (7-10 overall, 4-7 away), Rodriguez (6 IP, 2 ER, 3 hits, 6 Ks, 1 BB) helped Boston (12-6 overall, 6-5 home) to a 4-2 victory. He was matched up with the Blue Jays ace Hyun Jin Ryu (5 IP, 4 ER, 8 hits, 2 Ks, 0 BBs) and Rodriguez came out on top of that battle.

    The only runs for Toronto came via a solo home run by shortstop Bo Bichette (2-for-4) in the fourth-fifth of the season-and center fielder Randal Grichuk (2-for-4) in the seventh-his second of the season. That gave them a short-lived 1-0 lead in the fourth and cut it to 4-2 in the seventh. All of Boston's runs were in the fourth inning as shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2-for-4) crushed a three-run bomb to center that scored second baseman Christian Arroyo (3-for-4, 2B, run) and left fielder J.D. Martinez. We had started to worry a bit that Bogey hadn't homered this season but with the weather starting to warm up, I bet that gets him going. The Aruba native is hitting .393 with a .439 OBP and .557 SLG, so everybody can relax. First baseman Bobby Dalbec (2-for-3) added an RBI triple (1st 3B of his career) that plated third baseman Marwin Gonzalez. 

    I feel like a broken record here but once again, Boston's bullpen was excellent. Matt Andriese pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning with one strikeout, Northeastern's Adam Ottavino had a scoreless eighth inning with one strikeout and one walk setting the stage for closer Matt Barnes who allowed an infield single but got a strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning for his third save of the season. Tonight (7:10, NESN) is the series finale with Garrett Richards (0-1) facing something called Trent Thornton (0-0). Haha whatever the over/under is, take the over since I feel like both of those nobodies will get shelled. There is no Celtics or Bruins game this evening so expect a long night of baseball at Fenway.

The Red Sox Opened The White Sox Series At Fenway With Another Comeback Victory, 7-4

 

    After Friday night's series opener vs. Chicago (6-8 overall, 3-5 away) was postponed due to rain (haha and snow!), the teams got things started at Fenway Park yesterday afternoon with the Red Sox (10-4 overall, 4-3 home) picking up a solid 7-4 win. The White Sox scored twice in the first inning and later tied it at three in the seventh inning but both times, the home team had a timely response. First baseman Marwin Gonzalez hit his first home run for the Red Sox to ignite the four-run eighth inning which ended with a two-run double by shortstop Xander Bogaerts (4-for-5, 18th career 4-hit game). 

    Boston survived a poor start by Nick Pivetta (3.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 hits, 3 Ks, 4 BBs) who wasn't able to get out of the fourth inning. That forced Red Sox manager Alex Cora to dip into his bullpen early but it worked out as Josh Taylor struck out the one guy he faced in the fourth then Matt Andriese went three valuable innings. Northeastern's Adam Ottavino (2-1) had an impressive eighth inning, striking out the side on 12 pitches to earn the win. The only downside from a pitching perspective (besides Pivetta's dud) was that Cora burned closer Matt Barnes (28 pitches) in a non-save situation since he warmed up in the eighth for a long time and was ready to go before Boston rallied to break the game open. 

    Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on first baseman Jose Abreu's (2 hits) RBI double that scored Adam Eaton. The other White Sox run came on a groundout. Boston tied it with a pair of sacrifice flies-by right fielder Alex Verdugo and third baseman Rafael Devers-in the third inning. Center fielder Kike Hernandez (4-for-5, 2B, RBI) had his best game in a Red Sox uniform and he put them ahead 3-2 in the sixth with an RBI single that scored catcher Kevin Plawecki. 

    A sacrifice fly by Chicago in the seventh tied it at three before Gonzalez hit his bomb to right center in the eighth. J.D. Martinez added a bases loaded walk for an insurance run before Xander's clutch extra-base hit. Get ready for plenty of baseball today as there will be a doubleheader: rookie Tanner Houck (0-1) faces Dallas Kuechel (0-0) in Game 1 (1:10, NESN) followed by Martin Perez (0-0) vs. TBA in Game 2 (5:10, NESN). Boston is 9-1 in their last 10 games and they own the best record in the American League so they just want to keep it rolling on this beautiful Sunday.

Winners Of Six Games In A Row & Two Straight Series, Red Sox Are The Hottest Team In MLB

 

    There has been so much going on in the sports world around here this past week with a bunch of Celtics and Bruins games not to mention UMass men's hockey winning their first national championship in program history (huge congrats to the Minutemen!) plus a few great weather days for early April in New England were thrown in the mix, so you are all excused for not paying close attention to the Red Sox (6-3 overall, 3-0 away) thus far in 2021. After getting swept by the Orioles (4-5 overall, 0-3 home) in their opening series last weekend at Fenway Park, Boston bounced back to sweep a three-game set at home with Tampa Bay (4-5) and they already paid back the Orioles by completing a three-game sweep of them this weekend at Camden Yards. After spoiling Baltimore's home opener on Thursday 7-3, the Sox outlasted them 6-4 in 10 innings on Saturday night and then hit six home runs en route to a 14-9 high school football score this afternoon. 

    DH J.D. Martinez had a Covid-19 scare yesterday and was out of the lineup but it must have been a false positive or maybe contract tracing because he was back in there today and he had one of the best games of his storied career: 4-for-6 with 3 HRs, 4 RBIs and 4 runs scored. Third baseman Rafael Devers also had an awesome day at the plate with a pair of home runs (he's homered in his last three games) and five RBIs. Lastly, right fielder Alex Verdugo smacked an opposite field three-run bomb. It was 10-1 in the sixth inning so the final score makes this seem a little closer than it actually was in reality. Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta (2-0) wasn't great but he went six full innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and three walks. I'm not going to freak out about Boston's bullpen giving up a bunch of runs since it was two of their worst guys-Austin Brice and Phillips Valdez-that combined to allow five earned runs in 1.2 innings. 

    Boston cranked out 17 hits with center fielder Kike Hernandez going 2-for-5 with two runs scored out of the leadoff position and shortstop Xander Bogaerts was 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a run scored. After Baltimore looked so good in their first series against the Red Sox, they came crashing back to Earth in this one and played the role of American League East cellar dweller which is what most people expect out of them in 2021. There is a reason that you've never heard of Baltimore's starting pitcher Jorge Lopez (4 IP, 7 ER, 8 hits, 4 Ks, 1 BB), it's because he stinks. Verdugo got the party started with his homer (his 1st of the season) in the third inning. Martinez went back-to-back with him for his third homer of the season and a 4-0 lead. 

    Orioles third baseman Maikel Franco hit an RBI single in the fourth inning to get his team on the board. The Sox tacked on five runs in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Martinez, a three-run homer for Devers and Hernandez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. J.D. hit a solo shot in the sixth inning before Franco hit a three-run blast (his 1st homer of the season) of his own and first baseman Trey Mancini did the same in the next frame-his second HR of the season-which made it interesting for at least a few minutes. Raffy crushed a two-run homer in the eighth and Martinez completed his hat trick with a solo homer that pushed Boston's lead back to 13-7. He was the first guy on Boston to hit three homers in the same game since Mookie Betts in July 2019. The Red Sox scored one more run in that inning on a throwing error. The Orioles plated their pair of runs in the ninth inning on a ground out and a wild pitch. 

    The Red Sox are off to Minnesota for a four-game series of afternoon matinees with the Twins (5-4 overall, 1-2 home) beginning tomorrow afternoon (2:10, NESN) as Martin Perez (0-0) takes on former Yankee J.A. Happ (0-0). For some reason (frigid April nights in Minnesota?) all four games begin in the afternoon but knowing global warming, there will probably be a heat wave there this week. Nathan Eovaldi (1-0) opposes Kenta Maeda (1-0) on Tuesday afternoon (2:10, NESN) then Twins ace Jose Berrios (1-0) faces Eduardo Rodriguez (1-0) on Wednesday afternoon (2:10, NESN) before the series finale on Thursday afternoon (1:10, NESN): Garrett Richards (0-1) vs. Michael Pineda (1-0) which figures to be a high-scoring affair. I do not expect tons of people to start watching every Red Sox game (especially with such goofy start times during workdays) since they have gotten off to a promising start but at least they are giving us all a reason to at follow them in the background while we watch or do other things as well. 

UPDATE 4/13/21: Yesterday's series opener between the Red Sox & Twins was postponed because of the riots in Minnesota following the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright (an unarmed black guy) by police. Today's game will proceed as scheduled and they'll have a doubleheader tomorrow. 

Red Sox Beat Orioles 3-2 on Walk-off Bloop Hit by Xander Bogaerts

Built like a Beer League softball team with a powerful lineup and nothing close to a No. 1 or No. 2 starting pitcher, Boston's flaws are painfully obvious but few would complain about the results from the first 10 games of the 2015 season.

The Red Sox (7-3 overall, 3-1 home) beat the Orioles (5-5 overall, 2-2 away) 3-2 tonight at Fenway Park in the 1st of 19 meetings this season. Xander Bogaerts' bloop single scored Mike Napoli for the walk-off win. The hit itself was nothing to write home about but Napoli's baserunning was impressive as he broke for the plate from second right away.

It was a strange game since Ubaldo Jimenez (3.2 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 strikeouts, 3 walks) was ejected in the fourth inning after he drilled Pablo Sandoval in the back with a fastball. This was retaliation for Sandoval's hard slide on Baltimore second baseman Jonathan Schoop earlier in the contest. Since Sandoval was in the baseline, I didn't see the problem with it. Jimenez's mistake was hitting him so high (near his head), if it had been on his side or ample backside, nobody would have cared. Oh baseball.

Joe Kelly had a decent start for the Red Sox (5.2 innings, 2 earned runs, 4 hits, 3 strikeouts, 2 walks) but he was done too early with a crazy pitch count (118) that was shades of Dice-K in his painfully mediocre prime. The teams combined for eight pitchers (four apiece) which was nearly as many hits as they produced (9), that's why the game took so long (3:13) without much action.

Baltimore took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when a run scored despite the fact that Chris Davis grounded into a double play. The Orioles made it 2-0 the following inning when catcher Caleb Joseph homered to right (barely out of the reach of Shane Victorino). His first homer of the season was trumped by Ryan Hanigan's two-run blast over the Monster in the home half of the frame. It was the Andover, MA native's first bomb as a Red Sox which had to be a special feeling.

Edward Mujica was first out of Boston's bullpen and he got four outs. Junichi Tazawa pitched a 1-2-3 eighth with two strikeouts and Koji Uehara (1-0) was credited with the win after striking out two batters of his own in a 1-2-3 ninth (10 pitches!).

Literally anything could happen tomorrow afternoon (4:05, NESN) as Clay Buchholz (1-1) faces Chris Tillman (1-1) in a battle of "aces" who are nothing of the sort.

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Red Sox Experience a Perfect 2015 Home Opener vs. Nationals Including a 9-4 Win

Even the most negative Red Sox fan (which are few and far between these days) would have a hard time complaining about anything that transpired on Monday afternoon at Fenway Park. Boston (5-2 overall) pounded Washington (2-5 overall, 1-3 away) 9-4 in the 2015 home opener that featured a moving pregame ceremony with my man Pete Frates and Jane Richards among others. Oh and did I mention that it was 70 degrees and sunny without a cloud in the blue sky? The fact that it was my first ever home opener made it extra special too, if I'm smart I should probably never attend another one since I doubt that this one can be topped.

Once the game started, Red Sox rookie center field and leadoff hitter Mookie Betts was the unquestioned star. He robbed Bryce Harper of a possible two-run homer in the first inning, roped a three-run homer (2nd of the season) over the Monster in the second (for a 4-0 Boston lead) and also stole two bases on one play then added an infield single that opened it up to 7-0. Rick Porcello (1-0) picked up his first career win for Boston with an eight-inning effort: four runs (three earned), on four hits with six strikeouts and a walk.

The Nationals have gotten plenty of hype but so far in the very early going of this season, I couldn't tell you why. For some reason, they played like they didn't want to be there. They dropped two pop-ups that would make average Little Leaguers weep. Jordan Zimmermann (1-1) was charged with eight runs (seven earned) in 2.1 disastrous innings. The only real offense that they could mount was a solo homer by Ryan Zimmerman in the fifth inning and Danny Espinosa's homer to right center.

As most expected, the Red Sox lineup looks dangerous and versatile. David Ortiz was 2 for 4 with solo homer and RBI single and Pablo Sandoval was 2 for 4 with a run. Xander Bogaerts continued to be on fire, going 2 for 3 with two runs, RBI and a walk. Finally, Sandy Leon was 3 for 4 with run and RBI against his former club that traded him to Boston a few weeks ago in Spring Training.

It wouldn't be part of the full Hanley Ramirez experience if we didn't worry about an injury barely a week into the regular season. He left in the sixth inning after fouling a ball right off his foot, ouch! We can only hope that it's not too serious since he's been known to miss weeks for numerous injuries in the past few years.

Tomorrow night's game is a weird start time (6:10, NESN) and it features Justin Masterson (1-0) making his return to Fenway vs. Stephen Strasburg (0-1) who hasn't looked right for years.

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Red Sox Outlast Yankees 6-5 in 19 Innings/Longest Game in Team History (6:49)

My brain is completely fried, all thanks to the Red Sox-Yankees 19-inning marathon tonight at Yankee Stadium. Thankfully, Boston (3-1 overall, 3-1 away) came out on top 6-5 after blowing three one-run leads in the ninth, 16th and 18th innings. New York (1-3 overall, 1-3 home) could be the worst team in the AL East so this would have been a terrible loss for the Red Sox. I doubt there has ever been many crazier fourth games of the regular season in MLB history since this also featured a needless 16-minute delay in the 12th when some lights went out.

Steven Wright (1-0) pitched the equivalent of a short start: five innings, two earned runs on six hits with one strikeout and three walks. He blew it in the 16th as Mark Teixeira tied it at four with a towering home run to left field (his second of the season) and in the 18th on Carlos Beltran's RBI double. Rookie Mookie Betts provided the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the 19th that scored Xander Bogaerts (4 for 8 with walk, stolen base).

Wade Miley's Red Sox debut was a good one, well at least until the sixth inning when he allowed an RBI single to Alex Rodriguez (yes, that loser) and sacrifice fly by Brian McCann which cut it to 3-2 Boston. Miley went 5.2 innings, allowing the two earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts and two walks. He works exceptionally quick and he's a lefty that doesn't throw hard with a beard, so I'll call him Mark Buehrle lite.

Seven Red Sox relievers appeared between Miley and Wright. Some highlights: Robbie Ross got the last two outs in the sixth, Alexi Ogando had a 1-2-3 seventh, Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless eighth, Anthony Varvaro got four outs in his Red Sox debut, Tommy Layne recorded five outs (including three strikeouts) and Craig Breslow had two clean innings.

Pablo Sandoval hadn't done much in the three-game opening series at Philadelphia so it was nice to see him come through with a 4-for-9 night with RBI singles in the first and 18th. Daniel Nava's two-run single in the sixth gave Boston that short-lived 3-0 cushion. Yankees starter Nathan Eovaldi (formerly of the Marlins) seems like your classic guy that throws hard but doesn't really know how to pitch. He was charged with three earned runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings of work.

Hanley Ramirez was 3-for-9 at the plate which was good but he made a poor read on a play in left field (get used to that) and also got gunned down at third by a mile following Sandoval's clutch single in the 18th. You just know that he is going to be super frustrating to watch every day.

The Edward Mujica as closer joke went as expected in 2015 with Chase Headley hitting a bomb off him in the ninth that sent it to extra innings. It sounds like Koji Uehara could be back by Monday for Opening Day at Fenway and not a moment too soon even though this was Mujica's first save chance of the young season.

Perhaps the craziest part of this whole silly event is that the game on Saturday happens to be in the afternoon (1:05, NESN) so sleep fast fellas! Joe Kelly opposes Adam Warren which doesn't inspire any thoughts of a pitcher's duel or anything of the sort but another four-hour plus contest.

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Red Sox Sign Both Hanley Ramirez & Pablo Sandoval, Because Why The Hell Not?

Two out of the last three seasons, the Red Sox have finished in last place in the AL East. That's not acceptable by any means and the fact that they won the 2013 World Series in between is still nearly impossible to explain. With no salary cap in baseball, an extremely loyal fan base that pays the highest tickets prices in MLB and filthy rich owners, Boston has no excuse but to spend like crazy this offseason to regain their relevance both regionally and nationally.

The Red Sox took a big step forward in terms of wins in 2015 and beyond by signing both shortstop Hanley Ramirez and third baseman Pablo Sandoval. Ramirez, the former Red Sox prized prospect that was traded to Florida in the Josh Beckett deal (November 2005), is reportedly getting a four-year deal worth $88 million with a vesting fifth year worth an additional $22 million. The figures on Sandoval's deal aren't known yet but it is thought to be in the five-year and $90 million range.

Take a breath. The interesting part about this is that while Sandoval was rumored to be coming here for weeks, Ramirez's name wasn't mentioned at all until it was basically signed, sealed and delivered yesterday. They both come with issues: Ramirez has missed a bunch of games the last two seasons with the Dodgers due to various injuries while Sandoval's weight is a constant battle. Ramirez is willing to move away from shortstop which will probably be the case here unless the Red Sox trade Xander Bogaerts (no!). His defense at shortstop wasn't great anymore and as we've seen time and again, any schmoe can play a decent left field at Fenway Park. Sandoval is two years younger (30-28) than Ramirez and while he doesn't have the same tools, he has been a more consistent performer in the postseason (.344 average in 39 games) as he helped San Francisco win three of the last five World Series crowns.

Even before these two moves (the Red Sox will have a press conference to introduce them on Tuesday at 1pm), we knew that the team's biggest need was top of the rotation starting pitching. This certainly improves their lineup but they won't go anywhere without a true ace (Jon Lester?) and a solid number two (James Shields or Cole Hamels?). You worry a bit that both guys have played their entire careers in the kinder, gentler National League, plus they are each coming from California which couldn't be more different than Massachusetts.

The money and risk is worth it because this is the Red Sox who can afford to make high-profile mistakes. I'm not wishing that on them with these guys or predicting it but honestly, what do they have to lose at this point? Ramirez won the NL batting title in 2009 and led the NL in OPS last season (.283, 13 HRs, 71 RBIs, .369 OBP, .448 SLG). Sandoval's regular season numbers won't blow you away (.279 with 16 HRs, 73 RBIs, .324 OBP, .415 SLG) last season) but keep in mind the lack of protection he played with in the Giants' lineup and also what a pitcher's park AT&T has proven to be. Oh and third base was a black hole for Boston last season so anything would be an improvement over that.

There is no question that these two make the Red Sox way better than they were yesterday without them and isn't that ultimately what this is all about? Sure we might not be in love with the player (on paper at least) or the contract (remember it's not our money) but you have to appreciate Boston's attitude here: they are going for it, again, after some truly awful years that should rarely happen to them.

UPDATE 11/25: It's a five-year deal for Sandoval-the 2012 World Series MVP-with an option for 2020.



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