Red Sox 6, Yankees 0

 

The mighty Boston Red Sox, the team that has scored more ninth inning runs this season than any team in MLB, turned a close nail-biter of a game into a laugher with a four-run ninth this afternoon. It was beautiful. Frame it and hang it on a wall.

Wilyer Abreu, the only lefty in the starting lineup, opened up the game with a solo homer in the first inning, and then Adley Rutschman made it 2-0 with some heads-up base running on a passed ball in the fifth. Big Jake Bennett pitched six shutout innings with seven K's, no walks, and only three hits to keep the Yankees scoreless. Garrett Whitlock returned from the IL for his first appearance since August 9 and threw a perfect inning of relief - no runs, no hits, no walks, and a strikeout. 

The ninth-inning fireworks opened with an Andruw Monasterio two-run double. Nick Sogard brought Monasterio home with a double of his own, and Ceddanne Rafaela brought Sogie home with a single to left center. It took Yankees reliever Ryan Yarbrough 39 pitches to make it through the ninth inning alone. 

The four ninth-inning runs meant the Sox didn't have to use closer Aroldis Chapman in the game, saving him for the second game of today's doubleheader. Instead, Jovani Morán was immaculate closing out the ninth with one K. no runs, no hits, no walks, and no drama.  

The Red Sox returned the favor of a shutout to the Yankees and now trail NY by only two games, with two left in this weekend road series.

I said in an earlier post today that Raymond Burgos will make his very first career start in game two of the DH tonight (third game of the series) but it now appears that reliever Alec Gamboa (1-0, 1,31) will start. Either way, the opener will probably only pitch for one inning and then turn the ball over to right-handed pitcher Brayan Bello (5-6, 4.68). Bello had a rough start to the season and the Sox kept the ball out of his hands for all the games against the Yankees so far this year, but he's improved as a long reliever and has a career 5-4 record against New York. His career 2.35 ERA against them (65 innings) is his best of any team he's started against more than three times..  

The fragile Max Fried (4-4, 2.81) makes a rare returns from the IL for the Yankees tonight for his first game since August 13. Back on April 22 (i.e., in the dark days before the turnaround), he crushed the Sox in Fenway with nine Ks and only three hits and no runs over eight full innings. However, he was also on the IL between May 13 and July 22 this year, and didn't start during the Red Sox' sweep of the Yankees in Fenway last June, which incidentally sparked the season turnaround. 

After his long stretches on the IL and the resurgent Sox' new prowess, it remains to be seen if Fried can still master the team like he did last April. But that's what games are for and what makes baseball, well, baseball. Stay tuned, don't go anywhere tonight (I don't care that it's Saturday), and cheer the Sox onto a sweep of the doubleheader.

It appears that the Sox will start the same righty-intensive lineup as game one against the left-handed Fried in game two, with Abreu again the only lefty in the starting lineup. It worked against Rodón, why not Fried?

Yankees 1, Red Sox 0

 

So New York scored a run, one run, and beat the Red Sox in the first of this weekend's four-game series. Big deal. Doesn't mean shit. Yankees still suck.

Game one was always going to be a hard one for Boston. New York was starting their ace, Adolph Shitler, while the Sox rotation had their fifth starter, Patrick Sandoval, open. Sandoval pitched well - spectacularly for a fifth starter - and pitched a game that statistically was nearly identical to Shitler's. Sandy threw seven K's to Shitler's eight, and gave up three hits, compared to Shitler's two hits. Sandoval stayed in the game for 5⅓ innings, one out less than Shitler's 5⅔ innings, and threw 96 pitches to 23 batters, compared to Shitler's 102 to 24. 

If the very best the Yankees can throw at the Red Sox is almost statistically indistinguishable from the effort of Boston's worst starter, I feel good about the Sox' chances in the rest of this series. 

Both teams loaded the bases in the sixth, and both team's relievers ended the inning without allowing a run. That was a tense inning.

So the Red Sox are now three back from the Yankees in the AL East and the Wild Card standings, with three games left to play in this series and two of them are in a double-header today. Hope you didn't have plans for today.

Big Jake Bennett (8-6, 3.49) will start the first game against the Yankees' Carlos Rodón (4-2, 3.15). Back on June 27, Bennett got the win in a 4-1 game in Fenway against the Yankees, a game that arguably kick-started the Sox' amazing mid-season turnaround. Big Jake's numbers weren't spectacular in that game - three K's, three hits, one run - but he lasted 6⅓ innings and benefited from a pair of home runs by Yoshida and Seigler. Neither batter is in the lineup today - Yoshida's on the IL with a hamstring injury and Chad Tracy is starting the right-handed Nick Sogard (.257) at second today instead of the left-handed Tony Seagulls (.250).  

The lefty Rodón gave up a two-run single to the right-handed Caleb Durbin the day after Big Jake's win, as Boston completed the sweep of that series. The Durbinator (.255), who also stole two bases in that game, is most definitely in today's lineup, and we're counting on him for big things today. In fact, Tracy is going all-in with righties today, platooning as many into the lineup as possible, including putting Eli White (.259) into left field instead of the left-handed Jarren Duran (.219). Wilyer Abreu (.255) is the only lefty in this afternoon's starting lineup. 

Max Fried (4-4, 2.81) will return from the injured list to start the second game of today's doubleheader for the Yanks against Raymond Burgos (0-0, 2.70) in his very first career start and opening for Brayan Bello (5-6, 4.68). But who's got time to worry about that now? One game at a time, baby.

Marlins 4, Red Sox 0

 

Sonny Gray gave up seven hits and two runs over five innings. Reliever Wyatt Olds gave up two more runs. The Red Sox batters went 5-of-31 at the plate with nothing more than singles, and left nine runners on base. They won the series in Miami, but lost the finale.

The loss snapped the five-game win streak, but no reason to freak out. Boston (73-60) is still 7-3 in their last ten, and has the day off today. 

The big series in Da Bronx starts tomorrow - four games, including a Saturday double header, against the Yankees, who now lead Boston by 2½ in the Wild Card standings. This series is crucial for the Sox's playoff hopes. They currently enjoy a comfy 5½-game cushion in the Wild Card with 29 games left to play and most likely will qualify for the playoffs. But the format for the playoffs now has the number two Wild Card team playing all three of the games on the home field of the number one Wild Card team. Three games in three nights, and the first team to win two goes on to the next round and the season's over for the other team. 

I get it - MLB wanted to speed up the first round so that the division leaders aren't waiting around for too long to begin their League Championship Series. But requiring the number two team to win two of three on the number one's home field seems like a pretty tough requirement to advance. So much depends on the standings.

The first game of this weekend's series on Friday night has the highly questionable Patrick Sandoval (1-2, 4.54) against New York ace Adolf Shitler (11-6, 2.16), who currently enjoys the lowest ERA among  American League starters. Good, let's get that punk out of the way and over with at the start of the series. If the Sox can get through Shitler in game one, the Yankees still have an advantage with a bullpen ERA of 3.02, best in MLB and higher that Boston's 3.24, fourth in MLB, although the difference is not as pronounced and Boston's closer Aroldis Chapman has an ERA of 1.81, while New York's David Bednar has an ERA of 2.35. 

New York will have the pitching advantage in the game, but the Yankees' team batting average (.231) is the third lowest in all of MLB, while the Sox' .250 is sixth highest.

Then there's the intangibles. Yankees suck and Red Sox rule, and dirty water stains pinstripes every time.

Let's go! Season-defining series in the very belly of the beast. All the marbles. Bring it on! 

Red Sox 7, Marlins 3 (11)

If you had "Jarren Duran hits grand slam in the 11th inning" on your bingo card for yesterday, you might be pleasantly surprised by the current balance in your bank account.

After another pitcher's duel down in the subtropical climes of Miami last night, the score was tied, 2-2, after nine innings, with both of Boston's runs coming on a pair of Mickey Glasper home runs. Both teams got the ghost runner home in the tenth inning, and then with the bases loaded and only one out, the embattled Jarren Duran (.209) stepped to the plate . . . 

The ball went 432 feet into deep right center. Willson Contreras, who got on base with a single to lead off the inning, scored. Jahmai Jones, who was walked in a pinch-hitting appearance for Glasper, scored. Andruw Monasterio, who got on base on a fielder's choice that got ghost runner Wilyer Abreu out, scored. And Jarren Duran scored. 

Despite his low batting average, Duran has 18 home runs (third on the team), 66 RBIs (tied for fourth with Rafaela), 99 hits (fifth), 60 runs (fifth), and leads the team in stolen bases (18). His four triples are tied with Abreu for most on the team. He may have a low average, but when he connects, he makes it fucking count, and last night, after going 0-for-four with two K's, he won the game with the biggest exclamation mark a single player can provide.

That's five straight wins for the Sox. This team didn't win five straight all season until the four-game sweep of New York (Yankees suck) last May, followed by a win over the Nats. They're next five-game streak was the start of their historic 15-game streak, and then they did it again earlier this month to spark a nine-game streak. Looks like they've got a new streak going now.

It gets better. Last night, the Rays conveniently lost, so Boston (73-59) is now only five games back from Tampa Bay in the AL East (their .553 record would lead any other division of the AL, and put them in second in two of the three NL divisions). Even better yet, New York lost (Yankees suck), so now the Sox are only a game-and-a-half back from them in the division and in the Wild Card standings. First place in the Wild Card would give them the home field for all three games, so it's about more than mere pride.

Let's sweep Miami and squish that fish tonight. The Sox will play their ace, Sonny Gray (16-3, 2.79), although I would  have preferred to see him start against New York this weekend (Yankees suck). Gray is a career 3-1 against the Marlins in six starts, with a career 1.96 ERA versus the team. Miami will counter with Ryan Gusto (0-3, 4.37), who hasn't yet pitched a single inning to the Sox. Is he ever in for a rude awakening.

Red Sox 4, Marlins 2

The mighty Boston Red Sox beat the Miami Marlins, 4-2, last evening for their fourth straight win. It was another comeback win, with the Sox trailing, 2-1, at the top of the eighth. Wilyer Abreu scored on a wild pitch to tie the game and then in the ninth, Anthony Seigler hit his first career triple to score Eli White from first for Boston's first lead of the night, and then Nick Sogard (Sogie!) brought Tony Seagulls home with a single for the insurance run.

Reliever Erik Miller got the win for Boston, but all this was made possible by the starting pitching of Ranger Suarez (five innings, one run on four hits, and four K's) and the middle relief of Brayan Bello (two innings, one run on two hits, and one K), and, of course, Aroldis Chapman's close out.

The never-say-die, come-from-behind Boston Red Sox have the most ninth-inning runs (0.53 per game) than any team in the majors this season. Since May 25th, they have the best record (50-29), the most wins (tied with Milwaukee), and allowed the fewest runs (282).   

Tampa Bay won last night, so Boston (72-59) is still six back from first in the AL East, but New York was idle so the Sox are now only 2½ back from the Yankees in the Wild-Card standings. Wouldn't it be interesting if the Sox entered the Bronx on Friday a mere half-game back from New York? 

To get there, the Sox are putting their studly rookie starter, Payton Tolle (8-6, 3.08), on the mound tonight for his first look at the Marlins. Miami will start righty Tyler Phillips (3-6, 3.67), who's pitched all of one inning against Boston.

Red Sox 5, Giants 4

The mighty Boston Red Sox tend to play up or down to the level of their competitors, generally playing well against teams with winning records and looking like shit against teams with losing records. With yesterday's 5-4 win over the Giants, the Red Sox completed their first sweep of a sub-.500 team since the Mets back on July 12 and their first sweep against any team since the White Sox on August 6. 

Yesterday, the Sox came back from a three-run deficit to San Francisco with a second-inning solo home run by Nick Sogard, his second of the season, and a pair of singles by Rafaella and doubles by Wong and Gasper in the third and fourth. After that it was a pitching duel with the Giant's "Tugboat" Wilkinson getting knocked out of the game in the fourth with four runs, seven hits, only two K's, and a 6.35 ERA. Tugboats apparently don't like the Dirty Water. Big Jake Bennett also gave up four runs and seven hits but over seven innings and with six K's. Relievers Guerrero and Chapman both went 1-2-3 in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. 

Don't look now, but at 7-3 over their last 10 games, the Red Sox (71-59) are currently the hottest team in the American League. Tampa Bay and New York both won their games yesterday, so Boston is still six games back from first place and three back from the second-place Yankees. As I've said here over and over again, Boston's path to the World Series doesn't go through the division championship but through the Wild Card, where they have a comfortable 6½-game cushion. However, catching up to the Yankees would give them the home field in the Wild Card games, but considering that they're only two games over .500 at home but ten games above on the road, that might be a mixed blessing. When it's all said and done, however, I'd rather play a best-of-three series against New York in Fenway than in Yankee Stadium.

We'll see how well we fare (and most likely who will win the Wild Card chase) in Yankee Stadium this weekend, but first there's a three-game road series in Miami (67-64) starting tonight. Ranger Suárez (5-3, 3.41) starts tonight against the Marlins' Sandy Alcantara (13-8, 3.46). Suárez is a career 6-2 in Marlins Park, and in his last game in Miami, pitching for the Phillies, he dominated the Marlins, striking out eight while giving up only one run over seven innings in a 4-2 Philly win. 

Alcantara has a 1-1 record against the Sox in three starts. Last year (August 15), he kept Boston to one run over six innings with seven K's, although the Sox eventually won the game, 2-1 with a Trevor Story walk-off RBI single.

Let's squish the fish with a sweep of the Marlins, and then march out of Yankee Stadium on Sunday in first place in the Wild Card standings.

Red Sox 3, Giants 2

 

Now that's some big-dick energy right there! Down 2-0, bottom of the ninth, the mighty Boston Red Sox rally for three runs, culminating in a Wilyer Abreu walk-off RBI with one out. 

The eminently suspect Patrick Sandoval gave up two homers early in the game, but stayed in for 5⅔ innings with seven Ks and five hits. But San Francisco starter Blade Tidwell stayed in just as long with seven K's of his own and kept the Sox scoreless with only three hits. The pitching duel spilled over into the bullpen for the seventh and eighth innings until that final, climactic ninth when Eli White scored the game's first Boston run with an RBI single, followed by a Nick Sogard one-run double, and then, finally, Abreu's game-winning hit.  

Raffie went 0-4 for the Giants.

Down but not out, the Sox found a way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Tampa Bay and New York both lost yesterday, the third straight loss for the Rays, so now Boston (70-59) is six games out of first place and three behind the Yankees. But the Red Sox' path to the World Series doesn't run through the division title, and their cushion in the Wild Card standings now stands at a comfortable 6½ games.

Big Jake Bennett (7-6, 3.46) goes for the sweep this afternoon (3:15 pm) against someone named Matt "Tugboat" Wilkinson (0-0, 0.00) in his second MLB appearance. Tugboat's only other game was a two-inning start against Cleveland last week, so he's still pretty damn green. 

The Sox will teach the Giant's little Tugboat that the difference between San Francisco Bay and the Boston Harbor is we've got the Dirty Water.    

Red Sox 6, Giants 4

 

What? They booed Devers? Sure, his exit from the Red Sox organization wasn't the the most graceful moment in Boston sports history, but after all he had done for the team over the years, couldn't they look past that last contentious chapter? In any event, he got a home run, so who's laughing now? Red Sox fans, that's who, because it was a meaningless run and Boston won the game.  

With two outs in the bottom of the third and Sogard on base with a walk, Abreu singled and then Contreras homered to deep left center. Then the Red Sox loaded the bases back up with a pair of singles and a hit-by-pitch on Durran, and then the Giants walked in a run, followed by another on a hit-by-pitch on Gasper. With that, the Giants finally pulled starter Logan Webb, but couldn't they have left him in just a little longer? We were just starting to have fun!

But be careful about gloating - in the top of the next inning, the Giants got back-to-back homers after two outs, including Raffie's hit that made the game 5-4, Red Sox.  However, Boston starter Sonny Gray recovered and pitched two shutout innings after the homers and the bullpen of Miller, Gamboa and Chapman were hitless in three innings with only one walk. By the way, former Giant Erik Miller's ERA is still 0.00 after 8⅓ innings with the Red Sox (Gamboa's is 1.40 and Chapman's is 1.90).

Abreu tripled in the sixth inning and scored Sogard for the final score of 6-4.

Last night's win in Fenway lifts the Red Sox back to .500 at home (32-32).  Tampa Bay lost last night, to Boston (69-59, overall) is now seven games back from first and four behind New York. 

Tonight, lefty Patrick Sandoval  (1-2, 4.76) starts against righty Blade Tidwell (0-0, 4.33). Sandoval has had his challenges this season, losing his last two starts, including a five-run meltdown in Pittsburgh last week. Let's see if he can salvage his fading reputation with a win over the Giants tonight.

Tamara Klink Safe

 

Tamara Klink is safe - she successfully made it out of the Chukchi Sea ice field to Nome, Alaska, although it wasn't easy and for a day or two, I wasn't sure that the Sardinha 2 hadn't sunk.

After sailing west into the Northwest Passage, finding an open route through an ice field in the Chukchi Sea and making it almost as far as Wrangell Island, Russia's Northern Sea Route Administration told her she was in violation of their closure decision and ordered her to turn around back to the Bering Sea. The way to Wrangell and the East Siberian Sea beyond was free of ice but the way back to the Bering was now choked with heavy ice, even worse than when she had first crossed it. But despite the fact that she was exhausted and desperately needed sleep after her first crossing, she was nonetheless ordered by the Russian authorities to turn back and cross the ice field a second time under penalty of arrest and prison.  

She complied, sailing as close to the coast as possible, where the currents push ice away from the shore. As she proceeded, the ice concentrations got worse and worse but she had to keep sailing on because the wind was forecast to start pushing more ice against the coast, making things even tougher. Her boat hit some ice in the dead on an Arctic night, and she found seawater in the bilge but couldn't tell where it was coming from. "I’m getting less and less sure we’ll make it out alive," she wrote in her ship log.

"With this fog, ice, and 25kt of wind, I’m not even sure they could see my life raft. And would anyone bother to mount a rescue? Why would they spend energy trying to save a recreational foreigner when they have so many other things going on? 

"I feel very naive and stupid for having come here. I wish I had stayed at home, with my family. I wish my dreams were more ordinary — like finding love and having a house. I wish I had someone else onboard to share shifts and allow me to sleep."

As she advanced through the labyrinth of ice, the clock was ticking. With worsening weather in the Bering Strait, the longer it took her to get through the ice, the worse the conditions would be crossing the Bering. But there was nowhere for her to stop, even with her boat taking on water. The potential lagoons were far behind and trapped in ice, and in any event, the charts were too poor for her to feel safe there when the wind picked up. "Besides that," she noted, "I cannot stay here, I NEED to leave this land" even if it meant crossing the Bering  in a storm while bailing water out with buckets.

Sleep deprived and trying to navigate between 20-minute naps, she hugged the coast trying to distinguish hallucinations from reality. "I see more and more pieces of ice with human faces and shapes. They seem to be dancing, changing expressions, drifting toward the boat." Despite her exhausted condition, she had to climb the mast twice in the middle of the ice fields, and managed to find open paths even in the densest areas. She kept pushing on until she was finally far enough from the coast for ice to become rare. That night, as she made it into open water, she wrote, "I pushed myself and the boat to our limits. We overcame every obstacle we met on our way." 

"But," she added, "I still have the feeling of defeat."

Unfortunately, the challenges weren't over. The seas were building in the Bering Strait and while she would have been intimidated by the forecast three days earlier, after all she had been through in the Chukchi ice field, she was starving for open water, no matter the size of the waves. "I am thankful I am still alive and sailing by myself in a floating boat," she said, "instead of drifting on a piece of ice like Shackleton and his crew." 

The Bering Strait has a bad reputation but as she crossed amid 30- to 40-knot wind gusts, she couldn’t care less. "What’s the worst thing that can happen?," she wrote. "Capsizing?" The waves got bigger and washed over the deck as she crossed, with one eventually hitting her boat from the side so violently the boat heeled and everything on the shelves fell over her "as if it were raining books." 

She finally made is across the Strait to Alaska's Bering Peninsula but for some reason, the Sardinha's online tracker stopped updating when she was only a few miles outside of Nome. Day after day, the tracker kept showing the boat in open water just off the coast, when there was no conceivable reason that she wouldn't pull into harbor to repair leaks and get some rest. What's more, fellow Arctic sailor Ella Hibbert was there aboard the Yeva, and if there's anyone who would understand what she had been through and provide assistance or just moral support, it would have been Hibbert. I feared the worst: after first crossing the Chukchi ice field and then the Bering Strait, her leaky boat had sank just before she finally made it to Nome. 

But fortunately that was not the case, and when the tracker finally came back on line, it showed she not only had reached harbor in Nome, but she had already left, sailing south to points as yet undisclosed. 

Diamondbacks 7, Red Sox 6 (10)

 

A home loss and Arizona avoids the sweep, but I'm okay with the loss because the Sox at least tried. On the very first Arizona pitch of the game, Nick Sogard got his first MLB home run, so the Sox came out of the gates with guns blazing. Jarren Duran homered in the third, but the Diamondbacks jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the sixth inning. However, not conceding defeat, Mickey Gasper responded with a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning to tie up the game. 

In the tenth inning,  Jovani Morán basically shit the bed, first by allowing an RBI single and then loading up the baes with walks and then walking in a second run before a double play finally got him out of the inning. But the Red Sox still didn't give up, and scored one run in the bottom of the tenth to split Arizona's lead in half, but wasn't able to score that second run they needed. 

But at least they tried.

Starter Payton Tolle went five inning with six K's and three runs on six hits. However, reliever Greg Weissert gave up two runs in the bottom of the sixth, and let's not talk any further about Morán's tenth inning performance. 

The Red Sox (68-59) are 8½ back from Tampa Bay and 3½ back from New York. However, their path to the World Series doesn't run through the division title but through the Wild Card, where that have a  comfortable 5½-game cushion. 

They're off today, and start a weekend series against the woeful San Francisco Giants (52-74). However, if we're seen anything from the Red Sox this season, especially since the All-Star break, it's that they thrive against division-leading teams and struggle against the basement dwellers. However, ace pitcher and 20-win candidate Sonny Gray (15-3, 2.65) will start Friday night's game, so we have at least a chance of not getting swept at home by the Giants.      

Red Sox 9, Diamondbacks 4

 

The mighty Boston Red Sox have won back-to-back home games, finally reaching .500 at Fenway, and threaten to sweep the Diamondbacks. 

Last night was the Adley Rutschman show. He opened the scoring in the first inning with a two-RBI single, and then after Ranger Suarez gave up a grand slam to Arizona in the third, tied the game up with a solo home run in the bottom of that inning.  He finished the game two of four at the plate with a homer, three RBIS, and a walk. 

What Rutschman did early in the game, Mickey Glasper did late, hitting a solo homer in the sixth and an RBI single in the seventh. All but one player in the Boston lineup had at least one hit, and five had two. 

Ranger Suarez had a rough third inning, what with the grand slam and all, but still went 5⅓ innings with only those four runs, four hits, and three strikeouts. The bullpen of Guerrero, Miller, and Olds went 3⅔ innings without any runs, and both Miller and Olds are still rocking their 0.00 ERAs after a combined 8⅓ innings in Boston. 

The Rays lost last night, so the Red Sox (68-58) sneak up to 7½ back from first in the AL East.

They go for the sweep of Arizona this afternoon (4:10 pm) with Payton Tolle (8-6, 2.97). Tolle got roughed up in Arizona last year, giving up five runs, including two homers, but that was only his second MLB game and he's a much better pitcher now.   

The D-backs will start Brandon Pfaadt, the scourge of spellcheck, who's 7-1 with a 3.11 ERA. On September 6 last year, the day after Tolle's loss, Pfaadt had seven strikeouts against one run in six innings versus the Sox. The Sox went 1-2 in that series last year, but this year they're looking to sweep.

We're No. 3!

 

Only 18 more days until college football, eleven if you're USC. The Dawgs host Oklahoma this year and have road games at Alabama and Ole Miss, and QB Gunner Stockton is expected to come into his own this season. 

Finally, something new to talk about other than baseball and stranded Arctic sailors.