The Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the World Series. David Price was locked in, the relentless 2 out offense was in bloom, and now the Sox have a 2-0 lead.
We’re not in the peak Eck ‘Time To Party‘ zone yet, but man oh man are we getting close!
David Price
Once again, @DAVIDprice24 had complete control on the mound tonight.
Controlling his adorable son? Not as easy.? pic.twitter.com/7XNd9PafEm
— Cut4 (@Cut4) October 25, 2018
Live it up David. Any man who goes six innings with three hits allowed and two earned runs in the World Series gets to have his kid up there bring some levity.
While Price was busy rewriting his post season narrative, the offense continued to do things we have never seen. The mantra for offense in baseball is batting with runners in scoring position. For premium offense it’s all that plus doing it with two outs.
There is David Ortiz clutch, in which a singular individual gets hit after hit to win games in the post season. Then there is this team’s version.
In the top of the 5th inning, Hyun-Jin Ryu was steamrolling the Red Sox lineup. He got Ian Kinsler to ground out and JBJ to hit a weak infield fly. He got Christian Vazquez to an 0-2 count. Then it began.
Vasqy keeps his swing short and hits a single. Betts singled. The anticipation and trust and faith in this team begins to ripple through Fenway. Benny walks and the bases are loaded.
The Turning Point
Dave Roberts is getting killed for over managing his Dodgers, but what would you do? Let Ryu face lefty killer Steve Pearce with the bases loaded, or bring in a normally trustworthy strikeout reliever? Roberts goes with door number 2 and brings in Ryan Madson.
The moment proved too big for Madson. He walks Pearce. Almost every pitch looked like Mariano Rivera’s last pitch to Kevin Millar in game 4 of the 2004 ALCS to set up Roberts famous steal. The score is now 2-2. All of this with two outs.
So Madson, who had blown away JD Martinez in Game 1 with the bases loaded, gets to face him in the same situation. You can’t stop JD Martinez, you can only hope to contain him. Because JD is so obsessed about hitting, he look locked in, laser focused. Staying inside the ball, he rockets the second pitch to right and two more runs score. It’s 4-2 and the Dodgers are shook.
The Dodgers were one strike away from getting out of that inning. Who knows how long Ryu could’ve pitched. But The Red Sox relentlessness is a wonder to behold. Putting the ball in play. The Red Sox are making this look easy. Despite what we are witnessing it is not.
Historical Perspective
With runners in scoring position in the postseason the Red Sox are hitting 17-40. That’s a .425 average. .425 is beyond comprehension. They’ve turned into peak Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, Tony Gwynn, at the most critical times of the game.
The only other team in the same stratosphere is another old timey Titan. That’s the 1910 Philadelphia A’s. You remember them. Lead by a young Eddy Collins, they hit .394 in those situations.
The Bullpen
Tip of the cap. High Five. Way to go! The Red Sox bullpen, so maligned and beleaguered during the year, continued to dominate. Of note, Nathan Eovaldi, building an MVP case, pitched a clean 8th inning for the second game in a row. Along with Price, they set down the final 16 Dodgers hitters in a row.
Outfield Defense
Another day, another outstanding outfield catch. This was in the top of the 5th with the Dodgers trying to to increase their 2-1 lead. Brian Dozier thought he had a lead-off hit, but yet again there was Andrew Benintendi. Consequently, it was just another out.
Viewing Note
Commissioner Rob Manfred did an interview with Felger and Mazz on 98.5 The Sports Hub yesterday. You can find it here in the second half of the run-time. The interview starts off contentious. No surprise there. Up for debate: pace of play.
The incorrigible Felger hammers Manfred on pace of play in the postseason and Manfred takes exception. More or less Manfred downplays it and says pace of play is not as big of a deal as Felger is saying it is.
When it’s the 9th inning of Game 2 of the World Series, the score is 4-2, and the closer is on the mound? That is what drama and tension and watch-ability is all about. Most importantly Legends are made and Goats are birthed in these situations.
What do I see on my screen between batters coming to the plate? A split screen ad. Because Fox knows there’s all kinds of time between batters coming up and between pitches. They used it in Game 2 to throw ads at us, not between innings, but between pitches.
If that’s not a mic drop argument that there is way too much time wasted in the game of baseball, I don’t know what is. Commissioner Manfred, it is appalling you are allowing this to happen.
On To LA
The 2018 Sox are making themselves into an all time juggernaut. They’re up 2-0 in the World Series and headed to LA, the land of swimming pools and movie stars. Get ready for your glamour shot boys!