Sox Drop Two in a Row
After an incredible start to the season at 17-2, the Red Sox finally looked human. Over the weekend they dropped two straight games to the Oakland A’s at the Coliseum. The first one was just the offense flat-out taking a nap. Well, maybe the second one too, but we’ll get to that in a moment. Sean Manea of the Oakland A’s had one hell of a performance on Saturday night throwing a no hitter that was not cheap by any standards. Some may say the Leon pop up was a hit, that maybe Benintendi stayed in the baseline, but whatever. That was a no hitter in my eyes. He just flat-out shut our offense down. An offense that was red-hot and the best in the league. So a tip of the cap to Sean Manea.
The second loss might have been a little more frustrating as the offense once again struggled up until the 7th. At that point Brock Holt came on with men on first and second with one out. He ripped a double to right, scoring a run and putting runners on second and third. Vasquez popped up on the first pitch and Tzu Wei Lin struck out on three pitches (although the umpire made some iffy strike calls on that one). This was the turning point in the game. They really could have benefited bringing in an extra run or two for the lead. But they just couldn’t do it.
David Price was pitching great up until the bottom of the eighth, when he got into a jam. With runners of first and second and only one down, he struck out Jed Lowrie. He then gave up a three run homer to Khris Davis on the very next pitch to give the A’s a 4-1 lead. That ended up being the final score. Many will blame Alex Cora for leaving Price in, but I had no problem with it. Price is your horse, a guy who’s supposed to go deep into games and get out of his jams. The fact that he was only at 92 pitches at that point was a good reason to keep him in as well.
The only questionable thing today from I saw today from Cora was the lineup. I didn’t understand why Mookie and Hanley were getting the day off. I know that he plans these days off days ahead of time. But why give them a rest when the next day is a day off for the whole team? Nonetheless, the Red Sox lost two tough games in a row. But if you’re panicking, don’t, because you know what? Despite losing two in a row, this team has still won eight of their last ten games and are 17-4 on the season. 17-4 isn’t that bad of a record last I checked. You also have to remember that this is baseball season, the best of the best lose at least 50-70 games. It happens. It’s a long year, and it’s only April.
The Red Sox also ran into a hot Oakland A team. Ever since being 5-10 last week, Oakland now has won five of their last six and are 11-11 on the year.
Boston got a day off today to recharge before heading to Rogers Centre on Tuesday to take on the Blue Jays for a three game series. Rick Porcello will take the mound and try to get the Sox back into the win column against J.A Happ in game one.
If you have worries after these last two games, just remember that this team has a 17-4 record. It’s going to be okay. We just have to shake these losses off, go into Toronto and win the series before going back home.
