Tag Archives: Alex Cora

Boston Red Sox World Series Championship Game 5 Recap

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The 2018 World Champion Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 and cemented their status as the most dominant team in baseball.

Steve Pearce

This was a win that felt inevitable from the first pitch.  Thanks to World Series MVP Steve Pearce it pretty much was.

Over 3 at bats at the end of game 4 and the beginning of game 5 Pearce was unstoppable.  2 Home Runs, a Double, and 6 RBI.  He threw in another homer in the 8th to put the cherry on top of this Championship.

Turns out that kind of performance puts you shoulder to shoulder with MLB Legends.  Here’s a couple of facts that stand out.

  • Steve Pearce joins Babe Ruth in 1927 and Lou Gehrig in 1928 with at least one home run and three RBI in back to back World Series Games.
  • Pearce, Ruth, and Ted Kluszewski are the only players in history to have a multiple home run game at age 35 or older in the World Series

Pearce told Andrew Benintendi before the series started that he wanted to win World Series MVP so he could go to the owners’ box at a Patriots game and sit with Bob Kraft and Bon Jovi.  Mission accomplished my man.

I thought this World Series would invoke Legends, little did I know Steve Pearce would join them.

David Price

David Price dopped the mic on his postseason failures for all time.  In this game he went 7 plus innings, 1 run, 5 strikeouts.  Doing that on full rest would’ve been beyond outstanding.

But he didn’t just out-duel Clayton Kershaw, he did it on shortest of short rest.  He pitched in 4 out of the 5 World Series games.  In the game he didn’t pitch he warmed up.  On the biggest stage he had the best stretch of his career.

Alex Cora on David Price:  “David loves to be ready to compete on a daily basis.  He enjoys being available, and he was available the whole time.  (He texted) Count on me, use me, he just wanted to compete.”

Chris Sale: “I’m gonna tell my grand kids about (playing with) David Price.”

Here’s some pretty sweet play by play that shows David Price’s joy.

Chris Sale punches out Manny Machado.  More on this in a moment.

Christian Vazquez runs to Chris Sale and look who gets there next.

What a moment for David Price, just look at his face!

Live it up David, you earned it.

Chris Sale

This says it all when it comes to what Chris Sale means to this team.  Look at his teammates as he comes out of the bullpen to start the 9th inning last night.

I didn’t see Craig Kimbrel getting a standing ovation by his teammates coming into any games this post season.

And the way he had Manny Machado flailing on that immaculate slider.  Satisfaction of the highest order.

Alex Cora

All night in the post game it was a Song of Alex Cora from all the players and ownership.  Because he put the players in a position to succeed.  He communicated at an all time level.  He was outstanding at every little thing.

Alex Cora has been the Night’s King since Hardhome: All out aggressive and piling up wins.

He’s pulled all the right levers this postseason and he was on his game last night.

Steve Pearce batting third?  Check.  David Price batting in the top of the eighth?  Check.  Bring in Chris Sale who will probably need surgery next week to close?  Check mate.

He has won the World Series as a player, a bench coach, and now a manager.

Ownership

Take a bow guys.  4 Championships in 14 years.  They cleaned house after last year and chose the right guy in Alex Cora.  These guys are good.

Nathan Eovaldi

A quick word about iron man Nathan Eovaldi.  Take it away John Henry: “I mean he set us up, so that for the next two nights our bullpen was in good shape, and their wasn’t, that was the difference.”

It could be said no Eovaldi, no World Series Championship.

Now it truly is time to party.

World Series Game 3, A Heart Breaker

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It took 18 innings, but the Red Sox lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 in World Series Game 3.  A heart breaker for the Red Sox. This puts the Sox up 2-1 in the series and still in the cat birds seat for a World Series Championship.

Eduardo Nunez’s Wild Ride

It’s Eduardo Nunez’s world and we’re all just living in it.  It was the top of the 13th inning.  The score was 1-1.  On a bad ankle and knee he was beat up and pushed around in the batter’s box.  He had Brock Holt, who had walked after an 0-2 count, standing at first.  During the wild pitch that lead to Nunez’s adventure, Holt scampered to second.

The Red Sox Break Through

After a visit from the trainers and Alex Cora he settled in and waited for a pitch from lefty Scott Alexander.  The pitch came in and he swung, a little nubber into no man’s land in front of the mound.  The first baseman, Max Muncy, broke for the ball, but the pitcher got there first.

Even gimpy, Nunez got down the line and did what you are never supposed to do.  He slid.  Amazingly, wonderfully, Alexander’s throw went beyond the grasp of second baseman Kiki Hernandez, who was covering first.  While all that was going on Brock Holt went from second to home to take the lead 2-1.

The Dodgers Come Back

By this time the lineup Alex Cora had was make shift at best.  Christian Vazquez, catcher,  was at first and Eduardo Nunez, pulling a Willis Reed, was at third.  Nathan Eovaldi, the supposed Game 4 starter was pitching.  Max Muncy walked on a questionable check swing call ball four.

The next batter, Cody Bellinger, skied a foul ball towards the stands on the third base side.  Nunez sprinted over and caught the ball, barreling into the stands.

With 2 outs, however, Yasiel Puig hit his own ball into no man’s land.  Ian Kinsler was in the game to run for JD Martinez earlier in this game.  A bad decision by Cora, one of his very few.  Kinsler barely got to it at second base and threw wildly to first.  Vazquez didn’t have a chance.

Muncy scored to make the game 2-2.

Jackie Bradley Jr.

A brief timeout to raise up Jackie Bradley Jr.  The whole reason the Red Sox were in that position in the first place was because of him.  There were two outs in the top of the 8th and the Dodgers closer, Kenley Jansen, was on the mound.

The score was 1-0 Dodgers after an outstanding outing from rookie Walker Buehler.  No matter, JBJ knew what to do.

Many questioned his spot in the lineup.  Not Boston Sports Extra.  His solo Home Run set up the extra inning theatrics.

Nathan Eovaldi

With Nathan Eovaldi doing yeoman’s work the score remained 2-2 into the 18th inning.  Yeoman’s work doesn’t cover it.

Eovaldi pitched the most pitches in relief in world series history.  He pitched 6 plus innings of 1 run ball on short rest, along with the unearned run from the Kinsler error.

Max Muncy took him deep for a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 18th.

This game pushed well into October 27th.  If that date is familiar to you as a Red Sox fan, it should be.  That was the date in 2004 The Curse was destroyed.  So today isn’t all bad.

Red Sox Take Game 1 of the 2018 World Series

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A few thoughts on the first Sox-Dodgers World Series matchup since 1916 coming up, right after I miraculously recover from a belly-button ring infection…

Game 1 of the World Series always feels the most special. There’s the pregame ceremonies and introductions giving added pomp to the proceedings, and a certain buzz that only exists when any and all outcomes are possible. As the series progresses, that “special” vibe is replaced by crushing existential dread hanging on every pitch, which only grows stronger with each passing game. But prior to the first game fans are still comfortable enough to do things like (rightfully) cheer on the opposing manager.

Good news for Red Sox fans: There was plenty more to cheer about over the course of Tuesday night’s 8-4 win.

It’s no secret that the Sox strength lies in the top of their lineup, which contains a Murderers’ Quartet of Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, JD Martinez, and Xander Bogaerts. Here’s how they attacked Clayton Kershaw to kick things off in the bottom of the 1st:

  • Betts singled to center, stole second base, and won free tacos for America.
  • Benintendi slipped a hit through the hole into left field (scoring Betts), and took second on the throw home.
  • Steve Pearce popped out.
  • Martinez singled to center, scoring Benintendi.

2-0 Red Sox, before the Dodgers even had a chance to breathe. Los Angeles would continue to battle back throughout the early and middle innings, but Boston never trailed in this one. The Sox have had their fair share of fast starts this postseason, and continuing to do so in this series will go a long way towards winning the whole thing. Kershaw only lasted 4+ innings and was charged 5 earned runs, thanks to Boston’s relentless attack (and Martinez and Rafael Devers continually clutch postseason).

It’s a good thing, too, because the Red Sox ace didn’t have his best stuff either. Granted, Chris Sale may have still been recovering from a mysterious stomach injury that held him out of Game 5 of the ALCS. However, it was clear he didn’t have his best stuff. The Dodgers have been excellent all year at laying off pitches out of the zone, and Tuesday was no different. Sale threw 91 pitches, but only 54 (59%) for strikes. He positively labored through the first three innings especially, and wasn’t allowed to run through the LA lineup a third time. The velocity was sort of there, and his breaking stuff looked good, but he struggled to find the plate and was punished for mistakes:

Fortunately for Sale (and the Red Sox), the bullpen continues to be the surprise of the playoffs. It was another strong showing from the Boston relievers: 5 innings, 1 run, and importantly only 1 walk. When Joe Kelly is throwing changeups like this, you know things are going your way. Seriously, look at this thing:

Is that a damn Wiffle ball?

On a similar point, Alex Cora is on absolute fire. This guy can’t miss, and you can doubt his moves at your own peril. He let Sandy León hit. León responded with a pair of singles in the same game for the first time since 1892. He brought in Nathan Eovaldi in the 8th to bridge the gap to Craig Kimbrel. Eovaldi was lights out. He even pinch hit Eduardo Nunez for Rafael Devers in the bottom of the 7th, despite pleas from Red Sox Nation to “please god don’t even think about it” (roughly paraphrasing there).

Nuñez…well…I’ll just leave this here.

When you’re hot, you’re hot. And right now, Cora is pushing all of the right buttons.

Even Kimbrel came on in the 9th and looked like the guy he’s been for nearly all of his career. Straight gas, straight dominance. There’s still plenty of baseball to play, but it’s tough to ask for a better start for the Sox in this series.

Key to World Series Game 2

One last thing, that I’ll be watching for tonight: How will Roberts deploy his lineup and bench against David Price? In Game 1 the Dodgers manager went all righties against Sale, will he do the same in Game 2 or roll with his best guys? Either way, it’s interesting how Cora looked like the guy who has managed in a World Series before, while Roberts’ micro-managing screamed “first year on the job”. We’ll see if that script flips.

Alex Cora, Right Again

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Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

It’s Alex Cora’s world.  We’re all just living in it.

Cora continues to absolutely dunk on his managerial opponents, including in the 2018 World Series.

This game is a prime example of his managerial domination.  By the time the 7th inning was over, Dave Roberts had used all of his bench players and the game was effectively over.

Dave Roberts Makes Mistakes

Let’s get one thing straight.  I love Dave Roberts.  I was part of the Fenway crowd giving him all kinds of love last night during introductions.

But he seemed befuddled when his team couldn’t quite take the lead.  This caused him to completely empty his bench in the top of the 7th to try and score some runs.

Greg Amsinger of the MLB Network did a piece on how Roberts was too humanized to manage well.   Nonsense arguments like this happen when things don’t work for a team.  Things that used to work just last week in the NLCS.

Those things don’t work anymore because you are facing Alex Cora’s Red Sox.

Alex Cora Is A Clairvoyant Genius

In this game, he started little brother Rafael Devers at third base over Eduardo Nunez.  That’s interesting because Nunez has started all year when the Red Sox face a left handed pitcher like Clayton Kershaw.  It’s match-up based.

But Cora decided to buck the match-up, and Devers rewarded him.  Of course, he did.  He went 1-2 with a walk and RBI.

But then something happened.

Roberts brought in a lefty, Alex Woods, to face Devers.  Instead of going with Devers, Cora brought in Eduardo Nunez.

What?  Devers had already faced on of the most dangerous lefties in the game and done well in that game.  Why Nunez now? Let’s let Nunez tell us:

At the 1:30 mark tells Big Papi that Alex Cora prepped him the night before.  He told him to be ready in the 7th or 8th when a lefty would be in to face Devers.  (By the way, how great is it to see Big Papi living it up in the media this postseason?)

That means Alex Cora foresaw what would happen and then made it happen.  That’s like being Yoda, but only on Yoda’s best day.  No mistake Yoda.  He puts his players in a position to be successful.  Every day.  All the time.

Alex Cora is calm.  Alex Cora is in control.  And Alex Cora will destroy you, inning by inning until he is the winner and you are the loser.

Jackie Bradley Jr. A Better Option

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(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

The Mookie debate about where he should play in Dodger stadium is so obviously over.   But that means someone else in the outfield has to sit.  It’s a grudge match between Jackie Bradley Jr. and Andrew Benintendi.  Let’s get ready to rumble!

By The Stats

I’m not going to flood you with statistics.  Suffice to say, JBJ was close to 20% better than Benny in September against left handed pitching.  That’s important, because the bulk of the best pitching on the Dodgers is left handed.

In the playoffs against all pitching, JBJ is a full 50% better than Benny.  I’ve made light of Jackie’s three swings bringing him the MVP of the ALCS, but they were pretty big swings.  Remember Papi in 2013 off Tigers closer Joaquin Benoit?

https://youtu.be/CYosReytpcM

Papi only hit .248 in that ALCS.  But that one swing in game 2 changed everything.

Now from Jackie we have this in the 2018 ALCS:

https://youtu.be/NH18WpVfCgE

Sure, Jackie hit just .200, but that was no slap hitter .200.  That was a Herculean .200.  Can you remember any Benintendi at bats like that in the past month?  Much fewer and farther between than from JBJ.

Almost Clear Cut

The fact remains these are small sample sizes we’re talking about.  Jackie’s streaky hitting is legendary around here.  How many times have we seen him hot as a pistol for a few weeks, only to fall back to mediocrity?  Benny is steadier metronome of productivity.

It might come down to how these two perform in the first two games of the World Series against The Dodgers dual lefties of Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu.  Cora’s lineups might even give us a clue in these two games.  If Benny or JBJ sits it will be a telltale of what’s to come.

Let’s Go Boys!

Meantime let’s treat The Dodgers like the Boltons treated the Kingslayer and sever their best weapon tonight.  If the Sox can conquer Kershaw in Game One it will shatter their confidence and lay a clear path to another World Series Title.

Mookie Betts Should Not Play Second Base in the World Series

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The news that Mookie Betts could play at second base is percolating in the World Series buildup.  It’s thrilling, exciting, and fascinating to think about.  Could Mookie play second when the World Series moves to Chavez Ravine?

THE CASE FOR MOOKIE AT SECOND

I love Rochie.  Who doesn’t love Rochie?  To dream like him and be filled with wonder like him, that is living.  And it’s not just pure fandom rooting for this.  There are others making the argument that it truly makes sense.  The noted Yankee fan MLB writers at The Ringer are making the case.

BETTS WANTS TO PLAY SECOND

There is something Rochie, and others salivating over Betts at second footage, don’t realize or mention: Betts has been doing this all year.

Betts is like that kid at CVS begging and touching all the candy when Mom and/or Dad have their hands full with prescriptions.  He’s the relentless ‘A ‘ student begging teachers for every last point.  He’s Bugs Bunny to the Red Sox coaching staff’s Daffy Duck.

It is undeniable.  Mookie Betts wants to play second base.

His consistent and unflinching ground ball work at second yielded fruit: He played 4 innings at second on August 3rd 2018 against the Yankees.  That happened to coincide with Alex Cora being ejected in the first inning.  Mookie focused his laser beam of intensity on bench coach Ron Roenicke, and Roenicke wilted.

Mookie knew he had to act fast while Cora was hot over being ejected.  He got in at second in the second inning, he was back in right field by the 8th.

WHY BETTS WON’T PLAY SECOND

One thing Betts to second champions are harping on is an Alex Cora interview I watched on the MLB Network.  You can find the full interview here.  He discusses the Mookie Betts to second possibility around the 23 minute mark.

Among the quotes there are a couple that jump out.

Speaking to Betts tenacity and Cora’s unwillingness “Today he’s going to try a few double plays…like I said there’s a chance, but it’s not like he will…”  Mookie is very much Lloyd Christmas in this situation.

On the need for an experienced second baseman “(The) thing is in the national league they bunt, you know, and advance runners..”

On the Red Sox pitching staff “But…we don’t throw too many ground balls, it’s either strikeouts or fly balls.”  In other words, the Sox need excellent outfield play to compliment the pitching staff.

Remember this?

How about this?

https://twitter.com/brianlowrider/status/1053180382986661888

To invoke a certain Colonel Jessep; we want him on that wall, we need him on that wall!  Mookie probably won’t make any outstanding plays at second base.  But Minerva McGalleon McGonagall herself would bet on Mookie making incredible outfield plays.

Alex Cora will have plenty of lineup decisions to make in the 2018 World Series.  Putting Mookie anywhere but the outfield will not be one of them.

You can find the full interview with Alex Cora (Via CLNS) here.

The Red Sox Dodgers Preview Extravaganza

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The Dodgers just dispatched the upstart Brewers and move on to face the Red Sox in the 2018 World Series.  Cue the grainy black and white photos of The Babe in a Red Sox uniform. Let us see the Dropkick Murphy’s grinding rendition of Tessie. 

Cue fans using the Brooklyn Robins in barroom and water cooler talk, and a million google searches for ‘Red Sox-Dodgers world series history’ hitting the 1916 World Series page on Wikipedia.  Cue every old Brooklyn Dodger fan coming out of the woodwork, and the slightly less grainy photos and videos of Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, and Pee Wee Reese. A mountain of content on the 1988 LA Dodgers World Series winners will come out.

Cue Fever Pitch where the old guy counts off the string of Red Sox world series wins in 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918. Prompt Dave Roberts making his fateful steal in the bottom of the 9th in game 4 against Mariano Rivera.  Cue pictures of Alex Cora in an LA Dodgers uniform. The rating of this series is through the roof! 

It’s an old-school, original 6 type of World Series that will be chock full of intrigue and potential controversy.

Detroit Public Library

THE RED SOX

With a resounding thud, all the doubting and putting down of the 2018 Red Sox has been pushed off the desks of commentators nationwide.  This team is an absolute wagon with a horseshoe, four-leafed clover, and all the baseball gods in their back pocket. 

All the beautiful poignant vignettes of warm feelings are still cascading around the Red Sox: The Alex Cora birthday serenade in the clubhouse after beating the Houston Astros in 5 games.  David Price’s moment with friends and family that choked everyone up.  Alex Cora talking about the Red Sox sending supplies to his storm-ravaged homeland.  Alex Cora is the first manager from Puerto Rico to take his team to the World Series.  

Yes, changing managers can make a world of difference in the day to day operations clubhouse and team.  It doesn’t hurt that Cora is batting, oh, around .800 with his in-game and lineup decisions so far in the playoffs.

There’s every reason in our provincial New England bubble to expect a romp over the Dodgers in the World Series.  The bats are batting: JBJ! JD! PEARCY! MITCHY!  The gloves are catching: BENNY! MOOKIE! The pitchers pitching: PRICE! BRASIER! KELLY! BARNES! PORCELLO! Even maybe SALE!  Possibly KIMBREL!

THE DODGERS

PITCHING

And yet, there is a reason to pause.  

When it comes to the match-ups there’s not much, but what there is tends to favor the Dodgers.  Of the four starting pitchers on LA (Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, local boy made good Rich Hill, Walker Buehler), there’s only one player on the Red Sox who have any history. That’s JD Martinez against Kershaw.  It’s a minuscule 8 at-bats, but JD has managed a home run, double and .375 average against the talented lefty.

HITTING

On the other side are two individuals that show up again and again.  

We’ll start with Brian Dozier. He may not be what he once was, but he has a boatload of experience against the suddenly vaunted Red Sox staff. Dozier’s batting average doesn’t jump off the page, but the power does: Against Chris Sale, David Price, Nathan Eovaldi, and Rick Porcello, Dozier has 9 doubles and 9 home runs in 146 at-bats.  If we push those to a full season that’s a 36 double and 36 homer pace.

And he’s the appetizer.

The main man, the designated villain of Red Sox fans and now most of Baseball, is none other than Manny Machado. The side stepper, the slide stabber, the very very bad man.

https://twitter.com/tosa_tina_/status/1052522276766273536

And he’s a force against the Red Sox pitchers: 4 doubles, 9 homers, 108 at-bats.  That’s a projected 18 doubles and, gulp, 41 home runs, and also hits a combined .298 against the Boston starters. 

Throw in the fact that the Sox batters haven’t seen the Dodgers pitchers and it could be an edge for the boys in blue.

We finish with one more subtle note on Alex Cora’s staff.  The hitting coach of the Red Sox is Tim Hyers.  If that name doesn’t leap off the page, it’s not your fault.  Hyers does what the best coaches do, he lets the players shine and stays in the shadows. 

It turns out Mr. Hyers was the Dodgers assistant hitting coach last year.  That means he has the inside track on the Dodgers best hitters, including Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, and Yasiel Puig among others. 

It’s going to be a fun series, why do we have to wait until Tuesday?

The Boston Red Sox Are Your 2018 AL Champs

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A few rapid reactions to the Red Sox winning the pennant for the first time since 2013, right after I finish the most embarrassing poster in the history of signage…

More than anything else, this has been a season about silencing the haters and doubters. The Red Sox won back to back AL East titles in 2016 and 2017, but only had a single playoff win to show for it. Mookie Betts followed up an MVP runner-up season with a step back last year. Jackie Bradley Jr is a killer outfielder who couldn’t hit his way out of a paper bag. Alex Cora was a first year manager taking over the team with baseball’s largest payroll. David Price had more than enough demons to deal with. JD Martinez was a premier free agent signing, but he wasn’t Giancarlo Stanton. And that’s just scratching the surface.

The list of question marks entering this season seemed endless.The Sox responded for seven months with nothing but definitive, defiant, and resounding answers en route to a franchise record 108 wins. Even so, the questions started creeping in once more after a tough game loss to the Astros. Boston rose to the challenge yet again.

On Thursday night, the Red Sox won their 115th game of the season to punch their ticket to the World Series, beating the defending champs in 5 games. Any questions anyone had about this team has been officially rendered moot.

David Price Steps Up

Game 5’s story starts with David Price. With Chris Sale sidelined an extra game with a stomach illness, and the bullpen taxed to the limit, Boston needed their most expensive player to come through. Price, finally and triumphantly, delivered.

The left-hander tossed 6 shutout innings, allowing only three hits and striking out 9. He had all his pitches working, and located them with ease.

Price has gotten so much flak for his past postseason struggles, but he absolutely rose to the challenge in a huge spot last night. As John Lackey can attest, the quickest way to win over Red Sox Nation is to win in October. It looks like Price is well on his way to doing just that.

Devers and Martinez Go Yard

JD Martinez got the Sox going in the top of the 3rd with this absolute ROCKET to left field:

Martinez was 1-11 through the first three games of this series, but he turned it on in Games 4 and 5, going 4-7 with a HR and a pair of RBI. If he can keep it going through the World Series, the Brewers or Dodgers will be in trouble.

The difference in this one was a 3-run Devers dinger in the top of the 6th.

Remember earlier in this postseason when Eduardo Nunez was the starting third baseman? Yeah, me neither. Devers continues to be clutch in the playoffs. Some quick stats floating around during the game last night:

  • Devers has joined the short list of players with 3+ postseason homers before their 22nd birthday. The other names on the list: Mickey Mantle, Miguel Cabrera, Bryce Harper, and Andruw Jones.
  • Devers is now tied with Miguel Cabrera for second-most postseason RBI by players 21 or younger.
  • Here’s Raffy’s line through 10 playoff games: 36 PA, .354/.417/.645, 3 HR, 12 RBI.

I’m starting to think this kid might have a bright future ahead of him.

Jackie Bradley Jr: ALCS MVP

That’s right, Jackie Bradley Jr. was the most valuable player in this series. He only had 3 hits in 17 at-bats, but he made each one count. His 9 RBI were a series high, and the Sox absolutely could not have done it without him. Bradley has often been a divisive player, whose defensive prowess is consistently at odds with his lack of offensive consistency. But, he’s the longest tenured everyday player on the roster, and it’s awesome to see him have his moment in the postseason.

Other Observations

  • What a sick twist of fate that Game 4’s controversial fan interference call was essentially erased by an almost identical play by Betts last night. If you needed any more evidence that the Curse of the Bambino is long gone, look no further.
  • Alex Bregman probably regrets logging into Instagram before Game 3, huh? Price wasn’t about to let him forget it, either. Good news is the Astros third baseman will have plenty of time to mull things over this winter.
  • Cora was occasionally unconventional, and occasionally left me scratching my head over some of his choices. None of it mattered. He’s pushed just about every right button through the first two rounds of postseason play.
  • Nathan Eovaldi has been nails all postseason. He came up big yet again with four outs late in this one, to bridge the gap to Craig Kimbrel in the 9th. For all of the chatter about Dave Dombrowski’s inability to address the bullpen midseason, he absolutely crushed the Eovaldi and Steve Pearce acquisitions.
  • Craig Kimbrel wasn’t perfect, but he looked better than he has in weeks. Hopefully that’s a sign he’s coming out of this funk.
  • Here’s Andrew Benintendi’s game-winning catch from Game 4 again, because I can’t stop watching it.
  • The Red Sox have 4 more wins to go before winning their 4th championship in 15 seasons. October 23rd can’t come soon enough. For now, time to celebrate. What a night, what a series, what a win.

3 Up, 3 Down From ALCS Games 1-3

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The Red Sox nudged ahead in the race for the AL pennant on Tuesday night, beating the Astros 8-2 to take a 2-1 series lead. There’s been plenty of good and bad from the Sox through three games so far. Let’s dive in.

3 Up

Jackie Bradley Jr. – Let’s kick things off with the biggest story from Game 3. With 2 outs in the top of the eighth, and the Sox clinging to a 4-2 lead, Roberto Osuna tried to sneak a fastball by JBJ. Bradley launched that pitch into orbit:

Bradley Jr. now has 7 RBIs in 3 games in the ALCS. For comparison, David Ortiz had 11 RBIs in 7 games in 2004. The Red Sox centerfielder only has two hits this series, but he’s made them count.

Any offense from Bradley Jr. is a welcome bonus, of course. But, it’s great to see him have a postseason moment after a strong finish to the regular season (.282/.349/.501 after June 23rd).

Steve Pearce – Prior to JBJ’s Grandest Slammy in the 8th, the biggest moment of Game 3 was Steve Pearce wrapping a shot around the left field foul pole to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead in the 6th.

I’ve said it before, but this guy has been a game-changing pickup for Boston. Mitch Moreland has been sidelined by a sore hamstring, and Pearce has just taken over. The 35 year old utility man has hit .304 this postseason, and provided excellent defense at first base to boot. Moreland has been the guy at that corner for most of the season, but Alex Cora has been rewarded for riding the hot bat/glove.

Red Sox Bullpen – Is the Boston bullpen actually…good? In 12.1 innings this series, Sox relievers have posted a 3.66 ERA. That includes Brandon Workman’s Game 1 implosion. Otherwise, they’ve been damn near shutdown. That’s huge, considering how big of a weak spot that aspect of the team appeared to be coming into the playoffs.

I wrote in September that the Sox could win in October without a dominant bullpen. It seems like they’re holding up their end of the bargain, so far.

3 Down

JD Martinez – Martinez drove in the first run of Game 3 with an RBI double down the right field line. Outside of that, he’s been a complete non-factor. Martinez has mustered only 1 hit in 11 ABs, and has only reached base an additional 2 times. The Astros have been feeding him a steady diet of low and away breaking balls, and it’s working so far.

If the Red Sox plan on closing this series out, they’ll likely need their anchor to come through in a big spot. We’ll see if he can snap out of this funk.

Postseason Price – Good news: a Major League Baseball team won a postseason game started by David Price. Bad news: David Price still didn’t get the win, after getting pulled from Boston’s Game 2 victory midway through the 5th inning.

I’m not going to re-tread tired ground too much here, but it continues to amaze me that a pitcher with so much success continues to bring next to no value in the postseason. As of now, the Sox will be turning to Price in Game 6 (if necessary). That is still a frightening prospect.

Third Base Defense – This is turning into a black hole. Cora keeps throwing Eduardo Nunez into the mix, and Nunez continues to misplay ground balls and terrify all of New England.

Rafael Devers has gotten some run as well at the hot corner, and has at least hit the ball. Unfortunately, he’s not exactly Brooks Robinson in the field either. That reality reared its ugly head during the bottom of the 5th:

Not helping matters is Alex Bregman vacuuming up anything that moves on the other end. Fingers crossed that Boston’s third base defense doesn’t end up costing them too much in the end.

Rick Porcello takes the mound against Charlie Morton in Game 4 tonight. Porcello has been gutsy as hell this October. Another big time performance will give the Sox a commanding lead in this series.

Red Sox Hang On, Draw First Blood in ALDS

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A few quick thoughts on the return of Red Sox-Yankees postseason baseball, right after I hand out some high fives to Will, Chuckie, Morgan, and Billy…

What a way to kick things off, huh? The Sox jumped out early, and managed to hang on for a 5-4 win to take Game 1 at Fenway Park. Boston hit the ground running, thanks to a 3-run laser over the Monster from JD Martinez:

From there, the Sox seemed like they were on cruise control, extending the lead to 5-0 after plating a couple more runs in the third. Everything was working in their favor early. Guys were getting on base. Alleged “Red Sox Killer” JA Happ was bounced after 2+ innings. Chris Sale was dealing.

Then, Alex Cora decided to take his ace out in the top of the 6th, and it all (almost) went to hell.

I completely understand the logic behind pulling Sale. He wasn’t right all September, and the plan all season long has been to conserve the lanky lefty as much as possible. Sale also had allowed two hits already that inning, and had thrown 93 pitches (his highest total since July 27th).

On the flip side, Sale was nearly untouchable while he was in the game. His much scrutinized fastball velocity returned to the 94-96 mph range, after sitting in the low 90s during his final regular season start. His slider was in peak form, both in terms of break and placement:

Sale was charged with 2 runs in 5.1 innings, while striking out 8. All things considered, it was a great bounce back performance from his last postseason start. However, it wasn’t enough for Cora to trust him to work out of a 6th inning jam.

The Yankees immediately stormed back with Sale out, while Ryan Brasier and Brandon Workman took turns spiking curves 8 feet in front of home plate. To Workman’s credit, he did manage to stop the sixth inning bleeding with a BALLSY 3-2 hook to Gleyber Torres with the bases juiced.

Cora stuck with Workman to start the 7th, and he promptly gave up a pair of singles to Andrew McCutchen and Aaron Judge. Enter Matt Barnes, who then walked Brett Gardner to load the bases.

Barnes eventually was able to slither out of trouble, allowing only one run to score on a fielder’s choice.

All of this is to say that things were so indescribably shaky that Cora felt the need to bring in former AL Cy Young Award winner and scheduled Game 3 starter Rick Porcello to bridge the gap to Craig Kimbrel. It worked – Porcello recorded two 8th inning outs on only 15 pitches to set up a 4-out save for Kimbrel. However, it was a move that reeked of desperation. Perhaps a more seasoned manager would not have pressed the Porcello panic button in Game 1. Either way, it goes to show that this Sox bullpen is clearly going to be a problem going forward this postseason.

Kimbrel was able to shut the door on this one, despite giving up a leadoff home run to Judge in the 9th. Outside of that, Kimbrel had his good stuff, including this obscene knuckle-curve to hand Giancarlo Stanton his Golden Sombrero:

Kimbrel mopped up Luke Voit with a 98 mph heater to end it, and give the Sox a white-knuckle playoff win. Phew.

Other Observations

  • David Price is on the hill tonight for the Sox. I feel better about him in a Game 2 at home than an elimination game in Yankee Stadium. That isn’t saying much.
  • The Red Sox bullpen wasn’t great (le duh). The bottom of the lineup, however, was even worse. Nunez, Kinsler, Leon and Bradley went a combined 1-13. Granted, the Sox have been top-heavy all season long. But it’s hard to feel great about their chances this month if the bottom half is going to be a collective zero.
  • It’s hard to fear Stanton after a 4 K effort at the plate. I am, however, terrified of Voit and Judge. Just wanted to update where my head is at.
  • Sandy Leon was the real MVP last night. He made block after block while the Red Sox middle relievers played “Who Can Bounce A Baseball Best?”. On a night where Ron Darling described Gary Sanchez as an “excellent” defensive catcher, it was nice to see Leon step up and show why he’s in the lineup.
  • All that being said, HUGE win in Game 1, to (somewhat) silence the doubters that this 108-win team would get steamrolled by their second-place rivals. We’re on to Game 2.