Tag Archives: Red Sox

Andrew Cashner: Cheap Yankee/Rays Killer

Leave a reply

The Red Sox made a trade today with the Baltimore Orioles for right hand pitcher Andrew Cashner. Sure, Cashner is far from a perfect player. He has a 3.83 ERA this year, yet only a 4.25 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching). Essentially, he doesn’t strike out a ton of batters and walks around three per game. This means his ERA is more lucky than good. But he’s here for two reasons: He pitches well against the Rays and Yankees, and he’s cheap.

Cashner Against The Sox Direct Competition

Starting on July 22nd, the Red Sox will face off against the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees for 14 straight games. This stretch can’t win the division, but it could end the Sox season if they don’t play well. Brian Johnson has a 6.13 ERA this year. Hector Velazquez is at 5.52. Young Darwinzon Hernandez? 5.06. Lucky or not, Cashner’s 3.83 ERA is looking pretty good in comparison.

Over the past three seasons Andrew Cashner has a 3.61 ERA combined against both Tampa Bay and New York. In 62.1 innings he has 42 strikeouts and 21 walks. That’s not great, but it’s a decent sample size, and that ERA shows he knows how to pitch against those lineups. Sure, he’s only 3-4 in 10 games, but he’s been playing for the Orioles. They’re one of the worst teams in all of baseball.

The Cost

In terms of money, this fits right in to the Sox luxury tax problem. Opinions are varied, but Cashner will cost somewhere between $1.6 and $1.9 Million. The Orioles are even kicking in anywhere between $3-$5 Million in incentives that Cashner is due both now and next year.

You can’t get that kind of cash out of Peter Angelos and the Orioles unless you give something up. In this case, it’s a couple of 17 year olds:

Who know what these guys will become. Whatever it is is years away. The Red Sox season is in jeopardy of falling off a cliff. Nathan Eovaldi, a Yankee killer himself, is desperately needed in the bullpen. The options for the Red Sox in the starting rotation are not very good, and also don’t pitch deep into games. They had to do something, and per Dave Dombrowski’s M.O. they struck early.

Andrew Cashner has the ability to give the Sox just enough to make it an interesting summer.

Featured Image via the New York Post

Red Sox should add Zack Wheeler

Leave a reply

There are reports circulating that the Red Sox are talking to the Mets about Zack Wheeler. This is an arm the Red Sox should snap up.

Tommy John Surgery History

Wheeler came on for the Mets with a bang in 2013 with a 3.42 ERA as a rookie in 17 starts. The next year he went he had a 3.56 ERA and seemed to figure it out: His strikeout rate rose from 7.96 to 9.08 K/9. Alas, soon after he went under the knife, and lost 2015 and 2016 to Tommy John surgery and recovery. It was a long road, but it is a road in the past. He’s starting to pick it up.

Recent History & Potential Cost

In 2018 Wheeler finally looked like himself again. He maintained a 3.31 ERA and got his K/9 back to 8.84. This year that rate is at a career best 9.8. Yes, he has a 4.49 ERA on the year, but the Mets have been a mess, even more than the Red Sox. And his last start against the Yankees was a great one. He went 6.1 innings, struck out seven, and allowed two runs. Can you imagine that in London?

Wheeler has a lot of potential, and is still only 29 years old. He walks guys, with a career walks rate of 3.4 BB/9 (down to 2.6 this year), which is why he will fetch a lesser price. Jarren Duran has turned some heads lately. He was just in the minor league Future’s Game. But he’s a no power, batting average guy. Those guys don’t go much beyond bench pieces in the Majors. Think that type of prospect, rather than a power bat like Bobby Dalbec.

Wheeler is right handed, which has already shown dividends against the Yankees. He’s topped 100 MPH with his fastball this year. He would look great as the number four or five starter in this rotation, with possibilities for more.

Featured image via the New York Post

Rest of MLB, take note of how Tigers handled delay

Leave a reply

I was originally going to rip the Detroit Tigers and the rest of Major League Baseball. The Red Sox and Tigers still played after a 4 hour pre-game rain delay on Saturday. That left me baffled and frustrated.

How could an MLB team make their fans pick between two undesirable options? On one hand, a fan could choose to head home after paying for their ticket, wasting their money. The other option is waiting in the park for the game to start, which might not even be played that day.

Having their loyal fans make that choice is nothing sort of disrespectful. This could be many fans only game the entire season. Not to mention, the Tigers are not exactly World Series contenders, at 28-55 before play.

I was going to write how inconsiderate the Tigers and other MLB teams are to their own fans during rain delays. Organizations never refund purchases and also have no problem starting games late at night. They never once consider how their decisions worsen the fan’s viewing experience. Then I heard something interesting from the Tiger’s broadcast.

They said that anyone who bought a ticket to the game would receive a free ticket to a 2019 Tiger’s game. So I immediately needed to edit the topic of my article.

I will give Detroit credit for this awesome gesture as not every team would do this in the same situation. (*Cough Cough, John Henry, Cough*) It appears the Tigers will reward fans who left or stayed with the same deal of a free ticket. Good on the Tigers for paying back their most devoted fans.

However, this game highlights an area MLB needs to improve in, weather delay guidelines. Too many times fans are the ones most impacted by lousy weather. The customers either have to sit through the rain or go home without getting what they paid for. MLB needs to put the fans at the forefront when considering weather delays.

After tonight, it is clear MLB should set a limit on how long a rain delay can be. There simply has to be a cutoff. 4 hours is way too long to be waiting for a game that might be played on a later date. How long the delay can be is debatable, but it is clear MLB needs a set time limit.

There are other guidelines MLB should think about. For example, teams could do what the Tiger’s did today and compensate fans who bought tickets to a delayed or canceled game. MLB needs to remember that the fans should be the number one priority during weather delays, not the players, managers, or owners.

However, this is coming from the same sport who refuses to try and make the game more enjoyable for their customers. (Who doesn’t love watching Marcus Stroman take two and a half minutes in between pitches?) This move, however, seems so obvious even Major League Baseball would see the benefits and make the change. Right!?

Photo Courtesy of Detroit Tigers official Twitter

Follow Chad on Twitter @shutupchadjones

Red Sox

RED SOX – TIGERS SERIES PREVIEW

Leave a reply

The Red Sox just about snuck out of Toronto with two wins from their three-game series. Now they turn their attentions to their visit to Detroit, in their final series before the All-Star break.

7/5 Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Gregory Soto (L) 7:10 pm NESN

7/6 Rick Porcello vs. Jordan Zimmermann (R) 4:10 pm NESN

7/7 David Price vs. TBD 1:10 pm NESN

NOTABLE NUMBERS

PITCHERS

In order to try and make a positive out of what happened with Rick Porcello in London; at least he is well-rested. Porcello allowed six runs in the first innings on Saturday and did not make it out of the first inning. However, he only threw 33 pitches, so will come into this game in a slightly different situation to what the Red Sox will have expected. However, in his career he has been better in the second half of the season, starting with July. In June he has a career 5.06 ERA, but in July that drops by over a run to 3.97 in July. Let’s hope that trend continues in this series.

Jordan Zimmermann’s season has been a weird one. In his first two starts of the season, he allowed just two earned runs in 13 2/3 innings, with the Tigers picking up wins in both. Since then he has allowed 26 earned runs in 31 2/3 innings, and the Tigers have not won a single one of those games.

Gregory Soto has not had a great season, with an 8.83 ERA. He has allowed less than three earned runs in just two of his six outings this season. That comes despite having never gone more than four innings in any single outing. The Tigers have won just two games that Soto has featured in, but he has only figured in the result twice, taking two losses in his first two appearances.

HITTERS

The Red Sox offense has been slowly heating up in the last month. Over the last 28 days, they are hitting .294 with a .502 slugging percentage and a .857 OPS. In the last 14 days that rises to .315/.538/.905, and in the last seven days it has risen to .332/.596/.971. Now they can look to finish the first half on a high.

Detroit has really struggled at home this season, with a league-worst 68 wRC+, 3rd worst .229 batting average and .130 ISO, as well as a 4th worst 25.2 K%. They have hit just a paltry 26 home runs this season, and scored just 134 runs in Detroit. Both of those numbers are the worst in the league, below even the Marlins and Giants.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Pitching: This combination is likely to be the three that make up the middle of any playoff series if the Red Sox get to that point. If they are going to have any chance in a playoff series they need to dominate teams like the Tigers.

Hitting: Since the 14th of June the Red Sox have scored five or more runs in a game in 10 of their 14 games. The problem has been that they have only won six of those 10 games. This offense needs to continue to hit through their pitching woes, and this series offers the perfect opportunity to pile up the runs again.

EXPECTATIONS

The Red Sox won two games in their last series and gained precisely zero ground on the Yankees, who also took two of their three games. The Red Sox need to be perfect against these bottom-dwelling teams if they are to stay in touch with the Yankees. Ultimately, any shot they have at the division will come down to beating the Yankees in future series. However, winning these series convincingly will help take the pressure off those series.

The first two games should be games where the Red Sox hitters can cash in big-time against pitchers who are not having a great time of it. If they go into Sunday’s game having won the first two they will have their best pitcher of the three on the mound to close out the series. Win all three of these and things will look a lot rosier with the Red Sox potentially inside double-digit games behind the Yankees.

Red Sox

RED SOX – BLUE JAYS SERIES PREVIEW

Leave a reply

The Red Sox are nothing if not frustratingly consistent, even when playing a “home” game in a different country. The Red Sox form at home has been a consistent issue all season, as they currently have a 20-22 record in designated home games. In terms of true home games that is a 20-20 record, but .500 is not good enough at home. However, their road performances have been strong since a tough start, and now they get six road games to try and rebound from being swept by the Yankees in London.

7/2 David Price vs. Trent Thornton (R) 7:07 pm NESN

7/3 Chris Sale vs. Sean Reid-Foley (R) 7:07 pm NESN

7/4 Rick Porcello vs. Marcus Stroman (R) 7:07 pm NESN

NOTABLE NUMBERS

PITCHERS

In order to try and make a positive out of what happened with Rick Porcello in London at least, he is well-rested. Porcello allowed six runs in the first innings on Saturday, and did did not make it out of the first inning. However, he only threw 33 pitches, so will come into this game in a slightly different situation to what the Red Sox will have expected. A negative for Porcello is that he has a 5.17 ERA in 78 1/3 innings in Rogers Center. However, in his career he has been better in the second half of the season, starting with July, In June he has a career 5.06 ERA, but in July that drops by over a run to 3.97 in July. Let’s hope that trend continues in this series.

When the Blue Jays came to Fenway I raved about Thornton’s road ERA, and he caused the Red Sox problems. Now the tables are turned, as Thornton has real issues pitching in Toronto. In 31 innings at home, he has allowed 22 earned runs, nine home runs, and a .528 slugging percentage.

2019 has not been kind to Sean Reid-Foley. The 49th overall pick in 2014 has struggled both in the majors and at Triple-A. In two starts and one relief appearance in the majors, he has managed 9 1/3 innings, allowing five earned runs, two home runs, and walking six. At Triple-A his numbers are arguably worse, with 45 earned runs allowed in 69 innings, walking a whopping 51 hitters. Between Reid-Foley and Thornton, the Red Sox should be disappointed if they don’t leave Toronto with two wins from those two games.

HITTERS

The Red Sox are absolutely raking against right-handed pitchers. They rank first in the majors in batting average BABIP and OBP, as well as second in BB% and joint third in wRC+. Three righties in this series should be a good sign for the Red Sox.

Toronto has struggled massively at home this season. They rank dead last in batting average, OBP and BABIP, as well as bottom-10 in wRC+, K%, and BB%. However, they have had success hitting for power, ranking 13th in ISO. However, that ISO falls to the 12th worst in the league when you look at their numbers against left-handed pitching. This series could be a fantastic opportunity for the Red Sox to exploit the Blue Jay weaknesses.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Pitching: The extra day’s rest is going to be a great relief to the Red Sox after this weekend. Saturday saw the bullpen stretched to its extremes, and thankfully Eduardo Rodriguez did a solid job on Sunday to spare further issues. That performance from Rodriguez, and the Monday off, plus two days off before the London Series, should mean that this bullpen is not in dire straights come Tuesday and Wednesday. However, the Red Sox coaching staff will be hoping Price and Sale can put together plenty of innings this weekend, so they can keep their bullpen out of the firing line as long as possible.

Hitting: You couldn’t ask for much more from the Red Sox hitters in the London Series. 21 runs in two games should yield at least one win. Sadly it did not, and now the hitters need to keep that form up in the second half of the season.

An interesting statistic for the Red Sox has been their inability to get hits from the leadoff hitter in the first innings. Four hitters have been the first hitter of the game, and all four have a batting average below .200. In fact, the first spot in the lineup has been a nightmare, with a combined .230 batting average from that spot. When you are not getting off to good starts in games and your top of the order hitter is struggling it puts a lot of pressure on your team. The Red Sox need to get someone hitting consistently in that one spot in the second half of the season.

EXPECTATIONS

The Red Sox are now 11 games behind the Yankees in the race for the division, as well as being two games behind the Rangers for the wildcard spot. The Red Sox need to start turning this around or they are going to find it tough come September. Six games in Toronto and Detroit before the All-Star break is their opportunity and they must capitalize.

Coming out of this series and these six games without series wins, and at least four of the six games. Realistically facing two of the worst four teams in the American League, the Red Sox should be looking at winning five or even all six of these. Do that and the All-Star break will feel a lot more comfortable. There is still plenty of time in this season, but they have to win games against bad teams or they are going to be in trouble.

Red Sox need to take advantage of upcoming stretch

Leave a reply


Christian Vazquez capped an exciting comeback with an extra inning walk off homer on Friday night. The Sox managed to erase a 5-1 deficit to beat the Toronto Blue Jays when Chris Sale did not have his best stuff. One would hope this exciting victory could jump start the Sox into a series win. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

The Red Sox then proceeded to have a really bad weekend. They lost two out of three at home to a Blue Jays team that was 27-48 going into this series. The bullpen blew a 6-1 lead on Saturday. The offense and Rick Porcello were not effective on Sunday. The official start of Summer at Fenway was spoiled by the Jays from Toronto.

However, there is something to look forward to. Boston is now entering a rather favorable stretch of play, as five of the next seven series contain sub .500 opponents. The Chicago White Sox come into Fenway for a three game series starting Monday. The White Sox currently hold a 36-39 record. (Not to mention Boston clobbered Chicago in early May, scoring 34 runs and winning three of four.)

Following this series in The United States, Boston will travel across the Pond to London. On June 29h and 30th, Boston will take on the 49-28, American League East leading New York Yankees. Also, the Sox will be off on June 27th and 28th and July 1st. This is the last team over .500 the Red Sox will face before the All-Star Break.

The Red Sox will then leave Europe for Canada for three games with the Jays before returning back to the states. Boston will wrap up the unofficial first half of the season with 3 between the woeful Detroit Tigers, who currently sport a 26-44 record.

After the All Star Break, Boston is back for three games at Fenway with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a rematch of last year’s Fall Classic. Los Angeles currently has the best record in baseball with 50 wins to a mere 25 loses.

The Red Sox end that homestand with a four game series against the Blue Jays. Boston will then travel to Baltimore to face an Orioles team that currently sits last in the majors with a not-so-hot record of 21 and 53.

It is crucial the Red Sox make the most out of this part of their schedule if they want to cut into the Yankees lead. They already started this stretch on the wrong foot by losing a home series to the poultry Blue Jays. (Not to mention, making me change my article.)

After these 21 games with six days off, Boston crashes back to reality with four straight series against New York and Tampa Bay. If the Red Sox want to avoid that nerve-wracking, unpredictable Wild-Card Game, they need to take advantage of the next four weeks. Not only is the competition inferior, they have a lot of off days.

Bottom line, Boston cannot afford too many more poor series against under .500 teams.

Photo courtesy of Michael Dwyer, AP Photo

Follow Chad Jones on Twitter @ShutUpChadJones

Red Sox

RED SOX – WHITE SOX SERIES PREVIEW

Leave a reply

Every time things are looking up for this team, they go and shoot themselves in the foot. The series against the Blue Jays wasn’t just bad, it was nearly a disaster. Only a late rally in Game 1 of the Blue Jays series prevented this from being a home sweep. Now with an 18-19 record at home, the Red Sox welcome a White Sox team containing one of the hottest young starters in the majors right now.

6/24 Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Lucas Giolito (R) 7:10 pm NESN

6/22 David Price vs. TBD 7:10 pm NESN

6/23 Chris Sale vs. Reynaldo Lopez (R) 1:05 pm NESN

NOTABLE NUMBERS

PITCHERS

The series loss to the Blue Jays is on the pitchers. Sale gave up four runs in five innings, the bullpen allowed all eight in Game 2, and Porcello allowed five in six innings on Sunday. Yes, the offense failed to fire on Sunday, but they scored 14 runs in the first two games. To have seven runs scored, the starter to blank an opponent over five innings and lose is a disaster. In the same vein, Porcello simply cannot allow five runs to be scored and expect to win. 15 runs in three games should have been enough to win this series. The fact it was not lies with the rotation and the bullpen. Now they need to bounce back.

Giolito is reminding everyone in baseball why he was so highly touted as a prospect. The 24-year old pitcher has been superb in 2019, with a 2.74 ERA entering this start. In 85 1/3 innings, he has struck out a whopping 105 batters while walking 29. To put that into context; his 2019 K/9 is 10.97 and his BB/9 is 3.06, compared to career numbers prior to this season of 6.4 (K/9) and 4.3 (BB/9). It gets worse when you look at his splits, as he performs better on the road than at home, with a 2.49 ERA and a .180 batting average against away from home.

The counter to the good performances of Giolito is the struggles of Lopez. Another highly touted prospect, Lopez has a 6.23 ERA this season in 86 2/3 innings. Lopez’s struggles have come in the form of the home run, allowing 2.18 HR/9. He has been slightly better at preventing home runs on the road, but other numbers have been worse. His batting average against on the road is .308, and opponents slugging percentage is up at .573.

HITTERS

The Red Sox will be seeing two right-handed pitchers in this series, which is a promising situation for their offense. Against righties, the Red Sox have the highest batting average in the majors, the fourth highest wOBA, and the seventh best strikeout rate. Home runs have not been free-flowing, as they rank 13th in that category. However, they rank second in the majors in runs scored against righties, with 321 runs scored.

In stark contrast, the White Sox will find three left-handed pitchers waiting for them in Boston. The White Sox have seen the seventh-least amount of PA this season against lefties, and their success has been mixed. On one hand they rank ninth in the majors in batting average against lefties, but equally, they rank 26th when it comes to ISO, and 20th in slugging percentage.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Pitching: Three lefties in one series is certainly interesting. In a way, it is a bad time for the Red Sox not to need their fifth starter, due to the trip to London, because Johnson looked good last time out. However, they now get to throw their best four pitchers at opponents for the next nine games. Most teams would kill to not need their fifth starter for the next two weeks. Now the Red Sox need their starters to step up and take advantage.

Hitting: This is the series where Mookie Betts is going to turn his form around. The Red Sox talisman has struggled in June, with a .213 batting average. However, with two righties lined up, and potentially a third, he has a chance to get right. Betts’ has a .280 batting average, and has hit 11 of his 12 home runs, off righties. The same goes for Devers, who is having his worst month, but has 10 of his 12 home runs off right-handed pitchers. Before a big series in London, the Red Sox need these two to get themselves back in form.

EXPECTATIONS

Right now at Fenway Park nothing is a given for the Red Sox. They have not won a home series in June, going 4-7. In fact, they have not won a series at home in over a month, with their last victorious series coming when the Colorado Rockies visited. At least one game in this series will be tough to win, with Lucas Giolito on the mound, but Chris Sale against Reynaldo Lopez should be a very winnable game.

The Red Sox are travelling to London in four days time to take on the Yankees. If they do not win two games in this series, there is a very real chance they could head to London down double-digits on their biggest rivals for this division. If they can take a game off Lucas Giolito Monday, then a series sweep, and the confidence that comes with it, will be there for the taking.

Red Sox

RED SOX – RANGERS SERIES PREVIEW

Leave a reply

The weekend series against the Rays was a progress stopper. After sweeping the Royals last week, the Red Sox lost 3-of-4 in Fenway to drop seven games behind the Yankees and Rays in the division. The upcoming week presents another chance to string together some wins, and that starts with the Rangers in Fenway Park.

6/10 Chris Sale vs. Mike Minor (L) 7:10 pm NESN

6/11 TBD vs. Ariel Jurado (R) 7:10 pm NESN

6/12 Rick Porcello vs. Lance Lynn (R) 7:10 pm NESN

6/13 David Price vs. Adrian Sampson (R) 7:10 pm NESN

NOTABLE NUMBERS

PITCHERS

Chris Sale threw a three-hit, 12 strikeout shut out in his last start in Kansas City. However, Sale has actually had most of his struggles at home this season. The left-handed pitcher has a 4.45 ERA in 28 1/3 innings at Fenway, compared to just a 3.49 ERA on the road. In contrast, both Rick Porcello and David Price has far superior numbers at home than on the road. If there was any pitcher of the three to bank on to turn their home form around it would be Sale.

Mike Minor is demonstrating the talent that we all knew he had this season. The veteran left-hander has his career derailed by injuries but has fought hard to get himself back on track. This season he has a career-best 2.55 ERA as a starter, striking out 87 in 81 1/3 innings. He has been slightly been more vulnerable on the road, with a 3.00 ERA, and a .310 wOBA.

The Rangers will be using two pitchers in this series who have served time both out of the rotation and the bullpen. Ariel Jurado has also been extremely good this season, both as a starter and a reliever. As a starter, he has a 3.57 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings. Adrian Sampson has been less impressive as a starter, with a 4.93 ERA, but has struck out 34 in 38 1/3 innings.

HITTERS

On the road, this season the Rangers have generally hit well. They rank in the top-10/15 of most road statistics. They have not had it all their own way, in fact, they rank second last in the majors in strikeouts on the road, with a 27.5 K%. Their road record is also pretty poor when it comes to results, as they sit just 10-18. This series should present plenty of opportunities for the Red Sox pitchers to rack up the K’s.

The Red Sox are coming off a series in which they averaged just 2.25 runs per game. It is going to be extremely hard to win games scoring that few runs, especially when they did not have to face one of the Rays best pitchers in Charlie Morton. However, the Rays do rank best in the majors when it comes to ERA. The Rangers? They rank seventh, allowing nearly two runs more per nine innings pitched.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Pitching: The Red Sox will be hoping Sale can continue his good form from last time out. They will also be looking for Porcello and Price to continue their good home form this season. However, question marks remain around the other starter in this series and their bullpen. Depth in starting pitching will likely be important later in the season, and they need their bullpen to hold its own if they are to close the gap and push for this division.

Hitting: You know you have had a bad series at the plate when Jackie Bradley Jr. is the only hitter to clear the fences. The positive is that the Red Sox really need something from JBJ’s bat, but there are more issues in that stat than positives, The Rangers rotation can be got at, and that is just the type of staff the Red Sox need to face right now.

EXPECTATIONS

The Red Sox season just rolls from frustration to frustration. Every time it looks as though they are building some momentum, it gets ripped away with a poor series. That is the case once again after this Rays series. The Red Sox are 34-32 and hovering seven games off the division lead.

There is still a lot of time to go. We have only just clicked through the 62-game mark, leaving over 100 games. In the grand scheme of things a seven game deficit when you consider that is nothing. However, the Rangers are a middle of the pack team. If the Red Sox want to be viewed as more than a middle of a pack team they need to send the Rangers packing with a series defeat.

Red Sox

RED SOX – ASTROS SERIES PREVIEW

Leave a reply

The Red Sox came away from last weekend disappointed to go down 1-2 to the Astros in Fenway. Now, after a trip to Toronto, they head down to Houston hoping to extract some revenge. Can the Red Sox go into Minute Maid Park and spring a surprise on the best team in baseball right now?

5/24 Chris Sale vs. Wade Miley (L) 8:10 pm NESN

5/25 David Price vs. Brad Peacock (R) 7:15 pm FOX

5/26 Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Justin Verlander (R) 2:10 pm NESN

NOTABLE NUMBERS

PITCHERS

The Red Sox three starters in this series have a combined 7-10 record. Rodriguez has four of those wins and three losses. In those wins he averages one earned run allowed per game. In the losses, that number is 6.67. As for Sale, he is 1-5, with all those losses coming in the first six games. Despite allowing just six earned combined in his last three starts, Sale has not managed to get a single decision. Both of Price’s wins have come when he has allowed precisely zero earned runs. If he allows any earned he has either taken the loss or a no-decision.

Justin Verlander is in the form of his life this season. The 36-year old pitcher has a 2.24 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 72 1/3 innings. To put some context on that Verlander has started 11 games this season. In eight of them he has allowed zero or one earned runs. Even when he struggles the worst he has done is allow for earned runs.

Brad Peacock and Wade Miley have not been as good as Verlander overall. However, pitching in Houston they have been incredible. Peacock has a 2.89 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 33 strikeouts in 28 innings at home. Miley has 21 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings, but has a ridiculously low 2.31 ERA and a .94 WHIP.

HITTERS

J.D. Martinez started his career in Houston back in 2011. In his three seasons with the Astros he hit just 24 home runs with a .251 batting average. He has hit over 20 home runs in every season since he left Houston. In each of the last three seasons, Martinez has hit at least one home run in Minute Maid Park.

Houston’s offense has been great this season in general, but wow their numbers at home are impressive. As a team they have a .302 batting average, a .529 slugging and a .228 ISO. Leading that charge is George Springer, with his 17 home runs, four stolen bases and .313 batting average. He has seven of those home runs and a .333 batting average at home.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

The Rotation: Arguably this is the Red Sox first choice threesome for a playoff series. A healthy Nathan Eovaldi would also be in the conversation, but right now this would be the ideal three. However, all three have had their struggles this season. With three very good pitchers opposing them, the Red Sox starters need to at least show they can compete with the Astros starters in this series.

Hitting: The key for the offense in this series is just putting pressure on the pitchers. In Minute Maid Park, the highest WHIP among these pitchers is the 1.00 value for Peacock. These pitchers have had their way at home this season, and the Red Sox need to change that. If the offense can string hits together and put these guys in situations they are not used to, then just maybe they can break open a couple of them in their homefield stronghold.

EXPECTATIONS

After the Astros took two games in the series last weekend in Fenway there is perhaps not much optimism for this series. The Astros already seem like a very complete team, while the Red Sox are still figuring themselves out.

The key goal this weekend needs to be competitive. Obviously three wins would be great, but if that does not happen we just need to see the Red Sox be competitive. Even if the series ends with three wins to the Astros, as long as the Red Sox pitchers show promise, and the hitters put some hits together and apply pressure, there will be a lot of positives to take away from this series.

Red Sox

RED SOX – BLUE JAY SERIES PREVIEW

Leave a reply

Only a second half rally in the final game against the Astros prevented the Red Sox being swept in the last series. With a return trip to Houston at the end of the week, the Red Sox will be hoping to pick up momentum with a series against the struggling Blue Jays

5/20 David Price vs. Edwin Jackson (R) 1:07 pm NESN

5/21 Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Marcus Stroman (R) 7:07 pm NESN

5/22 Rick Porcello vs. Aaron Sanchez (R) 7:07 pm NESN

5/23 Hector Velazquez vs. Ryan Feierabend (L) 7:07 pm NESN

NOTABLE NUMBERS

PITCHERS

David Price’s return from the injured list is timed perfectly for the Red Sox. His return in the first game of this series gives him a tune up outing before he will be required to pitch in Houston over the weekend. In terms of ERA, Price has been the Red Sox best pitcher this season. In six starts, Price has a 1-2 record, a 3.75 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 36 innings. Additionally, both his FIP and xFIP this season are below his ERA, suggesting he is every bit worth his current numbers.

It has been an interesting season for Marcus Stroman. The Blue Jays pitcher had a strong start to the season. In his first six starts Stroman had a 1.43 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings. However, in May he has struggled, with 13 earned runs allowed in just 20 1/3 innings for a 5.75 ERA with 15 strikeouts.

Aaron Sanchez has had a similar start to the season, with a 2.32 ERA in the first month of the season, and a 6.30 ERA in May. Sanchez left his last start against the Chicago White Sox with a blister on his right middle finger. If he does pitch in this game he could be limited in what he can throw and how he can control the ball.

HITTERS

The Red Sox face three right-handed pitchers again in this series. Mitch Moreland has 12 home runs this season with right-handed pitchers on the mound. Mookie Betts (7) is the only other Red Sox hitter with more than five home runs off right-handed pitchers this season. They account for 19 of the 41 home runs the Red Sox have hit with righties on the mound.

2019 has been a rough season for the Blue Jays at the plate. Over the course of the season they rank in the bottom quarter of the league for most statistics. That includes 26th in OBP and home runs, 27th in runs and batting average, and 28th in slugging percentage.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

The Rotation: This series has a lot of interest on the mound for the Red Sox. Firstly, there is the return of Price from injury, who will be looking to get solid innings in in preparation for the trip to Houston. Then the Red Sox hand the ball to their three biggest pitching question marks right now. Rodriguez and Porcello have got their ERAs below five for the first time this season. Thursday’s game sees Velazquez take the ball, after being tagged for five earned by the Astros last time out. The Red Sox will be hoping this group can have a strong outing against a poor Toronto Blue Jays team.

Hitting: It was a slow start to the season for the Red Sox. They ranked 18th in the majors in runs scored, and averaged 4.62 runs per game. In May they rank third with 100 runs at an average of 6.5 runs per game. With the rotation struggling for consistency, the Red Sox need their offense to keep firing.

EXPECTATIONS

Losing at home to the Astros was not ideal by any means. However, the Red Sox were competitive in two of the games, and against the favorites in the AL to make the World Series that is acceptable, if not great. Now they head to the Blue Jays before embarking on a tough stretch of their schedule.

This series is important, not only to win, but to win well. With the Astros, Indians, Yankees and Rays all coming up, the Red Sox need to get some momentum going. The Blue Jays have struggled with the bat this season. Hopefully that means the Red Sox pitchers be able to get some nice outings under their belts. Same goes for the hitters. The Blue Jays have two pitchers on the mound who have struggled in May. Two pitchers will be making just their second starts of the season. This series could be a perfect opportunity for the Red Sox to build some confidence heading into a tough road ahead.