Sox Grand Time Comes Up Short

After flirting with mediocrity numerous times, the Red Sox had the chance to balance the ledger against the Athletics in a home sweep on Sunday. This would mark the first time Boston would sweep a series this season and there first time back to the .500 mark since April 3^rd. They have been one game under the .500 mark a total of seven times since then but could never get their game consistent enough to win more than two games in a row which they had done 5 times so far. It was time. They had spent 11 days in last place in April, and this would be the tonic to help the club turn the corner.

   

It looked as if the team was ready to kick the door in with grand slams from Dustin Pedroia and Jonny Gomes in the first two games as Boston outscored the A’s 13 – 4. It wasn’t just the offense that was firing on all cylinders either. Jon Lester struck out 15 Athletics to set a record for a left-handed Red Sox pitcher in a regulation game, and Clay Buchholz enjoyed his best outing in the opener. So, all that was left was one more victory.

However, as has happened in the past, Boston got in their own way again dropping a 3-2 decision to Oakland and missing out on .500 baseball for the eighth time. Some peculiar occurrences were noted in the finale as they were up against Oakland’s Sonny Gray who was second in the AL in ERA. They rebounded twice from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to send the game to extras. This painful teasing took many forms as Boston had their opportunities before free baseball began.

Two of these glorious chances featured slick fielding centerfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. Boston had the bases loaded with one out but Jackie hit into an inning ending double play. Bradley had been a leader on the team with RISP before this game began hitting at a .393 mark in these scenarios. Then Jackie enters once again. With runners on second and third with one out, he tries a safety squeeze and bunts right back to the pitcher. No one advances, and a groundout later everyone is left shaking their heads. 

After Mike Carp singled, he was lifted for a pinch runner, Jonathan Herrera. With hot hitting A.J. Pierzynski at the plate, Farrell elects to try a steal with a 0-2 count and Herrera was gunned down easily. If you are going to send him, do it earlier and make Pierzynski take a couple of pitches. Everyone knows AJ is a notorious first pitch swinger, and not an ideal candidate to attempt a steal with in most cases. 

Want some more? Now we’ll look to the pitching corps, namely the bullpen. Chris Capuano had been untouchable in April. The finesse lefty expectedly came back to Earth but with a thud. He was unable to be an effective caretaker of a 6-0 lead in the second forcing Farrell to go to Uehara for the win. Then, in the third game, he came in and walked two batters to load the bases in the tenth inning. A squibber would slowly roll to Middlebrooks off the bat of Yoenis Cespedes, and Will was unable to make the play leading to the winning run for Oakland.

In the second half of April, Boston would pick up series wins in frigid Chicago and Toronto. They split with the Orioles at home and dropped one each to the Yankees and Rays.  Uneven play has followed them throughout the month as they have had issues with defensive lapses and have squandered solid pitching performances by failing to deliver big hits with runners in scoring position.  Boston is currently hitting .222 with RISP. In Jake Peavy’s first three starts, he allowed only 4 earned runs in 18.2 innings and never factored into a winning decision. Jon Lester was 0-2 after his first two outings as he only gave up 4 earned runs in 14.1 innings pitched. In those five games, the Red Sox offense could only muster 5 runs in total.  

Going into the A’s series, the Red Sox starting rotation had gone 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA (8 ER/34.2 IP) in their last full turn, and Boston starters have a 2.88 ERA (26 ER/81.0 IP) in the team’s last 12 games beginning on April 22^nd.  Bet you can’t guess what their record is in those 12 games. Yep, 6-6 we revisit the elusive .500 mark. In fact, Boston leads the AL in quality starts with 22 tied with…guess who… Oakland. Unfortunately, Boston also leads in unearned runs with a total of 20 and also in the wild pitch column with 21.

Even with the seemingly continuous irregularity of play, things are looking up. Boston is 10 -8 in their last 18 after starting the season with a 5-9 mark after their first fourteen games. Now they just need to sweep the mini series against the Reds, and voila, we’ll have made it all the way back. Hey, there’s nothing to winning two in a row, right? We’ve certainly mastered that.