April 04, 2018

Starters Radiant in the Sunshine State



Road Recap

 Record (5-1)               Season (5-1)        GB --          Series Play (2-0-0)
  • Starting pitching was tremendous in Tampa. In the franchises' 118-year history, it was the first time that Red Sox starting pitchers had allowed 1 or 0 runs in each of the club’s first 4 games of a season. All four men issued quality starts in the series and combined to strike out 23 batters in 24 innings. They registered a minuscule ERA of 0.75, and it's a good job they delivered. Boston batted .167 with runners in scoring position. In Miami, starting pitching continued to rule and Boston became the only team in MLB history whose starting pitchers allowed 1 or 0 runs in each of the first 6 games of a season. The staff posted a 1.64 ERA in the miniseries with the Marlins, and the rotation posted a 4-0 record on the road trip with a 1.03 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 35 innings of work. I just hope the offense doesn't make a habit of making Chris Sale a pauper as he had a pair of no decisions on the trip.
  • The bullpen was a huge factor in Boston's 3 wins in Tampa. Aside from Kimbrel's unfailing brilliance in two of the three one-run victories, Cora's most reliable bullpen arm in the series was Matt Barnes. Barnes made 3 appearances and tossed 2.2 scoreless innings. Another revealing fact was that Cora elected to use Barnes in the eighth in the finale against the meat of the Rays' order (3-5 hitters) before handing the ball to Joe Kelly. This allowed Kelly to take a step towards the circle of trust in the back end of the bullpen, and he responded picking up the save in a series-clinching victory in the finale at Tampa Bay.  Boston needs Kelly to be a consistently reliable contributor early on as there are still question marks with regards to the relief corps.
  • Cora's trepidation with Kelly was quite logical. Looking back to opening day in Tampa,  Kelly shit the bed in the opening day loss by gifting the Rays three runs on three walks. His folly spearheaded a 6 run Rays' eighth in the 6-4 loss  Then Barnes decided he didn't enjoy success and seemed to wilt under the added expectations of Cora. Called on to hold a 2-1 lead in the Miami finale, Barnes issued a pair of two-out walks in the 11th which led to the tying run. Right now, the Red Sox bullpen is a patchwork job with two feel-good unknowns in Marcus Walden and Bobby Poyner joining the mediocrity of Barnes, Hembree and Kelly. Hembree did pick up a win in the Miami series as he tossed 3 scoreless innings, but it just seems the other shoe will drop sooner than later with Heath. Dave Dombrowski has made no bones about his unwillingness to spend money on the bullpen believing if he spreads enough bullshit on the virtues of the current cast something good will grow. Until he decides to realize his shortsightedness in this area, Boston is in danger late and tight with Smith and Kimbrel the only dependable options at this point.
  • Xander Bogaerts silenced his critics early batting .470 in Tampa with 6 of his 8 hits going for extra bases. It seems X-Man's mission is to put himself back in the conversion when discussing the top young shortstops in the game. After the road trip, he is batting .357, and he currently leads the AL in doubles (5) and is tied for the second most hits in the with 10.  After suffering through hand injuries last season that sapped his power, I look for him to have a huge rebound in 2018. Turning to the series in South Beach, the prodigal son returned as Hanley Ramirez had a huge series both in the field and at the plate. His extra innings two-out  2 run double in the finale gave Boston their first series sweep of the season. He registered a .304 BA on the Florida swing and added a storybook homer in the opening game against the Marlins to fulfill his promise to a young fan. Ramirez had said if he hit a homer, he would give a young boy his autographed game jersey. It's early, but I like the vibe Hanley is sending  - a middle of the order power bat to compliment Martinez. Staying on the subject of power, young Rafael Devers had a team-leading 5 RBI on the road trip while batting .314. He is a  deadly lowball hitter who buggy whipped tracers in both Tampa and Miami.





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