Road Recap
Record (7-2) Season (86-36) GB 0.0 Series Play (27-7-5)
- Boston ran their record to 12-4 against Toronto on their last visit to Canada this season. The Red Sox pounded out 25 runs in the three games and took the first two of them by putting a ten spot on the board in each victory. Even when Boston loses, as they did in the finale, something still manages to happen that makes you smile. Mookie Betts hit for the cycle in the first of only two losses on the trip. Mookie became the 21st player to hit for the cycle in Red Sox history and the first player to do it since Brock Holt in 2015. Betts also hit .500 in the series with a double and two triples. The opening game also saw Drew Pomeranz make his final start for the time being as he was banished to the bullpen. He couldn't get out of the fifth inning and while he only gave up 2 runs, he had walked a batter in each of the five innings of his outing. After Craig Kimbrel was unable to hold a 5-4 lead in the ninth surrendering a Justin Smoak solo blast, Boston promptly put five runs on the board in the tenth for the win. Mitch Moreland and Jackie Bradley Jr. both went deep off beleaguered Jays' reliever Ken Giles with Mitch's shot counting for 3 runs and Jackie's blast going for a deuce. JD Martinez was the top batter in the Toronto series (.538) and belted his first of two dingers in the series to cap a 4 run comeback in the eight. JD is now tied with Betts as co-leader in road round-trippers with 16 and leads the club with 46 RBI. Boston trailed 4-2 coming into the inning as Marcus Stroman had Boston totally handcuffed for 7 innings but had to depart due to blister issues. Brian Johnson tossed a gutsy 10-5 win in the second game giving his squad 7 innings. Randal Grichuk spoiled what would have been a quality start by launching a 3 run blast off Brian in the seventh. Johnson's stuff certainly isn't sexy, but the guy just seems to be able to give the team a solid workman-like effort each time he is called upon. In Brian's last 11 games, he has an ERA of 3.27 with 42 strikeouts in 41.1 innings.
Mookie Betts becomes the 21st Red Sox player to hit for the cycle. (Doerr did it twice. Only Culberson and Watson hit a natural cycle.) pic.twitter.com/D7Z0Mvt9Dz— Vinnie P. (@VinP27) August 10, 2018
- A football game broke out in the opener of the Baltimore series as the good guys took it 19-12. Nathan Eovaldi crashed back to earth and allowed 10 hits and 8 runs (4 were earned runs) in only 2.2 innings. Boston found themselves up 3-0 after their first turn at the plate before Eovaldi's collapse. After Boston collected 2 runs in the fourth, they went ahead for good with a 6 run sixth highlighted by 3 ribbies by Brock Holt. Holt led the comeback off in the inning with a solo homer and capped the proceedings with a two-run single. It was a very nice trip for Brock as he was third in batting appearing in 8 of the 9 games. Brock owns a .313 average on the road in 40 games, and he also had a pinch-hit game-winning solo homer in the top of the eighth for a 2-1 win in the first game in Philadelphia. Mookie Betts just seems to own Camden Yards and clubbed a double with the bases juiced in the eighth to plate 3 of the 5 runs in the inning. Betts batted .412 in the Orioles series, second to only Jackie Bradley Jr. who batted .500 with 2 dingers and 4 RBI. Betts also leads the Red Sox in road batting average (for qualified hitters) with a .335 mark and also is tops in runs score counting 49 times.
- The Red Sox never looked back after the opening slugfest in Baltimore and went on for their 12th series sweep of 2018. Boston received two fantastic outings from David Price and Chris Sale. In David Price's last four starts (all quality outings), he is 2-0 and has allowed only 3 ER in 26.1 IP (1.03 ERA). The rest of the particulars: 21 H, 5 BB, 25 K, 0 HR. Chris Sale just kept on rolling with an overwhelming 5 inning starts that saw him fan 12 batters. In his last 10 starts, Sale is 7-1 and the numbers read 65 IP, 33 H, 5 ER, 12 BB, 109 K (0.69 ERA). Price's 5-0 win was also the Red Sox 12th shutout win of the season and most since 2013 when the club fired 13 donuts.
- The Phillies have battled Boston extremely tough as the teams split their interleague season series. Rick Porcello tossed 7 innings of 1 run ball and struck out 10 batters to push his record to 15-5. It was a nice bounce-back effort for Rick after he was on the losing end in the Toronto finale with the Blue Jays tuning him up for 7 runs in only 4 innings of work. As mentioned earlier, Brock Holt's blast allowed Rick to pick up a 2-1 win to kick things off in "The City of Brotherly Love", but Drew Pomeranz once again set up shop in the doghouse in a 7-4 beating in the getaway game. Evoladi had been cruising until a Rafael Devers error touched off a 3 run home half fourth which reset the game. The throwing error was Devers' 21st of the season to lead the majors. After Philly nicked Joe Kelly for a run in the sixth, Pomeranz came on for the seventh and allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and added a walk to put this one in the dumper.
- Aside from the usually reliable Craig Kimbrel's recent hiccups, the bullpen is settling in as an unreliable lot as of late. Craig seems to be turning the corner now though. In his last 2 outings, he has 2 saves in 2 scoreless innings. Before that, he had been scuffling as his previous 6.1 innings read:7 H, 6 ER, 2 HR, 5 BB, 9 K. Because of Boston's offensive prowess throughout the season, the bullpen struggles have gone somewhat unnoticed. But now that we are on the backside of August, the optics aren't great with the playoffs looming not far in the distance. Since July 1st, Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier have been the stalwarts. In 17.1 innings, Barnes has a 2.60 ERA with 33 whiffs, and Brasier has been head and shoulders above everyone with a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings with 15 punchouts. Below is a peek at the other regulars in the pen since the beginning of July.
| Name | G | GS ▼ |
W | L | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hector Velazquez | 12 | 2 | 1 | 19.0 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 3.79 | ||
| Heath Hembree | 16 | 0 | 1 | 14.0 | 17 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 3 | 4.50 | ||
| Joe Kelly | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15.2 | 17 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 1 | 6.32 | |
| Craig Kimbrel | 16 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 16.2 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 27 | 2 | 3.24 | |
| Tyler Thornburg | 15 | 0 | 1 | 13.1 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 4.73 | ||
| Brandon Workman | 16 | 0 | 2 | 14.1 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 3.77 |
- Fast Facts: The Red Sox are 9-0-3 in their last 12 series, and they are the only team without a 4 plus game losing streak this year. Boston has lost 3 straight games only once, and they have not been swept in a series to date. If Boston hangs on to take the AL East title, it will be the only time the franchise has finished first in three consecutive seasons. With 44 wins on the road, Boston leads the majors and is second in road win percentage (44-21 .677). Boston now enjoys a season high 10.5 game lead over the New York Yankees.
- On a more somber note, it was learned before the road trip began that Red Sox hall of famer and long-time NESN analyst Jerry Remy is once again in a battle with cancer. Jerry was first diagnosed with lung cancer back in 2008 and has suffered multiple reoccurrences. Most recently, he required surgery and chemotherapy treatment back in mid-June of 2017. Remy was a veteran of 10 major league seasons as a second baseman spending seven of those with the Red Sox (1978-1984). It goes without saying that his insights and easygoing demeanor with be sorely missed as he now focuses on his recovery.
Such sad news for @Jerry_Remy. Get well soon, Jerry. Lots of positive energy heading your way. pic.twitter.com/hYeJ7ndKG0— Buzzing the Tower (@upandinsawx) August 7, 2018
| Name | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | BA ▼ |
OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mookie Betts | 9 | 41 | 33 | 10 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | .455 | .561 | .848 | 1.409 |
| J.D. Martinez | 9 | 41 | 35 | 8 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .429 | .512 | .914 | 1.426 |
| Brock Holt | 8 | 32 | 29 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2 | .345 | .406 | .552 | .958 |
| Xander Bogaerts | 8 | 36 | 27 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | .296 | .444 | .481 | .926 |
| Jackie Bradley Jr. | 8 | 35 | 31 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | .290 | .371 | .677 | 1.049 |
| Andrew Benintendi | 8 | 36 | 29 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .241 | .361 | .414 | .775 |
| Eduardo Nunez | 8 | 32 | 32 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | .219 | .219 | .375 | .594 |
| Rafael Devers | 6 | 27 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 1 | .182 | .333 | .364 | .697 |
| Steve Pearce | 5 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .182 | .400 | .455 | .855 |
| Dan Butler | 2 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .143 | .167 | .310 |
| Sandy Leon | 9 | 28 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .160 | .222 | .320 | .542 |
| Mitch Moreland | 8 | 34 | 32 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | .156 | .176 | .344 | .520 |
| Nathan Eovaldi | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .500 | .000 | .500 |
| Name | G | GS ▼ |
W | L | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | GB/FB | BAbip | SO9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Eovaldi | 2 | 2 | 7.2 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5.87 | 46% | .471 | 5.9 | |||
| Rick Porcello | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11.0 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 6.55 | 48% | .208 | 12.3 | |
| Brian Johnson | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8.0 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 5.63 | 39% | .190 | 7.9 | ||
| Drew Pomeranz | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8.2 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 5.19 | 34% | .286 | 3.1 | ||
| David Price | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0.00 | 31% | .385 | 15.0 | ||
| Chris Sale | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0.00 | 50% | .250 | 21.6 | ||
| Hector Velazquez | 3 | 1 | 5.2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.76 | 43% | .250 | 0.0 | |||
| Matt Barnes | 4 | 0 | 4.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6.75 | 27% | .400 | 13.5 | |||
| Ryan Brasier | 4 | 0 | 3.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0.00 | 50% | .167 | 16.2 | |||
| William Cuevas | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 50% | .000 | 9.0 | |||
| Heath Hembree | 4 | 0 | 3.1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8.10 | 27% | .222 | 5.4 | |||
| Joe Kelly | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5.0 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3.60 | 33% | .500 | 12.6 | |
| Craig Kimbrel | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 4.50 | 0% | .333 | 22.5 | |
| Tyler Thornburg | 4 | 0 | 3.2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4.91 | 15% | .417 | 9.8 | |||
| Brandon Workman | 4 | 0 | 3.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | 50% | .500 | 9.8 |
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