8/1 @ Mariners

[SoxHop]

f*** yea!!!!!!!! good job for Taz to work out of that.

[d-money]

Can they plz get a lead here. This bullpen still makes me nervous lol

[Station 13]

Amazing, getting Cruz out in a big spot.

[Jasonbay44]

Mookie f***ing betts

 

clutch

[SoxHop]

Hell yea!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lets win this one!!!!!!!!!!!

[illinoisredsox]

This team cannot win these type of pressure games. It has been a problem all year. Low scoring games.

 

I know it's not over yet, but you were saying?

[d-money]

Mookie!!!!!!!!!!!!Thank u!!!!!!!

[SoxHop]

Kimbrel in to close??????

[d-money]

I know it's not over yet, but you were saying?

 

Well it could be a start of they can win this game and hopefully others!!!!

[illinoisredsox]

Will Kimbrel have time to warm up?

 

Edit - Seattle manager helps out with a pitching change.

[Jasonbay44]

Come on Kimbrel, please don't f*** this up. This is a big chance to make up ground. Toronto lost and Baltimore is off.

[Jasonbay44]

Wow Mariners get a huge break, balls goes in the dugout on a strikeout..

[illinoisredsox]

Wow Mariners get a huge break, balls goes in the dugout on a strikeout..

 

That's 2 that Leon has messed up tonight trying to backhand a curve in the dirt.

[Jasonbay44]

That's 2 that Leon has messed up tonight trying to backhand a curve in the dirt.

 

Very surprising to see Leon make multiple defensive mistakes tonight, usually he's rock solid back there.

[SoxHop]

That's 2 that Leon has messed up tonight trying to backhand a curve in the dirt.

 

Kibrels bouncing them in the dirt.....

[illinoisredsox]

Kibrels bouncing them in the dirt.....

 

Yeah, but Leon has to block it, not ole it. Did the same thing with Tazawa last inning.

[SoxHop]

There it is........

 

Good to see Kibrel back..... even though he gives me fits sometimes.....

 

offense struggling a bit.......... LOVING THE PITCHING LATELY!

[d-money]

Watching kimbrel's painful but glad he closed it out. Good start to this series. Hope price can follow up his good start last time out.

[SoxHop]

Yeah, but Leon has to block it, not ole it. Did the same thing with Tazawa last inning.

 

I'll give you that......... it would also be nice not to bounce the strike off the ground when you're an elite closer that hits 98

[a700hitter]

Leon almost botched that inning. He let a strike three get by requiring a 4 out save, and he boxed another pitch crossing up the ump on what should have been a third strike. All's well that ends well.

[Jasonbay44]

I'll give you that......... it would also be nice not to bounce the strike off the ground when you're an elite closer that hits 98

 

The Mariners hitters were swinging at those pitches and missing them though, hard to blame him for throwing them in the dirt when he's making guys swing and miss.

[a700hitter]

The Mariners hitters were swinging at those pitches and missing them though, hard to blame him for throwing them in the dirt when he's making guys swing and miss.

He is supposed to bury those pitches. It is the catcher's job to keep it in front of him.

[Maxbialystock]

A pretty amazing game for the 2d game in a row. While Kimbrel's curve may be a pain to catch, it is also borderline unhittable whereas his fastball is not. Before the knee injury he threw mostly fastballs, but last night was mostly curve balls. In these two close games the winning home runs were hit by the top of the order.

 

Sox and Jays now 1 game back of the Orioles, but the wild card contenders are accumulating--the Astros and Tigers, anyway.

 

Only two teams in the AL, Oakland and Minnesota, have given up more runs than the Sox.

 

Last night I thought Farrell handled the bullpen about as well as it can be done. That is, he took ERod out at the penultimate moment before the deluge, kept Ross in even after the HBP that loaded the bases, and stuck with Tazawa, despite issues, for the 8th.

 

Leon finally figured out it's OK--indeed, a good idea--to actually move your feet when a curve is going in the dirt to your right.

[User Name]

Markus Lynn Betts is the hottest hitter on the planet right now.

[Kimmi]

Well f***ing dammit... That's probably game, the offense can't do anything

 

Also, the Mariners have an absurdly annoying/loud announcer.

 

He is awful! He's right up there with Thorne, but luckily, I usually only have to listen to him about 3 times a year.

[Kimmi]

Great way to start the series. The best news of the game is that ERod looked great.

 

Right on!

[Spudboy]

Great way to start the series. The best news of the game is that ERod looked great.

 

Right on!

 

Yup. E-Rod looked really good. I'll take that every 5 days.

[Maxbialystock]

Yup. E-Rod looked really good. I'll take that every 5 days.

 

Maybe I wasn't watching attentively enough, but I thought ERod threw a whole lot of fastballs, sometimes mixing in with sliders, but sliders that were mostly outside of the strike zone. Before the game he mentioned he was really happy with his changeup, but in the game he threw very few, or so it seemed to me. I agree with the view that the results were fantastic--until the 7th, the Mariners couldn't hit him.

[jonnylongfella]

Maybe I wasn't watching attentively enough, but I thought ERod threw a whole lot of fastballs, sometimes mixing in with sliders, but sliders that were mostly outside of the strike zone. Before the game he mentioned he was really happy with his changeup, but in the game he threw very few, or so it seemed to me. I agree with the view that the results were fantastic--until the 7th, the Mariners couldn't hit him.

 

It may be a case of him shying away from the changeup b/c the majority of his starts he only featured fastball/changeup the entire way. That's simply not enough to get MLB hitters out. Only the past couple of times out has he really started to throw his slider, and it seems like he's starting to trust it. Now if he starts mixing in a few more changeups, we might see him take another step in the right direction.

 

I could be wrong, but I'm guessing he worked on his slider while he was working out the other kinks down at Pawtucket.

[User Name]

Per his pitch selection charts, he has essentially thrown the same percentage of sliders (17.7%) and changeups (15.5%) the problem, per their pitch values, is that both of those secondary offerings have been terrible.