10/11 ALDS Game 4 vs Rays

[d-money]

Giants win 1-0. Only the 15th postseason game in history to end 1-0. Big win for the giants. Gotta finish them off tomorrow.

[Swiharts Ghost]

Giants win 1-0. Only the 15th postseason game in history to end 1-0. Big win for the giants. Gotta finish them off tomorrow.

 

Really incredible postseason .MlB must be very happy with how incredible the last two weeks have turned out to be .I honestly teamed up tonight watching Cora’s emotion with his family .Cora has this team and they have him .2021 absolutely surprising and wonderful.

[Thunder]

I'm going to keep making game threads forever! Last night was quite the rollercoaster but worth it! I've felt something special about this team since the day we came back against Domingo German in July

[jad]

Is there a (good) reason why the Rays shouldn't have walked Hernandez in that situation?

 

It's the only inning I watched and I wondered that too. I also thought they should have walked Shaw before that. Either way, you could end the inning on one swing rather than hope (1) batter #1 does not put the ball into the outfield, and (2) neither of the next two batters gets a hit. I would assume the odds are better for you leaving the force open, but I also assume Cash had the analytics behind him to make that move.

Edited October 12, 2021 by jad

[Bellhorn04]

Funny how posters say 'Whitlock saved Cora', but no one says 'Brasier screwed Cora'.

[redsoxrules]

Funny how posters say 'Whitlock saved Cora', but no one says 'Brasier screwed Cora'.

 

Who brought Braser in the game? I've said this multiple times before. Whitlock was the Sox top releiver this year and was also used to pitching 2 innings at a time. Like game 3 Cora needed to use him for 2 innings and did not and it screwed him for BOTH games. He did pitch 2 innings last night but was 4 batters too late. He should have started the inning.

[Old Red]

Why not Big Nate on normal rest?

 

That way, we can pitching him in game 4 or 5 and in relief in game 7, if needed.

 

Maybe this, if things go right:

 

FRI Eovaldi

SAT ERod

SUN off

MON Houck

TUE Sale(Eovaldi if down 2-1)

WED Eovaldi

THU off

FRI ERod

SAT Houck (kitchen sink in relief)

 

I would put Pivetta in there maybe instead of Houck.

[Bellhorn04]

Who brought Braser in the game? I've said this multiple times before. Whitlock was the Sox top releiver this year and was also used to pitching 2 innings at a time. Like game 3 Cora needed to use him for 2 innings and did not and it screwed him for BOTH games. He did pitch 2 innings last night but was 4 batters too late. He should have started the inning.

 

Yeah but Whitlock did not pitch 2 innings 2 days in a row this year, did he? You're conveniently leaving that little detail out.

[mvp 78]

Funny how posters say 'Whitlock saved Cora', but no one says 'Brasier screwed Cora'.

 

It's come up before, but I question the pitch selection against Kiermaier. The OF is playing the LHB to pull. Vaz sets up away. Kiermaier takes the pitch thrown and dumps it softly into LF. If the defense was straight up, it would have been an easy out. Why pitch to him like that?

[jad]

It's come up before, but I question the pitch selection against Kiermaier. The OF is playing the LHB to pull. Vaz sets up away. Kiermaier takes the pitch thrown and dumps it softly into LF. If the defense was straight up, it would have been an easy out. Why pitch to him like that?

 

Ha ha! This may go into the 'over-thinking' file. I'm just happy they won, that Devers went beserk, and Schwarber came up with the greatest fist-pump of the year.

[Old Red]

Yeah but Whitlock did not pitch 2 innings 2 days in a row this year, did he? You're conveniently leaving that little detail out.

 

As I stated yesterday that Whitlock was handled with kid gloves all year with most of the time 3-4 days between appearances, and when he didn’t get that he wasn’t as effective. Also the majority of innings were not as a closer. Big difference.

[mvp 78]

Ha ha! This may go into the 'over-thinking' file. I'm just happy they won, that Devers went beserk, and Schwarber came up with the greatest fist-pump of the year.

 

Someone had mentioned pitch selection previously and now I can't get it out of my brain when someone goes oppo off an outside pitch and the fielder is 150' away.

[moonslav59]

I would put Pivetta in there maybe instead of Houck.

 

Yes. I realized my mistake by forgetting Pivetta.

[Slasher9]

win this f***ing game tonight! thank you.

 

thanks team!

[d-money]

Yeah but Whitlock did not pitch 2 innings 2 days in a row this year, did he? You're conveniently leaving that little detail out.

 

Whitlock is our best reliever! I am trying to stay with a two run lead . I am bringing him in.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Cash did something last night that I thought was a head scratcher. If he had planned on using McClanahan, why didn't Cash have him start, which is what McClanahan is used to doing. Having a rookie starter come into the game in the 3rd inning is mentally different than starting the game.

Oh, well, it definitely worked well for the SOX, but it was still a puzzling move by Cash.

[moonslav59]

Whitlock is our best reliever! I am trying to stay with a two run lead . I am bringing him in.

 

17 pitches Sunday. 15 pitches Monday.

 

He was not overused. (IP'd can be deceiving.)

 

One could also look at ERod pitch count and proclaim, "He was nibbling, again," but that 15 pitch AB with like 9 foul-offs in a row was behind those numbers.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

that 15 pitch AB.

 

It was 17 pitches actually; Meadows fouled off the first three, took three, then fouled off 10 in a row before missing. Had to be an outlier, because ERod got the last two outs on a combined three pitches (though anti-nibblers will say that was his outlier).

[Maxbialystock]

17 pitches Sunday. 15 pitches Monday.

 

He was not overused. (IP'd can be deceiving.)

 

One could also look at ERod pitch count and proclaim, "He was nibbling, again," but that 15 pitch AB with like 9 foul-offs in a row was behind those numbers.

 

ERod threw 73% strikes last night, which sure ain't nibbling. He also walked no one. This was a great start given the setting--4th game of the ALDS which the Sox were expected to lose--and that he did not have his good changeup which in the past has been very effective.

[moonslav59]

ERod threw 73% strikes last night, which sure ain't nibbling. He also walked no one. This was a great start given the setting--4th game of the ALDS which the Sox were expected to lose--and that he did not have his good changeup which in the past has been very effective.

 

You don't have to convince me. At times, I felt like I was the only one defending ERod.

 

BTW, that 73% K number was awesome, and it was helped by that 13 foul off AB.

[Bellhorn04]

17 pitches Sunday. 15 pitches Monday.

 

He was not overused. (IP'd can be deceiving.)

 

No, he wasn't, but it's also extremely unusual to get through 2 innings throwing only 15 pitches.

 

Great pitching by Whitlock and maybe a lack of patience by Rays hitters.

[moonslav59]

No, he wasn't, but it's also extremely unusual to get through 2 innings throwing only 15 pitches.

 

Great pitching by Whitlock and maybe a lack of patience by Rays hitters.

 

Had he made many more pitches, he likely wouldn't have gone 2 innings.

[Bellhorn04]

Had he made many more pitches, he likely wouldn't have gone 2 innings.

 

Agreed.

 

The guy I first replied to here was saying Whitlock should have pitched the 8th and 9th both games, as if it's no big deal. Even though he never did it all year, and hardly any pitchers ever do it.

[moonslav59]

Agreed.

 

The guy I first replied to here was saying Whitlock should have pitched the 8th and 9th both games, as if it's no big deal. Even though he never did it all year, and hardly any pitchers ever do it.

 

I agree. His whole "end the Babying thing" immediately is just not how things are or should be done.

 

I think we handled Whitlock and Houck just right.

 

If one is to start, next year, we shouldn't expect more than 140-150 IP, depending on how well and efficient they are pitching.

 

It's more about pitches thrown than IP. There was talk early on, how we were overusing Barnes, as he was heading towards a record season of IP'd, but if you looked at his pitch counts, he was near norm or below it.

 

(Maybe that wasn't a good example, since he imploded, but certainly babying him was not what caused that.)

 

He said the same about Sale. Take the gloves off.

[d-money]

Agreed.

 

The guy I first replied to here was saying Whitlock should have pitched the 8th and 9th both games, as if it's no big deal. Even though he never did it all year, and hardly any pitchers ever do it.

 

What you talking about? It’s going with your best reliever up two runs! I am losing wiht my best reliever period. That’s the second time in two days which Cora didn’t go to whitlock. It’s a good thing the sox won both those games. Had they lost those two games we would be saying why cora didn’t bring in whitlock? 17 pitches is not much the next day for whitlock i feel.

[mvp 78]

Cash did something last night that I thought was a head scratcher. If he had planned on using McClanahan, why didn't Cash have him start, which is what McClanahan is used to doing. Having a rookie starter come into the game in the 3rd inning is mentally different than starting the game.

Oh, well, it definitely worked well for the SOX, but it was still a puzzling move by Cash.

 

Bigger issue is even throwing him out there on short rest. He threw 5 innings in Game 1.

[Bellhorn04]

What you talking about? It’s going with your best reliever up two runs! I am losing wiht my best reliever period. That’s the second time in two days which Cora didn’t go to whitlock. It’s a good thing the sox won both those games. Had they lost those two games we would be saying why cora didn’t bring in whitlock? 17 pitches is not much the next day for whitlock i feel.

 

Whitlock is our best reliever, obviously, but you can't expect him to pitch the 8th and 9th innings every game we have a lead.

 

Other guys need to do the job too.

[mvp 78]

Whitlock is our best reliever, obviously, but you can't expect him to pitch the 8th and 9th innings every game we have a lead.

 

Other guys need to do the job too.

 

Cora has to know only to use Houck and Whitlock in games that they are going to win.

[S5Dewey]

Cora has to know only to use Houck and Whitlock in games that they are going to win.

 

It seems that Cora may be doing exactly that.

 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/10/11/sports/thanks-conservative-approach-regular-season-red-sox-pitchers-now-can-throw-more-when-it-counts/

[notin]

Cash did something last night that I thought was a head scratcher. If he had planned on using McClanahan, why didn't Cash have him start, which is what McClanahan is used to doing. Having a rookie starter come into the game in the 3rd inning is mentally different than starting the game.

Oh, well, it definitely worked well for the SOX, but it was still a puzzling move by Cash.

 

That would have been interesting.

 

The Rays using rookie starters in all 4 games of the ALDS?