27th of May: Boston @ Arizona

[Maxbialystock]

Huge win, just huge. Both managers wanted this game, and the Sox have won very few low scoring games this season. Whitlock was just gutsy, going 5 innings (1 run) with basically a fastball and a changeup. Then Crawford, who was great, including that spectacular play in which he was injured (ankle contusion). Then Martin and then Jansen to seal the deal with a K for the final out of the game.

 

Sox are now 4-4 on this road trip with Houck going for #5 tomorrow afternoon @ 4:10.

[Maxbialystock]

Nice win.

 

Have we finally identified (not solidified just yet) all 5 rotation slots?

 

Not just nice--fantastic is the word. Bottom of the order--Kike and McGuire--drove in both Sox runs.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Excellent pitching by all involved.

[moonslav59]

Lots of good things happened, tonight.

 

I'm hopeful we can keep the groove going. We seem to be streaky, this year.

[Maxbialystock]

Lots of good things happened, tonight.

 

I'm hopeful we can keep the groove going. We seem to be streaky, this year.

 

Streaky's OK when the net result is above .500 and when our expectations were below .500.

 

Sale, Bello, Paxton, Houck, and Whitlock are the best rotation this season and better than last year's or 2021 or 2020. Bullpen of Winck, Crawford, Martin, Schreiber when he's back, Jansen, and Garza is pretty good too.

 

I gotta say McGuire came on strong last night catching one of the best pitched games all season and batting in the go ahead run. So, me, I think the catching is the best it's been in years and defy anyone to refute that.

 

"No name" lineup (without Devers in two straight wins) continues to astound me and are ranked 4th in MLB in runs scored. Plus Notin compiled a list of guys who aren't meeting their hitting potential--meaning this team can actually hit/score more than they have.

[Bellhorn04]

IMHO pinch-hitting with Reyes in the 4th inning last night shows what a good manager Cora is. It turned out to be key to the game. He has a good sense of when to be aggressive.

[notin]

Streaky's OK when the net result is above .500 and when our expectations were below .500.

 

Sale, Bello, Paxton, Houck, and Whitlock are the best rotation this season and better than last year's or 2021 or 2020. Bullpen of Winck, Crawford, Martin, Schreiber when he's back, Jansen, and Garza is pretty good too.

 

I gotta say McGuire came on strong last night catching one of the best pitched games all season and batting in the go ahead run. So, me, I think the catching is the best it's been in years and defy anyone to refute that.

 

"No name" lineup (without Devers in two straight wins) continues to astound me and are ranked 4th in MLB in runs scored. Plus Notin compiled a list of guys who aren't meeting their hitting potential--meaning this team can actually hit/score more than they have.

 

I agree mostly, but that wasn’t my who created that list…

[moonslav59]

Streaky's OK when the net result is above .500 and when our expectations were below .500.

 

Sale, Bello, Paxton, Houck, and Whitlock are the best rotation this season and better than last year's or 2021 or 2020. Bullpen of Winck, Crawford, Martin, Schreiber when he's back, Jansen, and Garza is pretty good too.

 

I gotta say McGuire came on strong last night catching one of the best pitched games all season and batting in the go ahead run. So, me, I think the catching is the best it's been in years and defy anyone to refute that.

 

"No name" lineup (without Devers in two straight wins) continues to astound me and are ranked 4th in MLB in runs scored. Plus Notin compiled a list of guys who aren't meeting their hitting potential--meaning this team can actually hit/score more than they have.

 

Many felt we'd be above .500 and others near it.

 

Yes, we are streaky. We have 24 losses and 13 have come in series sweeps.

0-3 PIT

0-4 TBR

0-3 STL

0-3 LAA

 

We started the season 2W, 3L, 3W, 4L, 3W.

We also had an 8 game win streak.

 

It's been hard to develop a gut feeling about this team, but so far, I'm feeling pretty good about our chances, despite what all the odds makers are saying. I know many teams have major injuries, including several ahead of us in the standings, but we might get some major boosts from returning Schreiber, Story, Duvall and possibly something from Arroyo/Mondesi/Chang.

 

Our rotation finally looks set, although some doubts and questions remain. Our pen has looked as solid as it has since at least early 2018. Our make-shift or "no-name" line-up, as you call it, has carried this team for much of the season. Our defense looked awful, on paper, to start the year, and Kike gave that a kick start, but we've actually done better than I expected on D, and guys like Duran have shown miraculous improvement. (Even Kike is looking much better.) We've lessened the baserunning outs, blunders and increased the aggressiveness in mostly good ways- the two outs at home on double steals notwithstanding.

 

There is a much better feel about this team than 2022's. Maybe it's better clubhouse leadership. Maybe it's better focus and energy. Maybe it's just a better roster. Probably, it's a little of all this.

 

We've done what we've done facing good teams, for the most part. We have a better schedule, going forward, but it's hard to tell. Teams heat up and cool down, much like we have, and we may meet up with bad teams while they are hot or get lucky.

 

I like what I see.

 

 

[moonslav59]

IMHO pinch-hitting with Reyes in the 4th inning last night shows what a good manager Cora is. It turned out to be key to the game. He has a good sense of when to be aggressive.

 

Good point. I thought about that good move, when it happened, but forgot about it.