Article: Red Sox Week in Review: Throwing Fitts

[Bryce Whitlow]

It’s been a tough week to be a Red Sox fan. The team was swept at the hands of the Mets before looking to rebound against the White Sox. The Red Sox did their job, winning the first two games of the series against Chicago, but dropped the series finale after another bullpen implosion. With time not on their side, the Red Sox sit four games back of the final Wild Card spot. The season is hanging on by a thread. With the return of Story and an impressive debut by Richard Fitts bringing some excitement to Boston, one question remains: Can the Red Sox make a run at this thing? 

Weekly Snapshot: Mon 9/2 through Sun 9/8,

Run Differential Last Week: -14 (Overall: -6)

Standing: Third place in AL East (10.0 GB)

Game 138 | BOS 1, NYM 4: Bello labors through 5 as the bats stay ice cold
Game 139 | NYM 2, NYM 7: The Sox keep it close before an uncharacteristic Chris Martin outing proves fatal
Game 140| BOS 3, NYM 8: The Mets get to Houck early and Jansen late
Game 141 | CWS 1, BOS 3: Late heroics from Rafaela help the Sox stick the landing in a must-win game
Game 142 | CWS 5, BOS 7: Criswell settles in, and the offense gets to Crochet early
Game 143 | CHW 7, BOS 2: Richard Fitts shines in his debut, but the bats go quiet, and the bullpen implodes

As we move towards the end of the MLB season, The Red Sox needed a hot start to September to keep their dwindling playoff hopes alive. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be the case due to less-than-stellar pitching performances and an inability to drive home runners in scoring position on the rare occasion the team got somebody on base. The series loss at the hands of the Tigers undoubtedly left a sour taste in everyone’s mouths, particularly the series finale that saw Cooper Criswell get taken out despite a perfect game bid with a low pitch count. Pitching decisions aside, winning games is tough when only scoring one run per contest is all the Red Sox could manage in the final two games in Detroit. The Red Sox then traveled to New York to take on the Mets. Sadly, things wouldn’t get much better for the team in the Big Apple. 

The series opener saw Bryan Bello take on Luis Severino on a chilly New York night. Bello, who pitched well in five August starts, struggled after a scoreless first inning. Starting in the 2nd inning, Bello allowed runs in three consecutive frames. He would get through five innings, but the four runs he allowed were all the Mets would need to claim a victory against the flailing Red Sox offense. Severino was as good as ever, pitching seven innings of one run ball while fanning five. Boston’s only run came on a Jarren Duran single that drove in Ceddanne Rafaela. Duran would be thrown out on this play, attempting to stretch a single into a double. This was a tough watch. The Red Sox couldn’t get anything going offensively, and a few defensive lapses further complicated things. Tyler O’Neill misplaying a Luis Torrens double that helped DJ Stewart score was a big sore spot in the game. Bello wasn’t at the top of his game either, but it wouldn’t have mattered much with how the team swung the bats. If you’re looking for a possible silver lining from the game, it could be found in Josh Winckowski, who relieved Bello and threw three innings of one hit ball to finish the game. 

Game two of the series saw Kutter Crawford square off against David Peterson. Both starters pitched quite well, each going six innings apiece. In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Kutter would get the first out of the inning before walking Jeff McNeil on five pitches. Crawford would get the next batter, Francisco Alvarez, to strike out swinging. Shortstop Francisco Lindor strolled to the plate with two outs and belted a two-run homer to right field to get the Mets on the board. Kutter Crawford has allowed a league-leading 29 long balls this season, but make no mistake, this was a good start for the right-hander. The home run by Lindor would be the only hit allowed by Kutter in his six innings of work. The Red Sox would finally get their offense going in the top of the 5th inning. Masataka Yoshida led off the inning with a single, followed by a Danny Jansen groundout that advanced Yoshida to second base and a Ceddanne Rafaela strikeout. Nick Sogard would then step to the plate, and on the 6th pitch of the at-bat, the rookie singled to center field, allowing Yoshida to score. In the 7th inning, Justin Slaten would relieve Kutter Crawford and immediately give up a solo shot to Mark Vientos, making the score 3-1. To their credit, the Red Sox showed a fight in the top of the 8th inning, managing a run on an Enmanuel Valdez sacrifice fly to make it a one-run game. Alex Cora would turn to the typically reliable Chris Martin to keep the game close. Unfortunately, this wasn’t Martin’s night. He’d give up two singles, a double, and a Pete Alonso home run throughout the inning. By the time the dust had settled, Chris Martin was tagged for four runs, and the Mets had now led the game 7-2. Ryan Stanek would shut down the Red Sox in the 9th to finish things off, ending a frustrating game and spoiling a good Kutter Crawford outing. Once again, the Red Sox couldn’t wake the bats up during this game. David Peterson was dealing as well. Every batter in the Red Sox starting line-up other than Yoshida punched out at least once. 

The third and final game of the series saw the Red Sox turn to All-Star Tanner Houck in a bid to avoid the sweep and keep the team from falling to .500. Things would get off to a rough start, and the Sox would go down 1-2-3 in the top of the first against pitcher Tylor Megill. Houck would then take the mound, and things would quickly unravel. Tanner allowed a lead-off single to Lindor, a five-pitch walk to Brandon Nimmo, and a line-drive single to Mark Vientos, loading the bases with nobody out.  He’d get Pete Alonso to strike out swinging, but then the recently acquired Jesse Winker would come to bat and break things open by mashing a Grand Slam. Houck would then get the next two batters, Tyrone Taylor and Jeff McNeil, to ground out, but the damage had been done. The Sox would have to show some fight on the offensive side of the ball to get back in the game. In the bottom of the third, that’s precisely what they did.

Enmanuel Valdez and Nick Sogard would hit singles to start the inning, and Jarren Duran would smack a ground-rule double, scoring Valdez and moving Sogard to third. Rafael Devers and Wilyer Abreu would hit back-to-back sacrifice flies to put the score at 4-3. The Red Sox offense had responded, battling back from a 4-0 deficit to make things interesting; none of us knew it then, but this inning would be the last time they’d score for the rest of the night. The Sox did have a chance to tie things up in the bottom of the 8th. With two outs, the Red Sox had Tyler O’Neil at first and Rob Refsnyder at third base. Yoshida stepped up to the plate but couldn’t finish the job, lining out to shortstop to end the inning. Kenley Jansen took the mound in the bottom of the 8th inning, and the wheels would quickly fall off the wagon. Jansen’s outing was rough initially, as he allowed a lead-off walk to Brandon Nimmo and then a single to Mark Vientos. Jansen would get Pete Alonso to strike out for the first out of the frame but then walk Jesse Winker to load the bases. In the next at-bat, outfielder Tyrone Taylor would work the count full before drawing a bases-loaded walk, allowing a run to score. It was clear that it wouldn’t be Kenley’s night on the bump, so the Red Sox turned to Rich Hill. Hill would walk two more runs before allowing a Harrison Bader sacrifice fly.

Just like that, the score was now 8-3. Alex Cora then opted to bring Greg Weissert out of the pen, and he did his job, getting Lindor to line out to end the inning. Edwin Diaz toed the rubber for the Mets in the 9th inning. Triston Casas would get things started with a walk, but Connor Wong, Enmanuel Valdez, and Romy Gonzalez would all make outs to end the game. The Offsnese showed a spark for one inning but didn’t produce afterward. This game was also notable as it’s likely the last time Rich Hill will take the mound in the MLB. After this rough outing, he was DFA’d by the Red Sox on September 6th to make room for Luis Guerrero. Rich Hill didn’t have much left in the tank, but he’s been an on-and-off presence for the Red Sox for over a decade; it’s sad to see him go. Giving Guerrero a shot certainly seems like the correct move, though. As far as this series goes, the Red Sox couldn’t get consistent pitching or offensive performances and got swept by one of the hottest teams in baseball over the last couple of weeks.

After having off Thursday, September 5th, the Red Sox rolled back into Fenway to take on the historically bad Chicago White Sox. Going into this series sitting at 70-70, it felt like a three-game set that the Red Sox must sweep to keep any glimmer of playoff hopes alive. The pitching match-up for game 1 of the series featured Nick Pivetta taking on Davis Martin. The Red Sox got a nice start from Pivetta. The veteran gave the team 6 innings of 1 run baseball. The White Sox scored a run in the top of the 2nd inning thanks to an RBI single from Jacob Amaya. The Red Sox, who wasted opportunities with runners on base in the 1st and 2nd inning, were finally able to tie the game up in the bottom of the 4th after Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida were both hit by pitches, leading to a Triston Casas RBI single. The game remained tied 1-1 until the bottom of the 7th inning. Enmanuel Valdez came up to bat and drew a 1-out walk, bringing the rookie Ceddanne Rafaela up to bat. Rafaela, who ranks in the top 5 for RBI by a rookie, once again cashed in, belting a two-run homer to left field on the first pitch of his at-bat. Brennan Bernardino and Josh Winckowski pitched perfect 8th and 9th innings, allowing the Red Sox to obtain a much-needed victory. As far as I’m concerned, this game was 100% must-win for the Red Sox. Rafaela can drive in runs when the team needs it, and once again, he was clutch. 

On Saturday, the biggest headline heading into the game was the return of Trevor Story. Story, who has missed 133 games this season after a shoulder injury in early April, got the start at shortstop and batted in the 7-hole. Story’s return is undoubtedly welcome, as he provides stability on the defensive end and an ability to swing a hot bat when he’s in a groove. Cooper Criswell, fresh off a start that saw him flirt with perfection (before controversially being taken out), toed the rubber against Garrett Crochet. From the outside looking in, this had the makings of a challenging game for the Red Sox. Crochet has been one of the few bright spots for the White Sox this season. The Red Sox have also had a tough time hitting left-handed pitching throughout the season. Looking deeper into the numbers, I see that Crochet has struggled since the All-Star break. In 8 starts during the 2nd half of the season, the southpaw has pitched to the tune of a 6.20 ERA. The Red Sox would hope to take advantage of Garrett Crochet’s recent woes on the mound and come out on top; The White Sox would immediately do damage against Criswell. After a Luis Robert lineout, Andrew Benintendi would single into right field, followed by a 402-foot home run by Andrew Vaughn. This immediately put the White Sox ahead and was a frustrating start to the game. Luckily, the Red Sox came to play.

Duran started the bottom of the 1st with a single, and Devers followed that up with a double. With runners on 2nd and 3rd, Rob Refsnyder did his job, hitting a ground ball to 2nd base that allowed Jarren Duran to score and Devers to advance to 3rd base. This cut the deficit to 1 as the chiseled physique of Tyler O’Neill strolled to the dish and smacked a 396-foot home run to put the Red Sox ahead 3-2. This wouldn’t be all the Red Sox offense would contribute to this inning. The next batter, Romy Gonzalez, singled and swiped on the 2nd and 3rd bases. Connor Wong would drive Romy in, lacing a double to left field. This put the score at 4-2 after only one inning. As rough as Criswell’s first inning was, he locked in for the remainder of his start and turned in a nice performance; he’d go five innings, with the Andrew Vaughn two-run shot being the only run he’d give up. After a brutal beginning, it was nice to see Cooper get the job done. Crochet would only pitch one more inning before Gus Varland would toe the rubber for the third inning; the Red Sox jumped on Varland. O’Neill led off the inning with a single and was swiftly driven in by a Romy Gonzalez double to right field. Gonzalez would once steal third, setting the table for Trevor Story to hit a single into center field, netting his first hit and RBI in his first game back from the IL. This productive inning pushed the score to 6-2 after three innings. At the bottom of the 5th, the Red Sox would once again pile on. Tyler O’Neill came up to bat and hit his second home run of the game, extending the lead to 7-2; Chase Shugart would take over for Cooper Criswell in the top of the 6th and pitch a scoreless inning. He was sent out again in the 7th inning to eat another low-leverage inning, but it didn’t go as well this time. Shugart allowed a walk to Chuckie Robinson and a single by Lopez to put two runners on base. After getting Luis Robert to fly out, former Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi lifted a ball 391 feet for a home run. This made the score 7-5. Shugart would then allow a single to Andrew Vaughn, and Bernardino would be summoned from the pen to finish the inning. Luckily, he locked things down, striking out Sheets and inducing a fly-out by Sosa.

Chad Kuhl would impressively strike out the side in the bottom of the 7th, fanning Abreu, O’Neill, and Gonzalez in order. The score stayed at 7-5 when Alex Cora turned to Kenley Jansen to record the save; he was money, setting the White Sox down to record his 26th save of the season. This wasn’t a pretty win, but it’s a victory. Don Orsillo called this game, giving the contest a very sentimental feel. I also thought having former White Sox and Red Sox catcher AJ Pierzynski in the booth was a nice touch. It was nice to see Trevor Story get a base hit and RBi in his first game. I’d love to see him get hot down the stretch. There’s no logical reason for the Red Sox to give Tyler O’Neill a new deal this winter, but I’m going to enjoy these moon shots at Fenway while they last, 

The third and final game of the series would see the MLB debut of pitching prospects Richard Fitts and Luis Guerrero. Fitts was great, going 5.2 innings and not allowing an earned run. Base running was an issue for the Red Sox early on. The team seemed intent on testing the strong arm of Korey Lee, and it didn’t work out so well. Duran, Abreu, and Trevor Story ran into unnecessary outs on the bases in the game's early goings. With the game tied 2-2 heading into the 9th inning, Cora put Zack Kelly out of the Red Sox bullpen. Things would go south for Kelly rather quickly. Kelly would surrender five hits and leave the game with the score at 6-2 with runners on 2nd and 3rd base. Luis Guerrero was summoned from the pen to make his Major League debut. Guerrero would pitch pretty well, allowing a sacrifice fly from Luis Robert to score a run before getting Andrew Benintendi out to end the inning. With the score at 7-2 by the inning’s end, it felt insurmountable, which would sadly be the case. The Red Sox would go down quietly in the 9th inning to end the game. Games against teams like the White Sox are must-win, so squandering this game felt deflating. The bullpen implosion by Zack Kelly overshadowed the impressive debut by Richard Fitts, who was excellent. This was probably the most disappointing series win of the season. 

Trending Storylines
The return of Trevor Story and the debut of Richard Fitts undeniably bring some excitement to the team, but not being able to complete the sweep against the White Sox leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. It’ll be interesting to see what Trevor Story’s presence can do to help the Red Sox on both sides of the ball in the last month of the season. Richard Fitts gave a nice glimpse into the type of starter he can be at the MLB level, even if it was against the White Sox offense. It’ll be interesting to see if he keeps getting opportunities to start games as the month progresses. The promotion of Fitts also signified the end of the Bobby Dalbec era in Boston, as the former top prospect was DFA’d by the ball club on Sunday Morning. This Red Sox team can’t afford to have more bullpen implosions or cold nights with the bat for the rest of the season. Currently, sitting four games back of the last wild card spot, a losing streak of any kind can mean the end of the season for the Red Sox, if it’s not already the case as it is. 

Looking Ahead
On Monday, the Red Sox will begin a 3-game series against the 2nd-place Orioles, followed by a 4-game set against the 1st-place New York Yankees. It’s a daunting task, but it feels as if every game is a win for the Red Sox even to have a chance at making a run. At worst, the Red Sox must win 6 out of 7 games. The Red Sox will turn to Bryan Bello on Monday night to help get them back in the win column and hopefully spark a winning streak. Let’s buckle in and hope for the best; stranger things have happened. 

Monday, SEP 9: Orioles @ Red Sox - LHP Cade Povich V. RHP Bryan Bello

Tuesday, SEP 10: Orioles @ Red Sox - RHP Albert Suarez V, RHP Kutter Crawford 

Wednesday, SEP 11: Orioles @ Red Sox - RHP Dean Kramer V. RHP Nick Pivetta 

Thursday, SEP 12: Red Sox @ Yankees - pitchers to be determined 

Friday, SEP 13: Red Sox @ Yankees - pitchers to be determined

Saturday, SEP 14: Red Sox @ Yankees - pitchers to be determined

Sunday, September 15: Red Sox @ Yankees - pitchers to be determined

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[mvp 78]

@Bryce Whitlow this was really great. If this is going to be an ongoing thing, that's fantastic!  

[Bryce Whitlow]

24 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

@Bryce Whitlow this was really great. If this is going to be an ongoing thing, that's fantastic!  

Appreciate it! I’m going to be doing it weekly to finish this season and as we move onto next season. I’ll work on condensing the length a bit on the next one haha! 

[Brock Beauchamp]

One thing I have to say as a person following both the Twins and Red Sox.

This September is shaping up to be a fight for the ages... if you like watching toddlers fight.

[mvp 78]

Toddlers bite and punch below the belt. It could be entertaining. 

[Old Red]

23 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

One thing I have to say as a person following both the Twins and Red Sox.

This September is shaping up to be a fight for the ages... if you like watching toddlers fight.

1967 was a fight for the ages with the Twins, and Red Sox at Fenway for the final weekend of the season fighting for 1 spot to play in the WS along with Detroit, and the Pale Sox. 1 spot with 4 teams fighting going right down to the last out with the Red Sox winning out. Toddlers sounds right with the way both a going. Both had better teams in 1967.

[moonslav59]

Great job, Bryce. I'm lovin' it!

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

I'm just shocked that there's still people out there that think they realistically have a shot.

[dgalehouse]

The Mariners, Tigers and even the deadline seller Rays are also very much in the wild card hunt. It's a regular battle royal. A reminder that ,in the event of ties, there are various tiebreakers in place. There is no longer a play-in game.

[Bryce Whitlow]

4 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Great job, Bryce. I'm lovin' it!

Thank you so much! 

[Bryce Whitlow]

4 hours ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

I'm just shocked that there's still people out there that think they realistically have a shot.

“I didn’t hear no bell” 😂