Red Sox (Suarez) vs Tigers (Mize): 4/17/26, 7:15pm

[Duran Is The Man]

hallehlujah.

 

[illinoisredsox]

2 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

i'm guessing Masas grounds into a 4-6-3 DP right here.

That didn’t age well.

[FredLynn]

Couldn’t watch the game but I guess Ranger must have pitched a gem

[Duran Is The Man]

one helluva job pitching tonite by Suarez. too bad he didn't get any run support.

[Duran Is The Man]

4 minutes ago, illinoisredsox said:

That didn’t age well.

i'm ok with that.

 

[moonslav59]

Yoshida for Mayor!

[illinoisredsox]

8 minutes ago, Tedballgame said:

Yes. Too bad Cedanne can't bunt.

He had 3 sacs last year and 2 the year before that, so it’s not like he’s never done it, but he’s not great at it (who is these days?).  I seem to recall at least a couple times last year when he failed and then bailed himself out with a hit

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

To increase the Sox chances of winning, the Sox starters have to pitch past their middle relievers.

[Larry Cook]

Wow!! What an amazing game, 

I hope Anthony, Mayer and Durban figure it out soon 

[Maxbialystock]

13 minutes ago, Larry Cook said:

Wow!! What an amazing game, 

I hope Anthony, Mayer and Durban figure it out soon 

It's Durbin, but I could not agree more that the game was amazing.  Riveting. 

I think Anthony and Durbin can/will hit, but have my doubts about Mayer.  

Absolutely fantastic game by Suarez.  He's the game MVP and no one else is within a mile of him. 

Chapman's final 3 pitches were 99 mph, 100 mph, and 101 mph.  

 

[moonslav59]

35 minutes ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

Not even Monty Python.

[moonslav59]

21 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

Chapman's final 3 pitches were 99 mph, 100 mph, and 101 mph.  

 

He's got that extra gear nobody else has.

[Maxbialystock]

27 minutes ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

To increase the Sox chances of winning, the Sox starters have to pitch past their middle relievers.

Meh.  Tonight's game was clearly a pitchers' duel.  Tigers pitched 9.1 IP with no ER's and lost.  

Also, you seem to have forgotten all those games--like Crochet's last start--in which the Sox starter didn't even go 5 innings.  Suarez now leads the team in total IP, 22.1 in 4 starts, which is less than 6 IP per start.  

 

[RedneckRedSoxFan]

When did Ranger pick up a spiked breaking ball (knuckle-curve)? He threw two different curve balls tonight. One is what I would call his normal curveball that has that slow-loopy curve to it. Then there was the spiked breaking ball that was thrown inside. Sharp break to it. The slo-mo clearly showed his grip with a spike (or a knuckle-curveball whichever way you wish to call it).

[moonslav59]

TOR is still playing, but the ALE looks like this:

11-8 TBR

11-9 NYY -0.5

10-10 BAL -1.5

8-11 BOS -3.0 (2 GB last WC slot)

7-11 TOR -3.5

 

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, RedneckRedSoxFan said:

When did Ranger pick up a spiked breaking ball (knuckle-curve)? He threw two different curve balls tonight. One is what I would call his normal curveball that has that slow-loopy curve to it. Then there was the spiked breaking ball that was thrown inside. Sharp break to it. The slo-mo clearly showed his grip with a spike (or a knuckle-curveball whichever way you wish to call it).

Nice post.

I'm no expert on this stuff, but whatever it was, it was nasty as hell.

[JoeBrady]

57 minutes ago, RedneckRedSoxFan said:

When did Ranger pick up a spiked breaking ball (knuckle-curve)? He threw two different curve balls tonight. One is what I would call his normal curveball that has that slow-loopy curve to it. Then there was the spiked breaking ball that was thrown inside. Sharp break to it. The slo-mo clearly showed his grip with a spike (or a knuckle-curveball whichever way you wish to call it).

Nice analysis.  Now we need everyone in the rotation to put together 2-3 of their good starts, and not the one on/one off stuff we've been seeing.

[Oscars]

Great pitching tonight from the Red Sox.

The Sox are bottom of the AL East in slugging and OPS, so they won’t go anywhere in this division until the cold bats (4 starters hitting under .200) come alive. 

[notin]

11 hours ago, Maxbialystock said:

Meh.  Tonight's game was clearly a pitchers' duel.  Tigers pitched 9.1 IP with no ER's and lost.  

Also, you seem to have forgotten all those games--like Crochet's last start--in which the Sox starter didn't even go 5 innings.  Suarez now leads the team in total IP, 22.1 in 4 starts, which is less than 6 IP per start.  

 

Most pitchers don’t average 6 IP per start.  None average 7.

Especially in April…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

41 minutes ago, notin said:

Most pitchers don’t average 6 IP per start.  None average 7.

Especially in April…

Hopefully, Skubal will bail out early today to protect his future gazillions like he did on his USA teammates in the WBC.

It's past time anyway for the Red Sox to wake up the dumb Green Monster from hibernation.

Why are our batters so afraid to hit baseballs off his big green kisser this year? With all their power muscles, it'll just feel like mosquito bites.

[moonslav59]

6 hours ago, Oscars said:

Great pitching tonight from the Red Sox.

The Sox are bottom of the AL East in slugging and OPS, so they won’t go anywhere in this division until the cold bats (4 starters hitting under .200) come alive. 

I don't disagree, but have a look-see at other ALE teams and their top 9 batters' BA:

NYY

.140 McMahon

.145 Grisham

.174 Chisholm

.184 Wells

.215 Caballero

(Goldschmidt is at .188 w 20 PAs)

TOR

.094 Lukes

.185 Springer

.188 Okamoto

.194 Schneider

(.053 Barger in 23 PAs/.174 Valenzuela in 24)

BAL

.148 Basallo

.167 Mayo

.195 Cowser

.200 Henderson (most PAs on team)

(Alonso is at .216)

TBR has 3 guys below .214

 

[Tedballgame]

16 hours ago, Maxbialystock said:

It's Durbin, but I could not agree more that the game was amazing.  Riveting. 

I think Anthony and Durbin can/will hit, but have my doubts about Mayer.  

Absolutely fantastic game by Suarez.  He's the game MVP and no one else is within a mile of him. 

Chapman's final 3 pitches were 99 mph, 100 mph, and 101 mph.  

 

I have a lot more faith in Mayer hitting than Durbin. Mayer has the ability to use the left field wall. I saw him hit a lot of good balls to left last weekend in St. Louis that would have been hits in Fenway. Durbin looks like a powerless punch and Judy hitter. 

[moonslav59]

33 minutes ago, Tedballgame said:

I have a lot more faith in Mayer hitting than Durbin. Mayer has the ability to use the left field wall. I saw him hit a lot of good balls to left last weekend in St. Louis that would have been hits in Fenway. Durbin looks like a powerless punch and Judy hitter. 

The sample size are small, but I'm not sure how much longer we stick with Durbin.

[JoeBrady]

4 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I don't disagree, but have a look-see at other ALE teams and their top 9 batters' BA:

I made a note yesterday to my NLE friends about the NYM OBP.  6 guys under .300, 2 guys over, plus Menendez who only had 4 ABs going in.  Lots of teams without hitting.

[JoeBrady]

26 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

The sample size are small, but I'm not sure how much longer we stick with Durbin.

He'll get a lot of time.  He has a 3/4 K/W over the past 10 games.  IMVHO, one cheap Fenway HR will get him going.

It's worth noting he had a .501 OPS in '25 thru his first 89 ABs, and a .776 the remainder of the season.

[moonslav59]

15 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

He'll get a lot of time.  He has a 3/4 K/W over the past 10 games.  IMVHO, one cheap Fenway HR will get him going.

It's worth noting he had a .501 OPS in '25 thru his first 89 ABs, and a .776 the remainder of the season.

That's encouraging.

I think Durbin is a good player- all around, except for power. I really liked the trade and still do.

I'd have preferred he was a platoon guy for Mayer or had IKF's role, but he has the potential to be a fine FT'er, too.

[Sthpaw777]

On 4/17/2026 at 6:57 PM, moonslav59 said:

I suggested Contreras 2nd and Abreu 3rd a while ago, but never thought Cora would do it.

Hey Moon, yeah, He’s stubborn about that. I would’ve done it a week and a half ago. I wish this team had a real threat in this lineup. Expect lots of streaky ABs with this mediocre lineup regardless. 

[moonslav59]

4 hours ago, Sthpaw777 said:

Hey Moon, yeah, He’s stubborn about that. I would’ve done it a week and a half ago. I wish this team had a real threat in this lineup. Expect lots of streaky ABs with this mediocre lineup regardless. 

I agree on missing that "BIG BAT" many of us screamed for over the winter. I do think we have nice balance and a lot of decent plus bats, and maybe over the long haul, that will start showing better results, but I can't stop thinking "what if?"