Red Sox Week in Review: Limping into the Postseason

Weekly Snapshot

Record Last Week: 3-3 (Overall 85-71)

Runs Scored Last Week: 29

Runs Surrendered Last Week: 28

Standings

3rd in the AL East

5.0 GB 1st Place

Currently hold the 2nd WC Spot

Scores

Game 150 (9/16) | ATH 2, BOS 1

Game 151 (9/17) | ATH 4, BOS 5

Game 152 (9/18) | ATH 5, BOS 3

Game 153 (9/19) | BOS 11, TBR 7

Game 154 (9/20) | BOS 6, TBR 3

Game 155 (9/21) |BOS 3, TBR 7

TL;DR Breakdown/Highlights

A’s series: In Game 1, the Red Sox’s pitching put together a strong performance, but the team’s offense (0-7 with RISP) didn’t come through. Connelly Early threw 5 1/3 shutout innings and recorded seven strikeouts.

In Game 2, the A’s and Red Sox engaged in a cat-and-mouse game. Lucas Giolito yielded four earned runs across 4 1/3 innings. The Red Sox’s bullpen came in early and, to their credit, held the A’s to four runs. Trevor Story tied the game in the fifth with an RBI single. Pinch-hitter Nick Sogard walked the game off, bringing home Nate Eaton from third.

Bryan Bello took the mound in the final game of the series. The A’s got to work quickly and scored three runs off him in the top of the first inning. Masataka Yoshida, Trevor Story, and David Hamilton drove in the Red Sox’s three runs of the game.

Rays series: On Friday night, Garrett Crochet was knocked around a bit. Carson Williams and Yandy Díaz hit home runs off him early in the game. The Red Sox held a narrow lead until the eighth inning, scoring seven runs to put the score at 11-3. Chris Murphy came in to close the game. Everson Pereira hit a grand slam to cut the team’s lead down to fou runs. Fortunately, he got out of the jam.

In Game 2, Kyle Harrison made his Red Sox debut as a starter. He looked solid, yielding one earned run and recording five strikeouts across 6.0 innings. After Trevor Story hit a go-ahead single in the top of the ninth, the Red Sox took the lead and won 6-3.

Things went awry in the final game of the series. The Rays scored three runs off Connelly Early in the bottom of the first. These were the only earned runs scored against Early in the game. Through the eighth inning, the Rays held a narrow one-run lead until they drove in three more runs off Payton Tolle. The Rays avoided a sweep, winning 7-3.

Random Stats

• Red Sox starters’ ERA (5.25) ranks 25th in the 1st inning. 
• Trevor Story has posted a .324 BA, .881 OPS, and 141 wRC+ in September. 
• Masataka Yoshida led the team in RBIs (6) between September 14th and September 22nd. 
• 8/14 of pitchers on the Red Sox’s roster are left-handed pitchers.

Website Highlights

• Two Years Later, the Chris Sale-Vaughn Grissom Trade Continues to Haunt Craig Breslow by Nick John
• Nate Eaton's Emergence Has Helped Salvage Red Sox's Lineup In September by Alex Mayes
• Red Sox Catchers Are Stepping Up When They're Needed Most by Brandon Glick
• Three Internal Names to Watch When the Red Sox Begin Their GM Search by Alex Mayes

Looking Ahead

September 23rd: Red Sox (Giolito) @ Blue Jays (Gausman): 7:07 pm EDT

September 24th: Red Sox (Crochet) @ Blue Jays (Scherzer): 7:07 pm EDT

September 25th: Red Sox (Bello) @ Blue Jays (Bieber): 7:07 pm EDT

September 26th: Tigers @ Red Sox: 7:10 pm EDT

September 27th: Tigers @ Red Sox: 4:10 pm EDT

September 28th: Tigers @ Red Sox: 3:05 pm EDT