Maxbialystock

Nice grab by Sogard.

Why does NESN keep showing Sogard in RF? Are they saying he's great or that Abreu is missed or what? Nice play to hold that to a double. Have they shown any shots of Sacramento--where this game is being played?

Fred, where in the heck are you? As for me, I do not think this game is over by any means. I love 5-0, Morales gone, and Crochet on the mound. But the A's still have 15 outs in which to score some runs.

Coming into this game Morales had given up--wait for it--5 runs in 28.1 IP.

Agree. However, #2 Bregman just smacked the dickens out of the ball to drive Duran home. 😁

Shut the heck up, Max. Whatever the Sox hitters are doing, it's working.

Was that freaking Narvaez with the dinger? Way to go!!!

Finally, a 1 pitch out for Crochet, After 4, he's thrown 60 pitches and Morales 61. Morales just got his 968th one pitch out in this game.

I get it. Sox suddenly are swinging on first pitches and making quick outs. Morales had over 40 pitches after 2 IP and now has 61 after 4 IP. It is a big adjustment. In his last two starts he threw 60% fast balls and 40%.

Great start, but 6 tough innings still to go.

Why did Crochet throw 5 straight 4 seamers to the guy who singled?

A good point, but all I read is that Bregman will command a king's ransom for 2026 and beyond.

Doesn't sound like Little League to me. As for MLB, if you believe "never" you are too cautious.

2 runs in the 3d from 3 singles. You gotta love it. Great pitch calling and then execution by Crochet. If you check my first post on this game I kind of said Morales would give up maybe 1 run in 6 innings and that the great A's bats would really go after Crochet. Morales doesn't look that bad, but the Sox earned all 3 runs. Crochet looks fantastic.

He thought the throw was going home plus he got a good jump by running from 1b with 2 outs. Smart play by the Rays.,

Agree with the 3 of 6, but that doesn't mean I'm confident. Athletics pitching sucks, but not their starter Morales tonight. And right now the Sox are missing their best hitter Anthony and one of their best Abreu--plus Bregman and Duran both seem to be in slumps. Tonight is a big deal because we have our ace Crochet starting.

If they get more than 1 run against Morales, it will be a big deal.

Stunning. Thanks.

Tough month so far and with a lot on the line. Hitting/scoring and pitching both seem to be faltering. Before he was injured, Anthony was arguably the best hitter on the team and led off. He has been replaced by bad jokes since Sep 2. It does not help that the 2d batter, Bregman, is in a slump, nor that Abreu has been on the IL since Aug 17 and has made no progress in his recovery. Duran's OPS in September is .477. Time and again it's been the pitching that has led the way in the winning streaks, but right now the otherwise excellent rotation is faltering. Our ace Crochet is up tonight but 6 days ago he gave up 7 runs to Cleveland. Tomorrow and Wed the starters are May and Tolle, both of whom struggled their last starts. The Athletics can't pitch, but they can hit. They just scored 30 runs @ the Angels (but lost the 3d game, 3-4). Tonight the Athletics starter is 22 year old rookie Luis Morales with 5 starts and an ERA of 1.91. He seem to rely mostly on 3 pitches--his 97 mph 4 seamer, a changeup (apparently a good one), and a sweeper. Sox are going with their best Crochet. I think a win tonight would be huge, but also think Morales could shut down our weak lineup.

I felt exactly the same way after 6. Good thing there were 3 more innings to play.

Very sensible. You've said this before, but it bears repeating.

I think Yoshida has the best K/at bats ratio on the team. Plus, of the players available for tonight, he has the 8th best OPS vs righties. Eaton is playing because he isn't on the IL.

Excellent laydown. Thanks.

I'm not talking about 1 game. In the last 5 starts, including last night, only Giolito had a good game. I completely agree we should not condemn Tolle for last night--an away game against a very good hitting Diamondbacks team.

It's huge, I agree. So no way, no how can Cleveland catch the Jays. Nevertheless, the Jays win just 58% of their games and the Guardians win 50%. That means, depending on matchups of course, the Jays win 6 of 10 games vs the Guardians or 3 out of 5. If you're a Cleveland fan, you gotta like those odds--which ignore matchups--going in.