Maxbialystock

McClanahan was robbed of a K before Kike grounded out.

McClanahan not only keeps the ball low, he has way better stuff than Whitlock. Sharper breaking balls and faster fast ball. Dalbec for President/GM/Team Captain!!!! Wicked, wicked changeups by McClanahan. Whitcomb's is nowhere near as good.

House of horrors is why Refsnyder dropped the ball. He made a perfect grab, but then his glove hit that hard surface and the ball came out. My guess is that the Rays outfielders know how to prevent that from happening, and that none of the Sox coaches do, let alone Refsnyder.

Like I said, the Rays love Whitlock's fastball, but Wong or the benchd keep telling him to throw more of them. McClanhan has a much better fastball, but he also has very good breaking stuff and is better at keeping the ball low. Like I said before the game, Whitlock is an inexperienced starter. And so is his catcher and whoever might be calling pitches from the bench.

Turns out, Whitlock is still stuck in the past. Good stuff, but not good enough, especially his fast ball. McClanahan has vastly outpitched him even with the three walks. Just like last night, Sox hitters look mesmerized. Whitlock is better when he keeps the ball low, which is mostly what McClanaha has done. Shout out to Wong for throwing out two Rays baserunners.

Boy, do they have Raffie's number. Three pitch K, all swings and misses on fastballs.

Also cool.

Cool!!!

I didn't agree this past offseason was huge. Moreover, I wonder why anyone did when Bogaerts wasn't re-signed (for a king's ransom) and the Sox team salaries this year are the lowest in the JH era. You can argue--and I will probably not be able to argue back--that the guys Bloom obtained ain't good enough by the standards of previous JH teams. But so far I kind of like what I am seeing in games--except for the early atrocious pitching backed up by even more atrocious fielding--especially last night against the hottest (by far) team in MLB. Also the 5-5 record and, now and then, the hitting. I also think Bloom was handed a mess, which was made that much worse by his first season being 2020, which was a nonseason. So, me, age 82, I'm still willing to be patient even though I cringe at the idea of a Yalie at the helm. Wasn't Yawkey also a Yalie?

That blew me away.

You know way better than I, but right now after 10 games I'm less inclined to anoint Whitlock and more inclined to go with the more experienced guys. By all means, give him a start or several starts. I would love to be wrong and to see him use that excellent repertoire he has to good effect. But the fact is that he is still new to starting, whereas even Houck has started more than Whitlock--and experience is valuable for a starter, which beyond question is the toughest position in MLB when that guy is on the mound. Thus right now Pivetta is by far a better starter than Whitlock--and Pivetta was a problem last season. But this year he seems to have a really nasty breaking ball he did not have last year, and after 2 starts (one against the best hitting team in MLB so far), his ERA of .90 is ranked 18th in MLB. Same goes for Bello. If you say Whitlock and Bello are the future, I can't disagree. But right now I like Pivetta, Sale, Klubar, Houck, and possibly even Crawford. However, for now I do not disagree that both Whitlock and Bello should be starters this month.

Good. Somebody needs to respond to the nattering nabobs of negativism with some good stats/numbers. That's not me, of course. I simply have hope for the pitching staff, including the rotation, who--wait for it--has now had five freaking consecutive good/almost good starts in a row: Kluber with 1 run in 5 innings; Sale with 3 ER in 5 innings (which is a stretch, but I like how he looked in the 4th and 5th innings); Houck 2 runs in 5 innings; Crawford (of all people) with 1 run in 5 innings; and last night Pivetta with 0 runs in 5 innings vs. the highest scoring team in MLB. Plus the bullpen looks good. And last night, for one night only at a ballpark not so near you, the Sox defense looked decent. Hoorah, hoorah! Only the hitting stunk. And even the hitting gets an asterisk because in the 8th inning Verdugo walked, Arroyo flied out to right, Bobby freaking Dalbec hit a solid single to left, Wong lined out (harder hit than Dalbec's single) to left, and Kike walked to load the bases with 2 out--bringing up Rafael Devers, who unfortunately was completely overmatched and looked at a called third strike well inside the strike zone. But think about it. Could we ask for more excitement than the way the Sox pitched and almost had an unreal rally in the 8th against far and away the hottest team in MLB?

And this. I enjoyed the heck out of last night's game, especially given how dominating Tampa has been this season. The Sox hitting stunk, especially Devers, but the pitching was excellent and the defense pretty decent for a change. Despite the pitching mismatch tonight, I'm looking for another good game tonight.

Perhaps. But, as I said on last night's game thread, the Sox pitching, especially Pivetta, looked awfully good last night. In their first 9 games this season the Ray scored 75 runs--or over 8 runs per game. Last night they scored 1 run against Pivetta (5 innings) and the bullpen. Despite that, the Rays still lead MLB in runs scored with 76. So, honestly, while I would love to see Whitlock shine tonight, I'm tempering my expectations. I think he has an excellent repertoire, but also think it's still way early for him as a starter. Meanwhile, I'm more impressed with Pivetta, who did not impress (except occasionally) last season. Also, Klubar and Sale both bombed in their first starts and came back well in their second starts. So did Crawford. Houck has held his own. Over the longer haul (after this season), I do like Whitlock over Sale and Paxton. As for tonight, I will be astounded if Whitlock can duplicate Pivetta's 5 scoreless innings of last night. And I will not be astounded if the Rays shut the Sox down again tonight.

Seriously? Go look at the MLB standings, where you will see the Rays lead MLB in runs scored with 76, which translates to 7.6 runs per game. Last night they scored 1 against the Sox pitching staff and 0 vs. Pivetta in 5 innings. Me, I was dazzled by the Sox pitching, especially Pivetta with that new breaking ball (which no doubt has a new name because of course "curveball" would never suffice). The hitting stunk, but we saw them stink for 26 of 27 innings against the Pirates and with Duvall in the lineup. '

See above. I think Duvall simply hit bad pitching and is suspect against good pitching.

I vehemently disagree with all the whining about the lineup--at least, I do this morning. Last night was a terrific game in which both teams struggled at the plate. A reminder for all you whiners: coming into this game the Rays had great hitting that pounded out 9 straight wins. But last night that got that one run off a bad pitch (2d or 3d straight fastball, and this one near the middle of the zone) by a reliever. In other words, good pitching beats good hitting, and the Rays have the best pitching staff in MLB right now. I do not for one moment think Duvall in the lineup last night would have allowed the Sox to score 1 or more runs. Go look at his game log: he has yet to hit good pitching this season. Am I worried about the lineup without Duvall? Sure I am. Last night the Rays pitching, aided in one at bat by 2 bad calls by the homeplate ump, made Rafael Devers look incompetent, especially when he looked at a called 3d strike (well inside the strike zone) with the bases loaded. But let's not forget that Pittsburgh swept the Sox at Fenway with Duvall in the lineup. In those three games the Sox scored 5 runs in the first inning of first game and thereafter scored 3 runs in the final 26 innings. Thanks to last night's Rays game, the Sox team ERA is now 4.55, 17th in MLB. The Pirates team ERA is 4.91--and they did a number on the Sox.

I enjoyed watching last nights game vs Rays, which I did not expect. Good pitching and fielding.

Pivetta has a new/better breaking ball this year which really works. Also Sale has a cut fastball that’s more effective than his fastball. The cutter, slider, and his good changeup are his strength. Sox lineup is fine against weak pitching and supine against good pitching. Devers got screwed in that one at bat, but also looked awful in the one with bases loaded. Story and Duvall on the IL does not help.

I doubt Duvall would have made a difference against the Rays. Against the Pirates the Sox scored 3 runs in 26 innings with Duvall. I won't say this is a weak Sox lineup, but will say the Rays excellent pitching made them look comatose tonight.

Well, that was interesting. Sox kept in the game by excellent pitching supported by decent fielding, but the hitting just stunk to high even. Devers had the bases loaded and struck out looking, which kind of confirmed just how lousy the Sox hitting can be. Good game, but Rays win their 10th straight, 1-0.

Game 1 looks like the Pirates series right after that 5 run first inning of the first game. Even with Duvall in the lineup, the Sox scored just 3 runs in the next 26 innings. Turner takes a fastball right down the middle for strike three.

Yes, we all miss Duvall. But I simply do not believe he was magically going to nail Rays' pitching. In fact, before this game, the Rays demolished three different pitching staffs in 9 straight games--and the Sox pitching tonight is holding up awfully well.

Finally, finally. Tampa pitcher hits the corner and gets a ball called. Can Rafael come through?

Darn! Good swing and contact by Wong--right to the leftfielder.