Maxbialystock

Sox two hits by Dalbec and Iglesias. No hits by the top six in the Sox order after two at bats for each of them. But Schwarber and Bogey both got walks.

Stroman getting those calls because he is consistently around and in the strike zone.

Stroman is not throwing lots of strikes and his 2 BB's to ERod's 3. But what he is good at is keeping the ball low--thus the ground outs. My gosh! JDM swings and misses at a sinker right down the middle. Stroman's 2d K in the game.

ERod lucky. That superb play by Renfroe got an out plus some slack for ERod with just men on 1st and 2d instead bases full. Sox are better hitters than the Mets. but Stroman is keeping the ball low and his stuff has a sharper break.

ERod needs his good changeup to be effective. Tonight he can't command it, so he is over-relying on fastballs and cutters.

Big play by Kike!!!!

ERod 3 walks and a hard hit single on a 3-2 fat fastball so far in the 4th. Funny thing is, the Mets by and large are happy to swing at his strikes.

Five straight fastballs to Davis because he can't trust his changeup or slider.

He can sort of hit the corners with his cut fastballs, but not with his slider or changeup. And by now the Mets hitters have him figured out.

Bogey hit the ball hard, which is why they could go 3b to home to 1b. Meanwhile, ERod is having command issues.

Stoman gets Vazquez on, guess what, a slider low and away.

Great at bat by Dalbec. Unlike JDM, he was ready for that fastball and nailed it. After four straight sliders.

When Sox pitchers go low in the zone or just below it, it's experimental and never, ever a steady diet.

Stroman is making a living off those pitches low in the zone. First time through the order, the Sox hitters are helpless.

JDM set up beautifully for that 3d swinging strike on a fastball down the middle. Having seen sliders and splitter low and away, the fastball completely fooled him.

ERod does not yet have good command of his changeup and slider--tonight. Still, good results.

Stroman good at keeping his pitches low. He throws a lot of cut fastballs of various kinds.

Bogey gets the call on ball four. Maybe because Stroman showed up the ump on ball three, which was outside.

Renfroe is out, Verdugo is in RF, and JDM is in LF with Schwarber at DH.

The return of Thunder! Agree with moonslav that the two starters are about evenly matched. Also agree with Cora starting lefty DH Schwarber over righty DH JDM--while also keeping better defensive firstbaseman Dalbec in the lineup. Clearly Cora wants to keep up the good defense without sacrificing much offense.

Yes. He is day to day.

Interesting. Looks to me--as an ignorant fan--as though the Astros saw a flaw in Marwin's swing, signed him, and fixed it.

Trading Dalbec, who now looks pretty competent at 1b and is hitting well, makes no sense, especially given his age/retainability. The infield of Devers, Bogaerts, Iglesias/Arroyo, and Dalbec looks pretty solid to me--decent fielding, good hitting. I just think Shwarber is a better bat than Verdugo and don't mind giving up some defense in LF. That said, Verdugo has been handy as the backup centerfielder and is younger and a lot less expensive than Schwarber. Yet again, Schwarber is 5 years younger than JDM and a good choice to take over at DH.

As you may recall, I was one of the few defenders of Bloom/Cora's decision to keep extra pitchers on the active roster.

Agree. Cora has made a huge difference. Now, with 11 games to go, the Sox have these strengths (in addition to Cora): remaining schedule with extra days off and mostly weak (except for the NYY) opponents; hitting (3d best OPS in MLB); bullpen (thanks to Cora and his pitching coach); and an improved defense thanks to Kike back in CF, Iglesias at 2b, and an improved Dalbec at 1b. The weaknesses are the rotation and the fact that the bullpen, which has done yeoman service all season long, is not rock solid. That means that Cora gets to make a lot of big decisions on when to pull his starter, when to insert a long reliever like Houck, Whitlock (now day to day), or Richards, who (and when) to send in to stop the bleeding, and who to close. As good as Eovaldi has been this season, his latest start--5 innings, 3 ER's vs. the lowly Orioles--underscores the importance of the bullpen, the hitting, and the defense. #2 starter Sale is still a superb craftsman but does not yet have the great stuff or velocity he had in 2018. #3 starter in my opinion is ERod because he has been better in Aug-Sep than Pivetta. Thus, while I now think the Sox are a good bet for the postseason and could even get beyond the wild card game, I think weak pitching overall will make winning an ALDS series, probably vs. the Rays, problematical.