Maxbialystock

Mayer at 2b tonight so Eaton's righty bat can get into the lineup.

I like him better at 3b or SS, but am fine with 2b. He's at 2b so Cora can get Eaton's hot bat into the lineup which has 6 righty bats against lefty Anderson. Gonzalez in for Toro at 1b. Hamilton not at 2b, so basically Eaton replaces Hamilton, which makes all kinds of sense. Lefty bats Anthony, Mayer, Duran, Abreu, and Hamilton pretty much stink against lefties. I'm guessing Anthony and Mayer are in the lineup to continue their development and as a hedge for when lA brings in a righty or two. Eaton, Ref, Gonzalez and Narvaez have OPS's over .900 vs. lefties. Rafaeala and Story's are .772 and .726.

Everyone whines about the defense, but last night the Angels scored 9 earned--repeat, earned--runs with just 6 hits. Our pitching staff gave up 11 walks, 2 HBP's and probably a WP or 2. Pitching is the problem despite that great run of 6 wins with Giolito, Buehler, Dobbins, Bello, Crochet, and Giolito again having excellent starts plus good bullpen support. That run ended just 8 days ago. Now Dobbins is on the IL, Buehler was awful last night, and the bullpen is struggling.

Me too.

Story was great at 2b when Bogey was here. But I'm fine with him at SS and Mayer at 2b.

Makes sense.

Well said and supported by sound statistics. But I'm a tad more optimistic. For starters, I really like the additions of Bregman, Crochet, Chapman, and Narvaez. When Bregman returns and replaces Hamilton in the lineup, the Sox hitting and defense will improve. I like Mayer and Anthony and think their hitting will improve this season. Rafaela (.918) and Story (.825) both have OPS's over .800 in June. So I think a lineup of Anthony LF, Rafaela CF, Abreu RF, Bregman 3b, Mayer SS, Story 2b, Toro/Gonzalez/whoever 1b, and Yoshida/Ref/Duran at DH would be good on offense and defense. The problem is pitching. Breslow done good bringing in Crochet and Chapman, but you need 11 more pitchers of some competency, and all those arms on the IL are part of the problem. On the plus side it was just 10 days ago when the Sox got 6 straight excellent starts from Giolito, Buehler, Crochet, Dobbins, Bello, and Giolito again. Same goes for the bullpen who were also excellent on that run. So I'm not at all ready to throw in the towel, and I hope the FO isn't either.

It's the pitching. Last night the Sox staff gave up 9 earned runs. The Angels only had 6 hits, but were helped by 11 BB's and 2 HBP's by Sox pitchers. Buehler gave up 5 ER's and Whitlock 4. The signature inning was the 1st when the Sox hitters provided Buehler with 3 runs, after which he gave back 5 to the Angels. After the Sox tied it in the 6th at 5-5, Whitlock gave up 4 runs to finish off the Sox. All this talk about baserunning and errors masks the real problem, pitching. Last night, Wong and Hamilton, batting 8th and 9th, went 2 for 7 with 1 rbi.

It's westcoastitis, which we have seen before

And the NESN guys never even noticed. Thanks very much.

Whitlock at 34 pitches showing a ton of heart.

Good points.

That hurt. No outs and a man on 3b.

Since the 1st, 6 scoreless innings by Sox pitching, including 3 by Buehler. It's heckuva ballgame.

I am. That was a good call by the Angels bench and excellent pitches by Detmers, who then K'd Story too. 😉

That's the way it turned out, but I like a sacrifice that moves 2 runners and takes away a GIDP.

Those were excellent pitches to Anthony.

Yup. And he's the backup.

A bunt! A bunt! A palpable bunt! And Hamilton did it. Are these the Red Sox? You know, the team which is worthless without Devers. I don't know how many times I've read he is literally irreplaceable.

Guerrero is unreal tonight. Will Cora let him go 3?

Story just might be earning his pay this year. He's had a terrific June. Buehler gave up 7 BB's and 2 WP's in 4 innings. Life on the wild side.

That's been said before because it makes sense.

I'm Sergeant Schulz. I know nothinngg.

Tie game. If the Sox win, the Angels should protest because you should never, ever be allowed to win if you have weak fundamentals. Note to Mr. Fundamentalist. By far the two most important fundamentals in MLB are hitting and pitching.

Thank you. I'm sure you're right, but I thought the tag was way before Toro was anywhere near 2b. Nice 5th by Guerrero.