Red Sox catcher, Salty, shoves and holds Rays Matt Joyce back as he says a few words to Red Sox pitcher John Lackey
The Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays in extra innings 10-8. It all started with the Red Sox getting a 6-0 lead in the first inning. But they eventually blew that... Lackey could have secured the lead but he had a lot of rough innings. In total, he gave up 10 hits, 4 runs, walked 1, and struck out only 2 batters. He also gave up 2 homers back in the first. By the 9th inning it was tied up 6-6, because of Miller and Tazawa giving up a run each. In the 10th, the Sox would score off fire baller Fernando Rodney, a 2 run single from Salty. It was up to Bailey in the bottom of the 10th, to close out the game with a 8-6 lead, but he would take the blown save as he gave 2 hits, 2 runs, and walked three. So onto the 12th we went, all tied up at 8. The game would remain scoreless until the 14th inning, when Nava and Salty came in clutch with an RBI each to give the Sox a 10-8 lead going into the bottom of the 14th. Morales stayed in the game to pitch, and earned the win, as the Red Sox beat the Rays 10-8. Oh, before I forget, let's talk about the bench clearing fight/rumble. The Rays were stressed, and Lackey was stressed as he did bad the first inning. He exchanged a few words to Rays, Matt Joyce as Lackey almost gave up a second home run to him but luckily got him to ground out on the next pitch to end the inning. Then in the 6th inning, the next time Lackey and Joyce met, there were 2 outs with nobody on for them. Lackey hit Joyce, in what looked intentional but I won't say anything. Well that caused Joyce to say a few words to Lackey before Salty stepped in and pushed him back. That started a benches clearing exchange between the two teams as it was really nothing but just shoving. The two sides would both get warnings and Lackey would get taken out as he gave up a double to the very next batter.
So yes, our bullpen has struggled at some points this season, and it's also been good at some points this season. But their may be a worry... Now, I don't see anything wrong with Bailey this year, that was only his second blown save and he still needs a lot more experience this season as we haven't been able to use him much. Oh and don't forget he was coming a game where he pitched Sunday, so two days in a row didn't look so good. Over use is another problem, it seems as if the Sox can't just have some relievers stay in a little more. Example: Craig Breslow came in for 0.1 innings last night and that was it for him. They should have let him pitch at least one more inning. So yes, the bullpen has been shaky this season, and the Sox may need to add some depth into their bullpen. See, it's not that their bad it's just they struggle at important moments sometimes. Andrew Miller, has been a very effective strikeout reliever this season but he has struggled on keeping batters off base. Tazawa and Uehara have been the same, as they've both been dominant at time but at other times have been bad. Breslow, has been OK, he still needs more experience as he came of the DL a couple weeks ago. Morales has only pitched 3 times this season, once in a start and 2 in relief stints, and Mortenson has been shaky the most, as he has had a few good outings. I think a solution to this would be to call up Alex Wilson, who we formerly used as a reliever when we had players on the DL, or to call up a different Triple A pitcher who seems major league ready, like Allen Webster, yes give the guy another chance he's only 23 and has been good in the minors recently, or Ruby De La Rosa, a highly touted pitching prospect who is known for his strikeouts and fast pitches averaging around 95-97 MPH. I'm sure there's plenty more pitchers we could call up but I'm thinking of the ones who are major league level or have had major league experience before. They're going to have to come up with a decision soon on what to do but one guy who has impressed me and I'm still not worried about is Bailey. He has been great compared to last season but still only has 19 innings pitched, something he needs to get up because he needs some experience this season.
Anyways, with that being said about our bullpen, I'll talk about something else that's positive. The Red Sox reached their 40th win last night, the second MLB team to do so far this season, first being the Cardinals. They improved to 40-25 on the season, and their road record to 19-11, something that has been good for them this season. Also, Alfredo Aceves was called up again to pitch for the Sox Wednesday night as he'll be taking place of Morales for now, as he pitched 2 innings last night and was scheduled to start Wednesday, I know sorry, that was NOT positive news...
Well, Lester (6-2, 3.60 ERA) will be on the mound tonight to verse the Rays, and hopefully he will eat up some innings tonight for the Red Sox, so that our bullpen doesn't need to be over used again, because all relievers pitched last night. Let's just hope for the best.
- DJ
No comments:
Post a Comment