Red Sox Bresblow Game 2

In the ALCS against the Tigers, the Red Sox bullpen was a relative strength. Against the Cardinals, that advantage is no longer there. I'd venture to say that St. Louis has the edge with their top-level relievers. Craig Breslow had been very good in the playoffs. Last night he blew it. He entered a 2-1 game with 2 on and 1 out. His pitching didn't preserve the lead, and his throwing error didn't preserve the tie. Breslow blew it.

Offensively, the Red Sox only managed 4 hits. Give credit to Cardinals rookie Michael Wacha for that. David Ortiz collected 2 hits, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia had the others for the Sox. The Red Sox 5 through 9 hitters combined to go 0 for 17 with 8 strikeouts.

Give credit to the Cardinals pitchers in this one. Wacha was excellent. Then Carlos Martinez pitched 2 great innings, striking out 3. And closer Trevor Rosenthal struck out the side in the 9th. I was hoping Mike Matheny would pull Martinez when Ortiz came to the plate in the 8th. Ortiz hit a single, but I think the move to keep Martinez in the game was correct. He was mowing the Sox down.

The Red Sox could have stolen this one had Breslow done his job. Even if he kept the score at 2-2, then anything could have happened. I don't want to peg one loss on just one pitcher. Especially since most of the hitters did nothing. But Breslow didn't do his job, and it cost the Sox a win, and a 2-0 advantage going to Missouri.

Although I do have a feeling that if the Sox see Wacha again, they'll do much better against him.

Also remember that the Sox started the ALCS 1-1, and that ended well.

Now this series is 1-1. Which isn't the end of the world. The Sox lose the DH because stupid NL fans like watching pitchers bunt and strikeout. That's entertainment to you people? Anyway, Jake Peavy takes the mound against Joe Kelly Saturday night. Kelly was 5-7 this year, with a 3.53 ERA. In the NL. So hopefully the Sox can tag him for a few runs and Peavy can pitch well against an NL team, which he has done this year.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Red Sox Escape Detroit in Drivers' Seat

The Red Sox have adjusted to Anibal Sanchez since Game 1. They got their first hit of the series off him in the 1st inning. Then scored the first run off him in the 2nd. The Sox came out swinging in this game. They were not on the backfoot, not on the defensive. As we've seen all season with this team, losing only makes them more aggressive and ferocious in their next game. They don't fall back and regroup. They instantly counterattack. Like a cornered animal.

Mike Napoli spearheaded the Red Sox offense. He went 3 for 4 with a double and a homerun. He's hitting .375 in the series. His solo homerun in Game 3 was what gave the Sox a 1-0 lead (and eventual win). His solo homerun in Game 5 turned out to be the difference in Game 5. In a series of three one-run games, Napoli's two solo homeruns have won two games.

Jon Lester was not Ace-like in this game. He didn't have to be. He played with fire throughout his 5.1 innings, giving up 7 hits and walking 3. Though he never got burnt. Only 2 runs scored on his watch but his inability to go deep into the game made the Sox vulnerable. Lester did his job, but he also made the jobs of others harder.

I like Junichi Tazawa, but I don't trust him. Not in a 1-run game. I have partial trust in Craig Breslow, barely enough for a 1-run game. I trust Koji Uehara implicitly, any game, any situation. Red Sox starters need to pitch into the 7th inning in order to avoid exposing the soft underbelly of the bullpen. Breslow and Uehara are the only bullpen arms Sox fans should want to see in the late innings.

The series returns to Boston Saturday evening at 4:30pm. Clay Buchholz faces Max Scherzer. I honestly have no idea what to expect in that game. And that's what has made this series such a thrill to watch.

Photo Credit:
USA Today

John Lackey Outduels Justin Bieber... I Mean Verlander

Justin Verlander (not Justin Bieber, as Erin Andrews almost called him during a post-game interview) entered this game with all the momentum and all the hype. And he lived up to that with a fantastic performance. However it wasn't quite as fantastic as the effort John Lackey put in. Verlander went deeper into the game and struck out more batters, but Lackey didn't allow a run at all. He also didn't walk anybody. The few times he was close to being in trouble, he pitched his way out of it. He needed to be absolutely magnificent for the Sox to win, and he delivered.

Mike Napoli also delivered. His 7th inning homerun was only his third hit of the playoffs. In postseason baseball you only need 1 hit to have a good series.

The bullpen continues to roll. The Tigers' starting pitchers have overall done better than their Red Sox counterparts in this series. The reason the Tigers aren't up 2-1 or 3-0 is because the Sox bullpen has significantly outperformed Detroit's. Detroit's bullpen has pitched 5 innings in this series, and allowed 5 runs, all in Game 2. The Red Sox bullpen has been asked to pitch 8.1 innings and has yet to allow a run.

The bullpen is the reason the Red Sox lead the series 2-1.

It's crazy to think that despite three brilliant outings by Tigers starters, and despite Red Sox hitters going 12 for 90 at the plate (.133), the Sox have the edge in the series.

Jake Peavy starts Game 4 for the Red Sox Wednesday night. This type of situation is the reason why the Sox traded for him. His purpose is to add depth to the rotation for moments like this one. Doug Fister will start for Detroit. Peavy has a good track record against the Tigers' lineup, except Miguel Cabrera who has 3 homeruns off him and Torii Hunter who is 7 for 14 against him. The Red Sox faced Fister twice this season. They were shut down on September 2nd, but knocked him around for 6 runs in 3.1 innings in June. Daniel Nava has crushed Fister in the past, going 5 for 12 off him with 3 doubles. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is 5 for 11 against him.

All three games have been incredibly entertaining. And close. If this series goes the full 7, it will be Lackey facing Verlander again.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Carlos Asorio

Red Sox Can't Sink Rays

It was a game of mistakes. Fielding mistakes, pitching mistakes, maybe even some managerial mistakes. And the winner was the team that capitalized on those mistakes just a little bit more than the loser.

The play of the game was Evan Longoria's 3-run homer in the 5th. If Clay Buchholz is able to get Longoria out, or even hold him to a 1-run or 2-run hit, then the game plays out in a completely different way. All Buchholz had to do in that at-bat was not give up a homerun. Longoria won that battle.

The Rays continued to make fielding miscues and errors. Even the umps made mistakes. The Red Sox took advantage of most, but not all of these mistakes. The Sox never made any big hits on their own. They scored their runs off groundouts, a wild pitch, and a soft David Ortiz single. That run knocked in by Ortiz was the only Sox run driven in by a hit. The Sox were 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position.

The Rays took advantage of a glaring Red Sox weakness: the middle relievers. Franklin Morales and Brandon Workman combined to allow the Rays to take the lead in the 8th inning. Overall, the Rays bullpen executed slightly better (4 innings, 2 hits, 1 run) than the Red Sox bullpen (2.2 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs). And that was one of the deciding differences.

So Game 4 tonight at 8:37. That start-time worries me because Monday night's game took 4 hours and 19 minutes. If that happens tonight then the game will end around 1 o'clock in the morning.

Jake Peavy takes the mound for his first playoff start in a Red Sox uniform. He faces Jeremy Hellickson. Peavy has only made 2 career postseason starts, the last in 2006. He was lousy in both. Fortunately the Rays don't hit him very well. Unfortunately, the Red Sox don't hit Hellickson very well either. Except for Ortiz (.375 with 3 HRs in his career against Hellickson) and Saltalamacchia (.320, also with 3 HRs).

Expect another game decided by mistakes and the ability to capitalize on and minimize the impact of those mistakes.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Mike Carlson