Fourteen times last night, the Red Sox were given first base by Orioles pitchers. Fourteen! Every starter in the Red Sox lineup got a free pass. Compare that to the one walk Red Sox pitchers allowed.
The funny thing is, the Red Sox probably didn't score as many runs as they should have. They walked 14 times and accumulated 16 hits but only scored 14 times. They grounded into 4 double plays and left 14 men on, including 6 left in scoring position. They easily could have put up 20 runs last night. The 14 was enough, though.
This game was over in the top of the 1st when Daniel Cabrera couldn't throw a strike. Six walks in the first inning alone. The Sox put up 4 in the first then 3 in the 2nd. This allowed Clement to cruise. The Red Sox would eventually double their run total off of Baltimore's weakest pitchers put in the game to mop up. The Red Sox would give up 8, but they were junk runs.
Clement looked really sharp for the first few innings. The Orioles were able to string a couple of hits together and eventually wind up scoring 4. Then the Sox added 3 runs for insurance. Then Seanez came in and looked like he did in Spring Training, giving up another 4. Foulke came in for the 9th and looked solid, allowing a single hit and inducing a game ending double play.
Coco Crisp had another good game, going 2 for 6 and reaching base 3 out of 7 plate appearances. He scored twice. Loretta had a great game, going 2 for 3 with a double, walking twice, and scoring twice. The Red Sox 1, 2 hitters reached base 7 out of 12 appearances.
Ortiz and Varitek were the only starting Sox to go hitless, but Ortiz managed to work 2 walks and score a run. Tek also walked twice, including one with the bases juiced for an RBI.
Manny exploded with a 3 for 4, 2 RBI, 3 run outing. His walk in the first inning with the bases loaded constituted his first RBI of the season. Lowell had a good day with a double, a single, and 2 RBI. J.T. snow came in and went 1 for 1. He also made a great Web Gem out in the field on a hot ground shot down the first base line. Alex Cora was another replacement that did well, he went 1 for 1 with a with a 2 run double.
Youkilis had a great night in the 8th spot in the lineup going 3 for 3 and knocking in a pair. Even Gonzalez contributed with a double and a walk.
The Man of the Game is Christopher Trotman Nixon who went 2 for 4 with a 2 run homer, a double, 4 RBI, 2 walks, and 2 runs scored.
This was a perfect game for Keith Foulke to pitch in. He didn't have to pitch much, facing the minimum 3 batters i n1 inning. He threw 10 pitches, 9 of which were strikes. I think the Sox should gradually increase the importance of situations in which Foulke enters games. Hopefully, he'll progress smoothely and he will once again be an option at closer.
Rudy Seanez did not look good all Spring and he looked terrible tonigh. I know it is hard for a pitcher to focus 100% inheriting such a huge lead in a game that is all but decided, but he may be pitching for his job here. There are a great deal of players down in Pawtucket and up in Portland who would love to have his roster spot.
Speaking of the minors, David Wells made a rehab start for the PawSox last night. The good news is that Boomer threw 92 pitches and felt physically fine. The bad news is that he allowed 7 runs in 5 innings, including runs off of two homers and two doubles. Overall, I guess the news from the start is good. Wells appears to be healthy. If he's healthy, that's half the equation for him. The other half is does he still have enough gas in the tank to be succesful.
Here's a tough question. Had Maryland women's basketball coach Brenda Frese remained on the mound after throwing the first pitch, would she have thrown more strikes than Cabrera?
No comments:
Post a Comment