Red Sox vs. Rays Series recap:
The Red Sox ended a disappointing series down in Tampa Bay by losing 2 out of 3 games. The Sox took game one and lost the last two of the series.
Garrett Whitlock took the mound Saturday night for the first time in his career as a starter. (Via. Getty Images)
Starters:
The Starters were solid in the series in game one Micheal Wacha went 5 innings, only allowing 3 hits but 2 of them were solo shots by Wander Franco. In game two of the series Garrett Whitlock took the mound for his first start of the season as he was phenomenal. Whitlock went 4 innings allowing no runs and only 1 hit. In game three of the series Rich Hill went 4 innings not allowing any runs with 4 hits and 3 walks. Again the starters were solid in the Series, it would have been nice to see Wacha and Hill get deeper in the game but overall they did their job, they gave the Sox a chance to win.
Hansel Robles (left) walks off the mound as Kevin Kiermaier (right) heads home after hitting his 2-run walk off home run on Saturday. (Via. Getty Images)
Bullpen:
In game one the bullpen was very strong, they combined for 4 innings of work only allowing 1 run. Austin Davis went 1 inning striking out 2 giving up 1 hit. Matt Strahm was okay as he was the sole reliever to give up a run in game one but it was helped along by a throwing error made by Xander Bogaerts. Hansel Robles was also very good as he went 1.1 innings without giving up a hit. Jake Deikman had a bit of a rocky outing as he got pulled in the ninth after getting two outs but walking 3 to load the bases. To close out the ninth Matt Barnes came in to save Deikman by getting Wander Franco to ground out sharply to Trevor Story. In game two the bullpen was solid again as up until the 10th inning they Davis, Kutter Crawford, and Tyler Danish combined for 5 innings giving up only 1 hit. In the 10th inning Hansel Robles took the mound and got the first two outs fairly easily, then on a ground ball hit to second baseman Trevor Story, Story threw the ball up the first baseline allowing the ghost runner on second to score. Story’s throw was a poor throw but it should have been handled by Bobby Dalbec at first base, as he had very poor footwork receiving the throw. The next batter in, Kevin Kermaier, ended the game with a walkoff 2-run homerun. In game three the bullpen wasn’t great but it wasn’t horrible either. The main blemish was Phillips Valdez having a rough outing as he gave up 3 earned, after walking 1 and hitting 2 in .1 of an inning. Ryan Brasier followed up Valdez by getting thrown in a bases loaded 1 out situation giving up a two run double to Ji-Man Choi, followed by a groundout scoring Yandy Diaz. Matt Barnes wasn’t great as he went .2 of an inning giving up 2 singles, Jake Deikman replaced him and was again rocky. Diekman went .2 of an inning uncorking a wild pitch that allowed a run to score and gave up a home run to Yandy Diaz. Tanner Houck came in to close out the game in solid fashion with a scoreless 1.2 innings.
Bobby Dalbec celebrates after hitting a go-ahead triple on Saturday night in the 10th inning. (Via. Getty Images)
Offense:
The Red Sox offense was again mostly nowhere to be found for yet another series. In game one the Red Sox offense started off hot, scoring 2 runs in the first inning thanks to RBI’s from Alex Verdugo and Jackie Bradley Jr. The Sox offense followed up the first with 2 more runs in the third inning, thanks to a home run by Rafeal Devers and an RBI single from Kiké Hernandez. After that the Sox offense struggled to secure more insurance and break the game open as they ended the game 3-10 with RISP. In game two of the series the Sox offense was held without a hit until the top of the 10th inning when Bobby Dalbec hit a triple to score the first run of the game. Christian Vazquez was able to hit a sacrifice fly to score Dalbec to give the Sox a 2-0 lead, which they ended up blowing in the bottom of the tenth. In game three the Sox offense again started hot with Kiké Hernandez and Alex Verdugo each picking up RBI’s on singles. After the first the sox offense went quiet and only picked up 2 more hits on the day.
Looking Ahead:
The Sox offense has been miserable, they are not capitalizing when runners are in scoring position or not hitting at all. The offense needs to get it together, I again am looking for Tristan Casas to get the call up to join the team in Toronto to try and spark the offense as Bobby Dalbec and Travis Shaw have been terrible to start the season. If the starting pitching and bullpen can continue to perform how they have while the offense improves this team will be a true contender in the AL but the offense has to start doing its part otherwise the team will continue to be a .500 ball club. As the Sox head to Toronto I look for the Sox to pick up 3 of 4 at the very least and look for Nick Pivetta to turn in a solid start after his last 2 starts have been atrocious. PLEASE CHIAM BLOOM CALL UP TRISTAN CASAS!