Wednesday, April 12, 2017

O's Hammer Sox, Wright Shelled (4/12/17)

The good news was the Boston Bruins defeated the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 of their first round NHL playoff series but the bad news was the Boston Red Sox got nailed by the Baltimore Orioles. Steven Wright was the Boston's second best starter last season until he was hurt pinch running. Wright hasn't been the same since and tonight he was straight up batting practice. The Baltimore bats pounded out 17 hits, knocked out Wright and cruised to a 12-5 win at Fenway Park.
                                                         Sad Sox fans

Wright immediately crapped his pants in the top of the first inning. Seth Smith was hit with a pitch and took second on a wild pitch. Adam Jones struck out but Manny Machado crushed a ground rule double to score Smith. Chris Davis grounded out to move Manny to third and he scored on the Mark Trumbo single. Wellington Castillo singled and Trey Mancini smashed a 3 run bomb  as the boo-birds rained down. Jonathan Schoop followed with a solo blast of his own and Hardy singled. The guy who started the inning, Smith, lined out to end the inning but the O's were up 6-0. Brutal.
                                                  Batting practice

Ubaldo Jimenez got the ball and the Sox couldnt take advantage in the bottom of the first inning. Dustin Pedroia singled but Andrew Benintendi flied out. Mr. Mookie Betts popped up and Hanley Ramirez flied out to end the inning.

Wright returned for the top of the second and was once again shelled. Jones hit a solo blast but Machado grounded out. Davis then launched a home run to give the O's four in just two innings. Finally Sox manager John Farrell pulled the plug and lifted Wright for rookie Ben Taylor. 8 runs allowed by Wright in just 1 13 innings.
                                                "Gimmie that ball....and get outta here!" - JF

Taylor got Trumbo to ground out and he struck out Castillo to end the inning. The Sox failed to answer against Jimenez in the bottom of the second inning. Mitch Moreland struck out but Xander Bogaerts reached on the error by Jimenez, only for Pablo Sandoval to ground into a double play to end the inning.

Mancini continued to be a pain in the ass as he swatted another solo home run to lead-off the top of the third inning, the first run allowed by Taylor this season. Ben recovered to strike out Schoop but Hardy singled. Smith then bounced into a double play to end the inning with the O's up 9-0. The Sox finally got on the board in the bottom of the third inning. Chris Young doubled and Sandy Leon singled him to third. Pedroia lined out but Benny The Kid hit a sac fly to score Young to cut the lead 9-1. Mr. Mookie grounded out to end the inning.

Taylor returned for the top of the fourth and got Jones to ground out. Machado flied out but Davis doubled. Trumbo lined out to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth inning. Ramirez doubled and took third on a passed ball. Moreland grounded out but Bogaerts singled home Ramirez. Sandoval then crushed a 2 run homer to cut the lead 9-4. Suddenly the Sox were crawling back in it. Young singled and took second on a wild pitch but Leon flied out and Pedroia lined out to end the inning.
                                                 Sandoval with the big home run

Taylor came back for the fifth and kept the deficit to 5 runs. Castillo lined out but Mancini walked. Schoop grounded out and Hardy hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning. 3 2/3 innings for Taylor with just the one run allowed, not bad for a rookie. The Sox blew a golden chance to get back in the game in the bottom of the fifth. Benny The Kid walked but Mr. Mookie lined out. Ramirez singled and Moreland walked to load the bases. O's manager Buck Showalter pulled the incompetent Jimenez for Mychal Givens. Bogaerts singled home Ramirez to cut the lead 9-5 and somehow bring the tying run to the plate. This time Sandoval whiffed and Young flied out to end the inning. The Sox never threatened again after that.

Fernand Abad made his season debut in the top of the sixth inning. Jones singled but Machado grounded into a double play to end the inning. Givens returned for the bottom of the sixth and cruised. Leon and Pedroia grounded out although Benny The Kid was plunked. Mr. Mookie flied out to end the inning.

Abad returned briefly in the top of the seventh to pitch to Davis, who singled. Sox manger John Farrell brought in Joe Kelly who also crapped his pants. Trumbo singled and Castillo doubled both men home and took third when Mookie Betts threw the ball into the bullpen for an error. Mancini struck out but Schoop singled home Castillo. Hardy banged into a double play but the game was now out of reach 12-5. Seth Smith moved to left as Craig Gentry came in to play right field. Ramirez grounded out and that was it for Givens. Donnie Hart came in and Moreland doubled to left. Bogaerts legged out an infield single but Sandoval popped up. Young whiffed to end the inning.

Kelly returned for the top of the eighth with Marco Hernandez taking over at second for Pedroia. Smith grounded out, Jones flied out to right and Machado flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox went quietly in the bottom of the eighth. Leon flied out as both Hernandez and Benintendi struck out to end the inning.

Robbie Scott came on to pitch the top of the ninth. Davis grounded out and Trumbo struck out. Castillo singled but Gentry grounded out to end the inning. Ryan Flaherty took over at short and Vidal Nuno came on to pitch the bottom of the ninth. Mr. Mookie popped up but Ramirez walked. Moreland walked but Bogaerts popped up. Sandoval popped up to bring the misery to an end. The O's had won it 12-5.

Jackass of the Night is an easy one. Steven Wright was batting practice, allowing 4 home runs and 8 runs allowed in just 1 1/3 innings.
                                                     Steven Wright: Jackass


The Good:

Hanley Ramirez was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.

Mitch Moreland was 1 for 3 with two walks.

Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 5 with 2 rbi's and a run scored.

Chris Young was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Ben Taylor pitched 3 2/3 innings allowing just one run to keep the Sox in the game.

Robbie Scott pitched a scoreless 9th inning.


The Bad:

Marco Hernandez was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Mookie Betts was 0 for 5 with a throwing error.

Joe Kelly allowed an inherited run to score and 2 of his own to put the game out of reach.


The Ugly:

Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4.

Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 2 but walked, was hit with a pitch, drove in a run and scored a run.

Pablo Sandoval was just 1 for 5 but the one hit was a 2 run home run.

Sandy Leon was just 1 for 4.

Fernando Abad allowed a run in a full inning of work although it was an inherited run that scored.


Final Thoughts:

Oh that was very bad. Wright couldn't have gotten me out today, that's how bad he was. It was nice to see the offense crank out 5 runs, on a day with good pitching that would have been enough to win. Wright better get his head out of his ass because they need him with David Price out. Sox can't rely on just Porcello and Sale, they need the others to step up. Also Mookie Betts doesn't look good at all to start the year, hopefully its because of the flu bug which also made Morland look like garbage the first couple games of the season. He's too talented to slump for long. Also who would have thought a year ago Ben Taylor and Robbie Scott would be pitching in the big leagues, kudos to them for being reliable so far. Tomorrow the Sox play the makeup game against Pittsburgh with Eduardo Rodriguez getting the start against Chad Kuhl at 2 PM in Fenway Park.

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