Sunday, July 23, 2017

Lifeless Sox Drop Another To Angels (7/23/17)

The 2017 Boston Red Sox are becoming pretty unlikable these days. One year after winning the division title with one of the best run scoring offense in baseball, almost the exact same team (minus one important Papi) is now last in the majors in home runs slugging percentage and nearly last in every offensive category. This was on display as the normally dormant Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim once again shut down the Sox and used a trio of homers to hand Rick Porcello (4-13, 4.52 ERA) his 13th loss. The offense mustered just 6 hits and lost 3-2 in Anaheim Stadium as the Angels took 2 out of 3.
                                     Larry Bird can't bear to watch this anymore

Bridwell began his domination in the top of the first inning. Mr. Mookie Betts popped up to first, Andrew Benintendi whiffed and Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out to second to end the inning. Porcello matched Bridwell in the bottom of the first inning as Yunel Escobar grounded out to short to start. Mike Trout grounded out to third and Andrelton Simmons struck out to end the inning.

The Sox mustered nothing in the top of the second inning. Hanley Ramirez lined out to center, Mitch Moreland flied out to left and Xander Bogaerts grounded out to short to end the inning. Porcello did what he could in the bottom of the second inning. Kole Calhoun struck out but CJ Cron singled. Luis Valbuena lined out to second and Ben Revere grounded out to second to end the inning.

Still no hits for the Sox in the top of the third inning. Sandy Leon and Brock Holt popped up to short before Deven Marrero grounded out to short to end the inning. Maldonado was plunked to begin the bottom of the third. Nick Franklin struck out, Escobar flied out to center and Trout was called out on strikes to end the inning.

The Sox got their first baserunner in the top of the fourth inning although Mr. Mookie grounded out to short. Benny The Kid worked a walk to break up the perfect game but JBJ struck out. Ramirez popped up to third to end the inning. The Angels struck first in the bottom of the fourth inning as Simmons crushed a solo home run to give the Angels the lead. Porcello recovered to strike out Calhoun but Cron walked. Valbuena whiffed and Revere flied out to right to end the inning but the Angels led 1-0.
                                                           Simmons ties it up

The Sox struck back in the top of the fifth inning although Moreland grounded into second to start. Bogaerts grounded out to second but Leon broke up the no-hitter with a single. Holt and Marrero stroked back to back singles to score Leon with the tying run. Mr. Mookie grounded out to end the inning but it was now 1-1.
                                               Marrero ties it up

Porcello responded with a shut down inning in the bottom of the fifth inning. Maldonado popped up to first, Franklin lined out to right and Escobar grounded out to second to end the inning.

The Sox struck back in the top of the sixth inning although Benny The Kid grounded out to first to start. JBJ flied out to left but Ramirez belted his 16th homer of the year to give the Sox the lead. Moreland grounded out to first to end the inning but it was 2-1 Sox.
                                                 Ramirez puts the Sox on top

The lead lasted approximately 26 seconds as Trout clobbered a solo home run to tie the game 3 pitches into the bottom of the sixth inning. Porcello recovered to get Simmons to ground out to first and Calhoun to fly out to left. Cron grounded out to third to end the inning but it was now 2-2.
                                                Trout ties it up

Bridwell almost had an easy top of the seventh when Bogaerts grounded out to short to start. Leon flied out to left but Holt singled. Marrero whiffed to end the inning. The Angels took command when Valbuena homered 3 pitches into the bottom of the seventh inning. Revere, Maldonado and Franklin all popped up to short to end the inning but the Angels led 3-2.
                                              Valbuena puts the Angels up for good

Blake Parker took over for Bridwell in the top of the eighth but the Sox were dead. Mr. Mookie grounded out to first, Benny The Kid popped up to short and JBJ flied out to left to end the inning. Porcello returned for the bottom of the eighth to finish his job no matter what. Escobar lined out to center and Trout lined out to third, but Simmons singled. Calhoun hit a comebacker to end the inning. Porcello had gone 8 innings and had given up just 3 runs, normally that's an outstanding start. He deserved a better fate.
                                   "Man this offense sucks monkey turds" - Porcello

Bud Norris came in to close out the game in the top of the ninth and Ramirez got on with a single. That was it as Moreland whiffed and Bogaerts banged into a double play to end the game. The inept offense cost them another game as the Angels won 3-2.


Jackass of the Night is Xander Bogaerts. He was 0 for 4 and hit into the game ending double play when a bloop or a blast would have tied or won it.
                                                  Bogaerts is the Jackass



The Good:

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

Sandy Leon was 1 for 3 with a run scored.

Brock Holt was 2 for 3.

Deven Marrero was 1 for 3 with an rbi.

One of the rare times the losing pitcher ends up on the good list. Rick Porcello took the loss giving up 3 solo home runs but went the distance, pitching 8 innings and allowing just 5 total hits. Normally that's an ace quality start.



The Bad:

Mookie Betts was 0 for 4.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Mitch Moreland was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.



The Ugly:

Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 3 but walked.




Final Thoughts:

This season is starting to suck royally. Back in April and May we were all saying "The offense will be fine once it warms up." Well it warmed up and the offense is still ice cold. Betts, Bogaerts, Bradley and ESPECIALLY Ramirez and Leon are nowhere where they were last year. When those guys aren't hitting, you aren't going to win. Something has to be done whether its by trade, or the popular rumor that 20 year old prospect Rafael Devers is ready. Maybe Bryce Brentz can be called up. DO SOMETHING DAVE DOMBROWSKI! Your team has a chance to repeat as division champions with a loaded rotation and bullpen, but the offense is stinking up the place. The loss dropped the Sox to 55-45, 2.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees in the AL East. The team now travels to Seattle for a 3 game set with the Mariners. The offense will be completely inept against James Paxton while Eduardo Rodriguez (4-2) will be the hard luck loser no doubt. The game begins at 10:00 PM Eastern time at Safeco Field.

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