Ramirez Jettisoned, Sox Defeat Braves (5/25/18)

The Boston Red Sox made a shocking decision this afternoon to part ways with first basemen Hanley Ramirez by designating the slugger for assignment on the eve of tonight's game against the Atlanta Braves. The word on the street was this was a salary dump to get out from under his contract. His recent slump and the emergence of a healthy Mitch Moreland made Hanley expendable. Since nobody wanted his contract, trading him was out of the question so this was the only option. Its a shame it ended like this because the energetic Ramirez provided some entertainment and some clutch hits the past four years. So long Hanley and thank you. In his place the Sox activated Dustin Pedroia who could be a .300 hitter if he stays healthy. Let's see what happens.

                                                                       OUT

                                                                           IN

The bad news was the Boston Celtics lost Game 6 of their NBA East Finals series with the Cleveland Cavaliers but the good news was the Boston Red Sox defeated the Atlanta Braves. The Sox bats provided some pop against the Braves tonight by swatting four home runs against the NL East leading team. Eduardo Rodriguez (5-1, 4.02 ERA) pitched decent enough as the Sox beat the Braves 6-2 at Fenway Park.

                                                       Grace Slick approves of the win

Rodriguez took the mound in the top of the first inning and Ozzie Albies singled to start. Rodriguez recovered to blow away Ronald Acuna and Freddie Freeman but Nick Markakis walked. Kurt Suzuki grounded into a force to end the inning. Braves starter Julio Teheran was tough in the bottom of the first inning as Mr. Mookie flied out to center to start. Andrew Benintendi also flied out to center and JD Martinez lined out to right to end the inning.

The Braves threatened in the top of the second inning although Ender Inciarte grounded out to first to begin. Tyler Flowers and Johan Camargo stroked back to back singles. Dansby Swanson lined out to center before Albies flied out to right to end the inning. Mitch Moreland tried to start a rally with a base hit but was erased on the force by Xander Bogaerts. Rafael Devers whiffed but Brock "The Hitman" Holt walked. Christian Vazquez lined out to center to end the inning.

The Braves struck first in the top of the third when Acuna and Freeman stroked back to back singles and Markakis doubled both men home to give the Braves the lead. Rodriguez recovered to strike out Suzuki and get Inciarte to ground out to short. Flowers grounded out to third to end the inning but the Braves took the lead 2-0.

                                                         Braves strike first

The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the third as Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out to second to begin. Mr. Mookie and Benintendi both whiffed to end the inning.

Rodriguez trudged to the mound in the top of the fourth and got Camargo to pop up to second to begin. Swanson whiffed but Albies walked. Acuna lined out to center to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Martinez led off with his 16th home run of the year to cut the lead. Moreland flied out to right and Bogaerts tied the game with a solo shot of his own. Devers walked but was foolishly picked off. Holt grounded out to first to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.

                                             Bogaerts and Martinez tie it up

Rodriguez threw way too many pitches in the top of the fifth but at least he struck out Freeman and Markakis to begin. Suzuki grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fifth although Vazquez grounded out to second to start. JBJ tripled and Mr. Mookie walked to put runners at the corners and Benintendi put the Sox on top with a sac fly to score Bradley. Mr. Mookie swiped second but Martinez grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-2.

                                                      Sox take the lead

Rodriguez ran out of gas in the top of the sixth inning although he whiffed Inciarte to begin. Flowers grounded out to short but Camargo walked to chase Eduardo. He hung in there to go 5 2/3 innings allowing just 2 runs while striking out 7. Heath Hembree came in and struck out Swanson to end the inning.

                                                         Good effort by Rodriguez

The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the sixth as Moreland looked at strike three to begin. Bogaerts grounded back to the mound and Devers grounded out to second to end the inning.

Joe "Machine Gun" Kelly was brought in to pitch the top of the seventh and he got Albies to fly out to left to start. Acuna whiffed but Freeman walked. Markakis grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Sox iced the game in the bottom of the seventh as Jesse Biddle replaced Teheran only for Holt to greet him with a single. Vazquez lined out to second and JBJ looked at strike three to end Biddle's night. Matt Wisler was brought in to face Mr. Mookie as Holt swiped second. Betts made the Braves pay for the pitching change by smashing his 17th home run of the year for some much needed insurance. Benintendi popped up to third to end the inning but it was 5-2 Sox.

                                                 All smiles for Betts and the Sox

Matt Barnes got the call to pitch the top of the eighth and Suzuki flied out to right to begin. Inciarte grounded out to second and Flowers watched strike three go by to end the inning. The Sox had one last present for the fans in the bottom of the eighth although Martinez grounded out to third to begin. Moreland swatted his 8th home run of the year to give the team 4 homers on the night. Bogaerts grounded out to short and Devers flied out to left to end the inning but it was 6-2 Sox.

                                                Moreland goes yard

Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel was brought in to pitch the top of the ninth and Camargo looked at strike three to start. Swanson doubled and moved to third on the Albies ground out but Acuna whiffed to end the game. The Sox had won it 3-2.

                                                         Another win

Hero of the Night is a tough one considering the whole team pitched in. I gotta go with Mookie Betts, his two run homer lit up the crowd and put the game away.

                                                    Mr. Mookie is Mr. Hero


The Good:

Mitch Moreland was 2 for 4 with a solo home run.

Brock Holt was 1 for 2 with a walk, stolen base and a run scored.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a run scored.

Eduardo Rodriguez got the win tossing 5 2/3 innings of 2 run ball while striking out 7.

Heath Hembree struck out the only man he faced.

Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless 7th inning.

Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 8th inning.

Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless 9th inning.



The Bad:

Christian Vazquez was 0 for 3,



The Ugly:

Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 3 but walked.

JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 but the hit was a solo home run.

Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a solo home run.

Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 but walked.




Final Thoughts:

If the Sox missed Hanley they sure didn't look like it. Mitch Moreland is more than capable of playing first with Martinez the DH. The offense didn't miss a beat as they clubbed four home runs and used their speed to score a 6th run. The loss of Ramirez may sting later if Moreland slumps or someone gets hurt but as of right now, he was expendable. Rodriguez threw way too many pitches but at least he made the good ones when he had to. It was nice to see the bullpen lock it down after Rodriguez left the game. The win improved the Sox to 35-16, 1.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow afternoon Drew Pomeranz looks to bounce back from back to back stinkers to face Middleboro, Mass native Sean Newcomb. The game begins at 1:05 PM at Fenway Park.