So THAT'S the Garrett Richards (1-24.94 ERA) Boston Red Sox general manager Chaim Bloom wanted when he signed Garrett to a $10 million dollar contract this past off-season. Him and the analytic dorks were flapping their gums about "spin rates" and it all seemed like baloney....until tonight. Richards was masterful against the New York Mets, tossing the best game of any Sox starter this season. He struck out 10 batters, allowed just a home run and didn't walk anyone. The offense took the night off but Bobby Dalbec hit his first home run of the year and Rafael Devers put the Sox on top with an oopsie check swing rbi base hit. Matt Andriese and Matt Barnes shut down the Mets in the later innings and the Sox came away with the 2-1 victory at Citi Field.
Mets starter David Peterson got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kike Hernandez took strike three to start. Rafael Devers grounded out to second and JD Martinez grounded out to short to end the inning. Richards got the ball in the bottom of the first and Francisco Lindor grounded out to short to start. Dominic Smith lined out to right and Pete Alonso struck out swinging to end the inning.
Xander Bogaerts grounded out to second to begin the top of the second inning before Christian Vazquez struck out swinging. Hunter Renfroe walked but Marwin Gonzalez grounded out to second to end the inning. The Mets struck first in the bottom of the second inning although Michael Conforto struck out swinging to start. JD Davis struck out swinging but Jeff McNeil hit a home run into the Baltic Sea to give the Mets the lead. James McCann struck out swinging to end the inning but the Mets were up 1-0.
The Sox tied the game instantly in the top of the third when Bobby Dalbec crushed his first home run of the season to start. Richards himself grounded out to short but Hernandez flied out to center. Devers singled to center but Martinez grounded into a force to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Peterson grounded out to third to start the bottom of the third and old pal Kevin Pillar flied out to center. Lindor grounded out to third to end the inning.
Bogaerts walked to start the top of the fourth but Vazquez struck out swinging. Renfroe banged into a double play to end the inning. Richards got in trouble in the bottom of the fourth although Smith struck out swinging to start. Alonso took strike three but Conforto doubled to left. Davis singled to left to put runners at the corners but McNeil struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fifth as Gonzalez grounded out to first to start. Dalbec grounded out to first and Richards grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Sox defense stepped up in the bottom of the fifth as James McCann lined a base hit to left but was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double by Martinez. Peterson took strike three but Pillar slapped a base hit to center. Pillar was thrown out trying to steal by the alert Vazquez to end the inning.
The Sox took command in the top of the sixth inning when Hernandez lined a leadoff double to right to start. Devers accidentally check swinged a base hit into left to score Hernandez to give Boston the lead. The rally ended as Martinez banged into a double play and Bogaerts grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.
Richards got in trouble in the bottom of the sixth as Lindor singled just out of the reach of him to start. Smith flied out to center and Alonso struck out swinging, but Conforto singled to right. Davis flied out to left to end the inning.
Jeurys Famillia came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Vazquez struck out swinging to start. Renfroe doubled to center but was caught off second on the bullet hit to Lindor by Gonzalez to end the inning. Richards returned for one more inning in the bottom of the seventh and McNeil grounded out to second to start. McCann grounded out to first and Brandon Nimmo pinch hit for Familia. Richards blew him away with a 94 mph fastball to end the inning. Richards was outstanding, allowing 1 run on 7 hits while striking out 10. The best part was he didn't walk anyone.
Trevor May came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Dalbec struck out swinging to start. Franchy Cordero pinch hit for Richards and struck out swinging. Hernandez lined out to third to end the inning. Matt Andriese came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Pillar struck out swinging to start. Lindor grounded out to first and Smith grounded out to second to end the inning.
Miguel Castro came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Devers was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to start. Martinez and Bogaerts both whiffed to end the inning. Its a good thing Richards stepped up because the Sox bats only had 5 hits all game. Matt Barnes came in to close the bottom of the ninth with Alex Verdugo now in left. Alonso struck outn swinging to start and Conforto flied out to third. Davis struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 2-1.
Hero of the Night is Garrett Richards. He spun a 7 inning beauty, scattering 7 hits while striking out 10.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Hunter Renfroe was 1 for 2 with a walk.
Bobby Dalbec was 1 for 3 with a solo home run.
Matt Andriese pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Matt Barnes earned his 5th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Franchy Cordero struck out as a pinch hitter.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Marwin Gonzalez was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
JD Martinez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but gunned down McCann at second base.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Honorable Mention:
Alex Verdugo played left field in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Welcome back Garrett Richards. In a career marred by injury, the 2014 Richards showed up tonight. He had command of all his pitches and in the past, that's what made him one of the better pitchers in baseball 7 years ago. He may never get back to that point consistently but for one night, that was the old Richards. The Mets never had a chance apart from the one homer to McNeil. It was a good thing him, Andries and Barnes showed up because the offense didn't. Apart from Bogaerts, Devers and Martinez, nobody is hitting over 280 and that's going to sustain any success moving forward. The good news is they started to come around as Renfroe got a big hit and Dalbec finally hit one out. The Sox are gonna need these guys to pick up the pace going forward but tonight, the offense did just enough to win. The Sox are gonna need all the luck and timely hitting they can get tomorrow night because they run smack into the best pitcher in the game, Jacob deGrom. The undefeated Nick Pivetta (2-0, 3.48 ERA) puts his undefeated streak on the line against the best in the game at 6:40 PM at Citi Field.
No comments:
Post a Comment