Saturday, June 14, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - October is finally here and Boston has conquered the best division in the AL. Despite having the 2nd best record in baseball, there weren't many awards to go around at Fenway. Even though only two Red Sox came home with awards, Jon Lester really made it count.
Lester's amazing season ends with amazing awards
Jon Lester becomes the 9th pitcher to win the MVP and Cy Young in the same season, with Justin Verlander being the last in 2011. The only other Boston player to take home some silverware was Daniel Nava, who won the AL Gold Glove at RF.
| 2014 MLB Award Winners | |||
| Award | Player | Pos | Team |
| AL Most Valuable Player | Jon Lester | SP | Boston Red Sox |
| AL Cy Young Award | Jon Lester | SP | Boston Red Sox |
| AL Rookie of the Year | Marcus Stroman | SP | Toronto Blue Jays |
| NL Most Valuable Player | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | Arizona Diamondbacks |
| NL Cy Young Award | Adam Wainwright | SP | St. Louis Cardinals |
| AL Rookie of the Year | Oscar Taveras | LF | St. Louis Cardinals |
2014 AL EAST FINAL STANDINGS
| MLB Standings - Updated: Oct 1, 2014 | |||
| AL EAST | W | L | GB |
| Boston | 98 | 64 | - |
| Baltimore | 85 | 77 | 13 |
| Tampa Bay | 85 | 77 | 13 |
| Toronto | 81 | 81 | 17 |
| NY Yankees | 74 | 88 | 24 |
2014 LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES MATCH UPS
Three AL East teams advanced to the playoffs this year, with Baltimore and Tampa Bay facing each other in the Wild Card game. Baltimore's season, that once seemed so promising, ended after a 4-2 loss to Tampa Bay. David Price out dueled Jered Weaver to punch the Rays' ticket to face Boston in the ALDS.
In an odd twist, the NL Wild Card was also a game between two teams from the same division. The San Francisco Giants, much like Baltimore, were favorites that fell short. The Arizona Diamondbacks won 11-5, with Cole Hamels notching a win against NL Cy Young runner-up Matt Cain. Things are shaping up for an exciting run up to the World Series, with the Los Angeles Dodgers heavy favorite to win it all.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
1 - Boston Red Sox (98-64)
2 - Detroit Tigers (95-67)
3 - Seattle Mariners (94-68)
WC - Tampa Bay Rays (85-77)
Boston is the odds-on favorite to beat TB, and the Tigers are slight favorites over the Mariners. Most expect a Red Sox-Tigers ALCS to be an exciting series between two teams built to win now, and seeing a Lester-Verlander battle at least twice is just too tempting.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
1 - Los Angeles Dodgers (100-62)
2 - Washington Nationals (94-68)
3 - St. Louis Cardinals (92-70)
WC - Arizona Diamondbacks (90-72)
The Dodgers are huge favorites over their rebuilt division rivals. Even Cole Hamels and the NL MVP are going to have trouble dealing with the star power at the plate and on the mound in LA. The popular pick is the Cardinals over the Nationals, but the Nationals are an extremely talented team and most experts are picking the Nationals to make it to the NLCS for a showdown with the Dodgers.
Friday, June 13, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - The ALDS is right around the corner and the Red Sox have clinched home field advantage, but that wouldn't stop Boston from doing their best to beat the visiting Yankees. New York been through a horrible season, clinching DFL in the AL East and another year of Boston playing in October. Lester would go toe-to-toe with Masahiro Tanaka, a fitting end to his regular season.
Tanaka and Lester would trade scoreless innings in the 1st, and then the Red Sox got to NY's ace and started the avalanche. David Ross started the scoring the the 2nd with a 2R single that brought in Pedroia and Napoli from 2nd and 3rd, they were at 2nd and 3rd courtesy of a Jeter throwing error to 1st. Another run in the 3rd made it 3-0, and things only got worse.
Beltran and Jeter did not play well at all
The 4th inning was host to a Grady Sizemore 2R inside-the-park HR after Carlos Beltran missed a line drive while diving, letting the ball bounce around in the RF corner. Bogaerts followed things up with a 2R-HR to bring in Jackie Bradley Jr. and make it 7-0 and end Tanaka's day after only 3.1IP.
Victorino and Napoli added solo HR's in the 5th and 7th, and Bradley Jr. added an RBI single after Jeter booted a grounder to cap off his terrible day. Lester left the game after 6 shutout innings, 2H, 3BB, and 11K to finish off his dream season. The Yankees rescued themselves from being shut out with a 2R double off Brandon Workman in the 8th, but that was it for the day.
| New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Sep 27, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York (73-88) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| Boston (98-63) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 10 | 15 | 0 |
| W: Lester (19-5) L: Tanaka (13-12) S: Workman (2) | ||||||||||||
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BALTIMORE, MD - The final few games of the season are just around the corner, and the playoff race is tight. Boston would make the trip to Baltimore, their ticket to the postseason already punched, and the Orioles would be desperate for a win. Baltimore came into this game in a three-way for the Wild Card with the Rays and Angels, all at 81 wins.
From the very start this game turned into a pitchers duel between Lester and Steve Johnson. Both pitchers were getting batters to swing and miss frequently, with Johnson bowing out after the 7th with 8K. Lester looked like he was locked in and ready for the Cy Young, going 8 strong innings with only 5 hits and a walk. Up to that point Lester had 14K, an eye popping total, and he could smell a complete game shutout heading into the 9th.
Hardy puts the O's one step closer to October baseball
Unfortunately for Lester, he was running out of gas, and he lost his focus and started leaving pitches where the Orioles could hit it. Manny Machado, already 2/3, added a third hit and put two on with no outs in the bottom of the 9th. John Farrell finally made the walk to the mound and signaled in Brandon Workman to get out of this jam. Workman promptly struck out AL MVP candidate Chris Davis to face JJ Hardy and a double play opportunity. Hardy had other ideas, catching a well placed cutter and sending it over the fence for a three run walk-off HR.
| Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles | ||||||||||||
| Sep 21, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (94-62) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Baltimore (82-73) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| W: O'Day (7-5) L: Lester (18-5) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
PITTSBURGH, PA - A .500 August must have woken this team up, and a 13-2 record so far in September is shutting up the doubters. Boston would roll into Pittsburgh feeling pretty good about making it 14-2, the Pirates boast the 2nd worst team ERA in baseball and the 24th ranked pitching staff. Jon Lester would face off against Edinson Volquez, who hasn't pitched very much this year due to injury, things were lining up in their favor.
Volquez did a very good job to start the game, making this into a real pitching duel through the 3rd inning. Volquez managed to get out of a bases loaded jam with only a single run allowed, a sac-fly by Pedroia, and held the score 1-0 through the 4th. It was too good to be true for the Pirates, and Volquez's luck ran out in the 5th. A big rally, highlighted by a Bogaerts 2R-HR with Victorino on 3rd, broke this game open. Will Middlebrooks ended Edinson's day, after 4.2IP, with an RBI single that brought in Pedroia from 2nd.
Lester might be cruising to an AL Cy Young win
To put it bluntly, Lester was dominant. He has been walking tons of batters this season, but he only allowed a single one today. In 7.0IP the Pirates did get 7H, but they were made moot with 11K to back them up. David Ross hit a solo-HR in the 6th, and Napoli hit one of his own in the 7th to make it 6-0 and set the stage for Brandon Workman. Workman, getting better with each game, simply overpowered the Pirates and finished the final two innings with 5K.
| Boston Red Sox at Pittsburgh Pirates | ||||||||||||
| Sep 16, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (92-59) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 1 |
| Pittsburgh (74-76) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| W: Lester (18-4) L: Volquez (2-3) | ||||||||||||
The victory wasn't the only good news, as Baltimore lost 6-5 against Toronto to clinch the AL East for Boston. A hefty 12 game lead didn't leave much suspense, but knowing you are in the playoffs is always good for momentum. The Detroit Tigers also clinched their division by the same margin today with a White Sox loss.
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - Jon Lester and the Re Sox host another AL East foe today, and they couldn't come into this game any hotter. Baltimore and trade acquisition Jered Weaver would come in to Fenway looking to halt a 12 game win streak, and they would need a win themselves to stay in the playoff hunt.
The Red Sox must have become complacent with the win streak and a healthy AL East lead, because the Orioles came out swinging and made them look stupid. Lester faltered almost right away, giving up a monster 2R-HR to Chris Davis to make it 2-0 before Boston even saw a single pitch. Jered Weaver was absolutely on fire, he must have chatted with Marcus Stroman before the game, and Boston was swinging at everything to make it even easier. Will Middlebrooks managed a solo-HR, but that was it for the defending champions.
Davis crushes a HR to deep RF
JJ Hardy added to Lester's misery, and made things more comfortable for Weaver, with a 2R-HR in the 4th to make it 4-1. Weaver completely took over, making everyone look silly, and cruised for 8.0IP and 11K without a single walk. Markakis topped off the evening with an RBI triple, that should have been an out, but Shane Victorino last the ball in the sun and crashed into the RF fence just under Pesky's Pole to turn it into a triple.
| Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Sep 10, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Baltimore (77-69) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
| Boston (88-58) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| W: Weaver (15-8) L: Lester (17-4) | ||||||||||||
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - It didn't take Boston long to shake off the 14-14 funk of August, they currently enjoy a 5 game lead on second place Toronto, but another month of .500 baseball could have them watching the playoffs from home. The Dodgers continue to be the best team in baseball with a record of 84-53, but better than Boston.
| MLB Standings - Updated: Sep 1, 2014 | |||
| AL EAST | W | L | GB |
| Boston | 79 | 57 | - |
| Toronto | 74 | 62 | 5.0 |
| Tampa Bay | 72 | 65 | 7.5 |
| Baltimore | 70 | 66 | 9.0 |
| NY Yankees | 63 | 73 | 16.0 |
The MiLB season is now over, for Boston at least, with AAA Pawtucket (67-77) and AA Portland (66-76) finishing out of the playoffs. The only other news heading into the month of September is the permanent benching of AJ Pierzynski. Pierzynski has been extremely disappointing, so John Farrell has made the move to start David Ross going forward.
Jon Lester's first start of the month would be against Toronto at home, and Brett Anderson (traded from Colorado) would make it really easy. Anderson would open the game by giving up a 3R-HR to David Ortiz (RF), and then follow it up with a solo-HR to Will Middlebrooks. The 2nd inning was more of the same, with Bradley Jr. on 2nd Ortiz would go over the Green Monster a second time for a 2R-HR and a 6-0 lead.
Anderson would leave in the 4th for Mark Buerhle, but he wouldn't be much better. Pedroia welcomed Mark to Fenway with a 2R-HR. David Ross rewarded Farrell for starting him with a 2R-HR of his own in the 5th, followed by a Bradley Jr. RBI-double off the Green Monster, which was followed by a Xander Bogaerts 2R-HR to deep CF. Victorino would make it 14-0 with an RBI single and two on in the 6th, which would be enough to sit Lester after 7.0IP.
Lind would need a ladder to keep the ball in the park today
Lester would be extremely sharp today, allowing only a single hit and a single walk on his way to 11K. Brandon Workman, fresh up from AAA, would make things a little interesting in the 9th. After walking Jose Reyes he would enduce a ground-out DP from Encarnacion to end the game, a complete blowout.
| Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Sep 5, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Toronto (76-76) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Boston (84-57) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 14 | 17 | 0 |
| W: Lester (17-3) L: Anderson (13-7) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
Player (Prospect Grade - John Sickels, Current Level)
3B, Garin Cecchini (Grade : B+, AAA Pawtucket)
Hot in August, now hitting .292 to beat out Swihart by the slimmest of margins. The only thing keeping him from a shot at the majors right now is Will Middlebrooks mashing HRs.
LHP, Henry Owens (Grade : B+, AAA Pawtucket)
Owens was beaten up in his only AAA start, only lasting 5.0IP. 4K's and 4ER isn't the best way to start AAA, but coaches expect him to adjust and continue improving.
SS, Chris Owings (Grade : B, AAA Pawtucket)
Only one HR in August, and he whiffed enough to bring his average down to .268, but all the skills are still there. Coaches expect him to start 2015 in the majors, barring any major roster moves during the offseason.
RHP, Anthony Ranaudo (Grade : B, AAA Pawtucket)
2B/OF, Mookie Betts (Grade : B, AAA Pawtucket)
Playing almost exclusively in the OF, perhaps he sees the writing on the wall with Pedroia and Owings blocking him.
C, Blake Swihart (Grade : B, AAA Pawtucket)
Swihart appears to be the real deal, period. Hitting .291 with 10HR and 44RBI, not to mention 8SB. If he is this good, and coaches believe he is, we could see him in the majors as early as next season.
RHP, Allen Webster (Grade : B-, AAA Pawtucket)
Having a very dissapointing season. May be sent down to Portland to work on things and get back to where coaches thought he might be by now.
RHP, Matt Barnes (Grade : B-, AAA Pawtucket)
Barnes continues to look like he isn't long for AAA. Will definitely come up during roster expansion, only question is if he starts the 2015 season in the bullpen or the rotation.
LHP, Trey Ball (Grade : B-, AA Portland)
Ball went 2-2 in August, bringing his ERA down a tad to 4.81 from 5.00.
Players Making Noise
RHP, Brandon Workman (Grade : B-, AAA Pawtucket)
Monday, June 9, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - The final day in August leads into the final stretch, only one month left before the playoffs and things are up and down for Boston. The Red Sox head into their third game against the Rays, after beating them in the first two games of the series, and they needed to put being swept at Toronto out of their heads. A match-up against Matt Moore wouldn't seem like a great way to do that, but today was not Moore's best outing.
Boston would open the game with a 2-0 after only three hitters. Bogaerts stole second, was driven in by a Pedroia double, who was driven in by an Ortiz single. Victorino would make it 3-0 with a solo-HR in the second, and Lester would just keep frustrating the Rays hitters. David Ross, now playing more regularly, poured salt on Moore's wounds with a 2R-HR which was followed by a Jonny Gomes solo-HR. Moore wouldn't come out for the 5th down 6-0, all on only 6 hits.
Boston added another run with a Ross RBI after a Victorino triple thanks to some questionable defending by Wil Myers and Desmond Jennings. Heath Bell came in for the 7th, and he was lit up like a Christmas tree. Bell put Bogaerts and Pedroia on, then walked Ortiz, then threw a fastball right down Main Street to allow Mike Napoli to hit a grand slam. Middlebrooks added a 2R-HR in the top of the 9th to make it 13-0, and Jon Lester came out to finish the game. It took him 124 pitches, and he gave up an RBI double to Longoria and walked Logan Forsythe with the bases loaded to make it 13-2, but he finished the game.
The victory brought an end to a bad month, finishing 14-14 for August. Boston will have to play better than .500 baseball if they are going to stay on top of the AL East.
| Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays | ||||||||||||
| Aug 31, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (79-57) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 0 |
| Tampa Bay (72-64) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| W: Lester (16-3) L: Moore (10-13) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
TORONTO, ON - Boston made another visit to the unfriendly confines of the Rogers Centre today, and they would find themselves on the wrong end of the ROY race. Jon Lester would be scheduled to go up against Marcus Stroman, who is having a sensational rookie year. Stroman's 13 wins have pushed him past Xander Bogaerts as the favorite to win the AL ROY, and he would only help his case today.
From the start this game would be a pitchers duel, and you would be confused about who the AL Cy Young leader was. Jon Lester struggled through long at bats over and over, his first inning resulted in Adam Lind grounding into a fielder's choice that would easily score Melky Cabrera. Boston answered back with a Napoli HR in the 2nd to make it 1-1, and then Stroman basically took over the game.
Stroman made it look easy
Stroman used his two-seam fastball to surgically dismantle Boston over and over, constantly nipping the lower outside corner of the strike zone to strike out Boston's left handers. David Ortiz looked particularly lost, swinging wildly and late numerous times. Lester made it hard on himself, putting two on with no outs after a bad throw to 2B went down as an error. He had to find his Cy Young form to get out of the inning, striking out three consecutive batters.
Andrew Miller came in for Lester in the 6th, having thrown over 120 pitches in just 5.0IP. Miller promptly allowed a run and loaded the bases for Edward Mujica. Mujica then allowed another run and a Cabrera sac-fly to fall behind 4-1.
Middlebrooks added a solo-HR in the 7th, but Stroman was too sharp to let anything else by. 8IP, no walks, and 13K later Casey Janssen came in to close this one out. Stroman looked like a real Cy Young contender today, and Boston just couldn't catch a break.
| Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays | ||||||||||||
| Aug 25, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (76-55) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Toronto (70-61) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Stroman (14-7) L: Miller (1-4) S: Janssen (36) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - The Red Sox announced that Shelby Miller would be placed on the 60-day DL with a broken hand, an injury that should keep him out for 2-3 months. Miller broke his hand when a come-backer from Robinson Cano struck his left hand in the 5th inning. Miller immediately left the game against Seattle in considerable pain.
Chris Archer, who has looked much better at Pawtucket, was recalled from AAA to take his place in the rotation. Boston has also promoted Henry Owens from AA Portland to AAA to take Archer's place.
If Miller is able to heal faster than expected, and Boston makes it all the way to the World Series, he may be available to pitch then. Most expect Miller to sit out the remainder of 2014, a painful way to miss the playoffs for a second year in a row.
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - The month of august has been very weird for the Red Sox. They went through a brutal 4-8 that included sweeps by St. Louis (0-3) and Cincinnati (0-2) and a series opening loss to the Astros. Since that last loss, the Red Sox have been on a 5-0 run to get back on track. They welcomed Mike Trout and the Angels to Fenway today, keeping that streak going would be difficult.
CJ Wilson's good day didn't last very long, only an inning of shutout baseball, when the Red Sox hitters got to him in the 2nd. With Middlebrooks on 2nd Grady Sizemore hit a 2R-HR off Pesky's Pole one pitch after hitting a deep fly ball that landed just foul of Pesky's.
Middlebrooks make it 3-0 in the 4th, followed by a crazy series of plays that prevented a 4-0 lead. Shane Victorino hit a ground-rule double to RF, was advanced to 3rd on a deep fly-out by David Ross, and then managed to get thrown out at home plate on a smart 5-2 fielder's choice. Xander Bogaerts brought the game to 5-0 with a solo-HR in the 5th and an RBI double in the 7th that brought Bradley Jr. in from 2nd.
Edward Mujica, who was in for Lester in the 7th, figured to finish the game and stayed in for the 9th. John Farrell would regret leaving him in, and the Angels would thank the heavens. Curtis Granderson would start the comeback with a bloop single that would score Mike Trout from 2nd, and then Pujols got on by drawing a critical walk. Mujica struck out Josh Hamilton and then allowed a Brennan Boesch 2RBI triple to bring in Granderson and Pujols. Koji Uehara, who couldn't warm up fast enough, came in for Mujica to try and rescue a 5-3 game. Kole Calhoun would single to score Boesch and make it 5-4, but the rally ended there as Erick Aybar popped out to LF and the game was over.
| Los Angeles Angels at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Aug 20, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles (67-59) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| Boston (75-51) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| W: Lester (15-3) L: Wilson (12-9) S: Uehara (46) | ||||||||||||
Sunday, June 8, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - The Red Sox welcome the Houston Astros to Fenway today, the second game of their series. Houston came in to the season with very low expectations, but at 54-68 they are doing very well for such a young team. Boston lost game one of this series, so Houston isn't a pushover, but today they would face Jon Lester and his incredible streak of solid starts.
Feldman's best fell just short
Unfortunately for Houston, this game was basically over after the 1st inning. Scott Feldman, who had a good day, gave up a 2R-HR to Mike Napoli for a 2-0 lead that never changed. Both teams couldn't muster much offense all game, especially the Astros who were on the wrong end of a Lester gem. Lester went 8.0 with 3BB and 13K, completely mowing down Houston and leaving the 9th to Koji Uehara.
| Houston Astros at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Aug 15, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Houston (54-69) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Boston (70-51) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| W: Lester (14-3) L: Feldman (8-11) S: Uehara (42) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
ANAHEIM, CA - The Red Sox face the Angels today, and they are in dire need of a turnaround. The series against the Yankees must have thrown them into a real funk, going 2-5 across two series including a 0-3 sweep at St. Louis. The Red Sox haven't lost two consecutive series in some time, but with Lester starting they always have a chance to stop a skid.
The Angels started Ricky Nolasco, newly traded from the Twins, and he looked like he wanted to go back to Minnesota. Nolasco managed to get through the first two innings, despite being rather wild and walking three hitters, but the next two innings were a complete disaster. Boston's hitters finally caught on to his inability to hit the strike zone and stopped swinging at pitches off the plate. Pedroia started things off with a 2R-HR, and two runs later Boston was up 4-0. Nolasco didn't even make it out of the 4th, getting two outs before allowing a 3R-HR to Jackie Bradley Jr.
The Angels scored in the bottom of the 4th to make it 7-1, but Will Middlebrooks poured it on with a 2R-HR in the 5th that basically put the game out of reach. Lester rolled for 8IP and only 2ER to with his 13th game.
| Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Angels | ||||||||||||
| Aug 9, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (68-48) | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 1 |
| Los Angeles (63-54) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| W: Lester (13-3) L: Nolasco (7-12) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - Two bitter rivals headed in different direction met at Fenway today. The New York Yankees, just a tad under .500, are really struggling to live up to their potential. They are currently last in the AL East, and Boston would love nothing more than keeping them there. Hiroki Kuroda would take the mound for New York.
John Farrell would give the struggling AJ Pierzynski a day off in favor of David Ross, and he would return the favor in the 2nd inning. With Will Middlebrooks on 1st Ross would hit a 2R-HR to start the scoring for a 2-0 lead. The Yankees would strike back in the 4th with an RBI single by Carlos Beltran, scoring Ellsbury from 2nd.
The game was mostly quiet, with Lester and Kuroda pitching well, until the 6th and 7th innings. The Yankees opened the 6th with a Derek Jeter 2R-HR over the Green Monster to take a 3-2, but Boston wasn't going to let that stand. The Red Sox ground out quite a rally, booting Kuroda from the game, with an Ortiz single, Napoli double, Middlebrooks sac-fly, Victorino RBI single, and finally a Sizemore sac-fly.
Jeter avenges his stink bomb in the last BOS-NYY series
If a three run inning was bad, Lester's 7th was hell. Despite striking out 13, Lester walked 6 Yankees, most of them in the 7th. With the bases loaded he walked in the tying run, and allowed two more to close out the 7th. Up 7-5 the Yankees trotted out Dave Robertson to close out the 9th, and he struck out three straight to finish off Boston.
| New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Aug 3, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York (55-56) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Boston (66-45) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 0 |
| W: Kelley (4-2) L: Lester (12-3) S: Robertson (28) | ||||||||||||
Saturday, June 7, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
Player (Prospect Grade - John Sickels, Current Level)
RHP, Chris Archer (Grade : B+ / 2013, AAA Pawtucket)
Back to pitching after recovering from shoulder soreness, but not blowing out hitters as coaches had hoped. 1-1 with a 3.97ERA and 1.19WHIP in 45.1IP isn't bad, but he should be more dominant.
3B, Garin Cecchini (Grade : B+, AAA Pawtucket)
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Nothing new for Cecchini, continues to hit well (.272) and steal bases (24). Will Middlebrooks is on fire though, and could hit 35+ HR at his current pace, so Cecchini probably has to wait until roster expansion to get called up.
LHP, Henry Owens (Grade : B+, AA Portland)
Owens has been hot in July. His 2-3 mark "improves" his season win/loss record to 4-11, but he has brought his ERA down to 3.79 after a season mark of 4.43 in June. WHIP is also down to 1.39, walks are down and K's are steady, could be primed for a move to Pawtucket.
SS, Chris Owings (Grade : B, AAA Pawtucket)
Still hitting well and driving in runs. Has been working on his defense and trying to improve throws to 1st, no doubt his best bet to make the majors soon is to have Bogaerts move to 3B.
RHP, Anthony Ranaudo (Grade : B, AAA Pawtucket)
2B/OF, Mookie Betts (Grade : B, AAA Pawtucket)
A hot July brings his average up to .285, which would lead the Red Sox right now. Not much power and lower RBI totals are due to hitting lower in the order.
C, Blake Swihart (Grade : B, AAA Pawtucket)
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If anyone was worried that AAA would be too much for Swihart, they aren't worried anymore. Hasn't skipped a beat, still hitting .270+ and now has 7HR and 28RBI on the season. Showing alot of comfort with Barnes / Webster / Ranaudo, could be a blessing if they all make the majors around the same time.
RHP, Allen Webster (Grade : B-, AAA Pawtucket)
A good, not great, month drops his ERA to 5.37. Still walking too many guys and a WHIP of 1.64 isn't helping him out.
RHP, Matt Barnes (Grade : B-, AAA Pawtucket)
Barnes has been borderline dominant, the only blemish on his season is a 1.21WHIP which still leads the Paw Sox. 6-4 with a 2.86ERA and 124K. Currently fighting with Workman to make it to the majors first.
LHP, Trey Ball (Grade : B-, AA Portland)
3-1 in July, but season ERA ticked up to 5.00 and WHIP still sitting pretty high.
Players Making Noise
RHP, Brandon Workman (Grade : B-, AAA Pawtucket)
Has had some regression with his arsenal, but his fastball is currently a plus pitch.
LHP, Drake Britton (Grade : C+, AAA Pawtucket)
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