Triston Casas was the sole bright spot of tonight’s game.
Game 2 of the Mariners/Red Sox series started similarly to Game 1, with a single run coming from the Mariners in the first. Aside from another Triston Casas 3-run homer, that’s where the similarities stopped, as Boston never managed to take the lead and the pitching didn’t do anybody any favors, particularly the bullpen. Nobody did their job well enough tonight. It happens, but it still stinks.
Three Studs:
Triston Casas: HIT ANOTHER 3-RUN HOME RUN! Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to save the game as it came in the bottom of the 8th, but it’s a fantastic sign that he’s finally (finally) on the up-and-up offensively. I think we can all celebrate that! We can also be proud of the double play he took care of in the top of the second.
Romy Gonzalez: Got the Sox’s first run with an RBI single. In the words of the WEEI guys, Romy our homie!
Rafael Devers: Got the Sox’s second run with an RBI groundout. Also this man’s walk rate is currently the highest it’s ever been!
Three Duds:
Sean Newcomb: You can only walk the tightrope for so long, and creating a mess on the bases time and time again will eventually punish you. He put himself in a very precarious position in the top of the second and Houdini-ed himself out of it with help from Casas, only to give up a 3-run bomb to J.P. Crawford in the top of the fourth. Not the worst pitching performance we saw today, but certainly not ideal. There’s something positive to be said for his 8 strikeouts, at least.
The Bullpen (Especially Big Dud): Brennan Bernardino had 2 errors charged to him for that botched throw in the sixth and he changed the game from a 2-run deficit back to a 4-run deficit. Then Josh Winckowski came on in the seventh and made everything worse, giving up single after single after single and letting the Mariners score (only!) two more runs. He mostly got his act together in the top of the eighth, but by then it was too late for the Sox to salvage the game. He also threw 80 pitches in three innings. That is really bad, but innings eaters are valuable for something.
Wilyer Abreu/Blake Sabol: Rough night for Thin Wily and Blake Sabol as they both went 0-fer (Abreu 0-4, Sabol 0-3) with a strikeout each.
Play of the Game: Casas’s Second Homer in 2 Days
The lone, shining moment of the game. Casas is my favorite player and I want to see him succeed. You, as a fan of the Boston Red Sox, should also want to see him succeed, as he is an active member of the team. Here he is succeeding.
The biggest question and concern right now is: What the hell do the Red Sox do about the middle relief? Justin Wilson, Zack Kelly, Bernardino, and Winckowski haven’t been up to standard in the past few games, and Zack Kelly got sent down to AAA for it. Is the plan to wait until more starting pitchers get healthy and then move some of the current starting pitchers (ie Newcomb and Dobbins) to the bullpen? Is there a different something in mind? The much sharper late-inning relievers (Whitlock, Chapman, and hopefully Hendriks) are only going to be necessary if the Sox are in a tight spot, and that’s not every game. The Sox need the bullpen to be good enough to keep the offense in games, not make it so much worse that it puts games out of reach. Whatever the move is, the Red Sox need to shape up their relievers somehow, or we’re going to be seeing more mess like we saw tonight.