Every once in a while, you time an offensive explosion perfectly.
If the Red Sox are going to make the playoffs, they need to steal some games they’re not in line to win on paper. Tonight, they did just that!
Boston sent Brennan Bernardino to the mound to start what was a bullpen outing all the way, and the Orioles matched up with their ace, Corbin Burns. This was about as big of a mismatch as you could possibly get, only made starker by the fact it was on the road on a great night to hit in Baltimore.
As expected, the Sox bullpen leaked oil all night, allowing 17 hits, six walks, and ten runs. It was a continuation of the disaster they’ve been since the All-Star Break.
So obviously, going against the starter with the second lowest ERA in the American League, this was a recipe for a loss … right?
In just the latest example of there being something special to this group of everyday guys they have, the Red Sox offense had other ideas. Not only did they provide to explosives that go with that scene, they literally scored more runs off Corbin Burnes than Corbin Burnes has ever allowed in any of the 192 times he’s taken the mound in a big league uniform.
And the bats picked the perfect night to do it, because not only did they need the eight runs they scored off Burnes, but they also needed the four they scored off the bullpen as well.
Here’s all the runs they scored in video form:
Wilyer Abreu got things started early in the first:
Devers doubled the lead with a double:
Devers again, this time with the first big smash of the night!
On the surface, this next RBI is the least sexy of all the run scoring highlights, but I absolutely love Connor Wong’s approach here. He intentionally knocks the ball through the big hole the defense is giving him on the right side of the infield. Even though the hit is weak, it’s in some ways the most targeted attack of them all.
Here was Masataka Yoshida’s biggest hit of the night. Overall, he had three hits and four RBI.
David Hamilton hit this big home run in the top of the 7th to give the Sox some breathing room after the Orioles had closed it back to 8-6.
And then Jarren Duran used his tennis racket to add another bomb later in the inning.
Lastly, Yoshida knocked in the twelfth and final Sox run of the night.
So that’s all the good stuff.
On the other side of the coin, the bullpen remains a complete disaster! Not only did the arson squad give up ten runs and force Alex Cora to use eight arms to get 27 outs, but they also had to use Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen in a game they scored 12 runs.
The Red Sox are playing this bizarre game right now where the lineup is so good at giving the pen the lead, and the pen is so prone to blow it, that they actually end up having to use the guys they’d want to use the most multiple times within these games just to get through the late innings as there’s often multiple leads to blow. This leads to a more taxed bullpen and more arms flaming out.
If you break it down further though, there were a surprising number of positive outings embedded in this mess, so we have to be fair. Half the guys they used (Kenley Jansen, Lucas Sims, Brennan Bernardino and Bailey Horn) combined to get ten outs (3.1 IP) without allowing a hit. It was the other four guys (Zack Kelly, Cooper Criswell, Luis Garcia, and Chris Martin) who combined to give up all 17 hits and ten runs. What a whacky game!
Four Studs
On a night of fireworks, it’s the four guys who hit the home runs.
Masataka Yoshida
Rafael Devers
David Hamilton
Jarren Duran
Four Duds
The guys who gave up all the runs
Cooper Criswell
He really deserves his own tier here as he was the bulk guy and gave up nine of the hits and six of the runs. He was dreadful!
Luis Garcia
He gets his own second shelf of stink! He was handed the ball with a five run lead in the seventh, and the tying run got to the plate with only one out in the inning
Zack Kelly
Gave up a run early
Chris Marin
Allowed three hits, gave up a run, and looked shaky.