The whole enchilada
For most of season the Boston Red Sox were in the playoff hunt, either in possession of a Wild Card spot or chasing the Kansas City Royals. The AL Central teams hoped the Cleveland Guardians would falter, but they never really did. But the Royals? And the Minnesota Twins? Yeah, they’ve hit some roadblocks. Sadly the Red Sox didn’t capitalize and cruise into October. No, that would be the Detroit Tigers, famously sellers at the deadline, who put together a run.
Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images
Armed with their magical summer sausage, the Twins will be a tough opponent. Can the Woonsocket Rocket manage them to victory? Luckily for Boston (is that a thing? really?) two of the three pitching matchups could be turning up Red Sox.
David Festa is a righthanded rookie called up in late June. In 12 starts he’s thrown more than 5.0 innings just once. He doesn’t have much of a platoon split and in nearly equal samples righties are hitting .248/.308/.468 while lefties record a .231/.304/.433 mark. Against the Rays, Angels, and Reds over his last three starts he’s tossed 12.2 innings and allowed 8 runs. Can the Sox match that kind of performance? If Richard Fitts can have another strong outing and the bullpen holds (lol) then yes. Maybe the Sox can pounce.
Pablo López hasn’t been quite the same guy this entire year but has been more than serviceable. He’s at 175.2 innings now and counting after crossing the 180 mark for the first time in 2022. Tanner Houck (173.2) and Kutter Crawford (171.2) are the only Boston pitchers close to that workload. And they’ve been limping towards the finish.
Daniel Zebulon Matthews is just seven games into his big league career. And he’s been hit hard so far. In 30 innings he’s allowed 9 home runs so far. He’s also a righty. That makes three of them this weekend.
Again, the Sox would need a sweep here and that doesn’t even get them the Wild Card. But righties are better for this team than lefties. Although rookies can be confusing too.
Bigger than the playoffs, taking two games here would leave Boston with 78 wins and six games to play.
Probable Starters
Friday 9/20: David Festa (5.07 ERA / 4.04 FIP) vs Richard Fitts (0.00 ERA / 3.55 FIP)
Saturday 9/21: Pablo López (3.84 ERA / 3.51 ERA) vs Kutter Crawford (4.19 ERA / 4.74 FIP)
Sunday 9/22: Zebby Matthews (6.30 ERA / 5.74) vs Nick Pivetta (4.37 ERA /4.21 FIP )
When and Where to Watch
Friday 9/20: 7:10 PM ET on WEEI and NESN
Saturday 9/21: 4:10 PM ET on WEEI and NESN
Sunday 9/22: 1:35 PM ET on WEEI and NESN