RED SOX V RAYS
SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2017, 4 PM AT TROPICANA FIELD
TV: NESN, MLBN, (OUT-OF-MARKET ONLY) FOX SPORTS SUN
BOSTON, ( 50-37)......................................................................................TAMPA (45-43)
BOSTON:
RICK PORCELLO, RHP, 4-10, 5.01 ERA, 102K
Porcello didn't pick up the win on Monday in Texas, but he held the Rangers
in check for most of the night before Craig Kimbrel's blown save. However, Porcello
has given up at least three earned runs in seven consecutive starts.
TAMPA:
ALEX COBB, RHP, 6-6, 4.011 ERA 73K
Early O's homers hurt Cobb in his last start Sunday at Baltimore, but he managed
to give the Rays 6 1/3 frames. While looking to find his changeup, he's been effective
using fastball-changeup. He's 1-0 with a 5.56 ERA in two starts vs Boston in '17.
Porcello, Cobb to jockey for AL East positioning
Connor Mount
A pair of righties who have endured some trying moments in 2017, Alex Cobb (6-6, 4.01) and Rick Porcello (4-10, 5.01), will meet up at Tropicana Field on Saturday.
Porcello, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, leads the Majors with 10 losses and 141 hits allowed. However, Red Sox manager John Farrell said he saw improvement from Porcello in his last outing against Texas.
Carlos Gomez homered off Porcello in the seventh inning, "but given the way he had gone through the first six innings, just the two hits allowed, he was in good shape," Farrell said after Boston's win. "That was one of the better games that he's pitched in a while."
Porcello has remained durable despite allowing at least three earned runs in each of his last seven starts. He has lasted at least six innings in 15 consecutive starts, the longest active streak in the Majors.
Cobb, meanwhile, has spent the first half trying to regain feel for a changeup that was his best pitch prior to 2015 Tommy John surgery. He described the first half as "a battle."
"The thing I hate to hear and really got tired of hearing the most was, 'Way to … grind it out out there,'" Cobb said. "I remember telling somebody I'm sick of grinding. I just want nice, comfortable one-two-three innings, turn that into a quality outing, and almost feel effortless walking off the mound."
Cobb was plenty comfortable two starts ago against Pittsburgh, when he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. His last time out, against Baltimore, was more difficult, as the Orioles scored three runs on Cobb in five innings.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS GAME
• Porcello's Cy Young campaign was built upon soft contact, but batters have stung his pitches this year. Balls in play have been classified as "hard-hit" 43.4 percent of the time off Porcello, the most among qualified pitchers. That's up from 30 percent last season.
• A handful of Rays have hit Porcello well in their careers. Evan Longoria, Steven Souza Jr., Logan Morrison and Corey Dickerson carry lifetime batting averages of .295 or greater against Porcello, in 20 or more at-bats against the right-hander.
• Porcello is Boston's lone right-handed starter in four games this series, which will be a welcome sight for Morrison. The Rays' first baseman has 20 homers off righties, 4th-most in the Majors. His OPS of 1.001 against righties is 12th-best.
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170707241009770/porcello-cobb-to-jockey-for-al-east-positioning/?game_pk=491406
Xander is back:
Betts RF,
Pedroia 2B,
Bogaerts SS,
Moreland 1B,
Ramirez DH,
Benintendi CF,
Young LF,
Leon C,
Lin 3B,
Porcello RHP.
Sounds like X will be back at SS this afternoon
Good news on XB.
Porcello needs to step up. He's not out of the doghouse yet for me.
Quote from: ipot on July 08, 2017, 12:29:04 PM
Good news on XB.
Porcello needs to step up. He's not out of the doghouse yet for me.
Yes, he needs to step up big today and get us a "W" or he'll remain in your doghouse and in the rest of ours as well.
Quote from: Rob from Mass on July 08, 2017, 12:06:18 PM
Sounds like X will be back at SS this afternoon
Lets see how his aches & pains are today.....
Damn spankees get 3 in bottom 9 to win it.
Could get ugly here.
Limited damage.
Noffense is back.
No offense again ...... Not good !!
Porcello throwing best all season and no frigging help from the bats.
Cobb ain't throwing bad either. Credit where credit is due.
Yeah but Cobb jad been at least decent coming in .Rick not so good with his 5 plus era coming in.
DAMN!!!!
Porcello pitched a hell of a game, the "check swinging" prima Donner's lost this one !!!
Only 1 chance to score in the whole game. Don't win many that way.
Wrong end of a pitching duel. Several of them so far this year.
As Mark said earlier give credit to Cobb .Just happened to be a bit better than Porcello.The bad is we lost but the good is the way Porcello looked like in 2016.No gripes from me on this game at all .
Let's cut the shit with all these hinted at moral victory statements. We lost the fu@#in' game because once again we did not hit----and unless this changes radically over the next month we will not makle the playoffs, and if by some miracle we do, it will be short lived. WE NEED A COUPLE MORE HITTERS!!!!!!!!! We cannot count on the ones we have to get the job done because they cannot get the job done on a consistent basis, and what the hell was Bradley doing on the bench today. He is one of our hottest hitters. Was he hurt? If not why the F@#$ wasn't he in the lineup. Young? against a right hander? He is shitty against righthanders. He lost his job in Arizona because he couldn't hit them and the Yankees NEVER played him against right handed pitchers. So why the hell was he in the lineup----and please don't give me this shit about given Jackie a day off. He could have had four of them starting Monday.
Again, though, we need to trade for a hitter n o matter what? We cannot count on Betts, Bogaerts, Pedroia, Moreland and Ramirez to hit consistently on a daily basis. We know that now and we see it every second or third game. Farrell must stifle himself tomorrow and give no one a breather. We have to win that game and get a split. Losing three of four to the Rays cheapens our road trip and sends us into the ASB on a downer and perhaps headed into the tank. And we should all be familiar with that tank because we've seen the Red Sox in that tank way to many times since 2011 not to understand what I mean. What fu@#in' chokers this team was today. I'm about as mad as I've been all season with this horseshit effort, wasting a strong game from Porcello, and let me leave you with this. What if the Yankees' dramatic win today serves as an elixir for them to get them out of their funk. We play them as soon as the ASB finishes. Can you envision a tanked team taking on a sudden resurgent enemy? Get on that frigin' phone Dombrowski and get us a third baseman who can hit and maybe a catcher or DH to. WE NEED HITTERS damn it.
Porcello does very good.
+
Ty Cy Cobb
+
Zombies In The Batter's Box for 3rd out of last 4 games.
=
0-1
Quote from: SeaBeachFred on July 08, 2017, 06:29:41 PM
Let's cut the shit with all these hinted at moral victory statements. We lost the fu@#in' game because once again we did not hit----and unless this changes radically over the next month we will not makle the playoffs, and if by some miracle we do, it will be short lived. WE NEED A COUPLE MORE HITTERS!!!!!!!!! We cannot count on the ones we have to get the job done because they cannot get the job done on a consistent basis, and what the hell was Bradley doing on the bench today. He is one of our hottest hitters. Was he hurt? If not why the F@#$ wasn't he in the lineup. Young? against a right hander? He is shitty against righthanders. He lost his job in Arizona because he couldn't hit them and the Yankees NEVER played him against right handed pitchers. So why the hell was he in the lineup----and please don't give me this shit about given Jackie a day off. He could have had four of them starting Monday.
Again, though, we need to trade for a hitter n o matter what? We cannot count on Betts, Bogaerts, Pedroia, Moreland and Ramirez to hit consistently on a daily basis. We know that now and we see it every second or third game. Farrell must stifle himself tomorrow and give no one a breather. We have to win that game and get a split. Losing three of four to the Rays cheapens our road trip and sends us into the ASB on a downer and perhaps headed into the tank. And we should all be familiar with that tank because we've seen the Red Sox in that tank way to many times since 2011 not to understand what I mean. What fu@#in' chokers this team was today. I'm about as mad as I've been all season with this horseshit effort, wasting a strong game from Porcello, and let me leave you with this. What if the Yankees' dramatic win today serves as an elixir for them to get them out of their funk. We play them as soon as the ASB finishes. Can you envision a tanked team taking on a sudden resurgent enemy? Get on that frigin' phone Dombrowski and get us a third baseman who can hit and maybe a catcher or DH to. WE NEED HITTERS damn it.
You took the words right out of my mouth, Fred. Our lack of production is from dipshit Farrell already allowing this group to rest on its laurels for finishing in 1st at the ASB. Why the hell IS JBJ sitting when he's got 4 days off starting tomorrow?
You mark my words, watch that culture of losing show right back up if we crap the bed again today. I can see it already.
The most important thing in this game was Porcello's performance. It would have helped had they not lost the last 2 games including this one.
Quote from: longgame on July 10, 2017, 08:02:35 AM
The most important thing in this game was Porcello's performance. It would have helped had they not lost the last 2 games including this one.
NO, it wasn't Ted. The most important thing in Saturday's game is THAT WE LOST THAT GAME. Winning comes before anything else. Nothing else matters....WINNING WINNING AND WINNING SOME MORE. That goes double for Sunday's game. Right now our team is a mediocre ball club led by an incompetent and dull and uninspiring manager. If the Yankees or the Rays or the Orioles or the Jays get real hot we will be steamrolled and perhaps headed to another 2014 or 2015. Yes, we are capable of being that shitty.