RED SOX V RANGERS
MONDAY, JULY 3, 2017, 8 PM AT GLOBE LIFE PARK IN ARLINGTON
TV: NESN, ESPN, (OUT-OF-MARKET ONLY)FSSW
BOSTON, (47-35)..........................................................................................TEXAS, (40-42)
BOSTON:
RICK PORCELLO, RHP, 4-10, 5.06 ERA, 99K
The right-hander has had more definition to his sinker in his past couple
of starts and hopes to get into a groove in his final two starts before the break.
In his career at Texas, Porcello is 4-2 with a 3.19 ERA.
TEXAS:
MARTIN PEREZ, LHP, 4-6, 4.70 ERA 61K
Perez is coming off the DL and pitched for the first time since June 22. He
was sidelined by a fractured tip of his right thumb. He won his last two starts
before the injury and is 2-2 with a 6.12 ERA in six career starts agains the Red
Sox.
Perez returns from DL as Rangers host Red Sox
R.T. Sullivan
Left-hander Martin Perez comes off the disabled list to pitch for the Rangers against struggling Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello when the two teams open a three-game series on Monday night at Globe Life Park.
The Red Sox swept a three-game series from the Rangers at Fenway Park in May, but Texas is still 39-26 against Boston since the start of the 2009 season, including 22-10 in Arlington.
Perez is making his first start since June 22 against the Blue Jays. He was sidelined with a fractured tip of his right thumb after jamming it in a hotel door. He will wear a protective plastic shield on the thumb devised by assistant hitting coach Justin Mashore.
"I feel good," Perez said. "We'll see what happens in the game. It's time to pitch and win. I'm ready to pitch."
Perez, who won his last two starts prior to the injury, is 2-2 with a 6.12 ERA in six career starts against the Red Sox. That is the eighth-highest ERA by any active opponent with at least five starts against the Red Sox.
Porcello is the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, but he has not been able to recapture that success. He is 1-5 with a 6.07 ERA in his last seven starts, leaving him 4-10 with a 5.06 ERA on the season. That's the most losses and the seventh-highest ERA in the American League. His 1.51 WHIP is the fifth highest.
"I'm thinking of what I can do to help our team win," Porcello said. "And that's first and foremost having quick innings, keeping runs off the board, simple stuff that everybody knows about. I mean, there's a lot that goes into it but this isn't about me. This is about our ballclub. I'm not going to harp on my struggles or what's going on there."
Porcello did beat the Rangers, 11-6, on May 23 despite allowing five runs (four earned) in 6 2/3 innings. He is 6-4 with a 5.66 ERA in 10 career starts against Texas. That's the second-highest ERA against the Rangers among active pitchers with at least 10 starts against them.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH IN THIS GAME
• This will be the first trip back to Arlington for Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland. He played for the Rangers from 2010-16 before leaving as a free agent. He was 6-for-9 against the Rangers during their three-game series in Boston.
• The Rangers are hitting .261 as a team at home this season. Right now, that would be the lowest home batting average for the Rangers since Globe Life opened as the Ballpark in Arlington in 1994.
• Red Sox shortstop Xavier Bogaerts is day to day with tightness in his left groin muscle.
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170702240042406/perez-returns-from-dl-as-rangers-host-red-sox/?game_pk=491339
Red Sox v Perez:
Betts RF,
Pedroia 2B,
Young LF,
Ramirez DH,
Bradley Jr. CF,
Travis 1B,
Leon C,
Marrero 3B,
Lin SS,
Porcello RHP.
As HOT as the SOX have been, the WEATHER in TEXAS is even HOTTER.... Tough place to play, a lot like the PATRIOTS going in to Miami in SEPTEMBER !! iono
JBJ and POMERANZ both enjoyed a sizzling month of June.JBJ raised his BA 84 points .. to.284. Pomeranz pitched to a ERA of 3 in June.
Though we played very good ball the last two series tonight's game has me very concerned. That is Porcello and the hitting. Will Rick finally come through and make his sinker and his fastball work well for him and will our team keep hitting as they have the last few games? Texas is no pushover and they remember how we swept them in our park back in the Spring and I'm sure they want to exact some serious revenge this series rematch. The hitters, fielder, pitchers and manager have to have their best games ready with few mistakes and solid play. It would be a real bummer to go out there and surrender our first place standing that it took so long to reach. Go out there and take care of the Texans no matter what you need to do to get the job done.
X-MAN , what's up there ????
Quote from: SeaBeachFred on July 03, 2017, 05:19:07 PM
Though we played very good ball the last two series tonight's game has me very concerned. That is Porcello and the hitting. Will Rick finally come through and make his sinker and his fastball work well for him and will our team keep hitting as they have the last few games? Texas is no pushover and they remember how we swept them in our park back in the Spring and I'm sure they want to exact some serious revenge this series rematch. The hitters, fielder, pitchers and manager have to have their best games ready with few mistakes and solid play. It would be a real bummer to go out there and surrender our first place standing that it took so long to reach. Go out there and take care of the Texans no matter what you need to do to get the job done.
Fred expecting this to be an easy run the rest of the way IMHO is setting you up for some difficult times along the way.The Sox are far from a dominant team and as I mentioned earlier there will be hard times and bumpy roads ahead. I hope I am wrong but I don`t think I am in saying this will be a long hard grind to game 162. These last few games have been great with some power, unfortunately, we don`t have what is considered a power team. Grinding out Ws with 3-4-5 hits is what the Sox are.
Bogaerts day-to-day. :(
Key to the game, though, is Porcello. If only he could pitch like he did in his aberrant year (last year) for 1 flipping game, we could keep the streak going......
ESPN game, so expect 3-1/2 to 4 hours.
2-1 Sox after 2. Sox had a chance to score big but got only 2. Texas got their run on what they called a wild pitch but looked more like a passed ball as I thought Leon should of caught it.
Sox with a bases loaded chance here, but already 2 outs, so...
Sox take advantage of the error and get 3 runs. 5-2 Sox now. Hopefully Porcello can get through the 6th.
Porcello got through the 6th. 5-2 Sox.
Quote from: Schloicka on July 03, 2017, 09:14:22 PM
Sox take advantage of the error and get 3 runs. 5-2 Sox now. Hopefully Porcello can get through the 6th.
Yeah, that was a nice surprise.
Texas a poor hitting team but loves the long ball.5-3.
5-3 Sox after a Gomez HR. He's a 1st pitch hitter and Porcello didn't use that to his advantage. Gave him something he could handle. Overall Porcello pitched an ok game. Need the pen now to hold on to the lead.
Much better from Rick tonight .Only 3 hits but pitch count still way to high.
Barnes refused to serve up any meatballs tonight.
Why is the Texas RP acting like he just won the World Series?
C'mon BP, don't blow this one.
Finally...onto the 9th.
Fooled him with the slider.
Some good hitting by Texas in the 8th but the pen kept the lead. Lets see if the Sox can get a run in the 9th.
Kimbrel time .Last season when he would be called on it was time to open a cold one and hope for the best and no BBs.
Dammit. Napoli comes back to haunt the Sox. Kimbrel blows the save.
Marrero gets lucky and is rescued from his throwing error.
Like I said this team lives by the long ball. 123 before tonights game .Thats 40 more than the Sox.
This better not be the start of the 'Other Kimbrel.' This is what happened last year. 1 bad outing and then he became a mess.
Quote from: Rob from Mass on July 03, 2017, 10:31:52 PM
Like I said this team lives by the long ball. 123 before tonights game .Thats 40 more than the Sox.
Yup. Sox are LAST in AL in HRs. Could only imagine how many more Ws they'd have with just 20 more as a team......
You give up 3 hr's and let a run score on a wild pitch/passed ball lucky to have a chance to win.
Ugh, Mookie just misses a 2-run dinger. Bases loaded, one out, so the Rangers are hoping for a Sox specialty, the GIDP.
Hahaha!! Benintendi comes through and drives in 2 runs. Very cool.
Thank you Beni! Let's hold this lead.
Hembree needs to bring this home.
Attaboy, Hembree. Nice K on Knapoli. One more, please.
Yes!! Hembree does it. Well done. Kimbrel is saved. Hembree gets the win, right? Too bad Porcello misses out, but a win is a win.
5 wins in a row. Hanley predicted a nice July run and he was right.
Hembree comes up big. Nice.
Hembree with the win. Those are the games you need to win. It wasn't pretty but they did it. They didn't fold up like a cheap suit. Lin came through at the end. Betts came through. Benintendi with the big bloop hit. Pedroia was having flash backs to his younger days with all the plays he was making. Porcello looked pretty good tonight. On to Tuesday. ONE GAME AT A TIME.
Quote from: ipot on July 03, 2017, 11:23:54 PM
Hembree comes up big. Nice.
It's all about picking up each other.Hembree did one helluva job saving Kimbrel.
Quote from: Schloicka on July 03, 2017, 11:26:23 PM
Hembree with the win. Those are the games you need to win. It wasn't pretty but they did it. They didn't fold up like a cheap suit. Lin came through at the end. Betts came through. Benintendi with the big bloop hit. Pedroia was having flash backs to his younger days with all the plays he was making. Porcello looked pretty good tonight. On to Tuesday. ONE GAME AT A TIME.
Amen to that.
Great win to get !! Could have gone either way...Nice to even out how we lost some of the games along the way !! thumb_u
Beni gets a ton off credit with his 130 foot single for the W. Wonder when this guy is going to start hitting with some authority?
Even Beni had a chuckle at the way he drove in the game winners, but hey---we all know it takes a certain amount of luck to win championships. And if we have to win games with lucky hits like that---all the better!
Nice win. Again. Porcello pitched much better than he has been. Napoli caught the right pitch at the right time, I'm not too worried about Kimbrel, he should have had more of a lead to work with.
Amazing how well they've done in extra innings. It helps that while they don't have a ton of thump, most of the guys in that lineup can hit.
Quote from: Rob from Mass on July 03, 2017, 05:50:52 PM
Quote from: SeaBeachFred on July 03, 2017, 05:19:07 PM
Though we played very good ball the last two series tonight's game has me very concerned. That is Porcello and the hitting. Will Rick finally come through and make his sinker and his fastball work well for him and will our team keep hitting as they have the last few games? Texas is no pushover and they remember how we swept them in our park back in the Spring and I'm sure they want to exact some serious revenge this series rematch. The hitters, fielder, pitchers and manager have to have their best games ready with few mistakes and solid play. It would be a real bummer to go out there and surrender our first place standing that it took so long to reach. Go out there and take care of the Texans no matter what you need to do to get the job done.
Fred expecting this to be an easy run the rest of the way IMHO is setting you up for some difficult times along the way.The Sox are far from a dominant team and as I mentioned earlier there will be hard times and bumpy roads ahead. I hope I am wrong but I don`t think I am in saying this will be a long hard grind to game 162. These last few games have been great with some power, unfortunately, we don`t have what is considered a power team. Grinding out Ws with 3-4-5 hits is what the Sox are.
I totally agree with you Rob....totally. However, what I have seen is something new. We have taken teams into extra innings on the road and came out on top. That is unusual and is the type of win that can really breed some much needed confidence in the ball club. To me we have has more than our share of bumps in the road already and will have more along the way to the end of the season but we haven't yet really gone on a tear of any kind and maybe this MIGHT be one of those streaks we need like the Yankees and O's had earlier. Porcello last night did a good job and possibly is ready to contribute to the cause. Don't get be wrong. Texas wants to win too and are capable of doing it, but right now we seem to be playing with more confidence. One game at a time and keep doing those little things that can make or break a ball club. You know the Yankees lost today to the Jays so we have a chance to gain a little more ground and as we both know, every little bit help.
Quote from: ipot on July 03, 2017, 10:39:29 PM
Quote from: Rob from Mass on July 03, 2017, 10:31:52 PM
Like I said this team lives by the long ball. 123 before tonights game .Thats 40 more than the Sox.
Yup. Sox are LAST in AL in HRs. Could only imagine how many more Ws they'd have with just 20 more as a team......
Where's Travis Shaw when we need him?
Quote from: Rob from Mass on July 03, 2017, 11:28:47 PM
Quote from: ipot on July 03, 2017, 11:23:54 PM
Hembree comes up big. Nice.
It's all about picking up each other.Hembree did one helluva job saving Kimbrel.
That's what good teams do. Are we maybe ready to step into that category at long last? I mean two extra inning wins on the road in the past two series openers certainly is something to hang your hat on, and last night Hembree stepped up for Kimbrel and gave us two great innings for the win. That's how teams wanting to go someplace good need to comport themselves.
Time to give J F an extension !!!! rofl
One loss and
the hammers cone out.