RAYS V RED SOX
FRIDAY, MAY 12, 2017, 7PM AT FENWAY PARK
TV: NESN, FOX SPORTS SUN
TAMPA, (17-20)..............................................................................BOSTON, (18-16)
TAMPA:
ALEX COBB, RHP, 2-3, 3.56ERA, 26K
Cobb allowed two runs on four hits and six walks in eight innings against the
Blue Jays on Sunday, but came away with the loss. He's 1-1 with a 1.29ERA
over his last two starts. In five career starts at Fenway Park, Cobb is 3-1 with a
3.14ERA.
BOSTON:
RICK PORCELLO, RHP, 2-4, 3.95ERA, 45K
Porcello is starting to pitch like he did last year. The righty has a
1.69ERA in his last four starts. Limiting his opponents to a .217 average,
he is 10-5 with a 3.53ERA lifetime against the Rays.
Boston pauses Interleague Play to host Rays
Ian Browne
The Red Sox will take a break between visits to National League Central opponents when they welcome a much more familiar foe -- the Rays -- for a three-game series that starts on Friday night at Fenway Park.
For Tampa Bay, it is the start of a six-game road trip against two of the most talented teams in the American League -- the Red Sox and Indians.
Friday night's matchup features two righties who have pitched well of late.
For Boston, Rick Porcello has recently displayed the same form he had last season when he won the AL Cy Young Award, posting a 1.69 ERA over his past four starts.
The Rays send Alex Cobb to the mound, and he has allowed just two earned runs over 14 innings in his past two outings.
"I'm going to be facing a good ballclub in a tough park," Cobb said. "As long as I feel like I'm taking care of what I need to do on the mound, and getting the ball on the ground and not in the air so much, it'll be a recipe for a successful outing. And hopefully, I'll be able to work deep into the game."
THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT THIS GAME
• In the middle of an eight-game stretch in which the Red Sox played three at Milwaukee and have two in St. Louis next week, these are the three games manager John Farrell can use the designated hitter. The hope is that Hanley Ramirez will be healthy enough to return to the lineup after sustaining a spasm in his upper right trap on Wednesday night.
• While the Red Sox don't visit Tropicana Field until July 6, this will be the second trip to Boston for the Rays. The Red Sox took three out of four from April 14-17, but all three victories were by three runs or fewer.
• Logan Morrison is a .417 career hitter against Porcello, with three doubles, a homer and five RBIs. Mitch Moreland has a double, a homer and three RBIs in 13 at-bats against Cobb.
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170511229640318/boston-pauses-interleague-play-to-host-rays/?game_pk=490638
This looks like a low-scoring duel on paper. Will Kimbrel be available after 20 pitches yesterday?
Quote from: ipot on May 12, 2017, 01:36:07 AM
This looks like a low-scoring duel on paper. Will Kimbrel be available after 20 pitches yesterday?
Kimbrel needs the night off before his arm falls off !!! Go SOX home at the FENS !!
Tonight would be perfect timing for a Sox power filled game.No farting around .Simply bomb the wall and get a laugher.The pen needs a couple days off.
Amen to that
Game 35: Red Sox vs. Rays
Here are today’s lineups:
RED SOX (18-16)
Betts RF TBA
Pedroia 2B
Bogaerts SS
Benintendi LF
Young DH
Moreland 1B
Rutledge 3B
Leon C
Bradley Jr. CF
Pitching: RHP Rick Porcello (2-4, 3.95).
Just as long as we don't have to stomach and endure the Meatball in a hold situation where we know he sucks big time in that capacity.
XB ruins Cobb's no hitter in the 1st 8)
Rutledge screwing up twice so far. Not the best 3B.
Error and passed ball cost runs. 2-0 TB.
This game went south in a hurry.
You see it as well as I do....THIS IS A REALLY SHITTY TEAM and it is going nowhere this season. They don't hit consistently, the pitching is hot and cold, there is no leadership whatsoever either on the field or in the clubhouse, the manager is the worst in baseball, they make errors, run into stupid plays, their fundamentals are non-existent and anyone who still thinks this team can turn it around with a major change at the top is out of their collective gords. WE STINK..PERIOD!!!!!
Rays' Keystone Kops fielding has let the Sox get back into the game. Now 5-4 Rays.
The Sox may yet win this game, but this doesn't diminish the fact that this is an ill conceived team The sox may have some very good ball players who hit for high averages but no one who really terrifies an opposing team. Why is Bogaerts batting third? He may hit for a high average but he has no consistent power. What other team has a homerless hitter batting third? This line up has four lead off hitters and three guys who should be batting 9th when Rutledge plays.
Well TB let them back in it, but even with those gifts, the Sox couldn't close it out.
This team plays like it is half dead. The only reason it was close was because the Rays made a ton of errors.
Quote from: elktonnick on May 12, 2017, 09:37:50 PM
This team plays like it is half dead. The only reason it was close was because the Rays made a ton of errors.
This.
Quote from: elktonnick on May 12, 2017, 09:37:50 PM
This team plays like it is half dead. The only reason it was close was because the Rays made a ton of errors.
I know. I started feeling happy the Rays didn't blow it. The Sox are so lousy when they're lousy (which is often lately) that I said to myself "a team has to be really pathetic to blow a 5-1 lead to the Red Sox..."
Someone needs to get Farrell on a bus, dig claws into that clubhouse and find out what it take to give them some things called "leadership" and "heart."
What is needed at this time is a "NAVY COURT OF INQUIARY" as management looks to be A W O L !!What say you ???
Where is Dombrowski hiding? What is he doing, eh wait, is he doing anything?
Quote from: Bear on May 13, 2017, 08:08:59 AM
Where is Dombrowski hiding? What is he doing, eh wait, is he doing anything?
DD is missing in action. This team needs a major injection of dynamic new blood and a third baseman. STAT!!!
Quote from: elktonnick on May 13, 2017, 08:23:58 AM
Quote from: Bear on May 13, 2017, 08:08:59 AM
Where is Dombrowski hiding? What is he doing, eh wait, is he doing anything?
DD is missing in action. This team needs a major injection of dynamic new blood and a third baseman. STAT!!!
I could be wrong and it wouldn't be the first time but I have also been right a little more than wrong most of the time and I will bet my last dime that DD is under strict orders not to touch Farrell who for some reason is loved by Prune Face. Well pruney needs to understand that the team looks like shit out there. There is no leadership, no urgency, no determination....NOTHING. What makes matters even worse is that the team is woefully weak in fundamentals, they play like mental midgets making one mistake after another. They run the bases piss poor. This is frustrating but, let's face it.....RIGHT NOW THIS IS A VERY SHITTY TEAM and it will not get better until DD gets the balls to challenge Pruney as head of Baseball Ops and simply tells that bum owner that he is replacing Farrell NOW. If he gets fired, the press will be all over Prune Face's ass and it wouldn't surprise if that is the straw that forces that ugly bastard to finally put the team up for sale to someone who knows baseball.
Quote from: elktonnick on May 12, 2017, 09:22:52 PM
The Sox may yet win this game, but this doesn't diminish the fact that this is an ill conceived team The sox may have some very good ball players who hit for high averages but no one who really terrifies an opposing team. Why is Bogaerts batting third? He may hit for a high average but he has no consistent power. What other team has a homerless hitter batting third? This line up has four lead off hitters and three guys who should be batting 9th when Rutledge plays.
Right on elk. That's what I've been saying all along. The value of a so-called "lineup changer" was way underestimated by this team. Hanley can be a pretty good power hitter, but he isn't a 3-4 guy so he ends up batting without protection and can be pitched around. Mookie can hit the long ball well enough, but that should come as a byproduct of his hitting, not the focus of his hitting.
I really don't get the idea of a guy who is constantly on top of the league in hits not batting first. Plus he has decent speed. Can Mookie not hit in a run production spot in the lineup? If so, they need to work on that or around it.
The most telling thing on this team right now is nobody in particular is scuffling. There are a couple of guys who maybe could pick up a couple more points in average, but that's like what, 2 or 3 more hits on the season at this point. Third base is a black hole but the other 8 positions are actually pretty solid. The starting pitching is pretty good. The pen is shaky but Kimbrel at the back makes it better. But the point is, this is about as good as this team can be as currently constructed and that is a huge problem. Getting Price back means maybe they pick up a couple of games over current pitching, but without any real offense it likely won't matter much.
Time and time again they can't get guys home, like in the 9th with Bogey on 2B. All they can do at this point is tinker with the lineup and hope a third baseman falls out of the sky.