8:08PM Eastern
Red Sox
Nick Pivetta (R)
1. Kyle Schwarber (L) 1B
2. Enrique Hernandez (R) CF
3. Rafael Devers (L) 3B
4. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS
5. Alex Verdugo (L) LF
6. J.D. Martinez (R) DH
7. Hunter Renfroe (R) RF
8. Christian Vazquez (R) C
9. Christian Arroyo (R) 2B
Astros
Zack Greinke (R)
1. Jose Altuve (R) 2B
2. Michael Brantley (L) LF
3. Alex Bregman (R) 3B
4. Yordan Alvarez (L) DH
5. Carlos Correa (R) SS
6. Kyle Tucker (L) RF
7. Yuli Gurriel (R) 1B
8. Jake Meyers (R) CF
9. Martin Maldonado (R) C
Gametime Temp: 57°F
Chance of Precip: 0%
Greinke can be tough. We'll see if the Sox hitters still have it against him. Pivetta will need to be sharp.
Quote from: markj on October 19, 2021, 07:37:35 AM
Greinke can be tough. We'll see if the Sox hitters still have it against him. Pivetta will need to be sharp.
Greinke has thrown 49 pitches in the last month and appears to have lost it again. The crowd is going to be brutal on him so let's see how he responds. A good early lead by the Sox could demoralize them.
Quote from: longgame on October 19, 2021, 08:01:24 AM
Quote from: markj on October 19, 2021, 07:37:35 AM
Greinke can be tough. We'll see if the Sox hitters still have it against him. Pivetta will need to be sharp.
Greinke has thrown 49 pitches in the last month and appears to have lost it again. The crowd is going to be brutal on him so let's see how he responds. A good early lead by the Sox could demoralize them.
Yes, he pitched only one inning in the postseason, 10 days ago. Three innings in the month of October. I think he was coming off an injury in Sept.
Looks like he blew up in August, had a game where he gave up 6 in 4 innings, then maybe went on the IL, then gave up 8 runs and 5 runs in 5 and 4 innings respectively, then 2 more on the last day of the season in 2 innings. As we know in the past he has battled confidence issues so hopefully they can rattle him early.
The stars are aligning for the Sox. More to the point, the batting is record book stuff and now the pitching is becoming a plus for Boston, which is the only team left out of the four that has a dependable fourth starter. You could add Houck in a crunch as a fifth one. This occurence was missed by the ESPN guy.
Going into the championship series games, ESPN's number-cruncher Bradford Doolittle had the Astros as 27.9% to win the WS, with the Sox at 13.6%, the Braves at 14.2%. Dodgers were 44.3%.
THIS Red Sox team is fun to watch.
Their bats are alive, Fenway is rocking!
May their good pitching, offense and defense continue!
Let's GO Sox!
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on October 19, 2021, 01:17:32 PM
The stars are aligning for the Sox. More to the point, the batting is record book stuff and now the pitching is becoming a plus for Boston, which is the only team left out of the four that has a dependable fourth starter. You could add Houck in a crunch as a fifth one. This occurence was missed by the ESPN guy.
Going into the championship series games, ESPN's number-cruncher Bradford Doolittle had the Astros as 27.9% to win the WS, with the Sox at 13.6%, the Braves at 14.2%. Dodgers were 44.3%.
Now the Braves have the highest chance to win according to betting lines and the Sox are second.
Odds to win World Series 2021
All odds courtesy of BetMGM, correct at the time of publishing and subject to change.
Team OddsAtlanta Braves +200
Boston Red Sox +250
LA Dodgers +300
Houston Astros +360
Just win guys. Play hard, play tough, play confident and get the job done......pedal to the metal.
& HATS OFF TO THE FENWAY CROWD FOR BRINGING THE NOISE !!! A-ROD HAD A TOUGH TIME WITH IT LAST NIGHT !!! thumb_u thumb_u rofl rofl rofl
As many players as the Dodgers have, in Game 3 they played a rookie in CF, played all of 10 games there. His misplay in CF led to 4 Braves runs. LA may not get swept in this series, but they’re in some serious trouble.
Imagine being one of the Giants or a fan. See your team win 107 games only watch a team that won 88 games make it to the big show.
I think Renfroe is close to breaking out. Last night and tonight, he looks like he's settled and seeing pitches.
They're talking about all the 'Sox patience at the plate. We've been desperate to see it all year. It's here and it's real purty.
The only chance Raffy will ever have to own a Gold Glove will be a can of spray paint. This inning should be over.
No harm done, at least. Except for Pivetta's pitch count.
What a bullshit call.
These guys are talking like a solid #6 hitter being a good thing as if it was some sort of revelation. It's been make or break for them for many years.
JD got screwed many times this series.
Damn, LAD came back to win that game.
Man on 3rd with 1 out and they can't get him home. Not good.
This ump has called some ridiculous strikes. You watch him looking at the ball when the pitch comes in and he has his neck turned away from home plate. If it were over the plate he wouldn’t be able to see it he’s looking so far off the plate!
This is the kind of game that makes me nervous. It’s been a very slow game for a 2-1 game in the 5th. Pivetta has had some control issues but otherwise looks good so far so let’s hope he can keep going. But the offense keeps getting men on and not doing anything. Time for the heart of the order to get something going.
The offense has exactly 2 hits. Xander's dinger and Arroyo's triple. They've been gifted (and wasted) a bunch of walks, though.
So, it's Vaz's fault that Pivetta missed his glove by 2-1/2 feet?
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on October 19, 2021, 09:02:12 PM
So, it's Vaz's fault that Pivetta missed his glove by 2-1/2 feet?
Sounded like he was looking for excuses for this ump's BS calls.
Ottavino played an 0-2 card you just don't see anymore and it froze Correa. Nice!
Way too many 0-fors tonight.
It amazes me that an offense that was red hot can suddenly turn ice cold. Xander has 2 of the 3 hits by the Sox tonight.
Altuve was bound to hit a dinger sooner or later. Shame it had to be when the Sox only had a one run lead.
Dammit. This inning should have been over except the ump sucks.
That said, Sox have had lots of chances and blown them.
Lance Diaz has missed about a half dozen calls tonight. He is right up there with Angel Hernandez
Eovaldi has let down the rest of the pitching staff. Cora's mojo backfires.
Quote from: elktonnick on October 19, 2021, 10:45:34 PM
Lance Diaz has missed about a half dozen calls tonight. He is right up there with Angel Hernandez
I was thinking that's about the only way it could be worse.
Can't say that I saw the need to be this creative yet. I hope we're only down the one run. TBD
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz See youze guyz tomorrow!!!
Oh well, series tied. POS Perez is making sure of it.
DAMN
Astros scored 5 runs so far in the top of the 9th inning.
At the moment Astros 7 - Sox 2.
It is now a series.
SO DISAPPOINTED . . .
FOR all the offense in Games 2 and 3,
the Sox offense disappeared after Xander's home run
in the bottom of the 1st inning.
Please put this idiot Perez on a bus to nowhere.
The disaster in the top of the 9th continues . . .
Astros 9 - Sox 2.
DAMN
Apparently incompetence is contagious. Perez is infecting the whole team.
I started to believe . . .
I started to hope that the Sox would finish this ALCS in Boston.
They seemed unstoppable.
Houston's coaches finally came up with a plan to
still the Red Sox' offense.
DANG IT!
Attaboy, Shaw. Just stand there looking.
Just awful. Not digging today's pitching plan starting with sending Whitlock back out after getting scalded the inning before. Did we NEED to send Eovaldi out there? Seemed like a desperation move that wasn't needed yet. Then to let ot get out of hand is another blunder.
OK - so 7-8 more hits.
Cora may have been out of cards to play, but letting Perez anywhere near a close game is insane. And he keeps putting Shaw in to PH late in games and he does Jack Shit.
Red Sox lose to the Astros.
9 - 2
This series will return to Houston.
I was uncomfortable the whole game with just a 1 run lead.
HATE losing games in the late innings.
WTF happened in the 9th inning?
We didn't do enough to win against a battle tested Astros. You gotta get them early, we did but then left runners stranded. You simply can't go hand to hand with their bullpen late in the game. In order for the Sox to win this series, I think they will have to grind it out.
PUT IT BEHIND US , 5:00 COMES EARLY !!! MUST WIN !! iono iono iono iono iono rofl rofl rofl
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on October 19, 2021, 10:48:12 PM
Quote from: elktonnick on October 19, 2021, 10:45:34 PM
Lance Diaz has missed about a half dozen calls tonight. He is right up there with Angel Hernandez
I was thinking that's about the only way it could be worse.
Can't say that I saw the need to be this creative yet. I hope we're only down the one run. TBD
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz See youze guyz tomorrow!!!
It was something like 23. I saw a graphic. Of course he probably cost us the game too.
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on October 19, 2021, 11:12:30 PM
Just awful. Not digging today's pitching plan starting with sending Whitlock back out after getting scalded the inning before. Did we NEED to send Eovaldi out there? Seemed like a desperation move that wasn't needed yet. Then to let ot get out of hand is another blunder.
OK - so 7-8 more hits.
Should have kept Pivetta in to see if he could get another inning. Then they'd only need Whitlock for a shorter time. But while I understand the idea of putting in a lefty when he brought in Perez, I just thought that there really is no situation where it makes sense to bring in Perez with the bases loaded. Apparently it wasn't Darwinzon's day to blow the game, it was Perez's.
Give the Astros some credit. Sox should have scored more but the reliever that ate up about 4 innings did his job. Getting screwed out of some really bad calls didn't help and killed momentum, but they had a lot of chances to score in that game and never could push them across.
But the bigger problem is the Sox don't have a lefty in the pen they can use other than Taylor. Perez and Hernandez are toast.
Quote from: longgame on October 20, 2021, 08:02:15 AM
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on October 19, 2021, 11:12:30 PM
Just awful. Not digging today's pitching plan starting with sending Whitlock back out after getting scalded the inning before. Did we NEED to send Eovaldi out there? Seemed like a desperation move that wasn't needed yet. Then to let ot get out of hand is another blunder.
OK - so 7-8 more hits.
Should have kept Pivetta in to see if he could get another inning. Then they'd only need Whitlock for a shorter time. But while I understand the idea of putting in a lefty when he brought in Perez, I just thought that there really is no situation where it makes sense to bring in Perez with the bases loaded. Apparently it wasn't Darwinzon's day to blow the game, it was Perez's.
Give the Astros some credit. Sox should have scored more but the reliever that ate up about 4 innings did his job. Getting screwed out of some really bad calls didn't help and killed momentum, but they had a lot of chances to score in that game and never could push them across.
But the bigger problem is the Sox don't have a lefty in the pen they can use other than Taylor. Perez and Hernandez are toast.
Ted, going back to Houston, the only other lefty guys out of the pen I can think of might by ERod and Sale. I bet Cora has visions of 2018 and what Sale could do. But a lot will depend on how he gets things done today and how long he stays in.
Here's a link to the article about Laz Diaz and his awful umpiring. https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/laz-diaz-strike-zone-astros-red-sox-alcs/1jp7yja5ckheg1nzt7n46d99x1 (https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/laz-diaz-strike-zone-astros-red-sox-alcs/1jp7yja5ckheg1nzt7n46d99x1)
Quote from: longgame on October 20, 2021, 08:32:44 AM
Here's a link to the article about Laz Diaz and his awful umpiring. https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/laz-diaz-strike-zone-astros-red-sox-alcs/1jp7yja5ckheg1nzt7n46d99x1 (https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/laz-diaz-strike-zone-astros-red-sox-alcs/1jp7yja5ckheg1nzt7n46d99x1)
Pretty bad. At least he was even handedly incompetent. Even so, Sox were gifted a ton of walks and did little with them. 0-9 with RISP. They have no one to blame but themselves.
We've had issues with that Diaz guy this year, haven't we?
Anything that follows below is just discussion and not second guessing Cora. Well, until I say Perez. Maybe a touch of that there. (just saying...)
I think I have to agree with sending Pivetta out there for another inning, save possibly an exception for who he was facing - Brantley, Bregman and Alvarez. My question on the 6th inning was did it cost us a full inning of Ottavino?
Is the 6th inning too late in the game to worry about pitching around Correa (or IBB) to leave Taylor in to face Tucker? Correa represents the potential go ahead run.
Did we shoot ourselves in the winky by running Ottavino out to close the Taylor inning? If he comes out to start the next inning, that saves Whitlock for the 8th. If Whitlock's locked in, add an inning. He was not locked in for his 1st inning and it cost us big time when we sent him back out.
I understand match-up baseball and all, but at some point the risk factor has to come into play. DH has sort of checked out on us and Davis is Davis. That leaves Perez. He can be very effective and he can be a downright disaster. That's playing with a lot of gas & matches in late game situations. We can recover from a 6th inning mini-melt. Then again, he was not protecting a lead when he went in. That alone changes things.
Baseball is so much fun with all of this.
Quote from: BoSoxFanNY on October 19, 2021, 10:53:42 PM
DAMN
Astros scored 5 runs so far in the top of the 9th inning.
At the moment Astros 7 - Sox 2.
It is now a series.
SO DISAPPOINTED . . .
FOR all the offense in Games 2 and 3,
the Sox offense disappeared after Xander's home run
in the bottom of the 1st inning.
You still think this team is fun to watch? They are not fun to watch. They were sickeningd tonight.
Quote from: SeaBeachFred on October 20, 2021, 10:31:08 AM
Quote from: BoSoxFanNY on October 19, 2021, 10:53:42 PM
DAMN
Astros scored 5 runs so far in the top of the 9th inning.
At the moment Astros 7 - Sox 2.
It is now a series.
SO DISAPPOINTED . . .
FOR all the offense in Games 2 and 3,
the Sox offense disappeared after Xander's home run
in the bottom of the 1st inning.
You still think this team is fun to watch? They are not fun to watch. They were sickeningd tonight.
AGREED.
When I posted the "they are fun to watch" that was after two days
of home runs, grand slams and good defense. It looked like they were
offensively peaking at the right time.
Yesterday's game WAS hard to watch.
Maddening in fact.
I was never comfortable with a 2 - 1 lead.