7:07PM Eastern
Red Sox
Eduardo Rodriguez (L)
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
Rays
Collin McHugh (R)
1. Randy Arozarena (R) RF
2. Wander Franco (S) SS
3. Brandon Lowe (L) 2B
4. Nelson Cruz (R) DH
5. Jordan Luplow (R) 1B
6. Yandy Diaz (R) 3B
7. Austin Meadows (L) LF
8. Mike Zunino (R) C
9. Kevin Kiermaier (L) CF
Gametime Temp: 61°F
Chance of Precip: 0%
Oh boy, E-Rod. Flip a coin.
SHORT STRING !!!!!!! AS WE WOULD SAY IN THE NAVY , "ALL HANDS ON DECK" !!!!! thumb_u rofl rofl rofl
So Marathon Monday in October. Some conjecture on which uniforms they'll wear. Some think the yellow jerseys which are a marathon theme, but I like the idea of the 2013 "Boston" home jerseys that they wore after the marathon bombing. (https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e14d3af/2147483647/strip/true/crop/600x445+0+0/resize/840x623!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc0%2Fc6%2F86ae5e134921edbbae2f00515b0f%2Fla-xpm-photo-2013-apr-20-la-sp-sn-boston-bombing-red-sox-return-20130420)
McHugh starting for the Rays tonight.
Well. McHugh was throwing 86 mph balls the other night with little movement. That won't end well.
Chicago - Houston postponed due to chance of thundershowers.
The MLB site say Robles Vomited on Sunday. I'm glad he's not injured. Cora said he's "under the weather". I assume that was a quote from today. (?)
Same lineup for the Sox 2 days in a row. Probably not as rare as I think it is....
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on October 11, 2021, 02:48:31 PM
The MLB site say Robles Vomited on Sunday. I'm glad he's not injured. Cora said he's "under the weather". I assume that was a quote from today. (?)
Same lineup for the Sox 2 days in a row. Probably not as rare as I think it is....
I heard that too about Robles. Interesting that for most of the year our key bullpen guys were Sawamura, Ottavino and Barnes and now its Whitlock, Brasier, Robles and Taylor.
Same lineup for the Sox is rare this year but I wouldn't do much different right now.
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on October 11, 2021, 11:21:36 AM
Well. McHugh was throwing 86 mph balls the other night with little movement. That won't end well.
But we have Rodriquez going for us, you know the guy---the one who always works the outside corner, never gets that pitch called for him and usually walks the first batter he faces. Cora needs to have a very short rope for this guy because he j ust hasn't measured up at all for us this season. He seems afraid in his pants to pound the strike zone and just nibbles his way into more walks and ineffectiveness. It would be swell if we could see a different E-Rod this evening but Alex better be ready to pull the plug when we most likely might see more of the same from him. Plus we have to keep hitting. If we do that we stand a decent chance of winning.
Quote from: SeaBeachFred on October 11, 2021, 03:35:30 PM
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on October 11, 2021, 11:21:36 AM
Well. McHugh was throwing 86 mph balls the other night with little movement. That won't end well.
But we have Rodriquez going for us, you know the guy---the one who always works the outside corner, never gets that pitch called for him and usually walks the first batter he faces. Cora needs to have a very short rope for this guy because he j ust hasn't measured up at all for us this season. He seems afraid in his pants to pound the strike zone and just nibbles his way into more walks and ineffectiveness. It would be swell if we could see a different E-Rod this evening but Alex better be ready to pull the plug when we most likely might see more of the same from him. Plus we have to keep hitting. If we do that we stand a decent chance of winning.
The guys on WEEI today were talking up EROD as far as what he has at stake. This is his contract year, he might be pitching his last start, or last couple, for the Sox. How he does could put him at another $8 mil or more with the Sox or wherever town, or if it's awful, he could lose any chance of getting looks from many GMs this winter. His agent doesn't have to remind him of this opportunity. But who knows what his emotional state is?
Two inning so far from E-Rod. We’re in bonus territory.
Wow! 17 pitches to Meadows, K and then out of inning two pitches later. I mean, why not?
Raffy!!! Sox up 3-0.
Verdugo makes it 4-0.
JD keeps the line moving. Sox up 5-0.
5 runs aren't enough!
Quote from: markj on October 11, 2021, 07:05:11 PM
Raffy!!! Sox up 3-0.
DID I EVAA TELL YA , BILL-806 LOVES RAFFY DEVERS !!! thumb_u thumb_u thumb_u rofl rofl rofl rofl
Quote from: elktonnick on October 11, 2021, 07:12:49 PM
5 runs aren't enough!
YES & DE-DE, WILL FEEL BETER WHEN WE GET TO EIGHT !!!! thumb_u thumb_u thumb_u thumb_u rofl rofl rofl rofl
I'll take 5 in the 3rd any day of the week. Let's hope we don't need more. Nice start, though! We go from Meadows about to get his 17th pitch to a 5-0 lead all in the 3rd. Nice!
Quote from: longgame on October 11, 2021, 06:32:55 PM
Two inning so far from E-Rod. We’re in bonus territory.
MAKE THAT 4 NOW !!!! GOOD THING SCHWARB DID'NT GET TO CLOSE TO ARROY ON THAT LAST POP TO 2ND !! STAY TOUGH BOYS, THIS IS FUN !!! thumb_u thumb_u
Sox better start hitting again.
Too damned close again.
Definitely want to see some more offense! Can’t rest on this team, especially late in games.
Arroyo is no speed demon. Maybe Schwarber's been coaching him on the fine art of lumbering.
We just gifted them that scoreless inning. These guys have GOT to get their head in the game and stop swinging like butt-tards. It feels like we're down 3 runs right now.
We've seen this happen a lot this year. The Sox face a suddenly struggling pitcher and go to town on him, but then can't do squat once he's gone.
Announcer says to get a strike on Xander it has to be down and off the plate. Then he swings and misses at a high pitch. That's why my TV is always on mute during a game.
Dammit. Way to go, Mr Clutch. Gave them just what they needed.
Here we go. No magic from the BP tonight. That 1st and 3rd last inning was their shot to put this one away and Xander blew it. Score will be tied in a few.
holy crap!!!! That dip shit does not have anyone warming after a leadoff double!!!!!!!!!!!
and he tries to throw out KK??????
worst 8th inning 2 run lead to protect I've ever seen in a playoff game. Bring him back out was surprising enough. then all of this. Way to go AC. Back to tampa.
Tampa Bay has been big in the 8th inning all year long. So have the Sox and now they need to be.
Smoltz just made another dumb comment, saying he was surprise that TB scored two runs and then made two outs. After changing pitchers.
Too bad Whitlock didn’t come in sooner. It’s nail biting time if anyone has any left.
You never ever make the last out at 3rd base, never!
The momentum has shifted bigtime. Getting Xander to GIDP to end that threat was the key.
Oh you have got to be kidding me. Shaw???
Wow, there was a gift. Sox better not blow this chance.
Hell ya!
Wow another great ending! Sox win! On to the ALCS!
AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!! They did it!!!!! I. Don't. Believe. It. !!!!!!!!!!!
I knew we had it the whole time.
Talk about over achievers! As much as I have criticized Cora one has to admit he has done an incredible job this year especially considering the covid outbreak. Bloom also deserves a heck of a lot of credit also. He has mixed and matched putting together this team of over achievers.
YES!!!!!!!!!
SOX BEAT the Rays in the bottom of the 9th!!!!!
YAHOOOOOO!
ON to the ALCS!
Must admit, BEFORE the series I thought that the Rays would win.
AND when the Sox took the 5 - 0 lead, I was hoping for an easy winning game.
NOPE - the Rays made it nerve-wracking in the later innings.
PHEW!
AND YAHOOOOOOOO!
THIS Red Sox team is fun to watch!
They are playing now like they did in the first half of the season.
Finding ways to win!
WOW!!!!!
Really love these players . . .
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on October 11, 2021, 05:14:53 PM
Quote from: SeaBeachFred on October 11, 2021, 03:35:30 PM
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on October 11, 2021, 11:21:36 AM
Well. McHugh was throwing 86 mph balls the other night with little movement. That won't end well.
But we have Rodriquez going for us, you know the guy---the one who always works the outside corner, never gets that pitch called for him and usually walks the first batter he faces. Cora needs to have a very short rope for this guy because he j ust hasn't measured up at all for us this season. He seems afraid in his pants to pound the strike zone and just nibbles his way into more walks and ineffectiveness. It would be swell if we could see a different E-Rod this evening but Alex better be ready to pull the plug when we most likely might see more of the same from him. Plus we have to keep hitting. If we do that we stand a decent chance of winning.
The guys on WEEI today were talking up EROD as far as what he has at stake. This is his contract year, he might be pitching his last start, or last couple, for the Sox. How he does could put him at another $8 mil or more with the Sox or wherever town, or if it's awful, he could lose any chance of getting looks from many GMs this winter. His agent doesn't have to remind him of this opportunity. But who knows what his emotional state is?
Maybe he was listening to you Sea Dog because E-Rod pitched vey well tonight and gave us a good chance to win that game. Unfortunately Brasier was his ineffectual self, got bombed and made it a tough game BUT WE WON IN THE NINTH AND THAT'S WHAT COUNTS. I believed we could win tonight if we had out hitting shoes on and we all should all feel good about the game's outcome. The players certainly felt that way because they were whooping it up full force after the game. Good for them because they earned it.
Quote from: elktonnick on October 11, 2021, 09:49:59 PM
Talk about over achievers! As much as I have criticized Cora one has to admit he has done an incredible job this year especially considering the covid outbreak. Bloom also deserves a heck of a lot of credit also. He has mixed and matched putting together this team of over achievers.
Like you Elk I was on Cora's case much of the season but truth be told, he completely outmanaged Aaron Boone in the playoff game and Cash in this series. The only crink was putting Brasier in the game in the eighth instead of Whitlock. Brasier is meat, a straight fastball and little in the way of off speed pitches. He and Barnes should be mop up men in my opinion. But, what the hell we won the ALDS and will play for the American League Championship. I'd say so far, so good.
Sox won 3 games in a row to beat the Rays!
Remarkable.
ON TO THE ALCS!
The energy in Fenway Park is electric!
YAHOOOOO!
Don't play again until Friday.
Good for the pitchers to rest -
HOPE the players keep up their energy!
Cora had a good move that did not wok out. KK ended up with that 2b flair to left. The risk of that is Houck not having clean inng and so on. That part back fired, too. I still can't blame him for that one. Seemed like a good idea.
That 8th inning was bad news we somehow survived. I still can't believe we were not ready. But we won in the end. Good job everyone including Cora *except the top of 8th*. Man, too much. Whitloch! Nice saving us!
Amazing the Sox were able to scratch and claw in the end to get this one wrapped up. But it's the way this team did it the whole year.
As much as Tampa is admired for system building, they really came up short in pitching this year. In a four game series, their best available was McHugh, the Rasmussen on Sunday. Those moves last year, trading Snell, then losing Morton in FA, I forget what happened to Glasnow, injury"? Anyhow, that came back to bite them in their pitching depth. On to Houston!
RED SOX WIN , WIN, WIN !!!! MOVEON.ORG !!!! thumb_u thumb_u rofl rofl rofl rofl
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on October 11, 2021, 11:17:01 PM
Cora had a good move that did not wok out. KK ended up with that 2b flair to left. The risk of that is Houck not having clean inng and so on. That part back fired, too. I still can't blame him for that one. Seemed like a good idea.
That 8th inning was bad news we somehow survived. I still can't believe we were not ready. But we won in the end. Good job everyone including Cora *except the top of 8th*. Man, too much. Whitloch! Nice saving us!
Just can't say enough about this series. I'm pretty sure none of us expected them to even be in the postseason, never mind going to the ALCS and what a series against TB. I love that Cora outmanaged Cash, who everyone raves about. Cora has some postseason magic that works for him. I'm very happy that Tampa Bay's crappy approach to pitching was their undoing. Hopefully that idea can be invalidated now and pitchers go back to actually throwing a few innings.
E-Rod deserves a game ball. I didn't think he had it in him but he did. Heck of an outing for him in a huge game. They needed that.
Kike - what a series this guy had. Didn't see that coming! The postseason always seems to have some unlikely heroes.
Can't complain too much about the pitching changes. Brasier has been unhittable lately. I would have gone with Whitlock there, but it worked out.
Whitlock - what a stuf. Some big innings in the postseason already.
Devers - hand looks healthy, apparently thanks to Jim Rice. He slowed down his swing and follows through.
On to the ALCS after a few days of rest which they need.
Jeff Passan on Twitter says that this team reminds him of the Sox in 2018. I could not disagree more. The 2018 team had starting pitching, it was a juggernaut, they were the heavy favorites, they won 108 games. Nothing about this team resembles the 2018 team other than the handful of guys who are still on the team.
Quote from: longgame on October 12, 2021, 08:07:29 AM
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on October 11, 2021, 11:17:01 PM
Cora had a good move that did not wok out. KK ended up with that 2b flair to left. The risk of that is Houck not having clean inng and so on. That part back fired, too. I still can't blame him for that one. Seemed like a good idea.
That 8th inning was bad news we somehow survived. I still can't believe we were not ready. But we won in the end. Good job everyone including Cora *except the top of 8th*. Man, too much. Whitloch! Nice saving us!
Just can't say enough about this series. I'm pretty sure none of us expected them to even be in the postseason, never mind going to the ALCS and what a series against TB. I love that Cora outmanaged Cash, who everyone raves about. Cora has some postseason magic that works for him. I'm very happy that Tampa Bay's crappy approach to pitching was their undoing. Hopefully that idea can be invalidated now and pitchers go back to actually throwing a few innings.
E-Rod deserves a game ball. I didn't think he had it in him but he did. Heck of an outing for him in a huge game. They needed that.
Kike - what a series this guy had. Didn't see that coming! The postseason always seems to have some unlikely heroes.
Can't complain too much about the pitching changes. Brasier has been unhittable lately. I would have gone with Whitlock there, but it worked out.
Whitlock - what a stuf. Some big innings in the postseason already.
Devers - hand looks healthy, apparently thanks to Jim Rice. He slowed down his swing and follows through.
On to the ALCS after a few days of rest which they need.
MLB Network is now singing the praises of the Red Sox.
The mojo of the players. Team chemistry.
Good defense.
Good coaching by Alex Cora.
Good moves by Chaim Bloom in signing Kike Hernandez and Hunter Renfroe.
Adding Kyle Schwarber at the trade deadline.
AND they are saying about how Kevin Cash mismanaged his pitchers.
HAVE to love these players!
And - wow - Nick Pivetta and Garrett Whitlock
Looks like Houston is ready to close out Chicago. A 5 run lead in the 7th. Both pitching staffs should be rested by Friday. Let the games begin!
Quote from: longgame on October 12, 2021, 08:44:46 AM
Jeff Passan on Twitter says that this team reminds him of the Sox in 2018. I could not disagree more. The 2018 team had starting pitching, it was a juggernaut, they were the heavy favorites, they won 108 games. Nothing about this team resembles the 2018 team other than the handful of guys who are still on the team.
Let me offer Passan a free "get out of jail card" for that statement. There is no way on God's green Earth that the 2021 team resembles the 2018 team in any way except being called the Red Sox. 2018's team was a powerhouse that blasted their way trough the season, post season and post post season. To me that was the greatest Red Sox team ever. What this year's team showed that it was resilient and could go from the penthouse to the outhouse and back. Right now they have gotten their footing and look like the team that was dominant in June and July before the August near collapse, and for some reason Alex Cora seems to save his best for the post-season as he proved in the past series, and in 2018. What I was impressed with is how our defense and base running seems to have improved markedly the past ten days. The timing seems to be right for them to be ready to take on either Chicago or Houston, though both teams could be tough nuts to crack if we don't play at our very best level.
I would have not disagreed too much had he said 2013.
Starting in mid-May, us there as big an unheralded arm out there than Taylor? He comes in game after game and nips whatever's happening in the bud. That ERA us only that high because of the awful start and a later season hiccup.
Cora did very well at least three times the past 2 games to get Cash to PH early and get weapons out of the game, all the while leaving us with desirable match-ups established for later. Handcuffing them by middle innings. Nice! Double nice is how he got rid of our need for LHP later in the game. Then they get to face those righties we have that showed up large and in charge.
I though Cash did very well to keep his team into the both Fenway games and had legitimate chances to win each. Talk about not losing with your best arms on the bench. BUT, not saving one for the end... only so many bullets, as 'Eck is fond of saying. I can't imagine that "Rays' Way" as a fan. Good thing they don't have many.
Keeping Meadows on the bench for much of the early series was a GIFT, and Lowe's post-season career makes ARod's look like Reggie Jackson. That left KK as the big lefty. Too bad he delivered in a big way.
I don't think there's a Sox fan out there who saw Devers hit this year and think how much better he could have been had he controlled his swing more. Him being limited might open his eyes once and for all. If that's the case, sign him up for the long haul. He's like Mongo from Blazing Saddles. "Don't bring in a Lefty to face him. You'll just piss him off."
Speaking of swinging - how about Verdugo? That is some classic bad-arse line drive after line drive machine going on.
All that said, I ain't feeling too good about Houston. Then again, I did not in 2018.
Looking at the Sox pitching depth -- the starters -- in a 7 game series. We have been set up for the 3 game sets to end the season, then the best of 5 with Rays. Now the depth of starters come to play out. Surely Nathan is probably our most dependable guy right now, Pivetta could provide a good 5 innings, can ERod have two good starts in a row? Not sure how Sale will do. He's had about three uneven starts of late. The bullpen will get a workout with those Astros bats.
Very interesting that Houston ace McCullers had to come out of the Whitesox game yesterday with forearm tightness. They're unsure the severity, could be easily treatable, but one source said he could miss 4-5 days.
Urqueda is maybe they're next man up. Lots for Cora to think about.
I really don't know a lot about the Astros this year. Clearly they're good, winning 97 games in a division that had Oakland and Seattle with good records. Looking at stats, they look impressive. The one area the Sox have an edge is in power, but Houston has legit starting pitchers and what appears to be a good bullpen. Their team ERA is a good half point better than the Sox, but the more telling stat is quality stats - Houston has 66 versus our 39. That's not necessarily a weakness though as we know that most guys aren't going to go as deep in a playoff game and that's where the Sox have to attack. It seemed that in the last game in particular, the Sox had a strategy to attack and had a lot of first pitch swings (and outs). The key to the Astros is to get pitches and stress on those starters and open up that bullpen. You can be more aggressive at that point.
I continue to have no expectations whatsoever for this series. I know if they play their best they can win, but if they don't, they won't.
Quote from: longgame on October 13, 2021, 09:30:18 AM
I really don't know a lot about the Astros this year. Clearly they're good, winning 97 games in a division that had Oakland and Seattle with good records. Looking at stats, they look impressive. The one area the Sox have an edge is in power, but Houston has legit starting pitchers and what appears to be a good bullpen. Their team ERA is a good half point better than the Sox, but the more telling stat is quality stats - Houston has 66 versus our 39. That's not necessarily a weakness though as we know that most guys aren't going to go as deep in a playoff game and that's where the Sox have to attack. It seemed that in the last game in particular, the Sox had a strategy to attack and had a lot of first pitch swings (and outs). The key to the Astros is to get pitches and stress on those starters and open up that bullpen. You can be more aggressive at that point.
I continue to have no expectations whatsoever for this series. I know if they play their best they can win, but if they don't, they won't.
AND THIS IS WHY WE ARE ALL BASEBALL FANS , RED SOX FANS , WE ALL HAVE THE MANAGERIAL SKILLS & THE LOVE OF OUR TEAM !!!! GO RED SO, THE PLAYOFFS SO FAR HAVE BEEN EXCITING TO WATCH !!! thumb_u thumb_u thumb_u rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl
I was just watching this game again on FS1. Whitlock is the unsung hero of this game. He came in and shut down that rally by TB with the score tied. Just that one play where he hustled over to back up Raffy at 3B may have saved a run. If the Rays had scored again, who knows how things would have turned out.
Quote from: markj on October 13, 2021, 10:32:49 PM
I was just watching this game again on FS1. Whitlock is the unsung hero of this game. He came in and shut down that rally by TB with the score tied. Just that one play where he hustled over to back up Raffy at 3B may have saved a run. If the Rays had scored again, who knows how things would have turned out.
Credit Chaim for seeing Whitlock’s abilities before most GMs figured out what a talent he is. And he was in the Yankees backyard! I read that our scouts did most of their evaluating of him on Instagram. Bloom thinks a lot of Winchowski he got from the Mets.
I’m a big fan of the Sox draft and international signings. It is really interesting what the build of the new Sox is shaping up. In a couple years Nick Yorke will make us proud.
Weird for us that the Covid scare hit us about the best time possible, if such a travesty as that rotten disease could be classified in a positive way, but it did come and go just in time for the final month or so when the team all seemed to be well and ready to play. It didn't show up all the impressive but when this post season hit we were pretty healthy while other teams were overcoming their problems in that regard. It has showed up favorably for us in the post season---SO FAR. The team right now seems to be playing good ball and operating on al cylinders, even defense and base running which were two bugaboos for us much of the season. I also heard the Astros' No. 1 ace (McCullough is it?) might not be ready for the ALCS because of arm miseries.
You never wish anyone physical harm but it has happened and maybe it could augur well for us if we keep hitting because the Astros hit well too. There's going to be a big ta-do today at 3:00 pm Pacific time for three hours breaking down the teams heading for the league championship series. Just hope we are ready for it and I think we will be.
Fred, there is some worry in the Astros camp about McCullers. He just had Tommy John 2-3 years ago. The forearm stiffness he has could be a minor thing. But it is an indicator of TJ all over again.
ETA - while McCullers is in for an MRI, Dusty says Odorizzi and Greinke are his Friday options, more likely the former. Tho I don’t think Odorizzi was on the ALDS roster.