ALCS GAME # 4 - TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2021 - HOUSTON ASTROS @ BOSTON RED SOX

[Sea Dog 23]

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.

[longgame]

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

[markj]

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

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.

[MongoLikeSox]

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.

[SeaBeachFred]

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.

[BoSoxFanNY]

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.