7:10PM Eastern
Red Sox
Nathan Eovaldi (R)
1. Enrique Hernandez (R) CF
2. Hunter Renfroe (R) RF
3. J.D. Martinez (R) DH
4. Rafael Devers (L) 3B
5. Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B
6. Kevin Plawecki (R) C
7. Danny Santana (S) LF
8. Jose Iglesias (R) SS
9. Jonathan Arauz (S) 2B
Rays
Shane McClanahan (L)
1. Brandon Lowe (L) 2B
2. Wander Franco (S) SS
3. Nelson Cruz (R) DH
4. Austin Meadows (L) LF
5. Ji-Man Choi (L) 1B
6. Manuel Margot (R) CF
7. Joey Wendle (L) 3B
8. Josh Lowe (L) RF
9. Mike Zunino (R) C
Gametime Temp: 73°F
Chance of Precip: 0%
Looks like a much needed personal day off for Verdugo !!!! " Talking to himself ain't right " !!!!! iono iono iono iono rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl
Arauz just watched two pitches go by that were dead center over the plate, and then K'd on a ball nearly in the dirt. No wonder there's no score.
Six scoreless innings from Eovaldi. Let's hope the Sox don't waste it.
JDM with yet another GIDP. He has a talent for those.
Dalbec flashing some leather. Good to see that.
Make that 7 scoreless innings from Eovaldi. No complaints there.
Any logical explanation for yanking Taylor? Over fricking managing. AGAIN!!!
Or not IBBing Cruz? You had to know he was going to get a hit. Unlike most of the Sox players, Cruz is Mr. Clutch.
Attaboy, Hunter. Two run dinger puts the Sox up 2-1.
Renfroe bailed him out with a moon shot!
What in the holy heck is going on here? Has he gone mad? Is someone hurt?
(edit - I had the batting order fubar in my head - Iglesias was PH for - my bad.)
Wow, what a way to end a game. Cannonball shot from Hunter guns down a runner at 3rd. Very cool.
What a game and what an ending!
Of course I thought they were going to blow it when the ball got by Santana but hell of a throw by Renfroe.
Two assists and a 2-run bomb. Nice!
Best pitching performance of the series by Eovaldi.
AND Hunter Renfroe wins this game with his bat - 2 run homer in the 8th
inning and seals with win with his defensive arm to throw out Wendle at third
and win the game!
Sox 2 - Rays 1
WOW!
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on September 08, 2021, 08:44:39 PM
Renfroe bailed him out with a moon shot!
Moon shot? How about that rocket launch of a homer in the 8th and his howitzer throw in the ninth to end the game. Bloom had better be damned sure he resigns this guy. He's keeper if there ever was one. Good win. At least we stopped the bleeding tonight. The Jays swept the Yankees who have sort of fallen back after their 13 game winning streak. Seems a lot of clubs are going hot and cold this season.
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on September 08, 2021, 08:50:25 PM
What in the holy heck is going on here? Has he gone mad? Is someone hurt?
(edit - I had the batting order fubar in my head - Iglesias was PH for - my bad.)
Mongo, the way our team has been going with their hot and cold persona it's a wonder any of us can think straight.
Sox move into 2nd place with the Yankees' loss. But the Jays are just 2 games back.
Cora is no doubt concerned about the mediocre defensive play. Before the 9th he made like 6 changes all over the infield and outfield. He did smartly keep Renfroe in RF, but brought in Robles for the save, maybe not so smart. But a great win for the Sox for sure.
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on September 09, 2021, 05:05:52 AM
Cora is no doubt concerned about the mediocre defensive play. Before the 9th he made like 6 changes all over the infield and outfield. He did smartly keep Renfroe in RF, but brought in Robles for the save, maybe not so smart. But a great win for the Sox for sure.
As` DAD would say , " SON, how about our RED SOX " !!!!! Nice win , much needed !! thumb_u rofl rofl
Renfroe is the kind of guy we should be seeing more of if Bloom sticks to his formula. What I notice in the TB lineups is that they don't have a lot of studs, but they don't have a lot of stiffs either. The main problem with the Sox this year is they have some abysmal players and of course they haven't been well constructed all season.
One of the more exciting games of the year for sure and the kind of game you have to win to advance.
I certainly agree. This year's team was put together with duct tape and bailing wire. I remember years ago Jim Palmer questioned Cora's management of the bullpen and pitching staff. I think this years post ASB collapse has a lot to do with the way he handled the bullpen earlier in the year which of course was later exacerbated by the Covid virus's effects on the roster.
Quote from: elktonnick on September 09, 2021, 10:51:39 AM
I certainly agree. This year's team was put together with duct tape and bailing wire. I remember years ago Jim Palmer questioned Cora's management of the bullpen and pitching staff. I think this years post ASB collapse has a lot to do with the way he handled the bullpen earlier in the year which of course was later exacerbated by the Covid virus's effects on the roster.
Definitely. Francona was maddening with the bullpen but I knew his MO. For the first four months of the season he'd give guys lots of rope to see what they were made of, but by August he had it burned in. Cora seems to be all over the place. Where it seemed like he could make no wrong moves in 2018 (maybe because he just had a deep bullpen, much like 2004), he was pretty bad the next year. This year is hard to assess between starters no longer being able to pitch more than 5 innings, plus Cora's short hook, plus Covid.
I think something has to give on MLB with pitching. Can't see paying guys $30M to pitch 150 innings if they make all their starts. Either guys can pitch deep and get the big bucks or the trend will go to having a 8-10 guys who can go 3 innings each and another handful who can do short relief.
Quote from: longgame on September 09, 2021, 11:53:00 AM
Quote from: elktonnick on September 09, 2021, 10:51:39 AM
I certainly agree. This year's team was put together with duct tape and bailing wire. I remember years ago Jim Palmer questioned Cora's management of the bullpen and pitching staff. I think this years post ASB collapse has a lot to do with the way he handled the bullpen earlier in the year which of course was later exacerbated by the Covid virus's effects on the roster.
Definitely. Francona was maddening with the bullpen but I knew his MO. For the first four months of the season he'd give guys lots of rope to see what they were made of, but by August he had it burned in. Cora seems to be all over the place. Where it seemed like he could make no wrong moves in 2018 (maybe because he just had a deep bullpen, much like 2004), he was pretty bad the next year. This year is hard to assess between starters no longer being able to pitch more than 5 innings, plus Cora's short hook, plus Covid.
I think something has to give on MLB with pitching. Can't see paying guys $30M to pitch 150 innings if they make all their starts. Either guys can pitch deep and get the big bucks or the trend will go to having a 8-10 guys who can go 3 innings each and another handful who can do short relief.
It's maddening Ted. Time was when starters went seven or eight innings on cue. Not anymore!!! That's why I was pleased that Eovaldi was pitching deep into the game. Too bad we couldn't have gotten some runs so he could have picked a win. He hasn't had one in some time because of the miserable support he has been given.
Things are gonna be high drama for the Sox next couple weeks. A three team wild card affair in the ALE all with 62 losse. Look out for the Jays. 8 straight and humbled the Yanks in NY. We do have 3 games in hand over Jays.