7:05PM Eastern
Red Sox
Nick Pivetta (R)
1. Enrique Hernandez (R) CF
2. Kyle Schwarber (L) 1B
3. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS
4. Rafael Devers (L) 3B
5. J.D. Martinez (R) DH
6. Hunter Renfroe (R) RF
7. Alex Verdugo (L) LF
8. Kevin Plawecki (R) C
9. Jose Iglesias (R) 2B
Orioles
Alexander Wells (L)
1. Cedric Mullins (L) CF
2. Ryan Mountcastle (R) 1B
3. Austin Hays (R) RF
4. Trey Mancini (R) DH
5. Pedro Severino (R) C
6. Kelvin Gutierrez (R) 3B
7. Tyler Nevin (R) LF
8. Pat Valaika (R) SS
9. Jahmai Jones (R) 2B
Gametime Temp: 66°F
Chance of Precip: 0%
The Sox chances of making the playoffs increase exponentially IMO based on the quality of who toes the rubber for their opponents. Zimmermann was pretty effective this year when he was healthy. Lowther was at a 7.62 era, this guy Wells is at 7.66. Likewise, who do the Nats throw against us this weekend, is it one of their mainstays, or do they want to showcase one of their top prospects to close out the year? Their Friday guy has only pitched in 5 games this year with really good era. We shall see how that plays out.
But advantage to Tampa. They get to sit back and watch all these teams use up their best starters and burn up the bull pen just to get to a WC game, or for a 163rd game to get to the WC.
Quote from: Sea Dog 23 on September 30, 2021, 09:43:09 AM
The Sox chances of making the playoffs increase exponentially IMO based on the quality of who toes the rubber for their opponents. Zimmermann was pretty effective this year when he was healthy. Lowther was at a 7.62 era, this guy Wells is at 7.66. Likewise, who do the Nats throw against us this weekend, is it one of their mainstays, or do they want to showcase one of their top prospects to close out the year? Their Friday guy has only pitched in 5 games this year with really good era. We shall see how that plays out.
But advantage to Tampa. They get to sit back and watch all these teams use up their best starters and burn up the bull pen just to get to a WC game, or for a 163rd game to get to the WC.
Hopefully they don't sit back too much and can beat up on the Yankees a little.
BTW, the geniuses(??) at ESPN this morning on chances for the ALEast wild cards as Boston 74 percent, NYY 92 percent, Toronto and Seattle both 15% +/-.
On Monday Fansided placed the chances of getting one of the two wild cards as follows:
Red Sox Win Wild Card: 86.3%
Yankees Win Wild Card: 81.2%
Blue Jays Win Wild Card: 27.1%
Mariners Win Wild Card: 5.4%
Athletics Win Wild Card: 0.1%
(In their explanation they claimed Boston the easiest schedule in the final 6 games. I assume Fansided said "win the wild card" meaning their final record got them into a wild card)
I wish I had their optimism.
Pivetta is looking like crap already in the 3rd.
Wow, Pivetta got a gift or two from the ump.
And then gives up a 3 run dinger. Lovely.
Sox hitters hitting too many weak grounders!
If there’s no comeback from this, it will make the math really hard on the Sox and losing to the O’s again, geez. Seattle may just sweep Angels the way they’re playing.
I am disgusted. Weak hitting coupled with stupid pitching.
Cannot believe how the Red Sox are playing against the Orioles -
who have over 100 losses.
WTF?
Many early opportunities - too many GIDP
And the Orioles are about to score again.
Currently 3 - 1 Orioles . . .
The way this team is playing they are not going
to secure the second Wild Card spot.
Richards is a disaster. I hope he is not back next year. This team does not want to win.
Make that Orioles 6 - Sox 1
CRAP!
Sox will be lucky to take one game from the Nats. It'll save the fans the embarrassment of watching the Sox get their butts kicked in a WC playoff. Root for TOR so maybe the Yanks will also be sent golfing this weekend.
I hope the Shaw experiment is over after this season. At least the O's felt sorry for the Sox and gave us a freebie run.
Xander with 2 GIDPs tonight.
Another pathetic performance. Bad pitching, weak hitting, I just don’t get it. The way the Orioles starters have looked against the Sox you’d think they were a contending team. Ill give them credit that they didn’t walk many guys.
Just now the Sox hit into yet another DP.
This has been such a painful second half of a season.
I’m guessing the Jays will beat the crap out of Baltimore this weekend.
Quote from: markj on September 30, 2021, 08:26:27 PM
Xander with 2 GIDPs tonight.
Worse, the pitcher walks the batter before him on 5 pitches so instead of waiting for his pitch he swings at the first pitch and hits a routine grounder to third. Not smart baseball IMO
Yankees look like they'll beat the Jays, so if I'm reading this right, the Sox and Jays will be out of the WC and Seattle will hold the second slot after this game?
Disgusting performance!
Nope, I'm wrong. Sox and Mariners are tied for the 2nd slot.
You don't score a few runs you don't win.
If tonight didn't convince one and all that our team is not deserving of any playoff berth nothing will convince you and those of you who still feel the gate to the playoffs is still open in living in a fool's paradise. There must be a thorough housecleaning this winter otherwise we will see shit like this type of play next season as well. More on that over the next couple of weeks, but one ting is certain. The housecleaning must start with Cora being sent out of town.
From another forum I'm on. Not sure where the user sourced this, but it clearly defines the difference between the Mariners and the Sox at this point in the season.
QuoteThis is what distinguishes the Mariners: They have been outlandishly good at hitting when the moment is biggest. Overall, Seattle’s offense is a lowly 26th in OPS this season, batting a collective .226/.302/.386 for a .688 mark. Even adjusting for park, their output ranks just 20th. But in high-leverage situations (broadly, moments where the outcome of the game is most up for deciding), the 2021 Mariners morph into the league’s best lineup. In these key situations, which often entail facing the best pitchers the other team has to offer, they have an MLB-leading .833 OPS.
Over and over again, baseball researchers have failed to find any true skill or repeatability in players or teams who step up their games in decisive at-bats â€" the phenomenon is often fleeting, or clustered by happenstance. But given the choice of how to spread out a limited amount of possible production, this is how you’d do it!
This degree of clutch performance â€" which compares how they play in big moments to their own norms â€" is unprecedented. They hit like Cesar Hernandez as a whole, but like Jose Altuve when it matters most. By Baseball-Reference’s calculations, the Mariners are on pace to be the most clutch lineup of all-time.
Yes, the Mariners aren't household names, but they get the job done. There is only one name on the roster I recognize, Kyle Seager, as I saw him play a couply years in college ball. But you have to hand it to the Seattle GM for some important trades at the deadline with Pirates and Houston, Graveman for a good bat in Toro and a starting pitcher in Anderson. The new players are valued in the $500k range.
"The Seattle Mariners dealt right-handed pitchers Kendall Graveman and Rafael Montero to the Houston Astros in exchange for infielder Abraham Toro and right-handed pitcher Joe Smith. Then they dealt a couple of prospects for starter Tyler Anderson from the Pirates."
Quote from: SeaBeachFred on September 30, 2021, 10:34:00 PM
If tonight didn't convince one and all that our team is not deserving of any playoff berth nothing will convince you and those of you who still feel the gate to the playoffs is still open in living in a fool's paradise. There must be a thorough housecleaning this winter otherwise we will see shit like this type of play next season as well. More on that over the next couple of weeks, but one ting is certain. The housecleaning must start with Cora being sent out of town.
DATS A B I N G O !!!! PAINFUL, PAINFUL, PAINFUL !!! W GET A HOMERUN ON THE 1ST PITCH OF THE GAME & ONLY SCORE ONE MORE ALONG THE WAY ?????? AGREE, CLEAN THEM OUT , NOW GRASSHOPPER !!!! thumb_d thumb_d thumb_d iono iono sigh sigh sigh rofl rofl
Funny how these no-names come up big in big situations for the Mariners yet our All Stars routinely hit into double plays or pop up while swinging for the fences (sometimes on 3-0 counts no less).
Maybe Bloom was on to something by not investing in this team and he'll blow the whole damn lot of them up. This is a team that has consistently underperformed over the past 3 months. Night after nigh. Every big situation they wilt. One way or another this will all be over soon.
Quote from: longgame on October 01, 2021, 08:01:17 AM
Funny how these no-names come up big in big situations for the Mariners yet our All Stars routinely hit into double plays or pop up while swinging for the fences (sometimes on 3-0 counts no less).
Maybe Bloom was on to something by not investing in this team and he'll blow the whole damn lot of them up. This is a team that has consistently underperformed over the past 3 months. Night after nigh. Every big situation they wilt. One way or another this will all be over soon.
Cora could send a long needed message to the team tonight by sitting both choker Bogaerts and slumping soon-to-be- departed Martinez on the pine. BUT HE WON'T DO THIS because he thinks they will come through for him after game after game of failure especially by Bogaerts who should NEVER be given another contract by our team and should be traded out of town as soon as possible. Tonight you play Iglesias at short and put Arroyo at second and keep the outfield in tact. We may get a win out of that. Otherwise, another big "L". The team needs a shaken up badly and you don't get it by playing Bogaerts who has hit about 100 in the last dozen or so games.
I wouldn't play Arroyo right now. They're looking at Dalbec to maybe play 2B as an option to keep his bat in the lineup.