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Overall Takeaway
Quick rant here about Kristian Campbell before we get into the series. Someone needs to explain to me why they made the switch and why they had him start playing exclusively in the outfield. Everyone and their mother knows that there are too many outfielders as is, and now you have made it even more difficult for Campbell to make his return. I thought that maybe they think Franklin Arias will be up sooner rather than later, and they want an infield of Story, Mayer, and Arias? However, that doesn’t solve the biggest problem in all of this, Trevor Story. Until Boston looks in the mirror and realizes that Story is stunting the growth of their young players, nothing will be solved.
Alright, now to the series.
Boston had no business winning this series. The offense is enemic and can’t hit with RISP if their lives depended on it. They were handed a gift with the bases loaded in the 10th, with some of the worst base running I have seen. Then loaded the bases again and gave up two runs.
AND THEN HAD THE BASES LOADED AND CEDDANNE RAFAELA SWUNG AT THE FIRST PITCH.
Alright, ranting over. Boston is only 3 games out of a Wild Card spot. #believe.
Game 1: Red Sox 3-1
Game 2: Astros 6-3
Game 3: Astros 3-1
What I Loved
Jarren Duran
Don’t look at Duran’s numbers for the year, just look at Duran’s numbers for this series.
Roman Anthony/Marcelo Mayer
I applaud Chad Tracy for throwing Anthony into the middle of the order and saying, “Go figure it out, cowboy.” That is not a direct quote, but it fits. Has walked 13 times in the last 14 games, but hasn’t found his power yet. (Wrote this, and then he had that missile off the monster. Big three hit game on Friday, slowly coming into form.
For Mayer, his nine-game hitting streak was snapped Saturday, but he has looked significantly more comfortable than Anthony this year.
Willson Contreras
8-game hitting streak, stolen base on Sunday, raised OPS to .853.
Jake Bennett
If it weren’t his debut, he probably would have been knocked into the “mid” section. A lot of positives to take from his start, but they were hitting him hard, and he showed Red Sox Nation that he is not a “stuff guy”. He will produce ground balls and hopefully give Boston a few more good starts while the starters are hurt.
Keeping Yordan Alvarez In Check
Coming into the series, Yordan was the best overall hitter in MLB. The Red Sox held him to one hit.
What I Was ‘Mid’ About
What I Didn’t Love
Ceddanne Rafaela
I’m sorry, but Rafaela has no place throwing his hands up in the middle of a game. Great defender, but he has a .700 OPS. Now, Story should have done a little more on that play, but I don’t think he expected Rafaela to get the ball so quickly from the ricochet. Kudos to Rafaela for playing great defense, but the team doesn’t need any drama.
Oh, and he just swung at the first pitch with the bases loaded in extra innings.
Connely Early
Saturday was Connely’s worst start of his major league career.
Caleb Durbin
I’d rather have Rafael Devers, the way he is playing for the Giants, than Caleb Durbin right now.
Who Got Screwed
Masataka Yoshida
Masa has not started in the Chad Tracy. He addressed the situation this weekend and acknowledged that it is tough to rotate him in. Let him free, eat some of the money, and allow him to go join a team that will give him some at-bats.
Stat Soldier Score Cards
Game 1:
Game 2:
Game 3:
