Red Sox vs Phillies Series Review

A Blog By Dean

Overall Takeaway

This sweep exposes the Red Sox's vulnerabilities—cold bats, shaky starts, and defensive miscues—that could derail their playoff push if not addressed before the deadline. The script for this series was very similar to their last. Mediocre pitching, ice cold offense, lose the first two games, have one good inning in Game 3.

With the record at 55-49, they are still in the mix, but they need another arm in the rotation and maybe a power bat without trading prospects, which Breslow has made clear he does not want to do.

This year's post-All-Star Break trip is looking very much like last year's… bad.

Game 1: Phillies 3- Red Sox 2

Game 2: Phillies 4- Red Sox 1

Game 3: Red Sox 9-7

What I Loved

• Romy Gonzalez Grand Slam

  • Gonzalez continues to be Barry Bonds against LHP

• Carlos Narvaez

  • On a night that Kyle Teel leads the White Sox to a win, Narvaez reminds us how big of a steal he is.

  • Throws out runner in the 10th, followed by go-ahead homer in the 11th.

What I Was ‘Mid’ About

• Starting Pitching

  • Giolito and Fitts didn’t pitch great, but they didn’t completely put the team out of the games. Buehler was great and has quietly put together three good starts.

• Aroldis Chapman In 7th

  • I understand the matchups and how Schwarber and Harper have played against Chapman in their career. That is the only reason I put this in the “mid” section. I never believe in bringing your closer in this early in a game.

• Trade Rumors

  • Jeff Passan reported that the Red Sox are not looking to make a big splash. Fine, I wouldn’t want them to break the bank either.

  • What I don’t love is the Duran trade rumors. I have seen a number of potential packages, and none are tickling me. Yoshida has also not done anything yet to warrant the Sox taking the risk of losing the production Duran brings.

What I Didn’t Love

• Striking Out Over 40 Times

  • No comment required.

• Carlos Narvaez's Catcher Interference

  • Narvaez was called for interference twice—in Game 1's walk-off and Game 2's balk that scored Harper. Neither should have been called. Red Sox would have lost Game 1 anyway, and Harper was safe regardless. But I still don’t like the calls.

• Watching Game on ESPN

  • There is nothing worse than watching your team’s broadcast and seeing the blackout notification. I contemplated jumping out the window, but reluctantly put on ESPN instead.

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