Overall Takeaway
The AL East is 100% up for grabs. You began to feel that way before the All-Star break, but to come out and sweep the 1st place Rays cements that. The Yankees are a mess without Aaron Judge (dropped another game this afternoon and have to play the Dodgers again this evening), the Blue Jays are falling apart, and the Rays just got manhandled.
Now Boston will get both Baltimore and Toronto at Fenway. Do not be surprised to see Boston a game or two back by next Monday.
Game 1: Red Sox 10-0
Game 2: Red Sox 5-3
Game 3: Red Sox 7-6
Game 4: Red Sox 6-1
What I Loved
Willson Contreras
The heartbeat of the team returned, hitting another two home runs this series. He is now two away from matching his career high.
More importantly, he told Boston he will not waive his no-trade clause. Wants to finish his career with the Red Sox. We are not worthy!
Jake Bennett
Five straight quality starts for Bennett. Completely entrenched in this rotation.
Wilyer Abreu’s Power
Back-to-back games with 2 HR, including the go-ahead game-winning blast against Garrett Cleavinger on Saturday. His power had disappeared for almost a month, but he now has 5 home runs over his last seven games.
Game One Hit Parade
All the starters got hits on Friday, except Romy Gonzalez (although he walked)
Home runs from Masataka Yoshida and Carlos Narvaez highlighted it.
Sonny Gray
Gray threw 49 of 91 pitches for strikes, but it didn’t matter as the Rays could do nothing with RISP. That is now nine straight quality starts for Gray.
Forget about trade value; Gray is here to stay.
Aroldis Chapman
Back-to-back saves in high-leverage spots (Save #20 in Game 2, Save #21 in Game 3). He navigated heavy traffic in Game 3 without breaking a sweat.
What I Was ‘Mid’ About
Bullpen Games
An Eduardo Rivera start is a bullpen game, even if they aren’t always fully presenting it as such.
Now, the bullpen was on fire in Game 2 after Guerrero gave up three over 2.1 innings—just a little concerning long-term.
What I Didn’t Love
Patrick Sandoval Start
Defense
Four errors across the series. Not terrible, but not what you expect out of arguably the best defensive team in baseball.
Who Got Screwed
The Haters
I will continue to mention it because I think it is important. Many Twitter personalities took a hard stance against this team. Many said blow it up, many said sell the team, and many are now deleting those tweets and pretending it didn’t happen.
Stat Soldier Score Cards
Game 1:
Game 2:
Game 3:
Game 4:
