Connelly Early did it again! He took the ball in a big September game against a surprisingly solid A’s lineup and completely shut them down. When he he walked off the mound during the top of the sixth inning, he had a combined line over his first two MLB starts of 10.1 innings pitched, ZERO earned runs (at least for a moment), and 18 strike outs against just one walk. He was nothing short of brilliant, again!
This should have been the story of tonight’s game. How the Sox were again injected by the youthful
energy and excellence of their farm. How they have their No. 4 starter set for the rest of the year, and how they moved one win closer to their first playoff appearance since 2021.
Unfortunately, that’s not the story. Instead, we’re left here pondering how the rest of these jamokes can look so lifeless in such a high stakes environment. With tonight’s 0-7 effort with runners in scoring position, the Sox are now a combined 5-54 in those spots over their last six games. They’ve scored just one run over their last 16 innings (and they haven’t exactly been facing a parade of top notch arms either).
I wish I could point to just one thing here, but the problems in this lineup run deep. The entire bottom half of it inspires zero confidence no matter how Alex Cora rearranges it, Alex Bregman hasn’t been hot for several weeks now, and Romy Gonzalez had maybe his least productive night of the season at the dish in this game going 0-5 with two double plays, including the game ender.
It’s just astounding how unproductive this group is without Roman Anthony in there, particularly in close games. And no, it doesn’t just feel that way, the numbers bear it out as well. Take a look at these figures from bostonsportsinf from BEFORE tonight’s one run loss.
I can’t underscore enough how much it sucks that none of the big three prospects entering the season (Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell) are here getting at bats down the stretch!
Pitching wise, Greg Weissert ruined Connelly Early’s line by allowing an inherited runner to score. He’s honestly lucky this pitched stayed in the ballpark. Holy meatball!
So Early gets screwed as the baserunner only got there on an infield hit, and then Weissert proceeded to give up another run to put the team in a 2-1 hole, which for this pathetic offense proved insurmountable.
If this feels familiar, it’s likely because Weissert also ruined Payton Tolle’s Fenway debut on the last homestand when he allowed inherited runners to score in the game against the Pirates. Both Tolle and Early did not allow a run while they were on the mound in their Fenway debut, but both gave up runs on their line because of Greg Weissert, and the Sox lost both games.
Three Duds
Greg Weissert: See above.
Romy Gonzalez: Five plate appearances, seven outs, two crippling double plays, and a -.475 WPA. Horrific!
Alex Bregman: 0-4 tonight, which just isn’t good enough from a guy who is here to be a leader and help you win crucial, late season games. He’s also batting just .157 over his last 22 games. With Roman Anthony out, the Sox need Bregman to step up more than ever and give this sputtering offense something in a big moment.
Three Studs
Connelly Early: Take a moment to enjoy his beautiful outing.
Trevor Story: Not only did he go 3-4 at the plate, but he also swiped his 30th bag of the season without getting caught, which ties an MLB record. His turnaround from May has been nothing short of remarkable.
Justin Slaten: It was easy to miss, but he worked a five pitch scoreless inning out of the pen in his best outing yet since coming back from the IL.
As ugly as this loss was, it was a sneaky great night if you’re looking for more depth in the pitching department. Connelly Early represents another starting option behind Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito, and Justin Slaten maybe sort of kinda might be able to work his way back into the seventh inning role before the end of the month? We’ll see.
Play of the game:
I’m going to go somewhere completely different with this one and highlight what I thought was one of the most compelling second guess calls of the night. It’s Nick Sogard getting picked off trying to steal second base to end the bottom of the eighth inning.
There’s a bunch to pick at here! Let’s start with Lou Merloni’s take on why it was the right call:
The counter argument I see here is that it takes the bat out of Bregman’s hands as the Sogard out put Bregman up fourth in the 9th. So the question then becomes would you rather have Bregman up with the game on the line the way he’s hitting right now, or Duran left on left either down in the count 1-2 with a man on second in the eighth, or with a fresh count leading off the next inning, still stuck in a left on left matchup. It’s a close call!
Of course, Bregman and maybe even Trevor Story still should have gotten an at bat anyway in the ninth as Ceddanne Rafaela managed to reach base on a single, but as previously mentioned, Romy Gonzalez ended the affair with a spine snapping double play.
