The result of tonight’s game doesn’t matter for the Red Sox. They’re locked into the postseason, they’re going on the road in the Wild Card series, and they can’t move up. However, there’s plenty of things that happened within this game I really, really didn’t like. Chief among them were:
- The club’s continued inability to hit good pitching. (They went 0-9 with runners in scoring position against a Cleveland team that used good arms trying to stay one game ahead of the White Sox in the AL Central.)
- Roman Anthony’s at bat in the ninth inning (more on that in the duds section).
- Payton Tolle coming out of the gate cold. (He did recover to post a halfway decent line, but if he does this again next week in New York, the Red Sox likely lose.)
- Erik Miller’s command coming unraveled again. He gave up the winning run in the ninth on a leadoff hit by pitch, and he’s now given up at least one run in four straight outings.
I want to start at the end with Miller, because this is a particularly ugly development. After the game, Chad Tracy was asked about his recent struggles, and here’s what he had to say.
“He’s going through some things,
obviously. But we still trust the stuff. If we can get that right, we trust his stuff and his ability to get guys out.”
Okay, but what if he doesn’t get right in the next seven days? With Justin Slaten out of the equation and Tyron Guerrero hitting a wall in recent weeks, where is this club going with a one run lead in the seventh inning of a gotta have it game if Miller needs a compass to find the plate? Is there where Garett Crochet ends up landing? Do they dare go Bryan Bello?
Either way, kudus to whoever in the postgame presser followed up with Tracy asking “when is he [Miller] going to pitch next?” Tracy’s response: “TBD.” Well ain’t the comforting.
Of course, Miller wasn’t the only big lefty who had a less than stellar night. Payton Tolle gave up eight hits and two walks in just 5.2 innings pitched, and struggled with command early. If want to be an optimist, you can point out that Tolle figured out how to limit that damage and did indeed get better as the game went on, which is the sign of him becoming a good pitcher. But they need him to be a great pitcher right now, and what we got tonight is his last tune-up before he takes the mound in New York.
On the other side of the ball, this lineup just doesn’t look like it has the guns to properly handle postseason arms. I know they’re missing Willson Contreras, but this game was a continuation of their complete inability to get a big hit against velocity with ducks on the pond. Maybe they figure it out just in time with everybody healthy, but this feels like something that could end their season if it doesn’t change next week.
On the contrary, there actually were a few well deserved studs in this game to go along with the storm clouds, so if you’re an optimist, this next bit is for you.
Three Studs
Mickey Gasper: He went deep again, this time with a game tying homer in the eighth. It’s his tenth home run in the last six weeks, and like many of the others, it came in a big moment. With the rest of the team struggling mightily in both high leverage spots and against velocity, Mickey Gasper is proving to be an unexpected and delightful outlier.
Here’s the offensive highlight of the night for the Red Sox:
Adley Rutschman: Not just a three hit night, but he did it in a game with a lefty on the mound for Cleveland in Messick, meaning he was batting from the right side where he’s largely struggled in a Red Sox uniform.
Jovani Moran: Three strikeouts in his one scoreless inning of work.
Three Duds
Roman Anthony: The boxscore says 0-5 with two strikeouts, but it’s even worse when you fold in the context of his ninth inning groundout. Following a well earned, nine pitch, one out walk by Jarren Duran, Anthony came up in a wonderful spot to get some experience in a big, ninth inning at bat. Instead of waiting around for his pitch — a quality he often has to a fault — he swung at the first offering out of the zone and rolled over over to first base. Awful!
This could have been a really big night for Anthony if he slowed down and put a quality at bat together here, but instead, he continues to look off at the plate.
Erik Miller: For obvious reasons.
Jahmai Jones: He’s on this roster for one reason and one reason only: To hit lefties. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been doing much of that lately. His 0-3 showing tonight means he’s hitting .091 with a .395 OPS in his last ten games.
Overall, the Sox have a lot to clean up, and they’re running out of time to get it right.
