We’ve known who would be starting in the Wild Card series for a while now, but we didn’t know in what order they’d pitch. And that matters in a short series — a lot. In Cam Schlittler, the Red Sox are going up against the best pitcher in the American League tomorrow night. They need someone who can match his ability to miss bats and quiet both the Yankees lineup and the Yankee Stadium crowd. That guy is going to be Payton Tolle:
It’s been an incredible season for Tolle who, lest we forget, wasn’t even on the Opening Day roster and didn’t make his first start until late April. But over the next five months he endeared himself to Red Sox Nation like few other Sox players in recent memory. He’s even won over Pedro Martinez. “I wish I could have taught myself at an early age how to be like Tolle,” Pedro said. “The guy laughs, the guy pitches, the guy’s a bully. The guy is big, intimidating. He’s got everything. He’s out there to beat you. He’s a bully. I love him.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
Tolle is a lefty, of course, as is Ranger Suárez… and Aroldis Chapman… and Jake Bennett… and Garrett Crochet… and Erik Miller… and Jovani Moran… and Alec Gamboa. In fact, the Sox had — by far — the most left-handed pitching staff in baseball this year, and the most left-handed pitching staff in almost four decades. This could end up being huge for them this month. (Mike Petriello, MLB.com)
We likely won’t get the final roster until tomorrow morning. But we do know this intriguing nugget: Braiden Ward, the speed demon who has yet to appear in a single Major League game, has traveled to New York with the team. If he does make the roster, his role would likely be limited to pinch-running. But he’s more than ready for that. “If they put me on the bases, especially first base, ninth inning,” he said, “even if a guy’s 1.1 to the plate and a 1.8 pop time (from the catcher), it’s ‘Hey Ward, go steal it. Go figure it out.’ That’s why they put you out there — to go try to steal the bag. If I get the opportunity, obviously I’m going to try to steal it. The other team knows that. It’s no surprise why I’m going to be out there.” (Sean McAdam, MassLive)
As Ward’s quote about catcher pop time demonstrates, information about the opposing team becomes paramount in the postseason. Could the Red Sox be at a disadvantage in that department given their widely publicized smaller scouting staff? “The Sox, who have done all of their regular-season advance scouting lately by video and through in-office data analysis, started their in-person preparations last week when they sent two of their top scouts to New York for the four-game Yankees-Rays series, to check out their expected Wild Card and ALDS foes.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
If you want to do some advance scouting of your own, here’s the series preview from FanGraphs. (Jay Jaffe, FanGraphs)
And here’s what the writers and analysts at one prominent outlet are predicting for the series. (The Athletic)
