Episode Summary:
The Red Sox picked a terrible time to start unraveling.
Boston dropped two of three at Fenway to a Seattle Mariners team that arrived riding a five-game losing streak, surrendering 25 runs in the series and continuing a brutal stretch in which the pitching staff has been getting hammered. The Sox escaped Monday with a 10-inning comeback win behind Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela and Trevor Story, but things went sideways quickly after that. Jedixson Paez was shelled Tuesday, and Seattle finished the job Wednesday with an 8–3 win.
Jim, Nick and John dig into a pitching staff that suddenly looks completely gassed, a bullpen running out of trustworthy arms, the injuries piling up around Adley Rutschman, Willson Contreras and Tyrone Guerrero, and the growing possibility that Boston could actually turn what looked like a comfortable playoff position into a September disaster.
The crew also debates the strange numbers surrounding Roman Anthony and Trevor Story being in the lineup together, revisits Boston’s offseason decisions involving Alex Bregman and the prospects sacrificed in later trades, and lays out several realistic scenarios in which the Red Sox could blow their postseason berth completely.
Then it’s time to look ahead to Baltimore, where optimism is in short supply. John predicts Boston takes three of four, Nick sees the Orioles winning three of four, and Jim goes all the way with an Orioles sweep. Add in Garrett Crochet’s bizarre appearance catching Joe Kelly’s ceremonial first pitch while still on the IL, and there’s plenty to question about how Boston is handling its battered roster.
September baseball has arrived. Unfortunately, so has the Red Sox collapse watch.
Takeaways:
Boston lost two of three at Fenway to Seattle and allowed 25 runs during the series.
The Red Sox pitching staff has allowed at least eight runs in five consecutive games, raising serious concerns about both the rotation and bullpen heading into the stretch run.
Jedixson Paez was hit hard in his major-league opportunity, allowing eight runs on 10 hits in fewer than four innings.
Roman Anthony has looked excellent since returning from the IL, while Trevor Story has also produced offensively despite continuing defensive concerns.
Adley Rutschman’s hyperextended elbow, Willson Contreras’ hamstring injury and Tyrone Guerrero’s shoulder issue are adding to Boston’s September depth problems.
Nick argues that Boston’s injury problems expose larger organizational issues involving conditioning, development and roster construction.
The crew revisits the Alex Bregman decision and questions whether retaining Bregman could have prevented Boston from later sacrificing significant prospect capital for Rutschman and Curtis Mead.
Boston’s playoff cushion is no longer comfortable, and the remaining schedule contains very few games against teams with nothing to play for.
Several realistic collapse scenarios are discussed, including a disastrous Baltimore series, stumbling against the Angels and Royals, and brutal road stretches against Texas and Tampa Bay.
The upcoming four-game Orioles series is viewed as potentially pivotal, with Jim predicting a Baltimore sweep, Nick predicting Baltimore takes three of four, and John predicting Boston wins three of four.
Garrett Crochet catching Joe Kelly’s ceremonial first pitch while still recovering on the IL sparked another round of questions about Boston’s decision-making.
The central concern entering Baltimore is simple: Boston’s starters have to provide six-plus innings because the bullpen no longer has enough reliable arms to continually cover the middle innings.
Chapters:
0:00 Red Sox Digest Opens — Seattle Comes to Fenway and Boston Collapses
2:11 Let’s Get Into It! — Mariners Take 2 of 3 and Score 25 Runs
8:08 Nick Face’s Numbers of the Day — The Pitching Staff Implodes
18:41 Roman Anthony, Trevor Story and the Strange Red Sox Record
21:59 The Martinello Minute — Boston’s Pitching Staff Is Gassed
29:53 Fenway Rage Management Chewables
31:05 Five Ways the Red Sox Could Blow the Playoffs
40:45 Orioles Series Pitching Probables
44:30 Baltimore Predictions — Optimism vs. Full-Blown Collapse
49:03 Garrett Crochet, Joe Kelly and the Ceremonial First-Pitch Debacle
53:52 Fan Comments — Collapse Watch, Rutschman and the Wild Card Race
68:40 Final Thoughts and Closing
