Wednesday night at Fenway was hopefully a sneak peek at what a playoff game started by Sonny Gray might look like!
The right-handed starter earned his 18th win of the season by pitching six dominant innings in which he surrendered only four hits and one walk while striking out three Guardians. Gray was in control throughout the entire start and allowed only one runner to reach second base all evening. It was the kind of performance that could make even the staunchest Red Sox naysayer believe that Gray could give the Sox a chance next week in the Bronx.
After Gray departed, Chad Tracy began the carousel of dominant bullpen arms. Tyron Guerrero got the seventh inning, and after he walked the leadoff man, he punched out the next three batters without throwing a single pitch outside the strike zone. Garrett Whitlock got his familiar eighth inning, and although he allowed two runners to reach base, a masterfully spun 4-6-3 double play started by Andrew Monasterio dispatched the threat.
The ninth was locked down by Aroldis Chapman, who seemed to be a whole new man after his 10-day hiatus! The Cuban Missile struck out all three batters he faced while displaying a combination of 98 mph heaters and a devastating splitter that he used as the out pitch for all three batters.
While the pitching staff continued to do its usual thing, so did the offense, unfortunately! One run over eight innings despite collecting a dozen hits. As a collective, they were 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position, and all 12 hits were singles.
On a positive note, four members of the lineup came through with multi-hit games, including Jarren Duran, who scored the lone run of the game, and he wasn’t even in the starting lineup. Nick Sogard, Jahmai Jones, and Wilyer Abreu were the other three Red Sox players to collect two hits each, and only two members of the starting lineup went hitless.
Boston provided the sole tally of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning when Duran led off with a single and advanced to second on a groundout by Durbin. With two outs, Monasterio came through with his first hit in almost a month!
One Step Forward and Two Steps Back
Wednesday night was also the night that Boston welcomed its All-Star center fielder, Ceddanne Rafaela, back to the field after his prolonged 10-day IL stint. The Gold Glover wasted no time reminding the Fenway Faithful just how important he is to Craig Breslow’s “Run Prevention” strategy by recording the first out of the game with a diving catch off the bat of the speedy Steven Kwan. He then went on to tie a record by recording all three outs of the inning on fly balls.
In the bottom of the second, he led off with a base hit to left field but was seen pulling up a little lame around first base and grabbing at the back of his leg. Although he remained in the game to run the bases, Chad Tracy and the trainer followed him out to center field before the top of the third inning and removed him from the game.
Combine this setback with the fact that Willson Contreras still hasn’t made his way back onto the field since being hit by a pitch on the hand, and all that rest and intentional time off might have been for naught, at least offensively.
Though Shall Not Pass….Ball
One thing that was most notable on Wednesday night was the skill level of Adley Rutschman behind the plate. In the same night, Rutschman handled four incredibly different pitchers with a style and grace that was so impressive that one wouldn’t have even noticed he was back there if they weren’t specifically looking for it.
The evening started with Sonny Gray, Boston’s best starting pitcher and a veteran righthander with pin point control and a variety of pitches that dart and move in every direction.
After catching Gray for six beautiful innings, he transitioned to the dynamic and powerful Tyron Guererro whose control can be as inconsistent as his fastball is dominate. After T-Rex walked the lead off man, Rutschman helped to bring him back into control where he relocated and proceeded to strike out the side on 14 pitches.
The eighth inning meant Garrett Whitlock, another righthanded pitcher, but one who succeeds with a combination of power and finesse, as his change-up could be his best pitch. Rutschman worked in tandem with the setup man and combined to maintain the shutout through eight innings.
The ninth inning was probably a demonstration of just how impressive Rutschman’s catching abilities are. Now granted I might be over emphasizing this because of what I saw from Connor Wong for the last number of games, but in that ninth inning, Rutschman was amazing.
Chapman had not pitched for ten days, and while the power behind the lefthanders fastball was not in the triple digits like normal, the ride to his arm side was amazing. Add to that, the diving nature of his split finger to both sides of the plate, and it could make for a nightmare for a catcher. Just ask Gary “the Butcher” Sanchez how difficult it is to catch Chapman!
Rutschman’s ability to handle all of the pitches that Chapman throws helps to give him even more confidence to throw those pitches with conviction, knowing that his battery mate will catch them or at least keep them in front of him. This is a very important aspect of Rutschman’s role this year since Chappy has displayed a little decrease in velocity and an increase in the reliance on his secondary pitches. That extra little bit of confidence that Adley has his back when he throws the splitter specifically, could have a direct impact on how the playoff games in October end!
Thou Shalt Not Pass…Ball
One of the most notable things on Wednesday night was the skill level of Adley Rutschman behind the plate. Over the course of the game, Rutschman handled four incredibly different pitchers with a style and grace that were so impressive that one wouldn’t have even noticed he was back there without specifically looking for it.
The evening started with Sonny Gray, Boston’s best starting pitcher and a veteran right-hander with pinpoint control and a variety of pitches that dart and move in every direction.
After catching Gray for six beautiful innings, Rutschman transitioned to the dynamic and powerful Tyron Guerrero, whose control can be as inconsistent as his fastball is dominant. After T-Rex walked the leadoff man, Rutschman helped him regain his control, and Guerrero proceeded to strike out the side on 14 pitches.
The eighth inning brought Garrett Whitlock, another right-handed pitcher, but one who succeeds with a combination of power and finesse, as his changeup might be his best pitch. Rutschman worked in tandem with the setup man, and the two combined to maintain the shutout through eight innings.
The ninth inning was probably the best demonstration of just how impressive Rutschman’s catching abilities are. Now, granted, I might be overemphasizing this because of what I saw from Connor Wong over the last several games, but Rutschman was amazing in that ninth inning.
Aroldis Chapman had not pitched for 10 days, and while the power behind the left-hander’s fastball was not in the triple digits as it normally is, the arm-side ride was amazing. Add to that the diving action of his splitter to both sides of the plate, and the combination could make for a catcher’s nightmare. Just ask Gary “The Butcher” Sánchez how difficult it is to catch Chapman!
Rutschman’s ability to handle all of Chapman’s pitches gives the closer even more confidence to throw them with conviction, knowing that his batterymate will catch them or at least keep them in front of him. This is a very important aspect of Rutschman’s role this year, since Chappy has displayed a slight decrease in velocity and an increased reliance on his secondary pitches. That extra bit of confidence that Adley has his back, especially when he throws the splitter, could have a direct impact on how Boston’s playoff games end in October!
O Captain! My Captain!
Congratulations to Chad Tracy, who had the interim manager placard removed from his office door the other day! Craig Breslow and the front office tabbed him as their new long-term guy with a three-year contract that will take him through 2029 and includes a club option for 2030.
It was well-deserved recognition for the man who took over a sinking rowboat so full of holes that it still carried him and the rest of the team well under the waves for quite a long time after he was named skipper. Yet, he managed to hold his breath long enough to help raise the ship before it hit the bottom. More impressively, he didn’t just keep the ship from completely sinking, he actually managed to get it sailing in the right direction and somehow into port with all of the passengers and crew still in one piece!
I don’t know just how successful a career Tracy is going to have, but I will admit that he was the right man for this particular commission. I wish him all the best as he tries to continue Captaining the USS Red Sox while Craig Breslow remains the Admiral!