Merrilly We Roll Along
Boston Pounds Kelly, Finally Wins a Series, and Sets Its Sights on a Sweep
For the second night in a row, the Diamondbacks sent out a pitcher who made even the Red Sox offense look dangerous! In four innings, Merrill Kelly gave up six earned runs on seven hits and four walks. But, to his credit, he did strike out two Red Sox, which is more than all of the pitchers combined could say on Monday.
The bats picked up right where they left off the night before, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first. And it all started with some aggressive “small ball.”
Sogard started things with a single, and then Rafaela pushed a bunt to the right side that forced the first baseman to field the ball. When Kelly failed to cover, it became a bonus hit for the Sox. Abreu walked, and then Contreras struck out, and you could feel the impending sense of dread seeping through Fenway as everyone began to wonder if perhaps Monday night had been a fever dream after all.
But Adley Rutschman quickly delivered the prettiest shot of adrenaline with a two-run single to right. Durbin then made a productive out by flying deep to right, giving Boston a 3-0 lead, and it looked like the Sox were off and running.
Unfortunately, a squandered opportunity in the bottom of the second, when they came up empty after putting runners on second and third with only one out, snowballed into a much more disastrous top of the third.
Ranger Suárez seemed to be in complete control after retiring the first two D-backs of the inning. He had faced the minimum through 2 2/3 innings, with only the nine-hitter standing between him and, I’m sure, a very comfortable seat on the bench while the Sox smacked Kelly around a little more.
But that’s where everything began to unravel.
Two weak-contact singles followed by a hit-by-pitch brought up the one hitter in the lineup you really didn’t want to face with the bases loaded. Sure enough, in what seems to be typical Red Sox fashion, Gabriel Moreno crushed a grand slam into the night to give Arizona a 4-3 lead and send many a New Englander into a catatonic state.
Have no fear, Red Sox Nation! The Doctor was ready to make another house call.
Rutschman delivered yet another shot to the system, launching his first home run as a member of the Red Sox into the right-field seats, well beyond the Pesky Pole, and incredibly, the World Series was back on!
The 2026 version of the “Dirt Dog,” Caleb Durbin, injected a little energy of his own to give Boston a lead it would not surrender. After singling, he moved to second on a ground out, stole third, and then scored on a wild pitch in a manner that proved he might just have a second career as a circus performer if this whole baseball thing doesn’t work out for him.
From there, a combination of Suárez, Guerrero, Miller, and Olds slammed the door on the D-backs, while Kelly and company surrendered four more runs to help Boston cruise to a 9-4 victory and clinch its first series win since the White Sox.
Ranger, Ranger, Wherefore Art Thou?
Ranger Suárez got the win! That’s a good thing.
He pitched more than five innings. Another positive.
He gave up only four hits. Not terrible.
Yet the outing still left much to be desired, and while it wasn’t necessarily a regression, it certainly didn’t instill a tremendous amount of confidence in our big-ticket free-agent pitcher. Suárez didn’t seem to have the same command of the strike zone he displayed earlier in the season. When he missed, it wasn’t just off the plate, the pitch was often noncompetitive and didn’t generate much chase from the Arizona offense.
The fact that he increased his pitch count to more than 90 is a good sign, but there is still plenty he needs to prove before the Fenway Faithful truly fall head over heels for him.
Fully Armed and Operational
Bunts. Stolen bases. Home runs, by Mickey, of all people. Aggressive base-running. Clutch hitting. Productive outs. It really is pretty to watch baseball played the way it’s supposed to be.
I just hope Chad Tracy and the rest of the coaching staff don’t start taking it for granted. It’s clear that the pitching Arizona has been throwing out there is second-rate at best, so this type of complete offensive performance may be fleeting. But one thing has become abundantly clear: the Red Sox play differently when they have a lead.
When they get ahead and continue to press the issue, they put pressure on the opposition and force the defense to react to them. That’s the style of baseball that carried this team through its remarkable run in July and August, and it’s the style they need to rediscover down the stretch.
All Hail, Caesar
It’s still too early to rise to Empire status, but let’s just say Roman Anthony went a long way toward getting the people’s attention with his conquest in the foreign land of Portland, Maine.
In his first rehab start, Anthony went 2-for-2 with a single, home run, two walks, and two RBI.
Now, it was against the Reading Phillies, and it’s only one game in Double-A. But the fact that the man is not only capable of holding a bat but can actually swing said bat and make contact with a small spherical object with some precision and aggression is a very good thing for his future…and the overall mental health of Red Sox Nation.
The Love Rollercoaster
We’re back on the up-slope of the roller coaster that is Red Sox fandom.
This season has been one of the most out-of-control rides we’ve experienced in years. The number of ups has barely outnumbered the downs, and the twists and turns have been incredibly nauseating. It would be nice if this particular climb could last at least through the end of the homestand.
But given the way this season has gone, I’d probably keep the safety bar down.
Image courtesy of https://www.si.com/mlb/red-sox/onsi/red-sox-delayed-return-for-ranger-suarez-explained-pat3