What’s happening? That game didn’t feel real. The Red Sox are on an unbelievable winning streak, but for eight innings today, it felt like a game that happened in April, May, or even June. The team only managed four base runners over the first eight innings, and only one of them advanced past first base. The pitching was excellent as usual — Payton Tolle and Brayan Bello combined for eight innings, allowing one run each — but the offense wasn’t there to back them up. It’s a game we’ve seen time and time again this season, where the home run doesn’t happen, and they can’t string together enough hits to scratch runs across the board.
In the ninth inning, something flipped. Ceddanne Rafaela led off with a single to bring the tying run to the plate. After Wilyer Abreu popped out for the first out, Romy Gonzalez hit a firm but playable ground ball to Francisco Lindor. It was a tailor-made double-play ball for any major league shortstop, let alone a two-time Gold Glove winner. When you’re hot you’re hot, and when you’re cold you’re cold, though, and Lindor booted the ball, putting two runners on. Caleb Durbin followed it with a walk, and then Andruw Monasterio did the same to score the Red Sox’s first run of the game. Jarren Duran then hit a sky-high pop-up, but with the infield pulled in, left fielder Carson Benge had to charge and couldn’t make the sliding catch. Gonzalez scored, and the game was tied.
Aroldis Chapman handled the ninth inning with little resistance to send the game to extra innings. In extras, the Red Sox played textbook small-ball by bunting the ghost runner to third, and scoring him on a sacrifice fly. Garrett Whitlock took the ball for the bottom of the inning, striking out the first hitter, getting the second to fly out to left, and inducing a ground ball to win the game.
I’ve started to believe in this team over the past few weeks, but today took it to a whole new level. Hapless teams don’t rally as the Red Sox did in the ninth (assisted by an error). They don’t strand ghost-runners on second base in a one-run game. They don’t have a reliever with an ERA over six show up and throw 4.1 solid innings. Everything is just going the Red Sox way right now.
We’re on to the All-Star break. Enjoy the streak, the week, and be back here on Friday for a doubleheader against the first-place Tampa Bay Rays. Go Sox.
Tolle had a shortened outing by design today and came with his best stuff. He challenged the Mets with four-seam fastballs in the zone, and they couldn’t touch them, while also landing his cutter on the glove side for strikes and whiffs. On the day, he tied his career high with 18 whiffs.
Bello was brought up to give Payton Tolle some relief without sacrificing the rest of the bullpen. Of course, there was still a game to win, and Bello did a fantastic job. He came in with a runner on base and was able to strand him there, and then fired four more innings, with the only run coming via a solo home run. His velocity was good, he was in the zone, and he didn’t put himself in jams. Who knows what the rest of his season will look like, but for today, Bello was a key piece in capping off the win.
Whitlock came in for the tenth inning with a runner on second and didn’t allow them to advance. That’s not easy to do, but he did it. Almost anyone could have been a stud today, but I’ll give it to Whitlock for capping off the first half.
The Haters and The Doubters
We’re so back. The only dud is the haters.
