The result of tonight’s game doesn’t matter for the Red Sox. They’re locked into the postseason, they’re going on the road in the Wild Card series, and they can’t move up in the standings. However, there’s plenty of things that happened within this game I really, really didn’t like. Chief among them were:
- The club’s continued inability to hit good pitching in meaningful moments. (They went 0-9 with runners in scoring position against a Cleveland team that deployed good arms all night trying to stay one game ahead of the White Sox in the AL Central. In the last seven games, the Sox are now 3-47 with runners in scoring position, which comes out to an .064 batting average.)
- Roman Anthony’s at bat in the ninth inning (more on that in the duds section).
- Payton Tolle coming out of the gate cold. (He did recover to post a halfway decent line, but if he looks like that again next week in New York, the Red Sox likely lose.)
- Erik Miller’s command coming unraveled again. He gave up the winning run on a leadoff hit by pitch in the ninth (which was followed by additional suckage), and he’s now given up at least one run in four straight outings.
I want to start at the end of that list with Miller, because this is a particularly troubling and escalating development. After the game, Chad Tracy was asked about Miller’s recent struggles, and here’s what he had to say.
“He’s going through some things, obviously. But we still trust the stuff. If we can get that right, we trust his stuff and his ability to get guys out.”
Okay, but what if he doesn’t get right in the next seven days? With Justin Slaten out of the equation and Tyron Guerrero hitting a wall in recent weeks, where is this club going with a one run lead in the seventh inning of a gotta have it game if Miller needs a compass to find the plate? Is this where Garett Crochet ends up landing? Will Garrett Whitlock be stretched out for two innings again? (Probably not a good idea the way last year ended.) Do they dare go Bryan Bello?
Either way, kudus to whoever in the postgame presser followed up with Tracy asking “when is he [Miller] going to pitch next?” Tracy’s response: “TBD.” Yikes!
Of course, Miller wasn’t the only big lefty who had a less than stellar night. Payton Tolle gave up eight hits and two walks in just 5.2 innings pitched, and struggled with command early. If you want to be an optimist, you can point out that Tolle figured out how to limit the damage and did indeed get better as the game went on, which is the sign of him becoming a good pitcher. However, the Sox need him to be a great pitcher right now, and this was his last tune-up before he takes the mound in New York next week with immense consequences on the line.
On the other side of the ball, this lineup just doesn’t look like it has the guns to properly handle postseason arms. I know they’re missing Willson Contreras, but this game was a continuation of their complete inability to get a big hit against velocity with ducks on the pond. Maybe they figure it out just in time with everybody healthy, but this feels like something that could easily end their season if it doesn’t change next week.
On the contrary, amid the overall problematic game, there actually were a few well deserved studs and silver linings in the clouds, so if you’re an optimist, this next bit is for you.
Mickey Gasper: He went deep again, this time with a game tying homer in the eighth. It’s his tenth home run in the last six weeks, and like many of the others, it came in a big moment. With the rest of the team struggling mightily in both high leverage spots and against velocity, Mickey Gasper is proving to be an unexpected and delightful outlier.
Here’s the offensive highlight of the night for the Red Sox:
Adley Rutschman: Not just a three hit night, but he did it in a game with a lefty on the mound for Cleveland in Messick, meaning he was batting from the right side where he’s largely struggled in a Red Sox uniform.
He also won two more ABS challenges, where he’s proved to be extremely dialed in all season.
Jovani Moran: Three strikeouts in his one scoreless inning of work.
Roman Anthony: The boxscore says 0-5 with two strikeouts, but it’s even worse when you fold in the context of his ninth inning groundout. Following a well earned, nine pitch, one out walk by Jarren Duran, Anthony came up in a wonderful spot to get some experience in a big, ninth inning moment. Instead of waiting around for his pitch — a quality he often has to a fault — he swung at the first offering out of the zone and rolled over to first base. Awful!
This could have been a joyful little feather in Anthony’s cap if he slowed down and put a quality at bat together here, but instead, he continues to look off at the plate.
Erik Miller: For obvious reasons.
Jahmai Jones: He’s on this roster for one reason and one reason only: To hit lefties. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been doing much of that lately. His 0-3 showing tonight means he’s hitting .091 with a .395 OPS in his last ten games.
Overall, the Sox have plenty to clean up, and they’re running out of time to get it right. To say I’m nervous about next week is an understatement!
