The Xander Bogaerts revenge game finally arrived.
Well, I certainly thought the Red Sox were dead in the water by the time the ninth rolled around. Ceddanne Rafaela’s leadoff single felt like a nice moment for him to get back on track, but I didn’t expect much more. Roman Anthony’s RBI double somewhat changed my tune, and once again proved his ability to perform in big moments, but after Boston failed to tack on another run in the ninth, the story was pretty much over.
The Red Sox now move to 1-9 in extra-inning games on the road, and it was pretty clear that without taking a lead in the ninth, they had a slim chance of winning tonight’s contest after San Diego’s five shutdown innings out of the bullpen.
Lucas Giolito was far from his sharpest tonight, mostly by the doing of Xander Bogaerts, but somehow only giving up four runs after walking six batters in 4.2. IP. Still, the six walks and five hits sunk him and Boston, as the Red Sox offense went back to the relatively dormant life it’d been living over the past few games (before Friday night). The bullpen held things down for the rest of the first nine innings, but with Bogaerts being the ghost runner in the 10th, Boston’s destiny seemed to be foretold.
Surely enough, a Ramon Laureano single that racked up his second RBI of the night and drove Bogaerts across the plate for the second time was the final nail in the casket for a Red Sox team that’s been absolutely allergic to competitive performances in extra innings this year.
Bogaerts reached base three times in his five plate appearances, including two runs scored and two RBI, as he played a part in all but one of the Padres’ runs on the night. Before this, he’d failed to record a hit, and had only reached base once, in 15 plate appearances over four games against his former team of 10 years. After those results, and the turnaround he’s had in his season recently, this day was clearly coming, and that second inning, game-tying homer was just the precursor of the night to come.
I don’t quite know if “stud” is the right word for their performances tonight, considering the rather sleepy offense, but a few guys certainly carried their weight tonight.
The ninth inning, game-tying double was just the latest installment showing Anthony’s true potential, and with every signature moment he adds on to his rookie season, the more excited I get about his true ceiling possibilities.
Of course, Anthony wouldn’t have had as big a moment if Rafaela hadn’t led off with a double against an All-Star closer, which should surely not be overlooked. A walk added to his line for the night as the young outfielder (or second baseman, I guess) finds his way back to the hot streak he had in the first couple of weeks of July.
Duran had the first RBI of the night in the first inning, before getting thrown out at second trying to stretch the single into a double. But he added on later in the night with another hit and a walk as he’s served as an extremely solid hitter from the three spot. Although I have my qualms against him, he truly has been a nice addition, finally outside of the leadoff spot, with much less required from him (statistically) when batting third.
After a solid monthlong stretch between June and July, Giolito has shown a few glimpses of his early-season struggles in his past five outings. Interestingly, in his two starts after the trade deadline, where he gave up four and five runs to the Cubs and Phillies, respectively, he only gave up a total of three free passes, making tonight’s six walks in 4.2 IP especially jarring. His velo was down across the board and he absolutely lost control in the fourth after a crucial play at third that Boston chose not to challenge, despite Alex Bregman’s confidence in his tag.
He had one single at-bat, but was dead last among hitters in WPA (-.259). That strikeout on a foul bunt attempt was just as detrimental as it was truly painful to watch.
Similarly to Hamilton, Story was punished for an ill-timed strikeout, as he was punched out on a foul tip for the last out of the ninth with Anthony still standing on second base. He also was the last out of the inning twice tonight (both of which came on strikeouts), so that’ll definitely knock the WPA down a few pegs.
