White Sox 4, Red Sox 2: Four in a row
Because Apple TV has no DVR features or Android functionality — at least on an LG TV’s interface — I missed chunks of this game due to things that MLB.tv can accommodate, like bathing a baby and putting him to sleep, or taking the dog out.
Hence, a bullet-point recap that covers the things I saw and the things I had to learn elsewhere.
*The White Sox extended their winning streak to four games mostly on the strength of a brawny Luis Robert two-run homer. He followed up a José Abreu sac fly by turning on a spinning Nathan Eovaldi curveball and golfing it onto Lansdowne Street to give the White Sox a 3-0 lead after three.
*The Red Sox threatened here and there, but that inning ultimately gave the White Sox all the runs they needed.
*Vince Velasquez followed up his breakout game against the Angels with a less-impressive-but-still-useful five innings here. It didn’t look like anything special — three hits, two walks, two strikeouts — and the Red Sox started putting better swings on him later, but his early efficiency allowed him to qualify for the win on just 75 pitches, and Tony La Russa resisted the urge to ask for anything more.
*Perhaps Velasquz’s start would’ve ended earlier had he not benefited from a 50/50 checked swing by Trevor Story on a 3-2 pitch. Called the other way, and it would’ve loaded the bases for Rafael Devers. As it stands, the White Sox beat Boston’s No. 1 starter with their sixth option.
*Kendall Graveman allowed the only other Boston run in the eighth inning, and that’s because Adam Engel played a Jarren Duran single into a triple because he got caught in between on a ball he thought was hit harder.
*White Sox baserunners had to deal with Bradley’s arm frequently, and they didn’t win them all. In the first inning, Tim Anderson doubled back when he thought about tagging up on Robert’s line drive to right, and the Sox ultimately didn’t score. Then in the ninth, AJ Pollock tried following Engel’s game plan by walking, stealing second and taking third on a wild pitch, but Bradley made a great throw to beat Pollock by a couple steps.
*As for Engel, he merely gave back the run he scored himself in the top of the inning. He led off with a single, stole second, beat Jackie Bradley Jr.’s throw to third base on Jake Burger’s fly to right, then beat Bradley’s throw home when Reese McGuire followed with a fly in the same direction.
*Matt Foster tried to get himself in trouble with a four-pitch walk to Devers leading off the sixth, but Devers went two steps too far to second on Xander Bogaert’s soft line drive to the right side, and Leury García had enough time to snap a throw to first after flagging it down.
*White Sox hitters made strides in the patience department, as Pollock drew his second walk of the season, Burger his third, and Yasmani Grandal worked a pair.
*Abreu’s scooping has been off this season, and tonight was particular glaring. He couldn’t come up with Leury García’s double play attempt on Bradley that could’ve ended Aaron Bummer’s seventh inning one batter early, and then he missed a short hop on a long, cross-diamond throw by Burger that could’ve ended Graveman’s eighth inning in sensational fashion.
*Liam Hendriks issued his third unintentional walk of the season after allowing six all of last year, but he struck out the side to keep his hot streak intact.
*Dylan Cease is starting tomorrow, flipping spots in the rotation with Dallas Keuchel, who will take Sunday. Cease will have a chance to get the White Sox back to .500.
Record: 12-13 | Box score | Statcast
just watched the highlights. omg that broadcast was horrid! How did you all sit through that? I would have muted the tv and put on the radio broadcast. it was painful just listening to the highlights.
They just. kept. talking.
Diarrhea of the mouth
There were stretches in which I felt like I was listening to a robot programmed to sound cheeky read computer generated text from a teleprompter.
Also, the whole “CY” thing was too much almost as soon as it started.
I had been looking forward to it – I live in Maine so I will be blacked out of the other two games this weekend…but by the 5th I just switched to Len & DJ.
“The Carolina Hurricanes now lead the series 4-1”
The heavy laid complaints against the 50/50 swing call had me question how many baseball broadcasts he has actually watched (and how many on NESN).
We get Keuchel now for the NBC game? Ughhh
Why did they switch that around? Seems like a matchup against Pivetta is one Keuchel could win.
LaRussa may be setting Cease up to pitch the first game against the Yankees, with Keuchel pitching the second game. Unfortunately, I have tickets for the second game. Also, it is unclear to me at this point whether there is a matchup with respect to which Keuchel has the edge.
I wonder if the 10:30 am start Sunday played into that decision. I remember Giolito commenting how odd the morning start in Boston was to his normal starting pitcher routine (and he got hammered). Maybe, they want Cease to have more of a “normal” start, since he’s rolling right now.
I bet this is the primary answer.
Yoán Moncada played third base for Charlotte on Friday and went 3 for 3 with a home run, a double, and walk and scored 3 runs and drove in 4 runs. His AAA stats for the rehab stint are now BA = .389, OBP = .429, SLG = .778, OPS = 1.207.
we could use a yoan revenge game in Boston
He’s hitting better than like 2/3 of their regulars (if not all of them). Guess we’ll see him Monday though he seems pretty ready as it is for their last 2 games against the Bosox.
If only 2/3 of our lineup could play in Charlotte
pay Ethan Katz the salary that Dallas Keuchel is slated to get
Or tell him and Keuchel they can split the $18m from the ‘23 option if they can figure out a way to make Keuchel worth giving 160 innings to.
Is Velasquez our sixth option in the rotation or is Keuchel?
At this point I think you’re right. VV has certainly been better than Keuchel. VV should be in the rotation until he starts to suck again. Keuchel is pitching himself off the roster the way it looks.
More importantly, is Keuchel an option?
Until Cueto gets called up (or Lynn gets back), they really don’t have anybody else unless they want to try Lopez. Right now VV and Keuchel occupy 2 spots, unfortunately.
I was pondering the Ray Ray option, but then we have to fill a long relief role in the BP.
When he and Gio came from the Nats, I thought Lopez was the gem of that trade.
Are they viewing Lopez as a multiple innings guy? The longest he’s gone is 5 outs.
Thta’s been their stated intention all along
What an incredible trade. Not only Gio and Lopez, but Dunning, who they flipped for Lynn. All for Adam freaking Eaton!
I am all in favor of giving women the opportunity to do play by play. I have 2 daughters and want them to know that anything is available to them. But, this particular broadcast was brutal and Chris Young certainly played a part. Put aside that this type of broadcast signals the day, not long from now, when most games will require a subscription to a streaming service and maybe pay per view. There have got to be other women who deserve a chance, maybe Leila Rahimi in Chicago. There were numerous errors in terminology. Lazy fly balls are not shots or drives and cutting a lead from 3 to 2 runs is not cutting the lead in half. There were so many others. Then, of course, there was the ridiculous conversation and overt pro Red Sox and eastern bias tone.
Not likely on a full scale. Being able to balance merchandising with media income will preclude the 100% pay per view. As MLB tries to find new revenue streams it will likely tap these fringe sources so that the fanbase that can consume 90% of the games through normal outlets will be forced to pay for the additional 10%.
They aren’t as stupid as Bill Wirtz.
The NBCSports subscription service is coming sooner rather than later. I think that they will still keep the cable channel going but it’s going to go a long way to recapturing the under-30 market as paid consumers (rather than streaming the games illegally like most of the people I know do).
When the Cubs started Marquee, the Sox should have realized that keeping a game a week on free TV would allow them to tap into a market that the Cubs no longer had interest in. But no, they did the same thing.
Someone should do a wellness check on that woman who was doing the broadcast; she said “Tony LaRussa is the most cerebral person I’ve ever met” or something like that, and I’d be concerned that someone was unwell if they said that.
Anyone saying TLR is the most cerebral person they’ve ever met should be a comedian.
Maybe she just confused the words “cerebral” and “cirrhotic”.
And just like that, you’ve won the internet for today.
I think it was Chris Young who said that.
She is right. TLR embodies timeless wisdom. Elon Musk has said Tesla never would have been possible without inspiration he got from the Russa.