|
 |
|
BROCK HOLT |
THE BEST RED SOX TEAM EVAH! ...
Brock Holt comes through again
September 15,
2018 ... For a little while, it appeared this was
going to be another frustrating day for the Red Sox. They failed to
take advantage of early opportunities because the big bats weren’t
doing a ton. Rick Porcello got hurt by a long ball and they were
losing about halfway through. Things changed pretty quickly, though,
and the team was picked up by a rally started by the bottom half of
the lineup. It was even more encouraging to see the bullpen hold on
to a late lead with relatively little trouble.
In this game, more than anything else, the Red Sox offense
was looking to get into a rhythm. After a bit of panic at the very start of
their half of the first inning, it really looked like the Red Sox were going to
be ready to break out of the funk. Mookie Betts was hit by a pitch to start off
the inning, and he stayed in the game after a meeting with the trainer. After
that, Andrew Benintendi hit a grounder to Dominic Smith at first base, and the
Mets first baseman’s throw went into left-center field. That put runners on the
corners right off the bat, and a couple batters later Xander Bogaerts would
smack a base hit to give Boston an early 1-0 lead. With two outs, Ian
Kinsler loaded the bases with a walk, but the Red Sox couldn’t take advantage.
It was nice to have the lead, but it felt as though they should have gotten
more.
The second went similarly and ended with more frustration.
Once again Boston was helped by Smith as the first baseman made his second error
of the game to start off this inning, allowing Rafael Devers to reach as the
leadoff man. Once again, however, the Red Sox didn’t take proper advantage.
Benintendi hit a single with two outs to put runners on the corners, but J.D.
Martinez hit a routine fly ball and the runners were stranded, holding the
one-run lead.
After that, the Red Sox offense took a couple of innings
off. In the third, they managed just a single and in the fourth they surrounded
three strikeouts with just a two-out walk.
Meanwhile, Porcello’s day was taking the opposite
trajectory. At the start of the afternoon, the righty was looking good. He
didn’t get any strikeouts right off the bat, but he allowed relatively weak
contact for three straight outs to start off the game in the top of the first.
Then, in the second, he got more weak contact for two outs to start off the
inning, and after hitting a batter he got his first strikeout of the day to end
the frame. The third was another 1-2-3 frame, this one including a pair of Ks.
Then, in the fourth, things started to go downhill. He was
no longer able to finish off Mets hitters as they were fighting through counts
until they got pitches to hit. Jeff McNeil started the inning with New York’s
first hit of the day, and after a couple of outs Brandon Nimmo stepped to the
plate. After fouling off a few pitches, he got fastball up in the zone over the
middle of the plate, and he crushed one out into the Mets bullpen. Suddenly, the
Red Sox were losing 3-1.
Porcello, to his credit, did come back in the fifth and get
another 1-2-3 inning. That fourth inning was pretty frustrating, and he was once
again hurt by the long ball, but all in all he had himself a solid night.
Unfortunately, he was on the hook for the loss and was going to need some help
from his scuffling offense.
Fortunately, they provided just that, and they didn’t waste
much time. The bottom of the fifth started with Bogaerts and Martinez recording
outs, making it appear to be another quick inning, but the bottom of the order
had other thoughts. Steve Pearce and Kinsler contributed back-to-back singles,
bringing Jackie Bradley Jr. to the plate. It looked as though he had given
Boston a lead with a three-run shot out to left field, and replay appeared to
confirm that. However, the umps disagreed, called the homer back and the Red Sox
had to settle for a two-run double to tie the game. After Devers was
intentionally walked to get to Sandy León, Alex Cora called upon Brock Holt.
He’s becoming a pinch-hitting specialist, and he came through again. The utility
man smashed a double out to left field, scoring two and the Red Sox left the
fifth with a two-run lead.
So, now it was all up to the bullpen to hold on to the lead
as they try to gain the trust of the fan base. Bobby Poyner got another
late-game look in the sixth, and he continued to look good with a 1-2-3 inning.
The seventh belonged to Steven Wright, and the knuckleballer got into some early
trouble by walking the first two batters he’d face. He worked his way around it,
though, getting a strikeout, a fly out and a pop out to keep the lead at two.
The eight was Ryan Brasier’s, and he was excellent in
a 1-2-3 frame. So, it was all up to Craig Kimbrel in the ninth. He continued to
look very good as he has for a few weeks now, and he got an easy 1-2-3 inning. |
