Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Not-So-Clean 'Sweep' Sends Red Sox On Long Road Trip

(AP Photo)
This is starting to get ugly. From the depths of this three-game sweep at the hands of the Tigers, you can begin to see the outlines of a lost season—epic offense, ineffective pitching, mediocre results. Again. This afternoon, in addition to a so-so start from Eduardo Rodriguez (5 1/3 innings, 3 earned runs), it was the newest bullpen addition that came up short. Brad Ziegler gave up a two-out solo HR in the ninth inning of a 3-3 tie—pushing the Tabbys to an eventual 4-3 win. The Red Sox produced seven hits—two of them solo HRs (Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts). Mookie Betts also delivered a clutch, two-out triple in the eighth to tie the game. But, in the end, Boston lost three games they absolutely needed to win—especially before embarking on a 10-game West Coast swing. Get used to lots and lots of 1AM nail-biting for a while.