Friday, May 19, 2017

Another Quadruple A Starter Victimizes Red Sox, 8-3

(AP Photo)
This time it was Hector Velazquez. The feeble Oakland A's unloaded three HRs on Velazquez (making his major league debut) in an 8-3 rout of the Red Sox. Despite taking a 2-0 first-inning lead, Boston was victimized by more Quadruple A pitching—and lost an opportunity to move up in the standings in the process. Part of the issue was the team flight arriving in the Bay Area at 4AM (after their 13-inning marathon in St. Louis), but, honestly, this game just emphasizes the serious shortcomings of the 2017 Carmine Hose. Six meager hits were put on the board by Boston—with 10 strikeouts being recorded by A's pitching. Again, we have to start facing the reality that this team may not be all that good.