I Watch the Red Sox So You Don't Have To | April 22nd - April 24th @ Rays

April 22nd: Red Sox - 4, Rays - 3

This Red Sox team is so incredibly frustrating. They can put together playoff quality wins like today and like the first game against the Blue Jays earlier this week, but they also completely disappear in games and look like they're just going through the motions. It's the games like today that give you hope for the season which just makes the losses that much more painful.

I don't entirely understand Michael Wacha. I know exactly what he is in the sense that he's here to go through the order twice, eat four or five innings, and put the Sox in a position to win. What I don't get, is how he does it. He got four swings and misses, he didn't induce that many groundballs, but he somehow limited damage and got the job done. Wander Franco hit the piss out of the ball three times, including two home runs, why they let Wacha pitch to him three times is beyond me, but that's why I don't make the decisions. Franco is incredible, and the fact that the Rays have him for ten more years is painful. It will probably take a few months but I'm sure at some point I'll stop being impressed by his hitting ability and will start being annoyed that he never makes an out.

I don't think I fully understand the bullpen either. I also don't think I fully understand writing, something tells me questioning my own credentials isn't the best way to keep readers. Anyways, the bullpen did the job beautifully tonight, Austin Davis has looked so much better than he did in his first or second outing. He's slowly gaining some trust and is an option in tight games, although I think he probably takes a back seat to Josh Taylor when he returns. Matt Strahm got in a little trouble but navigated it without any damage, and Hansel Robles worked a clean inning.

If for some reason you want to go back and watch this game, skip to the ninth inning. Jake Diekman was an absolute rollercoaster. He was throwing the ball all over the place, walked the bases loaded, and then struck out Brandon Lowe. Walks will always be an issue for Diekman, but it was good to see him calm down and get the lefty before exiting the game. Matt Barnes wouldn't be my first choice with the bases loaded in a one-run game, especially against a guy like Wander Franco. Franco is just a terrifying presence in the box, I was almost sure he would put a ball in the gap and win the game. Barnes somehow got him to hit the ball on the ground, and Trevor Story made a nice sliding play to end the game. A second baseman like that would never make an error in a big moment, right? Hell of a win to start the series.

Positives: Wacha did what he was brought in to do. The bullpen held solid.

Negatives: The timely hitting still isn't there. 11 hits off Kluber with just 4 runs to show for it.

April 23rd: Red Sox - 2, Rays - 3

Pain. I seriously considered just posting this win probability graph and calling it a day on this one, but the world (small group of people who read these) deserve to see the rantings of a madman fresh off a brutal loss.

Remember twenty words ago when I said a second baseman like Trevor Story would never make an error in a big moment? How about the bottom of the tenth with two outs and a chance to win the game? Story was credited with the error, although I put it more on Bobby Dalbec. It's ironic because I've spent so much time talking about how much better the infield defense has been, but Dalbec just made a boneheaded play here. I never played first base, but I know you don't start to stretch until the ball is thrown. It wasn't a good throw by Story and it would have been a nice play to pick the ball, but Bobby didn't even give himself a chance based on his first step. You can't give away outs in the major leagues and still win games, and Kevin Kiermaier made them pay. Hansel Robles was probably the best option, but I've never been a fan of using him on back-to-back days. Small sample, but his ERA with no days off last season was 7.58. 7.58 is bad. Very bad. I would have rather seen a rested Ryan Brasier or Phillips Valdez there, hindsight 20/20 though.

There are some positives to take away from this one, like the fact that the lineup took five walks. Sure they didn't have any hits until the tenth inning, but it was nice to see they do have the ability to take pitches. Garrett Whitlock was electric in his first career start, maybe he can become the guy to carry the rotation when he's stretched out. Even I feel comfortable with him on the mound, and I never feel comfortable watching Red Sox baseball.

The real highlight for me in this one was Kutter Crawford. Three innings of shutout baseball in a tie game. No walks, five strikeouts. His fastball was dynamite, sitting upper 90s and getting eight swings and misses. He located the ball up in the zone consistently which opens up the secondaries. I've been high on Crawford since spring training, and I was disappointed with some of his early outings. If he can continue throwing strikes and not give out free passes, he'll quickly become a weapon out of the pen. He's not Whitlock, but he can fill a similar role if Whitlock becomes a mainstay in the rotation. He has a short, repeatable delivery, and has the stuff to be a major league pitcher, let's hope today was a step forward and he can give the Sox quality innings.

Enough positivity though, this loss SUCKED. Pain.

Positives: Kutter Crawford looked really sharp. (Almost) The entire pitching staff did a great job.

Negatives: Losing a game after you had a groundball to win the game is about as negative as it gets. Pain.

April 23rd: Red Sox - 2, Rays - 5

This one sucked too. The lineup jumped on Shane McClanahan early but only had two runs to show for it and then quickly went back to their old ways of swinging at anything and everything. J.D. Martinez's presence in the order is being missed in a big way right now.

Rich Hill is a lot like Wacha, in that he won't carry the rotation but he can certainly get some outs and eat some innings, even at 42 years old. Four innings of no-run baseball is about what you expect from him. It's not what you need in the middle of a ten-game road trip when one of your pitchers can't travel to Canada because of his "personal choice" to not get vaccinated though. I won't get started about Tanner Houck. He did pitch well today though.

You're not gonna win many games scoring two runs, so it's hard to put this one on the pitching staff. You're also not gonna win many games when Phillips Valdez forgets he's playing baseball and instead declares war on the Rays batters. Maybe he watched Dodgeball last night and had that on his mind. Seriously, look at this

He quite literally threw ten pitches, pegged two batters, and walked another. Talk about not having it. Okay, he got Brandon Lowe to fly out, but exaggerating makes these more interesting. That's really all there was to this one, the bats were quiet after a solid start to the game, and once the lead was lost there was no looking back.

Positives: We don't have to play the Rays anymore.

Negatives: We have to play the Blue Jays again.

What's Next?

Off to Canada to take on the Blue Jays for four games. I don't know who did the scheduling, but not having a travel day in the middle of this road trip seems like an oversight. No excuses though, onwards and upwards.