Another good outing from Clay Buchholz. Another no-show by the offense.
Top Play (WPA): As both of the Twins runs were scored in the first inning, it’s no surprise the two scoring plays came in at one and two in WPA. The first came when Trevor Plouffe smacked a double down the right-field line (.093) to score Brian Dozier. Kurt Suzuki, the next batter, knocked in Plouffe with a hard-hit double down the left-field line (.087). Although Minnesota’s offense stagnated after that strong frame, it was enough to hold off Boston’s dismal offense.
Bottom Play (WPA): Boston’s problem hasn’t been getting players on base. They have a decent amount of scoring chances, they just haven’t been able to convert them. Exhibit A is the worst play of the game by WPA. After getting shut down by starter Mike Pelfrey, the Red Sox were able to load the bases against Blaine Boyer in the eighth. Hanley Ramirez came up with two outs and a chance to give the Red Sox a late lead. Instead, he hit a routine fly ball to right field (-.176) to end the inning and the threat.
Key Moment: The key moment here came in that eighth inning, one play before Ramirez’s inning-ending fly out. With lefty Glen Perkins coming in to face Sandoval, Boston’s third baseman elected to once again hit from the left side. Though he didn’t hit it hard, he smacked a grounder to the right side that looked like it would sneak through and score Pedroia to tie the game. Instead, Dozier made a nice sliding stop and kept the ball in the infield. Sandoval would reach on an infield single, but Pedroia was forced to stay at third and the Twins preserved the lead.
Trends to Watch: Once again, the Red Sox got a solid performance from their pitching staff that was squandered by an underperforming offense. While Pelfrey’s ERA looks good this year, his peripherals tell a different story. Boston should have been able to do damage off of him. Instead, they managed just five hits off of him, two of which came from number nine hitter Sandy Leone.
In a more positive trend to watch, Buchholz looked very good outside of the first inning. He’s now in a four-game stretch in which he’s allowed no more than two runs and has a K/BB ratio a shade below 4.0 on the season. Possibly even more encouraging was that he managed to pitch this well without his best stuff. He was noticeably struggling at times, and got some help from his defense, but he powered through without his A-game and still did everything he could to get the team a win. If the Red Sox are going to compete this year, they need a couple of their starters to step up, and Buchholz is certainly doing his part lately.
Coming Next: The Red Sox look to avoid the sweep this afternoon with Rick Porcello facing off against Phil Hughes. Porcello is coming off a horrid start last time out, but looked like he was hitting his stride before that. Boston needs to hope the start against the Angels was just a blip. Hughes, meanwhile, has been very homer prone this year, and could be just what the doctor ordered for a struggling offense. The team will travel to Texas after this afternoon’s contest.
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