How do the Red Sox keep on beating these guys?
Top Play (WPA): Ryan Hanigan gets this award, for what’s probably the first and only time this season. His two-run single off Danny Duffy in the third inning gave the Red Sox a lot more breathing room, and that base knock was good for .153 WPA. That was the first half of a two-out rally that culminated in Jackie Bradley Jr. doing yet another amazing thing. Hanigan doesn’t do much in the way of offense – he’s more of a defensive, pitch-framing type of guy – so it’s pretty cool to see him in the spotlight for once.
Bottom Play (WPA): We have a tie! Both of these prestigious first-inning failures netted a -.073 WPA.
1a. Oh Hanley Ramirez, where art thou? His strikeout with the bases loaded in the first inning earned him half of this title. HanRam hasn’t been battering down doors lately, with a 23 wRC+ in August. Yes, you read that right. Twenty-three. There’s no typo there, I checked. He is offensively 77% worse than league average this month.
1b. Ben Zobrist grounded into a double play in the top of the inning, essentially erasing a leadoff single by Alcides Escobar. Wade Miley has seen something of a rebound this month, putting up a solid 3.33 mark for both his ERA and FIP, with a 24/5 K/BB ratio. Him getting this twin killing set up another good start for the lefty.
Key Moment: Jackie Bradley Jr. cranking out a triple in the third inning. This capped the two-out rally in the inning, and gave the Sox a four-run cushion that the Royals would not overcome. Hanigan’s hustle to score all the way from first base was aided by Alex Rios’ strange decision to try and get JBJ at third instead of throwing to home and preventing the run from scoring. Another thing to note in that video: Bradley ran so hard to third that his helmet came off rounding second and ended up about thirty feet to the left of second base. Hanley would be so proud.
Trend To Watch: The lefties getting it done. Not only did a beardless-yet-mustachioed Wade Miley spin a gem, but Travis Shaw and Jackie Bradley Jr. were catalysts on offense. Shaw added two hits and a RBI walk to his already impressive August, while Bradley’s triple continued a streak in which the last nine of his hits were for extra bases, including that three-bagger. With a lefty in Danny Duffy on the mound opposing both Shaw and Bradley, one can’t help but be impressed with what they did in the game.
Coming Next: The Red Sox continue their four-game set against the Royals by sending out Henry Owens to oppose Johnny Cueto on Friday night. Here’s hoping the Reverse Lock Theory holds true!
Photo by Greg M. Cooper/USA Today Sports Images
It should be noted that this is Game 121. The recap for Game 120 (the 6-4 win over Cleveland highlighted by double back-to-back HRs) seems to be missing entirely.
Thanks, I’ve updated.
As to game 120, we do our best to cover every game Sun-Thurs but sometimes no one on staff can cover. We do hit about 90%, though!
No worries – just didn’t want anybody thinking they’d imagined that game.