When you have to throw your no. 5 starter against the Blue Jays in Toronto, you don’t expect a W. But it wasn’t Steven Wright who let the Red Sox down today. It was, for the first time in 2016, the offense.
Top Play (WPA): WPA is a weird thing. By this metric, the most important play of the entire day came in the top of the seventh inning when … Travis Shaw walked (.059). Yep. That’s it. A Josh Donaldson single to center with a man on in the first takes the runner-up prize (0.54), while a Blake Swihart single in the fifth (0.48) finished third.
In terms of the two plays that actually resulted in the score changing, Josh Donaldson’s solo homer off Noe Ramirez in the eighth earned .033 WPA, while an Edwin Encarnacion fielder’s choice and rare Dustin Pedroia error in the first inning scored two and resulted in .030 WPA.
If you’re surprised the Red Sox didn’t do more damage against Jays’ starter Marco Estrada, perhaps you’ll be unsurprised to learn that his changeup was devastating. He threw it early and often, and it had more than one Red Sox batter flailing at pitches in the dirt. When Estrada doesn’t have his command, he can get lit up in a hurry, but Sunday served as a reminder that he’s a good mid-rotation asset for the Blue Jays when it’s all clicking.
Bottom Play (WPA): In the top of the eighth inning with one out and Dustin Pedroia on first, Xander Bogaerts hit an absolute rocket … right at Darwin Barney, who blocked the ball and was able to turn a double play (-.082). This was really the last time threatened in the game, though Hanley Ramirez did reach base in the ninth. Other bottom plays for the Sox include Chris Young flying out with a runner on in the seventh (-.054), Young striking out swinging with two on in the second (-.047) and Jackie Bradley Jr. stranding a runner in the fifth (-.044). It was not a good day for Chris Young.
For the Jays, the worst play of the game came in the bottom of the fourth inning with the bases loaded, when Wright got Barney to hit into a fielder’s choice to end the inning (-.047). I cannot believe I have already mentioned Darwin Barney twice in a game recap in 2016.
Key Moment: With two out and Pedroia on first base in the third inning, Xander Bogaerts hit a double to deep right field. Brian Butterfield was aggressive and sent Pedroia home, but a perfect relay from Jose Bautista to Ryan Goins to Russell Martin led to our Muddy Chicken being called out. Everyone wants to kill third base coaches when the runners they send get thrown out — and there’s definitely an argument to be made that Butterfield should’ve held Pedroia with David Ortiz on-deck — but really, Toronto needed perfect execution to nab Pedroia. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, the Blue Jays were up to the task.
Trend to Watch: Honestly, there weren’t a lot of new trends we can use as takeaways in this one. Mookie Betts is ice-cold at the plate right now. Hanley Ramirez looks competent at first base. Blake Swihart has trouble catching Steven Wright. Wright walks tight-ropes every time he takes the mound, etc. You already knew most of these things.
One fact that may surprise you: Wright was the first Red Sox starter to last into the seventh inning this year.
Coming Next: The Red Sox celebrate their home opener at Fenway by throwing David Price at the undefeated Baltimore Orioles. The O’s will counter with Yovani Gallardo in a matchup that should favor the Sox on paper, but with this Orioles lineup you’re never safe.
Photo by Nick Turchiaro/USA Today Sports Images
I think it’s a travesty that the Sox have never acquired Dahwin Bahney, who’d be a perfect fit in Boston, at least in terms of the local dialect.