It’s just one of those good days, y’know? Everything’s going your way, the sun is shining, the Sox are cruising, and- OH GOD KOJI OH NO.
Top Play (WPA)
There were only two run-scoring hits in this game. One went 442 feet. David Ortiz does it again.
Seriously, how is he doing this at 40? Ortiz tops the list in this one with a home run worth .145 WPA. He jumped all over a very awful cutter from Jake Peavy that just kind of floated out over the plate. Didn’t help that it was going 85 mph either. That’s a batting practice pitch.
Bottom Play (WPA)
Right after the Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning, Rick Porcello handed out a leadoff walk to Buster Posey in the 4th. He then got Brandon Crawford to ground into a 4-6-3 double play, pinning a -.096 WPA on the San Francisco shortstop. Sadly, there isn’t a video for this one. But you know what there is a video of? Jackie Bradley Jr. doubling up on Jarrett Parker. Boy. that’s a sweet play to watch.
Key Moment
I wish I could put something happier here. I really do. But Koji getting hurt is big.
Turns out it was a strained pectoral, not a shoulder issue. That’s the silver lining right there, even if it still means a DL stint. It also means Brad Ziegler, Red Sox Closer. This bullpen is about to get weird. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but at least we have Joe Kelly striking out everyone as a reliever in Triple-A.
Trend to Watch
Rick Porcello’s incredible strikeout numbers so far. He has 100 strikeouts to 23 walks so far this year, good for a 4.35 K/BB, which is 16th-best in the league, right up there with Masahiro Tanaka, Corey Kluber and Zack Greinke. That’s a huge factor in how he’s been successful thus far, along with his drastically improved HR/9, which is down 25 points from a year ago. The grounders are still there, but the ball is flying out of the park a lot less often, and he’s not getting hit as hard as he was. This is the Porcello we wanted to see.
Coming Next
The Red Sox take on the Giants for the final time this season, and newly-acquired Drew Pomeranz will toe the rubber against Matt Cain.
Photo by Winslow Towson/USA Today Sports Images