Look, Red Sox, you don’t need to win every game with a 9th-inning homer. But man, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t fun that way.
Top Play (WPA)
Not much of a mystery for this one. Mookie Betts’ go-ahead home run is the winner here, racking up a .351 WPA in the top of the 9th inning. The Mariners curiously brought in Steve Cishek, who had thrown 30+ pitches in Chicago the night before – and blown the save – to face the top of the Red Sox order. Betts took a high and inside fastball and socked it to left field on a line. Two nights, two late go-ahead home runs for the Red Sox. Games 103 & 104 are starting to look a lot bigger than just two games in a season with 162 of them.
Bottom Play (WPA)
The three worst plays were all Mariners strikeouts, but the worst was a strikeout looking to end the game. Craig Kimbrel’s punchout of Shawn O’Malley for the final out came with a -.160 WPA, the worst in the game by over 50 points. Fresh off the DL, Kimbrel was thrust back into the fire with this one, and the Mariners certainly didn’t make it easy on him. Fielding a swinging bunt, facing almost all left-handed batters, not to mention Sandy Leon letting a strikeout pitch roll out of play. In the end, he got O’Malley with a beautiful knuckle-curve to end it.
Key Moment
Mookie will get all the attention, but Aaron Hill’s 8th-inning home run to tie it goes here. James Paxton had shut down the Red Sox for most of the game, and Hill took a high, middle-in fastball and cleared the bullpen in left field to keep them in the game. This was an answer to the Mariners finally getting to Eduardo Rodriguez in the last frame, and they really needed something against Paxton, who had dominated most of the game.
Trend to Watch
The Mariners are a top-three offense in the American League, and Eduardo Rodriguez – armed with a new slider and a 94 mph fastball with good command – held them to one run over 6 1/3 innings. It was a refreshing start, considering the trade deadline had just passed, and pitching was still an issue for the Sox. If E-Rod can actually perform more like this down the stretch, his slider might be one of the best deadline acquisitions for the Sox.
Coming Next
The Red Sox stay in Seattle to face another southpaw in Wade LeBlanc, so the Red Sox will counter with a lefty of their own in David Price. If they could get and hold a lead before the 9th inning for once, my heart will thank them.
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