Top Play (WPA)

There wasn’t much competition for this one – Hanley Ramirez’s game-tying grand slam in the 5th inning had this locked up with a .438 WPA before the game even ended. With the Red Sox getting nothing from Steven Wright (again) and the offense sputtering (again), they finally got to Drew Smyly in the 5th, where Ramirez turned around the first pitch he saw – a high-but-not-that-high fastball over the plate – and crushed it way out of Fenway. Tie game. I think the most shocking part of all this is that the Red Sox finally scored several runs with the bases loaded.

Bottom Play (WPA)

In the top of the 6th inning, Tim Beckham tried to kickstart Tampa Bay’s response to Hanley’s salami, singling to lead off the inning. Then Robbie Ross induced a grounder out of Corey Dickerson that went straight to Dustin Pedroia, and ended in a twin killing. That double play was worth -.123 WPA, and was one of the two innings in which a Red Sox pitcher only saw three batters. The other was the 9th inning, because Craig Kimbrel is very good.

Key Moment

Having given up the lead late in the game once again, the Red Sox offense finally came through in the bottom of the 8th inning. Up to the plate came Aaron Hill, who hadn’t gotten a hit in his last 20 at-bats, so of course he’d be the one to knock in the go-ahead run. Unlike last night, Erasmo Ramirez couldn’t hold back the Red Sox offense, and they ended up scoring another run in that inning for good measure.

That saved the team from a potentially embarrassing situation, as no one knew who would pitch if they didn’t take the lead or win in the 8th or 9th, respectively. They had no relievers left.

Trends to Watch

1. Hanley Ramirez just had his best month of the year and might just be getting hotter. The infielder is hitting .306/.362/.600 – yes, that’s a 600 in the slugging – with three homers in his last five games. Sure, one of them might’ve been the shortest on record this year, but still, Hanley’s hammering away again.

2. Hoo boy. That bullpen couldn’t hold a lead if it was given a bucket. At this point, you just have to hope they improve, since this group isn’t collectively that bad, and Koji Uehara might return soon. But after the starter goes out, who do you turn to for the 7th inning? No one has been consistently good enough to be trusted as the first one out of the ‘pen, and even Kimbrel and Ziegler have looked shaky at times.

Coming Next

First, the Red Sox have their first off day in three weeks. They’ll use that to travel to the Bay Area, where they’ll take on the Oakland Athletics with David Price on the mound, and he’ll face off against Andrew Triggs.

Happy Moncada Eve, everyone.

Photo by Greg M. Cooper/USA Today Sports Images

Top Play (WPA): Was there any doubt here about the top play being Kevin Kiermaier’s home run? Leave it to Matt Barnes to hang a curveball in the heart of the plate. Kiermaier jumped all over it and sent it deep into the right field corner. This was right after Robbie Ross, Junichi Tazawa and Craig Kimbrel combined for five scoreless innings while allowing only three baserunners. There was a lot of pressure on the bullpen in this one, and the 10th inning was the limit of what they could take.

Bottom Play (WPA): If Kiermaier’s dinger wasn’t the most disappointing moment of the night, this was: Dustin Pedroia grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the 3rd inning. The Red Sox had the bases loaded and no outs, yet still found a way to not score. Then they didn’t reach base for the next seven innings. That borders on hyperbole, so let’s get even more crazy – the last 22 batters for the Red Sox did not reach first base. And I thought watching a Joe Kelly-pitched game was gonna be the worst part about this.

Key Moment: I know I just made a dig at him, but Joe Kelly getting taken out in the first inning because of an injury was huge in this game. The early diagnosis is a shoulder impingement, which to me sounds like he’s gonna be a out a while, and that means the Sox are going to have their starting pitcher depth tested. Two outs in, and the Red Sox needed their bullpen to get going. To be fair, they did step up for nine whole innings. It’s a shame that the game went 10.

Trend to Watch: Relievers mopping up a potentially huge mess. Heath Hembree was the first man out of the ‘pen when Kelly went down, and despite just getting called up from Pawtucket, Hembree proceeded to hurl 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Robbie Ross then came in, and churned out three more innings of solid work. Those two deserve a lot of praise for 6 1/3 scoreless innings after the starter went down. With the Red Sox needing pitchers, they might send Hembree back down, which sucks for a guy who really kept them in it early on.

Coming Next: Rick Porcello faces off against Chris Archer in what looks like a really lopsided matchup. That means the underdog will win, right? Porcello will go the distance, correct? Let me dream a bit here.

Photo by Bob DeChiara/USA Today Sports Images